Gyarados let out a mighty roar as he fell back into the pool with a loud splash.
"Yoohoo!" Maya shouted. "We won! Great job, Misa-chan!"
"Pika pika!" 'Oh yeah, I rule!'
Misty sighed and pulled out Gyarados' Pokéball. "Gyarados, return! You did a good job." When her Pokémon was back in his Pokéball, she gave Maya a smile. "Not bad, Maya! And here I thought my Gyarados was powerful enough to compensate for his double weakness against electric attacks."
"Well, you would have won, if that Hyperbeam had hit my Pikachu," Maya smirked. "Your Gyarados is incredibly strong... you really trained it well."
"Thanks!" Misty smiled. She came around the pool and showed something to the other girl. "Here, this is the official Cascade Badge of the Indigo League. You earned it well!"
Maya grinned. "Cool, thank you! You two see that?" She showed her two favorite Pokémon the badge. "With eight of these, we can take part in the Pokémon League!"
"Squirtle..." 'Oh, whoop-dee-doo...' Ritsuko groaned.
"Do you want to stay for lunch?" Misty asked. "My sisters are on a Pokémon contest in Saffron City, so I've got plenty of room."
"Thanks, I'd love to!" Maya nodded.
Some time later, she was sitting in the small, but nice kitchen of her hostess.
"I'm not quite a proficient cook like my sister Violet," Misty said. "But I picked up a few hints from when I travelled with my friend Brock."
"You mean the former leader of the Pewter City Gym?" Maya asked. "He's the current gym leader's brother, isn't he? He told me so after I battled him."
"Oh, so you've fought with Forrest?" Misty asked.
Maya nodded. "Yup! Ritsu-chan made short work of his Steelix."
"Squirtle squir..." 'Well, it's not like I had any other choice...' Ritsuko grumbled. 'That steel snake would have flattened me like a pancake...'
"Pika pikachu!" 'Hey, don't belittle yourself like that!' Misato told her friend cheerfully. 'You did a good job, so be proud of it already!'
"Squirtle! Squir squirtle!" 'Oh yeah? To your information, I am not really a blue turtle, but a professional medical scientist!'
Maya listened to their conversation with a thoughtful expression. Misty noticed her stare and smiled. "Hey, isn't it nice how they get along with each other?"
"Well, I wouldn't quite call it that, but..."
"Oops!" Misty stood up. "I forgot to get Corsola... she always joins me when I eat. I'm right back!"
She ran outside and left Maya and her two Pokémon by themselves.
Maya turned around her chair and sternly looked at the Squirtle and the Pikachu. "Okay, you two! Stop arguing already! Can't you get along for once?"
Both of them stared at their trainer in awe. Finally, Misato let out a squeaking giggle. "Pi, pi, pi, pi..." 'Teeheehee, Maya, you sneaky girl, you really fooled us there. I really thought you couldn't understand us.'
Maya shrugged and smirked. "Well, you never asked me."
Ritsuko was speechless. Then, she got angry. "Squirtle!" she yelled. "Squirtle squirtle!" 'Wh-what is the meaning of this? Are you having fun making a fool out of me? And what's the big idea, treating us like your pets? Are you responsible for this?"
"I don't know it any more than any of you two," Maya insisted. She smiled. "But I don't know if I would ever change it if I could. This is the best that ever happened to me."
"Squirtle?" 'B-but why? You had a respectable job at NERV, and were paid well. Isn't that enough?"
"I was never satisfied with the position I had," Maya complained. "Nobody ever took me seriously, not you two, not the commander, not even Hyuga and Aoba! But this..." She sighed. "I've dreamt of this ever since I played the Pokémon games for the first time..."
"Pika?" Misato wondered. 'There are GAMES about these little critters we've become?'
"You never heard of Pokémon before?" Maya giggled. "Seriously, have you lived in a cave? But you may call me childish, but when I played the games, I sometimes wished I was a kid again, with no responsibilities... and travelling Kanto or Johto or Hoenn, searching for rare Pokémon and earning money by fighting other trainers and gym leaders. And now my dream has come true. I would have never thought that you two would be my two first Pokémon."
"Squirtle? Squirtle?" 'So... if it wasn't you, who turned us into this? And why?'
"Pi, pikachu!" Misato shrugged. 'I dunno, but it's not that bad, isn't it? I mean, I wasn't exactly happy with my work either.' She sighed and looked down at the floor. "Pikaaaa..." 'I could never quite forget the incident during which my father died, and working together with Kaji didn't really help me to forget the relationship we once had...' She then perked up. "Pika! Pika pikachu!" 'But now I have the change to unwind, to have fun and I don't have to think about all these things anymore. And to be honest, I LIKE it here! And I don't mind being a Pikachu!'
