Archive of Our Own

The sun rays of a warm morning characteristic of the Kalos region beamed down on a small camp settled on a small clearing on their way towards Lumiose City. A warm breeze accompanied them, giving off the best end-of-summer weather one could ask for. However, the trainers that set said camp, couldn't appreciate the weather, no matter how much they tried.

Bonnie, Clemont, and Serena were too worried about Ash to appreciate anything about the nature around them. The three of them had been up and ready to continue on their way for about an hour by now, while Ash hadn't even gotten out of his tent yet. Normally, Ash would be the first one up, just so he could train with his Pokémon for a while before his friends woke up. There had been only one time, where that didn't happen, and that was an unfortunate incident for all of them.

"Do you think we should check on him?" Serena asked her travelling companions while looking towards the tent that Clemont shared with the Kantonian trainer "Maybe he is sick once again?"

"I don't think so" Clemont added, approaching the performer "When I woke up he was already awake, and he didn't appear sick, just....sad"

"Sad? Why? Do you think he is alright? Do you think anything bad happened?" Serena asked full of concern as she gripped her blue ribbon with both hands

"I don't know. But I know if Ash needs our help, he will ask" Clemont said with a sympathetic smile, as he placed a hand on her shoulder "Don't worry Serena, he will be fine. I just know it"

Serena gave him a small nod letting him know she understood, even though his words did little to settle her worries. They both knew that, but Clemont decided to let her be anyways, he knew it was futile to tell Serena anything else, in the end, she would always worry about Ash.

Serena kept looking towards Ash's tent, hoping to see the raven-haired boy come out of his tent, just to tell her that he was ok. Ever since she woke up and saw that he was still in his tent she had been worried, and as the time when on, her worries only grew. Right now, she was so worried about him, that she even considered bursting into his tent, just to see if he was fine, not even caring about how inappropriate that would be. She just wanted him to be safe, nothing else.

Suddenly she realized once again that the world consisted of more than her and the tent that was the focus of her worries when a small hand started shaking her arm. Looking down, she saw Bonnie was the owner of said hand, the small lemon-haired girl looking up at her while gesturing for her to kneel. Reluctantly, she did so.

"What it is, Bonnie?" Serena asked while looking towards Ash's tent through the corner of her eye

"You would have liked that Ash was sick again, just so he would fall on your arms again, wouldn't you?" Bonnie teased with a mischievous smirk

Serena took a step back at said affirmation, feeling a blush try to form on her cheek, as she looked down at her feet. However much to Bonnie's surprise, she was able to fight it back, before looking back at the younger girl with a seriousness she had never seen on Serena's face when she teased her

"No, Bonnie. I wouldn't" she said "I wouldn't because that would mean Ash was sick. And that...."she added, before once again gazing at the tent he was him

"I just couldn't take it if he was. I wouldn't even care if he was in my arms. I would just want him to be healthy again. I just want him to be ok" she added sincerely

Upon hearing the answer to her question, Bonnie looked down, ashamed. She knew she had screwed up big time, she had stepped on a line she shouldn't have.

"I am sorry" she whispered "I shouldn't have said that"

Suddenly she felt the warmth of a comforting hand on her which caused her to look up, only to see Serena's blue eyes looking at her, with a comforting smile adorning her face.

"It's ok Bonnie. I know you weren't saying it with bad intentions. You were just trying to distract me, weren't you?" Serena said matter-of-factly

Bonnie was taken back once again. Serena had seen right through her. But still, her intentions didn't justify her actions. She shouldn't have played with the concept of Ash being sick, she just shouldn't, no matter how great her intentions were.

"Still I shouldn't have said that I was....." she started

"Bonnie," Serena interrupted her "Don't feel so bad about it. You were just trying to help and made a mistake. It happens, believe me. You shouldn't focus so much on it. Just learn from it, and do better next time, ok?"

Right before Bonnie could answer, the sound of a zipper pulled both girls right out of their conversation, as the raven-haired trainer they had been so worried about made his way out of his tent, fully dressed, and with Pikachu right on his tail.

"Ash!" Serena exclaimed happy to see him in better condition than him he had been sick" We were so worried about you"

Ash looked up to see all his friends looking at him with relieved expressions etched on their faces. He felt bad that he had made them feel worried about him. He didn't want them to. They all had their own worries he didn't want to be another one of them.

"I am fine, guys" he said faking a smile, but they all saw right through him. This wasn't his familiar cheerful smile, this one was so small it was barely noticeably "Just wanted to sleep in a little. I think I went a little overboard with my special training yesterday"

"You sure?" Serena asked, her face full of concern

"I am" he replied with a small nod "Now, just gimme a minute to pack my stuff and then we can be on our way"

And with that, he turned around and started packing his stuff, trying his best to avoid his friends and their questions.

Serena kept looking at him, her face full of concern, concern that only increased, went she looked down and realized that Pikachu's expression mirrored hers, as he watched his trainer. Pikachu wasn't only worried about Ash, like her he didn't know what was the cause of his trainer's sadness.

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

The group had been journeying together for almost eight and a half months now. Usually, they spent up to six hours just traveling, without any problem. They joked amongst each other, told stories, discussed ideas for their battles, performances, inventions, pretty much anything. Overall, they had such a good time with each other that time just went by without them noticing. That was what usually happened, but that wasn't what was happening today.

They had been walking for about an hour, but for them, it seemed like they had been traveling for a week. They usually traveled with a good, relaxed atmosphere around them, but now the atmosphere was depressing and sad, and it was focused on Ash.

The rest of the group simply grew more and more concerned as they walked along route fourteen, Ash was anything but himself at the moment. The cheerful, positive, and energetic teen they had been traveling with wasn't there anymore. Instead, they were traveling with a sad, depressed, and lifeless person, that, for some reason happened to look like Ash. He didn't even notice how worried his friends were, it appeared that he was so focused on looking at the ground and simply walking forward that he couldn't see the world that surrounded him.

Bonnie's attention was suddenly drawn to a group of Flecthing that were chasing each other in the middle of the nearby trees. Looking away, she noticed that Serena and Clemont were also looking at the flying types with a smile on their faces, Ash on the other hand hadn't even given them a second thought. And that was when Bonnie had had enough, she had to do something

"Hey, Ash!" she called out as she approached the older boy, she had an idea on how to bring out the Ash she knew back "So, have you already thought about any strategies for the Kalos League, yet? Could you tell me about them, pleeeeease!?" she begged, with Rockruff eyes

When Clemont, Serena, and Pikachu heard what Bonnie was saying a hopeful look reached their faces. Ash loved to talk about his battles with his friends, and whenever Bonnie asked about them, he would talk about them with such an enthusiasm that one would think that the conversation they were having was between two eight-year-old kids.

"No, I haven't" Ash responded with a lifeless tone, shocking everyone, and causing their expressions to drop once again, especially Bonnie's.

"Oh, ok." she said as a new idea came into her head "Then could I see you train, Ash? I just love seeing you train!"

For the first time since the conversation started Ash's gaze moved away from the ground and he looked directly into Bonnie's eyes, and what the little girl saw in the boy's eyes made her flinch. The Kantonian trainer's eyes only radiated negative emotions, sadness, sorrow, perhaps even anger, and hate?

"I am sorry, Bonnie" Ash said, once again with a lifeless tone" I just don't feel like it today"

Everyone's jaws dropped at that revelation, and from the first time, since they started traveling in the morning, Pikachu ran down from Serena's shoulder and into his trainer's. Like everyone, he had sensed his trainer's mood, and he just couldn't stand being close to his trainer and not be able to do anything about it. He had hoped that when he went to train with Ash for the day, he would be able to connect with him and understand where all this sadness was coming from, but now, it appeared that his trainer was trying to ruin his plans, and when multiples flashes of light came from his trainer's belt, he realized he wasn't alone in it.

"Pika, pikachu, pikapi. Chu pika!" Pikachu pleaded with his trainer, as he perched himself on his shoulder

"Flame, Talonflame" Talonflame said, supporting Pikachu

"I am sorry, guys" Ash said as he picked up Pikachu and placed him on the ground "Maybe if Clemont doesn't mind you could all train with him today" he added looking up at his friend

"Sure, I wouldn't mind if that's what they want" Clemont said" But I really think you should be the one training them, Ash, not me"

"I know. I just can't do it. Not today" Ash said as he got up, turned around, and left all his shocked and worried friends behind.

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

As they continued on their way to the closest Pokémon center, the worried group kept up behind the Kantonian trainer, or at least did their best to try to, every time they tried to approach him, the Pallet Town native quickened his pace, not fast enough to ditch his friends, but fast enough to make sure they couldn't talk to him. They would be lying if they said that didn't hurt because it did. Especially to a certain trio.

Serena was praying with all her might that this wasn't a repeat of Snowbelle City, she couldn't take it if it was. Her confrontation with Ash had been as painful as it had, she just couldn't handle the idea of having another one right now, not so soon.

Pikachu had never seen his trainer like this. Sure, he had seen Ash depressed or in a bad mood before, but never like this. Never had he seen Ash wake up and decide to be depressed out of nowhere. He knew his trainer had to have a good reason for being so depressed, so why wasn't he telling them? Why wasn't he telling him?

Greninja wasn't feeling any better than the rest of the group. Ever since the Snowbelle City incident, ever since he and Ash had worked together to save Sewpa he and Ash had been stronger than ever, they had been closer than ever. He had been practically one with this trainer. So why? Why did he feel like Ash was pushing him away?

Seeking answers for his questions, Greninja resorted to the most reliable source he knew when it came to Ash, the Pokémon that knew his trainer like a brother.

As he approached the honey blonde girl that had said Pokémon perched on her shoulder, Serena turned around and looked at the ninja Pokémon with a smile

"Greninja, I was just about to call you" Serena started "Could you do me a favor and try to connect with Ash? At least see why he is feeling so down"

"That is the only option we have. He doesn't appear to want to open up with any of us" Pikachu added sadly

"Don't worry Pikachu, I am sure he will eventually open up to you" Sylveon said. Sensing the bad atmosphere from her Pokéball, she had let herself out to try and console both her trainer and Pikachu. Unfortunately for everyone, until now she had been rather unsuccessful, not even wrapping her ribbons around them seemed to affect their mood, in fact, it did the opposite of what it was supposed to, instead of cheering their mood up, it brought Sylveon's down as well.

"I am sorry, but I can't. It seems as if Ash is pushing me away. I can't sense anything. It's almost as if he doesn't want your bond to be there" Greninja said, using hand gestures to try and convey the message to the performer

"Oh Ash" Serena whispered as she brought her hands to her mouth, shocked by the revelation, but mostly scared, this was too close to Snowbelle City for her taste

"Serena" Sylveon said sadly as she rubbed her head on her trainer's leg, trying to cheer her up

"I am sure you will eventually succeed, Greninja" Braixen said with a smile as she rubbed her trainer's back. Greninja nodded at her as he placed a paw on Serena's free shoulder

"From what you said I presumed not even you know what is going on with Ash" Greninja said addressing Pikachu.

"No, unfortunately, I don't. I have never seen Ash like this. Normally, when he feels sad like this, there's a reason. Either he lost a battle, or we had to say goodbye to a friend. Now, it just feels like.... the day itself brought his mood down" Pikachu said, as he nuzzled the performer, he too trying to cheer her up just a bit. It was bad enough that Ash was in such a bad mood, they couldn't afford to have another person like that

"Cheer up, Serena. I think I have an idea on how to bring Ash mood back up once again" Clemont said as he approached the group, he had seen their interactions, and he too wanted to make sure his friend wasn't also falling in a bad mood

"You do?" Serena asked surprised, but one could also notice the presence of a little relief in her voice

"I think so" Clemont said as he adjusted his glasses "I have been making a little mental list on all the things that make Ash happy. I admit I was a rather long list, but I have the firmest belief that I was able to narrow it down to the ones how seemed to cheer him up the most"

"Oh, thank goodness, Clemont" Serena said as she brought the lemon haired boy into a firm hug "You have no idea how happy that makes me"

"I think everyone does" Talonflame mumbled causing all of the Pokémon to hold back a laugh

"Come on don't be like that, it is kinda cute if you ask me" Braixen said in defense of her trainer

"You're only saying that, 'cause you're just like her" Pancham whispered so only Braixen could hear him, as he eyed Greninja, sending his message across, and causing the fire type to blush

"So, what can I do to help?" Serena said determinedly, not noticing the commotion that had started amongst the crowd of Pokémon that was all around her.

