CHAPTER 5: To Defeat the Elite

"Whoa…"

Ash's awestruck utterance was soon reiterated among the entirety of the group – none more so than Misty.

"You can't be serious," she gasped as Lance beckoned them inside.

"Of course I am, Misty," he stated. "Hardly anyone ever uses this suite anyway. You and your sisters are welcome to stay here as long as you like."

"Oh my god!" Lily squealed. "This place is, like, awesome!"

"You're our hero, Mr. Lance, sir," Violet purred in a deliberately syrupy tone. "How can we, like, ever repay you?"

Lance awkwardly adjusted the fastenings of his cape when Violet sidled up to him with a sultry look in her eyes. "That's, ahem, really not necessary, Violet," he said with a little shiver. "Think nothing of it. It's the least I can do."

"But…why?" Misty asked, still very confused.

"The Pokémon League looks out for its gym leaders," he replied. "You may be out of work at this time, but we can't in good conscience leave you without a home. And, also, I hoped you might consider this an official apology on behalf of all of us. For what it's worth, the Elite Four were rooting for you all along."

Misty was too flustered to speak, which provided a window for the others to offload their questions.

"What will happen to those Invincible Pokémon Brothers?" asked Tracey.

"Oh, those three villains will be dealt with accordingly. Needless to say, I think we've all seen the last of them."

"So, Misty and Ash are definitely in the clear now?" Brock inquired.

"Absolutely," Lance said. "I'll admit that I was concerned by how the hearing was going, but once Agent Joy stepped in to clear everything up, there seemed little doubt anymore as to who the real perpetrators were." He snorted in amusement. "Quite honestly, I've never once seen Sterling accept being wrong until today. We've all had to face his wrath at some point or another; the look on his face was really rather…satisfying."

The group diffused further into the gigantic penthouse apartment, at which point the gravity of Lance's act of generosity really began to show. The room in which they stood was like a huge open-plan lounge, one that took up nearly the whole top floor of the League-owned challengers' condominiums. Its walls were a gorgeous shining ochre with sculpted flame-shaped lamps mounted along them, and the sea-green floor subtly inclined upwards into the centre with wide, shallow steps, where a burgundy sofa suite arranged like a pokéball rested. A colossal TV was anchored to the right-hand wall with a number of squashy-looking armchairs around it, along with a state-of-the-art computer and videophone combo on a desk underneath. Most striking, however, was the wall-length window directly in front of them, overlooking the entire trainer's village and a considerable portion of Southern Kanto. Misty, for one, was very grateful that the wretched Indigo Courthouse was on the other side of the building and thus completely out of sight.

"I don't know what to say," she murmured while staring out of the window. Lance walked up beside her.

"Like I said, think nothing of it. You've been through hell over the last week. It's about time something went right for you."

The remark struck a chord deep within Misty's chest, and though her expected reaction was to burst into tears, she began to feel a small smile, her first in many days, stretching its way onto her face.

"Hey, check this out!" Ash cried from within the circle of sofas. "This table's got a built-in pokédex! Show 'em, Pikachu!"

He pressed a green button on the touchscreen surface, and a light shot towards Pikachu on the adjacent sofa.

"Pikachu, the Mouse Pokémon," it said in a voice identical to that of Ash's first pokédex. "It can generate electric attacks from the electric pouches located in both of its cheeks."

"Pikaaa," Pikachu giggled sheepishly.

"That's so cool! Tray Tray, can I give one of your pokémon a try with it?" Daisy gushed.

"Sure," he laughed, releasing his faithful Marill.

Lance, Misty and the rest of the group turned back inwards, leaving the playful pokémon party to their own devices.

"As it happens, Misty," Lance started, "the timing of your gym's destruction is quite fortuitous."

A collection of incensed looks forced the League champion to falter. "Um, forgive me, that was an abysmal choice of words. What I meant to say is that the Pokémon League has been planning a complete transformation of its gym facilities for quite some time."

"It has?" she said.

"Ah, so that's why the Pewter City gym was remodelled last year!" Brock jumped in. "So, you're doing that to all of them?"

"In due course, yes," Lance confirmed. "Construction on the new Cerulean City gym wasn't scheduled to begin for another two years – but after what's happened, it only makes sense to push the project forward to now."

"A new gym?" said Delia. "Oh, Misty, that's such wonderful news!"

"I agree," seconded Professor Oak. "It should be quite the spectacle once it's finished."

"Wow…" Misty exhaled. In the tumult of the court case and Psyduck's worrying condition, this was something she had never even thought about.

"Don't stress yourself about it now," Lance assured her. "We're still waiting for the blueprints before any building work can commence. I'll get the architect to send them over so you and your sisters can take a look."

After making sure everyone was settled, the esteemed former Elite Four member then turned towards the door to take his leave.

"Oh!" he cried out. "I'm terribly sorry, I almost forgot. Nurse Joy told me to tell you that Psyduck will be arriving at Indigo Labs in one hour, as well as the specialist physician from Saffron City."

"Really?" Misty exclaimed. "Today? I thought she said he was coming tomorrow!"

"Apparently, she left the hearing early because she got word that he'd had a 'psychic seizure' of some sort, and insisted he be brought up to Indigo Plateau right away."

Misty's eyes grew wide. There was so much going on in that courtroom, she had no idea that Nurse Joy hadn't been there the whole time.

"Oh my god. Psyduck," she whimpered. "I need to see him."

"Of course," Lance nodded. "I'll let them know you're coming."

With that, he gently closed the door behind him, leaving the penthouse suite's new inhabitants alone to assimilate.

"Well, what now?" Ash asked to pierce the silence.

To his surprise, Misty was the one to answer. "Psyduck needs me," she said, "but I trust Nurse Joy, so I have faith that this specialist will be able to help him. And the gym's getting rebuilt, so…" she turned to him and smiled, "I think everything's going to be alright."

"Well, in THAT case…!"

Brock's manic sprint across the room almost sent half of its occupants flying.

"Oh, Alexa, my dear," he crooned, taking her hands in his. "I've admired you from afar, and though we meet in such grave circumstances, it'd be a far graver mistake for us to spend another second apart!"

Alexa just stood there, dumbstruck, until Misty inevitably came to the rescue.

"I knew you'd been acting oddly well-behaved since you came back from Johto!" she huffed as she dragged him away by the ear.

"Is he always like that?" Alexa asked with an awkward laugh.

Misty rolled her eyes. "Oh, you have no idea."

