AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to say how proud I am of being part of this community. I've followed a lot of your blogs and seen your work, and I continue to be astounded by how amazing you all are. As a result, I wanted to make something really special for you, hence this story. I was originally trying to save it for Diodeshipping Day, but since the XY series is almost over I moved up my timeline.

I started writing this story around the time Season 1 of XY was released on Netflix, which was a while ago. I've watched most of XY and a couple random XY&Z episodes at this point, and already notice some differences, so I wanted to clarify a couple points:

* This story follows an alternate timeline where the whole Team Flare arc never happened
* Bonnie never met Squishy (Sorry, Squishy! You're cool and all, but I didn't know about you when I started writing this)
* This story assumes an alternate ending where Ash won the Kalos League (against Sawyer)
* Serena and Ash do not leave Kalos, Clembot was never destroyed, and Greninja was not released

Also, the end of every chapter will contain something I like to call Snapshots, which will zoom in and focus on past events in greater detail. Some of these will be from the Pokemon anime itself, others will be theories / undocumented backstories (I tend to target Clemont for this, because CLEMONT!). They're not essential to the storyline, but hopefully you enjoy them.

DISCLAIMER

I do not own Pokemon, nor do I own any of its characters, settings, items, or storylines. Neither I nor this story is associated with Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures, The Pokemon Company, Niantic, or any other official creators or distributors of Pokemon and/or related merchandise and entertainment products.

Though I will only be stating this disclaimer once, please know it applies to this story as a whole, and not just this chapter.

CHAPTER 1
Tick, Tock, Exploding Clock!

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Clemont awoke with a groan, rolling over to face his Wake-Up-Anyone-In-Five-Minutes-Or-Less-Atron, more commonly known as an alarm clock. This one was unique in the fact that once the alarm went off, it would run around the room while constantly beeping, forcing someone to get out of bed and chase it should they want the noise to stop.

Tick.

It was a bit on the loud side though, even when it wasn't beeping. Why had he made it that way? He would have to look at it when he was feeling a bit more rested. And when he had time. He was always so busy now, between running his gym, working on inventions, and supporting his friends and family as they got closer to achieving their dreams.

Tock.

He wasn't sure how anyone could sleep through that noise. Well, with one or two exceptions. He smiled at Ash's sleeping form across the space in between their matching twin beds, Pikachu curled up on his chest. It had been three months since they started officially living together; him, Ash, Bonnie, and Serena. There had been enough space in Prism Tower to give Ash his own bedroom, but he refused to let them go to the trouble of setting up a room for him, despite Clemont's claim that it would really be no trouble at all. That was how he ended up sleeping in Clemont's room, on his spare bed.

Tick.

With one final yawn, he picked up his invention and flipped a small switch on the back, shutting it down. He didn't typically suffer from oversleeping, anyway. The invention had been made more for Ash, who Clemont felt would be capable of sleeping almost all day if nothing woke him up. Of course, he didn't feel overly confident that Ash fell into the "anyone" category implied by the Wake-Up-Anyone-In-Five-Minutes-Or-Less-Atron. During their travels together, he had seen Ash sleep through loud noises such as thunder, and even a Tyrunt poking its head into their tent. Beeping was nothing compared to those.

Tock.

Wait. He had turned it off, hadn't he? That should have turned off all functions of the invention, including the ticking noise that had woken him up originally. That was odd. He didn't want to jump to conclusions and assume the invention was broken. Maybe he just hadn't flipped the switch all the way?

Boom.

Another invention, failed. Clemont sat straight up in bed, hair curled and glasses half hanging off his face in the aftermath of the explosion.

"What was that?" The question came from Ash, who had narrowly missed being hit by the blast. "Clemont, are you okay?" He propped himself up on his elbow, looking at his friend with both admiration and concern. With his free hand, he cuddled Pikachu close against his body, letting his Pokemon partner know that they weren't in any danger.

"I'm fine..." Clemont said miserably, looking down at his sheets and blanket. "Just another little bump on the road to success...go back to sleep..."

