Chapter: 3 "A defeat and a proposal"

A/N: Rewritten on June 15, 2017

Disclaimer: I do not Pokémon. AND I NEVER WILL -_-

"It's all up to you now buddy." Ash said as the little electric type Pokémon jumped forward with his cheeks sending light electric sparks.

It had all come down to this, Pikachu was his last Pokémon. Now that he thinks about it, the whole contest turned out to be fading in his memory.

FLASHBACK:

Ash is at the field, facing his opponent, Tobias at Semi-Finals and as expected, Tobias sends his ace, Darkrai. Ash sends Heracross, who starts with Hyper Beam, but collides with Ice Beam. Heracross uses Horn Attack, but using Dark Void, Darkrai puts Heracross to sleep. However, Heracross' Sleep Talk causes him to use Horn Attack while asleep, making an impact on Darkrai. Unsuspected, Darkrai uses Dream Eater to defeat Heracross in sleep.

Ash calls Heracross back and sends Torkoal. Torkoal uses Flamethrower, but Darkrai uses Dark Pulse and cancels the move, causing Torkoal to be defeated immediately. Ash calls him back and sends Gible. Darkrai comes close, though Gible's Rock Smash pushes him away. Darkrai retaliates with Ice Beam, but Gible dodges. Gible uses Draco Meteor, but Darkrai evades the attack and uses Dark Pulse to defeat him. Ash calls Gible back. Tobias admits that any Pokémon attacked by Draco Meteor would be defeated, except his Darkrai. Ash sends Sceptile to battle.

Darkrai uses Ice Beam, but Sceptile uses Quick Attack and moves away. Darkrai dodged and attacks with Ice Beam. Darkrai uses Dark Void, putting Sceptile to sleep. Darkrai uses Dream Eater and affects Sceptile, but hearing Ash to wake up, Sceptile is awake. Using Leaf Blade, Sceptile immediately defeats Darkrai. Tobias calls Darkrai back and admits Ash has proven himself in the spot of the Semi-Final. Tobias is somewhat surprised, but sends his Latios, who swoops down. Sceptile uses Leaf Blade, but gets defeated by Giga Impact. Ash calls Scpetile back and sends Swellow. Swellow starts with Quick Attack, but Latios dodges. Swellow dives down and uses Aerial Ace, but gets defeated by Luster Purge. Ash calls her back and sends his Pikachu, knowing in mind they will not give up.

"Your fighting has earned respect Ash, but this is the final battle" Tobias told him sound really impressed.

Ash clenched his fists as he knew that he had lost but he knew Pikachu isn't defeated yet.

"Pikachu let's start with Quick Attack" Ash commanded while throwing his fist forward.

"Pikaa…." Pikachu immediately dashed forward with such a speed that he had become hard to follow but he missed as Latios just dodged at the last moment. Pikachu couldn't believe it and used Volt Tackle using the quick attack to boost his speed, but he was countered by Giga Impact.

"Pikachu" Ash mumbled as he just stood there. He didn't give him any command because Pikachu already seemed to know what he had to do. He just stood there to reassure him that he was with him. He knew this buddy had defeated an awful amount of Pokemon consisting even some legendary's but this was going to be the toughest battle that he had faced. Though he had complete faith that he had this particular fight in the bag.

While on the field, Latios used Giga Impact. It wasn't really surprising for Ash to see that Tobias wasn't giving any commands either.

Latios went to finish using Luster Purge but to Ash's relief he missed. Pikachu had jumped on his back and was trying to hold the position. Latios tried his best to shake him off but Pikachu hanged on.

"Alright Pikachu… give it your very best" Ash said under his breath to see that Pikachu had used Thunderbolt while being on his back to electrocute it. Latios attempts to get him off, but fails and gets hit by another Thunderbolt.

"Latios use lightscreen" Finally realizing that he needed to help his Pokemon, Tobias ordered which Latios obliged. He used LightScreen, causing Pikachu's Thunderbolt to do less damage.

Pikachu wasn't going to give up, as he used Thunderbolt even more. Latios went up in the sky where he shook him off and got Pikachu in air. Latios used Luster Purge, trying to finish it all. Pikachu knew that he wouldn't be able to withstand that decided to give this shot his all.

"Pikaaa chuu" He yelled his name as he was engulfed in pure electricity. Pikachu used Volt Tackle from the position, using height as his advantage to gain momentum.

Though he had sustained damage but Pikachu used Iron Tail while still being engulfed in electricity with bolt tackle giving him extra momentum and makes a collision.

As the attacks met. Smoke filled the entire arena and when it cleared Latios was down and out, while Pikachu on the other hand, was struggling to keep standing.

The whole stadium was silent, seemingly mesmerized by the skills and raw power both the Pokemon had displayed while some were trying to grasp the fact that a little Pokemon like Pikachu was able to defeat a legendary. There was a huge cheer from the crowd as they were mesmerized by the strength of the little mouse Pokémon. The cheers were so loud that Ash had to cover his ears.

"Latios is unable to battle, which means the winner is Pikachu" The referee declared while raising a flag.

Tobias just stood there with his eyes, wide open. He still couldn't believe that his Latios was defeated by a Pikachu. Just how powerful was that little devil? After taking deep breaths to calm himself, he contained himself and called him back, before smirking.

While on the other hand, Ash wasn't surprised at all, he knew Pikachu would do it but to see it happening before his very eyes was something else. He was too proud of Pikachu right now. Who could've thought that he was the same annoying Pikachu that had shocked him when they'd met for the first time. He looked toward the other end of the arena to see that Tobias was smirking. He gave a proud smile himself.

The referee then turned to Tobias. "Can we have your next Pokémon?"

Tobias reached into his clock and began to pull out a Pokéball, when he was interrupted.

"There's no need of that, Pikachu forfeit" It was Ash, who had jumped into the battle field and was now approaching towards the weakened electric type.

"Pikaa.." Pikachu tried to oppose him but due to the weakness his voice just came out as a whisper as he collapsed to the ground. Ash reached him and grabbed him in his arm while giving the referee a nod.

"Alright then" the referee said while raising a flag, "The green trainer has forfeited his Pikachu and thus the match goes to Tobias" The whole stadium went silent. They had never seen anything like this, a trainer forfeiting a semi-final match. They were all too shocked to respond. The stadium remained silent for a few more seconds till the sound of individual clapping was heard. It was Cynthia, she was on her feet as she clapped while staring at the raven haired trainer, who was standing with his weakened Pikachu in his arms. It seemed to be just the thing that the crowd needed, as now everyone joined her in her actions and soon the sound of clapping could be heard from all over.

When the match was over Ash came out of the arena to the trainer's room, where he came to know that Brock and Dawn were already present and were waiting for him to show up.

He approached them with his head hung down and his cap covering his eyes. When he made it to them, he rose his head slightly to see that they both were smiling… in fact Dawn had a huge grin on her face.

He was shocked. He had not expected them to be like that. In fact he had thought that they would have sympathetic looks on their faces or maybe act brave to comfort him.

"Ash" Dawn was the first to speak as she tried to look into his eyes. She knew how much winning this meant to him and knew that he would be really upset. Besides who won't be… after being that close to reaching their dream? She had thought that he would carry tears in his eyes when he would raise his head but to their surprise, there weren't any. In their place he wore a faint smile and a sorry look on his face.

"I am sorry Dawn… Brock… I let you guys down…. Again" he added softly. He descended his gaze to now look at the fainted electric type he had in his arms. "No matter how much we try, we never make it through. I lost yet again." He finished with a deep sigh.

Both Dawn and Brock just stood silent for a few moments. They didn't looked sad nor showed and glimpse of sympathy in their eyes but their smiles faded.