Once everything had calmed down again, the Kalos native decided to voice an interesting thought that suddenly occurred to her.

"Hey, Misty, I wonder if I could ask you something?"

Misty cocked her head in curiosity, but smiled her consent at the twenty-nine-year-old.

"Everything that's happened – the accident at the gym, Psyduck's psychic powers, being wrongly accused in court – I think people would really like to read about this! And right now, there are way more people in town because of the Indigo League. My contact at the Goldenrod City radio tower could even have it in circulation in twenty-four hours! What do you say?"

The redhead's brow crinkled. "You want to write about me? And Psyduck?" She looked down in thought. "I don't know…"

"I understand," Alexa said. "It's natural to want to keep something like this to yourself. But after hearing the way the PokéTrust perverted the facts, how they made you out to be some kind of cold-hearted crook, how little they cared about what happened to Psyduck – don't you think people ought to know the truth? Nobody knows the real story yet, Misty. It'd mean so much more if they heard it from the mouth of the Cerulean gym leader herself."

It should have taken a while for Misty to consider this rather sudden offer. But even she couldn't deny that the reporter's reasoning was more than convincing. Her gym and reputation aside, Psyduck's condition was deeply distressing, and the fact that barely anyone knew, much less cared, was strangely heartbreaking. For the sake of her dim-witted, slow, annoying and completely lovable duck pokémon, they needed to know.

"Okay," she eventually declared. "I'll do it."

"Great!" Alexa beamed. "If I can sit with you for a few minutes later on, I'll have everything I need. Thank you for this, Misty. It's about time people saw what a devoted gym leader you are."

She ambled away, leaving the gymless gym leader to her thoughts by the grand penthouse window. While everyone else was busy poking excitedly around the Waterflowers' temporary new home, Misty felt it far more satisfying to simply stand there and take in the view. There'd be plenty of time to get acquainted with the place later, anyway. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy this relative tranquillity while it lasted.

"I'm going to go for a walk," she said aloud, hoping at least one of them would hear her, "since there's time to kill before Psyduck gets here and all."

Ash looked up from the pokédex table. "Good idea, Mist," he smiled. "Mind if I join you?"

She matched his smile with her own. "Sure."

As Alexa had pointed out, the Indigo Plateau Trainers' Village was bustling with life. With only three weeks until the Indigo League conference, it was no wonder that trainers from all over had already flocked to the place to await the oldest and most celebrated tournament of the Pokémon League. Ash and Misty, comfortable again in their casual summer wear, found a quiet grassy lane off to the side to stroll down, from which they could see all the hurried goings-on in the main plaza.

"Wait, so Lance said you're getting a whole new gym?" Ash said in astonishment.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It's part of a big remodelling plan, apparently."

"Hey, that means they'll be able to do something about your tiny room!" He cringed internally. "Uhh, I mean, your room…hehe."

Misty glared mockingly at him. "And what exactly was wrong with the size of my room, Ash Ketchum?"

"Er, nothing, nothing! It was very…tidy, and, um, cosy? Petite, even!" His idiotic grin only dug him in deeper.

"So dumb," Misty exhaled with a stiff head shake, then carried on walking. Ash caught up with her seconds later, whereupon he decided to change the subject.

"I know none of us have really talked about this yet," he started, "but what do you think actually happened in the courthouse just now?"

She cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the last few minutes of the hearing were pretty darn crazy, right? Do you think it was Alakazam who made all that water fall from the sky?"

"I don't know," Misty remarked dully.

"I coulda sworn I saw him floating at one point. And there was that freaky purple colour around him. But even then, have you ever seen an alakazam do something like that? It's really weird…"

"Ash, can we please not talk about the court?" she interrupted. "It's over now. I'd rather not think about it any more than I already have."

He didn't need her to elaborate, having experienced first-hand the painful and confusing events of Misty's hearing. Instead, Ash turned his attention to the expansive circular area in which they were now standing. It was the nexus of the trainers' village, serving as a central hub for pokémon trainers to meet, battle, shop for souvenirs and enjoy the finest of Kantonian cuisine. In the middle of the circle was a grand fountain, multi-tiered with water jets spurting elegantly in an impressive floral pattern. He could take or leave most of this, though. What really captured his attention were the swarms of people everywhere, playing with their pokémon or showing off their newly acquired Kanto gym badges.

"Takes you back, doesn't it?" he commented, fondly taking in the sight. Misty glanced at him and giggled softly at the smile on his face.

"Don't tell me you of all people are getting nostalgic," she teased. "Isn't always looking ahead the whole point of travelling?"

"Well yeah, but…" he panned across his surroundings with an arm gesture, "look at this place! This was where I took part in my first ever proper battle tournament. I was so excited, and you and Brock were right there with me the whole time. It was an awesome feeling."

Misty nodded. "Doesn't feel like eleven years ago, I'll admit. Those were the days, huh?"

You can say that again, Ash mused. Representing his tiny rural hometown in the challenge of a lifetime, a stepping stone to greatness for his ten-year-old self with his best friends by his side…there truly was nothing greater. To stand by while everyone prepared for something that had once brought him such exhilaration, such childlike rapture, felt both satisfying and surreal. Half of him found comfort in the fun and familiarity of the scene – but the other half, the half that burned with a passion to get stuck in, called to him like an old friend deep within, pleading with him to cross that final yawning gap and just go for it. And despite not usually being one for nostalgia, like Misty had said, he absolutely was one for impulsiveness, evidenced by the very next thought that popped into his head.

"Misty," he said, a trembling grin on his face. "I'm going to do it."

"Do what?" she asked as they stopped suddenly.

He turned to her, beaming. "I'm going to enter the Indigo League."

"Hello?"

It was just gone 2:30, the agreed time that Misty would head over to Indigo Labs. The building was by the river, only a moderate walk from where she was staying, and surprisingly small from the outside. She presumed that most of the facility was underground, which was quickly confirmed to her when a few metres beyond the thick steel door gave way to a steep decline of steps. Curiously, there was no-one to greet her, and even odder still, very few of the lights in the hallways seemed to be on. It was downright creepy, and she began to regret letting Ash skip off to sign up for the Indigo League. If the circumstances of her being here weren't so terribly important, the young girl would most likely have run a mile.

"H-Hello? Is anyone here?" she tried again. Once at the bottom of the stairs, she fumbled her way to a door at the end of the corridor, opening it to reveal yet another staircase, shorter but far steeper than the last.

