It's too hot outside and that's seemingly the only thing managing to overpower my writer's block. Anyway, here you go, it's a new chapter!
Hope you all enjoy this!
The morning comes with an awful lot of rain and thunderclouds but Ash feels pretty happy but for some reason, he has to keep inside his room until ten in the morning, when the rain really starts pouring, mostly because the door of his room refuses to open. It just won't budge and nurse Joy has to call in for assistance to help and it takes a good two hours for the mechanic to arrive and the man swears and curses like a sailor. At some point, Ash muses that the door might actually combust due to the heated attitude on the other side of it but no, it doesn't budge until ten in the morning, when the word has gone round that Lyssandre is apparently hydrophobic and will not be coming to Shalour at all.
The teen doesn't mind, his phone doesn't give him any more of a clue as to why a researcher interested in Mega stones and the evolution thereof would be coming to Shalour. Now Geosenge, that would be a location he understands would interest Lyssandre because his phone shows him a gorgeously lit-up mountain with several partially uncovered evolutionary stones shining beautifully in the light. He wonders if Pikachu will be bothered by it if they ever visit the place but then again, the pokémon's high and dry on top of his shoulder, as long as they don't get pelted with the evolutionary stones, it wouldn't matter. And even so, it would be just his kind of luck that stone to come in contact with Pikachu, would be a thunder stone, right?
He makes sure to thank the mechanic profusely but nurse Joy is rattled and concerned, she offers to help move his stuff to another room and he can't say no to that. Ash likes this room a lot but he can't stay here if the door keeps jamming. What if there's a fire or another emergency that requires him to need to exit quickly? He's also not quick as is, if something happens at night, he will also need some time to put his prosthesis on and the small window at the side, just above the bed will not be able to fit him. Getting a pokémon to teleport him out is still an option too but only in real emergencies, the nurse will need to see him in order to believe he's made it out of the room. And does he want to admit to teleporting when he doesn't have a Psychic-type pokémon on him? Not officially, that is? Because, technically, he's surrounded by them.
Once outside, armed with an umbrella because it's still raining, the fresh smell cheers him up even more. The ground has gotten all soggy but instead of being frustrated that he's going to get his shoes wet, Ash remembers that it's been some time since he's walked through the rain and that the rain itself is great for the grass, shrubs, trees… well, for life in general. Maybe that's why he doesn't mind, though his tiny Dialga is back as well and also clearly unbothered by the rain. In fact, it seems to enjoy treading in the puddles a little too much but then again, when has Dialga had any time to play freely and unguarded as this?
"It's nice, isn't it?" he says and gets a playful snort from Dialga, who happily skips from puddle to puddle.
Ash follows it, grinning widely but loses sight of it as it chases puddles away from Shalour. He's a bit torn but follows Dialga, caring more about the safety of the pokémon than to arrive at Gurkinn's house even later than he already is. The creature ends up completely covered in mud and for once, Ash is happy Pikachu's being kept in place by the pokéhelp system or else he would have two mud-covered pokémon to clean. The rain gets an awful lot of mud off Dialga already but the sound it makes when the teen gently rubs the smallest brush he owns to get the mud off completely is more than worth the trouble of kneeling down and trying to keep his umbrella straight so Pikachu doesn't get wet either.
Once completely clean, Dialga hovers to his shoulder and stays there until he reaches Shalour. For being so small, Ash feels like the pokémon is pretty heavy, he doesn't mind it when Dialga sits on his shoulder but he definitely feels the difference when it's not on there. With one last nudge against his arm, the pokémon leaves but Ash is happy he witnessed the moment. Or at least, it was a much better sight than Gurkinn's grumpy face, that is.
"Don't look at me like that, I didn't do anything," he says, though grins as he holds his unoccupied hand up. "This time, at least."
"Hmpf. I hope you're hungry."
"I'm always hungry, no need to ask that. Why? Did you overdo the cupcakes?" the teen asks, knowing that Gurkinn mentioned something about baking them, especially for today.
"So I may or may not have made a few too many but still, it'll be a shared problem because we will be having cupcakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner."
"There are worse problems," Ash chuckles as he enters the house and shakes off his umbrella. "Is Korrina just as disappointed about Lyssandre cancelling as you or do I need to rethink entering this house at all?"
"Korrina is not thinking about that, she doesn't give a damn about Lyssandre. You won't catch her watching any kind of documentary, she believes in hands-on training."
"I never said she needed to be interested in whatever brought him here, I don't understand either, I mean, he clearly doesn't care about Aura, so why he would come here is beyond me."
"Yes well, she's not interested, she got a letter from the pokémon league early this morning and it must be news she doesn't stomach well so be warned."
"Oh you, if you can tell she's upset, why don't you go to her?" the teen asks, not understanding how anyone can be this way. "She's not going to hurt you, if she does actually mind you being there for her in her time of need, that just means you weren't man enough to stand by her in the past and that she thinks you're just being a busybody again."
"You go then, if you think that meddling is a good idea."
"I will, there's no need to challenge me into doing it."
"Mm-hm. I don't suppose you want some cupcakes for courage?"
"If not for the courage, it'll still stop my stomach from making weird noises so I'll take it."
Also, they're good cupcakes too, Ash doesn't mind eating a couple more of these at all but now he's not sure if Gurkinn has bothered Korrina with the cupcakes as well. He still keeps a couple just in case she's gotten hungry but the door to her bedroom isn't closed and he sees her sit on the bed, head pointed down.
"Korrina?" he asks softly, she looks up and sighs.
"Hey, Ash."
"It's not like you to sit by yourself like this," he says and goes to sit next to her, handing her the three cupcakes he's saved for her.
She takes them and the way she stuffs them consecutively into her mouth tells Ash she didn't even eat breakfast. Or that whatever issue she's got has made her hangry. That's an option too.
"I got a letter from the pokémon league," the girl says and hands it to him. "You can read it, just… don't talk to me for a little while."
Considering the letter is pretty hefty in length, Ash promises not to bother her for a good while, he will read it and he'll do it as often as he needs to understand why Korrina is this upset. But the first sentence is clear enough, though he's startled at the idea that the Gym has been closed for a month now! He opens his mouth to ask her why she has been closing it for so long until he remembers that he promised not to bother her. So Ash continues reading and sighs, it's clear that the pokémon league has lost their patience and is now threatening to give her even more time to be upset, by suspending her for an indefinite amount of time unless she gives a sign of life. Inside the Gym, that is.
