"Morning Ash!"
"Huh?"
"Um, hello?"
"Oh! Anabel." That was weird, that didn't sound like Anabel for a second. Ash thought to himself in reaction to her higher-pitch. "Something cheer you up today?"
"Nothing in particular. Just a good morning."
Good morning? She slept outside on our lawn…
Unlike Angie who had been given a room by Ms. Ketchum, Anabel wasn't so lucky. With only one small guest room, Anabel couldn't be offered much for staying over. She had refused sleeping in the living room or sharing a room, and instead pushed the idea to have her be able to sleep on the lawn.
Ms. Ketchum demanded sternly against the choice, but Anabel was completely determined to sleep in the backyard lawn… for unknown reasons. To say Ms. Ketchum agreed wouldn't have been accurate. Ash's mother had simply given up on the subject, releasing any responsibility and hinting at future "I told you so"s if Anabel were to ever find herself miserable or uncomfortable.
"Come on, I want to show you something!" Anabel squeaked into a higher pitch.
Ash tilted his head in confusion. There she goes again with that voice.
Before he could give a response, he felt Anabel's soft fingers latch onto his. "Well, not show-show, but you'll see what I mean. Well not see, but – Ah! I just keep messing up. Er… just come on!" Anabel had lowered her voice into its more recognizable tone, though still having a more child-like air to it.
I wonder where she's taking m- whoah.
Suddenly the familiar sounds of Ash's yard went hollow, as if something had buffed them out.
"Huh?" Ash tilted his head around and reached out with his hands. It felt different. It sounded different. But what it was, he had no idea. "What is this? I don't remember anything in my backyard."
"I made it last night!" exclaimed Anabel with a frightfully girlish tone of pride. "Think of it as your own personal training area!"
"Personal… training? What is all this?" Ash's fingers would touch air mostly, but would feel poles and fabric whenever he reached too far in certain directions. The cold of the steel poles and difference of fabric was almost like static to his touch – he'd pull away the instant he had made contact with them. It wasn't the feeling that shocked him, but the fact that they shouldn't be there. Nothing was ever in the Ketchum backyard. Nothing.
"It's like a tunnel." Anabel described simply. "I made it so that you can hear the sounds in here clearly, as well as…" She grunted as she seemed to be pulling on something heavy. Suddenly, sounds from other areas within and outside the yard trickled in. "…a switch that can adjust how much sound gets in from the outside!"
"Uh… wow… but what is it supposed to do?" The boy trainer stood bewildered.
A sound of a lever turned, and the sound of the outside was buffered once again. Ash heard three steps in the grass.
"Where am I standing Ash?"
"What?"
Anabel's voice calmed and slowed, as if she were trying to explain something complicated to a child, "Where – am – I – standing?"
"To… my left?"
Five steps.
"How about now?"
"Maybe a little to the right? Kind of further. That's nice and all, Anabel, but wha—"
A snapping sound.
"What did I just do?"
"What?"
"I said… what did I just do?" her voice copied her earlier almost-offensively slow tone.
"I'm not sure, snap your finger?"
"To my left or my right?"
"How would I know that?"
"Just guess."
"…left?"
"Good. How about…"
CRIIIIIIIIIK. The noise of the lever turning again.
Sound started flooding in, even louder now.
A few steps. How many steps was that? Probably four. Ash did his best to listen to every movement around him – afraid he'd be tested on it.
"Where am I now?"
"To… my left?"
Anabel giggled.
CRIIIK. Sound buffered out once again.
Anabel was now suddenly right in front of him. "So..?"
"So… what?"
A slight sigh came from Anabel's mouth. Smells like blueberries? …or soda… I can't tell.
"You were wrong when the sound barrier wasn't there."
Ash scratched his head, dumbfounded.
He tried thinking. What to think of, he wasn't sure. All this seemed a bit sill– suddenly, he understood.
"OH! Will this help me learn how to handle sound better? Like for walking?"
Anabel's smooth fingertip was on Ash's nose. Why's she more friendly now?
