Ash had never been inside Ryan's room before, but nothing in it surprised her. His dresser was covered in Little League trophies. There was a fat binder open on his desk that was filled with Pokemon League cards — each organized by year, and then listed in order of their rank. Ash had sold Ryan a Lance card from years ago, and she knew Ryan had Lance's cards from every year. There was an Xbox connected to a TV in the corner. The entire wall that his desk and bed were against was plastered full of posters of the Indigo Plateau. Previous years were covered by the most recent years, and it all formed a messy collage that reminded Ash of when she threw out all her notebooks from a schoolyear into a bin before she burned them.

Ash had walked back to Ryan's house after her battle with Agatha, her hair still wet and sticking to her cheeks as she asked Mrs. Oak to come in and made her way up to Ryan's room. He was lying in bed, with his arm on his stomach. His arm was still in the big, white, bulky cast, and his face unreadable — exactly as he had been in the hospital room. Ash pulled up a chair and sat in it for a moment, contemplating how to begin, when Ryan spoke first without looking at her.

"Did you win?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Your battle with Agatha," Ryan said. He looked at Ash, and then out his window. Ash followed his gaze. The gazebo she had been at was just barely visible in the distance. Ash looked back to Ryan. "You showered the whole town," he said. "So did you win or not?"

Ash remembered the way Agatha's Arbok had strangled her Blastoise and forced his Hydro Pump to shoot up into the sky. That moment probably could have been seen from anywhere in Pallet Town.

"It was a draw," Ash said.

Ryan drew a deep breath, wincing slightly as his arm shifted the tiniest amount. "I know Josh and Jake were out there somewhere, too, having their own battles. I heard them. So the tournament's gonna happen."

Ash recognized a low, dejected quality in Ryan's voice. He sounded just like the Professor had over the phone. She had lost her train of thought. The apology she had rehearsed in her head was gone. Ash looked back out the window. Then she looked back to Ryan.

She stood up and walked to Ryan's desk. She grabbed a Sharpie, knelt at Ryan's bed, and started to write. She focused on the cast while she talked, too embarrassed to look Ryan in the eye.

"I'm sorry about what I said," Ash said. "You didn't deserve what happened to you — no one deserves that."

Ash punctuated her name with a little heart. She hadn't done that since she was a little kid, but something compelled her to do it. Ash capped the Sharpie and looked back up at Ryan.

"Well, I started it," he mumbled.

"No, you didn't."

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows at her. Ash took a breath. The longer she waited, the harder it became to make the words come out.

Screw it, she thought to herself.

Ash explained the whole story to him. How she had first encountered Team Rocket in Mt. Moon while looking for Moon Stones. Then, her first battle against Giovanni in Celadon City. What she saw in Lavender Town. Her second battle against Giovanni in Saffron. What she found in the Pokemon Mansion. And finally, the revelation that Giovanni was the Viridian City Gym Leader, and had been for years. Ash paused several times during her story, trying to gauge Ryan's reaction. She expected him to have questions, or maybe even refuse to believe her at all. But Ryan sat in his bed, staring at her, in silence. Once Ash finished, Ryan only said one thing.

"Huh. So that's why you needed a Teleport to Saffron."

"… That's it?" Ash asked.

Ryan sighed. "I knew you were up to something," he said. "At first, I tried to pretend I didn't care. I didn't want you to think I cared enough to ask. But I got curious. And every time I asked, you would blow me off. 'Just something I have to take care of,' you said. God, you're so high and mighty. It's annoying."

"I thought you and Josh didn't need to know," Ash said. "I thought I was protecting you."

"Yeah. High and mighty," Ryan repeated.

Ash resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was trying to apologize, but Ryan was already making it difficult. Then, Ryan chuckled.

"That was a joke, God!" he said. Then, he threw the bed covers off of himself and sat up. "The only thing worse than your usual self is seeing you treating me like a wounded Growlithe. It's my arm, it'll heal. If you really want to make it up to me, bring me some pants."

Ash glanced down and saw Ryan was only wearing boxers. Her face went red as a tomato as she quickly got up and went to Ryan's closet, she tossed him a pair of jeans and stared at the wall while she listened to Ryan put them on.

