Here it is, the first chapter in my latest Hearts Universe side story 'Problems of the Heart'. The idea for this story came from reviews to the 12th Supplement to 'Dreams Come from the Heart' when I asked if people wanted to see a Misty spinoff where she dealt with her problems following meeting Dawn and learning that she was now dating Ash. The suggestion was to make it Sabrina centric and have be the key to helping out the various girls who lost Ash given how she'd been through her own mental health struggles so could help out and already knew Anabel and had contact with Misty (this chapter is referencing that contact) so she made the most sense. I liked the idea a lot and went with it and this is the first chapter in this so it's time for some clarifications.
This story is set within my Hearts Universe, a universe where Ash realized his feelings for Dawn after the Vertress Conference and went to find her in Johto and they started dating. That story is told in 'Follow Your Heart'. I had intended on it being a simple short story but that idea snowballed and I ended up writing a sequel called 'Home Is Where the Heart Is' and then a full length story 'Dreams Come From the Heart'. All of these are Pearlshipping stories and revolve around Ash and Dawn. Currently that series is on it's 4th installment in 'Winning Takes Heart' and there is 5th one coming in the distant future. Both Dreams and Winning have Supplements to them and there is already a Luckshipping short story spinoff out there as well. I mention this because there will be spoilers to all of those within chapter in Problems as they will address events and points of contact between the girls here and Dawn.
The format for Problems will be a little odd so bear with me as I explain it. The first 7 chapters, 3 focused on Misty, followed by 3 on Anabel and 1 on May, will come out weekly and are already drafted. This is because all of them occurred before Ash, Dawn, May and Max went to Kalos in Winning and most are set during Dreams so some of them will not have certain things since revealed in Dreams present as they predate them. I will make it clear when in the main Hearts timeline (based of the core series) each chapter is based. After the 7th chapter all other chapters will be released roughly when they would have occurred in Winning or Hearts 5 as this series will extend into that story. Each girl will get 2 or 3 chapters depending on how many are needed and Sabrina will be there to help them all throughout. Right now all girls seen in the Hearts series and one more not seen yet have at least one chapter dedicated to them.
Sabrina's roll is the help the girls who lost Ash come to terms with it and if possible move on. As this is set during in the Hearts Universe, I will be using the character I have developed for Sabrina, which can be seen best in the 9th Supplement to Dreams and will be expanded upon in Problems. That means that there will be heavy discussions regarding addiction and mental health and as such this fic will be M rated and this is your only warning on that. Problems will look at Sabrina's issues as well as the other girls and how she uses her past to help others.
Anyway, I know that there is a lot here but this spinoff had a lot to discuss. As Misty was the original focus and the first rival Dawn encountered, she will get the first 3 chapters though the events of hers and Anabel's aren't in chronological order over all (they are for the girls) and this is the only time that will occur. Misty I is set around the time of Part XXXV in Dreams if you want some understanding of where it is. However, that is all for this really long opening note, time to sit back and get ready for the first Problem of the Heart.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
Misty I
Misty stood at the back of the meeting hall in Cerulean City looking disinterested as she leaned against the wall holding Azurill in her arms. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. In reality Misty was listening to every word the speaker was saying and internalizing them in ways she didn't fully understand but knew were important.
The speaker was Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader. She'd requested the meeting hall a few weeks back for a talk on mental health and addiction awareness, topics Misty was not well versed in, and the city had granted it. Sabrina was apparently known for this, so it was routine to grant her permission.
Misty, as the city's gym leader, was expected to attend out of respect to her counterpart but she hadn't been too thrilled with it. She didn't have a great relationship with Sabrina. In fact, she had no relationship at all with the woman.
Then again, when a powerful psychic turns you into a doll in your second meeting simply because your friend lost a battle, well that is bound to leave a black mark on a relationship. Since then, especially since she became a gym leader, Misty had always been uncomfortable when she was in the same room as Sabrina and had made no effort to talk to her.
Now though, Misty was listening in rapt attention to everything the woman was saying. Thought she didn't show it, Misty was stunned by Sabrina's story. Having been on the receiving end of them she'd known that Sabrina's powers were ridiculously strong. She'd also been one of the last people to see the woman at her worst, as well as present right after Ash and Haunter healed Sabrina's mind, but she didn't realize that that was just the start of Sabrina's recovery.
