I'm so excited for this chapter! I have been working it for about two weeks on it and I think it's ok enough to finally post. I hope you guys like this one, but I must warn you that Misty's sisters are not written in the same way as they are in the anime and if you're disappointed I'm sorry, but I did it for a reason. Anyway hope you enjoy!
Disclamer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the original characters, except the ones I made up in this story.
Chapter 10: Misty—Part 1
Ash knew he was probably going to get beaten for this but he couldn't help it. Today was a special day, whether she understood it or not, and for once she was going to spend it with her family.
He crept over to her sleeping bag.
Man did she always look so…beautiful? Damn Ash snap out of it, your number one goal today is to make her happy!
"Misty…Misty wake up…" he shook her a little, but Misty only turned over.
Man, she can be like me sometimes when she when she sleeps… Ash tried again, this time whispering random stuff in her ear.
"Misty, what I want most in the world is…a new bike," He laughed. "And I want it to be red with silver streaks, and better make it a ten speed, and…"
"Ash, shut up," Misty whispered back.
"So you're awake? Good, cause I want to tell you something."
"Can't this wait 'til later?" Misty asked groggily.
"No way, it has to be now!" Ash whispered in response.
Misty sighed. Even though her eyes were closed she could feel Ash's smile piercing her. She slowly opened them to find out she was right, and to make sure she was blushing at her hardest, he placed his arms around her.
"Hi my little Corsola, happy birthday," he said gently in her ear.
Misty smiled. "Thank you Ash, now get off of me."
Ash's childlike laugh was his response. He was about to say something else when Brock stepped in.
"Gosh, Ash why don't you just get in her sleeping bag already!" he yelled loudly.
This made Ash blush like crazy, and he crept away too embarrassed to make a comeback.
Misty giggled. "Hey, is breakfast ready yet?"
Brock nodded. "Everyone come get it while it's hot!"
It only took about an hour of walking before they all finally reached a familiar city.
"Hey there it is, Cerulean City!" May exclaimed excitedly, after all they haven't been to a city since making a quick stop in Pewter to get Brock's pokemon.
"Alright! Let's hurry and go see your sisters!" Brock sped off; it was going to be hard for anyone to catch up to him.
"Geez, some things never change," May laughed.
They anxiously followed, except for Misty and Ash, who dragged a little behind. However, it wasn't very hard to catch up to him, because he, like everyone else, became awe-inspired by all the decorations surrounding them. There were banners, balloons, graffiti, and everything else that would be seen at a birthday party.
"Wow…the only thing missing is a parade! What's with all this stuff, Misty?" Tracy asked.
Just as Misty was going to answer, she heard someone calling her name.
"Misty! Hey there she is! Everyone, it's Misty!"
Misty flinched as nearly everyone in the city ran up to meet her, knocking away Ash and the others in the process. Misty became instantly surrounded by a chorus of people saying hello, how are you, and happy birthday.
"Misty it's so good to see you!"
"Misty, we were hoping you'd come back today!"
"Hey Misty, how's your boyfriend, we heard he was hurt, is he ok?"
"Yeah he's ok isn't he? How are you two getting along?"
Misty turned about as red as the shirt she was wearing.
"Guys, he's really not my—" but she was cut off again by more questions, mostly about Ash.
Ash was about two feet away, and also blushing hard from embarrassment.
"Sooo Ash, how they figure Misty was your girl?" Dawn smiled.
Ash laughed nervously, "There's really a reasonable explanation!"
Just as Ash was about to attempt to explain, one of the ladies that was around Misty came and caught him by the arm.
"Here he is!" She triumphantly laughed, proud of her capture, "Sorry, Ash, didn't mean to take you away from your beloved!" She took Ash and Misty's hands and placed them together.
Ash attempted to explain again, "But she's really not—"
"Oh just forget it," Misty cut him off this time, "Thank you guys for worrying, but we got to get to the gym now." She dragged him off quickly not even waving to the ones who were saying goodbye—she was far too embarrassed to turn around.
"Sorry about that," she mumbled.
"Don't be, I thought it was kind of cute, and it would make sense to the average person because we're around each other so much." Ash began to laugh.
"Really? You thought it was cute? I just thought you would be angry for them calling me your girlfriend," Misty said, looking down at her feet as she was walking.
"That's stupid, why on earth would I be angry?" he asked.
"I—I don't know…" Misty trailed off, thinking of a random memory from Violet.
"Ash? Be with you? Ha! Who would want a little bossy runt like you?"
