Serena grasped the frame of the bunk bed and stood with her sore leg behind her, then leaned forward slowly, stretching out the injured muscle in her calf. She pushed herself to stretch as deeply as her leg would allow, stopping just before it felt like she would tear her muscle further. She ignored her instinct to hold her breath, and instead took slow and steady ones, feeling her calf muscles loosening slowly.
After thirty seconds, she stood up and rubbed her calf gently, before resting her foot on the ground and putting her weight onto it. Her face was pre-scrunched into a wince, expecting to feel shooting pain, but she relaxed as she felt only a light twinge. She sighed and smiled, stepping away from the bed. At least she could walk without trouble now.
With the Master Class only weeks away, she was pushing to recover as quickly as she could. After all of her hard work, it would be tragic if she was forced to withdraw because she couldn't compete. She couldn't let her friends down. She couldn't let her region down. The eyes of Kalos were upon her.
Right now, however, her focus was not on the Master Class.
She glanced out the window into the Ace Center courtyard, where Ash had gathered with most of his Pokémon. He pulled out a large bag of Pokémon food and began pouring it into several bowls, his body slumped and his movements lethargic. Surrounding him were his Pikachu, Snivy, Absol and Growlithe, sitting in silence as they watched him move. The feeding ritual had all the energy of a funeral.
She stepped away from the window and left the room, slowly and carefully walking downstairs into the lobby, before turning and walking into the courtyard. She spotted Ash putting the Pokémon food away, as Pikachu, Absol and Snivy slowly ate from their bowls. Mienfoo was still recovering at the Pokémon Center nearby, having needed more treatment than Ash's other two fighters. Banette, being a Ghost-type, did not eat the same way other Pokémon did.
Growlithe let out a long, sad whimper as she stared forlornly at the food in her bowl. She lay down on her stomach, her legs folded under her, and rested her chin on the ground, not having the will or energy to eat. Serena held a hand over her breaking heart, as Ash walked over and kneeled next to Growlithe.
"I'm sorry, girl," he spoke softly, running his hand through her fur. "I miss him, too." He sat with her for a few moments, resting his arm on her back and gently massaging her scalp. His comfort was woefully insufficient, but the effort seemed to work nonetheless. Growlithe eventually sat up and began eating her food, taking small, slow bites instead of devouring it as she often did. She wasn't used to eating alone.
Serena walked up to Ash and Growlithe, as she slowly ate and he continued to rub her back. "How is she?"
"She's not doing well," he answered, not looking back. "She was crying earlier when I told her."
"Oh, poor thing… she must be heartbroken." Serena knelt down on Growlithe's other side, running her fingers through Growlithe's fur.
The two trainers pet her as she ate, until she lay on her stomach and closed her eyes, letting out a long, sad whine. Absol, watching from nearby, left his food and walked over to her, leaning down and rubbing his face gently against hers. She whimpered again, not returning the gesture, but not pushing him away, either.
Serena and Ash sat in silence for a few minutes as his Pokémon ate. Her eyes continually returned to him, studying his expression, the tired look in his eyes, the way he kept his gaze low, toward his shoes. It was clear that he was hurting, that he needed help just as much as Growlithe did. Before she could say anything, however, he spoke up instead.
"Serena. What are you doing today?"
She blinked, caught off guard by the energy in his voice. "Oh, um… nothing, really. Why?"
"Let's go out." He spun and faced her, a tepid but genuine smile on his face. "We haven't had a chance to see the city together. What do you think?"
She sat up, surprised. After the debacle with the ball, she had assumed she was still in the doghouse. "Really? Are you sure?"
"Sure I'm sure!" he exclaimed, starting to work himself up. "I wanna do something fun. And everything is more fun with you there."
Serena felt her cheeks burning, but she didn't look away, a hint of a smirk crossing her face. "Now you're just trying to butter me up."
"What? No! Not at all," he replied. "Is it working, though?"
