Hey Everybody! I'm sure many of you thought I was dead, so I'll go ahead and put that rumor to rest right now…no. Okay, now that that's out of the way, I have to apologize. I updated twice in a row on time, and then fell off the wagon big time (this update took four weeks!). I'm really sorry to all of my fans. I've never taken a hiatus, but this should probably count as an unofficial one. To tell the truth, well, college is hard! Ha,ha. I've been making tons of friends and doing tons (almost literally) of work, so this fic was admittedly on the backburner. However, I'm proud to announce TL IS BACK! I'm not messing around anymore, and I'm serious about bringing this fic back to its rightful posterity. If you want to know how I plan to do this, read the author's notes at the bottom.
Anyway, after almost a month, please read and REVIEW!
P.S. Fun fact: Not including author's notes, this chapter is exactly 10,000 words!
"See you girls later!" Ash declared as he, Pikachu, and Drew headed out the front door of the hotel.
The two girls turned from their self-appointed "office" and gave the three boys suspicious glares. "You guys seriously still haven't found some rare water Pokémon yet?"
"You have to be patient, Mist. Fishing's really difficult and it takes a long time to catch the perfect Pokémon."
"I know how fishing works, Ash. I caught you, remember?" Misty traded a knowing look to her companion before continuing. "Me and May are starting to wonder if you guys are actually trying though. Every day this week, you guys have run out the door while we just sit here in the cold lobby gathering information."
Ash shrugged. "I don't like this any more than you do. Every day I have to go out with these heavy fishing rods-" he lifted the three rods and grunted to accentuate his point "-and go into the ocean. You never know when someone will challenge you to a battle, or a wild Gyarados will appear. It's scary."
Drew forced a solemn look and nodded. "It's true May. Each time I go out there, I worry I'll never see your beautiful face again."
"Really? Oh that is so sweet."
"May!"
"What?" the brunette asked, frightened by the bark.
"You're just falling for their tricks again. Remember what we talked about earlier? We're not letting them get away this easily." Misty turned back to Ash. "If you guys don't bring back two great water Pokémon by the end of today, then tomorrow May and I get to go out and you two can sit and stare at a screen all day."
"Fine," Ash agreed. Truth be told, the three hadn't exactly been trying their hardest to find the water Pokémon Drew and May needed. He was sure it would be a cinch as long as they focused today, though. "But if we do catch those Pokémon, then you guys have to go catch the Aron and Sableye I need from the cave."
That'll give us more time to hang out at the beach.
"Deal. You better hurry and leave though. You've only got twelve hours of sunlight left."
"Ha, ha, Mist."
With the final remark made, the three turned to leave.
"Hey Ash?"
"What now?" The champion rolled his eyes and turned back again. Pikachu and Drew sighed as well.
"Why's Pikachu carrying a Frisbee?"
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"What's taking so long?" Ash asked as the three sat atop Gyarados waiting for a tug of their lines.
"It's only been three or four minutes, Ash. You have to be patient. Remember what you told Misty?"
"I was kinda just making that up. I've never been very patient fishing."
"Well, it is kind of boring just sitting out here in the sun. And now that May took our Frisbee, we don't even have something to pass the time with."
Ash's expression darkened. "Why did you let her see the Frisbee, Pikachu?"
"Pika, pikachu." The electric rodent shook his head, disappointed in his own failure. He was just as upset as the other guys, because now he had to fish alongside them with an impromptu fishing rod made of a twig and some string, instead of playing with his friends on the shore.
"It's alright. You couldn't have known."
"Hey, you guys!"
The three turned and were surprised to find two young women trolling the water behind them. "Are you Ash Ketchum?"
"Uh, yeah," he responded, trying to not gawk as a blush streaked across his cheeks. "That's me."
"Would you like to battle with us?"
"Of course!" Drew replied charismatically. "We'd be happy to."
The blond girl focused on the coordinator for a moment. "Who are you? Are you that Paul guy?"
"What? No! I'm Drew and I'm one of the best coordinators in the world!" He tried to stand stoically, but accidentally slipped on one of Gyarados' slick scales and fell backward into the water. Ash and Pikachu proceeded to help him back up while laughing uncontrollably.
"Whatever. I guess we could have a double battle with you too…though we were really just wanting to battle Ash."
Pulling Drew back onto the water and flying type, Ash blushed again. "Um, thanks, I guess. Drew's a really good battler too, though."
"Really good?" Drew sounded incredulous. "I'm one of the best!" He flicked his hair from his eyes and gave the girls the best uncaring gaze he could muster, but they didn't appear impressed.
"If you're so good then why haven't I seen you on T.V. in the leagues?" the brunette challenged.
"I'm on T.V. all the time for contests! I don't waste my time with silly league battling."
"Hey!"
"Sorry, Ash."
"Anyway, if it means that we can battle with Ash Ketchum, then you can battle with us. Just don't get in the way or anything."
Drew narrowed his eyes.
"Do you guys wanna battle out here or on the shore?" Ash questioned. Squinting, he could make out the coast about a mile away. "It might be easier for you to call out your Pokémon."
"Sounds good," the girls agreed, giggling. The blond one took a pokéball from beneath the water and opened it, unleashing a large Wailmer. The whale Pokémon's presence instantly interrupted the calm waters, and Ash, Drew, and Pikachu held onto Gyarados tightly as the women climbed aboard the massive water Pokémon.
"How about we make this fun too? First one to the shore gets to send out their Pokémon after the loser."
"Alright," Ash complied, Drew nodding too. The Wailmer was really large and wide, giving his thin, snakelike Gyarados the advantage. "Just say when you're ready."
"Go!" cried out the girls simultaneously.
"What?" They were already well on their way to the shoreline. "How is it going that fast?"
"I dunno, but I think they tricked us."
"Oh man!" Ash slapped himself on the forehead. "I shoulda known there was a catch. Gyarados, follow them!"
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"So it looks like in Sinnoh they spend even more money to keep up their gyms than we do in Kanto," Misty concluded, putting down the calculator. "Did you write down all the numbers I gave you May?"
The brunette looked down at the sheets she'd been hurriedly scribbling numbers upon for the past couple of hours. "Yep, it looks like we've pretty much covered every gym. I didn't know there were so many different things gym leaders had to take care of. No wonder Dad's always tired!"
