Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Pride ❯ Pride ( One-Shot )
(Meira: And yet another fic that just hit me and I just had to write - at a time that I REALLY shouldn't be writing any new fics…
Yami: Well, you were sad when you wrote this. I could swear that you were depressed…
Meira: Sorta… I kinda feel like it's me that's telling this story instead of May.
Yami: … Meira doesn't own me from Yu-Gi-Oh, she just put me in the authoress notes because she's too used to having me in the authoress notes to cut me out.
Meira: I'm so sad, aren't I? I don't own Pokémon either.
Yami: Damn straight…)
I never imagined it would happen this way… I never did.
Pokémon was my life…
And she took it all away.
~~Flashback~~
"Skitty!" I shouted, calling out my first Pokémon.
"Starmie, go!" she shouted, throwing out her Pokémon.
"You're going down Misty," I smirked.
"As if!" Misty laughed.
"Skitty, Quick Attack!" I shouted.
"Starmie, dodge!"
~~End Flashback~~
I knew Skitty was at a disadvantage on that water field, but it didn't matter to me. I was confident that I was going to win.
It didn't matter that Misty was a gym leader and I was just some girl from Hoenn only known as the daughter of the Petalburg Gym. I didn't care.
I had to win.
This was more than just some Pokémon battle.
Who cared if this was the biggest competition in the history of the Pokémon world for girls? It was just a Pokémon contest.
I didn't care.
Who really gave a shit if the winner got incomparable fame and glory? So what if the winner's life was set? Anybody would want her in any job. Didn't matter if she had any real skills or not.
There was more at stake than that.
More than I originally intended to give up.
~~Flashback~~
"Skitty," I called. "Dodge and use Tackle!"
"Skitty!" Skitty shouted, running head on at Starmie. I was actually surprised… Skitty didn't seem distracted - for once.
It hit dead on.
"Starmie!" Misty called, watching Starmie fall unconscious. "Return!"
I smirked.
Round one went to me.
Misty only had two Pokémon left…
"I choose Politoed!" Misty shouted.
"Politoed!" Politoed said happily, dancing about.
"Your Politoed doesn't stand a chance against my Skitty!" I called.
"You just wait," Misty sneered.
~~End Flashback~~
I'd dreamed for days about that battle… how I'd win and everything.
I knew Misty was going to be tough to beat.
I didn't give a damn. I was a tough girl. Never fragile and weak.
I even used to laugh about it. Me? Fragile? Weak? Ha. As if…
Then why did I break down completely?
~~Flashback~~
"Politoed, Water Gun!" Misty called.
"Dodge!" I shouted desperately. Skitty was getting tired… Misty was good, I had to give her that much credit.
Skitty dodged just in time. A millisecond later, and Skitty would have gotten hit by Water Gun. It wasn't like Politoed had an advantage, but still…
"Now, use Water Gun again!" Misty shouted.
"Dodge!"
Skitty didn't dodge in time. It got hit…
"Skitty!" I shouted as it dropped down into the water. "Return!"
"Skitty is unable to battle. This round goes to Politoed!" the referee called.
I gritted my teeth as I watched Misty do a victory dance with Politoed.
~~End Flashback~~
Why? Why is my life like this?
It's impeccable, really. I'd always thought that Misty had the perfect life. I mean, she had the Sensational Sisters as her sisters!
I'd met her before, when she went for the `Togepi Contest' and instead ended up at the Mirage Kingdom with us. She'd seemed so nice… Like she was one of the `Mary Sues' that I'd heard about. Perfect, flawless. It seemed like everybody who knew her loved her.
Even Ash…
~~Flashback~~
"Torchic!" I called, sending out my first Pokémon.
Okay, what was I thinking? Torchic was at a definite disadvantage. This was a water field, Misty's Pokémon were water Pokémon… Torchic was a fire Pokémon. I mean… seriously.
"Why Torchic?" Misty smirked. "Don't have any other Pokémon to call out?"
I death glared her. "Torchic is perfectly strong, thank you."
"Politoed, Water Gun!"
"Torchic, dodge and use Flame Wheel!"
Torchic hit Politoed.
I'd won that round. 2-1. I couldn't believe it! Just one more victory and I'd win!
I looked out toward the crowd.
Ash wasn't sitting there.
He wasn't there, cheering me on.
~~End Flashback~~
I'm pretty sure that if anybody heard my story, they'd be sure that Misty took away Ash.
After all, he is my best friend.
My first real friend.
I'd never fit in at my old school… I just didn't fit in anywhere. Girls didn't want to be my friend because I wasn't interested in dolls, boys didn't want to play with me because I was a tomboy.
But Misty didn't just take away Ash.
She took away something even more important to me.
~~Flashback~~
"Togetic!" Misty called, bringing out her final Pokémon.
This took me by surprise - I'd thought that Togetic was still in the Mirage Kingdom.
"I see you remember Togetic," Misty smirked. "He decided to join me, just for this battle. After all, Hanson isn't there to terrorize anymore, so Togetic decided to come and cheer me on."
I gritted my teeth.
"Beautifly!" I call, summoning my final Pokémon. I'd better make this count…
~~End Flashback~~
Ash'd once told me about Misty.
The night before that contest, we talked too.
~~Flashback~~
"What was your life like?" I ask, leaning back against the couch in the Pokémon Center. Ash, Brock, and Max had insisted on going out to get stuff, though I had a strong suspicion they only did it so Misty and I could talk.
"It was okay," Misty shrugs. "I mean, I bet it wasn't as exciting as your life."
