Whoah, I haven't updated in almost 2 weeks. That's a long time for me. I can't help it, college applications are killing me. I just want to enjoy senior year, and these stupid institutions of higher learning won't let me.
ANYWAY, after the past few chapters of angst and drama, we have a fun chapter! That's right, everyone is getting along in this chapter. And I'm gonna cover another anime topic that I've always enjoyed. I got this idea from one of my reviewers, and I definitely thought it would make a good addition to the story. I think it'll make for some fun, but you guys are the judges. So read on!
"Here we are. Welcome to Sinnoh!"
Aiden and Michelle were happily running around their parents' feet while Misty groaned and rubbed at her sore back.
"Everything okay?" Ash asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Misty winced, "but I'm five months pregnant, and sitting in a plane seat for three and a half hours did quite the damage on my back."
"Poor angel, I don't doubt it," Ash frowned.
"I just want to take a nap," Misty whimpered slightly. Pikachu cha'd sadly for the water type gym leader, and hopped from Ash's shoulder onto hers. She giggled softly and scratched behind the Pokémon's ears, earning a delightful shriek from the electric type.
"Hey now, you're not allowed to be tired!"
Misty and Ash looked ahead, finding May and Dawn moving towards them. Ash chuckled and raced forward, while Misty followed more leisurely behind; the extra weight slowing her down.
"Hey you two!" Ash greeted happily, enveloping the two younger girls into a hug. While the duo reciprocated the action, they were quick to abandon the Pokémon master in favor of his wife. Ash blanched out in shock and whipped around, finding that May and Dawn were busying themselves fawning over Misty.
"Aww, look at your belly!" May squealed, causing Misty to blush. "It's so cute!"
"Oh, I can't wait to meet the little thing!" Dawn trilled as she rubbed Misty's swollen midsection. "Is it awake?"
"Uh…you mean she?" Misty's face was even more red now. She was extremely wary of people touching her bump, and most of their friends were aware of this fact. With the exception of Brock, Ash, and the twins, everyone made sure to first ask Misty whether or not it was alright. This idea never seemed to cross Dawn's mind, however, and she typically just went for it. It annoyed Misty greatly, but she didn't have the heart to tell the coordinator off.
"She?" May asked quietly before her face lit up. "The baby is a girl?"
"Yep," Misty grinned at the brunette. "We thought it was a boy at first, but it turns out the doctor was wrong."
"I'm just saying, I like the name Heather," Dawn piped up, her sapphire eyes gleaming.
"Ew, no," Misty shook her head. "Heather rhymes with the word feather."
"So?" Dawn blinked.
"That just throws me off. Also, I don't think the name Heather Ketchum flows nicely. Not the way Aiden and Michelle's names do."
"Okay," Dawn frowned slightly.
"No need to worry Dawn," Ash winked, inserting himself back into the conversation. "We'll come up with the perfect name for our baby girl."
"Ash," Misty suddenly gasped, her emerald eyes widening. "Where are Aiden and Michelle?"
"I…uh…"
"You were supposed to be watching them!" Misty cried, her heart beginning to race.
"Don't get so worked up Misty!" May implored, fearing for her pregnant friend's well being. "They just wanted to go see Damien and Rosie, so they're with Drew and Kenny right now."
"Oh, thank goodness," Misty sighed as she covered her heart.
"Is anyone else here yet?" Ash inquired.
"No, just you four," Dawn replied. "Cilan and Iris will be here tomorrow afternoon, along with the triplets. And Brock called earlier to say he'll arrive tomorrow night. He said he's really stacked with appointments."
"That's not surprising," Ash nodded. "Spring's just started up. Lots of Pokémon get different illnesses when the weather starts to change."
"There goes Ash, acting all intelligent," May snickered. Dawn and Misty were quick to join in, while Ash cocked an un-amused eyebrow.
"Haha, very funny May," Ash droned sarcastically as he walked off. "I'm going to go find my children. At least they don't make fun of me."
"Sometimes they do," Misty called sweetly after him. Ash looked over his shoulder and teasingly stuck his tongue out at Misty. In turn, she smirked and returned the childish action, eliciting more laughter from the two other females.
"Ah, you two are so cute," May sighed as she wiped a tear away from her eye.
"Thanks," Misty smiled boldly. Her lips bent back into a straight line, however, when she remembered just how sore her back was. "Can I go to the hotel now? I want to take a nap, or at least relax."
"No can do," Dawn answered simply.
"Why not?" Misty folded her arms.
