"Well Ash, you were right. It's big," Gou said, staring in front of the towering building with his hands in a gust. "Just as big as the previous ones"
They had finally found their way to the Stow-on-Side Gym and were now looking at it in front of it. The Gym itself was very much reminiscent of previous Gyms, though it was perhaps a little smaller than the Motostoke Gym.
Serena looked at the Gym with her head tilted and said, "Do you feel the Gym is a little... spooky?" Somehow she didn't like the look of it and it made cold shivers run down her spine.
"I don't think so," Gou replied, turning to look at Ash, who had been strangely quiet for the past couple of hours. "I think it looks like the ordinary Galar Gym. Right, Ash?"
"What?" Ash said distractedly and Gou shook his head a little irritated. "What's bothering you? You've been strangely quiet for the last couple of hours. You don't seem like yourself."
"I'm fine," Ash said, turning slowly in the direction of Gou. "I was just in my thoughts, that's all"
That was true. When Ash had finally realized his own feelings for Serena a couple of hours ago, his mind hadn't let go of the thought for a moment. He was suddenly well aware of what Serena smelled (strawberries), how her eyes sparkled beautifully, and how she used to move the honey-blonde hair curl away from her face. These little things made Ash's heart pound hard on his chest and he kept thinking about how, where and when he could confess his feelings to Serena.
Gou stared at Ash and this grinned slightly. He had not known that there were thoughts that made Ash Ketchum so quiet. Then he sighed, giving up and said, "What if we just went inside?"
"Yeah, good idea," Ash said immediately and set off to march toward the main door of the Gym. "Ash, wait!" Serena exclaimed and also headed for Gym's door. Gou stood still for a moment, watching his two friends go and then went after them, shaking his head.
They reached the door and Ash pulled the door open. They stepped in and to their surprise, there was almost complete darkness in front of them. Only the light flooding from the doorway illuminated the slightly dark interior and it occurred to them if the Gym was no longer even in use.
"Um... Hello?" Ash said a little hesitantly as they stepped a little further out the door and Pikachu's, sitting on his shoulder, cheeks sparkled a bit and the sparks shed a little light into the otherwise dark Gym. "Is anyone here?"
However, they were answered only by an unnatural feeling of silence and Ash really began to feel that the Gym had been abandoned. He was not the type, however, who gave up so easily, so he said in a brisk voice, "Gym Leader Allister? I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I want to challenge you to Gym battle. So how is it?"
He listened for a moment to hear the answer, but heard nothing but silence. He was so focused on trying to find some sound in this spooky place that it was getting a heart attack when he felt someone put their hand on his shoulder.
He turned around at lightning speed to see which bogey had touched him, but only saw Serena's fearful face in the light coming from the doorway. She had put her hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Ash, let's get out of here. I don't like this place, it makes cold shivers run down my spine."
"Yeah, I agree with Serena," said Gou, trying not to show that he was scared. "While this is a Ghost-type Gym, now it's a little too ghostly"
"Pika..", Pikachu also said and Ash nodded without saying a word. In addition to the Gym's spooky atmosphere, he was now very aware of Serena's intimacy and those things made his heart pound in his chest, albeit in a slightly different way. He felt the strawberry scent in Serena's hair on his nose and he had some instinctive feeling to protect the girl, even though he knew Serena was very capable of defending herself all by herself.
"Yeah, let's get out of here," he finally said and Serena, Gou, and Pikachu nodded and turned to walk to the door.
But before any of them took a step, the gym door slammed shut in front of their eyes and pitch-black darkness fell inside.
Serena screamed and squeezed Ash from his shoulder. Pikachu exclaimed, "PIKA!" and his cheeks sparked with electricity. Gou and Ash exclaimed in horror and they all moved very close to each other and trembled in fear.
"Who did it?!" exclaimed Gou and Serena said, trembling and squeezing Ash's shoulder, "Rather what did it!"
"It was probably just some Pokemon, not that stranger," Ash said, trying to sound convincing but not quite successful. He had a bad feeling that the door had been slammed shut by someone else.
Suddenly, Chandelure-like lamps on the walls of the Gym lit up on their own and illuminated the Gym with their dim, purple light. The eyes of the trio plus Pikachu looked at this in horror and Serena whispered, "I feel like there haunted here."
Ash and Gou nodded and looked horrified. And none of them noticed that a small figure appeared silently behind them, next to who Gengar chuckled.
