Hey Everybody! I'm sorry for the delay of this chapter, but if it makes you feel any better, I wasn't just goofing off. I actually just moved into my college dorm room Sunday and got internet, so I didn't really have much capability before now. Anyway, I can't give anything away, but I will say that this chapter's definitely the start of a new sub-plot for the story as we continue to progress with Ash's journey to become a Master.
Again, I'm sorry to anyone who hasn't yet received a review reply from me. Like I said, it's been really hectic lately saying goodbye to family and moving in and whatnot, but I'm doing my best to write back everyone with the amount of time I have. Please, even if you haven't heard from me yet, give me your thoughts on this chapter as I work to catch up and reply to everyone's feedback. Thank you guys so much!
Anyway, please go ahead and read and REVIEW!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.
Characters' Ages:
Ash: 17
Brock: 22
Misty: 18
Delia: 41
Oak: 56
"Hey Mist! We're back!" The champion and his Pikachu greeted the redhead in triumphant fashion as they marched through the empty Pokémon Center's doors. In his hands, Ash held two blue and red pokéballs. "Thanks for letting me use Starmie for the day! I would've ridden Gyarados, but he was still tired."
"No problem." She continued to stare at the computer screen as the young man walked to Nurse Joy's desk and handed over his two newest team members.
"So how was your day?" He walked over to her, Pikachu remaining behind as Nurse Joy gave him a quick once-over. "How did your research go?" He leaned over and gave his girlfriend a small peck on her crown as he glanced at the screen. He tried to read, but became quickly intoxicated by the sweet smell and soft feel of her hair beneath his chin.
What does she use for shampoo? Strawberries?
"It's been alright. I spent the first half of the day pulling up all of my old gym expense reports to find out how much it cost me and my sisters to keep up and running, and then I pulled up the other Kanto gym reports to see if they were basically the same." She smiled at the very feel of him so near to her. Being in a relationship was beginning to show its many rewards. She turned and beamed up at him. "Did you finish your part of the deal?"
"Of course! I'm the Sinnoh Champion! There's nothing I can't do."
"Except eat like a normal person, that is." She gave him a mischievous smirk, and he glared at her for a moment before the two broke out into a small fit of laughter.
"Anyway, yeah. I caught a Lombre and a Feebas. I battled with them for a little while so they could get to know me, and they both seem pretty strong and friendly."
"Why have you been battling with the new Pokémon so much lately? You never used to."
"That was a mistake." His mood seemed to darken suddenly. "After you yelled at me about Pikachu and all that, I started to realize that I'd been treating all of my Pokémon kinda bad. I mean, I like being friends and battling partners with my Pokémon, but I was acting like the new ones I caught were just tools that I would use until they evolved. So now I'm getting to know all of the Pokémon I catch a little before I decide if they even should evolve. It's not fair to them if I just battle with them and never build a bond."
"Well, I'm glad I was able to make you a better person."
"I wouldn't go that far. It's not like I was abusing them or anything."
"Still, without me you'd never have won your battle with Paul, and you'd probably be kicking your Pokémon for fun by now." She gave him a smug look. "I guess you're really lucky that I saved you."
"Sure, whatever."
"So are you ready to go?"
"Ready to go where?" He didn't remember scheduling another date yet. It had only been a week since their second.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "To the library, Ash. We need more than one computer so that we can both look up stuff. I told you about this before you ran out of the hotel like a five year old this morning, remember?"
"Not really…" He squinted, trying to recall the conversation. "I just remember the free breakfast was pretty good."
"Well, whether you remember it or not, you said you would, so let's go!" She logged off of her current P.C. and stood up. "Pikachu can stay here and play with the other Pokémon if he wants."
Ash folded his arms. "Why should he get to have fun if I don't?"
"Oh, c'mon Ash! You promised me you'd go, and this will be fun." Seeing that he didn't appear ready to fold, she gave him a stern glare. "Don't make me hurt you."
Though slightly disturbed, he remained adamant. "But I'm tired, Mist. I think I got a sunburn from being on the lake all day, and me and Pikachu must have battled like a million Magikarp waiting for Lombre and Feebas to come along."
"You wanna be the Pokémon Master and yet you're whining about battling Magikarp?"
"They splash at you!"
"That's almost all they can do, Ash. Now let's go!"
He let out a large sigh before hanging his head in defeat. "Fine. We can go, but just remember that you made me."
"Why would I remember that?"
"In case I die, or something."
"From a sunburn?"
"It could be more dangerous than a sunburn. Maybe it's actually a fever, and I just don't know it yet."
"Okay then. I'll take full responsibility if you die in the library."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"So why did you look up how much it cost to keep the gym going?" Ash whispered as the computer screen came to life before him. He typed in the short password given by the librarian while awaiting Misty's response.
"Because I needed to figure out how much it costs to run a regular gym. Then I looked up the other forty-nine gyms and compared their average price to mine. It was about the same."
"Why do we need to know that?"