"Bag," Ryan said next.

Ash walked over, grabbed Ryan's backpack off the floor, and helped him put it on.

"Get Apollo for me," Ryan said. "He's in a Poke Ball, front pouch."

Ash unzipped the front pouch and groped around in Ryan's bag. She pulled out a Poke Ball, which revealed Vulcan when she twisted it, and then put it back. Then, Ash felt something strange. She pulled out a red piece of metal. It was dull and rusted, but Ash recognized it immediately as the top half of a Poke Ball.

"What the… you know you have a broken one in here?" Ash asked.

Ryan looked over his shoulder — and then quickly turned around and snatched the broken Poke Ball from Ash's hand.

"Don't touch that," he said.

"That thing looks ancient, how long has it been in there?"

Ryan considered not telling her anything. But he thought of Josh, in the hospital room. And of Josh, on that day that had once felt so long ago — but now seemed to be all that Ryan could think about since he had left the hospital. Ryan thought for a moment.

"Three years?" he murmured. "Yeah. Three years."

Ash stared at Ryan, holding the broken Poke Ball in his hand. Suddenly, Josh's words from the hospital room came back to her.

If the tournament happens and you're not there, it won't mean anything to me.

Now the thing that Josh had been wearing around his neck was more familiar. It was a white piece of metal — the other half.

"It was right after Josh's brother left," Ryan explained, as if he had read Ash's mind. "Josh went fishing for a Pokemon in the lake just like he did. So, naturally, I went fishing too. This is all we got."

Ash hadn't been there that day. But she could picture exactly what happened in her mind. Whoever had fished up the Poke Ball first, the other one had immediately claimed it was theirs — and they broke it.

Ryan gently turned the Poke Ball half over in his hand while he stared at it.

"I pissed him off so much he finally snapped," Ryan said. "He didn't yell at me, or hit me. He got this look on his face… he just seemed so done."

That was something Ash had a hard time picturing. She had seen Josh fail and get insulted countless times. He didn't seem to take any of it to heart. But he didn't talk about it, either. Not to her, at least. Only then did Ash remember that there were probably all kinds of things Josh had confided in Ryan that he never told her about. Like about girls, no doubt. But if Josh had a problem with Ryan, who would he go to?

"He said I was a bad friend, and he just walked away," Ryan finished.

"That was when you two stopped hanging out," Ash said. It was all coming back to her. When Josh would come over to her house, and not Ryan's. Him getting quiet whenever Ryan came up. Awkward silences in the halls and in the classroom whenever they saw each other. A strange time in Ash's life — she had never felt closer to Josh, and yet she had still felt estranged from both her friends during that time.

"Josh was right," Ryan said as he finally took his eyes off the Poke Ball half and looked at Ash. "You're the reason we're still friends. I know almost no one likes me, and I used to be okay with that — I don't like most people, anyway. I used to think that always being the best at something meant that didn't matter. But sometimes, it does matter. You made me make up with Josh back then, and I never thanked you for that. So, thanks."

Ash stared at Ryan. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Finally, she nodded. Ryan closed his hand around the Poke Ball half and stuck it in his pocket. He jerked his head back — indicating to his bag again. Ash went back to digging around in it until she found Apollo's Poke Ball and handed it to Ryan. Ryan opened it, and his Alakazam appeared in front of them.

Ryan instructed Apollo to Teleport him to Viridian City. The Alakazam gave his Trainer a dubious look, glancing at his cast, but Ryan glared at him until his Psychic-type relented. Apollo put a hand in the center of Ryan's chest. Ryan took Ash's hand in his, and the three of them disappeared from Ryan's room in a flash.

#

The sun was close to setting as Ash, Ryan, and his Alakazam appeared in Viridian City. The usual bustle of the city was a muted drone. There were more police on the streets than normal. In the center of downtown, across the street from where Apollo had brought them, the doors to the Viridian City Gym were closed off and surrounded with police tape. The city was still reeling from the effects of the attack, and Ash could feel it in the air.

