Well, looks like my Greninja manifestation actually worked! Maybe this one will work for another Misty cameo? ;)
I know I'm a couple days late for Girls' Day, but I've always loved writing for it, so I figured better late than never.
Elizabeth: 5 years old
Girls' Day Wish
Elizabeth Ketchum had a secret.
The only person, er, stuffed Pokémon…in the world who knew this secret was Teddi. She had whispered it only once to the plush bear in a moment of vulnerability, and never dared to let those words leave her lips ever again. Regardless, she knew her friend was aware of her feelings, and so that made it extra necessary to not repeat them.
If you were Teddi, you would know that Elizabeth's deep, dark secret was that, well…she wasn't always as confident as she seemed.
That didn't sound like such a big deal. But to Elizabeth, it was.
She wasn't afraid of much. Just thunder and the occasional monster under her bed. Other than that, she was very self-assured, and had been since she was very young.
In actuality, she was still young. Only five years old. But Elizabeth knew that, as a five-year-old, she was much more mature than a two or three or even four-year-old. After all, she was already halfway to being old enough to become a Pokémon trainer.
That was actually part of the reason she could feel her confidence slip sometimes.
Being the daughter of two very successful Pokémon trainers could be pretty intimidating. Her father was the world-renowned Pokémon Master. Her mother was the highly respected Cerulean City gym leader. Together, they were practically the king and queen of the Pokémon world. And now her older siblings were trainers too.
Elizabeth wanted to be just as good of a trainer as they all were. But sometimes, she wasn't sure if she would be able to. It was a lot of pressure, after all. Not only that, but a lot of people would be watching her once she started entering competitions. Elizabeth still wasn't even sure what kind of trainer she wanted to be. Sometimes she wanted to challenge gyms, like her brother, but other times, she wanted to participate in contests, like her sister. Her parents always assured her she had plenty of time to make that decision, but that didn't make Elizabeth any less impatient.
Presently, she was sitting in front of her hina dolls, scowling. It wasn't because she was unhappy it was Girls' Day. On the contrary, she loved Girls' Day. But the holiday was all about praying for girls' health and happiness, as her mother had taught her, and right about now, happiness was a foreign concept for Elizabeth.
For starters, she missed her older sister. This was her first Girls' Day without Michelle, and it made Elizabeth sad. She'd always loved celebrating the holiday with her big sister and teaming up to tease their brother during it. It was so funny to watch him squirm around the dolls, complain about how girly the whole day was, and whine when she and Michelle hoarded the special treats. That had become just as much of a tradition to Elizabeth as anything else associated with the holiday.
But there was also her lingering fear of growing up and becoming an unsuccessful Pokémon trainer. All Elizabeth wanted was to become a beautiful, talented lady, like her mother and sister. And she figured if she sat down in front of her hina dolls and thought hard enough about it, then maybe they could help make her wish come true.
"You looking at your dolls again?"
Elizabeth blinked and turned her head. "Uh huh."
Misty smiled and sat down beside her daughter. "They sure are beautiful! And I'm pretty happy that you enjoy looking at them more than playing with them now."
The girl blushed at her mother's playful comment. "That was forever ago!"
Misty giggled. "It doesn't feel like forever ago to me! You know I'll always think of you as my little girl."
"Yeah…" Elizabeth sighed before growing serious. "But I'm not little anymore! I'm a big kid!"
Although she seemed a little taken off guard by the child's outburst at first, Misty quickly showed her daughter a smile and assured her, "of course you are. You're growing up so quickly that is scares me sometimes! But you are turning into such a lovely young lady."
Elizabeth bristled at the compliment. "Hey, I'm not that old either!"
Smirking, Misty leaned in closer to the girl. "You sure seem touchy today. How come?"
She shot her mother an unimpressed look, which Misty silently noted looked an awful lot like one she would give. "I'm not!"
"You're not?" Misty repeated with a dry chuckle. "Could've fooled me!"
