Chapter 23 - A Clumsy Encounter!
In this chapter Ash and Serena will be on their way to Eterna City when something interesting happens...
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Wordcount: 4026
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Narrator: Last time, Ash managed to beat Olympia in a four on four double-battle. It was a close one as Olympia proved herself to be a formidable opponent, taking both Ash-Greninja and Mega Charizard Z to their limits.
After he received his Pearl Symbol, our heroes went to visit the talent show set up by Aria herself. The former Kalos Queen believes that there is still many unknown talent in Kalos and therefore, she has set up a tour where she will go and travel to city after city to find and inspire the hidden talent.
This time, she had arrived in Annistar City and things hadn't been very successful. It was only when Ash and Serena arrived, things had taken a turn for the good.
Not only had Ash put up a great performance by showing off some of his old contest skills by carefully instructing Pikachu a serious, powerful, yet elegant and beautiful series of attacks which resulted in a great show.
However, the show was completely taken off when Serena, the other former Kalos Queen had turned up on stage. Thanks to some convincing words from Ash, she decided to let her voice do the singing instead of giving a performance routine.
And boy did she deliver. Many people were captivated by the beautiful sounds that came from her lungs. Serena had inspired a lot of people, who enjoyed listening to her to the fullest!
As she sang, many more people gathered to listen to her voice and even two men in suits arrived, desperately trying to contract her but Aria had her say in it. She announced that she would manage Serena's affairs and make sure to give her as much freedom as she wanted.
After Serena, the talents that Aria sought for finally started turning up, showing off a lot of performances and making the occasion a big succes!
Now, our heroes were on a plane to Sinnoh. There was still a flight available at the Annistar airport which came out perfectly for them.
Just like many other regions, Lumiose Airport wasn't the only one in the region. Many big cities had their own airports to make traveling a lot easier instead of everyone having to travel to Lumiose City before taking off to a different region.
With Pikachu sitting on Ash's lap while staring out of the window and Serena beside him, they were silently enjoying their flight. That was until Serena broke the silence by speaking up.
"So, when we arrive in Jubilife City, how long does it really take to travel to Eterna City?" She asked. They had taken the night before to carefully chose their flight. As it turned out, Eterna City was one of the few cities that didn't have an airport of their own so they were forced to chose between Jubilife and Hearthome city.
"That depends really." Ash answered, turning to her as he did. "When me, Brock and Dawn traveled, it took us a few weeks I'd say. But if we keep up a good pace, we might be there in just ten days."
"Hmm." Serena nodded. "Can you tell me about Eterna City? I've never been there." She asked, sounding interested of learning about the place.
"Let's see..." Ash said. "There's of course the gym owned by Gardenia. She's a grass type gym leader-"
"I figured as much." Serena snickered, interrupting Ash. "Someone who's named after a garden must love grass types."
Ash let out a laugh. "I've never thought about thar but you're right!" He admitted. "Anyway, apart from the gym, there's a museum that holds a great amount of history of the region."
"Hmm." Serena listened to him, speaking with a hint of excitement in his voice as he recalled his memories.
"Oh and there are some really cool statues of Dialga and Palkia!" He added, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Sinnoh is definetly one of the best regions I've been to." He sat back in his seat.
"Which one is the best?" Serena asked curiously, raising her eyebrow as she did so.
"Hmmm..." Ash thought for a second. "I'd say Kalos." He answered.
"Why?" Serena raised the question, leaning forward slightly as she was intrigued to hear his answer.
"Because I reconnected with you there after a long time." He smirked in a flirtatious way. "Twice actually!" He added.
Serena giggled at his answer before leaning her head against his shoulder in affection. He was right. They had reconnected with each other twice now in Kalos.
"You know what I like most about Kalos?" Serena asked Ash, who hummed in reply as he was interested to hear her answer.
"That we finally found love." She spoke up with a warm, half-hearted smile.
