The Best is Yet to Come (A Pokemon Fanfic)(OC x Leon)

Chapter 5: The Nightmares

"Arceus, Ru! You look terrible!" Sonia sat across from her friend, setting down her cup of coffee. "It looks like you had a rough night...what happened?"

Ru silently ran her index finger along the rim of her glass of tea, unintentionally ignoring the redhead's question.

The pair sat at the diner in Hulbury, waiting for Nessa to join them and visit. Ru had bags under her eyes and she looked a bit pale. Laika sat up close to her trainer's chair, watching her like a hawk. The way she just stared at Ru made Sonia even more worried.

"Ru...please tell me what's going on with you, I want to help. We're friends, remember?" Sonia reached out and put a hand on the brunettes, frowning with concern.

Suddenly, Ru looked up at her friend with watery eyes, "I-it's just...last night..." She paused to take in a deep breath to compose herself, "Last night... I watched one of the tournament battles from last year. And the dynamaxed Pokémon...they somehow made me think of ultra beasts back on Alola...and I had quite a few panic attacks in a row." She reached out the hand Sonia wasn't holding to stroke Laika's head, who whimpered as she leaned into Ru's hand.

Sonia's frown deepened and she then took Ru's hand with both of hers, holding it firmly. "Oh Ru, I'm so sorry! I never thought that dynamaxing would trigger your PTSD! I guess then you'll have issues researching it for your dad, huh?"

Ru gently nodded, "That's what hurts me the most. I don't want to let him down, yet there's this huge roadblock in my project here in Galar..."

"Well, how come you can't just tell Professor Elm? I'm sure he'd understand. Does he know of your incident in Alola too?"

"Of course he does," Ru sighed, "He flew all the way to Alola to see me at the hospital. I had never seen him so terrified in my life. Because of it all, Professor Kukui had to do give my dad what he had written down about the Ultra Beasts." She looked down at Laika, rubbing her sore eyes, "But I'd feel terrible to not be the one writing stuff down for my dad for a second time. I'd hate for you or your grandmother to give him everything about dynamaxing."

"Hey." Sonia squeezed Ru's hand, "Don't' sweat it! If it comes to it, my grandma and I would be more than happy to lend you a hand. After all, you've helped us quite a bit around the lab, so we'd have to return the favor somehow." She winked with a bright smile, her orange hair bouncing as she shifted in her seat. Just as she released Ru's hand, Sonia noticed Nessa entering the diner and waved her down. "Over here, Ness!"

Ru bit her lip, watching the gym leader approach their table. She kept quiet, staring at the faint reflection in her drink.

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Rocks crumbled down the cliff as Ru approached, panic in her eyes. She could've sworn she heard a familiar voice nearby. The caverns were almost too dark to see, the only light was the soft electricity her Luxray emitted to make it easier to see where they were going.

Laika was nowhere to be found.

"Rufina!" The voice shouted.

Ru ran toward the sound of the masculine voice, soon finding her father Professor Elm running toward her. She grinned seeing the older male and rushed over with her arms outstretched; "Daddy!"

Luxray suddenly grabbed her trainer by the back of her coat, stopping her halfway toward the professor. Before Ru could question her Pokémon, the ground started to shake beneath their feet violently. Her first instinct was to stand her ground and try not to fall, though the sound of a sudden scream yanked her out of her focus.