After the events of XYZ 28, aka Seeing the Forest for the Trees! OR The Bewildering Woods...The Dawn of Evolution!
Night had fallen over Snowbelle City, and a cold breeze made a group of four friends shiver while they enjoyed Clemont's soup. As usual, it was delicious. But unlike usual, Ash was completely focused on his meal, yet he didn't taste a thing. The steaming liquid didn't warm him up at all.
Serena glanced at him, then over to Clemont as she sipped another spoonful. "It's good!" she said, feeling the need to take up complementing duty. It wasn't like Ash to be this quiet. She thought it was because of the upcoming Kalos League.
Nobody responded. Maybe it was the cold, she reasoned.
"Uh...Ash, you excited for your Gym Battle rematch?" she tried again.
He didn't-couldn't-meet her eyes. "Yeah...I-I need to practice more with my Pokemon. Th-that's right! For the battle tomorrow!" he blurted out, pushing the half-finished bowl of soup aside and jumping out of his seat. Serena gave him a concerned look as he ran to the battlefield.
"I'm just...kinda nervous..." The excuse had worked. Now, Ash was talking to two of his Pokemon.
"Nin ja gre!" Don't worry about Wulfric!
"Pi ka ka chu!" Yeah, we'll win for sure.
The Trainer gave them a small smile. "I know! But that's not it..."
The Previous Day
"I know how you feel! When I lose in a Showcase-"
"You don't know ANYTHING, Serena! You NEVER will! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"Don't gi-" she started to say.
"DON'T tell me that!" he cut her off.
Silence. Until the snowball hit.
"You're right! I don't know-who you are, because you're not the Ash I know! He's better than you! He doesn't quit or mope!"
The second snowball knocked him down and over a log as she stormed off.
"Nin nin ja!" But you already apologized for that!
"That isn't all..." Ash sighed.
The Previous Day, One Minute Later
He stared up at the sky, cold snowflakes in his black hair. 'Did I just...snap at her?' The past few minutes were starting to sink in, and it was a bit overwhelming. 'Maybe she's right...I'm not acting like myself...'
Thinking about it wasn't helping him at all. It didn't take back what he had said in his outburst, it didn't remedy his empty feeling, and it certainly didn't bring Serena back to the clearing. All it did was bring up images of her wide smile suddenly disappearing because of him. Even so, Ash didn't want to get up. He didn't want to face her, for fear of making things worse. He didn't want to anger her again. He could hear her now:
"I know how you feel...you're not the Ash I know...he doesn't quit..."
'So what? It was just an argument with a friend, right?' he tried telling himself, but the words felt wrong in his mind. 'It shouldn't matter this much...but then, why does it? '
As the clouds slowly blew away before his eyes, the sky-and his answer-became clearer. It was the answer to many questions that Ash had shrugged off as the journey continued, though they had never truly left him.
Why had he been unusually flustered over and over?
Why had he remembered each and every look on her face?
Why did he cheer as much as he could in the Showcases?
Why would he glance over at her, say random things just to hear her respond, or think about what she might be doing?
Why did the thought of leaving Kalos fill him with dread?
Why, why, why...ever since the Bug Badge. Now he knew.
"I-I love Serena, and I've got no idea what to do!"
"Pika pi!" The electric mouse smirked. Knew it before you did!
"Nin ja gre?" What's there to be nervous about?
"Ka pi!" Yeah, just tell her!
Pikachu's words shocked him even more than a Thunderbolt. "What? No! No way!"
"Pika pika ka chu," he said sarcastically. She DOESN'T blush whenever you talk to her,
"Gre nin ja ni," She DOESN'T worry when you act reckless,
"Pi pika pi," She DOESN'T ask your opinion constantly,
"Nin nin ja ninja gre." So of course you've got NO chance with her. the froglike Pokemon finished.
"You think?" he said glumly.
"Pi...ka?" Ash's first Pokemon's jaw dropped. His trainer was denser than a black hole! Why couldn't he see what was literally right in front of him?
"Gren...nin gre ja!" But despite the protests, Ash decided to start a battle.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail. Greninja, Water Shuriken to keep him away."
He stood with Ash's usual posture. He wore Ash's outfit. He talked like Ash. But he was not the raven-haired Pallet Town native in a big way-his heart was not in the fight.
"Hey!" A certain honey-blonde Performer was running towards him. "Come inside! I made macarons!"
"Sounds great!" Still, he turned back to the Pokemon and ordered Greninja to use Water Pulse.
"Are you all right?" Was he ACTUALLY passing up dessert?
"Yeah! Serena, I'm fine!" Then he called for a Thunderbolt from Pikachu.
"No. You're not. What is it?" she insisted.
"It-it's nothing! Y-you said macarons, right? Pikachu! Greninja! Let's try some!"
Author's Note- Well, looks like Ash's ignorance has ruined things again in this short one-shot! I just wanted to explore what exactly was going through his mind when he was looking up at the sky for so long, so I wrote this!
To clarify, Ash can't COMPLETELY understand his Pokemon, he just gets the general idea of what they're trying to tell him.
Please review, and see you next time!