Chapter 11 Gym battle

"That's enough, Meowth." The frustrated Gloom he was fighting let out a sigh of relief as the cat disappeared.

She was glad that was over. It had been like fighting smoke.

Then Gloom turned grey as Jessie sent out her other Pokémon for this match.

"Growlie, use Flare Blitz!" Jessie called, and her borrowed Pokémon went through the Celadon Gym Leader's team like a plasma lance.

Please, don't even ask me to describe it. It was just nasty.

"You have won. Here is the Rainbowbadge, and here is the bill for repairs."

Jessie looked over it, and sighed. They'd at least done better than the battle in Pewter Gym, where the place had completely collapsed after Abra had gone nuts and spammed Future Sight everywhere in the gym in order to finish his match and go back to sleep. The little guy was almost fanatically devoted to the principle of slacking off, which seemed strange.

Surge was also upset about Cubone having beaten his entire Gym by simple expedient of using her Marble, and demolishing the main battle chamber with a skeletal Torterra.

"Meowth! Another repair bill!"

Meowth reappeared from Jessie's shadow, and started counting out cash.

"You're really getting into this thing, aren't you?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty good way ta set up a fightin' style, and it focuses more on stealth an' speed than power…" Meowth pulled the last of the coins he needed from thin air, and handed over the bag to Jessie, who passed it on to Erika.

"My thanks. Now, get yourself out of here."

Jessie and her teammates beat a hasty retreat.

"Growlie! Oh, I missed you too, boy…"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "We were in there for five minutes."

So, where next?

James suddenly snapped his fingers. "Of course! The S.S. Anne!"

Jessie stared at him. "Do you not remember? That ship nearly killed us!"

"Well, we did kind of sink it… but I meant that we could go buy a Magikarp again, only this time we actually take care of it!"

Jessie's mind filled with the idea of a Gyarados.

"Well, I'm sold! At least we can avoid Ash messing things up."

James suddenly got a curious expression. "Now I come to think of it, where are Ash and his friends?"

My guess is in the middle of a training montage.

"A what?"

Zzzz…

"Oh, never mind."

"Okay… form pattern 17 modulated with pattern 6… and externalize through chosen body part…"

"Any progress?" Riolu asked, from his place clinging upside down to a tree branch. He already knew most of the simple stuff one could do with Aura, and the thought of trying things like Aura Purge frightened him, so he was trying to discover new mid level techniques and abilities. The tree climbing thing – Van der Waals force, apparently - was the third, after modifying surface tension (so he could walk on water, or for that matter make it bounce off him) and a neat trick that messed with the Bernoulli effect and caused environmental effects (so rain, blown sand, that kind of thing) to sort of flow past rather than affect him.

"Some, but it's mostly a question of testing it by now. I can create the flow needed given enough time to prepare… but I have no way of telling if it's the right one. That's why I was trying to break it back down into its' components, but it's not much help."

"Is there anyone you could… test it on? Someone with a minor issue, not a major one?"

Ash mentally ran through the list of Pokémon on his team, and that of his allies. They were mostly pretty well balanced, actually… surprising, for a team that had fought some (or for Pikachu, most) of the Kami in the country…

"Oh, I know! Misty's afraid of Bug Pokémon!"

Riolu stared. "She will kill you. From what I have seen of that woman, suggest she's weak and she will turn you into liquid without benefit of Acid Armour."

"Heh, don't worry," Ash gave a winning smile. "I'll use tact and diplomacy!"

"You're doomed."

"Hey, Misty!" Ash called as he left the trees by the river they'd set up near. "You know how you're terrified of bugs?"

WHANG!

Misty handed Brock back his dented frying pan. "What was that, Ash? I didn't hear you."

"Ugh… I was trying to help…" Ash rubbed his aching head.

"Well, I don't need your help! I have it under control!"

Brock spoke up. "Hey, look, a Beedrill."

Misty started, ran in a random direction, and fell in the stream. Ash sighed, and went to haul her out.

"Misty, you need help. Now, either I try my therapy Aura technique on you, or…"

Misty hmphed. "I'll take the other option."

"The other option is that Squirtle gets you over it with sheer distilled awesome. Possibly involving ripping open dimensions, rock music from nowhere, and punches."

"…I'll take the Aura technique."

Squirtle put his sunglasses away sadly. "And I was so hoping I could deliver a Dimensional Therapy Punch, as well…"

"Okay, Riolu, keep watch over us as I do this. Pikachu, Charizard, Ivysaur, come over here. I'm going to handle the trauma, that might entail a battle – and I think I can bring people along."

