Cerulean City…

“Oh Cerulean Blues, that’s my blues…” Misty happily sang before her room’s mirror, while she brushed her hair.

Her red-orange locks had grown long enough to go past their shoulders, yet she still liked to wear that side ponytail just like over fourteen years ago. She had gained quite a few inches in height, and her figure had grown into the perfect mix between an Olympic swimmer and a swimsuit supermodel. Misty Waterflower was no longer a child: she had grown into a full-fledged woman, a talented Water-type Pokémon trainer de Agua and had been even considered as a potential member for Kanto’s Elite Four.

The best of all, though, she had the best boyfriend she could ever wish for.

Years prior, at the idea of being in a relationship, Misty would have had only one person in mind, even if she wouldn’t admit it then. However, Ash Ketchum had never been the most romantic person in the world. Sometimes she outright wondered if he never noticed the attraction he inspired in the females (herself included) or simply pretended not to notice, as a way to not to give them false hopes and hurt their feelings. Maybe it was a bit of both.

It was saying a lot that the girl who gave him his first kiss (though arguably, Misty had beaten her to his lips by performing CPR on him that time he almost drowned) didn’t have any luck with him. Eventually, everything came to a head the day she finally went upfront about her feelings, around three years ago. And his response was…

…

“No, Misty. Bad idea, very bad idea.”

“What do you mean it’s a bad idea?” she asked. “Were you listening to what I said?”

“Yeah, I heard it perfectly,” he replied. “And that’s why I can’t accept it.”

Misty took a hand to her face and shook her head, not buying it. What was Ash playing at the time? She had decided to meet alone with him, to tell him she had been in love with him for quite a while and wanted to date each other. That definitely was not the answer she was expecting.

“Misty, we’re friends, right?” he asked in a serious tone. “Best friends, right?”

“Of course we are,” she replied, still confused. “And that’s why I wish we could be something more. Don’t you get it?”

“Yeah, I do get it. But something like that between us… I don’t know. I don’t think it’ll work out.”

“Why not?” the redhead inquired again.

Ash sighed and let out a slight chuckle. “Do you remember when we first met? How we got along when we began our journey together?”

“How could I forget?” she asked back. Those were her most precious memories, after all. All those adventures, misadventures, laughs and even sorrows they shared together.

“All of that is very important to me. And I don’t wanna risk to lose it all,” Ash said.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” she replied. “Things don’t have to change between us. Well, maybe just a little bit, like… I don’t know, going out in dates, holding hands more often or… kissing. And I mean real kissing.”

She said the last part with a slight blush, and she could see Ash had a similar reaction. She knew how delicate it was for both of them to remember that particular moment, so they preferred not to talk about it or even mention it, especially in front of their other friends (the only one who knew was Tracey, who kept it a secret out of respect for them). But at the time, she didn’t know what else to say.

“Misty, things change. I’ve changed, and so have you.” Ash held her by the shoulders. “You’ve grown into an amazing girl, beautiful and talented. You deserve someone better than me.”

“I don’t want someone better, I want you. Why can’t you understand,” she said, almost begging.

She didn’t get the ‘someone better than him’ part. He was her best friend, the kindest, most loyal and admirable guy she had ever met. True, he had his flaws: he could be headstrong and rash for many things, and more often than not he’d rush headfirst into danger without a care for the consequences. But beyond that, his heart was always in the right place, and she admired his willpower and determination when it came to achieve his dreams.

“Come on, Misty. We’ve been fighting each other for just about anything since we were ten,” he said in a faux mocking tone. “Just think about it: one or two months in and we’d probably drive each other crazy.”

Misty wanted to argue that it was a thing of the past, and their ‘fights’ with each other were little more than small jokes, picking on or contradicting each other just for fun, for all times’ sake. They both had matured and left behind those childish traits, at least for the most part. However, the words didn’t come out.

“Misty…“ Ash raised her chin so as to look into her eyes. “I mean it. I’m happy that we’re friends, and I don’t want that to change. I’m telling you, you’re an amazing girl, and I’m sure you’ll find someone who can make you happy. I do love you, Misty, but not that way. Not the way you deserve it.”

“If you say so,” she said.

For some reason, she didn’t feel that Ash was being fully sincere with the last part. The fact that he said one moment that they both had changed, and then contradicted himself as if they still were those stubborn and short-tempered kids from years ago seemed to support that. They did have some leftovers of that, but not as much as before. Come to think about it, she could barely remember the last time they argued over something.

Somehow she had the feeling Ash had other reasons to make that choice, reasons he didn’t want or couldn’t tell, but once he was fixated on something, it was virtually impossible to get him to change his mind. And if she tried to guilt-trip him to convince him otherwise, she’d never forgive herself. She couldn’t stoop to that level and betray that lifelong friendship they shared.

“So then… we’ll keep it that way?” she asked. “Just best friends forever and nothing more?”

“It’ll be the best, I assure you,” he said with a big smile. One which both touched and crushed her at the same time. But he had made his choice, and she couldn’t change that.

She could only hope it was the right one.

…

Even though she felt devastated at the time, in the long run Ash turned out to be right. Over time, she did find a wonderful man, one who shared many qualities with Ash, plus also covering the shortcomings that would have made a relationship difficult. Namely, on the romantic department.

Admittedly, she did feel a little reluctant to accept at first, especially being fresh out of that heartbreak. Maybe it also helped that, from what he later told her, his former fiancée had died one year prior in a car crash, and thus he was looking for someone to fill that void once he recovered.

But in the end, everything turned out well. The wait was worth it.

“Done,” she said once she finished combing her hair, glancing one last time. “It about time. Let’s turn in the Gym for today and then off to enjoy my day.”

“Stop, you can’t come in!” she heard Daisy’s voice across the door.

“I don’t care, I came for a badge and I’m not leaving without it!” another voice replied, this time male and unknown.

