Chapter 14: I´d Come For You
"Professor how come you didn´t tell them about what we saw in the Viridian Forest?" Tracey was speaking the professor.
"I didn´t want to get them curious and visit the forest just to get attacked by that vicious creature Tracey. You saw how it was on the verge of attacking us, it was powerful and definitely hostile," Professor Oak was speaking to them.
"What were you two doing in the forest anyway professor?" Delia questioned the pair, a tad worried about the events that occurred. Ash´s mother had finished doing work on the house and with little to do she left Mr. Mime in charge and came to visit the laboratory. She expected to find Ash and his friends gone by now though, it was a bit too late to be training right now with the sun setting outside.
"I was there studying the Pokémon residing there for some research. I sent Tracey to Viridian City to get me some material and meet me at the forest. While we examining a colony of Bug Pokémon something attacked use with a Dragon Pulse," the elder man continued to speak it.
"It was like something we´ve never seen before, it was increasingly hostile. It used a variety of dragon offenses like Dragon Rush and Dragon Pulse," the boy with the headband spoke quickly.
Professor Oak shook his head, "Yes, but I can´t help but put my finger on it. I could've sworn I´ve seen that beast before. I don´t even know if it is even a Pokémon, however we could have misidentified for a Salamence or Wild Charizard."
"Maybe professor, but a Salamence and Charizard don´t have more than one head. Besides I´m sure you know a Charizard and Salamence when you see it, after all you´re Professor Oak," Tracey spread his arms, explaining the topic.
"I may be Professor Oak, however I´m still human and I believe age might be starting to catch up with me and is making me imagine things. Whether it was a Charizard or Salamence, there is this feeling in my head that have seen it already once before in my younger days somewhere, but where? Nevertheless, like I said age is gaining speed with me and I could just be thinking things," the old man stated seriously.
"I saw it too professor, I was there. I even drew a picture of what I saw as soon as Ash left." Ash´s Orange Islands pal commented. He took out the picture from his drawing book and showed it.
Oak and Delia took a closer look and true to their words it was an unidentified creature. It was a hydra-like fiend with wings; it´s jaws were frighteningly razor-sharp. The eyes were only a set that Arceus could even damn because of the evil in the drawing´s gaze. Mrs. Ketchum was startled by this and thought she had come at a bad time; Professor Oak took notice of this.
"Tracey why don´t we drop this, what happened, happened let´s not scare our guest," Professor Oak advised Tracey while the boy hesitated, still when he saw Ash´s mother´s face he shook his head in agreement.
"So Delia, how can we help you?" Professor Oak asked her.
"Oh I just came here because there wasn´t anything to do at home after cleaning it up and cooking dinner, except there is one thing we could discuss," the mother was about to begin the subject of the discussion.
"What would that be," Tracey inquired her.
"It´s Ash, I was hoping you could figure out a region he could travel to. I´m worried that once May leaves, he might continue to stay in Pallet. It´s unlike him to stay here and look like he´s given up his journey," Delia had spoken with a worried sensation.
"I see, but Delia you know he has been training really hard here at the lab," Professor Oak informed her.
"I know, it´s just that I´m afraid he might decide to drop his dream the longer he stays here," the worried mother feared the thoughts of her son giving up on becoming a Pokémon Master. Oak and Tracey could understand her worries, "I want him to continue making new friends everywhere," Delia kept speaking.
"Ash would never give up Delia, I know he would never do that," Tracey tried to reassure her.
Professor Oak began to speak, "This isn´t about just about Ash becoming a Pokémon Master, he´s maturing, he´s learning you things and the three of us know why Ash hasn´t decided upon where to go."
Tracey, Oak, and Delia all looked at each other and agreed. Oak was right, Ash had another dream in mind as well. "There are many regions out there and Ash could go just to any right now. He could just ask me about where the location is and he´s on the road, but he hasn´t because he knows as well as I do regions that offer both Pokémon Leagues and Contests are difficult to find. That´s why he hasn´t asked me about this yet, my knowledge a region that offers both competitions is limited and you have to put in mind that contests have only become a recent trend. Pokémon Contests are still growing in popularity and need time to become known across the world."
