It's an update! I know, my schedule is all over the place. I know a lot of you will be having vacation soon and not all of you will be going places at all. So I thought, why not write another chapter? Don't expect too much adventure in this one, things were bound to catch up to Ash. Secrets rarely end up staying secret forever, after all. Also, know that this was a challenge for me and I'll be honest, the only reason why this chapter is posted today is because of Muhammad Ibrahim Faisal. And if it's not soon enough to their liking, it doesn't matter either. I felt compelled to write another chapter just because of the review itself, not the possible reward following behind it. Sometimes, just hearing that I've written a good chapter is enough, you know, instead of just assuming that so many people are following and reading this chapter enjoy the direction it's going in
So yeah, I do really hope you enjoy this chapter! 'till next time!
So… Apparently, Ash has underestimated how much wild pokémon will listen to requests from pokémon he knows or can claim ownership over because Korrina fell asleep on the couch -which confirmed to Mabel that the girl wasn't very upset about what he had said to her- and woke up screeching in horror and panic. He's happy that he didn't realise what happened at the time when she woke up and started screaming because the elderly woman keeps a close eye on him and sees nothing but a bewildered expression at this sudden change in behaviour. Ash is also the one who assists her the fastest, he's got her arms around her in no time and gives her time to calm down before asking her what the heck happened.
Turns out, the damage her lust for power caused in her relationship with Lucario went a little deeper than he anticipated, in fact, he's very convinced that Darkrai has something to do with the sudden nightmare Korrina claims to have had but honestly, the pokémon doesn't create the bad dreams, it focusses on situations that hurt its victim, it hones into fears that have already existed long before it arrived. So while it is Ash's responsibility that she's had the nightmare, it's not his fault that it ended up being a nightmare. That's all on her and somehow, the girl understands what she did but Ash isn't sticking around for that. No, he's got the perfect excuse because his phone's ringtone sounds out loud and proud, the cheerful song cutting through the tense atmosphere like a knife.
"Hello?" he asks, as he escapes swiftly out of the doorway, out into the hall.
"Good afternoon, am I speaking to Ash Ketchum?"
"You are, yes. Who is this?"
"Oh, I'm Neveah, I'm the administrator of the system running your security bracelet. It seems there has been a malfunction in it so it isn't running correctly. I don't suppose you have some time to start it up again?"
"Err, yeah, I have some time," he answers, figuring that this is important enough or else his uncle might get upset at him. "I don't suppose you can help me do it? I've got no idea what to do."
"Can you see the button underneath the smallest green light?"
Ash puts his phone between his ear and shoulder to lift his sleeve and check if he can find it.
"Yeah, I see it."
"Press it for me until I say stop, okay?"
"Okay."
He does so and suddenly, the light above it starts blinking yellow. Ash tells the woman on the phone just that and she answers that this is normal, that pressing the button for that long is a signal for the bracelet to restart and recalibrate and that it will turn green again soon. Which it does.
"It's okay now?"
"Let me just check… You are in Kalos, in the neighbourhood of Geosenge and Shalour City, at the Pomace Mountains?"
"Yes, that's exactly where I am."
"Perfect, thank you for your assistance, sir."
Ash thanks her, he's bemused that she called him 'sir' while she sounded older than him but alright, she was just being polite. Also, he's concerned, he's not checked if the bracelet worked since time-travelling… And that's not exactly something he wants to be out in the open. Like, he trusts them to like, not think he had anything to do with the malfunction but his uncle? Lance is vigilant, he will be getting suspicious and once his uncle's interest is piqued… let's just say that Ash feels like he won't have a good time under the man's scrutiny. He might as well confess what he did in order to save Gurkinn. After all, Lance told him to go to Shalour, right?
But the evening passes uneventful, Korrina seemingly has gotten a clue that her Lucario is unhappy so that's enough for Ash to try and get a good night's sleep. It doesn't happen, though, now that he's worried about his uncle, it won't go away so easily even though he knows the man will never hurt him. At around three in the morning, though, Ash is woken up by his phone buzzing, this time, it's just a message and it's from the Galar Champion who he messaged weeks ago. The man called Leon who apologises to him for his late answer but attaches a link in his message that will show him just how awesome his Charizard actually is. And that's how Ash spends most of the night, ruining his eyes while watching the screen in total darkness, phone propped up against his sleeping Pikachu's back, completely absorbed by the idea pokémon get his own pokémon to become this huge in Galar.
It's six in the morning before he realises it and he hears soft footsteps come down the stairs. That's when Ash realises that the sun is shining inside his room, he never bothered to close the curtains and now whoever is prowling around can see the light coming from under the door. That's perhaps why the soft footsteps belonging to Mabel come to his room but at least she knocks on the door before coming in, giving him a split second to stuff his phone back in his bag.
"Good morning," he chirps.
"Same to you. Is everything okay?"
"Eh yeah, sure. Why?"
"You're the only teen I have ever met to wake up before I do."
"You can blame that on my first teacher, I've grown attached to his biorhythm and it's stuck with me."
"if it didn't happen with your first teacher, I have a feeling it would have happened with Gurkinn. He seems to like you a lot."
"I like him too, he doesn't judge me as much as Riley did. Even if he feels like I'm out of his league, he at least doesn't show it, he's shown me the basics Riley was too scared to show me and all that when I'm so in love with life. I'm very grateful to Gurkinn that he understands that."
"You're a nice boy, Ash, I'm sorry I acted that way yesterday," she says, sighing deeply. "Korrina acts different now, seems like what you told her made her realise what she needed to realise. So you did know what you needed to do, after all."
"No, if this worked, it's a sign she needed a shock to realise what she was doing and that's honestly the last thing I would have wanted to do. But she acted dumb, she got into Clemont's face, she got frustrated and worked it out on the wrong people and I can't have that."
"Too right. So let me thank you, I've prepared a nice breakfast, come down when you're ready."
"Will do," he says happily and he does prepare… but he could never be prepared to see someone he didn't expect at the breakfast table.
It's Steven and he zooms over towards the man, landing in his open arms. He gets hugged tightly, which is nice but when Ash looks up, he sees concern on Steven's face.
"Is something wrong? Is that why you're here?"
"No, no, you just look like you didn't sleep a lot."
"O-oh… yeah, sorry, I got caught up in watching Leon's Charizard Gigantamax," the teen admits sheepishly.
"Alright, it's pretty awesome, I'll give it that. But you also need your sleep, kiddo, don't do this to yourself too often."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. How have you been?"
"Eh, you know," he says and he shrugs a bit uncomfortable. "Things get a little weird and I need to stop drawing conclusions when I always make things way worse in my head."
"Is this about what happened at the camp?"
