(Serena's POV)
On Friday, Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and I went to visit Professor Sycamore for Squishy's examination. We stepped inside his school laboratory and we see him reading something on his clipboard.
"We're here, Professor Sycamore!" Bonnie exclaimed.
He looked up from his clipboard and greeted us.
"Ah, it's good to see you all again," Sycamore smiled. "Now then, shall we get started with Squishy's examination?"
"Actually, my other friends haven't arrived ye—" Ash stopped.
"You talking about us, Ashy-boy?" a voice called out.
Gary roughly draped his arm over Ash's neck and Leafia playfully wrapped her arms around Ash's arm. And Yellow appeared alongside me and sighed at her childhood friends' behavior.
"It's not like I expect to see you guys here at all," Ash rolled his eyes.
"Aww... you don't have to sound disappointed by our presence~" Leafia pinched his cheeks.
Just like how Gary messes around with Ash, Leafia likes to tease him, too, but it does make me feel jealous when she gets too close to him like that, especially since we're dating now. Then Leafia noticed me and gave me a mischievous smile.
"Why do you look very flustered, Serena? I'm just holding onto my best friend like this~" Leafia starts hugging his arm tightly.
"Lea-fi-a!" I angrily pronounced her name.
I wrapped my arms around Ash and pulled him away from Leafia.
"Wow, you didn't even hesitate to take your Ashy-boy back~" Leafia giggled.
"I don't think you should mess around with Serena's feelings, Leafia," Yellow stated.
"Yeah! And besides, can't you see Gary is getting jealous of what you're doing to Ash?" Bonnie pointed out.
Everybody witnessed Gary attempting to throw a Heavy Ball at Ash, but he stopped when he realized we were staring at him.
"Wh-who the hell says I am?!" Gary argued, hiding the ball behind him.
"But Yellow said that Leafia is working as your assistant, and that means something, right?" Bonnie questioned.
Gary glared at Yellow as she laughed anxiously and hid behind Clemont and Bonnie. Then Professor Sycamore intervened to ease the awkward tension.
"Hello, my name is Augustine Sycamore and I'm the Pokemon Professor from the Kalos region," he looked to Gary. "And if I'm not mistaken, you're Professor Oak's grandson, correct?"
Gary nodded. "Yes, I'm Gary Oak and I'm studying to become a Pokemon Professor, focusing primarily on rare Pokemon such as fossil and legendary Pokemon. And I'm also working as Professor Rowan's assistant."
"What a surprise! Professor Rowan used to be my mentor! When I was a young lad, he taught me everything about Pokemon evolution, which led me to study about Mega Evolution."
"Really?! I would love to know more about your research on Mega Evolution, Professor Sycamore!"
Afterwards, Professor Sycamore and Gary continue to talk about their research, forgetting why we came here in the first place.
"Excuse me? I don't mean to interrupt your conversation, but what about Squishy?" Clemont inquired.
"Oh, right..." Sycamore scratched his head. "May I please see him?"
"Of course!" Bonnie took Squishy out of her bag. "Professor Sycamore is going to give you a check-up, okay?"
Bonnie placed Squishy on the table and Professor Sycamore examined him.
"Hmm, I haven't seen this one from the PokeDex," Sycamore stated. "Could this mean it's a new kind of Pokemon?"
He tried to touch Squishy, but he backed away and swatted his hand with his tail. But nevertheless, Professor Sycamore kept on touching him.
"It's just as you described, he does feel squishy," Sycamore chuckled.
"That's how he got his name," Bonnie remarked.
Although Squishy was getting annoyed with Professor Sycamore, he finished with his examination.
"What do you think, Professor Sycamore?" I asked.
"I can't say anything for sure yet, but... ever since you showed him to me the other day, I've sent inquiries to multiple research institutions, including the other regional professors here," Sycamore stated. "But there's no record of a Pokemon like Squishy anywhere."
Professor Sycamore used a cotton swab to extract cells from Squishy.
"Once I investigate his cells on a genetic level, I'll be able to draw any conclusions. And of course, I will send Squishy's data to the other professors, too."
