Here we go, another chapter, on time and everything. Amazing, I'm very proud of myself and who knew that the news that I will finally get vaccinated cheered me up enough to feel like writing again? Very curious.
Anyhow, I hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
"Ash!"
The boy thanks Brandon for every lesson that taught him to deal with instability he's had so far -and secretly hopes he can see the man soon to thank him in person- but for now, he's just pleased he can catch Misty as she launches herself in his arms. And as soon as they're embracing each other, he realises just how much he's missed her.
"You're standing," she utters softly, sounding like she's on the verge of crying. "You're actually standing."
"I miss you so much," he mumbles. "I'm so sorry for everything, Mist."
"Don't be, please don't be. Look at you," Misty says, breaking the embrace and grabbing his shoulders. "Look, you're standing! Not even two months ago, you were at a loss of what to do and now you're walking again. Ash, it's a miracle."
"A funded one, though," the teen says, smiling wryly because he knows that his mother would never have been able to start a fundraiser like his uncle and godmother had -yeah, he knows Agatha is responsible for the financial part of his prosthesis and he'll be forever grateful for that.
"That shouldn't matter now, the means aren't important to the result now, oh, Ash, I'm so glad. When my sisters told me you were coming by, I thought Lance would be wheeling you around but then I saw you get out of the car of your own a-and I-"
She ends up sobbing and Ash doesn't know any better than to hug her again. It seems like the right thing to do, he's really sorry he's put her and his other friends through this.
"Are you kids alright?" Daisy asks softly and he doesn't know what to answer.
"He'll be fine," Lance answers though the teen doesn't actually see him. "It's been a while since he's had one of his friends with him, it was bound to be emotional."
"Of course, Mr. Lance. Also, can I compliment you on your looks?"
"… You can."
"Taking care of Ash seems to have done you a world of good, you're looking very handsome there, Mr. Lance," Violet pipes up. "I don't usually go for types like you but I think I could possibly make an exception for you today."
The teen feels that Misty's rolling his eyes but honestly, he should have expected the two to try and flirt with his uncle. Even now, when their little sister wasn't feeling well.
"Well, if you're all done watching?" the man asks, keeping calm under the two ladies' scrutiny, so the boy feels like he's been in this situation before.
"Why, not really no. I strongly suspect that you would refuse to come in and go away once we invite you inside so I might as well enjoy myself a bit longer," Violet answers quite sassily.
"Oh, I'm not leaving my nephew alone with anyone so you can rest assure that I will stick around until he is ready to leave," Lance says and he looks awfully smug.
Ash knows he's just playing around but then again, so are Misty's sisters so it kind of works out.
"If that's the case, how about some juice, Ash?" Daisy says, turning to him with the most radiant smile he's ever seen on a woman's face. "We have our Cerulean special poolside Pina Conada iced and ready to be served."
"Ice? It's January?" he mutters but Misty hushes him so he just nods. "Yeah, sure, sounds great."
"Great, let's go in, then. I want to hear all about this accident of yours and of course, how on earth you ended up with Lance, of all people."
Ash isn't sure whether she's still going to be smiling after he answers her but he turns to look at Lance first, to check if it's even okay to answer. He knows his uncle will intervene if it goes too far but at some point, Ash doesn't know when he's upsetting himself and the last thing he wants is another seizure right here.
"Don't worry," the man whispers when they have a small moment to themselves. "We're not staying too long, we're going somewhere else after this. Stop when you're not feeling good."
He nods and follows Misty -who is looking at him weirdly- into the larger area. Only, he doesn't see how large it is until he actually gets there.
"Oh, wow," he utters, looking up at the huge room, with an entire stage, large, overhanging balcony with seats…
"Good to see where the funding for the Gym renovations went towards," Lance comments casually. "I suppose these seats are for the spectators for the Gym fights?"
"Err… yeah, of course. Misty's getting pretty good at fighting," Daisy answers, smiling a bit sheepishly but even Ash knows that these seats aren't usually for spectators of Gym battles.
No, he knows these women too, they do shows and isn't it awesome to have such a massive stage here? Paid by the pokémon league, under the guise of it being for the comfort of people watching the battles here?
"Yeah, ever since she's gotten a hold of the Mega Stone, people have been flocking in to see the fights," Violet pipes up, all smiles.
"I'm glad that having a Mega Evolution is working out for you, then, Miss Waterflower," Lance says as he turns to Misty.
"… Thanks," is all she says.
"Well, this way, then," Daisy says and leads them into an area where they can sit.
Ash ends up getting a really colourful drink in front of him and so does Pikachu. He appreciates the thoughtfulness but he snags the small umbrella out of the tropical looking drink before his pokémon can notice it.
"Whoa, what's that all about?" Daisy asks, probably startled by his fast action.
"He'll eat it," is all he says as he puts the small umbrella behind Pikachu's left ear.
"Wha… Really?"
"He's used to be able to eat everything I offer him, he won't hesitate to put the umbrella up his mouth, trust me."
"Huh… Okay, I'll trust your word for it, kiddo, you know best, I'm sure."
Pikachu lets out a 'chaaa~" as he presses his head against the boy's arm and goes to sit on his lap. It's a habit of his, otherwise, the pokémon isn't able to reach the table at all and thus, unable to touch his drink. Ash hands it over to him, though, he knows Pikachu can carry such a small glass, it doesn't weigh much at all. As he takes a sip of the drink himself, he realises that there's no way the pokémon will finish it. He's pretty sure that Pikachu will drink a bit of it but it's a bit sour and if there's anything his pokémon doesn't like, it's sour things. He noticed that when he bought those boxes of candy, the only one Pikachu absolutely hated was the sour one. So while it tastes fine to him -though it would be much better to drink it in summer, he's also very cold now, the weather outside is still chilly so it's not the best weather to drink chilled drinks- his buddy will highly likely leave the drink alone after a couple of sips.
Ash doesn't particularly like how Misty's sisters are making this visit about them, they are questioning Lance about how he ended up taking care of a kid and he can see that these questions are bothering his uncle. Misty seems equally peeved, they don't have much of an opportunity to talk either, the two women are being a bit loud.
"Do you want to go upstairs?" the girl asks softly.
"For a bit, perhaps. I don't like leaving Lance alone with them, they're really bothering him."
"Okay, we'll make it quick, then."
