Author's Note:

Okay, this one is going to be a little different, mainly because this will be where Angie develops her crush on Ash. I know it should technically be the next chapter, but that is when jealousy with kick in. I look forward to that very much. I also want to point out that even if Ash doesn't realise Angie's crush, it isn't because he's dense. It will have a proper explanation, and it will link back to events from the Wallace Cup arc.

I do not own Pokemon... I know it is a CRUSHING truth (sorry for the bad pun)


Chapter 8: Up Close and Personable

"Oh, I love you Serena..." Ash murmured in his sleep.

Brock sweat dropped as he stood over his travelling companions bed. He was glad their other roommate left before this started. Pikachu was on Brock's shoulder with a disapproving look. Ash his holding his pillow like it is his girlfriend and between kissing and cuddling it, he continues to murmur stuff like that. It is clear what he is dreaming about.

The Pokemon breeder couldn't help but lightly chuckle to himself. For a long time, he was slightly jealous that both Misty and May seemed to have feelings for the raven-haired boy, although the water type trainer would never admit it and ended up with Tracey, but Ash seemed to be stuck with the greatest density on the planet. But after meeting Serena and seeing the two together, he can completely understand why Ash did what he did. After all, he too is travelling to find true love, although difference is Ash already knew who he was searching for.

"We don't need to get up yet, Serena." Ash mumbled. "Let's just cuddle for a few more minutes.".

Brock looked at Pikachu, who looked back. Well, it is time to wake the raven-haired boy up.

"Can you wake him Pikachu, while I finish getting ready?" Brock asked.

The smirked the electric type wore told the breeder he was more than happy to take on this job. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's bed while Brock turned and bent down to check his backpack had everything.

"Pika-Chu!" He heard the familiar cry, followed by the crackle of a Thunderbolt and the thud of Ash hitting the floor. Good to know Ash is up, before he eloped with that pillow of his.


"Now what do you say to something a little different?" Rowan asked.

After breakfast, and meeting up with the girls, all the students were taken to a nearby lake and were currently stood in their respective groups.

"Today I would like you to observe the water type Pokemon in this lake." Rowan explained.

"Now as you can see, these waters are filled with many types of water Pokemon. So, the chose of which kind of Pokemon is completely up to you." An assistant continued. "You may show your findings in a report; sketch or anyway you choose but your grade will be based on the final presentation. You may work separately or in a group if you like.".

"But, because the water Pokemon are still under observation you can't catch them." Rowan informed.

"Also, please remember that leaving the area is forbidden unless given permission." The assistant added. "Priority one is safety first.".

"Right, let's get to some water Pokemon." Ash declared as he prepared to run towards the lake. "Pikachu, let's check out some water Pokemon and get ourselves an A+.".

"Well, you're not going to get away from me." Angie jumped up, equally as determined. "Let's go Shinx.".

Serena couldn't help but cutely giggle at her boyfriend's antics. This reminded her so much of the summer camp where they met and Angie is just like how Gary use to be, except she hasn't teased them about being boyfriend and girlfriend like used to do. She stood up next.

"Don't forget us." Serena replied with a radiant smile, and Fennekin in her arms.

"Us two." Dawn stood up. "What do you say we beat them all Piplup?".

"Shinx Shinx." Shinx barked happily.

"Fenne-kin." Fennekin added, happily.

"Piplup." Piplup pounded his chest, proudly.

"Right, off you go." Rowan instructed.

The group made their way over to the lake side. Serena looked around while Ash stood next to her, doing the same thing. Their hands locked together, although no-one seemed to notice, as everyone was looking for Pokemon. Soon an Azumaril popped out of the water.

"Awe, such a cutie." Serena code as she kneeled down to the Pokemon's level, forcing her to let go off Ash's hand.

"Cool, an Azumaril." Ash added as he scanned the water fairy type with his Pokedex:

Azumaril, the Aqua Rabbit Pokémon. Azumaril lives in rivers and lakes, and while in water its body colour and pattern confuses its enemies.

"You sound like a strong Pokemon." Ash commented as he saw the potential ability Hugh Power.