"It's pretty stressful. Of course, it's even more stressful when you have to pay for it all by yourself."
"I bet." May sighed. "I wish I'd known how hard Dad's had it the past few years. When I started my journey, I just thought the money they sent me was nothing. Everyone always treats gym leaders like they're important, so I always thought we had a lot of money. I didn't know he was always working so hard for so little."
"Don't blame yourself for that," Misty consoled. "Your dad wouldn't have wanted you to know. He wouldn't want Max to know either, I'm sure."
"Why wouldn't he?" May's voice was quieter, and Misty could feel true regret emanate from her tone.
"Because he wanted you to go live your dream. If you knew about how much money it cost him to run the gym, would you have left?"
May shook her head. "I couldn't have done that to him."
"Then that's why he wouldn't have told you. He didn't like the idea of making you choose between what you wanted and the gym. I'm sure it's the same reason that Max doesn't know about any of this."
"How do you know all this though?"
"Well…I guess I don't know exactly. I lost my mom and dad when I was really young, and I don't really have any memories of them except for pictures."
May's eyes widened. "Oh Misty! I didn't know that! I'm so sorry."
The redhead gave a weak smile. "There's nothing to be sorry about. It's not like you said anything mean. The reason I even brought it up though is because sometimes…I dunno. Sometimes I just imagine what my parents would have been like if they were still alive, and whenever I'm busy working at the gym and doing tons of stuff that usually adults only do, I like to think that they would be doing it instead of me; that they would've sent me off to have my own journey with my own friends, and taken care of the gym like they did when they were alive. In my mind, at least, that's what parents are supposed to do. They're supposed to work hard so their kids can have a nice childhood. That's what I think your parents were doing too."
"That makes sense. But I promise I didn't know that about you. I can't imagine not…well, you know."
"Really, it's no problem. It's actually a little nice to talk with someone about it."
"You could always talk with Ash."
Misty shrugged. "That's true. Maybe I will someday." Her expression suddenly brightened. "But we shouldn't be talking about all of this anyway. It's a beautiful day outside! I think we've worked hard enough, don't you?"
"Yeah, if you don't wanna talk anymore." The coordinator felt hesitant to end the discussion so soon. It felt as if Misty were holding back.
"I already said I'm done May. Now come on! We can meet up with the boys and see if they've actually caught anything."
May closed several of the small ledger books in front of her. "Alright! I'll go get on my swim suit. I just bought one and wanted to see what Drew thought of it anyway."
"I'm sure he'll like it," Misty giggled.
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"This is it, Mr. Sinnoh Champion," mocked Lucy, the blond, from across the beach. "You're down to your last Pokémon."
"Sorry about that, Ash."
"Why'd you attack my Pokémon?"
"Roserade was just having trouble aiming because he got in the way. Why were you using a Pidgey anyway?"
"I don't wanna use my strongest Pokémon against a couple of regular trainers."
"Well, they're not exactly regular. Use a good Pokémon now!"
"Are you two gonna keep talking or can we get this battle over with?" Rachel questioned, gently tossing her pokéball to a steady rhythm. "For a champion, you sure aren't much of a challenge."
A general series of "ooh"s and "ah"s came from the crowd on the beach who awaited the raven-haired teen's next move.
"You're not as nice as you were before," Ash noted.
"Would you have battled a couple of mean trainers who knew they were better than you?"
"Probably not."
"Then you know why we acted like we did. Now call out your last Pokémon so we can crush it!"
Ash tightened his fist. Despite their naïveté, he couldn't take a challenge lying down. Instantly he felt the fire of competition surge through his body and he snapped his head to the right. "Pikachu, are you ready to take them down?"
The small Pokémon jumped from his shoulder, cheeks already sending off warning sparks. "Pikachu!"
"Then let's go!" He pointed forward and his loyal Pokémon ran onto the improvised field, alongside the taller grass and poison type.
"Oh look. It's the little electric mouse. I dunno why it's done so well in the past, but it's not going to have it so easy against my Pokémon. Isn't that right Houndoom?"
The fire type snarled and bared his teeth at Pikachu in response.
"It looks like Pikachu will be a fun chew toy. Don't you think, Ursaring?"
The bear Pokémon eyed the electric type with a look of pure disinterest as the crowd took sides. Though the vast majority seemed to be rooting for Ash and Drew, there was a vocal minority, probably friends of the women, Ash assumed, who seemed quite intent on seeing the champion's demise there on the beach.
"Start things off with a Thunderbolt!"
A torrent of sand whirled into the air as the attack surged across and towards the formidable normal type. The Ursaring yelped in pain and tried to raise his arms in self-defense as the will to fight left him.
"No you don't! Houndoom, flame that little rat!"
Opening his jaw, the fire and dark type created a sphere of fiery power, from which a jet of flames suddenly emitted.
"Agility!"
Pikachu ended his attack and tried to move, but the sand caused him to instead tumble and fall as the fire engulfed his small body.
"Chu!"
"Roserade, Stun Spore!"
"Rose!" The Pokémon put forth her red petals and instantly shrouded the fire type in thousands of paralysis-inducing specks, causing immediate alarm for the fire type as he stopped the attack.
"Don't give in to a weak Stun Spore! Just shoot some more fire at the Roserade!"
He turned his attention to the grass and poison type, but before he could make another move, a moan of pain came in place of the anticipated fire attack.
"Good, he's paralyzed," Drew informed Ash. However, the champion was much too concerned about the state of his friend to hear the good news. The Ursaring was clumsily lumbering towards his still-facedown electric type, and he wasn't sure if the match should continue.
"Pikachu! Can you get up?"
The Pokémon remained silent for another moment, and Ash prepared to call the end of his involvement. Before he did, though, Pikachu lifted his head slightly and looked up at the bear-like creature before him. Without a command, the singed electric mouse flipped onto his back and electrical shocks emerged from beneath his body, protecting him and injuring the normal type at the same time.
"What's going on?"
"It's Pikachu's Counter Shield we learned in Sinnoh," Ash explained. He had to admire the little Pokémon's ingenuity...it was as if he could be his own Pokémon trainer during battle.
Given adequate space, Pikachu ended the defensive move and flipped back onto his four paws.
