Hello, everyone!
Decided to upload the 2nd chapter! I figured I can make this weekly, just like Project 'Kamen Rider'!
Although, with how quickly this story got supported over the first, this may end up being a bigger priority. Who knows!
Episode 2: The Kalos Summer Camp!
Today was the start of the summer camp hosted by Professor Sycamore and Serena was shocked to see the amount of people in attendance – it was huge! So many kids, so many experienced trainers, it was quite the sight! She played with her blue ribbon that was tied as a bow on her shirt. Ash was somewhere around here, just not in front of her eyesight, as the kids were lined up by last name.
Sadly, her last name is Paschall, and Ash's is Ketchum, so they're so far away from each other. While Ash didn't mind it, Serena was far from happy to be away from her friend, even if it was for just this moment.
She watches as Professor Sycamore walks up the small podium in the camp site, dressed as any scholar would, with his lab coat. His unruly hair definitely makes him look the part of any mad scientist, but with a twist… he was actually kind of handsome.
"Good morning, everyone!" he greets all the attendees, "As you're aware, I'm Professor Sycamore! I'd like to thank you all for participating in the summer camp! It's an honor and a privilege to finally host one and I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations!" People respectfully clap and cheer for him.
Serena kind of zones out what he states afterwards, as he states the same rules as Professor Oak's summer camp, such as to not leave the designated areas, to always listen to the camp counselors, and more boring rules that she knows she won't really break. She does worry for Ash, knowing he may just break a lot of rules.
She jumps, nearly squeaking as Professor Sycamore blows his airhorn, to signify the beginning of the summer camp. All kids scramble to hang out with friends, to have fun with the activities all around the camp, and some just chill around. Serena begins looking for Ash.
"Ash…" she calls out, looking around.
She doesn't see where he's at, making her sigh. Great. She just lost her friend.
Ash is actually exploring the camp, watching in amazement as Pokémon he's never seen in Kanto all around him. His excitement increases tenfold as he sees a blue frog Pokémon staring around with a pensive countenance. He walks up to it, "Hi there, I'm Ash!" he greets himself to the blue frog, who just stares at him with an annoyed look. Who is this brat? The frog just hops away, making Ash look disappointed.
"Aw… He was so cool looking, too," Ash mumbles, disappointed at losing the chance to make a friend out of a Kalos Pokémon.
He then walks away, thinking the frog was long gone, but the frog just stares at the boys' figure as he begins to explore around, "Froakie…" it croaks out.
Ash then sees a boy, with a green, bipedal looking chestnut Pokémon and his eyes widen, excitedly, "Wow!" He watches as the older boy feed the Pokémon, who eats it with a smile on its small face, making the boy smile. He then notices he was having an audience and looks up to see Ash watching from afar, before waving at the kid.
"Hey there," the older boy greets him with a smile, "are you one of the kids attending?"
"Mm! My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm from Kanto!" Ash greets himself, eyes still on the chestnut Pokémon, much to the kid's amusement, "What's yours? Is this guy yours? Are you a trainer?!" The older boy laughs, taking off his red cap to wipe the imaginary sweat.
"Wow, so many questions, kinda hard to answer," the older boy teases, "but to answer your question, my name is Calem and yeah, this is my starter, a Chespin. He's a starter for those in the Kalos region. I've just started my journey, but I figured why not join the camp? Are you here by yourself, Ash?" Calem asks, putting his red cap on. Ash shakes his head.
"No, I'm with a friend, her name is Serena… but I don't know where she went," Ash rubs the back of his head sheepishly, "Guess I just got excited at the cool Pokémon around here…" Calem raises an eyebrow, before giving the kid a teasing smile, making Ash look at him curiously.
Calem just smirks, winking at the kid, "Wow, look at you, having a girlfriend at such a young age. Reminds me of myself!" He laughs as the boy pouts, blushing, turning away. He overhears the boy mumble something and just chuckles at the reaction, "Well, Ash, let's go find your friend? She may be trying to find you."
Ash nods, "Yeah… I didn't mean to lose her like that. You think she'll be mad?"
Calem snorts, "Knowing girls, probably," he grins, having Chespin run up to his shoulders and perch there, "Well, might as well and help you look for her! Any idea how she looks like?"
Putting a finger on his chin, Ash thinks of a way to describe Serena, "Well, she has really pretty long hair, like down to her back, I guess. Oh! Oh! And she has blue eyes… and… and she likes pink! She's wearing a pink dress! She also has a blue ribbon tied to her shirt! Like a bow tie! I told her bow ties are cool and she wore it like that!"
Bow ties? Cool? Calem would never have thought of such a thing was even a possibility.
