At the bottom of my heart lies a secret that I have never told a soul in the world. There is an image of this person who is dearest to me and closer than anything else.

Serena POV

I woke up at 7 am and took a shower and decided to wear something different for this weekend.

It took almost 30 minutes for me to get ready. After eating breakfast my phone starts to ring. I see 4 unread messages from May.

"Do you invite Ash?"

"What did Ash say?"

"Did he say yes?"

"You have to wake up Ash in the morning."

I turned to look at the clock, it was 8.00 am.

"I guess he is not awake yet."

"Mom! I am going!" Serena said as she walked out of the front door.

"Okay, bye!"

I walk towards Ash's house and knock on the door. After some seconds later Dawn opens the door.

I walked inside the house then noticed that Pikachu is already there but Ash isn't.

I looked around before turning to Dawn. "Hey, Dawn, where is Ash? Don't tell me he is still sleeping?"

"Nope," Dawn said with a smile as she points towards Pikachu, "He is already awake and I am thankful to Pikachu for that."

"Pika!" Pikachu is proud of himself.

"Guess, we will have to wait for him." I sat down on the sofa.

"I guess... Meet you at the bus stop, come on Pikachu," Dawn said and Pikachu runs towards her with Eevee following. Dawn waved her hand and walked outside.

"What just happened?"

______________________________________

Third Person POV

"Pikachu, come on! We need to hurry, we also need to eat breakfast," Ash shouted as he walked downstairs.

"You are late!" Someone said sternly.

Ash looks towards where the voice comes from and sees Angry Serena standing there with her hand on her hips.

"Uh, Sere, why do you look so angry?"

"Ash Ketchum! I told you to wake up early." Serena shouted.

"Sorry, Sere I couldn't sleep last night because I was thinking about the surprise..." Ash replied as Serena cut him off.

"So you are saying that's my fault," Serena asked.

Ash nods his head.

"Anyway, let's get going, we don't wanna be late."

Serena grabs Ash's hand and starts to drag him.

"Wait, where are Pikachu and Eevee?" Ash asked and looked around.

"They already left with Dawn," Serena said as she continued to drag Ash.

"Wait! What about breakfast?" Ash asked.

"It's too late now," Serena said and dragged Ash outside and closed the door of Ash's house.

"Wait! I want to eat something," Ash said.

"You can grab something from there," Serena said and pointed towards the food stall.

"Thanks, Sere," Ash said as he walked towards the stall with Serena.

They made their way to the food stall. Ash ordered two sandwiches.

After he paid the bill, he turned to Serena.

"Here," Ash said as he offered one sandwich to Serena.

"For me?" Serena questioned.

"No, I was giving to this girl," Ash said while pointing towards the girl who sat alone on the bench.

"Very funny, Ashy," Serena said and took the burger from Ash.

"Why do you make me so happy when I am with you?" Serena thought.
_________________________________________

They finally arrived at the bus stop.

"Hey, guys," Serena said while she walked towards them.

"Serena, why are you late?" Calem asked

"No, I wake early and I just walk to Ash's house to wake him," Serena blamed Ash.

"Hey, I was already awake when you came to my house," Ash replied.

"But you are not ready when I come to your house and I told you yesterday to be ready at 9.45," Serena said in defence.

"I woke up late because I was thinking about the surprise," Ash said as he crossed his arms around his chest.

"Yeah! sorry for not telling you tomorrow, because I wanted to surprise you!" Serena shouted.

"Now, would you tell me where we are going?" Serena said nothing for a second.

"Hmmm, it's a surprise," Serena winked.

"What?!"

Serena just smiled and Ash smiled back which made Serena blush.

Serena POV

Oh no.

I can feel the burning sensation around my cheeks again, but why am I blushing? He only smiled. Well, his smile is really cute.

"I like that smile very much," Ash said and poked Serena's cheek.

"T-Thanks, Ash," Serena said as her cheek turned red but she hid in her hair.

Ash POV

"Sere looks more beautiful when she blushes like that."

Why is Serena blushing? Wait Is it because I made her smile? Or did my smiling at her cause her to blush?

"I like that smile very much,"

Why did I say that to her? But I was telling the truth. She is really cute.

"T-Thanks Ash."

