Authors note - I finally finished Super Mystery Dungeon! Freaking amazing game, a great runtime, my save file was up to 36 hours, a nice few additional gimmicks, a nice story, but... They keep screwing up the sad moments for me. This was the only mystery dungeon I didn't cry at. And I look forward to this series to making my cry. It proves its done an amazing job. It was sad, but I wasn't in tears. I still hold up 'The Explorers of' trilogy for having the saddest ending of all the mystery dungeons. Although Super definitely shows signs of improvement. I found myself second and triple, even quadruple guessing certain aspects of the game. Cameos from other games was nice, my favourite being Emolga ^_^ Although now I'm curious as to as to what happened to Paradise and all the other Mystery Dungeon teams. Such mystery ^_^ anyway, enough of my ranting.


Alive.

That was one of the only words Ash could use to describe his feelings when traveling. Alive. He never felt more at home, ironically, than when he was traveling foreign roads and pathways. He had never particularly like the atmosphere of Pallet town. It felt too safe for him. Familiar. Uneventful. Nothing worth mentioning seemed to happen there when he was growing up. A safe hometown was always nice of course, but he had felt sheltered. He knew every single inch of his hometown, inside and out, exploring and looking for something exciting. He was usually disappointed. He didn't hate his hometown, at all, but he hated how he was always cooped up like he had been at home. Near no way to have any of the adventures Ash longed for. Though he had tried his damnedest to make adventures as a kid. He understood why the town was like it was. He didn't like it, or particularly agree with it, but he understood it.

Being cooped up back there for two years had felt like a prison sentence. Sometimes, he would sneak out onto the nearby routes and just walk around. It was something he did to clear his head. It left him plenty of time to think. And thought he had. About lots of things.

The group of three followed the route Serena and Ash and planned. It was an estimated day or two to reach, depending on their speed. They would have to camp out, that much was certain. It was a nice route to camp out on, regardless. Acres of fields, roaming with wild Pokemon. Peaceful herbivorous Pokemon, like Mareep, Sentret, Skiddo and Gogoat. Yanma and Beautifly would hover above the ground, before darting away. A cool breeze carried Flabebé and Floette along, holding tightly onto the flowers that they relied on for their life force. It was a picture of naturally perfected scenery.

Ash found himself sighing contently a lot during their trip.

He felt alive.


A medium sized campfire was the only light source in the field that evening. Two tents surrounded it, kept at a reasonable distance of course. Three human figures sat around the fire. The silhouette of a Pikachu also sat around it, on occasion jumping onto one of the human silhouettes.

Serena had become quite adept at camping in the two years separation. It had been out of necessity. She had to learn to do it on her own, and she had certainly outdone herself. Someone could easily mistake her for a regular hiker with the ease and speed she could pitch a ten up and unload her equipment now. Despite that, it was clear that it was not something she found enjoyable. She didn't seem to look satisfied or happy that it was done. She was basically expressionless. She had gotten hers sorted out before Ash had gotten halfway, though. That seemed to amuse her. "Need a hand, Ash?"

"That... Yeah, that'd be great." Ash said, somewhat awkwardly, as he fumbled with some tent pegs and a hammer. Serena laughed softly and knelt next to him, helping him set it all up. His partner Pikachu simply observed this, grinning at the, what looked like, role reversal. It had been Ash helping Serena with pitching tents two years ago. Now it was the opposite. It could be forgiven, as Ash hadn't had much practice in the last two years. When the camp had come to Oaks lab, he had simply watched the kids pitch their own tents. Part of the job when he had helped there.

"Don't mind me." Miette muttered, humorously and sarcastically. She had even less done than Ash had. "I'll just flounder here on my own." She held up two handfuls of unpacked, unstructured tent.

Serena ignored her, while Ash laughed, feeling a bit guilty. Once his tent was pitched, both trainers went over to help Miette, who was having some uncharacteristic trouble with her tent. The tent refused to stay up, and seemed to collapse in on itself whenever it actually got up. The events had seen Miette becoming slowly more and more irritated.

