"Cheers to the victors!"

As Ash and Misty's drinks tapped together in the Pokemon Center's cafeteria, the hot-headed water specialist didn't care how many eyes her shamelessly loud voice attracted, and at the current moment, Ash couldn't bring himself to blame her.

After all, two trainers celebrating a mutual victory at a Gym was perfectly normal, right?

Ash's narrow victory against Daisy had been succeeded by Misty's battle with Lily, which had been equally brutal. Much like Ash's own team, Misty's Pokemon were all in need of immediate medical care by the time the match was over.

There had been notable back and forth throughout the battle, which had certainly been a struggle, but in the end, a decisive Thunderbolt from Misty's Staryu, dealt to Lily's Sealeo, had ended the match with the orange-haired girl joyously victorious.

After Misty had received her Cascade Badge (as well as her own Scald TM), the two friends had headed back to the Pokemon Center, and were informed by Nurse Joy that their respective teams were recommended to spend the day (and possibly night) resting in the Center's care.

Now that both trainers knew that their Pokemon were all in good hands, they finally felt comfortable enough to stop holding back the excitement in their veins from their respective victories at the Gym, and Ash found that the joy of earning a Gym badge was much more overwhelming (yet enjoyable) when you had somebody else to mutually share the feeling with. And Misty seemed to agree, as she had practically dragged the him away from the counter after Nurse Joy had left.

Feeling hungry, and wanting to celebrate, the two kids had made their way to the cafeteria to indulge themselves. Although not overly crowded, there was a decent amount of people in the cafeteria, but Ash and Misty both paid them no mind as they found a table of their own to get lost in their own, giddy world.

They also didn't particularly care that pretty much all of the food that they had picked out for themselves were not-so-healthy snacks and sweets. They'd earned it.

Tyrunt sat atop the table with his bowl, eating the meat that Ash had promised him (which they had picked up along the way back to the Pokemon Center). Ash noted that it felt a bit unusual having him as the only Pokemon present for a meal, but it didn't seem to bother the infant Royal Heir Pokemon too much.

The baby occasionally peeked in on Ash and Misty's conversation, but for the most part kept to himself, indulging in his food with joy.

Misty guzzled down her orange juice immediately after she and Ash toasted, a rather large glass that she completely drank in a single sitting. Ash had a bit of an amused grin on his face as he watched his friend's antics, but in the mood that he was in, amusement was the only emotion that he could get from Misty's behavior.

After all, he was just as excited as she was.

Setting her glass down hard on the table, Misty licked the juice off of her lips and sighed in satisfaction before leaning forward and giving Ash a thumbs up.

"You saw what Prinplup did to that Seadra, didn't you?!" she was still high on excitement. "That poor boy's power practically meant nothing after we figured out his pattern. And the look on Lily's face was the best part!" She proceeded to mimic her sister's pout in the most exaggerated manner possible, and Ash didn't even care that the impression probably wasn't authentic.

Any other day, he may have felt a little bit bewildered by Misty's behavior, or just tried to shrug it off, but today, he couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"I mean, I couldn't see her reaction for myself since her back was to me, but I'll take your word for it." he declared, drinking his own orange juice more modestly than his hyperactive friend. Setting his drink down, he nodded at her with a smile. "Call me crazy, but I think Staryu and Prinplup were swimming around even better than her team was. Prinplup's movements felt a lot more fluid than Seadra's did." Misty had won the battle by the skin of her teeth, much like Ash had himself, but despite the struggle, that was one notable advantage that Ash could have sworn that he had picked up on from the battle. No doubt their training at the pond had come with absurd benefits.

The smirk on Misty's face honestly surpassed anything that Ash had ever seen from Gary, the young girl leaning the side of her chin against the palm of her hand as her eyes twinkled with ego.

"Yes, dear boy, please praise me some more. I know I'm incredible." Her smugness settled down for a second as she took a bite out of a cinnamon roll on her tray, wiping the icing off her face with a napkin before eying Ash with an acknowledging nod. "Although, I gotta say, I was pretty stoked about how you ended your battle. You turned what should have been Daisy's home field advantage into that Seel's own personal Hell."

Ash bashfully rubbed the back of his neck with a chuckle at the compliment. "Heh, yeah. I needed to end it as quickly as possible since Nebula was already tired and wounded, and the way we used Whirlwind on the waters against Mantyke had me thinking." his face turned red. "I'll admit, I was so frustrated by how much Daisy and her team's abilities kept using the pool against us, that it felt kind of nice to give her a taste of her own medicine." Ash almost felt shame in admitting that. Getting catharsis from such a thing almost made him feel like he was being petty, but he tried to convince himself that it was just pragmatism. As long as he didn't cross any moral boundaries (and the fundamentally brutal nature of Pokemon battles made that a pretty difficult thing to do), the majority of the strategies that he or any other trainer used would be considered justified, and not at all anything to be ashamed of.

Misty tilted her head teasingly, eying Ash with what almost felt to him like a sense of sadistic respect. "Hmph, and here I thought you were some sort of softy, but look at you, getting sweet revenge on that sister of mine." she giggled through her hand. "And you saw her reaction when the battle was over, right? Priceless. I should have recorded that so I could play it in front of her every time we see each other."

Ash rolled his eyes at that. He couldn't even say that it wasn't something he'd expect Misty to do.

"Sounds like a fun family reunion." he jabbed.

Misty shrugged. "Gotta give myself a reason to look forward to those, right?" she glanced over to Tyrunt, who was nearly finished with his bowl, but still mostly off in his own world. "So, you think he'll end up wanting to battle soon? He was pretty concerned whenever one of your teammates lost, but he really did seem to enjoy the match itself. He might even want to start now, for all you know."

Ash nodded in Tyrunt's direction, smiling fondly at the baby. "Maybe… but I should still wait with him regardless. Pokemon can start training pretty young, but I still think he could use at least a little bit more time. And even then, I'm not entirely sure when he'd be ready to start a real battle." he rested his chin in his palm as he began to think. "The area around Cerulean would be perfect for him, but that's only assuming I start training him right away."

