The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Story Written by Freedom Fighter

So, we've arrived at the Month of Love.  So, let's create some chaos...

Six relationships to cover in four chapters?  Can it be done?  The 
only way to find out is to read the whole session!  And it starts 
right now!

Disclaimer:  All characters and places featured in the Pokémon anime 
series and other productions belong to Nintendo and Pokémon USA!  
Cassie Banks, Arius McFly, and several others too numerous to name 
here were created by me and can't be used by anyone else without 
permission!  Those who don't heed this warning will get more than 
the heart broken into a million pieces.

This fanfic is only posted at two places: my place, which contains the 
full-length chapters in one piece, and Fanfiction.net, which has the 
same story, but split up into smaller pieces.  It should not be posted 
anywhere else without my permission.

******

The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: February (12.13.07)

******

Previously, on "The Year of Rocket's Revenge," the world experienced 
a cataclysmic shift when popular Celadon City gym leader, Erika Byou, 
was one of many killed in an explosion that rocked a heavily-populated 
New Year's Eve party!  While family and friends cried out in horror 
for the loss, both Cinnabar Island and Pewter City were struck with 
similar anomalies.  Originally thought to be coincidental freak acts 
of nature, some are certain to believe Team Rocket is to blame for 
the attacks... though no definitive proof has surfaced in the month 
since the incident.

But the world and the Pokémon League still were forced to move on.  
Not only with the task of replacing the lost gym leader, but to also 
figure out what to do about her research revolving five legendary 
kids with the power to possess and strength their Pokémon.  Lt. Surge 
has already made a discovery since taking over Erika's role as the 
lead researcher, learning that kids who have used their powers twice 
already are prone to constant fainting!  Not to mention three-time 
users end up dying!

Obviously, both the Pokémon Trainers' Association and Team Rocket 
are searching for the five teens as well.  But the PTA seriously 
crippled TR's search during an attack on the evil organization's 
headquarters.  Though successful in accomplishing their secondary 
objective, the PTA was unable to take out Team Rocket.  That was 
thanks to the appearance of two new powerful cross-bred Pokémon, 
unthinkable monstrosities of nature that their evil leader, Giovanni, 
plans to eventually release upon the world in order to mold it to 
his own.

Meanwhile, as Ash Ketchum is formally declared Pokémon Junior Master, 
after the first one, Marco Pereira, had the title taken away after it 
was discovered he had recently been connected to Team Rocket, he had 
to deal with being stuck in a tiff involving his current girlfriend, 
Cerulean gym leader Misty Waterflower, and Ditto master-to-be, 
Duplica Imite!  Though Duplica owned up to her aggressive mistake 
and respectfully bowed out of the relationship, and Ash realized that 
he was in the wrong by not rejecting Duplica's advances, even if not 
being able to comprehend them at the time, Misty couldn't face the 
truth, and she decided to run away.  Despite his want to chase after 
her, Ash had no choice but to let her go.  And thus, she has been 
missing in action for almost a month.

Until a letter from the redhead sent Ash scrambling to Saffron City...

******

Friday, February 1st, Saffron City Pokémon Center

Dawn had arrived on the first day of the new month, and sunlight was 
already peering through the curtains and into the rooms on eastern 
side of the Pokémon Center.  All of the guest rooms on that side only 
had one large king-sized bed in them apiece.  Pretty inconvenient 
considering the cramped arrangements due to the Center temporarily 
serving as a homeless shelter for those displaced by the recent ice 
storm that pummeled some parts of the city.

Not so, one would say, if the two sharing the bed were married.  Or, 
at the very least, a couple romantically leaning towards marriage.

"Wha?"

"Uh..."

These two... Misty Waterflower being the redhead on the left, sporting 
a black T-shirt, and Ash Ketchum, the young black-haired man with 
nothing on at least above his stomach... are probably too young to be 
thinking that way, much less considering it.

So... what exactly is going on here?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

======

12 hours ago, Saffron City Municipal Airport

Ash and Pikachu walked out of the airport terminal with a lot on 
their minds, as they hailed down a taxi cab.  With just his backpack 
in tow, Ash and his best friend were quickly on their way to the 
Pokémon Center.

"Look at these poor people..." Ash commented aloud.

He and Pikachu watched as their cab driver drove past some streets 
that were blocked off, since a few scant parts of the city still 
haven't had their electricity restored.  The darkness of night made 
it hard to see the extent of damage to those poor, unfortunate wards.  
But even though the snow and ice had pretty much melted away, even 
areas where life had returned to normal were filled with buildings 
that no longer looked inhabitable, thanks to collapsed walls and 
roofs, or, in some cases, where only the remains stood.

"I never imagined that Mother Nature could be so destructive."

"You're preaching to the choir, man!" exclaimed the cab driver.  "And 
there was nothing we could do to stop it.  Even Sabrina herself tried 
to help."

"She did?"

The driver nodded.  "Unfortunately, even she could not stand up to 
that horrific ice storm.  She couldn't protect the whole city.  Not 
all at once, anyway."

Ash looked down at his feet, feeling down in the dumps.

"Don't worry, man... the people of Saffron here are strong!  We'll 
get back on our feet!"

Ash took the man's words to heart, and restored his focus towards 
what he had come to Saffron to do.

======

At the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy and several Chansey were scrambling 
about, trying to cater to the needs of those still staying there, 
whether they be human or Pokémon.  Even a few local guys and gals 
were helping the already-burdened facility, which was filled to near 
capacity.  Among the helpers was Misty, who was wearing a nurse's 
apron over her clothing as she was in the midst of cheering up a 
young boy and his Teddiursa.

"So... how many Pokéballs am I hiding behind my back?"

Misty smiled as she held a few in a closed fist behind her back, as 
she saw the boy and Teddiursa whisper to each other, trying to make an 
educated guess.

"Is it... three?"

Misty brought her hand forward and opened her fist up to reveal that 
she, indeed, was holding three in her hand.

"Great paying attention!"

"Teddiursa, teddi teddi!" Teddiursa applauded with glee as his trainer 
clapped in amusement.

The boy's parents watched as Misty continued to play with the duo, 
keeping their spirits up even as those same parents worried about 
where they would live, as their apartment had been destroyed in the 
storm.

"Misty!"

Misty turned around and saw Joy waving at her from the front desk, 
with a sign that read 'Phone and Transporter Systems are Down at 
This Time.'  The young girl bid adieu to the family, then trotted 
over to talk to the Pokémon nurse.

"Did you need help with something, Nurse Joy?"

"No.  Actually, Misty, you have a visitor!"

"I do?"

It then came to Misty... and suddenly, she found herself in a state 
of peaceful bliss.

"He got my letter..." Misty thought to herself.  "He DOES still care 
about me!  Maybe this won't turn out as bad as I thought!  I mean, I 
still love him!"

"THERE'S THE LITTLE CUTIE!"

Misty's dreamy state was shattered in an instant, as the male voice 
that pierced her ears sounded nothing like a certain young man from 
Pallet Town.  Though it did sound familiar.

Hauntingly too familiar.

"Lieu... Lieutenant Surge," Misty recalled as the imposing gym leader 
in the military fatigues stomped up to her.

"Look at you!  Somebody's filled out in the last few months!"

Truth be told, it had been more than a few months since Surge had 
actually seen her in person.  Still, everyone in the Pokémon League 
knew she was going through puberty, albeit as a late bloomer, but not 
even Surge expected Misty to develop such a tantalizing figure.

"Too bad you're still technically a baby... otherwise I'd ask you out!"

"WHO YOU CALLING A BABY?" Misty yelled.  "AND PLEASE TELL ME YOU 
DIDN'T COME ALL THE WAY FROM VERMILION JUST TO FLIRT WITH ME!"

"On the contrary... I'm here under orders of the Pokémon League, here 
to find out the reasons for your abandonment of the Cerulean Gym!"

"Abandonment?  I've done no such thing!"

"Well, perhaps you'd like to discuss the matter... in private?"

Surge then pointed at the dozens of people all over the lobby, 
particularly towards the young children.

"We wouldn't want the little babies to think you're not being all 
you can be!"

Misty sighed in defeat.  "Fine.  Follow me."

She then led Surge off towards the sleeping quarters, and to the room 
she was staying in.

======

Once Surge had entered the room, Misty closed the door behind him.  
He took a seat in the wooden chair next to the work desk by the 
window, while Misty plopped down onto the bed.

"So, what's this about me abandoning the gym?  Did my sisters screw 
up the 'paid vacation' forms again?"

"Forget about all that... that's not why I'm here."

"What?  But you said..."

Surge reached into his shirt and pulled out a manila folder, then 
tossed it onto the bed, next to Misty.  Cautiously, she gulped, then 
reached over and picked it up.

"Just open that, and all will be made clear!"

Misty did as she was told.  Realizing instantly what was going on, 
she sighed in dismay.

"So... it's that.  I figured this day would come the moment the Elite 
Four put you in charge of the research project Erika had been working 
on."

"So, you admit hiding the truth from the League?"

"I only hid it because I still don't understand it all myself.  None 
of us really understand what it means to have it.  Or why."

"And that's an acceptable excuse?"

"What were we supposed to do?  Revealing what little we've learned 
would prompt questions that we don't have the answers to!"

"How long have you known that you've had these powers?"

"At least since the incident at the Viridian City Gym."

"You mean when it collapsed due to a colossal battle inside?"

"Yes," Misty nodded in reply.  "Ash, Brock, and I were involved... as 
well as Giovanni, the..."

"Leader of Team Rocket?  Yes, we know."

"You do?"

"And we were prepared to take action against him.  Until that incident 
in the Viridian Forest, at what is believed to be Team Rocket's main 
headquarters."

"Is it true... that the Pokémon Trainers' Association is behind it?"

Surge looked at Misty in confusion.  "The what?  I've never heard of 
this Association before!"

"They're this group of Pokémon trainers who say they fight for the 
greater good, and to take down evil organizations like Team Rocket.  
But their intentions aren't always in everyone's best interests, and 
they do things that the League would frown upon."

"If these guys are who you say they are, then how come I've never 
heard of them?  Given the estimates of the so-called 'invasion force,' 
it would be impossible for someone like them to be under the radar."

"Although that recent action clearly states they are against Team 
Rocket and everything they stand for, I still can't say for sure if 
the PTA can be trusted."

"So, it must be safe to assume that both the PTA and Team Rocket are 
also heavily involved in the search for you five 'legendary' kids as 
well."

"Yes."

"That would explain how that kid ended up in Team Rocket's clutches 
so soon after the Junior Master Tournament."

"Yeah... that would explain Marco alright..."

"Hmmm... I wonder how many of the IDs each of them have pinned down.  
And, more importantly, what they plan to do with them."

Misty looked at Surge quizzically, maybe even apprehensively.

"What about the League?  What do you plan to do with us?"

Surge stared directly into Misty's eyes, deciding to let his eyes, 
rather than his mouth, do the talking.

"I see..." Misty stated, turning away.

"It's the only way to get to the truth of this strange phenomenon.  
Besides, are you aware of its side effects?"

"Erika told me the one that mattered.  The fact that anyone who uses 
their powers three times during its 'active period'... that person's 
teen years... will die."

Misty and Surge sat in silence for a minute or two, reflecting on that 
statement.