Maya smiled. "That's the spirit, Misa-chan!"
"Squirtle! Squir squir..." 'I can't believe you two! We have to find a way back! We have to find a way to become human again! We have to... mmphh??"
Misato frowned as she put her paw on the ranting Squirtle's mouth. "Pika!" 'Stop ranting and enjoy the ride, Ritsuko!'
Just then, Misty came back. She was carrying her Corsola. "Well, here we are! Corsola, these are Maya and her Pokémon, Misa-chan and Ritsu-chan! Everyone, this is my Corsola!"
"Corsola!" the coral Pokémon said happily. "Corsola!"
Misty put Corsola down next to Risuko, Misato and their dish of Pokémon food. "Okay, dig in!" She then sat down next to Maya.
"So, where do you plan on going next?" she asked while they were eating.
"Um, I figured I could try to fight the gym leader of Vermilion City next... but I think I need a new Pokémon first. Ritsu-chan and Butterfree wouldn't stand a chance against his electric Pokémon, and I don't think Misa-chan could do it by herself."
Misty smirked. "You know, I just had an idea! My friend Todd is a Pokémon photographer, and he invited me to a tour around the Ruins of Alph in Johto. I wanted to stay there for the weekend, and he told me I could bring a friend. There are plenty of Pokémon in Johto you wouldn't be able to find around these parts. So what do you say, would you like to come along?"
"Really?" Maya asked. "I could come? Oh, that's awesome! Think of all the Pokémon I could catch in Johto! A Mareep... or a Wooper... or a Yanma!"
Misty blinked. "Wow, you surely know your stuff about Pokémon, Maya! My friend Ash didn't even know half of the Pokémon in Kanto when he started his journey. And I must know, I accompanied him during most of his journey."
"Well, I'm reading a lot," Maya grinned sheepishly. "And I just love Pokémon!" She smiled over to Ritsuko. "Especially Squirtles! That's why I chose her to be my first starter, in addition to Misa-chan, you know? Squirtles are so cute..."
Ritsuko sweatdropped. 'She can't be serious, can she?'
"Why did Professor Oak give you two Pokémon, by the way?" Misty wondered. "That's kinda unusual, isn't it?"
"True, but he taught me how to catch Pokémon by lending me a Rattata. With its help, I was able to catch my little Pikachu, who had just come close to the laboratory."
"Pika pika..." 'Yeah, what a coincidence that it was me...' she muttered.
"And when I gave the professor his Rattata back, he gave me Misa-chan instead."
"Ah, I see," Misty nodded. "But I bet Lt. Surge will be very surprised when you show up at his gym with a Pokémon from Johto. What kind would you like to catch?"
"Well, I already have a Water-type, an Electric-type and a Bug/Flying-type. A Ground-type would be useful against Lt. Surge, but I also would love to have a Fire-type... I always admired them for their strength and beauty."
"Hmmm, that could be a problem," Misty pondered. "Fire Pokémon are quite rare in the wild, especially around the Alph Ruins..."
"Wait a minute!" Maya said. "Do you hear that?"
Misty listened. She heard some scraping sound, accompanied by something that sounded like heavy breathing and wheezing.
"Now here does that come from?" she wondered.
"Sola! Corsola!" Corsola hopped up onto a chair and gestured towards the window.
"From outside?" Misty asked and opened the window. She gasped in surprise when she saw the injured Pokémon that was lying underneath the window.
Maya came to look as well. "A Charmeleon!" she said in surprise. "It must have tried to get in. Do you think it belongs to a trainer?"
"I don't know," Misty said. "Oh, look at the poor thing... it's covered with scratch wounds. I heard that a horde of wild Mankeys live around here, but that they even dare to take on a Charmeleon..."
"Chaaarrr..." the Charmeleon grumbled weakly, its tail flame getting smaller.
"Oh no! Quick, we need to bring it to Nurse Joy! You have a Pokéball with you? It's much easier if we carry it in there."
"Yeah, sure!" Maya nodded as she started to search through her bag.
Misato climbed up onto the windowsill. "Pika..." 'You poor thing...'
The Charmeleon looked up at her. "Ch... char...? Meleon...?" 'M... misato? I-is that you...?"
"I got it!" Maya shouted. "Don't worry, we'll bring you to the Pokémon Center! Pokéball, go!" She threw the ball and the weakened Fire Pokémon vanished inside with a bright flash.
Maya frowned as she looked at the ball. "I feel kinda bad for having caught it in such a weak state..."
Misato stared at the ball as well, with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Pi... pikachu..." 'It can't be... was that... Kaji?'
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(Posted Sun, 03 Feb 2008 13:29)
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