THE BLUE SPIRIT
CHAPTER 45 – THE QUARTER FINALS
Sabrina Natsume, the psychic prodigy who was also the Saffron City gym leader, had confessed to Ash in front of his girlfriends that she had fallen for him. She apologized for hurting him and for revealing her feelings to them. She promised not to get involved and that she wouldn't cause them problems before teleporting away. Seeing her disappear snapped him out his trance. "SABRINA!" yelled out Ash into the silent room, staring at the spot she was just at a second ago.
Nobody could believe what just happened. They were in shock from what the Saffron gym leader had just admitted. That she has feelings for the raven haired guardian and was pushing herself to become stronger so she can be prove herself to him. Ash's heart was thumping wildly, as if it was about to jump out of his chest. Everything had just clicked in his head, figuring out why he felt the way he did in her embrace. Why seeing her push herself made something stir inside him and why he was feeling such sadness over her doing this to herself. He glanced back at the girls behind him and saw each one was astonished. Eight out of the ten girls shot to him and gave him a group hug after seeing how saddened he had become. They were sullen themselves and surprisingly, they were not angry with Sabrina at all for having feelings for Ash and for confessing. They understood where she was coming from and didn't want her to go but she did. Liza glanced at Clair, who felt like a total bitch for causing this to happen. The blunette gym leader of Blackthorn City locked her eyes with the raven haired guardian's. "Ash…I'm so..."
"Don't say anything Clair," interrupted Ash. He separated from the girls and went up to the now guilty looking girl. "You were right. I caused her to do this to herself. I didn't notice what she was feeling. Let me have it." She titled her head slightly and the girls glanced at one another. "I told you to not hold back if I was wrong. I'm wrong. So let me have it. Unleash your wrath on me." She gave him a disbelieving look. Is he for real? He heard her thought since he was focusing on her and saw she didn't know what to do. "C'mon hit me!" he commanded. She became startled and punched him in the chest instinctually. But it was a weak one, with him not even feeling it. "Is that it?! You're a black belt damn it! Hit me!" Clair hit him again but harder. He gestured to her to keep them coming. She hit him again but it was barely any stronger. "Is that the best you can do?!" taunted Ash. The girls were alarmed over what was happening but none of them interfered. And even if they wanted to, they were frozen in their place.
Clair's lips were quivering and her heart was beating wildly. She didn't want to keep hitting him, feeling bad for hurting him. I don't want to hurt you! She was about to hit him again but couldn't anymore. She flung her arms over his neck and leaned against him for support before bursting into tears. "I'm so sorry Ash! So sorry! For hurting you and blaming you! I didn't think this would happen! I was just so upset over seeing my best friend sad! Please forgive me!" she cried. Please don't hate me!
Ash felt sullen over what she said and thought. He wrapped his arms around her and massaged her back with both hands. He couldn't answer her thought but hoped his action would do it for him. "It's not your fault Clair. You were trying to protect and help your friend, just like any of us would do. I'm not angry with you at all. You're a good friend and person," he told her. "Do you have any idea where Sabrina might have gone?" he asked her.
Clair pulled herself together and took a step back, separating from him and wiping her eyes dry. "Other than her home or the G-Men's headquarters, I don't know where else she'll go." Her answer was not what he was hoping to hear, shaking his head. Clair glanced at his girlfriends before going up to them and stopped in front of them. "I'm so sorry for getting angry at Ash," apologized the blunette.
The girls looked at Clair for a moment before nodding and embraced her in a hug. They told her that they understand but to communicate with them before blowing her top. She nodded solemnly and promised to do so if something like this ever happened again but hoped that it wouldn't. The petite girl from Twinleaf Town then glanced at Cynthia. "Where could she have gone?" asked Dawn.
"I have no better idea than you guys," admitted Cynthia with a frown.
"I hope she doesn't do anything else rash," added Serena.
"Sabrina's not the type to do that. She'll usually just keep things in and just go home," revealed Liza.
"Yea but isn't this a really big deal to her? I mean, telling her feelings about Ash." They looked at May while Ash sat down on the bed, placing his head in his hands and let out a sigh. Sarah and Anabel sat down beside him and rubbed his back. "We need to find her," added May.
"But how?" wondered Misty. "How can we find her? And where would she go?"
Ash looked up at the girls. "I'm such an idiot," he told them and they looked at him. "Even after everything that's happened so far at just this tournament, I'm still having trouble noticing things. How could I have hurt her so badly? How could I have not noticed that she has feelings for me?" he asked them before hanging his head again.
The girls felt sullen over his words and behavior. Misty knelt down in front of him and raised his head with her hands as Sarah and Anabel stopped their rubbing. She looked into his eyes with her cerulean blue ones before asking him a question. "Do you like her Ash?" she asked him making everyone go silent to hear his reply.
He looked into her eyes for a few seconds before answering. "Her confession made me realize how I feel about her just now. And the truth is…I do," he admitted quietly. Liza and Clair gasped that he said that but his girlfriends just gathered around him. He looked up and around to look at each of his girlfriends in the eye. "There's some things you should all know…" he told them before explaining everything that he's been feeling when with or around Sabrina. From their dancing in the club to after he brought her back after their training yesterday. His girlfriends listened quietly without interrupting. When he finished explaining, he looked at them with a sullen gaze. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I thought it was just the alcohol or just friendly interactions. I didn't know what they meant or what I was feeling until now. I'm so sorry for not realizing what they were and that I'm still so blind towards all this," he told them.
"Don't," shot Misty, May, Dawn and Serena at once and they all looked at them. They told him it won't do anyone any good for him to beat himself up over it and that they're not angry with him at all. His newer girlfriends also chimed in, on the same page as them. Ash nodded and asked them what he should do.
Clair and Liza were beyond astonished as to how his girlfriends took it. They glanced at one another, both thinking the same thing. How could they not be angry with him? How could they not be angry with Sabrina? The two turned their attention back to them when Leaf started speaking now.
"Well first things first. We need to find Sabrina," said Leaf. They spoke together, trying to get some ideas of where she would have gone but didn't really get anything good.
Anabel however kept quiet since she was deep in thought. She wanted to help and pondered a bit as to how she could. A couple minutes later, she thought up of an idea. "Ash, I know one way that might help us find her."
"You do?" he asked, turning to face her with the others giving her their utmost attention.
"Yes. I can try to locate with my psychic senses," suggested Anabel. "But I would need some psychic pokémon to help me out in it and need some space."
"Let's go to the balcony then," advised Cynthia.
Ash and the girls left the room and headed towards the balcony. Their friends and family saw them with serious looks on their faces and that worried them. They wanted to ask what happened regarding Sabrina and what was going on now but saw that they were focused on something. Anabel went up to the railings and brought out her pokémon. Alakazam, Metagross and Espeon appeared. She glanced at Ash who brought out multiple blue orbs from his hands that turned into poke balls. The poke balls opened to let out their pokémon and Ash's Alakazam, Espeon, Gallade, Metagross, Reuniclus, Delphox and Meowstic appeared. He didn't call Gardevoir because he promised her and Lucario some alone time. And he didn't call Lugia and Victini because their power was too great and he didn't want to constantly have Mewtwo help out. He deserved his own time alone. Misty, Serena and Sarah let out their Starmie, Delphox and Hypno.
"We need all of you to listen to Anabel. She's going to need your help to find our friend," said Ash. The girls nodded at their pokemon and all the psychic pokémon gathered around Anabel.
"Okay. We're going to be looking for the Saffron City gym leader Sabrina Natsume. I need you all to connect with my psychic senses so it can become boosted. That way I can try to locate hers." The psychic pokémon glanced at one another and nodded. But her Espeon was worried. Her trainer hadn't ever done this before. She knew the theory but never actually did it. Yet, she still joined in, trusting in her capabilities. Ash and the girls watched as the psychic pokémon's eyes glowed blue and a blue outline appeared around Anabel. "Oh my Mew!" cried out Anabel, her voice echoing now, feeling incredible power course through her.
They became alarmed by her outburst. "What's wrong?! Stop if it's hurting you!" shouted Ash for everyone.
The Frontier Brain took in a breath. "I'm alright," replied Anabel. "I just never experienced so much power before. I should be fine."
"How come we didn't do this when we were looking for Leaf?" asked Sarah.
"Because this only works when trying to find another psychic user," explained Anabel and they nodded in understanding. "Please, don't bother me again so I can maintain my focus."
The others stepped into the balcony, having noticed the blue glow and pokémon and asked them what was going on. Seeing Ash not answering, the girls then told the others that they were looking for Sabrina who had teleported away so as to not get them sick as well. They didn't need to tell them everything and Ash kept his attention on Anabel. Please don't get hurt too Anabel. And Sabrina, why'd you leave like that? Please be alright.
"Ash…" He turned around to face his mother. "I know you're trying to find Sabrina but you're match is coming up. You have an hour left." He thanked his mom for the reminder and set an alarm on his Poketch to ring in forty five minutes. About twenty minutes later, with everyone waiting impatiently with no update yet from Anabel, Ash was sent a mental message.
What the hell are you doing Ash?!
We're looking for Sabrina.
Is that what you're doing? Or are you trying to kill Anabel?
What do you mean Mewtwo?!
I can feel the power from New Island. It's too great for her. The pokémon connected to her aren't feeling the damage she's getting and neither is she. But I am. Tell them to stop now! Do whatever it takes to break their connection!
"STOP!" shouted Ash suddenly, making everyone jump but Anabel and the psychic pokémon kept going. "ANABEL! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" But she wasn't hearing him and neither were the pokémon. They were stuck in the connection. Ash shot forward, his aura flaring out. He struck each of the pokémon once, not to hurt them but hard enough to break their concentration, making them stumble away.
The others in the balcony were yelling and screaming, completely scared and shocked over what he was doing. But the raven haired guardian did not stop until he made the last pokémon move away. With the connection severed, the glow around the purple haired girl faded away. She was barely standing until she fell face forward and Ash lunged in front of her. He caught her in the air and fell onto his back with her in his arms. "Anabel? Anabel?!" He cupped her cheek with his hand, gently shaking her. She slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurry.
"A-Ash…" wheezed Anabel. A bit of blood trickled out from her nose, scaring him and everyone else around them.
"Hold on. Please," begged Ash as he placed his glowing blue hand onto her. He pulsed out healing aura, the energy waves washing over her. He had used up a good amount to heal Sabrina's hands a short while ago and using more already without fully recovering was severely draining him. But he didn't have a choice and didn't care about that right now. The glow brightened a bit before dimming. Ash's aura faded away and he was gasping for air but his attention was on the purple haired girl in his arms. "Anabel?" She stirred and opened her eyes fully a moment later. He immediately hugged her. "Oh thank Mew you're alright."
"I'm sorry Ash. I couldn't find her," said Anabel quietly.
"I'm not accepting your apology because you have nothing to be sorry about. I shouldn't have let you do that. I'm sorry. Are you alright?" he asked her. She looked up at him and nodded slightly, filling up with emotion at the way he was looking at her and holding her. "Good." Ash glanced at his Espeon who helped them stand with her psychic powers. He had her lie down on a lounge chair.
A blue glow materialized in the balcony immediately afterwards. "What were you thinking?!" chastised Mewtwo the second he appeared.
"I'm sorry Mewtwo. I shouldn't have let her…"
The purple haired girl interrupted him, speaking up. "It's not his fault. I volunteered and didn't know it could cause damage to me and neither did he," admitted Anabel. The others in the balcony now understood why Ash stopped them.
Mewtwo shook his head. "It matters not. From now on, any psychic related thing you need to do, come to me only. No one else for now until after the tournament is over and you go through my training," informed the legendary feline.
"Alright. I'm sorry Mewtwo." He hung his head, ashamed of letting Anabel do something so dangerous for him. "I hate to ask but please, can you find Sabrina?" asked Ash.
The purple legendary agreed to the request. "I will. Any ideas where she might have gone?"
Ash shook his head before looking at him. "Besides her house and the league headquarters, I'm not sure," replied Ash but then he got a sudden idea. "Wait, isn't she close with you?" asked Ash, turning to face Cynthia, Clair and Liza. The three had their eyes widen in realization. He turned back to the purple feline. "Try her friends' houses!"
Mewtwo looked at Clair, Liza and Cynthia who quickly told the legendary where they lived. "Alright. I'll find her. Focus on your next match," said Mewtwo and teleported away.
Ash and the rest returned their pokémon. The raven haired guardian collapsed onto a nearby lounge chair next to Anabel and held his head in his hands. "Why are things becoming so complicated?" asked Ash out loud to no one.
"Because life is never simple Ash. You know this. Don't worry about something that cannot be changed and instead focus on what can be," advised Oak. Ash looked up at the Professor, hearing his words but said nothing. When he glanced at Anabel, he saw that she was looking at him with a sullen gaze. He got up and sat next to her before hugging her and she reciprocated the hug. The girls gathered around the two and some of them even sat down on the lounge chair as well. They were quiet, waiting for some sort of update and sometime later an alarm went off. Ash hit the dismiss button on his Poketch. He glanced at the Frontier Brain before looking at everyone.
"Don't even attempt to tell us not to go with you," said Misty.
"Alright," he agreed without even attempting to argue. "But I need someone to look after Natasha."
"We got it covered," said Delia, gesturing to herself and the other parents.
"Thank you. You guys ready to go?" he asked the others and they said they were. He assisted Anabel in standing up who also wanted to go. "Very well then. Let's go. We have enough time to walk there but I'll have Mewtwo teleport us in front of the hotel." They agreed and a second later, they disappeared and reappeared in front of the hotel. Mewtwo even had Pikachu teleported to Ash's shoulder, saving him from Glaceon and Buneary, though he was still exhausted. Trainer and starter spoke with one another through their aura bond the minute he appeared, the electric mouse getting an update on what had happened. They immediately moved towards the stadium, mostly silent but with a few conversations going on here and there.
When the group teleported, the parents went back into the living room and Norman turned on the TV. They were going to watch the match between Ash and this so called trainer named Damian. Norman was especially pissed. He couldn't stand trainers who would abandon their pokémon. Delia went to Natasha's room and saw her wide awake and a fearful look on her. She had heard some shouts and screams. She couldn't make out what was said but was worried about what happened. "Hey Natasha. No need to be afraid. Nothing happened except for some surprises but everything is fine now. Ash went to battle in his next match. Would you like to watch?" she asked her. The red head relaxed a little and nodded, though she still had a sullen expression. She was thinking about the results she was told earlier before hearing the shouting. She hoped the match would have her distracted and not think about that for a while at least. Delia turned on the TV in her room and sat down on the small couch in the room to watch with her. "Are you hungry or need anything?" Delia asked her and Natasha shook her head. She nodded at her and relaxed in her seat. C'mon sweetie. I know you'll win. Just focus on the battle and don't worry about Sabrina. Mewtwo will find her.
Speaking of the legendary psychic, when Mewtwo teleported away from the hotel he arrived at Sabrina's home. That was his first place he decided to check, because sometimes the last place people would think to check where someone went, was usually the place to go. He used his incredible powers to try and sense her in the area, sending out a psychic pulse that would let him know if there was a psychic user nearby. He sensed another user but didn't have the same signature as Sabrina's. Good thing he couldn't feel the pulse. Even if she tried to conceal her powers, he would still be able to sense it. She however wouldn't be able to sense him until the last second but by then, she wouldn't be able to flee once he was in the area.
Finding no trace of her, he decided to check around the city for a bit, receiving another request from Ash before teleporting to his next destination. He concentrated for a second, his eyes glowing blue before teleporting him, Pikachu and the group in front of the hotel. Afterwards, he continued with his search. Finding nothing, he teleported and checked the next area, which was the Pokémon League Headquarters that also stationed the G-Men. He did the same thing there, sending out a psychic pulse and got back nothing. He checked around a little more before he teleported to the next area to check, which was Clair's hometown. Nope. He then teleported to Cynthia's hometown. Negative. He teleported to the last spot that Ash thought of, which was Liza's cabin in the Charicific Valley. Bingo! He focused on her and sensed she was in the living room of the cabin. He vanished from sight.