She snorted, covering her mouth with her fist. "Alright, you win. Let's go exploring." She was still skeptical of his sudden good mood and energy, but if this was how he wanted to cope, she would come along for the ride. The way his eyes lit up when she agreed gave her some more confidence in her decision.
"Great!" Ash stood up, energized. "Let's get going as soon as I'm done feeding these guys."
"Well, then, I had better get myself masked up," Serena replied, pushing herself to her feet more slowly than Ash had.
"You're going to be disguised?" he asked, disappointment clear in his voice.
"Unless you want me to be mobbed by fans for our entire date, I had better." She leaned forward to touch her toes, stretching her legs once more for good measure. "That's just how it is for now. Sorry, Ash."
He nodded, shaking the disappointment off. "That's alright. Meet you in the lobby?"
She smiled at him and nodded back. "See you in a few."
Serena walked back indoors, turning toward the stairs. As she left, she could hear the faded sounds of an argument between Ash and Pikachu, regarding whether or not the mouse Pokémon would be allowed to come along. She giggled as she walked up the stairs toward their room.
"I don't think I understand modern art," Ash said as he looked around. Pikachu, normally glued to his trainer's shoulder, was absent.
Serena followed his gaze, her hand firmly clasped in his, as she took in the many abstract paintings and sculptures that surrounded them in this open-air art museum. "What do you mean, you don't understand it?"
"Like, with normal art, like a painting of a sunset or whatever, I know why someone painted that," he explained. "It's pretty and it makes you feel calm and happy. That makes sense. But this stuff…" He gestured all around them with his free hand. "I don't really get it? I don't know what they were trying to do."
She grinned. "What, you don't think any of this is pretty?"
"Some of it, I guess," he conceded. "But most of it is just kinda weird and unclear."
"Well, abstract art is trying to convey meaning in a different way," she began, as they passed by a wall covered entirely in string beads. "These artists are trying to pass on a message, or invoke an emotion. They're just doing it in a subtle way."
Ash seemed unconvinced. He turned his head to the left, and stopped as he spotted a particularly large sculpture. "Okay, so what message is this sending? What's the emotion?"
Serena turned and stood next to him, and they both spent a minute studying a sculpture of a giant spoon, with a cherry-like Cherubi seated in the bowl of the spoon. She furrowed her brow as she tried to discern the meaning of the piece. "Well, it's… conveying… um…"
"Confusion?" he offered with a smirk.
She snickered, trying to hide a grin. "No! Stop!"
"What, then?"
She sighed. "Look, I don't know. This one's really abstract."
He chuckled. "See?"
"But that doesn't mean there's no point!" she insisted, adopting a scholarly tone. "Clearly the artist had something in mind. Maybe…" Her eyes focused on the lone Cherubi. "Maybe the mostly-empty spoon reflects… emptiness or… unfulfillment. Maybe the Cherubi is about to be eaten. Maybe it's about loss."
"Emptiness and loss, huh…" Ash muttered, his voice suddenly deflated.
Serena froze, realizing what she had just said. She turned to face him, her heart dropping as she saw the sullen look in his eyes. "Oh, Ash, I didn't mean-"
"Let's move on," he insisted. He stepped away hastily, accidentally yanking on Serena's arm. She stumbled forward, landing heavily on her injured calf.
"Ouch!" she exclaimed. "Ash, my leg!"
"Ah!" Ash whirled around, regret all over his face. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" He reflexively reached out for her injured leg, wanting to make sure it was okay, when he felt Serena's hand pressing against his forehead, stopping his advance. He looked up to see a bemused expression on her face.
"Do not grab my leg in front of everyone, Ash," she ordered, somewhat exasperated.
"Y-yeah… sorry…" He stood up, his face flushed red and pointed down toward the ground. "Let's… keep going "
Serena walked alongside him in silence, as they passed slowly by a few more pieces. As Ash's blush faded, a grin started to creep across his face.
