Sincerity

Chapter 1: Broken Hearts

A/N: So, it's surprising me that I actually am beginning to write a Pokèmon fic. And I would have never gotten into egoshipping (I used to be a diehard, pokèshipper myself) had it not been for reading some of the great fics around here. Also, I haven't watched pokèmon in so many years now, so sorry if some of my statistics are wrong!

The sun was finally setting over the beautiful mountains of the Cerulean area. Misty Waterflower looked at the emptiness of the pokèmon Gym that she was forced to occupy. She never wanted to, although she did like the thought of getting to test her skills to fulfill her dream of becoming the greatest water pokèmon master.

Wait…she didn't even know if that was still her dream. Well…to her she remembered it being that vividly. However, that dream seemed to escape her.

As did he.

Misty left Ash not on a whim, but to come back to occupy the gym that her sisters had once owned. She didn't want to become burdened with the responsibility, but she had to. Saying goodbye to him was one of the hardest things that she had to do. She had all these feelings for Ash, but she knew that he was clueless…and it was hard on her.

"What a jerk, he never knew anything. He didn't even have a clue." Misty uttered under a silent breath, but she didn't care if she screamed it out. She was the only one here after all.

Then a knock occurred. A small trainer, who looked about the size and age of Ash when he started, looked up at her. He had just about two pokeballs.

"Um…can I get a badge here?" The trainer replied. He seemed a little timid, but Misty welcomed him in.

During the whole entire battle, Misty never even looked at the trainer. She just sent her pokèmon out. She was on edge the entire battle. She couldn't concentrate well, and just like that, the battle ended. She handed the trainer the badge and walked away.

She knew if Ash was there, that he would have scolded her. He would have corrected her with the better strategy to use, which pokèmon she should have sent out instead, and snub her about it. But that was how he was.

Misty went outside and opened up the mail that looked as if it had been improperly thrown against the door. She took no notice of the message from the Pokèmon league, she would read it later. Then she noticed a sloppy, slightly unaligned letter, and noticed the author.

It was Ash.

She was so fixed on what he could have possibly written her about that she threw everything else to the side in order to read his letter. She tore off the top and quickly scrambled to read what the contents were.

Misty,

I know it may seem a bit weird that I'm suddenly writing you out of nowhere, but I have a big league match coming at the Indigo Plateau, and I was wondering if you could come and catch a train out here. Enclosed is train fare for you, it should be enough, if not I apologize. Also is a league match ticket. Anyways I hope that you can make it in time, it starts this weekend. I hope to see you soon.

Love,

Ash.

Misty had to look at the letter again. Not only did he want her back with him, just as she did, he even had the decency to use the word "love". But did he mean it? Misty didn't care. She went through the back of the Gym, brushed past all the items in the closet and pulled out a big "Closed" sign. She quickly dusted it off and set it on the outside of the door. Soon, she would see Ash, soon.

Misty awoke the next morning with a gleam in her eyes. She was so excited that she couldn't wait. She hurried and got dressed and ready to depart. Suddenly she found herself caring what she wore in front of him. She didn't know what he would like.

"Since when did I care what he liked?" Misty thought. It never crossed her mind before.

Misty looked at the clock. She noticed that it was about time for her to depart. She hurried, caught a cab, and rode to the nearest train station. She got on, showed the officer on duty her ticket, and boarded.

After a gruesome train ride, (and for the record, the food was not at all enjoyable as advertised) Misty finally made it to the Indigo Plateau. She showed her ticket to the guard and was allowed entrance.

Misty's eyes opened in shock as she noticed the big stands and crowds that were waiting for the big match to begin. She thought that she would get lost and dizzy just trying to find her seat. She looked around further at her ticket, and finally found the seats, discovering a distracted Brock into the game.

"Guess who!" Misty yelled, covering her eyes over Brock's eyes.

"Hmm…Officer Jenny? Nurse Joy?" Brock was seriously pondering this. She couldn't believe it.

Brock was sure to know who it was once he felt the big lump on his head from Misty's mallet. He turned around suddenly.

"Ohh! Misty! I knew it was you the whole time! I was just kidding of course." Brock tried to reassure her.

"Sure, sure." Misty figured.

