The sun shined through the windows and woke him from a pleasantly peaceful slumber.

Yawning as he rose from his bed, Ash took the time to smile at the sleeping Pikachu at the end of the bed. This time, the yellow rodent was joined by Eevee, who kept her distance to a degree, but not to the extent that would have otherwise told Ash that she felt uncomfortable being near the mouse.

Nebula may not be in Eevee's good graces at the moment, but Pikachu was growing on her, and she was attached to Valiant. That was a good sign. With her warming up to the mouse, Ash could only hope that she would drop her grudge on Nebula eventually.

Once they started training again, he would have to work on that. He couldn't force them to be friends, but he could hopefully convince them to at least patch things up, and let things go on their own from there.

Perhaps with Eevee growing more accustomed to being a member of the team, she would hold less of a grudge against Nebula for her role in the Evolution Pokemon's capture. But perhaps there was a principal involved.

But if that was the case, why didn't she seem to be angry at Ash?

These thoughts ran through Ash's mind as his feet touched the floor, but he was pulled away from them as he felt Tyrunt's head brushing against his legs. Smiling down at the tiny dinosaur infant, Ash patted his head for a moment, prompting him to close his eyes and smile at his trainer's touch. Standing back upright, Ash looked down to Valiant, who nodded a greeting.

"Look after him for me, okay Valiant? I need a shower." the young Kirlia obliged and waved his trainer off as Ash made his way to the bathroom.

Ash wasn't sure why he felt the need to shower again given that he already had last night, but Misty apparently showered every morning too. Something about "I need to keep my gorgeous skin healthy." From the way she worded it, he wasn't sure if it was supposed to be more arrogance, or just compulsive behavior about her health.

The boy stepped into the tub and felt the warm water pour onto his skin as he took in the feeling. Even after just one day of traveling, indulging in the luxuries of the Pokemon Center felt heavenly. Even if it involved showering twice in a row. He could definitely get used to it, or wanted to at any rate, but he'd be leaving eventually, just like in Pewter.

It was better to get used to being on the road than in civilization. That way, he'd be better prepared for the road, and would find more relief from civilization. That was how he saw it, at any rate.

After a few minutes of quickly showering himself, Ashs stepped out of the bathroom to find Misty waiting at the door. Apparently she had just gotten up while he was in.

The two offered amicable greetings before exchanging places, Misty heading into the bathroom for her usual shower to get ready for the day. Just before breakfast, Misty called Maria's house to see if it was okay to visit, while Ash contacted his mother. After hanging up, he was informed by Misty that they had been invited to have breakfast at Maria's, by her mother, although they needed to feed their teams first, as the house was short on Pokemon food.

/

It was 9:00 AM, the sun rising high above the buildings of Cerulean as Ash and Misty made their way down the sidewalk. Once again, Pikachu rode atop his shoulder, Valiant walking by the side in between Ash and Misty, while Tyrunt enjoyed the comfort of his new trainer's arms.

Misty led the way yet again, seemingly knowing the city like the back of her hand, and the apparent memorization of Cerulean came as a pleasant surprise to Ash. Sure, he knew Pallet Town fairly well, but Cerulean was several times larger. Not to mention busier and more hectic.

Although certainly not the chaotic metropolis that Celadon and Saffron were both known to be, activity and scope in Cerulean were nothing to be scoffed at. People came and went on both sidewalks on either side of the street. Although the streets weren't overwhelmingly crowded, and probably modest by city standards, they were certainly a step up from Pallet Town. Automobiles frequented the streets, and Ash and his Pokemon all quickly got used to seeing them as Misty led them through the complexes.

She spoke up after a while. "It shouldn't take too much longer. Maria lives in the suburban area, and we're getting pretty close to there." she scoffed. "We actually passed Laura's place a few minutes ago. Kind of wish I just asked to meet up there…"

"It's fine." Ash replied with a friendly grin, trying to cheer her up. "We could use the exercise anyway, right?"

"I get enough exercise actually traveling between cities." Misty growled to herself. "And just when I'm given the opportunity to take a quick break, I go and make more work for myself. Just wonderful."

/

The suburban area of Cerulean was a place that Ash expected to be similar to Pallet Town, for whatever reason. But it definitely wasn't. The vibe was totally different, yet he still couldn't quite place why.

He supposed no two towns were going to feel alike, although he couldn't find many differences from this area's structure compared to that of Pallet Town. So what exactly felt so different, then?

Maybe it was the air? Cerulean was inevitably a lot moister than Pallet usually was, but that could just be because of the recent rain. This part of Cerulean was away from the seaside portion of the city.

Maria's house was bigger than his. Three stories high. Much more fancy architecture (was that what felt different?) despite not necessarily being an aesthetic that seemed to be blatantly upper class. Overall the place still seemed to be a lot more expensive than his and his mom's home. And probably more spacious too.

When he commented this out loud, Misty mentioned that Maria's parents were both far from being short on financial income. Her father was a schoolteacher for an institute that centered around electronics and software, while her mother was a maintenance worker for Cerulean Gym, hired by one of the Gym Leaders. When Ash expressed surprise that there were apparently three Gym Leaders in Cerulean instead of just one, the orange haired girl only grumbled irritably, much to his confusion.

Arriving at the porch, the pit in his stomach (which had been lingering in the background throughout the trip) returned in full, and he suddenly backed away as Misty pressed the button that sounded the doorbell.

He reminded himself that he was trying to meet more people his age. This would be good for him. He just couldn't let himself get overwhelmed, was all. Besides, despite being… the way that she was, Misty was still fairly nice overall, so she probably kept good company.

He wasn't given much time to contemplate further as the door quickly opened a few moments afterward.

Greeting them was a woman with black hair tied into a long ponytail that fell down to the side. She was wearing fairly casual clothes, a blue shirt and purple shorts. She beamed at the sight of Misty.

"Misty! Good to see you in person. I told you this on the phone, but Maria was thrilled when Ryan told us you'd be visiting." she gestured her inside. "It's been a month already, hasn't it?"

Misty grinned, exchanging a quick handshake with the woman before folding her hands behind her head. "Sure has. I feel like a different girl already." she looked inside. "So, is Laura here too yet?"

The woman nodded. "Yeah, she got here just before you, actually." as if by accident, she glanced at Ash, Pikachu, Tyrunt, and Valiant. His heart skipped a beat, and he may have flinched, but he found his composure as he prepared to greet her. "Oh, and is this Ash?"

Misty smiled. "Yeah, he's a bit skittish." at Ash's beet-red face, she gestured towards the woman with her thumb. "This is Maria's mother Jennifer. Jennifer, this is Ash and his Pokemon. They've been tagging along with me for a bit."

Ash awkwardly nodded to Jennifer. "Hey… thanks for having us.'' Pikachu and Valiant followed in kind, offering casual waves to the woman, while Tyrunt just chattered happily.

The woman kindly gestured forward. "It's good to meet you all, Ash. I hope you'll make yourselves at home."

As Ash stepped inside (giving a quick thanks), he took a look around the living room. It was about twice the size of his own, with an even bigger sofa and recliner chair. The television was on, covering what looked to be a small-scale Pokemon tournament being held at Cinnabar Island. Jennifer left the room, saying that she was going to go fetch Maria and Laura while Ash and Misty settled themselves in.

