#Ash x Misty | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ashxketchum · 4 months ago

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♫⋆｡‧˚♡˚‧｡₊✩‧₊˚ Aug-kissed Week One ♫⋆｡‧˚♡˚‧｡₊✩‧₊˚

| INDIRECT KISS | BLOW A KISS | BUTTERFLY KISSES

Pairing: Pokeshipping | AO3 LINK

Event hosted by @aug-kissed | Post divider by @/cafekitsune

The tension inside the stadium was at its peak, Misty could almost smell the anticipation radiating from the audience. She tried her best not to look at the audience, or even towards the big scoreboard in the middle. Still, it was difficult for her not to shield her eyes with an arm and turn her face away from the battle before her when Nessa’s Drednaw shrunk back into its original form after Dynamaxing. Her own Starmie’s Dynamax had worn off one turn ago, which had caused a great deal of damage to her Pokemon as it avoided making contact with the opposing Drednaw’s Max Ooze by continuously spinning in the air. Now that the stadium had returned to normal, Starmie landed on one of its pointy spokes and attempted to stand tall with its back facing Misty.

She could see that her Starmie was shivering, putting every ounce of her energy into standing straight and holding it together so Misty wouldn’t lose the battle. She curled up her fists at her side till her knuckles went white, the image of the scoreboard flashed into her mind as she closed her eyes to take a deep breath, both Nessa and she were down to their last Pokemon, it could have been anyone’s win but seeing the difference in their stamina, she knew that chances of Starmie fainting first were higher.

When she opened her eyes again, she was taken aback by how Starmie had turned to face her. The glow of its ruby coloured jewel had almost diminished, and though Misty was teased a lot about how Starmie and Staryu didn’t have faces, she could still understand exactly what her Pokemon was trying to tell her. But she pursed her lips at the sight, how could she let Starmie continue to battle in its current state? She wasn’t the kind of trainer who let their Pokemon battle through exhaustion, it just felt so wrong to her. Her hand at her side twitched, she had half a mind to pull out her Pokeball and recall Starmie, forfeit the battle before her Pokemon suffered any severe injuries. But it was the look on Starmie’s face that held her back. Once her Pokemon noticed that Misty had understood what it was trying to say, it proudly turned around and faced the opponent.

She couldn’t however, look at Nessa or Drednaw just yet. Her cerulean eyes wandered towards the scoreboard again, if Starmie somehow pulled through this, Misty would become the first trainer to win the newly inaugurated Water Pokemon Championships. This whole month she had spent every waking second training and battling and winning, just to get that title of the best Water Pokemon Trainer, something she had dreamed about for all her life. Could she, however, be satisfied with the win if Starmie would have to be rushed to the emergency room right after? Or worse, what if she risked her Pokemon’s health and still didn’t win?

Misty swallowed the lump in her throat, she could feel the entire stadium watching her, even Nessa’s blue eyes were piercing into her skin, waiting for her to make the next move as the honourable trainer that she was. The silence all around consumed Misty and her knees shook, suddenly unable to hold up her weight and the weight of all the thoughts that circled in her mind, should she give up, should she continue to battle, was Starmie okay, will she be able to make the right choice?

She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and let out a scream, if she couldn’t even make up her mind over something like this, did she even deserve to win?

Feeling lost and confused, Misty’s eyes searched the stands for a familiar face and it didn’t take her too long to find him.

Ash was sitting in the second row from the front, not too far from where she was standing on the battleground. He had been observing Starmie too but when their eyes met, Misty felt a new surge of energy rush into her veins. He didn’t smile, he didn’t give her an encouraging nod, and he didn’t even look like he wanted to cheer her on. No, Ash’s face was lit up with the intensity of a raging fire, one that wanted to be at the centre of the ring and wouldn’t be contained until it got what it wanted. His jaw was set and his brown eyes bore into her, as if to say that if Misty didn’t see this battle through, he’d come down from the stands to finish it himself.

