In My Heart
By: TheFifthCharmedOne
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon that belongs to Satoshi Tajiri, Game Freak, Nintendo, and TV Tokyo/Shogakukan Production Co. Ltd. I only own the idea and the plot. If any music shows up along the way, I don't own that either.
Charmed Says: New writing style!...Okay, not that new, but I decided that I'm only going to have the summary up in the actual story during the first two chapters, because now it's getting replaced by a beginning author's note! Sweet! Anyway, this is going to be a long chapter, I'm trying to get past 5,000 words before posting it. It's going to have a bunch of drama, and some slight Contestshipping fluff. Hey, I did say this was PokéShipping and ContestShipping! I did warn you! **cue evil laugh, only to start coughing violently**
**gets over coughing fit** Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Felt Your Heart Was Breaking
Tell me, have you ever loved and lost somebody
Wished there was a chance to say I'm sorry
Can't you see, that's the way I feel about you and me, Baby
Have you ever felt your heart was breaking
Lookin down the road you should be taking
I should know, cos I loved and lost the day I let you go
Have You Ever- S Club 7
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
I made my way toward the docks in Vermillion City, carrying Azurill in my arms. I held my head down, to avoid being seen or recognized. The next boat to the Hoenn region was leaving in about two hours.
Turning around and looking back the way I had come, I sighed and swallowed hard. It felt like my heart was breaking, slowly and painfully. I never thought leaving home would be so hard; since I'd done it a few times before.
But never under these circumstances.
I looked down at Azurill, who looked back at her me with curiosity and worry in her eyes.
"We're going to a new place Azurill, a beautiful new region that I think you're going to love." I told her kindly.
"Azu…" she said unsurely.
I smiled sadly and walked closer to the docks, and further from home.
"Misty, is that you?" I heard my name being called, and I looked up. There was May, looking as bright and as happy as ever. She was holding a rose, with a huge smile on her face. I had no doubt the rose was from Drew, and seeing her happy made me forget about my problems (and the baby growing inside of me) for a few minutes.
"Hi May!" I said, smiling as I greeted my friend. "What're you doing in Kanto? I thought you were still in Johto for the Festival."
"The Festival ended two days ago, Soledad won, again. I got to the top two though, so I'm happy with that."
"That's great May!" I said as enthusiastically as I could. "…But you didn't answer my question." May smiled, embarrassed.
"Oh, right. I'm going back home, to Petalburg. I want to visit my parents, and Max if he's home. The boat stopped in Kanto to refuel and get anything else it needed. The passengers were told to get out and stretch their legs because the boat would also be picking up new people to go to Hoenn. So I decided to come out and let my Pokémon get some air. Speaking of which,"
She opened the orange fanny pack that was clipped to her waist and took out six Pokéballs.
"Delcatty, Beautifly, Blaziken, Wartortle, Munchlax, Venasaur, come on out and get some fresh air!"
They appeared one by one, Delcatty flipped around before landing on its feet. Beautifly fluttered around and landed on May's head. Wartortle stood proudly with its arms crossed cockily. Munchlax was sniffing around for food as soon as it materialized, which made May a little embarrassed, yet again. Venasaur acted a lot like Wartortle, but it was harder to tell because of how big it was. "Okay guys, we have some time before we get back on the boat to go home, so I want you to relax and enjoy yourselves while we wait!"
The Pokémon seemed happy about this, and they went off to do their own thing. Meanwhile, me and May sat on a bench to catch up and finish the conversation that had been interrupted by a challenger a few days ago.
"So, has anything happened between you and our old friend Ash?" May said with a playful smirk. I bit my lip. Should I tell her? Could I tell her?
"Actually May, something did happen. Something really…well…" I bit my lip again. May looked at me kindly.
"You can tell me later." she chirped. "Want something to eat?"
I then realized just how hungry I was, and nodded eagerly. She smiled and returned all of her Pokémon. We went to a local burger place, and burgers made me think of Ash.
The smell of the grease and the ketchup and mustard and pickles and other things made me woozy and nauseated at the same time.
"May...I'm going to go sit outside, okay? C-Can you just get me a burger, and something to drink?" My vision was getting foggy.
"Sure Misty, but…are you okay?"
"Fine…just tired and…hungry." I said. I didn't mention dizzy and close to puking because that would worry her. I stumbled out of the burger shop and took a deep breath of air.