Sabrina was lying on the couch, face buried into a pillow, sobbing away. She didn't believe anyone would find her here after teleporting away from Clair's place when she sensed Anabel trying to find her. She was astonished she was able to track her but knew she was being assisted and wouldn't be able to keep it up. She knew what the less powerful and less experienced psychic was trying to do having done the same kind of thing a few years before on one of the missions for the G-Men to find a rogue psychic user. She only hoped that she wouldn't end up hurting herself like she did and that they wouldn't find her. She didn't want to be found. She didn't want them to tell her she was wrong. That it's okay that she's weak. That she doesn't have to prove herself to them. Even if she didn't have to, she still had to. She had to for him; for Ash. After all the things he had done for the world and for the people in it, very few knew of his sacrifices, of his heroics. And she had learned of a great deal of his actions when she brought out his memories. He deserved to have only the best. That's what she believed. And she believed that she wasn't good enough for him because of her past, her weaknesses and how she's only good at one thing.
She continued her sobbing, feeling absolutely horrible until she sensed something out of nowhere. Sabrina sat up all of a sudden in time to feel an overwhelming weight being pressed onto her. She had only ever felt such power once before and fear completely filled her. "You don't need to be afraid of me Sabrina." The feeling went away and she turned to look at Mewtwo. He was lying down on the other couch, his hands behind his hand, looking up at the ceiling with his tail swishing back and forth, barely grazing the floor. She tried to teleport away but couldn't since he had blocked her. Such power…
"How did you find me?" she asked him quietly after a moment of silence between the two.
Mewtwo stayed quiet for a moment until he responded back but didn't look at her. "Technically, Ash found you. He thought up of a few places you might go and this was one of them." Sabrina's eyes widened at that. "Surprised? Me too. He's the type of person who can never be figured out. That's why he's special, unique and he will become the greatest Pokémon Master in the world one day as long as he continues the path he's on. And the only one to ever deserve that title. Once he reaches the top, he will never be knocked down and no one will ever be his equal." He glanced over at the dark haired girl, seeing her transfixed, her gaze towards him but not really looking at him. "It's a shame you left really," continued Mewtwo, turning his gaze back to the ceiling. "He really likes you."
Sabrina snapped out of it. "How do you know and why would you say that?"
Mewtwo smirked and looked at her. "Caught your attention?" She reddened and looked away. "If you don't believe me, watch his next match." He used his psychic powers to turn on the TV in the living room and flipped the channel to the eighth match of the tournament. The battle was already going on at this point and the announcer was commenting about what was happening. "Pay attention to him Sabrina. In particular, his eyes. You'll find your answer there." Mewtwo said no more and Sabrina looked at the screen hesitantly since there was nothing else she could do.
When they reached the stadium, Ash and Pikachu separated from the group, entering the trainer's tunnel while the rest went into the stands. A few minutes later, the announcer was heard through the stadium speakers. "THANK YOU LADIES AND GENTLEMAN FOR YOUR PATIENCE! AFTER THAT LAST MATCH WITH THE DRAGON MASTER WHO COMPLETELY STEAM ROLLED HIS OPPONENT, I BET YOU'RE READY FOR MORE! THE EIGHT ROUND BATTLES WILL CONTINUE WITH THE FINAL MATCH OF THE DAY! WE HAVE DAMIAN DAISUKE AND ASH KETCHUM!" The crowd roared and cheered when the two entered the stadium and walked to the referee in the middle to get their microphones.
Leaf growled, seeing the one who tried to take advantage of her and insulted her beloved. "Use him to let out your frustrations and crush him Ash," growled Leaf and her friends agreed. They were all worried about Sabrina but were confident that Mewtwo would find her eventually. They only hoped that Ash would stay focused on the match. They were all seated together in the stands. Even Cynthia was with them but was sitting between the girls and trying to maintain a low profile so no one will bother them. It was much more different to be there than in the VIP room and it's been a long time since she sat in the stands among the spectators.
In the VIP room, the Champions Lance, Diantha, Alder and Steven were once again seated in the comfortable couches with President Goodshow on the phone ordering some food. Steven was a little out of it, thinking about a certain reporter. Alder noticed this and nudged him slightly with his elbow, making the elegantly dressed young man turn to him. "Thinking of Snow are we?" asked Alder.
Steven turned red and turned his gaze away from the older Champion. "Don't start." Alder laughed out loud while Lance and Diantha smiled.
The dragon master turned to the actress who noticed his movement and followed suite to look at him. "You think Steven finally found someone?" asked Lance quietly.
Diantha shrugged. "Maybe. She seems nice enough. But you don't really know someone until you spend some time with them," she said while looking into his eyes.
Lance felt as if she was looking into his soul with her blue eyes. He reddened slightly from her focused gaze and turned away to face the field. "You have a point there Diantha. Maybe he got lucky on his first crush. But who knows for sure anymore?" he asked back.
"I can hear you!" snapped Steven from the front and the three chuckled as they returned their attention to the starting match in time to hear the rules.
"This is a triple battle with only one reserve pokémon. No Mega evolutions allowed, no time limit and no substitutions. Good luck!" said the referee while the two clipped their microphones onto their shirt.
Ash didn't extend his hand out this time for the customary handshake. He had no respect for Damian at all. Some from the stands noticed that and murmured about it and Damian noticed that but didn't care. Instead he only smirked before speaking. "You're going to pay Ketchum for humiliating me," said Damian. Ash said nothing but Pikachu's cheeks sparked out. "You're going to pay for stealing my Charmander and for stealing that girl from me. Mark my words. You will lose and everyone will know of what you really are."
Ash's eyes narrowed but kept quiet. They turned and headed to their respective trainer's box. The crowd heard their exchange because of the mics and started gossiping about what Damian just said, wondering if it was true; if their savior had actually stolen a pokémon from another trainer and if he had caused a couple to break up. Goodshow and the Champions glanced at one another in the VIP room, wondering if this was going to cause something. Ash's group glanced around, seeing many people become confused and concerned about what Damian just said and it made them worried. Both trainers flung out three poke balls each at once to start. "AND THE BATTLE BEGINS! DAMIAN HAS SENT OUT HONCHKROW, SWAMPERT AND EELEKTROSS WHILE ASH HAS SENT OUT MEGANIUM, DONPHAN AND FERALIGATR! LOOKS LIKE THIS WILL BE ONE HECK OF A BATTLE!"
You have no idea, thought Damian, his smirk still on his face. "Earthquake, Discharge and Fly!" he ordered. Swampert slammed the ground hard with his fists, Eelektross let out several thunderbolts all around him and Honchkrow shot up into the sky, hiding in the sun.
"Defend!" snapped Ash. Meganium, Donphan and Feraligatr took up defensive positions before bringing out protective shields in front of them. The electric bolts hit their shields and while they were blocking that, the tremors reached them and rocked them. Though they were hit hard by two powerful attacks at once, the shields held. When the attacks finished, his pokémon let the shields down. "Good job guys. Now, get ready to counter attack!" and his pokemon readied themselves.
It was at that moment that Honchkrow dived bombed his Meganium. "Forget something Ketchum?" laughed Damian but Ash only crossed his arms in response.
At the last second, Honchkrow was stopped in his tracks. His grass Johto starter had used Vine Whip to catch the large bird in mid flight. Damian's eyes widened, astonished that his pokémon was caught while in the middle of a dive bomb. "Nice try. Our turn. Send him flying, Dig and Aqua Jet!" The grass dinosaur spun the bird around a bit before tossing it back to its side of the field while the armored elephant dug into the ground and the blue crocodile launched himself forward with a stream of water behind him.
Honchkrow slammed into Eelektross and both of them crashed onto the ground. They barely registered that they were on the ground when they were all of sudden bounced back up into the air by Donphan who popped out from the ground underneath them. He disappeared back into the ground again. That was when Feraligatr slammed into the bird and eel, sending them colliding into the stadium wall.
Damian was beyond shocked at the coordination between his opponents and so were the people in the stands. He watched his pokémon stumble, disoriented with a couple bruises and scratches, but alright for the most part. "STAND FIRM AND GET BACK INTO THE FIGHT!" he yelled and then glanced at Ash and his pokémon, who had moved back to their side. The crowd was mostly silent, no one making a sound except for Ash's group. Almost all of them was cheering and encouraging him, happy that he was teaching him a lesson and wiping the floor with him.
Back at the cabin in the Charicific Valley, Sabrina was watching the amazing battle with rapt attention. Mewtwo however was only watching with an unimpressed gaze. He knew Ash and his pokémon, his comrades, could do it. He only watched because he was bored and that Sabrina had to see what he was talking about. A close up appeared on the TV of Ash and Damian a moment later with each face taking up half the screen. "Do you see it?" asked Mewtwo, freezing the image with his powers.
Sabrina glanced at the purple feline before she looked closer at Ash's face. She didn't see anything that would signify that he wasn't concentrating on the match. She was about to tell Mewtwo that he was wrong about what he said when she looked into his eyes. That was when she noticed it. It was hidden, behind his focused gaze but there it was; fear, worry and concern. She felt her heart skip a beat at that.
The bipedal feline noticed her reaction and formed a half smile on his face. "Now that you saw it, what are you going to do?" asked Mewtwo, unfreezing the image and the video continued with the match, having sped up a bit to catch up to the current battle situation thanks to the psychic type. Damian was sending out commands to attack and evade their opponents. They would barely miss their targets on most of their attacks but did manage to land a few hits but they did minimal damage. She stayed quiet for a moment and the feline just chuckled, making the gym leader look at him. "Ash just sent me a mental message asking if I found you yet." She couldn't believe what she just heard. "He's not even worried about the battle. He's worried about you. I told him I'm close. Should I tell him I found you?" he asked, looking at her fully.
Sabrina sighed, not letting her heart get ahead of herself. "Even if it is there, and he is asking about me, how can I be good enough for him? I was a monster before. People are still afraid of me. I have very few friends and I'm barely physically stronger than a child. I've lived a sheltered life mostly and have very little actual world experience, not counting my involvement in missions for the league. How can I ever be worthy enough for him to call me his beloved, let alone his friend? How can I help him in the future against the darkness? He doesn't need me and he's better off without me," she said, hanging her head, depressed and completely sullen.
The legendary's small smile turned into a frown before immediately changing his expression to that of a stoic one. "You know, you remind me a lot of myself," remarked Mewtwo and she glanced at him. He looked at her before turning his gaze back towards the ceiling. "I too used to be a monster. You should remember, you saw the memory. But because of him I changed and for the better. I too have very few close friends. But, I care greatly for each of them, especially Ash. He has given and taught me much and I will forever be grateful to him for that." She smiled a little at that because that sounded just like him; helping others. "But, there are times when he has fallen and that it was only because of his friends or his pokémon or even me that he was able to get back up and do what he had to do. He may be powerful, he may be kind hearted, generous, loyal and much more. But he is also stubborn, naïve, emotional, slightly dense and blind and several other things." Sabrina frowned a bit at that but didn't comment since that was also true. She had noticed that about him. Mewtwo glanced back at her. "Everyone has weaknesses and flaws. No one is perfect and no one can be the best at everything. Not you, not Ash, not even me or Arceus." Sabrina nodded her head a bit, agreeing. "Yet, you are the most powerful human psychic to have ever lived and he is the most powerful Aura Guardian to have ever lived." She looked up at him, wondering where he was going with this. She couldn't read his mind either. "You two are meant for each other. Just like his girlfriends who are with him now. They are meant to be with him and so are you. Each of you is different for a reason as each of you completes a part of him and he completes a part of you. You may never be like them, but you must remember that they will never be like you either," finished up the psychic feline. He understood her position a bit, both having first been known as monsters and having no one until Ash showed them a better path. He hoped his words would make her understand since he had learned to care and feel for others because of the guardian.
Sabrina heard Mewtwo's words and they washed over her, resonating with her. She shook her head as realization dawned upon her. She was being a fool…a scared fool. Liza was right. She was afraid. She was afraid of going after what her heart yearned for because she was afraid of not only rejection but of how he would view her. She thought of how he behaved with her, his words to her these past few days, from the club, to the training, to what he said to her when he found about her injured hands. "He does have feelings for me," said Sabrina suddenly.
"Yes. Yes he does. Like I said, he's a bit slow when it comes to that but he's getting better at it," repeated Mewtwo. "We can go to him now or we can wait till after his match and then we'll surprise him afterwards." Sabrina thought about that a bit before she agreed with the second part. She wanted to compose herself fully and watch the match before going back to him. The two said no more and the two powerful psychics continued to watch the match.
Back at the Indigo stadium, Damian was fuming, becoming angrier with each passing second. No matter what logical strategy he ordered or insane tactic he came up with, his pokémon couldn't damage Ash's pokémon enough. The raven haired guardian kept having his Donphan use Dig to keep all three of his pokémon on edge, using hit and run tactics. His entire side of the field was riddled with holes. Meganium would keep his Swampert distracted with Razor Leafs and Energy Balls to keep him from using any attack to get the elephant to stop. Feraligatr was keeping Honchkrow and Eelektross from being able to attack as well. He prevented the large bird pokémon from getting close with Water Gun blasts and would dodge the electric eel's electricity by hiding behind multiple boulders he had set up over their side of the field by using Rock Tomb.
"I can't believe he can't even get a decent hit in," remarked Leaf in awe.
"So much for making Ash pay," said Misty with a chuckle. "I'm surprised he hasn't called out Charizard to just completely pulverize him," added the red head. The rest nodded at that, laughing since they imagined how it would go; a complete massacre if he had Charizard fight in this match. Perhaps that was the reason he didn't use the powerful dragon.
While almost their entire group was watching the battle with their utmost attention, one from their group was not. Gary was barely watching the match. He knew Ash would win, especially because he was pissed off at Damian. But that's not what his mind was on. His mind was on his ex-girlfriend Ilene. He still couldn't believe that they were done and never getting back together. He glanced at her and saw her gaze glued onto the ongoing battle. He turned his sight away from her and onto the field when he heard the announcer speak. "WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT FOLKS?! NO MATTER WHAT DAMIAN COMES UP WITH, ASH'S POKÉMON ARE TOO WELL COORDINATED TO LET HIM DO ANYTHING TO GET BACK INTO THE FIGHT! EVEN WITH SOME ATTACKS MAKING CONTACT, THE GUARDIAN'S POKÉMON ARE UNFAZED! IF THIS CONTINUES, THE REFEREE MAY HAVE TO STOP THE MATCH! IF THAT OCCURS, IT WILL BE THE FIRST TIME IN A DECADE THAT HAS HAPPENED!" The crowd, first silent over what they heard Damian say, was now roaring and cheering over the incredible battle. They had completely forgotten about his words over the glorious match that was happening right in front of them.
While the battle was going on, Shamus and Paul were at the stadium, sitting in the front row of the stands behind Damian. A laptop was in Shamus's hands, waiting for the word from their friend to start the next part of their plan to cause Ash agony. He was to broadcast the report they were given by Richard during the match to distract Ash enough so Damian can take advantage and cause the public to turn against him.
The two had gone to the stadium about half an hour early to set up their plan. Before that though, Shamus had spent the better part of the day attempting to hack into the pokémon league network and their broadcasting systems. After trying for a couple of hours and failing, he took a break for a bit, needing to clear his head. He went into his room to get some stress relief from the blonde girl he had picked up the night before. But she wasn't in his room anymore. He was at first confused until he remembered that he had kicked her out after he paid her to have sex with Richard. "Ah fuck. Damn it. That's the last time I throw away my toys before I'm fully done with them." He shook his head and returned back to his laptop to continue his attempts into getting in the system but after he got a beer from the fridge.
While he was doing that, Paul and Damian were speaking with one another nonstop about what pokémon and tactics he should use during the battle. Paul gave Damian every piece of advice and tip he could remember about his most despised person. He had battled him several times and knew of some things that could help his friend out in the battle. He normally wouldn't have done so but he hated Ash more than lowering himself to helping another in his battles. And the other thing was that he respected Damian because he was a powerful trainer and that's all he respected.
It was only when the time had reached 350pm when Shamus was able to finally break into the network and broadcasting systems. He told the two of the success and they quickly finished up their battle plans. Afterwards, the two left Damian in the hotel to go to the stadium and set up shop so they could make sure he would be able to still do it from there.
The transmission of the report was ready to go the instant a button was pressed and the two were waiting for Damian's signal. However, they were completely wide eyed over seeing Ash completely dominating the match. The two looked at one another, both thinking that even with the report being shown during the middle of the battle that Damian might still have trouble winning the match. They turned their gaze back to the one sided battle when one of their friend's pokémon cried out in pain again.
