Here is the twelth Supplement for the Heart, as usual released in the correct chronological point in the Hearts series for it. The events of this shorter than average Supplement take place a day after the events of Part XLII and about 6 days before Part XLIII. This is one of two Supplements that occur during the Hoenn arc and address issues such as unrequited feelings and remorse for the past so it will reference past events in the Hearts series that actual predate Dreams, they occured in Home so the second installment in the Hearts Series, and help show character development and improvement. They will be tied to events both in Dreams (Part XLV) and the next Supplement that will come out after Part XLIX. Anyway, there are no outstanding questions to address in regards to the Supplement so that is all for now, please relax and enjoy the latest Supplement for the Heart: Serious Girl Talk.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Serious Girl Talk

"Hey Zoey, want to join us for a walk around the greenhouse?" Misty asked her fellow redhead while May stood next to her a little unsure why Misty had asked her to join her. "May says it is quite lovely this time of day for one."

It was early evening and the young Sinnoh Top Coordinator was grooming her Glameow in the little campsite May had set up for the girls the day before so that they could all camp out before and during the Wallace Cup. Misty had been waiting for this moment since the day before when she had realized during their game of never have I ever that Zoey had a crush on Dawn. They needed to talk and Misty was probably the best person to talk to about it, though probably not the best for advice on how to handle it in a mature and sensible fashion.

That moment was now and there wasn't going to be a better one. All the others were off doing their own things and not in the greenhouse. There was no way that they could be overheard and as such they could have a nice, frank talk.

Iris was with Ash and his Dragonair ostensibly teaching him a few things to maximize dragon type power but in reality just fawning over the dragon type. Cilan was in the house helping May's mother with dinner. Max was advising Georgia on where to find ice types in Hoenn and the best care for them as he knew the most about Pokémon and the Hoenn region. Lasty Dawn and her mother had gone out for a mother/daughter day in Petalburg City to shop for the Cup and ger dinner as they hadn't had the chance to have one for a while. That meant that it was now or never.

"Sure Misty." Zoey said looking up and meeting Misty's soft but firm gaze and knowing exactly what the Kanto redhead wanted to talk about. "I was expecting this at some point this week, now is as good a time as ever I guess."

"No one is around, we can be talk freely." Misty said. "This is the best time."

"Um what is this about?" May asked a little confused at the exchange.

"You didn't tell May?" Zoey asked Misty as she stood up and they began to walk in the warm greenhouse enjoying the scenery her Glameow on her heels as always. "Why?"

"Not my secret to tell." Misty said simply. "But I asked May here because she knows the greenhouse and she's in a similar boat to us on this front. I helped her out at Ash's party, she can give a different perspective to me on how to handle this. I, er, probably shouldn't be doing more than listening."

"Oh ok." Zoey said understanding what Misty meant as the shadows fell over them as they walked through a patch of trees. "So May, do you have a crush on Ash then?"

"Yeah I do." May said with a sigh. "I realized it a while back but tried to move on, even had a boyfriend for a bit but that was a disaster. Then, after the last Wallace Cup and realizing Dawn's feelings for Ash I realized mine were still there. After winning in Sinnoh, I was going to invite him to Kalos with me and then tell him there at his party but well…"

"Dawn decided to show everyone who Ash was with." Zoey said remembering the sight that had broken her heart well as it had ended her last shred of hope on that front. "That explains your comment to me at the party about seeing a crush with someone else, that was Ash."

"You didn't notice?" May asked confused. "I was looking at him when I said it."

"I had my own lost crush to look at at the time." Zoey said with a shrug. "But I knew where you were coming from at least so I understood how you're feeling."

"You did? But you're…" May said remembering what Zoey had said the day before and then it all hit her and she understood what was going on with Zoey. "Oh."

"Yeah I have a huge crush on Dawn." Zoey said with a small, slightly pained, smile as she saw the realization slam into May. "Fell for her the moment we met and it just deepened over the course of the season, each of our interactions, both during Contests and our respective travels, added to my feelings. I knew it was unlikely but, well, I couldn't help it. The heart wants what the heart wants."

