Okay so I was bored and decided to write a Pokémon futuresque story. Mind you I don't own ANY of this! I am poor, and not from Japan, and sadly my name is not Satoshi Tajiri. Did you know if you type in 'creator of' into Google, pokémon comes up as the third option. I think that's pretty cool... . And I am a Pokéshipper, even if this doesn't seem very Pokéship like at first.

And I don't know why so don't ask me but Poke, Contest, and whoever Dawn shall be with (most likely with Paul) all live in Hoenn. Ash, and Dawn's husband (unless it's Kenny) both work for Hoenn's Battle Frontier. And for some reason Ash decided to be champion in Kanto and Johto while living in Hoenn, Don't ask me why cause I truly don't know.

CHALLENGE!: CAN YOU COME UP WITH A REASON AS TO WHY THE MOVED TO HOENN? Cause sadly I can't :(

I like to keep my issues drawn, it's always darkest before the dawn

The cool breeze drafted in through the open window, startling the young redhead seated upon the nearby armchair. It was getting late, the sun had already set hours prior, and the moon was pretty high in the sky, yet her husband wasn't home. He said he'd be home in time for dinner -which she spent hours slaving over. He said they'd finally be able to catch up -in which she had; she caught up on some stupid television show. And he said he'd read to Benji -who actually ended up going to sleep well before his usually bedtime.

Where the hell was he?

Her husband had been away on some "business" conference where the Frontier Brains of the Battle Frontiers all meet up and went over Frontier Brain things for the past month. MONTH! And he said yesterday was the last day of the conference and that he'd be home by now.

Guess that's the downside of having such a high-ranked trainer as a husband, he's always away. He holds too many titles... Soon all the regions will have him as their champion, frontier brain, and elites... But that's probably too much work.

Who was she kidding, he's probably working on that right now.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to the television screen. Was she watching this before? The Real Trainer Wives of Unova Region. She shrugged, maybe it would be a good program- that girl just got decked! And that chick just used her Lampent to torch some other chick's hair!

Beside her, faint crying could be heard through her baby monitor. Rory was up. The woman quickly stood up, letting the screaming "trainer wives" to continue duking it out. Walking down a darken hallway, the woman gently pushed open the door of the nursery. The light above the crib slightly illuminated the face of the crying infant. Reaching in, the woman picked up her daughter, bouncing and soothing her.

"It's okay baby, Mommy's here." The woman whispered, humming a gentle lullaby to pacify the crying bundle in her arms. After about a verse or two, Rory calmed down, reaching her little hands towards her mother. The woman, held onto her daughter's hand and kissed it, "Hey baby." she said softly. Rory smiled up at her mother and began to coo, her eyelids fluttering a bit. Rory was getting ready to go back to bed. Her mother didn't blame her, it was pretty late.

She placed her daughter back in the crib, and began to sing Rory's favorite lullaby, Somewhere over the Rainbow. Soon the infant was back to sleep, her mother sitting herself in the rocking chair beside her. And soon, she too had fallen asleep.

A few hours had passed when the front door -as quietly as possible- creaked open. A tall dark haired man stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. He was beat from a long night. His friend's had ambushed him after he returned him, dragging him out to a local pub. All he wanted to do last night was drive home, eat dinner with his wife, and sleep. But noooo. His idiot friends had other plans.

Though he did have fun, who could go wrong with drunken karaoke right? But now he was feeling the effects of both lack of sleep and the ever dreaded hangover. He felt his head and muscles begin to ache. He felt a bit nauseous as he walked through the room, it felt as if he was undergoing vertigo. Maybe he should shut off the lights.

He began his trek towards their bedroom, but decided to stop at both Benji and Rory's rooms first. Opening Benji's door, he saw the toddler sprawled out on his bed with his plush Entei hugged into his side. The man walked into the room lifting his son's blanket up over his shoulders and tucked him in. He brushed his son's messy black mane out of his face. The boy was smiling which caused his father to smile as well. At least his son was having a good dream.

He then walked back into the hall and went to the next door over, opening that one as quietly as he could. Inside he saw not just one, but both of his favorite women; his wife and his daughter. In the crib, Rory rested peacefully, her light brown locks covering part of her forehead. After a few seconds, he turned his attention to his wife.

