Author's note: A realistic Golduck, Oshawott, and an unrealistc Starmie with Misty. 

Ash Ketchum at 18 -- looks pretty awesome, if I say so myself.  The below picture of Ash at 18 is done by Pokemon-FR.  From left to right: Brock, Ash, Misty at their ages for this story.  Brock is still in Sinnoh.  Also done by Pokemon-FR.  

An olympic sized swimming pool made up the Cerulean Gym.  The gym was blue on the roof, and light blue all around.  There were pictures of starfish and fish gracing the gym with a stuffed Great White Shark hovering above the pool.  Misty was on one side of the pool standing on a floating island.  Dressed in a one piece swimming suit, Misty looked like she was ready.   She was also looking at Mike with confidence.

 One the other side was Mike.   He stood on another floating island.  Standing with him was Kelly.  Mike, with his white duster waving with the uncertain motion of the pool.  Mike stayed calm and collected, he didn’t want to get seasick from the pool’s motion.  Kelly’s tails moved in counter motion to the water of the pool, helping him stay steady. 

 “The rules will be a 3 on 3 battle,” said Misty.  “You will win the match when all three of my Pokemon are defeated.”

 A young woman appeared on the stand between them.  “This is an official Gym Battle between the Challenger from Viridian City -- Mike of Viridian; and the Gym Trainer Misty from Cerulean City.” 

Naryawen sat down in the top bleachers away from the water that would hit her.  She was watching the battle with interest.  Beside her sat the young adult from yesterday.  He sat down and also looked on with interest.  Naryawen turned to him and said, “You’re him.”

 “Yes, I’m Ash,” said the young adult.

 “What are you doing here?” she asked.

 “I always watch my wife’s gym battles,” said Ash.

 Naryawen asked, “Why?”

 “For my own reasons,” Ash said, somberly.

 “For my first pokémon, I use Starmie!”  She threw out a pokéball, and it opened to release a purple being that looked like two starfish glued together.  On it’s front was a jewel that was a bi-colored sapphire.  “YAH!” it said.

 Mike released a pokeball, “for my first pokemon, I choose you, Felix!”  The pokeball opened and released Mike’s totodile, Felix.  The little blue crocodile with a red fringe danced around happily.  “Totodile, toto, toto, totodile!” Felix said.

 “A water type against a water type,” said Misty.  “Interesting, and a totodile!  My husband has one!”

 Ash was observing the battle.  “Interesting, a water type vs. a water type,” said Ash.  “I guess all that Mike has are you, that ninetales morph down there, and the totodile.”

 “Master has a fourth pokemon,” said Naryawen.

 “Really,” said Ash.  “Well, I wonder how he would fair.” 

“Underwater, Starmie!” commanded Misty.  The Starmie jumped into the water, causing a splash.

 Mike commanded, “Into the water, Felix!”

 “Totodile!” said Felix as he did a swan dive into the water.   Both Pokemon was in the water, both of the pocket monsters’ speciality.  Both were ready to target each other.

 “Starmie, swift attack!” said Misty.  Starmie then began to roll in the water heading towards Felix. It was heading towards Felix at a terrific speed, and without little warning.

 “Felix, razor bite that Starmie!”

 Felix swam towards it and managed to bite one of Starmie’s arms.  Starmie came out of the water, while wheeling around it Felix had to release his bite and then the totodile hit the water, hard.  However, as a water pokemon, it shrugged off the bite and got up on the floating island, dancing around.

 “Starmie, water gun!”

 “HA!” said Starmie as it got into the water, and then floated up to fire a jet of water at Felix.

 “Felix, defend with water gun!” said Mike.  Felix then fired a jet of water and the two met together, causing a backlash.  Water was released all over the pool.   Both had stopped, and Misty’s Starmie looked pooped, and Felix also looked fatigued.  He had his mouth opened and didn’t look as joyful as before.

 “Starmie, recover!” said Misty.  Starmie dived into the water, and came right back up and said, “HA!” 

 “My Starmie is already to go, but your Totodile looks like it’s tiring out,” said Misty.

 Mike said, “Felix, I need to you to shrug it off for one last push!”

 “Totodile!” said Totodile, seemingly back to it’s joyful self.

 “Swift Attack!”

 “BITE!”

