Chapter 1: Lumiose City
"We made it to Lumiose City!" Ash Ketchum exclaimed happily. Serena nodded, also feeling cheerful of the whole situation.
"The last time I was here, I didn't have much time to look around. But this city must be the center of the fashion universe, all the people are well-dressed. Also, the Prism Tower is just so incredible!" She explained causing Ash to smile at his friend's excitement.
Meanwhile, the two blonde siblings Clemont and Bonnie, shared a nervous glance to each other. They seemed off ever since they've been walking towards the city.
"Yeah, sure is," Clemont said.
"I guess it's okay." Bonnie shrugged, earning confused expressions from both Ash and Serena. However, Ash soon ignored the two's weird behavior and stared at the tower that stood proudly before him.
"The Lumiose Gym is inside that tower," Ash explained to the three. Clemont tugged on his straps tighter as he mention the gym. Only his younger sister noticed this action. Serena turned her attention to Ash.
"Oh, so you've already challenged that gym Ash?" Ash chuckled a bit at her conclusion. He looked at his Pikachu, who was on his shoulder with a sheepish look.
"Well I sure tried to." He then went on to explain that he was denied access to a gym battle due to his lack of badges. "Well that's what happened, I didn't have four badges so I couldn't get in," He said, rubbing the back of his head with a grin. Serena, on the other hand was baffled by the news.
"I had no idea there were gyms where you need four badges just to challenge them," She replied.
"Well, since that's the way it is here. Why don't we get out of Lumiose City," Clemont pleaded.
"Let's go!" Bonnie chimed in.
"But I've been looking forward to exploring Lumiose City," Serena said, disappointed with the two practically wanting to leave the city straight away.
"We can do that stuff next time," She assured Serena and she then started pushing the older girl away. Clemont saw this and did the same with Ash. "Okay, let's go!" Ash and Serena's complaints were left unheard as the two siblings kept shoving them away in an attempt to escape the city. This went on until a deep voice made its presence known.
"Why, if it isn't my Clemont and Bonnie," The voice said, earning small gasps from Clemont and Bonnie. The group turned around to see an older man on his motorcycle and what appeared to be an Ampharos riding with him.
"Dad!" Clemont gasped.
"Ampharos!" Bonnie shrieked, surprised by their sudden appearance. Ash and Serena couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"Dad!?" They both cried out. The man took off his helmet and walked in front of them. Clemont and Bonnie ran up to their dad giving him each a quick hug.
"Uhhh…" Clemont started out but he couldn't seem to find the right words. "..Let me introduce you…." Clemont trailed off as his little sister finished for him.
"I want you to meet our daddy!" The little girl declared, waving her arms around. The man let out a laugh.
"I'm Meyer. I run an electric shop around here along with Ampharos," Meyer explained while his pokemon greeted the group happily. Ash looked at the two with an amazed look on his face.
"You and Ampharos, cool!" He exclaimed, Pikachu agreed with his trainer. Bonnie went towards Ash and Serena feeling like she should introduce the two.
"And these guys here, they are our brand new super nice good friends!" The man was appalled as they mentioned the word "friend" before he regained his composure. Clemont looked at his father nervously.
"Your friends!?" Meyer questioned, clenching his fingers as his face hardened. This move caused Clemont to back away to his new friends and sister, surprised at his father. "I'm so overcome with happiness!" He gushed out, hugging his children tightly.
"My name is Ash and this is my partner, Pikachu." After they properly got to know each other with Meyer mistaking Serena to be Clemont's girlfriend, the older man's face grew serious.
"Now you listen here, Clemont." The blonde boy turned his back on his dad but Meyer wasn't having any of that. He got face to face with his son. "You should come to the house once in a while," He said sternly, placing his hands on his hips and narrowing his eyes at his son. Clemont tried to explain himself but ultimately couldn't find the words to do so. "Is there some reason you haven't come around?" Meyer asked, raising his eyebrow at the blonde boy. Clemont soon turned into a nervous wreck at that question.
Luckily, Bonnie saved him or at least almost did by trying to tell their father that they got to go but he pressed onto the situation more.
"Wait, Clemont." The siblings both froze while Ash and Serena looked on. "I've told you this before. It's true you need to be tough on challengers, but that alone isn't going to make them become better trainers! Take that Kuzuki kid from Kanto for example, you tried to be tough on him but failed to do so. He was kind enough to forgive your behavior and even helped you with your problem. Come to think of it, what exactly did happen to him?" Meyer inquired catching the attention of the whole group at the mention of the boy. Serena's mind went blank, seperating herself from the entire conversation.