"Oh, ok, like we did to Larvitar?"

"Actually, yeah. Now I think it needs body contact, so…" Ash focused, took a moment to steady his full Aaron outfit, and began to form the Aura matrix required to enter a person's subconscious.

"You know, Ash, maybe this isn't such a good idea after all. I-"

Ash wasn't listening. "Aura purge!"

Blue fire enveloped both their bodies, then Pikachu, Ivysaur and Charizard.

Riolu closed his eyes to improve his Aura sense, and began to wait for his friends to return from their journey.

He was interrupted by the sound of running feet, as Squirtle skidded into the clearing. "That's no good, they forgot about me!"

Riolu cleared his throat. "What are you talking about?"

"I thought that if they were going to go into Misty's mind, they should naturally take along a water Pokémon! It'll be a point of familiarity for her!"

Riolu sighed, turning back to his contemplation of the forest ambience. "Fine, whatever, go ahead. Just touch them and you go in."

Ash and Pikachu were not exactly strangers to travelling into someone's inner mind, and were eager to find out if Misty saw them any differently from how they were. Discovering that Larvitar was terrified of Pikachu, for example, had been of some interest…

Not much was different, really. Pikachu's cheeks were their old red rather than his Raichu-mix orange – understandable as Misty's image of him was built up over the years – and Ash was somewhat startled to find that even when he was merely eleven, Misty saw him as the teen she remembered.

Charizard and Ivysaur, meanwhile, freaked upon finding themselves half again their normal size, with exaggerated claws and natural weapons, and faces seemingly set in permanent scowls of rage.

"What the hell?" Charizard finally shouted after almost a minute of incredulous self examination – and then gasped. "I can speak!"

"She's scared of you. Charizard because he was nearly uncontrollable most of the time she knew him, and Ivysaur probably because she doesn't know if he'll become the same. And as for speech, that's simple. We're projections – we can communicate by speech perfectly fine."

Pikachu looked puzzled. "Did this happen last time?"

"… no. Shut up."

"So, where are we, anyway?"

Ivysaur glanced around at the scenery. "Looks like we're near her home, in Cerulean. Look, there's Mt. Moon."

Ash took out his notes again. "Apparently, the technique gives you a head start on finding the root of the trauma by putting you near the cause of it."

Pikachu pointed. "Look."

The rest of the group turned, and saw a young, orange haired girl running from a trio of somewhat older girls, laughing merrily.

"You think that's her?"

"Probably. Let's follow her."

The four crept through the woods near Cerulean, Charizard trying rather unsuccessfully to look like a tree. Fortunately, at this point what was playing out before them was more of a memory anyway.

They watched as Misty ran too far from her sisters for them to keep track of her, and came across some Paras in the woods. The excited little girl had tried to pet them, and had been paralyzed by the spores dusting their flanks. The Pokémon had reacted by starting to carry her deeper into the woods.

It was at about this point that Ash recalled the way Paras ate… and simply couldn't take watching any more.

"Right. That looks like the trauma causing event, so, well, Charge!"

Pikachu and Ivysaur demolished the Paras with careful surgical strikes, and Ash picked the young Misty up carefully. As he sprayed her with some of the antiparalysis medication he carried, she began to whimper.

"Calm down, Misty. You're safe now."

She shook her head vigorously. "I always think that when my sisters come, but I never get away from them… run, before they get you too!"

"What do you mean, they?"

Misty pointed into the distance, where a series of seemingly random movements of the grass revealed themselves as the indicators of a truly immense horde of Bug types. Everything Misty had ever seen on her travels that reminded her of this one terrible event had reinforced her fear, and now they were coming for her.

Ash glanced to both sides. "Ivysaur? Charizard? Pikachu?"

They all nodded.

Ash adjusted his hat. "Right then. Misty, I swear none of them will get you. We won't let them." He raised his staff, and focused Aura into it, forming a corona of power.

Charizard roared, and began to punch out heat at an incredible rate. Ivysaur used Growth to boost his size and strength, and Pikachu summoned a snapping curtain of blue-yellow electricity.

The Bug army chittered and charged.

Misty crouched in a hollow underneath the roots of a tree, unwilling to pay attention to the chaotic battle barely fifty feet away. If I ignore it, they might go away… they might go away…

"Hey."

