The Beautifly Effect

Chapter Two -- 2BA Master

Two days later...

The large, sleek plant-animal charged with a gallop, enduring the lightning that followed it, flowing unrelentlessly from its small, yellow opponent. A split second before impact, Pikachu cut the current and leapt out of the Meganium's way. The latter continued forward, kicking up clouds of dust as it skidded to a halt.

Misty looked on from among the spectators. She could not help but be impressed. Ash's love and talent for those wonderful creatures are what connected her to him in the first place. At first she dismissed his aspirations as childish boasts. But over the years, his dream of becoming a Master solidified more and more into reality.

"Razor Leaf!" ordered Ash's opponent.

"Quick Attack!" commanded Ash.

The Meganium oriented itself and aimed. But with a few bounds, Pikachu sprung into the air and crashed into the Meganium's side at enormous speed, bouncing off and landing on all fours some metres away. The impact knocked the large Pokémon off its feet.

Ash is going to win, she thought as the audience cheered around her. He hardly ever loses any more.

"Meganium is unable to battle," said the referee.

The green monster dissolved into a crimson haze and then disappeared completely. Another took its place, a cute, spherical creature with saucer-shaped eyes and kitten ears.

Ash's opponent is going for strategy rather than brawn this time. Ho-hum, she thought. She almost knew Ash inside-out and already figured what he was likely to do. The audience around her, though, were on the edge of their seats.

"Jigglypuff, Sing!"

"Pikachu, Thunder Wave!"

Yep. He'll disable his opponent before it disables him. On his way to becoming a Pokémon Master. She admired him for it. But where would it leave her? To continue having her advice spurned, her advances ignored... to more shouts, arguments, fights... Thoughts of the events of two days ago began to play in her mind again. She wanted them to stop, to forget the whole incident. She avoided him since they had arrived at the League, tried to stay away in the hope of stopping those thoughts. But as soon as Ash's first match was announced that morning, she came running to see it, to see him, the most important person in her life.

"Quick Attack!"

Her mind snapped back to the match. Jigglypuff looked in a bad way. She'd missed most of the battle. Nor could her mind stay fixed on it. Again it wandered back to what had happened. She clutched the sides of her face. Had she done anything wrong? She hadn't meant any harm. All this heartache over a silly old cap! But no, it wasn't any old cap, it was a symbol. A symbol of the most important thing in his life.

"Ash Ketchum wins the match."

The single most important thing... and it wasn't her. As the sound of cheering and applause roared into life, Misty stood up, turned around and walked away.