Caley and his accomplices continued their journey across the mountain range toward Cosma Town. It had been a difficult trek through the rest of the forest and the gang were being particularly careful about letting their Pokémon out for fear of capture or tiring them; luckily the addition of a particularly ample guardian had ensured that many of the mischievous Pokémon that may have usually ambushed the travelling humans thought twice and decided otherwise. Those that hadn’t, however, were quick to receive a hefty thump from one of the figure’s massive arms before scuttling into the bushes.

            All in all, things were running pretty smoothly - Caley was brightly strolling at the head of the cluster with Cory, a cheerfully refreshed look upon both their faces and renewed excitement dancing in their eyes. A small distance behind was Denise, carefully prodding at Caley’s PokéGear in her attempts to encrypt its signals so they couldn’t be tracked down. Butch and Cassidy seemed content to keep themselves to themselves while Rose seemed rather absent as she wandered abaft; staring up at the clouds with a puzzled expression as if trying to examine the very particles that made up their existence.

            Adam frowned irritably and cast a swift glance over his shoulder. The intermittent complaints from the overheated and exhausted trio at the back of the group were beginning to grate upon his nerves, but he wisely decided upon keeping his mouth shut. Life within the HQ had taught him that a hot, cross Jessie was an especially bad type of Jessie to cross paths with.

 

            Besides, the trio seemed more than occupied with each other.

 

Jessie wiped at her forehead and gritted her teeth as the familiar sound of malnourishment reverberated into the air once more, accompanied by a miserable groan.

“James… I can’t believe after all the times we’ve gone without food you still haven’t learned the art of self control. Stop that impetuous whining right now!”

“For your information…” the man grumbled irritably. “I’m not the one whining. It’s Errol.”

“Whaddya mean?” his blonde-haired companion exclaimed with raised eyebrows. “I ain’t doin’ nuthin’ of da sort. It’s Sloane’s gut youse guys gotta be worryin’ about.”

It was clear from the miserable look on the recently-identified Snorlar’s face as it wandered behind the human figures that there was indeed an undesirable space in its stomach that needed filling promptly. Jessie uttered a despairing breath of her own.

“I’m starting to think that letting him tag along was a bad idea,” she mentioned. “We have enough trouble satisfying ourselves without letting another mouth go unfed.”

Sloane grunted while James pouted and rubbed at the back of his head.

“I don’t know about him, but I’m about ready to eat my own jacket, I’m so hungry.”

Errol smirked at this.

“He’d probably eat his jacket too, if he had one.”

“Hey guys…” Jessie murmured distantly, tugging on their shoulders. “Are you seeing what I think I’m seeing?”

James’ eyes began to grow wider with every passing step.

“If it’s a giant multicoloured cupcake standing at the side of the path a few hundred metres away, then yes…I sure am.”

“Oh come on, youse two,” Errol groaned, placing a hand to his forehead. “If our travels have taught us anyt’ing its dat giant items of food jus’ don’t magically appear in front o’ ya. It’s a hallucination.

A very…tasty lookin’ hallucination…” Errol bit his lip to try and stop himself drooling. Denise turned round and looked at the trio before emitting a giggle.

“That’s no hallucination, you three,” she smiled. “But neither is it a real cupcake.”

Jessie blinked before taking another glance, and promptly muttering in disbelief.

“She’s right,” came the comment.

 

“Someone’s wearing it.”

 

Upon closer inspection, the travellers were able to make out an extremely infuriated expression peering out from under the sizable plastic cherry that was strapped to the costume-wearer’s head. Adam’s face became even more contorted.

“Now why the heck would anyone be wearing something like that in the middle of a forest?” he inquired as they drew nearer. “Come to think of it, why would anyone be wearing something like that at all? Must have a screw loose in the head to go walking around dressed as a giant bakery item.”

“I agree with you on that one, kid,” Butch nodded. “Somethin’s fishy about that person. Their outfit is far too odd to be legit–they’re up to no good.”

“Perhaps they got lost on the way to a fancy dress party.” James pondered. Whether his notion happened to be the more sensible one was hard to tell at this point in time. “Maybe we should ask.”

“It’s not like we could help them find anywhere,” Cassidy grunted. The orange-haired female figure didn’t seem concerned over those who happened to be approaching - in fact from the look upon her face it appeared she hadn’t even noticed their presence.

“How could he do this to me?” she muttered, clenching her fists. “I don’t deserve such treatment!”

Almost at once, five of the ten members in the group flinched as their ears picked up the girl’s frustrated exclamations. Errol cast Jessie a sideward glance as a smirk made its way onto his face. The expression caught on, as Jessie began to snicker and James shortly followed suit.

“Hello there,” Caley spoke up politely as he approached. “Are you lost, by any chance?”

The young woman opened up her mouth to make a reply, but before a sound had a chance to escape her lips it was completely drowned out by a volley of laughter. Even Butch and Cassidy couldn’t help uttering a few chuckles of their own as Adam rolled his eyes from atop Stian’s back and muttered something under his breath about the journey becoming some kind of moron parade.

“That look’s even better than the ‘makeover’ we gave back in Celadon!” James choked, tears rolling down his face.

“She looks so ridiculous!” Jessie wheezed in agreement. This only served to provoke the unfortunate wearer of the cake suit even further. Swinging round to face the figures standing beside Caley, she raised a shaking arm and pointed it threateningly in their direction.

“Rrrrrgh… that’s it! Screw the anger management, you’re seriously close to getting a taste of my fist!”

“Careful now there,” Butch sniggered. “You’ll melt’cha frostin’ off.”

“From how ticked-off she still gets I’d say da sugar ain’t made her any sweeter!” Errol chortled. Denise had almost lost her battle with a fit of giggles when Rose glowered at her older companions, causing them to fall into a difficult silence.

“That’s not nice, guys,” she reprimanded them. The costumed figure attempted to fold her arms while still wearing a darkened expression.

“It’s okay,” she muttered. “I deal with these sort of morons all the time.”

“You do?” Caley blinked. “So you’re out here deliberately?”

“Yeah…” came the deflated reply.

 

“I’m helping to advertise Tyson’s All-You-Can-Eat Restaurant.”

