Misty goes to America Two Hollywood Hotel... Ash was at the front desk, talking with the clerk, and after what seemed like hours, returned with three keycards. "So, how are we gonna determine who's gonna get which one?" Ash said, holding the keycards in front of everyone. Misty snatched one, and Brock and Scott followed. "OK then, that settles it." Ash mumbled. "Let's go, Brock." The four headed for the elevator, and pressed the button for the 11th floor. When the doors opened, all four of them rushed toward the exit, and they started to push and shove to get out. "Misty, get back! I need to get out first!" Brock shouted. "Shame on you, Brock. Ladies first!" Misty snapped. "Oh yeah?" "Yeah!" Then, suddenly, Ash squeezed his way out, and the other three fell onto the floor. "Next time, we determine who goes first INSIDE the elevator!" Brock mumbled, trying to get Misty and Scott off his back. Finally, the four arrived at their rooms. The four split, with Ash and Brock going one way, while Scott and Misty went their ways. Misty arrived at the door, and unlocked it. There, she found a majestic view of Los Angeles, and a king-size bed. She dumped her backpack down on the chair, put Togepi on the floor, and plopped onto the bed. It's been 2 day since they arrived in America, and it was already hell, especially with the so-called "welcome wagon" courtesy of Jesse and James. Megan and Shawn only lasted one round with Brock and her, as Graveler and Starmie knocked out Arbok and Muk with only three hits. Then, they just returned their Pokemon to their Poke Balls, and ran away. The first hotel they checked into had their air conditioner break down, so they packed up, and headed on the road to places like Disneyland, Universal Studios, and all the attractions. Finally, they checked into this new hotel. But, there was no time to worry about that. There was a Pokemon Gym Convention at Dodger Stadium in the morning, and Ash and Brock had begged her to go with them. Seeing a way to gain Ash's heart, she reluctantly agreed. Suddenly, there was a loud thumping sound outside. Misty rushed outside, and saw Scott, walking towards the elevator with his fedora and backpack on. "Hey, where are you going, Scott?" Misty asked, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Uh, I'm just going out for dinner." Scott replied. "Where? Planet Hollywood?" "Uh, no. Someplace near Union Station." "Can I come too?" "Uh, no. I'm meeting a few friends there." "Friends?" "Yeah, friends. Uh, look. I know I told you I'll come over and play Poker later, but can we do it an another time?" "Sure..." Scott rushed to the elevators, and Misty slammed the door. Scott was acting rather strangely when he saw me, she thought to herself. But, if he wanted a private dinner with friends, that's his matters, not mine. After a few hours, Scott didn't return. She didn't worry, due to the fact that he was a strong guy, so no one could hurt him. She waited for an another hour, and then, drifted off to sleep, with Togepi tight in her arms. Dodger Stadium, the next morning... Ash, Misty and Brock walked into the stadium, and saw row after row of tables from trainers from all around Los Angeles and Southern California, with Pokemon, and Pokemon stuff ready to trade, buy, or sell. Brock rushed over to a breeder's table, but immediately bumps into Koga, the Fuschia Gym Leader. "Brock, Misty, what are you doing out here? Everyone is waiting for the two of you. Better come with me." Koga said. "What is it, Koga?" Misty asked, a little bit surprised. "Why, the Inter-Pokemon League Challenge! Asia versus North America. Didn't you get the fax from Erika concerning the matter?" Koga asked. "Yeah, but I didn't know it was today!" Brock replied. "Well, it is. Let's go, you two." Koga replied. "OK...Ash, find a seat in the stands. Watch me beat the North American trainers..." Misty shouted, as she followed Koga and Brock into a private area. Ash looked around. Only Pikachu was with him now. And where was Scott? He wasn't at breakfast this morning, and when Brock and Misty knocked on his door, he wasn't there. Something was wrong... "Well, let's go, Pikachu." Ash declared, and went toward the exit to the stands. "Pikachu!" Pikachu replied, running after Ash. Meanwhile... "There it is, Megan!" Shawn shouted. "And there's the little twerp that little yellow rodent calls trainer!" Megan replied. "Let's get it!" Megan and Shawn tore off their disguises, and the parrot stood in his cage. "Prepare for trouble..." Megan shouted. "Make it double!" Shawn shouted. "To protect the world from devastation..." "To unite all peoples within our nation..." "To denounce the evils of truth and love..." "To extend our reach to the stars above..." "Megan..." "Shawn..." "TR North America blasts off at the speed of light..." "Surrender now, or prepare to FIGHT!" "Squawk! That's right!" "Now, to grab the Pikachu!" Megan and Shawn lunged toward Pikachu, but lands face first onto the floor. When they were finally able to pull themselves off the floor, Ash and Pikachu were gone, and they had failed the boss once again. In the stands... Ash was drinking from his 1.4 liter cup of Coke, and munching on his extra-large tub of popcorn with triple-butter, while Pikachu was munching on a giant cotton candy when the MC appeared in the center ring. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, welcome to the First Annual Inter-Pokemon League Challenge between Pokemon Leagues of North America and Asia! Tonight, we will have all 8 Gym Leaders from both Leagues to face off against each other. They will face off in a 4-on-4 style, with no time limit, and with the Golden KO rule in full effect! Earlier, they had been seeded according to evolutionary power using a percentage-style mathematical formula. The top of one league will face the bottom of the other, and vice versa. So, without further ado, we will now commence Battle #1 between the NAPL Volcano Badge Leader, Blake of Seattle versus the PL Rainbow Badge Leader, Erika of Celadon City!" Blake stepped into the red end of the arena, and Erika into the blue. The bell was rung, and both Erika and Blake toss their Poke Balls into the arena. Blake pulls out Charizard, and Erika pulls out her Gloom. The match was short, as Grass Pokemon is weak against Fire types. Erika's final Pokemon, Victreebel, was knocked out with Blake's second, Ninetales. The bell was rung, and Erika fell onto her knees. "And Blake is winner of Battle #1! North America takes a early 1-0 lead. And now, it's time to move on to Battle #2 between the NAPL Rainbow Badge Leader, Janine of Toronto versus PL Thunder Badge Leader, Lieutenant Surge of Vermilion City!" Lt. Surge stepped into the blue area of the arena, and tossed his Poke Ball into the ring, and Janine did the same in the red area. Janine pulls out her Exeggutor, and Lieutenant Surge pulls out his Magneton. Exeggutor knocks out Magneton, and Lt. Surge pulls out Electrode. Electrode self-destructs, and knocks it and Exeggutor out. Janine then pulls out her Venusaur, and the Lieutenant his Pikachu. Pikachu was outmatched, and finally, he was down to only one Pokemon. The Lieutenant pulls out his Raichu, and quickly fries Janine's Venusaur to a crunchy crisp with a Thunderbolt. Janine retreats Venusaur, and resorts to her Tangela. Tangela strangles Raichu with a choke hold with its vines, and the bell was rung. Lt. Surge's mouth dropped wide open as Raichu fell onto the mat amidst loud cheers from the crowd. Wow, Janine and Blake must be pretty powerful, Ash thought to himself. I'd better review their tactics before I visit them at their gyms... "And Janine is the winner of Battle #2! The score is now 2-0 North America. But will Asia come back in Battle #3, a Cascade vs. Cascade battle between the NAPL Leader, Scott of Vancouver versus the PL Leader, Misty of Cerulean City?" The ring automatically opened, and a circular tank of water was revealed. Scott stepped onto the red area of the ring, and Misty into the blue area. Ash stared as Misty's face changed as her eyes met Scott's face on the opposite end of the ring. In the ring... Scott stared at Misty, and Misty stared him back. So, Scott was a Cascade Badge Leader too, eh? Well, I've got to show those North Americans how it's REALLY done in Asia, she thought to herself with a grin on her face. He threw his Poke Ball into the tank, and Misty did the same. When both of them sank to the bottom, they popped open, and two Starmies came out of the water, and onto the pair of floating rubber mats. Scott ordered his Starmie to use Tackle, and caught Misty off guard. Her Starmie was knocked clear out of the ring as his Starmie landed back onto the red mat. Misty retreated her Starmie, and pulled out Seadra. Scott replaced his Starmie with Wartortle, and Seadra immediately tried to pierce Wartortle's skin with its spiked fins. After a while of dodging, Wartortle sent Seadra flying out of the ring with a powerful Hydro Pump. Misty replaced Seadra with Staryu, and Scott replaced Wartortle with his own Seadra. The two Pokemon fought for quite a while, with no clear cut winner between Seadra's spiked fins and Starmie's speed. But at the end, small things can pack a big punch, as Seadra finally was able to match Staryu's speed, and send it out of the water. Now, Misty was down to her final Pokemon. Seaking, it's all up to you now, she thought to herself. But then, Scott replaced Seadra, and what popped out next shocked everyone in Dodger Stadium. A Dragonair. Misty gasped, and hastily ordered Seaking to attack. But, alas, it was too small, as Dragonair defeated it with just one simple Pound attack. The bell was rung, and Misty replaced her Seaking. The crowds cheered, and Misty fell to her knees. A tear drop fell from her eye, and then, with tears flowing down her cheek, she ran into the passageway, with Scott chasing after her. Misty rushed into the Asian Locker Room, and slammed the door. Scott could only wait, and soon, leave as the next round commenced, with the score tied 4-4. This time, Scott gets to duel it out with Brock. The second round soon ends, with James (Yes, the head of Team Rocket!) defeating Sabrina, Blake