"Ok...so you're telling me...this numbnut did WHAT?!" Ash nearly yelled.
Right now, the group was sitting together at a table in the Gym. Since Misty was free, they'd caught up, but then Misty told Ash what his good old Blastoise had been doing while he was gone.
And let's just say, over in the corner, Blastoise and his Blastoise brigade were on the ground tied up with Pikachu's [Electro Web], and with them were a few new female Squirtles, with Misty's Blastoise looking worried but sitting next to one that was beside Ash's.
"Yeah, so apparently your Blastoise took them back to the Island of Squirtles and apparently fought the king and allegedly won, so...that," Misty repeated, pointing at them.
Ash took a breath and slowly pulled out his Pokédex to check real quick, and just like he feared, the new Squirtle next to his Blastoise had the invincible Shell mutation. So not only did Misty accidentally take one of the Squirtle princesses that eventually became her Blastoise…
But now his Blastoise got the other one.
"…I leave for one side quest," Ash muttered.
Blastoise gave a sheepish, "Blas…"
Misty crossed her arms, "In his defense, he looked very proud of himself."
"That's the problem," Ash muttered.
Pikachu snickered from the table.
Brock leaned forward thoughtfully, "Well...technically speaking, if he won the duel, that would make him—"
"I don't need the political implications, Brock!" Ash groaned, dragging a hand down his face.
Across the room, one of the new Squirtles blinked innocently.
Blastoise puffed out his chest slightly despite being tied up.
Ash pointed at him, "No. Don't even start, or I will make you be Pikachu's sparring partner again."
One of the new Squirtles shuffled closer to him anyway, blinking up at Ash with big, hopeful eyes.
"…Don't," Ash warned weakly.
The Squirtle tilted her head.
May, who had been unusually quiet this entire time, slowly leaned forward in her seat, "…They're kind of adorable," she said softly.
Misty groaned, "Don't encourage them."
Another Squirtle toddled over and tugged lightly at May's sleeve. Pikachu hopped down to inspect them, sniffing curiously.
"Pika?"
The Squirtle squeaked happily and hugged his leg.
May's eyes absolutely melted.
"Oh no," Brock muttered.
Misty rubbed her temple, "This is exactly how it started with me."
Ash folded his arms, "Yeah, and look how that turned out. Now we've got royalty drama."
In the corner, Misty's Blastoise gently nudged one of the younger Squirtles closer to May, specifically the second princess, who was also her sister. The little one looked nervous.
May carefully crouched down, "Hi there…"
The Squirtle blinked up at her, then toddled forward and climbed into her lap. For a moment, May blinked, but slowly she put her hand down and rubbed her shell.
Misty watched the scene for a long moment, then sighed, "…You know what?" she said.
Ash looked over cautiously, "That tone worries me."
Misty stood and walked over to May, crossing her arms but smiling just a little, "I already have a ridiculous number of Squirtles from earlier, and I've got my own Blastoise. And clearly…" she gestured at the cuddle pile forming around May, "…that one likes you."
May blinked, "Wait, really?"
Misty nodded, "Yeah. But on one condition."
May straightened, "What is it?"
Misty jerked a thumb over her shoulder toward Ash and Brock, "You promise to help keep these two idiots in line."
Ash gasped, "Hey!"
"I object to the phrasing," Brock added
Misty didn't even look back, "Promise."
May looked from the Squirtle in her lap, then over to the Blastoise brigade getting tied up and shocked by Pikachu. She giggled and looked up at Misty, "I promise."
The Squirtle squeaked happily and hugged her tighter as May pulled out a Poké Ball and gently booped it on the head. It went in and closed without even rolling.
Misty sighed, "Alrighty then. Without me there, someone has to be the responsible one," she said, putting her hands on her hips, though she was still smiling.
Then Max raised his hand, "I have a question."
This whole time he had been silent since, well, Misty was also on TV during the Gym Leader Tournament. Now in the room were three people he fanboyed over, Ash, Brock, and Misty, so he was fanboying hard.
