I can make you laugh

Thursday Part 4- No, Ash isn't Okay

"Okay," Kukui announced. "The battle between Ash's Greninja and Gladion's Silvally is now about to get underway. And now, battle-." Kukui held up an arm before throwing it down. "-begin!"

"Let's do this! Greninja!" Ash yelled with a grin. "Use Double Team and run circles around Silvally!"

"Na!" Greninja grunted as he sprinted towards Silvally, creating illusional copies of itself before running in a large circle around Silvally. Silvally watched the copies carefully, trying to figure out which was the real one. Gladion frowned as he studied the situation. The Double Team was convincing, so convincing that he couldn't even see which was the real Greninja, which was strange because usually, he was able to tell which copy was the original when other trainers used Double Team. Gladion shook his head. Well, if he couldn't figure out which was the real one, might as well go all in.

"Spin and use Air Slash to take out the copies, Silvally!" Gladion commanded. "One of them will hit the real one."

"Not going to happen!" Ash beamed. "Greninja, jump onto Silvally's back! Use your tongue as a lasso to hold yourself in place!"

"Wait, what?!" Gladion yelled.

Just as the copies disappeared from Silvally's line of sight, Greninja leapt from behind, unravelling his tongue before landing neatly on Silvally's back. As Greninja's tongue wrapped around its neck, Silvally glared at Greninja over its shoulder before it started bucking and jumping.

"That's it Silvally!" Gladion cried. "Keep jumping! Try to knock Greninja off!"

As Silvally continued to buck like an agitated Ponyta, Greninja held tight, holding out his arm to keep his balance like a Tauros rider. Everyone laughed hard at the sight. It was just too funny watching Greninja ride Silvally like a cowboy. Ash started to giggle too while Gladion smirked. The sight was just too amusing not to. But then Gladion noticed that Silvally's bucking was starting to slow and it was starting to pant. Gladion's eyes widen. So that was Ash's plan.

I better do something fast otherwise I'm going to lose this battle! He thought. Wait I know.

"Silvally roll over!" Gladion quickly yelled. Silvally gave him a confused look but did as he was told, falling to his side. Before Ash could respond, Silvally landed with a loud thud, crushing Greninja's leg under its weight.

"Greninja!" Ash yelled as Greninja screamed out in pain, his tongue loosening its grip. As it felt Greninja's tongue lose its grip, Silvally quickly shook itself free before jumping up and moving back, watching as Greninja rubbed his leg with a wince.

"You okay Greninja?" Ash called in concern. Slowly, Greninja rose to his feet and shook his leg a few times before flashing Ash a smile and a peace sign. Ash sighed in relief.

"Very cute Ash!" Gladion called in a teasing voice. "Only you would come up with something like that!"

Ash smiled bashfully, feeling his heart flutter. Noticing Ash's flushed appearance, Clemont and Sophocles quickly looked to their monitors, noting the sudden upsurge of Ash's heart rate with great interest.

"Yeah, but I almost won, didn't I?" Ash smirked. "I saw you smirking!"

As Gladion looked away with red cheeks, Clemont raised his eyebrows at Gladion's brief escalated heart rate.

"Wow, these two know how to rile each other up, don't they?" Clemont smiled at the group behind him, pointing to the monitor. "Just look at the way their heart levels keep alternating between speeding up and slowing down."

"Yeah, my brother and Ash tend to have pretty stimulating battles," Lillie nodded. "They've always been great at challenging each other."

"Well, as fantastic as they are at challenging each other, I wish Ash would hurry up and win the bet," Mallow complained as she watched Silvally dodge an attack from Greninja. "It's starting to get boring waiting for them to get together."

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, Gladion's in love with Ash," Lillie smiled. "So, if he wins, he going to kiss Ash."

"And Ash is in love with Gladion," Kiawe grinned. "So, if Ash wins, he's going to kiss Gladion. So, really, it's all about who cracks first."

"And I swear since this week started, the two have been flirting with each other," Lana added. Clemont chuckled, remembering all the times Minette tried to flirt with Ash and he wouldn't notice.

