A few people asked me for Ash's POV for this chapter and I thought, why not? It was originally meant to be Elaina's POV but Ash was perfectly fine too. In fact, probably better. Anyways, hope you enjoy!
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"Alright, we're here. Laverre City!" Elaina exclaimed as she drank in the city before us. We had made it here just before nightfall so the buildings were illuminated by the color of dusk.
Memories of my previous visit to Laverre City flooded my head. I won my sixth gym badge here, against the gym leader, Valerie.
The group walked over a wooden bridge that crossed a flowing stream. The sound of running water filled my ears. I loved that sound. It reminded me of home back in Kanto and camp with professor Oak. And that reminded me of Serena.
I looked over at the honey blonde girl I had traveled with for so long. Like I was drawn to the sound of water, I was drawn to her. I'm not sure what made her so compelling. Maybe it was her large cerulean eyes that held an undeniable passion. Or possibly her generous and caring personality. All I knew was that I found myself following her everywhere she went. It was often mindlessly, like second nature.
Serena chatted to Elaina, a pearly smile gracing her lips. I found myself staring. Her short honey blonde hair drifted in the wind. And I couldn't understand why I kept wondering about her. Somehow, all trains of thoughts lead back to her. And I couldn't figure it out.
Why? Why was she always on my mind? Why did I even care?
I growled in frustration under my breath and watched the water roll off various rocks. The last of the Suns light left coral colored sparkles across its surface. A blissful image. And then my mind wondered back to Serena. I remembered how she yelled at me in the cave yesterday. I hated every second of it.
I blamed it all on 'him'. I didn't even know who he was but he was screwing with my head. How could Serena like someone and not tell me? I thought we were close. Maybe I overestimated that. But the fact that she couldn't tell me wasn't my biggest problem. It was 'him'. He was my problem. He left a sour taste in my mouth and a bitter feeling in my gut. It was a horrible emotion but I just couldn't put my finger on it.
I didn't even know him, how could I hate him? Wasn't that something that Serena told Elaina when she met Bella? And didn't I agree? Maybe I understood how Elaina felt. I should really talk to her. She could probably help me with my dilemma.
Before I knew it, we were standing in front of the Pokemon center. It was where we were supposed to stay the night. The moon was now emerging from the horizon, indicating nightfall. Street lamps flickered on, illuminating the shadowed streets.
"I'm starving. Can we eat diner now?" Aron pouted as he rubbed his stomach. Everyone agreed, except myself. I just wasn't hungry at the moment. Instead, I was engrossed with strange and foreign feelings. It made me lose my appetite.
"I'll make some macaroons for desert. It will also be a great opportunity to teach you some baking skills, Elaina. You'll need it for Pokemon performing." Serena said to her friend with a friendly wink. Elaina's eyes widened in fear.
"I have to learn to bake too!" She yelled, terrified by the matter.
"Of course you do. Don't worry, it's not that hard. Plus, you get to work with cake and icing." Serena tempted, putting images of sugary treats in the sweet tooth's head.
"On second thought, it shouldn't be that bad..." Elaina pondered.
"Come on let's go!" Leon hurried his chattering sister and her friend towards the door. As they proceeded, Serena caught my eye and noticed my lack of enthusiasm.
"Aren't you coming, Ash?" She questioned and everyone turned to me.
"No, I think I'll stay out here and train." I muttered.
"But you must be starving." The honey blonde looked worried, as if the fact signaled the end of the world. I guess my behavior was unusual.
"I'm not hungry right now. But Elaina, if you don't mind, I would appreciate if you trained with me." I spoke, remembering the things I wanted to discuss with her. She seemed to know a lot about feelings and emotions so hopefully she could help me.
"Are you sure Ash? Its not like you to pass up a meal." Serena's face was sympathetic as she spoke, but I couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes. We hadn't talked since the incident in the cave yesterday. She spent most of the walk here huddled with Elaina in a serious conversation.
"I'm sure." I said blankly.
"You really should eat, Ash." She pushed. I looked at the ground to avoid her gaze.
"I'm not hungry."
"But Ash-" she stopped short. I looked up to see that Elaina had her hand on Serena's shoulder with a stern look, telling her to let it go. Serena sighed, then pivoted on her heel and walked into the Pokemon center, muttering something about not caring anyway. My heart sank.
"I'll be there in a minuet!" Elaina called to her friend. All the honey blonde did was give a wave of recognition.
Then Elaina turned to me, her eyebrows raised and eyes curious. She searched me for answers but I continued to look at the ground.
"Alright, why are you mad at Serena?" The gold haired girl questioned. She wasn't taking my sulky attitude.
"I'm not mad at her." I mumbled.
"Okay, so why are you avoiding her, not talking to her, not making eye contact and completely brushing her off?"
