A week has passed since Ash has become Misty and Dawn's roommate, and admittedly he enjoyed their presence and friendship that they provided him. One thing Ash has quickly noticed is that Dawn and Misty had gotten comfortable around him, to the extent that they became more carefree and loose around him. They wore more revealing clothes and often asked him to hangout with them, whether it is Netflix and chill with Misty or a few rounds of League with Dawn, to which he didn't knew she even played. It was nice to have the girls being laidback and comfortable around him. Initially he did feel like an outsider, but overtime, they seemed to accept his companionship and grew comfortable spending time with him. It was relieving to Ash because he didn't want to intrude the girls' lives, forcing them to change their attitude and way of living just for him. So and all, Ash was glad that the 3 of them lived together in harmony.

But of course, it did have their fair share of awkward moments. Where Ash would find himself staring Dawn drying her hair with her towel while only wearing thinly veiled nightdress in the living room. Or when Misty would come home from her usual swimming routines with just her swimsuit that leaves nothing to the imagination. Naturally, this gave Ash a hard time and placed him in a difficult spot at times. While he appreciate them being comfortable around him, he wasn't sure if this was what he had in mind. Despite that, his apartment sharing experience has been relatively nice. It was a nice change of pace from being a loner that only read manga and played video games in his room, to having friends to hangout with and talk about random stuff.

Unfortunately however, his academic studies and practical lessons have not been going well. Not because he was struggling with the studies and trainer courses, it was actually the opposite. Ash find himself being a naturally talented trainer, quickly understanding the various strategies that are suitable for each individual pokemon. But power attracts power, and Ash knew that he attracted the attention of other naturally talented trainers who seek to best him.

Currently, the raven haired teen sat on the gymnasium bench, staring at the pokemon battle between his two classmates. His eyes narrowed at the two battlers in the battlefield, who were arguably the best pokemon battlers of the class. On one corner, there was a teenager with mid length purple hair who wore a purple jacket with navy blue sleeves and a pair of dark purple pants. His attire and attitude naturally screamed edginess and cool. Paul Shinji was his name, his trademark battle style is pure power. His bright mind combined with his merciless heart allowed him to deliver very brutal yet swift attacks onto his opponent, with no disregard to the pokemon's feelings. If you were looking for an asshole who only cares about winning and owning only strong pokemon, Paul would be the prime example. Notoriously known as an inapproachable and cold individual, Ash could tell that Paul would be a very dangerous opponent to fight against with his powerful and speedy Elekid.

Turning his attention towards Paul's opponent, Ash glanced at the dirty blonde who wore an orange jacket with a black hoodie underneath. His signature camera that he often carried around made him easily identifiable, and annoying considering he would take pictures of girls without their consent. All and all, he was a dick who likes to show how superior he was to others, not to mention he was a xenophobic prick who thinks Unovians are better than anyone. Much like Paul, Trip was a brilliant strategist who often employs simple but effective strategies to overwhelm their opponents. His starter happens to be Snivy as well, a regal Unova grass type starter that are known to be very powerful and speedy, which made the already arrogant trainer even more headstrong and narcissistic.

All and all, Ash was not looking forward to be the opponent of these two strong trainers who take pleasure in destroying their opponents, and trash talking them soon after over how bad they are. Just like the typical online multiplayer game experience.

"The battle between Paul Shinji and Trip Shooty will now begin! Go." With the sound of the whistle blown, the two trainers immediately ordered a quick and powerful attack, knowing a prolonged battle between two high skilled trainers will result in one of them making a costly mistake. As Ash watched the intense battle between Elekid and Snivy, he noticed that Paul was deliberately stalling Trip out by using Quick Attack as a form of maneuver and evasion, subsequently using the move Charge, over and over again. It dawned on Ash that Paul was bidding his time and intended to bulk up the Special Defense and electric attacks of his Elekid before releasing high voltage of electricity over Snivy, hoping to one shot it completely. While the strategy is brilliant, Ash was concerned over the fact that the strategy could permanently damage Elekid.

'With Grass being resistant to Electric, and the fact all starters have Overgrow. Paul is probably making sure that he one hit KO the Snivy before it had a chance to activate Overgrow and retaliate with it.' Knowing each individual pokemon mechanics and power spikes is crucial to every battle, and Ash was certain Trip caught onto what Paul was planning given how obvious Paul was playing his cards.

Indeed Trip was catching onto to Paul's plan, but seeing the Elekid outspeeding his Snivy was making him panic, causing him to have less time to think and focus. He gritted his teeth when he noticed his Snivy looked visibly tired from missing its Vine Whip attack on Elekid before an idea clicked onto his mind, the cocky smirk plastered on his face immediately alerted Paul that Trip was planning something.

"Snivy growth." Paul scowled, knowing that he was applying pressure onto him. While he could technically knock out Snivy with his Elekid's high voltage attacks that were boosted up by Charge, it was also a very costly move that would cripple Elekid's energy and stamina. The more charged up he is, the more power and energy the electric type has to exert. It didn't help that Snivy can easily used its vines to block the incoming electric attack, receiving minimal damage. So chances are, his Elekid might need to get up close and personal to fire its attack in point black range, which was a perfect strategy given Paul's sadistic nature.

"Elekid Quick Attack into Thundershock." With it's arms rotating rapidly to generate electricity, the speedy pokemon closed in onto his opponent before releasing all of it's stored up energy onto one singular bolt of wicked lightning. Trip widened his eyes and before he could order a counter attack, the blinding streaks of electricity shock his Snivy, sending it flying across the battlefield with swirls in its eyes.

"Snivy is unable battle, Paul Shinji wins the battle." The triumph smirk on Paul's face sent Trip's anger flaring, unable to comprehend how his starter lost to a Elekid. As the two trainer are forced to shake hands for good sportsmanship, anyone who isn't blind could tell Trip wasn't taking the loss too well.

"Not bad Trip, for a rookie. You almost had me worried." The shit eating grin on Paul's face almost made Trip red with unbridle anger. He smacked Paul's hand in a childish manner, causing Brawly to stand up and attempted to shout at Trip when the Unovian started to make his inevitable excuses of why he loss.

"You shut your mouth Paul, you only won because Elekid didn't blow itself out with Charge." As if on queue, Paul's Elekid started to emit wild sparks out of its body before fainting on the ground, marking Ash's worst fear to come true. Paul has overloaded his Elekid with too much electricity, combined with the sudden discharge and the constant Quick Attack assaults that drained the body, it has sent Elekid into a state of chronic fatigue. Brawly realizing the situation quickly dashed to the battlefield, flinching when Elekid's sparks hit his body, sending some jolts down his spine.

"Everyone back up! Hariyama Sand attack on Paul's Elekid." Attempting to control the sparks, Hariyama stuck his palm into the ground and hurled a lob of sand onto the Elekid, nullifying the streaks of electrics completely. Once the situation has settled down, Brawly gave off a relieved sigh before approaching Paul with a less than pleased expression.

"Paul did you know what you have done? A strategy build on Charge and bulking up your attacks is good, but if you do not know the limits of your pokemon, it could permanently damage them completely. You may have won the pokemon battle, but you have failed as a pokemon trainer. At this rate, your Elekid would need to stay at the ICU for a least a few days to inspect for permanent damage." Paul sighed in frustration with his hands in his pockets, displeased at the fact his Elekid would be in intensive care for a few days. The ignorance and lack of guilt from Paul disgust Ash, being Elekid's trainer, Paul should have known that first formed electric types do not have the capacity to store large amount of electricity. So risking the wellbeing of your pokemon just for the sake of winning is not an acceptable behaviour in his book.

