#oh you can see pom pom if you zoom in on the first pic. she was actually doing the whole CDT in sections

[digestionmachine]

snow mesa, colorado trail, july 2022

[monkeybell]

Warning: this chapter contains an OOC Serena! Please don’t judge the way I write her.

Third person POV

"Yeah! Santalune Gym, you'd better look out. I'm going to get my first Kalos badge from you" Ash says while running with everyone, Clement being in the back. "Come on, guys, can't you slow down a little?" Clement says, and falls face first onto the ground. "Aah! Clement, are you ok?" Cami asks, walking up to him. "I never am when running" Clement tells Cami. "Hey, Clement, hurry up!" Ash says with excitement, ready for his gym battle. "One thing, and I think it's kind of important. Do you have any idea where the Santalune Gym might be located?" Clement looks up at ash, asking an important question. "No clue! Of course I don't!" Ash exclaims. His friends are confused with his answer, how can he not know where he is going? Even Dedenne looked worried. "I can find the direction on my phone, I would've asked earlier but I thought you knew where we were going" Cami pulls out her phone and goes to open the map. Before she can, Ash grabs her free hand. "Great! Let's go!" Ash says, dragging Cami away. The bright red faced girl tells her friend, "Wait! I haven't opened the map yet! Why are you running if you still don't know the direction?" "I figure stuff out best when I run. Keep moving ahead and you can't go wrong" Ash says, letting go of Cami's hand and stands on a water fountain, then looks at his Pokémon partner "That's the way we roll."

Suddenly a camera shutter noise goes off, alerting Ash and Pikachu. A young woman, who has a camera on her, says "Thanks so much for the great pic" the girl walks up to the group "The two of you seem to have the makings of a great team" she finishes with. "Hey, thanks. Pikachu's my partner" Ash tells the unknown person. "FYI, if you're going to the Santalune Gym make a right at that corner" she points towards the direction. "Yeah? Awesome. Thanks a lot for the info" Ash then faces his friends "I told you we can't go wrong." "Then why is my phone out?" Cami asks Ash, her sass showing. Ash just scratches the back of his head and laughs. "Let's move, Pikachu" Ash says and runs to the gym. "Ah! Ash, not so fast" Clement yells. "Hey, wait up!" Bonnie runs after Ash. Before running after them, Clement bows to the lady "Thank you for your assistance" is what he says, then starts to run. "Yes, thank you! I hope you snap some more good photos!" Cami says before leaving last, making sure Clement wasn't last this time so he didn't feel bad about being slow. The unknown lady only chuckles once everyone is gone.

The group are in front of a fancy looking building, the Santalune Gym. "Wow, we made it!" Ash says, happy to finally have his first Kalos gym battle. "Now, if I remember my facts correctly the Santalune Gym leader specializes in Bug-type Pokémon" Clement tells Ash. "I can't wait to go inside, it's going to be fun" Bonnie says, Dedenne agreeing with her. "I've never seen a real life gym battle before! I'm nervous and it's not even me battling" Cami confesses. "Hello in there! I want to challenge you to a battle" Ash speaks to the door. The door opens and a Pokémon jumps out, it's a helioptile! The Pokémon jumps on Ash, knocking Pikachu off Ash, also making Ash fall down. The helioptile seems to know Ash. "It's Helioptile" Ash says. "Welcome, Ash, Pikachu" A voice says. The helioptile climbs up to lady and rests on it's shoulder. "It's nice to see you both again" the lady speaks to Ash and Pikachu. "Hey, Alexa, i didn't know you were here" Ash says to Alexa, the person who came with Ash to Kalos. "Uh-huh. I finished up my reporting and thought you'd be here soon, so I waited. So, are these your new friends?" Alexa explains and asks Ash about Clement, Bonnie and Cami. "Yup. I met them in Lumiose city."