Ash shook his head, unable to hide his smile. Clemont was so determined, always trying again and again until he got things right, no matter how many times his attempts blew up in his face - literally. "Nah, I'm not that tired. It's almost morning, isn't it? Let's go make a proper breakfast, for once. How does that sound, Pikachu?"

The electric mouse affirmed the idea with a wave of his tail, jumping off the bed and bounding towards the door. Several weeks ago, Clemont had installed a small door within their door, dubbed the Let Pikachu Leave Whenever He Wants Pokemon Door, but he still had yet to use it. He much preferred to wait for Ash to open the door for him, which he asked for now with a soft "pika pi!"

Clemont smiled shyly as Ash shook his blanket off himself in response to Pikachu's request, exposing his too-small pajamas. No matter how many times he had slept in the same room as him, Ash's confidence about his body always made him blush. "S-sure," he stammered. "You go on ahead. I'll be down in a minute."

He slipped out from underneath the covers as Ash and Pikachu left the room, the door closing behind them with an almost inaudible click. Unlike Ash, he didn't feel comfortable enough to go down to their communal kitchen in nothing but his pajamas. Now that he was home, rather than travelling, he had traded his long nightshirt (or nightgown, as Bonnie liked to call it) for a more reasonable long sleeve shirt and a pair of sweatpants. They were okay, he supposed, or at least Bonnie didn't make fun of them, but truthfully he missed his more unconventional sleeping gear.

Hastily, he threw off his pajamas, trading them for his signature blue jumpsuit. It was rare that he had Ash all to himself in the morning. He shouldn't complain, really - after all, they were alone together all night, every night. But that was different. Ash was usually asleep, and Clemont...well, sometimes he was asleep too, and sometimes he just stayed awake watching Ash's chest rise and fall.

He pulled open the door again, hurriedly running a brush through his hair and throwing it to the side as he ran around the corner. Taking the steps two at a time, he screeched to a halt as he arrived at the kitchen doorway. He bent over, hands on his knees while he tried to catch his breath. He had been practicing running every day, but it didn't seem to be getting any easier for him. Especially when stairs were involved.

Ash stood just at the other side of the door, listening to Clemont's laboured breathing with a slightly sad expression. He wished he would stop doing that - pushing himself to his limits, just to...what? Impress everyone? Prove himself? His eyes glanced towards Clemont's spare inhaler, sitting on the counter. He wanted to go out and bring it to him, but he knew he couldn't. Clemont would be too embarrassed.

"Hey," Clemont, now almost fully recovered from his minor asthma attack, strolled into the kitchen. He took note of Ash's position close to the door, hoping he hadn't heard his efforts to breathe normally. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Toast," Ash suggested, not wanting his friend to have to go to too much trouble cooking for him.

"Come on. You said we were going to have a proper breakfast. Toast is not a proper breakfast. Let me make you something."

It was only a half hour later when he and Ash finally sat down to breakfast; a rich Kalosian toast recipe to fill Ash's earlier request, and sweet maple bacon to go with it. Clemont looked out the window, sighing. He was really only guaranteed another hour before Bonnie woke up and interrupted their time together.

"I've been wanting to ask you about something," Clemont said nervously, amid the sound of their forks scraping on their plates and the small scratching sounds of Pikachu picking at his food. He took a deep breath. Here we go, he thought. The moment of truth. But his next words surprised even him. "What would you think about quizzing challengers before letting them battle?"

He dropped his fork on his plate with a clang as he realized he had chickened out again. There had been an unspoken realization on Clemont's part since the moment they had moved in together; the understanding that one day, Ash might leave, and if he did they might never see each other again. It was something Clemont could never let happen - he cared too much for Ash to simply watch him walk out of his life. But if he was going to do something about it, he had to find out if leaving was even something on Ash's mind right now.

