Disclaimer: All characters that are used belong to their respective creators. I do this for fun and do not make any money off of it. Please don't sue me. The stories are mine, so please don't use them without asking me.
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    Misty stood in a ready stance and prepared her Ember attack.  Deciding to let Misty handle the fighting, Pikachu snuck off and hunted for any dirty tricks that Team Rocket was going to pull.  Jesse decided to try for an easy victory and sent out her Lickitung first.

    "Lickitung, Wrap attack."

    "Misty, Ember."

    Due to experience and skill, the Lickitung went first and wrapped its tongue around Misty and tried squeezing her.  Misty shook a bit in disgust at having Pok�mon saliva on her, but ignored it as she tossed a small ball of fire right into her opponent's mouth.  Jesse's Pok�mon reared back, pulling its tongue through Misty.  Phasing through the tongue, Misty launched another fireball at Lickitung.

    "Lickitung, Disable now!"

    The pink and yellow creature's eyes glowed blue for a second and Misty felt part of her mind shut down.  She tried summoning her fire and found that she could not.  Checking Dexter, Ash saw that Misty's Ember power was out for a bit.

    Hoping that she could still fight without Ember, Ash yelled, "Misty, start hitting that thing with your fists."

    The orange-haired girl, nodded her understanding and launched a punch straight at Lickitung's eye.  She smiled a bit as her opponent stepped back a couple of steps.  Watching from the sidelines, Meowth pulled a small box out.

    "Let's see how you like being shocked," Meowth stated, as he pushed a button on the box.

    Meowth's skeleton showed through his body for a few seconds as electricity coursed through him from wires that were attached to his feet.  Pikachu was standing nearby humming 'It's a Small World', trying his best not to laugh.

    "Way to go, Misty!" Ash exclaimed as Lickitung fell over, unconscious.

    Throwing a Pok�ball, a furious Jesse stated, "So, you think you're good, Don't you?  Well try this.  Arbok, Acid!"

    The purple snake, raised its head up and spat out a glob of black liquid.  The liquid hit Misty, who screamed a bit from the pain.  Instinctively, she protected her clothes from degrading under the assault.  The human Pok�mon jumped back and hoped that her fire ability would unfreeze soon.  Ash bit his lower lip as he wracked his brain on what to do.

    "Misty, try seeing if you have a Nightshade attack," Ash called.

    Misty shook her head at Ash's order, *I should have had Ash figure out what all my attacks were before entering into a battle.*

    Calming herself, She tried projecting fear at Arbok.  Waves of dark purple and black energy spiraled from Misty and hit the snake squarely.  The poison Pok�mon was knocked around a bit by the assault. Misty felt like someone threw a switch inside her head.

    "Misty is no longer disabled," Dexter chimed in.

    "All right," Ash muttered. "Misty, Ember attack."

    Even before Ash had given his command, Misty had gathered fire into her right hand.  Arbok tried launching another Acid shot at the genie, but it hit the wall instead. Drawing her arm back, the Pok�genie threw the fireball like a baseball.  The fire hit Arbok and streamed over its body and onto the walls.  The snake writhed a bit on the ground and passed out from the intense heat.

    "You brat.  How dare you do that to my Pok�mon," Jesse ranted, as she recalled her Pok�mon.

    Holding a rose and throwing a ball, James said, "Now let's see how you do against me.  Wheezing, Poison Gas."

    Ash called, "Misty, Night Shade."

    Once more, the human Pok�mon imagined the feelings of terror washing over her opponent.  The gas bag Pok�mon backed up a bit from the ferocity of the assault.  Wheezing fired off a cloud of toxic gas that engulfed Misty.  The genie coughed a bit, as she raced out of the cloud.  She was able to hack up all of the poison before it seeped into her system.  Not waiting for her trainer to give her a command, Misty launched another Night Shade.  Wheezing wobbled a bit as it was almost knocked out of the sky.  Jesse had secretly snuck away and headed for a room underneath the Gym arena.  Secretly following her, Pikachu also went under the arena.

    "That brat made a fool of me and my Pok�mon.  I'll make sure she and her trainer never see this badge," Jesse said, while putting a small green pin on a table.

    Waiting until Jesse was occupied somewhere else, Pikachu rushed forward and, using his mouth, snatched the badge from off the table.  He rushed over to a dark, secluded alcove and dropped the pin there.

    *If Misty wins, I'll bring the badge to Ash.  Otherwise, I'll just leave it here.  Now, I'd better go see what Jesse is up to.*

    The yellow mouse silently padded his way back to where the female Team Rocket was working on a small bomb.

    "Let's see how the water brat likes an explosion.  There that should do it."  Jesse said.

