Misty wore a concerned frown as she sat in the chair nestled between the two beds of the girl's room. She hated this. Sitting there and not being able to do anything besides looking after Gina and her pokémon until Ash got back. Then there was the other matter that she had to contend with until the door clicked open.

It was Brock. "Any changes?"

She only shook her head now that the former Gym Leader had returned from his nap. They had decided to take 4-hour shifts until Ash got back. That was a long time ago given the distance, even if Sabrina's father could get him halfway there and back in the blink of an eye. "Gina hasn't so much as moved, and Abra is…"

The Psi Pokémon was still sitting on the bed next to his trainer. Besides him were more than a dozen spoons that had been bent and twisted from practicing his Kinesis since the moment Ash had left. They didn't know where he was teleporting them from, but Misty suspected the cafeteria staff would be knocking on their doors at some point.

But the more pressing issue was that he was pushing himself well beyond his limits. Abra, as a species, slept most of the day and were wired for that. Not only had he had been awake since the Gym Battle, but he was actively using his limited psychic powers to an absurd degree.

They had tried convincing Abra to go to sleep, but he refused to do anything that would pull him from Gina's side. And the moment the very thought to send him back into his ball crossed their minds, he teleported it somewhere and they had no clue where it was. That limited their options greatly as his tiny body trembled from the strain of just trying to stay awake. "Ab…ab…bb…"

"I… think he feels guilty," Misty said after some thought. "He can't do anything when it's a psychic problem because he hasn't evolved yet. So he's forcing himself to do that by training now."

Pokémon are a lot more perceptive than most trainers gave them credit for. Especially those who needed a lot of care to raise like Abra. He felt helpless and now he was trying to make up for needing to be cared for by becoming stronger.

"But, at this rate, he'll only exhaust himself to the point of getting sick or worse," Brock pointed out. "We might have no choice but to—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the air was displaced. The room was suddenly filled with people and pokémon. Ash, Pikachu, and Sabrina's Father had reappeared out of nowhere, along with one other entity.

"Sorry it took so long, but we managed to get some help," Ash said, looking to his new pokémon as it drifted aloft in the air. "That's her, Haunter."

Haunter floated over towards Gina, claws scratching beneath his mouth before turning to Abra. "Hau-Hau?"

The Psi Pokémon's head dipped as though he were struggling to keep it upright. "Abbb."

"Abra really does need to get some rest," Misty said. "He'll only end up hurting himself at this rate."

The Gas Pokémon surprisingly enough agreed with that statement. Because his eyes grew a hypnotic shade a moment later and the spoon that Abra was barely clutching slipped from his grasp. Then he slumped over completely, soft exhales revealing he had been put to sleep as Haunter patted him on the head. "Haunt."

"That's one way, I suppose…" Misty then noticed the way Ash rubbed his own eyes and realized he was tired as well. Even Pikachu seemed to be slumping on his hindlegs with his ears drooping. They were likely pushing themselves too. "Ash, maybe you and Pikachu should rest for a few hours as well?"

"I'll rest when this is over," Ash said as he took off the ball holster attached to his belt and handed them over to Brock. "Can you take everyone to see Nurse Joy? They all took a pretty bad beating to get Haunter to work with us. Pikachu can stay here as well."

The Electric Mouse jerked up at that, flailing his arms with a rebuttal. "Pika-pi, pika?"

"It's just going to be me and Haunter," Ash said. "I'm not doubting that Haunter can handle himself but, if something goes wrong, I don't want you or the others getting caught up in it."

It'd only make things worse for everyone, including Sabrina, if there were more victims added to the whole affair. They already were stretching the lines they should cross as it was by not waiting for Agatha or someone else to resolve the matter. But trying to stop him would be hypocrisy considering Misty had already gone out to resolve a problem with the Tentacool and Tentacruel despite the risks—so Misty opted to support Ash by watching over Pikachu.

"C'mon, Pikachu." He floundered a bit as she picked him up but couldn't get free. "You're tired enough that you can't slip out of my grasp. Just have some faith that they can handle themselves and get some rest."

