Ash was dreaming of something peculiar that he had never dreamt of before.
He and Serena were close to each other, closer than they had ever been before. The only time they had been this close was when they were at the airport, that instant when she kissed him…
He realized that they had never hugged before since the time when they first met, which was a shame. For some reason Ash wanted to feel her touch, her warmth, her body close to his. He hadn't felt this desire so far, and it was strange. Now, he wrapped his arms over her neck and his hands were touching her back. He looked into his best friend's sky-blue eyes and realized now just how beautiful she was. Serena was smiling and looking at him fondly, and he felt himself doing the same. Their faces inched closer and closer until their lips touched, and they were kissing each other passionately…
Ash then woke up with a start, his body feeling unusually warm and sweaty, as if he had just been going for a jog. Sweat began to drip from his face as he realized what exactly he had been dreaming about… him making out with Serena. With horror he suddenly realized that the area around his waist was wet, and even more alarming, a certain part of his body felt more stiff than usual and was sticking straight up. Ash turned red and gasped in shock, wondering what this was, which woke up Pikachu, who instantly asked if he was okay. The teenager instinctively covered his crotch, hoping that the Mouse Pokémon wouldn't see him in this uncomfortable state.
"I'm fine Pikachu, I just need a moment to think." I remember when my mom talked to me about this stuff, and what changes my body might go through, but why does it happen when I think about Serena? Do I really care that way for her?
His relationship with Serena had always been different. Ash felt like he cared for her more than anyone else, even to the point where he delayed his gym battle so that they could get to the Master Class on time. He appreciated her kindness towards him and others, and he admired how she always was so strong. Most of all, he now realized just how beautiful she was. Ash never thought of this as something different, more than a friendship, but now he saw her as more than a friend.
I have to admit this to myself: I have a massive crush on her, and I have for a while now…
He had to talk it about to someone, so Ash decided to talk to the best friends that he could communicate with: his Pokémon.
Ash called out Pikachu and grabbed the five Pokéballs next to his bed, before walking outside of the tent. He opened the balls and Dartrix, Toucannon, Lycanroc, Torracat, and Wimpod came out. "I need to confess to you all something. I just realized that I like Serena more than a friend, what do I do?"
Pikachu was the first to speak. "Finally he realizes that! She's been so interested in you for the longest time that I can't believe it took you this long to get the hint!"
Before, Ash never took too much thought in Serena's actions towards him, but now he realized that her constant blushing was because of her romantic feelings towards him. I was so dense! "Sorry about that Pikachu.." he scratched the back of his head and his cheeks began to turn a bit red. "She feels the same way I do, but I don't want to tell her that I know just yet… I don't want to get in a relationship right now…"
"Make a move! She's been making all the moves," Lycanroc demanded.
"You got to give her a hint just like how she's been giving you," Dartrix added.
"I'll admit, you two do look pretty cute together.." Torracat teased, causing Ash to blush again.
The general consensus among his team was for him to let her know how he felt, whether it was with his words or actions. Overwhelmed with the commotion, Ash spoke out. "Alright, I'll do it. Just be quiet because I don't want to wake her up." He looked warmly at the tent where his crush was residing, and his Pokémon instantly went quiet. "Thank you for the advice, everyone." He returned his Pokémon sans Pikachu and went back to sleep.
Ash decided to suggest a day at the beach, as he not only wanted to relax and have fun, but a certain part of him wanted to see Serena in a swimsuit. He remembered feeling a little flustered the times that she did wear one, but they didn't go swimming often.
When Serena exited the tent, she was wearing a pale pink bathing suit with blue flowers. Ash felt stunned when he first laid eyes on her like that. His heart started to beat rapidly and his face turned beet red. "Ta da!" Serena exclaimed, winking at Ash which made his heart beat even faster. Is this normal? He wondered about these emotions that he was noticing whenever he was around her.
"You look…" still captivated by her appearance, he stammered, "amazing."
Serena too froze as she took notice of the way he was looking at her and his compliment towards her. "Thanks, Ash," she said, her face flushing pink herself, which Ash quickly took notice of. How did I never notice her obvious signs before?
At the beach, both of them took out their Pokémon. While Braixen, Pancham, Dartrix, and Torracat relaxed, the rest of the Pokémon were talking or playing in the sand. "Ash, do you want to go swimming?" Serena asked, holding up snorkel gear.
"Sure!" Ash replied.
"Alright, let's go!" Serena exclaimed, taking Ash by the hand, to which he blushed a little in surprise.
Pikachu, Popplio, and Wimpod wanted to go swimming as well, but they decided to leave Ash and Serena by themselves while they played near the shore. The two were now deep out in the ocean, seeing all kinds of Water-type Pokémon. However, a pod of heart-shaped Pokémon caught their eyes.
"Luvdisc!" Serena exclaimed, recognizing the Pokémon from their encounter at the Ambrette Aquarium back in Kalos. "Let me check the Pokédex." She scanned Luvdisc and its Pokédex entry popped up.
"Luvdisc, the Rendezvous Pokémon." The Pokédex said. "Luvdisc's heart-shaped body is a symbol of love and romance. It is said that a couple finding this Pokémon will be blessed with eternal love."
At the last sentence, both Serena and Ash looked at each other before turning bright red, especially the former.
Towards the end of the day, Ash and Serena started to pack up their stuff. All of their Pokémon went back into the balls except for Pikachu. The two trainers were under the shade of a palm tree, getting ready to go.
"Serena, before we go, I have to do something," Ash said, feeling flustered and red. While Pikachu backed up, giving the two trainers some space, Ash closed his eyes and leaned in, kissing Serena on the lips. After a couple seconds, the two parted, with Ash feeling his own cheeks heating up.
To Ash, the kiss felt just as good as the last one. The sensation of him kissing her felt more awkward then her kissing him, but this time, it felt better. To him, kissing her was making a bold statement about his own feelings.
Serena's body instantly turned red as a tomato, especially her face. Did Ash really just… kiss me? She questioned, and she felt her heart begin to race and she began to squeal internally. Does he feel the same way I do?
Unknown to them, a certain trio was watching it all happen from the bushes, flabbergasted.
"The twerp just kissed the twerpette!" Meowth screamed.
"How cute, I thought those two had something for each other.." James added.
"Quit talking or they'll hear us!" Jessie replied back, giving James and Meowth a light smack while Wobbuffet popped out of his ball, letting out a salute. "I wasn't expecting that, all right. Pretty bold."
However, their bickering was heard by the wrong audience. A Stufful popped out of the bushes, followed by a Bewear who put her arms around the quartet before flying off into the sky.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"