Her laughed taunted Misty's ears, and made her so mad that she didn't even notice she was squeezing the life out of Ash's hand.
"Ow! Misty, what the hell?" he yelled.
"Oh I'm sorry Ash, I wasn't paying attention," Misty said.
"I would ask why you'd gotten so angry just now, but being here answers my question."
They had just stepped up to the gym, waiting on the others to catch up.
"I'm sorry…" Misty mumbled.
"Hey! Now's not the time to get all distressed, besides this is the time to be happy, when was the last time you were home on your birthday?" Ash asked.
Misty sighed. "Since the year I left here for the first time…"
Ash looked in her eyes and saw she wasn't lying.
"Are you serious? Misty, you've been a gym leader for five years, where do you go on your birthday?"
"Well," she replied, "I just walk around outside town a little, make up some excuse to leave—like to catch pokemon or something, then I come back around midnight."
Ash felt bad for Misty now; a part of him was beginning to think that this was a mistake.
"Misty…"
"Hey what's the big idea of running off and leaving us?" May's voice came up from behind.
"I'm sorry May, today is just a bad day to be around a crowd for me," Misty apologized.
"I suppose it was ok, but what about all these decorations? Is there a festival going on today?" May asked.
"Well, I guess you can say that. Every year, the people have a little celebration for my birthday. They do it for my sisters too, but me especially, I guess because I'm the gym leader!" Misty felt a twinge of regret for feeling proud of herself for some reason but shrugged it off.
"Ok, let's see if the inside is still in one piece at least…" she mumbled.
Misty was a bit relieved to see everything still as it was when she left, and she made herself feel better by taking May and Dawn for a tour around the gym.
"Hey Ash, is it just me, or has Misty been a little off today?" Tracy asked.
"You're right, she seems a lot sadder," Brock added.
Ash sighed; he randomly tapped his fingers on the table they were sitting close to.
"I—I think this was a mistake…to bring her here now…I only wanted to help fix things, and here I am messing things up," he replied.
"Hey don't be that way, and how do you know that you're messing things up when nothing has even happened yet?" Brock asked patiently.
Ash looked at them, seeing the concerns on their faces, he knew they would find out eventually, but it wasn't going to be voluntarily.
"Let's just say, I have a very bad feeling. I can't really explain it right now, but things…just don't seem right."
Tracy nodded. "Things do seem a bit off here, I wonder where Daisy, Lily, and Violet are."
Back with Misty, May, and Dawn, Misty was showing off her newly evolved Kingdra.
"Wow, it looks great Misty, have you won any matches with it yet?" Dawn asked.
"Not yet, she still needs a little more training before I put her in a match," Misty smiled.
Needing to break the ice with Ash a little if she wanted her plan to succeed, May asked a random question, "Hey, Misty have you ever won any matches against Ash?"
Misty laughed. "Quite a few actually, we've battled so much we can predict each other's moves, it's really funny when you think about it!"
"Wow, you two must have gotten along well when you were traveling with him," Dawn added.
Misty laughed even harder.
"Yeah right! At first we couldn't stand each other, but then we could tolerate each other, now it seems we can't get enough of each other! There was a time he was here every summer, but for the past three years we've just been talking on the phone because he got so tied up in his training."
Misty sighed and continued, "But at least he's here with me for a little while right? I mean, I'm really glad to be traveling with all you guys, but I've personally been excited about Ash the most. It brings back old memories."
She smiled softly at this. This might be the last time I can see Ash this much so I have to enjoy every moment.
"Well, it's nice to know that after all this time you two are so close, and now I see why everyone in town thought you guys were a couple!" May smiled, completely satisfied with Misty's answer.
"A couple, who in their right mind would think that?" a voice said from behind.
Misty knew that voice anywhere. Her anger beginning to rise, she turned around.
Ash suddenly flinched. He can feel Misty's anger a mile away for some reason. He got up and began to try and find her.
"Hey Ash, wait up!" Tracy said, him and Brock following close behind.
"Like, Misty! What are you doing here? Who are your friends?" Violet spoke up first.
Misty sighed. "This is May and Dawn. Guys these are my sisters, Violet, Lily, and Daisy."
They all said hello, then Lily asked the same question to Misty that Violet just asked, but a little more fiercely.
Misty could feel her hands tightening up. "I'm just here to check on the gym and you guys," She gave her best smile.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Oh. Well, when are you leaving?"
"Tonight, we got to keep moving," Misty replied.