"Well, here's the thing. You can't help, only you can do it. At least the first two items of the list" Clemont explained

"Really?" Serena said surprised

"Yeah. You see, I compiled a formula that, according to Ash's reaction to situations, mostly his emotionally state, amount of time in said state, among other factors, gave me a rating from 0 to 10 in terms of his overall happiness" Clemont explained "So, after putting multiple situations through said scale, I came up with a list of the top 10 activities that increase Ash's overall happiness the most"

"Wow, how did you do all that?" Serena asked impressed, a sentiment that was accompanied by everyone around

Clemont simply took out the small tablet he usually used to help design his inventions "I simply put my programming skills to the tests" he said as he once again adjusted his glasses

"Are you sure the results are right?" Serena asked wanting to be sure, they couldn't afford to take any chances

"One hundred percent. At least the top 5 are in accord with what I expected" Clemont said proudly while typing away at his tablet

"And what are they?" Serena inquired, wanting to get to work right away

"See for yourself" Clemont answered, handing the tablet over to her

As Serena picked up the tablet, her eyes immediately set out to scan the items on Clemont's list. And she could say that she was already expecting the first two.

Pokémon battles X

Meeting new Pokémon X

The simple fact that both of their biggest hopes of cheering Ash up were almost already crossed out of their list forced a frown on Serena's face, however, she couldn't blame Clemont for it. Ash had already made it pretty clear that that wasn't going to work, but still, they couldn't give up hope. So, she kept on reading.

"Clemont are you really sure this is right?" Serena asked with widened eyes as she finished reading the third and fourth items on the list

"Like I told you, Serena. One-hundred percent" Clemont answered full of certainty

"But I mean..... there must be something else before this" Serena retorted nervously

"Let me see" Bonnie asked trying to reach out for Clemont's tablet.

Uncertainly, Serena handed the tablet over to her, before running her hands over her hair and thinking about what she had just read, being careful not to disturb Pikachu

"Nope, no mistake. This is just right. One-hundred percent Ash" Bonnie commented before handed the tablet over to the performer

"Bonnie's right" Pikachu added, even though only the other Pokémon could understand him, he was pretty sure the message had been understood

"Do you really think it will work? Do you really think that will cheer him up?" Serena asked as she held her ribbon firmly with both hands

"On their own, I don't think so, but if we surprise him with both at the same time, perhaps" Clemont answered

"Come on, Serena. I know you can do it! If there is someone who can cheer Ash up, that's you" Bonnie cheered as she gave the performer a side hug

"You can do it! If there is anyone that can bring dad back that's you, mom" Noivern said as he nuzzled the performer, causing her to smile and pet his head in return, something which he appreciated immensely.

Hawlucha sighed at Noivern's comment. They had already explained to the young Pokémon that the relationship between him and Ash and Serena wasn't what he thought it was, but he had apparently inherited Ash's stubbornness and kept on insisting to call the two trainers mom and dad.

"What am I going to do with you?" Hawlucha asked as he facepalmed

Serena gazed at the items of her concern once again, just to be sure she wasn't seeing things. And the truth was, she wasn't

Seeing Serena perform

Eating (especially Serena's Poképuffs)

It wasn't that Serena wasn't confident in her abilities because she was. It was the unexpected weight of the responsibility that had fallen into her shoulders. Right now, she was the best chance they had to cheer Ash up. It was a big responsibility.

Yet, she couldn't be afraid of it. All her friends were counting on her. She couldn't fail, she had to cheer Ash up. She had to give it her all.

"I will do my best" she said full of determination.

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

The group had decided to set up a small camp on a nearby clearing to try and set their plan into motion. They hadn't brought many things out, only their foldable table and whatever they needed to cook.

The Pokémon were being a big help for their trainers. While Serena and her Pokémon cooked a fresh batch of poképuffs, Clemont and his prepared one of Ash's favorite meals. Meanwhile, Bonnie was sitting at the table, focused on her drawing, while Ash's Pokémon were doing their best to help their trainer's friends on their tasks. They might never have cooked before, but they could still be of help to them.

Their trainer was nowhere in sight. As soon as everything was set up, Ash simply walked away towards a small river that ran a little away from their camp. When questioned about his decision to leave, Ash simply said

"I just need to think about some stuff. Don't worry, guys"

And that only made them all more determined to cheer him up

"There, all done" Serena said as she finished applying the toppings on her Poképuffs. All her Pokémon cheered excitedly seeing the mouthwatering results of their hard work.

"Now we just need to make sure Ash doesn't see them until we're ready" Serena said to her Pokémon as she started storing the poképuffs on her basket "And we also need to make sure a certain grass type doesn't eat them as well" she added as she glanced towards Clemont's Chespin, who sweatdropped as he tried to hide behind his trainer

Having finished cooking what she needed to, Serena made her way to the foldable table and ended up sitting beside Bonnie. The little girl was extremely focused on her drawing, to the point where she even had a tiny bit of her tongue visibly through her lips, Dedenne watched her draw with a huge smile on his lips, clearly liking what she was drawing, and even giving some ideas were and there, or at least doing the best he could to. Serena's curiosity had been easily caught by the interactions. She leaned over the table and looked at the drawing and when she saw what the younger girl was drawing, she couldn't help but smile brightly.

"Bonnie! That's beautiful" Serena praised, touched by the drawing she was seeing in front of her eyes

"Thanks! I just hope Ash likes it too" Bonnie said in a sad tone, finally acknowledging the performer's presence, but still keeping her focus on her drawing

"Denene" Dedenne exclaimed, trying to cheer the young girl.

"I am sure he will" Serena assured, but even she wasn't confident in her words. Ash had been so down lately she was worried he might unintentionally hurt the little girl

"Serena, you should go and get ready" Clemont said as he approached the two girls "Lunch is almost ready. Right now all we need is to go and get Ash"

"Right, see you guys later" Serena said as she stood up and walked into the tent they had set up just so she could change into her performance outfit

"Gren Greninja" Greninja said pointing to himself. Clemont might not have been able to understand Greninja, as well as Ash could, but right now he didn't need to, to understand what the Ninja Pokémon was saying

"You're going to get Ash?" Clemont asked, looking to confirm his suspicions

"Gren" Greninja nodded before scurrying off to find his trainer

"Pika pika" Pikachu cried as he enveloped himself in a white outline and ran off to help Greninja find his trainer

Clemont took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He knew Greninja and Pikachu would find Ash in no time, so he had to use the little time he had left to get everything ready. With Bonnie's and his Pokémons's help, he set the table and made sure everything was ready to gift his best friend with the best food he had ever made.

"Is everything ready?" Serena asked as she stepped out of her tent in her performance outfit, her Pokémon by her side

"Yeah, I think so" Clemont said as he gazed towards the direction where Pikachu and Greninja had gone to look for their trainer

"Ok. Then I will go ahead and hide. If you need anything just call, ok?" Serena said as she picked Pancham up and started making her way to her hiding spot with Sylveon and Braixen in tow

A few minutes later Clemont and Bonnie finally saw the sight that they had been waiting for. Pikachu and Greninja were coming out of the forest with Ash closely behind them. His expression was the same it had been all day, but if their plan worked, that was soon about to change.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I kept you waiting" Ash said as he looked around the table where his friends were sitting, only to notice someone was missing "Where's Serena?"

"Pancham, stone edge!" Serena commanded from behind a rock that stood on the clearing they were in

As Ash looked towards where he heard the command, he saw a pillar barrier of spiky blue rocks form between two big grey rocks, as if forming a curtain in a theatre.

Suddenly the wall of blue rocks exploded into a million small blue sparkles that showered the group of friends. In the midst of sparkles, there were a few small fiery orange embers that contrasted beautifully with the blue of the rocky crystals.

Serena and her Pokémon were in the middle of the shower of particles, dancing graciously as the sparkles fell around them.

"Braixen flamethrower" she said after a spin, extending her hand towards her starter

"Braiiiii" the fire fox cried she shoot a flamethrower out of her stick, after she twirled it around a bit

Braixen's flamethrower circled around the dancing group, essentially isolating them and highlighting their performance, as the orange glow from the flames illuminated them. At first, Ash and Clemont were worried that some embers from the flames might cause fires to spread around the clearing, but Greninja seemed to be handling the situation.

"Pancham stone edge" Serena commanded as she danced with Sylveon

The playful Pokemon slammed two of his fists into the ground, summoning two sets of blue pillars. Sylveon and Braixen jumped on them, and danced as they were raised into the air

"Flamethrower" she said with her arm extended towards Braixen

As Braixen twirled her wooden stick in her hands preparing to use her move, Serena spun on her heels and extended her hand towards Sylveon.

"Swift" she commanded

Sylveon summoned a set of stars in between her feelers and threw them towards Braixen oncoming jet of flames.

"Dark pulse" Serena said with her hands stretched in front of her, as the attacks collided on top of her, creating a star made of flames.

Serena threw Pancham up with all her might. The playful Pokemon rose in the air as he conjured dark-type energy in between his paws. As he started slowing down in his ascent he fired the built-up energy down, towards the fire star, in the form of a double helix of dark type energy. The star reacted to the new type of energy by changing its colors, increasing in size. Despite that, the combination of black, red, and gold that composed the star was still incredible to look at.

When the attack struck the star, Serena made her next command.

"Scratch and iron tail" Serena said as he danced under the now pulsating star, as if about to burst.

Sylveon and Braixen jumped from their pillars towards the opposite ones. As they crossed each other in mid-air Braixen's claws started glowing white and increased in size and Sylveon's tail was coated with a metallic glow. As they closed in the pillars, they both struck them with their attacks, destroying them and making blue sparkles rain on them as they landed on the floor.

"Arm thrust" Serena said as she looked upwards, towards her falling playful Pokémon, who was just about to meet the energy star. Pancham made a small flip in the air as his arm started glowing white. With a proud cry, he slammed his fist into the star, causing it to explode into another shower of fiery orange, golden, and dark miniature stars.

With a spin Serena caught Pancham as the stars collided with the ground, exploding in what looked like a miniature fireworks show on the ground.

Pancham moved to Serena's shoulder as she finished her dance with Sylveon and Braixen, the of them posing with her. Braixen on her left and Sylveon on her right. Meanwhile, Pancham posed on her shoulder

"And finished!" Serena exclaimed as she posed with her arms opened wide.

"So, what did you think, Ash. Wasn't it pretty?" Bonnie questioned, as she looked towards Ash

Everyone looked intensely at the raven-haired trainer, hoping to see him happy about the performance.

"Yeah. It was a great performance, Serena" Ash answered with a smile, one that was bigger than it had been all day, although it still was a small one

"Well, I am glad you liked it" Serena answered unconvinced as Pancham passed her the basket with her Poképuffs. As soon as they finished the performance, the playful Pokémon had gone to get them, just in case the performance hadn't been enough

"Well, we also made these Poképuffs just for you. We hope you like them" Serena continued with a smile, as she opened her basket and presented him with the Poképuffs she made. She hoped with all her heart that that was enough to make him smile, genuinely smile

"We also prepared your favorite dishes for lunch" Clemont said as he opened his pot and showed Ash its contents

"And I also made this drawing just for you, Ash" Bonnie said, beaming a smile at the older boy. To everyone's dismay, Ash simply took it without even looking at it. He just kept looking around the camp they at set up. At the table where Clemont had set up lunch, at all of his Pokémon who were beaming smiles at his trainer, and finally at his friends, who were all doing the same thing.

"You did all this for me?" he asked, while looking towards Serena, but it was clear the question was directed at all of them

"Well... we figured out that something was bothering you. And we wanted to make you happy" Serena answered as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"We want to help you, Ash. Please, just talk to us" Clemont assured as he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, trying to support him like Ash had done for him many times

"You know you can tell us anything" Bonnie said as she hugged him, or at least his waist

"Pika!" Pikachu said as he jumped on his trainer's shoulder and started nuzzling him. The rest of his Pokémon also made their way to their trainer and hugged him and Bonnie tightly

"I appreciated it guys. I really do" Ash said as he pulled away from the hug and picked Pikachu up, and placed him on the ground "But I don't deserve it, not today"

"Ash?" Bonnie said sadly as he took a step away from him

"I need to be alone for a while" Ash said as he stepped away from them and once again made his way towards the forest, his hat shadowing his eyes, not letting anyone see them

"Ash!" Bonnie called out moving slightly towards him, but he made no effort to answer her, he simply kept walking with his head down and still holding on to Bonnie's drawing

Serena kept glancing at the Kantonian native, with her hands close to her heart, as she watched him walk away. A single thought coursing through her mind "This is a lot like Snowbelle City. Please don't let this be a repeat of Snowbelle City" A thought that was broken when she heard the sounding of someone sniffing close to her. Looking around her gaze fell on Bonnie, as the young girl was uncharacteristically looking down

"Bonnie?" she asked, as she stepped closer to the young girl

As Serena's voice entered Bonnie's ears, the young girl lunged at Serena and hugged her tightly, sobbing into her dress. Serena quickly wrapped her arms around the young girl and started rubbing her back comfortingly, trying her best to calm her down

"He.... he didn't even... look at it" Bonnie said in between sobs

"Bonnie. Don't worry about it. I am sure there is a good explanation for it" Clemont said as he too knelled down and started rubbing his sister's back "But I can guarantee you that as soon as he sees it, he will love it"

"You think so?" Bonnie asked as she took her face away from Serena's dress and looked at her brother

"We know so, Bonnie" Serena assured her as she used her thumb to wipe the tears of the young girl's face "Ash will be back to being himself in no time. You just wait and see"

Bonnie beamed a smile at her, happy with that prospect, that was until she saw the tear stains, she had left on Serena's dress

"Sorry, I didn't mean to" she said with a sad look on her face

"It's ok. I don't mind" Serena said as she slowly rubbed Bonnie's arm "Now, why don't you and Clemont go ahead and have lunch. I will join you in a bit"

"You sure?" Clemont asked as he approached and took his sister's hand into his

"I am" Serena said as she stood up "I won't take long"

Quickly Bonnie let go of her brother's hand and gave her one last hug

"Good luck!" she said as she let go and stepped away from the older girl and went with her brother

Serena took a deep breath as she made her way to where she had seen Ash go off to, Pikachu and Greninja following her. The trio made her way towards the forest in silence, no one knew what to say, yet they were all thinking the same thing "What's gotten into you, Ash?"

