Here comes Chapter 4, as I continue my fast pace of uploading chapters. I think that it will get slower as we get into the summer, but not a lot slower. Perhaps every other day is something I might strive for, rather than every day. (Yes, my writing speed is that fast).

This was a fun chapter to write, definitely my favorite one so far. The next one might be even better. Also, my account hit 100 followers yesterday, and I'm so excited over that!

Enjoy.

Ash spent most of the next three hours looking over his textbooks. After all, he had nothing better to do. Even if the others wanted to talk to him, he wasn't in the mood.

He let out a big yawn. Had it really been only this morning that he had gotten into a car with his mother to drive to the Jubilife City station? Had it really only been this morning that he had boarded a train that had taken him on a seven-hour journey, all the way here?

Apparently so, he thought. At least, that's what the calendar would have me believe.

"You should probably head to bed soon, Ash" Debbie told the young man. "You have your stuff all set, right?"

Ash nodded. He'd unpacked earlier, and he had showered and changed into his pajamas. As soon as he brushed his teeth, he could go to bed, and, judging by how tired he felt, he would probably fall asleep almost immediately.

"Good" she said. "I hope that you enjoy your stay at the Courtland Manor. I'll see you in the morning".

The young man looked at the clock and saw that it was getting quite late. He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, very glad that electric toothbrushes existed. They made the job much easier.

Once Ash was done with that, he searched for the Pokeball, which he realized he had placed on his bedside table.

Good, he thought. In case somebody comes by and tries to kidnap me, I can sic Coyopa on them. Although I doubt that'll happen, just because the security is so good here.

Ash climbed into the king bed and tucked himself underneath the covers. Staring at the ceiling for a while, he then turned off the light.

Almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, he sank into a dreamless sleep. It felt like only seconds later that he was awake, and bright sunlight was seeping in through the window.

Looking at the clock beside his bed, Ash saw that he had slept for nearly eight hours. It was 5:47 in the morning, which was a little earlier, although not too much earlier, than the time he usually got up on weekends.

This place really is nice, he decided. The sunlight just seems so...pure here. I guess that's what you get when you are in the mountains.

He didn't know the elevation of this mansion, but he was rather curious. He was pretty sure that, on the trip here, they had gone up one last large hill before reaching the estate.

Well, I don't really care, he thought.

For a good fifteen minutes, Ash lay in bed, just thinking to himself about the predicament he had placed himself in. Then, just because he wanted someone to talk to, he grabbed the Pokeball from his bedside table.

After letting Coyopa out of said Pokeball, Ash watched as the Pikachu looked around the room.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"You're in the guest bedroom at Courtland Manor" the boy replied. "At least, one of them. Who knows how many guest bedrooms there are here?"

"I'm sure Arceus knows", Coyopa replied.

Ash chuckled. "True. I'm sure that Arceus knows, but that's not what the expression means. In any case, it's the morning after we arrived here, and we're going to go out today".

"What are we going out to do?"

"We just have to register for classes at Greater Pastoria University. Then, we're going to go to the battling club. How does that sound?"

Coyopa suddenly looked a hell of a lot more enthusiastic. "Battling?" he said. "I love battling!"

Ash smiled. "I know you do. And we're going to go with Serena, Lucas, and Dawn".

"Nice. What are they like?"

"Well, Serena's the captain's daughter. I don't know if you knew this, but Dominick Courtland, the man who's hosting me - he's the manager of Royal Alolan Cruise Lines".

"Isn't this Sinnoh, though?" the Pikachu asked. "Wouldn't you think that the manager of Royal Alolan Cruise Lines would live in, well, Alola?"

"Apparently that's not the case. Anyway, though...Serena...what can I say about her?"

"I don't know" Coyopa replied. "You know her better than I do".

"Well, she's really pretty. And, from what I can tell, she's nice. Most of the others here are kind of rich snobs, but she's a nice rich girl".

Coyopa chuckled, a motion which caused a small amount of sparks to flow from his nose. "You think Serena's hot".

"No, I never said tha-".

Ash realized he had made a big mistake as soon as Coyopa belted, at what must have been the top of his lungs, "ASH THINKS SERENA'S HOT!"

