.

Another Life

"In the main, ghosts are said to be forlorn and generally miserable, if not downright depressed. The jolly ghost is rare."

–Dick Cavett

Misty rang the doorbell to Professor Oak's laboratory, the booming ring resounding from inside the house and practically rattling Misty's bones. The house must have been huge—bigger than Misty could see, at least—if it needed that potent a doorbell. Before long, the door swung open and Misty was standing face to face with the professor himself. A smile broke out on her face.

"Professor Oak," Misty started as calmly as she could muster. "I'm—"

"Misty Waterflower," Professor Oak interrupted, somehow managing to talk through a grin. "Yes, I know you. Come in, come in."

Frankly, Misty wasn't surprised that Professor Oak knew her; anyone well-educated in Pokémon in Kanto probably should. Nevertheless, it filled her heart with beaming pride as she walked past the threshold into his lab a welcome guest.

"Tell me what I can do for you, dear," Professor Oak said as he walked straight into a sitting room. He gestured to a red couch. "Please."

"Thank you," Misty replied, taking a seat, surprised to find how comfortable it was, despite the obvious age it wore if the style was anything to go off of. "I was actually hoping that you could heal my Pokémon."

"Good thing you said that before I sat down," Professor Oak said, hopping away from the couch. "I'll get that done right away for you."

Misty collected her 'Balls from her bag and handed them over like she was so practiced at doing at the Pokémon Center. "I appreciate it, Professor."

"My pleasure."

As Professor Oak left the room, Misty took the opportunity to look around. Predictably, the room was lined with bookshelves. Most contained books—probably research books, judging by the uniform, nondescript spines—but there were also photographs and collectibles. Perhaps they were family heirlooms that had been passed down.

Before she had the opportunity to get up and snoop further, Professor Oak came back, a nice tea service in hand.

"They'll be right as rain soon enough," he said as he placed the tea on the coffee table and settled into the sofa across from her. He gestured to the still-steeping tea. "I didn't know how you took it."

"That's fine," Misty said, as she reached for both the sugar and the cream the professor had brought in on a tray. Tea was alright, but a little bitter for her taste; she liked to smother the bad parts with honey and milk until only the good, spicy flavors remained.

"So do you have any questions about Water Pokémon?" Professor Oak asked, starting off their conversation. "Because I just saw a fascinating lecture about the innate difference in the strength of Water moves between terrestrial and aquatic-based—"

"Actually, do you know anything about Ghost Types?" Misty interrupted before she could stop herself. "…Professor?"

Professor Oak looked taken aback, both by being cut off with a strange outburst as well as by the question itself. Nevertheless, he recovered and sat in thoughtful silence for a moment.

"Well, Ghosts have never been my area of expertise," he began, "as most of my studies have involved Pokémon behavior with people, and Ghosts don't tend to interact very much with people."

Misty had to hold back a snarky comment. Sure. Sure they didn't.

"Additionally, very few Ghosts make their homes in the Kanto region. I suppose there's always Lavender Town, but even then you can't count on finding the Gastly line. Honestly, you'd likely have to go all the way to Hoenn to have real luck predictably encountering Ghosts. However…"

Misty sat on the edge of her seat, stirring her tea absently as she watched Professor Oak's face cloud over. His warm eyes were narrowed, and not because he was pondering something. If anything, he looked stuck in remembrance.

"However, I do know an expert in the field," Professor Oak finally let out, his breath heavy as though the words had been weighing him down. "While we don't exactly see eye to eye on her methods, I can honestly say that she knows more about Ghosts than I will ever know."

"What's her name?" Misty asked, trying to cover her eagerness.

"Agatha. Her name is Agatha."

The name rang a bell. Of course it did. "Of the Elite Four, you mean," Misty clarified.

"Yes, of course. She's a Ghost Master," Professor Oak said plainly.

"So, you recommend I talk to her?"

"Oh, I'm not sure about that," Professor Oak said hastily. Clearly more hastily than he had intended, as he immediately covered it up with a cough and a sip of his tea. "But, Ms. Waterflower, why do you want to know about Ghosts anyway? You are a Water specialist, are you not?"

