Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for entertainment purposes only. The author does not own Pokemon nor is affiliated with Nintendo, Gamefreak, TV Tokyo or Pokemon USA.
Ash/Misty, Pokeshipping, AAML
T+ for Sensuality, Suggestive Situations and Language
Ages and Background Info in the Author's Note at the end
The Sound of Falling Rain
When you lose sight of who you are, ask who knows you the best
I
Drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop…
The sound of falling rain always had a strangely hypnotic effect on Misty. Ever since she was a little girl, the sound of rain could always catch her attention long enough for her to get lost in the beat of drops splish-splashing against the ground.
Drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop…
Misty counted the drops as they hit the windowsill, drumming a pencil against her leg in hypnotic rhythm with the falling rain.
Drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop…
It had been raining endlessly in Cerulean City since last Friday and as much as Misty loved the rain, the foggy gloom that lingered over the Gym was starting to bum her out. The sky was hidden with a thick layer of black clouds that made it hard to tell what time it was beyond looking at the clock.
Speaking of which, Misty shot a look at the Starmie clock on the wall. Five-thirty. How long had she been sitting there? She remembered coming in to work on her League paperwork with her coffee early that morning…she must have lost track of time
Misty rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. It had been a good day; well, productive at least. She always blocked Sundays off to deal with the piles of paperwork that inevitably stacked up during the week. Between the challenge requests, badge reports, league verifications for her assistant trainers ("minions" as Brock affectionately called them), basic maintenance forms, Pokèmon chum orders, live feeder fishing orders, and training plans, Misty needed a whole day to catch up on the week's rolls of red tape.
Misty looked at the stack of remaining paperwork and decided she'd done enough for one day. Depending on whether or not Brianna and Parker picked off her matches for tomorrow, there would be time to complete the latest inspection pending forms while her trainers deterred her potential combatants.
Turning now to her stack of mail, Misty quickly started weeding through the mound of envelopes that had been piling up all week. Junk, challenge, junk, bill, bill, junk, bill, bill, bill, bill junk, fan-mail, junk, junk, take-out coupon, junk, junk, league inspection notice, junk, junk, junk, junk, postcard, junk, bill, ad, chall-
Misty paused after tossing an ad for the new noodle restaurant in the trash. A colorful postcard stood out from the regular assortment of junk mail and bills. A sunny beach was set against a tropical hill and a nonexistent wind rustled the frozen trees in an aesthetically pleasing way that made Misty wonder if it was somehow photoshopped. A couple of people were skipping down the beach, holding hands and a trainer was playing with a Milotic in the water. The caption read Aloha from the Sevii Islands!
Misty fingered the edges of the card and for a second she thought about tossing it in her drawer without reading it. She knew what it said; hell, she had quite a collection of postcards and letters from exotic locals piling up in her drawer. If pressed, she could probably predict every line written on the back but after much deliberation, she decided to flip it over and read the neat, flowery script.
Dear Mist,
The Sevii Islands are soooooo beautiful! We have a few days off before we take our show to Sunyshore so we stopped by to catch some sun.
The crowds have been pretty good for the last few weeks (thanks in no small part to the article in Gym Frenzy, thank you very much). We expect a bigger crowd once we hit Sinnoh but then again Sevii are smaller islands…oops, I'm babbling!
Violet and Lily and off chasing the pool boys but I saw this in the gift shop and thought of sending my favorite little sis a hello. So, hi from Lily and Violet too! Take care and let me know how you are! It wouldn't kill you to send us a card, ya know?
333 XXooXoOo 333
Daisy (and LiLy and Vi!!)
Misty smirked in spite of herself, imagining Lily and Violet scribbling their names in over Daisy's shoulder. It figured the two middle girls would be more interested in the native Sevii boys than the native Pokèmon but then again, her sisters had always been like that. It's just as well that they took their aquatic show on an extended tour and left her with the gym; for all their style and flair, her sisters were awful Gym leaders.
There was no denying that Misty was a better trainer than all three sisters put together. In a few short years, Cerulean Gym had risen in infamy from a backwater pushover to a name synonymous with aquatic destruction. With her at the helm, Cerulean Gym had become an epicenter for Pokèmon League hopeful looking to take the closest thing to Lorelei this side of the Elite Four.
