Shadows on the Heart Window to the soul
by Flygon
Chapter 18

Eddie stood frozen for several long moments as it hit him. He had battled against a older kid, with some battle hardened pokemon, yet he had won. He looked up to see Rick recall the downed magby, look at the ball in disgust, and simply drop it in the grass next to the elekids poke ball. Then he looked up, with a gaze that bordered on hatred, and turned away, walking in a general southern direction.

"Wait," Eddie ran to the spot where the poke balls rested in the grass. "Your pokemon."

He watched as the boy stopped, and looked back over his shoulder.

Eddie looked at the two poke balls on the grass and picked them up, a tear forming in his eyes. He carried them over to Cynthia and offered them to her, but the woman simply shook her head. looking at the boy.

"That boy just said they were yours." She said to him and walked with him back to Ash.

"But I didn't catch them." he said in a small voice. "And I failed."

"How the hell, did you fail?" Tommy asked, eyes wide in amazement.

"I think I know." Ash answered with a small smile. "You wanted to show him that he could win using heart in his battles, instead of just relying on raw power, Right?" he directed the last to Eddie who nodded glumly. "I don't think that you failed, Eddie." Ash told the downcast boy. "You set him on the road, it'll just take him longer to find the right direction to go."

"Ash is right," Cynthia smiled at Eddie. "Some need time to learn the truth about pokemon. And you battled superbly."

"You were awesome bro." Tommy exclaimed loudly, then continueing in a softer tone. "And you won. In your first battle ever."

"Awesome dosn't cover it." A boy said from the crowd of kids that had gathered to watch the battle. And he walked forward. "Hey Ash," he added with a wave laughing a bit when he got a blank look in return. "Karl, Fourth round Hoenn, you stomped me flatter then a pancake?"

"How are ya doin, Karl?" Ash smile as he recognized the green haired boy.

"Doing fine," Then Karl looked at Eddie and Tommy. "Didn't know you had brothers though. After you creamed me, I did some research on ya." He began to explain. "Father, a pokemon Master, mother a tri-champ, but I didn't find any refs on brothers. It said that you were an only child."

"We're adopted," Tommy supplied "Ash's mom and his new dad saved us from an orphanage about a week ago."

"Adopted," Karl gave them both a big grin. "Me too. My mom and dad adopted me when I was two." He put out his hand and shook Eddies and Tommy's. "Just means that we'll grow in our mothers heart instead of under it." He chuckled. "Got two step sisters and a trio of step brothers now." then he snapped his fingers. "That arrogant little twerp gave you those two pokemon, right?" At the boys nod, he beckoned them to follow. "There's a pokemon center a block from here, not big like the main one, but they can recharge your pokemon and check out their health." Then he cast a glance at Misty. "And who is this gorgeous gal?" He tried a smile meant to charm.

"Name's Misty Waterflower," Misty told him. "I'm Ash's girlfriend." She used the term that she had rejected so often in the past and saw his smile fall from his face.

"Well, can't blame a guy for trying." He joked. "Here we are." He opened the door to the center.

Karl hadn't been kidding when he said the place was small. The nurse Joy there took Eddies pokemon and checked them, The she gave Eddie a stern gaze. Cynthia took that moment to explain what happened at the park and the gaze softened. Eddie was told that his new magby was suffering from carbon deficiency. She said a diet high in carbon, coal, or charcoal would bring him up to full health in no time. He retrieved his pokemon and looked at the two extra balls in puzzlement.

"What should I do with these?" He asked the group.

"Raise them." Brock stated. "You'd be doing them a favour by raising them. Though you'd better check with your pichu. Pure electric types can be jealous of their trainers where other pure electric types are concerned."

Eddie let out the elekid, who looked around for a minute before turning back to Eddie. Then Eddie asked Volt if it would be alright to have elekid join them. Pichu hopped down from his shoulder and walked over to the pokemon and offered it's tail in greeting. However, the elekid simply crossed its arms and turned his head.

"Is it because I'm not Rick?" He asked the small pokemon, who shook his head and pointed at the pichu. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but Volt is my very first pokemon."

"I might have a solution," Karl offered, "If your willing."

"What is it?"

"Trade her to me." He said, with a slight smile. "I've been trying to get a elekid, or an electabuzz for the longest time but no luck. I don't have any pure electrics at all, and could really use one."