Suddenly Pikachu jumped to Greninja's shoulder, surprising both him and Serena

"If you want a free ride, you can always use Serena's shoulder, I am sure she doesn't mind" Greninja said, addressing the electric mouse

"I would, but that's not why I am here. I need to talk to you" Pikachu whispered, not wanting Serena to hear what he was saying, not that that was needed, seeing as the girl was more focused on looking for Ash

"About what?" Greninja asked, clearly intrigued by what the electric mouse had to say

"I think we should let Serena handle this one" Pikachu whispered, surprising the ninja frog Pokémon

"Why?" Greninja asked

"I have seen Ash in a bad mood multiple times" Pikachu explained "When he is like this, he becomes kinda... snappy. The only person I have seen to be able to get him out of it is Serena. At least from what I've heard him say, she was able to"

"So, we just sit back and watch?" Greninja inquired, not liking that prospect at all

"No, I say we give her a chance. Then, if she isn't able to help him, we go ahead and help her" Pikachu concluded

"Fine" Greninja agreed reluctantly

The trio continued on their way towards the forest, until they eventually stumbled on a slow-flowing river. A river that had a raven-haired boy sitting at its margin. His hair was exposed to the wind, no longer restrained by his hat, his gaze was fixated on the ground, while his hand was still holding the drawing of a small lemon blond girl.

As soon as Serena laid eyes on him, she held her breath. This was it, she had to watch her words, she had to say the right things, she couldn't mess up this again.

Slowly she made her way towards Ash, so focused on what she would say that she didn't even notice that Greninja and Pikachu had stayed behind.

She sat down beside him. He didn't make a move to acknowledge her presence, but she knew he knew she was there. There was no way he didn't. The two of them stayed silent, not knowing what to say to each other. They had learned the power of the words they said back in Snowbelle, they knew they had to weigh them very carefully.

"Bonnie wanted you to see the drawing she made" Serena said, finally breaking the silence between them, she didn't say it a reprimand, more as a reminder, she knew Ash wouldn't want to hurt her intentionally, she knew he had a reason for not seeing it, and she wanted to know what it was

"I didn't mean to hurt her" Ash said, pain being evident in his voice "I didn't mean to hurt any of you"

"Then why didn't you see it?" Serena inquired, turning to see him. She saw almost all of his face, she only missed his eyes, still hidden by the shadow cast by his hair.

"I don't deserve it, any of it" Ash said in the same tone as before, still refusing to turn to her

"What do you mean you don't deserve it, Ash? If anyone in the world deserves it's you. And even if you didn't, we didn't do it because we thought you deserve it. We did it because we care about you. Because we want to see you happy" Serena countered, she wanted him to understand their views.

"Well, you shouldn't have. Because the last thing I should be today is happy" Ash countered finally letting see his eyes. And that's when she saw them. The tears threatening to fall from his eyes

"Why?" Serena asked, more worried than before. She had never seen Ash cry, she had never seen him form a single tear, not even when he twisted his ankle, so this had to be serious

"Because... because she isn't. And it's all my fault" Ash finally confessed, once again looking away from her and towards the river

"Who?" Serena inquired, knowing she shouldn't be pushing him too hard, but she had to, she had to know in order to help him

Silence consumed them once again, but Serena didn't mind. Ash was contemplating on whether or not he should tell her, she had to stay quiet and let him make that decision himself, if she pushed too hard, she might lose whatever progress she had made.

Ash took a while to decide, but in the end, the decision was obvious for him.

"My mom" he said, once again looking back at the ground. His tone was sad and consumed in guilt

"Your mom? Why wouldn't your mom be happy? And why would that be your fault?" Serena questioned, as she reached out and placed a hand on his arm, trying to connect with him, trying to understand

"You know what day it is?" Ash asked, trying his pain to hide his emotions, but failing

"February third, but that not what you're going for, is it?" she said, as she rubbed his arm, knowing this must be hard for him

Ash shook his head and took a deep breath, steadying himself for what he was about to say.

"It's also the day my father left us" Ash said with a shaky voice, from anger or sadness, Serena didn't know

"It's been ten years. Ten years since he did. And ever since it happened, my mom has spent this day crying her eyes out." Ash continued, as he clenched his fists, his voice filled with sadness and anger

Serena simply heard every word he said with the utmost attention. She wanted to say something to comfort, she wanted to, but she didn't know how. She didn't know what to say. What could she say, when Ash had just said something like that

"I tried to help her. I tried to make her forget about him, to make her see that he didn't deserve it" Ash continued, tears threatening to spill from his eyes "But, I failed"

Serena once again heard what he said while rubbing his arm caringly, showing him that it was ok. That she was there, that he could trust her, that he could confide in her.

"She tries to put up a front. She tells me she is ok, but I know she is lying. She says it with a smile, but I know her well enough to see how fake it is" Ash confessed, his voice shaking from the sadness "The rest of the year she is fine. She is..... truly happy, but on this day, she just ... breaks! I usually spend the day with her. Either in person or talking to her through a phone on a Pokemon Center. Trying to help her. But, I was so focused on the Kalos League, that I forgot. And now she is breaking down once again, except now she is all alone. Cause I was too stupid to remember a simple date"

Serena herself wanted to cry at this moment. For the entirety of the day she had been worried that this would be a repeat of Snowbelle City, that she would have to snap at Ash to get him to be back to being himself. That he would snap at her, yell at her, hurt her. But right now, she wished it was. She would have preferred that to seeing him so hurt, so vulnerable, so broken.

"The worst part is that she still believes in him. She.... she... she still believes he will come back" Ash confessed, finally starting to let the anger leak out. At this point, his fists were so clenched so tight that his knuckles were white

"I told her. I told her he won't. The bastard had no intention of returning. And she still believes in him. Why can't I make her understand" Ash spat out, as he frantically ran his hands through his hair, causing Serena to back away for a moment, surprised at the emotion in his words. An emotion she never expected from Ash.

Hate

When he sensed her backing away, Ash finally looked up, seeing her face for the first time, and when he saw the slight fear in her eyes, he realized what he had done

"Sorry I..... I didn't mean it" Ash apologized

"It's ok, I was just surprised" Serena assured, as she placed an arm around him, comforting him "It's just that I've never heard you talk like that about anyone. It almost feels like you hate him"

Ash looked away from her, not using words to answer her question

"I don't want to, but.... at the same time, I just..... can't avoid it" he sighed, ashamed of his words. Finally letting his fists relax

"Why? I mean, I know he left, but from what you said, your mother believes he had a reason. Why don't you trust her on this one? Why don't you give him a chance?" she inquired, as she tightened the hug, she had him in, hoping to comfort him with it. As far as she knew, if he wasn't fighting it, it must have been working. She couldn't understand why was wouldn't give Ash a chance, he gave everyone a chance.

"Cause I saw him leave" Ash stated in a tone that to him, was rather cold

Kanto had always had a temperate climate. It didn't have very hot days, nor very cold nights. Yet, sometimes, the temperature dropped a little bit. Just a little bit, but enough to wake up a young four-year-old boy.

Ash had never been a light sleeper, but if there is one thing he couldn't endure while sleeping was cold. He enjoyed the warmth when he slept, it made him feel safe, protected, it reminded him that he was cared for.

But, still, when he woke up, no matter how much he tried, he could never go back to sleep on his own. Still, he didn't mind that much, he would only need to turn around on his bed for a few minutes, just so he could say that he had tried to fall back asleep and then he could be on his merry way to his parents' bed

He loved to sleep with his parents, usually, they would spend the whole night cuddling with him. His mom would give him the tightest hugs and softly kiss his forehead while telling him everything was ok, and then he would just have to let the warmth radiating from her force him back to sleep. And that was a feeling no blanket could recreate

Carrying his Pikachu plushie under his armpit, Ash got out of bed as silently as he could. He carefully tiptoed his way towards the door of his room, and when he reached it, he was surprised.

There was light coming from underneath the door. Which meant someone was awake.

That wasn't a problem, sometimes Ash's dad stayed up until late, watching the news, so, undeterred, Ash stretched himself to reach the doorknob, eager to feel the warmth of his mother.

As soon as the door opened a bulky figure of a man stood in front of Ash, looming over him, as the light coming from the bathroom enveloped his figure, leaving his face obscured by shadows

"Ash? Why are you up, little guy?" his dad asked, surprised by his presence

Ash looked past his Dad, seeing a little toiletry bag close to the sink of the bathroom, opened and already filled with multiple items.

"Daddy, what're doing?" Ash asked, rubbing his tired eyes

"I just have some stuff to take care of" he answered for a moment gazing at the bag behind him "Now come on, Ash. You need to go back to bed"

"I can't! I won't be able to sleep!" Ash whined as he pouted at his dad. He hoped it would work, but he couldn't tell. He couldn't see his face

"Yes, you can champ" he answered as he picked his whining son up "You just need to try"

"I can't. I need mommy" Ash retorted as he tried to escape his daddy's hold on him, but alas, he was unable to

"Com'on Ash, you can. I know it" his dad encouraged him, as he placed him down on his bed "Mom needs to sleep right now, so I need you to be a brave boy, so she can do just that. Can you do that for me, Ash?"

"I can try" Ash answered as he relaxed in his bed

"Thanks, champ!" his dad said as he reached for a fist bump. One that Ash had trouble reciprocating as the tiredness he had started consuming him

"Ash, can I ask you a favor?" he heard his dad ask

He had no energy to respond verbally, so he merely nodded his head to confirm it

"Ash, I....I need you to take care of mom. Can you do that for me?" Ash heard his dad. While the question seemed odd for the four-year-old, he drowsily nodded none the same.

Ash suddenly felt a pair of lips touching his forehead for a few moments causing him to fling his eyes open for a moment. Allowing him to finally see his dad's face.

"I will be back soon I promise" he said, with an expression that Ash had never seen before. It felt odd for him, he had never seen such an expression, an expression that conveyed emotions he had never seen before. The only thing he could distinguish was sadness, but why was his daddy sad?

Ash wanted to ask, he wanted to make sure his dad was fine, but he couldn't. He was too tired to. The only thing he could do was close his eyes and watch as his dad closed the door behind him, stopping the light from entering Ash's room, and left.

That had been the last time Ash had seen his father

The following morning was hard for the young boy. Seeing that his day wasn't there was saddening in itself but the sadness in his mom's face was heartbreaking. But she held strong, if it was for her or for him, he didn't know. But the worst part was at night. Ash could hear his mother's sobs from his bedroom, even with two closed doors separating them.

He just couldn't take it. Without even caring about the noise he made, Ash got out of his bed and made his way to his mother's bedroom.

Each step he took only made the sobs louder, breaking his heart even further

He hated to hear this

He hated to see his mom like this

So, he did the only thing he knew

He made his way to her bedroom and snuggled into her bed cuddling with her

That was the first time he cuddled with her without wanting to sleep. She didn't resist, she just hugged him tightly. Tighter than she ever had. As if she was afraid, he would leave her too.

That was the first time he consoled his crying mother

"As time went on, I finally figured out why his face seemed off to me" Ash said almost breaking down "It was because he was lying to me."

"He had no intention of coming back" Ash concluded, his voice shaking with anger "The only memory I have of him, it's of him lying to me. In my face"

At this point, Serena was just shocked. She didn't know what to say. So she didn't say anything.

She just turned and fully hugged him. Trying to give him some comfort.

He didn't resist. He just hugged her back and melted into her arms.

"Why, Serena? Why does she keeping hoping he will come back?" Ash asked, his voice finally leaking the sadness that had been building up inside him for so long, as the first tears finally dropped from his eyes into her shoulder "Why does she keep suffering for him? Why can't I help her?"

Serena knew the answer to that question. She knew, yet she couldn't bring the words to form in her mouth. She was afraid Ash wouldn't understand, so she kept rubbing Ash's back in a comforting manner, in a caring manner. Slowly, she worked up the courage to tell him the truth. He may not understand the truth, he may not like the truth. But he deserved the truth.

"Because she still loves him" she slowly whispered, afraid of the effect her words could have on him

When her words hit his ears, Ash immediately pulled away from the hug, only keeping his hands on her waist, causing her to get flustered by the position of his hands

"Love him? What do you mean love him?" he inquired in an angry tone, taken aback by her words "Why would she love him, after all he did to her? How could she love him?"

