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Bittersweet
A Pokémon Fanfiction by Barbara LeMaster
Legal Disclaimer
Pokémon and its related characters are copyrighted to their respective owners including Game Freak, 4Kids Entertainment, Nintendo, etc. No profit is being made from this story.
Author’s Notes
This story represents my first attempt at Pokemon fanfiction. Criticism is welcome; good reviews are adored. Writing this fanfiction was therapeutic for me, but I also did it because when I first discovered FF.N, I read a lot of the romance stories involving Ash & Misty. Most of the plots centered on them revealing their feelings of love for each other and then “living happily ever after.”
I simply wanted to explore another side of ‘happily ever after.’ After all, falling in love is not necessarily an achievement, but rather sustaining that love over a period of time despite obstacles and conflicts of various sorts, is the real achievement.
The two characters Andrew and Alexandra belong to me (literally). Dr. James Berringer is also my creation.
Rating: PG for mature topics.
Text in <triangular brackets> denote thoughts
Text in [squared brackets] is translated Pokemon speech
Text preceded by dashes as follows --- denotes flashbacks or thoughts and words from the past
The Fic
Chapter One: “I Don’t Love You Anymore”
The gray sky and rainy weather that had lasted the better part of the day just about matched Misty’s mood. She and Ash were driving home from Viridian City, where they’d attended a Pokemon League conference. Their children, Andrew and Alexandra, sat happily in the back seat, oblivious to the penetrating silence between Ash and Misty. Ash had been quiet for the entire trip; then again, when called upon to speak in public, he usually became quite shy and withdrawn. But never like this, and Misty was becoming unnerved by his behavior.
“Ash, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing…I mean, it is something, but we’ll talk later, okay?”
“If it’s something, please tell me now. What’s going on?”
“How to say this….” Ash’s voice trailed off. Misty looked at the man with whom she had spent the better part of her life with: he seemed anxious and somewhat embarrassed.
“What?” Misty felt colder but wasn’t sure exactly why. After all, she was wearing a sweater.
“I don’t love you anymore. And I don’t think I have for a couple of years now. It’s been a gradual thing, Misty, but…”
Ash continued talking but Misty stopped listening after the first sentence.
“I don’t love you anymore.” What? Had she heard him right?
“I don’t love you anymore.” Misty felt a pain in her back, deep inside her body, which seemed to paralyze her momentarily.
Misty knew they had been distant, but certainly not that bad. Or was it? Since Ash Ketchum had won the Pokemon League Championships at the age of 17, and then become a Pokemon Master at age 22, they had always been together.
They had spent their whole lives together practically, since they were 10 and 11 years old, respectively. After becoming the Master, Ash had hesitantly asked Misty how she felt about spending their adulthood together…as husband and wife. Through tears, Misty responded, “Yes,” and they were married the following autumn.
Misty thought for a moment. She had been 23 when they got married, 24 when she gave birth to Andrew, their first child, and 26 when she had given birth to Alexandra, their second child. Misty had wanted a third, coming from a family of four sisters, but Ash had felt it best not to “push the issue” as he’d called it. After all, being a Pokemon Master doesn’t automatically make one rich; famous, maybe. But money had always been an issue for both of them. And now the man whom she had given her heart to at the tender age of 12 was telling her he didn’t think he loved her anymore.
“Ash, I have to know something,” Misty’s mind snapped back to the present. “Is there…someone else?”
“No. I mean, not really.”
“What the hell does that mean, Ash Ketchum? ‘Not really’?”
“I didn’t want the marriage to end that way. Misty, you know me. My father—hurt my mother. Physically and emotionally. I swore I’d never be like him. ‘Not really’ means I had an opportunity once, a year ago, but I didn’t take it. Like I said, I didn’t want it to end that way.” Ash frowned.
“Did I know her?” Misty mentally checked every girl she and Ash had ever met, searching for an answer.
“No. We met at a Pokemon Conference like the one we attended today. You weren’t there, of course.”
Misty thought for a moment. <It must have been the year that my sisters and I went to the Orange Islands for a vacation.> They had taken Andrew and Alexandra, and had a marvelous time. But Misty was angry at Ash: all he seemed to care about was the blasted League and his responsibilities. If Pokemon were the number one thing in Ash’s life, where did that leave Misty? The kids? Their marriage? <But, he hasn’t strayed,> she thought. <Or is he even telling me the truth?>
Misty felt a massive Psyduck-sized headache coming on. She suddenly noticed that her sweater was becoming wet. For a surreal moment, she felt as though she were outside of the automobile, looking inside at the unhappy couple and their children, watching a TV-reality show where everyone’s messed-up lives are paraded before the cameras for the enjoyment of others. It took Misty a second or two before she realized she was crying.
“What’s the matter, Mommy?” Andrew chirped. Misty half-turned to see a smaller, younger version of Ash smiling at her. His messy black hair and Ash’s battered Pokemon League cap atop his head made Misty smile slightly.
“Nothing, honey. Everything’s going to be okay.”