Ash knew that Cerulean was often labeled as a hotspot for rookie Pokemon trainers. Almost like a safe haven, in comparison to areas like Fuschia and Blackthorn that were often favored by the much more experienced, veteran trainers, due to often being populated by more high-level, and dangerous, Pokemon. And like all of the major cities, Cerulean often hosted a fair amount of trainers throughout the Season, and the surrounding areas around the city were often filled up with the beginner trainers honing their skills, both amongst themselves and each other. Regardless of whether or not Tyrunt started training right away (as Ash was reluctant to be hasty in that regard), the young boy could certainly count on getting a good number of battles in with the trainers in the area after he left the city, which would be a good way to get more money if he was able to win enough battles, not to mention acquiring a great deal of battle experience for his team in a friendly environment. The perfect chance for them to hone their skills and practice new techniques against other trainers. He was considering potentially holding off on purchasing any more TMs until after he reached Saffron, the next city on Kanto's map, just so he could have a chance to make more money and be more financially comfortable with himself. But that didn't mean that he and his team couldn't learn any more new Moves at all, or, at the very least, further perfect the ones that they already did know.

Misty shrugged at that. "Eh, your call. Speaking of which, when do you plan to leave? I know we're parting ways after this, so I was just curious." The look in her eyes seemed mildly disappointed at that notion, although not overly so. No doubt she likely had her own schedule planned out. It wasn't entirely uncommon for multiple trainers to travel together, even for a lengthy amount of time, whether it be because they were friends or simply because they all had the same set path for the next segment of their adventure. Nevertheless, those situations would often run their natural course, as the trainers would inevitably split up and go their separate ways once their respective plans no longer aligned. It was just one of the many aspects of being a trainer, and traveling in general.

Ash had to admit that he was a bit disappointed too. For all of her hot-blooded arrogance, and sometimes outright scary demeanor, he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed Misty's company. It almost confused him, as she seemed exactly like the kind of person that he could never bring himself to like. Her hot temper, arrogance to the point of occasional narcissism, and her obnoxiously loud, and overly energetic demeanor being the polar opposite of his usual attempts to remain laid back and relatively quiet, when all paired up together in one, single package, could have, and should have been a recipe for disaster.

And yet here he was, goofing off and eating sweets with her, as though they had been friends for two months rather than less than two weeks.

Pokemon aside, Misty had been the biggest surprise of his journey so far, and he was grateful for that. But all good things must come to an end, and it was a mutual understanding that both friends had silently accepted amongst each other.

Finishing up his slice of coffee cake, and washing it down with the rest of his orange juice, Ash wiped his mouth with his napkin thoughtfully.

"Nurse Joy said our teams should be better by morning." he recalled, settling down a bit as he thought over his plans. "I'll probably stay here for a few more days before leaving. It'll take a bit longer to get to Saffron than it did to get from Mt. Moon to here, but I'll make sure I'm stocked up first. You?"

Misty nodded in acknowledgement. "I'm planning to stay here for about another week. Just to train while staying in the same place. Not in too much of a rush as long as I still improve."

Ash nodded in understanding. Every trainer traveled at their own pace, in addition to often going down completely different routes whenever the pathways were to split up. No two journeys were truly alike, with rare exceptions. And despite the sheer size of the Region, it was perfectly feasible to travel around Kanto in enough time to acquire all of the necessary badges for the Conference even if you weren't going at full speed. The Season was always nearly a year long, after all.

Although, Ash supposed that Misty could also be planning to go to Johto for a portion of the necessary badges, but he supposed that that was a different topic.

Misty leaned back in her seat, eying her plate a bit as she finished her cinnamon roll. "So," she began while wiping her napkin against her face again. "You have anything special planned for tomorrow? I was going to take a rest day, since it'll be coming right after the Gym. Was thinking of seeing if Maria and Laura were available. Not sure what we'd be doing, though." she admitted. "You're welcome to tag along if you've got nothing else to do. They told me they like you."

Ash couldn't help the small smile. "I was planning on taking it easy, too. Sure, thanks."

A noise from Tyrunt got their attention, and the two trainers giggled as they turned to see the infant dinosaur curling up on the table to go to sleep. His bowl was picked clean, and no doubt he was tired.

Misty smirked good-naturedly. "I suppose that might be our cue to wrap things up here." the water specialist stated matter-of-factly as the royal heir Pokemon's eyes closed.

Ash nodded with a chuckle. "Yeah."

/

The rest of the day hadn't been overwhelmingly eventful. The rush of a victory at a Gym was certainly exciting and enjoyable, but it would die down eventually. With Tyrunt taking a nap at his spot next to Ash's bed, Ash and Misty chose to spend most of the remaining day in their room, watching TV together while having the occasional, brief conversation. Thankfully, a Pokemon Contest was being aired in Violet City, so it didn't take too much time for them to find something to watch.

To be on the safe side, the two had chosen to leave the rest of their teams with Nurse Joy for the night, which led to Tyrunt still being their only company for dinner that night. The young dinosaur seemed to miss having the rest of the team around (especially Valiant), but Ash had assured him that everyone else will be back tomorrow.

Just before dinner, Misty had contacted both Laura and Maria's homes to make arrangements for the next day. Laura had promised to meet up with her and Ash at the Pokemon Center in the morning, while Maria was planning to visit Ryan in the lab.

Which brought them to the next morning, Valiant and Tyrunt standing by Ash's side with Pikachu perched on the boy's shoulder as Misty and Laura pointed out the Cerulean Pokemon Laboratory up ahead.

"Here we are." Laura announced out loud as Ash took in the building. "This is where Ryan works."

Although Professor Oak's own laboratory was the main one in Kanto, and Indigo as a whole, it was far from the only one the League had throughout their empire. Each major city and town had one to head their respective branch of the League's research field. Each run by their own Professor.

Systematically speaking, they served the same purpose as Professor Oak's own laboratory back in Pallet Town, from handing out starter Pokemon to conducting whatever research projects the League needed of them. Given that he was the leader of Indigo's research field, the labs of each town and city answered directly under Professor Oak, who oversaw everything as something of an overarching supervisor. However, since Indigo's empire consisted of multiple Region's, Johto and the Orange Islands each had their own leading Professor, Johto's being Professor Elm and the Orange Islands' being Professor Ivy. Both professors oversaw their own respective Regions themselves, still answering directly to Professor Oak, but otherwise having the same, general authority over the research in their own Regions that he himself did in Kanto.

Ash was somewhat surprised to see that Cerulean's lab was actually of a similar size to that of Pallet Town's. Despite Cerulean City being a far bigger area than Pallet could ever dream, Ash had the expectation that Oak's lab being the main one would guarantee it the greater size (and indeed, Pallet Town's lab was quite massive). But Ash supposed whatever necessities Oak's lab had were identical to that of the other labs in Indigo.

Staryu was walking by Misty's side, Misty apparently having it out so that it could revisit the lab. It had been born here, after all, so Ash supposed it made sense.

As Misty led the way down the sidewalk to reach the lab, the group passing through the gates, Laura hummed a bit absentmindedly as she patted Ash's shoulder to get the boy's attention. Pikachu shot her a grin, still a pretty big fan of the girl, which she returned.

