A/N: This one was pretty fast as well, right? :D Thank you all very much, and let's get to it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).
Days
The day Ash gets soaked through
Ash
Wednesday, November 27th
The weather was typical fall weather, with a dreary rain and grey clouds everywhere. It reflected Ash's mood perfectly.
He stood on a training field near the edge of Viridian City, the rain falling relentlessly on him and his Pokémon, but his thoughts were far from the weather or the training.
Misty was keeping something from him. She acted normal, but it was obviously acting. With Misty it was usually a toss-up if she was acting this way because she wanted to keep it a secret or because she wanted him to ask about it.
As soon as he noticed her forced smile for the first time (after one of her first League meetings she had had as an Elite Four member) he had asked her what was wrong, but she had told him not to worry about it. Of course, that had made him do the opposite, but he had let her be for a while.
That had lasted less than twenty-four hours, because Misty couldn't even concentrate during a Gym Battle, and he had to know what would have her so distracted doing the thing she loved. Even though she had told him very clearly that she was fine, she was obviously not, and Ash had then chosen to use his most tested method: pestering her until she relented.
It was a dangerous and risky strategy, because without fail it left Misty angry with him, but usually in her explosion of rage she would reveal what was bothering her.
That wasn't what had happened yesterday. Instead of exploding, Misty had burst into tears, and that had left Ash clueless and inwardly panicking while he attempted to comfort her. From her muffled words in between the sobs he managed to understand that she wasn't allowed to tell him what was going on, and later, when she had calmed some more, she told him that he wasn't even supposed to know something was going on.
So he had sworn secrecy in an overly exaggerated manner that made Misty smile a little bit, but had watched her get ready for bed with a worried eye.
This morning Ash had hovered over Misty like a mother hen until she had told him (tiredly, without her usual vigor) that he should do his own thing and that she would be fine, she would be leaving for another League meeting soon anyway.
And so he here he was, training for the Indigo League Conference, but he would be the first one to admit that he wasn't paying full attention to the training.
"Pikapi?"
Pikachu was the second.
Ash refocused on the wet and muddy training field, where several of his Pokémon stood waiting for his orders. Only Sceptile and Snivy were still continuing to spar, while the others had noticed that Ash was no longer giving any other orders or even paying attention.
Inwardly, Ash let out a sigh at his own lack of concentration, but he couldn't help but worry about Misty and thinking up all kind of apocalyptic scenarios that had her so worried. He shook his head slightly. Perhaps it would be a good idea to call it a day.
"Well done guys, that's enough for today!" Ash said, his grin perhaps a little bit forced. Especially Pignite seemed to be relieved to hear that the wet training was going to end, and Ash recalled his Pokémon one by one with a thank you or a well done until he was left with only Pikachu. The yellow Pokémon jumped on Ash's shoulder and Ash smiled slightly at his starter.
He stood in the rain for some moments, staring at nothing. He was not in the mood to go to the Cerulean Gym, waiting for Misty to come home from yet another meeting, looking yet another shade paler, with her eyes a tad duller and her smile less convincing.
"Pikapi," Pikachu said, and Ash shook himself out of his daze and patted his Pokémon.
"Alright, let's go check how Professor Oak and Gary are doing, and maybe Mom will have some leftovers we can take home, Misty will like that," Ash decided with a nod, his mood rising. With a brisk pace he started towards his hometown.
The laboratory was the eye catcher of Pallet Town, and Ash felt himself smile when he neared the familiar town. The first ten years of his life had been spent here, and while it would always be home, he was quite happy with his new spot in Cerulean City. The city had much more possibilities when it came to training, the Gym offered a lot of space, and it had a much more central position in the region compared to Pallet Town. Though he did miss the peace and quiet of Pallet Town, which the city definitely lacked.
The rain continued to fall and if Ash hadn't been soaked wet already from the training, he definitely would have been now. When the door was opened by Gary, he first laughed at his pitiful state before letting him in.
"Let me get you a towel and some dry clothes," Gary said after their greetings, and Ash followed him upstairs to the bathroom. He quickly dried Pikachu and himself and got changed, before going downstairs to the laboratory again.
Gary had already gone back to his work, and Ash was not surprised to find him hunched over a screen, enthusiastically typing away, and Professor Oak working with two Tangela, which appeared to have gotten tied up together.
"Hello, Professor Oak, Gary," Ash greeted them properly now that he was no longer soaked through. "Thanks for the clothes," he added, nodding at Gary who nodded back. "How is everything going here?"
"Hm, well, it could have been better, not much progress on these poor Tangela yet-" One of the Pokémon made a pitiable sound. "-but I'm sure we'll get there, no worries," Professor Oak added, smiling reassuringly at the Tangela. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and studied the tangled vines with curiosity.
"I've been working on my paper about weather and Pokémon," Gary said, and Ash nodded, remembering that Gary had went to Shamouti and the surrounding islands in hopes of seeing the Legendary birds for that paper, but had ended up disappointed.
"But I can take a break," Gary added, getting up and stretching his arms. "C'mon, I'll get you something to drink."
Ash gave Professor Oak a wave the man didn't see as he was already continuing on working with the Tangela, helped by Pikachu, before following Gary to the more cozy living area of the Oaks' house. Gary had shortly lived together with Leaf in a League-owned place, but had come back to Pallet due to the fact that Leaf was away more often than not. Ash had thought Gary's move odd at first, but now he realized he could understand.
"So, what made you crazy enough to come all the way to Pallet in the pouring rain, Ashy-boy?" Gary grinned while handing him a cup of coffee. He himself took a big swallow before letting out a content sigh. "I needed that."
Gary was probably one of the few people who could understand how he felt, Ash realized.
"Nothing much," he said after taking a welcome sip of the hot liquid. "I've been just training… Misty is gone a lot..."
Gary looked at him with sympathy.
"Yeah, I know, same here," Gary said, the cheerful tone gone from his voice. "I mean, I'm lucky if Leaf has more than ten minutes time to talk to me." Gary paused. "It's difficult, I know. It's frustrating to see her all stressed out and not being able to do something about it. At least, not without breaking the law." He smiled weakly.
Ash smiled back, strangely feeling like a weight had fallen off his shoulders.
Gary's grin widened. "Yeah, just remember, all League members' partners have this. Some say it gets better, but so far, I haven't noticed it yet."
He put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Just keep hanging in there and be as supportive as you can, but no asking questions, because she won't answer them, anyway. They'll solve this crisis and then things will go back to normal."
Even though his friend hadn't said anything Ash hadn't know yet, he felt more positive than he had in days.
"Thanks, Gary. Really."
Gary held up his cup in a silent acknowledgement, and Ash raised his one as well.
A/N: Aww, poor Ash. At least he has Gary. But what is going on with Misty, hm… Thank you very much for reading, and please leave me a review!
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