"Pi-pika…" After a bit more struggling and realizing he would have to shock her to make her let go, which he wouldn't do because he was a good pokémon, Pikachu relented and merely drooped his ears. "Chuu…"

Ash, for his part, brushed his head affectionately. "Don't worry, we'll be right back."

[-oOo-]

Unaware of the events transpiring beyond the realm of her mind, Gina Oak found herself sitting at a table with a saucer of tea laid out in front of her while frowning. She couldn't say that she was a fan of it—in fact she hadn't touched her cup as she focused on watching Ash flail about from burning his tongue.

"There's water in the kitchen," Sabrina said as she daintily sipped at her cup, unmoving as he practically flew from the chair towards the kitchen beyond their view. Only when Gina sighed out in embarrassment on his behalf did she set her cup down and smile. "He's funny."

"More like a goofball," Gina retorted.

"But you like that about him, right?"

She sputtered out a rebuttal. "W-Who said that?"

"I can tell from the way you are." The soft clink of ceramic was preluded by the small girl meeting her eyes. "You normally wouldn't even sit through this much if not for the fact that he wanted you to. You're doing it to make him happy."

"N-No, I'm not," Gina said heatedly while peering towards the direction Ash had gone off in. "I'm not doing anything for him."

Sabrina only used it as further proof before she dropped the bombshell. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

In love with Ash? Gina refused to think as much while her heart started pounding in her chest. It was pounding so loudly that it was beating in her skull and giving her a headache. "Who'd be in love with that goofball?"

'Gina—' She looked up as a voice rang in her mind only for her eyes to meet the Sabrina's, which now had an azure hue illuminating them. The world began to swirl like water spiraling a drain, and Gina felt herself being pulled in as a cold fog settled within her mind. Everything suddenly seemed distant with the exception of those glowing eyes and the girl's voice resonating in her mind. '—why won't you admit the truth?'

It felt like her heart was being pulled from her chest at the command. And something deep that she kept buried within it was being unearthed against her will. Her quivering lips moved on their own and said the words she'd never say aloud at, "…because I'm afraid."

"Of what?" Sabrina asked aloud, a satisfied smile on her lips as if she was pleased by the result. "Tell me."

"That he'll leave me," Gina continued in a soft, distant voice. "We both want to be Pokémon Masters. That means we'll have to face each other one day."

That was the inevitable truth of the matter. They would both continue to train until they made it to the summit of being trainers. And then… then they would clash against one another, pushing themselves and their pokémon to the limit.

And one would prevail over the other.

After all the hardship to get to that point, one would use the other as a stepping-stone to reach the heights of the Indigo Plateau. Then they would best the Elite Four and then overtake the Champion. That was what it meant to be a Pokémon Master.

But what happened to the loser? The one who had everything they put their heart and soul into only to have it all trampled on. To be forced back to the starting point after all their hard work was rendered meaningless by the person that they trusted the most.

Unable to rein in her own voice as it betrayed her thoughts, Gina confessed her greatest fear. "I'm afraid if I win, I'll be responsible for crushing Ash's dream. And…and he'll hate me for it."

The boy who had been her friend until now would no longer smile at her. He would hate her beyond the silly fight they had over that broken ball. It was the natural conclusion for shattering one's dream.

"So, you're afraid that if you beat him, he'll leave you out of resentment," the child said casually. "Then again, if he beats you, he'll go somewhere you can't reach. You would simply be left behind."

"Y-Yes…" It hurt. Those cold eyes were like pickaxes that were plunging into her chest and uprooting her deepest fears against her will. If he managed to defeat her, she would be the one left behind because she wasn't able to keep up with him. It was an irrational fear knowing him for so long, but it was one that always loitered there deep in her heart.

"You don't know how to help him with the pain he feels from releasing his first pokémon," the child continued, setting down the cup. "You're afraid that you'll have to face each other one day. You're afraid that no matter what you do, you'll lose him. But I can make it so that you never have to worry about any of that again."