Misty turned to Ash for a moment before sitting down on the sofa to watch the television and pass the time. Ash almost sat down with her, but changed his mind at the last second, instead setting Tyrunt down at the baby's request, the dinosaur happily joining Valiant by his side.

A few minutes later, two sets of feet were heard rapidly descending the nearby staircase, and Misty grinned at the sight of the two girls making their way down.

"Yoohoo! Is that you, Misty?"

Pikachu climbed to Ash's head as the girl's reached the floor, Misty moving to greet them.

One girl had long, auburn hair and copper eyes. She was about Misty's height, and had her hands together as she lightly jumped up and down.

"Oh man, I didn't think I'd get to see you again so soon! How many water types do you have? Got any badges? It's been a month so this is when rookies usually start to get them. Oh, wait, but it would have taken time to get here, so did you get any early? Oh, and have you evolved your Staryu yet? I can't remember how long it usually takes for them too-" Misty's hand shot towards the girl's mouth to silence her, the girl's voice comically muffled as she continued to speak from behind the hand regardless.

'A motor-mouth.' Ash tried to remember what Misty had said the previous night. So this was-

"Calm down, Maria." Misty's face was an amused grin. "I have one badge from Pewter. Still just have the two water types that I left the city with, although I also have an Eevee and a Jigglypuff. Nobody's evolved since I caught Jigglypuff as she was. That satisfy you?" At her friend's frantic but happy nod, Misty released her, before turning to the other girl.

This one must have been Laura. She was barely shorter than Ash, and was a brunette with shorter hair that fell to her shoulders. She had brown eyes and an easygoing smile. Unlike the much more hyperactive Maria, she seemed to be quite composed.

Said composure was reflected in her lax demeanor as she spoke up to Misty, sharing a quick shake with the orange-haired hothead.

"I'm sure we're all excited to hear about your escapades Misty, she spoke cooly. "But still…" Ash perked up as her attention suddenly turned to him and his team, gesturing over to the boy with a wink. "Aren't you gonna introduce us to that little cutie over there?"

Ash's face was red again. Right, Misty had said something about a flirt.

Thankfully, Misty's hand firmly clasped the other girl's shoulder.

"Back off, Laura. He's skittish." she offered him a playful, yet not necessarily joking grin. "Would probably crumble to pieces if you get too forward with him." Now Ash's cheeks were red due to a different kind of embarrassment.

Laura giggled behind her hand. "Aw, man. I had a few lines ready, too." She offered him a casual wave. "Well anyway…"

Ash suddenly jumped as the girl was in front of him. She moved fast. It took him a moment or two to register her reaching her hand out, but he shook off the embarrassment as he accepted it.

Her grip was friendly and delicate, with the feel that she could probably squeeze harder if she wanted too. "Name's Laura, one of Misty's buddies."

Ash tried to mask the awkwardness with a grin, although this girl seemed like the type that could see right through him. "H-Hey. I'm Ash." His Pokemon all offered their own quick greetings.

"So, you ran into Misty on the other side of the mountain, huh?" she flashed him an easy grin. She was pretty cute. "Hope it hasn't been too bad to be with her for this long. She can be pretty scary, huh?"

"Riiight heeere." Misty's suspiciously cheerful smile coupled with her deliberately and obviously forced sing-song voice sent a fearful chill up Ash's spine as Laura stuck out her tongue.

"Oh come on, girl. I'm just speaking the truth to a new friend. Anyway…" she turned to Ash's direction again, but this time her attention was focused on Pikachu. The mouse currently perched atop Ash's cap began to coo with utter glee as his chin was affectionately tickled by a set of gentle fingers. "I haven't seen a Pikachu in a hot minute. Aren't they just the cutest?'' She said that last sentence in a very affectionate and charming voice, and Ash's starter leaned downward into the girl's touch, closing his eyes with joy for a moment as he continued to soak up her affection, as though he had fallen in love. Clearly taking pride in Pikachu's joy, the brunette sent the mouse a bright smile that practically left Pikachu with heart-shaped pupils as she brought her finger along the rodent's chin just a little bit more.

'At this rate, he's going to prefer her over me…' A somewhat embarrassed Ash thought to himself. He inwardly sighed as he eyed Laura's smile, a simple yet charming expression that had completely enamored the young mouse. 'Who am I kidding? He already does. I don't stand a chance against her…'

He was broken out of his thoughts as a hand clasped his shoulder. Startled, he turned to see Maria at his side, taking his hand and shaking it a bit too fast for his liking. "Yo! Is that a Tyrunt?! And a Kirlia? Wow, you must have gotten really lucky to catch Pokemon like those so soon! So is Tyrunt a baby? Because Ryan mentioned something about an Egg and he knows quite a lot about that stuff because he works at the lab and I bet he could give you a lot of pointers on raising him-oh but how have your travels been? Got any badges yet or are you taking it slow-" Misty was there again, this time taking the other girl's mouth in both of her hands as Ash, somewhat taken aback, sent her a grateful look.

"There." said Misty as the auburn-haired girl's now muffled voice continued to ramble from behind the water type specialist's hands. "Just try to answer her quickly."

Ash tried to gather his thoughts after the overwhelming avalanche of questions from the girl. Misty certainly kept a colorful pair for company, but he couldn't say he disliked these girls. They just… weren't what he was used to.

'Then again, what I'm used to isn't exactly great.' he reminded himself as he thought back to Pallet Town. Nevertheless, he shook those thoughts out of his mind for now. He didn't need Gary and his posse. And he shouldn't need to keep reminding himself of that either. 'Quirks or not, these two are being friendly. I like them.'

Relaxing himself a bit, he made eye contact with Maria (whose mouth was still trapped behind Misty's hands) and started talking.

/

Maria's kitchen was possibly even more of an upgrade from Ash's kitchen in terms of size, then her living room was compared to his own. Not to mention the freezer was as big as a refrigerator itself. At his place, it was barely half the size and was stacked on top.

Jennifer had informed him and Misty that Ryan and Grookey had already left for the lab, although a canine Pokemon that Laura had identified to him as a Rockruff was there, and engaged in friendly playtime with Pikachu and Tyrunt while Valiant observed from the sidelines. Apparently the dog was from Laura's house and belonged to her father, but was brought along with her to Maria's house that morning.

Jennifer had already finished cooking breakfast, but had made her way to the living room to give the kids some time for themselves. French toast, pancakes, and some fruit were on the menu this morning, and although it was nothing that would challenge the quality level of Delia's cooking, Ash still found himself eating it joyfully.

The table was decently sized and round, with Ash sitting across from Misty, and Maria and Laura on either side. All four children had similar plates, but different drinks. Ash had helped himself to a glass of grape juice, from a brand that he hadn't heard of until today. It tasted different from what he was used to, but once the taste settled in, he found himself cherishing it.

As a giggling Pikachu pinned an overjoyed Rockruff to the floor (Tyrunt clapping his short claws together excitedly while watching the exchange) Misty finished chewing her apple as she eyed Maria with a casual grin.

"So, Maria, how's Ryan's work at the lab going? Is he ever going to get that promotion?"

Maria giggled after she finished swallowing a pancake slice. "Still a ways to go, I'm afraid." she suddenly sounded a lot calmer right now. "That professor is pretty lenient, all things considered, but man does he have criteria for work. You should see all the homework my brother gets. It's just horrible!"