But now he had a question that popped into his head.
"So you said that Ash's Blastoise told you all the stuff about him going to the island and winning, I guess...but...like how?"
"Huh...actually that's a good question…" Brock muttered, rubbing his chin. He was so used to Ash and Yellow being able to talk to Pokémon that he didn't question it, but now that Max brought it up, he remembered, oh yeah, that's not normal.
"Oh...uhhh...I dunno," Misty answered honestly.
Suddenly, from the back room, an Eevee walked out after taking her bath. She looked around, then jumped up to sit in Misty's lap.
Yeah, another thing, Misty got an Eevee, which wasn't surprising to Ash. He knew from her Masters EX variation she would get a Vaporeon, and it wasn't hard to imagine where she got one. Her family is rich, and her sisters probably thought a Vaporeon would look good in their shows, so they got one for her to make up for the missed birthdays.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Ash asked, focusing on the more important part.
Misty blinked, "I mean...he just told me?"
Silence.
Ash slowly lowered his hand from his face, "Told you. As in...told you told you?"
Misty gestured vaguely, "Yeah? Like normal?"
Brock and Ash exchanged a look.
Max looked like his brain had just short-circuited, "But...humans can't understand Pokémon speech."
Ash pointed at Misty, "See! Thank you!"
Misty frowned, "Oh come on. You've been doing it for years."
"Yeah, but I have Aura," Ash said, and as Misty opened her mouth, he held up a finger to stop her, "And yes, May and Max know. Don't even start."
"Okay, well...how do you know I don't have a superpower now, huh?" Misty shot back defensively, since she had no idea either.
Ash raised a finger, but stopped and thought about it, "Actually…"
"Wait...what?" Misty blinked.
"When did it start happening?" Ash asked.
"Uh...well technically, I guess after the Gym Leader Tournament I started understanding Water-types more...but I started actually understanding what they said like a month ago?"
"Isn't that around the time that you—" Brock started, but he stopped when he noticed May and Max pretending not to listen in.
"Errr...should we?" Misty asked.
"Up to you. Oh, but fair warning, we had a Mew incident, and we also fought the Regis, so take that as you will," Ash shrugged.
Misty looked at Ash for a moment, "Yeah, I'm not even surprised at this point. That's actually pretty normal. Anyway, yeah, after the Suicune stuff—"
"Wait, what now?" May blinked.
"Long story. Not the time," Ash answered as he stepped closer to Misty and looked her up and down, Aura flickering in his eyes, "So, after the Suicune stuff, you started being able to understand Water-types specifically? Anything else?"
"Yeah, but as far as I know? No, nothing else," Misty finished. She wasn't weirded out by Ash looking her up and down, this was normal, "So, am I dying or something?" she asked sarcastically.
"No, not that." In a normal circumstance, Ash would've finished with 'unfortunately', but he didn't, and that made Misty and Brock realize, oh no, this was serious, "But it looks like Suicune left you with a parting gift."
"Wait, what now?" Misty blinked again.
Ash pulled back and grinned at her, "Well, Misty, looks like you're a Mystic now~"
"Eh?" everyone said in unison.
"Oh yeah, guess this is the first time this has come up, huh?" Ash scratched his chin, "A Mystic is basically a person that a Legendary Pokémon blessed, and it left them with some kind of power. Looks like Suicune left Misty here with a parting gift for all your help." Ash slapped Misty on the back, "Congratulations, Mist—you have a superpower too!"
"…I...I don't even know how to respond to that," Misty blinked. Sure, she'd joked about being jealous that Ash and Yellow had cool powers, but now that she had one? This felt weird.
"Wait, so what else can she do?!" Max asked excitedly.
"I dunno," Ash answered with full confidence.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Misty asked immediately.