Misty's eyes suddenly diverted to the stage as she saw the contestants enter the ring. She saw Ash on one side, and she only wondered who he would be facing. She knew it probably was someone who was really not much of a match for Ash. Then her eyes widened as she saw the other contestant.

"Gary! This is a match of fate, most likely." Misty said. She never really knew Gary; she only knew that he was her best friend's rival, which made him her rival, and enemy.

Brock nodded. "Yes, it seems Gary has only improved. This will be an interesting battle. I wonder how Ash handles it."

Misty looked at Ash. He had matured, he seemed to still have that cap though, but it seemed to be more of his trademark thing now. She wanted him to win, and then she would be able to talk to him…and then—

She was getting ahead of herself. She didn't know what exactly what would happen. After all, Ash really is very clueless.

The battle went on and on it seemed. Misty was really rooting for Ash, but she had also noticed that Gary didn't have any fan club members, any cheerleaders, or anything.

"Perhaps he finally matured and his ego deflated some." She thought.

Gary had matured though. He was physically bigger than Ash; Ash still hadn't really grown too much. But Gary seemed so different; she didn't know what it was.

Misty had to jump back to reality. Her face saddened as Gary's Arcanine took out Ash's Squirtle. Sure he had a type advantage, but Gary's Arcanine was trained and withstood the challenge.

Ash looked frustrated during the match. Misty could still see that he was a big sore loser. That wasn't really one of his more redeeming qualities…

"This could be bad. Gary's pokèmon are definitely stronger, and Ash is down." Brock said.

Misty nodded. Ash sent Pikachu to take out Arcanine, and with a large thunderbolt, Arcanine was severely injured and sent back to his pokèball. Gary now sent out Blastoise, and Ash figured that he had this in the bag.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash was so sure of himself, as he always had been throughout the years.

"Blastoise, withdraw!" Gary yelled. Blastoise went into its shell and Pikachu's attack didn't seem to affect it. Ash and the entire crowd were stunned.

"Now, Blastoise, Headbutt!" Gary said. Blastoise had a good few hundred pounds on Pikachu, and Pikachu was severely injured by the headbutt attack. Pikachu wasn't able to get up, and Gary was declared the winner.

The crowd cheered, however Gary had already started to leave. Misty and Brock weren't happy. Misty wanted everything to be okay, but it didn't seem like it would be. Knowing Ash's tendencies, he would mope around and despise Gary some more.

By this time, Brock's stomach was grumbling so loud, anyone in the stadium could have heard it, had the crowd not been cheering. Misty sighed, and decided that she would go get some snacks for them while she waited for Ash.

Knowing the popularity of the match, Misty was glad when she was able to see no lines, and then she suddenly bumped into someone.

"Watch out! Watch where you're going, sheesh!" Misty exclaimed. She was further angered when she noticed that it was Gary Oak, the last person she wanted to see right now.

"Hey, you bumped into me. Aren't you little Ashy-boy's girlfriend?" Gary replied. Misty fumed. She wasn't his girl, nor was she anyone's girl.

"For your information, no! And what's wrong, you couldn't stick around to listen to the screaming fans? What a shock!" Misty sarcastically replied.

"No, for your information, I'm quitting being a pokèmon trainer. I've decided to become a pokèmon researcher like my grandfather. This was merely a goodbye battle." Gary replied, losing a bit of anger in his voice.

"Oh. Well…nevermind then. But I'm still not Ash's girlfriend!" Misty screamed back.

"Then why are you getting so defensive about it?" Gary calmly replied.

"I'm just setting your information straight! I'm not defensive!" Misty yelled.

"Then why are you screaming?" Gary calmly replied back.

"I'm not! I mean…I wasn't! Man, why do you have to be such a jerk?" Misty shouted back.

"Nobody likes a crybaby." And with that, Gary just left, not even leaving her the chance to reply back.

She didn't know why she got so angered by that. Maybe it was just because she had a really bad temper. She didn't need any help with that. And then she forgot to get in line by now, and the lines were packed with people.

"Aww! Curse that Gary Oak!" Misty shouted and then decided to return back to her seat and tell Brock that he would have to wait.

When she returned she saw Ash talking to Brock. She looked at him, stunned that he was so close to her. She wanted to just scream and run up to him and say what she's been looking forward to say.

But when that time came, Misty couldn't find any words to express how she felt. Maybe because she didn't know how she felt. She simply looked at him.