"Hi," the character said quietly, but still very audibly and Ash and his partners were now really close to having a real heart attack. They turned around at lightning speed and saw someone whose face looked like an expressionless death mask, standing in front of them and a big Gengar rising threateningly behind the character.
"Arghh!" Serena screamed and Ash exclaimed, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" "Pika!" exclaimed Pikachu, jumped into the air from Ash's shoulder and sent a familiar electric discharge towards Gengar and that strange, faceless person.
However, it never hit them, as Gengar's eyes shone brightly for a moment and it used them to move Pikachu's blow away from them.
"What?!" Ash exclaimed as he watched in amazement as Pikachu's Thunderbolt was wiped out. Pikachu landed in amazement on the ground in front of him and his cheeks sparked and it said firmly, "Pika!"
"P-please, d-d-don't," the character in front of them said quietly and stammering. There was no emotional state visible on his expressionless face. "I d-don't want a-anything bad"
"Then why did you scare us almost to death?" Gou asked a little angrily and stepped forward a little. The expressionless character looked startled and stepped back in fright. "Who you even are and what do you want?"
"I-I'm Allister," the figure said, and stepped hesitantly forward slightly so that the lamps' dull violet light better lit up his face. "I'm this Gym's L-Leader. And this is my Gengar"
"Gengar," said Gengar and Ash was stunned. "Are YOU Allister?!" he exclaimed and Allister nodded very slightly. "T-that's right," he said, and there was still no emotion on his face.
Allister was short, but roughly their age. He had black hair coming to his face and he walked a little bowing. In the light of the lamps, they noticed that his face was covered with a white, expressionless mask, and it did not reveal at all what his real face was like.
He wore a black-purple, wide- and long-sleeved shirt, shorts of the same color that stayed on him with white suspenders, and white, long boots-looking shoes. Three Pokeballs were attached to peculiar holders on both of his hips and he had a purple glove on his left hand. He had very pale, almost white skin and Ash felt that Allister was not happy to spend his time in the sun.
Serena took her grip on Ash's shoulder and looked at Allister with her hands on her hips. "Listen, Allister, this wasn't a very good joke to me," she said sharply, and Allister was startled by her sharp tone of voice and looked a little scared.
"I-I'm sorry, I did not m-mean to scare y-you," he stammered. "I-it was G-Gengar's idea. I tried to stop, b-but he d-didn't listen. I'm sorry," He bowed to them and the trio looked at each other.
"Well, now when I think about it, it was pretty exciting," Ash said, scratching his head and Allister raised his head. "Yeah, like that fresh breeze," Gou said too and Serena nodded as well.
"R-really? I'm glad you a-are not too angry with m-me," Allister said quietly and then quietly walked past them. "Shall w-we go? I guess you wanted to c-challenge me?" he turned to ask and Ash nodded.
"Yeah, that's right," he said with a grin and Allister nodded slightly and set out to lead them with Gengar forward, silently like a ghost.
They walked along a dimly lit hallway and soon arrived at the battlefield. It was almost exactly the same as the previous fields and was lined with an auditorium. The field was lit brighter than the rest of the Gym, but as bright as the Motostoke Gym, for example, it was not.
Walking to the edge of the field, Ash realized one thing. "Um... Allister? Who is the referee? I haven't seen any employees here yet," he said, looking at the Gym Leader questioningly.
"I wonder the same, is there even anyone else here than you?" Serena also asked and Gou and Pikachu also looked at Allister questioningly.
Although it wasn't seen because of Allister's mask, somehow they felt like Allister blushed a little embarrassed. "Yes, there is, but Gengar happened to scare them half-dead yesterday. I sent them home to recover," he said quickly and without stuttering and the trio looked at him in disbelief.
"Who the idiot come to work at a Ghost-type gym if they know their nerves can't stand it?" asked Gou in disbelief and Ash exclaimed, "Well who then is the referee for me?!"
His gaze moved towards Gou, but this one shook his head as he realized what Ash meant and said, "I can't, it would be biased. And Serena can't either."
"Well, who then?" Ash huffed, spreading his hands and looking back at those in the room. They didn't seem to know the answer and Ash's mood dropped.
"I can," suddenly there was a voice behind them and they turned in surprise to see who had spoken. They saw someone walking down the shadowed corridor with something in their arms and as the character got closer, they recognized the newcomer as Marnie holding her Morpeko in her arms.
"Marnie!" exclaimed Ash and smiled happily to hear that she could serve as referee. "Nice to see you again!"
