Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Pokegenie ❯ 01-10 ( Prologue )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

POKéGENIE

Chapter 01


Ash, Misty, and Brock were walking through the tropical Rubicund
forest, in search of rare jungle Pokémon. Ash was following a request
of Professor Oak's, since he was in the area, and had nothing better to
do. Misty and Brock cast concerned glances at Ash, hoping that getting
lost and missing the Silver City Pokémon tournament wouldn't upset him
too much. A rumbling in the distance and the ground shaking caused the
three to stop.

"What's going on?" Ash asked a bit fearfully.

Brock calmly replied, "Oh that's the Stormflare volcano. It
erupts periodically. All Pokémon Trainers should know of it Ash. It's
the main source of Firestones and Thunderstones."

"Brock, why would I care about where the Elemental stones come
from? I won't force a Pokémon to evolve, if it doesn't want to."

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu stated from Ash's shoulder, while nodding his
head.

"Well you should know where they come from so you can take
precautions. You don't want Pikachu accidentally evolving."

Pikachu disappeared into Ash's backpack shouting, "Pika!"

Misty, looking in the direction of the rumbling, asked, "Are we
in any danger from the volcano?"

Brock replied, "Nah. Pokémon Trainers have been coming here for
years, and no one has been hurt. The big theory about Stormflare is
that it really isn't a volcano at all; it's a stone production plant."

"Aw, heck with this. There are lots of rare Pokémon in these
woods and Professor Oak wants to see some," Ash said, while dashing off
into the forest.

"Ash, wait up," Brock said, running after him.

Misty sighed, shrugged and muttered, "He'll never learn."
------------------------------------------------------
Gary Oak was a bit upset. He had the perfect opportunity to
humiliate Ash Ketchum and lost it, due to Ash's perpetual lateness.
His preoccupation, with Ash's not showing up, threw him off and he was
knocked out of the competition in the second round. Jack Chase and
John Cypress, fellow Pallet town Trainers, offered Gary condolences on
his defeat. Gary acknowledged their words, but didn't hear them. He
was intent on one thing: proving he was a better Trainer than Ash
Ketchum. He found out from his grandfather that Ash had left for the
tropics on a mission.

*I will prove that I'm better than you, Ash,* Gary thought.
*Even if I track you across the world.*

His cheerleader squad started cheering Gary, "Gary, Gary he's
okay! He'll with the tournament another day! Go, Gary!"

"You're darn right I will. Just as soon as I defeat Ash."

Jack and John watched as Gary walked off in search of his rival.
They looked at each other and shrugged. The two picked up their packs
and followed along.

"Who do you think is better? Ash or Gary?," John asked.

Jack replied, "As a Trainer? I don't know. But, that really
doesn't matter. Ash might not have as many Pokémon as we do, but he
has had some of the most exciting adventures."

John inwardly smirked as he said, "Yep. I would love to trade
places with him. The giant Tentacruel, the battles against Team
Rocket, going into cyberspace: the list goes on and on. Just because he
was late getting to Professor Oak's, he's had all those adventures."

"Or, because we arrived on time," Jack countered.

"Well, there is that."

The pair ended their conversation, when they saw that Gary was
looking back at them. They waved at him, as they continued to follow.
Both, hoping to share in some of Ash Ketchum's adventures, walked on.
-------------------------------------------
"What are those three up to now?" Jesse asked, as she spied on
Ash and company with a pair of binoculars."

"Who cares. Just so long as we nab Pikachu. Right, Meowth?"

"Would you two stop talking? They'll hear us," Meowth whispered
hoarsely.

"All right already, Meowth," James stated calmly, while sniffing
a rose. "We'll hold it down."

Team Rocket remained as quiet as they normally could and watched
the direction the trio went. After a few seconds, they realized that
had lost sight of them. Team Rocket quickly ran forward and fell into
a concealed pit.

"Oh, where did this pit come from?" Jesse demanded.

James replied, "I thought they might come this way and..."

The feline member of the group said, "Come here."
---------------------------------------------------------
As h stood in a forest clearing, looking at what appeared to be a
red mongoose. He grabbed Dexter and pointed it at the Pokémon.

Dexter stated, "This is Pyromon. A mongoose Pokémon that uses
fire. It is very rare."

"A rare Pokémon? All right!" Ash said excitedly, as he grabbed
a Pokéball. "Pidgeot, I choose you."

Ash threw the Pokéball containing the bird Pokémon in it.
Opening, the ball released Pidgeot. Seeing the red Pokémon, Pidgeot
knew what its target was.

"Pidgeot, gust attack!"

Pidgeot sent a whirlwind towards the strange creature. The red
Pokémon bounced against a tree and fell to the ground. It quickly
jumped to its feet and cast an angry look at Pidgeot.

"PY-RO-MON!!," the creature said, as it launched a searing red
bolt of flames at Pidgeot.

Pidgeot barely dodged the attack, and countered with a second
gust attack. The second attack spun Pyromon around like a top. Seeing
the wild Pokémon was dizzy, Ash threw one of his Pokéballs at it. The
ball struck and opened up. A beam of red light engulfed the wild
creature and pulled it inside. Ash waited as the ball rocked back and
forth. After a second, the rocking stopped and the light in the center
of the ball went dim.

"All right, I've got Pyromon," Ash stated as he picked his ball
up and stood in his victory pose.

The Pokéball flickered and vanished, sending Pyromon to Professor
Oak for safe keeping. The light from the vanishing orb disturbed some
long, black creature in a nearby river. Seeing it, Ash pointed Dexter
at it.

"This creature is an electric eel. It is normally found in the
depths of the ocean. When found near the surface, it is probably
hunting for food," came Dexter's report.

"A water Pokémon. This one's mine," Mist said as she sent Staryu
to soften it up.

Once she felt the eel was ready for capture, she sent a Pokéball
at it. The ball hit the eel and sunk into the water, without opening.

Dexter said, "The electric eel is not a Pokémon."

Misty, annoyed, said, "Now it tells us. Ash, can't you get that
thing to speak faster?"

"Er. Um," Ash managed before being distracted by something.

The electric eel passed by a bunch of yellow glowing rocks, that
were laying on the riverbank. The recent scuffle and the eel's
splashing sent a number of the rocks into the water. One struck the
eel, who responded instinctively with an electric shock. The
electrical energy interacted with the yellow stone and caused it to
glow brighter. The stone exploded in a shower of miniature lightning.
Some of the bolts struck the other stones and started a chain reaction,
with the eel in the middle of it. Once the electrical display died
down, the electric eel started glowing. After a few seconds passed,
the eel had enlarged considerably and changed its color to a dark
purple with yellow specks. Misty and the others looked on as the six
meter long eel reared up out of the water and eyed them balefully.

Dexter continued, "However, if exposed to numerous Thunderstones,
it will evolve into Shockate. It is a very strong water/electric type
Pokémon."

"Yep. You're definitely going to have to figure out how to get
your Pokédex to give us all the information at once," Brock stated,
while swallowing heavily.

Misty backed up and threw a Pokéball at Shockate out of reflex.
The ball struck the newly evolved Pokémon and sucked it inside. Misty
watched as the sphere dropped to the river bank and started rocking
back and forth. After it finished rocking, she picked it up and sent
it on its way to the Cerulean City gym.

Somewhat stunned, Misty muttered, "For a strong Pokémon, that was
certainly an easy capture."

"The shock to the system makes Shockate a very easy capture right
after its transformation. At that point, it is as resistant to a
Pokéball as much as a sleeping Caterpie is," Ash's Pokédex finally
finished.

Walking away from the riverbank, Ash snapped the Pokédex shut in
exasperation and put it away.

"Come on," Ash called back over his shoulder. "Let's find a place
to camp out. We have lots of Pokémon to catch."

Shrugging, Misty and Brock picked up their packs and followed.
A few minutes later, they found a perfect place to set up for the next
few days. It was a shallow cave that could easily be blocked off to
prevent any wild Pokémon from surprising them at night. While setting
up camp, Misty made some comments.

"That was weird seeing that non-Pokémon change into one."

Brock shrugged and replied, "There's a theory about the various
stones as the originators of all the Pokémon. But, it takes a huge
amount of stones to do so. The electric eel is probably the easiest,
because it already has an affinity for electricity."

Ash said, "That's wild. Maybe we'll find some more new Pokémon
while were here. Eh, Misty?"

"Er. Yeah."

"Well, good night all. See you in the morning," Ash said as he
got into his sleeping bag.

Deciding that was the best thing to do, Misty and Brock also went
to bed.
---------------------------------------
During the night, Misty woke up and walked outside,
absentmindedly leaving her Pokéballs in the cave. She was still a
little unnerved about Shockate. She decided a walk would help her
clear her head. A bit further on, she saw flashes of red and yellow
lights. Curious, she creeped closer and saw a group of Voltorbs
fighting some Growlithes. Misty kept quiet as she watched the battle.

"Must be fighting over territory," Misty whispered to herself.

One of the Voltorbs used the explosion technique to send a trio
of Growlithes flying. One of the Growlithes landed almost on top of
Misty. Seeing Misty, the Pokémon started yapping. The others hearing
that one's bark, looked in that direction and saw Misty. The quickly
forgot about their struggle and headed towards her. Misty had started
running the minute that the Growlithe had seen her. She ran in zigzag
patterns to try and lose the wild Pokémon, without much success. While
looking over her shoulders, she missed the end of the ledge she was
running onto. Fortunately for her, the fall from the ledge wasn't that
great a height.

"Ow. That hurt. Now where am I?" Misty asked herself as slowly
got to her feet.

Looking around she saw that she was in a natural bowl.
Apparently the bowl was used as a dumping ground for Pokémon. It was
filled almost to the edge with red and yellow stones. Misty gulped as
she realized that she was standing right in the middle of the bowl.
She looked up just in time to see a Growlithe unleash an ember attack
and a Voltorb let loose with a thunderbolt. The world exploded in an
orange haze.
------------------------------------
Ash jumped out of his sleeping bag and to his feet when he heard
a loud explosion.

"What was that?" he said, as he raced from the cave and grabbing
his Pokéballs on the way.

Ash saw an orange light coming from where he believed the
explosion to be. Throwing caution to the wind, he charged towards the
light. Pikachu raced along right behind him. He came to a stop when he
saw a glowing orange mist. Grabbing Dexter, he pointed the Pokédex at
the cloud.

"There is no data on file. Preliminary readings suggest that
this is a Pokémon in its evolutionary state," came the readout.

"Sort of like Misty's Shockate," Ash said. He turned his hat
around and grabbed a Pokéball. "I'd better use an Ultraball for this.
I don't want it to get away."

He launched the Pokéball at the cloud. It struck the target and
pulled it inside. The Pokéball dropped to the ground and started
violently rocking back and forth. The ball bounced a few times into
the air as whatever it was tried to get out. An orange light
surrounded the Ultraball and caused it to spark and fizzle. Ash hoped
that whatever was going on wouldn't hurt the Pokémon. A few tense
minutes later, the ball finally came to a rest. The orange light
surrounding the ball flared up and died away, leaving the ball with
burn marks. Ash hesitantly picked up his Pokéball up and looked at it.

"That was weird, but at least I've got me a new Pokémon"

After a few seconds, he noticed the ball wasn't flickering to
life to teleport to Professor Oak's. He pointed Dexter at the ball and
brought up the diagnostic screen.

"This Pokéball has been damaged due to the Pokémon's struggle to
get out. It is recommended that when this happens a Trainer should
take the ball back to where he received his Pokédex from and have the
ball repaired or the Pokémon transferred to a new ball. This is one of
the very few situations where a Trainer can have more than six Pokémon
with him."

"Oh brother, wait until Misty hears about this," Ash muttered.
"She'll accuse me of putting a Pokémon at risk. Well, it looks like
this expedition has been cut short."

Ash sighed, as he put the damaged ball into the inner breast
pocket of his jacket. He headed back to the cave, where Brock was
still sleeping. He was so bothered by the damaged Pokéball that he
didn't notice that Misty was gone as he went back to bed.
-----------------------------------
Ash was woken by Brock shaking him.

"Ash, have you seen Misty? I can't find her anywhere."

"Um. No, Brock. The only time I went out was to catch a new
Pokémon."

Brock stood up and declared, "Well, she's gone and left her
Pokémon behind, including Togepi."

"That's not like her. We'd better go search for her. Pikachu
watch Togepi and Misty's other Pokémon while we're gone."

"Pika-chu," Pikachu said, while saluting.

The two males started searching for Misty. They were very
careful not to disturb any wild Pokémon on their hunt. After about an
hour the two sat down to rest.

"Where do you think she's at?" Ash asked.

"I don't know," Brock replied and then changed the subject. "By
the way you said you got a new Pokémon. What is it?"

"I have no idea. I caught it in the middle of its evolution. It
did put up an amazing struggle though. After we find Misty, we're
going to have to leave."

"Why's that?"

Pulling the damaged ball out, Ash replied, "The Pokéball was
damaged by the struggle and it won't teleport. I checked with Dexter
on this and the recommended course of action is..."

"To take it back to either have the ball repaired or the Pokémon
transferred. I know," Brock interjected.

Ash hit the button to bring the ball to full size. He figured
since he was resting, he might as well try and clean it up. He fished
a handkerchief from his pocket and started rubbing away at one of the
burn marks. He quickly dropped the ball when he saw it start to smoke.
The smoke slowly became the form of Misty. She put her hands on her
hips and looked at Ash.

"Ash, how dare you do that to me."

Numb with shock, Ash used his Pokédex to get a reading on Misty.

"This is an unidentified Pokémon"

Misty grabbed the Pokédex from Ash and yelled at it, "I am not a
Pokémon."

"Well, Dexter says you are and you did come out of my Pokéball."

Misty stuck her nose up in the air and said, "Humph. It still
doesn't change the fact that I'm not a Pokémon. Remember Ash you still
owe me for a bike."

Brock looked at the sky, "Oh no. Here we go again."

"Your bike, again? I wish you had a replacement bike. Maybe
then, you'd stop bothering me about it."

Whatever was about to be said was stopped as for some reason
Misty blinked and nodded at the same time. After she did that, a new
bike appeared between Ash and Misty.

"Huh?

"What?"

"What's going on?" Misty asked as she hugged herself and backed
away slowly.

"Er. Misty, could you please tell us what happened last night?"
Brock asked.

Misty nodded and related what she had done during the night. She
also related the depression where all those Fire and Thunder stones
were located and what had happened.

Ash then related what he did after he was woken by the explosion.
When he related the capture, Misty glared at him.

Brock nodded as he looked at the bike, "I see. I think I know
what has happened."

Misty looked at Brock and asked, "You do?"

Nodding, the former Gym leader said, "Yep. I used to tell
stories to my brothers and sisters about magical humans. Such as
genies. Which is what I believe you have become."

"A genie? How romantic," Misty said as she daydreamed for a
second. She quickly came to her senses. "Wait a second. You said I'm
a genie?"

"Yeah," Brock nodded. "Where do you think that bike came from?"

Misty took a good look at the bike. She shrugged as she got on
it and rode back to the cave.

Ash looked in the direction she went and said, "She seems to be
taking this well."

"I don't think it has sank in yet."

The pair quickly made their way back to where they left Pikachu
and Misty's Pokémon. They looked at each other when they saw that
Misty was calmly explaining what had happened to her to Togepi. Ash
looked outside and saw the Growlithe pack in the distance.

"Oh man, I wish I had a Great Ball so I could capture one of
them," Ash stated.

Misty hearing Ash, walked over to the entrance of the cave. She
blink-nodded and summoned a Pokéball. Brock and Ash looked at the
Pokéball as it appeared and dropped to the ground. They both
sweatdropped.

"Misty, you might be an expert water Pokémon expert," Brock said.
"But, you are a lousy genie."

"I'll say. Look at the size of that thing," Ash stated as the
Charizard sized Pokéball dropped to the ground in the middle of the
Growlithe pack.

The giant Pokéball opened and sucked in the entire pack. After
the last Growlithe was sucked inside, it snapped shut and teleported
away.

"The Professor isn't going to like that," Ash stated.

Misty, feeling a bit angry at the comments, walked back into the
cave. The two males of the group looked at her, just before they were
buried under a mound of Pokéballs. Misty had picked up Togepi and her
purse. She then mounted her bike. She looked on as the pair struggled
out from under the Pokéballs that she had summoned.

"You'd better find a way to change me back, Ash Ketchum" she said
loudly.

"M-misty return," Ash said as he pointed the burnt Pokéball at
her.

After Misty was sucked inside with her Pokémon and bike, Ash
glanced at Brock.

"Don't look at me. She's your genie."

Pikachu shook his head and said, "Pika-pika-pikachu. Pikachu-chu-
pika"

<The more things change the more they stay the same.>
------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Chapter 02

Brock and Ash Ketchum were trudging their way back to Pallet town
to deal with the situation that had just arisen. Ash kept looking down
at the burnt Pokéball that held Misty, unsure of his feelings. After a
few moments, his conscience bothered him enough to let Misty out.

"Misty, I choose you," Ash said as he threw the Pokéball.

Ash caught the ball on the rebound after it hit a tree. He
looked at it in confusion.

Brock started explaining, "Ash, If you want to let Misty out, you
should rub the ball as if your were polishing it."

Ash started wiping his hand across the ball's surface and asked,
"Like this?"

Before Brock could answer, smoke came from the ball and formed
Misty. Misty glanced at Ash and away.

"What do you want, Ash? To make a wish?" Misty asked. "Or, have
you figured out how to change me back?"

"Er. No. I'm just letting you out, because I don't think you
should be in there," Ash stammered.

"Um. Thanks Ash, but I think I'd better get used to travelling
in the Pokéball. If it takes as long to change me back as it did to
replace my bike, I'm going to be linked to it for a long time."

Trying to head off an argument, Brock asked, "Something I've been
wondering, how were you able to take your Pokéballs and bike into that
ball?"

"I have no idea," Misty replied. "I just knew I could. The
inside of the ball is huge. Ash, if you don't mind, I'm decorating
right now. And, I want to check up on Togepi."

"Er. Um. Okay," Ash stammered, as he pointed the Pokéball at
Misty.

Before Ash could recall Misty, a strange buzzing noise came to
his ears. He turned in the direction of noise and saw a huge Beedrill
approaching. This Beedrill was lime green in color and almost twice
the size of a standard Beedrill.

"Uh oh," Ash muttered as he lowered the Pokéball. "I think we're
in trouble."

As if to confirm his words the green Beedrill shot a massive beam
of energy towards them. Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu dodged the searing
orange bolt. While dodging the blast, Ash stumbled against a tree,
dislodging all his inhabited Pokéballs. He looked on in shock as the
Beedrill's attack. The attack blew a huge crater in the ground and
uprooted several trees.

"That was the Hyper Beam!" Brock yelled. "It is one of the most
powerful attacks a Pokémon can know."

The insect Pokémon wasn't finished yet. It fired off five barbs
at the group. All but one of the pin missiles missed. Unfortunately
the one that did hit, struck Pikachu. Pikachu started having spasms.

"That thing's a menace," Brock stated, as he fumbled for one of
Pokéballs.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled, as he ran towards his friend.

The Beedrill lined up Pikachu up for a blast from the Hyper Beam.
Ash knew he was going to be to late to save Pikachu from the attack,
but he was going to try anyway. Misty was also running towards
Pikachu, calling Ash's name. She reached Pikachu and shoved him
towards Ash just before the Hyper Beam hit. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu
watched in horror as the orange bolt blasted Misty. As the smoke
cleared, they were shocked to see Misty standing in the middle of
another crater, completely unharmed. Even the giant bug was taken
aback by it.

"Wha?" came from both Brock and Ash.

Misty looked up at the Beedrill and shouted, "That stung."

Ash noticed a red glow around one of Misty's hands. So, he
pulled out Dexter and analyzed it.

Dexter said, "This is the Ember attack. It is the most basic of
all fire attacks."

"Misty, Ember attack the Beedrill!" Ash yelled instinctively.

Hearing the word 'ember' allowed Misty to focus on her power and
unleash it at the insect. She threw it in the form a small fireball.
The Beedrill shrieked in pain as the fireball hit, because Bug Pokémon
are weak against fire. Burning, it fell to the ground in front of Ash,
who threw a Pokéball at it. The Pokéball sucked up the Beedrill and
held it fast.

"That was close," Ash said, panting. "Pikachu, hold on. I'll
get you an antidote."

Ash pulled out a small vial and gave it to his injured Pokémon.
After making sure, Pikachu was okay, he went and gathered his
Pokéballs.

"Let's see. Here's Squirtle. Bulbasaur. Charizard. Pidgeot.
Ah, there's Muk."

As soon as Ash picked up Muk's Pokéball, it flickered to life and
teleported away. He looked at Misty and Brock, confused. Both of them
shrugged. He finally went over to the Pokéball that held the Beedrill
and picked it up.

"All right, I've caught Beedrill," Ash said while standing in his
victory pose. That ball also flickered to life and teleported to
Professor Oak's lab.

"You caught? I'm the one who blasted it," Misty declared. "I'm
the one who should get to keep it."

"Er, Misty," Brock said, hesitantly. "You weren't using your
Pokémon. You were using your new powers. Ash gets the Beedrill since
one of his Pokémon weakened it. Remember, you are a Pokémon which Ash
caught and he is your Trainer. I think that is why Ash only has four
Pokéballs. Dexter is counting you along with Pikachu as his Pokémon."

Misty glared at Ash, who was totally oblivious. Ash had started
praising his new Pokémon.

"Wow, Misty. You did great as a Pokémon. You zapped that
Beedrill with one shot. I thought you were a goner when that Hyper
Beam hit you, when you saved Pikachu. She was great, wasn't she
Pikachu?"

"Pika!"

Misty sighed as she realized that Ash wasn't seeing her as Misty.
He was seeing her as a Pokémon. She stopped as she recalled something.