 Starmie catapulted itself right at Totodile, turning around and around.  Totodile jumped up and bit Starmie in the middle and threw it to the door.  Starmie hit the door and the light on it’s gem started to fade.

 “My wife’s Starmie should have beaten that Totodile,” said Ash, still watching from the bleachers.

 Naryawen turned to Ash and said, “What do you mean?”

 “You’re Master’s totodile had certainly prevailed, I guess my wife was going easy on him,” said Ash.  “But look at your Master’s totodile, it’s exhausted.  I don’t think it will make it through the next fight.”

 Naryawen said, “I hope you’re wrong.” 

 “Starmie, no!” said Misty as Starmie’s energy faded.  It slumped, being exhausted and it’s fading was more spaced out.  It looked in pretty bad shape.  Felix didn’t look to be in good shape either.  “To-to-dile,” it said, clearly exhausted.

 “Starmie is unable to battle,” said the girl, using a flag.  “The round goes to Mike’s totodile.” 

 Misty commanded, “Starmie, return!”  A light shined from her pokéball, absorbing Starmie into itself.  “Well, Mike, it’s turning out to be an interesting battle.  But I have a surprise for you.”

 “What’s that?” asked Mike.

 “My husband’s Oshawott!” said Misty as she threw out a pokéball.  Oshawott appeared, and said, “Oshawott!”  Oshawott looked like a sea otter, but it’s fur was light blue and dark blue.  On it’s stomach was its scalchop -- a half scallop shell.  It looked determined.

Ash looked surprised.  His own Oshawott, out in the open and in a gym battle.   He never took that out to be in a gym battle in, at least a year.  “Well, lets see how my Oshawott can fair against your Master’s totodile.”

 Naryawen said, “Come on Felix, come on Mike!”

“Well, Mike, what are you going to do?” asked Misty.  “My husband’s Oshawott is fresh, and your Totodile is fatigued.”

 “Felix, return,” said Mike.  A light came from his pokeball, and it absorbed Felix into it.  “Rest, right now, Felix.  Ace, it’s your turn!”

 Mike released a pokeball, and out soared the raptorous Ace, a Spearow.  “Spearow!” said Ace.  Also fresh, it was ready to do battle against the Oshawott.

 “Oshawott, water gun!” said Misty.

 “Dodge it, Ace!”

 “Oshawott!” said the Oshawott, and it fired a water blast.  But Ace, the spearow, dodged it.

 “Now use Aerial Ace!” said Mike.  The Spearow launched itself at Oshawott, and the Oshawott used the clam shell on it’s body as a shield, although effective, the Oshawott lost it’s balance after a second try.  “Good work, Ace!”

 “Oshawott, use razor shell!” said Misty.   “Osssshhha-wott!” he replied as he threw his shell at Ace, and hit the Spearow, causing him to caw in pain.   But it wasn’t enough to get him out of the sky.

 Mike said, “Ace, use peck!”

 “Spearrrr-ow!” Ace said as it started to peck at Oshawott.  Oshawott started to move around the island until it got into the water.  Ace got it’s altitude back.

 “We have to finish this up, use gust!”

 “Spear, spear, spearow!” Ace said as it flapped it’s wings quickly to cause a gust of wind.  The wind affected the waves and Oshawott was trying to stand it.  The little oshawott tried to recover, but the wind force knocked it against the side of the pool, knocking it out.  “Oshawott . . .” he said.

 “Oh, no, Oshawott!” said Misty.

 Ash got up and was stunned.  His Oshawott was beaten.  “How in the world?” he asked.

 “That’s my Master, Ash,” said Naryawen.  “Impressive, isn’t he.”

 “Yes, very impressive,” said Ash.  His eyes brightened and he started to get excited.  “Come on, Mikey, come on.”

The machoke morph was watching.  At first he thought that the Spearow would have been defeated, but the little raptor that pecked at him was still vicious.  Mike had trained the Spearow well to fight other pokémon and pokémorphs.  The machoke morph looked at Mike and he had begun to get dreamy-eyed.

 “Oshawott is unable to battle,” said the girl.  “The round goes to Mike’s Spearow.”

 “Oshawott, return!” said Misty, and Oshawott was absorbed into the pokéball.  “Well, Mike, I have to say that it’s been quite a gym battle.”

