Chapter One: What I Used To Be

As it had nearly every day for the past month the coastal city remained in a perpetual downpour. The wind swept in a howling gale that made umbrellas useless as the two figures swept forward like emotionless drones towards their destination. Each was dressed in mostly black, with high-topped silver boots, gloves and belts. The only other colour added to their uniforms were the pink 'R's stitched onto the breast-pocket of their jackets. The stripes on their shoulders, which only had slight colouring to them, marked the male as a major and the female as a captain.

As they approached their destination both of them instantly hit small buttons on their belts, sending out an instant location update to their headquarters. This was a basic instinct knocked into them since the moment they stepped in the doors of the training academy. As soon as they heard the bleep of confirmation, they entered the building without hesitation, not even a knock or a call to alert the inhabitants. It was a large, circular building; shaped almost like a carousel. It had marks in the paint like something had been ripped off the roof long ago. Though the building itself still rather beautiful, it was weather beaten and worn, in need of repair.

The lights were out, but the faint glow of an exit sign along with the constant flashes of lightning allowed the two people to migrate their way through the gym. They moved without hesitation to a back room, where a light was visible under the door. They treated the door like they had with every other in the establishment, like it wasn't closed for a reason, and stepped through it forcefully.

In the glowing light of a single candle by a poolside office, an exhausted girl looked up, her turquoise eyes burning with hatred as she stared at the people who had entered, 'May I help you?' she asked with such condescending politeness that it made her voice shake.

'Your behind on your payments,' the women sneered.

Once fearless and undefeatable the constant oppression had worn her down, making her seem very off guard and wary as she hastily clarified, 'But I already paid you this week.'

'Sorry to inform you but the tax for Pokémon keepers has just gone up five percent, and given the large haul your insisting on keeping with you, it is only necessary that we come to collect what is owed to our leader,' the man said tonelessly, not seeming to get as much joy out of tormenting the young girl as his counterpart was, that alone meant he wouldn't get any higher in the organization than where he was.

'The President has once again reinstated his offer for you to sell up some of your water types; it could certainly make your living a lot more comfortable. You might even be able to fix up this shack,' the women chuckled.

'And my answer once again is no. I will not sell my Pokémon,' she said forcing all emotion out of her tone; she knew what would happen if she got emotional.

'Fine that's your choice, but you better pay up, you now owe us around a thousand Poké,' the man said tonelessly.

Her already pale skin drained of any colour it had left before she gulped and walked out of the office. That much extra a week? If she hadn't had been the only one to inherit her parents savings she would have already lost her Pokémon. She had sold everything that wasn't necessary for her to own but with her calculations she knew that soon enough the money would run dry and she'd soon have to give up some of her dearest friends. She just didn't know how she could do that, how to make that choice or go through with it.

She reached the edge of the pool, and after glancing around for a moment, she realised that they weren't going to look away. Sighing deeply to herself, desperate to contain her thoughts she picked up a false tile. Underneath was a stack of bills and she picked up several and handed them into the waiting hands of the Team Rocket members. As she did this she suddenly glanced up and noticed her Lanturn watching her from the pool with sad eyes. She gave it a quick look to tell it to re-submerge; there was nothing it could do, nothing she could do, nothing even the most powerful Pokémon could do to change a thing.

She handed over the money into the greedy palm waiting for it, but the women unwisely decided to throw in an unnecessary comment, 'Good girl, oh and tell that ugly, little pond scum hovering around your swimming pool it needs a little exercise. It looks so dim.'

The red-head gritted her teeth, forcing herself to keep her comments in line with what she was expected to say, 'I'm afraid that's not an option. I know I'm not allowed to train or battle with Pokémon. That is an honor reserved for those within the armies of our all-powerful leaders.'

'We were asked to remind you-'

'That the offer to join you still stands, I am aware, and as usual, uninterested,' she said forcefully, she knew she was losing her temper right now and she was trying to reel it back in.

But she was hardly the only one getting mad, the Captain looked furious at this comment and retorted with anger, 'Look here you foolish child! Get off your pillar of high mighty goodness and realise you are lucky to even be alive. If you haven't noticed in this new world order you're not the famous Misty Waterflower of the Cerulean City gym, the water Pokémon extraordinaire,' the scathing, rage and hatred in her tone all too obvious, 'You're just some brat with not enough sense to notice how much of a good deal your being offered! I don't know why the President is even interested in recruiting you in the first place-'

Her tendrils of red hair slapped her in the face as she whipped around, now unable to control her raging temper, 'You do realise your companion there is going to have to report you for questioning the will of the great Giovanni. You've just gone and punished yourself!'