"Kuzuki!? Excuse me sir, but are you talking about Kuzuki Sakai?!" Ash asked excitingly. When the man nodded in confirmation the Kanto native boy grew thrilled at the news. Pikachu perked up at the name too. Clemont and Bonnie looked at Ash with their eyes wide open.
"Wait, you know Kuzuki?" Clemont asked Ash who smiled at the blonde haired boy. Bonnie also leaned in to hear what Ash had to say.
"Oh you bet I do! Kuzuki and I met back in the summer camp I went to when I was younger in the Kanto region. After that, we met up later when I started my journey and we traveled all around Kanto and Johto to earn gym badges. When we were done traveling together, Kuzuki went back to Kanto while I traveled to the Hoenn region. Man it sure would be nice to see him after all this time," Ash explained to the two siblings. Clemont, now intrigued began to ask Ash more about his journey while Bonnie noticed that Serena seemed to be shaking nervously. Before she had the chance to ask her what was wrong her father spoke up.
"Don't lose focus at what I'm trying to say Clemont," He said, cutting off the conversation between his son and Ash. "My point being that if you want to become the gy-" Meyer was interrupted by a loud booming voice.
"Hey! Don't you dare touch me you bag of nuts and bolts. I helped create you!" A voice yelled, catching the attention of the entire group. Ash seemed to recognise who the voice belonged to.
"Hey, that sounded like…" Bonnie started off before Ash cut her off mid-sentence
"Kuzuki!" Ash exclaimed. "And he sounds like he needs help! Come on Pikachu, it sounded like it came from the Prism Tower!" Pikachu nodded and started to run to the direction of the tower along with his trainer. Meyer, also sensing the danger, got back on his motorcycle with his Ampharos and drove off. Clemont and Bonnie sighed in relief that their father didn't mention what they dreaded he'd say before they followed behind.
"Hey Ash! Wait up!"
"Daddy! Ampharos!"
The two left without noticing that their last friend stayed behind. Serena stood there motionless, her palms sweating nervously. She seemed pretty shaken up the whole time. The Vaniville Town girl looked up at the sky and let out a shaky sigh.
"Kuzuki…"
Ash had finally made it to the outside of the Prism Tower. What he saw completely blew his mind.
"Pika!" The electric type pokemon cried out, also in shock. There, stood a boy with his megaphone that he was yelling into the ears of a robot that resembled Clemont! The boy glared at the robot, agitated at its stubbornness while the Ivysaur beside him looked ready to battle. The boy was too busy to notice that Ash was behind him. Instead, he kept on arguing with the strange robot.
"Clembot! I've already told you countless times that I've already earned the Voltage badge! Give it back to me now! Don't make me get Clemont here to reprogram you this instant!" The boy yelled with his megaphone at the face of the Clembot. He tried reaching for something in its hand, which was lifted all the way up in the air.
"Error number three hundred and six," Clembot buzzed. "No one by the name of Kuzuki Sakai is in my database, you are not my creator. Facial Recognition activate." The robot scanned Kuzuki's face. "I do not recognize you, therefore you never challenged me to a gym battle. This badge does not belong to you." Clembot's monotone voice spoke, refusing to give Kuzuki his badge. Ivysaur tried to reach Clembot's hand with his vine whip but was swatted away by its other metal hand.
"Clemont!" Kuzuki yelled out in frustration, this time without his megaphone that was clipped back to his belt. "Wait until I find you and demand to know why you took all the credit for this robot!" Kuzuki let out a heavy sigh with his hand massaging his temples. The Clembot went back inside the gym to await its next challenger.
"Ivy!" Ivysaur chirped, tugging on his trainers shorts as he pointed to behind them.
"What is it Ivysaur…" His voice trailed off when he turned around and saw who was behind him. "Ash!" He called out running up towards him. Ash smiled brightly seeing that his old friend finally noticed him.
"Kuzuki! Long time no see!" The two exchanged a fist pump while their pokemon greeted each other happily.
"Ash, you don't know how happy I am to see you again!" He exclaimed before he clicked his tongue. "Well I guess happy is an exaggeration right now. That stupid Clembot was giving me a headache," Kuzuki grumbled while his Ivysaur nodded in agreement.
"Clembot?" Ash asked in confusion. Kuzuki was about to answer him until he heard a little girl call his name.