"Because if you're gonna really talk to the PLB about why the League needs to pay for gyms' maintenance, then you need numbers. Since the Cerulean Gym spent about the average amount, I can give you good information on the problem of having gym leaders pay for their own repairs and problems."
"It sounds like you already know everything you need to know. Why're we even here?"
"Because I don't know everything yet. Since I'm from a Kanto gym, I can only access the Kanto gym archives. We need to know the same information for gyms in Sinnoh. Also, we have to know about how much the average gym leader makes a year, including benefits and healthcare, and we should learn about how you can set up a meeting with the Sinnoh Pokémon League and discuss these problems."
Ash's head felt like it was spinning at all the information the redhead needed. In his mind, he'd imagined that he would simply tell the Sinnoh League to change their rules, and they would do so with little trouble.
Misty could see the small glaze form over her boyfriend's eyes. "I know it sounds like a lot of stuff to know, but this is important to have if you're serious about helping out the gym leaders in Sinnoh."
"I just thought it would be easier for me to change everything since I'm the Champion already."
"Yeah, you're the Champion Ash, but that only makes you equal to the Sinnoh Pokémon League's President. You still can't just make rules on a whim."
"I know that. I read that the champion has to let the board vote on an idea before it becomes a new rule, but dontcha think that they'll just vote for this idea because it's good? It doesn't seem like something I would have to explain to them."
"They've already turned Cynthia down for it," Misty informed. "I was reading some of the old Pokémon newspaper articles from Sinnoh, and it talked about how she'd tried at the very beginning of her reign to make the League pay for gym expenses and maintenance, and they voted her down nine to one."
"Nine to one?" Cynthia had always seemed like a nice person, and Ash couldn't imagine how such a simple proposal from a likeable person could be rejected so vehemently.
"Yeah. According to the newspaper, the board said that it would cut too heavily into their own budget to maintain all the gyms, and that the gym leaders made enough to pay for any damages by themselves. That's why we need to know how much they earn."
"So how do I find out?"
"Well, I figure if I'm just a gym leader and have all the Kanto information, a champion must have even more." She shrugged at the simple explanation. "I'll put in the Pokémon League address." She leaned over and typed in the small URL. Instantly, the page of the website popped up. "Now do you know the login information?"
Ash embarrassedly stared down at his shoes. "Uh, no. Not really."
"Really?" She'd assumed he'd been given something after becoming Sinnoh's Champion. "Are you sure Cynthia didn't tell you about this website after you won?"
"No, she definitely didn't. All she gave me was the letter about being a Master."
Misty stopped herself from smacking her forehead. Instead, she returned to her own screen and pulled up the League's Headquarters' phone number. She punched the number into a pink cell phone and dialed.
"Yes, hello. My name's Misty Waterflower. I'm the gym leader of the Cerulean Gym."
"Yes, Ms. Waterflower," replied a cool female voice on the other side. "What can I do for you today?"
"My friend is a member of the League, but he doesn't know what his password is to login to the site, and we were wondering if you could give it to us?"
"Sure," replied the calm woman. "What is his last name?"
"Ketchum."
There was a long pause on the other side of the line. "Um, did you say Ketchum?"
"Yeah."
"And you're Misty Waterflower from Cerulean, right?"
"Yes."
"I can't believe I'm talking to you!" a voice squealed, forcing Misty to pull the small electronic device from her ear.
Misty began to resent calling on Ash's behalf. This woman was obviously one of the millions obsessed with the champion and his love life. Though they hadn't been seen together "intimately" yet, rumors were circulating that she and Ash had developed strong feelings for each other. While this alone would normally be a big deal for the tabloids, as were the romantic interests of all the champions, the matter was made even grander in the public's eye because of the kiss he shared with Dawn on international television. Everyday Misty would see new magazines questioning who Ash's true "love" was.
"So is it true that he actually got you pregnant and that's why you're travelling together?" The impassive demeanor had completely vanished from the young lady's tone. "Or is he actually in love with Dawn, and you're just trying to keep them apart because of your child?"
Her face began to flush red in humiliation. "Who said I was pregnant?"
Ash's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You're pregnant?"
"Of course not moron!"
"So then, why are you travelling with him?"
"It's none of your business," the gym leader answered sharply. "Now just give me his password!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't do that." The coolness in her voice returned. "I'm afraid that I have to see the champion's face on videoscreen before I can give away such an important detail."
"Fine," she relented, hanging up quickly. "You need to call her on the phone so she can see your face or whatever. I have the number saved on my phone, so you can use that." She shoved the phone into the champion's hands, her face still quite red.
"Why are you so upset, Mist?"
"Why do you think, Ash? Apparently there's another rumor going around saying that I'm pregnant or something."
"Seriously?"
She snorted. "Yeah. I can't believe how stupid people are. Can't we just tell them the truth? It would make things a lot easier, wouldn't it?"
"Yeah it would, but I need to talk to Dawn first, still." He winced as Misty shot him a dark look. "You know I don't wanna just humiliate her in public by saying that her kissing me was a mistake."
