Undercover in Unova Ch 10

        Ash stood in an area of stifling darkness. No matter where he looked, he couldn't see anything or anyone. "Hello? Is anyone there?" He called out, starting to walk further in the dark. "Pikachu? Cilan? Iris?" He suddenly saw a light up ahead and ran toward it; afraid of losing it.

But the single light suddenly burst into a multitude of separate lights. Ash stopped abruptly and stared in horror at the lights in front of him. They were Litwick. Another light flared and a Lampent appeared, floating above them.

Ash took a step back. "No, I won't let you lead me into the spirit world!" He yelled, realizing for the first time that his voice was actually echoing.

The Pokemon just stared at him with their ominous smiles.

Ash was slowly backing away from them but froze when a voice spoke behind him. He spun around.

"Hey little one, are you lost?" The sweet voice chimed, staring down at a lone Litwick. Litwick started hopping ahead of the girl. "You want me to follow you?" She asked as she started following the Pokemon deeper into the darkness.

Ash's heart turned to ice. "No! Don't follow it! It's a trap!" He yelled as he ran after the girl. But the girl didn't turn or take any notice to him. "Stop! Come back Misty!"

The darkness opened into a large purplish and wispy portal in front of the red head.

Ash ran, continuing his yelling with no success. He finally reached her before she walked into the portal and grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to pull her back.

It was then that she finally turned around and noticed him. "Ash?" She asked in surprise.

"Come on, we need to get away from the portal." Ash said urgently, still trying to pull her back.

But before they could get very far, the portal opened larger and many Litwick floated in from it, all of them with their evil smirks plastered to their faces.

"Come on Misty, run!" He said through gritted teeth and was about to turn around when suddenly the Litwick shot shadow balls at him, knocking him away from Misty.

He got back up quickly to see the Litwick pushing her into the portal. It suddenly sucked her in with an abrupt surge. He leaped forward, reaching for her. But his hand just barely missed her's and all he could do was watch her horrified face staring up at him as she called his name before she disappeared.

"MISTY!!! NO!" He momentarily forgot that he was on the edge of the portal. He just stared into its ghostly depths, Misty's horrified face forever scorched in his mind.

"Ash…" A hauntingly alluring voice chimed.

His heart leaped. He stood up and spun around to see the girl in the long black jacket with the hat; the girl that he had a sneaking suspicion was Misty.

"M-Misty?" His breath caught in his throat as he slowly stepped toward her.

She didn't respond, just kept her head slightly down so that her hat covered her eyes.

He crossed over to her and stood in front of her. "Misty?" He asked again.

She slowly lifted her head to look at him.

Ash froze in horror. 'Her eyes!' They were the same beautiful aqua color that he remembered but the light had gone from them; actually, the LIFE had left them. "Misty! What happened to you?!"

She stared dully at him for a minute and Ash was aware of Litwick closing in on them from all sides. Her lips suddenly curved up into the same ominous smile that the Litwick all had. "Goodbye, Ash." She hummed in that same haunting voice.

She began moving backwards away from him; her dull eyes locked with his, that Litwick smile glued to her face. He reached out for her but couldn't reach her. "MISTY! Come back!" He started running after her but something held him back. All he could do was struggle helplessly and reach for Misty as she got further and further away. "MISTY! MISTY!" He cried out. All he could see was her haunting face until the Litwick engulfed him.


"MISTY!" Ash yelled as he came back into consciousness, sweating tremendously. He was laying in his sleeping bag at the campsite.

"Geez, Ash. How can anyone get any sleep with you yelling like that?" Iris's agitated voice came from the tree above Ash. She poked her head down at him. "Who is this 'Misty' girl anyways?"

Ash felt a slight blush come to his face. He was yelling in his sleep? But those images of Misty- both the horrified one as she fell into the portal and the haunting one- were still fresh in his mind. It just felt so real… He could still feel the pain that had struck his heart when he lost her. "N-no one. Sorry, go back to sleep."

"I will if I CAN." Iris spat with biting sarcasm as she disappeared back up into the darkness of the tree.

If Cilan had woken up from Ash's outburst, he didn't show it.