"Kuzuki!" Bonnie yelled running up to Kuzuki and wrap her arms around him. Kuzuki smiled softly, returning the hug. Once she let go she noticed Kuzuki's upset expression and asked him what was wrong.
"What's wrong Bonnie is that your brother's stupid robot just stole my Voltage Badge!" Bonnie gasped. "Just where is that idiotic brother of yours anyway? I want to give him a piece of my mind." Kuzuki gritted his teeth, ignoring Bonnie's protests of "not hurting her brother" until he heard a yelp. As fast as a lion hearing its prey, Kuzuki turned his head in flash to see Clemont hiding behind a tree. No doubt that he heard Kuzuki mentioning his whereabouts. Clemont tried to run off but Kuzuki caught him and lightly pushed him against the tree where he was hiding.
"Clemont. Its been a while, hasn't it?" Kuzuki greeted casually. The blonde haired boy chuckled nervously, his eyes avoiding his glare. "I'm going to ask you one thing Clemont and you're going to give me an answer." Clemont nodded his head frantically. Bonnie and Ash watched on, ready to interfere in their "reunion" if needed. "When you asked me for help in making this little robot of yours and I said sure as long as you promised me one thing…" Kuzuki chuckled. "...do you remember just what exactly you promised me dear friend?"
Clemont tugged on the collar of his jumpsuit anxiously and started laughing nervously.
Kuzuki used Hardened Stare!
It's super effective!
Clemont stopped laughing and in a small voice spoke. "Y-you said that you wa-wanted t-to take half t-the…" Clemont took a deep gulp and continued. "Credit for m-making Clembot," He stuttered.
"Haha, funny that you remember that. I had a chat with Clembot just now and you know what I found out?" Kuzuki closed his eyes and just stood there. Confused by the sudden action, Clemont carefully tried to sneak away from Kuzuki but failed doing so. Kuzuki pushed him back against the tree. "I found out that I'm not even in the darn database! What's that all about? I helped you build that bucket of bolts, pay for the parts, and this is the thanks I get!?" Kuzuki barked out, causing Clemont to let out a small gasp.
"B-believe me Kuzuki I was going to put you in the database of Clembot but the weirdest thing happened! I got that picture you sent me so Clembot could recognize you as its co-creator with its facial recognition. B-but I left it at my desk when I first got it so I could make Bonnie and I a snack, but when I got back it was gone! Honest!" Clemont said, trying to get Kuzuki to believe his story. Instead he rolled his eyes.
"Oh give me a break Clemont, how dumb do you think I am? Even Ash wouldn't fall for that."
"Yeah I wouldn't!" Ash thought about it for a moment. "Hey!" Kuzuki let out a laugh before redirecting his focus to Clemont.
"Clemont." Kuzuki placed his hand on the blonde haired kid's shoulder. "We're old pals. You've known me from the seven months I was here helping you build the robot. As an old friend won't you tell me what really happened?" Kuzuki asked with a smile. Clemont finally looked directly at him and released the tension off his shoulders because of his calm demeanour.
"I was telling the truth," Clemont assured his pal. Just before either of them got a chance to say anything else, Bonnie came up to them with something in the palm of her hand. She looked embarrassed and nervous as she handed it to Kuzuki.
"H-here," She said, leaving Kuzuki wondering what she was giving him. He took the folded piece of paper and opened it up. Clemont let out a huge gasp and his eyes bulged out of their sockets.
"Ivy! Ivysaur!" Kuzuki's grass type pokemon cried, confused by whatever was on the object that his trainer was holding. Leaping high above the air, Ivysaur just barely caught a glimpse of the paper.
"Ivy!" Ivysaur laughed, rolling on his side chortling to his heart's content. Ash decided to add himself to the group out of curiosity. He stood behind Kuzuki and peeked over his shoulder to see what all the commotion was about.
"Wah?! Whoa, Bonnie has a picture of Kuzuki!?" Ash exclaimed quite bluntly, oblivious to the embarrassment Bonnie was suffering to.
"Pika?" Pikachu hopped on Ash's shoulder to see it for himself. It was a picture of Kuzuki, but it wasn't just any ordinary picture of him. Back when Clemont told Kuzuki that he needed a picture of him in order for Clembot to recognise him, he said that his face was required to be on the photo. Since that was the only thing needed Kuzuki thought it'd be pretty hilarious if he did a pose. Of course Kuzuki being Kuzuki, he did the dumbest pose he could think of.
"Uhh…" Kuzuki was at a lost of words. When he first took the picture he laughed so hard just imagining Clemont's face when he sent the photo, but now not so much. "Thanks?" He stupidly responded, mentally smacking himself.