"Hey beautiful, wake up." he said slightly shaking his wife's shoulder. Slowly she started opening her eyes. "Ash?" she asked, looking at he darken figure in front of her. Her husband smiled down at her and picked her up, carrying her towards their room. "Mist, you know, sleeping in a rocking chair is bad for your back."

I've been a fool, and I've been blind, I will never leave the past behind

She stood aside, like any good wife of a Pokémon Master, while he gave his speech. She waited patiently as he talked with the press about renovations being done on the Battle Frontiers to make them more advanced and more modern. She watched as he answered each and every question thrown at him by the news reporters present in the room. But for some reason, his publicist/advisor (and any other title that would help aid her husband) escorted her out of the room as he began to sign autographs and take pictures with the crowd of fans who awaited outside the conference room to see him.

Why wasn't she allowed to be there? Hell sometimes people want her autograph if they were water-type lovers like she is.

"Misty." he said quietly, "I have a letter from Ash. He was contemplating giving it to you for the past couple months, and he wants you to have it now." Ash's advisor handed the woman a sealed white envelope which she quickly grabbed. But judging by the upset look drawn onto the man's face, she was too scared to open it. "I'll read it later." she squeaked out before exiting the hallway. Once outside the building she ripped open the envelope.

There were a bunch a cross outs, nearly making half of it illegible. But she picked up on the main idea. Two sentences really stood out.

This isn't working the way I thought it would.

It's hard to be faithful with someone you don't love.

She didn't even try to decipher the rest of the letter, the door opened and his advisor walked out. "Ah, they you are! Could you tell him I was trying to reach him the other day?" The woman looked up at the advisor, "He was at some dinner for the League." The advisor looked puzzled and then pulled out his phone. "I don't remember scheduling that." The woman's face dropped, what?

He showed her the phone's calendar, two weeks from now was the apparent League dinner, then where was he three days ago?

The words from the letter rung in her hand, Hard to be faithful. She threw the vile letter into her clutch and ran. But in her heels she didn't get very far down the block before one of them broke. The woman groaned, and pulled off her heels, only to be graced by her foot entering a puddle. She groaned once more, but then sped as fast as her legs would carry her towards her friend's home. She banged against the door wanting nothing more than to get her children and get home.

The door was opened by a green haired male who looked ready to fall asleep against the door jamb. "Misty?" he asked, then looked behind her, "Where's Ash?" he asked, but the woman had already entered the house. "Oh you know, got held up at work and- there she is!" the woman's face finally smiled. There, on her friend's knee, bounced her baby. At the sound of her mother's voice, Rory's hands instantly started opening and closing, as if trying to grab her. The woman walked further into the room, and her daughter smiled, finally being able to see her mother.

"Hey May. Was she okay?" she asked her friend, who responded with a "Is she ever bad?" The woman smiled down at her friend and picked up her daughter, "Hey baby, you ready to go home?" She then walked into the den where her son and his friends' sons all played. "You're watching William too?" she teased her friend, noticing the three rambunctious toddlers. "Dawn had that six-week postpartum check up and he wanted to go with her, so they threw their kid at me, literally." she said, "Not very good parenting, but still."

Benji looked up and saw his mother, and smiled. "Play mommy!" The little toddler ran to his mother. "Play!" he grabbed her hand and started to drag her towards his friends. "No baby, we have to go home."

The toddler stomped his feet, "No! Play!" May walked into the room and hugged Benji, "You guys can play tomorrow. How 'bout that?" Benji seemed to be thinking, finish the game now or finish the game tomorrow, very hard decision. He was about to answer when his mom said, "How about Ash just picks him up later, he should be leaving soon anyway." The boy hugged his mother and ran back to his friends. The woman though walked over to her son and hugged him. She didn't even notice she was crying until her son said, "No cry mommy! No cry." he began to try and get rid of the tears that trailed down her face, like she usually did when he started crying. "Thank you baby." she whispered and kissed his forehead, "Mommy loves you very much, remember that." May looked at her friend oddly, but said nothing.

"Bye May." the woman said, before leaving with Rory cooing away on her hip.

Our love is pastured such a mournful sound, tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground

Upon entering the house, the woman placed her daughter in her play pen, then headed upstairs to the attic. If her being here was too hard for him, then she'd make his life easier. She found a black suitcase and a matching black duffel bag, then proceeded to their -his- room. She took apart her dresser, taking as much clothing as she could fit into the one suitcase. She then headed to her vanity, her red shoulder bag from when she traveled with Ash hung from the mirror. She grabbed it and filled it with a comb and other toiletries.