In a daze, she lifted a hand to touch the Cascade badge pinned to the hair tie holding her hair up in her trademark lopsided ponytail. Just before she’d taken her place in the arena, Ash had come to wish her luck one last time. He’d stood across her with his sunshine smile lighting up the dark corridor that opened up to the battleground.

“Nessa’s going to think you’re about to step into the ring yourself with that Gyarados face you’ve got on right now,” Ash laughed, poking her cheek with a finger, possibly in an attempt to get her to loosen up.

“Not funny, Ash. Now’s not the time to crack silly jokes, okay?” Misty muttered though she didn’t fight him off when he cupped her face in his hands and pulled her forward, resting his forehead against hers.

“Relax, Mist.”

That’s all he said, but the two words worked like a charm. As they stood in silence Misty felt her heartbeat slow down in sync with Ash’s calm breathing.

She allowed her body to bask under his gentle warmth, the muscles in her back relaxing and her jaw unclenching on its own as only the sound of Ash’s deep breaths reverberated around them. Once he understood that she would not try to wiggle out of his grasp, he let his hands fall to her shoulders, gripping them with just the right amount of strength. Lifting his head he pressed it against her side, tickling her cheeks with his nose as his eyelashes fluttered across her skin, leaving a trail of butterfly kisses that made her lips long for some company too. It was when she started to get comfortable that he moved again, taking a step back to shift behind her and wrap his hands around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder so they could stand cheek to cheek.

She didn’t quite know how long they stood together like that, time had seemed to stop as a favour to her, but when Ash pulled away, she felt like a different person altogether.

He grinned at the sight of her, rubbing the tip of his nose with a finger proudly, he asked “Feeling better?”

Misty nodded, though she’d felt the anxiety over the upcoming match vanish from her body and mind after Ash’s help, her voice still needed some time to reform.

“Better enough for me to crack a joke about how you now look like a spaced out Psyduck?”

“Ash Ketchum, why I ought to-”

And her voice was back in full swing, any nervous feelings about what awaited her out in the arena now a distant whisper as her whole body buzzed with newfound energy and excitement, looking forward to face reality instead. Ash dodged the light punch she threw in his direction, easily grabbing her fist with his hand he lowered it to pry open her fingers one by one. Misty was confused by this but in the next moment she let out a small gasp, as he had dropped a shiny object in her open palm, one she didn’t expect to see in this moment.

“Is this…?” Her voice trailed off, though she knew Ash understood her question nonetheless.

“Yep. The badge you thought I didn’t deserve,” he said, his voice surprisingly gentle considering the sensitive topic.

Misty couldn’t believe it but when she touched the badge, the cold surface sent a shiver down her spine, reminding her of that interrupted battle and Ash’s unrelenting determination.

“It looks just the same as it did that day,” she whispered, in awe of how its blue coating had survived so many years without a single scratch.

“Of course it does! I take good care of all my badges and trophies.”

She didn’t need to look up at Ash to know that his nose was pointed a few centimetres higher with how smug he sounded. Slowly, a calm smile spread across her face, though she did not understand yet what Ash was aiming to achieve by handing her this today, just thinking about their days travelling together as kids made her feel content with the present and hopeful for the future. When she finally raised her eyes to thank him for this sweet gesture, Ash did not let a single moment pass without taking her by surprise. With her hand still resting on top of his palm, he raised it slightly, bending his head to plant a kiss on top of the badge. His lips tickled her skin for just a brief moment but it was enough to colour her cheeks with a deep blush. After pulling back, Ash grinned at the shy pout that had overtaken her face naturally, he took the badge from her hand and carefully attached it to her hair tie, stepping back afterwards to let her know that she was free to go.

“For good luck,” he said, gesturing towards the badge with his warm eyes.

“Thank you.”

Misty nodded, inhaling a deep breath and taking one last look at Ash’s encouraging smile, she turned her back to him, heading out into the battleground with loud cheers welcoming both her and Nessa. Just before she fished out her first Pokeball, she took a moment to touch the badge affixed to her hair and allowed the magic of Ash’s good luck charm to flow through her. She knew that the sensation of his lips had by then faded but she still bought the fingers that had glazed across the badge to her lips, preserving the vanishing essence of Ash’s kiss even for a fleeting moment…

And that was all the motivation she needed to pull herself together.