The teen totters behind her, shooting his uncle an apologetic look but he can see that it won't take long before he's going to give them an answer that'll probably make them stay silent for a good while. He knows Lance has a short temper when it comes to busybodies, he sure noticed the beads of sweat that appeared on Palmer's forehead when the man turned onto him.
"Brock wanted to come today too but he's gotten news that he'll have a surprise test tomorrow so he's busy revising his notes. I told him that you wouldn't mind," Misty says as she drops down on her bed, sprawled and looking very comfortable.
"You're right, I don't. I would rather have him finish his school work in time, we can always meet some other time," he answers as he goes to sit on the edge of the bed. "How are you doing? I hope your sisters don't bother you the same way they bother Lance?"
"They literally see what I do every day, they can't hound me with questions, they already know everything anyway."
"That doesn't sound ideal either."
"It's fine, they rarely bother me, I'm used to it."
"Yeah well, Ice-type pokémon are just as used to ice and cold too but that doesn't mean they can enjoy a warm hug either."
"That's where you come in."
"Yo, I see you like, twice a year. Is that really enough?"
"Enough for me. Besides, you've been active online too, haven't you?" she says and the way she really doesn't seem too worried makes Ash believe that she's not unhappy at home, which is good.
"Yeah, I got my fancy phone which is a billion times faster and easier to use than my old transceiver. I never really made it to the internet connection, the little bar just kept sliding back and forth for ages and when it finally loaded the browser screen, it was missing pixels and stuff."
Misty chuckles and straightens again, wrapping her arms around her legs. She gives him a long, hard look before sighing and smiling at him.
"You're really something else, Ash," she says and it confuses him.
"Something else then?"
"I never thought you would bounce back from this. I never imagined that we would be meeting like this. That doesn't mean I'm not happy that you are back at your normal, active life but…"
"It's not normal nor will it ever be active. I can't even run and my physician heavily advised against walking great distances so consider me spooked enough to make use of my free travel card to travel through Kalos with every possible way of transport so I can avoid walking around. I hope that the Kalos bad guys won't actually sit next to me on the train too but yeah… There's no way I can't promise you that I'll be keeping out of danger. Not when danger is actively looking out for me."
"I thought you would never really get attacked by a pokémon, though."
"It's not an actual pokémon from this world and they're actually very… weird."
"Not a shadow pokémon, right? Please tell me that it wasn't one of them who did this to you?" she asks and sighs in relief when he shakes his head.
"No, it's a kind of creature that's rarely spotted here, it doesn't come from this dimension."
"… Why doesn't this surprise me more?" Misty asks.
"I'm sorry, Mist, I do really try to keep out of problems."
"That's all I can ask of you, really."
Ash isn't sure what she wanted to achieve with this, of course he'll try and be careful, he owes it to everyone who has helped him back on his feet. He would hate to have all this effort go to waste and to show her that he's really serious, he shows her his awesome prosthesis, trying to convince her that this alone, this wonderful invention that's given him his freedom again, given to him by people who cared, would make him try and keep safe. Of course, when Misty lays her hands on it, one of her sisters comes in and in the mindset that they seem to be in, Daisy comments on her position.
"Fondling each other while the adults are busy downstairs? That doesn't seem very classy, I thought we raised you better than that, Misty."
"Oh, please," Misty sighs but Ash has had it with her. Between the blatantly sexist remarks and this, he's had enough.
"Hey, how about you go and sensationally mind your own business? We were having a bit of a moment here and you just butted into the room without even knocking. Who went and raised you to have so little respect for your little sister's privacy, huh?"
"… I see Lance has left an impression on you," is all she says.
"Daisy, please go away?" the girl urges but Daisy is persistent.
"I just wanted to tell Ash that I think his uncle has reached his limit. He will be waiting outside."
"Why? What happened?" the teen asks, confused because he knows his uncle would've never left the gym if they… oh but wait… "You kept pestering him, didn't you?"
"He's a handsome man, Ash, we thought it was about time he realised that as well."
"Talk about being classy," he snorts. "Honestly, I won't even try to ask you not to be mad at me for saying this but wasn't the fact he gave no reaction to you checking him out not convincing enough that he didn't like it? Can you really be surprised that he doesn't believe or take any of you seriously if you act like that? He came in here to talk to you and now you've chased him away, all while he was just trying to be helpful?"
"Helpful?" Daisy chuckles. "Honey, he's never been helpful to anyone, try not to take me for the fool you apparently think I am. Also, if you wanted all eyes to be pointed at you, you can just ask."
"Don't call me that," he bristles angrily. "Why does it need to be so black and white to you? Lance just came along to help, yeah, we knew you were going to be curious but I can't explain what happened to me at all, I've not witnessed a big part of what happened. He was going to answer your questions but now he's gone. You never even gave him a chance to answer whatever question you had so honestly, go off at whatever pace you like, I'll stay here with Misty for a little while longer but after that, you'll be alone with your sisters again. And then you can think about why everyone thinks you and your sisters are fools, even worse, entitled fools."
Daisy just stares at him.
"Do you want me to give you a hint to start at? You have no respect, you just told a sixteen-year-old you could fancy him too, as well as his uncle. You burst into the room of your sister without knocking and yeah, she might be used to that or any other sad excuse you have to explain this really bad lack of respect. You use your little sister's talents to have a go at something that's clearly not proving to be very successful, otherwise, this act would've gone on the road years ago."
The young woman turns away, she has a guilty look on her face and Ash guesses that Violet is right next to her. He wonders where the third sister is but sighs when Daisy closes the door in quiet contemplation.
"Well, that went well," he sighs. "Why do I always do this?"
"… It wasn't uncalled for, actually, I think it was high time Daisy and Violet heard that. I just never thought they would hear it from you but wow, that was a lot of shade there," Misty says and all Ash sees is a look of admiration.
"Sorry, I don't really like to be put on the spot like that. And I don't like people messing with Lance, he's got it hard enough, he doesn't need this."
"Don't be sorry about that, that was awesome! Wait 'till Brock hears about this, he'll promptly invite you at his house so you can go and roast his father."
Ash sniffs loudly at the mention of Brock's father, there's a lot he gas to say about that man too. He's confused about the sudden change of attitude, it seems like Misty got cheered up by his moodiness, which is a nice change. In fact, she seems quite pleased about this which is good because there is a lot more where that came from. He's never liked busybodies and he feels like he never will. Daisy's behaviour has really disappointed him but then again, he knows why he isn't friends with Misty's sisters. That Misty doesn't feel like he's overstepped a line relieves him in a way she would never understand. See, he usually never liked his mother's friend who she had over for tea and biscuits either and oh, hell if he had given any of them some -well-deserved but to his mother very unwelcome- lip like just now? There would be words after that one but well, he won't be seeing his mom for some time. Lance is thankfully very different and it shows.