 

Denise smiled to herself as she caught sight of the new expressions upon Jessie’s, James’ and Errol’s faces. Their eyes had widened considerably and their jaws were beginning to drop.

“All you…” Jessie began.

“…can eat?” James grinned in conclusion. The costumed figure raised an eyebrow.

“That’s what I said, didn’t I?” she responded, leaning forward to get a better look at the group and freezing as her glance passed across four of its members. “Hey…you people look very familiar.”

“Wow,” Jessie commented as the smirk returned to her face. “The kid finally caught on.”

“They always were slow,” James remarked wisely. “And this time we’re not even in disguise!”

“Yeah, what did ya expect, Jess?” Errol tagged on. “Especially when it was so easy ta fool ‘em jus’ by wearin’ a pair o glasses and a hat.”

“Point taken,” Jessie chuckled. The girl furrowed her brow, considerably annoyed.

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped. Caley, Adam and Cory shared expressions of puzzlement. They were certain they had never come across this girl before, and yet other members of the group were acting like she was family (albeit one of the lesser-liked members). Rose appeared to know more than she had been letting on.

“Would I be right in assuming we’ve stumbled across another of those famous ‘twerps’?” she inquired smoothly. The trio nodded in unison, causing the redheaded figure to growl ominously.

“Watch who you’re calling ‘twerp’! The name’s Misty!”

“Of course,” Jessie cooed, putting on a falsely sympathetic face. “With the amount of times we’ve crossed paths it’s hardly likely we’d forget. So… how’s life without your precious cap-headed ‘hero’?”

“That’s none of your business!” Misty responded, blushing profusely.

 

“Why are you here anyway? Come to try and steal my Pokémon again, huh?”  

 

Her words were cut short as a series of ground-shaking thuds caused the group and their bad-tempered extra to become rather unbalanced. Sloane had caught sight of Misty in her costume from where he had recently been standing gazing about the nearby trees for berries and was now thundering towards his intended target with outstretched arms and a somewhat wild look in his eye. Errol leapt aside in alarm as the sizable Pokémon barged through, knocking Cassidy into the bushes in the process and snatching Misty into the air.

“AUGH!” the figure screamed while Sloane attempted to take a bite out of her costume. It was all the trio needed to see to send them into fits of laughter all over again.

“Dat happens ta be one o da reasons why we’re here, kid,” Errol grinned, returning to his feet. “Da stomachs around here are on empty and coiten members ain’t choosy on what dey’re willin’ ta fill ‘em with.”

“So can you take us to this All-You-Can-Eat Restaurant?” Caley asked hopefully.

“Of course! Of course!” Misty spluttered, kicking her legs wildly.

 

“Just get this brute to stop snacking on me!”

 

By the time the others had managed to persuade their bulky companion to let go, there was a considerably large bite mark in Misty’s costume. The adolescent was quick to lead the way; keeping the gap between her and Sloane as wide as possible while Jessie, James and Errol walked ahead of him with amused expressions upon their faces.

“I haven’t had that much of a laugh in ages,” James commented cheerfully.

“Well I’m so glad I could be of service,” Misty replied with heavy sarcasm, glancing down at the somewhat tattered costume that was now draped over her arms. “If it wasn’t for my compassion, I’d leave you to find your own meal. You don’t deserve to eat with all the messes you cause.”

“A-hem!” Jessie tapped her chest as if indicating something. “We’re not in disguise, twerp.”

“Wha?” Misty blinked. “You…quit Team Rocket?”

“Congratulations,” Butch remarked dryly.

 

“You finally figured it out.”

 

Misty narrowed her gaze before plucking up the courage to shuffle back a few paces and examine the group sceptically for a moment. With the temporary assessment over, the girl returned to her place at the forefront of the line, wearing a satisfied smile.

“I gotta admit, I’m pleasantly surprised,” she said. “At least its good to know you won’t be spouting that annoying motto at me.”

“Annoying?” Jessie exclaimed. “That motto was the symbol of our heartfelt dedication and illustrious spirit which never failed despite our plans falling to pieces around us, and you have the nerve to call it annoying?”

“Yep,” Misty simply nodded.

“Well I can imagine a motto would get annoying after a while if those saying it never got it right,” Cassidy remarked with a smirk. Jessie was quick to turn on her and yet another high-pitched, high-volume squabble ensued with Butch, James and Errol joining their respective partners with their own vibrant opinions. Adam leaned down a little way in an attempt to bring his head closer to Stian’s ear.

“Could you pick the pace up a little?” he muttered. “That bunch of idiots is giving me a headache.”

As the Doummaped trotted further away from the argumentative cluster and their bemused-looking Pokémon companions, Misty turned to hand Caley an expression of disbelief.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually travelling with them,” she groaned. The trainer gave a nod.

“They may seem lopsided to you (and in some ways they are). But they’re also very skilled and real friendly once you get to know them.”

“Whatever you say,” Misty replied, shaking her head slightly. ‘Skilled’ and ‘friendly’ certainly hadn’t been the first two words that had come to her mind with relation to those ex-Team Rocket members.

“Let’s hope they calm down again soon,” Rose said. “When those guys’ stomachs get empty, they can become pretty cranky.”

“We’re all in luck then,” Misty smiled, pointing ahead of her.

 

“That’s Tyson’s Restaurant dead ahead!”

 

The statement was enough to make even the figures who had previously been bickering amongst themselves fall silent and crane their necks in an attempt to see what Misty had mentioned. It was a brightly-painted building of intriguing one-storey design resembling that of a Hoennian Yoshoku-ya eatery. Even from this distance the travellers could already smell the delicious aromas of hot cooked food emanating from within.

Stepping up to the front entrance, Misty reached out a hand to push one of the wooden sliding doors aside. A singular, elaborately decorated room was revealed; mostly taken up with a low, narrow table surrounded by lush, red cushions. From a hatch on the left side of the room, a conveyor belt thread its way round the middle portion of the table before returning to its point of origin. And on the right side of the room a large gong hung from a thick metal frame.

“Tyson!” Misty called, wandering toward the counter at the opposite side of the room before placing her costume upon it. “You’ve got visitors!”

“Excellent!” a warm, enthusiastic voice echoed from the store room nearby. “Show them to their places, will you?”