"Misty!" Ash exclaimed. He ran up to her, not sure what he should do. Hug her, and take her in his arms and say something romantic, like "Oh where have you been my whole life" (which was what Misty secretly wanted), or just give a friendly "Hello".

"I saw the match, you did great!" Misty said, trying to give as much encouragement as she possibly could.

"Yeah, but I didn't win. I wanted to win." Ash looked disappointed. Misty noticed that his attitude about losing sure didn't change.

"It's okay Ash. You know, you can't win them all." Misty said, giving a gentle arm on his shoulder.

She had no idea how much he had missed that touch.

During the night hours, in the Pokè Center, Misty sat in her room wondering what she was doing. She thought about this hours on end, and she was just sitting there. Suddenly a knock on the door was heard.

"Come in." Misty said monotonously.

Misty was surprised not to see an Ash, but a Brock.

"Misty, why were you talking to Gary earlier? You know how Ash is, he despises Gary. I don't think they'll ever be friends. You even talking to him is like adding insult to injury, you know?"

Misty was completely weirded out. She didn't know why Brock would even think like that!

"No! I wasn't talking to him, that stupid jerk bumped into me. He started talking to me and calling me things like "Ash's girlfriend." Misty yelled while jumping up into the air.

"Well are you?" Brock bluntly asked.

"No." Misty showed no emotion in her voice.

"Well…do you want to be?" Brock asked her sincerely.

Misty froze. She was never so bluntly asked such a question that she didn't exactly know the answer to. She sat there, knowing Brock was expecting an answer. She truthfully didn't know what to say to him.

"No...but yes!" Misty uttered.

"You know you're going to break his heart right?" Brock asked her.

"I know. I thought I did, but now I don't know what I want. I mean, I liked Ash…or I still do I think. I don't know…I'm so confused. But when I left, I thought about him all the time. I thought what it would be like to be back with him...and you as well. I think that it was something that I was just missing."

Misty practically choked with each word that was escaping the confines of her mouth; knowing she could never reach into the air and grab them back and place them back where they should be.

"Well...I understand. But Ash does like you Misty. He hasn't been the same since you left, and he's hurting without you. But whatever you want to do is your business; I can't change the minds of others." Brock replied.

"I understand the consequences; I just don't want things to be awkward between us." Misty replied.

"I doubt that's possible." Brock said with a stone-like face.

"I know…yet is it so hard to wish? I mean, I want to like Ash…but if I have to want to like him…it isn't really true…is it?" Misty slowly said.

"It's not my place to butt in, but I hope you don't mind picking up the pieces." Brock said. And with that, he took his leave.

Misty had to recap what just had happened. Was she over Ash? Did those feelings that subsided in the back of her head suddenly get erased? She didn't want to hurt Ash the most of all, but at this point it seemed that was very unavoidable.

Misty awoke the next morning, hoping to be clear of consciousness of what happened last night. She figured that she wasn't. She remembered what exactly she had said, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to take anything back. She packed up and headed off into the hallway to meet Ash and Brock.

She noticed that she was the second one up, and she proceeded to notice that Brock was easily hitting on Nurse Joy. She figured she better go solve the problem…

"WHACK!" Was all that was heard as Brock was dragged off by the ear over to the other side of the room with a newly formed lump on his forehead.

Ash finally awoke to the noise, and proceeded to get ready. Sloppily as ever, he finally met Misty and Brock in the middle of the room.

"Misty, I don't want you to leave just yet; I don't think that we've even had a lot of time together." Ash thought for a second. "I know! Come with me back home to Pallet Town! My mom would love to see you again.

Misty nodded. She couldn't really refuse Ash's offer, besides there was no real importance waiting for her at the Gym anyways. She thought a nice trip with Ash would get her mind off of things, or either bring new issues.

The newly reunited trio took the newly built trains from the Indigo Plateau to Pallet Town, even if it might have been a long trip, it wasn't as long as it would have taken to walk. Not like Misty was complaining…

The whole train ride was quiet from everyone. It didn't seem like there was much to talk about. Ash was still on his seemingly never-ending quest to become a pokèmon master, and Brock was already an accomplished pokèmon breeder. Still, at 16 years of age, Ash still had a big desire to dream.

After exiting the train, Misty's mind had a flashback of returning here once before, she still didn't believe that she was still here. She followed as Ash ran to his house, knocking wildly on the door.

