pokemon Fighting Dreamers

"This is it... Stow-on-Side...my home." Bea looked around as they entered the desert-looking town after they took a trip with Infernape on his nimbus, it was already late night and there wasn't a single soul as they walked down the streets, only them, Cinderace and Infernape. "I thought I'd never see this place again."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ash asked her with a concerned look.

"No, I'm not." She answered with a sigh. "And it just came to my mind that Pikachu will be really mad with me, he was already unsure of our relationship because I lied and now he was kidnapped because of me."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll forgive you." Ash wanted to cheer her up considering all that was happening.

"I hope so...cause I'm not sure if I'll ever forgive myself."

It didn't take long until the couple and their Pokemon made it to the stadium, there was still no one to be seen, but the front doors were wide open. After quite some hesitation Bea gave the first step and they walked inside together, going past the lobby and directly through one of the tunnels that led to the main battlefield.

"There's no one here?" Ash asked looking around, the place was completely empty, much like the rest of the town they had seen up to that point.

"They are here." Bea assured him. "DAD! I'm done running! You wanted me?! Here I am!"

After Bea shouted, they only had to wait a few seconds and her father came walking from the opposite tunnel along the rest of his servants, Genta and Takeru were in the front row, walking next to him, while the latter still carried Pikachu with that box on his hands.

"Yes...here you are." Her father told her, stopping a few steps before them. "Ash Ketchum...?" He called him looking at him. "My name is Habe, Gym Leaders have been mentioning you travel with a girl called Bea...hmm, needless to say I never suspected this, I assume you already know she's been lying to you."

"That's not why I'm here." Ash answered.

"Of course...Takeru." Habe looked at the aforementioned and he opened the cage freeing Pikachu, who quickly ran to Ash and jumped to his shoulder.

"You okay?" Ash asked the mouse.

"Kapi." He nodded.

"I'm really sorry, Pikachu." Bea apologized, but the mouse gave her an angry look, and Bea somewhat understood what he meant with that.

"I knew you were no good."

"Excuse this measure." Habe continued. "As you can imagine, I needed a way to drag her here... well, that was what you wanted, wasn't it? Now please leave, I have a talk to do with my daughter."

"I'm not going anywhere." Ash stood in front of Bea. "I want you to leave Bea alone."

"...You won't even call her by her real name?" Habe asked him.

"I... I won't do it if she doesn't want to."

"Wants to?" He continued with a raised eyebrow. "...Seems like I missed a lot during that month, do you have anything to say, Saito?"

"I-I-..." Despite calling him out a few moments ago, Bea suddenly found herself out of voice. "I-I want to..."

"Sir, with all respect." Ash interrupted her. "Bea told me she never wanted to be a Gym Leader, that's why she ran away."

"You do not seem to understand." Habe took a single step towards them, the starters prepared themselves to fight, but Ash told them not to, seeing this, Habe continued. "Saito's life was already well defined before her birth, like all the ones that came before her, she must humbly serve the gym and play the part she's been assigned, who are you to give her the right to ask for more?"

"I'm not giving her the right! she already had it!" Ash finally shouted causing the man to give another step forward, but he didn't flinch at all. "...You were the one who took that right away from her, and she escaped because she understood that was all wrong!"

"Did you help her escape, perhaps?" He asked.

"I didn't." Ash answered firmly an Habe somehow knew he wasn't lying. "I only met her a while after she escaped, she did it all on her own because she wanted to be herself."

"Herself?" The Gym Leader continued to ask as he looked at his daughter, Bea was trembling, clenching her fists and looking down. "...I taught her our ways since she was a toddler, she has never known anything else, all she ever learned she has learned it from me, all of it with the sole and glorious purpose of serving the Gym and eventually challenging the Champion in the league, didn't you come here to try and become the Galar champion too anyway?"

"I..."

"All I've ever asked her to do is bring honor to her family." The man continued. "A Gym Leader is who she really is, she's just trying to deny it."

"Bea's not-" Ash was about to keep arguing, but Bea put an arm in front of him to stop him.

"I..." She did her best to stop trembling while looking at her father. "I want to fight you."

"Bea?" Ash looked at her worried.

"A Pokemon battle, I suppose." Her father replied crossing arms. "You've been hiding behind him since you arrived, of course you'll still cover yourself behind others."

This statement caused Bea to clench her firsts in anger again. "No, I want a simple fight, fist on fist." She explained. "You against me, until the other can't keep going, I win, you let me go, you win, I stay."

"Just like that?" Habe asked.

"Just like that." Bea nodded.

The man gave that a short thought, the rest of the clan was already murmuring, while Ash gave a silent sigh, he knew that was coming, Bea's body language already told him what she wanted to do even before she said it, he could only hope that her father rejected the idea or to try convince Bea to find another way. Cinderace on her side simply wasn't believing what Bea just asked and was still trying to process the whole situation.

"...Then it seems like we have a deal, Saito." Her father accepted and Ash cursed in his mind. "Fine, I'll be waiting for you, you have 30 minutes to prepare yourself."

Bea nodded silent and took Ash by his hand, guiding him through the halls of the stadium without saying anything until they made it to her room, the door was wide open and the security system was still fried from when Cinderace used that Electro Ball to help her escape.

"This is your room?" Ash asked.

"...Just wait for me here, okay?" Bea walked inside her room along Cinderace and manually closed the door.

"...WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Cinderace shouted at her.

"Cinderace..."

"Don't 'Cinderace' me!" The rabbit interrupted her. "Are you crazy?! Y-You can't beat him!"

"He already accepted it! I can't just back down!"

"B-Bea! I-I-I- No! I'm won't let you!"

"I have to do this, Cinderace!"

"No, you don't! We can find another way, but you have-" Cinderace stopped as Bea suddenly pulled out her Premier Ball. "Don't you dare..."

"I know you'll want to intervene, I need you to stay inside." Bea walked to her and offered the ball. "Please, no more drama."

"Drama? ...that's what you think this is? Bea! He weights like 3 times what you do! He could throw you as a ragdoll if he wanted to! This is beyond your capabilities, please, just rethink, Ash could help you somehow."

"I don't have anything to rethink, Cinderace... Ash has done too much for me, I'm tired of being a burden to him, to everyone, you told me to take responsibility, that's what I'm doing." Bea finally returned Cinderace to her Premier Ball and tossed it inside her backpack. "...I'm sorry."

After roughly 20 minutes, Bea opened the door, wearing her Gym uniform as she looked down.

"I really hoped I would never use this again..." She said to Ash while adjusting the black bow of her shirt. "But it's all I have to properly fight."

"I don't think it's the right moment, but... I think you look really good in that." Ash blushed embarrassed considering the situation, but he still wanted to compliment her.

"D-Definitely not the right moment!" Bea gave him a soft punch on his shoulder with her right hand while she tried to hide her blush with the left. "But thank you, I needed a little moral boost."

"Bea..." He hesitated before talking and she knew exactly what he was going to say. "A-Are you sure you-"

"I supposed you'd be worried too." Bea interrupted.

"O-Of course I'm worried! I mean, I'm not saying I don't trust you, I've seen your strength and endurance before, I recognize you're really impressive, but your father doesn't look exactly frail, are you sure you can beat him?"

"Ash... I told you, all I want is to finally put an end to this, this is my chance to finally do so." She answered avoiding the question and then gave Ash her backpack. "I have to try... but promise me that whatever happens you won't get in the middle of the fight."

"What do you mean with whatever?" Ash took her backpack, but he was even more worried.

"Just promise it." Bea insisted.

"...Okay, as long as your promise me you won't overdo yourself." He countered. "If the fight ends up being too much, you're gonna give up and we'll find another way."

"I promise..." Bea said as she crossed her fingers behind her.

"...I promise." Ash answered doing the same.

