Life has been weird lately, you know? But here is a new chapter of our tale. And to those of you that don't want a rehash of the anime, sit tight. I promise this isn't that.

The Thousand Mile Journey

After my morning walk with Misty, and a big breakfast at the Viridian City Pokemon Center, I insisted we stay at our table and plan for our gym challenges.

"Let's go straight away and battle!" Ash said, as soon as I'd begun speaking of scheduling.

"That's… not the best idea," I tried, lamely. I knew it wouldn't dissuade him.

"You think you can just walk in there and win with Pikachu?" Leaf asked him, idly twirling her straw around her glass.

"Of course, we're the best! Right, Pikachu?" Ash said, turning to Pikachu, who was perched on the back of our bench, pancake in his tiny hands.

"Pika!" Pikachu seemed to say in affirmative. Then he saluted with his pancake. I snorted. Pikachu was seriously cute, and he seemed totally at home using it as a weapon against us.

I mean really, saluting with a pancake? Priceless

"If that's how you want to do it, go ahead." I said to Ash. He learned best by doing.

"You don't think we can win?" Ash challenged, standing up.

"With just Pikachu?" I asked. No, no I did not think he would win.

"What's wrong with Pikachu?" Asked Ash.

"Pii-kachu!" Pikahu said, little cheeks sparking.

"Nothing's wrong with Pikachu," Leaf said, trying to defuse the argument.

"But it's a hair brained idea, from a hair brained person!" Misty said, joining the fray.

"Oh? And why's that?" Ash asked.

"Because, idiot. Viridian City's gym specializes in ground type pokemon," Misty said.

Ash crossed his arms. "So?"

I put my head in my hands. How Ash was ever going to become one of the greatest Pokemon trainers of all time was beyond me. If I didn't know already from seeing him do amazing things on tv in my other life, I'd consider it an impossibility. It seemed like he really didn't remember anything about Pokemon. Even though we had taken classes together. Type matchups were covered.

Likewise, Misty was just about ready to pull out her hair.

"Ash," Leaf said, calm and friendly as ever. "Ground type Pokemon are completely resistant to electric type attacks. Pikachu would be at a huge disadvantage."

"Not to mention electric type Pokemon are very susceptible to ground type attacks. Going in with nothing but a Pikachu is stupid!" Misty yelled.

"I bet you think you know so much about gym battles," Ash said, sticking his tongue out at her.

Real mature, Ash.

Also, Misty knew a lot about gym battles. Not that she'd told us. But I knew she was a gym leader.

"It has nothing to do with gym battles!" Misty said defensively. "It has everything to do with common sense, something you seem to lack!"

Common sense and knowledge of type matchups would get beaten into his head eventually.

"We'll show you!" Ash said. "Come on, Pikachu, let's go win a gym badge." And just like that he stalked off.

Leaf looked worried, and torn between getting prepped for her own gym battle, and going with Ash.

"He'll be back," I said to Leaf.

"Yeah," Misty agrees. "After he gets beaten. What an idiot."

I shook my head. "No, before that. I was doing some research this morning to prepare for the Pokemon gym challenge, and it's required you schedule your gym battles ahead of time. Unless nobody else is there, I doubt he'll even be allowed to battle today."

Misty found this hilarious. When she stopped laughing, I continued trying to plan the day's activities.

"We need more battle experience as trainers," I said to Leaf. "We're rookies, and I'd like to see if we can challenge a few other local trainers to practice up."

Leaf nodded. "Good idea."

I turned to Misty, "Have you given any thought about challenging the gyms with us?"

She looked away and bit her lip. "I dunno."

"You should try it, Misty!" Leaf said with her ever present enthusiasm. Seriously, how was she always so encouraging? Half the time I wanted to strangle Ash, and he was one of my best friends.

"I just…" Misty said quietly. "I…"

I smiled at her. "Look at it this way. You can challenge the Viridian gym without any judgement, and if you decide it's not for you, then you don't have to go out and challenge any other gyms."

She was quiet for a minute. "I'll think about it. Promise."

I nodded. It was more than enough for now.

"I also want to round out my team more. I don't have any type advantage going into this gym. I was hoping I could head back to that lake where we met Misty, and look for some water type Pokemon."

Leaf beamed at me. "That's a great idea!"

