Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .
Story: "…Or that's what they want to name the season," his secretary said. Or in which Giovanni is forced onto a dating reality show for PR reasons, and ends up with Ash on his season.
Set after Alola~
Spoilers: I don't think so.
Warnings: Genderbending, perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…
Pairings: Giovanni/Ash: ShatterShipping.
The Bachelor: Italia Amore!
Chapter Eleven: Rumor Has It…
"We are in Sinnoh!" Harley screamed, throwing out her hands in the air and excitedly twirling around in the airport terminal. She grabbed Ash's hands and pulled her into whirling with her, and Ash laughed delightedly.
"You've been here, right?" Rue asked as she and Harley slowed to a stop, though they kept giggling.
Ash nodded. "Yeah, I was here a couple years ago, I think it was."
"Too bad you can't show us around Veilstone City," Harley pouted. "What did you see around here last time you were here?'
"The department store is pretty awesome here," Ash mused. "There was a game corner last I remember, and there are plenty of massage parlors for both pokémon and people. At the east side of the city, there are four meteorites that the city is known for. And of course, the pokémon gym!" She beamed happily at the remembrance of it.
"Ladies, ladies! Gather up," Zach started collecting them, interrupting their little powwow. "We'll be heading to the hotel you'll be staying in, and you guys will get the first date card tonight. Tomorrow, the dates start, got it?"
A chorus of excited "yeahs!" greeted him and everyone followed him and Lisa out of the airport and to the waiting bus. It wasn't long until they reached the hotel and then were being shown their suites.
"This is nice," Georgiana noted in awe, looking around the hotel suite they were in. Though there were two suites to accommodate the twenty women that were left, all of them were currently hanging out in one.
"It was built by Cyrus Industries, right?" Meghan whistled. "They sure know how to design. So that means this place belongs to Cyrus Akagi, huh?"
Ash nearly choked on the orange juice she'd been drinking. That was a name she hadn't heard in a while…
"I wonder if Giovanni knows him," one of the women wondered. "I mean, not just in business or anything –I know I've seen news of their business dealings, but I wonder if they've ever interacted outside of business."
Ash was tempted to ask Giovanni if he and Cyrus had ever clashed with their Teams, when she heard the other asked that question. Cyrus had come out as the boss of Team Galactic, but as she heard and had been a part of, he'd gotten off mostly scot free.
Before anything more could be said, there was a knock and Topher came in with a big grin and the camera crew behind him. He held up the date card.
"For you, my darlings! Enjoy," he laughed lightly and winked at them. He handed it to the closest one and then saluted before leaving. The date card was immediately opened and looked at, and read aloud for everyone to hear.
"Let's blast off into space, Harley," was read out and Ash nearly burst out into laughter. However, she kept her face neutral and bit her lip to stop herself from guffawing. That jerk –oh she knew where he took the line from and exactly what was going through his mind when he'd picked that to put on the date card.
Giovanni was probably laughing inwardly if he wasn't sniggering out loud.
"Ooh, I'm so excited!" Harley squealed. "I get to have the one-on-one!"
"Sounds space-y," Ash grinned at her.
"You think I'll get to go into space?" Harley joked.
Meghan raised an eyebrow. "Knowing him? It's not impossible."
Harley flushed red, eyes widening while Ash nodded in agreement. It would be like Giovanni to –he was rich enough and had enough connections to do so (well, she was also sure he even had his Team build shuttles and rockets themselves), and he was egotistical and enough of a show-off to do it.
"We should sleep," Janelle cut in, eyes narrow. "New day tomorrow and all," she huffed, before turning her back and walking away from them all.
Rue rolled her eyes. "Oh, she's just pissed that she didn't get the one-on-one."
Murmurs of agreement echoed in the room, but they did start to disperse and were getting ready for bed. Ash followed suit, getting sleepy herself. Once she got into her bed, she was out like a light.
The morning dawned bright and early and the women slowly made it into the main suite, getting breakfast and generally waking up. Then things got buzzing and the women abruptly fully woke up once there was a knock on the door and it was opened to Giovanni. He smiled suavely at everyone, entering into the room and apologizing for intruding so early.
"It's not a problem," Georgiana fluttered her eyelashes at him.
Ash watched Giovanni carefully, almost smirking when she saw the twitch at the corner of Giovanni's eyes. He was a good actor, but she could almost swear that she knew him enough to know at least some of his tells and when he was acting or doing his best to act civil or charming. Besides, it was pretty well known that he had a caustic personality…
She almost started sniggering at her thoughts.
"Shall we?" Giovanni asked, holding out his arm for Harley, who had awoken first of the ladies and excitedly gotten ready. The poor girl looked ready to scream in excitement.
Once they were heading out, Giovanni's eyes briefly met Ash's and he had an unfathomable gaze she couldn't decipher, before he was gone and she was left blinking in mild confusion.