Serena used all her willpower to focus on his words, on their conversation. This was serious, she couldn't get distracted now. She would be lying if she said the tone of his voice wasn't a little scary, a little too close to the tone he used on their discussion in Snowbelle.

"I don't know, Ash. I truly don't, I just know she does" she answered truthfully, and she could tell by his expression that he was growing more and more confused by every word she said. But there was nothing else she could say, besides this. Because this was the truth "In fact, I think even she doesn't know why"

Ash's eyes were narrowed, not in an angry way, but a focused way, as if doing this allowed him to see more clearly what she was saying. But no matter how much he tried he couldn't understand what she was saying

"Serena, you're not making any sense" he stated, as he closed his eyes and shook his head

"I know. And that the gist of it, Ash. Love doesn't make sense. You don't know why you've fallen in love. And you don't have to. You just know you did" she explained as she looked at the ground, ashamed of telling something so personal. Even if Ash didn't know it, it was still embarrassing

Ash kept gazing into her eyes, trying to comprehend her words. Trying to see how she could understand so well, something that to him, didn't make any sense at all, yet at the same time, strangely did. It was so confusing and weird. He kept trying, and at the same time, he did his best not to get lost in the beautiful oceans she called eyes. He always thought her eyes were very pretty, but sometimes they were too distracting

"And what do you do to ...uhm....I don't know.... unfall in love?" he asked while removing one of his hands from Serena's waist to rub his nape, embarrassed by his lack of knowledge about a subject that to her seemed trivial to understand

Serena looked at him in surprise, slightly caught off guard by such a question. A question that she didn't know how to answer. So, she looked down at the ground, focusing on her train of thought, one which she hoped would lead her to an answer.

Ash didn't push her, he just let her be as he waited for her to answer him. I didn't bother him. He had another question he needed an answer for. A question only he could answer

Why had he done it? Why had he confided in her? Why Serena of all people?

"You can't" she said, snapping him out of his thoughts

"What?" Ash asked, not having expected that kind of answer "What do you mean you can't? There has to be a way, Serena!" Ash stated, his voice filled with desperation, getting more and more exalted by the minute. He needed that answer

"Look, Ash, I know that wasn't the answer you were looking for, but it's the best I can give you" Serena calmly explained, trying to calm him down "It's the truth. Some people can fall out of love, but from what you told me.... I don't think your mom can"

"Why?" Ash inquired desperately. He had been hoping for a better, more fortunate answer, an answer that could help his mother

"Because she truly loves him" Serena explained "And that, that's a kind of love that no one can take away. Time and only time alone can help her. I am sorry, Ash.... But you can't do anything else" she added as she broke the position they were in and started heading back, giving him the time and space he needed to contemplate on her words

"I can't do that. I can't stop worrying about her." Ash called out to her once again, as he stood up and faced her back "She is the only family I have"

Serena turned around and looked him directly in the eyes as she thought of what to say. The look in his eyes, the desperation in them, broke her heart. Ash just wanted to look out for his mother. He just wanted to help her, like he helped everyone else. But, this time, he couldn't do it. This was a situation beyond his control. This time, trying to help, only did more harm than good

"I know, Ash. And that's normal" Serena explained "But... I am afraid, that if you do it. You will do more harm than good"

"Why?" Ash inquired, his voice getting a little bit higher in tone, due to how confused he was

"Because you will be hurting the rest of your family" Serena said as she turned around, went on her way towards their camp, leaving a perplexed and confused Ash alone

"The rest of my family?" Ash mumbled to himself, confused, as he watched her back getting smaller and smaller as she slowly walked away from him

"Pikapi" Pikachu cried getting Ash's attention, the small mouse was just standing a few meters away from his trainer, looking at him with a concerned and hurt expression.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed surprised until it hit him "You heard all that, didn't you, buddy?"

"Pi" Pikachu nodded as he slowly stepped closer to his trainer

"Gren" Greninja agreed as he jumped down from the trees and made himself visible

"Greninja, you too?" Ash asked, surprised by the sudden appearance of his ninja Pokémon

"Ninja" Greninja nodded, while he approached his trainer alongside Pikachu

"I should have known that I couldn't keep anything from you two" Ash chucked out as he turned his back on them and looked at the running river once again

"I am sorry, I never wanted it to end up like this" Ash explained in a downbeat tone "I just wanted to go through the day on my own. Without bothering anyone with my problems. I guess they just affected me more than I thought" he added, being hit by a weak iron tail on the head when he finished, one which was swiftly followed by a smack in his head

"Eh, what was that for?" Ash complained as he rubbed his hurt head and turned around to face his Pokémon

Pikachu stood in front of him, Greninja at his side. The electric type was looking directly at his trainer with a frown on his face. His body was tense, almost shaking as he tried his best to contain his emotions. At first, Ash braced himself for a thunderbolt, the frown on his friend's face made him think that he was overwhelmed with anger for being lied to. But then, Ash saw Pikachu's deep black eyes and realized his mistake. Pikachu wasn't just angry, in fact, anger wasn't even his strongest emotion. No, the electric mouse was hurt, scared, and concerned.

Greninja on the other hand wasn't having such a strong reaction. The ninja Pokémon just stood there with a frown on his face, or at least on the part of his face that was visible. But Ash knew him well enough to just need a look in his eyes to see that he shared Pikachu's emotions.

"Pika Pika Pika Pi Pikachu" Pikachu scolded as he waved his arms around frantically. Despite Ash being able to understand most of the stuff Pikachu said, even he was having difficulty understanding what he was saying, although he understood the gist of it, and that made him feel even more guilty

"I'm sorry" Ash said once again, feeling like he had to say it too many times in one day "I just... I didn't want you to worry because.... because this is my problem. I need to solve this on my own. You all have your own problems, you shouldn't have to worry about mine" he added, as he once again looked towards the river

Ash expected his Pokémon to protest once again, but to his surprise, he didn't hear a single protest. Instead, he felt a small body climb up to his shoulder. A body he had grown accustomed to. And before he even realized it, he could feel Pikachu licking his cheek caringly

And right before Ash could react to Pikachu's show of affection, he felt a webbed paw grab his free shoulder and turn him around, forcing him to face his ninja Pokémon.

"Ninja!" Greninja exclaimed firmly as he lightly punched Ash's chest, right where his heart was "Nin" he added as he moved his fist towards his own heart

"Pika" Pikachu agreed as he used his small body to hug his trainer's face

"You guys!" Ash exclaimed, moved by his Pokémon's care for him "You're the best!" he added as he moved Pikachu and pulled the two Pokémon for a group, one which the two of them quickly responded to

After a while, Ash pulled away from the hug and turned towards the river, truly seeing his reflection for the first time since the start of the day, truly seeing his state. The raven-haired boy's eyes were red, dull, and lifeless. His face, which usually bore a smile had a frown in its place. All of that brought a single thought into its head "If I hate to see my mom like this, how can I expect my Pokémon to feel any different?"

Ash realized he had to fix the mess he made, so he used his free hand to splash his face with water, cleaning it before turning towards his Pokémon once again.

"You ready Greninja?" he asked, despite knowing the answer, he still wanted to be sure. What he was about to share with his Pokémon wasn't easy to handle

As he expected, Greninja nodded without any hesitation. Having the confirmation, he needed and was predicting, Ash proceeded to close his eyes and place his fist over his heart, and started releasing all the emotions he had been hiding from Greninja, re-establishing the connection he had with him.

When he finished, he opened his eyes in synchrony with Greninja. With a simple glance at Greninja's eyes, he has able to see that the ninja Pokémon had sensed his emotions.

"Why were you hiding this from us?" Greninja asked through their bond

"Like I said.... I didn't want to worry you with my problems" Ash answered once again, looking down at his feet

"Aren't you always saying that we are family, Ash? You worry about your family. We do too" Greninja retorted as he, once again, placed a comforting on his trainer's shoulder

"Pika, Pikapi" Pikachu agreed as he pointed at the drawing that Ash was still holding in his hand

Ash realized what Pikachu was trying to say, so he took a deep breath and started unfolding the drawing. The paper was crumpled due to the strength Ash had to hold it with, so he set out to clear any wrinkles and straighten out the piece of paper. When he finished, he took a look at the drawing Bonnie had made. His eyes widened and a small smile formed in his mouth.

The drawing wasn't picture perfect, and Ash had never expected it to be, this was the drawing of an eight-year-old girl after all. The lines were unsteady and sometimes they overlapped, the coloring could use some improvement as well, but overall, to Ash, this drawing was perfect, because of what it portrayed.

He could easily identify himself in the drawing. He was most definitely the figure with the blue torso and red cap that had a small yellow shape, most likely Pikachu, by his feet. Clemont probably was the blue figure with yellow hair by his side. Serena was by Ash's side, the pink that Bonnie had used to paint her dress made it easy to identify her if her honey hair wasn't already enough. But what perplexed Ash was the fact that Bonnie had painted herself in between Ash and Serena, not alongside Clemont. The black from her blouse made her unmistakable. That was clearly Bonnie.

The lemon-haired girl hadn't been lazy at all. Pikachu, Sylveon, Braixen, Talonflame, Chespin, Bunnelby, Noivern, every and all Pokémon were in the drawing either in between the trainers or surrounding them. But what moved Ash the most were the two words that were above the drawing of the group.

"Our Family"

Ash kept reading those words over and over again. He had always considered himself close to Bonnie, to his friends, but he never had thought that she considered them as family. But could he say that she was wrong? They spent most of their time together. They helped each other. They knew so much about each other. And most importantly, they cared about each other like a family.

"Now do you see? Why we care about you, Ash" Greninja asked his trainer "Why we can't stand seeing you like this" he added as he looked his trainer up and down

"I do" Ash said as he placed the drawing on his back pocket "And now I know what I have to do" Ash said as he used his forearm to clear the water from his face.

In a swift motion, Ash picked his hat from the ground and placed it back on his head, as he headed out of the clearing they were in, with Greninja by his side, and Pikachu back on his shoulder.

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

Back at the camp, Serena and the siblings were just starting to sit down and eat their lunch, Serena already back in her normal clothes. The siblings had been silent ever since the honey blond had returned. They wanted to know what had been said between their friends, but they knew they had to be careful in their words. At least, Clemont knew.

"So, what did he say?" Bonnie asked out of the blue, catching both Clemont and Serena by surprise "Why is Ash so ... not Ash?" she added in a sad tone

"Bonnie! You can't just ask something like that" Clemont scolded, with a softer tone than he usually used

"Why not?" Bonnie questioned "You want to know as much as me! I don't see why we can't know. We care about Ash as well! I just want to help him, why can't I?"

Clemont was about to explain to his sister why her question was rude, but before he could even open his mouth, Serena beat him to it

"I know you do, Bonnie" she started as she looked at the young girl with a sympathetic look "And I know Ash does too. I want to tell you, I really do. But, I can't. What's affecting Ash is......personal. And it's not my place to talk about his personal issues. He is the one who should choose to tell you about them, not me"

"But why doesn't he talk to us?" Bonnie questioned as she looked down at her still untouched food "Doesn't he trust us?"

Serena and Clemont were about to try and suit the young girl's worries, but before they could, a voice they know too well came from the forest did it for them

"I do" the voice said, causing the trio to turn their heads in the direction it came from

As soon as Bonnie's eyes laid on the figure, her eyes widened in surprise

"Ash!" she exclaimed happily as she got up from her chair and started running in his direction

"Hey Bonnie" Ash said, shame presented in his tone, as Pikachu jumped from his shoulder and Greninja stepped aside to give the young girl space

When she reached him, Bonnie enveloped the older boy in a huge hug, surprising him. But, he quickly got on her level and wrapped his arms around the young girl, only to be even more surprised when she pulled away and started pounding on his chest with her tiny fists

"You stupid, stupid, stupid! Why didn't you see it?" she exclaimed angrily as she kept on pounding on his chest

"Bonnie, I'm sorry "Ash said as he got a hold of her hands "I really am"

"Sorry is not enough" he exclaimed with a pout, as she turned her face away from him

"What if I said that I did see it?" Ash asked with a grin on his face

"You did?" Bonnie asked in surprise, as she started to calm herself down, and looked back at him once again

"I did" he said, as he let go of her hands and reached for his back pocket "And I really liked it. You're an amazing artist, y'know?" he added as he pulled the drawing out and showed it to her

A huge grin broke out on the young girl's face as she heard the compliment, one which resulted in her leaping towards the older boy once again to envelop him in another hug. This time a more loving one

Clemont and Serena looked at the scene with a smile on their faces as they approached the hugging duo, only to be stunned when Ash reached out and pulled the two of them into it

"You're amazing all of you" Ash exclaimed as he tightened the hug while being careful not to hurt his friends

"We know" Bonnie exclaimed happily as she snuggled into the hug, causing the three trainers to chuckle at her comment

The group of friends just kept on enjoying their little moment, appreciating the warmth and the comfort they got from each other. That was until Noivern felt like he wanted to be part of said moment and enveloped the whole group with his wings. Except the flying type didn't take into account his massive size and accidentally caused the entire group to fall on the ground. Even though at the moment the entire group was nothing more than an entanglement of body parts the group of friends started laughing at the situation they were in

Seeing the scene in front of them, the group of Pokémon just kept gazing at each other, unsure of what to do. That was until Pancham decided to run at the group of humans on the ground and throw himself in his trainer's arms, wanting to join in the fun. Chespin, not wanting to be beaten by the playful Pokémon in anything, decided to join in as well. And sooner than everyone anticipated, there a pile of humans and Pokémon in the middle of the clearing, all of them laughing, all of them happy. The only ones not present were Squishy and Dedenne. The former was simply bathing himself in a sunny spot while watching the humans and Pokémon interacting, while the latter was having a nap after eating all his Pokémon food, not even bothered by the sound of laughter that surrounded him.