I looked at Misty. She nodded. "Sounds fun. I love the water."

"Awesome!" I said. "Then let's go."

We stood, and headed for the exit. Near the door, Leaf tugged on my sleeve. "Uh, Daniel, shouldn't we wait for Ash?"

I turned to her, fully intent on saying no. But the clear worry over leaving a friend behind made me hesitate. "I… guess we can leave him a note telling him where to find us."

Leaf nodded, but seemed unconvinced, and I went and left a note for Ash with the doctor at the counter. It wasn't Nurse Joy, but the man at the counter had been pleasant enough, and had promised to deliver our message to Ash if we didn't find him first.

Back at the door, Leaf was examining a map of Viridian. I noted the display with the foldable maps for travelers and trainers alike.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked.

"Sure am." Said Misty.

"I'd like to stop by the gym on the way out of town. It's only one street out of the way," Leaf said.

Misty crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "We should just let him learn his lesson."

I agreed with Misty, mostly. But I would feel awful if we just ditched Ash like that. As it was, we were already changing the order of events just by being with him. Well, we were changing events as far as the cartoon was concerned. Ash and Misty should have been well on their way to Pewter City and Brock already.

So making Ash go off on his own felt wrong.

"He's our friend," Leaf said back, hotly. I should clarify that hotly for Leaf is practically best behavior for most other people. But I noticed.

"He's a moron," Misty shot back. "And he needs to learn that Pokemon training isn't about running off and battling blind."

"He's not a moron," I supplied, albeit weakly. "But I think he does need to learn to be patient."

"You aren't siding with her, are you?" Leaf asked, hands on her hips.

I raised my hands defensively. "That's not what I…" What I what? I definitely was trying to side with Misty. This was getting out of control fast. We needed to work on getting along. But what was to be expected from a bunch of kids? Letting kids go off on their own was insane.

It also explained the relatively small number of people who trained Pokemon full time. Traveling wasn't for everyone. And a lot of kids would stop training and traveling to pursue other careers, Pokemon related or not.

"Well?" Leaf asked.

"I…" I trailed off, dropped my hands, and sighed. "All right. Ash is being shortsighted. But we're his friends, we should support each other, even when we disagree.And we could all use a trip out of town to train and catch new Pokemon. Let's go get him."

Leaf nodded, smiling brightly.

Misty, on the other hand, looked less than pleased. I was pretty sure she mumbled 'you've got to be kidding me,' under her breath, but I couldn't be sure.

I let Leaf lead us to the Pokemon Gym, which she did, map in hand. As we rounded the block and the gym came into view, we were met with a less than perfect sight. Ash was out front, shoulders thrown back and head held high. Across from him, arms crossed, and looking cocky as ever, was Gary.

"Oh no," I said as soon as I saw them.

"It looks like they're fighting," Leaf said.

Misty clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Surprise, surprise. Who would ever have guessed that Ash would pick a fight?"

"Don't be so sure," I said, picking up my pace. Leaf and Misty kept stride with me.

"Why not?" Misty asked me.

"That's Gary Oak," Leaf said. "He's from Pallet Town, too, but he can be a huge jerk sometimes, and he likes to pick on Ash when he can get away with it."

The first thing I heard when we were in ear shot was Gary. "Oh come on Ashy Boy. You really didn't know that you needed an appointment to challenge a gym? You're an even worse trainer than I thought! How are you ever going to take on the league if you can't even figure out how to get one badge?"

Ash balled his fists and took a step towards Gary. Pikachu went with him, cheeks sparking.

"That's hardly called for," I said, stepping between them.

"Oh, hey there Daniel, I see babysitting isn't your strong suit," Gary said.

"Hey!" Leaf said.

"What's going on?" I asked Ash.

"Ash was just messing up, as usual," Gary said.

"Why you-!" Ash started.

I held up a hand to Ash. "I wasn't asking you," I said to Gary. "What happened?"

Ash clenched his fists. "I wanted to challenge the gym, but they wouldn't let me. I wasn't even able to check out the battle arena because there were battles going on. Then Gary came out from his battle and started making fun of me for wanting to try and get a badge."

I looked Gary up and down. No badge, no badge case. No gloating. I smirked.

"You deserved it," Gary said to Ash.