"Ah, looks like we get to just laze away and be bored until the other date card comes. I wonder who's on the group date and who gets the next one-on-one," Leigh sighed.
Awkwardly, the women looked around. Ash shrugged. "Nothing else to do. Called dibs on the shower," she tacked on mischievously, giggling as she ran from them.
An hour later, all cleaned up, Ash had gotten drawn into the collective boredom. Then there was a knock and all of the women left there perked up and watched the door eagerly. One of them got up and answered the door and was nearly bowled over by a pink and blue blur.
"Ash Ketchum! I want a rematch!"
Ash gawped in shock, while behind said blur (revealed to be the one and only Maylene of the Veilstone Gym, once she'd stood still to point a figure at Ash grinningly), Wesley, Zach, Lisa, and Roger appeared in a rush.
"Excuse me, but you're trespassing and interrupting production," Lisa said sharply.
Maylene practically had a question mark hovering over her head. "Huh? What are you talking about? And I'm just here to challenge Ash to a rematch."
The word rematch resounded in Ash's brain and she pumped a fist into the air. Boredom alleviated! "I accept!" Ash shouted, reaching to her waist to filch a pokéball from her belt, only to grasp at nothing. Then she remembered and pouted. "Er, sorry, Maylene, I've got no pokémon on hand…"
Maylene looked at her in surprise. "What? You with no pokémon?"
"Again, I'm sorry," Wesley interrupted, stepping in front of Maylene and grabbing her attention. "We're in the middle of filming, so you can't be here."
"I'll visit your gym after this whole thing is over," Ash spoke up.
"Gym?" Zach caught on. "You wouldn't happen to be part of the gym here in Veilstone, would you?"
Maylene stared. "Well, yeah. I'm the gym leader."
That drew everyone's interest, and the befuddled reactions from the ladies echoed the new concentration coming from the producers.
"Well, unfortunately, you still can't be here unless you're going to be part of the show and create something for the group date or the one-on-one," Roger told her.
Maylene scratched the back of her head. "Group date? Sorry, I'm still lost. What's going on?"
Lisa stepped towards her and began to explain that they were filming the reality show and what was happening, which caused the gym leader to start laughing herself silly. Wiping a tear from her eye, Maylene nodded.
"Alright. I can set up something for the girls to participate in," the pinkette grinned. "Let me know when you guys want it done and it'll be set up in no time."
She looked at Ash then, lips twitching wildly up. "Good luck, Ashy," she snickered, making Ash huff in mild irritation.
When she left, the producers following her so they could talk details, the women rounded on Ash.
"Did you know that crazy girl?" Meghan asked her curiously.
Ash nodded. "Yeah. That's Maylene, Veilstone Gym's gym leader. When I was traveling through Sinnoh, she was one of the gym leaders I befriended and battled for a badge. She's into fighting, so I'm guessing if she's involved, the group date is probably going to center around fighting somehow."
Speaking of Maylene, she and Korrina were really alike. One of these days, she'd have to introduce the two…
And Ash was right, given that she and the others were now at Maylene's gym and being set up for a fight tournament. Leigh was the lucky one to get the other one-on-one date and get out of this, but at least they weren't actually being set up to fight each other. Instead, they were going to be learning how to do a kata set, to which whoever memorizes and performs the best wins the "tournament." Giovanni looked highly amused, and judging by the laughing look he sent her, he had probably guessed that this was all her fault somehow.
Unfortunately, though she did well, Ash lost out to Rue and Janelle, who had gotten second and first place respectively. She was, a little, surprised about Janelle, but the redhead looked determined to win. Ah, well, it was Ash's mistake for getting distracted by the quick glimpse of the new pokémon Maylene had apparently gotten and had been hovering to the sides.
"Well done, ladies," Giovanni complimented them all, as they headed out of the gym and were walking as a group to the place where they were going to talk and relax, and where the group date rose was inevitably going to be fought over. "That was quite strenuous, wasn't it?"
Ash kept quiet while everyone chattered, but then another familiar face came across them. To her surprise and horror, it was her that he saw first and instantly recognized, calling out to her.
"Ash Ketchum?"
The blue-haired commander of Team Galactic walked towards them, smiling slightly and waving in a subdued manner. Looks were sent over to her from the others, and she sort of shrunk in on herself.
"Ah, hi, Saturn!" she made herself greet though.
Saturn glanced around at the group, not hiding his curiosity in the slightest. When his eyes alighted on Giovanni though, a look of recognition crossed his face. Ash wondered whether or not he knew Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket, or if he simply recognized him as the infamous business tycoon.
"Mr. Rocketto," Saturn greeted politely. "I apologize if I'm interrupting. I just saw Miss Ketchum and wanted to greet her and say a few things."
"Go ahead," Giovanni smiled, and it looked normal, but Ash instinctively could just tell that something was off about it.