"We've got something to do!" May continued in a sing song voice.
"I'm too tired and sore to do things," Misty furrowed her brow.
"Come on, it'll be fun," Dawn giggled girlishly as she grabbed Misty's hand. "The boys will watch the kids, so you don't have to run after them."
"Yeah, see?" May planted her hands on her hips. "One less thing to do!"
"I wouldn't have to watch after them either if I was napping," Misty retorted, with an eye roll thrown in for good measure.
"Misty, just come on," Dawn begged again, her deep blue eyes silently pleading.
"Ugh, fine!" Misty threw her hands down. "I'll go, if it'll get you two to shut up and stop squealing in my ears." The younger girls began to rejoice with one another, causing Misty to groan and rub at her temples. "Just like that."
XXX
"See Misty? I told you you'd love this!"
Misty let out a soft, throaty approval, but otherwise kept her eyes shut and her body still. The three women had settled on a beautiful beach, where the early April weather was just stunning. A gentle breeze and soothing warmth surrounded the trio, who were now out sunbathing on the sand.
"I've got to get a good tan before the wedding," May commented quietly as she readjusted her sunglasses. "This will definitely work."
"You should've just gotten a spray tan, like me," Dawn noted as she stretched her long arms upwards.
"Not as fun," May quipped.
"I bet Misty agrees with me," Dawn pulled her hot pink sunglasses down the bridge of her nose as she sat up to look over at the gym leader. "Right Misty?"
The only response Dawn got from the red head was a very soft snore.
"Is she asleep?" May pulled herself up now. She lifted her sunglasses off and rested them atop her brunette head in order to study the oldest of the group. Indeed, Misty's eyes were shut as her chest raised and lowered in time with her breathing. Every now and again, an itchy little smile would appear on her face as she murmured a sweet little sound.
"She must be having a nice dream," Dawn giggled fondly. "Guess she really was tired!"
"Of course she was," May put her sunglasses back in place. "Pregnancy is a very tiring condition. You'll learn in time."
"Yeah, not for a very long time," Dawn countered with a small huff.
As the younger girls settled into a comfortable silence, a series of high pitched, terrified shrieks caused them to jump up again. The noise even awoke Misty, who was accustomed to being stirred by the sound of crying.
"What in the world is that?" May asked.
"I don't know, but it sounds bad," Misty commented as she rubbed the sleep from her bright green eyes.
"Someone must be in trouble," Dawn murmured quietly before turning her serious gaze onto her friends. "Let's go!"
The three rose from their beach chairs and walked briskly along the ocean front, searching for what could have been the source of the tortured cries. Several feet ahead, May raised her eyes and caught sight of a group of Starly, flying back and forth with contempt in their beady little eyes.
"It must be from over there, where those Starly are!" May alerted, pointing at the flying types.
She hurried over to the scene, Misty and Dawn following closely behind. As the three friends got closer, they soon realized that the Starly were pecking at a curled up, helpless looking Pokémon; the one who was letting out the tortured cries.
"The poor thing!" Dawn frowned.
Misty growled and furrowed her brow as she felt her hands subconsciously ball into tight fists. The fact that the tortured Pokémon appeared to be a water type only boiled her blood even further. Of course, Misty would stand up for any Pokémon that wasn't being treated correctly. But her special bond with water types caused her anger to increase tenfold.
"HEY!" Misty snapped, startling the starling Pokémon. They edged away from the terrified Pokémon, allowing May to get closer to it. "Leave that poor thing alone! It didn't do anything to you! Now GO!"
The Starly took Misty's command very seriously and flew off in the blink of an eye, leaving the disgruntled gym leader to sigh tiredly and unclench her fists.
"Wow Misty…" Dawn blinked, "that was pretty…intense."
Misty let out another short breath and looked over towards Dawn with a devious little smirk. "No one should ever provoke my hormones, Dawn."
"Well, they learned that one the hard way," the bluenette giggled girlishly.
"Oh my gosh you guys!"
Misty and Dawn turned their attention back to May, who was still hovering over the seemingly injured blue heap. The Pokémon's skin was shining in the sun, coated with water from the ocean. Its stubby arms covered its face, and a pair of antennae rested lamely on the small being's back.
"What is it May?" Misty rubbed her upper arms. "Is it okay?"
"I don't know," May answered honestly as she bit her lip, "but…I know what kind of a Pokémon this is."
"Oooh, what kind?" Dawn sounded very excited. "Is it rare?"
"Yeah…"
Dawn let out an interested noise and pulled her shoulders back. "I was kind of kidding, May."