"Me?" I laughed. "I never really did much. Mom and dad have always been good to me, it's never been too bad. Mom-" I stop, noticing a flash of pain flit across her face when I said the word `Mom.'
"What's up?" I asked, feeling concerned in spite of myself.
Yeah… Misty and I were about to face the next day, but this was our last chance to talk… as friends, not competitors.
"Nothing," she says impatiently, brushing aside her tears.
"Something must be wrong…"
"No, it's nothing."
I can tell she's lying - there's obviously something wrong.
Nobody would look like she's in that much pain at the mention of one word…
Unless Misty's mother wasn't in this world anymore.
Unlike my mother…
"What about you?" I ask, trying to change the subject. "Did you ever do anything when you were little?"
Misty smiles, obviously glad that I changed the subject.
"Well, I played the piano, I'd go fishing often," she laughed. "You know, I actually fished Ash out of the river when I first met him. He was trying to save Pikachu, and ended up in the river. Took me to get him out." She scowled. "Though he did destroy my bike with Pikachu's thunderbolt while he was at it…"
I laughed. "How ironic… when I met Ash, he destroyed my bike too!"
We laughed.
I thought back to my own life.
Dad had never really been… great. He'd wanted a son, not a daughter. He'd done his best though… Taught me to battle… to play the violin…
But Misty was sad.
She'd clearly gone through trauma early in her life.
Unlike me.
~~End Flashback~~
So why did I always think that Misty's life was perfect?
Clearly she'd gone through more pain than I ever had in my life.
So why was I jealous of her?
…
Because of Ash.
She and Ash went way back… back to when he first started out on his Pokémon journey. They'd been friends for so long… And I'd only met him in Hoenn.
I didn't want to admit it to her face…
But I was scared of her.
I'd wanted to beat her in that contest the next day.
I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't as bad a trainer as Misty.
But it actually went deeper than that…
~~Flashback~~
"Dodge and use Silver Wing!" I shouted.
"Beautifly!" Beautifly called, aiming its Silver Wing at Togetic.
"Counter!" Misty shouted.
"Dodge!" I shouted. Beautifly barely dodged the counterattack.
Togetic and Beautifly were both taking hits. I never knew which would be the last one… After all, nobody ever knew when a Pokémon battle would end.
"Psychic!" Misty shouted.
"Dodge!"
Beautifly didn't dodge fast enough.
All I could do was watch helplessly as Beautifly collapsed into the water.
"Beautifly is unable to battle! Togetic wins!" the announcer shouted.
I collapsed to my knees after summoning Beautifly back to its Pokéball.
I'd lost…
~~End Flashback~~
I didn't prove to myself that I was better than Misty. I just didn't.
I hadn't achieved the goal that I'd set for myself.
I'd cried afterward - more than I'd cried in my entire life.
I'd completely broken down.
Ash, Brock, and Max were too busy celebrating with Misty to notice how upset I was. Not that I'd blamed them or anything… I was sure that they were happy that she'd won.
I didn't think they cared…
I didn't care that I didn't win. It was just one Pokémon Contest…
At least I hadn't made the same mistake that I'd almost made in Fall Arbor Town… I didn't try to give my Pokémon stamina Poké Block. That was at the very least…
I'm sitting here, wide awake at the Pokémon Center.
Misty's asleep in the bunk bed above me.
But why am I wide awake?
It's because I lost something almost too important to me that day…
My Pride.
Pokémon was all that I had. I didn't even have my best friend anymore.
Misty discouraged me to the deepest point, even though I'm sure that she doesn't know that. I'd never felt so sad and vulnerable in my life.
She'd taken away everything that I had.
She didn't know… and I'm sure she still doesn't know.
I'd even considered giving up training forever.
I'm not the type of person to just swallow my pride like other people can. There's just no way that I can do that at all.
Losing my Pride… my self - esteem was worse than I'd ever imagined.
Now… without that… I'm helpless.
Nobody really wants a helpless tomboy. It's just not right for a tough girl to be vulnerable.
"May?" Ash whispers, propping himself up onto his elbow, careful not to wake Pikachu. "You still awake?"
"Just thinking," I whisper back. "Go back to sleep."
"You want to take a walk?"
There's no real reason to… I'm just a lonely girl without a single friend.
Ash isn't really my friend anymore… he chose Misty over me.
But then why did he just ask me to take a walk with him? Was he genuinely concerned?
"Sure," I whisper, getting up slowly.
We walk slowly outside, Ash staring at the stars.
"Have you ever wondered how many stars there are in the sky?" he asks tentatively.
"Nope."
"Misty and I used to count the stars all the time," he says softly.
I feel a rush of hurt. Ash seems to notice.
"But now I'm counting the stars with my best friend," he says.
At those words, I feel something rushing back into me.
I finally realize something.
My pride isn't everything. That loss was one minor setback. I have my entire life in front of me! If I keep on brooding over this moment, how am I ever going to get on?
I have my pride back.
It is injured, but I know for a fact that it'll heal.
After all… I still have my best friend, don't I?
I smile and lift my head up to look at the sky.
"One… two… three…"
(Meira: So… what did you guys think? I wrote a story with a happy ending… for once…But I really just had to kill the ending… *bangs head on wall*
Yami: Wow… for once, a happy ending.
Meira: *shudders* Happy endings… *points at `Write Review' button* Reviews for the authoress?
Yami: It wasn't that bad…
Meira: … For my rating and the inspiration that drove me to write this fic, please go to my profile.
Yami: Yup. Flamers will be torched and will have to face my wrath!
Meira: *shakes head* Save that for Yu-Gi-Oh…)