"Hey, is it just me or are they not really that close?" May cautiously whispered to Dawn.
"I think you're right, I'm definitely sensing tension here," Dawn whispered back.
"Oh, hey it's nice to see you guys finally here!"
Everyone turned around to see Ash, Brock and Tracy walk up to them. "We were just beginning to wonder what happened to you guys!" Ash continued.
"Oh wow, is that, like, you Ash?" Lily practically hopped over to him. "Wow you've grown, and you've gotten so good looking!"
"Uh, y-you what?" Ash was beyond shocked; he never had an older woman hit on him before. He turned around for help only to receive Tracy's confused look and Brock's love-sick jealousy.
"Oh definitely! If only you were, like, a little older I would totally…" she glanced around, then whispered things in Ash's ear that had him getting redder by the second.
Ash was completely speechless, Lily was about to say something else when Misty, shaking with anger, stepped in between them. There were plenty of things she could have said at this moment, but didn't want to completely lose her cool everyone.
"Lily, I'm afraid Ash has other things to do, like help me train!"
Another shock to everyone, since it had been a while since Ash and Misty trained together.
"That's right, so could you please not bother him today? He needs to stay focused!" Misty stopped herself from getting to the exploding point by ending the conversation, but it was very hard not to retaliate.
How dare she hit on Ash? Who the hell does she think she is?
"Alright, well then like I guess we'll see you all later. Good luck training!" Lily said happily, pretending as if Misty's anger didn't exist, and then they all left out the way they came in.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close. Thanks Mi—ow!" Ash was interrupted by a hard slap from Misty.
"What the hell?" Ash yelled.
"You're just like a man you know that? You're so dumb it's irritating!" Misty stomped off before Ash could be given a chance to talk back, as if he could.
He looked back at Brock and Tracy.
"Shit, I knew this was a bad idea…"
After the previous incident Ash knew it was safer to stay away from Misty for a while. He lay on the living room couch, trying to read a magazine, but ended up thinking of nothing but Misty.
What's she so mad for anyway? So what her older sister was hitting on me, and said some real crazy stuff in my ear, is that something to slap me over? Aww, who am I kidding of course it is! Damn I'm such an idiot, Lily was totally hitting on me and I was powerless to stop her—if I really wanted to. So wait, was Misty jealous? She couldn't be, could she?
'You're so dumb it's irritating!'
Ash sighed. No. She was just mad as hell, and I wouldn't blame her if it was the other way around. Dang it what am I going to do? Maybe my birthday gift would cheer her up…
Ash didn't even notice May sneak in behind him.
If I want to get those two together, I have to know how Ash truly feels… she thought to herself.
She held the look of absolute determination.
I know I can do this!
"Hey Ash, how are feeling?" she asked.
Ash looked up to see May's smiling face.
"Pretty good, except my face is still red." He sat up laughing.
"Yeah you're right about that." She giggled. "So Ash, do you know what's up with Misty today, why does she seem so angry? Come to think of it, she always seems angry when it comes to her sisters, do they not get along very well?"
Ash sighed. "Well, not really, and I think I made a mistake about bringing her here, especially today of all days."
"But why, it's her birthday isn't it? Who doesn't want to spend birthdays at home?"
"Misty apparently. She hasn't been at home for a birthday since she was eleven," he replied sadly.
Damn, should I have said that? Worry began to spread on his face.
"What? Are you serious? Do you know why?"
Ash knew he had to make his choice carefully—he didn't want to reveal too much.
"Well, I don't know really, I guess since her sisters are hardly here anyway, so there's no point in being at home all alone you know?" he said quickly, eager to change the subject.
Perfect! I'm such a genus! He thought to himself with a proud smile on his face.
May didn't fully accept that theory, but pushed forward. "Wow, no wonder there was so much tension between them…I wish there was something we could do…"
"I brought Misty back here so maybe they can all reconcile but I guess that's not going to happen this year." Ash sighed again. "Man, I only wanted Misty to be happy."
Yes! Exactly what I wanted to hear! She smiled.
Nothing could stop May now, "So I guess you and Misty are really good friends then?"
"Of course!" Ash stood up now. "Why would you think differently? We may have our fights but, in the end, we really are there for each other. Nothing could make me happier than to see her smile."
Damn, let out too much there.
"But we really are good friends—best friends!" He added this in attempts to correct his mistake, but it was too late according to May.
May continue to smile. I got him! 'Best friends' yeah right, he completely likes her! And she likes him back! Now…to get them together…
May felt like jumping up and down.