"I did not!" Ash protested.

"You did!" Gary said.

I wasn't going to do this here. Not in public, and not with Gary who was supposed to be our friend. "Wait here," I said over my shoulder, and then I grabbed Gary by the front of his shirt, and dragged him about twenty yards away. Despite the fact that Gary was older, and despite the fact that he was bigger and could likely beat me in a fistfight, he followed.

When I released him, I spun around and looked him dead in the eye. "Look," I said. "I don't know what's up with you right now, and to be honest, I don't want to. It's not my business. But you ditched us the other day, and came here all on your own. It isn't Ash's fault that you lost your gym battle, and it isn't right for you to belittle him in public. We're supposed to be your friends. But apparently you'd rather be a bully."

"How do you know I lost?" Gary challenged.

I raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe you wouldn't have shoved it in Ash's face just because you could?"

Garry crossed his arms. "Whatever."

I took a step toward him. "I'm making the decision for you right now. Either apologize to Ash and come with us while we get some training in today, or back off and figure it out on your own."

Gary scoffed. "I waited for your stupid birthday just so we could all go together!"

"Why'd you leave, then?" I asked. "We were all excited to head out with you, but you bailed before Ash even got a Pokemon."

"He was late," Gary said matter of factly.

"He's your friend!" I yelled.

"He's a kid," Gary said.

I wanted to shake him, or hit him, maybe. Anything to make him stop acting like a smug jerk all the time. "So are you! So am I! So is Leaf and everyone else who leaves home to go on a Pokemon journey as soon as they come of age. If this is because you're worried about being older than us, just know that it's stupid. Your age has nothing to do with how good you can be at raising Pokemon."

"How do you know?" Gary asked.

"Because Ash is the best of us all. Sure he rushes into things sometimes, but he adores Pokemon. He's already best friends with his Pikachu, and they took out a whole flock of Spearow with one attack. It's not about age, it's about heart, determination, and the bonds we make with our companions," I said. Damn, I was good at inspirational speeches. If Pokemon training didn't work out for me, I was going to find a politician and write speeches for them. And sure, maybe I wasn't supposed to know the finer details of what Ash did yesterday just yet. But who was gonna know?

Gary didn't seem to think my outburst was inspiring. He laughed. He laughed hard. I mean wheezing, hands on your knees and tears in your eyes laughing. "Oh, Daniel," Gary said when he'd calmed down. "Thanks for that. Funniest thing I've heard in a while. Ash. The greatest. Hah!"

"I meant it," I said.

"Well whatever. If you guys don't want to take this seriously, that's fine, but I'm heading to Pewter City to challenge the gym there. I already booked my appointment. I figure I can catch some new Pokemon and train while I walk through Viridian Forest. Smell ya later." And then Gary was walking away from the gym, away from me and Ash and Leaf.

I hung my head and sighed. Gary had seemed willing to travel with us before we left Pallet. Before I…

Had my new memories, or visions, or whatever they were somehow changed Gary's attitude, or was he always going to act this way? Had Professor Oak or Daisy said something to him?

It wasn't pleasant. I wanted Gary to come with us. I wanted him to be part of our team. We were gonna be the rookies. And if I could get Ash to focus, we were gonna absolutely shake up the Pokemon League tournament at the end of the season. If Gary didn't want to be part of that, then fine. We could do it without him.

I walked back to Ash and the others. "What did you say to him?" Leaf asked me.

"I told him to stop picking on Ash, and that he could come with us if he apologized," I said.

"He didn't go for it," Leaf said.

I shook my head, "Never does.

Ash was quiet, upset. He almost looked pensive. But, you know, Ash wasn't really one for self reflection. Still, nobody deserved to be put down by Gary like that.

"You know," I said to Ash, smirking. "Gary didn't win his gym battle today."

Ash looked up.

"He was being mean to you because he failed, too. It doesn't excuse his behavior, but I just wanted you to know that he did it because he lost." I adjusted my backpack.

"He lost?" Ash asked.

"Yep. Felt so bad about losing he went to book a gym battle in Pewter City before he skipped town," I said.

Leaf giggled.

"What a total jerk," Misty said, putting a hand on Ash's shoulder. "You didn't deserve that."