"No. You can learn that from just walking around. This little tunnel we've got..." She was uncomfortably close. "…is special."
Ash gulped.
A familiar click, a sound of air being vacuumed out, followed by an all-too-memorable snap.
A poké ball!
"Eee!" came a sound from below.
"Hey Espeon!" Ash recognized her. He attempted smiling in her direction. "Want to play with Pikachu? He's inside the house right now."
Anabel's Espeon had spent most of her time in Ash's residence keeping Pikachu company. A fact that he had been grateful for, as his blindness did not offer much in fun. …well, other than in Angie humiliating me on a daily basis.
"I'm afraid we don't have time to play, Ash." Anabel's voice suddenly became serious.
Click. Vacuum. "Catch!"
"Huh?" Ash reached out his hands in the direction of an object being tossed in the air – which he found much easier to hear in the sound tunnel. With more luck than skill, he was able to catch it.
"Go ahead, let out your friend."
"Um… okay! Come out, whoever this one is!" Ash cheered as he gleefully threw the poké ball. It had been his first in a long time.
Snap. "CORPHISH!" a sound on Ash's left.
"HEY! Corphish! How've you been buddy?" Ash asked happily at the sound of a familiar pokémon.
"Cor?" a hint of uncertainty flowed through the Pokémon's voice.
It took a while for Ash to realize that he must have been staring in the wrong direction of the sound.
He scratched his hair in embarrassment as he turned in a different direction. "Oh yeah, you don't know about me going blind yet… Well, thing is –"
"No time for memory lane, Ash." Anabel interrupted, "It's time we have a pokémon battle."
"What? I'm blind! That's not fair!"
"Then you've got two choices. Listen carefully to the battlefield," her finger pushed against his chest, forcing him back a step, "or give up now and go back to Angie tripping you all day." Anabel spat to get Ash's competitive spirit flowing.
"Alright then! A battle it is!" a smirk ran across his face.
That's the Ash I know. Maybe this exercise might just allow you to sense what your pokémon are feeling better… Anabel thought happily. Don't worry… I'll keep things easy for you. I'll use voice commands for now.
"Espeon! Quick attack!"
"Corphish! Dig!"
… thank you, Anabel…
"AAAAAAAAAASH!" Angie stuck her head out of the door, "I swear, where is that boy?"
The tomboy girl stepped out slowly, looking in several directions to find the blind trainer.
A sound of laughter in the distance.
"Huh?" Angie followed after it. Coming from the backyard…
"Whoah! When did that get here?" Angie stared in surprise at a large construction that mysteriously appeared in the once empty lawn.
"Oh hey Angie." Ash's voice hummed from below her view.
Angie looked down to find Ash and Anabel lying on their backs, both extremely exhausted. And what have these two been up to?
"Ash, don't you want to come in for lunch?"
"Nah, Anabel made some awesome sandwiches for us. I'm stuffed."
Angie shot a glare in Anabel's direction.
What did I do? Anabel blinked in surprised at Angie's sudden change of behavior. Ohhh… I see how it is. She shot the glare back with a smirk.
"Don't worry Angie, Ash and I were merely just training." Anabel emphasized the last word to sting.
"T-Training?"
"Oh yeah! Angie, Anabel's teaching me how to battle with pokémon without needing to see!" Ash exclaimed excitedly, "I still need more practice, but I'm definitely feeling it out!"
Feeling… Anabel's face lit up with satisfaction from that word. Her mind snapped back into reality and used the new feeling of fulfillment to strike Angie again. "Ash has been improving a lot. And who knows…" She closed her eyes as a smile ran across her face. "He might be able to compete in tournaments soon… after a few more training sessions with me, that is."
"OW!" Ash felt a tugging on his ears as he was roughly lifted and dragged into the direction of the house.
"Just get in the house and eat your lunch, your mom worked hard on it." Angie said with a growled tone running through every word.
Her grip tightened as she shot another glare back at Anabel…
You honestly think you have a chance with him? Anabel released her mocking emotions in the tomboy's direction, smirking in arrogant challenge.
