Mallow sat silently and listened carefully to every part of Ash's story with a frown on her face. She never knew Ash had a sad childhood growing up, alone with no siblings or any relatives like cousins or aunts and uncles. That can explain why he is so sociable, all alone in that small town where everyone in your age range is a jerk to you can make you long for friendly human contact. What made her even more sympathetic for him is the situation with his parents. Hearing his life story made her feel lucky, lucky to have a loving mother, a supportive father, and an amazing older brother.
"How is your dad got to do anything with your old crush?" She has a good feeling where this is going, but she is not the kind to jump into conclusion. From what she can gather, Ash never had anyone to talk to about his family situation. As a good friend, she is letting him talk out his problems. It is good to have someone to talk with about your personal problems.
Ash took a deep breath as he continued, "As I was growing up in Pallet Town, my mind was focused solely on one thing, becoming a Pokémon Master. I was so focused on that that I became ignorant on the concept of love. I until I met her."
"Your old crush."
"Yes and like I said, it was short lived." He reminded her. "After that, I figured out why my mom was so sad and why she was yelling at that picture of him."
After his encounter with Giselle, he questioned why he acted like that with her. It took him a while, but he managed to understand the concepts of love. Understandably he finally learned about marriage and, of course, the effects of the falling out on two divorced spouses. He figured out why he grew up with no father. That is why he hates his father so much; marriage is suppose to be an unbreakable bond and promise between two lovers and his father broke that promise and look at what that did.
