Misty Ketchum settled into the lawn chair on her back porch in Pallet Town.  She wasn’t usually a pensive person, but she felt she needed to think for a while.  And since Ash was in Pewter City, this would be the perfect opportunity to do so.
 She missed her daughter Aoife so much.  She called as often as she possibly could, but many times she couldn’t reach her.  Sometimes Aoife turned off her phone, like when she had an important battle, and she forgot to turn it on again.  Misty sighed.  Aoife’s phone had been off for two weeks now. 
Not being able to reach her was beginning to really upset her.  She had just gotten an email from Aoife the other night, saying that she was staying at the Big Riddle Inn on Cinnabar.  Misty remembered when she was traveling with Ash and Brock, and they stayed at that same place.  Aoife said that Blaine was in the hospital, and that a man named Cloud had taken over the gym.  Misty, knowing that Aoife would probably compete for her Volcano Badge today, had kept her daughter in her thoughts the whole day, wishing her luck.
 “Cloud…” Misty said to herself.  “I know a Cloud, but I don’t remember where I met him…oh yes, the man with the Snorlax and the Pokeflute.  Interesting character.  Amazing he’s still alive…he was very old when we met him, and that was 20 years ago.”  She crossed her fingers, a childish gesture, but somehow it comforted her.  “I hope she does well.”
 A few minutes went by, while Misty sipped her iced tea and listened to the Pidgey and Spearow in the trees and watched the Sentret scamper across the lawn.  Then she began to reflect on when Aoife had first left.  That was when Misty had first noticed something different in Ash.
 “It must be because Aoife’s gone,” Misty said, talking to herself again.  “Maybe…maybe not having her here with us—and having Eoin off at Pokemon Tech—was just too stressful for us to cope with.  Our marriage was already shaky, and having our children gone doesn’t help.  I do hope she comes back soon.  Cinnabar isn’t too far from here, and she’ll have to go through Pallet in order to reach the next gym in Viridian.”
 Then a thought crossed Misty’s mind, one that she had been considering off and on for the past year, ever since her daughter left.  “Maybe this isn’t the kind of life I want to have.  Maybe I should just…go.  Back to Cerulean, I mean.  My sisters might need me.  Or maybe I need them.  I need someone.”  She stood up from the chair, causing a sleeping Sentret on the lawn to scamper off in fear.
 “I need to call Aoife.  Right now.”
 
 

 “Oh, by the way, Cloud,” Aoife said, “thanks for the match.”
 “No prob, Bob,” Cloud said, as he set the lunch plates down at the table.  “Anyone want anything to drink?”
 “No thanks,” Aoife said.
 Cloud started to sit down, but the phone rang.  “I’ll get that.  You kids can start without me.”
 The six of them started on the potato soup and egg salad that Cloud had prepared; a special meal for them, allowing that Ruari didn’t eat fish and Sora refused to eat poultry.  It was only a short while before Cloud’s head poked out of the kitchen.
 “Aoife,” he said.  “It’s for you.”
 “For me?” Aoife repeated, looking up.  “But no one knows I’m here, except…oh, that’s right, I told Mom.”
 Aoife crossed over to the kitchen and took the phone from Cloud.  “Hello?”
 “Aoife, thank goodness.”
 “Hi, Mom.”
 “I haven’t been able to reach you in two weeks!  Where have you been?”
 “Oh, yeah,” Aoife said.  “I guess I turned off my phone when we were on the St. Margaret, and, er, forgot to turn it on after that.  Sorry.”
 “The St. Margaret?” Misty said, sounding worried.  “Didn’t that ship almost sink a week or so ago?”
 “Er, yeah,” Aoife said.  “That was when I was on it.  But don’t worry, Mom,” she said, interrupting before Misty could say anything, “we’re all okay.”
 “That’s good,” Misty said.  “So how many are in your entourage now?”
 “There’s Petra, you know her,” Aoife said, counting off on her fingers.  “Sora, from Azure City, the flying Pokemon trainer.  Aidan, the boy from Lavender Town…”
 “Oh, yes, Duplica’s son,” Misty said.  “I still send her a Christmas card every year.  How is she, by the way?”
