Here is my latest story, Prisoners of the Aura! I thought that this was a pretty cool title for a story, and I came up with a plot line to use for it.

I very much hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review to tell me what you thought of it.


ASH'S POV

It was a hot June weekend, and I was trying to figure out what to do with myself. This wasn't an easy task, because, when you live in a town as small as Pallet Town, there really isn't that much.

I was pacing my room, tapping my chin as I did so. Every few steps, I would pass by one of my windows, and the sun would be shining directly into my face.

It was about seven in the morning, and already pretty warm. According to the weather forecast, today was supposed to be ninety-five degrees. That was a hot day if I'd ever seen one.

I looked over to my dresser, where I always kept my Pikachu. Currently, he was resting in his Pokeball, and I was going to keep it that way, thanks to the intense heat of the day.

In this weather, I didn't have any intention of letting Coyopa go outside. Even though their fur was very thin, they were very vulnerable to heat illness for whatever reason. It just wasn't something you wanted to risk with them.

"Ash?" my mother asked, as she walked up to my door.

Yes, it was just my mother. My father had left the family when I was a toddler, and I don't really have any memories of him. Really, it's probably for the best, if he was that much of a jerk.

I opened the door - I saw no reason not to. I was a little surprised that she was up this early; normally, on the weekends, she preferred to sleep in. Clearly, that was not the case today.

"Good morning, Mom" I replied, looking down at my feet. I didn't know what else to say.

"Morning, Ash" she said. She was still wearing her pajamas, and her hair looked relatively unkempt. I presumed that she hadn't had her morning coffee yet; that was probably what was going on.

I had never thought that an early-morning conversation with my mother would be particularly awkward. After all, I knew her better than pretty much any other person in the world, so why would it be?

However, now, I was thinking twice about that assumption. I couldn't think of anything else to say; this was an awkward exchange indeed.

Eventually, she said, "So...looking for anything to do?"

I nodded, which was a big mistake. If you're bored and looking for something to do, never admit it to your parents, because they are going to make you do work. It never fails.

"Okay, then" my mother replied. "Please unload the dishwasher for me".

Once again, I nodded, this time reluctantly. As chores went, this one wasn't too bad, given that it only took a few minutes. Even so, I didn't particularly like doing it.

I went down into the kitchen, where the sun was shining brightly. Had I been in the living room, sitting in my usual spot by the window, it would have been shining even more directly in my face.

Let me introduce myself, before anything else happens. I feel that I owe it to you.

My name is Ash Ketchum, and I'm a Pokemon trainer. I only had one Pokemon, however, and that was my Pikachu, whom I had named Coyopa, after an ancient thunder deity. (Besides, the name had just sounded cool, so that's what I had settled with after agonizing over it for a few minutes).

I was eighteen years old and lived with my mother, Delia, in a large house in Pallet Town, which is located in the Kanto region. It's really quite a nice place, particularly if you think trees make good neighbors. Not a lot happens there, but that's the way I've always liked it.

I'm a fairly tall guy, six feet even, with spiky black hair. Thanks to my hair, I am instantly recognizable whenever I enter a room with at least one person who has heard of me before. Of course, I would eventually not have black hair anymore, but that part of the story hasn't come yet.

Once I was done unloading the dishwasher, I decided that I was going to call my friend Serena. I wanted to know if she was available to hang out with, maybe play some video games together, or maybe go out to breakfast.

Serena was in my year at school, but a couple of months younger than me. I'd known her since kindergarten, and we'd been good friends ever since.

Confession time: I liked Serena.

And yes, I do mean "like" in a romantic sense. I'd never actually told her that, but I did harbor feelings for her, feelings that I knew I would reveal to her someday.

Someday, perhaps, but maybe not today.

Even though, having just turned eighteen, I was now legally an adult, I decided that I was going to tell my mother my idea, just in case she disapproved. You can call me old-fashioned, or call me a mama's boy, and either of those just might be true. However, I didn't want to go against her wishes.

I headed upstairs. "Mom?" I asked.

She turned around to face me. "Yes, Ash?"

