TDBigJ's message: Well here we are, another week, I'm another year older, hallelujah! Only a few things this week. The "another week older" thing… if you guys remember from the last chapter, it was my birthday this past week. I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. I'm not one of those people who does it. Just another year gone by I guess. Got a couple of gifts, no biggie. I'm happy with what I've got. Besides, Christmas is around the corner, I'm happy for that. I bet you guys are too. But for me, I hope this holiday season lasts. I really don't want to have it end so quickly. I mean come on, only nine more days already? Man, time flies by WAY too fast. But yet, that's just me. At least there's football and video games to occupy my time until then. I just had an interview a couple of days ago and let me just tell you, I feel as if it was my best interview to date. My confidence was pretty high afterwards. And speaking of the story, only three more chapters after this one. Hard to believe, huh? The remaining chapters are going to be event filled, and I mean it when I say that. Well, of course I have to be. If I wasn't, I would be letting you guys down, and I don't want that. I'm pretty sure you guys don't want it either, do you? I'm pretty sure. Oh well. Let's do that thing I usually do after doing my message.
Wolves22 (Guest #1): I wish I could say yes, but Ally isn't in this story, so I can't. But if she's in a future story, Maybe. Thanks for the review!
Espeon44: Maybe. I'll consider it. Thanks for the review!
Pinkrangerfan: Glad you liked the chapter. As with Denise, her causing trouble with Ash and Serena, it's hard to tell. I can just say it's not intentional. You'll find out. Thanks for the review!
ManleyTogekiss: Okay, it was a joke. That was my first guess. I doubt Pidgeot is angry at Ash. I wouldn't have it that way. Thanks for the review!
Guest #2: Perfect couple? I agree. I wouldn't add a cat fight. That's not like me. I doubt Serena is like that anyway. Yes, the next chapter will be out soon. Thanks for the review!
Roger0326: Probably not. Thanks for the review!
TheAztecKing: The preview was like that to you, huh? Glad you liked the chapter. An award-winning book series? You're too kind. Thanks for that! Thanks for the review!
Brig nodrm2347: Yeah, I thought Serena dealing with them was better as it showed that she really thinks about the kids. A little Amourshipping at the end I felt was needed, as there haven't been much in this story. Let's just say this chapter is the big turning point in the story and Ash and Serena's relationship. More Amourshipping moments are to come, just you wait. Yeah, I wish that too. Thanks for the review!
Shadic4566: I felt that Tristan calling Serena "mommy" again and her reacting calmly about it was a moment they needed. Why is she here? Read on and find out. Thanks for the review!
Mad Ass Dragon: He's going crazy isn't he? *Shudders* Glad you liked the chapter. I'm wondering why I'm making the kids sound like adults. Beats the hell out of me. I hope he's not too crazy before this is all over. Thanks for the review!
Oliverqueen01: Oh boy, I hope Charlotte's PPV winning streak ends. That's getting old too. I do agree Raw has been slipping this year. I also agree that Smackdown just feels like it's been the best one since the brand split. That show has just been entertaining me more in recent months. Yeah, it seems Raw is only focusing on Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, and Seth Rollins lately, and it is bugging me as well. Smackdown seems to switch it up every now and then which is why it's better right now. I see that the "mommy" moment was better this time around. I just felt Serena handling the situation was better because like you said she would've been more calm rather than Ash as he would be hot-headed and irrational. Well, here is the next chapter and if you've been reading the reviews, you know what direction it's going to be heading in. I like how they're being more "coupley" too. Thanks for the review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or it's characters, they are owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and… whoever else.
It had now hit the four month mark. That's right. Ash and Serena had officially been dating for four months. A lot of time had passed, they had gone on quite a bit of dates, and Serena had watched Ash in his prime battle a lot of challengers. They had a date once every week, whether it was out and about, or just at the house. Serena's life had been at it's best in almost seventeen years. There hadn't seemed to be a dull moment since she started dating him, and not just for her, but for him too, but more so on her end. The kids themselves knew it was close, Serena knew it was close, and believe it or not, Ash thought it was close. Only time would tell.