"Does that mean I can grab your leg when no one's around?" he teased.
A giggle managed to escape Serena's stern lips, though she kept her gaze forward. "Maybe if you've been good."
Ash snickered and reached for her hand again, grasping it and giving it a gentle squeeze. She squeezed back.
Serena dove in for a bite of her ice cream cone, grinning at the sweet, cherry flavor of the frozen treat. She savored the confection for a few moments, the cold contrasting nicely with the warm sun shining onto her skin, before swallowing it down.
Sitting beside her on the park bench, Ash was devouring his ice cream with far less restraint. While Serena had ordered a small cone of cherry ice cream, he had indulged in a bowl of cookie dough ice cream, and was tearing into it with reckless abandon.
"You shouldn't eat so fast," she warned. "You'll give yourself a brain freeze like that."
"It's fine," he insisted, bringing another spoonful to his mouth. "Madison taught me how to avoid brain freeze."
"Oh, did she?" She raised her eyebrows, pushing away her reflexive response to hearing Madison's name. "Well, you still might get a stomach ache that way."
"Worth it," he mumbled through a full mouth. She sighed and had another bite of her cone, the corners of her mouth curling up into an amused smile.
They continued eating for another minute, until Ash wiped his face and tossed his empty bowl into a nearby garbage can. He glanced toward her, watching as she ate. "How do you have so much left?"
"Because I didn't tear into mine like an animal," she answered coolly.
"Well, finish up! I want to check out the Battle Club."
"Nah." She smirked as she wiped a bit of ice cream from the corner of her mouth. "I think I'm just going to sit back and take my time. Really savor this, you know?"
Ash groaned. "Ah, come on…!"
Serena took a slow, small bite of her ice cream before leaning back. "Mmm… that's good," she muttered, not reacting to his petulant display.
"Fine, fine…" Ash grumbled comically, his annoyance clearly not genuine. He drummed on his legs with his fingers as he looked around the park, while Serena continued eating at a normal pace.
As she ate, she could hear the drumming slowly come to a stop. She glanced over to see Ash looking down at his shoes, his shoulders slumped. She frowned, concerned that he was getting into his own head again, before going in for another bite.
As she brought the cone to her mouth, Ash reached out with his finger and pushed gently on the bottom of the cone. The added force pushed her ice cream directly into her face, smearing her lips, chin and the tip of her nose.
"Mmph!" She turned and glared at him. "Ash!"
"Just trying to help," he offered, trying and failing to keep a grin off his face.
"Oh, for…" She grabbed her napkin and started cleaning off her face. "Honestly, what's gotten into you?"
"Ice cream," he replied without missing a beat.
"Oh, be quiet." She licked some of the ice cream off her lips before carefully wiping off the rest. "Well, there goes half my makeup, probably. Thanks for that."
"You look great without it, though."
She sighed and stood up, holding the remains of her ice cream in her hand. "Come on, you. Clearly you're not patient enough to wait around. Let's get going."
"Yeah! Let's go!" He jumped up and began walking alongside her, energized. She continued to eat as she walked, making a big show of turning away from him every time she took a bite.
Ten minutes later, the two of them were at the Fleurrh City Battle Club.
Twenty minutes after that, they were walking through a department store downtown.
Fifteen minutes later still, they were exploring a community center, in the middle of a Pokémon swap meet.
Serena was growing disoriented by the dizzying pace at which Ash was dragging her through the city. As soon as they arrived somewhere, his enthusiasm would be replaced with disappointment within minutes, and then he would urge them on to whatever their next destination was. It was as if he was frantically looking for something - or, Serena mused, running from something.
The two of them eventually found themselves atop a pedestrian bridge, overlooking a beautiful garden. She had insisted they stop for a moment, if only to rest her tired legs, and she kept her hand on his as she took in the flowers below, as if she was holding him in place.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" she asked, her eyes forward.
"Yeah, they are," he agreed. "The colors are great."
