This was something that was conjured in head recently. No idea where it came from, but I hope you guys like it.
Serena smiled as she finished signing the Father's Day card in front of her. Clemont and Bonnie were doing the same. They had their presents ready for shipping but they had to put the cards in first since Nurse Joy was holding their packages ready for them.
"Hey guys!" a familiar voice said cheerfully. Serena and the siblings looked up to see Shanua, Tierno, Trevor, Sawyer and surprisingly Miette, coming towards them; all holding packages of their own.
"Hey it's been a while," Clemont said with a smile.
"I know! How are your performances coming along?" Shanua asked.
"Really well, thanks! Sylveon is gettinga lot better now, and more confident!" Serena answered.
"She's pretty too!" Bonnie added.
"I'm sure of that. Doesn't mean that she'll beat me," Miette said with a coy smile, causing Serena to sweat drop.
"You sending your presents off too?" Clemont asked.
"Sure am! My old man is gonna love my gifts!" Tierno said confidently.
"Well I hope mine appreciates it," Trevor said nervously. Serena smiled as she guessed that his present consisted of photos of all the Pokemon he said seen.
"Yeah it took me a while to get the presents together but all I need to do is sign my card. Do you mind if I sit down by you to write it?" Sawyer asked.
"Same here," the others chorused. Serena and the others smiled and then started to shuffle down seats. As Serena moved down near the end of table where the final seat was, she almost knocked a sleeping Pikachu off it.
"Oh, sorry Pikachu!" Serena said as Pikachu woke up immediately. He relaxed when he saw who it was and gave everyone a big smile.
"Is Ash not here?" sawyer asked as he pulled out some pens for everyone.
"No, I think he was having a wander around the city. He's been quite depressed these last few days," Clemont said, causing everyone, minus Bonnie and Serena, to look quite surprised.
"Has he lost a battle recently?" Trevor asked.
"No, not one. Its quite weird to see Ash like this," Bonnie said.
"We've tried to cheer him up but nothing has worked," Serena admitted. She wasn't sure why ash was so sad lately and it upset her that she couldn't do anything about it. If it wasn't because of battling, then what could it be?
As the others began to question the topic on hand, Pikachu remained silent. He wasn't sure why Ash was so sad either. Now that he thought about it, he was always sad around this time of year. Every time he was on a journey, he would grow quiet and show no enthusiasm whatsoever. Wait a minute. Did it have something to do with Father's Day? Then again, after all of the years he had been with Ash, not once had he mentioned his father. He highly praised his mother but not a word was spoken about the father. In his house, he had never seen a picture of a father figure on the walls or anything. Maybe that was the issue! He had to express his concern.
"Pika!" he said waving his little paws. Everyone stopped to look at him. He was trying to say something but not one piece of the information was going into their heads.
"What is he trying to say?" Shanua asked. Clemont was about to tilt his glasses but for once, Bonnie pulled him into his seat to silence him. They had only just recovered from an earlier invention where he had tried to make a teleported to teleport their presents quicker.
"Is it something about Ash?" Miette guessed and Pikachu smiled and nodded rapidly.
"Do you know why he's sad?" Trevor asked and Pikachu made a face that showed that he sort of did but wasn't completely sure.
"Alright…what do you think it is?" Serena asked. Pikachu then responded by going up the table and tapping all of their presents.
"He can't find anything for his father?" Tierno guessed but was met with a head shake to say no.
"He wants some presents himself?" Shanua asked and was met with another no.
"He wants to turn himself into a present?" Bonnie said happily and this almost made Pikachu slam his head into the table. He decided to take a slower approach and simply tapped on one of the presents.
"I think I know what you're getting at Pikachu. Does it have something to do with Father's Day?" Clemont asked and Pikachu nodded eagerly.
"He's sad because of Father's Day?" Sawyer guessed and Pikachu practically danced when he said that.
"That's weird. Why would anyone be sad about that?" Shanua asked.
"Beats me," Tierno answered.
"I love giving presents to my father," Miette said with a smile. Serena then said something that made them all go completely silent.
"What if he doesn't have a father to give presents to?" she asked.
"Why wouldn't he? Daddy's are always there!" Bonnie said cheerfully.
"Not always Bonnie," Clemont admitted, "I've often seen challengers come to my gym and have told me that they want to get stronger to make their dad's proud since they're not around."
"It's strange. To think that someone like Ash doesn't have a father to learn off. I assumed that's why he's always so enthusiastic," Sawyer said.
"I know! Why don't we go out and have a look for him? After we finished signing them of course," Serena said as she put her card inside the envelope.
Everyone nodded in agreement but decided to search as a group as Lumiose was far too big and it would take ages for them to find each other again. Only problem that they didn't realize was that Ash didn't exactly want to be found.
