Santalune Forest

"The gentle light filtering through this sun-dappled forest makes it a popular spot for nature walks."

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The forest was a serene place with its huge canopy trees above that barely allowed the sun's rays to pass through. That meant the forest floor was perfectly moist-just how Serena wanted it. Not too damp, yet not as cold either; a perfect place to relax. That's why she lagged behind and allowed the others to run ahead of her towards the exit of the forest-partly because of the scenery, partly because of the new adventure she was starting. She needed to be alone for a while. Just long enough for her to adjust. Her acquaintances (she couldn't accept them as friends yet; it was too soon for that) told her to meet them at the exit anyway, so she took her sweet time.

They would wait for her there.

But one person. One. Person. Just had to lag behind the others without her permission, joining her in, seemingly, companionable silence.

He was ahead of her, walking silently on the tan road and away from the patches of abnormally tall grass. He was completely clueless at Serena's presence. At first, Serena thought she wouldn't mind him being there-he was the calm one from the group after all-but from time to time he would take furtive glances at the grass besides the road, and it would freak her out, causing her to stay clear from the grass as well.

She was trying to relax here, not be overly cautious. So Serena tried to get rid of the problem by stretching the distance between them, slowing down her pace.

She thought she was being successful-his back was getting blurrier by the second after all-but then she heard a rustle; a nerve-wrecking noise from right behind her. She turned around to come face to face with an incredibly ferocious, angry, red monkey. She'd walked straight into the patches of grass without knowing it. It was all because of that Calem guy! He distracted her!

She ran for dear life, the violent red monkey hot on her trail. It wasn't until she ran a complete circle that she remembered help was just up the road, wearing a blue jacket.

She switched directions and ran through the grass for the tan road. Soon enough, Calem's blue jacket came into view. The angry cries from the red monkey surely should've caught his attention instantly, but it didn't. Calem couldn't differentiate it from the rest of the shrieks, chirps, and squeaks of all sorts the forest supplied. So Serena did the only thing she could of at the time.

She clapped for him to hear her. She clapped with all the strength she could muster! Like her life depended on it. Literally.

To her relief, her claps worked and he turned around. He quickly understood what was going on and motioned her towards a bush for her to stay behind it. He whipped out his pokéball and threw it to the air. Sure enough, a few minutes later and the job was done. The red monkey had fled back to where it came from.

Calem returned his pokéball back into his satchel. His eyes were closed as he turned towards her.

"Can I ask," he said, "why you didn't use your pokémon?" He opened a single eye to see Serena cast her head down towards the ground. She was still behind the bush.

"Don't tell me you lost your pokéball."

She shook her head, and took out said pokéball for good measure. He raised a brow, then came towards her. Serena had no idea why, but she stayed put until he was right in front of her.

"May I?" He asked, hand extended out. It was Serena's turn to raise a brow as she slowly, but eventually, gave him the pokéball. Then he did the unexpected.

He released the pokémon from the pokéball.

Serena watched helplessly as the white outline of her mystery pokemon turned green and brown in different places, revealing a spiky-looking creature. She was annoyed at why Calem would even do such a thing. She obviously didn't want to meet the pokémon yet. And, she was also frustrated because now there was no way to back out anymore. She was going to have to go through the whole ride again. By force.

The brown thing's eyes looked up at the both of them and stretched its limbs. Then all of a sudden it began running jubilantly around in circles, utterly happy that he/she was free. After a few rounds around a nearby bush, it came back to coincidentally latch onto Serena's leg, refusing to let go as it squealed with joy. It seemed to automatically know who he/she belonged to.

Serena's shoulders sagged.

But Calem. Oh, senile Calem. He merely smirked.