"Do you ever mind your own business?" I said irritably. Usually I wasn't this rude, but now that I was thinking about 'him' I couldn't help being bitter.
"Nope! it's not in my nature."
"Maybe you should try it someday." I snapped. Luckily, Elaina could tell I was stressed and really didn't mean any of it.
"Rude much? What happened to the optimistic Ash I know?" She countered, trying to push my buttons. Why, I wasn't sure. She knew what she was in for.
Pikachu jumped off my shoulders, clearly annoyed with my attitude. He padded onto Elaina's shoulder to signify that he was on her side.
"Pika, Pi!" He agreed.
"I don't know you're talking about." I stuck my nose up at the pair.
"You damn well know what we're talking about." She growled.
"Pikachu!"
"Look, I came here to train. Not to talk about feelings."
"Sorry to burst your bubble Ketchum, but training is all about feelings."
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Elaina was still teaching me how to read other people. Speaking of, I had a favor to ask her.
"Fine. But enough about my attitude and enough about Serena." I concluded.
"That's fair. Now where were we...Oh right! We just finished talking about facial expressions and the signs of being nervous. How about a recap?" She exclaimed, a lightened mood now that she had somewhat won the argument.
"Okay, if you insist."
"Alright, what are signs of being nervous? And I want all of them Ketchum, cause people show emotion in different ways, not everyone will express it in the same way."
"Shaky breathing, reluctant eye contact, stuttering, slight shaking, fidgety and sometimes even forgetful." I listed. All of these where things Serena did in the cave.
Now I'm thinking about Serena again.
"Good. I can't tell you how many times I have almost forgotten my name due to nerves." She explained, shaking her head to forget a memory. "Now, what to teach you next..."
"Can you teach me how to tell if someone's in love?" I interrupted, finally asking the question. I was reluctant, scared of her response. And I had good reason.
Elaina looked at me, her eyes stunned. Surprise and puzzlement written on her forehead like the title of a newspaper. Her lips parted but nothing came out. She just stared at me, drinking in my features and trying to decided if I was telling the truth. Or if she simply imagined the whole thing.
"I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?" She asked, still consumed in shock. I chuckled at her awe struck expression.
"I said, could you teach me how to tell if someone's in love?" I repeated but her face didn't change.
"Excuse me?"
I sighed.
"I know you heard what I said." I gave her a stern look. Was it really that hard to believe I was interested in such a thing?
"Y-yes. I mean, of course I can teach you that. But if you don't mind me asking, why?" She continued to search my face closely as if I could leak answers. Unfortunately for her, the reason was something I couldn't let go at the moment.
"Just curious." I came up with an excuse. But she didn't buy it. Of course she didn't, Elaina always seemed to counter everything I did. It was as if I was fighting against myself sometimes.
"You're more than just curious, Ash." She pushed, again seeming to press every button there was to press.
"Why do you have to disagree with everything I say? If I say I'm just curious, I'm just curious!" I found myself often getting short tempered with Elaina.
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bad liar?" She looked at me with an amused expression. She knew she was pushing my buttons. And soon she was going to hit the self destruct one.
"Has anyone ever told you that you can be really annoying?" As I mentioned, usually I wasn't this rude, but Elaina seemed to bring out an old quality in myself.
"I've heard it once or twice in my lifetime." She shrugged. I guess after growing up with Aron and Leon then meeting Bella, she was used to it.
My thoughts were cut short again, like they had been often these past few weeks. The visions had become much more frequent. The ominous images and sinister feelings. The flooded plains of red and black.
My vision flickered between the freckled, blonde girl and a night-washed forest. The moon wall full and sent silver rays through the canopy gaps. Her teal-green eyes were large and filled with worry. The trees cast shadows upon my toned, blue limbs. Her sweet, doll face came closer, panic creasing her forehead.
And then Elaina was gone.
A sky of silver lined stars and navy backdrop. Shadowed trees clouded the perfect view of the moon. The forest was still and I was peaceful. Except I wasn't me. I was in the body of a tall, yellow spotted frog. I had webbed fingers and feet. My deep blue skin blended with the purples of the forest. And I looked up at the stars, thinking of myself.
Two small green creatures laid in the tall grass next to me. Both were like perfect reflections in a mirror. The only way to tell them apart were the distinguishing colored gems on their backs. One pink, one blue. We studied the stars together, a large and tense matter on our minds.
We only had one encounter with the darkness today. That is much improvement. I heard a voice in my mind. It was Sqishy's. I nodded my head in agreement.
But we still have work to do, the darkness is unpredictable. We cannot afford to let our guards down. The second voice came. It was the other green creature.