Elizabeth blushed and turned her head away, stubbornly repeating, "I'm not."
Misty hummed and looked back at the doll display. "You know, you act just like me and your sister when something's bothering you. Which is funny, since you're usually so much like Daddy!"
Although she wanted to remain obstinate, Elizabeth couldn't help her curiosity. Reluctantly shifting her eyes to her mother, the girl asked, "Like you and Shelly?"
Misty nodded. "When we're upset, we don't do a very good job of hiding it. Even if we try, it just shows all over our faces. You're the exact same way!"
Elizabeth pouted, not realizing she was just proving her mother's point.
"That's how I know something's bothering you," Misty continued, undeterred. "So…what's up?"
Groaning, Elizabeth pulled her knees up, hugging them against her chest. It took her a (long) moment, and when she finally decided to say something, it was very quiet. So much so, in fact, that Misty could hardly hear her.
"I'm scared."
When those words finally registered, Misty bit her lower lip and straightened up. "Scared? Of what?"
Elizabeth sighed, "I wanna be a really good trainer when I grow up, just like you guys. But I'm scared I won't be good enough."
Misty frowned. Despite her protests, Elizabeth was still young, so it had never seemed likely to her that the girl was thinking of such things. Especially since Elizabeth was usually so confident and cheerful.
"I wanted my dolls to help me," Elizabeth continued, unable to stop herself from blurting out the entirety of her secret now that she'd started. "I was gonna ask them to make sure that doesn't happen."
Her mother nodded understandingly. "I see. That's your Girls' Day wish."
"You said we use them to make sure we're happy and that we do good," Elizabeth murmured, once again glancing at her dolls. "So that's what I'm doing."
Her smile returning, albeit one that was melancholier, Misty pulled her daughter onto her lap. "You're so sweet. I understand why you'd be nervous about something like that! It can be hard to see me and Daddy everywhere, and knowing that your big brother and sister are trying to do the same thing. But you're still quite a ways away from becoming a Pokémon trainer…even if you aren't a little girl anymore. You should just enjoy being a kid for now. Besides, you know we'll all be proud of you no matter what! Being a successful Pokémon trainer isn't everything."
Elizabeth incredulously raised one of her eyebrows. "It is to you guys!"
"No, it isn't," Misty calmly refuted. "No one ever said that. All Daddy and I want is for you and your brother and sister to be happy, that's all. Are you happy?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes up in thought. "Well…yeah! Except for when I think about that kinda stuff."
"Being a good Pokémon trainer?"
"Yeah."
Misty giggled. "Then don't think about that. You've got absolutely no pressure on you!"
"Okay," Elizabeth sighed, turning back to look at her dolls. Once she looked at them for a little while, she smiled. "I feel better! That means they helped make my wish come true!"
"And what about my little pep talk?" Misty teased. "Did that help at all?"
"Uh huh," Elizabeth confirmed. "That's how the dolls knew to help me!"
"Oh, okay," Misty replied with a smirk. "I got it!"
Growing more serious again, Elizabeth instructed her mother, "you gotta promise you won't tell anyone my secret! The only other one who knows is Teddi."
"Teddi?" Misty repeated in amusement.
"Of course," Elizabeth chirped. "He's my best friend! I tell him everything!"
"Fair enough," Misty conceded. "I promise I won't say anything. But can you also make me a promise?"
Wordlessly, Elizabeth nodded.
"If you ever have any other secrets like this one, I want you to tell me too," Misty continued. "It's great that you tell Teddi, but I want to be able to help you too when you're feeling sad! I am your mommy, after all."
She seemed to think about it for a moment, but finally, Elizabeth beamed. "Okay, Mommy! I promise!"
And then to seal it, the young girl wrapped her arms around her mother and gave her a big hug. Misty smiled to herself and returned her daughter's embrace, cooing, "looks like my Girls' Day wish came true, too!"
Misty understands all of her kids, but she's very good with Elizabeth because they're both the youngest so they share that connection.