My pregnancy hadn't been bothering me for a while, and I guessed the baby decided that was a good a time as any. I just wish it had waited until May wasn't around. Now I'm going to have to face her, whether I want to or not.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
May brought me a burger and a soda, but I only took small bites and sips. We boarded the boat a half hour before it was going to leave. I showed the captain my ticket and he tipped his hat merrily. I went to my cabin and unpacked my bag, making the room feel a little more like home for the four day trip from Kanto to Hoenn. I let my small Pokémon out of the Pokeballs, though bigger ones, like Gyrados, had to stay in their confinement.
"Okay Misty, talk to me. What's going on with you?" May stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest angrily.
"May, don't be angry with me," I sighed. "I don't feel like fighting right now."
May's expression softened from the undoubtedly defeated look in my eye.
"What's wrong Misty?" she asked softly. She closed the door to my cabin and sat on my bed.
I took a shaky breath and sat down next to her. Azurill jumped into my arms.
"When you asked if something happened between me and Ash…well…something did happen. Something that got me…" I bit my lip and muttered the word under my breath.
"What?" May asked.
"Pregnant. I'm pregnant May. With Ash's baby." She gasped and put her hand over her mouth.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure!" I snapped. May flinched. "Sorry. It's just…I'm so scared, and confused May. I don't know what to do."
I held my face in my hands and felt the tears in my eyes.
"It'll be okay Misty, I promise." she said, hugging me. Azurill and my other Pokémon crowded around to try and help May comfort me.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The next morning, I asked the captain if I could let my Water Pokémon out for a swim while we journeyed across the water.
"Of course you can little lady, just make sure they stay close to the boat. Weather around here is unpredictable, and a thunderstorm could pop up at any moment."
"Thanks, I'll be sure to watch out for them!" I went out to the deck and took out all my Pokéballs. "Gyrados, Azurill, Politoed, Corsola, Staryu, Goldeen, and Dewgong, come on out!"
May walked over and joined me.
"Whatcha doin Misty?" she asked. I noticed she was looking at my stomach. I felt a little self conscious and I answered her question to get her to look at me.
"Letting my Pokémon out for a swim," I replied coolly, and she paled because she knew I knew she had been looking at my stomach. "It's not like a monster's going to pop out," I said grumpily.
"Sorry." she said. Then she smiled. "But that's a really good idea! Hey, Wartortle, come on out!" She threw out Wartortle's Pokéball and he joined my Pokémon. Still keeping watch with my peripheral vision, I leaned against the boat's rails. I always felt better by the water; it was my element after all. "Misty…I have a question for you."
"Hm?"
"Well, two actually." she said, blushing a bit. "What's it like? You know, what you and Ash did?"
My eyes widened.
"Uh, well, it…depends in the guy really. It just so happened that I made the first move on him, and…" I looked at my stomach. I didn't want her to think what we did was bad; but I just wanted her to be careful. "Look where it got me. What was your other question?"
"Oh…um…this is going to be awkward-"
"As if the last question wasn't?" I muttered. She looked at me, and I shut up.
"Well…what are you going to do about…you know…the baby?"
I sighed.
"I've been thinking about it, a lot actually. I'm not going to tell Ash, at least not any time soon."
"But why wouldn't you? He's the father, isn't he?"
"Yes, but I can't do that to him. I've already messed up my life enough by making this decision; I could never do that to Ash. His dreams are too important to him."
"But…what about your dreams?"
I took a deep breath and looked at the clear blue sky.
"I've already had to give up my dreams, because I became the Gym Leader and all, but telling Ash that that one night led to this…no, I couldn't."
May smiled.
"I understand and I really admire that about you Misty. You always think of other people before yourself."
"That's something you should learn how to do May," said a snide voice. We both turned and saw...
"Take that back Drew!" May got right in his face.
I giggled and pulled May away before she got too angry.
"Hi, I'm Misty Waterflower, Cerulean Gym Leader and Water Pokémon trainer."
"The name's Drew Hayden, I'm a coordinator. You're a Gym Leader?"
"Yeah, and all of those Pokémon, except that Wartortle, are mine."
He seemed impressed.
I smiled proudly, and then I heard a clap of thunder.
"Corsola, Cor!" Corsola jumped onto the rails and I looked out.
"Oh no!" Dewgong and Goldeen were getting caught in a whirlpool!
"Dew gong gong gong!" Dewgong cried out.
"Golllll deeen!" They both tried to swim away, but the currents were way too strong for them.
"Goldeen, Dewgong, return!" I tried to get them back in their Pokeballs, but it was too far for the Pokeball to reach.
"Does anybody have any Flying types?" I asked frantically. May shook her head.
"All I have is Beautifly, and she can't carry those two by herself!"
Another clap of thunder shook the waves.
"Oh little lady, I suggest you return those Pokémon before they get hurt!" advised the captain.
