Destiny Rebirth

Battling without Love

Part 1 of Ash and Paul's Battle! Enjoy!

The corridors of the stadium were haunted by the sound of an ocarina. The once happy melody, which played earlier in the week, was replaced with the twisted sadness and pain that the musician felt.

Inside their locker room, Lucario and Pikachu looked at their trainer with sadness in their eyes. It had been a long and sleepless night for Ash. He wandered through the woods and barely made it to the stadium in time. Now, they were now listening to his sadness as it's now being played through the music of the song, which usually gave them encouragement.

"Master," Lucario spoke slowly. "It's time. They're waiting for us." He could sense the fire that was once housed in Ash's heart was gone and Lucario's heart broke.

"Let's get this over with," Ash spoke solemnly. He rose and looked at his friends with a glassy gaze that showed no emotion, but only brokenness. "I just want this nightmare to end."

With that, the three figures walked slowly from the locker room to their platform.

---

Ash's platform began to rise. He felt tired. His energy was gone and he saw that in his two companions, who were mirroring him. The fire that once resided, in their hearts, was gone. Ash had tried to reignite his battling spirit by playing the song from Shamouti Island, which had calmed the Legendary Birds, years earlier, but it was not used. Whenever his mind would go blank, an image of Serena would always appear. It wasn't of her smile or sparkling eyes that drove him to feel better, but rather the image was of her crying and trembling. He couldn't seem to focus.

The platform stopped and he saw Paul waiting for him on the other side. He could see Paul's lips moving, but no words seemed to reach his ears. Ash's glassy gaze made its way up to the elite suite. He noticed the glares being thrown his way by his friends. Everyone, except for Gary and Trevor, seemed to hate him. He scanned the group until he found Serena.

The eye contact was brief, but for Ash, it felt like hours of torture. He saw the pain in her gaze and tears begin to take shape on the sides of her eyes. She shut her eyes and turned her face away from him, unable to keep the gaze any longer.

Ash's shoulders slumped even further. His once confident posture, which he held throughout the tournament; instead, it was replaced with the expression of an already defeated foe. He felt the way that his body looked. He felt defeated, useless and weak. He seemed powerless, without the fire, which he was so used to fighting with.

His attention was captured by the referee, who called for him to reveal his first Pokémon. He wordlessly and emotionlessly reached down and unclipped his first choice.

---

Serena looked on as Paul's platform appeared. The group, within the box, cheered for the Sinnoh native, none more so than Cynthia and Dawn. She was shaken as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Serena turned to see Gary next to her.

"Hey there. Everything is going to be ok," he said with a smile on his face.

Serena nodded her head gently before Gary made his way to the front row, where he sat next to his grandpa and Misty. She wished she could believe him, but deep down, she knew everything wasn't ok. As much as she wanted to stay mad at Ash, as much as she wanted to stop loving him, she just couldn't. Ash had broken her heart last night. He was right there, right in front of her, and yet, so far away. The entire thing felt like a nightmare, but she still loved him. She hoped that when he came out for the battle, he would look like himself, with all the confidence in the world. It would be easier to tell herself that he truly didn't care about her, but she didn't get what she wanted.