"But she never answers her stupid phone," Misty rebutted. "What are we supposed to do until she finally picks up? Have people think we're starting a family? I like Dawn a lot too, Ash, but I can't keep this up!"
Ash placed his forefinger over his lips as the librarian jerked her head in their direction. "I know, I know. I don't like it either. But just give her a little while longer. I promise, if she doesn't answer my calls soon, then we'll just go ahead and tell everyone the truth."
"Fine," Misty huffed, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms. "But she's on a thin schedule. Whether it embarrasses her or not, the truth's gotta come out."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
An hour later, the two were resituated at the desks. This time, Ash was able to quickly punch in his four digit code, and suddenly the Sinnoh Champion League page opened before his eyes. He was impressed by what he saw, to say the least. Before him was a plain page with the Pokémon League emblem in the top left corner, but filling the page were hundreds of links to different archives.
"Look at that," Misty whispered. "This must have everything we need! I only have a few links, but it looks like you get to know everything."
"Makes sense, because I'm so important." He tried to puff out his chest, inciting another eyeroll from his counterpart.
"Look under salaries," Misty instructed. "We'll start there and then see what other information we can use."
The two spent another couple of hours meticulously gathering data. Though at first resistant to the idea of more work on top of his already arduous schedule, Ash began to truly become interested in the information they garnered as Misty continued to remind him of their cause. "We're doing this for the gym leaders," she'd remark every time he groaned or asked to leave.
Finally though, the redhead decided that she too was tired, so they clicked off of their current page and turned off their monitors. Misty closed her small notebook, wherein she'd kept careful notes of any important figures, and the two stood up and stretched.
"Well, I am glad we're doing this," Ash mentioned, placing his cap back on his head. "I do wanna help out. It's just still surprising that Steven or Cynthia weren't able to convince their Leagues to change. I wonder why Lance was so different."
"We'll find out soon enough. We need to talk to him and ask how he convinced his board to amend the laws for Kanto. He might have some good advice for you."
"Sounds good. So what do you wanna do now?"
"Do you want to eat?"
"Always, Mist." They walked out, and Ash fought the urge to grab her hand. It was fine to do on dates at night, where it was dark, but the sun was still up, and Rustboro was significantly larger than most cities in Hoenn.
"What do you feel like eating?" Misty asked above the noise of the congested traffic before them. They began walking down the sidewalk, looking at the millions of choices.
"Whatever you want, I guess." Though he was no expert, he'd slowly been trying to put Misty's thoughts and desires before his own, per the advice of his own mother. This time it was especially easy since he'd eaten earlier.
"I don't really wanna go anywhere crowded," she mentioned as she felt the presence of several eyes examining her and Ash. Though the sidewalk was just as full as the streets, many people still seemed to recognize the pair, and from the corner of her eye, Misty even saw a woman point at the duo. "Maybe we could just have supper at the hotel?"
"Sounds good to me." Ash was preoccupied as he spotted what appeared to be a dozen young trainers making their way towards him. Turning around, he grabbed Misty by the arm and began their hurried jog back to the hotel.
Once inside Ash's room, they were finally able to relax. Breathing a sigh of relief, Ash fell backward on his bed, and Misty began to sit in a plush chair located in front of the television. She stopped herself though, right before making contact with the leather upholstery.
"Ew," she commented, picking up a sweat-ridden t-shirt. "That's disgusting. I can't sit down on this chair!"
"Just push the clothes off," Ash mentioned, closing his eyes.
"Ash, I'm not sitting on a chair that had sweaty clothes on it."
"Well, you can always sit on the bed." He motioned to the spot next to him.
"As flattering as that is, I don't think that bed's much cleaner." She noticed even more clothes, as well as candy wrappers, and various Pokémon magazines sprawled across his sheets. "How could you keep stuff so organized when we were camping, but now that you have a nice room it looks like clothes are exploding off of your body?"
"I dunno." He shrugged, still keeping his eyes closed.
"Well then, let's go to my room," she suggested. She opened the door, and Ash moaned, still not moving.
"I don't wanna get up, Mist."
"Fine. You don't have to get up. You can lay there the rest of the night for all I care…but I don't think you'd have as much fun by yourself as you would with me." She gave him a playful smirk as his head instantly jerked up.
"Alright, I'll go," he grunted, standing up. It wasn't fair, but he didn't really mind.
The two walked down the hall and into Misty's room. To Ash's humiliation, her quarters seemed impeccably clean. The bed was made, her floor was clear of clutter, and not a single sock littered her chair.
"See Ash? This is how a civilized person keeps up with their room." She sauntered to her bed and fell backward, imitating Ash moments earlier. "Since this is my room, you can take the chair." She pointed to the piece of furniture in the corner.
"I knew there was a catch." He dragged the chair next to the bed as Misty turned on the television.
"Do you want room service?" Misty grabbed a small menu on the nightstand. "I think they have a lot of good stuff here."
