Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Author Notes: Chapter 38 is here! What's this!? Two updates in one week? Surely, I've gone insane. Anyway, this chapter was hard to write for obvious reasons, and it's the first time I write themes like this. I hope I did a good job at it, and I'm nervous, not gonna lie.

Anyway, I want to give a legendary shoutout to all the people that have decided to support me in my writing endeavors so far!

Thanks to CreeperMaster343, Exzander, Man-O'-War, Caitou zzzzzz, Exos, and T_2the_homas77!

Special thanks to SGWarrior, RapidRotation, Manny, Saul'keth, Zeusdog17, Aspergillus nidulans, and FinalDragon!

Legendary thanks to ThatAverageDude and Roasted Cashew!

I immensely appreciate your continued support! If you want to support my writing and my story, look me up in the Patron world!

Chapter 38 — Hardship and Strength

Bianca looked on as Phaedra swiftly disappeared into the distance. She turned and wrapped an arm around Ash. "So, are you okay?" she asked kindly while patting his shoulder. "We were very worried about you on the way here."

"I think so," Ash murmured while casting a downward look and letting out a weary breath. "I've just got a lot in my head right now. It's been a difficult day."

"That's an understatement." Brock smiled reassuringly. "But you know we're always here for you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Ash eased Bianca's arm off him, let out a sigh, and sat down next to one of the nearby trees with his legs crossed. He slumped against the tree trunk and buried his head in his hands. "I don't know, honestly."

"Well, what happened while you were gone?" Brock asked worriedly.

Pikachu abruptly jumped off Ash's shoulder and turned to face his best friend. "He died, that's what happened," he revealed, prompting Brock and Bianca to look at him in shock.

Ash flinched and lifted his head with an appalled expression. "How did you… know?"

"It's obvious. Ho-Oh is known in most folklore as a Legendary of rebirth. She just showed that to us and much more." Pikachu motioned around him with his little paws. "We arrived at Sky Pillar on three Legendaries. A Rayquaza carried the twins here. A Lugia carried us here. Why would a Ho-Oh carry you, specifically?" His eyes narrowed.

Ash turned his head to avoid the electric-type's piercing gaze. His lip trembled slightly and he opened his mouth to speak, but closed it immediately when all words died away.

Pikachu walked over to his trainer with a softening expression. He placed a paw on Ash's leg and looked up at him. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Bianca slowly sat down beside Ash and pressed her shoulder against his in support. "You can tell us if it's true or not. But, if you don't want to talk about it, we'd understand that too."

Ash adjusted his cap to cover his eyes a bit and put a hand on Pikachu's head. He tenderly rubbed it for a few seconds while he thought of a response. "Yeah," he confirmed at last, deciding to be outright honest. "You're as sharp as ever, buddy."

Bianca's breath caught in her throat for a moment, causing her to fumble with her words briefly. "It's true? Y-you died? Like died, died?" Her eyes widened as realization dawned on her. 'So that's why I didn't see him during the aftermath. It all makes sense now.'

Brock's face fell. "I see." He crouched down in front of Ash and put a hand on his other shoulder in support. "Was it any different from the whole affair at New Island?"

"Worse, I'd say," Ash muttered. He winced as the brief but traumatic memory of fire scorching through his skin and flesh so fast it felt like a violent spasm that rippled through him replayed over and over in his mind. He gulped and bit his lip. "A lot worse."

Pikachu gritted his teeth. "I knew it, I just knew it. Call it intuition, but I felt like throwing up the entire way here."

"I'm sorry, Pikachu. I'm sorry, everyone," Ash said with a shaken voice. "I didn't mean to—"

"Ash, listen," Pikachu interrupted sharply and, once Ash's mouth shut, he continued. "Don't apologize. At all. It's not your fault and you're by far the least guilty person here. I'm not exactly thrilled at the problems Legendaries get us into all the time, but there's only one thing to truly blame in all of this." He scoffed and a few sparks of electricity escaped his cheeks involuntarily. "I swear I'll find that thing that possessed you and kill him. No one does this to my best friend and gets away with it." He paused. "Wait, do you know what happened to you?"

Ash gave a tiny nod. "Yeah, Ho-Oh told me about it."

