I can make you laugh

It takes time to heal and you're still healing

Notes at the end for translations.

Ash flinched as he felt something tickle his nose and cheek.

Rowlet must be preening his feathers near me. He thought, sleepily moving to brush away the stray feathers. Only, the tickling came back. Immediately, Ash brushed his face again. Again, it came back, except it felt cold and wet this time. Ash frowned before opening his eyes. In front of his eyes, wet from condensation, were blades of grass.

Ash's eyes widened as he sat up. He was in a field, surrounded by fog. How did he get here? Wait, where was 'here'?

Where am I? he thought, looking around in confusion and fear. He squinted, hoping to find a light or a shape to indicate where he was but there was nothing. The fog was too thick and there were no lights.

"Oh good, you've finally woken up." a voice said, causing Ash's heart to jump to his throat. That voice. It couldn't be. Fearfully, Ash looked around before spying a shape approaching in the fog. As the shape got closer, Ash's heart raced and his breath quickened. Standing before him, with a cruel smirk on his face, stood the man that made Ash's skin crawl.

"Lysandre," Ash whispered.

"Good to see you awake, Chosen One," Lysandre smiled. "Now we can get started on creating the new world."

"I'm not doing anything!" Ash cried, scrambling to his feet to run. He barely took a few steps when he felt something cold and heavy scrape his wrists and ankles.

Oh Arceus, please no! Ash begged in his mind as he quickly looked at his arms and legs. Thick, metal cuffs decorated his wrists and ankles like bracelets. Horrified, Ash's eyes followed the thick chains attached to the cuffs down to the ground, where the chains were locked onto heavy rocks.

No, no, no, no! Ash thought in terror as he desperately tugged at the chains. Not again!

Lysandre smiled calmly as he watched Ash continued to fight against the chains.

"You shouldn't struggle, Ash. You really should save your strength. Besides, those chains are so strong, even a fire type couldn't melt them."

"Let me go!" Ash yelled, hoping his voice wouldn't give away how scared he was feeling. "Let me go right now!"

"I'm afraid I cannot," Lysandre smiled. "We have work to do."

Ash paused at Lysandre's words before looking at him.

"What kind of work?" Ash asked suspiciously.

"Why, my dream, of course," Lysandre informed him. "To cleanse the world and rebuild it into the utopia it's supposed to be. And of course, you will be helping me."

Ash's eyes widened.

"What?!" Ash yelled. Lysandre nodded with an arrogant smile.

"Yes," Lysandre nodded, moving closer to Ash. "We're going to cleanse the world of its evils. Think about it. No more greed, no more selfishness. Just a beautiful world that will continue to flourish and provide without anyone destroying it."

Lysandre smiled, grabbing Ash's chin to force him to look up into Lysandre's eyes. Ash grunted in pain, his eyes filling with tears. Quickly, Ash squeezed his eyes shut to fight the tears. He refused to give Lysandre that satisfaction.

"And with your gifts," he continued. "You shall help me cleanse this ugly world of its sins."

"The world is not ugly!" Ash argued, opening his eyes. "It's already filled with so many amazing things and people and Pokémon! It doesn't need fixing! And even if there was something wrong with the world, it's because of monsters like you who are too blind to see the beauty that already exists! You are what's ugly in this world!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Lysandre tutted, shaking his head. "You really should be nicer to the ruler of the new world."

"Never!" Ash snapped before spitting in Lysandre's face. Lysandre calmly released Ash's chin before wiping his face with his sleeve.

"You shouldn't have done that," Lysandre smirked. "Now I'm going to have to punish you."

"I don't care what you do to me!" Ash snapped. "You can't break me!"

"True, you are far too spirited," Lysandre admitted before stepping to the side. "But what about your friends?"

"My friends?" Ash asked in confusion.

"Are they as strong as you?" Lysandre asked as the fog started to lift. Ash gasped in horror. Everyone Ash ever loved. His mother, his professors, his friends, and his Pokémon. They were all standing in a cage, wearing chains around their ankles and looking around in fear. Then Ash noticed something more horrifying. They weren't in a field. They were near a cliff. Uneasily, Ash looked down. The faint shapes of sharp rocks were piercing through the fog. Horrified, Ash looked back at Lysandre, who was now leaning against the cage.

"Now, what were you saying about the world being beautiful?" Lysandre smirked. "Because that certainly doesn't look beautiful. It looks rather treacherous, doesn't it?"

Ash shivered, his eyes filling with tears again.

"And I bet it'll look even worst covered in blood," Lysandre continued. Ash gasped, unable to stop the tears from flowing.

"No! No please!" Ash pleaded, struggling against his chains.

"Oh, that's quite a reaction," Lysandre smiled cruelly, pulling out a key. "So, who should go first? Maybe your mother? Or one of your teachers? Perhaps one of your friends? Or how about your Pokémon?"

