Poké Vision had always been very popular in the Kalos region. The demonstration of bonds between people and their Pokémon, made for the world to see, by professionals, who had spent years making them, and amateurs, wanting to learn the ropes alike. There were hundreds of videos on the online sites of the Kalos region, and some of the ones that were voted the best were aired on Kalosian Television.
Serena had dabbled into the Poké Vision world before, in a short video with her Fennekin. It had been a lot of trouble, not to mention the interference from Team Rocket making Serena question if it had been worth all the trouble occasionally. Then again, she had absolutely no regrets about doing it. It had been something she had wanted to do for a long time, and her journey with Ash, her old childhood friend and long standing crush, Clemont, Lumious City gym leader, inventor, and 90% of the reason why Serena had to brush her hair more than twice every day, considering his inventions blew up so regularly, and Bonnie, Clemont's younger sister, an adorable little kid, who had become like a little sister to Serena, it had been the perfect time to try it out. The ending result had not only brought her and her Fennekin closer together, but the final video was nothing but a huge success. The last time she had seen the rating for it, they were higher than she had anticipated. It had been in the hundreds.
Serena found herself reflecting this as she and the group continued down their path towards Ash's next gym battle, and her next showcase. Her previous showcase had ended in failure, a complete and utter disaster, which had been like being shot with a bullet to her confidence, which had caused her to break down in tears when she was alone. Though that event had caused her to cut her hair shorter, a symbol and reminder of her resolve to become a better performer. Her hair now only reached to her shoulders, and her outfit had changed. Atop her chest was the blue ribbon Ash had given her the night before the performance. She fiddled with it absent-minded with the fingers on her left hand.
"Ash..."
"Something wrong, Serena? You look out of it." Ash said, interrupting Serena's thoughts. He had slowed down a bit until Serena had caught up. She had slowed down and seemed troubled, though in reality, she was just deep in thought. Ashes face was one of concern, his eyes showing a look of worry, and his voice, gentle and supporting. His words seemed to hang in the air, as Serena proceeded them.
Serena went a dark shade of red, both in embarrassment and surprise. "Ah! Yes! Yes, I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! Why, why, what's wrong?" Serena frantically tried to cover her tracks to her long time crush, though in doing so, she had called more attention to herself than there already was. Clemont and Bonnie were now glancing at her, like she had just spouted some trivial nonsense for the world to hear.
"You uh... Said my name." Ash said calmly, with a surprised look on his face. His eyes were widened and his mouth seemed to have shrunk into one area. He had clearly not been expecting that. His eyes fixed onto Serena's. Serena found herself staring at Ash for a few seconds before reacting, registering what he had just told her.
Serena blushed a red shade again and tried to come up with an excuse. "Oh. I uh, I'm... Um..." Her mind floundered, not thinking straight. She was occasionally like this around Ash, whom she had developed romantic feelings towards, but hadn't had the courage to tell him yet. Right now, she was a bit busy trying to avoid further self-inflicted humiliation.
"Hey, I see the Pokémon centre from up here!" Bonnies loud yelling had saved ?Serena, as she now had the excuse to terminate the current conversation she needed.
"O-Oh, it looks like we finally got here!" Serena said, hurrying past Ash. "Come on, let's get to the Pokémon centre! My feet are killing me, I need to sit down! Let's hurry!"
She hurried along past Ash. He watched her run off over the hill towards the Pokémon centre with the rest of the group, and shrugged, muttering to himself, "What the heck is up with her? Hope she's alright..." He let out a sigh, and followed behind her, a few metres behind her.
Once in the Pokémon centre, while the rest of the group essentially collapsed into the waiting room couches the second their Pokémon had been taken away to be looked after, Serena found herself wondering about her old Poké Vision video. The Poké Vision countdown was on the television at the Pokémon centre, and everyone had pretty much zoned into watching that. Right now, they were on number five, which was a video of a young couple with two Luvdisk. Serena thought back to her own video. When she had first met Shauna, Trevor and Tierno, all three of them had seen the video themselves, and the views had been relatively high. It had been a long time since then, and Serena wondered if it had grown in popularity at all. She had never expected to meet someone who had watched the video to begin with, let alone the number of people who had watched it to be as high as it was. Her curiosity grew, and that became her focus of thought, not really paying much attention to the noises or sounds around her.