Laura sipped her orange juice absentmindedly before she chimed in. "Eh, same song and dance, really. Big ol' Ryan's one of those people who loves the hands-on aspects of what he does, but hates the actual academics behind it. I bet even I could write those essays better than him. I could have even nailed the Qualification Exam's essay if I chose to take it this year."

Ash tilted his head, after taking a brief moment to observe Valiant, who had joined in on the play session that was currently going on the floor beside the table. "You didn't?"

casually, Laura flashed him a friendly grin. "Maria and I decided to hold off for this Season and take our Exams next year. Unlike flaming ponytail, here, we're not in a rush to throw ourselves into the wilderness and dirty ourselves. We have the rest of our lives for that junk."

Ash blinked. It wasn't too uncommon for people to wait, so he supposed he shouldn't be surprised.

Misty, however, scoffed at the remark. "Hmph. You probably just wanted me out of the way so that you would get the highest score in the city." she pointed her thumb to her chest as her signature smug grin made its way to her face. "I happened to score a ninety six on my fishing essay, and an eighty nine overall. Beat that."

Ash had beaten that, as he had gotten a ninety. Although, his essay had scored a ninety one, so Misty had him beat in that regard.

The brunette swirled her drink in her glass, unfazed by the hot-head's boasting. "I'm sure I would have aced it. Maybe I just wanted you to have the spotlight. Who knows, I might skip out next Season so that Maria can shine."

Maria shot her a dirty look. "I won't allow it! We already agreed that we would travel together, you can't ditch me like this!"

Ash flinched at the malicious smirk that crept across Misty's face. "Don't bother, Maria. Laura's just making excuses because she's too scared to travel. She thinks she'll be better off in the warm confines of her home where nothing will ever go wrong for her." The brunette girl rolled her eyes at the comment, paying little mind to Misty's accusation.

Ash flinched much harder, his dream with Trucy suddenly reentering his mind. Misty's choice of words were… less than ideal.

Maria seemed to catch on to the look on his face, however, and he started as a concerned pair of copper eyes settled on him. "You okay there, Ash?"

A wave of guilt passed over him, suddenly feeling like he was ruining the mood.

Pushing the dark thoughts aside, he gave her a smile. No need to think about that distressing moment right now. "I'm fine, sorry."

Laura wiped some juice from her lips, shooting Ash a glance as she set her napkin down. "Where are our manners?" she sounded apologetic. You must feel like a fourth wheel here."

Now that she mentioned it…

Leaning forward a tiny bit, her lips curved upwards. "So, what about you? What are your plans for your adventure?"

Ash shrugged a bit, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "Not… anything you haven't heard before, I'll admit. I just want to make it to the Conference, and shoot for the six-on-six rounds if I can. But almost every rookie would say that."

It was a pretty surface level goal, he couldn't help but wonder. Sure it was grandiose, but Indigo (and the world) was filled with rookies who wanted to be among the few beginners who reached the Conference, and the first beginner to reach the six-on-six rounds. Ash wondered if his goal felt... vanilla, compared to Misty, who wanted to become the greatest water type trainer of all time. His goal was to become Champion, a general goal shared by many of his fellow trainers, including probably Gary.

But Laura offered a lax shrug. "Eh, not a bad goal. There's a reason so many people have it. Got your work cut out for you, but I suppose it's what you signed on for. And you already have a badge, right? The trainers around here are just now getting their firsts, so you'll be outpacing them double." her expression turned playful. "Same with Misty, if she works up the courage to show her face at the Gym."

A low rumble escaped Misty's throat. Ignoring the chill that was sent down his spine, Ash sent Laura a confused look. "Why would she be…?"

Now Maria perked up. "Oh, you never heard? The Gym Leaders in this city are-" Misty was suddenly at her side, hand clamped firmly over Maria's face as the girl's now muffled voice continued to speak.

Ash blinked at that. What was it about the Gym that made Misty so nervous? She loved water types, so battling at the Cerulean Gym would be a great experience for her.

Or at least, that's what he had assumed.

Laura giggled behind her hand. "I guess you'll find out eventually, Ash. But again. That's assuming that Misty even-"

"I'm going to go there." Misty firmly shot back as she sat back down in her seat, having removed her hand from Maria's mouth after being sure that the auburn-haired girl wouldn't try to say anything else. She scoffed haughtily. "In fact, I'm kind of looking forward to it. Just not for the reasons you think. I'll beat them, get their badge, and be out of there in a flash."

Laura's eyes rolled again. "You think I don't know you or something? Of course that's the part you'd be excited about. It's no secret."

Maria flashed Misty a grin. "Good to see you're not nervous."

Misty seemed surprised at that. "Why would I be nervous? It's just another Gym battle, this time against people I'm looking forward to beating down. That's exciting."

Ash could have sworn he heard her spitefully mumble something under her breath. He couldn't quite make it out. Was it "runt" that she was saying? He couldn't tell.

Before he could put too much thought into Misty's... resentful tone of voice, Maria spoke up to him again.

"Oh, sorry Ash. We're making the conversation about us again. Look how rude we're being right now. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Ash blinked. Now there was a question he would not have heard back in Pallet Town. But what should he say?

A surge of frustration (and disappointment) shot through him as he suddenly found himself drawing a blank, but he shook it off and went with a generic response.

"Well… what kind of starters are you interested in?"

That got Laura perking up. "Charmander! You should see the stuff coordinators are coming up with for fire these days. I've already gotten some performances playing out in my mind. Not to mention all of the cool things a Charizard can do in the air. Pretty easy pick for me, honestly."

Ash wasn't as educated in the Contest field, but he had heard about the recent rise in fire type representation among Indigo's coordinators. A few especially skilled coordinators had begun discovering new combinations that were absolutely beautiful to witness, and many others in the community quickly took notice.

That brought a question to mind. "Won't that make it more difficult to stand out? I hear fire types are really popular in Indigo's Contests recently."

Laura didn't seem to be fazed. "It's no different from Misty here wanting to be the best with water types, right?" she said with a shrug. After taking a quick sip of her juice (which finished the glass) she grinned with a sudden, surprising glint of fire in her pupils. "It just means that I have to be the best at what I do. More motivation, right?"

Ash couldn't help but grin at that. He liked her attitude.

"Besides…" said Laura, after finishing a bite of french toast. "It's not like my starter will be the only Pokemon on my team. I'll be fine."

Maria took the time to observe the Pokemon playing on the floor while finishing her apple juice. "Personally, I'm considering Bulbasaur. Not sure what I'd do with one yet, I just like the idea of them being easier to raise. No need to rush into things."

Ash was surprised to hear that she was apparently the modest one of the bunch. 'I guess their personalities don't determine what kind of trainers they'll be.'

Finishing the last of her strawberry milk, Misty observed the table to see everyone else was wrapping up their breakfasts. Folding her hands, she looked between her three friends. "So… what are you guys planning to do today?"

Maria scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Well…" she looked between Ash and Misty as she lowered her arm. "Laura's gotten permission to be here all day. I'm not sure how long you and Ash are staying, being busy and all…"

Ash held his hands up reassuringly. "I'm fine with taking a day off, Maria." he glanced over at his Pokemon, Rockruff breaking away from wrestling with Pikachu as an amused Valiant suddenly found himself on the receiving end. The Kirlia seemed pretty content with whatever game they were playing with the rock type dog. "And they seem to be too."