"I am," Misty answered quickly. "But my star Pokémon is my Frillish and I'd like to more fully understand his duality."

Luckily she always had that particular lie locked and loaded. Even more fortunately, it wasn't even a lie. She'd hate it if in the first conversation she had with the world-famous Professor Oak she lied straight to his face.

"Oh, of course." Professor Oak's smile returned. "Dual-Typing does seem to have a more interesting effect on Ghosts than other Typings."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, my elementary knowledge on the subject tells me that pure Ghosts all have certain inalienable qualities that toy with our knowledge of matter, amongst other things. But Ghosts with a secondary Typing—depending to what percent that typing seems to control in relation to the Ghost typing—don't necessarily carry those characteristics."

Misty nodded along. She knew that. Frillish didn't seem to have any ability regarding planes like Noir did. Honestly, Frillish seemed to be little more than a Water Type with some extra Attacks. And a cruel disposition in the wild, from what she knew.

"Percents," Misty commented, that being the one thing that had caught her attention. "You mean that dual-Typings are not fifty-fifty?"

"Lord, no!" the professor exclaimed with a laugh. "Tell me, do you think a Doduo is more Normal or Flying?"

"Uh, probably Normal, I guess," Misty figured. "Since they have no wings."

"Exactly," Professor Oak confirmed. "That Pokémon isn't about to be struck out of the sky by a lightning bolt anytime soon, but having two beaks was still enough to earn it that weakness."

Well, that certainly explained Frillish. And Gyarados. He had to be ninety-five percent Water and five percent Flying. If she was being generous, that was.

"That's all very interesting," Misty said after a gulp of tea. "Thanks, professor."

"Glad to be of help, dear."

Misty looked carefully down at the tea she was stirring, tentatively saying, "So, do you think that I shouldn't talk to Agatha?"

Professor Oak sighed deeply. When Misty looked up she saw that the deep lines in his face looked darker, like he had aged ten more years with that question. And spry though he seemed, Misty knew that the Professor was pushing seventy.

"Well, if you want answers about Ghosts, then she is the one to go to," he said, choosing his words selectively. "Answers about anything else, though, I would recommend be taken with a grain of salt."

That left Professor Oak to quietly sip at his tea as Misty smiled and thanked him. Then she downed the rest of her tea as she tried to think up more questions to ask. She had the ear of one of the foremost Pokémon scientists in the world and she wasn't going to waste her time asking stupid questions. She really should have made a list before coming.

Fortunately, Professor Oak had her back.

"Would you like to pick up your Pokémon and then go into the back and see the corral?"

Misty blinked, surprised for a second before she bounced out of her seat. "Of course I would!"

Professor Oak chuckled, probably used to expecting such reactions. Maybe not out of sixteen-year-old Gym Leaders, but certainly from children participating in summer camp.

"Follow me."

Professor Oak brought his tea along as he led Misty through the house, collecting her Pokémon and then passing through a dining room, a study, and a sun room before reaching a couple large glass doors leading to the expansive back yard.

Immediately, Misty was taken by how vast the space was. She couldn't begin to guess how many acres the lab took up, and she was too embarrassed to ask. But right away, she could see different paddocks for different types of Pokémon, and oh, there were so many Pokémon.

"Are all of these yours?" she gasped.

"No, dear," Professor Oak chucked as he began to lead her around. "Hardly any of them are mine, even if they've been living here for years. Some are wild and just decide that they like the habitat, but most come from Trainers that I've worked with."

Misty had forgotten that most Trainers in the Kanto region registered with Professor Oak when they were ten. There was a time where it was just the kids in Pallet, but his popularity and well-bred starters had made it a booming business for him. She supposed that it would be that time again in just a couple of weeks: the beginning of April.

All that reminded Misty of something odd from when she'd been interrogating Giovanni just a couple days before.

"Professor, were as many new Trainers registered last year as there usually are?"

The professor looked at her with his bushy eyebrows raised, showing his murky brown, almost black, eyes. "Yes, there were. The numbers have been steadily on the rise for years and years now. Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing really," Misty said, mostly just trying not to make a mountain out of a Drilbur hill. "It's just that Brock and I have definitely had fewer challengers in the last month or so, but the Viridian Gym has been performing normally."

