Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.
Misty POV, and getting to Cerulean.
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Misty sighed contentedly and leaned back on her palms, letting the warm Cerulean sun wash over her, the scent of fresh water and pollen tickling her nostrils. She'd never admit it, at least not to anyone from the Clan, but she did miss it. Just hanging out by the lakes she grew up with, a rod in the water and her Pokémon to keep her company. Well, hers and Peri's.
Even as the thought passed through her mind, a commotion occurred in the pond. Furious splashing announced a Tentacool bursting through the surface, tentacles spinning like a propeller as it fled for its life. Behind it, like the deep-sea monster Pokémon her dad used to tell her stories about, a blue fin breached the turbulent waves, Siren the Feebas piercing through the liquid with eyes narrowed in focus and anger. Following behind her, Staryu did its best to keep up, despite the natural advantages the fish had. Staryu weren't meant for high-speed chases. They were bottom feeders and ambush predators. They could be startlingly quick in short bursts, but not sustained, and Siren was quite fast for a Feebas.
Misty really needed to ask what kind of training Peri had put her through. A Feebas learning hydrokinetic levitation in three years was very impressive. Then again, Siren was more… with it than her species usually was.
She was a cutie, and Misty was very jealous. If she thought there was a chance Peri'd go for it, she'd have tried to trade for Siren, but the boy was fiercely protective of his team, which was good to see even if slightly inconvenient for Misty. Hell, the only time the horny brat had seemed annoyed with Misty was when he thought she was insulting Siren.
Starmie followed behind the two young Water-Types serenely, calming the choppy ripples in her wake. She wasn't built for speed either, but she was more than strong enough that it didn't matter. Starmie was Misty's first Pokémon, and even if Misty hadn't been training it for nearly 10 years, just growing up in a Gym would have done the trick. Yet, her starter was content with letting the kids play. It was Tentacool's own fault. He should've known not to try and eat everything that came close.
Closing her eyes, she tuned out the desperate gurgles and the small crowd forming. It was good to relax. She'd been getting tense as they closed in on Cerulean, and she feared her attempts at distracting the others had become a little transparent towards the end. Not that it had really mattered. As it turned out, Ash was the only one who didn't already know about her family, and the things Ash knew could be counted on one hand. Her eye twitched as she remembered her bike, and the fact that the fucking dumbass, dweeb, loser still hadn't gotten her a new one despite being sponsored by Samuel-fucking-Oak!
Not that it was about the money, she was a Waterflower, she could have a brand new prototype for free before the day was out, but still!
Growling to herself, she put the pint-sized, thieving, toddler-brained, mouth breathing, dipshit out of her mind. Picking up Brock had been great for her mental well-being. Having the other former Gym Leader around was probably the only thing that would save Ash from 'disappearing' in the wilderness.
Peri… she didn't really know what to think of the other boy. He was cute. No, actually, he was hot. Very hot. Those muscles did not belong on a boy younger than her, and those piercing purple eyes did things to her.
But on the other hand, he was abrasive, rude, and kind of arrogant. Misty was self-aware enough to know that most of that could be applied to her as well, but she didn't run around crippling people with a sword! She overheard the officers talking about one of the Team Rocket members needing a cane to walk for the rest of his life.
And sure, they were terrorists that nobody would shed a tear for if they died in a battle, and her parents would likely have done worse themselves, but it was the principle of the matter!
Beyond that, he was also a little too forward for her taste. Sure, confidence was attractive and all, but there were limits, and Peri was walking a fine line between creepy and flattering.
She also wasn't sure where it was coming from. In Mt. Moon, she'd thought he was just attracted to her, not realizing that he knew who she was, and that was… cool. Nothing to get excited about, obviously, Misty was a beautiful young woman with absolutely no self-esteem issues, no ma'am, but it was nice to see someone acknowledge it.
Not that she needed the approval of some thug, no matter how handsome. She wasn't flattered.
Nope.
Collapsing into the soft, tall grass with a grunt, she decided she had thought about it enough. It was too nice a day to ruin with thoughts of dumbasses. Maybe she'd take a little nap and hopefully wake up for a bit of socializing before Peri came back. He seemed confident it wouldn't take him long, but it wasn't Misty's first time.
