So sorry for the delayed update but please, I'm doing the best I can. Asking me to update only makes me feel guilty and it's contra-productive as it reflects in my writing and when I re-read my chapter, I notice it and delete the entire thing. Writing over ten thousand words over and over again asks time, which I don't have much off. I hope you enjoy this chapter, despite the long wait. So sorry, guys.
Ash feels restless as he lays in the bed. He's wide awake, but he knows most of the people in Kanto are at this time a day, it's noon, after all. Nevertheless, he feels like it's three in the morning on a school day. Everyone keeps telling him he should rest, take care of himself but Ash doesn't know how to do that. He rests when he's tired and the taking care part come automatically, or at least, that's what he had always assumed. You took a bath when you were dirty, right?
It turns out it's not as easy as that, dr. Knight spends quite some days telling him he should listen to his body and that he should use this time to learn how to do that. Ash does exactly that and finds out his body is very bored and usually hungry. That, apparently, had not been the answers dr. Knight had been looking for, so the teen spends another night 'listening' to himself. Instead of sleeping, which in hindsight seemed a bit contra-productive to what everyone in this hospital was trying to achieve.
Ash doesn't feel dead-tired, though and after that long night of silence, he thinks he knows what's gotten him all annoyed. He tells dr. Knight that his body feels like moving on and that got a good reaction from the man, only…
"To move on, you should rest right now."
"I am resting."
"No, you're getting worked up about things you can't change. No one said it was going to be easy."
No, he admits that no one told him that. He would've appreciated it, though, but it seemed like the universe was out to test him. Ash knows he can't complain, contrary to last time, he gets visitors who are pleased to see him and don't feel morally compelled to be there like his mother had often said. Yes, yes, he knows she's not a good person by now, but he can't help that either, she needs to carry her own cross, for now, he's already having issues carrying his own. Even Brock likes to remind him of that on occasion, whenever Ash admits to feeling a bit home-sick. But then, according to his awesomely smart friend, it's possible to miss a bad situation, despite recognising it for what it was deep down. He calls it 'Stockholm Syndrome' but the boy vehemently defends himself because it wasn't that bad. She never put a hand on him-
"She swatted you in front of everyone multiple times, Ash," Brock told him, looking deadly serious.
"But it didn't hurt. And it was more a habit than anything."
"If it happened often for it to become a habit, your mother definitely had the intention to hurt you at some point."
Ash faltered at that, but how are you supposed to defend yourself against someone who knew what seam to rip for you to fall apart?
"She never denied me any food, either."
"Your mother cooked a lot, Ash."
"Yeah, well, I still had leftovers."
"If she ate everything she cooked, she would be the size of a house in no time."
"It's not my fault she cooks for an army," he said but knew it was a feeble attempt to change the subject, one Brock wouldn't fall for.
"A circle will fit in a square, Ash. Just because you fit, doesn't mean you belong there."
The statement hurts a lot. His awesomely smart friend is much better at finding his buttons than dr. Knight and Brock makes no show in pushing them hard. It wasn't the first time Ash had cried in that bed, but it certainly was one of the rare times he felt as hurt like that. He doesn't want to admit that he always knew, always feared that he had been in the way of his mother's happiness but to know he had also barricaded her freedom stung way worse. She never appeared to have been suffering, but then again, he had only started minding how he was feeling recently, how could he have known she had been unhappy?
"Communication," Brock said, sweeping the rug from under every single excuse Ash could've brought up. "Come off it, Ash, you're smarter than that."
"I don't feel like I am."
"How would you feel like, getting a kid this age?"
"… She was fourteen?"
"Yes, Ash, she was fourteen when she had you. But so was your dad."
He understands now, though he had always been under the impression his father had run for the hills after finding out he got a girl pregnant. To have heard from Lance that his half-brother had been pleased to have the kid, had loved Delia so much he had gone out of his way to marry her, despite the girl's family's threats… It stung just as hard as to realise he had been unwanted. Perhaps not really unwanted but he certainly hadn't been planned. Not at fourteen, at least. Ash dreams that night about what could have been if his mother had been older, that his father had been there, to back him up.
What followed up on that night was one of the rare mornings where he doesn't have a horrible mood when he woke, but his good mood was destroyed after an impromptu visit from Mewtwo. The creature hadn't meant to, of course not, it was still way too focussed on showing it was not scared of him, but despite everything, Mewtwo is a direct link to Team Rocket. The ones who had literally destroyed the man who could have been the salvation for this disaster of a family of his. He swore to himself, that very morning, that Giovanni would pay for this. They wouldn't be getting away with it this as easy as they thought they had.
But that would have to wait, first of all, he would have to become a bit more mobile. He's quite proud he could already roll around all by himself and at least hold a glass of water without shaking so badly from the effort that the water would spill out of the glass before it even reached his lips. Cutlery and pens are his current working point, though Ash can't wait for his coach to finally focus on his legs. As he's waiting for dr. Lotus' daily visit, he still feels horribly away and antsy, feeling his emotions bubble up as soon as the door opens.
"Oh, hello, Ash," the man says with a bit of a cautious expression on his face. He's clearly expecting something but that suits the boy perfectly.
"I have questions," he responds.
"Can I do your check-up first?"
He lets the doctor do whatever he needs to do, he's ready to be patient even if that unsettles dr. Lotus.
"So, what can I do for you?"
"Is there any news on the prosthetic limb?" Ash asks, going straight for the kill.
The doctor's face twists in a way that almost convinces the teen that they had simply forgotten or that Miss Eleanor had dumped the project. Surely not?
"That's up to your coach, Ash, I'm not on top of things on that matter."
"So you don't have to sign anything the coach or dr. Knight does?" he asks incredulously and the man squirms.
"Well, yes, but they don't have to tell me what it's about in detail."
"You don't sound very involved."
"Ash, I'm not a technician. I don't work with anyone but my patient. Miss Eleanor has to answer to your movement coach, he's in charge of that."
As if knowing the name of the designer of his prosthesis isn't a detail, huh? Either this lady is world-famous or dr. Lotus is lying through his teeth. Knowing his mother had him fooled for the fourteen years he's already been alive for, he instinctively goes for the second option.
"You had other questions?" dr. Lotus asks.
"Yes. How do you forget how to move? Or rather, why did I forget how to move? I get it, when I'm lying still, my muscles get stiff. I've been through that already but this? I've never seen any pokémon hibernating have these issues?"