"I don't think Ash even knows what flirting is, even if it slapped him across the face," he admitted.

"You sure about that?" Sophocles asked. "You should have seen them earlier this week and yesterday."

"Ooh, did something happen?" Bonnie asked, her eyes sparkling.

Burnet rolled her eyes affectionately as the kids told the siblings about following the two boys to the library yesterday, hoping to see the two share a kiss when Togedemaru sneezed and gave them away. They seemed to be more invested in the possibility of a relationship between Ash and Gladion than Ash and Gladion themselves.

Meanwhile, Greninja and Silvally stood facing each other, panting hard as Ash and Gladion studied the scene. Clemont looked at Ash and Greninja's heart rates, grinning when he saw how close they were to being in sync. At the same time, Sophocles studied his monitor. The brain activities coming from both Ash's and Gladion's monitoring pads showed a mixture of serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. But there was also an increase in oxytocin as well. Grinning, Sophocles nudged Clemont, who studied the screen.

"Mmm, yes, very appropriate given the situation," he nodded before eyeing the oxytocin with a smirk. "Oh, so that's what you all mean."

"I thought you said you wouldn't take it easy on me!" Ash called in a teasing voice while Greninja nodded, crossing his eyes cheekily at Gladion. Gladion's eyes flashed and dilated as a grin grew on his face, excited Butterfree filling his stomach. Sophocles' raised his eyebrows at the increase of endorphins coming from Gladion.

"You believe I'm taking it easy?!" he asked. "Okay then, Swords Dance!"

Silvally grinned, its eyes flashing blue as a circle of holographic swords flashed around Silvally before disappearing. As a red light flashed from the ground, indicating that Silvally's attack level had increased, Ash took a sharp intake of breath as he felt his stomach flip and his heart race. Noticing the sudden spike in Ash's heart rate, Clemont looked at Sophocles' laptop, frowning at the sudden appearance of cortisol in Ash's brain activity.

"Double Hit!" Gladion commanded. Ash didn't respond as Silvally charged towards Greninja, its crest and tail glowing. Greninja quickly did a backflip to dodge before looking at Ash in concern. Why hadn't Ash given a command? Ash gasped when he realised, he had spaced out.

"Sorry Greninja," he called. "Use Cut to defend yourself against Silvally's crest and tail."

Greninja nodded as it pulled out two long white needles like a knight banishing a sword. As the needles clashed against Silvally, Ash hid his hands behind his back and pinched his arm hard.

Come on, Ash! Focus! He snapped at himself. Focus on the battle! Bakayarou!

"Now whose taking it easy?" Gladion teased, not noticing Ash's fleeting moment of freezing. Silvally sniggered while Ash blushed.

"Water Shuriken!" Ash yelled. Greninja jumped high and held his hands together to create his signature water-throwing stars.

"Ninja!" Greninja yelled as he threw the water weapons at Silvally.

"Use Crush Claw!" Gladion cried. Silvally growled and jumped, its claws growing in size and glowing red. Ash gasped and froze again, his stomach clenching again at the sight of the colour. He frowned, not noticing Silvally swiping at the water stars and destroying them.

What is wrong with me? he thought. Why are Silvally's claws making me feel ill?

"Ja!" Greninja yelled out in pain. Ash looked up in time to Greninja pummel towards the battlefield, hitting it hard. He gasped before mentally kicking himself. He had been so distracted by Silvally's claws that he forgot to yell out a command to protect Greninja against the attack.

I've got to get myself under control or we're going to lose. Come on, Ash. Focus!

"Greninja!" he cried out in panic. Silvally landed gracefully, watching Greninja as its claws retracted to their normal size. Ash looked at Greninja, who was lying on his back panting.

"Greninja!" Ash called as Greninja stood up shakily. "Are you okay?"

Greninja looked back at Ash before walking over. Clemont frowned as he studied his screen. Ash and Greninja's heart rates were out of sync now and the monitor was showing that Ash's brain was producing more cortisol and endorphins and less serotonin and dopamine. He looked over at Ash. What was going on?