"Will he be alright sir?" Paul mustered with little of care he had for his Elekid and spoke in a robotic manner, yet Brawly wasn't oblivious to Paul's tone of genuine concern laced behind his dry and dead voice.

"I don't know. But considering your pokemon is out of commission, you aren't allowed to battle until your partner recovers." The power obsessed trainer widened his eyes before clenching his fist in pure shock.

"What? But-" Brawly gave a stern and intimidating look that frozen the young teen in place, leaving no room for an argument against the usual calm and collected surfing enthusiast of an instructor.

"Those are the rules Paul, I already told all of you on the first day. All of you are responsible for the wellbeing of your pokemon and if they are unable to battle, so are you. Trip bring your Snivy with you, you two are coming with me to see Nurse Joy. Clemont you are in charge as the referee, just go according to the list. If any students step out of line, inform me." The class monitor nodded while pushing up his glasses, he took the list from his teacher and watched as Brawly's Hariyama held Elekid in his arms with Trip and Paul following close behind. With the instructor out of the way, Clemont cleared his throat and assumed his authoritative voice that made him sound more important than he actually was.

"Next battle is between... Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak." The wry smile from Ash couldn't be more obvious, he sighed at the fact he had to face Gary and his Squirtle who has a obnoxious win streak. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and nuzzled him, reassuring him that they would come out victorious. But even with the type advantage by Ash's side, Squirtle's sturdy shell allowed him to shrug off super effective attacks with ease. So in hindsight, the two of them are easily matched in terms of power.

"Well Ashy boy, looks like its about time we battle each other huh." The smug smirk from Gary's face was pissing him off, but he knew it was the mental warfare that Gary was using just to throw him off. His Squirtle jumped onto the battlefield, grinning at his Pikachu who's cheeks sparkled with electricity with an unamused expression on his face. The young Ketchum distinctly remember how Barry lost to Garry despite having a water type starter as well. The lack of a good move coverage and poorly made decisions costed Barry the fight, resulting in Gary taunting him with how much better he is compared to him. What a dick.

"Trainers, get ready." Glancing at bench, he could see the majority of the class were rooting for Gary which wasn't surprising given how popular he is and the fact Gary's Squirtle KD ratio was much higher than his. Though in the corner of his eyes, he could see his close friends Barry, Misty and Dawn rooting for him, which admittedly filled him with much needed confidence. Ash had only one battle before this and that was with his classmate Harrison and his loyal Houndour. A close battle considering his Piakchu was poisoned by Smog during the fight, but a combination of Thunder wave and Electro ball managed to seal the deal with Pikachu artificially lowering Houndour's base speed before using Electro ball that deals more damaged based on the user's speed to the target.

In other words, Ash had a pretty cheesy strategy that he can use against any type of pokemon that is not ground or electric.

"Begin!" Instantly, Gary went for a full defensive strategy and order Squirtle to withdraw into the shell. It was very spot on for Gary to wait patiently, only to strike when the oppurtunity present itself with high powered water attacks. It's pretty much like a video game boss fight where you have to wait for an opening to strike and read its attack patterns carefully.

Still, every strategy does have it flaws.

"Pikachu Thunder wave." As expected the attack bounced off Squirtle's hardy shell, leaving him unfazed from the paralysis attack. Furrowing his eyebrows, Ash studied his choice when Gary ordered a Water Gun attack which Pikachu easily dodged due to the stationary nature of Squirtle. That inaction from Squirtle gave Ash a brilliant idea.

"Pikachu dance on Squirtle's shell." Such command drew reaction from his classmates who were intrigued, confused and curious over what Ash was planning. Gary himself seemed to not believe his orders and watched as a little electric rodent dance on top of his starter's shell in an adoring manner. The little footwork Pikachu did was annoying his starter, to the point where it would start to disobey his commands and use an attack on his own if Gary doesn't respond to the situation immediately.

"What are you doing Ash? Squirtle rapid spin." The water type pokemon begin to rotate his shell in a rapid rate, throwing Pikachu off his balance. Such attack was what Ash expected, and immediately decided to taunt his opponent.

"Quick attack around the field." His Pikachu started to run circles around his opponents with Squirtle peering his head out to keep an eye on his opponent. Gary frustrated at how much of a mockery the Pikachu was making fun of his Squirtle started to counter attack with his signature combination.

"Rapid spin and water gun." Spinning his shell around in a horizontal manner, Squirtle began to shoot out high pressure streams of water around, covering the entire battlefield with water puddles. One of the streams managed to hit Pikachu, and caught him off balance, causing him to shake his head from the pain he sustained.

"Pikachu you alright?" A short "pi" from his starter reassured him and once he saw the wet battlefield before him, he knew that the odds was in his favour.

"Pikachu Thunder wave the battlefield." The electrical discharge managed to electrify the waters of battlefield, causing the people on the sideline to flinch from the bright streaks of electricity running through the battlefield. Unfazed by the lightshow, Ash knew that Gary was getting frustrated and worried over the intimidating sight of an electrified field. If Squirtle were to try any close quarter attacks, it would find himself having to endure through the electrified puddles of water he helped created.

"Squirtle bite." With its speed enhanced by rapid spin, Squirtle ran towards Pikachu on all fours, only to step on one of the puddles that paralyzed his body. Perplexed at why Gary didn't maintained his defensive position and charged towards him so recklessly, Ash decided to use Electro ball to cheese him out.

"Electro ball." Gathering particles of electricity by the tip of its tail, Pikachu hurled a medium size electrical orb towards Squirtle who tanked it face first as it could not withdraw into its shell. Seeing Pikachu in such close proximity and Squirtle being on such a low energy, Gary knew that Squirtle's innate Torrent ability would activate at his command.

"Torrent with full power water pulse." Ash widened his eyes when Squirtle's body was covered by a blue aura and a large pulsing blast of water was shot towards Pikachu in the close distance, knocking him out cold immediately. He didn't even have time to order a command since it all happened so quickly.

"Pikachu!" His starter fainted on the battlefield with swirls in his eyes, causing Ash to sigh at his inability to predict such obvious move from Gary. He walked towards his starter and cradled it in his arms, watching Clemont waving the flag to Gary's favour.

"Gary Oak has won the battle." Gary recalled Squirtle and walked towards Ash with a triumph smile plastered on his face. He extended his hand, which caused Ash to raise his eyebrow over his sportsmanship.

"Good one Ashy boy, almost made me panicked there at what you were planning." Ash shook Gary's hand, holding a soaked Pikachu with his other arm that drenched his clothes.

"You too, you knew how to use Torrent well." Gary flipped his hair and tossed his starter's pokeball in the air before catching it again.

"What can I say, I'm the best." With that interaction, Ash watched as Gary walked back to his group of friends who cheered for his victory, while boldly stating that lunch was on him. They left the gym in a crowd like manner while Ash decided to bring Pikachu to the nursery as soon as possible. As he was leaving the battlefield, Misty, Dawn and Barry ran towards him with a concern plastered on their face.

"Is Pikachu okay?" Misty rubbed Pikachu's head, frowning at how roughed up the cute little rodent was in her roommates' arms.

