Food, Glorious Food.

Ash & Serena OneShot

XY & Z Episode 61

Serena POV

There is nothing more that Ash Ketchum loved nothing more than good food and Pokemon, and Serena was determined to make this Valentine's Day special for him. She knew Ash. He loved the aroma of food, especially sweets. She had baked him cookies and a cake, that she had decorated herself, and given them to him as a gift for when he had helped her when she was little, when they had both attended Professor Oak's summer camp in Pallet Camp. She was going to make this Valentine's Day, one that she knew Ash wouldn't forget.

Ash POV

"Good morning, Pikachu." Ash yawned, as he rubbed his eyes. "Pika!" His lightning mouse partner responded. "Oh, that's right! It's Valentine's Day!" Ash said, throwing on his stomach tight black sleeveless tee. "I've got to get something for Serena and Bonnie!" I whispered to Pikachu. I looked around, making sure neither Bonnie nor Serena was in the room. Thankfully, I had remembered they had let me sleep after my Kalos league debut last night against Agatha.

Serena POV

I was in the kitchen, baking Ash a cake for Valentines Day with Fennekin and Panchum. "I hope Ash will like it!" I thought to myself, excitedly. I was humming softly to myself as I took the cake out of the oven, and began to frost it with Poke Puff Icing, the stuff that Ash and his Pokemon loved. The frosting was ice blue, like his eyes and I thought it quite fitting.

He was so attractive. "Oh fab, Serena, stop drooling on yourself," I told myself inwardly. His muscular, toned, and form fit body; the way his arms so naturally fit that sleeveless tee, his hat over that mess of unruly black Raven style hair, and that devilishly handsome smile. He was, in a word, perfect, in his own way. He had been in my thoughts every day since he'd helped me, since my view of the world changed, and since he helped me find my dream as a Pokemon performer. I decided today would finally be the Valentines Day I would tell Ash I liked him. I had been working up the courage for months now, but Ash seemed just as oblivious. I wrote him a note with the cake. I decided to slip it near the bottom of the cake so that he would see it when I wasn't there, so that it wouldn't be embarrassing. I went to go wake him up.

"Dear Ash,

Thank you so much for traveling with me through the Kalos Region. It has been so amazing for me to reconnect with you after all these years. I wanted to thank you for treating me so well, and for saving me when we were younger at Professor Oak's Pokemon Summer Camp. It really meant a lot to me. I made you this cake to show you how much I am so grateful to you for everything you've taught me and how amazing of a friend you've been. I didn't want to say this in front of the group, because I never could phrase it right, and I was nervous, but I think you're an amazing person. You're so kind and thoughtful, strong, sweet, and amazing. Ash, I have meaning to tell you something for a long time. I don't know how to tell you this, but I have liked you ever since Professor Oak's Summer Camp, and I always will. I think you are so genuine and your dream is very inspiring. I don't know how to tell you how I really feel, so I hope this will help...

*Flips card over to the back, pastes photo of just the two of them on the back, begins writing underneath it*

"Ash I don't know how to describe this feeling that I have...other than...I like you. I'm sorry I didn't have the guts to tell you, but I didn't know if you would feel the same way as I do, so I'm writing it out for you make sure you can understand…"

Underneath that she drew a heart and left this simple statement. "I love you, Ash. —-Serena."

Serena quietly walked up to Ash's room in the Pokemon center, but before she could even knock, she heard Ash from down the hall, and quickly hid the cake behind her back nimbly. Ash was out of breath and barely saw Serena as he rushed passed her, with Pikachu in tow.

"Ash?" She called after him. Ash turned slightly, and yelled out "I'll be back later Serena! I've got someone special I've got to do something for!" With that, he took off running. Serena stood there, chagrined, but also curious. "What did that mean?" She asked herself, cursing herself that she wanted to know how this "special" person was. "Ash" she whispered, "I hope you like this." With that, she disappeared into his room.

