Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ A Question of Strength ❯ Hard Rain ( Chapter 4 )

A Question Of Strength

By Kawaii_Cherry_Blossom

(I was BellaWaterFlower at this time)

Type: AAMRN

Genre: Romance/Drama

Rating: PG

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 4

Hard Rain

One week after the funeral, Ash and his friends were still staying at the house which now belonged to Ash. Even though Ash had told himself that he could get through the situation, he was finding it almost impossible to live knowing that he'd never see his mother again. Along with this, came the inability to train properly. Sure, he tried. He tried as hard as he could to get back on track with his training for the Johto League. But each time he tried to engage in a battle, or simply teach his Pokémon simple skills, he would end up giving up because of a lack of self-confidence and tiredness. The fact was, that he didn't even want to DO anything. He just wanted to sit around and mope all day. His friends were equally upset, especially Misty. Brock and herself were upset about Mrs. Ketchum, but also about Ash. The energetic, hyperactive friend they had a while ago was just replaced with the depressed, miserable boy that walked around the house with nothing to do. The other thing, was that Ash never cried anymore. All his crying had been done, but it seemed like he wanted to cry all the time. However, his eyes remained cold and his face plain. The weather must've followed suit, because winter had truly set in. thunder mostly roared, and the rain had hardly stopped at all. The sky was always grey and gloomy, and dark clouds hung limply in the air.

It was one of those exact days, when Misty woke up early from not being able to sleep, and Ash wasn't there. He always let her have the bed, and he slept on the floor. But when she woke up and looked down, like she always did, to check if he was ok, he was gone. 'He probably couldn't sleep and got up early, and went downstairs', she thought to herself. But just to calm her nerves about where he was so early, she got up. The chill of the morning breeze surrounded her body, so she pulled some warm clothes on and splashed some water on her face in the bathroom to wake herself up. She walked downstairs and looked for Ash. But to her surprise and amazement, he wasn't there. He had left all of his Pokémon behind, even Pikachu, who was asleep on the lounge near Brock. She was starting to get worried, when she saw a letter, stuck to the fridge with a small Jigglypuff magnet holding it up. She pulled it off and went to sit down. She opened the envelope and took the letter out, too worried about what it was going to say to waste a minute, or even wake Brock! The letter read:

Dear Misty and Brock,

I guess you were wondering where I was, and you found this letter. I tried to put it in an obvious spot. But anyway, that isn't why you're reading this. I'm most likely at the cemetery right now. Don't get worried, I'll come back. I just need some time to think. This loss has been really hard for me. I thought that maybe I could cope with it but I underestimated how difficult it would be. Wow, I just realised how smart I sound in this letter. I've been thinking crazily about things. I don't seem to have the energy to train anymore. I was even thinking giving it up. But I'm not sure… I know I'll regret it, but I just can't do it anymore. I'm going now. See you both soon.

Love,

Ash.

Misty finished reading it, and quickly went to wake up Brock, careful not to wake up Pikachu, or it would get worried too. She didn't know what to do. It was pouring outside, and Ash was out there upset. Who knows what he could do. Brock woke up groggily.

"Misty, it's 5:00 am. What are you doing?" he asked tiredly.

"Brock, get up! We have a problem!"

Brock bolted up. "What?! What is it?!"

"Ash is gone. Here, read this letter", she said, shoving the letter in his face. He read it carefully, checking everything twice. After he was done, he slowly put it down, and frowned.

"Well?" Misty asked.

He frowned again. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do Misty."

"What?!" she asked, perplexed.

"Ash has to deal with this on his own. We can't get through this for him. That's something only he can do."

"But what if he goes and does something stupid?!"

"Ash is level-headed Misty. Plus, he has become a lot smarter and more mature through this experience. He isn't going to do anything stupid."

"I don't care. We're his friends Brock, we have to help him…"

"Misty I'm telling you. I've been through all of this before! I know how he feels. Trust me."

"No Brock. I'm going to find him. Please, just let me talk to him. I want to."

Brock sighed. He knew Misty cared for Ash. It was more obvious to him than to anyone, being their best friend. He nodded slowly, and she smiled, getting an umbrella out.

"Thanks Brock, I knew you'd understand."

She walked out the door into the pouring rain, praying that Ash was ok.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

To be continued…