THE BLUE SPIRIT
CHAPTER 010 – EXPOSED FEARS
The raven haired trainer was inside the elevator and still holding his duffel bag while he waited for it to reach the ground floor. As he waited, he thought about what just happened. He couldn't believe that he ran into his friends so soon after arriving at the Indigo Plateau. And he was also shocked as to how close they were with one another, especially the four girls; Misty, May, Dawn and Serena. He remembered them being friendly with one another in the past and he even heard some things about them during his three year absence thanks to keeping an eye on the news and because of Mewtwo. But none of that helped him reach a suitable reason as to why the four girls were so close with one another. Am I over thinking this? Am I missing something? Or am I just surprised that they're so close? I mean, I don't mind at all and I'm happy that they're so close with one another. But… He let out a sigh as the elevator dinged when it reached the ground floor and the doors opened. I should probably just not think about it or I'm gonna drive myself crazy. Deciding to forget about it and just be glad that they were all friendly and close with one another, he stepped out of the elevator and moved towards the pink haired nurse.
Hearing footsteps, Nurse Joy looked up from her screen and saw the raven haired trainer. "Hey there. Things going well Ash?"
"Better than I thought honestly. Oh and remember to call me Solid from now on."
"Oh right, sorry," apologized Nurse Joy with a sheepish look. "So what can I do for you Solid?"
"Not much, here's Richie's room key. He won't need it since we're sharing my room, or pent house I should say," he said. She took the key and put it back in the drawer. She made to update the system that the room was available when she was asked a question. "Do you know why the President would give me one of the top suites in the hotel?"
Nurse Joy didn't answer immediately since she didn't know why. "Maybe because he's a fan? I'm not too sure, but you were always a popular trainer at all the tournaments you participated in. Maybe he knew you would come to this one and wanted you to have a good time so you keep coming back. Maybe it's a publicity and money making thing. Honestly, there could be a million reasons," suggested Nurse Joy. Looking back at the screen, she quickly updated the system with the room's availability.
While she did that, he remained silent for a bit while pondering what she said. "Hmm…maybe. I wanted to know why but I guess you make sense. Thanks Nurse Joy. By the way, have any other trainers registered yet?"
"I had one more after you guys went up but that's about it. I guess that mad rush never came in. Or I'll probably get it later on in the day."
"Oh, okay." Two flashes of light brightened the area for a second all of a sudden and Lucario and Gardevoir appeared beside him. Taking that as his cue, Pikachu unzipped himself from the duffel bag and quickly moved to his usual spot on the raven haired trainer's shoulder. "Hey Pikachu. Sorry buddy that it took so long. I kind of forgot you were in there to be honest. You were so quiet."
Pikachu gave an annoyed look before giving him a little shock. "Pi pika chu chu pi kachu pika."
"Alright I'm sorry, it won't happen again. But you were napping so what did it matter?"
"Chu!" Pikachu crossed his arms and turned away.
Ash chuckled. "Alright alright, it does matter. Sorry buddy. How about some ketchup for an apology?" Pikachu quickly nuzzled his cheek against Ash's hair in gratitude and accepted the apology. "Nurse Joy, can you get me some ketchup please?"
Nurse Joy giggled over their antics before standing up. "Sure thing. Just give me a moment." She disappeared through a door that was behind the counter to get the ketchup.
"Master, what are you doing?!" shot Lucario once they were alone.
"What?" asked Ash in confusion.
"How do you expect to keep your identity a secret if you're constantly around them? What if they find out who you are? And what about Pikachu? You promised him you'll let him out in the room," reminded Lucario.
Ash glanced at Gardevoir who nodded her head in agreement before he looked at Lucario again and let out a sigh. "I just couldn't stand around and do nothing after talking with them again. It's been so long since I saw them, I just wanted to help out and be around them again. Can you understand that? And I'll let Pikachu out in my room only when I leave and I'll always lock the door." He moved his gaze towards his starter. "Does that sound okay with you?"
"Pi pikachu!"
"Thanks Pikachu, I knew you'd understand. You miss them too huh?"
"Pika…" The yellow mouse's ears drooped and he had a sullen expression appear on his face.
"Yea, I know. But I'm just not ready yet. And what we're doing is to help and protect them okay? Remember that. We're doing this to save everyone okay?"
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed and pumped his little fist into the air.
"That's the spirit!" said Ash, mimicking Pikachu's display and the four of them felt a little better.
Nurse Joy walked back in a moment later with a bottle of ketchup. She was about to place it on the counter when Pikachu jumped off from Ash's shoulder and launched itself at the bottle. "EEEKK!" squeaked Joy. She wasn't afraid of pokémon, even the most powerful ones. But what the yellow mouse just did she wasn't expecting.
Ash, Lucario and Gardevoir started laughing as Pikachu grabbed the bottle and started fumbling around with it, trying to get it open. Frustrated over not being able to, Pikachu finally got the bottle open by smacking it against the counter top. It broke open and caused some ketchup to explode onto Nurse Joy. Ash couldn't help it and he fell to the floor holding his stomach while laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.