"Uh..." Ash paused, looking at Clemont with mild confusion. This wasn't the first change that Clemont had suggested for the Gym, and while he might have rushed into inventions head-on regularly, he had never approached his job in quite the same way. It had Ash a bit worried about him. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Every time the opportunity had come up for Clemont to ask Ash when he was planning on leaving, he would end up asking something else instead. So far, he had only voiced suggestions for the Gym, each more ridiculous than the last. That was how he ended up scheduling battles with challengers via telephone last month, and why he had reinstated his rule about Trainers having four badges the month prior.

"Absolutely." He flashed his glasses at Ash, hiding an eye roll meant for himself. Why did he keep doing this? As embarrassing as it was to present an idea he hadn't thought through yet, it would be even more embarrassing to try and explain that he was going to ask about something else entirely. "This building is so tall; we have entire floors not being used. Allowing them to be used for quizzing challengers would breathe new life into them. Besides, it would create jobs for people, and that's good for the economy."

"If you think this is a good idea, Clemont, then I support you." Ash smiled at his friend, pushing away his plate as he finished his breakfast. He could never be anything less than encouraging, even when Clemont's ideas didn't make sense to him. After all, Clemont was the smartest person he knew. "But why the sudden interest in changing things? Isn't everything working out fine how it is now?" He certainly thought it was. Clemont seemed happy to face challengers, but he still always had enough time to take care of Bonnie, cheer Serena on at her performances, and help him with new training strategies.

Clemont looked down at the table, trying desperately to hide the blush that was slowly appearing on his face. He couldn't tell Ash the real reason he had suggested that change, or any others. If he was being honest with himself, he thought there was a part of him that was trying to fill up his spare time with more Gym Leader duties. Inventions, his main hobby and what he usually spent his free time working on, were wonderful, but working on them reminded him of Ash; reminded him of how excited he was at each new scientific revelation and how nice it was to feel his arms around him when he gave him a congratulatory hug for a job well done. Maybe it was time to focus on something else, something Ash wasn't an essential component of. All he had been thinking of lately was Ash: Ash walking with his backpack slung over his shoulders, Ash holding Pikachu, Ash preparing for a Pokemon battle. And those thoughts couldn't be in his head so often - not when he was too afraid to do anything about them.

"Just giving something new a try," he said, breaking his train of thoughts. "Change can be good for you, after all."

Later that day, Clemont stood at his bedroom window, surveying the streets below. Lumiose was always busy - it was the tourist city of the Kalos Region, after all, and Prism Tower was one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The first floor was open to the public as a tourist stop for people visiting Lumiose City, but the rest of the 80-storey structure housed the Gym and his living quarters. His, Bonnie's, Ash's, and Serena's, he reminded himself. It wasn't just his Gym anymore. It belonged to all of them.

That was one of the first things he had decided, when they all moved in together. Everything was more fun with friends, after all. What had accompanying Ash on his Pokemon journey taught him, if not that? Battling was always left to him and Clembot, but the others officiated matches and helped take care of his Gym Pokemon. Things had never run quite so smoothly at the Lumiose City Gym before, and Clemont was proud of their combined efforts.

It hadn't been all wonderful, of course, sharing a living space together. Clemont was usually awake at odd hours tinkering with his inventions, Serena quite frequently used up all the hot water, Bonnie couldn't stand anyone else being the center of attention if she was having a bad day, and now that Ash didn't have to pack up a tent every day it turned out that he was quite disorganized. But they were a team. And he couldn't imagine things being any other way. He smiled happily as he remembered the day they had made their family official...

"So what are you going to do now that you've won the Kalos League? Are you off on a new adventure, in a new region?" Serena's voice was tinged with sadness, despite the smile lingering on her face.

"Well, I haven't really decided that yet." Ash laughed nervously, putting his hand behind his head as he played with his hair. "Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about that. All of you." He amended his statement to include Bonnie and Clemont in the conversation. "You know, a lot of people look up to Champions. And I'm not the only one out there that wanted the title. Some people were really close too, I think. They just need a little help. Everyone deserves a chance to achieve their dreams!" He swung his first in front of his face, sporting a determined expression.