Ash nods, a bit ruefully and Steven draws him back into the hug. It's comfortable, the man smells like he's been rolling in grass but then again, he doesn't think the man has tripped in the grass, he's the only idiot who happens to do that. But he enjoys this, maybe a bit too much, he knows he can't have any claim over Steven but Ash hopes that the man cares about him just like Lance does. It would be nice to be assured that at least two people have the best of intentions towards him…
"As long as you realise that you didn't do anything wrong, Ash, you're allowed your own opinion."
"I sure hope I didn't do anything wrong because if caring means I'm wrong, I don't want to be right."
"You're not, trust me. What I will say is that you're a mysterious boy but other than that, I would only pray to once have a son like you."
Ash perks up at that.
"You do?"
"Absolutely."
He doesn't dare to move from the hug now, Ash is too pleased to have heard this confirmation… but when Mabel leaves, to go see where the other kids are -if Ash needs to guess, still upstairs, in bed, it's only a quarter past seven- Steven sighs and the teen can tell something's on his mind.
"All good?" he asks and the man initially denies that there's something on his mind but he caves in when Ash persists.
"Lance was beside himself when he called me earlier," Steven says. "He wanted me to check up on you, if you were okay because he'd gotten a phone call at midnight yesterday about your security bracelet not functioning properly and he apparently lost it when the person on the phone told him they had been trying to get it to recalibrate for the last week, meaning that whatever coordinates the bracelet would send through were wrong and that, if something happened to you, no one would be able to find you. He only calmed down when I told him I would look for you, Lance told me you were going to Shalour, so that's where I went. But while Gurkinn assured me that you were okay and told me your location, Lance wouldn't accept it."
"Ah but then I'll call him, if he won't believe you or Gurkinn, he's going to have to take it from me that I'm okay, right?"
"Yes, but he's… Give your phone to me when he sounds unreasonable, though."
"Lance? Unreasonable towards me?" he asks but Steven's expression tells him everything he needs to know. "Alright, alright, I'll give it to you but not after I tell him you're not to blame, you've done as you were told and you did find me."
"Well, I was going to look for you on my own initiative anyway, Lance just sped up the process, I guess."
Ash doesn't question it though Steven seems more like a city person. In fact, is that a grass stain he sees there? The man sees him look at it and sighs again, though he smiles soon after.
"Took a tumble when the hill became a bit too steep. I've always been too stubborn, I mean, I don't tend to follow the downtrodden path and these are just the consequences of doing so," he answers as he points at the stain on his shirt. "I bet I've got a couple more but I don't really care."
The teen just nods, bemused by the fact he's apparently not the only one challenged by the steepness of paths but anyways, he gets out his phone and uses speed dial to reach his uncle. And the man responds to his call with stellar speed, Ash isn't even sure whether Lance's phone had a chance to ring.
"Ash, is this you?"
"Yep," the teen says, knowing it's not beyond his uncle to assume Steven stole his phone and is calling in his name. "It's me, alright. I'm fine, just really messed up because there are flowers everywhere and I've been sneezing my head off outside. But Mrs. Mabel has been nothing but decent, I ought to send you a picture of the room she prepared for me, it's amazing, it's got the same filtering air-conditioning system in is like you put inside my room."
"I-I… I'm glad, buddy but do you have any idea how worried I was for you? That bracelet should never fail in the first place and when it fails, they don't tell me about it a week after they can't figure out what's wrong with it, do you know what could happen to you in that week? And I wouldn't have a single clue of your whereabouts!"
"I'm sorry, I did as you told me, I went to Shalour. I… may have a clue as to why the bracelet is malfunctioning but I'm not comfortable saying it out loud yet. But I'm fine, no worries."
"Ash, please try and trust Steven? Whatever it is, if you have doubts, if you don't feel well, at least also try to tell the person you can contact through the security bracelet? Please, it's what it's for, I can't have you lying awake about issues like that, it'll be a major weakness and I know every single damn criminal has tapped into that in the past and I can't have that happening right now."
Ash refrains from sighing, he knows Lance is right. But does he really want to tell Steven about why that Giratina showed up? Which he'll have to because that's how he prevented the death that made him time-travel, in the first place? Also, the operator who called him to help him recalibrate his security bracelet, she will have been trouble-shooting the system a billion times now… does he want to confess to her that it's his fault and that the weakness they've been trying to fix is time-travelling?
"I'm sorry, uncle. It's… never been this way. I'm not used to this but I promise, I'll euhm… talk to someone."
"That's all I'm asking, Ash, if you ever suspect that one of your adventures ends up busting one of your security measures, please tell the service controlling it too? They can't judge you, I've made sure and they can only work with what you've been telling them so that'll give you the freedom to say whatever you're comfortable with," his uncle says and the teen doesn't like how the man seems to beg for him to change.
"Thank you, it's just… it was time-travelling, uncle, I tried to prevent something from happening in Sh-" he cuts himself off when he sees Mabel return with Korrina and Clemont in tow and while both look a little frazzled by sleep still, Ash knows they've heard something. "I just can't say it yet. I can't," he adds with a whine, turning away from the two Gym leaders entering the room.
"At your own pace, son," the man then says.
Ash stills, hidden emotions creep up on him as he realises what Lance just called him. He belatedly realises, as he feels his eyes tear up, that he's not completely over the idea that Korrina ended up killing her grandfather, that this might be why he's always felt like her character lacked something.
"I-I'm sorry," he says but he's choking up. "I'm alright, I-I just can't…"
"I understand, you're okay, take your time. I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Okay."
He's quick to stuff his phone in his pocket but Clemont has spotted him.
"Are you okay?"
"I need some fresh air," Ash answers as he pulls his mouth mask out of his pocket to protect him from the pollen, not bothering to repeat he's okay.
"… With a mouth mask?"
He waves the teen off, though he's got a point. Ash just needs to be on his own for a couple of minutes and get himself together before he makes a spectacle of himself in front of these oblivious people. Well, everyone but Steven is oblivious, the teen figures that Lance made sure to tell his fellow champion and friend what could possibly go wrong, with graphic details.
Ash puts the mouth mask over his face and sighs this time, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve. Pikachu's puffing up his fur to make him feel better and while it helps -it always does, knowing someone is always there- it doesn't manage to clear his head. The doubts are too deeply settled into him, his mother has made scars inside him that no one, not even Arceus can undo. He doesn't mind that Lance thinks of him as his son, he would much rather have the sensitive and careful man as a father than his mother who has never cared. But Korrina, her grandfather is nothing but nice, has been ever since and wasn't he right next to her when the Dark Aura user attacked? Wasn't he right there when Ash cared for Yveltal giving the stone-throwing asshole the stink-eye? It's clear as day that Gurkinn cares, even with the Mega stone…
To think she could have lost all that, to return to a town without a single soul -other than Mr. McGinty, that is- still knowing or caring who she is… Ash can't help it, he can't help but cry at the idea to be on his own again, to realise that, other than his pokémon, there would no one who wants to put up with him. It's even worse than living with his mother, having spent several months with Lance only made him realise that nothing he has done, whether now or in the past, deserves aggression in the form of being hit. Nothing, not even getting sick or breaking something. Ash has literally been swinging furniture around and his uncle came to console him, not even blaming him for a second. Granted, he wasn't guilty, Riley had asked for it so he got what he wanted but the teen remembers a time when his mother would get mad at him for doing exactly what she told him to do.
