Chapter 11
"Victory Road"
"Aashhaaa!!!"
…Oops. Almost forgot about her.
"Asha! You jerk!!" Mayo shouted as she caught up with us, "You weren't really gonna leave me in Pallet Town all by myself again, were you!?"
I blushed. "Of course not, Mayo……"
"Well, that's good! Cause I would have to hurt you badly otherwise!"
I laughed nervously.
"…Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, "Everyone's here, so let's go!"
"Uh…Right!" I said.
* * *
We hadn't gotten too far along to Viridian before night fell. I think the going was slow because there were so many of us……We set up camp, but it took a while for most of us to get to sleep…I wanted to be the last one asleep, but I was so tired…I don't know when I fell asleep, but I was one of the first ones…
* * *
'Ashura…'
'No way……Aren't you ever gonna leave me alone?'
'That's highly unlikely.'
'I was afraid of that.'
'…Do you have any idea of what you are trying to do?'
'…I'm not trying. I am going to become a Pokémon Master…No matter what!'
'Yes, I heard you the first time…'
'Then why did you ask me that question?'
'…Ashura, think about what you are doing. Pokémon cannot be Pokémon trainers. Especially not Mews.'
'Why not Mews? I used to be a human. I don't see why I have to be so different just because I evolved.'
'…Why can't you see, Ashura? Why is it so hard for you…?'
'……What are you talking about?'
'…Ashura, the reason you evolved is because you are different. You are different from the humans. Now your body has changed to prove it. You're better than them. You don't deserve to mingle with them. You have a power and an understanding much higher than they ever will. That is why you evolved, Ashura. Please listen to me…'
'………You're crazy.'
'Ashura…'
'No, I'm serious. You are crazy. I'm not any different from them. Sure, I may have evolved, but I'm still human on the inside. I'm not any specialer than they are…And…don't tell them I said this, but I know I'm not smarter than they are…That's for sure……'
'It's not about just that, Ashura……It's about what's in your heart……You've got something that no one else has……Accept that…and move on……You no longer need to become a Pokémon Master. You've already become something much greater…'
'………I don't care if that's true or not, but there's no way I'm gonna give up my dream, or my friends…No matter what you, or anyone else says.'
'……I will try again later…Good bye, Ashura…'
'Try as much as you want. It won't work.'
……
* * *
"Wake up, sleepyhead!"
Ugh…
"Get up, Ash," Misty said, "We don't have all day, you know."
I sat up. It seemed like I was also the last one awake…
"Did you have a good night's sleep?" Mom smiled.
Uh………I guess so.
"We should be able to reach Viridian by this afternoon," Brock announced.
Oh……
I wasn't too thrilled with that news……
"We…We won't stay too long," Mom said, "We have to get to Indigo as soon as possible anyway, right?"
"Right!" Misty said.
"Definitely…" Billie agreed.
…………Do you think we could avoid it altogether? I asked.
"Why would you want to do that?" Mayo asked.
……Let's just say……I don't think it would be a good idea to drop by…
"………We'll see what we can do," Brock said.
Thanks…
* * *
I could see Viridian City in the distance…but it didn't hold the same wonder for me that it had the first time I'd seen it…I'd been involved in too much at that city, and it would never be the same for me……
"So, Ash, what do you say?" Brock asked, "Should we go around?"
Uhmm……
"…I think I've heard of a shortcut to Indigo," Mom said, "It shouldn't take too long…We'll be there in no time…"
"Well……As long as your shortcuts are better than Ash's…" Misty said.
Hey!
"…Perrrrsiannn…"
'…Let's go for it…'
"Pikachu!"
'I say let's go!'
I nodded. All right…Let's go.
* * *
It took us some time to get around to Victory Road. Along the way, Mayo somehow managed to catch a Rattata…I'm still not quite sure how she did it……
Once we did reach Victory Road, everything became pretty straight forward…We just had to keep walking until we got to Indigo…and once we did……then the match could begin……
* * *
"Hey, Asha…Is that…?"
Is what?
"Well……Look!"
I looked…We'd reached Indigo Plateau……I felt a twinge of nervousness…I guess that was natural……I'd been nervous the first time I entered Indigo………but……
So I guess this is it…
"No, Asha…I mean…Doesn't that car look familiar?"
I looked where she was pointing. There was only one car in the parking lot…a red convertible……It did look awfully familiar……
Yeah, it does… I said.
"Ash! That's Gary's car!" Misty said.
Huh-? Oh yeah! It is, isn't it…?