"Greninja," Greninja nodded, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Ninja?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash nodded. "I'm sorry for being distracted. I don't know what's wrong. I'm struggling to focus. Do you think we should forfeit? I couldn't bear it if you got hurt because of me."

"Ninja," Greninja shook his head before holding up a clenched fist. "Ninja!"

Ash blinked.

"A-are you sure?" he asked.

"Ash!"

Ash looked over Greninja's shoulder to see Gladion and Silvally watching them, Gladion's face filled with worry.

"Are you alright?" he called. "Do you want to stop?"

Ash looked at Greninja, who gave a subtle shake of his head. Ash grinned, sharing a fist bump with the water frog before looking over at Gladion.

"No way!" he called as Greninja moved to the middle of the battlefield. "Let's keep going! Ready Greninja?"

"Greninja!" Greninja nodded.

"Then it's time!" Ash cried. Clemont looked at the monitor again. Somehow, in that brief moment, Ash and Greninja's heart rates had synchronised again and were now beating as one. Everyone leaned forward with interest.

"Here it comes!" Clemont grinned.

"Stronger, even stronger!" Ash cried as he and Greninja simultaneously clenched their fists while Greninja's eyes glowed. "Here we go! With full power now!"

Ash and Greninja yelled as a water vortex suddenly appeared around Greninja, surrounding him in water. Everyone gaped as the water vortex slowly shrunk down around Greninja until it settled on Greninja's back, almost looking like a pair of watery wings before sharpening into a giant ninja star in the middle of Greninja's back. Everyone gasped as they took in Greninja's new appearance. His skin was now a lighter shade of blue and his cheeks and side fins were black instead of creamy yellow. He also had a long, red stripe in between his eyes.

"Pika! Pika!" Pikachu screamed, jumping around in excitement.

"Greninja!" Greninja cried triumphantly, his arms crossing over his chest.

"Unbelievable!" Kukui and Burnet breathed.

"I can't believe this! I've never seen anything like this!" Rotom squealed as it paused its recording to quickly snap pictures of Greninja's appearance.

"So handsome!" Lana squealed in excitement, her eyes sparkling.

"This is incredible!" Sophocles cried. "Look at the data on their heart rates! It's so in sync it's like they've become one!"

"In a way, they have," Clemont smiled. "They're sharing everything about themselves. Everything Greninja is seeing and feeling, Ash is too!"

"It's so cool!" Bonnie squealed, jumping up and down in excitement.

Oblivious to everyone's excitement, Gladion stood completely speechless as he took in the sight of Greninja. He could see every detail of the ninja frog's new form, like how the sections of Greninja's cheeks had what looked like small tufts of fluffy black hair with red highlights shaped like a lightning bolt. He looked amazing.

But for some reason, it wasn't Greninja's new appearance that left him breathless. It was the look in Greninja's eyes. Confidence, excitement, adrenaline, strength. He had seen that look before. In his Lycanroc's eyes; in Ash's Lycanroc's eyes. In Ash's eyes. Ash. Gladion tore his gaze away from Greninja to look at Ash. Ash was standing there, fists clenched with a determined look on his face. Gladion let out a sharp exhale, his stomach swarming with Butterfree and his skin tingling with excitement. Arceus, he looked gorgeous.

"Ash," he breathed, his heart pounding.

"Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Ash yelled, holding his arms back before propelling them forward like he was the one throwing the weapon. At the same time, Greninja pulled the giant shuriken off his back and threw it towards Silvally with all his might. The watery weapon flew through the air at an incredible speed.

"Dodge!" Gladion yelled. Silvally jumped out of the way but the star grazed Silvally's back leg before smashing into the back wall. Silvally cried out.

"Silvally!" Gladion cried. Silvally shook its back leg before smiling at Gladion, saying with its eyes that it was okay. Gladion smiled.

"Okay then," Gladion said before looking at Ash. "Alright Ash, you and Greninja are showing your full power so now, Silvally and I will show you ours!"

