Gain Of Trust

CHAPTER 10

"Jack, you know Leader's gonna get pissed if you don't set up your tent," Mason sighed, the younger man leaning forward off the tree trunk as he watched Gina finish her own setup. Ash's electric-type partner and friend gave a nod in agreement, tapping the man's leg as if to indicate him to get up.

"Yeah, yeah, but he's got a soft spot for me," Jack replied, hesitantly rising to his feet. The other two men glanced at each other.

"Seriously?" Mason quipped.

"Never noticed." Webb added.

"Oh come on..." Jack rolled his eyes, scratching the back of his head. Gina smirked to herself, rising to her feet and turning towards the two older men.

"I must say, these past three months have gotten much more tolerable with you two joining us," Gina remarked calmly, surprising the two men.

"Oh, um...Thank you, I suppose," Mason replied politely, unsure as to how to react. Having learned everyone's behaviors in the past three months, he learned that Gina was definitely not the best to talk to regarding feelings. Of any kind.

"Yeah, same here, Gina. We're really glad we decided to join you guys," Webb gave a light nudge of his elbow against Mason's, the two men sharing a smile.

"Man, why is it when I'm around you newbies, you always unite together against me?" Jack asked, feeling frustrated. "Seriously, I'm a higher rank here than you, you know."

"Come on, Jack, we all know Leader is not ranking us."

"Oh really? Why do you think he asked to talk to me in private back in Snowpoint?"

"That's because when he went into the Pokemon Center before us and came back out, he pointed out that there were a few attractive women there and that he would not tolerate childish behavior from any of us."

"Your point?"

"He clearly meant it only for you."

"Wha-? No way! I am so responsible I don't know what to do with all of it!"

"Clearly throw it out the window, because not even one minute after you walked in-"

"Hey, they were passing by and I said hello! How is that a crime?!" Jack defended himself to know avail, the others clearly having the edge over him considering his...well, habits. "That's not even the point here! Point is that I get more serious meeting time with Leader compared to the rest of you!"

"Well, I guess so. He's always pretty casual whenever he talks to me," Mason shrugged, Webb giving a nod in agreement.

"Yeah, he tried being respectful to me for the longest time after we joined just 'cause we're a year older. He really is way too considerate," the man chuckled, Jack giving the pair a suspicious look.

"Yeah, our midnight talks aren't really 'serious', as you say," Gina added plainly as she looked out over the lake, this catching the immediate attention of the three men. She felt all of their eyes on the back of her head.

"Wha...What do you mean, 'midnight talks'...?" Jack asked carefully, the girl not turning to face them.

"Exactly what I mean," the three men looked at each other in shock, even more confused.

"Wait, wait, wait! Are you saying-"

"Come on, Krys', we're basically there already..."

"No! You agreed until we stepped into camp!"

The others looked over to see a sight that caused a mixture of feelings within each of them. Some curiosity, some jealousy, and a lot of confusion. Even Gina. They watched as Ash stepped closer towards them, giving a light sigh as he stopped a few feet away from them, glancing just above his shoulder. The icy-blunette, whose arms were wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist, was seen smiling happily with her chin resting on his shoulder. "Come on, now we're here."

"...Fine..." she muttered in a disappointed tone, loosening her legs to allow her feet to drop and touch the ground. Ash felt the weight on his back disappear, giving an unnoticeable sigh of relief. The man had taken care to avoid precarious situations with women in recent years, but the sensation on his back up until a moment ago...That alone nearly exhausted him. He could tell without looking that Mason and Webb were giving curious looks to the man, Jack was staring at him in disbelief and pure jealousy, and Gina- Ash's eyes darted to Gina. Recalling her words in his mind, the man realized that she was the cause of this.

"...You actually did it..." Ash watched Gina's hands move over her mouth, suddenly noticing more expression from the girl than the past 6 months combined. The silver-haired girl turned away slightly, but he could still see her eyes glancing back at him as she poorly stifled her laughter. "I...I can't...Stop, it...it hurts..."

"Uh...Did you just...break Gina...?" Jack asked slowly, suddenly noticing the girl's strange behavior.