Azumaril responded by firing a Water Gun in Ash's face, causing him to fall on his behind. Serena laughed at her boyfriend's misfortune.

"Your funny too." Serena added as she laughed more at her boyfriend's pout. Hearing her laugh brought a smile to Ash's face. Azumaril liked that compliment and jumped onto Serena's knee and while cuddling up to the honey blonde girl, fired another Water Gun at Ash. "Hehehe, sorry Ash but I don't think this Azumaril likes you.".

"Don't worry, Serena." Ash reassured. "I'll just need to find another Pokemon.".

Ash stood up and walked over to Brock who had a towel to lend him. Ash used it and dried himself up before himself; Brock; Dawn and Angie walked around the lake edge looking at the Pokemon. Soon Ash spotted a couple of pedal boats shaped like Lanturn's.

"Wow, I bet those would be a blast." Ash exclaimed.

"They would be a great way to observe Pokemon." Dawn added.

"They sure would." Angie added.

Off in the distance, Pikachu saw a shining light which diluted his eyes in a hypnotic way. The electric mouse Pokemon started mindlessly walking towards the source. Ash was shocked and kneeled down by his best friend who was stood at the water's edge.

"Hey, are you okay Pikachu?" Ash asked, shaking his starter. That snapped Pikachu out of it.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked.

"You were acting weird." Ash informed his electric type before both of them looked back to source. "That's strange, I wonder what that light was.".

"Hey Ash..." Angie approached nervously. "Wanna take a boat with me?".

In truth, since the revaluation yesterday about Ash being the only person to conquer Kanto's battle frontier, she has been a little intimidated by him. Looking back, while she didn't start every argument she didn't make things easy for him either and he has achieved something she could only dream of. It is clear who the most experienced is, and even if she won't admit it to his face (or anyone else), she might have a slight crush on the boy. Maybe she could get help from either Dawn or Serena since they are travelling with him and Brock. Oh, and Serena even has her own boyfriend (although Angie was never told the boy's name) so maybe they could double date and...

"Sure, let's go." Ash replied confidently. He has no problems taking a boat ride with her, after all it is for the project and it wouldn't be any different than taking one with Dawn or anyone else.

"So, Dawn, lets grab the other one." Brock suggested.

"Right." Dawn replied.


Soon the two boats were out in the water. Serena decided that she would go and get changed so she could go swimming with Azumaril, who was happy to spend time with the honey blonde girl.

As they were sailing out, the two boats started to slowly move apart as to not scare away the Pokemon. Ash and Angie saw Pokemon like: Horsea; Seel and Chinchou while Brock and Dawn saw Pokemon like: Kingler; Huntail and Shelder. Soon a Dewgong burst out of the water in front of Ash and Angie, splashing them both.

"What's that?" Angie asked.

"A Dewgong." Ash replied, excited. "And really healthy one too, you can tell by its horn. I know, I will observe it for my project.".

"Sounds like a plan to me." Angie encouraged. Her attention was drawn to another nearby Pokemon. "And that?".

"A Sealeo, cool." Ash answered.

"Wow a Sealeo huh." Angie replied. "That is one strong and healthy Pokemon for sure. Of course, that's the perfect choice for me.". The two started observing their respective water ice types.

"What's that?" Dawn asked, as a pink pokemon floated by.

"A Gorebyss." Brock replied.

"Wow..." Dawn replied, pulling out her Pokedex, but Conway floated next to them in a one-person paddle boat, beating the device.

"Gorebyss, the South Sea Pokemon. Its long, beautiful pink body is more vivid in the springtime." Conway explained.

"What do you want?" Dawn asked, creeped out by his sudden appearance.

"To offer my help." Conway replied, affirmatively. "My encyclopaedic mind of Pokemon is yours for the asking.". Conway paddled away, as both Dawn and Brock sweat dropped.

"I'm going to observe that Gorebyss, it's the prettiest thing." Dawn told Brock, trying to ignore all thoughts of Conway.

"Well as for me..." Brock replied, looking around for another Pokemon. A water electric type swam by. "Chinchou, it's a done deal.".