Ash not once uttered a command during the rest of the match, using the bonds with his pokémon and his aura to communicate with them. He was standing straight with his arms crossed, glaring at the blue haired man across the field from him. Pikachu stopped letting out sparks from his cheeks every so often because he had become tired, sitting down on his shoulder. He really was drained from his time with Glaceon and Buneary. But he was wide awake because his eyes were locked onto their opponents. Both of them hated very few things in the world and unfortunately for Damian, he happened to be several of those things. But Ash's entire attention wasn't on the despicable person in front of him or the battle. The raven haired guardian was also thinking about a certain dark haired girl who he was hoping to be found safe and sound soon. He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything will be fine and how he really felt about her…
On the other side of the field, the blue haired man was losing his cool. His Swampert attempted to hit Donphan with a Water Gun but the elephant rolled out of the way at the last second easily enough. "I'm being fucking toyed with!" grumbled Damian, his words carried out through the speaker system. The announcer told him to watch the language, saying it was a warning but he ignored it. He saw his Honchkrow hover close to him and then look at him with an exhausted expression. "I don't give a shit how tired you are! Get your damn ass back in there and finish them off or you'll be sorry!" Honchkrow flew back into the battle with a scared look on its face. The crowd booed but he didn't care at all. He would beat the annoying little prick if it was the last thing he did. Ash's eyes narrowed and he let out a growl that was heard over the speakers, startling some in the stands. His group glanced at one another, feeling slightly worried that Ash was on edge and they knew it was because of the douche bag trainer in front of him and that Sabrina was gone. Damian's words brought their attention back to the match. "You think I'm scared of you?! Think again! This is only the start! It's time for everyone to know who you really are!" he yelled and Ash's expression remained stoic but inside he became worried. His friends and family had concerned looks appear because they didn't know what Damian meant by that.
Shamus heard Damian and hit the 'Enter' key on his lap top's keyboard. The broadcast showing the battle was taken over and made to shrink to fit only half of whatever screen it was on, be it at the stadium, on TVs at people's homes or on other devices. Another video appeared next to it and began playing. "THIS IS BRITNEY SNOW OF KANTO NEWS…" Everyone who was watching became both surprised and confused as to why a news report would start playing right now in the middle of a match going on in the stadium. They watched with curiosity, turning their gazes back and forth to the battle and then to the screens. Many were asking their friends and families or even random people in the stands that they didn't know about the broadcast. Goodshow was on the phone already in the VIP room trying to contact his communications manager to get this fixed. The Champions in the room had gotten up and moved to the large window, looking for any suspicious signs in the stadium. They didn't want to be caught unawares by an attack again. Lance was even on his Poketch, contacting the guards stationed at entrances and exits to request an update. Steven was also thinking about why a report of hers would show up right now in the middle of the match? However, they all stopped what they were doing when they heard what the reporter said next. "BUT IS THERE MORE TO HIM THAN THIS RIGHTEOUS SIDE? IS HE HIDING A DARKER ASPECT OF HIMSELF?"
Those final two questions made Ash and his family and friends, no matter where they were, to widen their eyes and have a feeling of dread fill them. "Oh no…" whispered May.
"Is she really…" started Lizabeth but couldn't finish.
"She better not…" added Cynthia but went quiet over what the video showed next.
It was photo after photo of what Ash was doing at Club Indigo. It showed him drinking with his friends, dancing with so many different girls and making out with May in the middle of the dance floor. The girls went crimson and clapped their hands to their mouths, embarrassed over their personal lives being shared with the world. The parents and Natasha watching from the hotel were wide eyed, jaws dropped and in disbelief. Mewtwo and Sabrina sat up straight before leaning forward towards the screen, both of them frozen in shock over what was being aired.
Ash lost his concentration, distracted by the report, becoming both stunned and embarrassed. Damian took advantage and had his pokémon attack without mercy now. Ash's pokémon saw him out of it and decided to take things into their own hands while his ever loyal Pikachu tried to snap him out of it to no avail. Thanks to their training though, they were able to keep the battle going and not give them the upper hand. They would finish this match as victors for their trainer and friend. They would not let him lose because of such a cheap tactic to make him lose focus. And they had faced worse things but they made sure to keep abiding by the rules; they wouldn't cause a loss because of disqualification.
The broadcast continued on, not finishing and every single person at the stadium and those watching the match from all over had their eyes glued to the broadcast. "THIS MAY SEEM LIKE NOTHING AND HE'S JUST HAVING A GOOD TIME WITH FRIENDS BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM THAT WAY. HOW MANY FRIENDS DANCE LIKE THIS TOGETHER?" The report showed Ash and the four girls together, when they sandwiched him between them, making the five of them go crimson red. "THAT'S MISTY WATERFLOWER, MAY MAPLE, DAWN BERLITZ AND SERENA YVONNE. ALL CLOSE FRIENDS OF HIM WHO ARE POPULAR ATTRACTIVE GIRLS AND ARE FAMOUS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT. EACH OF THEM WAS SEEN TRAVELING WITH HIM AND JUST LIKE THE GYM LEADER OF CERULEAN, RUMORED TO BE WITH HIM AND IT SEEMS LIKE HE IS WITH ALL OF THEM AT ONCE. LOOKS LIKE HE'S FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE KARATE MASTER OF THE KANTO ELITE FOUR. BUT DOES HE ACTUALLY CARE FOR THEM THOUGH? OR IS HE JUST USING THEM FOR HIS BENEFIT WHILE LEAVING THEIR DESIRES TO ONE SIDE? REMEMBER HOW HE DISAPPEARED FOR THREE YEARS, LEAVING THEM BEHIND? THEY'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES TO FALL TO HIS CHARM THOUGH." The next image shown was of Ash and Sabrina in a close embrace, slow dancing together with their eyes looking into each other's. Sabrina went scarlet at seeing that made public knowledge. Her heart was hammering and she was hoping that her parents weren't watching the tournament right now. Unknown to her, they were watching back home, with amazed looks but were unable to do anything since they were completely surprised from seeing their daughter in such an embrace with the guardian. And on the TV no less. "SABRINA NATSUME, THE PSYCHIC PRODIGY AND GYM LEADER OF SAFFRON CITY. LOOKS LIKE RUMORS OF HER BEING A SHUT IN ARE FALSE." The image changed to Cynthia Shirona and him dancing together, making many people gasp that the famous, beautiful and powerful champion has finally been claimed after years of her rejecting many suitors. "THE CHAMPION OF SINNOH, CYNTHIA SHIRONA AS WELL HAS BEEN CAPTURED BY HIS CHARM AND THAT'S NOT ALL. CLAIR IBUKI, LIZA SIEG, AND GISELLE YUTO ALSO DANCED WITH HIM." The images changed to show the blunette gym leader, the green haired caretaker of the Charicific Valley and the valedictorian of the Pokémon Academy all dancing with him. The girls mentioned went red, embarrassed and angry over their personal lives being made out into the world. Lance even had his jaw drop at seeing how his cousin was dancing with the same man who won Cynthia's heart. Diantha looked at him with a worrying gaze, fearing that he had gone still and silent. Even Alder, Steven and Goodshow glanced at him before looking back at the broadcast when they heard Britney speak again. "SO WHAT YOU SAY? HE DESERVES TO HAVE SOME FUN AFTER SAVING EVERYONE? THAT IT'S NO BIG DEAL? THAT HE HAS EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE WITH SUCH WONDERFUL GIRLS BECAUSE OF WHAT HE'S DONE? THOSE ARE GOOD POINTS, BUT DOES THAT MEAN HE CAN DRINK TILL HE EXPLODES?" The next picture was of him drinking at the counter straight from a bottle. "OR START FIGHTS WITH OTHER PEOPLE?" The next image showed Ash in the middle of throwing Damian away from Leaf. "OR MAKING HIS FIFTH ROUND OPPONENT LEAF GREEN CRY?" The next image showed Leaf in the middle of the dance floor, tears going down her cheeks with Ash in front of her, his mouth open wide with an angry expression, obviously yelling at her.
The people in the stands and everyone in the world watching the broadcast and seeing the images were surprised to see that the tournament savior did such things. Almost all of them were thinking how could he do that? With nobody paying attention to the battle now and Ash being completely distracted and frozen, Damian was able to use some illegal moves that no one noticed him use to finally land hits on Ash's pokémon, causing them to cry out. Ash snapped his attention back to the match and refocused on the battle from his pokémon's cries. He retook control, giving out some orders but his pokémon were now both hurt and tired but they could keep going.
The broadcast continued on. "I WISH THIS WAS IT, BUT THERE IS MORE TO HIM THAT HE WANTS TO KEEP HIDDEN. WE'VE ALL HEARD HIS PLEA FOR HELP FROM THE SKY LIKE A GOD, ASKING FOR OUR ASSITANCE TO SAVE HIS FRIENDS. AND AFTER HE SAVED THE GIRLS, HE FACED THE SKULL BROTHERS. THIS IS WHAT HE DID TO THEM." New pictures and videos were shown of the battlegrounds of his fight with the horrible group. It showed the mangled and charred corpses of the four men and their pokémon, showing the men with limbs bent at odd angles and one was even impaled by a tree branch. It also showed the one with his skull smashed in the cabin. Many people let out cries of horror and disgust over the conditions the bodies were in. His family and friends knew he had killed them and saw the incredible lightning blasts. Even though the images shocked them, seeing what he did to them, they knew that they deserved it. But when they glanced around they saw that many were not showing that they accepted it. This caused them to be become greatly concerned, wondering how they were taking it. "WE EVEN HAVE LIVE FOOTAGE OF HIM EXECUTING THE LEADER OF THE SKULL BROTHERS." A video was then shown of Ash and the leader of the Skull Brothers, Edmond. It didn't show the part regarding Richie though. Instead it started with him holding up the leader from his throat and quickly showed him breaking the skull brothers' bones, slashing at him with his aura sword and then punched him so hard that he went flying into the railings. The video then showed him bring out his aura while moving his lips, talking but no sounds were heard before he fired his Aura Sphere at the man that vaporized him on contact. Almost everyone screamed out and had their eyes widen in shock with many even feeling disgusted over it. Ash was wondering how in the world they recorded that when Lucario took the camera from them. "THERE YOU HAVE IT. EVEN THOUGH THE SKULL BROTHERS WERE CRIMINALS, INSTEAD OF HANDING THEM OVER TO THE LAW, HE TOOK MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS AND RUTHLESSLY KILLED THEM. THIS SO CALLED SAVIOR OF THE TOURNAMENT, THE AURA GUARDIAN ASH KETCHUM, AKA THE BLUE SPIRIT, HAS SHOWN HIS TRUE COLORS AS A SELF-RIGTHEOUS, SELF-PROCLAIMED CHOSEN KNIGHT OF ARCEUS WHO PLAYS WITH GIRLS' HEARTS AND MURDERS THOSE HE DEEMS EVIL WITHOUT EVEN A CHANCE TO PROVE THEMSELVES INNOCENT OR CHANGE THEIR WAYS. WE MUST NOT LET HIS GOOD ACTIONS BLIND US FROM WHAT HE TRULY IS AND WHAT HE IS TRULY CAPABLE OF. I URGE YOU ALL TO THINK ABOUT THESE FACTS AND PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN DEALING WITH HIM. THIS IS BRITNEY SNOW OF KANTO NEWS SIGNING OFF." The report ended and the broadcast went back to fully showing just the match now in time for Ash's pokémon to deliver the finishing blow on their opponents, sending them into the stadium wall. They slid down with swirls in their eyes, unconscious.
"Swampert, Eelektross and Honchkrow are unable to battle. Trainer, send out your last pokémon!" said the referee, snapping out of his trance from the video and looking at the arena again. Normally, the crowd would have been cheering, shouting, making some sort of noise at this point but it was dead quiet. Nobody was making a sound, every single one of them thinking about what they just saw on the screens about the Aura Guardian. Ash's friends and family, whether at the stadium or not, were trying to stay calm but were having a hard time doing so. Delia was barely breathing, praying to Arceus that her baby will be alright and Natasha's heart was beating wildly, wondering what they crowd might do to him once they acted. Mewtwo and Sabrina watched the screen with fearful gazes, both of them too astonished to even function at the moment.
Damian returned his three pokémon and unclipped an ultra ball form his belt. "You may think you have this battle in the bag but you're wrong! Now's my chance! You better not lose! Go Dusknoir!" he said as he tossed the ball into the air. "Trick Room!" he ordered. Dusknoir's eye glowed red and the field was covered in a transparent grey force field, twisting the dimensions.
Ash's pokémon began feeling weird, unable to move as quickly as before while their opponent began moving around faster than them. It wasn't good that his pokémon were tired and hurt from Damian taking advantage of the report and using illegal moves either. They were becoming steadily more tired; holding back their power and getting cheap shots landed on them had taxed them more than they thought. And the twisted dimension they were in wasn't helping them either. "Stay focused guys! I know you can do it!" said Ash quickly, sensing his pokémon becoming uncertain of their abilities. His words encouraged his pokémon and they let out loud roars before launching attacks. Meganium launched an Energy Ball, Feraligatr fired an Aqua Pulse and Donphan fired an Ice Shard.
Damian smirked. He was waiting for him to make a mistake and there it was. "You just handed me the match! Psychic!" Dusknoir's eye glowed red once more and all three attacks were outlined with a grayish glow, halting them in their tracks. Ash and his pokémon were stunned at seeing that and so was everyone else. "Now send it back!" yelled Damian. Dusknoir sent the attacks back towards his enemies. The Energy Ball went flying towards Feraligatr, the Ice Shard went cutting through the air towards Meganium and the Aqua Pulse shot towards Donphan.
"DEFEND!" snapped Ash but his pokémon were unable to react in time because of the Trick Room. Each of them was struck by their allies' attack, enhanced by Dusknoir redirecting it and infusing it with the energy from the twisted space around the field. They went flying past him and crashed into the stadium walls, bringing up dust clouds. Ash was shaken and couldn't believe what just happened, motionless in his position and so was Pikachu, his eyes wide. The two and everyone else were waiting to see what happened to his pokémon. The dust clouds finally cleared and showed his pokémon, barely conscious but standing, covered in scratches and bruises. Taking a supercharged hit from their own comrades took a lot more out of them than from their opponents attacks earlier. Somehow, the crowd was still quiet and it was starting to become eerie with all the silence.
"Finish this Dusknoir! End them with Shadow Balls!" ordered Damian, seizing his chance to even the playing field, taking advantage.
"DODGE THEM!" yelled Ash. His pokémon tried to evade but the powerful ghost pokémon moved too quickly for them, aided by the Trick Room. He fired three dark colored balls of ghostly energy that raced through the air and slammed into the three pokémon and exploded, throwing them into the walls again. The three pokémon slid down the walls, unconscious.
"Meganium, Feraligatr and Donphan are unable to battle. Trainer, send out your last pokémon!" said the referee. Ash couldn't believe it. His friends and family couldn't believe it. The Champions and the President of the league couldn't believe it. Even the announcer was too shocked to even comment over the match. Nobody was expecting this to happen. They were waiting to see another incredible match before the young raven haired trainer won. But it wasn't so this time. The guardian's pokémon had lost and he only had one left. It was an even match now.
But Ash was frozen. He was looking at his fallen pokémon, unable to snap out of his trance that his pokémon had been knocked out by some douche bag trainer and it was this particular prick who did that. "Trainer! Send out your last pokémon or you will forfeit the match!" warned the referee. Pikachu patted his friend's head a few times, finally snapping him out of his trance. Ash returned his three pokémon, thanking them for their effort. The poke balls disappeared and he turned around to see Damian with a wild smirk on his face.
The young guardian was about to send out his last pokémon when someone shouted, catching his attention. "I HOPE YOU LOSE MURDERER!" Ash turned his gaze to the girl who shouted, who was leaning against the rails, her expression that of disgust. Ash's friends and family saw the pained look form on his face and they felt it but didn't know what to do.
Ash felt like he was stabbed, not believing what she just called him. "I'm not…" started Ash but was caught off by someone else shouting now.
"DON'T LIE!" he turned his gaze to see a middle aged man standing in another part of the stadium. "WE SAW THE PICTURES AND VIDEO HEART BREAKER!"
