farawayplace | [in which the rich brat has to work for the first time in his life, probably]

Banette lay limp in his arms, unable to move for itself. It just looked exhausted, but at least, more grateful to be in Ash's arms instead of Frillish's tentacles.

Trip's expression didn't shift, but he turned Pikachu around and loosened his grip while lowering him, so he can leap to the gorund if he wanted to. now that Ash was free.

"... are you done?" Trip asked simply, with cold detachment. "It shouldn't hurt, that poison is numbing, in addition to paralyzing. It can't feel anything now, physically anyway. It'll recover. Frillish did nothing but immobilize it. It should be easier to find out why it's behaving this way now.

"It said something to Frillish..."

Will Ash even listen to such an indifferent and dispassionate explanation?

Ash lowered his head, enough for the brim of his cap to cover his eyes and focused his gaze on Banette instead of Trip.

"...None of that would've been needed." Sure, Ash and his friends were safe. But he didn't like how Trip handled with holding Banette down. All that was needed was more time to let it open up to them. "Banette was so close to opening up to us."

Whether or not Ash will listen to Trip, he was much too focused on getting Banette better.

Finally freed from Trip's grasp, Pikachu immediately scurried towards Ash and stood closely by his side. Seeing that Banette was still in its poisoned state, Pikachu climbed onto his trainer and pulled up the zipper on his bag, he eventually fished out a Pecha Berry that Ash saved for his Pokemon.

"Thanks Pikachu." Ash nodded, taking the berry and pressed it onto Banette's zipper-like mouth. "Here, eat it. It'll help cure your poisoning."

"Oh? And when was that supposed to be, after the chains crushed you to death or after your heart stopped?" Trip asked condescendingly, raising a brow. "It was going for the heart with that last needle, you know."

Edited 2023-02-22 14:51 (UTC)

It was very difficult for Banette to eat or chew anything, the poison had made it so weak, but it seemed like it wanted to try.

Trip sighed. "You could wait it off, it'll be fine... but if you want to feed it, so it'll recover faster, it'll have to be softened first. Crushed or chewed, that's basic, isn't it?"

This would be easier with Iris' pestle and mortar, wouldn't it?

There was a long pause as Ash did not immediately respond back to Trip. Sure, it tried to curse him, and maybe it would've killed him in the process. But the Pokemon was driven by fear and mistrust that grew and festered in its heart for who knows how long. It would've been impossible to make peace with this Pokemon who bore this much of a grudge around humans.

But he still wouldn't give up on it. Not when they were this close.

"I said that I trust it to not hurt or even curse us." Ash stubbornly replied, "I believe in Banette. And I still do!"

He held Banette closer, enough to feel or hear his heart beating in his chest. Maybe it might feel Ash's warm aura emnating around him.

...That said, he let out a frustrated sigh after hearing Trip's suggestion, seeing how terribly weakened Banette was. Ash would rather not wait it out as he couldn't stand seeing the Pokemon in pain any longer. And it definitely would've been easier if any of his other friends were here to help coming up with a quick remedy for it. They could've crushed, pounded, and make juice out of these berries-

Ash's eyes lit up.

"That's it!" He exclaimed, and held the berry over Banette's mouth. "You can drink from its juice instead!"

Using all his might, he crushed the Pecha Berry in his one hand. Not too long after, the juices coming from it start pouring down and fall into droplets towards its mouth.

The sound comforted Banette, but also made it more melancholy, remembering its previous partner...

The dripping Pecha juice, it could drink much more easily. As it did, Ash could likely feel it becoming stronger by the second, as it began to support its own head and even try to reach up to hold his hand the Pecha Berry, eagerly drinking.

Trip watched Ash, now at least momentarily relieved that Ash wasn't mad at him, or at least, not actively blaming him, Trip allowed a more genuine expression, tilting his head in curiosity at Ash's methods. He knelt down, resting his arms on his knees as he watched, Lampent and Frillish floating closer, just in case they needed to intervene when Banette recovered.

"It was scared of dying far from home, Frillish said. This Banette isn't from around here, is it? That might be a clue."