"Hi, Alexa. My name's Bonnie, and this is Dedenne" Bonnie tells Alexa who she and Dedenne are, then looks at Clement "And this is my brother." "I'm Clement. It's nice to meet you" Clement bows to Alexa. "Hello, I'm Cami. Pleased to meet you" Cami curtsies at Alexa. "That's quite amazing. You already knew the Gym leader" Clement says to Ash. "She's not the leader. See, Alexa's actually a Pokémon journalist" Ash explains to his blond friend. "That's right. The gym Leader's my younger sister, Viola." "Viola?" Bonnie questions. "That's me" a somewhat familiar voice calls out. Turning around, everyone sees the photographer from before! "Nice to see you again." "Ah! You mean you're Alexa's sister?" Ash asks Viola. "Oh, so I take it you've already met one another?" Alexa asks her younger sister. "Right. At the fountain. I took a picture of Pikachu and Ash. Alexa said you wanted to challenge me while I was gone" Viola says. "I still do. How about it?" Ash asks if he can challenge Viola. "Sure. Please, come inside."

The inside of the Gym is full of pictures of Pokémon! Like one big art exhibit. "Wow. You took all of these pictures, Viola?" Ash asks Viola. "Uh-huh. Although, these are just a few of the pictures I've taken" Viola answers. "She's got quite a talent for photographing Bug types. She even helps me out with my reporting from time to time" Alexa tells everyone. "This is great work. It really captures the love you have for your subjects" Clement says. "Sure does. You can see how much you care about Bug types" Says Bonnie, Dedenne agrees. "These photos are amazing! I'm sure it takes a lot of patience to photograph Pokémon" Cami says in awe. "I know! Viola, you're a keeper! I mean, please take care of my brother" Bonnie says to Viola, down on one knee. "Ah, we're a little bit confused" Alexa says, everyone confused. "Bonnie! You can't just ask people to marry someone!" Cami tells Bonnie. "Aww, don't be jealous! You can marry Clement if you want. I can even ask you know who to marry you" Bonnie teases. "That's not what I meant!" Cami exclaims, a big blush on her face.

"Bonnie, I told you to stop this a million times" Clement says to his sister, clearly embarrassed. "You know you need somebody to take care of you. I think Viola would make you a nice wife" Bonnie scolds her brother. "A nice wife?" Viola questions. "Ah! No, this is so embarrassing. Activating Aipom Arm" Clement's Aipom arm appears from his backpack and grabs Bonnie. "Would you please just mind your own business?" Clement says, his Aipom arm invention dragging Bonnie away from everyone. "I hope you'll think about it, Viola?" Bonnie tells Viola before Clement leaves with Bonnie to go outside. Everyone back inside is confused about what just happened. "Such a unique little girl" Alexa says. Viola turns to face Ash, "So, shall we, Ash? How about that battle?" "Great!" Ash says to her. "I have a surprise for you, Ash. As a way of cheering for you and your Pokémon, I made Polly a cheerleader outfit! Good luck, Ash! We'll be rooting for you" Cami tells her friend and grabs Polly's ball. Polly's cheerleading outfit is blue and white, with matching pom-poms. "Thanks! We'll win for sure!"

“The Gym battle between Ash, the challenger and Viola, the Santalune Gym leader, will now begin. Each side will have the use of two Pokémon and the battle will be over when either Trainer’s Pokémon are unable to continue. Only the challenger may substitute Pokémon” the referee explains the rules. “My lens is always focused on victory no matter what. Surskit, go!” Viola says, her Surskit appearing from it’s Pokeball. “A surskit, huh?” Ash pulls out his Pokédex. “Surskit, the Pond Skater Pokémon. Surskit can walk on water as if it was skating. It attracts prey with the sweet aroma it produces” says the dex. “My first Kalos Gym battle. And I’m going to start it off with Pikachu” Ash is excited, Pikachu is ready to battle too. Bonnie says “Ash is using Pikachu!” “That’s because Pikachu’s got a big advantage over Surskit who’s a Bug and Water type” Clement says. “Now, battle begin!” The referee signals the battle to start.

