Love Me Like You Do (Ash Ketchum x Reader x Calem)

- 28.5 -

"Wow. Riolu left you a pretty nasty bruise," Dawn commented as she grabbed my left arm, examining the purple marking. She gently poked it, a hiss escaping my lips. "Sorry. What happened this time?"

"Well," I sighed. "He had this rock in his paw and tried to throw it at another Pokemon. And when I went to take it away from him, he punched me out of anger."

"If you want, Pikachu and I could go teach him a lesson," Ash suggested, raising his fist along with Pikachu.

I shook my hand and lowered his fist. "You don't have to do that. I'm Riolu will open up to me one of these days. He'll start to trust eventually."

"And when will you think that will happen?" Dawn said. "It's been a month and a half since Riolu hatched from his egg and no way has he shown any affection towards you."

"When Pokemon usually hatch from an egg, they immediately warm up to the first person they see," Brock joined in the conversation, seeing as he was going to be a Pokemon Breeder. "Take Togetic for example. When she first saw Misty, she accepted Misty as her Trainer. They formed a bond. But with you and Riolu, there seems to be no progress at all."

My gaze shifted over to Riolu, who was in front of us and way ahead, running up the pathway leading to the mountain. He looked happy, not once did he show that expression to me. I sighed and lowered my gaze back to the ground, the pebbles on the ground becoming interesting.

Riolu, ever since he hatched from the egg, has never once been kind to me or listened to my command. No matter how much I tried to bond with him and make him listen, he would ignore me. There were times where I was so frustrated, I would shout at him and he would get angry and attack me. Nothing I did seemed to work. I like to believe he doesn't trust because he somehow knew he was abandoned as an egg and locked himself away from others, fear of being abandoned again.

What I want him to understand is that I care about a lot, I care for his well being. Since I had him as an egg, I felt as if he and I were meant to be together. I will never abandon him or do anything to hurt him. I want him to open up and reveal his true self to me. I don't care how long it will take, how long he would attack me, all I care about is him trusting me. The process may be slow, but it will work out in the end. I want Riolu to trust me.

Ash placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me smile. "Don't worry, [N/N]. I'm sure you and Riolu will eventually get along. I know for a fact you will never give up, no matter how hard it is. You will get through him."

"Pika, Pi!" Pikachu agreed, nodding his head.

"Thank you, Ash and Pikachu," I returned the smile, my heart filling with joy. Looking back towards Riolu, I noticed he was looking at me and when he realized he was spotted, he turned away immediately and continued on his way.

For some reason, I felt as if his eyes were filled with loneliness and jealousy.

As we continued our hike on the mountain, Riolu seemed to have gotten even farther away and was running at a dangerous pace. Worry filled my heart, knowing that at any moment, he could be in the danger. The mountain was becoming even steeper and the cliff looked like it will break at any moment. If something were to happen, I don't know what I'll do.

"Hey, Riolu," I called out to him. "Maybe you should be careful around here. Slower your pace, it's dangerous up here."

Much to my surprise, Riolu stopped in his tracks and turned to face me. I thought for sure he was finally listening to me, but instead, he stuck out his tongue and continued on his run. Suddenly, as Riolu stepped on a part of the cliff, it cracked. My eyes widen with horror, time stopping in the process. A horrified gasp escaped my lips. The ground shook lightly all the while half of the ledge collapsed to the ground, Riolu standing on it. He tried to jump off it and grab onto a ledge but missed it. Riolu plummeted down.