The sand won't let us use speed, so we'll have to stick with power instead. Ash assumed that wouldn't be too difficult for his Pokémon to manage considering how worked up he appeared after taking the hit from Houndoom. In fact, he looks more determined now than before.
"Drew, you take care of Ursaring! Pikachu, hit Houndoom with another Thunderbolt!"
"Pika-chuuuu!" Another blast of energy shot across the sand, and before Ursaring could intervene, Drew commanded a powerful Solarbeam attack which shot off almost immediately under the withering midday heat. In a matter of seconds, both of the opponents' Pokémon were down, and Pikachu and Roserade ended their coordinated attacks.
"I think your Pokémon are finished," Drew remarked coolly, not even waiting for the girls to answer before returning his grass and poison type. "Told you I'd win."
"Great job Pikachu!" Ash congratulated, running onto the battlefield and petting his Pokémon on the head as the audience clapped and cheered at the exciting, though rather obvious, turnout of the battle. Looking up, Ash saw the two women embarrassedly return their own creatures, blushes prominent on their faces. Out of respect, he stood up and walked over to them, hand out. "You two fought a good battle. That was pretty fun!"
Rachel shakily held out her hand as she listened to taunts from many of the audience members. Whoever had been rooting for the two before were obviously no longer interested in showing their support. "Th-thanks."
"Just don't be so overconfident. It's great to be sure of yourself, but that doesn't mean you should think you're better than everyone else."
"I guess you're right. Sorry."
"Yeah, sorry," intruded Lucy. "We're normally not like this, but I guess our competitive natures got the better of us battling a champion and all."
"No problem. Keep training your Pokémon and maybe we'll battle again someday!"
"Uh, Ash. Who are they?" A tap on the shoulder followed the inquiry, and Ash immediately recognized the redhead's voice.
"Hey Mist! This is Lucy and Rachel. Me and Drew were just battling them for fun. You should have seen it!"
"So are you guys done catching the Pokémon then?"
"What?"
"Well, if you guys are playing around on the beach, then I guess you've already found the water Pokémon for Drew and May, right?"
"Yeah, Drew. Where's our Pokémon?"
Ash glanced nervously back at Drew, who was, at present, holding his arms out in defense from May.
"For your information, we actually did find some good Pokémon. Right Ash?"
Silently, Ash was just thanking the heavens that the crowd seemed to have mostly dispersed by this point as the girls appeared ready to pounce. However, he resolutely nodded, praying that Drew had actually caught something when he wasn't paying attention. "Of course we did. We didn't just start playing around and forget what we were doing." The nervous laughter accompanying the statement didn't seem to help change his girlfriend's mind, though.
"Fine then. Let's see what you caught."
"What's that?" Drew screamed pointing behind Misty's head. Everyone, including Pikachu, turned around to see what he mentioned, and the second they did, the sound of a pokéball opening pierced the relative quiet.
"There's nothing there," May noted, as she turned and found Drew wading into the shallow waves. "Drew, what are you doing?"
"Oh, I just dropped the pokéball with your new Pokémon by accident." Bending over, he grabbed the spherical object and slowly made his way back over to the brunette. "See? Didn't I tell you that I'd get you a water Pokémon?"
May gave the coordinator a skeptic look, along with her redheaded companion. "Is that what the sound was a second ago when we were looking away?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Never mind. Let me see what you caught." She held out her hand and Drew hesitated.
"Are you sure you don't wanna wait and make it a surprise? I mean, maybe it'd be more fun if I gave it to you over a candlelit dinner, right?"
"That does sound nice," May cooed. She almost appeared dazed as he brushed some of his hair from in front of his eyes and gave the girl a small wink.
Misty rolled her eyes. "She's fooled too easily. Did you catch any Pokémon?"
Ash appeared worried for a moment before suddenly changing his expression to one of surprise. "Whoa! What's that over there!" He pointed in the same general direction as Drew, but this time the redhead wasn't fooled. She gave the boy a slap in the back of his head.
"Ouch!"
"Did you really think I was dumb enough to fall for that trick again?"
"I dunno…maybe?" He shrugged and then ducked as she took another swing. "Calm down, Misty! I was just joking. No, I didn't catch anything."
"Then it looks like I win our bet."
"No you didn't!"
"Yes I did!"
"No!"
"Yeah!"
"No you didn't! The bet was that me and Drew wouldn't find any rare water Pokémon for the contest, and he did, so we win!" The sulking look which overtook Misty's features made Ash grin widely. "Have fun looking for a Sableye in that dark cave. Be careful too. I remember there were a lot of Zubat last time I went there."
Misty narrowed her eyes. "You haven't won yet, Ketchum." She walked over to May and Drew, who appeared to be avoiding the other two altogether as they held their squabble. "Drew, I'd really like to see that Pokémon now, please."
"Sorry, but we already decided I'd show May when we went to supper this evening." He gave her a smug grin and winked at Ash. "You can find out what we caught when we-"
He was interrupted as Misty quickly snatched the pokéball from his loose grasp. "Wait! No!"
She threw the pokéball forward, and after the light from the release died down all that remained was a Tentacool, wobbling on the sandy ground as he tried using his small tentacles as legs.
"Rare Pokémon, huh?" She shot Ash her own victorious smirk. "I think this means that we win the bet."
"You lied to me!" May shouted, ignoring the victory gained. She turned to Drew and began to berate her boyfriend for his sin.
"I guess I'm lucky I didn't lie," Ash mentioned as May's screaming garnered the attention of many a passerby.
"Yeah, but you still didn't do what I wanted, so it looks like you're going in the cave and doing research tomorrow."
Turning to her, Ash stopped himself before retaliation could force its way through his lips. He hadn't noticed when he thought Misty was going to murder him, but his brain seemed to finally register the blue bikini which his girlfriend had adorned for her trip to the beach. Gulping, he strained his neck looking directly at the sky, afraid she'd caught him staring.
"What's the matter with you?" She tapped him on the shoulder, but he still kept his head high.
"Nothing, I just thought I saw an airplane or something."
Misty squinted her eyes. "What are you? Two years old?"
The question helped Ash refocus. Returning her challenge this time, he glared down at her. "Just because I wanna see a plane doesn't make me a two year old, Mist."