"Why wasn't I affected by the Hyper Beam? Brock, you said it was
one of the most powerful attacks."

"erm. Give me a second," Brock replied, as he scratched his head.
"Let's see, Hyper Beam is a powerful normal attack that can affect even
the strongest Pokémon. But, it is totally ineffective against Ghost
Pokémon."

"Ghost? You mean I'm dead?"

Brock shrugged, "I doubt that, but maybe Genies were always Ghost
type Pokémon. Considering your first attack was Ember, you might be a
Fire type as well."

Sighing, she turned back to Ash.

"Ash, you'd better find some way to change me back. But right
now, I want to check on MY Pokémon. So if you would?"

"Oh. Sure," Ash said as he pointed Misty's Pokéball at her.

"Misty, return."

A red beam of light was emitted from the center of the ball and
struck Misty squarely in the chest. She glowed red for a second and
was pulled inside the ball. Ash looked down at the ball and debated on
whether he should hang it on his belt with the rest of the Pokémon or
still carry it in his jacket pocket. After a few seconds, he returned
it to his jacket pocket.
---------------------------------------
Inside the burnt Pokéball, Misty was staying busy. One of the
first things she did was explore the size of her cage. The inside of
the ball had a diameter equal to the length of Cerulean City. The size
of the interior had surprised her at first. Apparently the energy that
had transformed her, changed the Ultraball also. She was still a bit
mad at Ash.

"Ooohh, that Ash Ketchum... Just because he caught me, he gets
the Beedrill. He'd better change be back," Misty ranted as she used
some of her new power to decorate the place.

Near the bottom of the ball, she filled the area with water.
Once she had a sufficent amount of water, she put her water Pokémon in
the artifical lake. Misty sat down and breathed heavily. Even with her
new abilities, making a reservoir was a lot of work. She looked at
Staryu, Starmie, Psyduck, Horsea, and Goldeen playing in the water and
thought.

*If I am going to be Ash's Pokémon some of the time, I'm going to
need some way to send and recall my Pokémon in an instant.*

She caused a slender belt to appear in her hands. The belt had a
place to hold six Pokéballs. On the belt buckle, there were two
buttons. Misty nodded in satisfaction as she put the belt on.

*This should do,* she thought. She looked up and sighed. *I
think the only reason I can change the area in here so easily, is
because I am linked to the Pokéball.*

After resting for a couple hours, Misty pulled out her rarely
used Pokédex and pushed some buttons. Small flashes of light heralded
the arrivial of Pokéballs. She picked up the balls and started
releasing the Pokémon inside. The Pokémon she caught in the Safari
Zone were there. A few others that she had caught when Brock and Ash
weren't around were there also. The water Pokémon she sent to the
lake. The others were sent to a small woods inside the ball.

"Well, I might as well get some use out of all this space. I've
set this up as my storage for excess Pokémon," Misty muttered to
herself. "The next time I'm at a Pokécenter, I'm going to have to take
a good look at those machines. Or, see if I can get the plans for one.
This place is going to be a combination storage center and Pokécenter.
Now, I'd better go check up on Togepi."

Misty got to her feet and headed towards the top of her ball. In
a small room that she had summoned earlier, Togepi was siiting on a
bed. Picking up the Egg Pokémon, Misty looked up towards the rounded
ceiling and lay down on the bed. The slight thumping noise coming from
outside the ball lulled her to sleep.

*At least I've got a place close to his heart,* Misty thought
just before she fell asleep.

Togepi huddled up next to its 'mother' and joined her in slumber.
-------------------------------------------------------------- ---------
Team Rocket had finally managed to climb out of the pit they had
fallen into. It took them almost two full days to do so. The trio
picked up the faint trail left by Ash and co. from yesterday morning
and resumed their chase.

"I can't believe you, James," Meowth ranted. "All we have to do
is follow them and nab Pikachu while they are asleep. We don't need
another pit. Especially one that is behind them and that we would have
to go over ourselves."

"Calm down, Meowth," Jessie said. "We'll catch up with the brats
soon enough."

Meowth just growled and walked away. Jesse and James followed the
feline Pokémon and hoped they would catch up to Ash and Pikachu soon.
They stopped when they heard a buzzing noise and looked around. Team
Rocket looked up and saw a giant green Beedrill facing away from them.
The Beedrill's stinger glowed with power as it unleashed a powerful
orange bolt of energy. Meowth's sharp ears picked up yelling coming
from the direction that the Beedrill fired its attack.

Motioning for Jesse and James to follow him, Meowth whispered,
"Be quiet. I think we found them."

Team Rocket found a secluded area to watch the proceedings. They
saw Pikachu get hit with one of the Beedrill's Pin Missiles and started
having spasms.

Meowth winced as he muttered, "Ouch. I hope the kid's got some
antidotes with him. Otherwise, Pikachu isn't going to make it."

James replied, while pointing, "I don't think its going to make
it anyway. Look."

Jesse and Meowth looked where James was pointing and saw the
Beedrill lining Pikachu up for another blast. They watched as Misty
and Ash desperately tried to save Pikachu. The trio winced as they saw
Misty get nailed with the beam meant for Pikachu, right after she threw
Pikachu to Ash.

"Well," Jesse began and then stopped as she saw something that
caused her eyes to almost pop out of her sockets.

Standing unharmed by the attack was Misty.

"What's going on?" James asked

"I don't know and would you two keep it down. We're going to
attract that Beedrill's attention," Meowth whispered harshly.

Jesse and James remained as still and quiet as marble statues.
They had no wish to face that monster Beedrill. Team Rocket saw and
heard as Misty, herself, took down the Beedrill. From somewhere they
pulled out megaphones and held them to their ears with the wide end
pointing towards Misty. After seeing Misty being pulled inside a
Pokéball, they had a small conversation.

"So that water brat is a Pokémon now," Jesse said. "We'll add her
to our list of rare Pokémon to steal. Isn't that right, James?"

"That's right. A human Pokémon is probably really rare. Meowth?"

"That's right," Meowth said reflexively, as he looked at Ash.
*Doesn't that kid have any normal Pokémon?*

Team Rocket started working up another plan to not only steal
Pikachu, but Misty as well.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Jack, John, and Gary had finally made it to the outskirts of the
jungle where Professor Oak had said Ash was at. The Trio from Pallet
Town started walking into the jungle. After a couple of hours of
hacking through underbrush, they all sat down panting.

"This is crazy. How can that loser move so fast though this
stuff?" Gary muttered to himself.

Gasping slightly, John whispered to Jack, "I think I've figured
out one benefit of Ash always getting lost. He is in a lot better
physical shape than we are."

Jack nodded and shakily replied, "Especially Gary. He can't use
his family's car or influence out here."

As the trio rested, they noticed a group of birds running along.
Jack nudged Gary, as he poined out the birds.

"Look, Doduos. If we each catch one, we could use them as
transportation. It'll sure beat walking."

Biting back an angry response, Gary nodded and pulled out a
Pokéball. Jack and John did the same. Gary sent out a Magnemite, John
an Electabuzz, and Jack used a Jolteon. The three Trainers had their
Pokémon Thunder Wave the Doduos. Once the birds were paralyzed, they
sent out Pokéballs to capture one a piece. Before they picked up the
Pokéballs, the trio cleared a space for their new Pokémon. The
remiander of the Doduo flock had scattered.

"Well that was easy enough," John commented as he recalled his
Electabuzz. "Does anyone need Paralyz Heal? I've got plenty."

"No."

"Nope."

Gary and Jack recalled their Pokémon as well. The three grabbed
their respective Pokéballs. Just before they could call out the
Doduo's, they heard a distant explosion. The explosion sent the flock
back towards Gary and company. Looking up at the sky, the trio from
Pallet Town groaned from being trampled by Doduos.

"Somehow, I know Ash had something to do with that sound," Gary
mumbled, as another distant boom was heard.

The trio winced as they were once again ran over. This time by a
pack of Oddish. They passed out holding on to the balls with the
Doduos in them.
--------------------------------------------------------------- Back at the cave, Ash had pulled out his Pokédex and pulled up
some information. He frowned as he looked at the screen. Deciding he
wasn't getting anywhere this way, he talked to Brock.

"Hey, Brock. How did that Beedrill know Hyper Beam? That attack
isn't listed in the attacks it can learn through experience."

"Oh that. It probably set off a copy of TM15 and learned it."

"TM15?? What's a TM?"

Brock looked at Ash and replied, "You don't know what a TM is?
TM stands for Technical Machine. It's a device that holds a skill that
can be taught to Pokémon."

Brock pulled out a small metal box and continued, "This is what
one looks like. This TM is one that I constructed. All Gym Leaders
are given the plans to build one type of TM. In my case, it is TM34.
It holds the skill Bide."

Ash stared at the box and remarked, "I think I saw a few of those
near where I caught Misty."

Brock stood up and said, "Let's go."

"Huh?"

"If you did see TM's, there might be a chance we can get some
unused ones and use them ourselves."

"All right. Should I call Misty out?" Ash replied, as he reached
for Misty's Pokéball.

"Not just yet," Brock cautioned. "Let's find out if they are TM's
or not."

Ash simply nodded as he walked out of the cave. Pikachu leapt to
his shoulder and looked around. Following Ash, Brock hoped they would
find some decent TM's. He wanted to study them and learn how to build
other TM's. Even the discharged Hyper Beam TM would be useful to him.
Ash led Brock to the area where he caught Misty. The two searched the
area around the blast zone. They were about to give up when Ash fell
flat on his face. Turning over, he saw that he tripped over a half
buried TM. Looking around the area where he fell, Ash spotted other
boxes.

"Brock, I found them."

"More like they found you." Brock replied good-naturedly. "Hmm.
Let's see. Oh. You'd better call Misty out now."

Ash nodded and pulled out the burnt Pokéball.

Rubbing the Pokéball, Ash declared, "Misty, I choose you."

Ash frowned a bit, because the smoke that came from the ball was
now orange. The orange fog gathered and formed Misty. The human
Pokémon was laying on the ground holding Togepi. She was fast asleep.
Ash glanced at Brock.

"Should I wake her?"

"I think you'd better. She'll want to be in on this as well."

Ash nodded heastintly as he reached down and shook Misty.
Misty's eyes snapped open. She sat up and looked around, confused.

"What? Where?"

Ash said, "We found some TM's and thought you might want to get
some for yourself."

Misty glared at Ash for waking her up, but she let it go without
comment. Glancing around, she saw Brock pulling out some metal boxes
from the ground. Misty did a quick tally of the boxes. She counted
eight TM's. She watched as Brock set one aside.

"Well, that's probably where that Beedrill learned Hyper Beam.
This TM has been discharged," Brock said to himself.

Misty looked at the remaining seven TM's and wondered where they
came from. She put that thought out of her mind as she remembered that
Trainers have been coming here for years. Theese were probably dropped
accidently over the years and they were brought here by the Pokémon
like the Fire and Thunder stones were. She did a double take as she
noticed the blast crater. Hugging herself, Misty trembled as she
realized exactly where they were.

"C-C-Could we get out of here, please?" Misty stuttered. "I
really don't want to be here."

Ash was about to say something, but noticed the look on Misty's
face. He looked at Misty and then the crater. He just nodded as he
touched Brock's shoulder.

"Brock grab the machines and let's get out of here. I don't
think this is the best place for us to be."

Glancing up, Brock saw Misty shuddering and he replied, "I think
you're right, Ash."

Brock carefully put the TM's in his backpack and stood up. Ash
and company quickly made their way from the blasted crater. They sat
down when they felt they were far enough away. Just as they sat down
on some rocks,they were hauled into the air by a giant net.

"Prepare for trouble."

"And, make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of Truth and Love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jesse."

"James."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right."

Ash rollled his eyes and said, "Oh brother, here we go."

Jesse demanded, "Surrender Pikachu and the girl and we'll let you
go."

"Huh?"

"Wha?"

"Why me?" Misty asked, hugging Togepi.

Meowth responded, "We know that you were turned into a Pokémon,
and we intend to take you back to the Boss."

Ash said in exaperation, "I wish for once, that something would
cause you to leave us alone for a while."

Misty whispered sweetly, as she felt power building inside her,
"Why thank you, Ash. I think I can do something."

Blink-nodding, Misty smiled in satisfaction. Brock, Pikachu, and
Ash sweatdropped as Team Rocket were flattened by stone letters. They
looked at Misty.

"You did make a wish, Ash," Misty responded to the unasked
question. "And, I thought it was appropriate."

"You overdid it again," Ash responded.

"If you made more wishes, I could get better at this," Misty
replied, getting angry.

Brock said, "Um. Could we get out of the net first? Then you two
can start arguing."

Msity sniffed and looked at Ash. Staring back, Ash hoped he
wasn't about to make a mistake.

"Misty, I wish we were out of the net."

Misty blink-nodded and the net vanished. The group tumbled to
the ground and lay in a heap, with Togepi on top.

"Togepi. Togepi," The egg Pokémon said as it rolled down the
living hill, laughing.

*I don't feel like arguing right now,* Ash thought to himself.

He waited until Misty had picked up Togepi, before recalling the
genie into her Pokéball. Ash looked at the stone letters and got up.
Walking over to the pinned Team Rocket, he smiled at Misty's joke.

Returning Misty's Pokéball to its place, Ash commented, "Well,
you're always saying 'surrender now' and she did. Now, leave us
alone."

Ash and Brock quickly left, leaving Team Rocket trapped. Jesse
was trapped under a gaint 'N'. Meowth was under an 'O', and James was
pinned by a 'W'.

Meowth muttered, "Surrender now? This isn't what we meant. We
don't want a 'NOW'."
--------------------------------------------------------------- ----
Ash and Brock qickly made their way back to the cave and sat
down. They both started laughing at Misty's joke on Team Rocket.

"That was hillarious, but a tad overdone," Brock stated.

"Yes it was. Oh. By the way, what are the TM's we found?"

"First, you'd better get Misty out."

Ash reluctantly rubbed the Pokéball to release Misty. After she
formed, she glared at Ash.

"Do you mind? I was putting Togepi to bed."

Brock hastily interrupted to prevent another argument.

"He called you out on my suggestion. We're going to divide up
the TM's. I have a request. Once you expend it, hand me the
discharged TM. I want to study them and try and make new ones."

Ash and Misty nodded. Brock pulled out the seven useable
techincal machines and put them down. He quickly arranged them in
numerical order.

"Okay we have TM01, TM05, TM13, TM14, TM30, TM37, and TM41. I
think Misty should get thirteen and fourteen, since her Pokémon are the
ones who could probably use them the best. Ash you can have machine
five. My Geodude can use machine one. The other three are sort of a
problem. None of has any Pokémon that can use them."

"Oh, what do you mean by that?" Misty asked, while picking up
TM30.

Brock replied, "Well take that one. It contains Teleport. None
of us has a Pokémon that can learn it. The same goes for the other
two."

Misty was about to set the machine down when it slipped from her
fingers and opened up. The energy from iside the machine went straight
into Misty.

Chiming from Ash's pocket, Dexter stated, "Misty has now learned
the skill Teleport."

Misty ran from the cave sobbing a bit. Ash stood up and followed
her. Before he exited the cave he called back over his shoulder.

"Brock give me TM41. I'll pick up a Pokémon that can learn it
later."

Brock nodded as he put Ash's machines aside and picked up the
discharged one. Pikachu followed Ash outside and leapt to Misty's
shoulder.

"Misty, how are you doing?" Ash asked.

"I'm not human anymore. How do you think I feel?" Misty
retorted.

"You weren't this upset when you found out about your condition."

Misty sighed and said, "It hadn't fully sank in yet. When that
skill just popped into my head, it brought the full realiziation of
what had happened to me."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, confused.

"Ash, if I can learn a technical machine, there might be a chance
that I'm a Pokémon that has multiple stages of evoultion. I don't know
if I could take evolving."

"Pika," Pikachu said, as he gazed at Misty sympathetically.

"I think we'd better get back to Professor Oak," Ash said.
"Let's get our stuff and get back to Pallet Town as fast as possible."

Misty nodded and thought, *Since I learned it, we might as well
use it.*

Misty and Ash gathered up their machines and stored them. Misty
sent hers to her room inside the Pokéball. She filled Ash and Brock in
on what she was about to do. They shrugged and waited. Misty's eyes
flared orange and they Teleported to Pallet Town.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 03

A flash of light in front of the Ketchum home signaled the
arrival of Ash and friends. Ash motioned for Misty and Brock to follow
him. With Pikachu riding on his shoulder, he led them to Professor
Oak's lab. Ash opned the door and walked in.

"Professor, are you here?" Ash called out.

A few seconds later, Professor Oak backed out of a room. He was
holding a chair and a bullwhip.

"Get back. Get back," Oak said, while cracking the bullwhip.
"That's some Beedrill that Ash sent. It's still hungry."

"Professor!! You're not hurting my Beeedrill, are you?" Ash
cried out.

"Yours? If it wasn't for that problem I have, it would have been
mine," Misty countered.

Professor Oak spun around at the sound of the voices.

"Ash? What are you doing here?" Before reciveing an answer to
that question, he answered the one put to him. "No, Ash. I'm not
hurting your Beedrill. I just snap the whip to force it back by the
Pokémon's reflexes in recoiling from the sound. I have never hit a
Pokémon with it."

"Err. Okay," Ash replied, sounding a bit unsure.

Oak said, "Now that I've answered your question, what are you
doing back here so early?"

Before Ash could say anything, Misty explained, "It's because of
me, Professor. There was an accident with a lot of Fire and Thunder
stones. And, well...."

Misty's voice trailed off as her courage started to fail her.
Seeing the concern on the faces of Ash and Brock, he understood that
whatever had happened was serious. He put the chair and bullwhip down
and started fixing some lemonade.

"Sit down, child. Just take your time and tell me what
happened," Oak said, as he handed Misty a full glass.

Misty found a chair and took Oak's advice. She sipped at her
drink before relating what had happened. She started with her capture
of a Shockate. The Professor was extremely interested in the
description of how it changed into a Pokémon. Misty shuddered and took
another drink before she told him of how she went out at night and saw
the Growlithe and Voltorb battle. Professor Oak interuppted at that
point.

"That reminds me. Ash, where did you get that giant Pokéball
from? I'm still trying to figure out where to put all your
Growlithes."

"I think you had better finish hearing Misty's story first, Doc,"
Brock said.

"Hmm. Oh. Sorry child. Please continue," Professor Oak said.

Misty nodded and described the chase and how she wound up in a
pit of Fire and Thunder stones. A shudder went through her as she told
of the two blasts that ignited the stones. At that point, Ash took
over and relayed on what he did after he heard the explosion.
Professor Oak held up a hand, stopping the conversation. He looked at
Misty with sympathy in his eyes.

"You've become a Pokémon, haven't you? And, Ash caught you?"
Oak stated more than asked.

"Yes. But, I think I'm also a genie as well. I've been able to
grant wishes that Ash has made."

Ash said, "Professor, the reason why we came is to find out if
you would be able to change Misty back into a human."

"I don't know. This isn't something I'm prepared for. I'm going
to need Bill's help on this one. Stay here. I'm going to call him."

Not waiting for an answer, Professor Oak headed to his phone. He
punched in a number and waited. After a few seconds, he started
talking.

"Hello. Bill? This is Professor Oak. I need your help with a
problem here in Pallet. I'd rather not go into details over the phone.
It is very important. Yes, I'll have Ash bring you back by Pidgeot.
Thanks a lot."

The Professor hung up the phone and looked at Ash, who nodded.
Walking outside, Ash summoned his Pidgeot and rode it towards Bill's
lighthouse. He looked down at Pallet and hoped Professor Oak could
find a way to help Misty.
----------------------------------------------------
Back in the Rubicund forest, Team Rocket started tracking Ash
back to the cave. They were none the worse for wear for having multi-
ton stones dropped on them. The trio found the campsite where Ash and
company were staying.

"Where are they, Meowth?" James asked. "I can't pick up their
tracks anymore."

Meowth sniffed the air and replied, "Their trail stops here.
They must have used Escape Rope to leave the area."

"No matter. That water brat will soon put us back on top again,"
Jesse stated. "She's more than a Pokémon; she's a genie as well."

James got all starry eyed and said, "Just think of all the riches
and rare Pokémon we could get with a genie under our command."

"Meowth. That's right," the feline Pokémon agreed. *And, I won't
have to worry about evolving into a Persian.*

Team Rocket kept daydreaming, not noticing that another trio had
managed to find the campsite as well. Gary Oak was furious that Ash
now had a genie. Jack and John sighed as they looked at each other.
John threw his hands up in disgust and threw a Pokéball. Out of that
ball came an Abra.

"See you later, Jack. I'm going to back to Pallet Town to work
on my Pokémon band. Chasing Ash Ketchum is a pointless exercise.
There's no telling where he'll be. I still want to share in his
adventures, but I no longer believe following Gary is the way to do it.
Abra, teleport."

Jack waved good-bye as his comrade left. He agreed with John
somewhat. He still intended to stick with Gary, because he was
concerned that Gary was starting to lose it. Gary spun around after he
heard the Abra teleport.

"Where did John go?" Gary asked, slightly wild-eyed.

John replied, "Er. He used his Abra to teleport to Pallet."

Gary snatched a Pokéball from his belt and threw it.

"Kadabra, appear."

Gary Oak's Pokéball opened and a Kadabra formed. Looking at his
Pokémon in satisfaction, he smiled nastily.

"Kadabra, take us back to Pallet Town. I want to challenge Ash
for that genie."

Jack sighed as he felt himself fading away with Gary and the
Kadabra.