"The fact that you're still alive must mean you haven't used it three 
times yet.  So... one or two?"

"One."

"Are you sure?"

"Very.  Besides, me nor Ash or Brock know how we activated it, or how 
to do so again."

"I see... so you're useless."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Misty remarked sarcastically.

"How are we supposed to figure out how these 'powers' work if you 
don't even know yourself?  Sigh... I guess the other two are the same 
way."

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

"So all may rest on finding the fifth.  If he or she hasn't been found 
already."

Misty looked at the folder again, and this time it's visible that 
she's glancing at a shrunk-down version of the 'class roster,' 
revealing the 20 people thought to be the five 'legendaries.'  Misty's 
pic was marked with a small Bellsprout sticker.  As were the ones of 
Ash, Brock, and Marco.

"I... never realized Erika had pared down the list to this size."

"I was too.  Do you happen to know how she arrived at these findings?"

"No.  On that, she left me completely out of the loop."

Surge couldn't tell, but Misty had just lied to him.  After all, it 
was Erika that first warned her that she might be one of the five.  
And that was months before she manifested her powers... at the same 
time as Ash and Brock.

"What about Ketchum?"

Misty shook her head.  "I was the only one who had constant contact 
with Erika.  Ash only knows what Erika or I tell him."

"So, it's no use sticking around to question him.  He'll confirm 
everything you've said, correct?"

"That's right."

"Still, there will have to be an inquiry with him sooner or later.  
Do you happen to know where he is?"

"No... I haven't spoken to him personally in almost a month.  Though 
I did try to send him a letter... hoping he'd get it.  After all, the 
phone lines are still down throughout most of the city."

"Uh huh."

Surge got up to leave, and he went to get the folder from Misty.  But 
as he did, she just managed to catch, in the lower right-hand corner 
of the roster, a photo of Cassie Banks!

"Erika thinks she's one?" Misty thought to herself.

"What's wrong?" questioned Surge as he took the folder away.  "Catch 
something suspicious that we might've overlooked?"

"No.  Not at all."

Surge eyed Misty for a second, this time actively trying to deduce if 
she was lying to him or not.  He then closed the folder, then headed 
for the door.

"I'll check on that paperwork," Surge stated, hastily changing topics, 
"but you'd better get in touch with the League ASAP."

With that, Surge opened the door and exited the room.  Once he had 
closed it behind him, Misty breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"What was up with that?" Misty asked herself aloud.

======

As Surge walked out of the Pokémon Center, the taxicab that Ash and 
Pikachu rode here from the airport was just leaving.

"Well, well, looky who we have here!" Surge shouted.

"Lt. Surge?" Ash replied in surprise.  "What are you doing here?"

"Just taking care of a little... League business."

Ash laughed happily.  "So it's true... Misty is here, isn't she?"

"Don't get too comfortable with your sweetheart," warned Surge.  "The 
League wants the both of you on the first flight back to Indigo in 
the morning!"

"Already?  But..."

"Orders are orders!  You wouldn't want to defy the League, now would 
you?"

"Of... of course not..."

"TAXI!" Surge suddenly yelled.

In an instant, an empty cab pulled up in front of the Center, and 
Surge got in.  Before he departed, though, he rolled down the window 
to tell Ash one more thing.

"And remember... the two of you are still babies!  So easy on the 
mushy stuff!"

Surge finished just as the cab started to drive away.  Ash glanced at 
Pikachu, not completely understanding Surge's last statement.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Pika," Pikachu shrugged.

======

Ash and Pikachu walked into the Center, and noted how busy it was.  
The two of them quickly proceeded to the front desk, where Nurse Joy 
was in the midst of checking records in the computer.

"May I help you?" she asked sweetly, even though she was visibly 
exhausted.

"Nurse Joy... I'm looking for my friend, Mist..."

"ASH!"

The young man turned to his left and saw Misty standing there in the 
entrance to the east wing, tears dripping down her face.

"M-M-M-Misty?  Is it... really you?"

Misty ran over and wrapped her arms around Ash's back, hugging him as 
if they hadn't seen each other in years.  Ash stood there, dumbfounded, 
as Misty cried into his shirt.

"I'm so, so, so, sorry, Ash!"

"Uhhh..."

Misty stopped upon hearing Ash stuttering, and she pulled her face out 
of his shirt to see... everyone in the Center staring at them.

"May I suggest a place more private so you two can talk alone?" Joy 
suggested to the awkward teens.

======

A few minutes later, Ash and Misty found themselves sitting with their 
feet dangling over the edge of an indoor pool.  A pool normally used 
to aid the recovery of injured water Pokémon, though it happened to 
be empty at this very hour.

They just seemed content to sit there quietly, their solemn faces and 
the moon's beams peering through the skylight being reflected on the 
surface of the water.  But then, one of them decided to break the ice.

"So... heh heh... how 'bout them Electabuzz?"

Of course, Ash had to think of the most irrelevant icebreaker.  And 
Misty made him pay for it.

"THEY SUCK, SO HOW ABOUT WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT, LIKE 
US?"

"Sorry," Ash apologized, "I was just trying..."

"Trying what?"

"To find another way to impress you."

"Im... press?"

Ash nodded.  "That's why you saw what you did.  Duplica... she... was 
trying to teach me..."

"How to piss off your girlfriend?" Misty growled.

"No, no!  How to show you that I love you!"

"Last time I checked, kissing a girl other than the one you like isn't 
exactly a profession of love!"

"But... I didn't know at... at the time."

"What?  Your mom never told you about the Pidgey and the Beedrill?"

Ash scratched his head.  "What do Pidgey and Beedrill have to do with 
romance?"

"Have her tell you the next time you talk to her."

"But if you know the story, shouldn't you..."

Misty blushed.  "Uhhh..."

"You DO know it, right?"

"Yeah... well, bits and pieces anyway.  But forget about that!"

"But you're the one who brought it up!"

"And I'm telling you to forget it!  Look, do I have to spell out what 
you should be doing in this situation?"

Ash turned away and lowered his head.

"Yeah..."

He got up and turned so that he was looking down at Misty.

"I know I made a mistake by kissing Duplica!  I swear that it'll 
never happen again!  Please, Misty... you have to forgive me!"

Misty, still a bit peeved as the memories of that night flooded back 
to the forefront of her consciousness, watched as Ash stood before 
her, shaking nervously as he awaited her answer, hoping it was the 
one he wanted to hear.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes, okay!  I forgive you, Ash!"

"You do?" Ash said with a smile.

"I know you realize what you did was wrong, and I'm willing to give 
you another chance!"

"Ha ha!  Thank you, Misty, thank you!"

Ash grabbed Misty and pulled her to her feet by her arms, and he 
started to spin around, making a suddenly happy Misty frightened as 
their feet danced dangerously close to the edge of the pool.

"Ash, wait!  We're too close to the..."

Suddenly, Ash lost his footing and fell backwards into the pool, 
accidentally pulling Misty in with him.  The two disappeared under 
the water's surface for a second, hidden beneath their splashy 
entrance.  Ash popped his head out first, followed by Misty.

"Oops," Ash apologized with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Oops?  That was not an 'Oops,' Ash Ketchum!"

Misty raised her hands so the bottom of her palms were right at the 
water's surface, and then she thrust them forward, sending a small 
splash of water right at Ash's face.

"Hey!"

"That's an 'Oops!'"

Ash laughed.  "So, you wanna play with water, huh?"

Ash made the same motion Misty did, getting her back by completely 
soaking her face.

"Better be careful who you gloat to... I am a master of water myself!"

"Oh yeah?  I bet I can beat you any day, says this master of Pokémon!"

The two started flinging water playfully at each other, each intent 
on getting the other as wet as possible.  Before long, they had moved 
to grappling to see who could put the other underwater first.

As the couple splashed around in the pool, Pikachu, Nurse Joy, and a 
Chansey or two observed from the other side of the glass door leading 
into the room.  They all smiled, content at what they were seeing.

======

30 minutes later...

After a few knocks, the door into the room Misty was staying in slowly 
creaked open.  The redhead herself stepped in, wearing nothing but a 
maroon-colored towel around her body and flip-flops on her feet.  
Turning on the lights, she was a little surprised to see Pikachu 
sleeping at the foot end, on top of the blanket.  And even more so, 
to see Ash's head sticking out from under the covers.

"How is he asleep already?" Misty asked herself.  "We just got out of 
the pool!"

She tiptoed her way over to her bags on the other side, in order to 
search for some clean clothes to sleep.  But then she came to a 
startling realization... she didn't have any!

"Aw, man!  That set of clothing I was wearing was all I had left!  
And I was going to do laundry in the morning!"

Misty then got an idea, as she spotted Ash's backpack only a few 
feet away from her.

======

A minute later, Misty was standing up.  She had ditched the towel for 
one of Ash's black shirts, which was just large enough to cover her 
thighs completely.

"Not exactly great covering, but it's this or..."

Misty stopped herself before entertaining the thought of sleeping in 
the buff, as she grabbed Ash's sleeping bag and laid it out in the 
floor.  She went to turn out the lights, then made herself comfortable 
and dozed off in the sleeping bag soon afterwards.

======

Sometime later, in the midst of the night... Ash sat up in the 
darkness, sweating all over.  Immediately looking for relief, he took 
off his shirt, tossed it aside, and laid back down.  And burying 
himself under the covers, anyway.

At that exact moment, Misty woke up, a little chilly as she rubbed 
her hands up and down her upper arms.  Searching for some warmth and 
spotting the bed to her left, she didn't give any second thought into 
climbing into it and burrowing under the sheets herself.

And, without even knowing it, Ash and Misty were sleeping together.

======

Fast forward to the next morning, where the couple had woken up at 
the exact same moment, only to find them sharing the same bed.  With 
one realizing he was wearing just shorts, and the other just a T-shirt!

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What are you doing sleeping in MY bed?" Misty screamed.

"YOUR bed?" Ash retorted.  "I was here first last night!"

"Don't you know it's common courtesy to let the girl have the bed?"

"I don't know... let me know when a girl gets here!"

"I'll have you know that I'm 100 percent girl!"

Misty lifted her arms and started to take off her shirt, when Ash 
started panicking and waving his arms all about.

"Now hold on a..."

At that point, sanity regained its foothold and Misty realized what 
she was about to do.  Stopping just as she was about to raise the 
shirt over her chest, she did the first thing that came to mind.

She grabbed a pillow and threw it directly at Ash's face.

"You pervert!  You made me do that on purpose!"

"I did no such thing!" defended Ash, tossing aside the aforementioned 
pillow.

Misty replied... by throwing the other pillow at Ash's face.

"WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT?"

"HOW ABOUT YOU STOP LOOKING AT ME?"

"I WOULD IF YOU'D PULL YOUR SHIRT DOWN!"

"AHA!  SO YOU ARE LOOKING!"

"I NEVER SAID THAT!"

"YOU'RE AT THAT AGE!"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT AGE IS!"

In the midst of all the commotion, Pikachu came to, groggy and 
unhappy for the rude awakening.  In retaliation, he put Ash and 
Misty's argument to an end in an instant.

By hitting them both with a Thundershock.

The two of them fell backwards and off opposite ends of the bed, eyes 
swirling as they were temporarily knocked unconscious with their feet 
sticking up in the air.  Pikachu nodded in approval of his own work, 
then curled up with his tail and dozed off back to sleep.