"Alright, playtime's over. Everyone's tents should be set up in less than ten minutes or you're sleeping in the wind tonight," Ash said sternly, feeling Pikachu assume his position on Ash's shoulder and shaking the snow from his fur. Mason and Webb snapped out of their curiosity, continuing to pitch their own tents as Gina retreated into her own, her hidden laughter still heard from within. Krystal snapped out of her happy daze and followed the older men's actions, Jack arching an eyebrow to Ash.

"Come on, you don't really mean that," he said, nudging him with his elbow. Ash's eyes showed no sense of it being a joke. "...Okay...Got it..."

"Good. Now I know I said we came here for training, and that's exactly what we're going to do. But you must understand that I am not implying this is only pokemon training," Ash told the group, watching over them as they worked.

"Wait, what?" Krystal asked, suddenly feeling as if she had missed something.

"To be recognized in the world, a trainer must have a powerful team and share a deep trusting connection to each of their pokemon," Ash said, the electric mouse on his shoulder giving a nod. "But they must also be in touch with their senses, and their surroundings. You adapt your battle style to the environment around you, so that's what you're gonna do without your pokemon too."

"Uh...Question? What does this have to do with...you know, liberating pokemon?" Jack asked blatantly, his arm in the air as if in a classroom.

"Also, what if we're already accepting and in touch with our surroundings?" Krystal added, flashing a happy smile. Ash paused for a moment, realizing that Krystal's affection for snow had not even crossed his mind in planning this trip.

"...Good question...I'll be honest, I hadn't thought of that, Krys'. Once your tent is set up, I suppose...just relax, for now. But promise no more running off on your own."

"Roger that!" Krystal replied happily.

"And how exactly are the rest of us training?" Webb asked curiously, the other trainees involved looking to Ash with expectant looks as well.

"Well, our pokemon are itching for exercise, and we all need to learn to not rely on them," Ash started, Jack immediately straightening up.

"Ooooh no, no no no, not me," Jack noticed Ash's expression left no impression of humoring him. "Oh come on! I'll die out here, man, seriously!"

"No you won't, Jack, I'll be sure of that," Ash replied, looking out over the lake to the side of the camp. "But even if I am here to help you, that doesn't mean I won't be going easy. That goes for all of you."

"We expected that much," Mason said, Webb giving a nod.

"I would be insulted if you did," Ash noticed that Gina was now crawling out of her tent, rising to her feet. Her expression had returned to normal. "I can only imagine you picked somewhere desolant like this so that there would be no one around to hear Jack's screams."

"What?" Jack quipped, catching that insult.

"I'll admit that was part of the factor in deciding on this place," Ash didn't look at his relative, already knowing that he was getting an insulted look from him. "And look around, a place like this has not a person in sight. That means the area is entirely ours to use."

"Who the hell are you people?"

"Yeah, that is what someone would say if they saw us right now," Webb chuckled, earning a confused look from everyone else. Ash looked around at everyone curiously.

"That...wasn't any of you, was it...?" he asked slowly, the others exchanging confused glances.

"No, I thought it was Jack doing an impression."

"No way, man, I admit I'm not that good at impressions."

"But, then who-"

"Hey," the unfamiliar stern voice caught their attention again. Everyone looked towards the water, surprised to suddenly notice a strange man was standing there, arms crossed and watching them. Even stranger was that he only wore navy blue shorts, revealing his slightly toned body which was...dripping? And so was his deep blue hair. "I said, who the hell are you guys? And why are you out here?"

"...uh...Were you just...?" Jack didn't finish his question, gesturing towards his body. The strange man glanced down, giving him an odd look.

"Swimming clears my head," the man replied, surprising the group.

"Wait, you were swimming? But it's so cold up here, how could the water possibly feel any better?!" Webb asked incredulously, the man giving a shrug.

"Water calms me, so I just feel more comfortable in there than out here," the man ran a hand trhough his wet hair, combing it back. "So, do I need to ask again?"

"No, that's okay. I'm sorry we're dodging the question," Ash cut in, unsure as to what else his companions would say. "We're just some tourists-"

"Well that much is obvious."