Immediately, the young man's face turned as red as a beet. He didn't know what to think, what to do, except that he wanted a hole to open up in the ground and swallow him whole.

Murphy's Law, as well as some basic common sense, dictated that this did not happen. Instead, Ash stayed firmly planted, lying on his bed. He did not move, since he really had no idea where he would go.

They'll probably wonder where I went, he thought, if I leave now. In fact, I'm sure of it.

But wouldn't that be the idea?

He started getting up, intending to make a run for it, not even caring about Coyopa; after all, the Pikachu was the one who was going to cause him an epic amount of embarrassment.

Suddenly, the door to his room burst open. "Ash?"

Had there been a lock on his door, Ash would have used it; as it was, he would have had to escape out the window, if that had indeed become his decision. That outcome would still have been infinitely better than the universe in which he found himself right now.

Serena was standing in front of him, looking shocked. "Was that your Pikachu yelling my name?"

"Yeah" Ash replied.

"Ash thinks you're hot" Coyopa said in a tone that suggested that he couldn't wait for these two lovebirds to start smooching each other.

"Oh, shut up, you" the young man said, quickly recalling the Pikachu back into his Pokeball.

Serena chuckled. She sounded a little embarrassed now as well. As she looked at Ash, however, she had a far more serious expression on her face.

"What is it?" Ash asked her.

"Coyopa said...honestly...do you really think I'm hot?"

"No" the boy said quickly. "I just said that you were good-looking. Isn't there a difference between that and being hot?"

"Hmm. I suppose there is" Serena replied. "In any case, I think that you should go and brush your teeth. We're about to have breakfast, and then we'll head on our outing for the day?"

"What's on the itinerary, again?" Ash asked. Despite the fact that he had been telling Coyopa about it just minutes ago, he was so embarrassed that he couldn't even remember.

"We're going to go to the registration office on the campus and get all signed up for all of our classes" Serena said. "After that, we'll head over to the battling club, where Coyopa can practice his moves".

"Honestly, Coyopa doesn't deserve to be able to" Ash replied angrily. "That was just so rude of him, to make everyone think that-".

"Seriously, Ash, I really doubt that anyone else woke up besides me. I sleep in the room right above this one, so it's easier for me to pick up on those noises, I guess".

"You guess?"

"The point is, Ash", she continued, "don't sweat it. I've had embarrassing things like that happen to me before, and everyone forgets about them after a while. I'm sure that, if anyone else did wake up, they'll stop talking about it within a week or so at most".

A week. Another week of not being able to live this down.

Ash hadn't even been at the Courtland Manor for twenty-four hours yet, and he already felt as though Serena was the only person there he was able to coexist with peacefully. The next nine months might end up being hell on Earth for him.

I'm pissed off at Coyopa, he thought. But it's always better to be pissed off than to be pissed on.

There you go!, another part of his mind replied. That's the spirit!

He went and brushed his teeth, determined that he would put that embarrassing episode behind him. The truth was what the facts were, and the fact was that Serena was right. It was likely that the other members of the family would forget about it before long.

But what if they don't?

Ash resolved that he'd deal with it if it came to that, but he really hoped that it did not come to that. He generally wasn't one who liked to pick fights with others.

As soon as he dressed and left his bedroom, he saw that Patrick and Corinne were already up. They were in the kitchen area of the dining room/kitchen/living room, and Patrick was spreading cream cheese on a bagel. Corinne was munching on an apple.

Both of them were wearing the same shade of purple pajamas, which was the exact same color Serena had been wearing when she had visited his room just minutes before. That struck Ash as a little odd.

I guess that everyone in this family wears green for meals and purple to bed. What's next? Red for exercise?

He supposed that it was just the Courtlands trying to behave as one cohesive family unit, even though that was next to impossible when you had five children.

"Morning, guys" Ash said, rubbing some of the sleep out of his eyes.

"Morning, Ash" Patrick replied, in what was clearly the gushiest tone he could possibly muster, and that made Ash realize something.

He knows. He must know. That must have woken him up. Serena was wrong.

That obviously wasn't a comforting thought; however, Ash didn't think it was a good idea to dwell on it. People would think what they would, and he would just have to live his life; or, in his case, could he really call it a life?

