Archive of Our Own

"Oh! I couldn't wait for this girls' day!" exclaims the bandana wearing girl who plops herself down on the couch beside her Sinnoh friend.

"I know, right!" Squeals said bluenette. Due to their busy schedules, it's difficult getting the four of them together for an hour, much less a whole day.

"Coordinators have too much energy." mutters the redhead who yawns loudly. She just got in late last night after making a much needed pitstop.

"Don't be such a Debbie downer, Misty!" giggles the Johto native. "No one told you to stop on Trovita Island before coming here."

Nodding, the Hoenn native states, "You always visit Rudy when you're near the Orange Islands, but you don't visit Tracey and your sister."

Raising up a hand defensively, Misty retorts, "Whoa. Are we here to have fun or attack me?"

The brunette winks at her. "We can do both."

"If that's the case, Leaf." Misty smirks at her friend. "Let's talk about you and a certain Pokemon professor."

"Which one?" the short haired girl inquires. There are so many Pokemon professors. And why are they spending time talking about them?

Rolling her eyes, the bluenette knowingly remarks, "They're talking about Gary, May."

"Why?" May is lost. Typical dense May Maple.

Facepalming, Misty spells it out for her, "Dawn's right. We're talking about Gary because Leaf visits him all the time."

Leaf blushes from the attention on her now. "Uh. I have questions and he needs to do Pokemon research, and my gym is the closest to him. We're just being professional."

"Suuure." Dawn jokes. "Professional."

"I still don't get it. They're just helping each other out. All professionals do that all of the time." May's statement makes everyone sweatdrop.

"Okay. It's 5 o'clock somewhere. Let's drink." Leaf is happy to turn the attention away from herself. Fortunately, May Maple not catching on has put a pause in Dawn and Misty's teasing.

Leaf is the Viridian City gym leader who frequents Pallet Town's lab for work stuff. Work stuff. However, all she can remember from those visits is the professor and not any of the research they do. Besides, he visits her gym just as much to do studies of Pokemon in a high intensity environment. If anything, Leaf would consider Gary a close friend who has shared interests with her. Yup. That's it. And maybe they occasionally tease each other flirtatiously, but hey, that's just the game.

Back in Johto, when Leaf was young, she had a past full of criminal mischief. In order to get herself out of binds, she had to be a strong trainer with strong Pokemon. It was only when she hit 18 did she have a reality check. If she got caught, the punishment would be more severe than when she was a minor. That and friend, who is like a brother to her, Silver convinced her to finally grow up. He is the Mahogany Town gym leader in Johto, and he pulled some strings for her to compete for the Viridian City Gym Leader open position, which she ended up getting.

Then there's Leaf's closest girl friend, Misty Waterflower. The Cerulean City Gym Leader. Misty has been a gym leader longer than Leaf has. They hit it off at Leaf's first gym leaders' conference at the League, which is where she met Gary through Misty. At first, Leaf thought there was something between the two due to Gary teasing her and Misty arguing back. Nevertheless, she has learned that they have a strictly platonic love-hate relationship with each other. Typical of Gary Oak.

Misty has been dating her long time boyfriend Rudy Ziggy, the Trovita Island gym leader, for a few years now. Even though her sister's family lives on the Orange Islands too, Misty doesn't see them often. She spends her time seeing Rudy. Or, trying to see Rudy. He's a busy gym leader too. The two should tie the knot soon. Everyone is rooting for this celebrity couple that are very loving towards one another.

Misty had also introduced Leaf to May Maple, the Hoenn Top Coordinator. It was by coincidence because May was visiting Misty at the Cerulean City Gym when Leaf happened to come by due to being in the area. Leaf wanted to pay her friend a visit. Instead of leaving May and Misty to bond, May invited Leaf to hang out with them because Leaf came all that way. Thus, the two ended up forming a friendship too.

May Maple is engaged to her longtime partner Drew Hayden. The two have been traveling together since May stopped traveling with Ash. Drew always had a huge crush on May. She was just too oblivious to notice it. Thus, he used the excuse of traveling together to keep her close and in his life. Eventually, he had the courage to confess to the oblivious girl. That, or he just got annoyed that she wasn't catching on. How many roses does it take? Anyway, the two are having their wedding in a couple of months.

About a year or two after Leaf and May met, May introduced them to Dawn Berlitz, the Sinnoh Top Coordinator. Dawn was expressing to May how she wants more female friends. Zoey is too much of a tomboy, and then that just leaves Dawn to hang out with Kenny, Barry, and Lucas. As much as Dawn enjoys her Sinnoh friends, she just wanted to talk to some estrogen sometimes.

Therefore, May asked Misty and Leaf if they wanted to meet her friend Dawn. Fortunately, Dawn fit right into their friend group. It helped that Dawn traveled with Ash, so Misty knew Dawn would fit in. Anyone who traveled with Ash is a good person, and someone Misty is sure she'll get along with.