"I've never met a Mystic. Well, I guess technically Yellow was a Mystic, but she was also closer to a Psychic," Ash said, tapping his chin, "Actually now that i think about it, they might also have powers now…i might need to call them to ask," Ash muttered thinking about Ethan, Silver, Lyra and Kris, since they had that whole thing with the legendaries they might also have some new power
"Wait, Yellow was what?!" May asked quickly.
Ash held up a finger at her, "Not important right now."
Then he pointed at Misty, "So, you can talk to Water-types, buuuuut...you might be able to do something else."
"Like what? Heal Water-types?" Misty asked.
"Or maybe something like Suicune, she can purify water now," Brock suggested.
"Ohhh!" Max raised his hand, "Maybe she's a waterbender now!"
"Excellent theory, Max. One billion points," Ash grinned as he looked at Misty, "So there's only one way to find out~"
Misty blinked and took a step back, "No...you wouldn't."
"I'm more offended that you even think that," Ash said as he went around and grabbed Misty by the back of her jacket, pulling her toward the door and yelling back at Brock, Max, and May, "Off to do testing! Be back in a few hours!"
As Ash dragged her out, they heard Misty yelling, "Save me!!!!" as her voice faded into the distance.
May, Max, and Brock stood still for a moment, looked at each other, and then Brock cleared his throat, "Well...I think we should go look around town. I can answer your questions." It was totally not to avoid dealing with this new development.
"Sounds fine to me," May immediately said, and Max nodded his head as they turned and walked away.
Meanwhile, at the pool, Pikachu and Vee were left behind. Pikachu looked at Vee and shrugged before walking off to follow Brock's squad. Vee was about to follow when suddenly he felt a nuzzle in his fur.
He slowly looked down and saw Misty's new Eevee nuzzling against him.
"…Vee...(°ヮ°)?"
—
{Meanwhile}
About a month ago, in the middle of the ocean, there was a blue Egg just riding the waves. It was alone, but strangely, no Pokémon ever tried to harm it. They even protected it from crashing into the rocks.
This Egg would hatch in a little over a month, and all the creatures in the water could tell. Unfortunately, that also meant others could tell.
At the surface, three helicopters hovered low, shining their spotlights directly down onto the Egg, finally finding what they were looking for.
Once they did, they spoke into their radios, calling their captain to report they had found it. A few moments later, a large submarine surfaced nearby and retrieved the Egg, pulling it inside.
Where the captain, Captain Phantom, was waiting as the water slowly filtered into a glass tube, and there, the Egg appeared.
Captain Phantom stepped forward, his coat billowing dramatically despite the fact that there was no wind, like he was trying way too hard to Aura-farm. His Chatot flapped onto his shoulder.
"Remember," Phantom said grandly, "there are two types of men in this world...those who have unlimited desires...and those who do not!"
His First Mate, Galen, blinked, "Well yes, Captain, but there are also those who crave pork belly scratchings and those who don't—"
"Galen," Phantom snapped.
"Right. Unlimited desires. Very profound."
The Captain reached toward the glowing Egg, "Oh! This is sure to give me that which I desire. Wait for me...my Sea Crown," he muttered.
His goal with this Egg was obvious, to help awaken and capture the legendary Kyogre.
But before he could touch it, a hand shot in and snatched the Egg away.
Phantom immediately snapped his head toward the person, another man wearing his crew's uniform, but with his face covered.
"What?! Who are you?!"
The crewman holding the Egg adjusted his cap slightly, "You want this to satisfy your selfish desires. Not happening."
Captain Phantom's face turned purple, "Seize him! Now! Seize him!"
The 'crewman' grinned, and ran, but not toward the door, since some of the pirates jumped in the way. Instead, he wall-ran along the interior bulkhead, boots clanging against metal, pirates scrambling after him.
"Traitor! Stop him!"
He laughed, "Excuse me. I'm not a traitor...I was never on your side!"
He grabbed onto a rotating internal ladder mechanism just as it began lifting cargo upward. Pirates slammed into each other beneath him.
"Ow! Aah!"
Reaching the upper level, he flipped cleanly off and kicked a safety railing down behind him to block the pirates.