"I just want to check something, I'll be back in a couple of minutes." She told her friends, and then got up. Her aching arms and legs disagreed with her, but her curiosity lead her further. She walked over to one of the PC's available for use at the Pokémon centre and sat herself down at the keyboard. She briefly rattled through her head remembering passwords and login details before entering them into the computer. It wasn't difficult navigating the sites, they were intentionally simple, and Serena was quite familiar with it anyway.
"Let's see... " Serena clicked through the uploads her channel had. Just the one. Views...
"Wait, what?" She said aloud, louder than she had anticipated. No, there was no way in any way, shape, or form that was right. She reloaded the page. No change? Again. No change. It was right?
40,000! That was the view count! 40,000?! The last time she checked this, it was only at 500, at she had thought that to be impressive! What in the heck had caused such a huge increase in activity?!
"Serena!"
Serena turned and saw Ash had just dashed towards her. She quickly shut down the browser so Ash could not see what she had been looking at. "Yes Ash? Uh... Why are you running inside the Pokémon centre? I'm only a few metres away from you."
"You're gonna want to see this." Ash said, grabbing her hand and dragging her along. Serena would have blushed had she being not essentially dragged across the Pokémon centres floor. She was having trouble even keeping up with Ash, nearly tripping over her own feet numerous times. In fact, you couldn't really call it running, more being dragged.
They stopped at the couch Serena had been sat had to use it to lean on as she heaved over it, catching her breath. "Okay. I'm here, what on Earth is it?" She said in between breaths.
She raised her head to look around her, but she saw something that astonished her.
It was her.
More specifically, it was her Poké Vision video. On the Poké vision showcase? Wait, what? What's going on?
"This is number one of refreshed charts. They reset the charts then the highest voted remake the charts." Clemont told her. Apparently he had been paying the most attention out of everyone. Serena didn't know that had happened. On reflection, it would explain a few of the videos she had seen earlier. She had memorised the charts previously shown. Most of these videos being shown were brand new to her.
She watched her own Poké Vision video play back to her. It felt unreal. There she was, her face for the whole world to see. Her video on the site had 40,00 views, and this was broadcast to millions in the Kalos region.
The video ended. Serena stood there dazed. Had she really just seen her own Poké Vision video play back to her? She chose her words carefully. "What... Wait, what?!"
That night, Serena sat up in bed. She was still amazed that her Poké Vision video had reached a number one spot on Kalosian television. The whole idea was inconceivable in itself. It hadn't even been particularly well made...
The whole idea of her being thought of as some kind of superstar was unbelievable. Granted, she knew now that being first in the number one rookie ranks wasn't a huge a deal as it was made out to be, but when she was younger, she honestly believed if you made it to number one on any of the ranks, you were a superstar. The idea that some people thought of her like that somewhere was something Serena couldn't even imagine. In all honesty, the idea made her head hurt.
Serena laid down and tried to think about something else. Remembering everything about that Poké Vision video was going to drive her crazy. So she tried thinking about something else. Anything else. Her minded wondered.
Wondered to Ash.
She wasn't sure if this was much better. Of course, this was often all she could think about before falling asleep. She just thought about him. About her feelings for him. She loved Ash, she knew that much, she had loved him for a long time now. But the feeling of frustration she had from not being able to summon the courage to tell him how she felt about him drove her insane. She longed for nothing more than for him.
Rolling over to the side of the bed, she reached into her bag, and pulled out an old photo. It was one taken when Korrina had been traveling around with them for a while. She still had her long hair and old outfit on in the picture, but she was right next to Ash, something she had made sure of. She felt her heart beat whenever she looked at this old picture. It had been perfectly looked after. Serena had no intention of so much as smudging it. The second she was able, she planned to buy a frame or something more sturdy to keep it safe in.
She wondered, looking at the picture. Would he?...