Naturally the exiles were happy to oblige, with James and Caley paying extra attention to getting Adam seated in as comfortable manner as possible. The adolescent couldn’t help but smile faintly as James even lent him his own cushion to lean against without question. Denise and Rose exchanged surprised glances at this behaviour, but said nothing.

As Errol waited patiently for the others to enter, he caught a glimpse of a flicker of red just out of the corner of his eye. Swinging round, the man drew breath in astonishment while he took in the stunted feline figure leaning nonchalantly against one of the canopy’s support beams. It was dressed in smart brown leather boots with a wide-brimmed blue hat and a crimson neckerchief to match.

“No way…” Errol murmured. This was the very same Meowth he recalled crossing paths with back during the Hoenn League. The man’s expression of astonishment soon dissolved into one of utter disbelief at the sheer consequence of it all. “What is dis? Some kinda’ regional reunion party?”  

<What’s your problem?> the Meowth inquired in highly eloquent tones. His face dictated that the recognition was most certainly not mutual. Errol opened his mouth to respond before quickly shutting it again and biting his lip in the process. Maybe his true identity was best left alone for now. The Meowth in fancy dress had hardly acted in a friendly manner toward him the last time they had met.

 

With that in mind, Errol simply uttered a distracted cough and slipped inside the restaurant.

 

“I can’t believe our luck!” Jessie exclaimed, scanning one of the menus with a renewed enthusiasm upon her face. “Of all the things to find in a forest, we discover an all-you-can-eat restaurant!”

“Seems pretty suspicious to me,” Butch muttered, glancing around the room for any signs that this building may simply be a Team Rocket base in disguise. Rose heaved a sigh.

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” Tyson called from the storeroom, accompanied by sounds of items being re-arranged. “Just have to find all my equipment. You’re the first lot of customers I’ve seen in a long time!”

“Not surprisingly,” Misty sniffed. “Building your restaurant in a forest isn’t exactly the smartest business decision.”

“I told you before, the view out here really works up a good appetite,” Tyson insisted. Cassidy glanced up in the girl’s direction.

“That reminds me. What are you doing out here in Tatto anyway? I thought you were Cerulean City's Pokémon Gym Leader.”

“Yeah, that was my job until a few months ago,” Misty nodded. “Then my parents returned home. With mom’s medical treatment program completed, she no longer needed to stay in isolation. Now she and dad are back in control of Cerulean Gym I’ve finally been able to resume my original dream of becoming a professional water Pokémon trainer.”

There was a long pause.

“That doesn't explain what you were doing standing outside dressed as a giant cake,” Adam remarked. Misty groaned in response.

“Let’s just say I get myself into the craziest situations,” she said. “That promotional stunt was a favor for May, a friend of mine whom Tyson is also quite familiar with. She knew I happened to be in east Tatto and begged me to help the guy out, in her own words, ‘for the sake of culinary connoisseurs everywhere.’”

Misty leant forward a little before lowering her voice. 

“I can’t see why he didn’t just place an advertisement in the Business Directory.”

At this point, a young man with somewhat ruffled brown hair emerged from the storeroom clutching a small pile of leather-bound booklets. He appeared to be in his late twenties and wore a light blue shirt and darker-coloured trousers overlaid with an off-white apron. Jessie and James flinched in recognition as the figure’s eyes passed over his latest visitors. Luckily for them, however, Tyson was more surprised over Sloane’s presence at the table.

“Well well!” he exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across his face. “If it isn’t my old friend Snorlar! I’d been wondering where you’d got to.”

“You know him?” Cory blinked, while Sloane raised a paw toward Tyson in greeting.

“Well it’s not easy to forget that face, especially considering how rare these creatures are,” the man chuckled, handing Misty the booklets.

 

“Show our customers the menus, will you?”

 

“Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve been this spoiled fer choice,” Butch commented, fingering the pages of his booklet.

“Youse said it!” Errol grinned. “Feebas Flambé, Stuffed Seaking, Roast Pork in sweet and sour sauce…”

The man had to shut his mouth before he ended up drooling all over the tablecloth. Adam glanced up and down the lists with a highly studied expression. It was taking him some time to decide; this was mostly due to the fact he’d been so used to having a gloopy form of sustenance dumped in front of him without question day after day.

“So how much do you charge here, sir?” Denise inquired politely, reaching for the wallet she had purchased back in Nintencu to keep the gift from her dad safe.

“Hey there’s no need for formalities here,” came the awkward response. “Just call me Tyson. And for as much food as your stomachs can handle, just 936 Pokedollars a head. Only the finest ingredients are used here - prepared by the speediest and most talented Pokémon chefs in all Tatto!”

Caley glanced at his PokéGear and gave a nod of approval. The map showed a great expanse of land ahead, and with no sign of any towns for a good few miles, it was best everyone satisfied their hunger while they were able. With that, Denise opened her wallet and handed Tyson a few notes.

“We’ll take eleven, please.”

While the majority of the group told Misty their first choice of delicacies and the girl scribbled their requests upon a small notepad, Rose took a puzzled glance over the conveyor belt and into the kitchen beyond. It was oddly empty.

“Say…” she began, looking at Tyson. “Where are these talented Pokémon chefs of yours anyway?”

“Oh! Of course!” Tyson exclaimed in realisation. “I figured there’s no need for them to hang around the place when there are no customers to serve. They’re not too far from here, though.”

He wandered past Misty and toward the front door before sliding it open a few inches and peering outside.

 

“Boots, you’re up!”

 

The smartly-dressed Meowth sauntered into the room upon his hind legs before positioning himself in front of the gong, turning and tipping his hat toward the audience. Then, he crouched low and leapt into the air, his tail glowing bright white as he did so. With a cry, Boots swung himself around and slammed his Iron Tail into the gong behind him, causing a loud metallic noise to reverberate throughout the restaurant. Errol and Cory were forced to clamp their hands over their ears as the others winced from the harshness of it all.

Once the vibrations of the gong had dulled, the sound of many high-pitched voices chanting in unison could be heard. A small clan of orange-skinned reptilian Pokémon marched enthusiastically into the room through the front door.

“Char char, charmander. Char-char-char-char mander mander!”