It turned out that Sabrina's powers had been like a drug to her, one she'd become addicted to at a young and impressionable age when her brain wasn't able to handle her abuse of her powers in her quest to perfect them. They had changed her, and it had almost destroyed her and her family but thankfully she was saved by a determined trainer who refused to quit and a fun-loving wild Haunter with him.
Though Sabrina didn't mention Ash by name, Misty knew it was him she was referring to. That mention and how Ash was back then, back when they first traveled together and things were simpler, filled Misty's chest with warmth at the memory and of who Ash was.
Misty had long accepted that she was in love with him, but Ash was far too dense to notice. So much that they'd been forced to go their separate ways and Misty never told him how she felt. She hadn't expect them to part and she'd been too scared to confess back then, so much so that in the end it became too late to do so. That was her greatest regret because a few years later someone got through Ash's famously thick skull and made him realize he had feelings for a girl. A girl that wasn't Misty.
The moment she met Dawn; Misty had known that the girl liked Ash like she did. That alone could be handled though not without jealousy and a little anger directed towards her rival. What couldn't be was the revelation that Dawn was Ash's girlfriend.
Even thinking about it made Misty angry and she had to restrain herself despite the anger dulling the pain in her chest. That had been the moment her heart had shattered, and she'd given into a rage she'd never experienced before, which given her legendary anger was saying something. It hadn't been how she'd expected to confess her feeling to Ash but that's how it had happened.
Of course, Dawn showed she wasn't some fragile girlie girl and was actually as strong as Misty, that she gave Dawn credit for. The Sinnoh girl had challenged her to a gym battle while Misty was raging. Misty had respected that and even more so when Dawn beat her in an intense battle that saw Misty use too much force of Dawn's Piplup and Dawn managed to throw her Gyarados into the ceiling with her Togekiss. Add in Togekiss shrugging off a dragon type attack for some unknown reason and it was one hell of a battle.
Misty's anger had died in the battle as Dawn had proven herself worthy to Misty by beating her. However, what had replaced Misty's anger was her other greatest weakness and unlike her anger it was one that was tied exclusively to Ash, her jealousy. She was jealous of Dawn for having what she couldn't have, for being the one to succeed in landing Ash, and, if Misty were honest, she was jealous of Dawn for other reasons.
She couldn't deny that Dawn was hot. The girl was a classical feminine beauty and Misty had to acknowledge that. It was especially noticeable when Misty compared Dawn to herself and her more tomboy look though Misty knew she was just as attractive albeit in a different way than Dawn was. That jealousy had led Misty to a strange place in her mind, a chance at being with Ash in some way and something she didn't feel comfortable with now that she looked back on it with a clearer mind.
While Misty knew she was in love with Ash, she had tried to move on from him in the past as she knew they may never travel together again and had dated a little over the last few years. During that time Misty had discovered that she was bisexual by experimenting. However, nothing with men or women lasted because her feelings for Ash always came back with a vengeance. He was the only one for her and even considering someone else always felt like a betrayal of her love for him.
That was why, when she lost to Dawn and she tried to mend their initial meeting, she let her jealousy get the better of her and did something unbelievably stupid. She had kissed Dawn, not on the cheek but on the lips. It was only a chaste kiss, but it was clearly done in a flirty way and Misty had even told Dawn she was bi and open to threesome with them as a way to get with Ash just before she kissed her. If it had stopped there, then Misty could have apologized for it as a one off, but it only got worse.
Every time since then that she saw Dawn, twice at this point, she'd been overly flirty with the other girl despite Dawn's clear disinterest in her. Misty was mainly doing it to mess with Dawn, but she was enjoying it more than she should, and it kept pushing her to new and new heights despite her actions being highly inappropriate. That culminated in what could technically be called a bikini in her full battle with Ash.
In reality it was nothing more than 3 triangles of fabric that just about covered her nipples and privates and that was it, which given her rather small bust was saying something. She'd decided to wear it to face Ash in full battle partly to remind Ash that she had a great body that he was always surprised by and partly to piss off Dawn.