"Ash and Serena the bus have arrived!!" May shouted.

They now realised that they were staring at each other.

"R-Right," Serena nodded as she walked towards May who shouted that the bus had arrived.

Calem looked towards them with anger which no one noticed. Except one who is Shauna.

"What? Why is Calem so angry? Wait don't tell me... I need to talk to him later." Shauna thought.

As the bus arrived they finally entered the bus.

___________________________________________

The bus finally arrives at the destination and they see Clemont and Bonnie standing there.

"Hey! Ash good to see you again," Bonnie greeted.

"Nice to see you, Bonnie," Ash said as Bonnie ran towards him.

"How is Froakie?" Bonnie asked.

"Froakie, doing fine," Ash said and he called Froakie from his Pokeball.

Froakie comes out from the Pokeball and starts to look around, to see many people standing nearby. He quickly jumps on Ash's shoulder.

Everyone sees Froakie sitting on Ash's shoulder.

"Hey! It's the Froakie from Professor Sycamore's lab." Tierno said in shock.

"Yeah, it's the same Froakie who runs away from their new trainer," Shauna said.

"Ash, where did you catch that Froakie?" Trevor questioned.

Ash told them how Froakie decided to come with him.

"So, Froakie choose you. That's great."
Trevor said.

"Froakie always ran from his new trainers and I am happy that he finally found a trainer," Shauna said with a small smile.

"Alright! Guys why don't we go to the beach now." May said and she started to walk towards the beach.

"Wow, it's so beautiful," Dawn said when they finally arrived at the beach.

Early in the morning the sun peeks up over the waves, and the thin rays glisten over the sparkling undulations of the ocean.

The beach was very quiet, there was no sound of men, but the wingull and Pelipper peacefully chirped as they soared overhead, singing, and searching for food. The howling wind whistles through the beach like an arriving train (too strong a simile) as the crash of the waves thunder through my ears.

"Let's call our Pokemon and let them play," Clemont suggested.

"Ash, can I play with your Pokemon?" Bonnie asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Why not Bonnie," Ash replied with a smile.

"Yeah!" Bonnie jumps in excitement.

Ash tossed his four Pokeball into the air and called his pokemon.

"Wow, they are so cute and strong," Bonnie smiled.

I already met with Gible. Wow, Charizard, Sceptile, Totodile.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Bonnie."

Charizard and Sceptile weren't even in the mood to be greeted back.

On the other hand, Totodile extended his hands towards Bonnie. Totodile happily shook her hand.

"Wow, Totodile you are so cute."

Totodile started dancing around and Bonnie started to dance with it.

"Wow, this is so much fun," Bonnie shouted while dancing.

"Totodile sure loves to dance," Serena said.

"Yup, since we were coming to the beach I brought Totodile along with me because I am sure he would love this place."

"Totodile, did you like it here?" Ash asked.

"Toto Totodile!" Totodile cheered.

"Alright! Guys, we are on the beach. Why don't you play around," Ash said to his Pokemon. "But not fighting."

Everyone nodded their heads and started to look around. They stare at the beach in awe.

"Wait! Ash, can I take a photo of your Pokemon?" Trevor asked.

"Sure if they want to," Ash said with a toothy grin and pointed towards his Pokemon.

Trevor asked the Pokemon and they agreed Trevor took their photo.

"Thanks," Trevor said.

They placed a mat and sat down While they were talking all of their Pokemon were playing around and enjoying themselves.

"I am glad we came here, guys," Dawn said.

"See, I told you that you were gonna like this place." May remind her.

"Sure has," Dawn said with a smile.

"This is a nice place for Pokemon to play around," Ash said and sat down near a tree.

"You are always thinking about Pokemon," Dawn said and May nodded her head in agreement.

"Pikapi," Pikachu said and pointed towards the water.

"Do you want to play there?" Ash asked.

Pikachu nods his head.

"That's a great idea, Pikachu!"

"Yeah, let's go, Ash," Dawn shouted and started to walk but turned to May." You aren't coming, May?"

"No, I just want to relax," May said.

"Yeah! you can relax." Dawn winked.

"Ash, Dawn wait for me!" Bonnie shouted and ran behind them.

"Bonnie! don't go too far and be careful!" Clemont shouted.

