Work Text:
she is so many things. she is everything.
age 5.
chocolate ice cream stains dripped on her older sister’s costume accidentally. chubby cheeks the color of a red rose. three sets of hand-me-downs princess dolls surrounding her. swims in the deep end with no floaties. performs a song with a toy tambourine with no one willing to watch. cries at the sight of a gyarados. doesn’t cry when mommy and daddy leave her alone with daisy, lily, and violet. sneaks off to ride the trolley to the beach. has a sketchbook dedicated to drawing water pokémon. listens to a tape of ocean sounds to calm herself down. her favorite crayons are red, yellow, and blue. pummels a boy into the sand pit after he puts a caterpie down her shirt. blows bubbles alone in dressing rooms during photoshoots for her sensational sisters. wishes on staryu for friends. wishes on starmie for her parents to stay home.
age 10.
rides an orange bicycle all over cerulean city for hours before going home at midnight. wins fishing competitions. blue nail polish on her hands and toes. calls out a kid for picking on a girl behind the gymnasium and challenges him to a fight. stops avoiding mirrors because she is beautiful because she is herself, for goodness sakes. dreams about falling in love with a wonder of a man despite never spending more than thirty minutes with a boy. listens to pop music while cleaning the tile of the gym. draws blood from biting her cheek when they call her the ‘ugly runt.’ doesn’t say i love you to her parents on the phone. runs away to become a water pokémon master only to get her prized bike fried by ash ketchum. pulls on brock’s ear to keep him from making a fool of himself in front of women. travels with the strange boys. the boys changed her life forever. wears pink silk kimonos with grace. yanks out hair extension roughly. curses at herself for jealousy. meets ash’s rival gary oak and gags when he winks at her. sings togepi lullabies, the ones that her mom used to sing. falls in love with delia ketchum’s strawberry lemonade. falls in first love with ash ketchum.
age 15.
keeps a swimsuit under her clothes in case of emergencies. runs her gym with a clenched but gentle fist. stops wearing her tangerine hair in a side ponytail. trains gyarados to not roar when younger children are near. buys a stuffed togepi doll and cries into it late at night when she is feeling blue. rereads her old journal from her traveling days over and over. sends ash and brock memes popular in kanto that they miss out on. blushes madly when boys call her beautiful. thinks of ash ketchum walking away from her every time she gets asked out. visits pallet town in her free time for prof. oak, delia, and the vast fields that feel so free. drags brock and tracey around different cafes and shops. shockingly throws herself into a friendship with gary oak through their shared wit, shared trait of kissing pokeballs, and interest in ruling the world. controls her temper when a rookie trainer screams at their pokémon for losing. catches a feebas and sees herself in its eyes. rose scented lip salve and brown mascara. explores the depths of cerulean cave with gary and uncovers its mysteries with a stirring in her stomach. holds his hand so that they don’t separate. reflects on how their hands fit too well together and thinks wow….this is new.
age 20.
keeps a squirtle inspired mug for gary at her apartment. organizes a regional wide program about awareness of protecting natural habitats for water pokémon. takes marine biology classes. splits her time between cerulean and research expeditions out at sea. orders alcoholic drinks at the bar because of ohhhh pretty colors. mails ash photographs of his mom and pokémon alongside his favorite cookies from viridian city while he is so, so far away. being okay with him being far away. blushes during interviews and photoshoots. stutters when her idol prima offers to be her mentor. chokes on her chocolate milkshake when tracey and daisy announce their engagement. holds up her old yellow tank top from her past and wonders when exactly was it outgrown. volunteers teaching children how to swim and water safety. meditates alongside prima peacefully. watercolor tattoo on her thigh. drives a motorcycle across kanto during. kisses gary oak out of impulse in the middle of his grandfather’s lap, in the middle of the night after he tells her he is leaving to sinnoh for six months. is kissed back by him; his hands twisted in her hair and her mouth opening against his.
age 25.
hair falling pass her shoulders in waves of golden red. failing league test over and over until finally passing to become a member of the elite four. wearing an official league bomber jacket with pride, the cascade badge emblem ironed on the sleeve. frequenting farmers markets and flea markets. winks at the little kids who run up to her asking if it’s true that she is a mermaid. takes all her pokémon to brock’s pokémon center for special checkups. replies to the letters her parents send. stays in an apartment in heart of lumoise city for her anniversary with professor gary oak. sings a lullaby to her baby nephew. puts on a pair of denim shorts and giggles at her reflection. drools on her late-night paperwork. tells that fuddy-duddy talk show host that girls are worth more than their appearances after he ask her secret dieting techniques. brings delia her favorite rose tea and a fern on her birthday. smiles confidently when she is scheduled to battle ash ketchum next year. matches gary’s tie with her cobalt blue gown for the league gala. watches as her people grow and change as quickly as the tides do. dreams about falling in love with a wonder boy cease as she wakes up every morning to a professional nerd with rustled hair curling himself around her. wishes on staryu for the proposal to go smoothly. wishes on starmie for brightness, happiness, and chocolate ice cream.