*This isn't good. Gary's taking every one of Ash's successes as
an insult.*
-------------------------------------------------------
As h filled Bill on the situation, as the two of them rode Pidgeot
back to Pallet town. The Pokémon researcher was intrigued and
concerned at the same time. He was looking forward to the challenge
that Misty would provide for him. Soon, the pair arrived back at
Professor Oak's lab. Bill quickly went to talk with his old friend
about the situation. Ash dismounted from Pidgeot and recalled the
flying Pokémon. Sighing, he wondered what he could do to help.
Walking slowly, Ash made his way to his house. There a surprise was
waiting for him. Misty was there sipping hot chocolate and talking to
Ash's mom.

"And that's what happened, Mrs. Ketchum," Misty was saying. "I
became a Pokémon and Ash caught me."

Mrs. Ketchum hugged Misty's shoulders and said, "I'm sure Ash
didn't mean to cause you any grief. Since you are one of his Pokémon
now, you're welcome to stay here while the Professor works on a cure."

Misty wasn't to sure on what to say. Before she could say
anyting, Mrs. Ketchum looked up and saw her son. Waving him over, she
started talking.

"Misty here has been telling me about your adventures and what
recently happened to her. As I told her, she is welcome to stay here
because she is one of your Pokémon," Mrs. Ketchum explained. Giving
her son a stern gaze, she asked, "Any objections?"

Ash shook his head and went up to his room, not even noticing
Pikachu leaping to his shoulder. Watching him go, Misty sighed and was
glad she kept the bicycle incident from his mom.

Changing the subject, Misty asked, "How do you make that soup? I
could use it to heal my Pokémon and restore their strength."

Mrs. Ketchum said, "Not to mention, you could use it yourself.
Okay. Follow me into the kitchen. I'll show you exactly how to make
that soup."

Misty nodded, as she followed her Trainer's mother into the
kitchen. She intended to learn as much as possible about Pokémon
healing as possible, since she couldn't check on her Pokémon at the
moment. They were in her Pokéball home and that was still in Professor
Oak's lab.
-------------------------------
At the lab, Bill and Professor Oak were having a discussion about
Misty's condition.

"Well Professor, I must say this is a new twist on things. We
have to figure out how to change a Pokémon back into a human," Bill
said.

Professor Oak replied, "True, Bill. What about your DNA
combiner/separator? Would that work?"

Bill shook his head and answered, "I already thought of that.
There is nothing to separate. Her DNA was altered, not fused."

The Professor shrugged as he picked up Misty's Pokéball. He
hunted around and found some tools. Picking a screwdriver up, he went
to work on the Pokéball. Before he got to much further, the phone
rang.

Sighing, Oak answered the phone, "Hello? Pokémon Labs. Oak
speaking."

"Professor? This is Mrs. Ketchum. Misty just screamed and
fainted. Ash is on his way over with her."

"What?" the Professor exclaimed. "Did she say what caused her
to do that?"

"Not really. She said that she felt like someone was stabbing
her in the back."

"Okay. Understood," Oak said, as he hung up the phone.

Bill asked "Problems?"

"I think so. I think that Misty is linked to this Pokéball far
more than any Pokémon should be. My hypothesis is that when I used the
screwdriver on the ball, Misty collapsed in pain."

Bill pursed his lips and said, "We're going to have to do
something. The teleport circuit and Pokécenter link have to be
repaired. Otherwise, Ash would get arrested for using a faulty ball."

Professor Oak nodded and pulled out a green and black ball. He
examined it closely before nodding again.

"This should do it."

"Er. What type of Pokéball is that, Professor?"

"It's a prototype Pokéball that I was going to give to the Police
forces, but decided against it. It is far to easy to abuse. This ball
can capture Pokémon that are under a Trainer's control. It could
easily shut down Team Rocket, if used properly."

"But if Team Rocket gets it, they'll be able to steal any Pokémon
they wished," Bill finished.

"The Pokéball that originally caught the Pokémon can still recall
it, if the Pokémon is released from the prototype. This Pokéball can't
change that. I'm going to use it on Misty so that we can repair her
ball without her being in pain. And, here she is now," Professor Oak
said.

Bill looked at Misty who was leaning heavily on Ash's shoulder.
Her face was pale and covered with sweat, and her body trembled
slightly. Oak looked at Misty sadly.

"I apologize for causing you pain, Misty. I didn't realize at
first how close you and this ball were linked. I have a way to shield
you from the effects during the time we repair what we can of your
ball."

Misty, not even caring at the moment, whispered, "Do what you
have to. I don't want to go through that again."

Professor Oak picked up the proto-ball and used it on Misty. It
opened and sucked her inside. Waiting for the light to stop flashing,
Professor Oak picked up the Pokéball and handed it to Ash.

"Ash, take real good care of this ball. I had to put Misty
inside it for a little while. This is only until we get Misty's ball
fixed up."

Turning the green and black ball over in his hands, Ash replied,
"I understand Professor."

Ash shrank the ball and put it where he usually kept Misty's
Pokéball.
------------------------------------------ ---------------------
Inside the Pokéball, Misty was experiencing strange feelings.

*Is this what Pokémon feel like when they're in a Pokéball? I
feel weird.*

Misty tried to turn her head, but realized that she had no head
or body to speak of. The only feeling was a sense of alertness mixed
with crampness.

*I hope the Professor gets done soon. This is strange. Wha?*

Images started filling Misty's mind as she waited. Before being
lulled into a slight trance, she figured out a bit on how the standard
Pokéballs worked.

*I'm being kept awake, but I'm dreaming at the same time. No
wonder Pokémon are always awake when they come out of a Pokéball.*

That was the last thought Misty could form before the waking
dream entranced her.
------------------------------------------------------------------ --
Professor Oak was soon finished with the repairs to the ball. He
was unable to repair the opening mechanism of the ball. He hoped Misty
wouldn't mind exiting the ball as smoke. A quick nod to Ash relayed
what he wanted done.

Throwing the proto-Pokéball, Ash said "Misty, I choose you."

The ball opened and Misty formed of the red light. Her back was
arched backwards slightly and she had her arms out to her sides, with
fingers extend. Misty's head was tilted back and she had her eyes
closed. Straightening up, Misty opened her eyes and gazed at Professor
Oak.

"Have you fixed the ball, yet?" she asked.

Oak nodded, "Most of it. I can't get the ball to open, but I
doubt that is a problem for you."

Misty shook her head and replied, "No, it's not."

Concerned, Ash asked, "How do you feel, Misty? You were in this
other Pokéball for a while."

Misty thought hard on the question, before answering "I
feel...unfolded."

"Huh?" came from all three males in the room.

"I'm sorry. I can't explain it any better than that. When I
first went into that ball, I felt cramped or I guess a better way of
putting it was that I felt like a piece of paper being folded and put
away."

Misty scratched her head and continued, "I guess this is one
experience that I can't explain fully. By the way Professor, have you
figured out why my Pokéball is so large on the inside?"

"I didn't know it was," Oak responded.

"Oops. I forgot to tell you that," Misty replied and then went
into how large the inside of her Pokéball was.

Bill and Professor Oak were intrigued by the dimensions. Misty
received the blueprints for a Pokéhealer, after she explained what she
was going to do at the next Pokécenter she was at. She nodded in
satisfaction as she rolled the plans under her arm and faced Ash.

"Ash, if you would? I 'd like to check up on Togepi."

Ash picked up the Pokéball that housed Misty and pointed it at
her. She was pulled inside by the red beam of light coming from her
Pokéball. After putting Misty's ball back into its rightful place, Ash
handed Professor Oak back his custom Pokéball. After doing so, Ash
patted the jacket pocket and looked at the floor.

Bill started talking, "Ash, you have a great responsibility to
Misty. Not only as a friend, but her Trainer as well."

Ash looked up in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

Bill continued, "While Professor Oak and I are hunting for a way
to change her back, you must help Misty deal with her powers and
nature. From what we've been told, Team Rocket already knows of
Misty's new condition. It will not be long before others find out as
well. They will wish to challenge you for the right to train the new
Pokémon. Others will want to test their Pokémon against the new one to
see how she stands up."

Ash looked out a window and mumbled, "I think you'd better call
the Cerulean City gym and tell Misty's sisters about this. They should
know about it."

Oak looked up, "Sisters? Misty has sisters?"

Confused, Ash replied, "Yeah. Her sisters are The Sensational
Sisters of Cerulean city. They are the gym leaders there."

Bill and Oak looked at each other and nodded. Bill quickly left,
leaving Professor Oak and Ash behind. Ash shrugged and left for home.
Before making it there, he was stopped by someone he didn't think he
would see.

"So loser, I've heard that you managed to acquire a genie," Gary
Oak said. "How about a Pokébattle to see who's the better Trainer? And
through that, who is better capable of taking care of a genie?"

Ash bristled in anger a bit and replied, "Look, I'm not in the
mood for a battle. I just want to get some sleep."

"Chickening out?"

"No. Okay look," Ash pulled out Misty's Pokéball and started
rubbing. "I'm quite sure this genie wouldn't want to go with you."

Whatever Gary was about to say was cut off as smoke was emitted
from the Pokéball.
--------------------------------------
Inside the Pokéball, Misty was dealing with one of her perpetual
headaches. Holding a small metal box, she approached a certain yellow
Pokémon.

"Psyduck. This device will allow you to fight a bit better, and
it might ease your headache. Do you want to use it?" Misty asked. *No
matter how many problems Psyduck has caused me, I won't force it. I
can't. Otherwise, I'd be no better than Team Rocket or even worse.*

"Psy-yi-yi-duck," Psyduck said, while nodding its beak in the
affirmative.

"Thank you, Psyduck. Now, here you go," Misty said, while
smiling slightly.

She activated the Training Machine and pointed it at her Pokémon,
being very careful to keep it pointed away from herself. The TM tinged
as it expended its charge into Psyduck.

"Next time I'm out, I'll give this to Brock," Misty said, as she
stowed the expended TM. "At least Psyduck isn't totally useless in a
fight anymore. I'd better get busy and build my Pokécenter. My
Pokémon will always be ready for combat."

She was about to do so when she felt a tugging sensation. She
sighed and wondered what Ash wanted. She was a bit annoyed that Ash
hadn't made to many wishes. She did want to play with the powers while
she had them. Feeling her body start to turn to smoke, Misty pushed a
button on her belt. Six ordinary Pokéballs appeared on it. Stowing
another sigh, Misty waited until she materialized outside.
------------------------------------------------
After forming, Misty saw Ash and Gary. She mentally groaned in
frustration. She had no wish to get involved with this rivalry. She
was about to berate Ash when his words stopped her.

"I don't know how you found out about Misty's condition, but
there ask her yourself. I'm not putting her welfare on the line for
some bet."

*First sensible thought that has gone through your head for quite
a while, Ash,* Misty thought softly.

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Misty declared, "I
have no desire to be one of your Pokémon, Gary. Now, just go away."

Gary pulled out a Pokéball and threw it. The ball opened up and
a Graveller appeared.

Misty rolled her eyes and said, "I'm not only a Pokémon, but a
Trainer as well. Staryu, go."

Misty threw a Pokéball and the Pokémon inside was released.

"Psyduck."

"Oh great. Now, I've got a headache. Psyduck, I didn't choose
you."

"Psy-yi!"

"Oh, all right. Psyduck use your new attack."

The yellow Pokémon grabbed its head and bounced around a bit,
before unleashing a blue-white lighting bolt. The bolt struck the rock
Pokémon and encased it in a clear crystal of ice.

Misty smiled and asked the stunned Gary, "How else would you have
your Graveller, but on the rocks?"

She picked up Psyduck and followed Ash into the Ketchum
residence. Gary shook his head, slowly recovering from the shock. He
gazed thoughtfully at the Ketchum household and thought.

*You won today, Ash. But next time, I'll be prepared.*
------------------------------------------------------------ ------
Chapter 04

Ash was laying in his bed, looking up at the ceiling, with
Pikachu sleeping above his head. His fingers were idling playing with
his cap, which was atop one of the bedposts. Thinking about what Bill
had said to him, he caused his cap to spin around.

"I wonder how I am supposed to train Misty," Ash murmured to
himself. "How do you train a human Pokémon?"

Ash sighed as he stopped the cap. He was about ready to fall
asleep, when he heard a crash coming from the room where Misty was
sleeping. Throwing caution to the wind, Ash snatched up Misty's
Pokéball and rushed to Misty's room. Before entering, he saw his mom
also rushing towards the bedroom as well. Nodding to his mother, he
threw open the door.

"Mis...," Ash started to call out, but what he saw stalled him.

Misty was curled up like a sleeping cat. She turned over a
couple of times. The human Pokémon stretched a bit and rolled over on
her stomach. All of this was being done while Misty was hovering one
meter above the bed. Looking around the room, Ash noticed a lamp lying
on the floor. Apparently, Misty must have kicked it over. And, that
was what had caused the crashing sound.

"Okay, Misty can fly," Ash whispered. "I can deal with this.
Can she?"

An orange glow started emanating from Misty. Ash and his mother
looked up in concern, because waves of heat were also coming from her.
As the heat got more intense, Ash took a risk.

"Misty, wake up!" Ash cried.

The human Pokémon's eyes snapped open. Looking around, she
noticed that she was in the air. The shock of being awoken and
realizing where she was caused her ability to hover to shut itself off,
and sent her plummeting. Ash reflexively dived under Misty, to try and
break her fall. Misty fell on top of her Trainer hard, almost knocking
him out. Ash's hands were stretched over one end of the bed, and his
face was buried in the mattress.

"Ash, what do you think you were doing? Why did you wake me up?"
Misty demanded.

"Ugh. You were going to set the house on fire," came Ash's
muffled reply.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll explain in the morning," Ash said, as he turned his right
hand around. "Misty, return."

Before Misty could say a word, the Pokéball in Ash's hand emitted
its red beam and pulled her in. After Misty was inside the ball, Ash
slid off the bed onto the ground, unconscious. The Pokéball rolled out
of his hand. Mrs. Ketchum stopped the Pokéball and picked it up. She
carefully put in the breast pocket of Ash's pajamas. Straining a bit,
she carried Ash back to his room and covered him up. She smiled a bit
as she thought of Misty.

*She's in love with my son, but is waiting till they are both
older before revealing it. I'm quite sure she's sticking with Ash,
just to make sure she doesn't lose him and to make him a better person.
Determined girl.*
----------------------------------------
The sun was on the horizon when Bill, riding his pet Farfetch'd,
arrived in Cerulean city. He spotted the Cerulean City gym. Hoping it
was still open, he landed in front of the gym. A beautiful blonde
haired woman cam out and greeted Bill.

"I'm sorry, but we're like totally closed until tomorrow. Come
back in the morning if you want to have a Pokémon battle."

Bill frowned as he replied, "I'm not here for a battle. I'm here
to ask for some help from Misty's sisters. She had an accident and she
needs her sisters to come to Pallet town."

"Misty's hurt?" the blonde said. "I'll get the others."

Bill sighed as he ruefully thought of several ways he could have
stated the problem better. He shrugged and made a mental note to do
better next time. He watched as two more girls followed the blonde
outside and closed up the gym. After taking a look at the three girls
and then his Pokémon he slapped his forehead with his hand.

"I only have the one Pokémon and I don't think Far is up to
carrying four humans."

"Farfetch'd farfetch'd," the onion carrying bird agreed.

"Oh, like totally lame-o," on of the other girls said. "We're
Water Pokémon Trainers, so we can't help you on that."

"Maybe we can borrow a hot air balloon and have Far drag it,"
Bill thought aloud.

"There's the balloon we use when we're advertising a new show.
It's around back."

Bill nodded as he followed the girls to the balloon.

"By the way, I'm Daisy," the blonde said.

"Oh, sorry. My name is Bill. I'm a Pokémon researcher," Bill
replied.

Daisy looked at Bill in shock, "That Bill? The one of the
lighthouse?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Now why does a Pokémon researcher need to be involved with
Misty's accident? You haven't even told us what happened to our little
sister."

"When we're in the air, I'll explain. The winds at higher
altitudes should provide a damper on any sort of eavesdropping."

The Sensational Sisters looked at each other and shrugged. They
all wondered what had happened to Misty and hoped she was all right.
They all pitched in and helped Bill get the balloon ready for lift-off.
Seeing that the hot air balloon was shaped like a Seel, Bill shook his
head.

*They really are Water nuts,* Bill thought.

The Pokémon researcher told his Pokémon what he wanted it to do.
Nodding its understanding, Farfetch'd grabbed a rope in its bill and
started flying. The four humans piled in the basket and untied the
rope holding the balloon down. The basket lifted into the air. After
a bit, Daisy turned to Bill.

Hand on her hips, Daisy said, "Okay, we're far enough up. Now,
will you tell us what happened to Misty?"

Bill nodded and explained what had happened. The three sisters
were shocked at Misty's transformation. But, they shared a giggle when
they found out who Misty's Trainer was.

"Since you three are Misty's sisters, Professor Oak and I were
hoping that we would be able to study your blood and DNA to figure out
a way to change Misty back," Bill finished up.

Daisy looked thoughtful for a second before stating, "Tell us the
truth. Is there any chance of changing Misty back?"

Bill shrugged and looked in the direction of Pallet Town. He
considered the situation very carefully before answering.

"I don't know. Misty is the first known human Pokémon. That
right there is going to complicate matters."

Other than the flapping of Farfetch'd's wings, the rest of the
trip was spent in silence.
-------------------------------------------------------------- -----
Golden light from the rising sun streamed in through Ash's
bedroom window, striking him on the face. The brightness, even though
Ash's eyes were closed, was painful and forced him to wake up.

"Ugh. I forgot to pull the blinds," Ash said, as he got out of
bed.

As he stood up, the top part of his pajama shirt swung out and
then back and struck him in the chest. Surprised, Ash put his hand to
the breast pocket of the pajamas and felt that he had something in the
pocket. He reached in and pulled out a Pokéball. He noticed that the
top of the ball was orange, instead of red.

"This is Misty's ball, now how did it get in there," Ash muttered
to himself.

He went over the events of the previous day, he then remembered
the incident with Misty and his promise to give her an explanation.
Quickly getting dressed, Ash took a look around the room and noticed
that Pikachu was asleep on top of the television. Sitting on the bed,
he rubbed the orange Pokéball. Misty formed from the smoke that was
being emitted by the ball. Lying on the floor, the human Pokémon was
curled up like a cat and with an arm wrapped around Togepi. Frowning
in her sleep, Misty shifted a bit. After a few seconds, she woke up
and looked around.

"Ash! What do you think you're doing?" Misty demanded as she
hit Ash upside the head, with a Voltorb action figure.

After nailing Ash, Misty sat on Ash's bed and rocked Togepi back
and forth.

*Maybe I should have put all my toys away, before calling her
out,* Ash thought, while his head was bent at a ninety degree angle
from his body.

Shaking off the strike, Ash said, "Last night, I told you I would
explain how you could set the house on fire."

Misty glared at him and demanded, "Start explaining. I didn't
like being pulled into my ball when I was about to say something."

Ash took a deep breath and told her of what had happened.
Listening intently, Misty was a bit shocked at what she could do. She
did understand the problem that she could cause while asleep. Once her
Trainer finished up, she looked out the window deep in thought.

"I've always concentrated on Water Pokémon," she whispered to
herself. "Now, I'm going to have to learn about Ghost and Fire types.
Just so I can understand myself."

Hearing the whisper, Ash looked at Misty and wondered what he
could do. He snapped his fingers as an idea came to him.

"Hey, Misty. Last night you were floating above the bed. Maybe
you know how to fly."

Misty's head snapped around as that thought went through her
mind. Looking thoughtful, the genie contemplated the situation and
nodded.

"Okay, Ash. I accept your offer to train me in flying."

Ash put his hands to his head and said, "That's not what I
meant."

"Tough. I'm your Pokémon and it is your duty to train me. So
let's go," Misty stated, as she left through the door. *This should
keep Ash off balance for a while. Not to mention, I would love to be
able to fly.*

Ash mumbled, "And here I thought I had problems with Charizard."
-----------------------
In an open field, Ash was watching as Misty tried to fly. He
winced as she leapt up and fell flat on her face.

"What am I doing wrong?" Misty demanded, glaring at her Trainer.

Ash, in an attempt to delay admitting his ignorance, stammered,
"Er. I think that... Um. You were asleep when you flew and you need to
be relaxed to do so."

The Pokégenie stared hard at Ash and said, "I think you're just
making that up so I won't zap you, but I'll try it anyway."

Misty calmed herself down, closed her eyes, and daydreamed of
flying through the air. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes.

"See it didn't work," She said, looking straight ahead.

Not seeing Ash, Misty looked around and noticed that she was at
the same height as the roof of the Ketchum residence.

"Wha?" Misty blurted, as she fell.

Ash, who had stepped beneath Misty, inadvertently broke her fall.
Misty lay on top of her Trainer. She brought herself to her knees.
Misty's and Ash's eyes met for a long moment. After an uncomfortable
minute of silence, Misty got to her feet and looked up.

"Well Ash, it seems that your wild guess was right. Just relax
and fly."

The genie kept her eyes open as she tried flying again. Even
though she was getting a bit excited as she slowly started to lift in
to the air, she kept herself calm. Once she was back at her previous
height, she called down.

"Ash, if I want to be able to do this properly, you are going to
have to train me."

Getting a crick in his neck, Ash yelled back, "What do I need to
do?"

Misty slipped a bit as she shuddered. *I don't like what's going
to happen, but this is the fastest way.*

She yelled down, "Have Pikachu throw Thundershocks at me until I
faint. I have to be able to maintain my flight in combat."

"Are you nuts?!"

Not answering verbally, Misty used an Ember attack on Ash's
sneakers.

"Okay, okay," Ash said, and then whispered, "Yep, Misty's going
to be an even bigger headache than Charizard."

Misty waited in the sky for a few minutes. Soon Ash came out
with Pikachu. The yellow mouse almost fainted from shock when it saw
Misty was in the air. The human Pokémon explained to Pikachu what she
wanted done to her. Pikachu sweatdropped as it nodded.