"Yeah, but where did you leave the two weird guys who followed you?" Serena asked when she noticed that Marnie was coming alone now and those weirdly dressed guys weren't with her. "I thought they were following you everywhere"
"It doesn't matter, they'll find me if they're smart enough," Marnie said smirking and then turned to Ash and said, "I can judge the match for you if you want, if it's allowed"
"Is that it, Allister?" Serena asked and Allister nodded. "It's not forbidden," he said, and Ash, whose mood had suddenly risen and much, exclaimed, "Great! What are we still waiting for here? Let's get started!"
(A/N: I'm sorry, if something is not quite true. I'm not the best to write the battles.)
Ash and Allister settled at both ends of the field and Marnie walked to the middle of the field. Serena and Gou went to the auditorium and Marnie put Morpeko on the ground, where it stood beside her. Then she looked at both Ash and Allister and asked, "Ready?"
"Yeah," Ash said firmly and Marnie nodded and turned to look at Allister standing at the other end of the field. "How many Pokemon do you usually use?" she asked and Allister replied, "Four."
Marnie nodded again and then spread her hands up. "This is a four vs four battle between Gym Leader Allister and challenger Ash. The winner is the one whose Pokemon is last standing. Begin!"
Ash listened as Marnie explained the rules and happened to glance in the direction of the stands. He saw Serena and Gou sitting in some seat and when Serena noticed Ash's gaze, she raised her thumbs up and formed silently in her mouth words, "Go on, Ash!" and smiled broadly.
Serena's act made Butterfrees flutter in Ash's stomach and he suddenly felt the silver necklace weigh heavily in his pocket. He felt his thoughts start to slip from the starting match somewhere else and he probably had to for the first time ever tell himself to focus on the match instead of thinking about possible ways to confess his feelings to Serena. And when Marnie then said, "Begin!" he was not immediately aware of the battle
"Yamask, your time has come," Allister said, throwing one of his Pokeballs into the air. A small Ghost-type Pokemon appeared in front of him, but Ash found, a little confused, that it didn't resemble a regular Yamask.
"Your Yamask is different than usual," he said confused and Allister nodded. "It is Galarian Yamask," he said, and Ash said, "Galarian Yamask, huh." He took out his Rotom and scanned Yamask with it:
"Yamask, Spirit Pokemon and Galarian form. Ground and Ghost-type. It said that this Pokémon was formed when an ancient clay tablet was drawn to a vengeful spirit"
Ash put his Rotom away and then picked up one of his Pokeballs. "Okay then. Corviknight, I choose you!"
He threw a Pokeball into the air and a large steel raven appeared in front of him with a low growl. It was not clear from Allister's mask-covered face what he felt when he saw Ash's Pokemon. Instead, he said quietly, "Yamask, use Hex"
Serena watched as Ash responded with Corviknight to Allister's move and she thought she never got tired of watching Ash battling. She felt a silly grin spread across her face and knew her cheeks were red.
"When did you think to confess to him?" there was a teasing voice beside her and Serena tore herself away from her dream world. She turned her head and saw Gou grin teasingly at her.
"I... what do you mean, I don't.." Serena muttered, blushing more and avoiding looking Gou in the eye. Gou sighed.
"C'moon Serena, it's obvious you like Ash," he said and Serena knew her cheeks were shining bright red. "That's why I'm asking when you're going to tell him your feelings."
"I... I don't know," Serena said honestly, turning her gaze to look at the battlefield again. She knew she should do it soon, before it was too late again, and she sighed a little. "The thing is, Ash is so hopelessly dense that he certainly doesn't even know what I mean. Besides, he probably doesn't even like me that way."
"Well, I wouldn't say so," Gou stated intuitively. Serena turned to look at him, confused. "What do you mean?" she said and Gou smiled and explained, "Have you seen how he looks at you? And how has he happened to blush near you? Serena, I feel like Ash clearly feels something towards you, but just hasn't figured it out himself"
"Really?" Serena whispered and Gou nodded. Then he turned to watch the match again and Serena wondered what she had just heard.
Could that really be true? What if Ash really felt something other than friendship, something more, towards her? Her hand searched for her blue ribbon and she felt a smile spread across her face. After all, Ash Ketchum didn't seem to be as dense as she thought!
Corviknight managed to defeat Yamask and Allister sent his next Pokemon to replace him.
