Old Titles (Betrayed) **Revising**

Chapter 6: Encounters (revised)

"You sure they didn't do it on purpose?" Bonnie asked snidely.

Ash groaned as Anabel blushed in the background. "Go to bed Bonnie." He closed the door in front of her while Bonnie stood there with a large grin on her face before leaving, followed by Callum and Gloria who were laughing the entire time.

Ash sighed as he walked over to Anabel. "Sorry about that. You alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I can deal with it." Anabel stated as her blush started going down.

"Still though. I think it's going to be a long tournament." Ash stated as he sat back down.

. . . . . . . .

Morning arose quickly for Ash and Anabel, as their match is one of the first ones to start for the day. They got ready in their Battle Frontier attire, Ash not dawning his cloak, and snagged a quick breakfast by the hotel lobby before taking off for the stadium to battle.

As they were on their way, Anabel realized something. "Hey Ash?"

Ash was petting Pikachu, but responded anyways. "Yeah?"

"I was doing a bit of reading up on Aura, and I was curious. Can you telepathically communicate with your Pokemon through Aura?" Anabel asked.

Ash paused for a second. "Where did you hear that?"

"A website speaking about the subject. It wasn't exactly clear, and by that I mean not clear at all, on how the flow of Aura works. But I did read a part that was supposedly from an ancient text that stated, 'So long as the bonds are true, the people of Aura do not need words to speak with those close to them.'" She explained. Ash sighed and stopped petting Pikachu.

"I'm surprised you pieced that much together in one day, but then again, you've always been smarter than me. Yes, I can speak with them through Aura. But I don't dare use it in battle." Ash said.

"Why not?" Anabel wondered aloud.

Ash laughed. "Cause that's your thing. Plus it's hard for me to keep that concentration for very long. I've only been at this for a year after all."

"So your Aura would get stronger if you practiced it over time." Anabel surmised.

"Bingo. But I don't dare go at it for a long time. If I did, I could die from Aura depletion. It's a risky art, but mastering it helps prevent accidents." Ash exclaimed.

"Well that's good to know." Anabel stated. "I was curious."

Ash shrugged. "Okay then."

Anabel looked around and saw no person in sight, so decided to be a little bold. She turned to Ash, who was back to petting Pikachu. And before Ash realized what she was doing, he felt something soft hit his cheek, stunning him. Anabel was blushing as she pulled back, but giggled a bit at Ash's reaction before moving on.

Ash's cheeks grew red as he felt the spot on his left cheek where Anabel's lips hit him. He was shocked that she even attempted that, but couldn't help but smile at her before they continued on.

Meanwhile, hidden in a nearby tree, a blonde was giggling to herself. "I knew they just needed alone time for it to work."

She turned to a Ghost Pokemon hidden under a colored rag that resembled a certain electric mouse next to her. "Thanks for scaring the crowd off Mimikyu. Though I don't know how you did it."

"Kyukyukyukyu." The ghost type giggled evily. That was one cat that would never escape the bag.

. . . . . . . .

Waiting for their names to be called, Ash and Anabel stood below the stadium, where the platform would take them up to the field. They had materialized the Poke Balls of the Pokemon they planned to use prior to arriving, as to not flaunt Professor Oak's invention before its scheduled release next year.