"In the third and deciding battle, they're using water element Pokémon!" shouted the young announcer from his perch on Rudy's Pidgeot.
They were tied. Rudy had won the first battle, and Ash the second. If Squirtle, who Misty already knew Ash was going to choose, couldn't pull through, then Ash would lose the match…
"I choose you Starmie!" Rudy called out and his Starmie emerged from its Pokéball with its characteristic sighing cry. Rudy whipped his head up to let little sparkles fly from his hair and called out once again, but this time to the red-headed girl in the hot air balloon up above the battlefield. "I dedicate this victory to the girl who saved my sister and stole my heart!"
"Huh?" Misty stared at Rudy in surprise.
Did he just…?
Mahri laughed in excitement. "I knew it! I knew right away my brother really liked you Misty!"
He did…
Misty stared down at the battlefield, but she didn't really see it…Even though they were both down there…
But…why…?
Down below, Ash shouted right back, "That's real nice of you, but the victory's gonna be mine!"
"Pika pika!"
Ash, why are you always trying to sound tough…?
"Squirtle, I choose you!"
"Ssquirtle!"
You're always so predictable too…Maybe it's because…I
know you too well…
"Starmie, let's win this thing! Water Gun now!"
"Hyah!" Starmie cried before shooting out a powerful stream of water from its tip.
"Squirtle! Use your Water Gun attack too!"
"Squirt-lll!" Squirtle shot out a blast of water just as strong as Starmie's.
Of course…The best way to block a Water Gun attack is
with a Water Gun attack…Every good water Pokémon trainer knows that…
The two blasts hit each other straight on, neither one could overpower the other.
Rudy looked on confidently. "I'll break this tie…" He snapped his fingers. "Music!"
From up in the balloon, the same song that the two of them had danced to last night began playing. Starmie heard this and began dancing the same way it had before, spinning back and forth as Squirtle's Water Guns shot to either side but never hit. Rudy, always a fan of music and dancing, began to dance himself while giving out orders to his Pokémon.
"All right, Starmie. Time to dance!…Ha!"
When it was obvious that Squirtle wasn't going to get any hits, Rudy paused just long enough to run his fingers through his hair and call up to the balloon, "Misty, this is for you, a very special dance!"
What could he be talking about…?
Rudy clenched his fists together and shouted out a new order to Starmie. "Starmie, spin yourself into a Thunderbolt attack!"
As Misty and everyone else watched, Starmie began to spin faster and faster. Finally, it reached its peak and a single great spark of electricity came from it all at once and arced through the air, finally reaching and electrifying Ash's Squirtle.
"But…how!?" he cried in shock.
Rudy smiled. "Dance Starmie! A victory dance!"
"Squirtle! No!"
This can't be happening…!
"I can't believe it!" Tracey exclaimed, "His Starmie can use electric attacks!"
…His Starmie's better trained than mine… Misty
realized, He didn't just teach it water attacks…Now I know what he meant
last night…The Pokémon's abilities can improve and change if they learn to do
something completely new and different…
"Alright!" Mahri cheered, "My brother Rudy's gonna win the match!"
"Squirtle's a water element, and it's weak against electric attacks," Tracey continued, "This doesn't look good…"
I know it doesn't look good, Tracey…I know exactly
what a water type is weak against…
Ash was cringing. He hated seeing his Pokémon getting hurt like this. Since day one, it had always given him this horrible feeling in his gut…There had to be some way he could help Squirtle…
Misty and Tracey kept watching as the "fight" kept going strong. Squirtle was helpless…paralyzed…and Starmie looked like it would never get tired…It even looked like it was enjoying itself…
Why is Ash just standing there…? Misty wondered.
"Looks like that Squirtle's had enough…" Rudy decided finally, "Misty, I hope you're watching this! Starmie, finish it off! Tackle attack!"
Something finally snapped Ash awake. "Squirtle, quick! Withdraw now!!"
Squirtle stiffly tried to hide itself in its shell, but its paralysis made it too slow. The ten-pointed star Pokémon spun into it too quickly. Squirtle was flung into the air with a hard Tackle attack. The hapless turtle Pokémon landed with a thunk and rolled, stopping right before its trainer.