Ash lit up when he saw Gladion hold up a memory disc.

"Silvally, show your strength with this Fighting Type Memory!" Gladion cried as he threw the disc towards Silvally. "Accept it and become a raging beast of fury!"

As the disc flew through the air, the drive located on the side of Silvally's head opened to accept the disc. Clemont and Bonnie gasped in amazement as Silvally's eyes, crest and tail turned orange to indicate that it had accepted the disc. Silvally roared in triumph as it glowed with an orange aura. Greninja looked at Silvally with interest.

"So that's what Ash meant by its ability to change types," Clemont's eyes shone. "Marvellous!"

"Now Multi-Attack, let's go!" Gladion yelled. Silvally roared as it leapt through the air, angling its body to slam into Greninja. Ash watched carefully before gasping. Somehow, Silvally had disappeared and now all Ash could see was a male Pyroar hurtling towards Greninja. Eyes wide, he started to shake as he felt panic spread through him. As the panic in Ash took over, Greninja began to shake as well.

"Dodge!" Ash screamed in a panic. As Greninja jumped out of the way, just narrowly avoiding Silvally's speed, Clemont frowned at the panic in Ash's voice before looking at his screen. The scan showed that Ash's brain was flooded with cortisol and the harmonisation between him and Greninja was starting to break. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Clemont looked at Sophocles.

"Something's wrong," he said, pointing at his screen. "Ash's heart rate is all over the place and it's affecting Greninja too."

"Crush Claw!" Gladion yelled. As Silvally's claws grew and glowed again, Ash suddenly screamed and ran towards Greninja.

"No!" he screamed, wrapping his arms around Greninja like a mother protecting a child. "Please! Don't hurt Greninja! Don't hurt us!"

Greninja's eyes started darting around in a panic as Ash's feelings mixed with his before turning back to his normal self in a flash of light. After he did, Greninja looked around in confusion before looking down at Ash, who continued to hold on as tight as he could. Confused, Silvally retracted its claws before looking at Gladion, who shook his head. Nodding, Silvally walked towards Gladion and allowed Gladion to take the memory disc out before the two started to walk over towards Ash and Greninja.

"Stay away from us!" Ash screamed again. "Stay the fuck away from us!"

Gladion flinched like he had been slapped while everyone else gasped. Did Ash just swear?

"Ash?" Gladion asked apprehensively as everyone left the stands.

"I won't let them hurt you Greninja," Ash said, tightening his grip around Greninja's shoulders. "I won't let them hurt you."

"Ninja," Greninja said gently, patting Ash's head while rubbing his back.

"I promise I'll protect you," Ash whimpered. "I'll protect you; I'll protect Pikachu; I'll protect all our friends. I won't let him hurt us again!"

As Kukui got closer, Gladion looked at him.

"What happened?" he asked, pointing at Ash. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know," Kukui shook his head. "But don't worry, we'll figure this out. Ash?"

Ash didn't respond. He just kept muttering to Greninja, who was now standing with his hands by his side, staring at his trainer with a mixture of confusion and concern on his face.

"Ash?" Kukui cooed, slowly approaching him. "Hey, you want to let Greninja go and tell us what happened?"

No response. Kukui looked at Greninja briefly before putting his hands on Ash's waist. Ash still didn't respond. Slowly and gently, Kukui tried to pull Ash off Greninja while the water frog took a few steps back, dislodging himself from Ash's arms.

"No!" Ash suddenly screamed as he reached for Greninja. "No! Stop! Don't take away my Pokémon! Please!"

"Ash, it's alright!" Kukui said, wrapping an arm around Ash's chest as he tried to run back to Greninja. "Your Pokémon are fine! Everything is okay!"

"Let me go!" Ash screamed, jamming his elbow into Kukui's stomach. He grunted, releasing Ash as he gripped the spot Ash hit with one hand while pulling out a Pokéball with the other.

"Kukui!" Burnet yelped, running forward to hold her husband.

"I'm okay," Kukui wheezed, throwing the Pokéball. "Incineroar!"

