Here we go again, happy I managed another chapter in time, though I was inspired! I always wondered how, in the original series, Ash jumped of the Prism Tower and Serena was the only one who recognised him later on. Like, how many people in Kalos have a Pikachu at all? And Ash kind of stands out, even in the series. Whatever, I'll rectify this!
Hope you all enjoy this one too!
Thank goodness, he is indeed left alone on the train and while that suits him just fine, he's bewildered to find that the Santalune train station is devoid of life altogether. Maybe the train isn't a popular way of travel or something. He's not bothered by it but the rain pouring down, however, that's something he doesn't enjoy. Nevertheless, he's got an umbrella with him, something Lance insisted on. His uncle must've known about the temperamental weather here in Kalos, he hasn't been on the train for ten or so minutes and this is a severe shift of weather for that short a distance. Nevertheless, he opens his blue umbrella -decorated with tiny Kyogre's on the sides- and leaves the station.
He finds the pokémon centre quite quickly but he's also completely on his own in there. Ash shivers, it feels a bit dystopian to him. The nurse Joy at the back of the pokémon centre is smiling kindly at him, as per usual… but this is like, the first time he's ever heard the music play in this kind of building. Usually, it's bustling with life but now…
"It's always hard to be the first one, non?" the nurse Joy says, face kind and voice very cheerful.
"… I'm first?"
"It's still very early in the season. Only trainers from Santalune have come here already but they wouldn't dream of staying here. They would much rather go out and camp."
"It's raining very badly outside, though"
The nurse's happy expression falters for a bit before she smiles again.
"Kalos native trainers should be used to the weather, it's always like this."
Yes, perhaps, but it's late and new trainers usually don't know what to do when they're tired and drained from the event of the first day in their journey. Not to mention that starter pokémon are as good useless in the rain, a Fire-type even at the risk of getting hurt with a possibility of fainting in this kind of weather. Ash still needs to stop himself from cringing as he remembers how badly prepared he was at the start of his journey and the weather had been nothing but nice. Well, other than the massive storm occurring in the early beginning, that is.
"It's raining really hard, though," he persists, the sound of the rain actually managing to put the pokémon centre's music in the background.
"… I can't go and look for them. I have the centre to run by myself tonight," she says and Ash finds that to be a sad excuse. The phone to call in for reinforcements is right there, next to her hand and she's not even making a twitch towards it.
His gut is telling him these kiddos aren't doing well, though.
"How many are there?" he asks, figuring his foresight is hinting at something.
"Five. They travel in groups, though, two and three," the nurse says and gives him a strange look. "… Are you going out to find them? In this weather?"
"I'm not going to sleep if I know I'm leaving kids out in this weather," he answers.
"… I can give you the coordinates of where they are but…"
Great, just wonderful. She also hands him a shelter tent and sealed bag of blankets, just in case the kids are cold, though but still, Ash feels like this world has some serious issues. The least the nurse could have done is to call one of these kid's numbers, check if they're fine or not. The boy isn't feeling all too well in this weather either, he knows this is a storm that will get worse near the evening, he can feel it. Ever since his accident, he's gotten sensitive to shifts in weather and he knows exactly when a simple rainy day can evolve into something far worse. His leg is aching something bad but he knows he'll feel worse if he just leaves these kids be.
He's near the coordinates after a good while of walking and he's already far enough from the pokémon centre and Santalune City as a whole to make his fear of getting lost spike. Still, he keeps his head clear and figures that he can count on Pikachu's heightened senses to find these kids for him and find his way back to the pokémon centre if needed. Ash would've used his Aura if only he was sure his eyes didn't light up and possibly scare the trainers, making them run off.
"Smell anything?"
"Chu," the pokémon says and points to his right.
Ash nearly trips over a girl who looks worse for wear.
"Oh hell," he swears and rips the bag of blankets open, deploying the tent then and there. "You're freezing, kiddo," he says, a lot softer. "Can you hear me?"
"Yeah," she sniffles and now that she's inside, out of the rain, he notices that the droplets of water running down her face are tears.
"Are you okay? What happened?"
"We got lost," she says, in between sobs. "A fight broke loose, the others are in a clearing somewhere. I don't know, I lost them."
"Right-o," he just says and wraps the soft blanket tightly around the girl.
To make sure this kid wouldn't get hypothermia, he calls out Charizard, figuring the pokémon could also be used as a waypoint for him, just in case these young trainers ventured out beyond that clearing the girl has mentioned. Ash could find his pokémon anywhere, his Aura bond with them is very strong, he can still kind of feel his pokémon in Johto too but he's not bothered by it, he usually pays it no mind, the teen trusts professor Elm to take care of them.
"Stay here for me, will you? I'll go and find your friends and once you're all together again, I'll call in for help."
"Who send you?"
"No one. I just got a bad feeling when nurse Joy told me the five of you left in this kind of weather."
She gives him a kind of look he doesn't recognise but it doesn't stop him from leaving to find the rest of these idiots still out and about. If there's one rule he's learned from travelling in a group, it's that you never leave team members behind. That they abandoned the most emotional inflicted girl from their group is typical but so, so stupid.
Oh, he doesn't need Pikachu to find the idiots who are yelling inside Santalune forest, a kind of place he knows could be notorious to be filled with Beedrill. His sudden presence -though Ash doesn't think he looks very menacing underneath his blue umbrella- silences the two girls but there are two boys throwing punches at each other.
"'Kay, are ya'll gonna stop fighting or does Pikachu need to give you a hand?" he asks, looming over the two as they now also realise they're not alone any longer.
"W-who are you?"
"Get your butts out of the mud right this instant, you idiots," he sighs and reaches out a hand towards the taller, more beat-up one of the two boys.
The trainer accepts it, while befuddled but seems wary of the other, angry-looking teen next to him altogether. Ash belatedly realises that he still has this bruise all over his face and that he must look weird right now but that doesn't explain why the girls and boy are sticking close to him and leaving the other, shorter boy at arms' length.
"So what happened?" the teen asks, figuring that, if Beedrill haven't shown up by now, they never will and then this is the best place for these kids to let some of the remaining steam out.
"He kicked a pokémon," one of the girls says, pointing at the boy who instantly looks more upset. "He smashed the pokéball in front of it and kept hurting it. Brady was trying to stop him but then he turned on him and started kicking him."
Jeesh, talk about a hot potato kind of situation. Of all the things he could have imagined these kids squabbling over, it's the one thing he hates happening. And it's as clear as day, the kid who kicked his pokémon is fine, other than a couple of scratches and bruises causing by the squabble between him and his friend. Meaning that the pokémon never even thought of hurting this kid, which tells Ash a whole lot about the character of the pokémon. This is Charizard all over again and god, he needs to keep his face straight in front of all these trainers, he can't snap or he'll make them think that being angry is a good thing.
Ash calmly approaches the pokémon, it's still awake but desperately trying not to look at him. He knows what it must be feeling like, so he puts down his umbrella for a second so he can scoop the pokémon up in his arms.
"It's weak as fuck!" the boy behind him shouts angrily. "Useless piece of shit."
"What did you expect him to do?" Ash asks, voice even as he turns towards him, with the pokémon cradled in his left arm and his umbrella in his right hand, shielding him from the pouring rain.
"What kind of fucking pokémon do you need to stop this fuck rain?"
"Maybe a Kyogre," the teen answers simply. "A Legendary pokémon. Though I can see why professor Sycamore didn't think twice about not giving you the control over someone like that."
"Who the hell do you think you are then?"
"I'm the one who is going to haul your sorry ass back to your mommy and daddy who've put an awful lot of money on the table to get you this pokémon and to give you the opportunity to make something out of yourself. Also, you're breaching the main rule of the pokémon league trainers, kid, you always need to have one pokémon on you, in a pokéball or out."
"I have-"
"Nothing. You literally don't have any pokémon, you've surrendered it the moment you smashed its pokéball. You're not a trainer at this moment so you're best of-"
The boy turns to run away from him that same moment but Ash can't help but smile. The Beedrill did come, moody and bothered by the weather so now there is a wall of them keeping the young boy from running away.
"Thanks," he chuckles as he approaches the boy and Beedrill. "We'll be leaving shortly. Go straight from here, whatever your name is."
Ash really didn't care what the kid was called, he's a lot more interested in the reaction of the three soaked teenagers when the Beedrill nodded to him and kept a close eye on them until they got to the tent. The girl he had collected before -Cassy, apparently, as one of the other girls cry out her name the moment they lay eyes on her- is looking way better already, though her expression is nothing short of apocalyptic when she sets eyes on him and the pokémon in his arms.
"You… You really did release him? 'Cause he couldn't-" she utters but is rudely cut off by the still very upset boy.
"Shut the fuck up!"
"Yeah, how about you keep your mouth shut too?" the teen huffs, as he puts the pokémon in his arms onto one of the blankets.
His statement successfully shut the boy up but Ash is focussing on the starter pokémon right now. It's blue so it's highly likely a Water-type, meaning it's not a bad thing that it's wet but it's cold. The teen knows what the cold and ice can do to any pokémon -other than Ice-types, that is- so that's exactly why he wraps up the pokémon in the blanket, though way less tight than he did with the kids. Yeah, all kids, even the bigmouth, who starts to look more guilty by the passing moment. Ash's called for help a good while ago the moment he found all five kids and got them to the tent, actually so he's not surprised to hear some commotion approach. It's nice and warm inside the tent but the boy realises that it's Charizard's temperament, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what has happened and the whole abandonment thing is a touchy subject. Ash is pretty sure Damian would sorely regret meeting Charizard again and the upset boy at the side is getting the stink eye from pretty much everyone in the room, excluding him, Pikachu and the mysterious, blue pokémon who just closed its eyes.
"Nice going, idiot," the older boy huffs, clearly directed at the other boy but Ash can't say anything to correct this behaviour as the tent's entrance flaps open, revealing a couple of worried-looking medics and a pretty broad-shouldered man who doesn't seem a bit bothered by the rain.
One of the medics instantly focuses on him, despite the fact that the teen isn't actually hurt.
"Oh, no, what happened to you?"
"The Prism tower did," he says and the medic freezes up, probably having seen the news too.
"O-oh… Oh, but I have some salve to get rid of that bruise."
Seeing that this is the second time someone offers to help with the bruise, Ash just lets the kind man do his thing, though he feels a bit upset at the idea of a young kid messing up what could have been the time of his life in one day. That being said, if it wasn't for his abilities, his journey here would've ended today too. Forever.
"You did well, kid," the man with the broad shoulders says and claps his hand down on his right, unoccupied shoulder. "You'll get a good name for yourself if you keep acting this way."
"Thank you, sir," Ash says, smiling widely at the man, glad that this is going to be over soon and that he can go challenge Viola and see his uncle tomorrow. Maybe a cup of warm soup sounded nice too…
"You must be tired for all the excitement today, hm?"
"Oh, it's alright," he says, seeing he's not tired at all. If he had gotten here on foot in one day, yeah, he might've been tired but the train ride had been kind of nice and relaxing.
"Hm," the man hums. "Come along, then."
Now that he is walking along with the man, who kind of feels like a Gym leader, Ash notices that they are really far from the pokémon centre. He's not worried about these kids any longer either, they're also being taken care of by professionals, so he can feel the pain from his leg unfiltered and gosh, it makes him feel like he'll never want to go out for a walk ever again.
"You're Ash Ketchum, right?" the man asks and it kind of startles the boy, he had been listening to the rain pattering on the top of his umbrella.
"Yeah?"
"I'll be looking forward to meeting you again. It takes a lot of courage to follow up with a rescue plan all by yourself and not get angry at a trainer because they made a mistake."
Ash kind of likes this man, they don't know each other very well but he's already given him a nice set of compliments. That's as good a start as any, right?
"I figured something was up, Nurse Joy was a bit too positive about these kids."
"To have the instinct is one thing, to have the courage to act on it is another."
"Thank you. You are a Gym leader?"
"The last one you'll face if you are planning on completing the Gym challenge."
"Oh, wow, that's way cool!" the teen exclaims, turning towards the man with an excited smile. But his expression falters when he suddenly realises something. "Wait… Did they think this could turn out to be such a big issue if they called you? Or were you just close by?"
"Both," the man says, looking a bit amused. "We'll never know how it would have turned out, you were there to help."
"I couldn't just leave them behind while I was in bed, all comfortable, could I?"
"Most would."
"I'm not 'Most'."
"Clearly not," the man chuckles. "Give Viola my regards, will you?"
"Sure! Who do I tell her they're coming from, though?"
"Wulfric," he says. "Tell her I'm grateful that she's taking care of one of my pokémon."
"Will do," Ash says, not thinking anything of it until he gets to the pokémon centre.
He's just deposited the hurt pokémon in the waiting arms of the nurse Joy, who seems like him a whole lot more now. And yes, that sentiment for counts for both the nurse and the pokémon, actually. She calls it a Froakie and Ash thinks that it fits the pokémon quite nicely, while silently hoping it might stick with him. He likes how it looks but well, it's entirely up to the Froakie to make that decision, anyway. He notices Wulfric in the back of the pokémon centre but seeing that the nurse has promised him a nice, steaming cup of soup, the teen settles into one of the chairs at the far left side of the building and pulls out his phone. It's around that time that he starts to wonder if the Gym leader has given him some sort of hint earlier and so he starts looking for some information about the kind of pokémon types Wulfric has…
'Ice,' he realises as he sees the design and badge from the Snowbelle Gym, a city a little more West of Santalune. 'Does that mean Viola has a Bug/Ice-type? Or that it has some type of Ice move…?'
That doesn't bode much good for his idea to use Glalie. Next to the accuracy issue, the inability to one-shot the Bug-type is bad news. Bug pokémon often use the bummer moves like Sleep or Stun powder and when they have wings, they often are able to scatter those moves a lot faster and wider. Glalie isn't fond of floating very high too, so if the bug pokémon can fly, it'll be an issue too. And if it's too fast, there's no way Glalie will hit it… so no, Ash will avoid this kind of loss for the pokémon, it wouldn't do his moral much good. He'll need to rethink his plan…
'Ah!' he thinks, getting a sudden epiphany as he sits up and smiles.
"… Are you okay?" the nurse Joy says, startling the teen a bit, he hadn't seen her stand there.
"I'm fine," he says merrily, beaming at her when she slides a tray with the promised cup of soup in front of him. "Vegetables?"
"Yes, I hope that's okay?"
"More than okay, I love soup."
"Seemingly so," she says and leaves.
At the other side of the pokémon centre, the Gym leader smiles, he knows why the teen is smiling like that. Ash doesn't see him leave but that's okay, his job here is done anyway. They'll meet again in Snowbelle anyway, Wulfric's quite certain about that fact.
Ash is a bit confused to be handed an F0 room key. Don't get him wrong, he's not averse to change and he's very curious to see why Kalos, of all places, gives trainers a ground-level room. He's always gotten F1 and F2 room keys -the first floor above ground level and the one above that- and assumed that the ground floor was mostly reserved for the nurses and pokémon. This pokémon centre didn't seem larger than the ones from different regions, he would know, he pretty much lives in front of the pokémon Centre in Mahogany, he's seen it often enough so yeah, he's interested to see what's so different about these rooms.