“Hmm?” Leaving her hairbrush aside, Misty stood up and left her room, going to the gym’s entrance lobby to check what was going on.

Once she was there, she saw her older sister arguing with a boy around fifteen or sixteen, with spiky red hair dressed mostly in black, wearing leather pants, boots and vest. Under said vest was a sleeveless shirt just as red as his hair. A challenger for sure, but she had to explain why she wasn’t available.

“I’m telling you, like, you can’t come in!” Daisy continued to shout.

“I go wherever I please!” the red-haired boy snapped, before turning towards Misty. “Hey, this Gym’s leader, aren’t you?”

“Who wants to know?” Misty replied, trying not to let his temper get to her.

“Someone who wants a badge,” he replied as he grabbed a Pokéball. “I just need two more to compete in the Indigo League, and I decided I’ll get one here, and now.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not gonna be possible right now,” Misty said. “I’m about to go out on a date right now, so you can come later if you…”

“I won’t hear any excuses! I want my badge right now!” the challenger insisted.

“Listen, the notice says the gym’s closing time is at 17:00 hours,” Misty said.

“The clock on your wall says there’s still one minute before that, so I’m technically not late. Or are you just afraid of losing?”

Misty clenched her fists. Once upon a time she would have exploded in anger, but she had learned to control her own temper and not to let it get the best of her at the wrong times. Not even Ash in his worst days had been that bad: he could be impatient and wanted to rush his gym battles more often than not, but at least he respected the basic courtesy rules from the challengers, and thinking about those times was fun to remember.

Making an analogy, this trainer could probably embody him during his worst days, but without the funny aspect, and with the most irritating traits ramped up tenfold. For people like him, there was only one way to deal with them.

“Alright, since you insist… let’s have the battle right now. But whether you win or lose, I want you to leave my gym and never return, got it?”

“As you wish! I won’t have to come back after getting my badge anyway!” the challenger replied.

…

Minutes later, they both were face to face in the opposite ends of the gym’s battle arena. The large pool with a big rocky ground and some platforms to stand on was ready, and the oldest of the Sensational Sisters had already taken her place as the referee, albeit grudgingly.

“The gym battle between the leader Misty and the challenger Xavier Andrews is about to begin,” she said with annoyance. “Each one of you is allowed to use two Pokémon but, like, only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokémon.”

“I’ll show you! Venusaur, let’s give ’em a lesson!” the challenger, whose name was Xavier, called out.

“Saur!” The Grass/Poison Pokémon appeared over the rocky part of the field.

Misty gazed at the challenger’s expression. He clearly was one of those guys full of themselves who thought they could handle anything thrown at them. She wouldn’t usually start out this way, but since she was in a hurry to get to her date, it was better to bring out the big guns from the get go.

The redhead knew who’d be more than enough to do the job. “Get him, Gyarados!”

Gyarados appeared upright on the water, and he roared so loudly both the challenger and his Venusaur flinched upon seeing him. Daisy, for her part, muttered something that sounded. “Oh my, you made my little sister pretty mad.”

“Don’t think you’re gonna intimidate us! Venusaur, use Sunny Day!” the challenger called.

“Saur!” From the palm on his back, Venusaur fired a luminous sphere that exploded like an artificial sun, bathing the entire field in a bright light. Misty didn’t even faze; she had seen this strategy enough times to know what came next.

And indeed, it was just as she predicted. “Now, Solar Beam!”

Venusaur began storing up power, taking advantage of the quick charge granted by the Sunny Day. Then he leaned over his forelegs to aim at Gyarados, who remained where he was just staring back at him defiantly.

Misty didn’t make any move until he finished charging, and the solar-powered beam was fired. She then spoke her order in a dry tone. “Fire Blast.”

Gyarados roared and a large fireball formed between his jaws, then it was fired off and extended five points to create a fire kanji. Suddenly Xavier’s previous confidence went downhill as he saw what happened: the Sunny Day powered up Gyarados’ Fire Blast, allowing it to pierce and consume completely Venusaur’s Solar Beam. The fiery explosion hit the Grass-type head on, making him groan in pain as he felt the burn.

“WHAT THE HELL?!”

“Gyarados, use Hurricane and send him flying,” Misty called.

With another roar, Gyarados launched a powerful cyclone at Venusaur, who had just recovered from the initial attack. The challenger barely managed to call out for a Power Whip to hold on to something, but that didn’t prevent him from being dragged when the Hurricane grew in power and speed, sending him careening through the air and slashing him with small wind blades all over. It held on for quite a bit until he fell back again, though instead of going for the kill immediately, she waited for him to get back up to grant him one last shot. She wasn’t that cruel so as to attack a helpless opponent.

“Use Toxic, Venusaur!” Xavier called.

“Hydro Pump!” Misty countered.

The venom fluid stream clashed against the water torrent, the former being easily dominated and washed out by the latter. The Hydro Pump continued forward until it hit Venusaur and slammed him against one of the rocks on the platforms, a testament of Gyarados high attack power.

Having given him one last shot at defending himself, it was time to end the assault. “Use Fire Blast and end this!”

Said and done: Gyarados once again summoned the Fire-type in his mouth and shot it at Venusaur. Xavier tried to call again for a Solar Beam at full power to counter it, but just like the first it was useless, as the Fire Blast consumed it completely and hit Venusaur head on, this time with a bigger explosion.

When the smoke and flames cleared out, Venusaur laid with his limbs spread out, and half-cooked, unable to get back up.

“Venusaur can’t continue, Gyarados wins!” Daisy cheered.

“Damn it!” Xavier cursed as he recalled his fallen Pokémon. “What the hell was that, which part of the rules says you can start with Gyarados?!”

“As a gym leader, I’m free to choose the order of my Pokémon,” Misty replied as she shrugged. “If you have six badges, you should be able to handle him, shouldn’t you?”

“Argh! You won’t get away with this! Electivire, let’s blast her!” the challenger shouted.