"And you're going to stay here and help them!" Bonnie yelled out. "Serena, isn't that great?" she asked her best friend, smiling widely.

"Bonnie!" Clemont warned, putting his hand on his sister's shoulder. His heart had been dancing in his chest since Ash had started talking. More than anything, he wanted him to stay in Kalos. But that might not be what Ash was trying to say, and he didn't want to get his hopes up. He didn't think he could deal with an emotional roller coaster right now.

"I was thinking about it," Ash admitted, smiling at her. "I've already been asked by a couple people if I could help them become better Trainers, and you know I can never resist a battle…"

So that's what Ash had been doing when he snuck off in the middle of the night. Clemont had wanted to send his I See You But You Don't See Me Spy Camera after him, but he was too respectful of Ash's privacy to do so.

"You've had other Pokemon battles with Champion hopefuls?" Serena asked, sounding surprised. Unlike Clemont, Serena hadn't noticed Ash's nighttime disappearances.

"They went well, too!" Ash said, nodding his head. "We learned a lot from each other - and we still could. There are others like them out there, and I want to learn from them all!"

"That's wonderful! I'm so glad you're staying here!" Serena exclaimed, before blushing bright red and putting her hand over her mouth. "Me and my big mouth…" she mumbled. That was Ash's decision to make. Not hers.

Thankfully, it did seem that staying was what Ash was trying to get at. "So, it's okay with everyone if I stick around for a while longer...?" His question may have been meant for the group, but his eyes were on Clemont, his lips slightly parted as he waited for a response.

"Of course!" Serena was the first to say, her voice mingling with Bonnie's and Clemont's as they echoed her sentiments.

"You can even stay with me and Bonnie in Lumiose City, if you want!" Clemont offered, perhaps a little too over-enthusiastically, though no one seemed to notice.

"Wow, Clemont, that's really nice...but won't your dad mind having an extra house guest?" Ash said, looking a little worried.

"Not in the slightest!" Clemont said confidently, adjusting his glasses. "I have my own living quarters, at the Lumiose City Gym. Oh, and you're welcome to stay with us as well, Serena." He realized, hopefully not too late, that it would be rude to extend such an offer to one traveling companion and not the other.

"Well, in that case...thank you, Clemont! I accept!" Ash grinned, and put his arm around his friend. Clemont blushed, returning the half-hug.

"I accept, too! This will be great!" Serena flashed a smile at Ash and Clemont before excitedly wrapping Bonnie in a hug.

"Now we're just like a family," Bonnie said happily.

Clemont couldn't agree more.

"Hey." Clemont jumped, startled out of his memory at the unexpected greeting. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! Me and Pikachu are off to meet a new client."

"Pika pika!" The electric mouse confirmed Ash's statement, grabbing onto his hat to keep his balance.

"Another one? That's the third one this week!" Clemont couldn't help but smile. He was happy that this business was turning out to be so profitable for Ash.

"There are lots of people out there that need our help, and we're going to be there for each and every one of them!" He flashed Clemont one of his award-winning smiles, making the blond boy blush. Did Ash have any idea that he could turn Clemont's knees into jello with a single look?

"Have fun," he said, with a wave. He turned back to the window, listening to the sound of Ash leaving the room and heading out of Prism Tower. Once he walked out of their living quarters, it would be approximately a 2 minute walk to the elevator, followed by a minute long wait and then a 4 minute ride down to the first floor, where he would weave his way out the door and then turn around to wave at their bedroom window. Just like he did every time he left.

Clemont couldn't help but wonder if he would still wave up at the tower when he left for the last time.

Ash looked over his shoulder at Prism Tower, the place that he had started to think of as "home". It had been a long time since he had a place to call his own; eight years, in fact. He couldn't believe that just a couple of short months ago, he had been contemplating leaving the Kalos region. Now that he had seen what it was like to have stability in his life, a close circle of friends that he thought of almost as being like family, and the respect and admiration he had expected to only find once he became a Pokemon Master, he wasn't sure he liked the idea of leaving that much.