======

An hour or two later, a fully-awake Ash and Pikachu walked into the 
main lobby, only to find the Center even busier than before!  There 
were long lines over by the videophones, to which service had just 
been restored to.  Nurse Joy and her help were swamped with work, as 
the main Center phone seemed to ring off the hook non-stop with people 
reporting injured Pokémon and wanting to bring them in.

The duo made their way out the front door, where the streets were 
vibrant and full of people and Pokémon.  Apparently, life was indeed 
returning to normal.  Despite the fact that a few neighboring 
properties that still had damage to them that hadn't been repaired.

Ash and Pikachu stood there for a few minutes, just watching the 
locals go by as they waited for Misty, who was supposed to meet them 
there.

======

Twenty minutes later...

"I didn't make you wait long, did I, Ash?"

Ash was about to answer with a snarky reply, but as he turned around 
he saw Misty stand there in a nurse's outfit, apparently taking the 
'Nurse Joy helper' bit even more seriously than she did the day before.

"I know you wanna help Nurse Joy and all... but isn't the outfit a 
bit much?"

"I'm only wearing this because all my clothes are in the wash!"

"Oh."

"That's the only reason I wore one of your shirts last night, by the 
way."

"Oh yeah... I was wondering about that."

"Pika," Pikachu sighed.

Ash and Misty walked over to a nearby bench, where they sat down and 
continued their talk.

"So, Ash... how do we explain last night?"

Ash scratched his head, dumbfounded and unable to come up with an 
answer.  Misty proceeded to sigh in disbelief.

"You really don't know anything, do you?"

Ash growled.  "Why do people keep saying that?"

Misty smiled.  "I will have to remember to get your mom to talk about 
that."

"Sure..."

"But there's the matter of us that has to be resolved."

"Uh huh," Ash nodded in agreement, before coming to his senses.  
"Wait, what about last night?"

"That was about the past and Duplica.  Today, it's about our future.  
Or rather, whether we should have one."

"That's easy.  I love you.  You love me.  End of stor..."

"Love isn't as easy as beating Team Rocket!  Well, Jessie and James, 
anyway.  There's a lot of things to consider."

"I don't see how it can be any more harder than 'we still like each 
other, so let's stay together.'"

"How about the fact that I don't feel confident that you'll avoid 
kissing Duplica again?"

"WHA?  But I said..."

"Or, probably more likely, she'll come back and trick you into letting 
her kiss you again!"

"I told you," Ash waved his arms about in defense as Misty glared 
daggers into him, "I don't have any feelings for her, and she doesn't 
want to break us apart!"

"What about all those other girls you've spent time with?  How do I 
know you haven't been doing things with them behind my back?"

"What girls?  I don't know what you're talking about, Misty!"

"Oh yeah?  Didn't you get chummy with that girl Jeanette in her own 
hometown just weeks after my Pokémon League Novice Tournament?"

"We just happened to cross paths in a local tournament there, that's 
all!"

"And how about that ex-agent, Cassie, who you camped out with for a 
time?  Or the experienced Sally, the girl that helped you during your 
first days of the League?  Oh, and may I certainly not forget that 
hussy, Giselle, whom you practically let LIVE WITH YOU FOR A MONTH!"

"That's crazy!  I haven't been in touch with Sally since we parted 
ways, and Cassie and Giselle both have boyfriends!  You know that!"

"You think I was born yesterday, Ash Ketchum?  Especially since I've 
been away... you don't think since being named Junior Master that any 
of them would suddenly be ringing you up to take advantage of your 
newfound fame?  Especially that Giselle... she's such a gold digger!"

"Uh... I thought she was rich already.  That's why she went to and 
graduated from Pokémon Tech."

"BUT YOU KNOW SHE'D DO IT ANYWAY TO SPITE ME!  She's that kind of 
person."

"Wait a minute... why's this all about me?  How do I know you aren't 
seeing anyone behind my back?  I mean, I haven't seen you in a month, 
either!"

"What?  I'm not the type to..."

"Daisy told me about Mikey."

Misty suddenly became silent.

"She said to her, you two looked cute together."

"That's a lie!  Daisy tricked me into what I thought was a blind date, 
and..."

"Wait, a blind date?  You mean Mikey's blind now?"

Misty sweatdropped.  "No, it means I didn't know who Daisy had hooked 
me up with until I actually got there."

"But you were on a date!  Isn't that what you mean by cheating?"

"But... it was a blind babysitting gig!"

"You were going as if it were a date, though."

Misty stuttered.  "Well... yeah... but still..."

"How is right that you're cheating and wrong that I am?"

"Hey now!  First of all, cheating is never right, and second, I wasn't 
cheating!"

"Then... why did... you go along?"

"I was trying to humor my sister, Ash.  I never seriously intended to 
go just to look for someone since you weren't around..."

"I wasn't around?  I wasn't around because I'm traveling around Johto, 
being a Pokémon trainer!  You know, on my way to be a Pokémon Master?  
It's only been my goal since Day One!"

"Oh!  And you're saying it's my fault I couldn't come along because 
I'm busy trying to manage a Pokémon gym?"

"You did a REAL good job managing the gym this month, by the way," 
Ash quipped sarcastically.

"Hey!  I couldn't manage the gym because I ran away..."

"And why'd you run away, Misty?  Tell me... WHY?"

Misty opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out of it.

"It couldn't be because you really wanted Duplica and I to be 
together," Ash thought out loud.  "And yet, you did nothing to stop 
us?  Am I right?"

Misty remembered standing at the entrance to the balcony, watching 
Ash and Duplica lock lips, and just staring in shock before slowly 
walking away.

"You regretted that it happened!  And you kept me from explaining my 
side of the story because you figured, if no one ever proves what 
your eyes saw, you can deny it actually happened!  Well, Mist, I 
regretted that night, and so did Duplica!  But you don't see either 
of us trying to forget it!"

"But..."

"That's why you ran away.  Because you couldn't face the truth!"

Misty's eyes began to tear up, as she came to realization that Ash 
had her emotions pegged.  Surprisingly to her, to the letter.

"YOU'RE RIGHT, ASH!  I wanted to pretend it never happened!  But... 
but... the more I tried, the harder it got, and... and... and..."

Misty grabbed two fistfuls of Ash's shirt just as the flood gates 
opened up, and she used his shirt to try and wipe away the tears.

"I love you, Ash, and I don't want anyone else to have you!"

"Mi... Mi... Misty..."

"In fact, I don't want to spend another minute in which I'm not by 
your..."

Suddenly, a ringing sound filled the air, and it was coming from Ash's 
right pants pocket.  Ash reached in and hastily pulled out his 
Pokédex, which was flashing as if it were a high-end cell phone.  
Opening it, his screen indicated he was getting an incoming call on 
his Poké-Com unit.

"Uh, hello?" Ash asked, pressing the 'answer' button.

"Oh, I got through!" Lance remarked, appearing on Ash's screen.  "I 
guess the communication lines are back up in Saffron after all."

"I'm sorry," Misty cut in, "but we're kinda in the moment..."

"Ah, so Kanto's favorite redhead is there as expected, too!  Good 
timing indeed!"

"But..."

"I want you here tonight, Misty!  You have a lot to explain to the 
Elite Four regarding your month-long disappearing act, and we'd like 
to make a ruling on the matter by day's end!"

"I know, I know, but..."

"As for you, our Junior Master, ever been to America?"

"Who... me?" queried Ash, pointing to himself.

"The New England States League will be hosting this year's annual 
Pokémon Master of North America Tournament, and they want the world's 
first Pokémon Junior Master, you, to be the new champion's first 
opponent!"

Ash yipped in excitement.  "Really?  I don't know where America is, 
but they must think I'm exceptional if they're inviting me to face 
off against their best Pokémon trainer!  Ha ha ha ha!"

"Modesty is not thy middle name," Misty grumbled.

"I've already taken care of your travel arrangements," Lance told 
Ash.  "You're to leave Saffron immediately as well.  After all, it's 
a very long flight to Boston."

Ash and Misty suddenly heard a car horn beeping at them.  They looked 
away from Ash's Pokédex and gawked in shock when they saw a limousine 
had come to a stop right by the curb.

"I'll make you proud, sir!" Ash exclaimed before closing up his 
Pokédex, instantly ending the call.

A brown-haired man in a suit emerged from the limo's back seat and 
walked over to the duo.

"I'm looking for Ash Ketchum and Pikachu."

"You must mean me," Ash deduced, glancing at Misty, and then down at 
Pikachu.

"Pika?"

"Your flight leaves in 45 minutes, sir," he told Ash.  "We have to 
leave now if we're going to make it."

"We'd better hurry then... hey, wait!  What about my backpack?"

"We have a second team on the way to pick up your things.  They'll 
bring it with them on the next flight out."

"But my Pokéballs are in there..."

Before they knew it, Ash and Pikachu were shoved into the back of the 
limo.  Seeing this act of roughhousing, Misty began to get suspicious.

"Hey!  Didn't you hear him?  And why are you being so rough on him if 
you're representing the League?"

"We're just in a hurry to make this flight, so if you don't mind..."

"I DO MIND!" Misty yelled defiantly.

The man closed the door, and the limousine pulled away from the curb 
in a hurry, with tires squealing as it barreled down the nearly empty 
street.  Misty turned and started to run after it, but she was cut off 
when a Pidgeot emerged from a Pokéball, right in front of her.

"Whirlwind!" shouted the man in the suit.

Before Misty could do anything, the Pidgeot flapped its wings in a 
spinning circular pattern.  Misty was quickly ensnared and blown off 
her feet... and back-first into a nearby tree.  The impact nearly 
knocked all the wind out of her, as she fell face first down onto the 
sidewalk.

"Let's go!"

Pidgeot sprinted towards his master, flapping his wings as if he was 
about to takeoff.  His trainer jumped on to Pidgeot's back at the last 
second, as Pidgeot lifted off the ground and up into the air.  He then 
made a U-turn and headed off in the direction of the speeding limo.

Meanwhile, Misty could hear them escaping, but she found herself 
unable to get up off the ground.  In fact, she barely had enough 
energy left to look up from the pavement and get a glimpse at her 
attacker.

"This girl just got attacked!" she heard some young woman yell.  "Get 
a doctor, quickly!"

Misty didn't hear a word after that, as she blacked out.

======

Monday, February 11th, Goldenrod City

A missing poster with Ash's face on it was taped to a lamppost when 
it was blown off by someone passing by real fast on a bicycle.  That 
someone was an irate Giselle, who was working her way through the 
streets of her newly established home-away-from-home, on her way back 
to her apartment after a post-work trip to the local supermarket.  Why 
irate, one may wonder?

Could it be because she had to bike up a fairly steep hill to get to 
her place?  After all, unless it has something to do with her Pokémon 
training, Giselle despised any task that required hard work.

Maybe it's because every male aged 13 to 30 couldn't help but gawk 
at her beautiful figure as she passed by?  But she was used to that 
happening pretty much every day.  The fact that she was wearing a 
form-fitting cycling jersey probably played a part in that as well, 
even if it was partially hidden under a stylish zippered gray jacket.

But she was irate because not only were men staring at her, but so 
were women, children, and Pokémon!  And all because in her basket, 
just in front of the handlebars, were 36 boxes of chocolates, all 
stacked one on top of the other, resulting in a tower of sweets that 
was almost twice her size!