Part of him is still a bit worried about the pokémon that's gotten treated so brutally but the nurse Joy assures him, after she gives him his room key, that the Froakie be alright and if anything would change, they would let him know. With that in mind, Ash goes off to check out the mystery behind room F0 13. And what he finds confuses him a lot because boy, there's enough space to call out his entire team of pokémon in there!
This brings him back to the mysterious sixth pokéball on his belt. He's clicked it but it's clear it's empty… which makes it even stranger because Ash has never actually seen a pokéball like this before. It takes a quick search on his phone for him to realise that he's holding a rare and pretty expensive pokéball. According to the internet, Cherish balls are pretty hard to get by, which makes it so strange that it just appeared on his belt. He doesn't have a pokémon with the Pick-Up ability either so yeah… weird.
He's snapped out of his thoughts when Heracross comes to nibble his sleeve, a habit his pokémon has picked on when he's a bit nervous. Ash thinks it's pretty cute and once his hand is on the pokémon's head, the large Bug-type calms down.
"Sorry, buddy, I didn't know you would be awkward in here. I've never seen a room this big in a pokémon centre either but it's okay."
Heracross isn't bothered anymore, he totters off to go bother Glalie so Ash is left on the bed, smiling at Gible who's trying his best -but failing nonetheless- to crawl on top of the bed. The teen chuckles before he gets off the bed to pick Gible up, so he can put the pokémon on the bed.
"Stay here for a while, 'kay? I'm going to take a bath. Or a shower."
The pokémon whines in disappointment and Ash realises that the only reason why Gible wanted to be on the bed, was to sit next to him.
"I won't be long, buddy."
Gible whines again, trying to grab his pant leg.
"Try and be a bit patient, I'll be back before you know it."
The little dragon isn't having any of it, he jumps off the bed straight after Ash, as the teen goes to inspect the bathroom, pyjamas and one extendable crutch in hand.
"Alright, come with me then. But not in the water, it'll only hurt you."
"Gib," is all the pokémon says but the boy figures that's enough of a confirmation to trust Gible not to jump in the shower with him.
Because yes, there is a shower, with a very interesting layout. It's big and has no glass or edge. That's why he puts Gible in the bin that's just high enough to keep the pokémon inside of the bin but not high enough to break vision. Not that the pokémon doesn't look and sounds incredibly peeved by this development but Ash doesn't want to risk anything. Putting a Ground-type pokémon underneath a ray of water is only going to end up faining Gible and he doesn't want to go up to the nurse Joy and explain how that happened. He would much rather coddle Gible a bit longer tonight than risk damaging the little dragon's health.
Not that taking a Pikachu into a shower is a good idea either, Misty's often told him that it takes a special kind of idiot to take an Electric-type pokémon in the water with you, but she's got it easy, hasn't she? She's got plenty of Water-type pokémon but whatever, Ash trusts his buddy not to hurt him. And besides, he's gotten shocked plenty before, once more won't make a difference. Gible whines from the bin but shuts up the moment Ash takes a seat on the handy chair which is sticking out from the wall and going all around the edge of the room, right where the showerhead is. The teen knows that his pokémon don't really like seeing him take off his prosthesis but Gible followed him inside the bathroom of his own volition.
"Pikachu Pi?"
Ash whips his head up, recognise Pikachu's question as one of pure curiosity and usually, that meant mischief. This time is no different, the pokémon's got his little paw on a button and even before the boy can tell Pikachu not to do it, the pokémon presses it… and soaks himself.
"Pi!"
"Oh nono, you don't," the teen says, using the fully extended crutch to keep the wet Pikachu away from him. "I'm not fully undressed yet, lemme take off my shirt first. And stop pushing buttons, you never know what happens."
Needless to say, the entire experience inside the bathroom ends up being kind of a special time for both him and Pikachu, especially since the pokémon figured that, when Ash eventually got underneath the showerhead, that pushing buttons was okay after all. The teen never knew water could come out of all these places and while he got a good chuckle from Pikachu's experience in what seemed more like a mini waterpark than an actual shower, he's bemused why this shower is so different from the ones he's seen so far.
Gible is happy to be out of the bin too but he's seen enough water to know that Ash put him there for his own safety. The way he keeps shooting dirty looks at Pikachu is a sign that the little dragon didn't like the water show the other pokémon created at all. The teen assures Gible he's quite fine, none of the water spouts is hard enough to actually bother him and the temperature of the water ended being alright from the bat too. All in all, even with Pikachu's clownery, it's been a good experience. Ash could imagine that taking a bath would've been less enjoyable with one leg, he already had issues with slipping years before the accident took one of his legs away.
He stumbles out of the bathroom, not carrying any pokémon because well, he needs one arm to support himself on the crutch and the other to carry his clothes and prosthesis. Even Pikachu knows better than to jump on him… but by the sounds of it, there's a bit of trouble out in front of the pokémon centre. Ash deliberately closes the window, he doesn't want to hear shouting right now, especially not when the people shouting at each other talk in a language he doesn't understand.
"They will not trouble you right now."
"Mewtwo!" the teen exclaims with plenty of delight, seeing the pokémon stand at the other end of the room in the middle of his own pokémon who have all found a resting spot. "I've been meaning to talk to you."
"Oh?" the creature asks, approaching him with its tails swishing behind it.
"Wait, lemme get it," Ash says and dumps his clothes and prosthesis on the bed before ducking down at his bag. He's quick to pull out the long chain with the Mega stone out of the super-secret compartment of his bag. "Here!"
Mewtwo reaches out a paw to hold the stone in it, giving it an even but interesting look.
"What is it?" it asks.
"You know what Mega stones are?"
"I am somewhat aware that they exist, yes," the legendary creature answers, still holding onto the stone.
"Did you know that legendary pokémon can use them?"
Mewtwo watches him carefully after that statement and Ash can't help but smile.
"This is yours, Mewtwo," he says. "A naturally occurring stone called Mewtwonite."
The pokémon is silent for a long time but the teen doesn't falter during the entire period of silence. He knows that Mewtwo has believed that it's not supposed to be here for longer than half its life so to hear that it was always meant to be here, must be a hard to swallow pill. Nevertheless, Ash needs Mewtwo to understand and believe it, he doesn't have a reason to lie to the pokémon and professor Sycamore is the one who has discovered Mega Evolution so the teen trusts the man to know the fake from the real stones. Besides, who would even come up with the name 'Mewtwonite' unless they're absolutely, positively certain that it has something to do with a Mewtwo?
Of all the things Ash expected Mewtwo to react like, crying isn't exactly first on his list but it breaks his heart nonetheless. Mewtwo grabs him very tightly and murmurs something. The teen has to strain his ears and he might have missed the first sentence but he certainly hears the following.
"-never done anything remotely nice to me, while you have never done anything mean, how is that possible, little boy? How is it is possible that a human gave me such an empty heart while yours is filled with so much... love and kindness?"
"Oh, gosh, Mewtwo," Ash sighs and wrestles his arms from underneath the pokémon to wrap them closely around it. "Giovanni or any of those idiots wouldn't know what kindness is even if it hit them in the face. And look at you, how can you tell me you have an empty heart when you still feel this much about a simple confirmation that, despite everything, you were always meant to be here?"
