So, here we are. Another day, another chapter.

I hope you enjoy chapter 4 of What Happens. I'lll do my best to bring you the rest of the story ASAP.

"Ash, who are we going to see?" Serena asked.

"You'll see! I think you'll like it!" Ash replied.

"But Ash, it's late. And I'm tired…" Serena retorted. "Maybe we should just spend the rest of the night at the Pokémon Center."

Ash knew she was right. He was excited about going home, and that masked the fact that he was feeling a but weary himself…

"Charizard," Ash commanded, "slow down. Take us to the Pewter City Pokémon Center."

The Pokémon complied with its trainer's command, and adjusted its speed and trajectory…

"Thank you", Serena smiled. "Some more sleep will do you good, and me too. Besides, the only thing keeping Pikachu awake is the wind on his face…"

Charizard flew down towards the Pokémon Center and landed softly on the ground, Ash climbed down and waited for Serena to do the same before recalling Charizard.

As they entered the Pokémon Center, they were kindly greeted by Nurse Joy.

"Hello and welcome to the Pokémon Center!"

"Nurse Joy, good evening. We'd like a room, please." Ash said to the young woman.

"I'm sorry, but we're out of rooms with single beds… Unless you don't mind sharing a bed, you'll have to rent two rooms." The nurse informed the trainers.

Serena's face became tomato red upon the thought of sharing a bed with Ash.

"I don't mind…" She said.

"I don't mind either…"Ash confirmed.

"Okay, then. Here's the keycard. It's the second door on the right." Nurse Joy handed Ash the keycard.

"Thank you!" The trainers said in unison as they walked to the door of their room.

"Be safe!" Nurse Joy called out from a distance to the two young trainers, to which Serena blushed, while Ash just wondered "I wonder what she meant by that…"

Ash inserted the keycard in the slot and turned the doorknob to the right, unlocking the door. Opening it, the teens saw a king-size bed, as Nurse Joy had described. There was also a table and a few chairs surrounding it. The bathroom door was located beside the bed, which was being bathed in the moonlight, which slipped past the blinds in the window.

"Which side do you want?" Ash questioned.

"Either side is fine." Serena replied.

"Then I'll take the right side." Ash said as he sat down on the bed. The softness of the mattress reminded him of how sleepy he was, which surprised him. He couldn't fight that feeling for long…

He took his backpack and placed it by the nightstand. Pikachu climbed down from its trainer's shoulder and curled up into a ball, falling asleep.

Serena took her sleep clothes from her bag, placed it on the nightstand and entered the bathroom. She changed her clothes and brushed her teeth, which took her less than five minutes. When she returned to the bedroom, the sight before her made her smile.

Ash was sound asleep, with Pikachu curled up next to him. Both of them had the moonlight behind them, causing Serena's sleepy eyes to see both of them glow.

She got into bed, turned to face Ash, kissed his forehead and whispered "Good night, Ash," before adding "I love you."

Serena woke up when the light seemed to pierce her eyelids. She even covered her eyes with her left hand, but the damage was done. She was awake. Beside her, only Ash's most trusted partner remained in bed.

Serena sat upright on the bed, stretched her arms and got up, taking care not to wake her close friends' Pokémon. She grabbed her regular clothes and walked into the bathroom to change.

Ash walked into the room after leaving all of his Pokémon except Pikachu with Nurse Joy to check up on their health. As soon as he entered the room, he was amazed at the sound that echoed in the air. Serena, who was unaware of Ash's presence, nonchalantly whistled a melody they had heard in Kalos, namely in Laverre City, which is where Serena stepped into the spotlight regarding girls. Ash walked over to the bed, where Pikachu slept and woke him.

"Come on, buddy. Today's a big day." He whispered to the Pokémon. Ash wanted Serena to hurry, but didn't want her whistling to stop, so he decided to wait for her to finish and go to the window. As Ash looked through the glass, he wondered about how much had Pallet changed while he was in Kalos. He was so focused on his thoughts, he didn't notice the whistling stop.