After a while, Ash's belly started to rumble, reminding everyone that, unlike Dedenne, they still hadn't eaten anything, so, slowly they started to get up.

"I am really sorry, guys" Ash said as he reached out and helped Bonnie and Serena up "It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that.... this is a problem that I need to solve on my own" he clarified, having heard what had been said by his friends

"We may not like that decision of yours, Ash, but we will respect it nonetheless" Clemont stated as he stood by the girls' side "Just know, that if you whenever you feel ready to ask for our help, we will be there for you" he added with a compassionate smile, Serena and Bonnie nodding in agreement, both of them also having compassionate smiles of their own

"Thanks guys!" Ash said with a smile

"Now, let's go ahead and eat, I'm starving!" he stated as he swung his arms around Serena's and Clemont's shoulders, causing the former to blush in embarrassment, and started leading the group towards the table

The Pokémon made their way towards their bowls, they too were eager to fill their nearly empty stomachs. As they sat down to Braixen and Sylveon hesitated for a moment staring at the position their bowls were in.

"Something wrong, Sylveon?" Pikachu asked as he started eating his food.

Sylveon stared at him for a moment, before her gaze moved towards her food bowl, unusually close to his. Normally, the Pokémon ate in groups of boys and girls, either that or they were divided by teams. She had never had to eat so close to Pikachu. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Braixen was having the same dilemma as her bowl was unusually close to Greninja. And the worst part, no other bowls were around them, it was only the four of them

"Ah.... no, no... it's just that we don't understand why we are eaten alongside you two. We usually eat separately" Braixen said shyly as she played with her hands

"Well, we don't know as well, but I don't see why we can't" Greninja said as he tapped the floor beside him, inviting Braixen over "Come on, I don't bite. I promise"

Braixen's cheeks turned slightly red as she made her way over and sat down beside Greninja. He smiled at her before he dug into his food once more, she took no time in following his actions, and the two of them ate contently, with smiles on their faces

"Sylveon, it's ok. If you don't feel comfortable eating with me" Pikachu said as he slowly made his way over to her "If you want, I can move to another place" he added as he looked around the field

"No, no.... it's fine by me" Sylveon said with a small blush, as she enveloped a feeler around his paw and made her way to her bowls with him, not noticing that Pikachu's cheeks had gotten slightly redder. As she closed him, she saw Serena look their way with a smile, more precisely, looking at her and Braixen.

She knew it had been her trainer who had placed their bowls this way. Their trainer had known about their crushes of Greninja and Pikachu for a while now, and she had been trying to get her Pokémon together with their crushes for a while now. While Sylveon appreciated her concern for their love life, and sometimes her help, she couldn't help but feel like, sometimes Serena, in her excitement to help them, placed her in some rather embarrassing situations.

"Ohh, man! Everything smells so nice! You really outdid yourself, Clemont" Ash said as he sat down and started sniffing everything, letting all of the scents drive him crazy

"Well, I just did my best. I hope everything is to your liking" Clemont said modestly

"I know it will. Your food is amazing. Human and Pokémon, right guys?" Ash asked his Pokémon, who stopped eating for a second to nod in agreement with their trainer's remark, only to start munching down on their food a second later

"Well, then we better start eating before it gets cold" Serena stated as she bent down to reach her basket "Besides, you all have Poképuffs waiting for you afterward" she stated, as she opened the basket up and showcased a bunch of tasty looking Poképuffs to everyone. Every and all types of the Pokémon they had were present in the basket, all of them different, but all of them had a thing in common, they looked delicious. At least, the water forming on the Pokémons mouths, as well as Ash's and Bonnie's gave that impression.

Despite the appetizing look of the Poképuffs, everyone was able to contain themselves, everyone except Chespin, that is. The gluttonous grass type tried to use one of his vines to try and snatch a Poképuff for himself without being seen. Unfortunately for him, Serena noticed his vine sneakily trying to reach for a Poképuff and abruptly closed her basket.

"Chespin!" Clemont scolded as he looked at his grass type in disapproval "You will have to wait like everyone else. Try that again and you won't have any"

As much as Chespin liked the idea of having a Poképuff sooner than it was planned, the fear he had of not having any, was much greater, causing the grass type to shiver in fear, before he rapidly turned around and started munching on his food, trying to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible.

Seeing he had his grass type under control, Clemont's expression softened as he turned towards his friends

"Well, then let's start" he said, causing Ash to start munching down on his food as fast as he could

Despite their differences, both in personality and eating habits the four friends always enjoyed the meals they had together, it was always a pleasing time for them. The warm and delicious food was welcomed by everyone, but truth be told, it wasn't it that always made the four of them eager for the next meal. The stories they told, the jokes they cracked, the joy they had when they had their meals as a group was what made them enjoyed them so much.

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

After the group had finished eating, they quickly packed everything up and continued on their way to Lumiose City. Due to the time lost due on the morning, Clemont proposed that they ate their Poképuffs on the way. No one opposed the idea, so they went on their way along Route fourteen as they ate the pastries Serena made. As their Pokémon finished, the trainers sent them back into their Pokéballs. Since most only ate a single one and were satisfied, the big group quickly reduced in members. Ash, Pikachu, and Chespin were the only ones who felt like a single Poképuff wasn't enough after all.

"Man, those were amazing!" Ash exclaimed as he started licking his fingers after eating the last Poképuff "Your Poképuff are just the best, Serena"

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed in agreement, as he licked his lips

"Thank you, you two! I am really glad that you liked it" Serena said happily as she reached out to her ribbon, with a faint pink blush forming on her cheeks

"How could we not? We have the best baker in all of Kalos baking for us" Ash said with a toothy grin, although not as big as it usually was, it made everyone happy to see him in better spirits, at the same time deepening Serena's blush

"T-Thank you, Ash, but I don't think I even compare to one of the best bakers in Kalos" she stammered as she tried to hide her blush with her hair. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Clemont and Bonnie trying to control their laughter

Ash simply shrugged at her reply

"To me you are" he stated as he looked back towards the path, with Pikachu nodding in agreement

As much as Serena was embarrassed by what had just happened, she couldn't stop a smile from forming in her cheeks, as the group continued on their way, in a much better environment than before lunch.

This time around Ash was paying attention to the environment around him. This time he was the one pointing out different wild Pokémon for Bonnie to see. Running around with her to explore a little bit out of the path and let her have a closer look at some of the Pokémon, sometimes even lending her his Pokédex so she could learn more about all the cute Pokémon she saw. Clemont tried to keep up with the two of them for a little, but his lack of athletic ability quickly caught up with him and forced him to lay back and slowly walk alongside Serena.

The performer was simply admiring the sights in front of her. The wildlife was surely impressive, but what was catching her eye were Ash's interactions with the young lemon-haired girl. Right now, the two of them and Pikachu were running around playing with each other. Bonnie had stolen Ash's hat and had started to run away from him, Ash had caught up with her rather fast, but the young girl had thrown the hat at Pikachu, who grabbed with his mouth and started running away from his trainer. It was a fun sight to see the three of them playing with each other, but more importantly to Serena was the smile she could see on Ash's face. It wasn't as big as it usually was, but I was certainly bigger than it had been all day. But most importantly, it was real. It was a smile of pure happiness, not a fake or reassuring one, a happy one.

"You think they will slow down?" Clemont asked, getting tired just from seeing the two of them run around so much

"Maybe" Serena replied with a smile, before facing the inventor "But do you want them to?"

Clemont chuckled out at her response, before answering "No, I don't think I do. It just makes me happy to see them happy."

"Me too" Serena agreed, as she once again turned her gaze towards Ash and Bonnie, the former with Pikachu back on his shoulder and his hat on his head. The two of them had stopped in the middle of the path and were waiting for Clemont and her to catch up.

Serena and Clemont quickly approached the duo, intrigued by their sudden change of behavior

"Something wrong?" Clemont asked, as soon as he was in close enough for them to hear him

"Nothing's wrong" Ash assured him as he took out his backpack, and Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder and made his way over to Serena's head "Bonnie's just a little tired, that's all"

"Mind holding this for me, Serena?" Ash asked as he handed her his backpack

"Hmm, sure" Serena replied, a bit hesitant, not knowing what he was planning to do, while she hugged his backpack close to her chest

Having his best friend and his backpack in safe hands, Ash kneeled down and with a smile on his face turned his back to the lemon haired girl

"Hop in" he instructed happily as he looked at her over his shoulder

A smile that went from ear to ear formed on the young girl's face as she jumped on her friend's back without any hesitation

"Yaaaayy" Bonnie exclaimed happily as Ash stood up, holding onto Bonnie's thighs while the young girl grabbed onto his shoulders "Piggyback ride!"

"Happy Bonnie?" Ash inquired as he started walking once again

"Yup, thanks, Ash! You're the best" Bonnie complimented as she patted the boy's shoulder, causing him to chuckle happily

Seeing the moment being her two friends caused Serena to smile while she hugged Ash's backpack a bit tighter, moved by the moment. Looking to her left, she could see that Clemont held a similar smile on his face. How could he not? The contrast in the situation they were in a few hours ago and now was too great for him not to.

"Pipika Pikachu?" Pikachu asked as he leaned over, allowing Serena to see his head peek over the brim of her hat

"You comfy up there Pikachu?" she questioned as she smiled at the small Pokémon

"Pi" he confirmed as he gave her a thumbs up "Pika Pi chu Pikachu?"

"Don't worry. We're going. We can't let them get lost now, can we, Clemont?" she inquired, looking towards the inventor for confirmation as she started walking once again

"Right" he said, as he too started trying to catch up to Ash and Bonnie once again "With Ash's sense of direction guiding them, they would most likely end up getting lost if we don't catch up to them" he chuckled out

"Right!" Serena chuckled as well, hearing Pikachu let out a small laugh on top of her hat, as the three of them looked at the happy pair of Ash and Bonnie, with smiles on their faces.

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

The darkness of the night was started to creep in the sky as the group finally arrived at the Pokémon Center. With Ash carrying Bonnie the rest of the way, something which he didn't mind at all. Serena and Clemont kept following close behind him.

As soon as the group crossed the doors of the Pokémon Center Bonnie leaped out of Ash's back, a move that surprised everyone. In less than an instant, the young girl dashed behind the balcony of the Pokémon Center and got on one knee as she grabbed Nurse Joy's hand.

"Miss Joy, you're a keeper. Please take care of my brother for me" she exclaimed confusing the Nurse, as Clemont moved as fast as he could to try to save himself from further embarrassment "You see, he is a great inventor and a great cook, but sometimes he can..." she added, only stopping when a metallic aipom arm grabbed her and lifted her in the air

"Bonnie!" Clemont explained, as his aipom arm forced his sister to look at him "Will you stop doing that?"

"Big brother, do you have a keeper?" Bonnie asked as she put on a serious face

"I already told you I don't need one, Bonnie" Clemont answered with an exasperated expression

"Yeah, you do!" Bonnie exclaimed matter-of-factly" And until you find one, I will try and find you one. You need someone to take care of you"

"Let's just go and eat" Clemont sighed in annoyance as he moved towards the cafeteria, his aipom arm dragging Bonnie behind him

"Think about it" Bonnie shouted at Nurse Joy, as she turned the corner of the hallway leaving Nurse Joy very confused by the interaction.

"What just happened?" Nurse Joy asked the teenage duo who were still by the lobby of the Center

"Don't worry about it, Nurse Joy" Serena said as she waved her hand dismissively

"Pika" Pikachu agreed as he mimicked her actions from her shoulder

"Sometimes I don't know if I should laugh or be sorry for Clemont" Serena giggled as she looked at the electric mouse

"Pika Pikachu" Pikachu laughed out

"What about you, Ash?" Serena asked as she looked towards the raven-haired trainer, surprised by his sudden silence

As her eyes fell on him, she could see that he wasn't paying attention to anything around him. His face held a frown in place of the small smile he had had all afternoon. His eyes were full of sadness and solely focused on one spot, ignoring everything around him. As Serena followed his gaze, her eyes fell on the videophones of the Pokémon Center, and she immediately realized what he was thinking, as did Pikachu.