I cut right to the chase. "I was thinking of going out to breakfast with Serena. If, of course, she is okay with it".

My mother nodded. "Yeah, you should probably call her first. That said, I do like the idea. A nice opportunity to-".

"Mom?"

"Yes, Ash?"

"Shut up".

To my mother's credit, that is just what she did do. And I was grateful for that, because I was under no illusions as to what she would be about to say next.

She'd been about to talk more about me being in love with Serena. I had never specifically told her that, but I had been pretty sure that she had figured it out.

I was right.

"Okay" my mother eventually said. "You can go and call Serena, and, if she is willing, she can drive you guys to breakfast".

I didn't have my license yet; just a learner's permit on which I had logged roughly six hours of driving practice. I hadn't used it as much as most people did, because, truth be told, most of Pallet Town was pretty walkable.

I went up to my room and dialled Serena's number. I wasn't sure if I would get voice mail or her actual voice, and I found myself practically holding my breath. Was it too good to be true, that I might actually get to talk to her.

"Hello" a female voice said, from the other end. It was a female voice that I knew very well.

"Serena?" I asked.

"Yes, it's me" she replied. "What's up?"

I cut right to the chase. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out to breakfast with me. It'll be great; we could head to the Lucario Lounge, get some pancakes or whatever".

Somehow, I knew what to say in order to make it sound more appealing to her. It was almost as though I were using the power of charmspeak on Serena.

"Yes" she said. "That would be great. I will say, you did catch me a little early in the morning".

"Sorry" I replied, trying to be a gentleman.

"It's fine" Serena told me. "But, just for future reference, remember to call a little later in the morning. I'm generally really cranky before eight in the morning; you caught me on a good day".

I breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn't potentially offended her so greatly that she would never consider dating me.

You're getting really ahead of yourself, Ash, a voice inside my head told me. Just because you're going out to breakfast with her now doesn't mean that you're going to be boyfriend/girlfriend in the future.

I know, I replied. But I want to believe that.

Somehow, I knew that Serena was meant for me, and I was meant for her. I just hoped I could persuade her of that.

Of course, however, there was a long way to go before we got to that point. Right now, I was perfectly content with a breakfast date, if one could even call it a date.

"See you later" I replied. "Are you picking me up at my place?"

"Yes" she said. "Are you all right with that?"

"Yeah". I was a little self-conscious about not yet having my license, whereas Serena had had hers for over a year. Still, though, I was working towards it, and that was what counted, at least in my opinion.

"All right. See you in ten minutes or so".

I nodded, even though she couldn't see me doing so. Then, I smiled to myself.

This is going to be amazing, I thought.

Indeed it was. Even if it wasn't technically going to be a date, the idea that I was going to have a great time at breakfast with Serena was definitely brightening up my day.

After ten minutes or so, just like she had said, Serena showed up at my door.

Really, she was quite ravishing, if I do say so myself. She was tall and skinny, with long blonde hair.

"Ready to go?" she asked me.

I nodded. I was ready; I couldn't wait to dig in to my favorite pineapple pancakes that the restaurant served.

After getting in the car, it was only a brief drive to the center of town. Unfortunately, Serena did live a fairly long distance from me, which was why she wasn't able to walk to my house. This was a shame, because I really did like walking, particularly on a nice day like today.

We arrived at the restaurant, and began to wait in line to be seated. There was a fairly long line, which I supposed was fairly typical for a Saturday morning.

I faced Serena. "It's nice to be able to spend time with you".

She nodded, smiling. "Same with you, Ash. Same with you".

Almost immediately, I had a vague sense of foreboding. Nothing tangible was causing it, but I had a vague feeling of impending doom on the horizon.

I must have shivered or something, because Serena tapped me on the shoulder. "You okay, Ash?" she asked me.

I nodded. I was fine. I had to keep believing I was fine, or else I was going to go crazy.

Little did I know, the sense of foreboding was real. It wasn't just that I really felt that way; I really had reason to feel that way.

They say that the higher you go, the farther there is to fall. And, let me tell you, that old saying is very, very true.

Not long after this, my life would start sucking.