Our Alternate Ending | | A Pokemon Adventure

Chapter 35- Our Nostalgia (Part 1)

"Lighten up..." Elaina collected herself, crawling back into the witted and short-temped girl I knew. "Ashy-boy"

Oh great. Just when I thought she had given up on the nick name 'Ketchum' she had now been crossed with a new idea, introduced by none other than the notorious Gary Oak.

Elaina left me, jogging up to the duo and joining their conversation. Several minutes passed while I trailed aimlessly behind before Gary excused himself to fall in step with me. I looked at the boy with a bland expression, not exactly sure how I felt about his sudden appearance.

"How did you--of all people-- land yourself with two pretty girls?" He smirked, patting me on the back in that brotherly kind of way. It felt homely and warm. Boyish company was something I hadn't even realized I was missing.

"You sound shocked." I tried to hide the beaming smile that consumed my face but it wasn't a notion I could suppress. On only the rarest occasion was I complemented by Gary, even if it was hidden beneath an insult.

"I'm proud, actually." Gary had wrinkles creasing the corners of his lips that were barren of frolicsome. They were...honest.

"That's a first."

"Is there anything going on between you and Serena? In romantic respects." He asked, shocking me like I never knew I could be.

"W-what do you mean?" I stammered. There wasn't much of an answer to that question. I was unaware. It was a complicated problem I hadn't the skill to figure out.

"You're a bad liar Ashy-boy and I'm observant. There's undoubtably something going on there." He explained, a general concern completing the enlightened furrowed structure of his eyebrows.

"You sound like Elaina." I muttered harshly under my breath. Those two were going to be the bane of my existence.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"So, there's nothing between you and Serena?"

"No." I frowned at this. It wasn't appealing. The word was bitter, sour and salty all at once. Truly distasteful.

"Whatever you say Ashy-boy." My old rival sniggered, clearly taking a large portion of amusement in my discomfort.

Gary Oak hadn't changed a bit.

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The hotel was of a smaller size yet still glamorous. It carried the shoreside theme into its decor by adding silvery shells to every place possible. Each window was crowned with a sill large enough for sitting, allowing one to gaze across the azure waters beyond. The walls were painted a subtle blue, capturing the Suns rays in the most ideal way to light the room brightly. A few people loitered about the reception area, flicking through the latest paper or watching a program displayed upon the large flatscreen T.Vs.

"Pika, Pika!" My partner yapped from my shoulder, showing his approval for the place as Gary and I pondered off to the reception desk to ask for some rooms. Meanwhile, Elaina and Serena decided to venture throughout the lobby.

"Two rooms, both with twin beds please." Gary said to the receptionist who nodded in acknowledgement and began typing something into her computer.

"You're staying with us now? Cause I don't remember inviting you." I said with the evidence of a joke lacing my tone.

"Relax Ashy-boy. It's just for while your here, which is?"

"Two nights."

"Book them for two nights please." He announced to the receptionist who typed this new information into her database. Within several minuets the whole procedure was complete and the lady handed us our set of keys with a genuine smile. However, this smile was broken by the sudden out burst of a familiar girl.