Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. If I did Ash would include at least one or two of his old Pokémon in his team besides just Pikachu. I mean, some of them have real character and/or are just plain good Pokémon.
Some dialogue and plot elements from this chapter are taken from the anime episode A Battle By Any Other Name.
"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, that you tell him I am sick with love." -Song of Solomon 5:8
As they walked through the forest outside of Cyllage City on their search for berries, a silent tension hung over the group. Miette and Serena were trading angry glares back and forth. Ash was completely wrapped up in considering his own predicament, trying to come toward some sort of conclusion. Brock and Clemont were shuffling along silently, having tried and failed to get a conversation going in the midst of such obvious discomfort. Even Bonnie was uncharacteristically withdrawn.
After a few minutes of wandering, the group stumbled upon a scene that brought them up short. Gasps of shock shattered the silence, for there before them was a grove of fruits trees, trees which at this time of year should be bursting with berries. Instead of offering nature's bounty however these trees presented branches bereft of all but a handful of leaves. Such an unnatural sight drew everyone's attention away from their comparatively small concerns, uniting their hearts in a shared feeling of indignation.
"I don't see any," Ash ventured, clearly surprised at the sight before them.
"But how can that be," asked Serena, letting the rhetorical question hang in the air. There were all sorts of berries in season and this part of Kalos was known for its particularly prolific fruit trees.
Clemont bent to ground to more closely examine the scene. "This wasn't from natural causes," he said. "Someone's sabotaging the contest."
"Who would do such a bad thing," Bonnie asked, anger clear in her voice.
"I wonder," Ash mused. This was just the sort of thing that those troublemakers would do.
"Whoever's responsible did a pretty thorough job," Brock commented. "There's nothing left."
Serena clenched her fist. Miette's presence had already heightened Serena's determination to win, driving her to the point where she couldn't really think of anything else. "And now this," she seethed. Anger flaring, Serena resolved that she was going to do whatever it took to place first. In an uncharacteristic display of boldness she announced her intention to go deeper into the woods. Before anyone could respond she ran off, Fennekin right behind.
Needless to say the sudden pronouncement stunned the group. Ash and the others could only stare at Serena and Fennekin's retreating forms as the two partners disappeared into the trees.
"Being frantic isn't going to help," observed Miette as she walked up to Ash.
"I guess," said Ash, reluctant to agree both because it was a criticism of Serena and because it was charging into the unknown was exactly the sort of thing he usually did. Instead he asked Miette whether she had any ideas of her own.
She smiled and explained that Slurpuff possess a particularly keen sense of smell that they often used to sniff out sweets. When Brock chimed in that such a trait could prove quite useful, everyone agreed that following the Meringue Pokémon's lead was an excellent idea. That is until Serena's scream pierced the sylvan air.
Not even hesitating for a second, Ash ran headlong into the forest in the direction of Serena's cry of distress, running as fast as he possibly could, driven by an intense desire to reach Serena and do whatever he had to do to make her safe. The rest of the group quickly followed, with Clemont lagging behind the rest. After a brief sprint through the trees they came upon a clearing. Serena was on the ground, back pressed against a tree while Fennekin was caught in a morass of white stick web. The two were completely surrounded by a group of angry-looking white puffy Pokémon.
Taking stock of the scene, Ash quickly called upon his number one partner, pushing aside his concern for Serena to focus on the task at hand. Pikachu's Thunderbolt pierced the air, engulfing the white Pokémon completely and sending them hurtling away. Fennekin shook itself loose of its confinement and ran over to Serena, Ash right behind.
Ash knelt down and checked to make sure Serena was alright. Fortunately she was, something that made him heave a huge sigh of relief. He offered Serena his hand to her and, after helping her stand back up, let it go and turned his gaze upon her attackers, who had regrouped and now were hovering just above them. Ash lifted his Pokedex and activated it, hoping to find some clue as to how to combat these obviously hostile Pokémon. As the entry on the "Swirlix" played, Bonnie could not help but admire their cuteness, edging closer to them. Alarmed at this, Clemont moved to restrain his sister's enthusiasm, warning her they were obviously upset.
"Clemont's right Bonnie," Brock cautioned. "Appearances can be deceiving. The cutest looking Pokémon can have the meanest tempers and the scariest looking ones can be the sweetest and nicest you'll ever meet."