"I could eat a hamburger, I guess" he mentioned. "With fries, of course. Also maybe a milkshake…and a hot fudge sundae."
"Seriously, it's a wonder you haven't died yet, Ketchum. I'm just gonna have some soup, I think."
"That's a pretty small meal for me, actually." Ash informed as she picked up the non-videophone. "Besides, I haven't eaten in, like, three hours."
"I didn't eat all day," Misty retorted as the phone rang.
Ash simply stared back at her in stunned silence while she ordered their meals. Hanging up, she gave him a victorious grin before turning the volume of the television up. Out of respect and awe, Ash stayed quiet when she chose a particularly effeminate program about women who were given makeovers to help themselves appear more attractive.
A knock rattled on the door less than minute later, and both teens exchanged surprised glances.
"That was fast." Ash stood up and walked to the door. Opening it, he was both surprised and a little frightened to find himself in the close embrace of a young woman. He kept his arms far away from her while simultaneously trying to walk backwards, which resulted in the two falling to the ground.
"What's going on?" Misty asked, hearing the raucous and jumping from the bed. She gasped when she saw the two piled on the floor. "I can't believe it!"
Oh man, Ash groaned inwardly. How had this fangirl been let into the hotel?
"May? Is that you?"
The champion blinked for a moment, registering the name. He looked down, and saw May's embarrassed face staring back at him with a small smile. "Uh, hey Ash. Sorry about that." She slowly scooted off the trainer and then helped pull him up. He gave her a large grin in return and reciprocated the hug from earlier.
"May! It's great to see you again!"
After separating, the brunette looked over his shoulder to his travelling companion. "Hey Misty!" The two teenage girls squealed and ran to hug.
"Hey Ash," another voice greeted from the doorway. Turning around, Ash was surprised to find Drew standing with his hand out. A little thrown by the courteous gesture, it took the young man a second before realizing the coordinator meant to shake hands.
"Um, hey Drew." Everything seemed to be happening really fast, and Ash instantly felt a hundred questions barge through the forefront of his mind. He decided to start with the most obvious.
"So what are you guys doing here?"
"We've been in the city the last couple of days," May explained, taking a seat next to Misty on the bed as Drew closed the door. "There's a new contest here, and me and Drew competed in it."
"How'd you do?" Misty asked eagerly, always happy to converse with May.
In response, the young coordinator reached into her small pack and pulled out an orange case. Pushing a button, the top slid to the side, revealing a single pink ribbon. "See for yourself!" She placed the container in Misty's hands and looked over at Drew. "He did a really great job, though."
"I don't need to be babied," Drew pouted, leaning against the door and brushing his hair from his eyes. "I just wasn't good enough today. I'll beat her next time."
"So you two are still travelling together?" Ash questioned. All he'd ever seen was May and Drew fight, with the rare exception, and it was hard to believe that the two would still be journeying the regions together.
"Of course," May answered. She took back the case and dropped it back in her pack. "Why wouldn't we be?"
"I dunno." He shrugged. "It just seemed like you guys fought a lot and didn't like each other. Are you still with Harley or Solidad?"
Another blush emerged on May's cheeks as she shook her head. "Not right now, at least. Drew and I decided that we wanted to travel alone for a little while."
"Huh?" It seemed like they'd want company.
"We just thought we'd like some time with just…us, for a while," Drew continued. He seemed just as squeamish as his friend on the subject. "Do you understand?"
"I-I guess, um, well no."
"Ash? How do you not get what they're saying?" Misty asked, resisting the urge to slap her thickheaded boyfriend into understanding. "They're obviously in a relationship. That's why they wanna be with just each other."
"What? That doesn't make any sense, Mist!" He began to laugh at the thought of the two as a couple.
"Actually, Ash," May interrupted as his body wracked in laughter, "she's right. Drew's my boyfriend!" She squealed a little at the last sentence.
Instantly the laughter ceased as Ash looked back and forth between the two. "Seriously?"
"Uh, yeah," Drew answered. Though his girlfriend seemed excited, he appeared more nervous than anything. "We've been dating for, what? A year now?"
"Thirteen months and four days, to be exact," May corrected. "And you know that, Drew." She seemed to be fully out of her shell now. "You should see him when it's just us. He's constantly romantic; writing me love poems and songs, and dedicating new combination moves to me, and-"
"May!" He ran his thumb along his neck, begging her to stop.
"Oh, you need to quit being so shy about it. He's really very romantic, is what I'm saying," May explained to Misty, "but he has a hard time showing it when other people are around for some reason."
"I don't have a problem," he revoked, emphasizing the last word. "I just don't think it's everyone's business."
"So you guys are really together now?" Ash seemed stuck on the concept.
"Yeah. Why is that so surprising?"
"Well, you always seemed to fight with Drew when we were in Hoenn and Kanto. Not to mention all the times you guys competed and beat each other. I just figured people who fought all the time like that wouldn't end up together."