"Ash?" A voice brought him back to reality.

"Huh?" Ash saw Serena gather her backpack and place it on her back.

"Something wrong?" She asked, worry noticeable in her voice.

"No, nothing." Ash shook his head. "I was just admiring the view... but come on, we have to go."

Picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulders, he shook Pikachu up to wake him.

"Come on, buddy." Ash said as he shook the Pokémon. Pikachu, upon being shaken, released a thunderbolt, hitting its trainer, who got the message: never shake a sleeping Pikachu.

Serena smiled at the scene as she helped Ash up.

"I didn't want to bring out the big guns, but you forced my hand." Ash confessed. "Pikachu, after breakfast, I'll give you a bit of ketchup."

"Pika…" The Pokémon protested.

"Okay, a spoonful of ketchup…" Ash relented.

Pikachu smirked victoriously, and climbed into its trainer's shoulder.

"We go home today, Pikachu, you can sleep all you want tomorrow." Ash commented as he closed the door to the bedroom, headed to the cafeteria.

"Sometimes, you just gotta bribe them…" Ash joked, and Serena laughed.

After eating, Ash paid for his meal, as well as Serena's, which surprised her, and after Pikachu finished his spoonful of ketchup, they got up and went to the lobby.

Ash handed the room's key to Nurse Joy and thanked her for letting them use the facilities. As Ash filled the satisfaction report, the doors opened and a man in a white lab coat entered.

"Good morning, Dr. Brock." Nurse Joy greeted the man.

"Funny, I have a friend named Brock who's a Pokémon doctor…" Ash commented. While Ash spoke, Brock signaled Nurse Joy and Serena to stay quiet. "He was a fantastic cook, his food is comparable to Clemont's… Oh, and he couldn't see a pretty girl without hitting on her…"

"Yeah, but I developed an immunity to poison-types thanks to that…" Brock stated.

Ash turned around and saw his old friend, who travelled with him through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh.

"Brock!" "Pika!" Ash and Pikachu greeted their old friend, as Ash extended his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Ash questioned.

"My job." Brock replied, proudly. "I'm the doctor in this Pokémon center."

"That's amazing!" Ash continued.

"Thank you, and Ash, who is this young lady?" Brock turned to Serena.

Serena stepped forward and introduced herself.

"I'm Serena from Vaniville Town in Kalos." She extended her hand for Brock to shake.

Brock took her hand and was just about to say something when he was interrupted by Ash.

"Brock, she's... hum... off-limits." Ash revealed.

Brock was unsure of what he meant by that until he figured it out. It's one of those things, you can't see it until you see it. And once you see it, you can't unsee it.

Brock let out an "Oh, I see..." and smiled and shook Serena's hand.

"So you're Serena... Ash has told me so much about you. Welcome to Pewter City, I'm Dr. Brock, also known as Doctor Love and former Gym Leader of Pewter Gym. You know how Ash got my Gym's badge? He turned on the sprinkler system."

Serena laughed, while Ash only said "Not my finest hour..."

"So, Ash, did you win the Kalos League?" Brock asked. "I was watching the match bit there was an emergency..."

"I did, that's why we're going home to Pallet." Ash informed "Mom's throwing a party. But I have to go see someone first."

"Who?" Brock questioned.

Ash approached Brock and whispered something in his right ear. Brock smiled, "You should do that!" he said.

Ash stated, "You could come with us!"

The breeder-turned-doctor smiled weakly. "I wish I could, but I have to stay here in case there's an emergency…"

Upon hearing those words, Nurse Joy interjected. "I'm sorry to intrude on your conversation, but I don't mind you going with them. Just make sure to keep your PokéGear with you in case I call."

"That's great! Thank you, Nurse Joy!" Brock commented. "That's why you're my favorite Nurse Joy in Kanto!"