Dr. Lotus tells him that, first of all, people don't hibernate and secondly, he hadn't been hibernating at all. He repeats what Ash has heard a couple of times before, but it only now that he understands. His brain had shut down and turned on like a computer with hardware issues. They had short-circuited on something and in their desperate need to reboot, had started dropping redundant bodily functions. He has a bit of difficulty understanding why his own brain thought walking wasn't important, but then again, having his heart and lungs, as well as his brain still functioning was kind of important too.
"Please try and understand that it takes a bit of time. Be proud of what you've already achieved, Ash, you're doing so well," the doctor says.
"I will," he answers. "No need to sound so desperate about it."
"Knowing you, you would be lumbering through the fields the second we give you the prosthesis. You just have no regard for your own safety and I find that extremely concerning."
'Ah,' the boy thinks to himself but he knows better than to lash out at the man who was subtle dropping hints.
"Thank you for looking after me," he says, mimicking dr. Knight's tip and tricks he's come to know by heart. "But I'm sad you felt like you couldn't be honest with me."
The doctor's expression falters and Ash panics at it because he only knows how to express himself this way through what the therapist had shown him. Dr. Knight had been adamant to teach him how to explain himself, learning him the most common expressions but what good had it done now, huh?
"I'm sorry, Ash. I just never know how a patient will react, you've been in a lot of pain recently and there has been an awful lot of change around you too. I would understand if you would be angry with me, even if I didn't do anything to you but I guess I've prepared for the worst."
"I'm not angry at you. Thank you, doctor."
And dr. Lotus leaves in a somewhat happier mood. Ash didn't think he would have such a control over a situation and he figures he also knows why so many of his conversations with Gary had ended up in a fistfight. If only his mother had taught him that it was alright to involve emotions in conversations, that you could be verbally sorry about something and not just cynically so. He's going to thank dr. Knight later today, for teaching him, but only after he survives what could be a tense meeting with Misty.
He knows his friends talk behind his back, he's heard enough talk about that group chat. Ash knows his fingers aren't nimble enough yet to handle the tiny buttons on the device, but they better prepare for the day he finds that app because he'll read everything they've sent to each other, even if he needs to ask one of his friends to loan him their device so he can see the entire conversation. But Arceus help Gary when he gets faced with the exact words the teen send to his friends. Of all things Gary could have done, he does the one thing he knows he'll never be forgiven for and it lets Ash know that the teen is ready to be condemned by him. It puts Gary into a position that'll make him the victim of an unfair situation and Ash knows he'll get away with it… but he's not ready to abandon Gary. He'll think about it for a little longer, maybe, if he asks nicely, Misty will show him the group chat right away.
She's hesitant when it's the first question he asks -after having welcomed her back, of course- and Ash does his best to look as innocent as his intentions. Misty scrutinizes his face but sighs as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Brock said that you would ask about it."
"I'm glad he knows me well enough. So, can I?"
"He said it wouldn't be good for you right now."
"Then he doesn't know me well enough. He should know I get upset when no one tells me anything. Like, for example, that week where the sun didn't come up."
Another subject everyone stayed silent about. Another fact Ash knew was important and yet no one wanted to talk to him about it. But he'll find out one way or another, in fact…
"It's alright if you don't show me. I'll find out about it later on."
Misty didn't seem the like the sound of that but instead of producing her transceiver out of her pocket, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and took a newspaper out of it.
"Instead of focusing on my transceiver, maybe you would like to take a look at this."
He gets faced with a newspaper and for a moment, he wonders why Misty would even show him this. But he's learned that if anyone shows him anything, it's usually something that has to do with him, so he reads the page she's showing him.
"Mist? Why are you showing me this?" he asks when he only reads boring news about the stock market on the page in front of him.
"Oh, oops, wrong page," she says and turns the newspaper around.
Ash knows instantly why she would show him this, there is a large picture on this page, showing Dialga in its massive but not at all glorious form. The poor thing is covered with the soot he knows belongs to the explosion he caused and it makes alarm bells go off in his head.
"O-oh no," he utters, before falling into a mantra of 'nonononono'.
He keeps repeating the word, over and over, until he feels a hand on his shoulder. It's dr. Lotus, who watches him in worry and steadies him. Ash had no idea he had been swaying back and forth at all, all he knows is that he needs to fix this poor Dialga's issue. God, he had no idea the pokémon had been caught in the blast and heck, no wonder it hadn't returned!
"Ash, can you hear me?"
"Doctor," he says, grabbing the man's arm -not to firm, his grip isn't that strong yet- to keep his attention on him. "Doctor, you need to teach me to brush my teeth."
"I… yes? Yes, I'm sure we can manage that," the man says, turning to look at what Ash knew was a nurse, but the boy didn't want to look away from the doctor. "But Ash, are you okay?"
"I'm such a failure," he says and regrets it instantly because in a couple of minutes, dr. Knight is going to come back inside and chide him for saying that sort of thing while he knows well enough that he's not.
But how is he supposed to tell the man he is responsible this time around? That he caused this massive discomfort on a creature who had only been here to protect him? Ash knows he needs to rectify it and he doesn't care what will happen, he needs to have a toothbrush right now. He tells the doctor that much and while it confuses everyone in the room, dr. Lotus makes it happen. The next hour or so is filled with a couple of nurses helping him practise how to hold the brush and move it back and forth and he succeeds. His arms and hands hurt but he's satisfied that if Dialga shows up, he can at least help to restore it back to its former glory.
The picture from the newspaper is burned into his mind and somehow, as he lays in bed, now completely on his own again -yes, he doesn't remember when Misty had left either- Ash wonders if the pokémon is angry at him. That would make it the second legendary creature to have some sort of negative connotation to him, with Mewtwo being scared of him and-
"I am not scared of you, Chosen."
He's not even surprised that the pokémon is suddenly right next to him, Mewtwo seems adamant to defend its honour. And apparently, feeling fear is something to be ashamed of, according to the world of pokémon. The legendary pokémon has appeared next to him, without fail, every time he only thought about the idea of it being scared of him. Ash knows he's been thinking about it a lot, hence why he's probably already grown used to Mewtwo's sudden appearances by now.
"It has nothing to do with my honour, I am here to protect you and it would make no sense whatever if I would be scared of what I am protecting," the pokémon huffs, moodily crossing its arms across its chest.
"There's an awful lot of things that don't make any sense in this world, though."
"… Go on then, show me what I am supposedly so scared off."
