Sometimes I really feel like I'm writing two completely different fics at the same time. I hope the format of this story isn't too confusing, though.

Anyway, this was a fun chapter to write. I hope you'll like it!

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"Ash!" Kukui called. "You can come in now!"

The doorway stayed empty, and the pit in Kukui's stomach grew bigger.

"Where… is he?" asked Lillie, her hand curling around Snowy's back. The rest of the class fidgeted anxiously, and Kukui knew they were seconds away from another freak out.

"Ash?" he called again. He cleared his throat and marched to the door, looking out into the hallway.

The very, very empty hallway.

"Crap", he muttered under his breath.

"Professor?" asked Kiawe from behind him. "Where'd he go?"

"I-" Kukui swirled his head around, looking in every possible direction, with no luck. "I'm-"

Principal Oak leaned against the wall next to him, murmuring, "Hm. Ash used teleport."

Kukui gave him a very firm glare before turning back to his class, attempting to keep his composure as relaxed as possible.

"Oh, you know Ash…" he chuckled weakly. "He probably saw something interesting and wandered away. But he was just there, so he can't have gotten far-"

There were sudden loud noises coming from outside, first shouting and then multiple pokemon being released, and everyone in the room froze.

There was laughter, and someone sneered, "You think you're such a big deal now, huh, Champion boy?"

Kukui felt his face paling. He ran through the classroom, the kids at his heels, and leaned over the balcony railing to look down onto the yard. Ash was standing there, his stance wide and Pikachu at his side, staring down the annoying bunch of Team Skull grunts currently surrounding him. There was a younger girl a slight distance behind Ash, curled crying on the ground, hugging an injured popplio in her arms.

"I don't care who you are, I'm not letting you bully anyone like that", Ash was saying angrily, pointing vaguely in the girl's direction. "If you wanna battle with somebody, battle with me!"

"Look at him pretending he don't even know us", snickered the pink-haired girl. "All high and mighty with his new big title."

"Yeah!" replied the biggest of the three. "He probably thinks he's better than us or somethin'!"

"We've been training too, Ash", snapped the blue-haired guy, his voice seething. "Maybe Guzma's ready to let you be, but we're not! Get ready for your humiliating defeat!"

The young girl had crawled closer to Ash, and was tugging on his shirt, drawing his attention to her. "I didn't even wanna fight with them, but they still beat up my Poppy really badly, Champion Ash", she nervously said. "Be careful, please?"

Ash smiled and nodded encouragingly at her, and then turned his glare back to the grunts.

"Fine with me!" he shouted back. "You get ready too, cos I'm gonna defeat you!"

"He's really hot-headed today", murmured Mallow, and something about that statement snapped Kukui out of his trance.

He shook his head and yelled, "Ash!"

His voice rang loud and hard across the yard, and everyone down there looked up with various expressions of shock and anger. But he only had eyes for Ash, who glared up at him with an annoyed tilt to his brow and hadn't relaxed his battle-ready stance the least.

"Let me handle this, Professor!" he called back, the fire in his eyes clear even from distance. "I'm gonna teach these guys a lesson!"

"Oh yeah?" snarled the girl. "Like that's gonna happen!"

"Yeah! You just wait!" snapped Ash, and they were instantly back at it. It was the Skull grunts nine pokemon against Ash's Pikachu, though Lycanroc and Naganadel were hanging out behind him, looking somewhere between bored and excited.

On a normal day, Kukui wouldn't have batted an eye seeing a battle like this take place – he knew Ash could take on a group like that easily, and more. But this wasn't a normal day, not even close. This Ash had come from the past less than two hours ago and had no idea who Team Skull were, that they tended to fight dirty. Gods, he barely knew who his own pokemon were.

This could go badly. Really badly.

He called, desperate, "Let it go, okay? Just this once. Hey, didn't you want to meet your classmates?"

Ash shrugged, not even bothering to avert his eyes from the grunts anymore as he replied, "Well, soon, yeah. I'll just beat these guys first."

The big guy laughed. "Aw, you scared, Champ? Need your daddy to look out for you, huh?"

Kukui could see Ash seething with anger, and his stomach curled anxiously. This Ash was so reckless – too reckless. He must've known he was at a huge disadvantage, with a team he didn't know, against opponents he didn't know – but who knew him. He really, really shouldn't agree to a battle like that.

Pikachu seemed to be getting some second thoughts too, and it glanced back at Ash with a concerned look. Ash just waved his hand at it, and said, "Come on buddy, don't be like that. We gotta fight, right?"

