AUTHOR'S NOTE

Happy Diodeshipping Day! I hope you all appreciate how ridiculously hard it is for me to get any content out at this time of the year, considering I'm smack in the middle of rodeo hell, but today was too important for me to not have an update. Though the focus of this chapter is more on Serena than Ash or Clemont, hopefully you all enjoy it, and with any luck this won't be the last time you hear from me this week!

Also, thank you for adding me to the Diodeshipping for Life! community! I'm definitely a fan, so it's a real honor.

CHAPTER 2
A Picture Worth 1,000 Words!

"And the winner is...Serena, from Vaniville Town! Congratulations!" Lord Shabboneau, the owner of the castle the Fiery Charm Showcase was being held in, and one of the judges, stood up and handed Serena a winner's sash. Unlike the Rookie Showcases she typically attended, this was a small local competition that had no bearing on a competitor's status, one of many that Serena had signed up to participate in. Even though she wouldn't be receiving a Princess Key from this performance, she still smiled happily as she slipped the sash over her head. Every performance counted, as far as she was concerned. As long as she gained at least one more fan each time she attended a showcase, it was worth it.

"Serena, Braixen, yay!" Bonnie jumped up from her seat and ran right to the edge of the stage, ducking to avoid roses that were being thrown from all corners of the room. "You won! You won!" She put her arms up on the stage, struggling to pull herself up before giving up and pouting. Even though she was taller now than she was at Serena's first showcase, she was still too short for many things, the stage in Shabboneau Castle being one of them. She watched as Serena finished blowing kisses at her adoring fans and gathered up several of the roses, before heading to the staircase at the side of the stage.

"Do you know what this means?" Serena asked her, climbing down the stairs with the elegance and grace one would expect from someone who had just won a Pokemon Showcase. When she reached the bottom step, she turned around to offer a helping hand to Braixen, her Pokemon partner.

"More flowers to decorate with?" Bonnie guessed, breathing in the scent of the roses. "A chance to meet more cute Pokemon?" She fell into step beside her friend and role model, her thoughts drifting to Dedenne, who was sleeping inside her bag.

"I'm one step closer to achieving my dream!" She tilted her head, smiling, before suddenly being caught off-guard by the flash of a camera.

"Smile! You're going to be featured in a Spotlight Piece in the next issue of our magazine!" The photographer didn't appear to be much older than Serena herself, though it was hard to tell since he was still holding his camera over his face.

There had been a time when Serena had been afraid of photographers and reporters. They had a habit of invading personal space, asking none-of-their-business questions, and showing up whenever they weren't wanted. Ever since she had more regularly performed in showcases, though, they had become part of her daily routine. Sometimes, she even found that she enjoyed speaking with them. Flattered by the attention, she tossed her hair back and smiled in his direction. "The light isn't great here. Would you rather take my picture outside?"

The photographer slowly lowered his camera, revealing a mop of wavy reddish-brown hair and dark brown eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, miss," he said, blinking in confusion. "I was actually talking to Braixen. She put on a great performance!"

"Braix," the Fox Pokemon said, looking pleased at the compliment. She took the stick from her tail and whirled it around once, bowing. The photographer had his camera up again from the moment Braixen had acknowledged him, rapidly snapping pictures in succession.

"I've never met a photographer who was more interested in Pokemon than their trainers," Serena commented, staring at him in surprise before nodding her head in approval. "It's nice. Pokemon help us with so much; it's great to see them be recognized for something."

"More people need an attitude like yours!" the photographer told her, grinning. "The name's Todd, by the way - Todd Snap. I'm a master of Pokemon photography!" He waved his camera around excitedly. "Right now I'm working as a reporter for Pokemon Time Magazine, covering various showcases and the Pokemon performing in them." He looked very proud of himself.

"I'm Serena, and this is my friend Bonnie." Serena reached down to hold Bonnie's hand, noting that Dedenne had woken up from his nap and was now peeking out of the flap of Bonnie's bag. "And that's Dedenne," she gestured to the Antenna 's camera was up again at the mention of Dedenne's name, snapping photos of him from several different angles. "But I'm afraid I haven't heard of you or that magazine."

At her words, Todd stared at her and Bonnie with obvious distress. "You...you haven't heard of me?" He had run into many people since arriving in Kalos that hadn't heard of him, but it still came as a blow to his ego every time it happened. "Or of Pokemon Time?"

"That's right," Serena said. "Bonnie, what about you?" Bonnie read more types of magazines than Serena did, and might have at least recognized the name.