Ash took the silence in the negative way and concluded that they were both super upset of him. His own smile fainted as it was replaced by a frown and he kept his head down.

"It's okay, if you guys don't want to talk to me. I know that you may feel ashamed of me" He muttered loud enough for both of them to hear.

'What's wrong with them… why are they just standing like that, it doesn't feel right…' Ash thought to himself but the silence was killing him from inside. He decided that he couldn't take it anymore and tried to leave. But he couldn't. He felt a hand on his shoulder and raised his head to see that it belonged to Dawn.

"We are proud of you Ash" she said ever so softly while smile never leaving her face.

"What?" he said with his eyes wide open.

"She said that we are proud to say that Ash Ketchum is our friend" Brock said in such a tone that it could have made anyone believe in him.

(…) Ash couldn't respond to that as his mind was still trying to process, what they had just said. He had anticipated many things. Deep down he knew that his friend's would never really be disappointed in him but to hear them say that they were proud of him? He just couldn't wrap his head over that. After a few moments of silence, he did respond.

"Bu… but I lost and not to mention I lost bad." While his voice shaking.

Dawn now went for his hand and placed her own over it. He looked straight at her in instincts.

"No Ash…..you didn't lose." Brock said with sense of pride leaking from his voice. Now Ash was totally confused. He was not able to comprehend his friend's behavior. They were both talking things that didn't made any sense. He didn't lose? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"What do you mean Brock?" Brock smiled to it and approached him closer.

"What I mean Ash, is that you didn't lose, at least not completely. Yeah you lost a match, that's true…. But you have won too."

"I won? What's that supposed to mean." Ash was now starting to get a little annoyed and his voice showed just that.

Brock chuckled to it and started to explain. "See Ash, there is more to battling than winning. You are just putting yourself down. I mean look at what you've achieved. How many trainers do you know, who have defeated a legendary and here you are who have defeated two." Brock tried to deliver in the most encouraging way he possibly could.

"Yeah… but it took me six Pokémon to do that." He said with a hint of shame in his voice while staring his feet.

Brock shook his head while sighing to that. "Oh… Ash, the other trainers also had six Pokémon with them but they weren't able to defeat even his Darkrai."

This made Ash feel a little better and he smiled to himself, which Brock noticed. Brock extended his hand and began to pet the exhausted electric rodent.

"You should be proud of Pikachu, who could've thought that someone as small as him would be able to defeat a Latios in a one on one competition."

Ash smiled genuinely on this one, now staring at the little rodent Pokémon with unparalleled affection. He already knew that Pikachu was strong but he too was impressed beyond himself to know that he was able to defeat a latios.

"I am Brock..." Ash said softly.

"I am very proud of all my Pokémon… every one of them" He said as he just stared at Pikachu lovingly.

"And yeah Brock… just for you guys to know…, I am not sad that I lost today." He paused a bit before continuing "though I cannot say that I am not disappointed over the defeat but I am more than happy with what my Pokémon did." He said proudly.

"I am really thankful to all of my Pokémon and yeah thank you very much Brock…. Dawn" he paused a bit to look dawn in her eyes "if it wouldn't be for you guys, I wouldn't even be here"

Dawn blushed a little when their eyes met, but he wasn't able to notice it as he was numb himself so she was able to shake it off.

'This is it, my time with Ash is about to be over. I need to let him know my feelings towards him. He deserves to know, how much I care about him' she thought to herself. 'Come on Dawn… you can do it.' She had practiced it over a million times but still, she wasn't able to find the courage. She breathed deeply to calm herself down. 'Well here goes nothing' she ensured her mind.

"Ummm Ash?" She said while staring at her feet and twirling her fingers.

"What is it Dawn?" he said averting his gaze to look directly towards her. She rose her head to look at him but it turned out to be a bad idea as their eyes met. Dawn's heart skipped a beat and she could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. And to make her situation even worse, he gave her his world famous smile.

'No no no calm down Dawn… you can do it' she tried to reassure herself and gathered all her courage and took a deep breath.