"See? If anything, Ho-Oh and the Legendaries are more at fault than you are for not dealing with their problems accordingly," Pikachu pointed out. "But let's not lose sight of the guilty one here. It's that evil trainer."

"It's just, I feel so… I don't know how to put it. It all happened so quickly I couldn't respond. One moment I was playing with everyone and having fun, then I regained my senses only to see fire coming at me, and the next thing I remember is waking up with Ho-Oh." He shook his head and buried his head in his hands. "Man, I wish I could've done something, anything differently, and Latios and Latias, they…"

Bianca wrapped her arm around him again and gently pulled him into her side comfortingly. She caressed his shoulder repeatedly with soft motions. "Hey, Pikachu is right. You don't have to beat yourself over it because none of this was your fault. No matter what, just know, none of us would blame you for it."

"But I was the one possessed by that thing, and I died again, and I—Well, I…" Ash began with a trembling voice. He paused to get a few short breaths in before continuing, "I just don't know anymore." He made a startled jump when four bright flashes of white light erupted from his belt and spread out in front of him. Treecko, Pidgeot, Larvitar, and Phanpy materialized and joined the rest of the group. Ash looked at his other four Pokémon with a stunned expression. He stifled a sob and looked down, aghast. "Guys, what are you…?"

"What's wrong, Ash?" Pidgeot asked soothingly, even though her voice was pointedly weary.

"Can… can Pokémon hear what's going on outside from inside their Poké Balls?" Ash asked quietly.

"Only bits and pieces. It's blurry and hard to understand but sometimes a few things make it through," Pidgeot answered tiredly. "But we can clearly see something's wrong with you."

Ash winced as his eyes scanned her body and took note of the myriad scorch marks and scrapes marring her plumage. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about me," Pidgeot responded instantly. "What happened? You're very upset."

Larvitar looked at Ash and hesitantly stepped over to him. "Dad?" he asked while placing his stubby hands on his leg.

Ash looked at Larvitar sadly. "I—nothing."

Pikachu opened his mouth to speak and then abruptly closed it. 'Oh fuck, we shouldn't tell Larvitar. I really hope he didn't hear that part.'

"What do you mean you died?" Larvitar asked slowly.

'…And he heard it.' Pikachu shook his head and grimaced.

Ash winced and looked into the infant's eyes with a saddened expression. "No use hiding it, I guess. It's true."

Treecko, Pidgeot, and Phanpy gasped. Pidgeot closed her eyes and recalled what she knew of what happened at New Island. Even though she had not taken part personally, the knowledge of Ash's momentary death back then still weighed on her thoughts occasionally. She then recalled the day's earlier events and replayed them over and over in her head. 'He's died twice on my watch.' She shook her head and opened her eyes to focus them on her trainer while adopted a pained visage. 'What could I have done differently to save him?'

"But you're here, daddy!" Phanpy protested with an appalled expression. "Right?"

Ash nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, I'm here, I'm okay, alright? I… you see, someone brought me back to life. I'm not dead right now."

Phanpy blinked at him as if trying to piece together what exactly Ash meant with that.

Treecko looked at the group with a grimace and, still being a relative newcomer to the team and not having much history with any of them nor acute knowledge of the relationships everyone had with each other, took a few steps away from the deeply personal conversation as if trying to fade into the background.

Ash sighed and glanced over each of his Pokémon carefully. He gasped when his eyes settled on Larvitar.

The moment the confirmation of Ash's fate sounded, Larvitar froze and the world around him crawled to an eerie standstill, everything fading into a blurry mess. Memories that bore an uncanny resemblance to his frequent nightmares thundered into a vivid image in his mind. Like every single time prior, a dim yet beautiful scene and the comforting presence of his mother settled in, only to melt away at the harrowing intrusion of three heartless fiends.

"Larvitar!"

Yet, those nightmares collapsed under an even worse scenario that mercilessly erupted to the forefront of his mind. One that he never even thought could be possible. One that he never entertained or even gave thought to.

"Larvitar!"

A single and dreadful question hung thick even over his worst nightmares. What if he lost Ash? What if he lost his father? What if he lost the one parent that was truly there for him day in and day out, unlike his mother?