To be continued….
A Pokémon Fanfiction by Barbara LeMaster
Legal Disclaimer
Pokémon and its related characters are copyrighted to their respective owners including Game Freak, 4Kids Entertainment, Nintendo, etc. No profit is being made from this story.
Author’s Notes
This story represents my first attempt at Pokemon fanfiction. Criticism is welcome; good reviews are adored. Writing this fanfiction was therapeutic for me, but I also did it because when I first discovered FF.N, I read a lot of the romance stories involving Ash & Misty. Most of the plots centered on them revealing their feelings of love for each other and then “living happily ever after.”
I simply wanted to explore another side of ‘happily ever after.’ After all, falling in love is not necessarily an achievement, but rather sustaining that love over a period of time despite obstacles and conflicts of various sorts, is the real achievement.
The two characters Andrew and Alexandra belong to me (literally). Dr. James Berringer is also my creation.
Rating: PG for mature topics.
Text in <triangular brackets> denote thoughts
Text in [squared brackets] is translated Pokemon speech
Text preceded by dashes as follows --- denotes flashbacks or thoughts and words from the past
The Fic
Chapter One: “I Don’t Love You Anymore”
The gray sky and rainy weather that had lasted the better part of the day just about matched Misty’s mood. She and Ash were driving home from Viridian City, where they’d attended a Pokemon League conference. Their children, Andrew and Alexandra, sat happily in the back seat, oblivious to the penetrating silence between Ash and Misty. Ash had been quiet for the entire trip; then again, when called upon to speak in public, he usually became quite shy and withdrawn. But never like this, and Misty was becoming unnerved by his behavior.
“Ash, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing…I mean, it is something, but we’ll talk later, okay?”
“If it’s something, please tell me now. What’s going on?”
“How to say this….” Ash’s voice trailed off. Misty looked at the man with whom she had spent the better part of her life with: he seemed anxious and somewhat embarrassed.
“What?” Misty felt colder but wasn’t sure exactly why. After all, she was wearing a sweater.
“I don’t love you anymore. And I don’t think I have for a couple of years now. It’s been a gradual thing, Misty, but…”
Ash continued talking but Misty stopped listening after the first sentence.
“I don’t love you anymore.” What? Had she heard him right?
“I don’t love you anymore.” Misty felt a pain in her back, deep inside her body, which seemed to paralyze her momentarily.
Misty knew they had been distant, but certainly not that bad. Or was it? Since Ash Ketchum had won the Pokemon League Championships at the age of 17, and then become a Pokemon Master at age 22, they had always been together.
They had spent their whole lives together practically, since they were 10 and 11 years old, respectively. After becoming the Master, Ash had hesitantly asked Misty how she felt about spending their adulthood together…as husband and wife. Through tears, Misty responded, “Yes,” and they were married the following autumn.
Misty thought for a moment. She had been 23 when they got married, 24 when she gave birth to Andrew, their first child, and 26 when she had given birth to Alexandra, their second child. Misty had wanted a third, coming from a family of four sisters, but Ash had felt it best not to “push the issue” as he’d called it. After all, being a Pokemon Master doesn’t automatically make one rich; famous, maybe. But money had always been an issue for both of them. And now the man whom she had given her heart to at the tender age of 12 was telling her he didn’t think he loved her anymore.
“Ash, I have to know something,” Misty’s mind snapped back to the present. “Is there…someone else?”
“No. I mean, not really.”
“What the hell does that mean, Ash Ketchum? ‘Not really’?”
“I didn’t want the marriage to end that way. Misty, you know me. My father—hurt my mother. Physically and emotionally. I swore I’d never be like him. ‘Not really’ means I had an opportunity once, a year ago, but I didn’t take it. Like I said, I didn’t want it to end that way.” Ash frowned.
“Did I know her?” Misty mentally checked every girl she and Ash had ever met, searching for an answer.
“No. We met at a Pokemon Conference like the one we attended today. You weren’t there, of course.”
Misty thought for a moment. <It must have been the year that my sisters and I went to the Orange Islands for a vacation.> They had taken Andrew and Alexandra, and had a marvelous time. But Misty was angry at Ash: all he seemed to care about was the blasted League and his responsibilities. If Pokemon were the number one thing in Ash’s life, where did that leave Misty? The kids? Their marriage? <But, he hasn’t strayed,> she thought. <Or is he even telling me the truth?>
Misty felt a massive Psyduck-sized headache coming on. She suddenly noticed that her sweater was becoming wet. For a surreal moment, she felt as though she were outside of the automobile, looking inside at the unhappy couple and their children, watching a TV-reality show where everyone’s messed-up lives are paraded before the cameras for the enjoyment of others. It took Misty a second or two before she realized she was crying.
“What’s the matter, Mommy?” Andrew chirped. Misty half-turned to see a smaller, younger version of Ash smiling at her. His messy black hair and Ash’s battered Pokemon League cap atop his head made Misty smile slightly.
“Nothing, honey. Everything’s going to be okay.”
To be continued….
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