"Just... what are you, Squishy?" Bonnie looked at him.
~~~~~~~~~~
(Third Person View)
While Ash and the others were focused on Squishy's examination, Gary and Leafia talked to Yellow in private.
Leafia spoke, "So this is the little one who escaped from Silver, right?"
"Yes, and I was able to read pieces of his thoughts, too," Yellow replied.
"What did you see, Yellow?" Gary inquired.
"Well... I promised I wouldn't say anything about what I saw in his thoughts, and after what happened yesterday..." Yellow hesitated.
Leafia stroked Yellow's head. "I understand you don't want to break promises, but... what if this is somehow connected to his disappearance?"
Yellow's eyes widened in surprise.
"He's your reason for attending this academy, Yellow," Leafia stated. "Isn't your top priority to find him? If so, then we need any kind of information available from you as well."
Although Yellow doesn't want to lose her trust with Squishy, she needs to cooperate with her friends on their investigation.
"Okay, I'll make an exception just once, but let's talk about this with Silver at the Rocket Lounge."
~~~~~~~~~~
(Ash's POV)
"As much as I'd like to stay and chat, I'm going to start on my own research on Squishy right away," Gary announced.
"Alright, we'll see you tomorrow at the beach," I said.
"Let's go, my lovely assistants~" Gary said jokingly to Leafia and Yellow.
"I didn't really sign up for this," Leafia sighed.
"Since when did I become your assistant, too?" Yellow complained.
After they left the laboratory, Serena approached me with a concerned expression on her face.
"Don't you feel left out sometimes, Ash?" Serena inquired.
"What makes you think that, Serena?" I questioned.
"Even though you're childhood friends, they always seem to exclude you from hanging out with them, and well..." she stopped. "Sorry, it's rude of me to be questioning your friendship with them."
"No, you're right," I admitted. "We're still good friends, but we're not as close as we used to be. However, they still kept in touch with each other during their journeys, and at one point, they traveled together with their childhood friend."
"What do you mean by their childhood friend?" Clemont asked.
"He's a childhood friend of Gary, Leafia, and Yellow. I never actually met him, but he's a really strong trainer from what they told me."
Apparently, Gary mentioned that their childhood friend likes to keep a low profile, so no one really knows what he looks like. But hopefully, I get the chance to meet him someday.
Once Professor Sycamore gathered enough data, Squishy makes himself comfortable inside Bonnie's bag, but Dedenne got upset with him for taking up room.
"They like being inside my bag, but there's no room for both of them," Bonnie said.
"Then leave this to me~" Serena took out her sewing kit.
~~~~~~~~~~
(Serena's POV)
At the courtyard, I attached an extra pocket to Bonnie's bag, so it can hold both Dedenne and Squishy.
"Ta-da~ A special pocket with a room for Squishy!" I announced.
"Wow! Thanks, Serena!" Bonnie exclaimed.
Bonnie showed her modified bag to Dedenne and Squishy, and they made themselves comfortable in the newly-made bag.
"That's really nice of you, Serena," Clemont said.
"Yeah, good thinking!" Ash patted my shoulder.
"I'm glad I could help them," I smiled.
Then I noticed a girl sitting on a bench across from us. But looking closely, I realized it was Mairin. I called out to her and she walked over to join our group.
Mairin spoke, "Hey, everyone! What are you all doing?"
"We were just talking, but why were you sitting by yourself?" Bonnie asked.
"I was hoping I could run into Alain, but I guess he's not around here," she answered.
I shifted my gaze to her bandaged knee.
"What happened to your knee?" I inquired.
"O-oh, this?" Mairin covered her knee with her hand. "I-I fell down earlier, so it's really nothing."
"You should really be careful," Clemont warned.
Suddenly, I heard someone calling out my name and I turned around to see May and Dawn.
"Hey girls, do you need something?" I asked.
"Have you forgotten what we're doing today, Serena?" Dawn placed her hands on her hips.
