So, I find myself at a little bit of an impasse with Pokemon shippings, especially the ones with Ash. For a short summary: Never thought of Misty much, loved May, loved Dawn even more, and somewhere between May and Misty is Iris. And then, they had to not only retroactively make the OTP in Serena, but also make her the girl most aware of feelings for Ash…which makes for a lot of potential story ideas that fit perfectly in place. One idea I haven't seen done well too much, however, is one that puts the 'childhood friend' idea to a new level, one that places Serena at the front of Ash's journeys. And why not a better time to do this when they leave her behind for new girls (go Lana!). Anyway, ladies and gentleman, after a long hiatus and just in time for the Christmas holidays, I leave this new fiction for you to enjoy!

Ketchum Kid Presents…

The Journey Worth Fighting For

Prologue: Memory of Bliss

Lost.

That's how she found herself, in the forests surrounding Pallet Town, with nobody around to help her back to the rest of the summer camp: lost. Even in the middle of the day, the lush foliage and thick canopy darkened much of the sun from view.

The young girl, of about six years of age, tightly gripped the straw hat on her head. This was not how she envisioned her summer to be going right about now. Being lost in the middle of a strange forest, in a region that was alien to her…She would even take some of her mother's Ryhorn Racing lessons over this.

"W…where is everybody?" she called out, for about the tenth or so time since getting separated. "Where…did you all go?" She took a few steps forward…

Shshshshsshsh!

"A-AH!" she screamed, not expecting the bush in front of her to begin shaking. Involuntarily taking a couple of steps back, she soon turned to begin to run away. That was when her right foot caught on a tree root, sending her quickly onto the forest floor. A sharp pain briefly surged from her right knee, but quickly disappeared.

"U…uh…nngh…" The girl took a moment to look herself over. A minor scrape on her knee and palms, dirt and grass stains on her pink dress…at least her hat, which had fallen off and landed upright, was still relatively unscathed. Which was more than she could say about herself, for the rustling in the bush was getting louder. Despite every receptor in her mind telling her to move, she was kept frozen stiff, as the thing drew closer and closer…

"Poli!" …before leaping out of the bush, landing a couple of feet away. It was a blue Pokemon, about half her size, with a wide, thin tail and a swirl pattern on its belly. The creature only took a momentary glance at the girl, before hopping away, disappearing into the forest.

"U…uh…." Out of danger for the moment, the girl let out a sigh, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "I…I knew I didn't want to go to camp…I *sniff* knew it….mu...muh…Mommie-e-e-e!" The tears began to flow down her cheeks. Lost, alone, and hurt, there was nothing else she knew that she could do at this moment.

Shshshshsshsh!

"Ahh..ahhuh?" The girl stopped her crying, as the bush again began to rustle. This time, rather than a random sort of rustling, it was more rhythmic. One shake, another shake, then another. The girl scooted back slightly, and shut here tear-filled eyes, fearful of what terrifying creature might come out now..

"Poliwag? Where are you?" something called out from the bush in a sing-song voice. Whatever it was, it was human; however, the girl still kept her eyes closed. "Poli…wag….?" One more rustle, then footsteps. "Hey…are you all right?"

Finally, the girl opened her eyes, to discover that the source of the voice to be a young boy, about the same age as she was. At first, she only saw the boy's outfit, which was understandable with that a gaudy red and yellow tank tee he was wearing. She looked up, seeing the boy's bright brown eyes and messy jet-black hair, along with the wide grin on his face.

"Hi, I'm Ash!" the young boy said with a wave of his hand. "Who are you?" His face fell, as he saw the girl's awkward positioning on the ground. "What's wrong?" The girl looked at her leg.

"I fell, and *sniff* hurt my leg…" she sniffled. That was not the only problem, but it was a little hard for her to explain her true feelings, especially to someone she only just met. The boy kneeled down, taking a look at the bruise on the girl's knee.

"Don't worry," he said, reaching into his pocket. The girl watched as he pulled out a blue handkerchief. "See this? It'll make you feel better! It always work when mom does this…and gently around here…" She was still puzzled at how a piece of cloth could help her pain and loneliness, but she watched as the boy began to tie the handkerchief around her right knee. She winced as he pulled the knot tight, and more so when she tried to put weight on her leg.