"I will look after Bonnie," Shauna assured him. "Serena, why don't you come with us?"

"No. I want to help Clemont with the cooking." Serena said.

"Okay." Shauna nodded and went with the others.

"Serena, I already told you that you don't have to do that," Clemont said.

"But I want to help you," Serena said with a smile.

Clemont sighed, "Okay, if you really want to."
__________________________________________

"Why don't we go into the water," Dawn suggested.

"Where is Ash?" Bonnie asked and she looked around.

"Alright! Froakie, use, Bubble!" Ash shouted and the attack hit Dawn and Bonnie.

"You gonna pay for that!" Dawn shouted and turned to Piplup.

"Piplup, use Hydro Pump on Ash!" Dawn shouted.

Piplup looks towards her in shock but nods his head.

"What! Wait, Dawn, you don't need to do that." Ash panicked.

"Go for it, Piplup!" Dawn shouted.

Ash started to run but Piplup followed behind.

"Wait! Piplup." Ash said.

Piplup was about to use the Hydro Pump but Dawn shouted.

"Piplup, don't attack," Dawn said with a smile. "I just wanted to scare him and it worked. Thank you, Piplup."

"Piplup," Piplup said as he put his hand on the chest in pride.

"Very funny Dawn," Ash said.

_________________________________________

Time skip

"Guys, lunch is ready," Clemont called out after he and Serena finished preparing the lunch.

"Serena, Clemont, why didn't you tell me and I could've helped you with setting the table," Shauna complained.

"Because we don't want to disturb you guys, you are enjoying it."

"Okay," Shauna nodded. Soon Trevor, Tierno, May, Calem and Drew arrived.

"Let's enjoy our food!" May shouted happily as she sat down on the table and started devouring her food.

"Your cooking is great as always," May said with a mouth full of food.

"May, we all know that you love your food, but you don't have to talk when your mouth is full," Drew said with a smile.

"Okay," May said.

"But you are right about the cooking May," Tierno said.

"Wait, where is Ash?" Serena asked.

"And I didn't see Bonnie and Dawn either," Clemont added.

"I will look for them," Serena announced as she stood up before she could start walking. They heard Dawn's shouts.

"You two are going to pay for messing with my hair," Dawn shouted as she walked towards the group along with Bonnie.

Everyone couldn't stop themselves from laughing but with one Dawn's stare, they stopped laughing and quietly started eating their food.

"You... two look so cute, in that.....hair," May said while laughing.

Dawn looks towards May in anger.

"Did you say something, May?" Dawn asked dangerously.

"No, I didn't." May shakes her head.

"Where are Ash and Pikachu?" Serena questioned.

"They are the ones who did this to us!" Dawn said while she started to work on her hair.

"They did that?" Clemont asked.

Dawn and Bonnie nodded in agreement.

"Come here Bonnie I will settle down your hair," Serena said and quickly took out a brush from her bag.

"Thanks, Serena," Bonnie said with a small smile.

"We have to wait. If those two come I will take my revenge," Dawn smiled.

"Calm down you two, let's forget about it," Serena said.

"Yeah, if they say sorry" Dawn huffed in response.

"It's not our fault, Bonnie is the one who tells Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on the sand," Ash explained.

Pikachu nods his head in agreement.

"Yeah, Ash is right Dawn," Bonnie said looking at Dawn.

"Whatever," Dawn muttered.

________________________________________

After finishing lunch they decided to just sit there and talk.

"So, you guys enjoy every weekend like that?" Dawn asked excitedly.

May nods her head.

"That's a great thing about the weekend"

"I can't wait to travel around the Kalos Region!" Ash shouted.

"What! Are you going to travel to Kalos but what about school?" May asked in shock.

"No, I am going to challenge the gym during weekends and holidays" Ash explained.

"You are going to collect the gym badges which means you want to enter the Kalos League?" Trevor asked.

"Yeah, definitely and I am going to win," Ash said and Pikachu nodded his head.

"Not so fast there Ash. Me, Calem and Trevor are also going to enter this year's Kolas league too and that makes us rivals." Tierno said in a serious tone.

"I will make sure to win this time," Calem said determinedly.

___________________________________________

Time skip

Serena wants to spend more time with Ash. Then she got an idea.