It most certainly is getting weaker, this isn't a faux. I can feel it. Squishy explained. I could feel it too, the darkness was dying. Soon our war would be over and I could return to my trainer. But as I looked up at the stars, I was still unaware of where he was.
My vision started changing again, the bright full moon turned back into turquoise orbs. They scanned me closely, like really closely. I could feel the owners breath fanning across my face. But I was to stunned to to move. We stayed there for a while, just staring at each other.
Then she screamed.
I screamed.
We both jumped back in surprise and embarrassment. Our cheeks flared pink. We eyed each other like strange specimens. I was lost for words.
"A-ash? What happened? Are you okay?" She questioned, trying to hide her heated cheeks with her golden hair. She was still in fright from my sudden awakening.
"Y-yeah I'm fine. Funny, you actually sound serious for once. And to top it off, you didn't call me Ketchum." I pointed out, causing her to flare up again. She obviously didn't enjoy being vulnerable. "Actually, you sound a lot like Serena. Not surprising, you are a lot like her."
"That's strange, Serena often says I'm a lot like you. Hey! Don't try change the subject! I asked you what happened?" She caught me, like she often did. But I didn't want to share it with her. Heck, I didn't even tell Serena what I saw in my visions. I knew I should though, I had to tell someone.
"It was nothing." I mumbled. That was a long shot and I knew it.
"Don't try that crap with me Ketchum! Even a blind man could tell that you're lying. You're eyes rolled back in your head and you became unresponsive for five minuets, for Arceus sake! I yelled your name and waved my hand in your face about ten times and you didn't even twitch. I'm insulted you would even try to fool me like that." She vented, stomping closer and pointing an accusing finger at me. I leaned back, knowing she could explode at any moment.
"Sorry, I'm just not sure how to explain it." I lied again, stupidly. Elaina gave me a knowing glare.
"How about using your words?" She growled sarcastically.
"How about we drop this?!"
"You need help, Ketchum. Not telling anyone isn't going to get you anywhere. Normally I would suggest you talk to Serena, but neither of you seem to be on good terms at the moment, for reasons, none of you want to tell me! And it's really frustrating seeing this silent war between my best friend and training partner. But I don't know how to fix any of your problems because you won't tell me about the matter! So the two of you sit here sulking, like its the end of the world, when I can help you! Serena has started to loosen up, but you! You are like a really stiff door that just won't budge. And now you're wondering what the hell different feelings mean! And your confused because you don't understand the things that are on your mind. And you're so blinded, that you don't see that I can help you! Open up your thick headed eyes, Ash!" She was breathing hard when she finally stopped speaking, her chest rising and falling faster than the speed of butterfly wings.
Honesty, Elaina scared me when she was mad. But she told the bitter truth. It was like a slap in the face, she knew everything. Maybe she could help me after all.
"Okay, okay, fine. I'll tell you." I finally gave in. I ran my hands through my black hair before explaining everything to her. From how I got Froakie to when it evolved into Greninja. To our bond phenomenon and the league. Then I explained Team Flare and their evil plans, how we stopped them. I explained Squishy's evolvement and finally, the day my other half left me. "...and now I keep seeing him. I have random visions of what he's doing and where he is. It's mostly in my dreams, but every now and then, it happens when I'm awake."
She looked at me and said nothing, letting my story sink in. It was a lot, I admit. Elaina perused her lips, her eyes going hard. She looked away from me, something different on her mind.
"I remember that day." She whispered. "The day that Team Flare attacked Kalos. I wasn't sure what it was for the longest time. We lived away from civilization and had no idea what was going on. The large, overgrown weeds burst through our house walls and tore up the floor. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. My family and I spent the next four days fixing the damage."
"I'm so sorry." Was all I could respond. Team Flare had made a huge impact on everyone's life, no matter where in Kalos you lived.
"Thank you, Ash." She turned to me with a sad smile, the memories still fresh in her mind.
"For what?"
"For saving Kalos."
"No problem, I don't mind saving a region or two in my free time." I laughed.
"Just killed the mood, Ketchum. Calm your ego a little, you're not that great." She punched my arm playfully.
"I beg to differ." I said in a joking tone.
"I'm sure you do." She giggled. "We should really go back to the others now. I'm starving and Serena wants to give me a baking lesson. I'll teach you about love tomorrow, okay?"
"Now that you mention it, I am kinda hungry." I rubbed my stomach, recognizing the familiar feeling of hunger.
"Glad to know you're back to normal."
"Thank you Elaina, for being a person I can talk to."
"Don't get sappy on me now, Ketchum."
"Yes, ma'am."
"You're pushing you're luck." She warned.
"Right, I'll shut up now."
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Well, I hope you're satisfied with Ash's view. I probably won't do another one for a while now. But maybe if you guys convince me, it may come sooner ;)