"We're going shopping for swimsuits!" May declared loudly.
"O-oh, right... Misty wanted to go shopping for new swimsuits afterwards."
Though I feel slightly embarrassed that she announced we're getting swimsuits in front of Ash and Clemont.
"That reminds me," I turned to Mairin. "You should come with us to the beach tomorrow, Mairin."
"Me? I'm not sure... I don't really quite fit in with everyone else," Mairin said.
"There's no need to be shy around us!" Bonnie takes her hand. "You're part of our group now."
"And our friends like you, and surprisingly, so does Paul," Dawn laughed.
"Well, if you put it that way, then sure, why not?" Mairin smiled.
"Then let's go!" May pulled on Bonnie and Mairin's hands. "Misty and Iris are waiting for us at the bus stop."
Dawn placed her hands on my shoulders and pushed me along to our destination.
"We're going to steal her away from you~" Dawn winked. "Okay, Ash?"
"A-alright?" Ash sweat dropped.
"And we'll make sure to find her the most revealing swimsuit for you~" May teased.
"M-May!" I chased after her out of embarrassment.
~~~~~~~~~~
(Ash's POV)
The next day, we were supposed to meet up with the girls at the beach around 11AM, but some of the guys woke up late, including me.
"Don't you think the girls will be pissed that we arrived late?" I asked.
"Relax, we'll just use our charms on them," Gary grinned.
"I doubt that will work on them," Calem sweat dropped.
And just as I thought, they were really mad, especially Misty.
"You guys are late!" Misty shouted.
"Chill, we're only late by 20 minutes," Gary shrugged.
I looked around and I don't see Serena, May, Dawn, or any of the other girls.
"Where's everyone else?" I asked.
"They're getting changed right now," Leafia replied.
"But they should've just wore their clothes over their swimsuits," Iris remarked.
While we waited for the girls to finish getting dressed, we set down our stuff and removed our shirts. I sat down next to Iris and asked her about her health.
"So Iris, how are you feeling?" I asked.
"Much better now, thanks to Misty and Serena," Iris stretched out her arms. "Oh, and I have something for you."
She reached for her bag and pulled out an egg case that contained a lavender egg with purple markings.
"This is for you!" Iris handed me the egg case.
"You're giving me this egg?" I questioned.
"Yep, this is a thank you gift for taking care of the Dragon-types for me."
"But this is an egg from the Pokemon Corral, right?"
"It's totally fine! I already got approval from the club president since she appreciates what you did for them, too."
"In that case, thanks! I'll take good care of this egg."
Moments later, Serena and the other girls came out wearing their swimsuits.
"What do you think, guys?" May showed off her yellow bikini.
"Erm... y-you look pretty good," Drew looked away, embarrassed.
"What about you, Kenny? Are you speechless after seeing my swimsuit?" Dawn teased.
"D-don't be silly, Dee Dee," Kenny blushed.
"Geez, do you girls have no shame at all?" Misty sighed.
"There's nothing wrong with showing off to the person you like, Misty. And in my opinion, I think you look nice as well," Calem complimented.
"R-really? Th-thanks, I guess," Misty blushed.
Then Serena approached me wearing a pink bikini.
"Ash, what do you think of mines?" Serena looked at me nervously.
Just like the other times, it makes me feel a little tingling inside from seeing her wear something for me.
"You look really attractive," I scratched my cheek.
"Th-thanks," she smiled and blushed.
"But it's unfortunate," May sighed heavily. "Even though I picked out the cute ones for her, Serena insisted on this one."
"Because you were going for the most revealing ones!" Serena pouted.
Before we headed towards the ocean, we decided to let our Pokemon out of their Pokeballs, so they can have fun with us.
"Alright, let's go!" Barry exclaimed.
I walked over to the shore with everyone else, but I noticed Hawlucha stayed behind with the egg I placed on the towel.
"You want to look after the egg, Hawlucha?"
Hawlucha nodded and sat down on the towel with the egg.
"Okay, I'm counting on you."
While I'm here, I should spend time with Serena.