"Well it does when you just stop paying attention in the middle of conversation! I said something to you, and then you looked at me, and then you…oh." A small blush creeped upon Misty's cheeks as she replayed the small scene in her head.
No wonder he started acting so weird.
She forced the blush away and smiled instead. Though he still drove her crazy in his own way, she'd slowly begun to master the art of attraction, and was starting to enjoy abusing this newfound power on her boyfriend. "Ash, why did you stop looking at me?" She gave him a small dose of innocence with the inquiry, instantly making the trainer uncomfortable.
Looking down at his feet, he stumbled over a small apology.
"What are you sorry for?" She almost couldn't stop the laughter which rose in her as she saw him continue to stare at his own bare feet guiltily.
He looks like a kid who got caught stealing candy.
"Oh, um, nothing," he muttered.
"Well then why aren't you looking at me now? Do you not like looking at me?"
"What?" His head shot up and he locked eyes with her. "Are you crazy? Look at you!"
Now Misty couldn't fight the laughter back any longer, which instantly alarmed Ash.
"Did I say something wrong? What's so funny?"
"You are!" She pointed at him as she tried to catch her breath. "You-you should have seen the look on your face when I asked you that. It was like I'd told you Pikachu was drowning or something."
"Wait…so you're not angry that I was looking?" This was new. Though he'd admired women from afar for many years already, he'd never been caught, and he'd never imagined they'd be fine with his gawking.
"Of course not Ash," she moved closer to him, giving him a small smile. "You're my boyfriend." She began to lean in towards him, but was unexpectedly interrupted as he shoved her backward.
"What was that for?"
"Look over there." He gave a slight jerk to the right, where several spectators were watching the two closely, as well as one man with a camera. "I think they're with the press."
Misty wanted to go kill the awkward stalkers for ruining the couple's moment, but she instead redirected her anger at its usual target. "Why don't we just kiss and get it over with, then? I'm sick of keeping this a secret. You keep telling me we're gonna go ahead and tell everybody, but you never do! I'm sick of it Ketchum!" She kept her voice low enough so that she wouldn't be heard too far off, but still managed to light the fear within her boyfriend's eyes with her low growling.
"A little more time, Mist. That's all I'm asking for."
She huffed. "Fine, but if it's really that important that no one knows what's going on between us, then I won't be talking to you for the rest of the day."
"Why?"
"If they see us talking, they might start to get suspicious, and I can't afford another stupid rumor getting started about me."
"I'm really sorry, Misty. I-"
"Don't talk to me again until after you finally decide to tell the truth." She marched off into the shallow water, and May tagged along moments later.
Drew walked up beside Ash, both young men looking dazed.
"I see Misty wasn't that happy with you either, huh?"
"Nope. How was May?"
"Well, I'm not sure. After she informed everyone within a three mile radius of why I'm a terrible boyfriend and a big liar, she told me not to talk to her again until I apologize."
"Misty's not talking to me either." Ash sat down in the sand and sighed. Pikachu came and nuzzled into his master's chest reassuringly. "Why don't you just apologize to her then? At least it's easy to fix your problem."
"Are you kidding?" Drew asked, taking a seat next to the dark-haired champion. "After all that work I did catching her a nice Pokémon? I'm gonna apologize? No way!"
Ash raised his eyebrows. "You do remember that you caught a Tentacool, right? And also you didn't even catch it at sea."
"Still, she can't prove that," Drew retorted. "As far as she knows, I spent all day out in the blistering sun and humongous, crashing waves trying to find her the perfect Pokémon."
"…and that Pokémon was a Tentacool?"
"Shut up."
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"See you boys later," May informed as she and Misty walked out of the hotel, large t-shirts covering their swimsuits. The two girls were also wearing sunhats and sandals, and appeared ready for a day of fun. "Hope your wrists don't cramp."
Drew grit his teeth at his girlfriend's voice. Ash simply waited to see if Misty would recognize his presence.
"Hey Mist. Hope you have a fun day today."
"Did you hear something May?"
"I don't think so Misty."
"I dunno. It kinda sounded like a guy who's too afraid to tell everyone he has a beautiful, wonderful girlfriend."
May shot her eyebrows up in mock surprise. "Who wouldn't want to tell everybody that?"
"Some moron, probably. Oh well." The redhead shrugged and the two completed their exit.
Drew stared at Ash for a minute, considering what he should say to the embarrassed teenage boy. "That was hard to watch."
Ash resisted the urge to punch the coordinator in the nose. "It's not like May was any nicer."
"Yeah, but at least she knows that I exist."
"Can we just work on this list?" Ash flapped the small piece of paper, upon which was written all the information the two needed to collect, in front of the green-haired teen's face. "After this we still have to go to the caves."
"Fine by me," he answered.
Ash turned on the computer and the two soon got to work. After an hour, they were already through most of the list, and the tension had died down.
"I don't know why they were complaining about this," Ash bragged, clicking on another link. "This is so easy. You just click a button and all the information you need pops up on the screen!"
Drew agreed. "I think they're just lazy."
"Well, we're not. I think we got everything Misty wrote down."
"Great! Let's get to the caves!" Drew stood up and appeared ready to sprint out the door, but Ash shook his head.
"We can't go yet, I still have something I need to do before we leave."
"What is it?"
"I have to make a phone call real quick. Why're you in such a hurry to leave anyway? I would've thought you'd be afraid of a Zubat flying in your hair or something."
The slightly mortified expression which temporarily made itself known on the coordinator's face helped Ash to realize he'd never considered this possibility. However, he quickly regained his composure. "I just wanna hurry because maybe we'll have time to get to the beach before the girls get back."
"Why? You want to watch May not talk to you some more."
"Ha, ha, Ash. Maybe you could have fun while Misty pretends that you're not there." Ash scowled, and Drew continued. "Did you see May yesterday?"
Ash shook his head. In all honesty, his attention had been all on his own girlfriend.
"She got a new bikini…so, yeah."
"Oh…" Though it took him a moment, he finally understood what the coordinator meant. "I wouldn't mind seeing Misty again either, now that you mention it."
"Why? Was she wearing something, um, nice?"
Ash gave a goofy smirk in return. He almost felt like Brock, and the thought helped him regain his senses. "Uh, yeah. It was pretty…nice."