"Oh, stop, you're making me blush…"

Brock smiled to his friends. "That settles it. It'll be fun to seen ever…"

Brock couldn't even finish the sentence. The sound of an ambulance cut through the air. As the ambulance stopped, the EMTs brought in a Pidgey in a stretcher.

"This Pidgey needs help!" One of the EMTs yelled.

Brock, who was chatting with his friends, looked at Ash, who just aid, "Go. We'll wait." And with that, the Pokémon doctor made his way to the room where Pidgey was.

Ash placed his backpack on a nearby couch and sat down, motioning Serena to do the same.

"Brock, huh?" Serena broke the silence.

"Yeah, he's always trying to get a girl, but he always fails. But he never fails to cook an amazing meal, that's for sure." Ash recalled, amused.

"How so? Is he better than me?" Serena complained, sort of jokingly.

"Brock has had a really tough life. His dad walked out on him and his siblings when they were young. After a while, his mom, unable to cope with all the responsibility, did the same, leaving all of the kids in Brock's hands. So, he learned how to cook. And on top of that, there was the gym. Denying a challenge because he was too tired would cost his the Gym's license, meaning no income. He only managed to come with me because his dad had a change of heart." Ash explained. "You like to cook. Brock had to learn to like to cook."

Serena was shocked. Astonished. She didn't know Brock's childhood had been so rough. Her expression became heavy, which got Ash's attention.

"Serena, what's wrong?" Ash asked as he approached her.

"I try not to judge people, Ash, but I ended up judging Brock just because you said he cooks better than me…" The girl confessed.

Ash was unsure of what to do. He had never seen Serena look so sad, even when she lost her performance debut. So he did what his instinct told him.

He scooted over to her and placed his arm behind her head, reaching her left shoulder.

"Serena, look at me." Ash instructed and Serena complied.

"I told you Brock's story to explain why he's a better cook than you. I don't think you need to apologize to anyone because of that, but if you feel the need to, you should apologize to Brock." Ash informed her, looking straight into her eyes. "Also, I didn't want to make you feel like this. That was never my intention. So, for that, I'm sorry."

As Serena heard Ash's words, she turned to face him. His eyes were so calming, so relaxing, like a balm for her heart.

When Ash finished talking, he found himself unwillingly staring into Serena's sapphire eyes. And he felt an urge, one he had been feeling since Laverre City, he wanted to hold Serena, to protect her. Ash's gaze fell down to Serena's lips, and he felt strangely drawn to them, as if they were magnets charged with a different polarity than his own lips.

Relying on the attraction pulling them together, both of them closed their eyes, allowing instinct to take hold for a second. Which was all they got.

The bell rang, meaning the Pokémon that was being treated was now out of harm's way. Brock emerged into the lobby, to find his friends red as a Tamato Berry.

"Ash, you lucky dog…" He whispered to himself. "Guys, I'm free, shall we go now?" He said out loud, for his friends to hear him.

"Y-yes, let's go." Ash said, moving frantically.

"Yes, we should go…" Serena spoke softly.

Ash, Serena and Brock left the Pokémon Center and headed to the south exit of Pewter City, on route to the Viridian Forest.

Brock was aware he had interrupted their moment, but he had to do it, otherwise, they'd never move. But he was going to help them, in his own little way.

Ash was upset. The reason why he was that way, he didn't know. Maybe because Brock had interrupted him back at the Pokémon Center.

Serena was disappointed, because that kiss-that-almost-was would be their real first kiss, with intention, feeling and spur of the moment, not awkward and accidental like the one on the Champion's Hall.

"So, Ash," Brock questioned, breaking the silence, "who are you travelling with now?"

Ash smiled as he recalled his current travelling companions. "I'm travelling with Serena, who you know," he smiled at Serena, who walked beside him, "as well as Clemont and Bonnie. Clemont's the Gym Leader of Lumiose City, an amazing cook and an inventor, and Bonnie's his little sister." At the mention of cooking, Serena lowered her head, recalling what Ash told her about Brock.

