Pokemon - Traumatised

Emotion (Ancient Korea)

The group was now heading down the narrow path in between the mountains, on their way through Asia. Ashura was now able to control her powers of darkness, so she insisted they travel aimlessly until they find a civilization, as she was sure she'd able to protect herself and others.

"So Ashura is the Princess of dark and light?", Alain asked.

"Yes", Red answered, "Her purpose and right is to keep the balance between them"

"If you don't mind me asking, why was the spell of Ancient China in Seoul?"

"Whoever hid them must've wanted people to be confused looking for them, which is probably what made Arceus so angry"

"Speaking of Arceus, he decayed when he was strangled by Ashura's vines. He advised her to 'take care', and then he disappeared. Is he...gone?"

"The world knew it was going to happen. Arceus used to be a fair ruler who was above all, but he became consumed by greed after finding out about the spells. He started looking for them, but got angry when he realized the right spells weren't in the right countries"

"When Ashura finds all of the spells, what'll happen?"

"She'll hopefully be able to reunite the Aura Dynasty, and if that happens, she will become the Empress"

"Will she need an...Emperor? To help her?"

"You ask many questions, child"

"I-I'm sorry. It's just that...ever since she got hurt because of me, I've started to care about her more and more"

"Don't apologize. You've clearly been making her happy and helping her gain confidence. However, tradition is to select an elite soldier to become the Emperor"

"...How do I become an elite soldier?"

"Well, as hard as it is for me to say it, elite soldiers usually start training at the age of five. There are a range of tests to qualify as an elite. Excuse my insults, but, you don't even know how to sword fight"

"I know. But I'd do anything for Ashura"

Red stopped in his tracks and turned to face him with a not so pleasant expression.

"If you really meant that...", he muttered as he crept closer, "You wouldn't have let her experience the trauma that led to her loss of confidence in the first place"

"M-M-My apologies, Your Highness", Alain stammered in fear.

Red carried on walking, being followed by Alain.

"Like the others, I don't care if my daughter trusts you. I don't, and you're lucky she is kind hearted. Otherwise you'd be behind bars, cold and hungry"

"I see...you've defined our friendship in a different way than I thought"

"I want to make it clear that I'm not fond of you. If it wasn't for Ashura's feelings for you, I would've dragged you up one of these mountains and kicked you off"

Soon, the group were in a village filled with lush mountains and trees, with buildings etched into them or standing on top of them. The wooden and brick structures looked traditional, yet modern. Beautiful gardens were arranged all over the place, with tall trees of different shapes and vibrant flowers of vivid colors. The people looked friendly and kind as they laughed with each other, the children playing cheerfully.

"We must be in Wang Nam Khiao village in Thailand. We should find a spell here. This village is ancient and a popular destination for visitors", Ashura announced as she proceeded to walk down the path.

One man saw her and immediately yelled: "Phrabāth s̄mdĕc phracêāxyū̀h̄ạw k̄hxng ṭhex mā t̄hụng læ̂w!"

"What did he say?", Clemont asked.

"He said 'Her Imperial Majesty has arrived'", Ashura answered as she strolled down the lined crowd of people who bowed to her as she passed.

The last man at the end of the line bowed and smiled as they got closer.

"Yindī t̂xnrạb cêā h̄ỵing Ashura", he greeted.

"Mị̀ cảpĕn t̂xng mī rabeīyb", she insisted, "Mī khāt̄hā borāṇ k̄hxng rāchwngṣ̄̒ xx r̀ā thī̀ nī̀ b̂āng h̄ịm?"

"Chı̀ næ̀nxn. Mā thāng nī̂"

Ashura and the group followed the man while Ashura explained to them that the man said there was an ancient spell there and he knew where it was. As soon as they entered a building, a bunch of soldiers came charging in with their swords pointed at her.

"It's a trap!", she screamed.

"Can't you use your powers to stop them?", Serena suggested.

"I can, but I need to find out why they're doing this first"

She stomped up to the man who'd taken her there and demanded an answer.

"Keid xarị k̄hụ̂n?", she commanded.

"Khuṇ xyū̀ kạb lị sạn der thuk khn thī̀ mī Lysandre t̂xng chạ̀w r̂āy h̄emụ̄xn k̄heā!", he shouted as he pointed his sword at Lysandre.

"What did he say?", Professor Sycamore questioned anxiously.

"He said...that because we're with Lysandre...he doesn't trust us", Ashura replied, tears streaming down her face.

Lysandre gasped in fear and shook at the sight of the sharp sword aimed at his face.

"W-W-WHAT? W-WHY?", he yelled.

"You abused her as a child. Obviously her followers wouldn't want to see their Princess follow someone who gave her a difficult childhood", Red explained.

"If I want to take the spell", Ashura admitted, crying, "I'll have to sacrifice Lysandre to the dungeons. He never payed his debt for his crimes all those years ago"

Alain held her by the shoulder. She turned to look at him as he smiled at her.

"You know what you need to do", he told her with confidence, "Deep down, you know that uniting you Kingdom is more important than the freedom of one criminal on the run"

Ashura cleared her breath as Lysandre shrieked. She sighed with guilt, turned to the man with a firm look on her face, and made her first order as the Princess.

"Phā k̄heā pị thī̀ khuk tı̂din", she ordered.

The soldiers all cheered and dropped their weapons, but the non-Thai speakers were confused. Sycamore realized he had a translator and pulled it out. As soon as it was done translating, he read it out loud.

"Take him to the dungeons", he read with shock.

Lysandre gasped as he was dragged away by the soldiers. Ashura's friends had looks of justice on their faces, all smiling proudly. Ashura herself was sobbing profusely, already regretting what she'd done. Alain hugged her to comfort her.

"It's for the best", he consoled.

The man left for a few minutes and came back with a glowing blue scroll. He handed it to her with respect.

It read:

'슬픔은 행복만큼이나 중요합니다. 선을 기리는 것뿐만 아니라, 우리는 나쁜 것을 받아들이고 애도해야합니다.'

"This is written in Korean", Ashura examined, "seulpeum-eun haengbogmankeum-ina jung-yohabnida. seon-eul gilineun geosppunman anila, ulineun nappeun geos-eul bad-adeul-igo aedohaeyahabnida. That means, 'Sadness is just as important as happiness. As well as celebrating the good, we must accept the good and discipline the bad'. Now, I have the ability to control people's moods. This, combined with the ability to manipulate darkness, should allow me to toil with people's emotions"

I hope you have enjoyed the chapter! Feel free to leave any suggestions/constructive criticism in the comments.

As I have mentioned before, translations are not accurate.

Byeeeeeeeeee