Ash felt his heart start thumping loudly and quickly. "That's not showing everything and you got it all wrong!" replied Ash. "There are things you don't…"
"WE SAW ALL WE NEED TO KNOW!" yelled another from the stands and Ash turned his gaze to a woman holding a child in her arms with her husband standing beside her, giving him an obscene gesture with his hand.
The raven haired trainer started shaking, sensing many hostile emotions spike up around him from the crowd. "Please let me explain…" pleaded Ash but was interrupted.
"YOU DON'T NEED TO! THEY SAW THE TRUTH!" shouted Damian, making everyone in the stands and Ash to look at him. "YOU STOLE MY CHARMANDER FROM ME! YOU STOLE PAUL'S CHIMCHAR AND SHAMUS'S TEPIG FROM THEM AS WELL! YOU PREVENTED ME FROM GETTING WITH AN INCREDIBLE GIRL FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH DESIRES AND THEN MADE HER CRY! YOU MURDER PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THEM AND YOU PLAY WITH GIRLS' HEARTS! YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF BEING IN THIS GRAND STADIUM! YOU WILL PAY FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE! I WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON!" yelled Damian and many from the crowd started making noise. They were insulting and booing Ash while cheering and encouraging Damian. More and more joined in until half the stadium was rooting for Damian, wanting him to end Ash for his crimes and sins.
"DA-MI-AN! DA-MI-AN! DA-MI-AN!" chanted the crowd.
"KEEP HIM FROM EVER PLAYING WITH A GIRL'S HEART!"
"TEACH THIS MURDERER A LESSON!"
"MAKE SURE HE NEVER HURTS ANYONE ELSE!"
"STOP HIS THIEVING WAYS!"
"MAKE HIM UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN'T BE FOOLED BY ONE ACT OF HIM SAVING US!"
Many people from the crowd who started supporting Damian began throwing items at the raven haired trainer. Ash covered himself up the best he could but was still bombarded by half eaten food, soda cans and other things. He was unable to move away, stuck where he was standing from all the insults and items thrown at him and how the people turned against him so easily. He was shaking even worse in his spot, sensing the incredible feelings of hate from the crowd. Never before had he felt so alone, so hated, so despised that he couldn't function. Paul and Shamus glanced at one another and let evil grins form on their faces while Damian felt child like glee but kept it hidden inside, his expression still that of seriousness. The three were feeling incredibly pleased with themselves, watching their most hated person have his world come crashing down thanks to their plan.
"STOP IT!"
"ASH!"
"GET OUT OF THERE!"
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
Almost everyone from Ash's group in the stands was trying to do something to help. They were standing and some were at the rails, shouting for him to get out of there. The others were trying to prevent the ones near them who took up Damian's side from throwing more things at their friend and beloved, causing them to get into a few fights themselves. Max and Bonnie wanted to help in some way but were scared themselves.
In the VIP room, Lance, Alder, Diantha, Steven and Goodshow were contacting every single member of the league security to come into the stadium to prevent a riot if it comes to it. At the hotel, Delia was crying and screaming, with Johanna and Grace in the room now as well, hugging her and doing their absolute best to comfort her while she prayed for Arceus to get her baby out of there. Natasha, barely having composed herself a little from her horrible experience, was breaking down again, crying, having many thoughts race past in her mind, fearing for savior's safety. Norman, Caroline and Oak were still in the living room, completely out of it and not knowing what to do to at all. Sabrina was feeling as if her heart was going to pop out of her chest, seeing Ash in the middle of a stadium with half of the spectators angry at him. Mewtwo tried communicating with Ash, asking him what he wanted to do but wasn't getting a response since he was too dazed to reply back to him.
Ash's group was unsuccessful in stopping the now frenzied and emotional spectators. Some people in the crowd who still believed in the guardian were trying to calm things down as well. Even though they tried to, they were unable to make the angered spectators see reason and got into a few fights themselves around the stands. "Oh my Mew!" exclaimed Lucy, watching fights spring up around them while her boyfriend Brock get shoved away from a man he prevented throwing another item at his brother.
"This isn't good…" commented Giselle sadly, covering her scratched arm that was slightly bleeding while looking around the stands. She was cut from glass shards flying all over the place when a thrown bottle from nowhere shattered against the railings next to her, Clair and Liza, who were also sporting their own minor injuries.
"We need to get him out of here. Now," advised Daisy Waterflower, seeing Ash rooted to his spot and unable to move while still receiving insults and thrown items. She wanted to protect him but didn't know what to do. She watched Pikachu zap a few of the thrown items away from him before Violet made her duck her head to avoid another thrown item.
"Before the crowd goes even madder," added Cynthia, pushing away someone who stumbled onto her.
But before they could do or say anything, Damian ordered his Dusknoir to attack and the ghost pokémon vanished from sight. "When did Ash send out a pokémon?" asked Max, looking around to see where it could be.
"He didn't!" cried out Bonnie, making them all gasp, figuring out Damian's intention.
Dusknoir reappeared in front of Ash, its hand swirling with dark energy, about to deliver a Shadow Punch. Ash was still lost from the people completely turning on him and didn't realize what was happening until the last second. Pikachu made to counter the attack but the twisted dimensions were still active, allowing Dusknoir to move faster than the two. Ash received the surprise attack in the chest and went flying into the stadium wall with Pikachu being thrown from his shoulder to the ground. He slid down the wall and landed into an unconscious heap on the ground, knocked out from his head hitting the wall. The crowd stopped their shouting and fighting, going silent immediately after seeing him struck down.
"ASH!" / "NOOO!" cried out his friends and family with each and every one of them filled with fright, shaking tremendously, whether at the stadium, the hotel or at Liza's cabin.
Pikachu grumbled a bit before getting up and shaking his head. He looked around and saw his friend lying on the ground, not moving. He shot to him. "Pikapi?" He shook him a bit but Ash didn't move. "PIKAPI!" shouted Pikachu and started shaking him harder but he still didn't wake up. Pikachu eyes watered, sadness filling him. He soon felt others kneeling beside him who were his eight girlfriends but the electric mouse kept his gaze on his friend. They had jumped down into the stadium and ran to him, their hearts beating wildly, unable to control the whirlwind of emotions they were feeling after seeing him get struck down by the ghost pokemon.
"Ash?"
"Please wake up."
"Please be alright."
Seeing the girls kneeling around the unconscious man made the stadium half that wasn't cheering for Damian or booing Ash to get up and get closer to the railings. Some of them were shouting for him to get back up while others were asking if he was alright. Others were commenting to one other that the report was true and that the young guardian was with several girls at once, since they were there checking on him. Some were utterly surprised to see the Champion Cynthia there, along with Leaf because of the images shown. Ash's group who stayed in the stands were leaning against the railings though and each of them were feeling a whirlwind of emotions inside them. The other girls who were hiding their feelings for the raven haired guardian were completely frozen in their spots, not knowing what to do.
The eight girls by Ash's side were doing their absolute best to wake him up but he was out cold. They could see a little bit of blood trickling out from the back of his head. Their minds went straight to the worst but Cynthia quickly pulled herself together and checked to see if he was breathing by placing her right index finger in front of his nostrils. She tensed up for a second, not feeling anything but then felt very weak air being blown over her finger. She looked at the other seven girls and gave them a reassuring look. They let out a collective sigh of relief over that before each one of them quickly became angry. "Damian Daisuke!" shouted Cynthia loudly. She stood up and whirled around, fury etched on her face. "As one of the Pokémon League's officials, Champion of Sinnoh, you are hereby disqualified for attacking another trainer with your pokémon!" Oh how I wish I can destroy you now! She wanted to have her Garchomp tear him apart right then but was controlling her anger for the moment. Many spectators and viewers, including her fellow champions in the VIP room, felt shivers go down their spines at her look of rage. It was a rare thing to see the normally calm and carefree Champion become so furious. Her sisters wanted to hurt him too but decided to let the Champion unleash her wrath while they tended to their beloved.
Damian was astounded that the Champion of Sinnoh would defend him. He didn't believe they were actually together but it seemed to be that she was. If she's with him, than that means she isn't strong! "Screw you Cynthia! You can't do that to me! Dusknoir was aiming for Pikachu! It's not my fault Ash was in the way!" shouted Damian defiantly, lying about what he did. "You think I'm going to let someone whose been brainwashed by him to follow his every word and to let him have his way with her to kick me out of the tournament?! He deserved that and much more after what he's done!" countered Damian. "I've done nothing wrong! He got in the way and as a result, I made a man who is a thief, a heart breaker and murderer to pay!" Some of the people in the stands murmured about that between themselves while others shouted out that they agreed and have Damian's back.
"You will pay for this!" shouted Cynthia, unclipping Garchomp's poke ball but then stopped. A sudden yellow glow caught her and everyone else's attention. They turned to see what it was and they all took in a sharp breath at the sight of what it was.
Pikachu was hunched over, his eyes narrowed at Damian and Dusknoir with his body glowing yellow. His cheeks were shooting out much larger sparks than usual. "Piiii…" growled Pikachu darkly, making many in the stands to feel shivers go down their backs. He moved to be in the field on Ash's side, signifying him as Ash's final pokémon for the battle.
"Pikachu?" asked several of the girls there in worried tones but the electric mouse did not respond. Instead, several streaks of electricity shot up from him and arced around him, scaring and surprising many.
"Dusknoir, end this with a Shadow Ball!" commanded Damian. His ghost pokémon fired the attack at the electric mouse. It hit the mouse and exploded but when the dust settled, he was still standing. He had some scratches but it looked like Pikachu wasn't even feeling them and even took a few steps forward. "No way! Again!" Dusknoir fired again but at the last second, Pikachu vanished from sight and reappeared in the middle of the field, the attack hitting the ground instead. "What the…Shadow Ball again!" But again Pikachu dodged. "How?! He shouldn't be faster…oh shit!" That was when Damian noticed that the Trick Room had worn off. "Dusknoir! Use Trick Room again!" Dusknoir's eye glowed red and was just about to twist the dimensions again but a wicked Thunderbolt lighted him up. "DAMN IT!" cried out Damian, seeing his final pokémon unable to get the field move done. "Use Shadow Punch!" Dusknoir vanished from sight, escaping from the electric attack. He reappeared behind Pikachu and shot his fist forward but was intercepted with an Iron Tail infused with electricity from the mouse.
"Impossible!"
"No way!"
"How did he do that?!"
The crowd was astounded in seeing a Shadow Punch intercepted. It shouldn't be possible. Even Ash's group and the VIP persons had their jaws drop. Pikachu narrowed his eyes even more, letting out more electricity. The stray bolts hit the ghost pokémon and made him wince. "Piii…" growled Pikachu again. He pushed Dusknoir away with his tail and vanished from sight once more.
The blue haired man couldn't believe what was happening, seeing his chance for victory slipping through his fingers like water seeping through a cup's cracks. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" shouted out Damian in frustration.
Pikachu reappeared behind Dusknoir and hit him with his tail covered in a metallic sheen cackling with electricity, making the large ghost pokémon go sailing through the air. But he wasn't done yet. Pikachu vanished again and reappeared in Dusknoir's path, hitting him again and sending him flying back the other way. The electric mouse kept this up, making his victim go around the field like a pinball, using an Agility and electric Iron Tail combo. He did that a couple more times before sending him flying high up into the air. The yellow mouse stopped right underneath Dusknoir who was still climbing higher up into the air, his cheeks sparking out a great amount of electricity. "PIKAAA…CHUUUUUUUU!" A large column of electricity shot down from the sky and slammed into the ghost pokémon, lighting him up like a Christmas tree. The ghost writhed around, letting out high pitched shrieks of agony for a moment, making numerous people shut their ears before the attack finally ended. Dusknoir fell from the sky and crashed into the ground, bringing up a large dust cloud. The cloud cleared up a moment later and showed a severely weakened Dusknoir barely standing up. The only reasons why said pokémon was still conscious was because of his incredible natural defenses and that Pikachu had only gathered a little bit of extra energy from the air with his quick charge to give him a boost since he was tired out from his time with Glaceon and Buneary.
"Dusknoir! Pulverize that rat or you will suffer for your lack of determination!" shouted Damian, losing his cool and some of the people in the stands noticed. His ghost pokémon attempted to launch a Will-O-Wisp but couldn't gather the energy needed for it. Damian saw Pikachu engulf itself in electricity and shoot towards his pokémon, using Volt Tackle. If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me! "Destiny Bond!" shouted Damian. Dusknoir's eye glowed red the instant the electric train that was Pikachu slammed into him, causing a large explosion that brought up smoke over the entire field. The girls covered Ash's body with their own while turning their gaze away from the smoke and dust.
"GOOD LORD!" shouted the announcer. He seemed to have finally recovered to comment on what was going on in the arena. "WHAT AMAZING POWER AND SKILL FROM PIKACHU! WAS DUSKNOIR ABLE TO CONNECT THE DESTINY BOND BEFORE THAT EXPLOSION?" His words made everyone wait impatiently, wanting to see what the outcome was. The smoke finally cleared after a while. They saw Pikachu and Dusknoir both out for the count. The Destiny Bond was made in time.
"Pikachu and Dusknoir are both unable to battle. This match is a draw. This would necessitate a sudden death one on one match. However, because the red trainer used the prohibited move of 'Destiny Bond' when there are only two pokémon left and attacked the green trainer directly and purposely with his pokémon, he has broken the rules. As stated before by the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia Shirona, because of your actions Damian Daisuke, you are disqualified and have lost the match. The winner of the match is Ash Ketchum by default," said the referee, raising the green flag.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN YOU COCK SUCKER?! I WON THAT MATCH!" shouted Damian, fuming but the referee ignored him.
Several league officials came into the field finally from the trainer entrance behind the blue haired trainer and went to Damian to restrain him. The crowd had gone hostile over what happened. They were shouting, screaming and yelling. Some of them even got into a few fights, pushing and hitting each other. Half of them wanted Damian to advance while the other half wanted him to be arrested for hurting the Aura Guardian. The remaining ones of Ash's group tried to calm the ones near them in the stands but also got into a few fights themselves.
A bright white light flashed in the field that drew everyone's attention while someone shouted out a command. "TORTERRA! RAZOR LEAF!" A large green and brown turtle pokémon appeared in front of Damian and shot dozens of sharp leaves towards the officials. The attack cut many of them, sending them down onto the ground, groaning in pain. The others took cover and drew their poke balls to send out their pokémon but were unable to because of the still flying leaves at them.
"EMBOAR! ROAST THAT RAT! FIRE BLAST!" Another bright white light flashed in the field. A large red and black bipedal fire pig appeared and began inhaling a large amount of air before spewing out a large five pointed fire attack at the fainted mouse. The powerful fire attack drew everyone's attention and time seemed to slow down as the scorching flames got closer and closer to the unconscious yellow pokémon. Right before the flames engulfed its victim, something came in front of Pikachu and took the attack for it, drawing up smoke. "What the…" started Shamus but was silenced by a menacing growl coming from inside the smoke.
The smoke cleared to show a large and long blue and yellow serpent pokémon coiled in front of Pikachu. Misty's Gyarados had taken the hit for him. The atrocious pokémon straightened out, lifting its angry gaze high above him, uncoiling itself while revealing his red haired trainer who was standing behind him. She was cradling the electric mouse in her arm with a livid expression on her face. The tyrant of the sea drew its head back before bellowing out a loud roar. It was so loud that it made everyone close their ears. When the roar finished, an angry voice was heard from the red haired mermaid. "HOW DARE YOU ATTACK THE LOVE OF MY LIFE AND HIS POKÉMON LIKE THIS!" screamed Misty, shaking with fury. Her admittance to loving the young man made many gasp and some to even comment that they knew it. Her death glare at Paul, Damian and Shamus made the three take a step back and many in the stadium gulped at her furious demeanor.
The three however quickly composed themselves and brought out several poke balls. "FUCK YOU TRAMP! YOU'LL GET THE SAME TREATMENT!" shouted Damian before the three tossed out all of their poke balls into the air and had their pokémon take up a battle positions. "HE DESERVED THAT AND YOU'LL GET IT TOO!"
"YOU'LL PAY FOR INSULTING HER AND FOR HURTING ASH!" shouted Leaf, catching his and everyone's attention. They turned to her in time to see her and the rest of the girls toss out a poke ball each and had one of their most powerful pokémon take up battle positions. Garchomp, Blaziken, Togekiss, Delphox, Venusaur, Metagross and Tyranitar appeared beside Misty's Gyarados. Each of the pokémon were feeling their trainers' angered state, growling loudly at their opponents.