"If that was true, then we wouldn't have a shot," Misty answered.
"Uh…oh yeah."
"Wait? Are you two together too?" May's voice reached an uncomfortably high pitch as she spoke, and Ash did his best not to cover his ears.
Misty gave Ash a small look, seeming to say "we may as well", before nodding her head in the affirmative. "We've been a couple for about a month now."
"I can't believe it!" May cried happily. "I wasn't sure what to believe after seeing what happened on T.V., but I actually didn't see Ash and Dawn as a good couple. She is so nice, but I thought she was a little, uh, young." May winced a little at the idea, and Misty laughed.
"So how did you know we were in this hotel?" Ash inquired, wanting to stop their discussion about Dawn before it became uncomfortable.
"She read it in one of those girl magazines," Drew explained, sighing heavily. "I swear, she reads one of those things a day. I don't know how she can afford to keep buying them."
"I do not," May corrected. "And besides, most of those articles are about contests."
"Yeah, like that one you were reading today. That movie star seemed like he'd be a really great coordinator." He smirked as May fell silent. "Anyway, she practically blew up from excitement when she read some column that said you guys were staying here. I told her that those magazines are usually just gossip and are wrong, but I guess it was right this time."
"Oh yeah? Well what about those magazines I see you look at with all the cars and women in stores? I know for a fact you don't know anything about cars."
"I-uh, um." A knock on the door interrupted his comeback. Opening the door, the four teens saw an older man with a tray before him.
"I have two meals for room three sixteen," he explained, pushing the silver cart in.
"Oh! You two were about to have supper, huh?" May asked. "That was rude of us to just barge in here like this. We'll leave and see you guys again tomorrow!" She stood and made as if she were going to leave, but Misty stopped her.
"Why would you leave? Where are you guys staying for the night?"
"We normally just rent two rooms from the Pokémon Center," Drew explained, ogling the hamburger and fries that appeared as the waiter lifted the chrome cover from Ash's dish. "That or we end up camping outside if it's too full."
Misty widened her eyes in surprise. "Then why would you leave? There's plenty of room for you two! May can stay in here and Drew can sleep over with Ash!"
"Really?" May asked, already excited. "Are you sure we wouldn't be imposing?"
"Yeah, do you really want us to?" Drew seemed a little uncomfortable at the prospect.
"Definitely," Misty replied. "It'll be just like a slumber party! Don't we want them to stay Ash?"
"Sure!" he answered with a bright smile. "It'd be great to catch up with you May. You too, Drew." Though it was certainly a treat to see his old travelling partner again, he couldn't help but cringe a little at Misty's term in application to Drew sleeping in his room. He doubted their interaction would in any way resemble a "slumber party".
"Do you want something to eat too?" Misty asked, eyeing her bowl of soup from the bed hungrily.
"Actually, we haven't eaten yet," May replied nervously. "We were thinking about getting something from a restaurant on the block."
"You should just order in like me and Ash!"
"Well, alright, but we'll pay."
"It's okay, May," Ash intervened. "It's really no trouble. What would you like?"
"Do they have noodles or something like that?" she asked eagerly.
Misty glanced at the menu. "Well, they have spaghetti and meatballs."
"Perfect!" She clapped happily. "We're gonna have so much fun tonight talking!"
Drew glanced uneasily at Ash, and the champion returned the look. "Um, I have cable in my room."
"Cool," Drew answered. Though he wasn't acting as spiteful as he used to towards the trainer, their relationship was still light years from May and Misty's. "I, uh, have some old Pokémon League battle footage in my backpack. We can watch that."
"Sounds good."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"So that's what we're focusing on right now," Misty concluded as everyone enjoyed their meals, sitting together at the small dining table provided by the hotel. "We're just helping the gym leaders in Sinnoh like Lance did in Kanto."
"I bet it must be a relief to do something a little easier after all that stuff happened with Paul," May stated between large mouthfuls of spaghetti. She eerily reminded Misty of Ash in the way she ate. "I can't believe he was working for Team Rocket. He didn't seem like a nice guy on T.V., but I would never have imagined."
"I know," Ash agreed. "It kinda surprised me too. I guess some people just take winning too seriously."
"I hope it works out for you and the gym leaders," May continued. "My dad's been having a really hard time in Petalburg lately. Since Max left, he's been having to do all of the work by himself and pay for Max's journey. It's a shame you're not the Champion of Hoenn."
"Maybe we could talk to Steven about that," Misty suggested as Ash took another bite of his sundae. "He tried to change it a few years ago, but maybe he could get it passed now that it's been done in Johto and Kanto."
"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt to call," Ash agreed. "It shouldn't be so hard for people to be gym leaders. They're one of the most important groups in the Pokémon League!"
"Please see what you can do, Ash," May requested. "It would be so nice if you could change things here too."
Ash nodded and gave her a confident thumbs-up. "I'm sure it'll be no problem." He scooped up the last bit of his dessert before leaning back in his chair relaxedly. "I think Steven would love to help out. He's a really nice guy when you get to know him."