The pokémon pushes its head into his shoulder and merely nods. Ash understands, though, it's hard to realise that the world is different from what you imagined it like. He too has recently realised that some people will never care and that some will always care. He hopes his uncle makes it to Kalos okay too, mishaps happen but usually at the worst of moments and the combination of everything happening together makes everything a billion times worse than it is.
'I'll text him today,' he thinks as he holds Mewtwo close, hoping that it'll be enough to console the pokémon.
The legendary creature is very still and for a second, Ash feels like it's just fallen asleep on his shoulder but no. Mewtwo straightens shortly after his suspicion of it being asleep.
"I am forever in your debt, friend," it utters, sounding so relieved yet so sad.
"You don't, I just owed up to a promise."
"One made out of pure selflessness."
"And without the warranty of being able to owe up on it, which is also part stupidity."
"It graces you."
Ash snorts at that, as much of a compliment as it's an insult but it's fine, he knows what Mewtwo means.
"Can I remain here for a while?" the pokémon asks, despite knowing fully well that the teen doesn't mind another purring creature in his bed.
It's big enough anyway, that too a difference from all the pokémon centre rooms he's slept in. It's as if it's designed to fit one or several people -or pokémon- in it so yeah, Mewtwo is more than welcome to stay, so he nods. Sceptile, Charizard, Heracross and Glalie are already asleep, laying on thick blankets that had been laying on top of the bed, which means that there will be plenty of space inside the bed left, with just Gible and Pikachu left to crawl in bed with him.
"I'd love to. You know I do."
Mewtwo doesn't say much, not even as Ash puts the necklace with the pokémon's Mega stone around its neck. Without the legendary creature, the stone is useless anyway and he would much rather have it in Mewtwo's possession. It's a good thing to treasure too and maybe it will make the pokémon a bit happier. Ash wants nothing more than Mewtwo to be happy. Maybe that's why it's sticking close to him, he too would stick close to someone he would be absolutely sure of that they had nothing but good intentions towards him.
Needless to say, Ash is quite content by the time he gets to bed. He's a little hungry but honestly, he's far too comfortable to move and tomorrow's another day to sate that hunger. For now, he focuses on the joint purring from his pokémon, Mewtwo spooning his back, Gible in his arms and Pikachu resting next to his head. Perfect, if you ask him.
All that purring also had one big advantage, namely that the three pokémon droned out the noise of the arguing adults. Too bad for Ash that they still would be at it when he woke up very early the next morning. But that absolutely wouldn't be the only surprise he would get that early.
There's a coldness at his back that's the main cause of his early awakening. Ash is confused by it, he's awake enough to realise that it's the space that Mewtwo has been occupying and it's not that cold yet so that means the pokémon hasn't left that long ago. Meaning it didn't even wait to say goodbye to him. Now that he's been woken up, though, he can hear a bit of kerfuffle from the hallway. It's pretty muffled and he's not too worried but he knows that he'll have to pass through the lobby at some point today so yeah, he's not looking forward to that.
Once he moves, the rest of his pokémon wake too, which is to say, Pikachu wants to keep laying against him so the pokémon rolls further down the pillow but seeing Ash has just stood up, the Electric-type rolls straight into Gible and once Gible's awake, the little dragon makes sure that it's everyone's issue. A loud screech erupts from the pokémon, causing the teen to grab the small dragon and try and hush it as quickly as possible. He partially understands, being touched while sleeping is a horrible experience but is it really that bad when it's a fluffy creature rolling against you? It's too late, though, the rest of his pokémon are awake now too and it's barely four in the morning!
"Sorry guys, I didn't mean for you all to be awake yet. You can have a bit of a snooze if you want."
It's no good, though, once they're up, they're ready to go. And Ash, who had been planning on going back to bed, after going to use the loo, resigns to his fate and gets ready… only to pause when he's recalled all his pokémon except Pikachu. He eyes his pokédex warily, it's flashing a blue light, which is eerily similar to the one he gets when he ignores a capture notification. He's been asleep, though and he doesn't actually have pokéballs to capture pokémon with. There's just the mysterious Cherish Ball that's appeared on his-
Ash stands completely still for a little while, realisation dawning on him. He slowly reaches out to take his pokédex and taps the screen, activating it. There it is… the capture notification.
The pokémon Mewtwo has been successfully captured and added to your team.
The Cherish Ball is right there on the table too but he knows that the pokémon will only get the wrong idea if he calls it out right now. No, he just hugs the pokéball really close to him, hoping that Mewtwo can feel that he loves it so much and that he absolutely doesn't mind being its forever home, if forever actually exists. He might just imagine the purr he hears after the hug but now he has a new occupant for his super-secret compartment in his bag. Ash somehow has a good feeling about today now, even with the arguing that gets a lot clearer now that he's exited the room.
It's still all French and it's all just a male voice that sounds like he's on the verge of losing his voice. Little does Ash know is that this man is apparently looking for him, the moment he rounds the corner, the man is in his face.
"YOU!" he exclaims. "You didn't have a single right to start a rescue mission on your own, you degenerate cripple! You ruined my son's only chance of success by taking away his pokémon and putting his friends against him! I'm suing you for discrimination, abuse of power and defamation!"
"Actually, I'm a pokémon ranger," he says, whipping out the card out of pure habit of not being believed unless he has proof to show he is what he claims to be. "I have every right to start and finish a rescue mission. As for ruing the only chance your son has at being successful, I will lay the blame on the way you are acting out on me. And those friends of him… I don't think they were friends at all. And if you are willing to sue me for saving your son and those children from a group of angry Beedrill, I will not rescue another child again, as you wish. I will refer every single grieving mother and father whose son or daughter was slaughtered just because nobody cared to you and you can tell them that it was you who threatened the only one giving a damn with a lawsuit and I hope you will find the courage to admit that you would much rather have me ignore your son in the past so that you could now have been busy preparing his funeral instead of shouting at me. Go ahead and sue me, mister, I stand firm in my belief that I'm the sole reason why your son is still alive to witness the fact of why exactly he's failed to be a pokémon trainer from the get-go."
The man is stunned in silence and the boy, who Ash remember quite well, is now looking very guilty by the moment he stops talking, yet a nurse Joy steps forward and she talks to the man in a very calm, even tone but oooh, it's that kind of tone women use when they're extremely pissed. And again, it's French so Ash doesn't really understand… but he knows that the nurse isn't happy. He's not either but he's feeling a bit indifferent to the empty threats, the man didn't have a leg to stand on if he actually went ahead and sued him. However, the man looks like he's been forced to eat a teaspoon full of earwax as the nurse rips him a new one, her tone going a bit crescendo. In the end, the man stomps off, leaving his son behind or at least, Ash assumed that this had been the kid's father. The way the teen slowly follows the man with his head down a little later, shows that his suspicions are spot on.
There's a bit of movement at his feet causing Ash to look down and smile widely. As he bends down to pick up the Froakie that's sitting there, giving him an expectant look, the boy realises what the pokémon wants… but a hollow feeling settles within him as he realises that the first pokémon he actually captured in Kalos is a Mewtwo. Despite Professor Sycamore's insistence that the pokémon didn't appear in this region. He files that away for things he'll deal with later, right now, he's hungry and quite determined to show Froakie that his previous trainer was in the wrong at calling it useless.
He doesn't have to convince the pokémon of anything, Ash subconsciously treats it as his own pokémon anyway. He lets it pick its food, as he does with all his pokémon, who come out to eat and just accept Froakie's presence like the pokémon has always been there. Charizard, however, eyes him with a knowing look and a bit of a grin before digging into his breakfast. The teen doesn't even realise what he's doing until nurse Joy brings him a nice blue coloured pokéball.
