Hey, guys! I'm back again with another chapter, although you probably figured that out by now. I don't know why I always write that at the start of each chapter, but I do, so I guess that's something you could shout at me for. I don't even know why I said that. Let's just get to the chapter!


The plane journey was long and tiring. Ash sat next to the window, pushed up against it by the enormous person who decided to park their backside next to him. Either it was bad luck, or a bad sign, or a random ass occurrence that decided it wanted to occur at this random time.

When the plane landed, and when Ash was finally given fresh air to breathe, the first thing Ash and Pikachu did was run out of the plane and into the open air of the Kanto region, his home region.

Ash ended up having to explain to Pikachu why they went to Kanto first, and that was because he wanted to talk to his mother first and because Kanto is closer to Kalos than Unova is, so it practically cuts the time on the plane in half.

As Ash and Pikachu arrived at Ash's mother's house, they were immediately greeted with a bone-crushing hug from Delia, Ash's mother.

"I'm so proud of you for making it to the top eight, Ash!" Delia exclaimed before realising that she was suffocating her son.

Letting go of him, Delia looked at him and smiled before petting Pikachu and walking into the lounge, taking a seat and watching as Ash followed.

"How long are you staying here, Ash?" Delia asked him with a sigh, knowing that it wouldn't be for longer than a week.

"Well, I'm taking a break for a while, so I might stay for a few weeks," Ash told her, shocking his mother but making her smile.

"Where will you go afterwards?" She asked her son who looked at Pikachu who nodded, confusing Delia.

"I'll be going to Kalos, but for a holiday before I do the gyms and the league," Ash told her, to which she leant back and smirked.

"Isn't that the region that the girl moved to? What was her name again? Sophie?" She asked, watching as Ash facepalmed lightly.

"Serena, Mum. Her name is Serena."

"Oh," Delia muttered, thinking for a second. "Why are you going to see her again? She was just a girl that you talked to for a bit after you helped her. She hasn't done anything for you, so I don't think she appreciates it."

"Mum!" Ash exclaimed, shocked at what she said. "She's my friend, that's why I'm going to see her. And I don't care that she hasn't done anything to repay me. We only knew each other for a week before she left for Kalos, so she didn't get a chance. Anyway, what I did wasn't a big deal. I just stumbled upon her in the forest when I was chasing a Poliwag!"

Delia sighed. "Sorry, I just don't want you to have to go through what happened again," She said quietly, making Ash go quiet, remembering what happened between him and one of his friends not too long before he left for his journey.

Delia got up from her seat, heading into the kitchen to make a coffee.

Ash stood up, telling Pikachu and his mother that he was going to go upstairs and rest for a bit after the journey, and, due to the jetlag, Ash was tired.

Pikachu nodded, running into the kitchen to get some food while Ash walked upstairs.

What Ash told them was a lie. While he was tired, that wasn't the reason why he decided to retreat to his bedroom. The real reason was that he was reminded of what happened not too long ago.

Ash lay down on his bed, picking up a picture from his bedside table. Looking at the picture, Ash was reminded of the memories, including the bad one.

The picture was him, Serena, his friend and the other kids who were in Professor Oaks summer camp. A place he attended one summer when he was eight.

Ash looked at the younger Serena for a few seconds, smiling a bit before his eyes drifted over to his friend, Gary.

Gary was a competitive person. Someone that you could talk to easy. Someone that was easy to get along with provided that you didn't beat him in a battle, or any game for that matter. However, Gary had some feelings for Ash that he didn't reciprocate, and, as a result, their friendship drifted apart.

Ash had been scared to make too many friends after that happened, as he didn't want the same thing to happen. While friendships can be continued after something as awkward as being rejected by them, Gary was so embarrassed about coming out as homosexual and then getting rejected by his crush and best friend, that he disappeared. No one knew where he went until his body was found in the forest. He hadn't killed himself, but he had gone out on a walk late at night to try and think about what to do, when a couple of criminals jumped him, stole his money, and left him lying on the forest floor, bleeding with no way to contact anyone.

After Ash found out about what happened, he was scared that the same might happen. He had never been the luckiest person, so if anything similar happened, it would most likely convince Ash that he was cursed.

Sighing, Ash placed the picture back on the table and rested his head on his pillow, closing his eyes and attempting to get some sleep.


Two weeks later, Ash walked out of the plane. He had arrived in Kalos.

As soon as Ash and Pikachu were out of the airport, they headed for the nearest hotel, booking a room before heading up to it. Ash and Pikachu's room was on the second-to-last floor, so they realised that if the lift (British for an elevator) ended up going out of order sometime soon, they would have a tough time getting to their room.

Unlocking the door, Ash saw that the room was decently sized with a main room containing the bed, T.V and the door to the balcony, with the bathroom door next to the door to get in.

Ash walked forwards, closing the door behind him before hopping onto the bed.

"So, Pikachu. How do you like Kalos so far?" Ash asked Pikachu like he normally did when they arrived in a region they hadn't been in before.

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed with a thumbs up, showing that he liked it so far.

As Ash put his head to the pillow, he pulled out his phone, sending Serena a text to tell her that he had landed in Kalos and was in a hotel in Lumiose.

Serena sent a text back talking about how excited she was that they would be able to see each other again, reminding Ash of how much he'd craved these next few days over the past two or three years.

As this was going on, a strange noise erupted throughout Lumiose city.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked Ash, who glanced at him before putting his phone down on the side.

"You heard that too?" Ash asked him, getting up from the bed and walking out of the door that led to the balcony, Pikachu following.

The only thing they could see beyond the building opposite was a Garchomp zooming towards Prism Tower, Lumiose City's landmark.


There we go! Another chapter! I think you all can guess what's going to happen next, but I'm not going to tell you in case there's one or two of you that can't figure it out. I wouldn't want to ruin the possible surprise. Anyway, leave a review with anything you want in it, as I will approve. Yes, even 'hate.' It's merely constructive criticism, so I'll be happy to hear about what I need to improve. BYE!