Chapter Text
Training with Lt. Surge again felt really nice. Not only did Ash have something to do with himself, which helped to distract him from everything terrible that had and still could happen, but he was actually improving his skills as a trainer. Ash knew he couldn't avoid trouble forever, and training meant that he would be better prepared to face whatever came his way.
And it was a lot of fun.
Ash's Raichu didn't have nearly as much fun with training as he might have before. Lt. Surge and his own Raichu were putting Ash and his pokémon to the test. Lt. Surge was even tougher on them than before. As he pointed out, Ash's pokémon weren't just his friends anymore, they also had incredible power, and if he and his pokémon didn't know what to do with that power, somebody was going to end up getting hurt.
When Ash's Raichu was a Pikachu, the focus of their training had been on focusing and refining his electricity. Now they had to basically start over from the beginning as Lt. Surge's Raichu showed Ash's how to do something as simple as access his powers, and they were struggling with just that.
It took time, but finally Ash was able to finally see some improvement, and so could Lt. Surge. "Now you're getting it!" Lt. Surge exclaimed when Ash's Raichu was able to show that he could gather electricity, and then let it go through his tail without actually using an attack. "Now you guys just have to keep practicing. Consistency is what's most important. If you don't continue working at this, any progress you've made will just go right out the window."
Ash nodded. He understood that. Lt. Surge wasn't done with talking to him though. "Here's the thing, Ash, when your pokémon evolve they go through lots of changes really quickly. They get more power, and usually a larger body to accommodate that power. It's a lot to adjust to. Even if you think your pokémon are doing okay, you should still work with them one-on-one and get a feel for their new way of working."
Ash hadn't really thought about it that way. He knew that evolution involved a lot more power, which was why Lt. Surge had been pushing him to evolve his pokémon, but raw power wasn't all they needed. Ash frowned slightly. "I haven't really worked with Charizard or Wartortle,"
"I've been working with Charizard. It knows what it's capable of." Lt. Surge said. "But now you need to know what it can do, and it's a lot more than just breathing fire and flying."
Ash nodded. "I'll start working with them tomorrow," Ash was more than willing to put in the effort, he just didn't always know what he was supposed to do. He just needed someone to guide him.
"Ash, Lt. Surge," Ash jumped slightly when he heard his mom's voice. He turned to see her coming to them. She looked so excited to see them. Ash felt his cheeks heat up slightly. He loved his mom, but he always felt a little embarrassed by her doting. He wasn't a little kid. "How's training going?"
"It's going great," Lt. Surge ruffled Ash's hair. "This kid's a natural," Ash grinned and chuckled.
"Raichu looks a lot happier," Ash's mom knelt and pet his Raichu, causing him to whine happily. She looked up at Ash. "How are the gloves working? Do they fit? Are they comfortable?"
"Yeah, they're awesome," Ash rubbed one of his gloves. "I can't believe you guys made these."
"I just want you to be okay," Ash's mom said. She stood up. "I hope you two are hungry, because I've made dinner,"
"Oh, I'm starving," Ash said. He was always ready for food.
"I could eat," Lt. Surge stretched. The two of them followed Ash's mom back to the labs. Ever since they'd come to Pallet Town she came over to the lab every morning and night to make sure they all ate something. Ash knew that his mom always felt at her best when she could take care of other people. Usually it was just him, but with Blaine, Lt. Surge, Koga, as well as all of their pokémon here, she had lots of people she could dote on.
As they made their way inside Ash saw all his other pokémon and most of Lt. Surge's already there, eating food. Ash's mom didn't know a lot about what pokémon ate, but Professor Oak did, and he took responsibility for that.
Ash frowned slightly when he saw that the only person waiting for them was Professor Oak. "Where's Blaine?"
"He wanted to keep an eye on that pokémon friend of yours," Ash's mom said. "I was going to bring him some food later," Ash's mom got some food and put them on a plate. She made her way to a door that would lead further into the labs, with Mimey following her, holding some bowls of pokémon food.
"Oh, is that for Koga?" Ash asked. He knew that Koga had been spending most of his time on his own to recover as best he could. For the first day or two Koga had spent most of his time around Lt. Surge, but when Lt. Surge had one of his really hard times, when he didn't know how to separate reality from what was going on in his head, he had accidently hit Koga. No permanent damage had been done, but both men had agreed that it would probably be for the best if they didn't spend as much time with each other. They didn't want to tempt fate.
