When Ash's battle was finally over, the trio and Astra walked with their Pokemon along a path illuminated by shimmering mushrooms toward Pokemon Center. They laughed and talked about all sorts of things, and the quarrel between Lucario and Greninja didn't bother them very much this time.
When Astra told a story about how she met her Lucario (who walked beside her and blinked at times to Ash's Lucario), Serena suddenly remembered something.
"Hey, Astra," she said, turning to the girl and this interrupted her story and turned to look at Serena. "What?" she asked and Serena explained.
"When we came across there at the kitchen, you said you were in a hurry somewhere. But where? The Gym is open the whole day, you would have gotten there well at other times," she said and Astra seemed to remember.
"Oh, that's right, I was totally forgetting!" she exclaimed and opened her brown shoulder bag on her shoulder. The others stopped a little confused to see what she was looking for in her bag and Greninja and Ash's Lucario were bumping into them.
Astra dug something out of her bag that looked like a black notebook. In addition, Astra dug a small pink pencil case from her bag and then looked up at them with a smile.
"I was in a hurry because of this," she said, waving her notebook and her pencil case in her hand. "Ballonlea isn't a very bright place and I wanted to use the most of its slight rays of light before complete darkness," she explained to the confused expressions of others and Serena seemed to realize what she meant.
"Oh, so you draw?" she asked, nodding toward the notebook, which was more of a sketchbook, and Astra nodded. "Gotcha. Actually, I like painting more, but my paints don't fit in this bag, and I don't want to get a new one, so I'll settle for these," she said, stroking the cover of her sketchbook.
"Then what do you draw?" asked Ash with interest and Pikachu leaned on his shoulder a little closer, clearly as interested as Ash. Astra smiled and opened her sketchbook over one opening.
"These," she said, showing a picture of the skillfully drawn mushrooms. They seemed to be the same ones that grew around in Ballonlea, though they were black and white in the picture, as the picture was a pencil drawing and had no colors in it.
"Wow, you're good!" exclaimed Ash impressed and Serena nodded. Pikachu on Ash's shoulder said, "Pikaa!" and Gou stated, "Very beautiful."
Astra blushed a little at the praise of others and closed her sketchbook a little embarrassed. "Thanks, guys, even though it's still in progress," she said, then glanced at the sky. "And speaking of which, I have to go. I want to finish this today. See you!"
And having said that, she set out to walk at a fast pace towards the forest, her Lucario following. The others were a little confused to look after her and Serena said slowly, "See ya..."
They watched for a moment as Astra's back disappeared into the dense forest until Ash's stomach growled again and woke the others back to reality. Ash scratched his neck a little embarrassed and said, "Well, my hunger isn't gone anywhere, so we'd probably go eat."
"I agree. I'm also a little hungry," said Gou and Pikachu on Ash's shoulder also exclaimed, "Pika pikachu!" Serena giggled at them and then said with a laugh, "Well, shouldn't we go then!"
And so they set out again to move towards the Pokemon Center.
After getting to the Pokemon Center after a while, they went straight to eat at the Center's dining room. When they and their Pokemon finally got all their stomachs full of food, (vegetable steaks, potatoes, and salad) they moved to the lobby couches to spend their time.
"Well, Ash. What's our next plan?" Gou asked after a while. He built a house of cards from the card deck he found somewhere. The house was in danger of crashing all the time, as Serena's Yamper and Ash's Pikachu were playing something under the table, making it sway. "I mean, where are we going to go next?"
"I don't know, probably where the next Gym is located," Ash said, shrugging his shoulders. He tried, with the help of Lucario, who was a little more grumpy than usual, to create a stick from Aura. It didn't really work out and only made Lucario even more grumpy and Ash's patience slip. "But I have no idea where it is located."
"Maybe Rotom can help with that," said Serena, who had brushed Braixen's fur. She moved the brush aside and took her Rotom from her pocket instead. Braixen therefore moved away from her lap, and immediately received interested glances from Lucario and Greninja.