"Mhmm," she nodded. "This is one of my favorite things about Kalos. It's such a gorgeous region. Everyone puts so much work into beautifying it."
"Yeah…" Ash trailed off, his voice weak.
Serena continued to study the flowers, watching people wander through the park, until she realized Ash had stopped talking. Turning to face him, she saw him looking out at the flowers with a downcast expression, the same one he had worn several times throughout the morning.
She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Ash…?"
He looked toward her, an inscrutable expression on his face. Serena was already counting down the seconds until he started to drag her somewhere else, and she was preparing to put her foot down. Instead, he took a step forward and kissed her, mashing his lips desperately against hers.
Serena was too shocked to respond for a moment, as she felt him kissing her like his life depended on it. When she finally did come to her senses, she immediately did what her instincts told her to do: she placed her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him away.
"Ash, what are you doing?" she asked sternly.
Ash's face fell, burned by the sting of rejection and confusion. "What do you mean…?"
"You've been acting weird all day," she elaborated. "You're running around the city, you're being pushy…"
"I'm just trying to see the city with you before we leave tomorrow!" he responded in his defense. "I just want to have a fun day with you!"
"Well, I'm not having fun!" she retorted.
Ash looked as though he had just been punched in the stomach. "You're not…?"
"I…" Serena hesitated as she saw the pain in his face, not wanting to hurt him, but she soldiered on anyway. Some things needed to be said. "No, I'm not! I don't want to be jostled around all day! I want to spend quality time with you, not race around at light speed!"
"Fine, then," Ash conceded. "Where do you want to go? You pick."
"I've already picked three different places to go, and you just bounced off of all of them." She folded her arms. "You're not having fun either, I can tell. You're still upset about what happened yesterday."
"Of course I'm upset! Why wouldn't I be?" Ash countered. "That's why I wanted to go out and forget about all that for a bit!"
"Well, clearly it's not working!" Serena shot back. "You're trying to run away from your problems, but you can't. We should be talking about them."
"What's there to talk about?!" Ash turned away from her, looking over the park again. "I lost a battle and I lost a friend. It sucks and I hate it. How is talking about that going to do me any good?"
"Well, it can't be any worse than this!"
He glared in her direction. "Geez, are you having that bad of a time with me?"
Serena winced. "Ash, you're clearly hurting, and it's making it so you can't enjoy your day out," she explained. "And when I see you like that, it upsets me, too "
"Oh, really?!" Ash took a step closer to her, his voice raising. "I'm so sorry that all the bad things that happened to me are making you so upset! I'll just stop being sad about it so you can have a better date!"
"I didn't mean it like that!" Serena began to backpedal.
"What am I supposed to do, just lie around and be unhappy all day? Is that going to make me feel better?" he continued. "I don't want to be sad! I don't want to bring everyone down! I just wanted to have a nice date in the city with you! You owe me that after ditching me at the ball!"
"Excuse me?!" Serena fired back, immediately incensed. "I don't owe you anything other than an apology! And I've already given you a dozen of those! I know I screwed up, okay?! Do you have to keep rubbing my face in it?!"
"Do you know how much I was looking forward to that?!" Ash was nearly yelling now, as days of pent-up frustration began pouring out like water through a broken dam. "I'd been waiting months to be there with you! I was happy to be with you, I was proud, and I wanted everyone to see that we were there together!"
"I'm not some trophy for you to parade around, Ash!" Serena could feel her hands balling into fists. "Is that the only reason you wanted to go? To show me off?"
"No! Of course not!" Now it was his turn to backpedal. "I wanted to have fun! I wanted to try dancing without screwing it up! Maybe we could have had another Pokémon battle like last time! But you thought it was more important to have your seven-hundredth practice session instead!"
Serena was exasperated. "I've been trying to make it up to you! I don't know how else to say I'm sorry! I don't know what else I can do to fix it!"
"You can fix it by helping me have a good time out today!" he replied. "And not acting like my personal therapist!"