======

45 minutes later, Giselle closed the door to her apartment and fell 
to her knees, groaning in anguish as the aforementioned three dozen 
boxes of chocolates lay before her.  Some on the kitchen counter, some 
on the floor in front of her, and the rest on her couch.

"No wonder I skipped Valentine's Day every year at Tech!" Giselle 
whined.  "To have to give a box of chocolates to every guy I work 
with or I'm close friends with!  THAT'S INSANE!"

Giselle got to her feet, picked two boxes up, and walked over to the 
fridge off in the far corner of the kitchen.  On it was an ad for 
an inexpensive, yet fair-quality box of chocolates for 300 Poké.  She 
opened the door and cleared out a section to put the boxes.  In the 
process, she moved a 6-pack of strawberry yogurt and an untouched, 
plastic-wrapped piece of carrot cake aside.

"Of course, being me, I had to get the best money could buy..."

As she placed the boxes in and walked off to fetch a few more, the 
7000 Poké price tag became visible on each of those boxes now in the 
fridge.

======

Before she knew it, both the fridge and the freezer were filled to 
the brim!  With the help of Dewgong, a Pokémon she had befriended a 
few years back, she tossed a few more boxes into a then-empty ice 
chest, which Dewgong used Ice Beam on to preserve them.  That left 
eight boxes, which Giselle was resigned to just place on top of the 
ice chest.  Since, given her small apartment and no other storage 
containers around, was her only option if she wanted to keep them 
cool until Thursday.

"Whew!" Giselle gasped as she reached up and wiped the small bead 
of sweat from her forehead.

At that moment, Giselle heard one of her Pokéballs open.  
Conveniently, the one in her jacket pocket, as her Farfetch'd popped 
out.

"Far farfetch'd!" it chirped.

It then spotted the boxes of chocolate on top of the ice chest and 
went cuckoo - since for some unknown reason, Giselle tended to play 
favorites with him by giving the duck sweets every once in awhile.  
But Giselle saw the look in his eyes, and quickly moved to shoot 
down any intentions he had of devouring her newly bought chocolates.

"LAY A FEATHER ON THOSE CHOCOLATES AND YOU'LL NEVER GET ANOTHER 
SWEET FROM ME FOR AS LONG AS I LIVE!"

"FAR!" freaked Farfetch'd, getting the point as he quickly turned tail 
and ran into the living room.

With that taken care of, Giselle reached into her jacket pocket and 
revealed that she had actually bought a 37th box of chocolate.  But 
this box was much smaller than the others.  That was because this last 
box wasn't filled with pre-made chocolates, but rather with cocoa 
powder, which she planned to use to make her own chocolates by hand.  
And all for a special someone in her life.

Or rather, a special someone that she wished was still in her life.

======

September 2000, Route 7, just east of Celadon City

"Use Vine Whip, Weepinbell!" ordered Joe.

Weepinbell unfurled his vines and sped them hastily towards his 
opponent, Graveler, as well as Giselle, who was a few feet behind the 
rock solid Pokémon.

"Graveler!" Giselle called out.  "Dodge and attack using Rollout!"

Graveler curled up into a ball and rolled around Weepinbell's vines.  
He then made a beeline for Weepinbell and crashed into him, sending 
the grass-type flying into the air.  Weepinbell landed hard on the 
ground, and was knocked out upon impact.

Joe lowered his head in dismay as Giselle stomped her foot in disgust, 
just as Graveler had rolled back to her side and curled out to a 
standing position.

"What was that?  You have a clear type advantage and you still can't 
lay a finger on me?"

"Well..." Joe stuttered, full of nervousness.

"HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO GET INTO THE LEAGUE IF YOU CAN'T TAKE ADVANTAGE 
OF FAVORABLE SITUATIONS?"

======

Giselle had changed out of her cycling jersey and into a more 
comfortable tan sweater and knee-length gray shorts.  Now on the 
counter before her was the box of cocoa powder she had just bought, 
along with a nearly-full milk carton, a three-pound bag of sugar, and 
a bar of cocoa butter.  There was a stainless steel mixing bowl and a 
wooden spatula there as well.  With all of the materials she needed 
right in front of her, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

======

"Weepinbell, Razor Leaf!"

Having gotten right behind Graveler, Weepinbell used Razor Leaf to 
inflict some damage on Giselle's #2 Pokémon.

"Good," complimented Giselle with a smile.

Joe smiled back, happy to see his mentor and girlfriend pleased.

"But not good enough."

Giselle snapped her fingers, and Graveler went into another Rollout.

"Plan one-ninety-eight!" she stated with a smirk.

Joe gasped as Graveler not only continued to use Rollout, but was 
flinging rocks out from himself, as if he was using Rock Throw as 
well.  Needless to say, the rocks launched from Graveler were flung 
at a higher speed than normal... and Weepinbell had no time to dodge.

A few large pebbles to the head were all it took to take Weepinbell 
out.

"You can beat any respectable trainer now," Giselle told him.  "But 
you're going to have to step it up to beat a trainer of my high 
caliber!"

======

Giselle peered into the oven window, watching as the chocolate 
tempered and formed.  It wouldn't be long before it would be ready 
for molding.

But Giselle wondered... would he lovingly accept her again after 
what happened...

======

Five months later (a year ago from the present)...

"And that will finish it!"

The crowd cheered as another Pokémon League Novice Tournament 
preliminary match at the Indigo Plateau came to an end.  On one side, 
a Hitmontop was spinning on his head in celebration.  On the other, a 
Weepinbell had his head lowered in disappointment.  And so was Joe, 
having finished the round with only two wins in seven matches... two 
less than his previous attempt.

Up in the second row in the stands behind Joe, Giselle was feeling 
sorry for her boyfriend.  She knew he had put in enough training to 
at least make it past the prelims.  But Joe had just fallen into a 
streak of bad luck at just the wrong time.

======

A few minutes later, Giselle met up with a dejected Joe as he exited 
the competitors' entrance at the stadium.

"You did..." Giselle began, "good."

"Don't lie to me, please!" responded to Joe.  "Haven't I been 
patronized enough?"

Giselle was taken aback by her boyfriend's words.

"Come out and say it, I stink!  After you personally trained me for 
six months to compete in the League, I came here and screwed it all 
up!  I couldn't even win as many matches as I did the last time."

"But it's not all your fault.  It does come down to luck sometimes.  
You just happened to come across a few trainers that were even 
better prepared than you were..."

"I should've beaten them all.  That's what you trained me to do, 
Giselle.  To rise above disadvantages in battle, no matter what!"

"True... but..."

"But nothing!  You gave me all the tools to win, and I didn't use 
them properly!  I'm a failure as a Pokémon trainer!"

"Joe!" Giselle said in shock.  "Sure, you're still a little rough 
around the edges, but it's nothing that can't be fixed with a few 
more months of training by yours tru..."

"What's the use?  At this rate, I'll never get into the League!  You 
might as well forget about me, Giselle.  I told you, I'm a failure!"

Giselle grabbed Joe by the collar and pulled him down a few inches so 
that she was staring straight into his eyes.

"Don't you dare quit on me!  I believe in you, so you need to start 
believing in yourself!  I didn't put off working my way up the ranks 
of the League to fool around for the last six months!  You need to 
pull yourself together and focus on making it to the next Tournament!"

"But..."

"STOP MAKING EXCUSES!  It's one thing to fail, but an entirely different 
matter to fail and give up!  You went to classes with me at Pokémon 
Technical, and you know the path to becoming a Pokémon Master is hard 
work..."

"I left Tech, remember?  To try and make it on my own!"

Joe slapped Giselle's hands away and turned his head to the side.

"I was lucky to make it this far, and your training definitely helped.  
But... if I can't get into the League after being mentored by a 
trainer as good as you... then I'll never..."

"Joe..."

"I appreciate all you've done for me, Giselle, but you probably don't 
want to waste any more time on a guy who's never gonna amount to 
anything.  I think it's time to part ways."

Without another word, Joe ran off in the opposite direction.  Giselle 
reached out, as if to stop him.  But she appeared to have no intention 
to do so.  Or go after him.

======

CRACK!

Giselle snapped out of her daydream and remembered that she was in 
the process of sculpting her handmade chocolate.  It was a large 
piece molded into the shape of a heart, and she had pounded out Joe's 
face on it, as well as her own.  But she had penetrated the chocolate's 
hard shell, resulting in a crack that went down the middle and split 
the confection exactly in half.

And right between where Joe's and her face were positioned.

"It'll be a year to the day tomorrow..." Giselle thought aloud.

======

"...and I haven't seen or heard of him since."

A few days after Joe had left, Giselle found herself standing in front 
of the sign leading into New Bark Town in the Johto region.

"Where winds of a new beginning blow," Giselle stated, reading the 
town's motto off of the sign.

She glanced past the town, as far as she could see, as she prepared 
to enter the Johto region for the first time.

"Why didn't I stop him from leaving?  He gave up so easily, and yet I 
thought I taught him better than that.  Heck, I taught myself better."

Giselle clenched her fist in anger.

"It's true what they say, getting a boyfriend makes you soft.  Well, 
now that I'm not tied down anymore, I'm going back to being the old 
Giselle!  Look out, Johto, 'cause you haven't seen a powerful trainer 
until you've seen me!"

She then ran down the hill, and started off on her Johto journey.

======

"No wonder I always skip Valentine's Day.  I hate chocolate."

Farfetch'd was feasting on the remains of Giselle's failed chocolate 
product as she slumped down on her couch and watched the news on TV.  
And on the kitchen counter now was a photo that Joe and Giselle had 
taken together at Pokémon Tech several years ago.

The only photo that they ever took together.

"And in other news," stated the TV reporter, "there are no new leads 
in the search for Pokémon Junior Master Ash Ketchum, who disappeared 
a week and a half ago..."

======

Wednesday, February 13th, Hoenn Route 119

A family of Zigzagoon were startled out of their resting place in the 
tall grass as a teenage boy ran through, his work-duty boots stomping on 
the ground, causing small tremors in the immediate surrounding area.  As 
soon as the footsteps had dissipated, though, all quickly quieted down.

Until a second, lighter pounding set of footsteps filled the air.  This 
set of a teenage girl, who was struggling to push aside the grass blades, 
which were dripping wet with water particles on the verge of freezing in 
the cold weather.  And she felt every one of them touch a part of her 
sweatpants, nearly leaving her lower half soaked as she waded through 
the grass.

A few minutes later, she emerged from the grass and found herself 
staring at a sign that read 'Weather Institute.'  She then spotted the 
boy she was chasing knocking on the glass front door.  She ducked behind 
and peered around the sign, just in time to see a beautiful, buxom young 
woman in her early 20s answer it.  The woman was wearing a lab coat over 
her normal clothing, none of which was visible from the girl's point of 
view.

But seeing the woman bare from the calf down save for a pair of black 
high-heels was proof enough for the girl.

"So that's it!"

======

Earlier that day...

Arius and Cassie were traversing the long bridge overlooking the river 
that split the Hoenn region into two large islands.  Waiting at the end 
were Mr. Mime and Ivysaur, respectively, using their abilities to hold 
the far end of the bridge steady, as the whipping chilly winds were 
blowing the bridge back and forth.