The Charmanders arranged themselves either side of Boots, completing their entrance with a flourish and prompting a round of applause from those watching from the table. Misty approached the one nearest her before leaning forward, tearing the first page of her notepad out and giving it to them.

“Dinner and a show,” James chuckled, while the fire-type Pokémon strolled off with satisfied expressions upon their faces. “We certainly get value for money around here!”

“Sure do!” Tyson grinned. “The ‘manders really know their way around a kitchen. I don’t know where they came from before but if it wasn’t for Snorlar, I’d have never met them!”

As Misty offered glasses of water round the table and Boots made his way toward the exit, Cassidy (who had been staring at the feline Pokémon for some time) turned to look at Jessie with raised eyebrows. It was obvious from the sight of a Meowth standing upon its hind legs as to what the yellow-haired woman was thinking.

“So this is where that Meowth companion of yours got to,” she commented, returning her gaze to its previous focal point. “Trying to make a new image for yourself, were you?”

Boots stopped dead in his tracks before aiming his familiar glower in Cassidy’s direction.

“Meow meowth,” came the blunt remark, before the Pokémon vanished from the scene. Errol’s mouth dropped open a little way as he lowered the menu he had recently been studying.

“An’ what’s dat supposed ta mean?” he snapped at the open doorway, clamming up as soon as he noticed the puzzled expression on Tyson’s face. Misty glanced at the man suspiciously while Butch and Cassidy blinked in surprise and the others looked most uneasy at the not-so-subtle display of their friend’s comprehension of Pokémon language.

“Uh… I …” Errol stammered, turning the menu around and pointing a finger at something upon it. “’Trifle’? What’s dat supposed ta mean?”

“Oh, that’s a traditional Tattoan dessert made from custard, flavoured gelatine and various fruits,” Tyson replied, the cheerful smile returning. The majority of the group allowed themselves to relax at this point, thankful the restaurant owner had not realised Errol’s exclamation had been toward Boots and not about the menu.

Misty, on the other hand, appeared to be deep in thought. While Tyson entered the kitchen to oversee the food preparation, she retreated behind the counter to sort out the change from Denise’s payment. With their attentions diverted, Errol slumped against the wall, frowning enviously.

“Who does he t’ink he is?” the man muttered to himself while Cory folded his arms and tried not to make the situation worse. “Dartin’ around like some fancy-pants Koilia in dat highfalutin excuse for a piece o’ headwear. Why I oughta give him a piece o’ my mind!”

 

Dart…?

 

Butch’s eyebrow twitched. That one word had managed to dig up a whole host of memories he’d previously buried to enable his mind to focus on more important matters. And this time they weren’t intending to be ignored. Before anyone had a chance to work out what was going on, the emerald-haired figure had practically dived across the table, barrelling hands-first into Errol and knocking a glass of water over Jessie's lap in the process. James and Caley managed to restrain their infuriated associate before he did any major damage to his baffled (and now slightly bruised) target.

“Good-for-nothin’ slimebag!” Butch yelled, struggling violently. “I’ll teach ‘im to make a mockery of me! Let go!”

“Not until you calm down and tell us what this is about,” Caley insisted, shocked at his own strength but keeping the emotion hidden under a stern visage. Butch glowered back at the trainer.

“Sure, I’ll tell you,” he responded in dangerous tones. “Your ‘friend’ there was responsible for drugging me in a humiliating fashion and deforming my body!”

All of a sudden, everyone’s attentions were upon Errol who hadn’t even managed to sit upright yet. James frowned knowledgably while Rose uttered a faint sigh over these inevitable repercussions.

“Ah… about dat…” Errol began awkwardly. “I admit shootin’ youse in da butt wit’ dat experimental formula as a distraction was a dumb t’ing ta do, an’ I’m real sorry about it. But dat was four months ago. Dis ain’t Team Rocket HQ, dis is da real woild. An’ it don’t take a guy long to find himself out here.”

Silence followed. Misty leant upon her arms and surveyed the group, listening to the clinks and exuberant exchange of words between Tyson and the Charmanders in the kitchen behind her. Butch appeared to be processing these thoughts, and after a few moments his expression softened a little.

“You’re right,” he murmured. “I know I did.”

Caley was flung back in alarm, having relaxed his hold on Butch only for the man to tear his left arm from the trainer’s grip and point accusingly at Errol.

 

“But your philosophy ain’t gonna excuse you from what you did to me!”

 

“Hold on a minute!” Misty snapped, leaving her position behind the counter and entering the conversation with her usual insistence. “This…occurrence only happened four months ago, and you won’t forgive him?”

“Keep your nose outta this, gym brat,” Butch responded callously, prying himself from James and turning to face Misty. “You don’t know what that guy’s put me through.”

“If it’s anything like what you and Cassidy put me through for over four years, then I’m sure I have a pretty good idea!” Misty exclaimed, taking another step forward. Jessie, James and Errol directed a communal smugness toward their long-term rivals only to be put in their place by one of the redhead’s all-too-familiar icy glares. “Don’t think you two got off lightly. You did far worse!”

Errol couldn’t help smirking all the wider as his two companions began to sulk over the fact Misty’s inability to recognize the ex-Meowth meant he was escaping a tongue-lashing.

“But even after everything you put me through,” she continued at a more acceptable level. “I forgave you all. Yeah, I might be a ‘goody two-shoes’ to you. Still, why not try taking a leaf out of my book for once? Accept that guy’s apology and get on with your life.

 

Thoughts of revenge are petty, and they only cause hurt…”

 

As she concluded her plea, Misty’s eyes grew noticeably watery and her voice became barely audible. Quickly covering her face, the adolescent shakily exited the restaurant via the wooden sliding doors, leaving the travellers to exchange anxious and puzzled expressions.

“What the heck was that about?” Adam inquired, pulling a face. Butch scratched the back of his head in an uncomfortable fashion, not sure as to how to react to such a situation. Eventually he figured since it was his fault Misty was upset, maybe he should attempt to fix the mess he made. But Denise was quick to stop Butch from departing after the redhead.

“I think you’d better leave it to me,” she explained firmly, before moving past the man and standing by the door.

“This is a sensitive issue we’re dealing with; best if it’s given the female treatment.”