"Hey, Korrina?" he asks, after fifteen minutes of silence.
"Mm?"
"Do you perhaps want me to help you conquer whatever issue you have? I would really like to help, I don't like seeing you this troubled."
"It's not… My Mega stone got stolen, Ash," she says. "About a month ago."
"What." he deadpans.
"Yeah, some weird old dude came and took it, said that he had been watching my Gym battles and that he thought that I was unworthy of the stone."
"Do you know where they took it or what you need to do in order to get it back?"
"I thought that finding a hundred trainers and defeating them was enough but I did it, last week but I still don't feel ready. I mean, that old dude came into my room and took it from Lucario as if it was nothing! I don't like that, that means he can do other things to me too."
"Not while I'm here," Ash says, figuring that the reason that old 'dude' Korrina refers to isn't as much of a stranger as she thinks he is and that it's the sole reason why Lucario allowed the Mega stone to be taken from it, that it knew who the old 'dude' is. "If you've hit your target, Korrina, you're ready. And I'll be there next to you to go with you, wherever you need to go."
"Geosenge," she says and she seems a bit relieved. "But I still need to get back in the game with Lucario. I mean, it's been a month now…"
"Maybe you will allow me to be your sign of life the pokémon league has asked for? I'm sure that if I talk to Diantha, she will allow you more time than just the two days mentioned in the letter."
"You can try," Korrina says though looks like she doesn't bode much good from contacting the Champion.
However, you can never do wrong asking, in his opinion, no one would be giving their number if they're not interested to talk to you. And honestly, he's playing by their rules, even if they only get two days, well… that just means a couple of sleepless nights but he will get Korrina back into the gym, feeling like her regular self again, even if it's the last thing he'll do.
"Good morning, Ash," Diantha says as she answers the phone. "I hope you find yourself in good health?"
"I am, thank you. I'm currently under the care of my Aura teacher."
"Yes, I've come to understand you've found sanctuary in Shalour City."
"Sanctuary?" he repeats, amused because doesn't that mean shelter from danger given by some sort of form of belief? Does she think that Aura would have protected him from professor Sycamore or whatever convinced the man he was in the wrong in that particular situation?
"You are safe, non?"
"Yes?"
"Good. What can I do for you today, Ash?" she asks, changing the subject as if she knows he doesn't understand, which is also why he lets her.
"I think you might know what I would like to ask from you, considering you know I'm in Shalour but I'll repeat it for the sake of knowing you're a busy person. I would really like to help Korrina reopen the Shalour Gym but I'm a handicap for her, I'm not fast and we might need to chase down a person to get what she needs to reopen the Gym again. So I'm asking you to please give Korrina a week instead of the two days permitted."
"Naturally, the prospect of a Gym reopening in the near future is enough for me to halt her suspension, Ash."
"That's wonderful, thank you so much, Diantha."
"I'm glad I could be of assistance. And thank you for wanting to help Korrina, you might not be as much of a handicap to her as you think."
"No problem, it takes a special kind of person to offer a helping hand, I know but it's awfully special to turn away from someone in need too."
"Very true. The best of luck to you and Korrina."
"Thank you!" he chirps happily and when he ends the call there, Ash looks up into Korrina's disbelief-stricken face.
"How did you do that?"
"I know I keep most of my unbelievable charm hidden but it helps to be honest near my important people. Most of the time, anyway."
"Ash, this is brilliant," she says, grabbing his hands. "You really want to help me?"
"I'm doing it already, though?"
"Then, we go to Geosenge!"
Ash agrees, armed with a backpack stuffed to the brim with cupcakes, Gurkinn's well wishes and an umbrella, they start their valiant trek to Geosenge but it's not too far and the teen feels like they're being followed. And they are, though it's the man built like a brick wall. McGinty tells them that he didn't feel like it was safe for two children to be on their own and it's Korrina who takes the most offence to it, she tells him that she's eighteen and if she can handle a Gym, she can ruddy well be trusted to walk a few miles by herself.
"But the Gym is closed, has been for a month, now," the man counters. "And you have an important companion with you, that makes even you a target, Korrina."
"I'm important?" Ash asks, blinking in surprise because he didn't expect to hear those words come from a stranger.
"Don't act like a fool, boy, you know what you are."
The statement hits target, the teen is left speechless and feeling indignant yet pleased at the same time.
'Damn,' he thinks. 'This one isn't playing any games.'
'He is very much like you but in a different sense. But let us just safely assume he knows all there is to know about you,' Mewtwo happily supplies, it sounds gleeful as well, which is a little odd but okay.
'Really?'
'That is, of course, only until you tell me that you feel uncomfortable, you know I can make this man even forget his own name.'
'No, not yet. I think I kind of want to see what this man is going to act like, I mean, if he knows all there is to know about me, it'll be interesting to see what's going to happen.'
'Agreed. It will be fascinating to see him realise that we can jump him at any given moment.'
'He also knows about you?'
'Well, he knew, I was not pleased by the attitude given to me. So he will know something is there but will not be able to put his finger on what he feels.'
Poor Mr. McGinty sure seems to be feeling a little paranoid but there isn't much Ash can do about it. If the man did react badly towards Mewtwo, then he would've gotten mad anyway. Besides, it's the pokémon's right to be concerned about its own safety. The thing is, Mr. McGinty seems not to realise that the ominous feeling isn't coming from him, which is weird but Ash happily takes it, he doesn't need more trouble than he might already be in. Because he remembers very well that he's locked eyes with this man Giratina saved everyone from the Dark Aura user.
Korrina's upset that her grandfather sent a babysitter after her, though, she doesn't say a damn word and honestly, Ash finds that childish enough to warrant a babysitter but he's not going to be caught saying that out loud. They do get to Geosenge quite quickly but somehow, the teen doesn't like the feeling of the mountain filled to the brim with hidden potential and evolutionary stones as much as he liked it when he saw a picture of it. Pikachu doesn't either, next to his own feelings of discomfort, the boy has to deal with his partner pokémon's nails digging in his shoulder. But this doesn't deter him, if like makes it hard for him to reach his target, the more determined he gets to persist.
