Chapter Three: On the Road to Viridian City
"I didn't expect you to leave for your next journey this quickly," Delia said when Serena and Ash stood outside of the house the next morning, ready to depart.
"I'm sorry," Serena said. "It's because I want to arrive in Pewter City well before the Exposition. I need to prepare the appeal and I don't really know that much about the city, so…"
"Oh, don't worry about it," Delia said. "I'm sure Ash would've found a way to go on his next adventure regardless. Ever since he left home he's been unable to sit still."
She smiled at them both. "Just give me a call every now and then so I know you're doing well, okay?"
"I will, Mom," Ash promised.
"And don't forget to change your–"
"Yeah, got it! Come on, Serena, let's get going!" Ash interrupted hastily, setting off down the path with a last wave.
Serena chuckled, gave Delia a polite bow and said, "Thank you again for the hospitality. Bye!"
"You be careful on your trip too, okay?" Delia said. "And keep an eye on Ash for me."
"Of course," Serena replied. She was perhaps a bit too eager, because Delia gave her a knowing look, but kept quiet about it.
She wondered when Ash would begin to catch onto her crush on him. For some reason, it was becoming harder and harder to keep it hidden. Especially now that it was just Ash and her she often found herself just surreptitiously looking at him, and they hadn't even truly traveled together yet, except from the airport to Ash's house, and to Professor Oak's lab.
Well, if Ash did find out about her feelings…that really wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, would it? Maybe he would even…return them? Even if he didn't, though, Serena didn't think he'd outright reject her for them. He just wasn't like that. It would hurt, to be sure, and that possibility certainly factored into why she hadn't simply told Ash how she felt yet, but she was fairly certain he wouldn't have a problem traveling with her even if he knew she liked him and he didn't feel the same way.
They'd just left town when Ash said, "This path sure brings back memories." He turned to Serena and went on, "The first time I walked here as a Pokémon Trainer, Pikachu and I weren't friends yet. He didn't want to walk at all, so I'd tied a rope around him and I had to drag him with me."
("And you were wearing rubber gloves because I kept zapping you,") Pikachu reminded him, smiling fondly at the memory.
"I can't imagine you and Pikachu as anything but the closest of friends," Serena said.
("We are now, but on that first day I was honestly just cursing my luck that I got stuck with such a dense Trainer,") Pikachu said. ("He wanted to catch a Pidgey, but I just climbed that tree over there and laughed at him.")
Ash nodded with a grimace. "Yep. And then a Rattata stole my food," he added.
"Oh, wow, that doesn't sound like the best start to your journey," Serena said. Ash had told her, Clemont, and Bonnie many things about his travels prior to coming to Kalos, but this was the first time she'd heard about the very beginning of it, and though Ash had hinted plenty of times he hadn't always been the capable Trainer he was now, she hadn't expected the start of his journey to be that bad.
"Well…it got worse after that," Ash said.
("Yeah. We had our first near-death experience,") Pikachu said with a nod.
"What?! You hadn't even been on the road for a day yet!" Serena said. "What happened?"
"I made a Spearow angry, and it called its friends," Ash said, his expression dark even now. "They swarmed me, but then they went after Pikachu instead. I just grabbed him and ran."
He pointed off into the distance. "See that river over there? I jumped into it, carrying Pikachu, to escape from the Spearow."
("Only it didn't help. We nearly got eaten by a Gyarados first, then we got fished up, and then the Spearow caught back up with us anyway,") Pikachu said.
"So I stole Misty's bike — she's the one who fished us up — and tried to escape," Ash took over again. "Only then a thunderstorm started, and the Spearow were faster than I was, so I crashed the bike."
He and Pikachu exchanged a look, and to Serena's surprise, both of them smiled.
"Pikachu couldn't fight or run anymore, but he didn't want to get into his Poké Ball even then," Ash said.
("So Ash put himself between me and the Spearow, deciding he'd fight all of them on his own if it meant saving me,") Pikachu went on. ("So I decided that I'd help him now, that we'd go down together, but when I leapt off his shoulder I got hit by lightning, and the Thunder Shock I used became supercharged and I took out the entire flock of Spearow.")
"And that's how Pikachu and I ended up becoming friends," Ash said. "I even saw Ho-Oh that day, as soon as the rain stopped. Not that anyone ever believes me when I tell them that, of course."
"I believe you," Serena said softly, and Ash smiled at her. "But…that sounds like a terrible first day," Serena said. "If that had happened to me…I don't think I'd have been able to carry on."
Ash shook his head. "I didn't really have time to think. Pikachu was still hurt, so I had to get him to a Pokémon Center, and then we met Team Rocket for the first time, and by the time we'd dealt with them…well, Misty had already decided she was going to keep following me around until I paid her back for the bike I stole."