"Yes," Ash's mom said. Ash went up to her and held out his hands.
"Can I take it to him?" Ash asked. He wanted to see how Koga was doing. Ash's mom smiled at him as she handed the plate to him.
"Of course," As Mimey handed the pokémon food to Raichu, Ash's mom started filling another plate with food and grabbing another bowl of pokémon food. She handed the bowl to Raichu and gave the second plate to Ash. "Make sure you eat something for yourself."
Ash nodded. "I will," He and Raichu went on their way to the back to find Koga. When they got to the door, Raichu put his bowls down, opened the door, and picked them up again. Ash used his food to nudge the door open the rest of the way. "Koga! We have dinner!"
"Ash," Koga gave him a small smile and took the food. He looked curiously at the two plates and raised an eyebrow. "I suppose you'll be joining me?"
"If you don't mind," Ash said. Koga sat down cross legged on the ground and put one of the plates down in front of him and the other down across from him.
"Please," Koga gestured to the other plate. "I would love the company," Ash grinned and sat down across from him. Raichu set down the bowls of pokémon food for Koga's Arbok, Venomoth, and Grimer. Ash blinked in surprise when he saw his Butterfree hanging out at Venomoth's side. Those two really spent a lot of time with each other.
Raichu took the last bowl of pokémon food for himself as he curled up next to Ash. For awhile they ate in complete silence, which Ash normally didn't like, but he found that he didn't mind it. The quiet was comfortable, nice.
After a few minutes they both finished eating. Ash watched Koga curiously. He looked a lot more comfortable now. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm actually doing a lot better," Koga said, and Ash saw no reason to doubt him.
Ash grinned. "I guess not traveling is helping a lot,"
"I'm sure that's part of it," Koga agreed. "Though not having to worry about danger around every corner certainly doesn't hurt either."
Raichu, who had been lying next to Ash resting, sat up suddenly, his ears twitching. Ash looked at his pokémon. "Is something wrong?"
"Rai," Raichu ran towards the open window and pulled himself up to look out. He didn't seem worried, but certainly alert. Ash frowned and stood up. He joined Raichu at the window to see what he was looking at. He saw it immediately.
"Oh, it's Golbat," Ash leaned forward and squinted slightly. "I think it's holding something,"
Koga grinned and slowly got to his feet. He gestured for Ash and Raichu to step away and make room for Golbat to come in. A moment later Koga's pokémon flew through the window and landed on Koga's outstretched arm. Ash was able to get a better look at what Golbat was carrying. It looked like a scroll or a rolled up piece of paper. It was tied to Golbat's foot. Koga quickly untied the scroll.
"You've had a long journey," Koga rubbed Golbat's head appreciatively. "Get some food and rest," Golbat screeched in response and left Koga's arm to join the other pokémon, where Venomoth and Arbok were offering their remaining food to them. Ash would have been more than happy to get Golbat some food of his own, but they seemed content to do it this way.
"Where did Golbat go?" Ash asked as Koga unrolled the paper and looked it over, that small smile never leaving his face. "What's the note say?"
"It is from an old friend of mine," Koga said as he read the note, which looked pretty long. "Lt. Surge and Blaine have suggested I visit him. He can help me to train and better recover. I couldn't send a note to him earlier, because we were in the middle of the ocean and my pokémon, while flyers, aren't strong enough to fly over an ocean. And we were always on the move, I wouldn't have wanted to stress them out about trying to find us again. We're in one place now though, and much closer to where Bruno lives, so I thought I would get in touch with him."
"So you sent Golbat with a note to Bruno, and this is his response," Ash realized. "What's it say?" He asked again.
"He's just looking forward to seeing me," Koga said as he rolled up the note.
"It's kinda long for just one sentence," Ash slightly. He hadn't read the note for himself, but even he knew that there was way more on there than just that.
Koga sighed slightly. "Yes, you're right," He tucked the note into his shirt. "I had also asked for some advice,"
"About what?" Ash asked. If something was bothering Koga, he wanted to help him too. Koga eyed him for a moment, like he was trying to think of what to say. Finally Koga gave him a small smile that looked a little sad.
"About my work," Koga said. "I don't mind the work itself, but these past few years I've started to become the type of person that really doesn't suit this particular career. I could tolerate it before, but when coupled with how I've been disagreeing with my boss more and more lately, I'm wondering if it's about time that I retire."