“Electivire!” The Electric-type gave off sparks, ready for the challenge.

Misty shrugged again. As he failed with his Grass-type strategy, he now intended to capitalize on Gyarados’ double weakness to Electric-type attacks. Fortunately, she had more than one way to counter that handicap, and she’d show him.

“Gyarados, Rain Dance!”

Gyarados roared and summoned storm clouds over the battlefield, overshadowing the artificial sun from before. Misty immediately pulled out an umbrella to cover herself from the rain that started, while Xavier just felt annoyed by it.

At least until he remembered something. “Wait a minute, this gives us an advantage! Electivire, use Thunder!”

How could she be so stupid? Rain Dance not only powered up Water-type attacks, but also Electric-type ones. She was asking out loud for Electivire to fry Gyarados. Well, if she was so bent on it, he’d grant her wishes.

“Hurricane again!” Misty called.

Gyarados created another windstorm, but this time instead of trying to blow Electivire away, instead caught him in a wind barrier that raised a large amount of water around. Above and through it they could see electric sparks, but they were too far away to represent a threat for Gyarados.

“I can’t believe this!” Xavier gasped. “How did you do that?!”

“It’s my defense against Electric-type attacks. No challenger has broken it yet, can you?”

Actually, the part of no challenger being able to break it was not fully truth. Nobody had figured out how to do it in an official battle, but there was someone who did it in an unofficial capacity. Then again, he was one of a kind, and this guy would hardly be on the same league as him.

“Grrr, Electivire, use Thunder at full power and dispel that Hurricane!”

Electivire kept on attacking, but other than sending more sparks flying, it didn’t do anything to dispel the windstorm. Misty sighed, and now that she was getting impatient she decided to end this in one blow so she could leave. Sliding her fingers through the ribbon holding her hair, she pulled out her secret weapon.

“Strong, brave and beautiful! My sweet blue heart! Mega Evolution!”

Gyarados roared again, drowning out the challenger’s screams of “What did she say?” as the Gyaradosite materialized on her Water-type’s forehead and Misty struck a pose to touch her Key Stone. The energy tendrils in both gems interlinked with each other, engulfing Gyarados in a golden light, starting to change shape, his body becoming shorter and bulkier, and changing his cream-colored scales to black as his gills started to grow in size.

“Mega Evolution?! Nobody told me about this!” Xavier shouted.

“Gyarados, Hyper Beam!”

The marine serpent roared even louder than before, as an orange energy accumulated between his fangs. The powerful beam was launched towards the water cyclone, and the resulting explosion raised a lot of smoke. Nobody saw what happened, until the Rain Dance’s effect died out, returning the gym to normal.

The result was evident: the Hyper Beam hit Electivire inside the cyclone and knocked him into the water, and now he was floating belly up on the surface, his eyes spiraling and giving off sparks.

“Electivire is unable to battle! The challenger has lost both Pokémon so, like, the Gym Leader wins the match!” Daisy declared.

“I can’t believe this…” Xavier’s jaw almost dropped to the ground, returning his Electivire. Misty, folding her umbrella and putting it away, walked slowly towards him and stop in front of him.

“Well, if you were so kind, can you leave now and never return?” she asked politely.

“What? But I-“

“The deal was, win or lose, you leave the gym and never return,” Misty reminded him. “You lost, so you’ll have to win your remaining badges somewhere else. If you don’t mind, my date’s waiting for me.”

“Hey, wait! You can’t just up and leave like that! Wait up you! NOBODY MAKES ME LOOK LIKE A FOOL AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!”

And without further words, completely ignoring the challengers protest screams, as well as her sister telling him “leave now or we’ll call the police ", Misty walked towards the entrance. Seeing the clock, she realized she’d be five or ten minutes late, but she didn’t think her date would be spoiled by something like that. Let alone once she explained herself; he was that understanding.

----------------------------------------

Cerulean Aquarium…

Misty hurried to the rendezvous point they had a greed as fast as she could. He’d always be punctual for their dates, and she tried to do the same, so she hoped he wouldn’t be too mad or believe she was standing him up.

She frantically searched for him, and quickly managed to spot him. Tall, with well-combed navy blue hair and somewhat tanned skin, wearing sunshades, short-sleeved denim jacket over a black long-sleeved shirt, as well as matching pants and shoes. He was looking everywhere with an impatient expression, as if searching for him, so she quickly ran to him.

“Chris, over here!” she called out.

The young man turned around as he heard her voice. His name was Christopher North, Chris for short. He was the heir of an important marine transport company called Northern Lights Shipment, and an excellent Water-type Pokémon trainer just like her, which only highlighted his attractiveness even more.

As soon as he spotted her, he removed his glasses and walked up to her.

“Sorry I’m late,” she apologized, “a troublesome challenger showed up when I was about to leave.”

“Don’t worry,” he said as he offered his arm. “So, you ready for today’s date?”

“Always,” the girl replied as she held onto it, and both entered the building.

The Cerulean Aquarium was a rather recent attraction, as it only had a couple months since its opening, but it was only surpassed by the Gym itself, thanks to the huge amount of aquatic Pokémon from all over the world it had for show.

The couple first stopped near an icecap-like area, showing several Piplup and Prinplup, and on top of all of them a large Empoleon who looked like their leader.

“Aww, they’re so cute,” Misty said, gushing at the sight of the Piplup babies playing with each other.

“Females usually leave their eggs to the males to watch over them, and they protect them until they hatch,” Chris said. “And look at the Empoleon, do you see the horns over his head? They’re the symbol of his power and leadership over them.”

“Amazing.” Misty tried to wave at a small bunch Piplups so they came closer to give them some snacks, but when they realized, they tried to splash her with Bubblebeam, forcing her to step back.

“Careful. Those little penguins are very prideful; they won’t accept food from humans they don’t trust,” Chris warned her.

“Yeah, I noticed.” Misty nodded. “Come to think about it, a friend of mine has one of those. It was her starter Pokémon, and he was pretty proud of himself too.”

