Diamond in The Rough

Hello everybody, I hope the last chapter wasn't too cringe full and painful, if it was though…why are you still here…don't you have something better to do, or something else to read? For the people who did enjoy last chapter, thank you very much, I hope I'll live up to your expectations in the future. Also, it would be great if you could So, for those of you who enjoyed last chapter, all aboard the 'SS Cringe' we're going full speed into this.

(Mai Gawd, I was listening to YouTube, and I saw what I had recommended. I checked it and saw a video titled 'Best of Electro Swing April 2016' I clicked it and my GEEZZUSS I had a eargasm. I'd recommend giving it a try.)

*Pokémon talk/thoughts

*Telepathy

Disclaimer: I don't own Nintendo, Pokémon

Chapter 2: Blessing in Disguise

'Is this girl alright? I hope she's not traumatized by what just happened. "Hey are you alright? You're not hurt or anything, are you?" 'I hope they didn't do anything while I wasn't watching. I'm glad she's safe now…She's been staring at me for a while without saying anything, I hope I didn't scare her. Maybe she's still recovering her thoughts, after all that, I wouldn't blame her for being in shock.'

"I'm sorry if I spooked you, I won't hurt you, I promise." Ash said as he saw her take a step towards him. He braced himself for the worst, not expecting the action the girl would pull. Ash froze up not expecting to be pulled into a hug.

"Thank you." Ash heard the girl speak in a quiet, but audible voice. "That was the first time anyone's done anything to help me before. Thank you, so very much." Ash noticed that she was tearing up and started to hug her back. "Hey, no problem. I'm just glad that you're safe now." Ash said as he tried comforting the unknown girl.

The girl pulled away and started wiping her tear's. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Zinnia, thanks for saving me back there. I'm sorry you had to bother with helping me. I'm sure you have better things to do. And I'm fine, they didn't get to do anything to me since you helped me." The now introduced Zinnia said a bit shyly.

Ash's eyes shot open after hearing this. "I'm Ash, and this is my buddy Pikachu." "Pika chu" "And don't worry about it, I helped you because it was the right thing to do. I would've felt guilty, and probably would have been non-stop worrying about what would have happened to you." Ash said, causing Zinnia to blush madly.

*gasp I can't believe he said that! I can't believe it! Someone actually acknowledged my existence! He's probably just being nice. Zinnia thought to herself. "Are you sure you're alright? They didn't do anything to you, did they?" Ash asked still concerned. Zinnia's blush deepened. "No, I'm fine, really." Zinnia said as she tried hiding her face.

"Whew, that's a relief. May I ask where you're going?" Ash said. "How do you know that I'm going somewhere?" Zinnia asked flustered. "Well, we're in an airport, so I just thought you were going somewhere." Ash said calmly.

"Oh yeah, we're in an airport, right? Haha ha ha…" Zinnia said half-heartedly. "I'm headed to Kanto, I'm going to continue my Pokémon journey there, and I already know who I want to choose as my starter." Zinnia explained. "That's awesome, I am headed towards Kanto myself, I'm going home after my journey here in Kalos. If there's anything you'd like to know about Kanto just ask." Ash said rather optimistically.

"Alright, I think I'll take you up on that offer. What are some cool dragon type Pokémon in Kanto." Zinnia said really excited to hear his answer. "Dragon types, huh? Dratini is the most common here. But Charizard is also a popular one here to. Gyarados is here to, but that's just about everywhere. You could go fossil hunting for a Aerodactyl. Or you could go to the sea and fish for a Seadra to evolve into a Kingdra." Ash responded while holding his chin.

Zinnia looked at Ash with sparkling eyes, hearing about so many Dragon types, and how you could find them. "You could catch a plane to Hoenn and catch a Trapinch and Gible." Ash added. At this point, Zinnia beaming with anticipation. She didn't expect Ash to be so knowledgeable about Dragon types.

"Would everyone who's on 'Flight A' towards Kanto please make their way to the Section A-Kanto? We're almost ready to take flight.

"Well, that's my flight, I guess I'll see you around somewhere." Ash said, to see Zinnia walking next with him towards the plane. "Zinnia, is your plane also 'Flight A' by chance?" Ash asked. "Yeah it is, I guess we won't be splitting up quite yet Ash." Zinnia responded, still happy about the dragon type Pokémon.