She was momentarily frozen in shock over what just happened to her. But then the sounds of laughter coming from the raven haired trainer made her peer over the counter and glared at the one laughing while on the floor. "So you think that's funny?" asked the nurse dangerously. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment and her uniform was covered in ketchup. "Well, I think it'll be hilarious if I tell a certain group of people that a certain person is here and watch what happens next. What do you think?"
That shut up Ash pretty quickly. He looked at her from the floor with fear in his widening eyes. "You wouldn't…"
Nurse Joy continued to glare at him for a moment that made his heart start beating quicker. Until suddenly a large smirk formed on her face. "No, of course I won't. But that look of fear on your face was priceless!" she said, doubling up in laughter.
Lucario, Gardevoir and even Pikachu joined in with Nurse Joy, laughing at him. Ash was momentarily stunned over her prank until he helped himself back up onto his feet while a mischievous smile on his face appeared that nobody but Pikachu noticed. "That was a good one. I'm impressed. Sorry about laughing at you. I'll make it up to you. How about I take you out for dinner as an apology?" asked Ash with charm and sincerity in his words.
She wasn't expecting that kind of response from him, making her stop laughing instantly and her face immediately flushed red. "I…ah…I…um…" muttered Nurse Joy at first, then just opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish once again since she couldn't speak.
There was a flash of light. Ash had taken a photo of the nurse's stunned reaction with his Poketch. He looked at the picture. "Now that's a priceless face!" remarked Ash gleefully, causing Gardevoir to smack him upside the back of his head while Lucario shook his head and Pikachu laughed out loud.
Snapping out of her daze from his comment, Nurse Joy figured out he was only playing with her. "Hey! That's it! You don't mess with a girl like that!" She climbed over the counter with surprising agility and threw a solid right hook at his face.
But he caught her hand in mid strike and he smiled at her stunned expression. "Nurse Joy, I'm surprised at you. You're supposed to be the calm and caring type. I wasn't kidding about taking you out for dinner you know." He let the words wash over her and again her face turned red. He let go of her hand. "You know, a girl that has her face turn red as often as you, I'm surprised it hasn't caused skin damage yet."
"Shut up you dork." She punched him in the shoulder playfully, smiling and no longer angry.
Ash chuckled while shaking his head. "Sorry about the mess. We'll take care of it." He nodded at Gardevoir whose eyes glowed blue. The mess was instantly cleaned up and Joy's uniform was spot free.
"Wow, thanks Solid."
"No problem. It was Pikachu's mess."
"Pika!" Pikachu sent a small jolt of electricity at Ash, causing him to yelp a little from the sudden shock.
She smiled a bit over their antics. "Thanks for the laughs and everything. But no, you're not gonna take me out for dinner."
Ash tilted his head in confusion. "Why not? Wait, do you have a boyfriend?" he asked her, suddenly worried that she wasn't single and he was being thoughtless.
Joy reddened at his question but that didn't stop her from answering back. "No, I don't. But do you really think I want to risk my life with those four who are already falling head over heels for you?"
He relaxed after hearing that. "Oh, I see. So, are you saying you don't like me?" he asked her with a mock hurt expression.
"Nice try," remarked the nurse with a roll of her eyes and he chuckled. "But I actually do like you. Just not like that and not enough to risk my life."
"Alright, fair enough. Heh. It might've been fun, you know. Dodging around them and playing games with their heads," said Ash, sporting a smirk. Those words and his smirk earned him a punch against his chest but harder this time. "Ow! I was kidding!"
"You better be!"
Ash let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I really was kidding. I can never use someone like that and I can never do that to them because in the end, I still like each of them a lot and if we had done something like that, I have a feeling that when they found out, they would've murdered us both," joked Ash darkly and both of them laughed at that.
After they finished laughing, Nurse Joy spoke up about something she just remembered. "You know, I want to ask you something; why do you always act like you're dense?" she asked him and his eyes widened at the question. Before he could say anything she went on. "I've heard from my sisters from all over about how there was a boy that didn't get that he was traveling around with a girl who liked him a lot. The girls' description changed from time to time but their description of that boy was the same each time; black messy hair with brown eyes and 'z' shaped birthmarks on his cheeks. That was you, wasn't it?" He didn't say anything and she took his silence as confirmation. "Why act dense when you clearly know what's going on and I get the feeling that you do want to be in a relationship from what I've seen just now?" she asked him seriously.
Ash was quiet for a moment before he answered her. "Well, sometimes I actually didn't notice and they just thought that's how I am, so I just played along. It kind of helped as well since it let me see how they act around me without them noticing that I like them. It did help me in getting away with some sneak peeks and some other stuff too," he explained with a grin.
Joy elbowed him in the stomach. "Pervert."
Ash grunted over the hit. "Should've seen that one coming."
"But that doesn't answer my question as to why you haven't told any of them that you like them. How come you haven't said anything yet?" she asked, wanting to know the answer.
Ash looked at her for a long time, trying to decide whether he can tell her or not. Lucario, Pikachu and Gardevoir were silent, waiting for their trainer to answer. They were surprised that he might tell another of his problem with the girls. Finally, Ash let out a rather heavy sigh, looked to the side and answered her. "Because I'm too scared."