"Right...We're actually out here to do some training."

"And I suppose it's only by chance that you chose Lake Acuity? The place where a legendary pokemon rests?"

"Ah, I do realize that sounds suspicious. But I assure you, we have no intentions of disturbing the legendary Uxie."

"And you think I would just take your word on that?"

"Swaaan!" Ash nearly flinched as a graceful swan suddenly passed overhead, beginning to circle around before coming down to land beside the strange man. Ash noticed a peculiar bag in the swan's beak, the pokemon offering it to the man. He reached into the bag and pulled out a belt with six pokeballs attached.

"Alright, then...Old-fashioned way it is."

"It's been a while since we've had all eight tents together, huh?" Krystal asked with a smile, hands on her hips as she looked out at the eight tents pitched in a circle, each in a different color. Everyone was sitting within the circle, near their own tents, except for Leader, who had gone to the cliff to see if he could check on his legendary dragon out over the ocean.

"Sure has. And it sure brings back memories from our travels," Mason replied, taking a seat on the grass beside his own orange tent.

"Mostly of Jack's failed flirting," Gina quipped, the short-haired man catching that remark nearby.

"Hey, I resent that. I've had my share of successful attempts," he said back, joining the rest of the group within the tent circle.

"The fact that you say 'attempts' is almost sad enough on its own, Jack," Webb chuckled, the rest joining in save for Jack and Gina (for different reasons). The younger man crossed his arms behind his head, giving a sigh.

"Oh, whatever. When this is all over and I have my own harem, you'll all be jealous," he said, everyone beginning to laugh harder.

"You with a harem?" Trevor quipped, Leader's relative giving him an unamused look.

"You know, ever since we met, you have just had it out for me, haven't you?" Trevor gave a shrug, lying back on the grass and looking up at the sky. "Hater."

"You haven't exactly given me much reason to enjoy your company, except for being a verbal punching bag."

"Jeez, man, you could hold back a little."

"What do you mean? I am."

"Wha- You know what, never mind."

"...So...It really has been a while since we've done this. What does everyone wanna talk about?"

"And leave it to Lexi for attempting to break tension, but only making it worse," Webb laughed, the blonde feeling embarrassed.

"I've got something. Hey, Jack-"

"I can't tell you guys the truth, we've already been over this."

"No, no, it's something else," the younger man gave a curious look to Webb, who was smirking at him slyly. "So, we all have our guesses but I wanna hear the truth from you. Between Krystal and Lexi, which is it?"

"...Heh?"

"Oh, that is a good topic! Yeah, Jack, there's no point in keeping it a secret from us, we're all family, aren't we?" Mason's smile seemed all too suspiciously innocent to Jack.

"It is fairly obvious at this point," Gina added calmly, the two men giving the quiet girl a curious look. Krystal and Lexi, however, were looking rather embarrassed.

"I-It's not like he really likes us," Krystal said, crossing her arms. "Jack goes after any pretty girl he sees, so it's not like he has actual feelings for any of them."

"Guess that is a good point...Jack, thoughts?" Webb inquired, the younger man giving a sigh as he scratched the back of his head.

"Look, I see a cute girl, I make sure she's aware of it. It's like my good-deed-of-the-day kinda thing..." Jack trailed off, feeling a glare from the two girls in question.

"Oh, so it was just an obligation then?" Lexi asked, her tone sounding slightly threatening.

"Hoho, you're getting the girls angry," Mason taunted.

"And that clearly answers the flipside of the matter," Trevor remarked, smirking. Everyone looked at him questioningly.

"How so?" Webb asked.

"Yeah, what does that mean?" Krystal added, still embarrassed but now becoming curious in the meaning behind his words.

"Say hypothetically, Mason were to say that he would hit on you out of kindness. How would you react?"

"...uh...I mean, that'd be kinda weird, but...nice, I guess? In it's own way."

"Now imagine if Leader were to do the same thing."

"W-W-What?!"

"And that's why you can rule out Krys' on the flipside," Trevor held up his palm to the sky above him, flipping it so he was looking at his palm. "Now Lexi, same questions."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked carefully, eyeing the blue-haired man cautiously. "You have never shown an interest in this stuff before, why the sudden change of heart?"