"Don't touch them!" Ash screamed, desperately pulling at his restraints.

"Wait, I know," Lysandre smiled, unlocking the cage. "How about the one you love?"

Ash watched in horror as Lysandre unlocked Gladion before dragging him towards the edge.

"Big brother!" Lillie yelled from the cage.

"No!" Ash screamed as Gladion stared at Ash in fear.

"Ash, help me!" Gladion pleaded.

"No!" Ash screamed, pulling at the restraints. "Don't touch him!"

"Ash, you're going to help me create a new world," Lysandre smiled cruelly as he started moving Gladion towards the edge. "Or I start throwing everyone you love to their deaths. Starting with him."

"No, please!" Ash begged. "Don't hurt him! Please don't hurt any of them!"

"What's your decision?"

"NO!"

"Ash!" Kukui's voice suddenly came from Lysandre's mouth. "Ash wake up!"

Ash sat up suddenly, screaming hard. Panting, he looked around. He wasn't on a cliff; he was sitting on his little couch bed in the loft of Kukui's house. It was a dream. It was only a dream.

"Ash?"

Ash turned his head to see Kukui, Burnet, Rotom and his Pokémon beside him, looking concerned. Ash stared at them for a minute before bursting into tears, much to everyone's shock. Burnet and Kukui looked at each other before carefully manoeuvring Ash onto the floor. Once he was seated, Burnet wrapped Ash in a tight hug while Kukui started rubbing circles onto Ash's back. As they continued to comfort him, Pikachu, Torracat, Lycanroc and Rowlet carefully surrounded Ash, gently rubbing themselves against Ash's legs.

"It's okay, ku'uipo," Burnet whispered as Ash continued to sob. "It's okay. We've got you. Shh."

As Ash took a few shuddering breaths to try and calm down, Rotom floated forward before gently placing its arm against Ash's neck to check his pulse rate.

"His pulse rate levels are high," Rotom informed the professors. "And he feels very sweaty. My data says that coupled with the sleep talking and screaming, he has just experienced a very vivid nightmare."

"I'm sorry," Ash whimpered, lifting his face from Burnet's shoulder. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay, Ash," Kukui said, taking Ash's hand in his own. "What happened? What were you dreaming about?"

"Somebody horrible who tried to force me to do something I didn't want to do," Ash admitted as Burnet released him. "Do you remember how you looked up what happened in Kalos while I was there a year and a half ago?"

Kukui nodded, remembering how horrified he felt when he saw the news articles about the Mythical Pokémon Zygarde and how it almost destroyed Kalos.

"Yes, a journalist called Alexa covered everything that happened," he said.

"She didn't mention this out of respect for me," Ash admitted. "But my Pokémon and I were captured and held hostage by the man who was responsible for what happened. He tried to force me and my Greninja to use our bond to help destroy everything. He said I was the chosen one; a guide for the new world."

Ash started to shake.

"I'm sick and tired of everyone thinking I'm the chosen one!" Ash yelled angrily. "I don't want to be a saviour! I just want to learn about Pokémon and be a Pokémon Master, not some sort of God! Is that too much to ask?!"

Kukui and Burnet watched helplessly as Ash raged. How much pressure had been put on this kid? Ash took a shuddering breath as he started to cry again.

"I was all alone too," he wept, his voice hoarse from the yelling. "Whenever I faced someone bad in the past, I always had my friends with me, helping me. But I was alone on top of that tower. I couldn't help my Pokémon! I failed to keep my Pokémon safe! I failed to keep Pikachu safe!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried as he tried to comfort Ash, crying at the memories and the fact that his best friend was hurting so much. Kukui and Burnet sighed before wrapping Ash in another hug while Torracat, Lycanroc and Rowlet tried to talk and comfort Pikachu.

"Ash, listen to me," Kukui said, his tone firm but kind. "You are not alone. You didn't fail. Pikachu is safe. You are safe. You'll always have us in your corner. Burnet, myself, Delia, your friends and your Pokémon. We'll never leave you."

"But what if something happens to you all?" Ash sobbed. "I could never forgive myself if you all got hurt because of me."

"That won't happen," Burnet smiled as Ash looked at her. "We will always be there for you and love you for the person you are."

"I promise in my house and under my care, you will always be safe," Kukui assured him, rubbing Ash's neck. "I won't let anything hurt you."

"Thank you," Ash whimpered as he held his two foster parents as tight as he could before crying himself to sleep.

***

When morning rolled around, Ash slowly opened his swollen eyes and looked around. He was surprised to see himself on the ground between Kukui on the left and Burnet on his right, both curled around him in a way of trying to protect him. Pikachu and Rowlet were curled up against his stomach while Torracat and Lycanroc were lying by their feet. Ash frowned.

