Chapter 1: Curiosity and Uncertainty
Misty was lying in her sleeping bag and looking at the sky
kind of vacantly. It was early in the morning, and she wanted
some time to herself before Brock and especially that rude,
stubborn, thickheaded Ash woke up. She was thinking
about some of her actions… She had been so worried when
she had thought Ash was dead back in Lavender Town!
As she continued, alone in her thoughts, she remembered
when she had agreed to be in Melvin the magician's act and
she had blushed when Ash had said, "That's a real cute costume,
Misty," in a teasing way. She had sort of liked it, though, hadn't
she? She was reviewing all of the journeys she had had with him.
She wasn't quite sure of what she thought of him.
Misty remembered how Ash had taken her bike and then gotten it
completely destroyed. She almost laughed to herself. It seemed
like so long ago, and she had forgotten all about the bike that
he still owed her. She thought of all the good times she had had
with him and realized that all of those were worth more to her
than the bike. It was enough to be with Ash. As soon as he woke
up, she decided she was going to tell him he didn't have to
buy her a new bike.
She glanced at Ash, still sleeping peacefully in his sleeping bag. She wished that they were on the coastline, or even in caves, more often. In the forests, there were all the disgusting bugs… And she had told her sisters that she was going to be a Pokémon master when she returned. So far, she only had six Pokémon. She could say she had seven, but only if she counted Jigglypuff, and she didn't really belong to anyone. Well, at least she wasn't like Brock, who only had four Pokémon. She kind of envied Ash. Pikachu was so cute and she wouldn't become a Raichu until she decided to let Ash give her a Thunder Stone. Her Togepi was very cute also, but when he evolved, orif he evolved, what would he look like then?
Misty didn't want to disturb the peacefully sleeping Togepi. She noticed Pikachu, who was lying next to her, beginning to wake up, so she gently reached out to feel her soft fur. (Just a little while ago, Misty had called Pikachu "she", which offended Ash, who said that Pikachu was male. Misty had known she was right and told Ash to go to the next Pokémon Center they found and to ask Nurse Joy how to tell the difference. When Ash found out that she was right, she smirked at him a bit teasingly.)
Pikachu slowly opened her eyes, her yellow ears twitching. Pikachu woke up very suddenly now. She was startled by something. Her ears were better than that of a human's, and Misty knew to trust Pikachu's instinct. She sat up and put her shoes on, getting ready to send out her Pokémon, but as she glanced about, she saw nothing. "What is it, Pikachu?" she asked her.
"Pi pikachu kachu pika," said Pikachu, which really didn't help much. After a while, Pikachu started to calm down, sensing that the threat was gone. Misty relaxed a little bit too. Pikachu walked over for Misty to hold her, knowing that she would. She saw nothing and settled comfortably into Misty's arms.
Misty smiled at Pikachu. "Pikachu, I wish I could understand you," she told her. "I need some advice right now, but I can't get it from Brock, and definitely not Ash. Brock… well, he doesn't understand anyone's feelings but his own. Ash… he…" she stopped, blushing.
"Pikachu pi," said Pikachu, smiling back at Misty.
Misty shook her head and said, "I think you can understand what I'm telling you. You probably know what I should do, but I can't understand you. Life can be so difficult sometimes. I mean, I don't know whether I like Ash or whether I hate him. And if I like him, do I like him as a friend… or more than that? Sometimes he can just be this completely stubborn, obnoxious, hardheaded boy, but usually he's sweet because he really does care about you and all of his other Pokémon and he isn't afraid to show a sensitive side like some boys. He's just stupid enough to accept anyone's Pokémon battle challenge, but he'd also protect me at any cost, just because I'm his friend. He's very thickheaded, but he is really kind. When he sets his mind to something, a Thunderbolt from you wouldn't stop him from doing it, no matter how stupid it is. But still, he usually doesn't do stupid things, and if he does, he usually has a good reason." Misty stopped, realizing she was babbling.
Pikachu, shrugging, said simply, "Pika."
"You think that I love him?" asked Misty, wondering if that was what Pikachu was even talking about. Pikachu shook her head. Actually, she had just yawned.Misty paused a second, then asked, "You want me to figure out for myself whether or not I like him, don't you?" She brushed some of her red hair behind her.