"Hey, Serena! Do you wanna go for a swim together?" I asked.
"I would love to, but... I can't," Serena replied. "I didn't tell you, but—"
"Serena doesn't know how to swim, so I'm giving her swimming lessons," Misty interrupted.
"If that the case, then I can he—"
All of the sudden, I got sprayed in the face with Water Gun by Misty's Azurill.
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that," Misty wagged her finger at me. "Because who knows where your perverted hands end up touching her."
"You're calling me a pervert again?" I mumbled.
"Then how about you cheer me on? I can really use your encouragement, Ash," Serena smiled.
I gave a thumbs up. "Okay, then the first step is don't give up!"
After doing my job of being her cheerleader, Serena told me to leave and come back later to see her improvements.
~~~~~~~~~~
An hour later, everyone was having fun in their own way. Barry, Kenny, and Paul were fighting in the water. May, Dawn, and Iris were splashing water at each other. Drew, Trip, and Leafia were relaxing on their beach chairs. Calem, Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor were playing with a beach ball. Max, Bonnie, Mairin, and Yellow were building a sand castle... on Clemont. And as usual, Gary and I were competing against each other by swimming towards the buoy, but I lost again.
"Ha! I win again, Ashy-boy!" Gary exclaimed.
"Damn it!" I hit the water.
"Now, what should I make you do for me?"
As I looked away in defeat, I was surprised to see Serena swimming flawlessly just like a professional swimmer with Misty. I ignored Gary and swam over to them.
"Wow, she's doing amazing," I said in awe.
"Yes, she's quite a fast learner," Misty commented.
"It's thanks to your teachings, Misty," Serena smiled.
"What about me?" I looked at her.
"Of course, your encouragement helped me immensely!" she holds my arm.
Then my stomach started growling loudly.
"Not again," Misty sighed.
"Sorry, I can't help it," I laughed nervously.
"Hey, it's almost time for lunch!" Shauna called out.
"There's a great burger place that we can go!" Tierno exclaimed.
"Really?! Then let's go—"
"Haw-lucha!"
Hawlucha approached me and handed me the egg.
"What's wrong with the egg, Hawlucha?" I asked.
The egg started to glow.
"I-it just glowed!" I shouted.
"Then it might be close to hatching soon," Clemont pointed out.
"Wh-what should I do?" I panicked while holding the egg.
"Really, Ash?" Misty facepalmed. "You had several Pokemon that hatched from eggs like Donphan."
"And Scraggy," Iris added.
"Clearly, this is why he relies on his PokeDex because he always forgets what he had experienced on his adventures," Leafia laughed.
"Haha... very funny," I rolled my eyes.
"Anyways, shouldn't you keep it warm?" Serena inquired.
"R-right, leave it to me!"
I wrapped my body around the egg along with Pikachu, Hawlucha, Pancham, and Chespin.
"Dedenne and I will help keep it warm, too!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"M-me, too!" Max joined in.
When Max and Bonnie warmed the egg with me, May squealed with excitement for some reason. Then Fletchinder flew down and covered us with his wings, making us feel warmer than usual.
"Doesn't Fletchinder have an ability called Flame Body that speeds up the egg hatching process?" Max asked.
"That correct, Max. And there's a 30% chance of the opponent getting inflicted with burn during battle," Trip explained.
"Guys, look! I think it's about to hatch!" Dawn exclaimed.
The egg glowed brightly and hatched, revealing a small, purple Pokemon.
"Wow! Who could this little one be?" Yellow asked in awe.
"It's a Noibat, the Sound Wave Pokemon," Calem explained. "It can emit special sound waves at different frequencies, confusing and dealing damage to its' opponent's auditory senses."
"Cool! So it's a Noibat," I said.
As Noibat opened his eyes, he sees me and my friends.
"Aww~ It's so cute!" Bonnie squealed.
However, Noibat was feeling overwhelmed by our presence and expressed his frustration with Supersonic, causing everyone to cover their ears.
"It's Noibat's Supersonic!" Paul shouted.