Soon afterwards, Cassie officiated a battle between Arius and his Mr. 
Mime, and a passing young fisherman and his Tentacool.  The battle didn't 
last long, though, as the low-leveled Tentacool was no match for the 
psychic abilities of the talented Mr. Mime.  Even though most of Mr. 
Mime's training was thanks to Cassie, not Arius.

Speaking of psychic abilities, it was Cassie's turn to shine when she 
spotted an Oddish stuck up on a tree, and its fellow brethren running 
around in a helpless panic, unable to think of a way to get them down.  
Using her telekinetic power, she gently brought Oddish down to Earth, to 
the joy of the other Oddish.

But eventually, the young couple got around to the real reason they were 
in that area for the day.  To go fishing for a Pokémon.  But not just any 
Pokémon.  In fact, a rare and sought after Pokémon.

"You want me to catch you a Feebas?" Arius asked, a picture of it in a 
book staring him dead in the face.

"Isn't the point of having a Pokédex to complete it?" Cassie shot back 
as she pulled the book away.  "Besides, you do know what Feebas evolve 
into, don't you?"

"Uh... Milotic, right?"

"Exactly!  The most beautifully elegant and super strong Pokémon in the 
world deserves a spot on my roster!"

"Super strong?" Arius raised an eyebrow in doubt.  "No way."

"You'd better catch one for me if you know what's good for you!" she 
warned.

"Ugh... if you want one so badly, why don't you catch it yourself?"

"I would, but... remember what the doctor said?"

======

"Remember, Miss Banks, exert yourself too much again and you might have a 
relapse!  A body, even a young one like yours, can't take this forever."

======

"But your faintings have become less frequent.  You haven't even gone 
down once in almost two weeks!"

"I thought you hated it when I passed out a lot!  You don't want that on 
your conscience, do you?"

Arius sighed.  He knew when she was right.

"Fine.  I'll catch a Feebas."

"Yeah!" Cassie cheered with glee.

"As soon as I check something out," Arius said as he walked away.

"Check something out?  Like what?  Hey... answer me when I'm talking to 
you!  Arius!"

But he had already disappeared into the surrounding tall grass.

======

Arius waded his way through the thick bunches of grass blades when, all 
of a sudden, he came into a very small, 20-foot circular clearing.  And 
right in the middle of it was the remnants of a hollow tree trunk.  He 
knelt down by one end of it and peered inside.  Doing so, he spotted the 
object he was looking for and pulled it out.

It was a rolled up piece of printing paper, and the words inside of it 
were pretty simple to grasp.

'Come to the Weather Institute after dark.'

Arius nodded, then crumpled up the piece of paper and stuffed it into his 
left pants pocket.

======

Cassie was sitting on a log next to the riverbank.  Having believed that 
Arius really had no intention to fish for her, she had taken it upon 
herself to do it herself.

And thus, here she was, waiting for a Feebas to snag the line off of her 
fishing pole.  Her Ivysaur was standing next to her, using his own vines 
as his fishing rod.

Suddenly, Cassie felt a tug on her line.

"Whoa, I think I got one!" she exclaimed.

She reeled her catch in with relative ease.  Naturally, that meant that 
she had a caught a small fry.  And a common one at that, as she pulled 
up the end of her line to discover she had hooked a Magikarp.

"Karp karp karp!" the fish Pokémon chirped.

"Hey!" Cassie shouted at the Magikarp.  "Didn't I catch you once already?"

She then unhooked the Magikarp and placed him back in the water, where it 
quickly swam off.

"It's one thing for Feebas to be really rare, but I can't believe there's 
so many Magikarp around here!  This bites!"

"Saur," her Ivysaur agreed as he pulled his vines out of the water.

"I think we'd better find another spot, Ivysaur.  There's gotta be a 
Feebas hiding in this river somewhere..."

"You just don't know where to fish," Arius stated as he coolly and calmly 
walked up.

"Nice off you to come back," Cassie growled unhappily.

"I told you that I just needed to check something out.  I was only gone 
for about 15 minutes!"

"Yeah, and in that time Ivysaur and I caught half-a-dozen Magikarp and an 
old discarded snow boot... but that's not the point!"

"Chill," Arius reassured her, motioning for her to give him the rod.  
"You just gotta know the right way to attract your prey."

Arius pulled a lure out of his left pants pocket, unknowingly pulling out 
the crumbled piece of paper in there as well.  As the piece of paper 
rolled into a nearby berry bush, Arius had finished preparing his rod by 
tying the lure to the end.

"That's your lure?" Cassie gasped in shock.

Arius smiled as he revealed that the lure was in the shape of a Caterpie, 
only it had a red coloring instead of green.

"This is the first fishing lure I ever bought.  I got it real cheap, too, 
because of the coloring defect."

"And you don't mind having a red Caterpie?  Why not get a traditional green 
one?"

"Because this is also my lucky lure!" Arius said, now grinning from ear to 
ear.  "Every time I use it, I always catch something!"

"So... how many have you caught with it, and how come I haven't seen any 
of them?"

"Well... there's Shellder, and... and..."

"And?"

Arius then laughed hysterically.  "I guess Shellder's the only Pokémon 
I've caught with that lure."

"You mean you've only used it once?  You can't say 'always' if you've 
only used it once!"

"Regardless, I'm gonna catch a Feebas!  Just you wait, Cassie!"

======

"Just you wait, huh?" Cassie growled, her eyes twitching in anger.

Arius chuckled nervously as he had caught 15 Magikarp, 11 Tentacool, and 
four Carvanha.  But absolutely no Feebas.

======

A few hours later, darkness descended upon the area, and Arius and Cassie 
had just finished setting up camp for the night.  Cassie's Ivysaur, 
Meowth, Kadabra, Raticate, Espeon, and Surskit, her most recent capture, 
along with Arius' Beedrill, Butterfree, Golbat, Venomoth, Mr. Mime, and 
Snorlax, were all already in the process of eating dinner.  While that 
was happening, Arius had just finished barbecuing the food he and Cassie 
were going to consume.

"I hope you're hungry!" exclaimed Arius as he brought over a plate of beef 
and vegetable kabobs.

"Thanks!" Cassie said with a smile as she picked two of them off, one in 
each hand, and began munching.

"Like it?  I would've tried cooking it sooner, but I didn't get all the 
right ingredients until the day we left Petalburg City.

"Speaking of which," Cassie inquired between bites, "where did you get 
the money to afford high-grade meat?"

"Huh?"

"Or keeping it fresh with no refrigeration unit for miles?"

"Well..."

"And the fact that we have very little money to spend on stuff other than 
the essentials."

"Just what are you getting at?"

"I'm just curious as to where all this money is coming from?  It's 
certainly not coming out of the money I've earned by winning battles."

"So you're assuming I'm skimping on supplies and picking up luxury 
items?  That's ludicrous!"

"Well, then explain the kabobs and the quality of the meat!"

"That's enough!" Arius shouted, putting a stop to Cassie's inquiry.  "Why 
should it matter to you?  I'm the man in this relationship, and I should 
be the one worrying about what's best for us!"

"And being the young woman," retorted Cassie, "it's my job to keep our 
finances in check and make sure there's enough food to go around!"

"I'm doing what's necessary to make sure we don't starve to death!  The 
least you could do is give me a little respect!"

With that, Arius took the rest of the plate and walked off.

"Gee, what's his damage?" Cassie remarked before taking another bite.

=======

At some point during Arius and Cassie's conversation, Meowth and Surskit 
had wandered off, back to the riverbank.  As they approached it, Surskit 
noticed an Oran Berry bush and rushed over to it.  Upon closer inspection, 
though, Surskit was disappointed to find out that the bush only had two 
berries on it, and both were really small.

But when Meowth walked up beside her, she spotted something else 
underneath the bush.

A crumpled-up piece of paper.

======

With all of the Pokémon finished with their meals, Cassie began the 
process of gathering their bowls and taking them to the river to get 
washed.  As she did, she spotted, out of the corner of her eye, her 
boyfriend Arius skipping off again to do who knows what.

"Again?" she cried.  "Man... if only I could use my mind-reading powers."

Suddenly, Meowth and Surskit bounded out of the grass, the former holding 
the now un-crumpled piece of paper in her paws.

"Meowth, meowth!" she cried, waving the paper up and down.

The two of them came to a stop next to Cassie, who put the bowls she was 
holding down on the ground and took the paper that her Meowth had.

"What's this?"

Cassie then read it aloud.

"'Come to the Weather Institute after dark.'  Hmmm... and it's not signed."

"Meowth!"

"Huh?" Cassie blinked as she looked at Meowth, then where Arius had been 
just a minute ago, and then back at the paper.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head.

"This... this was a message for Arius!  It has to be!  But from whom?"

======

A minute or two later, Cassie had changed out of her normal attire and into 
a gray-colored sweatshirt and matching sweatpants.  With Meowth and Surskit 
still beside her, she recalled them to their Pokéballs.

"Sorry guys, but I'm going solo unless I need you."

She then took out her Pokédex and tried to use it to access a satellite 
map of the area.  It took a few more button presses than expected, but 
she got her desired real-time map after all.

"Let's see here... from where I am right now, the Weather Institute 
should only be about a mile north-by-northwest from here.  Good.  
Whatever Arius is up to, I'm going to get to the bottom of it!"

With that, Cassie took off in the direction that Arius had departed in.

======

It didn't take long for Cassie to reach the Weather Institute, as she got 
to the sign indicating the building in front of her as such.  As she bent 
over to catch her breath, she spotted Arius knocking on the front door.  
Ducking behind the sign, she peered around it and saw her boyfriend being 
greeted by a beautiful and rather buxom young woman in her 20s.  The 
woman was dressed in a lab coat, which hid the rest of her clothing from 
Cassie's point of view.

But seeing the woman bare from the calf down save for a pair of black 
high-heels was proof enough.

"So that's it!  He's cheating on ME!  And the day before Valentine's, of 
all days!"

Once Arius and the woman had disappeared into the building, Cassie made a 
break for the door.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this!  You can bet on it!"

Cassie reached the entrance and went inside.  She was greeted with the 
faint flickering glow of a single, solitary light in a hallway that left 
her with only one direction to proceed... straight ahead.

Walking very slowly so as to not make any noise, she started counting 
doors to herself as she passed them.  After seven of them, Cassie came 
across one that had a glass, translucent window.  One which she could make 
out the fact that the lights inside were on, and that somebody must be in 
there.  She stood up flat against the wall and peered down both ends of 
the hallway.  Once again assuring herself that the hall was empty, she 
reached for the doorknob and turned it ever so slowly.

The door creaked open, and once she was able to, Cassie peeked inside.  
She was greeted by a smaller hallway, which led into a much larger room 
that she couldn't see much of from her position.  She could also hear two 
voices in there.  And she recognized one of them as her boyfriend's.

Cautiously, Cassie slipped in, closing the door behind her, and made her 
way into the larger room.  She found herself on a walkway overlooking a 
computer lab of some kind, one filled with meteorological equipment.  A 
few crates were scattered about the walkway here and there, which circled 
the entire room, and she hid behind one as the voices got louder and 
louder.  As she took refuge behind two stacked crates positioned next to 
the only stairwell down into the lab, she finally got Arius back in her 
sights.  And the woman in the lab coat was with him.