This is sure gonna be a fun trip back up, she groaned internally. Thankfully, a light shone through the door that she eventually came to, giving her some hope that she was actually in the right place after all.

Tap, tap, tap, went her fingernails on the cold metal. A few seconds later, she tried a little harder. Then she moved to hammering the buzzer on the adjacent wall. All three attempts yielded nothing, making Misty understandably embarrassed to find that the door simply swung open with a light turn of the knob.

"If anyone can hear me, I'm the Cerulean City gym leader," she called out. "I was told my psyduck would be here…"

The room was very long and narrow, almost like a hallway until a rectangular alcove at the far-left end made it more like an L-shape. A metallic grey coated the upper walls, separated from the white lower half by head-high shelving and monstrous lab equipment. One particularly intriguing piece sat to her immediate left: a huge, wheeled console not unlike a rudimentary computer, with thick tubing leading up to an enormous glass capsule. Many other machines looked just as unusual, but a sudden crash stopped her from inspecting them further.

"Huh?!" she jumped, rushing towards the source of the noise. The space at the back resembled a garage of sorts, and Misty could tell instantly that the crashing had come from underneath the long workbench that stood against the wall. As she bent over, she made out a round, shadowy shape in the darkness, one that shrieked in alarm the instant she reached out to prod it.

"YAAAAAAAAAH!"

The figure sprung out from under the table, and, to Misty's relief, was quite human indeed.

"O-Ohh, um," he chuckled sheepishly. "Forgive me, Miss, I thought you were…someone else."

"That's okay," she shrugged. "But what were you doing under the table?"

"I was trying to find an outlet for this useless thing," he signalled towards a worn-out belt sander on the bench. "They told me this place would be state-of-the-art, but from what I've seen, it's kind of a fixer-upper."

The panning of his hand around him drew Misty's attention to a long desk in the middle of the room, stretching from the back wall almost right across to the front door.

"I've definitely never seen a lab like this before," she remarked. "It looks more like a classroom to me."

"Ah, well spotted! I thought that, too. Perhaps this laboratory was a school once upon a time. Whatever happened to it over the ages, I wonder…"

Misty smiled in politeness, but then decided to cut straight to the point. "Hey, listen, I don't suppose you've seen a psyduck around here, have you?" she asked. "Or an expert on psychic pokémon?"

The man bashfully straightened the collar of his lab coat. "Well, I don't know about 'expert'," he grinned, "but I do know a thing or two about psychic pokémon."

Her mouth fell open. "Wait…it's you! You're the specialist?"

"Not what you expected, am I?"

"I…don't know what I expected," Misty mumbled. In truth, she'd imagined something far more eccentric. The middle-aged man before her was slight, in both stature and demeanour, with an air about him that was somehow warm and inviting. Definitely not what one would expect of someone who dabbled in the unseen.

"It's alright, I get that all the time," he laughed. "My name is Professor Cairn. And you must be Ms. Waterflower!"

"Yes. I'm…" she paused to shake his outstretched hand, "Misty."

"It's a true pleasure, Misty," Professor Cairn smiled. "I've heard all about you from Lance and Nurse Joy."

"You have?"

"Oh, yes! I'm so sorry about everything that's happened to you and your family lately. However, to answer your question, I happen to know that Psyduck should be arriving any minute now."

Misty's face lit up just as a clatter and a ding rang out from the lift outside.

"Why, speak of the devil, that could be him now!" Cairn cried. "Let's go take a look, shall we?"

It certainly was him, and though it had only been a day, it felt much longer than that since Misty had last seen him. Psyduck was sleeping peacefully upon his stretcher, his arms tucked up to his chest and his beak gently shut. Were it not for his bandages, it would almost seem as though nothing was wrong with him. Perhaps that was what worried his trainer the most.

"Lance mentioned he'd had a kind of seizure earlier," she said as they wheeled him into the room. "Do you know anything about it, Professor?"

"I'm afraid I don't," he frowned. "I was rather hoping you would know. All Nurse Joy told me was that it happened just over an hour ago, when his vitals showed a massive spike in psychic energy."

Misty sighed, saying nothing until a sudden thought hit her.

"Wait," she gasped. "That would've been when I was in court, right about when the water started coming down! But we all thought it was just Alakazam calling those brothers out on their lies…could Psyduck have…?"

Cairn looked on in curiosity as the redhead wrestled with these thoughts for some time.

"I think you'd better tell me everything from the top," he suggested. "But first, we should see to making Psyduck comfortable."

With a beckoning hand, the docile man led Misty and the stretcher over to the same glass chamber that she had been inspecting earlier.

"This is a machine of my own design," he said. "I had it flown in from Saffron City as soon as I heard I was to be coming here. Now, let me just remove these bandages…"

Carefully, he peeled off each of Psyduck's many wrappings one by one. Misty was amazed to see how well most of his wounds had healed, particularly the concussion-inducing gash on his head.

"Is this safe?" Misty asked in concern.

"Oh, perfectly," Cairn answered. "The serum in the capsule is a formula I created back in college, specifically for treating psychic pokémon. I've tweaked it for Psyduck's unique needs, so, physically speaking, he should be right as rain after a day or two of total saturation!"

"Total saturation?" she repeated. The jargon he was throwing out sure was scary, but for now, at least, Misty thought it best to have faith and refrain from interrupting.

"Up we go," the professor said with a struggle, holding on to Psyduck's arms. Misty grabbed his legs, and the two manoeuvred him slowly over to the chamber. Once inside, Cairn strapped the unconscious duck into the harness, then sealed the capsule shut and pressed a button on the console beneath. In less than a minute, Psyduck was completely submerged in the translucent green liquid that gushed from the tubing around him.

"Psyduck…" Misty murmured. The kindly professor beside her noticed her apprehension and smiled.

"Don't worry, Misty," he said. "I realise I'll be learning at the same rate as you during this treatment, but I'm fully dedicated to helping you and Psyduck, and I promise you that as soon as his wounds have healed, we'll get to the bottom of this, together."

His words brought a feeling of reassurance upon the fretting woman straight away. Though she had only just met him, she felt that Professor Cairn's promise was nothing but sincere, and sensed in her gut that she truly could trust him with her poor ailing Psyduck.

"And this probably all seems quite elaborate, but it's never failed me once, even during my lecturing days," Cairn added, patting the machine.

"You were a lecturer?" Misty asked. He nodded proudly.