Saturn then turned to Ash with a surprisingly soft, affectionate smile. "I just wanted to thank you –not only on behalf of myself and Team Galactic, but on Cyrus' behalf. Without your interference and defeat of the Team, we would not have learned the error of our ways. Cyrus has also said many times that he wished to thank you, most especially for saving him."
Ash's face had turned bright red while Saturn had been talking. She didn't know what to say or how to respond, but she didn't have to as she was interrupted by Janelle.
"I'm sorry, but what exactly happened and what did she do?" she asked incredulously and Ash blushed.
Saturn smiled slowly. "A few years ago, back when Miss Ketchum was traveling Sinnoh, she encountered Team Galactic, back in our villainous days, several times and foiled our plans more often than not. More importantly, during the old Team Galactic's final days and the climactic battle that our plans were leading up to, Miss Ketchum personally saved Cyrus from a fate worse than death."
Ash protested. "I didn't do much really! He was about to go leap into an unknown, unstable portal thing, and there was no way I was just going to let him go do something dumb like that! Which I was right –Dialga and Palkia ended up destroying that thing, and he could've been stuck in there or destroyed along with it. And anyone would've done that." Saturn gave her a flat look at that, though Ash turned away awkwardly.
"Palkia? Dialga?" Meghan asked, paling.
Saturn nodded. "Oh yes, they were about to cause much a damage to this world because of my Team, but Miss Ketchum, though she protests, did quell their rage and minimized the damage that could've happened."
But then questions were starting to blurt out and Ash wanted to bury herself into the ground and hide. Somehow or other, she was reeled into retelling the whole thing with Saturn, and it was making her uncomfortable how the others were gaping at her or staring in disbelief. A glance at Giovanni saw that he was gazing at her intensely and she couldn't figure out what was going through his head.
However, soon Saturn had to leave and he apologized again for his interruption before going. Then it was just the group again, filled with discomfited silence.
"How about we keep going?" Zach suggested and Ash had forgotten about the cameras and the production crew. She wanted to groan aloud.
The group started walking, but it was still silent. So Lisa spoke up and prodded them into talking, suggesting discussing the group date. They did so, even if it was stilted, but Ash didn't know if she should keep to herself or pretend nothing had happened and join in. In the end, she ended up quiet until they reached their destination and sat around, getting drinks and finger foods, while each of the women took their turns with Giovanni.
"Ash, can I speak to you?" Giovanni came to her after a time, startling her out of her thoughts. Feeling like she was being called out, she nodded meekly and stood from her seat. A quick glance at the others showed them with their eyes averted and not looking at them. She had a feeling that her time with Giovanni was definitely not going to be in danger of being interrupted.
They sat somewhere off to the side and Ash rubbed her neck unsurely. Giovanni cleared his throat.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly and she gave him a surprised look.
"Okay? Uh, I guess. Why'd you ask?"
Giovanni frowned. "You've been quiet this whole time, ever since Saturn came around. I mean, you were quiet earlier, but you looked alright. But after that little surprise visit by him, you've looked bothered."
She had? She hadn't noticed at all. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize," she grimaced. "I guess I hadn't really thought or realized that kind of stuff would pop up. To be honest, it's not like I really mind or want to keep it hidden or something like that. It's just that it's…just really weird stuff that's happened in my life? Not really things I'd talk about or just bring up?"
"Really?" he asked curiously.
His hand grabbed onto one of hers and was caressing her knuckles, making her cheeks flush slightly. She bit her lip before she scooted closer to him shyly, making him quirk his lips up a little before he wrapped his other arm around her.
"Um, yeah," she murmured. "I just…I have a tendency to run into the Teams of each region every time I go to one." For a moment, her eyes glittered at him. "For instance, while I was in Kanto, Orange Islands, and Johto, I was plagued by Team Rocket."
She could see him straining not to laugh, and she smiled widely for a second before she became awkward again. "But from further out, outside from a certain Team Rocket trio, I've run into the other Teams too, and I've never really had a normal pokémon journey. It's always been hectic and sometimes life-threatening. I mean, the Teams are one thing, but I'm always prone to running into Legendaries too, you know? And let me tell you, it is not smart messing with them. So to all the Teams that keep doing so…it's just a dumbass plan," she said bluntly. "Never mess with Legendaries," she declared.
Giovanni raised an eyebrow, though he looked uneasy for a moment. "I'll remember that," he coughed.
Still, he brought her hand to his lips and brushed them against it. He squeezed her hand.
"Hold on for a moment, alright?" he said softly. He stood up and left her, and she wondered what he was doing. But then he came back with a rose and her eyes widened. "I really appreciate you talking to me and telling me about all this," he told her. "I had no idea that your life was so…"
"Crazy?" she offered.
