Girlfriends

A Pokemon fanfiction

Ash Ketchum and all related characters are used without permission, but with respect.

When Serena had first set out from her home to find Ash in Kalos, she had spent long hours on the road wondering what kind of person Ash had grown up to be. As Serena had always been particularly imaginative, she'd let her mind run wild, and had come up with an endless amount of possibilities. Maybe, as a young adult, Ash was sensitive and shy, trusting only his Pikachu. Maybe he'd discovered a horrible secret about his family and had become withdrawn and dark and untrusting. Maybe he'd even become an axe murderer. You never know.

But, for all her imagination, there was one scenario even Serena had never dreamed of, and that was that Ash Ketchum was a two-timing, cheating piece of scum.

So how had that awful thought ever come to cross Serena's mind? Well, it was Valentine's Day. Serena, Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie had stopped at the Pokemon Center, which Nurse Joy had aptly decorated with balloons and flowers. And, since Valentine's Day was all about love and friendship, Serena had decided she wanted to do something nice for her travel companions.

For mid-February, it was beautiful, sunny and warm. The gang had gathered outside the Pokemon Center, to relax and enjoy the weather, and let the pokemon play. Ash and Clemont sat at one of the Center's picnic tables, keenly discussing Ash's previous gym battle, while Bonnie was gently running a comb through Dedenne's fur.

When Serena joined them, she was smiling brightly and carrying a platter stacked with freshly baked cookies, heart-shaped and glazed in red frosting. "Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!" she said cheerfully, setting the platter down in the center of the table.

"Oh, wow!" Ash exclaimed. In a second flat, his mind had gone from battling to eating. "Serena, these look delicious!"

"They sure do," Clemont said, equally impressed. He looked up to smile at the young trainer. "Thanks, Serena! You didn't have to go to all this trouble for us."

"Of course I did!" said Serena, smiling. "You all are my friends, and Valentine's Day is all about friendship! It's just a little something to show all of you how much you mean to me."

Clemont and Ash smiled. Bonnie looked to Serena with bright, happy eyes and said, "Thank you, Serena! You're the greatest!"

"My pleasure!" Serena said. "Now, come on! Let's dig in while they're still warm! You too, Fennekin!"

The gang needed no further urging. As they happily snacked, the pokemon joined them. Pikachu and Chespin shared one of Serena's cookies, while Froakie only eyed the platter wearily, and the other pokemon ran off to start a game of tag. Serena sat down next to Bonnie and couldn't keep from grinning. It was a beautiful day and she was together with her friends. What more could she as for?

"In Lumoise City," Bonnie said, as she let Dedenne eat some cookie crumbs out of her hand, "Valentine's Day is huge! There are roses and balloons all over town, and all the couples like to walk around Prism Tower holding hands!" Bonnie sighed dramatically. "I wish Clemont would get a girlfriend already. Then maybe he wouldn't be so nerdy!"

"H-hey!" Clemont protested. Crumbs sticking to the corner of his mouth, he pointed at Bonnie, glaring, and said, "I am not nerdy!"

Bonnie only arched an eyebrow in response, while Serena giggled into her hand. As Clemont silently fumed, Bonnie turned her eager eyes to Ash and asked, "What's Valentine's Day like in Kanto, Ash?"

Ash shrugged, grabbing another cookie from the platter. "Just like any other holiday, I guess. Man, Serena, these really are great!"

Bonnie wasn't satisfied. "Well, do couples do anything special? In Lumoise City, all the guys buy roses for their girlfriends and take them to see the fireworks at midnight!"

"Well…I guess people do something like that. Hey, do you think I could have the recipe for these sometime, Serena?"

"Ash," Bonnie asked, with unusual conviction. When Ash glanced at her, Bonnie gave one of her more mischievous grins and asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Huh?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Bonnie repeated. Startled, Serena and Clemont exchanged glances. Clemont's ears had gone pink, and Serena herself was doing her best to keep from blushing. The four of them hadn't been traveling together for long and were still getting to know each other. Inquiring so forwardly about Ash's personal life felt…well…personal. And besides that, the thought of romance always made Serena blush.