Normally, Ash's room was messy, with the covers undone and pillows strewn about the floor, but today everything was pristine, covers tucked in and pillows fluffed in advance. Why he had done that she wondered. There was also a folded piece of paper on his bedside table. She opened it curiously, believing it to be a note for Clement and Bonnie. She began reading curiously. "Serena," the note began. She gushed. The note was about her. She kept reading, now interested. "I have gone out to do some special training. Please don't come looking for me." Serena mentally kicked herself. This, coming from Ash, made her sad. Then she read the next line, prepared to throw away the note if Ash went on about his training, but it didn't. "Serena, I wanted to give you a present, so I'm sending you on a scavenger hunt." She read on, suddenly interested again. "Maybe it's to find him." She blushed heavily thinking of those many possibilities and read on. "Your first clue," the note read, "is Luvdisc." She heated up, mentally and physically. "Why would Ash be talking about that?" She said to herself, blushing madly. "Bonnie can help you," read the end of the note. She could almost here his voice, saying that in a very caring way.

Serena went to find Bonnie. She found the younger girl in her pajamas outside the room she and her brother Clemont shared. They were bickering as usual, this time about what to get for breakfast.

"Bagels and Lochs...and orange juice!"

"Soy Based Pancakes! They're healthy for you!"

On and on it went, until Bonnie noticed Serena standing there with a note in her hands.

"Hey Serena!" The younger blonde screamed happily, and ran up to hug here, "Happy Valentine's Day!" Serena smiled and giggled.

"You too, Bonnie!"

Clemont went white. "It's Valentine's Day?"

Both girls nodded. They heard Clemont mutter something and then go red in the face, quite literally. "Everything alright, big brother?" Bonnie smirked. "I...I gotta get going. I've got to find something. Clemontic gear on!" Clemont started to introduce his latest invention, "it's for Korri..." He stopped dead in his tracks. It was a gift, and both girls would realize if he told them. "Gotta go. Catch you both later." And with that, he was off. Bonnie and Serena were left alone outside in the hallway.

"That boy sometimes..." Bonnie muttered.

Serena giggled. "Actually Bonnie, I came to find you. I need your help."

Bonnie turned and giggled. "You want to find Ash right?" She guessed. "How could you possibly have that kind of intuition?" Serena blushed.

"A girl always knows." Bonnie responded, grinning, "and I may have already read the note." Serena hadn't noticed that Bonnie had taken it from her when she and Serena were talking to Clemont.

"R-right," she said shakily, feeling guilty and abashed that Bonnie had already read the first hint. "S-so, where do you think he is?"

"It's so cute how you do that." Bonnie teased.

"BONNIE!" Serena flushed.

"Sorry," Bonnie giggled. Both girls laughed.

"He said the first hint was Luvdisc, that's so romantic, don't you think?" Bonnie chided her. Serena glared at her in response, her face a deep shade of Crimson, as if she were sick. "Lovesick," Bonnie whispered, giggling. Serena's face and body couldn't have felt more warm.

"I know the nearest place that has them, the Pokemon Center, they have a fish-tank full of them. Let's go!" Bonnie said as she grabbed Serena's wrist.

(Time skip of 5 minutes or so from their rooms to the Pokemon Center main lobby.)

"Hi girls, sleep well?" Nurse Joy asked them as soon as she saw them approaching.

"Yeah! Definitely! Thanks for the hospitality!" Serena responded for both of them.

"Oh you're very welcome girls, Happy Valentine's Day!" She responded happily. "You do know that there is a Valentine's Day Ball tonight, right?"

"L-like a...a...d-dance?" Serena asked.

Nurse Joy smiled sweetly at her in reply, and Bonnie elbowed her and smirked at her mischievously. "Yeah, a dance." Bonnie really put a lot of emphasis on the word 'dance.' Serena went bright red.