They both just happened to realize it and the result was growling from both. Greninja also managed to move the table so that Gou's house of cards, which he had built for the past half hour, collapsed and it made him swear heavily.
"Language, Gou," Serena recalled, and Gou apologized, after which he began build his house of cards again. Serena, on the other hand, started her Rotom and asked, "Rotom, which Gym trainers usually challenge after Ballonlea?"
"Usually the next destination is the Gym in Circhester," said Rotom and Ash was excited. "Cool! Where is it located?" he asked and in response, Serena's Rotom showed a map of Galar and Circhester placed on it. They saw that it was far from Ballonlea and that it was in a very cold looking area.
"On the other side of the country," Gou said after glancing at the map between his house of cards. "It's going to be a long way, we might want to take a trip in Corviknight's back"
"Yeah," Ash said, watching as Gou build his house of cards with a very focused look on his face. Then he began to spin again in his hand the stone that Lucario had given him, which Sonia had called the Wishing Star. He didn't notice a strange look on Lucario's face as he picked up the stone.
Suddenly Ash stopped Wishing Star and said thoughtfully, "I wonder if Sonia find anything from where she was going" At the same time, he looked at the small stone in his hand and wondered how enigmatic that thing could be.
"I do not know, but I'm sure she will tell us if she is," said Serena and put her Rotom back into her pocket. Ash nodded to her a little distractedly and after that, there was only an occasional rustle as Gou build his house of cards.
Then suddenly Ash slapped his hand on the table and caused Gou's house of cards to collapse into a pile of cards. "Let's go see what else Ballonlea has to offer," he said, ignoring Gou's murderous gazes and put the Wishing Star back in his pocket.
"Good idea," Serena said and got up from the couch. She stretched out her arms and Yamper was right next to her to see if Serena had any food to offer.
Serena guessed Yamper's thoughts and lifted the Pokemon into her arms, laughing. "No treats this time," she said with a smile and playfully poked Yamper in the muzzle. It made Yamper bark happily and lick Serena at the cheek.
Serena giggled and felt Ash come next to her. "Shall we go then?" he asked as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and Lucario and Greninja stepped up to him as well, blinking at Braixen and grunting to each other. Ash gave them one tired look until he turned to look at Gou and asked, "Gou, are you coming?"
"Yeah," Gou said, grunting, and glaring at the pile of cards that should have become the card house of the century. Finally, he tore his gaze away from it, stood up, and said a little sourly, his hands in his pockets, "Here I am. Will we go then?"
"Yep!" said Ash happily, took Serena by the hand, and then they set out to see what Ballonlea had to offer them.
They had gotten outside the Pokemon Center when Yamper in Serena's lap suddenly started sniffing the air around him and then rumbling just as if trying to get out of Serena's arms. Serena and the boys stared at it confused and Serena said, "Yamper, what now?"
However, Yamper paid no attention to her words, continued to rumble, and now began to bark as well. Serena looked at it a little anxiously and began, "Yamper, what are you... AH!"
However, Serena's sentence ended with her exclamation, as Yamper had given her a sharp electric shock to her hand. "Serena!" exclaimed Ash as he saw it and Serena's grip on the little Pokemon came off. Yamper jumped out of Serena's lap and set off to run toward the area where the Pokemon Center's battlefield was located.
"Yamper, where are you going?!" exclaimed Serena, ignoring the red mark left by the electric shock in her hand. She left to follow Yamper and Ash and Gou glanced at each other and went to follow Serena.
Serena saw Yamper disappear around the corner and accelerated. What is that silly Pokemon doing? she thought, while also curving around the corner, and the Pokemon Center battlefield opened in front of her.
She slowed down and quickly spotted Yamper in the middle of the field. But to her surprise, Serena noticed that Yamper was not alone. Namely, it barked and jumped around another Pokemon that was none other than another Yamper. And next to the two stood a young girl who apparently tried to detach the Yampers from each other while dodging the electric shocks.
Serena stepped closer in amazement to the Yampers and the girl, wondering why the girl was somehow so familiar. And suddenly Serena realized why the girl looked so familiar. She was the girl from Gou's photo, the one he was in love with! Serena grinned to herself as she thought about Gou's look when he would see who Serena had encountered. Now he should pay for all the teasing Serena had experienced!
