Miss Discovery!

By: Chibi-Suiko

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Ash: 15

Misty: 16

Brock: 19

Imuru: 17

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Last Time on Miss Discovery!: During her practice for the first part of the attraction, Misty found out some very informative theories as to the creation of Pokemon and Human, not to mention how they had begun working together from the beginning of time. Under the influence of over-powering confusion and the yearning to know more she agreed to spend the rest of the day on the streets with Imuru, cruising the sights, and helping herself to adjust more firmly to the weight of all of the people she'd be with in the next week. Before getting too far though, the subject was brought up once again and Imuru was forced to finish his tale to her liking. This having the effect of forgetting her friends, the two of them have decided to go shopping for proper outfits to the banquet next week... But how does Ash feel about everything?

***

***

" Brock, open up! We need to talk!" Ash yelled, pounding his fists into the wooden door, "I mean it, I'll bust this thing down if I have to! You better come out fast! There's something going on with Misty--!"

The door opened and Evette composed herself before looking at Ash with authoritive eyes, "Master Brock has asked for your removal from the area."

" What--?! Brock, you can't do this, we've gotta discuss something about--Hey, Evette, what're you doing in his room? I didn't think that the 'Help' were supposed to sleep in the 'Masters' quarters. I know mine didn't."

" Yes--well--that is beyond the point", She said with an embarrassed look, "Master Brock has been trying to sleep for the past two hours but under the circumstances, his patience has been wearing thin. If you want to stay on his good side then--"

" --Didn't he have all night for sleep?! Come on Brock, this is important! It's partly about how long we're going to stay here and--" Ash began.

" Let him in, Evette." Came a strenuously exhausted voice from inside, and the maid shuffled to the side so that Ash could enter.

" Okay Brock, we're obviously going to be here for awhile because--"

" 'Obviously?' Why doesn't anybody tell me these things?!" Brock howled, jumping out of bed and revealing--

" --God, Brock--! Put something on, will ya?!" Ash yelled and threw a pair of pants at him, "Why are you sleeping nude anyway?!"

" Uhhh--It was hot last night, all right?!" Brock shouted, "Get back to the subject!"

" Misty's doing it." Ash said, "So get comfortable because we won't be going anywhere for awhile."

" Misty's doing wha--? Ohhhhh..." Brock began, "I get it. You're upset that she's going to be spending so much time with that Imuru guy so you wanna show her who her real friends are by staking it out here until she's done what she wants to do--"

" --That's a good theory but not even close." Ash stated disgustedly, "It's got nothing to do with her. I'm going to stay here because--because--! Stop laughing, DAMNNIT!"

Brock turned his head and banged it into the wall repeatedly while Ash looked on in confusion.

" Why are you doing that--? Never mind, I'd rather not know." Ash stated.

" You're really strange, you know that?" Brock asked, "Why will you never admit anything out loud?"

" Because there's nothing to admit! Besides, I'm not the one who slept naked when this building has very efficient air conditioning, am I? You're the one who's strange... I have reason to believe that you were NOT sleeping anyway..."

" You think?" Brock said in a stiff tone, "Now get out of here. I gotta get up and I'm very shy about dressing in front of other people."

" But--"

" Go on now."

Ash growled but headed towards the door. He looked to the window on the other side and spotted Evette there with her head in her palms.

" Aren't you going to tell her to get out?"

" No, I--uh--need help."

" Isn't that obvious?" Ash muttered, "You need help getting dressed?" He asked his older friend in a skeptical tone.

" Yes, I forgot how to put my shirt on right."

" That's it, I'm bored. I'm leaving before I find out something I really don't want to know..." And with that, he slammed the door behind him.

***

She should have known that it was too good to be true. She had thought it awkward that Imuru, with all of his theatrical glory, would pick a girl like her to help put on all of those shows... And she'd been right.

She had strayed away for a few minutes as he looked over some fashionable Armani suits to look at the many passer-by who would most likely be attending her shows over the next week. It was then that a few guys had made choice moment to arrive and start-uh-flirting with her, as she liked to call it. At least, that's what she thought.

" Can you believe it? A babe like that in this dump of a town--!" One had said ecstatically as they all leaned against the shop window next to her, "Who'd have thought it true?"

" Not me..." Another smirked, "But all the same, she's here and alone... Maybe she wants someone."

" No..." The third seemed just a little more sincere but still willing to act hormonally cool, "I hear that she's got a guy. Don't forget him--" And he jacked his thumb in Imuru's direction.

