♛ 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝔹𝕪 𝔻𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕪 (𝔸𝕞𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕡𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕘) ♛

Chapter 18: ONE ROAD

Chapter 18: One Road

Saffron General Hospital.

Ash sat on his bed.

His body dressed by bandages and plasters.

The boy recalled Nurse Joy's words when he first woke up.

"No need to worry about your Pokémon."

"However, you should let them rest up a bit more."

"They were quite exhausted from your last battle."

Ash could not help but scoff at himself.

'Battle?'

'That wasn't a battle.'

'But…'

Gary's words still fresh in his memories:

"It's the same."

"There's no right or wrong in a battle."

"…Just the weak and the strong."

The raven-haired boy gritted his teeth.

He reprimanded himself for being so naïve.

'I was so blinded by Pokémon battles.'

'That I had forgotten how it really was.'

A bloody sport.

And yet, that was tame compared to his war against Giovanni.

'I disregarded my Pokémon's well-being.'

'…No.'

'I never did.'

'Not once.'

'They got hurt during my Gym Battles as well.'

'And all I did was celebrate getting a Badge…'

He was ashamed.

'I hated Team Rocket.'

'I hated how they used Pokémon to hurt others.'

'That hatred kept me going.'

'Kept me fighting on.'

'But then, how am I any different?'

'That blind crusade made me lose sight of what was important.'

'Made me…'

'Forget about Yellow.'

Ash teared up.

His trembling hands clutching his silver locket.

Fearing that it would disappear.

'Because of that…'

'My Pokémon got hurt worse than before.'

'Team Rocket had no right to call themselves Trainers.'

'And neither did I.'

A week later.

Ash was standing at a crossroad of the hospital's garden.

He then sent out his Pokémon from their Balls.

Except for Pikachu, who was already out.

They still had dressings on their body.

That further encouraged the boy.

His Pokémon waited for his response.

"…I'm sorry, guys," he began softly.

"I never meant for any of you to get hurt this badly."