And, with that, it felt like her mind was spiraling the drain even deeper. Like her very self was being pulled in further and further by the honeyed words that were cruel, but sweet. So alluring that they pried at her heart laid bare to further draw her in. "You…can…?"

The child smiled in a way that stretched her lips unnaturally thin. "That's what friends are for. Just let me in and I can make it all better."

Temptation slid in like a key fitting into a lock, ready to twist it open. But before she could be pulled in entirely, the sound of glass cracking rang in her ears. The world itself seemed to fracture as she fought through the fog in her mind and muttered, "N-No… I won't…"

Stubborn resilience surfaced as she began to reassert herself. The thought of letting someone else solve her problems was so abhorrent that she fought against it. Especially when it involved Ash.

"GgG-iIIi-Nnn-AaaAA!" a distorted voice, filtered as though it was seeping through cracked glass, drew her eyes to the boy. "W-Wahghstt oOnGg?"

Only it wasn't him. Instead of the boy from her memories, it was a patchwork clone made of broken, stained glass that was shaped into the image of Ash. Seeing him in that state sent a shock through her mind…

And she remembered once more.

The world shattered once more as the memories came flooding back in. Once more Gina recalled what happened and where she was. Once more she found herself facing the thing in the form of a child, only her head was pounding and aching like someone took a hammer to it. "Get out of my head!"

"…Oh, I was so much closer this time," said the thing in the form of a child. "You're really only hurting yourself fighting against it so much. It'd be much easier if you just let me in."

Sucking in a sharp breath, Gina scowled as she shot back, "Never."

"I really don't want to hurt you," said the Shadow in a voice that could pass for sincere. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to be part of your memories… to be your friend. But if you keep pushing back it's going to take its toll eventually."

Bits of glass crystallized out of thin air. The world reshaped itself back into the room they were in, along with Ash. But it wasn't him. She had seen past the illusion and so to her it seemed more like a moving statue made of glass—made of fragments of her memorizes that had been crystallized.

"I really can help you with him," she said. "I can make it so you two won't be mad with each other. Or I can make him give up on his dream and—"

"Don't you dare!" Gina gritted her teeth as she recalled what she had said moments ago. That she was afraid of losing him. That she was in love with him. "It's bad enough you forced me to say all of that. But you leave him alone!"

The child's green hair wavered as she slowly shook her head and sighed. "You're so stubborn. You love him so much but are so scared of him leaving you that you'd rather sabotage yourself than admit it. That's why you got angry at yourself for not asking to come along with him, isn't it?"

"I…" She tried to deny it. She wanted to deny it. But when she thought about the fight that split them apart the day that they received their pokémon, the moments that she found herself distracted by him, and those little quiet moments where she thought about him when they were apart… it made sense.

"They're back now," said the thing that looked like a child as she turned her gaze upwards. "I'll be back soon with the real Ash this time."

Gina's head snapped up at that. She reached out to stop the shadow only for her to vanish, leaving the Pokémon Trainer alone in a tapestry woven of the repressed mind. With only her newly unfurled thoughts to keep her company. "…Ash."

[-oOo-]

Ash arrived at the Gym once more alongside Sabrina's father and Haunter. Empty silence had been the only thing that inhabited the hive of steel and chrome as he made his way up to the challenger's room. There was no one else present in the building.

None save one that awaited him on their battlefield.

Sabrina, the Gym Leader who should have been his opponent under normal circumstances, was sitting on a throne that had been erected on her side of the field. Her chest was rising and falling to indicate that she was breathing. But her eyes were reflectionless and empty as she stared off into the distance while her liberated shadow sat nestled upon her lap—a slave to her buried desires by her own power.

The psychic representation of the repressed psyche welcomed her challenger with a smile, fingers playfully drumming against a poké ball within her grasp. "I knew you'd come, Ash."

"You said you'd release Gina if I came," Ash said. "Let her go. Now."

"I will, if you win." She tilted her head upwards to reveal her eyes taking on a cerulean hue. "But if you lose, you'll become my friend along with her. I really like how funny you are in her memories. Now… come, Kadabra."