Warmth.
The sun's warmth woke Ash to another sightless morning.
He began his morning as he always did… with a daily judgment of whether he missed his eyesight or not. I dunno, the mornings still feel the same. It's not so bad.
He smiled as he dropped his feet to the floor.
"PIIIIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" a surge of electricity flowed through the still waking boy's body.
"AAAHHHHHHHH! IIIII'M SSSOOORRRRRYYYY PIKAAACHUUUUUUU!"
Ash fell to the floor, the electricity stopping immediately after. His body twitched constantly as his muscles slowly began to relax.
The smell of burnt clothes and hair ran across Ash's nose.
"O-Ow… now I definitely need a shower."
"Chu…" Pikachu sighed in annoyance as he trotted out of the room.
"Ash are you okay?"
Angie's concerned voice suddenly felt louder than normal to the still-somewhat tired boy.
"Y-Yeah yeah." the electrified trainer stuttered as he tried to remove a ringing from his ears, "I just accidentally stepped on Pikachu this morning."
"Oh okay…" a relieved sigh escaped her lips, "So need any help today?"
"Help?"
"Yeah, with your shower. I heard you say you needed one."
"W-what d-do you mean help?" Ash suddenly felt blood rush to his face.
"N-not that way! I mean do you want me to help you find where the soap and shampoo is before you get undressed!" Angie explained somewhat angrily at the boy's forgetfulness. Geez Ash, we do this every time and you still forget…
"Oh right! Um… no thanks! I'm sure I can do it myself this time."
"You sure?"
"Of course! I've been training with Anabel, remember?" Ash voiced confidently.
"Riiiiight, forgive me." She left the room and headed downstairs.
Hm? Sarcasm? Ash caught her last tone easily. I bet she's planning to trip me again!
As he stretched and walked towards the bathroom, he slowed to a relax state. Letting his toes grip onto the carpet and pulling at it with each step, Ash enjoyed the soft textures against the soles of his feet. I never knew how nice this carpet was before.
Once he reached the entrance of the bathroom, however, his attitude changed. A change of stance, a held breath, and a heightened sense of focus occurred all at once. You won't get me this time…
…
Hm?
No odd sound, no breathing, no weird silent spot, nothing. If Angie was somewhere in the bathroom, she was completely invisible to him.
"I know you're here somewhere, Angie." Ash boasted a bluff.
"What?" Angie's voice came from downstairs.
"Oh! Uhm… nothing!"
Guess I'm just being paranoid. the boy thought as he walked onto the cold tiles of the bathroom floor.
Downstairs, Angie continued to help Mr. Mime with the dishes.
"Was Ash calling me?" Ash's mom Delia questioned curiously from the dining table.
"No, he was talking to me." Angie answered calmly.
"Aren't you going to see what he wanted?"
"Nah, I already know what he was expecting."
Delia tilted her head in curiosity.
…
A sudden loud BANG hit the floor upstairs, followed by several other objects crashing onto a tiled floor.
"OWWWWWWWWWW!" a stressed voice echoed.
Angie giggled. "Train that." she whispered under her breath while she dried off her hands. "I'll check on him!" she exclaimed to Ash's mother as she ran up the stairs.
…
Knock Knock Knock
"Owww… who is it?"
"You okay, Ash?"
"Yeah, I think so. There was a bar of soap on the floor of the bathtub."
"A little present from me."
"What?"
"Nothing! …Just hurry up with your shower, I'm starving."
"Hey Ash, you want to train today?"
"Huh? Angie?" Ash double-checked his thoughts to make sure he heard it right. "Actually I was planning to train with Anabel today." Or at least, I hope she wants to.
Ash had been preparing for this time in the day. The training Anabel had held for him every day since that morning had become a highlight of his. He couldn't wait, he couldn't be bothered, and he certainly couldn't wait. No wait, I thought that already…
"Oh, well, that's fine. Tell me how it goes."
The door closed behind the green haired girl as she went back inside.
She turned and stared at the door knowingly.
…
A few moments later, she heard a knock.
