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Our band of heroes are on their way to Fleurrh City, where Serena hopes to win her next Showcase in order to obtain her third and final Princess Key. Just one more and she’ll finally get the privilege of competing in the Kalos Master Class tournament. If she manages to do so, she’ll have the opportunity to challenge Aria for the title of Kalos Queen. She can’t afford to slack off when they’re so close to achieving their dream.
The group decided to camp on Route 19 for the day. It was getting late, and the city was still far away to reach on foot. For now, they—mainly Ash and Serena—used this occasion to train their pokemon for their respective expertise. Clemont, on the other hand, tinkered with and upgraded his Aipom arm. He planned to extend the mechanism’s reach. If he succeeds, then his machine could reach up to reach up to twenty feet! With that new upgrade, it’ll be a lot easier to stop his sister, Bonnie, from kneeling down and proposing to numerous women on his behalf.
Speaking of his sister, Bonnie was supposedly training with Dedenne and Clemont’s other pokemon through a game of tag. She argued to Clemont that tag is a vital part for their training, as it played a crucial role for not only the pokemon’s speed and stamina but also her own.
She was convinced that her ‘training’ was working. How could she not? After all, she managed to tag Luxray!
This went on for a while until Bonnie eventually grew bored of their super-duper-hard training. Apparently, Chespin got too tired from running the field and decided that it would be better off to doze off on the grass. Even Luxray seemed exhausted and lay down beside Chespin for a short nap.
Bonnie knew her training was so rigorous that even the mightiest pokemon might break a sweat, yet she hadn’t expected that Luxray would tire himself that fast.
Although she could possibly groom Dedenne and Squishy, yet doing the same thing gets tiring for the twenty-seventh time this week. The area consisted of very few wild pokemon so Bonnie is unfortunate to meet any new friends. Only passing Vivillions and a group of Staryus floating by the river. She's thrilled to see pokemon that's not native to her region but it's hard to get excited when they do nothing but laze around the area. Not exactly something she'll describe as exhilarating.
She groaned and flopped back on the grassy field. The wind made small ripples in the grass, similarly to how it would make on water. She appreciates the warm and comfortable nature of the outdoors but she wants adventure—something that pumps adrenaline in her body!
Sitting around doing nothing just won't do. So, like any reasonable kid just her age with a sibling, she'll do what they do best:
Go bother her big brother.
Leaving behind her training ground and her bag, where Dedenne and Squishy were sleeping, she decided to see what Clemont was up to. When she arrived at their campsite, she saw a table where her big brother’s Clemontic Gear was lying around. Or, well.. bits of it, actually. Screws were scattered around the table, so we're the bolts and wires.
“What happened here?” she muttered to herself.
To her right, she noticed Clemont adding wood to the campfire as he prepared to make their dinner. She only hoped no vegetables were included in the meal. Last dinner, she and her brother fought over her not eating her greens. She would've eaten them if they only tasted good. If they're so great for her body, then why do they taste bad?
“Clemont, I'm bored! There's nothing fun to do here.” She complained to her brother.
Clemont sighed, he figured this would happen any time soon. He momentarily stopped adding more wood to face his younger sister. “Then why don't you go play— I mean, train with Chespin and Luxray? I thought you wanted to improve your physical prowess?” He questioned her.
“We did! But those two ditched me to go to sleep so now I have no one to train with! Plus, Dedenne and Squishy are in the same boat as them. Yet, seeing that you're not busy, you can train with me instead!” She said while pointing a finger at his face.
Clemont is a lot of things. He's a prodigy in engineering, a cold and calculating gym leader who specializes in Electric types in the Lumiose gym, and a great cook, he might add. But he fumbles every time when it comes to any sort of physical activity.
He groaned and fixed his glasses, “Bonnie, you know I'm not great with that kind of stuff… I'll be out of breath by the time I start running” he reasoned. “And I am busy. I'm trying to prepare dinner so if you would please go bother somebody else.”