As the Swirlix moved closer, ready to renew the attack, Serena stood, determined to fight them off. She had failed miserably before…now was the chance to show that she could be strong. "How dare you suddenly attack us like that," she shouted angrily. "Fennekin, use Flamethrower." Responding to her trainer's command, Fennekin let loose a powerful blast of fire. Like Serena, she too wanted to show that she had the strength to battle.
While Fennekin's flame did not make contact with any of the Swirlix, it was powerful enough to convince them that hanging around wasn't worth it. Turning, the group of Fairy type Pokémon retreated back into the forest.
If Ash, Brock, and the others thought the conflict between Miette and Serena would subside after facing real danger together, they were sorely mistaken. Serena immediately blamed Swirlix for eating all the berries. Miette was quick to disagree, hypothesizing that, rather than the Swirlix being the cause of the devastation, they had instead attacked in anger over it. She then indicated that Slurpuff had caught the scent of berries and convinced the group to head off in that direction. Serena huffed internally at Miette taking the lead but, as the others seemed content to follow her, said nothing.
After a few minutes of walking the group ran into a cliff wall. This obstacle would have been intimidating and even insurmountable obstacle for humans traveling on their own. For trainers with a variety of Pokémon partners, scaling it was a piece of cake. Working together, the group quickly made it to the top, where they found themselves in the midst of a grove of berry trees abounding with fruit. Ash wasted no time in sampling a few raw berries, much to the chagrin of both Miette and Serena.
Suddenly a rustling in the trees ahead caught their attention. Looking up, the group saw a group of Swirlix headed straight for them. While Serena expressed her frustration at seeing these particular Pokémon again, Clemont and Brock once again voiced their suspicions…suspicions that were quickly validated by the sudden appearance of a robotic arm emerging from the trees, snapping branches as it went. With a great rumble the trees in front of the group of trainers collapsed, revealing a massive Octillery robot.
"You," Ash screamed, recognition evident. For standing atop the robot were none other than the trio of Jesse, James, and Meowth…the very individuals he'd suspected of being behind this.
After the group of villains recited infamous motto, Brock broke the silence.
"I don't believe it. These clowns are still following you Ash?" Brock was flabbergasted, although he couldn't really say he was surprised.
"Who you calling clowns bub," Meowth shot back.
"Well well," smirked Jessie, "if it isn't the big twerp back again after all this time. Miss us?"
"Who's that," Miette asked, obviously confused.
"Team Rocket," Ash stated, anger clear. Nothing else needed to be said.
Things of course began to unfold as was typical in situations like this. The robot's arms quickly vacuumed up not only Pikachu, but the Swirlix as well. As the robot continued its intense suction, Ash was at a loss for what to do. Once again he'd allowed Team Rocket to get their hands on Pikachu. While in some senses he was used to it by now, every time this happened he still couldn't help but worry that maybe, just maybe, this would be the time that he'd finally lose Pikachu forever. The thought made him all the more determined to get his partner back and send Team Rocket blasting off again.
Serena didn't have any more idea on how to stop this crazy robot than Ash did. But she knew who might. As Serena gripped Fennekin tightly to prevent her from being caught in the vacuum's intense pull, she turned to her inventor friend. "Hey Clemont, does their machine have any weak spots?
"Weak spot, let's see," he started to ponder as he gripped his sister.
"Hurry up," Bonnie implored, hugging her brother tightly in an embrace that in less dangerous circumstances would have been quite endearing.
"Okay," he responded, "first off, it's a giant vacuum. It has to suck in air in order to function…I've got it! Seal their suction tube. That will definitely stop the air flow."
Ash, overhearing this conversation, nodded resolutely.
"Ash let me," started Brock, about to suggest that, as the physically largest member of the group, he should be the one to give it a shot. Of course, as usual, Ash was heedless of anything but solving the problem himself as quickly as possible.
"No Brock, I'm going" and with that he dashed headlong towards the giant robot.
As he approached the vacuum, he screamed, "You can't stop me." As he said this he flung himself straight at the vacuum arm, covering it with his body. The metallic appendage went up into the air, flailing about in a effort to dislodge the young trainer. The force of the vacuum's pull however ensured he stayed lodged in place, completely covering its intake.
Brock just shook his head. "I guess our talk the other day about risk taking didn't really accomplish anything at all."
Ash's heroics grabbed the attention of not just Brock, but of the entire group. Serena, having seen how far Ash would go, couldn't help but express concern. Miette, who to this point had admired Ash for his cute looks and easy-going manner, was awed at seeing a side to him she never could have imagined. Clemont, also having witnessed Ash get through much worse, merely shouted a perfunctory reminder to be careful; Bonnie shouted encouragement, confident that the kid who's saved Garchomp would have no problem with this.