"Ash I wanted to tell you somethi…" She had to stop in between as she was interrupted.

"Ash!" came a familiar voice from behind and he turned to look at the person to which it belonged.

Dawn couldn't believe it. Somebody had to disturb them right now? Right in the moment which she'd always dreamed about. She had lost it, rage taking over her mind. 'He will have to pay for this' she thought while cursing the person mentally. But when she turned to see, who that voice belonged to… she was shocked.

She had never in her wildest dreams thought that it would be him.

"Tobias" Ash mumbled under his breath.

Ash just watched as he approached him with a smirk on his face. He thought that he would be here to taunt him and gloat over his victory over him. But what he did next shocked everyone.

He extended his hand towards Ash. Ash just couldn't believe it, so he just stood there stunned. After some awkward moments Ash caught it with his own. Tobias's smirk widened to this as he started.

"It was a great battle Ketchum. I still couldn't believe that you were actually able to defeat two of my strongest."

His gaze then turned to look at the fainted Pikachu which Ash was holding. Ash opened his mouth to thank him but was interrupted by him.

"You have an amazing power house right there." he praised him while containing a look of admiration on his face.

"Your Pokémon are something else. I have not had such a good battle in some time now" he looked directly towards him before continuing.

"Give me a promise Ash, you will get stronger and then when you are, let's battle again."

Ash couldn't help but smirk at that. He had never thought that he would be the one to say that words. They seemed to be all he needed and was now feeling fine as ever. It was just like that. All his doubts and insecurities... gone.

"You bet" Ash said confidently while meeting his gaze with his own challenging one.

"hmmmm" he gave him a slight nod.

"Well then I should leave to heal my Pokémon." Ash nodded to that himself.

Tobias took a few steps before stopping and turning to see him again, "Good luck for you future kid; as you got a real bright one."

Ash smiled to that and nodded with gratitude for the kind words and boost of confidence and with that Tobias left. Now that his mind was clear again, he remembered that Dawn had wanted to speak with him.

Ash now turned to look at Dawn before continuing, "You wanted to tell me something, Dawn?"

"Wh… what? Oh y… yeah" That caught her off guard and she jumped a bit in surprise.

"Well what is it?" Ash said as he delivered her a smile.

'Oh Arcues, please get me out of this." She pleaded mentally. She knew that she won't be able to confess him now. She felt her heart beating at such a pace that she thought it would just jump out of her mouth if she said anything. All the confidence she had worked so hard to gather had already betrayed her and she was caught in an awkward situation.

"Pikaaaa…." But to her relief Pikachu chose the moment to wake which turned Ash's attention as she let out a sigh.

Ash looked at him with so much affection that it could've been felt from far. "You were great out there buddy" he said as he petted his ears with his world famous smile.

"Chaaa" Pikachu let out a tired squeal to show his appreciation towards the remark.

"I think you should take your Pokémon to nurse Joy, Ash" Brock told him.

"Yeah you're right Brock" Ash looked at him with a reassuring look on his face, before leaving for the Pokemon Centre.

On their way to the Pokémon centre, Ash noticed that everyone was staring at him with a look of admiration, while some girls had blush on their faces. But Ash being Ash, found it a bit weird and it was becoming uneasy for him.

After they reached there, Ash went to the counter to hand his Pokémon for checkup. Ash saw that nurse Joy was smiling to see him, well she always did but this time it felt different. This whole situation was becoming awkward for him.

"We were hoping you, Ash Ketchum… now if you would place your pokeballs here" She said as she motioned towards the tray. He obliged her and did what she told him to.

"Don't worry they will all be in a perfect shape, soon" She assured him to which he smiled.

"Well I should congratulate for your great battle Mr. Ketchum. It was really good to see that there are trainers like you who could forfeit a semi-final match for their Pokemon's sake" She stated showing admiration in her voice.

He gave her a nervous smile before thanking her and returning to his friends.