Almost unwillingly, Misty turned to the unfamiliar voice, seeing a Squirtle leaning against a tree. Something about the Pokémon seemed familiar, though… maybe it was the pair of outrageously pointed shades, or the nonchalant attitude… regardless, Misty was sure she'd seen this Pokémon before.

"What are you doing down there, Misty? "

The little girl sniffed. "Hiding."

Squirtle jumped down from the root he had been standing on. "You can't hide from your troubles forever, you know."

"What else can I do? I'm not strong enough…"

The water Pokémon tsked. "Now now, there are two options here." He pointed to the grass. Misty looked, and saw a plush toy Seel – and next to it, a Poké ball.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, people often come to crossroads in their lives. And the only thing to do at a crossroads is to pick one of the paths you can take, and give it your all! So tell me. Do you want to hide away from the world, safe but confined, or do you want to be a Pokémon trainer whose reputation echoes far and wide?"

Misty looked torn.

"Go ahead. Just don't be distracted by the What-ifs, Should-haves and If-onlys along the way."

Misty clenched her fists, and then stretched out a hand.

"You know," Ash called over the din of the battle as he crashed an Aura sphere into another, spawning a dozen little spheres that homed in, surrounded a Ninjask and blew it from the sky, "I really wish Misty hadn't seen all these Bugs now!"

Charizard roared as hordes of Armaldo began to surround the group. They were in major trouble from the Bug/Ground and Bug/Rock types, as none of them had any useful advantage over them.

Ivysaur grunted with exertion, holding a Scyther at arm's length. "Little help here!" Pikachu responded by blasting the offending insect, before both leapt out of the way as Charizard incinerated several of the Shedinja only he could handle.

Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder and began covering his back. "Any progress?"

"Some complete idiot told Misty about Genesect, that fossil Bug type that's an honest to goodness Bug legendary. I assume that's the core of her trauma, we need Charizard to excise it!"

"Well, that's no good, the Armaldo have him pinned. And we can't get to him thanks to the Trapinch." One of the Ant Pit Pokémon was indeed setting up a pit, the ground crumbling into sand that would cause the target to sink inexorably to it's jaws.

Ash summoned another Aura Sphere. "Trapinch. Doesn't. Even. Count. As. A. Bug."

Pikachu chuckled. "Yeah, tell Misty that."

"Any ideas?"

Pikachu began to shake his head, and stopped. "We… could just let them do it."

"Who's them?" Ash almost shouted, his patience beginning to wear thin. He was already relying on the cape more or less entirely for his battle Aura use, and he was not in the mood for Pikachu being cryptic.

"I can't even begin to describe it. Just look behind you."

Ash launched off a wide angle Thunder Wave with electric Aura, punched out the Trapinch, and looked.

"Okay, wow."

Misty was surfing an enormous wave towards them at high speed. And it was the Misty that Ash knew, the one in her late teens to boot, and she was riding on Gyarados.

Water Pulses swept away the fossils pinning Charizard in, and he took to the air just before the tsunami smacked aside the rest of the Bug horde.

Ash pulsed up some Aura. "Charizard! Over here!"

Charizard was only too happy to oblige. "You want a lift?"

"Yeah, thanks." Ash jumped up the orange flank and gripped hard with his knees, to avoid being unseated by the launch jump and strong first downbeat. "Now," Ash continued as the dragon clawed for height, "We need to take that Genesect out. Problem is, it's got a Protect shield up. I'll have to break it. I want you to promise me, don't stop your attack on my account."

"But Ash-"

"Don't. You hear me?"

"Fine." Charizard ground out.

"Right, we're closing in, so-"

Cassette load: Water.

Techno Buster.

A pencil thin blue beam of light flashed through the sky from their target. It barely connected with Charizard's left wingtip as he dodged, but that contact caused an eruption of at least a tonne of water, knocking the Flame Pokémon further from his original course.

"Damn, that's not good. What was that?"

Cassette load: Electric.

Techno Buster.

The beam this time was yellow, and Charizard did manage to dodge it, but none of them were under any illusion what the effect would be if it connected.

"Pikachu, give Charizard some cover – deflect the buster attacks. I'll give you the opening you need."

Ash hurled himself towards the Palaeozoic Pokémon's shield, heedless of little things like the fifty feet he was from the ground.

Techno Buster.

The electricity smashed into Ash's falling body, making him convulse wildly and throwing him off course.

His limp form hit the ground hard.

"Ash!"

And so it comes to this.

