AGE CHANGES/UPDATES:
Brock – 19
Misty – 18
Laurence, Ash, John, George, Zach, Lily, Drew – 17
Dawn, May – 16
Max – 14
Over the course of the next week, Laurence gradually began to show signs of reverting back to his previous happy self. His friends took turns sleeping and showering at Delia's, now knowing that he was on the mend, he only had one person with him at a time, alongside his faithful Pikachu, Sparks, who stayed night and day, and was brought Pokémon food by whoever came to see Laurence.
It was on the third day of his recovery that John came to stay with him.
"You okay mate?" John asked, walking in and sitting down on the chair, Laurence looked up at him and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm getting there, telling you what, Dawn's been a bloody lifesaver, quite literally," Laurence said, looking back down at the book that was held in his hands, Sparks was napping quietly on an empty part of the bed down by Laurence's ankles.
John smirked at Laurence's comment about Dawn.
"Ever gonna tell her how you feel?" he queried, still smirking, Laurence looked up at him with a rather sad look on his face, and John's expression immediately turned serious.
"You know I can't, John, it's much too dangerous for her to get romantically caught up with me… That's one of the reasons I've been so distant since… y'know…" Laurence replied, marking his page in the book and placing it down on the nearby table.
John frowned, remembering what Dawn had told him about her nightmares.
"Has she spoken to you about her nightmares?" John asked, making Laurence furrow his brow in confusion.
"No, why? Have they been bad?" Laurence questioned; concern evident in his tone of voice.
"Yes, and extremely graphic and real…" John replied, "More like memories."
Laurence's eyes widened in shock, "No… Surely that can't be?" John nodded in response.
"She's dreamt of the chapel, she's dreamt of you being in hospital, she's even heard what I think is him, speaking directly to her," John explained, and Laurence's face paled.
"As in… talking to her in the dream? Or talking to her when she was there?" Laurence asked.
"In the dream, Laurence, she had a conversation with him! What does that mean?" John replied.
Laurence gripped his forehead with his right hand, and his body started to tremble slightly.
"Surely he can't still be out there?" Laurence muttered, "No… he can't be… Arceus said he couldn't sense him anymore…"
"So you think it was just Dawn's imagination playing up?" John queried, Laurence dropped his hand from his forehead and looked at John.
"That's the only logical explanation, Arceus couldn't have been lying to us…" he replied, as he stopped looking at John and started to look out the window. The sun was visible rather high up in the sky, meaning that it was nearing midday.
"But he does have a disliking for humans… Doesn't he?" John asked, still looking at Laurence.
"Yeah, but not for Pokémon, after all, he's the Pokémon God, and Mewthree was threatening to damage the Pokémon world too, not only the human world, he wouldn't have lied to us," Laurence answered, not turning to look at John, his gaze still fixed on the world outside.
"I bet you can't wait to get out of here, can you?" John asked, making Laurence smirk slightly.
"You bloody well know it, can't stand being stuck here," he replied, glancing back at John as he spoke, still smirking, the two shared a laugh, which awoke Sparks from his nap, he rubbed his eyes and looked around confused before he saw John and Laurence grinning at him.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Laurence said jokingly, making Sparks rub the back of his neck sheepishly.
"You sound much better than what I heard, and saw, Laurence," a new voice from the doorway said, Laurence turned to see Cynthia standing in the doorway, somehow entering the room without Laurence or John hearing her.
"Cynthia! It's great to see you!" Laurence exclaimed, smiling at the Sinnoh Champion, who smiled back.
"Wow, I feel so out of place here, two Champions and then there's just little ol' me," John joked, grinning, Laurence and Cynthia chuckled at his joke.
"What brings you here, Cynthia?" Laurence asked, turning from John to look back at Cynthia.
"I would say I'm on official business, but this is also a personal trip," Cynthia said in an official manner, still grinning, Laurence looked at her in confusion.
"No idea what you mean," he said honestly, shrugging his shoulders with a smirk plastered on his face.
"Well, I've come here on duty for the Pokémon League, with a request, and on personal terms to see how much better you are from the last time I was here," Cynthia explained, Laurence turned to John with an eyebrow raised, and John looked slightly embarrassed.
"Ohh yeah… about that…" John said, "Cynthia, Lance and Steven were here to see you, and let us know that the tournament was being postponed until you felt you were ready," John explained, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, not at all dissimilarly to how Sparks had moments earlier.