And that's what needs to happen too, they have to go up the mountain to look for some sort of opening and again, Mr. McGinty goes along but clearly for his sake this time. He's sticking closely behind him as Korrina leads the way… or does the man just like it that he doesn't complain about him being there? Ash will never know, he just tells Korrina to get Lucario out because it'll know where to find the Mega stone the best. He may not have had the right time to speak to his pokémon about the Mega stones and tell them to take it all seriously but the stones themselves make for excellent hide-and-seek items. The pokémon able to Mega evolve with it will always hone into it, no matter how far or well-hidden it is. Korrina agrees, though Lucario seems to feel like the stone is inside the mountain. And having a rather large pokémon stalk back and forth on a path that's barely wide enough to enable two people to walk next to each other, gets a bit uncomfortable for Ash.
"Maybe we ought to look for some sort of entrance to this thing. You know, to stop Lucario from pushing us over the edge of this path?" he suggests, though Mr. McGinty has his hand on his shoulder that will guarantee to stop him from falling over.
"Yeah, sounds good but where do we even start to look?" Korrina asks.
"What about this weirdly round rock?" Ash asks as he holds his hand against the nicely carved stone.
"What about it?"
"Seems a bit unnatural to have such a thing just sitting here."
"To you, perhaps," she says but sighs. "Do we push it or-"
One shove from the man behind Ash makes the stone roll over, revealing a dark, ominous hole but also a clear entrance to the mountain.
"Alright, remind me to rely on your senses more than my own next time, yeah?" she says and bravely steps inside, though doesn't make it far. "Sheesh, it's dark in here."
"It's a cave, Korrina, of course, it's going to be dark in there. Wait, let me get my phone."
Ash pulls out his phone to get the flashlight in it to illuminate their way but he stills at the long, uneven staircase. That seems very unsafe for him but he's not going to send Korrina in there on her own, not when he's promised to help her. He knows she has already known what to do for a while now and it's only his persistence that's making her go through with it so he can't quit now. His flashlight shakes as he goes down the staircase, his heart is going over time as he knows he can fall but he tries not to think too deeply about it yet it's so hard not to… Ah, he's happy to reach the end but the old 'dude' Korrina told him about is right there, as well as a Blaziken who promptly draws Korrina and Lucario into a fight.
And as the brawl over the Mega stone commences between the two pokémon, Ash can't help but notice that Lucario moves a little oddly and not entirely in time with Korrina's sometimes not always wise decisions. It's like the pokémon hesitates between listening to their trainer or doing their own thing and then deciding on obeying far too late for the act to be effective. It's only a three second thing, though, it doesn't take long but Ash sees it a bit too often. Is this perhaps what this familiar-looking old man meant when he took the Mega stone away from Korrina? If so, why does he give it back to her after she's defeated the Blaziken by a hair, leaving her Lucario in equally worse condition? Ash feels too badly for the pokémon and offers it some berries which pep it up straight away and he gets a grateful lick in return.
And somehow, Mr. McGinty has caught onto the fact that he's not fond of this staircase, the steady hand against his back gives Ash more comfort than he thought it would give him and then the man seems surprised he thanks him for the help. The boy doesn't know what to make of the man but at least they've managed to get past the first hurdle… which wasn't much of a hurdle at all, if you ask him. In fact, Ash has a bad feeling about the rest of Korrina's road to reopening the Gym but he'll keep that to himself as well. There's no reason to concern the girl yet anyway, she seems easily doubtful of herself so he will allow her this moment.
Now, if only some unwritten rule in the universe would also stop him from not getting one moment of rest allowed, Ash would appreciate that as well. But they've barely made it down the last climb that would take them back to Geosenge, when the teen feels someone approach. His heart sinks when he sees his friends but it's Tierno who zooms over to him, taking his hands and showering him in barely understandable gratitude. The teen is a bit taller than Ash and it gives him an excellent view of the beautiful feather dangling from a cord.
"You need to keep this in contact with you," he says as he rips his hands from the teen's grip and gently pushes the feather underneath Tierno's shirt. "You can't underestimate Darkrai, they thrive on negative emotions, they use them against you so the moment you feel a moment of grief, you could relapse. So you need this feather to have contact with your skin, at all times. Don't lose it, you need to keep it with you always."
"I'm so sorry," the boy answers and Ash sighs.
"You need to be careful, Tierno."
"I know, I just… I'm glad you're okay."
Yes well, Ash isn't so sure if he's actually okay. Bonnie runs towards him and he catches her, accidentally picking her up in the process but the girl latches around him so he just holds her, not sure what to think or what to feel right now.
"Did you miss me this much?" he asks, a bit concerned because he's never seen the little girl act around this around her own brother.
But she nods even as her head is buried into his shoulder but even if it's cute, it makes him feel like such a sucker for making her feel this way.
"I'm so sorry," he says. "I never intended to do this, I just did what I was told."
"Don't apologise, Ash," Trevor says as Serena approaches him and lays her hand on the risky side of his shoulders, Pikachu's keeping a close eye on what's happening around him. "It's not clear what happened but you took the brunt of it, while you were innocent."
He shrugs, helplessly because what do you say to that. Clemont, however, looks close to crying himself and Ash can't have that.
"Why are you pulling that face? What stopped you from going with me then, if you're so hurt by me not being around you?"
"I also did as I was told," Clemont answers but he shakes his head so vehemently afterwards, his glasses nearly fly off his face. "But I'll never listen to professor Sycamore ever again, not when it comes to you. I don't know what bothered him so badly but he told me to stay put which I did and it's one of the most stupid things I've done in my life."
"You couldn't have known, though, if what you say is true," Ash says, hoping for all hopes that professor Sycamore just had a lapse of judgement and doesn't have it out for him like he fears the man does.
"It is, I was there," Serena says. "He told us to remain inside the building at all cost, that we were at risk of getting attacked by a powerful pokémon and that he would talk to you about it. When you came storming out like that, I assumed the professor had asked for your help but that he had said something wrong which caused you to leave but then Clemont's father heard from Champion Diantha that professor Sycamore straight up asked you to leave, as if you were responsible for the pokémon attacking Tierno. We didn't know at the time, we didn't know what happened until professor Sycamore got picked up by a couple of officers and the assistants started packing up the camp."
"Oh," is all Ash can say to that, he didn't know that this had happened either.
