Fun fact, this chapter only exists because I am incredibly forgetful. Something that will be discussed here was meant to be discussed a few chapters ago, but I forgot to write it in. Frustratingly, it is a key moment for a character's development, so I'm really pissed off that I forgot. Anyway, enough from me, here's the chapter.
Chaptet 57:
Ash's Fears
Max and Bonnie watched the performance from a TV in a Pokémon Centre on the way to Rubello Town. Both of them watch with horror as Team Terra attack the gym. Max wants to see if he can spot his sister in all the chaos, but the cameras stop showing what's happening in the gym as everyone flees. So, he and Bonnie are forced to watch as the footage only shows the outside of the gym. Eventually, the police arrive, and Max thinks he sees Drew coming out of the gym. But, before he can get a proper look, the cameras cut off.
"No!" he exclaims. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Immediately, he pulls his phone out and tries to call May. But, she doesn't answer. Bonnie goes onto the internet to see if she can find anymore information on what happened. But, there's nothing on May's well-being. So, she manages to convince Max to try calling her again in the morning. He repents, but doesn't get much sleep that night, as he spends a lot of the time worrying about May. He also begins to wonder why Team Terra attacked the show like that. Was it for revenge on May, for stopping their plans on Mt. Chimney? Or was it a message to him?
The next morning, after trying a few more times, Max finally manages to speak to May about what happened. She tells him everything about it, and in turn, Max tells her about his and Bonnie's dealings with Sarah and Sam a few days ago. Then, May says, "Max, I want you to know that I'm going to do something about them." Hearing this makes Max very nervous. "What?" he asks. "What do you mean by that?" "I mean I'm going to try to stop them," she tells him. "I have this power, the power of a Blaziken! And if Ash isn't going to use his Aura to put a stop to Team Terra, then I will. I think it's about time I took up Bonnie's dad's mantle."
"Are you sure about this May?" Max asks. "Team Terra are nutters, and I don't want you to get hurt." "I'll be fine Max, trust me," she replies. "I know what I'm doing. I promise, I will get them off of your back." Despite his worries, Max can't help but smile. "Thanks sis," he says. Then, the two hang up. "We should get going," he says, turning to Bonnie. "We gotta be in Rubello soon." Bonnie nods in agreement, then they gather their things and check out of the Pokémon Centre. Max takes one more nervous glance at May's contact info on his phone, before pocketing it and setting off with Bonnie.
Max and Bonnie get back on the road, making their way to Rubello Town. As they travel, Max can tell that, despite her best efforts to conceal it, Bonnie is still bitter over not being able to learn to properly wield Aura for a while. But, he figures there's no point in trying to talk to her about it, because she will either insist she's fine, or dodge the question entirely. "Oh if only Clemont was here," he mutters to himself after seeing her trying and failing to summon an Aura Sphere when she thinks he isn't looking. "He'd be able to get her out of this bitter funk." He contemplates calling him and getting him to come to Rubello, but he decides against it, imagining the teasing they'd receive from him about them dating. Of course, he deserves to have his fun after all of the times Bonnie asked a girl to marry him, but still. Why did HE have to be on the receiving end of this?
As it turns out, Max doesn't need to call Clemont. The pair arrive at Rubello with one day to spare for the contest. Max enters it, then the pair go and find some lunch. As they walk, Bonnie notices Max repeatedly checking his phone. "Worried about your sister?" she asks. Max's head snaps up to look at her. "Sorry," he says, pocketing his phone. "It's just that, she's going to go up against the might of Team Terra by herself. Of course I'm worried." Bonnie hugs him at this. "It's going to be ok," she tells him softly. "Your sister is a tough girl. She'll be alright. And who knows, maybe she'll be able to put a stop to them." Max nods, then hugs her back. "I hope you're right," he tells her. Bonnie nods. "I think I am," she says.
The sound of a phone camera clicking snaps them back to reality, and the two spring apart. Wheeling around, they spot Clemont and Korrina looking at them. Korrina is hitting him for "interrupting their moment," while Clemont apologises, struggling to contain his laughter as he does. In his hands is his phone, which is still pointed right at them. "Sorry," he says. "But that moment was so cute that I couldn't help it." Then, he looks at his sister with a Mischievous glint in his eye. "I'm sure dad will agree. So, still going to deny your obvious feelings for him?" Both Max and Bonnie go very red, Max out of embarrassment, and Bonnie out of anger. "What I'm going to do, is beat you to a BLODDY PULP!" Bonnie yells, before charging at her older brother. Clemont turns and runs, causing Bonnie to chase after him, screaming, "CLEMONT CITRON, COME BACK WITH THAT PHONE RIGHT NOW!"