“Really?” asked Mike.

 “Oh, sure, it’s been very stimulating fighting against you,” said Misty.  “You have all the makings of a great trainer!  But, it’s time for the Fiesta de resistance!  Come out, Golduck!”

 She released a pokeball, and it opened releasing Golduck.  The evolved form of Misty’s Psiduck, this Golduck was slim, powerful, and unlike its former self -- very confident and very balanced.  “Golduck!” it said.  Covered with blue feathers, the humanoid duck had a red pearl in it’s head.  It also had a feathery serpentine tail.

 “Psychic scream!” said Misty.  The golduck yelled saying, “GOL-DUCK!”  Mike grabbed his head as he heard Golduck’s psychic scream.  It was a high pitched, annoying noise that he heard.  He wanted to shut out the screaming by holding his ears but he was helpless to see that Ace was affected. 

 “No, Ace!” said Mike.

 “Spearrrrrrrr-OW!” said Ace, as it cawed in pain.  Ace dropped out of the sky as Golduck stopped it’s psychic scream. Mike caught Ace.  The raptor was totally exhausted from the psionic scream.

 “Ace is unable to battle, the win goes to Golduck!” said the girl, pointing the flag of victory in Misty’s direction.

 “Yay, Golduck!” said Misty.  “GOLDUCK!” returned the pokémon. 

 Mike pointed Ace’s ball at Ace and said, “That was good, Ace.  Return and have a long rest.”

 “Spearow,” Ace weakly said before it returned to it’s pokeball.   Mike stood up and said, “Okay, Misty, I have a surprise of my own.  Kelly, take the field!”

 “Yes, Master!” said Kelly as he hopped on the water like a ballet dancer.  He then walked on the water to the floating island.   The ninetales morph was ready.  However, Misty was surprised.  She looked dumbfounded.

 “Your ninetales morph can walk . . .” she gasped, “on water?”

 “It took a while, but you are looking at the only fire pokémorph that is resistant to water,” said Mike.   “A long while for Kelly to practice standing on water, and falling in when he didn't get it right.  But, it took a while to build up the confidence and faith he needed to actually control the water tension on his feet and the surface of the water.”

 “Awesome!” said Misty.  “But he’s still no match for my Golduck.  PSYCHIC SCREAM!”

 Golduck said, “Golduck!” and again came the scream.  Kelly held his head as he heard the scream.  He fell to the floor and began to cry, the pain was excruciating.

 “Make it stop!  Make it stop!” said Kelly, as he held his ears.  His face was twisting into a knot of pain as he bared his teeth.  It was torture, it was unbearable.  This is the power of the Golduck?  A water psychic pokémon?  Everything was drowning out, screaming was all his world.  Kelly was fading, and then . . .  he curled into fetal position.  Kelly was going to give up.  He closed his eyes and everything was turning white. 

“You’re nothing! Your weak, your nothing but a girlish boy!” said the Golduck everywhere.  “You can’t beat me, you can’t!  Look at you, cowering in the fetal position!  You’re nothing.  You’re a worthless pokemon.  The only good thing you are for is a penis in your anus!”

 Kelly started to cry.  And as tears streamed down his face, he heard his own voice.  A masculine, powerful voice.

 “Kelly, you’ve got to get up!”  his voice said.  “Get up Kelly, and fight!”

 “But, the scream,” he said.  “I can’t stand the scream.  His screaming, his taunting . . .”

 “Is that what you want to be known for?  Kelly, having lost to a golduck?  You can fight back, I know  you can.”

 “Leave me alone, I want to wallow in my uselessness . . .” said Kelly.  “All I am is a weak, girly boy.  I’m good for nothing but anal sex. I just want to lay with Mike with me as the woman and he as the Man.  I just want to be a ninetales bimbo anal slut.”

 “Is that all you’re good for, sex?  You can do it, you can overcome this scream, I know you can!  Use, Illusion!”

 “I . . . I . . . Want to leave my manhood behind.  I’m scared of my manhood, what I can be.  I’d rather be an anal slut slave to Mike.  I’d rather be his mate.”

 “You can do it, Kelly, get up, show him the fire of the Kyuubi!  Or are you truly weak?”

