@Scytherwolf;

Episode 22: Tears of Emeralds

After bidding Sonrisa and the residents of Bloomingvale Town goodbye, the group departed in high spirits the next morning. "Well done on your first Lore Stage victory!" Misty raved. "I remember when you told 'Moltres' Song' to Ash and me when we first arrived in Pewter."

"Which seems like ancient history now..." Ash mused.

"It's one of my signature stories--and the theme for the Lore Stage was 'joy', so I felt it would work." Brock explained as he admired the red stripe between the cloud patches on his vest. "But I also know I have six more colors to earn, and if I do create a rainbow, I'll have a chance to perform before an even bigger audience--the Pokemon League."

"I want to see you do some more stage archery!" Misty suggested.

"Well, what you see on the stage takes weeks and sometimes months of practice to get right." Brock began before he spotted Lyra and Hana in the distance on the plains. "I see Lyra and Hana!"

Ash noticed a concerned look on Lyra's face. "Something's wrong--normally she and Hana are happy together."

"Well, let's go see what the matter is." Misty motioned for the boys to follow her to a shady spot, where Lyra was consoling a sobbing Hana.

"What happened?" Ash asked. "Why's Hana crying?"

"I wish I knew myself." Lyra sighed. "We challenged a trainer here on this plain, and although Hana won the battle, she seemed off...like she was holding herself back for some reason. I don't know if something else caused her to cry, or what, but I can't bear to see her crying like this. If only I knew what the matter was..."

"Did you take Hana to a Pokemon Center after the battle?" Brock asked.

"Yes...Nurse Joy thinks Hana may be depressed." Lyra replied.

"Although I'm no medical expert myself, I would be very careful against jumping to conclusions just because she's crying a lot and generally mopey." Brock cautioned. "Has there been any dramatic change in her appetite or sleeping habits?"

"No..." Lyra replied. "She has lost a little of her energy, but she doesn't feel worthless or want to hurt herself. In fact, she doesn't want to withdraw, but doesn't want to leave my side."

"It may be something totally different from depression." Misty mused.

Ash nodded in agreement. "Separation anxiety, maybe? Or just anxiety in general?"

"Maybe." A smile formed on Lyra's face. "She's been having a lot of nightmares lately..."

"Well, even Pokemon need to relax." Brock assured Lyra. "So if you've been pushing her a lot, take a step back and slow down a bit."

"If she's afraid, reward her for being brave!" Ash suggested.

"There's an idea!" Lyra smiled.

Brock, meanwhile, knelt down to Hana's level as she trudged away from Lyra's arms. "Is everything okay? Whatever's bothering you, you can tell us, and we won't laugh it off."

[Really?] Hana asked.

"Yeah..." Brock replied as he settled in the grass, still at Hana's eye level. "So, what's going on?" he asked as Ash and Misty joined him in the grass, with Lyra under the shade of a tree.

Hana sighed. [I'm both scared I'll let Lyra down one day, and a little jealous of Ash's and Tintri's friendship...]

"Okay, why do you think you'll let Lyra down?" Brock pressed Hana further.

[When we fought that trainer earlier today, I barely won against his Raticate.] Hana explained as she wiped away her tears with her leaf. [I don't want to see Lyra sad, and I really don't want to lose.]

She looked over at Ash. [Can I say that I admire and respect the bond you and Tintri have? I want a bond with Lyra that's that close.]

"So you admire my relationship with Tintri, but you're afraid of losing, which you think is letting Lyra down?" Ash asked, making sure he had heard Hana correctly.

Hana nodded. "Whether you like it or not, losing is a part of any Pokemon's life." Misty explained. "Despite all the preparation and training in the world, you are still going to lose sometimes.

[The reason why Ash and I are so close is we understand our strengths and weaknesses, and we respect each other's limits, both in the battlefield and out.] Tintri explained. [Even the times you lose have lessons you can learn.]

Hana pondered what Tintri had said for a moment. [I never thought of losing like that before...]

"Besides--battling's not the only thing you do well, Hana." Lyra added. "You're very friendly to other people and other Pokemon, and eager to explore."

[Okay...so how can losing teach me?] Hana asked Ash.

"Well..." Ash thought for a moment. "Losing can allow you to see the strategies your opponent was using, and how you can better defend against them next time."

[Okay...] Hana mused, now in a slightly better mood.

"Think of battling like playing music." Brock explained. "If you stumble over a wrong note, you don't shove the instrument back in its case, or close up the piano, and never come back to it for a long time because you think you're the worst musician in the world. You go back and practice the passage in question until you can play it well."

"Likewise, try not to beat yourself up over what you did or did not do in the match." Misty added. "Even when you lose, you still gave your all to win, right?"

[Yeah...] Hana replied.

"So you think about what you did well, and how to improve what didn't go so well, so you're ready for next time." Misty replied.

"Also know that I would never punish you for not doing well." Lyra told Hana. "That's never a good reason to punish anyone, and I will still love you, regardless of how well you battle.'

[Thanks, guys...] Hana smiled. [I feel like a big rock's been lifted off of me, so I can keep growing towards the sun!]

"Anytime." Ash smiled. "If you need someone to talk to, you can talk to Lyra or one of us." he assured Hana as Brock got up to retrieve the camp supplies.

Misty looked up to notice the sun setting. "Wow...we spent all day talking?"

"We probably needed to stop and rest after being on the road for the last few days." Ash explained.

[And I learned so much from our long talk.] Hana smiled as she romped into Lyra's arms, moments before Brock returned with the camp supplies.

Lyra smiled. "I can't thank you enough for talking to Hana today--I think she's back to her old self again!"

To Be Continued...