Love in the Time of Trials

Chapter 2: A Doubt

"Anything on your mind?" Ash asked. Serena looked at him, the boy propping himself up on his elbow, and she was rather surprised that he would ask such a question. She sighed and emulated him.

"Not sure."

"Yeah..." he breathed. Serena suddenly noticed his face closer than it had been just a few seconds ago. In fact, it was so close, she felt she could count his eyelashes, if she didn't have them memorized already. It was all rather magnetizing, and instead of talking, Serena found herself kissing him. At one point, she was sure she found herself pulled into his lap, but it had all been a haze, especially considering that Pikachu woke them both up the next morning and she hadn't realized that they had fallen asleep outside. Thankfully they weren't noticed by anyone else (not that they were sneaking around, but it was still embarrassing).

Regardless, other than some tousled hair, flushed faces and Pikachu smirking a little as they set off after breakfast, no one was any the wiser. Serena simply continued to guide them toward Royal Avenue, Bonnie skipping gaily ahead. It was almost near midday when Serena decided to broach the interesting topic with Lillie, mostly as a means of pushing her own negative feelings aside, ones she wouldn't admit had been plaguing her since her loss in the Heahea Ceremony.

"Any thoughts on when you want to catch your first Pokémon, then?"

"As soon as I can," Lillie admitted. Nebby jingled out from inside the bag in agreement, but the blonde ignored him. "But I don't want just any Pokémon. After seeing how close all of you are with your Pokémon, even your new ones, I want to make sure that I can bond with one like that, hopefully."

"I'm sure that no matter what Pokémon you choose, you'll find a great one," Serena assured her. Her eyes flicked over to Ash, who appeared to agree, but also had some other questioning look behind his eyes, like he was suppressing something. It was always gone just as it rose up, though, so Serena paid little mind.

"Thanks," Lillie spoke, smiling happily. She began to hum quietly, a little tune, some of the notes sounding familiar. It was a nice song, regardless; soothing, like the waves of the ocean reflecting the sun. Serena closed her eyes a moment, listening, before the sound of Lillie's humming appeared to be overtaken by something more booming and more resonant.

"Is that music?" Clemont questioned. It was certainly the obvious answer, and both Ash and Bonnie raced ahead to see. Serena maintained her even pace with Lillie, though both girls were rather intrigued as they came near a circle of palm trees. That was when it became evident that neither Ash nor Bonnie needed to say anything about what was actually going on.

Settled into the copse of trees appeared to be a dance crew. Four near identical female dancers were swaying in a circle, a band nearby thrumming away on tribal drums. Their Pokémon, a wide and eclectic variety of different Eevee evolutions, danced along with them. To Serena's surprise, Sylveon and Brionne suddenly called themselves out of their pokeballs to watch the spectacle.

They weren't the only ones. Various other travelers or caravans happened to stop to watch the rather entertaining roadside show. Serena noticed one blond-haired man with a hiking stick sitting on the ground while listening to the music. Another Mudbray-drawn carriage sat there with a little girl listening and watching the dancing ladies. Yet another group of what looked like teenagers had their Pokémon on their heads as they watched them from their car. It was quite the sight, and one that Bonnie and Ash were extremely excited to see, though the latter retained enough presence of mind to hold Bonnie back from running in towards the dancers. Clemont and Rotom soon joined them and the Pokédex, like usual, took off to snap pictures as secretly as it could.

"It's very lovely," Lillie commented, and Serena nodded. She and the blonde with her came to a stop some distance away from Ash and the others, watching as the crowd began to clap and cheer along with the beat. Up in the trees, various Pokémon sat, including one that Serena had never seen before, dozing away on the tree. Yet despite the fact that it looked so sleepy, it also appeared to be swaying comfortably with the rhythm. Lillie also looked up at it, smiling at the rather drowsy Pokémon. "That one's cute."