"He's fine, this little trooper just need some rest." He spoke in a soft reassuring voice, surprised by how concerned Misty and Dawn was over his Pikachu. Then again, the two treated their pokemon like kings and queens so it wasn't that surprising.

"You did great Ash, it was really impressive that you managed to bait Gary's Squirtle out by dancing on him." Dancing on top of Gary's Squirtle was to frustrate him and his Squirtle, which worked wonderfully as he responded with his spin to win Water Gun technique, covering the battlefield with water and allowing him used a crappier version of Electric Terrain.

"Yeah well he still beat me though." Barry was about to open his mouth to reassure Ash when Misty spoke before him, patting Ash on his shoulders in a comforting manner which undeniably made Ash's face flushed from the close contact of a pretty girl.

"Nonsense, if Gary didn't had a Torrent boosted Water Pulse, you would have beaten him easily." Torrent is a stupidly broken ability for a Pokemon, but not every regional starter knows how to utilize it to their ability. The fact Gary's Squirtle can use Torrent at will when he is in a dire situation means Gary and Squirtle had perfected their synchronization and technique.

"I guess." Misty sighed at Ash's nonchalant attitude before glancing at the notification she received from her phone.

"Are you heading back home soon? Because I need to attend my swimming club and Dawn has to attend her cheerleading practice." Barry stared at Ash with incredulous eyes, almost as if he was livid at Ash's incredible position. Ash on the other hand was surprised by Dawn joining a cheerleader club, though given her looks and athletics body, he could easily imagine Dawn in her cute cheerleader outfit with pom-poms cheering for him.

Just thinking about it made Ash's sweat.

"You joined a cheerleading club?" Dawn nodded with her arm perched on her waist.

"Mhmm, recently anyway. I figured might as well give it a go you know?" Ash cradled Pikachu and nodded, it was nice that everyone around him found a club to attend. Though the same couldn't be said for him, he hasn't found a single club or curriculum activity that he was interested in.

"I was thinking of dropping Pikachu in the infirmary and then maybe go out for a walk in the park." Dawn raised her eyebrows, Ash going for a walk in the park? She smiled before petting Pikachu's head in a comforting manner, noting that it was time for her to head to her cheerleader practice.

"Alright then, I gotta go now. See ya Ash, bye Pikachu." Dawn waved him off as Misty followed her, wanting to head to her swimming club as well. The redhead gave Pikachu a little poke to his red cheeks with her finger before walking off to her club.

"Bye Misty, bye Dawn." Ash spoke candidly, before his attention was finally shifted to Barry who Ash didn't realize was there in the first place. He thought the eccentric blonde already left with the rest of the class, however seeing Barry with his arm crossed in a grumpy manner meant Barry wasn't having the best time of his life.

"I didn't even have a chance to say anything." Ash chuckled and walked towards the school infirmary with Barry following him in a sulking manner.

"Boo hoo." Barry glared daggers at his friend who seemed to take pleasure at mocking him.

"Man I'm so jealous, you get to see them in their swimsuit and cheerleader outfit." Ash tried his best not to conjure images of Misty and Dawn in their respective outfits, he didn't want to plague his mind with those thought about his roommates.

"Barry for the love of things that is wholesome and pure, please stop saying that." Barry sighed and glanced at his watch before uttering profanities over how late he was.

"Shit, I need to going home now, my dad needs my help with the Battle frontier stuff." Oh yeah, Barry's father is Palmer the Battle Tycoon. An exceptional strong trainer with an impressive roster of strong pokemon in his team, Palmer was a force to be reckon with, especially with his exceptionally strong Rhyperior that decimated its opponents with its high power attacks.

"Say hi to your old man for me will ya?" Barry nodded as he began to pack up his bags from the locker and started to run towards the exit, only to make a wrong turn. Ash sighed at his bumbling airhead of a friend before entering the infirmary, waving hello to the kind nurse who waved back to him. Once he was certain Pikachu was all healed up, Ash left his beloved starter to the care of the nurse. As he exited the school and wandered around the streets of Jubilife city, he stumble upon the city's park that were filled to the brim with dense pine trees and fresh water lakes.

He stuffed his hands in his pocket as he admired the scenery around him, feeling the gentle breeze of brushing across his cheeks. They were people cycling, jogging and socializing around the park, with children laughing and giggling about as they chased each other around the playground. His thoughts were then shifted towards his Pikachu who was in the capable and loving hands of Nurse Joy. According the the pretty nurse, Pikachu would have a speedy recovery as the injuries he sustained were only surface level, breathing much sigh of relief to the young trainer. He frowned momentarily, partly blaming himself for not predicting the Gary's usage of Squirtle's Torrent and causing Pikachu to be hospitalized.

With his thoughts preoccupied with his recent lost and his eyes down on the pavement, Ash was not exactly walking with his eyes forward. As if fate were to take advantage of his carelessness, he heard the sound of skating growing louder and louder by the second. Instinctively, he raised his head up and soon saw long blonde hair and white sporting attire before dodging to the side at the very last moment. He thanked the stars that his time spent on OSU was actually well spent, sharpening his quick reaction skills. With his footing stabilized and the adrenaline rush within him subsiding, Ash looked behind him and paled at the roller skater who skidded across the ground in an attempt to not crash into him.

"Hey! Are you alright?" He quickly ran towards the blonde skater and helped her up as she grimaced at her smooth pale skin that scrapped against the surface of the ground, though fortunately it did not drew blood as the pavement of the park was smooth and she cushioned her fall by falling down correctly.

"I'm sorry, I should have watched where I was going." The blonde before him brushed off the dirt from her clothes, shaking her head in the process.

"No no, it's my fault. I shouldn't being skating so fast, kinda lost myself there when I felt the breeze of the wind hehe." She spoke in an apologetic manner and as her eyes met Ash, she smiled at the familiarity before skating closer to Ash which made him a little embarrassed by how close the pretty blonde was to him.

"Oh hey you're Ash right? The guy who fought Gary Oak?" Ash slowly nodded, staring into her pale grayish eyes that were akin to the colour of a cloudy thunderstorm. He glanced at her slender figure for the briefest of moments before continued his sentence to avoid being caught redhanded.

"Yeah and you're Korrina right? The trainer with the Riolu?" Korrina proudly nodded with her hands on her waist, she took off her skating helmet revealing her long flowing blonde hair that was all tied up into a ponytail.

"Mhmm, that's me! You're really impressive you know that? I never seen anyone give Gary a panic attack before during the pokemon battles." Ash rubbed the back of his neck, he would have normally took the compliment in stride but considering his friend was in the school infirmary because of him, he wasn't feeling it.

"Well he still won." Korrina crossed her arms, staring at the boy before her who wore a long sleeve blue jacket with a black shirt underneath. The jacket itself had a white collar and white cuffs around it, making it seemed more sportier and sharper. Staring down to his pants, he wore a pair of long black jeans and a pair of red and black sneakers. All in all, Korrina was liking the look of her classmate who had unruly black hair and soft hazel eyes that showed his compassion and care for pokemon.

"All because of Torrent." Deja vu? Ash had heard this before.

"Funny, my friends say the same thing. But thanks though, appreciate it. Are you okay though? Are you sure you're hurt or anything?" Korrina shook her head, the little scraps she had weren't that serious. Give it a few days and her wounds would be fully healed.