"So guys now that it's done, what should we do till we wait" Ash asked them while scratching his cheek with his index finger.

But before anyone could have responded, Ash's stomach gave the answer with a grumbling sound.

Dawn chuckled a bit. "Now we know what to do" She said with a playful nudge to his ribs.

They all laughed to that and left to have some food. Ash was eating in his usual manner which assured his friends, that he was alright. After they had finished, Ash collected his Pokémon and they all went to their room. Dawn had decided that she would confess her feelings when Brock would drift off to sleep.

But when they had reached the door to their room, Ash stopped before turning back and heading to the stairs.

"Where are you going Ash?" She asked in a worried tone. It was just like the other day. But he wasn't that upset now. Was he?

"Oh just for a little walk down. I won't be late, I promise." Ash gave her a reassuring smile.

This was just the opportunity she needed and. 'Now is my chance', she thought.

"Hey... can I come with you" Everybody could tell that there was a lot of hope behind that request, which made it even hard for Ash to decline her.

"Ummm sorry Dawn, but I've got some business to take care of. I hope you don't mind" Ash told her with an apologetic smile.

Dawn's smile faded as she looked down, "Yeah sure"

"What business Ash?" Brock asked as he approached them.

"Well Cynthia asked me to meet her."

"Whaat?" They screamed as they mimicked their actions from the previous night.

Ash chuckled to their reaction "yeah" It was like he was having a deja vu.

"And why did she asked you to meet her"

"Ummm… She said she had a proposal for me".

"Whaaat" they thought they had heard wrong, for a second. Brock and Dawn turned towards each other to confirm they had heard him right, only to see each other's baffled look. Regaining their composure back they turned their attention back to the subject of the matter for some elaboration.

"What proposal Ash" Brock asked with his eyes wide open (yeah I know xD but believe me he's got eyes) Dawn on the other hand just stood silent, with her head held down fearing the worst.

"I don't Know… She didn't tell me" as he said that Brock covered his eyes with his arm and started weeping.

"Ummmm Brock?" he wasn't sure what happened to him and it was beginning to get awkward. But the next second Brock jumped in front of Ash, kneeling on one knee and his hands clamped together, with a huge grin and literal stars twinkling in his eyes.

"I can't believe it… you've bagged the big one…. All my training finally paid off…" He declared. He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded to himself approvingly.

"Big one? What is that supposed to mean?" Ash questioned looking ever so confused.

Brock did a comical fall to that one. "Well looks like I said too early" He finished with a deep sigh.

"Oh he means nothing Ash… you should leave, Cynthia would be waiting for you." Dawn told him while forcing a small smile.

"Yeah Ash you should go and here is a tip, never make a girl wait as it could heart her feelings….. and you must never make a champion like her wait cause she could hurt you with more than just feelings." Brock finished with nodding sagely.

"Uhh alright" Ash tilted his head to show his confusion.

As Ash left. Brock noticed that a frown took over to Dawn's smile and she held her head down.

It was strange to see her like that as she was just like Ash, always cheered up. And then he realized what could be the reason behind it, he remembered the few recent incidents he had noticed. The prayer Dawn was doing for Ash to win, the hug she gave him when he defeated Paul and the blush that she recently used to wear whenever they made an eye contact. It was clear in his book that she had feelings for him. But now that he came to know about Cynthia's proposal he just wished that it wasn't the case that he was expecting just a moment ago.

While he was thinking, Dawn on the other hand was on her bed now, with her arms wrapping legs and head buried in her knees. He couldn't see her like that of course, she was like a little sister to him. He approached her with a smile to try and help her.

"Dawn" he called her while taking a seat next to her on a chair.

Dawn realized how pathetically she was acting and quickly gathered herself up.

"Yeah?" she responded while rising her head and putting the same fake smile which she held a few moments ago.

"Is anything wrong? Or maybe something you would like to talk to me about?" he asked with a reassuring smile.