While Misty is a bit emotional that he's leaving so quickly, probably thinking that her sisters are to blame for his refusal to stay a bit longer, his uncle looks nothing but pleased that he's leaving. Or at least, that's what Ash thought but it appears like Daisy's a little more childish than he had expected. He waves at Misty from the car window until he can't see her any longer and when he finally turns to look at Lance, he catches the man's grin in the rear-view mirror.
"What?" he asks, slightly amused by the uncharacteristic expression on his uncle's face.
"I'm proud of you."
"… Why?"
"I never thought anyone would have the gall to throw shade at the Waterflowers."
"Seriously? Daisy went back to complain about me?"
"It was more an apology than a complaint," Lance chuckles. "She seemed under the impression that I enjoyed her comments."
"She's blind."
"No, I feel like you just know me better."
He has been kind of in the man's face these past weeks, hasn't he? That's not his usual style, he'll have to fix that but still, he enjoys having a guardian like Lance. At least Ash can trust him to be fair and reasonable with him, if not just straight up honest. Everything his mother rarely was. Yes, the boy feels like he might even enjoy coming home to his uncle, if things keep up this way…
Although, the dread that's filling him at the sight of a too familiar route is making him question whether his sense of security is going to be under a threat. Ash remembers the dream he's had, the anger in professor Oak's voice. His pulse shoots up as he remembers the vivid dream and he's lost on what he's done to make the man so angry. Has he done something bad without realising it?
"Everything okay back there? Not having another premonition?"
"W-we're going to Pallet?"
Ash doesn't like how squeaky his voice sounds, or that anyone could tell he's scared.
"Do I need to park?" Lance asks, clearly having picked up his feelings.
"Nono, I-I… Why? What are we going to Pallet for?"
His confidence from before has completely melted away and he's not sure whether he'll ever stop feeling so strongly about Pallet. Or professor Oak. He doesn't know what upsets him more, the fact he'll get to know exactly why the professor is angry at him… or seeing the house in disrepair.
"Friend, take deep breaths for me."
Ash shakily does so, he can feel the car stop, Lance has probably parked the car. It doesn't do much for him, he closes his eyes and tries to focus on Pikachu's fur. It's soft, of course, he's brushed it this morning, bright and early because he couldn't sleep after seeing the professor-
He's choking, he can't breathe, holy shit why can't he stop thinking about him!? A warm pair of hands grab a hold of him and once again, he's instructed to take breaths. Ash doesn't know why they want him to keep doing that.
"Easy does it," Lance says and the boy blinks. He doesn't remember having heard his uncle speak, did he miss something? Oh, but no, the man has instructed him to breath, he must have been talking. "It's okay, you're probably a bit confused. You just had a panic attack."
If only he wasn't feeling so breathless still, he would have sighed. Ash has had it with attacks, he's had all kinds of them aimed at him, verbal, mental, physical, you name it.
"Don't pull that face, it's not a sign of weakness. The old coot just has a greater influence on you than either of us thought. It's time to put an end to that, yeah?"
"'kay," he mutters.
His uncle lingers a bit and does leave until he's certain that everything's alright. A 'fine' won't cut it, Ash knows that these are things you can't easily fake or hide. He remembers having felt like this before too, it's weird because no one seemed to care he was suffering at the time either. So when Lance eventually goes back to the front and starts the car again, the boy wonders if he underestimated just how different his life was going to end up being. Still, this isn't so bad… though he could do without the attacks.
The rest of the drive to Pallet is silent but that doesn't mean Lance isn't vigilant. He knows that Ash feels bad and while he feels like the boy's made a spectacular exit of the Cerulean Gym, without tears or an argument, he should have known that professor Oak and the memories the teen has of Pallet would be much harder for him to bear. Then again, nobody said it would be easy and Lance knew that caring for Ash would be a challenge the moment he signed up to house him. He wouldn't have it any other way, though.
A lot of people, even close friends, have commented that he's changed for the better. Lance wouldn't know what he was doing differently from before but he could understand that Ash is a positive influence on him. His view on how people with abilities and disabilities definitely changed with taking care of his nephew but that was bound to happen with the child that somehow manages to make friends with everything that has a heartbeat. Although some cracks are appearing in Ash's friendships, he can see that the boy is starting to realise that putting up with bad attitudes makes for a bad friend and now that he has someone backing him up, he'll call them out on it. And accepting criticism is something people have a hard time with.
That's why he goes to get a bottle of water for his nephew upon arrival in Pallet. As the boy is sitting in the back of the car, enjoying the cooling drink, it will give him a bit of time to talk to professor Oak and warn him of Ash's sensitivity. However, as he enters the laboratory -the door's open- the first person he sees is the professor's grandson, looking a bit congested. The teen clearly doesn't want to talk to him so Lance advances into the building, going straight for the professor's office. And that's where he finds the man he's been looking for.
"Lance?" professor Oak asks, a bit surprised but he quickly gets a confused air about him. "What are you doing here?"
"I figured it was high time you and Ash talked it out for a bit. If you've got time, that is."
"Of course, I have plenty of time to see him. Do bring him in, I'll get him something to drink-" he says but Lance cuts him off.
"That won't be necessary, I fetched him a bottle of water earlier."
The man, who had shot up as soon as he knew the boy would be coming in, sinks back in his chair, giving him a strange look.
"Is something the matter, Lance?"
"I wanted to talk to you first, professor because I feel like you need to know that Ash still holds you and your opinion in high regard, despite the attitude he's shown towards you. He's a young boy who is still developing his character and his own person and I feel like he's not entirely sure whether you are a friend or just a bully," Lance says and holds up a hand as the professor is about to protest. "He has a special ability, professor and it leaves him highly upset most of the times."
"… Does he talk to you about that? Delia would never…"
"Yes, we all know that she never would listen to him and I personally find that very sad. How are you supposed to know what your child wants or does when you don't even listen or ask important questions? Delia was practically living with a stranger at some point, I'm sure."
"Ash never had an ability before this."
"Oh, how wrong you are, professor," Lance says and he has to stop himself from getting angry. "You just never made the boy feel safe enough to talk to you about it."