"Well, it's the off-season," Professor Oak said, echoing the conclusion that Misty and Brock themselves had come to. "The Viridian Gym doesn't ever get as much traffic as yours and Mr. Slate's, so perhaps it's harder to notice a difference in numbers. Giovanni isn't exactly a…welcoming presence."

Misty didn't fail to notice the slight chill the professor's tone had taken when talking about Giovanni. Maybe they had known each other back in Giovanni's criminal days.

"I guess that makes sense," she agreed. Misty wasn't particularly good with numbers—the Cerulean Gym tended to hire people to handle their finances and the like—but the concept was simple enough to grasp. She probably should have thought of it herself.

"This I think you'll like."

They came to the top of a hill and in the dale down below, Misty could see a stream, lakes, even a small waterfall. She wondered how much of that had been on the land to begin with and how much Professor Oak had created.

Even from above, Misty could see Water Pokémon frolicking; the water was constantly being disrupted by splashes and dives, falls and Attacks. Suddenly, Misty spotted a touch of red contrasting in the water to all of the bluish Pokémon.

"Is that a Tentacool?" Misty asked, her pace quickening as she nearly fell down the hill on the way to one of the lakes. She didn't need the professor to answer; she knew a Tentacool when she saw one. She was halfway down when she spotted the other thing that she knew on sight.

At the other end of the same lake on a sandy bank was a Kingler. Smaller than average, if the distance wasn't throwing Misty off. And above it were Ash and Pikachu, just watching it as it waded into the water. Misty kept walking, so as not to throw Professor Oak off, but her eyes were now firmly glued to Ash and Pikachu. She hoped that if he noticed her, he and Pikachu would know better than to interact with her while Professor Oak was right behind her.

However, she needed not worry, because before long, Pikachu and Ash had floated away.

Misty watched them go until they flew past some trees and out of sight. Then she shook it off, and went running towards that Tentacool again.

Before she could altogether tumble into the water—not that she would have minded, though it would have been cold this time of year—Misty stopped herself and admired the Pokémon habitat up close. Clearly this area was made just for Water Pokémon; she doubted that there was any distinction between Trainers, and probably not even any separation between the wild Pokémon and the captured ones. She suspected that at least the lake that the Tentacool was in was actually salt water, and perhaps the one with the waterfall was fresh. She'd have to take stock of the Pokémon to identify everything, but she was sure that the professor had taken every precaution when designing this section of the corral.

As Misty got closer, she could smell the briny scent of the saltwater pool. It didn't smell nearly as strong as Cerulean beach and it didn't smell as clean as the salt water tanks they had at the Gym, but it did remind her of home, and she sucked in breath after breath eagerly, as though wanting to stock up the scent to save for later. The Tentacool was still bobbing above water, the only one that she could see in this particular pool. For some reason, even though Tentacool was abundant off Kanto's coast, Tentacool seemed an uncommon Pokémon for people to add to their teams. Misty found this quite odd, as the Pokémon had a good counter for one of Water's main weaknesses: Grass. That added Poison Typing was gold in a Water Type and, frankly, Misty was dying for one herself.

"Can I touch it?" Misty asked once she heard Professor Oak catch up behind her. Somehow, she had found herself kneeling at the water's edge, hand already outstretched toward the beautiful Pokémon. She was surprised she'd had the presence of mind to ask.

"Sure," Professor Oak answered. "You can probably already tell, but that one's always been quite friendly."

Misty wasted no time in stroking the Tentacool as another Trainer might an Eevee or a Vulpix. And much as she liked those cute Pokémon, this was just way, way better. There was something special about touching an aquatic Pokémon that was like touching the water itself, or feeling the caress of a strong breeze. Touching a Tentacool—or her Frillish for that matter—was like this. They were so bouncy that petting them was close to touching nothing at all.

Except that it was wonderful, of course.

"You know, Professor, I'd love to hear about that Water Type lecture that you attended now."

