Ash Ketchum was in his house, staring at his phone just like a stereotypical teenager. Since he was sixteen years old himself, this should have come as no surprise to anyone.

He was on his summer vacation, and he didn't have a job or anything like that. This meant that he could essentially do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Within reason, of course; he wasn't going to break the law.

He dialled the number and waited. While he waited for the answer to the call, he agonized over what the person on the other end might say.

She might tell Ash that she was too busy, or that she simply wasn't interested. Ash's heart was practically a metronome with how fast it was beating. All he wanted was to persuade her that they should go for a nice late afternoon trip to the park, maybe train their Pokemon a little.

Fortunately, he got lucky. "Hello?" said the voice on the other end. It was the voice of Serena Courtland.

"Good afternoon, Serena" Ash replied, trying to sound as formal as possible. He'd always been told that, when you were trying to ask a girl out, it was always best to sound as dignified as you could. That didn't mean you had to put on a fake accent, but it did mean that you had to sound like you cared about them.

But I'm not asking her out, Ash told himself. We're just going to hang out at a park, it's not like we're having a private dinner at some fancy restaurant. She's not my crush, not my love interest.

He might have repeatedly tried to assure himself that that wasn't the case, but he kept having doubts about that. Perhaps he really was in love with Serena, because, sometimes, it sure felt that way.

"What's up, Ash? Why did you call me?"

"I was wondering", he replied, "if you'd like to head to the park with me. We could train our Pokemon against each other, get them some exercise and fresh air".

"Sounds really nice, actually" Serena said. "I'll meet you there in twenty minutes".

Ash pumped his fist in celebration, but he didn't make any audible sounds. He didn't want to sound too triumphant, because then Serena might suspect something...but what, exactly?

I don't really care, to be honest, Ash thought to himself. All I know is that it's going to be a great time.

Five minutes later, Ash knew it was about time for him to start heading towards the park. Both him and Serena lived close to Gardenia's Central Park, Gardenia being the small suburban town that both of them had grown up in. Therefore, it wouldn't take too long to get there, but he knew that it wouldn't do to be late, even if this wasn't a romantic date.

He grabbed his Pokeball from off the kitchen table and kissed his mother Delia goodbye before heading out the back door. It was then that he began making his way towards the park.

As soon as he was out of the house, he pressed the button on his Pokeball, and there was almost immediately a flash of cyan light. Ash's Pikachu, one he'd named Coyopa after an ancient God of thunder, was ejected from the Pokeball and standing right in front of Ash.

"What's going on?" Coyopa asked his master. "Why did you let me out of my Pokeball?"

"We're going to meet up with Serena at the park" Ash replied. "You would like that, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, sounds really nice" Coyopa replied. "Let's go".

The two of them walked towards the park. Since it was late afternoon on a weekday, they had to be somewhat careful as they crossed the streets, since there was a good amount of traffic on the roads.

It was also slightly annoying that it was five or six in the afternoon, which, during this time of year, meant that the sun was right in their eyes. Ash wished he'd thought to bring sunglasses, but, at this point, that would have meant that he'd be late for his date with Serena.

But it's not a date, he reminded himself. We're just hanging out.

"You look nervous" Coyopa told Ash.

"I am" Ash replied, which was a big mistake. Even though Coyopa was usually very nice to his master, there were the times when he liked to embarrass him.

The Pikachu looked directly at Ash and said, "Are you in love with Serena?"

Ash could feel his face flush as he replied, "No, I'm not! What gave you that idea? We're just friends, that's all".

"You sure?" Coyopa asked him. "Sometimes it doesn't seem that way".

"Trust me, it's just that. We're just friends, Serena and I".

"Whatever" the Pikachu replied. "Suit yourself, but it's not healthy to keep lying to yourself, Ash. At some point, you should admit the truth".

"But that is the truth" Ash said. "I'm not attracted to her romantically, I just like hanging out with her, you know?"

"Whatever you say, pal" Coyopa replied. He then looked away from his master as they made the last crossing that they'd need to make before arriving at Central Park. It appeared as though that conversation was over, but you couldn't always tell with Coyopa. Sometimes, he could be very aggressive indeed in his pursuit of answers from Ash.

Gardenia's Central Park was a large, grassy field that had a baseball diamond, tennis courts, a basketball court, a large field for Pokemon and people to run around in, and, of course, battling courts, the thing that would prove the most useful for Ash and Coyopa today.

Where's Serena?, Ash wondered. Casting a cursory glance at the battling courts, he didn't see any signs of the girl. Granted, she might not be there yet, but, in Ash's experience, she was usually quite punctual, arriving almost anywhere on time no matter what.

Relax, Ash, he told himself, glancing at Coyopa, who was now happily frolicking around in the field. She's probably not here yet, even if that's pretty unlike her.

Still, he felt that somehow, he should have been more specific about which park it was. She could easily have been thinking of another one; it wasn't too far-fetched.