"Squirtle!!"
"Pikapika!"
Ash knelt down and lifted Squirtle into his arms. He ignored the ecstatic announcer. He already knew what he was saying…He looked down at Squirtle, who stared back at him with large, pained eyes. Ash bowed his head.
"I…I'm sorry…"
Across the plateau, Rudy sent Misty many more extravagant statements, probably now declaring his undying love for her…
This guy's as bad as Brock…only he doesn't have anyone
around to pull him away by the ear…
Ash heard small footsteps come closer.
"…Pikapi…" Pikachu said sympathetically.
Maybe I should give it a try… Ash thought bitterly. He looked up, planning on yelling some unkind remark at Rudy…but his eyes traveled upwards…Misty was listening to Rudy…and smiling……
For the first time, Tracey found himself in the middle of the line as they walked away from the Pokémon Center. Misty and Rudy were in front of him, talking quietly with each other. Ash was barely keeping pace behind him. Both Misty and Rudy assumed that he was just upset because he had lost the match…but Tracey had seen his face after the battle…and he hadn't been looking at Rudy either…
I need to get her to talk to him…but with Rudy here…
"So Misty…" Rudy finally asked, "have you decided?"
Misty blushed just a little and looked at the ground as they walked.
"Rudy, I…"
Rudy gently took the hand that wasn't holding Togepi. "You can tell me Misty…"
She smiled and continued to look down.
"I…I need to talk to Ash first…" she whispered.
At first, Rudy thought she had decided against him, just like that…but no…She was still smiling……
"I understand," he replied, "…Break it to him gently. I know I would hate to be in his shoes…"
"Thank you…"
They both stopped and turned around. When he saw this, Tracey quickly whipped out his sketchbook and pencil and began scribbling in it, hoping they wouldn't notice that he was listening.
Ash almost bumped into Tracey before he noticed that everyone else had stopped.
"Ash?" Misty asked.
She wants to talk to me!?
He looked up.
What's she gonna say? Is she gonna say that she still
likes me better than Rudy? Is she gonna try to cheer me up?
He didn't want to consider the other possibilities…
"…Let's go for a walk," she said casually.
"But we are walking…"
Misty shook her head and sighed. She moved closer to Ash and held him by the arm.
"Alone…"
Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing…He could feel his heart beating faster, but he wasn't sure if it was from her touch or because he was scared out of his wits. She'd never done anything like this before…
"Pikachupi?"
"Oh…Of course you can come too Pikachu…" Misty said with a small smile, "Now let's go."
Tracey watched the two of them head off in the opposite direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rudy smiling to himself.
This doesn't look good…
"…Hey, Misty! Ash!" Tracey called, "I'll meet you two by the dock, okay!?"
"O-okay!" Ash called back.
Misty waved over her shoulder. "Bye Tracey…!"
Tracey gritted his teeth…For all he knew, this could be the last time he would ever see Misty……
Behind him, Rudy chuckled to himself and walked back to his home.
Misty had let go of his arm as soon as they were out of sight of Tracey and Rudy. Ash kind of wished that she hadn't, but what could he do about it? Now instead, he laced his fingers together and held his hands behind his head.
"…Where are we going?" he asked after Misty didn't say anything to start a conversation up.
"…I…" Misty shook her head, "…I don't know…"
"…Oh…"
They kept walking in silence…
How am I going to tell him this…? After all that we've
been through, how can I just decide to leave him like this…?
Ash glanced at Misty worriedly. She looked really deep in thought…She looked like she was thinking bad thoughts…and it didn't look like the fact that she was walking with him was helping…
"…Ash…"
"Huh?"
"…Are you going to rechallenge Rudy…?"
"Uh…Of course! I'm sure I'll beat him next time…I'll…just have to choose better Pokémon…"
"Ash, didn't you choose your best the first time?"