"Everything's fine Brock. I'm just a little tired. It has been a long day" She answered as she tilted her head with an innocent smile on her face. She hoped beyond hope that he would buy it because she didn't want to talk anything about all that.

Brock didn't seem to buy it and tried to play a hunch.

"Dawn I know how you feel about Ash." To his surprise, she didn't declined it, she didn't even appeared to be shocked. She knew it was pointless to hide herself, so she just decided to let it out.

"Only if he did too" she almost whispered while staring at the ceiling.

'I knew it' he screamed in his mind while grinning like an idiot.

"Well Dawn, you know him. He is too stupid to know himself." Brock said while putting extra emphasis on 'stupid'.

Oh... Dawn knew what he meant and what this was leading to and that annoyed her even more.

"Well I tried to tell him" She said as tears started to flow down her cheeks. "Not just one time" she continued, "but whenever I gather the courage to do it, something happens" she told him in an annoyed manner.

'sob' "It's like that Arcues does not want me to confess to him." She stated as she cursed the god Pokémon.

Now Brock's head was down too. He had only made the situation worse, at least she wasn't crying before. He tried to comfort her when she interrupted him.

"I don't know what proposal Cynthia have for him Brock…. But I know one thing" she paused to look at him for this one, "If he seemed to be happy about it and I don't care whatever it is, then I won't get in his way." She then closed her eyes before gathering herself up and curling into her blanket.

"I hope, it won't be like what we are thinking about it." Brock thought as he turned to his own bed.

Ash approached the same tree where he met her last night and it wasn't late till he spotted her. She was sitting on the bench while looking up to the stars as cold night breeze blew her hair. Any other guy would have just fallen for her but its Ash we are talking about. As he reached near her, he noticed the smile on her face broadening.

"Welcome Ash" She greeted while turning to face him.

"Hey Cynthia" Ash greeted her back with a smile.

"That was some great battling out there" she said in an impressed manner.

"umm thanks….. maybe" he paused for a moment before continuing "But you lost your money b'cause of me" he said with a chuckle.

She let out a chuckle of her own before adding, "And who told you that; in fact I won it."

This confused him a bit but after that he had put some thought to it, he realised what that meant.

"You knew I would not be able to beat him… didn't you?" Ash said calmly while giving her a mock glare to see her reaction. All he got was an apologetic look before a smile.

"You want some Ice cream? See there's a shop, not far from here and it makes the very best of them." She finished the sentence in a very excited tone.

"Well that couldn't hurt" he approved as she gave him a slight nod before motioning him to follow her.

When they reached to the shop, she asked him to stay at their table while she brings some for both of them. So he just waited as she came with two cones and handed him, one.

"Hey! How did you know that I liked Vanilla?" Ash enquired, slightly shocked.

Cynthia chuckled to it and decided to explain it to him.

"It's very easy you see…." She started while bringing her fingers to her chin as if she was giving a deep thought of what she wanted to say.

"The things people like to eat, reveals a lot about their personality and so does their personality" She noticed that he looked slightly confused. She sighed and closed her eyes as a small smile crossed her face.

"You see Ash, I knew that you would like it because I know that your heart is just as clear as your taste"

"Clear heart?" Cynthia opened her eyes, as she continued, "Yes Ash, what I mean to say is that your heart do not possess anything other than care for other, hidden deep inside in it. It's just pure."

Everything went over his skull.

"Uhhhh… whatever that is supposed to mean."

Cynthia sighed and closed her eyes again before giggling softly. "Right…. Hehehe" she said while giggling.

After they had finished their Ice creams, they started heading back.

"Well Cynthia you'd said earlier you had a proposition for me." Ash reminded her, feeling a bit anxious.

"hmmm? Oh yeah about that" She bit her tongue, she had almost forgotten about it. "how silly of me" she reprimanded herself.

"Well Ash I wanted to ask to know if you would like to go with me?" She asked her while staring at his face.

"Go with you? What do you mean Cynthia?"