But Ryan Oak immediately made for a hotel a few blocks away — the hotel where the Indigo League had set up a temporary headquarters to conduct business from. He had read the news on his computer, painstakingly typing his search into the keyboard with his one good hand, and refreshing the page every few hours as he had toiled about in his room.

More than a few heads turned when they entered. A group of Ace Trainers, huddled together at the lounge, looked up from their phones and began murmuring to each other. Ash watched as a woman at the concierge desk hurriedly picked up a phone and began talking into the receiver, staring at Ryan's cast as he moved through the lobby.

Ryan strolled aimlessly through the lobby, ignoring the elevators, the restaurant, and the front desk. He almost looked lost, as if he was trying to remember why he had come in. But Ash knew what he was really doing. He wasn't here to ask anyone for anything. He wanted to make them come to him.

And they did. After a few minutes, the elevator doors opened, and the Elite Four walked out. It was a surreal thing, to see so much skill in one place. The Elite Four were rarely ever seen together. The only time they were was usually at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Indigo Plateau, where each of them was introduced individually and with an entire light show. It was like a reminder — and an unspoken challenge — that winning the tournament was not enough to call yourself the best. After the tournament, was facing the four of them. But Ash watched as the Elite Four all walked across the lobby straight to her friend, Ryan Oak, the most talented and arrogant boy she had ever met.

The way Ryan had always acted growing up, Ash knew this kind of thing was exactly what he would have wanted since the day he could walk. But Ash's eyes drifted from Ryan's mean smirk to his right arm, in a cast and a sling.

"Ryan Oak," Lance said as he and his three comrades reached him. "We weren't expecting you."

"I heard you're testing all the Trainers who are good enough to go to the Indigo Plateau," Ryan said. "Aren't you missing someone?"

"Your parents were very clear —"

"They don't decide what I can and can't do," Ryan said. "The only person you were supposed to ask was me. I'm the best Trainer there is, and everyone knows it."

Behind Lance, Agatha looked right at Ash.

"Regardless of your skill, you believe you can compete with that injury?" Lance asked. "The Indigo Plateau is meant to challenge Trainers' fortitude as much as their skill in battle. It's not something you can waltz through as easily as this hotel."

"That's my problem," Ryan said. "But I'm here right now, and I'm not leaving until I get a battle from one of you. That's your problem. So which one of you is it gonna be?"

Ryan flashed his smirk at them, and the picture of Sam Oak as a Trainer from decades ago that Ash had seen came back to her mind. The resemblance was getting harder to ignore.

"All right, Ryan, we accept your challenge," Lance said. "But I'm the one you'll face."

The slightest crack — a flicker across his eyes — was the only reaction Ash could see from Ryan's face. He nodded, and the three of them made their way out of the hotel and called a taxi. Lance held the door open for them, and Ash felt a strange mix of shyness and anticipation as she climbed into the car and scooched over to make room for Ryan and Lance. It was like she was on the strangest field trip of all time. The car ride was short and silent.

They got out at the Viridian City Trainer School and made their way to the battlefields they had behind the building. Lance stated the conditions of the battle — the same that Agatha had set with Ash before — and Ryan fished three Poke Balls out of his bag, then handed his bag to Ash. She moved to stay by his side, but Ryan shooed her away, so she walked to the seats on the side. Ash heard the faint rattling of pills coming from Ryan's bag as she walked, and she stole a glance into the bag as she sat down. The bottle of painkillers Ryan had been given from the hospital was full. He hadn't taken any.

"Go, Pluto!" Ryan said.

"Go, Gyarados!" Lance said.

The Trainer School battlefields weren't built for such large, powerful Pokemon, and the ground cracked as Ryan's Rhydon landed on the ground. Lance's Gyarados coiled his body up and stood tall, towering over Ryan and his Rock-type, and let out a deafening roar that blew Ryan's hair back.

"Gyarados, Waterfall!"

"Pluto, Rock Slide!"