"But I wasn't," May shook her head and looked up at the younger coordinator. "This is a rare Pokémon."
"What is it?" Misty leaned down as much as she could. "I can't tell."
"A Manaphy," May breathed, brushing a strand of brunette hair behind her ear.
"A MANAPHY?" Misty and Dawn shrieked at the same time. Their loud yelps startled the small Pokémon, who quickly unfolded itself and began shaking like a leaf.
"Mana…mana…" it murmured as tears formed in its big blue eyes.
"Oh, what a cutie!" Misty cooed, clasping her hands together. She'd always dreamed of being able to see a Manaphy, especially after Ash told her all about the one that had adopted May as its mother.
"I've never heard of a Manaphy in Sinnoh before!" Dawn beamed. "This is so cool!"
"Mana…phy…" Manaphy was still sobbing, looking between the women fearfully. May frowned at this and gathered the seafaring Pokémon into her arms, gently rocking it.
"It's still so young," May whispered, "just like…my Manaphy was."
"Mana," Manaphy whimpered, the water type's tears starting to dissipate as it stared up at May.
"Hi there sweetie," May smiled, gently stroking the legendary's head. "Aren't you just adorable? I had a friend just like you once!" Manaphy didn't say anything. It simply kept staring at the brunette coordinator with curious eyes.
"It seems to be okay now," Misty commented softly.
Suddenly, the ends of Manaphy's antennae began glowing a bright shade of pink, energy flowing from the tips. The force wrapped around the three female's bodies, giving each of them a little shock. Almost as soon as it had started, the pink light disappeared, and everything seemed to return to normal.
Well, except for one, small detail…
"Hey! Why does my tan look so fake?"
That cry had come from Dawn, but it certainly didn't sound like the bubbly young woman. Instead, it had sounded quite a bit like May.
"Hey, don't call my tan fake looking! I spent good money on that!"
That came from Misty, although her voice was of a higher pitch and slightly more shrill. Just like Dawn.
"Hey…wait a minute…"
Misty's voice floated into the air, but it was coming out of May's mouth. Blinking, Misty let out a sharp cry and leapt to her…or rather May's…feet.
"Guys!" Misty yelled again. "We…we're in each other's bodies!"
"What?" Dawn rolled Misty's emerald eyes as she folded her arms. "That's impossible, Misty."
"No it isn't," May answered slowly from her new body. "Manaphy knows a move called heart swap. It gives Manaphy the ability to switch people's souls."
"Their souls?" Dawn repeated.
"Yeah. That's why we all sound and think the same. The only thing we switched was our physical bodies."
Misty curiously looked down at May's body, studying what she was now gifted with. Naturally tanned skin, a slender frame with some apparent muscle, a more ample chest…
"Oh!" Misty gasped cheerfully. She raised a hand to May's stomach, which was flat and toned as a washboard. "Look at that! It's just like my body before I was pregnant!"
"Except for the boobs," May commented smartly. Misty shot the brunette in Dawn's body daggers, which alarmed the older coordinator. "Wow, I never knew my face could pull such an evil look!"
"This is amazing!" Misty squealed, holding Manaphy up in the air. "I look awesome again! No more baby bump for me!"
"Not for now, anyway," May remarked.
"What do you mean for now?" Misty pulled May's face into a pout.
"The effects of heart swap are only temporary," May elucidated.
"I better be back in my own body by the wedding!" Dawn threatened.
"You will be, don't worry," May assured. "We should be back in our own bodies by tomorrow morning."
"What a relief," Dawn sighed. She went to take a step, and nearly toppled over.
"Dawn, be careful!" Misty cried, a hand flying up to what was May's head. "I've got a baby in there you know!"
"Yeah, that seems to be the problem," Dawn slumped Misty's shoulders. "Its really hard to balance!"
"Welcome to the joys of pregnancy," Misty bent May's lips into a sinister smile. "The next few hours should be a lot of fun for you!"
"Why is everything so sore?" Dawn wailed. "Why am I so hungry? Why do I feel the need to cry? And why are you two looking at me like that?"
"How are we looking at you?" May asked curiously.
"Just…I don't know, you are! STOP it!"
"I guess along with my body, Dawn got my hormones," Misty hummed amusedly. "I can definitely live with this."
"It's not funny," Dawn whimpered. She looked down, feeling slightly alarmed when she couldn't quite see her feet. Just when the bluenette thought things couldn't get any more strange, the baby delivered a sharp kick, causing her to let out a scream.