"So, Luna, tell it to me straight..." Arius said aloud.

Cassie focused all her attention on the two of them, trying not to miss a 
word.

"Are we any closer to finding the 5th?"

"Well... there's good news and bad news," Luna explained.  "The good news 
is that we may have narrowed the search down to three people."

"Good news?  That's great news!  We're ahead of the Pokémon League and 
Team Rocket in finding this fifth and final one!"

"Right, we get this last person and the PTA'll have two of the five in our 
hip pocket!"

Upon hearing the letters PTA, Cassie's mood changed from one of jealous 
anger to an anger of betrayal.

"So... what's the bad news?" Arius asked.

"I'll tell you the bad news!" yelled Cassie, coming out of her hiding 
spot and into plain view.

"Is that... Agent Banks?" Luna wondered out loud.

"Cassie!  Did you follow me here?"

"Yes, I did, and I'm not happy to see you!"

Cassie stomped her way down the stairs and over towards Arius and Luna.  
As she approached, Cassie got a look at Luna's semi-professional dress 
of a green sweater and a violet knee-length skirt.

"Cassie... IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!"

"Oh, you wish it was what you thought, but this goes far beyond me 
mistaking you for seeing someone behind my back!"

"WHAT?"

"And I'm glad, 'cause she's too old for you," Cassie stated as she pushed 
Luna aside.

"Pardon me?"

Cassie ignored Luna and kept her attention focused on Arius.

"But this... to still be working with the Pokémon Trainers' Association 
after everything they did to us?  You promised me that you'd never have 
anything to do with them ever again!"

"Cassie, let me explain!"

"I only wish I could use my mind-reading powers again.  Maybe I would've 
caught you in the act a whole... lot..."

Cassie was unable to finish her sentence, as she turned and ran off, with 
tears streaming from her eyes.

"Cass..."

Arius looked as if he wanted to chase after his girl, but he had his own 
feelings to take into account.  And one last matter to take care of.

"So THAT'S your girl?" Luna asked.  "Holy moley..."

"Never mind about Cassie... I'll make it up to her."

"You'd better," Luna warned him, as she walked over to a nearby computer.

"Why?  Because tomorrow's Valentine's Day?"

"That goes without saying.  But I think you should be more concerned 
about this..."

Pressing a button on the keyboard, Luna showed Arius who the three 
remaining candidates were via photographs.  They were Giselle Gravelpot, 
Shingo Macintosh, and... Cassie Banks.

"She... STILL?"

======

Back at camp, Cassie was inside their tent, already buried within her 
sleeping bag, was filled with distraught as she tried to cry herself to 
sleep.

======

Meanwhile, halfway across the country, in the Johto region...

Deep within the cavernous recesses of the Ice Cave, former Team Rocket 
members Jessie, James, and Persian were huddled up together, trying 
to stay warm in an environment only favorable for cold weather Pokémon.

"'Why don't we hide in the Ice Cave,' he says!" Jessie shouted.  "'The 
boss would never think of us hiding in here,' he spouts!  Of course not, 
because no human can last more than THREE DAYS IN HERE!"

At this point, it appeared that Jessie and James were wearing only thin 
long-sleeve shirts and a knee-length skirt or pants, and one small fur 
coat for the three of them, including Persian, to share.

"Well, if you're so confident," James stuttered, "then walk right out!  
I'm sure some Team Rocket agent is just waiting for us to come out so he 
can finish us himself."

"So dying in here is bettah than dying out dere?" Persian asked, his four 
legs wrapped around himself.

"I guess that fortune teller we saw the other day WAS serious when she 
said I'd never find true love!"

"Really, Jess?  Because she told me my true love was closer to me than I 
think."

"You don't think..."

"It could be..."

Then the two spoke in unison.  "That I'm in love with..."

"Persian!" Persian suddenly jumped in.  "Dat's right, now until the 
end of time!"

"HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT OUR MOMENT?" Jessie yelled, kicking Persian 
in the head.

"ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COULD BE OUR LAST?" exclaimed James, who stomped 
on Persian's tail.

Persian retaliated by using Fury Swipes on Jessie and James, leaving 
deep scratch marks on the their faces.

"MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!"

"I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO GO OUT IN PUBLIC AGAIN!"

"YOU?  WHAT ABOUT ME?"

"WHAT ABOUT YOU?  I'M THE LOOKER IN THE BUNCH!"

"YOUSE BOTH LOOKING FOR A BRUISIN'!"

Jessie, James, and Persian started tussling with each other, not 
caring about their health as they rolled around on the cold ice floor 
underneath them.  Unfortunately for them, their fighting had attracted 
a pair of Piloswine.  And they were unhappy that the trio was causing 
a ruckus near their homes.

So, the two Piloswine reacted by using Blizzard to freeze and encase 
Jessie, James, and Persian, in mid-fight, in a large block of ice.  A 
Jynx then appeared to finish the job.  She winded up and delivered an 
Ice Punch strong enough to send the block flying towards and out of 
the southernmost exit of the cavern.

And with that, Team Rocket was sent blasting off again.  But hey, with 
none of their former compatriots around and Blackthorn City looming 
in the distance, it looks like they'll survive yet another day on the 
run!

======

But will Arius' and Cassie's relationship make it through the next day?

"Hey, wait up!" Arius yelled after Cassie, who had already starting 
walking away with Ivysaur next to her.  "I haven't packed up everything!"

Arius was in the process of disassembling the tent and gathering the last 
of their belongings at their camp.  He packed it all as best as he could 
and then ran after Cassie and Ivysaur.

"Come on!  Let me explain the whole deal with the PTA, please!  I did it 
for our own good, I swear!"

But Cassie and Ivysaur just picked up their pace, and started walking 
even faster.  Arius bumbled behind them, juggling all of the bags as he 
tried to keep up.

======

Monday, February 18th, Saffron City

The beginning of another week was evident on the faces of the residents and 
commuters alike, as the streets were filled to the gills with people 
heading to work or school - the city in a better state than it was a few 
weeks ago.  Or, if they were a Pokémon trainer, either to the Pokémon 
Center or to the gym to challenge the tough-to-beat psychic enchantress, 
Sabrina.

But some lovers of Pokémon would rather spend their time at the 
headquarters of the Silph Company, makers of such modern gadgets for the 
everyday trainer like the Pokéball, the Potion, and the Silph Scope.  This 
11-story glass-windowed building served as the home base of some of the 
greatest inventors and researchers in history.  But where great minds and 
technology grew, there were sure to be a few bad eggs waiting to use them 
for their own evil deeds.

"Good morning, Cassidy and Butch!" greeted the chipper young receptionist 
at the front desk.  "Another fine day, isn't it?"

Cassidy and Butch, dressed in light blue maintenance jumpsuits, each 
pushing a dolly with a large cardboard box on it, waved hello to her.

"Someone's been hitting the ABC pills again," Butch remarked.

"Oh, come on," she blew him off casually.  "You know we have a no drug 
policy!"

"He was being sarcastic, dear Annie," Cassidy explained.

"Oh.  Well... good sarcastic bit then, Butch!"

As Annie waved goodbye, Cassidy and Butch stopped by the elevator, with 
the latter reaching for the call button.  One set of doors belonging to 
an empty car opened immediately, and the two of them rushed in.  Butch 
pressed the 'close doors' button and held it shut, while Cassidy reached 
up to her right breast pocket and pulled out an ID card.  As she did, a 
small compartment opened up just underneath the main control panel, 
revealing a 12-button keypad and a card swiper.

"I swear that girl gets dumber by the second," commented Butch as Cassidy 
swiped her card and punched in an access code.

"Better dumb than smart," Cassidy said in reply.  "She could get herself 
in a lot of trouble if she ever figured out who we really are and what 
we're doing here."

As the elevator started moving downwards, odd because the normal panel 
indicated there were no floors beneath the ground floor the duo had just 
gotten on at, the two of them threw off the jumpsuits in a flash, 
revealing their black Team Rocket uniforms.

And with that, they started reciting their motto.

"Prepare for trouble!" Cassidy started it off, as usual.

"And make it double!" continued Butch.

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"Butch!"

"We're Team Rocket circling Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"

"That's right!" the two finished, in perfect unison.

The two of them glanced all over the car, as if they were expecting 
someone or some 'mon to come out and wrap it up.  But alas, their wishes 
fell on deaf ears.

"I forgot about Raticate," Cassidy stated, bowing her head.

Butch sniffled, wiping away a tear from his right eye.  "He was two days 
away from retirement."

"He had even picked out his mate already, too."

"Lucky son-of-a..."

Suddenly, the car stopped moving and the doors swung open.  The two agents 
stepped out and onto a metal walkway overlooking a busy underground 
hangar.  Walking up to the railing, Cassidy and Butch could see dozens of 
their fellow agents below, working on assorted projects.  There was 
everything from creating new Pokémon-capturing devices to mind-controlling 
accessories in the midst of final testing.

And somewhere down there, twirling a black tulip between her fingers as 
she wandered among the mess mass of experiments, was one of Team Rocket's 
elite officers.  She was the only female of the squadron, but that didn't 
seem to faze her at all, especially considering she could go toe-to-toe 
with even the best of them.  No one amongst the Rockets dared mess with 
her, for fear of getting their insides turned out... or worse.  Ruthless 
couldn't even begin to describe her.  Anyone who took so much as a tiptoe 
in the wrong direction in her eyes, and they were as good as dead.

Not that avoiding her was easy.  After all, she was the perfect specimen 
of beauty, physical fitness, and intelligence.  It only took her looks to 
draw an unsuspecting victim into her trap.  She could then use one of her 
other two attributes to finish the job.  That would explain the reasoning 
between her being nicknamed as the 'Black Tulip' - pretty on the outside, 
a dark heart on the inside.

But most people referred to her by her self-appointed nickname.

Domino.

"Everybody do their best today!" she said as she passed by the various 
stations.  Giggling.

Yes, giggling.

All of the scientists and agents were shooting back odd looks and 
scratching their heads in confusion as Domino skipped through the hangar 
area, towards a lonely, dark corridor at the other end.

Wait... she was skipping too?  Why?

"IT'S A TRAP!" one of the scientists yelled, figuring it to be the only 
explanation.

"She must be an impostor!" another deduced.

"Maybe we should capture her!" suggested a third.

"I wouldn't lay a finger on her even if my life depended on it!" exclaimed 
a fourth.

"WATCH OUT!" a random TR grunt shouted.

Without warning, another grunt bumped into Domino, not paying attention as 
he had his eyes on a rubber football that had been thrown his way.  The 
bump barely phased Domino, yet it was hard enough to knock her beanie hat 
off her head and down onto the floor.  It landed with the underside up, 
and taped to it was a photograph with two people in it.  One of them was 
her, dressed as she was now, in her Team Rocket uniform.  The other... 
was hard to see given the angle of the lights beaming down onto it.

"Oh God, it's Domino!  I'm so de...ad...?"

Domino continued to smile, letting out another girlish giggle as she 
squatted down, picked up her cap and placed it back on her head.  She then 
resumed her skipping towards the corridor, leaving everyone including the 
fearing-for-his-life grunt stupefied beyond belief.

"Wha... what just happened?"

"I... I think she just spared you, man."

Domino disappeared into the dark corridor, confirming that he had escaped 
without so much as a scratch on him.