This match was going to be her victory.

Misty straightened up her back and uncurled her fists, raising one arm in front of her as she prepared to order Starmie. The move she had thought of was something Starmie had attempted to learn just for the sake of this tournament, but their training had not proved as effective as Misty hoped. To use that move in such a stressful and decisive moment made her feel worried for her Pokemon’s state of mind, but remembering how Starmie had stood tall against her doubts just moments ago, Misty stilled her nervously beating heart with a deep breath.

“Starmie, use Power Gem and Rapid Spin, at the same time!”

It was reckless, but Misty had watched Ash’s Pokemon pull off similar moves multiple times so she had faith that Starmie would catch onto her wishes.

As if eager to prove her trainer right, Starmie wasted no time in reacting to the command. Any doubts about whether the move would be successful or not were wiped from Misty’s mind as Starmie took centre stage with a reignited vigour. The ruby gem at its centre began to glow and soon it had turned into a blinding shade of white before it burst into beams of light spreading out like tendrils all around the stadium. A collective gasp could be heard from around the audience but Misty paid it no heed, only keeping her concentration fixed on the battle in front of her. As soon as Starmie started to spin, she didn’t need to be aware of her surroundings to know that silence had enveloped the stadium at the beautiful sight that Starmie painted with its skilful enactment of Misty’s idea.

The particles of light that Power Gem created were now falling all across the arena, no matter where Nessa ordered her Drednaw to run, there was either a shard of rock waiting to land on his head or a ray of dazzling light ready to obscure his vision. Nessa was shouting for Drednaw to stay calm amidst the chaos of Starmie’s Power Gem raining down upon the arena, but it was too late, the shell-backed Pokemon was already confused. Coupled with the exhaustion that Dyanamxing brings along with it, Drednaw’s movements became slower and it didn’t take too long for it to start getting hit by Power Gem’s effects.

Misty watched the scene with a mental countdown playing in her head, she had to wait for the right moment to give out the next command, which she knew would be the last move Starmie could pull off after exerting over this grand display of its hidden move. Misty followed every move that Drednaw made attentively, making sure her eyes didn’t even pause to blink. Just a little bit longer, she thought to herself and hoped that her words reached Starmie, just a little bit more and then this match would be over.

“Drednaw, get a hold of yourself!” Nessa’s sharp voice cut through the noise of the Power Gem shower.

The instruction reached Drednaw as it found itself a place to take cover from the falling rocks and stopped running around in a frenzy. Nessa’s relieved sigh was loud enough for Misty to hear and she decided, that this was it, the moment she’d been waiting for.

“Starmie, my steady-” To Misty’s delight, her Pokemon reacted instantly and halted its spin mid-air, ready to switch gears to the next move without hesitation, so she obliged and shouted with all her might, “Use tackle!”

“Drednaw, get up and dodge!” Nessa countered through an equally loud shout.

With whatever strength they had left, the two Pokemon eagerly obeyed the commands issued to them by their trainers. Drednaw stood on his hinds, raising his front paws with the hope that it would help stop Starmie’s descent in its tracks. But perhaps the will to prove itself was stronger on Starmie’s side as it did not let the opponent’s stance deter her and flew with all its strength and tenacity towards Drednaw’s belly, avoiding the onslaught of his paws altogether to land a critical hit. Drednaw wobbled uncontrollably from the impact before finally losing his footing, its hind legs tripping on the remnants of Power Gem to make him fall flat on his back.

As Drednaw struggled to get back on its feet only the encouraging shouts from Nessa reverberated across the stadium. Drednaw flailed about for a few tense seconds before it allowed fatigue to take over and went limp, leaving Starmie standing tall above it.

The Drone Rotom flew in to take a closer look at the situation, announcing to the stadium that Drednaw was unable to battle.

The loud cheer that erupted pretty much drowned everything else that the Rotom announced and it took Misty a few seconds to realise that she had won. It was Starmie’s blinking gem that alerted her, she ran forward to hug her battle worn Pokemon, falling to her knees as Starmie returned her embrace to the best of its ability. Even if Starmie lacked the features to smile, Misty could tell from the energy it reverberated that it was celebrating their triumph with a lot of joy.