"Larvitar!"

No. It was impossible, he reasoned. After all, Ash was such a sweet and loving person. Ash adopted him, an unrelated Pokémon, and gave him a loving family under no obligation to do so. How could something so cruel ever happen to him? He didn't deserve it. Surely, there was no way.

Yet it had. Life, after all, was never fair. And the proof was right there in front of him.

"Larvitar!"

Larvitar let out a shrill screech and jumped from his spot at the sudden shout that seemed to rumble deafeningly to him. He looked ahead with frightened and unfocused eyes and found Ash gripping his sides and staring right at him with a panicked face. Larvitar's breathing quickened as the faint recollections of his nightmares and the mounting questions crept into his thoughts harder and harder. "Dad…" he whispered.

Ash's expression softened. "Larvitar."

"You're still here, right?" Larvitar asked in a voice so faint it barely made it over the sounds of the rustling leaves around them and the splashes of the lake's shore nearby.

Ash smiled and gently caressed Larvitar's head. "I am, and I promise I wouldn't go anywhere."

"Liar!" Larvitar shrieked abruptly, causing Ash to wince noticeably. "You just went away!" He brusquely pushed Ash away from him and clumsily dashed to the side.

"Hey!" Ash tried to grab Larvitar to stop him but found the infant's immense weight easily breaking out of the feeble hold his hands attained.

Phanpy swiftly jumped over Larvitar and landed in front of him. He stood on his hind legs and tackled Larvitar to the ground. "Larvitar, stop!" he cried out with tearful eyes.

Larvitar's eyes widened and his breathing turned swift and shallow, causing jagged wheezes to emanate from him and a sensation of burning to form on the back of his throat. "Let me go!" he rasped angrily, struggling agitatedly under Phanpy.

"Larvitar, calm down," Ash whispered soothingly as he crouched down beside the pair and gently pushed Phanpy off. He grabbed Larvitar under his armpits and, with considerable effort, eased him onto his feet. He locked eyes with him, noting with alarm that Larvitar's rocky skin felt unusually arid and left a sensation of rough dust on his fingertips.

Larvitar tried to look away but found his gaze glued to Ash's brown eyes. Within his adoptive father's eyes, Larvitar could find the ease and reassurance he craved. The safety and comfort that he needed. The love that he desired. He knew that all too well. Yet, why did he feel so unsafe in his presence? Why did he feel so uncomfortable in his own skin? He grimaced from the repeating thumping of pain in his chest and stifled a shallow gasp from the lack of air in his lungs.

Ash lowered himself and comfortingly wrapped his arms around his surrogate son. "Please, calm down, Larvitar. Please. You'll only hurt yourself."

Larvitar feebly tried to pull back but his effort came out as no more than a paltry shove. He could feel that Ash was there, just like he promised. He could feel the warmth of his skin and the genuine intentions behind his comfort, yet why didn't it bring the feeling of safety like it always did? Why did he even want to evade him in the first place? Why was he resisting? He stopped his struggles for a moment and remained eerily still. Why was he even doing this?

"Shh, it's okay, Larvitar," Ash whispered soothingly. He gently ran his hand down Larvitar's back and pressed hard against it, hoping to steady the aggressively shallow breaths he kept taking. "Regardless of what happened, I'm fine. I'm here for you."

Larvitar remained frozen still for a painfully long time, during which his jagged breathing stabilized ever so slightly even as the conflicted expression remained plastered on his face. He wanted to pull away from Ash's grip so badly but found himself leaning into it instead. He wanted to shout and bite him so badly but found himself closing his eyes instead. It was eating him from the inside out and made him feel so uncomfortable. Why didn't it feel right to lean into Ash's support, when it was the right thing to do? None of it made sense to him anymore, and he hated every moment of it.

Brock watched the scene with a saddened expression. Now that he could understand Larvitar's language, the infant's trauma became ever more palpable to him. He found himself thinking of his own family and hoped that his parents and siblings were alright back at Pewter City. He winced when the intrusive thought of how his large family would react if he were to pass away made its way to him.