"Ehem." Someone called next to them, and the duo and their Pokemon found Genta with a worried look. "So you're Ash." He looked at the boy as he offered a handshake. "My name is Genta, it's a pleasure to finally meet you properly, thank you for taking care of Miss Shinka."

"We both take care of each other." Ash answered accepting the gesture. "Nice to meet you too, Bea told me a few things about you."

"Is that so?" Genta looked at her. "...Bea...Miss Shinka, what exactly are you planning?"

"What do you think? I'm going to win that fight." Bea answered firmly.

"We both know you stand no chance against your father." Genta said.

"I have to try!" Bea shouted, frustrated by seeing no one had confidence in her with this.

"Why? Why do you want to reject this life so bad? Just because of him?" Genta pointed at Ash.

"Because of everything!" Bea kept shouting. "Genta, you never thought for even a single second that something here was wrong? You never wanted to have your own life? You never had a dream?"

"Maybe someday...but I quickly understood that it couldn't be helped and I had to accept the life that was given to me."

"I'd never accept such a thing!" Bea exclaimed with anger. "I want to be more than this! I know I can be more than this!"

"...Yes, I can see that...please, just be careful." Genta got out of her way and Bea walked in direction to the battlefield leaving Ash and his Pokemon behind.

"You really think Bea can't beat him?" Ash asked Genta.

"...I'm afraid so." He answered. "And what do you think about all this?"

Ash simply watched as Bea continued to walk away. "...I've never been so scared in my life."

Every member of the stadium was now around the battlefield to witness the fight, by exigence of the crew, Ash had to return Infernape, Pikachu obviously refused, he was on his trainer's shoulder, while Ash was standing next to Genta and Takeru with Bea's backpack on his hands. Bea finally walked inside the 'ring' they prepared for the fight, there wasn't a mat or anything, just a huge white circle drawn in the orange floor, her father was waiting in the middle of said circle for her in silence with his arms crossed, his face didn't show any kind of expression or feeling.

"I honestly thought you'd escape again." He said once Bea was in front of him. "After all, everyone here knows you're going to lose, why would I accept such a proposal if that wasn't the case? I could have simply rejected it and forced you to stay, but if you insist into this so much, I guess I have no reason for not giving you a lesson... anything to say?"

Bea took a silent deep breath and put herself in fighting position.

"So...that is how it's going to be?" Her father asked without moving a muscle.

"That's how it must be..." She answered.

"No time limit." Takeru started to talk as the referee. "No rules, no zones, just make sure your opponent stays down... begin!"

The Gym Leader made a quick double straight jab, way too quick for Bea to react, both hits landed in her stomach and Bea was already in the floor before there were 5 seconds into the fight.

"As expected." Habe simply looked down at her.

"Bea!" Ash instantly tried to go and reach her but Genta stopped him.

"You cannot interfere!" He exclaimed.

"B-But-!"

"That was too fast." Takeru said. "Faster than I expected, that is, she hasn't been training, has she?"

"Well, no, but..." Ash looked as she struggled to stand up. "Bea, come on..."

"That's it?" Habe asked. "Two simple hits is all you can take?"

"SHUT UP!" Bea slammed her fist into the ground as she shouted and then stood up with a right high kick that her father blocked, he then grabbed her leg and raised Bea in the air, tossing her around to then crash her back-first against the floor. "I-I hate when Cinderace is right..." Bea complained in the ground, trying to recover from the throw, her father then tried to stomp her, but she rolled away to avoid it and set her leg free, Bea then made a quick sweep, effectively making her father fall on his back, now with both of them in the ground, Bea made a quick movement and struck with her heel on his stomach, rolling back afterwards and then standing up as he recovered. The whole sequence happened in less than 10 seconds, but Bea was already panting exhausted, those first hits really got her, it was right, she hasn't been training, but she managed to cause some damage. "I have... to keep going." She said to herself.

"You... ungrateful brat." Habe talked standing up, as Bea stood in fighting position again. "I made you who you are, you think you can change that?"

"I already did!" Bea answered firmly as she dashed forward with a right uppercut, but her father stopped her with his palm, he then raised her arm and landed a strong kick in her open side waist, he then gave another kick in the same place and a third kick send Bea flying across the battlefield.

"You're so out of touch." He muttered approaching her again.

"Bea!" Ash shouted again and tried to run at her, but Genta stopped him once more. "L-Let me go!"

"If you interrupt, things will just get worse! This was her decision!" Genta continued.

"I can't just stand here!" Ash shouted.

"Ash, I told you to stay out of this!" Bea shouted at him while kneeling and holding her waist trying to ease the pain. "I-I'm okay!"

"No, you're not! This isn't going to work!" He exclaimed. "It's barely been a minute and you're already on last legs!"

"Glad to know you trust me that much." She answered with a forced laugh. "Y-You don't just give up when you're fighting a stronger trainer, do you?"

"This is not the same!"

"It is for me." Bea stood up again and let go of her waist. "I'll show you."

"Even your friend understand how worthless your efforts are." Her father continued. "Why can't you do it as well?"

"Your speeches became more boring and generic since I left, I see." She answered with a surprisingly confident smile managing to strike a nerve on her father. "If I've learned something with Ash is that no efforts are worthless, he's just a little worried cause he hasn't seen me in action that much... but don't worry, if you think I'm done, you're very wrong!"

"We'll see about that..." Her father then attacked with a rapid flurry of punches and kicks, while Bea struggled to block them, she managed to push one of his legs away just enough to disestablish him a little, giving her an opening to land an uppercut under his chin, Bea then landed two quick punches on his face and launched a quick hook kick pushing her father away from her.

"How's that, Ash?" Bea asked looking at him.

"Uh, Bea..." Ash pointed at her father as Bea looked at him as well to notice he was still standing up like nothing has happened, she barely left some scratches on his face.

"Well... at least you're in the fighting mood now." Her father grinned and now Bea was the one with a struck nerve.

"Good, she's finally defending herself." Genta said.

"Yes, but she isn't doing much." Takeru asked. "The fight lasts until one of them cannot continue and I think it's obvious who's that going to be."

Bea was about to run at him to keep attacking, but she felt a sudden pain in her injured waist that stopped her from moving. Her father noticed this and quickly aimed a punch to her face, but Bea crossed her arms to protect her, leaving her waist uncovered as Habe landed yet another kick in that exact spot.

"Grrhhk..." Bea suppressed the urge to scream in pain as she took a few steps back and held her waist again, but she couldn't stop the tears that began to flow from her eyes.

"Bea, that's enough!" Ash called her.

"I'm fine!" She shouted quickly cleaning her tears with her free arm. "I-I told you I'm okay!"

"This is the Galar karate prodigy I was meant to raise?" Habe stopped a few steps before her, Bea began to tremble still covering her waist and her father turned his back on her to start walking away.

"What...W-WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" Bea shouted.

"Well, I had left clear this was pointless..." He answered looking at her for a moment. "And you've proved it to me, you're still weak, besides, why would I want someone who was caused so much trouble as my successor? Thinking that you're my daughter... it's disappointing." He turned his back on Bea again. "I can always find a replacement, you can leave this Gym if you want, but you better do it this instant and never come back." What he said surprised everyone, but Ash didn't waste time and ran to Bea.

"Bea, please!" Ash shouted at her. "He's letting you go, just leave it like that! You heard him!"

"Yes, Ash, I heard him..." She answered with an irritated voice while still trying to ease the pain in her waist. "I heard everything..."

"You always wanted to be like your mother, right?" Habe continued. "Well, congratulations, you're just like her, weak, frail... and completely disposable."

"...Disposable?" Bea asked trembling. "Mom was disposable to you?!" The girl suddenly ran to the father and they engaged into fight again.

"Bea, don't do it!" Ash tried to go and intercept the situation, but this time Takeru was the one to stop him.

"He found a point to exploit..." Takeru sighed watching the fight and then looked at Ash. "Listen up, kid, you can't -"

"Get out of my way!" Ash shouted and Takeru suddenly took him down with a shoulder tackle.