However, a pink dress wearing, blue eyed girl with long hair? Honestly, more descriptive than anything he could have come up with at that age. He used to think girls were just boring things that didn't want to play dirty or care about Pokémon battles. However, if his aunt heard him say such stuff, then she would have just made him ride her Rhyhorn and do a rodeo until his legs gave out.
Aunt Grace was not a fun person to annoy.
"Hm… Guess that does narrow stuff a bit for me. Well, Ash, let's go find your little girl friend!" Calem begins to walk off, recalling Chespin into his Pokéball. Ash follows suit.
Luckily for them, since they're still close by the front of the campsite, where most of the cabins are, Calem was able to spot some of the kids nearby. One of them matching Ash's description. When he takes a closer look, he almost guffaws at the fact he didn't realize it sooner, "Oh, man… It's little Sere-Bear!" He laughs, running to Serena, making Ash blink – 'Sere-Bear'?
Serena blanches at the nickname and turns to see Calem running to her, "Oh… Hi, Cal…" she greets him, with a small hug. Calem picks her up and grins, making her pout at the fact he still sees her as a child. "You can let me go now, Cal…"
"Aw, but I miss my little cousin! Look at you, you've gotten so big!"
Serena never really talks to her family, aside from a couple of them, and Calem is one she talks to the most. While he's definitely older than her, the two practically grew up as siblings, but he always annoyed her with him being overprotective or his constant teasing. She especially hated it when he called her –
"Sere-Bear?"
Her eyes widen, tensing in her cousins' arms, as she looks over to a snickering Ash, her heart dropping at the fact he knows her dreaded nickname. "I never knew you liked to be called that, Rena!" Ash teases.
"No, I don't…" she grumbles, pouting at Ash. Calem looks at the two and smirks, so that's the boy she always fawns over? Aunt Grace did tell him about the fact she made a long-distance friend. And it just had to be him, huh? If it wasn't for the fact the kid made a good first impression on him, he probably would have scared the kid to not be friends with his little cousin.
Oh, who was he kidding? He wouldn't do that to his 'Sere-Bear'!
"So, this is your boyfriend, Sere-Bear? I'm surprised Aunt Grace is even approving this," he jokes, rubbing his chin in thought. Serena huffs in his arms, biting his shoulder, making him groan at the pain, "Okay! Ow! Ow! I'm sorry! Sheesh!"
Ash stares, tilting his head at the interaction. Noticing his stare, Serena panics and drops herself off her cousins' arms, and hides her face, completely embarrassed. This is not a good day so far for herself! First, Ash just abandons her and now both her and her crush are teasing her over a nickname she doesn't like! 'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come here…' she dejectedly thinks to herself. Trying hard not to cry at feeling like she's being humiliated, she tries to walk off. However, Ash just grabs her hand and gives her an apologetic smile.
"Hey, Serena… I'm sorry, we shouldn't be teasing you like that," he apologizes, a frown on his face. He realized she wasn't comfortable with what was going on… He feels like a jerk. "I didn't mean to, you know… run off on you… and to make fun of you… That was mean of me and…" She just turns around, a set of tears dropping from her face, and he just feels even worse, "I'm sorry, Rena! I didn't mean to!"
She sniffs, rubbing her eyes, "It's… It's okay…"
Calem sighs, feeling just as bad, "Hey, kiddo, I'm sorry, too." Serena just eyes him, and he chuckles, "Yeah, guess I deserve that. But you know I do love you, Serena, you're like my cute sister. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, you know that" she just nods, wiping the tears from her eyes, "That's my big girl, you're a strong girl, Serena," he compliments her softly, making her smile.
She hugs Calem, making Ash frown at the fact he wasn't hugged at all, "Thanks, Cal…" she then turns to Ash, and immediately jumps on him, enveloping him in a big hug, "And Ash, I can't stay mad at you… You're my best friend!" She gives him a cute smile and he just returns the hug, giving her his own huge smile back.
"You're the best friend ever, Rena!"
She giggles, a blush forming on her cheeks, and gives him a wink, "Better be!"
'Damn, kid, you have her melting in the palm of your hands,' Calem snickers, 'Ah, young love.'
As the rest of the event went by, Serena slowly began opening up to other people, with the help of Ash of course. As much as he loves spending time with Serena, he knew she needed more than just him as a friend, so he opted to help her make friends. Luckily for them both, there was a girl who was about to turn 10, one that was going to start her journey as a Pokémon Trainer, and she was the most capable of being Serena's friend.
Her name is Shauna, and she began playing with Serena, teaching her some dance moves that she got from a friend, as she had friends who were also part of the summer camp. Through Shauna, she met a big kid who taught Shauna how to dance, Tierno. While he was a very goofy kid, he was one Hell of a dancer! The next one was an orange haired kid by the name of Trevor, who seemed rather introverted, until you were interested in his photographs.