It had worked and Dawn had risen to the occasion again and removed her cheerleader top to cheer for Ash in a lace bra that looked great on her and showed off her modest assets well in Misty's opinion. Again, that wasn't the end of that incident.
No, Misty's Psyduck just had to get involved and when that happened things often went from bad to worse. He had decided that it was a good time to pop out and enter the battle when he wasn't supposed to be in it due to him not being able to swim, and Misty was forced to use him.
Despite Psyduck's greatest failing limiting his movements, he'd done well and beaten Ash's Buizel before losing to his Sceptile. The finishing blow had been so strong that Misty was forced to catch Psyduck. The catch dislodged her carefully tied bikini so that when she hugged Dawn afterwards, an act more to annoy the girl than to be actually friendly, Dawn's bra snagged on the bikini and caused a classic wardrobe malfunction.
The result was a very blatant nip slip to Ash. Ash being the gentleman that he was instantly looked away and walked out to give her privacy. The fact that she'd accidentally flashed Ash and that he was such a great guy to not stare but leave had really turned Misty on and made her love him even more at the same time.
It had of course caused her to mess with Dawn even more by having the coordinator correct the malfunction rather than do it herself, with some flirty teasing in the process. Dawn had done so without touching Misty and then rightfully tackled her into her pool for that one. Misty did get to see Dawn topless afterwards as she was drying herself by the pool and had to admit that Ash was lucky as Dawn's tits were better than hers.
Still, through all of this, Misty would always feel bad after Ash and Dawn were no longer with her. The guilt and remorse would hit her once they were gone and she couldn't believe the shit she'd pulled with them, mainly with Dawn.
Misty didn't understand why she acted the way she did with them, but she knew that she was pushing things too far and soon Dawn wouldn't be able to take it anymore. If she told Ash about it then he might be angry at Misty for what she had done and it could ruin her friendship with him, something she couldn't do. She may have lost Ash as a boyfriend and that was hard to come to terms with, but she'd managed it, she couldn't lose him as a friend. He was her best friend and she'd break if she lost that.
However, it was an event the week before not involving Ash and Dawn that had made Misty think more on her actions around them. She'd been facing a Johto trainer called Lyra who she'd seen before but couldn't quite place right away. When asked about it, Lyra revealed that she'd been at Ash's party as she'd met Ash in Sinnoh. Misty knew she shouldn't ask about it given who was from that region and how much an answer would likely hurt, but she had to and asked Lyra about her time with Ash.
That was when she learned that Lyra had met Ash, Dawn and Brock at the Johto festival there and her and her friend, now boyfriend, Khoury, had traveled a bit with them to see the region. It was during that time together that Lyra told Misty that she'd suggested that Dawn, or Dane as Lyra called her for some peculiar reason, should date Ash. While Misty knew that wasn't the point that Ash realized, that was in Unova thanks to his friend Iris, it was likely the point that made Dawn realize. It caused Misty to snap.
She hadn't meant to, and she kept her cool the entire time, but she went all out against Lyra using Starmie, Gyarados, and Ash's Seismitoad though the last one was because he was Ash's and always comforted Misty to use in battle. Lyra had actually given her a really good match and almost won but there was a reason why Misty had taught Gyarados Flamethrower and it paid off against Lyra's Bayleef.
Lyra hadn't seemed to mind her loss or notice Misty's loss of control and came back two days later for a rematch. The Johto girl showed that she'd taken her loss in stride, trained hard, and won but Misty had realized she'd let her feelings get the better of her again in that first match.
All of that had come flooding to Misty's mind as she heard Sabrina speak to the crowd about her own struggles and issues. Sabrina had let a desire, in her case to her obsession with developing her powers, corrupt her and turn her into someone she didn't recognize.
Misty could understand that now that she applied what Sabrina was saying to her past actions. She'd been struggling with her own realizations regarding her own odd actions for a while now and knew that it wasn't normal, but she didn't know what to do about it or that it was her anger and jealousy causing it.
