Saffron City

A week after Ash & Sabrina said goodbye to their deceased Pokémon, and began their journey with the shuppets, Sabrina was starting to react strangely. She was starting to talk in a monotone voice, and would sometimes space out for hours on end. Ash noticed she was eating less, and it was making her weak, although she wouldn't admit it. When she battled, she showed little to no feeling when facing other trainers, and showed a complete lack of consideration towards the opponent Pokémon. If that wasn't strange enough, she was talking to Ash with their psychic link more often during battle. This was mentally draining for Ash, more so because he could 'feel' her losing herself, and tried his hardest to prevent that from happening.

He watched in shock as she won battle after battle, not through her own trainer ability, but by using the psychic abilities. She would read the opponent before the battle commenced, getting an idea of the strategy and Pokémon they would use. She would use that to her advantage, selecting Pokémon and moves that would best counter the opponents. When the Pokémon would faint, she would continue the battle, injuring the Pokémon beyond healing.

Sabrina's strange behaviour was starting to worry Ash, so he decided he would talk to her farther about it. He needed to explain to Sabrina's father what was playing on his mind and, as he was starting to anchor more and more on Sabrina, he was noticing that she was starting to withdraw even from him a little. This was a disastrous problem for them both- if the bond between them was severed, they could lose complete control of their powers.

Sabrina told Ash one evening that she was planning to spend the next couple of days training in the grasses near the city, and not to expect her around often. Ash tried to start a conversation on how her training was going, but she walked to her tent silently and went to bed. Ash knew this would be the only chance he would get to talk to her dad, so he temporarily put a block on Sabrina accessing his thoughts.

Ash & Sabrina's Dad

Ash sat down on the slightly worn, but comfortable couch in the family residence. Sabrina's dad had made a pot of tea and set it down in the table. Ash quietly thanked him and poured himself a cup. Sabrina's dad at opposite Ash, and after a slight pause, asked why Ash had turned up unexpectedly.

"So Ash, why have you come to see me?" Sabrina's dad questioned, studying the young boy before him.

"I'm worried about Sabrina. She and I recently lost a Pokémon and she doesn't seem to be taking it well" Ash explained, his voice barely above a whisper.

"How so?" he asked, slightly confused.

Ash drew a sharp breath and cleared his throat. He stared at the steaming cup of amber coloured tea in his hands.

"Well Sir, she's starting to reject my anchor. She is also starting to use her powers more, and retracting form me, my mom, and maybe you too. She barely talks to me now, and when I do get any conversation out of her, she is devoid of emotion, and her voice has changed…. It sounds almost monotone. On top of all of that, I think she is starting to misuse her powers. We made an agreement a while ago to only use the powers when it was absolutely necessary, such as when we are fighting Team Rocket. But she has started to use her powers to read her opponents during battles. Aside from Sabrina breaking a huge promise to me, I'm scared that she will drain herself mentally and end up injured in some way". Ash gulped the tea to stop himself from crying.

Sabrina's dad sighed deeply. He knew Sabrina was an emotional girl, but he never imagined something like this could happen to his little girl. He knew what Ash would have to do to bring Sabrina back, but he wanted that to be a last resort.

"Are you sure Ash? This could mean that the two of you will have to battle, and you will have to win. However, that's a last resort. Try to make her show emotion. If you don't, she could be consumed by the grief and her powers. Ash, I'm counting on you. Don't lose her. Please, she's all I have left since my wife was lost to her own powers, and put into hypnotic sleep. I cannot have my daughter suffer the same fate". Mr. Natsume put his head in his hands and sobbed.

"Don't worry Mr. Natsume, I'll bring her back" Ash said bravely, before getting up to leave. Ash thanked Sabrina's dad again for the tea and let himself out. He could still hear the sobbing as he walked down the road.

He made a stop to the pokemart, to stock up on potions and other essentials he would need on the road, before heading to the Pokecenter, to ensure his Pokémon were in tip-top condition. While his Pokémon were being checked over, he meditated and removed the psychic block. He checked on Sabrina, to see how she was doing, which was becoming increasingly difficult as she tried to push him away. He felt her psychic presence around where she said she would be, so he relaxed a little. Shortly after, he collected his Pokémon, and decided to get a few hours of training in before dinner. It was Sabrina's turn to cook that night, but he brought some ingredients in case she didn't feel up to preparing the meal.