But before she could, Dawn came running in, "Hey guys if you want to watch Misty battle you better hurry up! I think this is going to be good!"
So far it did turn out to be a good match. Misty had won a match, and so did the challenger. Whoever won the next match would win the battle.
Man, this one is tough! In fact he kind of reminds me of someone I know… She thought as she looked up in the stands, and through the smiling faces of her friends, she saw the one dearest to her screaming out her name.
"You can do it Misty! You got this in the bag, I know it!"
"Ash," she laughed, "quit yelling already—you're the loudest one!"
Flushed with embarrassment, Ash became quiet. He couldn't help it though it had been so long since he'd seen Misty in a match he got excited.
"Wow this really is a good match," Tracy remarked, making drawings of the whole battle, "I wonder what the kid is going to choose next."
After a little thinking the boy finally made his choice. "Go now, it's your turn!" He released his own version of Pikachu.
Misty couldn't help but be inwardly shocked.
A Pikachu?
She looked up at Ash, who she could tell by the glassy look in his eyes, was off in a deep mess of memories. During this time, it was hard to mention Pikachu's name without Ash flinching, but to make him watch an entire match with a Pikachu? She knew she had to end this quick, for Ash's sake.
"Ok kid, you asked for it! Go, Gyarados!" Misty unleashed what was arguably her strongest pokemon, but she still knew she had to be careful.
Brock, who was being the stand in referee, looked at both trainers. "Begin!"
"We'll win this won for sure, right buddy! Quick attack, go!" the boy yelled in determination. The Pikachu rushed forward, jumping on every platform in the water, inching his way towards Gyarados.
"Gyarados, dive under water!" Misty commanded.
The boy smirked, knowing what he had to do next. "Go after it Pikachu, and use thunder bolt!"
Pikachu dived under, and suddenly realized how deep the pool was, he couldn't even see Gyarados near; nevertheless he began charging up for a big shock.
"Pi…ka…" Just then Pikachu was cut off by a charging Gyarados.
Everyone was shocked, not expecting Gyarados to be that fast.
Misty laughed, "I knew you would try that old trick! My Gyarados may not be that fast above water, but once it gets under watch out because it's just as fast as a Golduck!" Misty laughed again, while the boy just looked on in shock.
"Pikachu, get out of there!" the trainer commanded.
Meanwhile the poor Pikachu was getting pounded by Gyarados's tackle attacks. Just when Pikachu tried to recover from one attack, another would spring up behind it, making it impossible for Pikachu to retaliate.
"Wow, I never would have expected this," Tracy exclaimed, getting more excited by the second, "I thought Misty would use one of Gyarados's stronger attacks, like Hyper Beam, but instead relying on its speed."
"Misty is pretty incredible, don't you think so Ash?" May asked but was met with a confused look on Ash's face. Part was excitement, then amazement, and maybe just a tad of resentment, but either way it took a while for Ash to respond.
"Yeah, she is."
Then out of nowhere, everyone gasped as Pikachu was being thrust out of the water, finally being released from a round of brutal attacks.
"Pikachu, now try a thunder bolt!" the boy yelled again, desperate to get the upper hand.
This time the attack connected, or so it was thought. "What?" the boy was in shock once again, and so was everyone else, to see Gyarados glowing a light blue.
"So, how do you like my protect attack? Gyarados use flamethrower!" Misty yelled out her counterattack, but it almost seemed like Gyarados unleashed his attack about a second before she yelled it out.
Pikachu yelled out in pain as it was crumpled by a strong flamethrower attack. "Come on Pikachu, you got to get up, don't give up!" the boy willed the pokemon on, but could tell it was a losing battle—Gyarados was just too fast and strong.
Misty hoped that she ended the match as quick as possible as she stole another glance at Ash. He was hanging in there, but she noticed that his hands were clinching so tight to his knees that his knuckles were turning white. Misty held her breath as she looked once again at the struggling Pikachu, trying so hard to get up.
Pikachu finally stood up, only to fall back down just as quickly. The boy stood in shock as Brock yelled out the words of Misty's victory: "Pikachu is unable to battle, Gyarados wins! The winner of this match is Misty!"
May and Dawn began to jump and cheer and head down to congratulate Misty on her victory, with Tracy and Ash following behind. Ash noticed the trainer pick up Pikachu and hold him, just like Ash would do to his when they lost a match. "Hey buddy it's ok, you did a great job," he smiled. The Pikachu just returned the smile to his master.
