The Ketchum Family

Hitting the Wall: Part 2

This chapter pick up immediately after the previous one.

Terence was screaming incoherently while Gwyn was wildly penduluming between laughing and sobbing. Serena let out a big sigh and leaned against Ash while her man simply chuckled and nodded. The man from Pallet Town waited a few moments before standing up and looking at his companions.

"Okay, let's go congratulate Cyril!" he said.

Terence jumped in the air and shouted eagerly. "YEAH!"

Gwyn bounced on her heels and looked supremely happy. Together, all of them headed down through the small arena and to the nearby Pokémon Center. It took a little looking, but they soon found Cyril inside, sitting alone, with a far-off look in his eyes.

Terence and Gwyn let out happy cries and ran to their friend.

"That was a great battle!" Terence said excitedly.

"It was really scary!" Gwyn said emotionally.

Cyril looked up at his two friends but his expression was unfocused. It was like he was staring right through them.

"The way you had Charmander dive through that Water Pulse! WOOSH!!" Terence said, using his hands to mimic what had happened in the arena.

"I didn't know Hoothoot was immune to falling asleep," Gwyn commented.

Cyril looked back and forth between his friends, glanced around the room, and then started to pull his knees up to his chest. His lips started to tremble and his eyes tear up. Terence and Gwyn stopped their celebrating and looked at their friend with puzzlement and concern.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Terence asked bluntly.

Without warning, a huge sob burst out of Cyril and he covered his eyes.

"I-I almost l-lost!!" he wailed. "I-I f-f-f-forgot... I d-d-didn't... remember...!" his voice shaking and breaking.

Terence and Gwyn took a surprised step back and stared helplessly at their friend. "Hey, you won!" Terence said, awkwardly. "You should be happy."

Cyril violently shook his head and continued to cry. "NO IT'S STUPID STUPID!" he wailed.

Serena let out a feminine gasp and quickly stepped forward. She knelt down and wrapped an arm around Cyril.

"No! You did really great," she whispered. "That was really tough but you did it!"

Cyril continued to cry and buried his face in the crook of Serena's neck. She comforted the young man and let out a kind sigh.

Terence and Gwyn stood looking helpless and clueless. Terence scratched his head while Gwyn stood with her fingers interlaced and tears in her eyes.

Ash waited a few moments before stepping forward and kneeling down next to Serena. He managed to catch Cyril's eyes and sent the boy a warm smile.

"Hey, you made a few mistakes but that's okay! Everyone makes mistakes in a battle. You just have to keep going and do your best."

Cyril's lips trembled and his voice was rough with emotion. "Yeah, but I have to win!!" he wailed.

Ash frowned and slowly shook his head. "Nah, you don't have to win! Winning is good, but there's a lot of other stuff that matters more."

Cyril clutched at Serena and looked intently at Ash. The black-haired man smiled and continued.

"Your Pokémon and your friends are more important than winning. Doing the right thing is more important than winning. At the end of the day, it's just a competition. It's not the end of the world."