She'd be surprised if he was back before nightfall, which suited her just fine. With any luck, Ash would've kicked her sisters annoyingly perfect rears and they could wait on the outskirts for Peri to get his Badge. The less interaction she could have with her family, the better.
Spoiled, air-headed, cowardly, bimbo cunts the whole lot of them. Hopefully, the sluts caught the clap somehow.
Feeling a sudden chill fall over her and the light dimming, she cracked open an eye to make sure it wasn't about to start raining. She jumped up in shock, cracking her forehead against Peri's, where he was leaning over her.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING SNEAKING UP ON ME LIKE THAT!?" Her head ached a little, but it wasn't anything serious. Though with the way the oddly Blackthorn-looking boy was stumbling around, you'd think he was dying.
What a fucking baby. That's what he got, creeping around like that!
"I thought it would be funny! I was wrong, awwwww! Your head's harder than a boulder, and that's not an exaggeration!"
"SHUT UP, IT IS NOT!" If he said anything about her forehead, she'd throw his corpses in the lake.
"Alright, alright, calm down. I'm just fucking around. Hi Misty." He padded the air like it was supposed to calm her down, and then ignored her to go greet Siren as the Feebas abandoned her vendetta against the Tentacool and sped over to her Trainer.
It didn't calm her. If anything, it made her blood boil even more. She wasn't a fucking Growlithe. Though speaking of Growlithes, Peri's monster of a specimen was panting happily by his side. That in and of itself wasn't unusual; the absurdly rare, hulking beast was Peri's most common companion to be out and about. What wasn't the same old, same old was the small humanoid Pokémon perched on Sol's back, oversized yellow hands almost disappearing into the thick coat, if not for the red smears.
So he did get the Elekid. That was fast. But why was it bleeding?
Turning to ask, she paused when she saw Peri washing his own hands before touching Siren, crimson liquid twirling around in the clear aqua before dissolving and vanishing.
The hell happened!?
"Why are you bleeding!? Did you get attacked!?" She hurried over, accidentally kicking her fishing pole on the way. It didn't matter; she didn't expect a second catch anyway. Fumbling through her bag, she ripped his hands out of the water and started bandaging them, barely keeping a gasp back at his absolutely ruined knuckles.
Did he punch a Steelix!?
"Huh? Oh, nah. Hercules and I just did some training, didn't we, bro?" The slightly small Elekid gave a whirring cry of agreement and held his arms up, flexing to make his biceps pop. Seeing his reaction, Misty huffed and let go of his hands with a hard squeeze that got a yelp from him.
If he didn't care, why should she? Though he deserved to be punished for being such an asshat.
"Oh, training, huh? Well," she walked a small distance before spinning around, one hand pointed at Peri, the other grasping her newest Pokéball, a cocky grin on her lips. She'd teach him. "If you wanna train that bad, I'll show you. Someone needs to teach you some manners, anyway, and who better than me? Your Elekid against my Pokémon, let's go!"
"A battle, eh?" He pretended to scratch his chin in thought, but she could see the smirk. The guy barely did anything other than train and flirt with her; of course, he was going to agree. "I guess Hercules could whip you real quick. If you win, I might even have a reward for you."
"Ewww." Misty wrinkled her nose. Like she said, too strong.
"Not my dick! Though you're of course always welcome to help yourself in that regard. No, I caught a second Pokémon while out there, and I thought you might be interested."
She perked up. A Pokémon? She hadn't been shy about her dream to be a Water-Type Master, so hopefully it would be that. Though if it was a Bug-Type, he'd truly have ruined any chance with her. She shivered at just the thought of all the skittering legs, the way too many blank eyes.
"Alright, you're on!" She shook it off, unclipping and enlarging her Pokéball as Elekid hopped off Sol and walked over to stand in front of Peri, the Electric-Type taking a martial arts stance that made her raise an eyebrow. "But you might regret that!" A confident toss had the capture device spinning through the air, impacting and dispensing its content, before perfectly returning to her hand.
The light dimmed to reveal a small, blue Pokémon with six stubby legs. It had large eyes and a wide, yellow mouth like a Psyduck's bill. A large green leaf that resembled a lily pad covered its back.