Ash layed back down and stared up at the sky with no desire to go back to sleep. He didn't want to chance dreaming that nightmare again. But more than that, he was afraid of it really coming true. He wished that he didn't have a hunch of her being there in Unova, instead of safe at the gym. Having her with him again would be one of the best things that could happen to him, but he didn't want her to get hurt- he couldn't lose her.

"I really miss you Mist…" He murmured to the sky before sleep overtook him.


Misty found Team Rocket wandering around aimlessly. Raising an eyebrow, she made her way over to them.

"Hey guys." She called out.

They turned to her, their eyes looking distant and haunted.

"What happened to you in that mansion?" Misty asked in surprise.

"You don't want to know." They muttered in unison.

She shrugged. "I knew there was something weird about that place. I'm sure glad that I didn't go in."

They didn't respond and their expressions were still dull and distant.

"Well come on, let's get going. Team Plasma could be in the next town for all we know!" Misty urged them and the trio followed in a daze.



Much to Misty's dismay, they had missions before getting to the next town… most of them involving the "twerps" intervening. So Misty had helped out as little as possible on the missions and disappeared when Ash and co appeared.

She didn't want him to see her with Team Rocket. It'd be too many awkward questions having to be answered when she DID reveal her true identity to him. It'd be SO much easier to just reveal her identity after she found Azurill and was never seen with Team Rocket.

One mission they had done was to steal a flock of Cottonee. Misty had input her tiny bit of help into the mission before sneaking off again. She found Ash and co with a Cottonee and watched them from afar.

They were counseling a Cottonee with low self esteem who was trying to tell a girl Cottonee that he liked her.

This reminded Misty of when Ash had let his Butterfree go long ago and how they were trying to help him court a pink Butterfree that he liked.

Misty face palmed as she heard them talk to the Cottonee. Ash was so unbelievably dense!

He was telling the Cottonee to go to his "buddy" and stuff, totally missing the whole romance concept.

'Well that puts a damper on part of the reason I'm here.' Misty thought.

She didn't intend to tell Ash her feelings but she had wanted to know if he had grown up any since she had last seen him. But he still seemed to have the same personality and spirit that she had fallen in love with four or so years ago. Of course, his denseness still remained as well.

'Oh well, I'd better go check on Team Rocket.'


                                        Ash's P.O.V

He and Tripp had engaged in a battle and Ash had learned the reason why Oshawott's aqua jet didn't work thanks to Tripp's camera.

"Hmm, we're gonna have to work on that Oshawott." He said to the Pokemon, who in turn looked up at him and scratched its head nervously.

"Well I'm leaving." Tripp informed them and started to walk away.

But before he could walk away, a mechanical arm extended and grabbed Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder.

He spun around. "Pikachu!"

Tripp stopped and turned back around, his face lighting up in slight interest.

Meowth was holding the glass case that held Pikachu with a light bulb on top.

Jessie and James laughed evilly and started into their motto.

But Ash wasn't focused on them; instead, he was focused on the girl standing next to them.

It was the girl who he had caught when she fell off the cliff- the one who he had a sneaking suspicion was Misty. But seeing that girl with Team Rocket made all of those ideas vanish in an instant.

'That can't be Misty. She would never work with Team Rocket.'



                                         Misty's P.O.V

They had tricked her! They told her that the boss informed them of a location that Team Plasma had been spotted and that they needed to go there right away.

Misty's heart had soared with renounced hope. She might be able to get Azurill back!

She went with them to that location and realized too late that it was actually a trick.

"We have our eyes on you so you don't leave us again." Jessie turned to her and said.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Misty asked.

At that moment, Meowth shot the mechanical hand at Pikachu and reeled him back in.

Misty stared in horror down from the cliff that they were standing on to see Ash and co with Tripp below, looking up at them.

'Great! Now I'll have to answer why I was working with Team Rocket when I reveal my identity. But on the bright side, my cover won't be blown so easily.'

Misty noticed that Ash was staring up at her in disbelief. She blinked. 'Did he already guess who I am? Or maybe he just can't believe that the person he saved would be a member of Team Rocket.' She shrugged.