“Really?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, her name’s Dawn. She’s a Pokémon Coordinator from Sinnoh. Ash introduced us a few years back, when the Wallace Cup was held here in Cerulean.”

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“Ahem.” Chris cleared his throat, and Misty quickly realized what he meant.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean…” Misty looked away, blushing slightly. It was her moment with her boyfriend, why ruin it bringing up her best friend out of the blue?

“Don’t worry.” He shrugged it off. “Come on, let’s continue the tour.”

The next stop was the underwater tunnel. It surrounded them in a manner that it almost seemed they were under the sea itself, and they would have believed it if they hadn’t seem some of the staff feeding the Pokémon. The species they could spot included very exotic ones: some native to Kanto like Goldeen or Tentacool, others from Hoenn like Milotic, Gorebyss and Huntail, and even as far as Unova with Alomomola and Frillish.

“Wow.” Misty stared in awe at the sight. “I don’t recall ever seen so many different Water-types from all over the world in one place.”

“And you have yet to see the ones from Alola,” said Chris. “When my father approves the request, you’ll love them.”

“Your father pulls a lot of strings, huh?” Misty asked.

“One of the perks of being the CEO of his company. Water-type Pokémon de Agua are never unreachable to me. But we still haven’t seen the best part. Let’s go to the prehistoric Pokémon wing.”

With how much the fossil resurrection had spread, partly thanks to the Pewter Museum being nearby with their own lab to do so, many formerly extinct Pokémon species had been added to the exhibit. And of course, Chris’ father would use his influences to bring more and more to increase variety. The resurrected Pokémon wing had three separate tanks: one with Omanyte and Omastar specimen, the second with Kabuto and Kabutops, and the last with specimens brought directly from Unova, Tirtouga and Carracosta.

“Awesome,” Misty said at the sight of these.

“You like them?” Chris asked. “I could get a few of them for us if you want.”

“Tempting as it sounds, I don’t want to be a bother,” she replied. “But thanks for the offer.”

The boy smiled at her, but then a beeping went off in his pocket. He pulled his cellphone and made an annoyance gesture, but nonetheless pressed the answering button and took it to his ear.

“Hello? I’m a little busy now. No, I’m on a date with Misty, but… what, does it have to be right now? *Sigh*, alright, if we have to. I’m on my way,” he said before hanging up.

“What’s up? Bad news?” Misty asked.

“My sister’s coming to town,” Chris said. “She says we need to talk about something important and it can’t wait. Sorry I have to leave you like this, but…”

“No, it’s okay. You’re not the only one whose family can give headaches at times,” Misty assured.

“Thanks for understanding.” He put his cellphone away, and then pulled something out of his other pocket. “”In any case… I wanted to ask you something else before I leave.”

Opening the hand, Chris revealed a small velvet box. Filled with curiosity, but having a feeling of what it could be, Misty grabbed it and opened it. Just like she imagined, it was an engagement ring, and she knew exactly what came next.

“Misty Waterflower,” Chris said as he kneeled and grabbed her hand. “We’ve been together for a long time, and you’ve made me the happiest man in the world. Would you honor me by marrying me?”

Misty looked at the ring, and then at Chris. Her heart seemed ready to burst out of her chest; she was excited like never before in her life. Having no more words, she just placed her hand forward so he could slide the ring into her finger, not daring to open them before he was done due to the excitement she felt.

Chris then stood up and held her hands. “Alright, since you accept, do you mind if we make it public? I want the whole world to know that I’ll share my life with the most wonderful girl ever.”

“I’d love to,” Misty said. “Everybody needs to know. And well, I don’t have a ring for you, but…”

The girl searched through her bag, and pulled out a hand-made plastic mini-figurine. Not to brag about it, but so many years of crafting her fishing lures on her own image made her develop a knack for this handy work. The figurine was a miniature version of Chris, coincidentally with the same clothes he was wearing now, up to the sunshades. It also had a small ring to be used as a keychain.

“I made it for you. I hope you like it.” She handed it over to him. Chris examined it for a few seconds, as if checking the details, and finally smiled.

“Thank you, I’ll treasure it,” he said as he put it in his pocket. “Well, I better go now. How about a little kiss goodbye?”

“Always,” the redhead declared before jumping to his neck and kissing him.

Chris bid his farewell, and Misty decided to stay at the aquarium just a little bit longer, even alone. She didn’t mind anyway, as she was too excited to be mad. She couldn’t believe Chris had finally asked her to marry him.

At long last she could make their relationship something definitive. Nothing could make her happier.

----------------------------------------

Two weeks later…

News of Misty’s engagement spread like wildfire. It quickly became the talk of the media: TV, radio, internet… there was nobody who didn’t know about it. Reactions were varied: many cheered it, others wept for the fact the Cerulean Gym leader had been taken, and the tabloids were having a feast spreading rumors about the couple.

And in the middle of all, there was him.

Ash Ketchum had never been the biggest expert on romantic stuff, and he sincerely didn’t know how to feel about it. On the one hand, he wanted to be happy for his best friend, as she had found someone who loved her. On the other hand… he was too self-conscious about the fact that he wasn’t said person.

But he had nobody to blame but himself: he had his chance, and ended up letting it go without even seeing it. Or rather, he completely blew it:

"I do love you, Misty, but not that way. Not the way you deserve it.”

Those were his exact words. He hadn’t forgotten the heartbroken look in Misty’s eyes at the time he said it, and it also broke his own heart to do it. Maybe he was too blunt with his choice of words, but it was the right thing to do. He’d never be able to make her happy.

While it had been years since he made that choice, he sometimes wondered if it had been for the best. Not for Misty, obviously; he was fully certain that it was the best for her. But on his own side… had he made the right choice? Was it alright for him, to reject her feelings even knowing he reciprocated them on the same level?

