To say he was frustrated was an understatement. He hated losing more than anything. Even though he always accepted that and moved on, striving to be better than the last time, this time was different. He felt angry at losing again. It has been a while since he lost a Pokemon match and had a winning streak.

Too bad that the streak was broken.

He ruffled his hair, frustrated, too tired to even analyse why he lost. He was just busy blaming himself for not being a better trainer to his capable pokemons. The cold air wasn't helping as well, making his heart bitter and cold.

"Ash?" He looked up hearing a soft voice calling for him. It belonged to a certain somebody, someone who was one of his closest friends, someone who looked up at him and was one of his travelling companions, Serena.

On a better day, he would have sat with her, chatting up about stuffs and maybe just enjoy her company. But Ash wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone right now, especially someone who looked up at him.

He felt as if he let her down too.

He bent his head down again and said in a low voice, ''I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you like that. I just needed some time alone.'' Making no move to leave the forest or continue the conversation, he decided to ignore Serena's presence.

Serena felt bad seeing her idol look so defeated. It never mattered to her if he won or lost a match because she knew he was one of the best pokemon trainers she had ever known. Even when he lost, he always had his same smile on, congratulating the winner and moving on, always coming back stronger than the last time. His deep sense of understanding for pokemons and his optimism rubbed onto her making her a better trainer to her pokemons too and not a sore loser. Seeing him like this made her feel awful for him.

She decided to go on with her speech she made in her mind while searching for him, hoping it'd make him feel better.

"Ash." She began again. And very carefully she began telling him everything, hoping against hopes that he will understand, that losing a match didn't matter much. How he had made her feel better after her losing. She cringed slightly, remembering how bratty she had been and a sore loser.

Ash wasn't really listening much. He was lost in his own thoughts of blaming himself. As soon as he heard her telling him how much he helped her out of her first loss, he snapped out of it.

"…and you made me realise that losing the match wasn't as important as understanding your pokemon is."

He didn't know why, but he grew more agitated. He didn't want to be reminded of losing nor of him helping someone out when they lost. He felt terrible to lose in front of Serena. He didn't know why. His all companions had seen him losing and he never felt bad in front of them. Maybe, he just didn't want to seem like a loser to Serena.

He didn't question his mind for thinking like that. He knew that Serena was different from all of his travelling companions. How she was different? He never thought. He just knew it.

And before he could stop himself, he just blurted out, "Just mind your own business and stop bothering me. I don't want to hear about all of this now. I'm not that great as you make me sound like."

Serena flushed and retorted back rather calmly, "Ash, we know that you are feeling bad right now but you need to snap out of it and stop saying yourself that you aren't good enough."

How did she know? A small part of Ash wondered but it was disregarded as he again said, sounding like the rookie who lost his first big battle as a new comer, "Just go away Serena. I don't need you right now." He felt bad as soon as he said that but he was angry for some unknown reason. He turned his back to her, unable to face her anymore.

Serena breathed heavily, exhausted of this already. She didn't like arguments and fights. They had always been great, never fighting or arguing. This was a first. And she was mad. He was being immature and she won't leave till she gets it into his head. Without thinking of the consequences, she bent down, making a snow ball and throwing it at Ash will all her might, successfully, hitting the back of his head.

Ash felt the impact and looked back, slightly annoyed, to meet with another snowball, this time on his face. The impact made him fall down and he laid there as he heard Serena speaking again, "You are not the Ash I know. He won't give up after losing. He would never! He would try harder and win, not run away from it. You are not my Ash. Give me my Ash back!" Saying this she ran away, away from him.

And ash laid there, thinking about what she said.

"The real Ash?"

As Ash laid longer, all of the things seemed to finally hit him. Serena was right. This wasn't him. He'd never give up after losing. Yes, he hated losing, but he loved the victory that came after the loss. He also realised that he just left his pokemons with his friends after the match and ran away. They lost with him as well, but he never brought them along or comforted them. He always did that. And Pikachu, his buddy from the start always stayed with him. He left him alone too. He felt terrible. Ash sat there for a long time, organizing his thoughts so as to not mess up again.