Dawn is currently the truly single person in the group. She's had boyfriends. Probably more than all of these women combined. However, she isn't talking to anyone romantically, even as a joke, like Leaf and Gary. There is currently no sexual chemistry in Dawn's life. Her male friends are strictly just friends.

With all of these different love lives, the four have enjoyed the different perspectives their conversations get. May, the 22 year old fiance who has been madly in love and loved for years. Misty, the 24 year old consistent girlfriend in a typical serious boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Leaf, who is 24 years old, in the talking stage of something she refuses to claim is romantic, but everyone knows otherwise. And then 21 year old Dawn, the happy to be single as a pringle and not looking to mingle woman.

After a couple of drinks and some beach volleyball with the locals, the women are taking a break to sunbathe. They have since caught up from the last meetup, which was 6 months ago. Despite how busy their lives are, especially when they get back, they are enjoying the break now. Not thinking about the worries of work.

Occasionally, they talk about their mutual friends, like everyone knows Gary Oak. May, Misty, and Leaf know Tracey. Everyone has met May's fiance Drew. May met Dawn's friends Zoey and Kenny. Leaf knows Dawn's friend Lucas from some gym leader course they had to take together because they became gym leaders at the same time. Everyone has met Brock because three of them used to travel with him. Leaf met him briefly through Misty once when visiting Misty at her gym, and Brock was there too.

Thus, leaving the last traveling partner that the same three women have traveled with in the past. "Did you guys watch Ash?" inquires the bandana wielding woman.

"Are you talking about his battle with the Monarch?" Leaf has her eyes shut with sunglasses on as she works on her tan. All 4 women are in bikinis and getting lots of ogling stares from men due to how toned their bodies are. They work hard at their professions, and it shows.

"Oh yeah! I normally don't watch Pokemon battles, but I had to watch that one! Ash is my friend! I had to support!" Dawn chirps.

"Yeah! He and Pikachu were amazing!" Misty grins, thinking about her longtime friend. She hasn't gotten to speak to him too much these past 12 years, but she still considers him a close friend. When they do see each other, they talk as if no time has passed.

"It was a good battle. He's the Monarch now." notes Leaf. "That's the first time we've had a new monarch in over 10 years!" Leon was the previous reigning Monarch, and the longest one. No one ever thought he'd be defeated, especially by a 24 year old.

"I tried to call to congratulate him, but he was too busy." May tells them. "I sent him a text though, and he responded the next day."

Nodding, Misty agrees with her. "He's been so busy. There's a lot to learn." She giggles because she remembers how, unlike with May, Ash did pick up her call. He was ecstatic until he realized that now he won't be battling so much anymore. His life will also contain paperwork, public events, and the media. Although their call was brief due to him having to go, they both enjoyed it.

"Same here. Ash couldn't pick up my call, but he did respond to my text. He says he's going to come to Sinnoh soon and battle Paul because he didn't get a chance to do so during his quest to be the Monarch." Dawn hasn't seen Ash in years. He did drop by a few times after they stopped traveling together, but with both of them being busy, they only saw each other once or twice.

Paul became the champion of Sinnoh 3 years ago, which further motivated Ash to be the Monarch because his former rival became a champion before him. With how Ash's journey went last year, he missed out on battling Paul.

"I heard Champion Paul is tough too." Leaf tells them. "He dethroned Cynthia!" Cynthia is arguably one of the strongest champions. Well, she was. She is now an Elite Four Member in Sinnoh and still very powerful.

"He acts tough." mutters Dawn, though Leaf heard it.

She raises her sunglasses a bit to eye her annoyed friend. Smirking, Leaf asks, "Why do you say that?"

Dawn still has her eyes shut, so she doesn't notice the smug look on Leaf's face. "I used to travel with Ash when Paul was his rival. That prunehead is a big old grouch. And then I had to unfortunately run into him every now and then when I was in Sinnoh." Dawn now groans. "And I've had to work with him the past two years! He's still the same old asshole!"

Her outburst causes May and Misty to warily watch Dawn who is still sunbathing. "Damn. I'm sorry you have to deal with that still, Dawn." May sweatdrops. Being the Hoenn Top Coordinator, she too works closely with the Hoenn champion, who is Brendan Birch, and May's childhood friend. She has it much easier than Dawn.

"If he gets beaten this year, then you won't have to work with him anymore." Misty notes. She's never met Paul, but she's heard stories from both Ash and Dawn, though it seems like Ash has a better relationship with Paul than Daw does. Maybe it's because Ash doesn't have to work with Paul all the time like Dawn does?

"Ugh! I don't want to talk about him anymore. He irks me to my core!" Dawn furrows her brows. They're supposed to be here relaxing and getting away from work. Not be talking about it, especially about that rude prunehead.