She barely got those words out of her mouth and would have continued if she hadn't been struck in the stomach and thrown to the ground by a devise that resembled a cattle-prod. They were referred to as Tenjin staves by the members of Team Rocket; small electrical rods that in a single touch could send enough electricity to knock out a raging Tyranitar when set at a high enough voltage. Misty wouldn't give them the pleasure of hearing her scream though; she let the pain out of her system in a long, lingering hiss that managed to prevent the tears from streaming down her face. She got to her feet, shivering in rage, but now that she'd started she couldn't be stopped, and in that moment she didn't care what else she said.

'I know how the new and supposedly improved world order works. I know I'm not a gym leader or a pillar of strength anymore. It's been five freaking years, don't you think I'd know that by now?!' she hissed, her entire body steeled, waiting for another jolt from the Tenjin staff, 'What I can't figure out is why after five years Giovanni thinks I'd want to join him!? You can shove that request up his fat entitled ass! Oh and while you're at it please do thank him for the tax rises that are only being orchestrated on me and me alone! Don't you think I know what he's up to?!'

The electricity surged through her body but she didn't break even as the man yelled, 'Shut your mouth foolish child!'

'You want to know what Giovanni wants me for?!' she spat angrily at the Major, 'He wants information I don't have! Tell your boss that I have no idea where the hell he is! Now you have my money, so get the hell out of my gym!'

Both members of Team Rocket slammed their Tenjin staves into her, on a much higher frequency and she was no longer able to contain the pain. She dropped to the ground with a scream of anguish, spasming uncontrollably. The women slammed her steel toed boot into Misty's side causing her to curl into a tight defensive ball on the ground. She was shocked and kicked several more times, she remained down, knowing that if she got up she would only be pushed back down. She stayed in that position, tears forming along her eyelids, until she heard them leave the room.

Sitting up, she realised she was in the dark once more, her candle must have gone out in all this, 'Lanturn... could you give me some light please?' she croaked out.

The small orb of light migrated towards her from the pool and with a slight slapping sound the Light Pokémon had slid across the tiles towards her, butting its head against her own. She knew it was a sign of affection but Lanturn often forgot the strength that it had, though it was little wonder about that. It had only just evolved when everything took a turn for the worse; it had never been permitted to train after that. Inwardly she scoffed at her last thought, a turn for the worse, more like a running jump off the highest cliff known to man.

Misty struggled to her feet, pushing back her overlong fringe as she moved towards her office to find her matches and candle. She decided to move back to the pool side and after rolling Lanturn back into the pool she set the candle down and lit the match. In the slight light created by the candle she could see enough around to see the other Pokémon that had been let out of their Pokéballs at the time being. She could see her Politoad, Quagsire, Corsola, Seaking and Carracosta floating around the edges of the pool, only approaching now that they were positive that the people from Team Rocket had left.

'Hey, its okay,' she said gently, 'I'm alright.'

Her Seaking swam up to her nuzzling its damp skin under her hand. She caressed it gently with her her fingertips, murmuring to it gently. This Seaking had been one of her first Pokémon; her sisters couldn't get it to evolve when she was a kid so they passed it off to her as a reject. She'd trained it hard and successfully made it into a serious force to reckon with on the battlefield. Though in the long years without training had left it without the same spark. Her loyal friend becoming so gentle and sensitive that it hardly seemed like the same Pokémon.

A single tear drop rolled down her cheek, before she realised she needed a good cry. Her emotions had been piling on top of each other for too long and she had to get it out now so that she could be strong later when she needed to be. She stroked Seaking's horn before she unhooked a large charm from around her neck. It didn't look like it had an opening but when she pried it open, which took a very specific method she fished out the key from inside and held it out to the goldfish Pokémon.

'Seaking, can you bring me my box?'

'King...' it said gently in its mystical voice before taking the key in his mouth and diving down to the bottom of the pool.

It took a few minutes for Seaking to return, as it took significant technique to unlock the hidden safe she had stashed in the bottom of her pool. Seaking rose to the surface balancing a waterproof box on its head, Misty smiled at it softly scooping up the box, that although soaking wet, meant so much to her. For a moment she just stared at the box, but after a time she opened it up, tears pouring down her face instantly at she stared at the contents.

