One of my goals for 2019 is to write more, and that includes updating my stories more consistently again. So, here's my first entry of the new year!
Soap Opera Digest
Basically everyone has at least one guilty pleasure they're not too proud to admit they have. For some people, it's enjoying food that isn't necessarily good for you. For others, it's playing video games often thought of for kids.
For Misty, it was watching cheesy, dramatic soap operas.
In all fairness, she hadn't electively chosen to begin watching them. When she and Ash were living with his mother, she watched them every single day. Misty generally just tuned them out, but once it got to the point where she'd become super pregnant and confined to bed rest, she much preferred to be downstairs with Delia rather than upstairs and alone, which pretty much forced her to begin paying attention to the TV.
"This is a little much, isn't it?" Misty wondered aloud after one of the characters tossed a drink in the face of another character…apparently her sister.
"Yes, more often than not it gets a bit silly," Delia agreed, folding a shirt and placing it in the laundry basket next to her.
"So how come you like watching it so much?" Misty asked before gasping and covering her mouth. "I'm sorry, that came out way ruder than I meant it to!"
"Oh, don't worry about it, dear," Delia scoffed. "It's a perfectly valid question! Honestly, they're just really addictive. You can't help but to wonder what's going to happen next, no matter how crazy and unrealistic the story is."
Misty twisted her mouth as she considered Delia's reply. "That actually makes sense." She turned back towards the TV, resting one hand on her large belly. "So why's that girl so mad?"
"That girl is Emilia, and she just found out that her husband cheated on her with her sister…well, her half-sister, Leesha," Delia explained.
"That's so messy," Misty breathed.
"It's ridiculous, but the husband certainly is good looking," Delia sighed. "She just couldn't stay away."
Misty blinked and tilted her head. "So like…where does she even go from here? What does she do with her husband? Kill him or something?"
"Wouldn't be the first time on this show," Delia noted. Misty's eyes widened as she snapped her head towards her mother-in-law, waiting for her to say she was joking. When Delia realized Misty was giving her that look, however, she simply hummed and continued, "That's really happened before. More than once, actually."
"This is actually insane," Misty commented.
"Now you see why I can't stop watching this nonsense," Delia agreed.
"It's so dumb, but it's like…I need to know what happens next!" Misty cried. "That trashy husband of hers better get what for! And her trashy half-sister too. A glass full of cocktail to the face isn't enough."
Delia smirked and cast the laundry basket aside. "Well, if you're going to get sucked into this train wreck too, might as well catch you up on the history of the whole thing."
XXX
And so, ever since then, Misty had religiously watched Days of Our Pokémon every single day. She was not proud of this fact, however, and did not admit it to anyone…not even her husband. It had been that way for nearly seven years and she certainly wasn't about to change that fact.
Well…wasn't planning on it, at least.
After successfully putting her children down for a nap, Misty made her way downstairs with the intent of watching her (secretly beloved) drama. She was taken off guard, however, when she found Ash sitting on the couch with the television remote in his hand.
"Ash!" Misty hissed, covering her heart. "When did you get home?!"
"Uh…like 15 minutes ago," Ash replied.
"And you came in that quietly?" Misty asked, hardly believing it.
"I guess so," Ash murmured, shrugging his shoulders. "But…probably not. You normally hear me, so you must've been pretty busy or something. Where were you?"
"Trying to get all three of our kids to nap at once," Misty grumbled.
"Wow, that's basically impossible," Ash marveled. "Did it work?"
"Surprisingly enough, yes," Misty sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Took me forever though."
"You seem kind of tired yourself," Ash observed. "Maybe you should take a nap, too!"
"It's not a bad idea, but I think I'd rather just relax for a bit," Misty sighed, sinking down beside her husband.
"Sounds good to me!" Ash chuckled. "I'll even put on a show for you!"
"What show?" Misty questioned, not thinking anything of it.
"I don't know, whatever it is you have saved in your folder here," Ash replied.
Misty jumped straight up, her hands scrambling to grip the couch. "What folder?!"
"This one that I found on the TV hidden behind like three other folders," Ash answered as though it should have been obvious.
Misty's entire face involuntarily turned red. "Wh-why are you snooping around like that?!"
Ash blinked. "How come you're so worked up over it?"
"Because you're digging into my private stuff!" Misty howled.
Ash stayed silent for a moment before warily responding, "I feel like you're hiding something from me."
"I'm not," Misty grumbled unconvincingly, her face still red.