"I bet you've been to Professor Oak's lab a ton of times, right? Is this any newer to you than it is to us?"

Ash lightly chuckled at that. He supposed Misty and Laura must have been really used to this place, if they had a friend whose brother worked here.

"My mom works for him." he answered with a nod. "So I know him pretty well. Wouldn't say we're inseparable or anything, but I suppose I know him more than most would."

It truly was surreal to be brought up in the same town that the one and only Professor Oak himself had chosen to make into his headquarters. Especially given just how simplistic and unimpressive Pallet Town was compared to the rest of Indigo's world otherwise. To live in such a plain, unassuming place, yet have one of the world's greatest minds living within walking distance of your own home…

Embarrassingly, Ash often found himself taking it for granted. He had no idea how he could grow used to sharing a town with the professor, but miraculously he had. It almost felt disrespectful to such an important man, and yet perhaps it was exemplary of just how well Professor Oak was able to fit into Pallet Town's modest society despite his larger-than-life reputation.

Laura folded her hands behind her head. "Hmm… that makes sense. We come here fairly often, since Maria visits her brother at least a few times a month." leaning forward, she gave the boy a cheeky grin. "Although, if you ask me, it seems like she's just trying to stock up on as much info as possible before her career starts."

"Which would be pretty helpful if literally anybody on the planet was capable of following the speed of her questions." Misty snarkily interjected as the group approached the large, automatic doors. As the glass doors opened, they stepped inside and Ash examined the lobby.

Although it had an entirely different layout from Oak's own lobby, it was still just about what Ash would have expected, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The room was very large and spacious, a large reception desk on one end, and a large flatscreen TV on the wall in another part of the room. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all a clean, pure white.

The atmosphere of the room was immediately comforting, with a perfect temperature and a radio playing music throughout the lobby.

Misty and Laura waved as Maria dashed over to them, her auburn hair tied into a neat ponytail, and copper eyes blazing with cheer. Grookey was perched on her shoulder, although Ryan was nowhere to be seen.

To Laura's visible amusement (and, to Ash's greatest shame, his own as well), Misty was nearly bowled over as Maria crashed into her (Grookey had leapt off of her shoulder just before the impact) and embraced her hotheaded friend, lightly jumping up and down as she began speaking, running her mouth just as rapidly as Ash had remembered from the last time that he had seen her.

"Wow, Misty! Good job with your win did you get any TMs to go with the badge because I hear Gym Leaders hand those out too and what was it like using water types in a pool like that oh and which of your sisters did you battle I know they switch off on random and what kind of Pokemon did they use against you it must have been interesting to have water types battle each other in their natural element but did that make it more difficult or just more exciting-" Misty pushed the girl off of her just roughly enough to get some breathing room as her hands clamped over the energetic girl's mouth, and Ash heard Pikachu giggle next to his ear as Maria's muffled voice continued to ramble on from behind Misty's hands.

Sighing with an exasperated grin, Misty tried to maintain her patience as she kept her grip on her friend's mouth. "Sheesh, Maria, it's like you think asking everything at once will give you all of the answers at once. I'm sure Ash and I can talk to you guys about it while we're here, so settle down for now, alright?" at Maria's nod, the girl's muffled voice ceasing for the moment, Misty narrowed her eyes. "Is it safe to release you?" she inquired, acting as though removing her hands would let a Tyranitar loose on an unsuspecting village. Maria nodded with two thumbs up, which arguably made Misty even more ironically unsure as she slowly allowed her hands to leave the copper-eyed girl's mouth.

Catching her breath a bit, Maria grinned at Misty with a light nod. "Congratulations." turning to Ash, she flashed the boy a cute grin. "And you too!"

Ash smiled back at her and nodded. "Thanks, Maria. It… certainly wasn't easy."

"Wasn't easy." being a vast understatement as far as Ash was concerned. Daisy had done just about everything that she could have possibly done to ensure that she and her team took perfect advantage of their home field advantage. While watching TV together the previous day after the battle, Misty had theorized to Ash that both Seaking and Mantyke most likely had the Swift Swim ability, and that Daisy had probably handpicked a team of Pokemon who's abilities were incredibly useful in the pool. The blonde woman had certainly taken advantage of them, with how she and Mantyke had utilized a variation of Tailwind that allowed them to transfer Mantyke's own aquatic boost of speed into the air. Although Lily hadn't done quite the same thing, she had certainly utilized the pool in her own, equally effective ways. The three sisters had all likely based their fighting styles around taking advantage of the specific arena of their Gym, testing any challenging trainers to adapt to such tactics.

The boy felt a light nudge from Laura's elbow, a teasing grin greeting his eyes as he turned to her.

"Betcha you were pretty floored to find out who the Gym Leaders were." a mischievous twinkle sparked in her eyes as she raised her eyebrows suggestively. Misty groaned at the comment, her face turning red.

"Yes, I'm sure we can all get a good laugh out of that." The water specialist spoke in the most bluntly dismissive tone that she could muster. Clearly she wasn't planning to giggle.

Maria frowned, her tone of voice understanding as Grookey made his way back up to her shoulder, quickly offering Ash a wave that the boy returned.

"Come on, Misty. I know you guys don't get along, but I'm sure you're at least happy that you won, right? It's not like your visit was for nothing."

"Of course I'm glad." Misty snapped a bit lightly, her face suddenly reddening a bit more at the realization of her tone, before shaking her head apologetically. "Just wasn't really something I was overly looking forward to, apart from the win, obviously." she shrugged. "Doesn't really matter. Ash and I were in and out as planned."

Laura clasped her hands together and shot the hothead a friendly grin. "Well then, why don't you and Ash tell us about the good part of your little escapade? We've never had the honor of seeing a Gym battle before."

Misty rolled her eyes at that, but nodded anyway. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Where do you guys wanna go?" she looked between her friends quizzically. Ash just shrugged at that. He knew nothing about this lab.

Maria pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "Ryan's in the lounge, actually. Been a bit of a slow day since the professor has been busy with something else, so he has some time for us."

"Good a place as any." said Laura matter-of-factly, looking between Ash and Misty for confirmation. Neither objected.

/

The lounge was fairly spacious and comfortable. A few of the lab's workers were in the room as well, but kept to themselves as the kids sat at a table off to the side with Ryan. The chair's had comfy cushions that Ash enjoyed feeling his body sink into. Near the table, Tyrunt had found a separate cushion to go to sleep on, while Valiant sat nearby to watch him. Staryu elected to join the Kirlia.