"Ash! Why are you just standing there gawking? We need to save Pikachu!" Iris yelled to him.

He blinked and turned to her. "R-right. Oshawott, use-"

"What are YOU doing with idiots like THEM?" Tripp was saying to the girl in the jacket.

Ash turned to him. "Huh? You know her?"

Misty felt her heart skip a beat and turned to look at Tripp anxiously. How much would he reveal? Her cover couldn't be blown NOW! Especially not in front of Team Rocket.

"That's the water Pokemon trainer from the Boonies that I told you about." Tripp responded.

"Water trainer from the… Boonies…? Wait…" Ash was muttering. Misty could almost see that light bulb starting to glow above his head; which activated her panic mode.

Iris and Cilan were busy watching Ash and Tripp in curiosity and she turned to see Team Rocket staring down at Ash and co in confusion, Pikachu being the only one looking at her. Meowth had set Pikachu down next to them on the cliff; the perfect opportunity for Misty. Taking her chance to do something before it was too late; she mouthed 'sorry' to Pikachu before stealthily and whipping out her mallet and…

WAM

The glass container with Pikachu went flying and Misty swiftly put her mallet away before yelling, "Pikachu! Come back!" Getting everyone's attention.

Ash snapped out of his daze and ran to Pikachu, diving and catching the glass before it hit the ground. He let him out and the Pokemon leaped into his arms. "Pikachu! I'm glad you're alright!" Ash said as he hugged his buddy.

Meowth looked up at Misty in shock. "What happened?! Pikachu was right here!"

Misty acted as if she were in shock as well. "I don't know! Something flashed by me and knocked Pikachu off the cliff. It might have been some kind of Pokemon but I couldn't see what it was."

"Nevermind that," Jessie growled. "We need to get it back before its too late."

"Alright Axew, don't let them get Pikachu back. Use Dragon Rage." Iris called out suddenly.

"Pansage, use solar beam." Cilan input.

Ash turned back to them swiftly. "G-guys, wait!" But it was too late, the attacks were already released.

Misty hurriedly whipped out the jet pack that Team Rocket had loaned her and took off saying, "go ahead and stick around if you want but I'm out of here." She took off into the sky with Team Rocket hard on her trail just before the attacks struck. They disappeared from view.


"WHEW!" Misty sighed and collapsed against a tree. "That was a close one."

Team Rocket stood with arms folded, looking down on her. "You obviously have never been blasted off." James observed.

She opened one eye to look at him. "And I don't ever want to either."

"Well, we lost Pikachu again." Jessie stated.

"And I thought for sure that we'd catch it with our secret weapon." James groaned.

Misty rolled her eyes. "Maybe we should just stick to the missions that your boss assigns us."

"Fine," James groaned.

The other two didn't respond but they nodded slowly.

Misty didn't believe them. If they were STILL trying to steal Pikachu after all this time, then they would NEVER stop it seemed. She just needed to find Azurill right away before she lost her nerve and accidently revealed her identity to them herself.


                                          Ash's POV

Pikachu leaped back onto Ash's shoulder as Ash turned back to Tripp, who was walking away.

"Hey wait up, Tripp!" He called and ran after him.

Tripp turned around. "What?" He snapped in his usual irritable tone.

"What else do you know about that girl- the water trainer?" Ash asked.

Tripp raised a brow. "Why do you want to know?"

Ash haulted. "Erm, I… Just wanted to battle her. So I'd like to know all that I can about her."

Pikachu input an assuring, "Pika!"

Tripp sighed and turned back around. "I didn't know that you studied your opponents before you battled them. But it IS a good idea to study her, she's pretty tough." He admitted while grabbing his camera and pressing some buttons. "Alright, I got some shots on some of her Pokemon."

Ash peeked over at his camera and sweat dropped at the picture. Now THAT was familiar.

"Yeah, she's pretty strange. But don't let that fool you." Tripp explained.

The picture was of the girl hugging and squealing over Tripp's Frillish. But Ash still wasn't completely convinced. "Do you have any other pictures?" He asked.

Tripp switched over to the picture before that and Ash could have sworn that his heart stopped.