"Ah," Brock commented, "so it's almost like the Hoenn days, but without me and May."

"Something like that", Ash laughed.

As they were enjoying their conversation, Brock's PokéGear rang. He answered it, looked at Ash, and smiled.

"Okay, I'll tell him, bye!" He ended the call and turned to Ash. "Ash, where's your backpack?"

"Oh, man! I can't believe I forgot it! May's half-ribbon is in there!" Ash commented. "You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up in no time."

"It's fine, we can wait." Serena replied before turning to Brock. "You don't mind waiting, do you?"

"No, it's okay, go get your stuff." Brock informed.

As Ash ran back towards the Pewter City Pokémon Center, Serena nervously kicked the ground at her feet, as she thought of the best way to apologize to Brock for judging him.

"Brock…" "Serena..." Both the performer and the breeder-turned-doctor said in unison, before Brock signaled Serena to keep talking, saying "Ladies first."

Serena's expression became slightly heavier. "After Ash told me you were a really good cook, I got sort of jealous, but then he told me your story, what you went through, and I just felt bad for judging you so readily."

Brock was amazed at this girl's honesty and sincerity. Needless to say, he wasn't used to that.

"Wow," Brock said, "this is a first… just to clarify, you're jealous of my cooking skills?"

Serena nodded. "In a way, but mostly of the way he referred to you, as if you were a master cook." Serena confessed.

Brock smiled, reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled something in the paper and handed it to Serena. "That's my e-mail." Brock informed. "Feel free to ask for recipes and advice, be it cooking for all four of you, or just you and Ash…" He smiled.

Serena started to blush and tried to deflect the topic. "Th-thanks!" She stuttered, before turning her head towards the road leading to Pewter City.

Brock looked to the road, as if following Serena's gaze. They were both checking if Ash was back on the road. As he couldn't be seen anywhere, Brock decided to ask Serena the million-dollar-question.

"Hey, Serena, how long had you been in love with Ash?"

Ash ran as fast as he could towards the Pokémon Center. The houses on the sides of the road became blurry, along with the vegetation with no details being visible to him. The people he encountered, or rather, who encountered him, wondered about the reason for his hurry.

He didn't want to make his friends wait, so as soon as he reached his destination, he entered the Pokémon Center, ran over to the lobby, asked for his backpack, thanked Nurse Joy and as quickly as he had arrived, he left.

As Ash ran, he thought of how his friends would accept Serena. Would they like her? Would she feel like an outcast? Would his mom bombard Serena with questions? How would his Pokémon react? So many questions…

As he moved closer to where his friends awaited him, Ash slowed down and began walking in their direction.

"Brock, you're like the big brother I never had." He heard Serena exclaim.

"Thank you, Serena! It means a lot!" Brock continued.

"So, you guys got along?" Ash asked as he approached them.

"Yeah, Brock's super nice and helpful." Serena commented, smiling.

"And so is Serena. I'm starting to see why you lik…" Brock, looking at a blushing Serena, stopped. "Nevermind, let's go."

As the group walked down the road, Ash began to recall all the adventures he has had over the years.

"This road brings back so many memories…" Ash commented.

"Yeah, most of them are Team Rocket digging holes for us to fall into." Brock recalled. "We were so dumb…"

Serena looked at Ash with a surprised look on her face. "Holes? They dug holes?"

"Yeah, like really big holes and covered them with leaves and branches. Let me put it this way: if you were to mark all the holes they did in the maps of Kanto, Johto and Hoenn, you'd have a message in Braille. On all the routes." Brock revealed.

As if on cue, the group felt the ground give way under their feet. The traditional feeling of wanting to shout "Who did this?" almost took hold of Ash, if he hadn't seen that Serena was clutching her right arm, next to the shoulder.

"Serena, are you okay?" A concerned Ash questioned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just a scratch." The girl reassured him.

"This, Serena, is what I was talking about." Brock explained. "Sudden holes appearing in the middle of the road. I'm expecting Team Rocket to show up and bust some rhymes."