Ash kept squeezing out the berry's juices until it finally dried up. He considered asking Pikachu to take out another, but he could feel Banette's weight shifting, and decided to loosen his hold on it enough to give it a chance to move.

"Feeling better?" He asked Banette, wiping off the remaining juices on his hand with his shorts. He can just get it cleaned later anyway-

He glanced at Trip. And as he listened to his explanation, that did got Ash to feel even more sympathy towards the Pokemon. Being far from home... Could it be...

"Could it be that you... you were drifted here too?" Ash frowned for a moment, but then put up a smile. "Yeah, I can totally understand that. I was scared too when I learned I'd be stuck here for a long while, never knowing when I'd be able to come back home. It felt like the world around me just stopped when I thought about it."

"Pikaachu..." The Mouse Pokemon cooed as he brushed his cheek against his arm.

~~Trip looked horrified at Ash wiping his hands on his clothes.~~

Banette waited for an explanation of what "drifted" meant, but when it heard the rest of Ash's words, recognizing its own situation, Banette eagerly nodded, sitting up.

"Banette, banette-ban!"

Lampent said something to Trip, as did Frillish.

"Your... trainer?" Trip asked, uncertain.

Banette nodded, tearing up again, looking angry and frustrated, then turning around to sulk.

"Either it was abandoned, or..."

"Yeah..." It was either the one or the other. But he still hadn't gotten a very clear picture yet of Banette's situation. And since it calmed down significantly, it was probably a good time to finally ask more from it.

"Maybe you can tell us about it now?" Ash remained friendly and sat on the ground next to Banette, maintaining an equal eye level with the Pokemon. "Like what happened before you got here."

"Pikachu Pika-pika!" We might be able to help, Pikachu added.

Banette turned, looking a bit upset and uncertain, then... began to explain its story, speaking at length.

Trip watched, looking troubled, then, Frillish raised a tentacle—frightening Banette, who quickly clung to Ash's arm, hiding from Frillish, who did not seem remotely sorry for the fear it inspired, sneering, until Trip gave it a very light thwack upside its wobbly jellyfish head.

"Don't."

Frillish frowned, but folded two of its tentacles. "Lish," it said huffily.

"... Frillish wanted to ask if Lampent could cast an illusion on us, in order to speak, to help translate what Banette's saying. It believes it's important. Frillish can only change what things look like, with its own power, but Lampent's illusions can have sounds."

Although he did try as he sat and listened, ultimately he just couldn't quite make out what Banette was saying. All he could tell was that it had a lot to say, and he frowned wishing he was able to do more.

Fortunately for Ash he may have gotten his wish after hearing Frillish's offer.

"Really!?" Ash looked at Trip excitedly before shifting his gaze to Frillish, "Yeah, please do! It'd definitely help!"

Lampent nodded, bobbing in the air, then, with a glow of its eyes... nothing seemed to happen, at least for a moment!

Frillish prompted Banette to speak again.

This time, instead of hearing Pokemon language, it was conveyed to them in human words by Lampent's illusion.

"I can't trust humans anymore! I'll never trust them! This isn't even the first time I've been abandoned! I don't want to be abandoned again... we promised we'd always be together, so even coming to a strange, new land wasn't scary, but then, one day, he left me all alone! I looked everywhere, but couldn't find him... he must have went home without me!"

While he found Lampent's power incredible as he was able to hear Bannete speak, his awe did not last as his frown deepened and he felt his heart sinking while listening to its words. The poor thing was all alone, scared and confused, mixed with the feelings of mistrust it carried when it was first abandoned -- an event Ash was sure would have wounded its heart already.

Now these old wounds have reopened. And he really couldn't blame Banette for feeling that way...

"You've been through so much..."

Ash wondered what would put Banette at ease even more and looked around. Everything's a lot quieter and tamer with all that cursed energy burnt away. Maybe what it needed is some fresh air, which is what Ash also needed after dealing with all that heaviness.

"Say, why don't we go take a walk together? We don't have to go too far, maybe circle around the place for a bit. What d'you think, Trip?"

Ash glanced at Trip for a second, then stood up and offered his hand to Banette.

"We'll be right with you!"