Drew grinned. "Well then hurry up with this phone call. We might be invisible to them, but at least they're not to us!"
Ash laughed and walked over to the phones on the other side of the lobby. He was grateful that the hotel was relatively empty this late in the spring, because he would have hated for someone to hear how the conversation turned out if Dawn did indeed answer. Picking up the receiver, he dialed the number from memory after doing it so often the last few weeks.
Come on, Dawn. Pick up!
Despite his commands though, the blue-haired girl remained infuriatingly absent as the call went to her voicemail.
"Hi! This is Dawn! You've missed me, but no need to worry! I'll call you back as soon as I can. Bye!"
The beep followed, and Ash cleared his throat. "Dawn, this is Ash…again. Listen, Dawn, I can't keep this a secret much longer, alright? Misty's really upset, and I can't blame her. I've called you every day because I don't wanna have to hurt your feelings. I still really wanna be best friends, like we were before all of this, but everyone's gonna find out soon. I want you to tell them, so it looks like this is your choice, but if you don't, then I won't have an option. Well, bye." He hung up and sighed.
I can't believe I lost a friend because of all this.
"I guess you kinda miss her, huh?"
Ash looked up. "Yeah. I just wish things could go back to how they were before she told, or uh, showed me how she felt. We were great friends!"
"That stinks." Drew shook his head. "Still, it's not fair to Misty if you keep this a secret. You know that, right?"
"Uh-huh. I promised her we wouldn't wait much longer, and I'm gonna keep that promise."
"Good. Now let's go catch some cave Pokémon and then see my hot girlfriend!"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"I can't believe the boys had trouble finding nice water Pokémon out here," Misty mentioned atop Starmie. "This is too easy!"
"I know. I don't think they were really trying, though," May explained, mounted on her Glaceon, who's subzero body temperature kept her cool in the baking sun. "I think they were just lazy."
"Probably. So are you happy with what we caught, or do you still wanna keep trying?"
"I think these will definitely do," May replied, holding up two pokéballs. "I can't wait for Drew to see."
"You're gonna start talking to him again?"
"I guess so. After all, he and Ash are doing their end of the deal. It's pretty hard to stay mad at Drew for too long if he doesn't want you to anyway. You're forgiving Ash, right?"
Misty shook her head. "Not until he finally tells everyone about us."
"I'm sure he will soon," May consoled. "He can't have you mad at him forever!"
"I hope not. I don't like not talking to him…it's much more fun yelling at him."
May laughed and the two made their ways back to the shore.
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"Ah! A Zubat!" Drew jumped behind Ash, and the champion rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, Drew? You're still freaking out about what I said earlier? That was just a joke. Zubat won't fly in your hair!"
Drew stepped away and tried to regain his cool demeanor. "I know that Ash. I'm not worried about them flying in my hair…I just don't wanna become a vampire."
Ash just gave the coordinator a pathetic look before moving on. He'd seen his green-haired companion face off against much scarier Pokémon than a Zubat, so it amazed him such petty Pokémon could worry him so.
"Hey Ash! Look over here!" Drew waved frantically. "I think I found what we're looking for!"
This better not be another weird-shaped rock.
Catching up to Drew's location, though, helped Ash to realize that this time the coordinator was correct. There, in the corner of the cave, was a Sableye; its white eyes glowing in the darkness as it skulked along the rocky wall. Ash resisted the urge to scream at first. Though he'd met many ghost Pokémon throughout his journeys, Sableye were by far the creepiest of the lot.
"Pikachu! Let's give it an Iron Tail!"
The electric Pokémon jumped off of his shoulder and flipped through the air, his tail beginning to glow. At the last second though, as it appeared the battle was already complete, the ghost and dark type suddenly disappeared from view.
"What? Where'd it go?" Ash flung his flashlight in every direction as Pikachu made contact with, and consequently broke through, the rough walls.
After a quiet instant, the silent ghost type sprung down from the ceiling and landed directly behind Pikachu.
"Sable!" With a flourish of his arms, the dark Pokémon created a Shadow Ball attack and shot it into Pikachu's back, sending the electric mouse hurtling several feet. Falling onto his stomach, Pikachu gave a low moan.
"Get up and use Double Team!"
Ever-energetic, Pikachu sprung back to his feet and whipped around, facing his grinning opponent as the flashlight gave him the slightest image of the Sableye's silhouette. The dark type began to create another Shadow Ball, but before he could launch it, Pikachu began running circles around the creature. Soon, it appeared as if there were twenty of the electric type.
"Now give 'im a Thunderbolt!" Ash clinched his fist, confident in the eminent victory.
However, as Pikachu's cheeks began to spark, the ghost made a surprising move. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from sight once again, prompting Pikachu to slow to a stop.
Ash scratched the back of his head after a minute of frantic search with the flashlight once more. "Maybe he really gave up this time."
"Uh, Ash," Drew tugged on the champion's sleeve, and the trainer turned just in time to watch as Sableye came out of the ground beneath his Pokémon's feet. Flying in the air, Pikachu squealed and his opponent began to laugh.
"Are you alright?"
Once again, though, Pikachu easily came back to his feet. Despite his high level of skill, Ash could never help but be amazed at the Pokémon's resilience.
"Alright, then. If he wants to fight like that, then we'll just have to play along. Pikachu, use Thundershock!"
A weak electrical surge left the Pokémon's body, and the Sableye vanished once more. This time, though, Ash wasn't surprised by the action. Instead, he smirked and ordered Pikachu to wait. "We'll see what he does next."
After a small lull, Ash could hear some of the rocks beneath Pikachu's feet began to rattle.
"Agility, now!"
In a literal flash, the Pokémon was on the other side of the cave as Sableye sprung up. For a moment, he held the grin on his face from earlier, but that quickly disappeared after he looked around and didn't find his enemy flying through the air.
"Now use Thunderbolt!"
"Chu!" Releasing the attack as quickly as possible, before the ghost and dark Pokémon could perform another disappearing act, Pikachu was rewarded with the sight of his assault making contact.
"Saaaaaable!" cried the Pokémon in pain as the voltage flowed through his body. Ending the attack, Ash quickly grabbed an empty pokéball and aimed it at his opponent. The ball shook for a couple of seconds, forcing Ash to consider another strategy in case the darkness Pokémon reemerged, but it fortunately ceased its rattling before Pikachu started on another attack.