"… A Net Ball?" he asks as he's given the pokéball.
"Froakie seemed to like it."
The pokémon sure did seem to like it, it taps the button and captures itself the moment Ash presents it to him. So he's finally got a Kalos starter but in a very atypical pokéball. Ah, whatever, it's okay to him.
"I would like you to have these too," the nurse says and hands him a pack of five pokéballs. "I've been told that professor Sycamore forgot to give you some pokéballs so I feel like it's only right for you to have some, in case you find another member for your team all of a sudden. You'll want a pokéball then, won't you?"
"Yup," is all Ash can say because he feels a bit watched all of a sudden. The nurses called professor Sycamore? Or did the professor call them when he noticed he'd forgotten something? Or is it all part of a way greater scheme?
"You should never have been faced with the lawyer either," the nurse says, looking downwards, as if she's feeling guilty about that. "While you gave him the right kind of answer, it should have never happened. I apologise for it, Ash and I hope we can try and convince the lawyer to do it too."
"Not necessary," he says, holding up his hand as if that'll stop her from contacting that man ever again. "I don't have high hopes for someone who thinks it's okay to start arguing in a pokémon centre. Also, he's not a very good lawyer by the sounds of it."
"You would be amazed," she sighs.
"Actually, I thought that he was the kid's dad."
"He is."
"That explains a lot."
"Does it?" nurse Joy asks, looking quite bothered, if not sad. "I feel like someone's future has been tampered with greatly."
"Mustn't be easy to have things going your way for the biggest part of your life and then, when it matters most, things go wrong. With a man who'll talk the kid's wrongdoings right, how could you expect to raise a good trainer? A calm sea has never produced a good sailor, anyway."
She watches him and the teen sees her mull over what he's said. A small, knowing smile appears on her face shortly after.
"Seemingly so. I take that you'll be going to the Gym after this?"
Ash snorts, it's a little past half-past six. He's not going to bother a Gym leader at that time of day when he's got an appointment at ten, is he?
"I think I'll go for a stroll in Santalune forest for a little while before I go to the Gym. It's still way too early anyway-" he says, which causes the nurse to look outside and sigh -she must realise now that the lawyer has been at it for way too long. "-and it's never a bad idea to let pokémon have a bit of a breather outside before a battle.
"You know your pokémon better than I do," is all she says before nodding at him and leaving him to go attend her actual job.
Honestly, Kalos has some talkative nurses walking around in their pokémon centres, he's not sure whether he's talked so much to any nurse anywhere else in the world. Then again, it's the first time he's gone out of his way to help someone officially too and isn't it utterly amazing how someone still thought he had done something wrong? Nothing, not even a grown-ass man yelling at him will ever deter Ash from helping someone.
"Don't forget that you can tap your bracelet three times and it'll send out an emergency signal," a nurse says as he passes the desk and considering they all look nearly identical, Ash isn't sure whether she's the one who had just given him that pokéball or not.
Still, he nods but did they really just tell him that there was someone he could reach in case he got lost? While he's spent some time trudging through the place yesterday? He tries not to think about it, an accident can always happen and she probably just meant well… even if he's not going to be going into the forest that deeply and he's going to try and do his best not to deviate from the path.
At least his pokémon like the trip a lot, the forest smells utterly amazing due to the rain that fell last night and now that there aren't any rage driven trainers stomping through the trees, it's nice and silent. Perfect to have a nice walk-about around in. Heracross stops at a certain point, though and no matter how often the teen calls him, the pokémon won't budge. So, of course, Ash goes over to see what's up.
"What's the matter?" he asks and Heracross points at something, though the pokémon is in front of whatever he's pointing at. "I can't see, buddy, move over a bit."
Even as Heracross moves, the boy doesn't see what's caught the pokémon's attention. Or does he? Ash bends down a bit and that's when he sees it, an odd glint of something that's buried in the soil. It's behind a fence too but the teen knows better than to tell Heracross to leave it alone. If it's caught the pokémon's attention while he's walked past it, it's something that interests him so Ash will humour him and see what's that's all about. A handy branch does most of the dirty work for him but the teen isn't pleased to find that it's one of those marble things again. Still, he sees the look in Heracross' eyes and he realises that this is the marble that'll Mega evolve the Bug-type. Has to be, there's no other reason why his buddy would act like this towards the marble anyway.
"Alright," he says, cleaning the orb with a tissue so that all the grime came off it. "So, we'll do it as following. You're going to be the one fighting against Viola, yes?"
"Her," the pokémon answers and nods.
"If you do well, I'm taking this to professor Sycamore and I'll talk to him about using this. So no shenanigans, okay? I need to know if I can trust you when this activates, yeah?"
"Heracross."
'Right,' Ash thought, as he stuffs the marble into one of his inside pockets, making sure he won't lose it on his way through Kalos.
Heaven knows whether or not Heracross might be able to prove anything, his pokémon seem to be happy at the prospect of Mega evolution and the teen is willing to bet that this is exactly what they're chatting about. Mostly because it's Glalie doing the talking so Heracross might have just asked the pokémon how Mega evolving feels like. Ash himself is always wearing the Mega activator, or the choker as professor Sycamore called it so it must be a constant reminder of them. By itself, the boy isn't opposed to the extra power they'll get when Mega evolving, he just feels like he wants to be extra careful too. He doesn't want things to spiral out of control, he knows how dangerous pokémon become when they lose control over themselves, over their power. Ash doesn't even want to imagine what will happen if one of his pokémon snaps. He's seen what it did to Pikachu but he knows that his trusted partner can't Mega evolve, which is a massive comfort as much as it is a downside.
He's happy for it, or else Team Rocket and a whole lot of other suckers would potentially be hunting the poor pokémon, pokéhelp or not. But it also means that Pikachu's going to be watching a couple of his friends suddenly get a lot stronger. Not only that, he could see them suddenly get angry for no reason. Ash doesn't know how Pikachu sees his relationship with his other pokémon but he knows they have kind of bonded with each other. Maybe only for the reason that they all keep an eye out for him but still, it's a bond nonetheless.
Ah well, it'll probably work out, his pokémon are cool enough and compared to Gary's pokémon, who mostly eat separately because one would attack the other if they noticed their portions would be different -as if they don't realise that a Blastoise eats a bit more than an Umbreon-, they're absolute angels and Ash trusts them with his life. He wonders if they also feel that way, though he's almost a hundred percent sure Pikachu does or else he wouldn't have jumped after him, would he? Ash just isn't sure about this Mega evolving thing, he'll have to ask professor Sycamore if it really doesn't hurt a pokémon. And what he should do if they indeed go haywire. Like, he's pretty sure they won't but this niggling little voice in the back of his head wants clear proof instead of just trusts. Ash doesn't like feeling that way, it's ugly to doubt his pokémon-
'Get yourself together, bloody idiot,' he thinks, chiding himself for his insecurity while there's absolutely no reason to doubt his pokémon.
"Gla."
For a moment, the teen believes that they somehow read his mind and knew what he was thinking but then he actually looks at Glalie and spots a pretty intense scene. Or at least, intense in the way that two, tiny pokémon are involved in an argument. Ash smiles, the pokémon he assumes to be a Flying-type has a temperamental character, it's jumping in front of the much smaller, yellow pokémon, who looks terrified as it's clutching a berry in its hold.
"Hey," he calls out and the smallest of the two looks at him and just drops backwards, seemingly in a dead faint.
Ash can't help but stare at the small creature, he's not sure if it actually fainted or if it's playing dead. Pikachu jumps off his shoulder -he feels the wire getting pulled from the coil on his shoulder- and goes to have a sniff at the pokémon.