Suddenly he heard sounds of multiple footsteps, this time of pokemons. As he looked up, he heard a loud Pika pika and he realised, almost tearing up, that his partners had come to find him, to make him feel better. He stood up and ran towards the sound, soon finding Pikachu and Greninja in the front, followed by Hawlucha, Talonflame, Goodra….

They finally looked at him and he could feel it that they were relieved. To find their trainer, their bestfriend. Pikachu, with a loud 'Pika' launched into him and he caught him with ease, hugging the small pokemon, tightly. All the others, followed suite and launched themselves on him and Ash fell down, for the second time today, this time laughing and smiling.

"There, there. I'm here, safe and sound." He said finally looking at his pokemons who had little time for everything else other than their Ash. Ash heaved a sigh and continued, "I'm sorry guys. I was being immature and just ran away after the match. You guys did a great job and even if we lost, I'm proud of you and next time, we all know that we are gonna win!" There was no pretence or lies in the words as all his pokemons agreed with him and nodded in the same energy as his. Ash felt almost all the weight lifting off his shoulders.

Not all though.

He had also realised what a first class jerk he had been to Serena when she was just trying to help him out. And he felt terrible about it.

The regret always come after the damage is done after all.

He decided to apologize to Serena as soon as he saw her so he got up and started heading back to where his friends were, his small gang of pokemons, following him. He reached there within a few minutes for he had basically ran back and soon enough he could spot Clemont's huge backpack in which he carried almost everything. He ran towards them and soon Bonnie and Clemont turned back, their faces relaxing a bit when they spotted Ash and his pokemons safe and sound.

"Ash! You don't know how much we were worried about you. We stayed here in case you searched for us. We are so glad you are fine…" Clemont said sighing in relief.

"I'm sorry guys, for being like this. I just wanted to be alone." Clemont nodded in understanding. Ash looked around but couldn't spot Serena. He was just about to enquire about it, but Bonnie beat him to it.

"Ash, where's Serena? She followed after you to bring you back. We thought you both would come back together." Ash could feel his heart dropping as he realised Serena never came back. His silence scared the other two and he finally spoke, "I thought she came back after we fought." He started explaining everything to the other two as their looks changed from confusion to realisation to worry.

The young Bonnie was the most worried because she had grown fond of Serena as soon as she met her and considered her as an older sister and a friend to talk with. Serena in turn, was warmed up by the little girl and had confided her with the feelings she had for Ash. Ash noticing the worried look on Bonnie's face decided to bring back Serena safe.

Putting an arm around the young girl, Ash smiled at her and said "Don't worry! I'll search for her and bring her back. She will be alright." Bonnie slightly smiled and nodded. She believed in Ash for finding her bestfriend. He'd never let Serena be hurt. The young Bonnie could notice things which Ash and Serena never could. Maybe, she thought, Serena's feelings might not be just one sided.

Soon, Ash was running through the snow-clad forest again with his Talonflame soaring at the sky, also searching for Serena. Ash meanwhile called out her name and Pikachu with his 'Pika pika'.

Serena meanwhile being sad and mad, ran away not noticing that she was going the wrong way. She ran on and on and when she finally looked up, she noticed that she was no longer at the familiar place. She sighed in disbelief. "Great Serena! You not only managed to make a fool out of yourself but also got yourself lost. In the snow." She talked to herself and looked around. It was growing colder and she realised, with a shudder that a storm might be coming. She quickly searched around, hoping for a shelter. She didn't want to be blown away now.

Ash ran into the forest, going deeper and deeper, in hopes to find Serena. He was getting agitated yet again but this time, he didn't blame himself. There was no time to do that, he decided. His priority was finding Serena. And all the while he ran, only one single thought came to his mind. Serena calling him 'Her Ash'. He didn't know why, but whenever he had time to think till now, he could think of nothing other than Serena calling him, hers.

Stop. Stop Ash. She meant as a friend. Yeah, just a good friend of hers.

He scowled to himself. That's the only reason he never thought much. He always gets to the deep end. But he couldn't stop thinking about a certain person now, he wanted her to be at his sight. So he ran faster. The wind was getting stronger and he held Pikachu in his arms and shouted at Talonflame to be safe. Suddenly, Talonflame let out a call and flew at another direction. Ash followed him and started yelling Serena's name so she would know, he came to find her.