With a grin, Angie opened the door.
"Hey Angie, can you read this for me?" Ash handed her a slip of paper.
'To Ms. Ketchum or Angie,
Please tell Ash I'll be right back. I have to get my Espeon to the Pokémon Center, I think she ate something bad.
-Anabel'
"What's it say? I just found it on a rock she said she'd meet me at."
"Oh, it says that she won't be back for a while. Probably some appointment." Angie snickered, thinking of the month-old food she fed to the unsuspecting psychic pokémon this morning.
"I was really looking forward to training with her today." Ash whined. "Ah well. I guess I ca-"
"You could always train with me, Ash." Angie stated simply.
"Really?" Ash asked excitedly, "Let's hurry up and get out there!"
A giggle came from Angie's voice, "Sure thing, just let me get my stuff."
Angie sounds a lot nicer now. I guess she really wanted to train with me.
"Okay! Ready!"
"Well that was fast."
"Come on come on come on!"
Ash felt Angie's rough yet slender fingers grip around his sleeve. I hope she doesn't drag me through the bushes. was all he could think before being yanked out the door.
She began running, towing him quickly out of the immediate area.
His foot tripped against something. Feeling himself falling, Ash reached out to regain his balance.
The green-haired tomboy was hit with a sudden blush when an arm wrapped around her waist. Ash…
"S-Slow down, Angie! I don't know where we're going if you're running this fast!"
"Right, sorry."
The shift down of speeds almost made Ash crash into Angie. He caught himself in time.
Angie shook off an idea. She felt ridiculous for being disappointed that he hadn't crashed into her. That's such a stupid thing to wish for…
The two continued their walk down a small pathway, his hand still unknowingly around her waist. She didn't bother moving it away or complaining. She liked it there, as embarrassing as it was for her to admit.
To keep the thoughts from moving to unknown territory, Angie busied herself by watching the scenery around her. Today is beautiful though… the sky, the flowers, the trees, the river, everything about this little town is so perfect. "No wonder Ash turned out so innocent…"
"No wonder what?"
Angie covered her mouth immediately. Did I just say that out loud? I gotta' be careful.
What does she mean innocent? Does she mean I'm gullible? The accidental blurt from Angie was enough to get Ash suspicious.
"Alright, where are you taking me?" With a tug, Ash planted his feet to the ground.
Angie turned, staring at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not stupid. Anabel doesn't have any appointments – does she?"
…
She didn't answer.
"So where are you planning on taking me? Get me lost in the woods? Toss me in the river? Make me run into walls all day?"
The girl's tone rose in temperature, "Why in the world would I do that?"
"Well, why else would you want to drag me all the way out here? We could've trained in the backyard. Admit it, you're just trying to pull another pra—"
Ash was quickly yanked from his spot and dragged hastily through grass and dirt.
"WAAAAAAAHHHHHH WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Not through the bushes not through the bushes please!
Angie was running as fast as she could, dragging the poor boy without much care. Panic ran through her thoughts as she continued her sprint – retreating from a sight that threatened her entire plan. Shoot! Was that Anabel? How did she get back so fast? I have to get the spot before she sees us!
Looking back at the path they were originally on, Angie caught a glance of a lilac-haired girl staring curiously into the woods.
Crap! Please don't see us! Please don't see us! Please don't let her see us!
"ANGIE! SLOW DOW-"
Angie covered Ash's mouth tightly and wrapped her other arm around his waist.
Crap he's heavy! With all her strength, the young woman lifted Ash over her shoulder and started running faster. Come on! Come on! Come on! We're almost there!
Ash managed to snuggle his mouth out of her smothering hand. "Anabel?"
Angie stopped in her tracks. With one smooth combination she threw Ash to the ground, grabbed her poké ball, turned and scanned the area.
Huh? No one's here.
"HA! I knew it! You ARE trying to hide me from Anabel!" Ash laughed in victory.
"Wh-Wha-? You mean she ISN'T here?"