"Hello there, Headquarters. This is Jack Walker checking in."
On the other end, a female voice replied, "Well, well, Jackie. You're late."
"EOP confirmed," Jack said, trying to sound cool.
"EOP? You mean 'Equal Opportunity Publications'?" the woman mocked.
"Egg of the Prince. So, pretty cool name, huh?"
"You can't just make up names."
"Look, first I get stuck scrubbing stinking floors for a solid month. Couldn't you think of something nicer to say?"
"As soon as our work is through. There's a lot left. You man enough?"
Jack smirked, dodging a pirate lunging at him, "I don't know the meaning of the word 'failure.'"
"You don't? Would you like to borrow my dictionary?" the woman said almost playfully.
"No thanks."
He knocked over a sack of potatoes, sending the crew tumbling. Then, bursting through the upper hatch, he emerged onto the submarine's deck, only to skid to a halt.
Captain Phantom stood before him, coat snapping dramatically, "I'll just take that off your hands now. Pinsir! Parasect!"
The two Pokémon appeared and glared at him.
"Give it up," Phantom repeated one more time, "And I'll consider letting you keep both your hands."
"Give it up?" Jack echoed, "I don't know the meaning of the phrase 'give it up.' Capiche?"
"Really? I'll lend you my dictionary," Phantom said mockingly.
Jack scoffed, "Keep it."
He suddenly vaulted backward onto the submarine's glass observation dome.
"Huh?!"
Jack balanced effortlessly, then flipped his Capture Device into his hand and spun it, creating a glowing ring, "Capture on!"
A Mantine swimming alongside the vessel suddenly jerked mid-glide, caught in an energy ring.
"Capture complete," Jack said with a smile.
"Now, Mantine!"
Jack leapt from the dome and landed perfectly on its back as it surged upward.
He shot a final glance at the Captain as he snapped his fingers coolly, commanding Mantine to use [Confuse Ray].
A spiraling beam erupted from Mantine, striking Pinsir and Parasect. The two Pokémon stumbled in dizzy circles and crashed into each other, knocking themselves out.
Jack gave a mock salute as Mantine dove beneath the waves. He slapped a rebreather into his mouth just before submerging.
By the time the crew looked over the railing, he was already gone.
Silence fell over the submarine deck, broken only by groaning pirates.
Captain Phantom stared at the swirling water...then slowly smiled, "A Pokémon Ranger, eh?" He grinned. Did he really think I didn't expect this?
"Galen," Phantom said without even looking back, letting the wind catch his coat dramatically, "Track him."
–
Meanwhile with Jack, once he was back on land, he relaxed finally, and let Mantine go back into the wild, then he pulled out his communicator, "This is Jack to base, the mission is complete I have the EOP,"
"Again, you can't just make up words," the female voice said again, "But good work I suppose, I assume you know where to return the Egg to?"
Jack froze, realizing he forgot about that part and his silence was all the easier the girl on the other side needed, "This is the reason why people say the Rangers don't do anything, sigh its fine, i already thought ahead,"
"And thats why your the best Judy," Jack said proudly, "How about after all this we go on a date~"
"Maybe focus on not needing me to hold your hand and i'll consider it," Judy jabbed back, "Anyway i contacted an old contact, you'll be traveling with the Marina Group, and you'll also need to help them out, so i told them you can help out there show as the clown~"
"Your so mean, couldn't i have been, like the ring master or something," Jack sighed, but he knew there was no point crying about it, "Alright, I'll do it,"
"Good, now just remember, you need to return it to Samiya,"
—-
{In Hoenn, meanwhile}
Jessie was sitting on a bench, looking at her new Ribbon case with her Cubone sitting on her lap. In the time they'd been around here, they'd done quite a few side quests. For one, Jessie got two Ribbons, and 100% legit, she didn't cheat.
Meanwhile, Meowth managed to get their Air Balloon back and build a few upgrades to it. And James found out that the PokéRinger competition was happening in Crossgate Town. Since his master was apparently the first PokéRinger Champion, he insisted they go.
