Limitless Resolve

Lost In The Forest Of Thoughts

Serena's POV

"This forest is almost as dense as Ash." I uttered aloud trying to lighten the current mood. We were making our way through the chilly forest and I still had Pikachu wrapped in my arms for extra warmth. Both me and Ash were still in our winter wear before we separated. Pikachu merely let out an exhausted "Pika..." before nudging me slightly with his elbow. I giggled lightly because I knew how defensive he could be of Ash, I was just like him at the gym when I had that outburst with Wulfric. I began to ponder on recent events as we ambled along. The events at the gym, waking up on each other, Pikachu and Braixen's injuries... And the argument. The last one still pained my very soul but its sting has been less effective.

As the thoughts kept stirring in my head, one thought suddenly stood out. Just before Pikachu was abducted by Team Rocket... I thought now was a good a time as any to figure out what the little electric mouse was getting at. "Pikachu?" I queried making him look up at me from my arms as I continued through the frost glistened brush. "Pi?" He replied flatly. "Remember earlier today when you wanted to talk about Ash, you were saying something about a misunderstanding and..." I stopped myself, I just couldn't accept the idea of reciprocal feelings in my current frame of mind especially from Ash. Pikachu looked at me and sighed. He held my gaze for a second then simply nodded. It seemed clear enough to him it was still a touchy subject but he seemed sure of one thing, it was a misunderstanding.

I dropped the subject and continued to walk along. I will ask later when things are clearer and we are out of this horrible forest. I pushed my way through a bush of ripening Cheri berries. As soon as we were through Pikachu ate one of the berries and shook of the leaves caught in his fur. I did the same as the honey blonde strands that protruded from my beanie were also covered in greenery. We were just about to continue but was stopped in our tracks when a low growl penetrated our ears. I froze on the spot and not because of the icy weather around us. I nervously looked down at Pikachu who mirrored my same terrified expression. I turned with Pikachu in my arms to see the source of the growl. Metres behind us, in the same berry bush stood an agitated Beartic. It looked incredibly angry and its icy glare was enough to leave my legs paralysed and incapable of moving. Only Pikachu's shout managed to break me of the fear as I noticed the Beartic making its way towards us. I screamed along with Pikachu and turned to run. The Beartic followed closely behind not giving an inch. It continued to lurch towards me and Pikachu. We were not going to outrun it like this. The Beartic swung its claws at us narrowly missing my head. I ducked to the floor and its arm swung through the tree behind us leaving a huge gash. I crawled under its legs never loosening my grip on Pikachu. Since we cant outrun it we have to at least slow it down.

I looked down at Pikachu and he probably knew what I was going to say. "We are going to have to battle it Pikachu. Hit it with a move to try and slow it down." I realised Pikachu cannot battle properly with his injured arm. I wouldn't risk a thunderbolt on such a big target and quick attack is out of the question because he needs to stay on his hind legs. That leaves tail moves so... "Pikachu use iron tail!" I shouted "Pika!" He responded jumping towards Beartic. I cannot allow the Beartic to hit him, not even once. Pikachu's tail began to shine a metallic silver as he flips and closes the distance between his opponent further. The Beartic scoffs as if insulted by the challenge from a Pokemon of such a small stature. He begins to release a hammer arm. Pikachu collides with the hammer arm with iron tail and is launched slightly upwards. I see his chance." Pikachu use your leverage to bring down another iron tail on Beartic." Pikachu's tail remains a zigzag of metal fury as he descends rapidly. Caught by the surprise, the Beartic is hit directly in the face with no time to react. He stumbled backwards as Pikachu lands on his him legs in front of me. "Don't let up and use electro ball!" I yelled quickly, my thoughts diverting to the other time I battled with Pikachu in Ash's place when he was ill. A small smile plastered itself on my face Pikachu released a sphere of electrical energy directly into Beartic. This caused a small explosion and smoke to build up around it. We saw our chance. "Pikachu we need to get out of here." Pikachu nodded and jumped into my arms like before. We ran into the bush as the angry polar bear Pokemon released barrages of ice beams in all directions out of the smoke. This added icy layers to the already frozen surroundings.