Bonnie, however, didn't seem embarrassed at all. She stared at Ash with open curiosity, her head titled to one side, waiting for his answer.

And for his part, Ash didn't seem flustered or bothered by the question either. Instead he flashed the same eager grin he always had during pokemon battles and said eagerly, "Oh, yeah! I have tons of girl friends!"

It took a moment for Ash's friends to register his words. Tons of…girl friends? In perfect unison, Serena and Clemont's jaws fell to the ground. The two stared at Ash with mirrored expressions of shock and repulsion, and Serena felt her stomach drop.

Ash had a girlfriend. No - plural. Girlfriends. He was cheating on them. And he was openly acknowledging it with such a happy grin that Serena wondered if he expected them to congratulate him.

In the blink of an eye, Serena's good mood was shattered. Ash Ketchum, her childhood friend, was a cheater. Dismay set in. As a child, Ash had been kind and polite to everyone. What could have happened? Her crazy theories about dark secrets and murders suddenly didn't seem so horrible anymore. In fact, they were almost preferable. Never had she once imagined that Ash – sweet Ash, who had been so nice to her at Professor Oak's Summer Camp – was…well, what, exactly? A total jerk? A cheating bastard? A polygamist? It was unimaginable. It was horrible. And yet Serena had never seen Ash look so proud.

But what could Serena do now, other than face the truth? Her friend was scum. Cheating, lying scum.

Something about the way Clemont's glasses had gone askew and the fact that his mouth was still hanging wide open told Serena he was having the exact same thought she was. Bonnie was the only one of them who wasn't horrified. Instead her eyes had gone wide in amazement.

"You can have more than one girlfriend?" she exclaimed.

"Of course you can!" Ash told her, grinning. "Just like you can have more than one boy friend!"

"Really?" goggled Bonnie, as Serena gasped and Clemont actually started to pitch backwards off the bench in dismay.

"A-Ash!" he stuttered out, frantically waving his arms. "Don't tell my sister such things!"

"Why not?" Ash blinked at Clemont, seemingly oblivious. He turned back to Bonnie and asked, "Would you like to hear about my girl friends? I have tons of stories!"

"Yes, please!" Bonnie said. "Tell us!"

Part of Serena wanted to clamp her hands over her ears. The larger part of her was still too stunned to move.

"Bonnie," Clemont said, hoarsely, "I don't really think that's appropriate – and Ash-"

"Well, I just finished up a journey with Cilan and Iris, my latest girl friend," Ash explained, ignoring Clemont's protests. "And she's training to be a dragon master!"

"Wow, a dragon master?" Bonnie was awed.

"Yup," Ash said, grinning with pride. "She left for the Johto Region, so she could train under Clair, whose already a super tough dragon trainer. Iris had this pokemon named Axew, who's about the size of your Dedenne, right Pikachu?"

"Pika!" confirmed Ash's pokemon, who had leapt up into Ash's lap.

"Axew is just a baby," Ash told Bonnie. "So Iris always has to keep him really close! Usually he stays in her hair."

"In her hair?" Serena repeated, finding her voice. Like Clemont, she sounded more than a little horrified, but she couldn't keep from commenting. A pokemon living in a girl's hair? She glanced down at Fennekin and shuddered to imagine her pokemon tangled up in her hair, not to mention what that would do to her style and poise.

"Yeah, but Iris doesn't mind. She likes keeping Axew close. That way she can take care of him." Ash smiled, and his eyes seemed to move to something past Serena's shoulder, something that none of them could see. "Iris is really tough and stuff. She grew up in this place called the Village of Dragons, and would always play outside with the wild pokemon. She's super acrobatic – like, she can swing on vines and jump to places you wouldn't believe! And she's super smart – she makes these herbal remedies from berries and plants, and they work like a charm." Ash's lips turned down in a small frown. "I'm gonna miss that. Helped some of my pokemon more than once."