That doubt continued to haunt him, but the promise of always being there to support Misty as her best friend quickly silenced it, sending it to the back of his mind to sleep with ease.

“Hmm…” He suddenly stopped as he heard his stomach’s groaning, and exchanged a look with his faithful partner over his shoulder. “I think the walk made me hungry. Shall we go eat something before we go to the Gym?”

“Pikapika.” The rodent nodded.

Looking around, Ash saw a little fast food cafeteria across the street. A twenty-minute stop to eat something wouldn’t do any harm. The Cerulean Gym wouldn’t go anywhere, and Misty wouldn’t mind. After all, he hadn’t told her he’d stop by for a visit. And a good meal was the best to forget a broken heart, at least for a moment.

As they picked an empty table, Ash ordered a jumbo burger with extra cheese and bacon and a soda for himself, and an extra-large ketchup bowl for Pikachu. As they awaited their order, the Pallet trainer reclined over his seat, taking a look around. The place was relatively empty: aside from them, there was an older couple eating with their children, and a girl on a corner having some coffee.

Shortly after Ash, in came a guy around his same age, with navy blue hair and sunshades, wearing expensive-looking clothes, and he went to sit at the same table as the girl. He asked for a coffee himself and shortly after, Ash began to hear some bits of their chat.

“So then, sis, what news do you have?” the guy asked in a low voice, as if he didn’t want to be heard.

“Not much,” the girl replied. “Dad still has his doubts if you’re up to the task.”

“Aw, come on. I was able to take care of the company in his absence, wasn’t I?”

“Yeah but… this is a much riskier business, more than the stock market going up or down. You know that, don’t you?”

Ash turned around to look over his shoulder. Now that he looked closer, he noticed the girl’s clothes also looked rather expensive. He assumed they were just a pair or rich kids, discussing something about a company they’d inherit one day. Nothing he was interested in.

“Your order, sir,” the waitress said as she brought him the tray with his food and placed it on the table.

“Thanks,” he said as he grabbed the burger and handed Pikachu the ketchup bowl. “Let’s dig in!”

He took a large bite of his burger while Pikachu began licking the sauce. Quite good, though it wouldn’t compare to his mom’s cooking, or Brock’s, or Cilan’s. But it made a good substitute when they were away from home and their friends.

While they continued to eat, however, they overheard more bits of the chat between the siblings, and their tone suddenly began to shift.

“Hey, we did this twice and everything went just fine, right?” the brother said. “We just need to be patient, these things take time. In business you need to plan everything carefully long and short term.”

“If you say so,” the girl said. “But hey, the Cerulean Gym of all places? That’s nothing to sneeze at.”

Those words caused Ash to stop mid-chomp, and still having the mouthful he turned around to glance at them, paying more attention. What were they talking about the Cerulean Gym?

“You know a Pokémon League Gym gives a lot of power and prestige,” the guy continued. “But it’s not easy to knock off a Gym Leader, let alone one as strong as the current one. That’s why we have to plan carefully.”

“I know that,” the girl replied. “I heard her win rate this year was over 90%.”

“Exactly my point. She’s like water itself: flexible and adaptive. She’s not someone you can beat just attacking or being stronger. We need to be like her, so we can beat her at her own game. But trust me: in less than one year, we’ll settle comfortably in the Cerulean Gym.”

Ash squeezed his burger so hard it spilled some of the sauce and spices out onto the plate. Pikachu also had stopped licking his ketchup and perked up his ears. What were those two talking about? Were they planning to challenge Misty to take the Gym from her? And they were planning so long-term they planned to wait one year to do so?

“But well, we still have plenty of time,” the brother said as he reclined over his seat. “Waitress, two double cappuccinos, please!”

“Right away!” the waitress, taking two cups to their table.

Ash immediately turned towards Pikachu. The two were thinking the exact same thing. With a quick nod, both quickly returned to their food and finished it quickly, without even tasting it. Once they were done, Ash didn’t call for the bill, instead dropping a few bucks and coins on the table to pay for his meal and leave a juicy tip on top. He couldn’t stand one more minute to be near those two, and neither could Pikachu.

“Who do they think they are?” he said out loud once he was out of earshot, talking to Pikachu. “Do they really think they can take the Gym from Misty?”

“Pikachu.”

“Hah, good luck with that. She’ll never allow that” The trainer snickered as he looked ahead.

He knew Misty better than anybody. The Gym was a sacred place for her, and she’d never let anyone take it as long as she lived, not even in a million years. No matter what they tried, she’d never lose to the likes of them. Whatever their battle strategy was, there was no way for Misty to lose when the Gym itself was on the line.

She already defended it once when they tried, and the poor saps were literally sent blasting off for their trouble. If she did it back when she was a rookie, there was no way anybody would take it now that she was a fully-fledged Water Pokémon Master.

----------------------------------------

A bit later…

The Cerulean Gym looked just like he remembered, except a little bit bigger due to the extensions they had made. The crystal roof and walls reflected the sunshine in an amazing way, and it brought him good memories.

As well as others not to good, like the aforementioned meeting with his old friend. It hurt a lot at the time, but he wasn’t one to stay down for too long.

Taking a deep breath, Ash crossed the entrance. He had gotten used to it, but as far as he knew, anybody close to Misty or her sisters was free to come in without knocking.

“Waaaaaaaaaah! I won’t stand for this! You’ll pay for it one day, just wait!”

Ash had to step away when a trainer suddenly came running through the door, pouring out tears he could have sworn would have put to shame the Tohjo Falls. He fled the Gym in fear until he vanished from sight around a corner, leaving Ash and Pikachu perplexed for a second.

“Misty must be as strong as ever, huh?” Ash commented, and the yellow mouse nodded.

Once they shook off the little surprise, they walked in. If that guy was a trainer, then Misty most likely was at the Gym’s arena/pool at the time. And indeed she was: he saw her standing on the Gym Leader’s platform, doing some arm stretches.