"But even so, even if professor Sycamore told you to leave, you came back to fix the issue," Trevor says and Shauna is nodding vehemently right next to him. "And still, all you do is apologise. Do you think you did something wrong, Ash?"
"A lot of things went wrong, Trevor," the teen sighs. "They usually do but I'm taking responsibility for all of them. I could've responded better to the entire situation but still…I would've left to find out what was wrong with that Darkrai to attack you guys out of the blue anyway and I doubt that would have made the professor any happier with me."
"He's been put on non-active for now, you don't have to worry about him right now."
Ash bites his lip and looks away from the teen for a short while.
"It's not him I'm worried about, I know my uncle has a say over him now and that's enough for me. But what worries me is that the Darkrai ended up hurt. Someone hurt it and now I fear that someone has something out for the legendary pokémon residing here in Kalos. First Yveltal and then Darkrai, two really dangerous pokémon to have roaming around all angry… So now I worry that, as professor Sycamore has been silenced for two months, it may have given someone else an opportunity they would not have gotten should the professor have remained in function."
Silence falls at the statement, it's something that's been bothering him for a while now and saying it out loud has only worsened his anxiety over it.
"Man, Ash, you say the broodiest of things sometimes. Lighten up a bit, will you?" Korrina sighs and she pats his back, he's truly surrounded by friends now. "Why don't you all come over? It looks like you all need to talk a bit more and out here isn't any good."
That statement is followed with a bit more enthusiasm from the teen, or at least, from the three youngest. Trevor is apparently the eldest of the group at eleven years old and Tierno and Shauna are ten years old. Bonnie, thankfully, doesn't cling to him for the entire trip back, it's Dedenne who gets a bit upset at hanging above the ground which ends up with her wanting to be put down. Ash happily does so, she's not that heavy but he struggled to keep his balance, having the girl in his arms made him a bit top-heavy.
Gurkinn isn't the slightest bit bothered about having the kids inside the home, at least he can get rid of the rest of the hundreds of cupcakes he made. And when Korrina tells him she got the Mega stone back, Ash can tell he's lying, confirming his suspicion. It was Gurkinn who took the stone away from her, which would explain why Lucario allowed it to happen, just like he thought. But still, Ash doesn't think it was a good move on his part, Korrina ended up being too happy she got the stone back, it might not be able to fix the issue she has with Lucario but the pokémon has seen it too.
Honestly, though, by the time he gets back from a bathroom visit, Tierno is attempting to fight Lucario, the stage built in honour for Lyssandre is now their mock-battle field but Ash knows this isn't going to end well, Squirtle is agile enough to avoid getting hit and it'll piss off the pokémon, Mega evolution will just highlight whatever weakness it's suffering from but instead of going for Squirtle, who would only faint if the attack hit it, Lucario jumps and goes for Tierno.
It may be the first time Ash runs but it's for good reasons, he's got his hands on Lucario's neck just a second before it reaches the teen and thanks to having the element of surprise on his side, he's able to force the pokémon onto the ground. The Mega evolution fails shortly, Lucario is normal again and that's why Ash lets it go but hell!
"What were you thinking?" he asks, turning around wildly as he looks at Tierno in disbelief.
"You… You're fast!"
"And I'll be ever faster to whoop your ass if I find you in danger once more!" Ash cries out in frustration.
"Sorry, sorry, it's just, she was so willing to battle-"
"Against a Mega evolution, Tierno? A Squirtle? Really?"
"… I could try."
"Yeah but couldn't you have waited until we were sure it worked?" he asks and that gets Korrina's attention.
"What made you think it wouldn't work?"
"I had the assistance of a Champion when I first Mega evolved one of my pokémon and you pick out a minor to do the job. How about you pit him against my full-grown Charizard next time, huh?"
Her face tells him exactly how she feels about that, Lucario's Steel-type part won't enjoy Charizard's attacks but come on, it's not nearly as unreasonably to pit two worthy opponents against each other? Gurkinn is quick to tell Korrina to shut up and get up, that she just did something stupid in front of a lot of people and that she's got lucky to have someone look out for her and not trouble him like this.
He tells her that she has an issue that he can't help her with, he instructs her to go to a friend of his, to a place that's called the Pomace Mountain. And he wants him to go with her, he doesn't specify having either of his friends come with him but Clemont, Bonnie and Serena aren't willing to let him go. Tierno however, has gotten a scare and seems ready to follow his own path. Trevor does express his thanks for saving his friends which Ash appreciates but tells the kid to look out for his friend, that he's just as much a trouble magnet as him but that he's still too young to deal with it accordingly. And considering he's just stopped a Lucario with his bare hands, Trevor nods seriously at the advice and leaves with the two others in tow.
Korrina, on the other hand, doesn't seem as happy to have to leave for another place, she claims nothing's wrong with her but after a dark look from him, she shuts up about it. Having your pokémon attack a trainer is a no-go, if she truly wants to get suspended from being a trainer as a whole, she should go ahead and keep doing what she did now. And she will also lose Lucario over that, he tells her as much so yeah, they leave, she's willing to go this time around.
"… Will they really put Lucario down if he attacks someone?"
"Absolutely. How can you not know the rules of a battle, Korrina, you're a Gym leader of the pokémon league? Hurting or killing your opponent are things coming from the underground battlefield, not the official one!" he answers, taken aback by her ignorance.
"Correct," Clemont adds. "They might even punish you for it too, you could be looking at more than a few years of community service, if not actual time in jail."
She closes her mouth with an audible click and stays silent for a good while. No one seems to mind that Korrina starts to understand the shitty situation she's caught up in, while Serena's mind still seems to be caught up in what happened earlier.
"You didn't hurt yourself back there, did you?" she asks. "Because that was also very dangerous and stupid to jump in front of a pokémon."
"I'm stronger than I look. Especially my left hand," he answers and she catches on.
"Mom was contacted by the Aura community, Ash. Are you being trained in it? Is that why you think you're stronger on that side?"
"I've already been trained in it but wait, let me show you what happens when I let Dedenne sniff my left hand," he says and the group pauses a bit to see what happens… but the small creature refuses to do so, it ducks back into Bonnie's bag yet resurfaces when he offers his right hand.
"How strange," Clemont comments. "Does Pikachu has an issue with it as well?"
"Not really, he's used to it, I keep doing this and he's got nowhere else to go," Ash says as he puts his hand on Pikachu's head, though the pokémon moves his ears out of the way and seems quite happy with being petted by said hand.