Eager to share, Professor Oak began relaying info about terrestrial versus aquatic versus amphibious Pokémon and their relationships to Water Attacks, all the while pointing to different Pokémon in the habitat as examples. Just then, Misty realized how long it had been since she'd picked up an article or so much as watched a program about Water Pokémon. Really, it had only been a week, but that felt like forever when it had been a part of her routine for so long and, frankly, it was a relief to get back into it there with Professor Oak. And this was even better, because she could ask questions and they could discourse over the subject.

Professor Oak was just moving over to the Kingler she'd seen earlier, talking about Water Pokémon whose skin had no physiological need to be submerged in water. Misty let him finish—primarily because she was interested in what he was saying, not because she was afraid of being rude—before she asked about it.

"Where did that Kingler come from, Professor?"

She was right; the Kingler was definitely smaller than most. But aside from that, there was nothing special about the Pokémon. She wondered if the size was enough to keep Ash and Pikachu focused on it or if maybe they had noticed something that she'd missed. She did like to think of herself as a burgeoning Water Pokémon expert, but, well, they had been observing Pokémon a lot longer than she had.

The professor seemed surprised; she hadn't asked such a question of any of the other Pokémon, after all. "That Kingler belonged to a Pallet Trainer."

"'Belonged'?" Misty asked. "It doesn't belong to that Trainer anymore?"

Professor Oak coughed. "Unfortunately, that Trainer passed away some time ago."

"Oh no," Misty said, casting the Kingler a sympathetic glance. Then she broke down and just went over to it, stroking the spikes on the top of its head. The Waterflowers didn't have any Krabby or Kingler at the Gym yet, so she didn't know how the Pokémon liked to be touched, but it certainly didn't seem to object.

"It was a sad case," Professor Oak said. "The boy went MIA near the end of the war and his body was never recovered. Eventually we had to assume…"

Misty nodded. "I understand."

"Anyway," Professor Oak cleared his throat. "His mother got some of his Pokémon and the ones that were already used to the lab have stayed here with me. There was just one Pokémon of his that was never recovered either, because it never stayed in its 'Ball. But I suppose we can all find solace that at least that means that it didn't become trapped there like some Pokémon after these kinds of incidents."

Abruptly, something clicked in Misty's brain and she turned sharply to the professor. "What Pokémon was that?"

"A Pikachu."

It took every ounce of practiced nonchalance that Misty had been perfecting over the years for her not to scream, much less control her face. But, fortunately, she did, and she allowed herself one more prying question. "What was the boy's name?"

"His name was Ash," Professor Oak stated wistfully. "Ash Ketchum."

Of course this time, Misty wasn't surprised. Actually, she was hardly listening as her brain began weaving threads together. Ash had said that he had died in a battle, hadn't he? The battle, she believed he had said. But it seemed the people back home didn't know that, nor did they know about Pikachu.

Misty knew she was testing her luck, but she couldn't help asking: "Did you know him? What was he like?"

"Oh," Professor Oak started, a whole myriad of emotions on his face and in his voice. Humor, dolor, fondness. "He was quite a kid. Loved Pokémon more than anything and had always dreamed of being a Pokémon Master. I even gave him his Pikachu. He was such an innocent, happy-go-lucky child. But then he was conscripted and, well, that was that."

"Was he taking part in the Pokémon League challenge?"

Misty knew, of course, that Ash hung out at the Gyms now in his afterlife, but had he challenged the Cerulean Gym when he was ten? Had he challenged her mother? Had he challenged her grandmother?

"He'd taken part in a few League challenges," Professor Oak corrected, good humor crinkling the corner of his eyes. "Never won, but always made a good showing. He managed to take on the Johto League just before relations between the regions went sour."

"Wow."

Misty was used to dealing with a ghost's loose ends—and those ends usually were people—so it wasn't unusual to talk to someone alive that the ghost had known in their life. But somehow with Ash, here petting his Kingler, it was surreal. It was probably just because it was Professor Oak of all people who was finally telling her something concrete about Ash's life, and Pikachu's. Here was someone who had known Pikachu even before Ash had.

"Alright, dear," Professor Oak said as they finished up talking. "Before I start boring you with my old man stories, I think it's about time I get on to feeding these guys lunch. I have to put this back too," he added, waving his now-empty mug.