Punching the air, Ash rejoiced with Pikachu as the pokéball disappeared from sight.
Grabbing the champion by the shoulder, Drew reminded him of the business the two had at hand. "Can we get out of here now? If we hurry, we can still make it to the beach before three."
"Sure Drew." Ash began to make his way towards the exit with the green-haired coordinator when a devilish smirk crossed his face. "Oh my gosh, Drew! Is that a Zubat?"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"It's actually too bad the boys aren't here," Misty stated, lying beneath the shade of her beach umbrella as her and May's Pokémon frolicked along the shore.
"Really?" May was surprised to hear anything remorseful come from Misty after how much she'd bad-mouthed the two over the last few hours. "Why'd you change your mind?"
"I didn't really change my mind, but I'm pretty thirsty, and I'm sure Ash could get me a drink without screwing it up."
May gave a small laugh, but she was starting to grow weary of all the jabs Misty had been taking at her boyfriend. "Can you really stay mad at him for long Misty? I know you wanna go public and everything, but shouldn't you be kind of proud of him for not wanting to embarrass a friend?"
Before the redhead could answer, her umbrella suddenly fell over and the sun temporarily blinded her.
"Hey!" she cried, shielding her eyes. "What happened?"
"Why're you hiding under an umbrella?" a tall, muscular, blond teenager asked as the gym leader blinked rapidly to regain her sight. "You're pretty pale. You need to get some sun."
"Who are you and why'd you knock over our umbrella?" May asked haughtily as another boy, a redhead with hair to his shoulder, arrived. "We were trying to stay cool."
"I bet you were, considering how hot you are," commented the redheaded boy.
Misty and May both groaned at the lame line. "Just put back up our umbrella and leave us alone."
"We could do that, but I don't think so. Like I said, you're too pale…though I find that attractive in some girls." The blond eyed Misty seductively, and the girl clinched the towel beneath her palm as she fought the urge to smack him. "My name's Chip, and this is my friend Guy."
"'Sup?" Guy inquired, giving May a small nod of approval. "You wanna go hang out?"
"Hang out with you guys?" May asked incredulously.
"Yeah. We were thinking about maybe grabbing some drinks, and we couldn't help but overhear your small conversation."
Misty rolled her eyes. "No thanks, Chip. We already have boyfriends."
"Yeah, and it sounds like they're in the Growlithe house for something. If you were my girl, I'd never do anything to make you mad."
"Really? Because you're doing a good job of it right now," shot back the teenage girl.
"You need to relax. I'm just saying that maybe this guy doesn't know how good he's got it. You deserve someone who appreciates you." He gave her a wink.
"My boyfriend appreciates me." Misty remarked curtly. "Don't worry about that. Now just put back up our umbrella."
Instead of heeding her command, however, Chip instead took a seat next to the redhead. Guy followed suit and sat next to May.
"How about we just talk for a little while, then? I don't even know your lovely name." He held out his hand, but Misty ignored it. "Oh, I see. Playing hard to get, huh?"
"Look, I'm not gonna tell you again. Get away from me now." Misty balled her fist, ready to take her threat to the next level when a voice from behind caught her attention.
"Hey Misty!"
Turning, she was relieved to find Ash and Drew running towards the two.
"Who're your new friends?"
Misty shook her head. "These aren't our friends. They were just leaving, actually."
"That's right," May agreed, eyeing Guy with all the ferocity she could muster.
Too bad I can't be as scary as Misty.
"Actually, I'm not done sitting yet. Me and this girl, Misty, were just getting to know each other a little better."
"So were me and this little cutie."
Ash and Drew eyed each other with indecipherable expressions. Drew was the first to react.
"What'd you say you were doing with my girlfriend." He took a few steps closer and looked down at Guy. "I didn't catch it the first time."
For an instant, the redhead appeared nervous, but he quickly recovered and shot Drew an easy smirk. "Well if what I heard was right, you won't hold that position much longer. She says you're a bad boyfriend."
"I never told you that!"
"You were talking about it when you and Marcie were fishing in the ocean earlier," Chip explained. "That's how we found out how unhappy you two girls are with your boyfriends."
"What are you? Stalkers?" Misty inquired. "And my name's not Marcie!"
"Whatever." Chip stood up, once again with Guy following his lead. "Besides, these two boyfriends of yours sure don't look very tough. You deserve someone who can look out for you."
Ash gave a slight gulp. Though he was no wimp, both of the teenage boys stood a head above he and Drew. However, the image of Misty sitting with another man reentered his mind's eye, and instantly any hesitance was forgotten as he approached the almost-gigantic blond.
"I'm a lot tougher than you think," he informed, looking up.
Chip simply began to laugh. "You're alright, but not that tough. Me and Guy are pretty big basketball stars around here. You can't compete with that. Ladies love the athletes, you know? It's nothing personal, but we're just really popular and handsome."
"Don't try starting something you can't finish," Guy warned. "They're our girlfriends now."
"We can't compete with you?" Drew spat, beginning to laugh. "Don't you guys watch Pokémon battles like everyone else in the world?"
Chip shook his head. "Pokémon training's stupid."
"You don't watch contests either, then?"
"What am I? Gay?"
"That's it!" Drew lunged forward, surprising everyone as his fist made contact with the right side of the redhead's jaw. The teen was forced into a slight spin before he could regain his sense of direction. Turning back to the green-haired coordinator, he rubbed the side of his face thoughtfully for a moment.
"Drew! What are you doing?" May asked, standing up and getting in front of her boyfriend.
"Don't you hurt him!" she warned the brutish opponent.
Guy put his hand down. "Too late for that." Sidestepping May, he gave Drew a direct blow to the gut, instantly knocking the wind out of May's boyfriend, and forcing Ash to action.
"Hang on!" he called, reaching out to stop Guy before he could deliver another blow. However, before he could make it, Chip grabbed him by the shoulder.
"I can't let you hurt my friend," he informed. Ash turned, but before he could realize what was happening, he felt himself fall to the ground. Chip sneered from what appeared to be miles above, and the champion's blood began to boil.
Getting back onto his feet, he rushed the surprised basketball player and tackled him into the sand.