"That's really weird," Serena says. "So basically, Lucario wouldn't have enjoyed being grabbed by this hand so that's why it made no move to attack?"
"That and it'll halt pokémon storming towards me. It will also stop them if I'm angry enough but I don't remember if that was the case with Tierno this time. I was scared for him, I won't deny that but not really angry."
"I don't think I could've gotten a good look at your face either, you were super quick."
"It doesn't really matter, I know what I can do so put a bit more trust in me, I wouldn't have jumped in between that fight if I didn't know I could handle it."
"I don't know about that," Clemont says. "Considering the risk you took to get back to Tierno with that miraculously quick found feather from a nearly impossible-to-find pokémon, you seem like the type of person to jump into a situation without much regard for your own safety."
"You're not entirely wrong in that," Ash answers with a wince. "I used to do that but now, when I do it, people get angry at me. So I do put in the thought that I never used to put into before I jump into such situations. Also, take into account that Lucario knows me, it's been near me a lot and we've played games together. It doesn't link me to aggression and most of the time, that'll snap pokémon out of whatever trance they're in. Which it did, when Lucario realised what happened, the Mega evolution failed."
"Hmm… Okay, you might have thought about the risk then but still…"
"I'm a bad example, I know," the teen says and looks at the ground. "I'm sorry, I can't change who I am."
"Please don't, I know who I've missed this past week."
"I…" the teen starts, licking his lips before continuing, allowing himself some time to think about what to say. "…-was conflicted. Now that I know what actually happened, I can let go of whatever upset me about that day much better but still, now I'm stuck wondering what professor Sycamore has against me. If it has something to do with me at all, he knows that there'd be consequences to accuse me unjustified."
"So you forgive us?" Clemont asks, sounding a bit bewildered. "Just like that?"
"There's nothing to forgive, we both did what we thought was best for us."
"Yeah but let's not do this again, okay? It was scary, not knowing how you were doing or where you were."
"Nonsense, if Diantha knew, your father must have too."
"Eventually we knew where you were headed to, it was through Serena's mother, though… But he didn't tell us anything, he wasn't happy with us."
"What do you mean, he wasn't happy? First off, you did like you were taught and as such, he doesn't exactly have the right to be upset about obedience being a fear response to a situation, Clemont, that's all on him."
"You did it too."
"My mother hasn't received the price of being the most stellar mother in the universe," he deadpans. "I don't need to elaborate any further on it but let's just say that my uncle has been the nicest person to me and he just claims he's not doing anything special."
"Oh."
"And here I was, thinking I was the only one with problems," Korrina says, though Ash suspects she's trying to add some levity to the situation. Clemont isn't having it, though.
"You've always been short-sighted that way."
"Oooh, that's rich, coming from you," she retorts and she's about to open her mouth to elaborate but Ash doesn't want a fight to break out right here, in the middle of a route.
"Stop it, the two of you. Unless you want to see the effect of my left hand up close, And I mean, really up close."
"… What do you-"
"Beeeee!"
Clemont jumps and shoots so far back that his back collides with Ash's arm but the teen's faced much harder challenges than one single Beedrill. And he's not in the mood to deal with this either so he just shoos it off by telling it that they're sorry for making the noise and that they'll be on their way. Surprisingly, this Beedrill seems reasonable and just stays where it is, carefully watching them leave without making a scene.
"Why did it listen to you?" Korrina asks, voice hushed and her face slightly worried as she occasionally glances at the Beedrill behind them.
"Dunno, this was a nice one, I think."
"A nice one, huh?"
Ash just shrugs and focuses back on the idea that he's finally back with the group he hoped to travel with. He's pretty sure he would've ended up helping Korrina even if professor Sycamore acted like a reasonable human being too but still, things happened, he can turn back the time to undo them but honestly, Ash feels like the idea of not being able to fully trust anyone here is a good experience. Until he learns why the professor acted that way, for he'll always end up trusting Clemont's father and Diantha.
"Is it still far?" he asks, feeling bothered and itchy. Has been for the last couple of minutes now and the feeling is getting worse.
"Well, it's not super close," Korrina answers and Serena agrees, telling him that if the length of the walk bothers him, he should call out Bonbon.
"It's not that," he tells them but he's not sure what is actually bothering him.
All Ash knows is that he's pretty close to try and rub his face off. His right eye keeps tearing up and his nose is stuffy and itchy. But eventually, he gives up, the teen sees the massive field full of fluffy-looking flowers and when the wind blows, he can see it sweep up a yellow wave of pollen. This is also a weakness of his so he blows his nose after failing to sneeze yet tearing up again and puts on a mouth mask he's prepared just in case he encountered his pollen allergy. It's a common thing to find fields upon fields of flowers in every region and he might not be allergic to every kind of pollen but it's just his luck to be allergic to every common plant people enjoy putting out dozens off.
"What's up with you?" Korrina asks.
"Hayfever," he answers and motions towards the left, towards the field of flowers.
"It gets you from this distance?"
"Do I need to explain the concept of wind to you or…,"
"No, no, it's just… Ah, whatever. You won't find any pollen in here, though."
He refrains from sighing, fearing the action will just make him cough but in front of him, he sees a cave. She's right, he won't have any pollen encounters in there but there will be ones sticking to the outside of his mask and on his clothes anyway and jostling them will just set him off again and inside a cave, he's more at risk and falling so, it's not like he enjoys being in either environment. But he sucks it in, he'll just have to mind his step and make sure he's near one of his friends so he has a potential person to grab a hold of, just in case.
"Just a head up, if I stumble and you're close to me, I might, you know, grab a hold of you. Just a head's up," he says and gets nothing but sympathy.
"Of course," Clemont says and directs Bonnie away from him, she's walking straight in front of him so if he would fall, she would definitely be in his landing path. "Do you want to hold onto me from the get-go?"
"Nah, I'll be alright, it's just in case I- whoa!"
So he misses one from the get-go, he doesn't grab a hold of anyone and goes down pretty quickly, though he's able to catch himself.
"Dammit," he curses silently. "If this is going the theme of today, I'm quitting while I'm ahead."
"And do what? Sit here?"