"Ash!" Bea noticed this and tried to run to out of the fight to help him, but her father landed a sudden kick in her stomach followed by a straight kick in her back that made Bea fall face first to the ground.

"Bea!" Ash was about to stand up, but Takeru kept standing on his way, Pikachu then jumped in front of Ash charging electricity to protect him and Takeru used the cube trap to catch him again.

"I'll be keeping you there as a failsafe." Takeru said as Pikachu tried to use a Thunderbolt from inside the cage to escape, but without any success "Just don't try anything and I'll let you go once this is all over."

"I'm gonna-!"

"Don't try it." Takeru warned Ash, seeing how he was about to call his Pokemon. "If you actually care for Saito's well-being, then you're not gonna do that."

"I suggest you to settle, boy..." Habe muttered looking at Ash. "The chance is gone."

"I told you, your mere presence here already worsens the whole situation." Genta helped Ash to stand up. "Please, just stay where you are."

"A-Ash, are you okay?!" She asked still on the ground.

"I'm fine! Bea, please, this is enough!"

"No, it's not! I'm not going to just leave, not after that!" She shouted, while desperately telling her body to make her stand up. 'C-Come on, I've gotten out of worse than this... I-I managed to hold my own against Zacian, why can't I do this?' After hearing herself, Bea took a deep breath of resolve and stood up again with difficulty. '...Zacian.'

"How many times are you gonna get up?" Habe asked causing Bea to clench her fists in anger yet again, her sword suddenly appeared and she took it with both hands, pointing it at him and preparing herself to continue.

"Quite a sudden turn." That was all Takeru could say.

"What in the..." Genta watched the scene in disbelief and then looked at Ash.

"We... we've been through a lot." He said. "Bea, don't do it! We can find another way, you have to stop this!"

"That's what I'm doing!" Bea shouted. "I'm gonna stop this! Permanently!"

"Hmm..." Needless to say, Habe was surprised, but he was simply looking at her sword trying to not look fazed at all. "I thought this was fist on fist."

"DISPOSABLE?!" Bea screamed her lungs out as she made the first swing, but her father avoided the sword by jumping back, causing Bea to miss the mark and leave a huge slash in the battlefield.

"T-That's a real sword!" Genta exclaimed.

"You don't say." Takeru rolled his eyes. "I thought it was a kusarigama."

"N-No, I mean, t-that thing can really cut, is she seriously trying to-"

"Kill him?" Takeru brought up what Genta was trying to ask. "Looks like it."

"Bea wouldn't do such a thing!" Ash exclaimed.

"You can say that..." Takeru continued. "But you have to consider what Saito is feeling right now." He looked as Bea kept trying to slash her father with the sword. "Disappointment, suppressed pain, anger... and somewhere deep inside she wants his approval... things could get really out of hand."

"Disposable?!" Bea repeated the word with anger. "That's what you think she was?!"

"What does it matter to you anyway?!" Habe finally shouted.

"EVERYTHING!" Bea shouted as her father dodged another slash. "Y-You never cared about her?!"

"She's the reason why you caused all these troubles, after all, isn't she?"

"YOU!" Bea tossed the sword at him and he moved out of the way barely in time, the sword kept going and nailed itself in one the walls, vanishing in thin air afterwards.

"Can't face me without any fancy tools?" Habe landed a fast a kick on Bea's shoulder and caused her to hold it for a moment, but she pushed him away with a direct palm strike on his neck.

"It was never enough for you, was it?!" She shouted ignoring the pain while another sword appeared in her hand and she let go of her shoulder. "No matter how hard I tried, I was never strong enough! I was never perfect enough! I was never what YOU wanted!" Bea made a quick succession of slashes and one of them was just close enough to leave a bleeding cut on Habe's right shoulder.

"Argh!" Habe covered the injury to stop the blood as Bea kept swinging the sword at him and he jumped out of the way.

"She's got a cut..." Takeru said.

"Miss Shinka..."

"Are we seriously not going to stop this?!" Ash shouted.

"Why do you care?" Takeru asked. "She finally has the advantage."

"Yes, but not like this! Bea isn't this way!"

"You say you met her after she escaped, that would mean you've only met her for roughly a month, right?" Takeru asked. "Do you really think you know everything about her? I don't know if she's been living some sunshine and bubblegum life with you, but believe me, Saito can do brutal things when she's angry, her father knew that, that's why he insulted her mother, he still wants to see what Saito is capable of."

"Capable of? ...I just... I've never seen her like this." Ash looked at her in silence, she wasn't saying anything, but that look in her eyes, full of anger, it said too much, the way she was swinging the sword didn't help either, she was really trying to... "Bea, please stop this!" He continued to plead, but Bea kept ignoring him.

Bea then ran at her father and swung the sword in an arc above her head, but he moved to the sides to dodge, letting the sword get stuck into the ground, Bea then tried to pull it out, but Habe bended forward with an elbow strike at her face before she could, knocking Bea off her feet as the sword vanished, she tried to stand up again, but her father stomped her right on her side waist and with that area already injured from earlier, Bea finally let a desperate scream of pain, the shout was Indescriptible, it completely crushed Ash's heart, and seeing Bea so frail, crying like a child in the ground without him being able to intervene was way too much, it made him feel useless and sick to the stomach. Ash inadvertently started to shed tears and burst of red aura suddenly formed on his hands.

"Get out of my way!" Ash shouted. "I won't warn you again! I don't care what you say, I'm gonna help her! You either move or I'll move you myself!"

"Kid, I've already done everything I've wanted in this life, which isn't much, but still..." Takeru stood in his own fighting position in front of Ash. "Honestly you would be making me a favor."

"Enough!" Genta stood between the two. "We don't need more of this nonsense violence!"

"Says the grown man wearing a Karate gi." Takeru laughed at him.

While all that happened, Bea was still doing all she could to stand up one more time, but her adrenaline wore off some moments ago, the pain of all the hits she received was now cursing through her whole body all at once preventing her from doing so.

"Misery..." Habe finally reached her and prepared a sucker kick. "That's what you've chosen."

"BEA!"

"THAT'S IT!" Bea's backpack started to vibrate and Cinderace's Premier Ball came flying from it, the rabbit suddenly emerged on her own and kicked a Pyro Ball at Habe, the Gym Leader reacted and crossed his arms to block the hit, but was pushed a few meters away from Bea by the impact, Cinderace then ran to aid Bea and Ash used the distraction to bash Takeru away with a shield, he then broke Pikachu's cage with his aura and ran to Bea as well.

"How dare you..." The rabbit muttered while looking at Habe, holding the head of the girl close to her.

"A-Ash, you promised it." Bea muttered while weakly trying to lift herself.

"Yeah...I lied." He answered forming a dome shield around them.

"What do you think you're doing?" Habe asked calmly while giving the shield a strong punch, but it didn't even scratch it. "So you can do this too...I don't know what you did to my daughter while she was with you, but these tricks are not going to stop what's going to happen."

"They'll have to!" Ash shouted. "I won't allow this to go on! I won't let you hurt her ever again!"

"You think you can tell me how to educate my daughter?"

"If you think this is education, you're not even a real father! Fathers are kind, fathers protect you, fathers raise you! And, it's more than obvious you never did any of those things!"

"What? You think that fight was too much for you?" He asked unfazed. "Perhaps you'd like to take her place then? Just who do you think you are?"

"HE'S MINE!" Bea shouted finally standing up again. "He's my boyfriend, he's my best friend, he's my family, he's everything I could ask for! And in one month he has taught and show me more things than you ever did in seventeen years!" Bea called her sword again and she made a huge slash breaking Ash's shield into pieces to stand in front of him, the thought of Ash being harmed in any way because of her was more than enough to give Bea a second breath. "And if even dare lay a finger on him I swear you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

"If you even try to hurt her I'll be sure you regret it." A short flashback suddenly appeared on Cinderace's mind. A young woman talking to a man.

