Tragedy At The Wallace Cup Chapter 1 Injury
Ash paced around the lobby of the hospital nervously, waiting for Nurse Joy to give an update on his friend May Maple. Ash had been excited when he heard the news of May reuniting with him and Brock. So far, it had been amazing, as Ash and May didn't miss a beat, but tragedy struck. May had easily passed the Appeal round, and she was in the battle round when it happened. The coordinator told their Pokémon to use hyper beam, and May told her trusty Blaziken to dodge the attack. Blaziken dodged the attack, but the hyper beam's path continued and hit May head-on.
It happened so fast that May didn't have to move out of the way. Ash tried to run and push her out of the way, but no matter how fast he ran, he wouldn't have reached her in time anyway. May was badly hurt and was in pretty bad condition. At one point she didn't have a pulse, but luckily they got her pulse back by performing CPR on her. She was immediately rushed to the hospital, where she was in surgery, and they haven't heard anything since.
That had been two hours ago, and that still haven't heard anything. The Wallace Cup had been postponed; everyone was shocked and horrified at the sight, and there was no way anyone could continue after witnessing what had happened, with the only thing on their mind being the health of May Maple. The three friends, Ash, Dawn, and Brock, just sat in silence, worry on their minds.
Dawn, the one who had been around May the least, had quickly developed a quick friendship with May; Brock was taking it hard as well; he and May had grown close over their journey; Ash was taking it the hardest; he and May grew really close to May; he didn't feel a bond with his other friends, quite like he did with May; he had saved her and protected her; he saw her grow from a person who couldn't stand Pokémon to someone who adored Pokémon; and he was a mentor to her; Ash hadn't stopped crying since the incident.
Ash felt guilty; he felt like he could have saved her, but in all honesty, there was nothing he could have done to save her. The friend's thought was interrupted by Nurse Joy coming to the door, and all three friends heart rates began to increase, as they awaited the new s"How is she?" Brock was the first to ask.
Nurse Joy let out a sigh. "Her surgery was a success, but she's in pretty rough shape, though it could have been a whole lot worse," she told the trio.
"Worse? How could that have that been worse?" Ash asked her curiously.
"Well, It's honestly a miracle she survived. Any other time a person had gotten hit by a hyperbeam, they would have died," Nurse Joy replied.
The trio's faces darkened at hearing that revelation. "What are her injuries?" Brock asked.
"Well, she has a giant gash on her back, she has a couple of broken ribs, and she has a broken leg; she did have internal bleeding, but we took care of that," Nurse Joy replied.
"Can we see her?" Ash asked, his voice shaky.
"Normally I wouldn't allow it, but seeing how close you are and knowing you're good people, I'll allow it, but I will warn you that won't be awake for a few days," She told them.
"Thanks, Nurse Joy, you don't have much that means to us," Ash said.
Nurse Joy led Ash, Dawn, and Brock to the room where May was staying. Once inside the room, what Ash saw broke his heart. May was lying on the bed; her breathing was shallow; many scratches, bruises, and other marks littered her body. There was still some dried blood on her, as she had been bleeding. Right above her eyes were stitches; as it had been busted open, her leg was hanging in a cast.
Guilt washed over Ash, He knew he probably shouldn't have felt guilty, as he there was nothing he could have done to save her, but he did. He felt like he couldn't protect or save his friend. He ran over to her and sat down in a chair and grabbed her hand, and he let the tears fall; tear droplets fell on the sheet. "I'm sorry, May, I couldn't protect you," He said between sobs.
Brock and Dawn's hearts broke at the sight. Not only seeing May laying in the hospital, but from also seeing Ash like this, broke their hearts, and they both knew that Ash was feeling guilty, but there was nothing he could done, Brock went over to his best friend. "Ash there's nothing you could have done," Brock comforted his friend.
"There's something I could have done." Ash lashed out at Brock, his anger and guilt consuming him.
Both Brock and Dawn flinched, but that wasn't hurt or mad at him. They knew what Ash was going through and how hard of time was having, Both of them gave up on comforting him. He was stubborn, and he cared for his friend so much. They both knew that Ash would feel guilty no matter what they told him or said to him they couldn't make him feel any better.