"I was, many years ago. A number of my students went on to pursue careers in psychic studies, which I was rather flattered by. Why, one even became the Saffron City gym leader!"

Misty's eyebrows raised. "You taught Sabrina?"

Again, Cairn gave a humble nod. "Her father and I have been friends since high school. She showed such potential for greatness at such a young age that I insisted she enrol in my course when she turned ten. Her father was sceptical, and after what happened to her mother in later years I can't say I blame him, but…"

He paused, a sign Misty interpreted as reliving an intense memory. "I do feel guilty about that," he admitted. "Psychic power is often extremely difficult to wield." Looking around, he then coughed in embarrassment. "Oh, um, sorry, I think I went off on a tangent there. What was I saying?"

"You were talking about Sabrina," Misty prompted.

"Ah, of course. Well, it was actually Sabrina who suggested me to Nurse Joy for this job."

"It was?"

"Yes. She saw what happened to your gym on the news and contacted the lab the next day to arrange for Psyduck to be moved here. I believe she was at your hearing just now, yes?"

"Yeah," Misty mumbled, shocked by her distant colleague's generosity. "Wow, I had no idea…"

"Psychics are a hard people to read, but they're certainly not above great acts of random kindness," Cairn commented. "I've not a clairvoyant bone in my body, alas, but I've always been fascinated by the sheer power hidden within the mind. Humans and pokémon are not so different in that regard, wouldn't you say?"

His enthusiasm for his profession was clear as day, and to know that he and Misty had common ground in their friendship with Sabrina was doubly pleasing. She considered telling him that she, Ash and Brock were the ones to release Sabrina's mother from her curse as a living doll (all while falling victim to it herself in the process) and save the Saffron gym leader from her own uncontrollable power. But perhaps that was a discussion for a later date. In any case, the door to the lab flew open before she could utter another syllable.

"Ah, Misty, there you are."

"Brock?" she cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Friend of yours?" Cairn inquired.

It was then that Misty noticed said friend's bedraggled appearance. Though still wearing his suit from court, the epaulets were crinkled and his tie sat loose around his neck. His eyes were also peculiarly puffy, as if he'd been rubbing them vigorously.

"What's wrong?" she said in alarm.

"I…just got off the phone to the Violet City Pokémon Centre," he stated. "The stantler I've been looking after, it…passed away this morning."

She clasped a hand over her mouth. "Oh no," she whimpered. "Brock, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," he smiled weakly. "Nurse Joy told me it wouldn't have made any difference if I'd been there, but, well, I still feel like I could have done more to help the poor guy."

"There's nothing more you could have done, Brock," she told him. "Nurse Joy believes you did your best, and I do, too." She turned to her right. "This is Professor Cairn. He's going to help me find out what's wrong with Psyduck. Professor Cairn, this is my friend, Brock."

"Pleased to meet you," Cairn greeted, shaking the man's hand. "You are a pokémon doctor, then?"

"Well, in-training," Brock chuckled.

"So, what's going to happen with your internship now?" Misty asked.

Brock stood up straight. "That's actually the reason I came to find you, Misty. Now that my work in Violet City is effectively over, I suggested to Nurse Joy that I use the rest of my time here in Indigo Plateau, and she agreed. This way, I can still complete my contract while staying close to you and Ash."

"Really?" Misty inhaled. "You'd do that for us?"

"I already have. It's never fun to have to leave you guys, even if none of us are travelling right now. Plus, I figure having an extra pokémon doctor around at a time like this couldn't hurt, right?"

This gave Professor Cairn an idea. "Say, Brock, have you actually confirmed your new position at the Indigo Plateau pokémon centre yet?"

He shook his head. "Erm, not yet, no. I was going to head over there as soon as I let Misty know about my plans."

"Well, I just thought, given your closeness to Misty and your knowledge of pokémon healthcare," he pushed his round spectacles up his nose, "how would you feel about helping me out around the lab?"

Brock was stunned. "You mean it? Be your assistant?"

"Why not? I could use an extra pair of hands around here. As you can see, the place isn't exactly teeming with life. And, someone who is already familiar with Psyduck would be very useful to have around. What do you say?"

It took barely a second for the young man to make up his mind. "I'll do it!" he beamed. "Thanks a million for this, Professor, you won't regret it. And you too, Misty!"

"Well, I didn't really do anything," she giggled, nonetheless happy to see him so excited.

"I'm glad that's settled," Cairn smiled. "I feel this could be the start of a wonderful working relationship." He turned serious. "Now, Misty, why don't you tell me everything about what happened at the Cerulean gym…"

Giovanni stood impatiently in the hallway of the Team Rocket headquarters. It was bad enough that those bumbling idiots had waltzed into his office and covered his desk with dirt, but then to have to evacuate the room for fear that this dirt was radioactive…now that was when his already threadbare patience had reached its end.

"What have you found, Professor Sebastian?" he grumbled into a wall-mounted intercom.

"Sadly very little, sir," a nasal drone replied through the speaker. "Preliminary tests have so far been inconclusive, I regret to inform."

"Do you have any information yet?" Giovanni persisted.

The intercom crackled during the brief pause that followed. "Well, I can confirm that the substance is not radioactive, so there will be no need for yourself, Ms. Matori and your personal guard to undergo sterilisation after all."

The Team Rocket boss looked over at the hazmat-clad workers probing around in his office – for naught, as it just turned out. Such a nuisance.

"I see," he sighed. "That will save any more of my time being wasted, at least."

"Sir, I thought you might be interested to know that I've been running a local scan for energy signatures similar to the one my aides recorded in your office," Sebastian explained. "While I am yet to identify the origin of this compound, it just so happens that an identical signal was picked up from Indigo Plateau at the exact same moment."

"Do you mean to tell me that another energy spike occurred in perfect synchronicity with what happened in my office?" Giovanni questioned.

"I do, sir."

"Curious," he pondered. "Perhaps there is more to this than I thought. Whereabouts in Indigo Plateau did you detect the signal?"

"In the old Indigo Courthouse," Sebastian answered. "The main courtroom, I believe."

"The Indigo Courthouse? How unexpected. We must investigate the source of this signal."

"I anticipated you would say that, sir. Might I suggest my own operatives, Atilla and Hun, for this assignment?"

Giovanni stroked his chin. "Interesting idea, Professor. Where are they now?"

"In the Sinnoh region, scouting out locations for a potential base of operations. Their results have been promising, but I can call them back at any time."