No one has any idea how bad it actually got and how sad it is that, at a certain time, he was so sure that it wasn't as bad, that everyone did it and that it was normal, he had defended his mother and her action. Told everyone to sod off and mind their own business. His mom had nearly created a perfect, angry copy of herself and it's only thanks to his uncle showing up and proving to him that not caring isn't okay, that hurting someone is never a good thing, that he realised that. Not that he ever hit anyone, no, he realised that because Ash remembers how terribly well how he felt after she hit him, unjust or just -though, it's never just. You never get anywhere through fists, never- and he ended up being kind enough to not want anyone to feel that bad.
So he's not upset but he's just… a bit too happy? Overwhelmed by the love and care his uncle shows? Ash isn't very sure, he's been leaning on the wall for support but he figures he really needs some air to clear his head because his imagination is getting drawn towards imagining how Korrina would've acted after finding the town and her home empty. And finding out that it was her fault. The teen pushes himself away from the wall of the hallway and heads out, feeling a bit dizzy all of a sudden. But he'll be fine, he's sure of that. He's got real family this time and he's got an uncle who would never lay a hand on him-
The moment Ash steps out of the house, he sees him. A man who has the face of his uncle but the worst bedhead history has ever had the pleasure of witnessing, he looks shaggy and mean, he's snarling and aggression drips from his expression… and the teen just shortcuts when he sees that this familiar stranger is waving a blade at him. Like, a really big, wide machete… but he's pointing the butt of it at him. This idiot is literally holding the weapon by the wrong end and thinking he can hurt him. And the boy hears himself laugh, hysterically and before his senses stop feeling anything, he can feel something run down his face but then… nothing.
Steven doesn't need Lance's message to urge him into following the clearly upset boy, he's already out of his chair when he hears Ash laugh. And it's not a normal laugh, this kid has totally lost it and he storms outside, seeing a really bad copy of Lance stumbling over his feet to get to the boy who's on the ground, looking totally out of it. Steven doesn't bother, he knows this isn't his friend so he calls out Bronzong and well, the pokémon doesn't need any command to go and sit over the man who screams at the sight of the innocent and calm pokémon. It still doesn't matter, Bronzong is pure steel and the sound of the screaming disappears as soon as the pokémon has successfully seated itself over the weird copy.
So now that the threat has been dealt with, Steven races towards the laughing teen, producing a handkerchief from his pocket. He's got an inkling of why Ash started laughing but he's not sure whether the bad version of the boy's uncle is the real reason behind the hysteria behind it. Lance must have known something was up, the man's ability to look straight through someone, even on the phone, has prevailed and now this happens. The teen's clearly not in the right state of mind, he's laughing so hard he's ended up giving himself a nose bleed so that's telling.
It takes a while until he stops laughing but Steven knows that Ash enjoys hugs more than he lets on, Lance told him he's seen the kid hug pokémon all the time and keeping in mind that the boy used to only trust pokémon… Well, his heart bleeds for this kid, it's not fair.
"Look at you…" he sighs softly, gently rocking the teen back and forth, making him calm down successfully.
"Oh… Oh no…" Ash suddenly utters, so soft Steven nearly missed it.
But he doesn't miss the teen's hand suddenly moving to unclip Pikachu from his shoulder. It confuses the man until he can feel Ash go lax in his arms and then, an inhumanly strong jolt into the teen's arm nearly connects with his stomach. Needless to say, Steven keeps his distance from then on but he's still keeping a close eye on the evolution of this seizure.
"An epileptic seizure?" a young voice suddenly says but the man isn't in the mood.
"You need to get back inside."
"No, I don't," Clemont protests, putting his arms across his chest in defence. "He's my friend too."
"Then shut up."
"No. I would like to know why he's getting this seizure, Ash has told us he's got issues but he's never explained what they were."
Steven sighs deeply, he knows Clemont is a smart kid and that chasing him away won't work but it was worth a try.
"He has had a nasty cerebral injury. The… creature attacking him seemed to go for sensitive spots and now an overload of feelings have a chance of triggering a seizure."
"… Not the scar across his face, right? That didn't reach all the way… or did it?"
"It did."
Now Clemont remains silent and Ash's seizure ends, though it does a pretty impressive light show and now tiny, pink flowers are blooming everywhere the boy's Aura went. But a few seconds after, the teen jumps up, he's panicking and clearly disoriented so Steven gently grabs him so that he won't hurt himself. But Ash's breathing gets erratic again and now just his hands are twitching, meaning he's gotten another seizure albeit a lesser serious one. It also doesn't last that long, the teen is grabbing his shirt soon after, whining softly. And yes, Steven understands all too well so he picks Ash up -with slight difficulty, he's not used to carrying people around but he managed- and brings him back inside, to rest.
Mabel is right there, she seems worried and tells him to lay him on the couch over there so that they can keep an eye on him, just in case something else happens again. Besides, Steven still has to deal with the maniac outside but the elderly woman tells him that it won't hurt to leave him underneath the pokémon for a little longer. You know, as a security measure. So that's what he does, slowly enjoying his coffee as Steven knows that Bronzong's bell isn't completely flat, air will still flow through from the bottom so no harm will come to the weirdo. Well, nothing he is to blame for anyway.
And then Serena comes downstairs, she's looking calm and pleasant, though instead of moving towards the table, she hones straight into the sleeping boy at the side.
"Ah, that's such a precious sight," she says, smiling widely and yes, it's cute, Pikachu's curled up in the nook of Ash's chin and the teen's curled his hand around the fluffy pokémon. "What happened?" Serena adds, making no move to get any closer to the table or the sleeping boy.
"He had seizures," Clemont answers, beating Steven to it but then the girl turns to the boy with a confused look.
"What do you mean? What's a seizure?"
"… Consider it the same as a computer rebooting itself while you're using it."
This seems to confuse Serena even more, she turns to look at Ash with a bewildered expression and she's still feeling this way when she turns back to Clemont.
"I… hope it doesn't hurt the computer the same way as it hurts Ash, or else I'll leave every single computer on from now."
"It's not like that, look, if the reboot happens the same way as a seizure, it'll be the system restarting while the computer is on."