But all of a sudden May's Glaceon went up to give him a lick on the cheek, telling him it wasn't his fault and not to feel guilty over it. Ash gave Glaceon a smile, and it was soon followed by May's Blaziken coming out of its Pokeball and going up to Ash and giving him a hug. This gave Ash some comfort.
Ash gripped May's hand and traced circles around her hand with his fingers. He looked down at her, and he realized something: Even through the injuries and the bruises and other marks on her bodies, she somehow still looked beautiful, stunning in fact. His breath was taken away for a second. May was always a beautiful girl; even a dense Ash could realize that, and now looking down at her, he now knew how beautiful she was.
He watched as she slept. She looked so peaceful during her slumber; her chest would rise and fall. He moved a stray hair away, to reveal a nasty-looking bruise and some dried blood on it. He then bent down and gave her a peck on the forehead. "I'm sorry," He told her.
Dawn and Brock smiled at the scene. Anyone else viewing this would think Ash was being romantic, but both Brock and Dawn knew that it was just Ash being himself and caring for his friends. They stood there in silence, As Ash would hold onto May's hand, tracing her hand with his fingers, and he would move her hair out of the way, in a way to comfort himself. All of them sat in silence. Nurse Joy would come every now and then to check on up May and she would smile at how caring Ash was being.
Then it dawned on Brock: No one had called or notified May's parents of what had happened. "Guys, nobody has called May's parents," Brock said.
This gained Ash's attention, and it dawned on him that Brock was right. Nobody had called May's parents. "Yeah you're right. I guess with everything happening, We all forget," Ash said.
"I'll go call them," Brock said.
Ash turned to him. "No I'll call them," Ash told Brock.
"Are you sure?" Brock asked him.
"Yeah, I'm sure; just please look over May," Ash replied.
Brock nodded, and Ash left to call May's parents. Brock sat in the chair and looked down at May. He hated to see May like this; even though they wasn't best friends like Ash and May were, they were still really close, They had gotten close one night when Brock woke up late one night while camping and he found May crying.
Flashback
The gang had decided to camp one night, and Brock was currently sleeping, but he woke up suddenly and took a quick look around, and he saw Ash and Max in their sleeping bags resting, but he didn't see May in her sleeping bag. Worried about her, he got out of his sleeping bag and began looking for her. He then suddenly heard like someone was crying and he quickly followed where the noise was coming from.
There he saw May looking at the moon, tears cascading down her face. "May what's wrong?" Brock asked her.
This startled her, and she turned around, wiping some of her tears away. "Brock, nothing's wrong," She lied.
Brock could tell that something was going "May, I know you're lying; now tell me what's wrong," Brock demanded.
May let out a sigh and patted for Brock to sit down beside her, and he did so. "I have a crush on Ash," She confessed.
Brock looked at her, a little shocked, but he kind of figured that May growing feelings for him. "Why were you crying?" Brock asked her.
May looked at Brock. "Brock, we both know how dense he is, I have been dropping hints and he hasn't picked up on any." She said, as a few tears threatened to escape from her eyes.
Brock then stated emphatically, "I'm sorry, May."
May then let the tears flow, and Brock wrapped into her comforting hug and let her cry.
Flashback End
After that, May and Brock had chats like this at night, and it strengthened their bond. Brock could tell that it was killing and hurting May inside that Ash was so dense and didn't pick up on any of her hints. Every day, her love for him would grow, and every time he saved her, it made her fall even more in love with him. When Ash saved her and Manaphy, It sent May over the edge, She had fallen completely in love with him. Brock remembered the night after. He found May, broken down in tears. She cried and cried that night until she had no more tears. It made Brock feel horrible for May; she loved Ash so much and he didn't realize it. Brock even tried to help May and Ash get together, but it was to no avail; Ash was just too dense.
That was one of the main reasons why May went to Johto: to get away from the heartache and to see if she had a crush on Drew or not, to see if she could move on from Ash. May had told Brock in one of their nightly chats that she had grown a small crush on her rival. May and Brock then started talking over the phone while she was in Johto, but she told him that her love for Ash hadn't disappeared; in fact, it had grown, and while she did like Drew, it would never be the love she felt for Ash.