 “She’s great, Mom,” Aoife said.  “That makes three, four including me.  There’s also Ferio, from Saffron City, Sora’s cousin.  And we met a new girl in Fuchsia City—did I tell you about Ruari?”
 “Ruari?  Doesn’t ring a bell.”
 “Gym leader of Chartreuse City, the girl who can turn into a Dratini?  I’m almost positive I told—“
 “Oh, that’s right, the Dratini girl,” Misty said.  “That’s very interesting.  Dratini are some of my favorite Pokemon, so I should like to meet her…when do you think you’ll be coming back?”
 “Soon,” Aoife said.  “We plan to visit the Cinnabar labs today—I heard Bill was going to be there, and Ruari and Aidan are both insane Bill fans.  So it shouldn’t be more than a few days before I’m back in Pallet again.”
 “That’s fantastic!” Misty said.  “I was hoping you’d be back soon.  I really miss you a lot, Aoife.”
 “I miss you too.”
 “Oh, by the way,” Misty said, “I saw that girl that you used to be friends with…what was her name…Fawn?  Fawn Oak, that’s right.”
 “Fawn?” Aoife said, paling.  “What was Fawn doing?”
 “Didn’t you hear?  The Pokemon League started last week.  She has all her badges now, so she’s competing.”
 “Crud,” Aoife muttered.  “Do they accept late entries?  Because I don’t have all mine yet and I probably won’t for another few weeks or so.”
 “I’m sorry, Aoife,” Misty said.  “They don’t, and the next one isn’t for another year.  But I didn’t think you wanted to be a Pokemon Master anyway.”
 “I don’t,” Aoife said.  “I’d rather be a gym leader, but being a Master too would really help my qualifications.  And even if I didn’t win, it’d still be good experience.”  She paused, then, “Speaking of Pokemon Masters, is Dad there?  Can I talk to him?”
 Misty’s voice sounded different at the mention of Ash.  “I’m sorry, dear, your father is in Pewter City at the moment.  But when he gets back I’ll tell him you called, okay?”
 “Oh, okay,” Aoife said, disappointed.  “Well…guess I better go now.  Bye, Mom.  See you in a few days.  I love you.”
 “I love you too, Aoife,” Misty said, tears springing to her aqua blue eyes as her daughter hung up the phone.
 
 

 “The Cinnabar Labs,” Aidan said, a spring in his step as they walked down the hill to the laboratories.  “These are some of the best labs in Kanto, and the brightest researchers study here!  This is going to be great!”
 Sora smiled, happy to see Aidan so excited.  “Yeah, and I heard that B—mmmph!”
 Petra quickly shut Sora up before she could say the name.  “Don’t tell them that B-I-L-L will be there,” she whispered.  “We won’t be able to control them if they hear that.”
 “Sorry,” Sora said.
 But Ruari heard anyway.  “B-bill?  Did you say…BILL is going to be there?”
 “Uh-oh,” Petra said.  “Everyone brace yourself…”
 “Come on, guys, don’t be such Slowpokes!” Ruari said, grabbing Petra’s hand and racing off.  “We have to see Bill!”  Aidan followed, grabbing Ferio and dragging her after the purple-haired couple.  Ferio looked none too pleased to have Aidan pulling her down the street.  Sora and Aoife looked at each other, shrugged, and followed the other four.
 As soon as they got to downtown Cinnabar, however, the Bill fanatics were slowed down by the herds of tourists clogging up the entrance to the labs.  “Hey, out of my way,” Ruari said, almost pushing the tourists aside to get to the door.  Aidan, being too polite to push, was held up for a while until he could get through (by this time, Ferio had let go of his hand and brushed it off on her pants leg in disgust).
 “Okay, we’re in,” Petra said, pulling the door closed behind her so that no tourists could get in.  “Now where’s Bill?”
 “Yeah, where’s Bill?” Ruari said.  “I want to meet him.”
 “Hey, Aoife!  Petra!  Long time no see!”  A tall older man with green hair came down the hall towards them, waving.
 “Hey, Bill,” Petra said.