And he actually won, which honestly surprised Jessie and Meowth. They had like five backup plans to cheat, but he didn't even need them.
Oh, and all of this was over the course of a month, by the way. Turns out they can be pretty productive when they have nothing to do.
Anyway, back to them
As Jessie was admiring her Ribbons, James and Meowth walked back holding ice cream cones, with Growlie walking beside them and Mime Jr. riding him like a horse.
James handed her one, "Here, Jess."
Jessie happily took it while Meowth looked down at his tablet.
"Guys, we got some bad news. Our vacation time is over. We gotta head back to base tomorrow."
"Wait, really? But I wanted to go to another Contest next week! I already had my dress ready!" Jessie complained.
"Yeah, and I wanted to go back and start preparing for the other PokéRinger competitions!" James added.
"Yeah, well, dems the breaks. We don't have a choice. Matori only gave us one month off, and it looks like the next wave of Team Rocket members is being transferred tomorrow too, including HR."
"Oh, Wendy is coming?" Jessie said. At first she looked excited, but then dread set in, "Oh no...Wendy is coming…"
"What's wrong? I thought you guys made up and were friends now?" James asked, crossing his arms as Mime Jr. copied him.
"We are, but that's not the problem. Remember...Carr," Jessie reminded them.
"Oh nooo…" James and Meowth said in unison, as Mime Jr. copied the horrified look on their faces.
"Goodbye, sweet dreams of being a Contest superstar," Jessie said, dramatically wiping a tear from her eye. But she had to go deal with more fallout.
"Fine, but if we have to go, then at least let's enjoy what little time we have left!" James declared, slamming his fist into his palm, "I want to taste every dish in Hoenn!"
"I like that plan!" Meowth said, throwing an arm around Growlie, "Let's go, dog, onwards!"
"Yeah!" x3
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet popped out from the bush he'd been hiding in and joined them.
—-
{Meanwhile, on a ship in Hoenn}
Archie was sitting on the deck while the grunts around him adjusted equipment. In front of him stood Shelly and Amber. Matt was in the infirmary, when they found him, he had brain damage and multiple broken ribs.
As for Shelly and Amber, he could've let the fact that they lost the Meteorite to a Team Magma member (or at least someone wearing a Team Magma uniform) slide...as long as they completed the mission. Which they did.
However, when Archie sent a drone to check, they saw that Mt. Chimney was producing heat again, and their machine had been scrapped and replaced with one they recognized.
Remember, D 'accidentally' leaked the Pulse Machine to Team Aqua, even though it was a complete fake and the blueprints and model they had were useless. But they didn't know that.
This was to make Team Aqua think that Team Magma had this machine. At first, it was speculation, but seeing a machine that looked exactly like the one in the blueprints they received, and the fact that they believed Team Magma had the Meteorite, was enough for them to assume it was real.
And if it was real, that made things a much bigger problem for them.
Archie rubbed his beard, "Normally, I would be angry at you both. I might even revoke your Admin titles. However...we have bigger problems."
He clenched his fist. Shelly and Amber didn't say anything. Archie looked furious enough, they didn't want to risk any more of his wrath.
Especially because you might think, Okay, let's just go destroy the machine and the volcano dies again.
But they couldn't do that.
Now that they had attacked once, the Association was aware of their existence.
Granted, thanks to the goodwill they had from the coverup under "The Aqua Corporation," they could deny a lot, but even that had its limits. If anyone connected that Aqua Corporation and Team Aqua were the same, they'd have far bigger problems than just Team Magma.
And no, they couldn't just expose Team Magma either, because Magma could do the same to them. It was like both sides having a nuke. If one launched, the other would too. It didn't take a genius to know water beats water, either.
But if it were really that simple, do you think there would even be this rivalry between them?
No. There wouldn't.
"Sir Archie...then what should we do next?" Amber finally broke the silence.