Needless to say, that's not an option either and he doesn't stumble too often but he still does on occasion. They rely heavily on his senses, while Ash relies heavily on Mewtwo's ability to guide them out of the right end of this cave. What is it with these things splitting into multiple ends? A least the Noibat are cute, they chitter and one comes to sit on his shoulder, remaining there until he stumbles over the uneven surface once more. But they get out of there and Ash has had it. His foot hurts, his toes are definitely bruised, his left stump also did not enjoy the jostling of his prosthesis and now that he's outside, much closer to the flower field, his eyes tear up again. And he's hot, his nose itches so he lowers his mask to have a good rub over his face but he manages to rub pollen all over him, or at least, that's what it feels like, anyway and he sneezes three times in a row.
"You're really not good with either caves or open fields, are you?" Korrina asks, putting a hand on him while her face is filled with sympathy. Or at least, it seems to be that way as he watches her with his right eye bleeding tears.
"'t Is the season, I guess," he sighs ruefully and he hates how he sounds so stuffy.
"Well, let me tell you that you're best off taking the train if you're planning on challenging Ramos, the Gym leader after me. He loves his nature and open plains are his favourites to have his pokémon roam in."
"Plains aren't an issue, the plants on them neither, I… I guess I just don't agree with their system of reproduction."
"Poor thing. Maybe you'll feel better if you're inside a house again."
Yeah, he sure hopes he does too or he's going to scratch his face, especially his nose off. The amount of sneezes he's got to stifle is worrying, whatever plant this field is covered in knows what buttons to punch. Also, the sight of the treehouse in the distance is not promising, there are trees that also produce pollen and Ash isn't knowledgeable about plants or trees. Not enough to remember what sets off his allergy, anyway but right, it doesn't matter, he knows it when he gets a reaction and they've made it. They are in the Pomace mountains and… A Mawile opens the door?
Ash doesn't have the energy to follow the conversation, he plops down on the ground, unclips Pikachu and sighs. He's still so hot and the mask doesn't make breathing any easier but at least the sneezing lessened. For now, he will have to remove the mask eventually.
"Are you okay?" the voice of an elderly lady asks and he looks up, after swiping at his right eye to get rid of the tears.
"Allergy," he says and she nods. "I'm Ash," the teen adds, figuring that, next to his misery, he still has to mind his manners a little.
"I'm Mabel. I take it that you are the only one Gurkinn told me not to worry about?"
"… Depends on what the two of you were talking about but I assume that he meant I don't have any issue regarding my relationship with my pokémon."
"And you thought you could help Korrina with the issue she has on hand?"
"Honestly, no but it never hurts to show good intentions," he sighs. "I mean, I know what's wrong and I have a potential idea on how to fix it but that'll involve them getting into a fight."
"Oh?"
"I don't think Lucario agrees with Korrina most of the time and honestly, I get where it's coming from but Korrina is a bit blind to it all, which makes it hard because it'll hurt her feelings. And I don't think I'm the right person to tell her all this either. So I choose to just… be the person to urge her to get going, which worked but as far as the rest goes, all I can do is stand by her."
"Mm, then you can rest, boy."
"Really?"
"You've been through enough recently. Rest yourself and your senses and you will be ready for anything that comes on your path."
Ash nods, pleased she will just let him do whatever he wants because he has his own doubts. Maybe this is the other way around the issue Korrina has, his pokémon are rearing to Mega evolve and he holds back because he fears it hurts them. And he knows, they will hurt themselves if they think it'll please him so he needs them to understand that he would hate for them to suffer. Also, his tiny pokémon still need a lot of training, Ash would've enjoyed pitting Froakie against Grant but something had stopped him and isn't he glad he didn't? Maybe Ramos will give him an opportunity but judging from the fact the man likes his plains and plants… Sounds like a Grass-type Gym and using Froakie there will end up with him spending most of his free time training his little buddy.
And then Charizard's apparent urge to tutor Fletchling, he's not kidding when he says he's concerned about it, mostly because the small bird is happy with the attention and soaks in the information like a sponge. That can only end in disaster so he will need to manage that before Fletchling ends up either hurting herself or giving someone a heart attack when she suddenly comes up with a Flamethrower attack or something worse. As far as Ash has noticed, in the short period he went into self-isolation due to his time-travelling possibly messing with the time-line he travelled into, is that Charizard seems to try and teach her to control her ability but the Fire-type has no idea that the small bird doesn't have Blaze as he does. So all he's doing is teaching her Heat Wave instead.
Yeah, you can say he needs the time and he's happy to be able to tackle everything on his own terms. Mabel seems strangely considerate of him as well, he has a room downstairs, with an added bathroom to it and she's added a little stool inside the bathroom so that he can sit and it's a plastic one so he can take it inside the shower. It's quite nice and most importantly, his room has air-conditioning so that he doesn't need to open the window and allow pollen to enter and sneeze himself to sleep and there are no plants inside the room either. It's perfect and again, a sign of how considerate she is. This is something he's only seen with his uncle, this respect rubs him in all the right ways and he vows not to be any trouble to her at all.
Which is quite easy, he's quick to leave the house, prowling soundlessly to the pollen infected outside but protected by his mask to mess with his pokémon at a good distance so that he doesn't wake anyone. And that's where he has an interesting conversation with Charizard, where MewMew acts as translator for the Fire-type.
"He claims that there is fire inside her," the legendary pokémon says. "That he wants her to harness it before it hurts her the same way as… a monkey? He refers to another Fire-type, a monkey."
"Infernape," Ash says and Charizard nods but the teen still doesn't understand. "She doesn't have Blaze, buddy, maybe later on, she'll have an ability like Flame Body but that's not as harmful as Blaze will ever be because it'll always be active, not just when you get hurt."
"He doesn't understand," Mewtwo answers after Charizard grunts loudly. "He claims it feels the same way as the Infernape's issue."
"I don't know what a pokémon's ability feels like, it would be interesting but for now, its ability only protects it from defence-lowering attacks, it's got nothing to do with fire or her typing. Well yeah, that's she's a Bird-type, that's why it's called Big Pecks which isn't original but still, nothing to do with fire."
"Would you like to?"
Ash blinks before he nods. He's not hesitant when Mewtwo reaches out for his hand and acts as a link between him and Charizard. Oooh but it's so nice to feel the Blaze inside Charizard, it's raging, it's wild and most of all, it's angry! It's the kind of anger that resonates with Ash so maybe that's why the two of them look so chuffed while Mewmew just sits there, a little confused.