"So...what's the problem?" Ash asked. If Koga didn't want to do something, why didn't he just stop?
"The problem is that I've been doing this job for a long time," Koga said. "And my boss doesn't really let people leave that easily. Especially not people who are as good as I am at what I do," Koga looked out the window. "Bruno was never happy about my work in the first place, so I thought I'd ask what he thought I should do." Ash got the feeling that Koga was being really vague on purpose, but he thought nothing of it. Jobs were adult business, and while Ash didn't like being left in the dark, when it came to work he understood why grown-ups wouldn't tell him everything. He probably wouldn't understand a lot of it anyways.
"If Bruno doesn't like your job, wouldn't he just tell you to leave?" Ash asked. He was a little confused as to why Koga would ask his friend about this when he already knew what his opinion was.
"I asked him more about what I should do with myself if I leave," Koga said. "Ninjas, they serve a master. If I don't have a master to serve, I'm just a martial artist. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just…"
"It's not what you feel you are," Ash said quietly. He thought he understood, at least a little bit. He was trying to become a great pokémon trainer. If he was told he couldn't battle people anymore, even if he could still continue to train his pokémon the same as he ever did, he would feel devastated. It just wouldn't be the same.
"I would lose my purpose," Koga said. "Bruno is a master fighter and martial artist. He had to find his own purpose, so I thought he would be able to help me find mine,"
Ash frowned slightly. "That doesn't sound like something you can do during a quick visit."
Koga eyed Ash for a moment before he nodded. "Yes, my staying with Bruno is going to be a longer-term thing," Koga said.
Ash hunched his shoulders slightly. He felt his stomach twist up slightly. "You...you're going to leave?" Raichu looked up at Ash and leaned close against his leg. Ash rested his hand on his pokémon's head, looking for comfort. He hadn't been with his friends for very long, but he was used to them being around. He was still trying to get used to Sabrina being gone, he wasn't ready for Koga to leave too.
"Ash," Koga sighed and put his hands on Ash's shoulders. Look at me," Ash hesitated. He was scared and upset, but Koga's tone was hard to argue with. He raised his head and met Koga's gaze. The man's eyes were gentle and friendly. "Right now, I'm not going anywhere. I will leave, but not yet."
Ash let out a shaky breath. He nodded. At least he had time to mentally prepare himself. Koga wasn't just disappearing on him. And they could always go to visit each other later. They didn't have to say goodbye for good, just see you later. "Can, uh, can you help me work with Wartortle and Charizard? When he was helping me with Raichu, Lt. Surge said that I had to work with my evolved pokémon."
Koga raised an eyebrow at Ash. "You convinced Surge to step away from Lugia for long enough to train with you?"
Ash grinned. "We did one better. Me and Blaine got Lt. Surge to agree to leave Lugia alone. He's going to back off, because he knows that being with Lugia isn't good for either of them,"
Koga looked shocked, and if Ash hadn't heard Lt. Surge agree to it himself, he would be really surprised as well. It took a moment, but finally Koga's shocked expression turned to one of fond wonder. "If you told me six months ago that the best way to help Lt. Surge move past his trauma was by having him get to know a stubborn child and a scientist that he seems to disagree with at every turn, I wouldn't believe it."
"Well, when you say it like that," Ash laughed and Koga chuckled along with him.
"I'm serious, Ash," Koga said. "You've been an incredible help to Surge, in ways I don't think any of us could ever understand."
Ash rubbed his neck awkwardly. He felt weird about this. He wasn't really trying to be anything special for Lt. Surge, he just wanted his friends to be happy, and he was doing whatever it took to help do that.
"I'm not even trying to do anything," Ash said honestly. "I'm just trying to be a good friend,"
"I know," Koga said. "But that's all he needed, and it's something that I wouldn't know how to give him,"
Ash shifted slightly. "Well, that's something I can keep doing," At least he didn't have to worry about doing something wrong that would mess things up for Lt. Surge. He really didn't mind doing what he's always done.
Koga gave Ash's shoulders a squeeze before he let his hands fall. "It's a little late to do extensive training, but we still have some time before it gets dark if you wanted to begin now,"
Ash perked up. "I would love to train," Ash may have just finished working with Lt. Surge, but he was always ready to do more. Training was great.
"Charizard or Wartortle?" Koga asked.
"Wartortle," Ash said. He knew that Charizard had adjusted to his larger size, but he didn't know if the same was true about Wartortle.