 

 

***~~***~~***~~***~~***

 

 

Get a grip, Misty! the sorrowful figure told herself angrily as she leant over the balcony that led to the sleeping quarters which had been built atop the restaurant. From here she had a breathtaking view of the tree-covered mountainside beyond while the aromas from the kitchen wafted upward, attempting to tease her senses with their spicy warmth. But Misty was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice either. Once again she found herself caught between misery and frustration over someone she had cared so much about.

Maybe too much.

Misty started in alarm as she picked up on the hollow sounds of a figure carefully ascending the wooden staircase to the balcony. Half-expecting it to be Tyson, the young woman turned her head away from the stairs, hurriedly wiped at her eyes and attempted to compose herself as best she could. But instead, Denise’s concerned face peered cautiously from behind the wall.

“Sorry about what happened back there,” she began softly, making her way toward Misty. “Some of us still have past issues to settle, apparently.”

“It’s okay,” Misty responded in monotone, turning to look at Denise for just a moment. “Odd as this might sound, I don’t blame Butch for the way he reacted. We all get angry when others do stupid things…

 

…especially when they hurt us.”

 

Denise tilted her head slightly to one side and examined her companion’s furrowed brow for a moment. She knew there was more to Misty’s responses than the figure was letting on; curiosity drove her to pluck up the courage to continue the conversation.

“What happened?”

Misty flinched, realising that Denise had caught on to the hidden meaning behind her words. Part of her was glad for that.

“It was last year during a return visit with Ash to Hoenn to check up on May and her brother Max,” she responded. “Ash had been particularly anxious to carry on with his Pokémon training which, at the time, I hadn’t seen as unusual. He’d always been the competitive type, ready to take on the next challenge that was thrown at him. I’d just assumed he was all fired up for the next league he’d set his sights on participating in, and left it at that. But even when we had arrived in Petalburg, Ash’s attentions were still elsewhere. I recall getting annoyed at him for being so one-track-minded, telling him that this was meant to be an enjoyable time with old friends whom we hadn’t seen in a while, not some change of scenery for his training regimes.”

“How did he react?” Denise blinked, leaning upon the rail. Misty glanced out at the sky, an inexplicable fear in her eyes.

“He didn’t,” she replied shakily. “I’d expected him to have uttered some kind of response in his defence. But there was nothing. He just sat there and waited for May and I to finish preparing the picnic we had planned. I could sense his impatience, and all it did was serve to make me all the more frustrated at him.

 

Still, the worst was yet to come.”

 

Denise looked down thoughtfully, waiting for Misty to gather her thoughts and the strength to share them. This certainly didn’t sound like the same Ash Ketchum she had been told about repeatedly by James. The Ash Ketchum she’d heard of had indeed been high-spirited and competitive, but had never put his battles before his friendships. Something about this scenario felt extremely odd.

“We’d had our hearts set on visiting Petalburg forest to find a nice spot to eat our picnic,” Misty continued. “No sooner had we reached the outskirts than Ash had run into the trees and out of sight. Max, who had been concerned over Ash’s behaviour since he’d arrived (and understandably so) ran after his friend. By the time we had found Max again he was real shook up and barely able to speak.”

“How come?” Denise asked. Misty bit her lip, bringing her hands together and clasping them tight to steady herself.

“It was terrible,” she whispered. “The cries we could hear from beyond our sight, they were cries of agony and distress. We ran toward the noise without a thought for our own safety. Then we reached a clearing…

…what I saw there made my body go cold.”

Silence ensued. Denise began to wonder whether she really wanted to know what horrific scene had greeted Misty’s vision that day. Something told her listening was the right thing to do, even if what she heard might hurt. Sharing the burden would indeed half the burden.

“What… what did you see?” she asked softly.

“Unconscious, battered bodies of Pokémon strewn across the ground,” Misty shuddered. “Ash was standing, fists clenched, bellowing orders at the last two still barely standing. Zangoose, and Pikachu. It was heart-breaking to see Ash’s closest Pokémon friend standing there with a confused expression upon his blood-stained face. I knew what he was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing.

‘Why, Ash? Why are you making your own Pokémon fight against each other so mercilessly?’ Almost like… like he wanted them to suffer.”

Misty’s expression became one of mournful guilt.

“I wasn’t in control of myself any more. Witnessing Ash’s heartless disrespect for his own Pokémon hurt me in ways I cannot describe. Had winning really become all that mattered to him? As soon as my hand had come into contact with his face, I was already filled with regret.

He picked me up by my wrist and I felt a chill run down my spine. His eyes…

 

…his eyes…”

 

At that point, Misty broke down into fits of sobbing upon the balcony. Denise hesitated, her mind caught between moving sideways and instinctively putting one arm around the figure or just staying put. She chose the former, as her sympathy overrode the distaste she had held for the girl over her past dealings with Jessie, James and Errol. She felt it best to keep quiet now, at least until Misty had regained some semblance of calm and was able to speak again. Surprisingly, Misty made no attempt to break away from Denise’s comforting. Instead she continued to cry bitterly until there was nothing left to cry out.

Silence returned. Denise listened intently for the possible approach of those who may be concerned over Misty’s absence, but all she could hear were the clinks of cutlery and the disjointed murmurings of a group of people currently occupied with filling their stomachs.

“Thank you for listening to me,” Misty spoke up. “Actually, you’re the first person I’ve spoke to about this. I’ve just been shocked…and scared to tell any others that knew Ash of what he did, especially after how May reacted to what she saw. She no longer wants anything to do with Ash, and I don’t want him to return to a scene of complete rejection. If his blind frustration is down to what I think it is, then he needs all the love and support he can get right now.”

“Return?” Denise echoed, mildly confused. “You mean he’s gone somewhere?”

“Yes,” Misty nodded slowly. “No sooner had I glanced at Ash’s face, he dropped me to the floor and ran deeper into the forest with Pikachu in anxious pursuit. Despite our best efforts to find either of them, however, our searches were fruitless.”

“How strange…” Denise responded softly. “What did you think was causing him such anger?”

“It was what I recall Ash yelling between his thoughtless orders,” Misty explained sadly. “He had said, ‘I shall repay him! I shall repay him for what he did, and his losses shall far outweigh my own!’.

She looked up at Denise with pity in her eyes.

 

“Something tells me this happened because of his dad.”

