"oh before I go there's something I forgot to give you, delia" says professor oak
"hmm?" wonders delia
prof. oak starts to dig into his labcoat. eventually he pulls out a long stem rose and hands it to delia.
"here you are, a rose for a lovely flower like you" says oak
"oh professor, how sweet. thank you" says delia blushing a little
"ahem now then I must be off. catch you later" says oak then walks through the door and shut it behind him
delia smells the rose then puts it in a small vase. she then walks over to ash and serena.
"so tell me, how long have you two been going out? how did it happen?" says delia
"well for a few weeks now, and I don't really know. it just.. kinda happened" says ash looking at serena who looks back at him lovingly
"oh, that's just the sweetest thing!" says delia as ash chuckles a bit
"oh, I've got to clean the kitchen before the others arrive" she says walking to the kitchen
"huh? others?" says ash
"oh yeah, I believe she means our other friends we traveled with. you know, may, dawn, that iris girl you told me about, maybe even misty" says brock
"that's right, your little lady friends and a few others ash. you were pretty tight with them back then too" says delia
"oh right. heh heh... heh heh.." says ash as serena gives him a strange look
serena then gets next to ash and says "so ash, tell me about these "lady friends" of yours. just how "close" did you get to them hmm?"
"serena. oh er well not like close close they just tagged along with me and brock and some others. you know, we're all friends here. I mean, well you know what I mean" says ash laughing nervously
"mm-hmm..." says serena squinting her eyes at him
"oh ash, I almost forgot! the mayor of pallet wanted to see you" says delia
"wha really?" says ash
"yeah, he said to meet him at the town's square around noon" she says
"wah, it's almost that time now! I better get there quick. hey serena, wait here at the house. I'll be back soon ok?"
ash turns and darts to the door opening it.
"ash, wait!" says serena as ash slams the door behind him
"oh that's my ash, always in a hurry haha" says delia
ash dashes down a path heading into town then suddenly stops to think for a moment.
"town square huh? hmm... town square... where is that exactly?" ash says to himself
meanwhile at the pokemon lab professor oak has just arrived and is walking in. one of his aides informs him of the visitor mentioned earlier and takes him to his lab area where they are waiting. when he gets there he sees the teenage girl standing by a machine wearing a white shirt with orange jacket, green pants and a wide green hat and glasses. oak walks up to her.
"ah you must be bianca. welcome" says oak
"yes, I'm bianca. nice to finally meet you professor oak. I'm here on behalf of professor juniper" she says nodding and smiling
"ah yes, so you're juniper's assistant. great, and your timing is perfect" says oak
a few minutes later prof. oak has a stack of paper in his hand and is reading through them.
"see professor, those are all of professor juniper's research findings on unova region pokemon and their habitats" says bianca
"ah yes, this research will help me a great deal" says oak
"great. oh, well I better be going now" says bianca
"very well, and thanks again for bringing me these research papers. please give professor juniper my regards" says oak
"I will, oh and since I'm here I think I will go and pay ash a visit to congratulate him heh" says bianca
"ah yes you should. I just came from his house actually" says oak
"also I think I'll go and have some fun at this festival with my bf since he came with me. oooh he's gonna love it. well byeeee!" says bianca as she dashes out the lab's entrance
"farewell!... hmmm? bf?..." says professor
a little later ash continues walking through town going past several food stands as many more different sights and sounds appear. he looks around rubbing his stomach as it growls a bit.
"man it sure is getting busy, and that food smells great. no, I should get to town square ASAP... but maybe I should get a bite to eat first. I haven't eaten since I got here. why didn't I eat anything before I left home? curses" ash says to himself
he then stops in front of a hot dog stand smelling the air.
"mmmm..." he says getting hungrier smelling grilled meat
"so, I found you at last, ash ketchum!" says a voice behind ash
ash turns around and sees drew, may's old rival, standing there. an older drew who has grown a bit since last seen but still looks about the same.
"huh? wait a minute, I know you. uh... drew right?" says ash
"that's right, and I got a bone to pick with you mister pokemon league champion" says drew
"oh, and what would that be?" asks ash a bit confused
"hm it's a bit crowded here. let's go to a more open space" says drew
a few minutes later the two are standing apart facing each other on an open field off to the side of the paths.