Misty nodded at that, rising from her seat. "Yeah, I was planning to start training tomorrow and use today to settle in. I'm fine with hanging out with you two and catching up. And I'll be sure to put some time aside at least one more time before I leave. Just… right after I focus on that badge." her expression darkened again for a moment, before quickly returning to normal. If Ash had blinked, he would have missed it.

A satisfied Maria smiled. "Cool! I was thinking of maybe going out, but we could still hang out here for a while. Actually, the new arcade finally opened last week, and we've been going there. Maybe a bit later we can show it to you two."

Ash liked that idea. Pallet Town had a fairly small arcade, and he knew that most were bigger. He wondered what kinds of games he could play there.

Misty nodded happily as Laura rose from her seat, although Ash and Maria were still sitting. "Sounds good. They've been talking about that place forever, but they sure took their sweet time with it. I swear, it better be worth all that hype they spewed in those commercials.

Laura laughed at that. "I'm sure you'll be satisfied. Although, it's not quite as big as they described. Far from tiny, but…"

"Hmph, no surprise there." Misty huffed. Shrugging, she stole a glance at the Pokemon on the floor, who were beginning to settle down upon seeing the humans finish eating. "So I guess it'll be us for the day, and I can show you guys my team while we're at it." She sounded pretty prideful when bringing them up, albeit not in the arrogant way.

Maria clasped her hands together excitedly. "Great! We should get as much done before tonight. Gotta do as much as we can before it's time for you two to turn in at the Pokemon Center."

"Who says they gotta go back to the Center tonight?" Ash suddenly looked up from his seat as Laura approached him. His cheeks burned and his mind raced as she abruptly leaned down and put her arm around him. "Right, Ash? You could always ditch the hothead just this once and hang out at my house-YEOW! MISTY LET GO!"

Misty scoffed in annoyance as she painfully (and quite literally) dragged her brunette friend away by the ear.

"We don't need you going out of your way to mess with every guy we meet." the orange-haired girl groaned.

"Oh come one! I don't do it that often!" her friend protested.

Maria giggled in her seat, holding up her fingers with a cheerful grin. "Six times in the past two months." she spoke matter-of-factly. She glanced over at Ash, who was still waiting for the heat to completely leave his face. "This stuff happens a lot." her voice was complacent, as was her smile.

He could only offer her a somewhat nervous chuckle.

/

The day had been eventful, but fun. The group of four had spent a few hours at the arcade, and although Ash wasn't used to any of the games there, he quickly found his favorites, particularly a Pokemon battle simulator that threw in loads of unpredictable gimmicks with every match.

Ash was careful to avoid the more noisy areas of the arcade for Tyrunt's sake, and Valiant seemed to appreciate the (somewhat) quieter atmosphere too.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Afterwards, while Misty was introducing her team to her new friends, Ash took the time to also let Nebula and Eevee out, both Pokemon receiving a good amount of attention from the other two girls.

Although Eevee was clearly a bit uncomfortable with the spotlight, Ash quickly found that Nebula enjoyed soaking up the affection and attention every bit as much as Pikachu did. Rockruff had also introduced himself to them, although Eevee proved to be quite irritable as the rock type Pokemon quickly took a liking to teasing and messing around with her for fun. The Evolution Pokemon was actually surprisingly hotheaded, not that the little dog cared, of course.

For the rest of the day, the group mostly did whatever came to mind, with no real, particular schedule on the table.

Ash learned a bit more about the history between the three girls throughout the course of the day, Laura filling him in. Apparently they had known each other for a couple of years, Misty first meeting Maria at the beginning of the school year after the chatterbox girl's family had moved to Cerulean from Lavender Town after her father had been accepted to teach at the institute, and both girls later meeting Laura a couple of months later after she had been transferred into their class. The brunette girl had been living in Cerulean for most of her life, but hadn't actually known the other girls until that point. All three girls had been eight years old at the time.

Despite his initial discomfort, it didn't take too long for the anxious feeling plaguing the back of Ash's mind to subside; not just suppress, but thankfully go away for good. Although he still occasionally felt like the fourth wheel of the group, Misty's friends made a clear effort to ensure that he would feel welcome within the group, and it didn't take too long for him to start feeling attached. Maria's excessive ramblings were pretty harmless and were usually halted by Misty before she could go too far, and he was quick to find how much of a mood-lifter she truly was. The girl was pretty energetic almost all of the time, even when not going off on a tangent, and it was often her leading the group to wherever they went next. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and Ash found himself feeling uncharacteristically energetic from the happy-go-lucky vibe that she gave off.

It didn't take much longer for him to get used to Laura's behavior, either. The cute brunette would occasionally sneak in a flirtatious comment or two, usually when Misty was out of earshot (apparently that really hadn't been the first time Laura's ear had been pinched), but he soon wasn't as flustered about it; it was clear she really was just being playful and casual, not trying to deliberately make him feel uncomfortable. Once he grew accustomed to it, he found himself fairly unfazed by her quick comments (and occasionally amused, depending on the context). Laura's overall personality just oozed with relaxation, a surprising contrast from Misty's hot-blooded tempter or Maria's energetic mannerisms. She was definitely the level-headed member of the group, and it constantly showed.

Between Misty and Laura, Ash had a bit of a hard time figuring out which of them kept the group more grounded. Misty would often quell the habits of her two friends whenever they would get out of hand, but Laura was the one who often stuck out in comparison to the much more unpredictable nature of the other two girls, often keeping things from getting too hectic between them.

At the same time, it was still Maria who often led the way, almost as if she was the unofficial planner of the group. It wasn't a dynamic that Ash could fully figure out, at least not yet.

Pikachu had definitely taken a shine to Laura, constantly soaking up whatever attention and fawning that the brunette girl offered him. It helped that he and Rockruff had both been an immediate hit with one another as well. Ash almost found himself feeling jealous of Laura and how focused that Pikachu was on her, but he would always be happy watching his starter make a new friend.

It was past 9:00 PM when Ash and Misty finally made their way back to the Pokemon Center, both exhausted from the day, but also in very high spirits from all of the fun. Tyrunt was sleeping soundly in Ash's arms while the rest of their respective teams were relaxing in their Poke Balls.

"So…" said Misty, face stretched out in a tired grin after letting out a yawn. "That's the company that I often keep around here. Way better than my actual family, of course."

Deciding not to pry, Ash nodded, trying to ignore the fatigue in his eyes as he focused on ahead with a smile. "They're an interesting pair." he admitted matter-of-factly. "Don't really know anyone like them back in Pallet."

"Your hometown sounds boring." Misty scoffed. "Does Professor Oak like monotonous places?"

"Yes… actually." Ash giggled. "For him, the more peaceful the better. He's a workaholic, so he's always been in favor of quieter areas for him to focus on his tasks in."

Misty shrugged. "Whatever he finds stimulating, I guess." she sighed. "In all honesty, I can't imagine being able to handle the quiet life. Not motivating enough."

They'd have to agree to disagree on that one, Ash supposed, although he did still understand where she was coming from. Having a more active atmosphere where you lived sounded like a great way to push you forward. But from his perspective, having more time to think things through in a more peaceful area did wonders for his mindset and train of thought. Maybe he was just saying that because his social life wasn't very active back at home (not positively, anyway), but despite enjoying the company of people his age, being on your own did still have advantages of its own.