With that, Ash trailed off into silence, a touch of melancholy on his face. It was clear that he was missing Iris, and Serena felt...well, a little put out. Ash talked about Iris in such high esteem – it was clear he cared about her. Serena had fancied herself, Clemont, and Bonnie as Ash's dearest friends, but the way he talked about Iris…then Serena shook herself. Of course Ash cared about Iris, if she was one of his girl friends!

"She sounds incredible, Ash," Clemont said, only a little sourly, and Serena agreed. Iris did sound incredible. Silently, with some anger, she wondered why Ash would date someone as incredible as Iris and not be satisfied.

"Are all your girlfriends like Iris, Ash?" Bonnie asked.

The melancholy left Ash's face, as he shook his head and laughed. "No way," he said. "They're all way different."

"How so?" asked Bonnie, blinking.

"Well," Ash said. He put his elbow up on the table so he could rest his face in his hand. "Before Iris, I traveled with this girl named Dawn, right?"

"Your other girl friend?"

"Mmhmm," Ash said, and Clemont winced as Serena fidgeted uncomfortably. "Well, she and Iris are super different! Dawn's a coordinator, for one thing, and when she first started out on her journey, she was so picky about her appearance! She set up a tent every night, and had her Piplup help her with her hair every morning."

"Wait a second," Serena said in a small voice. "Did you say you traveled with her when she was just starting out on her journey?"

"I sure did," Ash said, smiling. "Just like you!"

Ash said it like it was a good thing – a great thing. It felt like anything but to Serena. In fact, it felt like a terrible revelation. She had thought her journey with Ash would be new and exciting for both of them, and now her vision was crushed. Their trip around Kalos wasn't new or exciting to Ash – he had done it all before, only with Dawn instead of her. All of a sudden, Serena's journey had become less special.

"Anyway," Ash continued, oblivious to the stricken look on Serena's face, "Dawn kinda stopped worrying about her appearance as her coordinating got serious. Come to think of it, she ditched that tent pretty quick. And man – she got so good at coordinating, so fast! You should have seen her appeals, she came up with the greatest combinations, like at the Sinnoh Grand Festival she did this ice and fire thing that was just breathtaking!" Ash's face went bright at the memory. "She made it all the way to the finals against Zoey, but just barely lost. But that doesn't matter. Dawn works so hard, I bet she's going to win big in Hoenn! She's so positive, too – she didn't cry or anything when she lost, she was just too proud of her pokemon. Man," Ash sighed, and then moved his hand to rub the back of his neck. "I should call her at the next Pokemon Center, and see what her next plans are. Maybe I could go see her next Grand Festival."

Ash had just started traveling around Kalos, and he was already planning to leave? Disappointment struck Serena, followed almost immediately by anger. What did she care, anyway? She didn't want anything to do with Ash the two-timing jerk! Let him run back to his girlfriend!

No, wait – his girl friends. Two of them.

"So," Clemont said. He had recovered enough from the shock and horror to look thoughtfully to Ash. "Dawn and Iris are pretty different, huh?"

"Yeah, of course, but it doesn't matter, they get along great anyway!" Ash cheerfully informed them, and at that the shock returned anew.

"They know about each other?" Clemont cried out, as Serena went scarlet in the face once more. Ash looked at him in confusion.

"Of course they do," Ash said slowly. "Why wouldn't they?"

"Well – well - " Clemont couldn't manage to string his sentence together.

"And Dawn knows May, too, and they're like best friends now. Dawn never got to meet Misty, but May did, and they're friends too!"

As Clemont gagged in stunned silence, Bonnie tilted her head to the side and asked, "Who's May? Another of your girlfriends?"