"Pika-pika."

Misty kept herself relaxed as she got hit with Thundershocks.
She fought the pain that the lighting was causing her, so she could
remain aloft. Pikachu threw another Thundershock that hit Misty
incredibly hard. The blast had knocked her out and she started
falling. Ash, seeing that Misty had fainted, ran underneath her and
tried to catch her. He slipped and fell on his face and Misty landed
on his back.

"This is getting old. Ugh," Ash said as he crawled out from
underneath his Pokémon.

Ash looked at Misty and tried shaking her to wake her up.

"Misty, wake up. Misty?"

Looking confused, Ash pondered the situation. Suddenly a flash
of realization hit him.

*Misty's a Pokémon and she was fainted by another Pokémon. That
means she won't wake up unless I take her to a Pokécenter, home, or
give her some Revive. I think I have some Revive on me.*

Ash patted down his pockets and found five vials. He separated
one of them from the others and examined it.

"Yep, this is Revive," Ash said to himself.

He was about to give Misty the revive, when he looked down at the
other vials. For a long moment, he contemplated giving Misty the other
vials while she was out. Shaking his head, he gave the Pokégenie the
Revive. Her eyelids fluttering open, Misty gazed into the face of her
Trainer.

"I take it I was knocked out?" she asked as she rested the back
of her right hand against her head.

"Er. Yes. Are you going to want Pikachu throw more Thundershocks
at you?"

"Hm. Oh. No. I just want to have some fun now. How did you
wake me up so fast?"

Ash looked down at the vials. Following the direction of the
gaze, Misty saw four capped vials and one uncapped one. Seeing what
the uncapped one was, she understood how she was woken up. Sitting up,
she picked up the other four vials. She cast an accusatory glance at
Ash.

"You were thinking about using these vitamins on me while I was
asleep, weren't you?" Misty said.

"Er. No," Ash quickly lied.

Misty frowned as she gazed at him. Slowly, she popped off the
cork of each vial and drank it. As the vitamins entered her system,
she felt stronger, faster, tougher, and more powerful. Seeing Ash
wince at the small fortune she just drank, Misty felt satisfied that
she got him back for lying to her.

"Definitely worse than Charizard," Ash muttered.

Looking up, Misty exclaimed, "Hey look. I think that's my
sisters."

Doing what Misty asked, Ash saw a Seel shaped balloon being towed
by a Farfetch'd. He was about to ask how Misty was sure it was her
sisters, when he saw the writing on the basket of the balloon.

"The Sensational Sisters," he read aloud.

Turning, he was about to ask Misty a question when he saw that
she was starting to float up. There was a mischievous look on her face
that made Ash's blood run cold.

"Er. Misty what are you going to do?"

The Pokégenie looked down at her Trainer and smiled.

"I'm going to go have some fun," She said as she flew up to meet
the balloon.

Holding his head, like he had a very sever headache, Ash mumbled,
"Oboy. I don't know who to feel more sorry for. Me or them?"
--------------------
Chapter 05

Misty approached the balloon slowly. As she was doing so, she
went over what she knew of Ghost type Pokémon.

*From what I can recall Gastly are usually invisible and can go
through solid objects. I wonder if I can become invisible. If that
ability is like my flying, I just have to imagine it while staying
relaxed.*

Misty filled her mind with the image of fading from view. She
slowly turned invisible, but she started descending as well.

*Okay, this is going to be a bit trickier than I imagined. Let's
try again,* Misty thought as she brought her flying back up.

The Pokégenie worked a bit at trying to maintain both flight and
invisibility as she snuck up on the Seel shaped balloon. As she was
about a few seconds away from the craft, she managed to get it right.
With a satisfied grin, even though it couldn't be seen, she approached
her sisters. She decided to have fun with Violet first. She reached
out with a hand and flipped her sister's hair straight up.

"Wha?! There's like something here!" Violet yelled as she
backed up against the gondola, sending it swaying.

Misty grabbed hold of the gondola and stopped its rocking and
laughed a bit. Bill and the Sensational Sisters looked around
nervously. As they heard the laughter, but couldn't tell where it came
from. Bill covered his mouth as he figured out what was going on.

After chuckling a bit, Bill said, "I see you have figured out
some of your powers. You do realize that invisibility isn't allowed in
a Pokémon battle. And, it really isn't an attack."

Still invisible, Misty replied, "I know, but I want to use these
powers as long as I have them. So why did you bring my sisters along?"

Seeing that Misty's sisters were starting to freak out, Bill
said, "It might be better if you became visible. It would be easier to
talk to you."

Misty slowly faded into view, hovering a good three meters away
from the gondola. Daisy, Violet, and Lily were taken aback as they saw
their little sister appear before them. They looked down and then back
up to Misty and gulped.

Daisy said, "Misty, that wasn't funny."

"Sorry," Misty said, smirking a bit. "I just wanted to try my
powers out."

Lily, recovering a bit from the shock, asked, "What kind of
Pokémon are you?"

Misty sighed as she answered the question, "I am a Ghost/Fire
type. Judging by some of the other things I can do, I am also a
genie."

"Er. A genie? What do you mean by that? And, would you please
get in the basket, it's like totally nerve wracking to talk to you like
that."

"O.K. Well, when Ash made a couple of wishes, I was, I guess
forced to grant them. I am still kind of inexperienced in doing so,"
Misty said, as she flew towards the basket.

The Pokégenie continued talking, totally oblivious to the fact
that she had just phased through the gondola's walls.

"When Ash wished that I had a replacement bike, I conjured one
up."

Misty's sisters backed up a bit when the human Pokémon did her
ghost bit on the gondola. Daisy was the first to recover.

Daisy asked, "Like why haven't you granted your own wishes?"

Misty frowned and looked down to where Ash was sitting. She felt
conflicting emotions on her current state as she gazed at her Trainer.

"Ash has to make the wish. He has to direct me. I can interpret
the wish any way I want. But unless my Trainer makes a wish, I cannot
do anything with that power."

The three older Sensational Sisters glanced at each other and
then Misty. Lilly felt in her purse and brought out a matchbook filled
with sewing needles and a spool of thread. She showed it to the other
sisters, while hiding it from the sight of Bill and Misty. The other
two girls just nodded. Not knowing what her sisters were up to, the
Pokégenie talked to Bill.

"Is there a way to change me back?"

Looking up from his Pokédex, Bill said, "Hmm. Oh. Sorry. I
don't know if you can be changed back."

Misty looked at the Pokédex and saw her picture. Her eyes
relayed a question.

Before Misty had a chance to verbally ask, Bill explained,
"Misty, I am a Pokémon researcher. I want to have the most complete
listing of all the Pokémon out there. I am also responsible for giving
any new information to all the Trainer Centers. I am sorry Misty, but
that is my job."

Misty gripped one rope of the balloon tightly, as she whispered,
"That means, soon every would be Trainer will be coming after Ash to
take a look at me or challenge Ash to a duel."
----------------------------
Back on the ground, Ash watched as Misty vanished and reappeared.
He sighed and wondered what kind of problems he would have now. Seeing
as the balloon was going to take a bit of time to land, he started back
to Professor Oak's laboratory, with Pikachu following. An evil
sounding laugh stopped him. Looking around, Ash saw a red and white
Pokémon building a glass fence. Pulling out his Pokédex, he pointed it
at the Pokémon.

Dexter chimed, "This is a Mr. Mime. It is a Psychic type
Pokémon."

Ash shrugged, "Well, why not? Pikachu, Thundershock."

Pikachu responded by throwing a bolt of lighting at the Mr. Mime.
The electric attack struck the Pokémon and knocked it down. Before the
Mr. Mime could get back to its feet, Ash threw a Pokéball at it. The
ball opened and pulled the Pokémon inside. The ball fell to the ground
and started blinking several times. After a few seconds, the light
went dim and a sound like a vacuum being shut off was heard.

Picking the ball up, Ash said, "All right, I've got Mr. Mime."

"Pi-Pikachu."

Throwing the ball back and forth between his hands, Ash murmured,
"Misty could have had it worse, she could have been turned into a known
type of Pokémon. Oh well, I think that I had better get that last
badge soon. I do want to compete in this year's tournament."

Ash started running, with Pikachu hot on his heels. They soon
arrived at Professor Oak's lab. Opening the door, the pair went
inside.

"Professor, are you here?"

"Pika?"

"Yes, Ash. I am here. At least I think I am. Let me check."

Professor Oak patted his chest and looked in a mirror. He
nodded.

"Yes, I'm here," Oak said. "What can I do for you?"

"It's about Misty. Will she still be able to be a Trainer, now
that she is a Pokémon?"

Professor Oak ran his hand through his hair and replied, "I've
made quite a few calls to certain officials. I know you and Misty
wanted to keep this secret, but in this case it is probably best if it
is known about. An accidental leak and Misty would wind up at some lab
and you would be in jail."

"I didn't think of that," Ash admitted. "So? What did they
say?"

Taking a deep breath, Oak said, "Misty can remain a Trainer.
There are some rules however. First: When she is acting as your
Pokémon, she cannot have any of hers nearby. Second: She can't use her
powers when she is acting as a Trainer. And finally, at official
tournaments and gym matches, she has to have some sort of visible
identification for when she is acting as a Pokémon.

"Visual identification?" Ash asked.

"That will be up to Misty."

Shrugging, Ash brought forth his new Pokémon and had the
professor examine it.

"Ah! A Mr. Mime. I haven't seen one of these in a while," Oak
said, as he brought out a beaker and gave it to the Pokémon to drink.

While healing up the Mr. Mime, the door to the lab opened once
more. Seeing Bill plus Misty and her sisters, Oak relayed the
information he gave Ash. Bill took a strand of hair form each of the
girls and went over to some equipment. At the end of his explanation,
Misty looked confused.

"What do they mean by 'visual identification'?" Misty asked.

Bill replied, "There has to be an easy way to tell when you are
acting as Ash's Pokémon or not."

Smirking a bit, Daisy said, "Leave that to us. Come on, Misty.
We're going to get you some visual identification. Ash, please wait
here."

Ash held up his hands in confusion as he nodded. The Sensational
Sisters led their younger sister off to another room. Figuring that
they would be busy a while, Ash started a conversation.

"Professor, can you tell me what the specialty of the Viridian
Gym is? I need that last badge to compete in the tournament."

The Pokémon professor shrugged as he responded, "It changes from
year to year. I think three years ago, it was Bug type. Beedrils,
Butterfree, and Parasect. One year ago, it was Fighting type. I'm not
sure about this year."

"Thanks anyway," Ash said, looking a bit dejected.

"Don't let it get you down," Bill stated, "Your primary team
covers most of the bases. You'll do fine."

"Thanks, Bill. Have the two of you figured a way to turn Misty
back yet?"

Bill looked down at the machine he was next to and shook his
head.

"No. We're comparing Misty's DNA to her sister's to try and
figure out what was changed. It will take some time just to get the
preliminary analysis done."

The three men talked about various types of pokémon for a while.
Suddenly, shouting interrupted them.

"You have got to be kidding! I can't wear this!"

"Yes you can, Misty. We just like based it off of what you told
us. Now go in there and show your Trainer what your visual I.D. is,"
Daisy's voice retorted.

After a bit of grumbling, Misty opened the door and walked in.
She was wearing one of her red bikinis, but there were some
alterations. Sewn to the bottom of the swimsuit were transparent,
orange, silk pant legs. To the top of the bikini was sewn silk
sleeves, also transparent and orange. She was also wearing red
slippers and had her hair down. Ash's face looked like a beached
Magikarp as he saw his human Pokémon walk in. Behind the Pokégenie
came her three sisters, smiling.

"Er. What?" was all Ash was able to say.

Still smirking, Violet said, "She looks totally cute this way
doesn't she? You like see. Since she told us she was a genie, I like
figured that she should have an outfit that would like go with her
current condition. We used one of her bathing suits to make this
totally rad genie outfit for her."

Ash glanced at Misty and then looked away. He wasn't exactly
sure what to say or do in a situation like this.

"Why that's a terrific idea," Professor Oak said. "It makes
perfect sense and is easily recognizable. Bill change the picture of
Misty to one where she is wearing this outfit."

"I understand, Professor," Bill replied.

Misty shook her head and mumbled, "Scientists."

Turning to her Trainer, Misty asked, "So when are you going after
the last badge?"

"I guess I'll start out tomorrow. We'll pick up Brock in the
morning and start off."

Hearing the conversation, Oak spoke up, "By the way Ash, I think
you might be needing this for the tournaments."

Oak handed Ash the prototype Pokéball and continued.

"If you're in a tournament, put Misty in this Pokéball during it.
That way you don't have to rub the ball to activate it."

Holding the ball, Ash asked, "You wouldn't mind, would you
Misty?"

"As long as it's only for tournaments. I have a lot of work put
in my Pokéball. Now if you don't mind, I would like to change back
into my regular clothes."

Holding up Misty's Pokéball, Ash said, "Misty, return."

After sucking the genie back into her ball, Ash headed home. He
didn't notice the shudders that the Sensational Sisters had when they
saw their sister being pulled into a Pokéball.

Watching Ash leave, Lily commented, "You know we never did ask
what it was like to be in a Pokéball."

The three sisters looked at each other and shrugged. They also
left and found a place to stay at a newly constructed Pokécenter. The
three girls were waited on hand and foot by a teenaged boy who had
spiky brown hair and never opened his eyes.
--------------------------------
In the morning, Ash headed out to the new Pokécenter to pick up
Brock, with Pikachu riding on his shoulder. There was something
bothering him all the way there, and he hoped that he could get an
answer to that. He entered the center and saw Daisy sitting at a table
and drinking a hot cup of green tea.

"Er, Pardon me, Daisy," Ash began hesitantly, "But, there is
something bothering me."

Daisy set her cup down and said, "I know what you are going to
ask. You are going to like ask why we didn't try and get our little
sister back."

"Er. Yeah."

Sighing, Daisy continued, "Misty still wants to travel and see
the world, but the three of us are tied to the gym in Cerulean. We
really can't leave for extended periods of time. From what we managed
to get from your like totally blushing friend is that Brock could,
because his father showed back up. Besides, Misty is Ghost/Fire. She
wouldn't fit in with the theme of our gym."

"I don't understand."

Daisy patted Ash on the head and replied, "Actually you do.
Trainers are going to come and challenge whoever Misty's Trainer is to
a Pokémon duel. A Water gym is the worst place for a Fire Pokémon to
be. Considering how well you take care of your Pikachu, Misty couldn't
be in better hands."

Ash looked down, twiddled his fingers, and mumbled something.
Daisy picked up her tea and started sipping. The cup covered her
smile.

"Right," Ash finally said. "Do you know where Brock is? I want
to get an early start to Viridian City."

Daisy pointed to a booth. Curled up on one of the benches was
Brock sleeping. Ash walked over to his friend and shook him.

"Come on, Brock. It's time to wake up."

"Can't it wait for later, Timmy," came Brock's mumbled reply.

"I'm not your younger brother," Ash muttered and then turned back
to Daisy. "When Brock wakes up, please tell him I'm on my way to
Viridian."

Brock sat up quickly, "I'm awake. Let's go."

Ash watched as Brock threw a bunch of food and some firewood into
his backpack. The former Gym leader picked up his pack and headed for
the door.

"Are you going to stand around all day, Ash?" Brock asked while
standing in the doorframe. "I thought you wanted to get an early
start."

Daisy and Ash looked at each other and sweatdropped. After a
second, Ash followed Brock out and waved good-bye.

"See you later. I'll do my best," Ash said.

"Pikachu!" the electric mouse affirmed.
-----------------
Before leaving Pallet town, Ash called Misty from her Pokéball.
Once she was outside, the four walked down the trail leading to
Viridian city. The sky above them was a dark blue, with low hanging
clouds shaped like boulders. The sky's appearance coupled with the
lack of sounds from the surrounding woods, put an eerie feeling into
the group.

Looking at the sky, Ash commented, "I've never seen the sky like
that before. It looks like you could just jump up and touch the
clouds."

Shivering slightly, Misty commented, "Forget about the clouds, I
just want out of here. Something's going to happen. I can feel it."

Before anyone could make any further comments, a dark cloud arose
from the tree line. The calls they heard, told them they were in
trouble.

"Spearow! Spearow!"

"FEAROW!!"

A massive group of Spearows led by a trio of Fearow filled the
air. The wings of the birds blocked the sun. The flying Pokémon
started to dive-bomb Ash and company. Pikachu let loose with his most
powerful attack: Thunder. The electric attack blasted a good portion
of the Spearow to the ground, allowing sunlight to shine through
momentarily. The Spearow quickly filled the hole back in, once more
preventing the sun from shining through. One of the Fearow cawed and
came directly after Ash. Ash quickly went prone and heard the Fearow's
claws snatched at empty air.

"I wonder if this Fearow is the Spearow that I hit with a rock,"
Ash muttered.

Ash rolled to one side as the Fearow tried to land on him. He
looked around and saw that his friends were also engaged in combat with
the bird Pokémon. Misty resorted to her new nature and started
throwing fire at the attacking Pokémon. Brock had called Geodude and
Onix to fight. Ash saw that Pikachu was getting tired from blasting
away with the electricity.

*I have to do something,* Ash thought as he pulled out a
Pokéball.

"Pidgeot, I choose you," he said as he threw the ball straight
up.

The ball opened, releasing Pidgeot. Instead of attacking the
Spearorw and Fearow, Pidgeot cawed several times. The cloud of birds
looked up and saw the third stage Pokémon and started upwards to attack
it. Before they could do so, another cloud of birds arose from the
forest. This cloud was composed of Pidgey and Pidgeotto. The two
groups of birds began an aerial duel with each other. The humans and
Pokémon on the ground made sure that none of their attacks would hit
any of the Pidgey or Pidgeotto that were rescuing them.

Ash pulled out Dexter and pointed it at the cloud of birds.

"Spearow and Pidgey along with their evolved states are natural
enemies. They will usually fight over the same territory. An area
that only has Spearow in the area, is very hazardous to humans, since
Spearow will attack in groups."

"Tell me about it," Ash muttered as he recalled his first
conflict with Spearows.

"Ash, this is no time to be playing with Dexter!" Misty yelled.
"Help out!"

"Er. Right." Ash said as he pulled out another Pokéball and threw
it.

"Which one was that?" Brock asked.

"I-I don't know," Ash admitted.

The ball opened and a white light was projected from it. The
light grew and coalesced into a form. Once the light faded, the group
saw the massive orange form of one of Ash's Pokémon.

"Charizard," the orange Pokémon called.

The sudden appearance of a Charizard broke the nerves of both
groups of birds and they scattered, leaving only Pidgeot behind.

"Um. Good work, Charizard," Ash said nervously and pointed the
ball at him. "Ch-charizard return."

The red beam of light struck Charizard before he had time to
react. The dragon-like Pokémon was quickly sucked back inside its
ball. After Charizard had been recalled, Pidgeot landed in front of
Ash.

"Pidge. Pidgeot. Pidgeot."

Pikachu looked at Ash and pointed at Pidgeot.

"What is it Pikachu?" Ash asked.

Pikachu mimed flying and brought his paws together hard. He
pointed at Pidgeot once more and then the forest.

"I think I understand. Pidgeot wants to stay here and keep the
Spearow in check and protect his tribe. Am I right?"

"Pika," Pikachu said while nodding.

Ash nodded and turned towards Pidgeot, with unshed tears in his
eyes.

"We've had a lot of good times together haven't we? But, I do
understand what you need to do. Goodbye, Pidgeot. I won't forget
you."

"Pidgeot," said the giant bird, who was also crying.

With a mighty flap of its wings, Pidgeot flew off to rejoin the
tribe it had left so long ago.

Brock put a hand on Ash's shoulder and said, "It was the right
thing to do. Pidgeot won't forget you either."

Ash nodded and hurried down the trail, "Let's go. I have another
badge to win."

Misty shook her head and thought, *He's keeping busy to try to
keep from crying over the loss of one of his friends. If I am going to
be a Pokémon, I 'm glad I have a considerate Trainer.*

The group started running after Ash, all of them wishing the best
for Pidgeot.
------------
On the outskirts of Viridian city, Ash and his friends stopped.
They looked on the city. Ash, Pikachu, and Misty noticed that they had
put up a new Pokécenter.

"Well are you ready to try for the last badge, Ash?" Brock asked.

"I am, but Misty isn't."

Misty was confused, "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Remember what Professor Oak told us about what you have to do,
before going into a gym?"

Misty glared at Ash and nodded. Ash pulled out Misty's Pokéball
and sucked her back inside. Brock was scratching his head in
perplexion.

"Did I miss something here?"

Ash replied, "Just that Misty has to have some sort of visual
identification if she's going to act as a Pokémon. She has to wear a
special costume that her sisters made for her."

"Oh, is that what they were talking about?"

Ash shrugged and replied, "I guess. I wasn't there."

Brock nodded and changed the subject, "Ash, Gary has probably
already beaten you to the gym. Please remember that you walk, Gary has
someone driving him around."

"Why did you say that?"

"Because we're all getting a little tired of you complaining that
you can never get ahead of Gary. It is getting a bit annoying.
Besides, your Pokémon are probably stronger because we trudge through
the wilds and not have someone chauffeur us around."

Ash looked down at his Pokéballs and hoped that Brock was right.
Looking up he walked into Viridian city in search of the gym there.
About a half hour later, they stood before the gym. Sitting on the
front steps was a very miserable looking Gary.

Looking up, Gary said, "So the loser is going to try his luck at
getting an Earth badge. Don't bother. They have an unbeatable Pokémon
in here and you'll never get the badge. Even with your genie, you
don't have a chance. You might as well turn the genie over to me. At
least under my direction, there is a chance that it could beat that new
Pokémon."

Ash frowned, "I'm not going to give up. And, Misty isn't an it.
An accident turned her into a Pokémon, and your grandfather is trying
to figure a way to change her back."