There was a flash and there stood Incineroar, who looked around curiously before looking at Kukui, not noticing everyone gaping at him. Incineroar frowned at the sight of Kukui in pain.

"I'm fine, just grab Ash and hold him tight!" Kukui commanded, pointing at Ash, who was still trying to run to Greninja. With a nod, Incineroar stepped forward and wrapped his large arms gently but tightly around Ash's body, holding down Ash's arms and legs as the boy started to kick and struggle, his hat flying off as he flung his head around.

"No! Let me go! Let me go! Please!" Ash screamed, tears falling. "I have to protect my Pokémon!"

Gladion shook his head. He had had enough of this. He stepped in front of Incineroar, his eyes solely on Ash's face. Slowly, he reached up and cupped Ash's cheeks, forcing the Kantonian to hold still. His heart broke as he felt his fingers and palms grow wet from Ash's tears.

"Please, let me go!" Ash pleaded, hyperventilating with sobs. "Please! Don't hurt me!"

"Ash," Gladion cooed. "Ash, it's me. It's Gladion. I'm not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you. You're safe. Greninja's safe. Pikachu is safe. Everyone is safe, okay?"

"B-b-but-," Ash stammered.

"Everyone is safe," Gladion repeated, rubbing Ash's cheekbones with his thumbs. "Now, breathe with me. Come on, in... and out."

Gladion started taking slow deep breaths, trying to encourage Ash to do the same, only to receive quick choking sounds in response.

"Come on, mon rayon de soleil," Gladion cooed, not noticing he had slipped into Kalosian. "You can do it. Breathe with me. In... and out. In... and out."

Slowly, with Gladion's chanting, Ash's struggling breaths started to clear up and soon, he was breathing in time with Gladion.

"There we go," Gladion murmured with a smile, his hands leaving Ash's face. "You're okay, soleil. You're safe."

Ash took a shuddering breath before his eyes widened and his face went white.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" Ash croaked. Quickly, Incineroar released Ash, who ran towards the bathroom as fast as he could, his hand over his mouth.

"I'll go check on him," Clemont said before following. As he did, everyone look at Kukui and Incineroar in shock.

"Um..." Kukui said as he scratched his head sheepishly.

"Professor, is that the Mask Royal's Incineroar?" Sophocles asked as his eyes started to shine.

"Um..." Kukui said again before sighing and nodding. "Yeah."

"Then that means..." Burnet said as hearts appeared in her eyes.

"Yeah," Kukui said again. "And you can yell at me later about keeping it a secret but right now, something is going on with Ash and we need to help him."

Burnet pouted but she nodded as Kukui returned Incineroar to his Pokeball, thanking him for his help. As he did, Gladion looked anxiously at the restrooms before shaking his head.

"I'm going to make sure he's okay," he told the others before running towards the restrooms. As he reached the entrance, he heard Ash cough and cry, followed by the sounds of vomiting. He cringed in sympathy and disgust as he walked closer to the stall he heard the noises come from.

"Ash? Are you alright?" He called, knocking.

"Go away!" he heard Ash croak before retching again. Gladion sighed as he pushed open the door and looked inside. Ash was kneeling in front of the toilet, holding his stomach with his hand and sobbing while Clemont rubbed circles on his back.

"Ash?" Gladion said again.

"Go away!" Ash sobbed. "Please! I don't want you to see me like this!"

Gladion sighed again, this time in defeat.

"Don't worry, Gladion," Clemont smiled. "I've got him. He'll be okay."

"Okay," Gladion nodded before placing a hand on Ash's shoulder. "If you need me, I'm right outside. And for the record, I'm more worried about you than disgusted."

Ash nodded with a whimper, reaching up his hand to squeeze Gladion's hand. Gladion smiled, squeezing Ash's hand back before leaving, wincing as he heard Ash throw up again. As he walked out, everyone looked at him anxiously.

"Well?" Mallow asked. "How is he?"

"He's embarrassed," Gladion shrugged. "Which is to be expected. I don't think he wants anyone to see him at the moment."