"What was..." Cinderace was about to say something, but Bea engaged herself into fighting again, her cuts were now far faster, it didn't even take her 15 seconds to let another bleeding cut on her father's right leg and in the moment he tried to cover the injury, she gave him a straight kick on his chest that caused her father to fall on his back.

"Yield!" She ordered pointing her sword at his neck. "Right. Now! I won't ask it again!"

"Or else what?" Her father asked with a grin. "You think you have the guts?"

"You had to ask..." Bea raised her sword again, but a shield suddenly appeared over his father to protect him, causing her to instantly look at Ash.

"Ash, cut that off!" She shouted.

"No." He looked firmly at Bea. "I-I won't let you do this."

"Why not?!" Bea exclaimed taking a strong grip of the sword as she turned to him, Ash noticed this movement, but he continued to try and talk it out. Meanwhile Cinderace was completely frozen by that flashback from earlier while Pikachu tried to make her react.

"I won't let you do this because you're not fighting to win! You just want to hurt him!"

"He deserves it!" Bea continued. "He's every bad day I ever had! He's been hurting me for 17 years! Don't you care about that?!"

"If I didn't care I'd let you do it! D-Don't you get it?! This is what he wants! If you do this t-then you're proving that you're just like him!"

"Don't you dare!" Bea suddenly made an arc with her sword aiming at Ash, but he quickly summoned a shield in front of him to stop the attack. "D-Don't you dare compare me with him!"

"Bea! I-It's me! Calm down!" He pleaded as Bea pushed his shield with the edge of her sword.

"Calm down?!" Bea prepared herself for another swing, but then she noticed it, Ash was crying, trembling, he looked...scared, that caused her to stop flat her offensive. "I..."

"P-Please, I...I-I don't want to..." Ash put down his shield and tried to approach her. "J-Just put the sword down."

"N-No! I'm just trying to..." Bea took a few steps back from him and started to breath heavily. "I-I'm doing t-this for us! I..." She looked down at her sword and then noticed something else, blood. That right there made her freeze again, but she knew she cut her father twice and that didn't stop her, why did it suddenly matter?

"Bea." Ash called her again. "Please, just calm down."

"Ash..." Bea let the sword fell on the ground, it then vanished in the air like the previous two, but this time Bea could see the blood being left behind in the floor, the girl took some more steps back terrified and then held her head as she began to cry again. "A-Ash, Ash! W-What am I doing?!" She shouted in tears and Ash ran to her to give her a big hug.

"It's okay, I'm here for you." He whispered to her.

Bea couldn't take it anymore and cried out loud on his shoulder as she hugged him tightly despite the pain in her body. "I-I'm sorry! I-I-I don't want to do this! I don't want to be this!"

Cinderace finally reacted and Pikachu and her ran to their trainers.

"B-Bea, are you okay?!" Cinderace shouted at her, but she didn't answer.

"Bea...you don't have anything to prove to him..." Ash said. "Let's just leave, ok?"

"You're not going anywhere!" Habe suddenly aimed a kick at them and Ash quickly summoned another dome around them to stop him. "Argh! If you leave this place you can't be sure that everyone here will chase you for the rest of your lives!"

"Your injuries..." Ash looked at the man while still hugging Bea close to him. "T-They're still bleeding out."

"Bold of you to assume I care after all this!" He shouted again, the calm demeanor he showed earlier clearly had gone down to hell.

"Why can't you just leave her alone?" Ash looked at him firmly, but he didn't answer. "...Fine, we're not running."

"Ash..." Bea called him between her weeps. "P-Please, I don't want to be here anymore."

"I don't want you to be here any longer either, but you should've realized by now that running from your past doesn't exactly work." He said brushing her hair in an effort to calm her down. "...and I'm not going to watch as you two just keep harming each other like this."

"Then what do you suggest?" Habe asked.

"I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!" Ash shouted still hugging Bea. "If I win she is free to go and you won't bother her anymore!"

"That's how were playing, uh?" Habe asked. "Then if I win...she stays here, you'll never see her again, not even a call, and you are gonna abandon your career as trainer and hand over all your Pokemon to me, every single one, that is my only offer."

"I..." Ash hesitated a moment causing Habe to smirk.

"Is not like you're in position to demand, are you?" He asked.

"A-Ash, don't you dare!" Bea shouted trying to regain her composure.

"I don't want any tricks." Ash continued parting from the hug and leaving the injured Bea with Cinderace. "If I win, you have to swear to me that Bea will be free and you won't do anything to us."

"Of course, I can promise me that, not like she's of much use here apparently." He answered causing Ash to clench his fists, something that Habe smiled at noticing. "Point is, no tricks, I give you my word."

"Problem is that I'm not sure how much that's worth." Ash answered with doubt, he then put a hand over the dome, phasing through his shield, leaving only Bea and their Pokemon inside. "But you're right, I don't have much of a choice here."

"You don't trust me...can't say I blame you." Habe simply offered his hand. "We have a deal?"

"Ash, stop that right now!" Bea shouted again trying to get out of the dome.

"...We have a deal." Ash shook his hand.

"A-Ash!" Bea called him again, Ash finally put down the dome and Bea ran at him, taking him by the shoulders. "A-Are you crazy?!"

"I'm doing this for your sake!" Ash replied.

"But what about your sake?!"

"As I told you, you were never able to defend yourself." Habe looked at his daughter. "It doesn't surprise me that even now you need someone else to fight for you."

"You!" Bea was about to engage in fight again, but both Ash and her injuries stopped her.

"No you won't! You're way too hurt!" Ash shouted holding her close to him again.

"You know what? One more thing." Habe continued. "As a Galar Gym Leader, I guess you know I can put conditions to the battle itself, right?"

"What do you want...?" Ash asked with anger.

"This is still her problem so...I want a 2v1, one Pokemon of each of you and against one of mine, let's see if you're so close as she claims you are."

"We accept, right Bea?" Ash asked her.

"Of course..." She answered weakly.

"So you two..." Habe looked at them in silence for a moment. "As if Saito didn't cause enough problems before, now you've made it worse...you two shouldn't have met, things would've been easier for everyone, she was fighting to go away with you, all this happened because of you."

"A-Ash, that's not true!" Bea exclaimed. "D-Don't let him-"

"It's alright, Bea..." Ash answered taking her hand and looking at Habe again. "The fight will be tomorrow, fine? Bea needs to recover."

"24 hours, we'll have it your way, child..." Habe continued to look at Ash. "But I'll admit you have some guts, that I respect, so I'll tell you this, if you simply leave her here now and you go away clean, I'll give you my badge freely and we can all forget this trouble and never talk about it."

"You think I'd trade her life for a stupid badge?!" Ash was now the one who wanted to punch him.

"Guess not." Habe gave Ash his back and started to walk away. "But ponder yourself the question... is she really worth all this trouble?"

'How can he think of Bea that way?' Ash asked himself in his mind, but Bea's body suddenly gave in and she felt kneeling in the ground. Ash, Cinderace and Pikachu quickly reached out to aid her and Bea rested her head on Ash's shoulder. "B-Bea! H-Hang in there!"

'"I ruined it again." Bea said as she started to weep. "I always do...I just can't stop making everything worse for those around me.'

"I got you, don't worry. Flabébé!" Ash quickly called upon the Fairy Type. "Flabébé, please! That thing you did when you cured my burn, I need you to heal Bea!"

The Kalos Pokemon nodded and approached Bea worried by her state, the small Pokemon flew over both Ash and the girl, showering them both with the pollen of her flower, her physical injuries disappeared like magic and Ash smiled relieved. But Bea still seemed to struggle. Her breath got even heavier, so Ash carried her on his arms and started to take her out of the place.

"I-I'm sorry..." Bea muffled with a broken voice. "...I-I can't believe I tried to..."