When Eddie talked to the elekid and told her what Karl was proposing, she seemed to agree. And just before Eddie recalled the pokemon so they could trade the little female touched her antenna to the side of Eddies head. The nurse Joy said that was the electabuzz lines of saying they liked you and respected you. Then nurse Joy took the ball and plugged it into the computer.

"What pokemon are you going to offer to Eddie in exchange?" Brock asked him.

"Well I was going to give him a choice of the aron that I caught just before leaving Hoenn, or the stunky that I grabbed here." he began "I haven't trained either of them, and I really don't want to just yet. I got two other aron sitting with Professor Birch, as well as another stunky. This ones more of a reflex catch." He thought for a while. "I'll give him both. I could use the extra space in my belt and I really, really really wanted to get an elekid or an electabuzz."

"Is that fair," Eddie said, eyes wide. "I mean trade two for one?"

"Yes, it is." The nurse Joy answered. "He made the offer, and he put the value on the trade." Then she smiled at Eddie. "And it will make the pokemon happy to know that it was that highly valued and wanted. Your two will be sent to whoever is holding onto your pokemon." Then she looked puzzled. "Why these didn't transfer is a mystery to me."

"My doing," Cynthia said. "I wanted Eddie to have the chance to choose which ones he would send in, and which ones he would keep with him. So I temporarily put a hold on the transfer."

"I want to keep the magby with me, so I can see that it eats right." Eddie said with a grin, "I'll send Dash back to dad, so he can do some research on him. I can always swap back and forth to train up all my new friends."

"Good idea, Eddie." Ash commented. "I don't think he ever had a chance to study an espeon before."

"And I happen to have a fair supply of charcoal, and some Oreburgh coal." Brock chimed in. "I can whip up some special pokemon food for your magby the same time I do for Susie's ninetails."

"Thanks Brock," Eddie replied. "And can you teach me how to make the food too?"

"No problem, Eddie."

"Can I see your magby's ball for a minute?" Nurse Joy requested. "I need to switch the registration on it so you don't get in trouble."

Eddie handed over the ball and nurse Joy did the registration. And soon they were all in a diner that was next to the small Pokemon center.

"I was getting reports from Gardinia," Cynthia explained, "About a young trainer who used his pokemon like he was in a war zone or something. I thought it might be one of the team rocket members that police hadn't picked up yet, but then I saw that Rick. He beat over nineteen trainers before you showed up." She looked at Eddie. "You have reason to be proud of your pokemon, and your ability as a trainer, Junior or not."

"Thanks," Eddie blushed slightly from the praise. "But I still think I failed at showing him that you have to battle with your heart and trust in your pokemon."

"You didn't fail, Eddie." Ash said to his little brother, "It sometimes takes a few defeats to make a person see they were doing things wrong." He gave Eddie a slightly sour smile. "It took me a lot more defeats to make me see what I was doing wrong. I had friends along, and they tried to help me in Kanto, but I thought I knew it all. It took losing at the Indigo Plateau to see that I didn't know as much as I thought I did. In Johto, I gave a bit and listened, and I opened my heart to my pokemon, and I won, just barely. Then in the Orange Islands I really started to listen to my friends, of course at that time, I had only Misty and Tracy with me. But I think that's where I really started to learn, from mostly Misty. And I put my trust fully into my pokemon then, and I won there, a bit easier." He took a drink of water, looking into the green eyes of his brother. "In Hoenn, I had May and Max with me, as well as Brock, and things were easy going, though when I started there I lost three battles that should have been easy wins. Misty wasn't there."

Ash felt a hand wiggle it's way into his, and glanced at Misty who was smiling at him. He returned the smile and continued.

"I tried to use May and Max as substitutes for her, but it didn't work. Nothing can beat the original. I started to remember all of what she said. Her comments, her advice," He grinned at Misty, "Even her insults."

"Damn, I was terrible," Misty blushed and then looked to Ash with a sad smile. "I wonder why you didn't kick me or tell me to take a hike at times. I loved you then, and still I did those things. I'm amazed that you still love me after all that."