Her face gets slightly tragic but at least she gets moving, she pulls a chair from under the table but hesitates to go sit as she's still got her hand on it.
"Is there anything I can do for him?"
"It's best that you leave him to rest for now," Steven says, seeing Clemont hesitate. "I don't think a seizure hurts Ash too much either, it will only hurt when he injures himself when he's not in control of his movements but it does make him tired and the best way to help, is to leave him to sleep. I gathered that he didn't have much sleep last night anyway."
"… I hope that's not my fault?" Korrina asks as Serena goes to sit down. "I mean, he seemed a bit upset yesterday and I did challenge him."
"He wasn't," Clemont objects. "I think Ash has always known the seriousness of your issue and if anything, he might've gotten frustrated that you didn't see it when a bond with people or pokémon is what he considers a priority above anything."
The girl looks down, she seems to be feeling a little guilty and Steven feels for her. With Ash out of commission for now, it's unlikely that someone will try and comfort her.
"More likely than you think," a voice suddenly says.
"… Was I the only one who heard that?" Korrina asks and pales when everyone shakes their head, this voice is talking to all of them.
"I refuse to let my friend suffer under this any further, if he cannot voice his experience, I will."
"Err…"
The girl seems unsettled but to be honest, Steven is intrigued. He knows that Ash attracts Psychic-type pokémon, especially the legendary kind. Both Lance and Gurkinn told him that so this one must be one of the ones the teen has befriended. But then again, he's also caught one so perhaps that's the one speaking right now. Either way, Steven is interested to hear what this creature has got to say.
"Go ahead, we're listening," she says
"When my friend followed the order he got from his uncle, he found Shalour City empty, safe for the remnants of the original inhabitants of the city. It hurt him, he had expected to find people to help him here but upon finding the house of the Aura master he was told to find, my friend found the house empty and a blessed object shattered upon the floor. With nothing else to do, he tried to fix the object, it earned him the blessing of the Forty but also the vision that caused him to decide to time-travel, to avoid it from happening. And he did time-travel, one week exact into the past and he found the Dark Aura user, making use of the Giratina that was in the neighbourhood to get rid of it… also ridding this time-line from the original incident that made my friend so sad."
Steven's left reeling, how is he supposed to tell Lance that the boy time-travelled?!
"My grandfather was dead?" Korrina utters, looking utterly horrified as she realised what was going on. "What about me?"
"The vision that still haunts my friend is the one where you killed your grandfather, Korrina," the deep voice says and the girl's face grows even more tragic. "At the time, my friend did not know the two of you were related so when the two of you first met, he got so stressed the Yveltal behind him lay its wing around him as a form of comfort. My friend is sensitive, he hates conflict, he will always think he is to blame and I hate it. Feelings torment him for months, years and not a single soul has given a damn in the short while he has been alive for. So this is my reminder for you that, I, as a powerful being, will find you if you do not heed my words."
"I-I…" the girl stutters, lost for words so Clemont speaks up.
"I know, I gathered as much but is this also why he caught onto Korrina's issue?"
"I'm such a bad person-" she starts but the voice interrupts her.
"Not a person. I can tell. You are just an oblivious soul lost in what it means to be a trainer. I would take a long, hard look at the devotion my friend shows towards life and love itself and learn from it. Because not learning from your mistakes, while knowing that you are causing hurt, is what it means to be a bad person. I feel it is important to remind you that good people do bad things too, they try to justify it with good intentions but those rarely truly support the real reason for it. And a bad person can do good, perhaps unwillingly, perhaps they are not truly as bad as the common people perceive. As long as you learn and make sure you make a difference, then you are not a bad person. You can merely remember yourself as having been a bad trainer instead."
She gulps, the words seem to strike a note into her but what's intriguing Steven the most, is that he recognises the way this creature speaks, as the way Ash speaks when he's passionate. Is this pokémon copying the boy… or has he copied the pokémon? Either way, the presence fades and they're left to their own devices again, though Korrina seems struck with both grief and an epiphany.
"… He said Ash was sensitive, is… Are his seizures my fault, then?" she asks and the man doesn't enjoy seeing fear in her eyes.
"No, I feel like he didn't know the effect of his own feelings either. I need you to understand that Ash never got ill before his accident, he never went to a doctor, in fact, when he was admitted into the hospital for the first time, a dozen or so vaccination shots he missed out on during his childhood. Ash doesn't know his limits either, he's just… testing the waters, I guess, in fact, I expect him to feel guilty for making you feel like his affliction has anything to do with you."
"He would, wouldn't he?" she sighs but perks up when the low, soft whine sounds out from the couch and when Steven turns, he sees Ash stretch out his arms above his head.
He can't help but worry for the kid, though, that nosebleed wasn't normal either, the boy's nose is still a bit crusty but honestly, he can fix that later on. Steven just needs to know if Ash is alright, which is why he approaches him but again, Korrina beats him to it.
"Ash," she says, her voice laced with urgency, as if her question is the most important thing in her life and it irks Steven because to him, the health of a person will always be more important but hey, who is he, hm? "Do you think I'm a bad person?"
The man is a bit too pleased when Ash turns to her and gives her the oddest of looks.
"If you don't change your way, yeah, you are."
"Your pokémon said so too," she says.
"… Huh?"
Bless him, Steven wants to smack Korrina out of the way because this isn't how you approach someone who was genuinely ill only fifteen minutes ago. But as always, Ash has his answers ready for anything passing his way, his big mouth is his first line of defence anyway.
"Yeah, the Psychic-type pokémon. It talked to us."
"And it told you that you weren't a bad person?"
"Yep."
"Bless," Ash says, smiling widely as he lays one of his hands on his heart… or is it on the breast pocket of his jacket? "Now that's character development, I'm so proud of you, Mewmew."
Steven stills. Mewmew… Two times Mew… That's Mewtwo, right? He remembers Lance having said something about being careful, the name of the creature Ash caught wasn't passed onto him but if this pokémon was the one Lance warned him for, well… It sounded mighty decent to him.
"Ash, how are you feeling?" he asks instead, not bothering to ask the kid if he's feeling fine because he knows he'll just say 'yes'.
"My ribs hurt something awful," the teen admits, his smile becoming slightly wry. "What happened?"
"You ended up laughing yourself a nosebleed and you had two seizures shortly after."
"Yeeeah, kinda feels like that, " he says while grinning. "But come on, I was just thinking about my uncle never putting a hand on me and the next thing I know, a sucker looking like him does exactly that but is stupidly just waving the wrong end of his machete at me," Ash adds with a chuckle but he grimaces soon after, his hand going for his ribs. "Ouch, that hurt."
"Take it easy for a while-"
"How can I? I want to know where that sucker came from," the boy persists and Steven can't find any fault in it, he's curious too.