Everyone nodded as they looked at the doorway apprehensively, waiting for Ash and Clemont to come out again.

"I hope he's okay," Bonnie whimpered just as Ash and Clemont walked out.

"I'm okay, Bonnie," Ash smiled. Pikachu (who had moved to Lillie's arms for comfort during Ash's panic attack) jumped from Lillie's shoulder to his. Ash smiled, burying his face into Pikachu's fur as the electric mouse squealed.

"Bonnie, could you get Ash his water bottle?" Clemont asked as he helped Ash over towards the closest bench so Ash could sit down. Bonnie nodded as she ran to Ash's bag and grabbed his bottle. As she did that, Ash's Pokémon crowded around him, making noises of concern. Ash shook his head with a smile, hoping it would comfort them.

"Hey, do you want some more gum?" Gladion offered, taking a seat beside Ash with great difficulty.

Ash shook his head.

"Clemont had a spare toothbrush," Ash explained. "So I cleaned my teeth. Thanks."

Gladion nodded.

"Here you go Ash," Bonnie smiled, holding out Ash's bottle.

"Thanks, Bonnie," Ash said softly as he took the bottle and took a sip, shuddering due to the cold water reacting to the mint of the remaining toothpaste in his mouth.

"Don't drink too fast," Clemont instructed. "Or you'll throw up again."

Ash nodded.

"You feeling alright?" Gladion asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Ash said quietly before he turned serious. "What happened?"

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Ash, you had a panic attack," Lillie said. "You were screaming and swearing and you hit Professor Kukui. But Gladion managed to calm you down."

Ash's eyes widened in shock as his eyes filled with tears.

"I did?" Ash asked in horror, tears falling again. "I hit you? Professor, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Ash," Kukui smiled, reaching down to wipe Ash's cheek. "I've had worst Brutal Swings. I'm fine, really." Then he frowned. "You don't remember what happened?"

"I remember Silvally using Crush Claw," Ash admitted. "And then I felt really scared for me and Greninja."

"Why were you feeling scared, Ash?" Kiawe said. "What was going through your head?"

Ash didn't answer. He just stared at the ground. Clemont smiled as he placed his hand on Ash's head. Ash looked up.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to at the moment, Ash," Clemont said kindly.

"It's not that I don't want to," Ash admitted. "I don't know how to."

"What do you mean Ash?" Mallow asked. "Just talk to us. What happened?"

"I don't know," Ash admitted. "My thoughts are going too fast. I can't focus and I don't know what to say."

Clemont hummed.

"Then maybe we need to settle the thoughts," he suggested. "And see what's going on in your head."

"How do we do that? Lana asked.

"First, we get that pent-up stress out of him," Clemont said. "And then we use my Pokémon translator machine to see what's going on in his head."

"Pokémon translator machine?" Sophocles asked in excitement.

"It allows me to see what's inside a Pokémon's head," Clemont grinned proudly.

"And it only took him six explosions until he got it right," Bonnie smirked. Clemont blushed.

"Wow, science is so amazing and you're just as amazing," Ash smiled as he stood up. Clemont smiled at Ash's familiar but kind words.

"So, let's head into the lab and get started on helping Ash," Clemont said as he led everyone from the battlefield into a large room filled with tools and different invention prototypes.

"So, how do we sort out my thoughts?" Ash asked hopefully.

"Well, when Luxray is stressed, he goes on my running machine," Clemont suggested as he pointed to it. "It allows him to get out the excess electricity that is causing him stress and that helps with the power in the gym. How about you give it a try? Running is your forte, after all."

Ash thought about it for a second before nodding.

"Okay, if you think it helps."

"Okay, then hop on," Clemont said as he moved to turn on the running machine. "Oh, and we better set up those mattresses too. Kiawe, Gladion, Professor. Will you help me, please? They're just over here."

Kukui, Gladion and Kiawe looked to see where Clemont was pointing. Sure enough, against the wall stood two large, thick mattresses.