The Gyarados opened his massive jaws and a gout of water emerged. But instead of shooting the water forward, the water moved backward and covered the Gyarados's body. The Water-type brought his massive tail fin down and began to swim forward, with his body still coated in a thick layer of water. He almost looked like a giant Caterpie made of water. Then, the Gyarados slammed into Pluto's body, and the Rhydon roared in pain. Ash grimaced as she imagined how painful it must be to take an attack that was doubly super-effective — but Ryan's Rhydon quickly stifled his roar and stomped his foot, sending a mass of boulders and rocks flying into the air and striking the Gyarados in the face.

The Gyarados was sent flying back, limply arcing through the air like a giant pool noodle, and landed hard on the ground. The boulders came crashing down all around the Water-type. Pluto was bruised — parts of his rock-hard skin were cracked and crumbling away — but he stood defiantly. The battlefield was practically destroyed at this point. Ash heard voices murmuring behind her, and she turned to see a crowd of kids gathering on the other side of the chain-link fence that surrounded the battlefield. They weren't wearing uniforms, but Ash recognized them immediately — they were Viridian City Trainer School kids. They were on break at this point and probably weren't doing anything Pokemon-related, since that was what they spent all year focusing on. They never would have expected to see a battle of this caliber in their own school during their break.

"Gyarados, return," Lance said, paying his gathering audience no mind, "Go, Charizard, Earthquake!"

Ryan told Pluto to use Rock Slide again, but Lance's Charizard nimbly dodged the rain of boulders by flying through the air. After Pluto's repeat performance had ended, Lance's Charizard tucked in his wings and dropped himself like a rock, landing hard on the ground with his feet and entire lower body, creating a shockwave that shook the ground and made the seats Ash was sitting on vibrate so hard she had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from rattling. The ground around Pluto cracked, cratered, and caved in, sending Ryan's Rhydon into a pit.

"Pluto, return," Ryan said. He awkwardly stuffed his defeated Rock-type's Safari Ball into his pocket and struggled to find his next Poke Ball. Ash heard more murmurs behind her.

"Is that allowed?" one student asked. "Battling with a broken arm?"

"He seriously thinks he can win like that?" one student said.

"There's no way he can."

Again, Ash clenched her jaw. She wanted to turn around and tell them to shut up.

"Apollo," Ryan said finally as he brought the Poke Ball out of his pocket, "Psychic!"

Ryan tossed his Poke Ball underhanded — something Ash had never seen Ryan do in his entire life. Underhanded pitching is for newbies and girls, Ryan always said. He had laughed when he had seen Ash miss so many throws that afternoon when she had tried to catch a Staryu on Route 19. But Ryan's throws were slow and inaccurate. He was just throwing them forward to get them out there. He couldn't switch and throw them out precisely, the way he had that night in Saffron City.

He must be in a lot of pain, Ash thought to herself.

Apollo's Poke Ball opened high in the air — too high, forcing the white light that emerged to travel a long distance to reach the ground and materialize into Ryan's Alakazam. During that time, Lance's Charizard took flight and zoomed across the battlefield with an Aerial Ace. Apollo brought his two spoons forward to attack — but the Charizard beat him to the punch, and slammed into Alakazam with his head, sending the Psychic-type flying back into the ground.

"Apollo, get up! Psychic!" Ryan yelled.

"Earthquake, finish him off!" Lance said.

Ryan's Alakazam scrambled to his feet, and his spoons floated back into his hands. He held them forward, they bent, and Lance's Charizard became surrounded by a pink aura. The Fire-type clutched at his head in pain, but still brought down a foot and sent another shockwave across the battlefield, shaking the seats and making the chain-link fence behind Ash rattle noisily.

This time, Ryan's Pokemon was the one that fell, defeated; and Lance's Pokemon stood tall, although breathing heavily. Ryan recalled his Alakazam and simply dropped the Poke Ball at his feet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his final Pokemon. Ash already knew which one it was.

"Go, Vulcan!"

Ryan's own Charizard emerged, spreading his wings wide and roaring at Lance's Charizard. The two Fire-types sized each other up, the flames on their tails burning brightly behind them. Neither Trainer did anything. The students behind Ash had fallen silent. And Ash herself gripped her seat tightly in anticipation.

"Charizard, Thunder Punch!"