"Ahhhhh! Make him stop or I'll start fining someone within 10 seconds!" Barry yelled.
Bonnie tried to calm him down, but he continues to use Supersonic.
"Everything is fine, Noibat," I said as I petted him.
Noibat started to calm down and allowed me to stroke his ears.
"Finally, it stopped," Paul sighed in relief.
"Yeah, I thought I was going to lose my hearing," Barry checked his ears.
Noibat's stomach started to growl.
"You must be hungry after hatching, right?" I asked.
"Being the pre-evolved of Noivern, it loves to eat berries," Iris stated.
"There's berries growing on those trees," Mairin pointed out.
"Can you go get one, Dedenne?" Bonnie asked.
Dedenne climbed on top of the tree and tossed down some fruit for Noibat.
"Here you go," Bonnie handed Noibat a fruit.
Noibat used his ears to check the fruit and shook his head.
"You don't want this one? Maybe it doesn't like fruit," Bonnie pondered.
"Let me check," Iris examined the fruit from Bonnie and shook her head. "This fruit isn't ripe enough."
"Wow, you can tell if the fruit is ripe or not?" Trevor asked.
"She is a Pokemon after all," I laughed.
I endured the pain when Iris stomped on my foot.
"I can tell the difference between sweet and bitter fruit, unlike Ash," Iris said proudly. "A Dragon-type like Noibat can probably tell the ripeness of the fruit as well."
This time, Iris climbed on top of the tree and came back down with several fruit. Noibat uses his ears again to detect the fruits' ripeness and happily eats them.
"Aren't you glad I picked the right fruit for you?" Iris smiled.
"Noi~" he chirped happily.
Once Noibat finished eating his fruit, he tried to fly, but he fell and cried again. I rushed to his side to comfort him.
"You're trying to fly, right?" I petted him. "Let's try once more."
For the second time, Noibat attempted to fly again, but it was unsuccessful.
"Maybe Noibat is too young to fly?" Yellow questioned.
"Noibat are supposed to be able to fly after hatching," Clemont informed.
"There's probably a trick to flying," Serena stated. "You know, just like there's a trick to riding a bike."
"Yeah, let's discover the trick to flying!" I exclaimed. "Hawlucha, Fletchinder, do you mind teaching Noibat how to fly?"
Hawlucha and Fletchinder agreed to act as Noibat's flying instructors. Fletchinder flapped his wings and flew with Noibat following him. However, he wasn't able to remain airborne and fell again.
"What's he doing wrong, Fletchinder?" I asked.
"I got an idea," Clemont said. "Noibat should learn how to glide on the currents of wind. There's moderate breeze on the beach, so it's the perfect place to practice gliding."
"That might work! Can I count on you, Hawlucha?"
Hawlucha nodded and he started off by running and spreading his wings, allowing him to glide through the currents. Noibat mimicked his actions and glided successfully.
"Noibat, you're flying!" I exclaimed.
All of the sudden, the winds stopped blowing, causing Noibat to lose control of his flight and aim towards Serena. Pancham and Chespin tried to stop and catch him, but they ended up bumping into each other.
Just as Noibat was coming close, Serena closed her eyes as Noibat swooped past her until Hawlucha managed to catch him.
"Whew, thanks Hawlucha!" I sighed in relief.
But then I noticed Noibat had a piece of pink fabric hanging from his right wing. And it looks strangely familiar...
"Wait... that can't be hers... is it?" I blushed.
I turned around to look at Serena and I saw something I shouldn't have seen.
"Ash, don't look!" Serena screamed as she covered herself.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Serena!" I covered my eyes and backed away.
"ASH KETCHUM!" Misty roared.
I flinched by the sound of the paper fan and the fire in Misty's eyes.
"W-w-wait, Misty! Th-this is an accident!" I put my hands up.
"YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE NEXT ACCIDENT, YOU DENSE PERVERT!"
She ruthlessly struck the back of my head with her deadly fan.
"GIRLS, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! START THE COUNTERMEASURES!"
I blacked out.