She heard the girl say to her Yamper, "Come on now, stupid dog, we have work to do, we have to find them...," and tried to pull Yamper away from Serena's Yamper, only to fall to her butt on the ground. "Ouh, that hurt," the girl muttered and Serena decided to go help her. "Do you need help?" she asked briskly as she walked over to the girl and the girl looked up at her.
"Yeah, thanks," she said as Serena reached out to her and pulled her up from the ground. She saw how the girl shook the dust from her white dress and, although she already knew who the girl was, said, "I'm by the way Serena, who are you?"
"I'm.." the girl began, but interrupted the sentence as she heard footsteps behind them. Serena heard them too and turned to see who had come to the field.
She saw Ash and Gou and the Pokemon coming to them and heard Ash exclaim, "Serena! You could have a wait!" and she watched the boys run to them.
"Sorry, I'll try to remember next time," Serena said, but Ash no longer listened. His eyes had been nailed to the girl standing next to Serena and he said in amazement, "C-Chloe?"
"Yes," Chloe said, smiling slightly, and moved her hair away from her eyes. "And I notice that Pikachu is still with you"
"What? Oh yeah, of course he is," said Ash and scratched Pikachu behind his ear. Pikachu cooed with satisfaction and Chloe smiled slightly.
Chloe had a long, maroon braid, green eyes, and a white dress with navy blue patterns. She was wearing blue socks and white shoes and a beautiful pink flower was attached to her braid. She had a brown backpack on her back and she watched them with her green eyes.
Gou, who had just arrived panting for them, turned pale and blushed when he saw Chloe. Serena noticed it and it was a sign to her that this was the same Chloe that had been in that picture. However, she said nothing about it, but said, trying to sound as innocent as possible, "Oh, you know each other?"
"Yep, this Chloe here is the daughter of Professor Cerise we're assisting with and that's her Yamper," Ash said, smiling broadly and pointing to Chloe's Yamper, who was spinning on the ground with Serena's Yamper. But then his look changed, however, and he said scratching his head, "But how did you know we were here? I mean, how did you know to come to Ballonlea? And what made you come here?"
"Dad sent me here," Chloe said, moving again her hair away from her eyes. "Sonia called him and told him the place she thought you was. Dad thought it would be good for me to have a little adventure, so he sent me here and told me to look for you and even travel a little with you."
"Oh, I see," said Ash and Gou finally got his mouth open, "But how did you get here?"
"By plane to Galar and Ballonlea continued by Flying Taxi," said Chloe and the others stared at her.
"I see," Serena said, nodding, even though she had no idea what a Flying Taxi was. But then she took a big smile on her face and said, "Well, as I said, my name is Serena and I'm Pokemon Performer. This silly Yamper is one of my Pokémon. Oh yeah, and I'm Ash's girlfriend."
Of all that Serena had told, that information seemed to surprise Chloe the most. "Ash has a girlfriend?" she said, raising her eyebrows slightly and looking at Ash. This one laughed a little and scratched his neck. "I wouldn't have believed"
"Yeah. Anyway, do you have anyone special?" Serena asked suddenly and glanced sideways at Gou. This seemed to tense suddenly and Serena grinned to herself. "Anyone who would be more than a friend..."
"No, I don't think so," Chloe said, watching the Yampers chase each other's tails. Then she turned her face to Serena and said, a little confused, "Why do you ask?"
"Just because," Serena said innocently, glancing at Gou again. This suddenly seemed to be of great interest to the pebble on the ground. "I'm just interested in stuff like that..."
Chloe was saying something about it, but just then the Yampers ran up to them and started circling Serena and Chloe's legs. Serena decided to take the opportunity and snatched her Yamper in her arms. Chloe did the same and Serena's Yamper began to lick his trainer's face.
"Silly Pokemon," Serena giggled and Yamper waved his tail. Ash looked at them with a smile until he turned his gaze to Chloe and said to her, "Hey Chloe, what are you going to do now?"