After the Citron siblings have stopped running around like fools, the four of them go and get some lunch together. As they sit down and place their orders, Max starts subtly jerking his head towards Bonnie, whose face has fallen back into one of slight bitterness. After almost a minute of doing this, Clemont finally catches on. He subtly nods to Max, who smiles, before rubbing his neck, which had begun to grow tired from all the jerking. "Are you alright Bonnie?" he asks. "You look down." Bonnie snaps to attention, then waves her hand in a placating gesture. "Oh, I'm fine big brother," she tells him. "I've just got a few things on my mind." "Like what?" Korrina asks. Bonnie is about to insist that it's nothing, but Max beats her to the punch. "It's something to do with Ash and the fact that he refuses to teach her Aura," he replies. "I've been wanting to get her to say what's wrong for days, but she will only dodge the question."
Bonnie glares at him for that, but Clemont snaps his fingers at her to get her attention. "Hey, don't glare at your boyfriend like that," he tells her. "He's only concerned about you." "I'm not her boyfriend/he's not my boyfriend!" Max and Bonnie shout at the same time. Clemont and Korrina laugh, then refocus on Bonnie. "So, what up?" Korrina asks. Bonnie wants to deny that nothing is up, but all three of them are looking at her. So she relents and explains where her frustrations are coming from. "It's Ash," she explains. "He still refuses to teach me any Aura. He showed me how to heal people with it, but that's it. I want to know more about my powers, but he's too scared to show me anything!"
"Now Bonnie, that's not fair," says Korrina. "I'm sure Ash has his reasons for not wanting to show you." "Actually, I don't think she's far off," Clemont replies. "But, not in the way she thinks." All three of them turn to look at him. "What do you mean by that?" Max asks. "I think he's scared of being like his father," Clemont responds simply. Upon seeing the looks of confusion on his companions' faces, he explains. "Ash's father wasn't around a lot. He'd come and go all the time, always on the move. Eventually, this became too frustrating for his mother, and they divorced. Shortly after that, Ash's father stopped showing up. Ash was 6 when this happened. He was 9 the last time he ever saw his dad."
"How do you know all this?" asks Max. "And what does this have to do with me?" asks Bonnie. "He told me all of this a while back," Clemont replies. "And I was just getting to that when you interrupted." Both kids apologise, and Clemont continues. "The reason I bring all of this up is because I believe that he is afraid of making the same mistakes as his father. He's afraid of abandoning those he cares about." "How would he be abandoning us?" Bonnie asks. "It's more that he's scared that he's already doing that I think," Clemont replies. "See, his father is Red Ketchum." Max, Bonnie and Korrina's jaws all drop.
"Red!?" Max exclaim. "As in, the first World Champion!?" "That's him," Clemont agrees. "As has no idea why he kept leaving and returning so often. Come to think of it, he isn't even fully sure why his mother divorced Red, he just assumes it was because of frustration with how often he disappeared. Ash resents him, but I guess he's scared that that resentment is unfounded." "But why would it be?" In response, Clemont looks at Max and Bonnie. "When was the last time you both saw Ash before you set off on your journey together?" he asks. Both of them think about this, before answering, "4 years before," at the same time.
Clemont nods at this. "Exactly," he says. "Ash spent the first 2 years of his reign as Monarch training to use his Aura. And the rest of his time his title kept him busy. During these times, his friends all accomplished great things. May became Top Coordinator of Hoenn, Dawn, who's like his sister, started dating, and her girlfriend became Top Coordinator of Sinnoh. His girlfriend became Kalos Queen, and Iris became Champion of Unova. Couple that with everyone else who started dating, with you two setting off on your journeys, and it's not hard to see why he's afraid. He's scared that, by not having the time to see everyone, he is becoming like his father, which would mean that we might start resenting him."
Max thinks about this. "So, he's refusing to teach Bonnie Aura until she's older," Max concludes, "because his mind is still projecting us as those 6 year olds he met 5 years ago?" Clemont nods. "Well, I'd say his mind pictures you as 7-year-olds by now, but I think that's what's happening. I think it's a defence mechanism, to keep him from feeling guilty. Not only about missing out on 2-4 years of his friends' lives, but also for resenting Red for not being in his." Bonnie thinks about this. "So, I've got to wait until his mind finally recognises me as the age I am?" she asks. Clemont shrugs. "Maybe," he says. "This is all just my theory, so I could be wrong of course. But yes, I think that could be the case." Bonnie slumps at this. "So, I guess we're sticking with our plan for now Max," she says.
At that moment, their food arrives. While they eat, Max and Bonnie explain their plan for Bonnie to challenge Ash for the title of Monarch in order to show him that she's ready to properly learn Aura. Both Clemont and Korrina agree with Max that she's not ready for that just yet, and should stick with going for the leagues for now. Once they've finished, Korrina asks what the two of them are doing here. Upon learning that Max is here to challenge the contest here, Korrina requests that they stay to watch. Clemont agrees wholeheartedly, so they pay for their food, and go to get a few rooms in the Pokémon Centre for the night.
So, that explanation was a mess. This was originally supposed to happen during the chapter where Bonnie decides to become the next Monarch, and Max was going to be the one to analyse Ash and figure out he's scared of abandoning his friends. However, the thing about Red wasn't planned until a bit later, however I thought, since Clemont is now doing the analysis, I may as well stick it in here instead. As for the ending, I ran out of ideas, so I cut it there. But with that, see you on Tuesday with the next chapter.