There were only a few items in the box, but each of them had such an intrinsic meaning to her that she could never bare to part with her treasures. She brushed her fingers over the first item, her breath catching as she felt the familiar engravings. It was a silver amulet that was all she had left of her mother: a silver piece that reflected the sea, dotted with black pearls and blue sapphires, it was really the only think that had any monetary value. The next item was a photo album from when she was younger, from when she travelled all over Kanto, the Orange Islands and Johto, as well as a few snapshots from her brief visits to other parts of the world, mostly on the trail of a water-type she wanted.

This was something she actually pulled out of the box, flicking with care through the delicate pages as she stared at the familiar faces of her friends that she no longer saw. The spark of power in her Pokémon's eyes from the closely fought battles they had been through. These represented memories of a much happier time, long before the villainous organizations had combined to destroy everything that she loved. She looked at a picture of herself that she remembered Tracey taking when they were in the Orange Islands, standing atop Lapras as they went over a huge wave. She looked at her eleven year old self, so confident and care-free, like nothing could touch her. Running a finger through the tangles of her now much longer hair she stared at the once ever present side ponytail. Part of her couldn't help but miss it, no matter how much she reflected how horrible that style was.

She placed it gently back in the box and turned to the other items, a picture frame being one of them. It was the last photo she and her sisters had taken together before everything fell apart, it was the one of the last times they had been all together. Now it had been years since she'd seen them, and no matter how forced their smiles were as they attempted to get along, she knew how much she had loved them. Misty looked for a long lingering moment at the last case of Cascade badges she'd ever had made, then at the program from the water show her sisters had forced her to participate in. It was beyond her control to stop the miserable sound that slipped out as she saw the clipping she'd saved from a newspaper from the day she'd been announced as the official next-in-line to the Elite Four, which at the time had meant she was the most power gym leader in the Kanto region. There'd even been a year when only three people had won a Cascade badge; two of them had ended up in the final of the Indigo League.

But that wasn't what made her the most miserable of all in the little box of treasures; the thing that she could barely stand to look at was what made her truly fall to pieces. An old baseball cap, the kind they used to give out as prizes for kids watching the Indigo League. It was discoloured and in the clear need of maintenance, fraying in a few places along the rim. It wouldn't have sold for more than a few bucks if she had the heart to sell it, but to her it was more valuable than gold, simply because of the person that used to wear it.

'Oh Ash…' she whispered to herself.

She sobbed and cried for what must have been the better part of half an hour, before suddenly she felt her sadness clear and the only thing left being the anger that she felt. Wiping away her tears she put the hat back in the box and pulled out the last thing in the box. A single slip of paper, rolled up into a little scroll which she had preserved in a small plastic container. She pulled it out unrolled it, hoping that maybe she could see a hint or clue that she hadn't seen before.

Wishes are dreams, and dreams are pretend, only you can make it happen for yourself so don't stand around and wait for it to happen. This is what you were trying to teach me all along when we were kids, I should have listened. Don't look for me.

That was it, a single piece of paper that on the day that the regions had fallen to the will of Team Rocket and all the other organizations that'd helped them. She had gone out of her way to try to stop the tide of criminals from overwhelming them, but after the Elite Four and Champion had fallen… The only way to protect the people of her city was to stand down, so at least they were alive but she regretted that day still. Why had she stopped fighting? It was better to die then to live as a prisoner.

She had found this in the gym when she'd finally been allowed to return there. She had found it in an old stack of floating mats that she used for battles, she'd been considering throwing them out when all the fighting started. She was almost positive that he'd put in between the mats that they'd used during their first battle when he'd beaten her for his second badge all those years ago. She'd gone through them, intending to sell them, and found the note, in his scratchy and hasty handwriting that was all too recognizable. With its obvious slants, loops on the 't's and lowercase 'a's and 'd's that looked virtually the same. It was Ash's handwriting that was for sure. He'd left this for her, knowing he didn't have to leave his name.