Wait a second, I get to be around Ash a little longer! Oohhhh, I'm so happy right now! I finally have a chance to make a friend! This is the best day EVER! I hope I don't mess this up. Zinnia thought to herself, while unconsciously smiling. "Hey Ash, what are planning on doing when you get back to Kanto?" Zinnia asked.

"I'm planning on visiting a few people, maybe go visit a few places as well, I don't really know. But I will be staying in Kanto for a while, I do know that much." Ash responded. Ash started to think what he was gonna do once he got back. "Maybe I'll just do non-stop training, since all my Pokémon are in Kanto after all." Ash said, in a slight daze.

Zinnia just watched Ash carefully, studying all his features. "Hey Ash, if you do decide what your wanna do, can I tag along with you?" Zinnia asked timidly. I hope he says yes, I must do something to repay him, for saving me. Besides, I'm curious just what kind of person he is, he saved me without a second thought, and without any reason to do so.

"Sure! I don't mind at all." Ash said happily.

"Wait, are you really serious!?" Zinnia asked as she got up in his face.

"Yea, plus it'll give me a good excuse to learn more about you." Ash responded. "I'm curious about you. I don't know what it is, but something tells me that I can trust you." Ash continued, earning a small blush from Zinnia.

"Are you serious serious!?

"Yes I'm serious serious."

"Like, seriously serious serious!?

"I'm 100% serious."

"Ughh, you confuse me, how can you accept a stranger that fast. It just makes no sense to me." Zinnia complained, not knowing how she feels right now. When Ash said, 'he was interested in her', it made her heart skip a beat, and her stomach a bit fluttery. What is this? I've never felt like this before. Am I getting sick? Did I eat something bad? No, I haven't eaten since yesterday, so that can't be it.

"Zinnia, is something wrong? You have this serious face on right now." Ash said as he put his hand on her forehead, making her blush. "You're a little warm. Hold my place for a sec." Ash said before getting out of line to go talk to a flight assistant.

"I'm, uh, you, I just, uh, ohh, owwoowwo…Ok." Zinnia stuttered as her blush turned crimson. What's wrong with me! Why can't I speak! Why'd I start freaking out when he did that! Argh, I'm so confused right now. This isn't how I usually act, so why now.

Ash came back with a pill of Advil and a small plastic cup full of water. "Here, take this, it should help." Ash said as he handed her the drink and pill. "If you weren't feeling well you could have told me, I would've done something sooner." Ash said a little worried as Zinnia had taken a drink to down the pill. "Don't push yourself to hard, okay?" Ash warned her.

"Okay, next time I'll tell you on a moment's notice. I'm sorry." Zinnia apologized. I'm not even this guy's friend, but he seems so worried about me…nngh I don't understand him at all! Why is he so nice to me, even though he just met me? Zinnia thought.

The duo finally boarded the plane and picked their spots, at the back of the plane. "Hey Zinnia do you want the window seat?" Ash asked as he moved out of the way. "No, I'm good I'd rather have the outer seat, if that's fine with you." Zinnia said. "Suit yourself, I'll take the window seat if you don't want it." Ash said trying to hide how excited he was.

The plane was a little more pact then they had anticipated. "Excuse me, mam, could you move over one seat please, we're a little fuller than we anticipated so we need to make room for other guests." The flight attendant asked Zinnia. "Okay." Zinnia obliged and moved over a seat. I didn't get the seat I wanted, but at least I get to be closer to Ash…Wait what am I thinking! I just met him, I don't know him that well! Zinnia thought as she sat down.

Attention all passenger's, please fasten your seat belts, we are about to take flight.

"Hey Zinnia, once we take off you should try to get some sleep, or you'll suffer from jet lag when we get there." Ash recommended. "Alright, if I'm not up by the time we land, could you wake me up please." Zinnia pleaded. "Sure." Ash answered.

Minutes later the plane took off.

Almost immediately Ash heard light snoring, and when he looked to his side Ash noticed that Zinnia was nodding off, then suddenly her head just dropped back towards the seat. Ash just smiled at how cute she was asleep. He lightly grabbed her head, and put her on his shoulder to use as a pillow. Ash then rested his head on hers to use as a pillow. While Pikachu slept in between the them both.

*Daytime

Attention all passenger's we have just arrived in Kanto. Please do not unbuckle your seat belt until we have landed.