That was until Sabrina spoke about the importance of seeking help if you realized you needed it before it was too late. She reminded everyone that they weren't alone, that there were people out there who could help you be it because they loved you or because they had been through something similar and could relate to you in some way. There were also professionals who specialized in everything from addiction to emotional issues.
Sabrina spoke of how she'd had sought out help during her 3-year hiatus and journeys in Kalos and western Kanto and how three people she'd met on those journeys had been key in helping her regain control of her life. It took 3 years of struggling and a few near misses with her powers, but she was finally in a good mental place. She was now able to use some of her powers though not at the strength she'd shown in the past, resume her duties as a gym leader, and begin to give back by running addiction meetings for more obscure addictions and giving these talks.
Even then Sabrina acknowledged that she would never be normal again, if she even was to begin with given how young she'd been when she began to abuse her powers. It was why she still went to meetings at least once a week and why she took a week off every month to recenter herself and reset for the next 3 weeks. She also avoided large crowds as she couldn't handle them and anything that could be addictive as precautionary measures against developing a new addiction.
Misty knew she had to think on everything that Sabrina had said and decided to take her leave as Sabrina wrapped up and began taking questions from the audience that Misty didn't need to listen to. She'd attended the talk because she had to, but, in the end, Misty had gotten more out of it then she ever thought possible.
It wasn't until she got home and was in bed thinking on everything that Misty realized what she had to do. She had to speak to Sabrina about what she was going through and get the other woman's perspective on it as she appeared to be able to understand what Misty was going through on some level.
Regardless of their past, Misty needed this. Come the morning she would email Sabrina and sort this out for some time in the future when Sabrina was on another week off as Misty was going to be busy for the next month at least. With her conviction in her mind. Misty fell asleep knowing who her dreams would show her.
It was the next day and Misty sat down at her computer in her office and logged into her formal email account, the one she used as a gym leader. She would have rather used her personal one but she didn't have a personal email for Sabrina so this would have to do for now. Plus, as it was between gym leaders Misty knew that the older woman would get the email and read it out of courtesy if nothing else. After a moment's thought, Misty knew what she had to say and began typing.
Sabrina,
I don't know how to start this, so I am going to just dive in and say it, I need to talk to you in person. I was at your talk when you were in Cerulean City yesterday and while I didn't talk to you then as you were busy after it and I had to return to my duties at the Gym, it has caused me to think a lot on my own issues and I could use your advice. I will elaborate more in a moment so you understand what I am talking about, and I hope you come and help me. I know we don't have a great history but that's irrelevant to this situation. That's enough preamble, I will now explain why I need to talk to you.
Your talk yesterday spoke of your own problems and had me thinking on things that have happened recently in my life and how, looking at them in a new light thanks to your story of what you've been through, I may have issues that need professional help. Given what they are, who they involve, and upcoming events I don't want to let them cause me anymore problems then they already have caused.
Basically, I have come to the realization that I may have a serious anger problem, beyond the usual short temper redheads are famous for, as well as having an issue with jealousy changing how I behave when it comes to the boy that I'm in love with. When they combine, I become someone who I can't recognize and that terrifies me as it may ruin my friendship with him, and I can't let that happen.
As you may have read in my thoughts back when we first met as that was around the time that I accepted the truth of the matter, I have a crush on my friend and former traveling companion Ash Ketchum. That crush deepened and I fell in love with him. I was always bad at hiding my jealousy around him as he has a habit of attracting girls without noticing it, but I used to be able to manage it relatively well.
However, recent events have produced a change I never saw coming and that change has made my issues to become more prevalent and turned me into someone I don't recognize anymore. You see, I recently learned that Ash has finally, as improbable as it is, gotten a girlfriend and that girl is not me.
As a gym leader I know that Ash is trying to challenge the Kanto gym leader to full battles this year as a way to practice for the upcoming Indigo Conference at the end of the season so I know that you will have been at least messaged about it. Given what I know of them, I presume that if you accepted his challenge, Ash would have already faced you meaning that you've met Dawn, his girlfriend, and my rival for him. She's a great and sweet girl but my jealousy and anger are getting in the way of any meaningful friendship with her and led me to do thing that could put a lot of strain on my friendship with Ash.
