Hellu!
Sorry for the long wait but I have had the worst of writer's block and it's still hanging there. But now I'm done with the fifth chapter, go ahead and read =)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pikachu was so worried now that she could feel the cry in her throat. Ash hadn't said anything for what seemed nearly an hour.
She was still walking behind him and she could see how he was shaking of anger. Pikachu had never seen Ash this way before. The worst part was that she knew that she couldn't do anything to cheer him up, she doubted that she even dared to try. What was weird, though, was that it did seem as if Ash was trying to keep that anger inside him instead of trying to get rid of it.
Ash stopped walking and so did Pikachu, standing a meter or so behind him. His fists that had been clenched down his sides since that major outburst a while ago, were slowly unclenched and Pikachu could hear Ash sigh deeply. He turned around to face Pikachu. He had a sad smile on his face as he sat down on his knees.
"I'm sorry, Pikachu." He said.
Pikachu walked hesitantly towards him and she could see that he was slightly hurt to see that his Pokémon was afraid of him. She jumped down on her front paws and ran up to Ash's embrace.
"I'm really sorry, Pikachu. I won't scare you like that again." He said softly.
"Chuu," Pikachu purred happily.
Ash got up as he put Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Pikapi, chu pi pikapika kachu pikachupi?( Ash, are we going back to Tracey and Misty?)" Pikachu asked, frowning when Ash shook his head no.
"Pika? (Why not?)"
"I don't wanna see them now, Pikachu." He replied quietly.
"Pika chu ka pi? (You're not mad at them, right?)"
Ash kept on looking down at the road and didn't answer Pikachu's question.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder and stood infront of him.
"I don't know, okey?! I just. . .c'mon, she comes back and apparently they've been to Valencia Island for two weeks and for no good reason! They live together, they came here together. . . all of a sudden they're inseparable!"
"(Are you jealous, Pikapi?)" Pikachu asked slowly.
"What? - no. . . I don't know. I don't know anything anymore, Pikachu. I'm confused, it's like. . " he thought for something to compare it with, "No, wait, that's not a good comparasion. . . it's like - d'you remember that time when that professor on Seafoam Island was trying to figure out why Slowpoke and Shellder evolved together?" Ash asked.
Pikachu nodded, smiling slightly at the thought of her Pikapi trying to explain something and comparing it with a Slowpoke.
"I'm feeling just as that professor surely did, I know what's happening but I don't know why. It's like I'm surrounded by evolving Slowpoke's but I'm not able to see the connection between the Slowpoke and the Shellder." Ash said frustrated as he leaned tiredly on a tree.
". . .and my mom, she just. . ." he trailed off as he slided down to the ground, swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat.
Pikachu jumped up on his lap and looked up at him with her amber eyes. "(It'll be okey, Pikapi.)" she said assuringly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Do you think he'll be okey?" Misty asked as she and Tracey walked back to the Pokémon Center.
"Yeah, he'll be okey. He just needs time to understand." Tracey said.
"I've never seen him like that before. I mean, I know that he can have an awful temper but that. . . he was actually going to hit the professor." Misty said, shooking her head in disbelief.
They walked in silince for a while. Tracey kept his eyes focused on the road they were walking on, his thoughts taking him to a far away fantasy land.
"Tracey! Am I that boring?" Misty asked, stopping and crossing her arms. Tracey stopped as well and looked questioningly at her.
"I'm worried about Ash, can't we go and see where he went?" Misty asked.
"Misty, Ash will be okey. He's strong and all he needs and wants now is to be alone. He needs to sort out all this confusement he must feel by himself." Tracey said.
Misty sighed and stood still for a moment, "I know that he should be "sorting out" all those thoughts but you saw yourself. He has changed, and not to the better. He has the same huge ego he had when he first started out his journey, he's become aggressive again. Ash is not using this alone time to think, he's using it to feel sorry for himself and the reason he told us not to follow him was surely because he knows that I won't let him go around and do that." Misty said frustrated.
"You're probably right. Let's go." Tracey said as they started to walk rapidly back to where they had seen Ash go.
Tracey smiled, he didn't understand why he even tried to convince Misty not to do things when she had already made up her mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"(Pikapi, where are we going?)" Pikachu asked as she looked around, seeing small cottages surround them.
"Um, I dunno. I think this is some of the cottages the trainers live in, but it's not near our cottage." Ash said, looking around as well.