Nodding, Misty agrees. This is a time for relaxation. She turns to Leaf who has resumed sunbathing with her sunglasses on. "Maybe you'll finally meet Ash now, Leaf."

"Oh yeah. You've never met him." May recalls the day Leaf found out that all three of her friends had traveled with Ash Ketchum, yet Misty didn't meet Dawn through Ash. Technically, May met Dawn through Ash, and May met Misty through Ash, so one could say that Misty and Dawn met through Ash.

Despite being friends for years, and friends with Misty for a decade, Leaf has never met Ash. It's not like Leaf goes out of her way to meet their former traveling companion. Apparently, Ash is never home, and if he is, he rarely stays long enough to visit anyone. Leaf only visits Gary at the lab and Misty at the gym on occasion. Thus, even then, Leaf doesn't visit Ash's mutual friends often. Therefore, Ash and Leaf's paths have never crossed.

Leaf, though, could care less if she met the new Monarch or not. It's not like she plans to be friends with him. He's also not her type. She likes cocky arrogant smart flirts. Ugh. Why did a wave of spiky brown hair pop up in her head? She quickly dismisses the thought and continues relaxing. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Ash is great!" Dawn exclaims happily. "You'll like him!"

Before Misty can continue with the conversation, her pokenav rings. Sighing because she knows she should pick it up in case it's the league or city, she tells her friends, "Duty calls." And then grabs the device to walk off a short distance from her friends. The redhead had already saw the caller ID, so she knows it's not a call to duty. However, if her friends knew who was calling her, they wouldn't let her pick it up. Taking in a deep breath, Misty answers the call, "What?"

"Suicune, babe. I'm sorry." comes the apologetic voice of her boyfriend. "I fell asleep last night. You know how tired I've been with the gym and the dance lessons."

"A text would've been nice. I was waiting outside your gym for almost an hour!" Misty had stopped by Rudy's last night, but he didn't answer the door. She was peeved, especially because he still hasn't given her a key to his place yet he has a key to hers. After sending him an angry text full of choice words, Misty left to see her friends.

"I know! And I'm sorry. But hey, let me make it up to you now." offers his damn sweet voice that makes her forgive him each time something like this happens. Misty knows Rudy doesn't do it on purpose. He's just busy, and he also looks out for his younger sister, Mahri.

Glancing over at her laughing friends, Misty doesn't want to leave them. They will all be leaving tomorrow morning and not see each other until May's wedding in 6 months. However, she really does want to go run to her boyfriend's side already. She always misses him. No. Misty needs to be a good friend. Sighing, she tells him, "I can't right now."

"Why?"

"I'm with my friends. It's our friends' day."

"Oh yeah." Shoot. He had forgotten. That's why she is in the area.

"I'll stop by tomorrow morning when I leave." offers the woman.

"I'll be waiting." Rudy smiles. "I love you, babe."

Feeling her heart melt from his sweet voice and words, Misty replies with her own "I love you." and the pair hang up.

That night, the women are enjoying their last and only night together this weekend because Misty arrived too late the night before. They've done karaoke and lots of alcohol tonight; though, they are still pretty sober. Okay. Maybe not that sober. May is getting emotional because she'll be married soon, and she's drunk crying to her friends. This does happen on occasion.

"I just fucking love you girls so much!" weeps the Hoenn coordinator.

"We love you too, May!" Dawn, equally as drunk, hugs the brunette tightly.

"Yeah! I am so glad I have you guys as my friends!" Misty joins in.

"Same here!" Leaf isn't as drunk as them, but she is definitely flushed.

Once the group hug finally breaks, May exclaims, "I love you all so much that I want you to find a happy love life too." She then faces Misty. "And I can't wait for yours and Rudy's wedding!"

After some more crying about love, weddings, and friendship, the group has calmed down enough for Dawn to curiously ask May, "Who are we walking down the aisle with?" Dawn is May's maid of honor. Misty, Leaf, and Soledad are her bridesmaids.

"Drew doesn't have many guy friends." May giggles. She's not the jealous type because Drew never lets her feel jealous. He always lets her know that only she has his heart and eyes. Plus, coordinating is more of a female sport, and Drew does not consider Harley a friend. "All I know is that my brother Max will be a groomsman. Oh, and Gary."

"Gary? As in Gary Oak?" Misty questions. When May nods, Misty now asks, "Why Gary?" Since when did Gary meet May's fiance?

"They're actually pretty good friends. Or as good of friends as men can be." shrugs the brunette.

"I've never heard Gary talk about any of his friends besides for Ash." Leaf notes.

May continues shrugging. "When Drew and I traveled around Kanto, I took him to the lab and to visit Mrs. Ketchum. At the lab, he met Gary. They somehow exchanged numbers and text regularly." Regularly for men means once every 6 months when they have a quick thought. Other than that, they don't go out of their way to hang out, like the women do. Gary has seen Drew a few times in Hoenn.