Seeing this happen, the elegantly dressed champion turned to his fellow champions. "Shouldn't we stop this?" asked Steven to the others in the VIP room.
Alder shook his head. "Are you really going to try and stop pissed off girls?" he asked and Steven shook his head, saying he has a good point.
Lance however wanted to intervene but Diantha grasped his hand when he made to unclip his Dragonite's poke ball. He looked at her and she shook her head slightly. "Let them handle it and one of us is there. She knows what to do," she advised. Lance thought about it for a few seconds before agreeing. She smiled at him. "You're doing the right thing." He sighed and nodded slightly before returning his attention to the arena.
Paul, Shamus and Damian glanced at one another, not expecting them to fight back, especially Cynthia. Regardless, they nodded and were just about to order their pokémon to attack when more flashes of white light were noticed in the field. The three men and the eight girls turned to see who was responsible for it.
Clair, Liza, Lizabeth, Shauna, Giselle and Daisy Waterflower had jumped into the field as well and sent out their pokémon who lined up on one side of the field. Kingdra, Charizard, Gorebyss, Medicham, Marowak and Dewgong were eying their foes with angry expressions on their faces, mirroring their trainers. The six girls didn't care at that point whether or not their crush on Ash was found out. All they wanted to do was punish the three for hurting the man they fell for and to help out their friends and family. The eight girls were surprised to see them there as well for a split second but quickly pushed it aside and felt much appreciation for the reinforcements.
The stadium had gone eerily silent once more, anxious to see what was going to happen. The three disrespectful trainers were glaring and growling at the two groups of pissed off girls with their large group of pokémon in front of them doing the same. They would not lose to a bunch of girls. The battle between the three and the girls was about to commence between them when all of a sudden…
"ENOUGH!" Everyone in the stadium froze after hearing the loud voice. They then noticed a pink glow above the stadium and after concentrating on it for a little bit, they saw that it was the psychic prodigy and gym leader of Saffron City, Sabrina Natsume. She was levitating in the air, her eyes glowing blue with a pink glow around her, wearing her trademark red outfit. Her hair was floating and a rage filled expression was on her face. Her friends were looking up at her with awe while everyone else was becoming frightened at what they were seeing.
Before Sabrina appeared at the stadium, she was at Liza's cabin still with Mewtwo. Both of them were horrified at first at what happened to Ash. They were transfixed by it, unable to process what had happened and what was continuing to happen at first. Mewtwo snapped out of it when Misty had her Gyarados take the attack for his comrade Pikachu and became angry with his eyes glowing blue. He wanted to teleport to his friend's side and completely wipe the floor with the three assholes. But then he sensed a great power next to him and his attention shifted to that.
Sabrina was shaking from the incredible fury that was filing her, the pink glow around her shining very brightly. She levitated up into the air in the cabin. "Those bastards will pay for this!" she screamed, attempting to teleport to the stadium at once but was unable to. "Let me go Mewtwo!" roared Sabrina, turning her angry gaze to the psychic feline. "I will not stand by idly and watch them hurt the only man I will ever love and sully his name!"
Seeing her in such a state made the purple feline realize something. They couldn't just go and decimate them as that would cause more problems. Mewtwo levitated off the couch as well and looked at her. "We will go together but you must control yourself. I am beyond furious but we must not act in such a way to cause more anguish to him. And you know as well as I do that he would not want you to do anything too rashly." It took a moment for that to sink in but Sabrina nodded and the two teleported to the stadium.
The dark haired psychic beauty was glaring at everyone in the stadium. Nobody dared move, seeing her in a pink sphere of energy. They had never seen her so angry and some were thinking of the rumors of her being a monster were true. "You have shamed yourselves!" yelled Sabrina, her voice loud and echoing. Her pink glow brightened and sent out a wave of psychic energy over the stadium that made everyone except her group of friends to flinch. "You have turned your backs on your savior over a half truth report and aren't even giving him a chance to explain! You call yourselves decent human beings?! You're acting like rabid animals!"
"Who are you to tell us what we are doing is right or wrong?!" shouted one of the spectators in the arena and Sabrina turned her gaze to him. "You're on his side! You're one of his whores! Why should we even listen to you?! You've been brainwashed by him!" he shouted with several people voicing their agreement with his words.
The dark haired girl's eyes narrowed at him, making him gulp. "Apparently you are the one who's been brainwashed! You have forgotten that I am Sabrina Natsume! No one can alter my mind and I am no whore you foul mouthed man! And you have forgotten that Ash Ketchum risked his life to save you all from the stadium attack! That he is an Aura Guardian! He cannot be one if his heart was impure!" The man who shouted was silenced from humiliation and fear. "Have you forgotten that the Skull Brothers were one of the most wanted dangerous criminals in the world? That they have killed, raped, stolen and much more?! An Aura Guardian's job is to keep balance in the world but also to deal justice in the name of Arceus since they are his Knights!" The people in the stadium started second guessing their actions over what they heard from the broadcast. They glanced around, looking at the people they were arguing or fighting with, some of whom were hurt and bleeding. Some of them showed guilty looks while other's looked confused. But many of them were still unconvinced. "You have allowed yourselves to be easily swayed by another and instead of thinking for yourselves, allowing their words to control your actions and thoughts!"
"Will you shut the fuck up you damn bitch?!" shouted Damian and Sabrina looked at him. "He stole my Charmander from me! He stole Paul's Chimchar and Shamus's Tepig from him!"
"Is that so?" asked Sabrina, still floating in the air. "Then perhaps you can prove that."
"I don't need to prove anything!" spat Damian, with spit flying out of his mouth. "I said it happened and that's that!"
"He's right! Ash has wronged us and he deserves to be punished for it!" added Paul.
"He is no better than the Skull Brothers!" shouted Shamus.
"Then let us see the truth!" shouted Sabrina and her eyes glowed a brighter blue. Damian, Paul and Shamus were outlined in pink glows before three large blue spheres appeared above their heads. The stadium crowd and everyone else back home gasped but most of Sabrina's friends knew what she was doing. She was bringing out their memories. "Let us see your proof from your memories!" The three blue spheres cleared up and showed images.
Damian's memory sphere showed him training Charmander without taking a break, yelling and shouting at him. He then had him battle in a weakened condition and he lost against a much stronger pokemon. He got angry at the fire type and told him to stay on top of a boulder, saying he'll come back for him. It showed him walk a long distance away before stopping at a pokémon center and met up with his friends. He then bragged about his other pokémon and when they asked him about his Charmander, he told them he lied to him and said he'll come back for him later but wasn't intending to do so. He then stated that he might die from the coming rainstorm and hoped that would happen. The rest of his memory showed Ash, Brock and Misty scolding him for his actions before he tried to get Charmander back by lying to him after seeing him toughened up. But when the fire type refused, he tried to attack him but the orange lizard fought back and sent him running away, crying for his mommy.
Paul's memory sphere showed him training his Chimchar. Or more accurately, abusing him. He had his other pokémon launch their strongest attacks on him, to make him learn how to dodge and gain resistance but the inexperienced fire type couldn't do it. He had his pokémon beat the small fire monkey to within an inch of his life. Seeing him not able to get back up, he called him weak and released him by crushing his poke ball but not before Ash, Brock and Dawn scolded him for his actions. He then told Ash he could have the pokémon because they were both weak before leaving the area.
Shamus's memory sphere showed him with Tepig trying to train him to get stronger with his Emboar but the fire pig was having issues. Shamus decided to release him, lying to him that it's for the best but he kept coming back to him. After several times of telling him to leave, he got fed up and tied him up against a lamp post and walked away. It then showed him battling against Ash Ketchum in a double battle with his old pokémon. Tepig didn't want to battle against Shamus, thinking he still cared for him. That was when Shamus revealed the truth, saying that he only says that so the pokémon will think he cares but he actually doesn't. After losing the match to Ash, he told Tepig, who had evolved into a Pignite, that he was just kidding and should come with him since he couldn't forget him but was instead met with a Flamethrower to his head, making his hair catch on fire.
Everyone watching their memory spheres was appalled at what they had done. They couldn't believe what they did to those poor pokémon and that they fell for their claim of having their pokémon stolen. After seeing the memories, the blue spheres vanished and the pink glow around the three disappeared. "Thank you for the proof. It looks like Ash did take your pokémon from you," started Sabrina. "But it was because you didn't want them anymore and you were mistreating them! And the pokémon chose him, not you and you're feeling bitter because of it! You will pay for your crimes against pokémon and for hurting the man I love!" yelled out Sabrina as a psychic wave of energy exploded from her again but this time towards the three and their pokémon. They were thrown off their feet and landed hard onto the ground. Sabrina's final sentence and action shocked the crowd and everyone watching had their eyes widen from that, including her friends. She sent out her Alakazam who instantly took up a battle position the second he appeared beside the other girls' pokémon.
The three and their pokémon stood back up, shaking with rage at their humiliation. "Screw you Sabrina! I won't let you get away with showing my memories and ruining my plan for revenge! You think we're scared of you?! We'll defeat you and make you do as we want!" shouted Damian.
"You can't take us all on your own no matter how powerful you are!" said Paul.
"We're going to defeat you all! We swear it!" finished Shamus. The three glared at the psychic and the girls who glared back at them with furious looks. "Attack!" shouted the three at once and their pokémon launched themselves towards the girls' pokémon who sprinted forward. The pokémon slammed into each other and started battling ruthlessly with their trainers giving out commands. Everyone watching the confrontation was flabbergasted as to what the final eight round match up turned into. They were viewing the chaotic battle with unblinking eyes and unable to make a sound.
When Sabrina first appeared, Mewtwo had hid up in the clouds just like during the stadium attack. He wanted to make an appearance and tear them apart himself or at least crush their minds. But he didn't because he knew his friend wouldn't have wanted that. Instead, he assisted Sabrina in bringing out the three's memories. When the memory spheres were formed and everyone's attention was on it, the psychic feline teleported to his friend's side while invisible and attempted to wake him back up by diving into his mind.
When Ash hit his head against the stadium wall he blacked out, going unconscious. He saw only darkness until a bright white light appeared, blinding him. It slowly dimmed down until he was able to open his eyes and he found himself back at the pyramid like temple. He was wondering why he was there until he heard the soft angelic female voice again. "Your choice…you will have to choose soon…"
"Can you stop saying that?!" asked Ash with annoyance.
"Your choice…will either improve your odds or stack them against you…"
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"Ragnarok…is too powerful…"
"You know who or what Ragnarok is?!" he asked.
"Yes…" answered the voice.
"Then tell me who or what he is! Tell me how to find him, how to defeat him and I'll be able to save everyone!" pleaded Ash.
"Ash! Wake up damn it!" Mewtwo's voice was suddenly heard as it echoed around the area.
"Mewtwo?" Ash glanced around, wondering where he is.
"He is not here," informed the voice. "And he cannot come here."
"Why not?! Where am I?! Who are you?!"
"ASH! WAKE UP! THE GIRLS NEED YOU!"
He heard Mewtwo's angry and concerned tone of voice and felt fear fill him. "I have to go back! Let me go back!" shouted Ash.
"Your beloved is fine for the moment," said the voice as a third golden mirror appeared.
"How do you know?" asked Ash as he moved towards the third mirror. "And what do you mean by 'beloved'? I have more than one girlfriend that I love with all my heart," clarified Ash. The mirror glowed before showing what was happening in the stadium. Ash saw his girlfriends and the other girls battling together against the three. They were not going easy at all on them and Ash saw the enraged expressions on the girls' faces. Note to self…never piss off the girls.
The girls were kicking the asses of the three men, knocking out their pokémon with ease, their skill and power quickly shown. Even though they were outnumbered, they were working together to take them down. It also helped that each of them was powerful in their own right. There were four gym leaders, one Champion, two top coordinators, a pokémon performer, a Charizard expert, five strong trainers and a Battle Frontier Brain among the group of girls. Soon enough, they had knocked out the final pokémon, which was Paul's Torterra. None of the girls lost a pokémon in their group. Sabrina floated down to stand among her friends but her pink glow was still visible.
"No fucking way!" fumed Paul.
"You must have cheated!" accused Shamus.
"You'll regret this!" shouted Damian.
"Don't hold your breath," replied Sabrina coldly and made the three of them drop to their hands and knees with her psychic powers. "As gym leader of Saffron City, I'm placing you three under arrest. Take them," ordered Sabrina to the league officials. The officials moved out from behind cover to the three men and took out handcuffs while the others tended to the wounded. Seeing them pacified, Sabrina stopped using her powers and her eyes returned to their pink color and the pink glow around her faded away. She returned her Alakazam and so did the other girls with their pokémon.
The girls went up to her and thanked her for her help and said they were glad that she came back. She thanked them for their kind words and they turned around to go towards Ash, seeing him still on the ground. Sabrina sensed something beside him, realizing it was Mewtwo and thought he was probably just guarding him or trying to wake him up. She was about to try to contact the psychic feline mentally when she heard shouts and yelling. She and the girls whirled around and saw Damian, Paul and Shamus making a break for it, running towards the trainer's tunnel with the officials on the ground groaning in pain. "Where do you think you're going?!" she growled as her eyes glowed blue. The three had pink glows outline them before being forced to stop. They tried to resist her psychic power, gritting their teeth and struggling as much as they could. But it was no use. "You can't run from this! You will go to jail for your actions!" shouted Sabrina from her position.
"That's what you think you slut!" replied back Shamus through gritted teeth.
"It's either us or them you bitch," threatened Paul.
"Did you honestly believe we wouldn't have a backup plan?!" asked Damian.
"What are you talking about?!" asked Sabrina, worried and so was everyone else.
She was just about to read their minds when they cut her off. "EXPLOSION!" shouted the three, focusing all of their willpower to yell it out.
Three poke balls opened in flashes of white light on the field. They had left them there when they were made to kneel and then freed from the psychic grip with no one noticing it since everyone was lost in their emotions. Electrode, Muk and Weezing appeared before each of them glowed a bright white, getting ready to self destruct. Everyone had their eyes widen and many terrified screams and shouts were heard. No one could believe what the three were willing to do to get what they wanted. Seeing what they had planned angered Sabrina and she slammed the three against the wall with her powers, knocking them out. She was about to teleport the three pokémon away from the stadium when they let out the powerful energies from within before exploding in close proximity to the girls and the pokémon league officials.
"NOOOO!" shouted Ash, as he grabbed onto the golden mirror with fear and rage whirling around inside him while stuck at the temple.
Time seemed to stand still for a split second after the explosion occurred but before it made its way towards everyone with each person thinking many different things. The girls thought that they had failed their beloved and each of them couldn't think of what to do. They couldn't out run it since they were so close to the pokémon. All they could do was close their eyes and wait for the blast to take them. They could feel the heat from it, making them sweat. They knew that the powerful force of it would gravely hurt them if not kill them. Mewtwo reacted too late to stop the explosions himself or to teleport them out of the way since he was preoccupied in trying to enter Ash's mind and get him to wake up. Their friends and family thought that they would see them being killed in front of them. The people in the stands were thinking how did things come to be this way. The Champions and President were livid at what was occurring in front of their eyes and how they were unable to help. The parents and Natasha in the hotel were left in teary states, their eyes glued onto the screens with their mouths left open after letting out screams of fear and shock.
The girls waited for it to reach them as they heard the screaming and shouting continue from the people in the stands. A few seconds passed with the screaming and shouting dying down but they didn't notice anything else. They thought they should have been engulfed by now by the devastating energy. Each of them opened their eyes and they saw a sight that made them gasp.
The psychic prodigy was standing in front of the blast, her pink glow around her with her hands stretched out in front of her. A pink barrier was formed around the blasts. She had contained the explosions and was keeping them from expanding and hurting anyone. They couldn't believe what they were seeing and neither could anyone else.
Ash was feeling like his heart was going to pop out of his chest and he was trembling with fear over what could happen. "Please let me go! I need to go help her! Help them! I can't lose them! I love them! Please!" begged Ash, unable to look away from what the golden mirror was showing.
"You are mistaken," said the voice while he continued looking into the mirror. "They will be fine. And there is no them. The girls who are with you now are all just…"
"ASH! WAKE THE FUCK UP!" Mewtwo's echoed shout cut off the voice's words.
