Darkness.

That was all that Ash could see or feel after the large flash that enveloped him. He couldn't tell how much time has passed. Whether it has been weeks... months... years possibly. There was no sense that he could feel... well, anything actually. It was like there was nothing that is existing in this plane.

Or maybe nothing existed at all...

Putting the cryptic stuff aside, Ash couldn't see or hear anything around him. But, somehow... he knew something was there... yet he couldn't tell what it was. It's presence was casting around Ash like a glow, with a burning sensation almost to it, but it was pitch black where he was. In hopes of calming his senses somewhat, he called out to it.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"It has been a while Ash Ketchum. The time to when we shall meet again is soon approaching. Once it does, your real strength will be decided." A soothing voice stated.

Ash looked down (or at least what he thought was down) and thought for a second. "My... strength?"

He could feel the presence dissapearing, so he called out. "Wait! Who are you?"

The darkness melted away from around him.

.........

Color started to take shape before Ash, but as he was just regaining his consciousness, he could only make out heavy blurs that were indistinctine to him. Slowly but surely, all of his senses were starting to return, and the shapes before him were being processed into a clearer shape.

The first thing he noticed was Anabel sitting on a chair with her head lying on the table like she was asleep. Espeon was curled on the table as well along with Pikachu. But he saw other shapes right next to him that were coming into focus also. He saw a person in a lot of blue with two eeveeloutions right next to him.

"Welcome back." Caleb stated in a quiet voice.

Ash sat up slightly while holding his head. "Geez. How long was I out?"

"2 days." Ash widened his eyes, but before he could say anything, Caleb stopped him.

"Don't start yelling right now. It's 3 A.M. I don't care if she kills me later, but Anabel needs her sleep." Caleb gestured to the sleeping Salon Maiden.

Ash saw this and nodded. "Sorry for making you all worry."

Caleb chuckled. "After I saw you were still in one piece, I stopped worrying. You should tell that to Anabel in the morning."

Ash took this moment to study Anabel really quick. She had a blanket around her body as well as a pillow that was on the floor, so Ash could tell she stayed here the whole time. Her hair was a mess, and... were those bags under her eyes?

"Oh my gosh." Ash muttered with the thought of making everyone worry.

Caleb rose an eyebrow. "Ash, don't worry about it. Anabel is one tough cookie. Honestly, she is about as stubborn as you are if I had to compare you both. But, like everyone, she has her breaking point."

"How so?"

Caleb thought for a second. "Well, you had the stubborness to make sure you didn't die first of all."

Ash chuckled at that remark. "You would be surprised how close I have came though."

Caleb frowned. "You can tell me later." He took a look at the Salon Maiden. "Anabel wouldn't leave this room while you were out, Ash. She had a hard time dealing with the fact that you were hurt. She blames it on herself for not being more careful, and I kept trying to reassure her otherwise. A lot of that may be from her empathetic link causing her emotions to peak slightly, but all in all, it isn't good."

Ash frowned himself. "Her ability extends that far?"

Caleb sighed. "You have no idea. It can go so far as to make her depressed for a while if she doesn't keep it in check. She tries her best to keep these things in check, but it can overtake her sometimes if she doesn't watch it. She hates when anyone finds any weakness in her, but sometimes, she also needs to realize we are here to help her."

Ash glanced at her, but before he spoke, Caleb continued. "Not only that, but she refused to leave the room while you were recovering. I had to drag her out myself just to help her fix her hair. I got a lot of weird looks from people that day because of her fighting back so hard."

Ash widened his eyes. "She was that determined to not leave? But why?"

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Honestly, you are as dense as a rock sometimes. Even at your age, I could tell when someone liked me."

Ash took notice of what he said. "Wait. Say that again?"

"You are as dense as a rock."

"No, the other thing."

"I got a lot of weird looks from people that day."

Ash scowled. "Caleb, I swear."

Caleb laughed quietly. "Fine. Look, I know you are a bit young to understand relationships, but come on man. You need to know how others feel if you want to understand them."

Ash gasped. "Wait, does she-"

"Like you? Think about it. What do you think?" Caleb sat back down as he picked up a new book. This time it was on legendary Pokémon.

Ash watched as he flipped through pages of different legends of many regions. Some of them, Ash recognized, like Registeel or Shaymin. But there were others that Ash had never seen before in his life, like a black-looking dragon type.

