Champion's Confidant

In Our Eyes

'Heh, I look pretty cool, I bet.'

Ash felt pretty confident in himself, having returned with his Pokémon on his belt as he waited on the side of the road in front of his home. From her footsteps in the dirt, it seemed Chloe was walking around and seeing the farms of Pallet Town on this morning walk she did, so Ash waited here for her to return. He leaned against the fence with his hat covering his eyes as Pikachu waited on his shoulder.

"Pikapi, pi ka chu," said his partner, alerting him that Chloe was returning.

"Play it cool, buddy," he said, a confident smirk on his face.

He heard the footsteps of Chloe, Eevee, and Yamper come to a stop nearby. "Ash, what are you doing standing out here?" she asked. "Is your ankle feeling better?"

"My ankle's great," he said, trying not to laugh. "So uh, Chloe, there's one more thing I wanna tell you about being a trainer. It's a saying that we have."

Chloe leaned back on her feet, amused. "A saying? And what's that?"

Ash finally looked up at her, and glared directly into her emerald green eyes. Her bemused expression faded into a somewhat shocked look, and her cheeks turned pink.

"A-Ash...?"

Ash reached to his belt and readied a Poké Ball. "When two trainers lock eyes, that means it's time for a Pokémon Battle!"

"Pika!" called his best buddy, cheering him on.

The shock on her face was replaced with surprise. "W-What?! Battle with you!? But you're like the 99th strongest trainer in the world! I'm no match for a guy like you!"

"No excuses," Ash responded. "We're gonna have a Pokémon Battle, since this is part of what it means t' be a Pokémon Trainer. And you wanted to learn all about it coming out here, right?"

Chloe's eyes darted around, obviously looking for a way to escape. Ash, however, felt confident. 'She really wants to learn what it's like to be a trainer,' he smugly thought to himself. 'I'm sure of that. And if we battle, I might get what she's feeling for once! It's win-win! I'm so psyched! It's like getting to battle a strong Gym Leader!' He began hopping back and forth from one foot to the other, unable to contain his excitement any longer.

Chloe sighed, signaling her surrender to his wishes. "Oh, alright. It's still too early for lunch anyway. We can have your battle. Where are we having it?"

Ash gestured around them on the dirt path in front of his house. "Right here. Trainers battle wherever they are."

"You're not serious-!" Chloe once again balked. "Pokémon Battles can get really destructive! You know that! What if we break something?"

"Don't worry about that," Ash said, waving off her worry dismissively. "C'mon, it'll be fun!"

She looked back at his face, and then down to her Pokémon. "Okay, so I guess it's a two on two battle since I only have two Pokémon?"

"That's right," Ash said. He had secretly considered bringing back a few more for Chloe to use so she wouldn't be so limited, but battling with Pokémon she didn't necessarily have a chance to bond with wouldn't help him understand how Chloe felt. 'It's just like Brock and Professor Oak have said. Pokémon become more like their trainers the closer they get, and I'm sure with how close Chloe is to Eevee and Yamper, she'll be able to become one with them and then ba-blam!'

Ash turned and walked away from her to give them enough space for their battle. He wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen, but he knew this would be his best shot at meeting Chloe's gaze and peering into her heart.