"I don't know, I haven't thought about it," she said, shrugging. However, Ash seemed pleased with the answer, as he exclaimed, "Great, for I thought we could battle a little," and raised his fist resolutely into the air. Pikachu on his shoulder mimicked him, also raising his little fist in the air and exclaiming, "Pika pikachu!"
Chloe looked very amazed. "What?! But.. I can't do it! I've never battled against anyone!" she exclaimed and bit her lip. However, Ash didn't seem discouraged by this, but said happily, "It doesn't matter, trust me!"
However, Chloe still looked hesitant and Serena noticed it. She felt Yamper writhing in her lap again as he wanted it out of it, and that's when she got a great idea.
"What if you don't battle against Ash, but me," she said and Ash looked at her in surprise. "My Yamper against your Yamper. What do you say?"
However, Chloe still looked hesitant. "But... I don't know what I have to do," she said and Serena glanced at Gou standing behind her. And got another great idea.
"Gou can help you," she said and this one looked up in surprise at the ground. "What? Why me? Why can't Ash do that? He's battled much more than me," he said a little confused and also a little nervous.
"Because you like her... I mean, because Ash has already promised to be the referee, right?" said Serena and looked at Ash sharply. He startled and said, "What? Oh yeah, of course," He laughed a little nervously and Serena stared at him sharply.
Chloe looked a little skeptical, but then slowly said, "All right then, let's do that." And so Serena slapped her hands together and exclaimed, "Great! Let's start then!"
And so they did.
"Okay, so this is a one vs one battle between Serena and Chloe! The one with the last Pokemon to stand wins!" announced Ash, who had moved to the middle of the field to a place of the referee. Pikachu stood next to him on the ground and wondered when Ash had last served as a referee in the match. He didn't get in his mind many times.
Serena and Chloe, on the other hand, had settled on both ends of the field and both had Yamper in front of them. Gou stood next to Chloe and looked a little nervous. He blinked time to time to the girl, but this didn't seem to notice it, for she was so focused on what Ash said. Gou took advantage of it and meanwhile scanned Chloe's Yamper with his Rotom to know what moves it knew.
"Are you ready?" Ash asked and both girls nodded. He looked at both once until he grinned wide and exclaimed, "All right then, let the battle begin!"
"Yamper, use Spark!" exclaimed Serena and her Yamper rushed toward Chloe's Yamper, while his body was covered in yellow electricity.
"Chloe, tell Yamper to dodge it!" exclaimed Gou to Chloe and this one nodded. "All right," she said, then exclaimed, "Yamper, dodge it!"
Yamper jumped agilely out of the way of Serena's Yamper and made it stop a little confused. Then Gou exclaimed, "Tell it to do Nuzzle!" and Chloe nodded.
"Yamper, Nuzzle!" she exclaimed and Yamper jumped next to Serena's Yamper and rubbed his cheek against its cheek. As a result, Serena's Yamper received an electric shock from Chloe's Yamper, leaving it half paralyzed.
"Yamper!" exclaimed Serena and watched her little corgi crackle with electricity. However, she didn't decide to give up, but exclaimed, "Yamper, are you okay? Can you continue?" Yamper barked resolutely at her and Serena looked relieved.
"Good. Then use Spark again!" she exclaimed and Yamper rushed again as an electric line towards Chloe's Yamper. This time, Chloe or Gou didn't have time to tell it to dodge, so Serena's Yamper hit Chloe's Yamper and caused it to fall.
"Yamper!" exclaimed Chloe as Yamper slid on the ground to her. However, her expression became determined and she raised her hand in front of her and exclaimed, before Gou had time to say anything to her, "Yamper, use Tackle!"
Yamper got up from the ground and barked. It ran towards Serena's Yamper and got to this one. "Dodge it!" exclaimed Serena, but Yamper, still paralyzed by the shock of Chloe's Yamper, did not have time to dodge it, and then Chloe's Yamper had already tackled it to the ground.