"The nurses will kill me if I cover this place in soot again. And I don't want you to appear all dirty in public either."
"I do not appear in public."
"You know what I mean."
"… Very well, then," Mewtwo sniffs. "Then you have no proof that I am scared, more rather, you are the scared one right now."
"Scared of scaring you off, yeah, I'll admit that," Ash says and shrugs. "I dunno what to say to you, Mewtwo."
"You will not scare me off. You keep justifying every single action inside your head before committing to it and it gives me plenty of warning in advance. Next to that, you spend some time mulling over what happened so honestly, I would ask you to stop thinking so much, if you have the intention to surprise me."
"You want me to stop thinking? Huh…that's a first."
"Undeserved," the pokémon huffs. "This red Aura of yours, are you still convinced it is pure evil?"
"You came in here, white a sheet, telling me I was a great danger for myself and suddenly I'm the one convinced I'm pure evil? That's a good way of putting your own words in my mouth, Mewtwo, I'm not having it. I just linked aggression to the colour of my Aura, I never said anything about being pure evil."
The pokémon looks peeved and it clearly is trying to keep itself calm.
"I did say that. Apologies. My social skills are lacking and you have only started paying attention to your surroundings."
"You thought you could get away with it?"
"… Yes. Again, my apologies."
"You're not the first or the last to take me for the idiot I am, though, so it's fine, I guess," Ash says hesitantly because he refuses to judge Mewtwo for something it can't help either.
Having been raised by Team Rocket, it's nothing short of a miracle it has manners at all, not to mention his surprise realising it knows how to apologise.
"You taught me that," the pokémon comments and Ash blinks before recalling it probably happened during the first time they had met, the one he doesn't remember. "And you should not forgive me."
"Don't say that, I'm not going to condemn you for something that stupid," the teen says. "Instead, why don't you give your opinion on my Aura, hm?" he adds and calls out this tiny little sphere of the stuff.
It floats there, looking a bit unbalanced as gold particles rage on the in-and outside of the small orb.
"That is not red," Mewtwo says and points an accusing finger at the sphere. "I see pink."
Ash does a double-take and as he stares at the obviously red -a bit watered down because they are surrounded by white everywhere- he wonders if pokémon have a different kind of sight than humans-
"No, I do not have a different kind of eyesight, this is pink, Chosen."
"It's way too dark to be pink."
"Magenta, then."
"That doesn't exist."
"It is right in front of me, it exists."
"Mewtwo, magenta is a colour our brain made up from seeing too much green around us," Ash deadpans, having read that in a magazine recently and barely having understood it himself. "It doesn't really exist."
The pokémon stares at him, takes a look at the orb from a couple of angles and sighs.
"Is that so…?"
Ash nods and goes to staring at the orb as well. Looking at it now, it does seem to get a bit pinker as it hangs there…
"Is it hardening?" he asks, frowning as he sees the transparency disappear as well.
Mewtwo doesn't answer and plainly takes the orb out of the air. It hands it back to the teen, who takes and… giggles when he feels that his Aura sphere has become a ping-pong ball.
"You must be unbelievably bored," the pokémon comments.
"… I guess so. I do have a mission, though."
"Would you like my help?"
"In bringing Dialga to me? Gladly."
"… I have no control over it. I assume it will come back to you eventually," Mewtwo says. "But I can at least get you some water and soap to get the job done."
Ash has to remind himself that he gave the pokémon access to his mind because he never even said anything about his desire to clean the Dialga to it. Nevertheless, it's handy so he nods vigorously and spends some time drawing Mewtwo's feline habits out of it with the ping-pong ball. It is a good one, too, it has a good bounce and the creature catches it every single time it bounces away from Ash. The game lasts until a nurse comes in and thankfully, she knocks before entering. She would have encountered the ping-pong ball on her way in otherwise, but Mewtwo had successfully returned it into his hold before disappearing.
It's all very queer, though, Ash had no idea his Aura could do that and honestly, he remembers it having looked red before. He knows he needs to talk to somewhat about it and Lance comes up as the first person he could talk to, but the man isn't an expert. He's only seen the Aura of his brother and so, any possible quirks Red has, he'll automatically assume as the norm. That's not what Ash needs because he knows he's never normal in anything he does. He's not an ordinary boy because he's not looking at girls that often. He's not a typical trainer because he gives options to his pokémon while most boss their pokémon around, demanding stuff. He's not the best son either, but that's territory he doesn't want to cross, he knows it's full of mental landmines and he knows he'll step on one or two if he does venture out on it. The last thing he wants is to explode, no matter in what way.
They might kick him out of the hospital if he does something again and he knows his little stunt of demanding to learn how to brush his teeth is going to come back to bite his butt. Perhaps dr. Lotus was relieved to find he hadn't suddenly focussed on the prosthetic limb, instead choosing to practise a seemingly innocent action. He isn't going to fool himself into thinking they don't know him well enough to know he was up to something, though, so Ash knows he should be careful. Nevertheless, he's got Mewtwo's help and that by itself is enough to make him feel like succeeding. All he needs to do is to wait for Dialga… and possibly sit through a couple of extra sessions with dr. Knight. The way dr. Lotus had looked at him when he had grabbed the man's arm as suddenly as that made Ash aware he had overstepped some kind of boundary. So yes, he's kind of prepared for a couple of hours of err… 'special' attention.
Someone else had arrived, someone more skilled than dr. Knight. Ash felt horrified and mortified when he realises he is met by a psychologist. He needs to remind himself that it just another form of help, that this doesn't automatically label him as crazy. Even though he knows he's missing more than one screw alright, he's been involved in too many messy situations voluntarily to still be called fully sane. Never even mind the fact he's willingly thrown himself off cliffs and that he's jumped in the way of strong-ass pokémon attacks for 'valid' reasons only he understood. That he had gotten away with it just made him lucky, not special in any way.
"How are you feeling?" the man with the grey hair and grey eyes asks.
"Scared," the boy blurts out because this person looks like they know what only his friends know.
"I'm here to help you."
Help, Ash realises, is something very personal. He's never asked for help because people who offered it usually wanted something in return. And in the end, he always managed just fine when he did it all by himself. Instead, the teen thinks this man is here because dr. Knight hasn't been able to talk to him as well as they used to. Ash doesn't know what has changed, but he doesn't take the bait to talk about his past any longer. It's like he sees it coming miles away, a bit like Mewtwo had the mental warning way in advance.
