The Ketchum Family

Slicing Through the Competition: Part 1

This chapter takes place a few weeks after the end of the previous one. Ash is working to restore an old excavator. Meanwhile, Serena is preparing to participate in a small contest. Innocent events will soon cause our heroes to take long and hard looks at their feelings for each other. Passion will soon burn red-hot! There's an event in here I'm sure a lot of you have been eagerly waiting for. Also, fair warning, there is a lengthy and very steamy intimate scene contained within. (tastefully written of course) As always, all the characters are considered to be adults. (+18)

Additionally, since things have been getting more romantic between Ash and Serena I've gotten a few questions about their ages. I've stated in the overall description and in several chapter descriptions that they are +18 years old; however I've never laid out my reasoning in exacting detail because I haven't wanted to just do an exhibition dump. Well, so everyone understands what I'm doing and the logic behind it, here is the reasoning I'm using and why Ash and Serena are adults now at this point in the story.

Ash was 10 years old when he started out on his Pokémon journey. He then traveled in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola and Galar, spending roughly a year in each of these regions. This meant that Ash had been alive for about 18 years when he won the Masters Eight Tournament. By extension, everyone else who is the same age as Ash (Misty, May, Dawn, Iris, Serena, Alola crew, Goh and Chloe) are all 18 as well. However, because of the magic of the Pokémon world, Ash hadn't ever experienced puberty or grown into an adult.

When his journey ended, his body (and everyone else's) finally started to grow and catch up to his actual age. In the chapter Butting Heads and Breaking Hearts, he and Serena went through puberty and gained new feelings and emotions. After that, they continued to grow and mature toward their actual age.

As of this chapter, Ash has been working on the Pokémon reserve for about three years. He and Serena have now been alive for around 21 years and their bodies have almost completely matured. I use language in this chapter describing Ash's broad shoulders and Serena's slender form. They are not kids anymore, they are almost fully grown. Also, in this chapter Serena encounters a young female trainer and the words 'little girl' are used to describe her. This is because Serena is now a grown woman and this 10-year-old trainer would be a 'little girl' in her eyes.

I hope this answers everyone's questions. Exhibition dump over.......

If you like this chapter, please leave a vote. And if you have any comments, don't hesitate to leave them. Enjoy!

"Okay, move the light over a little Pikachu," Ash said.

"Pika!" the electric mouse replied, taking a step to the side and shifting the position of the light source.

Ash peered down into the excavator's engine compartment and aligned the wrench he was holding with the bolt he'd just replaced. He gave the wrench a few turns, grunting in effort as he did so, and finally let out a sigh.

Ash let himself rest for a moment, examining the work he'd accomplished today. He was currently lying on his belly on top of the excavator's engine housing. He'd been working for the past two hours with his arms fully engulfed by the greasy and dark compartment. He'd finally finished replacing and refurbishing the upper half of the engine and hopefully it would be ready to start.

The moderately sized excavator was a relic from when Professor Oak had first built all the lab facilities and landscaped the Pokémon areas. It had been sitting in one of the barns for years, unused and unattended to. When Ash had decided to build a house for himself, he'd begun thinking about using the machine to dig the foundation and any other task which would require heavy equipment. At first, he'd thought it would be a simple matter of cleaning up the old machine, putting in some oil and fuel and firing it up.