("And you know how stubborn Ash is, so there was no way he was going to run back home,") Pikachu said.
"Well, I'm just glad you made it through all that safely," Serena said. She looked at the clear blue sky. "And I'm glad those Spearow aren't around here anymore."
"They are, actually," Ash said. "That Spearow I made angry back then is a Fearow now. They probably won't bother us, though, because my friend Pidgeot is keeping them under control with his friends. We might see him before we reach Viridian City."
"Just how much did you do on your travels?" Serena asked with an amazed shake of her head.
Ash grinned. "Oh, this doesn't even begin to cover everything I've seen and done with my friends over the years. The things we did in Kalos? Well, let's just say it wasn't the first time I fought evil teams bent on destroying the world."
"You never really told us about that," Serena said.
Ash shrugged. "I didn't have a reason to," he said. "I mean, you would've done the same in my situation, I'm sure. It was just…the right thing to do. It's not like a Pokémon League where I can brag about beating the strongest Trainers in a region, you know?"
("I'm pretty sure most people would boast about saving the world,") Pikachu said.
"It's not like I did any of those things alone," Ash said. "You helped, my other Pokémon and my friends helped, a lot of other people helped…"
("I remember you bragging about being the best at everything when you were younger. Hard to believe you're the same guy,") Pikachu said.
Ash gave an embarrassed grin. "Yeah, I remember that, too. That's why I'm trying very hard not to be like that anymore."
("Aww, you're growing up,") Pikachu said jokingly.
"Yeah, maybe…" Ash said, and Serena noticed he looked at her as he did so.
They walked on in silence for a while, and Serena was glad the Spearow didn't show themselves. She thought back to everything that happened with Team Flare after the Kalos League had concluded and how scared she'd been during it. They clearly hadn't been anything like Team Rocket with their plans to destroy all humans, but still she'd stood up against them. But had she done that because, like Ash said, it had been the right thing to do, or simply because she didn't really have a choice? She'd mostly been concerned with keeping herself and her friends safe, and saving Chespie for Mairin's sake.
Thinking back on it now, a lot of the things she'd done during those events were kind of a blur of running and fighting in her mind, but something she was certain about was that she didn't want to have to do something like that again. But then, Ash probably hadn't wanted to, either. He'd just gotten caught up in it, just like she had now.
Well, Team Flare had been stopped, and Squishy, Zygarde, and Greninja were taking care of the vines still popping up around Kalos. Here in Kanto, she hopefully wouldn't have to deal with anyone more dangerous than Team Rocket from time to time — if they had even returned to Kanto in the first place. But given their obsession with capturing Pikachu, Serena was sure she'd see them again in the future.
When the sun began to set, they passed a field next to a river. Serena checked her phone to see how far they still had to walk, and saw that Viridian City was still a few hours away.
"Hey Ash, should we spend the night here? It looks like a good spot," she said.
Ash considered for a moment and said, "Yeah, why not? We'll put our bags down and I'll go and look for some firewood."
Serena nodded. "Right. Want me to set up the tents?" she asked.
Ash cocked his head. "Tents?" he repeated.
"Yeah? I mean…you have them, right?" Serena asked uncertainly.
"Nope. Clemont and Bonnie had their tents, but I didn't really have one before. We usually just put our sleeping bags around the campfire," Ash said.
"But…what if it rains?" Serena asked.
Ash shrugged. "We tried to be in Pokémon Centers or in a cave if we expected it to rain."
("And we didn't always succeed,") Pikachu said.
"But we can probably buy a tent in Viridian City tomorrow, if you want," Ash said. "I hadn't really thought about bringing one, sorry."
Serena shook her head. "It's fine. I never mentioned it, either. It doesn't look like it's going to rain, anyway…"
She wasn't really sure why it felt odd to not have any tents. It wasn't like they'd never spent the night under the stars, anyway, but somehow this felt different, possibly because it was just her and Ash, and because getting changed in a tent was far more comfortable than doing it in a bush. Oh well, she could always just sleep in her regular clothes for a change, even though she'd never really liked doing that.
Not much later, they had a fire going, Ash had set up the table — which was much smaller than the one Clemont had — and Serena had made dinner for them and their Pokémon, who were happily chowing down on their Poké Puffs.
("It's weird not to have my food stolen when I look away for a second,") Pancham said.
"I'm sure Chespin misses you, too," Serena said.
("Miss him? As if,") Pancham scoffed.
("You're fooling absolutely no one,") Braixen said without looking at Pancham.
("I miss Bunnelby,") Sylveon said. ("But I'm glad all of you are here.")