A little while later and the four of them would be together to do something that Ash had planned himself. He wanted to show them something or more importantly, someone that he hadn't seen in a while. He had seen her recently, but didn't have the time to walk up to her and talk to her since she was a little ways off, but he knew she wouldn't be going anywhere soon, so he had a plan to meet up with her today, before she did leave.
Ash looked through a photo album that contained pictures of his past journeys and memories in more recent years. Some of the pictures were of either his friends, his Pokemon, or both, but the ones that stood out the most were the ones mostly of his battles during his years as a young trainer. Battles between gym leaders and ones against fellow trainers either out on land or in the various Pokemon Leagues he competed in. It had the whole kit and caboodle. Ash himself didn't put those pictures in the album, it was mainly Bellamy who did it, with Tristan's help once in a while. She found some pictures of them on Delia's old camera that she was more than willing to let them borrow. One day Bellamy thought she would ask her grandmother if she had any pictures of her father's battles from when he was a young man. Most of the pictures were from leagues mainly because those were the only battles Delia caught back then because, well, it's pretty obvious.
Ash admitted that Bellamy (Plus Tristan's occasional help) did a pretty great job putting this album together. The pictures weren't neatly cut but good enough to know what the pictures looked like. Come on, they are only four and five for crying out loud. The league that they got the most pictures from was the Silver Conference in Johto. Ash remembered, his mom was at that league watching him so that's why she was able to get in person shots of him competing in the league. Plus, the pictures had better quality too, so that was a pro. But there were other pictures that had been added, a few months ago to be exact.
The pictures from the Orange Islands vacation they took a while ago. There were pictures of him, the kids, and Serena standing inside the Orange Islands Stadium where he won the Orange League when he was ten. There was even a picture they took inside the Orange League hall of fame. And guess what the picture was? It was of Ash standing next to the picture of himself when he won the Orange League. Yep, the picture that was taken when he won the League that day was the picture he was standing next to in that photo. It was a good thing that picture was taken too, because Ash would only get to see that picture of him as a young Orange League Champion whenever he went to the Orange Islands, so getting that photo would make him able to see it whenever he wanted.
Then Ash thought of something. He knew there were going to be photos added to this album at later dates, but not specifically of his friends and/or his Pokemon. They were going to be of the four of them creating more memories. And Ash didn't know it quite yet, but they could be of photos of them as a family if that ever came to be.
Ash didn't quite know yet how long it would be for him and Serena to be dating when he ever got the idea to propose to her, if that ever was going to happen. Ash didn't have a clue if he would ever do that, but his mother brought it up a while ago when he and Serena told her that they were dating. If Ash did, he didn't want to rush into it. Of course, he and Serena had known each other for almost two decades, so they already knew a lot about one another, so if Ash ever got that idea of proposing, it would only be a matter of time, but he wasn't saying it's definite.
But that brought up another thing that seemed to enter his head. When he told his mom about the two of them, Delia said they were like "childhood sweethearts". That sort of thing was new to his mind. He never knew there could be such a thing. He didn't have that when he was married to Denise because they didn't meet when they were kids. They met when they were about nineteen years old so that "name" didn't apply to them, but since Ash and Serena have known each other forever, it would to them. But would Ash like them being called that if they ever did? He knew Serena probably would, but him? If it did it would take a while for him to get used to being called that.
But thing is, her happiness was very vital to him, more so than his own. Ash knew that would be important in his relationship and very thoughtful as well. Heck, his kids' happiness was more important to him than his own as well. That was one of the most admirable traits of his that he owned. Not only did his kids, Serena, and his mom know about that, but his friends did (Even Iris). Also most of the general public knew about him whenever he showed up at events as a surprise guest when he did so unannounced. He never once did his battles for himself, it was for the fans. He liked giving them a show and showing what dedicating your training with your Pokemon could prove to the world.
