"So many people have walked by your side... every new one I find puts my heart in a bind... When I look at your face, one that used to seem so perfect and handsome, all I see now is misty... Slowly I could feel my heart freezing over like an Iris struck by a sudden strike of snow in May. I wait for the light of dawn to warm me and bring Serenity back to me... But I can't deny it now... Ash... I know nothing about you. To me you're a complete Stranger"
I remember reaching my room and closing it behind me that evening, leaning against the door as I try to process the events of earlier. Yes, I was thinking about the battle between Iris and Ash I witnessed but also about what had occurred after that...
"Nurse Joy, can you heal our Pokemon please?" Asked Iris as she approaches the front desk with Ash and the rest of us behind her. After the battle they were completely out of juice and badly injured. "Oh my, that battle you had must have been quite a struggle! Of course, I'll have them checked out and restored right away... Wigglytuff! Bring out a hospital bed please!" Cried nurse Joy as a big, pink, Wigglytuff came out from the back with a hospital table. Both Ash and Iris placed their tired pokemon on it and watched them get wheeled away as they were going to get treated in the back room. As we waited we sit at a booth, just talking mostly about Ash and Iris's travels through the Unova and it was rather interesting. I picked up on the fact that Iris loved to call Ash a kid and while he was a bit childish I disagreed. Ash was a much matured boy in my eyes, having the traits of a hero and a love for all his pokemon that was rivaled by none. Yes, he acted childish but why was that a bad thing? It's his inner child that makes his so unique, compassionate and wonderful... Anyways, I'm getting off the subject.
"So your Serena, the one Ash kept talking about over the phone right?" Asked Iris as she extends her hand. "Sorry about the quick intros last time... we didn't really hold back so..."
"Oh! I could tell! That battle was so intense! One of the most intense battles I've ever seen Ash in! It's fine!" I reply, being as friendly as could be. At the time I suspected nothing. Of course they would battle so well, they travelled longer together than we have and besides, Iris was more of the 'down in the dirt' kind. There was no need for me to lose my cool... at least, not at the moment.
"I'm happy you liked it! I trained for months in Johto, fighting every dragon type trainer I glanced at! I would have won if it wasn't for dumb luck..." Ash quickly swung his head to face her, giving her an annoyed look. "Oh!? Then maybe next time we battle I'll use my whole team not just Pikachu!"
"Sure! What stopped you from doing that before?!" I could see the sparks fly and it made me giggle a bit until I realized something odd... Iris and Ash... They acted so much like each other... Both love to battle and train a lot... both are wilder and like open areas... Maybe it was just me...Anyways, once the drama cleared I noticed Iris look at me then at Bonnie with a devilish smirk. "Oh Ash? Doubling up now are you?" We all tilt our heads in confusion, even Ash, as we did not know what she talked about.
"You know, doubling up! Before you used to travel with only one girl at a time and now two?" That remark caught my attention hook, line and sinker as I was interested in what she implied.
"You mean, Ash's had more female travelling companions before?" I asked but instantly realized it was a horrible idea to have done so. Iris leaned back in her chair, smirking as she continued. "Of course! You didn't think you were the only two did you?" Both me and Bonnie looked at each other then back at Iris as she continued to speak. "Haven't you ever noticed that strange lure Ash always uses when fishing? The one shaped like an orange topped girl? That was from a girl named Misty...you're first travelling companion right Ash? I remember you talked about her a couple of times while traveling with you..."
"You mean this one?" Ash pulled out the lure of a girl flashing a peace sign from his bag, holding it up for us to see. "I haven't used it yet since... I only save it for when nothing is really biting..." He help the lure in the palm of his hand, looking at it with a soft and reminiscent expression, almost as if just the memory of the girl made him very happy, "... Misty was the kind of girl who was a bit scary and demanding but... she's a true friend who never gives up on you... who'll always stay by your side... she had this knack for making friends just with her smile..." Ash closes his eyes, holding the lure close to his chest, "I kinda miss her... I haven't seen her in a long time..."
There it was again, that sharp, horrible pain in my chest. It burned so horribly but I ignored it... however, anyone with two senses could see my eyes show my pain... unfortunately, a person that fit that bill was right here and, unknown to me, noticed my pain filled expression.
"Aww that's sweet... very semimetal... just like a kid~"
"URGH! I'm not a Kid!" yelled Ash as he places the lure back in his bag, more annoyed than before. "So I care about my friends, sue me..." Bonnie peaked into Ash's bag, looking at the lure when she saw something else that interested her. "Ash, what that ribbon in your bag for? Did you do a pokemon performance too?