 

Denise’s eyes widened. What could his father have possibly done to cause Ash to flip out like that? Misty was about to answer her internal questioning.

“Whenever I managed to catch a break from being the Cerulean City Gym Leader, I would pay a visit to Pallet Town to see how Tracey and Mrs. Ketchum were getting on,” she began. “Ash was so caught up in his training that he’d rarely remember to call his mom, and though Mrs. Ketchum was used to it, I figured she’d appreciate some extra company now and then. Anyway, during one of my visits I noticed a photograph in the hallway…

 

-------------------------------------

 

"Mrs. Ketchum?”

“Please, dear. Call me Delia,” the woman’s musical tones echoed from the kitchen as Misty stepped back from the wall and glanced at the countenances of a young man and woman who were standing in a field of flowers. She was tempted to remove the framed image from its hook to examine it more closely, but natural rules of etiquette dictated one did not go into someone’s house and handle their property without asking. Misty was certain the female in the photograph was Ash’s mother in her late teens - nevertheless she couldn’t help but wonder about the identity of the male figure. He was very tall and extremely well-built with a shock of slightly ruffled cinnamon-brown hair and a familiar cheeky glint in his eyes. He also appeared to be a good few years older than Delia.

Then it dawned on Misty as to where she recognized the expression from. As Delia glided down the hallway with an armful of books, her guest motioned to the picture and raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner.

“The guy in this photo,” she said. “Is this Ash’s dad?”

A wistful sadness could be seen upon Delia’s face for just a moment before it was smothered out by her almost-defiant smile.

“Yes, dear,” she responded simply. “Liam was one of the greatest Pokémon trainers I’ve ever had the pleasure of befriending. Falling in love with him was unexpected, I must admit. But I don’t regret it for a moment. His skill was matched only by his dedication to those he loved.”

“Sounds like someone I know,” Misty chuckled softly.

“Yes, Ash is a lot like his father,” Delia replied, her smile beginning to weaken. “Especially in the case of his constant absence. I know Liam’s ambitions are high and his job demands a lot of him, but… I just wish he’d stay with me for more than two days, and not leave such large gaps between visits. It feels as if we’re drifting apart…

…and I’m sure it’s been taking its toll on Ash too.”

 

-------------------------------------

 

 

As Misty completed her recalling of past events, Denise looked deeply thoughtful. It was understandable that Ash would become frustrated over his father’s absence, and she was certainly curious as to what kind of job could possibly keep a husband away from his wife and son for so long. Despite this, she couldn’t help but feel the extreme nature of Ash’s reactions was unjustified. The fury had sounded intense, and his Pokémon and human friends hardly deserved the brunt it.

But Denise said no more - Misty had been through more than enough harrowing memories for one day.

“Sometimes…” the redhead figure began. “I wish it was just like the old days again, back when we were travelling together. Back then, Ash made more sense, at least in his usual kind of way. I even miss Brock’s hopeless charm and quirky humor. But I have no way to contact either of them.”

Denise blinked and a smile began to emerge upon her face as a certain occurrence from the past crossed her mind.

“Actually, I can help you out there,” she grinned. “At least in the case of Brock. A month or two ago we ended up meeting him while in Mayni City. He just so happens to be running a Beauty Salon there.”

“Really?” Misty exclaimed, deteriorating into giggles soon afterward. “Trust him to open a Beauty Salon! I guess with all the experience he had at Pokémon grooming there’s no reason why he couldn’t apply similar techniques to human hair. Good to hear he’s picked himself up again after his Breeding Center failures though.”

“’Breeding Center failures’?” Denise echoed, raising her eyebrows.

“Brock tried to start up a Pokémon Breeding Center in Kanto shortly after leaving Ash to his own devices,” Misty nodded. “Only things didn’t turn out as well as he’d hoped. Namely, several unfortunate incidents with Brock’s Pokémon charges occurred due to his attentions wandering in the directions of women he’d found appealing.”

Denise sweatdropped as her imagination run wild over this concept. It sounded about right for that guy, especially how he’d seen him react in Rose’s company.

“Well luckily for you, Brock happened to persuade my friend Rose into accepting his ‘Gear number,” she told Misty, rummaging in her pocket. “Caley was happy to save the details himself, just in case. If you have a PokéGear, I could read the number out to you.”

“That would be wonderful!” Misty replied enthusiastically, the brightness returning to her face for the first time in a long while. She retrieved her own communications device and the two girls swapped information. However, as Denise was about to return Caley’s modified PokéGear to a safe place, Misty raised a hand in protest.

“I’ll understand if you won’t do this,” she began unsteadily. “But if you do come across Ash on your travels, it would mean so much to me if you gave him my ‘Gear number.”

Denise nodded, but said nothing. From her associate’s previous discourse she certainly did not wish to come within a mile of Ash, let alone give him someone’s contact details. Still, if he’d managed to deal with whatever issues he had when he left so abruptly, then meeting the guy would be somewhat more palatable. Denise made a move to leave and glanced up at Misty expectantly.    

“Don’t worry about me,” the figure gave a faint smile. “I’ll be downstairs in a minute - I just need to be alone for a little longer.”

“No problem,” Denise smiled as she wandered down the stairs and vanished from sight. Misty returned her gaze to the landscape beyond and uttered a heavy sigh, unaware of the feline witness to her pains who had been sitting quietly upon the rooftop.

 

 

***~~***~~***~~***~~***

 

Denise returned to the bottom floor of the restaurant to be greeted by the sight of much consumption. The conveyor belt was now fully operational, carrying out the empty bowls and plates while continuing to bring in more filled ones. Even at its current speed, however, it appeared to be having trouble keeping up with the amount of food that Errol, Jessie, James and Sloane were devouring.

“Any left for me?” the girl chuckled, sitting back down beside Rose. “Looks like James is trying to empty the restaurant of its stock.”

“Yeah,” the woman smirked. “If I’m not mistaken, he’s attempting to outdo Sloane over how fast one can get indigestion.”

While Caley happily shared his meal with Kota, Rose sat back to drink a large mug of coffee, letting Sia enjoy some beef chunks in gravy, and Cory tried to ignore the fact that neither the man nor the Pokémon next to him appeared to be chewing the food passing their lips before swallowing it. However, Adam was not as used to seeing this rate of food intake and was having difficulty in finishing the half-eaten drumstick in his hand while wearing an extremely disturbed expression.