Bianca remained silent and turned away for a moment to wipe away a tear from her eye. The scene looked eerily familiar to her, as it bore a striking resemblance to when she lost her parents many years ago and left Lorenzo alone to comfort her. Even though she had only been a little girl at the time and was long over it, the memory remained painfully vivid.

Pidgeot and Pikachu looked at them with somber expressions. They both knew all too well that, had Ash remained dead, they would have been in Larvitar's exact position the moment they received the news. Pikachu's ears dropped and felt his eyes moisten as he recalled himself crying over Ash's petrified body at New Island.

Treecko, meanwhile, took a few more silent steps back and hoped it made him disappear even further into the background.

Ash smiled sadly and pulled back slowly. "Are you doing a bit better now, Larvitar?"

"I think so," Larvitar replied faintly. "I just feel—I don't know how I feel. I don't know what to think."

Ash sighed and sat down next to him. "I know. I still don't know how to feel about what happened myself. The uncertainty is killing me. But all I care about is that I'm okay." He gently rubbed Larvitar's back. "And that you're okay, of course."

Larvitar looked down remorsefully. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I don't know what came over me."

"You don't have to apologize, Larvitar." Ash pressed his hand harder against Larvitar's back and pulled him into his side. "I understand if you're upset. But know that I'm here for you, I really am. No matter what."

"Me too!" Phanpy shouted from behind Larvitar, which made him do a startled jump. Phanpy pressed against Larvitar's other side and nuzzled him endearingly. "You're my little brother, after all."

"Thank you," Larvitar murmured.

Ash gently pet Phanpy's head. "I know you're upset too."

"But I have to be strong for my—" Phanpy started.

"Just because he took it a lot worse than you doesn't mean you should hide your concern and it doesn't make it less valid. Please, tell me if you need me, okay?" Ash said, giving his adopted son a caring look.

Phanpy pressed against Ash's touch. "I will, daddy."

Larvitar whimpered and looked at his adoptive father with an aggrieved expression and wet eyes. "Why did it happen? If you really… you know, then why are you still here?"

Ash looked away for a moment. "I don't know why it happened. I just know it was the doing of someone who wants to harm Latios and Latias." He shook his head and gave the child a bittersweet smile. "I'm here because Ho-Oh revived me."

"Uncle Latios and Auntie Latias!?" Phanpy cried out in alarm. "Are they okay?"

"They are," Ash confirmed with a nod. "They're asleep not far from here."

Larvitar sniffed. "What if it attacks us again? What if it hurts you again?"

"I don't know what would happen," Ash admitted with a gulp. "But we need to be ready, I guess. Other than that, I honestly don't know what to feel either."

"Are you okay, at least?" Pikachu asked as he calmly walked up to them. "You're kinda all over the place right now, Ash."

"I'm not sure but I think I am," Ash answered uneasily. "It's just, I don't want to make a big deal out of it. I don't want it to all be about me."

"You should still talk about it if you need to. Don't bottle your feelings, it'll only make it worse in the end," Brock spoke up.

Ash frowned. "I'm okay, really. Upset, but okay." He patted Larvitar's back comfortingly. "I'm more concerned about how others take it, like Larvitar."

"You don't have to be so selfless all the time," Pikachu said while crossing his arms. "Think about yourself every now and then."

"I'll try. You know, after all this mess, it feels like we just glossed over the fact Mew and Mewtwo killed me back then," Ash commented. "It's like something bigger should've come out of it, but it didn't."

"Well, Mewtwo erased our memories immediately after the event and we only regained them at Quena months later. By then it was just that, a distant memory," Brock pointed out.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Still, it feels odd. I feel like it should have been a bigger deal than it was, but we all ignored it and I just got over it instantly." He scowled. "I'm twelve yet I've already died twice. I don't feel like this is normal."

"It's not. Not at all. But when has our journey been normal?" Pikachu questioned. He gave Ash a sad smile. "All that's left is to just be careful from now on. I don't want to know what will happen once our luck for revival runs out."

Ash winced and Ho-Oh's explanation echoed hauntingly in his mind. It was highly unlikely there would be a third chance, and he knew it. He shook his head and smiled at his friends. "Let's move on, I guess. Thank you, thanks all of you. I already feel loads better. It'll take a while because I'm still in a bit of shock about the whole thing, but I feel better already."