"Don't you see, Mist." He squeezed her hand slightly. "You balanced me, you complimented me. You did what was needed, to help me. Our hearts realised that right away, it just took our heads a while to catch up." Then he turned back to Eddie. "So you see, this Rick is going to have to learn, just like I did. He will have to find somebody who balances him. You set him on the right road, though he'll probably never admit it to anybody but himself. You didn't fail, I know, I saw a change in him. In his eyes."

"I think that he realised he was doing things wrong, too." Cynthia said in a comforting way to Eddie then she gave him a wry smile. "He'll probably never thank you for what you did, not directly anyway." She placed her hand on his shoulder. "You did a good thing today, Eddie, and you did it in a way that would help him the most. It wouldn't have helped him if it had been Ash who beat him, or even Brock, or your brother Tommy. It had to be you. You did what was needed, and you did it superbly."

"Why wouldn't Ash beating him do the same?" Tommy asked, looking puzzled. "A loss is a loss, isn't it?"

"Not really," Cynthia answered. "If Ash had beaten Rick then he could have consoled himself by thinking that he lost to 'The' Ash Ketchum, 'Tri-Champion'. If Brock had beaten him, or Misty, then he would have lost to a highly trained Gym leader. Even if you had beaten him, he could reason that he would have lost because you were closer to his age and had good pokemon with you." She cocked her head to one side. "In a two pokemon battle like that, which of your pokemon would you have used?"

"If he would have led off with his elekid like he did," Tommy began after a while. "I probably would have tossed out my gible, and then to counter his magby, I would have used my dratini, or possibly my feebas. Why?"

"He would have brushed that off to losing to type advantage," She smiled and squeezed Eddies shoulder again. "Eddie used two pokemon that he had derided, to beat him. He showed anybody with a brain that those 'toy pokemon' as he called them, were good enough to beat him. The only thing that would have done him more good is to know that it was your first battle. That he, a seasoned battler, had been beaten by a, how did he put it, a newbie?"

"Whoa!" Karl eyes snapped wide open. "Hold the phone, here." He looked at the young boy. "Your first battle? You've never battled before? And you took out a guy who was beating guys left and right?"

"So?" Eddie was puzzled at this reaction. "Everyone has a first win sooner or later."

"Sooner or later, Yea!" Karl retorted, "But rarely on their very first battle, and your how old?"

"Just turned eight, a little over a week ago." Eddie answered.

"Eight?" Karl's palm slapped into his forehead and he dragged it halfway down his face. "I thought you were ten, or eleven. When news of this gets out, you are going to be sooo famous to a lot of kids. We were all talking while you were getting ready, and most thought that you were a battler from Kanto, or Johto, here to try out for the League. When they find out that you never battled before this one, they are going to want to test themselves against you. I've never seen any eight year old battle like that. You used moves that I've only seen at places like the Silver conference, and in the Hoenn League."

"Ash, Misty, Brock, Gary, and Duplica taught me." Eddie said and coloured a bit. "I just put their advice and teaching into action, is all." He gave them all a big smile. "I just had really good teachers, is all."

"I wanna be around to see you go against Tommy or Ash in competition." Karl sighed, "That would be a battle royal."

"That won't happen." Tommy said decisively. "In that kind of battle, there wouldn't be a real winner." He looked to his brother Eddie first, the turned to Ash. "When I go on my journey and start to compete, I'll make sure that Eddie and Ash aren't in the same region. I don't want to battle family." He shrugged. "If I win, I'd feel horrible. And I think that if they beat me, they would feel bad. That's a lose-lose battle. If we battle each other It'll be practice and training battles."

"Then how do you know which one of you is the best?" Karl asked, knitting his eyebrows.

"I really don't care which of us may be the best." Ash said and took a long drink of his coffee. "Tommy has it right. My original parents would go through a region twice. Once for dad, and once for mom. They couldn't bring themselves to battle each other. They cared about each other." He got a far away look in his eyes. "I battled Misty a couple of times, but I think that my heart wasn't in it, even when I was going for the cascade badge."

"You won that battle though," Karl pointed out.

"Yea, I did, but I think that Misty's heart wasn't in that battle either." Ash retorted, with a caring smile at Misty, "She has a much better command of water pokemon then I do. I work fine with most, but if it wasn't for her, I don't think that I could have used the Water pokemon that I have to their full potential. If her heart had been in the battle, I wouldn't have gotten that cascade badge. Don't get me wrong. She battled with all she could, I think though that her heart wasn't in the battle at the time."