Pokémon Legacy: Come Back to Me

Chapter Nineteen

Ash was silent the next morning. He wasn't talking, he wasn't interacting with anyone or anything, and the look on his face was one of simmering anger. His jaw was clenched hard, and his normally warm brown eyes were flickering darkly, cool hatred turning them hard and flinty. His friends were scared to say anything, so breakfast was a noiseless affair, at least around their table. Everyone else in the Pokémon Center were talking and laughing and enjoying themselves, the events of last night forgotten.

Dawn wanted to make everyone shut the hell up, because she was watching Ash closely. With every peal of laughter, every happy squeal, Ash became more and more tense. He was wearing a white shirt today that fitted rather tightly to his body, so Dawn could see all the corded muscles her boyfriend possessed. And they kept getting more and more defined.

This anger wasn't the aggressive outrage she had experienced the night before, where Ash was hell-bent on destroying everyone who ever thought to touch his friend, calling obscenities into the air and going so far as to threaten murder, but this was somehow scarier. This anger he was projecting, this cool, hard anger implied that Ash has complete control over his emotions, and he's thinking rationally about everything, down to the last detail. If he acts on any of the thoughts Dawn can only guess that he's having, they'll all know that it was cool and calculated, analyzed from every angle, and revised to a point where there are absolutely no flaws whatsoever. If there was a plan, it would succeed, and it could hurt lots of people. Somehow the irrational, spur of the moment demonstrations of rage were less scary, because she could pretend he wasn't thinking straight. Dawn didn't like this angry Ash, she wanted her happy, laughing, fun-loving Ash to come back to her.

But did she really? Dawn felt awful for thinking that, but it would give her a reason to stop seeing him. She was definitely scared, and she didn't think she'd be able to handle it. Where she once held the love that she's pretty Ash had for her, a twisted knife of fear had started digging in.

She thinks that what really bothers her was that it wasn't for a friend, it was for Serena. It wasn't for her, but for some other girl he happened to meet 6 years ago and go on a journey with.

Dawn remembered then that that's all the two of them had been at the beginning of their journey together, two unlikely traveling companions that had turned into best friends. Then lovers, later down the line.

Ash stood up suddenly and stormed out of the dining room and to the back where the battlefield was, leaving his wheelchair behind. His friends looked after him, confused. When Ash got to the porch, he stopped and watched the battle that was going on.

Two young trainers were battling, one with a Fletchinder and the other had a Charmander. Their moves were a little sloppy, and Charmander's trainer called out a bad move that left his Pokémon open for the Aerial Ace the Fletchinder used. In a cloud of dust, the Charmander had fallen, and was unable to battle. Fletchinder's trainer cheered and thanked the other boy for a good battle, calling his Pokémon back and racing for the Pokémon Center to get his Fletchinder health back up. Charmander's trainer was kneeling by his Pokémon and stroking its head, apologizing. Ash walked over.

"Good." He muttered, crossing his arms and looking down at the 10 year old. The little boy jumped and glanced up, a scared look on his face. Ash sunk to a knee, smiling as best he could in his current situation.

"What?" The boy's voice wavered slightly.

"Apologizing to your Pokémon is good. It was your fault you lost, you called out a bad move and left your Charmander open for a counterattack. You're the trainer, you're in charge. Your Pokémon trusts you completely, and will do whatever you ask it to, so make sure you're thinking things through and not being reckless. Recklessness leads to losses, and losses lead to crumbling trust between trainers and their Pokémon."