“Pikachu, let’s start this with Quick Attack!” Pikachu uses Quick attack, moving to Surskit with speed. “Quick, Surskit, use Protect” Viola tells Surskit. Surskit protects itself from Quick attack, the protect causes Pikachu to eject back. “Go around Surskit and use Iron Tail” Ash commands Pikachu, who moves around Surskit. “Surskit, dodge it.” Surskit dodges it, Surskit skates fast around the battlefield, making Pikachu confused. “Focus, Pikachu. Use electro ball and stop Surskit” Ash tells his partner. Jumping up, Pikachu uses Electro ball, aiming at Surskit. “Surskit, use Ice beam.” Surskit counters with Ice beam, the Electro ball and Ice beam creating a explosion from the impact. “My sister is very strong. Defeating her is no easy task” Alexa tells Clement, Bonnie and Cami. “This is where it begins. Use Ice Beam on the field” Viola says to Surskit, who uses Ice beam that hits the ground. Pikachu dodges the ice beams falling, and is worried about the ground now being covered in solid ice.

“Whoa! The battlefield’s frozen” Bonnie says. “Talk about a surprise attack” Cami says, this reminding her of Contest battles. Pikachu’s struggling to stand on the ice field, due to the slippery ice, He falls. “Pikachu, get up, quick” Ash tells Pikachu. “Our ice battlefield is picture-perfect. Surskit, let’s go” Viola says. Surskit takes off fast, skating on the ice, living up to its name of the Pond skater Pokémon. Pikachu can only watch Surskit zoom around it, “Hang in there. Use Iron Tail” Ash gives encouragement to Pikachu. Pikachu gets Iron tail ready, waiting for Surskit to approach it, then hits it right in the face. “Pi pi Pika!” Polly cheers for Pikachu, shaking her Pom-poms. “Pull it together, Surskit, and use Ice Beam” Viola commands Surskit. The Ice beam goes to Pikachu, “Now, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt” Ash says to Pikachu. Still struggling on the ice, Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, the two attacks collide with each other, then hit the ice field, Pikachu falls back. “Pikachu, no!”

“Yes! Now use your picture-perfect Signal Beam!” Surskit listens to Viola, aiming signal beam at Pikachu, who only looks in horror. An explosion happens on the field, “Pikachu!” Everyone looks in fear. Pikachu bounces backwards, injured and dazed. “Pikachu is unable to battle. Surskit wins” the referee announces. Ash walks up to his fainted partner, “Pikachu. You okay? Pikachu?” Pikachu snaps out of his daze, and looks up at Ash, he’s weak but smiles at his trainer. “You were great out there. Thanks, buddy” Ash tells Pikachu. “You trained Pikachu quite well but it still has a long way to go before it can beat my Surskit” Viola says to Ash. “I’ll beat it now. With this Pokémon. Fletchling, let’s go!” Ash calls out Fletchling, who’s ready to battle. “Wow, Fletchling will be great. It can attack from above so the frozen ground won’t do a thing” Says Bonnie. “A flying type like Fletchling has an advantage over Surskit too” Clement says.

Suddenly a girl walks into the room, looking around the room and then stares at Ash. “Ash!” The girl calls out and runs over to him, giggling like crazy. “Can I help you?” Alexa asks the girl. “I was kind of wondering if it would be okay if I watched them battle?” “Of course, that would be just fine. Welcome” Alexa tells her. “Why don’t you join us over here?” Clement invites her over. “Yeah. It’s getting real good” Bonnie says, while waving. “That’s so nice of you. Thanks.” The girl walks over to the group, she then looks at Polly, and asks “What is that Pokémon wearing?” “Oh, it’s a cheerleading outfit that I made myself. To help cheer on Ash and his Pokémon” Cami answers, timid around the new girl due to her shyness. “That’s kinda weird” and with that, the honey haired girl goes back to watching the match. ‘Is it really that weird?’ Cami thinks to herself, her low self esteem makes it feel like the outfit is ugly and that she’s bad at sewing.