And he's right, the psychologist doesn't 'help', he's left hiding in his own hands because he's always known he didn't feel good enough, that he acted like he wanted to be the best because he always felt like he was the worst. That he had wanted to become famous so that he would finally get noticed. But that didn't mean he had wanted to hear it come from this stranger's mouth! These were his ideas, his ideals-
"I know you're angry, Ash, but it's not your fault. In a world where no one notices you, of course, you'll try and make waves."
"You tell that to my friend who told everyone I was dead for people to pay attention to him," the boy bit back angrily.
"… That is a special kind of case by itself," the man says but looks impressed nonetheless. "Is it too late for me to ask you to find better friends?"
"No. I have some already," he answers, though thinks to himself that they're hurting him just as badly as Gary but with different intentions.
"I know it must be hard for you to lose your home as you knew it, Ash."
And the boy cries at that, again, because he doesn't like the idea that he'll never be able to see his mother as his mom again. That they all make it sound like she can't be helped. Doesn't that mean he's a lost cause too? Is that why they're sending a psychologist at him?
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. Instead, why don't you talk to me about something you've been thinking about?" the man urges, sounding a bit desperate before he catches himself.
Ash isn't fooled, this person is only human too. He knows the man wanted him to catch that desperation on purpose. So he picks something he knows no one knows the truth about. His prior accident which resulted in the rude amputation of his left leg is still shrouded in mystery and perhaps he can still gauge at the man's knowledge of that dark period too.
The psychologist squirms in response to his theory of his attackers being other-dimensional, that he resembled something they knew or were looking for and that this was why he had been attacked. Perhaps he looked like something they knew could take a hit, that he had just been treated like they did back at their own dimension. Maybe he had scared them for being more sensitive than they were used to, that they hadn't even meant to hurt him and had just assumed they could take him without injuring him as gravely as that.
"You think you're the one who is responsible for this accident?"
"If I appeared to look like something that exists in their dimension, perhaps it's me who doesn't belong here."
The man leaves shortly after that and for once, Ash doesn't regret saying something personal. It's been a long thought process, but he still feels like he's closer to the truth than all these people claiming it was an accident. Of all the people in Pallet, he's the one they had honed in on. Clearly they weren't looking for an everyday kind of asshole, or they would've had way too many options to choose from. And yes, it feels better for him to blame himself for not being enough than to judge pokémon for their way of living. If his attackers were pokémon, to begin with.
Honestly, now that he's all alone and in a destructive mood, Ash knows Dialga was somehow responsible for the sun not coming up in that week everyone had been immersed in darkness for. Stopping time was a piece of cake for the Ruler of Time, wasn't it? Other legendary pokémon could have joined in but he still knows way too little about the incident to be sure about who was involved. Ash is lost on the 'why' too if the pokémon knew Arceus would intervene, surely they wouldn't have panicked like that?
The boy is startled when the door suddenly opens, revealing dr. Knight, dr. Lotus, the still-unnamed psychologist -the man had never properly introduced himself, which was kind of rude- as well as his uncle Lance. He blinks and is unsure what to do. Ash wants to smile at Lance but he's not sure if he can pull it off in front of the three doctors. Is a psychologist even a doctor too?
He watches dr. Lotus take a seat at the far back of the room and sees dr. Knight go stand on the other side of the bed, while the psychologist sticks close to Lance, who takes a seat in the chair right next to the right side of his bed. Ash doesn't like the look of this and his expression betrays him because dr. Knight takes the lead, still thinking he's got the upper hand when it comes to being liked, apparently. Depending on how this situation will turn out, that could change drastically, or so the teen thinks.
"Ash, we need you to start talking seriously. It's clear you're not feeling well and it's going to stand in the way of your recovery," the man says, sounding uncharacteristically serious. "Your motivation to walk is nothing we want to support and if you don't change your ways, we will cancel the entire project."
"Oh wow, because that's an unbiased opinion, isn't it?"
"It goes against our moral aspirations to send a teenager into more trouble, only for them to end up back here. You need to realise that your past is your past and that the future will make you dependant on others. If you can't answer a simple question in honestly, how are you supposed to find the right people to help you?"
"Putting your own success in the way of my mobility is evil."
"It's not about our success, Ash, we need you to ensure us you'll remain safe even outside of this hospital."
This wasn't fair, they were cornering him! In a last, desperate attempt, the boy turns to Lance.
"You approve of this?" he asks.
"I don't know what's happening, Ash, I was called in because they needed your current guardian to be here," Lance answers, even though he looks out of his comfort zone as well. "Know that I'm on your side, no matter what happens… but I'm not going to stand in the way of your recovery either, okay?"
Alright, so far for trying to rely on someone who's got experience in politics, then.
"What do you want to know?" he asks as he turns back to look at dr. Knight.
"I want to know how you're doing and I'll need a long answer this time around. You've given us nothing to go on except for the fact you burn down every attempt to talk to either me or my colleague."
"I've told you all there was to know about my past, though? Or wasn't that enough?"
"You've described the four years of travelling in detail, yes, but you're fourteen. And at the time, I was focusing on a young trainer who we thought would be scared to death of pokémon, because of what had happened to him. But now you're a teenager who has landed in hospital because of your family's inadequate care. Not just that, your parents have been hospitalised as well so there's something wrong, Ash. We need to know if you came out of this with unscathed, emotional negligence can have severe effects on children."
"Negligence? What kinds of labels am I getting? First Stockholm Syndrome for missing my own damn mother and now this?!"
"You don't need to raise your voice at me," dr. Knight says calmly. "I know you're upset."
"I bet you do," the boy bites back. "I bet you know a whole fucking load more than you let on too. Let me tell you one thing, though, this walking on eggshell thing isn't working on me. If you really care, if you were as honest as you want me to be, I wouldn't feel like someone's trying to convince me into doing something for them."
The therapist recoiled.
"You all sound like every damn villain I've met in my entire life before they find out I'm unusable, that I won't bend the way they want me to. I'm not going to, you can tell me I've lived my entire life wrong and I'll accept that but I'll never bow down for someone who just wants things to go their way, just because."
"How many villains have you already met?" Lance asked, sounding genuinely curious.
Ash notices the honest curiosity straight away, in a room full of people who already have made up their minds about him, his uncle's feelings light up the room like a Christmas tree. He's not surprised, this is something he's never mentioned to the man, even though Lance is the best person to relay that information to.