It was Mimikyu and in the stands Serena took out her Rotom. "I have never seen that Pokemon before," she said, scanning Mimikyu with it:
"Mimikyu, Disguise Pokemon and Ghost and Fairy type. It wears a rag fashioned into Pikachu costume in an effort to look less scary. Unfortunately, the costume only makes it creepier"
"It doesn't look very scary to me," Serena muttered, but Gou hissed her to be quiet. "Let's see what happens to Ash," he said and Serena nodded.
The match didn't end well, at least not for Ash. Mimikyu somehow managed to beat Corviknight and Marnie declared, "Corviknight is unable to battle, so the winner of this round is Mimikyu!" If Allister hadn't been wearing a mask, they would have seen him grin very little.
Ash returned Corviknight back to its ball and stuffed its ball perhaps a little too harshly into his belt. At the same time, he picked up a new Pokeball, threw it in the air, and exclaimed, "Lucario, it's your turn!"
The dog-like Aura Pokemon appeared in front of Ash and blinked around in a little wonder. Soon it realized it was on the battlefield and its look changed to be satisfied. Soon he will be able to battle! But then it happened to glance at its opponent and its contented look disappeared immediately.
"Are you crazy, Master!?" it cried out through of Aura. "I'm the Fighting-type Pokemon and that Mimikyu is a Ghost-type! My moves won't not affect!"
Gou had come to the same conclusion. "What the heck Ash is doing?! He sends a Pokemon into the match that doesn't even scratch his opponent!" he exclaimed and Serena said, "It's Ash, so you can expect anything from him," though she didn't sound completely convinced either.
Ash blinked as he realized this, too, and shook his head. Why didn't he focus now? What bothered him? He felt the necklace weigh in his pocket again and his thoughts on the match slipped again. No! Now you focus! he commanded himself. You thought about it after the match!
"Quick Master, switch me to other Pokemon," Lucario said and Ash nodded. He picked up Lucario's Pokeball and was just going to call it back, but never had time to do it.
"Mimikyu, use Shadow Ball," Allister instructed his Pokemon and this formed a dark ball and threw it towards Lucario. This made blue Aur stick with which it tried to fight it, but there was no use of it.
The ball hit Lucario in the stomach and made it bend forward. Allister quickly told Mimikyu to do a few more attacks and Ash tried to dodge them by telling Lucario to do a few Aura Spheres. However, they did not affect and hit Mimikyu without making any trace on it.
"Mimikyu, Shadow Sneak," Allister instructed, and Mimikyu's eyes shone dark for a moment and it created a shadow version of itself that dissolved on the floor of the field and disappeared into the shadows.
"Lucario, be careful. It can strike from anywhere," Ash said and Lucario watched vigilantly from the field floor. Because the field was full of shadows anyway, the shadow version of Mimikyu easily hid among them, and Lucario didn't spot it so easily.
Lucario stood in the middle of the field and tried to sense the shadow-Mimikyu's Aura. Of course, it didn't work, because there was no Aura in the shadow, and Lucario was annoyed to give up that tactic. He squeezed the Aura stick in his right paw, even though he knew it was of no use against Mimikyu, and waited for where and when Mimikyu's shadow would strike.
As Lucario just stared in front of it, it did not notice the shadow hand rising from the shadows behind it. Ash had time to see it, but didn't have time to react to it after the shadow hand had already hit Lucario in his back of the skull.
Lucario fell forward from the force of the blow and the Aura stick in its hand flew into the air and crumbled into countless little Aura crumbs. Mimikyu's shadow, on the other hand, hadn't stopped yet, and it set off toward Lucario, who was lying on the ground and seemed half-unconscious.
Ash watched this and inside him began to grow again the same irritation he had felt when he battled Melissa at the time. His hands clenched into fists and he shouted, "Lucario, get up!"
In the auditorium, Serena noticed that Ash didn't seem to be himself, and she said worriedly, "Gou, what's bothering Ash? It's as if he's losing his self-control." Her right hand squeezed again her blue ribbon, as always when she was nervous or worried.
"I don't know, but it doesn't look very good," Gou replied and they both looked worried at Ash, who wasn't acting on his own now.
In the field, Lucario turned to his back, and Allister said, "Mimikyu, now." Having said that, the shadow version of Mimikyu struck and hit Lucario so that it flew a short distance on the ground and then lay down on the ground and familiar spirals appeared in its eyes.
"Lucario is unable to battle, so the winner of this round is Mimikyu!" declared Marnie and Ash returned Lucario silently on its ball. Serena and Gou watched him quietly and Serena hoped that Ash would somehow get the direction of the match reversed.