"I think I might've found your issue, Miette." Ash said with a somewhat bemused smile as he held up a pole from inside the tent. A perfect snap at the centre. "This pole isn't gonna hold up anything."

Miette knelt down by Ash and looked. She hasn't seen it when sliding the poles into their places of the tent. She ran her fingers across it, feeling the jagged edge pickle her skin. She then sighed. "Great." She muttered passive aggressively. "That's just... That's just great."

"You'll have to share mine." Serena offered, shaking her head in her hand, a combination of exhaustion and amusement evident in her voice.

"Thanks." Miette muttered. She then sighed. "I'll have to pack this up again for now. I'll see what I can't get sorted out at the castle tomorrow, and anything I can't get, I'll have to check for at the next town."

While the blue haired girl sorted out that, Ash and Serena started to prepare the food. While it was certainly nothing extravagant, it was serviceable. There was no large spread like Clemont would often make. Their meal tonight consisted of some meat and mostly of rice. Company was to be the main seasoning to this meal.

Miette had finally managed to push everything into her bag again when felt the wind pass over her, making her shudder. Part of that was the clothing she usually wore, but the majority of it was that this particular evening was just bitter cold. She wasn't alone in this observation. Ash and Serena suddenly seemed to be a lot more chilly than they had been a few seconds ago. Even being next to a fire hadn't helped.

"I don't suppose that's ready yet?" Miette asked, throwing her bag inside Serena's tent for safekeeping. She knew she'd feel better once she had some food in her. She wasn't particularly fussy about what food, either.

"Just about." Ash commented, looking inside the pan filled with boiling water and rice. "Serena, you grab this. I'll sort out Pikachu's food."

Serena nodded and switched positions with Ash, and began to separate the water from the rice, and collect the meat from its separate frying pan. They did both with admirable speed. The portions on each plate weren't exactly up to much, but there was enough to fill someone. In terms of taste, It would be rather bland.

Another gust of wind chilled all three trainers to the bones, making each one shiver individually. "Here, grab your plate and duck inside my tent." Serena told them, passing a plate to Ash while she carried hers and Miette's herself. Her companions agreed, and complied. Once Inside, Ash saw why Serena had suggested it. She had a portable power outage set, and a mobile heater. Simply due to how much power it could store, It wouldn't last more than an hour... But that was gonna be at least an hour of warmth. Chances were, they'd all be asleep by the time that ran out, and it wouldn't matter after that. Of course, he would still have to brave out the cold again to reach his own tent, but for now, he could enjoy the warmth here.

Serena quickly set to work turning on the heater, and within a few moments, the heater was dispensing warm air into the tent, much to the warmth of all inside it. While it was a solo tent, there was enough room for three people inside. In fact, there was probably enough room to fit four or five people inside, provided they didn't mind being in the same room. Serena quickly slid inside her sleeping bag, the same pure pink one she had had two years ago. She already looked incredibly comfortable and snuggled up. The three began to eat their food In relative silence. Sure enough, it was a relatively plain tasting meal.

"Hold on." Miette said, rummaging through her bag. A curios glance was traded between Ash and Serena, before Miette produced a bottle of sauce of some description. She applied it to her own food first. It had a cream-looking colour to it, and it seemed to have black dots peppered around it. It made the meal Miette had look a bit like a curry of some sort. Whatever it was, Miette seemed to enjoy it. She then threw it for Ash to catch. "Here. It'll put some flavour into it."

Ash caught the bottle in his right hand. He glanced at it, checking for a label of some kind to tell him what it was, before shrugging his shoulders, deciding it couldn't possibly make what he had any worse. He was right. It was spicy, but it was nice. The bottle was quickly passed to Serena, who seemed to have an equally pleasantly surprised reaction. Though when Ash thought about it, it wasn't really a surprise. Miette was a baker. It did seem logical that she knew some cooking basics. Her just having a sauce that would help out this bland meal was just luck. Very good luck, but luck.