"Nuh-uh," she replied, looking anxiously at Todd. She wanted to ask him questions about the Pokemon he took photos of, and if she could see any of them, but she doubted Serena would be thrilled with an outburst like that. Now that she was 11 years old, she had to start acting more grown up.

"You and everyone else here, I guess," he mumbled unhappily. "Pokemon Time is primarily distributed in the Kanto Region, but we're trying to expand into Kalos. It doesn't look like we've been too successful."

"I know someone from Kanto," Serena said, blushing as she thought of Ash. "I'm sure he's heard of you. I can even ask him about you tonight, if you want!" Todd perked up at her words, and she smiled. It made her feel good when she made others feel better. "Besides, with you on their team, I'm sure Pokemon Time will pick up around here in no time!"

"Thanks," he told her, looking genuinely pleased at the compliment. "I know!" he said suddenly, snapping his fingers as he thought of an idea. "How about I interview you? You seemed really popular with that crowd. If we can put out a magazine featuring an exclusive with Serena, the Pokemon Performer, I bet we'll be able to sell a lot of copies!"

"That sounds great, Todd!" Serena said excitedly, pleased with the invitation. "But I don't think I can today. I have to get home." She glanced down at Bonnie, who looked like she would burst if she had to remain quiet for even another minute.

"I understand," he said, looking a little dejected. "Hey, wait! That guy said you were from Vaniville Town! Isn't that a long way from here?"

It was true that Vaniville Town wasn't particularly close to their current location in Camphrier Town, but thankfully for Serena, she wasn't going there. "I live in Lumiose City now," she told him. "It's easier for me to travel to and from showcases all over Kalos from there."

"I'm staying in Lumiose City right now, too!" Todd said, beaming at her. "I was set up with an office at the Lumiose Press once I arrived, so I've been living there. Would you mind if I walked with you?"

Serena looked around before answering to make sure there were no objections from Braixen, Bonnie, or Dedenne, but before she could respond, Bonnie decided she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. "Please do!" Bonnie said, stars in her eyes. "Can we see your office? Do you keep pictures of Pokemon there? What's the cutest Pokemon you've ever taken a picture of?"

"Oh, Bonnie," Serena sighed, smiling at her friend. She was always so exuberant. "One at a time, okay?"

Bonnie could never say no to Serena's smiles. There was something about the thought of disappointing her role model that dissolved even her most highly anticipated plans. "Okay," she said, sounding a little dejected.

"Where's the fun in that?" Todd said cheerfully, laughing at the exchange between the two girls. "Yes, yes, and your Dedenne of course!" Dedenne poked his head out of Bonnie's bag again, surprised at the compliment.

"Wow, really?!" Bonnie asked, jumping back quickly from her earlier disappointment. "Dedenne's really the cutest Pokemon you've ever taken a picture of?"

"One of them," Todd said, smiling at her. "But I can show you pictures of other cute Pokemon, once we're back in Lumiose."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Bonnie asked, running ahead of them. "Let's go!"

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

It was nearing the end of a battle between Ash and Clemont, and this time it looked like Clemont had the upper hand. After a series of hits and misses from both their Pokemon, Bunnelby still looked as battle-ready as ever, where Pikachu looked like he was on the verge of collapse.

"Bunnelby, block it! Use Mud Shot!"

Pikachu had dodged the same attack many times before, and had even done so earlier in battle, but this time there was no direction from Ash on what to do. He stopped, confused, as he looked from Ash to the ball of mud headed his way, only deciding at the last second to just dodge it and counterattack as Ash surely would have directed. But it was too late.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled as his Pokemon partner fell to the ground, splattered with the mud that had just hit him. "Are you okay?" But the electric mouse's lack of a response told both Ash and Clemont the battle was over, and Clemont recalled Bunnelby as Ash headed towards the center of the arena.

"That was a great battle, Clemont." Ash said, walking forward to pick up his fallen friend. At his touch, Pikachu picked up his head briefly and gave a soft 'chuu'.

"It was," Clemont smiled, before his expression turned more serious. "You seemed distracted, though. Is everything okay?" He never could have brought himself to admit that Ash hadn't given their battle his all, but he had made more mistakes than normal, leaving Clemont with openings he didn't usually get.

"I'm fine," he said, walking over to the stands and sitting down, putting Pikachu on his lap. "I've just had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Tell me about it," Clemont offered, sitting down next to him. "Talking can be therapeutic, you know."