Every time I meet them, I can't control my emotions around them, especially around Dawn, and it keeps getting worse. This is especially bad because I am heading to Hoenn in a few weeks to compete in the Wallace Cup in Petalburg City at the invitation of Wallace himself. Petalburg is where another mutual friend of ours, May, is from and the Wallace Cup is a Contest that Dawn has won the last 2 years in a row so she will be there as well. In fact, part of why I accepted the invite was to spend time with Ash again.
However, I am worried that my feelings could cause issues again. I want to talk to Dawn and apologize for everything and try and mend our relationship so that we can become friends, but I don't know if I can. I really need help and advice on this Sabrina. I know you can't see me until after I return, and I know what I have to do in Hoenn even if it terrifies me, but I could use some help both now and after I return to gain control over my emotions.
Sorry for the long email and thank you for helping me realize my own problems,
Misty.
Misty reread the email a few times before nodding as she couldn't think of how to say what she wanted to say any better and hitting send. She didn't know when Sabrina would get it or even if she would help but Misty needed to let her know that she needed help. She'd come to many realizations in the past 24 hours and knew what needed to be done even if it hurt. Hopefully, Sabrina would be of some help to her.
It was all out of her hands now, so Misty just got up, stretched, and headed to the pool. It was time to see if there were any challengers or, if not, do a little training with her Pokémon and Seismitoad. Misty was still a gym leader so she would continue to do her duties regardless of her inner turmoil. Hopefully when she returned, she would have a message from Sabrina, and she could truly begin getting the help she'd only just realized she needed.
Sabrina sighed as she returned to the Saffron Gym and powered up the computer in her office. She'd just gotten back from her talk in Cerulean City and still had a few more days off as part of her mandatory, self-imposed, monthly week off. However, she had duties as a gym leader, so she had to attend to them even during her week off, as well as check for messages from friends.
As expected, there were some emails from the Kanto League to deal with first, followed by a few from Anabel, Alain, and Olympia to respond to but those had been expected. What hadn't been was a long email from Misty, the Cerulean Gym Leader.
Curious, Sabrina clicked on it when she was done with everything else and her eyes widened as she read it. She had a feeling that there might be something up with Misty after meeting Dawn, but this confirmed it.
Clearly Misty needed help and Sabrina was more than willing to give it to her, she always helped those who reached out to her as best she could. Plus, she owed Misty in particular an amends for what Sabrina had done to her in the past, something that she'd been too cowardly to give so this forced her hand. With that in mind, Sabrina began to type out a response.
Misty was surprised when she got back from a battle with a talented trainer from Hoenn who showed enough skill to earn her Gyarados as his final opponent, and who he beat with his Shiftry, to find an email from Sabrina waiting for her. Misty wanted to read and reply to it right away but there were a few emails from the League that she had to address first as it was her job, so that took priority. Once that was done though, she clicked on the email from Sabrina and read it.
Misty,
Thank you for your email and having the courage to reach out and ask for help after realizing that you need it. Part of why I speak out about my issues is to encourage others to seek help and remove the stigma associated with mental health. It is just as important as physical health and should be seen the same way. It gives me hope for this world when I know I can affect someone this way and hopefully lend aid before they reach the point I did.
Of course, I will help you, I will never turn down a chance to help someone who is struggling and yours are related to Ash, who I owe more than I can ever repay, and aiding his oldest and closest friend when she needs it is something I am honored to do. I would of course help regardless of whether this was about Ash and I will do so for any issues you may have that aren't associated with him.
On the Ash front, it certainly doesn't surprise me that you fell in love with him, though yes, I did know of your crush on him when we met the second time but that's something we can discuss in person. I only really had one experience with him and that alone showed me how exceptional he is. I have heard of some of his adventures, there were too many to cover during one dinner, and seeing that day in and day out, well I can see how it would affect someone deeply. I can't imagine traveling with him and not falling for him.
Love is a feeling that I am alas unfamiliar with. Due to my powers, I was never close to someone to make friends let alone romantic relations growing up and it wasn't until after I got to Kalos that I made my first friend, so I can't really advice you there. With my addiction issues, the idea of sex still terrifies me as it is addictive but that is my own issue, I only tell you so you understand that on this front I can't help.