Their meals were finished a lot faster than had been expected. Ash sat next to the exit of the tent, with Pikachu now cooing in its sleep. He ran his hand along his partner Pokemons yellow fur coat absentmindedly, as he often did.

Miette was setting up her sleeping bag on the opposite side of the tent to Serena, her intention being to give her friend the space she would need to turn in her sleep. Miette knew she didn't. Well, she was confident she didn't.

Serena meanwhile just laid down and seemed to just get comfortable with her current position. She seemed to be curled up into a half ball, like she was going to sleep in the hands around her knees position, but didn't quite get that far. Whatever she was sleeping like, she looked immensely comfortable. "That was nice..." She commented with a content with, referring to her meal.

Ash nodded in agreement. "It was actually nice." She looked towards Miette. "Why'd you have that bottle, anyway?"

"It's something I made a few days ago. Never had the chance to try it with something. Seemed as good a time as any."

"Well, thanks." Ash said with a smile. "That was gonna be a bland meal without it."

"I thought you might like it."

Ash sighed in content as well. This tent was incredibly warm. He wasn't surprised that Serena had planned ahead for cold nights like this. She was a much more city person than a country person. She was always more at home in bedrooms at Pokemon centres than any tent. An automated warming device was the closest she could get to air conditioning on colder nights.

"Nice thinking with the heater, Serena." He said, complimenting his friend. "Wish I'd thought of that when I went to Snowpoint in Sinnoh a few years ago." He remembered the cold nights they had been forced to spend in tents. The breeze outside didn't bother him all that much after that, but he preferred this heater, for certain.

He didn't get a response. He tilted his head, and noticed Serena had her eyes closed. She had already fallen asleep. Sound asleep. Her hand was tucked underneath her chin, and her face looked peaceful. She seemed to have a drowsy smile on her face as she fell asleep, and it stuck to her lips.

"Serena?" Miette asked a bit louder. No movement whatsoever. She was out like a light. Like she hadn't slept peacefully in weeks. Months.

'Cute.' Ash found himself thinking. He just watched her for a while. He didn't know why. Well, he did... But thinking of it like that... It made this seem weird. Like he was a stalker or something. He tried to tear his eyes away. He couldn't.

"Why don't you just tell her?" Miette asked Ash. Ash turned his head to face her. Her face was different than what he expected. Not smiling. No jokes. No teasing. She was being serious. Her eyes looked into Ash's, full of sincerity. Inviting. Friendly. Words Ash never thought he could use to describe Miette. Ash would have denied any romantic feelings towards the blonde Kalosian. He would have denied it to anyone else. Absolutely anyone else. But he knew, against this baker / performer, it was pointless. Even if he didn't feel anything towards Serena, he knew the blue haired girl would have pressed the matter anyway. Lying was pointless. Ash sighed.

"...I abandoned her."

Miette raised her eyebrows.

"You didn't see the state she was in when I had to go. When I... Chose to go. She looked... She tried to smile through it. To see me off happily. But the night before that... I heard her. She was crying." Ash sighed at the memory. These thoughts had haunted him. Since he had returned to the Kalos region, these thoughts had been in the front of his mind. For so long, he had kept them to himself. Now he had started talking about them, he couldn't stop.

"She was crying so much. And I still chose to go. I chose to go, knowing how much it would hurt her.

So, why did I do it? I really don't know. There were a few reasons, I guess... None of them I'm particularly proud of in retrospect. I guess the main reason was because I just wanted to keep going on my journey. To leave the failure at the Kalos League behind me. I came so close, and got knocked out the way I did..." Ash chuckled. "It was like getting kicked in the ribs. I accepted it and moved on from it, the better trainer won. But after that, I felt victory being so close. I just want wanted to get out of here and get stronger. Get better, so I can win next time. My Pokemon deserve better than constant failure from me. A loss is the trainers fault, so I have to become stronger along with them.

