For Each Other

An Amourshipping Fanfiction

Chapter 2: A Persuasion

"Serena, you need something?" Ash asked.

"No, not really," Serena replied, smiling wryly. As she had been unable to walk, her friends had taken it upon themselves to make sure that she didn't leave her bed. It was very sweet, but rather annoying at times, as she was bored out of her mind. She felt helpless. Utterly, totally helpless. Who knew that a sprained ankle could leave someone so helpless? She looked over, and saw Ash staring wistfully out of the window. He must be missing his mom. She had an idea.

"No way,". That was Ash's first reply when she proposed her idea. "Serena, we can't," Clemont protested. "Yeah, what kind of friends would we be? We can't leave you behind!" Bonnie cried, reaching over and grabbing Serena's hand. "Come on, guys!" Serena said. "It's only another three days!" "Piika," Pikachu said mournfully. "Serena, we can't just leave you here," Ash said, frowning. "Ash, you miss your mom, and you've been talking about this for the past two weeks. I'll catch up. I know where you stay," she pointed out. Ash shook his head. "Besides, you have to train. At this rate, you won't make it in time for the Kalos League, and you mom said you had to arrive as soon as you can as she was making something special for you!" Serena said triumphantly. Ash scowled. "'Kay," he said. "We'll leave tomorrow," he said, but he didn't look too happy about it. "I'll miss you," Bonnie said sadly. Squishy gurgled, and Dedenne didn't look too happy either. "Well, we still have the whole day left!" Ash said brightly. "Let's do something!"

Ash didn't like Serena's idea one bit. Leaving her behind, especially when she was hurt, made him feel like the worst friend ever. He had tried to convince himself that it would be okay, but for once his optimism failed him. He had tried to make Serena rethink her idea, but she was pretty stubborn. She looked really cute like that. Wait, what? Where did that come from? He pushed it out of his mind and decided to focus on spending more time with Serena and making this day loads of fun… while it lasted.

"All right then," Serena said briskly the next morning. "Time for you guys to get going,". The others frowned. "Are you sure?" Clemont asked. "Yep. I'll be fine, Clemont," she said, mild exasperation creeping into her voice. Ash scowled, but he didn't say a word. "'Kay then," he said.

"Let's go,".

After watching the others become dark specks on the horizon, Serena wondered what she was going to do. "Let's see," she said to herself. "I need to trim Braixen's fur, clean Pancham's glasses, brush Sylveon's coat and clean its feelers, bake more macarons, polish my Princess Keys, call Mom and tell her what's up, and I need more soap and I might as well wash my Performing outfit while I have the time," she mused to herself. With a little difficulty, she got up and limped her way to the kitchen, and busied herself with baking macarons for dessert while Clemont would do dinner. She winced. Clemont wasn't here, he was somewhere else. It looked like she had food duty on her shoulders as well.

Ash, Bonnie and Clemont walked along the road to Anistar City, and Ash felt dull without Serena. Everyone felt it. They missed the cheerful tap-tap-tap of her feet as she worked out a routine, her humming, her happy smile and just that general aura of cheer and warmth that she exuded so effortlessly. The sun didn't shine as brightly. The brilliant green of the forest felt muted. The Pokemon seemed quieter. It just didn't feel the same without Serena. Bonnie kept looking up, as if she expected Serena to be there, and looked down dejectedly. Clemont looked as sad as his sister felt. Ash felt weary already. He couldn't stop worrying. What if she fell down again? What if... He shook his head. Worrying wasn't going to bring her here. "Clemont, let's have a battle!" he said, trying to cheer the group up. It worked. Clemont and Bonnie brightened immediately, and soon they were chatting about different ways to battle and their Pokemon's talents and weak points. But a small part of Ash still sighed dejectedly. No amount of battling would bring her here.

After eating a meal she cooked all by herself, Serena busied herself with doing her daily chores, but she felt lonely. She missed Bonnie teasing her about her crush on Ash, Clemont constantly blowing up inventions, Ash's heart-melting grin, Chespin's unhealthy addiction to food… Serena shook herself. They weren't here. They were going to Kanto, and she would join them in a little while. What would Ash do right now? He wouldn't worry! Neither would she.

"All right then! Battle… begin!" Bonnie called out excitedly. "Chespin, I choose you!" Clemont shouted, while Ash flung Hawlucha's Pokeball out.

"Use Pin Missile!" Clemont shouted.

"Dodge it and use Karate Chop!" Ash flashed back.

Hawlucha successfully dodged Chespin's attack and landed a good hit on it. However, Clemont retaliated with a Vine Whip which caused equal damage. The fierce battle ensued, with Clemont and Ash pushing their Pokemon to the limit. "Chespin, Pin Missile, one more time!" Clemont yelled. "Dodge it!" Ash yelled. The Pin Missiles flew into the forest and created a huge explosion. The smoke cleared, and for a minute the forest was still.

"SCOLA!"

"Oh, no," Ash muttered.

A horde of angry Scolipede rushed into the clearing, looking angry. Chespin's Pin Missile must have provoked them. Ash noticed something strange. The stripes on the Scolipede's horns weren't their normal colour. They were white. But there was no time to worry about that right now. The largest Scolipede at the very front, probably the leader, was looking at Chespin, having identified where the offending attack had come from. With dazzling speed and strength, the Pokemon reared up and fired a volley of Poison Stings directly at Chespin, and for good measure, fired another volley in all directions. Everyone shrieked and ducked, with Clemont yelling for Chespin to dodge. Thankfully, it did.

"Everybody, RUN!" Ash yelled and sprinted into the forest, running as fast as he could, Bonnie at his heels, along with Pikachu on his other side. Even Clemont ran fast for once. They all hurtled into the Pokemon Centre and slammed the door shut behind them. Suddenly, Pikachu let out a low groan and keeled to the side. "Pikachu!" Ash yelped, kneeling at its side. His eyes raked over the little electric type's body, and landed on its tail. Ash felt horror wash through him. At the very base of its tail, shining a ghastly shade of purple, was a Poison Sting.

Nurse Joy was at their side in an instant. Without another word she picked Pikachu up and raced inside, Wigglytuff behind her, while the others watched and waited.

"Pikachu," Ash whispered miserably as he stared down at his best friend, now in a glass incubation area. Its breathing was stertorous, the face a sick shade of blue. "Tell me exactly what happened," Nurse Joy told him. Ash recounted the whole story for her. She was frowning by the end of it. "This forest is known for that line of Scolipede. They have extraordinarily powerful poison, only known to affect electric, grass, fairy and flying types. Unfortunately, there is another thing about the poison that you should know about," she said.

"What is it?" Clemont asked.

"It's immune to most antidotes, and the only one that it's susceptible to grows at Jewel Town," Nurse Joy said, frowning.

Author's Note: A warm welcome to you all! So Pikachu has been poisoned, and the cure all the way at Jewel Town. What's going to happen next? Find out… in the next chapter! The next chapter will be another important one, and the promise between Ash and Serena will play a big role. Now, before I vanish into thin air for another week, I would like to thank all of the awesome people who have given this story their support. You guys are simply wonderful. Bye for now, and see you all on Sunday!

Please review and keep smiling,

Leaflame.