Misty sighed. It was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining softly from behind a strand of fluffy white clouds, gently caressing her skin with it's warmth. The sounds of bird pokemon echoed faintly through the streets, ranging from the cooes of the recently invasive pidove to the chirps of the pidgey. Water gurgled in the nearby fountain, and yanma flitted around nearby. Yet Misty was still unhappy. Part of the problem was just how tired she was. Her sisters had practically dragged her to that party last night, the one that Erica had thrown in her beach house. Yes, that's right, beach house. It had been a major project meant to bring more tourism to the quaint city, a three year long project to bring beaches to the city of Cerulean or at least nearby, as they had ended up at the eastern end of route 25. And what a success it had been. The beautiful white sand and green-blue waves were a sight to behold, and Misty always found herself drawn to the beach whenever she had free time. But lately she found the beach to be rather lonely. After the party became too much for her to handle last night, she had slipped outside to find peace and quiet on the sand. But as she watched the waves crash and gently recede, she began to think about her childhood crush, Ash. It had been five years since she had seen him, with his wild black hair and charming smile. And while she would barely acknowledge it herself, she deeply missed him. She wondered what it would have been like, to walk upon the beach late at night, hand in hand with Ash, sharing a laugh with the boy that she would never admit she loved. If only it didn't happen the way it did. Where are you Ash? Are you ok? Misty sighed again, shaking her head. She had a long day of battles ahead of herself. She needed to focus.
Apparently, she didn't need to focus as much as she had thought. She crushed the first five challengers, washing over them like a tsunami. Her pokemon went all out, throwing everything they had into the battles. It was obvious to them that something was up with their trusted trainer. More than once she missed something during the battle. At one point, she completely forgot that Corsola was 4x week to grass moves, much to the pokemon's chagrin and her own surprise. Another time she instructed Gyarados to use poison tail, to which the serpentine pokemon responded by starring at her in a blank look of absolute shock. They had still pulled through, of course. A few slip ups here and there weren't enough to discourage her team, nor Misty herself. But it was obvious to anyone involved that her heart just wasn't in the fight for any of the battles. Misty's sisters shared a worried look up in the stands. They had hoped that the party last night would take their sister's mind off what was bothering her, but it didn't seem to have worked. She had been like this for weeks now. Nothing major, of course. At least not until recently. Last week she had gone to the store to pick up groceries and had forgotten to get half the items on her list. A few weeks ago she forgot to pay the electricity bill for her house. And most recently was forgetting to get badges made for the gym for two whole weeks, landing her in trouble with the league. It was obvious that something was bothering her, so her sisters had orchestrated the party last night with the help of an old friend of theirs, the gym leader Erica. They had to nearly force a couple drinks down her throat before they could get her to confess what was bothering her so much, and what they learned didn't really help. She was heartbroken over Ash, her old travel partner and the Wayward Champion of Alola. Of course they understood. They were girls, just like Misty. But what could they do to help her?
"Maybe we should tell her?" offered Daisy. The blonde had taken the last five years to grow even closer to her youngest sister after they had had a particularly bad fight, and now she was very worried about her. "You know we can't do that!" Lily retorted, snorting at such a foolish idea. "All we would achieve with that is getting her more worked up, and over what? Some half assed rumor that couldn't possibly be true?" she responded, eyes flashing in annoyance and anxiety. "Then what exactly do you suggest, Lily? I can't stand to see her like this, and if this continues we'll lose the gym entirely! You heard Lorelai!" Daisy responded, angry at her sister's quick dismissal. Lily and Violet winced at that, worry flashing in their eyes. "I think…" Violet began, deeply contemplating their options. "I think Misty needs a break. We'll have to take over the gym for a while. At the very least it would give her time to get over it." Lily and Daisy shared a look, before nodding in sync. They knew their baby sister needed time, and it was their only hope. "So who is going to convince her to take a leave of absence, then?" Lily inquired, raising an eyebrow. Her sisters m paled. This was not going to be fun.
"Stupid, hard headed sisters! ARGHHH!" Misty vented, kicking up a small mound of sand with her bare foot. They had cornered her after she finished the day's gym battles and suggested that she take a week off. She knew why. Of course she did! Sure she had been careless lately, and she had forgotten to order the gym badges, and forgot to pay the bills. Ok, maybe she did need a break, but two weeks?! Misty had stormed off to the beach, subconsciously seeking comfort in the sound of the crashing waves."Ughhh, I am soooo going to get them for this! Why do they care? It won't make a difference! You know what? Fine! We're going to do some training and then I am going to go shopping! I wanted to buy that swimsuit I saw yesterday at some point, so I might as well buy it today!" She nodded, finished venting to the sea. "Come on out, everyone!" She cried, throwing her pokeballs into the air. Lose the gym? Please. Misty would wash them all away if she had to.