Then there was Oak. Not sure if Serena told you, but Professor Oak - He's a researcher in the Kanto region, in the town I grew up - He was studying Mega Evolution. He has been for the last two years. I've seen lots of it first hand. He wanted my help. My opinions, my Pokemon to help run his tests. I trained a lot there. All my Pokemon are tough like nails now. I wanted to return his kindness to me. He put up with my stupidity from day one. You know I was late to pick up my first Pokemon, and Pikachu was all they had left? Best mistake I ever made, but for Oak? I was just another idiot kid. I'm almost certain he gave me Pikachu out of pity. I wanted to return that favour. Even if it was years ago, and he says I already repaid it. His generosity that day has let me have years of excitement, traveling and... Just absolute sheer joy, that's something I'll always have to thank him for. "

Ash laughed lightly. Miette just sat there, taking all of this in. This hardly seemed like the Ash she knew. That reckless boy she met two years ago, that she felt a small infatuation for. A usually confident, eager, and happy go lucky attitude, flavoured with heroism and bravery. The person she had come to respect as well as Serena. And now, someone she could call a friend. She never saw this side to him. One that seemed filled with regrets from the past. Mistakes he felt he made. Silly, stupid, paranoid things he shouldn't blame himself for.

"Know something though?" Ash asked. He had a dull smile on his face. "I'd do anything to go back two years and slap myself in the face for leaving.

While I was there, training, helping, not traveling, I had so much time to think. To reflect. And my mind always found its way back to her." He nodded at the sleeping Kalosian. "Took me a while to figure out why. Even now, I'm still struggling to understand things... But, every time I think about it, I eventually ask myself, what kind of person can just abandon someone like that, and then expect them to want to be with them?" He put particular emphasis on the word 'abandoned'. Like he was forcing it out. "Serena still treats me like a friend... She still is a friend... I don't deserve that, I don't think. Not after I chose to leave her here to cry like I did. Once I thought about that, I couldn't stop. I messaged her. I wanted to apologise... I never could bring myself to do it though. Something stopped me."

Miette stayed respectfully silent for a few seconds while Ash finished his sentence. Ash looked like an anvil had been lifted from him. He still clearly felt guilt, but it was no longer cooped up. "...What stopped you?"

Ash looked at the ceiling of the tent. It flapped lightly against the wind. "Fear? Anxiety? Remorse? One of those... Or... Shame. That's the word. I felt ashamed. I refused to eat for a couple days after these thoughts got into my head. I felt like absolute crap." He looked at Serena and smiled. "I keep thinking, maybe she'll forgive me. Maybe there's still a chance... But... She deserves someone who can make her happy. All the time. Not some of the time. Not someone who abandons her to try and fulfil their own ambition."

Ash sighed. It was all out. Everything he had kept caged up for two years, laid flat on the surface. These thoughts had always been a part of him. Ever since he thought like this years ago, he realised what a mistake he had made. What a terrible, terrible thing he had done. What a stupid thing he had done. He realised how much he cared for Serena. How much he still cared for her. How much he..

"She doesn't blame you." Miette said, firmly. Her expression had become stern, her eyebrows buried into her face, and a sort of frown that wasn't angry, up but seemed to come more from concern than anger. In fact, her entire face seemed to express a soft concerned frown, rather than one made from anger.

Ash looked at her. "How do..."

"You're not to blame, Ash. Serena wanted you to follow your dream. Hell, she still wants you too, even now. She's too caring for her own damn good. She knew your time together would end eventually. She wanted to enjoy it while it was there, and worry about the separation later."