Ash was still fixated on the blue frog Pokémon he saw. He kept looking high and low for it, only to become disappointed whenever he couldn't find it. He once asked one of the camp counselors what kind of Pokémon it was, to which they said, "Oh, that's probably Froakie! Don't mind him, he's not really friendly." That made Ash even more interested in finding Froakie.
Walking past the campsite, Ash makes it through a small clearing in the forest where there's a pond in the middle; Pokémon just relaxing and drinking from the pond. He walks along through, to which all the Pokémon stop and then stare at the boy.
One was Froakie, who hid behind one of the larger Pokémon to avoid being seen.
Another, curiously enough, was a Pokémon that shouldn't be there, it too hides in the crowd of Pokémon, before transforming into another Pokémon. It giggles silently, knowing who the boy was… or rather, who the boy is going to be.
Ash puts his hands up in a placating manner, "Don't mind me, I'm not going to hurt you guys," he softly states, his eyes shimmering at all the Pokémon at the pond. Small ones like a Litleo, big ones like Altaria, and ones all in the middle, and they're all just there! He sits down, cross legged, as he watches them with a big smile, "My name is Ash Ketchum! I want to be a Pokémon Trainer one day and hopefully a Pokémon Master!"
The one Pokémon that transformed discretely watches the boy in amusement, and decides to humor the boy, as it walks to Ash, as an Eevee, and rushes to the child. Some of the Pokémon stare in surprise as they see the Normal-Type rush to Ash, affectionately rubbing its head against Ash's knees.
Just as surprised, Ash watches the Pokémon in front of him just rub its head against his knee, before plopping on Ash's lap. Wide eyed, he just rubs the Eevee's head, before he starts happily playing with it. Some of the younger and more playful Pokémon all then started playing with Ash, making him laugh giddily at all the new friends he's making!
"Hehe, stop it, guys! That tickles," he laughs as some of the Pokémon all jump on top of him, nuzzling him with affection.
Some of the older ones relax, going back to drinking or watching their younglings play with the human child.
Froakie just stares amazed at the boy and slowly hops to him, nervous. Is this all a trick? Is the boy just faking it? No… no, he can feel the boy's emotions, as if they're connected somehow. The boy is genuine, but why is he hesitating? Is it because of his own past with people? Yes… humans tend to desire strength over bonds, hence why he never made it his goal to accept humans, or be under control of one.
And yet… this boy is different. He clearly wants to be one of those people that catch Pokémon and use them, but… he also wants to be friends with them? He's heard of trainers that care for their Pokémon, but Froakie has always seen that as an excuse for them to treat their Pokémon as pets or as toys, never as their own individual being.
Watching the boy play with the other Pokémon, he feels a nudge against his leg. He looks up to see a Kangaskhan smile, urging him to play with the boy. It seems even the mother of another Pokémon is wanting him to play with the boy… He just stares at the Kangaskhan, who slowly nods.
"Froakie?" He hears the boy call out to him, the other baby Pokémon around the boy giving him space to play with Froakie. They watch in anticipation over the blue frog's decision. Ash gives him an encouraging smile, stretching his hand out, "Let's be friends, Froakie!"
With the decision made, Froakie gives Ash a nod, running over to the boy, Froakie's smile growing bigger before ultimately, he jumps into Ash's arms, who too holds the frog in his arms with a huge smile. All the baby Pokémon then jump on Ash, getting all the hugs they can get, happy to have a friend with them.
As they all play, Ash chasing a Teddiursa, playing tag with them, Professor Sycamore watches from afar. The professor was worried when a kid was reported to have walked into the forest without supervision, so he decided to go look for the kid instead. However, seeing the interactions, he knew he had nothing to worry about. To his surprise, he saw Froakie smiling and laughing as it jumps on top of Ash's head! Froakie bows mockingly to the pouting boy who then starts to laugh at losing to the frog.
Ever since he had Froakie hatch from his egg, the frog was just never one to connect with any trainer who chose it, always constantly running away or let itself be released by the frustrated trainer. But here, there's a random child who got the trust of one of the starters so easily! Even if the kid is 8 years old, Sycamore was deep in thought of what to do with Froakie; Chespin and Fennekin enjoyed being around the kids and ultimately, he knew that if one of the kids got attached, there was a possibility of giving them one of the starters… if they were able to prove themselves.
Seeing Ash play with Froakie, he knew the boy proved himself to the professor, without even trying.
"You interest me, Ash," he chuckles, "I think by the end of it, I found Froakie's true trainer." He walks away, letting the kid play with the wild Pokémon.