"He never told Gary about it either, though?"
"Ash has told me what happened between him and Gary. I don't think there was any real friendship between them up until now. I feel like it's more like situational acceptance, because who else would either of the two play within a town as dreary as this?"
"… I'm sorry. I meant to do good for him, Lance. I've told you that before," the professor sighs, looking downcast as he gathers some papers on his desk and puts them to the side. "I'm ready to move past all this, I've been following classes too, I needed it to take care of Gary. His anger meant a change in how I reacted to his outbursts and I'm proud of myself that I've handled my grandson's feelings as well as this… but I've rarely seen Ash angry. Upset, yes, a lot of times but never angry."
"He's not angry at you, professor, he's scared. He's just had a panic attack at seeing the road sign indicating that we were going towards Pallet."
Professor Oak's face falls, Lance also doesn't understand why Ash is so scared of this man either, he has no power over the boy any longer. His pokémon and career lay in professor Elm's also very capable hands. Even if he writes a thesis of how bad a trainer the teen is -which would be a blatant lie everyone would see through- there would be no consequence for Ash. Still, Lance figures he can't undo the effect of years of experience with this man, he doesn't know the professor as well as his nephew does.
"I'm very sorry, Lance, I don't understand. How did… How did he end up making that conclusion? What did I do?"
"I don't know either, professor. I'm just asking you to be mindful, he is fully expecting you to be mad at him for some reason. It's best to keep that in mind, he is very influenced by the ability he's only recently discovered."
"I- Yes, yes, of course. Do bring him in, Lance, I couldn't be happier to see the boy who has somehow kept my grandson from leaving to Orre."
He blinks, he remembers Ash mentioning that Gary wanted to go to Orre. A terribly foolish idea if you ask him and Lance feels happy that his nephew realises that too. Oh but wait… if it wasn't for his trauma with the shadow pokémon being so obvious to Ash, as well as the foresight being so spooky about the shadow pokémon that is going to apparently show up at the pokémon league in a few days… Yes, Lance figures that, at some point, there might have been a time where Ash would have supported his friend and tell him to follow his gut feeling. There's no way anyone would have told the boy the truth about shadow pokémon, a well-guarded public secret, and Lance doesn't think Delia would have either been interested enough to read up on the subject or tell her son about it, no matter if he was at a large risk of meeting one or two -with possibly lethal consequences.
The man feels that Ash's foresight acted very naughty, it must know that the teen's opinion about people interacting with the shadow pokémon changed, that the boy would never willingly send Gary to his death. Yet it still choose to show the anger professor Oak would have expressed at possibly losing his grandson to the death trap that's Orre. Lance feels like he needs to call in dr. Knight and possibly ask if they can't implement a buddy system inside the bracelet he's already got on his wrist. He figures that, if there is something on the teen's mind, he might want to talk to someone and having the little machine inside it listening intently to him might help. The Kalos population is warm and welcoming to foreigners, they enjoy stories and general merriness… but he's not so sure that they will enjoy stories about legendary pokémon appearing in their backyard, especially not the stories where anyone gets hurt because of a pokémon. He's not sure whether Ash will enjoy the pity and sympathy he would get from the empathic population of Kalos either.
"I will go and get him for you, professor. And perhaps you could tell Gary to stop moping around? Ash really did save him from imminent death."
"He won't take it from me, I've told him a hundred times that he was making a mistake that could cost his life but he's told me that he thinks I won't give him a chance to go see for himself. But maybe you can tell him."
Lance won't stand for Gary giving Ash grief about such a healthy decision, for both his nephew and the moping teenager still sitting on the couch. Still, he waits for professor Oak to go to speak to Gary first, he doesn't want to be the subject of someone getting a meltdown over things not going their way. He's more concerned about his nephew's issue than some brat who has rarely been told 'no'. Granted, Gary seems to have reached out to Ash so he at least has a bit of respect for the courage the teen has to own up having made mistakes.
"Gary?"
"What?"
"Lance wants to talk to you for a bit."
"Great, am I going to jail again?"
"Hit me and you might," he quips, not the slightest bit intimidated. Gary, however, very much is as he sees him rounding the corner. "How are you doing, kiddo?"
"… Were you the one who told Ash about the shadow pokémon? Did you really manage to make him scared for a certain kind of pokémon?"
It sounded terribly accusing and maybe he is a bit guilty of it but at no point has he ever told Ash about his actual experience in Orre. He didn't need to, the teen understood. Ash saw the aftershock of it, despite it being a good year ago since he came back from the unforbidden place. It was only thanks to his nephew's happy blanket that he managed to sleep without relying on medication to numb him until he couldn't think any longer.
"Ash has visions of the future. He saw a whole bunch of people getting killed by a shadow pokémon. I don't need to tell him to be careful, Gary, he knows."
The teen's eyes widen, tears fill them very quickly.
"O-oh no. Oh no, what did I do? Did he see me die too? Please tell me he didn't?"
"He hasn't told me anything about you, he has seen your grandfather terribly upset and angry at him, though. I think, even with the recent circumstances, there is only one thing that could upset the professor to that point. But I will allow you to make your own conclusion."
"God, no, that's not fair. I never meant to cause him grief but how was I supposed to know I was doing it? I was just going there for research, we have a safe tent-"
"You don't dock anywhere, Gary. In fact, you don't land on Orre," Lance says, feeling that the teen shouldn't just be wary of hurting Ash's feelings with his actions. A little information intervention seems like a good idea, just to make sure Gary has a bit more sense of self-preservation. "Have you ever seen an aeroplane from up close?"
"Of course, I have, I once was a traveller too," Gary answers, his indignation back at it again.
"The ones the G-men use are at least three times as high and five times the width. And one shadow pokémon shot us out of the sky about five kilometres before we reached Orre."
Gary's watching him closely now.
"It's not the first time I've been shot out of the air, though so we managed… but the most jarring thing is that the island looks normal. When we docked on Orre with a boat, we just saw a beach, with regular pokémon just sitting there. Nothing seemed wrong until they turned to see us and plain out attacked. There are no growls, no feelings, they just want to kill on sight. We lost several men to one Mightyena who became so angry it fired Hyper Beams until its own power ran out, until its body couldn't bring up more energy to attack. Even then, one man lost a leg because the creature still had teeth and the strength of its body. We had to shoot it or it would have killed the man."
"… And your pokémon? Couldn't they stop the attack?"