Then he grinned, dangerous, and stared at his opponents. "I choose you, Pikachu!"

Accepting the situation as what it was, Pikachu stepped forward, cheeks bristling, and it didn't look any less dangerous than when it'd been facing Tapu Koko. The grunts glanced at each other with barely concealed worry, but quickly hid it under anger, ordering their pokemon to attack.

"You said Ash doesn't know anyone, here? Or anything about Alola?" asked Kiawe quietly, his eyes fixed on the starting battle.

"Unfortunately, yes", replied Kukui tightly. "That's why I'm so worried about this."

Kiawe looked at him, face drawn tight with concern and fury. "Then he doesn't know anything about Z-moves either! There's no way he's defeating all those guys with just Pikachu's normal moves!"

Before Kukui could say anything, the boy had taken off, running towards the hallway.

"I'm going down there! At least it'll be two against three, then!"

"Wait, Kiawe!" Kukui yelped, but he didn't dare take his eyes off of the battle for any amount of time. And maybe it was only a good thing that Kiawe was going, he thought silently. He, at least, knew these grunts, and could actually help.

"Whoa, it's getting pretty heated down there", said Lana, who was on her tiptoes leaning as far as she could over the balcony railing. Lillie hovered behind her, Snowy tightly tugged under her arms. Mallow twirled a strand of hair around her finger nervously and Sophocles was twitching with excited energy, fingers tightly curled around the railing.

"You think Ash's gonna beat them?" he asked, and Togedemaru chirped confidently on his shoulder.

"He and Kiawe, for sure", nodded Lana with a knowing look. "No way's Ash gonna lose to a bunch of asswipes like them."

"Lana", chided Kukui distractedly.

The battle was going… surprisingly okay so far. Ash and Pikachu worked well together, even with the strain of the time skip, and few of the grunts' mediocre pokemon had already been taken out. A thunderbolt struck through the opponents, taking out about half of the remaining. But while Pikachu was getting ready for another attack, three of the grunts' pokemon rushed it, tackling it and spilling poison all over it.

"Pikachu!" shouted Ash with concern. "You okay?"

Pikachu stumbled for a second, exhausted, but it stayed on its feet. It nodded.

"The battle is almost over", observed Principal Oak morbidly. "If Ash doesn't call forward his other pokemon soon, he will get sorely defeated."

Kukui knew he was right. It didn't help at all.

"Dodge it, Pikachu! Use quick attack!"

But Pikachu was too weak, to injured to execute the move perfectly. It faltered as it ran, and one of the zubats got another wing attack on it. Pikachu screamed in pain, and Ash begged it to get up, please Pikachu, just hold on for a little while longer.

And that was when Kiawe finally got there.

He didn't waste any time releasing Turtonator, and preparing for a Z-move. He called forth the full power of the Wela volcano, and the following fire show blasted the grunts and their pokemon all the way to the other side of the yard.

When the dust settled, Kukui could see Ash standing there, just staring at Kiawe in absolute awe and shock, before he remembered the battle and rushed to Pikachu, falling on his knees beside it.

"Pikachu!" he yelped, gathering its trembling form onto his lap. "Man, you're poisoned… oh, man…"

Kukui couldn't just watch any more. He turned on his heels and rushed into the hallway, leaping down the stairs two at a time, and strode across the yard towards his students.

"Ash!" he called, and the boy looked up, his brown eyes wide and anxious. "Give this to it, right away!"

He threw a pecha berry at him and Ash caught it easily, bringing it to Pikachu's mouth. The pokemon nibbled at it weakly, and slowly, steadily, it grew more alert.

Kukui reached Ash and Kiawe's side and crouched next to Ash. He gently grasped the boy's arm, bringing his eyes up to him.

"I'm glad you're okay", he said, and the sternness of his own voice surprised him. "But that was… ill-advised, what you did, Ash. You put Pikachu in a lot of danger. You only just got here, knowing nothing of this place, about the people and pokemon here. Why… why was a battle the first thing in your mind?"

Ash blinked at him a few times before his gaze lowered, his eyes disappearing behind the bill of his cap.

"Sorry", he mumbled, quietly, resentfully. His hands were tight around Pikachu, fingers digging into the soft fur. Pikachu let him hold it, though Kukui could see it watching Ash, mixed emotions clouding its gaze. "I just…"

"Just, what?" asked Kiawe, and Kukui was startled by the honest anger in his voice. Ash looked up at Kiawe, mouth thinning, brow creasing, and Kiawe held his gaze firmly. "What were you doing, putting your pride and selfish needs to prove yourself before the safety of your own partner? The Ash I know-"

"Kiawe", warned Kukui.