Peri pulled out his PokéDex and scanned her Lotad, while she watched on proudly. Okay, so maybe she didn't exactly fish it up herself, and it had just popped up next to her to escape Siren's rampage, but she still caught it, and she was proud of it! Lotad was a great Pokémon and hell of a catch in the wilds of Kanto, though Cerulean would be the place to find them. Hell, maybe it was one of Uncle Walter's Ludicolo's offspring.
"Lotad, The Water Weed Pokémon. Lotad live in ponds and lakes, where they float on the surface. It grows weak if its broad leaf dies. On rare occasions, this Pokémon travels on land in search of clean water. Lotad is said to have dwelled on land before. However, this Pokémon is thought to have returned to water because the leaf on its head grew large and heavy. It now lives by floating atop the water."
"Lotad is native to Hoenn. This Lotad has the ability: Rain Dish, and knows the moves: Astonish, Growl, Bubble, Natural Gift, Mist."
"Did you catch this while I was gone?"
"Sure did!" She kept smirking, loving the recognition of her awesomeness.
"A Lotad, not bad. Not good enough, but not bad."
Misty huffed. "We'll see about that! Lotad, Bubble!"
She should've paid more attention to the dumb grin on his dumb face.
"Herc, straight through! Quick Attack!"
"Wait, what!?" Misty's mouth fell open as the Elekid, apparently as nuts as its Trainer, crossed its bulky arms in front of itself like a shield and became surrounded in an aura of white. The Trainer in her acknowledged the swiftness Elekid pulled off the move with, and realised that Peri had gotten a good one, despite being somewhat short. Though on closer inspection, 'Herc', or whatever, was quite the bulky boy, and mass-wise wasn't that far behind the standard.
The rest of her was too busy internally screaming at the BULLSHIT on display as Elekid let out a scratchy cry and charged into the Bubble. The big blob of Water-Type energy crashed over the protective limbs, wetting the dried blood and spreading it further through the fur, turning the arms a rusty orange, and even managed to stop Elekid in his tracks for a moment. The Electric-Type strained against the attack, veins and muscles bulging, before he threw his arms out wide, dispersing the last of the move, and came barreling towards Lotad.
Lugia, why was it so fucking fast!?
"Fucking punch it!"
What!? That wasn't a move!
It also didn't matter. In a flash, Elekid appeared in front of her Water/Grass-Type, right foot digging a trench into the ground, sending grass and soil flying as the other leg slid behind it, arms coming up in a fighting stance.
Misty cried out commands, orders to counterattack, pleas to move, but it was useless. Lotad was not a physical fighter by any means, and the weirdo Elekid was clearly not as limited.
She also literally caught him an hour ago!
BAM!
BA-BAM! BAM!
BA-BA-BAM-BA-BAM-BA-BA-BAM.
Left hook, right jab, right jab, uppercut. Residual Normal-Type energy from the Quick Attack drifted like smoke from the blurring hands, creating the illusion that the fists were catching fire from the speed. Lotad rocked with every blow, barely able to groan before another hit knocked the air out of it.
And it wasn't fucking slowing down!
If anything, despite the Quick Attack fading, Elekid was speeding up. The small humanoid was panting from the several dozen attacks, but the whirring hum only grew louder and louder. Jab, hook, hook, feint, ja-no, hook, anoth-upercu-ja-, what the fuck!?
Who the fuck got stronger from exhaustion!?
"Hercules, enough!" Instantly, faster than some Pokémon that had been trained for years, 'Hercules' leapt back, landing still with his hands up. Sweat leaked through the thick fur coat, and each breath was obviously a struggle to regulate, but the glint in his eyes was nothing but enjoyment and anticipation.
Lotad, on the other hand, stayed on his feet for a moment, eyes blank and whole body covered in bruises.
Then, he tipped over, still completely stiff, eyes swirling around in his head, before Misty recalled him.
Silence.
Then-
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?"
"That's the power of hard work and muscles, baby, hell yeah! Come on, Herc, flex on the losers, yeeeeeaaah!" Both Trainer and Pokémon looked like fucking idiots, standing in the field and showing their biceps to each other.
