Champion's Confidant

Bonus Chapter: On Holidays

The ground around them was fluffy and white, and the trees were all coated with a layer of snow as far as the eye could see. Because of this, it was quite bright outside, and Chloe had a difficult time seeing until her eyes adjusted. But the quiet brought on by winter had a magical feeling to it, not the least of which was because of where she found herself.

For the first time since spring break, she had returned to Pallet Town with Ash.

And while their adventures had continued after their hearts finally understood each other in the summer nights of Alola, it was funny to Chloe that the more things changed, the more they seemed to be the same. Of course, she still went to school, met with Mika, went to the lab, talked with her father, did homework and did it all again the next day. But there was the near-constant presence of Ash and Pikachu in her life now. He'd greet her in the morning before she left for school and he and Goh went to their next research assignment for her father. She'd see him returned, usually exhausted and snacking once she came back. They would have time to talk about their days, a quiet moment for her to sneak a kiss, and they would have to part again.

There was something comforting in a routine, she thought, as she continued to live her life, only with an excitable, Pokémon-loving boyfriend who she spent time on the weekends with. And thus, when the break around the end of the year and Christmas came, and she would be out of school for two weeks, who but that boyfriend could offer to break that routine?

"Chloe, you should come with me to Pallet Town for Christmas!" he shouted in the lab at the beginning of December, and Chloe only needed to ask her father permission once to spend time with her boyfriend's family before he agreed (though he did insist on calling every night to make sure she was okay).

That was how she found herself in this winter wonderland on Christmas Eve, with snow covering the ground and the lake before her frozen solid. She exhaled her held breath, which came out white in the frosty air.

Ash had opted for long pants (which looked a bit odd to Chloe at first, since she had only ever seen him wear shorts before) and a warm, thick jacket that covered his clothes. Pikachu had a stocking cap and a scarf, though Eevee required neither given how thick her fur was.

Ash found them both a nearby stump to sit on and brushed the snow off of it. Chloe sat down in her own wintery outfit, with nice warm leggings and a fluffy white jacket that went over the jumper she wore. Sitting down next to Ash, she began to open her backpack to switch from her snow boots to her ice skates.

Ash chuckled to himself nervously under his breath as he took off his own shoes and replaced them with ice skates. They were nice and new, purchased with Chloe saving up her own allowance and doing extra chores and even agreeing to tutor several girls from her class for final exams that semester. Chloe was excited when she gave them to Ash, but while there was surprise and joy in his face, there was also more than a little trepidation.

"I uh, I've never gone ice skating before.." he admitted. "At least not with ice skates."

"All the more reason for me to help you learn," she had told him. They now found themselves at a pond outside of Pallet Town in the early part of the morning. The sky was clear, and Chloe wanted to take advantage of the time they had.

"C'mon, let's go!" she said, taking him by the hand and awkwardly walking through the snow to the edge of the pond. She tested the ice near the edge for just a moment to be sure it was solid, but there was little doubt it would be.

Chloe let go of his hand and stepped onto the ice, and in a few moments, she was already gliding atop it, the blades on her skates gliding over the surface of the ice.

She had gone ice skating a few times before. Mostly with her parents during winter breaks like this. One time, she had gone with Mika and Goh, only for Goh to fall through the ice and the day to be canceled early. But she loved the feeling of the cold air rushing past her face and the white puffs of breath coming from her mouth. But what she loved most of all was the image she saw while skating, of couples holding hands as they spun around the ice. It was that image that she most wanted to replicate with Ash at her side.