After finishing packing her stuff, she entered the nursery. Once inside she headed to Rory's changing table. She then emptied the shelves into the duffel bag. Diapers, baby shampoos, baby powders, wipes, rash cream, and tissues. She then headed to the dresser and grabbed an arms full of clothing, her baby liked her clothes very much. She grabbed Rory's favorite binkey, the one with a Cleffa on the handle. Ash said that always helped calm Rory down when she wasn't home. She then grabbed a couple blankets. Noticing the room still left over in the duffel bag, she threw her red shoulder bag inside. Carrying the bags to the kitchen, she then placed all the baby food she could find into plastic bags, she also grabbed a couple of bananas, gotta introduce her to solid foods too. She also packed three bottles into the duffel bag.

After sending a quick text to her husband, telling him to pick up Benji from May's, she glanced at the house thinking she was good. Plus if she needed anything, she could always buy it in a supermarket.

The woman pulled off both her wedding and engagement rings, placing them on the table next to her phone. Picking up Rory from her playpen, and grabbing her clutch, she was ready to leave.

And it's hard to dance with the devil on your back, so shake him off

The woman stood at the dock in Lilyport awaiting the arrival of the S.S. Tidal. She never thought she'd have to use this but the woman was going to use her MysticTicket to get her to the Sevii Islands. Oh how she had missed Kanto. Rory was getting a bit fussy, it was well passed her nap time. The woman starting humming a lullaby and bounced the infant on her hip, "Hush sweetie, just a little bit longer." the woman said. About ten minutes later the ship was ready to board.

The woman was lead by a young cabin boy through a maze of hallways towards her cabin. Once the door was opened she started to create a makeshift crib for her daughter. She formed the comforters into a circle and placed her in the middle of it. She then pulled one of the blankets out of the duffel bag and swaddled the baby in warmth. "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high" she began to sing. Not even halfway through the first verse and the infant was already asleep. The woman smiled down at her daughter and decided to rest too, it was a long trip to Naval Island. She laid down on the bed and hugged her daughter close, no one would ever harm her.

The woman was asleep for well over three hours and the ship was well from the coast. She walked towards her window and looked out, the sea breeze brushing against her. Just a few more hours and she'd be back home in Kanto. She could get her status as Gym Leader back, as long as Daisy, Lily, and hadn't run the gym into the ground. Or just work with the pokémon at the gym if Daisy had truly become the Leader she raved about being. She turned on the small television in the room and waited for the next few hours to pass; changing Rory's diaper and feeding her had helped spend some of the time.

Soon the ship had docked on Naval Island. The woman picked up her daughter, then her bags and headed off the ship. A little ways down the dock was a Seagallop Ferry which would bring her to the mainland, to Vermillion. The sun had already set and thankfully this time the boat ride wouldn't be as long as the S.S. Tidal's but still, she'd be entering Vermillion well into the night.

By the time the ferry had docked it was actually sunrise, about six something in the morning. The woman looked like a mess, she may have slept through most of the S.S. Tidal's ride but she was wide awake the whole ferry ride. It had finally hit her. She had left. Where would she go? She thought about going to Cerulean, but what would her sisters say when they found out? She couldn't really go to Brock, he'd have Ash down there in a minute and she couldn't look at his face after reading that letter, well more like sentence.

Had it really been that hard to love her? If it was, he was a very good actor. He should join that studio they had in Unova. It was Unova that had that studio right? Oh god, she didn't belong in the life he led. He traveled everywhere, did everything, her travels were cut short and she lived more of a grounded life. Maybe he just wasn't ready for that. He was never in the same spot for too long.

"Misty?" a gruff voice asked. The woman looked up and saw a tall, built man with spiked up blonde hair. "Surge." she said before smiling, "It's so good to be back." He took in her appearance; a suitcase in one hand, a duffel bag hanging loosely from her shoulder, baby attached to her hip, and a worse-for-wear look sketched onto her features. Grabbing her suitcase from her hands, he turned the other way, "Come on, it's a bit of a walk to Cerulean, you might as well rest."

She bit her lip, "I'm not entirely sure I'm going to Cerulean yet." Surge turned around and glanced at the girl. Well she wasn't a girl anymore, "You know I remember about ten years ago, this fierce little girl who single-handedly got Cerulean City right back on the map. Now are you telling me Misty Waterflower doesn't want to go back?"