A group of guys caught Ash's and Pikachu's attention as they loudly entered the cottage area, drving big, black, MC's. Two of them didn't seem sobber enough to sit up on the backseat while the rest of them were practically yelling to be heard by the others. They passed by Ash and Pikachu but one of the rather sobber in the group stopped as he saw Ash.
"Heey! Seems like we a bro here, guys." He said as he turned towards Ash, meaning Ash's new outfit. Another guy walked up to Ash and put up his hand.
"Hey, s'up, bro? Me 'n my gang hasn't seen you around this place before." He said as Ash shook his hand.
"Um, this is the first time I've been here." Ash said.
"Judging by your clothes, y'seem to be one of us." One of the drunken one's said as he swayed infront of Ash, making him wrinkle his nose at the smell of alcohol that came out of the mans mouth.
"No, he's not." Said the other drunken one, "I've seen this dude before. He's just a wannabe. I saw him in the Johto League Tournament." He added.
"Man, are you trying to play us?!" said the first man angerly.
"I haven't said anything. You're the one who stopped to talk to me." Ash said tiredly.
"Is he giving us attitude? Are you giving us attitude?" said another man. Pikachu's cheeks started to sparkle as one of the drunken men came closer.
"That does it. A battle right here and right now." Said the first man and took out a pokéball from his pocket. Ash raised his eyebrows in surprise, what kind of weird people was this?
"Sure, anytime." Ash said, still surprised.
"Man, I'm gonna beat you so bad your ancestors will turn in their graves."
Ash didn't reply, he just let Pikachu run down his arm and jump down onto the ground, "Show me what you got." Ash said, waititng for the guy to release his Pokémon.
"Torkoal, go!" The Pokémon appeared in a cloud of smoke that it created.
"Pikachu, use your agility." Ash said as Pikachu sped off.
"What a joke. . . Torkoal, flame wheel." The man ordered.
"Double Team."
Pikachu was running so fast that it seemed like various Pikachus were surrounding Torkoal, making the fire-Pokémon very confused.
"Finish it of with a Thunder attack, Pikachu" Ash said easily. An electricity barrier started to form around Pikachu as it sparkled from her cheeks. She sent off at least ten thousand volts through her body, onto the Torkoal that was paralyzed and unable to move.
"I think you're beaten, Ben." Said a man that stood behind the defeated one. The man called Ben looked over his shoulder and just shook his head, "I think I know."
" 'ey, what's your secret?"
"Quick tacticts and good training." Ash said confidently.
"That's great man, be careful if you're gonna walk around here at this time of day. There's alot of bro's that are a bit more dangerous than we are." Said Ben as he and the other guys jumped back up on their MC's and drove off.
Ash nodded slowly as he saw them disappear around a corner.
"That was weird, Pikachu."
"(That's an understatement, Pikapi.)" Pikachu said as she ran up to Ash's left shoulder. Before deciding where to go, Ash looked around again and suddenly started to recognize the place as he saw the light come from the main stadium not so far away from there. He began to walk towards the cottages that were on their left side.
After a moments walk they were standing infront of the cottage they should be in, infront of the same cottage his mom was probably in.
"(Pikapi, what are we doing here?)" Pikachu asked softly as she saw how stern and cold Ash's face had turned.
Ash was about to reply when the front door was opened and Ash hidd behind big bushes that stuck out of the little garden that surrounded the cottage.
"Is it really a good idea for you to go out at this time of day?" Ash heard Brock say as Delia went carefully down the steps.
"Brock, I'm just going to look at the lovely flowers that are growing at the backyard." Delia responded kindly, "Come with me. I assure you that Sam is a wonderful cook and there's no reason to worry."
Brock sighed as he walked down the steps as well and gave a last look into the cottage. They disappeared behind the cottage and Ash exhaled loudly.
Ash and Pikachu walked into a little wood that was located right by the cottage. They walked in silince until they almost got burned by a flamethrower.
"Who's there?" A girl asked.
Ash identified the voice and sighed in relief, "It's me, May." He said calmly, walking out of the tiny wood and into the glade May was standing in.
He was surprised by a hug and so was Pikachu as she practically flew of Ash's shoulder and landed on the ground.
"Where have you been? I've been so worried!" May said as she let go of him. Ash was going to reply but May continued,
"And why didn't you wait for us after your battle?"
"I dunno, I met up with Tracey and Misty. . . " he began but stopped when he saw May frown and look sadly at him, saying "oh" as fast as she heard him mention Misty's name.
"What?"