That night, Sabrina didn't return until way beyond dark. By which time, Ash had already cooked, eaten and headed his tent to get some rest. He felt Sabrina approach, and hoped she would notice that he had left some food for her. After a few minutes, he heard her open the container and eat the food. He was glad that she had at least eaten that today.

The next few days were largely uneventful. It was the same cycle; the two friends would go their separate ways to train, Ash would return in the evening and prepare a meal, taking care to make sure it would be something Sabrina could eat cold, then he would go to his tent and try to rest, waiting until he could feel Sabrina returning.

A few days later, Ash suddenly felt his psychic anchor break, and he was having a hard time controlling his powers. He was careful to stay close to the campsite, and he avoided battling, for fear of losing control. That night, he didn't prepare dinner, but instead concentrated on meditating, and making a back-up plan. He drifted off to sleep, and contacted Ralts, who he had released from her ball. He began to ask the small psychic/fairy type for help to control his powers and to absorb any psychic energy that was overflowing from his body (due to losing his anchor). He knew he would not be disturbed doing this, as Sabrina had mentioned that she was going to town to pick up some last minute supplies for their journey.

Seeing such trust by her trainer, Ralts was surrounded by a bright white light and began to change from the 1.06 inch's Ralts, to 2ft .11 inch's Kirlia. This was strange because it was rare for a Pokémon to evolve past its average height, which for Kirlia's is 2.07 inches. Ash's Kirlia was more or less the average size of a young human child.

Shortly before they were due to depart, something happened that would send shockwaves through both Ash's and Sabrina's lives, one that would send Sabrina on a one-way disaster path, throwing away her life as she knew it, for a life of unpredicted craziness and anguish. Sabrina and Ash were taking the tents down when they heard an earth shattering bang. It was coming from the town. Both Ash and Sabrina raced towards the sound and what they saw horrified them. Sabrina's home, the Saffron City Gym had been attacked. They didn't recognise the thugs, but they had a feeling that it could be a secret side of Team Rocket. Rumours had been floating around recently about this organisation, that were connected to Team Rocket, but were far more ruthless. They were gaining a reputation of violence and many not-so-minor crimes. Only the elite four, the gym members and the champion (including Red and Blue) knew of the actual existence of this organisation.

The media dubbed this mysterious group as 'Dark Rockets', and it was noted that there were two main differences between these and the main Team Rocket group. Firstly, these people wore pitch black uniform, and the second, they would not hesitate to eliminate anyone who stood in their way.

Sabrina and Ash watched in horror as the Gym was reduced to a smouldering pile of rubble, people that Sabrina had grown up with were screaming for help, as they were slowly burned alive, trapped in the rubble. Residents tried to help the suffering, but any that got close were violently mauled by Dark Rocket's Pokémon. Many lay wounded or dead, their blood seeping onto the gravel and soil, turning them various shades of red. Sabrina then noticed her dad was surrounded by Pokémon, waiting on the call from their masters, to devour the man.

Ash barely had time to register the massive psychic pulse as Sabrina broke not only Ash's anchor, but her own as well. All of the Dark Rockets lay unconscious, and their Pokémon let out a few weak cries before dying. Sabrina opened her eyes and saw the destruction she had caused. She burst into tears and ran towards the camp, leaving Ash standing there, bewildered. As the police arrived, Ash took his leave and took a slow, numb walk to the campsite. He tried to comprehend what he just saw, and absorb it. He managed to set up a weak anchor with Kirlia again, who had suffered as well, from the psychic shock.

When he reached the half deconstructed campsite, Sabrina was there, rocking back and forth, in the foetal position. She was humming between sobs. Ash sat next to her, and drew a breath. Before he had a chance to talk, Sabrina sat up straight and stared at Ash. Her expression was blank, and in her cold, emotionless voice, whispered to Ash, "I've lost. The powers win".

To be continued.

A/N That was darker than planned, but this story writes itself I am just the medium. My story will hopefully focus on ash and Sabrina's struggles with their powers, and not so much on their gym challenge, but I have a surprise planned for later on in the story.

Now to explain some key words that will be in this story.

Psychic Anchor: A Bond made by a psychic to another psychic or psychic Pokémon to control a psychics power.

APD: It's an abbreviation for Anguish Power Disorder. This develops in psychics that have a lot of power and experienced a lot of bullying and anguish. It makes the psychic unable to control their power properly when sleeping or knocked out and thus must carry a psychic dampener.

Psychic Dampener: A Devise that blocks most psychic signals to and from psychics within the 5-metre field.