"What?!" gasped the nurse over his answer. She wasn't expecting that. "You're afraid? How? Why? You weren't afraid in asking me out just now and we just met."
"Well, yea…but…I…" He went silent again as he thought of what to say and how to say it in a way where he wouldn't come out as a complete jackass. He turned to face her. "Okay. Please don't take this the wrong way. It's just…well…all I can say is that it's different."
"Different?" Her eyes narrowed but didn't react more than that. "How so?"
Ash saw her reaction, becoming nervous and did his best to explain. "It's a long story but I'll try to make it short. When I went on my journeys all over the world, I meet each one of them at different times as I traveled." Nurse Joy nodded to show she was following so far. "At first it was just Misty and we were always fighting and insulting each other. But then things just happened out of nowhere like us arguing but mostly in a teasing way and we always joked around each other. And we were always there for each other. I started liking her more but then she left to do her own thing and I was too scared to mention anything."
Ash took in a breath while Nurse Joy waited for him to go on. "Then I met May and we had a lot in common. Like I haven't met anyone who has an appetite like me but she can give me a run for my money. And I never had anyone look up to me like her. But she left too before I could say anything. Then I met Dawn, who is the most cheerful and happiest person I've ever met, who could always pick me up from a bad mood. I was never sad or grumpy for too long because of her. I liked her too but she also left before I could say anything."
Taking another breather while giving Nurse Joy a chance to something, he continued on when she remained quiet. "Later on I meet Iris and well, nothing really clicked between us as far as I know. I had a feeling that she didn't like me in that way but we are friends. I think her and Cilan have a thing for each other anyway. Finally, there's Serena, who I knew as I kid a long time ago. I helped her out and gave her a gift to help her stay strong. I didn't think of her that way at first, but soon she grew on me too. She was the first girl I went out on an actual date with. But again, before I could muster up the courage to do anything, we went our separate ways."
Ash looked away at this point and took in a long breath through his nose and exhaled. Taking a moment, he looked back at the nurse who was waiting for him to finish. "So, after traveling with each of them, I had developed feelings for each of them and I had a feeling that each of them liked me. But I was scared I was imagining what I saw from them. I didn't know why it's always been that way. I used to believe that there was something wrong with me since I never could tell them and I didn't know why I never took a chance…" Ash stopped talking as he looked at the floor since his emotions were starting to become all jumbled up from talking about all that. His pokémon looked sullen and wanted to do something but remained quiet and patient. They believed it was good for him to share with another.
Nurse Joy frowned at the sad story but knew that wasn't all of it. "I can see why you said it's different and I understand it. I'm not offended at all. You have history with them and there's a lot between you all. But, about my question, you found out why didn't you?" persisted the nurse.
Ash looked up at her. "Yeah, I did. I thought long and hard about it. I finally realized why I've been so afraid to take a shot…wait, why am I telling you all of this?" asked Ash out loud, panicking suddenly.
His pokemon were about to intervene to calm him down but then Nurse Joy grasped his hands with both of hers and they stopped in their tracks while Ash froze while looking into her eyes. "Sometimes, it's easier to tell a person you just met your secrets than a close friend since they don't know you that well. But don't worry. I promise not to tell anyone what you tell me," said Joy softly while carrying a tone that showed she was serious.
Ash heard her words and could sense that she was being genuine. He calmed down and nodded in understanding. "I see. Thank you." He gave a small smile at her and she returned it before they separated. "So, uh…yeah…I…finally figured it out. I believed that ever since my father left me, it broke me. Because someone who I loved and I thought loved me back, just left all of a sudden. No word, no note, nothing. Just disappeared. Ever since that happened, I've been too afraid to have someone close to me in my life again. Because of that, I have this huge fear that if I ever try to have someone close to me again…then they'll just leave me like he did. I guess I just figured it would be easier letting a friend go then trying to put the pieces of my heart back together again," explained Ash with a sullen tone.
Eyes becoming watery, Nurse Joy couldn't believe what she heard. When he finished talking, she hugged Ash tightly while letting out tears. "I'm so sorry that's how you feel. I thought it was some stupid, made up reason. But now I see that you're haunted from your past. You want to move on but you're having a hard time in doing so. I've never known anyone to be going through such a thing," she told him while crying into his chest.
Ash was startled at first over the hug but reciprocated it after a moment. He didn't like it when girls cried, especially if it was because of him. "It's okay Nurse Joy. It's not like it's your fault," joked Ash as he rubbed her back to try and make her feel better. "But I have to say, thank you." She looked up at him with dried tear marks on her cheeks along with a confused expression on her face. "I've kept that in for so long. Telling someone else besides my pokemon and getting it off my chest feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Thank you. Anything you need, anything at all, you just let me know okay? Oh and please keep that between us."
Nodding in agreement, Nurse Joy promised to keep the secret. She pulled herself together and let go of Ash. She wiped away her dried tear streaks and started smiling again. "Okay. I've decided. I'm gonna help you with the girls. I promise I'll do anything and everything I can to help them know how much you care about them."