"It's called the Luvdisc Valentine's Ball after-all." Thoughts were racing through her mind. "Is that what Ash meant? Is he inviting me to the dance...with him...as...his...date?" She let that sink into her mind. It was too much to think about. That would be so...just the two of them...it would be...the perfect time to..."ugh, Serena?" Bonnie said, tugging on the older girls arm. "Oh sorry, I was...thinking." Serena said, absentmindedly. Bonnie giggled again. Serena frowned at her. "N-n..not about him!" She said, a little too loudly. "Suuuurrre you weren't." Bonnie laughed aloud. The thoughts flooded her head. It made her feel dizzy with excitable happiness.

The realization suddenly dawned upon her. Was it really possible? She went bright red again. She said it to herself of course, not wanting Bonnie to hear. "Unfortunately the admittance to the dance requires you to own a luvdisc, which is no problem for you." Serena blinked twice, trying to internalize what Nurse Joy had just said, "but...but I don't own a luvdisc." Nurse Joy winked at her. "Not yet you don't," she whispered, turning around so as to not have Serena hear as she turned back to her Pokemon healing machines. Serena could've sworn she saw Nurse Joy wink at her during her explanation. Was she trying to tell her something? Bonnie, meanwhile, had walked to the luvdisc tank in the lobby. "Nurse Joy?" She called, in almost sing-songy voice. She was way too...happy...more energetic than she'd ever been. Did she...know something? "Was there mail dropped off here last night?" The question brought her back to Earth.

"As a matter of fact, there was!" She replied turning around with a smile. "Serena, this came for you last night. Serena turned and saw a PokeBall covered in heart shaped stickers with a white parchment attached to the bottom with a blue ribbon, one that reminded her so much of his ribbon, one that allowed for that effect upon release of her Pokemon during performances. "Who...who was it sent by?" She asked. "I don't think I have a PokeBall like this."

"It was sent here last night from Pallet Town." Serena did a quick mental calculation. It was Ash's hometown. She blushed even harder. Was it possible? Her train of thought was cut off when Nurse Joy explained, "it arrived here with instructions to give it to you in a way that was surprising, and it came with this note."

Serena unwrapped the note carefully and began to read. "Serena," it read. "This is a luvdisc I caught back at Professor Oak's summer camp when you and I were there. I named it Serena..." She stopped reading, joyous tears brimming passed her tear-ducts and onto her cheeks. Bonnie noticed. It came with a small package attached with the pokeball holding the luvdisc. Something told Serena that she should probably open that package in private.

"Everything ok, Serena?" She breathed in and stopped the tears. "Yeah Bonnie, I...I'm just...overwhelmed. I mean...by the gift..." She spoke quietly, and turned back to the note. She read on. "I wanted to give you this because it's the key to you getting into the dance." She blushed. "I caught this one way back then because it shares your qualities. I hope you like it. Yours Truly, Ash." Her eyes drifted to the bottom of the paper.

"P.S. Serena, for you, the sky is truly the limit, and like the electricity between people, that is what gives us our spark. That's your next hint. Find Clemont and he will help you." Serena gushed, and muttered, "gives US OUR spark. Is he talking about him and I...being...being MORE than just friends?" She silently inwardly screamed to himself, blushing hard. On the back of the note was a blue suede ribbon with the initials SY, or Serena Yvonne, printed on it in pink writing, the very same ribbon he had gifted her, "as a symbol of our friendship." She repeated that line over and over again to herself. "Ash really does care!"

Bonnie was looking over her shoulder. Her bond with Serena was sisterly, so she felt what Serena was feeling, which was a sense of awe. "It says to go find Clemont. He is part of the next hint." She told Bonnie. "Maybe that's why he was in such a rush this morning." Bonnie took hold of Serena's wrist and they rushed off to find Clemont.

Meanwhile, Ash was, well, training. He hadn't lied to Serena. He WAS training, but today was for a special reason. "Alright Hawlucha use aerial ace! Greninja form your frubbles into a heart shape and use water shuriken!" The end result was a giant heart shape in the sky lit on fire, then ending in a bunch of smaller hearts fall away like fireworks in the night sky, "the desires of passion" look Ash had been going for all along, which, thanks to Hawlucha's aerial ace, spelled out 'Happy Valentine's Day, Serena!'

