Ron the True Fan: Pain….SO MUCH PAIN…

Blackthorn City - 0751 hours - Day 735 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey

"This would be funny if it weren't so serious." Kyoji said as Ash stared at Pikachu drinking coffee almost mockingly while tied to a chair. "…are the chains actually necessary?"

Misty chuckled. "Ash Ketchum is sneakier than you think." she said simply.

Ash turned his head in her direction. "Don't talk about me like I'm not in the room!" he snapped, clearly having not had his coffee. Literally.

Withdrawal was a bitch. But even so, he was kept awake due to non-unfair anger. Sabrina psionically pinned him, while Kyoji tied him to a chair, then Misty CHAINED him to the chair and Pikachu was mocking him.

Pikachu didn't need to cut down. And when he was asked to, he electrocuted the Pokemon who asked.

Fortunately it was Gible. All that happened was him pouting and walking away, somewhat sad.

"Pika." 'I'm not the one with nightmares even legendaries have a problem with.' said the mouse.

"Stop taunting me!" Ash exclaimed before his hat was taken off his head. "...Latias, please put my hat back."

Latias decloaked and did so.

Were the Latis unhappy about losing their home? Yes. Did they blame Ash for catching them? Not after seeing what happened the first time. Besides, the death toll was… surprisingly low. Altomere's people were prepared for tsunamis of that size, with pressure tanks designed for the ocean depths with enough air for three days.

Unlike an expedition before the war to find and photograph Kyogre in a sub that was made of carbon fiber and shaped like a pill, these were spheres and made of thick steel.

Their home was gone, but Altomere's people survived.

"Seriously?" came the voice of Anabel as she walked in, coffee in hand. "This isn't the way and you know it." Her hand glowed and snapped the rope and forced the chains off him.

Ash got up, rubbing the back of his neck and his back in general. "I'm not sure if 'my hero' is the right phrase." he said gratefully, Kyoji giving her a 'WTF' glare before she gave him the mug of hazelnut coffee that he downed greedily, looking sheepish at basically chugging it in one go instead of savoring it.

Anabel just giggled. "They were cruel to just tie you up and keep you awake." she said before the mug hit the ground, the steel-covered ceramic hitting like a dull thud. "By the way…" Ash's face landed on her enlarged assets, muffled snoring being heard from within. "That was decaf."

"You are evil." Neesha said bluntly. "Quick acting sedatives in decaf coffee? Seriously?"

Anabel shrugged. "Keeping him awake until he drops from exhaustion is what's been going on. We all know he puts his sleeping meds under his tongue unless we're watching." she said simply. "But his nightmares are going to wake him up, sedation or not. Nature of the mind."

"Any ideas then?" Misty asked. "Your heartbeat's not going to last forever as a balm. Serena's is the most effective."

Anabel sighed. "I'll have to do something I didn't want to think about." she said as she levitated Ash's body to a bed.

Kyoji and Neesha shared a look before turning back to Anabel. "Like what?" he asked as Anabel laid beside Ash.

"You'll know in an hour." said the psychic as her eyes flashed, then she fell unconscious.

Kyoji's Gible sniffed the mug. "Gi." 'He didn't drink that much sleeping stuff." he said. "Gible-gi." 'he's gonna have a short nap.'

Kyoji pulled out a box of cards helplessly. "When you're bored…" he said. "Go Fish?"

"No. Refuse. Not happening." Clair said bluntly. "He destroyed the gym ONCE. Not again."

Lance looked at his cousin pleadingly. "He'll destroy the gym out of spite just because you won't give him a fair and level fight." he said. "After what happened to Whitney, the only one who bothered to fight him at all was Chuck! The rest gave up!"

Clair snorted. "You unleashed a monster on Johto purely to serve as a political wrecking ball." she said, walking about the arena. "A sledgehammer to just break everything and get Johto back together through brute force."

"Without waging a pointless war no one wants or needs!" Lance protested. His cousin stared him down.

And smirked.

"Technically, Lance, I don't need to fight him and you can't force me." she said. "As head of the clan, you're technically the gym leader, I'm just a substitute because you can't be here as champion. He already had his gym battle here."

Her smirk turned smug. "Fighting you over a year ago."

Lance stared helplessly. "You…He's going to be pissed." he said defeatedly. "And the LAST thing we need is his Pikachu wanting to tear your team apart, only to burn the building down!"