"What happened?"
"Charizard is more like me than I thought," the teen answers with a pleased-as-punch smile. "Maybe that's why we butted heads in the past."
"Likely. Also, he has felt your power."
"You like it?" he asks the pokémon and his face cracks into a smile when Charizard smiles even more smugly. "I'll take that as a yes. But really, aren't pokémon able to feel my Aura by themselves?"
"Not like me. And you possess more than just Aura."
"Ah yeah, forgot about that for a bit," he grins, smiling sheepishly. "It's a hassle, trying to hide it from the people I really would like to trust but I don't think anyone is ready for such a grand reveal."
"Charizard clearly was."
"I don't doubt that any of my pokémon would start to dislike me after a display of power, especially not battle pokémon. They're appreciative towards a decent opponent, I wouldn't be surprised if one or two would try to challenge me but regarding this-," the teen says, motioning to his left leg. "-would keep most of 'em from, you know, throwing me."
"Naturally, none of your companions will be inclined to challenge you and rest assured, should such desire rear its head inside them, I will take care of that swiftly."
The legendary pokémon doesn't sound like it's joking, even if it's idly playing with the chain around its neck but still, Ash finds the wording and the attitude befitting Mewtwo.
"Thank you," he says and he sees Charizard deflating in the corner of his eye. "Seems like it's already working quite well."
"The action of dissuasion usually suffices."
But when it comes to the Mega stones, the explanation is much simpler, much more than Ash ever thought. They merely thought that this was a manner to grow alongside him, he too ends up being powerful at certain times and they wanted to match that. And he's forever grateful that Mewmew can tell him, word for word, that Glalie doesn't suffer from anything, that his jaw is just a little stiff after Mega evolving but that it doesn't hurt him, either doing it or transforming back.
So with that, he allows the others to try it but according to Mewtwo, it's not possible that he's able to have all his four pokémon Mega evolved at the same time. Yet, Glalie, Charizard, Heracross and Sceptile stand there, looking ready to whoop ass… and Gible's at the side, giving every single one of them the stink eye and still also looking ready to sink his teeth into these magnificent-looking creatures.
"Now I will do it," Mewtwo announces and Ash raises his eyebrow in amusement.
"Though it wasn't possible to do more than one at the same time?"
"If you can do four, a fifth will not make a difference."
He agrees but he's still amused nonetheless… a little less when Mewtwo appears quite unfit for its cute nickname. Even Charizard doesn't seem willing to urge on a battle, which is a first but Ash is stilled by sheer amazement.
"I know I saw a picture of this Mega evolution but it's so much more amazing to see it in real life," he gushes, circling Mewtwo a couple of times. "How does it feel? It doesn't hurt you, right? Do you feel different at all?"
"I feel fine, I am not hurt and yes, I feel a difference, naturally."
Ash smiles, seems like the evolution hasn't made a difference when it comes to character, Mewtwo can still deadpan as perfectly as before. And it doesn't seem to make any of them more aggressive, though there's an edge he's not blind towards. He doesn't keep them still for long, he pits most of them against each other and lets them duke it out so they can get familiar with the changes they've gone through. Most as he's not going to add Mewtwo in the battles. Its attitude might not have changed but Ash can feel danger coming from it that wasn't there before and Mewtwo realises that as well. So it changes back.
"The danger comes from yourself, it is your power that allows me to go above and beyond, friend," Mewtwo says and he nods.
"Maybe so, it's still unsettling because I know you would hurt someone with it. And that, if I don't hide you well enough, could mean your end. And your end would make me so fucking mad, Mewtwo, I'll explode. Because you're the way you are because of mankind so your undoing would be theirs, I swear."
"Good, let that be my testament, then. Maybe that will give Arceus a reason to look out for you," the pokémon says and sits down. "Be assured that I would do the same for you, friend."
"… Well, let that be another reason why no one looks down on either of us."
"Here, here."
It's been three days and considering they've only gotten seven days in total, to try and reopen the Gym, Ash goes to check if his friends are doing okay. He, however, sees three bothered-looking teens in the kitchen, talking about… flowers? Bonnie's not bothered at all, she's apparently made Dedenne a crown with the flowers the others seem to suddenly dislike so much.
"Ash, you're the luckiest kid around," Korrina says and he smiles at her.
"You might want to rephrase that with the word 'here' at the end, actually but maybe you can start with telling me why you think so."
"You're not stuck needing to sit in a room for hours on end arranging flowers."
'Flowers, huh?' the teen thinks and feels like Mabel choose a peculiar way to annoy Korrina.
He's not sure if that'll help but by the looks of it, the girl seems ready to start throwing stuff around so maybe it'll end up okay.
"Korrina, he's allergic to them, of course, Mabel wouldn't put him in a closed room with them," Clemont suddenly says.
"Yeah well, he's still lucky."
"Being jealous of an allergy is real miserable, though, you ought to reconsider."
"I bet it's got everything to do that my grandfather told Mabel not to bother with him, though so if you can keep your wrong assumptions in, that'd be nice," the girl shoots back.
"And have you put any thought into why Gurkinn would think Ash doesn't have any issue at all? Or at least, ones Mabel can't help him with?"
"If he's so f-"
"Just a head's up, if I need to stop the two of you from squabbling once more, I'm throwing hands, alright?" Ash says, not allowing Korrina to continue talking because she swears and he won't have her swearing like a sailor when Bonnie's there to hear it. "I'm talented like a psychic and I understand my own pokémon perfectly, I have no issue whatsoever with my pokémon because of that. I just had to listen to my best friends telling me that, despite all my worries, they're not bothered by Mega evolution. No, it's pokémon logic to try and catch up with the strength of their trainer. It's why Champions are such strong people, they're strong like their pokémon. The fact you don't understand this, that you're frustrated at your own failure, is no fault of mine. And you can't hold my willingness to help against me, I do want to help you but you're not like me. I can tell you what to do but I'm not always going to be there for you, you'll encounter issues larger than life and there won't be anyone to help you. So, Korrina, do me a favour and go touch grass for a second, yeah? Breathe in some fresh air, it'll do you good. Just so you realise that working out your frustration on us is not going to help your cause."
She looks at him for a second, then shoves her seat back but not before giving Ash a very heated look.
"You're gonna tell me what the issue is afterwards, though."
