𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙼𝚎? || 𝙰𝚜𝚑 𝙺𝚎𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚞𝚖

(5) ɴᴇᴡ ʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴄʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏʟᴅ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀɪᴇs!

"This is how I knew..."

I showed Ash the hat and internally started freaking out about how he was gonna respond. But, I had to do this to help him. His eyes widened with excitement and curiosity.

"Hey! It's my old official Pokemon League Expo hat! I remember I sent in like a million postcards to get this hat! I also had a friend who tried to win one of her own but she only sent in one postcard!" Ash got excited seeing his old hat and it was fun seeing him happier.

"You probably annoyed them to the point to where they thought 'Oh my gosh, just give him a hat and maybe he'll stop!'" I joked. He looked up at me and just laughed. I kept on listening to Ash as he spoke.

"I wore it while I was in Kanto and I was really upset when I lost it after that battle. Why do you have it?" He finally asked. Alright, here goes.

"I was there. When you were battling with Team Rocket. I saw everything, heard everything. You know what I heard?" I finally told him.

"What?" He questioned. I knelt down next to him and rested my hand on his shoulder. I turned his head and made him look me in the eyes so he could know that I'm serious.

"'I'll never give up! Even if it means giving it everything I've got!' Five years ago, I heard you say that and ever since then, it makes me never want to give up without trying as hard as I could. And for good reason. During that battle, you and Pikachu tried as hard as you could, and you were the first person I had ever seen stand up to Team Rocket. I couldn't help grabbing the hat after the battle. I would've given it to you but I never saw you again. It's been a great source of motivation for me and I'm not about to let you give up on this battle and yourself." I told him, feeling determined myself.

His eyes brightened and I recognized that familiar sparkle in his eyes. I smiled at him and offered my hand for him to grab. He did and we lifted ourselves up, off the ground. We kept looking at each other even when we were fully off the ground and holding each other's hands. I glanced at our hands together then back at him.

My stomach started churning and my face felt strangely warm. I felt like I was standing awkwardly weird and gave Ash an awkward smile before letting go of his hand and nodding towards Alexa, who was waiting for Ash. He smiled at me before giving me my flannel back and turning to Alexa to let her know he was ready for more training. I walked away quickly so I wouldn't get in the way of the Pokemon and went back to my spot on the side.

Alexa told her Noivern to use Gust again on Pikachu and Fletchling and it obeyed her command. Ash gave Pikachu and Fletchling some motivation and it looks like it payed off in their training. Pikachu planted it's tail into the ground to maintain it's footing and Fletchling adjusted itself to the wind. They started launching attacks at Noivern though he dodged them all.

"You seem to have gotten the hang of this, but you still have more to do. Noivern, use Gust again!" Alexa complimented then commanded again.

~ Couple Hours Timeskip ~

It was around sunset and Ash, Bonnie, Clemont, Serena and I were having dinner in the Pokemon Center Cafe. Ash was extremely happy about perfecting their countermeasure against Gust but they still had Psychic, Sticky Web and the ice field, which Bonnie asked Ash about.

"I actually have an idea on what to do about the ice field." Ash states proudly. Bonnie's eyes started sparkling and I could see her curiosity overtake her.

"Ooooh, what is it?" She asked, excitedly.

"Sorry, it's a surprise, but don't worry, you'll see tomorrow at the battle!" Ash told her. Bonnie pouted in disappointment and slouched back in the booth. I was sitting next to her so I let out a little laugh and patted her on the back to cheer her up a little.