Ash was currently sitting in a park in the middle of the city on a bench. His arms were resting on his knees and his head was bent. His hat was also by his side rather than on his head so his messy hair was ruffling in the wind. His eyes were not brimming with their usual spark but were rather dull.
He despised this day and he didn't say that about anything. He just hated it. He hated seeing children with their father's, running about and playing. He hated seeing them bond with each other. No. He loathed it. His fists clenched in anger. No child should be without their father on this day. So why was he? Was it something he did? This was something he had always questioned. He had asked his mother this question constantly but she had always assured him that his father had left because of his own personal reasons and they had nothing to do with him nor Delia.
The other children back in Pallet had always picked on his for his father leaving him. Always telling him that he wasn't good enough to be a son. He had believed this. His father was one of the most famous trainers in the world but only a few close friends and family knew that. It sucked. There hadn't even been a single trace of him for six years. Who goes away for six years and says nothing? Part of the reason why he went on these jourenys with friends was to try and find his father. Now he was in Kalos, his sixth region and there was still not a trace of him.
The famous Red. The most powerful trainer. The one who battled Team Rocket. The one who defeated the Kanto League. The one who decided to raise a family in Pallet and then abandon it for some reason and didn't even say why. Just packed a bag and left without a word or even a letter. Just like that. Gone.
"Stupid…stupid…" Ash growled as his fists tightened and his eyes narrowed with anger.
"Ash! There you are!" a voice said and Ash froze slightly.
Oh no. Not now. The main reason he came out here was to avoid friends in case he did something he regretted. He turned his head slightly and not only saw Clemont, Serena and Bonnie with Pikachu but also others he had met on his travels.
"Hey guys," he said plainly.
"Why are you all the way out here? I thought you'd be prepping like the rest of us," Clemont asked.
"Prepping for what?" Ash asked, knowing fully what Clemont meant but it didn't catch on.
"For Father's Day silly!" Bonnie said cheerfully.
Pikachu eyed his trainer closely. He had been with Ash the longest and knew when a bad mood was coming. He respectfully stayed where he was as he sensed the incoming tension.
"Oh, that. Yeah, I don't really send my dad…gifts and stuff. He doesn't like it," Ash lied.
"Well, that's silly, this is a day to give gifts to show how much you care about your dad," Miette said.
"Yeah!" Shauna and Tierno agreed together.
Care? I don't even know him well enough to care, Ash thought darkly.
"Come on, how about we go and find your dad a present?" Serena offered with a smile as she held out a hand.
"I'll pass," Ash said bluntly. This surprised Serena as she had never heard this tone for him before.
"Please Ash, I know some really good shops!" Bonnie said.
"Yeah, they sell all sorts of stuff here!" Trevor said.
"Come on Ash, don't you want to surprise him?" Sawyer asked.
Ash's temper had risen considerably by now and all this talk of presents and ridiculous day was getting to him. As his friends kept rambling on, something in him finally snapped and he felt his emotions starting to leak out until it exploded into a flood. A storm even.
"Surprise? Yeah it will be a surprise if he actually turned up for Father's Day or any day really. Look, I know that you're all trying to be nice but you're only annoying me. Listen, I HATE this day and everything about it. I don't have someone who I can give this stuff too since he's too much of a jerk to even stay with my family. Do you get it now? I don't have a Father. He left me and my Mother when I was four. Now for the love of Mew, just…leave me alone!" Ash burst out as pure anger came to his eyes as he got up and stomped off.
"But Ash!" Serena said, overcoming her shock unlike everyone else, and started to run after him.
"Please Serena! Just stop!" Ash said but stopped when Serena took hold of his hand.
"No, I won't. You are my friend and I won't leave you like this," Serena said firmly as Ash turned to face her.
"Serena, I'm sorry for yelling. I'm like this every year. I just need space. My dad is just a jerk. I'll be fine really," Ash insisted as a slight tear came to his eye.
"I'm sorry about your dad but you know that we're here for you, don't you?" Serena asked and Ash held her hand tighter.
"Of course. Knowing that you're all here for me is what keeps me going," Ash said with a smile, for the first time that day.
"I don't like leaving you on your own you know," Serena said, knowing well enough that he did need some space.
"I know but…I promise…I'll talk about it with guys more when I get back," Ash said as he actually felt ready to open up about his Father.
"Alright," Serena said, reluctantly letting go of his hand and he walked off with his hands in his pockets but with a hidden smile on his face.
"I never would have guessed…" Miette admitted when Serena came back to them.
"Man I feel bad," Tierno said sadly.
"What kind of Father would leave their family?" Bonnie questioned.
"I don't know Bonnie. I do know one thing though," Serena said.
"What?" Shanua asked as they all watched Ash walk off.
"No matter how hurt a person is, friends will always be there, always," Serena said as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
So yeah...that's that. I hope you guys liked it. Please review, and here your cupcakes! Bye for now!
~Star