"So how did it all happen?" Misty asked curious. "Just let it out Zoey, it will feel better trust me. Once you talk about it, it will be off your chest. It may or may not leave you but you won't be weighing you down anymore."

"I mean there really isn't much to tell." Zoey said thinking back on it. "I knew I was gay basically as soon as I hit puberty when realized I had a crush on Miss Senior. She reciprocated but our natures and goals weren't conducive to a relationship. We still fool around a little whenever I'm home but we both know that it can't be serious so when I set out on my journey to become a Top Coordinator I was, and still am, single. I wasn't exactly looking to find someone but I had hoped."

"And then you met Dawn." May said. "At her first Contest, right?"

"Yeah she misplaced this cute choker that was part of her outfit and I found it for her." Zoey said smiling at the memory. "I remember being absolutely smitten the moment I saw her and how pretty and girly she was. She was totally my type, still is."

"So you prefer classically feminine women." Misty said and Zoey nodded.

"Yeah, I don't exactly conform to gender norms but I like a woman who does and really embraces her femininity." Zoey said. "And Dawn is, above anything else, a really attractive girly girl so I liked her at once. Then I got to know her on a personal level and that attraction quickly became a real crush that just kept getting deeper."

"Dawn said that you had been there for her and helped her out whenever she needed it." May said remembering what Dawn had told her about Zoey after May had met the redhead at the Wallace Cup. "You were the one who showed her her mistake with Ambipom and helped her with double appeals and battles."

"Yeah Dawn needed a lot of help but it showed her resolve and drive that she bounced back from her early hardships to become one of the best coordinators out there." Zoey said with fondness at how much Dawn had grown. "I think she was humbled hard early in the season, being a Top Coordinator's daughter hadn't really prepared her for failure, but she came back and almost beat me in the final of the Grand Festival. It wasn't hard for me to fall for her over the year but, well, I knew it wasn't going to happen."

"I mean she could have been open minded." Misty said but Zoey shook her head in disagreement. "If you had said something to her who knows."

"Dawn wouldn't have let it ruin our friendship but she's straight and I could tell that from the start." Zoey said with a sigh. "Classic cliché am I right, the gay girl falls in love with her straight best friend. I swore I'd never be like that but well that went out the window pretty quick."

"You should still tell her the truth." May said. "I think Dawn deserves to know how you feel about her. It won't happen, just as it won't happen with Ash for either Misty or myself, but it will help you move on and find someone who does like you back if you talk about it. I know it's done wonders for me both when I spoke to Misty about it and recently in Kalos talking with my new friend Serena about it. I'm still not ready to date again but I know that I will be in time."

"I will when the time is right." Zoey confirmed. "I want to tell both Dawn and Ash this week. I realized after last night that I had to do it but I want Ash to know as well. I want him to know that I am a rival just as you two are with Dawn and make sure that he's worthy of her."

"That's a good idea." Misty said with a nod before looking over at May. "Something you should also do May."

"I know." May said with a sigh. "Ash and Dawn don't know but I think I need to tell them to fully heal my own heart but I don't want to tell them together. I want to tell Ash one on one before we both leave Hoenn again so I will need to talk to Dawn first. I know she will understand with me, we're close friends and she also fell for Ash so she will get it. It's just hard to admit it to her because I do feel like I'm betraying her with my feelings for Ash even if she wouldn't see it that way. Well that and the fact that I haven't been the personification of jealousy lately."

"Yeah not my finest moment, or day, or few months." Misty said with a lot of regret in her voice, the first time she'd let that feeling come out in regard to how she'd acted with Dawn in the past. "Though that is a good idea for you to do though your hand may get forced if Dawn already knows. She'll confront you herself if she does and she will challenge you to a battle to assert her dominance. I, er, am probably responsible for that as well."

"True and if she does then it doesn't change a thing." May said. "I'll be honest, ask for forgiveness, and ask to speak to Ash alone about this. I will then accept her challenge and do my best to beat her."

"What about you Misty?" Zoey asked. "Shouldn't you talk to Ash as well regarding your own feelings towards him."

"I don't need to talk to Ash, he already knows how I feel about him." Misty said. "He's shown me no different treatment since then, in fact he's been even more respectful than ever, so I know we're good."

