New Beginnings
By: Misty101803
Part: 17
Category: AAMRN

Disclaimer: Look, I don't own Pokémon, and I've said that over twenty-five times, so I'm sure you already know that. I congradulate you, the reader, for making it this far into this story. That means that you've, I hope, read all of the other parts including the Prologue. At this point I've been working on this story for close to four months exactly. It's been a long, hard journey and thanks for reading my story thus far. This story was written in June 2004.

When we last left our heros, Ash had just sugessted to Misty and Natalie that they should battle to decide who gets to go out with Ash to a fancy restaurant on the ship they are on, the St. Marie. Currently, the whole gang is walking over to field one to begin the battle. Once they were overlooking field one, Skyler said,

"Oh, I almost forgot. We need an official referee for this match before it can begin. Hold on while I go and get one. In the mean time, you guys can get in place for the battle." And then Skyler headed down the deck in search of a referee.

Meanwhile, Misty and Natalie got into their respective boats and Ash started to lower them both down into the ocean. Once down, the girls drove the boats to where they had to be and then they both threw the anchor overboard to make sure that the boat didn't go anywhere. Back on deck, Ash and Pikachu were waiting for the battle to start. All they needed now was a referee.

Just then, Skyler came running down the deck with a man in a referee's uniform beside him. Once they got to Ash and Pikachu, Skyler said,

"Okay, get into the referee's boat and I'll lower you down." He said this to the referee. Then the referee quickly went into the referee's boat and Skyler started to lower him down. Within another couple of minutes, the referee was in position along with Ash, Pikachu and Skyler who were on deck ready to watch the battle begin.

"The match between, uh..." the referee started.

"Misty," Misty said.

"This will be a match between Misty and Natalie. This will be a two on two battle with no time limit. Let the battle begin!" the referee said as he threw up two flags; one red and one green.

"I already know what I'm gonna use. "Corsola, go!" Misty yelled as she threw her Lureball. Corsola popped out in a flash of light and then the Lureball returned to Misty's hand.

"I knew she was gonna start with Corsola. So I'll use the evolved form of the Pokémon that beat me. Golduck, I choose you!" Natalie said as she threw her Pokéball. A Golduck appeared ready to battle.

"Let the battle begin," the referee yelled.

"Golduck, use Psybeam!" Natalie yelled. Her eyes were burning with a firey pasion. She knew that was gonna win.

"Corsola, Mirror Coat!" When the Psybeam hit Corsola, Corsola had already used Mirror Coat and the Psybeam was headed straight back to Golduck at double the force.

"Golduck, Dive!" Golduck went underwater as the Psybeam missed it. The next thing that they saw was Golduck hitting Corsola from the bottem with its head, right out of the water. "Now use Hydro Pump, Golduck!" A great jet of water exlpoded out of Golduck's bill aimed at Corsola, which was still in the air.

"Corsola, use Mirror Coat again!" The Hydro Pump came close to Corsola but again the attack was deflected back to Golduck with twice the power.

"Use Disable and then Confusion!" Natalie called out. Corsola had alredy landed in the water when Golduck used its Disable attack, which didn't seem to do anything to Misty. Then before the Hydro Pump hit Golduck, it use Confusion to send the Hydro Pump back at Corsola.

"Corsola, Mirror Coat!" The Hydro Pump was closing in, but Corsola couldn't do anything, as hard as it tried. The Hydro Pump attack hit Corsola with double the power of Golduck's normal one, which was already pretty powerful. Corsola was thrown into the air by the force of the attack.

"Why didn't it work?" Misty asked herself.

"Because my Golduck used Disable which means that your Corsola can't use its Mirror Coat for a while!" Natalie yelled to Misty with a smile on her face.

"Now, Golduck, use Psychic to throw Corsola into the side of the ship!" Corsola was still dazed in the air. Misty knew that if it hit the ship, she would lose the battle, and more importantly, Ash.

"Corsola, use Water Gun on Golduck!" Corsola was still in the air when it shot the burst of water towards Golduck. It couldn't defend itself because it was concentrating too much on its Psychic attack. The Water Gun hit it which knocked Golduck from its concentration and Corsola fell into the ocean, only a second away from hitting the ship.

"Great work, Corsola, now use Bubblebeam!" Corsola started shooting light-blue bubbles out of its mouth. The attack came at such a fast pace that Golduck had absolutly no time to react. Golduck recoiled in damage from the attack.

"Golduck use your Hydro Pump!" A great jet of water shot out at Corsola again but there was not much Misty could do to protect Corsola from Golduck's Hydro Pump.