Ash paused, unsure of what to say. It wasn't just one thing that was troubling him, but rather a combination of things. He supposed the main thing that was bothering him was the phone call he had with his mother several days ago. She didn't seem upset that he hadn't come home to visit her when he originally said he would, and she didn't look like she missed him too much, but the worried expression Professor Oak had given her when Ash admitted he was too busy to leave right now spoke volumes.

Then, there was the matter of why he had skipped his flight home to visit her in the first place. He had booked it as planned, and had every intention of getting on it, but when the day arrived he just didn't make it to the airport. He loved his mother, and he did get homesick for Kanto every now and again - but somehow, the pull he felt from Kalos was stronger. He already accepted that he wanted to settle down there, but not wanting to leave at all was something different entirely. Maybe there was something important he had to do here, something he couldn't leave without having done.

But Clemont didn't need to hear about any of that.

"I'm having an issue with a client," Ash said by way of explanation, the thoughts in his head jumbling together as he tried to think of what to say next. It wasn't really untrue; he was having an issue with a client and it was bothering him. Just not as much as everything else.

"Is it the girl you told me about? Sable?"

"Yeah," Ash said, stretching his legs out as he leaned back slightly. "That's her, all right." His voice sounded more bitter than Clemont had remembered hearing it in the past, and he turned towards his friend, concerned.

"She certainly sounds like a difficult client," Clemont said comfortingly. "But I know if anyone can get through to her, it's you."

"I guess," Ash said, sounding doubtful. "Hey, could you -"

"Yes," Clemont responded, setting his hand down on top of Ash's. "Of course I will."

"You didn't even hear what I was going to ask!" Ash pointed out, laughing.

"I didn't have to," Clemont said, gazing at Ash. "I would do anything for you." He blushed, and before Ash could say anything he looked down, not brave enough to maintain eye contact for too long. "So what were you going to ask me?"

"If you could make something to help me," Ash clarified, either not realizing or not caring that Clemont's hand was still resting on top of his own.

"Then my answer hasn't changed," Clemont said, confidence returning to his voice. "Science has a solution to every problem. You'll see."

"When you said you were living here, I thought you meant somewhere in the city, not actually in your office." Serena eyed Todd's rolled out sleeping bag in the corner of his office critically, wondering why he wasn't staying in one of the city's many hotels or Pokemon Centers.

"I wasn't sure how long I would be here." Todd shrugged, unconcerned. "At least I'm never late for work!" He chuckled at his own joke, feeling a little embarrassed that he had forgotten to put his sleeping bag away. He was typically what one might call a neat freak, always obsessively tidying up the entire space. But he had been in a hurry that morning, and hadn't been expecting company.

"Where are your pictures?" Bonnie asked, staring around the room. "I want to see the Pokemon!" The younger girl had repeatedly expressed her interest in seeing Todd's photographs on the way home, and so Todd had invited her and Serena over to his office to take a look at some of his work.

"I have a couple up there, from projects I've recently worked on." He pointed to a few photographs printed and framed on the wall behind his desk, hidden behind spare camera equipment and stacks of papers. "But I have a bunch more in boxes, and most of my pictures are digitalized."

"Digitalized?" Bonnie asked, trying to remember the big word. She knew she had heard it before, probably from Clemont, but she wasn't completely sure what it meant.

"Most of my pictures have been scanned in and stored on a computer," Todd explained, gesturing to his laptop. "That way I can carry them with me wherever I go! I've taken a lot of pictures, so I can't carry prints of them all."

"But what if you need to show them to someone, and you don't want to bring your whole computer with you?" Bonnie asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"That's what this is for!" Todd tapped another piece of machinery sitting on his desk. "This is a top of the line photograph printer. I can make as many copies of my pictures as I want, with this."

"Wow, that's really impressive!" Serena walked over towards the desk, but not to admire the printer. Her eyes were focused instead on a picture of several Oddish, happily playing out in the open. "They're normally so shy! How did you get them to pose like that?"

"Those Pokemon weren't posed!" Todd sounded downright offended at her words. "Pokemon should be photographed naturally, not posing. See how relaxed they are? How happy? That's the way they're supposed to be. Not arranged in a photo frame the way that we want to see them."

"But what if the Pokemon want to pose for a picture?" Bonnie asked eagerly, moving Dedenne a little bit forward as if to hint that he would be happy to pose for Todd and his camera.