Ash looks down into his bag, smiling even wider as he pulls out a ribbon that seemed to have been cut in half... almost as if it had another half. "Oh! Speak of the devil! This was from another great friend of mine... After Misty I went to the Hoenn region, which was popular with something called Pokemon Contest which are kinda like Pokemon performances but are more based on the pokemon's moves and skill than the trainer's. When I got there I met this girl named May and back then she absolutely hated pokemon! She just wanted to get one so she could travel around! Anyways, as I made it to Hoenn Pikachu got really sick and May helped me save it... soon after that we decided to travel together with Brock and her little brother Max... This ribbon was won by both of us in a tie after her biggest performance... it was my Septile against her Blazekin and I have to say... it was one of the most intense battles I ever had... After the contest Septile sliced the Ribbon in half so I carry this one to always remember her..."
"Aww that's so sweet Ash!" Replied Bonnie with sparkles in her eyes.
Burning... burning... I could barely take it... Ash never told me about any of this... Not about Misty, May, pokemon contests... he didn't even mention the fact he has a Septile... Why? Why does my chest feel like it was on fire? I had to clench the bottom part of my dress just to keep myself from exploding. I was so focused on trying to contain myself I didn't even notice the eyes looking at me... a pair of deep, rich blue eyes...
"Oh and don't forget about Dawn, Ash! Wasn't she a Coordinator to?" Added Iris, adding another girl to the already growing pile.
"Yeah, she was but she was a piece of work... Not as stubborn as Misty but she could give her a run for her money... Dawn was a lot nicer and loved fashion... Kinda like you Serena actually... except with blue long hair..." not helping... "I had to teach her a lot of things since she was a new trainer but boy was she a trooper. She never gave up, no matter what life threw at her! When it was all set and done she was so good at what she did her Buneary got a job as a model for a magazine! I think she said she was going to send me the latest issue soon... when she does I'll show it to you guys!" Mercy... I beg of you... mercy..."Surprisingly, she was the one who showed me that Contests and gym battles mash up pretty well! She showed me a bunch of cool battle tricks during her practices that spinning move Pikachu does and something we called a counter shield... I'll show you guys sometime!"`` How could this be?! How could the boy I loved with all my heart have so many things I didn't know of?! These girls, his feelings about them, what they showed him and he them?! What else didn't I know?! How much did I actually know about him?! I-it's like... I was in love with a total stranger! How did this happen... How much did I really know?...
"Wow Ash! You have a lot of friends... a lot of lady friends..." said Clemont which caught everyone off guard since he had been silent for the entire talk, almost as if he was focusing on something else. "Yeah he does, and now with you guys... he has like what... 5, 6 lady friends? If you keep this up Ash you'll have so many girlfriends that you won't be able to tell them apart anymore!" At that second I shoot up to my feet as those words felt like a Giga Impact to my chest at full force followed by an Explosion. I could feel everyone staring at me and I mean everyone... even the people just hanging in the Pokemon center but I didn't care. For a moment I just stood there, suffering from the recoil damage. "I... have something I have to do for tomorrow... excuse me... I'm sorry... "I felt so... broken at that point, burnt out and lacking of any energy. Slowly I slipped out from my seat, walking to the door and leaving the center without a single word with every eyeball glued onto me, almost as if I walked death row. As I made it to the sidewalk, a bit ways from the pokemon center entrance I booked it, running as fast as I possibly could to the hotel we were to stay in. My chest was bursting, burning and felt like fireworks made of lava released inside it. I've never felt anything this horrible before, such a soul crushing, heart breaking pain that I couldn't even withstand it. I don't recall much of what happened in the trip except for the need to get far away... to run as far away as my legs could take me, pushing people out of my way as I did. Was I crying? I couldn't tell you since I honestly don't remember...
But I do remember reaching my room and closing it behind me that evening, leaning against the door as I try to process the events of earlier. Yes, I was thinking about the battle between Iris and Ash I witnessed but also about what had occurred after that... that painful, horrible talk. After making it here... All I could do was sink to my knees and sob as loud as I've ever cried before. This pain was so horrible, betrayal, confusion, heartbreak, the three deadly assassins targeting my heart and beating it to nothing more than dust in the wind. I couldn't even say his name without yelling in sobs and tears. For hours I sat there by my door, releasing a storm that raged inside my entire being and unleashing the furious flood waters from it in waterfalls through my eyes. I have no idea when I stopped... All I know was that once the storm's fury, the volcano's eruption, the Dragonite's outrage subsided I fell asleep on the floor, coiled up like an injured pokemon...I might as well have been...