Ash got the direction of the match reversed, at least for a while. He sent Pikachu to replace Lucario, and Pikachu defeated Mimikyu, and Allister replaced Mimikyu with a Pokemon not seen by Ash before.
"Cursola, your turn," Allister said as he threw the Pokeball into the air and a Pokemon appeared in front of him, well described by the word "ghost." Ash looked interested to see it and scanned the Pokemon on his Rotom:
"Cursola, Coral Pokemon and an evolved form of Galarian Corsola. Ghost-type. Its shell is overflowing with its heightened otherworldly energy. The ectoplasm serves as protection for this Pokémon's core spirit"
"Well, that kind of Pokemon then," Ash muttered and put his Rotom away. He looked at Pikachu, who looked expectant, and nodded. "Okay, Pikachu, let's go!"
But then Ash's direction started to turn down again. Cursola defeated Pikachu and Ash once again felt emotions he didn't like little too much. However, he got them suppressed and brought the fainted Pikachu from the field and then took out his last Pokeball.
"Greninja, GO!" he exclaimed and threw the Pokeball into the air. Ninja Pokemon appeared in front of him, exclaiming, "Ninja!" and looked ready for the battle.
However, Ash's direction in the match soon began to go much more downhill. Greninja beat Cursola, but only a just and just, and Ash felt his concentration begin to slacken again. He commanded himself again and, as it were, regained his self-control.
Also in the auditorium, Serena and Gou noticed that something was happening to Ash. They looked at this a little worried and Serena said, "Do you feel like Ash's battle is slipping somehow?"
Gou nodded seriously and said, "Yeah. I just wonder what's the reason? I hope nothing serious, I don't want him to lose."
"Neither do I," Serena stated, hoping from her heart that Ash would keep the battle in the right direction.
Allister returned the fainted Cursola back to its ball and looked at it silently. Now they both had only one Pokemon left. Ash wondered which Pokemon Allister might choose next. Probably the strongest of them, he thought and watched as Allister took out his last Pokeball. Usually, Gym Leaders save their most powerful Pokemon last.
"My very last Pokémon... how frightening...", Allister said quietly as he turned his Pokéball with his palm and then finally threw it into the air. "Gengar, it's time.."
A grinning Gengar appeared in front of him and grinned mischievously at Greninja. Greninja, on the other hand, didn't grin back and Ash said, "Greninja, use Double Team!".
The match started just fine. Greninja seemed able to respond to Gengar's attacks without recourse to Bond Phenomenon. And since everything went well, Ash was sure he would win.
But then there was a turn. Allister returned Gengar back to its ball and Ash immediately guessed what he was going to do. So did Serena, for she screamed from the auditorium, "He is going to Gigantamax Gengar!"
"Yeah, hopefully Ash is okay," Gou also said, watching Allister touch his ring on his wrist as Gengar's Pokeball grew large and began to shine a fuchsia light.
"Gengar... Gigantamax... swallow everything in darkness...", Allister said as he threw the size-grown Gengar's Pokeball into the air. At the other end of the field, Ash took a better position and said to Greninja, "Get ready.."
Gigantamaxed Gengar appeared from his Pokeball in front of Allister and Ash and the duo in the stands were startled to see it. It had grown very much larger and it shone the same, strange fuchsia light that the Dynamaxed and/or Gigantamaxed Pokemon usually shone. But the most notable thing of all was the mouth of Gengar, which had spread into a cave-like cavity.
"It's pretty scary," Serena muttered from the auditorium, and Gou thought, "What would happen if you walked in its mouth? Would it take your soul and turn you into some kind of ghost?"
"Don't speak like that!" Serena exclaimed, shivering by thought, but couldn't help but think the same.
On the field, Ash looked at Gigantamaxed Gengar and then he nodded to Greninja. It was also time for them to show what they were made of.
"Okay, Greninja, LET'Z GO!" he exclaimed and took the X position. Greninja did the same and then Ash felt their minds unite. Greninja was covered in a water curtain that soon formed a large Water Shuriken on its back, and its appearance changed slightly anyway.
"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed, but Allister watched this without any word. Marnie, on the other hand, looked amazed and said, "Wow. That really was something new. But don't let me bother you, continue your match."
In the auditorium, Serena and Gou looked excited to see the transformation of Ash and Greninja, and Serena exclaimed, "Yeah, good Ash!" Her cheeks flushed and she smiled broadly. Gou smirked at this, but said nothing.