After a few moments, Clemont's prediction came true. The vacuum stalled out, allowing the Pokémon caught inside to have a moment's respite. Unfortunately, the respite proved to be brief; an explosion from deep within the bowels of the robot's interior rattled its whole body. Clemont, shouting that now was the time to strike, jarred Serena into action. She quickly called out another Flamethrower attack. Unlike before with the Swirlix, this time Fennekin's aim was true; the stream of fire hit the robot dead on, causing a massive electric short.
On top of the massive mechanized Octillery, Jesse, James, and Meowth were beginning to panic. Another blast-off seemed imminent. Although it was entirely contrary to their Pokémon-stealing goals, Meowth realized there was only one thing that might salvage the situation. Throwing a lever, he blew the robot's exhaust, which not only sent Ash hurtling through the air, but it expelled everything the vacuum had sucked up, Pokémon included.
Ash caught Pikachu while the Swirlix were able to halt their own descent in mid-air. After shaking themselves off, Ash and the Pokémon turned their attention back to Team Rocket. Ash didn't hesitate to renew the attack, calling upon Swirlix to take the lead. The Swirlix, happy for the opportunity to strike at those that had so callously ruined their home, hurtled themselves straight at Team Rocket. While the trio of thieves did try to use the robot's arms to bat away the Swirlix, they proved too swift and, before long, they had coated much of the artificial Octillery's body with sticky string.
Serena and Miette meanwhile ran forward along with their Pokémon partners. Drawing even with Ash, all three watched the Swirlix for a moment before having their Pokémon launch attacks. Energy Ball, Flamethrower, and Thunderbolt all struck the robot simultaneously. Their combined power destroyed what was left of the faux Octillery, sending Team Rocket hurtling into the sky once more.
At this the group let loose a cheer, happy to have brought an end to another of Team Rocket's schemes. As the Swirlix drifted off back into the forest, Ash turned and faced his friends.
"Well now that that's over, let's go get some berries." Nodding at Miette, Serena, and their Pokémon, he continued, "And thanks for the help you guys!"
"No problem," the two girls replied simultaneously, looking at Ash and smiling. They then turned to face one another and glared in anger.
Ash gulped nervously at this. Their whole conflict made him uncomfortable. Trying to sort out his own emotions and what to do about them was intimidating enough; having to deal with a conflict that was, in part, over him on top of it was just too much to handle. Hopefully if he ignored it and let Brock and Clemont keep the peace everything would be fine.
Observing both the renewed tension between the girls and Ash's discomfort with it, Brock realized that, for once, someone would have to come charging to Ash's rescue. "Hey Ash," he called across the clearing, "Why don't you help Clemont and I gather some berries? After all, you guys are out and I'm sure you remember how important having the right berries hand can be."
Ash nodded vigorously. "Yeah, sure thing Brock." Turning to the girls, he continued. "We won't go too far, just give a shout if you need us." With that he beat a hasty retreat towards Clemont and Brock.
Bonnie meanwhile moved in the opposite direction, away from Clemont and towards Serena, volunteering to help her female friend. Serena gladly accepted; she could use the company. Shooting Miette one last glare, Serena gripped Bonnie's hand and the two walked into the grove of trees. Huffing, Miette also headed into the forest, albeit in a different direction.
Instead of following the girls into the woods, the boys decided to gather berries right at the edge of the tree line. Brock and Clemont quickly struck up a conversation about the medicinal properties of various berries. While Clemont did have some knowledge in this area, it paled in comparison to both Brock's medical studies and the practical experience he had picked up on his travels, making him eager to soak in everything Brock had to say.
Ash however was in a pensive mood and contributed little to the conversation. Instead his thoughts swirled around Serena. "Do I love her?" The clashes with the Swirlix and then Team Rocket had evoked in Ash a deep concern for Serena's safety and a strong desire to protect her. He'd also felt pride and happiness watching her succeed at helping get rid of Team Rocket. But he'd had feelings of pride and protectiveness for previous traveling companions. So was what he felt about Serena the same as those feelings or was it something more?
"This stuff is really confusing. Things were much easier before all this came up." But as inexperienced and confused as he was, there was one thing of which he was certain: there was no going back to the way things were before. He'd have to figure this out and deal with it.