"One of my Dragonite was killed. The pokémon, they don't care, Gary. The statistics of a battle with a shadow pokémon are low when it comes to the favour of the trainer facing them. It's either to kill the pokémon or to get killed yourself."
"How cruel."
"Yes, very. Only a couple of very skilled trainers manage to catch the pokémon in what they call shadow balls. When caught, the pokémon can be purified, either through close contact with the trainer who caught them or by a mechanical process."
Gary didn't seem happy with the news, still stuck on how cruel the entire act was. Lance isn't making the effort to change his mind, it is cruel and he is happy that Ein got eaten by one of his creations. It was karma at its finest.
"You left Ash in the car?" professor Oak says all of a sudden, as if the realisation just struck him right there and then. "Is that sensible? It's very warm out there."
"The AC is on and he has a bottle of water. Besides, the car isn't closed so he can leave at any time he likes."
"You leave your car unlocked?"
The man rolls his eyes and goes outside, to check whether Ash is ready to come in. He trusts the boy and the Pikachu to keep themselves and the car safe and yes, there still is no one around in Pallet at this time a day. As he stands next to his car, ready to open the passenger door, he has an excellent view of the streets of the town. There is nobody there, not even a pokémon. Just a couple of Pidgey and maybe a Wingull in the air but other than that, nothing. The sound of the waves in the distance and the occasional chirp of a pokémon were all he could hear.
"Are you okay?" he asks as he opens the door.
"What took you so long? Is everything okay?"
"You're one to talk, look at you," Lance sighs as he grabs a hold of the boy who is looking at him with red-rimmed eyes, clearly having been crying a little while ago. "What's going on? What's upsetting you so much?"
"I… I can see the front garden from here," Ash says hesitantly. "It… It used to be so… nice. Not a weed in sight. Mom hates weeds, she would always be out in front, first thing in the morning, tending to any weeds she could find. And now it's so overgrown… She would cry if she saw this."
The man grabs him in a hug, he can't explain to Ash that his mother isn't thinking about plants right now. In fact, he's pretty sure plants are the last thing on her mind but he can't tell the boy what she's thinking about instead. He's pretty sure that it won't interest Ash at all and honestly, look at the kid right now. His nephew actually steps out of the car on the other side so he doesn't need to turn back in the direction of the house again.
"Is it any consolation to you that professor Oak isn't angry at you, Ash?" he asks.
"He's not?"
"On the contrary, he's happy that you told Gary not to go to Orre."
The realisation of what actually happened dawns on Ash a lot quicker than it had with Lance but it at least makes the boy look less sad. Yeah, he's definitely going to ask for the buddy system, this kid needs to talk a bit more. If he had known that the sight of his previous home would upset him this much, he would have invited professor Oak to his house instead. It's not as if the man doesn't know where he lives and there really isn't anything the professor could do there except get upset too. Nothing he can't handle but yeah, he'll avoid taking the teen with him to this town… if he ever wants to set foot here again because he's had it with this dead and absolutely hypocritical area.
To his credit, professor Oak does exactly what Ash needs, he takes him in his arms and gives him a good squeeze as he thanks him for stopping Gary from following that path of doom. Gary, on the other hand, pulls a face at that statement but he doesn't say anything about it to Ash, instead following his grandfather's example as soon as the old man has let go of the teen.
"I'm sorry I stopped you," Ash says as soon as Gary puts his arms around him. "But I couldn't do it, I couldn't risk losing you either. I've seen angry pokémon, they've hurt me so much but to think that they weren't shadow pokémon at all… that those pokémon are actually worse than what I've seen… I couldn't just let you do something like that. Please watch what happens on the eighteenth really well and know that that's what I wanted to save you and everyone from, Gary. Please don't be mad at me or anyone else who told you not to go there."
The teenager who had been seriously moping earlier seems to suddenly get that there is absolutely no reason to mope at all.
"In that case, I'll just thank you for the advice, 'kay?"
Ash just embraces him and this time, he's the one doing the squeezing. Lance realises that Delia's idea of her son not enjoying contact is just one of the effects of her abuse, who would talk or hug someone who would just make fun of them and shove them away? He's seen the boy hug every friend of his in those close embraces that result after not having seen someone for a while. Honestly, it's criminal how at ease the teen is in the arms of the young miscreant that nearly ruined his life but yeah, these kids didn't have anyone other than themselves for over a decade. You can't erase that kind of experience, even if one of the two has been a major douchebag to the other.
Professor Oak cuts the embrace short, claiming he wants to talk to Ash for a bit. Lance's stomach twists uncomfortably when the teen goes along willingly. There is a fifty percent chance that his nephew will be upset and judging from today's mood, he feels like there also is a high chance that the kid will come back crying.
'Whatever, I can handle it. It's nothing I've not dealt with before,' he thinks and goes to stand outside. Maybe a bit of fresh air will get the idea that this confrontation can only end up in disaster out of his head.
Ash watches the professor take a seat behind his desk and smiles warmly at him, trying to show he's really not an enemy nor that he's angry at him. He hopes that professor Oak is feeling the same way and figures it must be the case, otherwise they wouldn't be sitting here.
"How are you doing, my boy?" the man asks, not sounding at all like his jovial self Ash has gotten to know over the years. Instead, he sounds a lot more serious and now the teen is wondering whether Lance's interference has anything to do with it.
He's not sure whether he likes this, is the professor mad at him because his pokémon moved to professor Elm's laboratory? Even though it wasn't his decision?
"Err… Good? I mean, Lance is a great person, he treats me very fair and it's… different. But it's nice."
Professor Oak's face shifts and now the boy feels like he's given the man the wrong answer. Thankfully, the professor clarifies himself.
"I meant you, Ash. Not Lance, I know how he is, we've talked before."
"It's different too. It's nice to be taken seriously but there's nothing fake about me other than my leg."
"Why didn't you tell me, Ash? About the foresight? Why do I need to hear that sort of thing from Lance?"
"Why are you so surprised? You never listened unless I asked my mom to tell you what I wanted to say."
"I doubt that was the case, Ash-"
"The only time I felt ballsy and angry enough to face you, I sat here in front of you with a rainbow feather, dipped in water to show you it wasn't coloured and you still didn't believe my story of me meeting Ho-Oh. Also, I didn't know, I wasn't paying attention until a really kind man sat me down and told me to look deep inside myself to find the slightest bit of self-preservation so that he could at least shower without me getting in trouble."
"… Really?"
"Really."