"Ash!" Misty called worriedly. She'd never seen Ash actually lose his temper and hit someone before.
The trainer lifted his gloved fist, ready to bring it down, but before he could, Guy made a surprise appearance from behind and held back his arm before folding it backwards.
"Ahhhh!" Ash cried as his elbow felt ready to snap. His cry was followed by a moan as Chip took the opportunity to punch him upside the jaw.
"I'll help you, Ash!" cried Drew, bleeding from the mouth and nose slightly. He ran over, but Guy was too quick for him once again, half-turning and backhanding the green-haired teen in the face. He was given a shock, though, when he turned back to Ash and suddenly felt himself being pushed down. Looking up, he found Misty helping her boyfriend back to his feet.
"Misty, quit helping! I was just about to get a hit!"
Unfortunately, it was too late as Chip had already gotten back to his feet. He put his fists in front of his body and bounced around a little, imitating a boxer. "You gonna give up?"
"No way!" Ash declared, shaking himself loose from Misty's grip. He put up his own fists, feeling slightly ridiculous since he'd rarely ever been involved in fist-fights before. However, his pride quickly converted that embarrassment into determination as he gave the blond a right hook.
"Whoa!" Chip backed away slightly as the fist went rushing by. "Nice try, little man."
Ash narrowed his eyes and went in for another hit, this time making partial contact with the blond's chin.
"That's it," Chip muttered, retaliating with a lightning-quick jab to Ash's mouth.
The trainer fought back the urge to cry in pain as he tasted a tinge of blood roll down his tongue. Instead, he refocused the anger on another blow; this time to the stomach.
Doubling over slightly, Chip got ready to fight back, but before he could make another move, a passerby interjected and broke up the tussle.
"What's going on here?" cried an elderly woman as she walked over to the fighting teenagers. Ash and Chip looked over at the lady, and Drew and Guy temporarily ended their roll around the sand to glance up at the old woman.
"Why are you boys behaving in such a way?" she bellowed, slowly walking over to them. She picked Drew up and off of his opponent, and then stood in between Ash and Chip. The bloodied fighters eyed each other skeptically. "What would your mothers think if they saw you acting like this?"
Soon, her small sermon garnered the attention of many a passerby on the beach.
"Young people these days don't know how to respect each other. That's their problem. Why, back in my day young men such as yourselves would settle a tussle in a much more civil manner, like a Pokémon battle, or a nice game of chess."
"Really Grandma?" Chip asked, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, and don't call me Grandma. We're not related."
"Wait a minute. That's Ash Ketchum!" cried a young boy from the growing crowd. Perhaps it had taken longer to recognize the trainer without his trademark cap and with small traces of blood covering his face, but the inevitable recognition finally occurred.
A young woman squinted at the trainer before covering her mouth. "Oh my gosh, it is!" She reached into her purse and pulled out a cell phone, instantly texting at a thousand words per minute to any number of friends.
"You're the young man from the television, aren't you?" the old woman asked peering up at Ash, apparently unimpressed by his fame.
"Yes ma'am." He began to blush as several people in the crowd realized that the old woman was not only chewing out men twice her size, but was actually putting a Pokémon champion on his heels. "I'm the Sinnoh Champion."
She put her hands on her hips and gave Ash a stern look. "Then you of all people should know better! You're a role model for young children." She pointed to a group of young giggling kids to prove her point. "How do you think they feel finding out their hero is some kind of gangster getting in fights on the beach?"
"I'm not a gangster!"
"Well what kind of hooligan are you to be fist-fighting in public?"
"A hooligan?" He heard Misty snort in laughter behind him. Turning around he gave her a sharp glare. "Yeah, Mist, laugh away." Giving his attention back to the older woman he indignantly folded his arms. "I was actually fighting him about her, believe it or not."
"Oh, so this was about a woman."
"Misty Waterflower!" someone declared from within the growing crowd. Some lights began to flash as well as several people took out their cameras. "I can't believe it. I guess the rumors are true."
Misty and Ash both began to blush as even more people started taking pictures and yelling questions. It seemed that the only thing keeping them from mauling the teenagers was the old woman, who seemed to possess an odd air of respectability despite her outward appearance.
"I can't say I'm surprised. Back in my day, I used to have boys fight over me all the time too." She gave Misty a sly wink. "And a beauty like her certainly doesn't come along very often. But still, you two are role models and should act as such." She poked both men in the chest with her index finger. "Now shake hands and leave each other alone. You too over there!" she shouted to Drew and Guy, who begrudgingly held out their hands.
"Fine. It isn't worth this kind of trouble anyway," Chip mentioned, firmly taking Ash's hand. "I didn't know I was messing with a celebrity. I don't need a bunch of death threats in the mail." He skulked away, with the redhead following close behind.
"So Mr. Ketchum, why did you say you were fighting that young man?" asked a middle-aged woman in a pantsuit, emerging from the crowd with a recorder in her hand. Ash instantly recognized her as a local news anchor.
What do I say?
As he prepared to explain the platonic feelings between himself and Misty, the gym leader appeared and answered for him.
"That guy was bugging me and my friend May and wouldn't leave us alone. When Drew and Ash got here, they asked the guys to leave, and they still wouldn't, and then things just got out of hand. That's all."
"I see…" the reporter answered, obviously disappointed. "So then is there anything to this rumor that you two are in a relationship?"
Ash's muscles tensed at the question as the onlookers quieted to hear his response. However, once again Misty intervened.
"Not at all, we're just-"
"Misty, stop." Ash couldn't stand to hear his own girlfriend utter those words. Suddenly, hearing her say them made them seem almost scarily…real. In an instant, he understood why she hated keeping their feelings a secret from everyone.
"What?" She gazed at him, eyebrows raised in surprise.
Isn't this what you want?
Ash gently reached over and grabbed his girlfriend's hand. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he smiled at the reporter. "I have the best girlfriend anyone could want right here."
A few members of the crowd began to declare that they "knew it", and several more flashes came from the group as the two continued to hold hands. The reporter's eyes grew wide, along with Misty's, and she started rattling off several more inquiries, which Ash quickly answered.
"No, of course she's not pregnant."
"We're not married."
"Dawn is not my girlfriend. That was just a mistake."