Caleb also skimmed through one that Ash had seen a lot of, so he had Caleb stop for a second. Caleb looked at Ash for a second. "I guess you've met Ho-Oh before, huh?"

Ash nodded as he thought back to the multiple times he has seen the Rainbow Pokemon before. "Yeah, I have. That Pokemon really interests me."

Caleb thought for a second. "You told me a lot of stories about you meeting legendary Pokemon before. If I had to guess, Ho-Oh is one of the few you haven't met up close and personal."

Ash gave a surprised look. "Just how smart are you?"

"I'm not. I just guessed. But yeah. Ho-Oh is possibly the strongest Flying-type in existence. It says here some about the legend of the Burnt Tower. It also talks about a move that Ho-Oh can use that nobody really can describe. The move has only been seen by two people, but they say it was unlike any Fire-type move they have ever seen before."

Ash nodded. "Is there much else?"

Caleb thought for a second. "Other than it having a very interesting amount of moves, not much. It is extremely weak to Rock-type Pokemon, and is weak to a number of other things. But besides that, it says that Ho-Oh had lost most of it's trust in humanity after the Burnt Tower incident. Because of that, it flys around the globe, and is almost never stoping. Very few have seen it, but rumors state that it has only shown itself to certain people once, and they are usually pure and kind people."

Ash shook his head. "It has shown itself to me about three times."

Caleb widened his eyes for once in surprise. "Really? Well time to toss that rumor in the trash."

Ash gave a weird look. "Is this really all true?"

Caleb nodded. "Yeah. I know the historic end of Pokemon well. I kinda specialize in the field of Legendary Pokémon. I have only ever seen Ho-Oh once before, and it was a long time ago. Out of everyone I have talked to, only 1 or 2 have seen Ho-Oh."

"Wow. But what about me?"

Caleb thought for a second. "If I had to guess, I would say Ho-Oh must see something in you to have revealed itself to you more than once. Legendaries are very picky about who they choose to reveal themselves to, and even more picky towards those that they allow to capture them."

Ash realized something Caleb said. "Wait, you said you know a lot about the Legendaries."

Caleb nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"Have you caught one by any chance?" Ash asked instantly.

Caleb bit his lip. "You need some sleep. You shouldn't stay up all night."

Ash gave him a look. "You were still up too, you know."

"Because I'm used to being a night owl. But you need sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Caleb got up and moved to the door.

Ash layed down. "Alright. See you later."

Caleb waved bye as he closed the door behind him. Ash took note that Caleb dodged his question, but he would ask again some other time. After all, people have a right to their privacy.

.........

Caleb sighed from the other side of the door. He walked away and outside of the Pokemon Center with Leafeon and Glaceon at his heels. Caleb sat down beneath a tree in the front area of the Center.

His Pokemon looked at him with concern as they rubbed up against his leg. Caleb smiled at the pair of eevee evolutions in front of him and patted the ground next to him. The two Pokemon moved into the empty spots and layed next to him. They still eyed him with concern.

Caleb looked at both of them. "You both know the reason I didn't tell him."

"Leaf Leafeon."

Caleb sighed. "I would happily tell him about my other friend, but you know what other memory that brings back up when I tell that story."

"Gla Gla."

"Look, I know I need to get over it, but you both know he was my partner for a long time. Just mentioning him sometimes... it can get to me." Caleb stated.

"Glaaa..."

"Leaaa..."

"I don't want to worry you both with this. After all, there is a reason I told him that if he goes, I don't want to see him again. That end of my past is gone now. It ended on a bad note, but I don't have a reason to go out to find him. I won't forget him, but it's time to move on."

Caleb looked up at the sky. "He was my friend for a long time, but he chose a new path. Latios is gone now. He will never come back." The Hoenn trainer said almost to himself...

.........

Ash began to wake up from his rest that he took for the night. He didn't get too much, as he was thinking about what Caleb said about Anabel as well as the voice he heard while he was out. He saw that Anabel was still asleep, so he decided to walk out by himself. He got up slowly, as he could still feel some of the injuries that he had received before. He walked out of the room silently and continued down the hall.

A doctor took a look at him from his office and stopped Ash for a second. "You were the one that got hit by the Hyper Beam, correct?"

Ash nodded. "Ok. I am Doctor Marvin. We figured you would recover fast, but already up after three days? I can only assume you can feel the injuries still?"

"Yeah. But I have felt worse."