"Corsola dive underwater!" Corsola went immediatly underwater and the Hydro Pump missed. "Now underwater Tackle!" A second later, Golduck flew out of the water with Corsola under it, stuck on Corsola's horns.

"Corsola is too close! I can't defend myself!" Natalie thought aloud.

"Corsola, use Spike Cannon!" The tops of Corsola's horns glowed white and tehn they started shooting off little white spikes right into Golduck's back. Golduck was getting hurt pretty badly.

"Golduck, use Psychic to pull Corsola off of you!" Golduck's eyes lit up a bright blue color and while Corsola and Golduck were still in the air, Corsola was ripped off of Golduck and thrown down to the ocean below. Corsola hit the water with a crash, and resurfaced a few seconds later. It had a lot of scratches and bruises on its body.

"Corsola use Recover!" Corsola lit up a bright white color and soon after it was ready for battle again. Just as it was done recovering, Golduck slowly floated down to the water and dropped in.

"Golduck, use Iron Tail!" Golduck's tail lit up a white color and Golduck jumped out of the water heading straight for Corsola.

"Corsola, Spike Cannon!" The white spikes pierced Golduck's blue skin all over, but it didn't stop Golduck from hitting Corsola right on the head blasting it down under water.

"Ha, your Corsola is done. Iron Tail is a Steel type attack, and Corsola is half Rock type," Natalie said in triumph to Misty.

"Yeah, but aren't you forgeting something!" Misty yelled.

"Like what!"

"Like Steel type attacks are half-effective against Water types, so that Iron Tail was just normally effective, and you know what that means, Corsola, under water Tackle!"

Grrr "Golduck, get away, move anywhere!" Natalie yelled but it was too late. As soon as she had said that, Corsola flew out of the water with Golduck stuck on its horns again.

"Corsola, Spike Cannon! Corsola's horns glowed white again, and Golduck's back was hit with hundreds of tiny little white spikes.

"Golduck, use Psychic again to pull yourself off of Corsola!"

'Yeah, that's it, Natalie,' Misty thought. Corsola was seperated from Golduck as Golduck's eyes burned brightly with a light-blue color.

"Now, use Hydro Pump, Golduck!" Golduck opened its bill up wide and shot a giant burst of water towards Corsola, which was only about five feet away.

"Mirror Coat!" Misty yelled. When the Hydro Pump was inches away from Corsola, it turned around and headed back to Golduck. It was so soon and Natalie was so surprized that Hydro Pump, with double the power, smashed into Golduck. It and Corsola then fell down into the water with a big splash. Corsola resurfaced seconds later, tired, but still able to battle. Golduck came up a little later, belly up and with swirls in its eyes.

"Golduck is unable to battle!" the referee yelled out. There was then a huge eruption of cheers from the ship. Misty and Natalie both looked up to see that a lot more people had come to watch the battle since it had started.

"But your Mirror Coat was disabled," Natalie said in disbelief.

"Yeah, it was, but only for about 5 turns. After that, I was just waiting for you to shoot a Hydro Pump at me so I could send it right back at you," Misty said.

"Golduck, return," Natalie said holding out a Pokéball at Golduck. A beam of red light came out of the ball and hit Golduck. Golduck was then transformed into the same red light, and it retreated into the confines of its Pokéball.

"You got lucky that time, but this is where your luck runs out! Swampert, I choose you!" Natalie yelled. The Pokéball she threw opened up and a few seconds later, and angry looking Swampert appeared on the water field.

"Continue that match!" the referee yelled.

"Swampert, use Mud Shot! Swampert quickly dove under water with Misty and Corsola just waiting to see what was goin gto happen.

'I've never seen Mud Shot before. How am I supposed to defend against something that I don't even know what it is,' Misty thought.

Swampert rose back out of the water, but this time it was behind Corsola.

"Corsola, look out behind you!" Misty yelled trying to warn Corsola. Out of Swampert's huge mouth came a blast of mud, that it must have gotten from the ocean floor. It hit Corsola as it was turning around, and Corsola was thrown back several feet until it came to a rest on the water with swirls in its eyes.

"Corsola, is unable to battle!" the referee yelled. Again the crowd on the ship erupted again into a wave of cheers.

"Ya see, Misty, Ground type attacks like Mud Shot are super-effective against Rock types like Corsola, so no wonder that pathetic thing fainted so quickly," Natalie said and then started to laugh an evil laugh.

"Yeah, keep laughing, 'cause you won't be laughing for much longer. "Corsola, return." Just as Golduck had returned into its Pokéball, so did Corsola in the same manner, except that Corsola was going into a Lureball.