"Bonnie!" Clemont yelled, flabbergasted by her actions. "Just what do you think you were doing with that picture? Never mind that, why do you have it on you right now! I can't even believe you right now. I've always told you not to take things that aren't yours. I-I….." Clemont fumed in fury while Ash and Kuzuki tried to calm him down.
"I-I'm sorry Clemont. I just missed Kuzuki ever since he left. Ever since you started doing gym battles you rarely even spend time with me anymore. When you started working on Clembot you spent even less time with me. Then Kuzuki came along and saw me by myself. We spent so much time together and when he left I was alone again." Bonnie looked like she was going to cry. "A-and you know what? Kuzuki is more of a big brother than you've ever been!" Bonnie shrieked, running off with tears dripping down her face.
Clemont stood there stunned by what his little sister had to say. He was so busy with his inventions that he forgot to take care of his sister half the time. He started running off after her.
"Hey Clemont, wait up!" Ash called out following him along with Pikachu. Kuzuki sighed and looked down at Ivysaur.
"Hey bud, should we go back to getting our badge or go with them Ivysaur?" The grass type pokemon directed his attention to where the three ran off to and Kuzuki took the hint. "Wouldn't have it any other way." Kuzuki took out his metal megaphone and pointed his finger forward.
"Ivysaur! Take charge!" He yelled out through his megaphone. Hearing the loud command Ivysaur took off with Kuzuki not too far behind.
Bonnie sat on a fountain thinking about what she had said to her brother. Some of it was out of anger, some of it may have even been true. It didn't matter now. It had already came out of her mouth. She wiped her tears off her face once she heard footsteps coming behind her. The person sat down beside her and she felt an arm being wrapped around her shoulder.
"Bonnie, I'm so sorry." Bonnie looked up to see her brother staring at her with a thoughtful expression on his face. She gazed at him for a solid minute before she let out a wail and wrapped her arms around Clemont. The younger sibling cried herself on Clemont's shoulder. He hugged her back and even he had to admit that the small amount of tears on his face wasn't because of the water in the fountain.
"If there's anything I can do for you just name it," Clemont said in an effort for her to accept his forgiveness. Bonnie's wide smile told him that she thought of something.
"Spend more time with me big brother," Bonnie pleaded.
"That's it? Consider it done!" Clemont exclaimed happily. The two hugged each other once more before a familiar thunderous voice could be heard.
"At ease people!" Kuzuki spoke with his megaphone still in his hand. "Oh, there you two are! Ash, they're right here!" Clemont laughed as he watched the people around Kuzuki cover their ears in pain. Ash arrived a second later looking a bit lost.
"Man, how did you find them so fast. I've been searching here for a while." Kuzuki shrugged with a grin plastered on his face.
"Hey Ash, how come you're not affected by Kuzuki's megaphone?" Clemont asked causing Ash to chuckle.
"Well you see Clemont, back in Kanto when I met up with Kuzuki again he had that same exact megaphone and he's been carrying it throughout Kanto and Johto. I got used to it during that time." Ash recalled the start of his journey and smiled.
"Yep! Those times sure were fun. You, Brock, and Misty are really amazing friends you know. I suppose Tracey was too but he was with us only for a little while. Shame we've never hung out more." Kuzuki frowned before he smiled brightly once more. "I guess with just you and I, it's still considered a Kanto reunion."
"It sure is!" Ash replied eagerly. Clemont coughed, feeling a bit awkward standing there and watching the two catch up.
"While I do feel bad about interrupting this heartfelt talk. I believe there are more pressing matter at hand," Clemont declared, reminding Kuzuki of something.
"That's right! That stupid robot still has my badge!" Kuzuki whined, enraged by the Clembot's actions.
"Clembot took your badge?" Clemont asked. Kuzuki nodded affirmatively.
"Yeah, I came back to Lumiose City for a quick break. Naturally, I went to the Lumiose Gym to see if you or Bonnie were around." Ash stared at him confused, as if still not putting two and two together. "I got to the entrance and just before I went in, Clembot came out and asked me if I had four gym badges." Clemont huffed in frustration at this.
"I told Clembot to prefer challengers with four badges. Not having them to be required in order to challenge it." Clemont crossed his arms annoyed and let Kuzuki continue on.