The woman looked up shocked at his reply, "Y-You called me Waterflower." He raised an eyebrow at her, "Well obviously somethings up, if you're back in Kanto with a load of luggage and a baby." The woman looked back down at her feet, "I'd rather not talk about it." Surge shrugged, "And I'd rather not intrude." The man continued on his trek back towards the Gym with the young redhead trailing behind him.

"So no Cerulean, then where?" He asked, not even glancing behind him, "Anywhere, probably Viridian because I have someone I need to talk to." Surge laughed, "You do know you gotta go through Pewter right?" she hung her hand and sighed.

"Sadly, yes."

I am done with my graceless heart, so tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart

After placing Rory is Surge's arms, and instructing him on how to properly hold her, the woman took a seat at on of the video phones. She dialed a number she knew by heart and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" a tired voice asked, the man's dimmed face come completely into view a few seconds later, after the light had been turned fully on. "Hey Gary, I need your help." she said softly, watching the man's black eyes widen.

"Misty where are you? Is that Surge? What's wrong?" the researcher demanded answers, why was she in Kanto if her family was in Hoenn. The woman looked down at the desk the video phone was placed on. She danced her fingers over the wood, creating pictures and drawing shapes of Pokémon. "I left." Her throat felt swollen, she couldn't speak. "Gary, I left him." she forced out. His eyes softened when he say Surge in the background holding Rory at eye level.

"Want me to pick you up and take you to Cerulean?" The woman shook her head, she had an idea, she'd live in some town that she and Ash had no ties to. Just in case he came looking for Rory. She couldn't face him. Not now, not ever.

"I'm not going to Cerulean right now, I may go back eventually, but right now I'm thinking of going to Fuchsia, maybe Saffron, Sabrina always was my favorite out of those jerks we call Gym Leaders."

A "Hey!" was heard from both Gary and Surge and the woman only smiled, oh how she missed her place as a Gym Leader. "Okay, I'll place Agatha in charge of the gym and then I'll come and help you get on your feet okay? Sound good?" The woman nodded before hanging up. "So Gary's coming to get you?" Surge asked, handing Rory back to her mother. "Yeah, too bad he's giving the gym up." Surge laughed.

"That boy's wanted a chance it give it up for a while now. Actually, ever since Giovanni disappeared. The kid loved battling, but he loved researching more. He truly is Oak's grandkid." The woman looked at Surge. "Then maybe I should go to Cinnabar. They still have that lab right?"

Surge looked at the ex-gym leader. "Go wherever will get you back on your feet. I hope to see you at the next Plateau meeting in a couple of months. We're going over whether we should get a froyo machine in the conference room or not." she laughed at the man's attempt at a joke. "I think I should come back to the Plateau when you guys aren't discussing such a serious topic. I think that's too much to handle."

The woman had created a makeshift playpen using an empty cardboard box and placed Rory inside, asking his Raichu to keep an eye on her. She then went to help Surge feed his Pokémon. On the way, she spotted the arena. "You know, I haven't been on one of these in years. I've always just been in a spectator's box." She looked towards where the opposing trainer would stand and pictured the first time she had ever been in this gym. Ash stood over there, becoming extremely defensive when he and Pikachu were both called babies. The whole battled played out in her head. Pikachu and Surge's Raichu charged at each other. She remembered seeing the determination in Pikachu's eyes after Raichu's counterattack. She remembered the Mega Punch, then the Mega Kick, yet Pikachu still stood tall. He never seemed to give up. Tears rolled down her cheek, but she didn't dare whip them away. When had everything gone bad? When had their childhood dissipated? Why had she given up?

"You know, you were really intimidating when I first came here. You were mean, tough, and scary. What happened? Now you're soft." Surge smirked, "Well, you grow to see your fellow Leaders as family after a while, and family looks out for one another."

A few hours later, a horn honked outside the Vermilion Gym's entrance, and a slick red sports car could be seen through the glass doors. The woman ran up to the older male and hugged him, "Thank you." he hugged her back lightly, trying not to crush her small frame, "Be careful okay Misty?" The woman grabbed her daughter and watched as Surge brought her bags to the car.

"So now I have to see Agatha at meetings again?" Surge groaned and Gary only laughed, "Sadly yes."