"Nah I'm fine, these wounds are small fry. But I should probably stop skating so fast, don't want to cause another accident now do we?" She chuckled while rubbing her back, seemingly reflecting Ash whenever he was embarrassed.

"Yeah, just be careful. I saw your battles too, you and that Riolu of yours are really in sync." Korrina's eyes perked up, smiling at the mention of her beloved Riolu who she loved dearly.

"Aww thanks, I try to bond with him as much as possible. I suppose the aura that binds our friendship together makes us stronger as a team." Ash crossed his arms as the two slowly walked, well skate for Korrina anyway. He remember vividly from the stories he used to read as a child that the Lucario line are known for their usage of aura, a type of life force that binds everything around us.

"That's great to hear." Korrina stared at Ash with concerned eyes, noting that he seemed dejected. She skated in front of Ash and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, which surprised Ash considering she was being so nice to a stranger.

"You alright? You seemed out of it."

"I'm fine, I'm just- it's nothing." Korrina frowned before smiling in a comforting manner, punching his shoulder lightly.

"Nothing is always something as my grandpa will say. Come on say it out, it might help you feel better." Ash sighed, rubbing his shoulders where Korrina punched him. He collected his thoughts for a brief moment, wondering why was he was dwelling with the lost that he already he knew it would inevitably happen.

"I'm still blaming myself for losing to Gary, I should had predicted that he would used Torrent at the very last second. In a sense, its my fault for causing Pikachu to be hospitalized." Korrina nodded, realizing that Ash wasn't mad at losing. He was blaming himself that he caused Pikachu to be hurt because of his own inabilities.

"Listen, pokemon trainers lose all the time. You did great against Gary and you shouldn't blame yourself for losing, Pikachu won't like that you know? All pokemon has the natural instinct to fight others to prove their strength, Pikachu would recover just fine! Train a little harder and work together to find out your weaknesses and strengths, and you can do anything!" The upbeat tone from Korrina was certainly inspiring and effective to say the least, Ash's lips slowly curled up to a smile with renewed confidence, knowing that he merely need to improve his battle tactics with his Pikachu.

"Thanks Korrina, you sure know how to cheer people up huh." Korrina grinned with her pearl white teeth were up to display.

"Ehehe, my grandpa always say that about me." Speaking fondly of her grandfather, Korrina did a little twirl with her roller skates, revealing her creamy pair of arms that spun around in the air. Such enthusiasm and carefreeness from the blonde really made her more attractive, in addition to her already amazing looks.

"Your grandpa is right about that. Ah looks like it going to rain, I see you tomorrow then?" Noting the clouds above them were getting dark and darker, Ash stared back at Korrina's gray pale eyes and found himself comparing it to the stormy weather that would soon engulf them. The gentle breeze earlier were replaced with howling winds that kicked up the fallen leaves from the ground, with many of the parkgoers already disappearing from their sight.

"Sure, bye Ash!" Ash waved to Korrina as she donned her helmet, with every intent to skate back to her home before the rain falls.

"Bye Korrina." Watching the girl skate off into the distance, Ash hasten his footsteps back to his apartment, dearly hoping that he could collect his clothes that were still hung outside of the balcony before the storm comes for him.


"Weak." A slender teenager with gray hair stared at Korrina with eyes of disappointment, almost as if she was mocking her ability as a trainer. Her fighting stance was her signature battle pose, intimidating to even the roughest of ruffians. Her calm yet callous demeanor was fitting for a crime lord and less for a young teenager who was attending school. Her skintight black bodysuit showed much of her curves and abs that indicated her strict discipline and resolve as a trainer.

Korrina bit her lower lip, her arms reaching for her Riolu who was roughed up by her opponent's Clobbopus. She gently patted his head, while staring at her opponent in the eyes.

"That was a good battle." Her emotionless opponent narrowed her eyes, recalling her Cobbopus before crossing her arms pure in arrogance and spite.

"Good battle? It was a landslide victory, you're pathetic as a trainer and this Riolu chose you? Such wasted potential." The class was completely silent, feeling nothing by sympathy towards Korrina who has been decimated by her opponent. The roller skating enthusiast herself lowered her head, with her high spirits and confidence that she was normally associated with shattered. She stared at her wounded Riolu and felt utterly disappointed at herself for failing to utilize Riolu to his fullest potential.

Amidst the awkward tension in the gym, a middle aged man who wore a pair of blue long sleeve shirt and pants with orange patterns started to shook Brawly's shoulder who simply sat on the gymnasium bench with his arms crossed, observing the situation before him in dead silence, akin to the calm seas at night.

"Brawly, you're going to say anything? Bea being pretty harsh on that Korrina girl." Brawly glanced at his colleague, Crasher Wake who seemed concerned over his student's attitude towards her opponents. While she is an exceptionally gifted trainer who is well versed in training fighting type pokemon, her lack of sportsmanship and rude bluntness had made her very difficult to handle and even despised by her fellow classmates. Brawly sighed, wondering if every gifted student he had all turned to be egotistical and cocky trainers. Power does that to people, even at such a young age, it was horrifying in all honesty. As Brawly was about to stand up and give Bea and firm lecture, his sharp Braviary eyes caught wind of one of his student who seemed to had enough of Bea's attitude.

"No need to, seems like someone else is going to take my place." Brawly smiled to himself when he saw one of his students walked up to the battlefield and stood in front of Korrina, almost in a defensive manner. The body language of his student suggested that he was going to give a hell of lecture to Bea, to which made Brawly refrain from stepping in. After all, a firm lecture from your teacher is expected when you step out of line, but to receive one from your classmates? That leaves a bigger impact.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" Korrina widened her eyes when Ash started to shout at her opponent, standing up for her in the process. She attempted to cool the situation down, not wanting it to escalate to a full blown conflict between the two, but anyone could tell the trainer from Pallet was having none of it.

"Ash!" Ash flashed a reassuring smile to Korrina which admittedly did made her face flushed in red, a mixture of embarrassment and gratitude roll into one.

"Who are you-" Bea wasn't expecting this, she personally never knew Ash other than some kid with a Pikachu. So it surprised her when one of her classmates that she never interacted with, started to step in and raise his voice against her.

"You already won your battle, there's no need to humiliate your opponent and belittle them in front of the entire class. Her Riolu chose her because he deemed her worthy to be her trainer, that she showed compassion and kindness. I seen the way you battle, you're so obsessed with defeating your opponents that you have complete disregard to your own pokemon's safety." Clobbopus's tentacles are known to be easily tear off during the heat of the battle and while it does grow back quickly, the pain of losing your limbs one by one when fighting against a pokemon is still painful. Despite witnessing Bea battling a few times only, Ash had seen how rudely she treated her opponent, casting them off as nothing but a trivial nuisance to her. Normally, it won't have bother Ash as much, if it weren't for the fact Bea was humiliating Korrina in front of everyone in class on purpose. And that, was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back.

"My job as a pokemon trainer is to beat my opponents, who are you to give me a lecture over what I can or cannot do?" Witnessing the two trainers trading barbs and words, Misty attempted to walk to the battlefield to pull Ash out when Dawn stopped her, giving her a firm stare in process. For the blunette, she knew Ash was very passionate when it comes to the etiquette of pokemon battles, and it was perhaps his way of reminding everyone in class that winning isn't everything.