Tracey looked down as he heard this comment, Delia was also disappointed at the news, "He wants to travel with May, that´s the thing. We have all seen it one point or another where something goes on between the two, but this time things between them are going to go with a bang. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh are a unique group of regions that offer both. May can still go to Sinnoh since it is the only region she hasn´t competed in yet, while Ash has been on all four. He´s participated in all their leagues and now he wants to try something new so he can become a Pokémon Master, but with May in the way he´s facing a decision between the two," Oak kept on going with this lecture.
Delia thought how bad May was affecting her son´s life. May was a good friend of the family and she didn´t know what she was doing so she couldn´t blame her. Ash´s mother only wished her son wasn´t as indecisive.
"He can´t come to me to ask a region with that combination because I´m just as clueless as he is. Let´s just hope he makes the right choice," Professor Oak spoke sternly at the two.
"What about Gary, do you think he might know something about a region with that combination?" Tracey gave Oak an inquiry.
"Gary is at Seafoam Islands right now, it would take weeks before he could get here. Unfortunately, we have no way to contact him from here and I believe his knowledge on this is also limited. He has only been to the same regions as Ash and he´s still young so he would not be able to give much information either," Oak spoke about the possible response they would get from his grandson.
The boy with the headband and mother sighed at the news until Tracey brought up the offensive dragon they stumbled upon, "How about the dragon we saw in the Viridian Forest is it probable that it migrated from another region? One with contests and leagues."
"Tracey, this dragon could be an undiscovered Pokémon from within the four regions. It might be feasible to think that it came from a farther region, but those regions are exceptionally far. It is more reasonable to think it is from Sinnoh, Hoenn, and Johto. I´ll speak to Professor Rowan, Elm, and Birch to see if they have any reports on this creature and whether it's from there. If not they could help trace its true origins and if we are lucky it might be from another region with contests and leagues." Oak informed Tracey about his solution as he nodded with Delia.
They all hoped to find something out eventually about a region that offered contests and leagues, for the sake of Ash and May because they also knew she was feeling the same right now as well. Oak also hoped to learn more about the mysterious creature from Viridian Forest.
Every star along with the full moon began to shine in the ever approaching night, as daylight vanished. Ash and May thought it was time to head back home. It was really getting late and Misty, Pikachu, and Drew would be wondering where they were right now. There was a probability that were at his house by since they spent time on this hill for almost an hour.
"We should head back May, let's not keep the others waiting," Ash suggested to his friend.
"Yeah, I wish we could stay here longer though. This is really calming," May commented to him.
"Me too, but we don´t want to get no worried," May agreed and they got up.
Ash didn´t want this moment to end either, it had been a while since he was alone with May. Something about her made him feel easy, as if all of life´s troubles were kicked aside by her. Sadly it was going to end and once he saw Drew´s face all his worries would rise again. Everything that was happening and everything that he was feeling needed to be figured out. He needed to make a call to one person that could help him and one person only, Brock.
May felt uneasy about going back and seeing everyone; she enjoyed spending this time alone. If Brock was here he would comprehend her problem, he was the only person May knew that had a vast amount of knowledge about love, but then again there was Misty. The brunette thought she could make a call to him, however Misty was a girl she might have a better comprehension of everything. She wouldn´t say she loved Drew or Ash or something like that because it wasn´t something she could determine yet, unless she truly could. As soon as they got up they started walking down the hill.
"You know it´s too bad we didn´t get to finish our food. I was really looking forward to a good meal," Ash told her.
"So was I, guess we were wrong, but may be Misty told the waitress that they were going to take it," May gave her thought.
Ash´s head then rang, they never got a chance to speak about what troubled May since they their food was served. "May why did the waitress bother you so much?" he asked, but he might regret if the answer involved Drew.
The brunette hated lying to her best friend, but the truth can hurt. So she made up a response, "She was visibly obnoxious, you saw the expression on her face when she heard you say that she forgot Pikachu´s order."
It was true that the waitress was obnoxious, however he didn´t believe her response. There was more it and there was a certainty in him that it had to do with Drew. What was it though? Was his question, the teen didn´t find himself fit to hear anything about the coordinator so he left it at. Besides, Ash did not want to start an argument over the truth and many people have always stated that it´s best not to know the truth sometimes because it is more painful than a lie itself.
"You know Ash you really put up a great fight against Drew´s Typhlosion today," May mentioned to him as he snapped from his train of thought.
