The Battle of Bonds

Chapter 7: Friendship in Hard Times

Ash(POV)
I woke up with my Unnova Clothes on the bed. There was a note saying that Gold went on a stroll this morning.

So, I fed Pikachu some Ketchup I bought last night from the store. I told him we too were going on a stroll. So, after we ate, we headed outside.

The streets were empty, nobody was in the shops or at work. I didn't understand why. That is until I saw Officer Jenny walking the streets.

"Officer Jenny!" I yelled towards her to get her attention. "Ash! Where's Gold? You need some protection around here." She questioned me.

I looked around the city indicating that nobody was here to kidnap me. She sighed and said,

"Ash, the reason the city is empty is because the war is beginning in two days. It is currently April 6th, so It is on April 8th. Everyone was evacuated by the Champions to the Old Battlefield. That's where they are heading. However, I'm not sure about you and Gold..."

I looked down and said, "I still can't decide. It's such a hard choice!" She bent down and confidently said, "Put your head up. The Ash the world knows always has a way to get through situations like these. They may be reckless, but they work. Trust me."
I smiled and put my hat on confidently.

I told her I was going to take a stroll and decide what path I was going to choose. She saluted and said good luck to me as I walked down the street towards a forest.

Pikachu stared at me as I spoke to myself. "What do I do! If I join my Mom's Side, we'd be easy to track down, plus my father would have me dead. But if I join his team, I'll be tortured to death, and he'll still hurt Mom, so that's a no. There is no correct choice! Either way I hurt somebody in the world! What do I choose! The world is waiting to know! They expect me to be perfect, but I'm not! I'm just a boy going through my parents arguing with each other that started a war! I can't even think straight!" I punched my fist against a tree. Pigeots flew out and flew away.

I sat down on a nearby bench and broke down crying. I couldn't stop myself, and just let the tears flow. It suddenly began to rain, and I just sat on the bench getting wet. Pikachu started to shiver, and I couldn't let him suffer because of me, so I ran to find a nearby cave to stay in. It was still cold, but now we weren't wet. It was now 4:48 P.M. There was lightning outside, and I didn't want to get electrocuted since I would die. So I stayed in the cave. I cried in there as Pikachu shivered.

Then, the Poke balls on my belt released themselves in front of me. Charizard, Sceptile, Infernape, Krockodile, and Greninja stood in front of me, looking at me. All of my aces were looking at me as if they were trying to tell me something.

Greninja ran out into the woods and brought some dry twigs to start a fire. Charizard and Infernape made a little camp. Sceptile and Krockodile covered the enterance of the caves with some rocks and leaves so the wind doesn't freeze us.

My Pokémon were helping me build a little camp.

Greninja also brought back some berries and he chopped them up using cut. We had a good meal, but the War still bothered me. That's when Greninja grabbed my hand, and took my hat off.
I saw what Greninja was seeing, and he saw me in despair, and in utter sadness. He knew I wasn't acting like Ash Ketchum. So, he was trying to make me open my eyes and find myself again.
He was telling me that I was lost again just like I was in Snowbelle City.

That's when he used cut to make a weird pattern in the ground. The dirt in the cave made it possible to draw. Krockodile actually helped Greninja with this strange symbol. When it was done it showed a large shuriken with a thunderbolt striking it.

Krockodile wrote "Team Ash" in the dirt.
Then, that's when it hit me. They had helped me make the final decision of what side I was going to choose. Greninja finally put my cap back on my head. He looked me straight in the eyes with a determined look. Greninja really was loyal to me.