"Anything for you, Ash, anything," Brock replied with a smile. "You know you can count on us."

Ash finally stood up and looked around. "Let's set up camp, then. I just want to rest for now."

Brock nodded in agreement. "I think that's for the best."

Ash winced when he felt his stomach grumble quite loudly, which caused him to realize that his current body hadn't ever eaten anything yet. "I need to eat something."

Brock chuckled and smiled at Ash reassuringly. "I'll be sure to prepare you something extra special for dinner tonight, just for you," he promised. "As small of a gesture as it is, maybe it'll cheer you up a bit."

Ash returned the smile to the older trainer. "Thank you, Brock. For always having my back."

"And I always will," Brock promised confidently. "You don't have to do anything. Bianca and I will handle setting up camp for tonight."

"Yeah, just take it easy, Ash," Bianca said amiably.

Brock turned and walked in the direction of the nearby lake while tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if healing spring water is safe to drink, though."

Bianca followed him. "I mean, it should be. But it's probably safer to find the river that feeds it."

Ash looked at the two older trainers as they departed with a fond smile, greatly appreciating their presence and camaraderie. "So, this is a healing spring?" he asked loudly.

"Oh, right, you weren't around when Phaedra talked about them," Bianca said as she stopped for a moment to face him. "This lake has healing properties thanks to Ho-Oh."

Ash looked at the lake ahead and his expression brightened. "Oh! I have an idea. Thanks, Bianca. You go on and set up camp. There's something I want to try out."

"Sure!" Bianca gave him a thumbs up and resumed her stride to follow Brock.

Ash crouched in front of his four Pokémon. "Thank you so much for everything, guys." He frowned and looked around. "Huh, where's Treecko? I swear I saw him jump out of his Poké Ball too."

Phanpy excitedly jumped into him, causing Ash to fall onto his butt. "Always, daddy, always!"

Larvitar pressed against his side and hugged him. "I'm just glad I didn't lose another parent."

Ash sighed. "You haven't lost any parent, Larvitar. Your mom is still out there, somewhere."

Larvitar blinked and looked up at him. "But, she's…" He sniffed again. "And then, you. If—if something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. Y-you're everything I have, daddy."

Ash gently pat Larvitar's back. "I'm not everything you have. We're a whole family. There's Pikachu, Pidgeot, Latios, Latias—"

"No, it's just that…" Larvitar closed his eyes and trembled. "If you died for real, I…I… I don't think I'd see a point in continuing living," he finished in the faintest of voices.

Phanpy gasped. "No!" He jumped off Ash and tackled Larvitar. "Don't say that!"

Larvitar growled and roughly shoved Phanpy away. "Stay away from me!" he snapped.

Pikachu and Pidgeot moved to interrupt the pair, but Ash did so faster. He used an arm to swiftly separate the two, even going so far as to shove Larvitar back quite briskly. He was aware he'd need a considerable amount of strength to move the heavy infant. "Please, quiet down, both of you," he scolded sternly.

Phanpy squeaked and shrunk in place.

Ash let out a lengthy exhale and smiled sadly at Larvitar, appalled that an infant would go as far as to have suicidal thoughts. He wondered, for a moment, how that reflected on him as a parent.

Larvitar looked away, ashamed.

Ash gently slipped his hand under Larvitar's chin and lifted his face so he locked eyes with him. "Listen, Larvitar. Don't say that. Your mom is still out there and you'll meet her one day. You also have my Pokémon and you have your older brother. You're not alone and I'm not everything you have." He shook his head and felt moisture build up under his eyes. "Even so, do you think that's what I'd want for you if I were gone?"

"No…" Larvitar whispered.

Ash nodded and used a hand to wipe his eyes clean. "That's right. I would love for you to be happy, to grow and become an amazing Tyranitar one day, and move on to live a long life."

Larvitar teared up. "But—"

"No buts," Ash rebutted sharply. "Remember that time Latios and Latias talked about their friends? You have us and I have you all. And we'll get through all hardships together, this one included. Now, apologize to Phanpy."