"Me too!" Ash answered, bringing his face closer to hers. He nuzzled his nose against hers, which earned him a playful laugh from Serena. "I also think that in Kalos, I was the best version of myself." He admitted.
"What do you mean?" Serena asked, pulling her face back a bit while forming a frown.
"I mean that I think I've battled the best I have ever done in Kalos." He said. "And I think you played a key part in that." He looked at her with a serious expression.
"Really?" Serena couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Ash nodded. "Yeah. During our journey, I didn't know it at the time really but the support you showed me was different than Clemont and Bonnie gave. Ofcourse, they had also affected me but yours was so much more... You helped me up when I needed it the most. Remember when I lost my battle against Wulfric?"
"All to well." Serena let out a sigh while looking down. "Your Ash-Greninja form didn't work out well and things went from bad to worse."
"I was terrible to you back then." Ash said. "I should've never taken it out on you." He spoke wit regret.
"Hey..." Serena put her hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. It all turned out right in the end."
Ash nodded. "Thanks to you." He formed a smile on his face. "You do know how much I appreciate it right?"
Serena formed a mischievous grin on her lips. "I'd like to see some more of that." She answered.
Ash smirked and leaned a bit closer. He gently kissed her on the lips for a good amount of seconds before retreating back in his seat. "How about that?" He asked.
"Better." Serena sounded satisfied with her boyfriend.
(---)
Some hours later after they had touched down in Jubilife City, they were on the road again. They were just on their way but Ash made sure to show Serena as much of Sinnoh as he could.
They first stayed in Jubilife for a hour or two so that Serena could see how different the region was compared to others.
Sadly however they weren't able to enjoy the peacefulness for long in the city famous for its TV producers. One crew actually found out they had traveled to their city and kept chasing them and invading their privacy, causing our heroes to abruptly leave the city.
Being a former Kalos Queen and an Alolan Champion seemed big news. Luckily for Ash, there were just a handful of people who knew about his titles in Kanto and Galar as he battled there under an alias.
Now it was little over twelve as they were sitting at a river side, having a picnic along with their pokemon. At the moment, Ash only had his Charizard, Pikachu, Greninja and Metang on him.
Serena on the other hand had her Pancham, Delphox, Deerling, Sylveon and Absol. She decided to keep Altaria back at home as it really loved her mother's garden. Also, her mom seemed to be in love with the pokemon and Altaria proved to be really handy when she needed to go and get groceries or whatever business she had going on out of town. With Serena's Altaria on hand, she could just fly and be there a lot quicker than traveling by Rhyhorn.
Serena sat on the blanket that was stretched out over the open space of grassland. The blanket was filled with delicious food, aswell as the picnic basket itself.
Ash on the other hand was almost laying on the blanker but still leaned on his elbows so he was able relax while having a good time.
Together, they laughed and joked, mostly having fun while they had some time to relax.
As Serena was taking a bite of her sandwich that she had prepared seconds before, Ash took a moment to appreciate having her by his side. He was really happy to have her support him and pulling him through everything.
But as the thoughts of appreciation filled his mind, something came to mind aswell. He never properly thanked her for that. He wanted to thank her for what she had done for him.
At that moment, he realised he hadn't taken her on a date yet since they came back together. He knew that Serena loves going on dates and surprisingly, he had an idea what to do.
"Hey Ash," Serena spoke up, ending his trance as he gave her a questioning look. Serena giggled a little as she noticed he was staring. "What is the name of the next place we're heading again?" She asked.
"Floaroma Town. Then, we need to go through Eterna Forest before we finally get to Eterna City." He explained. It was quite easy to him as he had traveled most of the region already before.
"Thanks!" She said, taking out her rotom phone before she searched for something. "They say that Flo-"
"Bi- Bi- Bi-"
"Doof! Bidoof!"
Serena was interrupted by a bunch of Bidoof. They were walking in line, carrying wood while one with a heavier voice was instructing them.
Both Ash and Serena were awestruck as they worked together and walked past them, seemingly no Carr in the world, as if they didn't even notice Ash, Serena and their pokemon.