Yes, I can, he resolved. I have to make the most of these nine months. Maybe, once my freshman year is over, I can live in a dorm. Or maybe I'll just choose to stay here again, if it's good enough.

He sincerely doubted that he'd enjoy it enough here to consider moving back in for sophomore year, but he acknowledged that one could not predict the future. It just wasn't possible.

So, who knows?

Ash went and got a bagel of his own, and, once Patrick was done with his, spread some cream cheese onto it. He was a big fan of cream cheese; it just tasted so good when it was cold.

Eventually, Serena entered the room again. "Eat up, Ash" she said. "As soon as you're done, and I get dressed, we're going to head into town and pick up Lucas and Dawn from their houses".

"That early, huh?" Ash asked.

Serena nodded. "Registration starts at eight, and the university is half an hour away from our house. We want to be there right when it starts, because it gets crowded later. At least, that's what I've been told".

"I can believe that" Ash replied. "There have been crazier things I have been asked to believe in my life; that's nothing".

"Good, because all available evidence, plus basic common sense, points to that".

Once Ash was done eating, he noticed that Serena was not yet done with her bagel. She looked at Ash.

"I'll be done and dressed in five minutes" she said. "Wait for me here, and then I'll drive us around and pick up those two".

Sam, Bella, Debbie, and Dominick were all evidently still asleep. Ash didn't know how they had managed to sleep through Coyopa yelling that he thought Serena was hot, but he was grateful for that, for obvious reasons.

I just can't believe it, he thought. They must really have been sawing some logs.

Indeed, that was the most likely scenario, that the Courtland parents, as well as Bella and Sam, were just really deep sleepers. Just how deep, however, was shocking to him.

"All right" Serena said as soon as she came down. Now, she looked rather like a younger version of Ash's mother when she was about to go for a run, in a think track suit. "Are you ready, Ash?"

The young man smiled. "As ready as I'll ever be".

"Very well, then" she replied.

They walked out of the house and over to the driveway, where Serena's car had not been moved ever since the last night, when she had driven Ash here from the train station. She motioned for Ash to take the passenger seat, while she sat behind the wheel.

"First stop is Lucas's" said Serena. "He's usually an early bird on the weekends, at least compared to most people our age. Just sit back and enjoy the ride".

Ash did just that. Serena backed out of the driveway and drove them down a series of winding mountain roads, near what looked like the ski resort. In fact, it appeared that they passed the entrance to the base at one point.

"You said that they live in the town?" Ash asked, trying to make some conversation.

"Yeah" Serena replied, keeping her eyes on the road at all times like a good driver. "The town's called Starborn Valley, and it has a population of 24,734, according to Pokepedia".

"I see" the boy said. "Well, I can't wait to see them again".

"I'm sure you can't" the girl said. "You seemed to have a good time with them last night. Of course, you guys weren't together too long, just for dinner".

Ash just got good vibes from Lucas and Dawn, and he knew instinctively that they would be very good friends of his. It was much like that feeling he had gotten when he had first met Coyopa. He'd known, from the very beginning, that he could count on the Pikachu.

Of course, all of that trust had eventually been betrayed, just this morning. Ash wanted to forgive Coyopa for it, but he knew that it was going to take a while. Perhaps when he was feeling less embarrassed…

I hope he didn't scream loud enough to wake Lucas and Dawn up, part of his mind said.

Don't be silly, Ash, the other part of his mind replied. Lucas lives literally miles away. Dawn lives even further away. If it didn't wake up the parents, why would it wake up Lucas, let alone Dawn?

Ash couldn't help but be worried about that all the same, but he decided not to dwell on it, just like he had before.

They eventually arrived at a home that was much smaller than the mansion from which they had come. A small backyard was present, but the whole area was smaller than the house Ash had lived in back at home.

"This is where Lucas lives?" he asked Serena.

Serena nodded. "And it looks like he's on the porch right now. That was easy".

Peering into the distance, Ash could tell that there was a boy in a beret standing on the porch. He was staring up at the sky, looking rather full of himself in that moment.

I didn't know Lucas was as snobbish as Serena's family, Ash thought. Judging by the size of his house, he's not even that rich.

