Authors Notes: I...I got nothing, new chapter. Just enjoy (or don't).
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At Cerulean City Docks, Misty and Azurill took a seat on a bench. She'd originally planned to take the package to the Post Office, and after the inefficient experience that was getting a package into the system, make her way to the docks slowly. As it was, she had a lot of time. Some time to think was welcome right now.
She'd curse Tracey, but it'd be better to curse Daisy, she didn't believe for a second he just happened to notice her package, anymore than he just happened to be visiting today. Her sisters were well-versed in getting males to do what they wanted. She made a mental note to contact the PIA at some point to look in on the Gym now and then; her sisters were going to rope some guy into doing the gym battling sooner or later. If he was any good she'd consider letting him run the Gym while she was away.
She leaned back on the bench. Would Ash have gotten it by now? Would Tracy have gotten the package, doing a passable job of hiding why send it instead of coming herself? One of the primary reasons Misty wanted her package to reach him after she was already gone was his reaction. Ash was Ash, he'd have to do something if he felt he'd wronged her. Hopefully, he'd actually read the letter, and let her go without a fuss, but this was Ash Ketchum...
She just hoped he wouldn't do something unbelievably stupid.
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Pikachu picked up his jaw. Now he wasn't one to disrespect Ash, but even he wondered at times if Ash had taken serious brain damage at some point in his life. There was stupid, there was very stupid, then there was Ash. Despite his thoughts, he took his place on Ash's shoulder. They stood just beyond their home in Pallet Town, they hadn't gotten far, but Ash's idea was soon to change that.
"Chu pika?" You sure?
"Yeah, I'm sure. Do it."
Pikachu's body sparked, his brief aura wrapping around Ash-flash.
One second, they were in front of the house. The next, they were halfway down the street. "Chu ka? You good?
Ash blinked, several times, then nodded.
"To Cerulean."
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"Here you go, Azurill."
Misty placed a rice ball in front of Azurill, and it quickly lost half its mass to the pocket dimension that was Azurill's stomach. She took a bite out of her own, watching the ocean in the distance. It wasn't uncommon for a snack break to be held while still doing work, such moments were not as common as they ought to have been.
With no Gym to run, she could just take it easy for a while
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Flash.
Ash groaned, loudly. He shook his head.
"Chu pika?" Your okay?
"I've survived worse." He took a breath. "Onward!"
Flash.
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Misty remembered the first time she left Ash. It had been one of the most depressing days of her life, until Ash had made it clear he'd miss her.
Then came not even a week later, when she heard about May. Somewhere, in her twelve year old mind, she'd concluded Ash was just moving on to somebody else, in her twelve year old, immature mind. In his own way, Ash told her she'd never been replaced. Besides, there was nothing for him to move on from. He'd never loved-…
She sighed.
Such a shame.
He'd got real handsome too.
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Flash
Ash had lost count of how many times they'd done that so far. Pikachu leapt off his shoulder. "What the hell?"
"Chu pika ka pika." We're taking a break. "Chu pika pi." You need it.
..."Five minutes."
Ash approached a tree, slumping against it, and sliding to the ground. He glanced at his shaking left hand. Pikachu wasn't kidding, he did need a break. He closed his eyes.
How had he missed it? With all the times everyone else has said they "looked like a couple", surely at some point he should have considered it. Geez, was he the only one who didn't see it? It should have been obvious the day after she left.
He'd thought about her every day since. Even in Unova, even at the Edge, no matter how far he buried his thoughts, she'd always be there, a phantom in his mind. At times, he'd woken up from rather...vivid dreams involving her. Brock had once sat him down for a talk about "The Pidgeot and the Beedrill". He was still healing from the mental scarring, but now he could put two and two together. His mind turned back to the Coronation, with Misty's hair down in that dress. That was an image that was going to be in his dreams for a while. Misty was hot. Okay, she'd probably beat his skull for that one. Wait, weren't girls supposed to like compliments? Then again, typical rules only occasionally applied to Misty. He sighed.
"How did I never realize it, Pikachu? We-we could've been happy."
"Pika chu pka chu. Pika kachu chu pika chu? " Then she had to go. What would've you done then? "Pika chu pikachu?" Would you've stopped?
Benefit of hindsight. Now Ash had a grasp on the term. Now, his answer would be "yes". Back then, a headstrong, single-minded kid, bent on being the best? What would that boy have chosen? He raised his hand, running it down his face. "No win scenario." He blinked, then twice more. "Wait..." The gears of his brain, like the muscles in his neck, were moving. "You knew, didn't you? You always knew? That we both..."
Pikachu nodded.
Ash leaned forward, glaring, his eye twitching. "You knew all this time, and you never told me!?" His glared darkened. "When we get to Misty, I'm borrowing her mallet."
Pikachu gulped. "Pika chu pikachu ka pika?" Maybe we should keep moving?
"Oh crap!" He shot to his feet. "What're we waiting for?!"
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The ocean before her provided quite a sight. Being a Gym Leader didn't really give one many travel opportunities. Now she could see the world again, what kind of wonders would she see...
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Among Pokémon researchers in Kanto, one topic of fascination at the present moment was the breeding cycle of the Bellsprout evolutionary line. Wild individuals of this linage had an usual mating ritual, which had to be performed before copulation began. This ritual was thought to go on for quite some time, but accurate documentation was a difficult thing to attain, as it was never performed predictably, either in time or location.
Flash
From where Ash had appeared, all he'd need have done is turned to see the crowd of plant Pokemon, where the ritual was just beginning. From here, hours would pass in dance and what could be interpreted as song.
Flash.