“Hey!” he called out to her raising his hand. Pikachu also followed with a "Pikachupi!", so she quickly noticed their arrival.

“Well, look who the tide brought here,” the girl said in a happy tone. “Wait up, I’ll be right there.”

Misty hopped off the platform and walked around the pool. When she came closer, Ash had to struggle to avoid looking more than needed, for the girl was wearing only a white one-piece swimsuit with blue lines on the edges, and a light blue jacket, though the fact she was wearing it over the shoulders did little to hide her prominent bosom and long and shapely legs. He focused on looking at her eyes once she came close enough, taking advantage of both being around the same height.

“How’s it going, Ash? Long time no see; what a nice surprise to see you here.”

“I was in the neighborhood and thought I could come and say hi,” Ash replied, trying to give one of his silly grins to dissimulate just a bit. “You… look good today.”

Misty tilted her head at the comment and furrowed her mouth. Ash took a couple seconds to understand the implications said comment could carry, and he didn’t need to look to know Pikachu was slapping his forehead.

“Er… w-what I meant was… you l-look happy,” he said, and he immediately got the bulb in his head to turn on. “Yeah, that’s what I meant. And you should be, right? You’re getting married soon.”

“Ah.” She softened her demeanor and smiled at him. “Yeah, of course I am. Wait; don’t tell me you came all the way just to congratulate me?”

“Well of course! We’re best friends, aren’t we?” he said with a slight blush, part embarrassed, part annoyed. “This is very important for you, after all.”

The redhead gave a mischievous smile and placed her hands on her hips. Ash wished she didn’t do that: whenever she assumed that pose her attractiveness ramped up and she knew it. It was always intentional on her part, even though he didn’t realize until years after and she made a habit of it.

“In any case… congratulations,” Ash said. “I’m very happy for you.”

“Thanks, Ash, it means a lot,” she replied with a sincere smile.

They both stared at each other for a moment. Being happy for her was the only mechanism he had to drive away that feeling he hated so much. Specifically of knowing that, had he taken that step, he’d be the one in that place.

But it was too late for regret. He had lost her and even hurt her feelings when he rejected her. For that reason he was grateful they could continue being friends afterwards.

“So then, when will I meet the lucky guy, or unlucky depending on how we see it?” he asked, trying to defuse the tension with a little joke. Misty frowned slightly. “Aw, come on. You have to admit there are still areas you could improve on. Your cooking, for instance.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve been taking classes to improve,” she defended herself. “You should have seen Chris tasting my special stew, he didn’t leave any leftovers.”

Ash wanted to say that maybe he had done it out of love for her, regardless of how horrible it was, but he wasn’t in the mood to push his luck that far. Anyway, she still hadn’t answered his previous question. He and Misty’s fiancé still hadn’t met face to face. Apparently it was a young man from a wealthy family and he was often busy.

“Anyway, he’ll probably arrive soon. Today I’m only working half the day at the gym and well go out on a date.” The entrance bell then rang off. “Ah, how convenient, that must be him.”

The redhead walked towards the entrance, and Ash followed her steadily. Even if he didn’t say it out loud, whoever he was the guy, he was very lucky to have chosen Misty. It was only fair to properly congratulate him.

“Chris!” the girl exclaimed as she jumped to his neck to give him a big smooch. Ash unconsciously buried his nails against his palm, fortunately not deep enough to draw blood.

“How’s my little mermaid today?” he replied in a kind tone, removing his sunshades.

However, as he came closer, Ash noticed something else.

Navy blue hair, sunshades and a black longcoat. Just like the guy he had overheard talking before at the cafeteria. Coincidence?

“I’m fine, but I’m better now you’re here,” Misty replied releasing him and stepping away so he and Ash could see each other face to face. “Come on, I’d like you to meet someone. Ash, he’s my fiancé.”

“Christopher North, it’s a pleasure,” he said courtly as he extended a hand.

“Ash Ketchum, same here,” the Pallet trainer replied, accepting the handshake and fighting the urge to crush his fingers. Though for some reason, he did feel Chris’ shake a little harder than it should have been.

“So you’re the famous Ash Ketchum. The Kanto Battle Frontier Brain who runs Pallet Town’s Battle Coliseum, is that right?” Chris said in a tone that, much to Ash’s surprise, sounded genuinely of admiration. “From what they say, since you showed up nobody has been able to complete the Battle Frontier.”

“He’s been lucky,” Misty said with a faux mocking tone, no malice intended. “Chris doesn’t compete on the League’s regular championships, instead he focuses on the Water-type specialists’ circuit, like me.”

“Ha, my little mermaid, I’m nowhere near close to your level. I haven’t been able to even win my first Whirl Cup!”

“Come on. Keep practicing and in two years the next one could be your time,” she replied.

Ash involuntarily took his hand to his stomach, feeling it was starting to gurgle inside. And he didn’t understand why, he just felt sick at the sight of Misty and Chris laughing together. Was it jealousy? Or something else?

“In any case, are you ready to go?” Chris asked, snapping Ash out of his thoughts.

“I’ll just go get changed, it won’t take long,” Misty said. “Meanwhile, why don’t you two get acquainted with each other?”

Misty left happily towards her room. Even back when they were kids and she was a loud tomboy, she was a sucker for girly stuff, especially romance. No wonder she was so happy just for having a date.

But right now, Ash was having a very hard time to feel happy for her.

“So, I can finally get to meet my little mermaid’s best friend, huh?” Chris said. “She’s told me quite a bit about you.”

‘What’s with that nickname?’ Ash thought. Sure, it did suit her, and even he would admit it sounded cute. But that wasn’t important right now. “She’s talked a lot about you as well. You must be a great guy for her to have chosen you.”

“Hah, I wouldn’t say that,” said Chris with a smile that, in Ash’s opinion, looked so sincere it was almost unnatural. “I was just lucky to meet her.”

“Yeah, Misty’s an amazing girl. I’ve known her since I was ten, so I can say that for sure.”