Kiawe's mouth snapped shut momentarily, but he was too wound up not to add, "Seriously, if you'd stopped to think even for a second-"

Ash shot to his feet, his mouth curled into a snarl. "You don't even know what happened!" he yelled back, and Kukui flinched at the scene. It was so wrong. So wrong, so wrong. "They were bullies, and I don't care if we're at a disadvantage, we always fight against jerks like that!"

Kiawe raised his brow, arms crossed tightly. "Even if you'd certainly lose?"

Ash nodded, not a second of hesitation. "Even if we'd lose. Right, Pikachu?"

There was dark amusement in Pikachu's eyes as it agreed, "Pika."

Ash nodded again. Then, he looked at Kukui, the anger in his features mostly gone. "You got any more of those berries, Professor?" he asked, and the radical subject change threw him off for a second. Kukui breathed out, slowly, and mostly steadily, and nodded.

"Um, yeah. Follow me."

He shared a look with Kiawe. The kid was clearly still pissed off, but there was also confusion in his glare, agitation. Worry, for his friend he didn't know anymore.

Kiawe was a good kid, and so was Ash. They just needed some time to get to know each other again.

.

.

Fifteen minutes later they were back in the classroom.

Ash was standing in the front with Professor Kukui, while the rest of the class sat in confused silence.

"So, Ash", began Kukui, waiving his hand awkwardly. "These are your classmates. You met Kiawe already… Um, why don't you all tell a little bit about yourself? Lana, you can start."

"Sure", said Lana, sitting up straighter. "Uh, so my name's Lana. This is my partner Sandy…" She petted her eevee, who crooned happily, "…and my other partner is Primarina. I love water type pokemon, and I wanna study the ocean, and find Manaphy!"

"Oh man, that's so cool!" exclaimed Ash with a big smile, and everyone relaxed slightly at the familiar reaction. "I wanna meet Manaphy, too!"

"Right?" replied Lana with a cheeky grin. "When Summer break starts, I'm going out to the ocean with my dad to do just that!"

"You are?" asked Mallow, her eyes widening. "I didn't know!"

Lana shrugged apologetically. "We only just decided yesterday. Sorry, I didn't have time to tell you."

"How about you, Mallow?" Kukui prompted, before the girls could get too far off track. "Tell us a little bit about yourself and your goals."

They went through the class like that. Everyone kept their words quite light and vague and Ash nodded along, clearly intrigued by the different lives they lead and excited about the various pokemon he saw roaming around the kids. Mallow wanted to improve the family restaurant, Lillie wanted to awaken Magearna ("Magearna?" asked Ash), and Sophocles wanted to start training towards becoming an astronaut.

When it came to Kiawe's turn, the atmosphere in the room changed slightly. Ash had clearly chosen the fire-type trainer as his new rival, and Kiawe was more than happy to accept that.

"I wanna train hard to get much, much stronger", Kiawe said with a fierce smile. "I'm gonna work towards my island challenge next – but before all that…" He levelled an intense stare at Ash, "I wanna challenge you to an all-out battle!"

Ash stepped forward, fists rising, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh yeah? Challenge accepted!"

Kukui laughed nervously, and Lana muttered, "Well, some things never change…"

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.

The sun was starting to drop behind the treetops, and the air grew chilly and heavy around them.

Ash was sitting by the cave entrance – staring into the forest's shadowy depths, like he thought he could find the answers to their problems there if he just looked hard enough – when Lucario came to sit beside him.

Hello, Ash.

"Hey", mumbled Ash, glancing at the pokemon briefly.

He still felt a little woozy. He had drunk a lot of water and eaten a few berries they had found close by, but it hadn't really been enough. They couldn't risk wandering too far away from the cave though, because it was the place where Corphish and Phanpy would return to, and it wasn't like either of them had any energy to look around anyway.

They would just have to push through this.

Lucario scooted even closer, its arm brushing against his, offering comfort and demanding attention.

Do you know if… that hunter will come after us?

Ash flinched, his breath catching for a split-second before he forced himself to relax again. He had thought about it already, of course he had, but…

That didn't make it any easier to admit it out loud.

"Yeah", he said, slowly, almost like a sigh. "But not right away, I guess. Catching Mew was her priority, so she'll probably make sure she's got it secured first, before coming after us."

