fates collide // an ash xy love story

xxii // interlude

"No problem, I'm just glad to have him back." Hannah says, and hugs her Pokémon tightly, then asks him, "So, you wanna battle today?"

The Pokémon instantly gets excited, him being in the professor's assistant's care for about a month, hasn't had the chance to battle or even see Hannah and her Pokémon in person since. Hannah does often video call the lab, but it never felt the same for either of them. So for them to see each other in person felt great.

Hannah returned the Pokémon and said her goodbyes to the professor, and then headed off to the stands for Round 4 of the league, holding the top 8. Hannah then looks at the board and sees the battles today, it says;

Kalos League 201X

Match 1: Alain vs. Ava – 11:00 am

Match 2: Astrid vs. Ash – 11:45 am

Break – 12:30 pm

Match 3: Audrey vs. Hannah – 1:00 pm

Match 4: Sawyer vs. Tierno – 1:45 pm

Round 5 Matchups announced – 2:30 pm

*Note: all trainers are to be at their specified entrance side at least 15 minutes prior to their battle. Names put first in the roster are to enter from the left entrance. Names put second are to enter from the right entrance. Any enquiries ask Nurse Joy at the Main Building Reception or Pokémon Centre.

Hannah read the sheet carefully and then glanced at the wall clock hanging above her. 'How is it already half past 11?! Jeez, I need to hurry to see the battle.' Hannah thought and went for the stands to see the current battle, but then recalled what happened yesterday. 'Why should I support someone who made me break? I'll just head for the left entrance now and be a little early.'

By the time Hannah had reached the gate, she had her I.D scanned and was sent to the side. After the Georgia incident, the league thought it was appropriate to quickly check all people for any weapons. After that had finished, Hannah was let into the waiting area, equipped with a small couch and T.V connected to the live battle feed. A few pictures lingered the walls, but other than that the room was quite dull. A window and door were on the opposite wall, it leads to the entrance point to go onto the field.

Hannah looked around the room and saw it was only her in here, and wondered where the person about to battle next was. Curiosity got the better of her, and she looked out of the window to see who was there. And to her surprise, sees Ash on the other side of the window, calming himself down with his eye closed, and taking in deep breaths.

Hannah doesn't want to disturb him, so doesn't go to interrupt his meditation, instead opting to look out the window and try to spot anyone she knows. When doing so, she forgets she is virtually staring in the back of Ash's head.

The Pokémon on top of his shoulder feels a gaze on the back of his head and turns his head to see the girl looking out the window and looking into the stands, looking for something that he doesn't know. Knowing his trainer, he decides to send a little shock through his trainer's shoulder by shocking him through his tail at a low voltage. The small shock made Ash jolt a little bit, and in turn, made Hannah jump out of her trance and move away from the window.

Ash looks at Pikachu on his shoulder and goes to ask him, "Hey buddy, what was that for?"

Pikachu then begins to jester to the door, and trying to show that there was something of significance there, but showed an empty window with nothing there. His trainer is slightly puzzled by this, him not knowing why his Pokémon shocked him, and his face showed it. Pikachu then jumps off of his shoulder and points his tail up to the window, trying to get him to look into it.

Ash obliges, and walks over to the window and looks into it to see Hannah sitting on the couch. A little frazzled, but on the couch. Ash instantly knocks onto the glass and attempts to get Hannah's attention, and is successful in doing so. Hannah's head turns to the window and sees Ash standing there with Pikachu on his shoulder. Ash looks happy to see her, while Pikachu is plain confused at her actions.

Hannah gives a small wave and begins to walk over to him. When she approaches the window, Ash attempts to open the door up to say hello to her. But, when he reaches the door handle, he is stopped by a security guard stationed by him, "What are you doing?" He asks, stopping Ash from opening the door.

Ash is slightly confused by this action, and so replies, "Saying hello to Hannah?"

"I'm sorry, but once you're out here you can't leave nor allow anyone in this area. The rules have changed since yesterday due to the Georgia incident."

"That's fine," Ash replies and waves apologetically at Hannah. She understands due to her being able to hear the conversation well and heads for the waiting seats again. A few minutes of mindless thinking go by, and the battle finishes at around 11:38 am. Hannah looks towards the T.V to see the victor of the round be Alain, him waving humbly toward the crowd. But Hannah knew better than that and could see the smugness in his eyes. She turns away in disgust and looks towards the door to see the girl named Ava walk through the door.

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Hi everyone! hope you're having a good day/night!

next chapters gonna be a better than this one, that I can guarantee.

my exam period is kicking in hard and fast, love that for me...

see you guys next time!

- hannah ✨