Ash, of course, wasn't convinced and clicked the final folder. Misty unleashed a horrified squeal and jumped on top of him, trying to snatch the remote from his hands. Ash grunted and tried to shoulder her off, which did him no good.
"Arceus, you hold on like an Aipom," Ash muttered.
"Don't you dare open that folder, Ash Ketchum!" Misty warned.
"I already did," Ash deadpanned.
Misty's eyes widened as her head snapped up to look at the TV. A seemingly never ending list of the same title over and over again graced it, causing Misty to groan and sink down until her face was buried between her husband's neck and shoulder.
"Days of Our Pokémon?" Ash read, furrowing his brow. "What's this, some kind of documentary?"
Misty only responded with a huff, which Ash decided to take as a yes.
"Oh, well, that's no big deal!" Ash chuckled. "I thought this thing was gonna be full of shows with half naked guys."
Misty sighed and didn't bother to pick her head up. Ash clicked on the remote again, starting the first episode on the list. As soon as Misty heard the melodic theme song, she picked her head right back up and gasped.
"Why'd you turn it on?!" Misty cried, reaching for the remote once more.
"Mist, chill!" Ash laughed, holding the remote above his head. "I don't know why you're being so weird about having a bunch of Pokémon documentaries recorded. I'll watch these with you!"
Once the theme song ended, a strange sound emitted from the TV, causing Ash to raise an eyebrow. Misty caught sight of the screen and squeaked, covering her face with her hands.
Ash pursed his lips and slowly turned towards the TV. "Hey, that kind of sounds like when we…" His eyes widened, and he whipped his head back towards Misty. "How come people are making out on a documentary about Pokémon?!"
"It's not a Pokémon documentary!" Misty finally stormed.
Ash remained silent for a moment before humming thoughtfully. "Well that makes a lot more sense." He looked over at the TV again and watched for a few more seconds before realizing, "hey, wait a sec. My mom watches this show! Isn't this that-"
"Dumb, cheesy, overdramatic soap opera?" Misty finished for him. "Yes. It is."
"She's watched this for as long as I can remember," Ash mused. "She used to tell me not to bother her when it was on because it was her 'one hour of enjoyment' or something like that. I always thought it seemed like a pretty weird show. So…you like it too?"
Misty hesitated for a moment before tensely replying, "I guess you could say that."
"How come you hid it behind all these folders?" Ash asked.
"Because it's embarrassing," Misty replied, apparently shocked he even had to ask.
"It's not embarrassing," Ash chuckled. "It's just a show!"
"Yeah, a dumb show," Misty grumbled.
"But you just said you like it," Ash reasoned with her.
"Technically I didn't say that," Misty corrected him. "I said I guess you could say I like it. Not that I do like it."
"Right…" Ash drawled. "Well, you have to kind of like it to have this many episodes of it recorded."
"It's just addictive, that's all!" Misty cried. "Even your mom says that! You can't stop watching because you get sucked into it. It's really more of a hostage situation than anything."
There was a beat of silence. Then Ash burst out into laughter, much to Misty's annoyance.
"What's so funny?!" She demanded.
"You're coming up with so many excuses about liking this show," Ash snickered. "It's really not a big deal, Mist."
"Well, it is to me!" Misty growled, jumping to her feet as she began to pace the floor. "There's a stereotype that goes with those dumb shows! And the stereotype is that they're only watched by bored housewives with nothing better to do. I will not be viewed as a stereotypical housewife!"
"Hey, I don't think of you like that," Ash tried, nervously waving his hands in front of him. "You're way more than just a housewife. It's just one of the many reasons I love you so much!"
"Oh, Ash, I know that you know that," Misty breathed, settling down enough to walk back over to him and sit on his lap. "I just don't want other people thinking it."
Ash smiled against the back of Misty's ribs and wrapped his arms around her. "No one's gonna think anything. Your secret is safe with me."
"Thanks," Misty murmured.
"So…since I now know this isn't a Pokémon documentary, can we watch something else?" Ash asked sheepishly.
Misty smirked and shook her head. "Absolutely."
XXX
"The baby is totally Steven's."
"No way! It's got to be Jonathon's."
"Why? It'd be so much more dramatic if it was Steven's!"
"Yeah but if it is then Ali and Jonathon will break up, and they can't just break up one of the best couples on the show!"
"But they always do that!"
"Yeah, but Ali and Jonathon are different."
"They've already broken up like…twice."
"I know, but-"
"Ahem."