"Now, use Nuzzle!" exclaimed Chloe again and Yamper rubbed his cheek again against Serena's Yamper's cheek. It again caused an electric shock and eventually Serena's Yamper was left lying on the ground and spirals appeared in his eyes.
It was quiet for a moment until Ash cleared his throat and said, "Serena's Yamper is unable to battle, so the winner of the match is Chloe and her Yamper!" Pikachu nodded for further confirmation and said with his hands on his hips, "Pika."
Chloe looked a little shocked. "Did I.. win?" she said and looked at Gou. This nodded with a wide grin and said, "Oh yeah. You were awesome." His cheeks showed a tinge of red as he said it, but Chloe didn't notice it. Instead, her mouth opened to a wide smile and she exclaimed, "I won! I won my first match!"
Then she noticed her Yamper in front of her and squatted next to it. "Thanks," she said and scratched Yamper behind his ear. Yamper barked happily and Serena smiled at them as she lifted her own fainted Yamper from the ground in her arms and whispered to him, "You did your best, silly dog."
Yamper licked Serena's cheek until he jumped to the ground again. He looked normal, energetic self again, even though he had only recently lay fainted on the ground. He ran happily to Chloe's Yamper and they started chasing each other again and playing some sort of tag.
Serena walked over to Ash and they watched the Yampers start spinning around Chloe and Gou. Serena smiled at them until she opened her mouth and said, "Shall we go to see what Ballonlea has to offer? The Yampers would definitely like to sniff the environment."
Ash was just responding when suddenly there was a voice behind them saying, "Won't work, I have other plans for them." They turned in amazement to see who had spoken, and saw Astra stepping toward them. She had apparently got her mushrooms drawn.
Astra had her sketchbook in one hand and the other, she was holding her shoulder bag. She stepped towards them with a determined look on her face and beside her walked her Lucario.
Serena looked at her in bewilderment. "What do you mean?" she asked and Astra, who had gotten to them, stood beside her and pointed at the Yampers.
"I need Yampers. Both of them. I'm going to draw them," she explained as Serena still looked confused. "And I also need helpers. Those two are perfect for that job," she pointed to Gou and Chloe, who glanced at each other in confusion.
"What about us?" asked Ash and Astra turned her gaze to him. She smiled a mischievous smile. "There's a small creek near there and lilacs and wisterias grow on its edge. Go and see what kind of place it is," she said and Ash and Serena glanced at each other.
"Well, we can look it," Ash said, then looked at Pikachu, who was standing next to him on the ground. "You can stay here. Watch that the Yampers don't cause any problems," he said to him and Pikachu raised his hand in salute and said, "Pika!"
"Thanks, buddy. And Lucario, you can stay here too. You never know what... Lucario?" said Ash suddenly questioningly. He had turned to speak to Lucario, but noticed that this was not visible next to him.
Actually, Lucario was not visible on the entire field. Ash realized he had gone somewhere again, from which he would say he was "training." Ash groaned at Lucario's mystery and wondered when Lucario would agree to tell him what he was doing.
Serena noticed Ash's frustration and thought it would be good that they leave. "Where is that creek located?" she asked Astra and this grinned at her.
"Not far from here," she said, tearing one blank piece of paper from her sketchbook. She then took one pen from her pencil case and drew a simple map on paper. "Next to the corner of the Gym grows a big mushroom behind which a small forest path leaves," she explained and carried her pen on the map. "Follow that little path and you'll get to the creek." And when she said that, she smiled at Serena and pushed the map she drew into her hand.
Serena looked at the map and then smiled. She put the map in her pocket and then turned to Ash. "Let's go then," she said, grabbed the still slightly irritated Ash by the hand and so they set out to walk towards the place Astra had told them.
Astra looked after them for a while until she turned back to Gou and Chloe. "Let's get to work then," she stated, opening a blank page of her sketchbook. "I have a plan for what I'm going to do, but I need your help to do it."
"You can count on us," Gou said resolutely and Chloe nodded. Astra smiled broadly at them and slapped her hands together.