 Immediately, Aidan jumped to the front of the group.  “Hi, Bill!  Remember me?  I’m the one who talked to you on the phone that one time, remember?  It was in…May, I think.”
 “Oh, yeah,” Bill said.  “Aidan, right?”
 Aidan nearly died of happiness right there.  “You remembered my name!”
 Ruari pushed Aidan out of the way so that she could talk to Bill.  “And do you remember me too?  I was the Pokemon Master of 2109.”
 “Oh yes, you’re the one who retired after a month and a half,” Bill said.  “And as far as I know there hasn’t been another one since, has there?  Guess you’re a tough act to follow, young lady.”  Ruari looked like she was about to die of happiness too.  “Your name is…Laurie, right?”
 “Er, actually it’s Ruari,” Ruari said, a faint sweatdrop trickling down her forehead.  She knew Aidan would never let her forget this, that Bill remembered his name and not hers.  She could already see him snickering at her, and in response she stuck her tongue out at him.
 “You guys want to see something?” Bill said.  “Come back here.”
 He led them down a maze of twisting corridors, through doors and down flights of stairs.  On the way to Bill’s lab, they passed a variety of Pokemon: Growlithe, Vulpix, Koffing, Grimer, and Charmeleon, to name a few.
 “How come there are all these Pokemon wandering around?” Aoife asked.
 “It’s a very unconventional lab,” Bill laughed.  “The Pokemon we study are allowed to go wherever they please…well, almost.  They do have to wear tags, and they can’t stray too far from where their researcher is.  This one, for example,” he said, picking up a Cyndaquil, “is mine.  I’m studying changes in the temperature of fire Pokemon.”
 “What’s that?” Aoife said, pointing her Pokedex at Bill’s Pokemon.
 “Cyndaquil,” Dexter said.  "The fire mouse Pokemon.  From the pores on its back it emits flames.  Its pleasant temperment makes it a good choice for beginning trainers."
 “Cool,” Aoife said.
 “They use those as starter Pokemon in Johto,” Bill said.  “Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Chicorita are the Johto equivalents of Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur respectively.”
 “Johto?” Aoife repeated.  “Where—or what or who—is Johto?”
 “Johto is the land just to the west of here,” Bill said.  “They have their own Pokemon League, and lots of different species live in Johto that are very rare or nonexistent here…like your Magby, for instance.  How is Pele doing, by the way?”
 “She’s great, Bill,” Aoife said.  “It’s almost the eighth, so I’d be due to send her to you in a couple days.  But maybe you could just study her here—keep her here a couple days—and return her to my PC when you’re done.”
 “Sounds like a plan,” Bill said.  “I’d have to retrieve her twin from my PC back at home, but I could study her here just as well.  She might like it better here, in fact, because she and her sister will get to walk around the lab and interact with all the other Pokemon.”
 “She’d love it,” Aoife agreed.
 Bill stopped in front of a door marked “Bill’s Lab.”  “This is, needless to say, my lab,” Bill said.  “Come on in, please, make yourselves at home.”
Bill’s lab consisted of a “waiting room” of sorts, with leather couches and potted plants and a table cluttered with magazines.  One door led to a sterile white laboratory, furnished with very modern-looking instruments, and another led to a messy office strewn with papers, with a computer and a Pokedex sitting on a desk amidst the mess.
Bill disappeared into his office, calling back, “I’ll have Maeve get you something to drink.”
 “Maeve?” Petra said, as the group settled into the leather couches in the front room of the laboratory.
 “My assistant,” Bill said.  “She’s studying to be a researcher too…you might like to meet her, Aidan.  She used to work at the Celadon Gym, and she was Erika’s right hand man—well, woman, actually—filling in for her as needed.”
 “Back already, Bill?” a young woman’s voice came from the laboratory.
 “I could swear I recognize that voice…but I don’t remember where.  Maybe she was a challenger at the gym a long time ago,” Aidan thought.
 “Yeah,” Bill said.  “And I brought some friends with me too.  Come on out and meet them—take a break from your work.”