“Heh, I’d say I’m a little envious of you on that. There’s so much I’d like to know about her. She wasn’t easy to win over, you know? When we met she was… pretty hurt.”

Ash felt a little sting of guilt upon hearing those words. It hurt him to be reminded of that, but it was true. Misty was heartbroken after he rejected her, and although she recovered… well, her sisters did say even though her heart had healed after she met Chris, Ash’s rejection still left a scar.

“Well, I’m sure she’ll tell you everything once you get married,” Ash saying, trying not to sound too cutting. He wasn’t in the mood to talk about Misty, let alone with this guy. “I think I better go now. You know, the saying goes ‘three’s a crowd’ or something like that?”

“Oh, leaving already?” Chris said. “Too bad, I was starting to like you.”

Ash didn’t reply in king, knowing he couldn’t do it sincerely, so he simply gave a curt nod and tried to smile. It was the perfect excuse to vanish from there ASAP. He had too many things in his head, and it was better to be alone to sort them out.

Once outside the Gym, Ash ran off to get away as fast as he could, before he felt the temptation of doing something stupid like trying to spy on Misty’s date. He knew that could only end badly. Many wouldn’t give him credit for it, but in serious situations Ash was more than capable of thinking things through. Or at least, as long as nobody taunted him and appealed to his temper to provoke him into doing something reckless.

“Pikachu… Misty’s fiancé… was he the same guy from the cafeteria?” Ash asked.

Maybe it was just a coincidence they had the same hair color and wore the same clothes. Heck, for all he knew they could even be identical twins. In any case, Chris didn’t give any sign of acknowledging him, so maybe he didn’t spot Ash while at the cafeteria.

“Pikachu.” The mouse nodded. If he confirmed it, there was no doubt. Pokémon had sharper senses than humans. He could have easily recognized him by the smell.

“I knew it,” Ash said.

The question now was, what to do with this knowledge? Should he tell Misty what he overheard? He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he figured those guys just wanted to challenge Misty to get the gym. Why making things so complicated to the point of becoming engaged to her? Would it be a way to get close enough to her to defeat her?

Something was wrong with that. Very wrong. And that thought wouldn’t leave him alone.

----------------------------------------

Cerulean Pokémon Center, the next day…

Ash hadn’t planned on staying at Cerulean more than just enough to visit Misty and congratulate her on her wedding. But he found himself unable to leave just yet.

What he overheard the day before, seeing Misty with her fiancé, meeting him face to face, everything had made a mess in his head, to the point the previous night he barely got any sleep. He was confused and had no idea what to do, or how he was supposed to act to it.

At the lack of something better, he had tried to vent his frustrations at the local Battle Club, but at some point without realizing he had started fighting so violently and out of control, they had to ask him to leave, so he went back to the Pokémon Center.

While Pikachu and the others were being checked, Ash had sat by the public computer and surfed across the internet. Just for the heck of it, he typed the name Chris North on the search engine.

“Let’s check out who you really are,” he said to no one in particular. He found his social network profile without much difficulty. “Christopher North. Graduated from the Celadon University with honors, the older of two siblings and his father is the CEO of the marine transport company Northern Lights Shipment. Takes part in the Water Pokémon trainers’ circuit and has competed four times in the Whirl Cup, yet he still hasn’t won any.”

It looked like he had an impeccable record. The son of a well-off family, and had many things in common with Misty, like being Water Pokémon trainers. And as much as Ash hated to admit it, he behaved like a true gentleman, the kind of guy that would make any girl melt. He could give her anything he wanted and much more.

Which was why it he couldn’t believe he’d want to take over Misty’s Gym. It made no sense. A Pokémon League Gym was a source of monetary income and prestige, but he had no need for that, considering he was to inherit a company worth probably over ten or more gyms, for all he knew.

And why was he looking for this stuff anyway? Was he trying to find some dirty laundry to bring out to light somehow? What would he gain of that?

“Hmm, what do we have here?” he suddenly said as he noticed an unchecked link, with Chris’ name on it.

After clicking, he realized it was a search result for an online newspaper, old articles. Ash wasn’t too keen on reading news, either printed or digital, unless they were related to the Pokémon or one of his friends. Checking the articles, he found a photo of Chris hugging a girl with long, dark brown hair and wearing a lifeguard uniform including a floating board. The girl’s name was labeled as Paige Monroe, and it dated from five years ago. Apparently they had been found on a beach having a date.

“That was then, this is now,” Ash muttered. Having a girlfriend before Misty didn’t make him a criminal or anything of the sort. Perhaps somewhat annoying, but not illegal.

As he scrolled through the pages, he found another article, this time from three years prior. It was an article about a car accident. The victim was a blond woman named Darcy Mason, whose name vaguely rang some bells in Ash’s head, maybe from show business, but he wasn’t an expert in the subject to be sure.

“Who’s an expert on this subject?” he wondered out loud, and then a smirk found its way across his face as he snapped his fingers. “Who, indeed.”

Without missing a beat, he pulled out his holographic phone. A gift from Serena in his last birthday, developed and assembled by Clemont himself, one year before it was officially released for sale. The power of science in action, and it had come in pretty handy to be honest. He didn’t even have to worry about reception issues when he traveled, unless he went to remote places or somewhere with magnetic fields or any other natural interference.

The holographic screen popped up and showed the menu, as well as his contact list. He scrolled through the letter B and pushed the icon with Brock’s picture, waiting for the call to connect. With luck, he’d probably be out of work hours and available to help him.

The holographic screen shifted and showed the call signal connecting, although with the ‘Audio Only’ icon. “Hello? Brock here, who’s calling?”

“Hey, Brock, it’s Ash.”