Bonnie could only roll her eyes at him. “That's exactly why you need to come play with me! You always get out of breath when we continue our walk back to the city. If you ask me, you desperately need it..” she grumbled.
Bonnie crossed her arms, “Y’know, girls like strong and rough guys. I put in a big effort to find you a perfect wife but you need to start putting in effort to be a good husband too!”
“Gee, thanks for the words of encouragement..” he said underneath his breath.
For the last time, he is too young to find a wife! He’s still a teenager, for Arceus’ sake. He doesn't need Bonnie to find him his ‘dream girl’, and if he did need her help, he wouldn't want her to kneel down and propose for his sake. It's more embarrassing than romantic, more than she thinks.
“I'm serious, Clemont! In the future, you'd be thanking me for giving you advice.” She argued back.
Other than Serena, there's no nearby women around this place. No lucky ladies to ask if they could take care of her brother. She wouldn't ask Serena her hand in marriage for her brother, that's just wrong! Don't get her wrong, Serena is a wonderful lady—any guy would be lucky to have her. But Bonnie knows that her heart belongs to another.
And that just so happens to be Ash Ketchum.
Clemont ran his hand through his hair, trying to tune out his sister is harder than he realized. “Bonnie, if you don't bother someone else I'm putting more vegetables for our dinner.” he warned her.
That warning was enough to shut her up quickly. As much as she wants Clemont to find the perfect wife, she'd prefer that her plate would be vegetable-free.
That being said, it did annoy her a little though. She was only looking out for him like any sibling would. “Ugh, you're no fun.” She grumbled and stuck her tongue out at him while walking away.
Clemont watched his sister reluctantly walk farther from him. He shook his head and proceeded to start preparing dinner, “What am I going to do with that girl?’
After failing to talk with her brother, she opted to spend her time making some flower crowns. She was lucky they chose to camp out here—a nice open view, a river nearby, and flowers covered the place. She's still rusty at creating flower crowns, Serena always made the best ones. The idea of her and Serena creating flower crowns is tempting, but the latter is busy practicing for her next performance.
She saw Serena from a distance practicing a move where Sylveon would run from one arm then to the other and attempt to jump into the air. It still needs some polishing but it was enough to make the younger girl be in awe.
Bonnie didn't want to bother Serena while she's practicing. She knew that Serena wanted to win her final Princess Key to compete for the Master Class. There's always next time, she supposed.
Still, Bonnie found herself watching the older girl rehearse her steps and command her pokemon to make their move. It was so dazzling and eye-catchy she couldn't help but be amazed every time.
She couldn't wait to grow up and show off her own set of skills. Once she sets off on her own journey, she’ll be the first person to be the Kalos Queen and Champion!
“She’s great, isn't she?” A familiar voice called out to her, snapping her out from her thoughts. She turned around and saw Ash, weirdly enough, alone without Pikachu by his side. The raven haired boy got closer to her and sat down beside her, a soft smile plastered on his face.
She raised an eye row, confusion apparent in her face. “Ash?” She didn't expect him to check up on her.
“I thought you were training your Pokemon for your next gym battle?” she asked. She was sure she saw him with his Pokemon a while ago.
The older boy only shrugged, “I was. We finished our training just a moment earlier. I thought you had your own training. Why are you here making flower crowns?” He asked while pointing to the one she made.
She pouted, continuing her craft with the headpiece. “Everyone got tired from our training. It's just so boring here. There's nothing fun to do!” She complained.
Ash understood the young girl’s gripe. There's really not much to do for a hyperactive child in these parts. “Yeah, I can see that.”
The two remained silent while watching the aspiring performer practice her moves from a distance. Bonnie doesn't mind Ash's company but it doesn't explain why he's here beside her at all.
She continued weaving flowers together while Ash plucked a blade of grass from the ground. The silence lasted for a few moments.
“So,” Ash said, “still bored?”
“The most bored I’ve ever been.” Bonnie replied.