"Nothing." May said shooking her head. Ash didn't feel as to dig much deeper in this matter so he changed the subject.
"What are you doing out here this late?" he asked.
"I ask the same to you. Or is this a part of your new style?"
Ash looked down at himself, everything he was wearing was black and somehow gave an illusion of superiority as if he tried to intimidate whoever dared to go against him. His new style. . . it kind of went against to most of the things he'd learned, it went against to most of the things his mother had taught him.
Instead of being an equal he tried to be a superior, instead of just using the knowledge he had in Pokémon training he had to brag about it. There were so many things he wanted to do and even though he denied it to himself, he knew deep down inside that he was doing this to show those who surrounded him, that he didn't really need them, that he could make it on his own. Or could he?
Ash's silence made May realize that she had hit a soft spot.
"I'm sorry, Ash. It's just that. . . this just doesn't seem to be you." May said.
He couldn't explain why, but he suddenly felt that her comment made him angry. There was a big part of him that told him that he was seriously getting ridiculous if that made him mad. But there was also a part that told him that he had every right to get mad, why should he let people tell him what to do? Why should they tell him who he was or who he should be? There were so many questions that were showing up now, questions he thought he would never have the need to answer, because he thought he knew who he was, he thought that people told him what to do because they wanted what was best for him.
Ash turned around and began to walk back into the woods while letting Pikachu run up his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" May asked, wondering what had made him so strange so sudden.
"I don't know. Probably somewhere I can train alone." He said, before disappearing into the woods and leaving May with her Torchic.
:::::*****::::::
While walking away from the cottage he collected all his thoughts and opinions and took a decision. He was going to win this tournament, but he was going to win it with the help of his Pokémon and his knowledge.
Letting others help would only lead to distraction and confusement, making it hard for him to reach his goal and become the Pokémon Master he wanted to be. Closing the doors into his world would make it harder for people around him to hurt him and the more he thought about it, the better it sounded and the more convinced he got that this was the right decision.
::::******::::::
Well, as you've probably read, this chapter is mainly about why Ash decided to change so sudden and has maybe given you some idea of what consequences this might have.
I hope that it won't take sucha long time for me to get the next chapter done.
Don't forget to review!
//////
Nikki
Sorry for the long wait but I have had the worst of writer's block and it's still hanging there. But now I'm done with the fifth chapter, go ahead and read =)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pikachu was so worried now that she could feel the cry in her throat. Ash hadn't said anything for what seemed nearly an hour.
She was still walking behind him and she could see how he was shaking of anger. Pikachu had never seen Ash this way before. The worst part was that she knew that she couldn't do anything to cheer him up, she doubted that she even dared to try. What was weird, though, was that it did seem as if Ash was trying to keep that anger inside him instead of trying to get rid of it.
Ash stopped walking and so did Pikachu, standing a meter or so behind him. His fists that had been clenched down his sides since that major outburst a while ago, were slowly unclenched and Pikachu could hear Ash sigh deeply. He turned around to face Pikachu. He had a sad smile on his face as he sat down on his knees.
"I'm sorry, Pikachu." He said.
Pikachu walked hesitantly towards him and she could see that he was slightly hurt to see that his Pokémon was afraid of him. She jumped down on her front paws and ran up to Ash's embrace.
"I'm really sorry, Pikachu. I won't scare you like that again." He said softly.
"Chuu," Pikachu purred happily.
Ash got up as he put Pikachu on his shoulder.
"Pikapi, chu pi pikapika kachu pikachupi?( Ash, are we going back to Tracey and Misty?)" Pikachu asked, frowning when Ash shook his head no.
"Pika? (Why not?)"
"I don't wanna see them now, Pikachu." He replied quietly.
"Pika chu ka pi? (You're not mad at them, right?)"
Ash kept on looking down at the road and didn't answer Pikachu's question.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder and stood infront of him.
"I don't know, okey?! I just. . .c'mon, she comes back and apparently they've been to Valencia Island for two weeks and for no good reason! They live together, they came here together. . . all of a sudden they're inseparable!"
"(Are you jealous, Pikapi?)" Pikachu asked slowly.
"What? - no. . . I don't know. I don't know anything anymore, Pikachu. I'm confused, it's like. . " he thought for something to compare it with, "No, wait, that's not a good comparasion. . . it's like - d'you remember that time when that professor on Seafoam Island was trying to figure out why Slowpoke and Shellder evolved together?" Ash asked.
