Just A Weird Coincidence?

Yay! This one’s a little longer. I’ve been really busy, but now it’s summer! (Which is why I’m happy!) Enjoy!

Misty turned to the little girl, still lying on the ground, to ask her what her name was. But the kid had fainted again. Misty sighed and set up her sleeping bag, placing the girl in it. She barely moved, but let out soft little whimpers every time Misty touched an especially sore spot. Poor thing, I wonder how she got hurt like that. Her eyes scanned the landscape for answers. Where the girl had fallen, there were clumps of dirt, and it was… right next to a cliff. Misty winced at the thought of this girl, only six or seven, tumbling down from such a high place. She went over to Brock, who was sitting on a log, tending his soup, and sat down next to him.

“You’re worried about her, aren’t you?” Misty, startled, looked at him.

“Is it that obvious?” she asked with a half-laugh.

“Yes.”

“That was a rhetorical question.”

“Oh.”

“It’s just… I feel like I know her but I don’t feel like I’ve met her before. She reminds me of someone, I guess.” Brock didn’t comment, for which Misty was thankful. Just then, Ash stumbled in, carrying a backpack and using a stick to keep something away from him.

“Ow! Stupid… OW! Stop biting me! A little help here?” Misty recovered from the initial shock and ran over to him, leaving Brock at the soup pot. But as soon as she got there, whatever Ash was holding off ran past him, straight to the girl. Now that it was in the light, Misty could see what it was; a Houndour. For one agonizing second, Misty thought it would attack; then it leaned over and licked the kid’s face. She stirred slightly, but didn’t wake up, and the Houndour lay down next to her. Ash made a move to knock it away, but Misty put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“I think it’s hers,” she whispered softly. Just then they both realized where her hand was, and she removed it quickly, blushing slightly. Ash turned and dropped a pile of sticks in front of Brock. He sat down on a log a little further away, examining the objects in his hands. Misty walked over and sat next to him. He had put the backpack aside, and was holding two hats in his hands. One his own, the other probably that girl’s. The girl’s was slightly charred and much more worn, but it was unmistakable; they were the same.

“Uhh… Ash? I thought you said you won that contest. There was only supposed to be one hat, right?”

“I know. What’s up with that?”

“Some weird coincidence, I guess.”

“I guess you’re right.”