Banette took Ash's hand, preferring him over Trip and his Pokemon anyway! It still didn't fully trust anyone, but Ash had been kinder, even if that was also suspicious, at least he was never violent, and he did stand up for it... if it was a trap, it was positive it could take just Ash down, anyway.

It looked suspiciously at Trip and his Pokemon, while awaiting a response, clearly preferring less of a crowd.

"I think... you two could go on ahead without me," Trip said, with a twinge of embarrassment. "I need to save up strength for the trip back or..."

He looked around, realizing how dark it had become. It was late and he didn't really travel by night.

"... or I'll set up camp somewhere here for the night."

"You can have Lampent keep you company, though. It'll help you understand each other," Trip offered.

Lampent floated closer, while Frillish stayed hovering beside Trip, as if floating on an invisible current.

"Ah, is that so?"

Ash was a little disappointed Trip wouldn't want to come along, but given how dark everything was at the moment... maybe he'll let Trip set up camp as he said.

"Looks like it's just you, me, Pikachu... and Lampent too!" He grinned at Trip's Lampent and throws a bit of praise for Lampent's efforts. "Keep up the good work!"

After letting Trip know that he'll be back eventually, Ash proceeded to take Banette on a walk as promised. Pikachu accompanied Banette as he moved from Ash and walked next to the ghostly Pokemon instead. His hand doesn't let go of the Marionette Pokemon as they moved further from Trip and walked past all the grave markers around them.

"Y'know, if I feel down or my head's stuck in a rut, I'd start walking and press on ahead!" he explained, "Maybe we'll find a Pokemon hanging out here, or something that catches your eye!"

He hoped maybe that'll give Banette some of that positive energy in it! Besides, walks are nice.

Lampent was rather happy to be praised and bobbed a bit in the air, a smile in its eyes.

Trip proceeded to set up camp, with a fold-out tent and sleeping bag, as well as attempting a small campfire with kindling.

“Is that why you’re on a journey?” Lampent translated Banette’s words. “Are you running from something right now?”

Ash shook his head.

"Nah, not from something, but towards something." There's a determined look on his face. "The reason I went on a journey is because I want to be the world's greatest Pokemon Master! And if I want to get there, I'm gonna catch them, battle them, meet every Pokemon I find!"

Pikachu circled around and cried out in support of Ash's goals, having been by his side for so long.

"What about you, Banette? Is there something you wanna run towards to?"

"Does it mean to be the master of all Pokemon? I definitely don't want you or any other human as my master."

Lampent made a vague, shrug-like motion. It isn't its words, really, it's just translating Banette's words!
Banette seemed a bit mistrustful still, crossing its arms, but walking more confidently now.
"I don't want to be battled, or caught, or meet anyone..."

At being questioned, it had to pause and think. Its zipper-mouth drooped a little in a frown.

"I was going to get back at humans until you two showed up..."

"Well... no, not like that. I'm not that kind of Pokemon Trainer."

That got Ash to think for a moment. As much as he said about wanting to be a Pokemon Master, in actuality he hasn't exactly quite put into words about what it is to him. ~~That the word "Master" in its foreign language still elude him somewhat~~ He does have a vague image that's pictured in his head however. He hummed, before continuing.

"But wouldn't you get lonely if you don't want to meet anyone? Are you okay with that?"

It was a pretty innocent question, as the thought of Banette being all sad and alone didn't sit well with Ash that much. Especially with what it had been through.

Banette froze mid-step and nearly stumbled.

Ash was right! It hated being lonely. It hated being abandoned because it didn't want to be all alone.

"... I'm getting used to it."

It's better than being abandoned again, isn't it?

And Banette would get a pitying look from Ash.

"...Well, you aren't alone right now." Ash reassured, "I'm here with you, and so is Pikachu and Lampent! You've got friends walking by your side right now!"

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[in which the delay makes it seem like I ripped off the new ep, but I had it in mind a while... ^^;]

heh heh it's funny how coincidences happen

[1/2; I don't think anything's just a coincidence! But it's still fun and reassuring]

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2/2 finally tagged... ON ASH DAY!!

[\o/]

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[in which the delay makes it seem like I ripped off the new ep, but I had it in mind a while... ^^;]