Ash's eyes widened over what she said and he waved his hands in front of her. "Whoa, what do you mean by them? Do you really want them to kill each other? To kill me? And I'm not even a hundred percent sure that they do like me! I don't even know who I like more anyways! Plus, I think they forgot about 'Ash' already. Do you see how smitten they are with 'Solid'?" he told her with some frustration.
"Hey relax, three of my sisters are with the same guy, they all know and they're fine with it."
Ash's jaw dropped and even his pokemon sported astonished expressions over what they heard. They didn't know of any humans that have multiple mates like some pokemon do. "What?!"
"Yea, three of them are dating the same guy. What was his name?" pondered Joy out loud as she tried to remember his name. "He's an Elite Four member, always working out and he's pretty buff…"
"Bruno?!"
"Yea, that's him."
"No way…damn, lucky bastard."
"Yea, he is I guess. But so are you."
"Huh, what? I'm not like him."
She shook her head with a smile. "No, you're not. But you do have several girls pining after you and you seem to care about each of them the same since each one connects to you in a different way. Also, they're only smitten with 'Solid' because that mask you created for yourself is too similar to 'Ash', that's why they're smitten with him," she said to him. When he opened his mouth to retort, she didn't let him. "I'm serious. You may have changed your face, but you're still the same person and I bet you're still letting out that same vibe as before. That's why you and them just can't help being drawn to each other. I bet my career that if you were to have 'Solid' leave right now and have 'Ash' come back, they wouldn't bat an eye. They would be so much happier. I can tell. And when you all get together, it may be a little difficult at first, but once everyone is on the same page, it'll be smooth sailing after," finished Nurse Joy with an encouraging look.
Ash didn't say anything for a bit until he let out a sigh. "You know you're talking about an impossible miracle right? There's no way something like that will ever happen. I'm not that lucky. I don't deserve any of them, let alone all four and I've messed up my chances already," lamented Ash. A grunt of pain escaped him as she punched him hard in the chest all of a sudden for the third time. "What was that for?!"
"Because you're acting like an idiot! Stop putting yourself down and keep your chin up. I said I'll help and that's final. I only ask for one thing in return," she told him fiercely.
"What, a date?" joked Ash.
Placing her hands on her hips, Nurse Joy let out a scoff. "No, smartass. That you treat the girls right and love them all equally. It's not against the law to have multiple spouses but very few do it since it causes headaches in most cases. But for you and those girls, I don't think you'll have any trouble regarding that."
"Thanks but it's a little early to talk about marriage though don't you think?"
"You're welcome. Yea, I guess so," agreed Nurse Joy, realizing that it was a little early for that. "Anyway, I'll help them see how much they miss and love 'Ash' and you just keep being yourself. It'll help them realize what's in their hearts. From what I've heard from my sisters, and how they acted here in front of me, I'm positive that they're always thinking of you and have feelings for you. So I don't think you've been imagining it."
"Okay and yea, Dawn gave a good tackle. My back still hurts. Never thought a small girl could be that strong," he said with a chuckle and she punched him again for the comment. "Hey, you know what I mean! And I'm not a punching bag!"
"I know and you sure about that?" she replied back and giggled, causing Ash to roll his eyes. "You should probably head back up before they come down looking for you," she advised after.
"Yea, you're right. I should go. But, before I go, I just wanted to say this…thank you Nurse Joy," said Ash with sincerity.
The pink haired nurse smiled. "You're welcome. And…you can just call me Joy," she said with her face flushing pink.
Ash smiled at that. "Okay, if you want me to. And by the way, is it just Joy? Are all of you named the same, or is that like a codename for you all?" he asked her.
"Aren't we curious, huh?" she asked him instead teasingly.
"Well, yeah, who wouldn't be?" he countered back.
"True. Should I tell you?" Joy tapped the lower part of her cheek with her right index finger to portray her thinking. "Alright. I'll tell you. Joy is our last name, so each of us has our own personal name, or you know, first name."
"Huh…that was simple enough. So what's your first name?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" Joy wagged her right index finger at him. "Trying to get closer with me are we? You already have interests in other girls," she asked him with a teasing tone along with a coy smile.
Ash blushed slightly at that but remained calm. "Well, I didn't mean it like that. Especially after you just rejected me so easily before," he said with a chuckle and she laughed as well. "Anyway, aren't we friends at least? Don't friends tell each other their first name too?"
"Friends?" repeated Joy absentmindedly in a whisper, her cheeks turning pink.
Seeing her become embarrassed, made Ash realize that he might be pushing some boundaries and hurried to fix his mistake. "Ah, sorry Joy, didn't mean to push you…"
"No, no, it's fine," interrupted Joy as she waved her hands in front of her. She looked down at her feet.
"It's just…I don't really…have any friends…" She glanced at him, seeing his shocked face before looking away again. "Well, besides coworkers and family, I don't really know anyone else to hang out with. And I've seen how most who want to hang out with one of us Nurse Joys have hidden reasons so I and my relatives generally keep to ourselves. And…I doubt many want to be friends with a nurse who doesn't have much free time or doesn't know much else besides pokemon and medicine. So it's fine. Thanks for being nice but…"
"That's crazy."