She smirked to that.

"Well, what I mean Ash Ketchum is that you are not aware of your true potential. You don't know what you are capable of achieving. You could very well be the best Pokémon trainer to ever set foot on this world."

Ash was listening her, jaw dropped and eyes wide open. How could she be that confident about him? He himself, had never placed himself that high, not even in his wildest dreams.

Cynthia's smirk broadened as she continued. "So about my proposal, I want you to train with me as my apprentice."

"You are kidding right?" Ash said as he was now having hard time controlling himself from jumping up and down. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. As he thought more about it, his smile faded which she noticed.

"What is it Ash?"

"I don't get it Cynthia…; if you are looking for a trainer to be your apprentice, wouldn't it be better if you take Paul or Tobias. I mean they are already stronger than me. Well what I mean is, why me?"

Cynthia knew that it was coming and she was prepared for it. She gave him an assuring smile and turned her gaze to stare the star lit sky.

"Well Ash, you possess something that they lack."

"Something that they lack?"

"Yes, you see what they lack is a heart with no selfish desire. I know that you all strive to be stronger but I know that you are the only, among the three that knows what it means to be strong."

"It's your selfless attitude that brings out everyone's best. It is your heart that allows your Pokémon to be able to do, what they do. The same selflessness which you demonstrated while forfeiting for Pikachu's sake. You know a pokemon's true strength comes from the bond between them and their trainer and heart is the medium of that bond. Have you ever considered, why every Pokémon turns out to believe you at some point?"

Ash was already fumbling back and forth by all her words and that question caught him off guard. She was right. He hadn't a lot of thought over this ever before but this was a fact. He had somehow always found a way to create a trust between a Pokemon and himself, including Legendary's.

"Umm… no" he couldn't find any other words. She smiled to his words as she already knew it, before continuing.

"It's your heart Ash. It's so clear that they could see themselves in you, just like a mirror. The bond you share with your Pokémon isn't normal Ash, so let me help you, let me make you the strongest the world could offer as I know you can."

Ash couldn't stop himself before a small smile on his face and blush appeared on his face because of all the praising. He stared his feet while still blushing.

She knew she had got him. She smirked and added, "You don't need to answer right away Ash, as you must give it a thorough thought."

"First of all, the training isn't going to be easy and besides, there's a catch."

"A catch?" Ash muttered now daring to look at her as his blush vanished.

Cynthia nodded slightly and then she wore a serious look on her face.

"You see Ash, this training's gonna cost you some time, a minimum of two years and till it's over; you would not be able to see your friends or family. She explained, trying to sound as serious as she could.

All he did was a slight nod but with a similar expression on his face.

She smiled to that. "Well you have till the beginning of finals to give me your response.

Ash nodded again and this time with a smile of his own.

"Well now that it's done for, I better leave" She paused a bit to gaze at him "you see I am late, I had to be at Goodshow's office by now." She told him as she bit her tongue.

"Well if that was the case, then maybe we shouldn't have been to the village for the ice creams." He said while now staring at her, amused by her behavior.

"Well you see I was a little nervous." She admitted before chuckling a bit.

"And whenever I am nervous I have some ice cream as it helps me calm my nerves, after all I love it." She said in a silly manner.

"But what were you nervous for" he was confused like always. He couldn't see why she would be nervous. It was him that should've been nervous. It was him who was in the presence of a regional champion, not her.

"You see it was the first time I proposed someone to be my apprentice." She gave some extra emphasis on the word 'propose' before giggling.

"Oh I see" he said in a playful manner.

"Well see you tomorrow then" Cynthia said as they reached the entrance of her hotel.

Ash wished her good night, before approaching his own room. While heading back, each of Cynthia's words echoed in his mind. He still wasn't able to figure out if it really happened.

He didn't have to think about his answer, because he already knew what it was. The main thing was how is he going to explain others and how will they react, specially his mom.

'Aw man this is going to be a long night.'