"Because I care! If you are so obsessed with strength and defeating your opponents for your own self gratification and pleasure, trash talking them soon after to reassure your own insecurities and weaknesses, then why not join Team Rocket or Team Galactic? They love power hungry trainers who care nothing but winning-" To see the normally calm and nonchalant Ash Ketchum shouting out his pent up rage was surprising and horrifying to say the least, perhaps the saying "beware the anger of a gentle man" was accurate, because Ash looked bloody angry.

"Don't you dare compare me to those sick criminals! I'm not like them-"

"Really, because all you seemed to care is beating others and lower their sense of self-worth and esteem just to make yourself feel better, just like a bully to which coincidentally, is what those criminals are! Where is your sense of kindness-"

"The only thing that matters in this world is power, principle and kindness can only be built on the foundation of strength." Ash was flabbergasted by that mentality, pondering how many people in this world really hold to that belief as an excuse for their own personal agenda.

"If everyone has that mentality, we might as well let the world be ruled by tyrants and dictators by the likes of you." Brawly grimaced, knowing that Ash hit the nail on the head when Bea started to lose her temper and composure. Perhaps Ash was being too harsh on the fighting type trainer, but Brawly also knew that some of his words hold some truths to it.

"You!-" Seeing that Bea was almost close to a complete break down, Brawly decided to intervene before the situation escalate into something far worse and ugly.

"Alright, alright calmed down. Korrina, you did great with your Riolu, that Force palm technique was really impressive! You really improved from the last session. So keep it up! Bea, this is just a pokemon battle between two classmates, not in a World Tournament where the eyes of the world are on you. So take it easy alright?" The offhand comment about the pressure Bea was under caught Ash's attention, he thought about what he instructor meant about that before it dawned on him that perhaps the pressure and upbringing by her parents might had shape her into who she is today. It made him feel guilty that he didn't consider Bea's environment growing up, but that did not justify her trashing her opponents after defeating them. As Ash looked around him, he could feel the eyes of the entire class piercing his skull with even the notorious smug Gary, glancing at him in a seemingly newfound light.

"Class is dismissed, see all of you next week and enjoy your weekend." Brawly clapped his hands, watching the students leaving with their pokeballs in their hands as they release them into their respective pokemon enclosures. He glanced back at Bea and saw her stomping off with her gym bag slung across her shoulder, with a deeply conflicted look on her face. It was undoubtable that Ash's words had a profound impact on her, he dearly hope that it did not effect her too much. Underneath the tough exterior, Brawly knew Bea was just a fragile soul who is always under the immense pressure to perform well.

"Ash, hey." With most of their classmates gone, Korrina walked towards Ash with a gentle and relaxed expression on her face, struggling to find the right words to speak to the boy who stood up for her in front of the entire class.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that but-" Ash spoke in a embarrassed manner, now only realizing that what he did was considered very embarrassing to both himself and Korrina. In the heat of the moment, he had completely forgo his fear of standing out in class and started to spout on whatever nonsense he was saying. Internally, Ash screamed at himself at what the hell was he doing, this was not the plan. All he wanted was to lay low in school with his head down, yet today he done the exact opposite and had drawn so much attention of himself.

"It's fine, thank you for standing up for me. I honestly don't know how to respond to that." Korrina spoke in a quiet tone, noticing that a few people were still in the gymnasium. She noted that they those people were always with Ash, which confirm her suspicions that they were his close friends.

"I'm just sick and tired of seeing people humiliating others just for the moment of glory, just to keep their fragile ego in check. A win is a win, there's no need to rub salt to the wound." Seeing his classmate trash talking to their opponents over how bad they were compared to them gave him flashback to the typical online multiplayer experience. But this is the real world, where such toxicity is not necessary and can really hurt others.

"I did lose pretty bad to her." Korrina spoke in a dejected and upset tone, which made Ash sigh and clasped her bare shoulder with his arms, ignoring the fact he was feeling Korrina's soft and supple shoulders and the fact he was touching a girl. To which he brain started to scream at him over what the hell was he doing.

"Hey, hey. Remember what you told me the first time we met? Pokemon trainers lose all the time, don't give into the despair and train harder with your Riolu. You will beat Bea next time!" Noticing her face flushed from the close proximity between them, Ash let go off Korrina and distanced himself from her, dearly hoping that he didn't creep her out or made her uncomfortable.

"Thanks Ash, I really appreciate it." Korrina spoke in a soft tone that was filled with genuine gratitude, combined with that soft expression on her face that made Ash feel more important than he actually is, he knew he did the right thing. The beeping noise from Korrina's watch broke the mood, causing her to sigh inwardly before smiling at Ash.

"I have to go now, I need to meet up with a friend of mine. Thank you Ash, I will let you pet Riolu next time!" Carrying her wounded starter in her arms, Korrina waved good bye to Ash as she ran towards the infirmary room, leaving Ash standing in the empty battlefield alone like an idiot.

"That, was intense." Ash jumped back slightly when Barry suddenly spoke, not realizing that Korrina and him weren't entirely alone in the gym. Misty and Dawn were even standing next to Barry, staring at Ash with a seemingly proud look on their face.

"Yeah." He attempted to make the matter look trivial, but he could tell what he did just now changed his friends' perception and opinion of him.

"Its cute though, standing up for Korrina like that." Dawn teased him, secretly wondering if her roommate had a crush on the Kalos native. She could see them dating though, given their personality seemed to click well with each other with Korrina's spunky energy meshed well with Ash casual and calm demeanor.

"I do consider her as a friend, so naturally I will defend her." To be fair, he wasn't sure if Korrina consider him a friend. They only interacted once when they bumped into each other in the park. But even if she doesn't consider him a friend, the little pep talk she gave him was more than enough to solidify their friendship in Ash's eyes.

"That's so sweet of you Ash." Misty spoke in an adoring manner, feeling proud of her friend who would stand up for others. The redhead herself wasn't sure if she had the courage to stand up for her close friends in the eyes of the public, so to see someone as introverted as Ash to throw away caution and pride so publicly was inspiring to her.

"By the way, May invited Misty and I out for a movie, do you want to join?" Dawn perked up, holding her phone up that showed the picture of movie. Ash rubbed the back of his neck when he noted Barry's stare of death that was filled with envy and jealousy, he ignored the blonde's eyes of desperation and shook his head, declining the invitation.

"Nah its, have fun though." Ash grimaced internally when he saw Dawn and Misty looked visibly disappointed, maybe he should have went with them? Was it really important to have him there?

"Alright then, see ya later." Watching his two roommates walking off in the distance, Ash turned to Barry with a deadpanned look, knowing what was coming next.

"Why? You get to hangout with 3 hot girls!" Ash was certain that Misty and Dawn already friendzone him from the start, seeing him only as a friend and roommate only, and to be honest, he was perfectly fine with that so as long they can be close friends. So he never attempted anything on them.

"I'm not feeling it, besides May and Drew is too much for me." The couple were great at dragging Ash into situations and parties where he hated. As the two teenager converse about random and trivial topics and exited the school grounds, they walked towards the stone staircase of the local library near their school and sat down, waiting for Tracy to exit the library.