"He does?" May asked confused. "This is Ash Ketchum we're talking about right? The densest man in Kanto."

"Ash may be dense but even that has its limits." Misty said. "Hit it hard enough, and enough times, with a sledgehammer and it will eventually break. I confessed my feelings to him the moment I found out who Dawn was to him and the aftermath was more than enough to convince Ash how I felt. As I said, he's never treated me differently since then so it's all good but he knows. It wasn't exactly how I imagined confessing to Ash but, well, I have a serious anger issue."

"It is reasonable given how you two met." May said. "You saw Ash for the first time in years and there he was with his new girlfriend, a girl who you'd never met before, and in classic Ash fashion he didn't realize that you are in love with him."

"While that is true, that's not the point in that meeting." Misty said as she took a deep breath as she got ready to confess a hard something she'd had to come to terms with recently. "It made me realize that I actually do have a serious anger management and jealousy problem. One that clouds my judgement and makes me do things I really shouldn't do."

"What do you mean?" Zoey asked confused. "So you got upset, that's understandable given the circumstances."

"Being pissed is understandable, being angry is understandable, even getting mad is acceptable in the initial meeting, what I did was not." Misty said shaking her head. "I flipped the fuck out when I found out and ended up in a battle with Dawn, one that she requested it but I should have had enough sense not to immediately accept it and calm down first. Still, it was a battle that saw me use way too much power at one point and then lose to her. After that, well I may have calmed down and accepted her as Ash's girlfriend but my jealousy was still there and I crossed a line I shouldn't have crossed."

"The kiss." May said remembering what they'd learned the night before and looking around to make sure no one was listening to the them as Dawn had made it clear to keep it a secret but as Misty had said, they were alone in the greenhouse. "That was too far? I mean it wasn't a great idea and not something I'd do but was it really that bad?"

"Beyond far if I'm honest." Misty said and there was clear regret in her voice so at least she thought it was. "She's Ash's girlfriend, I shouldn't have kissed her but I did because I wanted to get in her head and reclaim something after my loss. It worked and I continued to play to that war between us whenever we've met, especially during Ash's full battle challenge against me, and Dawn always rose to it but that doesn't make it ok that I started it in the first place."

"You didn't sound like this yesterday." Zoey said a little confused at the serious shift in Misty on this, the night before she'd been nonchalant about it. "I was really jealous that you got to do that and angry at you until you explained it a bit more."

"Don't be jealous and don't emulate me Zoey." Misty said shaking her head. "I've realized over the last few months, ever since Ash beat me in his full battle challenge, that I was acting like a really petty bitch who's feelings, jealousy and anger were clouding her judgement. I shouldn't have worn that bikini to face Ash as the malfunction that led me to flashing him was bound to happen and I sure as shit shouldn't have kissed Dawn after my battle with her."

"I mean, it probably wasn't wise but Dawn seems to have understood." May said. "She was fine talking about it yesterday, so long as we kept it secret that is so I'm not thrilled talking about it but no one is here so it's acceptable for the moment."

"Well as Dawn showed yesterday, I am in her head and that's what I wanted." Misty said sadly as she let out her pent-up feelings on the issue that she'd been wrestling with for a few months. "But that doesn't make it acceptable. I wanted some control, some sense of self back after everything that had happened that day and I went too far in doing that. At least the flash was accidental and Ash looked away instantly but I shouldn't have been in a situation to let that happen. Dawn dunked me for that and I totally deserved it."

"So it looks like we all have to talk to Ash and/or Dawn about various things." Zoey said looking at Misty. "And if this is really eating you up, then you should talk to Dawn about this Misty. Even if she understands what happened it may be best to seek her forgiveness and admit you crossed the line with her and try and mend your relationship. If for nothing else the do it for Ash's sake. If you truly love him then you should do that."

"I will, when I have a moment." Misty agreed knowing that it was the right thing to do and in all honesty something she'd been planning on doing ever since she arrived. "Maybe when May is confessing to Ash to clear her chest I will use that moment to apologize to Dawn. I think it is part of dealing with your anger issue is apologizing to those who your anger has caused problems with. I do want to have a better relationship with Dawn, the last few months have made me realize that I need to fix it. She's the love of Ash's life so I need to be on good terms with her and if she got Ash to fall for her then she has to be special."