"Sure, if you've not caught onto it by the time you get back inside, I will tell you to your face."
She agrees with that but Clemont seems worried for him, he actually grabs his sleeve and tells him he doesn't have to do this, that he can just let her struggle and not tell her the truth.
"I don't back out of my promises, I've made a double one now and I'll tell her and solve her issue but it'll take time and work. Now, why do you dislike flowers so much, Clemont?"
"I don't, though Bunnelby ate most of them. At least it made Mabel smile."
Ash bets it did, when he sees the cute pokémon -you know he's never going to stop anyone from showing him Kalos native pokémon- he can't keep his hands to himself. And the Bunnelby makes the same noise Pikachu makes and with the pokémon being significantly larger than Pikachu, he can actually see its mouth move like it's chewing.
"You're adorable," he coos and before he knows it, the Bunnelby is in his arms, head back and arms up with its bully exposed. "Look at you~"
"Can I pet his belly?" Bonnie says, Ash is a little startled that she's at his feet, right in front of him but he bends down slowly so she can do exactly what she wants.
Bunnelby certainly doesn't seem to mind, the teen can see the pokémon's teeth move as well, the sound's very clear now and he can't be more pleased with it, while he's not sure why every pokémon purrs when he touches them but it's still so gratifying when it happens.
"Is there a pokémon you don't like, Ash?" Serena asks after she's gotten a chance to rub Bunnelby's very well-brushed belly that's all soft and nice.
"Yes, of course, but I don't encounter them often. I hope they don't appear here either but who knows, we might encounter a couple."
"Now you've gotten me curious," she says but leaves the subject open when Korrina comes back.
"Right, I didn't figure it out," the Gym leader announces and Ash laughs, which seems to annoy her even further. "What? Why are you laughing?"
"You're power-hungry and you don't even realise it."
She stills.
"Lucario tolerates it but Mega evolution highlights weaknesses, I'll say it again and again until you get it, Korrina. It knows you don't care about the bond you have with it but when it Mega evolves, its senses get heightened to the point where it can't tolerate that you still don't care about its well-being when it's Mega evolved, it gets power-drunk itself but nothing can pump up a pokémon more than their own trainer supporting them and not be saddened by a loss. You are, you only care about winning. When you got the Mega stone, you didn't look behind you to see your pokémon in the eyes, Lucario gave everything it had to give for the stone and you still don't care."
"… Aight. Still fail to see how flowers will help me, though."
"Korrina, I want you to listen to me good, okay?" he says and he's got her attention. "I regret every second I can't spend with my pokémon. Being separated from them was hell and I did it, I tolerated it but not without complaining about it the entire way until they caved in and brought in Pikachu. And here you are, oblivious to your own weakness, complaining about a first-world issue and you're the only one, of everyone here, who doesn't have the pokémon they did the activity with out of their pokéball. If this continues, you're going to wake up with a smashed pokéball on your nightstand, girlie and that's the moment where you'll cry and realise that you've been nothing but a bad copy like all the other jerks I've had to fight and knock some sense into."
She stares at him.
"Do you understand, Korrina?"
"Yes, but what do I do?"
"I suggest taking a long, hard look in the mirror and convince yourself you're not that great a person or trainer. And after you've realised that, it's about high time you go and apologise to Lucario."
"And then?"
"Then I suggest you start giving a damn."
"… I'll go find a mirror, then," Korrina says, slinking out of the room, if she'd had a tail, it would be dragging across the floor now.
"You have such a juicy way to tell someone they suck," Clemont says when the other Gym leader leaves and chuckles. "Do you think it'll make a difference, though?"
"I don't care if it doesn't, I've done my part. Imma defeat her anyway, with or without the Lucario, Mega evolution or no Mega evolution," Ash answers and stares at the boy when he chuckles again. "What's so funny?"
"You are. I wonder what your flower arrangement would look like."
"You forget I also have a rodent I would be making it w- Pikachu, don't give me that look, you might not eat the flowers but you would vandalise all of them by chewing the buds off the stem. Might as well poke green uncooked spaghetti in the foam, it'd look approximately the same."
"Piiii…"
"Don't give me that lip, I didn't get a brand new jacket with a chew-resistant cord on it because you don't chew on everything your mouth can reach."
"Chu."
"Yeah, chu, I'm sure," the teen huffs. "Watch you getting poisoned by biting off the head of some crazy herb or something," he adds and looks up, straight into Clemont and Serena's highly amused faces. "What?"
"You're amazing," Serena giggles and she's stroking the Fennekin on her lap like a Villain stroking their pet pokémon.
"What have you been doing outside all the time then?" the other boy asks.
"Training, of course. Froakie's ready to put some hours into getting stronger and Fletchling's well on her way to be able to be used against Ramos, I think."
"Planning ahead already? You know who you'll use to fight me?"
"Gible, of course."
"…"
"Have you ever seen a Gible up close?"
"I don't have to-"
Clemont stops speaking the moment the door flies open, revealing Mabel entering the room. Her face might appear calm but Ash better.
"Who told Korrina she's the issue?"
"I did."
"It never occurred to you that Lucario's powers get elevated to the point where it gets so power-drunk it doesn't act reasonable?"
"Being power-drunk is one thing but I saw a Mega evolved Lucario with bloodlust, it would have killed that Squirtle and show no remorse for it. That's what a mad and upset pokémon does and being power-drunk doesn't cause that."
Mabel just shakes her head at him and leaves the room. Ash doesn't think he's said anything wrong, though, Korrina wanted him to tell her what he thought the issue was and he's addressed it accordingly. If she can't take criticism, especially not after she's asked for it, that's not his problem, is it? All that while she knew something was up, even if it was her own grandfather dressed up as another old coot, doesn't mean that the man didn't see the issue either, right? He just wasn't man enough to say it to her face and isn't it just so human to blame all fault on the pokémon? He knows he's going to have words with Gurkinn later and Mabel… well, she can kiss his ass, for all he cares.
'Perhaps, having a series of dreams might… urge Korrina into behaving?" Mewtwo suggests and Ash is in the perfect mood to agree with the cruel idea, even though he doesn't know the true nature of the act at this time yet.
'Go ahead. She'll need nothing short of a miracle if people keep telling her she's perfect and that someone else is wrong."
'I'll relay the message.'
End of chapter thirty-one