"I just remember he was kinda serious when we met him."
"Yeah, I don't think that was because of us though. He was just busy doing some work for the Pokémon G-Men, I guess. They're always doing something."
Drew interrupted their conversation as he stretched and yawned.
"I think it's time we get ready for bed." Misty stood up and stretched as well. "It's been a long day for all of us."
May nodded in agreement. "I'll walk with Drew to Ash's room and then I'll be right back. Ash, do you think you could lead the way?"
"No problem." He got up with Drew and made his way to the door.
"Uh, Ash? Could you come over here for a minute?" Misty motioned for the champion to return to her side of the room as May and Drew waited quietly by the door. "You two can walk over to Ash's room without his help. It's the second one to the right of this one. He'll be there in one minute, but we needed to discuss something really quick."
Ash gave a confused shrug to his friends as they agreed to go on. "See ya in a minute, Ash."
"So what did you wanna talk about?" he asked as the door closed behind the coordinators.
"I just thought that maybe you wanted to, uh, you know," Misty puckered slightly, and Ash's heart raced at the implication. Every evening they'd kiss goodnight, and he couldn't believe he'd almost forgotten the ritual. He instantly swooped down and brought in his girlfriend, enjoying every moment of contact as they engaged in another, deeper kiss.
We've gotten much better, he idly thought, moving his right hand to the small of her back as she inadvertently twirled her finger through his mangled hair.
After several more minutes, the two slowly and unwillingly pulled apart. They placed their foreheads together and breathed softly, still holding each other.
"I guess I'd better go," Ash whispered, his voice a little gruffer.
"Yeah. They'll get suspicious if you stay in here much longer." A smile suddenly appeared on her face. "I bet you're afraid they'd catch us, aren't you?"
Ash acted insulted. "I'm not afraid of anything. In fact…" He leaned down and kissed her again, and she giggled at his fake hubris.
Finally though, the two did separate completely, and said their goodnights. "Tomorrow we'll leave for Dewford and do some more research. You don't need any more Pokémon from here, right?" She stood in the doorway as he stepped into the hall.
"Right." He dreaded the thought of more library time, but remembered why they were doing it. Perking up, he promised they'd leave first thing in the morning. "See ya later, Mist."
"'Night, Ketchum."
Walking to his room, he was surprised to find the door closed. He pulled out his key and opened it, instantly regretting the decision as the two teenagers currently occupying it gasped. They were both sitting on his bed, with their arms completely around each other.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ash covered his eyes, as if they were nude. "I promise I didn't see anything. I didn't know what you guys would be doing."
"It's alright, Ash," May chuckled, standing up and removing his hand from his eyes. "We were just surprised to hear you come in. That's all. Me and Drew were just…saying goodnight." She looked back and gave the crimson coordinator a small wink. "See ya in the morning, Honey-Lopunny."
Ash's embarrassment instantly transformed into sheer mirth as he heard the nickname. Stifling a laugh, he asked Drew what she'd called him after May had exited.
"Um, I-I dunno," he lied, looking at the ground.
Ash grinned wider. "It sounded like Honey-Lopunny." His voice cracked as he tried to remain somewhat respectful.
Drew shot the champion a dark look. "It was not that."
"Oh, alright then." He decided to simply drop the subject, still fighting back tears. He knew that it would require torture to convince the green-haired coordinator to admit the truth, and frankly, he didn't feel up to it. Instead he sat down on his chair while Drew remained on the bed, recovering from the humiliating episode.
After a moment of silence, Ash turned in his chair. "Did you say you have battle videos?"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Thank you so much for letting me use your shower," May repeated, furiously drying her hair as the steam escaped from the bathroom behind her. "I've been using the Pokémon Center ones, but you know how gross those can be sometimes." She stuck her tongue out, and Misty laughed atop her bed.
"Yeah, I never really liked them either. And don't thank me again! We're friends, and this is what friends do."
"Well, I still appreciate it." She went back in and threw her towel on the curtain bar, letting it hang over the shower. She walked back into the room and got up on Misty's bed, folding her legs beneath her. "So do you wanna talk, or are you really too tired?"
Mist snickered. "I'm not tired at all, actually. I just said that to get the boys out of our room for a little while."
May feigned a shocked expression. "You mean you didn't want them listening to our conversation?"
"Of course not. It's nice just getting to talk with a girl for a while, and I didn't want Ash or Drew getting in the way with any dumb questions."
"I know. I mean, I really love Drew, but sometimes he's just not easy to talk to about stuff."
"It's never easy to talk with Ash," Misty agreed. "That might have something to do with his three point IQ, though." May whooped at the insult, and Misty smiled seeing her humor was appreciated. "But I really like him too, obviously."
"Have you said you love him yet?"
"Uh, no!" Misty blushed at the question. "I mean…not yet. I don't think we're ready for that kind of commitment."
May turned her head. "So you don't love him?"