"And you all felt that wasn't anything important to tell me?" Laurence asked, placing his hand on his forehead in frustration.
"Err… It just slipped our minds… is all…" John muttered back, Cynthia and Sparks looked on at the scene in amusement.
Laurence proceeded to glare at John, before turning his attention back to Cynthia.
"Sorry about my forgetful friends," Laurence said, shooting another glare at John, who looked away nervously, Cynthia giggled.
"Don't worry, Laurence, I can forgive your friends this once," Cynthia joked, winking at John, taking a seat on the chair on Laurence's right hand side, with John sat on the one on the left hand side.
"So, what's this business you're here for?" Laurence asked, sitting more upright in his bed.
"Aah, so, with the tournament, there are various stages, of which, I can't give you any information as it would be unfair for the other competitors." Laurence and John nodded, understanding the reason for Cynthia's vague explanation.
"But the main hub, if you will, of the tournament, is being held on a man-made island in the centre of the Orange Islands, which you should know from the letters you received?" Again, Laurence and John nodded.
"Well, the league's committees have requested that the Champions are involved in some exhibition matches, even the Kanto Champion, and we each get to choose our opponent," Cynthia explained, venom in her voice when she mentioned the Kanto Champion, which caused a confused look to make its way onto Laurence's face.
"I'll explain later." Laurence nodded and motioned for Cynthia to continue, "And what better exhibition match than the Sinnoh League Champion against the Sinnoh Elite Four Champion?" Cynthia said, smirking when the ball dropped in Laurence's head, and his mouth opened wide in shock.
"Yo-You want to battle me?" Laurence asked, still in shock, Sparks was grinning from ear to ear; the Pikachu had always wanted to battle Cynthia, ever since they had met her during their Sinnoh travels. Cynthia noticed and smiled Sparks.
"Seems like Sparks is keen to battle me," she said, Sparks clenched his paws into tight fists to show his determination and enthusiasm.
"Pika pika!"
"That's the spirit!" Cynthia said, looking back at Laurence, who was still in a state of shock.
"Woah… I don't know what to say… except, thanks, Cynthia! It means a lot that you'd pick me as your opponent!" Laurence said, a wide smile breaking onto his face.
"This is awesome Laurence; you get to face possibly the strongest trainer out there!" John exclaimed, reaching out a hand for a high-five, which Laurence promptly complete.
"Hey! What do you mean one of the strongest?!" Cynthia joked, pretending to be hurt by John's comment, and the four shared a laugh, before a thought struck John.
"What about the other Champions? You mentioned the Kanto Champion too?" John queried, noticing an instant change in Cynthia's mood and demeanour, which sparked interest from Laurence.
"Well, I know that Steven has requested to battle Paul, the purple haired trainer I battled back in Sinnoh," Cynthia said, and then watched in amusement at the facial expressions that appeared on Laurence's and John's face.
"Paul… against Steven?" Laurence repeated.
"Yeah, Steven has been following him since he battled me, personally, I don't care much for him or his attitude towards battling and Pokemon," Cynthia replied, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat.
"That'll be… interesting, to say the least," Laurence muttered, but just loud enough for Cynthia and John to hear.
"What about Lance, who's he facing?" John asked, making Cynthia smirk and lean forwards in her chair again.
"I'm glad that you, specifically asked that John." John raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Lance has requested that you are his opponent," Cynthia sat back again and enjoyed the look of surprise and shock that crept its way onto John's face.
Laurence however, was just grinning wildly.
"That's great, John! What a battle!" He exclaimed, reaching his hand out and John slowly high-fived it, still in a state of shock.
"Lance would've asked you personally, but unfortunately, he is on other tournament-related business," Cynthia added, still enjoying the expression on John's face.
A thought then popped into Laurence's head.
"What about the Kanto Champion? You mentioned he was getting involved?" Laurence queried, and instantly noticed Cynthia's demeanour darken, she sat back in her chair once more, again crossing her arms, this action snapped John out of his trance.
"Well, he wants his opponent to be Ash," Cynthia answered, and once again Laurence and John's jaws both hit the floor in surprise.
"Surely it's unfair he's getting involved?" Laurence asked, "I've never heard of who he is, let alone his Pokémon!" John and Cynthia shared a look.
"Well, we know he has one Pokémon, and he swept the Kanto Elite Four with it, Lance was one of them at the time…" Cynthia explained, and Laurence's eyes widened in shock.