"Dangerous," he said instead. "The thought of you getting hurt bothers me, but I'm glad you were comfortable enough to share that part of your life with me. Would you accept this rose?"
"Of course," she smiled quirkily at him, accepting it.
The kiss to her cheek caught her off guard, but wasn't unwelcome. She was almost tempted to turn her head and…
Ash cleared her throat, blushing again. "Thank you," she murmured.
She really was losing herself to this show.
Having a rose was a relief, but now she had to wait with the others while Leigh went on her one-on-one. In fact, back to being bored, Ash was contemplating taking a nap (even though it was evening already) while she was idly braiding Meghan's hair. Harley was being caught up to what happened yesterday, which Ash tried to ignore and pretend wasn't happening just right next to her.
There was a knock on the door and they all looked at each other. Georgiana got up and opened it, showing a wide-eyed Lisa.
"Ash, you have a visitor."
A visitor?
But they weren't generally allowed to see others unless –oh. So this was something they were hoping to film and was probably because it was sort of big or an interesting thing. Or both.
Ash took a deep breath and then quickly tied up Meghan's hair, before she got up and headed towards Lisa. The door closed behind her ominously. Following behind Lisa anxiously, she was about to ask who was it when she was shown to a room and the question died on her lips. There, standing uncomfortably in front of the cameras while he waited, was the tall figure of Cyrus Akagi.
She stopped short and stared, only going forward when she was nudged gently from behind. Looking behind her, she saw Wesley gesture to Cyrus and she winced. Bolstering herself, she went forward.
"L-long time no see, Cyrus?" she greeted hesitantly.
He turned and faced her, his serious face briefly looked self-conscious, before he straightened up.
"I heard from my subordinate that you were in town," he said lightly. He glanced around. "Though I'm not sure why or what all this is, I wanted to come see you."
"Yeah? I haven't seen or talked to you for years now, since I was last in Sinnoh. How have you been?" Ash smiled lightly, determined not to be weird about this. He came all this way to see her, so she should be considerate and act as normal as she could with him.
"I'm fine, thank you," he said quietly. "You look well. I'm glad."
Ash nodded slowly, trying to figure out what he was getting to and what he wanted.
Cyrus sighed before he came closer, standing right in front of her. He took one of her hands and held it aloft between them.
"Ash, I know that Saturn thanked you on my behalf, but I wanted to come here to see you personally. First, to apologize for pretending to be someone I wasn't before, and to have befriended you on false circumstances. And secondly, to not just thank you for saving me before I could have –for all intents and purposes –have ceased to exist on this plane and probably the other…but to thank you for saving me. Without meeting you and having your interference and influence, I would have kept on being the same cynical, nihilistic madman I've been for most of my life. You changed me into a better person. You saved me from myself. For that, I thank you and am indebted eternally."
Ash froze internally and outwardly, not sure what to say or do. She opened her mouth several times, before closing it and just giving a weak smile.
"Cyrus, I…I don't really know what to say. Just…you're welcome. And don't waste your second chance, okay? I'm glad you're living for a better future."
He nodded solemnly before taking a step forward and embracing her.
"Thank you," he said once more.
"Are we filming this? Please tell me we're filming this?" Roger hissed at the others. "Oh my God, are we allowed to put this on air? Please say yes."
"We're filming and on the contracts, this kind of thing is contractually expressed to be part of the show if caught on tape," Lisa gave a large grin. "Pretty sure we can get him to okay his appearance too."
"This is fantastic," Roger swooned. "Just think, if she is the Bachelorette, he'll have to be on her season. Imagine that –Cyrus Akagi! Having dated Giovanni and going on to have Cyrus as a potential suitor? Her season will be legendary! And not to mention the fact that this season really is full of drama and shocks and twists we usually boast each season would have –the other seasons have nothing on this one, and probably Ash's, once she makes Bachelorette."
Lisa frowned. "I don't know. I kind of really, really ship Giovanni and Ash now. I mean, it'll be great for us and the show if she does become the Bachelorette. But I do like her ending up with Giovanni in the end."
"Either way, this season is golden," Zach crooned.
Wesley stayed silent, glancing at his fellow producers and then the duo still locked in an embrace.
Started 7/11/17 – Completed 7/22/17
A/n: Haha, drama! We got some tension coming up, and the next two chapters are two-parters that connect and promise a lot of chaos! Mwahaha! I hope everyone liked this chapter~ Please, pretty please (with cherries on top) remember to review! I love reading everyone's comments!
Quick Points:
1. Pandora Pairings Forum: Rare pair forum I created that has lots of challenges, so check it and subscribe please! I'm going to be adding quite a bit of stuff to it this week.
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3. "All the Lies That's Been Said": is my newest Pokémon story –it's a three-shot and is slash, but it's less focused on romance and more on the domestic violence subject. There is some Shattershipping though! I would really appreciate if you guys go check it out and hopefully drop a review?
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