Lucario tensed, its paws curling as its head dropped lower, anxiety flowing out of it in waves – so strongly that Ash could swear he felt it affecting him, too.

Chest feeling tight, hands trembling, he forced a smile and hurried to continue, "Hey, I dunno if she's interested enough, though! J's all about money, y'know? If she gets a better deal somewhere else, I don't think she'll bother with us anymore."

Lucario let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a whine – like a trapped animal.

She seemed quite curious about both of us. Ash… How common are Aura users in your time?

Ash glanced at it, eyes wide, jaw clenching, before he looked away again, into the darkened woods ahead.

Suddenly, he could vividly remember the burn against his neck as Lucario channeled its Aura into him in its desperate attempt to save them. The scorching pain in his hands as his life force drained into Mew and the world turned hazy around him. The faint blue barrier around him and Lucario as the silver mirror surface of the pond was just inches away from his face –

He shuddered, poked at his arm again, and winced. Sadly, it wasn't feeling any better yet.

He mumbled, "Not at all common."

Without looking, he could tell Lucario was staring at him. He could feel its piercing glare digging through his dirty, tangled hair and into the back of his skull, hungry for an explanation Ash didn't have.

Its tone, even through telepathy, was curious as it next spoke.

You… had no idea you could use Aura before you came to Rota Kingdom, is that correct?

"Well, yeah."

And after what Mew did, you came from the future… And you still did not know how to control it. When we fell…

Ash whipped his head around so fast his world spun for a second.

"Lucario", he said, voice cracking, "there are no Aura Guardians anymore. No human freely uses Aura in this world. No one."

Lucario's head tilted. I do not understand, Ash. As an Aura Guardian one can do so much good! It was always Aaron's dream, to have the skills and power to protect people! Do you not want that?

The words twisted something deep in Ash's chest. He did – of course he did. He loved the world, and he wanted nothing more than to protect it. But…

He felt burdened by the world already. Maybe he was being selfish, but he really didn't want – really couldn't have that extra title added onto his shoulders. The Chosen One on its own was enough, and how lucky would he be if that had turned out to be the only one he needed to bear.

He said, hoarsely, "I can't."

But… I could feel how strong you were. I know – I could teach you! With some practice-!

Ash closed his eyes, painfully tightly. "Don't – it's not for me. Thanks, Lucario, but there's enough going on without… all that. I just… I'm sorry."

Lucario seemed to get the hint, since the next time Ash opened his eyes and looked at it, it had turned its head away and was staring into the forest, a thoughtful frown on its face. They were quiet for a long while after that, a silent hum of something between them, a warmth of some kind, and Ash almost dozed off for a minute, his head dipping as exhaustion did its best to drag him down.

.

There was something echoing in his head, something Professor Kukui had said to him one evening while patching him up after an eventful day. "Listen, Ash", he'd said, in that a low, serious voice he only used when he really needed to get his point across. "One of your strongest qualities is your drive to help others above everything. It's rare, and incredibly special, to be as selfless as you are. But if I could give you one piece of advice…" He had paused, and Ash remembered nodding despite his confusion. Kukui's hand had been heavy on shoulder; big and warm, and comforting, but heavy. "What I think you need to work on is taking care of yourself, too. Sometimes, putting your own needs above others is the right thing to do. There is a balance in there that, maybe, you haven't quite yet found."

Ash hadn't really gotten it then – he still didn't, not truly – because how could he know when that was the right thing to do? What if, when doing that, he allowed something irreversibly bad to happen that he could've stopped? He knew he wasn't the center of the world, and awful things happened whatever and however much he fought against it all, but how could he justify not doing everything he could to prevent even some of that hurt?

He sighed quietly. Lucario's Aura mixed into his in a silent hum, a strange, warm dance of energy, and Ash struggled to breathe calmly.

Was he letting Lucario down? When refusing to train his Aura, was he letting the world down?

Or was this part of what the Professor had tried to tell him? Could it really be okay, despite everything his decision could cause, to do something as selfish as that?

He really, really wished he knew.

.

He was startled back to alertness when next to him, Lucario suddenly jumped, its ears flying upwards and its body tensing, gaze fixed to the side.

Few seconds later, Ash could feel it too. Someone was approaching.

The feeling was shortly followed by the sound of snapping wigs and rustling leaves, and then the two forms of his pokemon appeared from between the trees.

"Corphish! Phanpy!" Ash exclaimed, and the pokemon instantly dropped what they'd been carrying and ran up to him, trampling all over his legs as they crowded in to nuzzle him.