"Thanks May, but I never got a chance to ask how he got one?" the messy haired boy brought up the subject. Throughout the battle he had wondered how and where Drew got a Typhlosion, but the focus on the battle made him disregard the question and with the stunt pulled off earlier it wasn´t remembered up until now.
"Oh well it was in Johto on our way to Mount Silver for the Johto Grand Festival. We were walking on one of the routes to New Bark Town and we found an injured Cyndaquil. It was being crushed by a heavy and gigantic tree, although we did manage to get free thanks to Beautifly and Butterfree´s Psychic abilities. Drew was more determined than ever to save the bruised Cynadquil´s life and we ran to New Bark Town in search of Professor Elm," the Petalburg described her encounter with Cyndaquil.
"Drew being determined to save a life is a first," the raven-haired boy commented.
"He isn´t a bad person Ash, I hope you´ll understand that at one point. When we were trying to save that Cynadquil's life his behavior reminded me so much of you. He stuck by it until it fully recovered and I thought it was unforgettable to see someone serious and critical like Drew behave like someone different," the sapphire-eyed girl explained the attitude of Drew in this run-in.
Ash was jealous at how she commented on Drew´s manner, however he was touched by what he did and how May stated that he was behaving just like he would´ve if he was there. Drew saved a life, he thought. The black-haired boy had the same many times in the past with Pikachu and countless other Pokémon.
May kept going on about the experience, "When we reached New Bark Town, we found Professor Elm panicking about a missing Cyndaquil and we figured he was talking about the one in Drew´s arms. We ran up to him and he confirmed it. The three of us drove to the lab and the professor said it would take about two days for it to fully heal. We agreed because we both wanted to see Cyndaquil up and running again so we stayed at the two for two days," the brown-haired female cleared the event.
"Professor Elm told us it was during a storm when Cyndaquil had gotten lost and escaped. He was preparing the three of them for a trainer that was supposed to arrive and pick up his Pokémon. After a few days, Cyndaquil had finally healed and Drew was so happy that the two embraced tightly. The professor saw how attached they were and told Drew he could take him in his journey," she continued to speak about her rival.
Drew was rewarded with a Cyndaquil for his deed and he earned it. Like Drew, Ash had gotten many of his Pokémon from similar situations such as Bulbasaur. The boy smiled at the idea of Drew doing this, he wasn´t a bad guy. His problem was that he didn´t show kindness too much because of his tense character and because of Ash´s own dislike towards him because of his cocky attitude. In the past Ash had a different image about him, he considered him an arrogant coordinator, although with this he found new respect to Drew even if there was still a sense of dislike towards him deep inside.
The Hoenn female went on to describe Cyndaquil and Drew´s adventures, "On our way to Mount Silver, Drew and Cyndaquil would train nonstop. Eventually Cyndaquil evolved in to a Quilava and was soon entered in the Grand Festival. When Drew fought Solidad he used Quilava along with Roserade. He was at the brink of losing to her Slowbro once her Lapras and his Roserade had been knocked out. It wasn´t until Quilava evolved to Typhlosion that things changed and started to favor him. Thanks to a Solarbeam attack Typhlosion beat Slowbro and went on to the finals," the girl wrapped up the story of Drew and Typhlosion.
"Wow that was something else. If it weren´t for Typhlosion, Drew would have lost to Solidad. Did he beat you with Typhlosion too?" the boy in the hat questioned.
May laughed nervously, "Yeah Typhlosion was something else, it pummeled by Blaziken, but at least we got runner-up."
Ash didn´t seem to notice the edgy manner and kept speaking, "Would you like to have won though May?"
As this went in to further depth she got tense, "Yeah, it would´ve been great. Winning isn´t everything though, sometimes the winner prefers to be the loser because they would like to keep training for the fun of it rather for a title or they are looking for something else rather than a big victory. It isn´t bad to lose Ash, it always shows that there is room for improvement and another shot at triumph. That´s something else I got from you."
"I´m beginning to think you act too much like me May, but yeah what you said is true. That´s why I am more determined than ever to win the next league if I have anywhere else to go," Ash walked as he stared at the stars standing out, somehow doubtful about his own words.
"You´ll get there Ash, even if you don´t know where to go you will get there because I believe in you," May complimented him and turned away to hide the blush after saying something like that.
Her friend went on walking, "Thanks May, I know you can also get where you want to be. You are a great person and I´m really glad to have a friend like you."
