Together

Revelations

Ash didn't know where he was. He didn't know who'd taken him, when they'd taken him, or where his Pokèmon were.

It had started two weeks after the Kalos League. Ash started to have the feeling of constantly being watched, even in places he should've been by himself. Greninja and Pikachu both agreed with him, yet they could never seem to prove that anyone was following them. They could never pinpoint where they were being watched from, nor could they feel it with the aura.

It finally came to a head one Thursday afternoon. Greninja and Pikachu were being treated by Nurse Joy after a particularly tough battle against Korrina and Gurkinn where AshGreninja's ability was pushed to the max. Ash had gone outside for just a few seconds when he was attacked, hit with something that easily put him to sleep. Ash didn't know how long he'd been asleep for, but it was long enough for his captors to move him and lock him in a small room.

There wasn't much besides the stone walls and floor, except the dim light swinging from the ceiling. There was a metal door to the room, but it had no doorknob and it didn't budge when Ash tried to move it. His head was swimming from whatever move he was attacked with, so trying to break out wasn't going to work, and he couldn't feel Greninja's presence, so bonding and leading Greninja to him wasn't going to work, either. Not unless they both reached out at the same time or Greninja got close enough.

Ash was cold. The room didn't offer much warmth, and he couldn't seem to find a position that allowed him to generate and keep his body heat. It felt like there was a constant breeze through the room, despite everything else being dead. He couldn't stop shivering, even as he tried to make himself as small as possible. It felt like ice should've been coating the walls with how much he was shaking.

The door slid open, a very tall and familiar man walking in. Lysandre was smiling, acting as if he hadn't just kidnapped a kid. "Good morning, Ash! How are you feeling?"

Ash just closed his eyes, trying to curl up even more. He didn't feel well enough to argue.

"Still waking up, I see. I must say, you've impressed me this far. I've never seen a Pokèmon and a trainer so well-connected before. To be able to bond with your Pokèmon...you have a very special gift." Lysander muses as he pulls out a Pokèball from his belt. For once, Ash doesn't want to know what it is. He just wants to be left alone, to sleep off whatever side effects are left and to try to contact Greninja. Maybe, if he wills it hard enough, this will all end up being a dream. Maybe he's still at the Pokèmon Center, just passed out after an exhausting battle.

The Pyroar that Lysandre summons is enough to disprove that theory. It's much bigger than Ash, and the already small room gets even smaller. However, the presence of the fire-type Pokèmon warms the room up significantly, enough to fight through the chill in Ash's bones. "I'll give you a few minutes with Pyroar to wake up more, then we'll talk. We have much to discuss." Lysandre steps out of the room, leaving the door open. Ash entertains the idea of running out the door for just a second, but then remembers that the Pyroar is most definitely faster than him and he has no Pokèmon to help him battle it. He did have his aura, but it was out of whack and was only giving him information that made no sense. Lysandre and Pyroar were definitely close to him, but it felt like they were miles away. Similarly, his brain felt like it was miles away. Sometimes he got a coherent thought, but then it was swept away in the tide of confusion.

His brain comes back to him in pieces, allowing him to think a little more clearly. Lysandre wanted something from him. Ash had met the man once before, the night before his battle against Alain. He'd seemed to drop off the planet afterwards, offering no more contact with Ash until just a few minutes ago. He clearly knew about Ash and Greninja's ability, almost as intimately as they did, although he didn't appear to have Greninja. Ash also couldn't sense Greninja's presence, which meant the frog Pokèmon was much farther away than Ash would have liked. Even though they were skewed, Ash felt many presences near him, people and Pokèmon alike, so Lysandre had backup. It would be foolish for Ash to try and challenge the man or escape, especially when he had no idea where he was. For all he knew, he could be in the middle of the desert or up in the snowy mountains. Given how cold the room was, it wasn't hard to imagine that the area outside was also freezing. If he attempted to leave without finding any additional gear, Ash was likely to freeze to death.