Still…even though the idea of floating around in a skimpy bathing suit while doing water ballet with Pokèmon made Misty chuckle, she couldn't help but feel a familiar twinge of envy for her older sisters. As much as she was happy that her sisters found an audience for their show, she couldn't totally suppress her jealousy for her sister's freedom. It's not as though she was bitter; there were just days when the Gym really piled it on and she felt like she should be scrubbing floors, riding in pumpkin carriages and singing to talking mice…
"Zu-marill Marill!"
Speaking of talking mice…
Misty felt a tug at the corner of her sweats. She looked down to see Azumarill looking up at her with his signature pout. "What's the matter, boy?" Misty asked, pulling him up onto her lap. "You want to eat?"
"Zu." Azumarill said glumly, folding his little arms.
"Okay, okay…just let me finish these papers-hey!" Misty cried out in surprise as Azumarill grabbed her stack of papers and shoved them in her box marked "To Do."
"Hey I wasn't done with th-HEY!" Azumarill jumped up on her desk and smacked Misty in the nose with his tail when she reached for her work. He stood there, glaring at her, moving over to block her from getting at the papers again.
"Marill!" Azumarill said in a way that suggested that his trainer wasn't getting at her paperwork anytime soon.
"Well…" Misty looked up at the clock. "I guess I've done enough for one day."
"Marill-mar!" Azumarill said happily, jumping off the desk and dashing into the kitchen.
****************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Misty dumped the last bucket of bait fish into the tank, watching as they squirmed away into the deep end of the pool to join their doomed friends. Misty walked over to a console and with a flip of a few switches, announced "Dinner Time" to her larger Pokèmon. She stayed long enough to make sure Gyarados and Tentacruel didn't fight over the biggest fish before closing the aquarium down for the night.
"Night everyone!" She called out as the lights dimmed. A string of garbled cries and squawks answered her as she went upstairs to fix her own dinner.
The Gym apartment was at the far edge of the gym on the side of the building facing Cerulean Cape. Growing up with Lily, Daisy and Violet, the apartment always seemed too crowded. Now having the little studio loft to herself, Misty found herself with more space than she knew what to do with. The main room housed the living room, dining room and kitchen in a large open space. A hallway to the side led to a bathroom and three bedrooms that the girls had slept in when they were younger. The whole west wall had been recently knocked down and replaced with three large picture windows that gave her a perfect view of the stormy coast through the drizzle.
Azumarill had beaten her to the kitchen and began his nightly ritual of wrestling with the pickle jar. He was trying something new tonight, wedging the base between the fridge and the door and gnawing at the lid with his teeth. Misty's snort of laughter caused Azumarill to glare at her poisonously before reluctantly taking the jar for her to open.
"Nice try, honey." Misty said, popping the lid off. "Try again when you grow thumbs and then maybe you'll get somewhere." She fished a single pickle out and offered it to him. "You can start with this one and then we'll see about-HEY!" Azumarill jumped up and snatched the jar from Misty's hand, scurrying off and cramming pickles in his mouth.
Misty stood staring after him, holding a pickle in her hand in mute shock. "Is it just me, or has he gotten brattier since he evolved from Marill?" She wondered out loud
Misty followed the trail of pickle juice across the room into her "living room" where Azumarill had plopped himself on the couch, waving the TV remote impatiently at Misty. "Alright, alright! Take it easy you little couch potato…let's see what's on tonight." Misty turned on the TV with a soft click.
"…and he ends with a flawless Magical Leaf! How Beautiful!"
Click
"Oh Beatrice! I know what you did! I know what you did with Tentacruel!"
Click
"Hey I'm Seanny X and today on Numbnutz I'm gonna kick this Garchomp in the n-"
Click
"…But thankfully, no Dewgong were harmed." Misty settled on the nightly news station just at the anchorwoman finished a story cleverly titled "Dew-gone?" The camera panned out and the anchorwoman turned to the sportscaster for his segment. "Well now we'll turn it over to Chip Shetland who, as I understand, has a bit of a story brewing over at the Sinnoh Cup."
"Oh yeah…" Misty murmured to herself. "The Sinnoh Cup is today, isn't it?" She had remembered Delia mentioning it when the two of them met for lunch the month before. Apparently, Ash was a favorite to take the Sinnoh Championship this year though that wasn't a surprise.