Joy snapped her gaze back to him. "Huh?"
"I said that's crazy," repeated Ash with a serious but somehow still kind tone. "I get what you mean about the hidden reasons thing but the other things that you work a lot and the things you know…so what? You're an awesome girl so who wouldn't want to be friends with you?"
Joy blushed at that. "I'm awesome?"
"Yeah, of course," said Ash immediately, making Joy become extremely embarrassed but he didn't notice it. But his pokemon did. "You literally just promised to help me, someone you just met, with the girls after letting me spill out my worries, which is very important to me. So how are we not friends and how are you not awesome huh?" he asked her rhetorically.
Joy couldn't say anything over what he said since she was shocked over it. No one had ever said such kind things to her and she never had someone just outright call her their friend. Composing herself and taking in a breath, the pink haired nurse smiled at Ash before hugging him tightly. "My name is Maria Joy. And thank you for being my friend and calling me your friend too," said Joy in a whisper with barely contained emotion.
Ash was stunned at her telling him her name but quickly recovered and returned the hug. "You're welcome…Maria Joy…my new friend." When they separated, Ash gave her his trademark goofy smile and she couldn't help but giggle through her bright smile. "I should probably head back up before they send a search party or something. Oh, and do you want me to call you Maria or Joy from now on?" he asked her.
"Yeah, you should and either is fine," she told him.
"Okay. I'm gonna go with Joy for now until we become closer friends cause I don't feel like I've earned the right to call you by your first name yet," he told her.
"Wow, after all that? Really? You're such a dork," said Joy disbelief while playfully hitting his shoulder.
Ash just shrugged while chuckling and he turned to his pokemon. "C'mon guys. Pikachu, hurry up with the ketchup. We're leaving." Pikachu pouted while holding the broken bottle tightly against his chest. "Don't give me that look. You can take it with you and finish it up back in the room. But close it somehow for now and get back into my bag, alright buddy?" Pikachu perked up that he can keep the ketchup and jumped into the open bag and zipped it up while leaving a small hole again for air.
"You're Pikachu is one of a kind."
"Yup, all of my pokémon are," remarked Ash with a grin. Gardevoir blushed slightly at the compliment while Lucario didn't react. The three moved again towards the elevator but once they reached it, Ash turned back to look at Joy. "Hey Joy, would you like to go out though?"
"Just because I like you enough to tell you my name, it doesn't mean I changed my mind and I'm not risking my life by going out with you!" snapped Joy, a little angry and annoyed over him being so persistent.
"I know, not with me. My bad, should've worded that better. I was trying to say I could set you up with one of my friends if you'd like."
"Oh." Her anger and annoyance vanished at once. He'd do that for me? "I'm sorry for snapping. Um, I don't know..."
"I'll take that as a yes. I'll let you know who I have in mind later on once I figure out whose good enough for you. And then you should hang out and see if you end up liking him," he told her.
That comment made Joy fidget in embarrassment. "You don't have to. And I'm not that special," said Joy with that second part coming out much quieter than the rest.
But Ash heard it clearly and he called back to her. "Hey, yes you are. You and your relatives may look alike, but you're very different from them. Remember what I said? You're awesome and one of my friends. And my friends deserve the best," said Ash. He pressed the elevator button and the doors opened. He stepped inside the open elevator and looked at his newly made friend. "I'll let you know who once I figure it out and I'll show him to you." Ash pressed the button for his floor while he smiled and winked at her right before the elevator doors closed, leaving behind a very embarrassed pink haired girl standing in front of her counter with her cheeks still beet red.
Nurse Joy shook herself out of her dazed position and went back around the counter to get back to work. While waiting for other trainers to come and register for the tournament, she kept having thoughts swimming through her head about what just happened. A short while later, she let out a sigh. Damn you Ash. I had an idea as to why those girls are in love with you, but now I know why. They're lucky girls to have you and you're one lucky guy to have them. You better not mess this up otherwise I'll kick your ass and that's a promise.
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As the elevator went up, Ash was deep in thought over what he said to Joy with his right hand over his chin. Who can I set her up with?
"You've got to be careful Master," spoke Lucario all of a sudden.
Ash titled his head at his pokemon. "Huh, what do you mean?"
"You already have four girls crazy for you. You don't want another one," warned Lucario.
"What, you mean Joy? We were just having some fun and we're barely friends. Sure, we exchanged some personal stuff but its fine."
"That may be, but still be careful. I'm pretty sure males and females have different definitions of fun and sharing personal things with one another brings people closer. Right Gardevoir?"
Ash glanced at Gardevoir, and she nodded. "Alright, I get it. But no need to worry. I only see her as a friend. Plus I'm gonna set her up with one of my friends so we should be good."
"Better sooner than later," advised Lucario as he crossed his arms.
"Please be sure to not hurt her or the girls," pleaded Gardevoir with her angelic soft tone of voice through her telepathy.