"What Pokémon was it? It must've been a legendary, surely, to have that much power?" Laurence almost pleaded, not wanting the Pokemon to be an "ordinary" Pokemon.
Cynthia and John shook their heads in response.
"He only used a Raichu, Laurence," John said, Laurence didn't have a chance to react; as he felt a tugging on his sleeve, he looked down to see Sparks standing there.
"Pika, Pikachu chupi!" Sparks said proudly, pumping both his fists in an almost boasting manner.
"Aah, I should've expected as much… Y'know, Team Rocket was always right about you and Pikachu, very, very special indeed, and when the time comes to unlock your abilities, you and Pikachu will be more powerful that any Raichu on this planet," Laurence replied, grinning down at his now confused electric mouse, running his finger along the ridge of Sparks' tail, where the blue tint was becoming more visible.
Now it was John's and Cynthia's turn to look utterly dumfounded.
"You know about the Pikachu's tails?" John asked. Laurence looked up at him and nodded.
"But unfortunately I can't give anyone details until the time is right, and even then, it may only be Ash and the two Pikachu's that know too," Laurence replied, shrugging his shoulders, almost apologetically.
The other three wanted to press further, especially Sparks, but they knew that when Laurence said he'd tell them at the right time, he would.
Cynthia stood from her chair.
"Well, I best be off now, official league business calls," she said jokingly, making the other two trainers grin.
"Thanks for coming to see me, Cynthia, and thanks for this great opportunity to battle you!" Laurence said excitedly, pumping a fist in determination, not to dissimilarly to how Sparks had moments earlier.
"I'm glad we'll finally get the opportunity to battle it out," Cynthia replied, smiling back at the teen, before something seemed to click in her head, "ohh yes, I forgot to mention, the battles will be either two Pokémon each, or three Pokémon each, all single battles."
Laurence and John nodded in understanding, before Laurence smirked at Cynthia.
"I've already got my team ready in my head, so you best be prepared, Cynthia."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Cynthia replied confidently, before she bid the trio adieu, and slipped out of the hospital doors and went on her way.
Laurence and John stared at each other for a while, letting all the information sink in.
"This. Is. Incredible!" the two exclaimed in unison, whilst Sparks grinned determinedly at the door that Cynthia had left through, his paws clenched tight in determination.
-TPLU-
Over the next few days, Ash, Lily and Dawn spent most of their free time with Laurence, but Dawn more than anyone. On Laurence's fifth day in hospital, we find him alone in his hospital room, with Sparks napping on the bed. Laurence was pacing back and forwards nervously, staring out the window.
He felt anxious.
But he had no idea why, his gut was just twisting and turning uncomfortably, he knew he had to tell someone.
Doctors' orders.
But who? John? He was serious about these things, but what if he thought Laurence was winding him up? Lily? The two were still finding their feet in their newly discovered brother-sister relationship, catching up after the coming up to 17 years apart.
Ash? With anything other than battling, Pokémon and food, there was a large chance that the raven-haired trainer wouldn't have any advice. So that left one upcoming visitor that Laurence felt would listen and give advice.
Dawn.
Laurence glanced at his watch, he only had fifteen minutes until Dawn arrived, and he still had to figure out how he was going to go about this discussion. He averted his gaze down to his belt, the previous day he had been allowed out of the hospital robes he had been dressed in, he was back in his black skinny jeans and a blue quarter-zip jumper (with the zip undone), and a white shirt underneath which was visible through the gap that the zip would cover up, if it were done up. He had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, as he found it more comfortable. With all this said, he was still barefoot, his socks tucked into his trainers under the bed. There were four Poké Balls sat on his belt, he had taken them with him to the mall as a precaution.
Sparks' ball was one, and in the other was his baby, shiny, Rayquaza, which had hatched from an egg gifted to him by and old sage in the Hoenn Region, John had also been gifted one, as the two had helped the old sage in his time of need.
He fingered one of the Poké Balls gingerly, unsure whether to call upon the Pokémon within, he knew that he could trust her, but it had been a while since he had actually taken her with him, and it had been a since she had seen Sparks, as well.
Laurence felt the need to at least warn Sparks of the incoming "bundle of fur," as the two had affectionately nicknamed her.
Laurence gently rocked Sparks in his sleep until the Pikachu started to open its eyes and take in his surroundings.