"Not yet," the boy stated. "Now, watch this!" He began to wave his hands over the girl's knee. "Feel better, feel better, right away!" He finished with both of his arms high up in the air. The girl waited for a second, not sure how to proceed. She decided on trying to stand again…

"Ouch!" she yelped, quickly falling back on her bottom. "It still hurts; I can't stand up!" The boy looked genuinely puzzled.

"It always works when mom does it…" he mumbled to himself. His pondering stopped after a second, before standing up, firmly placing his hands on his hips. "Nevermind then, let's try again!" He extended a hand out to the girl.

"H..huh…?" she responded tepidly, not quite getting at what he was saying.

"Never give up 'till it's over, 'k?" he told her. "Come on…" For a second, the girl simply stood there, looking at him. He seemed to have such determination in his eyes, seemingly screaming at her 'Give it one more shot!' A perfect stranger, to a lonely girl who had nary a friend for hundreds of miles around. It seemed to warm her heart a little, just enough to rest aside her fears of the pain in her leg.

Enough that she decided to take his hand

With a quick tug, the boy pulled her up onto her feet. It was so fast, and caught the girl completely off guard. She put weight onto her right leg, and the pain immediately returned. She winced, stumbled forward, and landed on something soft. Only this time, instead of onto the ground, it was onto a person…this person…one who was holding her with his right hand so she would not fall. Quickened heartbeat by quickened heartbeat, the pain in her leg subsided, until it was nothing more than a tolerable dull ache.

She opened her eyes, meeting once again into his, which were full of delight and happiness.

"There you go!" he said in triumph, before giggling with a wide, goofy smile. Just then, they could here voices, from older people than she or him. "That sounds like Professor Oak and the others. We should head back to the campsite." He began to walk forward, but stopped when he saw the girl not moving. "Let's go, come on!" Reaching for her hand, he began to lead her along out of the woods. She followed along now, hand in hand, as the voices became louder, and the forest began to thin. That feeling of warmth in her heart was beginning to grow again.

For the first time since arriving in Pallet Town, she smiled. Maybe this summer camp was not for naught after all.

"Oh, you never told me your name!" the boy remembered, looking back at her as the exited the forest. "I'm Ash Ketchum! I live here in Pallet Town! What's your name?" The brightness of the Sun began to engulf the two, as they left the shade of the trees.

"My name?" the girl began. "It's…I'm…"

"…a….se…na…serena….Serena! Serena! Can you hear me?!"

Slowly, her vision began to return to her, as her other senses began to come online as well. First came smell: a burning smell of wood and food, in a combination she had never seen before. Then came sound. Sharp cracklings and snaps of a fire, people shouting left and right. Taste was next, with a dryness of throat, followed by the touch of pressure on her chest, and pain all around else.

Then, she saw the two people draped over her. One was a man, in his mid-thirties with messy black hair, who was frantically performing CPR on her. The other, a tall foreboding man in a business suit with flaming red hair, was the one calling out to her the most, although it seemed that he was also talking to other people as well.

"Syc…amore…Ly…sandre…?" she said weakly.

"Thank Arceus, she's alive!" the younger man cried in relief, nearly collapsing onto her body. "You're alive, Serena…!"

"This is Lysandre to available medical units!" the man in the suit ordered, his right hand touching an earpiece in his ear. "We have a survivor in one of the houses! Minor burns on her right side, cuts and bruises on her head and body. She needs a medivac to Luminose, STAT!" Serena struggled to sit up, as confusion surrounded everything around her.

"Wh...what's going…why…." Her voice died in her throat, as she finally could see what was around her.

The town that she called her home, Vaniville Town, was up in flames.

The girl's eyes were wide in horror, as she scanned the destruction around her. Houses were destroyed or ablaze, with various people and Pokemon trying to put out the fires or free trapped individuals. A cloud of smog and smoke hung low around the town, choking off any feeling of warmth or hope in the girl's heart. Even the park, where her mom took her to train with Rhyhorn, was a smoldering remnant of its former self, being used as a staging ground for medical groups.

Wait, where was her mom?

"M…mom…where's...?," she began, looking at the two adults. Both had very pained and hurt expressions on their face, telling her all she needed to know. She saw the younger man say something, but she could not make out what he was saying. Her injuries and her emotional stress were too much for her to bear together. Her vision went dark, and she went numb, darkness enveloping her world, as her life to that point faded to a memory…one stained with blood and brimstone…

To be continued…