He shook his head and paid no more attention to Gary, as he
climbed the steps. Opening the doors, Ash entered the gym. Looking
around he saw a group he hope he wouldn't see.

"Prepare for trouble."

"And, make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of Truth and Love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jesse."

"James."

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right."

Ash groaned and asked, "What are you flakes doing here?"

Mewoth replied, "We're the temporary Gym leaders here. And,
we'll prevent you from getting an Earth badge. As well as getting your
Pikachu and the girl away from you."

Ash sighed, "Well since you are stating that you intend to kidnap
Misty, Misty I choose you."

Ash rubbed the Pokéball and Misty formed from the orange smoke
being emitted. Instead of her regular clothes, she was wearing the
genie outfit that her sisters had cooked up for her. Seeing who she
was facing, Misty groaned in frustration.

"Would you please stop bothering to steal me? I have no
intention of going with you."

"What you want doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're a
rare Pokémon and that you will be coming with us," Jesse retorted.

Misty looked back at her Trainer and nodded.

Turning back to Team Rocket, she said, "If you want a Pokémon
battle, I'll give you a battle that you won't forget."

Misty prepared herself to enter into her first official Pokémon
fight as a Pokémon, and hoped that she was up to the challenge.
---------------------------------------------
Chapter 06

Misty stood in a ready stance and prepared her Ember attack.
Deciding to let Misty handle the fighting, Pikachu snuck off and hunted
for any dirty tricks that Team Rocket was going to pull. Jesse decided
to try for an easy victory and sent out her Lickitung first.

"Lickitung, Wrap attack."

"Misty, Ember."

Due to experience and skill, the Lickitung went first and wrapped
its tongue around Misty and tried squeezing her. Misty shook a bit in
disgust at having Pokémon saliva on her, but ignored it as she tossed a
small ball of fire right into her opponent's mouth. Jesse's Pokémon
reared back, pulling its tongue through Misty. Phasing through the
tongue, Misty launched another fireball at Lickitung.

"Lickitung, Disable now!"

The pink and yellow creature's eyes glowed blue for a second and
Misty felt part of her mind shut down. She tried summoning her fire
and found that she could not. Checking Dexter, Ash saw that Misty's
Ember power was out for a bit.

Hoping that she could still fight without Ember, Ash yelled,
"Misty, start hitting that thing with your fists."

The orange-haired girl, nodded her understanding and launched a
punch straight at Lickitung's eye. She smiled a bit as her opponent
stepped back a couple of steps. Watching from the sidelines, Meowth
pulled a small box out.

"Let's see how you like being shocked," Meowth stated, as he
pushed a button on the box.

Meowth's skeleton showed through his body for a few seconds as
electricity coursed through him from wires that were attached to his
feet. Pikachu was standing nearby humming 'It's a Small World', trying
his best not to laugh.

"Way to go, Misty!" Ash exclaimed as Lickitung fell over,
unconscious.

Throwing a Pokéball, a furious Jesse stated, "So, you think
you're good, Don't you? Well try this. Arbok, Acid!"

The purple snake, raised its head up and spat out a glob of black
liquid. The liquid hit Misty, who screamed a bit from the pain.
Instinctively, she protected her clothes from degrading under the
assault. The human Pokémon jumped back and hoped that her fire ability
would unfreeze soon. Ash bit his lower lip as he wracked his brain on
what to do.

"Misty, try seeing if you have a Nightshade attack," Ash called.

Misty shook her head at Ash's order, *I should have had Ash
figure out what all my attacks were before entering into a battle.*

Calming herself, She tried projecting fear at Arbok. Waves of
dark purple and black energy spiraled from Misty and hit the snake
squarely. The poison Pokémon was knocked around a bit by the assault.
Misty felt like someone threw a switch inside her head.

"Misty is no longer disabled," Dexter chimed in.

"All right," Ash muttered. "Misty, Ember attack."

Even before Ash had given his command, Misty had gathered fire
into her right hand. Arbok tried launching another Acid shot at the
genie, but it hit the wall instead. Drawing her arm back, the Pokégenie
threw the fireball like a baseball. The fire hit Arbok and streamed
over its body and onto the walls. The snake writhed a bit on the
ground and passed out from the intense heat.

"You brat. How dare you do that to my Pokémon," Jesse ranted, as
she recalled her Pokémon.

Holding a rose and throwing a ball, James said, "Now let's see
how you do against me. Wheezing, Poison Gas."

Ash called, "Misty, Night Shade."

Once more, the human Pokémon imagined the feelings of terror
washing over her opponent. The gas bag Pokémon backed up a bit from
the ferocity of the assault. Wheezing fired off a cloud of toxic gas
that engulfed Misty. The genie coughed a bit, as she raced out of the
cloud. She was able to hack up all of the poison before it seeped into
her system. Not waiting for her Trainer to give her a command, Misty
launched another Night Shade. Wheezing wobbled a bit as it was almost
knocked out of the sky. Jesse had secretly snuck away and headed for a
room underneath the Gym arena. Secretly following her, Pikachu also
went under the arena.

"That brat made a fool of me and my Pokémon. I'll make sure she
and her Trainer never see this badge," Jesse said, while putting a
small green pin on a table.

Waiting until Jesse was occupied somewhere else, Pikachu rushed
forward and, using his mouth, snatched the badge from off the table.
He rushed over to a dark, secluded alcove and dropped the pin there.

*If Misty wins, I'll bring the badge to Ash. Otherwise, I'll
just leave it here. Now, I'd better go see what Jesse is up to.*

The yellow mouse silently padded his way back to where the female
Team Rocket was working on a small bomb.

"Let's see how the water brat likes an explosion. There that
should do it." Jesse said.

Pikachu shook his head and waited for a moment, when he could
defuse the bomb.
-----------------------------
"Wheezing, Tackle her," James called.

Rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the command, Misty let the
Wheezing pass through her and launched another Night Shade. This time,
the Wheezing fell from the air unconscious.

"I'm impressed, girl. But, let's see how you do against this.
Victreebel, Razor Leaf."

Not bothering to respond to James, Misty launched the most
powerful Ember attack she could. The fireball hit and knocked the
plant Pokémon out in one shot. The spillover from the fire streamed
into the ground and burnt its way to where Jesse was at. Brock and Ash
dived for cover at the first sound of the explosion. Somehow Jesse,
James, Meowth, and the other Rocket Pokémon were launched into the air.

"It looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again," came the
massed voices of James and Jesse.

Brock and Ash crawled from their refuges and looked around what
was left of the Viridian Gym. Sitting on a burnt table, Misty was
completely unhurt by the bomb. The roof and upper stories of the gym
had been blasted completely away. What was left off the walls looked
like broken teeth thrust into the dirt. Ash sat down on the ground and
brought his knees up to his chest.

Looking up towards the sky, Ash said, "Now, I'll never get the
last badge."

"Mmmika," Pikachu said, while holding a green pin in his mouth.

Ash looked up, "Huh? Pikachu? What's that you have?"

Taking the pin from Pikachu's mouth, Ash realized he was holding
an Earth badge. He looked at both Brock and Misty, unsure of what to
do.

Brock said, "Keep the badge, Ash. Misty was able to beat Team
Rocket as one of your Pokémon."

Misty put her hands on her hips and stated, "You'd better keep
it, I don't want my effort to have been wasted."

Ash jumped to his feet and picked Misty up and spun her around,
"Yahoo! Way to go Misty! We've got the Earthbadge!"

Misty was torn between feeling pride that her Trainer was
complimenting her and her desire to be human once more.
-----------------
Leaving Viridian City behind, Ash and company headed back to
Pallet Town. Misty had taken time to get changed out of her genie
clothes and back into her normal attire.

"Well, Misty. How did you enjoy your first battle as a Pokémon?"
Ash asked.

The human Pokémon thought for a minute before replying, "It
was...different. After the fight, I felt strange."

Brock and Ash looked at Misty and asked in unison, "Strange?
How?"

"It felt like intense warmth and a tingling sensation spreading
throughout my body."

Brock said, "That probably means you are getting more powerful."

"I guess so," Misty responded, somewhat reluctantly.

Trying to change the subject, Misty asked, "Since the tournament
isn't for another two weeks, what are we going to do in the meantime?"

Ash looked up and said, "Well there is a circus in town. We can
go to that tomorrow."

"Right. Sounds like fun," Misty replied. "Now if you don't
mind, I want to take care of my Pokémon."

Ash held up a Pokéball and a red beam of light was emitted. The
light struck Misty, who felt her body tingle all over. Soon, she was
pulled inside the ball. Ash put the Pokéball in his breast pocket and
continued walking, with Pikachu and Brock following. Inside the ball,
Misty was looking after her Pokémon. She knelt down and picked up a
walking egg.

"Hi, Togepi. Sorry I was gone so long, but I had to take care of
something," Misty said. *All the conveniences of home, plus travel at
the same time.*

The genie walked to her Pokécenter and checked the equipment.
After making sure everything was running smoothly, Misty opened a
cabinet and looked at some of the stuff in there. She gazed at a
certain grouping of items and debated on using them or not.

"What do I do? These vitamins were expensive and I wanted to use
them on my Pokémon. But, I also want to make sure I don't get stolen
by Team Rocket. Maybe I should wait until Ash gets some more for his
Pokémon."

Misty closed the cabinet and sat down on a chair. Holding her
right palm in front of her, she brought forth a small fireball.

*When that Lickitung disabled me, I felt like part of me had
died. And when the power came back, I was relieved. Will I be able to
give up my powers to be human again?* Misty thought as she gazed at
the fire. *Oh well. Before the tournament, I'm going to have to have
Ash put me in that other ball for a night. I need to know what its
going to be like to stay in it for a long time.*

Misty got up and headed to her bedroom, near the top of the ball.
She lay down and let Ash's heartbeat lull her to sleep.
-----------------------------------
At dawn, Ash called Misty from her Pokéball. Nibbling on a
tomato, Pikachu was sitting on his shoulder with not a care in the
world. Misty woke up, feeling the cold tile floor of the kitchen
beneath her.

"Are you ready to go to the circus?" Ash asked.

Laying on the ground, Misty propped her head up with on arm and
looked at Ash.

"Ash, the circus hasn't even set up yet," Misty said and pointed
at a piece of paper affixed to the refrigerator, "According to that
flyer, they won't open until noon."

"I know. I just want to see them set up. Come on. It'll be
fun."

"I've got a better idea, Ash. Why don't you allow me to have
breakfast first? I haven't eaten for a while," Misty replied. *It's
odd not feeling hunger or thirst for a few days. An advantage of being
inside the ball, I guess.*

"Err. Okay. I forgot," Ash replied.

Misty shook her head as she got up and opened the refrigerator.
She pulled out an egg carton and liter of milk, and quickly fixed
herself some scrambled eggs for breakfast. The genie took a couple of
bites and looked down at the eggs, with an odd look on her face.

"Is there something wrong, Misty?" Ash asked.

Misty replied, "I'm not sure. These eggs taste funny."

Ash grabbed a fork and took a hesitant bite of the eggs. Looking
back at Misty, he shrugged.

"They seem all right to me."

Misty reluctantly finished the eggs. A couple of times it looked
like she was going to loose it, but she managed to fight the gag back.
Ash watched her in concern, as she ate.

After finishing, Misty said, "I think I'd better go see Professor
Oak first."

"Why?"

"Just a hunch."

Curious, Ash followed Misty to the lab. She quickly found
Professor Oak and Bill going over some equations.

Looking up, Oak said, "Ah. Misty, it's nice to see you. It's
still going to be a while before we even figure out how you were
changed."

Shaking her head, Misty countered, "That's not what I'm here for.
I'm here for a different reason."

"What's that?" Bill asked.

Taking a deep breath, Misty said, "I was wondering if my
transformation would have any other side effects. When I was eating
this morning, the eggs I fixed tasted funny."

The two men went over their notes, while Misty waited. After a
few minutes, Oak turned back to her.

"Yes, there is an effect on how you taste things. You might want
to have Brock teach you how to make some Pokémon food."

"That horrid stuff?" Ash interjected.

Professor Oak said, "Misty should be able to enjoy it. Her body
has been altered. Wait a second, I have some food I feed Charmanders
around here somewhere."

Oak scrounged through some shelves and cabinets. He soon found a
can of food, acting as a paperweight, on his desk. Taking it to a can
opener, he opened the can and handed it to Misty. The Pokégenie
stabbed at the Pokéchow with a look of disgust.

"You can't be serious? Eat this?" Misty demanded.

Looking a bit sad, Bill replied, "Just try it. You're going to
have to retry all the foods that you've had in the past, just to find
out what you can stomach."

Wrinkling her nose a bit, Misty took a few bites of the food.
Her look of disgust became relief when she tasted it. Ash's stomach
turned as he watched Misty finish the slimy looking mess.

"What was that?" the genie asked.

Bill took the can and said, "It is supposed to be Jalépeno
stuffed sausages basted with concentrated tobasco sauce."

Ash covered his mouth as he ran from the room. The human Pokémon
looked at the two men curiously.

Bill answered the asked question, "Misty you're a Fire Pokémon.
You have to base your diet on what Fire Pokémon eat."

"This can't be happening," Misty mumbled, while looking down at
her hands.

Oak gently took the young girls hands and gently said, "We're
doing all we can. Keep your hopes up."

Misty nodded and replied, "Thank you. Now, I'd better go find
Ash and Brock. We're going to the circus."

"Have fun," Bill said.

Misty walked out of the labs, trying to keep up her hopes that
she would be human again.
-------------------------------------------
Watching as the circus was being set up, Ash and company noticed
all of the circus Pokémon.

Brock said, "Hey look, Ash. They have a Mr. Mime as well."

"I wonder if I should bring mine, so it can be taught by an
experienced one."

Misty commented, "It can't hurt your training style any. You
need lots of work."

Ash grumbled a bit and pulled out his Pokédex. Pushing a few
buttons, Ash called a Pokéball from storage at Professor Oak's lab.

Misty asked, "Ash, what are the Pokémon you are carrying? None
of your Pokéballs vanished."

"You, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charizard, Mr. Mime," Ash
replied. "I've been thinking about putting Lapras in the empty slot.
But for now, Mr. Mime will do."

Misty shook her head and wondered why Ash kept Charizard with
him. She put that thought out of her mind as she saw the circus was
setting up a Pokémon sideshow that would have rare Pokémon from around
the world. She looked forward to seeing if they had any Tentacruel or
Dewgong in the exhibit. She looked at Ash, who was reading a flyer
posted to a tree. Noticing that Ash was a bit depressed, the human
Pokémon walked over.

"What's the problem, Ash?"

Pointing to the sign, Ash said, "This. The circus is going to be
holding some Pokémon contests. I only have one legitimate Pokémon that
I can enter, and that's Pikachu for the shock contest."

"What are the other contests?" Brock asked, as he came over.

Misty recited the events, "Rattata races, Sandshrew digging contest,
Cocoon hardening event, Magikarp bell ringing, Pikachu/Voltorb shock
machine, Nidoran maze."

Brock stroked his chin and said, "I see. Just the standard stuff
for common Pokémon. Misty probably has a Magikarp at her storage area.
But for the rest, we'd have to go hunting for some Pokémon."

"No. I'll catch what Pokémon I want. I'll enter Pikachu into
the shock contest, but I'll pass on the others."

Brock gave Ash a slap on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry
about it. I'm quite sure there will be other Pokémon related events
going on."

"I hope you're right," Ash said.

Ash looked back at the circus where they saw a young woman
arguing with a Mr. Mime.

"I wonder what the problem is?" Misty asked

Shrugging, her Trainer answered, "I don't know. Let's go find
out."

Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock made their way to the woman who
was still arguing with her Pokémon.

"Gee, Ash. And, here I thought you were the only one who
couldn't control his Pokémon," Misty said.

"Errg. I'll get Charizard to listen to me yet."

Brock, blushing, asked, "Um. Miss, is there anything we can do
to help?"

The Circus Tamer turned and saw the three humans and Pikachu.
She sighed heavily as she watched as her Mr. Mime took a nap.

"We need Mr. Mime here to have the main show go on, but he won't
do so. If I could make it jealous of another Pokémon, maybe it would
help out once more."

"We'll be glad to help out. Right, Ash? You do have your Mr.
Mime with you."

The Tamer looked at Ash, "You have a Mr. Mime."

"Yes. I caught it near my home. I was going to ask if I could
let my Mr. Mime learn from yours, but now...."

The Circus Tamer said, "This is perfect. By the way, my name is
Thespia. I'll give you a tour, while the others are setting up."
----------------------------------------
Hiding up a tree, Team Rocket watched Ash and his friends had
their conversation with Thespia.

"We can catch two Mr. Mimes as well as Pikachu and that water
brat," Jesse said.

"I'll be top cat once more and Persian will be out the door."

James added, "We'll show that circus that we can put on our own
show."

Jesse and James chorused, "Watch out big top, because Team Rocket
will be hitting town."
--------------------------------------------
Finishing the tour, Thespia ushered the group into the rare
Pokémon sideshow. Ash noticed one Pokémon sitting in a small cage.
The pink Pokémon just whined pitifully as it barely ate from its bowl.
He turned to Thespia in anger.

"How could you do that to a Pokémon?"

Thespia looked at the cage sadly, "It isn't in the cage for
punishment; it's in there because it tried to kill itself a couple of
times."

Brock and Misty gasped, while Ash asked in confusion, "Kill
itself? Why?"

Thespia replied, "Because it is depressed. It used to garner a
lot of attention. Now that every Pokécenter has a Chansey on duty,
this Chansey is ignored. We've tried to cheer it up, but nothing
works. We have to make sure that it eats regularly as well."

Ash took his hat off and said, "I'm sorry I jumped to
conclusions."

"Don't be. In every city we go to, we contact the Officer Jenny
and Nurse Joy about the condition of this Pokémon. And in every case,
they are just as stumped as we are in what to do about it."

Ash walked up to the cage and patted the Chansey on the head and
tried to cheer it up. Getting no response, he spoke to Thespia.

"Could we talk on how we're to proceed to make your Mr. Mime
jealous. This is getting depressing."

"Sure. By the way I didn't catch your names."

Brock hurriedly introduced everybody, "My name is Brock, that's
Ash Ketchum, she's Misty, and of course Pikachu."

Thespia stared a Misty for a second, pulled out a Pokédex, and
pointed it at the red-head.

Thespia's Pokédex chimed, "This is Misty a human Pokémon. An
accident changed her into a Ghost/Fire Pokémon."

"I thought you looked familiar," Thespia said.

Misty rolled her eyes and asked in exasperation, "How fast did
the information about my changing spread?"

"I'm not sure. I update my Pokédex every week with the new
information that is found, and I go through each entry to see if there
are any Pokémon I should try and get for the show. From what I've
seen, most Trainers only pull out a Pokédex when they are confronting
an unknown Pokémon."

The caged Chansey looked up, "Sey?"

"It's almost time for the show. Will you help out?"

"I guess so," Ash replied.

The group left leaving the Chansey looking on with interest.
------------------------------------------------------
Ch apter 07

Ash listened as Thespia explained what she wanted done. Looking
down at a Pokéball, Ash wondered if this plan was sound. He was about
to release the Pokémon inside when a shout caugt his attention.

"Ash, is that you?"

Turning, Ash saw his mother coming towards him. He waved at her
and waited until she was in talking distance.

"Hi, mom. My friends and I are helping out at the circus. We're
going to try and make their Mr. Mime jealous, so he will be willing to
perform again."

"Pikachu," the yellow mouse agreed and then looked sadly towards
a tent.

Mrs. Ketchum frowned a bit and asked, "What Pokémon are you going
to use? Not Misty?"

"No. Definetly not her," Ash replied, shaking his head. "I think
it's better just to show you. Mr. Mime, I choose you."

Ash threw the Pokéball and his puppet Pokémon was released.

Putting his hand on Mr. Mime's shoulder, he said, "I caught this
Mr. Mime earlier. We are going to use him, and..."

Ash's words were cut off by an explosion. Mother and son turned
towards the sound, wondering what was going on.

"Pikachu, let's go," the Trainer said. "Mr. Mime, stay here and
protect my mom."

"Mr. Mime," the puppet said, while saluting.

Before leaving, Ash gave his mom Mr. Mime's Pokéball. Thrwoing
caution to the wind, Pikachu and Ash rushed away. Mrs. Ketchum,
gripping the Pokéball tightly, looked on.

"Be careful, son," she whispered and turned towards the Pokémon.
"Thank you for staying here, Mr. Mime. I really appreciate it."

"Mr. Mime. Mr. Mime."

"It gets so lonely with Ash gone all the time," Mrs. Ketchum
mumbled.

"Mr. Mime?" the human shaped Pokémon asked.

"Sorry, Mr. Mime. You don't need to hear my troubles."

Mr. Mime looked on a bit and resolved to protect her as best as
he could.
-------------------------------------------
Rushing along, Ash saw that the source of the explosion was a
blue tank with big red R's painted on it.

"Oh, great. It's Team Rocket," Ash muttered. "I wonder what
they're up to now."

The tank turret turned and pointed its gun in Ash's general
direction. Over the tank's loudspeakers came familiar voices.

"Well, well. If it isn't Mr. Hotshot Pokémon Trainer," Jesse
said. "Hand over your Pokémon, and we won't harm you."

Ash yelled back, "Forget it."

Meowth said, "You're treading on thin ice. Just hand them over
and say tank you, we let you off easy."

"You guys are shell-shocked, and I'm the one to give you a good
shell-aking. Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash replied. *Puns at fifty
paces, is it? I can play that game too.*

Pikachu rushed forward and let loose a bolt of lightning at the
tank. The electricity hit the vehicle solidly and faded, leaving the
tank totally unharmed.

Jesse said, "Our tank is insulated against electricity."