Larvitar slowly wiped away the moistness under his eyes and looked at Phanpy dejectedly. "I'm sorry…"

Phanpy sprang back to life and gently nuzzled his adoptive brother. "It's okay. I forgive you!"

"It's just, almost losing Ash made me think about my mom. I miss her so much, I want to meet her, I just want her," Larvitar murmured.

Ash narrowed his eyes determinately. "Then we'll get her back. I'm done waiting or hoping we run into them on our journey. I'm done." His hands balled into fists. "One of the first things we'll do when we leave Sky Pillar will be to hunt down the Team Magma dude that has her and rescue her."

Pikachu frowned. "I hate to rain on your parade but we've been unable to conclusively beat either Magma or Aqua the two times we ran into them. Sure, we'll tell Rayquaza about them, but we don't know what's gonna happen after or what he's going to do about them."

"Then we'll train hard." Ash looked on at the resting Skailyn and the unconscious twins sleeping on her coil in the distance. "We'll all train. We need to become stronger so that the next time some dumb possession thing attacks us, or we run into Magma or Aqua, we win."

"I like that idea and attitude," Pikachu commented with a growing smirk. "I have a score to settle with that evil trainer for killing you. And so do Latios and Latias because it also killed their dad."

"Yeah, but at least it sounds he won't be our problem to deal with, if we're to believe Ho-Oh," Ash pointed out. "Rescuing Larvitar's mom, however, is."

Larvitar blinked and looked up at Ash admiringly. "Thank you, daddy. Thank you so much!"

"I promise it," Ash finished. He held his fist in front of Larvitar and grinned.

Larvitar grinned back and knocked his stubby hand against it.

"Now, onto another thing that I wanted to do." Ash pulled away, stood up, and took a couple of steps toward Pidgeot. "Hey, how are you doing?" he asked softly while pressing a hand against her neck and lightly rubbing it along her plumage and over her collar.

"I'll survive," Pidgeot answered wearily.

"Can you walk?" Ash asked tentatively.

Pidgeot suppressed a slight chuckle and gave him a look. "Ash, I'm not that hurt or tired."

"You could be acting tough, though," Pikachu commented. "You always do that when you get beat up."

"Look who's talking," Pidgeot shot back with a glare. She stood up from her roosting spot and winced noticeably as she took a few steps ahead. "See? I can walk."

Ash smiled in amusement at the pair's banter and gently snuck his arm under her wing to support her. "Come with me, I have an idea." He delicately supported Pidgeot, walked past Brock and Bianca—who were busy working on their camp and supper—and led her to the lake's shore. Pikachu quietly walked along with them, while Larvitar and Phanpy instead went on to join Brock and Bianca at the campsite.

Treecko looked at the departing group from his spot atop one of the largest protruding branches from a nearby tree. He fiddled with the twig on his mouth and shifted about uncomfortably where he was. 'That was something else,' he thought with a wince. He would have loved to offer Ash at least some supporting words—he did, after all, greatly like his trainer and was plenty happy with his decision of joining him—but found himself awkwardly pushed out of the entire conversation and left utterly speechless. He liked the whole group, but he also only met them not long ago, leaving him to feel that he would have only intruded on a group he didn't yet belong to.

'I wonder…' Treecko thought for a moment. 'This is like why I left the forest colony in the first place. Maybe one day I'll tell them and they could help me.' He cast a downward glance and scoffed. 'Why, sister, why?'

Ash stopped on the lake's shore and curiously looked on at the pristine water. He crouched down to take off his shoes and roll his jeans up to his knees. "Apparently this lake heals. So, let's try it out."

Pidgeot chuckled. "Always worrying after everyone else."

"Yeah," Ash admitted while scratching the back of his head. "Someone has to."

"Pikachu was right, though. It's sometimes good to think about yourself as well," Pidgeot said as she stepped into the lake. She made several strides and roosted down comfortably until the water mostly covered her. She let out a relaxed exhale. "It does feel soothing."