The sportscaster smiled the way sportscasters smile, giving a side chuckle to the anchor before turning to the camera. "Well, you could say something like that, Diane! It's more of a situation really! For more, we're joined by our sister station in Sinnoh and Leann Jenkins is going to tell us all about it. Leann?" The screen split and a weather beaten, but thrilled young woman stood in front of what Misty assumed was the Sinnoh Elite Four building.
"Thanks Chip. Well, once a foregone conclusion, this year's Sinnoh Cup has been blown wide open with the disappearance of one of the favorites to win."
Misty couldn't help but chuckle. When the annual cups rolled around, the Gym Leaders made bets as to which of the top contenders would freak out under pressure and go AWOL before the championship matches. They were usually young rising stars who suddenly found themselves thrust into the spotlight without the skills to deal with a fickle audience. This year, Misty had her money on a dark horse from Twinleaf Town (Larry, was it? Luke? Lucas!).
The reporter went on. "In a surprising move, one of this year's senior trainers has failed to report for the check in and efforts to find them have been fruitless."
"Marill?" Azumarill looked up at Misty with questioning eyes.
"Nope." Misty replied, helping herself to a pickle from the jar. "They're wasting their time. Whoever this is, they're not going to show." Misty sat up. "Come one, Lucas! Mama needs a new automatic aquarium cleaner!"
"In a stunning turn off events-" The reporter continued.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! We're all stunned! Get on with it!"
"Kanto Trainer-"
"Damnit!" Misty groaned. "It's that Kris girl, isn't it?"
"Ash Ketchum has gone missing as of twelve o'clock this afternoon. "
"ACK!"
"Zu!"
Azumarill jumped up and started hitting Misty on the back, trying to dislodge the chunk of pickle she had accidentally inhaled.
"When we talked to the hotel manager, he said that Mr. Ketchum had checked out shortly before-"
Ash…was missing? The reporter was saying something else but her words were lost on Misty who was still trying to rationalize the reporter's impossible statement. To imply that Ash had gone missing would imply that no one knew where he was which meant that he wasn't at the arena which meant he wouldn't get there in time for check ins which meant he…he wasn't competing.
That didn't make any sense.
"Zu?" Misty looked down to see Azumarill tugging on her pant leg in concern.
"Huh…" Misty shook her head. She must have zoned out for a minute because the news program had moved on to a gossip segment about how the Sunyshore Gym Leader had been seen had been seen on the beach with some contest coordinator.
"Oh…no I'm fine." Misty said, rubbing Azumarill's ears. "Don't worry about me…here."
Click
"Hey You, Pikachu!"
"Pikapika!"
"Watch this for a bit." Misty said, picking up the phone. "I'll be right back."
Riiing….
"Nngh…"
Riiiing…
"Hmm…wha…."
Riiing…
Riiing…
Gary fumbled around his desk for the phone a few times before answering with a weary. "Hmm?"
"Uh…Gary?"
"Mmm…" Gary shook his head a few times, dislodging a research note that had stuck to his face. "Yeah…this is Gary Oak. Who's cyyyaaaaaaaang…." Gary trailed off in a long yawn. "Sorry. Who's calling?"
"It's Misty. Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Oh no…I was just…thinking." Gary said, unsure what to say. He and Misty had never been close, only really knowing each other through Ash and Delia. So her calling him out of the blue was certainly cause for alarm. "So what's up?"
"I…I was calling to see if you had heard anything from Ash lately."
Gary frowned to himself. "No…last time we talked was about three weeks ago. He wanted to change Pokèmon before the Sinnoh Cup. Actually I think that's where he is now: isn't that today?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought too…listen, Ash didn't show up for the check in and now no one knows where he is."
"What?!" Gary could almost hear Misty recoil from his sudden outburst. "What happened to him?! Do the police know about it?!'
"No but-"
"He could have been kidnapped!" Gary stood up, shaking off his lab coat and going to the closet. "I bet it was Team Galactic! They're still sore that we broke their little cult up so they took him hostage!"
"Gary…"
"They could be after us next!" Gary said, pulling his coat on. "They still remember that we helped Ash take Cyrus down!"
"Gary."
