For Each Other

An Amourshipping Fanfiction

Chapter One: A Promise

The sun shone cheerfully over four people walking slowly and carefully over a treacherous bog.

Serena decided that this was the first and last time that she would ever walk in a bog. It was wet and sticky and stank to high heaven, and she was up to her waist in it. Bonnie was being piggybacked by Clemont as she was too short, and the bog would reach up over her head. Clemont himself was groaning and complaining every five seconds about the bog's depth, and Serena herself was scowling and trying not to complain about the pitiful condition of her clothes. Even Ash, who was normally even-tempered and cheerful, was frowning as he trudged through the slimy mess, with Pikachu mimicking his mood while sitting on his shoulder, the smell getting to it. Good grief! They had been making their way back towards Jewel Town on their way to Anistar City, as they backtracked towards Lumiose City, but not for the Kalos League. A piece of heavy equipment had broken, and would take another month and a half to be repaired, as it had fallen off and damaged other pieces of more delicate equipment. So, as a result, Ash had offered to take them all to Kanto, where they could spend some time and come back in time for the League. They were now heading toward Jewel Town for a pit stop and they would set off again from there. However, they were passing through a normally tolerable swamp, which had gone far beyond intolerable after a hard, heavy rainstorm.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they got past it. "Man, any Swampert would wanna live there for the rest of its life!" Ash joked, instantaneously lightening up the mood of the group. He acted cheerful and childish at times, but he was way smarter than he let on. It showed clearly when he was in a battle. It was one of the many reasons that Serena had a huge crush on him.

They were reeking from the long walk in the bog and their clothes were in a miserable condition. She decided the first she would once she reached the Centre was take a nice hot bath. At last, they reached Jewel Town. As soon as they reached the Centre, all four of them dropped their bags, gave their Pokemon to Nurse Joy to look after and ran to take a bath, Serena fastest of all.

After a nice long bath, she came out to find the other dressed and waiting for her. "Finally!" Bonnie exclaimed, jumping up as Serena walked into the lobby. "Now that you're here, let's eat!" Clemont announced, and ran into the kitchen. A few minutes later, everyone was seated around one of the tables in the Centre and eating his delectable food. Suddenly, Ash spoke up. "Hey Serena?" he asked. "What is it?" she replied. "I need to talk to you after dinner," he said. "Why?" Serena asked, her voice a few octaves higher than preferable. "I'll tell you later," he promised before diving right back into his food. Bonnie smiled mischievously while Clemont looked mildly confused.

A little while later, Ash and Serena were standing just outside the Centre. "So what was it that you wanted me to know?" Serena asked. Ash turned so that he could face her. "You see," he began, his expression becoming sad, and rather vulnerable. "I was going through what had happened on our journey so far, and I realized that there were a lot of times I couldn't look after Pikachu, when I wasn't with it. When I got sick. When I passed out. When I went into the forest in Snowbelle City. The Pokeball Factory. Times like these, I can't always be there. Serena, if that happens, I want you to look after Pikachu for me if I can't. I know I'm asking a lot, but it trusts you," he said earnestly, his large brown eyes fixed on her. In a flash, Serena realized just how much Ash trusted her. She felt warm at the thought. She smiled happily. "Of course. I promise," she said. His face lit up, and he placed his hands on her shoulders. Serena felt like a human furnace, but mentally she swore to protect Pikachu with everything she had, Ash or no Ash. "We should get some sleep," Ash said. "We have a lot of work tomorrow," he commented. "Sure!" she said, smiling. With that, both of them turned around and walked into the Pokemon Centre.

They were all seated in the lobby the next morning enjoying a good breakfast when Chespin spilled its food bowl, creating a huge mess on the lobby floor. "Chespin!" Clemont said exasperatedly and got up to pick up the Pokemon food. "Clemont, wait," Serena said. "I'll do it," she said, getting up and kneeling so that she could clean up. "Thank you," Clemont said gratefully before sinking back into his chair. In a few minutes, she had everything picked up and put away. Serena got up and took a step forward when she slipped on something round and fell sideways, her ankle turning the wrong way. She landed with a heavy thud. She guessed that she had missed a piece of food and had slipped on it. "Serena! Are you okay?" Ash asked. Everyone had gathered around her and were asking anxious questions. "I'm fine," she said, and tried to get up, only to find that she couldn't. Nurse Joy ran over to check on her.

Thankfully, her ankle wasn't broken; just badly twisted. The bad news?

She wouldn't be able to walk properly for at least a week.

Author's Note: And welcome back! Our poor Serena can't walk for at least a week! What will she do? Even though this first chapter was a little shorter than normal, it's very important for the ones to come, as this sets the motivation for the story. Why motivation? You'll find out in the next chapter! Before I go, I'm gonna give a big thank you to all the amazing people who supported me in my previous fics. You guys are so totally awesome! Bye for now. See you guys on Sunday!

Please review and keep smiling,

Leaflame.