Marvin looked at his computer for a second and gestured Ash to walk in. Ash closed the door behind him. "You were on IV up until midnight last night. You will feel more sore later in the afternoon, and the pain will be near impossible to ignore. So take this pill bottle. It has anti-pain properties. They should get you by for the next week, but until you run out, no heavy amount of physical strain. This means no Pokémon battling or running or anything excessive."

Ash felt like this was all strange. "I just got hit with a Hyper Beam. Shouldn't I be bedridden for longer than this?"

The doctor nodded. "On paper, yes. You should've been out of it for at least two month. But we have a special way of healing patients by using the properties of certain Pokémon moves to heal you faster. That, and someone told us you have a bit of a trait on you that allows you to recover a bit faster than most. I believe he called it... Aura? Kind of like a Lucario I guess. Both of those factors multiplied your recovery rate ten-fold. But just to be on the safe side, we still need to change your bandages before we let you leave. So follow me to the next room over, and we can get that arranged."

As they moved into the next room and began changing the bandages, Ash noticed just how terrifying they looked. Not only were there very slight scars on his arms and legs, there were burn marks and heavy scars that coated his entire chest. There was also still some blood running, to which Doctor Marvin used a antibacterial wipe on. It stung, but Ash got over it.

Marvin looked at the Auburn eyed trainer. "Your recovery rate helped you get back on your feet, but sadly, you will still be left with scars and burn marks. We can't do anything about that, unfortunately. I hope you can forgive us."

Ash smiled. "It's fine. As long as I am alive."

The doctor nodded and began replacing the bandages around Ash's torso. After the bandages were changed, Doctor Marvin told Ash he was free to roam around himself now. Ash took that statement happily and began to go outside, where he saw Caleb sitting under a tree.

The Hoenn trainer heard Ash approaching and turned his head towards that direction. "Already up and running I see."

Ash nodded. "Yeah. Guess Aura really comes in handy."

Caleb smiled lightly. "Exactly. Though I guess it can't rid you of scars."

Ash looked at his bandages. "Yeah. But I can live with it. I don't know about the others though. Especially my mom."

"Fair enough. Now why are you moving so early? Figured you would wait for Anabel."

Ash gave a weird look. "Well, I have a question I need to ask you. I had a dream before I woke up last night... but it wasn't really a dream."

Ash began explaining the full story to Caleb.

..........

As Anabel began to awaken from the nap that Caleb forced her to take to ease her stress, she took a look around and noticed that nobody was in the room. Not even Ash. She began moving around to find out what happened to him while concerned for his safety. But before she could get very far, Pikachu and Espeon began to stir and wake up from their sleep as well.

"Sorry you two. Do you know where Ash is?" Anabel asked to only receive a shake of the head from both Pokémon.

There was a knock at the door and a nurse walked in. "Hello?"

Anabel looked over at the door. "Hi. You wouldn't happen to know where Ash is, would you?"

The nurse pondered for a second. "You mean the kid that was hit dead on by a Hyper Beam? I saw him outside earlier, so I was sent to clean the room up a little. They warned me someone else was in here, but I wasn't sure."

Anabel nodded. "So outside then? Thank you for telling me."

She quickly ran out the room and began going outside the Center. As she walked outside, she could hear voices talking a bit away from her. She stopped to listen to what they were saying as the Pokémon caught up to her.

"-and then I woke up and that was it."

Anabel moved towards where she heard them coming from. She saw it was Ash and Caleb, but being curious about the conversation, she decided to wait

"I see. Are you positive about this?" Caleb asked.

"I am. I wouldn't be making this up in my head."

Caleb closed his eyes in thought. "Well, I'm no expert on spiritual appearances, but from the way it appeared to you and how you said it talked to you, it probably has to have some power on it. If I had to guess, it knows something we don't. Otherwise, it wouldn't tell you anything about some sort of event in the future or testing your strength."

"So what should I do?"

Caleb stood up. "You need to recover before anything else. But I wouldn't give it too much thought until it happens. Let me figure out what this could be before we worry about it. I know who I could to talk to for help on this."

Ash nodded. "Ok. Well, I might as well go check on Anabel and the others."

Caleb shook his head and pointed directly in the direction of Anabel. "Too late."

Ash looked over at Anabel, who seemed frozen in place. "Has she been there the whole time?"

Caleb shrugged. "I only knew she was there after you finished your story, so I don't think so."

Ash walked over towards Anabel and stopped a few feet from her. "Anabel? Are you ok?"