"Could it be the Reflection Cave?" Serena offers and squirms when everyone -except Mabel, who's collecting the dishes- turns to look at her. "You guys, you've never heard of the tales they tell about the place? About people's mirror image sometimes escaping and bothering people?"
"No," Clemont says dryly. "But then again, I don't come from a family who enjoys psychological horror."
"Horror? I nearly bust a rib laughing, it might be a sucker but he's funny as fuck," Ash says, only smiling this time, not risking jostling his ribs again. "Which makes sense, my uncle is a nice man but he can be very scary, he can be a big threat so his mirror image is going to be mean and nasty but completely harmless."
"You think so?" the man asks.
"That's what it means to mirror something, right?"
"Mm," Serena hums as she nods in agreement. "The thing is, in the stories, it were always the nicest, harmless people ending up getting murdered by their evil mirror image but I guess… yeah, I'm a bit temperamental too. There's not much my own mirror image can say I haven't heard out of my own mouth yet."
"Watch me being the most spoiled asshole who bursts out in crying the moment he hears 'no'," Ash giggles but again, he jolts but his fun can't be spoiled by his painful chest.
"I can imagine," Clemont says, casting a dubious look at his sister who's on the ground, playing with Dedenne. "What interests me, is why this mirror image of a man who isn't actually here, is here, in the first place?"
That interests Steven too, which is why he leaves all these teens safely inside the house, telling them to keep inside at all costs, to go and question the odd visitor… who seems oddly subdued and it all seems to have to do with the fact Bronzong listens to him.
"Who are you?" the man growls. "And why am I? What is this place? Why does this monster listen to you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am and you are in the Pomace mountains of Kalos. And I'm a pokémon trainer, Bronzong is one of my pokémon."
"Then you're as much of a monster as the monster you command," the Lance-look alike answers with a snarl, he's still got this really wild look in his eyes. "Where's that yellow menace?"
"Yellow menace?" Steven asks. "What are you talking about?"
"That bloody yellow monster that shitty brat keeps on his shoulder."
"Pikachu? I don't know, the one around here isn't a menace. Or at least, not when his trainer is around."
"Not that one, the little fucker pushed into my house wouldn't dare laugh at me," the man huffs and pushes his machete back into the holder. "Whatever, let me go, I need to find it before that brat starts crying again."
"No, you don't, you're staying here, I'm going to ask where that damned cave is and you're going straight back there."
In fact, Steven straight up calls the police, they're very quick to come to pick that man up but apparently, they've found the 'yellow menace' this wild person was looking for. He can see something Pikachu-like bounce around in a cage but he's not going to meddle with that. Also, they've found a Clemont-look alike as well and that's why Steven's smile is etched on his face when he goes back into the house.
"And?" Ash asks.
"All good, everyone's being brought back to the cave. But you were right, that man wouldn't have hurt you, you apparently hurt his pride, he seemed miffed you started laughing at him."
Ash snorts at that but all in all, he's looking a lot better and less stressed. Perhaps it's a good thing that the Mewtwo told them the story the teen couldn't, heck, maybe the pokémon has already told him what happened too. Steven is just happy the boy seems okay again, he's not going to deny he's a bit shaken by what happened… not to mention he's got to tell Lance what happened.
"Ash," the man says, sounding terribly disappointed and now Ash's tempted to give Steven his phone back.
"I'm sensitive, okay?"
"I know, buddy, I know. And even if I forgot, this would only have reminded me. But why didn't you call me when you found Shalour empty? You were already so upset…"
"I don't know, I just did what I thought was best. And isn't it? Isn't it better that Gurkinn is alive?"
"That's entirely up to you, was it worth travelling through time?"
"Absolutely," the teen says and nearly sighs in time with Lance, realising that the small while of silence means his uncle has doubts. "It's not okay, Korrina didn't deserve that, she would've been alone and devastated all while it was just a lapse in judgement."
"I really don't care about her, Ash, I'll tell you that straight up, I care that you tried to sacrifice your own health for someone else again."
"Lance, I would gladly lay my faith in Dialga's abilities over a billion times over. You can't tell me you can't even trust a Dailga to know all there is to know about time, can you?"
"… No but that doesn't mean I enjoy hearing it."
"Tough, you can't ask me to not try and prevent something that would hurt me a lot more if I allowed it to happen."
"You're really a handful, aren't you?" Lance sighs. "Will you at least promise me not to do it willy-nilly?"
"That's an easy promise to make. I honestly hope that you don't think my priorities are that low, I mean, if anything happened to you, Lance, I'd be getting every legendary willing to listen involved to make sure you're safe."
"Well same but I'm deploying friends. You may have noticed that."
"You know I like Steven a lot. And I appreciate everything your friends have done so far, I'm grateful towards Diantha for being so lenient too."
"What did she do, then?"
"Allow us a bit of time to reopen the Gym. I've been told that this isn't easy to fix."
"Ah no, it isn't, I'm glad you realise that and you appreciate it, she's not an easy woman to deal with so the fact you've thanked her properly makes me hopeful that you'll end up being one of the few people she enjoys working with."
"She doesn't like you?" the boy asks, sounding a bit disappointed.
"Having you around has recently made all the elites and champions more tolerant of me. I… I've not been as good of a person as I am now, I've changed a lot thanks to you, Ash. That's why I don't want anything to happen to you, your arrival into my life has been the best thing that's happened in a long time, okay, you make me worry an awful lot but that's nothing compared to what kind of worries I had in the past. I can put that all behind me, though, I've moved on and I'm living a different life now. So honestly, buddy, I don't care if Diantha likes me or not, I'm just happy that you get along with her because it gives me hope, not just for you but for me also."
"That's actually very funny, I've become a lot ruder than before and yet now you tell me I'm a good influence."
"Maybe that's a good thing, the only regret I've ever had in life is that I never told enough people to fuck off. And that counts for you too, Ash. If you don't like them, screw them, you don't need to listen to their Tauros crap. And heaven forbid, don't get yourself into a dangerous situation because of them."
"Talking about dangerous, I nearly met Lyssandre-"
"No, Ash, stay the heck away from him," Lance says, interrupting him the moment he says the name out loud, even Steven pulls a face, for goodness sake…
"I didn't get any closer, the sucker was supposed to come to Shalour! Gurkinn was excited that he came by but if that rain hadn't literally rained on his parade, Lyssandre would've totally come down to the town I know he wouldn't be interested in."
"It's you, Ash, that's why he wanted to come over."
"… I wasn't planning on sticking around, in fact, I overslept the day he was supposed to come over too. There was a healer who didn't like Lyssandre either and it made me worry."
"Ash, he's a researcher but I don't like his way of working at all. You should stay away from him at all costs. In fact, every pokémon you like should also stay away from him, I don't trust him."
"He's already got one," Ash blurts out before he can stop himself.