"I told Clembot that I didn't want a gym battle since I already got the badge and it just got crazy after that. It demanded to know why I had the Voltage Badge when it didn't remember challenging me. Before I even had the chance to explain it snatched the badge right out of my hand! Ivysaur and I tried to get it back but its arm was too high in the air for me to reach. Ivysaur unleashed his vine whip to get it but the robot's other hand swatted it away," Kuzuki explained, shaking his head.
"Ivy! Ivysaur!" The seed pokemon added in confirming his trainers story.
"I'm pretty sure you all know what happened after that. Point being that we need to go and reprogram that robot! Clemont! What's the voice activation code!" Kuzuki demanded. Clemont let out a gasp.
"W-well you see, I tried that already but it didn't work. I'm positive that that was the correct word," Clemont muttered the last part to himself. He just had to think harder!
"Well, we won't do anything here. Let's go back to Prism Tower!" Ash suggested.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. Without a second thought, the group of four headed back to the Lumiose City Gym.
"So Clemont," Kuzuki whispered to the blonde haired boy. "Did Clembot really take over your gym?" He asked as they neared the Prism Tower. Clemont let out a sad sigh and nodded embarrassingly.
"Yeah, when the voice code didn't work, Clembot kicked me out of my own gym because I didn't have any badges. I haven't been back there since. Even if I have the password I still need to battle it. The problem is that Clembot will have all my pokemon partners to battle me with. No way I can get my gym back. Let's just retrieve your badge and get out of here," Clemont replied disappointed in himself.
"No."
"No?"
"No, I'm not going to stand here and watch you complain about your gym. You're going in there and reclaim your gym!" Kazuki declared. Clemont on the other hand didn't seem convinced.
"B-but Clembot still has my other poke-"
"It doesn't matter if he has your pokemon," Kuzuki said, cutting him off of his words. "I know for a fact that you carry that Bunnelby of yours around you all the time. Am I right?" Clemont nodded solemnly. "Then you can still battle your robot. Clemont you're a strong trainer whether you know it or don't. Just believe in yourself every once in a while." Kuzuki gave him a thumbs up.
"You know what Kuzuki? I'm going to do just that. I'm going to get my gym back!" He claimed too loudly causing Ash to hear what he said.
"Wait Clemont, you're a gym leader!?" Ash was too stunned by the sudden revelation. Clemont quickly realized his mistake and tried to take it back. Bonnie looked at her brother in disbelief.
"Really Clemont? You wanted to keep it a secret from everyone else yet here you are practically shouting it out." The younger sibling shook her head while the older one smiled sheepishly.
"Well now that the cat's out of the bag, there should be another way in the gym. If we can get to the battlefield then maybe Clembot will recognize us as challengers and battle us. Follow me everyone!" Clemont lead the way while ignoring Ash's questions. Once they made it to the back, the blonde haired boy directed them towards the tarp and lifted it up, revealing a pathway. A room soon followed afterwards with nothing but a vent in it.
"Ivysaur! Use Razor Leaf!" Kuzuki ordered. Ivysaur let out multiple razor leafs from his back and aimed for the vent. It broke on impact and the group continued on through the vent. As everyone got out the air vent, Clemont informed them that battlefield was close ahead but before they had a chance to move, a buzzing noise was heard behind them. The four turned around to see a pokemon floating in the air right in front of them. Clemont's eyes widened.
"That's my Magnemite!" Clemont announced, approaching the electric type pokemon. "Hey Magnemite, it's me!" Magnemite grew happy at seeing its trainer before it shot a bolt of electricity. More soon followed as it forced the group to run in an attempt to avoid them. "Come on Magnemite, stop!" Clemont begged, but the shots didn't stop.
"Looks like we're going to have to take it down. Ivysaur, use vine whip!" The grass type pokemon halted and shot its vine whip directly at the Magnemite causing it to go down from the direct hit. It let out a final beep before it went unconscious. Although, it was too early to celebrate as another pokemon soon followed.
"Magneton! Oh no, not you too!" Clemont recognized the pokemon as his. Like Magnemite, Magneton looked ready to attack Ivysaur!
"Ivysaur dodge it and use Razor Leaf!" Ivysaur jumped up to the sky to avoid the attack and fired off his razor leafs at the Magneton. It soon too fell from the attack. The group continued to run hoping that they wouldn't encounter another one of Clemont's pokemon. Later, everyone finally made it to the edge of the battlefield as they caught their breaths.
"Whew! Somehow we finally made it here," Clemont said before a bright light came down, startling the group. There, stood the Clembot who was staring at them.
"Welcome to the Lumiose Gym," It stated, lighting up the battlefield in the process.