Without warning, Anabel immediately had her arms wrapped around Ash and was hugging him desperately. After her constant stressing over her apprentice, she was relieved to see him up and moving again. She hugged him to make sure this wasn't a dream. And it wasn't a dream. She could feel who she was hugging.

Unfortunately, so could he.

"Ahh! That stings!" Ash winced after a second.

Anabel quickly let go. "Sorry. Just making sure I wasn't dreaming."

Ash chuckled. "It's fine." He saw the two Pokémon running up to him. "Looks like Anabel wasn't the only one worried about me. How are you two?"

"Pika!"
"Espe!"

Needless to say, both Pokémon jumped into his arms at that complete instant. Seeing how meaningful this moment would be, Caleb thought it would be best to leave the pair alone to let them talk. Silently, he and his Pokémon moved away from the pair and left them in peace.

After the two Pokémon calmed down, Anabel took a look over Ash. "I don't understand how you are even moving right now. Even with the help of Pokémon healing, it could've taken a lot longer than it is now."

Ash shrugged. "I was told that my Aura really helps in that regard."

Anabel looked at the tree nearby. "Wait, did Caleb disappear again?"

Ash looked over towards the tree and frowned. "I guess. I swear, that guy is like a ghost."

Anabel looked up at Ash again. "So what were you two talking about?"

Ash shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

Anabel raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. Besides, you have been put through enough stress."

Anabel shyly looked away. "Did he tell you about me stressing over you so much?"

Ash nodded. "Yes. He did."

Anabel turned around. "So now you know that even I have my major flaws."

Ash placed a hand on her shoulder. "But doesn't everyone though?"

Anabel didn't respond. "Anabel, I understand you want to be strong, but sometimes you can't face burdens all by yourself. Everyone needs a pick-me-up every now and then."

Anabel turned sharply and gave Ash a glare. "SHUT UP! YOU DON'T GET IT. YOU DON'T GET WHAT IT'S LIKE."

Anabel turned around again. "You just don't..." The Pokémon looked at her with sad expressions on their faces.

Anabel began drawing tears. "It's my fatal flaw. My emotions can overflow if I don't watch it. I try to control it, but I can't sometimes, and it's so FRUSTRATING. And I can't explain it to you. I'm sorry."

Ash was about to fire back, but he wisely thought before he said anything. He could tell that with an overflow of emotions hitting her currently, she was like a pressure pad IED that could blow at the wrong move. But Ash figured out the right move to take.

"Well then why don't you let me understand Anabel?"

She turned around again. "What do you mean?"

"Let me try to read your heart again. The heart and soul are the two that deal with the most emotions, so if I attempt to read it, then maybe I can finally understand what you have been dealing with. Will you allow me?" Ash stated calmly.

Anabel questioned it a bit. 'Since when did Ash get so smart?' After a minute, she knew that if anyone would be able to figure it out, it would be Ash. She put on a more soft expression. "Alright. Let's go somewhere quiet then. It would help us focus some."

Ash gestured to himself. He was only wearing some grey sweatpants and had the bandages wrapped around his arms and chest. "But what about my clothes?"

Anabel let out a light laugh. "Oh yeah... about that..."

........

"WHAT!!!"

Doctor Marvin shook his head. "Sorry Ash, but your clothes are unfixable. The Hyper Beam practically totaled the jacket and shirt, and the pants had way too many holes in it. The hat is in pieces as well. There is nothing to be done about it."

Ash sighed. "Aw man. I loved that outfit."

Anabel tapped on Ash's shoulder. When he turned around, she was holding a folded pile of clothes. It had light blue jeans with a simple white longsleeve and a dark blue vest. The hat was a simple red and white Pokeball cap, and the shoes were black and white sneakers."

"I talked to Maron about loaning you some extra clothes since your others were ruined. Since you have been growing a decent amount since you arrived here, I noticed you were starting to fit Maron's current size, so I thought this would work. It's not perfect, but it will do for now."

Ash took the clothes and went into the other room to change quickly. Once he came back, he was putting on his original fingerless gloves, which surprisingly weren't totaled as bad as the other items. He looked in the mirror and smiled.

"This works. Thanks Anabel. Also, remind me to thank Maron later."

Anabel smiled. "No problem. Now let's go."

The pair began walking towards the forest to be almost alone. Anabel would rather not have anyone giving them weird looks while they were busy. Once they found a decent spot to sit at, they sat down next to each other with their Pokémon sitting at their feet.