"How do you know that?"
"I… I don't know…" he admits. "It just came to me."
"Keep that thought with you, Ash. If he's already caught one, you know what kind of a risk he possesses."
"They're mad at him," the boy whispers. "He's hurt Yveltal and Darkrai already. Who knows how many others he's hurt?"
"All the more reason to be glad that heavy rain stopped that man from showing his face near you," Lance says in such a definite tone that it snaps Ash out of the mood his sudden bout of foresight trapped him in.
"I… Yes."
"And I don't care, at this point, any pokémon out there can watch your back."
'That can be arranged,' Mewtwo pipes up and the boy smiles in response.
"I don't think that'll be the issue, uncle," he says. "But I'll watch my own back, thanks to my honesty, people are often honest too."
"And thankfully, you're not easily fooled. Also, now your friends know the severity of your issues, make sure they know what to do when you have a seizure somewhere where there isn't an adult to help, yeah?"
"The bracelet?"
"That too, yes. Keep safe for me, Ash, or I swear to Arceus, I'm coming over to stay there."
How much as Ash would like that, he also liked to be a bit independent. His friends would likely stop travelling with him too, with the moody man looming over them, silently judging their behaviour towards him. It wouldn't work out so he's quick to promise his uncle that he'll be careful. Which he always is but his manner of careful apparently doesn't cater to Lance's needs, that much is apparent. That being said, Ash is glad he's had a chat with his uncle, it's done him a world of good to hear his voice, without the man sounding upset because he'd done something stupid again. Something he just considers normal, while Lance got into histrionics about.
'I don't understand adults. But I guess it doesn't hurt to watch out a bit more careful. Lance seems very upset with Lyssandre, he's warned me of him twice now… Is there any relation between the café and Lyssandre?' the teen thinks, as he hands Steven his phone back. 'If so, why does a researcher interested in Mega evolution have a café, of all things. Or is it a battle café? Probably not, it didn't look big enough to have two big pokémon duking it out in there. Granted, not all Mega evolved pokémon will be as tall as others are but honestly, Lucario got a little bigger too… Glalie actually gets huge too, I don't think I would ever want to Mega evolve him in a tight space where there's other pokémon out there.'
"Feeling better now?" Steven asks, snapping him from his thoughts.
"Hm? Oh yeah, thanks for letting me talk to him too. You've had to tell him a lot of bad news about me already, I guess I wanted to be there this time."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"You told Lance about that time I fell off the Prism Tower too, right?"
"Oh, yes, I did do that. It's no biggie, you weren't there to answer for yourself in either situation. You're sure you're feeling okay?"
"Okay enough, I guess. I mean, I've got a bit of a headache and my chest still hurts but that's minor. It's not going to keep me from anything. Well, except laughter perhaps."
"Good," Steven says and gently pats his shoulder. "Mind if I stick around? I would like to be there just in case you get a relapse or something worse. Lance said that your seizures come in more than just pairs. More often than not, so I'm just a bit worried about you."
"Be my guest, I enjoy your company a lot, so hang around as much as you want, I don't mind it one bit," Ash says but then he thinks of something. "Hey, did Mewtwo actually manage to console Korrina with its words? Like, did it actually show sympathy towards her?"
"Somewhat, yes. It seemed adamant to prove to her that what she did was indeed a lapse of character, not part of who she is," the man answers and seems thoughtful. "I guess that's got something to do with your upbringing?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure, I'm just very proud of it. It's not good to keep all those negative feelings inside for so long, if everyone can tell me to speak my mind, well, then so can Mewtwo."
"I hope you will indeed keep that up, you are well on your way to becoming a hypocrite by that statement, Ash."
"Does it count that I never realised I had negative feelings inside until they choked me or…?"
"Perhaps slightly."
That's enough for Ash, he's had a bit enough of talking today. It's been a hard day today already and it's not even midday yet so he really just wants to go outside and lay in the grass, bathing in the sun for a little while. Steven seems to agree with that plan and so he moves outside, he doesn't see any of his friends near -so he can't actually tell them anything about what to do when he gets seizures, which is also good because Ash isn't sure how to breach the subject yet- and so he goes out and lays down.
It's peaceful and he takes the moment to look at the world through his Aura, he enjoys seeing the warmth of the pink sun, it's mesmerising and comforting because it shimmers a lot as his Aura does. And it pulses, it's alive and it gives signs of it to only those who can see and are paying attention to it. And then there is the sky, which is equally peaceful and a very nice, warm purple that occasionally has flashes of pink shooting through it, it's a pokémon flying past and it's funny because he can't see the shape very well, making it seem as if it's a meteor shooting through the sky.
"What'cha thinking about?" Steven asks, well after an hour of complete silence.
"Did you know that the sun is pink?" Ash answers, not opening his eyes just yet, he's happy as he is right now.
"Through your eyes?"
"Mm. The sky is purple but the rest is all pink. Pink but not as pink as my own Aura."
"Pink is a nice colour. I wish I could see it the same way like you do," the man answers softly, he sounds oddly calm too.
"Really? Then give me your hand. I want to try something."
Steven might not be a pokémon but his off-guard and relaxed right now. His Aura link might actually work and judging from the small gasp coming from the man, it actually did too.
"That's… amazing," he says slowly, clearly intrigued by this new sensation, the wonder in his voice is apparent. "Can I keep a hold of your hand a little longer?"
"As long as you want."
And the man doesn't let go at all, Ash is pleased Steven likes to see his pink world as well. He keeps on meditating… until his name is called out. The man next to him groans at the disturbance and the teen lets go of the connection between them, causing Steven to sigh in disappointment.
"It's always the nice things that just don't seem to last," he says and Ash catches onto the longing in his voice too late, Korrina's running towards him and the moment is broken.
"Ash! Ash, do you want to be my first challenger?" she asks and to Ash, this is the best reason to interrupt his meditation.
"Yes," is all he says with a lot of intent, nodding in agreement.
"Good, we're packing up, I'm reopening the Gym! We'll have our fight in the morning!"
And she's off again, leaving the two alone again. The teen does ask Steven if he's okay but the man doesn't really answer, he just hums and then asks him if they can do this again sometime. Considering that he knows that there must be a lot of plains readily available to spot some more pink and purple, Ash tells him that he ought to follow into Courmaline, that it'll be nice to lay down there too.
Steven doesn't seem like he's going to follow them back to Shalour, he actually stays behind with Mabel and Ash doesn't understand what's happened but he's glad he's shared this moment with Steven. But life moves on and he has to leave the peace he just felt for a whirlwind that is his friends. Especially Korrina seems ecstatic and he's not too bothered but the change is jarring, especially since the eldest Gym leader of the group's behaviour made a one-eight turn and even Clemont is dubious. But he doesn't comment on it, the teen actually goes ahead and asks what he should do in case of a seizure, which eases the burden Ash feels of explaining it completely out of the blue. And honestly, there's not a lot they can do either but he tells Clemont the entire spiel of how he ought to check how long it takes, that if it's longer than three minutes he's already too late and all that.