Stunned over her speaking up for others that she barely met since she was very shy and didn't usually open up to others quickly, Ash and Lucario gave her stunned looks. Even Pikachu popped his head out of the duffel bag to look at her in shock. The fairy's white cheeks turned pink in embarrassment over their reactions.
Ash shook his head and smiled at her. "I wouldn't even dream of it Gardevoir," replied the raven haired trainer and the petite pokemon smiled in return. "And I have an idea of who to set her up with."
"Don't tell me it's Brock," said Lucario.
"Hey, what's wrong with Brock? Anyway, no, not him. I think he likes someone anyway. I noticed his aura was a little different. I was thinking maybe Richie."
"Hmm…that may work. What do you think?" asked Lucario as he turned to the psychic fairy.
Gardevoir thought for a moment. "He seems like a good choice. He's kind of like you Ash, but still different and in the right ways. I think he'll be perfect for Joy."
"Great, that's what I was hoping for," said Ash, glad that they agreed with his choice. "Alright, so we need to figure out how to convince him to go out with her. Shouldn't be too hard. Oh man…"
"What?" Lucario and Gardevoir both said at the same time.
"I never thought I'd play matchmaker." Ash's statement made Lucario and Gardevoir let out exaggerated groans while Pikachu face palmed.
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Inside the hotel suite on the thirty-fifth floor, right after Ash left, the others were busy picking out their rooms and who would sleep where. Already decided that their new acquaintance would get the master bedroom, they now had four rooms and queen sized beds to split between them. They decided Iris and Cilan would get a room to themselves since they were in a relationship. Misty and Serena would share one, May and Dawn would share another and finally Max and Richie would take last one. Brock and Gary, with the former volunteering while the later complained about it, would sleep on the pull out bed that was hidden underneath the largest couch.
Once that was done, everyone went to their respective rooms and organized their belongings into the empty dressers and closets since they would be there for at least a couple weeks. Brock and Gary merely tossed their belongings into an empty hallway closet since they didn't have a room.
In one of the rooms, Misty and Serena were busy putting away their stuff when May and Dawn joined them before closing the door. "You two are done already?" asked Misty in disbelief. She had a feeling that at least Dawn wasn't done yet since she took forever to do something like that.
"I am. Dawn hasn't even started yet," answered May for them both as she sat down on the bed.
"I knew it," remarked Misty with a smirk at Dawn before going back to her clothes while the blunette merely rolled her eyes.
"So what's up? Why are you here?" asked Serena without looking up as she finished putting away the last of her clothes.
"You know why~," said Dawn in a singsong voice while getting bubbly.
"Ah, don't start Dawn. Please, at least not yet," pleaded Misty as she stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her. "Every time we run into another cute guy you start, wanting to gossip. We're barely putting away our clothes."
May added in her own words as soon as the redhead was finished. "You should've seen her snapping at me to come with her. I kept telling her only once I finish putting my stuff away," said the brunette with obvious fake annoyance.
Serena couldn't help but giggle while covering her mouth with both hands. "I can believe that. Dawn's always been a handful."
"Hey!" Dawn pouted with her puppy dog eyes but her friends were unaffected. Instead they just gave her 'c'mon' looks while chuckling. She let up on her tactic and just stuck her tongue at them. "Damn it, I keep forgetting it doesn't work on you. Anyway, so what do we think of Solid? He seems like a good guy. Something about him seems familiar though. For some reason, he reminds me of Ash. Oops!" Dawn covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide in shock. The other three girls stopped what they were doing, each having a pained expression on their face. It was a while since they had said his name out loud to one another before today. Dawn hurriedly tried to apologize. "I'm really sorry guys! Really I am!" Dawn was fearful they would get angry and waited for them to say something.
Serena was the first to say something. "It's alright Dawn. It happens."
"Yea, no need to worry, right Dawn?" asked May as Misty nodded.
Calming down, Dawn let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks guys. I really am sorry. It's just, it's been so long since we last saw him and I thought that Solid was him when I tackled him…" Dawn trailed off, looking at her feet, while the other three glanced at each other and smiled weakly.
"You know Dawn, if you hadn't tackled him, I probably would have," admitted Misty. Dawn looked up, astonished at what she just heard. "You beat us to the punch. I think all of us were thinking it might be him and since you're the most impulsive one out of us, you reacted first."
"Yea, she's right Dawn. I'm not as impulsive as you but you know I almost did that a few times myself," said Serena while pulling on her honey blond hair. "So don't feel embarrassed. We all miss him greatly,"
The brunette brought something up that she was thinking about just recently. "You know, at first I thought Solid was Ash when we met him. I remember Ash saying that he would be gone for a long time and then I thought maybe he didn't know how to show himself because he might be afraid we might be angry or something you know," added May thoughtfully.
"Of course we're angry at him!" shouted Misty suddenly, her fiery side getting the better of her and startling her friends. "But not because he shows up, but for leaving us! I don't care how important it was, he shouldn't have done that!" She dropped onto the bed and her face grew sullen with her eyes becoming watery. "Do you know how many times I've had sleepless nights crying over him?" asked Misty as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Dawn quickly hugged her, tears escaping from her eyes now. "I know how you feel Misty. But…please don't cry. You know that…as well as I do, as we all do…that nothing would keep Ash from his friends, from us, unless it was something extremely important. Like life or death important."