Ash woke up to the announcement and gently nudged Zinnia to wake her up. "Wake up Zinnia, we're about to land." Ash told Zinnia. Zinnia then woke up and stretched upwards. "Nnngghhh….ah. Wow, that was the best sleep I've gotten in months." Zinnia said still half asleep.

"I see that, you were out like a light. It was quite amusing to watch as you dozed off." Ash said. Zinnia had a devilish smirk on her face. "So, you were watching me sleep. That's good to know." Zinnia said in a deviant tone. "And here I thought I could let my guard down around you. Apparently, I still need be cautious, even around the person that saved me." Zinnia said playfully.

As Ash heard this he had a mini spaz attack. "You know I didn't mean it like that! I only saw you because you're sitting next to me, and because I heard you snoring quietly." Ash said in a panic. "You looked so happy and content. It was satisfying to just look at you." Ash said no lower than a whisper. But this did not go unnoticed from Zinnia, who blushed slightly.

"How can you say such things so easily and still keep a straight face." Zinnia said as she turned her head the other way. There it is again, that funny feeling.

Ash got flustered, he didn't think she heard him say that. They were both interrupted from their thoughts when the plane started slowing down fast. The plane came to a stop and parked in front of the airport in its lane.

Attention all passenger's, we have arrived in Pallet town, you may now gather your things and get off the plane. Thank you for flying with us.

Ash and Zinnia both grabbed their bags and got off the plane. "I've made up my mind, I'm going to travel through Kanto again, but for a different purpose this time." Ash said as they exited the airport. "By the way Zinnia, you never said exactly what you're gonna travel through Kanto for. Could I pry, and ask what you're doing?" Ash asked.

"Actually, I'm catching and training dragon type Pokémon. Ever, since I was a kid I loved dragon types, adoring how powerful they are and what they are capable of." Zinnia replied. "Have you decided what you're gonna do Ash?" I would love to be able to travel with you, even if it is for just a short while." Zinnia said. Zinnia then stopped to stretch.

"I've decided that I will travel through Kanto, this time is different from the others though. Since I've already traveled through Kanto, this should be really quick to get to where we need to go." Ash answered her. "I'll have to depart from you at Saffron city, I need to stay there for a while." Ash said to warn Zinnia ahead of time. "It should take me about three or so weeks for what I need to do there, so I wouldn't wait for me." Ash stated.

"Okay, thanks for telling me, I'll go the rest of the way myself from there." Zinnia said.

"By the way, what are your plans for the night? Are you going to settle down somewhere and relax?" Ash asked.

"I think I'll go to a Poke Center for the night, thanks for asking though." Zinnia said

"Actually, we don't have a Poke Center in Pallet town. You are more than welcome to stay at my house, or I could ask Professor Oak if he could lend you a bed." Ash said trying to arrange a place for Zinnia to sleep. As Ash racked his brain on where Zinnia could stay, Zinnia just stared at him. "What?" Ash asked while looking at her confused.

"Why would you, do so much for me, a complete and total stranger?" Zinnia asked with a completely serious face. "I haven't done anything for you, yet you've saved me from who knows what and now you're trying to make sure I have a safe place to sleep. Why?" Zinnia continued.

"In my eyes, we're already friends, and I never want to see my friends suffer, no matter how minor the problem is." Ash said with a smile. No matter how hard Zinnia tried, she couldn't find any falter in Ash's voice or face. "If you ever need a hand just ask me, even if you just want to hang out I'm down and ready to go." Ash continued. I don't get it. She just doesn't seem to want to open up to me, and trust me. No matter, I'll keep waiting until she does.

Zinnia didn't know how to react to that. This was the first time someone's ever been so kind to her. This was the first time someone's ever tried to be her friend. This, was the first time someone's acknowledged her existence. Zinnia finally understood, Ash wasn't trying to gain anything from her, but genuinely trying to help her out. There that weird feeling is again. No, I know what it is, I just didn't want to believe it.

"Alright Ash, I'll take you up on your offer then. I'll be sleeping at your house for the night." Zinnia said, finally, dropping her guard around Ash for the first time. She would now start acting like her true self. I can't believe it. I've fallen in love with Ash.

