I know this is late, but better late than never right? Theme: soulmates
To be marked is to be blessed with a life partner already suited to you or cursed to spend your life searching and waiting.
For Ash Ketchum, the mark brought confusion. On one sunny day in Alola, Ash enjoyed fishing off a pier with his friends. The tide was low and the winds were calm. The waves on the beach trudged up and down the sand rhythmically.
It was the type of day one might spend in reflection and relaxation. So Ash casted out his favorite lure and waited.
Occasionally, there was a tug on his line, but each time the feeling simply passed.
As he waited, Ash thought about the ocean. He thought about how the waves would surely and reliably climb the banks of the sandy dunes. He remembered how vast and complex the ocean is from the shallow coral reefs to the deep fiery lava depths. He thought about all the water Pokemon that lived and thrived there. The beauty of the ocean that day was enough to make Ash's chest ache.
It wasn't until later that Ash realized that the sensation he felt staring into the blue water was not just emotional, but physical. A mark had seared itself into his pec just over his heart.
"A 'J'?" He asked later, staring incredulously at the little silver mark.
"How can it be a 'J'? I don't even know anyone who's name even starts with that letter!" He exclaims.
"What's that you're talking about, Ash?" Professor Kukui asks entering the room.
Ash hesitates to confide in his foster father, but ultimately decides to share.
"I have a soulmark." He states plainly.
Professor Kukui's eyebrows rise in surprise. For once the teenager was coming to him with a topic other than Pokemon.
"I see." Kukui responds simply with an encouraging nod.
"It's a 'J' on my pec, right here." Ash points at his heart though his shirt.
"It's not unheard of that the first letter of your soulmate's name appears." Kukui informs.
"Yeah," Ash agrees, "but I don't know any girls whose names start with 'J'!"
"I'm sure you do," Kukui encourages, "like nurse Joy and officer Jenny."
"Or Jessie," Ash murmurs but shudders at the horrid thought.
"Besides, maybe you just don't know her well enough yet." Kukui suggests.
"I guess." Ash scratches his head thoughtfully. "It's just that…"
Kukui listens intently and waits until Ash can form his thoughts.
"I always thought I knew who it would be, but now it's impossible." His head hangs at the admission.
"Ash," Kukui sympathizes, "the universe knows what it's doing."
"I know." He sighs in defeat. "I'll just have to wait and see who comes along I guess."
--
The mark burned on her left shoulder blade for the entire bike ride back to Cerulean. When she arrived home at her water themed gym she was surprised to find a bold zig zag lightning bolt mark that stung and itched.
'What a fitting mark for a water Pokemon Master' she thought sarcastically.
Nonetheless, Misty's heart fluttered at the implications. It had been the day she parted from her best friend that the mark appeared. Ash had always had an electrifying personality as well as an electrifying starter Pokemon. The lightning bolt was reminiscent of the birthmarks that rested under his eyes.
"Ash…" she breathes softly, staring at her bare shoulder blade in her bedroom mirror.
Ash, the boy who lit her spirit on fire.
The mark appearing made her want to pedal all the way back to Pallet Town. She wanted to go to Hoenn with him. However, just because her mark appeared does not mean that his has yet. In fact, it is very possible that he will never be marked by her in the same way.
-
It was a rumor that brought Ash Ketchum back to Kanto on a whim. Tabloids claimed their reporters had spotted a soulmark on well-known water gym leader and performer Misty Waterflower.
The picture in the magazines showed a small black line just under her bathing suit strap. It was unclear in the photos what the soulmark looked like as a whole by the way it was covered.
The tabloids speculated about what its shape could be; spreading rumors about men Misty had contact with recently.
To Misty, it was a great annoyance that the press wanted to know so much about her personal life. However, she was pleasantly surprised when Ash appeared on her doorstep on a seemingly random afternoon.
"I saw the magazine covers about you." He states simply as they sit on the beach at the Cerulean Cape later that day.
"Which ones?" Misty asks, confused by his sudden interest in her.
"I mean," he hesitates, "I saw the picture of your… shoulder."