"This is my fault, I shouldn't have brought you here, I-" Ash suddenly noticed that Bea had fallen unconscious on his shoulder, he had never seen her so fragile, even after Flabébé healed her she was still trembling, the guilt was consuming Ash from inside.

"I'm just...I-I'm a person with troubles, alright? I've been through many awful things I don't want to remember and I...I feel safe with you, I feel like everything is gonna be okay."

As the memories of Bea's explanations drowned his mind, it all started to make sense, Ash then looked at Habe with anger, he was still leaving the scene, he didn't even turn once to see Bea's state. "Just hang on a little longer." He muttered hugging Bea closer to him. "Everything will be okay."

Ash then took Bea to the Pokemon Center so she could have a more detailed checkout, his relief when Nurse Joy told him she didn't break anything was unmeasurable, but she still didn't wake up, Ash then took her to a room and simply waited, not closing his eyes during the whole night, thinking about everything that happened, he was about to tell Nurse Joy what happened, he thought he should've called the authorities or something, but he didn't do any of those things, he honestly thought it would only worsen everything even more for Bea.

Pikachu was there with him, but he eventually fell asleep, Ash kept waiting kept waiting wide awake and Bea finally woke up around 3:00 AM. The first thing she saw was her boyfriend, tearing up at the sight of her and giving him a tight hug, careful to not hurt her.

"Bea, I-I'm sorry." He stuttered.

"Ash...what happened?" She asked.

"Don't worry, you just passed out after that... discussion we had with your father, we're in the center of the town now, you're okay, Flabébé cured your injuries, but you still shouldn't overdo yourself."

"Discussion..." Bea quickly remembered all that happened and pushed him away. "Ash! Are you out of your mind?!" Bea did her best to stand up, but she couldn't find the strength to do it.

"S-Slow down, I'm begging you!" Ash tried to keep her in bed. "I told you shouldn't-"

"D-Do you even understand what you did?!" Bea continued to shout. "What if we lose?!"

"We're not gonna lose!" Ash assured ser.

"But what if we do?! Your career! Your Pokemon! You can't just throw away all that you have because of me?!"

"It was my only choice! I already told you we're in this together!"

"I'm not worth all of this!"

"Yes, you are!" Ash stood up in front of the bed, looking firmly at Bea. "I don't care what he told you when you were younger, but you are worth it, you aren't less important than me!"

"ARGH! Even if I wasn't, you didn't have to do that! I am the fighter, I could've won, I had it under control, b-but you interrupted!"

"I INTERRUPTED?!" Ash shouted. "You thought I would just stay there like nothing?! You were pretty much holding into dear life back there!"

"I can take it! M-My training day after day was just like that, that may be the reason why I left, but it's still part of who I am, if I can't do that th-"

"I thought you were going to die!"

"...Ash-"

"No! Shut up! W-When he stomped into your waist, I swear I heard a crack! I couldn't take it anymore! I don't know if Flabébé healed that too or if you actually made it out of that without any broken bones, but I'm not letting you do something like that again by any means! A-And the worst part is that he wasn't even hesitating! How could he keep that stone cold face while he did all that to you?! I don't get it!"

"Ash-"

"You're his daughter! Did he forget that?! You were- He just kept tossing you around like you didn't matter! A-And then you pulled out your sword and you were..." Ash paused for a moment, rather worried of continuing. "B-Bea, were you really going to kill him?"

That direct question honestly scared Bea, but she knew Ash was in the right of asking such a thing. "I-It's not that, but..."

"BEA, ANSWER ME!" He demanded.

"W-What?! N-No, of course not!" Bea finally stood up as well with slight difficulty. "I swear I was just trying to win the fight, I...I'll admit it is like you said earlier, I-I wanted to hurt him, but I would never go that far!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"A-Ash, you believe me, right?"

"...Sit down." He pretty much ordered and Bea complied, Ash then sat next to her in the edge of the bed and held her hand.

"I'm... S-Sorry." Ash began to shed some tears in again, but he quickly held them in an effort to look string for her. "I know you wouldn't, but... I just can't stand seeing you getting hurt anymore..."

"...I'm sorry, it was such a stupid decision, it's just that you've done so much for me, that fight was the one thing I could do for you...I had my chance and I blew it."

"If you really did that just for me then maybe your father was right, maybe we shouldn't have met...this is all my fault, I should have come alone, I can't believe I brought you here."

"Ash, this isn't your-"

"Bea..." He interrupted again. "I've feared for your life a few times during this travel, but this one was the worst by far...f-for a moment I really I'd lose you right there without having done anything to stop it... you're telling me you had to go through something like that every day?"

"More or less." Bea admitted with a feeling of sorrow.

"How could you? ...How could you even live like that? How could you endure all that pain since you were a little girl?"

"I'm not totally sure honestly, but my Pokemon helped me lots...and you too, you help me forget about all those bad things, I've told you that already, haven't I?"

"I'm glad I make you feel better." He answered finally smiling. "But I still don't get it...why is this Gym so different from the others?"

"I told you the Stow-on-Side was the first Gym in Galar, it was also the only one for a long time...guess they wanted to continue with the old methods...this place is so archaic." Bea tried to fake a laugh at that last sentence, but it quickly died down as Ash hugged her.

"...I'll promise I'll take you out of here, we'll win this fight whatever it takes, I'm sure of it."

"There you go helping me again..." Bea answered returning the hug. "I'm really sorry, I can't believe I dragged you into all this."

"Stop talking like that, none of this is your fault."

"...Why are you still so worried about me?" Bea continued. "Even after what I did..."

"Bea, you were just trying to-"

"I let rage win over me, Ash." She interrupted. "What if you hadn't call that shield when I tried to attack you?"

"Please, don't think about that." Ash broke the hug and put his hands on her shoulders. "We both know you'd never hurt me."

"...Then why did you summon that shield?" She asked again and he had to admit that point pretty killed his words of comfort.

"Bea..."

"I was really going to do it..." Bea started to shed tears again. "Y-You were just trying to help me like you always do and I almost-"

"You weren't going to hurt me!" Ash shouted.

"YES, I WAS!" She shouted as well. "S-Stop lying to make me feel better! I saw that look in your eyes! ...You were scared of me..."

"...I wasn't scared of you." He answered after a bit of silence. "But rather of what you were doing, it's not just about hurting me, but the way you were attacking your father too, I understand he insulted your mom, but... I've never seen you act like that."

"That's because you've never been seen me here... this place gets the worst out of me, I walked into the field and suddenly all those memories returned and when I remembered my sword...I got out of control... if you hadn't been there, I would've have made a big mistake..."

"Bea, don't say such a thing."

"You... remember when we were trying to escape that cave in Sinnoh? ...when my fists started to bleed, I didn't care but...this was different, it was someone's else blood, I made someone else bleed... I've hurt people before, but this? It scares me... did you look at my father when you first made a shield to protect him?"

"No, I-I think I didn't." He admitted. "I was a little more focused on you trying to-"

"He was smiling." Bea interrupted. "It was a proud smile, the first he's given me in my life... and he is only proud of me because I did that... he's happy that I'm not "weak"... that's the person he wants me to be?"

"...This is all horrible." That was all Ash could mutter.

"I wonder..." Bea continued. "Zacian has always been watching while I used my sword...if she saw what happened... why didn't she stop me?"

"Maybe she thought that was a decision that you should make on your own." Ash said.

"Makes sense... well, I've made my decision a long time ago... I want to stay with you." She whispered that last bit, but Ash smiled as he heard it clearly and Bea took both her hands. "You make me different, you make me a better person, loving you, being with you, has changed me into... into the person I really want to be."

"That's the only thing that matters." Ash answered. "What do you wanna do?"

