One Step Closer

Santalune Forest

The next morning, after the group had eaten and healed their Pokémon, they set off into Santalune Forest, with Bonnie and Max running ahead. Clemont kept a close eye on his little sister, as usual, but was also lagging behind.

"Clemont, hurry up!" Bonnie called over her shoulder. "You're so slow!" "But you're so fast!" Clemont complained, trying but failing to keep up.

"Why don't you just ride Luxray?" Max suggested to Clemont. "You're only a kid, you can't weigh too much for a Luxray to carry."

"Of course!" Clemont quickly tossed out a Pokéball, causing Luxray to pop out. Clemont climbed onto his back. "Okay, Luxray! Let's go!"

"Ray!" Luxray roared, running to make up the distance between his Trainer and the rest of the group, then trotting alongside them. Suddenly Chespin came out of his Pokéball, too, sitting on Luxray with Clemont. "Pin Pin Ches!" He cheered excitedly, enjoying the ride.

The group laughed at the little Grass type Pokémon and continued walking, eager to reach Vaniville Town before it got too late to ride any Rhyhorn. "Wow, there are so many Pokémon nearby!" Max kept exclaiming, pointing his Pokédex wherever he looked.

"What else do you expect from a forest?" Bonnie pointed out. "Well usually when May comes into a forest with me, the Pokémon run and hide, so this is new to me," Max shrugged. "Max!" May snapped. "Don't be mean!"

While Max and Bonnie giggled to each other, Serena was tapping at her Pokégear. "What are you up to, Serena?" Clemont asked. "Just coordinating a new Pokémon Showcase routine," Serena replied, showing him her Pokégear screen, which had diagrams on it.

"So you're going to go back to Pokémon Showcases soon?" Clemont questioned. "I was hoping to go back into them soon, but I've not made anything official yet," she answered. "To be honest, I prefer Pokémon Showcases to Pokémon Contests. Battling is just not my style. I want to do what I love, not watch my Pokémon fight for some dumb ribbon... they do enough of that already."

"Well you have nothing to worry about, you're great at Pokémon Showcases!" Ash stated. Serena smiled at her boyfriend and took his hand. "Thanks, Ash. You're the best!"

"Hey!" May and Bonnie snapped at her. "Che!" Chespin joined in. Serena sweatdropped, chuckling nervously.

"So how much longer do you think we have to walk until we get to Vaniville Town, Serena?" Ash changed the subject. Whether it was him being tactful or him being dense about the situation at hand, nobody had a clue, but Serena still sighed in relief.

"Um... not much longer now. Maybe an hour or two at most. I can't wait to get home and see everyone again!"

"Will you show me how to ride a Rhyhorn, Serena?" May asked. "It sounds like lots of fun!" "Me, too!" Max added, raising his hand eagerly.

"Actually, Rhyhorn are pretty tough to ride," Serena explained. "Not like Clemont's Luxray. You'll need to practice on a Skiddo first. I know where we can find some, though."

"What's a Skiddo?" Max asked, searching for it in his Pokédex. He found it before anyone could reply. "Ooh! May, it can sense emotions! That's so cool!" "Maybe it can tell us if Paul feels emotion," May giggled. The brother and sister duo quickly went off on their own conversation.

After a few more minutes of walking, they were all clear of Santalune Forest. "Just a little more walking and we'll be in Vaniville Town!" Serena announced, causing cheers to erupt from Max and Bonnie.

Serena went back to planning her Pokémon Showcase routine, Max and Bonnie chatted as they ran circles around the group, Clemont watched Bonnie carefully as he rode Luxray, May's mind wandered to a cute dress she'd seen back in Lumiose City that was way too expensive for her to afford but she wanted anyway and Ash petted Pikachu's head.

"Hey Ash, what's the plan once were done in Vaniville Town?" Clemont asked, manoeuvring Luxray beside the raven-haired boy. "No clue, but we'll work something out!" Ash replied with his customary grin.

"Oh, okay," Clemont nodded. "How long should we stick around, then?" "Either until May and Max have to leave or we find something else to do, I guess," Ash shrugged. "I'm not sure about that, either. We'll have to ask Serena and her mum later on."

"Sounds good," Clemont agreed. "I was just wondering, that's all. It's always good to have a plan." "Yeah, but sometimes it's fun to do what you like!" Ash pointed out. "As long as you've got some kind of goal you can move towards, the way you achieve it is up to you!"

Clemont smiled slightly. "I've never known how you always stay so optimistic, Ash Ketchum. I still don't, if I'm perfectly honest."

"I just keep on moving forward!" Ash claimed. "Why should I just stand around worrying when I could be out doing stuff and making all the worries go away?"

"Ash never stays in one place long enough for him to stop and worry, he's already out fixing the problem so he doesn't have a reason to worry anymore," Serena added. "That's just how Ash is."

"I see," Clemont nodded. "I guess I should try that, too." "Yeah, it's great!" Ash nodded eagerly. "No worries at all!"

"Like in The Pyroar King!" Max and Bonnie yelled at the same time, then went off singing at the top of their lungs. "We've got to stop letting them watch movies," May sweatdropped at how off-key Max was and how Bonnie was trying to match that so that he didn't embarrass himself as much. "Yeah," Clemont agreed, also sweatdropping.

"Look!" Bonnie and Max stopped singing and started pointing ahead of them. The others hurried over, Clemont being the first to get there since he was riding Luxray. "We're out of the forest!" He cheered.

The others reached them and grinned at the small town that they would have to get through. "Once we get through here, it's just Route 1 we have to go through and we've reached Vaniville Town!" Serena announced, causing cheers to erupt from the group.