"Clembot it's you!" Clemont exclaimed. He took a deep breath. Kuzuki placed his hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. Feeling more confident, Clemont pointed at the robot with a look of determination in his eyes. "Clembot! Activate master recognition battle mode!" He demanded while Clembot gave him the same request as before.
"Voice code needed for activation." Clemont closed his eyes trying to remember what he set it to.
"You can do it Clemont!" Bonnie called from behind. Clemont opened his eyes and examined his robot until it came to him.
"Of course! The voice code is, you can start today! I'm Clemont, the Gym Leader!" He commanded and waited for the outcome. To his relief, Clembot recognized the code and demanded a battle. Clemont walked towards the battlefield, clutching his pokeball in the palm of his hands. Ash, Kuzuki, and Bonnie cheered him on from the stands along with their pokemon.
The battle began with a blast as Clemont's Bunnelby and Clembot's Heliolisk started off the battle. It was tough to say the least, with Heliolisk managing to counter most of Bunnelby's moves. Somehow, Clemont seemed to find a way around its counters by using double team while Bunnelby was digging, tricking the Heliolisk. It landed a direct hit on Heliolisk and finished it off with a mudshot.
"Alright Clemont, my guy!" Kuzuki yelled out with his megaphone in his hand knowing it was loud enough for his friend to hear. The group walked off the stands to join Clemont. He apologized to his robot and pokemon for his troubles and declared to reprogram Clembot. However, before he could do so.
"Clemont! Bonnie! I'm finally here!" A voice called out. Everyone turned around and saw Meyer running towards them with his Ampharos.
"What took you so long?" Ash questioned the older man.
"Heh, well you see." Meyer chuckled. "My motorcycle broke down and I was stuck out on the street for a while. It was only then that I remembered that Ampharos here could give it a shock and power it back on!" He said as Ampharos lifted its head proudly. The man looked at the machine in front of him. "Whoa! What the heck is that thing!?" He shrieked, taking multiple steps back.
"Uh well, dad." Clemont rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly while Bonnie gave her father a nervous smile. "Allow me to introduce to you my…" Kuzuki glared at the blond haired boy. "...I mean our creation. Meet Clembot!" Clemont announced, standing beside Kuzuki. "I guess now is a better time to start explaining everything to you, huh?"
After Clemont, along with Bonnie, explained everything that had happened, his father started at him with wide eyes.
"Let me get this straight. Your robot kicked you out of your own gym!?" He uttered in disbelief. He then let out a low hum.
"Daddy! Wait until you hear the whole story!" Bonnie pleaded.
"Things are about to be fine! Once I reprogram Clembot here it'll be set to leave it as gym leader," Clemont reasoned to his father. Meyer seemed to ponder about the whole situation.
"Well I sure hope that you're right." Meyer placed his hands on his hips. "Does that mean you'll be coming home more often?" He asked.
"Visit!?" Clemont stammered. "Well you see, the thing is…" Clemont trailed off, playing with his fingers.
"Is there some kind of problem?" His father inquired.
"Kind of because…" The blonde haired boy stared at the floor, carefully revising his next words. Bonnie urged her brother to spit it out already. "Here's the thing, I'm…" He clenched his fists. "...going on a journey!" Ash and Kuzuki grew surprised at this revelation. "Ever since I met Ash, I've been finding more and more courage the longer I travel with him. I've always been afraid to find the courage to try out new things but now I feel completely different." Clemont then went on to explain the kind of feelings he's been experiencing since he traveled with Ash.
"...it's really important that I travel with him there," He explained to his father.
"Daddy, I want to go with Clemont, Ash and Kuzuki too!" She cried out. Kuzuki took this time to make himself known.
"Oh Bonnie, but I'm not even going with you guys," Kazuki stated as the three look at him in shock.
"Really?" Ash replied, confused and disappointed.
"How come?" Clemont added.
"Why?" Bonnie asked as she look up at him with her widened eyes.
"I just came here for a quick break before I resumed my journey. As far as I know, we're on a different agenda," He responded truthfully, although it did hurt to see Bonnie's tearful expression.
"But if you don't, who'll take care of me?" Clemont look at his younger sister in disbelief.
"Wha!? I will of course! I-Who did you think was going to take care of you?" He demanded, causing her to let out a laugh.
"Oh yeah. Guess I sort of forgot." She grinned cheekily at her older brother.