Clair smiled impishly. "And I'm not going to be here for it." she said mockingly. "I'm going to be in the Den. Have fun~"

One hour later

"Got any Squirtles?" Neesha asked.

Misty handed over a card to her. "Got any Gibles?" asked the swimmer before the land shark in question jumped onto her lap.

"Attention whore." Kyoji groused playfully before they heard Ash groan and rise, looking around confusedly.

"That… is WEIRD." he said, a few octaves higher then normal, shakily getting to his feet with a light violet ring around his irises. "Center of balance is all off."

"Ash?" Misty asked before the pallet trainer coughed.

"That's going to take some getting used to." he said, his voice returning to a normal state. "And not exactly."

Kyoji blinked as his brain put it together. "ANABEL?" he exclaimed. "HOW?! Every psychic looking into his head-"

'Ash' nodded. "It helped that his subconscious kept that at bay while I performed this." the displaced psychic said. "This is a high-level technique that I hoped I'd never use, but… his mind needs a rest." his face scrunched up in disgust. "…Did you two know those two are constantly yelling at him? Sleep deprivation and a constant SCREAM from his unwanted guests. No wonder he's in a bad mood all the time."

Misty blinked. "He never mentioned that." she said before Serena came in with the others, all carrying bags filled with things.

"Hello, everyone~!" said the Kalosian baroness and future Rotan queen. "We have a wedding to attend-" the bags hit the floor and her tone turned from cheerful to enraged in an instant, scaring the crap out of EVERYONE. And this was Serena: her anger and protectiveness towards Ash was well known. "Get out of my husband's body NOW!"

Anabel raised Ash's hands. "Serena, wait! It's Anabel!" the psychic said. "I'm giving Ash's mind the time he needs to REST. My head doesn't have unwanted guests."

Serena's glare abated slightly. "…You could've told me you could jump into someone else's body." she stated bluntly.

"I don't think she wanted to do it." Iris said after a moment. "I mean… she joined up with Ash to use him as a psionic shield, right?"

Ash's head nodded. "I never wanted to use this, but Ash NEEDS it. Those two are constantly screaming in his ears, trying to break his will." the psychic said before blinking in understanding. "I think they made him act rashly in Altomere. How many markers could he call in, but didn't?"

Anabel's body began to moan, like she was about to wake up. Her Natu, however, had other plans.

The second her eyes opened, she was hit with a Hypnosis and forced back to sleep.

"…How are those two not going to use you to get out?" Kyoji asked. "I mean, they're the most powerful psychics I know of other than Sabrina. What's stopping them?"

Ash smirked. "They're locked up in the depths of his soul, not his mind." said the displaced psychic. "His mind's in my body, his soul is right here. …You know what a lich is, right?"

Neesha snapped her fingers. "Soul's in his body like a phylactery, but his mind's in your body." she said, getting looks from everyone. "…I read lots of fantasy books from before the war back home.." she shuffled sheepishly.

"So… you put up with them for a few hours-" Misty started.

"A few hours? I'm doing this for a week!" Anabel exclaimed in Ash's voice. "He deserves nothing LESS than a break from those two! Just… drug my body."

Serena smiled. "I'll go get bedpans." she said. "And an IV. Keep you asleep for a week. I'll make sure you're COMFY."

Misty shuddered. "Even when she doesn't DO anything, it's a little creepy." she muttered.

Ash's turned to Kyoji. "She's going to enjoy this, isn't she, Lieutenant?" the psychic asked.

Kyoji snorted. "I don't think she can do anything to you." he admitted. "I mean, Ash-"

"She can't do anything to Ash. I'm fair game." Anabel cut off. "…I've kinda been fair game since Ransei."

Kyoji blinked before looking at her in confusion. "What." he asked flatly as his brain tried to process what Anabel just said.

4 hours later

Small mercies that Ash seemed more agreeable than usual. The wedding went off without a hitch, leaving the politicians the job of putting the damn region back together as a province of Nihon.

And Ash didn't want a gym battle.

Clair heaved a sigh of relief. And she credited the one thing she knew was responsible.

"Praise Gible." she sighed.

But when you praise Gible…

Vun-vun.

Clair knew it was coming. So she didn't fight it as a school of sharks surfaced and chomped.

Ron the True Fan: Praise Gible, indeed.

Takeshi Yamato: So… body swap. Anabel knows what to do. Hopefully it helps.

Ron the True Fan: And of course, praise sharky.

Takeshi Yamato: I suppose all that's left to say is… NEXT!

Ja ne!