Pikachu blinked. She hadn't even thought about that, but now that Misty had asked, she nodded. The girl should figure out for herself, she knew.
Nearby, James peered at the campsite from behind a bush. "Jessie, I think we're going to finally catch Pikachu this time," he said happily. "The only ones awake are Pikachu and the girl."
"Let me see," said Jessie, pushing James away. Maybe they would be able to catch Pikachu this time. Then they'd quickly get promoted and be able to take a well-deserved long vacation. Indeed, things had never looked better. With only one of them awake, it would be simple to get the Pikachu. Even the girl's back was turned away! Things were working out perfectly.
Team Rocket carefully set up the gimmicks they were going to use for their entrance this time, which involved speakers to the left and right of the campsite. When it was set up, they began their motto.
"Prepare for trouble," said a voice over to the left. Misty looked, but Team Rocket wasn't there.
"Make it double," said a voice over to the right. Again, nobody was there.
Now Team Rocket jumped down in front of her. "To protect the world from devastation," began Jessie.
"Just stop right now," said Misty. "I already know the rest." She yawned. "You could just give up, guys. You know that you're never going to get Pikachu."
"We will get Pikachu this time, and you never interrupt the Team Rocket motto!" said Jesse angrily. "Meowth!" she called.
"That's right!" said Meowth, who jumped down from the same tree, carrying a blue bag.
"Pikachu, use your Thunderbolt!" said Misty. She stood up quickly.
Before Pikachu could respond, Meowth threw a glittering powder over her, putting her to sleep. He then threw the powder over Brock and Ash, who had just woken up, effectively rendering them unconscious. Now not even a Snorlax's Body Slam would wake them up until it wore off, Misty thought to herself as she realized it was Sleeping Powder from Butterfrees.
"Now, give us Pikachu, or we'll steal all of your Pokémon," threatened Meowth.
Before Misty could point out that they could have easily taken the sleeping Pikachu and just ran (not that she would have), another Pikachu scampered into the area. He shocked Jessie and James, but didn't see Meowth. As Jessie and James called out Arbok and Weezing, the Pikachu pounced on Ash's sleeping Pikachu and shook her wildly, trying to wake her up.
James mistook it as an attack. "No, that's our Pikachu!" said James. "Weezing, Sludge attack!" Weezing spit out about a gallon of sludge, sending the wild Pikachu into a tree.
"So that's what we heard earlier," thought Misty. She reached for a Poké Ball and threw it, yelling, "Starmie, go!" The purple starfish appeared in front of her. "Starmie, Swift attack!"Starmie shot stars at both the Weezing and Arbok. Team Rocket's signature Pokémon were forced to retreat, but Meowth came forward. He threw the Powder on Starmie, and he became sleepy.
"Staryu, go!" yelled Misty. "Staryu, Water Gun on Starmie!" Staryu shot water at her partner, Starmie, which got the powder off. "Staryu, Starmie, Water Gun!" said Misty. Both Pokémon aimed at Meowth. Arbok, however, slithered behind Staryu and Starmie and wrapped herself around both of them, stopping their attack.
Weezing attacked Starmie as Meowth attacked Staryu and Misty realized she was outnumbered and called them back. "What can I do?" she thought. "I don't think Goldeen or Horsea will help very much, and Psyduck is only helpful occasionally…"
"Horsea, Goldeen, Psyduck, go!" said Misty, calling them all out at once. "Psyduck, Scratch Meowth! Horsea, Bubble attack on Weezing! Goldeen…Goldeen, return!" Misty realized a fish was completely helpless here. Psyduck simply wasn't capable of fighting, unless his headache was terrible, and her poor Horsea couldn't even move on land.
Misty was distracted as Meowth came up behind her. She was focused on the battle and didn't realize that he still had the bag of Sleep Powder. He threw it over her and she fell asleep. Team Rocket didn't notice the Pokémon that had seen the speakers and dreamed of a big stage singing act. They didn't notice her watching as they tied Misty up and carried her into the woods.
