Ash rubbed his eye and let out a sigh, but it was followed by two more sneezes.
Gary, who was setting a box down, raised a brow as he turned to his friend. " Hey Ash. You okay?"
Ash set the box he was carrying down and leaned on the wall. " Yea-"
" ACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Gary gently took Ash's arm. " Come on, Ashy. Let's go to my room."
Ash rubbed his eye. " W... why?"
" Because I'm gonna see why you're all sneezy."
" I- ACHOOOOOOO!"
Gary grimaced. " And we might have to figure out fast because if this keeps up you're gonna get weak!"
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" Take a deep breath, Ashy. In and out." Gary guided.
Ash took a deep breath, but it was interrupted with a rude sneeze.
" ACHOOOOOOOOO!"
Gary switched a flashlight on and held a tongue depresser out. " Open wide, Ash."
Ash reluctantly opened his mouth as Gary carefully held the tongue depressor in place and shined the flashlight in. "Say 'ahhh.'"
"Ah... ACHOOOOOO!" Ash sneezed right in the middle, almost causing Gary to drop the flashlight.
"Ugh, seriously?" Gary wiped his arm with a frown. "You've got to stop sneezing all over the place, Ashy."
"Sorry!" Ash apologized between sniffles. "I can’t help it!"
Gary shook his head, moving the flashlight to check Ash’s eyes. "Your throat looks irritated, and your eyes are all watery and red. Let me check one more thing." He pulled his stethoscope, pressing it against Ash’s chest. "Take another deep breath."
Ash complied but was immediately interrupted by another loud sneeze. "ACHOOOO!"
Gary winced as the sneeze nearly knocked him over. "Ash, I swear, if this keeps up, you’ll be sneezing your head off by the end of the day."
Ash groaned, rubbing his nose. "So what’s wrong with me, Doc?"
Gary pulled the stethoscope off and crossed his arms thoughtfully. "You might be coming down with something, but I think it’s more likely you’re allergic to something. Have you been near anything new lately? Flowers? Plants?"
Ash blinked. "Allergic? I don’t think so. I’ve been around Pokémon and trees my whole life. Why would I be allergic now?"
Gary gave him a knowing look. "Allergies can pop up at any time, Ash. Sometimes it’s not just new stuff, it’s how your body reacts. You’ve been sneezing like crazy ever since we moved those boxes out by the garden."
Ash sniffled. "But I’ve been around flowers before, no problem."
Gary smirked. "Maybe you’ve finally met your match. Forget battling Pokémon, you’re losing to pollen."
Ash groaned. "Great, so now I'm getting KO'd by plants?" He slumped back onto Gary’s bed, covering his face with his arm. "What do I do?"
Gary gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well, first we’ll keep you away from whatever’s triggering it. But I think we should get you some allergy medicine. That should help calm things down."
"Allergy medicine? Sounds like a weak move," Ash muttered under his breath. "I’d rather battle the pollen directly."
Gary chuckled. "I don’t think you can catch pollen in a Poké Ball, Ash."
Ash laughed weakly. "Yeah, I guess not."
Gary clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Don’t worry. We’ll fix this, Ashy. In the meantime, just stay put and try not to sneeze your head off."
Ash nodded, looking a little more hopeful. "Thanks, Gary. But seriously... why do I feel like I’m losing a Pokémon battle to invisible enemies?"
Gary grinned. "Well, that's the first step in this battle. Next time, we'll be ready."