Ash carefully walked in with her. He stopped and looked on at the stone shrine and the beautiful multicolor fire that vividly crackled at the lake's center. He shuddered and looked away quickly. "That means it works." He reached down and cupped his hands to scoop up some of the lake's water and gently rubbed it along Pidgeot's injuries, scratching her feathers and making sure it soaked in thoroughly. "Whoa…" he breathed out in astonishment when he noticed that the smaller scratches and scorch marks on her skin slowly faded away.

"Not as drastic as Ho-Oh freely regenerating limbs, but still pretty impressive, not gonna lie," Pikachu commented as he stopped at the shore. "Seeing as the healing is still her doing, to begin with, it's unsurprising."

"Yeah." Ash scooped up more water and resumed washing Pidgeot's plumage. "Wish we could take some of it with us, even."

Pidgeot let out a soft trill of relaxation. "The leftover sting is already gone. Thanks, Ash."

Ash gently rubbed her head. "You're welcome." He winced as he scrubbed along her feathers with his hands and ran them over some of the larger scorch marks. "I kinda got to experience it firsthand, so I figured you needed some help too. How did it happen to you, though?"

"I don't know," Pidgeot admitted as she closed her eyes. "All I remember is flying away from the blast of fire and deciding to activate my Mega Stone. I don't remember anything else after that."

"Hey, Pidgeot?" Pikachu spoke up.

"Yeah?" Pidgeot opened an eye to glance at him.

"You saved us," Pikachu revealed. "When that explosion happened, Crobat and I desperately pushed Brock and Bianca into Onix's coils. But Onix can't seal himself perfectly. That fire was so powerful it'd have made it through and fried us. But you stood between us and the fire. You took the worst of the blast head on for us."

Pidgeot looked down thoughtfully. "So, I did."

Ash nodded along slowly. "That's why you're so messed up." He smiled and wrapped his arms around Pidgeot and leaned his head against hers. "You're amazing. Thank you for saving my friends, Pidgeot."

Pidgeot pressed against her trainer's touch and let out a relaxed exhale. "I'd do it again without a second thought."

"I know you would, Pidgeot. That's why you're amazing." Ash pulled back and resumed washing her injuries with the water.

"You say I'm amazing, but I couldn't protect you," Pidgeot whispered in a saddened tone. "I'm strong, yet I failed."

Ash shook his head as he scooped up some more water. "You didn't fail. You did far more than anyone could have asked from you. And, for that, I'm grateful. You know very well that, if it was ever a decision I'd have to make, I'd tell you to save my friends and not me."

"Well, I hope you don't ever have to make that choice." Pidgeot grimaced. "I'm just glad it all turned out fine in the end."

"It's rough, though. Larvitar looked really shaken and you two aren't exactly happy either." Ash shuddered. 'I don't want to know how Latias will feel if she knows what she did… I still need to deal with that.' Ash let out an exhausted sigh. "Man, sometimes it's so much to take in and I end up dealing with so much. It's a bit overwhelming."

Pidgeot pressed against Ash's side. "Ash, don't feel like you need to deal with everything on your own nor place a heavy burden solely on yourself. Remember you're still only a child at heart."

"At least Larvitar's doing alright now." Pikachu beamed. "Speaking of, Ash? You were fantastic back there."

Ash paused and turned to face him. "Really?"

Pikachu nodded. "Yeah. You're still quite immature in a lot of aspects, which is natural." He gave Ash a delighted clap. "But in a lot of others, you're more mature than you let on. It's a sign of natural growth. You did everything perfectly with Larvitar."

"Well, dying and having to go through this is eye-opening," Ash responded with a tremble. "I just didn't overthink it and said what first came to my mind to Larvitar."

Pidgeot gave Ash a proud expression. "I agree with Pikachu. You're handling parenting quite well."

Ash laughed nervously. "I'm just twelve. Maybe my mom raised me well." He sighed. "I can't believe I've done so much so quickly, though. Traveled, fought in a league, caught so many amazing Pokémon, died twice…" He flinched. "Not proud about that last one."

"And you shouldn't be. Do you know where that fire came from?" Pikachu asked while tilting his head. "I couldn't see anything behind that barrier."

"…Let's talk about that later," Ash answered awkwardly. He looked on at the resting Latias and Latios on Skailyn's coil not far away. 'Latias, Latios… when you wake up. I'll be there for you too.'

Chapter End

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