"Ash! Oh I'm so glad to see you!" Yelled an obviously delighted Delia Ketchum, as she waved and screamed in joy of seeing Ash. She then turned to face Brock, and then me.

"Oh Misty! I'm so glad that you're here! Please, everyone come on in!" Delia exclaimed.

Misty stepped inside the room, and then sat down on the couch next to Brock. She felt like things were back to normal finally, and she felt at comfort.

"You all must be hungry! I'll prepare a meal for you." Delia rushed off into the kitchen.

"I'll help." Brock offered, leaving Misty and Ash alone in the living room.

"I need to go see Professor Oak. Want to come with me?" Ash asked, breaking the silence.

"Sure." Misty replied. She sat up and walked towards the door.

"Mom! I'm going over to Professor Oak's house! I'll be back later!" Ash yelled as he was walking out of the door.

It was now nighttime and the sun was slightly setting. The sky had turned a very vibrant shade of orange, and looked beautiful. The day was almost over, and yet she was only so much more confused about herself.

Ash walked up to the stairs of Professor Oak's huge mansion and knocked on the door. He waited a while, and then Professor Oak opened the door.

"Ash and Misty! How are you? What can I do for you?" Professor Oak asked.

"I just need to check up some on my pokèmon in the back. Mind if I go take a look?" Ash asked.

"No, not at all. I'll show you the way." Professor Oak replied.

"I'll be right back Misty." Ash told her, and she nodded.

Misty looked around at the house. It was pretty messy, but it was really big and had long hallways which made the house seem like it could have been a hotel. She then noticed a big figure creep up behind her.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Misty jumped as the sound of the voice nearly knocked her down.

"Gary! What are you doing!" Misty asked, a little startled.

"Hmm…last time I checked…I lived here. Not sure about you though…" Gary smugly replied.

Misty's reply was suddenly caught off guard when a rather loud news report was suddenly broadcasted over the television. Gary and Misty both watched as the reporter talked.

"—Yes, once again. This is the fifth time in less than a week where there has been a Pokèmon incident. Pokèmon are suddenly going berserk and attacking their trainers and other passersby. No cause of this issue has suddenly been known, but all are advised to take an extra watch." The reporter seriously looked distressed.

"Wow, what's going on? I don't believe this. Pokèmon going insane?" Misty looked a bit worried at the news.

"Pokèmon going berserk...I don't know how this could have happened?" Gary looked more than concerned.

Gary and Misty sat there in disbelief until the sound of Ash and Professor Oak returning startled them out of their silence. Ash looked confused.

"Did I miss something?" Ash asked, looking as confused as ever.

"Apparently Pokèmon are going berserk and attacking their trainers...I don't know why or how this could have happened. Professor Oak, do you have any idea?" Misty asked, hoping that Professor Oak might have some kind of an explanation as to the current happenings.

"No, I don't know what could have caused this. I'm just as puzzled as you all are." Professor Oak replied.

The next morning Misty awoke with a different attitude. She felt somewhat less tense than she did yesterday, but she still seemed like nothing was going to be right today. She went downstairs and saw a surprisingly unsleepy Brock helping Mrs. Ketchum make some breakfast. She went through the house to look for Ash, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Where did Ash go?" Misty asked Brock.

"He went over to Professor Oak's lab because he said he wanted to further check up on his pokèmon while he was here in Pallet Town." Brock replied.

"Hmm...okay. I think I'll go see him." Misty said.

Misty walked outside the door and across the short path between Ash's house and Professor Oak's lab. A little out of breath, she knocked on the door, and was a bit startled when Gary opened the door, still wearing pajamas and rubbing his eyes.

"Gary? Where is Ash?" Misty asked.

"How do I know? Someone just woke me up." Gary replied, giving evil glances to Misty.

"Oh...hehe sorry. I need to talk to him about something." Misty said, leaning on her tip-toes to see past Gary if Ash was in there.

"Well come on in then. Going to profess your love for him, are we?" Gary questioned, pitch rising in his voice in curiosity.

"No! Geez; I'm not Ash's girlfriend!" Misty replied, hoping that Gary would leave her alone in peace.