As Ash and Angie drew their respective subjects, the two water ice types grew board and swam off in opposite directions. Ash and Angie tried to watch them, but ended up bashing heads, literally.

"Your blocking my view of the Dewgong." Ash told Angie, angrily.

"Well my Sealeo went the other way." Angie retorted. While she was secretly ecstatic at the close proximity of Ash, her stubborn nature just had to start up. The two started fighting about which one to follow. Soon the two looked over at the other one's work.

"Okay I give, what's that?" Ash asked, trying not to laugh.

"I was going to ask you the same question." Angie replied.

Ash frowned, he is actually a half decent draw but truthfully, he started daydreaming about Serena and sketched a portrait of her from memory, when he realised how much time he wasted, he quickly drew Dewgong which turned out to be a rushed mess.

"Come on, this looks like a great Dewgong." Ash replied. He knows this is no-where near his best but he doesn't want to admit the truth to his new rival. So far Angie is acting like Gary, and Ash can only imagine the embarrassment if either of his rivals figured the truth out.

"Well mine is the spitting image of a Sealeo." Angie retorted.

"Yeah, what picture are you looking at?" Ash laughed. "Looks like a snowman to me.".

"Better to look like a snowman then an alien." Angie retorted.

"Says who!?" Ash asked, angrily.

"Says me." Angie replied.

Ash angrily scribbled out his picture of Dewgong.

"If we give Professor Rowan these sketches, were going to flunk." Ash exclaimed. "I think writing the observations up would be better.". Quite honestly his mind is still focused on Serena, so Ash is hoping that by sitting down to write he can focus on the task at hand.

"Okay then." Angie replied. Truthfully, she would like to go for a swim with the Pokemon, but part of her realised that is only her crush trying to get Ash to notice her, and she isn't going to give herself away by suggesting such a thing, so she is happy to play along.

The four of them made their way back to land where they sat on the grass and started writing about their chosen water Pokemon. Brock noticed Ash had took one sheet of paper out of his notepad and folded it into his pocket. The breeder's curiosity grew, as he wanted to know what the Pokemon master is hiding.

As Serena and Azumaril were floating in the water, Conway paddled next to them.

"You know, Azumaril has recently had its type changed to the newly discovered fairy type." Conway informed.

"What do you want, Conway?" Serena asked in an annoyed tone.

"To offer my help." Conway replied, affirmatively. "My encyclopaedic mind of Pokemon is yours for...". Conway was cut off.

"I already have a boyfriend." Serena deadpanned. What is the quickest way to get rid of a creep, the boyfriend card. Now that she finally has Ash she won't need to worry about him anymore, and she isn't going to worry about Conway either.

"Very good." Conway replied, with a sweat drop and started to hastily paddle away. Serena smiled as she started to swim with Azumaril, she has friends (Dawn and Brock), her only love (Ash), great Pokemon (Fennekin and Roserade) and doesn't need to worry about her stupid mother or him ever again. Life couldn't be better, even if she wrote it as some sort of story.


"Maybe we should observe them a little more, before we finish taking notes." Ash suggested after an hour of writing their findings down on paper.

"Right, then we need to write it up in a report." Brock replied.

"Oh goody, when it comes to reports, I'm the worst." Angie sarcastically replied.

"Hahaha, no. I am." Ash laughed, while he is an excellent drawer (when taking his time), he is horrible at writing anything.

"No, me." Dawn laughed as well.

"Fear not Dawn." Conway popped up behind her. "For I would be happy to transcribe your thoughts.".

"What do you mean, transcribe?" Dawn asked, with a sweat drop.

"Elementary, it just means you do the talking and then I'll write it up for you as the perfect report." Conway explained.

"Um, thank you. But I think I have to write the report myself." Dawn sweat dropped, Conway is the worst combination; creepy and desperate.

"As you wish." Conway replied. Shinx saw the light Pikachu did earlier and started walking towards the source, as Conway finished speaking. "But if you change your mind then I'll be around, okay. Okay.".

"Right, then let's finish this up." Ash declared, jumping up from his seat.

"Hold on!" Angie exclaimed, looking around frantically.

"Angie, what's wrong?" Ash asked.