But silence is what followed. No one came to them, no blue-haired man, no pink-haired woman, no talking Meowth.

"Strange, they should be here by now…" Brock commented.

"Maybe it's one of those they left behind…" Ash hypothesized.

"Maybe we should get back up, guys." Serena joked.

Ash stated to climb out of the hole and before long, he was out. He reached out his hand to help Serena, who gladly took his hand and climbed up, kneeling next to Ash.

The two younger teens stood next to each other, each assessing the other's status, making sure the other was okay. Their friend stayed in the hole, and observed what was happening.

"I'll rescue myself, then." Brock joked.

Ash and Serena kept checking each other for signs of injury. Suddenly, they hear a voice coming from behind them.

"Shall we get going?" Brock's voice spoke.

"Brock, when did you get out of the hole?" Ash questioned.

"When you too were checking each other out, just a few minutes ago." Brock replied, smiling. "You became so blind to your surroundings, you didn't notice that I got out of the hole. But nonetheless, we should get going."

Ash and Serena looked at each other, blushed and looked away towards Brock. The doctor could just smile, "You guys…" as the started walking towards the forest.

Soon, the teens arrived at a gate leading to the Viridian Forest. The enormous trees inside were visible from the group's location.

"Ash, I've been thinking. Why don't you make an entrance in Pallet?" Brock suggested.

"An entrance?" Ash and Serena said in unison.

"Yeah, every year you go back home by foot, but this time it's different. You put Pallet on the map. You should arrive in style." The doctor continued.

"And how do I do that?" Ash questioned.

"You have any flying Pokémon on you?" Brock inquired.

"Talonflame's not big enough to ride and Noivern, can only carry one person. Oh, I have Charizard!" Ash confirmed.

"Good, give me Charizard. I'll go ahead." Brock suggested. "It'll give you a lift."

Serena didn't know what the boys were talking about, but when Ash handed Charizard's Pokéball to Brock, she realized she had lost her ride. 'How would arriving in style be possible if there was no Charizard?', she wondered.

"I'll go ahead, see you soon." Brock informed before opening Charizard's Pokéball, and telling it to take him to Pallet.

After Brock left, there was no sound to be heard, except for the rustling of the trees caused by the wind. But Ash broke that silence.

"When I started my journey, I wasn't that much of a trainer. I tried to catch a Pidgey by making it think I was wearing my pajamas." Ash stated. "But after that I caught a Pokémon, my second capture, and it stood by me through thick and thin. I left it here," Ash pointed at the forest, "to take care of its friends and promised to return when I had finished the Orange League, a promise I never fulfilled. Without it, I wouldn't have done anything that I accomplished." Ash stopped.

As Ash turned to face Serena, she saw an energy in his eyes that surpassed anything she has ever seen in them.

"Today, Serena," Ash smiled, "is the day I fulfill that promise."

Ash took a few steps forward until he was about to enter the forest, raised his hands to his mouth, to amplify and direct his voice and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"PIDGEOT!"

A young boy hung around the Viridian Pokémon Center. He had heard his friend won the Kalos League, and so he came to Pallet, hoping to surprise him. After all, they promised to battle whenever possible, and it seemed the time had finally come.

Suddenly, a loud cry came from above. As the kid looked up to see what was happening, he saw the dragon-like wings and flaming tail of a Pokémon he hadn't seen in a while.

"It's him!" He remarked to himself.

He adjusted his glasses, looking hard to try and see the Pokémon's trainer on its back. The boy wanted to surprise his friend, but it he was on Charizard's back, there was no way it would happen.

The boy looked on, with a resolute expression. He'd reach pallet as fast as he could. As sure as his shirt was green and his shorts, so comfy and easy to wear, were brown, he'd be the winner of their match. For he was the son of the Petalburg Gym Leader.

"I gotta wake her up." Max exclaimed.

So, did you like it? Let me know!