Misty groaned as she slipped inside her office, paying no mind to the water she dripped onto the tile floor. It was why she changed from carpet to tile in the first place, so she didn't need to worry as she dragged her weary body to her desk. Behind her, her Poliwrath and Politoed dutifully followed her, the usually excitable green Pokémon lacking some of his usual cheer. She fell into her seat and gave the two a tired smile. No matter how exhausted they all were from battles, two of her Pokémon that could be on land followed her to make sure she looked after herself. It was sweet and served to further deepen her bond with them.
She stretched out her arms, moaning as they made a satisfying click. She knew they'd hassle her until she went to bed soon, so she hurriedly filled out forms and filled out feed orders and placed them neatly to be filed and sent off tomorrow. Right as she was finishing up, and her eyes were straining, her computer dinged to let her know a new email had come through. She cursed under her breath and opened up her email, only for her heart to stop when she saw the bold headline.
DAWN BERLITZ AND PAUL BLACKHURST CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO THEIR WEDDING.
With a shaking hand, she opened the email and scanned through it. She let out a breath and leaned against the chair, trying to sort through the surge of emotion that threatened to pull her under like an unexpected riptide. She had no issue with them getting married, in fact she thought they were cute together. It was the fact that the last time she went to one of her friends' weddings, namely May and Drew, she had a date, and this time she had none. In fact, she expected her and her date to be the next to tie the knot, though now the idea was laughable. A part of her wanted to message back and say she was busy and couldn't come, but Dawn wanted her there, and Paul was one of her closest friends now, so he'd know it was a lie.
Groaning, Misty hit her head on the desk repeatedly, only for a cold and slightly slimy hand to touch her bare thigh and pull her out of it. She looked over to the hand's owner and found the serious but concerned gaze of her Poliwrath staring back at her, silently asking her to stop. She sighed but nodded, sitting up straighter instead.
"You can do this Misty. Just ignore them if they're there," she muttered.
Just as she was about to reply she groaned when she realised she had no date. She wracked her mind for an option. Brock was married now to Lucy the Pike queen and also had a relationship with Suzie, the three of them somehow making it work so he was off the table. She didn't know any of the new Kanto Gym leaders well enough to ask them nor the Johto ones. Her work kept her too busy to date, so she didn't have the option for that. Finally, her mind locked onto one option, one of her closest friends. She took a deep breathe and picked up the telephone sitting on her desk, not trusting her face to not give away how much she was hurting.
It dialled a few times, before the sound of her best friend's voice rang through the phone. "Red, finally taking me up on that offer for a late-night booty call after all?" Gary teased, making the red head smile at his usual antics.
"Hey Gary, I'm sorry for calling so late but I…I need your help." She admitted, her voice quivering enough for Gary to notice.
He paused for a moment before sighed and saying softly, "it's about the wedding, isn't it."
"I know you and Leaf have been casually seeing each other for a while now, and I'm not sure if you guys are going together…" She trailed off, a sense of dread robbing her of the ability to speak.
"M, Leaf is seeing a few guys right now so it's nothing serious. "Misty heard how his voice strained at that but didn't comment. "So of course, I'd love to take you. Is this about them?" He asked, not bothering to pretend to flirt with her when he could hear the sadness in her voice.
"Yea. I just…after what he did to me, I can't face him on my own. I know Brock will be there too, but he is still close with Ash, same as Richie. So you, Paul, May and Drew are all I'll really have there and I…I don't want to face him alone." Misty's voice turned into a pained whisper, and Gary felt his own heart break.
He remembered the day he hurt her vividly, and also remembered finding her sitting on a park bench in Pallet Town at 2 in the morning. He had helped her back to his place and helped her recuperate the best he could, and in the coming months the two of them had become the best of friends, with the researcher slowly replacing Ash in that part of her life. They had gotten drunk a few times and slept together, but they had ended that when they realised, they needed a best friend more. Misty was the best friend Gary had ever had, and he'd be damned if she hurt alone.
"M, you won't be alone, okay. I'll be there with you, and we'll be the best-looking ones there."
"Don't let Dawn hear you say that" she teased, livening up a bit.
"Yea, I like staying dry. I prefer making girls-"
"Okay Gary, that's enough thank you." Misty interrupted before he could go any further. "But seriously, thank you. You're the best."
"I know. Now go to sleep Misty. Your research and paperwork can wait till the morning." He said, knowing her too well.
Misty grumbled but agreed, before bidding him goodnight. They hung up and she quickly told Dawn she was coming and had a date in Gary in case he wasn't invited on his own and to let her know to seat them together.
Misty logged out of her computer and looked to her companions. They were looking up at her, Politoed with an open concern and Poliwrath's gaze more guarded. She offered them stronger smiles this time and patted them on the head, before smiling and saying, "let's go to bed," before leading them out the room towards her living areas upstairs.
As she got ready for bed, her mind couldn't help but bring back images of the past. She imaged a stone wall blocking them out and snuggled into her blankets with the Poli twins as she called them and shut her eyes, hoping sleep would help her recover from an emotional day.
"Alright Seel, let's try that again. Imagine metal coating your tail as you swing it around. Iron Tail!" Misty called, thrusting her hand forward.