But now that his travels had started, breaking away from that quiet, somewhat lonely position was part of the joy, he decided.

His grin was small, but content as they finally approached the Pokemon Center.

Janine, Elacia, Rick, Emily, Misty, Maria, Laura… meeting new people really was one of the best parts of being a trainer.

/

The somewhat late night hadn't stopped Ash and Misty from rising early the next morning. True to her word, Misty led the team to an area outside of the city, featuring a small pond with shallow water and multiple rocks spread throughout.

The water of Cerulean City's Gym would be much deeper than this, and Ash imagined that the pool itself would be at least as big, but this would still be the perfect place to practice at, without too much of a risk.

Pikachu and Eevee would need to learn how to navigate around the water by jumping in between the rocks, as they would have to do the same for the platforms in the Cerulean Gym's pool. Valiant had his teleportation, although Ash wasn't sure how taxing it would be for him to use it constantly to navigate around the battlefield.

In any case, it would be preferable for all three of them to have some sort of basic swimming ability, which thankfully wasn't too much of an issue, as many Pokemon had at least some level of swimming capabilities due to natural survival instincts. Nevertheless, Ash was hoping to improve upon those at least a little bit, but he wouldn't be putting too much focus on it, knowing that it would take ages for them to even potentially match the swimming capabilities of a water type Pokemon. The majority of water types were natural swimmers, inevitably swimming circles around most others even with minimal practice. And the Gym's team were fighting in the Gym's pool on a regular basis; certainly gaining a ton of swimming experience just from facing challengers alone.

Really, the pond would be the perfect place for them to train for the battle. Nebula wouldn't have to worry about it, as she could fly, but Ash did have something else in mind for her to help out with training the others.

Misty's Eevee and Jigglypuff would be participating as well, needing the same kind of training that his own team did. Conveniently, there was a much deeper pond of water nearby for Misty's Staryu and Piplup to hone their own swimming capabilities. Misty was planning to multitask between the two of them, but was willing to give Ash the first turn with the pond.

She inclined her head towards Ash, who had his team lined up by his side as they observed the pond. "What do you think? Will it work for you?"

Ash turned his head towards her and nodded with a smile. "Yes, thank you."

As Misty prepared Staryu and Piplup at the other pond nearby, she had her Eevee and Jigglypuff stick around to observe Ash's team so that they could get ready for their own turn. The two Pokemon kept their distance, however, allowing Ash and his team to do their thing.

Tyrunt looked innocently curious as Ash observed the rest of the team. Ash knelt down and patted the baby's head, prompting the dinosaur to close his eyes happily.

"Tyrunt, I'd like you to watch with me, okay?" Tyrunt still wasn't ready for battle, and Ash wasn't too sure when he'd start training him, but for now, getting him to learn from example was probably a pretty good first step. The more Tyrunt could soak up, the better prepared he'd be. Ash certainly wasn't going to rush into things with the infant, as raising him properly during his newborn phase exceeded everything else in terms of importance, but allowing the dinosaur to simply observe the rest of the team was harmless.

At Tyrunt's nod, Ash returned the response with a nod of his own before standing upright and addressing the rest of the team, also taking the time to observe their expressions.

Apart from Nebula, all of them seemed to be rather apprehensive about the upcoming battle, which Ash couldn't blame them for. None of them had fought in an aquatic arena before, and Nebula was the only one with the flight to compensate for such a disadvantage. In comparison, their opponents would inevitably be perfectly suited for water-based combat. Water Types could breathe underwater, and were expert swimmers by nature, after all.

Even Nebula wasn't at her most confident, but her facial expression acknowledged that the rest of her teammates were in a much more difficult position than herself.

"Okay." Ash began, looking between his teammates evenly as Tyrunt stood by his side. Misty's Eevee and Jigglypuff looked on from a few feet back. "As you all know, we are planning on challenging this city's Gym soon. This will be our team's second Gym battle, and Eevee's first." he gave a quick glance to the Evolution Pokemon, who stiffened up at the declaration, before returning his gaze evenly to the entire team as a whole. "For obvious reasons, we are at a disadvantage. Against Brock, the terrain was rough, and we needed to get used to it, but in our next battle, we will be in an arena filled with water, with only platforms to provide us with very limited ground. It wouldn't be feasible to try and get all of you to be able to swim at the level of a water type Pokemon, especially ones like these that swim and battle in a giant pool all the time, which is why we need to focus on maneuvering around the limited ground that we have." he gestured over to the pond. "Pikachu and Eevee will practice jumping between the rocks. Valiant will work on teleporting between them, in order to build up his endurance. Pikachu, you've practiced something similar to this before, when we were preparing for Brock, but this will be more difficult. It's not just about uneven terrain anymore, it's about limited terrain." the young mouse frowned at the comment, but nodded in understanding. Ash smiled at him. "Of course, your dexterity and efficiency in traversing terrain have excelled ever since those training sessions. I'd like you to support Eevee as best as you can, understood?"

Pikachu nodded at that, flashing a look towards Eevee, who nodded back at him. A small hint of what appeared to be gratitude appeared on her features. That was a good sign.

"At some point," Ash continued. "I will need to pull Pikachu and Valiant aside. Since this is a water type Gym, we'll need to make sure Pikachu has improved how efficiently he can use Thunderbolt, and I'd like to teach Valiant the move as well. Pikachu can hopefully help him with that." he flashed his starter an apologetic look. "I know it's a lot to ask Pikachu, but you really are a key point for all of this. I'm counting on you."

It definitely made the young boy feel guilty. Despite his typing, Pikachu was in just as much of a disadvantageous position as everyone else besides Nebula. But Ash was effectively asking the electric mouse to guide two of his teammates in the upcoming struggles. He didn't like putting this much pressure onto just one Pokemon.

But thankfully, despite the obvious nervousness in the rodent's eyes, Pikachu nodded, although his teammates offered him sympathetic looks, and Nebula in particular looked concerned.

Ash wanted to speak with her real quick, but first he needed to inform everybody of her role in this exercise.

"Nebula…" he carefully regained everybody's attention. "You can fly. That means you don't need to worry about the water nearly as much. That's why… I think there might be a way for you to help everybody else in their training." At her curious look, the bird tilting her head to the side for a moment, Ash fully elaborated on it. "Back when we were training for our battle with Brock, I botched a certain part of the exercise." Ash frowned at that. If Elacia hadn't been there to clear up his mistake, the battle with Brock probably would have ended very differently, and not in their favor. "I told Pikachu to run laps around the training grounds, getting used to the uneven terrain and climbing rocks. It benefitted him greatly, increasing his speed as well as his maneuverability. However…" his frown deepened. "As our friend Elacia pointed out, I wasn't teaching him to multitask. He needed to learn to maneuver around the uneven, disadvantageous battlefield, while simultaneously being forced to deal with attacks from the opposing side. After she pointed this out to me, I added that into his exercise, but I should have done it sooner." Valiant seemed to be catching on. Ash nodded to Nebula. "That's why, I need you flying overhead and attacking these three with Wind Blast while they are traversing the rocks. Try to knock them into the pond. This will also get them used to trying to get out of the water as soon as possible, as it would be suicide to try to engage the Gym's Pokemon while in the water. That would be when their already huge advantage will be at its height. Obviously, if they can't make it back, I'd like you to rescue them. The water is shallow, but better safe than sorry." he looked between the team to gauge their reactions.