Brock let out a sigh. "Hey Dawn, can I ask you a favor?" Brock asked Dawn.
"Sure, what?" Dawn asked back.
"May has a crush on Ash, but he's too dense to figure it out; could you help me with it?" Brock asked her.
"Sure," Dawn replied.
Meanwhile, with Ash
Ash made his way over to the phone in the Pokémon center and hesitantly, dreading the conversation he was about to have, and punched in the number to the Peatulburg Gym. After a couple of rings, Caroline Maple, the mother of May, face appeared on the screen, She looked shocked to see Ash's face on the screen. "Hello Ash, how are you?" Caroline greeted.
"Hello, This is very urgent. Could you please go get Norman and Max?" Ash asked her.
Caroline's cheerful and happy demeanor quickly turned into one of worry. "Alright" She said, worry and concern in her voice.
He watched Caroline leave and come back a few seconds later with Max and Norman. "Okay, what's wrong, Ash?" Caroline asked him.
Ash let out a sigh. "May, during the Wallace Cup, was hit with a hyper beam," Ash told them.
All three of them gasped and had tears coming down their faces. "How is she?" Caroline was the first to ask.
"She's in pretty rough shape, but Nurse Joy said that It could have been worse," Ash replied.
"Is she going to survive?" Norman asked.
"Yeah she's going to survive, but I failed you; I should have protected her," Ash said with tears streaming down her face.
"Ash, Look at me," Norman told her.
Ash looked up at Norman, with tears in his eyes. "Ash, you didn't fail us, and I'm sure there was nothing you could have done, and you have done plenty for her, Ash," Norman told him sincerely.
Ash let out a small smile at Norman. "Thanks Norman I needed to hear that," Ash said to him.
The rest of the Maple family then told Ash that they were leaving and would be there in a couple of days, and then they hung up. Ash then decided to call May's friends and rivals to let them know the news. First, he called his mother, letting her know what had happened. Delia looked shocked and heartbroken. She adored May, and the two were really close, as May had also told Delia of her crush on Ash. Next he called Solidad, letting her know what happened, and like his mother, she looked shocked and heartbroken. Next he called Harley, and even though they often butted heads, Harley actually looked concerned.
Finally, the final call, the call he was dreading the most, came: Drew Hayden, For some reason, Ash couldn't stand him, and he really didn't know why. He figured it was because he was really hard on May. While he understood they were rivals, Ash felt like Drew would take things too far. He would belittle her and insult her sometimes, and it would make Ash really angry.
Ash sighed and punched in Drew's number, and after a few rings, Drew's face appeared. His face, at first, had a look of shock, but soon it turned into annoyance. "What do you want, Ketchum?" He asked sneeringly.
Ash mentally rolled his eyes; it seemed like the feeling was mutual. "Drew, this is serious," He told him.
"Okay, why did you call me?" Drew asked in a more calm tone.
Ash let out a sigh. "May was involved in an accident, she was hit by a hyper beam," Ash told him.
Ash studied Drew's face for a few seconds, looking for some kind of reaction, but he was shocked to see his face turn into an angry scowl. "I knew she shouldn't have come to back you. She hadn't been there for over a week, and you couldn't save her." Drew spat angrily, his voice laced with venom.
Ash was taken back. He didn't expect for Drew to be angry with him, But now he could feel his anger rising. "I didn't have time to save her." He spat back, slamming his fists on the table out of anger.
Drew hung up angrily, and Ash went back to May's room, stomping angrily, Both Brock and Dawn gave him puzzled looks. "What happened?" Brock asked.
"Drew happened," Ash replied.
"He blamed me for what happened," Ash told them.
Ash sat down and put his hands into May's hand and looked at her, and he was instantly calm. He then felt suddenly tired and let out a yawn and put his head on the bed sheet, with his hand intertwined with May's still, Pikachu curled up next to May, Pikachu worried about her; He had become very close with her. Glaceon curled up both next to May and Pikachu, worried about her trainer, and Blaziken laid against the wall, and they all pretty soon feel asleep.