Misty got into the car, hugging Rory to her chest, "Really Gary, no car seat? You have two of 'em!" she said sternly, he smirked and turned back onto the street, "Leaf's gonna meet us wherever you want to go. So? Where to?"

"Cinnabar." the woman said, smiling down at her daughter, "They have a lab you could work at."

And given half the chance would I take any of it back

"Mist! We're home!" a man yelled, opening the door. "Mommy!" the toddler yelled, running into the house. The man looked around the house, where was she? He walked towards the kitchen and noticed the cabinets wide open. He ran over to one of the open cabinets and noticed each and every shelf inside it to be bare, where did Rory's food go?

"Mommy?" Benji asked, his voice lower. He didn't understand why his mommy wasn't answering, but then he got an idea, maybe mommy was sleeping. He ran as fast as his feet would carry him towards the hallway. "Wakey Mommy!" A couple of steps in and the toddler was lifted from the floor. Giggling he turned his head to gaze at his dad. "Again, again!"

The man lightly chuckled at his son, but continued down the hallway. "Down Daddy" the boy demanded when they had reached his parent's room, "down!" The man sat his son down on the floor. For some reason the door was closed and the poor toddler couldn't seem to figure out how to open it. The man twisted the doorknob, and gazed into a trashed room. Clothes were everywhere, the closet was wide open and a couple of things on his wife's vanity had been knocked over.

It looked like a hurricane had hit.

"Mommy?" the boy asked, running towards the closet, "Mommy?" he asked again. But there was no sign of the woman. The young child fell backwards onto the carpet and started crying. This wasn't a very fun game of hide-and-seek, his mommy hadn't laugh like she usually did. He'd usually yell her name and he'd hear her giggling away, so why wasn't she laughing now?

His father sat down on the corner of their -his- bed. He removed the Frontier's cap from his head and ran his hands through his raven hair. The boy looked up to see his father's upset look and crawled over to him. "Daddy?" he asked, looking up at the older man. His dad just sighed and placed his cap on top of the boy's head. "Come on Benji, I'm gonna make us some dinner."

The man carried his son down the hallway again, "Why don't you go play with your cars?" this had brought a smile to the boys face. And the moment his dad walked through the kitchen's door frame, the boy was already squirming and trying to get out of his grip. He placed his son down and watched the now-happy boy run off. The man wasn't actually in the mood to cook -and it's not like he actually could cook- so he scourged the freezer for some instant meal he could serve both his son and himself. A two-year old could eat that right?

About ten minutes into the adventure that was defrosting some TV dinner he heard his wife's phone going off. Was she still here?! He dropped the sippy cup he was currently filling with apple juice and ran to the living room, where he had heard the sound coming from. Albeit there was no one there.

On the coffee table sat something he never wished to see. Her two rings. She had taken them off and returned them. She had placed them in some stupid little glass bowl next to her stupid phone. Which was no longer going off. He groaned and sat down on the couch. Had she really just up and left leaving him with their kids? Kids? He shot up and raced down the hallway. How had he forgotten to check there? Throwing open the door to the nursery he noticed the state of the room was a bit similar to that of the master bedroom. It looked like a miniature hurricane had grazed through.

She had left and brought Aurora with her.

It's a fine romance, but it's left me so undone. It's always darkest before the dawn

The plane had touched down in Kanto after what had felt like an eternity. After the door had lowered, the man exited the plane with a toddler fast asleep against his shoulder. An older man, in his early sixties was there to greet him with a brown-haired woman standing beside him. "Welcome home Ash." the older man said. "Hello Professor. Mom." he said in a monotone, acknowledging both adults.

The woman glanced up at her heartbroken son. It had been about two weeks since he had called her in a complete disarray. He could barely get his words out. She knew he was putting up this strong front for Benji, trying to be the strong father that could pull through this. But the moment his son's head hit his pillows, she knew her son became an emotional wreck. She'd been through it herself.

Delia didn't understand where they went wrong. Her son and her daughter-in-law had seemed so happy together. They seemed like they'd be together forever. But then out of the blue his wife leaves, more than likely coming home to Cerulean. Delia had seen the writing on the walls when her husband had left on "a journey" and never returned; but Ash and Misty seemed like they be the old couple sitting at a table in the middle of a diner just as in love as they were when they were teenagers. They seemed like the true eternal love.