"Dodge it — ugh, GOD," Ryan yelped, grimacing in pain.

Ash had seen it. Ryan had reacted so quickly he had tried to lift his right arm without thinking — muscle memory from so many days of celebratory fist-pumping and holding his Poke Balls forward so he was ready for an immediate switch if needed. But Ryan's instincts were all wrong — and he was getting a fresh dose of pain with every knee-jerk reaction.

Lance's Charizard flew forward and swung an electrically charged fist straight for Vulcan's chest, but Vulcan took flight and dodged it, flying high into the sky.

"Now Air Slash!" Ryan said.

Vulcan swung one of his wings downward like the swing of a sword, sending a thin current of air flying down and hitting Lance's Charizard, knocking him over.

"Charizard, Fire Punch!"

"Vulcan, Fire Blast!"

Vulcan opened his jaws, gathering a white-hot ball of fire in his mouth, and spat it out. A giant star-shaped fireball formed in the sky and flew to the ground. Lance's Charizard swiftly flew away and up to dodge it, and the Fire Blast splashed onto the ground and sent flames dancing across the battlefield. Ash felt the heat against her face like she was standing too close to a stove.

Lance's Charizard flew up to Vulcan and hit him hard in the stomach with a flaming hot fist. Vulcan screeched, and the two Fire-types grappled, plummeting to the ground as they both attempted to force the other to break their fall. As they reached the ground, Vulcan finally managed to kick Lance's Charizard in the stomach, sending him crashing into the ground and allowing Vulcan just enough time to spread his wings and break his fall.

"Charizard, Thunder Punch!"

"Vulcan, Fire Blast!"

Lance's Charizard sprang to his feet and charged Vulcan, his fist glowing yellow and with jolts of electricity flying off of it. But Vulcan stood his ground, opened his mouth, and shot out a massive fireball that Lance's Pokemon had no hope of avoiding at such close range. The Fire Blast hit Lance's Charizard with so much force it blew him back and sent him tumbling backward, leaving a trail of fire between the two Charizards, and sending another blast of heat in Ash's face. She was sweating.

The skin on Lance's Charizard was blackened from the attack, and he woozily got to his feet. But Ryan never gave him a chance — he ordered Vulcan to finish him with an Air Slash, and Vulcan slashed the Charizard across the face with a vicious swing of his wing. Lance's Charizard fell over, defeated.

The crowd of Trainer School kids behind Ash broke out into cheers as Lance withdrew his defeated Charizard. But they quieted as soon as Lance opened his mouth.

"Go, Dragonite!" he said.

Ash had never seen one in person before, and she gasped when she saw the Dragon-type emerge. The Dragonite landed on the battlefield with a hard crash, and Ash shook in her seat from the impact. The Dragonite was massive, a foot taller than Vulcan, and much more muscled. Most impressive of all were the Dragonite's piercing eyes — they quickly scanned the area, and Ash felt a shiver run down her spine as the Pokemon locked eyes with her for the briefest moment. The Dragonite seemed to look straight through you. Even Ryan and Vulcan took an involuntary step back when the Dragonite turned his attention to his opponent.

"You — you can do it!" a Trainer School student called out, although her voice was devoid of any confidence.

"Vulcan, Fire Blast!" Ryan said.

"Dragon Dance," Lance said.

Vulcan spat another fireball that flew across the battlefield and left a black trail on the ground as it moved. But Lance's Dragonite made no attempt to dodge it. He ducked his head and wrapped his wings around himself in a defensive stance, and the Fire Blast splashed across his body. The Dragonite then threw his wings open, pushing the fire away from him in one great motion. The force of the wind would've knocked Ash over if she hadn't been sitting in a chair.

Then, Lance's Dragonite began to move. He swayed from side to side, bringing an arm across his chest, lifting it up in a great arc above his head, and then repeating the movement with his other arm. His feet seemed to glide across the ground as Dragonite took graceful steps in a vaguely circular path. His wings flexed and undulated on an invisible breeze. His movements were like the most beautiful ballet Ash had ever seen. The Dragonite was dancing to a tune only he could hear, but Ash somehow felt as though she could hear it too — a slow, somber melody that spelled death.