Misty stood up abruptly from Ash's Kingler. "Do you need any help?"

Professor Oak waved her offer away with his hand. "No, I have aides to help me out. You stay here and make yourself at home."

"Thank you, Professor."

Truly, Misty would have loved to stay by the water and play with all the different Pokémon. Well, observe them at the very least. It was interesting to see the difference between an exterior water habitat like this and the one she and her sisters fostered at the Gym. It made her think that maybe they should begin construction on a lake in the back, at least for the local Pokémon that didn't need the strict temperature control that her Seel and Dewgong did. But Goldeen, Staryu—they might enjoy spending some time outside.

But Misty only allowed herself the few minutes it took for Professor Oak to make it back up the hill and out of sight. And then, Misty left the Water sanctuary, heading in the direction of the trees.

She wished that Noir were there. If she were, Misty could send her out like a Flying-Type Pokémon to scout out the area and find Ash and Pikachu quicker. As it was, she had only herself and her slow stride on the comparative vastness of the Oak ranch.

Not that that was entirely a bad thing. There was something about walking that Misty had really grown to enjoy on her journey thus far, despite her annoyance over the death of her bike, thanks to Daniel and Fay. It seemed to Misty that walking was the exact speed that humans were meant to go to take in the world. And this never seemed truer than there on Oak's ranch, where with every step there was a new Pokémon to check out, a new environment to ogle over. So much thought had been put in over this corral that it inspired Misty to do better at her own Gym.

Not that all that mattered, as Ash had made himself quite easy to find. What with the stampeding Tauros and all.

Misty wondered what had set them off. Could they sense a strange energy that Ash and Pikachu were emitting? Had Pikachu surprised them with a Thundershock? Or, God forbid, were they always like that?

There wasn't long to ponder that thought, though, because Misty had to run back toward the trees just to keep from being mowed over by those things. Nevertheless, this was her chance to get his attention, so she shouted, "Ash!" as loud as she could, just hoping to be heard over the raucous Tauros.

She figured there was no way that he had heard her until she felt herself being lifted in the air until she could see the herd of Tauros beneath her feet. As though to ensure that Misty knew exactly who had swept her up, Pikachu floated in front of her face and waved.

"Pikachupi!"

"Hi, Pikachu!" Misty cried, unable to keep a slight wail of fright out of her voice.

By that point, the Tauros had passed and Misty felt herself being returned to the ground.

"Hey, Misty," Ash said as he flipped to be in front of her. "Didja get your Pokémon healed?"

Still breathless, Misty showed him her bag. "Sure did!"

"That's good. I knew the professor could help."

"And just how did you know that?"

It was an innocent enough question, but Misty posed it with a knowing expression—eyebrow arched and eyes piercing.

"Everyone knows Professor Oak, Misty," Ash said evasively.

"You're right," Misty replied, oddly agreeable. "Everyone knows of Professor Oak. But only today can I say that I know him. That I know him like you know him. Knew him."

Ash blinked, a number of thoughts running over his face, and for a moment Misty could see the young boy that Professor Oak had spoken of. She imagined his face as an open book, wide-eyed and uninhibited, lacking the shields that war, death, and loneliness had placed over top. Then he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Boy, you sure are smart, Misty."

"Thank you," Misty said, surprised at the compliment.

"Howdja find out?"

Misty told an abridged version of the story that didn't include the fact that she had asked Professor Oak slightly more personal questions about Ash and Pikachu. And then she said simply:

"Come with me."

Misty didn't know what Pokémon on the ranch belonged to Ash, but she did know where to start. Back at the main Water Pokémon section with Kingler.

"It's that one there," Ash said, pointing to the Kingler she'd seen him with earlier.

Aside from the fact that it was the only Kingler Misty could see anywhere around, she would have been able to pick it out of a crowd anyway. Usually she'd tell Ash this, probably with a tone and expression meant to make him feel stupid, but in a great effort to be sympathetic, she bit her tongue and nodded.

"Hello again, Kingler."