Sitting across from Ash (who sat in between Misty and Laura), Ryan stroked the top of Grookey's head as the grass type sat in his lap, nodding approvingly as Ash finished recounting his battle with Daisy. Misty had allowed him to go first, although, knowing her, he suspected that it was just because she probably viewed her battle as the "better" one.

"I helped raise that Poliwhirl." the older boy revealed as Ash sat back in his seat. "Violet requested for him to join their roster at the Gym after finding out that he had Water Absorb. On purpose, no doubt. Their mission statement has always been to make dealing with their aquatic advantage as bad for their challengers as possible."

Ash grimaced at that. It basically confirmed what he already suspected. No surprises there, he supposed. It was part of a Gym Leader's job to test all of the challengers, after all. This was just the test that Misty's sisters had chosen to lay out.

Ryan shot Valiant a thoughtful look as the young Kirlia seemed to be conversing with Staryu. "Your Kirlia's pretty ahead of the game, from the sound of it. From the strategic sense, anyway. Seems like he has a knack for thinking on his feet."

Ash grinned proudly at that, looking over to his Psychic partner. "He's always been that way." the boy responded, thinking back to Valiant's sparring session with Pikachu back in Pewter. "Ever since he started battling he seems to have always tried to approach battles in a calculated way. Not perfect, but none of us are right now. And he surprises even me sometimes. Like I said before, that tactic he used against Poliwhirl was all just him. I had nothing to do with coming up with it."

Ryan chuckled at that. "It's nothing unusual for a Pokemon to plan a fight on their own accord. Trainers are meant to guide them in battle, and train them outside of it, but Pokemon are all still their own fighters." his fingers stroked his chin thoughtfully. "But for a beginner-level pokemon to take that kind of initiative is pretty unusual. Especially given what he did. Trapping himself and Poliwhirl inside of a Light Screen so that Thunderbolt could be dealt point blank, with no escape. Obviously not the most efficient strategy, given the amount of self-inflicted harm that was involved with him forcing himself into the blast zone, but the fact that he would even think of such a combo in the first place… he's creative for a rookie."

Maria nodded enthusiastically at that, sitting next to her elder brother. She'd clearly been holding herself back from another hyperactive ramble for a while now, given the amount of restraint in her voice as she spoke.

"Fine-tune that a bit, and I wonder if it'd make a good looking Contest technique. Imagine a golden cube shining with electricity like that!" she paused for a second, seemingly making statements one at a time to prevent herself from going off on another tangent. "It would be hard to do it without the user hurting themselves, though…" she trailed off for a moment. "What do you think, Laura?"

Laura sat between Ash and Maria, Pikachu resting in her lap. Ash only felt a mild hint of jealousy at Pikachu wanting to sit with her, but didn't take it personally. The mouse was with him all the time, after all, and Laura seemed to know how to pet Pikachu (and show him affection in general) in just the right way to reduce him to a hopelessly infatuated state of bliss. The electric type was curled up into a ball, eyes closed and a content, purr-like noise escaping his throat as the brunette girl stroked his fur.

Laura chuckled at that. "Yeah, it is an interesting idea. Can't say I have any answers for it though, so sorry."

Sitting in between Ash and Ryan, Misty thoughtfully pressed her chin against her hand. "Hmm...Staryu knows both Moves… but it would obviously be even worse for a water type…"

Still stroking Pikachu, Laura looked over to Ash. "You shouldn't be sold short, either, you know. The way you and Nebula turned things around against Seel sounds pretty awesome."

Ash grinned back at her as she offered him a thumbs up. He had to admit, he was pretty proud of himself for that final strategy. "Thanks, Laura. I… sort of came up with that way to take out Mantyke in the moment, and… I realized I could apply it again, just on a bigger scope. The water actually worked to our advantage, that time.'' He supposed that Nebula's wind could have been problematic for Seel regardless, but it was also the constant waves that had prevented his Aurora Beam from hitting her and intercepting her Double-Edge.

Laura's grin turned sly. "You sure you want to be a Champion? You might make a good coordinator."

Ash's face reddened somewhat at that. Contests sounded fun, but… "I… might try a Contest out at some point, but I'm more into traditional training… Sorry."

Laura shrugged at that, and spoke encouragingly. "Eh, can't say you're doing a bad job. Bet your little display has Misty nervous." she shot her orange-haired friend a teasing grin.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Misty, however, waved it off. "Bah, you think too lowly of me. I guess that's my cue to tell you guys my story."

Ash had to admit that he enjoyed recounting his battles with others, especially since his and Misty's audiences consisted of two aspiring Coordinators (even if their careers hadn't started just yet) and a future researcher who could offer notable advice and commentary. It was one of many human interactions that you just couldn't quite get with Pokemon alone.

Although Ash had tried to remain neutral during his own story (admittedly getting a bit excited during certain climatic parts), Misty showed very little restraint, or professionalism when recounting her own battle. Apart from going out of her way to describe Lily's frustrated expressions, she would often speak bombastically during the more intense parts of the story, even using sound effects a couple of times. Based on the reactions that Maria, Laura, and Ryan gave, they were all perfectly used to this.

After Misty's story was finished, Maria brought up the Scald TMs that the two trainers had both received after their battles. Although Ash sadly didn't have any Pokemon that could use the Move at the moment, Misty had already distributed it to Staryu and Prinplup.

Ash felt a miniscule amount of envy at that, if only because Daisy's usage of the move had frustrated him so much that he was looking forward to trying it out for himself. He wasn't too concerned, however. He planned to get a water type at some point anyway (especially just in case he ever needed to battle in a pool again), and he assumed that most of them could learn Scald.

Eventually, the conversation reached Ash and Misty's future plans.

"So…" said Ryan, looking between the two trainers. "How long are you guys going to be staying here?"

"Ash said he'll be leaving a couple days from now." said Misty as Ash nodded. "I'll be here a bit longer than that."

"The next city is Saffron, right?" Laura brought up. "That's a pretty big step up from anywhere else you guys have been."

She wasn't exaggerating, and in fact, she might not have been doing it justice.

Saffron and Celadon were the largest cities in Kanto, Saffron being the biggest overall and Celadon having the largest population. They were both known for being the most upper-class territories in the Region, Saffron being the Region's central business district and Celadon not being very far behind in that department (Celadon overall having the most high-class society among the two).

But Saffron was also home to one of the most infamous Gym Leaders in Indigo, Sabrina. A master psychic specialist and one of the leading experts on the typing. She held the Marsh Badge, and would not be an easy obstacle to take down.