"Politoad, go!" Misty yelled as she threw a Pokéball into the field. It opened up and out came her green Politoad, which immediatly started to clap its hands together with a smile on its face.

"Continue the match!" the referee yelled.

"Politoed, use Water Gun!"

"Swampert, Hydro Pump!" The two jets of water met, and for a few seconds they were dead locked, but then the Hydro Pump attack overcame the Water Gun. As the Hydro Pump was coming in, Misty yelled,

"Dive under water!" Politoed disappeared from view as it dove underwater. The Hydro Pump missed it and soon fell down, becoming one with the ocean.

"Swampert, you dive underwater too and use Hydro Pump on Politoad!"

"Bubble attack, Politoad!" Underneath the surface of the ocean the spectators watched on as they saw the water light up as the Bubble attack was launched. A few seconds later Swampert surfaced but it looked like it was hurt. Politoad also surfaced, but Politoad looked still ready to battle.

"Politoad, use Double Slap attack!" Politoad started to slap Swampert all over with its long green arms which were usually used for clapping. "Now, use Mega Punch!" Politoad's right hand started to light up a bright white color as Politoad was winding up for the Mega Punch attack.

"Swampert, use Protect!" As the Mega Punch was coming down onto Swampert, Swampert's body lit up, and when the Mega Punch hit, it had zero effect. "Now, use Iron Tail!" Swampert's huge tail fin instantly started to glow white. Swampert then jumped out of the water, did a summersault as it was coing down and was just about to hit Politoad.

"Politoad, use another Mega Punch!" Politoad's hand started to glow again, and as the Iron Tail was almost at its mark, Politoad launched the Mega Punch right at Swampert's tail fin. There was a huge explosion because of the two masive amounts of energy clashing. Smoke covered the water field, and all they could do now is wait.

Finally, the smoke started to dissapate, and soon Misty and Natalie could see the field. Both Pokémon had been knocked back pretty far away from where they had been when the two attacks met. They both appeared to be okay, and it seemed that both of them were ready to battle, so this match was still on.

'Okay, no holding back now. I've got her right where I want her,' Misty thought to herself.

"Swampert, Hydro Pump!" Swampert was getting ready to shoot the Hydro Pump and in just a few seconds, it would launch the attack.

"That's exactly what I wanted you to do, Natalie!" Misty yelled at her. "Politoad, use Ice Beam!" Politoad opened it's mouth and it started to glow a light-blue color inside. Another second later, the Hydro Pump from Swampert was launched and it was heading straight for Politoad, but it was no use.

Politoad launched the Ice Beam attack right at the great jet of water, which, when the attacks met, was instantly transformed into ice. The Ice Beam was beginning to travel right back to Swampert, who by now, had stopped the Hydro Pump attack. Natalie counldn't do anything else, there was no more time, it was all over.

The Ice Beam attack hit Swampert, and within a few seconds, Swampert was encased in a very large block of ice. The referee looked on for a few more seconds at the bobbing Swampert-icicle, but nothing happened.

"Swampert is unable to battle, the vicotry goes to Misty and her Politoad!" the referee yelled.

"Yay, yay, I won!" Misty yelled starting to jump up and down in the boat.

'Now I get to go with Ash on that date tomorrow!' Misty thought to herself. She was so excited she could barely contain herself.

On the opposite side of the field, Natalie was crushed. She couldn't believe that she had lost to Misty, again.

Meanwhile, up on deck, the crowd loved the battle and were screaming at a defining volume.

Back on the field, Natalie returned her Swampert, and then her boat and Misty's boat were driven back to the ship, where they were raised once again back onto the deck.

Misty immediatly ran over to Ash, still very excited.

"Did ya see that Ash, I beat her, again!" Misty nearly yelled at him. "So, where are we going to eat tomorrow?"

"Uh, well, I'm not exactly sure. The only restaurant that we've eaten at is The Pokémon Tower, but we already eat for free there, so then my prize would be usless.

"Oh we're not gonna go there to eat, Ash. I want to go somewhere really fancy."

"Oh, so The Pokémon Tower is not good enough for you?!" Natalie said in an angry tone of voice as she came up to Ash, Misty and Pikachu, who was currently standing at Ash's side.

"Oh, I don't think Misty meant it like..." Ash began.

"Wait Ash, this is the moment I've been waiting for. I beat you fair and square, Natalie, so why don't you just leave us alone for a while?"

"Hey, I may have lost, and you may be going with Ash tomorrow, but I can still hang around him if I want, at least until tomorrow."

"Fine, suit yourself, Natalie."

"Please guys, don't start fighting again," Ash said trying to calm them down.

"We're not fighting, Ash, yet," Misty said getting angry.