"My shoulder?" She asks quizzically.
"The magazines showed you might have a soulmark." He adds pointedly.
"The press doesn't know how to mind their own business." She huffs.
"Is it true?" He asks.
"Is what true?" She tries to avoid his question.
"Do you have a soulmark?" he hesitates, but asks anyway, "On the back of your shoulder?"
"What difference does it make?" She snaps, crossing her arms over one another.
"I just," he reels backward at her aggression, "I thought best friends told each other everything."
"I don't tell anyone everything." She shakes her head sourly.
"C'mon, Misty, spill." Ash urges softly.
"What's gotten into you?" She asks.
"I'm just curious!" He insists.
"Look, if you had a soulmark you would know how private they are," she spits stubbornly.
"Well, I uh," he mutters while scratching his neck, "I do."
"You do, what?" Misty is suddenly interested in their conversation.
"I have a soulmark." He admits gently.
"You have a soulmark?" She asks, disbelieving.
"Yeah, just a few weeks ago it just appeared." He shrugs like it was no big deal.
"Show me," she insists.
"You won't show me yours!" He complains, "You said it was private."
"Well now I'm curious." She laughs, pulling on his shirt.
"If you show me yours, I will show you mine." Ash reasons.
"Absolutely not." She tells him, "If you show me yours, I will think about sharing mine."
It was a hard bargain for Ash, but sometimes you have to give a little to get a little.
He hesitates, wondering if his confession will change everything.
"Her name starts with a 'J''," he admits quietly. He looks down at his lap feeling like he somehow let her down.
Misty's heart drops at the admission though he doesn't seem thrilled by the idea either.
"Oh," she breathes sadly.
"I have no idea who it could be though," he confesses.
"Can I see it?" She requests.
She wonders if seeing it will help her understand what went wrong or just make everything more complicated.
"I suppose."
Ash rolls up his shirt at the bottom and pulls it up over his head. He abandons it in the sand next to them.
"It's a 'J'," he points to his pec, "right here."
Misty moves so close to his chest that her hot breath pierces his pectoral. He has to refrain from shuddering.
Her entire body hitches upon closer inspection.
"Ash, you dense moron," she whispers, "this isn't a 'J'."
"What?" He asks. "Of course it is."
"Look," she points at the small shape, "there is a sharp point here, and a small circle there."
"Looks like a 'J' to me!" He insists.
"When did you say this appeared?" She asks. Her heart begins to thump wildly with hope.
"I was fishing with my friends in Alola." Ash recounts.
"Fishing?" Misty asks for clarification.
"Yes. It was a beautiful day and I was thinking about the ocean and all those wonderful things you always say about it." He explains.
"It's not a 'J'." Misty shakes her head. A smile twitches on her lips.
"Then what is it?" He asks, perplexed.
"It's a fishing hook." Misty giggles.
"A hook?" He asks in wonderment.
"Your soulmark is a fishing hook."
Misty's fingers lightly trace his chest over the bumpy ridges of the silver mark.
"Thank Arceus," he breathes out, falling backwards onto the sand.
"What?" She asks, laughing at his antics.
"When I thought it was a 'J', I thought that meant it couldn't…" he explains, propping himself up on his elbow.
Misty stares down at him curiously but does not interrupt. He sighs and sits back up next to her.
"I thought it couldn't be you.." He confesses softly.
"Me?" She squeaks in surprise.
Ash grabs her hand and places it back on his soulmark.
"Misty," he smiles down at her, "no soulmark could be more obvious to me."
Then he draws her closer and kisses her lips. He wraps his arms around her waist while she drapes her arms over his shoulders.
Misty, the girl who fished him out of the river with her lucky lure.
Misty feels the electricity coursing through her blood, stinging the mark on her shoulder.
Upon pulling apart, Misty pulls her shirt off leaving her in her swimming suit to reveal her bare shoulder. Along her left shoulder blade rests her own soulmark.
Ash grins at the familiar mark.
Hope you enjoyed! Not sure if I will do more of this years themes or just go back to writing my story Define Yourself.
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