It would later be sundown and the Pokémon that Ash was playing with sadly had to leave, aside from the random Eevee and Froakie. He holds the two in his arms, Froakie sleeping and the Eevee just enjoying the 'ride'. It giggles silently, 'Seems I was right about him, this boy is special.'
With that, it jumps off Ash's arms, much to boy's dismay, "Oh, leaving so soon, Eevee? I was going to show you to my friend Serena, she would have loved you!" Eevee's actions wake up Froakie, who croaks grumpily at being woken up. He looks at the Eevee in confusion.
The Eevee then transforms right in front of their eyes, to reveal a giggling Mew. The two stare in shock of Mew, who just circles around them happily, and Ash just whispers out, "What… Who… are you?"
Mew curls up in a ball, giggling yet again, "I'm Mew, nice to meet you, Ashy!" it speaks telepathically to Ash, who jumps from the telepathy. Froakie stares in amazement.
"Wow… Hi, Mew! Nice to meet you," he smiles out, excited to see Mew, immediately forgetting he was playing with it the entire time. Mew keeps circling around the two, with the two watching in awe.
"I'm sorry, Ash, but I must go… don't let anyone know of me, please." It teleports away, "Hopefully I can see you again, Ashy!" Its voice fades away.
"Bye, Mew! I promise!" Ash and Froakie wave at nothing, both then look at each other and they grin, wanting to meet Mew again.
"Ash! Ash! Where are you?!" He hears Serena cry out, her voice laced with worry. Ash blinks, realizing it's getting late. With a smile, he looks over to Froakie, and the two nod. They need to keep it a secret to everyone. Ash begins running to where Serena's voice was last heard, hearing her call his name, her voice getting louder, "Ash!"
He jumps through the bushes, scaring the young girl, "Sorry, I'm here!"
"Fro-froak!"
Serena stares at the two, her eyes shimmering, and her lips quivering, "W-where were you?!" She grabs him, "I-I was looking all over for you, A-Ash!" She whimpers, "Cal couldn't find you and none of the others couldn't either… I thought you got hurt – or-or worse!" She holds him tightly, making Ash smile softly at his friend.
"Hey… I'm sorry for scaring you like that 'Rena, honest! I just played with some Pokémon here and I made a new friend, too!" She stares at him, her eyes puffy from the crying, and she almost hiccups. Ash then shows her Froakie, who tilts his head at her, but gives her a polite wave. "See! This is my new friend, Froakie! This was the one I was talking to you about!" He grins.
Trying to calm herself down, Serena stares at the frog and gives him a small smile, "I-It's nice to meet you too, Froakie…" She looks at Ash and sighs, a small tremble escaping her lips, "Ash…"
Ash looks down, feeling guilty, her downtrodden look really making him feel like a jerk again, "I'm sorry, 'Rena... I haven't been the bestest friend to you, huh?" He holds her hand.
Trying hard not to let her emotions run rampant, despite the blush forming on her cheeks, she turns away, "It's fine…" She sighs, "Do you… do you not want me anymore?" She bites her lips, "Of course not… I'm just a little girl that cries a lot… I don't even know how to make friends… I'm just a scaredy cat… Why would you be friends with me?" Her voice cracks as Ash's hands leave hers, feeling as if he's going to say she's right and walk away.
"You're wrong!"
She then feels him hugging her, Froakie no longer in his arms, and watches from afar, wanting to give them space. Serena feels something drop on her shoulders and realizes they're wet. She turns her head and sees Ash's face, tears streaming down his. Her own eyes tearing up.
"No! No! No!" Ash shakes his head furiously, he then pulls away to give her a stern look, "Serena Paschall," her eyes widen at him using her full name, "Why wouldn't I be friends with you?! You may be scared and cry a lot, but who cares? As your best friend, I'm here to protect you and make you happy! I want to be your bestest friend ever and I won't stop being your bestest friend ever!" His tears running dry, he holds her hands tightly between his own, "You're funny, kind, and you have the nicest smile ever! I don't want anyone but you as my bestest friend!"
He wipes away the sadness in his eyes, replacing them with a happy countenance, "You're my 'Rena! I'll always want you!" He gives her a toothy grin and to Serena, this was her confirmation. She just hugs him tightly, using every ounce of her strength to hold him, not wanting to let him go.
"You'll always be my bestest friend…" she whispers, her head resting on his shoulders.
Froakie smiles and uses Bubble Beam in the air, giving a thumbs up, and hops away.
The two stare at the bubbles floating around them and Serena stares at Ash, watching him stare in delight at the sight of the bubbles. It was then she realized something, one that gave her heart a skip. 'I… really like him…'
Hope you guys enjoyed it!
I'm excited to keep writing more of this and still work on Project 'Kamen Rider'!