Serena, on the other hand, had found a small cave and decided to take refuge there. She sat there, heaving a sigh. She hoped Ash had returned and was safe. She also hoped he was no longer at the forest. She sat there, rubbing her arms, it was colder now and she felt suddenly tired. Suddenly, she felt something rubbing against her arm and yelped. She turned around to see an Oddish and behind it were some other small pokemons who were also taking refuge from the storm in the cave. She smiled at them, and Oddish feeling safe decided to cuddle against the nice human. She held on to the Ferret and sat there, the pokemons calming her down. Then she heard a voice. She perked up and listened closely. She suddenly froze, standing up. "Ash?."

Ash noticing that it was going to be a storm, called back Talonflame to his pokeball and started calling out for Serena. Pikachu assisted and called out as well. And then suddenly, at a distance, he saw a figure standing, looking straight at him. "Serena?" He whispered. Without wasting a single moment, he started running towards the figure, hoping that it'd be the person he had been seeking for since the past hours. And suddenly, he saw the figure running towards him as well. He ran faster, without caring for the wind or snow. And soon it was confirmed, it was Serena.

Serena settled the pokemons on the ground standing up and going out. The wind hitting her face, she hissed slightly before trying to trace the voice, which she felt belonged to Ash. Oh how she wished it was Ash, coming to find her. She soon shook her head. Its all in your head. She told herself. And soon she proved herself wrong when she spotted a figure a bit far from her. It could have been anyone. But she walked closer because she saw a tiny yellow pokemon, in the person's arms. It can never be a coincidence, could it be? And then she started running.

Ash without missing a beat, shortened the distance between them and he could finally see the face he was yearning to see. Yes, he didn't think much. But he never ignored his feelings and the voice inside his head. The voice urged him to take the girl in his arms. And he didn't hesitate. As soon as she was at arm's distance, he pulled her arms, pulling her closer and wrapping his arms around her waist. He held her tighter, bringing her closer, if it was possible, to him and nuzzling his face in her neck. He felt her relaxing and melting into the embrace, her arms wounding around his neck. They refused to let go of each other, the hug saying a thousand words they could never say. Ash could feel his heart hammering, either for running for so long or because he was hugging her. He didn't want to know. He was at ease now, seeing her and better yet, holding her.

After what felt like an eternity, they pulled away and Serena, unbelieving of the fact that the boy, she had feelings for, held her as if she was someone he had to protect, someone who had his heart. Someone who had time for nothing except battling and bonding with pokemons, hugged her and she could feel all the butterfrees and beautiflies in her stomach. Her face was flushed as she looked at him, his brown orbs soothing her nerves. He finally spoke, breaking her out of her trance. "Serena. I want to apologize first. I was a nothing short of a jerk to you when all you wanted was me to feel better. I realised all of these, thanks to you. And you made me realise your worth when i ran, just longing to look at you because I need you. I know that I wasn't being the Ash you knew. And I will try my best to be the Ash you look up to. Your Ash." This was no short of being romantic and Serena was blushing all over again. Him holding her hands didn't help as well, but she didn't want him to leave her hands. So, she braced herself before hugging him once again. Words would fail her so she did what she was good at. Expressing through hugging.

It was now Ash's turn to blush as Serena hugged him. He felt weird in his stomach which was strangely comforting. He also knew that Serena forgave him and there was no need to talk about it again. He pulled away looking at her and then looking at their hands entwined together. Her hands were smaller than his, but they felt just right in his. He smiled at her, his famous toothy grin as she smiled back. Their little moment though, was cut off when he heard a dull 'Pika pika' from his partner. And then he felt the cold. He looked down at pikachu, who was apparently a part of the hug shared and he was possibly squished to almost death, looking at him annoyed. "Sorry buddy. But see, we found Serena!" Pikachu nodded in agreement and Serena laughed slightly. "Ash, let's go to the cave and stay there till the storm passes." He smiled and nodded and they headed back together. Let's just say that they had a comfortable time, Ash holding Serena close to him to prevent her from feeling cold and Serena holding Pikachu while the wild pokemons stayed nearby for warmth as well. He felt at ease, having Serena resting her head on his chest, his buddy Pikachu and some adorable wild pokemons who liked their company.