Ash couldn't answer at first…He knew she was right…
"…Yeah……"
Ash replayed the battle in his mind…He'd started off with Pikachu…His absolute best…Pikachu was simply overpowered by Rudy's Electabuzz. It had gone down with just two hits…
Then he got lucky with Bulbasaur…If Sleep Powder hadn't worked, Bulbasaur would've been crushed if Exeggutor had gotten a chance to try Stomp…
And Squirtle……
He didn't even want to think about that last match. There was just nothing he could do to protect a water type against an electric attack……
But I didn't even try……
Ash tried to shut it out of his mind, but that battle was still all too fresh in his memory…He'd put Squirtle through so much pain…and all of it for nothing…They still lost the match…
A thought occurred to him then, and he wasn't sure why, but now that it was there, he had to get it out…
"…Misty?"
"Hm?"
"…You…You really know your water Pokémon, right?"
"Yeah…"
Ash looked down. He was starting to regret bringing this up, but now that he had, there was no turning back.
"Rudy's Starmie was really well trained wasn't it?" he asked, wondering if she could hear the tightness in his throat, "Probably…a lot better than Squirtle…"
Misty looked at him in wonderment.
What is he talking about…?
"I……I bet…I bet you could tell who would win, even before the battle started…couldn't you…"
Ash……
He looked at her. She still hadn't answered him…He wanted to know why…
"You did, didn't you? You knew who would win before we even started, didn't you!?"
Still nothing…
Now he was getting desperate…
"You just don't want to hurt my feelings, isn't that it!? You know Rudy's a better trainer than me but you just don't want to say it to my face! Why not!? Answer me…!"
"Pikapi…!" Pikachu said, trying to get him to calm down…
Misty looked away…She knew the truth would hurt him even more, and she didn't want to see his face when she told him.
"…Ash…You were right…" she began, slowly, not wanting to say what she had to say…
"I was right!?……About what…?"
"…You were right that…that I could tell from the beginning which Pokémon was stronger…and…"
"It was Starmie, wasn't it?"
Misty shook her head. "No…Starmie didn't stand a chance…"
That feeling in his gut doubled.
What is she saying…?
"…Your Squirtle's really strong Ash…If you had let it actually battle instead of just watching it…"
"What are you trying to say!?…That…That we lost because…because I'm a really bad trainer? Is that it?"
Misty still couldn't look at him…
"Honestly Ash…from the start, I thought you would win……guess I was wrong…"
"Pikachupi……" Pikachu whispered, amazed at what Misty was saying…
Ash felt like she had just stabbed him…
"…So what does that mean? The only reason we lost was because…I……"
I don't know how much longer I can stand this… Misty
thought, All he wants to talk about is that stupid match…That's all he ever
wants to talk about…His Pokémon…At least Rudy cares about me…
"Ash, have you ever felt like you're getting too close to a person…?"
"What…!?"
"Piika?"
"…and that maybe…" she continued, "…all you need is some time away from each other…"
Ash could think of lots of times when had separated from…friends…most of them Pokémon…starting with Butterfree……He'd almost lost Pikachu that way……and then most recently…Brock…
"…Misty…what…?"
She couldn't wait any longer. It was now or never, and all she had to do was just spit it out.
"I think…I'm……Ash…I'm going to…I'm going to…"
I can't believe I'm actually saying this…
"…stay here……with Rudy……"
She instinctively turned her head as far from Ash as she could and waited…She expected yelling, frantic movements…even begging and pleading……but all she got was complete, utter silence…
She stopped walking and dared to turn around…Ash wasn't there. She glanced around and saw that he was frozen to the path several paces back. He was staring at her with his jaw slackened…Riding on his shoulder, Pikachu looked similarly surprised, and its ears were lowered in dismay…
After getting no further response from either of them, Misty sighed and walked back over.
Ash blinked and shifted just a little. Misty waited, hoping he would say something and ease the tension, but he still seemed to be in shock.
"…I…I guess…this is goodbye……Ash…"
No-!
She stiffly extended her hand to shake. Ash didn't even seem to notice. He was still staring at her…trying to understand what she was saying and repeatedly failing at it.
She just waited. She wanted to leave on good terms, because she still wanted to be friends…
Finally, he looked down and saw her hand being held out in front of him…but not the way it should have been. She was holding it out straight, for…a handshake…Those are for strangers…not friends…not best friends…
I don't want to be a stranger…!