"What's wrong?" Misty wheezed, jumping over to her actual body. Dawn's yell had been so frightful and horrifying, Misty was afraid something was going wrong in her body. Or worse, with the baby.
"She…she kicked…" Dawn stammered, rubbing what was Misty's belly. "And she's strong…"
"Yeah, she is," Misty curved May's lips into a half proud, half sad smile as she reached out to touch her own stomach. "She's already reminding me so much of Ash."
"This is so weird," Dawn murmured, her borrowed blue glowing, emerald eyes clouding over with untraced emotion.
"Guys?" May piped up. Misty and May's bodies, currently being occupied by Dawn and Misty respectively, turned around and looked over at the blue haired coordinator who was speaking with May's voice. "I hate to break up this sweet little moment, but we have a bit of a problem."
"What now?" Misty groaned.
"How are we supposed to explain this to our husbands?" May asked. She looked over at Misty's physical form and added, "well…your husband and mine. And Dawn's fiancé."
"Damn," Misty cursed under her breath. "I didn't think of that."
"Aren't they going to find it strange that our eyes are glowing this weird shade of blue?" Dawn inquired.
"Yes," May nodded, "that's a big part of the problem."
"Do we lie?" Misty raised one of May's eyebrows.
"How can we lie with our eyes like this?" May prompted. "And with our voices switched?"
"I don't know…" Misty glared back at May with the brunette's own eyes.
"I think we should just explain it to them," Dawn suggested. "It would just make things easier."
"But they might get freaked out," May bent Dawn's lips into a frown.
"It won't scare Ash," Misty shrugged May's shoulders. "He's been through one too many situations like this. Nothing freaks him out anymore."
"Well, I know for a fact that Drew would have a panic attack," May sighed.
"Kenny too," Dawn agreed.
"So what do we do?" Misty tried.
May thought carefully for a few moments before she broke Dawn's face out into a huge smile. "Leave it to me! I've got the perfect idea!"
XXX
This might actually work…Misty thought to herself as she stared into the mirror of the hotel lobby.
While still on the beach, May had grabbed her bag, which had her travel contest case inside of it. As it would turn out, the brunette trapped inside of Dawn's body had several pairs of different colored contacts. She'd taken two sapphire ones: one for Misty and one for herself, and a pair of emerald ones for Dawn. The hued covers had hidden the bright blue glow of their eyes, and the women had also agreed to pretend to be themselves.
"May, are you forgetting about our voices?" Misty asked the coordinator in a low whisper.
"Not at all," May shook Dawn's head. "It's quite simple, actually. All we have to do is pretend we lost our voices."
"Misty…"
The redhead stuck in May's body looked over her shoulder and found her staring back at herself.
"What's wrong Dawn?" Misty posed softly. "Is the baby giving you trouble again?"
"No…" Dawn shook her head slowly. "Well, maybe. I don't know if this is a …pregnancy thing."
"It probably is," Misty placed her fingers under her own chin and lifted her head up. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I…I need to be loved Misty," Dawn furrowed the gym leader's brow. "Just…so badly."
"Yep, that's got to do with it," Misty made May's lips smirk. Suddenly, Dawn's words hit her like a train, and Misty straightened out the brunette's body. "Dawn…you're not asking me if you can…"
Dawn frowned, and then nodded Misty's head shamefully.
"I don't know…" Misty sulked. She knew that technically, that was still her body. But it wasn't her in it. So was that really cheating? It couldn't be. Not when Ash didn't know it was Dawn in her body. And Misty certainly wouldn't hold it against Ash. Not when it was her decision.
"Misty?"
The gym leader in the coordinator's body looked up, her blue contact covered eyes staring deeply into her own face. She gazed down a little and noticed Dawn cradling her stomach lovingly…and motherly. A pang of sadness hit Misty. Setting her eyes back up, Misty sighed inwardly and nodded slowly.
"It's alright," she commented quietly. "I understand."
"Thank you," Dawn replied just as silently. She didn't even seem thrilled with the seal of approval. Misty knew the coordinator felt bad. That was another reason she couldn't be upset with the deal.
"Dawn brings up a good point," May added. "If any of the men try anything on you; hugging, kissing…more than that…I think we should just do it."
"What?" Misty shrieked. May panicked slightly and covered her own mouth, causing Misty to relax herself. "Sorry," she apologized one May removed Dawn's hand, "but…I only gave Dawn permission because I know how hard it is to resist that kind of stuff when you're pregnant. You and I have no excuse, May."