Ash giggled with relief and hugged them tightly, briefly burying his face against Phanpy's large, soft ear.

"I missed you, guys! Man, I'm so glad you're okay!"

Stop walking all over him, can you not see how hurt he is? And did you find anything useful for us?

Corphish and Phanpy backed off instantly, and Ash whined, "Aw, Lucario, don't be so harsh! They were just saying hello."

But he did watch with interest as the pokemon dragged their findings closer. Corphish had brought an arm full of berries and Phanpy had something wrapped in its trunk, something papery and rolled-up. They dropped them at his and Lucario's feet and Ash instantly reached for a berry, stuffing it halfway into his mouth as he took up the rolled paper and smoothed it open with his hand.

It was a map of some sort, an impeccably detailed drawing of a landscape, dotted with tiny markings and text Ash could hardly read from the wrinkled surface of the paper.

"Looks like a hiking map", he observed between ravenous munches of his berry, vaguely recognizing the shapes on the map. It took his overtaxed mind a few moments to place the landmarks shown on it, but as he finally did, his eyes widened in surprise.

He pointed at the map with a shaking finger, gasped, "We're in Sinnoh!"

Sinnoh? asked Lucario, staring at the map with confusion. Are you sure?

"Look, I recognize this town! It's Oreburgh City, where I got my Coal badge!" Excitement bubbling in his chest, he followed the paths leading out of it with his finger, realizing they were heading up into the mountains that took most of the space on the map. The focus was clearly on the hiking paths, but the few bigger roads and the corner of the town shown on it could turn out helpful later on.

He turned to look at his pokemon, exclaiming, "Great work, this is awesome! Where did you find this?"

Corphish pointed vaguely into the direction they'd come from, and Phanpy said, "Phan, phanpy-pha."

About a twenty-minute walk that way, Lucario translated. It looked at the setting sun and hummed. That is, towards North.

Ash nodded as he destroyed another berry. "Okay", he mumbled, mouth full. "Did you see the city there? Or a poke center?"

"Cor! Cophish hish."

A pokemon center. Lucario listened a while longer as Corphish explained something and then continued, tone slightly disgusted, They… um, they stole it from a trash bin behind the building.

"Oh…"

Ash's smile dimmed slightly as he eyed the berries on his lap with suspicion. Then, deciding he didn't really care, snorted, "I guess that explains why it's so rumpled and dirty, huh?" He laughed quietly, and pushed himself onto his wobbly legs. "Anyway, we gotta get moving if we wanna get there before dark, right?"

Corphish and Phanpy looked at him with sudden worry, and Lucario stood up as well, grabbing his arm to help him keep his balance.

Are you sure you are well enough to walk, Ash? You seem terribly weak still.

Ash grumbled, "I'm fine. Let's just go."

Swellow's poke ball weighed heavily against his hip, and Grovyle, though it'd been very reluctant to agree, was in its ball as well. Ash sighed, and said to Phanpy, "You should go back in. I think we gotta keep our group as small as possible, just in case."

Phanpy agreed with a sad nod. When it was back in its ball, Ash secured its onto his belt, feeling a heaviness in his bones that wasn't just from exhaustion. Jaw set, he took a deep breath, wiped cold sweat from his forehead and faced the forest.

"Right. Corphish, let's go back to the pond first. You can help us find this… uh, this device on the bottom of it. And after that, we're not stopping until we find that poke center."

.

.

Half an hour later – or an hour, or two hours, Ash had no idea anymore at that point – they were stumbling along, deep in the pitch-black forest, still looking for the promise of a poke center, a place to rest, to heal. They had lost their way a long time ago, and Ash could barely see through the fog in his eyes as he staggered on, rolling the heavy platform across the bumpy forest floor. They took turns, with Lucario, and with Grovyle who had forced itself out of the poke ball the third time Ash had fallen over, but all of them were way past their limits already.

"It's just here", Ash whispered breathlessly, trying to convince himself as much as his team. "Just around here, it's gotta be."

He tripped on a root and fell to his knees, his breath ringing raggedly in his ears. Grovyle bent over him silently, taking the weight of the platform with its clawed hands.

Lucario swayed next to him, and it leaned against a tree stump, eyes tightly closed.

I can sense her Aura, it muddily said, pearls of sweat glistening on its forehead. You are correct, Ash, we are almost there. If only I could… focus a little better…

"Don't worry about it", said Ash, teeth gritting together as he got up again. "Let's just keep walking."