"…Ash? Are you gonna just stand there or what?"
"…It's because he won the match, isn't it!? You think he's better than me, and that's why you want to stay here! Because he proved that he's a better trainer than I am, and that makes me a worthless, pathetic loser who you don't want to waste your time with! Isn't that right!?"
Misty stared at him in disbelief.
At least he's talking… she admitted.
"…Of course that wasn't the reason…!" she said in annoyance, "Do you really think I care who's a better trainer and who isn't?"
"Then why do you want to stay with Rudy!?"
"Because Rudy isn't a whiny little egocentric little brat!!" she shouted, and believed it to be the complete truth.
"Wh-What…!?"
"Look, you gotta stop being so jealous! The world doesn't revolve around you, and guess what? Neither do I!"
"But…But Rudy…"
Misty took on her "talking to a little idiot kid" attitude.
"Rudy actually cares about something other than Pokémon! Rudy cares about his sister, and he cares about me!"
He wanted to shout back, "I care about you, Misty!"…but…something stopped him…so he did what else he did best…He said something totally stupid.
"But I don't have a little sister!"
Misty growled at him. "You are such an idiot! How can anyone be as dense as you are!?"
Before he could even open his mouth, she decided to keep going.
"Only two good things have ever come from me following you around. The first was getting Togepi. The second was meeting Rudy…You know, there's supposed to be someone for everyone right? Maybe one day you'll get lucky and someone twice as dense as you will decide that you're the one for her. Until then, good luck. You need it."
After being totally fed up with listening to him whine, Misty turned and left.
"…Pikachupi!!"
…Misty stopped for a second. Then she turned around and waved. "Bye Pikachu!…Bye Ash……"
"Piikaa…!" Pikachu waved back.
Pikachu kept waving, but then it realized that Ash hadn't said goodbye yet…It looked at him. He was doing his best not to look anywhere near Misty…and he was crying…
Misty still hadn't left yet…She seemed to be considering something…
"…Ash! I'll see you at the rematch tomorrow!"
Rematch!?…Did she say rematch? How could she possibly
think that I'm actually going to go back…and fight again…and have her up in
that balloon…watching…listening to Rudy flatter her with all of his stupid
sweet talk…She actually thinks I'm going to have a rematch!?
Ash choked on a sob. Without giving it another thought, he turned and ran…He ran away from Misty. He ran to the dock…Misty never said a word to stop him…
Tracey was sitting on the pier, sketching some bird and fish Pokémon that were passing the beach. His peace and quiet was interrupted suddenly by the pounding of sneakers on the wooden dock and the heavy, difficult breathing pattern of a boy who'd been running far too fast…and crying far too hard…
"Lapras!! GO!"
Before Tracey could even turn around, a Lapras had appeared in the water next to him. A split second afterwards, a blue and yellow blur dashed past him and jumped onto its back.
"Ash! What are you doing!?" Tracey exclaimed.
"I'm leaving," he answered bluntly, not looking at Tracey.
Tracey could see that his face was red and wet from crying, and it didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon.
"……Where's Misty…?"
"She's not coming…"
"…What about your rematch tomorrow…?"
"There's not going to be one…"
"Why not…?"
"What's the point, huh? You know I'm just gonna lose again…There's no way a horrible trainer like me could ever stand up to Rudy…"
"But Ash…"
"What? You want to stay here too? Fine then. I understand why you don't want to come with me. I know no one would ever want to come anywhere with me. The only ones who would are my Pokémon, but maybe that's just because that all I care about is Pokémon, isn't it? I'm really not worth your trouble Tracey, so go ahead and stay here if you want."
"Ash…"
"Are you coming or not!?"
Tracey stepped back just a little. He'd never heard Ash yell like that…Sure, he'd yell back and forth to Misty, but that was never really serious. Right now, he sounded really angry…
"…Yeah…"
"Then hurry up and get on."
Tracey obeyed, and with a shout from Ash, they were on their way…
Misty walked to Rudy's house, trying to ignore the way that Ash had just…ran away like that…She tried not to think about why he'd done that…because she really didn't know…
Rudy greeted her at the door with open arms and a warm hug from both him and Mahri. She smiled and hugged them both back.