Gary set the phone down as he stuck his head out the back door. "Umbreon! Scramble the troops; we got trouble!" He turned back inside, quickly filling a pack with potions and herbs while talking quickly. "Look Misty, get your best team together and then get out of the Gym!"
"Gary!"
"Meet me in Pewter City behind the Pokèmon Center and-"
"GARY!"
"What?! What is it?!"
"Put the panic attack on hold for two seconds and listen to me!" Misty took a deep breath on the other end of the line. "Ash checked out of his hotel room himself. He left on his own."
Gary froze in mid pack. "Wait…what?"
"As far as I know, he just vanished. No note, no message…nothing."
"Oh…okay." Gary set his bag down. "So that's why you called me? You think he came to Pallet?"
"Well, that would make sense; if someone just up and leaves before the biggest tournament of the year you would think he would go home, right?"
"Yeah…" Gary looked out his window at the Ketchum house down the hill. "I don't see any lights on. I remember Delia saying she was going to Goldenrod for the weekend. Does she…"
"No. I haven't called her. I was hoping we could get this all sorted out before she has to find out."
"Well, it won't take long for this to hit the news so we have to work fast." Gary said, waving off Umbreon and Arcanine who had come in the back door. "Have you called his Pokègear?"
"A couple times but I think he has it off."
"Okay …well who else have you called so far?" Gary said, fishing his phone book out of his desk clutter.
"You're the first. Brock's at some conference in Veilstone so the gym's empty there."
"Doesn't mean he didn't go there." Gary pointed out. "Though if Brock isn't there, he probably left."
"That's a good point…damn…"
"What's wrong?" Gary asked
"I just wish I knew what was going on…this is so unlike him."
"I'm sure there's a good reason he didn't show up…listen stay on the line, I'm going to patch you through to someone…"
In Petalberg City, two coordinators burst out of the contest hall trailing a very unhappy trainer behind them.
"What was wrong with Blaziken's Fire Blast?"
"It overpowered Gallade's Magical Leaf! You could hardly see the updraft I was going for!"
"Hey…guys, could we just-"
"Oh so when I upstage you, it's a classical tragedy. But when Absol starts tripping over Glaceon-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Tripping?!"
"Oh, beg pardon, mi'lord! How ill-bred of me to not see the grand scheme you had! Pray tell Master Drew, how was Absol crashing into Glaceon part of your plan for winning us the Team Ribbon?!"
"Oh I don't know, May…whose idea was it to freeze the contest floor in the first place!?"
"It was for a mirror effect! I didn't hear you complain about it when we were practicing!"
"We…didn't…practice…on…a… god…damned…ICE RINK!"
Briiing! Briing! Briing!
"Hey guys! Cap it for a second!" Click. "Hello, Brendon Birch speaking…oh hey Gary." Brendon plugged his ear and snuck away from bickering companions. "I was about to call you with that info on the Caravine in-" Brendon shot a look at May who had apparently postponed wringing Drew's neck to listen in. "Um…yeah, she's here." Brendon shrugged when Drew shot him a questioning look. Brendon offered the phone to May. "It's Gary Oak…"
"Your research correspondence?" Drew asked.
"Ash's friend." May said, taking the phone. "Hello…uh, hi Gary I-Misty? What're you…no…no, I haven't seen him I…wait…WHAT?! What do you mean he…but…yeah, I have her number." May took her own Pokègear out. "No, look…okay, stay on the line…I'll patch you through."
"What happened?" Drew asked. "What's wrong?"
"We don't know where Ash is." May said, dialing a number on her Pokègear.
"I know."
"Wait…you know?" May asked.
" Vol-a friend at the league told me before the press leaked it." Dawn' voice said. "I called Ash a few times but he didn't answer. He was scheduled for a-"
"Check in and he never showed up. That much we do know." Brendon's voice cut it
"Uh…yeah, that's right…May, who else is there?" Dawn asked
"Well Drew and Brendon are here with me…"
"Hey." Drew said
"What's up?" Brendon added.
"And actually it was Misty and Gary Oak who called us from Kanto." May finished.
"Oh! Hi guys!" Dawn said cheerfully.
"Hey Dawn." Gary said.