defeating Koga, Janine defeating Gary (Not Gary Oak), and finally, it was time for Brock and Scott to duel it out on center stage. But, the match ended rather quickly, as Brock's rock and ground Pokemon were no match for Scott's high-level water Pokemon. The bell was rung, and Brock went back into the locker room, dejected. Round 3 came and gone, with James somehow defeating Janine's grass Pokemon (which was impossible, probably Megan, Shawn, Jesse and Meowth had something to do with that...), and Scott totally destroying Blake's fire Pokemon. The crowd held its breath, and both teams did the same. The championship was dangling on a line between North America and Asia. But Scott knew that TR will try anything to let James and the Asians win, so he decided to play his moves carefully. Under the mat... "Hey, get off me, Megan!" Meowth shouted. "Shut up, you yapping fur ball!" Megan snapped back. "How dare you insult Meowth!" Meowth screamed. "Shut up, the both of you, or I'll wring your necks!" Jesse snapped, putting the finishing touches on the device. "So, what's supposed to happen?" Shawn asked. "Well, when James presses the button, the ring will be electrified, and will fry Scott's Pokemon! Then, the device will explode, and send him to Kingdom Come!" Jesse replied. "An evil plan." Megan commented. Jesse put the final screw to the device, and the four made their way out under the ring. Meanwhile, on the upside, Scott was easily trouncing James's Pokemon. James was down to one Pokemon, while Scott still had all four. James's final Pokemon was knocked out, and Scott left the ring. Then, accidentally, James presses the button, and the device electrocutes Jesse, James, Meowth, Megan and Shawn. Then, it explodes. "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They shouted, as they flew into the night sky and disappearing in a clear flash. The bell rings, and the 8 North American Gym Leaders come out and accept the golden trophy from the American President. They lifted it up, and the President of the PL handed Scott the tournament champion trophy. Inside, Misty and Erika were watching everything unfold on the TVs. Misty cried as James was defeated, and Erika lent her a shoulder to cry on. The Asian team bowed their heads, and dejectedly packed up. Later, back at the Hollywood Hotel... Misty was back in her room, sitting on the chair, and softly crying. How could Scott ever do this to her, beating her in front of all those people at Dodger Stadium? She thought to herself. Oh, how I wish I never even met him! Then, suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Go away!" She shouted angrily. "I'm busy." "Misty, it's me, Scott." The voice shouted. "Scott? I'll be right there." Misty opened the door, and Scott came in. "Misty...I...I'm sorry about what happened tonight back there at Dodger Stadium..." He stuttered. "It...It's okay. I...I lost, that's all. What are you doing here, anyway?" Misty asked. "Well, I was bored. All my Pokemon are asleep, so I can't do anything with them." "Wanna play Pokemon TCG?" "Sure. I've got my deck." After a while of playing the TCG, the two got bored. Then, suddenly, Misty hugged Scott, and the two kissed. They soon fell onto the floor, and started to roll around. Then, Ash and Brock got back from getting a badge from Maxine, the local Gym Leader. Ash knocked on the door, and saw that it was unlocked. He went in and watched as the two (scantly-clad), continued to embrace each other. Ash fell (Anime-style, with a loud thud), and Brock made a stupid face. Then, suddenly, Scott and Misty noticed Ash and Brock in the doorway. They each grabbed a pillow, and chucked it at them. Ash and Brock ran, and slammed the door behind them. "I thought Misty loved you, Ash." Brock commented. "Well, I guess she doesn't now. But, if she loves Scott too..." Ash replied. "You love her, don't you?" "Yeah..." "Well, as they say, "All's fair in love and war". Believe me, that saying goes. If I ever had to write a book about it..." "And that book would be your autobiography?" "Shut up!" "Sorry..." The next morning... Scott and Misty were already at the breakfast table, when Brock arrived, and sat down in the chair beside Misty. He ordered the usual Gourmet Omelet, and a large cup of coffee. But when it came, Ash, neatly groomed, came in. "Wow, Ash, what's up with you?" Scott asked as he sat down on the remaining chair. Ash didn't respond, and handed Misty a bunch of roses he got from the Florist next door, with a neat little tag with "I love you, Ash." written on it. Then, he saw it. A second bunch of roses with "Love ya always, Scott." written on it. Ash was crushed. But he hid it, and headed to the train station with the others for the trip to Denver. But before Ash could pay for Misty's ticket with his credit card, Scott slammed down a bunch of 20s. The four settled into their comfortable First Class seats, and Ash looked out the window. He sighed, and wondered if he would ever hold Misty's hand ever again, or even have his dream of walking down the aisle with her come true. To be continued...