"So I was thinking that the three of us can hangout during the weekends, you know fun times with the boys." Ash smiled in amusement, thinking about the various wacky yet undeniably memorable situations they would be involve in. The last time the 3 of them hangout with each other was last year, in their local IKEA store fooling around with the different furniture and comfy beds. With the two friends continuing to discuss what they should do over the weekends, Ash felt someone blocking the sunlight that was shone on him. He glanced up and saw Bea standing in front of him with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Uh, hi." Ash spoke weakly, not sure what Bea wants to do with him. If she wanted to have a fight with him face to face, he would most definitely lose. Bea is well trained in martial arts with the physical body that will even make the most dedicated bodybuilders green with envy. So he hoped that she wasn't about to whoop his ass in the public, though he knew he had it coming given he just scolded and humiliated her in front the class.

"I would like to battle you." Bea spoke in an uncharacteristically humble and soft tone, whereas her usual tone would be nothing short of demanding and harsh.

"Look, I'm sorry for being harsh-" Ash spoke in a calm voice, hoping to calm the situation down. He wasn't afraid of losing, nor is he looking to win against Bea just to rub it in her face. He just want to forget what happened and avoid making enemies with anyone in general. Barry on the other hand was frightened at the towering sight of Bea, wondering if Ash would meet his demise today.

"I would like to battle you, please." Seeing Bea swallowing her pride and pleading him, Ash stared at her for the briefest of moments, before standing up with a calm and serious expression plastered on his face.

"Alright." Bea's lips curled up slightly, nodding to Ash in the process. The two trainers descended the stairs and head back towards the school, with Barry sitting there with a bewildered expression on his face.

"Can I come watch-"

"No." Ash shouted as he continued to walk next to Bea, not wanting Barry to intrude their battle, knowing full well that Bea wanted their battle to be in private.


"The battle between Bea Saitou and Ash Ketchum will now commence. Trainers, get ready." Brawly shouted as he stood next to the battlefield with two red flags in his hands. He was surprised when Bea and Ash approached him and asked his permission to battle each other, thinking that they were trying to settle their feud. But once he realized what was happening, he knew that the battle was intended to set their differences aside and get to know each other. After all, in the world of martial arts, there is a saying.

You don't truly know someone until you fight them.

"Begin!" Immediately, Ash ordered Pikachu to use Thundershock to wear Clobbopus down. He knew from his studies that Clobbopus has Limber, so he can't rely on paralysis to win his battle. So hit and run tactics and slowly wearing the fighting type down overtime is the only way to secure his victory.

"Detect." The get-out-of-jail card for all fighting types, Clobbopus managed to dodge the attack with ease, glaring at Pikachu who seemed unfazed by his act of intimidation. Ash pondered his options, he would need bait Bea to use Detect consecutively and strike when the move fails, but that would be relying on luck, something which Ash knew he didn't really have.

"Leer." With a glint in his eyes, Clobbopus leered towards Pikachu, substantially lowering his guard and resistance to physical attacks. Ash smiled wryly, now his Pikachu really can't afford to get caught by the fighting type.

"Double Team." Pikachu started to make ninjutsu hand signs, taught by his weeb of a trainer himself. Within seconds, fake copies of Pikachu started to appear around the battlefield, staring at Clobbopus who was surprised and maybe confused over the sheer number of Pikachus on the battlefield. Such confusion on Clobbopus gave Ash an idea, as he was reminded that Clobbopus aren't the most intelligent species of pokemon and heavily rely on their trainer to give instructions.

"Rock smash on the ground." Slamming its strong tentacles onto the ground, the shockwave from the Rock smash send echoes towards the battlefield, causing Pikachu's clones to disappear with each shockwave hitting them.

"Quick attack around the field." With a dozen of Pikachu running in different directions, the yellow blurs around the battlefield started to confuse Bea and Ash himself who lost track of where's his starter is. Clobbopus looked around his surroundings, his mind unable to comprehend and track the movement of all the Pikachu.

"Waterfall around the field." Ash widened his eyes, surprised when Clobbopus started to charge around the battlefield engulf with the power of a crashing waterfall. It knocked off all the fake Pikachu out of existence, and finally hitting the real copy of Pikachu that sent him flying. With his defenses already lowered, Ash knew his injured Pikachu can't afford another direct hit.

"Pikachu, Thundershock across the field." Pikachu placed his paws on his cheeks, releasing large bolts of electricity across the field, discharging high voltage of electricity across the field filled with puddles of water. Bea cursed, realizing she made a mistake that in her attempt to clear out all of the Pikachu clones, she has turned the battlefield into Ash's advantage.

"Clobbopus high power Rock smash on the ground." With the force akin to a titan, Clobbopus slammed the ground in front of him, clearing and dispersing all the water around him. This served the purpose of preventing Pikachu's attacks from conducting the puddles of water in the battlefield, which effectively allowed Clobbopus to close in on him again.

"Quick attack into him." Bea was surprised by Ash's commands, wondering why would he fight her head on in close quarters. She watched as the electric rodent charged towards her partner, and waited for the right moment to strike. As she about to command a Bind attack to entangle Pikachu, Ash quickly changed his command given that his starter was ramping his speed bit by bit.

"Electro ball." It was too late, Bea couldn't order a Detect as Ash baited her into thinking he would use a close quarter attack. With the velocity of the Electro ball boosted by his enhanced speed, the giant ball of electro energy hit Clobbopus in point blank range, knocking him out directly.

"Bea's pokemon is unable to battle, Ash wins." Brawly shouted, impressed that Ash managed to fake his attacks to fool Bea. He watched at Bea ran towards her Clobbopus and held the octopus pokemon in her arms, praising it for its efforts before recalling it back to his pokeball.

"Good job Pikachu." Rubbing his worn out starter's head, Ash turned to Bea and saw the same unreadable expression on her face when she first ask him for a battle. He approached her cautiously, hoping that she took the loss well.

"Bea?" Seeing her in pure silence made Ash panic, he quickly formed sentences in his mind, finding the right words to cheer her up.

"You know, I almost had a heart attack when your Clobbopus used Waterfall, its something that I didn't expect hehe." Still nothing, she just stared at the ground before her, not even looking at him. Ash sighed, running a hand through his hair as his starter started to nuzzle his cheeks in attempt to calm him down.

"Hey, are you alright?" Deciding to be forefront and direct, Ash stood closer to her, hoping that she finally replies him. Even if its an outburst or a slap, he just wanted Bea to reply to him. Brawly who noted the tension and the sudden eye contact from Bea, made him realized that she wanted to talk to Ash in private to which he immediately stood up.

"I'm going to washroom." Brawly spoke somewhat awkwardly, exiting the gym as Ash stared at him in a confused manner, only to have his instructor giving him hand signals, asking him to talk to her to which Ash gave his instructor a firm affirmative nod. Once they were alone, Bea walked towards the bench and sat down on it, seemingly ushering Ash to do the same, which he did.

"I'm so weak." Surprised by her confession, Ash let Pikachu curled onto his lap as he rubbed his starter's back softly, feeling its soft fur on his fingertips.

"What are you talking about? You did great! I lucked out with Double team." It was true, Pikachu recently learnt Double Team after playing hide and seek with the other pokemon in the ranch. So it came to Ash's surprise when he saw 8 Pikachu's waving at him in an adoring manner, only for Nurse Joy to chuckle at his confusion.

"Every time I lose, I felt the need to train more. To push my pokemon beyond their limits, even if it means their body can't handle it. You were right when you said I disregard my pokemon's feelings-"

"What I said was too harsh, I didn't mean to compare you to the horrible criminals. You love your pokemon and I know that, more importantly your pokemon knows that too. I was out of line and I said somethings that aren't meant to be said. I'm sorry." Bea glanced at Ash and could tell he was sincere about his apology, she smiled before staring at the glass sliding door that led to the Pokemon ranch.