"Pikapi, Pikachu? (Laurence, what's up?)" Sparks asked, rubbing his eyes with his paws and sitting up on the bed, Laurence pulled the Poké Ball off his belt and held it up, Sparks' eyes opened wide as he recognised it. Laurence smirked.
"I thought I'd give you ten seconds of warning."
Laurence pressed the button on the ball to expand it, and then threw it into the air, smirking at the look of dread that found its way onto Sparks' face.
The Pokémon materialised on the bed, which Sparks had seemingly departed at the speed of light, as there was a Pikachu shaped cloud of smoke where he once stood, Laurence felt the weight of the electric mouse on his back, as Sparks had slipped under Laurence's jumper, and was clinging on to the latter's back like his life depended on it.
The Pokémon had fully materialised and stood proudly on its four legs on the bed, and she blinked a few times to take in her surroundings, before a big smile formed on her face as she recognised her beloved trainer in front of her.
"Eve!" she exclaimed, before she leapt into Laurence's arms, and rubbed her head against his chin.
"Hey Eve, how are you? I'm so sorry I haven't had you on the team in a while, I just needed everyone at the Lab (Oak's), to make sure Ai Sky was settled," Laurence explained, and Eve looked at him with her sparkling eyes, Laurence stroked the Eevee's (in case you hadn't figure it out yet ;P) brown fur gently.
"Eevee, Eve Ee," Eve replied, smiling at Laurence as he cuddled and stroked her, Laurence smiled back slightly, before he remembered why he had called her out, and glanced at his watched, ten minutes to go, Eve noticed his changed in demeanour and her ears perked up slightly, and she tilted her head in confusion. Laurence noticed and smiled again.
"I need your help."
Laurence placed Eve on the bed, and sat down next to her, crossed legs, so that he could face her, the Eevee sat on her hind legs and watched Laurence settle, Sparks was clinging to his back, not daring to make a sound. Laurence then explained everything that had happened over the last five days, but Eve didn't seem surprised at what happened, just sad, which was when Laurence realised Professor Oak, Tracey or Gary, who had taken up a role as the Professors assistant, must've informed his Pokemon of his situation. Laurence had previously requested that if anything ever happened to him, to put him in a hospital, that four specific Pokémon were brought from Oak's lab, Sparks, Ai Sky, Eve and one other Pokémon. Eve must have been brought up after the explanation of what happened, Laurence assumed, as he told Eve his version of the events.
"…So now I'm absolutely dreading her extremely imminent arrival, coz I genuinely need to open up to her, and tell her about an anxious feeling, but I have no reason to feel anxious!" Laurence finished explaining, carefully watching Eve, who had sat and listened intently the entire time.
Eve just stood up, walked behind Laurence, and lifted up his jumper, and out plopped an embarrassed and surprised Sparks, Laurence watching the seen by rotating his head so he could watch the pair, a smirk dancing across his lips.
Eve and Sparks looked at each other for a moment, before Eve rolled her eyes at the Pikachu and then licked him on the cheek, before walking back slightly and sitting down and looking at Sparks again, who had a goofy grin on his face.
The scene was interrupted by a loud "Awwww!" that came from the doorway, the trio turned to see Dawn standing there in her usual clothes of a white beanie with a pink symbol on it, underneath her blue hair was held neatly in place by her yellow hair clips, and she wore a black and pink dress (?) over a white vest. Instead of her usual pink boots, she was wearing white running trainers, similar to the ones tucked under Laurence's bed.
She had her hands clasped together by her chest.
"Aren't they adorable, Laurence?" she cooed, still standing in the doorway, looking at the Pokémon adoringly, before looking at Laurence with her cerulean eyes shining brightly, and all of Laurence's anxiousness seemed to dissipate at the look and he smiled softly, before glanced back behind him at the two Pokémon, Sparks still in shock from Eve's actions.
"Yeah, been a while since they've seen each other… I think the last time I had Eve with me was-"
"When you fought Fantina and needed her Shadow Ball," Dawn cut him off, smirking at his reaction when he realised that she was right.
"How'd you remember that?" Laurence asked, astonished, Dawn continued to smirk.
"Coz Eve is so adorable!" Dawn squealed, clasping her hands together once more, Laurence sweatdropped at her actions, but was relieved that he wasn't feeling anxious anymore.