“Okay, Fletchling, Peck, let’s go” Ash gives Fletchling his command. Fletchling flies up high, building up the Peck, then gets ready to attack. “Quick, dodge it.” Surskit dodges the what would have been an affective Peck. “Now, use Ice beam” Viola tells her surskit. “Dodge it!” Fletchling dodges ice beam. “Awesome!” Says the honey blond haired girl. “Yeah. Go for it, Fletchling!” Bonnie says, giving Fletchling encouragement. Clement turns to Cami, seeing her look lost in thought, he asks her “Are you ok?” Cami snaps out of it, and is a little too quick to answer back “Huh? Oh, ya, I’m good. Just, um thinking.” Clement is still concerned about her, seeing Cami look sad, and just trying not to show her emotions.

“Surskit, Sticky Web, go.” “Fletchling, Double Team” Viola and Ash tell their Pokémon. Fletchling copies appear in the fly, Surskit uses multiple Sticky web attacks. The webs stick to the glass ceiling, none of them hit Fletchling. “It dodged everything” Clement exclaims. “Alright! Attack, Attack, Attack, attack” Bonnie calls out with excitement. “Now, Fletchling, use Razor Wind!” Fletchling unleashes Razor wind at Surskit, hitting directly at it. Smoke appears around Surskit, once it clears, Surskit is dazed. “Surskit is unable to battle. Fletchling wins!” “Alright!” Ash yells out, happy about Surskit fainting. The group is excited about the win as well. “Did you see how totally awesome Ash battles?” Bonnie asks the new girl. “Mm-hmm, I sure did” she answers back to Bonnie. “Ash won! I bet Polly cheering them on helped, right, Cami?” Bonnie turns to Cami and asks. “Aw, that’s nice of you to say, Bonnie” Cami tells the little girl, Polly thanks Bonnie by giving her a high five. “Now both sides have one Pokémon left. Ash just might win this” Clement says.

Viola returns Surskit to its Ball, “Surskit, you were great. You deserve a good rest.” “Time to beat your other Pokémon and get my hands on my first Kalos Gym badge” Ash says. “It’s not going to be that easy. My gym Leader pride’s on the line. Let’s do this, Vivillon!” Vivillon, meadow pattern, appears and flies up, thanks to it’s wings. “Who’s that Pokémon?” Ash gets out the Pokédex, “Vivillon. The Scale Pokémon. Vivillon are skillfully able to find a source of water. It has been said that you’ll find a spring if you follow a Vivillon.” The dex tells Ash about Vivillon. “Alright, Fletchling, Peck.” Fletchling builds up it’s Peck attack. “See, flying-type moves are super effective against Vivillon” Says Clement. “Vivillon, use Psychic” Vivillon stops Fletchling with its Psychic attack, making Peck disappear. “Ah! What happened?”

“Since I made an ice battlefield I want you to experience what it’s all about” Viola tells Ash. Psychic moves Fletchling around, then throws it onto the ice battlefield. “Fletchling, you okay? Can you still fly?” Ash asks his Pokémon. Fletchling is able to fly, even after that throw. “Alright! Use Gust” Viola tells Vivillon, who attacks with a powerful gust. Fletchling gets flown back, and sticks to one of the Sticky webs from Surskit! “It’s stuck in that Sticky web” Says Clement. “Break free! You can do it, Fletchling” Ash tells Fletchling, the tiny robin Pokémon can’t get free. “A picture perfect opportunity. Vivillon, Solar Beam!” Vivillon builds up energy for solar beam, the sun making it build up faster. It hits the stuck Fletchling, creating a grey smoke. “Oh, no, Fletchling!”

Fletchling starts falling to the ground, injured from the solar beam. It hits the ground, fainted. “Fletchling is unable to battle. Vivillon wins, which means the victor is Viola, the gym leader!” The referee declares. Viola calls back Vivillon, “Thanks a lot, Vivillon.” Ash runs up to Fletchling, picking it up, he asks “Are you okay?” “Ash!” Clement, Bonnie and Cami run to ash, Clement holding Pikachu. “We need to get them both to the Pokémon Center. I’m afraid that battle put them through a lot” Clement tells Ash. Looking down at both of his injured Pokémon, a worried and sad look on his face. He looks over to Viola, “I know I lost, but I’ll come back here stronger. And when I do, I hope you’ll let me have a rematch.” “I’ll be looking forward to it. Come back anytime” Viola says to ash. “Let’s go” Ash tells his friends, they run in a hurry to the nearest Pokémon center. The girl that watched the match notices his backpack once they leave, he left it behind.