"Dawn's right Misty." May now came over and joined in on the hug. "You've been with him for a long time just like us so you know this. Even if he is a bit dense in some regards…" The four girls couldn't help but chuckle from that comment. "You know he's the most caring person in the world and wouldn't let anything stand in his way once he sets his mind on something. You know he wouldn't just leave us without a good reason."
"I know. I just miss that stupid dense head of his." They laughed a little again in between sobs.
"He may be dense, but I know he'll come back Misty." This time it was Serena who talked and she joined in on the group hug, the other three welcoming her. The four had the top of their heads touching each other in a circle. "I first met Ash when we were young kids and even then he was caring and selfless. I haven't traveled around the world as much as you have, or May or Dawn has, but I can tell he's a very special person and that he will never forget us and will come back one day."
"I hope so you guys. It's just been hard and I know we've talked about this a couple times before," started Misty, trying to control her emotions and the girls waited for her to continue. "It's just, I've thought about him many times and rejected so many potential dates and boyfriends, hanging on to him. Sometimes I feel like an idiot for doing that and do you know why?" whispered Misty.
"Because you feel like you're pathetic for that, giving up a sure thing for something you don't know if it will happen or not. Believe me; I've gone through the same thing. I'm sure all of us have. I can't tell you the many times I've rejected suitors, even good looking ones. I've had to even run from some of them, like Kenny. Man I hope he never finds me again," said Dawn while a shudder went down her spine.
"I've had the same problem with Drew. He's not bad looking, a good rival and an okay friend but I just don't see him like that and his constant obnoxious behavior and flower gifts are annoying," revealed May with obvious dislike in her tone of voice.
"At least you guys didn't have to deal with two relentless morons. I've had to constantly evade or give some bullshit excuse to dodge Tracy and Rudy," admitted Misty and the three stared at her.
"Damn, really? Two guys? And one of them is Tracy?" asked Dawn.
Misty nodded and explained further. "Unfortunately and both were from the Orange Islands. Ever since Ash vanished and they found out, they've been hounding after me. I don't like them at all. The way they stare at me is like I'm not even a person, just a thing for them to have. Luckily Tracey moved on after I denied him a few times but Rudy kept trying. Even other guys who've asked me out, I just lie and say I have a boyfriend or have my pokemon chase them away so they'll leave me alone."
The girls nodded in understanding and admitted they've done the same thing before Serena spoke up as well. "I haven't had trouble like you three but I've had a few ask me out, even Calem but I've rejected them all. I think Ash messed me up as I can't see myself with anyone else, at least not until he comes back and I tell him how I feel," said Serena after being quiet for so long, the girls agreeing with her since Ash had truly set the bar high and none have come close.
"Well, for some reason Solid seems to have an effect on us. Wouldn't you say Misty?" asked Dawn suddenly with a mischievous grin on her face.
"Maybe, but I'm not the one who tackled him Dawn!" shot Misty, making Dawn pout as May and Serena giggled at that.
"I think he had an effect on all of us. Well, we can only do one of two things," started the honey blonde haired girl and went silent as she organized her thoughts while the rest waited for her to continue. "First one is we can hold on still and wait for Ash to come back. The second one is we move on and one of us can try to get with Solid," suggested Serena calmly.
Misty, May and Dawn gasped in shock as if she had said something extremely terrible. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!" shouted the three together.
"I could never forget him, let alone move on after everything we've gone through together! No one else will get close to what he is. He may act rashly but it's because he lets his heart do the thinking and he never gives up!" snapped Misty.
"No one will ever be like Ash. They weren't there for me in the beginning, helping me, teaching me, doing things he didn't like to do for me, helping me realize how much I love pokémon and contests and that will always mean a hell of a lot more to me than some stupid compliments or roses," stated May with a furious look on her face.
"If it wasn't for Ash, I would've never even got to where I am now. I would've never come up with such amazing contest moves and I wouldn't have gained such confidence in myself. He's helped me in more ways than I can count. And that's just one of the many reasons why I'll never let him go!" said Dawn with conviction while glaring at Serena.
Serena was quiet for a moment but then burst out laughing. Her friends were confused beyond measure over her reaction since they weren't expecting that at all. "I was…testing you guys!" cried out Serena in between her laughing. "I thought that if I said something like that, then you guys would spill your hearts out and show just how much you love him! Just so you know, I could never forget him either. He was there for me when we were kids and has been there for me throughout our adventures over Kalos. If it wasn't for him, I'd still be scared of a lot of things, I wouldn't have found out how much I love Rhyhorn Racing, I wouldn't have found my calling in Pokemon Showcases and I wouldn't have so many good, close friends now either. I'm going to wait for him, just like you three," she told them with a large smile on her face.
They realized what she had done and were speechless for a short while. "Wow. Well done Serena. I'm impressed," complimented Misty.