She could still hear the clapping sounds echoing across the stadium but before she faced her supporters, Misty locked eyes with Nessa, who was helping Drednaw get back to his feet right across her. There was a look of admiration exchanged between them and she felt her eyes sting with tears the moment Nessa recalled Drednaw and turned her back to Misty. She was beyond elated that she had won, but as someone who looked up to everything which Ness had accomplished as a Water Pokemon Trainer, her heart ached to watch the veil of disappointment cover her striking blue eyes. Maybe a few days later, when the fever of the match would’ve died down, she would treat Nessa to a nice meal or perhaps a girl’s day out with her sisters in Cerulean.

While she was still in a daze, the blue Drone Rotom hovered over her, announcing urgently that they needed to clear the arena for the prize ceremony. Misty flushed at its scolding tone and quickly put Starmie back in its Pokeball, getting to her feet, she faced the crowd once, bowing lightly to acknowledge their praises and applaud. Her eyes caught Ash standing up and clapping hard, his whole face covered in an ear-to-ear grin. With a sudden burst of bravery, Misty blew a little kiss in his direction, hoping that she was quick enough with the gesture to avoid it being captured by the many flashing cameras in the crowd.

Despite the distance between them, she noticed the glint in Ash’s cocoa eyes when he winked back at her in response to the kiss. She knew that expression on his face well, the boyish excitement to battle someone strong was something he still held onto. She wanted to roll her eyes at the thought of him pestering her for a match as soon as the ceremony was over but found herself chuckling at the giddy look on his face. Maybe it was for the better if some things about him never changed, it helped keep her feet on the ground when she needed it the most.

To Misty’s surprise, the part that came after winning a tournament seemed much more hectic than the battles themselves. She was going to pull Ash’s ears when- if she saw him later, for not warning her about all the interviews, the photo ops, customary greetings with notable league members and several other things that followed after she accepted the winner’s trophy. She wanted a moment to check up on her recovering Pokemon, who had been taken to the Pokemon Centre voluntarily by Brock, but every time she decided to make an exit someone was waiting to ambush her midway.

The sky was blanketed with the dark curtain of dusk by the time she was able to make her escape from the stadium. Even at the Pokemon Centre, it took her a while to get through the throng of people who came up to congratulate her before she could get to Nurse Joy’s desk. Thanks to Brock bringing her Pokemon in at the right time, and even staying back to attend to them, her team was recovering well and it was only when she could make sure of that, that it finally felt like the day was over.

She crept out of the room gracefully, not wanting to disturb the well deserved rest her team was getting at last. After making sure that the door’s lock clicked as quietly as possible when she shut it, Misty was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Deciding to head straight back to her hotel room so she too could soak herself in a relaxing warm bath before crashing for eternity on the fluffy bed, she closed her eyes for a second to imagine the peaceful sight, and at that moment someone snaked a pair of arms around her waist and dragged her into a closed space.

Misty opened her eyes to the dingy look of a supplies closet. Annoyed that her peaceful vision of a relaxing bath and nap was disturbed by this, she prepared to elbow her kidnapper, despite recognising the heartbeat currently drumming against her back.

“Finally!” Ash sighed into her ear as he kissed her cheek and went on to nuzzle her neck.

“I missed you too, but can this wait until we get to the hotel?”

“I can’t wait any longer,” Ash said as he left a flurry of kisses across her shoulder, making it difficult for Misty to argue back, “I’m mad at you, ya know? For ignoring me all day long.”

“I’m mad at you!” Misty murmured, her voice unable to bring forth her annoyance as she allowed her body to melt under Ash’s touch. “You didn’t warn me about what the aftermath of a win is like.”

“You think I ever have the patience to do all of that?” Ash laughed right into her ear, sending an electrifying shiver down her spine, “I just call Dragonite or Charizard and fly away at the speed of light.”