Anabel smiled lightly, though you could tell she was slightly nervous. "Alright. Let's do this."

She held out her hand, which Ash took in his own. They closed their eyes and began to concentrate on one another. In his mind, Ash could feel a light coming from Anabel's heart, but also some feelings of sadness as well.

When Ash looked into the darker emotions, he could sense many different types of evil emotions. Anger. Malice. Resentment. Sadness... it almost seemed like she was alone in more ways than one. But in another part of her heart, Ash could feel a warm light. It was full of pure happiness, but also containing fear, like she was afraid of losing something... or someone. Ash could only think of one emotion that could remind him of something like this, though he never thought he would be thinking about it.

Love.

Ash let go of her hand, his suspicions to what he was told by Caleb finally confirmed. He looked at Anabel, who was shying away with a sad look on her face. Ash sighed a little bit as he knew why she was acting like this.

"Anabel, are you ok?" Ash asked softly.

Anabel nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine. Guess you understand it all now, huh?"

Ash gave a dry smile. "Yeah. I guess I do."

She turned even farther away from him, face reddening by the second. "I know. You think it's kind of stupid. You probably don't share my feelings, but they are real. I don't deny that."

Ash stood up and moved over to meet her eyes. "Anabel, I don't think it's dumb at all."

She looked up. "Huh?"

Ash placed a hand on hers. "I know I am dense. But I still care about you a lot. Your good feelings weren't the only things I read out of you. I could sense how alone you feel. I want you to know something."

They shared a gaze straight at each other. "Anabel, I will always be there for you. You will never be alone."

She widened her eyes. "Ash..."

Ash sighed. "I can't explain my emotions the right way. I don't know if it's cause I am new to this or not, but something is telling me that this is right. So I am willing to try it. Because I care about you too much to let you feel alone."

Anabel smiled wryly at Ash and then looked down to avert his gaze. "Thanks, Ash. But you don't have to lie to make me feel better."

"Would this make you believe me?" And then he did it. Probably the gutsiest move that Ash has ever attempted. It was something meaningful that Ash would never attempt if he didn't mean to do it.

He kissed her on the cheek.

It wasn't anything over exaggerated. It was just a simple peck on the cheek, but it was a kiss nonetheless. Anabel's face began blushing mad amounts of red in response to Ash's kiss. Ash's face was lighting up as well due to him having never attempted to kiss another girl before.

Once Ash backed off, the pair simply stared into each other with pure red on their faces. The Pokémon looked between their trainers in shock over what just happened. Pikachu and Espeon looked at each other and smiled at the sight.

After a few moments of silence, Ash spoke. "Do you believe me now?"

Anabel jumped up and gave Ash a hug. "Yes. I believe you."

........

In some other part of the forest away from the pair, a certain trainer with two eeveeloutions were standing in a slight opening. The trainer began fiddling with a very strange Pokeball. The strange thing about it was that its normal color had completly changed from red and silver to an odd see-through yellow, like an electric storm. It also had electricity dancing from within the Pokeball as well for a powerful effect.

He tossed the Pokeball up to reveal a large bird that seemed to have electricity forming around its yellow and black wings. It had an orange beak, and it radiated power that would make hairs stand up.

"Hey there Zapdos. It's been a bit." Caleb stated.

"Zaaa..." The legendary moved up to Caleb with his head low. Caleb moved up and placed a hand on the head of the Pokémon.

"Let me cut to the chase. I have an issue I was hoping you could help me with..." Caleb said as he began telling the full story to the legendary.

Wow. Ash isn't completely dense anymore. Who would have thought? XD.

No but to be honest, I plan to make this slow. As stated, Ash is still denser than a piece of freaking bedrock, so he will have to slowly worm his way into these emotions. Anabel will try to help him understand these emotions, but due to their positions as battlers, they won't feel the need to overstep boundaries.

Now that that is out of the way, Comment Question: What is your favorite Mario game? I like Mario 64 just cause it hits close to home, and the amount of movement tech in there is kinda awesome. Plus I just watched a video of 10 youtubers getting their butts kicked in a vs between them and a speedrunner. If you don't know what I mean, look it up. It is hilarious. But without further adue, I wish you guys a good whatever it is for you right now, because it is freaking midnight when I am posting this. Enjoy the story and give me any feedback you see fit unless you only came to troll. But that's enough out of me. Later.

-Bl0t0rch