03 - Video | Action

[friendshipfirst]

[ Video ]

[ When Ash turns on his video in the morning to show him and his buddy Pikachu perched on his shoulder he looks... tired. It takes a sound from Pikachu in order to even realize that his journal was already on and that he had been staring blankly into the screen. With the small realization he pulls together a smile and gets down to talking. ]

Uh... Hi. I'm Ash and this is my buddy Pikachu.

[ He's calm. Perhaps a bit too calm to people who knows him when he speaks. If it isn't noticeable right then and there it will be when he started talking again because while there is some enthusiasm it's nothing like what it normally is. ]

So Friendship and Rival Day is comin' up on June 28th and I wanted t' have a party to celebrate. Some people gave me ideas like battles, movies, video games, and other kind o' things that people can do with old friends and new friends. There's gonna be a lot of food there too.

But thing is my friends Cilan and Chili can't make all the food on their own. I was wonderin' if people could make or bring food and drinks to Friendship and Rival Day. Maybe some other things like more video games or other kinds o' games t' play. Or anythin' else we might need for it.

Also, I'm wonderin' where would be th' best place for it. Someone said th' Battledome would be a good place. Is that okay or does anyone have a better place in mind. If there isn't and the Battledome isn't ok I think it could happen at th' house I'm stayin' at.

If y' have any questions or somethin' I wanna hear 'em. I'll also be 'round Luceti checkin' some things out so y' can always come talk t' me too.

[ He pushes a bigger smile and a little more enthusiasm into this last bit. ]

Let's make this a great first Friendship and Rival Day! I look forward to it!

[ Action ]

[ Although Ash should probably still be resting he can be found in several places around Luceti with, of course, Pikachu. Most notably he'll be checking things out at the Battledome and also going to several of the places to eat such as Seventh Heaven and the Bakery. He can also be found at the fountain resting or maybe trying to figure out what to do next and can't forget any stores that would have things for parties.

And lastly he can also be found back at House 11. Either in the Kitchen eating food, in his room doing well.. whatever probably letting his true feelings out, or just lying around the house because he knows that, as much as he would like to get back to training, doing so would probably result in certain people coming out and telling him to stop because Ash no your body and mind are not ready for this yet you shouldn't even really be out wandering Luceti all day. ]

Comments

[friendshipfirst]

[ You will. Maybe if these two weren't being so friendly gosh. ]

I know I can't. [ That.. came out more harshly than he meant. The lack of sleep must be getting to him. ] I'm not gonna forget about it. Just like I haven't forgotten th' other things that's happened. [ Okay he's forgotten what happened in the first movie but that's all Mewtwo's fault. ]

I dunno either. Maybe it's just they're way of tryin' to get past it. But y' can't get anywhere if you're not bein' yourself, I know that. And learning what what happened I know that too. But how can I do that if I can't get past it? That's what I meant by moving forward. Not forgetting it, but taking it, gettin' past it, and getting stronger from it.

[pokeboy]

[ You've got a kid who had no movie experiences talking to you about stuff you should be harsh Ash. ]

I don't know. [ He so doesn't. This is so much bigger than him. ] Then you've got to find another way with dealing with it. Maybe just having your friends there isn't going to help. But how are you going to believe in your friends if you don't talk to them about it?

[friendshipfirst]

What better way is there than t' have your friends with you? I... [ He grits his teeth because wow are you really questioning how much belief he has in his friends. But at the same time ouch Red has a point so his expressions falls after. ] I don't think I've ever gone t' someone askin' them for help. Not something like this. It.. was usually my friends who came to me, or I would go to them t' help solve their problem. Even now, and when Mewtwo came t' my room, it was you guys to say something. Otherwise I don't think I would have brought it up...

[ Realization hit and it's not one he's happy about. ] Is it really me not believing in my friends?

[ Or is it him not believing in himself. To be able to bring up a topic to work it out and rather he waits until someone does it. Maybe, after all, it is a lack of belief in his friends for not going to them and waiting. And when he does go to them it's not one of his problems but one of their problems.

There are exceptions, but do they really count when none of them matter so heavily as something like this? ]

[pokeboy]

I don't think so... I don't know. [ Is there something deep about this or just something simple? ] Maybe you didn't want to bother them. What do you think? But... [ Thinking back about the whole 'getting past' thing here. ] If you're not talking about it with your friends about it... you're not going to get past it because you're not really dealing with it it. ...right?

[ But then, something clicks. ]

...You're all ignoring it. Cilan and Chili too. [ By doing nothing but cooking. Just like he had been by going and hiding in the forest and seeing nobody. Because... ]

You're too scared to talk about it.

[friendshipfirst]

[ Who knows when it's two ten-year olds trying to figure this out. ] ... I dunno. Maybe there was never something I needed to talk to 'em about .... 'til now. But... I think you might be right.

[ Talking to Pokemon and talking to a friend that speaks your language. Both of them are needed aren't they. ]

Eh? Ah... We are, aren't we. Cilan went through th' same thing I did and still has injuries and Chili... [ his hand unconsciously rubs the bandage that hides the wound on his arm ] it was really hard for him too.

Maybe... we don't wanna make th' other one remember, so we talk 'bout other things instead.

