Chapter 19: Restart
A pair of deep blue eyes fluttered open.
'Where… am I…?'
Blue Leaf had awoken from her slumber.
Her forehead was stamped by a gauze.
The first sight she saw…
Was her Pokémon bawling their eyes out.
The girl jolted up.
"Wargh! I remember now!" she exclaimed aloud.
"I went… into Eevee's dream."
Tilting her head towards her sobbing Pokémon…
She smiled tenderly.
"Aww, I'm sorry for making you all worry," she apologized.
"No kidding, Captain Obvious," a voice beside her snarked.
It was Ash.
Still wearing his tattered clothes but without any bandages.
Pikachu still perched on his shoulder.
And boy wearing a relieved grin.
"Red?!" the girl blurted out.
"Why are you here?!"
"Ivy and Haunty came looking for me," the boy answered.
"Then I found you passed out on your bed and carried you to Nurse Joy."
Blue was dumbfounded.
"So where am I now?" Blue asked again.
"Hospital," Ash simply answered, deadpanned.
Blue comically fell back on her bed.
"Of course…," she groaned.
A few days later, Blue was ready to be discharged.
Her doctor sharing his results to her.
"You were lucky, Miss Leaf," he stated.
"Events occurring within shared dreams can be reflected upon one's body as well since the brain perceives said events as 'reality'," the doctor continued explaining her situation.
"In simple terms, take your injury for example."
"The wound was not made by external means but rather by your skin splitting from within."
Blue touched the gauze, remembering Eevee's [Swift].
The doctor held Agatha's book in hand.
Shared Lives, its title.
"As I'm sure, this book mentioned multiple cases where people were unable to return from their dream," he said with a firm tone.
"Never do such a thing ever again."
The doctor scolded the girl.
"Think of how your Pokémon would suffer, knowing they could have potentially… injured their Trainer," he reasoned, not wanting to use the word 'killed'.
Blue and Eevee understood where the man was coming from and bowed their heads apologizing.
Finally discharged, Blue went outside and summoned her Pokémon.
"Haunty… everyone… I'm sorry," she apologized, especially towards Haunty.
"I promise you all…"
"That I will definitely become a Trainer you can all rely on!" she declared with a determined expression.
Hearing this, her Pokémon smiled, accepting her resolve.
"You really went too far this time, huh, Blue?" a raven-haired boy said, crossing his arms.
"You're the last person I wanna hear that from, Red," the girl retorted with a raised eyebrow.
Ash had stayed with Blue in the hospital for the duration of her stay.
All the while, training with his Pokémon during his downtime.
"I really thought you were gonna give up, y'know?" Blue mentioned with a worried tone.
"I did though," Ash replied, shocking Blue.
"Eh?!" she shrieked.
"I gave up on giving up," the boy clarified, shooting the girl with a cheeky grin.
He thought back to that time.
{ There is only one road. }
{ And we walk it together. }
He held his locket, no longer hidden in his white and ragged shirt.
{ I'll always wait for you. }
{ No matter how long it takes. }
"They wouldn't let me," the boy continued, looking at his partner.
"She wouldn't want that."
Blue looked at Ash in wonder and let out a relieved smile.
Her friend had returned.
Just as she believed he would.
His longing stare at his locket did not go unnoticed.
"I see…" she started.
"Looks like we're always getting bailed out, huh?"
Ash chuckled nervously with a sweat drop.
"Seems so."
Pikachu snickering at his Trainer.
"Hey, Red?" Blue asked.
"Hmm?"
"Mind joining me for a little longer?"
It was night.
Ash and Blue were sitting around a campfire.
Their Pokémon socializing with each other.
Ivy and Charizard catching up as fellow starters.
Pikachu feeding Lapras with Berries as the former liked taking care of the latter.
Haunty and Cleffy sharing their Berries.
Cubone and Vulpy playing with each other.
And Snorlax was being Snorlax.
"Been a while since we were together like this, huh?" Ash remarked, chowing down at the soup that he made.
The raven-haired boy was a sucker for food.
"Its like a memorial for Raticate too," the girl replied, looking at a circle of pebbles.
In the middle was the brown rat's favourite Berry on a large leaf.
"In Agatha's book, it said that if you collect something the deceased love and talk about your memories of them…" she explained.
"Your voices could reach them…"
"And your hearts be soothed."
Hearing this, Ash squinted his eyes.
"…Green should be here, then," he said.
"I did try to contact him, but he didn't respond," Blue answered nervously.
"But I did leave a message for him so that'll do for now."