"Meowth. You might say we've steeled ourselves and grounded this
plan fully."

Ash and Pikachu looked at each other. Seeing the tank rolling
towards them, Ash came to a decision.

"Pikachu!"

"Pika?"

"RUN!!"

As h ran back the way he came, while Pikachu watched him for a second,
with a sweat drop forming. Hearing the treads getting closer, the
yellow mouse quickly followed his Trainer. Team Rocket laughed, as
they saw that they had their enemy on the run.
-------------------------------
Trying her luck at a ring toss game, Misty heard the explosion
and wondered what was going on. Standing nearby, Brock was hitting on
the female trapeze artists.

Turning, Misty asked, "What was that?"

"I don't know," Brock replied, momentarily forgetting about the
girls. "I think we'd better go check."

Misty just nodded and the two headed in the general direction of
the commotion. They quickly came upon Mrs. Ketchum and the Mr. Mime.
The two friends looked at each other and hurried their pace up. They
knew Ash and what he would do. Worried about her son, Mrs. Ketchum
followed the pair. They soon spotted Ash being chased by the Team
Rocket Tank.

"ASH!" Misty, Brock, Mrs. Ketchum yelled.

Misty ran and placed herself between the tank and Ash. She fired
off an Ember attack at the tank, causing the place where it hit to glow
red for a second.

"So the water brat wants to play," Jesse said. "Try some of
Pikachu's thunder."

The tank gun recoiled as it launched a bolt of lightning at
Misty. Misty was thrown into the air by the blast and tumbled to the
ground, unconscious.

"Misty," Brock and Ash said.

"Mr. Mime, my son and friends are in trouble. Can you help?"
Mrs. Kecthum asked.

"Mr. Mime," the Pokémon said, as it headed for the surplus army
vehicle.

Mr. Mime used his Lightscreen ability to form a protective wall
between the tank and everyone else. The Tank rushed forward and hit
the wall. The Lightscreen barrier held under the impact. After a
second, the tank backed up and tried to go around the wall. But, it
was stopped by another Lightscreen wall. Looking over, Mr. Mime saw
another of his kind helping him. The two Mr. Mimes nodded and worked
to enclose the tank in a tower composed of Lightscreens.

Thespia came up and talked to the second Mr. Mime.

"That was great Mr. Mime. You can do incredible things if you
just try," she said.

Looking a bit sad, she continued, "I'm sorry I was so hard on
you, before. Will you perform in the circus again?"

"Mr. Mime," the circus Pokémon said, nodding his head.

"That's great," Thespia replied, hugging her Pokémon.

"Mr. Mime?"

Thespia looked up, "What is it Mr. Mime?"

Not saying anything, the circus Pokémon pointed to Ash and his
friends. They were kneeling around the still form of Misty. The
circus tamer rushed over to see if Misty was okay.

Ash asked, "Brock, is there anything we can do?"

"Pika?" Pikachu said, gently pushy on the genie's shoulder with
his paws.

"I don't have a potion or a Revive on me," Brock replied, while
shaking his head. "I came here to have fun, not get into any Pokémon
battles. And, we're to far from a Pokécenter to get her there on
time."

"How bad is it?" Thespia asked.

The looks on their faces was answer enough.

"I'm sorry. If there was anything I could do...."

"It's not your fault," Ash replied, as he dropped his backpack.

When the pack hit the ground, two small metal boxes came tumbling
out. Brock jumped a bit at the sound and looked over. He took note of
the boxes.

*Oh, just Ash's technical machines. Nothing important,* Brock
thought. *Wait a second. TM41. That can help us.*

Brock hurriedly said, "Thespia, can you get your Chansey over
here, fast?"

Looking confused, she asked, "What good will that do?"

"Just do it. It might be Misty's only chance."

While Thespia stood there slightly confused, the circus' Mr. Mime
rushed towards the sideshow tent. A tense minute later, Mr. Mime came
out carrying Chansey's cage.

"That's fine, Mr. Mime," Brock said. "Set the cage down, I need
to talk to Chansey."

Mr. Mime put the cage down near Brock. The former Gym leader
stared straight at Chansey.

"Chansey, you're the only one who can help Misty out. Ash has a
machine that will teach you how to share your health with injured
Pokémon. A Chansey is the only Pokémon that can use that machine.
Will you please help?"

"Chansey?" the egg Pokémon asked and looked at Misty.

Seeing the injured girl lying there, Chansey shuddered at the
injuries she saw. She turned back to Brock and nodded.

"Thanks, Chansey," Brock said. "Ash, hand TM41 over here. We're
going to need to use it to save Misty."

Not bothering to ask, Ash just handed the box over to his friend.
Taking the machine, Brock activated it, while pointing it at Chansey.
The TM dinged as its charge was expended.

"Chansey, please use your skill to save her," Thespia pleaded,
kneeling beside the cage.

The pink Pokémon took the egg out of its pouch and threw it at
Misty. The egg broke apart and ten blue-white motes of light circled
around the still form of the Pokégenie. The motes grew brighter as the
sped up and tightened their orbit. They soon impacted Misty and caused
her to glow blue for a second, as they faded away. Once the glow had
settled, Misty opened her eyes.

"What happened," she weakly asked.

Ash said, "Thank you, Chansey."

"Chansey."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said, giving Misty a lick on the face.

"Misty, are you all right?" Mrs. Ketchum asked.

Shaking her head, Misty replied, "I feel so weak. I need to
rest."

Fumbling out a certain Pokéball, Ash recalled Misty. He looked
at his mother, who gave a nod. He turned and addressed his Mr. Mime.

"Thanks for protecting my mother and saving me, Mr. Mime. I
really appreciate it," Ash said.

"Mr. Mime."

"Here you go, son. I think this is yours," Mrs. Ketchum said,
while handing her son a Pokéball.

"Mr. Mime! Mr. Mime!" the puppet Pokémon said, while hugging
Ash's mother.

Ash looked at Mr. Mime and tried to guess what he was saying.

"Mr. Mime, do you want to stay with my mother?"

Mr. Mime nodded, while saying his name.

"Well, I guess mom would get kind of lonely at home," Ash said,
while scratching his head. "Fine, you can stay with her."

"Thanks, son. Come on, Mimie," Mrs. Ketchum said.

"Mimie?"

"That's what I'll be calling him. Cute isn't it?"

"Er. Right."

"Pika."

Ash and Pikachu both developed sweat drops. The drops vanished
when Brock put a hand on Ash's shoulder and started talking.

"That was very nice of you, Ash. I'm sure your mom appreciates
it."

"Thanks, Brock," Ash replied. "Let's get Misty home or to a
Pokécenter."

Pikachu leaped onto Ash's shoulder, and the two started walking.
Before they got to far, Thespia's voice stopped them.

"Hey, you forgot your Pokémon."

Turning around confused, Ash responded, "Huh? Which one? Mr.
Mime is now my mom's and I have the rest of mine."

Thespia kicked an empty cage behind her, as she hefted up a pink
Pokémon.

"This one. She got really depressed as you two were leaving. I
think she wants to go with you."

"Chansey. Chansey."

Ash said, "I'm not sure. A Chansey that tried to kill
herself...."

"Chansey! Chansey-chan-chan-sey-sey-chan."

Thespia tried to translate, "She said she isn't going to do that
again. I think that she believes it is her responsibility to look
after Misty."

"Chansey," the egg Pokémon agreed.

"Well then, welcome to the group," Ash said, gently tossing a
Pokéball at the Chansey.

The ball opened up and pulled the Chansey inside. After closing,
the red and white sphere bounced back to Ash's waiting hand.

"All right, I've caught me a Chansey," he said, striking his
familiar pose.

"Pi-Pikachu."

Brock shook his head and thought, *There he goes again, in
getting Pokémon to just follow him around. Oh well, it's fun watching
him do it.*

A sudden explosion interrupted Brock's musings. Looking back, he
saw a gout of fire rush out of the top of the Lightscreen tower and saw
three figure go shooting off into the sky. Ash also noticed the trio
in the air.

Before vanishing in th distance, Team Rocket chorused, "It looks
like Team Rocket is blasting off again."

"They really left with a flash and a bang that time, didn't
they?" Ash asked.

Brock didn't bother to respond, as the two friends made their way
back to Pallet Town.
-----------------------------------------
After dropping Misty's Pokéball at the Pallet Town Pokécenter,
Ash and Brock headed back to the circus. It would be a little while
before Misty would be better, and Ash wanted to see if his Pikachu
could win the Shock Machine game. Once they arrived, they saw that
there were three other players lined up, each with a Voltorb.

Ash asked, "Ready, Pikachu?"

"Pika."

Pikachu took his place on one of four diases, with metal plates
in the center. The four Pokémon started pumping electricity into the
plates. After a few seconds, the machine that was connected to the
plates launched three thunderbolts. Each bolt struck a Voltorb,
stunning them.

"Way to go, Pikachu."

Thespia came up and saw that Ash was back.

"How's Misty?" she asked.

Ash replied, "According to Nurse Joy, she'll be fine in the
morning. Brock and I came back so we could test our luck at some of
these games."

Looking at the machine, she saw that Ash's Pokémon had won.

"Well, Ash. What do you want for a prize? A Thunderstone or
Tri-rod?"

"Those are the prizes?" Ash asked, dissapointed. "I'll take the
rod. I don't force my Pokémon to evolve. By the way, what does a Tri-
rod do?"

Thespia reached up and pulled the rod down, while saying,
"Excellent choice. It's a fishing rod with three settings. The first
is shallow water fishing. The third setting is deep water fishing.
And finally, the second setting is for fishing between those two
extremes. It's used to catch Water Pokémon. Most fisherman have to
use three different rods to catch Water Pokémon. This just makes it a
lot easier."

Taking his new rod, Ash commented, "Well at least I have
something useful. Maybe Misty can teach me how to use it."

After having Pikachu jump into his backpack, Ash headed over to
where Brock was trying his luck at a Whack-a-Diglett game. He seemed
to be wracking up big points as he hit the rubber Digglets with a
rubber mallet. After finishing he took the tickets and redeemed them
for a kerosene powered, portable stove. To the amazement of everyone,
he shoved the stove into his backpack without distorting the pack at
all.

"Brock-o, ready to head back?"

"Sure, Ash. There is nothing more we can do here."

The two friends walked back to Pallet. Before heading home, Ash
headed to the Pokécenter to check up on Misty. There he found Nurse
Joy trying to hold back an irate Chansey.

"Chansey! Chasey-sey!"

Seeing Ash, Joy shouted, "Could you call your Chansey back?"

Ash, confused, said, "Chansey, stop. What's the problem?"

The Chansey waved her arms up and down and said, "Chansey-sey-
sey-sey-chan-chan-chansey!"

Brock and Ash looked at each other.

Brock shrugged and said, "I have no idea."

Hearing the comotion, Pikachu popped out of the pack and looked
down. The yellow mouse jumped down and started talking to Chansey.
The two Pokémon had a discussion as the three humans looked on.

"Well, Pikachu?" Ash asked. *How did Chansey get out of the
Pokéball?*

Pikachu tried pantomime to convey the information.

"Chansey wanted to do a rain dance in the back room?"

Pikachu face faulted. After recovering, the mouse grabbed one of
Ash's Pokéballs and handed it to Nurse Joy. He pointed at the Pokéball
and then at Chansey.

"I'm sorry Pikachu?" Ash said. "I can't figure out what you're
saying."

Brock stroked his chin and commented, "Maybe it has something to
do with Misty."

Pikachu held up a small sign with an orange 'o' on it.

Ash said, "So it has something to do with Misty. What could it
be?"

Nurse Joy said, "I think I know. Your Chansey wants to keep an
eye on your friend."

"Is that it Chansey?" Ash asked.

The pink Pokémon nodded.

Ash said, "I know you're worried about Misty, but the Pokécenter
can do a good job of healing Misty."


"Chansey," Chansey huffed and turned away.

"I think your Chansey doesn't trust the Pokécenter's Chanseys,
Ash," Brock commented.

Ash whispered, "Oh, great. This is just what I need, a Chansey
that is jealous of Pokécenters."

Ash sighed heavily and looked at Pikachu, Joy, and Brock. The
three just shrugged. Brock and Pikachu left, barely containing their
laughter. Ignoring them, Ash knelt by his Chansey.

Ash explained, "Chansey, you're going to have to let Nurse Joy
and her Chansey do the job. There will be times when you're going to
need their help as well."

"Chansey," the pink creature said, while turning her back.

"Oboy. Please, Chansey. Just let Joy do her job."

Nurse Joy interuppted, "If your Chansey promises not to get in
the way, she can watch as we heal Misty."

Ash asked, "How about it Chansey? Is that fair?"

Chansey thought about the idea for a few seconds and then nodded
as best it could with its egg-shaped body and no neck.

Joy said, "Once we've finished healing Misty up, I'll contact my
sisters about your Chansey. By the way this Chansey seems familiar."

Ash said, "Thanks, Joy. Well this Chansey used to belong to the
circus that is in town now."

"Oh, it's that Chansey. Quite a turn-a-round," Joy said. "I'll
definitely contact my family about this and get them to agree, which
I'm sure they will."

"Thanks, Nurse Joy. See you in the morning, Chansey," Ash said
as he left the center.

After leaving the canter, Ash spotted Brock and Pikachu rolling
on the ground laughing.

"It isn't funny, guys!" Ash said. "Oh, forget it. I'm going
home."

Pikachu stifled his laughter long enough to jump to Ash's
shoulder and ride home. Brock managed to get himself back under
control and re-enter the Pokécenter. All of them wondered what Misty
would say about that Chansey.
-------------------------------------------------------
Ch apter 08

Misty awoke to a tingling sensation passing through her body.
Looking up, she saw that she was inside her Pokéball. She noticed that
her body was pulsing with a yellow light. Soon the light died away and
Misty felt totally refreshed.

*So, Ash must have taken me to a Pokécenter to have me healed
fully. I guess I'll be stuck in here while waiting to be called out,*
Misty thought. *Oh well, I'd better get back to working on my interior
Pokécenter.*

"Togepi-gepi-pigepi," came from Misty's egg Pokémon.

"Hi, Togepi. Did you miss me?" Misty asked.

"Togepi."

"Well, don't worry about it. I'm going to be stuck here for a
bit."

Misty went to the widest level of her Pokéball, and went into a
building that she had constructed there with her link to the ball. She
soon finished up and then decorated the building with seashells and
wave pattern. Togepi waddled around the building and made an inquiring
noise.

Misty, trying to guess what Togepi said, replied, "I know it
makes no sense to have a building in here, but, to me, it acts as a way
to keep track of where things are at."

The egg made a few more noises and headed back to Misty. The
genie picked it up and carried it back to her room, near the top of the
Pokéball. She hesitated for a second and looked off into the distance.
Shaking her head, Misty finished her climb and entered her bedroom.

*I wonder what that feeling was. I felt cold. Maybe nothing.*
-------------------------------
At the Ketchum home, Ash woke up early to see how his two Pokémon
were doing at the center. Pikachu raised his head up, to see Ash
leaving. He yawned and then used Agility to catch up to Ash. Soon, the
pair made it to the Pokécenter.

Going in, Ash asked, "Nurse Joy, how are Misty and Chansey
doing?"

Joy yawned a bit, "This is a bit early, Ash. But, your Pokémon
are fine. We finally managed to convince your Chansey that we do know
what we are doing. We put Misty's Pokéball into the recharger and she
should be fine now."

"Recharger?"

Joy patted a meter tall cabinet with six circular depressions on
the top of it. In the depressions were wires that had small suction
cups on the end. A ball was setting in one of the depressions, with a
suction cup attached to the central button.

"This thing. It's how we refresh non-critically injured Pokémon.
Your Chansey stabalized Misty, and all she needed was recharged."

Joy picked up the Pokéball and handed it to Ash.

"Here's Misty and I'll go get Chansey."

The Pallet Town nurse walked into a side room, behind the
cabinet. She soon returned with a Chansey that had black U's under its
eyes.

Holding up a Pokéball, Ash said, "Chansey, I think you'd better
get some sleep when we get home. Chansey, return."

A red beam of light washed over Chansey and pulled her inside the
Pokéball. Returning the ball to his belt, Ash headed for the door.

Before leaving, Ash said, "When Brock wakes up, tell him that I
got Misty and Chansey and headed home."

"Sure thing, Ash. I'll tell him"

Ash shrugged and left for home. Upon arriving, he called Misty
out. Forming from the orange smoke, the genie looked at Ash, holding
Togepi.

"It's about time, Ash," Misty said, "It's kind of boring in
there. By the way, what time is it?"

Ash looked at a clock in the kitchen and replied, "It is 6:10
A.M.."

Looking a bit confused, "Er. What? How could it be six in the
morning?"

"You were injured by Team Rocket, yesterday," Ash said.

Sighing heavily, Ash related everything that had happened dealing
with Team Rocket. Misty was a bit unnerved at how close to death she
had came. Once she heard about the circus Chansey joining Ash's
Pokémon team and why, she looked a bit nervous. Ash then went onto
explain what happened at the Pokécenter last night.

*I thought Psyduck was my biggest headache,* Misty thought.
*Just because Ash caught me, I have to deal with this bizarreness.*

The Pokégenie kept her thoughts quiet, just to make sure that
Chansey wouldn't hear and try to suicide again.

"So, Ash. I take it we'll be leaving for the tournament later?"

"Yes. I want to make sure we get there on time. In a couple of
hours, we'll go get Brock and leave."

Misty nodded as she looked at her Trainer. She once again felt a
chill sweep through her.
------------------------------------------------
Two weeks had passed since the Rocket attack on the circus. Ash,
Misty, Pikachu, Brock, and Togepi watched as the Moltres leapt from the
torch brazier and flew over the stadium. The firey bird hovered in
mid-air for a second and stared first at Misty and then at Ash. It
flew away, looking like someone had given it a shot of whiskey.

Blushing a bit, Misty commented, "I think it's laughing at us."

Ash just pulled the rim of his hat over his eyes and turned away.
Looking on, the president of the Pokémon League stroked his chin. He
walked forward a bit and put his hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Don't let it get to you. You're the first people to get the
Moltres to laugh in public. It's quite an honor."

Ash shook his head and said nothing.

The President continued, "Well, anyway. I'm going to need to
talk to all of you later. If you win, I'll talk to you after the
match. If not, shortly after you are eliminated."

Ash looked over his shoulder, in curiosity, and asked, "Why?"

"I'd rather not say at the moment."
------------------------------------------
Ash and friends were sitting in the tournament restaurant having
a conversation of Ash's first battle. Todd was listening to the
conversation as he was going through his photos.

Brock commented, "You're lucky that your Krabby evolved into
Kingler during the fight."

"I knew he could win. I wanted to give him the chance," Ash
replied.

Shaking her head, Misty said, "You're going to have to come up
with a better strategy than that, Ash."

Ash looked down at his cola and shrugged. He was busy thinking
of what Pokémon to use in the next battle. A voice interrupted his
reverie.

"So, you're Ash Ketchum," a boy about Ash's age said.

Looking up, Ash saw that the boy had a Pikachu on his shoulder
and was smiling.

The boy continued, "I saw that match you had earlier and I was
impressed. By the way, my name's Richie."

Richie held out his hand, which Ash took. The two Trainers shook
hands, and Ash offered Richie a seat at the table.

Brock asked, "Why are you talking to us?"

"Well, I've heard a lot about you three, sorry four, and I wanted
to meet you," Richie replied.

Richie looked around and waved to have the other four huddle over
the table.

"Ash, there are some people saying bad things about you. One
real joker is trying to get you disqualified from the tournament for
using a stolen Pokémon. I think Damien is his name."

Ash rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh great. And since Charizard
won't obey me, he'll be able to use that against me."

Misty looked at her Trainer and then Richie.

"There's more, isn't there?" she asked.

Richie nodded, "I'm afraid so. It has to deal with some sort of
human Pokémon. Something about how Ash used an unauthorized Pokémon to
win his final badge."

Misty groaned a bit and muttered, "That sounds like Gary Oak."

Brock pushed back from the table and stood up. He rubbed his
forehead as he thought. Finally, he spoke.

"Ash, the president said he wanted to talk to us. I think now
would be a good time," Brock stated.

Misty, Ash, and Pikachu nodded. As the three were about to
leave, Richie piped up.

"Do you mind if Leon and I went along?"

Ash asked, "Leon?"

"My Pikachu," Richie said.

Ash shrugged and said, "Sure, you can come along."

Soon, the group consisting of two Pikachu, four guys, and a genie
were inside the president's office. Richie relayed what he had heard.
Sighing, the president pulled out a map.

The president said, "Ash, this is part of the reason I wanted to
talk to you. After the tournament, you and your friends should drop
out of sight for a while."

"Huh? I don't understand," Ash replied.

Brock answered the question, "I think I do. We're in danger of
some sort."

The president nodded, "The Earth Gym leader is going to motion to
have the licenses of you three revoked, because of the damage to the
Viridian Gym."

Ash protested, "That was Team Rocket. They planted explosives
under the gym. Misty accidentally set them off with an Ember."

The president held up his hands in halting motion. "Easy, Ash. I
know it's not your fault. I also received from a Nurse Joy a report on
Damien's Charmander. This vanishing act is to prevent you from losing
your licensee. It should also prevent Team Rocket from going after
Misty for a while."

Misty asked, "And, just how will that help?"

The president got a sly glint in his eye and smiled, as he
replied, "Because, I'm going to disguise it as a punishment."

"Huh?" came from five throats.

"Considering how often and how long you three get lost, I think a
two month exile to someplace secluded wouldn't be to much of a bother."

"Exile? What does that mean?" Ash asked.

Brock said, "It means that we won't be allowed contact with
anyone else."

Ash pulled his hat off his head and replied, "Well, if you think
it's for the best...."

The president of the tournament nodded and started tapping places
on the map. He stopped on a small island and looked up.