"Aww, come on Kuzuki!" Ash pleaded. "Come travel with us. After all, you did say it was a Kanto reunion." Kuzuki thought about it. "Won't it get boring traveling all by yourself? We could have fun just like we did with Brock and Misty!" Kuzuki thought about it some more. "And we'll earn our gym badges together, just like good old times." Kuzuki stopped thinking about it.
"But Ash, I've already started collecting badges here in Kalos for a large chunk of time now. Didn't you just start a few days ago?"
"Huh?"
"Look." Kuzuki pulled out his badge case revealing four shiny badges. Ash gasped as he stared at the badges in marvel. "I've already received the Bug, Rumble, Plant, Iceberg, and Voltage Badge." He pointed at each badge as he explained each one.
"You said five badges. I only see four." Ash cocked his head in confusion. Pikachu, whom was on his shoulder also looked lost. Maybe Kuzuki miscounted.
"No, I have five alright, but remember that a certain badge was taken from me earlier today…" Kuzuki didn't finished his sentence. Instead he stared at Clemont who took the hint.
"Oh that's right! All the excitement made me forget. Clembot do you still have that badge you confiscated earlier today?" Clembot opened up a compartment on his metallic body and retrieved the Voltage Badge. He handed it to Clemont. Kuzuki hummed in delight when he saw his badge again.
"Well Kuzuki, I hereby present to you the Voltage Badge once more," He joked, handing over the badge back to Kuzuki.
"Alright! I got the Voltage Badge again!" He shouted happily.
"Ivy!" Ivysaur chirped joyfully. Kuzuki patted the top of his head and placed the Voltage Badge back to its proper place in his case.
"Congratulations Kuzuki!" Ash congratulated his friend along with Pikachu.
"Wait! You don't have the Cliff Badge do you?" Bonnie squeaked out earning a nod from Kuzuki. "Well, the Cyllage Gym isn't that far from here. In fact I'd say it's the closest gym from here. You and Ash can go together!" Bonnie suggested excitingly and also proud of herself with coming up with the plan.
Both Kuzuki and Ash smiled upon hearing that.
"That doesn't sound that bad of a plan. In fact, it's actually quite brilliant," Kuzuki answered truthfully. "But after we defeat the gym leader then I'll go off on my own again."
Bonnie looked down sadly as he finished his sentence. Ash seeing this, surprisingly stepped in with his own suggestion.
"Why don't you think about while we travel to Cyllage City and then tell us whether you still want to come with us or not. You may not get your other badges as fast as you planned on getting but you can squeeze in some extra training and practice with us! Remember back in Kanto when you said you've always wanted more time to train and spend time with you pokemon. This way you can hang out with your pokemon and your friends while also getting your last three badges. It's a win win win!"
Kuzuki stared at Ash with his jaw wide open. Since when did Ash come up with brilliant ideas?
"Will you Kuzuki?" Kuzuki averted his attention to the young girl who gave him her best pleading look.
Bonnie used Puppy Dog Eyes!
It's super effective!
Kuzuki just couldn't say no to her.
"Oh alright. I'll think about it during our trip to Cyllage City." Bonnie let out a victory cry and gave Kuzuki a hug.
"That's great and all." Meyer's voice caught all their attention. "But I'm still not entirely convinced." Meyer folded his arms and awaited their reasoning.
"I'll take care of Bonnie. I promise," Kuzuki promised Meyer.
"Yeah, we all promise," Ash added.
"Once Clembot gets reprogrammed I'll give you my word that it will take care of the gym, and help out in the house as well," Clemont assured his father. The whole group along with their pokemon looked at Meyer with their eyes filled with hope. The man looked down at the floor.
"I'm just so…." He clenched his fists. "...I'm just so...I'm just so proud and happy for you both!" His eyes sparkled in joy. "What a joy to have such great kids! I know that I've told you this before. The most important thing in the world, is to have real friends! As long as Ash and Kuzuki are with you two, I'm not worried about a thing! Alright you can go." He hugged his children tightly and the two returned the gesture.
"Thanks so much dad!" Clemont thanked his father graciously.
"I love you Daddy!" Bonnie cried out.
"Now, Ash and Kuzuki. Promise me that you'll take care of these two and keep them out of trouble. Okay?" Meyer requested to the two trainers.
"Yes sir!" They both simultaneously said together. Kuzuki gave Meyer a salute while saying so. The man smiled and stood back up.
"Alright! So for now, it's time to celebrate Clemont and Bonnie's new journey!" Meyer announced as everyone cheered happily at the declaration. "Oh by the way, that girl you guys were with was by the ice cream store last I checked before I came here. Might want to go see what's up." Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie's eyes bulged out. They all let out a gasp at the reminder.
