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"…ould train more. Your Pokémon has potential but it is wasted if you don't buckle down. I hope you'll take my words to heart. One thing I hate more than anything in this world is complacency and lack of discipline." I heard a voice say, clearly belonging to a boy my age, meaning somewhere around 14 years of age, seemingly speaking to someone, while the vitriol in the boy's voice was quite intense, not gonna lie.

Shoving a couple of branches to the side, I stepped through the thick foliage and finally came upon the scene I had only heard through the trees so far.

Standing opposite each other were three people. A boy I had seen before, to my quiet disbelieve, together with a girl with orange hair and jeans shorts I also knew quite well, were confronting someone I had not seen before, be that in the TV series or the games.

Still, despite coming face to face with a person I knew only through a freaking TV screen and a girl I had first seen on my former Gameboy advance all those years ago, I could not pull away my attention from the other boy standing in the small clearing that had obviously been a battlefield only minutes ago.

Small craters and trees with snapped branches littered the clearing, and to any observers it was apparent that not even the tense atmosphere belonging in between two battling parties had left the small clearing, as both Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower were still as tense as a frozen popsicle.

Meanwhile the boy, who had been Ash's opponent by the looks of it, was composed and cool as if he was strolling through the woods like it was nobody's business.

Hair as black as the night reaching down to his shoulders formed into a small ponytail, with thin bangs framing his face and eyes of deep green colour gave him an appearance many men would kill for, no doubt, while an air of aloofness surrounded him that he must've been born with.

And while I was still taking in the scenery I had just stumbled upon, those deep green eyes with a keen intellect shining in their depth were suddenly focused on my own sky-blue eyes, the both of us staring into each other's eyes as if we were holding a silent competition of who would give in first.

I knew it was childish of me, as I had been 18 years old when I had been thrown into this world all of a sudden, and was now holding a staring contest with a boy five years younger than my former self, but I somehow couldn't help myself, as something about this boy was putting me on edge I had only experience with people like my former WT teacher, also known as my Sifu of a Winnie Pooh.

"Don't you think that is kind of conceited of you to say? You are no older than either of us, and yet here you are, lecturing us about our training methods?" The high voice of the only girl in the clearing pitched in, belonging to Misty like I remembered her sounding, causing the boy with the deep green eyes to break eye contact with me and turn back around to the one who had addressed him.

"Maybe I am. Doesn't change the fact that you are pitifully weak for someone belonging to a gym of all things." The boy replied, seemingly startling both Ash and Misty with his words.

Still, he continued on while a small smile graced his features. "Yes, I know who you are, Misty Waterflower, daughter of the former water Pokémon master of Cerulean City."

"Wait, what? You are a member of the Cerulean gym, Misty?" Ash threw in, obviously surprised at the news, judging by his widened eyes at least.

"Yes, I am." Misty replied to Ash, accompanied by a glance, after which she turned back around to the one who had originally addressed her. "Still, I don't see what that has got to do with anything!" She continued, while her teeth were gnashed together slightly, betraying her own words so far as she was obviously aware what the boy was getting at.

"Come now, Miss Waterflower. Do I really have to lay it out for you letter by letter?" The boy spoke while a sardonic smile playing with the corners of his lips, an expression which did not fully reach his eyes however. He continued after a short but telling pause of silence.

"While I held immense respect for your deceased father, may he rest in peace, I find it all the more insulting, be that to his remaining Pokémon, the hard work he put into the gym he ran all these years, or to the great memory he left behind after his passing, that the rest of his family doesn't seem to care one bit about his legacy.

A legacy of mastery over water Pokémon that has rarely been seen in the past, passed down to four daughters who prefer to play around in the water or roam about in the world, seeking that which has been right in front of her all along, but was too blind to see in her arrogance." The boy continued, his words becoming sharper and the vitriol in his voice becoming thicker with every syllable he uttered.

And judging by the flinching of Misty, the boy wasn't wrong, per se. Still, it was a harsh way of putting it. After all, Misty was still young and had been confronted with something many people her seniors struggled with. Thus, I decided to intervene. Even though I knew the truth never was gentle or caring, the same could not be said about people, or at least what I expected people to be capable of, namely empathy. Call me soft, but life was cruel enough without people making it even harsher for each other, which is why I am of the opinion that life would be much easier if people would just be a little bit more understanding towards each other. But I knew that to be a fairy tale. Still, I didn't see why I couldn't try at least to see about being such a person myself first and foremost.

"Alright, I think that's enough. I don't know what happened between you three, but there is no reason to get this heated up on such a beautiful day." I said, with what I hoped to be a disarming smile on my face, while stepping in between the two parties, making eye contact with the boy once more.

"Perhaps. Or you could simply try to dissuade me from being so harsh with my words. What do you say, hmm?" The boy replied, while enlarging a luxury ball in his right hand while the desire for battle burned brightly in his eyes.

"Really? That's your solution? Vent through battling? I thought you to be some articulation artist after all you've said, and yet here you are, wanting to throw down like all the other battle maniacs." I responded, while I stepped back from the boy to make some space between the two of us, knowing what was to come with certainty.

"Heh, you would think so, wouldn't you? And you may be right but I find it almost cathartic and even almost meditative at times to simply relieve my tensions through battle. And you don't seem much different by the looks of it." He answered, motioning with the tilt of his head into my direction, which made me realise that I was actually smiling in excitement.

"Alright, you got me. I love battling. An addiction I fell prey to not even a week ago upon starting my journey. Sue me." I said, while my Ultraball, holding my friend and partner in crime, almost vibrated in my hand in both excitement and eagerness to throw down already.

"Why would I though?" Came his response immediately. "After all, you and I don't seem very different now that I think about it. Perhaps our views differ a little but at our cores we crave the same thing. Power! Now, enough with our words. Let's get this fight on the road. One on one fine with you?" He continued, to which I nodded in response.

The expectant tension between us however lasted only the fraction of a second before we both grew tired of waiting and, as if on a signal, both released our Pokémon. The battle was on!