Dawn switched her gaze from the two Pokémon to Laurence, and was slightly surprised to see a look of relief stretched across his face.
"Laurence, you okay?" she asked, her facial expression switching to one of concern, Laurence snapped out of his state at Dawn's words, and physically twitched in his seat.
"Yeah, I'm good, just been feeling a little anxious of late," Laurence replied, averting his gaze out of the window as he spoke. Dawn frowned at Laurence's response.
"Do you know why you're feeling anxious?" Dawn asked, walking over and sitting down next to Laurence, who continued to stare out the window. Sparks and Eve were sat side by side just below the pillow, watching the exchange between the humans.
"I have a vague idea…" Laurence said, looking up at the ceiling, "I think it has to do with me not noticing how badly I was slipping into depression, and how easily it consumed me…" Laurence looked down from the ceiling to Dawn, sadly, as he spoke.
"You can't blame yourself for that, I should've said something, I'd noticed your change almost instantly," Dawn said sadly, looking down at the floor as she spoke. Laurence watched her curiously.
"What changed?" he asked quietly, which made Dawn look up at him, and the two maintained eye contact whilst Dawn explained.
"You became so much more distant; you used to talk about anything, for absolutely ages, but now… You hardly pay me attention anymore; I used to be able to come to you for anything…" Dawn spoke, tears forming in her eyes, but she kept her composure and the two kept the eye contact.
"I… I just don't feel like I know who you are anymore…" Dawn said, tears flowing down her cheeks freely, her shoulders shuddered as she sobbed.
She didn't notice Laurence wrap his right arm around her shoulder and pull her into a hug.
The two stayed like that for quite a long time until Dawn had cried herself out and she shifted in her seat so she could look at Laurence.
"Dawn, there's no need to worry," Laurence said, grinning slightly as he stole Dawn's catchphrase, "I'm fine now, and when I don't feel fine, I know that I've got you, and everyone else supporting me."
Dawn couldn't help but smile.
"But I have to ask, Dawn."
Dawn looked into Laurence's eyes.
"What are you going to do about your Contests during this tournament?" Laurence asked, standing up and sitting on the bed so he had his back rested against his pillows, watching Dawn intently as he did so.
"I may have to give them a miss," Dawn said honestly, shrugging her shoulders, Laurence frowned as he got himself more comfortable, once again sitting cross legged.
"You can't put your dreams on hold for a tournament like this? None of us know if there are gonna be Contests there at all," Laurence replied, furrowing his eyebrows.
Dawn looked him square in the eyes.
"Well, sometimes it's worth putting your dreams on hold for the people you care about most," Dawn replied confidently, and the two maintained eye contact for a while before Laurence smiled proudly at Dawn.
"You've come so far from the naïve trainer I saved from the Ariados," Laurence said, Sparks and Eve had long since curled up together on the chair next to the bed and fallen asleep.
Dawn couldn't help but feel her heart flutter when Laurence praised her like that.
"Thank you," she said, sticking her tongue out playfully at Laurence, who grinned tiredly in response, which Dawn noticed, "Why don't you get some sleep? You look a bit tired," she suggested.
Laurence glanced at the chair, and realised that Dawn wouldn't be able to sit there, and the other chairs that were usually in the room had been taken for cleaning.
"What about you? Where are you gonna sit?" Laurence asked, looking at Dawn, who shrugged in response.
"I don't know, I might go sit outside."
Laurence shook his head.
"Nope, not having that, why don't you come lie next to me and we can nap together?" Laurence suggested, surprising Dawn completely, making her blush a deep red.
"Ar-Are you sure?" she stuttered, and Laurence nodded in response, a small smile on his lips.
Dawn stood up and went round the bed, and past the chair that Sparks and Eve were sleeping on, before she then sat down on the bed, and slipped into the gap between Laurence's left arm and his torso.
The two laid there together for a matter of minutes before Laurence's heartbeat drifted Dawn off to sleep.
Laurence smiled down at her before he kissed the top of her head.
"If only you knew how much you meant to me," Laurence thought, before he too drifted off to sleep.
EOC
Thank you for reading! This story has broken the 1,000 view barrier, I would like to hear your thoughts about my writing style and what you like/dislike about the story, either through reviews or PM's!
Unfortunately, I am now on holiday in Portugal for the next 10 days, so will be unable to post any chapters during that time, but will hopefully have a few ready for when I am back!
Hope you enjoyed!
~AF~