"All right, everybody return!" Everyone but Goldeen and Dewgong went back to their Pokeballs.
"Are those Goldeen and Dewgong yours too?" said the captain.
"Yes, and I can't return them, they're too far away!"
"Well you had better thing of something quick, this is a storm is getting worse!" said the captain, and he went back to the cockpit to try and steer clear of the menacing waves.
"Wait, I have an idea!" said May. "Drew, do you think Flygon or Masquerain could do it?"
Drew's eyes lit up.
"Flygon could!" He took out a Pokeball and threw it up. "Flygon, come on and help us out!"
Flygon cawed. "Flygon, I need you to fly out to the whirlpool and try to get that Goldeen and Dewgong back!" It cawed again and flew out into the winds and thunder. It was a skillful flyer, I noticed as it did what Drew asked it too. Dewgong, with some difficulty, jumped up and landed on its back, and Flygon carried Goldeen low enough along the ocean that it still got wet. Flygon brought them back, and I hugged them close.
"Goldeen, Dewgong, I'm sorry. I let you out of my sight for a second, and I almost lost you!"
"Gol, Goldeen,"
"Dew gong gong gong."
"Well after that you two need a good rest. Return."
They went back into their Pokeballs. I turned to Drew, who was congratulating Flygon. "Thank you Drew, you saved my Pokémon."
"Don't thank me, thank Flygon." he said. Flygon cawed. Another crash of thunder and waves started buffeting the ship left and right.
"Everybody inside, this storm's getting nasty quick!" called the captain.
"Flygon, return." Drew returned his Pokémon and we all went below deck.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"So if you're from Kanto, then why are you going to Hoenn?" Drew asked me as we sat in a longue below the deck of the ship. We could hear the storm raging outside. Azurill shook from fear in my arms.
"Why is that any of your business?" May asked defensively.
"I'm just curious," Drew shrugged. May went to respond, but I stopped her.
"It's all right May," I said. "I wanted a change of pace. I used to travel a lot, but I had to stop because my sisters, the other Gym Leaders, wanted me home so they could go on a cruise around the world." I had come up with this excuse while I was walking from Cerulean to Vermillion.
"Oh, does being a Gym Leader get boring?" He flipped his hair.
"Don't even get me started…" I said.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
When the trip was finally over and we reached the Hoenn region, I couldn't help but smile. May was challenging Drew to a battle.
So typical.
"Fine May, if you really want a battle that badly," Drew smirked. "Roserade, come on out!"
"Whoa, a Roserade," I said to myself.
"Roserade, the Bouquet Pokémon. Roserade is the evolved form of Roselia. It lures enemies with its sweet aroma, and attacks with dancer-like elegance." said my Pokédex. (The last time I went to see Professor Oak; he gave it to me because he thought it would help in my Gym Battles. At first I thought having an advantage like that was against the rules of Gym Battles, but Professor Oak assured me otherwise.)
Drew smiled.
May smiled back.
"Let's go, Blaziken!" Drew's eyes widened. He probably hadn't considered May's Fire type. I raised the Pokédex to scan it.
"Blaziken, the Blaze Pokémon and the evolved form of Combusken. Flames surround its wrists, making its punches extremely damaging and dangerous." the Pokédex reported.
"Roserade, use Magical Leaf!"
"Dodge it Blaziken!"
Magical Leaf is an attack that can't be dodged; I know that from my Gym battles. "Blaziken, use Flamethrower!"
Roserade felt that.
As the battle progressed, I saw how amazing both of them were, as coordinators and trainers. Both the Pokémon were getting worn out, but kept battling for the sake of their trainers, and for their own pride.
"Roserade, Solar Beam!" Roserade raised its arms and collected solar energy in its rose shaped hands.
"Blaziken, Overheat!"
Those are those two types' strongest attacks! There is no way this will end in a decisive victory.
Blaziken's entire body turned red and shone in the late afternoon sun. It raised its head and shot a swirling beam of fire right at Roserade. Roserade's hands lit up at the same time the fire beam was shot, and the Solar Beam and Overheat collided, knocking all of us back, even me, May and Drew. My head hit the rock I had been standing by, and my vision turned foggy. I tried to stay awake, and I saw the smoke clear to reveal that both Roserade and Blaziken had been knocked out.
"Oh no Misty!" May cried out.
That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
When I woke up later, I saw I was in a hospital bed. It was early evening, I noticed by the beginnings of a Hoenn sunset. I put my hand over my stomach and looked at the machines I was hooked up too. A heart monitor and an IV.
The door opened and a woman with a lab coat and a stethoscope walked in with a Happiny in her arms.
"Oh, you're awake!" she said. "My name's Dr. Francesca Walker."