"A couple of Team Rocket member, Jessie, James, Butch, Cassidy… Giovanni too, euhm… Hunter J was one, Mars and all the other planet idiots, Cyrus too. Colress and Ghethis…"
His uncle stops him from continuing by laying a hand on his arm. Lance looks resigned but so do all the other adults in the room. Had he said something wrong?
"I'm sorry, I never wanted to give you the idea I was trying to achieve something for my own goal," dr. Knight says. "Though, when I get nothing in return for trying so hard, it's even harder to return with as much enthusiasm as before."
"… You've given up on me?"
"On the contrary, I wouldn't have called in the cavalry if I had. All I want is for you is to be happy because you're absolutely not," the man says and Ash is surprised to hear he means it.
He appreciates the change, it's nice to know that the therapist is listening to what he's saying. The boy would've been hopeful, if only there weren't two other, broody character in the room. Dr. Lotus sees he's still upset and gives him a day to gather his thoughts, as well as a last chance to do things the easy way, with dr. Knight. If that doesn't work out the way they expected it to, he'll need to deal with the psychologist, who clearly doesn't care much. However, as dr. Knight and the other man leave, dr. Lotus leans heavily on the bar at the end of the bed, giving Ash a weird look.
"So… you don't like being deceived, hm?" he says and the boy scoffs.
"You do?"
"If only I knew when people were doing it to me as you could, kiddo."
"Wait… the psychologist… Did you make him do that deliberately?" Ash asks, growing a bit annoyed as it hadn't been a good experience.
"Yes, I thought it was strange that your behaviour shifted the day dr. Knight had a bit of an off-day. I do care, Ash, I might not always show it, but you're a special patient of mine. So please, take the chance we're giving you with both hands, we're deadly serious about this."
"I… Yes, doctor."
The man nods and leaves, so now it's just Ash and Lance in the room. There's a wild storm raging in the boy's chest, though, his heart rate goes up the moment he knows he's going to have to confess knowing what was going on, with him and his family. That he had never known it was all going to come falling down because of him... Maybe not him, Delia had lost her marbles over Red's return too. He might not be responsible for the whole shebang, but Ash knows he's not without fault.
"Don't worry about unravelling, Ash," Lance says, smiling warmly at him, though there is a touch of sympathy in it.
"'Kay," he answered dully. "I'm not looking forward to being reduced to a ball of yarn, though. I've always sucked at knitting. Mom's tried to teach it a couple of times, but there's always more loops at the end than the beginning. Dunno where they come from."
"Knotting works too."
"It'll look like a mess."
"But at least you made it and not someone else. In your case, I think it would be a healthy change. Also, you met Hunter J., huh?"
"Yes? But it's been a few years, she's probably long gone."
"Mm, we'll talk about it some other time. At the rate this is going, you'll be spending quite some time with me, anyway," the man says. "Clair's taken it upon herself to decorate your room, I hope you like colours."
Ash smiles and wonders what it'll feel like, living somewhere else. His heart travelled along with him, he's kind of used to spending time at other places and he's sure that it'll feel like a holiday for a good while. Until his head gets the fact that he's there to stay for a bit longer. He knows he's being such a bother because he really doesn't want to be here, stuck in this bed… but what it that happens while he's staying with Lance too?
"Hey, don't worry. You're coming home with me, but it'll always be your choice if you want to call it a home or not. You'll always be welcome, but you're free to go and have a walk if it gets too much, okay?"
"How you do know what to say?" Ash asks, confused as he feels some of his worries disappear as if his uncle just pulled a giant plug out of a tub overflowing with his darkest and intense fears.
"I've been there. I know what you want to hear."
"… Experience is a really powerful thing."
"Some people never learn, though. So, don't be that guy, okay? Do your best tomorrow, it'll be the best and fastest way for you to get out of this place. You're not happy here, are you?"
No, he realises, even if he has Pikachu here. He feels like a pokémon in quarantine, nowhere to go, always under scrutiny and most of all, he doesn't understand why and when some parts of him and his character have become bad, all of a sudden. He decides to leave that up for tomorrow when he knows dr. Knight will take him apart. He'll cry and yell if he's allowed to because Ash is frustrated. There was a lot he would change if he could do things all over again, but the biggest mistake in his entire life, had been the date of his birth. He's not saying he is the mistake, he's just convinced his parents would've done better if they had been a bit older.
"Don't worry, it'll get better from here on," his uncle promises and by Arceus, Ash wants to believe it so badly, he repeats the sentence in his head until he falls asleep.
Lance feels upset when he makes a hurried exit out of the hospital. He remembers how bad his sessions with therapists used to be and just having sat in with his nephew, who had requested his presence there for dr. Knight's serious treatment, brings back memories he would have rather stay hidden. But that's not why he's upset, it's the fact that he requested leave for this particular visit to Ash as he didn't want to receive any calls during the session. And guess what happened, a bit before the end?
"I will need a seriously good reason for you to justify yourself as more important than my requested leave, Scott," he says as he slides into the room, with a thunderously mad expression on his face.
However, it's not only Scott in the room, but he's also accompanied by the entire Hoenn Frontier gang. Instead of intimidating him, like Scott usually intends them to do, their presence infuriates Lance. Did he really think, after having seen his nephew blow up and see stuff float up on its own, that he's still scared of special abilities?
"We had an appointment with Charles earlier, it seemed like a good opportunity for you to try and convince Brandon that Ash needs his help."
The man nearly makes a move to grab Scott by the collar but he stops himself from moving just in time. Noland is standing awfully close and Lance doesn't want to risk anything. Not now he's actually going to step up as a caretaker. Clair has reminded him how important it was that he should be careful more than enough times, he doesn't need this extra worry. And while he's pretty sure Nolan doesn't have any extraordinary ability, outside of his extremely skilled mechanic one, he's got muscles to back up the lack of it.
"How dare you?" leaves his mouth anyway and it makes Scott gape like a Magikarp. "How dare you ask me to come by at your convenience to convince one of your employees of your idea?"
"I thought you agreed."
"Agreed with what exactly?"
"I was told that Ash needed a teacher in Aura," Brandon states, sounding angry from the start. "Which I'm inclined to decline, I don't need a second upstart in my world."
"Your world," Lance repeats, with plenty of spite. "You make it sound so important. My god, what did you do to me now, Scott? Why are you pulling me into this mess? Of all the things I would have expected you to say, you let Brandon call Ash an upstart. Were you actually there when you met him? Did he look like an upstart to you?"