Miette sighed. And then took a deep, deep breath. "She told me all about how she met you. How you said goodbye the first time, how much she cried then. How much she wanted to find you. How much she never forgot you. Even seeing you fall from the top of that tower, she remembered your name. When she saw your face, she knew it was you. She went to find you the first chance she got. She stood with you through everything you did. She saw you off with a smile of sadness, but of sincerity too. She wanted you to achieve your goals." Miette smiled at Ash. "Serena is one of the most loyal people I've ever known. If anyone would blame you for what you did, it's not her."

Ash looked at the sleeping girl again. He still remembered how she looked when he left.

"Her life had..." Miette thought for a moment. Thinking what to say. She remembered the advice she had been given, and decided not to press the matter too far. It could only lead to more confusion between the two. Despite what Miette wanted to do, she stayed quiet. She ended the conversation however, with one final remark.

"She has brightened up so much since a certain Kantoean came back into her life."


The sound of yelling and thudding, laughter and running could be heard in the field around Professor Oaks laboratory at these times of year. Tents pitched in the fields alongside the Pokemon that roamed the fields. A group of about 45 children, all from different regions and backgrounds, all meeting for the first time. It had been a typical camp this year. Friends were made, and rivalries were formed. Bonds were made, the kind that would last for decades to come. Some people had met their closest friends at these camps, and this year was no exception.

Ash sat a bit away from the rest of the group, leaning against a tree, smiling and watching the sunset that he liked to see every evening. It was something amazingly beautiful. It was one of the few things he actively did enjoy about living in Pallet Town. He found himself wondering about the rest of the world from here. Who could see the same thing he was seeing. Where they were seeing it from. How beautiful it was to them. It was a matter of perspective when you thought about it.

"Ash?"

He looked behind him and saw the friend he had made over the duration of the camp. Serena. The girl he had helped out purely on instinct. It had certainly been an overly dramatic rescue, especially seeing as she had only fallen over. Still, he didn't regret helping her whatsoever. She had turned out to be a really fun person.

"Hey Serena." He replied to his friend. He gestured for her to come and sit next to him, which she did quickly and readily. "It's pretty, huh?"

The young girl looked out to the Kantoean sunset. It was beautiful. Oranges and reds mixed together to form a bleeding pink colour across the sky. Reflecting on the clouds, making dark pink blobs across the sky. A burning red sun, halfway hidden by a hill in the distance, trees, plants, and lonesome cottages dotted the hills, forming what was Pallet Town. It looked like a perfect art picture, encasing the entire beauty of the natural world, and the advancements of the civilised world.

"It is..."

"Hey, is it like this in the Kalos region?" Ash asked, his regular dumb grin spreading across his face. He asked the Kalos native wide eyed, curios and excited. He had asked Serena lots of questions about the Kalos region, his curiosity sometimes overwhelming her.

The girl fiddled with her fingers. "Um, sometimes. Sometimes when it's very early in the morning. But I haven't seen a sunset this pretty..."

Ash looked back at the sunset with a smile. "Don't you find it interesting?"

"What?"

"All over the world, there is only one sun, but everyone sees a different image of it. It's always like this here, but not where you are. Doesn't that make you interested in the rest of the world outside your hometown?"

Serena thought for a second. She had no real issues staying in her home town, for the moment anyway. But she could see why it was something that interested her friend. "Uh huh. I guess so."

"Speaking of that, aren't you going home tomorrow?"

Serena looked at the grass in the wind sadly. "Yeah..."

"Are you looking forward to going home?"

She shook her head. "No..."

"Why not?" Ash asked, his expression now changed, from a dumb grin to a frown of concern. He had turned to face her with his entire body, now in his knees, leaning closer to her face, as if inspected her for tears. He didn't find any. Although Serena did back up, her face a bit red.

"B-Because..." Serena looked left to right, hoping no one was around. It seemed clear enough. She tilted her head towards the ground, looking at the grass beneath her. "...Because I don't wanna say goodbye yet..."

"Goodb-... Oh."

"I didn't wanna come to stupid camp. I wanted to stay home, but my mommy made me come here. I didn't like it here. It was horrible. I didn't know anyone. I kept making myself look silly. I wanted to go home... But... You made it fun. And I don't wanna leave yet."