The level of fear that she promoted among trainers wasn't necessarily on par with that of LT. Surge, Koga, or Giovanni, but she had something that was equally important: Respect. Admiration among the trainer populace. She was very highly regarded for both her sophisticated aura and plethora of knowledge.

And Ash was headed to her city next…

He wondered if he should challenge her Gym once he arrived in the city. He wasn't sure how beginner-friendly her Gym was compared to Brock and the Cerulean sisters. He knew that Erika of Celadon was probably the last remaining Gym Leader in Kanto who was as lenient as they were. And if he did challenge the Saffron Gym, the worst that would happen is that he might lose, no different from any other Gym battle.

But Ash put that in the back of his mind, for now. He wouldn't be in Saffron for a decent bit.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, Saffron's the next one. Not sure where I'll go after that. There'll be a few options."

Ryan nodded. "That's right. Saffron is almost like a hub. You could go to Celadon from there, or Vermilion, or Lavender Town. And from both Vermilion and Lavender, you can get to Fuchsia."

Ash and Misty both smiled at that. Both of them were aware of the freedom of choice that awaited them once they got to Saffron.

"Yup," Misty chirped. "This is where things really start to open up more. Still not sure where I'm going to go from Saffron, yet. Celadon will take me in a bit of a different direction from the remaining major cities on Kanto's mainland, even if it's still not all that far from Saffron, but getting to Fuchsia is going to take a while, from Saffron, especially if I go to Lavender first instead of Vermillion."

Ryan got Ash's attention. "Speaking of taking a while, Ash, do you have a bike like Misty does?"

Misty froze up a bit at that, even more so after Ash gave her a quizzical look.

"You have a bike, Misty?" Ash certainly never saw her with one during their time together so far. He wasn't really sure how she could have one, given that she'd been on foot during their travels, and it's not like she could have had anywhere to put the bike.

Misty's face was red, and she was suddenly refusing to make eye contact with Ash, or anyone else, for that matter.

"I… uh… lost it."

Ash frowned. That explained it, then.

"Oh… um… sorry." not wanting to pry further, he turned back to Ryan. "I don't have one, but how could I? I'd have nowhere to put it."

Ryan furrowed his brow quizzically at that. "Nowhere to put it? What do you mean?"

Now Ash was confused. Wasn't it obvious? "I mean…" he trailed off, suddenly feeling everyone's eyes scrutinizing him as he looked between everybody else at the table. It was making him feel small. "I'd have to have it out at all times… and it won't do me any good if I ever encounter terrain that isn't bike friendly. Aren't the areas around Fuschia mountainous?"

Silence.

Ryan seemed like he was quickly picking up on something, almost as if he was slightly amused. Looking over to Laura, Ash saw an even more amused expression on her face as her eyes lit up with recognition. Misty looked at the boy with an indescribably judgmental expression, almost like she had just seen Ash get his entire team demolished by an infant Magikarp, and Maria seemed slightly bewildered as she gazed at him a bit.

Why were they… staring at him like this?

"Ummm… guys?" he asked, a bit bemused. "What is it?"

After a few more seconds of bewilderment from everybody at the table, including Ash himself, Maria finally chose to speak up.

"Ummm… Ash?" she asked with a nervous grin, scratching at her auburn ponytail for a few seconds. "You… um… do know that you can just store the bike in a Poke Ball... right…?"

The blank, wide-eyed look on Ash's face said it all as he stared at the normally hyperactive girl.

"...You can what?"

More silence. It was a few agonizing seconds, which almost felt like a year, before Laura probably broke the silence.

Laura took her hand off of Pikachu's fur. The young mouse had been lulled to sleep by her affections, a huge grin on his face as he slumbered in her lap without a care in the world.

"You… really didn't know?" she asked with increasing amusement as Ash awkwardly shook his head at her, cheeks gradually beginning to burn. Her slowly widening grin threatened to split her face in two as her hands lightly clasped her cheeks, which were tinted with the most miniscule shade of red. Her voice was a mild squeal. "Sweet merciful Mew Ash, you just got even cuter!"

Ash refused to look at anyone as he stared down at his feet, his cheeks threatening to catch fire. Was it possible for blushing to truly hurt? Because the heat that was rushing up to his face was painful.

Ryan awkwardly chuckled upon realizing what was going on. "Yeah, the League's educational board keeps forgetting to put that in the curriculum, I guess." he sent Ash an apologetic grin. "Sorry you had to learn about it this way, kid." he glanced awkwardly over to Laura, who was staring at Ash with the most blissfully joyful face imaginable. "Maybe… we should take it easy on him." the older boy suggested.

Laura barely shook her head as Ash felt the joyous gaze in her eyes bore a hole through him. "I can't. He's so cute. This is so great!"

"Do I need to pull your ear?" Misty threatened.

That got her to settle down, her hands falling back down to her lap, although her wide grin never shrunk down.

Maria gave Ash a sympathetic look as the young boy struggled to fight off his embarrassed blush. "Ummm… Ash? You can come back to us, now. We're not going to make fun of you or anything."

Deciding to trust her for now, Ash allowed himself to lift his head again, still struggling to make eye contact.

Ryan spoke up again after a few more seconds of silence. "It's a new feature," he explained. "A few years old. It'll let you take your bike with you and keep it in a Poke Ball for safekeeping." He looked between Ash and Misty. "Neither of you two have one right now, but it'd be a good investment. You can cover ground much faster, which also means you'll have more time to go off the beaten path and explore, without losing too much traveling time if you're trying to move in between the cities quickly. And Cerulean, of course, has a top of the line bike shop. Not quite like anywhere else in Kanto."

Laura nodded at that, finally turning her gaze away from Ash (much to the embarrassed boy's relief). "And the new models are pretty flexible and durable, can change into different gears and can actually withstand a lot of harsh terrain. I hear the Galar Region has the best bike technology around by far, but what you can get here is still perfect." she nodded over to Misty. "I'm pretty sure you had one of the less updated ones, right?"

Misty nodded. "Yeah, had it for a few years, even back when I wasn't big enough to comfortably ride it yet. I could use a new one now that I don't have my original one anymore. I can probably invest in a better one right now."

Maria turned her head to Ash and flashed him an innocent grin. "Well, Ash? What about it?"

Ash gazed at her for a bit before looking down towards the table, fingers pressed firmly against his chin as he slipped into thought.

It would be convenient, but…

"How much would it cost?" Ash asked, raising his head up towards Ryan. "Do you know? The newest model's gotta be expensive, and I was hoping to save up my money so that I can start purchasing more TMs in Saffron."

Ryan nodded in confirmation. "It isn't cheap, yeah. Although, I was gonna bring this up, but the store is having a three day sale tomorrow. An anniversary thing. You'll be able to get it for half price, even the newest model. Would still be a bit steep, but much more affordable."