Misty, who'd been trying vainly to ignore the clowns, followed with her eyes and then turned back confusingly.

" How do you three know that I'm with him?" She asked.

" Well, the Queen finally graces us with a few words! How lucky we are!" The first sarcastically replied.

" Everyone knows that you and him are together! It's really only natural that he'd want the world to hear that he and another spicy, wealthy actress were dating! It's really too bad! I know plenty of friends who'd give almost anything to be with a beauty like you!"

She was very much confused. Before now, no guy (Besides Rudy or Imuru) had given her a second glance... And now, she noticed every single male pedestrian looking her over as she passed them by. She hadn't known when this started but she was starting to hope that it would never stop... But almost immediately, she thought that it had.

" Only the biggest of studs, like Imuru: God of the Chicks, would nab a girl like Rein." Said the second, stopping to sip a soda.

" Who are you talking about?" Misty asked. The three guys looked at her, the second having to spout his soda everywhere.

" Obviously... And she's so modest, isn't she boys? I wonder who taught Rein, The Silver Pearl, to act like that? It almost fooled me into believing that she'd forgotten herself!" The first, and sleaziest slapped himself on the forehead mockingly.

The other two laughed.

" Rein, no girl can get 'em like you can! I'm cool with ya while you're here. Make sure to give me a shout out while doing your productions, you know I'll be there." The first continued, "Names Brendan... Contact me if things with Prince Charming over there don't work out." The three of them walked away, leaving her almost on the verge of tears.

She'd never thought she'd feel so betrayed over a guy. Quickly, she shook her head and turned to head back inside where Imuru was looking over some polished shoes. This only made things worse as her eyes fell on the exact headboard that had caught Ash and Brock's eye the day before.

Rein and Imuru: Stars of one Soul... Well, he sure can't wait to tell the world about... I guess that it isn't me, though, now is it? I don't get it... Everything he told me was a lie? I can't even look at him now. She'd all ready known that they were partners and that was respectable. But she'd never thought of them as romantically involved with each other! The worst thing of all was that she now understood exactly why he'd chosen her on the spot, She's me! So, he thought that it'd be easy to teach me how to imitate this girl?! Not while I'm living, Pal!

Instinctively, she pulled her bag over her shoulder and followed the crowd of people with her head bowed so as not to gain attention from some more encrazed fans.

***

" She's not back yet... She's not back yet..." Ash muttered, "Brock, how come she's not back yet?!" He whined to his companion as he served hash browns to him and Evette, who'd joined them for breakfast (Or lunch, depending on how you look at it).

" Tell me this..." Brock began, looking over his distraught friend in confusion, "Why do you care so much? It's only about three, it's not like it's midnight when all the crazies come out to 'play'." He shrugged his shoulders and continued to hand over some diced fruit, "Stop worrying about her, Ash. You're starting to worry me!"

" Sorry, I can get a handle on this... Sure..." Ash repeated over and over, acting like a maniac with his fingers clutching the marble breakfast table so badly that his knuckles turned white, "It's just that she gets up, leaves without telling us where she's going, and then never comes back! She could at least call after all we went through, getting her where she is today!"

" We didn't go through anything. She bumped into the star, not us. She got the proposition, not us. She's going to get paid enough money to keep us going good forever, not--Oh, shit... We were on the wrong side of the receiving end, weren't we?" Brock objected, "Oh, well. Look, it's not like she up and left without giving you any clues! She told you she was staying to at least try out the whole audition thing that you pretty much set her up for--! Don't act like she went behind your back or anything--!"

" So what if I did set her up? I'm young, naive! She should know better than to listen to me! It's not like I'm intent on actually letting her stay for any of this!"

" But Ash, have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, Misty would enjoy some of the spotlight? Think about it, who always sends Team Rocket flying?"

" Me, naturally... I mean, I am the hero of the entire anime series!" Ash smiled with pride.

" Exactly, and who always ends up righting the wrong, helping citizens with any problems they come upon?"

" Me, remember? Hero?" Ash asked, pointing to himself.

" And who, prey-tell, does the whole action/humour flic of the series majorly circle around?" Brock continued with a knowing look.

" Me! Didn't we just go over this? Me-Hero! You-Sidekick! Misty-Well, I don't know what she is yet, but I'm willing to figure it out!"