"No. The construction of a Sinnoh base is integral to Team Rocket's expansion plan and should not be delayed," he shot down. "Leave Atilla and Hun where they are for the time being. I will send my A-squad to undertake this mission."

"Very good, sir," Professor Sebastian acknowledged. A moment later, the comm line rang off.

"Matori," Giovanni turned to his disgruntled secretary, "inform my agents of their upcoming task."

"Right away, sir," Matori complied.

"And, while you're at it," the boss added, "have Jessie, James and Meowth report to the lab for assignment of temporary pokémon. As idiotic as they are, they were the first to bring this bizarre turn of events to my attention." He began to walk stoically away. "They might as well make themselves useful."

"You want to enter the Indigo League?" Lance asked in slight shock.

"You bet I do!" Ash cried, bristling with energy. "It's not too late, right?"

"Oh no, it's not too late," he clarified, "just a little…unorthodox to have an entry less than three weeks before the tournament. I take it you have your eight badges then?"

The young man's face fell. "Uhhh…well, I've got eight from the last time I entered. Do they count?"

Lance gave him a sympathetic smile that very much suggested the contrary. "They have to be up to date, Ash," he said. "Many of Kanto's gym leaders have changed since you last competed, anyway."

"Oh," Ash mumbled. "Well, um, how about that exam thing? The one you can take to qualify without needing gym badges?"

"The Pokémon League Admissions Exam? I'm afraid we stopped holding that at the beginning of this month."

"Aww, man," he groaned. "I guess we were too late, Pikachu."

"Chuuu," the droopy-eared pokémon sighed.

"Now, hold on a minute, Ash," Lance interjected. "I said it's unorthodox for you to be entering this late, but it's not impossible. There is one last way you can participate in the Indigo League."

"There is?" Ash cried.

The distinguished pokémon master beckoned Ash into his office, where he loaded up a series of files and images on his desktop computer.

"We always try and encourage trainers to go on a journey and collect their eight gym badges first-hand," he explained, "so alternative methods deliberately aren't publicised as much. But if an entrant has over five years' experience and a Top 8 ranking or above in at least one other League tournament, then he or she is eligible for a more advanced challenge."

"Wow…" Ash murmured as Lance pulled up a collection of images, all of a cavernous underground battle arena.

"It's called the Elite Qualifier," he said with pride. "If a trainer can triumph over two Elite Four members of their choosing in a four-on-four double battle, then they are automatically added to the Indigo Conference challengers' roster."

Ash leant dizzily against the wall, his hand reaching up to the back of his head.

"Battle two Elite Four members at once?" he said to himself. What was initially disbelief turned swiftly to elation. "That sounds awesome! Whaddaya say, Pikachu?"

"Pika-chu!" he cheered with a little thumbs-up.

"Like the admissions exam, we don't usually run this challenge so close to the Indigo League," Lance pointed out, "but, as luck would have it, most of the Elite Four members were in town for Misty's hearing this morning. It shouldn't be hard to persuade them to stick around until tomorrow."

"Er, yeah, that was pretty lucky, I guess," Ash chuckled.

"And, after how you've helped me over the years, particularly at the Lake of Rage, I'm sure I can pull some strings to make this qualifier a memorable one for you."

The young pokémon trainer was buzzing with excitement. "You mean it? Oh man, this is gonna be so cool!"

Lance laughed heartily. "It's my pleasure, Ash. I'll email you the list, as well as the guidelines for choosing your pokémon. Have your choices back to me by tonight, okay?"

"You can count on it! C'mon, Pikachu, we've gotta get ready!"

"Pika!"

Later, just as the scorching afternoon sun began to set, Misty stepped out of the lift and unlocked the door to her family's spacious new apartment.

"Hey, Mist," Ash called over from the sofa. "Where've you been?"

"You know where I've been, Ash," she tutted.

"Well, yeah, but that was hours ago! You've been there this whole time?"

"I had to make sure Psyduck was okay, didn't I?" she reasoned. "Also, the specialist, Professor Cairn, is a really nice guy. We ended up chatting for ages. D'you know he even asked Brock to be his assistant?"

"No way! Really?"

"Yeah, isn't it great? I'll take you to meet him tomorrow. He really seems devoted to helping Psyduck."

"That's great, Misty," Ash smiled. "Oh, and Tracey told me to tell you everyone's gone out for dinner at some buffet place. Said he'd save us seats if we wanted to join them, though."

She nodded. "That'd be nice. So, did you sign up for the Indigo League?"

Her question made Ash leap up from the sofa and drag her over to the computer in the corner.

"Hey, wait till you see this!" he gushed. A few mouse clicks later, and the files emailed to him by Lance appeared on the screen.

"The Elite Qualifier?" Misty recognised. "I've heard of that before. This is how you're entering the tournament?"

"Lance said it was the only way I could without badges," he said, "but I wouldn't have it any other way! Isn't this amazing?"

"Have you decided which members to challenge?" she prompted.

Ash scratched his head. "Actually, I stayed behind to wait for you when everyone went out because I hoped you'd help me choose."

"Really?" she asked, genuinely surprised (and rather flattered).

"Mhm," he smiled. "Look, they're all here. I just need to select the two I want to battle."

He brought up a document showing interactive images of each of the Elite Four members. There were actually five, presumably given that the Kanto and Johto regions shared many members between them. Misty gasped as soon as she laid eyes on the first photograph.

"Oh my god, Ash, you've gotta pick Prima, pleeeeeeeeeease!" she squealed. "She's so amazing, and her water pokémon are just the cuuuuuutest!"

Ash rolled his finger around in his now ringing ear. "Jeez, Mist, I'm only here! But…I guess it would be cool to have a rematch against Prima. And I'm gonna win this time! Okay, then, Prima it is!"

The pointer made a gentle click upon the icon, and the image turned green to show it had been selected.

"Alright, then, who else?" he pondered. "There's a couple of ones I don't recognise here…"

"Look, there's Koga!" Misty observed. "I forgot he became an Elite Four member after his daughter Janine took over the Fuchsia City gym."

"Wow, that's cool," Ash said in awe. "Hey, this guy looks kinda weird."

"That's Will. His speciality is psychic pokémon."

"What's with the mask?"

"No idea. I've spoken to him at League meetings before, he's a pretty eccentric guy."

Ash scrolled right to the end, somewhat disappointed that Lance himself wasn't on the list.

"Bummer," he sighed. He then turned his attention to the last listed Elite Four member.