Ash nodded at that. Even if it was still expensive, it would at least soften the blow. Plus, with just how useful that having a bike would be (especially if it was the most advanced model yet, at that), then the benefits would outweigh the downsides. Worst case scenario, he couldn't purchase as many TMs in Saffron, which he could make up for later.

"Thank you, Ryan." the older boy nodded at him, and Ash looked between everybody else. "And you guys too."

Maria waved it off, her chipper tone back in full swing. "Don't mention it, just trying to help a couple of buddies out. We can all go there tomorrow with you two. Ryan's still got work, but the rest of us."

"Tomorrow's my day off." Ryan said, his bewildered tone of voice suggesting that Maria should have already known this.

"Even better!" Maria's grin was wide and uncaring.

After a few seconds of much more comfortable silence, Laura glanced over to Misty, eyes narrowly ever-so-slightly.

"Hey, Misty…" her slightly questioning (and confused) tone caught the orange-haired girl's attention. "You knew about the feature, so how did you lose your bike? Couldn't you have just placed it in a Poke Ball?"

Misty froze up, her cheeks mildly tinted with red.

A few seconds later, Laura's grin was back, widening across her face as her hands shot back up to her cheeks, which were once again slightly red.

"You mean… you forgot?" she squealed even more loudly as Misty's face practically turned into a cherry. "Oooh myyy golly you are so cute!"

"Hey!" Misty shot up and pointed aggressively at her brunette friend. "I only forgot in the moment! I remembered after! And don't call me cute!"

"But why? You are SOOO adorable!"

Misty's eyes blazed like a Charizard's Blast Burn as the color of her face somehow turned even more cherry-like.

"First thing I do with my new bike is run you over with it if you don't drop it!"

"That might actually be worth it!"

"Don't try testing me Laura, cause you know I'll pass with flying colors!"

/

"A bit busy, but that was to be expected." said Misty as the group approached the store the following day.

The store was a decently sized building in the downtown section of Cerulean. The name "Miracle Cycle" read on the sign.

At the current moment, it was roughly 10:00 AM, the group arriving at the store when it opened in hopes of getting in before things got too busy. Understandably, they hadn't been the only ones who had that idea.

Only Tyrunt was out with Ash right now, although Misty had her Jigglypuff with her as well. Accompanying them were Maria, Laura, and Ryan, along with Grookey and Rockruff.

"Yeah," said Laura, gazing up at the sign, hands behind her head with Rockruff by her side. "Best we be in and out before it starts filling up." The group nodded at that, and began heading in after a few other customers.

Misty lagged behind a bit, looking back at a curious Ash as he approached her. Still not too familiar with the city, Ash had elected to let the others lead the way while he carried Tyrunt in his arms.

"Something up?" the boy tilted his head as he briefly stopped in front of his friend. Her arms were half-crossed, and for the briefest of moments, her gaze on him was intent, but that expression quickly vanished from her almost as soon as it had come. It was almost as if he had been seeing things.

Misty responded with a shake of the head. "No, just thinking about something. It can wait." she turned back around and made her way into the store.

Ash stared at the girl's back as he followed her. He had a feeling he knew what she was talking about, but decided to bite his tongue until the time came.

The inside of the store might have actually been even bigger than what the outward exterior of the building suggested. The ceiling was high above their heads, allowing for the numerous shelves of bikes to extend high into the air. These shelves were spread across the entire store, and bikes weren't the only products available. Pretty much any kind of equipment related to them was as well.

As most of the group walked off further into the store, Ash lagged behind to look around for a bit, taking in his surroundings. Tyrunt seemed to be pretty impressed by the sight, an intrigued moan escaping his throat as he observed the towering shelves of bikes.

A light tap on the shoulder from a finger brought his attention to Laura, who brought him and the young dinosaur back into the world with a light wave, Rockruff remaining at her side.

"Bicycles are understandably pretty popular with trainers." She spoke coolly. Ash flushed at the teasing, accusatory wink she sent his way. "You know, trainers who actually know how easy it is to store them."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you." Ash responded in a subdued tone, suddenly finding the ocean-blue floor to be the most fascinating part of the store.

A good natured giggle escaped the pretty brunette's throat, pretty much answering Ash's question.

"I mean, you don't blame me for finding it funny, do you? Cheer up." Her voice was fairly reassuring, not completely losing its teasing tone, but not being condescending about it either. As Ash returned his gaze to her, she gave him a thumbs up. "They've got plenty of bikes in stock, but I'm not sure how many of the latest model are in at the moment, so let's get going before they're all taken." Ash quickly nodded at that, following the brunette girl as she and Rockruff turned around.

A sigh escaped his throat. "I'm still embarrassed I didn't know."

Laura glanced back at him slightly, barely turning her head just enough to look at him as they continued through the store. "In all seriousness," she said, her friendly-natured grin still on her face, "Bikes are a pretty big example of the new feature's benefit. They're even planning on releasing a separate type of Poke Ball made specifically for storing items, likely for a lower price, that way trainers who just need new Poke Balls to store their items with won't have to pay as much."

That sounded like a pretty good idea. It seemed like the League was always looking for new ways to innovate, for the betterment of the training community.

The girl pointed forward. "They've always kept their latest models in this section here at the end. Colors are a bit limited for this one, but they usually add more variations later."

"I'm not too concerned about color." Ash admitted. Aesthetic was nice, but he was mostly just focused on the bike itself. A good looking bike still wouldn't do him that much without function.

/

Ash felt a peculiar mixture of excitement and dejection as he and his friends exited the store.

The good part? He and Misty had both gotten the latest model of bike, which was dubbed the "Indigo Miracle-S", along with fairly cheap (but still effective) helmets to go along with it. In Misty's case, she already had a helmet, but figured it would do good to have an extra one to swap between, just in case something happened to one of them.

The downside? He was pretty much broke now. He was confident that he had enough food and other necessities to get by until Saffron, but having a near empty account was not a good feeling. Even with the sale, the purchase of the new bike had eaten up nearly all of his money. It was fairly disheartening, to say the least.

Misty, being Misty, had slyly told her friend that he shouldn't have to worry about not having much money, shooting him a smirk as she talked about how easy it should be to make the money back through battles. Unless, of course, he just wasn't strong enough to win that many consecutive matches.

Not too long ago, Ash would have felt a bit uneasy at the accusation, but now, it actually felt encouraging to him, ironically. Almost like he had taken it as a challenge to prove Misty wrong with her condescending attitude, to actually win enough battles in order to make all of the money back.