The young guardian composed himself, tearing his gaze away from the mirror and looked around for a way out with rage filling him. "You're wrong! I don't care what you have to say! Let me go! I need to go and help them! I cannot let them get hurt! I love them! And I will not let you keep me from saving them!" roared Ash and his eyes glowed a bright blue…
Sabrina was concentrating all of her power to contain the swirling white energy released from the three pokémon. She began struggling a bit until she felt an incredible power start assisting her in containing the explosions, helping her steady the shield.
NO MEWTWO! DO NOT HELP ME!
Though he was still invisible by the young guardian's side, he had a shocked expression form on his face. Why?
Because…I messed up! I need to fix it! I have to do this!
Understanding her, the legendary pokémon stopped assisting her and the full pressure of containing the blasts hit her hard but she maintained it for the moment. She couldn't believe what the three chose to do. It angered her so much that she was starting to have difficulty keeping her focus on containing the blast, causing her pink glow around her to flicker. Her friends screamed in fright and shouted encouragement seeing her struggle. Sabrina felt her heart beating wildly, fearing that she would let them down. She couldn't let them get hurt and so refocused on the task at hand. I will not let anything happen to them! And I will prove to everyone right now how strong I am! Her eyes narrowed before the blue glow in them brightened strongly and she made the barrier stronger. The pink glow of the barrier became so bright that many had to shield their eyes from it.
After containing the white blasts in her pink shield, she maintained it as the powerful energy whirled around within it. After a moment, the energy began slowing down and the white glow began fading away. Sabrina could feel her body and mind screaming in protest over what she was doing. A little bit of blood began trickling out from her nose but she didn't stop. The white energy dome inside the pink barrier was shrinking as it used up the energy from within. It kept becoming smaller and smaller until finally there was nothing left inside the shield except for the three fainted pokémon who had self destructed following their trainers' orders. Seeing the explosions finally gone and no more danger present, Sabrina relaxed. Her eyes returned to their pink color as the barrier and the glow around her faded away. She dropped her arms before falling backwards with her eyes closed, unable to keep herself standing because she used so much of her power.
But she never reached the ground. The dark haired psychic beauty was caught in mid fall. She barely felt a pair of arms wrapped around her and she was sitting up with her back leaned against a body. She opened her eyes slowly and saw a pair of caring brown eyes feasting on hers, making her heart flutter. The raven haired guardian was the one who caught her and she was being cradled in his arms. He had woken up in time to see her stop using her powers and shot to her. "A-Ash…" She weakly raised her hand to his face and cupped his cheek. "I-I…" She coughed as more blood escaped from her nostrils, closing her eyes since the pain was too great. She had used more power than she ever did before causing her to damage herself greatly.
"Don't talk Sabrina. Just relax," replied Ash softly as he grasped her delicate hand in his strong one. He lowered their hands to her stomach and rested them on it. His hand glowed blue and pulsed out healing aura over her. The gym leader had her body glow blue and the stadium became silent, watching what was occurring with waited breath. For several long and quiet minutes, he pulsed out healing aura onto her until her breathing evened out and the color returned to her face. He stopped the healing and the glow faded away. "Sabrina?" he asked as he caressed her cheek. A moment later, her eyes opened slowly and looked into his. "Oh thank Mew." He hugged her tightly and she returned the hug. "I'm so glad that you came back and you're alright," he told her.
Sabrina felt her heart skip a beat when she heard his relieved tone of voice before she became filled with emotion. "I'm glad that you're alright too. I'm sorry for leaving and that you had to go through all this," she said softly in a whisper, her head resting against his chest.
Before they knew it though, the two were taken up into a group hug by all the girls on the field in the middle of the whole stadium. Neither he nor his girlfriends cared if people knew about them or their special situation. They had almost lost one another again. And the other girls didn't care either if people started asking questions, whether from their own group of friends or from others. Luckily for them though, nobody was thinking about that right now. Many of the people there and watching on their screens was just glad that nothing bad happened though some were still shaken up from what they just witnessed. When they separated, Ash looked at the girls for a moment before turning his gaze to the three men who he sensed was starting to stir.
Seeing them slowly get back up made rage fill Ash like it never did before. They weren't corrupted or dangerous criminals. No, they were simply jealous and arrogant trainers who didn't care about who they hurt in order to get what they wanted. The three men stood up finally and before they could do or say anything, an Aura Sphere was shot at their feet and exploded in front of them, making them stumble backwards. Damian, Shamus and Paul had fear fill them as they saw the smoldering spot on the ground. They raised their gazes and saw Ash with his eyes glowing a bright blue and glaring at them. "You pieces of shit!" shot Ash and his aura flared out like a roaring fire. It surprised the girls beside him but didn't hurt them. The crowd was beyond scared, not knowing what he was going to do.
"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" shouted Damian. The three tried to make a run for it, heading towards the trainer's exit. They barely took a few steps when a purple barrier appeared, blocking the exit. They skidded to a stop in front of it and whipped around quickly with fear evident on their faces in time to see the blue glow around Ash become so bright that it blinded them and many in the stands. But for some reason it didn't affect the girls beside him at all.
Ash let out an Aura Pulse that pushed them off their feet and made them collide onto the purple barrier before they dropped to the ground. Damian, Paul and Shamus barely got back up onto their knees, their hearts hammering within their chests, feeling intense pain. Never would they have guessed that this would be the outcome of their plan. Ash's aura flared out even more strongly around him, whirling around him madly. The girls beside him could feel the power radiating off of the young man but it didn't scare any of them at all. Instead it comforted them and soothed them as the waves of aura flowed over them that he was pulsing out. Ash raised his right hand above him and a bright blue ball of aura energy appeared in front of it while his left was still wrapped around Sabrina. "YOU WILL PAY FOR TRYING TO HURT THE ONES I LOVE!" He channeled energy into it and it kept getting bigger and bigger, quickly dwarfing any Aura Sphere he made in the past. He was beyond furious as to what they did and in his rage induced state, he didn't care anymore what the crowd thought of him. All he cared about was the ones he loves and cares about. It was by some miracle that the girls were unharmed by their careless actions. They will pay for their actions and it would be done right there.
The people in the stands started letting out frightened screams and shouts at what he was going to do and many were flabbergasted from it, seeing the powerful blue ball of energy become as large as Misty's Gyarados. Even his friends in the stands and the Champions in the VIP room were so shocked at what he was doing that they were stunned still in their places. Shamus, Paul and Damian were still on the ground, unable to fully get up since they were frozen with fear at the sight of their impending doom.
The Aura Sphere was hovering above them in the air, waiting to be released. The raven haired guardian was about to fire the Aura Sphere at them, intending to vaporize the three at once but was stopped all of a sudden. "No Ash. They're not worth it." He looked at the one who spoke in a soft voice, gazing into her pink eyes. He felt several pairs of hands placed onto him and he looked at their owners. His girlfriends Misty, May, Dawn, Serena, Leaf, Sarah, Anabel and Cynthia looked at him with worried expressions before wrapping him and Sabrina up into a group hug. Movement caught his eye and he glanced towards it. He saw Clair, Liza, Shauna, Lizabeth, Giselle and Daisy Waterflower had moved closer to them while giving him the same looks as his girlfriends were giving him as well. He turned his gaze towards the stands behind them and saw fear filled gazes looking back at him.
Ash became so conflicted at that point. He wanted nothing more than to vaporize the three for what they almost got away with. He was having a hard time controlling his anger, trying to calm down. "Don't lower yourself down to their level Ash." The raven haired guardian looked at the Frontier Brain. Anabel had sensed his confliction and wanted him to make the right choice, even if it was the harder one.
"Ash…" He turned his gaze to Sabrina now who was looking up at him. "You're better than them." She was giving him a look filled with her love for him that said it wasn't needed. He glanced at his girlfriends again and saw each of them giving him that same look. He felt himself calming down and he took in a deep breath. He then nodded at them before he snapped his right hand's fingers. The large Aura Sphere above them burst into countless blue sparkles, making the people in the stadium to shout in fright at first before they were awed into silence as they slowly floated down. Ash's aura died down and his eyes returned back to brown. His girlfriends thanked him for listening to their wishes and gave him another hug. The six other girls joined in on the group hug and they were welcomed into it. Their group of friends and family that were still in the stands snapped out of their stunned states, jumped down into the field and ran to them and joined them as well, glad that he didn't go through with it. But one of them remained behind…
Damian, Paul and Shamus were thinking of using the opportunity to run away but the purple barrier was still up and the league officials had surrounding them. Seeing no way out and that they had no other backup plans, the three surrendered. They handcuffed them and the barrier faded away to allow the officials to take them away. Seeing the three men under arrest and the large group of people in a caring display, the half of the crowd that was supporting Ash let out cheers and words of praise while the other half remained quiet. The group separated a moment later and looked around at the crowd.
They saw that many of the people in the stands were still confused, scared and lost, not knowing what to do or what to believe. Ash took the microphone from his shirt and spoke into it. "Everyone who is here and everyone else watching this please listen to me," said Ash, catching their attention. His group looked at him as he spoke. "Even after everything I have done for you, protecting everyone here at this stadium, many of you were easily swayed." The crowd shifted and murmured uneasily at what he was saying. "But I will admit this; I did kill the Skull Brothers." The crowd let out gasps, shouts of surprise and few even made rude remarks but he ignored them. His friends and family were worried about their reaction but Ash ignored it and continued on. "I killed them because they were dangerous, wouldn't change their ways even when I gave them a chance and they were threatening to hurt, rape and kill others." The people there and everyone watching heard his words and some believed it while others didn't, scoffing and commenting that he was lying. "I see that many of you still don't believe me. Very well. I'm not going to try to convince you even though some of you don't know what to believe anymore. But you must know these few things and no matter what happens, no matter what you see or hear, this will always be true," said Ash. The crowd was deathly quiet now with no one making a sound, wanting to hear what he was going to say. "I am an Aura Guardian. Even before finding out about my heritage, my entire life I have protected others and did all I can to help others. My purpose is to protect as Arceus's Knight and to keep the world from falling out of balance. To punish those who have wronged others if they will not repent and change their ways." The ones who turned on their savior glanced at one another, still afraid but also ashamed of how they acted while some of them still didn't believe him, not convinced at all. "Believe what you will. But I've done nothing wrong. And what I do in my personal life, who I'm with, whether it's one girl, many girls or no one at all, it is nobody's business but mine and the ones I'm with." The second Ash finished his speech, he dropped the microphone onto the ground and his group disappeared in blue glows from the stadium, leaving the stunned crowd behind.
They reappeared back in the hotel penthouse balcony. The parents all rushed to them seeing them appear and hugged their children, thanking Arceus that they were alright. Delia was squeezing the life out of her son, who was telling her that he couldn't breathe. She let him go finally and then she and the other parents took Sabrina into a hug, thanking her for saving everyone. Sabrina went quite red but told them that it was her pleasure to help out. When they separated, Mewtwo appeared beside them. Ash turned to him and gave him a grateful look. "Thank you buddy for everything," said Ash.
"No problem. But you must be more careful from now on," said Mewtwo.
Ash nodded his head. The purple feline looked at the psychic prodigy and she caught his gaze. The two gave one another a curt nod before the legendary teleported back home. Ash turned to Sabrina and drew her into a hug once more, who returned it with almost everyone else smiling at the two. "Thank you too Sabrina and please don't ever do that to me again," he told her.
"I promise," she said quietly.
A certain red head stepped forward. "Are you alright though Ash?" asked Misty.
He looked at her after separating from Sabrina. "I'm fine Mist."
"Are you sure?" asked May moving towards him and he looked at her now. "Because after what happened, we want to make sure you're alright."
Ash gave her a small smile. "Thank you for that my Princess but I'm alright." They gave him unconvinced looks and he sighed. "Look, I am disappointed, sad and angry but…I still have you with me safe and sound. That's all that matters to me." The girls smiled at him and took him up into a group hug once more.
When they separated, Norman stepped forward and cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. "So, now that we know you're all safe and sound, what's this about you loving Ash?" he asked Sabrina.
Sabrina went scarlet but didn't lower her gaze from them. "It's true. I've recently come to realize that I've loved him since the day he saved me from myself," she admitted. She turned to face Ash with her crimson face but he only smiled at her before grasping her hand, making her heart flutter.
Norman was about to say something but then his daughter cut him off. "It's alright Dad. We learned of it before all this crap happened and we approve of it," explained May with her sisters backing her up.
Everyone was expecting an argument, yelling or emotions being released. What they weren't expecting though were for the parents to just chuckle and nod. That made the group become confused until Caroline began explaining. "We were only going to say that we are alright with it as well if you are." They were stunned for a moment until they all started chuckling.
Ash turned to Misty again who was still cradling Pikachu. He placed his hand on his starter and pulsed out healing aura onto him. A moment later, Pikachu opened his eyes, stretched while yawning but then jumped into Ash's arms the moment he saw him. "PIKAPI!" said the electric mouse, nuzzling against his cheek with his own, happy to see him alright.
"I'm glad you're alright too buddy. Mewtwo told me what you did," said Ash and Pikachu gave him a thumbs up sign before going up to stand on his shoulder. Ash looked around at his friends and family. "I'm glad you're all okay."
"And we're glad that you have a tougher hide than a Tyranitar and a thicker skull than a Rampardos," joked Brock, making them all laugh, lightening up the mood.
"Very funny Brocko," replied Ash with a pout and they laughed harder. His pout went away and joined in. When they calmed down a bit, Delia told him to go take a shower and change his clothes because he had some dried blood on his hair and shirt. She also mentioned to go check on Natasha afterwards because she watched the match and was out of it. "Okay Mom but first I need to say something to you," said Ash to his girlfriends and to the six girls.
The others decided to give them some privacy. After everyone else left, Ash turned to the girls in the balcony again. "I wanted to say thank you for what you did, for sticking by my side and showing everyone what I mean to you. You don't know what that means to me," he told them. His girlfriends smiled at him before hugging him once more while telling him that they love him and would always be with him. The other girls smiled as well but also went red over his compliments. When they separated, Ash turned to the six. "I also wanted to say thank you as well for helping them out and I owe you big time. If there's ever anything you need, all you have to do is ask," he told them. The six girls thanked him but also said not to worry about it as they hugged him as well. Each of the six felt great comfort in his embrace and Ash felt something within their embrace too but couldn't dwell on it. Each of them wanted to tell him their feelings for him but didn't want to mess up the one good thing that was happening now for the day. When they separated, he told them that he was going to go clean up and check on Natasha while Pikachu jumped down and went to the living room.
After Ash left, the large group of girls talked amongst one another, thanking one another before six of the girls left. The other nine talked a bit more and told Sabrina of the rules. "Okay. That sounds fair to me," replied the psychic. Right afterwards, Sabrina got a call. She answered it and found out it was her parents. She spoke with them, reassuring that everything was fine and that she would explain everything tomorrow when she visited them. The girls kept silent while she spoke and after a moment, she said her bye and hung up. "Sorry about that," she told them. "Looks like I have a lot of explaining to do," she sighed.
"Looks like it. But you'll be fine Sab," assured Cynthia and Sabrina smiled a bit.
"Um, guys…" They turned to Serena. "About what happened in the stadium just now, did you notice how things just went so crazy? Is this how things are going to be when the war begins?" Her sisters sighed, shrugging and saying they don't know. "I don't either. But there is one more thing I wanted to bring up. I'm sure you noticed it too." They went silent, waiting for her to continue. "Well when we went into the stadium to help Ash and fight the three bastards…" She explained what she was thinking about and the girls listened to her. When she finished, they talked about that, some other things and made some decisions as well.
While the nine girls spoke together quietly in the balcony, most of the others filed into the living room. "Man, what a day," remarked Richie.
Joy wrapped her arm through his. "You said it, and it's barely night time."
"You know, after all that's happened today, we should relax a bit. You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Lucy and they all turned to her. "Movie?"
"Movie," they repeated, agreeing since it would help them relax and get their minds off of what happened. The group of friends and family sat down on the large and comfortable couches with some of them going to the kitchen to get some snacks ready like chips and popcorn.
Delia went to check on Natasha before joining them for the movie. "Hey Natasha," said Delia and the red head looked at her with puffy red eyes as she moved to her. She had been crying over what she saw on the TV. "Hey, it's alright. He's fine and he'll soon come see you okay? He's taking care of some things right now but he'll come before you go to sleep. Okay?" Natasha barely nodded but said no more. "Do you want me to stay?" she asked, drawing closer to the bed ridden girl but the red head shook her head. "Okay, do you want to watch TV or something?" Again she shook her head. She wanted to be left alone for a bit. She had a lot of thinking to do. "Okay. I'll come back to check on you a little later okay?" She nodded and Delia left the room.