"Oh she is, that's why I fell for her." Zoey said with a sad smile.

"Wait, Misty, you are actually serious about the anger thing?" May asked confused. "I thought that was just you saying it because, well, you are known for your temper."

"Yup, I was diagnosed recently with anger management and jealousy problems." Misty said with a nod. "It was shortly after Ash and Dawn had left and I was thinking on everything when I realized I'd been a bitch and that I hadn't been in control of my own actions. Then Sabrina came to Cerulean to give a talk on her own mental health struggles and it made me realize that I should probably seek help for it, or at the very least find out what the cause was. I hadn't been acting like myself recently and I needed to know way."

"Sabrina?" Zoey asked. "Who's she?"

"She's the Saffron City Gym Leader and a noted psychic, probably the most powerful in the world." Misty said with a slight shudder. "We don't exactly have a great relationship seeing as she turned me into a doll several years ago after Ash's second defeat to her but she's changed a lot since then."

She what?" Both May and Zoey asked confused.

"Yeah Sabrina's powers are incredible and very dangerous." Misty said deciding not to go into too many details. "They took over her mind messed her up badly. Ash, because of course it would be Ash, was the one who broke her out of it without even realizing that she needed help. Turns out she ended up taking a lot of time off and got the mental help she needed. She's now an advocate for mental health and addiction problems. Thanks to her I sought out a professional and got diagnosed. When I get back to Kanto I'm going to begin therapy and will talk to Sabrina about how she dealt with her own issues. We have different problems but she'll at least be able to give me some advice."

"Yeah that may be for the best." May said still trying to fully comprehend that Misty's anger was more than just a quirk of her personality but an actual problem. "I didn't think you would need it though but you know your own mind better than anyone."

"Neither did I." Misty said with a sigh. "It took my unrequited love showing up with a girlfriend after not seeing him for over 2 years, me crossing lines I shouldn't have with said girlfriend, and wouldn't have if I was in my right mind, and a few months to dwell on it to realize I should probably try and understand what is going in with me."

"Looks like we all have things to work on." Zoey said as they finished walking and were back at camp. "But we know what needs to be done and will do so."

"Yeah I feel like this week is going to be interesting for sure." May said.

"Well there are 8 of us competing and Ash Ketchum is here." Misty said taking a deep breath and getting back to normal, she'd let her guard down to help Zoey and felt a lot better but it was time to focus and have fun. "If something interesting doesn't happen then I will be worried. If Ash is boring it has to be a sign of the apocalypse."

The girls all laughed at that just as May's mother showed up to tell them that dinner was ready and to come to the house for it. Seeing as it was Cilan who had cooked the dinner all of them eagerly headed to the house to enjoy the second best cook they knew; Brock was still better but they wouldn't pass up Cilan's cooking in a million years.

All three had their own things to think about regarding the coming week and what they had to do but one thing was for sure, the talk was seriously needed and all now felt better and ready to meet the Wallace Cup and all the challenges coming head on. They knew that it was going to be memorable for sure.

Well that was short by my standards. A simple, short, talk addressing things that Zoey, May and Misty have to deal with while in Hoenn. All will be dealt with either during the Wallace Cup or in the next Supplement so don't worry about that. The next Supplement will address both May's confession to Ash and Misty's apology to Dawn. As for Misty's shift and realization, it's all part of her character development as she realizes the problems that have happened when she and Dawn have been together and the need to fix them. I have had my own struggles with anger in the past and I know how it can cloud judgement and I have seen a lot of that in Misty's character, especially as she matures, so she needs to address it and soon. If y'all want some side pieces with Misty addressing it, let me know and a collection can probably be written as there are a lot of potential stories to tell that don't fit the main series, the Supplement, or the spinoffs under consideration so I am always willing to add another collection one day that tells the stories of other characters in the Hearts universe. Anyway, that is all I have for now, please continue favorite and follow both me and this story to keep abreast with new releases and keep the reviews coming. Until next time.

Stringdog