"Hey, Ash,"

"Yeah, Sere,"

"Why don't we go for a walk?"

"Sure," Ash agreed then saw that all of their Pokemon are still playing with the others.

"Maybe we should be called our Pokemon before going," Ash suggests.

"No! They are enjoying themselves. Why don't we let them play?" Serena said with a small smile.

"Okay," Ash said.

They slowly walked into the forest... it was quiet and the only thing they heard is the Pokemon chirping.

As they walked through the forest they arrived at the location where there is a large waterfall.

"It's a Waterfall!" Ash shouted in surprise.

"It's so peaceful here," Serena closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Whenever we come to this place, I always come here."

"So, it's a surprise you were talking about?" Ash asked.

Serena nods her head.

They stood there in silence for a minute until Serena decided to speak because she thought that it will be a perfect time to ask him a question that has been bothering her.

Serena POV

"Hey, Ash,"

Ash turned to me then replied, "Yes,"

"I have something to ask you?"

"What do you want to ask me?" Ash said with a smile.

Such a cute smile. He makes me happy whenever I am with Ash.

I want to tell him how I feel about him. But I don't wanna tell him... not now... because I don't want to ruin our friendship.

"D-do you like anyone? N-N I meant do you have a crush?" I asked.

I finally asked him but now I am worried about what his answer gonna be.

My heartbeat got faster and faster, I could feel myself burning up as I waited for Ash's answer. Did he feel the same?

"What? Do I have a crush on someone?" Ash asked in confusion. "What makes you think that, Sere?"

Ash POV

I looked at her and she was blushing.

"I-I was just c-curious." She replied in a soft voice.

We stare into each other's eyes for a moment before looking away.

"Serena?"

"Y-yeah, Ash,"

"I do have a crush. I just don't know what to feel..." I said looking ahead.
"I didn't even know what love was till I reunited with her... But I don't know how to tell her..."

Serena POV

What? He is not dense. When did that happen?

"Oh, okay."

He travelled in so many regions and met up with so many people of course he loves someone.

Ash POV

As soon as Serena ask that question my heartbeat got faster and faster, and I could feel myself burning up... Me feeling this way...

"Does it mean I really love Sere?"

As soon as I told her that I had a crush but I don't know how to tell her. I noticed that she got upset. What should I do? I don't like seeing her upset like that. Maybe I shall tell her that I love her.

"I wonder who she is? she must be the luckiest girl..." Serena thought then she noticed that Ash is looking at her worriedly.

She pulled a smile and said, "You have to tell her soon. Don't keep her waiting.

"Sure... I will..."

"Can you tell me who she is?"

"Hmm," Ash thought for a moment before replying, "It's a secret,"

"It's okay if you don't wanna tell me. But you have to tell her sooner or later." Serena said. "Now! We should get back to others. They must be wondering where we are."

She didn't wait for his reply she just started walking away.

"I really messed up. I should've told her."
Ash thought.

Serena POV

I love you. Since the first day I met you at Summer Camp, the first glance at your eyes, I started to develop feelings towards you. I love you with all my heart and soul.

Serena turned around and noticed that Ash has stopped walking.

"Ash! Why are you standing there?" Serena asked, looking confused.

"Uh," Ash snapped out of his daydreaming then shouts, "I am coming!"

Serena nodded and started to walk away and he followed Serena.

___________________________________________

Finally, they arrive where the others are.

"Serena, Ash, where did you two go ?" Tierno asked.

Now everyone is looking towards Serena for answers.

"We just went for a walk," Serena said with an annoyed tone.

"Why didn't you tell us? We should've gone with you," Calem said.

Serena was about to reply but stopped as
suddenly loud noise comes from the nearby forest and they could see smoke coming from the forest as all the flying types of pokemon fly away from the forest.

"What was that?" Ash asked.

"It's coming from the forest," Serena said.

"It's a Pokemon?" Shauna questioned Clemont.

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Note

I want to inform you all that I published this story in 2020. Then unpublished the story.
But now I published this story once again. I rewrite the chapters from 3 to 15.

So, in chapter 16 there are views and votes as they were before.
I decided to inform you about that so you shall not get confused.

Thank you for reading.