Ash heard Serena's cry and felt in his stomach the particular feeling that was always associated with seeing Serena. The feeling was, badly enough, a habit of making his focus slip out of the match for completely different things and Greninja noticed it. He turned to look at Ash, telling him to concentrate and it was at that moment that Allister decided to strike.
(A/N: I used a little improvisation in the next move. I hope it's okay)
"Gengar.. use G-Max Terror," he said quietly but audibly and Gengar roared and sent his move towards Greninja. Ash noticed it and exclaimed, "Greninja, dodge it!"
Greninja rushed forward, trying to dodge Gengar's move. Allister looked at this and said in the same, quiet voice as before, "G-Max Terror... it's like Shadow Tag.. you won't get away... I won't let you!"
And so it was that Gengar's move reached Greninja. Hitting it his shadow, it solidified Greninja in place and then covered it with created darkness.
"Greninja!" Ash exclaimed as he suddenly felt a blackening in his eyes and heard in his head sound reminiscent of someone screaming. (Reference? Anybody?) He sank to his knees on the ground, holding his head, and at the same time the darkness around Greninja evaporated into patterns resembling screaming figures.
"Ash, no!" exclaimed Serena when she saw it and Gou muttered, "Not good. Because their minds are connected, Ash feels the things Greninja is experiencing in his own body as well. I hope he's okay."
"Yeah, I hope it too," Serena said worriedly and squeezed her blue ribbon.
When the darkness around Greninja had evaporated, they saw Greninja on his knees on the ground, as well as Ash, who was also on his knees and held his head with his hands. Greninja seemed to be in pretty good shape, but Ash couldn't say the same.
Greninja got up to stand and looked at Ash, waiting for the next command. However, it was not heard, for Ash had remained on his knees on the ground and holding his head with his hands.
"Gengar.. use G-Max Terror again," Allister said quietly and Gengar did as instructed. It roared again and sent again its move towards Greninja, who had begun to get a little worried because of its trainer.
"Ninja greninja!" it exclaimed and finally Ash looked up. He saw the Gengar's move approaching and began weakly, "Greninja, use.."
And then G-Max Terror reached its goal and the result of the battle was clear.
When Gengar's move finally disappeared completely, it revealed a bent Greninja lying on the ground spirals in its eyes. It was quiet for a moment until Marnie finally stated, "Greninja is unable to battle, so the winner of this round is Gengar! And so the victory of this battle goes to the Gym Leader Allister!"
Ash listened to it without saying anything. The scream in his head had disappeared and been replaced by a recurring thought: He had lost because he had let his concentration slacken and then he was a weak loser. The weak loser that failed to give instructions to his Pokemon.
He got up as if in a dream, without saying a word. He returned Greninja, without saying a word, back to its ball and stared quietly at the ground, his cap covering half of his face in the shadows. He heard Serena rush to him from the stands and guessed the girl was worried about him. She would probably ask if Ash was all right, if he wanted to talk about it, would ask if he was going to challenge Allister again, and so on. How a friend now wanted to help.
But for some reason Ash didn't want to face Serena right now. He didn't want to see the worry on the girl's face, see the grief over his loss in her eyes, and hear how he could try over and over again.
No, he didn't want to face Serena right now. And not Gou. And not Marnie. And no one in this room. Not even Pikachu. No, he wanted to be alone, at least for a while. And this is because he was a weak loser.
"Ash, are you..", Serena began as she approached Ash, but this pushed the girl's comforting hand aside and snapped, "Leave me alone!" He felt Serena pull her hand away, confused and offended. "Ash, what now?" she asked quietly and Ash felt how one single word was repeated in his brain: Weak, weak, weak...
"Yeah, Ketchum, what came now?" Gou also asked, sounding concerned and Ash felt his irritation grow. "I want to be alone!" he exclaimed and then he left to run away and Serena, Gou and the others stayed to look after him.
"What happened to him?" Marnie asked as she approached Serena and Gou and Serena sighed. "This is Snowbelle City all over again," she muttered and then walked after Ash. Although Ash didn't seem to realize it himself, all he needed right now was someone to comfort him. And Serena knew she was that someone.
As she walked away, Marnie asked confused, looking at Serena's back disappearing into the shadows of the Gym, "What is Snowbelle City? And how does it relate to this?"
"I don't know, but Serena knows and that's enough," Gou said, looking thoughtful. "And I feel like we shouldn't go into it"
"Is that so?" said Marnie and Gou nodded. "I see," said Marnie, though she didn't quite understand, and they were left staring at the corridor along which Serena stepped quickly toward the exit.