Slowly she approached him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts

"Ash, you know you don't have to do this on your own, right? If you need, I will be by your side" Serena said, with utmost sincerity, the sound of her voice, combined with the care etched in her eyes was enough to calm Ash down

"Pikapi, Pikachu" Pikachu exclaimed as he jumped on Ash's shoulder and nuzzled his face

"I know, Serena. I know" Ash said to Serena as he petted Pikachu on the head "But I want to do this on my own"

Serena nodded at his answer her eyes wielding a look full of concern that

"We will be in the cafeteria if you need us, ok?" Serena asked, giving him a comforting smile, respecting his wishes, although a bit unwillingly

"Ok, I will join you in a bit" Ash said, handing her his Pokéballs, as Pikachu jumped back to Serena's shoulder, before the two of them left, leaving Ash on his own.

The raven-haired trainer took a deep breath to steady himself as he approached the videophone. He had made this call loads of times before, but it was always different on this day. And today, it felt even more different than before. Today he wasn't just calling to comfort his mother.

Each second the phone rang made Ash's heart beat faster and faster. His anxiety, his worries kept growing with each ring, until the phone finally stopped ringing.

"Ketchum residence, Delia here" Ash heard his mother say. Her voice ringing with sadness and sorrow

"Hi mom" Ash said, in a voice almost as sad as his mother's. It always hurt his heart to hear her like this

"Ash!" Delia exclaimed a hint of happiness plaguing her voice. A hint that quickly vanished "I was expecting your call"

"Sorry, it took longer than I expected to reach the Pokémon Center" Ash clarified " How are you doing?" he asked, getting straight to business, she obviously knew why he called

Delia sighed hearing his question, the two of them already had had this discussion multiple times, but still, Ash could be really stubborn sometimes

"Ash, how many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to worry about me" Delia said in the sternest tone she could, making Ash frustrated by her own stubbornness

"Then prove it!" Ash demanded in a firm tone "Turn on your camera and show me that you're fine!" he added. Delia always had her camera on whenever she and Ash were talking on a videophone, the only times she didn't was when she wanted to hide something from Ash

Delia sighed as she activated the video feed of the call. As soon as her image appeared on the screen, Ash's heart dropped. Tear stains were presented on her cheeks. Her eyes were red, irritated, and full of sorrow. Her hair was messed up and uneven, and her clothes were all messed up and untidy. Overall, she was a mess.

"Is this you being fine, mom?" Ash asked, sad by what he was seeing in from of him

"No, it's not" Delia admitted "But I already told you, Ash, you don't have to worry about me. This isn't your fault, this isn't your dad's fault either. This isn't anyone's fault"

Ash just kept looking at the mess that his mom was at the moment. At the mess she was because of him. At the mess he had caused. Because he didn't care about them. Because he didn't know how to be a husband and a father.

Ash kept thinking about everything he had heard through the day, trying to understand everything. But to do that he had to ask a single question

"Why, mom? Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Why do you keep on believing?" he asked, his voice full of concern and sadness

Delia sighed once again as she looked down, trying to come up with an answer her son could understand. Ash waited patiently for her to answer, as he did his best to control his emotions. For years he had seen his mom suffer because of a man who didn't deserve her, he just couldn't take it anymore.

"Because I promised him" she finally said, trying her best to contain her own emotions while she spoke "When I married him, we promised we would be by each other's side through everything, Ash. And I intend to keep that promise"

"But, why?" Ash insisted, getting frustrated by her answer, an answer he didn't understand "Didn't he break that promise when he left us, mom? He was never there when we needed him" he added, anger starting to show on his voice

"He must have had a reason, Ash. I know he does" Delia stated firmly "Your father isn't the kind of man to just leave people without a reason. He cared about us, more than you know"

"Maybe he changed. People can change"

"I don't think he changed, Ash. But even if he did, he would never change so much to the point where he would simply abandon us" Delia said defensively

Ash stood there, looking at his mother's face attentively. He always had a hard time understanding her position on this matter. He always liked to give people a second chance, to believe in people. He did for the first few years, but after all these years not even he could believe in his father. So why did his mother kept on believing?

Maybe it was what Serena said. Maybe she did really love him. Maybe he couldn't do anything to change that. Maybe, all he could do was support her. Maybe he couldn't do anything else to help her forget him. No matter how much he wanted to.

"Mom" Ash started, trying his best not to show how much emotion he was holding back "How know you can always count on me, don't you? That no matter what I will always be there for you, right?"

Delia gave her smile the biggest smile she could muster, which for the day, didn't go beyond a small smile

"I know. And I hope you know you can always count on me, sweetie"

"I know, mom" Ash answered, beaming her a small smile back

"Take care, Ash. And take care of your friends as well, ok?" Delia asked

"I will, mom" Ash stated, determinedly

"Bye, sweetie" Delia said

"Bye, mom" Ash said, sadness in his voice, as the screen faded to black

Ash sat there for a while, looking at the black screen of the videophone processing everything that was said, everything that he was feeling

"Ash! Ash!" a childlike voice called out from the outside of the videophone both, forcing him to get out and look for however was calling out for him.

As he looked around, as he was expecting, Bonnie was the one that was calling out for him.

As the young girl's eyes laid on him, she quickly read his expression and deduced that something must have brought his mood down again, so she quickly ran up to him and hugged his waist to comfort him

Ash was surprised by the gesture, but appreciated it anyway, as he hugged her back.

Feeling his arms around her, Bonnie looked up and saw Ash smiling down at her. A small smile, but a genuine one, nonetheless.

"Come on, everyone's waiting for you, y'know?" Bonnie said with a smile, as she pulled away from the hug, and grabbed his hand, starting to drag him behind her

"Sure, let's go. I'm starving" Ash exclaimed as he started walking alongside the small girl, doing his best to put the conversation he had had with his mom on the back of his mind, at least for a while

The duo quickly made their way towards the cafeteria, where Serena and Clemont were already seated at a table waiting for them. As they approached them, Ash could see that they had already laid out food for all of them, as well as all of their Pokémon. He also could see that Pikachu and Greninja had decided to eat alongside Braixen and Sylveon once again. He smiled at the sight. He knew how much his Pokémon cared about them.

As Ash was about to sit down, he noticed the look that Serena was giving him. Although she had a small welcoming smile on her face, he was able to read her well enough to understand the question her eyes were asking him. A simple, yet complex question. A small, yet important one.

So, with a small smile of his own, and a small nod, he gave a silent answer to her silent question.

Ash knew that the twins had seen their silent exchange. He knew that they were curious but decided to stay quiet about it, respecting his privacy. And he couldn't help but thank them for it.

So, the group went on to have dinner like they always did. Like always, Ash gorged on his food like he hadn't eaten in days. Like always they had a very pleasant small talk, talking about everything and anything, even the most insignificant of things. Like always Bonnie made a huge fuss over having to eat her veggies. Like always they had a good time. Like always they were happy.

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

"I don't believe it" Serena said in between laughs "I don't believe you did that, Bonnie"

"What?" Bonnie asked, not understanding where Serena's surprise came from "She would have been the perfect keeper, so why not?"

"Because you can't ask my teacher to be my keeper, Bonnie" Clemont interjected exasperated "In fact, you shouldn't ask anyone!"

"I think it's kind of cute, Clemont" Serena said, in defense of the little girl "Bonnie really cares about you" she explained, as she beamed a smile at the young girl, who returned it right away

"Yeah, I know" Clemont sighed "But I wish she measured her words a little better sometimes. I wasn't exactly a fan of having to mask myself in my Psychics classes for a whole semester" he added, pouting at his sister

"She really was a good keeper, you know" Bonnie said with a shrug

Ash laughed out at the interaction between the siblings. An interaction he had seen plenty of during his journey through the Kalos region, but one that always amused him

"What?" Clemont questioned with a raised eyebrow

"Nothing" Ash clarified "Just thinking how cool it must be to have a brother or sister to look after you" he said with a small smile

"That's right. You're an only child, aren't you?" Clemont asked with a sympathetic smile

"It's not exactly a bad thing" Ash said as a downcast look started forming on his face "It just.... felt lonely sometimes"

Serena placed a hand on his shoulder, with a sympathetic smile on her face, trying to comfort him.

Ash looked at her and let a small chuckle escaped his lips, placing a hand over hers, not noticing the blush that started forming on her face

"Don't worry." He said, glancing over the table at all of his friends "It's doesn't feel like that anymore. How could it when I have the most awesomest friends in the world with me"

All of them shared a smile at Ash's response, a smile that faltered when Bonnie decided to speak up

"No!" she exclaimed as she got up from her seat and kneeled out in front of Ash, with her arms extended towards him

"Bonnie?!" Clemont questioned in surprise

"You're amazing Ash!" Bonnie started "I don't want you to be alone ever again, so will you be my big brother?"

Everyone at the table was flabbergasted at the declaration. Multiple trainers around them were gazing at their table and whispering between them. What they were saying, the group didn't know, not truth be told, they didn't even care

"Bonnie!?" Clemont exclaimed once again, if he was simply surprised by the declaration, or slightly offended by it, Ash and Serena couldn't tell, maybe it was both

"Don't be mad, big brother" Bonnie started out looking at Clemont apologetically

"I love you, big brother. I really do. But I love Ash as well. I don't want him to be alone ever again" Bonnie added as she hugged Ash tightly

Ash didn't reciprocate the hug at first, mostly because of how surprised he was. He looked at his friends for an answer on what to do. They didn't say anything, they just looked at him with an expression that he couldn't exactly read. So, he decided he would do what he did best and follow his instincts.

The first thing he did was look at Clemont as if asking for his permission. The inventor quickly gave him a smile and a nod in return.

Ash wrapped his left arm around the young girl, while he used his right hand to ruffle her hair, prompting her to look up at him.

"Bonnie, I think we kind of are brother and sister already" Ash answered her question with a grin "So, why are you asking me that?"

"You're right!" Bonnie exclaimed with a smile, before hugging Ash once again

Serena just looked at the heartwarming scene in front of her with a huge smile on her face. With one hand, she gripped the ribbon on her chest, while with the other, she wiped the small tears that had formed on her eyes. She didn't want anyone to see, she just wanted to appreciate the moment that her friends were having.

Unfortunately for her, Bonnie noticed her actions from within the comfort of Ash's arms. Without giving the older girl a chance, Bonnie reached out and pulled her into the hug as well.

"Come here" Bonnie said with a smile on her face as she finished pulling Serena in

The honey blonde was surprised by the action, not expecting it at all, and that wasn't the end of her surprises. Without her realizing, Ash had been slowly sliding his arm behind her back. She only realized his arm was there when she felt his hand settle on her right shoulder and pull her in deeper into the hug. She could have pulled back, but she didn't. She melted into his embrace, sliding her arms around Ash and Bonnie, and resting her head on the young girl's head, praying that her hair was able to hide the blush that was forming on her face. A blush that only increased when Ash decided to imitate her movements and rest his head on her own.

"We have been hugging like this a lot, recently" Ash stated

"What? You got something against hugs mister?" Serena teased, still avoiding looking at him

"No, of course not!" Ash said quickly before he started scratching his nape "Actually I wouldn't mind if this became a regular thing"

"No!" Bonnie exclaimed rapidly, surprising the two teens "This is all wrong!" she added, as she got up and ran towards Clemont

Before the inventor could utter a word, he was dragged by his sister to their friends' side

"Clemont was missing in the family hug" Bonnie exclaimed loudly and happily surprising her three friends

Ash was the first one to act upon the young girl's statement bringing his arms around the other two trainers of the group initiating another hug. Serena and Clemont quickly wrapped their arms around Ash and Bonnie leaving the four friends in a warm and loving embrace.

"Best family ever!" Bonnie exclaimed as she snuggled deeper into it

All their Pokémon were looking happily at the sight, all of them smiling. Although Braixen seemed to be the one who was moved the most.

"So beautiful" she said with a smile as she looked at the heartwarming moment

Greninja, who was standing beside her, glanced at her and smiled

"Yeah, it is" he said before looking back at the group of friends

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

"Use cut!" Ash ordered his ninja Pokémon full of excitement

"Ninja" Greninja cried, as he slapped his thighs, forming two water kunais in his hands, before dashing as fast as he could towards his opponent

"Stop him in his tracks, discharge!" Clemont commanded confidently

"Ray" his gleam eyes Pokémon cried, as he enveloped himself in a field of electricity. In a swift motion, he contracted his body, letting the electricity he stored travel towards the water type

"Double team" Ash exclaimed as he sliced the air in front of him with both hands

Greninja shook at a fast pace as he formed multiple copies of himself in quick succession. Faster than anyone could have predicted more than a dozen Greninjas were closing him of Luxray, only the one who had been standing where Greninja had been being destroyed.

"Swift" Clemont shouted hastily

With frantic movements, the electric type jumped into the air and swept the air with his tail, releasing a bunch of yellow stars that collided with the multiples water types, destroying most of them, however, a few loose ones impacted with the ground, producing a thick cloud of dust.