Misty crouched down so she was face to face with the Pokémon she'd been stroking just a few minutes ago. She was glad that they were starting with a Water Pokémon, so that she was as in-element as possible. She knew that Kingler were smart, but they weren't necessarily on the same level of understanding human language as some other Pokémon were. They were at a healthy medium level on that front, and Misty could only hope that they'd be able to communicate well enough for this to go well. To not disappoint Ash.

"Kingler, you remember your old friend Ash, right? Your friends Ash and Pikachu?"

Kingler wasn't showing any particular response. Nothing in the eyes, nothing with the mouth. Its claws were just bobbing about as they usually did, slowly moving through the air. Then, just as Misty was about to suggest that maybe they start with a different Pokémon, Kingler's mouth started to foam and it seemed to nod its head. Misty exhaled with relief. She wasn't sure that she had it in her to disappoint Ash with this, not after he'd been waiting so long for it.

"Would you believe me if I told you that their spirits were right here?" Misty asked, pointing just over her shoulder where she knew Ash and Pikachu were hovering, assuredly hanging on her every word.

Misty saw Kingler looking where she had gestured, its bubbles of excitement breaking down and popping as it searched for its friends. Misty shook her head.

"Only I can see them," she explained. "It's a special ability of mine. But I can see them, touch them, and talk to them. Tell you what they're saying."

She spoke slowly, trying to gesture along and be as expressive as possible. Anything to help aid understanding with a Pokémon that was not her own, that she didn't have any kind of a relationship with. It was challenging, but she had a good feeling that Kingler understood at least most of what she was saying, even if it was taking a moment longer to grasp than it might have with another Pokémon.

"Is there anything you'd like to say, Ash?"

As Misty turned around to see what Ash was gonna say, she noticed him rubbing his eyes with the back of his arm. That kind of showing of emotion wasn't entirely uncommon in Misty's line of work—someone was often crying in these kinds of encounters—but something about it being Ash alarmed Misty and she didn't quite know what to do. Should she look away and give him a moment or should she comfort him? After all, this wasn't some anonymous ghost at this point; it was Ash.

Fortunately, Pikachu came to Misty's rescue and patted his Trainer on the head, wiping some of the tears away with his tail. It was more than Misty could have done for him any day.

After a minute or two, Ash managed to somewhat pull himself together. With words wobbly and breath shaky, he said, "Tell Kingler I say hi."

"Watch out for this one," Ash said as he, Pikachu, and Misty walked up a mountain that seemed to have popped out of nowhere on Oak's ranch. Well, it wasn't quite a mountain, but it was a tall, rocky hill. Misty could feel her quads burning, but she figured it was good; she hadn't had ample opportunity to work out anyway. "He can be pretty feisty."

"And he's getting me when my defenses are down from this hike."

Ash chuckled. "Yeah, he just likes it up here. King of the hill, I guess."

This was Ash's last Pokémon. At least for today it was. If Professor Oak was right about Ash's Pokémon, then Ash might expect for her to go around the region and find the rest of his Pokémon to communicate with. She would do it, of course, but she wasn't sure that she had the time, energy, or emotional fortitude to handle any more that day.

She hadn't cried. Ash had, though, many times, as had Pikachu. But this wasn't about her; she was just the translator. This was her job and she'd be damned if today was the day she didn't come through.

"Watch out," Ash stressed as they reached the top. "I'm not sure how he's gonna react."

"Sounds like this Pokémon didn't have a great Trainer," Misty quipped, sending Ash a smile so that he knew she was joking.

"Maybe he didn't," Ash said, his voice taking on some of that grave tone that she'd been hoping her joking would shed away. He didn't seem too sad, though. None of it had been sad, particularly, just emotional. Overwhelming. "Not the whole time, anyway. I got this one pretty early on and didn't know how to handle him. Not for a while."

"It'll be fine, Ash. All the rest have been fine; there's no reason for this to be a disaster."

Ash pursed his lips pensively. "You don't know him like I do."

All the warnings had made Misty a bit tense with anticipation by the time the rock flattened out to reveal a large orange Pokémon curled up, wings folded, potentially sleeping.

"Do you have a Water Pokémon standing by?"