"I never said anything about an upstart-" the man answers, but Brandon cuts him off.
"I've met Ash before and I'm not planning on teaching a boy something dangerous, only for him to dart off somewhere and cause ruin to people. He doesn't think things through and I'm not ready to make someone so accident-prone any worse. That's exactly what I told Palmer when he came to me, asking for help with his son as well."
How the man isn't spontaneously combusting on the spot is nothing short of a miracle, Lance's stare could melt steel, so intense. None of the other Frontier Brains speak up, though Anabel is keeping a close eye on the Champion, who already noticed that. She's Scott's first line of defence, after all, she knows you'll get angry before you do.
"It's beyond me how you could compare two so different teenagers and shove aside their unique abilities under the doormat you call 'accident-prone', Brandon," he hisses. "You have no idea what you're talking about."
"Or so you say. All I know is that I value my own safety."
"At this point, I'm pretty sure any Riolu would be a better fit to teach my nephew about Aura," Lance says and doesn't miss how Greta turns to Anabel, silently mouthing 'nephew?' with a confused expression on her face.
He doesn't care much, though, if it keeps all the troublemakers away from Ash, the whole world is allowed to know they're this closely related. The man doesn't understand the trouble Brandon is talking about either, he's quite proud of the boy. But then again, he was there to see most of the improvements Ash has already made. He finds him to be good company too, but this might just be him again.
"Oh, really?" Brandon chuckles. "I can't wait to see that happen."
Lance turns around to leave after that and he doesn't look back on that messy situation. He thinks he just dodged a bullet, if this is how Brandon responds to someone not fitting into his norm of a proper student, he knows the man would never have been a good fit for Ash. And besides, who does Scott think he is? Acting like he's Ash's guardian? Also, the way Scott tried to convince him that he wanted Brandon as a teacher for Ash makes his skin crawl. It's been a while since he's encountered such blatant manipulation and he's not having it.
He knows Anabel likes Ash, he can't stop her from going to visit him. If Scott can find out Ash's current location, that is and with how paranoid dr. Lotus is, there's little to no chance of his nephew's location leaking out anywhere. He'll have a chat with Agatha about that too, Lance wants to avoid any kind of trouble near Ash now because it's the last thing the kid needs. In fact, the man steers straight towards the office he knows his colleague likes to hang around at. For all Agatha likes ghosts and silence, she's a social person as well.
"Fancy seeing you here," she says as they both spot each other at the same time.
"I wanted to talk to you," Lance answers and makes a beeline to go sit right next to her. "It's about Ash."
He's got her full attention now, but also that of a couple of others. Lucian and Will were trying to weird each other out again -something to do with quotes and guessing which book it came from- but the champion knows the youngest of the two is listening in. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to let him meet Ash in the future. It would certainly help Will not feel so lonely with his amazing psychic powers.
"Is there an issue?" Agatha asks.
"If you can call the entire Battle Frontier that, yes. Scott's gotten his eye on him and I don't like it."
"Whatever for?"
"He got it into his head that I wanted Brandon to be Ash's teacher," Lance answers, a bit hushed because he doesn't really want to broadcast Ash's abilities all over the pokémon league.
"In what?" the woman repeats, with obvious distaste. "Social awkwardness?"
He snorts in amusement and shakes his head.
"No, Aura."
"… Whatever in the world is Scott thinking? Riley would be a much better choice for Ash, at least he knows how to take a joke."
'Riley!' Lance thinks, getting a sudden epiphany. He knows he's got the lad's number laying around somewhere and yeah, he would be a great fit for Ash, Riley was able to work through Red's insecurities and revive his personality a little.
"That being said, I can hardly tell anyone the location of someone I don't know the location of," Agatha continues. "I've been meaning to ask, but you've made yourself scarce these days. I almost thought you were trying to hide from me."
"What? No, no, it's just… Ash hasn't moved, Agatha, things just happened that made his doctors keep him safe. It's why I want to keep these Frontier Brain buffoons away from him too."
"… Is that so?" she asks but doesn't ask him to elaborate, instead skipping to a more important question. "Is he okay?"
"Euh, yeah, I guess so. I suppose it's not easy trying to clean out a closet full of skeletons and I never thought a fourteen-year-old would have such a large closet. But it was overdue for a good rummage through, let me tell you that. The kid saw more criminals than me, for fuck's sake. He gave me a detailed description of Hunter J. a good hour ago and she's bad news."
"I know that," Agatha deadpans. "I also know that she moves quickly, why would you want a detailed description of her? You just told me he was upset and yet you ask him something like that?"
"Yeah, but the funny thing is, Ash doesn't think meeting Hunter J. is any worse than meeting any other person who dislikes him on sight. I'll never forget the face of that therapist when Ash called him out on sounding like Giovanni, it was priceless."
"How tragic," the elderly woman says. "It makes him sound much older than he is, the poor boy but… I take that he knows a bit more than he lets on?"
"Absolutely," Lance agrees. "And he'll tell you but only when you ask the right question. So, should you want to go and have a look, I could supply you with his exact location… on the sole condition that I have every right to come to bother you when I find you've leaked it. On purpose or not."
Agatha gives him a stern look and a part of him knows he should know better than this because she's an excellent judge of character but there are two others close by, who could possibly be a bit of a bother. That's why he doesn't speak up and passes her the information through an app only they can read. He knows he's being a bit paranoid but knowing that the boy had a connection with so many criminals, despite the fact Ash despises them and everything they stood for, it could bring troubles for them should the criminals get to know about the connection at all. Not that Lance thinks anyone would willingly try and fight the entire pokémon league just to get to Ash, but still, it's better to be careful. His explosive nephew has a good head on his shoulders and a couple of frighteningly strong abilities to back up whatever part one might find 'weak'.
The last thing he needs is Ash siding with an influential asshole but something tells him that it might not be so easy to get the kid to join something he's not convinced about. Nevertheless, he's the boy's guardian so he'll make sure that, even if he overdoes it, Ash will remain safe under his vigil. Lance might not be able to control his nephew, but he can stop others from doing it and that's exactly what he does.
Turns out he doesn't even need to call Riley, Lance bumps into him later that week, in a supermarket no less. The man looks out of place, but no matter where he's ever seen the somewhat younger man, he always seems like he doesn't fit in. That never seems to bother Riley, though, so he doesn't even ask. What he does do, is ask him if he's got a moment to talk.