"Now!" Ash exclaimed through the cloud, alerting Clemont

Before the inventor could even react, Greninja appeared behind his Pokemon, attempting to slash at his back. But, the electric type wouldn't be hit that easily. Luxray coated his tail in a metallic glow, and, with a swift motion, intercepted Greninja's water kunai, defiantly pushing him back.

Greninja held his ground, using one hand to push Luxray's tail, while he lifted the other, preparing his next strike.

"Thunder fang!" Clemont ordered

Luxray's fangs sparked with electricity as he bit down on Greninja's water kunai, stopping it in his tracks.

The two Pokémon were locked in a clash of power, neither one giving an inch. As they gained ground in one side of their clash, they lost it in the other. They were evenly matched

Luxray suddenly formed a smirk on his mouth, putting Ash and Greninja on edge. As they saw the electricity starting to build up on Luxray's body, they knew they had to act fast.

"Bubble!" Ash shouted in a hurry

Greninja immediately obeyed his trainer's command, inhaling sharply before opening his mouth and expelling multiples small-sized spheres of water at tremendous speeds towards his opponent.

All of the spheres of water hit their mark, damaging the electric type, causing him to flinch and halt his attack.

Greninja seized his opportunity and struck slashing both Luxray's snout and his body. Slash after slash hit their mark on the gleam eyes Pokémon.

Luxray fought through the pain and when an opportunity arose, he used all his might to sling his tail, hitting it square on the frog-like Pokémon's jaw, pushing him away and stopping his assault.

"Double team and water shuriken" Ash commanded, sweeping through the air with his hand

Greninja quickly composed himself and started shaking rapidly once again. As before, multiple copies of him appeared on the battlefield, all of them identical to the original. Each and every copy hit both of his thighs once again, summoning two small shurikens of water, which they merged together into a bigger and more powerful shuriken. Greninja and his clones used all their strength to throw their shurikens at the gleam eyes Pokemon.

"Discharge" Clemont ordered urgently

Luxray responded quickly, contracting his body as he stored a huge amount of electricity before releasing it in a massive and powerful discharge attack that crashed into the shurikens destroying them and creating a wall of smoke.

"Wait for it, Luxray" Clemont commanded, as he adjusted his glasses

As Clemont expected, a small army of Greninja emerged from the smoke cloud, all of them wielding two water kunais. As they closed in on Luxray, Clemont shouted his next command.

"Electric terrain!"

With a mighty roar, Luxray unleashed a wave of electricity in all directions, effectively destroying all the clones and pushing Greninja back.

As Greninja stood back up he narrowed his eyes at his opponent, who had just gained a huge advantage, one that his trainer would not have.

"You're not the only one who can play with the terrain" Ash stated firmly "Greninja, toxic spikes" he added with a determined yell

Greninja put all of his tongue back in his mouth as he looked up. Quickly he formed a small purple orb in it and fired it at the sky. However, said move had been a big mistake as during that time Luxray had enveloped himself in bright white energy and fired himself like a rocket towards the ninja Pokemon. When Greninja looked back towards his opponent, Luxray was already about to pounce on him, leaving him with minimal time to react.

Clemont looked at the imminent crash with a proud smile, he had caught Ash off guard. However, when he looked towards the raven-haired trainer, he was surprised to see a grin on his face, and when Luxray crashed into Greninja he realized why he was so confident.

As soon as Luxray came into contact with the water type, Greninja vanished into fin air, as if he had never been there. Luxray's and Clemont's eyes widened in horror as they realized their mistake. That had been a substitute, and now Luxray was the one caught off guard.

Before Luxray could even react, Greninja appeared on top of him and slammed a water pulse in his head, crashing it into the ground. Without giving his opponent a moment to rest, Greninja's feet and hands glowed white and the ninja frog started to deliver a beating to his opponent.

Luxray was in severe pain, Greninja was being merciless. But he wasn't about to give up. Drawing on his last reserves, he forced his fangs to crack with electricity once again and in a quick motion dug them into the water types leg, causing him to cry out in pain

"Discharge. Give it all everything you've got" Clemont ordered, his voice full of determination.

"Greninja!" Ash cried out in worry, as Luxray followed his command, and electricity flowed through his water type's body

Luxray didn't stop there, he hit Greninja again and again, hoping to end this battle and defeat his opponent, however, Greninja wasn't about to let him win that easily. The ninja frog formed two kunais in his hands and started to slash away at the gleam eyes Pokémon head, trying to force him to release him.

Luxray held on as long as he could, but eventually, he couldn't hold on any longer and was forced to release Greninja. Seizing his opportunity, the water type slashed away with his kunais once again, but Luxray wasn't about to let him have a free hit, so he coated his tail in iron and swung it.

Both hits landed, throwing both Pokémon back to their respective sides of the battlefield. They were both lying on the ground, hurt and tired, but still willing to fight. Their trainers cried out their names in worry, compelling them to stand up once again, to not give up. And they obliged, standing up once again.

Luxray stood tall once again, but it was clear from the shaking of his legs and the huge amount of scratches and bloody cuts on his fur that he was on his last legs. Greninja wasn't faring that much better. The water type had multiple electric burns, cuts, and scratches on his body, the worst part was his left leg, which appeared to be in a lot of pain, however, he still stood tall and proud. Just by looking, it was clear, that neither one could take much more.

"Wild Charge" Clemont commanded his voice overflowing with determination

"Luuuuux" Luxray cried out mightily, as it steadied his legs, and bolts of electricity started shooting out of him

"Wait for it Greninja" Ash said as Luxray was enveloped in an electric aura and started moving

"Gren" Greninja cried, assuring his trainer that it trusted him

Luxray started gaining more and more speed as it moved towards Greninja. The electric aura that enveloped him grew and grew, in size and power. Greninja didn't even budge, he simply pulled his left leg back and prepared for the eventual clash.

Sweat dripped from Clemont's forehead as he waited for what was about to happen. He had placed all his cards on the table

"Wait" Ash said as Luxray approached Greninja, he had to time this perfectly

As Luxray was a mere meter and a half away from Greninja, Ash put all his cards on the table

"Now dodge it and use Dark Pulse" Ash ordered his voice full of determination and power

Greninja complied as fast as he could, placing all of his weight on his right leg and jumping to the right. Luxray was moving too fast to change his trajectory, and as a result, he merely grazed Greninja left foot. The ninja frog didn't even give him a chance to dodge, as it fired a pulse of dark energy at his side.

Luxray was pushed back by the pulse of energy, which forced him to collide with the ground, forming a small crater in the progress. As the smoke cleared, the swirls in his eyes, made it clear that he was unable to battle.

"Return Luxray" Clemont said as he recalled his fallen electric type "Thank you for your efforts" he spoke to the Pokéball

"Greninja you were awesome" Ash said as he brought his water type into a hug "I knew you could do it!" he exclaimed proudly

"Dark pulse sure was an unexpected move" Clemont stated as he approached them as they pulled away "I wasn't expecting Greninja to have learned it"

Ash chuckled at his friend before answering "We own that to Pancham" Ash stated "The little guy really helped us out a lot as we tried to learn that one, didn't he?" Ash said, directing the last part at his Pokémon

"Gren" Greninja agreed with a rather slow nod

"You sure are tired, huh. We better get you fixed up" Ash said as he recalled Greninja

As the two friends moved towards the counter of the Pokémon Center, Clemont couldn't resist his urge to inquire his friend about something.

"Hey, Ash. Can I ask you something?" Clemont started

"Come on, Clemont, you should know by now that you can ask me anything" Ash replied as he placed an arm around his friend's shoulder

"Why didn't you and Greninja transform?" Clemont inquired, truth was he was looking forward to battling Ash's ace in his most powerful state "Didn't we push you that far?"

Ash chuckled as he removed his arm from his friend's shoulders

"Well, you did Clemont" Ash clarified "But the truth is we didn't want to transform"

"Why not?" Clemont pushed on "From what I have seen in your previous uses of the form you and Greninja seem to be quite fond of it"

"Well we are" Ash said as they entered the Pokemon Center "But, we don't want to be dependent on it. Last time we overused it, we let the power of it get to our heads, and well, we all know what happened after that. Greninja and I want to push ourselves to our limits without it, that way we will be stronger than ever, and when we need, we will be able to use it and push ourselves even further beyond" Ash said as he pumped his fists in front of himself

Clemont thought for a few seconds before saying anything, carefully analyzing his friend's words

"But aren't you afraid that you lose your ability to activate it?" Clemont said as he adjusted his glasses "We don't know that much about it, maybe the lack of use might jeopardize its performance"

"Naah, I'm not" Ash said dismissing his friend's fears, gazing at Greninja's Pokeball, as they neared Nurse Joy's desk "Ever since we mastered the transformation, I just feel connected with him, you know? I don't, it's hard to explain, but.... it's like how I feel with Pikachu. I feel like I am bonded with him, but on another level, like we are truly connected. I just know that that bond will never break. That when we need to, we will always be to do it" he said, his eyes focused on the Pokéball, and a smile on his face

"I see" Clemont said as they handed their Pokéballs over to Nurse Joy

"It will only take a few moments for your Pokémon to heal" Nurse Joy informed them "I will call you as soon as I am finished"

"Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Ash said as he moved away from her desk "Clemont, if you want I can get Luxray's Pokéball for you"

"You sure, Ash?" Clemont questioned as he looked towards his friend

"Course, you go and keep the girls company, they must be missing us by now" Ash said with a grin

"Ok, see you soon" Clemont said as he left for their bedroom

"Hey Clemont" Ash called out, causing his friend to halt on his tracks and turn to look at him

"Yes, Ash" Clemont said

"Just do me a favor and make sure they aren't stuffing Pikachu with ketchup will you?" Ash joked with a smile

"Aahaha, sure. We can't have him getting fat right before the Kalos League, can we?" Clemont joked as well

"Ahaah, course not, that way I won't be able to win it all, will I?" Ash laughed out, as his friend continue on his way

As soon as he saw Clemont turn the corner, Ash moved to the outside of the Pokémon Center once again. As the cool air of the night hit his exposed skin, Ash closed his eyes and let himself get lost in his thoughts, processing everything that had happened during the day.

February third had always been a hard day for him. It always brought up some bad and uncomfortable memories, but he always tried his best to ignore them in order to help his mother. This day in particular had started even worst than all the others before it. He had been so focused on his training for the Kalos League, on making up for his mistakes in Unova, that he had been completely oblivious to its approach, making it impossible for him to be close to a phone when it arrived. He usually stayed had a Pokémon Center on this day, giving his Pokémon some small guidelines on what they should train before hurrying inside the center and towards a videophone. No one had ever suspected a thing, he just said that he would watch some videos to get some ideas for training.

Sometimes the friends he was closest with like Brock or Pikachu looked at him weirdly, sensing that something wasn't right, but they never questioned him about it, not seeing how badly he was feeling. Ash masked his emotions well. Today had been different, the fact that he couldn't talk to his mother for most of the day, check how she was doing, distract her, had made it impossible for him to ignore how much sadness this day brought with it, and consequently hide it.

Yet, now that the day was practically over, he realized that he had actually enjoyed the day. Sure, it hadn't started in the best way possible. But as it when on, it only got better and better. Serena's amazing performance, the awesome lunch he had with his friends, the tasty poképuffs that followed it, an afternoon full of fun with Bonnie and Pikachu.... well he didn't like the conversation he had with his mother that much, but the more he thought about it, the more he saw how long overdue it was. In the end, the day ended with an amazing dinner with his friends, and as they had done for the whole day, they did their best to support him and make him feel better, and truth be told, they had partially succeeded.

He was still a bit sad and angry, he just couldn't avoid it. His mom shouldn't be suffering for a man who didn't deserve it, a man who had abandoned them without a second thought. But he couldn't do anything about it, because as Serena said, he had done all he could, and now it all came down to his mother's choice, and as much as he didn't like it, she chose to believe in him. Now all he could do was hope. Hope that she chose to let go. Until then he would support her as best he could, and as he had realized today, he had to do it without compromising the friendships he had.

With a practiced motion, Ash took his wallet out from his back pocket and opened it up. He had never been one to carry money around with him. He had always made an effort to spend the least he could during his travels. He knew how hard his mother worked at the restaurant for him to be able to travel around the world, so he thought the least he could do was spend as little as he could to allow her to use a good part of that money herself, so he had never seen a use for a wallet, but his mother had insisted he got one. So, since he already had one, the least he could do was find a use for it.

In the end, he decided to store some of his most prized possessions in it. His photographs. During his travels, he had made lots of friends, human and Pokémon alike, each one of them unique in their own way. Each one of them important to him. These photographs were a reminder of just how much they meant to him. How amazing the adventures they had been in were. How strong their friendship was.

The worst part about trainers making such strong friendships was what came after the journeys. The separations.

Ash had tried his best to keep in touch with his friends, but it wasn't easy. Most of them had kept on traveling around the world, making it hard for them to communicate with them. Only once in a while, had they been able to have a small video chat with each other. Misty, Brock, and Max had been the ones Ash had talked with the most since they were pretty much always in the same place.