She warily looked at Charizard and Sceptile, who sat on the opposite end of the group of Pokémon. ("They look a bit scary, though…") she said softly.
("They're nice once you get to know them,") Pikachu said.
Charizard said something Serena couldn't understand, but Pikachu just laughed. ("Well, you did introduce yourself as Ash's most dangerous Pokémon,") he said.
Sceptile said something in an incredulous tone, and Charizard proudly propped himself up when he replied. Sceptile sighed and shook his head.
Serena giggled. Even though she couldn't understand either Pokémon yet, their body language alone reminded her of Ash. How he managed to find Pokémon who were so much like him kept surprising her.
("Do you think you can take me?") Hawlucha asked Charizard.
Charizard grinned, and Serena was sure he answered something to the affirmative.
("Guys, if you're going to fight, do it away from the camp, okay? We don't have any spare sleeping bags,") Pikachu said disinterestedly.
"It'd be good practice for both of you, though," Ash said thoughtfully. "Sceptile, do you want to fight as well?"
Sceptile nodded once, and Ash grinned.
"Alright, then, let's have some battles after dinner. Does anyone else want to join in too?"
Much to Serena's amusement, all of Ash's Pokémon eagerly agreed, and Ash immediately began to come up with pairings for the battles.
("Hey, shouldn't you do the dishes, first?") Braixen said.
Ash nodded. "Yeah, probably. Hey, Braixen, do you want to fight too?" he asked.
("No, thanks. I prefer to keep my fur clean. Pancham, maybe.")
Pancham immediately looked at Serena. ("Can I?") he asked.
Serena nodded. "Sure. Just be careful and don't overdo it, okay?" She looked at Ash. "If you're going to pair him up with Charizard or Sceptile, ask them to go easy a bit, okay?"
("Hey! No one goes easy on me!") Pancham shouted in protest.
"Pancham, think of how stubborn and strong Ash and his Pokémon are. If you and them go all out you're probably going to end up getting hurt and I need you for the Showcase," Serena said sternly.
Pancham looked disappointed and Ash laughed. "Don't worry, no one is going all out. We're just going to train and see what shape everyone's in. Especially for Charizard and Sceptile it'll be good to shake the rust off."
Charizard said something that sounded slightly insulted and Ash held up his hands.
"I know you've kept up with your training, but you haven't battled for real for a while. Trust me, Charizard, you'll get to have a real fight soon enough. I know you'll be great. You too, Sceptile."
Ash's Pokémon seemed satisfied with that assurance, and after Ash had quickly washed the dishes he and his Pokémon headed further upstream to have their battles, while Serena sat down on her sleeping bag to brush Braixen and Sylveon.
("Pancham's going to get his fur all tangled up,") Braixen said, looking over at the battles going on.
"I'll brush it for him afterward," Serena said. "Besides, he's having fun, and it'll be good for him to get used to dodging attacks and experiencing new moves. Even though the Expositions don't involve fighting there will be other Pokémon trying to show off, and by the looks of it no one's better at showing off than Ash's Pokémon are."
("Should we be joining the battles too, then?") Sylveon asked apprehensively.
Serena shook her head. "Not if you don't want to. We can ask Ash to simulate a Showoff Round for us with his Pokémon, if you like that better. That way, you'll know they won't hit you, but you still get to practice for the Exposition. Pancham just likes to get rowdy sometimes, and that's fine too."
A small explosion from upstream caused her to look up, and she saw Pikachu and Sceptile engaged in what looked like a serious battle.
("So much for Ash saying they'd hold back,") Braixen said.
"I think they are holding back, actually," Serena said. She smiled at Braixen. "They'd be much louder if they weren't."
Braixen smiled back at her, and then allowed Serena to finish brushing her, after which it was Sylveon's turn.
It was quite a bit later when Pancham returned, and like Braixen had predicted, his fur was a tangled mess. Still, it was nothing a good brushing couldn't fix, and he seemed to be very satisfied about his performance in the battles.
A short while later, Ash and his Pokémon returned to the campsite as well, and since it was fully dark now, he and Serena recalled their Pokémon and settled down in their sleeping bags for the night.
The campfire was still burning, albeit lower than it had been for most of the evening, and Serena listened to the soft crackling with her eyes closed. Her first real day of traveling with Ash alone was over, and already she'd learned things about his past journeys she'd never heard before. She wondered what else he would tell her, and what she would still tell him. With no one else to talk to but their Pokémon, she and Ash were sure to get to know each other a lot better as they traveled more, and that notion felt every bit as exciting as the Expositions were sure to be. All in all, it had been a fantastic first day.
I honestly don't know if the pink thing Serena has in the anime is a phone or not, but I couldn't find any info on it, so I've decided I'm calling it a phone.