Ash's Story (Part 6: Unova)

Chapter 13: What the River Carries

The ship left Castelia Harbor under a sky that still looked too clean for what had happened beneath it.

Castelia's towers shrank behind us, glass and steel fading into morning haze while the water opened ahead. The engines hummed beneath the deck, steady enough that most passengers treated the trip like any other route across Unova. People laughed near the railing. A child pointed at Wingull over the waves. Somewhere below, someone complained about luggage.

I stayed near the side deck with Pikachu on my shoulder and Absol beside my leg, watching the wake split behind the ship.

The water kept moving even after the city vanished. I envied that.

Pikachu pressed his cheek against mine. His meaning came softly, still carrying the fear from the desert. "You are here. I feel you here."

"I am here," I whispered.

Alice stood close enough that her hand brushed mine whenever the ship rolled. She had not said much since the Meteonite machine, but silence from Alice did not mean distance. It meant she was watching my breathing and choosing the moment when words would help instead of hurt.

Golly sat on a bench with her phone, a notebook, and three copies of the report Officer Jenny had started before we left Castelia. She had slept even less than the rest of us, but her handwriting stayed straight. Golly loved people by making sure the next person who tried to hurt them met a wall of proof.

Eve leaned against the rail near Alice. She did not stand between us. She had stopped doing that unless Alice asked. But every time Alice's fingers tightened around mine, Eve noticed and looked away with quiet permission.

Iris could not stay still even on a ship. She paced with Axew in her hair, turning every few steps to stare at me as if a question kept running into her teeth and bouncing back. Cilan was more patient, though not less curious. He waited until the city was fully gone before he approached with a careful expression.

"Ash," Cilan said, quieter than his usual stage voice, "may I ask something about what we saw?"

I knew what he meant. Everyone knew.

Alice's hand found mine fully this time.

"You can ask," I said. "I may not answer everything."

Cilan accepted that with a small nod. "That is fair. After the Meteonite crisis, I believe discretion is part of the recipe."

Iris stopped pacing. "I want to ask too. I keep thinking about it, and Axew keeps worrying because I keep thinking too loud."

Axew chirped in worried agreement.

Cilan looked at Pikachu first, then at me. "Is your connection to Arceus the reason you can communicate with your Pokémon so deeply?"

I let out a breath I had been holding since Castelia.

"Part of it," I said. "I can hear Pokémon meanings. Not exactly the same as human words all the time, but close enough that I understand what they are trying to say when they trust me or when the feeling is strong."

Iris leaned closer. "So when Pikachu talks, you actually understand him?"

"Pikachu has never been quiet," I said.

Pikachu huffed, and his meaning poked me with offended warmth. "I say important things."

Despite everything, I smiled a little. "He says important things."

Cilan's eyes softened. "That explains some things, but not everything. Pokémon respond to you as if they are being heard, not commanded."

"That matters," I said quickly. "I do not control them. I do not want to. Hearing someone better does not make their choice belong to me."