Many of the fans thought Ash had a promising bunch of Pokemon at his disposal. They could even see from the chemistry he had with them and what power they showed that they had been a well trained group while Ash was their trainer. And everything that Ash had learned from his young training days what he used in his battles, and no we're not talking about the basics. Mega evolution, Z-moves, etc. He had seemed to know to perfect each of the advanced strategies of battling.
When it came to his Pokemon, a lot of his fans had a specific favorite out of them. Whether it was Bulbasaur, Krookadile, Buizel, Gliscor, everyone had their favorite. But out of all of them, their most favorite was, wouldn't you know it: Pikachu.
People choosing Pikachu as their favorite of Ash's Pokemon, well, there was a lot of reasons. From what they saw from the bond of the two of them, it was easy for them to tell Ash had done well with his best friend. The attacks Pikachu had at his arsenal was what impressed people the most. His attacks were not what most Pikachu's had acquired, so that told people a lot about what Ash and Pikachu had been through over the years. The moves he had, like: Thunderbolt, iron tail, electro ball, it was massive, and by massive, I mean powerful. People also had a favorite attack of Pikachu's as well. A lot of people loved his iron tail, a lot of people loved his electro ball, heck, even some people loved his quick attack, but little to their knowledge, Ash's favorite attack of Pikachu's had always been thunderbolt. It was his most dynamic attack, and a lot of battles ended with Ash using Pikachu's thunderbolt, even the times when he was young it was almost always the attack that sent Team Rocket blasting off whenever they encountered Ash and whoever his travelling companions/friends were at the time. No one thought that any of Ash's other Pokemon had a better variety of moves than Pikachu.
Then Ash thought of Team Rocket. He didn't even want to bother thinking about those morons. The many times they tried to capture Pikachu or all of his and his friends' Pokemon. Those three weirdos were a pain in the ass when they pestered Ash all the time when he was younger. Sure, he was grateful that they helped him on an occasional basis, only for them to resort back to their dastardly tactics the next time they encountered him. Boy, did that get overbearing really quick. Ash was just glad that he never came across them anymore. The evil organizations were still out there but they were a lot quiet nowadays, not even making the news anymore. Either they didn't want to create a ruckus anymore, or they were secretly planning something and they were taking their precious time with it.
Ash had really been thinking about his childhood a lot in recent months. He thought about it and he thought about that more than anything. It wasn't something that bothered him but on occasion he'd like to think of something else that wasn't Pokemon or childhood related. He looked down a few feet in front of him. Pikachu was lying down, curled up and sleeping in front of the fireplace (Which was on). It was a little cold out today but not extremely, just a tad.
Ash got up and went to the back window and looked outside. He had a thing to do later, and he knew why he was doing it.
Once the four of them left, which was around 1:30 in the afternoon, they started making their way towards an area that had a big body of water that could be considered an ocean, although it was just like a bay area, but not really huge, just huge. Ash had an idea of what he was doing while on this excursion. He didn't want to spoil it to the kids and not to Serena either. Besides going to meet his old friend, he had something else lined up to do.
He was actually going to meet up with one of his friends/former travelling companions while he was out. That one person was Misty. After they met up with Ash's "old friend" they would go and go to another place that Ash thought he would go to when he needed to relax… or other reasons.
The reasons he was meeting up with Misty because the second half of his time out today was around something Misty knew a lot about: water. Well she actually knew a lot about water types so he didn't really think that counted. He knew she had a place where she would go to relax and thought that it would work out for Ash as well, and maybe Serena and the kids.
"I actually haven't seen Misty in a while. Do you know if she's been up to anything lately?" Serena asked.
Ash slowly shook his head. "Not that I know of. She's just still in Cerulean City tending to her gym with her sisters. She does most of the battles these days but they help her out with the gym once in a while."
