Hi guys, it's time for the third chapter, I hope you like this new perspective and please comment your opinions.
Chapter 3: Something odd
A few days after their little encounter, Chloe decided to stop thinking about the Pallet town boy and concentrate on her studies and helping her father, it served her well to take her mind off what he had said the other day.
"Hey dad, I found the files you asked for" Chloe said to her father as she handed him several folders with documents that were a little old, "Thanks honey, you know I really like that we spend time together in the lab, I can help you a lot in your dreams of being a professional you know" He replied happily.
However, she knew the real reason why she came to the lab more often to help him, "Sure dad, tell me what your next research is going to be about" She asked him.
"Well I got some information from Professor Sycamore from the Kalos region, about a possible new mega evolution, something you don't see every day" He told her, for Chloe the subject was unknown, as she had only heard of the mega evolution phenomenon but had never seen it in person.
"Wow sounds like it's an important job" She replied as she glanced at the papers they had put on the table, "yeah probably send Goh and Ash to look into that pretty soon" He replied not knowing that mentioning the bluebird caused his daughter a little discomfort.
"Sure" She replied trying to ignore the subject, "Hey that reminds me, could you go see Ash and Goh, I need them to bring me a report of their last assignment, I think they forgot."
To her bad luck, her father asked her to see the person she least wanted to see at that moment, "Father, isn't there someone else who can do it, I'm a little busy and" She tried to make up an excuse.
"No Chloe, the others are already out to lunch, and I really need the data before I leave, is there a problem between you?' He asked her puzzled by her behavior.
"No dad, no problem" she lied to him so he wouldn't be suspicious about her problem, "Do you know where they are?" she asked him.
"Mmm, I think they went downtown to buy pokeballs for Goh, surely they must still be around there" The professor commented to her before turning back to the lab computer.
"Well then I'll have to go over there, I'll just ask them for the information and come back here, nothing can go wrong if I avoid talking to him too much, even though he never shuts up" Chole was saying to herself before leaving the lab along with her Eeeve and Yamper.
During the way to the center of Vemillion city she could observe how people were going through the stores, eating in restaurants and having a good time, "It looks like there are a lot of people having a good time today in the city, I should call Micca and Violet to go out, it's been a while since we did it outside the school" She exclaimed while she was walking through the streets looking for the boys.
Although she could quickly notice how a large group of people gathered near a fountain in the main park of the city, curiosity made her get closer and see what was happening, but it was her big surprise that the reason for that commotion was a pokemon battle.
There she could see that a battle was being fought between two trainers, a rather tall man with a biker jacket and a mean face, but what surprised her was to see that his opponent was the boy she was looking for, Ash Ketchum.
She noticed that it was a double battle, the stranger's Magmar and Rhydon against Ash´s Lucario and Sirfetch'd'. She could see that the locals were excited to see the fight between the two, to her it seemed a bit absurd, but it was what people liked.
(For this segment listen to the song First Battle Pokémon Colosseum Music Extended).
"You made a mistake when you challenged me to a battle kid" the biker said to the Pallet town trainer, but the latter just laughed a little before settling his cap ready to fight, "It looks like you're confident, but our Pokémon will be the ones to solve this".
At this moment, the Rotom Drone who officiates the official battles of the tournament rose and started the battle.
"Alright it's time to start, Rhydon finish them off with your Hyper beam" He commanded his Rhydon who stepped forward to fire a strong energy beam, everyone was stunned by the power of the attack, but Ash didn't back down.
"Sirfetch'd use Protect quickly" Ash ordered his partner who raised his leaf shield which emitted a green barrier of energy, blocking the blast and any damage from the beam, taking advantage of the smoke from the blast Lucario began his attack.
"Attack with Metal Claw" Ash exclaimed as Lucario created three metal blades in each palm, "Magmar stop it with Flamethrower".
Magmar tried to stop Lucario with his Flamethrower, but Lucario used his metal claws to block the attack and stopped it without taking much damage, Magmar couldn't stop his advance, so Lucario slashed both Magmar and Rhydon in one move.