Pikachu nodded, smiling slightly at the thought of her Pikapi trying to explain something and comparing it with a Slowpoke.
"I'm feeling just as that professor surely did, I know what's happening but I don't know why. It's like I'm surrounded by evolving Slowpoke's but I'm not able to see the connection between the Slowpoke and the Shellder." Ash said frustrated as he leaned tiredly on a tree.
". . .and my mom, she just. . ." he trailed off as he slided down to the ground, swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat.
Pikachu jumped up on his lap and looked up at him with her amber eyes. "(It'll be okey, Pikapi.)" she said assuringly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Do you think he'll be okey?" Misty asked as she and Tracey walked back to the Pokémon Center.
"Yeah, he'll be okey. He just needs time to understand." Tracey said.
"I've never seen him like that before. I mean, I know that he can have an awful temper but that. . . he was actually going to hit the professor." Misty said, shooking her head in disbelief.
They walked in silince for a while. Tracey kept his eyes focused on the road they were walking on, his thoughts taking him to a far away fantasy land.
"Tracey! Am I that boring?" Misty asked, stopping and crossing her arms. Tracey stopped as well and looked questioningly at her.
"I'm worried about Ash, can't we go and see where he went?" Misty asked.
"Misty, Ash will be okey. He's strong and all he needs and wants now is to be alone. He needs to sort out all this confusement he must feel by himself." Tracey said.
Misty sighed and stood still for a moment, "I know that he should be "sorting out" all those thoughts but you saw yourself. He has changed, and not to the better. He has the same huge ego he had when he first started out his journey, he's become aggressive again. Ash is not using this alone time to think, he's using it to feel sorry for himself and the reason he told us not to follow him was surely because he knows that I won't let him go around and do that." Misty said frustrated.
"You're probably right. Let's go." Tracey said as they started to walk rapidly back to where they had seen Ash go.
Tracey smiled, he didn't understand why he even tried to convince Misty not to do things when she had already made up her mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"(Pikapi, where are we going?)" Pikachu asked as she looked around, seeing small cottages surround them.
"Um, I dunno. I think this is some of the cottages the trainers live in, but it's not near our cottage." Ash said, looking around as well.
A group of guys caught Ash's and Pikachu's attention as they loudly entered the cottage area, drving big, black, MC's. Two of them didn't seem sobber enough to sit up on the backseat while the rest of them were practically yelling to be heard by the others. They passed by Ash and Pikachu but one of the rather sobber in the group stopped as he saw Ash.
"Heey! Seems like we a bro here, guys." He said as he turned towards Ash, meaning Ash's new outfit. Another guy walked up to Ash and put up his hand.
"Hey, s'up, bro? Me 'n my gang hasn't seen you around this place before." He said as Ash shook his hand.
"Um, this is the first time I've been here." Ash said.
"Judging by your clothes, y'seem to be one of us." One of the drunken one's said as he swayed infront of Ash, making him wrinkle his nose at the smell of alcohol that came out of the mans mouth.
"No, he's not." Said the other drunken one, "I've seen this dude before. He's just a wannabe. I saw him in the Johto League Tournament." He added.
"Man, are you trying to play us?!" said the first man angerly.
"I haven't said anything. You're the one who stopped to talk to me." Ash said tiredly.
"Is he giving us attitude? Are you giving us attitude?" said another man. Pikachu's cheeks started to sparkle as one of the drunken men came closer.
"That does it. A battle right here and right now." Said the first man and took out a pokéball from his pocket. Ash raised his eyebrows in surprise, what kind of weird people was this?
"Sure, anytime." Ash said, still surprised.
"Man, I'm gonna beat you so bad your ancestors will turn in their graves."
Ash didn't reply, he just let Pikachu run down his arm and jump down onto the ground, "Show me what you got." Ash said, waititng for the guy to release his Pokémon.
"Torkoal, go!" The Pokémon appeared in a cloud of smoke that it created.
"Pikachu, use your agility." Ash said as Pikachu sped off.
"What a joke. . . Torkoal, flame wheel." The man ordered.
"Double Team."
Pikachu was running so fast that it seemed like various Pikachus were surrounding Torkoal, making the fire-Pokémon very confused.
"Finish it of with a Thunder attack, Pikachu" Ash said easily. An electricity barrier started to form around Pikachu as it sparkled from her cheeks. She sent off at least ten thousand volts through her body, onto the Torkoal that was paralyzed and unable to move.