"We forgot Serena!"
Serena watched as the sun began to set. She had been at the ice cream shop all day with that name still flowing through her mind.
"Kuzuki." She grasped her cup of ice cream tighter. Fennekin, who was beside her trainer, looked on with concern. She had been like this the whole day and it frustrated the fire type pokemon when her trainer said that everything was okay. Her ears perked up when she heard the running footsteps coming towards their direction. Serena turned to see her friends running frantically at her.
"Hey guys," She greeted them with a hint of sadness still in her voice.
"Oh gosh Serena! So much has happened today that we completely forgot about you! We spent so much time getting Clemont's gym back that we left you in the dust," Ash exasperated, while the siblings also gave her their excuses. Serena giggled seeing her friends like this.
"It's alright guys, really. I've just been here thinking…" Her voice trailed off as she stared at her cup of ice cream. "...wait, Clemont you're a gym leader?" She asked, surprised at the sudden news.
"Oh yeah." Clemont scratched his face. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Long story short, my Clembot kicked me out of my gym and we went back to Prism Tower to get my gym back." Serena felt her head grow dizzy with all this new information. How did she miss so much in just one day?
"Yeah and I caught up with a friend I met back at summer camp all those years ago," Ash chimed in. Serena narrowed her eyes at him.
"Oh, so you remember this friend from camp but you couldn't remember me?" She let out a huff and looked away from Ash, her nose high in the air.
"Yeah, but he and I go way back when I started my pokemon journey in the Kanto and Johto regions!" Serena suddenly grew intrigued. Maybe this person will tell her a bit more about Ash. Feeling upbeat at her new plan, Serena stood up and faced Ash excitingly.
"Oh. Where is this person you're speaking of? I sure would love to meet them." She giggled.
"He got a bit distracted on the way here. Something about his puppy dog eyes not being super effective to the guy he was trying to get free drinks from." Bonnie giggled at this, remembering Kuzuki not being able to leave when he already took a sip of his bottled drink without paying for it. Some people just don't have that type of natural talent like she does.
"Haha! Yeah did you see his face when the guy wouldn't give him the drink for free?" Clemont recalled, already having some good memories at the beginning of his and Bonnie's journey.
"That's my old friend for you! Although, I do feel a bit bad for leaving him there by himself." Ash started to worry about his friends fate in the situation.
"Relax Ash I'm sure he's going to eventually realize that he's got to pay for the drink," Clemont concluded, still snickering a bit. Serena giggled at the funny story her friends were telling her. This person sounded like a real joy to be around with. Just then she heard the sound of a pokemon.
"Ivy! Ivysaur!" The grass type pokemon cried out turning around the corner and meeting his old and new friends.
"Hey it's Ivysaur! That must mean your trainer is close by," Ash predicted, earning a nod from Ivysaur. The sound of footsteps were heard causing the group to get excited.
"Here he comes!" Clemont said eagerly. "When he gets here we'll all go to my house for the night and begin our journey in the morning!" Clemont felt pumped up and was ready for the day to be over so he can finally begin his journey.
"You're going to like him Serena. I just know it!" Bonnie declared proudly. Serena smiled brightly at her. If she was so sure in herself then he must be wonderful. The anticipation was practically killing her on the inside.
A shoe was spotted behind the corner, indicating that the new person was just around the corner! Serena closed her eyes happily.
"Well turns out that if you use both Puppy Dog Eyes and Cry, it'll be a definite super effective move. Maybe even critical…" The new person's voice came to a halt. No doubt due to seeing her added into the frame.
"Hi I'm Seren-" She started her introduction before the new person cut her off.
"Do my eyes deceive me!? Why it's mommy's girl, Serena!" The voice started to laugh afterwards. Serena felt her whole body go stiff. Only one person called her that. Slowly but carefully did she open her eyes to see if it really was him. She felt her fists clench up and her shoulders tensed even more once she got a good look of him.
"Kuzuki…."
Author's Note: I've finally decided to start writing a fanfiction after spending a considerate amount of time on this site. Although my writing isn't the best I thought why not just take a crack at it and see what other people have to say about it. Criticism is greatly appreciated. On to the story itself I thought it'd be interesting to write about another main character being added into the anime. There aren't many of those types of stories so I decided to do my part and make one too. More background information about Kuzuki Sakai and his Pokemon will be revealed in the next chapter which hopefully will be out by next week. Stay classy readers!