"There can only be one explanation for this!  She's in love with m..."

Without warning, a black tulip came flying out from the corridor, and...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

======

"And can you feel the love tonight?" Domino sang.  "To-night!"

Believe it or not, Domino was now actually singing as she skipped her way 
to and stopped at a metal door with a latched knob.  She seemed to be 
ecstatic as she was holding a photograph in her right hand and was raising 
it up to look at it.

THE photograph.

In it stood Domino, at the ceremony in which she was appointed elite 
officer status.  Her head was turned to the left and looking up, right at 
the other figure in the picture, who was handing her a ceremonial crystal 
black tulip, modeled after her trademark weapon of choice.  The man giving 
it to her?

Why, no other than Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket.

"I can't believe that was three years ago!" she squealed.  "It feels like 
only yesterday!"

She stared dreamily... yes, dreamily, at Giovanni's picture, recalling 
that very day.  The day when it was officially declared that she was not 
only one of Team Rocket's finest operatives, but that Giovanni was now 
the one and only person she had to answer to.  Talking with the boss 
front-and-center on a daily basis was her dream for years.  She'd never 
admit it openly, but she admired everything evil about him.  She'd do 
anything to be by his side as often as possible.

"This must be the day!" Domino figured.  "It's the promotion I've been 
waiting for!  He's gonna make me his right-hand woman, his 
second-in-command!  This is the day I've been waiting for!"

Domino reached a steel metal door on her left, at which she stopped and 
stood in front of for about a minute.  She gave herself the once over - 
checking her uniform for wrinkles, lint, and other blemishes, adjusting 
her beanie so it fit snugly over the top of her head, and fiddling with 
her hair to make sure it parted just right.

Once all that had been done, she took a deep breath and then exhaled, 
assuring that her nerves were calm so as to continue to present herself 
in a dignified manner.  The only manner that Giovanni cared about.

Ready to receive her promotion, Domino reached for the doorknob and turned 
it to the left, creakily opening the door into the room.  Immediately, she 
spotted the boss sitting at his desk, giving her a cold stare that made it 
felt that he was five inches in front of her, not five yards.  Domino put 
on a dastardly smirk in response, as apparently Giovanni's dark, grim side 
was the thing she liked most about him.

"Agent Domino reporting as requested, sir," she barked as she stepped in.

"Come in... and close the door behind you," Giovanni ordered.

Domino did so without haste, but as she stepped in and saw the rest of the 
room, she spotted someone else sitting nearby.  His presence had been 
obscured by the door, which opened up to block Domino's right side as she 
entered, and only now was she seeing him.

"Oh, yes... I don't believe you two have ever met personally," Giovanni 
recalled.

Yes, they had never met personally, but Domino took one look at the 
teenager and instantly knew who he was.

"Oh ho ho... you're the one everyone's been talking about.  The so-called 
'diamond in the rough' that became Pokémon Junior Master, yet strived to 
do something... more productive in life.  I have to admit... it took some 
guts to do what you did."

======

"This is the best New Year's..."

Maria never got to finish her statement, as a series of explosions rocked 
the square, including several around the stage.  Cheers of joy turned to 
screams of fear as stage debris and bodies were blown every which way, 
some not even completely intact.  As the revelers ran for cover, large 
fires quickly sprung up around where the stage had been, and panic and 
chaos spread amongst those still able to move.

All the while, there was somebody smiling from atop one of the nearby 
skyscrapers as he watched the madness unfold below.  It was a blue-haired 
young man sporting a black Team Rocket uniform.  But more surprising was 
the Pokémon standing next to him.  Unlike any Pokémon in existence, it 
was hard to tell what it looked like with the limited amount of light up 
there.  From what could be seen, though, it seemed to have two sets of 
wings... one from a Charizard and the other from a Skarmory.

Suddenly, a police helicopter, which had been hovering over the square, 
aimed its search beacon towards that spot.  But when it lit up the 
building's roof, there was nothing there at all.  The helicopter moved 
on, continuing its search for suspicious characters.  Those inside were 
unaware, though, that they had just missed the perpetrators, as police 
officers and fire and rescue crew down on the ground moved towards Ground 
Zero...

======

"It's nice to finally meet the man that started Team Rocket's road to 
world domination!  So how does it feel to be the 'it' guy... Marco 
Pereira?"

"I don't go by Marco anymore.  Just call me 'Mark.'  As in... I ALWAYS 
get my mark."

"I see," Domino acknowledged, before turning to Giovanni.  "So, you 
wanted to see me, sir?"

"I wanted to see the both of you.  You see, I have a special assignment 
for the two of you."

"Two?" Domino wondered in confusion, glancing at Marco... eh, Mark, and 
then back at the boss.  "But that means..."

"Yes, Domino... I want the two of you to work together."

"But... but..." she stuttered, "I'm a one-woman team!  That's what 
being a special agent means... going on solo missions!"

"I'm sending you two away to take over our joke of a headquarters in 
the Johto region.  Your responsibility is to clean house, get rid of 
the garbage."

Giovanni reached over the desk and handed a manila folder to Marco, but 
as he was about to open it, Domino snatched it away and looked through 
it herself.

"Whichever one of you does the best job setting HQ there straight will 
become the new director of Johto operations!  You'll be the one in 
charge, answering to me and ONLY me!  It's an opportunity neither of 
you will hopefully refuse.  In fact, neither of you will."

"As you command, sir," Mark obeyed, bowing his head in respect.

Unfortunately, Domino wasn't as easily persuaded.

"But, sir," she started to uncharacteristically chatter in a panic, 
"I love doing field work... and I love being here with you!  Isn't 
there any..."

Giovanni slammed his fist on the desk, shutting Domino up as she 
instinctively took a step back in fear.

"Such a glorious offer, and you DARE turn me down, 009?"

"But..."

"SILENCE!  Either compete against Mark to be the new director of the 
Johto branch, or you'll spend the next six months as a grunt!  If 
you're lucky..."

Domino gulped.  As much as she wanted to stay near Giovanni, she 
wouldn't risk being demoted to such a lowly position akin to being 
excommunicated from the boss' inner circle.  Replacing her distraught 
looks with a facade of seriousness, she jumped back up to attention 
and accepted the orders as given.

"Yes, sir!  As you wish."

"That's a good girl," Giovanni smiled, finally calming down.  "Start 
packing, the both of you... you leave in a hour."

"Sir, yes, sir!" the two confirmed, in a saluting pose.

======

Saturday, February 23rd, Cerulean City Gym

"Now don't forget... that all has to be done by the time we get back 
tonight, okay?"

"Daisy, c'mon!  We have to be one of the first ones in line!"

"Yeah!  Otherwise, we'll get the fashion-backwards wedding gowns!"

With that, Daisy bolted out of the door of the Cerulean gym, joining 
her sisters on a well-deserved, at least to them, all-day shopping 
spree.  Tracey Sketchit had been watching from the entrance to the 
arena, next to the receptionist desk, holding an empty bucket in one 
hand and a mop in the other.  Apparently, he had been stuck with 
cleaning duties for the day.  He could've taken it like a man and 
complained and spew non-feminist nonsense about how it's the woman 
who does all the housework.

But Tracey frankly just didn't care.  Not because he was a pushover, 
but because he didn't mind.  That's because it was all for her.

Just her.

======

Tracey went into the arena and began draining the pool for its dreaded 
first cleaning in a month.  Dreaded because it was such a large pool... 
and a lot of gunk and waste tended to collected at the bottom, despite 
the fact that only the Pokémon and the Waterflower sisters were the 
only ones who swim in it.  And they're usually sticklers for keeping 
the arena, at the very least, clean.

But Tracey knew they were neglecting their pool cleaning duties, which 
were supposed to be every week, for good reason.  Mostly because only 
three of them around.  After Ash and Pikachu were kidnapped a few weeks 
ago, Misty disappeared on them again.  But this time to find her 
boyfriend, rather than run away from him.

That once again left the three elder Waterflower sisters to run the 
gym by themselves, just like in the old days.

That was until the day after Valentine's...

======

On that day, Tracey walked through the gym's front doors, holding a 
package from Professor Oak addressed to the Waterflower sisters.  
Normally, such a job would be left to the postal service, but given the 
cargo inside, this required special circumstances.

As in Professor Oak usually makes the trip, but since he had Tracey...

"Hello?" Tracey called out.  "Anybody here?"

Tracey put the large package down on one of the seats in the waiting 
area, then turned to look at the Poliwhirl-shaped clock above the 
receptionist desk.  It read 12:20... yet there was no one sitting at 
the desk!

"Maybe they're on lunch break," the watcher deduced.  "I hope they 
don't mind me joining them!"

He picked up the box again and started trotting over towards where the 
kitchen was.  But upon arriving there, he found it empty as well.

"They're not here either?"

Suddenly, Tracey heard the cries of many water Pokémon in the air.  
Practically at all once!  Forgetting about the package for now, he ran 
as fast as he could towards the tanks.  In them, he found plenty of 
Horsea, Seel, Tentacool, Magikarp, Shellder, and other water-types.  
But almost all of them looked out of it, as if they hadn't been fed 
yet that day.

"I've never seen Pokémon this hungry before, and all at once!  I know 
Misty's sisters can be lazy at times... but to forget to feed the 
Pokémon?  That's it... when I find them, I'm gonna give them a piece of 
my mind!"

======

Tracey stomped his way up to the second floor, and to the sister's 
quarters.  Each of them had their own rooms, each door denoted by a 
headshot photo of their respective girls.  Tracey first came upon 
Lily's door, and promptly knocked on it, hoping for an answer.  But 
after a few knocks, he got none.

"Maybe she's out?"

He then went to Violet's door, right next to Lily's.  He knocked on 
this one as well, and just like before, there wasn't a response.

"Her too?  Something's not right."

Tracey proceeded down the hall, past a storage closet and one of two 
restrooms on the floor.  He saw Daisy's door in the distance, but he 
froze where he stood.  That's because he noticed, just to his right, 
was the door leading into Misty's bedroom.

"M-M-M-M-Misty's room?"

He stared at the door intently, as if it was beckoning him to open it 
and see what was inside.  Suddenly, a wave of temptation swept over 
him.

"Well, since she's not here..." he smirked, reaching for a Pokéball 
from his belt, "I hope she won't mind me sneaking a..."

Suddenly, Tracey's conscience got to him, and he snapped out of it.

"Wait a minute?  I'm not THAT desperate to desire Misty, right?"

Tracey calmly put his Pokéball back and resumed walking towards Daisy's 
door.

"One of these days... she'll let me in," he wished to himself.

Finally, Tracey came to Daisy's door.  Once more, he started knocking 
on it.  And knocking on it.  And knocking on it.

And once more, not a peep could be heard.  Tracey was worried.

"She's not home either?  How can that be... IT'S FRIDAY!"

"LIKE, WHO'S OUT THERE MAKING ALL THAT RACKET?"

Tracey gasped with relief.  That was Daisy's angry voice on the 
opposite side.  Tracey waited with anticipation as he heard Daisy 
fiddle with the doorknob - only to find it locked.  Tracey then heard 
Daisy struggling to get the door unlocked.  Finally, the door opened 
inward, and Tracey was happy to see Daisy!

She must have been happy to see him too, given she was wearing nothing 
but her underwear.