Why bother trying to save the girl?

She is scared and weak.

We will let the rest of you go.

As Genesect's clicking voice ground out, Charizard and Pikachu barely paid attention. They were looking back at Misty, her Gyarados busily rampaging through the hordes of Bugs. Then to the ranting Pokémon that was almost as old as the Home Islands themselves.

"Pikachu, do you know Brick Break?"

Pikachu shook his head sadly. "No, unfortunately not."

"Charizard!" called a welcome voice. "Blast Burn the overgrown Kricketot!"

Charizard and Pikachu's heads snapped round, the dragon's fire already building in his throat, and saw Ash. He was swaying on his feet, but he still managed to punch a needle beam of Aura through the Protect shield – and then slash his hand to the side, popping the shield like a soap bubble.

How

This cannot be

Ash smiled weakly. "Endure. Look it up."

ERROR ERROR ERROR

Cassette load: Ice Electric Water Fire

Te-techno Bu-ster

DIE

Charizard fired. Genesect fired. The multicoloured beam of light was smashed aside by the shot of hellbore's fire, and the pulse of subcritical plasma incinerated Misty's manifest fear near instantly.

Misty dashed up to the scene of the battle. "Ash! Are you okay?"

Ash replied simply by closing his eyes and concentrating.

Riolu saw the blue fire around the group dissipate. Ah, good, they're back.

Misty came out of it yelling. "Ash! You didn't answer, are you-"

Ash sprang to his feet, cheering. "It works!" Misty nearly fell over.

"Ash Ketchum, you gave me such a scare!"

Ash gave her an odd look. "That was all mental, Misty. We never left the clearing, I was in no real danger."

He wilted under five simultaneous death glares. "I suppose this means I forgot to mention it, then?"

Misty crossed her arms. "Yes, you did."

"Aheh heh heh… crap, you're going to hit me a lot now, aren't you."

She smiled sweetly. "Think of it as negative reinforcement!"

"Good, the recall beacon works. Here you go, Butterfree." Ash clipped the small device on Butterfree's left foreleg.

"Thanks, and thank the Professor for me. If I recall correctly, it's about a day to go before the swarm comes through."

"You may as well go now, to be honest. Just to get your, er, wings in."

Butterfree flapped his wings, wafting into the air. "Just make sure to get me involved with the League. It sounds fun."

Horsea turned flips underwater as Misty enjoyed their reunion, before producing an ink image of a Kingdra. Misty frowned.

"You want to evolve?"

Ink tick. Followed by a complex series of pictograms that translated best into 'dragons are just cool'.

"Well, fair enough. But where we're going to find a Dragon Scale I don't know… ah well, we can get you as far as Seadra, at least."

Misty was fighting to avoid breaking out in a massive grin. Kingdra were among the strongest Water type combinations, averting all their normal weaknesses, and the idea of having one was tempting indeed.

"HOLY ARCEUS THIS IS AWESOME!" James called to the heavens as Team Rocket shot through the waves. His reason for saying this was that they were moving at about eighty miles an hour, on (though barely) the back of a Gyarados. James had bought the Pokémon three days before as a Magikarp on board the S., and had carefully trained him until the little fish became an incarnation of pure power.

Well, it had helped that the Magikarp in question had been extremely close to evolving anyway, but nevertheless Team Rocket had another Pokémon to add to their burgeoning team.

Now they could actually get around while Abra was asleep!

Meowth and Jessie declined to comment. The wind was forcing them to keep their mouths closed.

"Hmmm. Guys? Where next?"

Meowth tried to say something twice, gave up and pulled out a coin. He scratched an image on it, and passed it to James.

"A volcano? Oh, I see. Cinnabar Gym… hey, Gyarados!" A muted roar answered him. "South and west, if you wouldn't mind."

I see, a monk of Deja-fu. Good choice, Dialga. And you, Aaron. You said paladin? Who are you a paladin of?

"Well, in this game, since we're in the Orange Islands, I think perhaps Kyogre-"

SMITE

"...you just turned my character sheet into Neutronium! What do you have against Kyogre, Palkia?"

The Dragon of Space huffed and crossed his arms.

The normal-time Palkia had a bad breakup with her. I think it carried over.

"Every hour I'm in here with you guys, my image of the Kami becomes a little more tarnished…" Aaron picked up another sheet of paper. "Any objections to a priest of Manaphy?"

AN: Misty has some pretty severe issues. But we all know how to solve severe issues in a Pokemon series.