    Pikachu shook his head and waited for a moment, where he could defuse the bomb.
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    "Wheezing, Tackle her," James called.

    Rolling her eyes at the stupidity of the command, Misty let the Wheezing pass through her and launched another Night Shade.  This time, the Wheezing fell from the air unconscious.

    "I'm impressed, girl.  But, let's see how you do against this.  Victreebel, Razor Leaf."

    Not bothering to respond to James, Misty launched the most powerful Ember attack she could.  The fireball hit and knocked the plant Pok�mon out in one shot.  The spillover from the fire streamed into the ground and burnt its way to where Jesse was at.  Brock and Ash dived for cover at the first sound of the explosion.  Somehow Jesse, James, Meowth, and the other Rocket Pok�mon were launched into the air.

    "It looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again," came the massed voices of James and Jesse.

    Brock and Ash crawled from their refuges and looked around what was left of the Viridian Gym.  Sitting on a burnt table, Misty was completely unhurt by the bomb.  The roof and upper stories of the gym had been blasted completely away.  What was left off the walls looked like broken teeth thrust into the dirt.  Ash sat down on the ground and brought his knees up to his chest.

    Looking up towards the sky, Ash said, "Now, I'll never get the last badge."

    "Mmmika," Pikachu said, while holding a green pin in his mouth.

    Ash looked up, "Huh? Pikachu? What's that you have?"

    Taking the pin from Pikachu's mouth, Ash realized he was holding an Earth badge.  He looked at both Brock and Misty, unsure of what to do.

    Brock said, "Keep the badge, Ash.  Misty was able to beat Team Rocket as one of your Pok�mon."

    Misty put her hands on her hips and stated, "You'd better keep it, I don't want my effort to have been wasted."

    Ash jumped to his feet and picked Misty up and spun her around, "Yahoo!  Way to go Misty!  We've got the Earthbadge!"

    Misty was torn between feeling pride that her Trainer was complimenting her and her desire to be human once more.
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    Leaving Viridian City behind, Ash and company headed back to Pallet Town.  Misty had taken time to get changed out of her genie clothes and back into her normal attire.

    "Well, Misty.  How did you enjoy your first battle as a Pok�mon?" Ash asked.

    The human Pok�mon thought for a minute before replying, "It was...different.  After the fight, I felt strange."

    Brock and Ash looked at Misty and asked in unison, "Strange? How?"

    "It felt like intense warmth and a tingling sensation spreading throughout my body."

    Brock said, "That probably means you are getting more powerful."

    "I guess so,"  Misty responded, somewhat reluctantly.

    Trying to change the subject, Misty asked, "Since the tournament isn't for another two weeks, what are we going to do in the meantime?"

    Ash looked up and said, "Well there is a circus in town.  We can go to that tomorrow."

    "Right.  Sounds like fun," Misty replied.  "Now if you don't mind, I want to take care of my Pok�mon."

    Ash held up a Pok�ball and a red beam of light was emitted.  The light struck Misty, who felt her body tingle all over.  Soon, she was pulled inside the ball.  Ash put the Pok�ball in his breast pocket and continued walking, with Pikachu and Brock following.  Inside the ball, Misty was looking after her Pok�mon.  She knelt down and picked up a walking egg.

    "Hi, Togepi.  Sorry I was gone so long, but I had to take care of something," Misty said. *All the conveniences of home, plus travel at the same time.*

    The genie walked to her Pok�center and checked the equipment.  After making sure everything was running smoothly, Misty opened a cabinet and looked at some of the stuff in there.  She gazed at a certain grouping of items and debated on using them or not.

    "What do I do?  These vitamins were expensive and I wanted to use them on my Pok�mon.  But, I also want to make sure I don't get stolen by Team Rocket.  Maybe I should wait until Ash gets some more for his Pok�mon."

    Misty closed the cabinet and sat down on a chair.  Holding her right palm in front of her, she brought forth a small fireball.

    *When that Lickitung disabled me, I felt like part of me had died.  And when the power came back, I was relieved.  Will I be able to give up my powers to be human again?*  Misty thought as she gazed at the fire. *Oh well.  Before the tournament, I'm going to have to have Ash put me in that other ball for a night.  I need to know what its going to be like to stay in it for a long time.*

    Misty got up and headed to her bedroom, near the top of the ball.  She lay down and let Ash's heartbeat lull her to sleep.
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    At dawn, Ash called Misty from her Pok�ball.  Nibbling on a tomato, Pikachu was sitting on his shoulder with not a care in the world.  Misty woke up, feeling the cold tile floor of the kitchen beneath her.

    "Are you ready to go to the circus?"  Ash asked.

    Laying on the ground, Misty propped her head up with on arm and looked at Ash.