She held out her arms, enveloping both her son, and her grandson into a warm hug. "Let me take him." she whispered, as her son handed over Benji. She looked down at her grandson for what felt like the first time in ages. She had gone to Hoenn the past couple holidays to see her grandchildren. This would be the first time his grandson had ever left his hometown, let alone his home region.

"Do you need a car?" the professor asked and the man nodded. He wanted to get there as fast as he could and ask -hell beg if he needed to- for her to come back. Most people don't meet the person they're gonna end up with at ten, but he knew he had. In a way he always knew. Hell, everyone knew since they were ten that the two of them were meant for each other. So why couldn't she?

The older man held out a set of keys. "It was one of Gary's old sports cars, thought a fast car would get you there quicker." The man nodded and kissed his son's head. "Mom" he started. The woman looked up from her sleeping grandson's form, "Huh?"

"We'll be back soon."

So here's to drinks in the dark, at the end of my road

The car had pulled up in front of a gym that resembled an oversized cement block. The driver quickly ran as he could into the building and began yelling for the gym leader, nearly losing his voice in the process.

A tall tanned skin man rushed into the lobby. "What's wrong?" he yelled, glancing at the man standing in front of him. He took in the messy raven hair, the League cap that wasn't completely forward, as if thrown on in a rush. He took in the disheveled clothes, a wrinkled t-shirt, a loose unbuttoned flannel, a pair of ripped old jeans. But the worst were his eyes.

His eyes were red, either from lack of sleep or crying. More than likely in his case it was both. His eyes helped you read him easily. They were usually so clear and full of life. But now, they looked like as if he'd been through hell. "Ash?" the tanner man asked. "Ash, what's wrong?"

"Is she here? Did she come to you?"

He looked at the man strangely, did who come here? He was about to ask what he was taking about when it hit him. The red eyes, the messy state he was in. She had left. Misty was gone.

He couldn't believe it. Ash and Misty were perfect together in every way. What had happened that made her leave? When he voiced his question, all he got in return was a frustrated, 'I don't know! She just left!' He watched as the man in front of him collapsed into on of the lobby's chairs.

"She didn't say anything about it, or even leave a note. Hell, all she did was text me asking to pick up Benji, the next thing I know her rings are on the coffee table, my house looks like it's been ransacked, and both she and Rory are no longer there." Sitting down beside the torn man he asked, "So she took Rory and left?"

The man nodded, glancing down at the fall, "I don't even know how to tell Benji, I just told him Mommy and Rory went to she Aunt Daisy. How do you tell a two-year old your mother left?" He then took the cap off his head and ran his fingers through his hair, "And I don't want to ask my mom how she had to break the news to me, because I don't want to see her upset thinking about it."

"Ash, listen. Daisy and her sisters went traveling for a couple of weeks. They decided to delay their return to the Gym after one of our Plateau meetings. Maybe she's at the Cerulean Gym, waiting until either you get there, or they do." The man looked at him strangely.

"What do you mean until I get there?" he placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "Sometimes girls don't realize something until you chase after them. Or so every fairy tale I've ever read states."

"Brock those are stories." He smiled down at the man, "Stories Misty always wished would come true." He grabbed the man's arm and dragged him towards the car. Opening the passenger's seat, he guided the man in. "Give me a second and I'll drive you to Cerulean."

He ran back inside and called for Forrest, leaving the gym under his care. Returning back to the car, he got in and began driving, "You really think she'd left, solely because she wanted me to chase after her?" The man beside him asked, glancing at the driver oddly. "Now, but she'll realize she made the wrong decision when she sees you there." He raised an eyebrow at the driver.

"What?"

"You need to watch more action movies, no more sappy crap." The man said, placing his cap back on his head.

"Hey! This 'sappy crap' is helping to get your wife back!"

It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat

The multicolored big top like roof of the Cerulean City Gym came into view in the distance. This was it. He'd finally be able to get her back, after about two weeks of waiting to let her cool off. After two weeks of heartbreak, he'd finally be able to hold her again. It hurt him when he'd go away on business trips and wake up alone, but he'd know at the end of the trip he'd be able to be with her again. This time, the weeks apart were torture because unlike a business trip they was the possibility that she'd never be in his arms again. And hoped that that would never happen, that he'd go back to Pallet with his wife and his daughter with him once more.