"Ash," a voice said, interrupting his musings. Looked up, he realized that it was Clemont that had spoken.
"What's up Clemont?"
"Can you see if you can find some Petaya berries? I don't see any around here, but there might be some a bit deeper in the forest."
Ash nodded. "Sure thing," he replied, relieved to have something practical to distract him from his inner turmoil.
Turning to his number one partner, Ash said "Come on Pikachu, let's go find some berries."
Pikachu responded in the affirmative and the two left the clearing behind. After a few minutes of searching they found what they were looking for: a tree of Petaya berries. Unfortunately it was quite a tall tree, meaning the berries would be a bit difficult to retrieve. In similar situations in the past he'd had Pikachu shock berries from trees. Clemont might want them to cook, but then again he might want them to heal as well. Not knowing what effect electricity would have on this particular berry's healing properties, he decided to call out Fletchling.
Before he could call out his Flying type partner, the snap of a twig jolted Ash's focus from the berry tree back towards the trees. Turning his gaze in the direction of the sound, he saw Miette and Slurpuff emerge from the undergrowth. Upon seeing Ash, her face brightened into a broad smile.
"Hey Ash," she said sweetly, "nice to see you here. I hope nothing is wrong."
Ash gulped. He hadn't counted on encountering either girl during his foray into the forest. In hindsight that seemed a foolish assumption; after the day's events neither one of them were likely to stray too far from the group. "Uh, nope, Clemont just wanted some help finding some Petaya berries. There weren't any near where we were so he asked me to go look."
"Slurpuff and I would be happy to help you Ash," Miette responded with a smile.
Although he was sure that he and Fletchling could handle it, he knew it would be impolite to refuse. Instead he uttered his thanks.
Miette turned to her Pokémon. "Okay Slurpuff, you know what to do."
Acknowledging its trainer's command, Slurpuff began to concentrate. A number of berries started to give off a blue glow and began floating down, landing softly on the ground. Taking the bag Clemont had handed him when they had first started gathering, Ash began to collect the fallen berries. Miette squatted down to help, an action that made Ash realize just how short Miette's skirt was. Banishing such thoughts from his mind and fixing his gaze squarely on the ground, he moved to continue gathering the fruit. A few seconds later though a slight cough caught his attention. Turning back, he saw Miette kneeling in front of him, gazing expectedly.
"Uh…yes?" Ash stammered.
Smiling at Ash's obvious nervousness, she motioned with her hands. "Can you open your bag so I can put these in."
"Oh, right" he replied, relief coursing through his body. He placed the few fruits in his hands into the bag and then, hands free, pulled the bag's mouth open wide so that Miette could add to it the fruit in her hands to it. As the last of the fruits tumbled from her hands, she withdrew them, her fingers brushing against Ash's as she did so. Shocked by the contact, Ash stared first at her face, then down at her hands. As he did so he caught sight of a red streak on one of them. He was immensely glad for the distraction.
"You're bleeding," he said, concern evident.
Miette's smile instantly turned to a frown. Looking down at her hands, she quickly saw that Ash was right; focused as she was on the cute boy across from her, she hadn't been paying enough attention to handling the fruit carefully and had been pricked.
"Does it hurt?"
"No, not really," she answered truthfully. Even now that she noticed the cut she didn't feel any pain.
"It doesn't look too bad, but still…" he trailed off. Pulling off his backpack, he rummaged through it for a few seconds until he withdrew a white handkerchief emblazoned with a small blue Pokeball. "Give me your hand."
Now it was Miette's turn to feel nervous. Tentatively she reached out her hand. Ash, gripping the handkerchief in both hands, wrapped it around Miette's cut finger and squeezed, applying a gentle but firm pressure. After a moment, he removed one of his hands and used it to guide her uninjured hand over to take its place. "Now just squeeze it like this for a minute or so and you'll be fine."
"Thanks so much Ash, your hands are so…" Whatever Miette was going to say was cut off by a loud cough. Both of them turned their heads in the direction of the cough. Standing there, hands on her hips, was Serena, Fennekin on one side and Bonnie on the other. All three had unpleasant expressions on their faces.
Ash withdrew his hands from Miette suddenly as if burned. Suddenly his heart flooded with a nervousness and fear altogether different than what he'd felt upon first encountering Miette a few minutes ago. He stood up from his squatting position on the ground, grabbing the bag of fruit as he did so. Putting a smile on his face and adjusting his hat, he addressed the newcomers with forced nonchalance. "Hey guys, how's it going?"