"I think this place will do. I've used it as a vacation spot at
times. Greystice Island."

Brock frowned, "I've never heard of it."

"I'd be surprised if you had. It's not a very big island and
it's not near any of the main shipping routes."

Misty looked at where the island was located and asked, "What's
it like?"

"Cold. That's the big downside of the island. I'll have warm
clothes and lots of firewood sent with you. You'll have to take
shelter in one of the caves on the island."

Ash stared at the map and recalled when he was trapped in a
blizzard. He kept the tears in check for the loss of Charizard's
friendship.

"I guess this is for the best," Ash said softly.

The president replied, "As soon as you have won the tournament or
are eliminated, we'll get you three onto a ship out of here."

Ash nodded and headed for the door. Before he left, the
president spoke up.

"Ash, in compensation for this idiocy that you are being forced
into, I will be giving you something in return."
-----------------------------------
Ash sat dejeted at a table. Misty and Brock tried to cheer him
up.

"Come on, Ash," Misty said. "You placed fourteenth in the league.
That is quite an accomplishment right there."

"She's right, Ash. You should be pleased."

Ash slammed his fist onto the table.

"I should have chosen Pyromon, rather than Charizard."

Brock calmly explained, "You don't really know Pyromon that well,
and Charizard did give a good showing for a while."

"You should listen to them," Richie said, as he walked up to the
table. "It was only because of Team Rocket's interference, that you
lost. All of your more experienced Pokémon were exhausted. I want a
rematch when you get back."

"Richie, what are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"I got trounced badly by the opponent I faced after you. I
wasn't expecting all three Eevee evolutions."

Ash clasped Richie's hand and said, "Sure, I'll give you that
rematch. I'll see you later. Let's go guys."

Ash and company went to the president of the Indigo League and
told him they were ready to leave. The President nodded and handed Ash
an envelope.

"Ash, don't open this envelope until at least a week has passed
after you have arrived at Greystice Island. It'll explain everything."

"I understand sir."

"Well now, let's get you three up and out of here."

The president led the group to a dock where an old looking
paddle-boat ferry was waiting. Motioning for them to get on board, the
president waved good-bye to the group. Soon, the small ship was
traversing the open sea. Misty decided to ask Ash a question that had
been nagging her for a while.

"Ash, when did you get a Lapras?" she asked. "I don't ever
remember you catching one."

"Oh, that. I found it being attacked by a school of Krabby. It
joined me after Pikachu convinced it to come along. It was shortly
before I rejoined you back near the Stormflare volcano," Ash replied.

Shuddering a bit form Ash mentioning Stormflare, Misty said,
"When we get to the island, I want to meet Lapras."

"Err. Okay," Ash said, as he pulled out a Pokéball.

Ash threw the ball and Bulbasaur came out. Ash explained what
was happening and what he was about to do. Closing his eyes to go to
sleep, Bulbasaur nodded. Ash called Bulbasaur back and used Dexter to
switch Pokéballs.

*I hope we arrive soon,* Ash thought, as he looked at the
Pokéball.
-----------------------------------
As Greystice Island came into view, the gang looked at it with
misgivings. It lived up to its name. The cliff-face was composed of
gray rock, making it very dreary looking.

"This is just a barren rock," Misty complained. "I can't believe
that you would agree to come here, Ash."

"Easy, Misty. Ash did what he thought was right. We just have
to deal with it."

Ash turned towards the owner of the ferry.

"Captain, how long will it take us to get there?"

"About two hours. I don't want to tear the bottom of my ship out
on some reefs."

"Oh, heck with this. I want to get this over with as fast as
possible," Ash said, throwing a Pokéball. "Lapras, I choose you."

Ash's blue dinosaur Pokémon emerged from the ball, materializing
in the water next to the ship. Lapras put his head next to Ash,
allowing his Trainer to get on the Pokémon's back. Pikachu sat atop
Ash's head and hummed.

"Come on, Brock. Get on board," Ash called out.

Misty put her hands on her hips and yelled, "And, what about me?
There's not enough room on Lapras for all of us."

"Pi-Toge," Togepi chirped from Misty's pack.

Ash held up a ball and a beam of red light shone forth. The beam
struck Misty, who was quickly reminded of her Pokémon nature by being
pulled inside the ball.

"That's how," Ash commented, while shrinking the ball.
------------------------------------------------------------
After landing on the beach, Ash returned Lapras to his ball and
called Misty forth. Misty appeared before them with her hands on her
hips.

"Ash, warn me next time you're going to do something like that.
I almost landed on Togepi."

Pulling the bill of his cap down, Ash replied, "Sorry, Misty. I
just wanted to get here as quickly as possible."

"Well Mr. Trainer, did you happen to remember that all of our
food and firewood are still on the ship?" Misty asked.

"Umm. Oops." Ash meekly answered.

Ash looked back over the water, where the paddle-boat was slowly
approaching. He turned and saw an opening in a cliff face. The cave
had a wooden tunnel built into its entrance. He quickly headed towards
the shelter, to wait for the ship to arrive with the supplies. Misty,
Brock, and Pikachu followed. While waiting, Ash called Lapras out to
meet Misty. Pikachu started talking to Lapras, while Misty looked at
the Water Pokémon in adoration. Brock and Ash shrugged.

"So Ash, what are we going to do for the next couple of months?"
Brock asked.

Ash clenched his fist and stated, "There has to be Pokémon on
this island, and I'm going to catch some."

Misty broke off her staring at Lapras and said, "There is that.
Plus, we could also train our Pokémon while were here. I have Staryu,
Shockate, and Psyduck."

"I've got Squirtle, Lapras, Pikachu, Charizard, Chansey, and you
Misty. I think I'll use Chansey. She needs practice," Ash replied.

Brock said, "Not here. After the ship arrives and drops off our
supplies, we'll go hunt for an open field to use. I don't want to
damage our only shelter."

Misty and Ash put their hands behind their heads and sweat
dropped.

The ferry arrived and the captain of the ship had his crew unload
the boat with the supplies that the gang would need for the next couple
of months. Once they had stowed the stuff in the cave, the ship left
leaving Ash and his friends behind.
---------------------------------
An hour after the ferry had left, Ash and company started
searching for a field they could use as a training field. They came
upon a large open area in a shallow valley. The three looked at each
other and nodded. Misty and Ash called forth Psyduck and Chansey for a
practice session. After the two Pokémon had finished, Misty and Brock
called Staryu and Zubat for a battle. Ash sat down on a large rock and
pulled out a folder with papers in it. He opened the folder and looked
at the contents of the file. He sighed wistfully as he examined what
was on the sheets.

Coming over, Misty asked, "Hey, what have you got there?"

Ash closed the file quickly and stuttered, "Nothing. Nothing at
all."

"Right, Ash," Misty said, and snatched the file from him.

Before Ash could protest, she opened the folder and saw that what
Ash was looking at was the diagrams of a large building. She turned
the pages and realized that she was looking at the plans for a gym.

"I guess it's no use protesting now. Those are the plans of a
gym that I drew up using a building designer program," Ash said. "I
just wish that it could be built, so I could see how good a job I did
at designing it."

Misty's eyes began to glow orange as she walked away from Ash,
holding the file near her.

Before giving into the power, Misty said, "Great. This is just
great, Ash. I'm going to be stuck building a gym for you, because you
didn't watch what you were saying."
---------------------------------
Somewhere, purple eyes stared off into the distance and somewhere
else, blue eyes opened.
--------------------------------------------
Chapter 09

During the week that Misty was using her power to construct the
gym because of Ash's wish, she fell into a routine of only breaking
when she got hungry or when it was time to go to bed. As the building
was forming, she added her own little improvements to the design. In
certain open rooms, she added large tanks of water. The walls of the
construction themselves were made out of wood and seaweed ashes, that
were compressed into a crystalline form. During the week, Ash and
Brock stayed close by, to make sure she was all right and to watch as
the gym was being built. On the final day of construction, Misty added
windmills and dropped a couple of waterwheels in an underground river
she had detected earlier and ran power lines from the devices to some
huge batteries in the gym's basement.

Once she was done, Misty said, "Well, Ash. Are you satisfied
with your gym? If not? Tough. That was exhausting."

Ash nodded.

"Good. Let's get inside. I want to see what my handiwork looks
like from the inside."

"I guess it couldn't hurt," Ash mumbled.

Brock commented, "It'll sure be better than staying in a cave for
the rest of our 'exile'."

"Pika."

The four went inside the gym and looked around. Despite the fact
that they knew the gym was empty, they had the feeling they were
intruding on someone's home. Misty led them to the basement.

Pointing to the score of two meter tall batteries, Misty
explained, "These batteries are connected up to the windmills you saw,
as well as some waterwheels. They provide power to the gym. So, we'll
have heat and light."

Ash asked, "Did you add a heater or lights to the place?"

"Ash, I did take liberties and added to your wish," Misty
replied, while rolling her eyes. "Not only is there heat, electricity,
and water, I also added furniture and clothing for the three of us."

"Lead me to the kitchen," Brock said. "I'll go get the food and
store it there."

Misty said, "It would be a lot easier if Ash would do something
to get the food here."

"Huh?" Ash asked, confused.

"Wish it here!" Misty demanded. "You have to direct that power.
I can't access it on my own."

Ash mumbled something and wished the food to the kitchen.
Satisfied, Misty used her ability to grant wishes to store all the food
in the appropriate areas of the kitchen. Once that was done, she
turned towards Ash.

"Well, Ash. What type of Pokémon are you going to use for your
gym?" she asked.

"I guess my standard crew."

Brock shook his head and replied, "No, Ash. It doesn't work like
that. If you want this thing sanctioned by the leagues, you have to
choose a type."

"Leagues?"

"Indigo, Orange, and Shock. There might be a few more, I'm not
sure," Brock replied.

Misty put in, "Look, think of it as practice for when we do get
off this rock."

Ash pinched his lips with the side of his forefinger and his
thumb and thought. After a second he checked his pack and saw that he
had over a hundred unused Pokéballs.

Ash asked, "Is there a way to get what Pokémon I catch to come
here instead of being sent to Professor Oak?"

Nodding, Misty answered, "Sure. This is a gym you wished up, and
it would be kind of pointless if you couldn't get to all of your
Pokémon."

Misty then went into a detailed explanation on how to switch
where Pokémon would be sent, by using the Pokédex. She led Ash, Brock,
and Pikachu up to a room where there were several cabinets. Each
cabinet held eight shelves, and each shelf had indentations for forty
Pokéballs. Misty put a hand on one of the cabinets.

"As soon as I switch to this location, this cabinet is where my
Pokémon would come, after I go over six. Right next to it, is where
Brock's would go."

"And mine?" Ash asked.

"This is your gym, your Pokémon would go to the cabinet right in
front of the door. That is to make it easier for the gym leaders to
get their Pokémon."

"Oh. I guess so." Ash said, sighing.

"Come on, Ash. It isn't that bad," Brock said. "By the way, a
week has passed. You could open that letter now."

"Hmm. Oh, that. I guess," Ash replied, as he dug through his
pack.

After a second, he pulled out a crumpled envelope. He opened the
letter up and pulled the sheet out that was in it. Ash started reading
what was written and dropped the note to the ground. Brock and Misty
noticed that there was a second sheet stapled to the back of the note.

"Huh? What does it say?" Misty asked.

Ash just stood there.

Waving his hand in front of Ash's face, Brock said, "I think he's
in shock."

Misty picked the letter up and started reading aloud.

"Ash, I know that you and your friends are innocent of all the
accusations brought against you. I am also aware of Misty's Pokémon
status. I will probably say these things to you in our conversation.
Something that I won't mention is that I know that you three have been
the most effective opponents to Team Rocket, and I have no wish to lose
that. The three of you need a base that you can fall back on, if Team
Rocket starts getting too annoying. The island is yours. Attached to
this letter is the deed of the island. Don't worry about it being a
gift, you left before you could pick up the prize money from the P-1
Fighting Tournament and that race. That was more than enough to
purchase the island outright. After your so called exile is up, I'm
going to have some trustworthy friends of mine build you a base. Be
well. President of the Indigo League."

Brock said, "Whew. No wonder Ash is in shock. A whole island of
his own."

Misty stamped on Ash's foot saying, "Snap out of it. You are
going to have to get Pokémon for your gym."

"Er. Well, I guess I could start hunting tomorrow and see what I
can find," Ash said, still numb. "I guess it'll be what I find the most
of."

Misty rolled here eyes and replied, "Fine. Maybe it'll help you
become a better Trainer."

Brock asked, "Ash, could I use that fishing rod of yours? I need
to add some Water Pokémon to my team."

"Sure, Brock," Ash said, as he pulled out the tri-rod.

"A tri-rod? Whe did you get that?"

Brock replied, "Pikachu won it for him after you were injured at
the circus. Nurse Joy said there was nothing we could do, so we went
back to kill as much time as possible."

Misty glared at Ash.

Before she could say anything, Brock said, "Misty, you should try
and find some non-Water Pokémon to add to your group. One good
Thundeshock and your group is defeated."

Misty turned and walked away. She knew that Brock was right, but
she didn't know what she could find up here. Misty led the other two
to their respective bedrooms, and headed to her own.
------------------------------------------
Early in the morning, Ash and Pikachu set off to find some
Pokémon. Before leaving, Ash had called Bulbasaur back from Professor
Oak's. He had also switched his holding location to the gym.

"Let's go, Pikachu," Ash said, while carrying Pikachu under one
arm. "There have to be Pokémon on this island and we're going to catch
some."

The two friends started hunting for Pokémon. Ash and Pikachu saw
a small, fat, blue shape nearby. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and
pointed it at the blue critter, while turning the volume on Dexter
down.

"This is Marril. The mouse Pokémon. It is of the water type,"
Dexter chimed.

Ash threw a Pokéball and said, "Bulbasaur, I choose you."

The ball opened and the plant Pokémon emerged. The blue mouse,
startled by the appearance of Bulbasaur, unleashed a bubblebeam attack.
Being of the plant type, Bulbasaur was not affected to much by the
water attack. He countered by vine whipping the blue rodent.

"That's enough, Bulbasaur. Now, it's my turn. Pokéball, go!"
Ash said while throwing a Pokéball.

The red and white sphere struck Maril and pulled the mouse
inside. The ball rocked back and forth and came to halt with a
whooshing sound.

Picking the ball up, Ash declared, "All right. I've got Marril."

"Pi-Pikachu," Pikachu said, while holding his paw in a victory
sign.

The ball shimmered to life and teleported away. Inspired by his
success, Ash ran off in search of more Pokémon. Pikachu followed.
-----------------------
Misty stood in the Pokéball storage room, when a hum startled
her. A ball appeared in Ash's cabinet, right next to the ball that was
linked to her.

"I wonder what Ash caught. I guess I'd better wait until he gets
back. I need to start my own search. I guess I do need something that
is good against electric. Maybe a rock Pokémon like Geodude."

Misty picked up her pack and put Togepi inside it.

"Come on, Togepi. I'm going to show Ash that he's not the only
one that can catch Pokémon," Misty stated.

"Togepi."

Misty left the gym with Togepi and her four inhabited Pokéballs.
She also took along a supply of empty balls as well. She looked
towards some rocky hills and pulled her winter clothes tighter around
her. She nodded as she set off to hunt for some rock Pokémon.
-----------------------
Sitting on the shore, Brock pulled out a kerosene heater and can
of kerosene from his pack. He lit the heater, put the can back, and
pulled out a folding chair. After fiddiling with Ash's rod for a bit,
he managed to cast a line into the water, without bait.

"Hmmm. This is more difficult than it looks," Brock said, while
reeling the line back in.

Attached to the line was a Magikarp.

"Oh, well. I guess this is better than nothing. Vulpix,
tackle."

Vulpix went to tackle the Magikarp, but instead it leaped up and
slammed Vulpix with its body. Vulpix whimpered slightly, but rallied
back and tackled it. The fish flopped around a bit and hit the vulpine
Pokémon again.

"I'm not losing to a Magikarp," Brock said, as he dropped a
Pokéball on it.

He grabbed the Pokéball and held it closed, until the light
dimmed. The ball jerked around in Brock's hands for a minite before
stopping. Holding the ball up, Brock stared at it.

"I'll have to ask Misty on how soon this one is ready to evolve.
After seeing what a Gyarados can do, I don't mind having one of my own.
Good work, Vulpix. Let's see if I can catch something a bit harder."

"Pix?"
----------------------------
Ash was feeling a bit annoyed. He went over the last few
captures that he had made.

"A Sandshrew. A Rattata. A male and female Nidoran. And, a
Dugtrio. Isn't there anything besides rodents?" Ash asked.

"PIKA!"

"Sorry, Pikachu. I didn't mean to offend you. I was hoping for
something else."

Pikachu cocked his head and leaped from Ash's shoulder. He
looked back at Ash and waited for his Trainer to follow.

Running, Ash asked, "What is it, Pikachu?"

The yellow mouse didn't answer, but kept running.

"I really hate it when he does this," Ash muttered.

Pikachu stopped and pointed. Ash looked and saw that a baby bird
was struggling along. An Ekans was closing in on the baby.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt. Drive that Ekans away."

"Pika," Pikachu said as it leaped high into the air.

The electric rodent unleashed a bolt of lightning onto the snake
Pokémon, fainting it. Ignoring the snake, Ash picked up the bird and
headed in the direction it came from. Soon, he arrived at a nest of
crystalline eggs. He noted that one of the eggs had shattered. The
shattered egg was much, much smaller than the rest.

Holding up the bird, Ash said, "So, this is your nest? Don't
worry. You're home now."

Ash put the fledgling back into the nest and turned to leave,
when he was buffeted back by something. Ash looked around and saw red
eyes glaring at him, from inside a fogbank that had appeared. The red
eyes dipped towards the nest and shoved the baby bird towards Ash.

"I'm not taking it. What if its mother becomes worried about
it," Ash stated.

Another buffet of wind sent Ash stumbing back. He fell onto a
snowbacnk and looked up. The red eyed creature had pushed the baby
bird even closer. Pikachu shot forwards and dove into Ash's pack. The
mouse came out, balancing a Pokéball on his head. The shrouded
creature lifted the Pokéball up and held it over the fledgling. It
opened up and pulled the baby bird inside. The ball was dropped onto
Ash's chest, where he picked it up by reflex. The teleportation
circuits activated and sent the ball on its way.

Ash looked up, "I didn't want it."

Ash was buffted back a bit more by another gust of wind. Pikachu
motioned for Ash to leave. The human looked at his friend and wondered
what was going on.

"Are you sure, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

The yellow mouse nodded. Waiting until Ash was out of sight
Pikachu turned towards the red eyes. He started talking in Pokémon.

"Why?" Pikachu asked.

"The child is weak and would die, if he did not get the proper
care. Care that can not be given by any wild Pokémon. But, a human
can give the proper care. The nest will be moved to prevent others
from finding it," the creature said.

"I understand," Pikachu said.

The red eyes dipped and looked at Pikachu on the same level.

"From what I've seen, that child will do well in his hands."

Pikachu nodded, "Ash is a tad dense at times, but his heart is
good."

The red eyes blinked and were gone. As the fog faded, the bird's
nest had also vanished. Pikachu sweatdropped, as he raced back to Ash.

"Pika?"

"That is not how I want to catch my Pokémon, Pikachu. What if
that bird's parents come back and find it gone."

"Pika," Pikachu said, as he dropped his head in exasperation.

Ash shook his head, and stated, "Let's head back. I want to
check up on the bird."

He ran forward and stepped on a brown creature, stunning it.
Turning, Ash saw that he had stepped on a Diglett.

Ash's shoulders slumped, as he muttered, "More rodents. Pokéball
go."

Ash picked up the ball, as soon as it stopped rocking.

"I've caught me a Diglett," Ash whispered, as he watched the ball
vanish. "Maybe tomorrow I can get something besides rodents. No
offense, Pikachu."

"Pika?"

Ash shrugged and headed back to the gym. Pikachu hesitated and
looked back the way they came. Sighing, the yellow mouse caught up to
his Trainer, and the pair made their way back to the gym.
----------------------------------------
Ash watched as his two friends stumbled back into the crystal
building.

"So, did you guys have any luck?" Ash asked.

Brock stated, "I caught a Magikarp and a Shellder. Other than
that, nothing."

"I guess I had some luck, I found a Geodude. I still need to
catch a Fire Pokemon to protect from Grass Pokémon. How about you,
Ash?" Misty replied.

"Nothing but rodents, no offense Pikachu, and an injured baby
bird. Maybe tomorrow, I'll have better luck."

Misty asked, "An injured bird? Where is it?"

Ash led his friends to where the bird was being taken care of.

"I'm having Chansey look over the bird, but I don't think it's
going to make it. I wish we had Pokécenter equipment here. We need
it."

Misty put her hands on her hips and said, "Ash, watch what you're
saying. Pikachu watch Togepi, while I grant Ash's wish."

"Pika."

Misty put Togepi on the ground next to Pikachu. She turned and
walked to an empty section of the building and blinked into existence
the various devices used at a Pokécenter. Once she was done, she
glared at Ash and put her Pokéballs into the recharger machine.

"There you go, Ash. All the conviences of a Pokécenter. Are you
going to be making any other wishes? If you are, please wait until
morning. I'm exhausted."

"Er. Sorry," Ash replied.

"Don't worry about it. I should have put it in when I was first
building the place. I'm just tired and don't really feel like wish
granting at the moment. At least we can all use this to heal our
Pokémon up."

Once the device had beeped, Misty removed her Pokéballs from the
machine. She showed Brock and Ash how to use the devices to heal their
Pokémon. Once she did that, the two guys healed their Pokémon. Ash
spent a bit longer, because he had caught more Pokémon than the other
two. He took extra special care with the baby bird's Pokéball. He
wanted to make sure it would live.