"You bet!" Ash replied excitedly. "May's a coordinator just like Dawn, and I met her when she started out on a journey too! Man," Ash laughed. "When she first started out, she did not like Pokemon at all. She didn't know anything about them! I remember there was a bunch of stuff I had to teach her. But once she got into coordinating, she just took off. To think, she used to hate pokemon and now she's the Princess of Hoenn," the faraway smile returned to Ash's face. "Guess she really doesn't need me as a mentor anymore, huh?"

"A mentor?" Serena ventured tentatively. Ash grinned.

"Yeah – or that's what Brock used to say, anyway. That I was like a mentor to May. I'm not sure if that's true, but I'm glad I got to travel with her! Last I heard from May, she was getting ready for the Grand Festival in Johto, against her rival Drew. He's a funny guy. He always gives May roses and stuff."

Serena and Clemont looked curiously to another.

"He gives May roses?" Clemont repeated slowly.

"Yup."

"Does he know May's your girlfriend?"

Ash stared blankly at Clemont. "Of course he does!"

"Then why does he keep giving her roses?"

"I don't know," Ash said, shrugging. "Probably 'cause he thinks she's a good coordinator."

Something wasn't quite adding up, for Serena and Clemont both. Why would Ash be so nonchalant about another man romancing one of his girlfriends?

As they pondered it, Bonnie piped up again. "So you have three girlfriends, huh, Ash? Wow! That's a lot! Clemont can't even get one!"

"Hey!" Clemont said angrily, as Ash shook his head.

"I have way more than three!" Ash said, full of passion. "I haven't even told you about Misty yet – and she's my best girl friend of all! She's a Gym Leader just like you, Clemont!"

"That so?" Clemont said through his teeth.

"Yeah! Except Misty specializes in water type pokemon, and boy is she tough! She even beat me in the Whirl Cup when we were in Johto – that's a special tournament for water type pokemon. And now she trains a Gyarados! It fits her," Ash smiled. "Misty's a lot like her Gyarados – fiery, stubborn, and real easy to make mad. I can't even remember all the times we fought! But Misty's also super sweet. She always helps out people and pokemon. She even saved my life once."

"Really?" Bonnie said in wonder. Ash nodded, and Serena was curious to see that he was actually blushing a little.

"Yeah. I would have drowned without her."

"What happened?" Serena heard herself ask.

"Well," Ash shifted, repositioning himself to get comfortable. "I was traveling through the Orange Islands, and we got caught up in this big festival at Shamouti Island. They said I was their Chosen One, and I was supposed to go to these three different islands and get these elemental balls, and then bring them to a shrine on another island. But it turned out that, while I was trying to get the elemental balls, this guy was trying to capture Lugia, a legendary pokemon that lived under the sea. A lot of stuff happened, and the weather went all crazy, and Lugia told me that to stop it I had to fulfill the prophecy and get the elemental balls, so I did."

"Except…well…I didn't exactly make it back from the last island. See, I was riding on Lugia, and Lugia fainted…anyway, I got pitched into the water, and I was out cold. Back at the shrine, everyone was wondering what happened to me, so Misty grabbed a rope and swam out to find me. I'm really lucky she did. I would have drowned without her."

"When I came to, I was back at the shrine…but I didn't really know how I got there. And after, when it was all settled…well, Misty never said anything. But I know how to put two and two together. No one can swim as well as Misty. And no one's as brave as her, either. I figured it out on my own – right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" confirmed Pikachu.

"But Misty never told you she saved you?" Bonnie asked. Ash shook his head.

"No. I guess Misty didn't really think it was important – I mean, she's just a good person. She would have done it for anyone. Still," Ash trailer off, a little sadly. "Come to think of it…I never thanked her. I guess I should do that, the next time I see her." The seriousness left Ash as he broke out in a grin, saying, "And I should show her Froakie, too! She's crazy about water pokemon! She'd love him!"