The ball floated from her grasp out onto the field. Then it popped open, and light speared out into the form of a humanoid with a long bushy tail, yellow fur, pointed ears, whiskers from its snout, and a star on its forehead. There was a well-worn spoon within its right claws, the neck warped from repeated bending as it stared at them with its lips forming into a frown.

Seeing that pokémon caused her father to speak up. "Sabrina, you know Kadabra is beyond the level of a four-badge challenger."

"Well, you had the others take all of the pokémon away before you left yesterday," she said with casual indifference. "But Kadabra will never leave us. Will you, Kadabra?"

The middle-stage Psi Pokémon looked over to her with a somewhat worried expression as he shook his head.

'That's Sabrina's partner pokémon,' Ash tensed when he heard the voice in his head. And judging from how Haunter shifted in place, he heard it as well. 'He's a lot stronger because she's established a psychic link with him, and the Shadow will most likely use that to increase his power. But her powers aren't infinite and if they are weakened enough we may be able to free them both.'

Ash took that with a grain of salt. He still didn't fully understand all of the psychic stuff going on. But that didn't change what they needed to do. "Haunter, you up for this?"

The middle-stage Gas Pokémon gave him a thumbs-up before floating out onto the challenger's side of the field.

"…Then I will act as the referee for this match in order to validate the results," Sabrina's father stated as he moved to the center of the field. The Psi Pokémon briefly met his gaze with an apologetic look before. "The terms of the match are one-on-one until one side surrenders or are unable to battle. If both of you are ready, you may begin."

The signal to begin the battle was the luminescence of eyes. The Kadabra's white iris were overtaken by a kaleidoscopic curtain, colors spanning the rainbow roiling over one another without rhyme or reason. In contrast, Haunter's were a deep shade of stygian darkness that was backlit with a crimson hue.

Prismatic and baleful beams lanced out as the Psybeam and Nightshade clashed—one devoid of colors while the other ran the spectrum of the prism. Representative of their natures the two warred for dominance like writhing serpents that thrashed against one another. Streamers of their respective hues broke away and slammed into the surroundings until they eventually tore each other apart.

"Hau-Hau!" No sooner than the beams split apart did Haunter go on the offensive. Skirting just over the ground he wreathed his claws in the ghost shroud, curled them into fists, and then launched the left one forward like a spectral comet that flew towards the Psi Pokémon—only for it to sail through empty space as Kadabra blinked out of existence.

Then he reappeared a safe distance behind from Haunter with his eyes aglow once more. Haunter pivoted around in time to see the attack coming and then rotated so that his body passed through the floor beneath him, allowing the Psybeam to lance where the center of his incorporeal mass had been prior with only his tail-end sticking out. Then he finished turning upright again and launched his second hand for another Shadow Punch.

Once more the middle-staged Psychic-Type used Teleport to escape the impending blow by vanishing. Then he reappeared in the air to the upper right of Haunter, his spoon at the ready as the cerulean shroud of psychic power pooled around it. With a throwing gesture, the collective mass of psychic power was launched at Haunter.

The middle-staged Ghost Pokémon seemingly only noticed too late from what Ash could tell as he belatedly punched it with his shadow-shrouded left hand. The sphere ruptured as a result, and the expanding psychic force hit Haunter like a brick wall. The shockwave sent his body flying backward, knocking him for the loop and creating an opening that Kadabra seemed all too keen to exploit.

Meaning he didn't see the Shadow Punch from Haunter's right claw coming from his own blind spot. Exploiting the same weakness that he had, the shadowy appendage slammed down on him from above. The meteoric blow sent the Psi Pokémon crashing into the ground with an audible 'Thud' that left Ash to wince.

Unsurprisingly, Kadabra strained to get back up as Haunter floated upwards and recalled his wayward claws. They might have exchanged blows then and there, but the Gas Pokémon managed to soften the impact by hitting the attack with his own before it could fully strike him. Kadabra had been caught completely blindsided and didn't look like he could take another blow.

"It's over," Ash told her. "Now, let Gina go!"

"We're not done," said the little girl nestled in Sabrina's lap. Then her eyes shone with psychic power. "Get back on your feet right now, Kadabra!"

