Love in the Time of Trials

Chapter 18: An Insecurity

Shorter chapter, and a little quieter compared to the last one, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Time for Chapter 18!

Chapter 18

An Insecurity

"Yo! You're gonna regret this!"

"When the boss comes back, we're totally gettin' out of here, yo!"

The cries of the captured Team Skull grunts hurt Clemont's pounding head. Why ARC had insisted on keeping them in the Pokémon Center until Officer Jenny and her officers arrived was completely beyond him. They were rude, obnoxious, foul-mouthed (from time to time) and were even louder captured than they were free. This was only from a few of them, too. Most had managed to escape.

"Yeah, you're getting out of here, all right," Lionel drawled, though his rather sardonic tone indicated that he meant "out of here in cuffs". Thankfully, Clemont had the ample distraction of waiting and worrying...if that was something to be grateful for. If anyone really had the right to be worried, though, it was Ash. His best friend was pacing outside of the emergency room with his Pokémon waiting quietly. Well, Lycanroc was growling angrily, like she wanted to rip Team Skull a new one.

Clemont couldn't blame her. He had thought something like Iki Town was a completely isolated event, but the crazed Guzma quickly proved it wasn't. Ash clearly didn't take it well either, constantly clenching his fists angrily. To Clemont's eyes, the leader of Team Skull had gotten into his head. Sure, they had won, just like in Iki Town, but once again, it didn't feel like a victory. Clemont, himself, felt utterly ineffectual until Hapu had arrived with her Mudsdale, beating aside the Skull hooligans like nothing. Even now, she was sitting calmly on a couch in the Center, as if it had been like a warm-up.

Sighing, the inventor stood as the doors to the Pokémon Center opened. Leading the parade of police officers were Samson Oak and Kahili, the latter still looking furious from the earlier confrontation. Samson moved to speak with Lionel, but Clemont wasn't paying much attention to his words. He was more worried about Ash.

"Everything will be fine," he reassured his friend. Ash stopped for a moment to nod. There was something on his mind, Clemont could tell, and it was more than Pikachu and Decidueye's injuries. Even Rotom had picked up on it, given its silence through the whole thing. Only now was it perking up again, going to meet with Samson.

"I know," Ash replied. The light over the door suddenly went out and both of them looked towards it. Ash's restless Pokémon were the same. Behind them, Officer Jenny had grabbed the long string tied around their previous foes and was corralling the Skull grunts, dragging them all out with their all too verbal complaints.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu called the second the gurney rolled out from the emergency room. He was on top of Decidueye's lap, the newly evolved Pokémon smiling. Once they were within range, the two leapt off the gurney to fling themselves upon their trainer. Pikachu wasn't a problem for Ash, but Decidueye proved to be much heavier, sending them to the floor.

"Both Pikachu and Decidueye are fine, but make sure that they rest so they don't injure anything," Nurse Joy instructed Ash. He sat up and nodded to her as the rest of his team gathered around. For that moment, Ash looked content. Clemont was grateful and turned towards those that had gathered in the Center.

"So, Pikachu is okay then?" Samson was asking as he walked over with the rest. On top of his head was Rotom, seemingly circling through a catalog of Z-Crystals on its screen, as though it had gotten a small upgrade to view them. Ash looked up and nodded with a grin. "Good to know."

"Decidueye looks healthy as well," Kahili commented. Her body had shifted, leaning against the counter in the middle of the Center, though she still held some of the rigid fury from earlier. Any other patrons of the Center seemed to be outright avoiding her, given her attitude, few though there were. "Considering that Golisopod could have done quite the bit of damage to Toucannon had it hit, I'm surprised the two are still standing."