"Sure, but what are they for?" Kiawe asked as he and Kukui grabbed one of the mattresses while Gladion and Clemont grabbed the other.

"Once, Chespin stepped on the machine when I wasn't looking and he hurt himself," Clemont explained as they carefully adjusted the mattresses so they were surrounding the machine. "So I started keeping mattresses around just in case it happened again. And seeing how Ash is a little accident-prone, it's better to be safe than sorry."

The girls giggled, nodding in agreement. Ash blushed as he started stretching. He couldn't help that he was clumsy. As he continued stretching, Sophocles connected his computer to the machine via the internet before joining the group.

"You're still wearing your monitoring pad and bracelet so I'll watch your heart rates and brain activity, Ash," Sophocles explained. "That way we can see how stressed you are and if we need to stop."

Ash nodded as he finished stretching before walking towards the machine. As he got on, Pikachu took his usual position beside Ash, ready to show his support by participating. Ash smiled and shook his head, leaning down to pick up the yellow mouse.

"Sorry buddy, would you mind waiting with everyone?" Ash asked. "I kind of want to do this myself."

"Pika? Pika!" Pikachu shook his head. He didn't want Ash to go through whatever he was going through by himself.

"Don't worry Pikachu," Lillie smiled. "Just wait with us. It'll be over before you know it."

Pikachu pouted but nodded before jumping towards Gladion, landing smoothly on his shoulder. As the group walked over to the opposite side of the room to watch, Gladion turned his head to look at Pikachu.

"You worried about him, huh?" He asked.

"Pi," Pikachu nodded.

"Yeah, me too."

"Okay Ash," Clemont said, turning on the machine. "I'll stay with you so I can increase and decrease the speed."

Ash nodded as he started to walk.

"Do you think this will work?" Lillie asked.

"Research has stated that exercise is beneficial in helping to reduce stress and anxiety levels," Rotom said.

"And Ash did tell me his running is good therapy," Gladion admitted, lifting Pikachu off his shoulder so he could hold the electric mouse against his chest like a teddy.

"I'm so worried about Ash," Bonnie said as she cuddled into Burnet's side.

"We all are," Kiawe said, placing his hand on Bonnie's head, hoping it would comfort the little girl. "But hopefully this should work."

"I just hope this works," Kukui said. "He's having quite a Struggle today."

As Ash walked, Clemont slowly increased the speed. Slowly, Ash broke into a jog before running at the normal speed he usually ran when training. He breathed steadily. The pace felt good but Ash wanted more.

"Turn it up," Ash panted as he felt his heart start to race. "All the way up."

"Are you sure, Ash?" Clemont asked.

"Please."

Clemont looked over at Sophocles, who held up his thumbs, silently communicating that everything was okay.

"Alright," he nodded before turning it up to maximum speed. Ash closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he sprinted. His muscles burned and his eyes watered but he kept going. He had to keep going. He could not stop. Not even for a second. All of a sudden, he saw Lysandre in his head. His cruel smile made Ash's stomach churn.

Sophocles' eyes widened. Cortisol.

"Clemont, turn it down!" he called.

"Go away!" Ash suddenly screamed. "Get out of my head!"

"Ash?" Clemont asked in shock. "What's wrong?"

"Please, leave me alone!" Ash begged as he started to cry. "Just leave me alone! I didn't want this!"

"Professor!" Sophocles said as his laptop started beeping. "He's freaking out again!"

"Clemont! Turn it off!" Kukui called as he, Kiawe and Gladion ran forward. Bonnie started to cry as she held Burnet tightly while Lana, Mallow, Lillie and Ash's Pokémon stared in shock.

"LEAVE ME ALONE LYSANDRE!" Ash screamed before suddenly opening his eyes. He screamed again, slipping and hitting his chin on the screen attached to the machine before flying backwards onto the mattresses behind him. Clemont stood there completely shocked. Did Ash just say what he thought he just say?