Kadabra's eyes glowed the same hue almost instantly. Then he rose up in an unsettling, uncanny motion that seemed almost like a marionette on strings being pulled upwards. Finally, his body was awash in a pale light that seemed to erase the signs of the beating he just took.

Standing there like he hadn't even been struck, a puzzled expression graced Kadabra's face. "Dabra?"

"I'll use Recover as many times as it takes," she said. "You only have to win once, so keep fighting until you beat that Haunter so I can have Ash."

He was being told to fight until he claimed victory. Even if he went down, she would pick him back up so he could keep fighting. The only thing that mattered was that he won, a sentiment that clearly unnerved him.

Even so, the Psi Pokémon still faced Haunter with spoon in hand and went on the offensive once more. His body flickered in and out of existence long enough to launch either psychedelic rays from his eyes or balls of telekinetic force that were just as powerful as the first time. Then he vanished, reorienting himself to get a better angle for his next assault.

Yet the Gas Pokémon was able to keep up and met the challenge with a riotous laugh as he made use of the full scope of movement afforded by the malleability of his body. "Haw! Haw! Haw!"

Befitting of a ghost the limitations of a physical form meant nothing to him. The beams that would have slammed into his body missed as he comically twisted himself up like he was squeezing out a rag and threading the small area between the rays before unraveling. The ball of psychic force passed through the center of his mass as he used his claws to tear open a hole in his body for the attack to pass through, before snapping back together like a rubber band.

Then he counterattacked by lashing out with his tongue. The appendage stretched across the distance like a fleshy spear, ready to lick the opponent and leave him riddled with a haunting chill. It slammed into a wall of solidified light as the Kadabra brought up his spoon in a hasty defense, but that was only a distraction for Haunter's Shadow Punch as it curled around it to attempt to slam into its unprotected side once more.

But Kadabra had learned. He used Teleport to escape as the shadow comet passed through the now empty space. He then reappeared and released a ring of psychic energy akin to what Jynx had used to avoid having Haunter slip around by opening up his body.

However, Haunter managed to get away from it. Rather than attempting to float away, he instead rolled himself along his tongue to avoid the attack from his rear before letting it whip around and lash at the psychic curtain. The saliva eroded the film and created a safe strip for him to pass through.

That was when the ambush happened once more. One of his shadow-wreathed hands emerged from below the ground and delivered an uppercut that knocked the Psi Pokémon off his feet. Detached from the main body and out of view, it managed to bypass his peripheral vision entirely and left him vulnerable to another follow-up that would have slammed him into the ceiling if not for Kadabra instinctively teleporting himself away.

The middle-staged psychic pokémon appeared on the ground elsewhere, huffing. Teleporting so rapidly was clearly taxing on his mind. But soon the restorative light swaddled his body, and the battered flesh was once more made whole.

"Keep going," demanded the shadow. "Even if it takes all of your strength, get rid of that Haunter."

Refusing to disobey her, the battle only escalated after that. The two engaged in a chaotic struggle of cat-and-mouse that used the full space of the Gym since neither was truly ground-bound or limited. They rapidly flickered from bottom-to-top and everywhere in-between, neither truly making headway as one was too flexible and the other too rigid.

Kadabra's attacks became more frequent as he stopped hesitating and simply attacked, accepting that he was going to get hit. The power behind his attacks floundered in exchange for being made quicker, but that was an acceptable outcome. There was no point in dedicating everything to a powerful blow if the pokémon in question could bypass it due to corporeality being optional.

He could heal and thus outlast his opponent in a battle of attrition—so he would settle for glancing blows to wear down the opponent.

Haunter's attacks became more chaotic and unpredictable in response. The cold focus and silence of his opponent was met with jaunty, continuous laughter as the Gas Pokémon reveled in the excitement of combat. His eyes, his tongue, his claws—all of them were weapons that could be deployed as he wished them.

And since he had no need to hold back against an enemy that could constantly be healed, Haunter became a lot less restrained.