"That can't be" The biker exclaimed without believing what happened, his two pokemon in spite of the pain got up again, "This is just the warm up my friend, it's time to increase the intensity" Ash exclaimed and then sent Lucario and Sirfetch'd to attack.
Magmar used Fire punch against Sirfetch'd, but Sirfetch'd blocked it with his shield and countered with Sacred Sword. While Rhydon tried to crush Lucario with his tail, but he dodged it and blasted Rhydon with his Aura Sphere.
The audience was excited by what they just saw, "Wow did you see that, that Lucario is amazing" a boy said to his friend, "You can tell that trainer is an expert" A girl exclaimed.
This caught Chloe's attention and she looked at Ash, who was exuding confidence, tenacity, and strength as he ordered his pokemon their attacks and moves, "Wow he really looks confident when he battles, it is impressive" she said to herself as she looked at Ash.
Unbeknownst to her, their friend Goh had noticed her presence, "Hey what are you doing here?" He asked the professor's daughter who was startled as she hadn't noticed him, since she was watching the battle.
"My dad asked me to come get you guys, but I ran into this" She answered him to turn her attention back to Ash's battle, "Well we came to buy pokeballs, but this guy challenged Ash to a battle when he knew Ash has better ranking than him" Goh explained as his Grookey gave his support to Ash's pokemon.
"I don't understand how two pokemon with that size are being beaten so easily" Chloe exclaimed still confused by the huge advantage Ash's team had, "Chloe you are so smart, how can you not see it" Goh said teasing her a little.
"What do you mean?" She exclaimed a little offended, not knowing what he meant, "Look, pay attention to the battle, there is a clear difference between Ash's Pokemon and his".
Chloe looked at the battle again but now paying more attention to the details. She could see how Sirfetch'd protected Lucario from Magmar's flamethrower while it was fighting Rhydon, and then she saw how Lucario blocked Rhydon's Rock blast with his Metal claw to save Sirfetch'd.
That's when she realized what Goh was referring to, "Ash's pokemon are working as a team."
"That's right, in a double battle it matters a lot how they support each other, the Rhydon and Magmar don't coordinate their attacks because their trainer didn't train them for that, instead Ash has trained his team to attack and defend each other, the battle was already decided after the first move" Goh explained the strategy and battle style his friend had.
Chloe was amazed by Ash's ability to coordinate his pokemon, he looked so natural and excited at the same time, she had never really liked watching pokemon battles, but this time she was really enjoying the battle as much as the rest of the people.
"It's time to finish this, attack" Ash exclaimed, both pokemon launched without hesitation against their opponents, "No, stop them use Stone edge Rhydon" The biker ordered already incredibly nervous, Rhydon hit the ground to create a large column of sharp rocks on their battlefield. However, Lucario and Sirfetch'd made a great leap to avoid the attack, everyone was stunned to see that in midair they launched their final attack.
"Lucario use Magnum Kick and Sirfetch'd Meteor Assault" Ash shouted, both pokemon launched themselves using their special attacks against Rhydon and Magmar, who could do nothing to stop them. Lucario planted a strong kick in Rhydon's chest before causing a violent explosion, while Sirfetch'd hit Magmar with his sword in a blink of an eye.
Both Pokemon were already knocked out when the smoke dissipated, the battle was over.
"Both pokemon can no longer continue, the victory goes to the challenger Ash Ketchum, from Pallet town" The Rotom Drone declared Ash the victor and increased his rank from 115 to 109 in the world ranking. Everyone celebrated the victory very excited about the battle they had just seen.
Ash smiled and thanked his pokemon for the excellent battle they had put up, but his attention was focused on his opponent who completely defeated was on his knees with his injured pokemon.
"Hey... your pokemon gave a good battle" Ash said to the defeated trainer, "What but I lost..." The biker mumbled but this was interrupted by Ash throwing a bottle in his hands.
"Use this Hyper Potion to heal them, then take them to a pokemon center, they both deserve a good rest" Ash explained while offering him his hand to get up, the tough guy had a hard time processing it, but this one accepted with humility and grateful for his help and the battle.