"H-Hi Dr. Walker, I'm Misty Waterflower. D-Do you mind telling me where I am, and why I'm here?"
"Oh, I think you're friends can explain that better than I can. "Ms. Maple? Mr. Hayden?"
May and Drew appeared, May holding Azurill in her arms.
"Azuri!" Azurill cried happily. She jumped from May's arms and over to me.
"Hi Azurill," I said, petting her head. I looked up at my friends. "May, Drew, what happened?"
"Well, me and Drew were having a battle, and at the very end when Roserade and Blaziken were using their most powerful attacks, we all got thrown back. You landed against a huge rock, and hurt your head. We brought you here on Flygon's back."
I smiled at them.
"Thank you, you really saved me." I said. Then Dr. Walker turned to them.
"Did you really think I'd let anything happen to you?" May smirked. "Ash would never forgive me."
I smiled sadly.
"Yeah..."
"May, Drew, do you think you could leave Misty alone for a while? I want to have a private conversation with her." said Dr. Walker.
"Uh...Sure. Come on Azurill." said May, uneasily.
"Azuri?" said Azurill. I smiled encouragingly.
"Go ahead Azurill, I'll be fine." I said. Azurill jumped off the bed and followed May and Drew out. Dr. Walker closed the door.
"Misty, I'm going to ask you some personal questions, and I want to make sure you know that whatever we talk about will never leave this room, unless you want to tell someone, all right?"
"Doctor-patient confidentiality." I said. "Thank you."
"Not a problem. Now, first things first. Misty, did you know that you're pregnant?"
I didn't meet her eyes, but I nodded. "How far along are you?"
"I'm not sure, maybe a month and a ½, or two months." I said. It had been almost eight weeks since I saw Ash, so I was probably two months along at least.
"Do you know the father?"
"Yes, but I-I don't really want to talk about him." Tears stung behind my eyes, and I looked out the window. I saw Ash's smiling face in the moon, Pikachu on his shoulder holding up a tiny V for victory. I swallowed thickly.
"That's quite all right." said Dr. Walker. "Have you told anyone?"
"Only May." I said, biting my lip.
"Do you have any other family?"
"Yes, I have three sisters. I'm the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym in the Kanto region. But…I ran away, so…I guess I'm not the Gym Leader anymore." One tear slid down my cheek, followed by a few more. I wiped them away with the back of my hand.
"Do they know about this?"
"No. I ran away because I couldn't face them."
"What about the father? Does he know that you're pregnant?"
My throat felt tight.
"No. He doesn't know either. Only May, me, and my Pokémon."
Dr. Walker nodded understandingly.
"I can understand why you would want to keep this a secret. According to your records, you're only sixteen. You must be scared."
"More like terrified." I said honestly. "H-How am I supposed to do this? I'm not ready to be a mom!"
Dr. Walker smiled kindly.
"So you plan to keep the baby?"
"Y-Yes, I could never bring myself to kill an innocent baby before it even had a chance to live. I could never live with myself. And…I'm not sure I could ever give it up to someone else to raise. Even I'm not that brave."
"That's very admirable Misty. Many teenage girls go straight to abortion without even thinking about it. You seem to have put some thought into it. For that, I congratulate you."
"Really?" I asked, amazed.
"Of course." said Dr. Walker. "Do you know where you're headed after you leave here?"
"I think I'm going to go with my friend May to her hometown, Petalburg City."
"That's quite a walk. Make sure to take plenty of breaks and always keep yourself hydrated and fed. After all, you're feeding more than one now."
"I will. Does that mean I can leave?"
"I think you should stay overnight for observation. I'll let your friends know, and they can make arrangements at the Pokémon Center."
"Thank you so much Dr. Walker. You have no idea how much it means to me to have a listening and understanding ear."
"Believe me Misty, I think I know exactly how much it means to you." she walked out of the room, still holding Happiny.
I smiled to myself and laid my head back on the pillow, leaning toward my side to avoid hurting the huge bruise even more. Oh, have I mentioned my head is killing me?
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The next morning, we set off. We being May, Drew, and I. May was initially against Drew coming along with us, but I convinced her otherwise. He didn't seem as bad and May described him to be, and he had been a great help ever since we met and he saved my Dewgong and Goldeen.
We had to walk through a couple of small forests, and I tried not to think about the Bug Pokémon that may be crawling around. Beautifly was the only Bug I could really stand, because it was pretty. Other bugs were just plain gross. I let Staryu and Golduck out for protection. (Psyduck evolved and changed a lot. It learned how to swim and its attacks didn't just work when it got a bad headache)
"Misty, why did you let your Pokémon out?" Drew asked.