He lifted his arm up and waved in the direction of his and Clemont's bedroom, cupping his free hand around his mouth and yelling "See you later!" The outburst earned him several strange looks from passersby, but Ash ignored them. To them, it might look like he was yelling at nobody and waving at the sky, but he knew he was saying 'goodbye' to Clemont in his own way, and that was all that mattered.

His priorities in life seemed to be shifting, Ash reflected as he headed down Estival Avenue. Of course there were things he cared about above all else, like battling and becoming a Pokemon Master, but his friends here in Kalos and his life as a Champion could make him forget all about that at times. As he cut across the street and passed the fountain in the middle of Bleu Plaza, he stopped and stared at his reflection. His tanned skin and amber eyes stared back at him, the rippling effect of the water giving him a distorted appearance. When had he given up on his dream? When had he decided that this life was okay to settle for?

I'm not settling, he told himself, knowing that was the truth. I'm here because this is the best place for me, and for Pikachu. Life here, in Kalos, is all that I have ever wanted and more. He was happy here, something he hadn't expected when he first arrived in this region. I'm not giving up on my dream. I have a new dream, and that's the one I want to pursue now. He had only been ten years old when he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and try to become a Pokemon Master, after all. Was it really such a bad thing if he decided to revisit that decision?

"Pika-chu!" a yellow shape appeared in Ash's reflection, reminding him that this wasn't just a leisure walk. He had somewhere to be, and, judging from the urgency in which his Pokemon partner had reminded him of that, he was late.

"Thanks, Pikachu!" he said, holding onto his friend as he sprinted down the street and over towards Cafe Soleil, where he typically met with his clients. He would have time later to contemplate his own dream. Right now, he had to help someone else achieve theirs.

"Hi!" Ash skidded to a halt in front of a girl sitting at one of the outdoor tables of Cafe Soleil, putting his hands on his legs to steady himself as he recovered from sprinting three blocks. "Are you Sable?"

"Do I look like Sable?" the girl questioned, not even bothering to look up from her phone. She wore a slightly disdained expressions, and her fingers tapped impatiently on the table whenever they weren't tapping at something on the screen.

"Well, yeah," Ash said, recalling the description he had been given by the nobles that he presumed were her parents. She had long, blueish-black hair tied together with a purple ribbon at the back, and was wearing a navy blue sweater with the same emblem on it that the man and woman he had spoken with had proudly displayed. "I'm…"

"Late," she finished for him, snapping the cover on her phone shut. "You're not making a very good first impression." She looked up at him then, her dark blue eyes looking as hard as the sapphires they resembled.

"Sorry," he apologized, not seeming at all phased by her less-than-welcoming attitude. He slid into the seat across from her, Pikachu bounding down from his shoulder to sit down in front of him. "Anyway, I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu!"

"Pika pika!" The electric mouse waved his paw at the girl in greeting, not noticing her face twitch with discomfort as he did so.

"You don't look like a Champion," she said critically, wrinkling her nose at the pair. "I was expecting someone…"

"Taller?" Ash joked, knowing that he was still a bit on the short side for his age.

"I was going to say, 'more impressive.' But your suggestion works, too. I suppose if you were taller, you might look more impressive."

Ash bit the inside of his cheek, exchanging a look with Pikachu. He had encountered his share of difficult people in the past, but he had eventually won them over. Despite how rude this girl was being, he had no doubt that he could win her over, too.

"How about you tell me what you want to learn about being a Pokemon Trainer?" Ash suggested, ready to get to the real reason they were both there. "Then we can form a lesson plan for you."

"A lesson plan?" The girl sneered at him, not looking very impressed. "Hmph. If you were really the best teacher out there, you would have had one for me already."

"I never claimed to be a good teacher," Ash defended himself. "Just a good trainer. Besides, it's hard to personalize a lesson plan for someone you haven't met."

