Welcome the second chapter of The Contest. Hope you guys enjoy it! I'm really glad with the support it's getting! Thanks!

The two friends ran, like they never had before. They glanced occasionally to the side to see other couples right beside them.

After a few minutes of running, Ash and Serena had lost the other couples and were alone in the forest.

Serena, who wasn't very fond if forests, was frightened.

At least I have Ash here to protect me, and Pikachu is always by his side.

Every few minutes Serena would break the odd silence with petting Pikachu, or talking to Ash about his upcoming gym battle. It was sure odd, for they really didn't have much to talk about.

Then, out of nowhere, a herd of Beedrill appeared. Ash quickly pulled Serena away into the bushes. The Beedrill passed them as if they weren't even there.

"Thanks Ash, that was close", Serena said.

"No problem, I would hate to lose my friend, so I guess it came out of instinct",

Serena held her heart.

I mean that much to him?

They kept advancing until they eventually found a good clearing to rest in. There were some things they overthought when they joined this contest, like where would they get food or where would they take shelter at night? They were very lucky to find this clearing, and even luckier to find that there was an endless supply of berries.

"You wanna stay here Serena"?

"Yes, and looks like I can make some berry cake while we're here to"!

"Awesome"!

Serena was pleased to see Ash happy, espiecially if it was for her cooking. She was determined to make it extra special for that perculier reason.

"We have to go grab some berries, so follow me", Serena said.

"I don't have much of a choice, I'm kind of handcuffed here". Ash laughed.

Once they grabbed the berries, Serena started a fire, and started mashing berries together.

The cake won't be the best since we're not using proper tools, but it'll do, she thought.

Once it was done, Serena and Ash split it into two, and ate it together. Pikachu was also given a small piece.

"Wow, Serena this is great! We didn't even have much to work with and you can still pull this off"! Pikachu hastily agreed.

"Stop it Ash, you're going to make me blush"!

On the outside Serena was friends with Ash, but on the inside Serena liked him. Serena admired his bravery and his courage, his traits he had since he was 7.

He truely is an amazing boy, she thought.

"Serena? You've been sitting there silently for a minute now".

"Oh yeah, sorry, just thinking how we'll win this contest".

"We'll be sure to win this, we're an unstoppable team; you helped me win my gym battle against Viola, and I have yet to help you. So if we win this, it proves that we are the superior pair".

Ash then laughed, and Serena joined him, blushing slightly.

The night went by quickly, and soon it was morning. The pair packed up what they had and walked on. For what seemed an hour or so, they walked and they reached a lake. There, there was a sign.

"The sign says, you're on the right track couples! Just cross this lake and you're one step ahead", Ash informed.

"Hey, Ash look! A boat"! Serena then pointed at the small wooden boat, that could easily fit two.

Pikachu leaped off of Ash and wobbled on to the boat. The boat proved itself to be very frail, in which, Pikachu almost tipped the boat over, but sturdy enough to use it.

"Pika-Pi"!

"Great, we can use the boat Serena"! Ash exclaimed.

"Alright, let's get in before someone steals it", Serena mumbled.

Serena was still unsure about using the boat, as she didn't the boat to tip and ruin her cute clothes. But she didn't want to detour Ash, so she reluclantly joined Ash in the boat. It proved sturdy enough for it to last all the way down. She still saw one flaw nevertheless.

"Ash, I see one problem, "

"And what is that"?

"It has no oars"!

"I have an idea".

"And what's that"? Serena questioned.

"Froakie, I chose you"!

Ash's frog Pokemon leaped out of it's Pokeball and was ready to do what it was told.

"Froakie, I'm going to need you to push this boat to the other side, do you think you can do that"?

"Frooakie", it replied.

"Awesome"!

Froakie jumped into the water and started pushing them, surprisingly, and they were off.

"Looks like Froakie's training payed off, he can push this heavy boat"!

"Yeah"!

Serena smiled at Ash.

He's always hard-working, I mean look at Froakie!

"So, Ash, what do you plan to do against Grant's Onix"? Serena asked.

"I'm actually not really sure, but I'm sure if you're there, you'll help me figure out what to do".

"Ash, you can't rely on me all the time. What if I don't give you any ideas"?

"I don't know, I'm just happy you're traveling with us".

"Ash...".

Serena wanted to hug him, but was too scared to do so, since it could ruin their friendship.

Ash and Serena were on the boat for a while until they heard a grumbling sound.

"Ash was that your stomach"?

"Nope, although I am a little bit hungry".

"Ash this is no time for fun and games, return Froakie to it's Pokeball, now! I think there's a Pokemon under us"!

"Froakie, return"!

Froakie was recalled into it's Pokeball in a flash, as a ginormous shadow appeared under the boat.

"Oh no, Serena hold on to my hand"!

Serena, had no time to blush, as a very a angry Gyrados appeared out of the water. It roared at the kids and was mad at them for invading it's territory.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt"!

"Pikaaa-Chuuuu"!

The Thunderbolt hit directly, and the Gyrados was in pain, but it wasn't long before it recovered, even angrier.

The Gyrados swam under the boat, thrusting it upwards sending Ash, Serena, and Pikachu flying.

They all landed with a plunk in the water.

Thanks for reading! Once again criticism is allowed. I love the support this story is getting!

Just a note to you guys, I was planning to make each chapter about 1,000 words, but if you guys want to, I could make them longer. It would take me longer to write the chapter though. Thanks a lot!

For the Guest reviewer: Yeah, I know my grammar isn't the best, but for when you pointed the details about Clemont and Bonnie, well this is what I thought: Their still pretty young, right? I know I made them very clueless, but hey, I wouldn't fret too much about it, they're not really important in the story. Anyways, thanks for the critisism!