    "Ash, the circus hasn't even set up yet," Misty said and pointed at a piece of paper affixed to the refrigerator, "According to that flyer, they won't open until noon."

    "I know.  I just want to see them set up.  Come on.  It'll be fun."

    "I've got a better idea, Ash.  Why don't you allow me to have breakfast first?  I haven't eaten for a while," Misty replied. *It's odd not feeling hunger or thirst for a few days.  An advantage of being inside the ball, I guess.*

    "Err. Okay.  I forgot," Ash replied.

    Misty shook her head as she got up and opened the refrigerator.  She pulled out an egg carton and liter of milk, and quickly fixed herself some scrambled eggs for breakfast.  The genie took a couple of bites and looked down at the eggs, with an odd look on her face.

    "Is there something wrong, Misty?"  Ash asked.

    Misty replied, "I'm not sure.  These eggs taste funny."

    Ash grabbed a fork and took a hesitant bite of the eggs.  Looking back at Misty, he shrugged.

    "They seem all right to me."

    Misty reluctantly finished the eggs.  A couple of times it looked like she was going to loose it, but she managed to fight the gag back.  Ash watched her in concern, as she ate.

    After finishing, Misty said, "I think I'd better go see Professor Oak first."

    "Why?"

    "Just a hunch."

    Curious, Ash followed Misty to the lab.  She quickly found Professor Oak and Bill going over some equations.

    Looking up, Oak said, "Ah.  Misty, it's nice to see you.  It's still going to be a while before we even figure out how you were changed."

    Shaking her head, Misty countered, "That's not what I'm here for.  I'm here for a different reason."

    "What's that?"  Bill asked.

    Taking a deep breath, Misty said, "I was wondering if my transformation would have any other side effects.  When I was eating this morning, the eggs I fixed tasted funny."

    The two men went over their notes, while Misty waited.  After a few minutes, Oak turned back to her.

    "Yes, there is an effect on how you taste things.  You might want to have Brock teach you how to make some Pok�mon food."

    "That horrid stuff?"  Ash interjected.

    Professor Oak said, "Misty should be able to enjoy it.  Her body has been altered.  Wait a second, I have some food I feed Charmanders around here somewhere."

    Oak scrounged through some shelves and cabinets.  He soon found a can of food, acting as a paperweight, on his desk.  Taking it to a can opener, he opened the can and handed it to Misty.  The Pok�genie stabbed at the Pok�chow with a look of disgust.

    "You can't be serious?  Eat this?"  Misty demanded.

    Looking a bit sad, Bill replied, "Just try it.  You're going to have to retry all the foods that you've had in the past, just to find out what you can stomach."

    Wrinkling her nose a bit, Misty took a few bites of the food.  Her look of disgust became relief when she tasted it.  Ash's stomach turned as he watched Misty finish the slimy looking mess.

    "What was that?" the genie asked.

    Bill took the can and said, "It is supposed to be Jal�peno stuffed sausages basted with concentrated tobasco sauce."

    Ash covered his mouth as he ran from the room.  The human Pok�mon looked at the two men curiously.

    Bill answered the asked question, "Misty you're a Fire Pok�mon.  You have to base your diet on what Fire Pok�mon eat."

    "This can't be happening," Misty mumbled, while looking down at her hands.

    Oak gently took the young girls hands and gently said, "We're doing all we can.  Keep your hopes up."

    Misty nodded and replied, "Thank you.  Now, I'd better go find Ash and Brock.  We're going to the circus."

    "Have fun," Bill said.

    Misty walked out of the labs, trying to keep up her hopes that she would be human again.
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    Watching as the circus was being set up, Ash and company noticed all of the circus Pok�mon.

    Brock said, "Hey look, Ash.  They have a Mr. Mime as well."

    "I wonder if I should bring mine, so it can be taught by an experienced one."

    Misty commented, "It can't hurt your training style any.  You need lots of work."

    Ash grumbled a bit and pulled out his Pok�dex.  Pushing a few buttons, Ash called a Pok�ball from storage at Professor Oak's lab.

    Misty asked, "Ash, what are the Pok�mon you are carrying?  None of your Pok�balls vanished."

    "You, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charizard, Mr. Mime," Ash replied. "I've been thinking about putting Lapras in the empty slot.  But for now, Mr. Mime will do."

    Misty shook her head and wondered why Ash kept Charizard with him.  She put that thought out of her mind as she saw the circus was setting up a Pok�mon sideshow that would have rare Pok�mon from around the world.  She looked forward to seeing if they had any Tentacruel or Dewgong in the exhibit. She looked at Ash, who was reading a flyer posted to a tree.  Noticing that Ash was a bit depressed, the human Pok�mon walked over.