"This is the only other picture that I got. That's one of her Pokemon… Azurill… I think it was called." Tripp said.

Now Ash was positive, that HAD to be Misty's Azurill! And everything else pointed to one conclusion. The only doubt in Ash's mind was the fact that she was with Team Rocket… But Ash was still too sure of himself to back out now.

"Thanks Tripp! Gotta go!" Ash said in a hurry and started running toward the area the girl and Team Rocket had disappeared.

"Ash! Where are you going?!" Iris yelled.

"I guess we'd better follow him." Cilan responded and returned Pansage before following.

Iris groaned as she followed. "Ugh, what a kid."

Ash continued running with Pikachu hanging on. 'I'll find you Misty, then I'll be able to figure out what's going on.'


                                         Misty's POV

'I'll never find Azurill if I don't look ahead a little myself.' Misty thought as she made her way through the forest, hoping that she wouldn't run into any bugs.

She had told Team Rocket that she would scout ahead to look for anything interesting. They had went their own way and agreed to meet up at the same place they had split up by the end of the day.

"I wonder if that Team Plasma member set Azurill free…" She thought aloud. "If so, then it could be anywhere." She continued to look around for a blue figure.

"Duck! Duck!" Ducklett cawed suddenly.

Misty turned in the direction that Ducklett was focused on to see the bushes rustling. "Azurill?" She asked hopefully.

But instead of a blue figure, a yellow figure leaped into view.

Misty's disappointment was replaced by slight nervousness. "Hey, Pikachu. I-"

"Pikachu! Did you find her?" Ash's voice called from nearby.

Misty froze. 'Her?' She echoed. 'Was he looking for me?'

"Pikapi!" Pikachu called out.

Misty turned away from Pikachu and started to walk away in hopes of escaping. But this hope was shattered when she heard Ash call after her.

"Hey, wait up! I wanna talk to you!" Ash called as he ran toward her.

With a sigh, Misty turned around to face him to see him catching his breath.

"Oh hey… Ash, was it? Thanks again for saving me." Misty said.

"Huh? Oh yeah, no problem." He scratched the back of his head.

She turned slightly and started backing up as if trying to leave. "Well… I'd love to stay and chat but I've gotta run."

"Wait," he reached his hand out to her. "I've wanted to talk to you."

"Really? About what?" She asked.

"Well…" He paused for a moment as if trying to figure out what to say. "Tripp told me about you. Like how you're a water trainer and everything… And I wanted to challenge you to a battle."

Relief flooded over Misty. He wasn't on to her, he just wanted to battle. 'Good thing he's so dense.' She thought. "Sorry, I'm really busy right now. We'll battle later though." Misty responded, still moving away slowly to leave.

He didn't bother hiding his disappointment.

"We'll battle later, okay? Right now, I really have to go." She turned to leave.

"Going back to Team Rocket, Misty?" He asked, resentment in his tone.

Misty's heart skipped a beat and it took a minute too accept that he actually said her name and that she wasn't hearing things. He DID know! But Misty had to force herself not to flinch. She couldn't show that this name meant anything to her or her cover would be blown for sure.

She turned around. "Huh? My name's not Misty, it's Anne, remember?"

But Ash looked determined. "No way! I know it's you, Misty."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You must have me confused with someone else."

"No, I'm positive of it. You ARE Misty. You're too much like her to not be her. Now why are you hiding from me?"

'Great, he's not going to give up, is he? Well, neither am I.' She thought in determination and glared at him. "Look kid, I don't know who this friend of your's is but I'm NOT HER. I need to go and I'll battle you later." She growled and started walking away.

She hadn't walked two steps when a sudden weight was on her shoulders and then hit her over the back of the head.

Her first thoughts were that Ash threw something at her. She instinctively touched her head where she was hit and realized that something was missing. She would have turned around and given him bruises to remember her by when a flash of yellow suddenly landed in front of her.

Pikachu turned around to look at her and Misty noticed in horror that he was holding her hat. Her hands flew up to where her hat was supposed to be. She hoped that Ash wouldn't remember what she looked like with her hair down.

She slowly turned to face him to see him staring at her.

"It really IS you, Misty."