Everyone applauded Ash and his pokemon, everyone except Chloe, who simply had her eyes fixed on him and although she did not want to admit it, she gave him a small smile. They both approached Ash after the crowd had cleared out, as some rookie trainers and small children approached him for a photo or an autograph.
"Well done, Ash, that battle was a piece of cake" Goh said to his partner, "Well not so easy, but I see Lucario and Sirfetch'd training is paying off" Ash replied as Pikachu returned to his shoulder.
Chloe on the other hand was keeping her distance, she was really weirded out by what she was feeling at that moment, when she came to look for them, she was cursing the fact that she had to see and talk to him, but now she was nervous to do it. "Why am I so nervous, I was supposed to give them the message and leave, but now argggg" She kept repeating over and over in her head.
"Hey Chloe, I didn't see you coming" Ash greeted her as she realized she was only a couple of feet away from them. Chloe tried to keep her composure, as she didn't want him to notice how nervous she was, "My dad sent me to find you two, he needs the field report from your last assignment."
They both looked pale when they realized that both had forgotten to deliver their report when they returned from their last mission in Hoenn, "Ash I told you to leave the report in the lab when we got back" Goh claimed to the black-haired boy for his mistake.
Ash didn't try to deny it and confessed that he had forgotten, "I guess I forgot, I'm sorry Goh". Seeing again how clueless the black-haired boy was, she saw him again as the usual annoying boy. "Well, that's all I'm came for, so please give him the report when you come back to the lab" Chloe reproached them. She turned around already ready to go back to the lab with her pokemon, but she didn't count that Ash wasn't going to let her.
"Hey Chloe, why don't you come with us" Ash asked her, she froze for a second, "What...what for" She stammered.
"Well, we already finished what we had to do here, so we could all go together don't you think" Ash asked her.
She turned to look at Yamper and Eeeve who were playing with Pikachu and Grookey, if they were so happy playing with their pokemon, why would it be wrong to go back to the lab with them, "Ok calm down, there's nothing wrong with them, I know you wanted to avoid him but I should give myself a chance to open up with him a little, what could go wrong?" She said to herself to calm down and accept the invitation.
The three of them walked along the same route Chloe took when she came to pick them up, Ash and Goh were discussing their next assignment while she was a little ahead watching the road. However, Ash stopped talking to Goh and stood next to her, "Hey Chloe and what were you doing today."
"I was helping my dad catalog some files and documents in the lab" She answered him while avoiding him "Sounds interesting, your dad may be new professor, but he is one of the most enthusiastic ones I have ever met" Ash commented to her, she kind of liked him for praising her dad, "Thanks Ash."
"Hey and what did you think of my battle earlier" Ash asked her excited, she remembered for a moment the battle he had and how strong he looked at the time, but she wouldn't tell him that, "It was interesting I guess, you're more... Skilled than I thought" Chloe answered him being careful with her words.
Ash felt joy at hearing that, he knew he had broken a bit of the wall Chloe had put between them, "Well thanks then, maybe someday I could teach you a strategy or something else" He answered her a bit haughty, even a bit flirtatious.
Chloe was a little offended by the intention, but she made the mistake of looking him in the eyes again, at that moment she was caught in the gleam of his eyes and somehow her anger melted away.
"Yeah right like you could teach me anything" She replied trying to hide how she felt, "Well thanks to me you were able to finish your homework weren't you" Ash reminded her of what they had done together the other day.
Chloe's face turned red as a tomato, as she remembered what the black-haired boy told her, "It was just one time, don't think too much of yourself because you know more about history than I do" Chloe said already somewhat hysterical, making Ash laugh a lot.
While all this was going on, Goh was watching the two of them from behind, very confused of what he was observing, "Wow I didn't know those two would get along like that".
Goh already knew what kind of relationship between the two was like, they both ignored each other constantly but now they were annoying each other in a peculiar way.
"Something doesn't make sense here, but well I guess I'll have to watch them more closely from here on out" Goh said to himself as his two friends continued to talk and cause commotion.