And then she appeared, standing right behind Ash. He'd first noticed a tap on his shoulder, and then he'd turned around, looking for the source of said tap.

"Got you!" Serena exclaimed, laughing. Her gray eyes were shining as bright as they normally did, with her blonde hair cascading down her face in a pattern that made her look extremely attractive.

But this isn't a date, he told himself. We're just hanging out.

"Hey, Serena" Ash said. "I see you brought Kalokalo with you".

Standing next to Serena was a Piplup that Ash knew belonged to the girl. Kalokalo looked very excited about something, but exactly what it was was a mystery to Ash. Really, it could have been just about anything.

"Yeah" Serena replied. "I did bring Kalokalo with me. You did want to train our Pokemon, after all".

Truth be told, Ash had gotten a little rusty on that detail. He had clearly not been thinking as plainly as he could have been had he not been worried about when Serena would come.

"Yeah. Coyopa's right here".

The two of them walked over to the battling courts, during which time they took the time to catch up with one another.

Ash and Serena had been very good friends since kindergarten, but their friendship had only grown in the last few years, and especially now that they'd started high school. On this particular day that our story starts, it was the middle of June, and they had both gotten out of 9th grade two weeks earlier.

On many occasions, they would go to each other's houses to work on homework together, or even just to hang out and play video games.

But I want something more, Ash wondered. I want to go on an adventure with her. But today, we're just hanging out. Yes.

They reached the battling courts, which had fences around them just like tennis courts did. Really, they didn't look too differently from tennis courts, except that the center of the court was in the pattern of a Pokeball, and there was no net.

"All right" Ash said. "Should we agree on rules for this battle?"

"Yes" Serena replied, addressing both Coyopa and Kalokalo. Her voice, while it was sweet, was also quite commanding, and both Pokemon looked directly at her when she said this.

"Nothing is off-limits", Ash said, "but you will only attempt to knock each other out. You will not attempt to kill each other".

Of course, it wasn't as though Coyopa and Kalokalo didn't both know this. It was common knowledge among everyone in this world that, a very long time ago, humans and Pokemon had had a violent, bloody past in terms of their relations with each other. There had been a great many wars.

Battling, as opposed to those wars, was far more playful in nature. It was considered a way to satiate Pokemon desires to fight without anyone getting killed. Somehow, it had become a very popular pastime, especially among young men and women throughout the world.

Everyone aspired to become a Pokemon Master. That could be achieved by defeating all of the gym leaders in the various regions of the world, and it certainly wasn't an easy task. It was an ambition Ash had always had, but he knew that he'd never really be able to live up to said ambition.

After all, he had school. When he was an adult, which was only a few years from now, he'd have taxes, bills, and a lifestyle to front. He just wouldn't have the time to travel the world all the time.

But man, he thought. I sure as hell want to travel the world...maybe with Serena. But today, we're just hanging out.

Just hanging out.

"Ash, you okay?" Serena asked him, bringing everyone's favorite trainer back to Earth.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Ash replied. "I was just...thinking about something".

"Okay, then" Serena replied. "In that case, let's go, Kalokalo!"

The Piplup started by using Pound against Coyopa. The Pikachu hadn't been able to dodge the attack, so he ended up taking a small amount of damage. The exact amount wasn't clear, but he stumbled a bit before regaining his balance.

It was then that Coyopa used Thunder Shock against Kalokalo. However, the Piplup was able to dodge it relatively easily, and Ash was starting to wonder if his Pikachu was going to be able to win.

Granted, it was a low-stakes battle. It wasn't as though Serena was a gym leader, she was just a girl from Gardenia who enjoyed battling. She shouldn't have been making him so anxious.

The battle continued on, and the moves both Pokemon were using became more and more advanced. It was like a cold war of sorts, with both sides building up towards what Ash knew would be an epic finish.

Eventually, Ash had an idea. He decided that he'd wait until the battle was over to broach the subject, however.

In fact, he'd been turning the idea over and over in his mind, like a beautiful stone you might find on the shore of a rocky beach, for some time now. He kept wondering if it was the right time to bring it up, and every time he saw Serena, he decided that the risk was too great.

Because it involved Serena. It involved himself, too, but he knew that the number one person who would need to agree with it was Serena.

Now was probably as good a time as any to bring it up. They were just relaxing on a fine early summer evening in the park, and both of them were in good moods. If not now, he might never get the chance.

But he saw Coyopa and Kalokalo still duking it out on the battling court, and he knew that it was a conversation he'd have to wait to have. Maybe just a few minutes, but timing was everything.

After the battle, he thought. After the battle is over, I'll tell her.

I've been having writer's block, but I think this idea is going to work out. I hope that I can entertain the denizens of this site with the images that I transfer from my brain onto your computer screen.

In other news, I'm just going through college applications, and anyone who's gone through that process knows how stressful it can be. I might do a gap year first, meaning that I'll be 20 once I start college if I do decide to take that route. We'll see what happens.

Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this.