 “Of course,” Maeve replied.  A moment later a face peeked out the laboratory door…a face astoundingly similar to Ferio’s.  Except Maeve’s face didn’t have the cold look to it that Ferio’s did, she looked infinitely more friendly.  And she had nearly the same haircut, except her hair was dark blue and her eyes dark green.
 “Hello there,” Maeve said, stepping into the waiting room.  She was about Ferio’s height too, and wearing a lab coat.  “I’m Maeve, Bill’s assistant.  Anything I can get for you, maybe a drink or something?”
 The girls put in their drink requests, while Aidan just stared.  After Maeve left the room to get them their drinks, Aidan spoke.
 “Guys,” he said in a low voice, “do you know who that was?”
 “Maeve, Queen of Connaught, the Irish warrior goddess?” Ferio said.
 “Close enough,” Aidan continued excitedly.  “I think…that was the girl I saw at the gym leader’s convention.”
 “Are you serious?” Sora said.  “You mean…it’s not Ferio?”
 “I don’t know,” Aidan said.  “But I think…I think this is the girl I met all those years ago, the one I’ve been looking for ever since.”
 “I’m crushed,” Ferio deadpanned.  “You mean another woman has replaced me?  How can life go on.”
 “Ferio,” Sora hissed, jabbing her cousin with her elbow.  “This is a serious thing for Aid.  Could you at least be nice?”
 “Since when am I supposed to be nice?” Ferio whispered back.  “Why change now?”
 Just then, Maeve kicked open the door, balancing an armful of soda cans.  “Here are your drinks,” she said.
 Aidan was on his feet immediately.  “Here, let me get some of those for you.”  He took a few of the cans from Maeve’s arms, their eyes meeting.
 “…thanks…” Maeve replied,  her eyes still on Aidan’s.  A moment later she snapped out of her trance and began handing out the sodas.  “Bill is working on something, I think,” she said, indicating the closed door of Bill’s office.  “He should be out soon, though.  But in the meantime, I’d like to be introduced to all of you.  If you don’t mind, that is.”
 “Uh, Maeve?” Aidan said, after the introductions had been made.  “Could I, er, could I ask you something?”
 “Go ahead,” Maeve said.  “Aidan, right?”
 “Yeah,” Aidan said.  “Well…Bill tells us that you trained at Erika’s gym, and that you were her right hand for a while.”
 “That’s right,” Maeve said, eyeing him with curiosity.  “Go on.”
 “I was just wondering…I’m one of the gym leaders of Lavender Town, and I seem to recall meeting someone who looked almost exactly like you at a gym leader’s convention three years ago.”
 “Oh, that’s right,” Maeve said.  “That was when Erika was sick.  Poor thing, she was taken terribly ill, and so suddenly.  There was a convention coming up, so I had to attend in her place, and Lisa—one of the other trainers at the gym—took on all challenges.  Come to think of it, I did meet two trainers from Lavender at that convention…must have been you and someone else.”
 Aidan nodded.  “My brother Ewan.  He and my older brother, Kieran, were the only gym leaders at the time, but I insisted on tagging along with them.”
 “Maybe we should leave them alone for a while,” Sora whispered to the other girls, standing up to go.  “Maeve, I think we’re going to go, er, explore the labs for a while.  If Bill comes back, tell him we’ll be back soon.”
 “Okay,” Maeve said, then continued to converse animatedly with Aidan.
 Sora looked depressed as they wandered the halls, and the other girls shared a sympathetic look.  They knew what Sora was so upset about: Aidan had finally found the girl he’d been looking for, so now there was no chance for Sora anymore.
 “What do you think he’ll do?” Ruari spoke up after a while, breaking the silence.
 “What do you mean?” Ferio asked.
 “He’s finally met the girl of his dreams,” Ruari said wistfully.  “I mean, come on.  Do you really think he’ll want to stay with us anymore?”
 The realization hit the five girls, and the silence descended again as they processed that thought: Aidan, one of their best friends, an essential member of their group…leaving?  Going off with another girl, leaving them behind?
 “I didn’t think of that,” Sora finally said.  “Well, I guess whatever makes him happy…will you excuse me for a minute?”  She ran off down a side corridor, mumbling something about finding the bathroom.