Ash's POV

Braixen and I continued our walk through the forest. It feels like the temperature had dropped since the start of the search. I wrapped my dark blue winter jacket around me a bit more and did the zip up to its fullest. Braixen looked at me and laughed. "You don't feel it, your a fire type!" I pouted. She continued laughing until the temporarily positive mood was interrupted by beams of ice shooting into the air a few hundred feet away. Something bad was happening. Me and Braixen shared a knowing look of urgency before continuing on towards the attacks. The sky began to churn and snow began to fall at a light pace around us.

We pushed through a few bushes of berries and other things until we came across a tree with huge gaping claw marks in the side. I ran my hand across the marks. They felt very fresh and they must have come from a big Pokemon. "This explains the ice beams huh?" I said aloud. All of a sudden Greninja came out of the snowy brush above us. He landed beside Braixen and once again checked her injury like before. "Hey Greninja, any sign of Serena and Pikachu?" I asked with a hint of hopefulness. He sighed before shifting his gaze between me and Braixen. He dropped his head slightly and shook it sideways. "You probably came over here after seeing the ice beams huh?" "Ninja." He responded calmly. "No worries Greninja, I have faith in you." I smiled. He smiled back and looked at Braixen. "And I'm not the only one." I added as he turned. He bridled slightly and appeared to be blushing. Braixen blushed and glared at me again. I laughed for a moment but then my expression became more serious as I noticed the snowfall was continuing to pick up around us. "We need to find shelter soon." I said to the Pokemon. Greninja raised his arm and pointed it to the right. "Greninja." He spouted signalling us to follow. He must have found a cave on his search. We followed him to a cave entrance and looked inside to make sure it was not too deep. It was a small cave enough to fit all of us. I kept Greninja out as company for Braixen and they both began to gather firewood outside the cave entrance. I got the ribbon out of my pocket slowly and stared at it thoughtfully. My raven hair was blowing from the breeze entering the cave. "Serena we will find you, just you wait." Braixen and Greninja both entered the cave once more with Greninja holding all the wood. I put the ribbon securely and safely back in my pocket and gave them both a grin. They both looked at me as if to say 'What?'. I looked at Greninja. "What a gentlemen you are helping Braixen how you have today." Both of the Pokemon began blushing bright red and Braixen was once again glaring at me. I think I've wound her up enough today. She settled down and lit the firewood with literally no effort. I sat on one end as they sat together on the other end. Both Pokemon quickly fell asleep within minutes. I saw an opportunity for ironic revenge. I made my way over to the pair and quietly as possible put Greninja's arm around Braixen. I chuckled and moved back to my side of the warm blaze. As I felt myself descending into sleep one last thought occupied my mind. 'Be safe Serena, I will see you soon.'

Serena's POV

With Pikachu in my arms, we continued running from our wild confrontation as the snow picked up around us. We stopped when we came across a cave. "Pikachu, we will have to continue tomorrow, the weathers becoming risky and nightfall is nearly here." I exclaimed with urgency. He nodded to me and we stepped inside the cave after gathering some sticks for firewood and prepared to hunker down for the night. Pikachu sparked the wood with electricity and with a bit of effort they were ignited. I lied down against the wall near to the fire and used my coat as a makeshift bed for Pikachu. The fire would last a while so I will be fine. I wanted Pikachu to rest his arm on something soft. I felt my body relax and my eyes began to flutter shut. I was more exhausted then I thought from the events of the day. A rockwall is a lot different to Ash's shoulder but it is better than nothing. As my eyes fully shut I quietly said under my breath "Good night Pikachu." And then in my mind 'Good night Ash, I hope your ok.'