"Too protect me from the bugs." I answered simply. Drew looked at me oddly.
"Misty hates bugs," May informed him. He nodded in understanding.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
When we got out of the forest, I returned Staryu and Golduck. I'm happy to say that we only had to use them in the case of a wild Ariados. Drew wanted to catch it, but he didn't because it was shooed away by Golduck.
We reached the cliff over a small version of Petalburg that May said was called North Petalburg. We had gotten there pretty fast, considering we had been at a beach before.
"Actually, we should try and avoid North Petalburg." said May.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because it's a town that's obsessed with my father and whenever Max or I show up we practically get trampled because we're Norman Maple's kids."
"Norman Maple?" I said. "He's a Normal type Gym Leader isn't he?"
"Yeah, Max is following in his footsteps already. He works as the Gym Leader part time when Dad has to go away for things. He doesn't give out badges yet, because he's not the official Gym Leader, but he accepts challenges. Dad never leaves home for long, so he can usually come back in time to take over. Oh, and another reason we should avoid North Petalburg," she turned to me. "A lot of trainers have Bug types."
My eyes widened.
"Then we are definitely avoiding it." I said.
Drew scoffed.
"Care to explain how we do that May? We have to cross through it get in and out of Petalburg."
"That's the usual story, but I grew up in Petalburg, and I know all the secret ways around it." May replied, smirking.
A pang of pain shot through my head, right around where I hurt it. I winced and sat down.
"Misty, are you okay?" said May, worried.
"Azu?" Azurill said.
"I'm fine, but do you guys think we could take a rest here? It's getting late after all."
Drew and May looked at each other.
"Yeah, it's probably better to rest before crossing where we have to go to get home." said May.
"Where do we have to go anyway?" I asked, taking out an apple from my backpack and taking a bite.
May turned and pointed.
"I figured this one out not long after I stopped traveling with Ash and Brock. See how this cliff hangs over North Petalburg? Well if we go back far enough, there's a dirt path that leads directly around the small city to the cliff above regular Petalburg. It's pretty simple, but it takes a lot of crouching and crawling."
"Okay," I said.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
The next morning, it had officially been two weeks since I left home. I wonder if my sisters got my letter. If they had, they were probably trying to reach me, but I hadn't turned my PokéGear on for a long time. They had no idea where I was, and they couldn't call all the Hoenn Nurse Joys, there's just too many.
Maybe I should give them a call, let them know I'm okay…I mean they do drive me crazy and get under my skin way too much, but they're still my sisters, and I would lose it if something happened to them.
…But I can't call them. What would I tell them? That your baby sister ran away because she spent one amazing night with the only guy she's ever loved and ended up pregnant? That would not go over well, I know that for sure. I sighed and picked up Azurill, only to find Drew and May bickering.
"My Blaziken is way better than your Roserade!" May was yelling.
"You just keep telling yourself that. We both know that if Misty hadn't gotten hurt, my Roserade would have won in yesterday's battle." Drew replied, flicking his hair. Oh no, this is not going to end well.
May clenched her teeth and I'm sure she practically saw red, she was so upset.
"No way! Roserade's a Grass type, and they're weak against Fire types!"
"Very good May, you have basic Pokémon intelligence."
"Why you…!"
"Azurill, use Water Gun," I whispered. Azurill shot water from her mouth, thoroughly soaking the two coordinators. I couldn't help but laugh and reminisce of the times when Ash's Pikachu had to break up our daily squabbles.
"Misty! What was that for?" they said together.
"What? I didn't do anything." I said. "Azurill did."
"Yeah, because you told it too!"
"So?" I said. "We're never going to get anywhere if you two can't manage to get along!"
Wow, I'm the peacemaker. Usually that's Brock's job. Weird.
May crossed her arms over her chest with her signature pout.
"I thought you were on my side." she said.
"I'm not on anybody's side," I sighed. "Look, can we try and get to Petalburg before nightfall?"
"Fine."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
The passage over North Petalburg was a bit tight, but we managed to get through mostly unscathed.
We reached Petalburg just in time to see the sunset. Hoenn sunsets were really pretty, they had all different colors and shades of those same colors.
We got to May's house fairly quickly, May dropped her Pokémon off at her dad's Gym, and we went to greet the family.
Before I followed May and Drew into the house, I looked at the last tinges of the sun.
"I love you," I whispered, and my words were carried off by the wind. "I hope you know that this is all for you."
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A/N: All right, I didn't make 5,000 but I got pretty close, so I'm fine with where I am. Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter!
~Charmed
P.S. Word Count: 4,669
Well, I almost made it.