Even though her face showed she was half-awake and fighting a terrible 
headache.

Tracey blushed and quickly did an about face, just as Daisy remembered 
him.

"Hey... you're one of those other boys that likes Misty, right?"

"Uh, Daisy?  I know you're still desperate, but isn't that going a bit 
far?"

Daisy looked down and figured out what Tracey was referring to.  She 
quickly ran back in, slamming the door behind her.

======

A minute or two later, Daisy came back out practically covered up - a 
white knit-cap bonnet, an orange and maroon striped scarf, a cerulean 
blue hooded sweatshirt, hood down, and matching-colored sweatpants.  
Tracey didn't see any of it... he hadn't moved from his spot, still 
facing the opposite wall, afraid to turn around.

Daisy wanted to rectify that in a hurry, so she grabbed Tracey's left 
arm and spun him back around.

"I'm sorry," he quickly apologized, cowering in fear.

"Look," Daisy said, though she was trying to avoid eye contact.  "Let's 
just forget it happened, like, k?"

Tracey quickly nodded in agreement.  "I won't tell if you won't."

"I'll hold you to that.  Now... what are you doing here?"

"I was dropping off a package from Professor Oak when I found the gym 
empty at this time of day."

"This time?" Daisy wondered as she turned her gaze to a nearby hallway 
clock.  "IT'S A QUARTER TO ONE?"

"Well... yeah."

"Like, where's Violet and Lily?"

"I was hoping you'd know.  I knocked on their doors, but neither of 
them answered."

"Oh crap!" Daisy shouted in a panic as she bolted for the stairs.

======

Disgruntled challengers, an answering machine full of complaints, and 
a gym of starving Pokémon were among the mountain-load of problems 
Daisy found upon reaching the receptionist area.  Daisy found her 
headache getting even worse, but even she ignored the pain as she raced 
to get things in order.  Tracey wandered about, doing what he could to 
help... but he quickly became as overwhelmed as Daisy was.

Two hours later, as Daisy and Tracey finally got the gym to some 
semblance of working order, Violet and Lily walked trotted in through 
the front door.

"And where were you two all day?" Daisy asked, livid.  "If you were, 
like, going out, you should've woken me up!  I just spent the past two 
hours catching up!"

"I helped too," Tracey proclaimed, though apparently none of the sisters 
had heard him.

"Oh, be quiet!" Violet exclaimed.  "I didn't notice I spent the whole 
night in jail until three hours ago because I was arrested for public 
drunkenness!"

"And I didn't notice I got drunk off my rocker and end up at the house of 
that fanboy I went out with last night 'til two hours ago," spouted Lily, 
half-proud, half-ashamed.

"Figures that I'm the only responsible one around," Daisy remarked, before 
feeling her headache hit her at full force.

Daisy stumbled over to the receptionist desk and pulled a bottle of 
headache pills out and took about three or four of them.

"Someone had quite the hangover," Violet and Lily both noted slyly.

"At least I drank at home and didn't make a fool of..." Daisy began before 
realizing how pathetic that made her look - spending the night of V-Day
cooped up at home.

"Looks like we all had a night we'd rather forget," realized Violet.

"Let's never speak of it again!" Lily hastily proposed.

"At least until White Day!" Daisy added.

"Agreed!" the trio shouted in unison, sealing the deal with a group hug and 
a gaggle of laughter.

"Uh... ladies?" Tracey cut in, pointing behind them.

"Oh," Violet said, noticing him for the first time.  "Don't I, like, know 
you from somewhere?"

"Yeah!" Lily chirped.  "Yet, I can't seem to remember your name..."

"Girls, you remember Tracey from the New Year's Eve party, right?" Daisy 
reminded.  "One of Misty's friends?"

"Right!" Lily recalled.  "The stalker!"

"Stalker?" Tracey freaked, nearly doing a facefault.

"Uh... pardon me..." a meek voice piped up, though not enough to be heard 
by the foursome.

"That's too harsh," Violet commented.  "He's more like a third wheel.  Or 
was it fifth... just how many guys does Mist have in her entourage now?"

"Oh, come on," Daisy harped back.  "You know Misty isn't hot enough to have 
an entourage and you know it!"

"Hello?" the meek voice stated, trying to cut in again.

"How would you know if Misty is hot enough or not?" Tracey scolded.

"BECAUSE WE'RE HER SISTERS!" Violet and Lily fired back.

"Hey, hey," Daisy tried to calm them down.  "Doesn't Tracey deserve the 
benefit of the doubt?  If he has the hots for Mist, then maybe we should 
just let the whole bit play out.  It would make the next few months fun!"

"If only she was here to do it," Violet yelled.  "Don't you remember why 
she's not here?  She's searching for Ash... like, her actual boyfriend!"

"You don't have to rub it in," Tracey grumbled.

"Excuse me!" the meek voice shouted one more time, finally grabbing the 
attention of Tracey and the sisterly trio - by walking in to a point to 
where she was in the midst of the group.

"Look at you," Daisy said with adoration of the voice's owner, a young 
girl, "aren't you a cutie?"

"Why didn't you tell us you, like, had a younger sister?" prompted Lily.

"Because I... don't," he replied.

"I'm here to get my first Pokémon!" the girl announced.  "Isn't there a 
cute Squirtle waiting for me?"

"Wait a minute..." Daisy said, glancing over towards the calendar on the 
wall.  "That was today?"

"Eeee!" Lily squealed.  "We're so, so, so, so, so NOT ready!"

"Why didn't you remember?" Violet yelled at Daisy.

"You expected me to remember with you and Lily leaving me to run the gym 
alone with this hangover?" Daisy yelled in return.

Tracey snapped his fingers.  "Oh yeah... that's why I came here."

"The package!" Daisy recalled, before slapping her forehead with the palm 
of her right hand.  "I forgot about that!"

======

Ten minutes later, the young girl skipped happily out of the gym, with a 
Pokédex in hand and her brand-spanking new Squirtle tra-la-laing right next 
to her.  Inside, Violet and Lily had absent-mindedly wandered off to go 
waste the rest of the day, leaving Daisy and Tracey alone in the lobby.

"Thanks for coming... you really, like, saved all of us today."

"Aw... it was nothing."

"Say!  Like, I've got it!  We could always use some extra help with Misty 
away."

"I don't know..." Tracey hesitated.  "I mean, working with Professor Oak is 
such an honor..."

Daisy gasped.  "You'd rather spend a day with him than with three beautiful, 
extravagantly gorgeous, desperately-in-need girls?"

"Well..."

"Fine... I'll throw in a few lessons on how to impress Misty."

"Deal!" Tracey hastily agreed.

"Tee hee," Daisy replied, leaning over and giving Tracey a peck on the 
cheek.  "I knew I could count on you!"

Tracey's face quickly became one of a blushing shade of red.  Daisy headed 
into the arena, to get ready in case any challengers should come in later.

======

"And that's how I fell in love with Daisy," Tracey said with a goofy smile 
on his face, his head resting on the top of the handle end of the mop.

All of a sudden, Daisy burst back through the front door, startling Tracey 
and nearly causing him to lose his balance.

"I wasn't daydreaming on the job, honest!" Tracey quickly bumbled up an 
excuse.

"Forget the 'job,'" Daisy exclaimed, running over and grabbing Tracey by 
the arm.  "I almost forgot... how could I forget you?  You're, like, the 
most important person to me right now!"

"Really?" Tracey gaped, his heart aflutter.

"Let's go!" she said with a smile, pulling him out the door, leaving the 
cleaning work forgotten for yet another day.

But Tracey didn't mind.  He abandoned it just for her.

Just for Daisy.

======

Thursday, February 28th

Footsteps of someone being heard walking along the wooden planks disrupted 
the peace and quiet of the otherwise empty docks on this dark, cloudy, and 
chilly night.  Not even the tropical air was enough to keep Misty warm at 
this time of year, even dressed in a gray windbreaker and matching-colored, 
yet unfashionable and unattractive sweatpants.  Still, that wouldn't stop 
Misty from doing what she came to this small island to do.

She took a flashlight out of her pants pocket and immediately shined it at 
a nearby wooden sign.  It read...

MT. PYRE - HOME TO THE DEARLY DEPARTED POKEMON WE SO CHERISHED

Misty gulped as she prepared to walk into the equivalent of a cemetery, one 
buried within the inner core of one of the hugest mountains in the Hoenn 
region.  But she knew there was no turning back now - she had to go in.

"Don't worry Ash," Misty thought to herself.  "I'm GOING to save you."


******


End Session: February
Storyline to be continued in Session: March!


******


Author's Notes for 'Session: February':
Nothing like something resembling a "Love Hina" moment at the start of 
the session to get back in the saddle!  Just glad to finally have the 
final portion of this session up after a more than two-month delay.  (For 
why there was a delay... see my profile page or my website!)

In case you weren't paying attention - the "Hina" moment was near the end 
of Part 1 of this session.  If you still don't remember... go reread that 
part!

As for notes for the rest of the session...

I could swear I thought I had mentioned Sally before, but to learn who she 
is, go read the "Dreams Do Come True" arc of Season 1 of the "Adventures 
Series."  She kinda helps guide Ash through the first few weeks as a member 
of the Pokémon League.  I do encourage you to read up on her if you're not 
familiar... an appearance from her can't be too far away?

Just in case you're not familiar with the rules of Valentine's Day in 
Japan, they're stated here.  Or, in Giselle's story, to be precise.  Girls 
are supposed to give chocolates to guys she works with or are good friends 
of it.  Even more precisely, if a girl gives a guy homemade chocolate, 
that means that she loves him.  Which, of course, Giselle attempts here for 
Joe - who, sadly, aren't together anymore, as the flashbacks show.  I hated 
to break them up... they make a pretty good couple.  Now I'm regretting it.

There was originally supposed to be a scene just for the uncut version in 
which we see Giselle giving out said chocolates to her co-workers... and 
their reactions (i.e. the women extremely jealous, the men simultaneously 
head-over-heels in love and wondering how they'll pay her back - since on 
White Day in Japan, one month after Valentine's, any guy that gets 
chocolates has to on that day return the favor, giving a gift at least 
three times the value of the chocolates received).  But because of 
irrelevance to the overall story, it just ended up getting cut completely.

Speaking of stuff that I'm (not?) sorry for... Arius crying "IT'S NOT 
WHAT YOU THINK!" - a reference to the slogan in FUNimation's ads for one 
of their shows, "School Rumble."  Which is an anime full of 
misunderstandings.  A heaping hilarity of them.

Yes, in more uncharacteristic Domino... yes, she is singing "Can You Feel 
the Love Tonight?" from "The Lion King" soundtrack.

And so much for Misty's older sisters being role models...

Speaking of Misty... hmm, why is she in the Hoenn region all of a sudden?


******

'Session: March' Trailer:
You've probably been wondering... what's the deal with these odd powers 
that Ash, Misty, Brock, and Marco have?  Well, next month, prepare to get 
the answers you've been waiting for.  Meet someone who was once blessed 
and cursed by those same powers.  Learn of one last discovery Erika made 
before her death.  And have you been following the clues?  The identity of 
the fifth and final 'Legendary One' is revealed at last... in a shocking 
way you won't believe.

*cue ear-piercing scream*

'Session: March' is a month of revelations that you don't want to miss!