ℂ𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 |𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐|

2.

Ash approached Delphox cautiously, trying to get close enough to act.In the crowd's panic, no one knew his intentions, but everyone hoped to come out unharmed, Delphox included.The damage to the arena was evident; one of the battlefields was destroyed, and a corridor was damaged. Leon was furious.Once he dodged the flamethrower, he managed to get close to the Pokémon and then embraced it.

<<Delphox, please calm down!>> but this only made the situation worse, it struggled even more.It was worse than he thought, Ash had to act quickly.

After a moment of reflection, he firmly grasped the Pokémon between his arms, making the collar visible.Everyone was astonished; no one dared to imagine that it could be controlled by someone; guilt crept onto the faces of all those who had attacked her, while Leon remained impassive, fixed on Ash and what was happening.

<<Pikachu, Iron T-AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!>>

Pikachu stopped charging the attack, petrified in place upon hearing his trainer's desperate scream. Someone in the crowd felt the need to turn around, the image before their eyes was distressing.Ash felt his body leaving him, his strength abandoning him, the wound had gone quite deep, and he could feel it.

Despite the impending fainting, he summoned Pikachu's clarity, tightening the grip on the Pokémon, and then ordering the electric mouse to attack again.With a precisely aimed attack, he managed to destroy the collar, which fell to the ground, shattering completely.The grip on the shoulder became weaker and weaker until Delphox fell to the ground, exhausted. The pain in the shoulder was too strong, Ash couldn't move, and every part of his body was completely immobilized, to the point that he fainted from the pain himself.

The champions and the crowd all rushed to him with a thousand questions in their heads.
How did he see the collar? It was practically impossible, how did he manage?

The questions had to remain unanswered, the common priority was to take care of the two lying on the ground.

Goh and Dawn got into the ambulance with their friend, while Chloe and Diantha got into the one transporting Delphox.

Finding the trainer's Pokémon was crucial, and Diantha would immediately contact Professor Sycamore to track him down. Chloe, on the other hand, thought she had seen that Delphox somewhere, but in that condition, it certainly wasn't the person she was thinking of...

<<Goalwick Pokémon Center, do you have two available beds? We contacted the one south of the city, but it's full, panic has spread there too>>.Once they arrived, they were both urgently hospitalized.

Delphox fell into a deep coma.
It seemed serene at that moment, given the tranquility found on that face, despite being covered in bandages and plasters.

Meanwhile, Ash slept, thanks to the painkillers he had been given to alleviate the pain in his shoulder, which would be unusable for a few days. The wound was very deep, but they had managed to close it with a quick intervention; the most worrying thing was the surrounding burn, which had almost destroyed the surrounding skin.

That evening, dinner at the Pokémon Center was silent: some were still scared by what had happened, some were very pensive, some were trying to explain what they had seen, and some were unsure of what had happened.
They were so immersed in their world that they didn't immediately notice the screams of the woman who had just entered.

<<How is my son?! Please, someone tell me!!>>All the present turned to her, impressed by the woman who had just entered; the younger ones instead enthusiastically pointed to the Charizard behind her, which had captured Iris's full attention. A few others, among the champions, recognized her.

<<Delia Ketchum, right? Your son is currently stable, we gave him painkillers to keep him resting>>.Delia collapsed on the acceptance chairs, relieved after feeling all that fear for Ash.
Seeing that scene through a simple screen was chilling; it was as if she had been hit instead of him. She couldn't even imagine how much pain he was feeling at that moment.