"Is it okay?" he asks, bending down to have a better look at the little fellow.
It looks pretty cute, in fact, Ash has a suspicion this is a regional variant of the typical hard to find Electric-type, much like Pikachu. To him, it doesn't compare, though but the other pokémon, the Flying-type… well, it's putting up a bit of a show, right in front of Glalie, Charizard and Sceptile, who are all looking at the small bird with a look of 'what the hell is that even…?'
Charizard attempts to pat its head, presumable to try and calm it down but no, sir, the pokémon actually send a flame towards him. He stares the creature down, the flame, while impressive for a bird, never even reached him. But somehow, somewhere, Charizard must have seen some potential in the little bird because he picks it up and actually brings it to him.
"Char," the large pokémon says and deposits the feisty bird into his arms.
The little pokémon watches him with big eyes and Ash can only grin and try his best not to chuckle. He kind of likes the look of this little one and honestly, professor Oak would have the time of his life trying to figure this one out. It's basically Charizard who choose the bird, wasn't it? So technically, the pokémon choose another pokémon to join their team, which is kind of amazing, isn't it? Also, the little bird who his pokédex identifies as a Fletchling, a Flying/Fire-type, the same as Charizard, which is kind of funny, captures herself just like Froakie has.
"Welcome to the team, Fletching," the teen says and the little pokémon, who has lost none of her feistiness, chirps happily and jumps up and down his arms.
Ash's focus is still partially on the smallest pokémon, though, he scans it and identifies it as a Dedenne. It still hasn't moved so he gets out a soft towel and rolls it around the little pokémon before picking it up and holding it in his arms. Fletchling chirps as she comes to take a look at the Dedenne.
"I don't know what's wrong with it. I'll let nurse Joy take a look at it when we get back. But I first want to get a bit of training in, so keep a close eye on my other pokémon, okay, Fletchling?"
"Fletch!"
It's a little after eight when Ash returns, he feels a lot more confident now that he's gotten a reminder of how skilled his pokémon actually are and thanks to Glalie, he's pretty sure that Heracross can handle whatever Ice-type pokémon or move Viola might send at him. It's still risky, though, Flying-type bugs might have super effective moves against Heracross too but his buddy knows Arial Ace so that's a bit of a trump card, in case nothing else works.
As it turns out, though, the Dedenne he has found is perfectly okay… but not a battle pokémon at all. As it almost turns liquid after he grooms it with a toothbrush -which he knows is a super nice feeling for pokémon with similar fur as Pikachu has- it seems determined to stick around… in his pocket. Nurse Joy claims that Fletchling's feisty behaviour comes from an unnaturally high body temperature, which could possibly end up with her gaining Flame Body as she reaches her final evolution. Ash is excited about that, in fact, he's excited about today as a whole. He's completely forgotten about the kids from yesterday, his head can only think of the battle with Viola and actually meeting the Gym leader who he knows was capable of calming down her sibling through the phone.
No matter what professor Sycamore thought about people's characters, it usually has to do with the way you speak to someone to calm them down and while character plays a large part in being able to be a bit empathic to their feelings, it's usually experience that is the deal-breaker and boy, is he looking forward to meeting someone who doesn't care what someone does or is? Someone who just wants a good time? It's been way too long since he's met anyone like that, people have been hovering around him all worried ever since his accident. And yeah, he can't actually blame them, he's given everyone pretty big reasons to be concerned about him but it gets a bit much from time to time. Like, it would be nice to actually see Lance and just… be happy together? Instead, he has to look forward to his overly worried uncle, or rather, his second father, because he fell down that bloody tower he never even wanted to fall from.
Nevertheless, he goes towards the Gym -on time too, Misty ought to be proud of him- and sees that the Gym leader is actually in front of the Gym itself. Ash isn't confident to wave at her, he knows that enthusiasm isn't always appreciated and honestly, he's a bit nervous since this is his first battle since his accident. It's something he actually wants to celebrate… but how is he supposed to tell that to Viola without exposing her to his experience that might draw pity from her? Which he absolutely doesn't want?
"Hi there!" Viola greets, sounding very confident underneath her initial cheerfulness. "You must be my first challenger! Ash, right?"
"Yeah, that's me. It's really nice to meet you, Viola."
"It's nice to see the saviour of my friend's niece too," she says and it catches Ash unaware.
"Cassy?" he asks, to which Viola nods.
"Yes, she's Burgh's sister's daughter. You know him, right?"
He has to think about it for a little while, Unova has been a confusing region for him, thanks to all the things that happened to him over there. But yeah, he remembers Burgh, many thanks to his memory attached to Leavanny. As a Gym leader, he doesn't remember if Burgh ever made a big impact on him, not at all like Wulfric already has… and how Viola could possibly leave. But still, he nods because he has met the Gym leader of Castelia City.
"I didn't know he has a sister."
"It's not really that important, I'm just very grateful that you look after your fellow trainers. It takes a lot of guts to face trainers who… don't really embody the ideals of an actual pokémon trainer," she says and shrugs. "I think you handled it very good for someone your age, it's not something many trainers would be able to do all by themselves."
Ash nods, he's more interested in why they're trying to make him feel even better about going to save those kids and you know, keep reminding him that he did that, than to be thankful these kids were alive and okay. As if he still needs the confirmation that he's different from anyone.
"I'll do it again if needed."
"Thank you, though I personally don't think you'll need to intervene much in the future. Your name and picture have been left out of the papers but the story is being widely spread all over the news. The pokémon league would've been involved too, if only it wasn't for the unnamed, official pokémon league trainer who went and got them."
'Out of the goodness of my own heart too,' the teen thinks, not at all impressed. 'Nurse Joy sure didn't seem to be as much in a hurry to do something.'
In fact, the pokémon league partially deserves to be in this so-called mess they're currently not involved in, if this is the result of the training some nurse Joy's complete, he's very disappointed in the lack of empathic kindness and sheer drive of justice as he's seen in some nurses in different regions. That angry boy wouldn't have gotten very far in Kanto and he's travelled through Johto for long enough to know that the same, strict but just nurses rule their pokémon centres. One wrong peep and they're on the phone with the police and no, not officer Jenny. And maybe it's the idea that any storm is weather that should be wary off in his home region that causes the nurses to be more on the lookout and honestly, a lot of bullshit happens around there too… But he's still a bit disappointed.
"Hey!"
Ash jumps, he hadn't expected the voice and whirls around. Viola's spots his freight easily, she's got her hands on him the moment he's turned around. To her grace, she doesn't say anything but that just means that she already knows what's up. If that's the case, though, she ought to know that laying her hands on his shoulder and arm will not be very likely to stop him from doing anything stupid but it's okay, it's just Alexa approaching them. The boy quickly notices that she looks a lot more comfortable around the two of them, heck, her sister might as well be a miracle worker at this rate!
"Hey, sis!" Viola greets. "Great timing, you're still in time to see Ash's battle."
"Oh?" he asks, surprised that it would interest the young woman who didn't seem happy to be near him before.
"I know, I hurried over to get here," she sighs and she sounds like she's a bit out of breath, proof that she indeed hurried. "How are you doing, Ash? Are you alright?"
"… Yes? I mean, I probably wouldn't challenge a Gym if I wasn't, my pokémon get influenced when I'm moody or not feeling well. It'd be completely pointless for me to challenge Viola, my pokémon either wouldn't want to fight or if they would, they would be too aggressively. I want it to be a fair match so yeah, I'm absolutely fine."
The two women look at him for a bit but while Viola's face cracks open in a smile, a very earnest one, Ash notices, Alexa sighs and smiles.