"Let's go get it so we can get some work done before dark," Koga said. Ash nodded and quickly gathered up the dishes from their dinner. Koga returned all of his pokémon to their pokéballs. The two of them then left the room to put the dishes up and get Wartortle.
When Lt. Surge saw them he smirked. "Ninja boy, feels like forever since I've seen you."
"I've certainly enjoyed the peace and quiet," Koga said, though his tone wasn't mean. He was just teasing. "I hear you've finally decided to look out for yourself,"
"Oh, look who's talking," Lt. Surge crossed his arms. "How long did it take you to swallow your pride and decide that you didn't want to have broken ribs anymore?"
Koga didn't answer Lt. Surge's question. He looked towards Wartortle, who was running around and playing with Bulbasaur. "Play time's over, Wartortle. Come to the pond, we have training to do,"
Lt. Surge frowned. "The pond?" He grew tense. "Lugia's still there,"
"So is Blaine," Ash said, and he didn't doubt that at all. Blaine had said that he would keep an eye on Lugia, and Ash knew he would keep true to his word. "And Koga's going to be there too, and so are my pokémon." Ash understood that Lt. Surge was worried, and he didn't want to do anything to upset him, but he couldn't focus everything he did around the man. He wanted to be friends with Lt. Surge, but also with Lugia. He wanted to find a balance between pleasing the two of them.
Lt. Surge didn't look convinced, but Ash was determined. "You want me to train and get stronger. Wartortle's a water pokémon. The best way to train him is in the water, at the pond."
"We won't let anything happen to him," Koga said. "But I need you to trust me on this,"
Lt. Surge eyed them for a moment before he sighed. "Yeah, alright," Ash grinned. He embraced Lt. Surge really quickly.
"We'll be back soon," Ash said. They really were just going to be training until it got dark out. "But we'll be careful,"
"You'd better be," Lt. Surge muttered. "I really don't want to have to tell you I told you so,"
"That's the last thing we would want," Koga said. He put a hand on Ash's shoulder and pulled him back. "Come on,"
"Okay," Ash said. He gestured for Wartortle to follow them. Koga was right, they had to get started if they wanted to get anything done this evening. Before going outside Ash saw a clean plate sitting in front of the remaining food. He remembered that his mom had said that she would take food to Blaine later. They were going to the pond anyways, so Ash figured he might as well bring it to him. He filled a plate fairly quickly, probably with far more food than was needed, but Ash thought it was better to have too much than to go hungry.
Koga watched as Ash went, though at one point he finally took the plate from him. "I think that's enough. We're feeding a man, not an army,"
Ash chuckled and rubbed his nose. "Yeah, I guess so," With Koga carrying the plate they headed outside, with Wartortle and Raichu following just behind them.
As they walked, Ash watched Wartortle. "It looks like you move easily enough. Do you feel okay? Are you uncomfortable at all? Is it weird to be bigger so quickly?"
"War, wartortle," Ash's pokémon grinned up at him. He seemed to be just fine.
"Wartortle's been able to get used to walking and normal movement," Koga said. "It's his attacking and battle movement that I'd be worried about." Ash remembered how that was the very thing he had worked with Raichu on.
Ash looked at Wartortle. It was really interesting, the way that his tail moved from side to side as he walked. Curious, Ash put his hand on Wartortle's tail. He blinked and stared in awe at the tail. It was soft...it was super soft, like fur. "Wow," Ash grinned and stroked the tail for a bit. Wartortle made a noise that sounded a little like a laugh. Ash didn't know if he was tickling him, or if Wartortle thought Ash's amusement was funny.
"You are amused so easily," Koga said with a slight laugh. "You've felt fur before,"
"Yeah, but not on a water pokémon," Ash said. "Wouldn't the fur get heavy in the water?"
"Keep in mind, Wartortle is a water pokémon. This is part of their biology." Koga pointed out. "I'm sure the fur doesn't hold it back in the water."
"Yeah, Wartortle's a really strong swimmer," Ash said. He remembered how his pokémon had pulled him up out of the water. "But I didn't notice the fur earlier. I want to know if it's still soft when it comes out of the water," By this time they had arrived at the pond. Koga made his way towards the other side of the water where Blaine was. Ash stayed where he was. He knew what he wanted to do.