But to his dismay the gym was pitch black. He walked up to the front doors, noticing how there were no cars out front, and what he actually could make out through the glass doors, which really wasn't much, seemed to be getting dusty. As if no one had been in here for a month, maybe more. "Brock? When did you say the Plateau meeting took place? And for how long"

"Uhh, it was about a month and a half ago. It took about two weeks. Why?"

The man's face fell. She hasn't here, she hadn't been here. If she was here, even if only for two weeks, she would have turned this place into a home. She would so as much love in caring for this gym as she did caring for her kids. She was somewhere else. He wasn't even sure she was in Kanto! He figured she'd go either to Cerulean or Pewter, maybe Viridian. But wouldn't Professor Oak have told him if Misty was with Gary? Just the thought of Gary near Misty made him a bit unnerved. But not as unnerved as those dorks on the Orange Islands. Rudy and Danny. She wasn't there was she? Misty had fallen in love with Trovita Island, and probably would have stayed if it wasn't for Ash being with her. Or maybe she was still in Hoenn visiting her Togetic -had she evolved into a Togekiss yet?- in the Mirage Kingdom. Togepi had been Misty first child.

Or maybe she had finally visited another region and was currently somewhere random, somewhere with no ties to both of them.

He sat down on the curb outside the gym and removed the cap from his head. Unlike the last few times, instead of running his head though his hair a bit and then putting the hat back on, he threw it at the ground. Did she want away from him that bad? She was gone and had left no trace. It was almost as if she had never existed.

He stood up and looked at the man in the car. "I'm gonna wait."

"For what?" the man in the car had called back, but he didn't received an answer. The now hatless man just simply started walking back into Cerulean. The man exited the car and walked towards where the hat was, he undid the fasten on the back on the cap and the refastened it around the door handles. If she every did come back, she'd know he was here. Turning away from the door, he noticed the man was already gone.

"Ash?! Come on, you even said you were gonna wait!"

Looking for heaven, found the devil in me

Days had passed and still the cap hung against the door, and still the man sat on the curb in front of the gym. Young trainers, who came to the gym to battle the missing leader, would notice him and ask him to battle but he gave them the same answer. "Sorry, gotta wait." No one really knew what he was waiting for. Or if he meant the kids had to wait to battle him. They just saw the Pokémon Master sitting outside the gym everyday, staring hopefully at the horizon, and for what no one knew.

One day, about a week and a half into this routine, a car had pulled up at the gym. A car carrying the infamous Brocklings. "Ash?" the oldest asked, sitting beside the man, "Ash you wanna go back to Pallet?" He shrugged, making no attempt at further conversation. He figured if he kept waiting maybe just maybe he'd see her. The eldest helped the man to his feet, and then tried once again to coax an answer out of him.

"Ash, please, I want to help you."

He groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "I figured I'd give her some time and then try and get her back. But I've been waiting here, and each day my hope in being with her again fades. I do want her back, oh god do I want her back. But, I think she doesn't want even the slightest thing to do with me. I guess it's a bit ironic that I became the one waiting for a word from her, when she spent three years waiting for a word from me while we were traveling."

That was it. He probably would never find her, and she probably didn't want to be found. And that thought angered him, what the hell had he done to deserve this treatment. She took his own freaking kid! Without even thinking, the man turned and punched the wall behind them. "I'm done." was all he said before he stomped into the car.

Brock sighed and stared at his angered friend, "He's finally lost it." Forrest, who had finally escaped from the car, walked over to his brother while looking up at the darkened gym. "So we have PIA on our ass constantly, but the Sensational Sisters can be gone for months and still have a gym?"

I know it was a really long first chapter, and may have dragged on at times, but what do you think? Should I continue? The chapters wouldn't be as long as this one, this one just sets up the story.

I actually did a bit of research on child development for this. I knew most of the developmental stages from psychology. We spent a couple of weeks learning child psychology and development. Which was actually pretty cool. Rory is four months old when Misty leaves and at that age they still coo, they don't babble yet and can only see approximately ten feet in front of them. Benji is two when she leaves and at that time, two-year olds can say about a hundred words but do not fully grasp sentence structure and grammar does not apply to him. I was thinking of having him be three so I could do the Oedipus Complex, a theory proposed by Freud, but I did more looking into it and it's actually a pretty awkward topic. In class I learned the son sees his dad as a rival for his mother's attention, and the daughter sees the mother as a rival for her father's attention. But according to Freud they both become sexually attached to the mother and the girl gets penis envy and I was like You know what, he'll be two instead.