"What's brought this on, all of the sudden?" Clemont asked Serena as she picked up a camera tripod in one hand, and held a box in the other. Ash had offered her his help, and to that end. He was carrying the actual camera behind her.
"You saw my video at the top of the charts yesterday, didn't you, Clemont?" Serena said, explaining herself. Her Pancham stood by her feet, holding a roll of film. She had decided to use Pancham in this video. Fennekin, now a Braixen, had been in the last one. Pancham getting a turn in the spotlight was only fair. "Well, I was thinking, if I made it that far up, then that might mean I have a few fans, right? And if they knew I did showcases, they might come and see me in my next showcase, and I might be able to improve my rating there." She explained her theory to the inventor gym leader. "Plus, I think it might be a bit of fun. I haven't done one in a while, and I enjoyed the first one. Maybe it can be a little side hobby. And maybe the people who watch them could give me some ideas or suggestions for my showcases."
"Expanding your audience?" Clemont said, simply summarising what Serena had said.
Ash lugged the camera and walked towards Serena. "You're really acting like a Kalosian Queen already, aren't ya?" He commented with a smile, smiling at her blushing face.
"N-No, I just thought it might be fun, is all... Hey, I've got an idea!" Serena said with a smile on her face.
Ash readjusted his grip on the camera he was holding. "If it's any better than your idea of making me hold this camera for you, I'm up for it." O
"Why don't you and Pikachu be in the video with me?"
Ash looked at Serena, and then smiled warmly. "Sure, why not? But then whose gonna record us?"
They heard someone clear their throat. Bonnie had just volunteered herself.
Serena smiled, nervously. "Well, at least the camera won't chase us with her recording us..."
Clemont sighed. "That was a... Wiring... Malfunction, nothing more!"
"Seems like you have a lot of those, Clemont!" Bonnie commented. Her comment had earned a few laughs from Ash and Serena, and a sigh of mild depression and irritation from Clemont.
Ash smiled. "What'd'ya say, Pikachu?"
Pikachu nodded. "Pika- chu!"
"Alright, we're in!" Ash told his secret admirer, who smiled happily at his agreement to feature in the video. Serena was happy her plan had worked so well. This way, she could spend more time with Ash today, albeit not completely alone, and she could work on another video that could serve to help her out later down the line.
"Hey, wait a second, Bonnie, I thought you was going to help me formulate the Pokémon food today?" Clemont inquired to his younger sibling. "I need to teach you the chemical number and frequency of various factors in creating the ideal food for the Pokémon. You've been asking me to show you for weeks."
Bonnie seemed to freeze in embarrassment. In doing so, Clemont craned his head to view Serena, and then winked at her. Serena blushed. Clemont had figured it out that quickly? She knew he was supposed to be considered a genius, but by Arceus, that was quick! Bonnie awkwardly apologised and went over to her brother, who then began showing her how to create the perfect Pokémon food, for the various Pokémon.
"Well, that's all awesome and everything... But what the heck do we do now?" Ash asked Serena. "We don't have anyone to film us now."
Serena giggled. "We could set it all up on a timer, there's no need for you to be worried. We should be able to set it all up ourselves. It'll just take a bit longer, that's all."
'Yes, a bit longer'. Serena thought to herself. 'A bit longer means a bit more time alone with Ash!" She smiled at her blessing in disguise.
Serena couldn't really have asked for a better day to make a Poké Vision video. It was a warm, sunny day, with a light warm breeze. The two companions had ended up in a field near some forest brush, which waved gently in the breeze. Ash had been tasked with setting up the cameras, while Serena decided on planning a script for the video.
"Come on, you piece of... There we go." Ash muttered to himself, originally frustrated, then relieved once he had finished fixing the equipment in place, as to make sure it would not fall over. This wouldn't have been needed if someone was recoding the two of them. Other issues included that they were going to be able to move the camera easily if they were in the same scene, so they would have to take over for one person and move the camera for them if they felt they needed it. In addition, it would need a lot of editing, because they had to set the camera on a timer to record, run into the shot and get ready to do their bit, and it was likely that the camera would start before they were ready. Ash finally adjusted the timer. He set it as high as it would go. 30 seconds. That should be enough, right?