"Yeah……He makes me sick…Driving around with those…cheerleaders……I don't know where he gets the money to pay them to follow him around…" Mayo said.
Geez…At least I don't have to pay you guys…
"Mew!!" I yelped as Misty brought a huge mallet down on top of me.
"Watch it, kid…You owe me a bike, remember?"
Yeah…I know… I said, rubbing my head.
"Let's go check in!" Richie said.
Um…Yeah…
Richie started to head for the trainers center, but he stopped and turned around.
"Aren't you going to…you know?…I think they'll get suspicious if we say you're here, but they don't see you anywhere…"
Uhh…Good point……
I Transformed into myself…again……I really didn't want to……It was too tiring…but they didn't know that…
…Everyone else was used to it by now, but I think Mayo was the only one that noticed my look of pain when I was done…
"…Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine…" I lied.
"……If you say so…"
* * *
"So you're ready to battle against the Elite Four?" the lady behind the counter asked.
"Yeah…" I answered.
"Okay. I'll let them know that you're here……You know the rules, don't you?"
"Uh…They're the same as a regular battle, right?"
"I guess that means no," she smiled, "Okay, you'll fight the four of them in a row, one right after the other. You're given an opportunity to heal your Pokémon between matches, but other than that, it's non-stop battling."
I think my heart skipped a beat…I felt the panic set in…I wasn't sure if it was wise to go through with this…
"How……long do these battles usually last…?" I asked, laughing nervously.
"Well…No one's ever gotten through all four of them, but I've heard some matches have lasted over an hour…"
…More than an hour…?
"Oh…Uh…Heh…That's……Um……Do you think…maybe…um…we could, uh……maybe…schedule the match for tomorrow?" I asked.
"I don't see why not," she said, smiling, "I'll let them know."
"Okay…Thanks……"
I turned away from that conversation feeling faint…
"Ash? Are you okay?" Mom asked in worry.
"Uh…Sure……I'll be fine……Let's go find a cabin, huh?"
"Hey! Ashy-boy!"
I'd recognize that voice anywhere…
It can't be……Not now!
"So you finally decided to show up!"
I didn't need to look at him to know it was Gary.
"I was starting to……"
I did look up finally, wondering why he had trailed off.
"May!!? What are you doing here!!!?" he exclaimed.
"I was gonna ask you the same question!" she retorted.
"I……! You should be at home!!" Gary told her.
"No I shouldn't! I already got my first Pokémon from Grandpa! See?"
She held up Eevee, so Gary could see it.
"Eee!" it said.
'Hi!'
"You got an Eevee!?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yeah!? What's wrong with that!?"
I was starting to remember why I hated having those two in the same room together……If there was only one person in the world who could make Gary mad, it was Mayo…and vice versa.
"But-!! You're not even ten yet!!!"
She's…!?
"You're not ten yet?" I asked in surprise.
I immediately wished I hadn't said anything. Nothing was worse than interrupting one of their arguments…
"Asha! Did you forget my birthday!?"
"No…"
The truth was, I had lost track of what day it was……
"Then…?? Well…Gary! I think nine and a half is old enough to begin Pokémon training!"
"You're just lucky Gramps is in charge of the Pokémon lab! No one else would ever trust you with taking care of a Pokémon!…Eh…Well, I'm through here. There's no point in hanging out with this bunch of losers. Smell ya later!"
He left in somewhat of a hurry……I guess it was a good thing Mayo was there. Gary never got a chance to take as many digs at me as he usually does.
"……So that was your brother?" Billie asked.
"Yeah…Lucky me." Mayo said sourly.
"…You two are nothing alike…" Billie reassured her.
She's actually a lot more like me……
That was kind of a scary thought, so I shoved it out of my mind.
"Um…Can we go now?" I asked.
"Yes, that would be a good idea," Mom agreed.
* * *
"You look nervous, Ash," Richie commented.
Don't I have a right to be nervous? I countered.
"Yeah…It's good to be nervous……but you don't want to psyche yourself out."
He had a point…but it was a little late to stop by then…
……Thanks, Richie, I said anyway.
"Don't mention it."
"………Asha?"
…Yeah?
"You think you're gonna win?"
…I hope so…
Mayo gave me a funny look.
"That's it? 'I hope so'…? You don't sound too confident, Asha…"
……I need to get some rest okay? I'll be more confident tomorrow. Good night.
Mayo laughed. "Whatever ya say, Asha…"
I drifted into the bedroom, found myself a bed, and started sleeping right away…