"Bi! Bi! Bi!"
Then, out of the bushes came another Bidoof.. Its voice was a bit higher than the others. For some odd reason, Ash recognised it's voice. Now he thought of it, he also recognised the voice of thr one instructing them.
The Bidoof was hasting to catch up with its friends.
"Look Ash!" Serena said with glee and excitement as she watched them Salk to the riverbank. "Look how they work together as a team. Isn't it beautiful?" She asked.
Ash too watched happily, admiring nature in its best form. "It's amazing!" He agreed with Serena.
"DOOF!" The Bidoof at the back suddenly yelped as it tripped over a small rock, dropping all the wood it was carrying.
Serena watched in shock and so did Ash. The other Bidoof turned around, as did the one in charge that was seemingly their leader. "Doof..." He shook his head as if it had happened multiple times before already.
"Doof..." The Bidoof let out a small cry with tears welled up in its eyes. It had a big bruise on its forehead as it slowly stood up and gathered the wood back up.
Serena felt sad for the Bidoof. It looked hurt and she wanted to help it. But at the same time, she was scared that she might scare it off by jumping into action.
"They're such peaceful pokemon..." Serena commented on what she saw.
Ash nodded in agreement. "Yeah." He added to it as he too felt sorry for the Bidoof that fel.
"Doof! Bi-doof!" The leader pointed to the riverbank. Now, both Ash and Serena noticed that there were already some logs in the river.
Serena seemed surprised and confused to what they were doing. And it was as if Ash read her mind as he subconsciously started explaining what they were doing.
"Bidoof are pokemon that love building dams." He said before adding, "And it seems that they're already quite a distance with this one." He smiled as he watched the bidoof working together in pairs of two, carefully place the logs in place.
But then, as things seemed to go well, the last one mis stepped. It's eyes went wide as it frantically yelled and swayed the logs round as it was trying its best to get its footing again.
The other Bidoof went wide eyed too and started frantically yelling while running off their dam as fast as possible.
And then, as it happened, the Bidoof fell, releasing the log as it did so. Unfortunately, the log fell onto the dam which seemed to end in the worst way possible. It hit the dam at such an angle that the construction suddenly broke and the wood started flowing away by the river.
"Doof! Doof! Doof!" All the Bidoof cried out in horror while the Bidoof that fell finally looked up. It was being looked at by a lot of angry faces...
The Bidoof let out an embarrassing kackle. The others started leaving again and the Bidoof realised the situation. It let out a sniffle as tears rolled down its cheeks. It had messed up once again due to its clumsiness.
Serena, who was watching the whole ordeal with Ash from the side couldn't hold it anymore and approached the Bidoof. Her pokemon watched, intrigued by their trainers actions.
"Hey..." Serena slowly approached, sinking through her knees and slowly stretching her hand out to Bidoof, desperately trying not to scare it off. "Are you alright?" She asked with the sweetest smile she could muster.
"Doof!?" Bidoof cried out in panic as it turned to Serena, wide eyed.
"Doof! Bidoof!" It yelped as it scurried away in panic. Serena watched with sadness in her eyes.
Ash approached from behind and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault Serena." He tried to show her some sympathy.
"I know..." She said, sighing while standing up. "I- just wanted to help it..."
"I know." Ash gave her a sweet smile before taking her into a hug. "You're amazing, remember that." He whispered into her ear as he stroked her back.
(---)
A little while later after packing up, they were on the road again. Serena had become a little more cheerful but couldn't help thinking about the poor thing.
She sighed. "It has a wound on its head. I only wanted to help it." She admitted.
"I know." Ash showed her some sympathy. "I guess these Bidoof aren't too familiar with people and therefore are scared."
He grabbed her hand and interlocked their fingers. Both traded a glance with one another while a smile made its way on their lips.
But as they were walking, Pikachu perked its ears all of a sudden. "Pika?" It called out in confusion while looking around.