Serena watched Ash fumble, and smiled to herself. She then turned to her scripts. She briefly fantasised the idea of using her script to get closer to Ash in a... Physical sense. Serena found herself blushing as she put pen to paper.
'Here Ash, you need to come closer. No, closer. Here, give me your hand. Now I'm going to fall back, you catch me. Mmm, nice catch.' She couldn't remember the last time she had been alone with Ash for a long extended period of time. It was like a dream. She looked at him again, and thought how much she felt for him. How much she loved him. She felt nothing but longing for him. She let her mind wonder. How much she wanted to kiss him...
Serena flushed at her own thoughts in her head. She then realised she had just scribbled a big black blob on her paper. She quickly crunched up the paper and threw it in a random direction. Quickly, she scribbled up a script. And scribble really was the right word. When she read it back, she could barely even recognise her own handwriting. Amused and frustrated at the same time, she re-wrote it, making sure it was eligible this time around. Ash didn't actually have a speaking role in the overview of the script, only whatever he had said in the recording. She had finished just in time for when Ash had finished setting up things on his end.
"Okay, I think we're all set." Ash said, not completely confident in his words. He wasn't actually sure if it was all fully set up. He leaned over Serena's shoulder, peeking at the script. "How's it going here?"
Serena slammed the script shut, and blushed. For some reason, she felt embarrassed at the idea of Ash reading her work. "Uh, I'm finished!"
Ash raised an eyebrow, and had a confused smile on his face. "Great!... Could I see it?"
Serena felt a surge of embarrassment when she realised she was withholding the script from him. Of course he would need to see it, he wasn't going to act very well if he didn't know what to do, but at the same time, she almost felt more embarrassed to own up and just give him the script.
"Are uh, you alright?" Ash asked Serena, changing his field of vision so he was looking her square in the eyes.
Serena found herself lost in those brown orbs for a few seconds, before rejoining reality. "Yes, yes I'm fine! It's just uh... I feel kind of embarrassed letting you see the script is all..."
Ash snickered with a smile. "It can't be that bad." He gently took the script from Serena's hands, and began to flip through it. Serena saw him smile at a few of the pages, and one where he even laughed a little bit, thought the majority of the time,meh was quiet and read the script intently. After reading through it for les than a minute, he gave Serena back the script, and smiled. "Okay, that looks good. This is gonna be a great video, I can tell."
Filming the video took longer than expected, as it was only two of them, but despite that, the day seemed to fly by. The filming itself had gone near perfectly, with only a few incidents that happened that meant that they had to stop or reshoot. Serena hadn't felt this close to Ash in a long time. She felt like they had actually bonded during this activity together, and she had loved every minute of it. It was like she had gotten to know Ash once again.
Ash had decided to edit the video himself. He did so on a laptop, and was sat underneath a tree. Serena had gone to sit next to him as he edited the video. She was impressed that he knew how to edit as well as he did. He told her it was something he learnt while at camp in Kanto, something she didn't remember learning how to do. Ash had told her when and why they had done it, to create memories and promote Pokémon, but it still didn't ring a bell for her. She had made the occasional comment and suggestion to Ash, which he had always noted, and incorporated into the video. At one point, Serena felt herself get tired, and had rested her head on Ash's shoulders. Ash had noticed, but didn't protest.
"Okay, I think that about does it." Ash said suddenly, standing up from the editing software,stretching out, and he then passed over headphones to Serena. "Here, have a listen. The editing is all finished."
Serena took a hold of the headphones. "Is it any good?"
"I liked it."
Serena then sat down and clicked the play button.
The video began.
The soundtrack began to play. Pikachu and Pancham were on the screen for a few seconds, staring into the camera, before running over to their respective trainers. Pikachu leapt onto Ash's shoulders, while Pancham was greeted by a big hug from Serena. Ash winked at the camera, and Serena smiled, giving the peace sign with her right hand. "Hello, it's Serena again!" Serena's voice narrated. Serena blushed at her voice being played back to her. "And this is my close friend, Ash, and our Pokémon, Pikachu and Pancham!" Both of the Pokémon cried at their respective names.
