Mending Broken Hearts - Pokeshipping

The Air Outside so Soft

Authors Note: Hey boys and girls! Your author here, I just wanted to quickly say thanks for all the reviews, interesting to see what you guys have to say and I must say the reactions have been amazing, it's not my intent to be malicious but I like that I'm able to hit the right cord with you guys.

However guys I must confess, I did originally want to finish this fic this summer, but real life got in the way and I haven't completed the chapters at the dates I wanted to complete them at, so I might publish the next chapter of this novella, and then take another break, because having to write day after day of this stuff is emotionally tolling and exhausting, but I will finish this this year, I know that! Shout outs to you anonymous reviewers, I do genuinely love you guys, you're all amazing, but to a Diana, what was GYCL? I'm genuinely curious as to what that is since I don't think I've ever heard of something like that.

By the way, last chapter's title is from the song "Not Thinking of You" by The Royal. Anyways, onto the fic!

OoOoO

Part Two – Troubled Hearts

The Air Outside so Soft

Instead of waiting for a bus to transport him round the city towards the nearest gym stop, Ash decided instead to walk the whole way from the bus station. He needed time to think.

Pikachu tried to ask him why, the only response was, "I don't want to rush in there," with a smile. Truth however was that Ash was far from comfortable with the situation.

"Why me?" he kept on saying quietly to himself. The whole walk over he also tried to make humor of the situation. "Ah jeez, Misty," he practiced, "I guess you two weren't all that perfect for...each other... after all..." he tried to play them off as light humor but the statement only ended with a pain in his chest.

"Man...this sucks," he grumbled. "Stupid timing, I just wanted to be home." He sighed thinking the situation. "I wonder how much has changed with her, huh, Pikachu? I mean it's been a few years – does she...y'know, keep the same interests, would she even recognize me? Is she..." he went very quiet and looked around till the crowd started to disperse as they continued down the sidewalk. "...still just as...a-as..." Ash found he couldn't form the words, they were lodged in his throat and he blushed just thinking about.

His thoughts were about her beauty. He hoped not much changed there.

"What the...? When did this happen?!"

"Pi Pikachu pika!"

Both trainer and Pokémon stared, surprised by the sight before them. The sign clearly indicated it was the Cerulean gym, Ash even asked a passerby if it was.

The gym was now nothing he had seen before. Instead of the circular building with a dome painted in a pattern of pink and orange, along with supporting beams twisting down to blue and white, with a gutter shaped like a waving ocean completed with a massive Dewgong on top, what Ash and Pikachu found before them was a pyramid.

"Well...I guess two years really can change things," Ash stated in awe. It also filled him with a nasty though, if in those short years what if everything really had changed. What if the Misty he found would be anything but the Misty he knew – the thought terrified him. Nervously he stepped forward through the hedged garden.

The pyramid itself was interesting – the triangular roof sections were separated, two facing vertically so if one looked at it from the front entrance it was divided down the middle with the actual roof underneath, and instead of curves for the walls, it was triangular with yellow, pink, and purple square shapes that were lopsided decorated the corners. The whole thing was just grey and metallic, with a moat surrounding it.