"What is it buddy?" Ash asked as he and Serena stopped walking, both facing the yellow mouse.
"Pika!" Pikachu suddenly cried out, jumping from Ash's shoulder and running into the woods.
Panicking, Ash started chasing him. "What's wrong buddy!?" He yelled as he ran.
"Ash! Wait for me!" Serena shouted in surprise as she started running after him.
A few seconds later, they approached a small open space with a few rock formations. Surprisingly, the Bidoof were there.
Ash and Serena quickly hid behind a pair of bushes as they watched the leader Bidoof shout at the clumsy one. It seemed that it had something happening to it again, destroying the recourses that they had collected yet again.
"Doof! Bi-Bidoof!" The leader shouted angrily. Now the other Bidoof stood behind their leader, all facing the other with an angry look on their faces.
The Bidoof sniffled, watching everyone turn on it.
Serena watched the ordeal with Ash and Pikachu and couldn't help but feel sad for the little guy.
The Bidoof turned around and started walking away with its head down. But that's when Pikachu all of a sudden jumper out of the bushes and started running to the Bidoof.
The other seemed to show no mind and went on their way again.
"Pi-pika-pi!" Pikachu shouted to the Bidoof before ultimately stopping beside it."Pika?"
Being the friendly pokemon that Bidoof is by nature, it wasn't scared of Pikachu. It sniffled a few times, holding its still scratched up head in pain as it started talking to Pikachu.
Subconsciously, Serena stood up from her hiding spot.
"What are you doing!?" Ash whispered but she didn't respond. Ash wasn't even sure if she had heard him.
Slowly, she approached Pikachu and the Bidoof. Pikachu noticed her and barely a second later, when Serena was close, Bidoof noticed her too.
The mall creature went wide eyed and wanted to run away as fast as possible.
"Wait!" Serena shouted, causing Bidoof to freeze in place. It scarily watched Serena coming closer.
Serena tried to play it as slow as she could and did nothing but keep a gentle smile on her face. She then started talking as she figured it might help Bidoof calm down.
Pikachu too was trying to talk to Bidoof, telling it that Serena is trustworthy.
"I'm only here to help you." Serena took a step closer.
"I can see the scratch on your forehead hurts." She said, feeling sorrow for the poor thing. "And just now, your friends have abandoned you."
Serena took another step and was just a foot or two away from Bidoof now. "Please let me help you..."
Bidoof watched Serena carefully. It was alert to anything she did. It watched Serena crouch down and slowly stretch her arm to it.
Bidoof closed its eyes at the moment Serena was about to touch it, scared that she would hurt it. But surprisingly, it felt gentle, nice even.
Bidoof opened it's eyes in surprise and Serena looked at it with a wide smile. "See, ain't that bad right?" She said, ruffling the creature's furr on top of its head.
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu agreed with Serena.
"Can I take care of your wound?" Serena asked gently, pointing to her own forehead to indicate.
Unsure, Bidoof gave a small nod and Serena took her bag and put it beside her on the ground.
At this point, Ash stood up and slowly approached. Bidoof noticed him and went wide eyed again, ready to run away.
"Wait!" Serena noticed its reaction. She took a quick glance at Ash before returning it to Bidoof. "This is Ash, he's you're friend too!" She gave the pokemon a warm smile.
Bidoof seemed to ease as Ash approached aswell and kneeled down beside Serena. "Let me know how I can help." He said.
Serena gave him a brief, appreciative smile. "Just keep Bidoof calm while I patch it up, kay?"
Ash nodded and turned to Pikachu. "Let's do this buddy." He grinned.
"Pika-pika!"
Together, both Ash and Pikachu spoke to Bidoof while trying to distract it as much as possible. In the meantime, Serena took a spray can out of her bag and gently sprayed Bidoof's forehead.
The pokemon let out a little cry due to the sting but when Serena put a blister on, it looked at Serena with glowing eyes.
"There you go!" Serena gave it a warm smile. "All as good as new!" She cheered.
