Waking up Ash groaned his head still in a lot of pain… Why was the ground soft?
"Hey you awake?" A female voice asks
"Pika!"
"If you are a wake could you open your eyes I want to check for a concussion." The female states
Ash opens his eyes and sees a girl with short red spikes hair looking down at him.
"Gym Leader Misty?" Ash asks
"Oh good you are recognizing objects how many fingers am I holding up?" Misty asks holding her hand above his face.
Ash blinked a few times, his vision still slightly blurry. He squinted at Misty's hand, trying to focus.
"Uh… three?" he guessed.
Misty nodded. "Good, you're not completely out of it."
Ash groaned, pushing himself up into a sitting position. His head was still throbbing from… oh right Athena forced his psychic potential awake… dang fighting with Ace and Auran was not going to be fun.
He glanced around, realizing he wasn't in the clearing anymore. Instead, he was lying on Misty's lap the pair were on a patch of grass near a small river.
"What happened?" Ash muttered, rubbing his temples.
"I was about to ask you that," Misty shot back. "I was fishing, and then bam I saw your figure collapse from across the river. Pikachu was freaking out."
Ash winced, remembering what had led up to this. "I, uh… I think I might've overdone something."
Misty raised an eyebrow. "What, trying to lift a Snorlax?"
Ash chuckled weakly. "Well I'll let you know when I find out… Pikachu you ready to go? We have a gym leader named Brock to fight."
"PIKA!" Pikachu cheers.
Misty sighed. "You say that, but you passed out. You shouldn't be wandering around alone." She stood up, brushing off her shorts. "I'm coming with you, at least until I know you're not gonna drop again."
Ash opened his mouth to argue but hesitated. She had a point, from what she saw atleast and he wasnt about to start trying his Psychic potential right now… God Aura training in the near future was probably gonna be so much worse…
"…Alright, if it makes you feel better," he relented.
"Good." Misty grinned. "Now, where are you headed?"
"Pewter City. I've got a Gym battle with Brock."
"Of course you do," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
The trio—now a quartet with Misty tagging along—resumed their journey. As they walked through the Viridian Forest, Ash's ears perked up at the rustling of leaves. A small, green Pokémon with large, round eyes peeked out from the bushes.
Ash's face lit up. "A Caterpie!"
The bug Pokémon flinched at his sudden excitement but didn't flee.
"Thinking of catching it?" Misty asked.
Ash nodded. "Yeah! Alright, Pikachu, let's—"
Before he could finish, Pikachu shook his head and took a step back.
"Huh?" Ash blinked.
"Pikachu doesn't want to fight it," Misty noted. "Guess it'd feel bad."
Ash hummed in thought before crouching down. "Alright, then let's try something else." He reached into his bag, pulling out a Poké Ball. "Caterpie, do you want to come with me?"
Ash of course was projecting the thoughts of the delicious food he would cook for his soon to be status inflicter.
Caterpie tilted its head, its tiny antennae twitching. After a moment, it crawled closer, brushing against Ash's hand.
Misty's jaw dropped. "No way."
"Pikachu and I must look trustworthy," Ash said with a grin. He gently tapped the Poké Ball against Caterpie's head, and the bug Pokémon disappeared inside. After a few shakes, the ball clicked.
Ash pumped his fist. "Yes! I caught a Caterpie!"
Misty huffed. "You didn't even battle it."
Ash shrugged. "What can I say? I've got a way with Pokémon."
"Sure, let's go with that," she muttered, shaking her head.
"So you called me Gym Leader Misty earlier? What gave me away most people usually think of my older sisters when they thing of our gym?" Misty asks
Ash glanced over at Misty as they continued walking, Pikachu perched on his shoulder and his newly caught Caterpie's Poké Ball secured on his belt.
"Well, I've seen you battle before," Ash admitted. "Back in Viridian City, I caught part of a tournament match on TV. You were up against some guy with a Geodude."
Misty blinked in surprise. "Wait, you actually recognized me from that?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah! You battled smart, using your Staryu speed in water to keep Geodude completely on the backfoot. I remember thinking it was pretty cool I bet your real team is a complete menace."
Misty looked away, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "Oh. Well… thanks, I guess."
Ash grinned. "Plus, I mean, the red hair kind of gives it away."
Misty rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks."
Ash chuckled. "But why'd you ask? Do people really not think of you as the Gym Leader?"
Misty sighed. "Not usually. My sisters are the ones most people associate with the Cerulean Gym. They handle most of the battles, while I was kind of… the extra, the ugly runt."
"Hey I happen to think you're pretty cute ya know?" Ash states aloud.
Misty's eyes widened, and she nearly tripped over her own feet. "W-What?!"
Ash blinked, realizing what he had just said. "Uh—" His brain caught up a second too late, and his face turned red. "I mean—uh—"
Misty stared at him, her own cheeks quickly turning pink. "Did… did you just call me cute?"
Ash scratched his cheek, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. "Uh… well, yeah? I mean, it's true."
Misty opened and closed her mouth a few times, seemingly at a loss for words. Eventually, she huffed and looked away, crossing her arms. "Y-Yeah, well… don't go thinking you can just say stuff like that to distract me!"
Ash and Misty continue through the forest silently for a few minutes Misty blushing and Ash walking ahead of her sporting a grin.
"How did you know about the badge teams?" Misty asks
"That's what they call them? I mean I had just assumed because you using a first-stage evolution of Starmie when you have been working at the gym as long as you have. You have to have something if not a full team that's even stronger." Ash states
"Yes, the league has limits on how strong our pokemon we use in battle can be in gym battle based on the amount of badges that the opponent has, most trainers come by our gym with 1 badge so they are challenging for their second badge. We have a large quantity of weaker watertype that we keep trained enough to fight so that way we dont end up knocking out newer trainers with ace Pokemon." Misty explains.