"We don't need one," May stepped into the elevator once it opened, the two other women following suit. "Just…it would be easier. We don't want to appear suspicious."
"Suspicious?" Misty arched one of May's eyebrows. "What, you never deny Drew of his physical wants?"
"No," May answered quickly. This surprised Misty. "Why, you do that to Ash?"
"All the time," Misty shrugged.
"That's terrible," May chuckled.
"I have to keep him in line somehow," Misty bent May's lips into a smile.
The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and the three friends stepped out and walked over to their perspective doors. Giving each other one last, knowing glance, they ran the key through the module and opened their doors, stepping inside each room with a sense of uncertainty and nervousness.
XXX
Dawn walked cautiously into the room that belonged to Ash and Misty. Of course, she appeared to be Misty, so she didn't have to act so careful. She just had to keep her mouth shut was all.
Moving further into the room, she found Ash sitting on the couch watching television with his and Misty's two young children. Michelle was on his lap, resting against his chest as he ran his fingers through her soft ginger hair. Aiden was cuddled up to his father's side, hardly blinking as his eyes stayed glued to the screen. Ash was keeping the boy pressed to his side with his other free hand. Pikachu, the fourth member of this lazy party, was sitting top Ash's head, his beady black eyes also set on the TV.
Dawn cleared her throat to get their attention. She figured doing that wouldn't give away her voice. The four inhabitants of the couch looked towards her, a smile breaking out on all of their faces. This only increased Dawn's guilt as she inwardly grimaced.
"Mommy!" Aiden and Michelle cheered as they jumped away from Ash and bounded towards her. Dawn hedged slightly. She wasn't entirely sure of the limits of Misty's body in this state. But taking note of the warning glance Ash was sending her way, she had a feeling it wasn't too much.
Smiling softly, "Misty" waved at the two young children and blew each of them a kiss.
"Wow Mist, I'm surprised you were able to restrain yourself," Ash chuckled as he got up from the couch and moved towards her. "You usually just pick them up without a care in the world and I have to scold you. Why did you decide to behave today, hmm?"
"Misty" smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
"How come you aren't talking?" Ash frowned, suddenly sounding quite concerned.
"Misty" opened her mouth but no sound came out. She wasn't quite sure how to explain that she had lost her voice without…well, talking. In a snap decision, she motioned towards her throat, running her fingers up and down as she put a slightly pained expression on her face.
"Your throat hurts?" Ash asked.
"Misty" made a wavering motion with her hand. Locating a nearby note pad and pen, she grabbed onto them and wrote on the paper: I lost my voice.
"How?" A small smile was forming on Ash's face.
Too much fun with the girls, "Misty" added to the pad, smiling after she did so.
"You're so silly," Ash teased, rubbing "Misty's" cheek. When he was sure the children weren't paying attention, he leaned in and kissed her squarely on the lips, locking his hands around her waist. "Misty" didn't want to kiss him back at first, but the need to was becoming far too overwhelming. She eventually found it in herself to kiss Ash back, albeit lightly and not quite as passionately as he was expecting.
Ash pulled away and blinked at her, his brown eyes looking slightly hurt. "What's wrong sweetheart? You didn't seem too into that."
"Misty" shrugged slightly before coming up with a better excuse. She motioned towards the twins, who were busy chasing Pikachu in and out of bathroom and closets.
"Oh, you're afraid of the kids seeing," Ash murmured to himself. "Misty" beamed and nodded. "That's not a problem," Ash kissed her temple, "I'll make sure they don't see a thing."
"Misty" raised a curious eyebrow. She watched as Ash approached the children, easily gathering the two into his arms where they laughed and squirmed like wild bug Pokémon.
"How would you two like to go see your Aunt Dawn, huh?" Ash asked. "I bet she'll tell you all about the wedding! Secrets!"
"Misty" folded her arms and shot Ash a nasty glare, which he didn't notice at all. Oh, so when he wants to get it on with Misty, I'm with one who gets stuck with the kids, Dawn thought incredulously to herself. I wonder how it's going with the other girls…
Good question, Dawn. We'll find out next chapter!
I had to cut this one in half, you see. It was getting waaay too long. So this will carry on into next chapter. It wasn't too confusing, was it? Especially when I had to describe Dawn being in Misty's body in front of Ash? I struggled a little bit with how to write those scenes. Please let me know what you guys think, because I really don't want to confuse anyone.
So, will the girls be switched in time for the wedding? Does Misty miss having her baby? Find out next time!