"We need to start moving forward. We've been too laid back. From now on, we shall increase the search for the Orb," Archie said, clenching his fist again.
"And...what should we do with the Professor?" Shelly asked carefully.
"Keep him locked up. He may still be useful. Send some grunts to escort him to our main base, and have Audrey deal with him," Archie said, narrowing his eyes.
Professor Cozmo, now that he wasn't useful, they couldn't risk him getting out with information. So they had him captured and locked up.
But of course, like always, Ash left a contingency plan.
When he stole the Meteorite, the thing he left in its place was a tracker.
And that tracker...was still blinking.
So it was only a matter of time.
—
{Back with the gang}
A few hours later, Misty was sitting at the table with her arms crossed, looking upset. Not angry, just upset.
So Ash had gone ahead and tested to see what Misty had now that she apparently had this blessing.
The tests consisted of Ash throwing Misty into the water, blasting her with Blastoise, and everything in between.
Of course, he didn't do anything that would actually put her in danger. Sure, it would be nice to find out if Misty could breathe underwater, but he wasn't going to dunk her head in and hold it there.
He may be a troll.
But he does still like his friends.
In the end, since they had to limit the tests, as far as they could tell she could heal Water-types a little and talk to them. So basically, it was like Lance's version of the blessing, only with Water-types instead of Dragons. And who knows, maybe they'll find out she has some other power later.
But for now, Misty was sitting across from Ash, looking annoyed.
"Never do that again…"
"Only if it's not funny," Ash responded, 100% honestly.
Misty sighed into her hand, but she couldn't bring herself to get mad. To be honest, she did miss Ash's Ash-ness. And besides, she had matured, she wasn't the same girl who would've thrown a chair at Ash's head like she used to.
"You're still annoying."
"I still think it's unfair that you can avoid it, but I still get hit," Brock said from the corner, with a very clear Misty-shaped fist indent on his cheek.
"Yeah, well, I don't go announcing my eternal love to every woman with a pulse," Ash teased, "But sure, hey Misty, if I ever do start being a pervert like Brock, you have full permission to punch me so hard I hear colors."
"Noted. Even though it's probably never gonna happen, if it does, I will be there," Misty said with her most genuine evil grin.
"Wait, why are we ignoring the fact that he said perv? I'm not a pervert, right guys?" Brock said frantically, looking around for someone to agree with him.
May and Max just looked away and whistled.
"Annnnyywayyyy, moving on," Ash cut in, knowing full well that if he didn't, they were about to go on a tangent.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me," Misty said, slamming her fist into her palm, "Ash, can you guys do me a favor?"
"…That depends on the kind of favor. But sure, I guess?" Ash replied cautiously.
Misty sighed, "Well, it's just my sisters. You know how they do the show thing and all that? Well, they thought it would be such a great idea to invite another performing group here. They say it's for good publicity, but let's be honest, it's them."
"Yeah, no, that makes too much sense," Ash nodded.
"Wait, but aren't Misty's sisters the legendary Waterflower Sisters that put on those super cool shows? Ooohh, I've always wanted to watch them," May said wistfully.
"Well, you're in for a treat. They're as beautiful as—"
Brock didn't even get to finish. Misty calmly finished her drink and threw the cup at Brock's head, knocking him to the ground.
Ash just shook his head, "My guy, you'd think you'd learn. You never do."
"I regret nothing…" Brock said from the floor.
Misty sighed and sat back down, "Anyway, before I decide to murder Brock, like I was saying, they invited a group called The Marina Group—"
"The Marina Group?!" May and Brock said at the same time.
"I've heard so much about them! I hear their performances are beautiful!" May said dreamily.
"Forget the shows, they have Lizabeth. She's at the top of my female celebrity book. They say she's the most beautiful water—"
Before Misty could even get up to deliver a classic Misty Punch, all the Lapras blasted Brock with water at once, sending him crashing against the wall.
"You know, at this point, it's just deserved," Ash muttered, shaking his head.