"Well, no, that's not it either." She scratched her head, trying to understand and explain how she felt. "I-I do love him, but he hasn't said it yet, so I'm not gonna risk freaking him out. I'm sure we'll get around to it, but we've only been dating for a month, so there's plenty of time."
"I understand. Drew told me he loved me only a few weeks ago, but I think he'd been working on how to say it for months…you know how nervous love can make a guy." She rolled her eyes, inciting another laugh from the redhead. "So can I ask another question about you and Ash?"
"Sure. Why not?"
"Why haven't you guys made it public that you're going out yet? I mean, I was really confused when I saw him and Dawn kiss on T.V., and none of the magazines I've read have any clue about what's really going on. I was starting to wonder if you really were pregnant."
"So are a lot of people, apparently. This is like the fifth rumor those stupid gossip magazines have started about me or Ash."
"Why don't you tell them the truth, then?"
"Because Dawn had a huge crush on Ash, and now he thinks it would be really humiliating for her if we just said that kiss was a mistake."
"Why don't you ask her how she would feel?"
"We're trying, but I'm guessing that after Ash turned her down, she doesn't exactly feel like talking with him. Either way though, I already told him that we can't keep this a secret much longer. We're suffering because of all this gossip, and it'll only get worse if we let it."
"I agree…but I feel bad for Dawn at the same time." May's tone lowered in sympathy for her fellow coordinator. "I mean, it must have really hurt to have a crush on him and then get shot down like that after kissing. Did you know she had feelings for him before the kiss?"
"Definitely." Misty sighed as she recollected the memories of her days travelling with the blue-haired teen. "It's actually a pretty long story, but it also kinda explains how me and Ash wound up telling each other how we felt."
May glanced at the clock and then back to Misty. "We have all night. Go ahead!"
"Alright, well it all started when me and Ash had this huge fight at Christmas time…"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Whoa! Did you see that Hyper Beam?" Ash and Drew were both staring wide-eyed at the television screen as they watched an old recording of a battle between two of the former Masters. "I wish I had a Tyranitar like that!"
"I can't imagine how many points I'd get for an attack that big!"
"That is so cool. I definitely need to catch one." Ash sat back in his chair, relaxing after sitting tensely in his seat for the past half-hour. The battle had concluded, and Master Rohan, the Master directly before the one currently in power, ran to the center of the field. He joyously allowed his dark and rock type creature to pick him up in celebration.
Drew looked over at Ash. "Pretty cool videos, huh?"
"They sure are."
"So you think you're gonna be like one of those guys soon?" He pointed at the screen as the camera shot in on Master Rohan's face. "You know, a Master?"
Ash nodded. "At least I hope so. It's a lot of work, but I have some pretty awesome Pokémon helping me along the way."
"That's true. I saw that battle on television with May. It was pretty cool how you beat him even though no one thought you would."
"Uh, thanks Drew."
He swished the hair from in front of his eyes, acting nonchalant. "No problem."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"I guess."
"Why're you acting so different now?"
Drew leaned onto his left side to better face Ash. "What do you mean?"
"I don't mean anything, but it just seems like you're…nicer than before. When we were in Hoenn, I had the feeling you'd never talk to me or Brock if we weren't hanging out with May. And the way you and her acted, I started to think I was lucky."
Despite his cool demeanor, Drew looked down in hushed embarrassment. "Uh, I don't really know. I remember that I used to be pretty mean to your whole group, but to tell the truth, that was pretty much just because I knew it annoyed May. Before I realized how I felt, it just felt good to see her get angry for some reason, and I knew picking on her friends would work. Honestly, I never really had any problems with you or those other guys."
"Oh, okay."
"I suppose I should apologize, though, for how I used to act towards you. I shouldn't have been so stuck-up. I am one of the greatest coordinators, and trainers, around, but that doesn't mean I can't get along with others."
"It's no problem." Ash accepted the slightly self-centered apology with a wave of his hand, dismissing their entire, albeit limited, history. "Let's watch another battle."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
May's expression seemed almost priceless to Misty. The mix of shock, anger, and sympathy seemed to have contorted her face into a hybrid emotion; one which the redhead had never seen before.
"Are you alright, May?" She put her hand in front of the coordinator's face, causing her to blink back to reality.
"Oh yeah, I'm fine. I just can't believe all the drama that happened between you and Dawn. I never would've guessed that you two would have so many problems!"
"It kinda surprised me too," Misty agreed. "When we first met a long time ago, we got along really well. And when Ash would call and tell me about how Dawn was progressing in her contests, I never even felt the least bit threatened. But after I realized how I felt, it's like she immediately noticed and decided to try and win Ash over before I could."
"She's such a sweet girl, though! The Dawn you talked about didn't seem anything like the one I knew."
Misty felt perplexed by the same issue. "I don't think she's any less sweet or nice just because of what happened. I think that love sometimes leads us to just do stuff we normally wouldn't do…like kiss Ash Ketchum, for instance."