“Nurse Joy, please take care of my Pokémon” Ash tells the Pokémon nurse. Her assistant, Wigglytuff takes away Pikachu and Fletchling. “Don’t worry, Ash. They’ll be all better in no time” Nurse Joy reassures Ash. Clement, Bonnie and Cami are outside the Pokémon center, chilling in the shade.”Here, eat up” Bonnie says and hands Dedenne a piece of Pokémon food. Dedenne starts nibbling on it fast, making Bonnie laugh. “Oh, Dedenne, you’re such a cutie pie.” “It must’ve been really hungry” Clement tells Bonnie. Clement then looks at the Pokémon center battlefield, where Ash is at. ‘Viola totally beat me. Man, is she strong’ Ash thinks, and thinks about his gym battle. Ash clenches his fist and grunts. The girl from before is back, now holding his backpack, Ash doesn’t notice her. ‘Pikachu and Fletchling weren’t able to show their strengths at all. If that’s the way it’s going to be I can’t win, no matter how many times I try. What do I do?’ He talks to himself.

Ash suddenly looks up and sees a girl, holding his backpack. “Excuse me. I think this is yours” She says to him. Ash looks around him, only now just realizing that he forgot his bag back at the gym. “Guess I forgot it. Hey, thanks a lot.” The rest of the group notices the girl from before, and walk over to her and Ash, except for Cami. The girl didn’t seem to like Cami back at the gym so she decided to stay at the table. Before leaving, Bonnie and Clement look back at her, “Huh? Aren’t you coming?” “I’ll catch up later..” Cami answers, hiding her sadness better this time. The siblings left to see Ash and the girl. Cami looks down at Polly who’s on her lap and at the cheerleading outfit on her. ‘She’s just like Stephanie..’ Cami thinks and hears a mean laugh echo in her mind. One tear leaves her eye.

“Wow! You’re that girl from before” Bonnie says to the familiar girl. “Before?” “She was standing with us during your Gym battle” Clement explains to Ash. “My name’s Bonnie, and this is my big brother” Bonnie introduces herself and points to Clement. “I’m Clement. That is Cami” Clement says his name and tells the girl who Cami is while pointing to Cami. “And say hello to Dedenne” Bonnie includes Dedenne. “Nice to meet you” the girl tells them all. “What do you know? Sorry. I was so busy battling, I didn’t see you there” Ash apologizes to the girl for not noticing she was even in the building. “Oh, that’s okay” she tells ash. “My name is Ash.” “Yeah, I know. Serena is my name. Do you remember?”Serena is cut off by a noise coming from the Pokémon center.

Everyone, including Cami, walks inside the Pokémon center, where nurse Joy is waiting. “Thank you for waiting. Your Pikachu and Fletchling are now fully recovered and feeling fine” She tells Ash. Pikachu and Fletchling go straight to Ash, excited to see him. They both go on each of his shoulders. “That’s great. Thank you, Nurse Joy.” “It’s my pleasure” Joy tells Ash, “Fletchling and Pikachu, this is Serena. She was with Clement, Bonnie and Cami watching us battle” Ash says to his Pokémon. “Hi, you two. Nice to meet you” Serena tells the Pokémon. Cami then walks up to Serena, saying “We haven’t formally met, Sorry about that. I’m Cami, and this is Polly” Cami gestures to Polly who’s standing next to Cami. Serena doesn’t say anything to Cami or Polly though. “Huh? I just realized something. Nurse Joy, how did you get to the Pokémon Center from Route 4 without passing me?” Serena only talks to nurse Joy. ‘Is she ignoring me?’ Cami thinks, Polly looks confused too. Cami doesn’t know what she did to make Serena not like her.