Suddenly, Ash felt as though time was slowing down — or maybe the Dragonite was moving faster? She wasn't sure. She couldn't take her eyes off the Pokemon. The song in Ash's head had morphed into something frenetic and dangerous. The Dragonite's dance was no longer beautiful — it was terrifying to watch. Ash could now see that the Dragonite's own image was shimmering and wavering in the air, like he was a mirage on the horizon. A ghost ship that you would swear for the rest of your life you had seen and yet would be thankful that you would never see it again.

Ash felt her hands curl into fists as she watched, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. The Dragonite was smoking. Strange, red-black plumes of smoke were emanating from his body, his wings, his mouth and nostrils, and his eyes. The smoke swirled around him like a mini-tornado, and Ash could swear she was having a hard time breathing just looking at it.

"Vulcan, Air Slash!"

"Fire Punch."

Charizard sent a slicing air current at the Dragonite, but it seemed to be moving painfully slow. The Dragonite casually leaned to one side to dodge, and the Air Slash flew past him harmlessly. Then, the Dragonite was slamming a fiery fist into Vulcan's face, sending him careening into the ground. Ash's eyes could barely keep up. Everything around the Dragonite seemed to be moving in slow motion, and yet the Dragonite's own movements were too fast to follow.

Ryan's Charizard struggled to his feet, his eyes were unfocused. He seemed confused, as if he couldn't remember where he was.

"It's not too late to surrender," Lance said.

"What?" Ryan said.

He looked at his Charizard. Vulcan's eyes were dazed. He was standing but his knees were wobbling. That Fire Punch must have had the power of a freight train. Another hit like that and he was finished.

Ryan thought of his last battle, against the man who called himself the Viridian City Gym Leader. He hadn't had the courage to send in Vulcan against that strange Pokemon. It had been too powerful. But Lance's Dragonite was too powerful, as well.

No, he's not, Ryan reminded himself. No Pokemon is unbeatable. You've fought tough Pokemon all the time. Are you gonna run every time it looks strong? You're a Pokemon Trainer, for God's sake, start acting like it!

Ryan shook his head at Lance. "Stop trying to talk me out of this," he said. "I'm not surrendering. Vulcan, Fire Blast!"

"Extreme Speed."

Vulcan shook his head to focus himself, opened his mouth — and then crashed into the seats right next to where Ash was sitting, destroying them, and sending pieces of metal and wood flying in all directions. Vulcan let out a final gasp, and went limp.

It had happened so fast Ash didn't even react at first, until Lance's Dragonite reappeared out of nowhere at Vulcan's feet, right next to Ash. She gasped and jumped back. Being this close to that Dragonite made Ash's heart jump out of her chest. The strange red-black smoke was only now dissipating, but Ash still didn't want to be anywhere near it.

"You lose," Lance said. "We'll be in touch."

Still standing over Vulcan's defeated body, the Dragonite glanced at Ash — making her flinch — before disappearing back into the Ultra Ball Lance held forward. Lance swiftly turned away and went back to the car. He climbed in, and the car drove away.

Ryan withdrew his Charizard, and held the Poke Ball close to his mouth to whisper something Ash couldn't hear. The Trainer School kids were walking around the fence to the entrance. They started pouring in and even started running as their anxiousness became impossible to contain.

"Can we sign your cast?" one of them, a boy who looked about 10, asked.

"Please," another said.

Ryan said nothing, but turned so his cast was facing them. They started signing, passing the few Sharpies they had so everyone got a chance. Ash made her way through the crowd as politely as she could, until she was next to Ryan.

"Ryan —"

"Don't," he said without looking at her. "Just don't."

There were many things Ash wanted to say. That he was the best Trainer she knew. That she would have surrendered as soon as she saw that Dragonite. That she could give Ryan a ride home since his Alakazam was unconscious. But the words wouldn't come.

"… I'll see you at home," she said finally.

Ash turned and walked away. She looked back one final time. Ryan was just a tiny speck on the horizon, standing alone in the battlefields of the Viridian City Trainer School.