He chuckled. Yeah, laying around doing nothing is not his cup of tea either. He watched as Bonnie continued to weave the flowers together with precision. Well.. with enough precision a child could do, but she's doing great for her age. Not only that, he noticed she's been pouting a lot.
The silence between them grew, until Ash decided to open his mouth.
“Want to hear a secret?”
That's random? She looked over at Ash with confusion ridden in her face. Ash has always been a pretty open guy, so she wonders what kind of secret he could hide. It made her suspicious.
But mostly excited.
“A secret?”
Ash nodded in return. “Yup, not even Pikachu knows about this.” Although, he's pretty sure he has his suspicions but he never asked Ash to confirm it.
A secret that Pikachu doesn't know? That makes it even better!
Immediately setting her half-finished flower crown aside, she eagerly sat up to hear what he had to say. Her body was shaking in excitement.
“Oh, yes please!” The young girl shrieked.
Ash nervously chuckled, “Hey, pipe down. It wouldn't be a secret now if you let everyone know.”
Right, of course. Bonnie kept her composure and zipped her mouth shut, but her shoulder’s still bouncing in excitement.
“Okay, I'm quiet now.” She reassured the older boy.
Ash didn't bother to hide his amusement. He got closer, making sure he's out of earshot. “You promise not to tell anyone, alright?”
Bonnie nodded eagerly, sporting a wide grin. “Of course! You count on me.” She motioned a cross to her heart knowing she's dead serious about this.
She extended her ear, eager to hear what secret Ash had hidden from them. Was it the secret to the Ash-Greninja form? Oh, maybe a secret technique for the gym battle? Maybe he found an exclusive mega form!
“I like Serena.”
It's almost like time stopped for Bonnie. She heard that correctly, right? Her ears weren't playing with her, were they?
Her eyes widened, Ash was concerned if they were gonna pop out of her sockets. Bonnie continued to stare at the raven-haired trainer in disbelief.
“Like…”
Bonnie stared at Ash with an intense glare. “Like-like her?”
Ash was a bit nervous from all the staring, but he nodded. “Yeah.” He scratched his nose, slightly embarrassed from admitting it out loud.
No way.
All this time, he actually has feelings for Serena? How come she never saw it before!? There were no signs that he liked her back.
She stared at Ash for a moment, trying to grasp what he had told her. “Wha— Since.. since when!?” she yelled out.
Unlike Bonnie, who was on the verge of a breakdown, Ash was as calm as ever. He stared at Serena, who is still perfecting the combination of her pokemon’s moves. “I don't know when it started actually. But day by day, I noticed some…signs”
“Whenever I'm around Serena, waves of emotions come crashing in me. Sometimes I get nervous, ecstatic and worried.”
Ash smiled, watching Serena help out Pancham with his choreography. “It was all so confusing. I've never felt anything like it. It made me scared at first.”
“But lately I found myself thinking more about Serena.”
Ash paused for a moment, trying to put his thoughts into words.
‘Whenever something good happens during the day, the first thing I want to do is to tell Serena about it. If I came up with a new strategy, I wanted to see what she'd think. If I won a battle, I'd look for her first.”
Bonnie remained silent, soaking in Ash's words.
“Little by little, Serena filled my head. It was driving me nuts. I couldn't explain these feelings.”
Bonnie observed how Ash looked at Serena, and then she noticed it. The sudden shift in his gaze, how his smile softens whenever he sees her, and the way he lights up whenever she smiles.
That's why he hadn't noticed it before. Ash was more subtle with his feelings. He isn't one who is tripping over his own words to Serena or a chivalrous knight in shining armor. He's still the same Ash.
“ I kept thinking about her more and more,” he chimed in. “I like being around her. I like seeing her smile. More often than not, I wanted to spend more time with her. In both the good days and the bad.”
“And then it just… clicked for me.”
Both of them remained silent for a while, taking in the secret Ash had revealed. She hadn't expected the secret to be this. She was ecstatic, but shocked at the same time. Yet, there was one question nagging in her head.
“Then, why haven't you confessed yet?”