" Besides that-uh-point, I guess you could call it, that's right. You've gotten pretty much every major break in everything. You hog the glory of victory matches in the Gym and outside, you always tend to the needs of others and end up getting prizes like Pokemon eggs, you-are-always-the-hero! Give someone else a shot! Misty is the most neglected person I can think of right now! Let her have a chance to do what she pleases! It's not like it'll kill you or anything!" Brock yelled in his face. Evette continued to clap with the slightest sign of tears in her eyes, as though it was a sad, depressing tale that had 'touched her heart' (A/N: That is so disgusting. I hate people like that).

" That's a very nice speech Brock. But that doesn't mean that she has the right to prance about like a Queen! She should have the decency to tell us when she's going somewhere and where it is!" Ash shouted back.

" Like I said before, she left you a clue that you obviously overlooked! She was sticking around to try the whole acting procedure at the auditions! God Ash, just ask someone where the shows will be playing, all right?!" Brock turned to Evette, "Yo Babe, who here knows where the shows are being held?"

Evette shrugged her shoulders slightly but then her eyes lit up, "Masters agent, Mr. Gerou, should know where! He is, after all, the rules! Behind His Master, of course!" She quipped. Ash jumped up but she warned him, "Be careful, he has eyes of stone and an attitude to match. I told the Master not to hire such a ravenous looking beast but just the same... His resume was the very best..."

Ash tried to yell over the 'Helps' rantings, "WHERE IS THIS GUY?!"

She stopped abruptly and thought it over, "I don't know if he's back yet... He did, after all, intend to follow His Master and My Lady--"

" --Oh, so now Misty's being referred to as 'My Lady'?! She's not even royalty! When do I get a nick name?! And I ain't talking no 'Snooky'!" Ash yelled.

" Oh", Brock said with a grin, "We've all ready got one for you. It's 'The Narcissistic Jackass'. It's a mix between Ash and egotistical maniac, since you seem so partial to them both. In the mean time, the corrupt author of this Lizzie-Mcguire-remake-chick-flic is trying to think up something better. But she thought that it fit you so very well--"

" --Whatever, yeah, where's this Gerou dude?" Ash shakingly replied, "I gotta know now!"

" He should be in the room next to yours..." Evette murmured.

" Why didn't you say so in the first place?!" Ash shouted and then proceeded up the main staircase, angrily stomping his feet.

" Poor guy... He tries way too hard to be impressive for everybody..." Brock shook his head sadly and then turned to Evette, "Well, Babe, guess we'll be dining alone this afternoon." He smiled and sat in Ash's vacant seat.

***

Damnnit! I can't believe what a fool I'm being, actually thinking so much of a stupid guy! I should have known that it was too good to be true... But the worst thing is that I'll never live it down when Ash learns that he was right in thinking that Imuru was such a Friggen' Jackass! Why does this seem to bother me so badly?! Misty collapsed into a chair outside a small coffee shop. It had been so hard trying to act like one of the crowd when every person she met thought that she was some type of actress. She hadn't been able to keep her head down very long in the sweeping crowd because every once in a while she had to 're-surface' for oxygen. This meant that some people had taken choice to recognize her and go into a frenzy of ecstatic excitement. It even went as far as forging 'Reins' signature on a few autographs and then running for her life. As badly as she felt she needed to hate 'Rein' right now, she felt dirty pretending to be her.

" God, I've gotta blow off some steam... I think I'll go to the beach, my tanning has been a little weak lately anyway..." Misty muttered and rummaged through her pack for her bathing suit. She came upon an old photo of the group and looked it over, "How come it seems so hard to remember this? How can it be so easily forgotten..? I feel rotten knowing that I'm forgetting things that mean so much..." Instinctively, she threw the photo back inside and continued looking for her swimming gear. She found what she was looking for and headed to the nearest public restroom.

Meanwhile, Imuru had emerged from the dressing shop with a new five thousand dollar receipt and a small box, which he'd put carefully into his pocket when he didn't see Misty around where she said she'd be waiting for him. He was definitely worried, this wouldn't, after all, be the first actor hostaging situation he'd been put into, and there was no doubt in his mind that the town wasn't as enchanting as it was made out to be...

He sprung as quickly as he could down the road, searching this way and that for the young girl. There was no way she'd just up and go on him, right? They had both been enjoying themselves so very blissfully, was she just faking a good time? Had she maybe retreated back to the manor? Many different questions pounded through his head and he felt a need to find an answer to them all.