A little while of silence dawns on them and Ash feels awkward just sitting there. He fiddles with Pikachu's tail, the pokémon isn't bothered by the action and watches him as he smiles a thin smile. It's funny too because instead of self-preservation, he found something very different inside himself. Something that apparently confuses even the legendary pokémon who have been around for a long while.
"It's silent," he says because he doesn't remember there being so little noise in the laboratory. Or had the professor done refurbishments? Ash wouldn't be surprised if the man wanted to make up haiku's in peace, even if it meant ignoring a raging panic going on outside.
"Yes, has been since your pokémon moved. Other trainer's pokémon don't have so much personality, or rather, the trainers don't allow the pokémon to show it," professor Oak says and it's probably not meant as a jab, the man sounds too neutral for it but Ash still feels like he needs to clarify that it wasn't his choice to move them.
"Riley did it in my stead. As a surprise, he said. I'm not mobile still and my trainer visa doesn't allow me to cross borders without an adult yet. Lance is a pretty busy man and while he takes time for me during the day and tends to work from home, it doesn't mean I can keep asking him to come here on a whim. I mean, missing my pokémon has been a re-occurring theme ever since I left to Unova, I can deal with it but it seems like I can't hide my desire to see them very well so Riley opted to move them to Johto, where I will live from now on."
"I feel like that is the best for you, Ash," the professor says and doesn't divulge whether it's good for him. "How is Riley treating you?"
Honestly? Ash felt like the man is getting a bit scared of him. He understands, of course but it still hurts that Riley doesn't trust him enough to talk to him about it. He sounded terribly accusing when he called him the 'Chosen One'. The boy wonders if there's a reason for his Aura teacher's behaviour, it's not as if he has never not been the Chosen One. He hasn't changed much, he just discovered a lot more about himself now that he's had some time to think. Surely that's not a bad thing?
"I… He confuses me a bit."
"Understandably. I haven't got along with him very well. He is unforgiving, make one mistake that will make him dislike you and it's done and dusted. He has never touched another beverage out of this building the day he accidentally drank a bit of my coffee."
The boy is flabbergasted, that didn't sound at all like the often jovial man he's gotten to know. But then again, does he actually know Riley at all?
"That's a little silly," is all he can say.
"True."
Again, the conversation dies out and Ash thinks he's ready to leave. So he slides off the chair but is stopped when the professor is suddenly right next to him.
"I'm not mad at you, my boy," he says and looks straight into his eyes. "I don't think there has ever been a moment where I have been mad at you. Perhaps at the injustice that happened around you but never you. And I've never laid my hands on you, Ash so please, tell me what I've done to make you scared of me?"
"I'm not, though."
"Lance says you got a panic attack because of me."
"No, that was at the idea of going back to Pallet," Ash answers dryly, wondering why everyone thinks he's so emotionally attached to them. "I still feel like this is a dream, that one pinch will let me wake up and I'll be back at the house, with my mom who does lay her hands on me and at a town where no one believes me even if Team Rocket shows up dressed in neon pink and green and legendary pokémon arrive with large, lit-up and probing arrows pointing at them the whole damn time. That's what I'm scared of, professor. You might be a part of what I fear but it's not you exclusively."
The man straightens and stares at him.
"I'm sorry for what I said when I encountered Gary's therapist, though, it was uncalled for, no matter if it's true or not. It happened at a bad time and I feel like you're trying to do your best. You would have never sat me down to talk to me as seriously as this and I think it's an improvement so thank you for that. But it's a little too late. I've seen what it's like on the other side, I've felt what it's like to be respected for the person I am. I don't think I could live in Pallet without hurting one or two neighbours within a day."
"… You have changed, you would never have told me this in the past either. But maybe I wouldn't have listened then so this could partially be my mistake too," professor Oak says and sighs deeply. "I apologise, Ash, for everything I've consciously and subconsciously done to you. I hope we can put the past behind us and move on. I certainly have no reason to be mad at you, my boy, you've saved Gary and I'm insanely grateful for it."
"Maybe now you know what it means not to be listened to despite all the experience you have, huh?"
The man looks like he sucked a lemon just now but nods eventually.
"It was frustrating. I'm sorry, Ash, my boy."
He gets it, he really does but it's too late to change his mind about the professor or the entire laboratory. It's easy to feel like the man won't make a mistake like that again, he isn't able to at all, actually. He has nothing on him any longer and he knows that, despite Lance's manners, his uncle isn't on friendly terms with professor Oak.
Nevertheless, the conversation is over, Ash can't stomach any more excuses from him so he just nods as if he understands and leaves the room, the professor hot in his heels. Gary gives him another hug as he passes by the room and after that, he leaves. And while he's relieved that he left this building without causing harm -or receiving an earful as his foresight had predicted- Ash knows he's going to minimise the contact with the professor. He may be sorry but the teen isn't convinced he's sorry about the thing he is bothered about. Not believing someone is one thing but not actually listening to him at all is something completely different. Ash remembers the times where he's tried telling the professor something, only for Gary to tell the man nothing was wrong.
In certain situations, it only caused him to feel a bit ignored but that time with the angry, big Beedrill he was terribly lucky to have such a good bond with pokémon or he would no longer have been here. Also, his mother ensured that he wasn't a crier, so maybe that was also a part of why the Beedrill just sat with him for a while and then flew off to wherever it wanted to go.
'How terrible…' he thinks as he walks out of the laboratory.
Ash tries to keep his eyes away from the house in front of him, as anti-climactic as today was, he doesn't want to give Lance the idea to go inside the house. It never was his house anyway, the Pallet community restored it and he just dealt with it… but it's not how he remembers his home to look like. Now, the house looks like a hotel, it was renovated by people with another kind of taste and style and sure, it looks good but it's not… it's not his home. He's lost it, he's never going to be able to go back to the home he barely remembers having been dragged out of. A morbid curiosity fills him, is his bedroom upstairs still the same? Or has Lance raided it, like, all his stuff is there, clothes and everything. The place must be completely empty, except for perhaps the bed, desk and the bed linen. His bed at Lance's house is bigger and it's got other, more colourful and stylish bed linen on it. Clair must've gotten it for him, he doesn't think his uncle would've remembered details like that during that stressful time.
"- okay?"
Ash jumps, he didn't see his uncle stand there.
"Oh, sorry, I was thinking. I'm okay, yeah."
"Hmm… Well, let's get going then. This place gives me the creeps."