What happened? He thought. How... Oh right, that.

Ash smiled sadly as he remembered the nightmare and how Kukui and Burnet came to comfort him. After gently wiggling out of their arms and carefully stepping around the sleeping Pokémon, Ash sleepily climbed down the loft ladder to go to the kitchen. There, he took some fruit from the fridge and a loaf of Nanab berry bread from the bread box. Once he set them on a breadboard, he filled the kettle with water before turning it on. As the kettle started to boil, Ash grabbed a knife from the knife block to start cutting the fruit and bread.

"Munch?"

Ash looked down to see Munchlax by his leg, looking at him hopefully.

"Would it be okay if you wait until everyone is awake?" Ash asked gently. "I kind of want us to eat together."

Munchlax nodded happily before leaving the kitchen area to set the table. Ash smiled, putting the knife down before pulling out some cups and teabags. Munchlax might be a bit of a foodie and sometimes forget that the meals were for everyone, but he really was a sweet Pokémon.

"Morning Ash."

Ash looked up from his work to see Rotom flying towards him from the office downstairs.

"Hi Rotom," Ash said as the kettle finished boiling. Smiling, Ash grabbed the kettle before filling the cups with hot water so the teabags could steep.

"What are you doing?" Rotom asked.

"I wanted to make breakfast for the professors," Ash said, putting the kettle down before picking up the knife. "What were you doing downstairs?"

"After you fell asleep last night, I went and gathered some data," Rotom answered as Ash started to cut the Nanab bread. "I learnt what happened in Kalos while you were there. I'm sorry you went through that."

"It's okay," Ash shrugged, finishing the bread before moving on to the fruit. "I'll be fine."

"But Ash, you were screaming last night," Rotom informed him. "You obviously went through a great deal of trauma. According to my data, people who go through severe trauma can often end up with post-traumatic stress or PTS for short. It's suggested that those people should go and see a doctor to see if they need to talk to a therapist or be on medication."

"I'm not going to a therapist," Ash stated as he started cutting faster.

"But Ash, my data says..."

"I don't care what your data says!" Ash snapped, frightening Rotom. "I'm not seeing a therapist! Not again!"

Ash gasped as he felt a sudden sharp pain beside his nailbed.

"Chikushō!" Ash swore, dropping the knife to clutch his hand. He took a step back, forgetting that there were full cups beside the breadboard he had been using. His elbow knocked over two of the cups, splashing hot water on the bench and Ash's forearm.

"Chikushō!" Ash screamed without thinking, jumping back to avoid the dripping water.

"Ash, quick!" Rotom cried. "Put your arm under running cold water!"

Tears stinging his eyes, Ash turned to quickly turn on the tap, sticking his arm under the running water. Taking shuddering breaths, Ash looked at his injured arm. It was red and there was blood dripping from his cut, mixing with the water. It stung badly. Ash bit his lip, willing the tears not to fall.

"Ash?"

Ash jumped before looking over his shoulder. Without him noticing, Kukui, Burnet and his Pokémon had come down from the loft and were now looking at him. Pikachu quickly jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Pika?!" Pikachu cried in alarm when he saw Ash's injuries.

"I'm alright Pikachu," Ash tried to smile through the pain. "I just had an accident."

"Let me have a look," Kukui said as he walked over. Ash nodded, quickly turning off the water before turning. Once he was closer, Kukui opened a cabinet before examining the cut on Ash's finger and the burn on his arm.

"Okay," Kukui nodded, grabbing a nearby tea towel to pat Ash's hand and arm dry. "The cut's not very deep and the burn isn't too bad. You just need some antibacterial and a band-aid."

"Okay," Ash said quietly, smiling as Pikachu gave him a few tender licks on the cheek. "Thanks, buddy."

"Pika," Pikachu purred.

"What happened?" Kukui asked as he pulled a tube of antibacterial ointment out of the cabinet. "We were just coming down when you started yelling and swearing. And yes, I know you were swearing even though you were speaking Kantonese. You should know, I don't like swearing in my house."

"Yes sir," Ash said in embarrassment, wincing as the ointment stung the cut and the burn. "I'm sorry. I was trying to make you all breakfast to say sorry for waking you up and to thank you for keeping me company for the rest of the night."

"That's okay on both accounts," Kukui nodded as he placed a band-aid around the cut. "Just keep your swearing Minimise. And I mean that in all languages."

"Yes sir," Ash nodded.

"Now that that's out of the way," Burnet smiled as she finished cleaning up the mess. "Do you want to tell us why were you yelling at Rotom?"

"I was suggesting that maybe Ash should go and see a therapist," Rotom answered.

"And I said no!" Ash snapped. Rotom flinched and hid behind Burnet. Ash sighed.