"I'm blind. How would I see her?" Ash continued to laugh, but was interrupted when he was abruptly picked up and thrown through the air. The quiet moment in mid-air felt blissful to him. I feel like I'm flying, too bad it ends with a- CRASH.
Gripping his head and hip, the blind trainer slowly crawled into a sitting position. "Owowowowww… what the heck was that for?"
"We're here." Angie's voice had gotten lighter.
"Here where?"
"Take out your pokémon, we're going to battle."
"Ummm…"
…
"Let me guess…"
"Yup. Don't have any pokémon on me."
Angie slapped her palm to her face. "Why the heck would you go out to train with pokémon with no pokémon?"
"That's the thing, Anabel usually carries my poké balls. She said she'd allow me to carry my poké ball belt again if I could beat her just once."
"So wait, you HAVEN'T beaten her yet?"
Ash waved frantically in front of his eyes, "I'm friggin' blind! I'm still not that good at the whole 'blind-battling' thing."
A heavy sigh escaped Anabel. Twelve steps. Ash felt her firm grip on his shoulders as he was lifted to his feet.
"Alright then, let's train without them."
"Now look who's sounding crazy. How do you train with pokémon without pokémon?" Ash mocked with a hint of laughter.
"We don't. We train you."
"Train me? If we're going to do the whole walking thing again with the ha –"
Blank. A dull feeling went throughout his body as air escaped from his lungs.
Did she just punch me in the stomach?
"Wh-What was that for?"
"Quit whining, Ash! If you can take a direct hit from Pikachu every day, I'd think you could handle a punch from a girl!"
"Why you!" Ash grit his teeth and dug his feet into the ground.
…
…
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to fight back?"
"What? I can't hit a girl!"
"Such a gentleman, but I'm –" her firm hand on his chest, her breath to his side, a tap of her shoe on the back of his foot, "NOT JUST SOME GIRL!" In one strong action, Ash was pushed back and lost complete control of his balance. He hit the ground hard, another exhalation of surprise coming from his lips.
"Ow… you really like beating up on blind kids, don't you?"
"Only whiny ones who keep making up excuses for how weak they are."
Oh so that's how you want to play? He frowned.
"H-Hey… can I hav little help? I can't really feel my left arm…"
"Oh no… ASH ARE YOU OKAY?" Angie ran to his side and started lifting him off the grass in worried panic.
Ash's arms quickly wrapped around her elbow. Before she could blush, Ash yelled out, "Gotcha!" With a twist of his body, Angie found herself flying off the ground and landing on her back with a loud thud.
"A little trick I learned from the Arena Tycoon of the Battle Arena!" he boasted.
Angie grunted in defiance. She patted dirt off her sleeves before she readied into her next stance… "Well here's a little trick I learned from training with a Hitmonlee!"
"You've trained with a Hitmo – UGH!" Ash shoved his hands between his legs. He curled up in utter pain, tears nearly flowing from his eyes. "N-not cool." he squeaked with a higher than normal pitch.
"Gotta' be ready for anything." Angie giggled. "Now get up, let's see how you can handle me in a fair fight… without all that whining of yours."
"Grrrr! You're on!"
The door opened slowly.
A cup and plate fell to the floor with a clang.
Delia gasped at the sight of the girl and boy walking into her home. Several cuts and bruises marked their skin, and grass stains decorated their ruined clothes.
"What happened to you two?"
Angie giggled.
Ash chuckled.
They burst into laughter, much to the confusion and concern of Delia and Anabel.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Of course! I've got this!"
"Well… alright. Only if you're really sure…" Anabel bit her lip nervously, "Espeon, use Iron Tail on Ash! Metagross, use Psychic on Pikachu!"
"Come on Pikachu! Use Agility and get around Metagross!"
Running towards the lavender psychic pokémon, Ash crossed his arms to take the incoming blow.
SMASH.
A hot and dull pain spread throughout his forearms as he felt himself being shot off the ground from the impact. "GAHH!"
"ASH!" Anabel called out in alarm.
"D-Don't worry! I got this." Ash smirked as he leaned against a tree. "Pikachu! Jump off Metagross and send a Thunderbolt at Espeon!"