None of them seemed to like the idea, but most of them still seemed to accept nonetheless, acknowledging that this was essential to prepare for the battle. Eevee, however, still took the opportunity to shoot Nebula a quick, dirty look.

Ash inwardly grimaced. It wasn't as hostile as usual, but Eevee still wasn't the Staravia's biggest fan. Hopefully this exercise could at least help...

Even now, he still felt a bit guilty for the grave oversight that he had made back in Pewter. Elacia had essentially saved their chances that day. No doubt Pikachu wouldn't have been able to pull through against Onix without that extra layer of preparation, and the fight had already been incredibly close as it was.

But Ash wouldn't make the same mistake. A true trainer learned from their mistakes, as they continued to hone themselves. And that's what he would do, starting today.

"Alright Nebula…" he began softly. "I want you to stay here with me for a moment. The rest of you…" he pointed off towards the pond. "Go get started right away. I'll send Nebula over once you've gotten the hang of things. Try to avoid her attacks as much as you can."

As the team complied and headed off to the pond, Ash knelt down beside the Staravia, not missing the nervous look that she sent Pikachu's way.

"You're worried about Pikachu, aren't you?" the bird turned towards him as he patted her on the head. He was sure to make eye contact. "I know…" said Ash. "I'm putting a lot of pressure on the poor guy's plate. I don't like it myself." The look in his eyes turned a bit more confident, although remained sympathetic. "But I want you to know that I wouldn't put him through anything that I thought was too much for him, and that goes for the rest of you. If I find he's overwhelmed, I won't hesitate to give him a break. He deserves it."

Nebula seemed to ease up a bit at that. Her trust in Ash had definitely strengthened since their first encounter in Viridian Forest, and although Ash credited Pikachu for a great majority of that (the time that she had started to open up more was synonymous with when she and Pikachu had first started to become chummy) the bird had become quite amicable towards him and Valiant as well.

Ash didn't want to abuse or take advantage of that, and there was no denying the kind of camaraderie that Pikachu and Nebula shared with one another. It was a relationship that he hoped his entire team would share with each other one of these days, but for now, the first two members of his team had a kind of friendship that nobody else on the team had. Being reminded of that always moved him, if he was being honest with himself. The two were inseparable.

"You're a good friend, Nebula." Ash patted her head affectionately, and the bird crooned softly at the touch. "I'm sure Pikachu would be happy to know how concerned you are for him." blinking in sudden realization, he gave her a look. "Do you remember back in Pewter City? When you and Pikachu were still practicing Double Team." Nebula nodded at that. Ash's smile widened. "You got the hang of the Move faster than he did. He was struggling, but you helped him through it. Do you remember that." It took a moment, but the recollection in Nebula's eyes suddenly formed, prompting the young trainer to grin even further. "Moments like that are important for all of you. As long as you all support each other, I'm sure you'll be able to tackle anything."

That seemed to bolster her spirit. Moving back a bit to give his friend some space, Ash turned back towards Tyrunt, who was watching the interaction with some curiosity.

Nebula understood the importance of her concern for Pikachu, and Ash's reassurance to her. He hoped that Tyrunt understood it too. After all, he'd be a part of this team one day, if he wanted to be. It was yet another thing for the infant to take in.

/

The first day of training wasn't the smoothest, but Ash hadn't expected it to be.

Pikachu led the way, hopping across the pond from rock to rock as Eevee attempted to mimic his movements. Valiant would occasionally make attempts at jumps, but prioritized Teleport. All the while, Nebula would repeatedly fire Wind Blast down towards her teammates in an attempt to knock them into the pond.

Although Pikachu fared better than his teammates, he was still being blasted into the water, or even just losing his footing, relatively often. Eevee and Valiant struggled even moreso, and although they got better over time, it was still an uphill battle for both of them. Thankfully, they were usually able to get back onto the rocks on their own, and whenever unable too, they were quickly rescued by Nebula.

Pikachu and Valiant's training with Thunderbolt was coming along a lot better, however. The young mouse worked to perfect the powerful move over the next few days, Valiant learning by example. Although it took the young Kirlia the entirety of the first day to even be able to use the Move, he quickly gained momentum after getting the bare basics down. Pikachu coached him through it, being able to offer far better advice than Ash ever could due to firsthand experience. It once again brought Ash back to the time that Nebula had helped Pikachu work on Double Team.

After a few days, Pikachu was firing Thunderbolt almost perfectly. Although Valiant still lagged behind him a bit, he was still fairly competent with the Move, and Pikachu's overall more efficient usage of the move was to be expected from an electric type Pokemon.

Thankfully, the next few days saw positive boons for the maneuverability training as well. Not only did the training provide good target practice for Nebula, but it wasn't long before Pikachu, and later Eevee, were able to perform more consistently while traversing the rocks in the water and avoiding her attacks. Valiant's stamina had also greatly increased, his usage of Teleport becoming far more frequent without him needing to worry about tiring himself out as quickly. No doubt his recent Evolution had also played a key factor in all of this.

And on Misty's side of things, her Eevee and Jigglypuff were making similar progress, and the orange-haired girl boastingly claimed that Staryu and Piplup were both already swimming far faster than normal. And during Misty's own training sessions, Ash would offer to have Nebula play the same role in her Eevee and Jigglypuff's training as she did for the rest of Ash's team. It was a good, mutual benefit for both of them, as this was still training for Nebula too, and Misty accepted it.

During breaks between training, Ash and Misty both noticed that Nebula and Piplup would occasionally hang out with one another. The two of them had assisted each other during the battle against Team Rocket, and it seemed like that experience had stuck with them a bit.

The biggest surprise, however, had come at the end of their fourth day of training, when Piplup had evolved into Prinplup. Misty was elated, and spent the whole night in the hotel room boasting about it until she was too tired to talk.

Ash was happy for her, however. A Pokemon evolving was always a momentous occasion.

Which brought them to the fifth day of training.

The two trainers were planning to pay the Gym a visit following one more day of training (not including this one). Misty's expression was a peculiar one for Ash, the young boy finding himself unable to place whether it was one of apprehension or excitement. Laura had given him a teasing, offhand comment that he should look forward to seeing Misty enter the Gym. He couldn't really place why that was, and Misty's warning snarls had prevented Laura and Maria from elaborating any further.

Right now he and Misty were sitting near the larger pond, watching Staryu and the newly evolved Prinplup swimming laps around the large body of water. Tyrunt and Valiant sat beside Ash, the baby dinosaur leaning against the boy a bit while eating some meat that Ash had picked up from the Pokemon Center. The rest of Ash and Misty's teams were taking a break from their training, sharing snacks together a little ways off. Pikachu and Nebula shared a bowl together, conversing happily in anticipation for their upcoming challenge at the Gym.

Although Eevee still wasn't Nebula's biggest fan, she was no longer avoiding the bird, sitting by Pikachu's side, supposedly to get some more maneuverability tips. Her hostility towards the Staravia was hopefully, or at least taking the first step to such, but the training obviously hadn't been a miracle cure.

Prinplup had been exercising constantly in order to break in his newfound evolution, but often needed to take eating breaks. Between the recent evolution and the constant training, it was pretty easy for him to get hungry.