"ANYWAY! Before I got interrupted," Misty said, shooting a side-eye at Brock, "they sent a message that they ran into some problems, and I'd like to go over and help them, but, well…" she gestured at her Gym.
"You're busy. I get it," Ash sighed, "So you want us to go help them get over here, right?"
"Yep," Misty said shamelessly with a smile, "Surely you won't say no to a heartfelt request from your best Water-type Gym Leader friend?" she added, and Ash had to admit, she really had learned how to talk to him.
"Well, since you asked, and also because I have nothing better to do right now, but mostly because I have nothing better to do, sure, why not," Ash shrugged.
Misty clapped her hands once, "Perfect! I knew you'd see reason."
Ash squinted at her, "You're enjoying this a little too much."
"Of course I am." She leaned back in her chair smugly, "You dragged me around like a science experiment for three hours."
Ash coughed, "For research."
"Research that involved Blastoise shooting me across my own pool."
"In my defense," Ash raised a finger, "you did, in fact, not drown."
Misty stared at him flatly, "…You're lucky I'm used to you," she muttered.
"I know, and I make it your problem every day," Ash said proudly.
Misty smirked, "Well, whatever. It'll probably only take a day."
"Why would you say that?!" Brock immediately shouted, "You know what happens when you say that."
"I know," Misty said with a smile, "It's a good thing I'm not going."
"Wow, you are good at that now," Ash rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "But you forgot to add a conveniently placed excuse, like if a challenger walked in right about...now."
He pointed at the door.
No one came in.
"Huh...guess it doesn't really work like that," Max started.
But the second he said that, two people burst through the doors, racing each other.
"I told you I'm gonna win the Gym Battle first!" a girl with an Eevee on her shoulder shouted.
"No, it's gonna be me!" a boy with a Pikachu countered.
Ash immediately recognized them as Chase and Elaine from the Let's Go crowd. He knew they'd started their journey this year, looks like they were here to challenge Misty. Good for them.
"Hey, you two. Been a while," Ash waved.
They both skidded to a stop, slowly turned, and spotted Ash smiling at them.
In perfect unison, they beamed.
"Big Brother Ash!" they shouted together as they ran up to him.
He patted both their heads and smirked, "Guess you two are gonna take on Mist here. Here's a little tip, be sure to use what I taught you on her~"
"Oh no...that can't be good," May muttered. She knew them too. She'd spent a few years in Pallet Town and had seen them around. And she knew Ash had basically grown up teaching them things.
Just look at the state Max was in after less than three months. And there were two of them who'd had three years.
Misty took a sharp breath between her teeth and exhaled slowly, "Please don't make me pop a blood vessel. I actually like not being angry all the time."
Chase and Elaine looked at each other. Then they both got a very familiar smirk. In perfect unison, "No promises~"
Ash dramatically pulled out a tissue and wiped at his eyes like a proud father, "They grow up so fast. Go on, the blood pressure of Gym Leaders isn't high enough."
"Nope." Brock stood up immediately and turned toward the door, "Kanto could barely handle one Ash. Now there's two more."
"No, there's actually one more," Ash said with an innocent smile, briefly remembering that Trace was probably around somewhere.
"Nope," Brock repeated firmly, "Let's just go before I get a headache."
"Oh, I'm already there, Brock," Misty muttered with a sigh.
"This is what you get, Mist," Ash said playfully. He put his arms behind his head, gave a lazy salute, and jogged after Brock.
May and Max looked around frantically for a second, and then scrambled after them too.
As the doors shut behind them, Misty's irritation melted into a small smile.
"Idiots," she said fondly.
Then she turned back to Chase and Elaine, rolled her shoulders once, and dropped into her battle stance, "Hi! You're a new face! What's your policy on Pokémon? What's your approach? My policy for battle is...an all-out offensive with Water-type Pokémon!" She pointed dramatically, "Misty, the world-famous beauty, is your host! My sweet Pokémon are ready! Are you?"