"...I want to fight him alongside you...I want to win...I want to leave this place forever and keep traveling with you...I want our bond to grow even stronger... I want to be there when you win the Galar League... and on the long run... I'd like to have a family with you." That last idea caused them both to smile and blush. "I-If that's alright, I mean."

"Sure!" Ash smiled ear to ear and this caused his girlfriend to blush even more. "I-I mean, sounds great... w-when the time comes, of course... let's focus on the battle for now, ok?"

"Right, who we'll be using?" She asked.

"Cinderace and Infernape already offered themselves, I explained them everything, they're gonna fight with us." As Ash said this, an explosion was heard outside of the center. "That must be them."

And it was them indeed, Infernape and Cinderace had been training, fighting against each other with all they had for a few hours now.

"C-Cinderace." Infernape called though pants. "I-I think that's enough."

"No, it's not!" Cinderace shouted panting as well. "We need to be stronger, we have to win tomorrow!"

"How stronger you think we can get overnight?" Infernape asked.

"It'll have to be enough!" The rabbit shouted again. "Don't you get it?! We're fighting for Bea here!"

"Hmmp, you're right..." Infernape stood up tall as Blaze activated. "Then let's keep going!"

"HIT ME!"

Ash and Bea spent the next day training with Infernape and Cinderace, but the night fell upon them father than they could've expected and the group went to the stadium, the whole place was empty and completely silent yet again.

"...I still think I could've done something else." That was the first thing Bea could bring up as they entered the building. "Maybe I could've won."

"But you didn't." Ash replied. "And that's alright, we can't always win, but don't worry, this time you have us, Infernape, Cinderace and me, the four of us, so don't be scared, we're gonna make it."

"...We ready for this?" Bea looked at the starters.

"Cin!"

"Fernape!"

"Ash?"

"Ready when you are." He answered.

"THEN LET'S CRASH!" Bea shouted as they all ran to the battlefield, the scene was similar to last night, everyone in the stadium waiting patiently around the place, but this time they were in the stands, then they saw her father, his injuries were treated, he was along his Machamp which was sitting down and Genta and Takeru in the middle of the stadium, all of them waiting there, our heroes walked onward without hesitation, until they were right in front of them.

"I'm giving you one last chance to reconsider, boy." Habe talked first looking at Ash.

"There's nothing to reconsider." Ash quickly answered. "I'm not leaving this town without Bea."

"And I'm not going to stay here any longer." She added.

"...You won't interrupt the fight this time?" Habe asked.

"We all know that match was unfair." Ash said.

"Perhaps." The Gym Leader answered. "But it was her idea to begin with, wasn't it?"

"..." Bea looked at him as she clenched her fists, Ash noticed this and held her hand trying to calm her down, which he miraculously succeed at.

"You asked me yesterday to think if Bea was worth the trouble." Ash continued looking at Habe firmly. "I don't need to think about that, I know Bea is worth it."

"Hasn't she been lying to you about her life?"

"I already forgave her because of that, and considering what I've seen here, I completely understand, Bea has helped me in way too many things since we met, it's only been a month, but I've grown closer to her than I've done with other people in more than a year."

"I don't care about you sentimentality, boy." Habe glared at him.

"But I do." Bea smiled at Ash.

"...Bea deserves something better than this." Ash continued. "This was never the life she wanted, you have no right to force her to be something she doesn't want to."

"I am her father."

"But that never let you change the way she felt, did it?" Ash asked. "You call yourself a father... but you're not, you should've noticed it by now; And I promise you, I'm taking Bea out of here, you'll never touch another hair of her head, not if I'm here to protect her."

"..." Habe glared at them and walked to his position, Bea gave Ash a sudden hug and then they walked to their position as well. Infernape and Cinderace stayed together in the battlefield as Habe's Machamp simply continued to sit in the ground.

"Ash and Miss Shinka got the advantage here." Genta walked to the stands. "It's a 2v1, I think they got a fair chance."

"You seem to forget what that Machamp is capable of." Takeru replied taking his position as referee again. "He has soloed my whole troop more than once, this will be anything but easy."

"Remember Cinderace, we have to do this together." Infernape told her.

"You follow me, I'll follow you." Cinderace nodded.

"Guess there's no need for explanations!" Takeru shouted. "Begin!"

"Mach Punch!"

"High Jump Kick!"

Ash and Bea shouted together, the starters jumped to attack in unison, but they were stopped flat by Machamp's upper arms, who proceeded to push them both to the ground, still without standing up.

"Looks like this will be no different of what happened yesterday." Habe said.

"You..."

"Bea, don't let him get into your head again, we're barely starting."

"Argh, Pyro Ball!" Cinderace jumped up and attacked, but the ball was simply deviated away by Machamp.

"Is that all you have to offer?" Her father asked again.

"Use Zen He-!"

"Bea!" Ash Interrupted her. "Listen, I know I can't understand how you feel, but I need you to focus on me, don't listen to him, don't care what he thinks, we have to attack together."

"...Sorry." Bea shook her head slightly as she tried to concentrate. "Let's keep going."

"Let's try this again. Infernape, Acrobatics!"

"Cinderace, Zen Headbutt!"

Cinderace and Infernape approached Machamp as quick as possible, attacking from different angles repeatedly while Machamp blocked with his four arms. Machamp eventually held Cinderace by her neck and tried to choke her, but this gave Infernape the opening to land an Acrobatic-charged shoulder tackle right onto Machamp's face, causing the latter to fall on his back and let Cinderace go.

"Gunk Shot!"

"Use Flamethrower!"

The starters jumped back and joined their moves creating a huge explosion, Machamp received quite some damage and finally got tired of the situation, standing up ready to fight for real.

"We got his attention." Bea smirked.

"Let's keep it that way." Ash replied.

"Use Chi Strike!" Habe finally ordered, Machamp punched the air several times, sending various orange energy fists flying and exploding onto the starters.

"T-That was a G-Max move." Bea stuttered.

"You okay?" Infernape asked Cinderace.

"I'm fine!" She answered coughing dust.

"Flare Wheelz!" Ash shouted and Infernape charged against Machamp surrounded in flames.

"Wide Guard!" Machamp rose his upper arms and several rocks elevated from the ground, the rocks then joined around his body, forming an armor that covered his upper body.

"What the?!" Ash shouted as Machamp used his new armor to block the Flare Wheelz and knock Infernape back to Cinderace.

"He's got an armor, yeah, why not?" Infernape stood up with a bit of pain as Cinderace helped him.

"I've never seen him using moves like those." Bea said worried.

"I thought you everything you know, Saito." Habe called her. "But I didn't teach you everything I knew. Close Combat!"

He ended his short speech and Machamp charged at the starters launching a flurry of punches with his rock armor and sending them both flying back.

"Acrobatics!" Infernape tried to land some hits, but the rock were too resistant to penetrate them.

"We have to break through that thing!" Cinderace shouted.

"I've got an idea." Infernape said. Cinderace, kick me!"

"W-We agreed we wouldn't do that in public!" The rabbit stuttered blushing.

"N-No! That's not what I mean! I'm gonna use Flare Wheelz, give me a boost!"

"Ok! Alright!" Cinderace raised her thumb at the idea.

Infernape jumped in the air charging his attack and Cinderace made a bicycle kick pushing him at high speed against Machamp.

"Chi Strike!" Machamp punched with his four arms at the same time, but Infernape broke through thanks to the boost and his attack exploded onto Machamp, breaking down the armor. "Hmm, Close Combat!" Habe called out and Machamp send another flurry of punches to the Fire types as they did their best to block him.

"Infernape, do it now!" Ash exclaimed as the monkey whistled and the Flamming Nimbus descended from the skies, crashing on Machamp's back while he was distracted with the Fire Types and causing another huge explosion, the cloud then flew to the starters and the two jumped onto it, launching Flamethrowers and Shadow Balls from above as Machamp covered himself.