It was late in the afternoon. The sun would probably begin to set before too long.

Misty grinned as the water rippled and churned in Staryu and Prinplup's wake. The two Pokemon really were moving fast, and it left Ash suddenly craving a water type of his own… if the circumstances surrounding the upcoming Gym battle didn't already have him wishing for one on his team.

"Now that's what I'm talking about. Those two will swim circles around whatever water types that gym throws at them. I just need to wait for Prinplup to be more accustomed to his new form."

Ash nodded in acknowledgement as he continued to follow the two Water Types with his eyes. He didn't blame Misty for her confidence. Watching those two must have been very empowering for her.

Of course, it just further reminded him of his own disadvantage; the Cerulean Gym undoubtedly had Pokemon just like those two. Pokemon that he and his team could not compete with in an aquatic battle. It was almost discouraging, but the hard work his team had been putting in throughout the past several days was equally encouraging. He'd just have to believe in them. It didn't quell his tension, but he owed them that much and more.

Looking down at Tyrunt, the he patted the infant's head, and an affectionate noise to escape from the small dinosaur's throat. "You looking forward to the Gym battle, little buddy?" Ash smiled.

Valiant giggled in amusement at Tyrunt's excited, responsive chatter. The Royal Heir Pokemon really was taking an interest in the team's practices. Not necessarily clamoring to get in on the action himself, but still developing a very clear intrigue towards it nonetheless. Ash noticed that Tyrunt's interest had progressively grown over the past few days, especially as he cheered on Valiant during Thunderbolt training.

It did make Ash a little bit nervous that Tyrunt would start asking to participate in the battles too soon. To jump into training before he was ready. He certainly seemed like he would want to eventually, but Ash just hoped that he hadn't been overdoing it with giving the infant dinosaur this kind of exposure.

Nevertheless, Tyrunt would develop rather quickly, as infant Pokemon grew a lot faster than humans did, and dragon types were naturally strong, so it wasn't as risky as most cases, there was still most certainly a limit. Ash knew that Tyrunt would be ready before long, but that didn't mean that he was eager.

As exciting as it was to have a powerful Dragon Type Pokemon on his team, he would prolong Tyrunt's participation in the group for now. Tyrunt wouldn't become a member of the team until he wanted to be one, and until Ash felt that he was in a comfortable position to be one.

But for now, Tyrunt seemed to be perfectly content just watching everything play out.

Apart from the rapid splashing of the waters as Staryu and Prinplup continuously sped by, it was a pretty quiet, tranquil moment. Misty would occasionally exchange a few comments with him, and occasionally Valiant and Tyrunt would exchange a few noises that Ash wished that he could understand, but apart from that, everybody was perfectly content with simply observing the show as Misty's two water types sped around the pond.

Moments of quiet didn't last forever, however.

Misty's body turned rigid, eyes wide as saucers and shaking erratically, her hair practically raising, as a sudden voice called out to them.

"Well what do you know, I guess the rumors were true!"

"No…" Misty's voice was practically shaking, and before Ash could ask her what was wrong, the hothead had shot up, turning around to see the source of the voice.

"What are you doing here?!" she spat, rushing towards the source. The exchange caught the attention of all of the Pokemon outside of the water. Pikachu and the others simply observed from a distance however, curious expressions on their faces as Ash gestured for Valiant and Tyrunt to wait where they were, following Misty up the short hill and to the person seemingly addressing his hotheaded friend.

Looking up, he could see the source of the voice. Misty reached them first, with Ash close behind her, albeit staying a couple feet behind his friend.

Misty crossed her arms as she lightly glared at the figure, an annoyed expression on her face.

The woman in front of them looked to be about eighteen years of age or so, and Ash could have sworn that he'd seen her somewhere before.

Her hair was hot pink, going down to her shoulders and giving off a very vibrant, shiny feel to it. She was incredibly well groomed, and first impressions told Ash that she was even more obsessed with appearances than Misty was. Her eyes were a shining blue, bright and brimming with life. Her figure was slender and fit, with long legs to compliment it. And in general, she just came across as… incredibly clean. She wore casual clothes, a combination of blue and red.

As he took in her appearance, however, Ash inwardly panicked as he felt the heat rapidly rushing to his face, almost as though he was in mild pain from the sudden burning sensation in his cheeks.

'Holy shit she's beautiful.' He thought before he had the chance to stop himself.

It didn't help that her position and pose felt oddly provocative. Fists pressed against her hips, head tilted just barely to the side, and a knowing smirk on her face as she locked eyes with Misty. The look on her smug expression seemingly conveyed recognition. Ash was behind Misty, so he couldn't see her face, but based on her tone of voice, she wasn't happy to see this woman.

'So…" the woman's tone of voice carried an unexpected charm to it that forced Ash to absorb every word. "When was the little runt going to tell us that she was back home?" her voice had a mock sense of fussiness to it, as though she was jokingly coddling a baby.

'Runt?' thought Ash. 'Wait… is this Misty's…?!'

Steam was practically rising from Misty's body as she spat back. "How did you even know I was back, anyway?! I wasn't supposed to see you until-"

The pink haired woman raised a hand to clarify. "That handsome little catch from the lab informed us that you were in town. I've spent all day looking for you."

"I'm going to kill Ryan." Ash's entire body paled at that (or at least it tried too, as his cheeks were still burning). Misty's tone of voice sounded more like a murderous demon out for blood and crushed skulls, rather than an energetic, ten year old girl. Suddenly, her voice grew more annoyed. "Wait a minute… I've been here for almost a week! Did it take you that long to find me, or did you just start looking today?" her arms remained crossed.

The pink haired woman shrugged absentmindedly. "What can I say? We had other things to focus on. But I'm here now, aren't I? And who's your friend over here?" Ash froze as she gestured towards him. The smirk on her face grew as his blush worsened from the attention. What's more, she seemed to soak it up.

"U-Um… High…" Ash stammered. "I'm Ash."

"The name's Lily, nice to meet you." she flicked her hair a bit, an egotistical smirk that could rival Misty and Gary combined making it's way across her lips. "Don't worry, there's no need to tell me how gorgeous I am. I already know."

As Ash hid his face (which he was pretty sure was about to catch on fire), a snarling Misty got between him and Lily, her face dark with rage.

"Quit being a creep, you damn bimbo! Do you have any fraction of self awareness? Or did you forget to glue your brain to your skull when you woke up this morning?!"

Lily clasped her hands together, having a mockingly fake expression of friendly cheerfulness and serenity on her face. "Oh, no need to be so harsh with your big sister, runt. If you were this beautiful, you'd understand."

Before Misty could tackle Lily to the ground and throttle her, Ash spoke up. "Wait a minute! Sister?!" Looking frantically between the two girls, he could spot the resemblance. It was in their faces. But still…

Cooling down a bit, Misty let out a deep, and very loud sigh, as she turned her head in Ash's direction. It was as though she had been dreading this moment.

"Yeah…" she spoke softly, almost broken, but eyes still clearly angry. "I'm the youngest of four. This is my sister, Lily… and one of Cerulean City's three Gym Leaders."

Ash's jaw could have been underground. 'I've been hanging out with the sister of a Gym Leader?! THREE OF THEM?!'