"I'm trying to help you!" she insisted.
"Well, stop!" he shouted, against his better judgment.
"Fine!" she shouted back, nearly seeing red. "If this is how you're going to be, then you can just enjoy the day by yourself! I'm done!" She turned on her heel and marched away, back toward the Ace Center.
"Fine!" Ash echoed. "I will!" She could hear him marching in the other direction, nearly stomping.
Serena speed walked through the city, her heart still pounding in her ears, wanting to get as far away from Ash as possible. She had wanted to help him work through his sadness, but the thought of him simply using her to chase his blues away absolutely incensed her. It made her feel like something less than a person, which she would not permit. She was not some tool that Ash could trot out to make himself feel better. She was nobody's emotional crutch.
As she walked through the front doors to the Ace Center, she could see Iris and Brock in the lobby, talking about something or other. Both of them quieted down and looked toward her as she entered.
"Serena?" Iris asked. "Where's Ash? Weren't you-"
"Who knows?" Serena snapped, her nose in the air. "He's out there somewhere." Her friends stared at her, slack-jawed, as she marched further into the building.
"No way," Iris uttered, still loud enough for Serena to hear. "Did those two actually have a fight?"
"I guess the honeymoon period is over…" Brock added.
Serena ignored them both, making her way to the cafeteria, wanting to drown her frustrations in food. She failed to notice Pikachu watching her with worry on his face, before the Pokémon bolted out the door, in search of his trainer.
Hours later, Serena was lying on her bed in their Ace Center room, her hair extensions removed, lazily looking through social media on her phone. Post after post scrolled by, and she took in none of it, her mind elsewhere. She rolled onto her side and sat up, glancing out the window to find Fleurrh City bathed in the faint light of the moon. Few people were still walking around outside, as most of the citizens retreated to their homes.
Serena tilted her head upward, toward the bunk above hers. "Iris, you haven't heard from Ash, have you?"
"Nope," Iris answered.
"Same here," Brock chimed in, from the bunk on the other side of the room. "I'm sure he's fine."
Serena stared out the window for several minutes, not convinced, her dinner starting to turn uneasily in her stomach. She eventually slid off of her bed and into her shoes, kneeling down and tying them as quickly as she could.
"I'm going to look for him," she declared.
"Be careful out there," Iris responded, sitting up and looking down at Serena as she slid her jacket on, grabbing her purse just in case.
"I will." Serena threw open the door and hurried downstairs to the lobby, trying to think of where he might have gone if he wasn't in trouble somehow. As she reached for her phone to message him, she heard the sound of the front doors sliding open. She looked up and spotted a familiar yellow Pokémon running inside, his eyes widening as he spotted her.
"Pikachu?" She raced over to him, leaning down with her hands on her knees, as he slowed to a stop.
"Pikapi…" Pikachu muttered sadly, his face falling. His tone conveyed not panic, but despair.
Serena bit her lip and stood up. "Take me to him."
Pikachu turned and raced out the door, and Serena ran into the night after him. They jogged through the streets of Fleurrh City for several minutes, slowing to a walk every so often so Serena could catch her breath. They kept a speedy pace as much as they could, equally concerned for the boy they were searching for.
After twelve minutes of running and walking, Pikachu let out a cheer and shot forward. Serena looked up and spotted a familiar red hat, seated on top of a hunched figure on a bench. She picked up her pace once more, sprinting over to his side, as Pikachu hopped onto his trainer's lap.
"Ash?" she spoke, once she was close enough for him to hear. He turned to face her, his eyes looking sunken and exhausted.
"Hey," he answered quietly. "I'm sorry I yelled."
"I'm sorry, too. I don't want to fight." She rounded the bench and stood in front of him. "Are you okay?"
His head tilted downward again, as if it was too heavy for him to hold up. "I don't think I've been okay for a long time."