"Perfect." Ash muttered to himself. "Alright guys, let's break for a while and see if we can get our other training accomplished so that we're ready for our next gym battle!" Truth was, though, Ash had been working tirelessly to perfect his Valentine's Day Move, the Ultimate Gift, which he aptly named it, and of course it was also for Serena, so it gave him a little extra energy. He didn't know why exactly, but he wanted this Valentine's Day to be better than any other before. He was exhausted though, from training all day. He needed a break, but he wasn't about to give up on training for the day, until he heard an explosion coming from their room upstairs. He heard Clemont scream. "Another invention gone awry." Ash guessed to himself, but ran to see what the confusion was about. When he got there, he stopped dead in his tracks. It was Team Rocket!

"Prepare for trouble."

"Yes and make that double."

"To protect the world from Valentine's Day,"

"To take all their dopey presents away!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above..."

"It's Jessie!"

"The name's James!"

"And Meowth,"

"We're Team Rocket, and we're in your face!"

"Not you guys again!" Ash shouted angrily. "What do you want?"

"We're here for your Valentine's Day Presents." Jessie laughed evilly.

"Yeah, and we're going to take them to the boss! Me-owth that's right!" Meowth cawed.

"Oh not you're not! Pikachu use thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

"Oh no you don't! Wobuffet use protect!"

The thunderbolt bounced harmlessly off of Wobuffet's protect, and bounced back at Pikachu, lifting the small electric mouse Pokémon off its feet as it was smashed into the wall of the Pokémon center room.

"Pikachu!" Ash screamed, launching himself to catch his falling buddy.

"Chespin, use pin missile!" Clemont yelled from the back of the room. He had gotten behind Team Rocket in the aftermath of the explosion they used to confuse him and steal his Pokémon, and was able release Chespin, who had been in its pokeball in Clemont's pocket. The attack shielded Ash and Pikachu.

"Okay, inkay, use sludge bomb!" James ordered.

"Bunnelby, use mudshot!" Clemont yelled in rebuttal.

Ash, who had caught Pikachu, rolled to a stop before getting to his feet. They gathered themselves as the smoke cleared.

"Greninja, use aerial ace! Then use your frubbles on wobuffet!

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!"

The lightning bolt hit Team Rocket squarely and, just like always, they screamed as they were thrown into the air, "We're blasting off again!"

Meanwhile, in her and Bonnie's shared room, Serena touched the ribbon carefully, trying to tuck it into her dress. The ribbon suddenly unraveled, and, as if by magic, became a pretty blue bow. It was a diamond encrusted bow spelling out the name 'Serena.' She gazed in awe. This was by far the greatest gift she had ever been given, and it was Ash who was giving it to her. Her whole face was red now. She hoped Bonnie didn't notice just how red it was. She couldn't believe it. The package, which lay unopened besides her beckoned her attention. She unwrapped it just as carefully as she did the box with the ribbon on it. Upon doing so, she gasped. Inside were a pair of blue suede high heels. "How much did these cost?" She said aloud. They were also diamond studded with her name on them. A note was attached to the bottom of one of the heels. The front of the note was blank, so she flipped it to the back of the note. Upon turning the note over, she found a clue. "I thought you'd like those heels. They'll look great on you, but especially when you're dancing." She blushed heavily, yet it struck her as odd that Ash was putting in this much effort. True, she was beyond thrilled that he was, but Serena still wondered what this was all about. She had been throwing him hints for some time now. Was he…was he finally picking up on her signals? Was he told by Bonnie or Clemont? What if…what if Miette told him? No, no. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Could he? Serena sighed and shook her head. She was worrying too much. She knew Ash, and if he was making this much of an effort, it had to mean something. She sighed again and went to wake Bonnie who was napping, to find Clemont.