Ash's smile was bright enough to be the sun. I slung my arm around him, and the other around Leaf, steering us away from the gym and to the edge of town. Misty threw an arm around Ash's shoulder, and together we headed for our next adventure.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Ash asked.

"Back to that lake where you stole my bike," Misty said, but there was no malice in her words. I chuckled.

"We're going to catch some water Pokemon," Leaf added. "Both you and Daniel need to expand your teams with some new types before you take on the gym."

Ash's eyes lit up. "Sounds great! I'm gonna catch the strongest one!"

"Yeah, the strongest Magikarp," Misty said.

"Hey!" Ash yelled.

"What?" Misty asked innocently.

"I'll catch a way better Pokemon than a Magikarp!" Ash said.

"Well, maybe," I said. "But you better follow through, or else I'm definitely catching the best Magikarp."

Our walk to the lake was lighthearted, and a nice change from the rather dramatic morning. We stopped back at the Pokecenter for Misty to collect her fishing rod and tackle box, and then we were off.

Misty, it seemed, was starting to share in our camaraderie after our run in with Gary. It was nice. We were a team.

In the hour or so it took us to walk to the lake, we had fallen into idle conversation and broken out of our walkway devouring formation of being four abreast.

At the lake, we were met with the sight of kids running up and down the shore, of people lounging in the shade of trees, and reading, or fishing, or talking. And, of course, an area had been cleared for trainers to battle Pokemon.

"Look at that!" Ash yelled, running ahead of us. "We've got to go battle!"

I laughed and waved him off. "Well go on, then. I might join you later. There are water Pokemon in my future!

Ash didn't need to be told twice, he was off in a flash, Pikachu hot on his heels.

Leaf pulled away a second later. "I'm gonna join Ash for a battle and then catch up. I was doing some research on my Pokedex last night, and I want to try out a few moves with Nidoran."

"Sounds great. We'll probably be by the water," Misty said. Leaf gave me a smile and ran after Ash. After Leaf was gone, Misty took the lead. "Follow me, I found a great spot when I was out here the other day."

"Sounds good to me," I said.

Misty led us down the shore for maybe ten minutes, and out onto a large rock outcropping.

"I caught a Goldeen here the other day," Misty said, setting her things down. "It's close enough to see everyone on the grass over there, but far enough to be private. Come and sit down, I'll show you how to fish."

I settled in beside her and watched curiously as Misty opened her tackle box, selected a bob, a fishhook, and a small container of fish bait. She showed me, step by step, how to attack the bobber and the hook to the line, and how to put bait on the hook. Then she talked me through casting the line. "It's mostly about patience," Misty said after the ripples from her bobber faded. "Water Pokemon can be skittish, but their power comes from being a dangerous force of nature. A trainer has to work with the water to master it, not against it."

I nodded. If anyone knew about this sort of thing, it was Misty.

"So we wait," I said.

"We wait," Misty agreed. "And eventually something will be on the line."

"Can you catch every kind of water Pokemon this way?" I asked.

Misty shook her head. "No. Only fish Pokemon. Other kinds of water Pokemon have to be caught up close, either in the water, or when they're on the surface."

"But battling a water Pokemon without a water Pokemon is difficult and dangerous," I said.

"Got it in one," Misty said.

I smiled. "You really know your stuff."

"Well water type Pokemon are my specialty," Misty said. "I have to know all about them."

I leaned back, putting my weight on my hands. The breeze was gentle, and the lapping of the water against the stones was soft. I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "This is nice," I said.

"There's nothing better," Misty said.

We sat in silence for maybe half an hour, enjoying the peace and quiet of the day. Every ten minutes or so, Misty would give her line an experimental tug, and reel it in a little bit. It was fun to watch the little bobber slowly zigzag through the water on its way back toward us.

I looked towards the shore when Misty found a place among the rocks to secure her fishing pole so she wouldn't have to hold it. It was hard to tell from where we were perched, but I was pretty sure that Leaf was battling someone. At least I thought so. I could see Ash, with Pikachu on his head jumping up and down excitedly on the sidelines of one of the battles going on.

I hoped she won.

Leaf was, for all intents and purposes, a future Pokemon champion. She was a playable protagonist in two of the main series games that I'd once played as a kid. She was supposed to win one day. Really so were Ash and Gary. Depending on the medium, any of them were supposed to do great things. And I was happy to support them all the way.