Misty had recently started seeing an increase in the number of challengers she had to face. After a lot of hard work, she had been able to finally rid the Cerulean Gym of the bad reputation her sisters had created. Ash had been extremely happy for her his happiness was almost as big as his excitement to battle her once again. The improvement in the gym's reputation had allowed to finally, after four years of hard work, have a well-deserved vacation. The ginger had decided to visit the orange islands once again, and from what Ash had deduced seeing as she had been visiting the place quite a lot recently, she had enjoyed her vacation quite a lot.

From what Brock had told him, the former gym leader had been able to enter the University he had wanted to. In terms of prestige, it wasn't the best, but it was close enough for his friend, being in the top five. But this one had something that the other four hadn't, it was only a two-hour drive from Pewter City, which in turn gave Brock the possibility to easily visited his family. According to him, his studies were going well so far, he was already about to complete his second year of studies, and if things kept going well, he would be a doctor in three years' time. That was if he were able to keep away from Nurse Joys until then, from what he had told Ash, he had gotten into big trouble in his first year, barely escaping a harassment charge, another close call like that and he could be expelled before getting his degree, but Ash still had faith in his friend, he had been doing well so far after all.

Max had been training intensely under his father's guidance. The future Pokémon trainer had been ecstatic at the prospect of being a trainer for a long time now, and now that he was only a few months away from the day he had anticipated for so long, he had gotten the idea that he was unprepared for it. Now he spent most of his time studying any and every book he could get his hands on, trying to absorb as much knowledge as he could, planning out every single second of his journey and training with his day, using his Pokémon, so that he could be ready for anything. As much as Ash wanted his friend to succeed, he couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous. He and Max had one thing in common, their love for Pokémon, and their love for a good battle, but unlike Ash, the young boy was prepared for his journey.

Apart from this three Ash didn't know much of what was going on in his friend's lives, not anymore. We only knew that nowadays May was traveling with Drew through the Sinnoh region. And from what they had told him, each one of them had made it into the Grand Festival. Ash hadn't been happy to find out that May had gotten into a relationship with her fellow coordinator, he had never been a big fan of Drew, sure he was a friendly guy, but deep down he was a flirt, and Ash was afraid that he would end up hurting May. In the end, it was May's decision, so Ash respected it, although he had made it pretty clear that he wouldn't forgive the green-haired boy if he ever hurt his friend, much to May's annoyance.

Dawn on the other hand had gone on a journey through a new region after she finished Buneary's photoshoot. The coordinator had recently entered the Johto Grand Festival, once again losing in the finals. She had been a little bummed at her loss, but overall, she was happy. She had finally managed to defeated Zoey and only lost to Soledad, a well-known and respected coordinator. To Ash's surprise, she wasn't planning to go home right away, in fact, she was planning to stay in Johto for the Silver Conference, to support her traveling companion, who, to Ash's surprise, was in fact, Paul. Ash had questioned her about it, only for her to end the call as quickly as she could. He had no problem with Paul nowadays, he hasn't one of his favorite people, that was for sure, but from what Ash knew, he had changed, and no longer treated his Pokémon as poorly as he had treated Chimchar, overall, Ash respected him.

Iris had made her way to the Johto region as well, hoping to be able to learn from the dragon-type gym leader Clair. From what she had told Ash, Clair had been happy to help Iris become a better dragon-type trainer, accepting the Unova native as a student. She had even caught a few dragon types since she separated from Ash. Overall, she was on her way to becoming a true dragon master.

Cilan had been all over the place since he separated from Ash. At first, he had gone with Iris to Johto. There Cilan separated from his traveling company and started exploring the region, seeing all the important landmarks. Afterward, Ash had heard very little from the connoisseur, he only knew that his friend had left Johto and went on to a region that "held the most exquisite recipes, all of them with the right mixtures of sweet love and spicy adventure", in other words, Ash didn't know where his friend was, but from what he could tell from the little he understood of his e-mails, he was enjoying it.

Still, even if he had a hard time talking with most of them, they still were the very best of friends, they were still a family.

Ash had always considered that family was the most important thing in a person's life. In part, that was the reason why he loved his Pokémon so much, because he always considered that when he caught a Pokémon, that Pokémon became a part of his family. He always said that he and his Pokémon weren't just partners, the bond they had was stronger than that. He and his Pokémon were a family. What he had figured out today, was that the bond he had made with his friends went beyond friendship as well.

Serena had helped him realize that. She had helped him out a lot. At first, he wasn't very happy to see her. He wanted to be left alone, not wanting to be bothered. He knew his friends would want to help him with his problems, but he didn't want their help. This was his family. His problem.

He was about to tell her to leave him alone. To go away. Until he remembered the incident at Snowbelle. The way he snapped at her after she tried to help him. He had expected her to snap back at him like people usually did, in fact, he had wanted it, he wanted a fight. She didn't, she just wanted to help him, and that made him feel even worse for snapping at her. But, the worst of all, was when he saw tears building up in her eyes. Tears that he had caused when he snapped at her. When he hurt her. That day he promised himself that he would never do that again. That he would never hurt her again. So he decided to calm down and think before he said anything.

He had never expected to open up to her like he did. He had never done that to anyone. The only person who he had opened up to was Professor Oak, but the researcher was practically the grandfather he never had.

Ever since the dance party he had known that the relationship he and Serena had was different from any other he had, it was special. Now he realized how special it really was. Truth be told, he couldn't handle it if he lost Serena. He would be completely broken if that happened.

A small ding sound forced Ash out of his thoughts. The young teen closed his wallet and stuffed it back inside his pocket as he made his way inside the Pokémon center once again. He quickly grabbed both the Pokéball from the tray that Nurse Joy was carrying and thanked her before he made his way towards their room.

As he opened the door the sound of laughter made his way to his ears.

The three friends were sitting on Clemont's bed, all of them in their pajamas, surrounding Pikachu. They appeared to be playing a game while Serena brushed Sylveon.

From what Ash could tell, they were trying to guess which Pokémon Pikachu was pretending to.

Pikachu pushed his ears backward with one paw, and opened his mouth wide, making an impersonation that Ash knew very well.

"Oh, oh, I know this one. It's that cutie that travels with Team Rocket Woubifeet" Bonnie exclaimed excitedly, causing her friends to chuckle

"It's Wobbuffet, Bonnie" Clemont corrected her in between laughs

"Wobbuffet, Woubifeet. It's still the same cutie" Bonnie said nonchalantly, causing her friends to chuckle once again, except this time, Serena heard Ash chuckle

Her eyes lit up as soon as she laid her eyes on him, and her big smile seemed to get a bit bigger as well.

"Ash, why didn't you tell us Pikachu could imitate other Pokémon so well?" she asked as Sylveon greeted him

"Well, honestly, I didn't even remember he could do that. He wasn't done it in a while" Ash clarified as he rubbed his nape in embarrassment

"Only you could forget that your Pokémon has such an amazing talent" Serena playfully said as she smiled at him

"What can I say? I have the memory of a Magikarp" Ash joked as well as he grinned at her. He looked her in the eyes as he said it, realizing just how beautiful her blue eyes really were.

"Come on, Ash, come join us. You and Serena can flirt afterward" Bonnie teased as she rushed over and dragged Ash by the hand to Serena's bed.

Serena hung her head down as he approached, trying her best to make sure that Ash didn't see her blush.

"So, what are we playing?" Ash asked as he sat down on the bed near Serena and handed Luxray's Pokeball back to Clemont

As he sat down, Sylveon smiled and tried to reach out to him with one of her feelers, unfortunately for her, her trainer had seen it and quickly pulled out her Pokéball and recalled her, not wanting to be any further embarrassed. Pikachu didn't appear to be happy with her decision

"It is rather simple" Clemont explained "The game is based around Pikachu's impersonations. Basically, the objective is to guess with Pokémon he is imitating, the one who has the most correct guesses when the game ends wins"

"Then let's play" Ash said

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

The group played around for a little while, making the most out of Pikachu's unnatural talent. Afterward, they placed a map on Clemont's bed and planned out the following day as they usually did, something that Bonnie wasn't a fan of.

"So" Bonnie said, rising with a yawn "boring!"

"Alright, it is time for you to go to sleep, Bonnie" Clemont said as he stood up

"I...am not....tired" she said, in between yawns, as Clemont picked her up

"Give me a second. I will just put her to bed" he said looking at Ash and Serena

"Let me do it" Serena said as she stood up and stretched, making the tiniest bit of her belly visible as her pink sweater rose with her arms "I am quite tired myself, and since the two of you don't need me anymore, I think I will go to sleep as well"

"All right then" Clemont said as he handed the small girl over to his friend. Bonnie was practically sleeping by now, but she seemed to be bothered as she left Clemont's arms, only to instinctively smile as she snuggled into the warmth of Serena's. "Goodnight you two"

"Goodnight!" Ash said with a small wave

"Pika" Pikachu said from Ash's lap

Serena simply smiled at them as she turned around and walked to Bonnie's bed, preparing to put the small girl in her bed. As the light in the room seemed to diminished Ash looked to his right, only to noticed that Clemont had gone and turned almost all the lights off, at the moment they only had the light of Clemont's bedside lit.

"Let's speed this up, I don't want to disturb their sleep" Clemont whispered as he sat on his bed and looked at his map once again

"Maybe he should hit the sack as well, Clemont" Ash proposed as he stroke Pikachu's fur. His partner had curled up on his lap and appeared to be ready to sleep as well "I mean we have planned out pretty much everything already" Ash his eyes laying on Serena, as she made sure Bonnie was cozy on her bed, before moving on to lay on her own

Clemont thought about it for a second, before giving in and answering with a sigh "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's getting quite late as well, if we want to make good progress and give you the chance to train, we need to be well-rested" he said as he started folding his map

"Night, Clemont" Ash said as he picked up Pikachu and got up

---------------------------//------------------------------//-----------------------------

Sleep didn't come easy for Ash that night. He usually had no trouble falling asleep, his training regiment tired him out pretty easily, but today he hadn't trained that much, only having had a single battle with Clemont after dinner. He had burned a lot of energy as he and Bonnie played around in the afternoon, but that hadn't been enough to compensate for the lack of training. As a result, he wasn't feeling that tired, so he decided to get some fresh air to go for a walk.

He made his way out of his room as silently as he could, not wanting to wake his friends up.

The Pokémon Center was pretty much empty by now, only Wigglytuff was up at this hour. She and Nurse Joy had turns sleeping in order to allow the two of them to rest. As he passed her the Balloon Pokémon gave him a small smile, sorry for the fact that the young trainer hadn't been able to fall asleep yet.

Ash made his way towards the Pokémon Center's battlefield, and as soon as the fresh Kalosian night air hit his skin, Ash started increasing his pace quickly going in a full-out run. He adored the feeling of the air in his skin, the blood pumping in his veins, the rush he was feeling. He kept on doing laps around the battlefield, hoping to burn out the excess energy he had.

After a few minutes, he has on his knees, panting heavily. He hoped that he had tired himself out enough to finally get some shut-eye. He gazed at the battlefield one last time before entering the Pokémon Center once again.

Two weeks from now he would be battling in the battlefields of the Kalos League. He had to be ready, he had to win. He and his Pokémon had worked too hard to fail now, he had to give it his all. He couldn't afford to have another day where he didn't train.

He would have a tough competition ahead, that was for sure. Tierno would be there, and his unique battle style would be a tough challenge, he had already proved that. Sawyer as well, he would plan out everything about their battle. In their last battle, Ash hadn't been himself, and that led to a less than satisfying battle. Ash had to show his rival that he was back, give him a battle that the two of them could enjoy, that was the least he could do.

Alain would be there as well. The older trainer had already shown that he wasn't playing around. He was one of the strongest trainers Ash had ever faced. He would be the toughest challenge in the League. His Mega Charizard was a force to be reckoned with. He knew how much Greninja wanted to beat his rival, not only because of the bond the two of them had but also because he felt the same. And they were going to give it their all to achieve that goal. They had to, they had too many people counting on them. He had promised his mom he would do it. And after all the support his friends had given him, especially Serena, he had to give it his all and show that that had been for nothing.

As Ash opened the door to the room he shared with his friends and made his way inside, he looked at the sleeping figures of his friends, all of them sleeping comfortably.

His partner seemed to be the exception, he was thrashing around on the bed, unable to get comfortable, that was until Ash laid down on his bed once again and allowed Pikachu to cuddle at his side. As he stroked his partner's back soothingly, Ash closed his eyes and let himself get lost in his thoughts once again.

Ever since he started his journey, he had faced a lot of problems, a lot of bumps in the road, but every time he had been able to get back up due to the support of his friends. Sure, he fought with some of them a few times, ones more than the others, but overall they had always been there for him. Even when they were apart, they always support each other. And the Kalos group hadn't been any different, in fact, it had been the tightest group of them all.

He had made a huge family over the years, a family of people and Pokémon alike.

For the second time in his Journey through the Kalos region, Ash saw himself make a silent promise, promise for himself before he fell asleep.

He will always do the best he can to see his family happy.