But Lily didn't seem satisfied. "Hey! You can't just skip the best part!" she leaned to the side to get a better look at Ash. "We're also the Sensational Sisters! You've heard of us, haven't you?"

'So that's where I've seen here before!' Ash flinched in retaliation.

The Sensational Sisters were renowned performers who were widely considered to be the best swimmers in all of Indigo. Their performances usually took place right here in Cerulean City. They were beloved by their fans. For their talents, unrivaled by all in their field. And also for their… appearances.

Ash had probably seen them in a magazine before, but he didn't know much about them. Probably why he had no idea that they also ran a Gym.

The boy gave Misty an incredulous look. "Gym Leaders? You're…"

The hothead sighed. "The Meowth's out of the bag, I suppose. Yeah, she's the Gym Leader here, along with the rest of my sisters."

Ash didn't know what to say… but thankfully, Lily spoke up for him, for better or worse. "Eh, the Gym Leader stuff is more of a side hobby." A position of political power was a hobby? "Our real bread and butter is our shows. You should come by some time."

"I'll… give it some thought." Ash meekly responded, his mind still jumbled.

'I'm friends with the sister of three celebrities…' he couldn't wrap his head around that. 'How the hell did this happen?'

"So, Misty, how did you two meet?" she asked, giving her little sister a coy smile."Run into each other on the road or something? Guess you needed someone else to keep you grounded now that Maria and Laura aren't with you to do the job, huh?"

Misty's rage returned in full force as she glared lasers into her older sister. "As if! I'm the one keeping those two grounded!"

Lily tapped her chin with her index finger, pretending to be deep in thought. "Hmmm… I see…. Didn't you punch a poor boy's tooth out at school once?"

"He sprayed juice all over me and then made fun of my clothes! I should have broken more of his teeth!"

'Gary's lucky she didn't go to school with us.' Ash thought to himself fearfully. The boy recalled the time that the Oak boy had "accidentally" spilled Ash's milk on his pants while casually walking past him in the cafeteria.

Lily's laugh was haughty and narcissistic, and she eyed Misty like a predator toying with their food. "Well, I guess it was too much to ask expecting a month on the road to shape you up. But that doesn't excuse you for not calling us! We were sooo worried!"

Ash couldn't tell if Lily's tone of voice was overbearing or condescending.

"As if I needed you three sticking your self-important snouts into my business!" Misty was making an effort to calm down, Ash could tell. But it seemed like this woman's presence was a trigger for the younger girl. "Besides…" She stood up as tall as she could, the anger on her face turning tranquil as she locked eyes with her older sister. "I already have one badge. And I'll be coming for yours in a couple of days. You can tell that to Daisy and Violet."

"I'm sure they're looking forward to it. We'll all be so happy to see how our adorable little fluff ball has grown!" Lily fawned, yet her smile was akin to that of somebody complimenting a child for guessing two plus two. The look in her eyes was unpleasant, conveying a certain snarkiness to it more than any smirk that Ash had ever seen.

As the heat in his face slowly leveled out to something more tolerable, Ash looked between the two sisters, an outsider to the silent war going on between them in their eye to eye exchange.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Misty scoffed. "What do you even want?"

Lily threw her hands up. "What? Is it so wrong to want to check on my sister? I heard you were in town, so the moment I had the chance, I rushed on over. Figured I'd find you at a place like this, since you weren't in your usual hangouts."

"Then where are the other two, if you've all missed me so much?" Misty snarled evenly.

"We have a tight schedule." Lily's grin was inoffensive this time, and for Misty, that might have been even worse.

"And there it is…" Misty grumbled. "Whatever. Ash and I will be there soon, so get ready for two ass whoopings in a row. Then we'll see who the runt is."

"You know, Misty, I think you're getting cuter. Wearing the big girl pants, eh?" Ash perked up as Lily flashed him a wink. "Keep her out of trouble, okay? You never know what she'll get herself into."

"Screw off, hypocrite." Misty turned away from her sister with a huff as she made her way back to the pond. As she walked past Ash, she roughly snatched her friend by the ear, uncaringly (and painfully) dragging him abruptly along with her. "Come on, Ash. Let's go somewhere where we won't lose brain cells."

"AAGH! MISTY! THE EAR! IT HURTS!"

"And get that damned blush off your face! That's not Karen, that's my sister!"

/

Misty's mood had plummeted after the surprise encounter with Lily, but she had thankfully cooled down over a quiet dinner and a nice, relaxing shower.

Ash was patient with her, never going out of his way to initiate conversation, and never bringing up Lily's name.

It had been… happening quite fast, during the actual encounter, especially since Ash was still reeling from the revelation that Misty's sisters were famous performers and Gym Leaders, of all possible occupations. But the air between Misty and the pink-haired beauty had been excruciatingly uncomfortable.

He wasn't used to this kind of vibe between family members. He and his mother were as close as possible. Trucy got along so well with her grandparents. Even Gary had a great deal of respect for Professor Oak.

Ash had no idea what was between Misty and her family, and it wasn't his place to dig, either, but the hostility from Misty and the condescending, blatant behavior from Lily could be felt from a mile away. Ash had never seen a family that wasn't completely inseparable, but those two…

It broke pretty much all of the rules that he was aware of regarding family. But as curious as he was, there was no way that he would pry.

And even if he had wanted to, Misty would deck him for sure.

Thankfully, all had settled down as he and Misty sank into their beds, their respective teams all getting ready for the night themselves.

As their Pokemon got some much needed shut eye, Ash dared to speak up, although not about Misty's family. "So… tomorrow's the last day, right?" He spoke carefully.

Turning on her side to face him, Misty, her hair now down, nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, I feel like I've waited long enough. You're planning to go for it after that too, right?" Her voice was a lot calmer now, portraying no fury or arrogance to speak of.

He nodded. "I don't want to wait too long."

Misty was about to respond, but suddenly yawned. Looking sleepy eyed, she simply gave Ash a nod before turning over to her lamp.

As her arm reached out for the switch, she paused for a second. "I'm… sorry I didn't tell you."

"Hmmm…?" Ash knew what she was talking about, but was too afraid to say it.

"About my sisters, dumbass!" she suddenly snapped. Her hand shot up to her mouth, before she frowned. "S-Sorry… I just… wanted to put that off for as long as I could. I don't really… want to get into it."

Ash nodded reassuringly, an understanding smile on his face, even though he knew that Misty wasn't looking towards him. "I don't mind."

"Hmph. You're too soft. Just make sure you have a tough mindset when we walk into the Gym later." she sighed. "I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to say. 'Oh, hi, random person I just met! Guess what, I'm the sister of a trio of celebrities! Don't worry, I'm not a lying attention seeker or anything like that!' or something along those lines." she scoffed. "I wasn't sure how you'd react."

Ash nodded. It made sense. If he was related to somebody that famous, telling people would either make him come across as a liar or a showoff. Misty was far from humble, but that pride seemed to come from herself, and not from her sisters.

"Don't worry. I'm not mad." he wasn't sure how to speak to her. Would it be condescending to sound too gentle? He did his best to keep his voice even.

"Right, thanks." Misty allowed a small smile to make its way to her lips as she gripped the switch of the lamp. "Goodnight." her side turned off.

Nodding silently, Ash turned off his own lamp before rolling over and closing his eyes, mind filling with thoughts of the upcoming trip to the Gym.