    "What's the problem, Ash?"

    Pointing to the sign, Ash said, "This.  The circus is going to be holding some Pok�mon contests.  I only have one legitimate Pok�mon that I can enter, and that's Pikachu for the shock contest."

    "What are the other contests?"  Brock asked, as he came over.

Misty recited the events, "Rattata races, Sandshrew digging contest, Cocoon hardening event, Magikarp bell ringing, Pikachu/Voltorb shock machine, Nidoran maze."

    Brock stroked his chin and said, "I see.  Just the standard stuff for common Pok�mon.  Misty probably has a Magikarp at her storage area.  But for the rest, we'd have to go hunting for some Pok�mon."

    "No.  I'll catch what Pok�mon I want.  I'll enter Pikachu into the shock contest, but I'll pass on the others."

    Brock gave Ash a slap on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it.  I'm quite sure there will be other Pok�mon related events going on."

    "I hope you're right," Ash said.

    Ash looked back at the circus where they saw a young woman arguing with a Mr. Mime.

    'I wonder what the problem is?"  Misty asked

    Shrugging, her trainer answered, "I don't know.  Let's go find out."

    Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock made their way to the woman who was still arguing with her Pok�mon.

    "Gee, Ash.  And, here I thought you were the only one who couldn't control his Pok�mon,"  Misty said.

    "Errg.  I'll get Charizard to listen to me yet."

    Brock, blushing, asked, "Um.  Miss, is there anything we can do to help?"

    The Circus Tamer turned and saw the three humans and Pikachu.  She sighed heavily as she watched as her Mr. Mime took a nap.

    "We need Mr. Mime, here to have the main show go on, but he won't do so.  If I could make it jealous of another Pok�mon, maybe it would help out once more."

    "We'll be glad to help out.  Right, Ash?  You do have your Mr. Mime with you."

    The Tamer looked at Ash, "You have a Mr. Mime."

    "Yes.  I caught it near my home.  I was going to ask if I could let my Mr. Mime learn from yours, but now...."

    The Circus Tamer said, "This is perfect.  By the way, my name is Thespia.  I'll give you a tour, while the others are setting up."
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    Hiding up a tree, Team Rocket watched Ash and his friends had their conversation with Thespia.

    "We can catch two Mr. Mimes as well as Pikachu and that water brat," Jesse said.

    "I'll be top cat once more and Persian will be out the door."

    James added, "We'll show that circus that we can put on our own show."

    Jesse and James chorused, "Watch out big top, because Team Rocket will be hitting town."
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    Finishing the tour, Thespia ushered the group into the rare Pok�mon sideshow.  Ash noticed one Pok�mon sitting in a small cage.  The pink Pok�mon just whined pitifully as it barely ate from its bowl. He turned to Thespia in anger.

    "How could you do that to a Pok�mon?"

    Thespia looked at the cage sadly, "It isn't in the cage for punishment; it's in there because it tried to kill itself a couple of times."

    Brock and Misty gasped, while Ash asked in confusion, "Kill itself?  Why?"

    Thespia replied, "Because it is depressed.  It used to garner a lot of attention.  Now that every Pok�center as a Chansey on duty, this Chansey is ignored.  We've tried to cheer it up, but nothing works.  We have to make sure that it eats regularly as well."

    Ash took his hat off and said, "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

    "Don't be.  In every city we go to, we contact the Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy about the condition of this Pok�mon.  And in every case, they are just as stumped as we are in what to do about it."

    Ash walked up to the cage and patted the Chansey on the head and tried to cheer it up.  Getting no response, he spoke to Thespia.

    "Could we talk on how we're to proceed to make your Mr. Mime jealous.  This is getting depressing."

    "Sure.  By the way I didn't catch your names."

Brock hurriedly introduced everybody, "My name is Brock, that's Ash Ketchum, she's Misty, and of course Pikachu."

    Thespia stared a Misty for a second, pulled out a Pok�dex, and pointed it at the red-head.

    Thespia's Pok�dex chimed, "This is Misty a human Pok�mon.  An accident changed her into a Ghost/Fire Pok�mon."

    "I thought you looked familiar," Thespia said.

    Misty rolled her eyes and asked in exasperation, "How fast did the information about my changing spread?"

    "I'm not sure.  I update my Pok�dex every week with the new information that is found, and I go through each entry to see if there are any Pok�mon I should try and get for the show.  From what I've seen, most Trainers only pull out a Pok�dex when they are confronting an unknown Pok�mon."

    The caged Chansey looked up, "Sey?"

    "It's almost time for the show.  Will you help out?"

    "I guess so," Ash replied.

    The group left leaving the Chansey looking on with interest.
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Tom Mathews a.k.a Disruptor

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