Taking one look at the nonsense, Misty spun on her heel and started back towards Cerulean, barely bothering to pick up her bag and fishing rod on the way.
Fuck it. Her family was way better than that shit.
"Misty? Hey, Misty!? Wait, Misty, hold on, I don't know the way! Don't you want the Pokémon!? Come on, don't be mad!"
She wasn't mad.
She was murderous. There was a difference.
Fucking Lugia-damned, bitch-ass, dumb fuck Pallet Trainers. They could kiss the entirety of her cute, pale ass. Except Peri, because he'd like that.
He could just eat shit. Fucking freak would probably get off on it, too.
Still, a Pokémon was a Pokémon.
Her voice barely recognizable beneath the growl and gritted teeth, she peeked over her shoulder with twitching eyes. "What Pokémon." It wasn't a question.
A flash of red, and she found herself gazing into the eyes of a brown rodent, large nose twitching being the only sign it wasn't a stuffed toy as it stared through her blankly.
"It's a Bidoof!"
…
"OOOOWWWWWWWW! FUCK! WHAT THE HELL, MISTY?"
"FUCK YOU!"
"NO, FUCK YOU!"
Annoyingly, it turned out that Peri's muscles weren't just for show, and she couldn't outrun him.
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"They're probably at the PokéCenter, right? Hasn't been that long, but they should've made an appointment by now."
"Hmph!"
"What the fuck is your problem?" Seriously, she'd just lost her shit after Hercules proved to be an absolute badass even before I'd started training him. Even Bidoof didn't get her to calm down, though she did end up snatching the ball from me without as much as a thank you.
I was starting to wonder if her hotness was worth the bitchiness? I sighed.
Who the fuck was I kidding? Her temper only made her more attractive. Like just being given a Badge, it wasn't fun if there wasn't some push back. I was an asshole most of the time, and it would suck if she couldn't handle that. Equal shit flinging was the optimal outcome.
I needed more therapy. Random bouts of screaming at each other shouldn't be a positive in my, currently nonexistent, love life.
It seemed my honest puzzlement finally did what a hundred questions couldn't as Misty deflated like the air being let out of a balloon. She hesitated for a moment, but spoke anyway.
"Yeah… sorry. You're right, I'm being a bitch and a sore loser." She sighed again before looking at me with a genuine smile. "Thank you for the Bidoof, Peri. That was very sweet of you. Sorry for losing my temper, I just expected more from myself."
"It's fine, just, you know, don't take it out on me."
"Sorry."
"... also, I didn't call you a bitch."
"Yes, you did. Multiple times, actually, usually combined with 'psychotic', 'crazy', or 'bipolar'."
"Oh, right… sorry."
She waved it off, continuing in through the gates of Cerulean. "Let's just put it behind us, yeah? We both said shit. Besides, you're right, they're most likely at the PokéCenter."
Making up with Misty allowed me to take in the city as we entered it. I'd seen it as we approached, but it was different seeing it up close.
The other two major Kantonian cities I'd seen, Viridian and Pewter, had been ancient fortresses, if a decayed and repurposed one in Pewter's case. They'd been designed and expanded to protect their citizens more than anything, to provide a haven against the wilderness that surrounded them.
Cerulean wasn't that. Or, at least, it had been a long-ass time since then.
There were traces here and there, like the 100-foot wide moat that encircled the entire city, placing it on its own little artificial Island. Rivers broke off, leading into the actual city, streams crisscrossing between the streets and houses, ornate wooden bridges leading across them everywhere. Water Pokémon frolicked through the liquid, Goldeen, Staryu, and loads of others poking their heads up and down between the gondola-style boats that drifted through, more amphibious Pokémon chilling on the bright, cream colored bricks that shone in the reflected sunlight.
Yet, compared to the monstrosity that was the Wall of Viridian, the five-foot-tall barrier around Cerulean could barely be called a fence. The buildings were wide and open, with more clean marble, or whatever white stone they used, and sloping roofs held up by pillars that somewhat reminded me of Sevii, clearly designed more for comfort and style than practicality. Flowers were everywhere, large bushes and parks cutting the city into pieces, requiring navigating around them. Stalls and shops were peddling their wares in a dozen different marketplaces, jugglers and street performers on every corner, hair salons cutting humans and Pokémon alike in the open air, the scent of a hundred different cuisines mixing with the smell of water, and without the underlying stink of a big city.