And when Ash had smiled back at Misty and declared that he would do just that, winning enough battles to have himself swimming in money by the time that he reached Saffron, the orange-haired girl had temporarily blinked at him in surprise, before a (somewhat) more genuine smile crept its way onto her face.

Now, the group was standing outside of the city, Ash and Misty ready to break in their bikes at Ryan's suggestion. The teenaged boy had led them to a fairly even-grounded area that would be perfect for riding the bikes at.

Ash had found a helmet to match his cap, mostly, anyway. Strapping on his helmet, which was a mixture of red and white, he took out the Poke Ball that now held his new bicycle.

It would take a while getting used to knowing that these things could hold regular items.

Misty had poked fun at Ash for his lack of variety, but he liked the look. And even though Misty didn't have a cap of her own, she herself had still gotten a helmet that matched her bike in color.

The water specialist was wearing an aqua-blue helmet as she glanced over to her friend. "You ready?" she inquired, raising her own Poke Ball.

Ash nodded, the two trainers enlarging the sphere-shaped capsules and releasing their bicycle's in a flash of bright, white light.

Ash's was a perfect shade of crimson, with a sleek, sturdy design that could brave the elements and look sharp while doing so. In between the handlebars was a pad with buttons that allowed Ash to change between different sets of tires, designed for different terrains. That same pad allowed him to switch between gears, as well.

Certainly not as futuristic as the types of bikes that the Galar Region apparently had access to, but effective technology all the same. It would be great for traveling.

Misty's bike had the same design as Ash's, as it was the same model, but it was aqua-blue.

After looking over the vehicle with a satisfied smile, Misty mounted it, sitting firmly on the seat as she steadily gripped the handlebars. She nodded at Ash as he did the same.

The boy looked over to Tyrunt, who was standing off to the side with Grookey and Rockruff, waving in his trainer's direction. The small dinosaur quite liked the look of the bike, and no doubt would want to ride in it at some point too. Thankfully, Ash had gotten a basket to go along with the bike for free.

Ryan waved the two trainers off. "Have fun, you two. Take your time to enjoy it, there's no rush."

Ash and Misty nodded back as Maria and Laura offered them a quick wave, before both trainers started pedaling away down the path.

They didn't go too fast at first, remaining in third gear as they got used to the feel. Both had experienced riding bikes, but none that were as advanced as this model was.

Misty took a deep breath as the seabreeze filled her with satisfaction. Exhaling deeply, a large smile made its way to her face as she looked down the road they were traveling.

"Ah, never get tired of feeling this air again." she glanced over in Ash's direction, looking at her friend just long enough to ask. "Isn't Pallet Town also by the ocean? I doubt this is new for you?"

Ash spared her a glance before refocusing on the road. "It is, but it doesn't quite feel the same as this. Not sure why. Maybe I just got used to it and stopped noticing it."

A giggle was Misty's response. "I never stopped noticing it. I love everything about the sea. From the Pokemon living in it to how the air feels. I want to become the greatest water specialist to make a name for myself, but there's a reason that's the specific type that I chose."

Ash absentmindedly grinned at that. He doubted it was uncommon for a type specialist's preferences to be influenced by something like that. No doubt a lot of people who favored fighting types had an affinity for martial arts. And many who specialized in psychic types were, themselves, often interested in mysterious powers such as those.

Focusing on the road ahead, Ash felt the breeze of the wind against his face as he and Misty made their way down the path. The momentum of the bike was just right, the traversal of the road smooth with perfection. It was a feeling that he wanted to get used to. One that filled him with just enough excitement and adrenaline to feel intense and give him a rush of satisfaction, yet with enough comfort to put him at ease, allowing him to let down his guard and just enjoy the moment.

Terrifying memories of Mt. Moon, frustrating stress from Daisy's tactics, having to run into Gary back at the foot of Mt. Moon, the ever lingering homesickness that was always in the back of his head. He could forget it all, and just focus on the present moment.

"I'll admit," he stated after a few moments of comfortable silence. "I never really thought about typing, or which ones I liked the best. I guess I like the variety."

"Yeah, that's the common argument." Misty admitted. "But I'm gonna do everything I can to freshen up my typing of choice." A few moments later, she glanced back at him. "Say… you up to switch to fourth gear?"

Ash blinked for a second. He was honestly enjoying their more casual cruise, but this was meant to get them used to it. After brief consideration, he nodded. "Sure, let's do it."

The mischievous look on Misty's face made his skin crawl.

"Good…" she said, her hand creeping over to the button. Suddenly, she sped up, blitzing ahead down the road. "Cause we're racing now! By!"

Ash's cheeks were the color of a tomato as he watched his friend blazing down the path ahead of him.

"H-Hey! Hold on!" quickly switching to fourth gear as quickly as he could manage, he pedaled ahead furiously in an attempt to catch up.

/

Fourth gear was nothing short of an intense feeling of adrenaline. The wind pushing against Ash's face breezed into him just that much harder, the world passing by him at frantic rates as he sped down the road at exhilarating speeds.

And yet it was still just as smooth. Just as perfect as before. It wasn't a scary feeling. Not after he got accustomed to it, at least.

Of course, Misty had bragged about "winning" their race despite her own head start. Despite his frustration, Ash let her have it. He was in too good of a mood to really care.

Misty sat cross-legged next to Ash on a large rock. The two had reached the end of the path, and each had a water bottle in hand as they observed the sea ahead.

As Misty tilted her head back to guzzle down a large chunk of her water (she was rarely ever conservative with her drinks, Ash noted), Ash looked out to the water, connected to the greater sea that could be found beyond the city.

The duo had reached the area of the outskirts near Cerulean Cave, perhaps the only place in the area that beginners preferred to avoid. It was said to be home to particularly powerful Pokemon, far dissonant from the rest of Cerulean.

With the land elevated decently above the water, the two rookie trainers were greeted with a perfect sight of the cave's entrance, which rose above the water and directly into their line of vision, as a few water types played together on the surface of the water. The breeze gave off an incredibly relaxing feel, perfect after their intense "race" on their new bicycles.

Despite the simplicity, Ash found himself enjoying the sight of the infamous cave and the water leading up to it. Perhaps it was just the quiet feel of the place? There was no one else here except for them and the water types playing in the water, unalerted to their presence.

Misty smiled. "I remember people living here aren't even allowed near that cave without a Trainer's License. A shame, since it's a nice place to look at." As Ash nodded in agreement, she nudged him with her elbow as she spared him a glance. "You're lucky you're here with me and not Laura, you know. With this kind of view, she'd probably try to turn this into a date or something."