"I know about that battle you guys had a while ago. It was pretty brutal. You seemed to wipe the floor with her, but it was a good battle to watch anyway. Shows how far you two have come in such a long time." Serena explained.
"I suppose we both have made each other better in some way over the years." He stated.
"Ash, you have made all of your friends better over the years, and vice versa."
"I suppose so."
"So daddy, where is this friend of yours we're meeting?" Tristan asked.
"In a place that I know was special between us." Ash replied.
The place that they were going to was the place where they parted ways when he was younger. He never showed his kids and Serena who this was. The friend, he was talking about, was Pidgeot.
How could Ash forget about the most loyal flying type that he ever caught? They had been through a lot when he was travelling here in Kanto. They say that the first is always the best, and Ash didn't want to choose between his Pokemon, but he felt as if Pidgeot always had a special place in his heart. Whenever he saw Pidgeot every once in a while, he would go out and do it on his own. He mostly did it in the early morning while the kids were still sleeping. He would go out to the spot that he left Pidgeot when he was younger and meet her there, but today he thought he would let the others see who she was, because none of his friends, with the exception of Brock and Misty, knew who Pidgeot was, so he felt it was time to introduce her to the other people who were important to him, starting with his girlfriend and family.
"Just wait until they see her. She still feels like family to me." Ash thought to himself.
As the four of them continued walking through town, many sights and Pokemon caught their attention. When it came to the Pokemon, whether it was just the sight of them or what they were doing was what made them notice them.
"Look at that Pidgeot, daddy!" Bellamy yelled.
"Yep. Look at it. Reminds me of mine." He replied.
But after he said "Reminds me of mine", Serena saw the look on his face change a bit as he tilted his head down. His expression was a mix of sadness and strain. Strain from the thoughts that ran through his mind about his old friend: The first flying type he ever obtained as a trainer when it was in it's first evolutionary stage. When he left his friend to stay behind when he was younger, he hardly ever saw her, and it was still the same today. He never really saw Pidgeot on an occasional basis nowadays. He did see her at least once every few months, but that was it. At the most he would see her three maybe four times a year at the most, twice in the least. He really wished he kept his promise and saw Pidgeot all the time, but that was a hard one to keep. Serena knew what he was thinking about and tried to comfort him, putting her left hand on his left shoulder. As soon as she touched him, Ash turned his head to the left to look right into her blue eyes.
"I know what you are thinking about. You miss your friend, huh?"
Ash sighed. "I do. Deeply."
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure she comes by here a lot. If you came here every so often as well, you might be able to meet up with her more than usual." She explained. The expression on Ash's face slightly changed. His eyebrows raised a little bit, and a small smile started to creep under his nose.
"Thanks Serena. I needed that." Ash responded.
She leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm here for you. Always and forever."
Those last three words struck Ash, in a good way though. He wanted to be there always and forever for her too. He never thought he would say that towards her, but he did, and it didn't bother him even the slightest.
He grabbed her hand with his right one and kissed the top of it. "Me too." This caused Serena to blush a little.
"He said that to me too." Said a random voice. Ash knew that voice better than anybody, Serena was another story. They looked in front of them and saw none other than... you guessed it… Denise.
"What is she doing here?" Serena thought to herself.
Ash was surprised to see that his ex-wife had shown up. This was a rare encounter. It was something that he didn't really want happening, especially since he was now dating someone else, but he didn't know that Serena had met Denise once before, and they talked.
"Denise, hi. What have you been up to?" Ash asked.
"Hey, I've been just doing my job. Going around the world and gathering reports on many trainers and elite four members." Denise explained.
"Hi mom." Tristan and Bellamy said simultaneously.
"Hi babies." She replied as she walked up to the two of them and hugged them. They were good kids so they hugged back. Hey, they still loved their biological mother. She released the hug and turned back to Ash. "Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing. What have you been up to?"