"Most Pokemon don't even know I'm taking a photo," Todd explained. "Would you be able to act naturally if you knew there was a camera pointed at you?"

"Well...I guess not," Bonnie admitted.

"Exactly. I travel alone, just me and my camera, and I do my best not to disturb nature. When I come across a scene that speaks to me, I stop and take a picture, capturing everything and everyone just the way they should be portrayed."

"Aren't some Pokemon upset to have their photos taken?" Bonnie was just as curious as ever, even with Todd's explanation.

"Bonnie, I think that's enough questions for now." Serena looked apologetically at Todd, hoping Bonnie hadn't irritated him. She could tell that taking natural pictures of Pokemon was something he felt strongly about, and might not want questioned. Thankfully, he actually seemed pleased that he had a chance to explain.

"It's fine," he told her, waving aside her apology. "That's right, Bonnie, some Pokemon don't like having their picture taken. Each Pokemon has a different personality, just like we do!" He bent down until they were at eye level, smiling at her. "But I always make a point to capture a Pokemon's best side on film. Even if they would normally be shy around a camera, I show them as being brave and strong, because that is what they deserve to have people see them as."

"Not all of your pictures show Pokemon in their best light, though." Serena reached towards a photo she had just noticed on the wall, of a Fennekin laying on its side looking depressed. Its fur was matted, like it hadn't been groomed in weeks, and she could swear she saw tears in its eyes. Her fingertips hovered just an inch away from the picture, reminding her so much of her own Fennekin, laying on the stage at the Coumarine City Showcase. "How could you take a picture of this Pokemon lying on the ground in pain?" She whirled around to face Todd accusingly, clutching her hand to her chest.

"What better way is there to show that Pokemon fear loneliness and abandonment just as much as humans? People often need to see things to believe them. This Fennekin was abandoned by its trainer, left lying in the middle of Autumnal Avenue. Everyone just walked by it like it didn't exist, like a Pokemon in trouble meant nothing to them. But I saw it. And with this photograph, I'm going to make sure other people see it too."

Serena's hands trembled, harsh words threatening to spill out. She couldn't imagine seeing a Pokemon so distraught, so unkempt, and just stopping to take a picture instead of trying to help. "What happened to Fennekin?" She had to know, even if the answer wasn't good.

"Fennekin is fine," Todd assured her. "I rushed it to the Pokemon Center, and Nurse Joy advised me to take it back to Professor Sycamore's lab after she healed it. Not only did he manage to rehome Fennekin with a new trainer, he helped me develop the photo I took, and he's going to use it to promote Pokemon rights awareness"

"Wow," Bonnie whispered, awed at Todd's story. "So sometimes, it's okay to take pictures of Pokemon that are unhappy. Do you have any other pictures we can look at, Todd?"

"Right here," he said, sweeping open one of his desk drawers and taking out a stack of photographs. "Fresh off the press, so to speak. These are all photos for articles that are either still being written, or were removed from the last issue of the magazine." He held out the photographs to Bonnie, and she grabbed them eagerly, looking through them with interest.

"Ooh," she said, pointing to one of a Glaceon. The Fresh Snow Pokemon was just peeking out from behind a white wall of snow, looking shy and delicate. "She's so pretty!"

"She really is," Serena agreed, admiring the picture. "What got you into taking pictures, Todd?" She had taken so long to realize her own dream that she was fascinated by stories of how other people had discovered theirs.

"Well," Todd said, laughing. "Taking pictures has always been a huge part of my life. My parents told me it was like I was born with a camera in my hand. I found one of theirs laying around the house when I was younger, and I've never been separated from a camera since!"

"What about being a reporter?" Serena asked, still curious to hear more. Though Bonnie was still flipping through the photographs, she paused whenever Todd spoke, revealing that she too was curious to hear how he had become so successful.

"That part came a little later," Todd admitted, opening up another desk drawer and rummaging through it for something. "And I'm still not quite where I want to be. I just want to take pictures, not write articles about them. My images should be able to speak for themselves. And I only want to take pictures of Pokemon, not people and places, like I have to sometimes now. But I don't mind it, because I know it's just a stepping stone to my real dream - owning and publishing my own exclusive Pokemon magazine!"

He and Ash are kind of alike, Serena thought, watching him take out stacks of papers, rifle through them, and then neatly set them down in a stack on his desk. They both have dreams that are going to take them a while to fulfill - but they keep aiming for it, and they don't let anything hold them back. It's such an inspirational way to live. It was certainly what had inspired her to do everything for her dream, and not give up at every little problem that popped up.