Truth to be told, the teen looks a bit stressed at the end but there isn't much Ash can do about it, other than to reassure Clemont that he's not directly at risk of getting a seizure out of the blue. And even if that earns him a jab at the time-travelling incident, the teen doesn't respond to it, he's still utterly convinced it was worth it because they wouldn't be walking around this happily and freely if he didn't intervene. Ash is pretty sure Korrina wouldn't be a Gym leader any longer if they found out what she did, even if she tells them she didn't mean to. Maybe she wouldn't even want to be one, there would've been no one to egg her on either.
"Ash, you're looking broody," Serena says. "Talk to me, what's on your mind?"
"I wonder why people think that my kindness is something they can hold against me while I would do what I did again for every single one of you."
Now that shuts them all up, even Korrina who possibly didn't even hear Serena's initial question. And he doesn't get another jab aimed at the time-travelling again, which is nice. And Gurkinn is happy to see all of them again too, that cheers Ash up as well, especially since the man makes very nice cakes, which he's done this time around too. Ash didn't know he was this hungry until he tastes to awesomely soft cake… and Gurkinn seems to notice. Though he waits until he can find him out in the garden, on his own, save for Pikachu curled up in his lap -though he's not asleep, he's keeping a close eye on the approaching man.
"You've been running yourself ragged again, haven't you, boy?" Gurkinn asks though he sounds good-natured.
"Mentally perhaps," Ash answers simply. "There wasn't a lot of physical activity required on my part."
"I don't doubt that but I can see that you know the effects of your words very well. And I admire you for it, you managed to cure Korrina's bout of procrastination."
"I got frustrated by her lack of care, when a pokémon starts to misbehave, especially during a phase where emotions lay raw, the first thing I would do is to check whether the issue isn't me, which it usually is but that didn't even cross Korrina's mind."
"You've been young and innocent too."
Ash snorts, he's still young and somewhat innocent still.
"I've just sat still for a little while, that's all."
"Korrina needs a bit more than that. In fact, I doubt the Gym would have reopened if you hadn't intervened."
"All I did was be a bit rude."
"Maybe it was the truth she needed to hear," Gurkinn says and Ash shrugs in response.
"Do you think she's cured, though? I mean, it's not been too long since I told her she was the issue, do you think Lucario will trust her this soon?"
"Have a little faith in my granddaughter, Ash, she's not the brightest bulb but she's got a good heart. There's a reason why Lucario stayed with her, after all."
Ash doubts that there was a reason that had anything to do with Korrina. Lucario are sensitive creatures, they're in tune with their trainer, no matter the distance between them. Hurting Korrina would've also hurt Lucario and perhaps that was all the pokémon cared about. Sometimes, it's better to choose the lesser hurt above the greater one, after all, especially when there's still the option to choose.
"Why didn't you tell her, though?" he asks, interested why Gurkinn would not tell her off for not treating her pokémon right, but still chide her unfairly when she wanted to help to protect the town from a Dark Aura user. "Why would you hide and treated her when you could've told her fair and square what she was doing?"
"The thing is, when I got the option to choose to care for Korrina, I opted to be a grandfather and not a punisher. I've doted a lot on her and she doesn't often take me seriously. In fact, the only subject she will not tell me to be silly about, is you, Ash."
The teen nods but looks away. His hand finds a bit of long grass and he fiddles with it for a while until Gurkinn speaks up again.
"You don't feel well, do you?"
"I've not had a great time as of late."
"Maybe a fine battle might make you feel better."
Yeah, that would do the trick but he's not had a fine battle in the whole of Kalos. A lot of pain and heartache, that's all he's found in this region, as well as a newfound fear of slipping off really, really tall towers. And family turning onto him, that's a new one too. And he doesn't want to jinx it but Ash has his doubts about whether Korrina is really ready for him. But she's right there when he gets to the Gym, Bonbon's happy to prance onto the open road of the now water-free land towards the Gym. The pokémon's fascination for water is something Ash wants to look deeper into but now's not the time, he's gotta get heated for the fight yet… he's not feeling it.
The Gym's music isn't doing anything for him and he's got to fake excitement towards his uncle who wishes him the best of luck and tells him he'll be watching through the battle app Ash is connected to. But he grins at Korrina and calls out Charizard, who also senses his doubt and as such, pulls up his defences. It's a one-against-one battle, Korrina decides, clearly daunted by the task of beating Charizard -another sign he should've heeded because Lucario senses it too- but she goes for it. But when it comes to a pokémon who has always felt bad because it feels like a dragon but actually isn't, pride comes first and Infernape has been a great help. Charizard doesn't actually do much and Korrina successfully mega evolves, for no reason whatsoever because the big lump of a pokémon isn't doing anything.
Ash knows damn well what the pokémon is planning and as such, doesn't tell him to do anything. He's supporting the choice Charizard has made and he likes the idea to give Lucario the idea he's winning, to give him a chance to attack before striking back. And that's when it happens, Blaze activates in a massive difference in warmth, heat steams off Charizard and red tufts of hot air lick around his body. And doesn't even have to turn to see the pokémon's face to know it's going to look chuffed to bits, Charizard is in his element, after all…
But Lucario runs from it. Ash wants to cry in disappointment as he stands there, seeing the pokémon willingly run out of bounds, Korrina's at a loss as she sees the look on his face but she runs, stupidly, after Lucario. Also leaving the field. And the teen just stands there, figuring he might as well give Charizard some berries 'cause his Blaze apparently was super effective.
"Ash!" Clemont calls out, just after the referee calls out that Ash, by default, is the winner of this amazingly short battle he wouldn't even call a battle at all. "What was that?"
"His ability," he answers simply.
"I've never seen a pokémon use it in battle like that."
"Sad, I'll show you how effective your Gym's pokémon are against Pikachu, then."
"… Oh."
How Clemont can't tell he's upset is wonderous, his expression is gloomy and his mood even more so. Korrina eventually returns, with Lucario sheepishly in tow, already looking like his normal self again. She knows what she's done and apologises but Ash just huffs as he reluctantly accepts the badge.
"I feel ten again," he says as he moodily pockets it again.
"Huh?" the girl asks but he doesn't elaborate, he's not going to trust her with this if her Lucario won't trust him.
Gurkinn corners him very quickly after he gets back to the house, though -after a terribly silent trek back to Shalour- and clearly wants him to know that he's not to blame for this.
"She told me Lucario ran because he felt the moment you and your pokémon connected."
