Chapter 22 The Orphanage
When Ash finally arrives at the gym, Cal just rushes out and he is not happy.
Cal: NOPE, no fuckin' way. After that last shit-weasel? Gym's fuckin' closed, get outta here!
Ash: Wait, I'm not here for the gym!
But Cal is too angry to hear him out, and he already sends out a Torkoal. Ash groans as he goes for Gigalith, hoping that Cal can hear his reason. Gigalith goes for Rock Blast, which knocks out Torkoal, but Torkoal has already set up Stealth Rocks, much to his annoyment. And because Torkoal's Drought Ability, the field is now a Rainbow Field, which boosts the attacks of Fire Type.
The second Pokemon is Houndoom, and it tries to go for Snarl, but Gigalith goes for Rock Smash, lowering its defense, and then goes for Rock Slide, knocking it out. Cal's third Pokemon is Charmeleon, it knocks out Gigalith with Dragon Rage, so Ash goes for Donphan next. With the Rollout, Charmeleon misses the Rock Smash, it goes for Smokescreen, causing Donphan to miss. Donphan goes for Magnitude 8, and it defeats Charmeleon. The fourth Pokemon is Quilava, and it is also defeated by the same tactic.
Cal: What's your FUCKING problem, huh?! (Sends out Magmortar)
Ash notices that the Magmortar must be his ace, so he switches to Blastoise as his final Pokemon Blastoise uses Rain Dance to make the field rain again. Magmortar goes for Mach Punch, which deals a lot of damage to Blastoise. But Blastoise goes for Hydro Pump, finally knock out the Magmortar.
Cal: Can't you chumps take a goddamn hint?
Victoria: (Rushes to them) Hey, hey- what's all the commotion?!
Cal: (Groans as another one has arrived) I said before- The gym is CLOSED. Shelly's already been traumatized by watching a man drop off the bridge and splat right in front of her, and if that wasn't bad enough, the second she tries to get back on the horse, some CHUMP shows up, calls her all sort of bullshit in the middle of a match until she's on the verge of tears, and then he just hammers it home until she's not even trying anymore. And the worst part is he gets to fucking get away with his badge too because there's no league exception for emotional manipulation. UGH!
Victoria: Oh. That's what this is about? That's actually why we're here.
Cal: What?
Ash: I tried to tell you that, but you just want to use your Pokemon to force me out.
Victoria: See, we actually saw that guy on his way out. He was gloating about his sour win, too. I just about got as steamed as you are at him, but I'm a bit better at keeping calm. And then Ash gave him a whalloping. So, in a way, justice is served. We came by to check on Shelly and make sure she was okay.
Cal: (Calms down) I see. Come on in, I guess. (Opens the door for them)
Victoria: At least his heart's in the right place.
Ash: Yeah.
Victoria: (Notices Ash's Silver Ring) Where did you get that ring?
Ash: (Looks at it) It belongs to Corey. I thought that if I wear this, then I might be able to give his Pokemon a home, you know, before he killed himself, he released all of them.
Victoria: I see...
When they get upstairs, they also see Cain with Shelly.
Cain: Oh, Ash, Victoria! You made it! I almost got arrested before, haha... Buuut I gave him the puppy dog eyes and charmed my way out of it~ It sounds like it was worth it!
Shelly: (Terrified) M-more challengers...?
Victoria: Not if you're not up to it. We met that last guy too, and the way he treated you was far from okay. I'm so sorry, honey. Are you doing all right?
Shelly: (Curl into a ball)...I'm- I'm fine...
Cain: She's just kinda been curled up here since. I couldn't believe the way Fern talked to her. Like the second she showed any sign of weakness, he just went all in- No hesitation. Absolutely disgusting...
Ash: I agree. But I have already kicked his butt three times, that's the only thing that I'm glad to do with him.
Cal: All right, I get that we're all friends here, but do we all gotta be crowding in here right now? Is this necessary?
Victoria: Sorry, I was just concerned. Come to think of it, why are you here, Cain? Were you looking to challenge her as well?