"Here!" Todd said, holding up what appeared to be a very old copy of Pokemon Time. There was an outline of a Flying-type Pokemon on the cover, but Serena didn't recognize which one. "I owe everything to this picture of Aerodactyl. I guess a picture like this wouldn't be so rare these days," he reflected, "but it was back then, and I became pretty famous for it." He puffed out his chest, looking proud of himself.

"What's that?" Bonnie said curiously, pointing to a blurry spot underneath the Aerodactyl. "It looks kind of like a person!"

"It is a person," Todd said, and Serena and Bonnie both gasped.

"What happened to them?" Serena asked, fearing for them even though she knew this was taken years ago, and whatever had happened was long in the past. "Do you know?"

"I do," Todd said, grinning. "Or at least, I did. He's actually the one that kept on encouraging me to submit pictures to Pokemon Time - as long as they didn't feature him! But who knows, maybe one day one of his exciting adventures will land him in another magazine, and then I'll be able to find him again and thank him." He rolled his eyes, remembering his friend and the crazy situations they had gotten in, even though they only traveled together for a short time. "That Ash is really something."

"Ash?" Serena and Bonnie both asked in surprise. "You don't mean...Ash Ketchum?" Todd had said that he was from Kanto originally, and Ash always did seem to be getting into adventures, but Serena never once suspected the two might know each other. It would just be too big of a coincidence.

"Don't tell me," Todd said dryly, already knowing the answer to the question he was about to ask. "You know him? Don't answer that," he said, cutting off Bonnie as she opened her mouth to answer the question. "Everyone here at the office seems to know him, too!"

"Everyone in the city knows him - he's the current Kalos Champion," Serena explained, surprised the reporter wasn't more up to date on current events, or that at the very least his coworkers hadn't enlightened him. "He won the League three months ago."

"I only arrived two weeks ago," Todd said miserably, looking disappointed that he had missed hearing such important information. "Wow. Kalos Champion," he mused, clasping his hands behind his back and walking over to look out the window. "So he finally did it. He became a Pokemon Master. Too bad I didn't have the chance to congratulate him."

"Why can't you?" Bonnie asked, confused. "I bet he would love to hear from you!"

"I think he's been homesick," Serena was always so observant of her friends. "Maybe if you came over and talked to him for a while, he would feel better!"

"Is he still in Kalos?" Todd asked interestedly, looking at the two of them in disbelief. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"We live with him!" Bonnie exclaimed, secretly pleased with Todd's slightly bewildered expression. "In Prism Tower. I'm sure you would be welcome over anytime!"

"Isn't that where the Lumiose City Gym is?" Todd asked with interest. "What would Ash be doing there?" The question was asked quietly, meant more rhetorically than anything, but Bonnie heard him and answered.

"My brother is the Gym Leader!" Bonnie said proudly, happy that her brother's identity was no longer the secret it once had been around the city. "He and Ash are best friends. We're all like a family!"

"Imagine that," Todd said, shaking his head. "Here I am, thinking I'll never see him again, and it turns out two weeks ago I practically move into his backyard." He sighed, and then smiled at his new friends. "Any chance he's free sometime this week for a chat?"

"Tell you what," Serena said, happy she was able to help both Todd and Ash. "You wanted an interview with me, right? Why don't you stop by Prism Tower tomorrow? I'll give you your interview, and then you can meet Clemont and catch up with Ash!"

"That sounds great!" Todd couldn't believe his luck. Volunteering to cover that Fiery Charm competition and taking a picture of Braixen had been almost like a twist of fate, destiny pulling him back to a time of great change in his past. And with any luck, it might help him make more great changes. "See you tomorrow!"

SNAPSHOTS
Pokemon the Series: XY
XY001: Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!

Ash hadn't intended to fall from a 80-storey building when he came to the Kalos region. Of course, he hadn't intended to be in an 80-storey building in the first place. It wasn't his fault that was where the Lumiose City Gym was located. But regardless, he had just fallen, and now he was watching his Pikachu be tightly hugged by a little girl, one of the people who had saved them.

"Are you alright?" A boy in a pastel blue jumpsuit held out his hand to help him get up. He looked concerned for Ash, despite having just met him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks to you!" Ash said a little too joyously, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Take a look at this, Clemont! A Pikachu! And what a cutie!" The girl snuggled Pikachu even closer to her, ignoring his attempts to get away. Scared both by the fall and now by this sudden display of affection, Pikachu let loose a huge electric shock, knocking the girl to the floor.