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Misty couldn't help but smile to herself. She'd find something out there, something of herself, though she knew full well a big part of herself was something she was leaving behind. Letting such a long-held dream go wasn't exactly going to be fun.
She'd watched him go too many times, and she'd let herself give up too much to him over the years. Now she had to think practically, she'd sat around sad over a loss when she should have been focusing on herself, and her happiness. Travelling had helped her friends in its own way, now it was her turn to gain something from it. She'd not come back until she didn't long for him. She'd not face him until that day, it wouldn't do him justice. It wouldn't be fair to that knuckle-headed, headstrong, kind, loveable-
She sighed, but was smiling as she did so. "Got my work cut out for me." She'd face him again, one day, strong enough to be content in her life without his love, but ceasing to love him...
"One thing at a time." She smiled. "Take care, Ash."
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Flash
"Alright, let's keep moving, we got a load of gr-shit!"
"Pikapi!"
Ash's foot collided with something, and he went tumbling down a hill, swearing half the way, emitting angry gibberish the other. Somewhere on his way to the bottom of the hill, he unknowing succeeded in doing what Lola had been attempting only weeks before. Regrettably, the one time the cameras should have been around, they were nowhere to be seen, so this masterpiece of vulgarity would be lost to time.
It would save Delia the trouble of grounding him further.
Ash pulled his face from the dirt, growling, the day he was having, he wished there was somebody he could blame it on, if only to have someone to have Pikachu Volt Tackle. He forced himself on to back, looking to the cloudy sky. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Pikapi?"
"Pikachu." Ash opened his eyes. "This job, this title I got now. It's not always easy. When you got to stand before the whole world, I guess it gets hard sometimes. I know I'm gonna let people down now and then, but I'm gonna make it right, I'm always gonna make it right. Quentin's daughter doesn't speak to him anymore. His own family came apart, because of the title." His face contorted into his determined gaze. ""I'm not doing that, Pikachu. If It comes down to choose between the title and them, I'm quitting. The world can replace me as Grandmaster, I can't replace them! I'll take a dive if I have to, but I'm not doing that!" He turned his head, meeting Pikachu's gaze. "Are you with me on this?"
Pikachu nodded.
Ash smiled. "Let's keep going."
Ash got to his feet, and the pair rushed to a nearby cave.
"Can barely see a thing. Pikachu, Flash."
Pikachu's cheeks ignited, becoming a light-bulb on Ash's shoulder. He smiled, the signpost before him had an arrow pointing ahead...Cerulean City.
"Let's get moving."
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Maybe she was crazy.
If she'd honestly thought they'd ever be together, maybe she was crazy. It just felt like, sometimes, there was something there. Yeah, crazy. In hindsight, the signs were obvious.
She'd used to watch him sleep.
Sometimes, when she woke up before anyone else, she'd turn to look at him, and just watch him. He talked in his sleep sometimes, he was almost always dreaming of battling (one track mind), but he'd say random things sometimes, leaving her to piece together dreams with very little clues. He was cute when he slept. She'd watch him until he started shifting. She'd look away, make it look like she was doing something else, anything else, as long as it didn't raise questions.
She wondered if Ash might have been doing the same thing, she sometimes woke to see him facing her, with his eyes closed when she woke up. She never was fully sure. She guessed she was mistaken. She remembered one morning, one morning that really stuck in her mind. It was a special memory, even if nothing special had really happened. She'd opened her eyes, waking up to find Ash had done so at the same time. They'd both just laid there for a moment, gazed crossed, not daring to disturb the silence.
Eventually, they'd smiled. "'morning."
It felt like there were moments where there was something there. Special moments that seemed to be just theirs. It seemed like there were moments where Ash gave away feelings he most likely didn't understand. How had she so utterly misread him?
Then came that speech, and when he'd spoken to her. She'd misread him again, and for one second she'd dared to hope that Ash had feelings for her, and had realized it, but, given the circumstances, didn't want to share them. She figured if she nudged the door a little, dropped him a hint, one kiss to put the idea in his head that he had nothing to fear…she shook her head.
Funny, it was as if, sometimes, the in love and insane thought and acted completely the same.
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A Graveler fell to the ground, a Machoke pumping his fists in the air as around him, a hoard of Gravelers looked on with impotent rage. This was Machoke's turf now, and nobody was going to take it from him. He looked around, finding-light?
A bright light was headed towards him, on the shoulder of-another challenger. A human! Machoke thumped his chest, but the human didn't seem to notice or care as he charged forward. Machoke rushed forward, he'd teach this human to walk into his-"Get the hell out of my way!"
Machoke hit the ground, a fist-sized dent in his face. it would be hours until he woke up, with a new, healthy fear of crazy humans.
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She wondered when she'd actually see Ash next. She'd told him she needed some time, but even she didn't have a set period in mind. It was odd to find herself to be the one leaving.
Very soon, she'd be far away from him.
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Flash.
"Almost there!"
They'd reached Cerulean City, now did they try the Gym, or the docks? If he went to the Gym, she might have already left, taking time they could be using at the docks. If they went to the docks and she hadn't yet left-"Let's go!"
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The boat to Sinnoh was making its final passenger call.
Misty picked up Azurill, and walked from the bench.
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Flash
"Fuck, my legs! I can barely feel my legs!" Ash nearly fell on the railings in an effort to support himself. Finding he wasn't about to hit the ground, he cast his gaze across the docks.
Misty had mentioned the docks a few times, but her words had always lead him to believe it was a small port, maybe a few ships coming and going on a given day.
In a given hour seems a more accurate scope of time. Across the docks, at least half a dozen ships were stationary, passengers and cargo getting aboard or being unloaded. Half a dozen more were approaching, or departing the docks...
"Shit."