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Hearing Ash's question, Misty lifted her chin and shot back without hesitation,
"What's the problem? I'll go wherever I want. Do I need to report my movements to you now?"
It really showed why she'd been Ash's very first companion and traveled with him for so long. When facing Ash, Misty's presence was overwhelming. Her comebacks were sharp, merciless, and she showed absolutely no restraint.
Ash, never great with words to begin with, was instantly left stammering, unable to form a proper reply.
Just then, Brock, May, and Max, who had been walking a few steps behind, finally caught up.
Compared to Ash, Brock's reunion with Misty was just as dramatic.
After the Silver Conference, the three of them had returned to Kanto and parted ways with firm resolve. And yet, before any of them realized it, they were standing here again reunited in Hoenn under circumstances none of them had expected.
"Didn't you say you were going back to the Gym to take care of your siblings?" Misty blurted out.
"And didn't you say you were returning to help your sisters at Cerulean?" Brock shot back.
They pointed at each other, faces filled with disbelief. Their expressions made it clear they could hardly trust their own eyes or believe they'd run into each other again so soon.
May and Max, having no idea what was going on, simply looked back and forth between them, utterly confused.
Misty glanced sideways at Brock. "So this is how you're 'taking care' of your brothers and sisters?"
Brock smiled calmly. "And I don't see your sisters anywhere either."
Caught in the middle, Ash wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed.
"At this point, we might as well have just kept traveling together…"
"Hmph. As if." Misty crossed her arms and puffed out her chest proudly.
"I'm traveling with Kai now—and it's just the two of us, thank you very much~!"
Nearby, May and Max watched the exchange. Even though they didn't know Misty yet, they could clearly feel it the tension wasn't hostility. These three argued like this because they were genuinely close.
Since they couldn't get a word in, the siblings took the opportunity to approach Kai instead.
"It's good to see you again, Mr. Kai," May said brightly, smiling up at him. "I didn't expect to run into you here. By the way… where's Erika?"
"She went back to Kanto," Kai replied, shaking his head slightly. Then he asked, knowingly, "And how did you end up traveling with Ash and Brock?"
"That's… kind of a long story," May sighed. "After we parted ways, I went to Professor's lab to get my first Pokémon. That's where I met Ash. Pikachu was sick at the time and accidentally destroyed my bike. I didn't really have a choice, so I started traveling with them. As for Max, he insisted on joining after we reached the Petalburg Gym. And Brock we ran into him while traveling."
The moment bicycles were mentioned, Misty's ears practically perked up.
She turned toward May immediately.
"Wait—your bike got wrecked by Ash too?!"
"Too?" May blinked. "What do you mean by too?"
Misty shot Ash a sideways glare and snorted. "Exactly what it sounds like. When I first met this guy, he stole my bike to save Pikachu. Sure, I understood at the time but after it got completely destroyed, he never paid me back. I only kept traveling with him because of Pikachu."
"…What?" May froze. "You mean… he's done this before?"
Then a terrible realization hit her.
If someone who traveled with Ash for that long never got compensation, then what hope did she have of ever seeing her bike again?
Watching the conversation spiral toward bicycles yet again, Ash could only force an awkward smile. Even Pikachu looked visibly uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Misty had long since stopped caring about it. She simply turned to May and held out her hand with a friendly smile.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Misty."
May paused for a moment, then quickly shook her hand. "I'm May."
And just like that, two girls who had accompanied Ash through adventures in different regions finally met face-to-face. It was as if, without anyone realizing it, a quiet passing of the torch had taken place each of them moving forward on their own path.
After enduring the awkwardness for far too long, Ash clearly wanted to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory. He turned quickly to Kai.
"Oh! Right—Kai, how many Badges do you have now?"
Kai saw right through Ash's discomfort and was happy to help him out. "I just finished battling the Mauville Gym. I'm only one Badge ahead of you."
"One more than me?"
Ash's eyes lit up.
Kai had started his journey far earlier yet he was only ahead by a single Badge. That meant Ash could catch up soon!
I've gotta work harder!
Grinning, Ash said, "Talk about perfect timing! I just beat the Dewford Gym and was about to head to Mauville next!"
"That really is convenient," Kai nodded. "Looks like we're traveling in opposite directions. You're heading to Mauville, and I'm off to Dewford. Running into each other like this isn't easy."
"Alright, alright," Misty interrupted, waving her hand. "What do you mean by 'not easy'? Once or twice is a coincidence. At this point, you two have run into each other so many times I'm not even surprised anymore. Standing around here isn't helping either let's find somewhere to sit down and talk."
She had a point.
With how often Ash and Kai crossed paths, even they were starting to think it was normal.
And standing around in the middle of the street was starting to block traffic. After a brief discussion, the group headed into a nearby café to take a break.
They ordered coffee and desserts and settled into a corner, chatting casually.
There, they shared stories of their recent journeys. It was also during this time that May and Misty began to grow closer.
"You're in for a rough ride," Misty said to May with a knowing smile, covering her mouth as she laughed. "Traveling with Ash is painful. And the worst part? Team Rocket. Those three show up everywhere."
Brock nodded emphatically in agreement.
Seeing their expressions, May thought back over everything she'd experienced since meeting Ash and suddenly, it all clicked.
"So all those times we were attacked by weird people… getting lost… going hungry…" she said slowly. "You're saying that wasn't unusual at all… but something that's been happening for a long time?"
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!