Pokemon Indigo League Stories Part 2

Facing Fear with Fear

" Here's another one - Stay Healthy and strong and you'll never go wrong!"

" Good one, Gary." Ash complimented.

" Words to live by." Dawn agreed.

Ash suddenly turned away and crouched to the ground, holding his arm tightly and massaging it.

" Ash? You okay?" Brock asked.

Ash nodded. " Yep." He said, his voice strained and tight. " Just..... Some cramps in my arm..."

" Pika Pikachu!"

Ash opened an eye and managed to smile at Pikachu. " I'm oka-"

He suddenly bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut.

" You injured it."

Ash turned. " How'd you know that?"

Gary pointed to Glyscor. " This one told me that in the cage Team Rocket held you in, you guys were trying to escape. When Glygar got tired, you used your shoulder to try to break through. The first time you were okay. Second your hat fell off, and you weakly put it on. Third time, though, you collapsed."

" Well I guess that's kinda true."

Gary rolled his eyes as he knelt besides Ash and took his arm, feeling it. Ash winced slightly and Gary sighed.

" Yep. Knew it."

Ash opened an eye. " Knew what?"

Gary gave Ash a pointed look, raising an eyebrow. "You’ve got a strained muscle here, Ash. And judging by the tension, you've been pushing it without letting it heal."

Ash scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I mean, it wasn’t that bad at first… I thought it’d just go away if I kept going."

Brock folded his arms, frowning slightly. "Ash, sometimes resting is the best thing you can do. You keep pushing yourself like this, and it'll only get worse."

Ash sighed, looking down at his arm. "I just didn’t want to slow anyone down."

Dawn stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile. "Taking care of yourself isn’t slowing us down, Ash. We’d rather have you healthy than see you push yourself too hard."

Gary nodded, glancing at Pikachu, who was watching Ash with worried eyes. "And you’ve got a team who’d back you up in a heartbeat if you needed it." He gently poked Ash’s arm. "But you won’t be doing any battling until this has healed up, got it?"

Ash winced slightly at the poke but gave a reluctant nod. "Alright, alright… I get it."

Gary nodded, rummaging through his bag for a bandage wrap. "Good. Now let’s get this wrapped to give it some support. And I don’t want to see you using that arm too much until it’s fully healed."

Ash watched as Gary carefully wrapped the bandage around his arm, securing it snugly but not too tight. He sighed, looking at his arm and then back at his friends, who were all watching him with concern and encouragement.

"Thanks, everyone," he said, managing a small smile. "I’ll… try to take it easy for a while."

Gary smirked. "I’ll believe it when I see it. But remember—stay healthy and strong, Ash."

Ash chuckled. "Alright, alright. I’ll keep that in mind."