Not too long after this, once everything had settled into a routine of misery and taxes that had been when Giovanni had decided to take a personal interest in her. He actually came to see her at the gym, acting surprisingly polite despite his obvious desire to intimidate her. He started asking her a lot of questions, which didn't have much to do with anything, before she realised that all of them linked back to one thing. Ash. He came back several times before he asked her outright to tell him where he'd gone. Misty couldn't tell him, even if she had known she wouldn't. She had simply told him that she'd been wondering when he was going to get to the point, but asked him what a dictator like him had to fear in one boy from the middle of nowhere, with not even a league win to his name.

Giovanni would have offered her the sun and moon if he'd thought it could make her tell him. He offered to make her a Rocket Executive, to reinstate the gym, to make her rich and powerful beyond her wildest dreams. He offered the best Water Pokémon to train; those that were so rare and powerful and she couldn't have hoped to train them before. Hell, he'd even offered to let her have Kyogre. All for one location on the one person she couldn't understand why he was so desperate to get his hands on. Ash.

Ash had said not to look for him, like it wasn't safe for her to know where he was, or what he was doing. Giovanni's sudden interest in him proved that it was more than just a little true. Though the thing was, no one at all had seen a hide or hair of Ash in a little over five years, when everything started to go wrong, he just vanished. She had called Brock, Tracey, Gary, Mrs. Ketchum, Professor Oak and none of them knew where he had gone and were just as worried as she was. Contacting May, Max, Dawn, Iris and Cilan had wielded similar results, but at the same time, she knew them less well so she couldn't be sure if they were telling her the truth. She'd even managed to get into contact with the people he travelled with in Kalos, Clemont and Bonnie as well as Serena hadn't even known he was missing; they'd only finished their journey together several weeks before hand. He just disappeared from this world, like he'd never been there. Like he was some sort of shared delusion that had manifested itself in her head. And all she had left to remember him by was a tiny scrap of paper and an old, faded cap that just like her, he'd left behind.

'For god's sake Ketchum, why did you do this to me?' she hissed angrily under her breath throwing the cap back into the box.

Getting unsteadily to her feet, she shut her box and sealed it to avoid damage and put in the water for Seaking to put back and shut the key into her necklace. She thanked her Pokémon and retreated back into her office, taking her candle with her. She was not going to risk increasing the power bill with this new spike in her taxes. There was a large bulletin board in her office that her sisters had plastered with all their modeling stuff, she didn't have the heart to take it down originally, but in the end it had turned out to be useful. She pulled it off the wall then pried at the thin layer of plaster underneath to reveal yet another hidden place. Metal sheets were locked together tightly but by removing the cascade badge that she had lying around the office, she inserted the point and turned it like a key, unfolding the map of the world's regions before her. There were pins inserted with notes and pictures, an intensive research diagram as she stared at the mess of randomness and desperate thinking. She returned once more to the question she had been trying to discover for five years.

'Where are you Ash?'

…

Deep within a valley in a forgotten corner of Unova, a man with a messy crop of ebony hair remained kneeling in front of a large group of people. His head was bowed, his clear respect all too obvious for those gathered in front of him, seeming calm and tranquil in his essence. But something about the positioning of his hands on his knees, the slight tensing in his shoulders seemed to show he was on edge. But not in the way that implied he was frightened, more so in a way that indicated that if anything should go wrong, he was more than ready to respond.

'You have passed every one of our tests but one. If you pass this test than you shall be able to step forth and come back from your exile,' said the man who appeared older than the rest, his silver hair keeping his face from viewing.

'Aren't we a pretty large group for exile?' drawled a blonde female who stood nearby, looking amused.

'Enough,' he said sharply enough to keep her quiet, but he didn't raise his voice an octave, before he returned to addressing the man before him, 'I did not initially wish to accept you but you have proved yourself a remarkable student. Every bit the entity of willpower that Uxie recognized you as, the training we put you through was hard, but you refused to give up. We believe you to be worthy of our support, to take on the criminals who took our homes from us. Though before you rise and take upon this new and important task, we have one last test for you.'

This time he did look to the blonde who had spoken before, who grinned like she'd been waiting for this day for a long time, 'Ready for a battle Ketchum?'

'I'm battling you? That's my final test?' he asked, seeming genuinely surprised, like he'd thought he'd have to do something thoroughly more complicated.

But a younger purple haired girl stepped forward, eyes burning in anticipation as she reached for a Pokéball coloured purple and marked with the symbol of dragon-types, 'You're not getting off that easy, you've got to battle all of us. At the same time.'

'Now that sounds way more like what I was expecting.'