Cain: At some point, sure. But mainly, I was looking for a girl named Heather. She said she was friends with-
Shelly: (Panics) Oh no... No, nonono- That man, t-that was- That was Heather's-I'm- I'm going to-
Much to their surprise, Shelly vomits just like that, and everyone panics as Cal tries to find a rag to clean it up. As for the others, Victoria stayed because she volunteers to help Shelly change a new set of clothes, and the others are shoved by Cal to the first floor, and Ash told them about what happened when they saw Corey's body, and how Shade took it away.
Cain: I didn't realize she saw everything- I am so, so sorry. I'm just gonna...Go...For now... (Leaves)
Cal: (Now alone with Ash on the first floor) Even I can't believe she knew the guy too. What are the fucking odds? Well, Victoria's cleaning her up and taking care of her now. I just wish there was something I could do. How does anyone expect a kid to deal with all this? If she's stressed to the point of getting sick... You think she needs a doctor?
Ash: I guess so...but the doctor I knew here...was Corey.
Cal: Great, but I heard there's one nearby, right? I saw a sign for it in this ward. Dr. Connor or whatever. Hey, you mind going to ask if he'll see Shelly? Maybe that's just what she needs after all this.
Part of Ash's mind thinks that it won't be a good idea, but this may be his chance to see what the place is like, considering what he saw back in the orphanage, how a woman said something about being free. But just as he walks towards the door, a girl just rushes out and bumps into him.
?: Oh! Um, excuse me...I-I was just leaving... Finally...(Leaves)
Ash knows that this is the second person that says it, so he walks into the orphanage and a girl suddenly rushes up to him. Ash looks closely at the girl and she looks a little similar to him right now.
?: Hi again! (Notices Ash) Oh, you're not Laura! Did you see her? She just left! Who are you? Why are you all glowy?
?: Nobody is glowing, Anna.
Ash notices a boy who looks just like him also there, he can't believe what he is seeing.
Anna: Huh? But that person clearly is! Oh, forget it. Come on! I'll introduce you to everybody!
She brings Ash to the center, and for some reason, Ash can feel an aura from the girl and it was almost the same as his.
Anna: Okay! So, I'm Anna- Hi! And this is my Jirachi, Nostra!
Ash notices that the girl has a Jirachi, but she seems to be sleeping. Just then, he can hear some words from the Mythical Pokemon, it is saying that it's nice to meet you.
Anna: She says 'It's nice to meet you!' Over there is my twin brother, Noel, and his Cleffa, Nomos!
Noel: (Sighs) Nomos and Nostra are just dolls, but hi.
Ash: (Thinks) No, I don't think they are just dolls. For some reason, I can hear their voices...
Noel: Uh, Nomos says 'Hi', too, I guess.
Anna: Don't lie, Noel; they're not "just dolls"! They're important magical guardians our parents left for us! Other than my pendant, they're all we have from them, so stop being ridiculous!
Ash notices the pendant has an Amythest on it, that means it might be one of the keys that Team Meteor was looking for.
Noel: You're one to talk.
Anna: Anyway! That's my friend, Charlotte! She's actually really, really pretty. You just have to see through the burn scars.
Ash notices a girl with pink hair that looks similar to the two who just rushed out of the orphanage, and for some reason, he thinks that she's also cute. But as Anna said, Ash can see some scars on the girl's body, burned scars.
Charlotte: Anna, for the last time, I don't have any scars.
Noel: She's not lying, Anna.
Anna: But- Oh, right! I'm sorry- I'm so insensitive! I won't talk about them anymore, I promise! I was just saying that you're pretty!
Charlotte: There's nothing to not talk about... (Turns away) Tch, never mind. Hi. So, you saw Laura on the way out, yeah?
Ash: If her name is Laura, then yes.
Charlotte: That's my sister. She's also one of Reborn's Elite Four. Awesome kind of runs in our family. No big deal.
Ash widens his eyes, he just met an Elite Four member just like that.