Misty looked very annoyed at this point. Her face was all red, and Gary was reading her like a book. She hated it when people, let alone Gary did that. She thought that he was just as big as a jerk, if not bigger, than when he was a pokèmon trainer. Misty was curious as to why Gary decided to become a pokèmon researcher anyways.

"Gary, why did you quit being a pokèmon trainer? You were doing very well." Misty honestly asked.

"There's nothing left. Once you're the best, you're the best, and I prefer something that has no end." Gary replied as he plopped down on the sofa.

Just as Misty was about to reply, the door started to creek open. Misty didn't know if it was Ash, but at this point she was hoping it was. A head peeked through, a brunette female poked her head inside, and quickly opened the door.

"Um..." Misty said, looking shocked as ever.

"May? Are you just now getting home? Sheesh!" Gary shouted above a whisper. Gary was no overprotective father figure, but he sure could act like one.

May Oak was Gary Oak's sister. Strangely enough he had never mentioned her to either Ash or Misty. Maybe that was because they weren't even friends at the time.

"Ever since you came back into town, I never even see you!" Gary laughed, trying to be sure to be quieter, so that Professor Oak didn't overhear them.

"Yeah, who's this? Your new little girlfriend?" May questioned, looking at Misty curiously.

"I'm no one's girlfriend!" Misty exclaimed, loud enough to successfully convince both Gary and May that she was in fact no one's girlfriend.

"Sheesh, okay then, nevermind. Anyways, I'm going to go change and act as if I was here. I can count on you to keep my secret, eh big brother?" May asked.

"Sure.." Gary replied.

"Oh thanks, you're the best!" May yelled, giving her brother a big hug and then rushing off into the back of the mansion.

Misty almost forgot the real reason she came here, which was to find Ash. She then saw him talking to Professor Oak in the back area of the lab, and yet he was there, she paused. She paused with the feelings of uncertainty and doubt that could most likely occupy all the people in Kanto.

"Not going to run to your Ashy-boy then, eh?" Gary asked.

"No, and he's not my Ashy-boy, thanks. He's busy now, so I'll come back later." Misty said, looking at her feet.

"Unless you're a pokèmon, I doubt you'll be to get his attention so easily. Ash is dense, and he isn't one to really notice when someone is giving him signals, let alone to give them back. So if you ask me, I think that Ash is too young for a real relationship, especially at this point in his life. He's on the brink of ambition, and has nothing to lose." Gary replied, trying to tell Misty the truth that everyone saw.

Misty was sort of surprised and taken aback by this. Gary was never really nice, let alone caring or insightful. Or so she thought. Maybe it could be that there is just more to Gary than what he put on the outside. Maybe he was caring, and not a womanizer on the inside. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't such a big jerk after all.

"And..I think that if you try to chase after him...then you might get your heart broken. And Ash wouldn't really know why. Sure he would care that you were upset, but he's clueless when it comes to girls. Now, can't say the same for me..." Gary trailed off, receiving a nice punch from Misty in an attempt to deflate his ego.

Misty looked a bit rather confused as to how to go about things. Should she just forget things, and go on like nothing happened? She did that for all the time that she did travel with Ash. But Gary was right. Ash didn't take any importance to anything that didn't begin with pokè and end with mon.

However, Gary seemed much more caring then he let on. Sure, he could be a jerk sometimes, but then again, he is the grandson of Professor Oak, as he does say.

"Are you okay? You look like you just got punched in the face!" Gary yelled, laughing at her histerically and watching her get redder and madder with the second.

"Urghhh! Gary Oak I swear, you're such a jerk! I can't believe you!" Misty yelled back punching and play fighting with Gary.

Misty never saw Gary the same after that day. Sure he could have been a jerk, and whether it was Monday or Friday, raining or hot as blazes, he was probably still going to be a jerk. But maybe there was more to Gary than he led to believe. Misty never thought that she'd become best friends with Gary...ever. He was Ash's rival, so if she was friends with him, it would just hurt Ash. And that was probably the last thing she wanted to do.

A/N: So here ends the first chapter of this story. Since this is pretty much the first serious attempt at a fic, I plan to finish it and update frequently, of course. This was more like an epilogue to the main conflict throughout the story, although I really don't want that to take second place to the PokEgoshipping action going on here. As for what the final result will be, only time really will tell...maybe neither! Haha! Please review, good or bad, they give me such encouragement and inspiration to keep going, what author doesn't like reviews?