"OK. Then let's chat and eat! We've got a lot to catch up on!" Ash declared boisterously.
And so, the pair chatted through the night.
Their journeys thus far.
Their Gym Battles.
Ash's clash against Team Rocket.
Blue's adventure in the dream world.
Their Pokémon.
Gary.
Soon after, most of their Pokémon became tired.
The ones that slept, recalled into their Balls.
…
"What the hell is that jerk's problem?!" Blue blurted out annoyed.
Gulp.
Gulp.
" 'I've got no use for a Pokémon who can't battle', my ass!" she drunkenly rambled.
"Vui! Vui!" Eevee yipped, mirroring her Trainer.
"I get that he was suffering but that idiot could have put it nicer!"
"Vui! Vui!"
"Is that the alcohol talking or…" Ash asked, a little nervous at his friend's behaviour.
"NO! This is just tea!" Blue barked out, her face red.
"Says Long Island though…" Ash muttered with a sweat drop.
"You want some?!" the girl asked aggressively, offering her can.
"Ah, I'm fine! Thanks for asking…" Ash refused politely, chuckling nervously.
'I'm still underaged…'
"Not good enough for you, I see!" the drunk continued rambling.
With a sigh, Ash got back on topic.
"Well, Green's been that way since I've lived with him," the boy said, drinking his cup of actual tea.
Pikachu then imitated a familiar cocky shrug while sighing.
"Ding ding! Ratatta's damn pose!" Ash answered quickly, playing a guessing game with the little mouse.
"Haha! That's spot on!" Blue laughed.
"That guy was a real piece of work," Ash said, remembering his time at 'Nugget Bridge'.
"But more annoying than that is the fact that we've never beaten him even once since day 1."
Pikachu crossed his arms, nodding.
Blue sobered up and listened.
Eevee as well.
"Raticate's speed stuck with us since we met at Viridian Forest," the boy continued.
"We've tried surpassing him, but during our battle at Cerulean, that guy got even faster."
"And so, we trained and trained until we came up with a move."
"During our battle at S.S. Anne, although it was short…"
"But we've managed to reach him."
Ash and Pikachu reminiscing their [Quick Attack] and [Thunderbolt] combo.
Then both Trainer and Pokémon scratched their head sheepishly.
"We still lost though," Ash chuckled.
"But it felt amazing though!"
"It was a great battle."
"Vee…" Eevee cooed, agreeing with the boy.
"You remember it, Eevee? You were there, after all."
"Vee," the fox responded back, remembering seeing the match inside her Ball.
"Pika…" Pikachu squeaked softly.
Tilting his head up towards the black sheet of stars.
But his tears still came down.
Seeing this, Ash gave a sad expression and turned towards the night.
"…I know," he said, comforting Pikachu with his gloved hand.
"I wanted to battle him again too."
"Again…"
Blue began to tear up.
"And again…"
Eevee followed suit.
"Many more times."
Pikachu's sobs broke the silence.
"That guy left behind something incredible for us."
His red eyes reflecting the embers of the campfire.
"His speed…"
"His willpower…"
"His shared happiness…"
"Our Pokémon will always remember that."
"I guess that's what that book you showed me called…"
"The soul."
Eevee looked at Ash.
The brown fox silently expressing her gratitude.
Towards his words that honoured her best friend.
Thankful to him, her former Trainer's rival.
Thankful to Pikachu, her best friend's rival.
The electric mouse's face now buried his face into the boy's ragged shirt.
{ You have one new message. }
The monitor stated before showing Gary a video message.
{ Hey, Green? }
{ This is Blue. }
{ Eevee's woken up. }
Gary's eyes widened.
{ She's okay for the time being. }
…
The orange-haired boy was at a loss for words.
{ Can I confess something? }
He flinched.
His heart started racing.
Before remembering his own words.
And his heart hardened once more.
{ I wasn't the closest to Raticate compared to you two. }
{ Compared to Eevee or Pikachu or Growlithe. }
{ But I was close to you two. }
{ I know Ash and Gary. }
{ I know Red can create unbreakable bonds with his Pokémon. }
{ I know how you excel at winning efficiently with your Pokémon while distancing yourself from them. }
{ And now I know what I can do now. }
{ I can stand by Eevee's side. }
{ Carrying Raticate's memory with her. }
{ Together. }
And the monitor turned black.
Crackle!
Blue woke up from her sleeping bag.
The two friends had slept around the campfire.
Ash snoring away with Pikachu.
Surveying around, she panicked.
"Wuh?! Eevee?!" the girl shrieked.
"Huh?!"
Ash jolted awake from his sleeping bag at the loud shriek.