"Gotta go with the flow, and this is where it's going," the man sat up, turning to face her and arching an eyebrow, giving an expectant look.

"...Mason I would be alright with, I know he would be doing it out of kindness..." Lexi trailed off, her thoughts drifting to the situation involving Leader. "...I'm not really sure how I would feel about Leader, honestly. I would probably be too surprised he showed any interest at all to even react."

"And there you have it," Trevor stated, Mason and Webb exchanging glances.

"Ah, I get it now..."

"Yeah, that makes sense..."

"...What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Krystal blinked, more confused than ever.

"Well, you wouldn't react with Mason because you have no interest in Mason in that way. But you would react with Leader because you obviously like him- Don't give me that look, we all know it's true. Now for Lexi, she wouldn't react to Mason either because she's the same way, no interest. And as for Leader, she wouldn't react either," Webb explained, the girls staring at him curiously. "Based on Krystal's answers and reactions, she reacts from the guy she likes and not from someone she doesn't."

"But...Lexi wouldn't react to either Mason or Leader," Jack chimed in, feeling safe now that the topic wasn't directly on him.

"Exactly. But who did she react to, just a few minutes ago?"

"..."

"..."

"...Oh daaaamn."

"Shut up, Krys'!" Lexi quickly hushed the icy-blunette, her embarrassement beginning to return. The blonde shook her head, rising to her feet. "This is just stupid, anyway! I'm gonna go find Leader."

"Well, there goes our fun..." Trevor muttered under his breath, watching the blonde disappear from the campsite. "Any other fun topics? Mainly at Jack's expense?"

"We could discuss why I was never hit on when we first met," Gina said calmly with her usual blank expression. The dead silence that followed afterwards, as well as her emotionless look gave the same answer to everyone's thoughts, but no one dared say it out loud.

"Because you are just beyond terrifying to approach..."

"Milotic, Hydro Pump!"

"Focus Blast."

the graceful water serpent fired a powerful blast of water towards its crocodile opponent, who formed a blue sphere of energy between its claws and threw it. The sphere collided with the water, matching in power for a few moments before breaking through and exploding on contact with the water-type, who collapsed on the ground.

"Milotic!" the man hurried to his pokemon's side, rubbing the side of the pokemon's head as if to calm it and make sure it was okay. He pulled a pokeball from his belt, returning his pokemon to it, clenching the sphere in his hand tightly. "...Who are you?!"

"Just a man, looking to do some training with his partners, as I said," Ash replied, recalling his crocodile to its own pokeball as well. The blue-haired man got to his feet, facing him defensively. "It's alright, I'm telling you nothing more than the truth."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Name your reasons I might be lying. What else would I be here for?"

"To go after Uxie!"

"I would've sent my friends around you to go get him if I wanted him, but they haven't moved."

"Then you're poachers! You're here for all the local pokemon!"

"Again, if I had any ulterior motives, I would've sent my friends to do it while I was keeping you busy."

"...Well...Maybe you're just not being smart about whatever you're here for!"

"Oh, okay, that's it! The line has been crossed!" Krystal shouted, taking a step forward before her silver-haired friend held her back.

"Look, how can I prove it? We're only here for the challenging terrain, I'm sure that's the same reason you're doing your swimming here, am I right?" Ash asked, the stranger hesitating.

"...I'll believe you if you toss all your pokemon over here."

"What?!" Jack tried to step in, but Ash held his open palm out towards him to stop him.

"Alright," the others were surprised to watch Ash slowly detatch his belt, all pokeballs included, and toss it over towards the man. The man stared in disbelief at Ash. "See? I'm only here to help train them."

"...Like I said earlier, who are you?" the man asked again.

"My name is Ash. These are my friends, Jack, Mason and Webb, and the girls are Krystal and Gina," Ash explained, gesturing to everyone individually.

"Pika!"

"And of course, there's Pikachu," Ash added with a smile.