"We were hoping someone knew where he was."Misty added, now pacing her kitchen floor. "Ash bailing on a match is…"
"It's not exactly like him, is it?" Dawn said.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Misty sighed
"Maybe he just didn't want to compete this year." Drew suggested. "Maybe he didn't think he had a shot."
"Not having a shot has never stopped him before." Gary said with a rough laugh. "He's entered hopeless tournaments and got whipped just for the experience."
"Maybe he got scared…" Brendon suggested.
"Ash doesn't get scared."Misty said, a little sharper than she intended. "He's never run out on a challenge without good reason and getting scared is not a good enough reason."
"I'm just saying it's a possibility." Brendon said defensively. "God knows I got scared when I got overwhelmed by-"
"What scares Ash and what scares you are two different things and worlds apart." Misty interrupted, a little harsher than she intended. "Lesser trainers get intimidated. Lesser trainers get scared and run. Lesser trainers might "overwhelmed." Ash. Does. Not."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Dawn said. "Let's all just calm down. Brendon doesn't know Ash that well…he was just trying to help, right?"
Misty took a deep breath. "I know…I know…I'm sorry Brendon. I didn't mean that…it's…this is just…and-"
"Hey, I'm probably wrong" Brendon said. "I was just throwing ideas out there."
"I hope you're wrong…" May said, taking the phone back. "I don't even want to think about what could make Ash willingly drop out of a competition."
"I know what you mean. I think I'd be less worried about him if he had been kidnapped." Dawn said with an audible shudder. "At least then we'd know what was wrong and what we could do to help. Um…Misty?"
"Yeah?"
"So…you haven't heard from him at all?"
"No…that's why I'm calling you." Misty said, a little confused.
"Why do you ask?" May asked.
"Well…" There was a pause that suggested Dawn was choosing her words carefully. "When V-my friend told me what had happened… the first thing I thought of was to call you."
"Me?"Misty asked.
"Well I figured if Ash disappeared, you'd know where he was." Dawn said. "I figured he'd go home to Kanto and…he'd stop by your gym."
"She has a point." May said. "I don't know about you, Dawn but back when I traveled with him, Ash would never let us pass by Cerulean City without visiting you, Misty."
"Huh…I never really thought about it but now that I do… it makes sense: apart from Gary, you've known him the longest, Misty." Dawn said. "And if something was wrong, seriously wrong…I think he would go to you first."
"Uh…okay…"Misty said, feeling her cheeks heat up a little. "Well, like I said, I haven't seen him. Do you…do you really think he'll come here?"
"The way I see it, he's either going to turn up here, or in Cerulean City." Gary said. "And depending on how fast he's flying, he may be close now."
"If you ask me, I don't think we have anything to worry about." Dawn said. "He's only been missing for a few hours; I think it's a little early to start panicking."
"You could be right there…Gary, are we overreacting?" Misty asked and for a few seconds Gary didn't respond.
"If it was anyone else..." Gary said thoughtfully. "If anyone else disappeared…no, ran out like this…then, yeah we'd be overreacting. But…"
"But...this is Ash." Misty said. No one asked for clarification; that was all that needed to be said.
"Hey, this is Ash! Looks like you missed me but leave me a message and I'll get back to you ASAP!"
"Pika!"
BEEP.
"Hey, Ash…it's Misty. I was just calling to see how things were so…call me back as soon as you get this. Okay, bye."
Misty replaced the phone in the cradle and suddenly found herself at a loss for what to do. There wasn't a lot more she could do except hope that Dawn was right and that Ash would turn up. Maybe Dawn was right; maybe Ash would come to her. If that were the case, what would she say?
"Hey Ash! Nice to see you! So do you want to tell me why you decided to up and quit a tournament you spent a year preparing for or do I have to guess?"
Misty gave a weak chuckle at the thought. That would be a nice way of greeting him after almost a year apart.
The thought prompted Misty to walk across the kitchen to pick up her favorite picture. It was the most recent, most complete picture of her friends gathered together. Misty couldn't help but smile at the worn, ragged group smiling up at her from the picture frame; it was their luck that the only time they could all get together was when the universe was being threatened by a lunatic. Still, they looked happy and that made Misty happy just looking it.
Ash was at the center of the picture, flanked on his left by Brock and his right by Misty herself. He had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other draped around Brock's shoulder. It was one of the few pictures she had of him without his hat and his hair stuck up in all sorts of strange directions from the wind blowing on top the Spear Pillar.