Ash doesn't seem to be the one to beat around the bush. He's an open book, always wearing his heart on his sleeve. Never one to back down from a challenge, so it's a bit strange how he never told Serena how he felt.
Ash was silent before answering, his eyes never leaving Serena.
“Because she deserves better.”
Bonnie tilted her head to the side, more confused than ever. “What do you mean?”
Ash finally looked away from Serena and down at his hands.
“She has her own dreams worth chasing. So do I. Serena's worked really hard to get where she is now.” Ash once again looked up at Serene, who is currently instructing Sylveon to use Swift. Bonnie followed his line of sight before looking back at him.
“And I don't want to be in the way of that.”
A forlorn smile appeared on his face. “I still have my own dreams to achieve. I still want to be a Pokemon Master, that won't ever change. If I really want to be in..” he scratched his cheek, being uncharacteristically bashful, “y’know, in a relationship, then I want to give her my full attention.”
He sighed, “But not right now.”
“If I’m going to stand next to her, I want to be someone who deserves to stand next to her. And just maybe, all the way.” He admitted.
Until now, he's content having her by his side. Some part of him wants to be selfish, to have Serena all by himself. To experience what it's like to be a couple. Yet for now, they'll stay as friends. Serene deserved someone better, and if she's willing to give him time, he can be that someone better.
Bonnie stared at Ash, but with more sincerity than intensely this time. She couldn't help but smile as she rested her head against his shoulder.
“You're more insightful than I thought, Ash.” She commented
Ash smiled nervously, unsure whether that's a compliment or an insult. “Uhh, thanks, I guess?”
“But you are going to tell her what you feel right?” She asked, she had to know. She looked over at him, awaiting his response.
“Uhh well…”
“C’mon, Ash! The league is coming soon and after that our adventure will end. You can't just end it without telling Serena how you feel!” She nagged him
“Winning the league is the first step of being a Pokemon Master, right?” she interrogated the older boy, which the latter nodded in response.
She stood up and placed her hands on his shoulder. “When you win the league—yes, when, not if—you have to tell her your feelings. Promise?”
Ash grew nervous, whether from the intense glare from Bonnie's eyes or the embarrassment of confessing his feelings. “But—Well..I-uh” he stammered.
“Promise?”
Ash held eye contact with Bonnie for a while before sighing, he couldn't say no to those puppy eyes. “Sure, Bonnie. I will.” He replied with a lopsided grin.
Bonnie beamed, grinning from ear to ear. “Yippie! Then that's settled.” She yelled at the top of her lungs, loud enough to grab Serena’s attention across the field.
Ash smiled. He can't help it—Bonnie's enthusiasm was just contagious.
Then, he heard a familiar voice yell. “Everyone, dinner’s ready. It's time to eat!” Clemont announced, informing everyone that it's dinner time.
Ash and Bonnie walked back to their campsite, the latter smiling and skipping all the way. Clemont saw his sister walk by and grabbed her attention.
“Bonnie, I don't want to repeat myself saying this but you have to eat your vegetables, okay?” He reminded her.
“Yes, of course my dear brother.” She replied with glee.
Clemont blinked.
He had fully expected Bonnie to dismiss him or even talk back how much she hated eating them instead of her agreeing to eat them for once. Even the pokemon were shocked to see her eagerly waiting to eat her greens.
Ash didn't even try to hide his amusement seeing Bonnie in this state. He then heard footsteps behind him. A soft and comforting voice reached his ears.
“Woah, I've never seen Bonnie like this before.” She said in awe.
Serene had ended their practice early. Her hair was messier than usual, strands of hair sticking to her forehead from sweat. Her cheeks were flushed from hours of choreography and training.
Even like this, Ash still thought she looked beautiful.
“I saw you guys talking earlier. What did you talk about to make Bonnie so happy?” She asked.
She tilted her head curiously. The stars above reflected in her blue eyes. Lately, Ash had found that to be his favorite sight.
He couldn't help but smile.
“It's a secret.”