"Why don't we swim and warm up for a bit?" Ash suggested. Wartortle happily agreed and dove into the water. Ash kicked off his shoes and went in right after him. The water was colder than he had expected, but Ash pushed past the cold and went to join Wartortle. His pokémon put his tail in the water and lifted it back out. It didn't look any different, but what Ash wanted to know was if it felt different.
Ash reached out and put his hand on Wartortle's tail again, and it was, in fact, still very fluffy and soft. If anything, it was even softer than before. "That's so weird," Ash said with a grin.
"Ash, stop playing around," Koga called out to him. Ash looked up to see Koga and Blaine watching him. "We came out here to train, remember?"
"Right," Ash looked back to Wartortle. "You're comfortable walking, let's see if you're just as okay with swimming. Wartortle nodded and dove underwater. Ash took a deep breath and followed Wartortle. He could see his pokémon swimming around with ease. He was fast, and could turn sharply. Wartortle looked more than comfortable in the water. Ash hadn't seen his pokémon swimming all that much as a Squirtle, but he thought that Wartortle was even more of a natural at swimming than he had as a Squirtle.
Ash couldn't stay underwater for too long. He needed to get some more air. Ash stayed under for as long as he could before he had to go to the surface and take a breath. Wartortle came up to join him. "Wartortle you're awesome," Ash said. "You can move around just fine, so let's see how your attacks work," Ash began to swim to the shore, but then he felt pressure around his foot. It wasn't enough to pull him underwater, but it was definitely strong enough to keep him from moving forward.
Ash frowned and took another deep breath. He went back underwater to see what was holding his foot. The second Ash was underwater he found himself face to face with Lugia. Ash barely kept himself from letting out a cry of shock. What was Lugia doing there?
'You're here,' The voice of a boy rang in Ash's head. Lugia. 'Where were you?'
Ash wanted to answer Lugia, but he couldn't really have a conversation underwater. He went back up to the surface. "Lugia," Ash said. He looked into the water and saw Lugia swimming around him. "Can you come up so we can talk?"
Lugia stilled for a moment before he poked his head out of the water. He looked around cautiously. 'Where's the electric man?'
"You mean Lt. Surge?" Ash asked. "He's inside. We thought it would be good for him to not be around you so much,"
Lugia seemed displeased about something. 'He doesn't like me,'
"It's not that he doesn't like you, he's just...kinda afraid of you," Ash said slowly. He realized as he was saying it that it probably wouldn't be all that reassuring.
'Afraid?' Lugia seemed to scoff. 'That man's not afraid of anything,'
Ash frowned slightly. There was something off about Lugia's tone. It almost sounded like Lugia actually knew what he was talking about. Ash remembered how fond Lugia was of Lt. Surge. He always wanted to be around Lt. Surge, even back when they'd first saved Lugia. It was something none of them completely understood.
"Do...do you know Lt. Surge?" Ash asked. Lugia blinked.
'I...don't know.' Lugia said. 'He seems familiar,' Lugia looked and sounded a little upset that he couldn't quite figure out how he felt or why. Lugia growled and flapped his wings in agitation. Ash drew back slightly, though his foot was still caught by the pressure. Ash wondered if Lugia's psychic powers were responsible for holding him there.
Wartortle tried to put himself between Lugia and Ash, but Lugia roared and used his wing to knock Wartortle aside. Ash's eyes widened. "Wartortle!" Ash tried to swim towards his pokémon, but the pressure around his foot pulled him back. Ash yelped in alarm when he was pulled deeper into the water. Before, the pressure had just kept him in place, but now Ash's head was the only thing remaining above the water.
"Lugia, what are you doing?" Ash tried to ask calmly, but Lugia wasn't relaxing. He was really upset. Ash wanted to help Lugia, but he didn't know what to do. Ash could talk to Lugia, except the pokémon was already upsetting the water, causing slight waves. It wouldn't be too bad if Ash could swim or adjust to the water, but he couldn't move and the water was getting closer and closer to his head.
"Koga!" Ash called out as a wave got a little too close to covering his head. A moment later the pressure around his leg increased so much that it was somewhat painful. Ash winced. "Lugia, stop!"
"Ash!" He heard Koga's voice nearby. Ash felt Koga swim up next to him and pull him up slightly. Meanwhile, Koga's Golbat flew to Lugia and began to fly around him and screech. Ash didn't know what Golbat was going to accomplish besides annoying Lugia, but incredibly it seemed to work. Lugia calmed down slightly and looked at Golbat in shock. Lugia shrieked and Golbat stopped flying around frantically as well. They were just staring at each other. Ash was so confused he didn't notice that the pressure around his foot had gone away completely until Koga started to pull him towards the shore.