 Kelly looked up and saw himself.  The vicious ninetales, like the Kyuubi in that manga about the boy with the nine tailed fox spirit.  Except it was him, strong, powerful, muscled.  He held out his hands, Kelly reached out . . .  and he opened his eyes.

Kelly bared his teeth and growled.  His eyes blazed with the flame of determination.  He had gotten up and saw everything.  Everything, the screaming had stopped, or it was a low hum.

 “He, he got up . . .” said Misty.

 “Gol-duck?” asked Golduck.

 “NO ONE EVER CALLS ME WEAK!” said Kelly.  “NO ONE, NO ONE POKÉMON, AND NO ONE HUMAN!”

 Mike said, “I knew you could get up, now Illusion!”  Kelly held up his hands, and thrust them out as his eyes blazed with powerful yellow flame.   And the golduck said, “Gol-duck?”

From the Golduck’s point of view, Misty, Ash, everyone was gone.  The Golduck was alone.  “Gol-duck!” Golduck said, knowing that it was an illusion.  Golducks were very intelligent Pokémon.  And this one was no fool.  However, Kelly appeared before him, and then on both of his flanks.

One’s coloring changed to orange red.  Another, however, changed to white.   The one before him took on lacquered lamellar Samurai Armor.  “Gol-duck?” asked Golduck.

 The armored Kelly stepped on the water and started walking towards Golduck, drawing it’s sword.  But it wasn’t a metal blade, but a blade of flames.  “I’ve been made fun of, called a freak because I was a walking humanoid vulpix,” said Kelly.  “I grew close to Mike, over the years and even fell in love with him. I’ve been called weak, girly, and feminine and everything in between.  But I won’t be called weak by you!”

 “GOLDUCK!” said Golduck.

Misty saw her Golduck squawking.  He ran off his island and headed towards the huge windows.  He put his back to the glass.

 “Golduck!  What do you think you’re doing!” said Misty.  “Are you the Psyduck you used to be? Or are you a golduck!  Get back in there and fight!”

 “Golduck, golduck, golduck!” said Golduck.  He empathically transmitted his fear to Misty.  Misty picked him up and threw him back on the island.  “I don’t care if he is fearsome, now fight!”

 “Golduuuucck!” said Golduck as he landed on the floating island.  Golduck was still under the power of the illusion projected by Kelly.   Ash and Naryawen gasped.  Golduck sighed, and fainted.  

 “GOLDUCK!” yelled Misty angrily.

 “Golduck is unable to battle, victory goes to Mike from Viridian City!” 

 Kelly released his illusion and fainted in Mike’s arms.  “I did it . . .” said Kelly.  

 “You certainly did,” affirmed Mike.  Ash and Naryawen was cheering the match.

 “Yay Mike!”

 “Yay, Master!” 

In the lobby of the Gym, Misty held up a cascade badge. “Congratulations, Mike, you earned this,” she said.

 “Uh, thanks, but that was a tough battle, I thought I was going to lose,” said Mike.  “If Kelly didn’t show his inner strength.”

 “Yeah, although for Kelly to give my Golduck a reversion episode, that was something,” said Misty as she dropped the badge in Mike’s hands.

 “All it took was a little illusion,” said Kelly, laughing.  Golduck was by Misty’s side, and it said, “Golduck.”

 Misty laughed, and she remembered she had a reversion episode of her own when Golduck reverted.  “I’ll train Golduck to better withstand illusion.  As for you, good luck in the Indigo League Championships.”

 “I will,” said Mike as the trio left.   Moments later, Ash stepped out of the gym and into the lobby.  Misty looked at her husband, and he was really excited!

 “You didn’t even get a chance to say hello or bye,” said Misty.

 Ash responded, “it’s because Naryawen said that Mike considers me a rival.  And he couldn’t be more right!”

 “Ash, what are you thinking!”

 “I’m going to register for the Indigo League and I’m going to battle him in the championships!” Ash said, all teary eyed. “I’ve finally found a trainer that is worth battling for the title cup!  This is a great day!”

 “Okay, but you aren’t going to battle me at this gym,” said Misty.

 “I know, dear, isn’t it great!”  He picked up Misty and twirled her around and around.  And it was late afternoon already.  "I'll battle one of your assistant gym trainers."  But Ash was so happy, it was like his sun was rising again.