"Clemont!" Bonnie cried, releasing Burnet before running towards her brother. Once she was close enough, she flung her arms around Clemont's waist, hugging him tightly. Meanwhile, Ash laid on his back on the mattress, completely frozen except for the harsh panting.

"Ash?" Gladion asked as he kneeled beside him.

"Pika?" Pikachu said in a worried tone, moving close to Ash's face.

Ash didn't move. He just kept staring up at the ceiling.

"Ash?" Gladion frowned. "Are you okay?"

Concerned, Pikachu reached out and gave Ash's cheek a gentle pat. That seemed to snap Ash out of his state because he immediately started screaming again.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Gladion and Pikachu fell backwards in shock as Ash screamed and rolled over to crawl away from them as fast as he could.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Gladion stared in horror. The last time he saw someone react like this was when he and Lillie were younger and she freaked out when Umbreon tried to hug her.

"Ash!" Kukui cried as he moved in front of Ash and tried to grab his shoulders.

"NO!" Ash screamed turning away and crawling in a different direction, only to be blocked by Kiawe. Gladion watched helplessly as Ash crawled around, desperately looking for a way to escape.

I've got to snap him out of this, Gladion thought. Wait.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Gladion quickly said. "Try to wake him up!"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded before jumping into the air. "PIKACHU!"

Ash cried out in pain as Pikachu's electricity bit his skin before collapsing. Panting, Ash lay on his stomach, stunned by the electricity.

"Ash?" Gladion asked, gently placing a hand on Ash's back. "Are you alright?"

Ash shivered, blinking a couple of times before slowly rising his knees.

"Yeah, I think so," Ash said, manoeuvring to sit cross-legged. "What happened?"

"You freaked out again, Ash," Kiawe informed him. "And you screamed at us not to touch you. Who's Lysandre?"

Ash's eyes widen as his face went white.

"What?" he whimpered, pulling his knees to his chest before placing his knees on them, resting his face in his palms. "No. No, please tell me I didn't say his name! Please!"

"You did, Ash," Bonnie said sadly. Ash groaned, gripping his hair in frustration as everyone watched worriedly. Clemont frowned before leaning down to press a kiss to Bonnie's head.

"I need to talk to him," he murmured. "Can you let me go for a moment?"

Bonnie nodded, releasing Clemont before wandering over to Burnet, who pulled the little girl close. Sending a grateful smile to Burnet, Clemont walked towards Ash and kneeled in front of him.

"Hey Ash?" he asked gently, placing his hands on Ash's knees. "Will you show us what's in your head?"

Ash shuddered but nodded as he rose to his feet.

"Okay," Clemont nodded, holding out his hand. "Come with me."

Ash placed his hand in Clemont's before allowing the Kalosian boy to lead him to another strange machine. It looked like a television set with wires coming out the sides that connected to a helmet, which was sitting on top.

"Okay Ash," Clemont said as he pulled over a chair. "Sit down and we'll get started."

Ash looked at the chair, and then the machine before looking at the chair again.

"You're not going to tie me to that, are you?" Ash asked nervously. Clemont blinked.

"Of course not," Clemont frowned. "Why would I do that? Especially after what happened with the blindfold earlier."

"So, I don't break it," Ash answered as he sat down, Pikachu jumping into his lap.

"Oh Ash, it'll be okay," Clemont smiled as he placed the helmet on Ash's head. "You won't break it and even if you did, I can fix it. Now, just relax and show us what's frightening you."

Ash nodded before closing his eyes, gently hugging Pikachu to his chest as he allowed his thoughts to take over, remembering his nightmare. Clemont then flicked a switch on the television. Everyone watched quietly as the television showed some static for a few minutes before showing an image of Ash chained to the ground and surrounded by fog while a smirking man walked towards him. Clemont and Bonnie gasped while Pikachu and Ash's Kalosian Pokémon scowled.

"Oh no," Clemont groaned while everyone else looked confused.

"Who is that?" Lillie asked.

"That's Lysandre," Clemont answered gravely. Immediately, the confusion everyone felt was replaced with anger as they watched Lysandre grab Ash's chin, forcing him to look at him.