"I guess we need a bit more training, but I still don't see how we could have lost, we had such a good advantage," the boy sighed.
"Hey you guys were pretty good, you almost had me," Misty smiled, "But it's like you said, a little more training should do the trick."
"It's not just the pokemon, the trainer should do more training as well," Ash, who had been quiet for the last few minutes, finally spoke. "You thought you had the match won just because of a simple type advantage, but you got to think more than that. Misty is a water pokemon trainer, she knows that water is weak against electric and she knows just how to make up for it. It's not just the types you should worry about, it's the skill of the trainer and their pokemon, and it's learning to expect the unexpected and knowing how to prepare for when things go wrong."
Ash spoke a little less enthusiastic than normal, almost creepy to listen to, but the young trainer seemed to understand.
"Thank you that really helped. I promise to train myself a whole lot harder as well." The boy smiled. "Thanks for the battle, Misty, oh and happy birthday."
Misty was about to ask how did he know today was her birthday but stopped herself.
"Thanks. Good luck in your training."
The boy smiled again and left, determined to become the best that he could be.
Misty walked up to Ash and placed her hand gently on his shoulder.
"Hey, you ok?"
Ash turned to see the concerned look in Misty's eyes.
He smiled, "I'm fine. That was a great match."
Misty blushed at his complement. "Thanks, I never knew you had gotten that far in your studies, sounds like Brock has been a good influence on you."
Ash smiled triumphantly while Brock couldn't help but be a little taken aback.
"Hey, why do you sound so surprised? I'm not that bad am I?" Brock asked annoyance etched in his voice.
Misty just laughed, which made Brock even more irritated, "Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" He was clearly getting frustrated to have Misty's laughter as her only response.
Ash smiled. Well at least she's not mad anymore, and I get to hear her laugh, that beautiful sound that makes me shiver…
Unfortunately Misty stopped laughing once she heard that familiar voice, "Huh, you call that a battle? I could have done so much better!"
Shit…here we go… Ash winced as he saw Misty turn around to face Violet.
"You think you're so tough, Violet why don't you prove it!" Misty couldn't help herself anymore. She was going to get mad and didn't care who saw.
"Like, what are you two arguing about now?" Daisy questioned, while Lily came out behind her.
"Hi Ash! Hey if you're not busy later tonight we should totally get together and like—"
Lily's plans were once again interrupted by Misty: "He's busy with me so just back off!"
Misty clinched her fists, and Ash knew there was no stopping her now.
"Hey this is between me and you, you so called innocent little brat!" Violet intercepted again, "I'm sick and tired of you always acting like the victim! You're nothing but a two-timing lying murderer!"
Everyone gasped at the final words that Violet spoke but she continued, "You deserve everything you're going to get coming to you!"
Even Ash was taken aback now, he had never seen Violet this angry, yet he was getting annoyed by the reason why she was angry. Violet took out of her purse a big packet of papers she'd been holding.
"This is the deed to the gym. You think you can rightfully take what's mine? Fine then, I challenge you for it! You win, you get everything—gym and all. I win…the gym is mine and you must promise to never come back here." Violet eyes held a vicious, red glow about them, even though her eyes aren't red to begin with. These words had left Misty speechless, she didn't know whether she scream some more or start crying.
"You can't do that Misty's the rightful gym leader!" May yelled. "Even if you were to win, you still can't take the gym away from her!"
"Like I give a damn! All I have to do is prove that she is unfit to be a gym leader—how can she be one when she's not even here!" Violet said, and gave Misty a malicious smile.
"You got some damn nerve," Ash spoke now, clearly livid, "You know you can't get the gym anyway because it written in the will that the gym belongs to her!"
It was the sisters' turn to be surprised now, "Misty how much did you tell them?" Daisy cautiously asked.
"She only told me, and she told me everything, because she confides in me unlike her own dumbass, selfish, sell out flesh and blood!" Ash didn't know if he should be even letting them know that he knew everything, but he couldn't hold back his tongue any longer. He knew that if it came to this he would speak his mind; he warned Misty he would a few days ago.
"Ash…enough…" Misty's voice rang throughout the gym. She was neither angry nor sad, but she had an unknown feeling, a feeling that had reminded her of the day her parents died.
"Violet, if this is what you really want, then fine," she had held her head down until this moment, "I accept your challenge."
And so that was part 1! I just thought of a really random pairing: Lily and Ash! I wonder what type of shipping is that? Oh well that would never work anyway. Let me know what you think please!
Until next time...