"No, you're right. I only care about winning, all I care about is being the best, to the point where I would disregard the feelings of others. Sooner or later, my obsession of winning would make me a horrible person, not that I'm not already." Past images of her talking smack to trainers losing to her, mocking them and lowering their self-worth popped up into her mind. Now, experiencing what its like on the receiving end, she realize that her actions were harsh and evil to some extent.

"You're a kind person Bea, don't think like that." Bea ignored Ash's words, knowing that he said that just to make her feel better.

"Ever since I was a young girl, my parent wanted me is to be the best. My dad always expected me to conquer others, that emotions are a hindrance to our goals and that failure is not an option. I guess that's why I'm the way I am." Ash sighed, it was as he expected. Bea's parents are the reason why she's so obsessed with winning, to make her think that winning is the only thing that matters in this world.

"Your father's inability to become the best has made him force his own ambitions onto you, placing the pressure and responsibility to you." Bea turned to Ash with a bewildered expression, not believing that Ash bluntly saying what she secretly thought about her father all these years. She made no attempt to correct him or defend her father, feeling shocked and maybe flattered that Ash understood her despite their rough and short time they knew each other.

"Listen, I know its hard to change that mentality, but losing is part of the learning process, to know your mistakes and never repeating them. You are your own person, your father does not rule your life. Open up a little Bea, winning is not everything." Ash spoke in a soft and gentle tone, yet there was a hint of strength and wisdom behind it. All of the characteristics, which was the core philosophy of martial arts.

"You're right, there's life other than winning pokemon battles right?" Ash nodded, he used to be like Bea as well, thinking that becoming a trainer and defeating his opponents is the only thing that matters. Until he discovered anime and doujins, then it all went downhill there.

"Of course! Go discover what the world has to offer, don't pidgeyhole yourself." Explore what the world have to see and step out of your comfort zone, something Ash says to others yet never applied that rule to himself, quite hypocritical if he had to be honest.

"Thank you for showing me humility Ash. When you said that I lower the self-esteem of others to hide my own insecurities, I felt that you know? I'm so scared of losing that I-" Ash stopped her, knowing that she had trouble opening up her fears and insecurities to others. She barely knew him and he didn't want to pressure her to make her think she needs to.

"Hey, it's alright. You're not the only one who is at the wrong here, the things I said were pretty rough. Friends?" Standing upright, Ash extended his hand to Bea, hoping to become friends with her and help her change her perception of Pokemon battles. He knew that Bea didn't have much friends herself due to her secluded and serious nature, so chances are, he was her first genuine friend in this school too.

"Friends!" She flashed a smile which dare he say looked cute. With the confidence he gathered from living with two girls, Ash decided to tease Bea to draw a reaction from her.

"See? Smile more, you look cuter that way." The flushed cheeks from Bea's face made Ash smile internally with Pikachu giving his thumps up in agreement with his trainer's statement.

"Ash!" The Kuudere girl archetype has always been one of Ash's favourite, though he refrained from saying that out loud to avoid giving Bea the wrong idea.

"Hehe, being honest." Bea punched his shoulders lightly, reminiscing of Korrina who did the same to him a few days ago. Glancing at his phone, Ash received a not-so shocking message from Barry that Tracy and him were tired of waiting for him, and have decided to have lunch without him. By sheer luck and not because Bea was curious over Ash's personal life since they become newfound friends, she managed to sneak a peak onto Ash's messages before a thought popped into her head. She placed her hands behind her waist and glanced to the side, attempting to speaking in a nonchalant manner.

"Say, do you eat desserts?" Ash blinked, glancing at Bea who seemed to avoid her eye contact on him. He off his phone and placed it in his pockets before nodding slowly.

"I do have the occasional sweet tooth." Bea smiled before placing her hands on her hips, accentuating her curves.

"I know a cafe that sells tasty pastries and cakes, do you want to join me for lunch? I-If you want of course." Ash scratched the back of his neck, was she asking him out for lunch? He glanced at Bea and could tell she was as embarrassed as he was, perhaps even more. Still, the fact she was nice enough to ask him out for desserts was a nice gesture and a great start to their friendship.

"Uh sure." Smiling to the trainer from Pallet, the two exited the gym with their respective starters inside their pokeballs. As they walked towards the infirmary to heal up Bea's Clobbopus, they ran into their instructor.

"Hi Mr Brawly." Ash waved hello to his instructor who waved back, noticing that the two were standing together rather closely. He observed their body language and could tell any bad blood between them were now gone.

"Oh hi, did you two settle it?" Referring to their conflict with each other, Brawly crossed his arms and spoke in calm tone.

"Yeah, we did. I'm sorry for my behavior Mr Brawly, I promise I would never do it again." Bea spoke in an earnest tone, which reassured Brawly that one of his star students had decided to change her attitude for the good. Despite her foul nature towards others, he never lectured her or harshly scolded her, knowing full well her parents was responsible for this. While he should have firmly told her off as a teacher, he also knew any more public pressure to Bea and she might just crack.

"Apology accepted, just know that you are fighting against your classmates, not the World Championship alright?" Again with the emphasis on the World Championship, it seemed that Brawly knew Bea's struggle and pressure she faced far better than Ash thought.

"Noted sir." Glancing at their pokeballs, Brawly extended his hand.

"Here you two can give me your pokeballs, I'm about to head to the infirmary anyway." Giving their prized partner to their instructor, Brawly nodded and smiled at the two.

"Thank you sir." Seeing the two walking off together, Brawly was curious over where the two are going. Sure, they settled their differences with each other, but to go off together? That's interesting.

"Where are you two going if you don't mind me asking?"

"We're going to a cafe that Bea recommended." Brawly grinned, seeing Bea's embarrassed expression on her face that she tried so hard to mask. Very little people knew Bea's love for sweets and delicate desserts, so for Bea to bring Ash to her favourite cafe so quickly, Brawly knew Ash had a profound impact to Bea.

"Oh, by all means go ahead." The teasing tone of Brawly's voice only made Bea blushed even more.


"So Ash how do you find the desserts?" Bea spoke as she scoop a small part of her sundae, watching Ash munching onto his crepes He nodded his head in delight as he felt the fragrant chocolate filling his mouth, akin to the typical food connoisseurs you see on the TV.

"This is amazing, the crepes are so soft and the chocolate within it has the right amount of sweetness. It's like a symphony of excellence, yeah, I don't know it just taste good." Bea held back a chuckle when Ash try to explain the taste of the crepes like a food critic, failing miserably in the process.

"Mhmm, I'm glad you like it, I come here quite often." Ash could tell, considering Bea paid their meal with the membership card she had for the restaurant, the points she collected were insane to say the least.

"Really? I hope you get that sweet tooth of yours under control." Bea stared at Ash with an unamused look, not liking that he was lecturing her over unhealthy hobby so quickly.