It was far and away the most beautiful city I'd ever seen, in either world, like a fantasy version of Venice. Yet, even without having any true experience with military matters, I could tell that Cerulean had placed a lot more emphasis on tourism than on defense.
I wondered how that had turned out during the war.
Luckily, I had an expert on hand.
"Beautiful city," I said, dodging around a pair of Machokes as they carried three giant boxes on either shoulder through the streets, "but I can't help but notice that it's a little… open."
"What do you mean?" Misty responded. Her shoulders were tense, and a strained smile pulled her lips as she gave small nods to people who recognized her with enthusiastic waves and shouts. She seemed popular, yet uncomfortable with that fact.
"Just compared to Pewter and Viridian. How did you guys do during the war?"
"Oh! Fine, actually. You're right, it's been decades since Cerulean placed much importance on our military, beyond what we need to keep the area under control, but we have the benefit of geography on our side, unlike the south." She led us down a cramped side alley, in between two houses, and directly through someone's shop, throwing a quick wave at the old woman behind the counter. "The plains are wide open, and we have an agreement with the local Water-Type Pokémon in the lakes. We give them food, and in case of war, they help us out. Cerulean hasn't been directly attacked in over a hundred years." Despite her mixed feelings about her family, she seemed very proud of that fact. "Our fleet took a pounding during the rebellion, mainly from the air force, but my granddad held them off. He even killed Clan Leader Swiftfeather!"
I had no idea who that was, but it sounded cool. Maybe I had judged Cerulean too quickly.
Misty deflated slightly as we continued through the city, seemingly getting closer to the downtown area, the already large and pretty buildings becoming intricate near mansions. "But you have a point. My mom focused a lot more on expanding our tourism, which, to be fair has made us a lot of money, while my dad handled the Gym. We're slightly ahead of Celadon now, though that would've been more impressive before the Rebellion. Yet, our military has shrunk by almost half from what it was back then, never mind our peak, and my sisters show no sign of slowing down. We're at peace right now, but with Lance… whatever! That shit's boring and we're here!"
While I very much disagreed with it being boring, we did indeed finish walking through someone's backyard and emerged right in front of the Cerulean PokéCenter, with its red domed roof. It looked like every other PokéCenter, as was intended.
Heading inside, I found myself shoved aside as Misty quickly got swamped by people rushing to shake her hand. She looked uncomfortable, yet also resigned, with a practiced smile on her face and greetings flowing from her lips. I snorted to myself at her polite tone, getting a side-eye from her, and left her to it.
Better her than me. If I got swarmed like that, I'd probably start swinging.
If she needed me, she could call.
Besides, I quickly spotted Brock over to the side, waving at me, the teen's tan skin sticking out among the oddly pale Ceruleans. You'd think people who spent so much time outside would be a little darker. Maybe they just understood the importance of sunscreen.
"Yo." I gave Brock an upwards nod and another to Ash as he sprang up from his chair.
"PERI! Finally, you're back! Come on, if we hurry, we can make it a long way towards Vermillion before night!"
I blinked in confusion. The fuck did he mean?
"First off, Vermillion is, like, two weeks away, what the fuck are you talking about? Also, you've already had your battle?"
Fishing around in his pocket with a cocky grin, Ash shoved something in my face, forcing me to lean back to see it. A large teardrop-shaped piece of what appeared to be, fittingly, cerulean colored stone rested between the boy's fingers, a white streak making it seem like it was constantly catching the light.
The Cascade Badge.
"Yeah, it was super easy! I didn't even have to battle for it, the Gym Leaders just gave it to me!"
"WHAAAAAAAT!?"
The noisy foyer, people speaking into the public PC's, speaking to the dual nurse Joy's, which I hadn't seen before, or mobbing Misty, instantly quieted down as everyone grabbed their ears at the shout, the windows rattling like a fucking cartoon. Through the silence, like a t-rex on the prowl, stomps rang out while the crowd parted like the Red Sea in front of the short figure, forcing its way towards us.