"Good to know I can trust you to give me more than a two-word answer," she says. "Thank you for holding Viola's Gym in such high regard, Bug-type trainers often get laughed at."
"I've not seen a lot of people laugh at a Beedrill," Ash answers dryly. "I bet, with the right motivation, no one will get laughed at, no matter the type of pokémon."
"Too right!" Viola chuckles. "Though I don't own a Beedrill, it's been at least twenty years since anyone's laughed at me, sis, so don't bring up the stupid history that doesn't matter any longer."
"You were voted the first Gym, they don't value your pokémon at all!" Alexa huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest. "I don't think it's fair for anyone to value you at the type of pokémon you've specialised in."
"True," Ash says. "If my opinion means anything to you, I feel like it's coincidental. Somehow, the first Gym is often one that has a specific weakness to one of the starter pokémon the regional professor hands out."
"Yup and also, I am the only one patient enough to deal with petty, new trainers,' Viola chuckles.
"And if Wulfric values you enough to help you with one of his pokémon, I bet the rest of the Gym leaders don't feel like you're less than them."
"Hm? You met him already?" the Gym leader asks, raising an eyebrow. "Where?"
"Here, in the forest," he answers, pointing in the direction of Santalune Forest. "When I found all the kids again, he came along with some of the medics."
Viola gives her sister a dark look and honestly, the comfort Alexa had been showing before has vanished with the wind. She grips her arms around her very tightly and Ash isn't sure but he thinks he's just seen her shiver.
"What's the matter?" he asks, looking at the two in confusion. "Did I say anything wrong?"
"Wulfric specialises in Ice-types, Ash," Alexa says, as if that explains everything.
"Yeah? I knew that, he's told me that, or at least, hinted at it. Also, the internet exists."
"His pokémon are trained to find coldness," she continues and this time, he gets it. The teen doesn't find it fair that this would all rest of Wulfric's shoulders, if these kids would have perished on their first day out, the nurse Joy who couldn't be damned to lift a finger to help would have been the main reason why it all happened.
"I found all of 'em and they weren't cold, I got Charizard out-"
"In the rain?" Alexa interrupts and Ash doesn't like the implication that she thinks he's dumb enough to call out a freaking Fire-type out in the rain, after everything's he's gone through with Charizard, like he's not sat with the little Charmander, shielding its little flame with a large leaf as his mother hadn't thought of giving him an umbrella at the time.
"In a tent, " he huffs. "Can you please not cut me off? If you want to compliment me for being able to talk to you freely, can you let me talk at all?"
"I'm sorry," she says so he nods but he doesn't actually buy it.
Adults are tricky and she's a reporter, right? Maybe 'sorry' comes too easy for her now, that the word doesn't have any meaning any longer. Like his mother called him 'sweetie' despite considering him the bane of her existence.
"Right, that's enough of chatting, I can't wait for this battle. This will be your first one in Kalos, right?" Viola says.
"Surely not-"
"It's the first one I've had since I came back from Unova last year," he answers, shutting Alexa up because what the hell does she knows about him anyway?
"… Really?"
"Yes."
"Well, we're just going to have to make it a memorable one, then, right?" the Gym leader says, full of enthusiasm.
God, Ash wants to hug this woman so badly but first, he wants his battle. He doesn't want to approach her if she somehow kicks his ass but he knows better than to underestimate creepy crawlers. Again, Beedrill are bad but there are plenty of Spinarak who are better infiltrators than the best spy on earth and more often than not, they don't have a trainer being the master brain behind their actions. No, no, the teen knows better than to expect an easy battle, he's seen the look in Viola's eyes at being underestimated by her own sister. She might have laughed it away but a clown gets away with a very risky opinion if they disguise it as a joke.
He's never paid attention to who exactly was in the spectator boxes before either, now that he doesn't have any travelling companions -yet- Ash doesn't even bother looking at the seats. Maybe there's a couple of interested people in there but the only one he would appreciate sitting there would be his uncle. He really wants to hug the man right now but he knows that Lance wouldn't be coming to Santalune, not when he's so pissed by the delay of the mishaps that have gotten in his way. Maybe he's already mad that Ash left to go fight a Gym before they could have a talk.
"Pikapi~"
Pikachu's soft fur surprises him out of the thoughts he had been having. He realises that it's no good to be in a funk right now. Ash isn't sure if he can pump himself up to be as enthusiastic about a simple battle as before, though, he likes Viola a lot and he wants to honour her position, Gym leaders are here to show trainers something. Not that he thinks she can teach him anything, perhaps a different strategy because those are as personal as a character is but still… He calls out Heracross, somewhat ignoring Viola's squeal of delight -she's never seen a Heracross this close before!- and fist bumps the pokémon before the Bug-type waddles over towards the field.
There's a funny feeling in his fist remaining, though, Ash holds it close to him and somehow, he's looking through Heracross' eyes. He's in front of the tiny Surskit that's nervously skidding from left to right and back again. He thinks Viola says something but he's not sure, all he sees is the Surkit finally moving in his direction and the first move that comes up in his head happens at the same time as his own voice calls out on it.
"Mega Horn!"
The little bug flies completely out of bounds, having been caught airborne and thus, its small weight working against its favour as Heracross' powerful horn flings it away from the battlefield. The referee calls out the automatic win but even if Surskit landed into the field, the impact would have been too much for it to handle. The poor thing lays by the side, knocked-out and cross-eyes.
"Whoa!" Viola exclaims, turning to her pokémon in disbelief. "What kind of mad accuracy is that?!"
Ash, however, is confused, he's back looking through his own eyes again and it seems like Heracorss is just as befuddled about what has just happened. He feels a very excited grin making its way on his face and he can feel the excitement at this bond coming from his pokémon.
'Oh, right, Riley did say something about Aura bonds going deeper than just friendship but didn't that depend on what kind of Aura user used the bond? He never specified which bond acted for what… is mine battle oriented?' he thinks and wonders if he can use it with any pokémon.
The boy doesn't think he can do it again, though, his head feels kind of fuzzy and it's clear that whatever happened, also took its toll on Heracross. There's a fluffy, white pokémon hovering above him and in his confusion, he holds out his hands to catch it. And it does land, he's absolutely caught in fascination and he's almost pulled out his pokédex, to scan it but then he remembers that he's actually in a battle.
"That's it," Viola says, giving him a dry look as he sheepishly holds onto the silky pokémon. "I forfeit. It's absolutely useless, I can't take you by surprise and even my pokémon don't want to fight you."
"I-I'm sorry," he utters, as the referee nods in acceptance of her decision.
"Ash Ketchum wins this battle due to forfeit of Gym leader Viola."
Ooooh, he feels really guilty now. Viola looks like she doesn't mind, though, he's allowed to hold the mysterious pokémon a little longer as she inspects his Heracross.
"Yeah, no surprise here," she sighs, smiling warmly at him as she puts her hands to her sides.
"No?" the boy asks, not really following what she's on about.
"With such a pristine Bug-type, how could I ever thought to catch you unaware?"
"I… I have a certain effect on pokémon," he confesses.
"I can see that. It took me two years to get Frosmoth's trust and she's now currently asleep in your arms."
At least Viola didn't seem to mind, the lovely pokémon is very deeply asleep too, it never even realises that he passes it onto its original trainer. Like, he really doesn't want to forcefully adopt someone's pokémon, he understands now that it was his ability that drew Froakie to him and not his intentions, which hurts but hell, he doesn't want to take this nice pokémon away from Viola.
"Are you okay?" the Gym leader asks, after she's given him yet another badge he doesn't actually deserve, seemingly having picked up on his quickly darkening thoughts.
