𝒯 𝒽 𝑒 𝒲 𝒶 𝓎 𝒲 𝑒 𝒲 𝒾 𝓁 𝓁 𝐵 𝑒

Chapter 2: Childhood Recollection

"Wait a minute, we already know that boy, honey?" asked Layla.

"Yeah, remember Nana's birthday party? That train ride?"

With those cues, Layla's eyes lit up with understanding. "Oh yeah, I remember now!"

Ash arched an eyebrow. The events Moose mentioned sounded familiar to him, but then again, he had been on many train rides and attended many birthday parties with lots of people throughout his journeys.

"Wh-What?" he replied, perplexed. "I don't understand..."

"Pika..." Pikachu added in agreement.

"We met on a train in Sinnoh!" Moose explained. "You and your friends were on your way to a Gracidea Flower garden with a Shaymin! Oh, what were those kids' names again...?"

"Dawn and Brock!" Ash blurted out, the memories of this Sinnoh adventure returning to him. "Yeah, I remember now! We went to your great-grandmother's one-hundredth birthday party afterwards!" His eyes bulged in surprise. "Wow! I never know you guys were Serena's aunt and uncle!"

"Pika-pikachu," Pikachu added, the Mouse Pokémon nodding his head in agreement.

"I guess it's a small world," Layla remarked, chuckling.

As Ash got reacquainted with her aunt and uncle, Serena observed her crush with surprise. No, she wasn't surprised by the fact that he met her beloved maternal aunt before, although that still would be something to get surprised over. But no, there was something else that weighed on her mind after that conversation, something that seemed more important than a previous chance encounter between Ash and her Auntie Layla.

"Dawn and Brock..." she repeated in her mind. "Brock has to be a guy's name... But...Dawn? Is that a girl's name? Did Ash travel with a girl before me? If he did...then...what are his thoughts about her...?"

She clenched her fists, trying hard not to think about the plethora of possibilities this scenario laid out.

"Alright, enough chitchat, folks!" Grace announced suddenly, interrupting Serena's thoughts of concern. She had just pulled open a drawer and taken out a few plates. "Let's eat!"

"ALRIGHT!" the other Trainers, plus a drooling Bonnie, cried in anticipation.

Several minutes later

"How come you've never told us about your other relatives, Serena?!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Yeah, I didn't know you had any family outside of your mom," Clemont added.

Right now, Serena, Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, Calem, Grace, Layla, and Moose were outside in the yard, seated at an oblong table that Ash, Calem, and Moose set up (after Clemont failed to set it up by himself with another one of his new inventions). They were eating their own slices of the chocolate cake, as well as other food that Grace and Layla had set up. Pikachu, Dedenne, and Fletchling were nearby, eating Pokémon food with Rhyhorn at the foot of its kennel. As for Squishy, it was lying on the concrete wall bordering the Gabena house, sunbathing in contentment.

"Yeah, Serena," Calem said, standing beside the honey-blonde and slinging his arm over her shoulders, behind her neck. "Why didn't you tell your friends about your dear ole cousin? That's very hurtful to know, if you ask me."

"I-It just never came up," Serena replied, though she did look a little guilty about it. "There's was never a perfect opportunity to mention them. Th-That's all..."

The boy then chuckled and gently patted her on the back. "Ah, come on, don't tear up about it, Serena! I'm just teasing you!" When Serena continued to look embarrassed, he chuckled again. "I guess some things don't change."