May reddened at what she thought was a sweet comment. She felt her heart pumping as she looked at Ash who remained oblivious to the blush. "He´s dense, but he has a sweet side," the blue-eyed girl whispered and grinned.
"Did you say something May?" Ash shifted to her.
"No Ash, why?" May lied to him.
"Oh cause I thought I heard you speak, but it must´ve been my imagination," the boy in Sinnoh clothing laughed.
"Yep," the girl giggled.
"Here we are and just in time come on May," Ash spoke cheerfully, but was soon grabbed by the collar and pulled back.
He was choking on the shirt collar until May let go, "What was that for?" was his question as he appeared slightly annoyed.
"I just wanted to that you for the nice evening Ash, sheesh," the Petalburg Coordinator put on a sassy attitude.
Ash´s face softened, "Oh anytime May," he smiled kindly.
May´s faced blushed as her expression softened, "Thank you," and before Ash could even speak she gave him a kiss on the cheek and ran inside.
The boy she left behind with the door opened only appeared stunned. His face blushed like never before, his heart pounded incredibly fast. Ash felt warm as he could swear he was sweating a little. The sensation was alien to him, he didn´t understand what it could be. It only made his legs shake as he walked in to the house trying to get composure, what was going on with him. He immediately realized what he needed to do once he calmed down, call Brock.
When he walked in he found Pikachu napping on the bed, but after a few footsteps from his trainer he woke up excited. "Pika pi!" the little mouse jumped to him hoping to get caught, but due to Ash´s strange state he had no balance and the two fell down on the floor.
"Pikachu?" the electric mouse rubbed his head from the floor, asking his friend what was wrong with him.
"I´ll tell you about it later Pikachu, but thanks for snapping me out of that feeling. Come on let´s go find Misty and May," Ash explained to his friend as he got up and let his pal climb on to his shoulder.
They walked in to the kitchen to find Delia and the two girls there. May was eating what looked like the burger earlier and Misty was just sitting there talking to her.
"Hello Ash, where have you been?" His mother inquired him.
"I fell when Pikachu tackled me," the son a bit embarrassed.
"Oh well the burger Misty brought for you is set on the table," the brown-haired mother smiled joyfully.
"Hey you two," the raven-haired boy sat down to eat his burger. Pikachu leaped on to the table, but didn´t bother eating since his Semi-Serious was enough to fill him up for the rest of the day.
May blushed a bit when she looked at him, but it quickly vanished as she tried to suppress herself, "Hey Ash how was the fall?" she giggled sweetly.
Ash found it a bit awkward to talk to her after it happened, May also felt the same, but she wouldn´t start to ignore Ash because of embarrassment the peck on the cheek. The two needed to each other more than ever and they wouldn´t push each other away right now. They had to solve their conflicting emotions eventually; May had reacted through the instructions of her heart. She didn´t even think of what Ash would do, however when she took a look back after running off he was blushing. It was because her heart ordered to give him a peck that she did it, deep down she thought he earned for being there to comfort her. It was something Ash was always good at.
The boy couldn´t lie to himself though, he felt as if the kiss on the cheek was the best thing anybody could feel. His clumsy behavior was an example of the wonderful feeling he got and wished it could happen all over. They thought they should it until the right moment to talk about came up, until then they would act like it hadn´t happened to lower suspicion. When May asked him about the fall he snapped out of it.
"Very funny May," Ash gave a hint of sarcasm as he took a bite of his food.
"Thank you," she smiled innocently at him.
"So what´d you two do after you left?" the red-head asked them while they ate and Pikachu had also gotten curious.
"Before we get to that where´s Drew?" the black-haired boy asked Misty.
"He went to go pick up his Typhlosion from Professor Oak, I don´t know why he didn´t wait until to tomorrow though," the gym leader told them.
"Oh," the green-haired boy´s recent rival said.
May had also acknowledged this and hoped he´d get back before she started worrying. She did worry a lot about her friends like Drew and Ash, since they were the most reckless pair she had ever met.
"Yep, so how was the walk?" the water gym leader questioned them once again.
"It was calm, peaceful. We raced up a hill and sat down on it to watch the sunset," May described the time with Ash.
Misty would see this as one of those chances where you could tease two friends. Reason was because if these two were watching the sunset who knows what could have gone on the red-haired girl thought, but she was more mature than that and assumed it was best not to mention something like that.
"May almost beat me, but we ended up in a draw sadly," Ash informed his Cerulean friend.
The Cerulean girl looked to May, "Good job May you tied with Ash the Great." She gave a quick cunning smile towards the Pallet boy.
"Thanks Misty, I could´ve sworn he has about to lose to a girl though," the Petalburg girl giggled.
"Hey I´m more modest than you think Misty," the Kanto male snapped at her before taking a vicious bite of his large cheeseburger.
"Yeah, but since the younger Ash was less modest it stuck to my head and I found your cockiness funny," the Kanto female also giggled herself.
"I´ve matured Misty, I´m not as clueless or as overconfident as I was back then," Ash let his old friend know.
"Then what Drake must´ve told you must have finally hit you huh Ash?" the brown-haired girl reminded him of an encounter with the Elite Four Member of Hoenn.
Ash´s attention turned to May, "What do you mean? I always stuck to his word."
"May be now, but you were still overconfident at times after that," the Hoenn girl gave her own cunning grin.
"An Elite Four Member of Hoenn met Ash, when, how, and where?" Misty got really curious about this story.
"It happened during one of our travels in Hoenn, Ash got overconfident about his constant victories and Drake took notice of this and put himself in charge of lowering his ego because it was through the roof. He used Dragon-type Pokémon and when he beat Ash he told him how he had also gotten overconfident in his younger days and started losing battles because he underestimated his opponents," May recollected the entire story of Ash and the gang´s run-in with the Hoenn Elite Four Member.
"Wow critical, but useful. You still have that in mind Ash?" Misty expressed her opinion on the meeting with Drake.
"Of course, I take everyone´s word in to consideration even of an Elite Four like Drake," Ash confirmed Misty´s inquiry as he finished eating the last of his cheeseburger.
May had also devoured her burger. They were really hungry even if they didn´t scoff on their food like usual since they were distracted by the topic that they were discussing. In the end though, they all enjoyed the burgers from the restaurant, but they weren´t sure if they´d go back well at least with May because of the waitress.
"I´m tired, Misty how about we head upstairs," the brunette suggested.
"Sure May," the red-head agreed with the suggestion.
"Thank you everyone," the two females spoke at the same time. They soon ran upstairs without a word.
"Thanks mom, I´ll be using the video phone ok," the auburn-eyed boy informed his loving mother.
"You're welcome son and ok," Delia acknowledged him.
"Wanna come along Pikachu?" Ash reached his arm out so his friend could climb to his shoulder.
"Pi," the yellow mouse climbed up his shoulder and they walked to the video phone.
Ash sat down and began dialing the correct number. He thought he should do this now while he had the chance. There was a lot to tell Brock, from the arrival of the two coordinators to the kiss May had given him. Beeping sounds began as Ash waited for an answer.
"Pikachu!" the yellow rodent saluted his friend.
To his luck Brock had answered, "Ash, Pikachu what´s up how´s everything?"
"Hey Brock, everything is fine so far how´s becoming a Pokémon Doctor going?" Brock´s old friend questioned him.
"It´s doing great Ash, I feel like I´m one step closer every day," the oldest friend Ash had informed him.
"That´s good, hey I wanted to ask you about something," the messy haired boy told his brother-like figure.
"Ask away, what´s up?" the former rock gym leader stated.
"It´s about May, Misty is here too," Ash spoke sternly now.
The spiky-haired guy grew alert, "Oh that´s right May was supposed to be there right, sorry Ash I forgot since I was too busy thinking about my studies. Misty is there too, I didn´t know that, but she must be on vacation correct?"
"It´s alright Brock and yeah she´s on a one week vacation," Ash let him know about their old friend´s presence in Pallet Town.
"Anyway something wrong with May and Misty?" the old Brockster was speaking firmly.
Brock was worried that Misty might become an obstacle between May and Ash since he had made a theory about her. She was always disputing with Ash, but that didn´t mean she had a thing for him, well that was what he thought even though she never really declared it. Like other times though, the former gym leader hoped his assumption was wrong.
"No they are getting along fine, it´s something else," Ash prepared to tell him about an unwelcomed guest.
"Then what is it Ash?" the older boy inquired him.
"She brought Drew," the black-haired boy answered his question.
Old Brocko almost flew off his chair when he heard this. "No way, why, how, when?" the oldest of Ash´s friends questioned.