“James, slow down!” Denise exclaimed in fractious, almost motherly tones. “You’re going to choke on something!”

Pausing for just a second, James opened his mouth to insist that he was far too skilled at eating for that to happen when a chunk of bread got dislodged from the inside of his cheek and vanished straight into his air passage, sending the man into a coughing fit. Without even bothering to glance up from her plate, Jessie raised one arm and slapped her partner harshly across the back.

“Thanks, Jess…” he responded hoarsely, shortly after regaining his breath.

“Don’t mention it,” the woman replied in absent tones. As James returned to eating, Sloane glowered at the side of the man’s head with an expression that dictated he felt his competitor was attempting to throw him off pace by the use of cheap distractions.

 

The Snorlar began to grin as his eyes glowed a faint shade of blue. He had cheap distractions of his own.

 

“I figured youse were hungry, Jimmy…” Errol blinked, while Butch and Cassidy started to chuckle amongst themselves. “But surely not dat much!”

“Huh?” James swallowed, his fork poised in mid-air. Glancing down at it, the man’s mouth dropped open slightly as he noticed the half-eaten napkin that happened to be skewered on the end of it.

“I could have sworn I was eating a pancake,” he commented in puzzled tones. Jessie raised an eyebrow at this.

“Don’t tell me,” she remarked. “Psychic mind tampering, like the kind we received in that old mansion in Johto when we were fooled into eating leaves because we thought they were cookies?”

“Wouldn’t be surprised,” Errol responded, giving Sloane a very hard look. The Snorlar tried to feign innocence but it wasn’t convincing anybody; especially considering that James’ plate of pancakes had been relocated in front of him.

“Hey!” the man protested, snatching it back. “I hadn’t finished with those!”

Butch rolled his eyes before nervously leaning across the table toward Denise and lowering his voice a few notches.

“Uh… she okay?” he whispered, referring to Misty.

“As she can be,” Denise murmured, without looking up. The girl didn’t wish to recap on any of the events she and Misty had spoken about upstairs; namely because it was not her place as to whether they should be shared or not, but also because she had found them most harrowing.

Thankfully for Denise, Butch took the hint and returned to eating with an unhappy expression on his face.

 

 

***~~***~~***~~***~~***

 

Back on the balcony, Misty continued to gaze out wistfully across the Upper Mountain Range.

“I know what I said about forgiveness while I was talking to the others down in the restaurant,” she murmured. “And I would forgive you, Ash, even though time hasn’t served to make what happened any easier to bear. I’d still forgive you; if only you’d come back and admit the way you acted was hurtful and wrong. Oh Ash…

 

…where did you go?”

 

Misty glanced up as she heard a slight rattle from a point above her head. Boots dropped into view, landing elegantly upon the balcony and greeting the girl with a bow. Instead of being annoyed at the Pokémon's eavesdropping, Misty allowed herself a smile of amusement.

“And how long have you been up there, hm?” she inquired calmly. Boots responded with a simple shrug and lay back against the side of the building with his front paws behind his head.

“I can’t possibly figure why Cassidy thought you were the Meowth that used to hang around with Jessie and James,” Misty continued. “For a start you’re more the strong, silent type, and far more chivalrous than he could have ever hoped to be. Although, I can’t help but wonder where that Meowth got to.

 

Here I was with the impression that those three were inseparable.”

 

Boots smirked at the former part of his human companion’s statement, lifting up his hat by its brim to glance up at the figure for a moment. Then his eyes widened considerably with realisation. Misty jumped in alarm as the Pokémon leapt to his feet and ran off down the wooden stairs to the floor below. The hastiness of his movements prompted her to follow.

The group at the table soon found their activities interrupted as Boots darted into sight with an angry glower upon his face which was aimed directly at Errol.

<I know you can understand me!> he snapped, causing the man to almost choke on his mouthful. <Don’t pretend that you can’t!>

“What’s the matter, Boots?” Misty exclaimed, running into the room and looking down at the Pokémon in confusion. Ignoring the inquiry and avoiding the puzzled stares of the other occupants at the table, Boots strode closer to his intended target, eyes narrowing.

<Is that why you’ve corrupted yourself?> he inquired harshly. The fork twitched in Errol’s hand, but he continued to stare down at his plate and say nothing. By this time, Boots was poised at Errol’s right side. There was a noticeable resentment present upon the man’s face now - another jab at his pride would be all it would take to shatter the bindings of self-restraint.

And Boots hit him where it hurt.

<Were you embarrassed about being a lousy excuse for a Meowth?> he sneered. Errol responded by thrusting his arm out and grasping Boots’ neck, causing the Meowth to gasp from a mixture of air loss and surprise at the sudden movement.

 

 

“Youse better quit insultin’ my identity,” Errol hissed, now completely unaware of those around him. “Or you’ll get da pleasure o’ findin’ out what hands can do.”

The man let out a cry of pain as his captive swung a pawful of claws at him in retaliation. A sharp rip was heard, followed by a metallic clink as a small, hard object hit the floor.

<You disgust me> Boots spat. <Abandoning your true self was low, even for you…>

The rest of the Pokémon's sentence petered out as he vanished into a red glow. But Errol was too deep in his own exposed memories now; he glanced up at the Pokéball in Tyson’s hand with an expression of teary-eyed bitterness.

“Ya wouldn’t undastand!” he yelled. “Ya’d never…

…uh…”

At this point, Errol’s rational thought was returned to him, shortly followed by his consciousness of his surroundings. Slowly retracting himself into a huddled mass, the figure buried his head in his arms and uttered a broken, shameful sigh.

It was clear to see at this point, he sincerely wished there was a Pokéball for him to take refuge in also.

 

 

***~~***~~***~~***~~***

 

 

“I’m terribly sorry,” Misty addressed the group outside the restaurant, not too long afterward. Following the previous outburst, Caley had felt it best to move on as quickly as possible to give Errol some time to recover. “I don’t know what got into Boots back there; he’s never blindly attacked anything other than Persians before. Tyson said it was something to do with upholding his Meowth integrity; it doesn’t make sense that he’d suddenly flip out at your friend like that.”