"Bonnie, no!" the boy shouted, at the same time as Ash asked "Are you okay?" They ran forward to check on her, but before they could reach her, she was already sitting up and laughing.

"Of course!" she told them, bouncing to her feet. She stood politely in front of them, like she was expecting something.

"Pika pika." Pikachu obviously felt bad about shocking someone who had only been trying to help him, and someone so young too.

"I'm really sorry about my sister." The boy, Clemont, hung his head in shame. He was constantly apologizing for his sister's behavior. She always meant well, but never thought before she acted, which had already gotten them into more than one awkward situation.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Ash held up his hands to show that everything was okay between them. It wasn't his new friend's fault, after all, if anything it was his own for needing rescuing in the first place.

"Bonnie, you apologize too." Clemont turned to look at his sister in anger.

"I just wanted to give Pikachu a hug 'cause it's so cute!" Her brother clearly did not understood the importance of giving adorable Pokemon hugs.

"Hm," Clemont backed away with a thoughtful look on his face. "But did Pikachu like it?"

Bonnie looked at Pikachu, for the first time seeing how her actions might have unintentionally scared the little Pokemon. That hadn't been what she meant to do at all. "All right, I'm really sorry Pikachu."

"Everything's okay now," Ash said, leaning down to speak to the little girl. She looked really upset over what had happened, and he couldn't just leave her feeling like that. "Pikachu was just a little surprised."

"Pika pika," the electric mouse said, apologizing in his own way for what had happened.

"But I still haven't thanked you yet. I really appreciate that you saved Pikachu."

"Pika pika!" Both Ash and his Pokemon partner were genuinely grateful for the assistance they had been given by the pair, and their thanks were rewarded with a huge grin from Bonnie.

"You're very welcome!" She privately admitted to herself that Clemont was more responsible for saving them than she was. After all, he was the one that saw them fall, and the one that had used his invention to break their fall. But she didn't mind taking the credit for it.

"What a weird gym. What's up with that?" Now that he had recovered from his fall and given appropriate thanks for his rescue, he could finally ask someone about why it had happened in the first place.

"You got kicked out, right?" Clemont stared up at the gym; specifically at the opening from which Ash had fallen. He knew there were a lot of security measures taken in Prism Tower, but he hadn't known of any that deposited people that far above the ground.

"Right! And after coming all this way. Some gym leader." Of course, at this time, Ash had no way of knowing that he was speaking to none other than the Lumiose City Gym Leader himself.

"Yeah, he's something alright..." Clemont was ashamed of himself. He knew it was a mistake to leave an out of control robot in charge of his gym. But in all fairness, he hadn't realized the robot was out of control until it was too late. And there was nothing he could do about it now.

"The gym leader of the Lumiose Gym is this really super duper strong person!" Clemont smiled at his sister. She was always defending him, even when he didn't deserve it. "So they asked you how many badges you have, right?"

"That's right!" But when I told them I didn't have any, I got zapped, bad."

"Huh?" Clemont and Bonnie both said. "You don't have any badges?"

"You see, I just arrived in the Kalos region," Ash explained to his new acquaintances. "This is the first gym I've been to."

"Pardon me, but...where are you from?" Clemont pushed his glasses closer to his face, as if it would somehow help him see the boy clearer. His dark skin and black hair were an uncommon combination in the Kalos region, but they didn't give him any clues as to where else the boy could be from, either.

"I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto, and my name is Ash!" He adjusted his baseball cap, hiding how awkward he felt about being asked. "This is Pikachu, and my buddy and I are on a journey together, so I can become a Pokemon Master!"

"Pika pika-chu!" Neither one of them were sure exactly where this journey would lead them, but they did know that Clemont and Bonnie would become their first friends in this strange land, and that as long as people like that were by their side, everything would be okay.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Some of you might be a little surprised by this chapter, but I do want to make two things clear. First of all, I have nothing against Serena. She's an awesome character, and she will have her own storyline here (as will Bonnie). Also, I am highly addicted to Pokemon Snap, and adding Todd just made everything fall into place. He will be appearing in other chapters, so while I don't necessarily consider him a main character in this story, he does have an important role to play.

The Snapshot is in honor of the Diodeshipping Week - Day 1 theme, Beginnings. Speaking of which, you should all hop on down to Tumblr this week to see some great dedications to Diodeshipping. Today is only the beginning!

Stay tuned for Chapter 3, and thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!