"Ash," said Clemont. He sounded thoroughly lost now, and looked it. "I don't understand. If you're with all these girlfriends…why are none of them traveling you now?"

"Well, some are," Ash said. "You're my girl friend, Bonnie. And so is Serena!"

That did it. Serena went bright red, Clemont's jaw dropped again, and Bonnie frowned in confusion. "No, we're not, Ash!" she said. "We're your friends!"

"Yeah," Ash said, nodding. "You're my friends, and you're girls. You know…girl friends."

The whole table fell quiet as Ash's words sunk in.

"So…" Clemont said, very, very slowly. "By girl friend…you don't mean…girlfriend?"

"Huh? What else would I mean?" Ash asked, clearly baffled.

Clemont started to stutter. He was visibly confused – and had no idea how to explain. "W-well," he said. "You're not dating any of them, are you?"

"Dating?"

"You know…" Clemont urged. "Dating…?"

"Um," Ash put a finger to his chin as he pondered it out. "Dating…well, I started traveling with Misty when I was ten, and then-"

"No!" Clemont exclaimed, waving his arms. "Not dates, dating!"

The blank stare Ash gave Clemont was enough to make it clear to everyone that they had been entirely mistaken when they thought Ash was capable of having a girlfriend – let alone a romantic thought in his head.

For a moment they all stared at him. Then Bonnie started to giggle. "He's so silly!" she whispered to Serena, who smiled despite herself.

"He sure is," Serena agreed.

Clemont had literally sagged in relief. "You know," he laughed. "For a second there, Ash, I thought you were…well, you know."

"Huh?"

"Never mind," he said, and then smiled. "So, four girl friends, huh?"

"And a lot more!" Ash said eagerly. "I've made so many girl friends over my journey…like Angie and Anabel and Zoey and Bianca and Lyra and Melody, and the other Bianca in Alto Mare, and-"

"We get it, Ash," Clemont said, smiling.

"Just wait!" Ash said eagerly. He actually stood up from his seat, to point at Serena. "Journey's are great! You're going to make a ton of girl friends and boy friends while we're traveling around, Serena! And you too, Clemont! I guarantee it!"

"I wish!" Bonnie sighed. "Clemont's never had a girlfriend – and I bet he never will!"

"H-hey!" stuttered out Clemont angrily. Bonnie stuck her tongue out on him. As the two feuded once again and Ash watched, Serena smiled down at her lap.

It was strange. At first, hearing Ash talk so excitedly about his previous travel companions had made her feel heartsick. She wasn't special. She was just another travel companion – just another girl friend. Ash had touched so many lives, made so many friends. What was she?

But as Ash had gone on, Serena hadn't felt put out or jealous. She'd felt curious. She enjoyed hearing about Misty and May and the rest. When Ash talked about his friends, he was filled with such an incredible passion…Serena couldn't help but smile. And now, she couldn't help but feel as if she knew the girls – as if they were her friends, too.

None of them, she realized, as she watched Ash laugh with Bonnie because Clemont had fallen over, were just another girl friend to Ash. They were all special. They were all people who had touched him, people he held equally dear. And, Serena realized, she wasn't just another travel companion. None of them were. She was a part of something special – another chapter in the life of Ash Ketchum. Her journey wasn't any less important just because it wasn't Ash's first. And Serena and the others…they were all connected, all part of the same story. All special to Ash, just like he was special to all of them.

"Serena?" Ash asked. "What are you smiling about?"

"Oh!" Serena said, looking up. "I was just thinking about how lucky I am to be here, with you and Bonnie and Clemont, and about how special friends are."

"They sure are!" grinned Ash, and with that, he helped himself to another one of Serena's cookies.

Serena blinked and looked down as Fennekin jumped into her lap. The fox like pokemon was smiling at her, and Serena grinned as she patted its head.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Fennekin," she said softly.

And happy Valentine's Day to all of you as well.