Natasha turned to face the now off TV. Why did I become so concerned for him? she thought. I know that he makes me feel safe and secure. But…is there more to it? Why do I hesitate to say some things, even as a joke? What's going on with me? She thought a bit more about that but couldn't focus, her mind bringing up what happened in the stadium periodically. That made her shed some more tears over that and how she had to confess to him but didn't know how and when.
With Natasha thinking in her room, most of the group in the living room now as their movie started and the girls still in the balcony discussing some things, Ash was in the shower. He was just letting the hot water fall onto him now after scrubbing and washing himself. He used his aura to heal the cut on his head and now his head was hung and his hands were up against the shower wall. He was lost in thought, thinking about everything that happened that day. Sabrina's confession, searching for her, his battle against Damian, Britney's report about him in a negative light, how the crowd turned against him so easily, how he lost the match because he allowed himself to become distracted but will still advance because of Damian being disqualified and how he had almost lost the girls he loves so dearly because of the three wanting revenge. He felt anger spike in him but also something else; great sadness.
He couldn't believe how he had almost lost the girls he loves so deeply. And he couldn't believe how easily the people turned against him. He remembered seeing their disgusted looks at him, the way they were shouting at him, insulting him, throwing things at him. He started shaking from remembering the feelings of hostility, hate and how they despised him so. His anger was soon replaced with overwhelming sadness and not able to hold it in anymore, he just let go.
Ash started crying, his head still hung. The moment he allowed himself to, he just let it all out. He was holding in his emotions from before, not wanting to scare or worry the others, especially his girlfriends. But now that he allowed himself to while having some privacy, he couldn't stop. Heavy and fast tears were escaping from his eyes and were falling onto the shower floor. After all he had done, all the sacrifices, all the harsh training, all the risks he took and after saving so many lives in front of the whole world during the stadium attack and yet the public just turned on him just like that. Why? That was the only thing he thought as he continued sobbing. He became lost in it for a long time, crying his eyes out, thinking of the way they were looking at him with disgusted and scared expressions. They kept reappearing in his mind's eye, haunting him before he felt Dusknoir's punch again against his chest. He rubbed the area he was hit absentmindedly as he pictured himself getting hit again while the public merely laughed.
He felt even worse until something else formed in his mind that made him stop crying abruptly, though his tears continued flowing out. The images of his girlfriends flashed in his mind's eye, standing in front of him, shielding him from the wrath and ridicule of the people. He felt something different from his sadness spring up from within him, seeing that in his mind. Seeing their faces again made him calm down, feeling the love they have for him and he took in a deep breath before letting it out.
He took a couple more breaths like that and focused on his girlfriends. After some time, finally calming down completely, he remembered what they told him; that they would always love him and be by his side no matter what. He let out some last few tears as he focused on those words. They were there for me and showed how much I mean to them in front of the whole world. Do I even deserve such incredible girls to be with me? He thought of his girlfriends, their images still being seen in his head. He no longer felt sadness or anger. He felt love…but also of unworthiness. He felt that as well because he had failed them. He wasn't there to protect them from the three jackasses or to at least help them fight against them. Even though they handled themselves well, he never wanted them to get into harm's way. He had allowed himself to become distracted and get knocked out so easily.
That's when he remembered something else. It was what the voice told him at the temple; your choice… That made him think again of his actions. He began wondering if he made the right calls in the past. Everything did work out alright in the end but could things have been better? Could he have read the signs better to what was coming? Couldn't he have stopped everything before it happened? And what of his other choices? He shook his head suddenly after thinking some more. He didn't want to think about it all. He already had so much on his mind without adding into the mix of him thinking if his choices were the best ones made at the time. He could only learn from them if they weren't and move on. Dwelling on it wouldn't help him.
But he couldn't help it. His mind wondered around on that for a bit until he thought about the girls again and what they talked about earlier that day. It made him feel a little better, remembering all that they said to him. His heart beat increased a little in remembering the way each of them looked at him, their expressions filled with their love for him. He pictured them coming to his aid without hesitation. Even though he shouldn't be feeling that right now because of his failures that day, he felt a powerful wave of good feelings fill him. Each of them is so amazing and incredible. How could I be so lucky to be with them? He then remembered the other girls who were there besides his girlfriends. He thought about each one a bit, thinking of how incredible each girl was. As he thought of them he felt something stirring inside of him but before he could think about that, there was a knock on his bathroom door. He turned off the water to hear the words better.
"Hey Ash, your mom wants to know if you want some food?" asked Leaf.
He did his best to control his tone of voice so as to not cause any suspicion since he had barely recovered from his ordeal. "Sure. Thanks Leaf," he replied back as calmly as he could. He didn't want her or anyone to know of his insecurities and sadness. They had enough to worry about and he didn't want them to be even more worried about him than they probably are now. He got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.
"No problem. Now hurry up and get out or do I need to drag you out of there?" she asked with a slight teasing tone. The bathroom door opened suddenly, making Leaf fall forward since she was leaning against it. She ended up falling on top of Ash, letting out a squeak in fright.
"You know Leaf, if you really wanted to go at it, all you had to do was ask," teased Ash, deciding to joke to keep her from noticing his sad state and to get his mind off of what he was thinking.
Leaf opened her eyes since she had closed them during the fall. She looked into his eyes before looking at their position. She was on top of him with him lying on his back on the bathroom floor. He only had a towel on. She turned crimson and was about to move off of him when she stopped suddenly. "Ash? Are you okay?" she asked him. She had noticed his puffy red eyes.
He didn't want her to worry at all but also knew no matter what he said, she wouldn't believe him. He sighed before answering her. "I'll be fine Leaf. No need to worry."
"Are you sure?" she asked him. He nodded but she wasn't buying it. But she didn't want to force it out of him either. "Okay Ashy. But remember that you have your girlfriends, mom and friends who are here for you. So whenever you're ready to talk, we're here for you. Okay?"
Ash nodded. "Thank you Leaf." She smiled before suddenly feeling his lips on hers. Leaf sunk into it, returning the kiss. She could feel herself heating up from kissing him and she never wanted to stop. She felt his hand rub her side and his other go through her long hair. She felt like she was about to melt. She was lost in her feelings for the moment until she remembered how Delia was waiting for an answer.
She reluctantly separated from him and looked into his warm brown eyes. "That was an amazing kiss Ashy. Let's continue this later okay? Your mom's waiting for me," she told him in a whisper. He nodded, feeling better. Leaf got off of him and helped him up, with him making sure his towel didn't slip off.
"See you in a bit," said Ash. The two smiled at each other before sharing one more kiss before the brunette left the room. Ash got dressed and left his room a couple minutes later and headed towards Natasha's room. He saw his girlfriends watching the movie along with the rest and told them he'll join them soon enough when they looked at him and they quickly agreed.
When Ash entered the red head's room, he saw her sullen and scared with tear streaks on her face. "Natasha?! Are you alright?!" he asked her, hurrying to her side and sat down on the bed. She sat up as quickly as she could and hugged him. I was so worried about you. Your mom turned on the TV and watched your match with me because I wanted to see you battle. Ash was stunned that she was worried about him. "I'm sorry you had to see that and that you got scared. Please forgive me." I don't blame you. I'm just glad you're alright. I've noticed that you do your best to help others. Yet, many want to cause you anguish and pain. I can't believe that someone like you exists. Ash was starting to get really embarrassed, his face turning redder and redder. "I'm no one special Natasha. I'm just a guy who tries to do the right thing." Natasha withdrew from him in order to look into his eyes with her red pupils. Even so, you saved my life and are helping me deal with my problems with nothing to gain. There are none like you and I doubt there will ever be one like you. Ash turned crimson but smiled at her and she rested her head against his chest once more. "Thank you Natasha for your kind words. Anything you need or want, all you have to do is just ask." He rubbed her back a bit and she felt her heart beat a little faster.
Natasha loved being in his embrace. Whenever he was around, especially with his arms around her, she felt safe, secure and comfortable. She had found someone who she could be herself around and not worry if he had a hidden agenda or not. And he didn't care that she was raped and felt broken. That was worth more than anything else in the world. She was so worried about him when he was hit by the ghost pokémon and how the crowd was acting towards him. She never thought she would care about someone so much that she would feel their pain as her own. She wanted to tell him the truth but couldn't, not wanting to cause him more pain when he just had the public turn against him. And she didn't want to risk him leaving her. But if she didn't, she would risk losing him regardless during the attack…
Ash stayed with her and the two talked a bit more until Delia brought in some food for them both. Ash fed her soup while taking some bites of his own food as they continued talking. After feeding her, he gave her the medicine and took up his previous position at the top of the bed with Natasha leaning against him. She soon fell asleep in his arms and he gently lowered her back onto the bed and raised the covers to her shoulders. He looked at her for a moment before he wished her a goodnight and left the room.
When he entered the living room, he saw that the movie was about to finish. He glanced at his Poketch and saw that it was only 9pm. He was a little tired but he still joined them since they were about to watch the sequel. He sat between his girlfriends who cuddled against him the best they could and they all watched the movie with some laughs and some surprised reactions were made by the group because of some of the scenes. When the movie ended, the viewers decided to call it a night and go to sleep. As everyone got up, they noticed that Ash had fallen asleep on the couch, his head slightly hanging off to one side.
"Aw, he looks so cute all tired out and sleeping," cooed Dawn.
"He does. But should we leave him here or take him to his bed?" asked Cynthia.
"He should sleep on his own bed but I don't want to wake him," said Delia.
Sabrina stepped forward. "I got it covered." Her eyes glowed blue and she used her telekinesis to lift up Ash into the air.
"Thank you sweetie," said Delia and she replied back that it was not a problem as she gently carried him to his room.
"Should you be using your powers so soon?" asked a worried Sarah as she and her sisters followed after the two.
"I'm barely using any to tell the truth since I've very advanced with lifting things up. I've had a lot of practice doing this. Especially to Liza," revealed Sabrina as they entered Ash's room.
"Interesting. Why is that?" asked Leaf but the psychic told her that she really doesn't want to know and the girls chuckled.
Anabel opened the bed covers and Sabrina lowered Ash onto the bed, still fully clothed. Once on the bed, she stopped using her powers and Anabel covered him up again. "He looks so peaceful," commented the Frontier Brain as she looked at him sleep.
"He does, doesn't he? I just wish never to see him in such a horrible situation again," sighed May.
"You and all of us here too," added Serena.
"Hey, I don't mean to start something, but are we going to tell Ash what we decided tomorrow or later?" asked Leaf.
"We'll tell him tomorrow," replied Misty. "The sooner the better."
The girls agreed and then Sabrina spoke up. "Alright then. But I also think he shouldn't be alone tonight."
"Good idea," remarked Leaf. "Because there's something I think you all should know…" Leaf explained to her sisters what she noticed about Ash when she went to ask him about wanting food. When she finished, her sisters felt saddened by it.
"He should definitely not be alone. And I know just how to make things fair…" The girls listened to the psychic prodigy's suggestion and once she finished explaining it, her sisters agreed and left the room to follow what was said.
While the girls did what they agreed to do, the others in the group went to get ready for bed themselves. A few of them were already fast asleep in bed while some were waiting for sleep to take them. However, several were still awake, with many things going through their minds. One of which was the young pokémon researcher. He was staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything that happened that day to him. He couldn't believe that he and the girl of his dreams were done and never getting back together. He had messed up big time and there was no changing things. I've really hit rock bottom. How the hell did I let this happen? He let out a sigh and thought if how he had just did things differently then perhaps things would've ended up differently. No, it wouldn't have mattered, he thought while shaking his head. If it's one thing I've learned and seen with my own eyes is that if someone truly loves another, they will work through anything together. Just like Ashy-boy and his girls…
That was when he thought of how Ash's girlfriends ran to him to help him out. To protect him in the stadium when he was out cold. He never had any girl do anything even remotely close to that for him. Then again, he never really developed his so called relationships with girls before since he just got what he wanted from them and booked it. He then thought about how everyone in their group was so scared over him that they all jumped out of their seats in shock over what Damian did to Ash. He remembered how he glanced at Ilene at that moment, seeing her beyond scared at the sight of her Knight knocked out on the ground, with the image of her frigthtened and concerned filled eyes forming in his mind.
He wondered if she wanted to go to his side as well if he had been the one knocked out and that made him feel some jealousy spike in him. He shook his head, trying to not feel that. I have to stop. We're done. Ilene never loved me. Not like the way Ash's girlfriends do for him and he her. Gary thought about his old rival and his girlfriends some more. He thought of their special situation and how they got together. How they hid their feelings for one another in the past. How the girls held onto him, rejecting every single guy that they crossed paths with. How Ash never made them feel bad intentionally even though his denseness made them feel unnoticed. But then again, that was just who he was and the girls never really blamed him for that. He felt some anger now as well along with some envy fill him. How the fuck does he do it? How does he get these girls to be with him? How? What the hell is his secret? We're in fucking bizarro world I swear. It used to be me who can get with almost any girl I want without a problem but now…I'm the one who can't even hold onto one. What the fuck is wrong with me and what the hell do they see in him? Sure he's an Aura Guardian, powerful and whatever but still. What the fuck?! Gary thought more about that long into the night before finally he became too exhausted from over thinking too much and fell asleep.
In one of the other rooms with four girls in it, one was already fast asleep while the other three were wide awake and speaking quietly with one another. They had waited until the fourth went to sleep before talking since they didn't want her to know what they were talking about. Their conversation was about a certain raven haired young man, their feelings for him and what they could do…
"What do you mean?" asked the blunette suddenly after talking for a few minutes.
The green haired girl just sighed. "Do I have to spell it out for you Clair?"
Clair crossed her arms and glared at Liza. "Screw you. Stop being so cryptic," she said in a whisper.
"Hey, calm down you two," cut in Giselle quietly. The two girls glared at the black haired girl but she held her own stare at the two.
Liza sighed. "Alright, we'll behave." She glanced at Sabrina, seeing her still asleep before turning back to them. "Okay, I'll explain. I said I don't want to make a move on Ash because…well, I'm really happy for Sabrina." The two gave her 'okay, so…' looks. "I don't want to cause her any problems regarding Ash alright? She deserves this more than we do." The two became stunned at that. "I mean, she saved our freakin asses. And after all she's been through, out of all of us, she most of all should be with such an incredible guy like Ash and she is. She was accepted by the girls and their families. Do you think they'll accept us? It's getting borderline unbelievable with him having nine girlfriends now. As much as I want to be with him too, I'm not going to jeopardize it for her."
Liza's decision shocked both Clair and Giselle. Neither could believe that she would just give up without even trying to get a chance to get with Ash. "Are you serious?" asked Giselle.
Liza nodded. "I am Giselle. Sabrina deserves to be with him, to be happy. And honestly, even though I have feelings for Ash, I don't deserve such an incredible guy like him. I mean what have I done for him? And even if I did, I can't be with him," she admitted, hanging her head.
"What are you talking about?! What about what you did with us today?! How could that be nothing? And you know Ash isn't like that and what do you mean?" asked Giselle but Liza shook her head, not looking up.
That was when Clair remembered something and she gasped. "Wait, does this have something to do with that trainer who got the mega stone?" she asked. Liza slowly nodded but kept her gaze down. "You were going to tell us about that a while ago but never explained what happened." Giselle turned to the gym leader, giving her a confused look.
Liza sighed before looking up at the two. "Yes," she said, making both of her friends look at her with concerned gazes. "I've been trying to forget about it so I won't have to do it. But it looks like no matter what, its looks like I'm going to have to regardless. And it will help me not get in Sabrina's way."
"What? Do what?" asked Giselle. "What are you two talking about?!" She was completely lost and wanted answers.
Liza glanced at Clair who also wanted an answer. She then looked at Giselle for a minute before sighing once more. "A trainer came to the Charicific Valley about two months ago and had his Charizard compete in the most grueling test ever made in the valley. His Charizard dominated it and as a reward earned the only mega stone of its kind known in the world for his pokémon. Without even waiting for the victory ceremony or to hear what comes with it, the trainer and his Charizard left." Liza stopped, taking a breather but didn't know if she should continue.