The camera switched to a shot of Ash and Pikachu, following their usual training regiment. Ash's command of Pikachu using Iron Tail could be faintly heard. "Ash has been training for the Kalos league extremely hard." Serena's narration stated, then the scene switched to her and Pancham practicing for their showcase. "And I've been working hard towards my next showcase in Laverre City!"
Next, a scene with Ash and Serena inaudibly speaking played, with Pikachu and Pancham playing in the foreground. Serena's narration said, "Although our goals are completely different from one another's, we travel together in the hopes of achieving our dreams together."
For the final scene, it showed Serena practicing again, with Ash and Pikachu cheering them on from the sidelines. Serena's narration asked for advice, and wished everyone a good day.
Serena smiled at the work Ash had done. It was great. Just great. There wasn't another word for it. Everything that needed to be there was there for the video to work.
Serena smiled at Ash brightly, and said, "it's great Ash. It's perfect!"
Ash smiled back at Serena. "Happy to help. It's been fun. We should do stuff like this a bit more often."
Serena was secretly ecstatic over that idea. "Yeah, we should." Was all she could say. But she felt something inside her in that moment. Ash had helped her out, unconditionally, and happily, through something that had little to no effect on him. He helped her out simply to be a nice person. That was what she loved about him. He was selfless. She smiled at him once again. Something compelled her to do what she did next, something she never knew what. She walked over to Ash, and planted a peck on his cheek, before he could even say a word. When he looked at her, she simply smiled. "Thank you."
Ash's face went pink. "Wha - um, what was that for?"
Serena laughed to herself. "Oh, you'll figure it out."
Serena began to walk away, but she felt her hand being grabbed by Ash. For a second, she thought that everything good about today was about to come crashing down, all because of her peck on his cheek. She regretted it instantly. She could almost feel the rejection coming.
Ash, leaving one much smaller and quicker than Serena had, planted a peck on Serena's lips, and then carried on walking, acting as if nothing had happened. Serena stood where she was in a daze for a few seconds, before her face became red within seconds, and she covered her face with her hands, trying to hide the blush from no one in particular. "Wha - wha - what was... Wha?..."
Ash smiled as he turned around. "That peck was my payment, eh? Well, that's my repayment, plus interest then."
Serena stared at him in a daze. "Does that mean... You... You..."
Ash smiled at Serena, and nodded. They didn't need to say it to each other. It just wasn't needed. In that moment, the effect of Ash's kiss kicked into Serena's system, and shot through her like a lightning bolt. Her knees turned to jelly, and her whole body became hot, her cheeks turned scarlet red, and her eyes began to swirl. She would have fallen onto the ground had Ash not been there to catch her as she fell over. Serena looked into his brown eyes, thinking to herself. 'It's just like I thought it would be earlier... In my head...' In actuality, she could only manage to let out a soft, "Mmmm..."
Ash smiled playfully again, and leant in again for a deeper, more real kiss. This one Serena felt herself enjoy more. Her hands found their way around Ash's neck, which soon became loosely flung around him. She closed her eyes too, allowing herself to fully enjoy the feeling she had yearned for for so long. She didn't even need to hear the words. She just couldn't believe it. She had no idea Ash felt the same way she did. Her mind was in a haze, running at a million miles a second. She had the one thing she had wanted her whole life. She would never know what caused Ash to kiss her that day. But she didn't need to.
"I love you." She heard Ash say. Her chest beat, and she was simply happy.
Once they broke away, and she had caught her breath, she smiled, and said to Ash, "I think we need to make one small edit to the video."
Serena smiled, and hit play again.
The video started. "Hello!" The new narration started. "This is Serena again! And this is my boyfriend, Ash, and our Pokémon, Pikachu and Pancham!"
And there we have it guys! Feelings in Motion is complete! This has been my first request fanfic, and it was a lot of fun, and quite challenging to make! I'm accepting requests for Amour now, so, if you have an idea you want out into a story, let me know, and I'll work on it! For now, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next chapter in whatever I write next! See ya!