"Who is his best man?" Dawn will be walking down the aisle with this person, so she's curious.

"I honestly don't know." sweatdrops May. Groudon. She needs to check in with Drew because this wedding is 6 months away.

"Call him!" Misty demands. There's no way Drew is not prepared for his own wedding. Of course, oblivious May would let him get away with it this long.

After more drunken demands, May is peer pressured into calling her loving fiance. It is late in Hoenn, so she hopes he won't be mad. She hopes he sleeps through it, but she does miss him a lot. Nonetheless, after two rings, the call is picked up instantly. "May?" comes the groggy yet alert voice. "Is everything okay?"

She smiles at how worried he sounds. Before she can talk to him, Leaf grabs her pokenav out of May's hands and puts the device on speaker. "Yo, Drew Hayden!"

"Uh. Who's this?" Okay. He knows May and her friends are most likely drunk because who greets people like that anymore? At first, he thought May was in trouble; hence, the late night pokenav call. Seems like May and her friends are just drunk. He doesn't mind though because it means she was thinking of him while drunk.

"It's Leaf!"

"Oh. Hey Leaf. How are ya?" despite how tired he is, he will entertain them for a little bit. Plus, he hopes he hears his fiance's voice soon. He misses her. She hasn't been gone long, and she'll be back tomorrow, but he just loves her so much.

"That's not why we called." Shouts Dawn's voice, which Drew recognizes. He's competed against Dawn a couple of times. She was the one who dethroned him from Sinnoh's Top Coordinator position a few years ago, forcing him to seek another one now. Regardless of Dawn defeating him, Drew still considers her a close friend.

"Okay. Then how can I entertain you ladies?"

"We want to know who your groomsmen are!" Misty exclaims. Due to the process of elimination, he knows this is Misty's voice.

"Didn't May tell you?"

"She doesn't know." Leaf outs their friend.

"You don't have a lot of guy friends, Drew." May weakly replies.

Sighing, the man tells them, "Max and Gary for sure. Ash said he'd do it if he's available, so I still need to find a backup. And I'm waiting on-"

"Ash?" Misty curiously speaks. "You're friends with Ash? As in Ash Ketchum?"

"Kinda?" May's right. He doesn't have many guy friends. "I haven't talked to him much besides for when May sees him, and I am there. And we did occasionally talk sometimes when May traveled with Ash." Drew shrugs. "Dunno." Plus, with Drew not having many male friends, he figured he could just make this wedding all about May and include as many of her friends as possible. She'd love having Ash there, especially in the wedding party.

"Who's the fourth? And who's your best man?" Dawn really wants to know who she's walking down the aisle with.

"Before I was rudely interrupted" he jokes "I was gonna tell you gals that the Sinnoh Champion, Paul, will be my fourth, and my best man."

"No!" shrieks the bluenetter, which causes everyone, including Drew, to shield their ears. "No! Arceus, no!"

Leaf places a hand on Dawn's shoulder, but it isn't working. "Dawn-"

"I cannot walk down the aisle with that grouch! Switch your best man to Ash, Drew!" the furious woman demands.

Drew, however, is enjoying this reaction from May's friends because he likes teasing people. "I'm closer to Paul than I am to Ash." Having been the Sinnoh Top Coordinator for 2 years before Dawn dethroned him, Drew had to work with Paul for one of those years. As much as Drew annoyed Paul, they had to work on some important missions together. It was the year that they took down Team Galactic's leader. They kind of formed a friendship from that year of working together.

Dawn totally forgot that Drew was working closely with Paul. However, she thought the two didn't get close because Paul does not like new people, especially making friends. Drew is friendly and charismatic. Arrogant. Talkative. All things that Paul finds utterly annoying. Why would they be friends?

"Chill, Dawn. He still hasn't accepted it yet, but I'm still trying to convince him."

"Don't do that! Find someone else!" Dawn quips.

Rolling his eyes, Drew will let May's drunk friends tell him what to do with his wedding for now. He smirks and flicks his hair. "Thanks for reminding me to check in with Paul and Ash, girls. I'll send them a message now." Gary and Max already agreed when they were asked months ago.

"Drew!" Dawn weeps as May grabs her pokenav back from Leaf.

"Sorry, Drew. We were just curious." apologizes the fiance, causing Drew to smile warmly.

"No worries. This was fun, May."

She is relieved to hear that he is not upset. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good, babe. I love you."

Groudon. They've been together for years, yet he still makes her heart pound. "I love you too, Drew." And she still has the same effect on him.

Once the call is ended, Dawn has drunkenly wept herself to sleep, which indicated to the others that they should sleep. They all have early travels tomorrow. Another successful girls' day is in the books. Next time they all see each other in the same room will be at the bachelorette party the week before May's wedding.