"I'm sorry, Rotom," Ash said. "The truth is I had a therapist before I came to Alola. He diagnosed me with depression and PTS and put me on medication. It made it worst. I couldn't get out of bed most days and I was always crying. It didn't help."

"But if you give me a few minutes, I could find someone here for you to talk to," Rotom pointed out. "I could help you find someone who could help you."

"Rotom, the only thing that works is what I have now," Ash sighed. "Running and learning about Pokémon. I don't want to talk to another doctor or try more medicine, so please Rotom, drop it."

"But I only want to help you," Rotom said in a hurt tone.

"I know," Ash said. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you. But please, let it go."

Rotom sighed before moving in a way that resembled nodding.

"Alright," it answered, making Ash smile with relief and gratitude.

"Now that that's all sorted," Kukui smiled. "How about we finish preparing breakfast together?"

Ash nodded before bending down to pull out a large box of Pokémon food and four food bowls. As Ash set up the Pokémon food, Kukui and Burnet quickly finished preparing breakfast before carrying the trays Ash had set up over to the coffee table by the couch.

"We appreciate you making breakfast for us, Ash," Burnet smiled as she and Kukui took their places on the couch. "But next time, try not to argue with Rotom while cutting fruit."

"I'll try," Ash said sheepishly as he moved to sit in between Kukui and Burnet. "Okay, Munchlax. We can eat now."

Munchlax cheered before greedily gobbling down his breakfast. Ash chuckled briefly as he watched before looking at Burnet.

"Hey you know, Professor," Ash smiled as he picked up his plate. "When I introduced my Snorlax to Professor Oak, he struggled with feeding him because he ate so much. But then a professor from Hoenn gave Professor Oak a specific recipe for Pokéblocks."

"I think I've heard of those," Burnet said thoughtfully as she nursed her cup. "They're a type of candy Pokémon Coordinators give their Pokémon to improve their conditions in contests, right?"

"Yeah, to help them look better or make their moves more interesting," Ash nodded between bites. "I'm not very good at making Pokéblocks but if we ask Professor Oak, I'm sure he'd be happy to give us the recipe he used for Snorlax. And I know it works because my friend May uses it for her Munchlax so maybe yours will like it too."

"Well, I don't see why not," Burnet smiled. "I think it would be a fun experiment to try. What do you think, Munchlax?"

"Munchlax!" Munchlax cheered.

"Then it's decided," Burnet nodded. "Why don't you call and ask him before we head off to school?"

"Sure," Ash nodded.

"And speaking of school," Kukui said, speaking for the first time since sitting down. "Would you prefer to cancel today's lesson, Ash?"

Ash, who had been drinking the last of his tea at the same time, gasped, accidentally inhaling the warm liquid at the same time. Dropping his cup, Ash coughed violently, expelling the liquid out of his mouth and nose. As he coughed, Kukui quickly started rubbing and patting Ash's back while Burnet used the napkins to dry up the tea and clean Ash's face.

"I'm sorry Ash," Kukui winced as Ash's coughing started to slow down. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," Ash croaked, eyes watering due to the burning in his nose. "I'm okay. What do you mean, cancel?"

"Well, you did have a nightmare about Kalos last night," Kukui reminded him gently. "And you did Snarl at Rotom early. So, if you're not ready to go back for a visit or are feeling anxious, we can cancel today's lesson and do one of my regular lessons instead. I'm sure everyone will understand if you're not feeling well."

"No, professor," Ash said gently. "I'm okay. If I was shutting down and did not want to move, then cancelling would be a good idea. But I'm okay, really. And I want to see my friends. Please let me do my lesson. Please."

Kukui looked at Ash for a moment before looking at Burnet, who nodded.

"Alright," Kukui sighed. "But if you start to struggle or feel unwell, will you please let us know? We just want you to be alright."

"I promise," Ash said before standing up. "I'm going to contact Professor Oak about my Pokemon. I'll also ask about the recipe."

As he was about to leave, Ash paused before turning and planting a quick kiss on his professors' cheeks, much to their surprise and delight.

"Thank you again," he smiled gratefully before jogging towards the staircase that led to the basement, Pikachu following close behind. Once Ash was out of sight, Kukui looked at his wife.

"Am I doing the right thing?" he asked. "Letting him go back there, even if it's just for a day?"

"I don't know," Burnet answered honestly. Kukui nodded as he looked at the last of his breakfast. He wasn't hungry anymore.

"But," Burnet continued. "He won't be alone. Let's just watch him today. That way in case something happens, we'll be there to help."

Kukui smiled. "You're brilliant, did you know that?"

"Thank you."

Note: "Chikushō" is Japanese for "oh, shit!".
"Ku'uipo" is Hawaiian for "sweetheart."