Her breath caught in her throat at his words. She leaned down to take a closer look at him, surprised at how different he seemed to her right now. He looked as if he had been running a marathon, both in his body and his mind. It was as though the trials of a thousand years had been weighing on him ever since she left. More than anything, he seemed so, so tired.
She immediately sat down next to him, resting her hand on his arm. "Talk to me, Ash."
He inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh, not entirely sure where to start, as his Pikachu curled up on his lap. "I… it started in Galar. Ever since I lost in Galar. It's like I've had these voices in my head."
"Voices?" Serena reiterated, slightly more worried.
"Not like actual voices," he clarified. "Not like that. Like… just whispers in my mind. They told me what a failure I was. How I was never going to be a Pokémon Master. How I never should have tried in the first place." He grimaced. "I'd heard them before after a big loss, but they would usually go away after a day or so. But this time, they… didn't."
Serena gently rubbed his arm. "They stayed with you?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "And they just kept getting louder. And there were more of them after every loss, saying worse things. And the more they told me to give up, the harder it became to try. It was harder to travel. It was harder to battle. And eventually, I just… couldn't. I couldn't do it anymore."
"Oh, Ash…" she spoke gently. He paused for a moment, and as she mulled over his words, her mind made a connection. "Is that why you went back to Pallet Town?"
"Mm," he confirmed with a grunt. "I called it burnout, but it wasn't just that. It was way worse than that. It was like… like I had chains attached to my arms and legs, holding me down. Every time I tried to get away, they would just pull me back. I couldn't do anything. They wouldn't let me. So I just stayed home and didn't do anything. And it was like that for six months."
"You got out, though," Serena reminded him. "The chains let you go eventually, right?"
"Dawn helped me," Ash replied. "She basically made me get out and go to Hoenn with her. She wouldn't take no for an answer."
She smiled weakly. "She sounds like a good friend."
"She's the best," he responded without a second thought. "And while I was traveling with her, it was like the voices slowly got quieter. And there was my own voice again, telling me that I could do it, that I could become a Pokémon Master." A ghost of a smile crossed his face for just a moment. "And I started feeling more normal again."
Serena was drawing circles on his shoulder for comfort. "And the voices, they went away after that?"
His smile evaporated. "No. They never did. They're always there. Every time I screw up, every time I lose a battle, they're there, telling me I'm a failure, that I'll never succeed. And whenever they do, it's a little harder to go on. And I'm scared that I'll go right back to where I was." He grasped his thighs with his fingers. "I don't ever want to go back there, Serena. I don't know if I can get out a second time."
"I don't want you to go back there, either." Serena snaked her arm around his, pulling herself closer into him. "Have you just kept this to yourself all this time? Have you ever told anyone about this?"
"No, I haven't," he admitted. "Not even my mom. I don't think anyone would understand."
"More people would understand than you think," she rebutted. "Everyone has their problems. Everyone has self-doubts. You know how I've been worried about-"
"Not like this," he interrupted, his voice a bit colder. "People have problems, but not like this. Yeah, you've been worried about the Master Class, but you're not… messed up." He turned his head away. "Not like me."
Serena held his arm more tightly, not saying anything in response. She turned her gaze toward the ground, thinking over his words, as she wrestled with something heavy in her mind. A minute later, she took a deep breath and let it out, sitting up and reaching into her purse.
"Ash, do you remember the other night, when I had to run to the Poké Mart late at night?"
He blinked and sat up, turning and watching her root through her purse. "Yeah… why?"
"Well… this is what I was getting." She pulled out a small, orange prescription bottle and handed it to him. He accepted it carefully, looking over the label and reading the words on it. His eyes widened at what he learned.
"Your middle name is Yvonne?"
Serena suppressed a chuckle. "Focus, Ash."
"Right, sorry." He turned the bottle over again in his hand, as Pikachu inspected it as well. "So what are these? Are they like… pain meds? For performing?"
"They're not for pain," she replied. "They're for anxiety."
Ash blinked several times, turning his body to fully face her. "Really? You take anxiety meds?"