With some difficulty Misty managed to wiggle out of his grasp so she could turn to face him with her best glare, considering the situation. Her effort to stay angry was wasted of course, because the minute she got a glimpse of his face, she too understood the feeling of impatience Ash was struggling with. She raised her arms to loop them around his neck and without wasting a moment Ash leaned in to kiss her, resting one hand on the small of her back as the other moved up to caress her cheek.

“Congratulations, by the way, you were amazing out there.”

He broke the kiss for a moment to mumble in a raspy voice and Misty nodded in a daze, still relishing the taste of his tongue against her own. She moved forward to rest her forehead on his chest, feeling comforted by the heightened pace of his heartbeat. Remembering the wink and the smile he’d given her back at the stadium, she realised that the excitement he was feeling right now wasn’t just because of their kiss, but the expectation over what would follow. She sighed contently against him, hoping that he would understand how tired she was today and postpone the challenge until tomorrow.

“I know you waited all day for this, Ash. But do you think we can push our Pokemon battle to tomorrow afternoon? I’m very tired and I want to-” Misty stopped talking when she realised that Ash was shaking, she raised her head to find him struggling to hold back his laugh which made her furrow her brows in confusion, “What’s so funny?”

“Our battle? What battle?” He asked, sporting a confused look quite similar to her own.

“You don’t want to battle me?” Misty threw another question back at him, taking just one step back so there was some distance between them but still kept her arms hanging around his neck.

“I mean, sure, I’d never say no to a battle but why did you think that’s what I’ve been waiting for all day?”

Ash was now peering into her face curiously as if trying to understand what was going on inside her head, which made her feel sort of embarrassed and she blushed under his gaze. She remembered very clearly, the look on his face when she’d sent a flying kiss in his direction. His eyes were burning with an indescribable passion, his smile was bright enough to light up the night sky, and his whole face screamed that he couldn’t wait to get down in that arena and face off against her...or did she make a mistake in understanding what he wanted?

“When I won, you looked more excited than happy, like you usually do when you find a strong opponent you want to battle against,” Misty explained herself, now feeling grateful that the dingy lighting of the closet was probably helping hide the colour in her cheeks as she looked away to dodge his questioning eyes.

Once again she felt him laugh and his loud voice rang all around them like a blaring alarm. Now feeling her whole face turn red over his reaction, Misty managed to pull her arms away and stepped out of Ash’s grasp, fixing him with a glare she cried out, “Why are you laughing?”

“It’s just- it’s just that-” Ash tried to catch his breath but every time he began to speak he guffawed again, leaning against the shelf behind him to support himself so he wouldn’t end up on his knees, “You may have won the match today, but you’re way off the mark with this, Mist.”

“I’ve known you for so long Ash Ketchum, I know when you’re in the mood to battle!” Doubling down on her take was probably not the right thing to do considering how hard Ash was laughing at her, but she felt exhausted over the day she’d had so it wasn’t a surprise that she couldn’t think straight anymore.

“I suppose, back when we were kids, that’s what that look meant.” Ash finally settled down, wiping a lone tear from his eye as he moved forward to take her in his arms again, not giving her the chance to resist as he tightly wrapped his hands around her and pressed his forehead to hers, “But I’m almost 18 now Misty, I have other needs.” His breath brushed past her lips as he spoke and she felt her toes curl inside her shoes at the sensation.

It was hard to feel embarrassed over her mistake when Ash kissed her like she was the only thing that mattered. The exhaustion that she’d carried with her after the win vanished into thin air when he threaded his fingers through her hair, undoing her ponytail to let her hair fall across her shoulders. When he pushed deeper into the kiss, she stumbled backwards, unable to match his level of urgency and need. Her back hit another shelf and that helped her regain her senses enough to break away from the kiss for a moment.

Ash’s eyebrows wrinkled together in annoyance at her actions but Misty only smiled teasingly up at him, resting a finger against his pouting lips, she tilted her head to one side, her voice barely a tone above a whisper but just enticing enough to make Ash’s cheeks flush with red for a change.

“Do you think, your big boy needs can be met in a comfy hotel bed instead?”

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