“But is that the Nurse Joy you met on Route 4?” Ash says. “Couldn’t be! I would think the Nurse Joy you met on Route 4 was my cousin” Is Nurse Joy’s answer. “Your cousin?” Serena asks. “I knew it” Ash says. Nurse Joy shows everyone a picture of a lot of Nurse Joy’s. “Here’s a photo of me and my cousins during the Kalos region’s nursing workshop” she tells them. “Wow, it’s the same in Kalos too” Ash says. “Makes you wonder how many Nurse Joy’s there are” Cami questions. “Oh, right! I was hoping you’d look at my Pokémon too” Serena asks Nurse Joy and lets her Pokémon out. A Yellow and red Pokémon appears. “Whoa. Never seen that Pokémon” Ash gets his trusty Pokédex. “Fennekin. The Fox Pokémon. Fennekin expels hot air that can reach nearly four hundred degrees. It likes to snack on twigs.”

“I guess it’s a fire type Pokémon, right?” Ash asks. “If I remember correctly, Fennekin is one of the starters here in Kalos, I remember seeing one when I visited Uncle Sycamore as a kid” Cami remembers playing with the starter Pokémon during her many visits to the lab. “And it’s so cute” Bonnie says. “I got it from Professor Sycamore” Serena says while looking at Ash. “Professor Sycamore, huh?” “You must be a new Trainer, then?” Clement says to Serena. “Right. I just started my journey” Serena explains that she just started her own journey. “I’ll be glad to look at Fennekin. Please wait right here while I perform a thorough exam” Nurse Joy says to Serena, Wigglytuff agrees with its partner. “Ash?” A voice asks, it turns out to be Alexa!“It looks like Pikachu and Fletchling are fully recovered. Let me guess, you’re going to start training right away?” “Of course I am. You want to help me out?” Ash asks Alexa.

Now out on the battlefield, it looks like Alexa is going to help Ash train for the next try of battling Viola. “You see, Noivern can use Gust too. Noivern, let’s go!” Alexa calls out her Noivern, who is ready to battle. “One of our problems with Viola was we couldn’t get past Vivillon’s Gust. So let’s try to keep our balance. Pikachu, Fletchling, heads up” Ash explains to his Pokémon. Both Pikachu and Fletchling have balloons on them. “Go ahead, Alexa.” “Here it comes. Noivern, use Gust!” Noivern unleashes Gust, strong winds attack Pikachu and Fletchling. “Hang in there, Pikachu. Be strong, Fletchling” Ash gives encouragement, but the gust is too strong and blows both Pikachu and Fletchling. Ash runs and grabs them both before they can hit the ground. “You okay?” He asks the two. They look up at their Trainer, “I’m here for you two. So don’t worry and concentrate on trainin’.” He tells them. “Have Noivern use Gust again, please?”

“Alright, but get ready. Noivern, use Gust!” The gust hits them again, Pikachu and Fletchling concentrate on holding their ground. ‘We’ve got to be able to deal with Gust’ Ash thinks. “You’re both doing great” Clement tells the Pokémon. “I know you can do it” Bonnie says. “Hang in there, Ash, Pikachu, Fletchling!” Cami yells out. The Pokémon aren’t strong enough yet and get hit by Gust again, Ash catching them in his arms. The gang voices their concerns for both Ash and the Pokémon. Ash gets up and looks deep in thought. ‘Vivillon’s Gust isn’t the only thing we have to do deal with. There’s Surskit’s Ice beam and sticky web too. How are we doing to do it?’ He thinks. His Pokémon look at him with concern. Suddenly Serena walks up to Ash and hands him handkerchief, letting him use it. Then asks “Ash, do you remember me?”

Cami feels something poke her back, turning around, she sees a familiar Pokémon. “Meloetta?!” She says with surprise. “Meloetta!” Meloetta says with a smile.

To be continued

Major events:

-Ash challenges Viola and loses

-Everyone meets Serena

-Serena doesn’t like Cami for an unknown reason

-Cami remembers a Girl named Stephanie

-Meloetta and Cami meet again

AN: Hi, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I apologize for any spelling errors I may have made. I’ll be doing the Q&A chapter soon too just in case y’all want to ask some questions :)

Word count: 4218