"Wide Guard!" Machamp summoned the rocks again, but this time he joined them into a single round stone in front of him and he tossed it at the Nimbus, the cloud didn't have time to dodge and the giant rock made both starters fall to the ground.

"Futile. All of this!" Habe shouted. "Why do you keep insisting? You think you can change centuries of tradition?! Your mother tried to do the same and look where she is now!"

"Mach Punch!"

"High Jump Kick!"

Ash and Bea ignored him and kept going, Infernape charged his attack and was about to go for it, but then he noticed Cinderace wasn't doing the same, she was instead standing still, giving Habe a weird look.

"Cinderace, what's wrong?" Infernape called her.

"You think you can change centuries of tradition?!" A sudden flashback of a younger Habe appeared on her mind.

"He...He told me that before." The rabbit answered.

"Uh, when exactly?" Infernape asked.

"It's..." Cinderace was interrupted by another flashback.

"Why don't you think about our family?!"

"I'm thinking about my daughter! This is not the life I want for Saito!"

"This is the best for her!"

"That's... Bea's mom?" Cinderace asked herself.

"Guys!" Ash and Bea called them and the two noticed Machamp was about to tackle them, Infernape jumped forward with his Mach Punch and stayed close to the Kanto Fighting Type attacking with several of these punches, while Cinderace stood behind holding her head.

"I'm..." Cinderace looked down at her paws.

"C-Cinderace!" Bea called him.

"This isn't fair! She's just a little girl!"

"Well, as you can imagine I was just a "little boy" when my training started and I never complained!"

"T-That's why all this is wrong! W-What are you supposed to teach her?!"

"Everything they taught me!"

"So never caring about anyone?! Isn't your own daughter more important than this Gym?!"

"No, she's not!"

"But that's..." Cinderace looked at Bea for a moment. "that's not-..."

"Cinderace, please!" Infernape called her again as Machamp pinned him down with two arms while punching him with the other two. "I-I- need you here!" His Blaze suddenly activated and Infernape managed to free himself sending a Flamethrower that pushed Machamp away for a moment, he then tried to run at the rabbit, but Machamp held him by his tail and tossed him around. "Cinderace!"

"Cinderace!" Bea called her as well. "What are you doing?!"

"H-How?" The rabbit kept stuttering as more scenes flooded her mind.

"You've dishonored this family with your ideas!"

"Doesn't she have the right to be happy?!"

"...Can you at least let her go with family? Can you grant me one miserable last wish?"

"She'll continue to live in the Gym, that's all I can offer."

"But, Mom..." A young Bea suddenly took the scene. "I don't want you to go."

"Everything is gonna be ok, my little Saito...even after I leave, I'll be watching over you, you can be sure of it."

"You promise?"

"I swear...I'd never leave you alone."

"Cinderace!" Ash called her. "You have to react, we need your help!"

"There's something deep inside me that just wants to help you, something that makes me want to protect you no matter what."

"That means..." The rabbit simply looked up still frozen in place.

"Cinderace!"

"Cinderace!"

"Cinderace!" Infernape was left beaten in the ground as Machamp charged at Cinderace.

"We have this magic connection thing! This is something unique, we were meant to be together, this is like some kind of fate!"

"As long as you have this hairband, mommy will always be with you."

"I'm...Bea's mother?"

Machamp suddenly grabbed her by neck as he chocked her and smacked her head against the ground several times, Infernape stood up again and used Acrobatics to separate them as Cinderace fell to the ground motionless.

"Here it is." A figure was giving Bea's hairband to her mother.

"Thanks Kyoko... are you sure you made the right enchantment?"

"Completely sister, you... I still think you're taking this way too easy, I mean, you do understand what's happening, right? You're... going to die."

"Yes, I... accepted it after a while, but there's nothing I can do about it, I only have a few weeks left, so... I needed this, again, are you sure it will work?"

"Yes, that thing will be linked to your spirit so you can still watch over her, but there's a chance that Saito won't meet you next self, and even if she does, it's not sure that you'll have any connection with her."

"I know, but...I prefer taking this chance than just leave it like nothing."

"You think Saito won't be able of taking care of herself?"

"I just want someone to be with her, Saito is special... but, I know Habe won't accept her and we both know he won't let you or anyone of my family to get close to her... he just won't let her be, but... I also feel like I'm stealing a bit of her freedom by doing this."

"Hey, you're just a mother worried about her daughter, this is at least better than leave her alone with Habe... I'll never understand why did you marry him to begin with."

"You know I didn't have much of a choice... that's why I'm doing this... I want Saito to choose, I want Saito to have a choice."

"I want Saito...to have a choice." Cinderace finally returned to herself, her eyes suddenly turned gray and she knelt in the ground, she then noticed there was blood on her forehead, and she brushed it off and she stood tall

"Cinderace!" Bea was about to run into the battlefield to aid her.

"Saito, don't give another step!" The rabbit shouted stopping her. "I'm gonna end this! Once and for all!" Cinderace took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she drew a circle in the ground around her with her right foot and then stomped the ground as the circle illuminated and the light then took the form a sphere in front of her. "You..." Cinderace opened her eyes and looked at Habe as her voice echoed around the battlefield letting everyone hear her.

"That voice..." Habe trailed off.

"I-I heard her!" Ash exclaimed.

"You did?" Bea asked as Cinderace prepared a kick and the ground beneath cracked.

"This is... for everything you've done to my Saito!" The rabbit kicked the ball at Machamp with all her strength, it ran along the ground leaving a blazing trail, Infernape moved out of the way just in time with an Acrobatic and the sphere hit Machamp cleanly, creating a massive explosion that illuminated the whole stadium for a second, Machamp was still standing up even after that, but Infernape gave the double tap with a Mach Punch followed by a Flamethrower, knocking out the Superpower Pokemon for good.

"The battle is over!" Takeru shouted. "Machamp has been defeated! Infernape and Cinderace win the fight, the victors and Ash...and Bea."

"We...we did it." Ash said slowly as he looked at Bea, who was shedding some tears. "B-Bea-" He was about to call her, but Bea interrupted him with a tight hug.

"We did it..." She whispered. "It's finally over."

"Cinderace, that was crazy!" Infernape exclaimed next to her.

"Infernape, I..." Cinderace suddenly fell forward, but Infernape caught her.

"Cinderace!" Bea shouted as Ash and her ran to their Pokemon. "A-Are you okay?"

"What? ...S-Saito..." Cinderace cried a little as she looked at the girl, placing a paw on her cheek. "It's good to see you...Y-You're all grown up, H-How are you?"

"Cinderace?"

"N-No, sorry...I just..." The rabbit gave her a warm smile. "I just want you to know that... I've always loved you and I've always been proud of you... It makes me really happy to see the person you've become..." Cinderace suddenly passed out for a moment, and once she returned to herself her eyes were back to normal. "Uh..."

"Are you okay?" Bea kept asking.

"I'm fine, that was...weird." Cinderace answered. "As if...someone else took over."

"Uh, I don't understand her anymore." Ash said.

"... Cinderace, what happened?" Bea asked again.

"...I'd like to know." The rabbit answered holding her head.

"Hmm..." Habe returned his Machamp and started to walk out of the battlefield as Genta approached him.

"You're not going to say anything, sir?" The subordinate asked.

"She won." Habe answered. "We had a deal, she can go...what else can I do?"

Meanwhile on the other side of the battlefield, our heroes were watching at him leave, Bea then lowered her head with a sigh.

"Bea?" Ash called her and she simply took his hand.

"...Let's get out of here." She smiled at her boyfriend.

Ash and Bea left the scene without trading words with her father, but Bea wanted to go to her room first.

"If this is really the last time I'll be here, I guess I should look for some things I might need, but I never had that much to begin with."

While Bea searched around in the room, Cinderace glanced the place as well, she had been there countless times, but everything looked somewhat different, Cinderace eventually got a weird feeling and walked to a drawer, pulling out a small box with an oddly familiar silver necklace inside it.