"All of a sudden, Shinx is missing." Angie replied, in a worried tone.

"Huh, missing?" Ash questioned as he too did a quick scope of the nearby area.

"Piplup, weren't you and Shinx playing together?" Dawn asked her starter.

"Pip-lup." Piplup shook his head in response.

"Let's go and look." Brock suggested, seriously.

"Okay." Ash replied, just as serious, before they set off to look for the little electric type.


"Shinx!" Angie called out.

"Shinx!" Ash copied.

"Shinx, where are you!" Dawn added.

"Pika Pika!" Pikachu shouted.

"Pip Piplup!" Piplup shouted as well. The light shined again and hit Piplup this time, the proud water type became hypnotised.

"There's that light again." Ash pointed out.

"What do you mean, again?" Dawn asked.

"It flashed before, over there." Ash explained. Piplup started to walk towards the source.

"Piplup, what's wrong with you?" Dawn gasped, shaking her starter which seemed to pop him back to reality.

"Pip?" Piplup asked.

"But why?" Dawn asked, confused by her starter's actions.

"The same result." Ash spoke, as his brain started think.

"Result?" Dawn questioned. Ash had a flashback to earlier that day.

"Yeah, first that light flashed then Pikachu's eyes got all spacey." Ash explained, replaying the previous days thoughts in his head.

"Interesting..." Conway appeared behind Dawn. "If that is what ended up happening, then the legend may end up being true.".

"What legend?" Dawn asked, after getting over the initial shock.

"You see, there's a famous legend concerning this lake." Conway explained. "It says that when a strange blue light starts flashing, then Pokemon start vanishing.".

"Man, I don't like that legend at all." Ash replied. "A strange blue light.".

"And Pokemon Vanish." Dawn continued.

"Well with Shinx disappearing, it may have something to do with that legend. Get it." Conway replied, adjusting his glasses.

"We've gotta do something!" Ash exclaimed. A small hint of pink hit Angie's cheeks at Ash's outburst, Shinx isn't even his Pokemon and he is acting like this. The thought of his concern makes her heart race. She quickly forced the blush away as to not get caught.

"Your right." Angie added, in hopes that no-body spotted her previous silent response. "I say we move over to the source of that light.".

Everyone agreed and started running to the source.

"Hey folks remember, were not allowed to go far from the lake." Conway tried to reason. He sighed in defeat when no-body stopped. "But is Dawn's going then I guess there's not much I can do, hehehe.". Conway ran after them.


"Which way?" Ash asked as they stood outside a cave in the forest, as a storm rolled in.

"Well if I remember..." Dawn replied, deep in thought.

"The source of that light, comes from the position of that cave. Precisely north-west of the lake." Conway appeared behind Dawn, who was surprised by his appearance.

"Conway... You don't need to come with us, ya know." Dawn replied with sass, she has tried to be nice but this guy is seriously creeping and persistent.

"Oh no, I want to learn all I can about Pokemon." Conway replied, with his hands up. When Dawn sighed in defeat, an unnoticeable smirk appeared on his face.

"I guess we should check out that cave then." Brock suggested, after what Conway said.

"There's something creepy about that cave." Dawn replied.

"No fears, if anything happens I'll protect you." Conway replied, confidently. With a bolt of lightning and a boom, a thunderstorm started. Conway got scared. "Ahhh! Help meee!". Conway shot off into the cave, like a scared little girl.

"My hero..." Dawn muttered sarcastically, with rolling her eyes.


Back at the lake, Serena and Azumaril were back on land, and Azumaril was showing off a few of its moves. After showing: Ice Punch; Aqua Jet; Superpower; Play Rough and Belly Drum, it used Rain Dance. A thunderstorm appeared above them.

"Wow Azumaril, it's great that your Rain Dance is strong enough to make a thunderstorm." Serena praised. As she looked at how far the rain clouds expand.

"A-zumarill." Azumaril replied, proudly.

"And look at how far it goes." Serena awed. "I bet it travels for miles.". She has no idea about how right she is.


"Man, it's really coming down." Ash exclaimed as they stood at the cave entrance. The first thought in his head was Serena, he hopes she is able to get to a dry safe place and is regretting not telling her that they were going before they left the lake side.