"I know."
It's amazing how much safer he feels when he enters the car. This time, Lance lets him ride shotgun and it pleases Ash a lot. However, as his uncle puts on the radio, he shuts it down straight after Ash hears the following lyrics:
I won't be here in spring
To see my roses grow
And all the things you tried to fix
The roof still leaks, the door still sticks
Again, his curiosity wins him over, especially since Lance isn't answering his questioning looks, his gaze stubbornly fixed on the road ahead. He remembers having heard this song before, his mother enjoyed old songs a lot and when the radio was put on, this song came on quite often. So he gets out his phone and searches what song these lyrics lead to… and swallows hard. The song is called 'House for Sale'.
Ash bites his lip hard but he knows that this is exactly why Lance wasn't saying anything. It's his own damn fault, his uncle tried to protect him from this and yet…
"How did professor Oak treat you?"
"At arm's length. I suppose that's what you told him to do?"
"He should never have deemed you a friend and treat you like an enemy, Ash. Both you and him are better off when he remains professional."
'Professional,' the teen thinks and scoffs.
"Look, if you want to be friends with him, don't let me stop you," Lance says, having misinterpreted the scoffing. "I trust you to make those decisions for yourself too, I mean, you've made plenty of good friends too, I'm not going to judge you for trying to change someone who I know is an asshole deep down anyway."
"That's not what I'm annoyed about, uncle, professor Oak rarely is professional as a whole. Trust me, I've seen him nap while his colleagues bent over a pokémon and raptured into a discussion about it, sip coffee and try to make friends with league administrators who were supposed to remain unbiased or whatever," Ash answers. "I was more thinking about not talking to him for a while as a whole instead of being professional to him. I mean, my pokémon aren't even there and he's the last one I want to have an opinion from anyway. No matter how many therapists he sees, no matter how many sessions he'll do, I can't erase the idea that he doesn't like me. The abilities, maybe but me, as a person? I really doubt it."
"If you don't want to speak to him, that's more than fine with me. It's your call to make."
"I'll make it then. I've already told him not to expect much, he wants to move on but I don't think I can. Not yet. He's been a father figure to me but now that I… I have you… It's such a difference, it's an ugly difference, I can't even start comparing you and him."
"Good," Lance says. "Red's called me, you know?"
"Oh?"
"He doesn't want the house. He says you can have it if you want."
"I don't," comes automatically out of his mouth and it seems to surprise Lance. But the man doesn't react much, his mouth just quirks upwards as if he's amused at his sudden change of heart.
"In that case, I'll give him the green light to sell it."
Ash nods and looks in front of him, figuring he can always try and see if he can't secure a place of his own in a few years. It's a scary prospect but he figures he'll deal with it as it comes by.
"You do realise that you will inherit the Blackthorn estate?"
"… Why is it called Blackthorn when you live in Mahogany?"
"Because Blackthorn is the family name that owned the property. The city is just called after them."
"Is your last name Blackthorn?"
"No, the family line has died out. Both Clair's parents and mine are descendants but at a certain point, they only had daughters to inherit the property but they didn't keep the family name when they married," Lance answers. "There are a couple of other things you will be able to benefit off by having been legally adopted by me but I'm not going to bother you with that until you're of age. You have other things to worry about anyway but I guess I wanted you to know you'll always have a place to come back to. And I'll always be happy to see you, you've been the most accommodating person I've ever met, you never called me out on my quirks… You're more than welcome to stay."
"Thank you," Ash says and he smiles warmly at his uncle, he's very pleased by this statement.
He's not sure whether he would like to live in the house on his own either, he'll always have memories of Lance and Clair roaming around in the place but they're pretty young and heaven knows where they'll eventually end up at. Maybe his uncle will sell the place before he can inherit it, not every Champion keeps their title when they grow older and Ash knows that, once he's used to being on the road again, he won't be home for long periods of time. Maybe Lance will eventually get tired of him, people can be a bit too lenient, after all. It's all in the future and with his foresight only predicting bad times, he feels that this period without a sign of his ability means that everything will eventually turn out alright.
Dr. Knight is confused when Lance calls him up, he's pretty sure the teen living with the man is doing alright but hearing that the situation was quite the opposite shocks him a lot. Nevertheless, these aren't conversations to be held over the phone, he doesn't believe that someone would tap off a therapist's phone, no one should be interested in the mental health of a random person but it's not right to just talk over someone. Also, he needs to know whether the boy has issues being honest because a buddy system will not be effective if Ash just can't talk about what's on his mind.
He's seen a lot of sad cases where children have been told to be quiet one time too many and then, years later, the parents bring him their child because they are concerned about the fact their offspring is bottling up their feelings. He's pretty sure that the person who invented the nursing homes has had parents who dumped them with family and friends all the time. Kids need structure, after all and judging from Ash's independence, he feels like the boy's been left to his own devices for a bit too long. And well, the teen did get an awful lot of issues all at the same time, so if he wasn't able to properly explain himself before, that disability will not be helpful at all right now, when he's dealing with the issues one at a time.
"I'm sorry to have appeared to be in a rush, sir," he says, trying to keep the man calm, for he did react kind of sudden to Lance's suggestion. "I just wanted to make sure Ash is alright and to ask you why you feel it is necessary to add that function to the bracelet. Because it will trace the boy even further, just in case he mentions having suicidal thoughts. And occasionally, it will not be a robot who answers the call."
"That's why I called you, to ask for information," the man answers dryly but steps to the side. "But since you're here, you might as well come in. Ash will be glad to see you, I feel like he's getting a bit antsy."
"Oh?"
"He feels like he's unprepared to go to Kalos, even though he's confessed to me to have never prepared for any journey."
Dr. Knight nods, he's already seen the signs in Ash, these are all signs of the imposter syndrome he feels like the mother's behaviour created inside the boy. The teen has often told him that he often felt like he wasn't good enough, not fast enough, that other people were always a lot more qualified for a certain position but that he ends up filling it for them and is then filled with a crippling fear he'll mess up, despite being perfectly capable of doing exactly what this 'qualified' person in his head would do. The tournaments Ash has mentioned to have 'messed up' have just shown him a decent score. And somehow, the teen doesn't actually believe him until someone else chipped in, agreeing with the opinion the boy didn't believe in.
It's very weird but he's slowly gotten used to how Ash thinks. That's why he's concerned for the teen, this sudden call of help from his uncle worried him that something had changed. Like, getting locked up with a pokémon was bad enough and apparently, the boy was all off medications so maybe that could have caused something.