"Ash...and a pikachu...?" the strange man looked over at the electric-type curiously, then back at Ash. "...Your last name...It's not Ketchum, is it?"

"What the- How do you know Leader?" Jack asked, feeling confused. The stranger looked over at him.

"Leader?"

"That...is my last name...How do you know that, exactly?" Ash asked slowly, the man moving towards Ash's belt in the snow. He picked it up, brushing it off before tossing it back to Ash, who caught it.

"A few years back, you were involved in that Team Galactic disaster on Spear Pillar. Where Cyrus summoned Dialga and Palkia to create a new world," the man explained, Ash arching an eyebrow in surprise. "I've always lived in Sinnoh, and I saw the news reports. They always mentioned some kid who helped bring down Team Galactic named Ash Ketchum...I never thought I would ever have a chance in hell at getting to meet you, though."

"Well, that was a long time ago. I'm not as big of a deal than I was at that time," Ash chuckled, watching the man step towards him.

"But, I also recall that two years after that, news reports about you stopped. Entirely. After your placement in the Sinnoh League, I thought you just went to another region to try another League challenge, but there was nothing. People were saying you just disappeared."

"...Fanboy much...?" Jack muttered quietly to himself, the man catching that remark and glaring at him.

"...I can already tell I don't like you."

"Well hey, guess that makes this meeting even, then."

"I...must admit, I'm surprised to hear all that..." Ash tried to choose his words carefully, but was unsure on how to approach the man. Was he actually a fan? "...It's true, I did...leave, rather suddenly. I kinda had some issues going on in my life at the time, so I felt the need to...get some time alone. I'm sure you must understand that."

"I do," the man replied, crossing his arms.

"...uh...What is happening?" Krystal blinked in confusion, Gina looking back and forth between Ash and the strange man curiously. Ash looked over towards the others, then back at the man beside him. Then he had an idea.

"...Say, you wouldn't happen to want to join me for a little while? Help toughen these guys up?" the man gave him a curious look. "Your milotic was no pushover, you seem like you know what you're doing with your training. And with how exhausting these guys can be, I could use another reliable set of hands."

"...You would trust a stranger so easily...?" the man asked, Ash giving a smile.

"Well, you chose to trust me, didn't you?" the man paused for a few moments. Then he broke into a smile.

"...The name's Trevor."

"And there he goes, not a care in the world..." Leader muttered to himself with a smile, watching the legendary dragon pass rather quickly through a cloud and dive towards the water's surface before pulling up at the last moment. The man looked down towards his feet, his eyes drifting towards his hand at his side. He turned his wrist so that his palm was facing upward towards his stomach, giving a sigh as he stared at his palm. "...Not a care in the world, huh...?"

"Sounds like the good life," Leader closed his eyes and smiled again, listening to the sound of footsteps come closer from behind him, stopping at his side. "...He's really having a blast out there, isn't he?"

"He sure is, that used to be his whole life before I came along..." Leader trailed off, Lexi giving him a concerned look.

"Hey, is everything alright, Leader?" she asked, the man looking out at the vast sea before them.

"...Can I share something with you, Lexi? Something I haven't shared with the others?" the girl was surprised, almost hesitating before giving a nod. "...Those people from my past, and how I reacted in Kanto...I can't help but partly hate myself for treating them like that..."

"Your past...? You mean that group chasing us?" Lexi asked, the man giving a nod. She looked out towards the sea as well, drifting into thought. "...One of those girls...The one with the brown hair...She's that girl you mentioned before, isn't she? From when we first met..."

"...She was..." Lexi glanced at him curiously, suddenly feeling nervous to try and continue the topic.

"...So that explains it..." the girl muttered to herself, thinking back on their past interactions with the group and suddenly understanding the brunette's behavior.

"...And I loved her, with all my heart," Lexi couldn't even react to that one. She just froze up. After all this time in keeping his past and emotions to himself, was he...opening up? "That girl was the one I wanted to spend every day with, every moment I could. And not a single person knew about us. But, as you know, this world is tainted. Impure with human desperation for entertainment and humiliation."

"...Right...I remember you mentioned that when we first met..."

"...But I never told you the whole story..."

END