"Thanks for deciding to stay with us," Rudy told her, "You have no idea how much it means to me…"
"And me too!" Mahri piped up.
"Yes, to you too," Rudy grinned.
"Thanks for having me," Misty replied.
"Mahri and I have been preparing a room for you…" Rudy said quietly, "If you want, I'll show you and you can put your stuff in there and try to get used to it…I know it'll be hard at first…"
"Let's go," Misty interrupted with a laugh.
Rudy smiled, took her hand, and led her upstairs. He pushed open the door to what was assumedly her room, and showed her inside. The walls, the bedsheets, the carpet, the curtains…they were all the same dim blue. Rudy flicked the lights on, and the dimness faded…To her surprise, the blue now looked…It was just a darker shade of the same blue color of his jacket……
She shook her head.
What? His jacket? What does that have anything to do
with…?
"Do you like it…?" Rudy asked.
"Huh?…Oh! Yes, it's lovely…"
Rudy smiled. "I thought you would like it, because the blueness reminds me of being out at sea…and you're a water Pokémon trainer right?"
"Y-yes…" she nodded.
But right now, being out at sea reminds me of riding on
Lapras…and as for water Pokémon…
She tried to remember that last battle…Now that she thought about it…Ash couldn't have been "just standing there" because he was a bad trainer……No…She'd seen it before…He could see…No. He could feel how helpless Squirtle was against that Thunderbolt…He probably couldn't think of anything, because he felt helpless too…
I really do know him too well…but…is that really a bad
thing…?
"Come, let me show you more."
"O-okay…"
Rudy led her to a chest on the left side of the room. He opened it (it had no lock), and removed a seashell from it.
"Misty, I want you to have this…" he said, holding her hand up and pressing it into hers.
When he let go, she opened her hand and saw she was holding a spiked, spiral shell with a single, purple gem embedded in the center.
"Wh…Is this…!?"
Rudy nodded. "This is the Spikeshell Badge."
"But I don't deserve this! I didn't even challenge you!"
"Misty," he sighed and shook his head, smiling all the while, "Think of it as a gift between friends. Besides, I really don't think the league would mind, considering you haven't shown any interest in becoming champion, am I correct?"
"…Yeah…"
"Then keep it!" Rudy beamed, "And now…I want to show you the best part of this room…"
First, he turned the lights back off, then, with a flourish, he took her hand and led her to the window. With one sweep of his hand, he spread the curtains to reveal a magnificent orange sun, setting to the west of the glistening ocean. It seemed that everything had been splashed with a bucket of orange paint. The island, the sky, the sea……Everything except…
What's that!?
Misty had to squint hard to see what it was…but just barely visible on the horizon, was a small, black dot…getting smaller by the second…It could have just been her imagination…but it looked strikingly similar to a Lapras……
No……
Rudy noticed her sudden change in mood and became worried.
"What's the matter? Are you alright, Misty?"
She found herself transfixed on that one little dot…
"I……"
And before she could do anything to stop it…the little dot disappeared.
She felt her eyes sting with sudden tears.
Ash……
"…Misty…!?"
"I…" She felt a lump grow in her throat. "…I…I can't stay…"
Grasping Togepi and the badge tightly, she ran from the room, praying that she wasn't too late…
"I'm sorry!" Rudy heard her call.
The ride was completely silent aside from the lapping of the waves and the neverending, strained sobs of Ash Ketchum…Both Lapras and Tracey had picked up very quickly on his mood, and after what happened at the dock, Tracey was too nervous to try to cheer him up, so he resorted to sitting by Lapras's tail and sketching whatever it was that was so interesting behind them.
Pikachu stared up at its trainer worriedly. It kept its front paws on his leg, since he wouldn't let it sit on his lap. Ash kept the top of his head against Lapras's neck and cried into his lap. Pikachu had never seen him cry so much…His eyes were starting to look like Brock's. His face must have been a deep red, because Pikachu could tell what color it was even in the growing darkness. He stopped sobbing only to take the occasional ragged breath or to mumble bitterly to himself.
"…Pikapi……"
That's it. She's gone. You just went and left her behind.