Pikachu and him immediately went into battle mode.
A habit from 5 long months of Rocket pursuit.
Munch, munch!
Eevee was eating the Berry of Raticate's memorial.
"Sheesh, she's right there, loudmouth," Ash teased tiredly, relaxing along with his partner.
As Eevee finished eating, Blue called out.
"Eevee?"
And the sun rose.
Blinding the Trainers' eyes.
As Blue opened her eyes…
Eevee was no longer there.
A sleek purple feline appeared in its stead.
The sun's light only served to further enhance its beauty.
"What the…? Eevee evolved?" Ash asked, amazed.
"Espeon…" Blue whispered, recognizing the Pokémon.
An evolution variant of Eevee first discovered in the Johto region in the past.
Espeon floated.
Showing off her new psychic abilities.
"…Oh yeah, its day now," Ash muttered, understanding the situation.
The purple feline could control objects with her mind.
And then, she projected her thoughts to the two children telepathically.
'Ah… I see now…,' Blue thought, tears began to form once again.
The memory of Raticate saving his family.
The memory of Raticate's death.
'This is… the power you wished you had back then…'
Espeon smiled at her Trainer.
That was Espeon's wish.
Blue proceeded to hug her evolved friend.
Saffron City.
"Aww, come on! Stop pushing me!" Ash groaned.
"No way are you leaving like that, Mister," Blue retorted.
Blue had taken Ash shopping for clothes.
His worn-out clothes had seen better days.
"It's the same clothes so move it!" Blue ordered, giving him his new outfit.
"Yes, Mom," the boy quipped, surrendering with annoyance.
Minutes later, Ash came out of the shop with Blue.
The raven-haired boy now sporting a new look:
A new cap that's mostly red with a white visor and a white arch on the front.
A similar red vest but with thinner white outlines.
Black wristbands.
A black T-shirt plus a long-sleeved one for winter.
And blue trousers and red shoes with black outlines.
His silver locket resting around his neck.
"Much better! You look more handsome now," Blue said, praising her own fashion sense.
Blue also sported a new look as well.
Ditching her black dress with:
A white hat with a pink arch in front.
A light blue sleeveless shirt with black outlines.
A red miniskirt.
And light blue knee highs and white shoes with red outlines.
"I look the same though…" Ash complained.
"Well, now you look presentable and besides…" she said while grinning mischievously.
"You gotta look good for your sweetie if she's watching the IGL right~?" the girl teased, anticipating a reaction from the boy.
Blue's Ability Delusional activated.
Instead, Ash merely smiled tenderly.
Caressing his locket.
"…Right…," Ash agreed.
Blue was taken aback and felt bad for him.
She knew how sad her friend became when Ash separated from Serena.
She had forgot all about that.
To Ash's credit, he was a pioneer of bottling up emotions.
But no more.
He had let it all out.
There was nothing holding him back anymore.
"Thanks, Blue," Ash grinned, thankful towards the girl.
"…Pfft. You're welcome, little Red," she teased playfully at her friend.
Her little brother.
"Before that, I still need to collect the other badges though," Ash sighed, remembering the requirement for entering.
So much had happened for the raven-haired boy that he had forgotten about the Gym Battles.
His last one was against Erika of Celadon City.
His fourth badge.
And he had 4 more to go.
Gary and Blue both have 5, thanks to the defeat of Giovanni.
But the boy wasn't discouraged.
His Pokémon were stronger than ever.
A byproduct of his war against Team Rocket.
"Welp, gotta go soon," Ash told Blue.
"There's like 4 months left for the Grand League, I think?"
"Its 3 now since last week," Blue reminded him.
"Wow…," Ash exclaimed.
"Can't believe so much has happened in 9 months…"
Blue looked at him and smiled.
"Yeah," she simply said.
"Oh right, that move you created," Blue said.
Her thoughts going back to Espeon's telepathic showing of the S.S Anne battle.
"Have you of a name yet?"
Ash thought for a moment and looked at Pikachu.
"Umm, [Super Tackle]?" Ash nervously said before Blue snickered.
"Oi, lay off. I didn't think much of it," he barked, embarrassed.
'There was no such thing as something that never changes…'
'We'll change…'
Born from past regrets.
'And change.'
The power to protect one's friends.
'But we're not alone.'
The past was long gone.
'Our Pokémon will always be with us.'
The future still unknown.
"Well, how about…"
But the present is now.
'Because we…'
Now carrying the precious memories.
'Are Pokémon Trainers.'
Chapter 19: Restart
"[Volt Tackle]!"