"Great! Let's get going then, I don't live to far from here anyways." Ash said, excited to be back home. "It's about a twenty-minute walk from here." Ash said, practically bouncing up and down. "I can't wait to get home, I'm can't wait to eat mom's cooking again." Ash said, before the classic stomach growl.

If he acts like this, it makes me feel stupid that I couldn't trust him sooner. Zinnia thought to herself. "Ash, what's your mother like? Is there anything I should or shouldn't do?" Zinnia asked in advance to change her behavior.

"She's super nice, and loves to garden. She makes the best food in the world hands down." Ash said with excitement, now with the thought of seeing his mom after so long. "Man, now you've made me anxious Zinnia." Ash said jokingly. "Hey, Zinnia, after we introduce you and eat, do you want to meet the rest of my Pokémon?" Ash asked, hoping she would say yes.

This sounds interesting. I might be able to toy with him a little bit. What should I do? I know! I'll let my Pokémon out one by one. Zinnia thought as she formulated a plan.

"Yeah that sounds really promising. While we're there I'll introduce you to my Pokémon, let them stretch and get a breath of fresh air." Zinnia responded while getting pumped herself. "I don't think your prepared for what I have in store for you, Ash." Zinnia said, excited to see the expression on his face. When we get there, I'm going to toy with him a little with a game. Zinnia thought to herself.

"You seem to be in a lot better mood now Zinnia, you excited to meet everyone?" Ash asked.

"You bet, that and I can't wait to go around Kanto with you." Zinnia replied. That and the fact that I have something planned for you. I finally realized how I feel, and now, I'm not gonna be holding back until I make you mine. Zinnia thought, while subconsciously grinning.

"Hey, I can see my house from here! I'll race you there!" Ash yelled as he took off in a dead sprint.

"Wait, I don't even know what your house looks like! Ash I'm so gonna get you for this!" Zinnia shouted as she took off running after Ash.

The two made it to the house in record time. "MOOOM! I'M HOME!" Ash yelled as he walked in and dropped his bag on the couch. Ash walked to the back of the house to look for his mom, but found nothing. Ash then realized, Zinnia hadn't come in yet. "What are you waiting for? Come on in!" Ash called to Zinnia.

Zinnia finally walked inside the house. She walked into the kitchen and saw a note on the table. "Hey Ash, come here real quick." Zinnia called out. Ash walked into the kitchen and next to Zinnia. "Yes, did you call?" Ash asked. "Yeah, look there's a note." Zinnia said as she pointed at it.

"It says 'Ash I'm with Prof. Oak, we went to Viridian city to get your friends, they wanted to congratulate you for making it this far in the Pokémon league. I love you honey, I should be back soon.'" Ash read the letter aloud. "Aww man, I was really wanting to introduce you to her, but at least now I can introduce you to everyone at the same time now. I was also wanting to eat some food, but I guess I'll have to wait." Ash said dejectedly.

"Not if I can help it, I can whip us up something to eat while we wait. As long as I have your permission that is." Zinnia said. "I'll clean up afterwards too so it's a win-win situation, we fill our stomach's and wait for them at the same time. If they're not still back by then we can visit your Pokémon." Zinnia explained her plan.

"Alright sounds like a plan." Ash said, with a little more spirit. He showed Zinnia where the pots and pans were, then walked into the living room a turned on the Tv.

Fifteen minutes later…

"Ash, foods ready!" Zinnia called out. As she turned around, the next that happened surprised her. Something had collided into her with formidable force, before she knew it, she was on the ground. "Oww, what just—A-Ash!"

Zinnia's Pov

ARCEUS ARCEUS ARRCEUUSSS! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! I'M NOT READY FOR THIS YET! HOW DID IT END UP LIKE THIS! WHAT DO I DO, WHAT DO I SAY!? Zinnia thought as she started to panic. "Ash…please…be gentle…it's my first time." Zinnia said, barely over a whisper, while turning her head to the side a little. She tried hiding her blush after saying that.

THAT'S IT!? THAT'S ALL I SAID! NOW HE'S GOING TO GET THE WRONG IDEA!

Outside the house

"Don't worry Delila, you're always taking care of us, this is the least we could do. Besides, you even came to pick us up from Viridian city." Brock said. "It's not like the groceries are that heavy anyways."

"I agree with Brock, at least let us help with some stuff around the house." Cilan said trying to back up Brock's statement. "We can both cook with you to, you do have a lot of guests today."