"I sure hope Shinx is okay." Angie spoke, worried.

"Don't give up, Angie." Ash encourage. "I'm sure Shinx is going to be just fine.".

"Look down here." Conway told the group, they turned into the cave to see a shimmering light coming from within its depths. "That's right, I told you this cave is the home place of the legend.".

"It certainly looks like the light." Angie exclaimed, worried.

"So that means the source of the legend is down there." Dawn added, in the same tone.

"Then we've gotta go and look." Ash declared and he lead the way towards the light. Angie was grateful for the dark cave since it hid her blush, Ash truly is the one for her. Not only is he an awesome trainer but now he is risking whose knows what to save her Shinx, what a real hero.

Walking through the cave in silence, the light intensified and that seemed to have the hypnotic effect on Pikachu. Ash quickly shook his best buddy back to reality before he could wonder off as well.

"That is the light." Dawn exclaimed, worried. "Something's got to be back there.".

"Then Shinx must be back there too." Angie declared, excited as she bolted into the cavern. The rest of the group followed shortly after. "Shinx! Where are you! Shinx!".

Inside the cavern they found a body of water which covered up 75% of the room. The entire cavern has a turquoise green tint to it and an eerier silence filled the room as they waited for some sort of reply from the small electric type.

"Shinx, come out!" Ash shouted.

"Let us know, where you are!" Dawn pleaded.

"Pika Pikaaaa!" Pikachu shouted.

"Piplup!" Piplup shouted as well.

Suddenly a shining blue light appeared under water's surface, quickly coming up.

"Don't look!" Ash gasped in a panicked as both Pikachu and Piplup covered their eyes.

"So that's it?" Angie asked.

"This is where the strange blue light is coming from." Ash declared. Everyone stared at the light for it to make some sort of move (except for the Pokemon).

"Lum..." A Pokemon jumped out of the water, with its fins being the source of the hypnotic light.

"What's that?" Ash asked, as he went for his Pokedex, but Conway beat him to it.

"Lumineon, the Neon Pokémon. Lumineon lives in the ocean's depths. It lures Pokémon by flashing light in the patterns on its tail fins." Conway explained.

"A Lumineon!" Brock exclaimed. "So, it was Lumineon's light we were seeing.".

"It's beautiful." Dawn awed at the pure water type.

"It's strange, a Lumineon shouldn't be in a place like this." Conway concluded.

"Yeah, your right." Brock supported.

"Shinx..." Shinx groaned as he walked out from behind a rock and towards the water, in a hypnotised state.

"Shinx! Pull yourself together!" Angie exclaimed as she bolted to her electric type, shaking it back to reality. She was overjoyed when he snapped out of his hypnotic trance. "Ah, I can tell you how worried I was!".

"Shinx, Shinx." Shinx replied, bewildered.

"Now that we've found Shinx we can breathe again." Ash sighed in relief. Which the others agreed to.

"And we know where the lights coming from too." Dawn added.

"Your right, but..." Brock replied. Everyone looked to him for him to continue. "We have no idea about why Lumineon is here. If we can figure that out, then we can write a great report and pass the project for sure.".

Everyone agreed and soon they started to observe Lumineon. Angie and Ash took it in turns to get changed and went swimming with the water type, finding a tunnel deep under the water which linked up with the ocean. Dawn would've also liked to have gone swimming but decided not to since Conway was around. Brock noticed that Lumineon kept going over to a rock, where he found a special type of moss suited for water types with most of it eaten. Dawn concluded that Lumineon used the tunnel to get into the cave to eat the moss, since no other Pokemon were around. Angie, while swimming tried her hardest not to stare at her crush, in today alone it turned from one of admiration to one because of his heroic antics.


When Lumineon swam back through the tunnel, Ash and Angie took it in turns to step away and get dried and dress. Then the group walked back to the lake side. When they arrived back at the lake, they found Professor Rowan and his assistants not looking very happy.

"We told you not to wonder off." Rowan cut straight to the point. "As punishment, four points will be deducted from each of your projects, after your final grades.".