"Fair enough," Sable said, after some consideration. "Okay then. I don't want to be just any kind of Pokemon Trainer - I want to be a Sky Trainer."

"Flying-type against Flying-type," Ash mused, recalling his own set of battles with a Sky Trainer. "That means you'll need to learn how to use your Pokemon's primary or secondary type to your advantage. I can work with that, sure! What kind of Pokemon do you have?"

At his question, a troubled expression came over Sable's face. Reaching inside her purse, she pulled out a Pokeball and rolled it around in her hand a few times, looking like she was debating showing him. But eventually, she tossed the Pokeball on the ground, allowing her partner to come outside.

"Whimsicott!" Ash stared in surprise at the Windveiled Pokemon, which looked up at its trainer expectantly like it was waiting for some kind of order. Its cotton-like mane blew with a sudden gust of wind, and the Pokemon held onto the leg of the table, like it was afraid it was going to blow away.

"Uh…" He didn't really know what to say. This girl claimed to want to be a Sky Trainer - yet her Pokemon wouldn't even qualify for a Sky Battle. How was he supposed to help her achieve her dream if her partner wasn't even a Flying-type Pokemon?

"I know," she said, shaking out her long blueish-black hair and tossing it over her shoulder. "I told my parents I wanted my first Pokemon, and they returned with a Cottonee. A Cottonee!" she repeated, looking angry. "The first thing I did was evolve it. At least Whimsicott isn't as ugly as Cottonee."

From the way that Sable looked at her Pokemon like it was to blame for not being what she wanted, and the sadness evident in Whimsicott's eyes, it was easy to see that they were a mismatched pair. Whimsicott deserved to be with a Trainer that appreciated her for who and what she was, and Sable needed a Flying-type Pokemon. Ash knew already that one day, the two would part ways. He just hoped that it would be a mutual split, bringing happiness to both, rather than a classic case of Pokemon abandonment.

"Well thankfully, there's a lot more to being a Trainer than just battling!" Ash told her, determined to not let this get in the way of his duty as her instructor. "And there's also a lot you can learn about being a Sky Trainer, even without a Flying-type Pokemon."

"Don't you think I know that?" she snapped at him, looking rather intimidating even though Ash estimated she was several years younger than him. "My parents don't care if I know how to be a real Trainer or not, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn't pay you to teach me how to be a Sky Trainer. All they want is for me to learn how to battle. So just teach me that."

"You can't just start battling right away," Ash tried to explain to her. "You need to understand which Pokemon have advantages over each other and why, so that you can make smart choices when in battle. You need to have a solid understanding of types and abilities, and most importantly you need to understand your connection with your Pokemon partner. Without that connection, you might become a good battler, but never a great one."

"Great," Sable said, standing up in anger. "Come on," she said to her Whimsicott, who scrambled to get out of the way as the girl started towards her. "This is a waste of time. I just need to know...huh?" She stared at Ash, confused as to why he had just grabbed her arm.

"Wait," he said, his charming smile not fading for even an instant. "Just give me a chance. Your parents have prepaid me for three lessons. If you still think that listening to me is a waste of time after those three lessons, then you can walk away."

"And you won't tell my parents I want to be a Sky Trainer," she bargained, narrowing her eyes at him. "They can't know. They don't believe in non-traditional battles."

"Deal," Ash said, removing his hand from her arm and sticking it out for a handshake instead. Gingerly, Sable took it, still seeming unsure of her agreement. "But you have to actually try and take something away from these lessons. I can only teach you if you want to be taught."

"Fine." She turned around, once more taking a seat at the table. "Three lessons. But after that, I'm done."

SNAPSHOTS
Pokemon the Series: XY
XY029: Heroes - Friends and Faux Alike!

"Thanks a lot, Clemont. You saved the day!" Ash smiled at his friend, holding onto Pikachu, who had just bounded onto his shoulder.

"No," he said, looking sadly down at his invention. "In fact it was all my fault for building that robot." He was so ashamed of what he had done. He had allowed himself to believe in the scientists' words, so flattered by their praise that he didn't even stop to wonder how they known about him in the first place. If he had been more careful this never would have happened.