Even I felt like taking a step back when I saw the look on Misty's face. She'd been angry earlier, for whatever reason, but it was only now that I realised that it hadn't been full throttle. Despite the insults and even punches, she'd still held back and hadn't actually been as mad as she pretended.
But she was then. The gritting of her teeth was like nails on a chalkboard, one hand clenched so hard I heard her knuckles pop on their own, while the other seemingly unconsciously grasped one of her Pokéballs, the signs of age, yet care, leading me to think it was her Starmie.
And her eyes. Wide open, pupils so blown out they nearly erased the blue irises. She leaned in close to Ash, almost intimately, as their noses brushed, not blinking a single time.
"What did you say."
Her voice was quiet, gentle if not for the slight warble, and the unmistakable air of a command, not a question.
It was the first time I'd genuinely seen Ash look uncomfortable as he was forced to bend backwards, holding up his hands in a futile attempt at warding off the demon in his face.
"I-I, uh, I got the Badge?"
"And how," Misty took a step forward, making Ash trip backwards into the chair he'd been sitting in when he got there. The seated position offered him no reprieve, white fingered hands clasping the armrests on either side of him, not a millimeter of distance gained.
"How. How did you get the Badge."
I almost felt sorry for the kid, but only almost. I didn't watch the anime religiously or anything, and a big part of that was Ash's bum-ass Gym battles. I was pretty sure over half his Badges had been acquired outside of the actual Gym, by doing completely unrelated shit. It was incredibly frustrating for a boy who screamed about wanting to be a Master.
Even before arriving in the Pokémon world, I knew that it couldn't be easy to get that title, as evidenced by the 15-ish years it took Ash to get there. Knowing now that Masters were walking, talking armies on their own, capable of threatening whole cities by themselves, and there was usually only a handful per generation in a region?
It made it even worse. For all the talk and themes about hard work overcoming natural advantages, Ash was a cheating bitch who tried to cut corners everywhere he could.
How the fuck were you going to be the best if you didn't battle anyone strong?
So watching him get chewed out for it was immensely satisfying.
"They… gave it… to me."
I swore I heard something snap.
"They…" Misty took a deep breath. It didn't seem to help. "They… gave it to you. Just like that."
"Y-yeah!" Ash regained some confidence, seeing as he wasn't getting his ass kicked. "They said their Pokémon were tired, or something! Isn't that aweso-"
CRACK!
"AWWWW!" Curling up in his chair, Ash moaned while rubbing his forehead, trying to shake off the headbutt when he felt the Cascade Badge being ripped from his fingers. "Wai-wait! Misty, that's my Badge!" Steadying himself against the dizziness for a second, the black haired protagonist rushed out after the orange-haired girl as she stormed out of the PokéCenter.
I sighed. "For fucks sake, I just got done with this shit."
Brock remained silent, arms still crossed as he brooded. Brock could be a silly guy, but he'd taken his Gym duties seriously, and I bet it grated to see people older than him, and with two more to share the burden, fuck up like that.
There was no way the League was okay with that shit.
"Are Misty's sisters in trouble for this? You know, on a governmental level?" I asked to make sure. Getting no reply, I curled an eyebrow and turned to look at him. Man, he was really affected by-
I stopped, staring deadpan at the former Gym Leader, one of the pillars of Kanto, the upholder of the Ancient Pebble Clan traditions.
Brock's eyes were wide open and dilated even further than Misty's, completely dark as he stared ahead. His mouth hung open slightly in a truly dumb expression while he leaned forward, totally unaware of his surroundings.
It didn't take more than a glance to see that he was focused on the twin nurses, Joy's. Fucker hadn't heard a word.
"Are you drooling?"
Nothing.
THUD!
"AWW! Peri, what the fu-heck!" Brock hopped on one leg, nursing the point of his shin that my foot had impacted, while I followed Misty's example and stormed off. No fucking way I was hanging around with 'Rock-Hard Brock' while he was on the prowl, the fucking degenerate, virgin, loser.
How was I the most normal of the group!? Why couldn't I have been reborn in Game of Thrones, or something, with fucking serious people?
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Herc's got hands. And Misty is not happy with Ash, no, sir.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 3 chapters ahead.