"Do you have any idea about how worried we were about you?" An assistant asked.

"Were sorry." The group apologised in unison.

"Well, you all need to finalise your reports." Rowan replied, and he and the assistance left the group.

"At least Shinx is alright." Ash replied, which made Angie nervously giggle and pray to Arceus that she isn't blushing.

"There you are Ash." A familiar voice addressed him. Turning to the source, he found his girlfriend stood waiting for him, but he was pleasantly surprised to find her in a bikini, and here he thought she could be more beautiful.

"Se-Serena..." Ash gasped as he looked at his girlfriend, painfully obvious. With his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth. Serena smiled, happy that she can get that sort of reaction out of him. Closing the distance, she hugged her boyfriend and started to kiss him, which he happily returned.

"What!" Angie exclaimed as her heart shattered. After everything Ash did for her today, Angie was sure that he felt the same. If he didn't then why did he do all that stuff, but here he is making out with Serena. She is supposed to already have a boyfriend... Unless.

"Yeah it is pretty gross." Dawn replied to Angie like her outburst like it is normal. "If you watch long enough you'll see their tongues start fighting for dominance.".

Just like Dawn said, soon the couples tongue each entered the other mouths, dancing around each other. Brock; Dawn and Conway took there leave as it was just awkward watching the couple make out. Although Angie stayed for a moment longer, with each passing second that the two locked lips another crack broke through her heart. The two had their eyes closed meaning they didn't spot her.

After a few more minutes, the kissing stopped because of a need for air. While the two caught their breaths, they happily embraced each other not caring about anyone who might be around. Since no sounds were coming from the group they assumed they all left whilst they made out. Serena caught the sight of a piece of paper in Ash's pocket and swiftly snatched it out.

"What's this?" Serena asked in a teasing tone.

"Nothing." Ash replied nervous as he straightened out, clearly lying.

"Well, if it's nothing then you won't mind if I have a look." Serena replied in a teasing tone, as she unfolded the paper which made Ash blush bright red. Serena was shocked to find it was a drawing of herself. It was so good, someone might mistake it as a real photograph. "You drew this?". Ash nodded in response.

"When I was supposed to be watching Dewgong. You were at the front of my mind and I ended up drawing you instead." Ash admitted. Serena felt her heart sore, she definitely has the best boyfriend on the plant. She quickly pulled Ash into another passionate kiss, which left the picture in full view for Angie to see.

Talk about rubbing salt in the wound. Even when they were sharing the boat ride together he was thinking about Serena. Not to mention she was so insulting about his drawing when he clearly can draw very well, like a professional artist. He probably just rushed his Dewgong picture. As tears started to escape her eyes she bolted off to her room, with Shinx following shortly behind.

"Unless your preforming the heimlich manoeuvre I suggested you two get going and start writing your reports." Rowan appeared out of no-where and scolded the couple.


Serena and Dawn went back to their room, and found Angie upset in her bed. She claimed she was feeling sick and the two decided not to question her, although both noticed a slight bit of venom in her voice when she spoke to Serena. The two girls joined Ash and Brock in the boy's room and while Serena wrote her report on her own, the trio wrote their report. Ash even drew Serena a picture of Azumaril and a picture of Lumineon.

Soon it was time to present the reports. Serena received a full ten points for her report on Azumaril. Angie didn't show up which meant she ended up with zero points, while Ash; Dawn and Brock ended up with ten points each but each also had the four points reduced so they only received six points each. While the group was happy with their scores, neither Ash or Serena were aware of the pain they have caused Angie, or how it will play out over the rest of the summer academy.


And... Done. So, nothing too much different from the cannon, other than Heracross Serena and the crush starting early. As for Serena having an Azumaril to study, no one really suggested any Pokemon for this segment so I just came up with a cute water type, although I was tempted to do a Luvdisc to show Ash and Serena's relationship. Also, Angie finally discovers the relationship between Ash and Serena. Expect jealousy next chapter, and an explanation to Ash refusing to believe in Angie's crush (like I said, it will link back to stuff that happened in the Wallace Cup). Next Chapter: Ghoul Daze. See ya next time...