Ash reminded himself that just because Lucas was posing that way didn't mean he was being snobbish. However, if that was the case, the other boy must have been completely deficient in his social skills. Didn't he know the message that he was sending to Ash and Serena?

"Hello" Lucas said, walking down to the car, opening the door, and sliding into the back seat. "How is it?"

"It's a nice morning, isn't it?" Serena asked.

"Yes" the boy in the beret replied. "Just lovely".

"Now we've only got to pick up Dawn" said Serena. "And the good news is that she lives pretty close to here".

"Why is this place called Starborn Valley?" asked Ash. "That sounds like a name for someplace much farther north".

"You know, you're right" Serena replied. "However, they say that stars first originated from this valley right here. They say that stars are born here before they ascend into the heavens. Every year, around Easter, they have a star festival".

"Star festival?" Ash asked.

"It's awesome" Lucas replied. "You're going to love it, I think. Believe me, this is the best place to live; I thank Arceus every day that I was born here".

"I see" our protagonist replied. "Well, let's just head to Dawn's house".

Serena once again turned the engine on and drove them a short distance. It had been only a couple of minutes by the time she stopped in front of another house.

"This is Dawn's house" Serena said unnecessarily.

This house was nothing spectacular. It was two stories tall and made of brick, with dying grass in the front lawn.

"I guess that they don't take very good care of the grass here" Ash said.

Lucas suddenly gave Ash a dirty look. "Ash…" he said.

"I'll handle this, Lucas" Serena said sternly. "Ash, the reason they don't take good care of the grass is because both of Dawn's parents are sick".

"They're sick?"

"Yes" Lucas replied, and you could see the tears in his eyes. "Both of them have cancer. What with chemo and all of that, they don't feel well enough, most of the time, to take care of the grass. And Dawn doesn't know how to. That's why their lawn is so unkempt".

"I see" Ash replied. "Sorry for asking".

"It's fine" Lucas said, over the objection of Serena. "Just don't mention it around Dawn, and you're good".

Ash let out a deep breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He couldn't believe that he'd just said something so wrong, something that he should have been able to keep inside his head.

I have better self-control than that, he told himself. He really hoped that it was true, but he'd already made one mistake earlier, when he had told Coyopa that he found Serena pretty.

Currently, Coyopa's Pokeball was clutched in Ash's right hand. He could release the Pikachu at any time, but he didn't really want to just yet. After all, they were not yet at the battling club; there was no particular reason for him to do so.

Finally, Dawn came out of her house and got into the back seat of the car, next to Lucas. She looked very excited indeed.

"I can't wait to register for all of our classes!" she said, probably in a more enthusiastic tone than she had meant it. "I think that our freshman year is going to be pretty good, am I right?"

"We'll see" said Ash. "I'm still a bit nervous about college".

Indeed, all four of them were, but Serena was clearly trying not to make a big deal out of it. From what Ash had seen of her so far, she seemed fairly level-headed; the question was how long that side of her was going to last, how long it would be until the stress of college forced it all out of her.

I'll give it a week once we start classes, he thought. Two at most.

They drove through the town of Starborn Valley, which looked nice enough to Ash. Indeed, it reminded him a lot of Pallet Town, a place in Kanto he had once visited, with its small-town vibe.

Eventually, Serena pulled into a very long driveway. "We're here" she said.

Ash looked around. There were several academic buildings located near them, and a library was visible. Since it was still summer break, the library appeared to be mostly empty.

Still, there was no denying what this place was.

It was Greater Pastoria University.

Yeah, I decided to end the chapter here. I decided that the registration and the trip to the battling club would be in one chapter, Chapter 5. I'm going to a dance tonight, so I won't be able to write this evening. Which is, of course, why I stopped here.

Responses to reviews:

NateTheNoodle: I'm glad you like it, my friend. And I will read yours when it is up; can't wait to talk to you on Discord more.

Rajiv A. Rajaram: Yeah, they are intriguing. Really, a lot of those things are things that would have creeped ME out.

xXx DIGITAL xXx: I'll try to take your advice. Thank you for your review.

I'll see you guys next time.

Sincerely, SnowLucario