Misty ignored the stupid question and continued to approach. They had happened to come up on the Charizard's back and she was trying to take as large a loop around as the mini-mountain would provide her. She didn't want the dragon to think that she was sneaking up on him. She'd just made it past the tail when the flame suddenly became bigger, waving back and forth like an Arbok waiting to strike.

She took a step back and froze, scanning over his form to see if there were any other body language cues he was giving her. There weren't. His body wasn't tensed and his limbs were still pressed into his body, making no steps towards standing.

Then his eye opened. One steely gray eye focused right on Misty. She was already reaching slowly towards her 'Belt when suddenly Charizard took in a big breath as though preparing for a Fire Attack, only to close his eye again and give a big, smoky snort.

"Are you serious?"

Misty turned to Ash in disbelief, letting the anxiety that had been filling her turn into anger. She'd thought this Pokémon was going to leave her without eyebrows, but clearly he didn't even think that she was worth his time.

Ash sure had collected some bold personalities.

"Heh, yeah, this was the other option," Ash said.

Usually that kind of comment would have been accompanied by some kind of a sheepish expression, maybe rubbing the back of his neck and giving Misty some Growlithe eyes, but he wasn't looking at her at all. He was focused on Charizard, floating around and giving him the once-over Misty had, though she doubted it was for the same reasons.

"Charizard?" Misty asked as she began to creep closer to the Pokémon's head, crouching down. He ignored her. "Charizard, remember your friends Ash and Pikachu?"

The right eye opened again, which Misty found encouragement in.

"I know they've been gone a while, but would you believe me if I told you that their spirits are right here?"

And away the eye went.

Misty wished that Noir were there. It would be so much easier for a Pokémon to believe that a Ghost Pokémon could see a human ghost than a 'powerless' human. She had Frillish, but she didn't want to bring him out on top of a mountain. Besides, bringing out a Water Type might seem like a threat to this Charizard, and even if Ash's warnings seemed pretty feeble right now, Misty didn't want to see this Pokémon when he was all riled up.

The only thing to do was keep going until he believed her.

"I can see ghosts and I've been hanging out with Ash and Pikachu for—" The last what? She'd only left home a week…no, not even quite a week ago. Her concussion hadn't even healed yet; her bruises had only just faded, "the last few days."

Still no response. Misty was willing to keep talking, but she wasn't even sure if Charizard was hearing her words, much less listening. She wasn't giving up, but she looked to Ash, not knowing what her next step was.

And she wished she hadn't. He wasn't crying, not this time, not yet, but he was clearly upset. She supposed that his hopes had gotten up high after talking to all of his other Pokémon, and now his head was down, his hat would have been covering his eyes if she hadn't had to look up to see him from her crouch. She was letting him down.

Misty was about to try and talk to Charizard again, ready to vamp until she came up with whatever nugget would get Charizard to believe her. Then, suddenly, she saw Ash flip his hat backwards and jut his chin forward. Out of nowhere, he said, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt."

If Misty expected Pikachu to hesitate or look at Ash in confusion, she was wrong. Pikachu didn't skip a beat before releasing a full strength Thunderbolt onto Charizard's resting form. Misty fell back, raising her arm as the sparks flew and Charizard flailed, his Flying typing allowing for the move to do considerable damage, in addition to rousing him from his slumber.

Misty looked around and there was no cover anywhere to protect her from a Charizard's Flamethrower. No rocks she could dive behind or even a spot where she felt she wouldn't hurt herself if she jumped off the ledge. The rocks were too steep or unstable.

"Ash, what the hell?" Misty shouted as she continued to cover her face. She could hear Charizard moving, rocks being shifted out of place as its tail swept across the ground. But when she looked up, Charizard and Ash were almost nose to nose, Pikachu now sparking little jolts of electricity from his cheeks to mark where they were.

"Hi, Charizard," Ash said, a bit of a wobbly laugh coming out of him at the same time.

Misty got to her feet, brushing the pebbles that had dug into her legs away as she went to stand a little off of Charizard's shoulder. "He says hi."

Ash knelt down next to Charizard's face, holding Pikachu tightly in his arms as he continued. "I'm sorry it's been such a long time…"

Misty echoed Ash's words, "I'm sorry it's been such a long time, but I've been watching you and I know you're doing well. You're healthy and strong, and that's all I could have asked for. I just wish that you were a little happier, you know? I can't help but think that here on this rock, without me and Pikachu and our other friends, you might be a little lonely."