"Bea... what's this?" She asked to her trainer.

"That... belonged to Mom." Bea answered.

"Can I...keep it?"

"Uh, sure I guess." Bea answered and Cinderace put the necklace inside one of her pockets. "Cinderace, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing...Just thinking."

Someone then knocked the opened door and the group found Genta and Takeru looking at them.

"We'd just like to say our goodbyes." Genta talked. "Since we suppose you won't plan of returning...just take care of each other.

"I... apologize for the measures I took." Takeru took a bow at her. "You have to understand I was just following orders...so, take care."

"Thanks guys." Bea answered and then approached Takeru. "Just one last thing."

"What thi-?" He was interrupted by a sudden punch on his stomach that knocked him down.

"THAT'S FOR TACKLING MY BOYFRIEND, YOU ASSHOLE!" Bea shouted.

"Bea, please calm down." Ash told her despite the fact he was smiling.

After Bea got some clothes and items she couldn't take during her escape, the duo didn't waste anymore time and left the stadium along their Pokemon, starting to walk out of the town, Cinderace suddenly stopped walking to look at the night horizon and Bea then approached her.

"Alright, Cinderace, you're starting to worry me." She said. "I know I'm not exactly one to talk, but if there's anything worrying you, please just say so."

"Bea...I have to leave you." The rabbit answered still looking away.

Bea's eyes widened as she processed that for a second. "You...what?"

"Bea, I'm sorry." She finally looked at the girl. "But I need to go..."

"But...go where?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I have a feeling..." Cinderace pulled out the necklace to look at it. "Something weird happened during that fight, I need answers and... I think you'll need them too."

"I...I-I." Bea was trying her best, but she couldn't stop stuttering. "I-I don't e-even know w-what I'd do without you."

"You'll be fine..." Cinderace put a paw over her shoulder and then looked at Ash. "After all, you have him."

"I'd like to tell you to don't go... b-but I know you well, so if you want to leave me, it must so something serious." Bea tried to hold her tears and hugged her starter. "J-Just promise me you'll come back with me."

"It won't be permanent, you can be sure of it..." Cinderace returned the hug. "Once I've cleared this, I'll be back and everything will return to normal, I hope to see you again soon." After parting the hug with her, Cinderace looked at Ash.

"Take care." Ash told her, Bea's side of the conversation was enough to understand what was happening. "I promise I'll protect Bea with my life."

Cinderace nodded at that and then asked Bea and Ash to let out all their Pokemon so she could say goodbye to them as well, they all did so, but Infernape stood apart during the whole scene, Cinderace looked at him and he looked to another direction so she decided to leave it like that, the rabbit gave Bea one last hug and started to walk away to the night desert as everyone watched her leave.

"Infernape..." Ash talked to him knowing what he was thinking. "It's alright, go ahead."

"..." Infernape gave Ash a hug and then ran to Cinderace holding one of her paws. "Hey, thought you could leave without saying goodbye?" He asked with a smile.

"I...I didn't want to say goodbye to you, but I have to leave." She said without looking at him.

"I'm going with you." He answered surprising her.

"...I can't ask you to do that."

"You don't have to." Infernape assured with a smile.

"..." Cinderace reached out to him and hugged him.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"So where are we going?"

Cinderace looked up to the stars and raised the necklace in the air "...Just go my way."

"Are you okay?" Ash asked and Bea took his hand in silence.

"I'm fine, but... Ash, there's one last place I need to see before we leave."

Bea guided Ash to a forest area close to the town, they walked into the depths of it until they made it to a giant rock. The rock had punch marks all around, Bea approached it and softly closed her fist, pressing it against one of the marks and Ash quickly understood the meaning of that.

"That time when my sword first appeared?" Bea finally talked after being silent for roughly a minute. "...those rocks blocking the way reminded me of this... Every day, right before the night fell I had to come here... and punch, my father said that my training will only be over when I could finally break the stone." Her sword then appeared in her hand again and Bea raised her arm preparing for a swing, but after a few seconds she sighed and put the sword down as it vanished in the air.

"Bea?"

"No..." She said under her breath.

"...You're not going to-?"

"I'm sure I could cut it in half." Bea interrupted him. "But I don't want to do it... what for?" Bea then smiled at him. "You were right... I have nothing to prove here.

"After sharing another big hug, the exhausted couple then decided to break their routine for once and ordered a flying taxi, the ride was pretty calm and they stopped in the closest city, that being Stow-on-the-Other-Side, the two checked in the Pokemon Center to spend the night there, they decided to figure out where to go next tomorrow in the morning.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"Ash, for the thousandth time, I'm fine."

The two were now saying their goodbyes for the day at Bea's room, while Pikachu was already resting on Ash's, even after all that happened, Pikachu still wanted to keep himself away from the girl, it seems like Bea will have to do a lot to earn his trust again.

"Totally sure?" He insisted. "If you need anything, you can be sure I'll do it."

"Anything?" Bea blushed as she asked. "W-Well..."

"Tell me what it is, I'm at your service."

"It's nothing, nothing, goodnight." Bea gave him a hug and Ash suddenly cupped her face to give her a short peck on her lips. "I..."

"Goodnight." He smiled at her. "Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"D-Damn it, Ash!" He shouted hugging him tighter. "Fine you win! There's one thing I'd like you to do!"

"What is it?"

"I..." Bea reached her blush limit as she tried to find the strength to give to her temptations and ask the big question. "c-can we...s-sleep to-to..."

"Bea?"

"I-I-I'M just trying to ask if we can, I-If we can s-sleep." She facepalmed as she couldn't even use her words due to the embarrassment. "Argh! Why is it so hard to talk with you?!"

"Bea..." Ash let out a short chuckle as he understood what she was trying to ask. "Of course we can sle-"

"No! P-Please!" Bea interrupted him. "I-I want t-to say it!"

"Can..."

"..."

"S-Sleep..."

"..."

"C-C-Can we-" She was interrupted by a lip kiss from her boyfriend and Ash kept smiling at her afterwards.

"Just calm yourself and say it." He cheered her. "It's nothing to be ashamed about."

"ASHCANWESLEEPTOGETHERTONIGHT?!" She shouted all together, but he understood without problem.

"Of course we can, Bea."

"Great! Then come in, I-" Bea was once again interrupted, this time by Ash's Rotom Phone which started to ring.

"Excuse me, Ash you call from Nessa." The Phone explained.

"F-From Nessa?" Ash asked slightly worried.

"You're not going to answer?" Bea gave him an accusing glare.

"I...y-yes, let me-"

"ASH! YOU HAVE TO COME TO HULBURY!" Nessa shouted the mere second Ash answered the call.

"Uh, what for?" He asked.

"I CAN'T TELL YOU THROUGH PHONE!" Nessa continued to shout. "I NEED YOU HERE! RIGHT NOW! IT'S AN EMERGENCY! IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT!"

"Ok, ok! I'm on my w-" Ash was about to accept, but Bea suddenly held his arm and gave him a death stare. "Uh...C-Can it be tomorrow, Nessa?"

"BUT ASH!"

"Please, I... it's been a long day, it's already late and I'm really exhausted." That was all he could come up with it.

"F-Fine!" Nessa took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. "T-Tomorrow here, first hour, promise it!"

"I promise, see you tomorrow." Ash gave her a simple smile, but that was more than enough to make Nessa blush madly.

"I-I love you!" Nessa shouted before cutting the call embarrassed, leaving Ash blushing a little as well.

"I...Guess we're going to Hulbury tomorrow." He said looking to Bea.

"Fine then." Bea complied as she put a hand on Ash's hip to pull him closer to her. "But until then you're gonna spend some time with me, tonight you'll be all mine, got it?"

"G-Got it..." He nodded embarrassed.

"Hey... you already know how to tell Nessa about us, right?"

"O-Of course." He tried to smile as he thought. 'No...of course I don't.'