Just…

It was a lot of pressure. I had to keep up with them somehow. It was that driving force alone that I lost myself in while waiting for a fish to bite with Misty.

I wish I'd been a more avid fan of the franchise. My knowledge didn't stretch to all the games, or every manga, or every episode of every animated series. Hell, I knew there were movies, but I'd never seen them all.

I was gonna become a huge nerd if I wanted to tackle the Pokemon league. A super nerd, really.

I smiled at my own stupid joke, and looked out over the water. This lake was really quite lovely. And if my fragmented memory of the first episode of the show was accurate at all, potentially extremely dangerous.

I was pretty sure there had been a Gyarados. Not that I was in any position to battle or capture a Gyarados, mind you.

Misty was softly humming to herself as she reeled the line in a bit more. I shoved aside my stupid feelings of imagined inadequacy, and asked, "Do you have a favorite Pokemon?"

"Huh?" Misty asked, then shook her head. "Oh, no. I love all my Pokemon equally."

I laughed. "Well that's good to hear, but it's not really what I meant. When I was younger, I always used to imagine my Pokemon adventures with the Pokemon I thought were the coolest looking. I picked them from watching Pokemon league matches on tv."

Misty laughed. "I used to do the same thing! Well, mostly. I always loved looking at the beautiful water Pokemon on tv. I used to draw pictures of me surrounded by all kinds of water type Pokemon."

"Have you caught any of the Pokemon you used to draw?" I asked.

"Well I only have two Pokemon," Misty said. "But I've drawn both of them before."

"Goldeen and who else?" I asked. I was betting on Staryu.

"Staryu."

Got it in one.

"That's amazing!" I said. "Did you get to choose a starter Pokemon, or was your Staryu gifted to you as a companion?" I asked.

Misty hesitated. "Staryu is… it's… my mom and dad were both Pokemon trainers. I… They traveled a lot when I was a baby, and I don't have many memories of them. They died when I was four. But mama had a Starmie and I hatched Staryu from one of it's eggs. We've been together ever since."

I… wow.

Okay, why wasn't this included in Misty's backstory? I mean, I get that it was a kid's show, but the significance of something like that was… was… well I sure as heck didn't have any words for it.

"Misty, I, I'm so sorry to hear that," I said.

Misty sniffled, wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, and smiled at me best she could. "It was a long time ago. My sisters… forget about it. It was a long time ago and I want to honor them by being my own person."

"I respect that," I said.

We were quiet for a few minutes.

"I always imagined myself battling evil with a Wartortle," I said.

"Water Pokemon are the best," Misty said with a laugh and a grateful smile.

I wasn't going to poke my nose where it didn't belong, and Misty was glad for the change of topic.

"I don't know enough about Pokemon to disagree,' I said. "I've only been a licensed Pokemon trainer for two days."

The fishing pole lurched from where it was nestled in the rocks beside Misty.

"Woah!" I said, getting to my feet.

Misty lunged for the fishing pole, and started reeling it in. "Choose a Pokemon and get ready for a fight."

"Are you sure? It's your catch."

Misty grinned. "I'm sure. But you have to sit here with me while I catch another one after."

I nodded. "It's a deal."

Misty reeled the line and yanked once, twice, three times. But the fish pokemon did not emerge from the water. It was either really big, really stuck, or really strong.

I swallowed and reached into my bag. My hand closed around a Pokeball. I examined it closely. How were people supposed to know who was inside which one? They all looked identical.

I fished my Pokedex out of my pocket and flipped it open. I tapped the identify button and held the Pokeball close. Charmander's information displayed.

Whoops.

Nope, I wanted Nidoran against a water type.

I grabbed the other Pokeball from my bag and tossed it down beside me. "Come on out, Nidoran. It's time for a battle!"

The ball opened and Nidoran appeared in a flash of light. " Ran! Nido!"

Misty gave a mighty heave on the fishing rod. "Get ready Daniel, here it comes!"

The surface of the water broke, sending waves everywhere.

It was time to get a new Pokemon.

You know what I want you to guess, I hope. It's mostly because I'm a little mean. If you enjoyed, please support with a gollow, favorite, or even a review.