After that, he, Drew, Misty, and May quickly grabbed the girls' things and headed back to the hotel, dodging autograph-hungry fans and question-loaded reporters.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Finally making it back to her room, Ash and Misty bid the other two a temporary farewell before closing and locking the door behind them.
"I can't believe all the people looking for us!" Ash went over to the window and partially cracked the blinds. Sure enough, dozens of people with pencils and paper were being refused entrance by the owner of the hotel. "It's like they're a mob."
"Why'd you finally decide to tell, Ash?"
"Huh?" He turned back and found the redhead sitting on the edge of her bed. "What?"
"Why'd you tell that reporter the truth all of a sudden? I mean, I'm glad, but it surprised me after all this time."
Ash sighed. Why did she always need to know why he did things? Couldn't he just do something without having to explain the feelings which led him to doing it? Nevertheless, the expression on her face assured him she wouldn't let this go, so he took a seat beside her and grabbed her hand.
"I didn't like hearing you say that."
"Say what?"
"That we were just friends. When you were explaining what happened to the reporter, and you almost said that, I…felt scared."
Misty looked worried. "You know that I was just lying for you, right?"
"Of course, but it didn't help. It was like hearing you say it was still too real for me, and then it hit me that that's why you haven't liked keeping it a secret either. This whole time I've been the one doing the denying, and I couldn't understand why it was so hard on you, but when you were answering, it was like I finally got it."
Misty gave a small smile. "I think I know what you mean. May actually stuck up for you and said that you were just being a good friend to Dawn, and that made me think. When I saw that reporter asking you, and saw how torn you were, I just couldn't make you choose between being a boyfriend or a loyal friend."
Ash nodded. "Yeah, I guess the same thing did happen to you. I'm sorry it took so long for me to figure it out, though."
"Well, to be fair, it took both of us a while this time." Misty laughed. "You're usually wrong, like ninety percent of the time, but I guess this time I was kinda not right either."
Ash laughed too. "I need to get a recording of you saying that."
After a moment, Misty asked another question bugging her. "Why did you and Drew even come to the beach anyway? I thought you guys had a lot of work to do."
"Well, we finished your computer stuff really quick. It wasn't hard for us like it was for you guys."
Misty's temper flared a little at the insinuation. "Of course it wasn't for you. All the stuff I asked you to look up was stuff I can't because I'm only a gym leader. Do you know how many times me and May had to call and ask for special permission just for stupid information?"
"Oh, alright. That explains it. Drew thought we were just smarter than you, but I told him we weren't."
"He's such a moron," Misty muttered.
"Anyway, we did that and then we caught the two Pokémon pretty quickly and then we went to the beach."
"But why would you go to the beach if you knew we were mad at you guys still?"
Ash blushed. "Oh, um. Well, you see, Drew said that we were invisible to you, but at least you weren't invisible to, uh, us. You know?"
Misty scratched her head, trying to understand. "Why would you-? Oh…" A blush streaked across her face too, but Ash mistook its meaning.
"I'm so sorry Misty! I promise I won't ever look again, really! I was just listening to stupid Drew, and like you said, he's a moron, and-"
"Ash, Ash, calm down," Misty tightened her grip on his hand as she laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not mad. It's just a little embarrassing to think that someone wants to…see me, I guess. I'm still getting used to the idea of someone thinking I'm pretty."
"Pretty? You're beautiful!" Ash almost sounded agitated.
Her blush deepened.
"I already told you I liked how you looked yesterday, remember? Why are you still acting like it's news. Everyone knows you look awesome!"
"Thanks Ash," she replied simply, pushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Looking down at the large t-shirt which now covered her swim suit, she felt a little silly. "I guess this isn't the view you were looking for then, huh?"
This time Ash laughed a little.
"What is it?"
"I dunno. It's weird, but it's like I think you're just pretty no matter what. Even in just that."
Misty resisted the urge to jump the young man. It was as if he could say no wrong. However, her attention as she faced him turned to the small cuts and bruises lining his face and arms.
"I wish you hadn't gotten in that fight." She lightly ran a finger along his jaw, which was already turning a dark shade.
"I'm sorry, but it was just too much. I saw him flirting with you, and then he knocked me down, and things just got out of control. I hate fighting like that, but it was like I couldn't control it, you know?"
She gently cupped his cheek. "I know. Let's go get you fixed up." Leading him by the hand, the two headed to the bathroom for bandages and ice.
"Maybe when we're done you can admire my beauty for a while."
"Don't get too full of yourself Mist."
Author's Notes: Rough chapter to get out, but I'm hoping all of my effort (no joke, at least a dozen hours) paid off. I fixed and re-wrote entire parts of this installment in editing (would have been out last week originally), but I think this was pretty good.
Anyway, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed with myself. Believe it or not, I think this small (unintentional) break was good. It gave me some perspective on where the fic is going. I've finally written back my reviewers, but that's not going to garner more readers. My views have fallen by a bit the last few updates, and reviews are significantly lower (average of 24, while three chapters ago the average was about 40). So I've decided to do a few things. First of all, I'm going to ask that all of my loyal readers continue to give reviews. As we all know, the more reviews a fic has, the more likely a passerby on the site is to click on it (more reviews = more respect). Also, I've been promoting this fic on a few websites I'm a member of, and I would greatly appreciate any of my fans' help in spreading the word of this fic on any fansites they might be a part of if they enjoy this story (of course, haha). Of course, I also plan to keep my updates going at a regular pace from now on as well.
The entire reason I write this is because I see pokeshipping as a viable ship, and I want to propel this story's trajectory in the right direction so that we can show others the same idea. I've "converted" dozens already into accepting, or at least respecting, this matching, but we can only continue to do this if the story continues to gain new fans. While this is just a hobby, I also see it as a small business (Econ major, haha), and I really want it to grow and flourish under the AAML philosophy. Please help this small enterprise continue to thrive as you have in the past.
Also, before I let you go, I have one last request from my readers. If ANY of you draws fanart, could you please let me know? I had an artist for a couple of months, but lost them and their work, and I really have a couple of ideas (at least one) that I'd love to have drawn up. I could care less if you're really good…I just need it to be recognizable.
Thank you so much if you've read all this. Expect a new update in two weeks!