"What's going on here," she asked, ignoring Ash's question.
"Nothing. Miette cut herself helping me gather some berries. I was just helping her with some first aid is all." Inwardly Ash winced at how defensive he sounded.
"But what are you even doing gathering berries by yourself in the first place?" There was an edge in her voice that, before today, Ash had rarely heard. Today however its occurrence had been quite frequent, usually when Serena was talking to Miette. Now it was directed at him.
"Clemont asked me to get some Petaya berries since there weren't any by the clearing. You know we need to replenish our supply."
"Oh," Serena replied. She wasn't exactly happy with the position she'd found them in, but she could hardly fault Ash for trying to help out. "But why is she here?"
"Well, I was almost finished gathering everything I need," Miette said. "So I decided to head back in the direction of the clearing and just happened to run into Ash. I saw he could use some assistance and so Slurpuff and I didn't hesitate to offer ours."
Serena didn't buy for a second that Miette had "just happened" to run into Ash. But voicing her suspicions would look petty.
"Well," Ash started, trying to clear the awkwardness hanging over the scene, "I think I have more than enough." He hoisted the bag over his shoulder. "Come on Pikachu, let's head back to the others. See you guys later," he waved. "And be careful Miette, I wouldn't want you getting hurt again."
At this Miette shot Serena a triumphant look, causing Serena to frown. While Ash's back was turned and thus he didn't see this exchange, Bonnie did. She mirrored the expression on Serena's face.
"Oh and Miette," Ash called over his shoulder as he was walking away, "make sure you return my cloth. It's very special to me."
Looking at the handkerchief in Miette's hands, it was Serena's turn to shoot her rival a triumphant smirk. Although of course a bit miffed that Ash had given this sign of their bond to Miette, her disquiet was outweighed by Ash's comment that it was "very special" and that he wanted it back. Miette, though confused by Serena's look of triumph, recognized Serena's expression for what it was and shot a glare right back at her. After a moment she turned and walked back into the woods, Slurpuff following behind.
Once she had gone Bonnie broke the silence. "I really don't like that girl. She's so mean to you Serena!"
Serena smiled at this. "Thanks Bonnie, it's nice to know I have some support. Although let's not make a habit of saying bad things about people, 'kay?" As much as she disliked Miette, Serena knew nothing good would come of insulting her even if the girl got on her nerves. Refraining from such a self-destructive course would also help set a good example for Bonnie.
Bonnie nodded reluctantly. "Okay."
"Well, now that that's settled, we still have a few more kinds berries to gather. So let's go." At that the two girls turned and walked deeper into the forest.
About a quarter of an hour later the two girls walked back into the where the group had faced off against Team Rocket. Quickly spotting the boys standing around chatting with Miette, Serena quickened her pace, anxious about what Miette might be saying to them in her absence. Catching sight of the two girls approaching, Ash smiled and waved the two of them over. Once confirming that everyone had what they need, the group turned and began the trek back to Cyllage City.
Thanks again to all of you for reading and a special thanks to those that reviewed! And great catch somethingreallystupid, way to give credence to the quote upon which this episode's dub title was based.
Before you grab the pitchforks Amourshippers, Ash does not have feelings for Miette. He's just being a guy, and that's not an excuse, it's a reality. The very early Pokémon Tech episode shows this reaction is not entirely out of Ash's character either. Whatever (in-universe reason) eventually caused Ash to become super dense, the denseness has finally been shattered. As a result, he's getting hit with everything at once and is struggling to come to terms with it all. When he gets "caught" as it were, he is defensive for a reason. As readers we all know what that reason is; poor Ash hasn't quite gotten it just yet. Although you'll notice I made a minor tweak to the events covered in the anime episode to show that part of him does realize the truth.
It's a struggle to get the character's thoughts right; the limitation of anime as a medium means we rarely get a direct look at characters' thought processes. Ash is not a particularly contemplative person, but he no doubt has thoughts beyond "that's a cool Pokémon" and "wonder what's for dinner." In dealing with this topic I am giving him a type of maturity beyond what we've seen (consistently at least) in the anime while trying to make it true to the fact that he's still young and quite new to the whole thing.
Given the scope I've set for this fic, him going from "knowing nothing" about romance to understanding his feelings and acting on them will probably happen faster than is realistic, but, in the end, it's the story I want to tell. This, of course, is no slight against anyone with a different timeframe in their story; there are plenty of quality one-shots out there.