"Karen, huh?" he murmured. "I don't know her, either."

"Oh, she's lovely," Misty smiled. "She's a dark-type trainer. Her umbreon is such a cutie."

"A dark-type trainer!" Ash repeated, immediately intrigued. "You know, I've never gone up against someone who specialises in dark-types before. That sounds like fun!"

His cursor glided over her picture. "What do you think, Misty?"

"Good choice," she nodded. "I say go for it!"

"Alright then…" With another click, the image changed colour. "That's that taken care of!"

"Just your pokémon to pick now, huh?" Misty guessed.

"Well, I already know my first choice, right, buddy?" Ash laughed.

"Piii," Pikachu trilled affectionately.

"Only five more to go," Misty giggled.

"This'll be a cinch," Ash shrugged. "I'll pick Oshawott, Scraggy, Snivy-"

The boy's confused friend stopped him in his tracks with a look of utter incredulity.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm picking my pokémon, what do you think I'm doing?" he rebutted.

"But they're all your Unova pokémon."

"So?"

"So, what about your older pokémon that you've spent more time with?"

"Misty, these are the pokémon who accompanied me all through Unova. I like to start afresh each time I go to a new region, and these guys really proved themselves while I was there."

She measured her next words carefully. "Ash, I don't mean to take away from your new pokémon, but don't you think starting from scratch all the time is why you've never won an official tournament?"

Ash froze. As harsh as that sounded, it was something he'd actually never considered before. Making new friends came before winning, naturally, but simultaneously, it didn't feel good to be pipped at the post every single time by someone with much stronger, battle-hardened pokémon. Leave it to Misty to deliver a painful truth.

"Um…" he coasted, "you, er…wow…"

Misty placed her hand upon Ash's, an act that made them both shiver. "I'm sorry, I know that was mean," she said. "But I also know how crushed you are when you lose a competition, and I don't want you to have to go through that again. There's no shame in giving your new pokémon a little rest, you know. And your more experienced pokémon will be excited to get to reunite with you, right?"

It was a tough call to make, but deep down, he knew there was wisdom to her words. He was tired of losing. By going back to his roots, the bonds he'd nurtured since day one of his journey, this time he knew he'd come out on top.

"Yeah," he whispered. "You could be right. Thanks, Misty." He turned back to the screen. "So, um…Charizard?"

"Now that's more like it," Misty winked. "Who else?"

Night fell late in mid-August Kanto. It took until around 10:30pm before the coast was deemed to be clear, and that was when they made their premeditated stealth run towards the courthouse.

"Come on, Blotch!" Cassidy hissed through the bushes.

"It's Butch!" her partner's coarse voice rasped back at her. "How the heck don't you of all people know my name yet?!"

"Oh, stop your whining," she exhaled. "Look, there's a window up there. Give me a boost and I'll pick the lock."

The black-garbed man hoisted his teammate up to the ledge, watching as she poked and prodded the latch of the window with a couple of metal rods. In just seconds, the lock clicked open, and Cassidy slid the window quietly upwards, dropping down into the darkened courtroom below.

"Hey, what about me?" Butch growled from outside.

Cassidy paid him no mind except to shush him when he awkwardly dragged himself over the wall and clattered down onto the stands below the window.

"Hehe, sorry," he grinned, rubbing his bruised behind.

They got out their torches, shining them low to the ground so as not to alert any security guards outside the room.

"What a mess," Butch whispered. "Musta been quite a party."

"Whatever went on here, you'd think they'd clean up after themselves," Cassidy grimaced. "Why would they just close up and leave the place in this state?"

"Makes you wonder why it wasn't on the news, huh?"

"Oh, please. The Pokémon League keep everything hushed up if they can. We only know about this because those morons Jessie and James nearly gave the boss radiation poisoning."

Butch snorted. "Man, those guys are such looooosers! The one time they do something right and they end up damn near killing the boss!"

"Shhhh!" Cassidy scolded. "It'll be the boss damn near killing us if he has to bail us out of jail again! Now shut your trap!"

They carried on in relative silence, weaving in and out of the lopsided chairs and clumps of ceiling plaster.

"Eww, gross, there's water all over the floor," Cassidy huffed. "Typical. I just cleaned my boots before we left."

"What are we even supposed to be looking for?" Butch called over, only his swamp green mop visible.

"Anything out of the ordinary," she recounted.

"Well, that narrows it down," he scoffed. "We always get the grunt work. It ain't fair."

Propping up a mostly dry chair, the disgruntled agent plopped himself down, folding his arms behind his head in a defiantly casual manner.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Cassidy said.

"Taking a rest, what does it look like?" he nonchalantly replied. "Nothing going on, anyway."

Though his blonde counterpart tried multiple times to shift him, Butch just sat there staring carelessly off into space. He twirled the ball of gum he had been chewing around his finger, reaching forward to stick it underneath the giant pokéball table. The moment it touched the wooden surface, a disproportionately squelchy sound reverberated right around the empty courtroom.

Cassidy scrunched her nose up. "Oh my god, Bunch, did you just…?"

"Butch, Butch, Butch, Butch!" he snarled back. "And it wasn't me! It was…what the…"

There was no chewing gum on his finger when he retracted it from under the table. Instead, his whole hand was practically encased in a gelatinous blue sludge, cold and translucent blue in colour.

"Yuck!" he yelled. "Get this crud off o' me!"

"Wait, Bungle," Cassidy murmured. Butch didn't even bother correcting her this time. "Hold it up to the scanner."

He did just that, closing his fist so none of the goop ran down his arm, while his partner swiped a handheld device across the covered area. A readout on the screen swelled bright red, and she stood up straight with victorious poise.

"Scrape it off into this bag," she instructed, handing him a polythene sleeve. "I think we've got exactly what we came for."

The next morning…

"The trainers will please take their positions."

Great orbs of light burst from the spotlights at the edges of the underground arena. Ash stepped up to his mark on the stony battlefield and assumed his trademark battle stance.

"This place is amazing," Brock said from the raised seating at the side. "I had no idea it even existed."

"Yeah," Misty acknowledged. "Who'd have thought there'd be a whole battle arena underneath the Pokémon League Pavilion?"

Virtually the whole gang had turned up to watch Ash's qualifying match, as he knew they would. It was quite a struggle to find the place, given that it was not signposted anywhere in Indigo Plateau, but Lance had luckily run into them on the way and shown them to their seats. From the far side of the arena, the silhouettes of two slim but imposing women gradually took form as they walked out of the dark competitors' tunnel.