To Brock's left was Gary, trying his best to look badass and nonchalant but unable to suppress a relieved smile. Next to him was Brendon Birch, a newcomer to the group as May and Drew's latest traveling companion. He had an incredulous look on his face; like he couldn't believe that he was still alive. Next to him, May draped her arms around a flustered looking Drew who was trying to smile while shooting a glance at a very peeved looking Norman to his left.
To Misty's right, Dawn had one arm draped across Misty's shoulders, smiling shyly at the camera. Cynthia, the long-reigning Sinnoh Champion was to her right, laughing at Flint who had latched his arms around the neck of a very uncomfortable Volkner just as the flash went off. Most unusual of all were the two off to the side of Volkner and Flint. In exchange for amnesty and time-served, the ex Team Rocketeers Jessie and James were brought on as "criminal consultants." They stood off to the side of her friends but in a warped way, they were as much a part of the group as anyone else. Even though they had been legitimate for about a year and she never really hated either of them, Misty doubted whether or not she would ever be friends with her former enemies.
It was a messy, chaotic picture but that was why it was Misty's favorite. It was uncut and rough and showed her friends the way they were meant to be seen; beaten, bruised but ultimately triumphant together. It had been a year since they all stood on top of the Spear Pillar, having thwarted the umpteenth threat against the world since they were kids.
Team Galactic was worse than anything any of them had faced. It spoke to their complete monstrosity that Misty actually wished for the days of Team Rocket. Stealing Pokèmon for profit was at least predictable and relatively tame compared to blowing up swamps and threatening legitimate world destruction. The devastation caused was so catastrophic that the Kanto, Hoenn and Sinnoh Leagues authorized a task force made up of Ash and anyone he could get to help him out.
It surprised no one that, after almost a year of training solo, he came to Misty, Gary and Brock first. May had come as soon as Ash had called, bringing Drew and Brendon along with her. Norman tried to dissuade May from going but in the end opted for joining the team to watch over her (he drew the line at Max coming with him; much to the latter's dismay). They had been reluctant about calling Dawn, seeing as she lacked the battle experience of the others, but her addition brought Cynthia (who came to supervise the Sinnoh group), Volkner (who Dawn befriended while vacationing in Sunyshore) and Flint (who came with Volkner for "kicks and gigs").
Ash cut deals, made promises and eventually threw together a team that proved to be more than enough for Team Galactic to handle. In a matter of months, their organization was dismantled and Cyrus' last ditch attempt to summon a legendary Pokèmon had failed. They had won once again and even though they faced death twice day, Ash never lost the glint of determination in his eye.
Which made this situation all the more terrifying for Misty. If Ash quit, it meant something shook him bad enough to make him quit. And since Ash had swatted down mythological Pokèmon without batting an eyelash, the idea of something scaring him scared Misty. Before today, she couldn't think of anything bad enough to scare Ash into giving up.
And now Ash was missing.
"Marill…" Misty looked down to see Azumarill shaking the phone at her. .
"Not now…" Misty sighed, waving him off.
"Azu!" Azumarill insisted.
"I just called him." Misty said.
"Zumarill!" Azumarill said, brandishing the phone insistently.
"I'll call him again when I-OW!" Misty winced as Azumarill chucked the phone at her. "Alright! Alright!" Misty said, dialing the number. "I'll call him! Happy?"
"Zu."
No sooner did Misty dial Ash's number did Azumaril's ears suddenly perk up. Misty jumped slightly as her Pokèmon's suddenly hopped up from the couch and started tugging her pant leg.
"What?! I'm calling him!" Misty said.
"Zu! Marill!" Azumarill tugged at his ears.
"You…hear something?" Misty asked as Azumarill pulled her down the stairs and towards the large double doors at the opposite end of the Gym. "Zu, what are you-" She stopped when she heard a faint ringing growing louder as she approached the doors. After a second, the call went to the answering machine and the ringing stopped. Misty crept towards the door, bare feet sliding quietly across the bare floor. For a second, she stood and listened…
Drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop…
There was only the rain. After a few seconds, Misty hit the call button again.
Briing!
Briing!
She was about to open the door when a rough whisper stopped her.
