The Day of Broken Promises - Broken Promises

Sorry it's been so long! Had a seizure which took me several weeks to recover from and then had loads of work to catch up followed by replying to universities saying I will be going to their interviews for a place and then I finally got Pokemon X! Friend code is 0232-9285-5551 if you want to add me.

Hopefully this chapter will satisfy! Please read and review!

THWUMP!

The muffled sound of a fist hitting bone at high velocity could be heard throughout the relatively silent room.

Ash stood there cradling his bruised jaw and gawked at his positively furious looking attacker.

"Misty," Ash whined, "that's not the nice way to treat an old –"

"Nice? I'll give you nice, Mr Wannabe Pokémon Master! Where the hell were you the past seven years, huh?

"Did you really mean it when you said we would be best of friends for life yet never bothering to visit me or even phone me? Not to mention blocking my number or something so I can never call you and see if everything's alright? Did you ever contemplate about my feelings? Y-you promised me you would come see me again…" Misty ended her tirade with a quiet sniffle. Her blue eyes sparkled but not with the carefree joy Ash was so familiar with but with unspoken sadness and unspent tears.

Ash grabbed her hand gently and pulled it away when she flinched.

"Misty, I never wanted to do that to you! Let me explain –" Ash said desperately.

"Ha! I don't want to hear your lame excuses! I know it already, you lied to me. You found the whole thing a joke to you. Ha ha ha, laugh at Misty's expen –" Misty shouted defensively back.

Ash cut her off, a hint of exasperation creeping into his frantic voice, "Misty! Listen to me, I wanted to! Believe me! I wanted to see you. Talk to you. Even just to text you! I couldn't!"

Ash went on, seeing that, though she wore a suspicious scowl, she was prepared to listen to what he had to say,

"It's best to start from the beginning. When I first started my journey, sure I was all excited. I wanted to be a Pokémon Master. Any ten year-old would! However one thing I never told you was that before I started travelling I used to be top in drama in school. That and Mum being poor, these men from a company, I can't remember the name of it at the moment, came and told us they would pay for my journey – all expenses – in return that they would film my travels. We were ecstatic! They had a script and a contract which I had to follow, for example which Pokémon to catch and there was a specific plot...

"But anyway I stumbled across you and Team Rocket by accident. They let you travel with me and Team Rocket to interfere because apparently you four seemed really popular with their TV audience. Playing it naturally seemed a better option. The company only interfered with major events like getting us our Lapras and rigging the events when we faced Legendary Pokémon. They were actually tame and belonged to the company! It's amazing how much influence and power they have!"

Misty held up her hand. "Wait, how come I never saw these so called TV crews?" She frowned at Ash, eyebrows raised. It certainly did not seem a convincing and believable story. In fact, she was beginning to get amused at his earnest expression as he recounted the tale.

"They're actually trained Kecleon with camouflaged equipment; that's why you, Brock and Tracey never saw them. The company sent me a note explaining it would be better if you three never found out about the whole filming thing. Your innocence of the whole situation apparently seemed to really work out for them." Ash replied instantly.

Misty sighed, "Okay, I'll believe your story about the filming for now."

Ash visibly relaxed but Misty had not finished, "But I can't believe that for two years I was kept in the dark about this. I mean how could you keep such a large secret from me? I thought I was your closest friend!"

Ash opened his mouth to retort but closed it quickly again as she continued speaking.

"I don't even know what this has to do with ignoring me for seven whole freaking years!" She glared at him to emphasize her point as if daring at him to try to weasel his way out of that.

For once Ash looked genuinely troubled. His brow furrowed into a knot of concentration as if he was pondering hard if to tell her the truth or not. Misty stared at him for a few moments until he seemed to reach a conclusion.

Ash looked directly in her eyes and quietly replied, "Come, I'll tell you somewhere more private. We've brought too much attention to ourselves already. I don't want my bosses to overhear."

Misty looked around and sure enough a crowd of people were glancing interestly in their direction. She nodded once and let her long-time crush lead her by the hand out of the tower.

Ash and Misty sat on a bench in a nearby park. The same park where Ash knew would be a filming spot for later when Team Rocket would 'try' to steal Pikachu again. The trio had given up a long time ago during his travels in Hoenn when they realised it was futile however Ash's employers had paid them to continue for entertainment.

"Well? Go on," Misty prompted.

Ash took a deep breath, "The reason why I couldn't contact you nor see you was because the film company wouldn't let me. I think that we were getting too close for their comfort and that they believed it would distract me from my job if we started dating. They devised a plan to get rid of you by getting you a new identical bike and arranged the trip for your sisters. They also replaced my Pokégear without my knowledge so we couldn't contact each other. If they even thought I would try to see you, th-they stopped me seeing my mother or shortened the time we could be together." Ash gulped.

Misty exhaled. It sure was a complex and weird story. Ash looked at Misty expectantly, a hopeful expression plastered on his face.

"Ash, I can't…I don't…" Misty looked at him helplessly. "I mean I don't know if any of this is true! You never struck me as a good liar but this just seems so made up! It's like you're trying to cover it up. I don't understand why! Where's the proof? Now I don't believe you at all about the filming story!"

"Misty… I… Uh… Um…" Ash looked lost and desperate. His mouth kept opening and closing like her Seaking.

Misty sighed and spoke in soft tone, "You know what, Ash? I don't care anymore. I understand if you wanted to stay away from me. I'm just disappointed that you lie-"

Pikachu decided to join in, worried at the direction the conversation was going. He wanted his best friend back to normal. Misty would be the cure to Ash's depression, not to mention that she was his second favourite person.

"Pikachupi! Pika, pichu pi. Ka chu!" He gestured wildly at the tower and took a picture with an air camera with his little hands to try to clarify his explanation.

Misty, unlike Ash, did not understand a single word the little mouse had said. She scooped him up and cooed, "Aww, I'm sorry Pikachu! I haven't said hello! You must be really grumpy that I've ignored you! I'm just bit annoyed at Ash at the moment, okay?"

Pikachu simply squirmed and squealed, "Pikachupi, pika chi!" whilst frantically pointing to something behind her.

Ash's expression darkened as he looked in the direction of Pikachu's finger. Misty turned around, "What is it? Is it Team Rocket?"

Ooh! What is Pikachu so frantic about? Will Misty believe Ash? Wait to find out!