Corphish whined softly. It blamed itself for not having been able to lead the group to the center like it had aimed to, and instead now they were all lost. Nothing Ash had said, trying to convince it none of this was its fault, had mattered. The shame and self-hatred surrounding the small pokemon were intense, and getting worse by the minute.

"Almost there", Ash encouraged quietly, and they pushed through another batch of thick undergrowth, suddenly stumbling into a clearing. The halogen lights of the pokemon center were almost blindingly bight in the darkness of the night, and Ash stared blearily at the building, not really comprehending what he was seeing.

It was almost dream-like, an oasis of safety surrounded by vast nothingness. A lighthouse in the middle of a stormy ocean.

What… is this place? asked Lucario, and the lights were reflecting from its dazed eyes as it stood there, shaking from head to toe.

Ash laughed. A huff, and another huff. He clutched his stomach, willing the pain to lessen.

"We made it", he grinned.

.

.

Later on, he couldn't really recall much of the next half an hour.

He remembered standing at the front desk, calling out for Nurse Joy. He remembered laying on the floor, an overly concerned chansey leaning over him. He remembered Nurse Joy's distress ("Oh dear. Oh dear!") as she took his pokemon, took Lucario, to the back room, leaving him alone on the cold laminated floor.

He came back to himself a bit more when a small and warm hand brushed his hair away from his face. He opened his eyes and stared blearily into Nurse Joy's big eyes.

"Hey, sweetheart", she said, her smile mostly masking the anxiety in her expression. "Can you sit up?"

She helped him onto a nearby sofa, a first aid kit spilled on the table next to it. She didn't ask permission to cut clean through the jean-bandage on his arm, and Ash didn't argue. The sting of the disinfectant that followed was almost comforting in its familiarity, and he closed his eyes, dozing off lightly.

She worked in silence. They never did give enough credit to the Joys, though Ash idly. Sure, they looked sweet and spoke softly, but they could be dangerously protective when they needed to be, and incredibly talented with medicine, always.

She finished wrapping gauze down his arm, and patted his chest softly. "All done now, honey", she prompted, and he opened his eyes reluctantly. "Is anything else hurting beside your arm?"

Well, some things sure were, but not enough for him to mention.

"No", he replied, and he pulled himself up to a sitting position. "Thanks, Nurse Joy. I'll be fine, now."

She eyed him for a moment before sighing, "Well, if you're sure…"

"I am. How are the others? My pokemon and Lucario?"

He gnawed on his lip while Nurse Joy hesitated.

"They all were extremely exhausted", she ended up saying. "Hungry, and thirsty, and low on energy. Your swellow…"

Ash swallowed thickly. Remembered the pain in Swellow's eyes.

"It will be okay. They all need lots of rest, I'm sure you understand. I couldn't find a poke ball on you for the lucario, though. I put it under induced sleep for now, so it can recover in peace."

Ash nodded tiredly. "Yeah, Lucario isn't… mine. It's my good friend, though. Thank you for helping them all, and me."

"Of course", she replied, and her smile reminded Ash of his mom. Or maybe of Professor Burnet.

Ash took a shaky breath.

"Could I rent a room?" he asked hesitantly. "I mean, I don't have any money on me right now, but I can pay you back later! Just for one night, anyway-"

Her eyes widened as she shook her head swiftly. "Oh dear no, you won't have to pay!" Then, she leaned a bit closer, her voice lowering as concern took hold of her gaze. "Can I ask… Were you… attacked? Are you safe?"

Ash got startled by the question. He had no idea how to answer to it though, since he clearly wasn't safe, but he didn't think he was in any immediate danger, either.

"You don't gotta worry about me", he eventually said, brushing a tired hand through his dirty hair. He settled on a light, somewhat believable lie, and added, "It was just some wild pokemon. We got a bit too close to a spearow's nest and… y'know how they can be."

Nurse Joy gasped in horror. "Oh! You need to be more careful! A spearow attack is no joke!"

"Yeah", muttered Ash, and suddenly he missed Pikachu again, so hard it hurt. He closed his eyes, fighting back tears.

"Oh, sweetheart", said Nurse Joy softly. After a quiet minute, she started gathering away the first aid kit, and said, "You go have a shower in your room now, okay? Come back to the lobby when you're done, and I'll bring you some food. You look like you really need it!"

Ash blinked his eyes open.

No other string of sentences had ever sounded as good to him as those right then.

.

We all need a Nurse Joy in our life.

Have a good upcoming week, everyone!