"Great! And now, we need a bag of bread, tape and two, thick branches"
"I don't understand where these are needed," Gou said as he carried two short branches in his hand. He had received precise instructions from Astra about what the branches were supposed to be like and he had spent the last quarter in the woods looking for them.
"You'll see it soon," Astra said, as she did something for bread. Chloe had recently brought them from the kitchen of the Pokemon Center and the Yampers are now sniffing with interest at a bag laying in the ground. Lucario tried to keep them away from the bread, but the Yampers thought her grunts were only part of something bigger play, and they didn't care much about them.
Nurse Joy hadn't been very enthusiastic about the idea of wasting food on something in vain, but had finally agreed to give the bag to them. However, she had demanded that they had to buy new bread to replace the previous ones and that they had promised to do that.
"I don't understand where you need those bread," Chloe said, scratching her head. However, Astra did not answer her, but asked Gou the two branches and started taping them together. She sat on the ground with her legs crossed and on the ground beside her lay a roll of tape.
Gou and Chloe glanced at each other and finally sat down on the ground next to Astra. They watched as this taped the branches together and finally lifted the finished thing into the air. "Aha! Now everything should be ready!" she exclaimed excitedly and stood up.
She took her sketchbook in her hand and stepped over the bread-sniffing Yampers. Gou and Chloe followed her with their gazes, as did Astra's Lucario and Ash's Pikachu, and wondered what the heck Astra might have planned. She had said she was drawing Yampers, so where the hell she then need a bag of bread and two branches taped together?
However, the cause soon became clear. Astra squatted up to the Yampers and took one slice of bread in her hand. She had removed the center from it, so only the edges remained. She then also took the two taped branches together and then, in one quick motion, put the bread around the head of one Yamper and put the branches in the mouth of the second.
"And... there," she said contentedly as she stepped back and watched her accomplishment with her hands on her hips. "May I introduce you... little Zacian and little Zamazenta!"
She smiled broadly and spread her hands, introducing them to the Yampers, one gnawing on the branches and the second trying to eat the bread around his head. Gou and Chloe glanced at each other and then Gou said slowly, "I think I understand what you're chasing. So the Yampers are depicting Zacian and Zamazenta and you're drawing them with help of our.. models, right?"
"Exactly!" said Astra pleased and opened her sketchbook. "And now get to work! I want to get a perfect picture of this!"
It was easier said to be done. First, the Yampers didn't stay in place for a moment, and second, the bread around Chloe's Yamper's head only stayed in place for a few minutes until Yamper had already eaten it.
Gou, Chloe, Pikachu and Astra's Lucario tried to keep the Yampers in place for a moment, and Astra quickly tried to sketch even one valid picture. However, it didn't become anything and eventually she frustratedly threw her sketchbook into the ground and threatened to get Bede's Gardevoir to keep the Yampers in one place with the help of Psychic if nothing else helped.
Eventually, after many frustrated huffs and puffs and failed attempts, Astra sketched a valid picture of the Yampers (Or Little Zacian and Zamazenta) She slammed her sketchbook close with relief and announced, "It was in it! I'll finish it later, but now I want a break!"
She got up from the ground where she had sat and stretched out her numb legs and arms. She then pushed her sketchbook into her bag and took a half-empty bread bag in her hand.
"I'll take these back to Nurse Joy," she announced and Gou and Chloe nodded. Astra then stepped into the back door of the Pokemon Center, opened it, and stepped in with Pikachu and Lucario on her heels.
Gou realized he was left two with Chloe. He suddenly started to get terribly nervous and he suddenly realized how Serena had felt near Ash. He stared at the nearby mushroom, supposedly looking very interested at it, and at the same time blinked at the corner of his eye Chloe, who had squatted next to her Yamper and had just removed the bread from its head. She had apparently not noticed Gou's nervousness and Gou was very grateful for that.
He was just wondering what he should say to Chloe when suddenly this one shouted and fell to the ground. Yamper had apparently noticed something on the edge of a nearby forest and rushed to bark at it. It had caused Chloe to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
"Not again," she muttered as she sat on the ground and rubbed her back. Gou decided to help her and walked calmly to the girl. "Let me help," he said and held out his hand to help Chloe up.