Ash could barely keep up with everything that was happening. He wasn't even sure how long they had been battling. It could have only been a few seconds or a few minutes, but considering neither one was starting to slow down they could possibly last a few more hours for all he knew—which wasn't much, to be honest.

Ghost Pokémon. Psychic Pokémon. They were abstracts to him. Gina would probably say something smart or a fact about what she learned from her grandfather. And if they were part Rock-Type or part Water-Type, he'd expect Brock and Misty to be experts with them.

In comparison, he felt so… useless here and now. There were no calls he could make. No strategies he could put into place. Haunter had come along because he thought it would be fun, but Ash couldn't even be called his trainer in this Gym Battle with the fate of his friend on the line—he was just an observer that could only spectate and hope that others could get the job done.

And he hated it.

"Haunt-Haunt!" cried out the middle-staged Gas Pokémon in glee as he became even more aggressive in how he fought. The shadow-wreathed hands spiraled around like shooting stars and forced Kadabra to teleport even faster to avoid them. But, at this point, he was receiving abuse too quickly as the glancing blows piled up nearly as fast as he could heal.

At this point it can't really be called a battle, Ash realized. Haunter was clearly on a different level of ability compared to Kadabra. If it had to spend every moment running and healing then all they were doing was just drawing out its suffering.

And yet Kadabra's trainer only kept making demands of him in a cold, petulant voice. "Why are you taking so long to get rid of that stupid Ghost so I can make Ash be my friend?"

Now that infuriated him. Ash may not have been able to properly command Haunter, but he was at least trying not to get in the way. Yet she was berating it for doing its best for her.

"Why would I want to be friends with someone who treats their pokémon like you do?" Ash bellowed in defiance. "I might not be a Psychic but even I can tell your Kadabra is pushing itself because it cares about you, and you're only ignoring its pain to get what you want."

Her response was surprisingly sharp. "Aren't you the same? After all, you're ignoring the pain Gina is in because you're so focused on your own goal that you never considered how she feels."

"W-What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"You both want the same thing, but only one person can get it. That means you're going to have to crush each other to get it. Do you really think you'll be all smiles and cheerful, wishing one another good luck when you've had your dreams crushed in front of you? When a little argument over an old ball caused your last fight before you left town."

The Indigo Conference. The Championship. They had both been aiming for them for so long now. And while he thought to himself that they would eventually meet one another on the field, he didn't think about what would happen after that.

The smile that came on her face was rather cruel as she continued on in an attempt to break his spirit. "Gina already knew that. But despite the smart thing being to go on separately so that if you fail you can't blame one another, she still helps you. And do you know why?

"Because we're friends!" Ash said. It was more to reassure himself in the process, but he wanted to believe that their friendship could weather that much. Yet…

Gina had always been so prideful as a child. So focused on her goals that when she dedicated herself to something she did it with confidence that she would get it done. There was just something about the way she seemed so sure of herself that there was no doubt in her mind that she could fail—and she hated to lose.

Things had been different for some time since before they had left. She spent more time studying, then there were times when she would stare at him before looking away. It felt like she had changed in a way that he didn't really understand.

Then the fight happened. They stopped talking to one another. By the time she left town he had seen her as someone he would have to face off against before he met Brock and Misty. But then the Squirtle Squad happened and…

It felt like they had slipped into the role of being friends again, so he stopped considering that one day they'd have to face each other. They had joked about it when his mother and Professor Oak had visited them after the thing with Team Rocket, but something seemingly small had split them up before. It wouldn't be something so small at the Indigo Conference.

The shadow merely shook her head and told him five little words that shook him to the core. "She's in love with you."

His thoughts froze.

"You never even considered that she was doing this because she loved you," she continued. "I wonder if you would have only realized that you took her for granted when you defeat her and crush her dreams for the chance to challenge the Champion? Or would you resent her for being the one who made all of your hard work and sacrifices for nothing in spite of the fact that she cared about you so much?"

"I… I'd never…" He felt his words caught in his throat as he trailed off. Gina was in love with him? How? Why? When? Was it all a lie just to rattle him?