"You know how busy being a World Champion has been for me. I've been battling challengers every time one challenges me." He responded.
"Okay then. But there is one other thing I'm wondering…"
Ash had a feeling he knew where this was heading. He took a deep gulp and prepared for what was coming.
"Have you been seeing anyone?" She asked.
It was a question regarding the subject he was expecting, but not the question he was thinking about, so he mentally relaxed a bit.
"Yeah, but why do you ask?" He asked.
"It's just because I've been seeing someone as well."
"You have?" Ash asked.
"Just recently actually. Is she who you're dating?" She asked, pointing at Serena.
"Yeah she is. I've known her since my childhood. She made me happy that I put myself out there again. What about you?"
"He's a guy I met while I was out gathering information for an article I was writing. And seeing how I've ran into you kind of makes things run through my mind."
"What sort of things?"
"Seeing as how we've both moved on, dating someone else, it kind of reminds of the good times we had." She explained.
"It does?" He asked.
"Certainly. I mean of course, I like the new guy I'm dating, but, it almost makes me sad looking back at what we had."
"I see."
"Look Ash, we may be divorced, but I still see you as a good friend, and I'm glad I think that. We're still on good terms, right?"
Ash nodded his head. "Of course."
"Were you on your way to do something?" She asked.
"Yeah." He replied.
"Well, I'll get out of your hair. I've got somewhere to be as well."
"Okay, I'll see you later." He stated.
Denise went up to him and hugged him. "Thanks for being there when you were. I'll see you later Serena. Sorry I hardly talked to you."
"It's okay. No big deal."
After that, Denise walked away doing to do the thing she brought up. But as soon as she was out of sight, a thought rang in Ash's mind, and it was not one he was comfortable with, and he was pretty sure Serena wouldn't be either.
"Ash, are you okay with what she said?" She asked him.
Ash took a moment to respond. "Yeah. But… it's… just…"
"Just what?"
Ash sighed deeply, getting ready to say something that he knew would bite him in the butt at a later time.
"I feel… as if… I still have feelings for her." He finished.
This line surprised Serena, and the kids a little bit as well. This wasn't something any of them were expecting. The kids didn't think their dad would say something like that… And Serena didn't either. Serena thought something over for a second and then decided to speak up.
"Ash, come with me for a second." She said and walked behind a corner of the building so they could talk in private. Once they saw that they were alone, Serena went ahead with what she was going to say.
"Ash, what do you mean you still have feelings for her?" She asked.
Ash felt Butterfrees in his stomach. This was going to be hard to explain, but he had to. "It's just that… seeing her for the first time since we've been divorced has put second thoughts in my head. It's not something I'm comfortable with, but it's just… I don't know." He said, not really being able to think of anything else to say. Now it was time for Serena to get her point across.
"Look Ash, listen to me…" She started, her tone now dead serious, which was not something she did a lot. Ash noticed it, and it was something he hadn't seen her do since that time when they were in the Snowbelle City forest when they were younger.
"I'm not the one to usually complain about my man still having feelings for his ex, but I'm nowhere near okay with hearing you say that. It hurts me actually." She explained.
"Plus, I know you two can still be friends, and I'm okay with that. But if you still have feelings for her in some way, not to sound selfish or anything, but I don't know what that means for me." She explained some more. Ash was hit hard by these words. He knew she was right, but what could he do?
"Look I'm sorry you feel that way, but it's a thought that popped up in my head. I didn't think before I said that." Ash stated.
Serena covered her eyes with her right hand for a brief moment before continuing. "Ash if you still have feelings for your ex-wife… then… I don't know if we can have a future together." She then thought of one last thing to say. "If you want to stay with me, then I want you to prove you're over Denise." She started walking away but stopped a few seconds later. "I'll see you guys later. I'll be heading home." She then walked away, out of sight, tears welling up in her eyes. Tristan and Bellamy came up to Ash, who was holding his head down in shame.