[ But that's not actually fixing anything is it. ]

[pokeboy]

[ Maybe talking about it is the right thing to do here. Really, Red still isn't totally sure if it's the correct way to go about a thing like this, but for Ash? It could be. ]

...You should talk about it with them. Even if Chili wasn't there and didn't see what you and Cilan did, it was still really hard being there. [ He knows something terrible happened for those who were drafted, but it was still terrible for those who volunteered as well. ] They're your friends. It's like... being a pokémon trainer. [ He nods his head saying those words. ] You train a pokémon and you help them become stronger, but you're a proper team when you can rely on them to be there for you too. You become like... a family. You depend on each other. So what I mean is -- you should learn to talk to your friends too. Not just them coming and talking to you.

[friendshipfirst]

Yeah, I know. I was with Chili for a bit. [ Ash still isn't completely sure whether if it'll work or not but he won't know until he tries, right? And Red's words causes Ash to stare for a moment, before a little smile of realization.] You're right. My friends are precious t' me and are kinda like my family too. So I should be able to go t' them when I need someone to talk to. Not just when they need someone to talk to. And we all need it, so that's even more of a reason why we should try. It's.. it's gonna be hard, but that's what we have each other for.

[pokeboy]

[ Red gives a determined nod. ]

Right. It's not going to make it all go away, but maybe at least- you'll all be able to cope with it better.

[ Well, he hopes. But man, talking about this is a lot of energy. Red gives a loud groan. ]

But I think I'm really hungry now. Thinking and talking like that is really hard!

[friendshipfirst]

Right. I'll try n' talk t' them soon.

[ But he nods because man all this food in front of them is making him hungry! ]

Let's eat. I dunno how much longer we could go on talkin' about something like that without eating first!

[pokeboy]

[ Red grins at that, then grabs the flask of juice that they've got with them, unscrewing it to pour out some for Ash to share. ] Here!

[friendshipfirst]

[ Ash takes the juice that Red has poured out for him. ]

Thanks! I didn't even think 'bout gettin' anything to drink. [ oops! Well problem solved. ]

[pokeboy]

That's 'cause Cilan sorts out all the food for you back at the house, huh? You've always got to remember a drink with your food! And to always chew your food slowly.

[ That's why he's gotten water for all the pokémon too! ]

[friendshipfirst]

[ Ash was right about to shove more food into his mouth before he hears Red's advice to 'chew slowly'. Oh right. That should be a thing.

Because who knows how many times he's choked on his food. Don't need that happening. That shouldn't have food in his mouth while talking either. ]

Yeah, he does. He did it back home too while we're on our journey.

[pokeboy]

[ That's right! Listen to mama Red!! ]

I think you or Cilan told me about it, [ or he just guessed ] but how long have you been travelling together? Was Chili there with you?

[friendshipfirst]

[ Listening! For now anyways. ]

Me and Cilan have been travelin' with our friend Iris since I beat him and Chili at the Striaton Gym. Chili didn't come with us, but we did meet him once again while we were traveling.

[pokeboy]

[ Watching u boy. ]

Why were Iris and Cilan travelling with you? Did they want to challenge other gym leaders too?

[friendshipfirst]

Nah. Neither of 'em wanted to be a part of the Unova League. Iris' goal is to become a Dragon Master and Cilan's was to become an even better connoisseur. And so after I got my first badge Cilan decided t' come along and Iris too.

[pokeboy]

[ I keep not closing my small tags properly this is a pain. ]

Hmm... what's a really fun memory you remember about travelling with them?

[friendshipfirst]

A really fun memory? Umm... I 'unno I have a lot o' fun memories with 'em! Like the tournaments we all took part in and the battles we've fought together. It's hard to choose just one.

[pokeboy]

Then don't choose one. Just pick one that comes to your head first and then talk about another one after.

[friendshipfirst]

Well, there was this one time when I helped a Cottonee become best friends with another Cottonee [ No actually they became lovers but this is Ash we're talking about. ] Then umm... There was some of th' tournaments we all took part in, and the time when my friend Dawn came to visit that was really fun too! Since the Unova League wasn't happening for a few months [ ???? ] we stayed at Champion Cynthia's summer home and all participated in a tournament there too. Then after the Unova League I met my friend N and we had some adventures with him!

[pokeboy]

[ WELL, RED SAID HE COULD... ]

Wow, soooo...you really have been travelling for a long time! It got confusing when we were talking about that before. [ Real confusing. ] What's the Champion Cynthia like?

[friendshipfirst]

[ YES YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF RED ]

Haha yeah. It has been a long time since I first started traveling. [ The most confusing thing is how he's still ten tbh ] Chamption Cynthia? She's really cool! And really nice and of course really strong too. She's actually the Champion of the Sinnoh region but she has a vacation house in Unova.

[pokeboy]

She sounds really fancy. [ A Fancy Adult. ] What were her pokémon like? You challenged her didn't you?

[friendshipfirst]

I didn't challenge her but my friend Paul did. At the time he was stronger than I was but he was beaten easily by Cynthia. Her Garchomp is really strong and I've never seen it lose a single battle. Her other Pokemon are strong too!