"But it was Team Rocket's fault," Serena told him, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Come on, you didn't do anything wrong!" Bonnie leaned towards her brother, hoping he would be able to see the truth in her words.

"Really?" Clemont asked, holding his invention in the air as he attempted to put it away. "Huh?" The Mechanical Absorber of Any Pokemon's Move suddenly seemed to be charged with electricity, visible currents running on the outside of the Model Two device. It didn't take long for it to explode, covering the whole area in a cloud of dark smoke.

"Oopsie doops," Bonnie said, looking at her brother, with his now-poofy hair and burnt-looking face and clothing. "Are you okay, Clemont?" He coughed violently in the aftermath of the explosion, leaving worried looks on everyone's faces. "Do you need your inhaler?"

"I'm fine," he managed to squeak out. He was always embarrassed when he had to use his inhaler, especially when he used it in front of other people. It made him even more uncomfortable if they were giving him concerned looks. Didn't they understand that their sympathy just made things worse? His asthma wasn't the only reason he had trouble breathing sometimes; his anxiety played a part as well, and though he had been taking strides towards recovery, he still felt nervous if people were watching him.

"Come on, guys," Ash said, drawing everyone's attention away from Clemont. "We should start heading back. It's getting kind of late." The group started walking away, Clemont trailing along behind them as he struggled to shove the broken bit of machinery back in his backpack.

Maybe people didn't always understand that he needed time alone after a failure such as this one, but Ash did. It seemed that Ash understood everything about him: his desire to take good care of his sister, his appreciation of science and technology, and even the panicked thoughts that sometimes ran through his head when they encountered new situations. So many times on their journey when he had doubted himself, Ash was there to support him and make him feel special, for once. He wished there was a way he could repay him for everything he did.

Struck by inspiration, he rummaged around in his backpack until he triumphantly pulled out a pencil and a sheet of graph paper. Ash should have hated him for assisting Team Rocket; yet even as they stood there with Pikachu in their clutches, he had taken the time to tell him that "science is so amazing!" Maybe the Mechanical Absorber of Any Pokemon's Move wasn't such a bad invention after all. Maybe it just needed a little work. Hadn't he heard somewhere that "third time's the charm"?

The sun was close to setting by the time he had finished with the brand new schematics, which he tucked away in one of the outer compartments of his backpack. He glanced over at Ash, wondering when or if he would take a break. While the girls seemed tired, he was still marching forward with a determined expression on his face, confident they could reach the Pokemon Center before nightfall.

He could have waited until Ash finally admitted they were too far away and they started setting up camp, but he wanted to show him now. He had made this for him, after all. It was the encouragement he needed to run forward, stopping in front of Ash as he held out his schematics in front of him. After a moment, he put down the paper, giving him the biggest smile he could possibly manage.

"Yeah!" Ash said, holding his fists in a victory pose. At the sudden noise, Serena and Bonnie looked up, pausing as they, too, glanced at the schematics. They didn't understand them, and Clemont was pretty sure Ash didn't actually understand them either, but he at least knew what it was supposed to be and was just as excited about it as Clemont was.

Ash stepped forward, his arms extended out as if for a hug. Blushing, Clemont turned around to face the path in front of them. It wasn't that he didn't like the extra attention he seemed to receive from Ash - in fact, sometimes he found himself craving it - but he wasn't used to the hugs that his friend so freely gave out. But even though he had avoided a full hug, he felt Ash's arm come to drape itself over his shoulder, and he smiled in spite of himself. No matter what, everything would be okay from now on.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Well, there you have it - the first chapter. I definitely published this a little earlier than I had intended, but it was important to me to get it out before the XY series ended and everyone forgot about Kalos.

The Snapshot is from one of my favorite moments in the entire series, the ending of episode XY029. That adorable smile of Clemont's will always have a home in my heart.

Stay tuned for Chapter 2, and thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!