"Espeon! Dodge it and counter with Zap Cannon!" Anabel's attention returned to the battlefield with cool calculation. "Metagross Psychic again on Pikachu!"
"EEE!" the Espeon yelped, a tremor of panic in its tone.
"W-What?" Anabel turned towards her beloved pokémon friend in surprise.
"You shouldn't have forgotten about me!" Ash had snatched up the psychic pokémon by the tail. "Pikachu! Turn and Volt Tackle Metagross!"
"Pika!"
Before the half-Steel Pokémon's psychic blast could hit the yellow Mouse Pokémon, it dodged at the last minute – striking down like lightning at the giant creature. KSSHH. The ground shook at the sheer power let loose by the comparatively tiny pokémon.
"GWUUUUHHHHHHHH!"
"Metagross!"
"Good job, Pikachu!" Ash nodded in his partner's direction as he released Espeon by throwing her into the air.
"Espeon! Quick Attack Pikachu!"
"I keep telling you!" Ash exclaimed loudly. "Don't – forget – about – me!"
The Sun Pokémon yapped in panic, as it was caught completely off guard. Its tail had been grabbed again, this time during its dashing attack.
"Espeon!"
Using the momentum from its attack, Ash planted his feet to the ground and swung Espeon towards Pikachu. "Now Pikachu!"
Anabel's eyes widened. Not from Ash's ability to catch Espeon in mid-air despite his blindness, though that itself was inhumanly impressive. Not from his ability to throw her pokémon towards the exact location of his currently quiet Pikachu, though that itself was definitely worthy of a trophy. But from…
Pikachu swung its tail as it shined bright. Its energy connected to Espeon's launched body like flint stones striking one another.
"Piiika!"
"Eee!"
"Aaaannd, finishing move!" Ash had appeared on the far end of the field, body-slamming the thrown-about pokémon into the ground.
Ash… I heard your command. Anabel softly pressed her hand against her chest. Are you…?
Her eyes watered as she watched as Ash's movements. His face was following Pikachu as the yellow pokémon dashed towards him. He caught and hugged his best friend. All without sight.
But was it really without sound?
"Ash." Anabel stared directly at Ash, her eyes and tone completely serious.
"Yeah?"
That was a pretty neat combination.
"Haha! I know! I just made it up as I went, really."
Anabel's eyes widened completely as tears flowed down her cheeks.
"Anabel? What's wrong?"
"Ash… I didn't say anything."
"What do you mean you didn't say anything?"
Ash felt a rush of happiness showering him.
"Wh-What? D-Did I say something?" he questioned densely.
"Ash, I didn't say anything then either."
"But I heard it. You said you were happy."
A few steps in the grass. The wind blew. A soft, light feeling filled the atmosphere.
The feet gripped the ground beneath it, it started running.
Ash knew what was coming, but had no idea why…
Her arms wrapped completely around him. Though in reality, she hadn't reached him yet. She planted her lips against his. Though in reality, she hadn't ever touched him.
He wasn't sure why he felt all this, imagined all these things. But whatever the case was, Anabel had finally reached him, her arms wrapping around him.
Her lips so close… ready to enact the previous premonition….
SMASH.
Anabel fell to the ground confused. A pain in her stomach. She noticed a messy shoeprint on her once-pristine shirt.
"Alright, that's close enough, purple head." Angie stood defiantly between them, her leg lowering from its stiff stance. "Ash beat you fair and square. Now give him his poké balls back."
Anger. Now logic filling its space. Smiling. Ash was feeling every one of Anabel's emotional thoughts… though he still couldn't fathom why.
It doesn't matter what you do now, tomboy. I've already won Ash. A smirk ran across Anabel's face.
Angie raised her brow at the Frontier Brain's reaction. What's she so darn happy about?
She turned towards Ash. Her eyes narrowed… noticing that he now looked different… felt different.
"Wh-What do you mean different?" he tilted his head in confusion.
Angie's eyes widened. Catching quickly onto what had happened…
"Empathy…"