Ash chuckled nervously at the remark. He supposed it wouldn't be unlike her, given what he knew about the girl at the moment.

"I'm assuming that's a common occurrence?" he responded with mild amusement.

Misty grumbled. "Maybe not here, but she doesn't exactly learn her lesson, even with me trying to keep her in check. Sometimes it feels like that just encourages her further. She loves getting reactions." she smirked at that. "Or maybe she just finds me entertaining." Even in peaceful moments of relaxation such as this one, her ego never failed to shine through.

The constant reminders of the hothead's arrogance, however, were also reminders to Ash of just how much more he liked spending time with Misty than Gary. The numerous surface-level characteristics that the two of them shared did nothing to sour the boy's opinion of the water enthusiast. His mind kept coming back to it, thinking of just how ironic it was that he considered Misty a friend.

"So…" Misty trailed off for a moment before continuing. "You're gone tomorrow, right?" her voice stayed even, and her face was a bit more neutral now as she absentmindedly observed the cave, deep in thought.

Ash nodded again. "I really do need to get back on the road soon. Nothing wrong with taking it slow, but I just like the sense of progress." he looked up thoughtfully. "I might go off the beaten path a bit, maybe go a bit north of here. Now that I have the bike I can always get back on track pretty quickly." he chuckled. "But that means I'd have to leave soon, to help make up for it. I still want to be on my way to Saffron in a few days at most."

"A Pokemon researcher lives just a bit north of here." Misty commented at that as she spared the boy another glance. "By a beach."

Ash nodded. He had caught wind of that during his stay at Cerulean. His main reason for heading off of the main trail was just to explore a bit more and see if he could find another teammate, not to mention he'd still probably be able to battle a lot of trainers along the way, given that plenty of other beginner trainers were all over the place in Cerulean's area. But the news about the Researcher who had set up shop just at the edge of Cerulean's territory also had him curious even further. Apparently he was supposed to be quite renowned.

Looking behind him, down the trail that he and Misty had rode their bicycles on, Ash smiled as attention returned to the entrance of the cave.

"I like this city." he commented simply after drinking some of his water. "Honestly, even without my dream, I might've become a trainer just as an excuse to see places like this."

Misty snorted. After downing the rest of her water, she smirked ahead at the cave. "A lifetime of vacation, eh? Sounds pretty convenient…" she sighed after a few seconds, however, before glancing over to Ash with a more genuine smile. "I know I love jabbing at you, but in all seriousness, it was pretty nice having you around."

There was no strain in her voice as she looked back at the view ahead. No denial, no difficulty in delivery, no hesitation. A simple fact that fluidly rolled off her tongue. A friendly declaration that was made just as easily as any snarky comment, or outburst of anger that had ever escaped the smug hothead's mouth.

A sentence that Gary would have been completely incapable of speaking.

Ash didn't even have a strong reaction to that, simply nodding in response as he glanced over to the other trainer.

"Glad the feeling's mutual. Honestly, it's nice being on the road with another person."

Misty nodded in agreement as Ash took another brief sip of his water. "Yeah, it makes things a bit livelier. More interesting. Not to mention, it can just be helpful."

Especially given what had happened back at Mt. Moon. Both children knew it, but neither dared sour the moment by speaking of it.

They would not allow that to enter their minds today.

Ash took the next few moments to finish his water up, as he and Misty finally rose from the rock. The aura of the area was so comfortable, neither of them would have wanted to stand again if they had stayed seated for much longer.

Returning their now empty water bottles to their backpacks, the trainers looked downwards to the Pokémon in the water, mild consideration on their features as they thought of trying to make a quick catch, but both of them decided against it. They weren't planning to be here for long.

Nevertheless, Misty sighed. "Ughh… If the others weren't waiting for us, this would be the perfect place for it, but I guess we'll have to get to the Pokemon Center first."

Ash shot his friend a curious glance. "Hmm?"

As Misty raised her head at him, her eyes inescapably locking onto his, as though it was unavoidable, the flames in her eyes made Ash's blood turn hot, rushing through his veins.

The adrenaline was back. All from a simple look.

The girl crossed her arms, pretending to be absent minded as she looked over her friend calmly. The serene expression on her face never reached her eyes, which betrayed her true intentions. The real emotions that the rest of her body language almost flawlessly hid from him.

Ash just smiled at her, his grin small, but clear to see. Somehow, he looked forward to hearing what she was going to say. Maybe he wouldn't have known otherwise, but the fire in her gaze told him all that needed to be told. Perhaps he would have been blindsided had it not been for that, but Misty's subtle expression had given him enough clues.

Crossing her arms cooly, Misty's face was still even (except for her eyes) as she calmly stared Ash down.

"So…" the orange-haired girl began, calm and collected as she addressed the other trainer. "We agree that there's no hard feelings, right? We're friends, we're glad we met each other, we'd love to meet again, yada yada yada?"

Ash nodded at her. "Of course," he said simply.

"Good." said Misty. It was the last syllable she uttered before her mask of serenity broke.

The blood rushing through Ash's body sped up as Misty's face took on the most competitive grin she had ever mustered, the fire in her eyes completely blending in with the rest of her expression as her smirk went wild.

"Because none of that sentimental bullcrap is getting you out of a beatdown. Not from me." Her voice was definitive, aggressive, confrontational, and absolutely exhilarating.

Now it was Ash's turn to lose himself to the excitement. His grin nearly split his face in half as his eyes refused to leave Misty's. As his heartbeat steadily sped up in his chest, he could feel his own fire from before return. He had never been overtaken by such an emotion before now, and this wasn't likely to be the last time it happened.

"Does that mean…" he let her finish it for him.

Ash was gripping one of the Poke Balls on his belt, but Misty had already beaten him to it, her arm shooting outward and holding the red and white orb towards him, the capsule pointing right at his chest as her arm stayed steady.

"Ash Ketchum, I, the future's greatest water type trainer, challenge you to a battle!"

Her declaration was over the top. Shouted loudly, despite being for nobody's ears but his own. Zero self-awareness to her own theatrics, and little chance that it would have changed her mind regardless.

One sentence. One look in the eyes. One look on her face. And Misty had given him a bigger adrenaline rush than he imagined that any bike ride ever could.

If Ash's grin wasn't wide before, it definitely was now as he unclipped the Poke Ball from his belt, glancing at the orb for just a brief moment before his gaze turned back to Misty, this time meeting her eyes deliberately.

"I hope you can handle the disappointment."

No amount of friendship that had been forged by their time together could ever hope to take priority over what they truly were: Competitors. Rivals.

Pokemon trainers.