She nodded soberly. "For about a year now."
He puzzled over this, looking back down at the bottle. "But… I don't remember you being all that anxious when we first traveled through Kalos. Sometimes, maybe, but that's it."
"Yeah, well…" She fidgeted uncomfortably, feeling vulnerable. "'Sometimes' eventually became 'most of the time'. It became harder to perform, harder to make connections… harder to do a lot of things. And eventually I decided I didn't want to be like that anymore. So I talked to my mom, and… well, now I have these."
"Wow…" Ash continued to stare at the bottle, as if it was some sort of mystical object. "I had no idea."
"I don't really tell people, obviously." She reached out to take the bottle from him, placing it back into her purse. "But that's the point. A lot of people have problems they don't talk about. Maybe nobody's really as okay as they seem." She turned back to face him. "Maybe you're not as alone as you think."
Ash let out a breath and slid down the bench into a more inclined position. "Maybe…" His eyes met hers, and he gave her a weak but genuine smile. "Thanks, Serena. Really."
"Of course, Ash." She stood up. "Do you think you're ready to go back, now?"
He sighed and sat up, and Pikachu hopped off his lap. "Yeah, let's go." The two of them began walking back to the Ace Center, with Pikachu jumping up to his trainer's shoulder, at a much more relaxed pace than they had taken to find them. All of them were a bit lethargic, in no hurry to get back.
A few minutes into their walk, Serena felt Ash nudge her hand with his. She grinned and nudged his hand right back. Encouraged, he reached out and grasped her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. The two of them held hands the entire walk back.
Hey Korrina! Congratulations on your sixth badge! You're getting those faster than I've ever seen anyone get them. You had better get them all in time for the Kalos League! There's not much time left!
I wish I had been there to see your battle against Siebold. It sounds like it was really great, especially when Mega Lucario showed up. I bet he was really ticked off to be beaten so badly. Maybe that will convince him that you deserve to get your gym back.
I'm doing okay, but I've been better. I had a bad loss in battle against someone named Darius, and some other bad stuff happened too. But I had my friends to help me get out of my funk, so it's okay. He's definitely going to be at the Kalos League, so we'll both have to train hard so we can take him down.
It's late and I had a long day, so I'm gonna wrap up here. Good luck against Ramos and talk to you soon!
Ash finished writing his email to Korrina and sent it out, before setting his phone aside on his bed. He stared upward at Brock's bunk for a few moments, his battle once again running through his mind, but he closed his eyes tight and looked away, trying to take his mind off of the failure that had been plaguing him all day.
His head rolled to the side, and he watched Serena as she fussed with her phone the same way he had been, illuminated by the reading light next to her bunk. Seeing her filled his heart with a mixture of complex emotions, instead of the lightness that she usually brought to him. The two of them… were they better, now? It didn't feel like they should be. Maybe he and Serena weren't doing as well as they had been, but they were still okay, right? They wouldn't have had the conversation they did if they weren't okay, he felt. Was he thinking too hard about this for how late at night it was? Most definitely.
He rolled out of bed and grabbed his toiletry bag, heading to the bathroom to get himself cleaned up and ready for bed. Five minutes later, when he returned, Serena had turned off her light and rolled onto her side to sleep. He sighed internally. She usually stayed awake to bid him goodnight. Maybe they weren't doing so well, after all.
Ash set his bag aside and sat on his bed, glancing at his phone and finding a text message notification waiting for him. He grabbed it curiously and checked the message, finding it was from Korrina. He slid under the blankets as he read.
Korrina (9:40 p.m.): This Darius guy you fought, was he around 17 with black hair? A few inches taller than you?
Ash's eyebrows raised. How did she know that?
Ash (9:43 p.m.): Yeah why? How did you know?
He waited for a moment to see if she would reply in real time. The three bouncing dots on his phone soon told him she would.