May and Dawn looked across the table, where Misty was shooting them an unimpressed look.
"Oops," May murmured before genuinely apologizing, "sorry about that, Misty."
"Yeah, we keep forgetting you don't watch Days of our Pokémon," Dawn added. "Even though you totally should! It's so good."
"That's what you both keep telling me," Misty sighed, picking up her menu to peruse it.
May and Dawn had been watching the show since they were teenagers, but they had no idea Misty watched it as well, and she'd been insistent on keeping it that way. They frequently got swept up in discussing the latest episodes and their little theories, and apparently called each other over the phone weekly to do just that. Still, when the three women had arranged to meet up for lunch while May and Dawn were visiting Kanto on contest business, Misty hadn't really expected to get caught in the middle of one of their chats.
"I just keep thinking…what if Bruno reveals Ali's secret about knowing who stole Rod's beloved Ninetails?" May continued in a hushed tone.
"He would never," Dawn refuted, reaching for her iced tea. "He's her uncle! And she's his favorite niece!"
"Anything is possible if Dr. Gaines breaks out his Hypno and uses hypnosis," May mused. "And he and Bruno have been having that feud for years! He'd do anything to tick him off, and going after Ali totally qualifies."
"Please, Dr. Gaines will figure out the father of her baby before he finds out where Rod's Ninetails is," Dawn scoffed.
Misty just peered over the top of her menu with narrowed eyes. "Really?"
The two other women quickly looked just as guilty as they had before.
"We just keep getting carried away," May sighed, shaking her head.
"It's because it's so good," Dawn groaned. "Misty, seriously, you should watch it. Just try one episode!"
"No thanks, I'm alright," Misty plainly replied, finally putting down her menu to take a sip of her water.
"Oh but the guys are so hot," Dawn sighed, fluttering her eyelashes.
Misty smirked at the blue haired beauty. "Hotter than Kenny?"
Dawn's face flashed red and she glanced up towards the ceiling. "No comment."
May remained silent for a moment before contemplating, "what if Bruno secretly wants to expose Ali because he knows she's a threat to the family business? After all, her father, ya know, Bruno's half-brother-"
Misty slammed her menu down and glared at a startled May. "Just because Bruno and Daniel don't get along doesn't mean he'll get Ali in trouble! She's literally the only thing related to Daniel he cares about; he's not risking that."
Both Dawn and May's jaws dropped following Misty's outburst. Misty kept the aggravated look on her face…until she realized what she'd just done. Once that hit her, her eyes widened and she smacked her hands against her head. "Oh no."
May and Dawn slowly turned towards Misty. Finally, Dawn managed to ask, "you…already watch Days of our Pokémon, don't you?"
Misty remained silent for a long minute before admitting, "…maybe."
May's eyes lit up. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?! You could've totally joined in on our phone calls!"
"Because I don't like to admit that I actually watch it," Misty grumbled, lowering her hands. "I mean, Ash literally just found out about it and we've been married for seven years."
"Wow, that's some dedication to hiding it," May breathed, sounding genuinely impressed.
"It's such a dumb show," Misty muttered, shaking her head as she took a sip of water.
Now Dawn was even more confused. "Wait, if you think it's so dumb, why do you watch it?"
"Because I can't stop," Misty plainly replied, putting her glass down. "It's so stupid, but it's so addictive. How am I supposed to stop watching after all of those crazy cliffhangers they give you? It's like a crazy deep spiral I can't get myself out of. Or a really grizzly train wreck that you just can't look away from, no matter how bad you want to."
Dawn still seemed perplexed, but May was just happy that one of her best friends was actually into the same show as her after thinking she'd never even seen it and constantly begging for her to get into it. "So does this mean you'll join in our phone discussions now?"
Misty grimaced at the idea. "May, it's already bad enough I owned up to watching this nonsense. I don't need to feel any worse about it."
May pouted at Misty's dismissal of the idea. "But it'd be so much fun for all of us to talk about the wedding next week!"
Misty sighed and rolled her eyes. It was so hard to say no to May for some reason. "Fine. But just next week. Then I'm out!"
May quickly nodded her head before leaning into Dawn once Misty picked her menu back up. "We're so gonna rope her in."
"Oh, absolutely," Dawn assured the brunette. "If Misty thinks she can get out of those calls now that we know her dirty little secret, she's out of her mind."
Full disclosure that I watch soap operas, hence the idea, and they are just as dumb, wild, and addictive as this story makes them out to be.