"That's often the case, I feel like his disability will make him feel insecure. But it's nothing he won't be able to manage, if something goes wrong, there are a lot of people who will have his back."
"Yes well, Steven's over the moon the kid's gotten a Mega stone activator and is now looking to give him a stone to Mega evolve one of his pokémon. And he's coincidentally planned several trips to Kalos over the course of next year so I feel like Ash will be seeing him a lot."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Not necessarily, he's the best person to teach Ash the basics of Mega evolution, he was the first Champion to own a stone and Mega evolve one of his pokémon so no, it's not bad but I don't know if he'll appreciate it."
"If he is insecure, the best thing to do is to work on the insecurities he has. And having a Mega evolution at his disposal will at least give him something to fall back on if his original plan doesn't work out during a battle. The thing is, does he actually have a pokémon that can Mega evolve? I'm not an expert on the matter but I do know that not every pokémon can do it."
"He has a Charizard, a Glalie, a Sceptile and a Heracross with him that can Mega evolve. His Pikachu and Krookodile in his current team are the only members that can't evolve any further."
"Impressive," he comments but feels like the boy's foresight might have influenced the choice. It sounds a bit coincidental that the man who collects all kinds of stones suddenly has an interest in helping him. But then again, it's not a bad thing, any help the teen can get will make him feel more confident and that's the most important.
"I know. Anyway, I'll go and get him, he's back in that training room," Lance says and doesn't wait for an answer, leaving straight away.
Dr. Knight can see that the man is tense but he doesn't understand why. In fact, he doesn't even see anything wrong with the teen when the two arrive at the hall but then again, Ash is happy to see him.
"Dr. Knight!" he exclaims in delight. "I didn't think I would see you again this year. We didn't have an appointment, right?"
"No, there is no appointment but I like to follow up on my clients. So how are you doing?"
"Oh, you know… There's a lot going on, though I'm getting really psyched to go to Kalos. Uncle Lance bought me my ticket already!"
The way the boy's facial expression change at the end of his sentences is a bit weird. It means something happens and one meaningful look at the man behind the teen allows him to take the teen to the side and have a bit of a private conversation. The sheer irony, though… Ash's first sentence is that he is worried about his uncle, while he came here because the man is worried about the boy.
"Of course he will be wary of what happens around you. Surely you know that he likes you? Everyone in the hospital knows that he's had fatherly feelings towards you before he offered to house you?"
"He has actually adopted me."
"See? You might not be used to it, Ash, but Lance is proving to be a good father figure. He will try to keep you from harm, just like your mother should have done, instead of sending you into it. Parents worry all the time, for good reasons because you are young, you still need to discover your place in the world and the only way you can do that is by going outside in that mean, unforgiving world they tried to shield you from."
"Yeah but I don't think every parent needs to worry about the nightmares of their children becoming reality. Or that one of their screams mean that there is a dangerous creature inside the room not even they or any of their pokémon can handle."
There's not much he can say about, Ash has a point but honestly, Lance knew that beforehand. The teen doesn't seem to believe him but dr. Knight feels that Lance will have to earn this belief from a boy whose been cheated on a bit too much.
"Try and have a bit of faith in him. And me because I've got it from a good source that your uncle just wants the best for you. So perhaps you can explain to me why he feels so worried about you?"
"… As I said, a lot has happened. Me getting seizures when my emotions get the best of me, actually getting one right in front of professor Elm and two of my friends… Then professor Oak being really weird and a bit distant… I've never had any doubts of Lance adopting me either but knowing that it would result in giving my birth father the choice to sell the house I grew up in makes me feel like I've betrayed my mom. She would like to have a say in it, or at least, last time I saw her, she would have. I don't know about now, Lance says that she doesn't care any longer. I find that really hard to believe but maybe he's shielding me from something there as well."
"I don't know anything about her current condition and I don't think I could stomach it either. All I know is that your mother doesn't have any feelings to be betrayed for, or else she would have never attempted to hit you after you just got out of a coma. I remember her as a very bad person and I feel like you're better off not having her opinion influencing your life because you have not a single piece of evidence she has the best for you in mind."
"… Why does everyone suddenly think she's a villain, though? I mean, sure she wasn't always nice but she must have really freaked out to end up in a mental ward."
"Don't try and redeem her actions, Ash. She hurt you when you were already weak. Her actions could have killed you. And that is what makes her a bad person in my eyes," he says and grabs a hold of the boy's shoulders. "I wish I could support your opinion on her but there is a definite reason why dr. Lotus called in CPS, who hurried like their feet were on fire to get you out of her care. Maybe you will understand what she's done to you after a couple of years under Lance's care, I hope you will realise that it won't always feel nice but your safety should be your guardian's main concern. If it's not, then they simply are not a good guardian."
Ash seems to accept the reality inside this answer, there is no further mention of the issue… but dr. Knight feels like this is exactly why Lance wants to have that buddy feature included in that bracelet. He also feels like there is something the teen isn't telling him, possibly because he came on a bit too strong in his opinion. The electronic buddy and well-taught psychotherapists occasionally answering the calls won't tell him these kinds of things. They will only urge him to keep talking for as long as the boy wants. One push of the button will stop the call anyway and depending on what the teen told them, the buddy system could call for assistance. Not to mention the bracelet's reaction.
The therapist doesn't realise the feeling he's left the teen with, even though Ash is now convinced his mother is beyond salvation, he can't stop himself from feeling sad about it. And seeing how Riley avoids him makes him feel even worse. So once dr. Knight has left the house, he goes back upstairs and sits on his bed, feeling a bit restless and unsure of what to do now.
"The mortals have never had a full grasp on the power inside of them. Not even Ar'qeus favoured Chosen at the time, decades before your birth, knew or understood the power they held. Now, the perfect chance of claiming the power has risen for you, young one. The choice is yours, will you stand my appearance this time or will you cower like those before you?"
The voice makes the teen look up, startled that he can; one: understand it; two; remember that he has heard this sound before. Don't ask him when or where, it just sounds familiar. The fact that 'mortals' is one of the older pokémon's favourite ways to call people, so he can guess that it's a legendary one… but he doesn't see anything around him.
"I'll stand it," he says, knowing that despite everything, he's not a coward and no pokémon will ever scare him that much that he won't look at it. "Where are you?"
"Look above you."
End of chapter twenty-one