"Doof..." Bidoof needed to take a double take and when it finally realised the pain was gone, it suddenly jumped at Serena.
Both Ash and Serena gasped while Pikachu let out a worried cry. However something unexpected happened.
Instead of attacking Serena, Bidoof was hugging her and cried while doing so.
All three looked at Bidoof with shock. The once so timid pokemon just did the complete opposite.
"Bi-Bidoof!" It hugged Serena's chest happily.
But then, it hit Ash... "Hey!" He exclaimed, pointing at Bidoof and getting everyone's attention. "Haven't we met before? With that outraged Steelix?" He asked.
Bidoof took a moment, watching Ash carefully. But then, all of a sudden, it lighted up and jumped at Ash, cheering.
Ash laughed and so did Pikachu and Serena. "I thought so!" Ash cried out in laughter.
As they eventually stopped laughing, Serena asked; "Bidoof? Why is it that all your friends just left you here?"
"Bidoof..." The pokemon looked down and sniffled as tears welled up in its eyes.
Both Ash and Serena realised something was wrong. "What is Bidoof saying Pikachu?" Ash asked.
"Chu?" Pikachu faced Bidoof.
"Bi-bi-doof-bi..." Bidoof told Pikachu to which Pikachu nodded understandably. He turned then to Ash and Serena, starting a series of motions while speaking.
"Chu Pika Pikachu chu chu kapi Pika-pi." Pikachu explained to both of them. Ash nodded in understanding as he watched and listened.
"I think I've got it!" Ash said, turning to Serena. "Pikachu says that Bidoof battled and beat a wild Scyther thst attacked them." Ash sounded convinced of his own explaination.
Pikachu sweatdropped and fell flat on his face.
"I don't think so Ash." Serena said before looking at Bidoof again. "I think what Pikachu said was that Bidoof's clumsiness finally has taken its toll. They abandoned the poor thing because he keeps breaking stuff..."
"Pika..." Pikachu gave Serena a thumbs up while putting itself back on its feet.
"I'm sorry Bidoof." Serena said, feeling bad for the small Plump Mouse pokemon. "I don't think you should be abandoned just because you're a bit clumsy. I'm clumsy aswell but you know what?" Serena said, asking the last part.
Bidoof raised its head and watched Serena as she continued.
"I just stand back up and keep going!" She formed a fist. "Nothing you do is ever a waste of time. We learn from our mistakes and become stronger by it!"
"That's right!" "Pika-pikachu!" Both Ash and Pikachu agreed.
Bidoof watched Serena now with sparkles in its eyes. It felt motivated again, just by that.
Serena looked at the normal type with a smile, happy it felt a bit better. She mostly felt happy that she could make someone smile again.
But then she got an idea...
"Bidoof?" She asked, earning the attention of the pokemon. "Since you're all alone now... How'd you like to come along with us?"
Suddenly Bidoof's jaw dropped. It had never heard anything else than complains. It was always scared, scared to screw up again. But now... someone wanted it!
"Bidoof!" Bidoof jumped up, on Serena's lap and nuzzled her chest in affection. Tears streamed down the poor thing's face as it couldn't remember being so happy.
Serena took out a pokeball and lightly tapped Bidoof's head. The pokeball opened and sucked Bidoof inside.
It shook once while Ash, Serena and Pikachu waited patiently.
It shook another time and everyone was waiting now with expectation.
It shook a third time and now the excitement of making a new friend thrilled them.
*DING*
Sparkles appeared, indicating Bidoof had been caught. "Alright!" Serena cheered, standing up for everyone to see. "I caught a Bidoof!" She posed with her hands stretched and happily holding the pokeball.
"Good for you Serena!" Ash gave her a large and warm smile, which Pikachu happily agreed with his trainer.
"Thanks guys!" Serena said in a proud voice as she looked back at her new caught partner.
Narrator: And so, as Serena makes a new friend, our heroes continue their journey towards Eterna city. What will be next on their road?
Find out as the journey continues...