Pokemon Indigo League stories

Taking care of the Stubborn Pokemon Trainer

“ Eat.”

Ash groaned. “ Gary, I can eat myself, and you know that.”

“ I’m not trusting you after what happened the other day.”

Ash buried himself deeper into the bed. “ Gary, I’m fine. Seriously. Besides, I have to-”

“ Nuh- uh - uh. You're not going anywhere.”

When he saw Ash bury himself deeper, he sighed softly. “ Hey.”

Ash looked at him.

" Tell you what. After you're all better I'll have a battle with you. One on One."

Ash nodded, but his heart wasn't into it.

Gary sighed softly and took the stethoscope off his neck and slid it under Ash's clothes. " Ash, let me ask you something."

Ash looked at him. " Hmm?"

" How long have you been doing this?*

" Doing what?"

Gary gave him a look. " Staying up late and not sleeping. I know the day before our battle you stayed up, and the night of screening, after you were accepted you were awake. But were their other nights?"

Ash looked away. " No."

Gary looked the stethoscope around his neck. " Ash. I've known you since we were little. Tell me the truth."

When Ash didn't reply, Gary ruffled his hair. " It'll make you feel better, I promise."

Ash sighed softly. " Few weeks." He mumbled.

Gary almost did a double take, but he kept his cool. " Why, buddy?" He asked.

Ash but his lip. " Because of last time."

Gary sighed. " Ashy, that was when you started. You didn't have any experience. But this time you did. You lost in the Indigo League, but now you know better. You didn't have to ruin your sleep just to train."

" But last time-"

" Last time was different, Ash. This time was different."

Ash looked at his hands. " Sorry."

Gary smiled faintly. " It's okay, buddy. It's okay."

Ash shook his head. " But is it?"

Gary’s smile softened as he placed a reassuring hand on Ash’s shoulder. "Ash, you're always pushing yourself too hard. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. You’re already one of the best."

Ash stared at his hands, still fidgeting with the blanket. "I just... I didn’t want to let anyone down. Not again."

Gary sat down on the edge of the bed, his expression serious but gentle. "You didn’t let anyone down, Ash. You’ve grown so much since the Indigo League. But there’s something you need to understand: taking care of yourself is just as important as training."

Ash didn’t respond right away. His mind was still racing with thoughts of all the times he’d come up short, how hard he’d pushed to improve, and yet still couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t enough. "I wanted to win so badly," he admitted quietly.

Gary nodded, understanding. "I know. We all want to win. But you’ve got to stop punishing yourself when things don’t go perfectly. You don’t need to lose sleep over it—literally."

Ash glanced at him, a little smile tugging at his lips. "Since when did you get so smart?"

Gary chuckled, ruffling Ash’s hair. "Since I had to look after a stubborn trainer who doesn’t know how to rest."

Ash rolled his eyes, but the gesture was lighter now. "I’ll try to get more sleep. No more late-night training, I promise."

"Good," Gary said, standing up and grabbing the bowl of soup from the table. "Now, let’s start with eating, alright? Then, you can rest up."

Ash gave a small nod. "Alright, alright. But you still owe me that battle when I’m better."

Gary smirked. "Deal. But first things first: you’re going to focus on getting better. Then, we’ll battle. And who knows, maybe I’ll even let you win."

Ash laughed softly, but it sounded like a scoff. Yeah, right."

Ash snuggled closer to his pillow and buried himself deeper into the blanket. This was perfect.

Suddenly, he felt someone touch his arm and gently move it away from his chest. Who was it?

Then, the person put their own hand into his shirt and pressed something onto his chest

The person moved it around a bit before removing it and ruffling Ash's hair.

" That's my Ashy Boy. Always sleeping."

Ash blinked groggily, trying to shake off the drowsiness, but before he could say anything more, he felt something cool being placed on his forehead. A damp cloth, probably.

"Sleep," the voice murmured gently. "You need it."

Ash squinted up through bleary eyes, recognizing the figure hovering beside him. "Gary?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "What's going on?"

Gary smiled down at him, his voice calm and soothing. "Nothing, Ashy. Nothing at all. Just sleep. You need to rest."

Ash tried to fight the heavy feeling in his eyes, but exhaustion was winning. "But..."

Gary leaned in a bit closer, his tone even softer now. "Shh, it's okay. I’ve got everything covered. Just rest, Ash. You’ve done enough for now."

Ash sighed, his body giving in to the overwhelming fatigue. "Okay..." he whispered, letting his eyes flutter shut. "Thanks, Gary..."

"Anytime," Gary replied softly, watching as Ash finally relaxed into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Gary smiled and stood up, tiptoeing out of the room and quietly walked away.