Ash smiled at his friend again. He understood. He didn't want to see her go yet either. Pallet Town only had a few kids his age, none of which he got along with particularly well with. There was Gary, but the two seemed to butt heads quite frequently. With Serena, he had never had that issue. The two just got along perfectly. They never argued. They never fought. And now, they had to be separated, by a continent, and an ocean. "Hey, do you still have that handkerchief I gave you?"

Serena's eyes widened a bit. "Oh, yeah." She said, reaching into her pocket. Her leg had healed, but she had kept a good care of it. No creases or crevasses or anything. It was in as good condition as when Ash had used it. "I wanted to give it back to you. It's yours..." She held it out in her hands for him to take.

Instead, Ash held her hand in both of his, and closed her fingers around it tightly. "Keep hold of it. Something you can remember me by." He smiled again, this time, more sad than happy, but warm and caring simultaneously. He knew this was their last night before they had to go their separate ways, but he firmly believed... "We'll see each other again."

"But... How will I know it's you?" Serena asked, her eyes widened. She was clearly upset. She didn't want this to be it, but she knew it was. She was on the verge of tears, not wanting this to be some of their final moments together.

Ash pointed at the Z marks on his cheeks. "You won't recognise these?" He asked with a small laugh. Despite her best efforts not to, Serena smiled too. "Hrmm... I know. I'll stay like this as long as I can. I'll keep my hair like this, so you can recognise me." He suggested, referring to his messy, raven hair. "And I'll make sure I remember you, Serena. The girl with the straw hat."


Serena woke up from her dream.

She had had it since Ash had left. Left her again. She found her silly smile on her face still, even after waking up. It was still late. The heater had turned off, and she could hear the wind beat the side of the tent. It was actually sort of relaxing to hear.

She looked around the tent with one eye. Miette was sleeping to the side, having turned over once or twice from the looks of things her sleeping bag was now around her waist, a result of her turning in her sleep. Serena glanced around, looking for Ash.

There he was. Still sat where he was before she fell asleep. Only now he was asleep. Sat upright, he was leaning lightly against the tents side. Pikachu was still on his lap. Serena didn't mind him being in her tent. It was bitter cold outside after all. His tent almost certainly was frozen cold. She didn't mind.

She smiled at him. 'When I ran Into him again... He didn't recognise me... But he did remember the straw hat girl. He still remembered me. He kept his promise. And he was right. We did see each other again.'

She sighed. Content.

That dream had always left her feeling sad. Alone. Now it was a cherished memory. Something she could hold close to her heart. She felt like she'd finally gotten a peaceful sleep for the first time in the last two years.


And so ends 'Guilt'.

My plan for this one was the shame and guilt Ash would feel for leaving someone who he loves behind. Ash, I feel, would feel this sort of guilt, because despite everything bait him, he's a very kind hearted guy.

So, Pokemon Sun and Moon was announced!... Personally, while I'm excited, I'm not ready for this new instalment, mostly because we'll lose the best character ever introduced into the Pokemon universe - Serena.

I am... Not looking forward to seeing her say goodbye...

However! You can be damn sure to count on me doing my part to keep Amourshipping alive. I will keep making fanfictions for as long as I can.

I do hope you're all enjoying the story that I'm crafting. Your support is helping me come up with all sorts of ideas and plot points. I have the main deal sorted, and the next few chapters have all been planned out in my head, next thing to do will be to transfer those ideas onto paper, and then to create the final fanfic. I've also taken your feedback on the characters to heart, and I have come up with a plan for all the characters I've set in motion. I assure you all, I'll will do my best to create a story you will all enjoy, and hopefully, one unique to my writing style and to Amourshipping in general.

To read my own original story, Cosmic Hand, please view my profile. The support there would mean the destroyed world to me.

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and will stick around for whatever I write next. See you all!