 “Sora!” Ferio called after her, chasing her cousin down the hall.
 “Should we go after them?” Petra asked.
 “No,” Ruari said.  “We don’t want to interfere.”
 The three remaining girls trudged on for a while, a despondent cloud hanging over them until they reached Bill’s lab again.  “We must have gone around in a circle,” Aoife said.  She started to push open the door, but Ruari stopped her and put a finger to her lips.  The girls listened, hearing excited, happy chatter coming from inside, but they couldn’t make out any words.
 Finally Aoife pushed the door open and they went inside to find Aidan, Maeve, and Bill talking.  “He looks so happy,” Ruari thought, watching Aidan.  “Happier than I’ve seen since I first met him.  Sora would like to see him this happy.  I wish she were here.”
 After a moment Petra cleared her throat, and the three broke off their conversation when they noticed who had returned.  “Hi, guys.  Where’s Sora?  And Ferio?” Aidan asked.
 “They went to the bathroom,” Petra answered vaguely.  “What are you three so happy about?”
 “You won’t believe it,” Aidan said, his face lighting up with excitement as he told his plans to the girls.  “Bill has an opening for another assistant here!  He’s going to be working here for the next six months, and guess what?”
 “He’s hiring Chu-Chu?” Aoife joked.
 “He’s hiring ME!” Aidan said.
 Petra grinned.  “Fair play to you, Aid.  I’m glad you have this opportunity, it’ll really be a great way to start out your researching career.”
 “Yeah,” Ruari echoed.  “You’re lucky.”
 “We better find Sora and Ferio and tell them the good news,” Aoife said, casting a meaningful glance at Petra and Ruari as they left Bill’s lab to find the missing pair.

***

 That afternoon, Aidan was there at the Cinnabar Harbor to bid them farewell as they set back for Pallet Town.  Each member of the group gave their own personal goodbyes before they boarded the ship.
 First was Aoife.  Before Aidan could say goodbye, she threw her arms around him.  “Bye, Aid.  Traveling won’t be the same without you.”
 “Bye, Aif,” Aidan replied.  “I’ll miss you.”
 Petra was next, and the two of them shook hands and patted each other on the shoulders, the sort of greeting two male friends would give each other.  “I’ll miss not having another guy to talk to,” Petra said, smiling.
 “So will I,” Aidan said.
 “You’ll have Bill,” Ruari reminded him.  She was the next one in line aboard the ship, and she seemed almost shy (but that couldn’t be, because this is RUARI we’re talking about) as she gave him a hug.  “I’m sorry I didn’t get to know you a little better.  Email me, okay?”
 “Sure.”
 When it came time for Sora to say goodbye, she blushed, trembling as she gave him a hug.  “So long, Aidan.  I’ll really miss you.  And hey, I hope you and Maeve can get together.  Promise me you will, okay?”
 “I promise.  Goodbye, Sora.”
 At first, Ferio shook hands with Aidan, impersonally.  But as she said her goodbyes, her face softened and she smiled.  “See you around, ghost boy,” she said, patting him on the back.  “I’ll miss having you to kick around.”
 Aidan smiled.  “And I’ll miss being kicked around.”
 Now that they were all on board and the ship beginning to pull away, they waved and shouted last words to Aidan as he waved back on the shore, watching them.
 The last words they heard from him were, “Goodbye!  I’ll see you again someday!”
 

Author's Notes
I almost typed Auror's Notes...geesh, too much Harry Potter.  Anyway...wasn't that sad, though?  Especially the saying goodbye scene and Sora's reaction when Aidan says that Maeve is the girl he was looking for.  And the scenes with Misty, too.  I don't think I need to tell you that Aoife won't be going to the Pokemon League this year, since she's too late, but apparently Fawn is.  I haven't really planned out the final few episodes of the Kanto League series, but it will involve Aoife's last badge, going back to Pallet, meeting Fawn again, a possible run-in with TR, and...a big finale.  Yep.  And then the Orange League episodes will start soon!  Won't that be fun.  And I'll miss Aidan too, but I'll still get to write about him in the Ohtori Story, so that'll be okay.

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