Noel: If you're going to say that, you may as well mention how Anna-
Anna: (Cuts her off) Yeah! Laura's so cool! And Charlotte and Noel are also Gym Leaders~
Noel: Anna.
Anna: I'm gonna miss Laura, but I'm glad she's finally getting out!
Charlotte: Felt like I'd never see the day. See, we're all stuck here until either we turn 18, or The Good Doctor finally decides to let us go. So, basically, forever.
Noel: The Doctor is scary.
Anna: Yeah! He has a really strong Electric-type Pokémon, and he uses it in his 'therapy'. It really hurts... Nostra says that she thinks his past patients have died. I think so too, because when you're around him if you listen carefully, you can hear a voice.
Charlotte: Yeah, I still don't know about that one.
Ash can't believe what he's hearing, now he is really sure that he can't let Shelly see this one.
Ash: Wait, if that's the case, why didn't you just tell Ame about it? I mean, some of you are Gym Leaders.
Charlotte: We tried, but he has the authority to be the doctor around here. And his Pokemon are strong as well.
Anna: So, Ash, what are you here for?
Ash: I came here because my friend saw something, and she's now traumatized.
Anna: Someone you know needs help? Oh, no! That's terrible, but you mustn't bring her here! That'll only make her worse!
Ash and Anna can hear Nostra saying that the doctor is coming, and much to their shock, they hear the voice from the doctor.
Sigmund: Ah, a visitor. I was right to wonder at the noise. (Turns to Ash) Greetings. I am Dr. Sigmund Connal, but you may refer to me simply as "Doctor". How can I help you?
Anna: Erm, well, Ash just heard that there were Gym Leaders here, and came by because of that! Yeah, that's it! Nothing else, hehe.
Sigmund: Is that all? Well, then. Indeed, there are some particularly gifted individuals in our care. Several of them were able to inherit or earn high-ranking positions. You must have some degree of confidence in your skill as well. Hrm. Orderly John, please conduct a brief examination of this challenger.
Then Sigmund asks John to battle Ash, and Ash agrees to battle the Orderly. The orderly uses a Slowpoke, a Magneton, and an Eelektrik, but all three of them are easily defeated by Ash and his Pikachu.
Sigmund: Most impressive, Ash. However, I am afraid I cannot permit a proper battle with my clients at this time. We're currently renovating our arena, and the common areas are unsuited to large-scale battles. Furthermore, intense conflict with official stakes is a common precipitating factor for even non-participating clients' effects. It is regrettable, but it cannot be helped. You'll simply have to wait until a different time.
Ash for some reason thinks that the doctor is lying, but he doesn't say anything.
Anna: Well! That's too bad~ Guess Ash will just have to be leaving now!
Sigmund: Hold, Anna. You seem quite eager to dismiss him.
Anna: Who, me? No, not at all! Why would I be, haha!
Sigmund: (Raises his eyebrow) Anna, do we need to have another discussion about manipulating others based on your hallucinations?
Anna: No!
Sigmund: Right. Why don't you tell me why you're really here, Ash?
Ash decides to reveal the truth, but he has to watch him make sure that he is not doing something serious.
Sigmund: The Lapis Ward Gym Leader, then? I see. I suppose I can schedule a quick evaluation. I have several other matters that require my immediate attention, but I will call on her a bit later. Thank you for letting me know. Do have a good day.
Anna: (Quickly whispers to Ash before he leaves) Psst! Nostra told me to tell you to tell her- Rather than feeling sad herself, she should think about helping the one who's most hurt by what happened! If she does that, then she won't have time to feel bad!
Sigmund: Is something the matter? Exactly what are you whispering about?
Anna: Nothing! (Pushes Ash out of the door) Bye Ash!
When Ash goes out of the door, he frowns as the Doctor is going to check Shelly's health. And not only that, he needs to call his mother and asks her about Noel and Anna, maybe those two can be Painter and Fantasia.
Here is a new chapter, and in this chapter, Ash finally gets into the orphanage and seemingly finds his two siblings. Are they really are, or not? I hope you like this chapter.