Korrina (9:44 p.m.): I battled him after the tournament in Anistar City. He sought me out since I was a Gym Leader
Ash (9:44 p.m.): Really? How did it go?
Korrina (9:45 p.m.): Not good. He beat me 6-4
Korrina (9:45 p.m): That Ceruledge of his is a monster
Ash groaned. Even Korrina was struggling against Darius. What was he going to be like at the conference? How was he going to catch up in only a few weeks?
Ash (9:46 p.m.): Well you did better than I did at least
Korrina (9:46 p.m.): That bad huh
Ash (9:47 p.m.): I'd rather not talk about it
Korrina (9:47 p.m.): Alright
Korrina (9:48 p.m.): Something else though. While I was battling him, I was able to feel the auras of his Pokémon
Ash (9:48 p.m.): Whoa really?
Korrina (9:49 p.m.): I didn't even mean to look, but sometimes there's nothing I can do
Korrina (9:49 p.m.): It's like when you hear a screaming child on the sidewalk
Korrina (9:49 p.m.): You can't help but look
Ash (9:50 p.m.): So what were they like?
Korrina (9:50 p.m.): They were all distressed, all kinda scared
Korrina (9:50 p.m.): Except Ceruledge. I don't know what his deal is
Ash grimaced. He could hardly call that a surprise. This was just confirmation of how poorly Darius treated his Pokémon. He felt his anger rising up in him all over again.
Ash (9:51 p.m.): Sounds like he's a jerk then, if that's how his Pokémon feel about him
Korrina (9:51 p.m.): Well I ended up getting a look at his aura too
Korrina (9:51 p.m.): Again, not on purpose
Ash (9:52 p.m.): Hey I'm not the aura police, I don't care
Ash (9:52 p.m.): So what was he like?
He waited eagerly for Korrina's assessment, trying to imagine the sort of black, twisted Aura that a jerk like Darius possessed. In his mind, he envisioned a demon of black smoke emanating from Darius's body.
Korrina (9:53 p.m.): Pretty much the same
Korrina (9:53 p.m.): Distressed and scared
Ash stared blankly at his phone for a minute. That was the last thing he had expected.
Ash (9:55 p.m.): Really?
Korrina (9:55 p.m.): Yeah
Korrina (9:55 p.m.): It's buried kind of deep, but it's there
Korrina (9:55 p.m.): Almost as if he was in pain
Ash thought on the matter for a moment, before remembering what Serena had mentioned to him earlier.
Ash (9:57 p.m.): Well we think that both his parents are gone
Ash (9:57 p.m.): Maybe that's why?
Korrina (9:58 p.m.): I don't think that's it
Korrina (9:58 p.m.): It doesn't seem like a past thing. It seems like a present thing
Korrina (9:58 p.m.): If that makes sense
Ash rolled onto his back once again, mulling this over. What did Darius have to be scared of? What would be causing him pain? What did someone like him have to worry about?
"Maybe nobody's really as okay as they seem." Serena's words from an hour ago played back in his mind. Maybe she was right. Maybe Darius had his own problems that Ash could barely conceive of. Not that it would be an excuse, of course…
He grumbled and started typing again. It was too late at night for this.
Ash (10:00 p.m.): Well thanks for letting me know
Ash (10:01 p.m.): I gotta get to bed though, I'm super tired
Korrina (10:01 p.m.): Yeah sure thing. Sorry for keeping you up. Talk to you later, goodnight!
Ask (10:02 p.m.): You're fine. Night
He set his phone aside and plugged it in to charge, reaching up to turn off his own reading lamp. He had spent far too much mental and emotional energy today. He didn't have any left to figure out what was going on inside Darius's mind. He curled up under his blankets and closed his eyes, badly needing rest.
"Goodnight, Ash," Serena's whispered voice called out.
He opened his eyes again, turning toward Serena. He could tell from the moonlight that her eyes were closed, on the verge of sleep herself. He smiled and closed his eyes again.
"Goodnight, Serena."