It feels real good doesn't it?…No? Why not?
Because I didn't want her to leave…That's why…
But she wanted to…She did, didn't she? That's why she
stayed behind…Ash, you've never gotten in the way of what anyone wanted
before…Always had to be fair to all of your Pokémon…
But I didn't want Misty to leave……
But she did anyway…and even if you had tried to
stop her, what good would that have done? She's not your Pokémon. You have no
control over her life. If she wants to be with Rudy…with someone who cares
about her more than he cares about Pokémon…then you have to let her. You don't
own her life…
I know that……I know……but…
But…?
…I don't know…I…don't…
……I miss her……
…I…miss……her…
……but……I……I can live……without her…………can't I?
……I don't know……
…What am I gonna do…? I can't go back to
Trovita…because……
…and…now I can't compete in the Orange League…I need that
badge for that…..
…Who cares? It's just some stupid…Pokémon…competition…It
doesn't matter if you lose that…What matters is that you lost…
I know………I lost…her……
"Hurry Staryu!" Misty begged.
"Hyah!!" Staryu answered.
With Togepi safely in her backpack, Misty held onto Staryu with both hands and even kicked the water to help speed things up. Staryu was swimming at almost twice its normal pace, but it still didn't seem like enough to Misty. If she couldn't catch up with Ash……
No…I'm going to catch up with him…No matter how long it
takes…I'm not gonna stop until I catch him…
She constantly scanned back and forth over the horizon, looking for any sign of them…but there was none…Still, she refused to give up.
I can't just let it end like this…Not after what I said
to him…what I did…I never should have……
"…Brriiii?"
"Huh? What is it Togepi?" Misty asked.
"Toge! Toge! Togeprriiii!" Togepi trilled excitedly.
Misty was utterly confused until she heard a steadily growing whirring sound behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a small white shape getting bigger and bigger by the second.
"Misty!" a familiar voice shouted out to her.
"Rudy!??"
Tracey put away his sketchbook. It was getting too dark to try sketching anything anymore. He glanced over at Ash. He was still hunched over right next to Lapras's neck, still crying to himself.
I wish there was something I could do to make him feel
better…
It was then that he faintly heard what sounded incredibly like…a motorboat…He grabbed his binoculars from his pack, turned on the night vision, then scanned the ocean. It took a while to spot, but sure enough, there was a white motorboat speeding straight towards them.
"Whoa……Hey! Ash, look! There's a motorboat coming!"
Not too surprisingly, he didn't get a reply, so he tried again.
"It's coming from Trovita Island!"
Ash made a small, strange sound, almost like a hiccup before saying, "So?"
Nothing clicks very fast with him does it…?
Tracey peered through his binoculars again.
"I think…I think…I see Misty!"
"Wh…What…!?" Ash asked, finally twisting around to look behind him.
"…Yeah, that's her!"
Ash stared at the boat that kept getting closer and closer.
"Ash…!" cried a voice from onboard.
"…Misty…" he whispered.
"Misty, be careful! You might fall off!" Rudy said anxiously from his seat at the steering wheel.
"No, I won't!" she grinned back, then proceeded to continue waving her arms over her head and calling out to Ash.
And soon…soon she could see him. He was standing with one hand on Lapras, staring…watching her get closer…not moving at all himself…
"Misty, I'm gonna slow down now so you can get off when we stop…" Rudy warned her.
"Kay," she replied.
Rudy began to draw the boat to a stop, but Misty just couldn't wait any longer…
"Ash! Look out!!" she cried…and jumped.
Ash did the first thing that came to his mind. He caught her, which wasn't difficult since she had aimed for him very well, then they both promptly tumbled into the water.
"Pikapi…!"
After a few seconds, they both resurfaced, Ash gasping heavily. When Misty saw this, she paddled over to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you okay…?"
"Y…Yeah…" he replied.
Then Misty noticed something else…
"Ash…! Have you…been…crying…?"
Ash didn't answer, but instead dipped his head.
"…Ash……I'm sorry……"
She wrapped her other arm around him as well and held him
close…hoping maybe…that she could wash all the hurt away in the ocean, along with
his tears…
