Pokemon One-Shots and Headcanons

Broken

Sometimes what you see isn't always real....

"Ash, what's wrong?" 

"Nothing, Serena," Ash hissed. "Go away." 

It was late at night in Ash's hometown of Pallet Town, Kanto. Serena, Brock, Paul, and Dawn were visiting the raven-haired teen, as it was his last day before he would leave to travel the Alola region. But instead of his usual happy self, Ash was seated on the couch, his head down and his posture defeated. 

"Ash, come on. You can trust us," the honey-blond girl pleaded. Beside her, Greninja reached out to touch his trainer's shoulder, but Ash only shoved his arm away. 

"Ash..." the frog-ninja Pokemon whispered softly. 

"Don't, Greninja. Just don't," Ash said, a bit more harshly than he intended. Greninja blinked, shocked and hurt. 

"Ash, we want to help you. Please let us," he practically begged. 

For a moment, it seemed as though Ash wasn't going to answer. Then, slowly, he looked up at his friends. What they saw caused them to reel back in shock. 

Ash's left eye was purple and swollen to nearly twice its size. His lip was cut and bleeding, and there was a large cut on his right cheek. 

"Oh my," Dawn gasped. 

"Like what you see?" he asked, laughing bitterly. 

"Ash, who-who did this to you?" Paul stammered, a rare occurence for the Sinnoh native. 

"If you must know, it was my mother," Ash responded flatly. "She met some guy while I was away in Kalos, and he changed her." 

"Oh, Ash..." Serena whispered sadly. 

"Don't," the raven-haired teen spat. "I don't need your pity. I don't need any of you. I can deal with this on my own." 

Serena fell silent. 

Everyone in the room stared at the floor, no one knowing for sure how to handle this situation. 

Then Brock took a step forward and rested a hand on Ash's shoulder. 

"None of us are here to pity you, Ash," he said gently. 

Ash just stared blankly at him. 

"But if you want," the Pokemon doctor continued, "we can be the family you need."