"Daddy, why is Serena leaving?" Bellamy asked.
Ash closed his eyes. "Because daddy made a big mistake." Tristan and Bellamy then had blank expressions on their faces.
"Come on, let's go see my friend." Ash said and the three of them continued making their way to see Pidgeot.
Ash knew this meeting with Pidgeot wasn't going to be as good without Serena there with them, but he didn't want Pidgeot to be upset with him if he didn't show up, so he still planned on doing it. But the thing he was going to do later seemed like a lost cause now, so he thought that he would call Misty later and tell her not to bother meeting up with him after what had just happened. Ash knew what he did was wrong, and he might have just lost a relationship with the best girl he ever knew because of it.
Once he got home later, he had some serious thinking to do.
Author's note: Uh oh. Things have taken a turn for the worse for our couple have they? I'm not liking this but… who knows where things will go for them. We have officially gotten to the breaking point of this story, but with only three chapters left, there are still a few things left to happen in this story. What will they be? I know the first one will be in the next chapter. What is it you ask? Well, read on and you'll find out.
Ash had been sitting there for a good three hours thinking of how he was going to prove to Serena that he was over his ex-wife. Many, many ideas popped up into his head but not one seemed plausible. He did want to be with Serena but if this thing was still on his mind, what Serena said would be true.
They both had done a lot of good things since they've gotten together. The weekly dates they went on, her cuddling with him when they watched a movie together, the kisses they shared when the kids weren't in the room, it was all great, and he didn't want to lose it. Plus, he didn't want the kids to lose it either.
Ever since Serena last saw Ash, the kids were pretty down that she hadn't been around in a while. It was like they were losing another mother figure and he felt terribly bad. He wasn't just ruining it for him, he was ruining it for them. The kids even tried to come up with ideas of how they could help him with this, but since they were kids and never been on a date before, they couldn't come up with anything.
Ash knew that wherever Serena was, she was thinking this over as well, but probably not in the same way he was. He wished to ask her what she was thinking about but due to the fact that they haven't talked in weeks, he had a feeling she wouldn't answer him. She wouldn't even answer his calls so why would she answer any questions he would ask?
He knew what he did was a huge mistake, and he needed to think of a way to fix it, but what? Ash had already been asking his mom and a few of his friends as to what he could do and for any advice they could have, but they didn't have a clue as to what to do to help him. He told them that he and Serena weren't broken up, but they had not seen each other in a while, and it was getting rough on him and he was pretty sure it was rough on her too. The many things the kids have asked him lately about him seeing Serena again were only hurting every time they asked.
"When is Serena coming over again?"
"Are you and Serena okay?"
"I miss her. Will she ever come back?"
"Are you two still together?"
And Ash answered each question with the same response: I don't know. And that was the true answer. He wasn't just saying that just to say it, that was the truth, and he needed to admit it. He then thought of the statement she said the day they last saw each other…
"If you want to stay with me, then I want you to prove you're over Denise."
He totally just remembered that line. She wanted him to "prove" he was over Denise. He then figured out that he would use that as motivation.
He then sat up and got a determined look on his face. He knew how to prove to Serena she was the one and his past was the past. He picked up his cell phone and texted her a message.
Author's note: Ooh, Ash is up to something and I DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS! Oh, uh, oops. Sorry about that. That's not what I wanted to shout. But yeah, what is Ash up to? What is this idea he's got in his head? Oh my God, THE WHOLE WORLD WANTS TO KNOW! Damn it! Didn't even want to shout that one. But let's see next week what happens. Next chapter is going to be big and it's a good time too since it will be two days before Christmas so it's like I'm giving you guys an early Christmas present. Let's see though in a week. I'll see you guys in a bit. Until then…
TDBigJ out!
"I'm going to get a huge migraine in the parking lot in about twenty minutes."
-Ted, Ted 2