Clair was waiting for her to continue, wanting to know about it. Giselle however was becoming impatient, her curiosity once again getting to her. "And? Then what happened? Who is the trainer?"
Liza closed her eyes, trying to remember the trainer but couldn't. "I don't know who he is. He never mentioned his name and the only thing I remember was his hood was kept up, a mask on his face, he had silver white hair and he talked with a gruff sounding voice."
The blunette and the black haired girl looked at one another. "Okay, and this guy matters why?" asked Clair as they faced their green haired friend again.
Liza was quiet for a minute before answering her. "I'm promised to him," admitted Liza.
"WHAT?!" yelped the two at once. Liza covered both of their mouths with her hands before the three glanced back at Sabrina. The blunette got up and went to check to see if she was still really sleeping and not faking it. Satisfied after a few simple tests, Clair signaled that all is good as she went back to them.
"How could you be promised to someone you don't even know or he doesn't even know?" asked Clair.
Liza looked into her friend's eyes before explaining. "Being caretaker and trainer of the Charicific Valley has been in my family for generations," started Liza. "My ancestors and some other families were the ones who first created the place for them and it's been passed down through out the ages through our families only. In order to keep it in the family, we had arranged marriages with one another's but made sure to keep things pure. But as you've noticed, I'm the only one left. The other families died out since there was a few to begin with in the beginning. My parents passed away a few years ago but before they left, they told me about the test."
"What do you mean?" asked Clair.
"Like a real test? What's it for?" asked Giselle.
The caretaker nodded. "Yes. A test. An almost impossible test. You see, they thought about that in the past; that one day the families might die out and so made this test to find a worthy successor. The trainer whose Charizard wins the test will be promised the only mega stone of its kind in the world that is known of as well as being promised to the last remaining heir of the valley if they are of opposite gender. And if not, then they would take title and ownership of the valley once the last remaining family member is gone from the world. And if nobody ever does pass the test before the last living member dies, then ownership goes to the Pokémon League but they'd rather it doesn't go that way." Liza finished explaining and leaned against her headboard as she drew her legs in to her body and wrapped her arms around her knees.
"Whoa." Giselle was stunned. She glanced at Clair who was looking at Liza with a concerned look and she returned her gaze back to the caretaker. "So that's what you mean? That's the reason why you can't be with Ash?" asked Giselle.
Liza took in a sharp breath at that. She felt her emotions spiking and couldn't help herself. "Y-Yes. Even though I have f-feelings for Ash, I can't pursue him because I don't want to m-mess things up for Sabrina. A-And even if that wasn't a problem, I'm promised to this t-trainer who I don't even know. But I don't want to be with him!" She couldn't help it and began letting out some tears and hung her head.
Giselle and Clair hugged Liza, feeling horrible in seeing her so upset. "It's alright Liza," said Clair. "We'll figure something out together. You won't marry this unknown man."
Liza sobbed into her friends' hugs. "I can't go against tradition Clair. There's no one else left in my family or the other families to follow it. I'm the last one. What would people say? I can't bring that kind of dishonor to the families who have been respected for centuries. How could I?" she asked.
They were quiet for a long time until Clair thought of something. "Wait, you said he doesn't know right?"
The green haired girl raised her face to hers. "What do you mean?" asked Liza.
"You said that he left before the ceremony. Was he told of what passing the test means?" asked the gym leader.
Liza's eyes widened. "No, he wasn't. He just took the mega stone, thanked me and left on his Charizard before I could say anything else."
"Well, there you go!" remarked Giselle. "He doesn't know about it. You're free to choose who you want to be with Liza."
Liza felt her heart beat a little faster, realizing that she was free to choose and that it wouldn't be her fault at all. She would still keep the family name respected. But then she thought that is if no one found out about it. She sighed and hung her head. "You're right about that but I don't think it matters," said Liza and her friends gave her confused looks. "There's no way that man has kept his victory to himself. It's more than likely he told others of it and sooner or later it's going to be known. How long until it comes back to me? Then I would have to tell him."
"But how would they know? I mean, we didn't know until you told us," remarked Clair.
Liza shook her head. "The Pokémon League will know because they were told of it from the start."
"Damn. Forgot about that," sighed Clair.
"Well, let's not worry about that right now. We'll worry about it if and when it happens alright? For now let's just go to sleep and then we'll figure out what we're doing regarding Ash, Sabrina, the girls and our situation," advised Giselle.
"She's right. Let's go to sleep. It's been a long day and night and I'm exhausted," said Clair.
"Alright and thanks you two." Liza hugged them before saying goodnight to the two and they returned it. They got into their own beds and went to sleep.
Two blue haired girls were lying in their respective beds and staring at the ceiling. They were quiet for a few minutes now after speaking with one another for a while about what happened during Ash's match. They couldn't believe how people were so eager to believe the report and turn from the person who risked it all to save them. They also talked about how scared they had become when they saw Ash get hurt, feeling as if they themselves were hurt. They were so angry at the three jackasses that they wanted to tear them apart for hurting him. And they were so worried for Ash that they thought they would break down right then and there.
Near the end of their discussion, they tried to come up with a plan to get Ash to realize their feelings or to come clean but to also think of them in that way too but couldn't think of anything again. They were going crazy over that and decided to take a break. They were about to continue when a knock was heard on their door. The two blunettes glanced at one another, wondering who it could be at this late hour. "Come in," answered Lizabeth.
The door opened and Queen Ilene walked in dressed in her white and blue pajamas before closing it behind her. "Hi. I'm sorry if I woke you."
The two girls sat up in their beds. "No, we were still up," replied Shauna as Ilene sat on the foot of her bed. "What's up?" she asked.
Ilene sighed, looking down before facing the two again. "I wanted to ask for your advice and help if you're still offering it." Lizabeth and Shauna glanced at one another and then looked at Ilene again, waiting for her to continue. "I wanted to know if you can tell me how I should act with someone who I used to like but not anymore."
Both blunette's eyes widened, figuring out what she meant by that. "Are you and Gary done?" asked Lizabeth.
Ilene nodded. "Yes."
"Sorry to hear that," said Shauna.
"Yea, I'm sorry too Ilene," added Lizabeth.
Ilene however shook her head. "It's alright. So, how should I act around him?"
"Just be yourself and treat him as you would another regular person," said Lizabeth.
"That's it?" asked Ilene and the two nodded. "I see. I'm sorry. It's just, I don't have much experience in dating, relationships and what to do and what not to do."
Lizabeth and Shauna smiled before chuckling a bit, making Ilene go red. "Sorry, we didn't mean to embarrass you but we figured as a Queen you would know."
"And you kind of sounded like Ash just now," added Shauna.
Ilene shook her head, chuckling a bit. "I did just now huh?" The three laughed a bit before calming down. "Well, just to let you know, as a Queen, it's much harder to get into a relationship because every single move you make is being watched, criticized and impacts everyone in the kingdom. So I couldn't just go for any guy that looked cute or seemed good."
"So much for believing a Queen can do anything she wants," remarked Shauna.
"That must've been hard for you though," commented Lizabeth.
"Yes and you don't want to know the half of it," agreed Ilene. "But knowing that your people are doing well because of you helps you keep going and makes you think of the good things."
"Good point," said the two together. It was quiet for a few seconds until Shauna spoke up. "Was it a bad break up?" she asked her.
She thought of the confrontation between the two and sighed. "Yes. I don't want to talk about it but I'm glad it's over." The two nodded and Ilene stood up. "Thanks for the talk and please don't tell anyone about this. I'll tell them myself when the moment is right."
"No worries Ilene," said Lizabeth as Shauna nodded. The blonde queen thanked them again before wishing them a goodnight and left the room. The two friends decided to call it a night and got into bed themselves. They said goodnight before turning off the bedside lamp and went to sleep.
Ilene made her way to her own bedroom and when inside, she saw Bonnie was fast asleep. She made her way to her bed but stopped next to the young teenage girl. She saw her cuddling a small stuffed pokémon doll. She smiled a bit at that before getting into her own bed and got ready to sleep. She thought of everything that happened that day and the two things that kept popping up in her mind was what Gary said about her having feelings for Ash and seeing her Knight unconscious on the ground. I know that I thought before that I should be with someone like Ash but…was Gary right? Do…do I have feelings for my Knight? Her stomach churned as the image of Ash getting thrown into the wall kept replaying over and over in her mind before sleep finally took her.
Delia was in the kitchen, getting some water for herself. She took a drink from the bottle and then leaned against the counter. She started thinking about the horrible situation her son was in earlier on. She was so scared for her son, seeing him in the middle of the raging crowd. But when shit hit the fan, his girlfriends were there for him. She smiled at that, remembering how they went to his side without hesitation. How the girls' friends came to help them as well. How Sabrina appeared out of nowhere to help them all. They really are meant for one another. I'm so happy my Ashy found great girls to give his heart to. After thinking a bit more about that, she decided to go see her son to wish him a goodnight before heading off to bed herself.
When she entered his room and walked in a few steps, she stopped as she realized something; Ash wasn't alone. There were four others in bed with him. She quietly made her way closer to the bed after turning on a small lamp on the far dresser. Delia's lips curled upwards into a large smile at who she saw in bed with him. It was Misty, May, Dawn and Serena with him dressed in their respective night gowns.
Earlier on, Sabrina had suggested that they should be with him tonight so he wasn't alone and because they were allowing them a chance to pursue a future with the one she and the other girls had fallen in love with. The four tried to tell them that they didn't need to that for them, that they wanted to be fair and that they didn't mind if they spent the night with him too. However, in the end, the five absolutely refused and convinced them to not worry about it because they aren't fighting them, are embracing it and even helped their beloved realize and understand his feelings.
The four girls were fast asleep with the red head and blunette sleeping on top of him while the brunette and honey blonde girl cuddled against his sides. Ash's head was slightly leaned back against his pillow, sleeping on his back. They're so adorable together! Unable to help herself, Delia took a quiet picture with her Poketch. She then drew closer and raised the covers up a bit so it covered their shoulders. "Goodnight sweetie," she said quietly before she kissed her son's forehead before doing the same to the four girls. She looked at the five before leaving the room.
When Delia entered her own bedroom, she saw Grace and Johanna fast asleep. She sent the two and Caroline the picture she just took before climbing into bed herself. She thought about her son's special situation with the girls and wondered just what was going to become of it all. Delia knew that they loved each other beyond all else and would do anything for one another. Especially after seeing how they protected one another. She only hoped that they would be able to survive the coming darkness together and that they could live happy lives afterwards. She slowly fell asleep, thinking of the possible futures that they could live.
At this point, almost everyone had fallen asleep. There was only one person left awake and that was a certain blonde Sensational Sister. Daisy Waterflower was in her bed, sobbing quietly so as to not wake her sisters Violet and Lily. They had just fallen asleep after the three talked together and how they were beyond glad that Misty, the girls and Ash are alright. She was crying because she couldn't stop seeing the raven haired young man getting hurt and how her baby sister was almost blown to smithereens. Sure, she was there too but her worry for them far outweighed worry for herself. How could you let that happen Arceus? Why?
Daisy started becoming angry at what happened that day, taking over her sadness. She was angry at the three for hurting Ash, putting his name in the mud, endangering him, her sister and everyone else. She was also angry at Arceus for not even bothering to help him out or warn him even when he put so much burden on his shoulders. After thinking about all of that, Daisy came to a decision. I will not let anyone else hurt Ash or Misty ever again. Not even this darkness, this Ragnarok or whatever the hell he is. And you Arceus, can stay the hell away since you don't even do anything to help! Daisy thought of the things she could do to help protect her sister and the man she fell for before her tired eyes finally closed and began to rest.
While everyone in the penthouse suite of the Indigo Hotel was sound asleep, there was one who was awake in his own suite one floor below them. Steven Stone was lost in thought over what happened that day. Britney's report, Damian and his friends trying to get revenge on Ash, the girls battling and everything else. He shook his head while sitting down on his couch, still dressed up. He wasn't sleepy and wanted to come up with a plan of some sort to do some damage control. He glanced at his Poketch, wondering if he should call Lance or one of the other Champions. I bet he's still awake. But do I feel like dealing with him now? What should I do? His decision was made for him when there was a knock on the door. Wondering who it would be at this time of hour, he went up to the door but his left hand was on his Metagross's poke ball. After everything that happened so far, he wasn't going to take any chances anymore. He peeked through the peep hole on the door. What the hell… He opened the door. "Why are you here? How did you know I was here and what do you want?"
It was Britney Snow. She looked down at her feet before talking. "I found out from Goodshow." He growled, making a mental note to tell him not to do that again. Seeing him getting angry, she decided to say what she came to say. "Steven, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I tried calling you to say that but you wouldn't answer." That was true. She had called Steven a few times after the fiasco but he didn't answer her calls because he was upset with her report.
Steven sighed. "You should know the reason why. And is that all you have to say?" he asked her.
She looked up at him. "No. I wanted to tell you that even though I made that report, I was having doubts about having it shown after speaking with my editor Tom."
He frowned at her, making her feel extreme sadness. "Well, you still showed it, messed up his life and divided the people. I hope you're happy with those accomplishments," he told her.
He was about to close the door on her but she spread out her arm and stopped him. "Wait! It wasn't me who showed it. It was Richard!" The Hoenn Champion looked at her carefully, trying to find if she was being genuine or not. He couldn't find anything but still didn't trust her.
"You're good Britney, I'll give you that. But I can't believe you," he told her.
Britney felt her heart sinking at hearing that but wouldn't give up just yet. "I understand Steven but it was Richard. He said that he'll have the report broadcasted no matter what after Tom said that he won't air it. He didn't want our work to be for nothing so he said he'll have his friend do it. And now he's run off and I have no idea where he went."
Steven listened to her and then thought of the laptop they found in the stadium that belonged to Shamus after they tracked where the hack came from. "That makes sense…" he said, more to himself than to her though. He then looked at her. "Alright, fine. If you want to make things better, I'll call you tomorrow and we'll go from there."
"Oh thank you Steven!" exclaimed Britney. She hugged the fossil collector tightly, stunning the silver haired young man. "Thank you for giving me a chance."
Steven was starting to become a little embarrassed and didn't know what to do, say or feel. He awkwardly returned the hug but soon enough they separated. The reporter wished him a good night and left, leaving a stunned champion behind. It took him a moment to gather himself before closing the door and went back to his couch. As soon as he sat down, he got a call and he picked it up. "Hello Lance…yes, I can't sleep either. Any update?" Steven went quiet for a moment as Lance explained something to him. "I see…this is very disturbing. Alright, let's meet tomorrow in the afternoon. And I'll be bringing a guest. No, you'll want her there. And we should have all the Champions there for this meeting. Have Diantha call Cynthia in the morning. Okay, goodnight Lance." Steven hung up, got up and went to change into his pajamas and went to sleep.
Night went on as the people in the hotel continued sleeping. It was late at night, around 3am when one of the girls in the penthouse suite snapped open her eyes. She got up, ran to the closest bathroom and lifted the toilet cover in time for her to yak out her guts into the puddle of water. She felt like something was going to burst through her chest and her throat was burning from her stomach acids flowing through it. She finally finished up and took several long breaths while spitting out rogue saliva and bits of vomit out of her mouth. She flushed the toilet and shakily stood up. She looked at herself in the mirror, seeing some vomit on her chin. She turned on the faucet and wiped it off, washed her face and rinsed her mouth to try to get the horrible taste and smell out. Luckily, she didn't dirty her night gown or hair. After she did that, she dried her face and hands and looked into the mirror again. She started thinking about what made her throw up all of a sudden when she was feeling fine. She didn't eat anything weird at all and she wasn't disgusted of anything too badly. She thought a bit more before her eyes widened as she realized something…
Her period was late. "Oh no…" She started panicking, breathing rapidly. They had used protection so how did this happen? What would she do? What would her beloved say? What would her family say? Her friends say? Was she ready for a child? What about the darkness that's coming? How could she raise a child during that? Her mind raced with many thoughts and questions before she shook her head to clear it. "Stop!" she told herself, looking at herself in the mirror. "It's been late before so no point in going crazy yet. It's probably nothing except stress that made me throw up." She nodded at herself in the mirror, exited the bathroom and went back to bed to sleep with her beloved. I'll be fine, she thought as she cuddled against him once more and closed her eyes.