"Other than that bird, you never did show us what you caught,"
Misty stated, while leaning against the door.

Ash snorted and replied, "Nothing impressive. A pair of
Nidorans, a Diglett, a Dugtrio, a Rattata, a Sandshrew, and a Marril."

Brock asked, "Marril? What's that?"

"It's a Water Pokémon. Marril is a blue mouse," Misty answered.

Brock chuckled and said, "Well, Ash. You might not have an
element like Pewter or Cerulean, but you do have a theme for this gym."

"Oh? What?" Ash asked, while kicking at the floor.

"Rodents. Along with Pyromon and Pikachu, you have quite a few
of the rodent Pokémon," Brock explained.

"Rodents? You can't be serious, Brock," Misty stated.

Brock replied, "Why not? It follows a theme, and provides an
early challenge to upcoming Trainers."

Misty looked around the room, and said, "Maybe. It's still
sounds weird. You know, this building is so big, that you could
probably have two, maybe three gyms in here."

Staring at his Pokéballs, Ash replied, "I'll think about it.
Come on Pikachu. Let's go to bed."

Misty and Brock watched him walk away.

Misty commented, "He doesn't seem to enthused by the idea."

"Give him time. He'll come around once he realizes Pikachu is
among the group he could use."

Misty looked up at the ceiling, "I really thought he would find
Ice Pokémon on this island. An Ice Gym would be great."

"Is this because most Ice Pokémon are also Water types as well?"
Brock asked.

Misty just smiled.
--------------------------
In his bedroom, Ash lay down on the bed and looked up at the
ceiling. He mentally went over what had recently happened.

"Let's see, I'm in exile because of Gary and Damien. Not to
mention, Team Rocket. I now own an island. Misty's still a genie and
granted my wish to build a gym. What a week. Eh, Pikachu?"

"Pika?"

Ash sighed and continued, "I try and catch powerful Pokémon for
this gym, so that I might be able to get it registered by one of the
leagues. And, all I catch are what most people consider minor
fighters, except for Dugtrio. A Rodent Gym? I don't know. Well, at
least that way, I get to have you in the line-up."

Pikachu nodded.

"I'll try it. Tomorrow, I'll choose you, Marril, Pyromon,
Sandshrew, Diglett, and a Nidoran to see how they stand up against
Brock and Misty."

"Pikachu?"

"Even if this Gym is accepted with rodents as its theme, what
would my symbol look like? One large circle with two smaller circles
attached to it? A Pikachu wearing red underwear and red cape? I'll
come up with something later."

Ash removed his cap and set it on his bedpost. Staring at it, he
planned his battles in the morning. He shook his head as an idle
thought came to him.

*I don't know what Gary's so upset about. I refused to use Misty
in the games; and when I faced Richie, she was too tired of spending
the night awake due to Team Rocket. Speaking of which, I really should
give Misty more time battling as a Pokémon. Maybe Brock will take my
place and we can see how Misty stacks up against my rodents.*
---------------
In the morning, Ash awoke and grabbed his cap. He set out to
find Misty and Brock. He found them in the gym's spacious kitchen.
The two were eating breakfast.

"Here's the Gym Leader. We saved some food for you," Brock said.

Ash sat down at the table and looked around. Judging by the size
and number of stoves, he figured this place could feed two hundred.
The adjoining cafeteria was large enough that a pair of F-14's could be
parked inside.

Sitting down, Ash commented, "I never thought this place would
look so huge."

"Your designs, Ash. I just went by them," Misty replied.

Before an argument broke out, Brock asked, "Have you thought
about my idea any?"

Ash nodded, "I'll try it. I do need to get used to them,
though."

"That's not a problem. We'll help out," Misty said.

"She's right, Ash. We also need to get our Pokémon trained up as
well."

Ash nodded and said, "Thanks guys. By the way Brock, I'm going
to want you to take control of my rodents for a bit while I use my
other Pokémon. I want to see how they fare against them."

Misty demanded, "What about me? Aren't I good enough?"

Ash held up a Pokéball and said, "I'm going to be using you as
one of my Pokémon."

Misty sighed, "I'll have to go change my clothes before we start.
I don't want to get sloppy and forget about that stupid rule."

Ash mumbled something and concentrated on eating his breakfast.
Before he started, he wanted to check up on the baby bird.
---------------------------------------------
Chapter 10

Ash consulted his gym design, as he entered a large oval room
with a skylight. He was pulling a wheeled cradle behind him. Putting
the plans away, he pulled out three Pokéballs. The first ball he
opened up contained the baby bird Pokémon. He gently picked up the
small Flyer and threw the second ball.

"Chansey, I choose you," he called, and caught the ball as it
rebounded back after dumping its cargo.

The pink Pokémon looked around the room and then at her Trainer.

"Chan?"

"This is where I'm going to leave you and the baby. We're going
to be having a practice session in one of the arenas, and I don't want
it to disturb this bird," Ash explained. *I guess I really did overdo
it a tad on my designs.*

Chansey nodded and put the cradle to one side of the room. The
egg Pokémon examined the size of the bed and the size of the bird. Ash
nodded at the questioning glance.

"I know, Chansey. It is a bit large for the bird, but it's all I
could drag from our Pokécenter. According to Misty, it needs peace and
quiet for right now. I guess she knows what she's talking about, she
did say she wanted to be a Pokémon Doctor someday."

"Chansey," Chansey said, while looking at the third Pokéball Ash
had in his hand.

Ash bounced the ball up and down, debating on what to do. He
pressed his lips together and threw the ball.

"Charizard," Ash's firey Pokémon called.

Charizard looked around and saw there was no one to combat and
turned his gaze upon the human. Shrugging, Ash put the small bird into
the cradle.

Taking out and eyedropper, Ash explained, "There's no one here,
Charizard. I'm just letting you out, so you can stretch your wings.
By the way, meet your new teammate: Chansey."

The pink Pokémon waved, "Chansey."

Charizard nodded and watched as Ash fed the baby bird with an
eyedropper. The fire Pokémon paid close attention as his Trainer kept
the weak Pokémon comfortable. After a minute, Ash put the baby bird
down and pointed his Pokédex at it.

"This Pokémon is too young to be identified correctly," Dexter
chimed.

"Oh well. Chansey, keep an eye on...hmmm. What to call it? I
guess Sapphire, since I have no idea what species it is."

"Chansey."

"Charizard, please protect Sapphire and Chansey. If not out of
loyalty to me, out of loyalty to your teammates."

Charizard humphed and lay down to go to sleep. Ash shook his
head and left, not noticing Charizard's eyes were not all the way
closed. After Ash left, Charizard opened his eye and took another look
at Sapphire. He shook his head as he felt a slight dampness in his
eye. As he lay back down, Charizard kept one eye open. Chansey seeing
this, explained how and why she joined up. It took all of Charizard's
will not to laugh.
----------------------------------------
Ash was standing in one of the indoor arenas of his gym. Brock
and Misty had given his rodents a good work-out. He shrugged as he
temporarily transferred control of his rodent Pokémon to Brock. After
doing so, Ash held up a ball and activated it, pulling Misty inside.

*Well, let's see. Misty, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Lapras, Muk, and
Growlithe. Glad I was able to call my other Pokémon from Professor
Oak's lab. Which one should I use first? Hmmm. I'll go with
Bulbasaur first. He'll be good against Pikachu, Dugtrio, or Marril.
Pyromon might give me a problem.*

Ash threw the Pokéball.

"Bulbasaur, I choose you."

"Go, Nidoran!"

The plant and the poison Pokémon faced off. Bulbasaur easily
defeated the small purple rodent. As the battle went on, Ash was able
to call Pokémon that had no disadvantage or advantage against his
rodents. Finally it came down to the last two Pokémon.

"Misty, I choose you."

"Go, Marril."

Misty appeared out of Professor Oak's prototype ball and faced
her opponent. Appearing out of the other ball was the fat blue mouse
known as Marril.

Ash called out, "Misty, use Nightshade."

"Water Gun attack."

Misty called forth a wave of terror and threw it at Marril. The
blue Pokémon went back a few steps. Shaking his head to clear it,
Marril launched a bolt of water at Misty. The water struck the genie
and knocked her out in one blow. Ash looked dumbfounded as Misty
collapsed.

"A Fire Pokémon is weak against Water, Ash," Brock explained.
"Misty is Ghost/Fire. She has all the weaknesses and strengths a Fire
Pokémon has. The only exception is to Normal and Fighting attacks. To
those, she is immune."

Ash recalled all of his Pokémon and started walking towards their
Pokécenter. "I guess we should heal everyone up now. It's getting
close to dinner."

Brock nodded. "Right. You know, we really should have something
other to do than sit around and train Pokémon."

Ash shrugged and replied, "We could always explore some caves I
saw when I was gathering up my Pokémon."

"I guess. Well as soon as Misty's refreshed and released, we can
start to eat."
----------------------
Back in Pallet Town, Professor Oak and Bill were going over
Misty's file. They were comparing the DNA of Misty's older sisters to
her DNA. Oak was a bit curious as to why all of Ash's Pokéballs had
vanished. A voice interrupted the two scientists' study.

"Hymie! Hyram Oak! You have got a lot of explaining to do," a
female voice called.

Hyram Oak turned around and saw a woman about his age, standing
in the doorway.

"Agatha, What brings you here?" Oak asked a bit nervously.

Agatha replied, "I had just received word that a new Ghost
Pokémon had been found and that it had been caught by one of the
Trainers that you sponsor. I'm a bit vexed that you didn't call me.
You know I'm the Ghost expert."

"Er. I- Well-," Oak stammered.

Seeing as his friend was a bit flustered, Bill said, "Hello. I
am Bill of the Lighthouse."

"Sorry, I didn't realize Hyram had company. I am Agatha Oak of
the Elite Four. I am also Hyram's wife. We are separated now, because
of our responsibilities."

Stunned, Bill said, "I didn't know. Um. As to the new Ghost
Pokémon, there is a bit more going on here than just a discovery."

"Go on."

Professor Oak and Bill took turns explaining on what happened to
Misty and what they were up to. Agatha asked some questions about the
genie and her Trainer. Finally, she had a clear idea on the situation.

"I would like to meet this Misty. Even if it is only going to be
temporary, I still want to know as much as I can about her type of
Pokémon. Where is she?"

Professor Oak sighed and told Agatha about the shenanigans at the
Tournament and the temporary exile of Ash and company. Getting a
promise of silence from his wife, Oak told her of the place they were
spending their exile.

Looking apalled, Agatha said, "If that island is where I think it
is, then Misty and the others are in grave danger. A fierce storm has
been reported in the area. The winds are at hurricane force and
thundersnow has been seen coming from it."

"Thundersnow?" Bill asked.

Hyram Oak replied, "It is very rare. It is snowfall with thunder
and lightning added to it. I've been through a Thundersnowfall once.
I'd rather travel through thick fog at night, than go through that
again. At least, I would have more light."

"This is no time for a meteorology course. We have to go rescue
those kids," Agatha said. "Call the Indigo League president and tell
him of the storm."

Bill did as he was told. After relaying the information, he
received instructions on what to do.

Hanging up the phone, Bill said, "The kids' exile will be
suspended until the storm is over. We'll have to get them off the
island ourselves, though. He doesn't want to risk a security breach by
taking more people into his confidence."

"Well Hymie, you still have that old derelict you call a yacht?"

"The 'Spitting Shellder' is not a derelict," Oak retorted.

Agatha said, "I'll take that as a yes. We'll have to use Water
Pokémon to help guide that wreck."

Bill said, "I think I'd better call Misty's sisters. I,
personally, don't have any Water Pokémon."

Bill, Professor Oak, and Agatha made the necessary preparations
they would need to make the trip. At Pallet Town's only dock, the
'Spitting Shellder' was moored. Bill saw exactly what Agatha meant.
Professor Oak's boat was painted a bright lime green with fluorescent
pink trim. Attached to the prow of the boat were bas relief sculptures
of Shellders. He turned away and saw the Sensational Sisters
approaching.

"Good day. I hope you don't mind helping us."

"Like forget it. Misty is our little sister. And, we like want
to make sure she is all right," Daisy replied.

The three sisters took a look at the craft that would transport
them and felt a bit ill.

"Like who painted that thing? It is totally ugly," Lily
commented.

Violet added, "If this was like someone's idea of preventing it
from being like stolen, it is like totally an original idea."

Bill thought, *You might be right on that. No self-respecting
criminal would even touch this thing. It's so ugly.*

Professor Oak and Agatha stepped out from a cabin.

Seeing that everyone was here, Oak called out, "Ready to go?"

The four nodded meekly as they reluctantly boarded the ship.
Soon, the ship was making its way across open water. The captain and
passengers never saw the phony Gyarados following them.

Inside the Gyarados, Meowth of Team Rocket said, "We'll get
Pikachu this time as well as the girl. We just have to follow
Professor Oak to where they're hiding. Don't lose it."

Jesse replied, "How can I? That thing is definitely something
that you can't lose. No matter how much you want to."

"Well, it certainly is unique," James said.

Meowth said, "Nothing can go wrong now."
-----------------
On Greystice Island, Ash was selectining equipment for an
exploration of the caves he spotted earlier. He pulled out his Pokédex
and tried to figure out which Pokémon would be the best to take with
him. Laying on a table, Pikachu wacthed.

"Well, Pikachu. Who should I take? You, definitely. I want to
cover as many types as possible."

"Pika," Pikachu said, as it yawned.

"I think I'll take you, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Diglett, and Lapras.
I'll leave Chansey here to look after Sapphire. But, I stil need one
more. Any ideas Pikachu?"

Pikachu leaped up and pressed a button, summoning a Pokéball for
Ash.

"Misty?" Ash asked, a bit flustered. "I hadn't even considered
her."

"And, why not?" came from behind Ash.

Spinning around, Ash saw that Misty was glaring at him, still in
her Pokégenie costume.

"I want to check out those caves as well as well. Not to
mention, I also want to get better at my skills," Misty continued.

Ash ran his index finger between his collar and neck, gulping
nervously. "I thought you'd still be a bit upset at that one hit
knock-out that Marril gave you."

Misty sighed. "Ash, I know that I'm weak against Water, and that
Brock was throwing Pokémon at random at you. If I didn't want to fight
Marril, do you really think I would have tried to Nightshade it? I
would have refused to fight."

"Er. I guess."

Misty nodded. "Now that that's settled, which ball are you going
to carry me in? I'm going to let you do all the hiking."

"Um. I guess you should get used to being in the prototype."

"Fair enough," Misty replied.

Ash pulled out a Pokéball and pointed it at Misty. She was
pulled inside the sphere by the beam of red light. After putting Misty
inside the ball, Ash put it and the other four Pokéballs in his winter
coat pocket.

"Ready to go, Pikachu?"

"Pika."

Ash and Pikachu headed for the door of the gym, where they met
Brock. Looking at the sky, Brock held his arm in fron of Ash.

"I think you'd better wait until tomorrow to go. I don't like
the looks of those clouds. I think a severe storm is brewing."

Gazing at where Brock was, Ash noticed that the sky on the
horizion was filled with dark grey, almost black, clouds. Occasional
flickers of purple light came form the clouds.

"I guess the caves can wait," Ash reluctantly said.

"It's probably for the best that you wait."

Sighing, Ash headed for his room and hung his coat up. Seeing
that Brock's Pokémon were still being cared for by Chansey, Ash decided
to take a nap. Going under the bed, Pikachu curled up and also took a
nap.

Before going to sleep, Ash thought, *I have this feeling that I'm
forgetting something. Oh well, it can wait until later.*
----------------------------------
Speeding along, the 'Spitting Shellder' was making good time on
getting to Greystice. Bill kept casting glances at the fast moving
clouds, hoping they would make it in time. He walked and entered the
steering room for the ship. He noticed a VCR and a small television in
a small cabinet. The devices looked like they were wedged tightly into
the cabinet. Misty's sisters were giving Professor Oak some very sick
looks. From the televison a voice was singing.

"The mate was a mighty sailing man. The skipper brave and true.
Five passengers set sail that day on a three hour tour."

Bill, wincing, said, "Professor, don't you think that show is in
bad tatse?"

Hyram Oak looked at his passenger and flicked the televison off.

"Sorry. There should be a tape with Teenage Mutant Ninja
Squirtles among the tapes somewhere. Just look in one of the drawers,"
Oak replied.

Violet said, "Like I think we'll pass on the entertainment. I'm
more concerned about Misty. Like how long will it like be?"

Oak shrugged, "I'd say another forty minutes. We're making good
time."

"Well..." Daisy began to say.

A powerful gust of wind rocked the boat. Looking out the
forewindow, Oak saw that the sky had turned black.

"We're in trouble," Oak stated.

Everyone looked at each other and grabbed hold of something that
was nailed down. The "Spitting Shellder' started pitching from one
side to the other as large waves bounced it like a volleyball.
Professor Oak did his best to keep the ship on a course for the island.

*I hope we get through this. I also hope that Ash and the others
are all right.*
----------------------------
Under the waves, Team Rocket's sub was being rocked by the storm
as well. Their sub was very near the surface of the ocean, because
they were using their periscope to spy on Professor Oak.

"Meowth. This isn't good. I thought we would have an easy time
of it."

Jesse replied, "Well, Meowth. Here's another mess you got us
into. How are we going to get out?"

James added, "Yeah, Meowth. How?"

"Listen you mugs. I didn't know about this storm."

James said, "I don't think it's going to matter."

Before Meowth or Jesse could ask what he meant by that, they felt
their sub being lifted up. They were caught in the crest of a forming
tidal wave. Carrying its unwilling passengers, the wave moved rapidly
in the direction they were going.

Team Rocket chorused, "It looks like Team Rocket is waving bye-
bye again."
---------------------
Waking up from his nap, Ash looked out a window in his room.
Shivering a bit, he noticed the black sky and the snow fall being
pushed into an almost horizontal direction by winds. Putting his ear
against the window, he barely heard the whistling of the wind.

"Misty really did a good job on the walls. I don't think I could
have slept through that otherwise."

Grabbing his coat, Ash went off in search of Brock. Looking
back, he saw that Pikachu had crawled a bit from under the bed and was
yawining.

"You can go back to sleep if you want, Pikachu. I'm just going
to check on Brock."

"Pi," Pikachu said as it burrowed his way back under the bed.

Ash shook his head and left his bedroom. He decided to check out
his new Pokémon and see what skills they had. There was a machine in
his Pokécenter that would not only display the skills that a Pokémon
had, but skill they would pick up later. A stray thought came to him.

*I've been relying on Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Pikachu too much.
I really should use some of my other Pokémon.*

Pulling out the five balls in his coat, he mumbled, "I know, I'll
pretend to start all over again. I'll choose one of these Pokémon at
random and when the storm is over, use it to gather new Pokémon."

Using his Pokédex, Ash programmed it to send all the balls away
except the one he would hold in his hand. Dropping the balls on the
ground, Ash picked one of them up and held it. He watched as the other
four vanished in sparkles of light.

"I'll explain to Pikachu what I'm up to later. I hope he won't
mind," Ash said to himself, while bouncing the ball up and down in his
hand. "This ball feels weird. Oh well. This Pokémon will be the core
of my secondary team."

Ash put the ball on his belt and checked up on Sapphire. He
walked into the large room where the small bird was being cared for.
Feeling his presence, Charizard opened one eye and gazed thoughtfully
at Ash. Another of Ash's Pokémon was in the room, keeping an eye on
Sapphire.

"Hi, Chansey. How's Sapphire doing?"

"Chan," the egg Pokémon said, while smiling.

"I came to feed it," Ash stated, as he pulled some birdseed out
of his pocket.

Ash carefully fed the baby bird one small seed at a time.
Afterwards, he used an eyedropper to give Sappire water to drink. All
the while, Charizard watched the proceedings intently. The giant Fire
Pokémon felt a slight dampness in his eyes and turned his head away.
Chansey and Ash were so busy making sure that Sapphire was okay, they
didn't notice Charizard's behavior.

Walking out the door, Ash said, "See you later guys. Please keep
an eye on Sapphire for me."

"Chansey."

"Charizard."

Ash shrugged, as he was a bit startled to her anything coming
from Charizard. He hoped that the time out of the ball would make
Charizard more disposed to listening to his orders. He walked on and
found Brock in the kitchen.

"Yo, Brock-o. What's up?"

Looking up, Brock answered, "Oh, I'm just cooking some food for
the three of us. By the way, where's Misty?"

"Er. Uh oh," Ash said, as he threw the only ball he was
carrying.

The ball opened up and bounced back, leaving a globe of light
behind. The light condensed into the figure of Misty still wearing her
genie costume. Her back was arched backwards slightly and she had her
arms out to her sides, with fingers extendend. Misty's head was tilted
back and she had her eyes closed. Her head tilted forward and she went
into a fighting stance. Seeing nothing around, she turned towards Ash.

"Sorry, Misty," Ash sheepishly began. "It's like this---"

Ash then went on to describe the storm and how he forgot about
relasing her. Misty glared at him, but said nothing. She did notice
that the only Pokéball that her Trainer was carrying was the one she
was in.

"Ash, why do you only have one Pokéball?" Misty asked.

Ash sweated and hesitantly explained what he was going to do.
The genie looked at her Trainer and smiled very sweetly.

"Why, Ash. Thank you for choosing me for special training. I'm
sure Pikachu won't mind when he finds out that you are training me,"
Misty said. *Too bad, Ash. You chose at random and now you're stuck
with me.*

Brock coughed, covering a snicker. "You might as well give it up,
Ash. I checked your Pokédex and found that until you refill your
slots, you can't change Misty out or call any others."

Ash shook his head in frustration and held up the Pokéball.
Misty shrugged and tapped the ball with her finger. It opened up and
Misty became a silhouette of red light, before being pulled inside.

Before going into a trance, Misty thought, *I wonder if spending
time with Ash as his only Pokémon will help me win him.*
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