The little Seel let out a bellow as she swung her tail forward. Misty grinned as the steel coloured glow flickered over the limb, before fading out. She internally groaned, knowing how that would mess with her newest friend's mind, but pushed it aside and smiled excitedly as the dejected Pokemon looked over at her.
"Seel! That was amazing. The glow lasted way longer than last time! You should be so proud," she gushed, making the Pokemon smile and splash about in the water.
"How about we leave it there, sweetheart. We don't want you to hurt yourself by doing that move too much."
The little creature barked in agreement before diving through the water towards her. Misty grinned and dove in a perfect arch, breaching the surface and making a beeline for her Pokemon. She didn't care she was fully dressed in skinny jeans and a blue tank top, her Pokemon was more important. She reached her Seel and pulled the little creature into her arms and gave her a big hug as Pokemon cooed and snuggled into her neck. Misty's heart melted at the little creature, and once again felt honoured that she got to train this beauty creature. Daisy had given her the egg a year ago, and the little pokemon had hatched 3 months ago. She was still a little delicate and struggled to use her abilities, but she had the biggest heart Misty had seen. As long as her Pokemon wanted to fight and gave it their all, that's all she cared about. Which is why she was one of the 8 badge gyms, along with Sabrina and Leaf who had taken over Viridan after Giovanni was forced to leave.
She kicked her legs and propelled them to the surface. Her waist length hair was out of its usual ponytail and streamed down her back in a brilliant stream. She broke the surface and smiled at the grinning Pokemon in her arms, and laughed when she nuzzled back into her neck, wrapping her front flippers clumsily around her neck.
"Now that is the bond between Pokemon and Trainer I like to see."
Misty stiffened and looked up, finding a grinning Dragon Tamer staring back at her. She kept her arms around her pokemon and she turned around in the water to face him.
"Master Lance, how can I help you?" Misty asked, struggling to retain her calm.
Lance smiled at her and lowered himself to sit at the poolside. She looked around her training area, admiring the cleanliness.
"How come you haven't updated this place since you officially took over? You are making enough money to do so," he asked, his deep voice cutting through the quiet.
Misty frowned and kept one arm around her baby Pokemon and she swam forward in easy kicks. She gently let go of Seel as she placed her in the water before hoisting herself up next to the Champion and sitting cross-legged next to him. He raised an eyebrow at her wet clothing but didn't comment. It was well known that Misty Waterflower would dive in fully clothed without a care in the world. She leant forward and pulled the happy Seel into her lap and held her like a baby.
"If you think this is bad, you should see my living quarters," she snorted. " I would rather use that money to give my Pokemon the best food and enrichment toys. I don't need fancy spaces to battle or live in."
Lance made an agreeing sound before looking at her apologetically. "While I agree with you, the commission does not. They want to update this place to reflect your status."
Misty groaned and looked at him with deep annoyance. "How long will that take."
"Since they want to completely tear it down and restart, we are looking at 9 months to a year."
Misty groaned and cursed under her breath, earning an eyebrow raise from Lance. "What do they expect me to do in that time? I have Learn to Swim classes here and other obligations to the community."
Lance smiled at her before the expression vanished. "I have spoken to them and they have agreed to temporarily remove your gym leaders license to allow you to travel and compete in tournaments should you desire."
Misty's mouth dropped and she looked up at him with wide eyes. She had longed to travel for so long but now that was able to, she had no idea what to feel.
"Where will my Pokemon go along with all the Goldeen?"
"Professor Oak has assured me he will look after them for you."
At least that solved those issues, she thought.
Lance paused before looking at her with sympathy. "You aren't the only one being asked to do this."
She frowned. All the other gyms in Kanto had been updated recently, so how was she not the only one?
"Johto has two gyms needing updating according to Steven, so we have decided to remove their status so they can compete as well and draw attention to our leagues."
A sinking feeling weighed her stomach down. "Who are they?"
He paused before saying, "Morty," well that was fine… "and Falkner."
Immediately Misty growled. "You want me to travel with that playboy? The guy who cheated on Janine. No way, absolutely not."
Lance sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Misty, we are sorry, but the decision has been made. The three of you are to travel together for safety and for promotional reasons. You leave in 5 weeks."
Hey everyone! I really shouldn't be starting another story, but this has been weighing down my mind for a while. I love Misty and want to write a story where she gets to travel and experience the world. I know that Ash may seem OC from what I have implied so far, but they are no longer 10 years old, in fact the ages so far are:
Misty: 26 years old
- Poliwrath
-Politoed
-Seel
Ash: 25 years old
Gary: 25 years old
Brock: 30 years old
Brock is in a polyamorous relationship, which is common with my writing. I often have gay and poly relationships so don't read if you don't like. This story is not for Ash lovers and especially not pokeshippers (I am one too but wanted to move away from that for a challenge). I always see Misty getting on better with guys so that's why she has more guy best friends than girl best friends. I will keep a running total of the Pokemon Misty has and catches as the story progresses as well and chapters will be between 2000-4000 words long.
Now, sorry for the information overload, but I hope you enjoyed the story and please follow\fav\review if you feel like doing so!