Chloe smiled at him, which at least didn't remove Gou's nervousness, and said, "Thanks!" She grabbed Gou's hand and Gou pulled her up from the ground.
But it didn't go quite as he had planned. Namely, Gou happened to step on the bread that Chloe had just taken off Yamper's head and slip into it. He staggered and now fell to the ground himself. But it didn't end there. For Chloe also happened to fall. Straight on Gou.
Gou lay on the ground and looked into Chloe's bright green eyes. The girl supported herself on her hands and she had placed them on either side of Gou's head. They looked into each other's eyes and Gou felt himself blush.
They didn't say anything for a while and just stared at each other. Their faces were very close together and Gou smelled the sweet scent of Chloe's hair. He was able to see that in the girl's cheeks was a tinge of pink and it was actually pretty cute...
Then suddenly one of the Yampers started barking loudly next to them and they finally woke up back to reality. Chloe quickly got up from the ground and shook her dress. Gou also got up and neither of them said anything for a while. Gou bit his lips. Should he say something? Break the ice?
However, he avoided it, for just then Astra peeked out the door and exclaimed, "I'm making French toast from the remaining bread, so if you want, they'll be ready in a moment!" Then she closed the door and disappeared back inside and Gou sighed with relief.
"Shall we go?" Chloe asked after a while and Gou dared to look at her. She smiled slightly and held Yamper in her arms and Gou nodded.
"Yeah, French toast sounds good," he finally said and then they stepped to the door and went inside, Serena's Yamper following them.
Astra's French toast proved to be very good and they all it with good appetite. Nurse Joy also praised it and Astra looked pleased with herself.
They spent the rest of the day in the lobby of the Pokemon Center, sitting on the couches and spending time on them. Astra drew her picture to the end, Chloe read the book she had dug from her backpack and Gou played solitaire with his cards. The Yampers were playing something on the floor and Astra's Lucario had fallen asleep on the couch and snored in it without being disturbed by anything.
Eventually, as Ballonlea's twilight had become even dimmer, Ash and Serena finally arrived back at Pokemon Center. They held each other tightly by the hand and Serena apparently giggled at something Ash had just told.
"Shh, be quieter. I don't want them to wake up," Astra told them when they got inside properly. She solved a crossword puzzle with Nurse Joy at Nurse's counter and Pikachu helped them. "Who?" Ash asked in confusion, and Astra pointed her pen at the couches, without turning her gaze away from the crossword.
"They," she said and Ash and Serena looked. And grinned. Namely, Gou and Chloe had fallen asleep side by side on the sofas and Chloe's head leaned against Gou's shoulder. They both looked very serene and breathed peacefully as they slept.
"I think they're pretty cute," Astra said, finally turning to Ash and Serena and they nodded. They watched as Indeedee hovered the blanket over the sleeping couple and Ash felt Pikachu jump on his shoulder.
"Yeah," he said and scratched Pikachu distractedly behind his ear. Pikachu cooed and Serena smiled at them. Then Ash opened his mouth to say something more, but didn't have time when suddenly the door to the Pokemon Center opened and someone stepped inside.
They all turned their gaze to the door to see the newcomer and found this to be Ash's Lucario. This looked strangely tired and his fur was somehow dirty looking, as if he had spent time in some gravel pit. His gaze circled everyone in the room, but he said nothing.
Ash, on the other hand, looked at Lucario a little irritably and finally grunted through Aura, "Where were you? You weren't definitely training, so don't even try to say that," Lucario didn't answer him, but gave him a tired look.
"Not now, Master," he grunted and then marched directly to Ash. And then, before Ash had time to realize anything, he had returned himself back to his Pokeball and apparently to sleep.
Everyone was silent for a moment until Serena opened her mouth and said, "Well, we also go to sleep, so good night" And when she had said that, she went for a walk towards their room and pulled Ash with her.
"Night," Astra said when they finally disappeared into their own room. Then she suddenly yawned, packed her stuff, said good night to Nurse Joy, and eventually went to sleep herself.