" Misty?!" He called, finally getting used to referring to her by name, "Misty, are you there?! Where can she be? There's no way she'll hear me above this crowd!" And he was right, as she was all ready about seventy feet ahead, entering the beach-side entrance with her swim suit under her shorts. But there was somebody familiar who did hear him.

Ash was a mere twenty feet away, a keen eye and ear out for his slightly older friend. Mr. Gerou had informed him that the auditions were over and so he was now forced to search all over town for the youngest Waterflower sister. He turned in the direction of Imuru's voice and spotted him just as he shoved his way through the crowd.

" Oh, what a gentleman he is now..." Ash muttered but followed after him all the same. It was his only lead to finding his friend, after all. Ash thought for a minute (A/N: Can you smell the flames? He must be breaking something in there...). If Misty wasn't with Imuru, or him, and she definitely wasn't back at the manor... She was out here on her own! How stupid could she possibly get?! Even he knew better than to become an actress and then go parading around town without at least one bodyguard! Any sicko could just walk up and--

--He would have been even more pissed if he knew what she was wearing, and where she was wearing it...

Misty bathed upon the shore in her bikini, a small booklet in her hand. She was feeling rather good now, or at least better than she had before. She was hoping not to run face to face with anybody she knew, above all, Imuru while she was here. Intently reading the romantic literature she had just purchased, she didn't notice the eyes of many men on her, and this time it wasn't just because she looked like a major actress.

" Check out the new fish." A raven-head called to his companion, smirking in her direction, "She looks feisty enough to win over. You wanna try first?" His friend looked her over from a small distance and nodded his head.

" I don't care how long it takes, or what it takes... That broad'll be mine no matter what." He smirked and idly approached her with innocence. She didn't notice him immediately but after he'd put his hand over her book, she was forced to look up at him.

" Is there something that you want?" She asked and he almost fell back in shock of the vibrant red-head.

" You're that-that girl--! Re--" He began but she shut him up with a wave of her hand. Right now she couldn't stand the sound of that name, especially when she was just recovering from her first let-down.

" Well, what do you want?" She asked and he smiled sinisterly. Her being famous would make the catch even more worth-while. He would reel in such a beauty if it took him an eternity.

" I'm alone on this God-forsaken beach. I just thought that we could spend some time together, hey Babe?" And he draped his arm around her shoulder. She instantly shook it off and waved him off with her book.

" I'm sorry but, NO." She ended sternly and watched his shocked expression, "If you have nothing else better to do here, then go now. Before I'm forced to get ugly."

" Impossible." He tried again, hoping his would-be charm would help him now. He crept closer again and because she saw no danger in him sitting there, she returned to her book. The man saw his friend watching him intently, finding amusement in his being turned down.

" What, you think that you're too good for me?" He asked, getting angry.

" Oh, not at all. I know that I'm too good for you because I still have my dignity." She said and again looked him over, "And I can tell that you lost yours a long time ago." Again, Misty turned back to her book, trying to ignore his rising anger at her words.

He broke her concentration by ripping the paper-back from her hands and throwing it into the waves. She got to her feet and kicked sand in his face, brushing herself off at the same time. She wasn't going to break bones in public but he obviously wasn't going to back down either. He seemed to think her motives a type of challenge. Instinctively, he pulled out a Pokeball.

" All right, you native bitch. You wanna mess with me, fine. Let's battle, you win, I leave you alone and you get a nifty fee. I win, and you have the pleasure of being my possession to my friends party tonight. And I know there will be fun there. Any forfeits will be proclaimed a loss. We play by my rules and I say that this is a team battle." His friend came to his side, ready to go as well, pokeball in hand.

She'd begun to reach inside her bag and pick out her own pokemon but had halted at the words 'Team battle'. She knew that she had no one to game with and she wasn't willing to ask any person on the beach to do it for lack of skill. She looked up into his frozen silver eyes.

" Come on, you wanted this, right? Try to win in the big leagues, you bitch. Or are you too feminine that you don't even train?"

That had struck too close to home. She immediately pulled out her own pokemon and stood in a ready position.

" Right, and all you need now is a partner..." He licked his lips, probably knowing full well that she had no one.

Which is why he suggested a Team Battle in the first place. She was a little confused on the subject, but being a Gym Leader, she'd heard what Team Battling was. She'd just never taken part in one before.

" Remember, forfeiting means that tonight, you're mine..." And she knew now that she was in trouble...

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A/N: Okay, next chapter I'll be continuing with my ideas. Right now, it's past two in the morning and Chibi needs some sleep, okay? Talk to you peeps later, Ja ne!