"Damn it. Way to make us spill everything," remarked May but her tone conveyed that she wasn't upset.
Dawn was quiet though. After a moment she started talking about what she was thinking about. "Ah, I don't mean to rain on our parade here, but I'm still worried about some things." Misty, May and Serena glanced at Dawn and they asked her what was on her mind. "Well, we pretty much agreed and believe that Ash is going to come back someday right?" They nodded. "And that we each love Ash right?" They nodded again. "So what happens when he comes back? I mean, who does he get with? Will he even get with one of us? What if he already has a girlfriend? If he does choose one of us, then what happens to the others? Do we swallow our love and let whoever he picks live happily with him? What if he can't choose? Then what? Do we fight over him? Do we leave him for being so selfish? Do we share?"
The girls were surprised over her questions. Sure, they had come close to discussing similar things in the past but had always decided to leave it for another time. But that last question made the girls' eyes widened and the four of them glanced at one another, each not knowing what to say.
Dawn was scared from asking her last questions but pushed on after a moment. "And…what if he died or is lost? What if he's not coming back?"
They were still in their group hug and Dawn's questions hit them all hard. They each went through several emotions as they thought about the questions; anger, sadness, happiness, confusion, and many others. They pondered over Dawn's questions silently for some time.
Until Misty finally broke the silence. "I think we're better off not worrying about that until the time comes," she told them.
"And we know for certain that Ash will return. He always does," added May.
"Yeah, you're right. That's one thing we won't have to worry about," agreed Dawn.
"Exactly. We'll just keep doing what we've been doing till now. I'm glad we're on the same page," said Serena. "Right now, I'm okay with all this and I'm happy that we're still in this together."
With Serena closing that conversation between them, they renewed their promise between themselves; the four of them would wait for Ash to come back and agreed to help each other cope with missing him until the day he returns. And that they won't do anything to jeopardize each other's chances to be with him when he finally does.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
While the four girls were in one of the rooms, Richie, Max, Brock and Gary were chilling in the living room watching some TV. They had heard screaming and crying coming from the room the girls were in and they wondered what was going on. But they didn't bother them about what was going on when Brock mentioned that it didn't sound like something for them to get involved with.
"How can you be sure Brock?" asked Richie with Max looking at Brock.
"I have many sisters," replied Brock as he remembered what his sisters would do while they talked. "These girl talks can be very emotional sometimes since girls tell each other almost everything. Also, it's not wise to barge in when they're in that state. Trust me; I learned that the hard way." Brock chuckled as the memory went through his mind. "Never underestimate a girl's rage."
"That's an understatement," commented Max as he remembered the times his sister May got angry.
"Yea, remember that Richie. Yeesh," added Gary, shivering slightly that caught their attention.
"What happened to you?" asked Richie for them all.
"Bad break up with Sabrina," answered Gary automatically.
"You dated Sabrina?! The gym leader?!" asked a dumbfounded Brock while Richie was shocked.
"Who's Sabrina?" asked Max.
"One of the strongest gym leaders in Kanto. And she's a powerful psychic with a reputation of being cold. Some even saw her as a monster in the past and many still view her that way still today," explained Richie in a low tone of voice.
"Are you serious?!" Max turned to Gary. "Are you crazy?! Why would you ask out someone like that?!" asked a bewildered Max.
Gary just shrugged at that. "Eh, she looked good and looked lonely so I went for it. I was surprised she even agreed to go out to be honest. We dated for about a month. It was fun at first but then it got boring for me since it felt like she wasn't really into what we were doing. Then I made a mistake by telling her that I didn't see our relationship going anywhere, that I just saw her as a friend. We were moving too slowly for my taste at the time as I wanted more action, more physical stuff. She didn't say anything, get mad or fight. She said she understood and we parted ways." Hearing him say all that made the guys glance at one another in surprise but faced the pokemon researcher when he continued. "I thought everything ended well. I thought I was off the hook. But I was dead wrong. Because from that night on, for about a month straight, I kept seeing horrible nightmares. Just thinking about them gives me the shivers." Gary shook in his seat for a second before it passed. "Yea, so never piss off a girl."
"But if she wasn't really into it, why was she so pissed off?" asked Richie.
Gary was quiet for a moment. "I don't know," he said. "Just trust me. Don't ever piss off a girl."
Max gulped audibly over what he heard. "Yeah, I should probably be nicer to my sister and girls in general from now on."
"That'll be for the best," agreed Brock.
"Thanks for the advice guys," said Richie and Brock nodded.
"No problem Richie Rich," quipped the young professor. Silence between them for a minute until the pokemon researcher decided to break it. "So Richie, want to go see what the girls are up to?" asked Gary with a smirk.
"I don't wanna die just yet!" snapped Richie.
"Why would you even ask him to do that?!" asked Max, shocked as to why he would try and set him up right after saying all that.
Gary burst out laughing at his friend. "I'm glad you caught on! I could've sworn you'd still go check on them!"
"Very funny jackass," replied Richie, crossing his arms and scowling at him while Max was just completely confused and Brock couldn't help but shake his head in amusement over their antics.