Briing!
"Pi! Pikachu!"
"Answer it? Why don't I just knock?"
Briing!
"PiPika! Pikpika pi! Chu!"
"I…what?! I haven't been ignoring her calls! We've been in the air for the last six hours unless you-"
"Pikapi, pi pi Pikachu!"
Briing!
"I…that's not it, and you know it!"
Briing!
"Pi Pi Chu?"
"I…don't…I just want to…" Without waiting for him to finish his thought, Misty flung open the door.
And there he was.
He was completely soaked; his hat dangled dripping from one hand while he held his phone in the other. Pikachu was tucked in his coat against his body, looking up at his trainer in mid argument when Misty opened the door, startling them both. For a five tense, agonizing seconds, neither one said anything. In that time, a thousand and one thoughts whirled through Misty's head. But at the end, all she could say was-
"Ash."
Ash blinked a few times in surprise then gave Misty a tentative smile. "Hey, Misty."
AN: The First chapter in a fairly long Pokemon oneshot (broken up to make it more digestible). I write what I like to read and I haven't seen a story like this before. I'm planning on uploading pretty quickly so feedback on each part would be greatly, greatly, GREATLY appreciated. I'm proud of this little ficcie, but I'd like to know what you felt I did right and what could be worked on. So please let me know what you thought!
Ages and Background info
(The Ages in the anime are a bit ambiguous so I decided to assign ages based on relative age to when the series came out)
Ages (English Names)
Brock, Volkner-22
Misty-21
Ash, Gary-20
May, Drew, Brendon-19
Dawn-18
Max-17
Background Info
This is set ten years after the start of the anime series.
After going through the different leagues a few times, Ash started bouncing around, generally honing his skills and building a reputation for himself. Nicknamed "the Crownless King" he generally competes well, but has never ascended to League champion. Still, there is hardly a battle commentator in the world who wouldn't put him at the top of their best trainer lists. At the start of this story, he has been traveling alone for four years.
Misty has headed the Cerulean Gym since she left Ash's company. When she's not managing the ins and outs of working at the Gym, she's honing her skills with Water Pokèmon. As it stands, Cerulean City is usually the last Gym a trainer challenges before challenging the Elite Four due to Misty's near mastery of Water Pokèmon. At the start of this story her sisters have taken their show on the road, leaving her in complete charge of the Gym
May has continued traveling from contest to contest, taking a few years off here and there to spend at home but mostly moving around. While her friends have come and gone, she's never without two or three traveling companions to pass the time with. A relentless perfectionist, her passion for coordinating drives her to find new and exciting ways to compete. At the start of this story, she is on her third world contest tour.
Drew figured out that it was a lot easier to keep up with May if he just ended up traveling with her. They still compete fiercely and occasionally bicker, but the animosity has long since been left behind. They frequently edge each other out for who is the more gifted coordinator that week. At the start of his story, he has been traveling with May for almost two years.
Gary has taken over his grandfather's lab to let the Professor explore the world a little before he retires. His researches through proxy, hiring trainers to send data back to his lab and study the Pokèmon they have caught. At the start of this story, he continues to research through correspondence with Brendon Birch
Brendon Birch (the son of Professor Birch, to everyone's surprise) joined May's party when his mom moved out to Hoenn to be with his father. Having been through the Kanto league, he was eager to set off for the Hoenn league and joined up with May and Drew (much to the latter's displeasure). He acts as the balancing element in the group, often quelling his friend's heated arguments. He works for Gary, providing valuable research information about his battles. At the start of the story, he is in Petalberg City preparing for a Gym battle against Norman
Dawn has spent the last few years enjoying small celebrity. A seasoned coordinator in her own right, she found herself being asked for advice by younger trainers. With the encouragement of her friends, she published a book (entitled Joy and the Art of Pokèmon Coordinating) to surprising success. She became the youngest Sinnoh Contest Champion on her 18th birthday and has spent the last six months before the story living in Sunyshore, helping to set up a contest hall while writing a follow-up to her latest book (Part autobiography, part beginner's guide to Pokemon adventuring.)
This takes place a year after the defeat of Team Galactic. Basically the same plot in the Diamond and Pearl games. Ash and Co. Teamed up and beat them down to bring peace to the world.