Chapter no.184 Lunar Wing (Patreon)

Did I just win ?
Austin thought before he pinched himself to make that he wasn't dreaming.
( ~ Giggle ~ )
" It's not a dream, Austin you won." Cynthia said as she moved closer to dazed Austin.
" And I have to say that was a beautiful use of strategy."
Cynthia said before her smile vanished when she saw her friend look down on the ground.
" What's wrong ?"
" I... It's nothing."
" Austin, can you please tell me what's wrong ?"
" .... "
( ~ Sigh ~ )
" Ok then I'll respect your boundaries."
Austin in response whispered," I didn't win."
" Huh , what was that ?"
Cynthia said before her eyes widened ," Austin, what are you talking about ? You clearly won this match."
" No , I didn't. You didn't use any power up moves , you had many opportunities throughout the battle to defeat my strategy."
A frustrated Cynthia rubbed her head as she finally figured it out.
Her friend was in self doubt.
For anyone suffering from PTSD, there worst enemy is themself. Even the smallest mistake is blown out of proportions.
Yeah , she had also gone through a similar phase after she lost her parents.
Cynthia placed her hands on Austin's face and forcefully made him look at her.
" Austin ; You won fair and square."
" But..."
" ( ~ Sigh ~ ) You Arceus damn idiot , everyone of your pokemon laid their trust in you to win and now you're just disrespecting everyone's efforts."
" No , No , I didn't..."
" Austin , I know you didn't mean that. Your just doubting yourself, your being too hard on yourself. You remember Harrison right."
Austin nodded as Cynthia continued ," He asked me for a battle during the after party."
Austin's eyes widened as Cynthia asked ," Can you guys how many moves it took for me to defeat his entire team ?"
" .... "
" 6 "
" .... Wow ."
" And you defeated the same pokemon that wiped out Harrison's entire team."
" But."
" Yes, I didn't go all out but I battled you on a level that I thought you would be after all that training and guess what you surpassed the level i was expecting you to be at. Austin ; you have gotten stronger and I know for a fact that you will only continue to grow stronger and stronger. I am sure that Raticate is happy seeing her family get so much stronger."
A tear flowed down Austin's face which Cynthia wiped with a thumb.
" Now don't give me that Tourus shit that you didn't win."
( ~ Sniff ~ )
Austin wiped his tears as he said ," Y..yeah."
" Now let's get everyone healed up,I still have to give you your present."
" Yeah."
Austin picked up Pikachu while Cynthia returned Garchomp as she glanced at her friend staring at her.
" Like what you see." Cynthia asked with a teasing smirk causing to turn away with a blush.
" I didn't expect you to curse."
" Now , now Austin I can't always be the sophisticated champion of Sinnoh."
" So do you ever curse on the battlefield?"
" That is a really good question that I am not going to answer."
" Hey , come one now I am curious."
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[ At night ]
Austin and Cynthia had left everyone to rest as they enjoyed the peaceful stroll through the beautiful landscape of Birth Island.
" And currently my grandma is working on discovering the secrets of the machina ruins."
Austin nodded while his mind was racing.
' Machina ruins , isn't that the place where Arceus and the Jew of Life movie took place.'
" Austin , will you listen to what I have to say ?"
Hearing the seriousness in Cynthia's tone, Austin nodded.
" You need help."
" W..what ?!"
" Austin, I know you feel like you don't need help but I am worried about my friend. You have been showing more and more symptoms of PTSD."
" .... " Austin opened his mouth but no words seemed to come out.
" Austin , why did apologize for what was essentially my decision? I choose to spend my vacation with you. Why did you think that didn't deserve to win ?"
" .... "
" Austin , I gave you Munna so that your health doesn't deteriorate due to your nightmares but for everything else you need go into therapy. I know you personally that you don't think you need help but you do , so as a friend I ask of you , can you please just think about going to therapy ?"
" I'll.... think about it."
Cynthia smiled and she pinched his cheek with a finger. "Good, and then… there's this." She pulled out what seemed to be a tear-drop shaped glass ornament, just like the one she always wore on the front of her shirt. Said ornament was black, crystalline and had a chain tied to it, to be worn around the neck.
' Isn't that ?!'
"This is for you."
"Matching ornaments, eh?" Austin quipped while he looked in disbelief at the item infront of him.
She rolled her eyes. "It's more than that. This ornament… it contains a wing feather given freely by Cresselia, one of the legendary lunar duo of Sinnoh. It keeps away nightmares from harming your sleep."
Austin gazed at the crystalline artefact in his fingers. "A legendary's… wing feather?"
"Yeah." Cynthia confirmed. "My grandmother gave me a pair to help with my nightmares when I was little. I have one with me," she touched the ornament on her neck, "and now you have the other. Munna can't always be with you all the time."
"But… shouldn't you be-" Austin stopped his question midway, at her gaze, "all right. I accept it. Thanks." He looked away at a distance, as a sight caught his attention.
"Cynthia?"
"Huh?"
"Look at that."
The two of them looked towards their right, staring in surprise as hundreds of Wingull and Swablu, flying together in the evening sky. It was a beautiful sight.
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[ 𝐎𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡 ]
𝗜𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗲𝗻𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗵, 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗽 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗯𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻. 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵, 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗼𝗲𝗻𝗻'𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗹𝘆, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗷𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗖𝘂𝘁𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹. 𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗞𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝘂𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗴𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝘀 𝗦𝗰𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹.