"Mienfoo, use Swift!"
Korrina's voice rang out across the battlefield as she pointed forward, decked out in her skating gear as she often was. Her Pokémon, a bipedal, ferret-like Fighting-type, spread its arms wide, and a series of golden stars appeared and swirled around its body. It clapped its hands together, and the stars shot forward at its opponent, a sleek-looking, orange-and-black, Flying-type Pokémon.
On the other side of the battlefield, Ash was ready with a counter. "Destroy those stars with Razor Wind!" The bird Pokémon cawed and extended his wings, swinging them forward, generating a series of bright white energy waves. The stars collided with the waves and exploded in midair, leaving plumes of smoke.
"Good job, Fletchinder! Now, go in with Steel Wing!" Ash commanded. His Pokémon spread his wings, which began to glow with their own metallic shine, and dashed forward toward the Mienfoo opposite him.
"Stop it in its tracks with Force Palm!" Korrina responded. Her Mienfoo reared back its right arm, waiting for the right moment to strike. Once Fletchinder was close enough, the Fighting-type Pokémon thrust its palm forward directly into the oncoming Steel Wing attack. Both Pokémon strained against each other for a few moments, struggling to overpower the other, before they were each pushed back by the force of the other's attack. The two trainers watched as their Pokémon worked to catch their breath, looking drained.
"This might be a good place to stop," Ash offered, letting his tense body relax. "They're both looking pretty tired."
Korrina nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right." She reached for a Poké Ball on her hip. "Good job, Mienfoo. Return." She pressed the button on the front of the device, turning her Mienfoo into a collection of red energy that was beamed back into the spherical device, whlle Ash did the same with his recently-evolved Fletchinder. Behind them, Pikachu and Lucario were watching tiredly, having battled each other a few minutes earlier.
The two of them were standing on a battlefield in a park in Fleurrh City, on the eastern edge of Kalos, where their paths had conveniently crossed. Ash had won his second badge in Snowbelle City not long before, and when he and Korrina realized they would be in the same city at the same time, they had eagerly made plans to meet up and train with each other for a bit. They may have been giving each other hints about their battle strategies, but since they were both sharing information, it at least put them on an equal footing.
"Fletchinder's looking great." Korrina smiled as she skated toward Ash. "You're doing a good job raising your Pokémon."
"Thanks!" He grinned as Pikachu climbed up into his arms, needing a rest of his own. "Your Pokémon are great, too! I'm just getting more and more psyched for our gym battle!"
"That makes two of us." Her hand came to rest on her stomach. "After all that training, I've worked up an appetite. Want to get some lunch?"
"You bet," he answered, always in the mood to eat. "We can grab something at the Pokémon Center when we drop these guys off."
"Bleh." She grimaced as she turned to walk with Ash, Lucario by her side. "I'm getting tired of Pokémon Center food for every meal. I want to go find a good restaurant to eat at."
Ash shrugged. "Fine by me. I wonder what sort of food they have here." He didn't mind yet another meal from the cafeteria, but he wanted his friend to have a good time while the two of them were hanging out.
After depositing their four battling Pokémon with Nurse Joy for recovery, the pair walked and skated their way further into Fleurrh City, on a quest for the tastiest-looking food they could find. There was no shortage of restaurants offering traditional Kalosian food, along with Unovan diners, Galarian pubs and more. Ash would have been happy to eat at any of them, but Korrina kept them moving, insisting that she would know what she wanted when she saw it.
After five minutes of increasingly hungry searching, she stopped and turned to face the outdoor tables of one establishment. "Oh, look at that!" Her eyes flicked from one occupied table to another, seeing mouth-watering pasta, seafood, salads and more. "That looks perfect!"
Ash followed her gaze, his stomach rumbling at the look of the plates, and the smell that was wafting into the street from within. "Mmm… it sure does." He looked over at her, grinning. "Well, what are we waiting for?" She grinned back at him, and the two walked quickly over to the entrance, their stomachs demanding to be filled immediately.
As they stepped inside, Korrina half-walked, half-skated up to the maître d'. "Hi! Can we get a table for two?"
The maître d', a tall and stuffy-looking fellow with a suit, thinning hair, and a pencil mustache, looked down at her with small and piercing eyes. He quickly homed in on her helmet, with her hair sticking out through the vents, and the roller blades on her feet.
"I'm afraid that we have a bit of a problem," he responded in a snide voice, as Ash walked up behind Korrina. "Your attire does not quite meet our dress code."
"Huh?" Ash blinked in surprise. "Dress code?" He looked down at himself, wondering if he'd accidentally worn something embarrassing into the restaurant, before looking out at the other occupied tables. The diners weren't exactly dressed for a cocktail party; most of them had outfits that were closer to 'business casual', and there were even one or two tables of trainers wearing jeans and T-shirts. "I don't see much of a dress code…"
"The lady's helmet, and her skates." The older man pointed toward a stunned Korrina with his pen. "This sort of apparel is beyond what we can abide. Our dress code may be more lax, compared to others, but we do still have some rules to keep out riffraff."
"Riffraff?!" Korrina looked as if she had just been slapped across the face. Ash was wide-eyed as he watched the exchange.
The maître d' smirked. "I'm sorry to say this, but we will not be able to serve you," he informed them, not sounding sorry to say it in the least. He looked down his nose at her, as if he was sizing up an unruly skater punk. "We do have to maintain our standards. Perhaps you can try one of the diners across the street."
Korrina's fists were clenched tightly and shaking in anger, her face red as she stared down the man in front of her. She could feel the eyes of the other diners on her, more embarrassed now than she could remember being before. She barely moved even as she felt Ash's hand come to rest on her shoulder.
"Let's just go, Korrina," he advised in as calm a voice as he could manage. "He's not worth it." He was infuriated on her behalf, as well, but his first concern was removing her from the situation before she said something she would regret. She whirled around, pivoting on her heels, and stormed out of the restaurant angrily; Ash followed behind her after shooting an angry glare at the head waiter, who looked very pleased with himself.
He had to jog for a second to catch up with her, as she continued to march along the sidewalk, incensed. "I'm sorry about him, Korrina," he offered. "That guy was a complete jerk. You didn't deserve that."
Korrina nodded, not saying anything in response, continuing to walk. Ash stayed by her side, never having seen her this quiet for this long, finding it rather intimidating. They passed by many other restaurants in silence, and he didn't have the courage to suggest that they try one of them instead.
Eventually, the Pokémon Center came into view, and Ash felt a twinge of guilt in his gut as he realized they would be eating at the one place Korrina didn't want to go. He looked back at her face to see that she was no longer as visibly incensed as she was before, though she still wasn't talking. As they stepped through the front doors, Ash turned toward the cafeteria, but Korrina started making her way toward the bedrooms upstairs instead.
"Korrina?" He pivoted and followed after her. "Where are you going?"
She turned to glance back at him, her eyes quickly sizing him up. "Do you have any nice clothes with you?"
"Huh?" He blinked, not expecting this question, trying to remember the contents of his travel bag. "I have, like… one nice shirt with me." The shirt had been packed by his mother, just in case he needed it.
"Good," she replied. "Go and put it on. And comb your hair." She stepped into the group bedroom where she was staying, grabbing her bag off of the floor in the corner of the room.
"What? Why?"
"We're going to get lunch, is why." She took her bag and marched toward the showers. "Riffraff… standards… that smug, condescending…!" She slammed the door behind her in her rage. Ash stared at the closed door for a few moments, needing a moment to process their interaction, before heading for his own bedroom to change. If there was anything he had learned from travel companions like Misty and Dawn, it was that when a girl was this angry, you did whatever she said and didn't ask questions.
A few minutes later, Ash was dressed in a button-up maroon shirt - far from his favorite color, but it was tolerable - and was finishing up his best attempt at combing his hair. It no longer lay wildly about his head, and he had managed a part that was reasonably straight and clean. He hoped that would be good enough for Korrina.
He stepped out into the hallway just as Korrina was emerging from the showers, looking like a completely different person. Her blonde hair had been taken out of its normal ponytail, and it now hung down loosely behind her, stretching all the way past her knees at its longest. Her skating outfit had been replaced with a short-sleeved, light-blue blouse and a navy blue pleated skirt, with a pair of comfortable but classy black shoes. She had even managed to dig up a small red purse and a pair of golden earrings. Ash had no idea she had even been capable of looking like this; it seemed like the polar opposite of the girl that he was familiar with.
She turned toward him and quickly sized him up, eyes scanning him carefully. After a moment, she appeared to be satisfied. "Alright, let's go."
Ash nodded and followed her quietly, as she led him out of the Pokémon Center and back into downtown, a girl on a mission. He turned and looked at her a bit more closely, trying to determine if she had styled her hair somehow, but it was difficult for him to tell, since she always wore it up in a ponytail. Taking a look at her earrings, he noticed that they featured dangling golden charms that looked like the silhouette of a Lucario's head. He also noticed that they appeared to be clip-ons. He wanted to tell her that she looked nice, but the tension was oppressively thick, and he didn't dare say a word.
As they finally reached the restaurant they had been rejected from, Korrina reached out and slid her right arm firmly around Ash's left, startling him. Looking back at her stony, determined face, it was obvious this was not a gesture with any romantic intention. It was a gesture devoid of intimacy, affection or even gentleness. Korrina was currently operating out of pure spite. He walked in beside her, his arm linked with hers, feeling less like a companion and more like an accessory.
The maître d' was standing dutifully at his podium as they entered, looking toward the door as he sensed the presence of a customer. He took a moment to size the two of them up, eyes shooting open as he realized who had returned. He quickly locked eyes with Korrina, who was staring him down the same way she would stare down a cocky challenger at her gym.
"We'd like a table for two, please," she asked in a calm tone of voice.
The head waiter kept his gaze fixed on her for a few moments, a bit stunned and angry that he was being challenged in his own establishment. He looked toward the dining area, seeing numerous empty and clean tables, too many for him to make them wait. He eventually grumbled and grabbed two menus from under his podium, turning toward the dining area. "This way."
Korrina's expression was fixed as she and Ash were led to a table outdoors, near the sidewalk. He placed the menus in front of the two chairs and quickly turned away, mumbling something about a waiter being with them shortly. Ash watched him go as he took his seat, while Korrina kept her eyes on the menu as she sat down, brushing her voluminous hair back so it fell behind the chair. Ash looked over the menu for a moment as well, before he heard his companion snickering. He looked up to see Korrina with her eyes closed tight, hand over her mouth as she tried not to laugh out loud.
"Did you see the look on his face?" She opened her eyes and looked back at Ash. "He looked like he was going to have a stroke!"
Ash grinned and chuckled. "He looked like he had just seen a ghost." He could feel himself relax as he saw the familiar shine in Korrina's eyes, as if his friend had suddenly returned after a brief absence. "I didn't know you had an outfit like that with you."
"I always have at least one classy outfit with me, just in case," she explained. "A girl needs to be able to look good at a moment's notice."
"Well, it definitely worked. You look great," he confirmed, in a chaste and friendly tone.
"Thanks, Ash!" She took the compliment in stride, her eyes on his. "You don't look half-bad yourself." He grinned and turned his attention to the menu once again, spotting at least six dishes that made his mouth water. The waiter soon arrived to take their order, and the conversation between the two began flowing naturally again, as if nothing had ever happened.
Half an hour later, both of them were full and satisfied, having cleaned their plates and emptied a basket of bread apiece. The conversation came to a brief halt as they sat back, basking in the delicious meal they just had. Their waiter soon walked over, seeing that both of them were finished.
"How was everything?" the man asked.
"Perfect!" Korrina answered, smiling.
"It was awesome!" Ash chimed in.
The waiter smiled. "Glad to hear it, both of you." He pulled out a black check holder from under his arm. "I'll just leave this for you, whenever you're ready." He placed the check directly in front of Ash, next to his plate, before walking away.
Ash sat up a bit, eyeing the check holder, wondering why the waiter had placed it so close to him, instead of in the center of the table. He glanced over at Korrina in search of answers, and saw that she was staring at the check with wide eyes, looking taken aback. After a couple of moments of intense thinking, he felt his face flush as he finally realized the implication of the waiter's gesture.
"Oh… um…" He stammered, at a loss for words.
"Yeah… I'll just…" Korrina reached out for the check, standing up to reach across the table. Before she could get her fingers on it, something inside Ash caused him to reach out and snatch the check off the table.
"You know what? I've got this," he spoke, holding it closer to himself.
"What?" Her eyes met his, a bit shocked. "Ash, you don't need to do that."
"It's fine, really," he insisted with a smile. "You got us in here. I can get us out." He opened up the check holder and looked over the bill before she could say another word. His smile fell away as he saw the numbers written out on the check, much larger than he had anticipated and adding up quickly. His heart dropped as he spotted the total near the bottom, realizing just how much of his pocket money this meal was going to eat up. The thought of handing the bill back to Korrina in defeat was a deeply shameful one, but he may have bitten off more than he could chew with his chivalry.
As he strained his limited math skills to determine how he could afford this, he felt the check being pulled out of his hands by someone off to his right. Looking up, he was surprised to see the maître d' standing over them, a deeply humble and apologetic look on his face.
"Hello, again, both of you…" he began, seeming to have trouble with his words. "I just wanted to… offer my apologies for our little… misunderstanding earlier."
"Misunderstanding?" Ash cocked his head. In his mind, the conversation they had before had been crystal clear.
"Yes, yes… it goes without saying that we are honored to host any of Kalos's Gym Leaders at any time," the man continued, bowing slightly in Korrina's direction. "Your meal today is on the house, for both of you, as our thanks for your patronage."
"Oh!" Korrina's face lit up. "Well, thank you, very much!" She smiled warmly at the maître d', gracious in victory as she always was.
"Yes, of course… we hope to see you again sometime, Miss Korrina." He bowed his head before turning around and scurrying off.
Ash couldn't help but smirk. "So he finally recognized you, huh?"
Korrina grinned wide, tickled pink. "Sounds like someone got yelled at by their boss." She wiped her face with a napkin and stood up.
"Maybe you should have mentioned that you were a Gym Leader the first time you were here," he offered, standing up as well. "We could have gotten in here fifteen minutes earlier."
"No way." She shook her head as they started walking toward the entrance together. "We deserve to be able to eat here even if I'm not a Gym Leader. I still have my dignity just like everyone else."
He nodded, understanding, as the two stepped out onto the sidewalk, making their way back toward the Pokémon Center. "Well, I bet you'll get a great discount if you ever eat here again."
"Nah." She shook her head. "The food was good, but honestly, I hate snobby, stuck-up places like that."
Ash goggled at her. "You… what? But… what about all that? You went to so much trouble!"
"Well, I couldn't just let him win!" she insisted.
He stared for a moment, dumbfounded, before starting to laugh. "You're something else, Korrina."
She grinned at him, taking this as a compliment. "Well, anyway." She opened her purse and reached inside. "I've got the perfect way to cap off a lunch like that."
"Hm? What's that?" He tried to glance into her purse, but she immediately found what she was looking for, pulling out a paper bag that looked like it came out of a bakery.
"Here!" she declared. "Specialty Galarian chocolates! I got them from my friend Bea in Stow-on-Side."
"Whoa!" Ash's eyes lit up, but his excitement was soon tempered. "Wait, though… these were a gift for you, weren't they? I don't want to, like… take them away from you by eating one."
"I want you to," Korrina insisted. "Things like this are always better when you share them with a friend."
"Well… alright, in that case," he relented with a smile. "Thanks!"
The two of them wandered into a small park, taking a seat on the ground beneath a large oak tree. Korrina opened up the bag, offering Ash the first pick, and soon both of them were snacking away on the decadent chocolate treats. They easily tore through half of the bag before stopping, stuffed completely full and hoping they weren't going to be sick later.
Ash sat back and looked toward Korrina, as she used her mouth to clean some chocolate off the tips of her fingers. She had a ring of smeared chocolate around her lips, which sat in stark contrast with her classy outfit, her hair, and her gold earrings. He grinned in amusement at the juxtaposition of neat and messy, thinking that she looked rather cute like this. His gaze moved to her bright and shining eyes, which were grey with just a hint of blue, as he thought that maybe she looked pretty cute all the time, and he hadn't really noticed until now.
She glanced back at him, realizing that he was staring at her. "What?"
He grinned, a little embarrassed at being caught. "Just…" He pointed toward his own face, drawing a circle in the air around his mouth.
She flushed a bit, but laughed. "Well, so do you!" He blinked and touched his face, dragging his finger along the side of his mouth, looking back to see some chocolate on it. He chuckled and ate the chocolate right back off of his finger, as Korrina produced a handkerchief from her purse. She used it to clean off her face carefully, before handing it to Ash.
"Thanks." He took the handkerchief and proceeded to wipe his own face, offering the cloth back to her when he was finished. As she looked back at him, her eyes went wide and she burst out laughing, sitting back against the tree and holding her stomach with one hand.
"What?!" he demanded, but she was laughing too hard to answer. He reached up and ran a finger along his face again, recoiling when he saw it was covered in even more chocolate than before. Looking down at the handkerchief, he realized that he had absentmindedly wiped himself off with the soiled part, and simply spread more chocolate onto his face. As Korrina caught her breath, he grumbled and cleaned himself off with a bit more care, able to feel himself becoming more clean this time.
"There." He once again handed the cloth back to its owner, who reached out and took it. As she inspected his face, she suddenly leaned forward onto her hands and knees, leaning in close to him with her lips curled into a smirk.
"Whuh… huh?" He felt his face go red, and he leaned back to try and create some distance, but she closed the gap with ease, reaching out with the hand holding the handkerchief. She gently wiped the corner of his lips before retreating, sitting back on her ankles.
"You missed a spot." She folded up the handkerchief and put it back into her purse.
"Oh… right…" he mumbled, his face still hot and his heart thumping a bit harder than it was before. Korrina grabbed the bag filled with the remaining chocolates, and they both stood up and started the short walk back to the Pokémon Center, to reclaim their companions and change back into more comfortable clothes.