"Hey! I do exercise quite often, besides this place is like my escape." Bea looked around the quaint cafe that was beautifully decorated and adorned as she leaned her cheek to the palm of her hand. Ash sipped on his hot Earl grey tea, noticing that Bea was very fond of this place and was even emotionally attach to it. Perhaps, amidst the tough exterior she has to maintain in the outside world, she can be a little child here in this cafe, all carefree and happy. Ash sighed inwardly, now he felt real bad shouting at her. As his crepes crumbled to his shoddy cutting skills, Ash noticed a familiar looking white helmet on one of the table behind Bea. He stood up and was pleasantly surprised to find the person sitting on that table.

"Hey that's Korrina." Ash pointed behind Bea, causing the gray haired teenager to looked behind her and paled at the sight of the person she mocked earlier. She quickly turned back to her sundae, hoping that Korrina wouldn't noticed her, though given her distinct clothing and hairstyle, it was not hard to spot her from a distance.

"Let's say hi." Bea dropped her spoon on the table, glancing at Ash who smiled at her, knowing what he was planning to do.

"Uh-"

"Come on, let's go say hi, you can apologize to her." Bea shook her head, she wasn't sure she can muster up the courage to apologize to Korrina. Her pride and the fear of Korrina not accepting her apology was given her anxiety, though she tried her best not to show it.

"What if she hates me?" Ash caught the moment of vulnerability in Bea's voice and started to speak in a reassuring and soft tone. Despite the limited short time he knew Korrina, he knew she was a nice person who has a big heart.

"She's not spiteful girl, come on let's go say hi and apologize. She won't mind, come on." Without giving Bea any chance to come up with a rebuttal, Ash grasped Bea's arm and pulled her towards Korrina and her friend who were chatting away happily. Despite Bea's strength is stronger than Ash's, she found herself being dragged by Ash to Korrina, not that she was resisting him anyway.

"Hey Korrina!" The blonde from Kalos glanced towards Ash, smiling brightly once she noticed him. Her friend next to her caught Ash's attention as she was a rather pretty girl. She had long honey blonde hair and an impressive size bust. Her sleeves black shirt and red mini skirt fitted her wonderfully. Still, Ash's priority was to get Bea to apologize to Korrina, and not staring at girls.

"Hi Ash! Oh uh, hi Bea." Ash nudged the Galar native, ushering her to apologize to her. Reluctantly, Bea spoke in a small quiet tone, hoping to seek Korrina's forgiveness.

"Korrina, what I did today was not acceptable. I would like to apologize for my behaviour, please forgive me!" She bowed in full 90 degrees angle, which surprised Korrina and her friend. The roller skating enthusiast waved her hands in the air out of sheer panic, causing Ash to chuckle at how cute she was.

"Its fine, its fine! Apology accepted!" Perhaps it was the fact they were in public, but Korrina doesn't like it when someone apologize to her in such an earnest manner, it felt wrong in some ways.

"Thank you." Bea spoke softly, perhaps the first time in ever she openly apologize to someone. It was a hard thing to do, swallowing her pride and admitting her mistakes, yet she knew it was the bravest thing she ever done despite the many intense training sessions with her fighting type pokemon.

"Ah let me introduce you, this is Serena, the friend I mentioned earlier Ash." Turning his attention towards Ash, Korrina introduced her friend to the Kanto native who waved to her. He wasn't sure why he wasn't that nervous when talking to girls anymore, maybe it was the fact he lived with two girls for a week or two. Either way, Ash was growing more confident socializing with others, not at the casanova level, but enough to not make him looked like a social outcast.

"Hi Ash."

"Hi Serena." Still, he's ability to start conversation with a complete stranger was still horrible. With the awkward silence setting in already, Ash decided to take charge of the situation and help Bea out in making more friends, knowing that she can turned to others for help if needed. There's no need for her to handle everything alone, especially when it comes to their school work.

Arceus forbid the free-riders during group assignments.

"Say can we join you? We just started eating and the table we had seemed a bit too big for the two of us." Bea glanced at Ash, wondering what the hell is he doing. He shot her a reassuring look, knowing that things would go smoothly for them.

"Sure I don't mind, do you Serena?" Korrina nodded, realizing Ash's efforts to forge new friendships for others to which she admire wholeheartedly. She too want to introduce Serena to Ash and Bea, though didn't know how to do so in a natural way.

"Not at all." With Serena's approval, Ash and Bea carefully moved their pastries and desserts towards Korrina and Serena's table and while initially the mood was awkward and silent, the brief mention of pokemon caused the two respective fighting type trainers to bond over their roster of fighting types.

"You have a Machoke and Mienfoo at home? That's so impressive!" Bea spoke as she stared at Korrina in full admiration, not realizing that the trainer she beat actually had quite the array of pokemon at her home.

"Ehehe not really, the pokemon I owned is technically my grandpa's. You have so many fighting types too, I always wanted to own a Hawlucha." Korrina spoke as she split her chocolate ice cream apart on her waffle.

"I want to become a Fighting type champion, it was my father's hope that I become one but now-" Bea glanced at Ash who felt the spotlight and eyes of 3 beautiful girls on him, he slowly sipped on his tea giving a "what" look on his face.

"I want to become a Fighting type champion for myself." The Kanto native smiled at her words, glad that Bea is making decision's for herself instead of father's wishes. He didn't blame her old man for wanting Bea to be the best, but casting your own failures to your own child and expect them to be the best for your own sake was too much for Ash.

"That so inspiring, I want to take over my grandfather as a gym leader in Shalour city." Bea blinked, surprised that Korrina's grandfather is the legendary fighting type master Gurkinn, who's powerful and terrifying Blaziken shred through his opponents with relative ease. As the two exchange their admiration towards each other, Ash was busy conversing with Serena, curious over what school course she has chose.

"So you're a performer?" Ash spoke with his arms crossed, staring at Serena's sapphire eyes as she smiled. That dazzling smile of hers, gotta say is one of her strong points.

"Yeap, it kinda like being a coordinator, except that you have perform with your pokemon as well!" In hindsight, being a coordinator is less intense than becoming performer, which ironically requires more coordination and synchronization from both parties.

"That's sound pretty interesting, I think saw a few performers before on TV. Aria is the Kalos Queen right?" The honey blonde teen before him smiled with her eyes, gleaming them at the mention of her idol.

"That's right! I'm so inspired by her! She's my role model and I wish to become just like her!" Ash chuckled, admiring her enthusiasm and spirit. So many people he met in this school have different aspirations and dreams, he dearly wish for all of them to succeed in the future regardless of their goals. Truly he did.

"You do well in that." As Ash attempted to take one slice of cake that they were all sharing, he heard Korrina calling for his attention.

"Hey, Ash let's spar together in the future." Ash had no qualms with that, he wouldn't mind having a pretty girl to be his sparring partner, who might potentially defeated him in battle easily with her Riolu. Seriously, pokemon battles are such a coin flip sometimes, you win some, you lose some even if its the same person.

"Sure."

"You would make a good rival, so count me in." Bea spoke in a confident and boisterous tone, making Ash question his decision to accept Korrina at the first place. He couldn't really say no to Bea, not that he would done it in the first place anyway. But having two rivals at the same time can be intense, not mention Barry, Gary and even Misty- damn, he has a lot of "friendly" rivals now doesn't he?

"Uh." Ash glanced at Serena who chuckled at him, waving him off.

"I'm a performer, so don't worry about me becoming your rival."

"Thank goodness." Ash slumped to his chair and breath a sigh of relief, causing the girls around him to giggle at his exaggerated actions when he rubbed his faced with his hands.

And just like that, the start of a wonderful rivalry with two girls was born.