"Are you okay?" Koga pulled Ash out of the water and looked him over in concern. "Did it hurt you?"
"I-I'm fine," Ash said. He felt a little confused. "I don't think Lugia tried to do anything. He's just a little freaked out,"
"What happened?" Blaine asked. He had been waiting anxiously for them.
"I think Lugia knows Lt. Surge, but he doesn't know how, and he's scared," Ash said. Blaine looked slightly sympathetic, but Koga didn't.
"That pokémon is far too powerful to lose control like this," Koga said, his eyes darkening.
"But he's just a kid," Ash objected. He didn't know for sure that Lugia was actually young, but he was so sure of it. Lugia just seemed really small and he acted and sounded really young.
"That doesn't matter," Koga said. "Youth and inexperience doesn't excuse reckless behavior that endangers others," Koga glared towards Lugia, but then his expression shifted to one of confusion. "Golbat, what are you doing?"
Ash frowned and looked towards where Lugia and Golbat were. They both seemed to get over their shock about each other and now Golbat was flying around Lugia again, looking really happy. Even Lugia looked pleased, or at least really content. Their behavior actually looked really familiar.
"One of Lt. Surge's Magneton has been acting like that around Lugia too," Ash said. "I don't know why."
Koga crossed his arms, looking thoughtful. "Golbat has always been friendly around strangers, but it's not often that I see it behave quite like this. It's usually more subdued and respectful."
"And I thought that Lugia was usually more cautious around people or pokémon he doesn't know," Ash wished he understood Lugia more. He felt like anytime he was closer to knowing him, he had something else thrown at him.
Blaine frowned slightly and knelt down next to the water. He reached out and picked something up out of the water. Blaine studied it for a moment before he stood up. "I don't know what's going on with the pokémon, but I have an idea as to why Lugia seems so drawn to Lt. Surge," Blaine turned and held up what he had found. It looked like a feather. It took Ash a moment before he realized that he recognized it.
"Is that…" Ash's eyes widened.
"Lt. Surge's necklace," Koga said quietly. Blaine shook his head.
"Except this isn't a necklace," Blaine said. "I saw Lt. Surge wearing his feather earlier, and this feather is smaller than his. No, I think this is a feather from our strange friend over there," Blaine gestured towards Lugia.
"Does that mean that Lt. Surge's necklace came from a Lugia too?" Ash asked. Blaine nodded.
"Lugia may be drawn to the feather," Blaine said. "Similar to how it's said that Ho-Oh is drawn to the Rainbow Feather," Ash supposed it made sense. He automatically glanced up towards the feather on the brim of Blaine's hat, only to find that the feather wasn't there.
"Uh, where'd the Rainbow Feather go?" Ash asked. Blaine looked at him curiously before his eyes widened in alarm. Blaine took the hat off and immediately noticed the feather's absence. He began to search the ground desperately, but the feather wasn't there. Ash tried to remember the last time he could actually remember seeing it.
Koga watched Blaine carefully before he sighed. "Sabrina took it," Blaine froze and looked at Koga in alarm.
"You let her take it?" Blaine asked.
"She let us go," Koga said. "I thought it would be a fair trade, and at the time I thought that there was more to be worried about than a feather,"
"Why would Sabrina steal the Rainbow Feather?" Ash asked. Koga stiffened every so slightly and Blaine looked at him in barely noticeable alarm. They both knew something. After a tense moment Koga sighed.
"Honestly, I don't know," Koga said. Ash frowned at him. Koga was lying to him, but why?
"I don't have a good feeling about it," Blaine said. Ash shouldn't be glad to hear Blaine's words, but at least the man was being honest. Blaine looked at the feather in his hands and turned it over, examining it. "I need to speak with Koga and Blaine, but I think I may have an idea of where to go from here," Ash was surprised. Blaine could look at two feathers and suddenly know what they should do.
Ash didn't understand what Blaine was thinking, and he wished that he knew what Blaine and Koga weren't telling him. Maybe then he would realize what Blaine had realized. Ash trusted Blaine to tell him what was going on though, eventually, he just had to be patient.
Ash was willing to go along with whatever Blaine thought was best. All he asked was that he was involved with it.