Sadly, it makes perfect sense, Rose thought mournfully, glancing back at Errol’s forlorn countenance standing some distance down the track, accompanied by Sloane, Kota and Cory. One didn’t have to be able to translate Pokémon speech to work out what Boots had been so upset over. He’d seen Errol’s form alteration as nothing but denial. He had mistakenly assumed Errol had chosen to become human because he felt being a Meowth wasn’t good enough. In fact, Boots’ anger had grown to such a level that the Pokémon hadn’t even stopped to ask his counterpart the reasons for his decision.

It had all happened too fast. Thankfully this had meant neither Tyson nor Misty had managed to comprehend the true meaning behind Boots’ response.

“Will he be okay?” Misty asked cautiously.

            “In due time,” Caley spoke up. “He’s just… had some bad experiences with Meowths in the past, that’s all.”

            “Oh…” came the uncomfortable response. “That’s a shame.”

            “If it’s any consolation to Tyson, tell him the food and service were excellent,” Denise insisted.

            “I agree! My compliments to the chefs,” James added brightly, with a grin.

             “We needed to be leaving soon anyway,” Caley tried to reassure the girl. “Running a tight schedule, you see. We need to get to Cosma before dark.”

            “Not to mention before ‘they’ find us again,” Adam tagged on. Butch jabbed him sharply in the side, causing the boy to curse a little too loudly for his own good as the knowledge of his previous injuries was well re-established.

            “They?” Misty blinked. Jessie and James exchanged somewhat weary glances as Caley wandered out of earshot with Denise and a very grumpy Adam in close pursuit.

            “Remember us saying about quitting our ‘old job’?” James spoke up. “The boss is ticked off at us over that, not to mention a whole slew of other things…”

            “To cut a long story short, we’re in charge of making sure the peace-lovers amongst the populace aren’t enslaved or exterminated,” Jessie concluded. Misty examined the duo for a moment, temporarily assuming their statements to be sarcasm. Closer inspection of their expressions dictated this certainly wasn’t the case.

            “We made crummy villains,” James continued, while Cassidy shot him a glare that said plainly, ‘speak for yourself’. “And the boss isn’t thrilled that we seem to be making decent heroes so far either. He’s been sending every available Elite operative after us in his attempts to stop us fighting for the side of good.”

            “Wow…” Misty couldn’t help but gasp. “You guys really have changed a lot from the petty thieves I knew.”

            “Helps to not be somewhere where being evil is a job requirement,” Rose nodded. Butch smirked at overhearing this.

            “They couldn’t meet that one very well.”

            “You’ve all got some great skills, and its about time they were used for something beneficial,” Misty smiled.

 

“I’m glad you finally altered your course of life.”

 

After a few moments of uncomfortable fidgeting and awkward expression-passing between the ex-Rockets amongst the group, Caley bid farewell to their gracious hosts and led his companions northward up the forest path. Detecting their approach, Errol stood aside and let the others pass before taking up position at the rear. With Adam now back on his feet, Stian was free to wander alongside the other Pokémon, but there was little conversation between them. They could see Errol was in no mood to talk; his head bobbing miserably with every step and his arms dangling lifelessly by his sides like wet noodles. Eventually they got the impression he was in no mood for company either, and rejoined the main portion of the group some time after.

Further ahead, matters were different. Butch had his gaze set on the mid-afternoon sky with an appreciative look in his eyes.

“I was wrong about that kid,” he remarked. “She ain’t all that bad, really.”

“Yeah, when she’s not yelling in a rage, or commanding something to attack you,” Jessie tagged on dryly, while Cassidy thoughtfully glanced over her shoulder.

“Considering the circumstances we met under, it’s not surprising she acted like that,” James reminded them. “Now we’re on the same side, we’re finding out what those twerps are really like.”

“The cap-headed one is bound to be full of himself regardless of what side we’re on,” Jessie remarked, rolling her eyes. Denise watched quietly as James nodded in agreement.

“True,” he said. “It would take something big to change a personality like that.”

“Would take a miracle,” Jessie smirked, to which Butch repressed a snigger and Denise uttered a tiny sigh. Misty’s words and the mental images associated with them had returned to the forefront of her mind, and their potency was proving difficult to handle. James was right. It would have taken something big to change a personality like that.

 

And she didn’t think family issues were responsible.

 

“Either way, I hope that’s the end of bumping into old ‘acquaintances’,” James continued. “I mean, doesn’t it seem weird that we’ve met almost half them during our travels?”

“Sometimes things happen for a reason,” Caley relayed somewhat distantly, his eyes glazing over slightly. Adam turned his attentions from Denise toward the trainer for a moment, his face contorting as he glanced back upon the harrowing memories of his mother’s death and wondered what the reason for some things might be.

“He has a point,” Rose agreed. “It is hard to see the entire painting when you’re the size of a Caterpie and you’re sitting on the canvas. My dad used to say something like that.”

“But that doesn’t mean we should get discouraged,” Caley insisted. “The tiniest of bug Pokémon has a purpose, after all.”

“You heard the guy!” Jessie exclaimed, striking up a marching rhythm with her feet and causing James to follow in the process. “I want to see some enthusiasm in those faces! Hup-hup-hup-hup!”

Rose chuckled while Denise smiled, shaking her head, Adam rolled his eyes and Butch simply put on an expression that dictated he had no idea what to make of the situation. As the speed of Jessie and James’ marching increased, so did their distance from the rest of the group. In a matter of moments they had vanished amongst the trees.

Errol glanced up as his companion’s words reached his ears, but even those positive notions weren’t enough to lift his spirits. With Gloria gone, he had found it increasingly hard to believe that his own decision of choosing humanity had been the correct one. Boots’ callous remarks had only served to heighten his uncertainty.

“When youse said dose woids,” he murmured to no one in particular. “Dey sounded so right. Why must I doubt ‘em now?”

It had been a while since Errol had last taken a glance at his old charm and the advice it bore - maybe that was all the reassurance he needed. It couldn’t hurt to do so, either way. Reaching up to his neck instinctively, the man suddenly yelped and flinched in horror. The string which had once bound his charm tightly had vanished, along with its cargo.