"That's utter and fucking bullshit, I know she was going to end up doing this to me and I still went ahead and did it, like the sucker I am. This region is doomed, I'm doomed! I'm never having another battle again until I'm absolutely certain the fuckers won't run from me. What the actual, flying fuck happened to me that a battle-savvy pokémon can't look me in the eye during a battle, much rather throwing away their pride by running!?"
"Ash, calm down."
"I'm not, I can't and don't fucking tell me to do it if all you want are answers."
"This isn't your fault."
"I'm too trusting, I should've known! I should've told Charizard to roast Lucario the moment we had the chance, he'd have a reason to run after that, if only he still could!"
"Then why didn't you?"
"That's not what Charizard wanted. He wanted to use Blaze so I let him," Ash answers, stuffing his hands into his pocket and the left feels the forgotten Gym badge.
"You've conquered the Gym by being yourself, Ash", Gurkinn says and he lays a hand on his shoulder. "I feel like Korrina could stand before you at her best and you would still trample her because of your sheer faith in your pokémon. Also, tell me why a Charizard would use Blaze like that?"
"He's seen it from Infernape," is all Ash says, though there's so much more. They spend so much time together, to get stronger, to withstand the sheer power of Blaze.
It's nothing like Mega evolution but it was a challenge and Ash took responsibility for everything when he used Infernape in battle. Even then, even before a couple of important people took an interest in him, both positive and negative, he was already a bigger person than Korrina. Honestly, he wants to cry, he probably will when he's back in the pokémon centre.
"You just bested her, Ash."
"She did a wicked thing. This will stick with me for a long time."
"… I take it that you'll be leaving, then?"
"Would you stop me?" Ash asks, though knows Gurkinn can't keep him here.
"No, I would never keep you against your will. And when you do leave, it will be with my blessing and a book I want you to read and keep with you the rest of your life."
It's the book he couldn't make heads or tails of before, it brings the teen back to the time he was still blissfully unaware, where he didn't know a thing about Korrina or her Gym. And now he doesn't know if he would've been happier either, he knows he felt miserable then too but does it compare to the feeling of having been cheated on? She took him for the fool he was and he let her…
'It passes,' Lugia whispers and the teen listens closely. 'The actions of one single human shouldn't matter, move on and forget, Chosen.'
'I wished it could've been different.'
'Alas.'
Alas, indeed. At least his friends try to cheer him up, Clemont assures him that Ramos is a clear-headed, passionate man who would never underestimate him and that he'll be as calm as a still-life painting even in the presence of a pokémon like Charizard. The teen says that Fire-types are usually the threat Ramos has to deal with but when Ash tells him that he never planned on using Charizard against the next Gym leader, Clemont stills.
"You plan that far ahead? Do you already know who you will pit against me?"
"Maybe Gible. I'm not sure."
The way Clemont's face twists uncomfortably tells Ash enough but at this point, he can't bring himself to care. Bonnie, however, tells her brother he's funny, that it wouldn't matter what pokémon anyone uses during a battle against him or Clembot, there's always one thing he misses out on that she says is exactly what she can see in Ash.
"Your eyes were the same red just like Charizard's flames when he got all smokey," she says. "It was really cool, you and Charizard were one, while brother and his pokémon are two."
"You must've seen a lot of battles, hm?" Ash asks.
"Mm. This was a sad one just now. That wasn't very nice of Korrina to run, you wouldn't hurt her and I don't think you would let Charizard hurt Lucario either."
"What makes you so sure?"
"You do things no one else does for anyone else. You give me a pokémon when everyone else tells me I can't have one. You talk to my brother even when daddy says he doesn't have many friends. You helped Tierno even when the professor yelled at you and the thing you did is something a lot of people would think to be super-human. Maybe you are superman because you made my dad smile. He was happy when we left together and sad when we came back without you." she says. "And Korrina… her Gym was closed a lot longer and somehow, you were there when it opened. I think you should be prouder of that than the battle, changing her mind with words is much harder than doing it through battle."
Ash blinks, this is the longest Bonnie has ever spoken to him and he can't help it, he smiles because there's a lot more reason in it than what he's heard the past few days.
"I'll keep it in mind," he says. "Thank you, Bonnie. I'm not super-human, though, I'm just myself."
"That's something superman says too," she quips and leaves it at that.
Ash does so too, he knows he's not… entirely human either. The book Gurkinn ended up giving him is not the one he's had in his hands either. He notices that when he's back in the pokémon centre and opens it. In fact, it's Mewtwo who mentions that it looks heavier and it is, it's at least twice the size of the one he couldn't understand. It's because Gurkinn knows who he is, this book is a collection for someone who has a lot of life to live. Now that he can read it, thanks to the blessing of the Aura master -maybe the only one out there still- he understands, from the first page, that he still has a long way to go before he can say he's actually done learning. But he's young, Mewtwo reminds him and now that his heart aches, he's still very human.
"Pokémon don't feel betrayal?" Ash asks.
"Yes but not for long," the pokémon says simply. "Usually, the betrayer is killed within the next few minutes, a couple of hours at most."
"… Right, well, Korrina's quite safe from me. I'm not going to kill her."
"As I said, still very human."
"You think I can do this?" he asks, pointing at the book that suddenly looks dauntingly big in size.
"Hm? Naturally. If you can twist someone's entire character to respond within your favour, I think you can do anything if you put your mind to it."
"You're not going to tell me I made Korrina do something she didn't want, she was a Gym leader before I got to know her."
"Was she, though?"
… Ash isn't sure, Bonnie just said the Gym was closed for a long time too, right?
His phone buzzes, it catches his attention because he's stuffed it into a different pocket but it's a message from his uncle that manages to get him to smile. The man tells him the desire to crawl through his phone hit him the moment Charizard unleashed his Blaze, that he wanted to fight that pokémon so badly and that he would've possible said a lot of bad words to Korrina if he were in his place, Lance praises him for his self-control too. And now Ash is curious… even Clemont was interested in Blaze, he actually ran towards him when Charizard was still out of his pokéball too.
"I wonder, though…" he says out loud, catching Mewtwo's attention, who is laying sprawled on the bed.
"Hm?"
"Was it actually Korrina's fault that Lucario ran… or is Lucario not really up to the task of being a Gym leader pokémon?"
"I suggest you sleep over it a while. It will do you good."
He doubts it but figures that it's nearing an indecent hour to doubt himself or anyone else. Ash has noticed that he rarely has a positive thought about himself after nine in the evening and it's ten right now. So he's lying to himself again, he realises as much and tells himself to stop and much rather focus on getting ready for bed. He's still got to take a shower and massage his leg, after all… and once that's done, all Ash can think about, as he succumbs to sleep, is if the pokémon centre in Courmaline will also be as nice as this one.
End of chapter thirty-two