Working Title: Being Second
An Egoshipping Fanfiction
by: i need sleep
A/N: 2 Fics in one night/day. Wow. This is one of my weird ideas (as you can see, exhibiting themselves at the dead of night; thank God holidays aren't over yet) that formed while I was washing dishes. I'm hoping this will branch off to somewhere.
Again. It's Egoshipping.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I did, Gary would have more screen time.
Chapter 1: Sick of Destiny
He had lived his whole life under the glare of spotlights. He was born into this world. His parents were business minded, and had perished in a dramatic way—their private jet had crashed, and their bodies never found. People often speculated the possibility of survival, but he knew there was no point in getting his hopes up.
His grandfather, Professor Samuel Oak, was, and is, the most renowned Pokémon researcher in the world. Being one of his descendants, he and his sister was often hounded by paparazzi. They always wanted to know what the remaining Oaks were up to—where they were eating and what, who they were dating and why.
His sister had gone off and made her own name in the fashion industry. He, however, lived in the shadow of various people. He was a trainer, but he lived in Ash's shadow; thrived for the same attention. The same affection. Had Gary Oak been offered the chance to swap with Ash Ketchum, he would've said "yes" with no doubts or hesitations. True, he was famous, he got attention. But not from the people who mattered. He wanted to be like Ash. He wanted a caring mother, he wanted true friends. He wanted to be number one in his grandfather's eyes.
But he was always going to be second.
He hoped to change that when he changed his profession. He moved from being a Pokémon trainer to a Pokémon researcher. His grandfather did praise him for it, but most of the world did not.
Again, he lived in a shadow. This time, his grandfather's.
Everyone assumed that he got everything handed to him on a silver platter. Everyone assumed that his surname gave him advantages average people can only dream of.
Gary Oak was sick of it. He wanted to prove to them that he can do it. He wanted to live his own life and make a name for himself. He wanted things that mattered. He wanted things he didn't have.
But he was born into this. And it was a destiny impossible to change.
-o-
Misty Waterflower. 19. Cerulean City Gym Leader.
She was never the girliest one. She was more of a tomboy, really. She didn't find many feminine things satisfying.
She loved to travel. She once travelled with Ash and Brock, her two closest friends, when she was 12 through to when she was 14. But duty called, and soon, she was back home, tending for the gym while her sisters splurged in immeasurable pleasures around the globe. She tried to justify it. It was only fair. She did get to travel, and she needed to redeem the gym of its infamous reputation. She kept that thought in her head everyday, but she couldn't help but feel sad anyway.
She'd get the occasional call from Ash, telling her about his and Brock's journey. He'd tell her about the new girl he travelled with, as well as her little brother, and every time he did, she felt a pang of jealousy.
It was no secret; she had liked Ash. Not just like, but loved, dare she say it. She believed that he was her other half, and sometimes, his attitudes towards her made her believe that he thought the same thing too.
It shattered her heart when he didn't even beg her to stay. He just let her go and went off. He found himself a new girl the first week he was at Hoenn too, and she felt miserable. Like she was totally unimportant.
She became more tomboyish than ever, and people began comparing her with her sisters. Every comment whispered stung much more than the ones said out loud.
Or perhaps they hurt her at the same magnitude?
Pretending it didn't bother her was one of the hardest things she'd ever done. Whenever someone she knew commented on it, she would shrug and laugh. But she was secretly plotting their murder.
She was always hiding something, afraid of the world. Her temper and her loudness was only a façade, a mask. Inside the mask hid the true Misty, waiting for someone brave and patient enough to unveil it.
Defeating another trainer, she sighed.
She was sick of being second to everyone.
A/N: Sappy, I know. It's slightly... Angsty, I think. I don't know.
What do you think?