"There she is!" Misty oozed, enraptured. "Oh, I'd just die to be half as magnificent as her!"

"Hey, Prima!" Ash waved over at the bespectacled redhead to his left.

"How nice it is to see you again, Ash," she greeted. "It'll be interesting to see how far you've come since our battle on Mandarin Island. However, in this setting, I'd prefer it if you called me Lorelei."

"Lorelei?" he queried.

"Prima is…something of a stage persona, you see. When it comes to official Pokémon League business, I always go by my legal name. Hope you don't mind."

"Her name's really Lorelei?" Misty gasped. "How did I not know that?!"

Ash then looked to the woman on the opposite side. She was slightly younger, with waist-length hair an elegant silvery blue colour. Her pale eyes met his at that exact moment, and she grinned slyly.

"Your reputation precedes you, Ash," she purred. "My name's Karen. My pokémon are a force to be reckoned with – let's hope our battle doesn't darken my day, hmm?"

They all looked at the judge, who commenced his pre-battle spiel.

"This will be a four-on-four double battle between Ash, the challenger, and Lorelei and Karen of the Elite Four," he stated. "No more than two pokémon per side can be active on the field at any one time, and only the challenger may substitute."

"Go, Piloswine!" Lorelei cried. From her pokéball came a hairy, tusked creature, grunting its name in anticipation.

"Umbreon, come on out!" Karen said thereafter. Misty cooed when the elegant noir eeveelution materialised.

Ash looked at Pikachu. "You ready, buddy?"

"Pika!" he nodded, bounding into place.

"Okay, then…" Ash fingered the pokéballs along his belt, "Glalie, I choose you!"

"Glalie!" roared the horned, grey ice ball, guerning his signature guern.

Misty turned to Brock, about to comment on the excitement of the scene below them, until she noticed his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Lorelei in her attack pose.

"Would you look at those…" he breathed drunkenly.

Her eyelids lowered. "For your sake, Brock, I hope you're talking about her pokémon."

"Ready…" the judge held up the two flags in his hands, "begin!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Pikachu scampered towards Piloswine with a white trail whooshing behind him. The attack hit it dead-on before another command could be given.

"Umbreon, hit back with Faint Attack!" Karen ordered.

"Glalie, protect Pikachu!" Ash countered.

Glalie soared across the arena, taking the hit for Pikachu and thus providing an opportune window of vulnerability.

"Now, Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

His tail glowed white, and with a little mid-air flip, Pikachu slammed down towards the ground. But Umbreon sensed the counterattack and leapt out of the way just in time.

"Piiii!" Pikachu squirmed, his tail lodged in the ground.

"Piloswine, use Earthquake!" Lorelei shouted.

"Piloooo…" its chubby front paws raised up, "swine!"

The floor of the arena rippled outwards from Piloswine's feet, sending chunks of stone flying up into the air.

"Pikachu, try to break free!" Ash pleaded. Pikachu yanked and writhed at his pinned tail, screeching as the earthquake drew closer.

"Oh man," he mouthed. "Glalie, shoot at the ground with Ice Beam!"

Glalie began to charge up a ball of blue energy between his horns.

"Not so fast," Karen interjected. "Umbreon, jump and grab onto Glalie!"

"Umbree!" it nodded. The strategy was a double-whammy; in leaping upwards, Umbreon was spared the damage from its ally's Earthquake attack, and its claws then latching onto Glalie's underside disorientated the Face Pokémon to such an extent that the Ice Beam he was preparing shot straight off into the air.

"Pikaaarrrghh!" wailed Pikachu, taking the full brunt of the Earthquake and thudding to the ground after being thrown sky high.

"Ouch. That was a super-effective move," Brock winced. "There's no way Pikachu will be able to withstand another attack like that."

"Are you okay, Pikachu?" Ash cried.

"Chuu," he coughed. That attack had taken it out of him, alright, but he wasn't beaten.

"Your pikachu is resilient, Ash," Lorelei commented. "Piloswine, Double-Edge!"

Piloswine lunged with unnatural speed towards Pikachu, giving the weakened pokémon little chance of escape.

"Glalie, spin around!" Ash shouted.

"What's he up to?" questioned Tracey.

With Umbreon still clinging on, Glalie began to rotate on the spot, increasing in speed until his features were beyond recognition.

"Faster, Glalie!"

The faster he went, the looser Umbreon's grip became. Quickly, there came the point when Umbreon was simply unable to hold on any longer, and that was when Glalie jerked over to his left, shaking it off right into the path of Piloswine's Double-Edge.

"Umbreon!" said Karen.

"Now, Pikachu, get on top of Glalie's head!" Ash ordered. Glalie rose a few feet into the air with the head-mounted Pikachu poised to strike.

"Catch them up, Umbreon, and use Confuse Ray on Glalie!"

Though compromised by the unintentional friendly fire, Umbreon rocketed back over to its trainer's side and released an unsettling wave of magenta. Glalie was bathed in it within the second, and began to rock back and forth, almost spilling Pikachu from his vantage point.

"Gaah!" Ash cringed. "Glalie's confused!" He looked over at the opponents' pokémon, who were waiting vigilantly for their next commands. They were in the perfect position for an all-out offensive, but he had to act fast.

"Pikachu!" he barked to the teetering pokémon. "Jump and use your Thunderbolt!"

Sparks crackled at Pikachu's cheeks. "Pi-kaaaaaaa…" he made his leap of faith, "CHUUUUUU!"

The arena floor was showered with sheets of xanthous static. Piloswine, being a ground-type, was unaffected due to its immunity to electric attacks. But Umbreon, weakened already by its encounter with the Double-Edge, stood no chance.

"Um-breeee…" puffed the sizzled feline as the electricity diffused.

"Umbreon is unable to battle," declared the judge. "This round goes to the challenger, Ash!"

"Alright, Ash!" Misty cheered down at him. "Way to go!"

"Well done, Umbreon. Return," Karen smiled, enveloping her pokémon in the pokéball's red light. "Not bad, Ash, you've gotten an early lead. But I'm afraid it's just beginner's luck. Go, Honchkrow!"

From her second pokéball came a proud, bearded bird of prey, its jet-black plumage unfurled wide as it sliced through the air.

"Honchkrow, huh?" Ash thought aloud. "Bring it on! Glalie, Icy Wind!"