"I think you're beaten, Ben." Said a man that stood behind the defeated one. The man called Ben looked over his shoulder and just shook his head, "I think I know."
" 'ey, what's your secret?"
"Quick tacticts and good training." Ash said confidently.
"That's great man, be careful if you're gonna walk around here at this time of day. There's alot of bro's that are a bit more dangerous than we are." Said Ben as he and the other guys jumped back up on their MC's and drove off.
Ash nodded slowly as he saw them disappear around a corner.
"That was weird, Pikachu."
"(That's an understatement, Pikapi.)" Pikachu said as she ran up to Ash's left shoulder. Before deciding where to go, Ash looked around again and suddenly started to recognize the place as he saw the light come from the main stadium not so far away from there. He began to walk towards the cottages that were on their left side.
After a moments walk they were standing infront of the cottage they should be in, infront of the same cottage his mom was probably in.
"(Pikapi, what are we doing here?)" Pikachu asked softly as she saw how stern and cold Ash's face had turned.
Ash was about to reply when the front door was opened and Ash hidd behind big bushes that stuck out of the little garden that surrounded the cottage.
"Is it really a good idea for you to go out at this time of day?" Ash heard Brock say as Delia went carefully down the steps.
"Brock, I'm just going to look at the lovely flowers that are growing at the backyard." Delia responded kindly, "Come with me. I assure you that Sam is a wonderful cook and there's no reason to worry."
Brock sighed as he walked down the steps as well and gave a last look into the cottage. They disappeared behind the cottage and Ash exhaled loudly.
Ash and Pikachu walked into a little wood that was located right by the cottage. They walked in silince until they almost got burned by a flamethrower.
"Who's there?" A girl asked.
Ash identified the voice and sighed in relief, "It's me, May." He said calmly, walking out of the tiny wood and into the glade May was standing in.
He was surprised by a hug and so was Pikachu as she practically flew of Ash's shoulder and landed on the ground.
"Where have you been? I've been so worried!" May said as she let go of him. Ash was going to reply but May continued,
"And why didn't you wait for us after your battle?"
"I dunno, I met up with Tracey and Misty. . . " he began but stopped when he saw May frown and look sadly at him, saying "oh" as fast as she heard him mention Misty's name.
"What?"
"Nothing." May said shooking her head. Ash didn't feel as to dig much deeper in this matter so he changed the subject.
"What are you doing out here this late?" he asked.
"I ask the same to you. Or is this a part of your new style?"
Ash looked down at himself, everything he was wearing was black and somehow gave an illusion of superiority as if he tried to intimidate whoever dared to go against him. His new style. . . it kind of went against to most of the things he'd learned, it went against to most of the things his mother had taught him.
Instead of being an equal he tried to be a superior, instead of just using the knowledge he had in Pokémon training he had to brag about it. There were so many things he wanted to do and even though he denied it to himself, he knew deep down inside that he was doing this to show those who surrounded him, that he didn't really need them, that he could make it on his own. Or could he?
Ash's silence made May realize that she had hit a soft spot.
"I'm sorry, Ash. It's just that. . . this just doesn't seem to be you." May said.
He couldn't explain why, but he suddenly felt that her comment made him angry. There was a big part of him that told him that he was seriously getting ridiculous if that made him mad. But there was also a part that told him that he had every right to get mad, why should he let people tell him what to do? Why should they tell him who he was or who he should be? There were so many questions that were showing up now, questions he thought he would never have the need to answer, because he thought he knew who he was, he thought that people told him what to do because they wanted what was best for him.
Ash turned around and began to walk back into the woods while letting Pikachu run up his shoulder.
"Where are you going?" May asked, wondering what had made him so strange so sudden.
"I don't know. Probably somewhere I can train alone." He said, before disappearing into the woods and leaving May with her Torchic.
:::::*****::::::
While walking away from the cottage he collected all his thoughts and opinions and took a decision. He was going to win this tournament, but he was going to win it with the help of his Pokémon and his knowledge.
Letting others help would only lead to distraction and confusement, making it hard for him to reach his goal and become the Pokémon Master he wanted to be. Closing the doors into his world would make it harder for people around him to hurt him and the more he thought about it, the better it sounded and the more convinced he got that this was the right decision.
::::******::::::
Well, as you've probably read, this chapter is mainly about why Ash decided to change so sudden and has maybe given you some idea of what consequences this might have.
I hope that it won't take sucha long time for me to get the next chapter done.
Don't forget to review!
//////
Nikki