However, what I can help with how emotions affect the mind. I will do my best when we meet to understand your anger and jealousy so as to help figure out what the best course of action for you to get control of them is. That I promise to help with.
You are right, I have already faced Ash in a full battle, something I was really looking forward to and one that he won in spectacular fashion. That means that yes, I have met Dawn. You are correct, she is a lovely girl who truly loves Ash deeply but does have her own insecurities that I feel like you know more about then I do. We can discuss your role in that as well as I feel like there is guilt in you over that but that's just how I see it. That said, I can see how your jealousy around Ash, which is probably the core of your issues so we will delve into that, would be flared around a girl like Dawn.
I don't know what your interactions with Dawn have been, you can tell me those if you want and knowing them will help me help you but that is up to you. I do think your decision to apologize to her in Hoenn is a good idea. In the program, we talk of making amends for the past wrongs we've committed because of our addictions, or in your case your jealousy, and this sounds like one you need to make with Dawn.
I suggest getting her alone and talking to her about this. As hard as that may be for both of you, I think this is needed for both of you. You should explain everything that you have realized regarding how you've been acting, apologizing for specific acts if necessary, and try and restart your relationship from scratch. We can also discuss how it went when we meet.
On the note of amends, I have not forgotten about what I did to you in the past and I owe you an amends for this. I will address this when we meet because it is something I must do in person and I have been a shameful coward on this front so thank you for forcing my hand on this. I have my reasons, but they don't justify my actions, so you aren't the only one who needs this meeting.
I think we should meet two months from today. I have my next week off around the time of the Wallace Cup and have promised a friend I'd visit her soon so that does come first. Plus, you will have a month to process everything when you get back from Hoenn then so we can meet in Cerulean City and discuss it. I'll spend the week there so we can have as much time as you need. Until then, write out what you want to say to Dawn and look into professionals who deal with anger and jealousy problems. I will aid with this when I get there if you still need it, but they aren't my areas of expertise.
Until we meet,
Sabrina.
Misty reread the message knowing tears were in her eyes at the kindness and understanding Sabrina was showing her. She wiped them away and typed out a quick response thanking Sabrina and confirming the meeting, inviting her to stay with her and to meet at the gym when she arrived in Cerulean City in two months.
After that Misty just smiled as she turned and began to prepare what she needed to do. She had about two weeks to make sure everything was in order for her long overdue, mature, talk with Dawn. She had a lot to apologize and seek forgiveness for. She wanted to be fully ready for whatever might happen. For the first time, Misty actually thought of her rival without anger or jealousy. It was a good start. Hopefully, it got better.
Sabrina smiled at the response when she saw it. Misty was going to do it, she knew it, and she was looking forward to their talk. Not only because Sabrina had amends to make with Misty but to hear how Misty was doing and help her understand her issues so that she could get control of them rather than the other way around.
With her meeting with Misty sorted, Sabrina went back to her work and her other emails. She was going be meeting Anabel in Cremini Town during the Wallace Cup where she'd discuss Anabel's crush on Ash with her. That was going to be interesting.
The last thing Sabrina did was reply to an email from her Kalos friend Alain. He was doing research on Mega Evolution out there and it intrigued Sabrina. He still sounded the same in his emails as he was when she'd met him, and he became her first friend. Sabrina did not notice the small smile on her face as she emailed the cute, kindhearted boy from Lumiose City before she left her office to attend to what she needed to attend to.
Ah a nice little abrupt ending with a little tease for something that could happen in this story, but y'all will have to wait on that development. This was the first of Misty's 3 chapters and focuses on her realization she needs help, something I encourage anyone struggling to do as this stuff is important and you are not alone, so she has reached out to Sabrina before she sees Dawn again. The results of that meeting are in the 13th Supplement to Dreams so if you are curious about that check it out there as the next chapter will be Misty and Sabrina's meeting post Wallace Cup and how it went down for her. That is all I have and as this is a more serious story, all I will ask is that if you want to read more that you favorite or follow it and let me know what you think of it in your reviews or PMs to me. Until next time.
Stringdog