Charizard's face betrayed nothing. He must have been listening, because his eyes were open, but nothing in his expression was changing. However, Misty couldn't help but notice that Charizard was managing to look almost right at where Ash and Pikachu were knelt, just barely off.

"I think that maybe you want to be alone because you know how much it hurts to be abandoned, but that's not a good enough reason. We're always better for having friends, even if it's not for a long time. Remember how close you and Pikachu became? How you always let him fly on your back? I'm sure you don't regret being friends with him now, even if you don't get to see each other anymore. Oh, and Pikachu says pi kachu. I'm not sure that I interpreted that right…"

Misty fell out of her interpreter role for a second as she cast Pikachu an apologetic look. As she did so, she saw Ash starting to falter again. His head was bent, so she couldn't see his face, but she heard him sniffling. He wiped his eyes with the back of his arm and cast a huge smile Charizard's way.

"Also, Pikachu can fly on his own now. I wish you could see it."

That was when Misty almost lost it. The only thing keeping her grounded was the fact that Ash had more to say; she still had a job to do.

After that, Ash spoke quickly and it was hard for Misty to keep up but she wanted to make sure that Charizard heard every word Ash had to say.

"Don't think that I haven't seen you giving Professor Oak's aides a tough time. I have and you need to cut it out. Professor Oak is one of your friends and it's the least you can do. Do it for me. And Pikachu. And just, yeah, try to be happy. Um, goodbye, Chariza—no, no! Uh, see you again soon!"

Ash got to his feet quickly, but he only took a few steps before Charizard stood up as well, looking square at Ash's head. His gaze was so dead-on that Misty shivered, wondering for a second if he really could see. Then, Charizard raised his head to the sky and an enormous burst of flame erupted from his mouth with a roar that rattled the ground. In that sound, Misty could hear all the grief, all the pain from decades of suffering and loneliness. Misty turned to Ash and said his name, but she wasn't sure he heard her. When he began walking, she had no choice but to follow.

They made it down the hill again slowly, through a combination of walking, scooting down in a Krabby walk, and a little bit of falling. Ash didn't look back at her, but he reached his hand out to give Misty a bit of stability, and she took it. When they finally hit grass again, Misty was a little sweaty, smudged with dirt, and totally silent. Between all the other conversations with Ash's Pokémon, Misty had kept things a little chatty, more so than she usually was, rallying Ash so he could make it to the next encounter. But now with no 'next' and having been privy to such intimate moments as a translator, she found that she had no words of her own.

Misty only remembered that Ash had her hand when she felt it tug against her. She turned around to see Ash stopped, his eyes wide—wide enough to show all the emotion he was feeling. Wide enough that the tears didn't even pool, they just dropped right off onto his cheeks and rolled freely.

"Oh."

The sound just came out, a little bit of acknowledgement, a little confusion, a little surprise. It was followed by a little gasp as Misty felt another jerk on her arm, this one a good deal stronger, as she felt herself tugged into Ash's arms. There was nothing gentle about it as he wrapped her tightly in his embrace, a loud, sloppy sob escaping his control.

"Thank you," he cried. "Thank you."

Misty felt Pikachu on the back of her neck, sniffles and shaking giving him away as crying too and it was then that Misty couldn't hold back anymore either. And the three of them cried in the field together for a long time.

A/N: Well, since the last update I've left my college town for home and left my hometown for the one and only New York City. (Yo, I've moved five times this summer, plus a vacation. It's been crazy.) I'm a real person now, ya'll, and you should be afraid, very afraid. Or I'm just afraid. I hope this chapter made you feel something. Would you believe that in my original draft Ash wasn't in this chapter at all? It was just the Professor Oak part combined with what is now the next chapter. So I hope you guys appreciated the feels and the slight shippiness of it all. If you liked it, please review! (Or even if you didn't.)

Also, many thanks to my beta, C'sMelody. If you liked the end of this chapter, it's all thanks to her. She wanted to make sure that tears would roll.