"That's true. Why would anyone kiss Ash unless they had to?"
"What?" Misty raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly threatened by the remark.
"I was just kidding, Misty," May explained, beginning to fear she'd mistakably untapped the gym leader's famous rage. "I didn't mean anything by it at all."
The redhead's expression softened instantly into more of a playful glare. "Oh yeah?" She grabbed a pillow from beside her and swiftly knocked her friend's head with the feathery instrument.
May squealed from surprise and began laughing. "I guess I deserved that."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"What a cool video," Ash remarked as the last battle drew to an end. "Why do you even have it if you're a coordinator?"
"My grandfather bought it for me." Drew rolled his eyes. "He never liked the idea of me becoming a coordinator. He said it was too girly, so he would buy me tons of videos like this to motivate me to be a trainer instead. I keep them because sometimes they give me inspiration for new Pokémon I'd like to own, or new moves I'd like to try."
"Well, I don't know if being a coordinator's girly. I mean, you have to battle just like a trainer…you just have to do it while making your Pokémon look good at the same time."
"I always thought so," Drew remarked, pulling out the disk. He put it away and then laid upon his improvised "couch-bed".
As Ash pulled the covers over himself, he turned off the light.
"Hey Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for letting me and May hang out with you guys tonight. I know you were probably wanting to spend time alone."
"Are you kidding? This was a great night! I made a new friend, and Misty got to catch up with an old one."
"I guess. It's actually just nice having another guy around. We've been travelling alone for a while now, and even though I love her, sometimes only being with a girl can get annoying."
"I know what you mean. A few days ago, we were over an hour late leaving the hotel because Misty's hair wouldn't stay down. She spent forever working on it, but you know what?"
"What?"
"I couldn't tell the difference when she said it was finally perfect."
Drew laughed out loud. "The exact same thing happens to me too! May constantly holds us back by checking her clothes and make-up and whatever else she's wearing like a thousand times before we walk out the door. One time we missed an entire contest because she said her dress wasn't ruffled enough!"
Wow. I thought Misty was nuts.
"I guess it's just how they are."
"Why can't they be more mature. Like us?"
Ash stared at the dark ceiling. "I have no idea."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
The next morning, both parties met in the lobby for breakfast. Over a sizable meal, they all discussed future plans and gave bone-bare details of the night before.
"We watched a video of Pokémon battles. What did you girls do?"
"Just talked and slept."
Both sides eyed the other suspiciously before continuing their feast. "Where are you and Ash going next?" May asked after inhaling a muffin.
"We're probably going to Dewford Town. Ash needs to catch an Aron and Sableye."
"Really? We're going to Slateport in a few weeks for a doubles contest. The theme is water, so we were actually planning to go to Dewford to see if we could find any rare water Pokémon to add for the routine."
Misty gave Ash a sideways glance. Unfortunately, he was too enthralled in breakfast to notice.
"Ash, isn't that a coincidence that they're going to Dewford too?" She gave him a knowing look, but he remained oblvious.
"Yeah, that's pretty weird."
She proceeded with a not-so-subtle hint by kicking him in the shin.
"Ow! Why'd you do that?"
"Do what?"
"You just kicked me!"
"You don't know what you're talking about," the redhead dismissed. "But did you hear what we were talking about?"
"Something about a water contest in Dewford?"
"No, Ash. May was saying that she and Drew were thinking about going to Dewford to look for some rare water Pokémon before going to a contest in Slateport City."
"Wait…we're going to Dewford too!" Misty could almost see the light bulb appear above the champion's head. "Why don't you guys come with us? We could have a ton of fun!"
May looked over at Drew. "Do you wanna?"
The green-haired coordinator smiled over at Ash. "Yeah. It sounds like fun. Do you?"
"Are you kidding? I'd love to!"
Misty's face lit up, glad to see her boyfriend wasn't a complete loss in the art of subtlety. "That sounds like a great idea! Ash and I are leaving in just a few minutes. Do you wanna come get packed with me?"
"Yeah," May answered, swallowing the last bite from her plate. She stood up and quickly followed Misty to the elevators; the two girls happily discussing a trip to the Dewford beaches.
"It looks like we'll be hanging out together a little longer," Ash mentioned, more calm, but still excited at the prospect of having friends join him and Misty once again. "We can definitely help you find a rare water Pokémon in Dewford."
Drew smiled. "Sounds like fun."
Author's Notes: Like I said, this opens up a new sub-plot for the story which will hopefully clarify a lot of things I have, as of now, left purposely ambiguous. As the four travel together, you can expect to learn a lot more about the League, while at the same time see Ash catch more Pokémon, and of course watch the development of Ash and Misty's relationship.
Before I let you go, I'd just like to point out that I have been working on another story of mine recently, "Pokémon Love", which is a parody fic based on several shippings I've found on the Bulbapedia shipping list. Please, if you have the chance, I'd love for you to read and review any of the installments (my personal favorite is chapter four).
Until September fifth, later days!