He wasn't sure as the child continued on. "Or maybe now that you know, you'd prefer if she gave up instead in exchange for being with you? That way you could have both the chance to be a Pokémon Master and stay with her. Everyone would be happy that way, right?"

"You're wrong!" That he managed to say without hesitation. He would never ask her to give up on what she wanted to do for his sake. That was something he just wouldn't ever do.

"Then what will you do?" she asked. "If you both keep going, you'll have to crush one another to chase your dream. And I can tell you right now that the only thing awaiting her is misery."

"You're lying!"

She quirked her head in amusement. "If she wins then she'll dedicate everything to defeating the Champion, or she'll have to live with the fact that she hurt you for nothing. Every sacrifice, including releasing your Butterfree, will be for nothing. And even if she does win, it'll be forever tainted by the fact that she had to step on your dream to get to that point—ruining her first love and friendship."

The thing in the form of a child took a moment to really let that sink in before continuing. "But if she loses then all the hard work her pokémon put in will have been for nothing. The hours spent training them, caring for them, confiding in them, will have been wasted. She won't blame them, but she'll wonder if she allowed her feelings to cloud her judgment. That she placed her feelings for you above the dream they all share. Will you offer her a hug and soft words to ease her pain as you take everything else in her place?"

Her words were poison. An acrid, venomous poison that filled him with doubt. He didn't want Gina to suffer. He didn't want to be the cause of that suffering. He didn't want them to fight again or say goodbye to each other because they would have to defeat one another.

"I don't want any of my friends to suffer," Sabrina's shadow said in a sickly-sweet voice. "I can make it so that neither of you will have any doubts, any hard feelings. All you have to do is let me bring you to her and we'll all be great friends."

Ash weighed her words for a moment. But only a moment as the pained cry of Kadabra being thrown around rang out as Haunter once more decked him. Then he saw the cold and callous way that she forced him back onto his feet with the expectation that he would keep fighting.

That alone solidified his resolve. "You're so wrapped up in trying to get us to do what you want that you don't even care about your pokémon fighting its hardest just to make you happy. That's not the kind of person me or Gina would want to be friends with."

"But you'll both suffer if you don't let me help you."

"Gina and I will talk things out at some point without your help," Ash said firmly. He didn't know what he would say or even if she was telling the truth, but what would come after their Gym Challenge was something they had to talk about. "We don't need you!"

"And after I've tried to be so nice…" The lithe body of the thing in the form of a child began to tremble with rage as a cerulean hue rose off her body while her hat obscured her eyes. It became denser, bringing her long strands of green hair to life as they fluttered madly. Then she raised her head and those luminous eyes bore down onto him. "Fine, I'll take you by force even if I have to rip your mind to shreds!"

Agony struck Ash all at once. The sensation of a vice clamping down on his brain and squeezing like it was trying to rip it out of his skull was overbearing. It pulled relentlessly and left him in so much pain that he could barely string his thoughts together as he fell to his knees and cried out. "AGGGGHHHHH!"

'HAUNTER NOW!' rang out in his skull as he felt a hand on his shoulder and cushion between his brain and the vice. Sabrina's father was glowing with a similar hue as he tried to hold off the force that the repressed psyche was bringing down on him. Then the pain abruptly stopped as the sound of the little girl's voice crying out echoed through the Gym.

Ash looked up to see that Haunter had swollen to a gigantic size as the shadows crept over his face while he held her in his tightening grasp. The expressive, yet plain eyes had turned crimson like ominous stars as his lips split apart and peeled back to take the form of makeshift fangs. Saliva ran between them as he loomed down upon the child like a soul-devouring monster.

And, for the first time, the child actually acted her age as she shuddered in fear. "I-I just… wanted… to have… friends…"

Then…it was all over.

The Shadow was erased as Haunter brought his maw down upon her and devoured her like a nightmare made solid. The Gym Leader who had been under the sway of her own power snapped to awareness as Haunter's nightmare face reverted back to normal. And, with a broken, pained voice that had gone hoarse—as if she had been screaming in her own head the entire time—she uttered three miserable little words.

"I'm so sorry."