“Ash? Hold up, I’ve got the Hands-Free on, let me put the visual.” A few seconds passed, and the Audio Only icon was replaced by the face of his first (discounting Misty) and longest traveling companion. Judging by the apron, he probably caught him cooking dinner. “Hey, Ash! What a nice surprise, what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Oh, nothing special, just wanted to say hi… and ask you something,” Ash said trying to smile and dissimulate the seriousness for the time being. How was he supposed to explain what he wanted to do to Brock?

“Anything you need, ask away. You know you’re like another kid brother for me.”

Ash chuckled slightly. That fraternal feeling was mutual, as Brock also acted as a big brother not just for him, but also for Misty, May, Max and Dawn, during the time they were together. He had his quirks, sure, but he generally played well his role.

“I wondered… do you still have that list of famous girls you admire?” Ash asked, without missing a beat. The squinty-eyed, dark-skinned young man quickly shuddered a placed a finger on his mouth.

“Shhh, not so loud!” he warned, looking over his shoulder to verify the coast was clear. “If Lucy finds that one out I’m a dead man!”

“Sorry,” Ash apologized. “But do you have it or not?”

“That depends. What do you need it for?” Brock asked, and suddenly gave him a mischievous stare. “Don’t tell me… you found someone you’re interested in?”

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Ash replied sternly. “Listen, I need you to look these two names up, Paige Monroe, and Darcy Mason. Can you?”

“Hold on a bit.” Ash saw Brock pulling out a mini-tablet and flickered on it searching the names Ash had requested. “Here it is! Paige Monroe, lifeguard in Shalour City’s beach, and eventually hired by a modelling agency. She won the title of the best figure in the Miss Kalos pageant for two consecutive years.”

“Yeah, that’s interesting,” Ash said in a dry tone. “Do you have something on her relationships? Do you know if she dated someone called Chris North?”

“I usually don’t take note of those details, but… yeah, it says here that she dated Christopher North four years back.” Suddenly, Brock opened slightly his eyes as he realized something, and that wasn’t a good sign. “Hold a minute, Ash. Why are you investigating an ex of Misty’s fiancé?”

Ash gulped. How was he gonna explain that? It wasn’t because he was jealous… okay, maybe just a little bit, but the main reason was because of his concern for Misty. The trainer tried to put his brain gears to work, but he finally couldn’t come up with a quick answer, so he took the traditional route.

“Look, I’ll explain later,” he said trying to evade it for the time being. “Just, do you know why they broke up, by any chance?”

Brock frowned slightly, but he nonetheless searched. He evidently still had his suspicions, but trusted him enough to still grant him the request.

After what looked like an eternal minute, he finally answered. “Well, all I have here was that there was some sort of scandal in the modelling agency Paige worked at, and shortly after she vanished from public view. It was pretty weird. Though now that I see it…”

“What?” Ash asked.

“Apparently the agency filed a lawsuit against the company Northern Lights Shipment, but they lost the case and went bankrupt shortly after. Isn’t that the same company Chris will eventually inherit?”

Ash nodded. So there was a link with Chris’ family company. Coincidence?

“What about the other, Darcy Mason?” Ash asked, wanting to move fast to clear his doubts.

This time with less hesitation, Brock searched through his database and found the entry. “Darcy Mason, winner of the Voice of Nimbasa in the Pokémon Musicals. She was engaged to… Chris as well and they were going to marry, until she was in a car accident that ended her life. Or so the official records go.”

“What do you mean ‘official records’?” Ash asked.

Brock placed a hand on his chin, deep in thought. He seemed to meditate the answer before telling him. “Darcy’s family also filed a lawsuit. This was just a rumor, but they apparently claimed that the accident was a lie from the company to save face. Some even said that…”

“What?” Ash asked, with the feeling he wasn’t going to like it one bit.

And the feeling only increased when Brock gestured him to come closer to the screen and spoke in a low voice. “That it was a suicide.”

Ash was shocked upon hearing the word. He had to struggle to avoid falling backwards with his chair. However, Brock now seemed much more willing to share the info with him.

“The company apparently paid the Mason family a hefty compensation for the accident, but they continued making a ruckus over it for too long,” Brock explained. “Things escalated to the point they had to file a restraining order, go figure.”

Ash nodded, unsure as to what else to say. He admitted he wasn’t Pallet Town’s smartest brick, but most people would agree he had very good instincts.

And said instincts were yelling out loud that the connection between Chris’ former girlfriends was no coincidence. And that said connection could easily extend to Misty.

“Ash… tell me the truth. Why did you call me to ask for this?” Brock asked, although his voice made it clear he had at least an idea of the answer.

Ash took a deep breath before answering. “Yesterday… when I was eating at a cafeteria, I overheard Chris talking to somebody. At the time I had no idea it was him, but they said something about the Cerulean Gym would be theirs in about one year. I thought it was just some poor sap thinking about challenging Misty to get it the traditional way, but now…”

“Now you think they want to get it by other means?” Brock finished for him. “What do you think about this?”

Ash reclined on his chair. Part of him wondered if Misty knew that Chris had two girlfriends before her, and also of the… suspicious circumstances they both ended. One out of public sight, and the other death, perhaps even by suicide. And there was all the stuff he overheard when they thought nobody important was listening. Anybody who wanted to take over the Cerulean Gym would first have to get Misty out of the way.

And the only way for those pieces to fit, the implication was that Misty could be in grave danger and had no clue of it. And Ash didn’t like that, he didn’t like it at all.

“I need to tell her this. I better go and tell her right now. Thanks for the help, Brock.”

“Anytime. But hey, be careful out there. If your hunch turns out to be true, you could make enemies out of Chris’ entire family, and that could ruin you for the rest of your life.”

“That’d be nothing compared to the apocalyptic crisis we’ve seen over the years, don’t you think?”

Brock simply chuckled at that, and giving him a thumbs up wished him luck before ending the call. Right when the Pokémon Center’s bell rang, signaling that Ash’s Pokémon had finished their checkup. How convenient, that way he could go right away.

He had to tell Misty quickly. He couldn’t let a guy with bad intentions to hurt his best friend.

To be continued…