"It was when they came on the ship. Drew invited himself and May didn´t want to tell him no so he came along with her. We spoke today about it and she told that it was intended to be a time for just us two to spend that also means Misty was never part of this," Ash muttered to Brock the entire story.
"Knowing Drew, he came to Kanto for a reason. I´m sure he´s already blown your temper a few times hasn´t he?" the Pokémon Doctor in training inquired him.
"Yeah, sometimes, we had a battle today with my Quilava and a Typhlosion he got in Johto. We ended in a draw, luckily nothing happened and we just did a handshake," Ash notified him about this.
"I see where is he now?" the love doctor asked.
"He went to pick up of his Typhlosion from Professor Oak´s Lab," the teen told him about his whereabouts.
"Ash, Drew came to be with May. It has been obvious to me from the start with the roses and charm, I am sure you remember. He traveled with her just to stop you and her from being together and he´s going to seal the deal once and for all," Brock spoke in a serious manner.
The boy and his Pikachu grew tense, was this true? "What makes you say that?"
"It´s obvious, why else would he come, he wants to make sure nothing goes on between you two. Has May shown any feelings herself?" the former gym leader asked his friend more questions.
"She gets upset when I say something bad about him and she got frustrated at this waitress at a restaurant and she looked at Drew. I don´t know if that´s anything though," the trainer told his mentor.
Brock only shook his head at his friend´s density. He feared to tell Ash something was going on in May that connected her with Drew, but the boy is likely to call his Charizard and destroy everything. His first crush might just be his worst he thought, but then again she said she felt something Ash too. It might be possible that she still does he thought.
"Has May been acting weird around you lately Ash?" the doctor inquired even further at him.
"She was frustrated today at the restaurant and I offered to go on a walk with her. We left Drew and Misty at the dining place and went to the meadows to sit on a hill, watch the sunset, and talked," Ash explained the whole event to him.
Brock was on to something, "Anything else?"
Ash stopped and thought about telling him about how May kissed his cheek. He had to; he was the only one that could understand this sort of thing. "She kissed me on the cheek."
This time Brock fell off his chair, "She kissed you on the cheek!"
Even Pikachu fell off Ash´s shoulder, shocked at such news. He got back his self-control to listen; he needed a talk with his trainer after this. "Hey calm down, I don´t want no one to hear this," the boy in the Sinnoh Attire ordered.
Brock felt heavy shame inside him as he got back on his train. Ash got a kiss on the cheek from someone he had feelings for and he much older and experienced on the field of love was a love disaster, "Oh sorry, well Ash she really is feeling something for you. I suggest taking quick action before Drew beats you to it. Where´s May right now anyway?"
"Umm she's in my room with Misty, why?" the auburn-eyed teen asked.
"I can guarantee you she´s discussing the same thing as we are right now," the brother figure told his younger friend.
"What makes you say that?" Ash got confused.
"I just know that´s how girls are Ash, trust me," the older teen told him.
"Oh alright, is there any other tip of advice?" the raven-haired boy questioned him once again.
"Just be careful with your steps, don´t blow this. My gut tells me May loves you and her heart is feeling the same thing you´re Ash, love. If you enjoyed that kiss on the cheek and dreamt of it happening all over again it is the feeling of love my friend. I also want you to be on the lookout for Drew, he is charming and could be in love with May, he´ll try his best as well," the spiky-haired older male spoke to him with seriousness.
"Yeah sure, so this is goodbye for now Brock?" the boy asked his old friend.
"Guess it is Ash, and one more piece of advice, follow your heart," the doctor of romance stated.
"I will Brock, and keep doing great with becoming a Pokémon Doctor until then pal," Ash gave his farewell to his friend.
"Thanks and until then Ash, see ya buddy," Brock gave a farewell to his longtime friend until they disappeared from the respective screens.
Ash grabbed his heart, "Is this love?"
Images of May flashed through his mind. This girl was the only one that could actually make him feel this. He had to lose his density, this couldn´t go on any further. If Brock was right, he had to do what he said. The intensity in his eyes was blazing like fire. Pikachu was surprised at the look of his trainer´s eyes. It was the look he would only put on in a battle, with Drew as his rival. This wasn´t a Pokémon battle though and Drew wasn´t his rival in the subject of this, Drew was his rival in the battle to win May´s heart. Ash knew what he felt now and could no longer ignore it, what he was feeling was one of the phases of love.