What Ash had forgotten, however, was that Umbreon's parting gift had befuddled Glalie to such an extent that he was unable to distinguish friend from foe. Unleash an Icy Wind, it did – but straight at Pikachu.

"Pikaa?!"

Pikachu narrowly avoided the frosty flurry, though not without a residual chill on his tail.

"Yikes," Ash faltered. "Glalie, return."

"Smart move," Lorelei remarked as Glalie disappeared into his ball.

"Time to step up," he said, unclipping his next pokéball. "I choose you, Krookodile!"

"Krookodile!" grinned the stylish red reptile that stomped powerfully down on the ground.

"I've never seen that pokémon in the flesh before," Misty said to Brock. "Look at its sunglasses!"

"Reminds you of Squirtle, doesn't it?" he laughed.

"Okay, Krookodile, use Dragon Claw on Honchkrow!"

"Dodge it!" Karen rebutted. Unsurprisingly, it wasn't hard for the flying pokémon to do just that, as it simply flew upwards out of Krookodile's reach.

"Keep trying, Krookodile!" Ash persisted. "Pikachu, Agility!"

While Krookodile clawed ever upwards, Pikachu sped past him towards Piloswine.

"Rock Slide, Piloswine!" said Lorelei. From thin air rained moderately sized boulders, intended as blockades for Pikachu but proving no match for the little mouse's speed.

"Now, Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

He jumped, like before, aiming downwards with his freshly tempered tail.

"Blow him away with Blizzard!" Lorelei strategised. Knowing it had not the time to move, Piloswine put everything it had into the blustering snowstorm it fired towards his foe. The attack hit its mark, buffeting him relentlessly, but was not enough to cancel his momentum, and Pikachu landed a clean strike, causing dust and snow to obscure the scene for a few nail-biting seconds. When everything settled…

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Lorelei and Karen win the round!"

Ash sighed, running to scoop up the battered Pikachu in his arms. "Don't worry, Pikachu," he comforted him. "You did your best."

After placing him off to the side of the battlefield, the pokémon trainer prepared to launch his final pokémon.

"Alright," he said. "Go, Totodile!"

The small blue crocodile somersaulted out of his pokéball and danced gleefully on the spot. Krookodile eyed the performance over the top of his sunglasses and snorted haughtily.

"Two crocodile pokémon at once," Karen observed. "How theatrical. This should be a good one."

"Totodile, use Water Gun on Honchkrow!" Ash jumped in. "Krookodile, Stone Edge!"

While Totodile spewed out a water torrent towards the flying opponent, Krookodile summoned a helix of sharp rocks around his body, which then flew sequentially outwards at the two opposing pokémon.

"Piloswine, stop those stones with another Rock Slide!" Lorelei pointed.

Like before, boulders rained down all over the arena. The majority had Lorelei's desired effect, crushing Krookodile's projectiles before they made impact, but a few of the stones still made it through. On top of that, the Rock Slide had made it doubly hard for Honchkrow to avoid Totodile's Water Gun. Jarred by the many flying objects, the Big Boss Pokémon found itself momentarily trapped, allowing Totodile to land a direct hit.

"Awesome, Totodile!" Ash congratulated.

"Honchkrow, are you okay?" Karen called out. It nodded resolutely. "Okay, use Whirlwind!"

Its wings outstretched, Honchkrow began to flap vigorously, creating a swirling cylinder of air that swept up Krookodile in just seconds. The vortex was fierce, and forced its captor back into his pokéball by reducing it to a shapeless energy. That was not all, however, as the attack also dragged out an unwilling substitute from Ash's belt.

"Glalie?!" he exclaimed. "But how…?"

"Whirlwind is an attack that replaces a pokémon with another in the opponent's team," Brock explained. "Glalie has a type advantage against Honchkrow, but seeing how much it's battled already, I'm not sure how long it'll last."

The pokémon's confusion had, at least, worn off, so Ash decided not to waste any time.

"Glalie, Headbutt on Piloswine!"

"Intercept with Drill Peck!" Karen told Honchkrow.

"Totodile, Scary Face!"

As Honchkrow was about to attack, Totodile pulled a horrifying expression, one that unsettled it enough to slow its incoming offensive significantly.

"Fast as you can, Honchkrow!" Karen encouraged. Glalie's course towards Piloswine was quick, and the Scary Face had seriously hindered her own pokémon's speed. Try as it might, Honchkrow simply could not pull off its attack in time to stop its opponent.

Similarly, Lorelei knew that speed was not Piloswine's forte, and so moved to strike back with a head-on attack of her own.

"Piloswine, charge towards Glalie with Double-Edge!"

"Double-Edge again?" Brock questioned. "Even if Piloswine comes out on top here, the wicked recoil damage that Double-Edge causes may be too much for it."

Both pokémon collided in a violent crash, blocked from view by dust and rubble. It faded after several seconds, and, given the conditions of the pokémon in question, the result was far from shocking.

"Glalie is unable to battle!" the judge announced. "Piloswine is the winner!"

"Ah, shoot," Ash sighed.

"Excellent work, Piloswine," Lorelei praised – mere moments before the ice- and ground-type's harsh chunk of blowback damage took its toll.

"Pilooo-uugh," it panted as it slumped down to the ground.

"Both pokémon are unable to battle!" corrected the judge. "This round is a tie!"

Lorelei returned her pokémon at the same second that Ash returned his. "Well, Ash, looks like it's neck and neck right now. I must say, I'm impressed, so far."

Ash weighed his options carefully. This match was a true challenge, and despite the adrenalin rush, he was already down two pokémon. The second half of the battle had to be his absolute A-game; Lorelei and Karen, after all, were pokémon masters for a reason.

In a candlelit café not far from the Indigo Stadium, a seasoned journalist was hard at work on her next masterpiece. She'd only just met the girl and her poor psyduck, but liked them both immediately, and in a situation where everyone had known everyone else for years on end, writing the whole, raw, unembellished truth about Misty and the tragedy of her gym was the relative newcomer's way of contributing on an equal level.

"Almost there," Alexa said to herself, drumming her pen against her lip. "I really hope I've done this story justice."

The interview with Misty the night before had been an invaluable insight, and she made extra sure to capture every last nuance of emotion in her writing. Those fiends in the PokéTrust had tarnished the name of the Cerulean gym leader more than enough. It was about time people knew the truth.

"Get well soon, Psyduck," she sighed as she closed her notebook. "In a few hours, every region from here to Alola will be rooting for you."