"Sure, let me just finish my shopping first."
Lance isn't bothered by it, he still needs his groceries as well, but he is surprised to find Riley waiting at his car. Then again, he is kind of used to people running away from him.
"So, what do you need my help with?" the younger man asks, cutting to the chase as soon as Lance closes the back of the car.
"Are you still teaching kids?"
"Yeah, just running out of kids to teach. You wouldn't believe how many emotionally stumped kids reject their Aura before they even reach eleven. It's mad, Lance, I don't know what to do about it."
"Neither do I, but I might've found a student for you."
"Lead me to him."
"You don't want to hear more?"
"I know you well enough that you wouldn't approach me if you weren't serious," Riley answers and Lance wishes everyone had that kind of faith in him. "And I'm kind of bored too, so lead the way."
"Yeah, how about we meet back at Celadon Central? It's still four hours before visitor hours start."
"… In hospital? Not because of the Aura, I hope? Because if that's the case, you would be better going to Brandon, he's good at teaching-"
"No."
"… kids who encountered traumatic events after the use of their abilities?" the other finishes hesitantly. "Lance, what's the matter?"
"It's got nothing to do with his abilities, the kid just has Aura and I'm at a loss what to do because I knew his dad had it and didn't end up in a good place because he had all the wrong kinds of support," Lance answered, suddenly feeling a bit grumpy. "Having Brandon moan about upstarts and his life being more important than teaching someone he doesn't feel is worthy of his time is the last thing my nephew needs."
"Oh, so he was your first choice, wasn't he?"
"Scott decided that in my stead."
"… Okay? This is kind of weird, Lance, if the kid's dad isn't-"
"You know damn well why Red isn't available."
Riley's mouth forms a small 'o' but he doesn't make a sound. He watches Lance with weary eyes, as if unsure why the man is this grumpy.
"You haven't let go of Orre, have you?" the younger man asks instead, changing the subject to something that makes Lance even grumpier.
"I can't," he huffs. "Don't ask me to do the impossible."
"I'm not. Just checking you won't flip out on me when I refuse as well."
"Riley," Lance sighs, as he runs a hand over his face in annoyance. "Brandon never even met my nephew to decide on whether or not he wanted to teach him. He refused because of his experience trying to teach Palmer's kid."
"Huh? How does that make any sense?"
"It doesn't, except in Brandon's head."
"… Oh… Well, fine, I guess I'll see you at Celadon Central. Noon?"
"Half-past one, it'll give the kid a bit of time to finish his lunch."
Riley easily agrees and the man wonders if he's indeed that bored to just make plans as quickly as this. Then again, the current Aura users noticed the lack of new users and it kind of worried Lance as well. Ash isn't happy enough to ensure he won't reject his Aura too, but as far he knows, the boy has no hard feelings for the ability. Not even the psychic one he's somehow picked up along the way, which is remarkable enough. Will, who was born with the ability, still has a self-deprecating streak because of it.
Nevertheless, he's relieved to see Riley stand outside the hospital. He, again, sticks out like a sore thumb but then again, Riley seems to be able to spot him just as easily, as the younger man looks up from his transceiver at approximately the same time Lance spots him.
"Finally entered the twenty-first century?" he asks, motioning towards the device that seems relatively new and clashes with Riley's sense of style.
"Got it from a raffle a good year ago," the other answers with a shrug. "I still don't know what to use it for, other than to play games on it."
Looking at it from up close, it indeed doesn't seem cutting-edge technology but nevertheless, it a far stretch for someone who used the same payphone on the same street for years. Lance remembers he chucked Riley's number after the payphones were removed.
"You might want to add mine in it, just in case," he says and hands him a card.
Riley accepts it but looks at a loss on what to do with it. Lance leaves him be and starts walking into the hospital, figuring the other will follow him anyway. The nurse up front nods at him as he passes, she already knows who he is and who he is visiting, in fact, Lance is pretty sure she has already met Ash. The kid is way too good at getting to know all the right people but he seems just as apt at knowing all the terribly bad ones altogether.
"Ready?" he asks, his hand on the doorknob, while Riley stands a bit further from him, looking at him expectantly.
"I guess so, yeah. Just so you know, I hope this is worth my time, because I can't feel anything whatsoever. That's not normal for any kid."
Of all the things Riley could've said right in front of the door, this just had to be the worst one possible. Ash didn't even need any psychic ability to hear it, there was a huge crack under the door, big enough so that a small pokémon could wriggle its way underneath it. Which, according to a nurse, had already happened once or twice, when a pokémon from the garden somehow found their way into the hospital and tried to get to Ash that way.
"Don't say that right where the kid can hear it."
"He can't hear me here."
Lance doesn't want to bet on that at all but enters the room. He sees Ash perk up at the sound of the door opening and he can't help but smile widely at his nephew.
"Lance!" the boy exclaims in delight. "You're early."
"I know, I brought someone along for the ride."
"Riley!"
The man fights the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose but he brings up a hand to his face anyway. Where the hell did these two meet, then?
"Oh, hello, Ash. It's been a while," Riley says, nodding in greeting. "Still jumping in front of pokémon or…?"
The teen laughs sheepishly and Lance feels like he's already gotten his answer.
"So did you need to save him from getting his ass beat by a pokémon?" he asks, facing Riley but then turns to Ash. "-or was it you?"
"Both," the two said in unison and somehow, the man figures the two are a perfect match when it comes to characteristics.
"Right, well… Riley's here to help you with your Aura, Ash, though it's entirely up to him if he goes through with it or not."
"I know," Ash says and the younger man sighs.
"Sorry, I didn't think you would've heard. But I will help you, Ash, I know you mean well enough and if anything, you're a great kid."
"Aww, thanks, Riley. That means a lot, coming from you."
The man seems surprised but takes it in stride.
"Now, show me your Aura."
"Oh, okay," the teen says and reaches to grab something from the nightstand next to his bed. "Here you go," he adds and leaves whatever he grabbed in other's hand.
Riley stares at it with a dumb look on his face and Lance sees a glittery pink ball lay in his hands.
"… Why are you giving me this?"
"You wanted to see my Aura, didn't you?" Ash says and points at the orb. "That's it. Dunno why it changed into a ping-pong ball, but it did. It's a good one too."
The man bounced it as if he didn't believe the teen. He fumbles to catch it when it proves to be a very bouncy kind of ping-pong ball.