"Oh, come on Ash," Natalie said pulling him away, "I gotta go down to the Pokémon Center no thanks to Misty's Politoad!"

"Hey, that was a fair attack, it's not my fault you were dumb enough to fall for it," Misty said as Natalie was about to leave with Ash. Natalie stopped in her tracks and quickly turned around.

"Natalie, please, don't," Ash tried one last time to stop them, but he knew that it was too late.

Natlaie then walked over to Misty and they started to get into yet another fight. Meanwhile Ash and Pikachu just left, not wanting to hear them get into another fight.

"Well at least I'm not a scrawny little tom-boy!" Natalie yelled right in her face.

"Scrawny?! Ash would never go out with you, you little twerp!" Misty yelled. They were starting to draw a crowd to their fighting now.

"Well at least I know one thing. Ash will always be there for me because he'll never want to go out with you Misty!"

"Well I guess we'll just see about that, won't we?! I'm the one going on the date with him tomorrow, not you!"

Grrr. "I can't fight with you right now, as much as I'd like to, my Swampert is very hurt and I need to go to the Pokémon Center!"

"Yeah, and while you're there, I'll be lookin' for Ash, since he probably left because of you," Misty said and then started to run in the direction Ash went.

Natalie was just about to run after Misty to try to find Ash too, but she knew she had to go to the Pokémon Center and heal her Swampert. So she started to walk in the direction of the Pokémon Center.

Misty had been walking around for a few minutes, but still there was no sign of Ash anywhere. Then, she spotted him, he was standing by the railing on the side of the ship while looking over the ocean. Misty quietly walked up to him and asked,

"Hey Ash, why did you leave?"

"Because I didn't want to see you and Natalie going at it again. I'm sick and tired of it, and I think that you two should become friends again."

"Me become friends with her?! Like that'll ever happen!" Misty yelled at Ash. The idea of becoming friends with Natalie just sickened Misty.

"Yeah, and I suspect that Natalie feels the same way. But if you can't do it for yourself or for Natalie, then the least you could do is do it for me, Misty. Listen, Misty, you just think on that while I go take a walk; I need to be alone right now," Ash said and then started to walk down the deck with Pikachu close behind. Misty was speechless.

'I can't believe how bad this has gotten. Now not only Natalie is mad at me, but Ash as well, and that's one thing I don't want. There must be some way for me to make this better. Hey, I got it, if I appologize to Natalie for all this fighting maybe we could be friends again, and if that happens, then Ash wouldn't be mad at me anymore. It just might work,' Misty thought to herself, then started to walk in the direction of the Pokémon Center to try and find Natalie.

"Nurse Joy, can you please take a look at my Swampert and Golduck, they got hurt pretty bad in my last battle," Natlaie said to Nurse Joy.

"Sure, I'll take good care of them," Nurse Joy said happily with a smile upon her face.

"Oh, thanks Nurse Joy, I'll check back on them later. Right now I have to go meet someone, so bye."

"Bye, bye, Natalie," Nurse Joy said while waving goodbye. Natalie was now running for the automatic sliding doors of the Pokémon Center. When they opened, Natalie was surprized to run into someone, knocking both of them down. Natalie collected herself and was just about to say she was sorry until she saw who she had knocked down.

"What are you doing here, Misty? I thought you were with Ash planning your date tomorrow."

"Yeah, well," Misty said picking herself up, "Ash is sort of mad at you and I because of all the fighting that we have been doing. He said that if not for each other, or for ourselves, we should stop this fighting for him."

"He really said that?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah, so if you want to, how about we stop this fighting now, and just try to be friends from now on, Natalie," Misty said and then held out her hand so that Natalie could shake it.

"Um, well, I don't know..."

"Come on, Natalie, for Ash," Misty said with a stern look on her face. Natalie thought about this for about ten seconds and then said,

"Sure, why not? For Ash," and then Natalie outstretched her hand so as to shake Misty's hand.

"Great, Natalie. Now that we agree, how about we go to find Ash and show him that we aren't fighting anymore?" Misty suggested.

"I'd like that Misty," Natalie said and then they stopped shaking hands. Then, they headed towards the elevators so as to go up on deck and try to find Ash.

Ah, finally this part is done. Do you know how long it took me to get done with it?! Well, lets just say that if I had waited any longer, Kane987321 would have killed himself from the suspense. Well, at least it's finally out, and stay tuned for the next part in this long saga of Ash and Misty. I think that the next few parts are gonna be pretty good, so don't miss 'em. If you would like to review me, press that Review button on my fics page. Gotta Catch Ya Later! Misty101803 signing off.