"Yup."
"You sure?"
"Yup."
"Okay… Can I ask, is this a reoccurring thing? Would it have actually made a difference if I called out Vivillon?"
".. What's a- yeah, no, never mind, it wouldn't have made a difference. I'm not going to send you on a quest to find a pokémon I don't like because that'll be the hardest job to do and that's… yeah, no, it totally wouldn't have changed a thing."
"It suits you," she says.
"What does?"
"This big heart of yours. I heard something about you through the grapevines and I found it odd that so many people had something to say about you. Surely it couldn't be possible for you to leave a mark on everyone and yet… I think I'll remember you for a long time, Ash Ketchum. As specific as my love for Bug-types can get, I've never found someone whose love for them and all other living creatures rivals my own."
Heracross has started nibbling his sleeve again, Ash never noticed that the pokémon lifted his arm at all. But he wonders if there's something he could have done differently, like… what was that thing that happened between him and Heracross? He should really try and replicate that and get it under control. Not every Gym leader will be so happy to forfeit a battle and Ash doesn't want bad blood to get in between them. Viola seems quite passionate and will likely defend those she likes so he doesn't want to put her in that spot. He ought to behave like a trainer, not like some newborn saviour or something. He's going to need to keep his hands to himself from now on, no more touching other's pokémon.
Dedenne seems to have just woken up too, it's turning around in his pocket, making a very visible bulge move in there. He might have large pockets in this jacket but the pokémon's obvious in there.
"What the heck is that?" Viola asks, blinking in confusion.
"Dedenne," he answers. "I found it in the forest today, I don't think it's a battle pokémon at all. It's jumped in my pocket during a mock battle between Heracross and Glalie and now it's still in there so yeah."
"How cute. Honestly, don't feel bad, Ash, this was your first battle in a while. Whatever ability you're struggling with, be it that big love of yours or something else, Gym leaders are there to guide you. And Grant is a very headstrong, ambitious and result-driven man, he'll like a challenge against any kind of ability, that much I know. And if you like, I can tell him not to let his pokémon approach you."
"Yes, please, I'll… try and reign in my love for them too, I don't want this to happen again. I mean, I've told Heracross he was going to fight against an Ice-type pokémon and it never even did anything, it just flew over him and landed in my arms. It must've been a major disappointment," he sighs and turns to Heracross, who doesn't look the slightest bit bothered as he's munching happily on Ash's sleeve.
"… I don't know if you need to hear it from me or if you can spot it yourself but I think the only one majorly disappointed is you. I mean, I won't forget about this and while I'll be sticking to Vivillon in my team from now on, I know I can still count on Frosmoth, no matter her response to you. Gosh, you underestimate how difficult a challenger you are, a pokémon unwilling to hit an opponent isn't illegal and so damned frustrating but it's still a strategy. And you know that there's a time-limit on official League battles so…"
"Yeah, I won't be doing that. That's mean."
"I know but I want you to know that this love of yours, that you find so damning, isn't a drawback for you."
"Can you be totally honest with me, Viola?" Ash asks and continues when she nods -but not without giving him a strange look. "Do you think it's a good idea for me to Mega evolve Heracross? After what you've seen today?"
"The way you were looking so intense, the way how Heracross followed your command as if he knew what you were planning… I say that this is the best bond I've seen in a while so honestly, if you can, go for it."
"You don't think he'll go out of control?"
"I think you worry too much."
Ash snorts and nods, she's probably right. Well, he's made a promise to Heracross so he'll be talking to professor Sycamore about it then. He's very grateful for the Gym leader's opinion, even more, for her leniency. He won't be making a repeat of this, even if he has to argue with his pokémon to make them a bit annoyed with him, he'll give the other Gym leaders a decent battle. Though Ash will try and get this bond thing under control first. Maybe a pokémon he hasn't used during a battle before might be a good tactic, that way he knows the difference between acting out of force of habit or whether he's really giving his commands through some sort of mental link.
"Trust in your own abilities, you'll be okay, Ash," Viola says. "If anything, promise me that you'll never stop caring. There are enough people here that don't."
"I can easily promise that."
And it's the god honest truth, now that he knows that caring can provoke shitnuggets who absolutely don't care at all, you bet he'll keep doing it, if only got annoy them. Spite is as good a motivator as anything.
At the very least, even if Viola ever forgets about him, despite her claims, Ash has a special spot for her reserved in his heart. He really likes the Gym leader and he hopes that every Gym in Kalos has a similarly awesome person in it because oh, the sheer acceptance is so unlike what he's grown used to. His uncle and people in his close surroundings can try as hard as they can, they have history with him, they've seen what these abilities have done to him or what he's needed to go through. But to have a complete stranger do exactly what his family does, some out of respect and some just because they like him? Yeah, he really likes Viola a lot.
As he goes to catch the next train back to Lumiose, in a less life-devoid station this time, he feels conflicted but good. His journey has officially started, in a very traditional way too, he's often just gotten his badges because he humoured the Gym leaders but then again, they are the judge of his ability to be a trainer and he's sort of made it somewhere, nonetheless. Granted, he usually tumbles headfirst into something but he's here, isn't he? Gosh, he can't wait to see Lance again and despite not knowing if the man is going to be proud of him -because he's done nothing other than just being himself- but he very much hopes that his uncle won't be angry at him and just... remains nice. Ash knows his mother would be beside herself if she saw him jump from the Prism Tower but anger isn't what he needs to put that incident behind him. Or at least, that's what he assumes she would've done, she doesn't care right now.
'Right, let's not think about that right now,' he thinks as he watches a group of girls worm their way through the crowd.
They split up, two girls take the spaces in front of him, while two others take the seats across the hallway. The strange seating doesn't stop them from talking pretty loud and enthusiastic. Ash can tell from their accents that they are foreigners, they're the only ones speaking English in the whole damn train and the looks of them that they're in the show part of the pokémon league kind of trainers. There's an awful lot of sequins on their clothes, he would hate for the wire holding them together to snap and the sequins would go everywhere. One comes loose as he thinks about it and lands on the table.
"Hey, but isn't that-"
'Arceus, no, don't let them say it,' he thinks as he turns to the window.
"Looks like it. Doesn't look like he wants to talk."
"You think he understands us?"
"I do," he says, turning to the one in front of him because he hates being talked over.
He must've put an awful lot of attitude in those two words, the girl pales the moment she looks into his eyes. The massive bruise on his face is gone, though, he's got no clue why she would look like she's seen a ghost.
"Mesdame, messieurs, bonjour. Dans quelques instants le TGC en provenance de Santalune desservira la gare de Lumiose Nord. Un minute d'arrêt. Assurez- vous de ne rien avoir oublié," A mechanic voice chimes and despite not understanding all of it, Ash gathers that they've just arrived at Lumiose, his destination.
The girls haven't said anything to him so he just slides out of his seat -no one ever came to sit next to him- and leaves the train. The station is bustling with life down here too but no one looks at him right now. He must look normal now with the bruise on his face but still, he keeps his cap low. Pikachu's sitting close to his face, he can feel the pokémon's fur brush against him. His hand is on Dedenne, who turns in his pocket to get the full advantage of the warmth and protection.
Ash takes a deep breath, eyes the Prism Tower in the distance and leaves, figuring he might want to go and visit a pokémon centre before going to professor Sycamore's laboratory. He doubts if the Surskitt did anything to Heracross but the nurses' health check gave him a bit of time to think, which he feels he could use. Without, you know, being reminded by his misadventure with the Prism Tower.
End of chapter twenty-five