"Hot damn, Ash, how bored are you?" he asks and looks at Ash in disbelief when the boy chuckles. "Why are you laughing?"
"Sounds familiar. But, wouldn't you? I'm stuck here, I can't go anywhere."
The look Riley gives the remainder of the child's leg reminds Lance of a very bad experience and he looks away.
"I'm so sorry, Ash, I didn't mean to say that, I… God, this is very special."
"Thank you," the boy answers. "So, are you gonna teach me?"
"As well as I can, I mean, I'm confused. To make this," Riley starts as he holds up the ping-pong ball. "-you must have a terribly big reserve of Aura but I can't feel anything."
"No? Pokémon don't have any issue finding me, though. Pretty sure they use Aura too."
"They do, but I am not a pokémon. Pokémon can go to one location once and still find their way back years later. They make mental waypoints, people usually don't unless they're skilled in doing so. I'm not, on the contrary even."
"Maybe it's so big you can't make out the difference," Ash jokes but the look Riley gives him tell lance he took it deadly seriously.
"Or maybe you're so uncomfortable and nervous that you've put a vice grip on it so that you need specialised pokémon to find you," he answers.
"Maybe both?"
"… Maybe so, but I'm not sure. You can use it freely?"
"The spheres? Yeah, sure."
"Show me, please," Riley asks and looks stunned to find Ash can indeed call out a sphere, even if it's a tiny one. "Geez, I can't feel anything!"
"What is it supposed to feel like, then?" the boy asks and the sphere disappears quickly. "Maybe I can help you."
"It's a lot like… Well, you've probably seen a Hyper Beam from up close, haven't you?"
"Yeah."
"It's like that, only vertically so. The person is the base of the beam, while their power shoots up accordingly to have strong they are."
"… But… To see light, it needs to be dark, right?" Ash suddenly says and it even makes Lance frown. "I'm sorry, it's the vice grip," he adds. "Can that be fixed?"
"Whoa, whoa, how did you come to that conclusion so quickly?" Riley asks and looks from the man to the boy. "Ash? Is everything alright?"
"The special pokémon you mentioned, it… It became really dark when they wanted to find me."
The silence in the room was deafening and Lance wants nothing more than to leave. It's another part of Orre he brought along with him, his fear of the dark and whatever it was hiding in it. To hear Ash can't let go of it is worrying as well as sickening.
"None of it is your fault, Ash," he sighs as he lays a hand on his nephew's arm.
"I know. But it is what it is."
"True," Riley adds softly.
"So… The vice grip… Can that be fixed?"
"Yes, but it's going to take a lot of work. It's not going to be easy with your injury either, Aura doesn't like an incomplete body and it'll try and compensate."
"It's not going to grow another limb anywhere else, is it?" the boy asks with obvious disgust.
"No, but something you might, as you ease your hold on your Aura, are external signs. Subtle, though, most you will see is a change of colour somewhere. Most common is a lock of hair changing the colour of your Aura but it's not going to be prominent. At least, with you I figure it's not, you obviously don't want to be found."
"Not any longer, no."
"Can I ask… The one responsible for this…," Riley asks as he gently lays a hand on the boy's leg. "Do you think it found you through Aura?"
"Yes," Ash answers. "From far away. Like, really far away."
"I see…"
They have a bit more small talk and Riley gives the teen a bit of advice on how to self-meditate, as well as the promise to return the next day, at around three. Lance, who still feels a bit nervous, goes out first, but not without giving his nephew a good hug. When he exits the room, the other man sighs deeply but waits to talk until they're out of the hallway.
"What do you make of him?" he asks.
"He's got a good head on his shoulders, that much is sure. I like a person who can give you an answer with absolute certainty, after all, but he's special. Also, the colour, did you see that?"
"You mean, the ping-pong ball?"
"It was pink and gold, Lance."
"Yes?"
"It's never reported before, it's a new colour. A new colour with new, unfindable properties. A young boy at that. He's from a new generation of Aura users, Lance, he's a first," Riley says, a wide, enthusiastic smile on his face and his eyes shine accordingly.
"Which means?"
"That you have an amazing nephew. One who might help us learn how to find the others of this new generation of Aura users."
"As long as you don't involve Ash in things without asking me first, you're free to do whatever you want," Lance says and finds himself pleased that he's found a teacher for his nephew who has a much better opinion on him than Brandon could ever have.
"Of course not, I would never endanger the boy that way, he's too precious, oh, I need to research how to be able to feel his Aura. Or perhaps, it's like he says, maybe it's only visible for pokémon. Can I have pokémon in his room?"
"Pikachu was right on Ash's lap. Asleep, but he was there."
"Cool, I'll have Lucario out next time. So many possibilities, I like the sound of this, Lance."
"I'm glad you're looking forward to working with him. That being said, is there anything I can do to help him? If anything, I know that Aura acts like their host, so if he's got the Aura in a vice grip, he's not comfortable at all, right?"
"True, but it could have everything to do with his fear of being found, or his Aura trying to protect him. A severe leg is terrible news for Aura, I wasn't kidding when I said it could pose difficulties. But, if you feel like helping, there's nothing better than getting to know someone well enough so they can relax in your presence. As soon as Ash learns he can relax, it might be easier to get to him. That being said, it's possible that his Aura isn't meant to be found by humans at all. He's said it himself, he said that pokémon could find him"
"I'm glad you're listening to him. But, why not take a detour so I can show you exactly what he means by that?"
Riley gives him a strange look but follows him into the garden anyway. He's as good as smothered with pokémon who do recognise him for what he is and Lance watches on as the creatures leave him well enough alone. Although there's a Pidgeot staring at him and he's getting the distinct impression that it's staring at him for a reason. Perhaps, next time he's there, he needs to keep the window open. It's funny how the Pidgeot nods and flies off after he says that much to it and now Lance feels a bit weird because he doesn't know if this pokémon is Ash's or not.
He's still got a lot to learn and hearing his nephew was even weirder than Red or Riley himself, made him wonder if Ash would ever trust him as much as he obviously trusted his mother. Maybe he could bring Clair along next time, see if her enthusiasm could entice Ash to smile a bit more too. Nevertheless, the kid did fine with Riley, despite having met the man already. Not too long ago, the teen had been crying in his shoulder and if his shoulder wasn't available, Ash would just cry into the pillow with Pikachu hugged closely to his chest. All in all, it's been a good development and he can't wait to see if he can help the boy become the best version of himself.
End of chapter nine