"Oh alright, if you really insist, then I guess you can help out." Delila agreed to they're help. "Just set the groceries on the kitchen table and counter."

Haha, suckers, you got all the other bags while I just needed to grab one. Max thought to himself.

"Delila, what do yall plan on making to eat?" Gary said as they reached the door to the house. Gary reached for the door knob and opened the door. He walked in, and froze in his spot. Brock looked at him curiously and did the same thing, as he looked at what he was. Cilan watched the both of them curiously and decided to see what they were looking at. "My my." Cilan said as the three of them watched the scene in front of them. A sight that none of them would have ever thought they'd ever see, Ash was on top of a girl.

"Whoa! Never thought I'd see the day Ashy-boy got interested in girls, much less beat me to something." Gary said as he snickered.

"I'm so proud! I don't know whether to hate you right now or cheer you on." Brock said with tears in his eyes.

"My word, Ash, I didn't think you had it in you." Cilan said before laughing. "Someone's having a good time."

"It's the ancient ritual, where a boy becomes a man." Brock said while cracking a smile.

"Come on guys, let's give these two some privacy." Gary said, soon after following it up with a boisterous laugh. Gary soon pushed the other two guys out the door. Little did he know, but Max slipped past his arms and snapped a photo before following the other's. "Let's come back in about 2 hours, we can't interrupt those two's ceremony. "Delila, I'm sorry but we're gonna need to wait a while before we come back to your house."

"Okay?" Delila answered, confused.

Ash's Pov

Oh crap! They've got the wrong idea! If I don't do something, their gonna think we did something! "I-It's not what you're thinking! I just, I, uh, you see, we just, then we- "What was that!? I need to calm down first then speak. Wait a second…crap I'm still on top of Zinnia! Ash thought before quickly trying to get off of Zinnia. While getting off Zinnia, he felt a squishy, but firm ball underneath his hand.

What is this? This feels pretty nice. Ash looked down to see where his hand was and blushed madly, before jumping off. "I'm so sorry Zinnia, please don't hate me, it was an accident!" Ash apologized while fidgeting. Ash then went over to her to help her up. "I heard you call out food was ready and I rushed over here. I'm sorry, really, please forgive me." Ash pleaded. What else could go wrong today.

*3rd Pov

Ash ran over to the door, and chased after his friends. "Wait, it's not what you're thinking!" Ash said trying to convince them. The other people in the group just got confused. "Alright Ashy, I'll believe you if you tell me a liable excuse." Gary said with a smirk. "And don't even think about skipping any details, I want to hear the whole story." Gary continued trying to stifle in a laugh.

"We just got back from the airport, and we walked to the house. When we got there, we saw that no one was there, until Zinnia saw the note on the table. We read it and decided to eat while we waited for you return to the house. She made some food and said it was done, so I came running in. When I ran into the kitchen to get some food, I bumped into Zinnia." Ash explained.

"I take it, that this girl is Zinnia?" Cilan said while looking at the mysterious girl.

"Oh, yeah sorry, it is." Ash said while pulling Zinnia towards him. "This is Zinnia, everyone, Zinnia these are my friends. The tall, tan guy is Brock. He wants to become a Pokémon breeder." Ash introduced.

"Nice to meet you, I'm like Ash's brother, so a friend of his is a friend of mine." Brock said.

The skinny, tall guy with the green hair is Cilan.

"Glad to make your acquaintance." Cilan said.

"He's a gym leader in the Unova region, he's also a Pokémon Connoisseur."

"The boy about my age with the spiky hair is Gary, I've known him since we were in diapers." Ash introduced her to male friends.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Gary said, before whispering in her ear. "He's a bit dense, so just be patient with him." This caused Zinnia to blush slightly.

"This kid with the glasses, wants to grow up to be a Pokémon trainer. His name is Max."

Ash looked behind them and saw all his other traveling companions.

"Oh, hey guy's, I didn't see you there." Ash greeted the other's that were behind Gary. "Zinnia, these are some of my other friends. This is Misty, she is the water gym leader here in Kanto. She and Brock are the first Gym leaders you'll face while traveling through Kanto." Ash introduced and explained.

"Hello." Misty greeted, as she waved.

"This is May and Dawn, they are both amazing Pokémon Contestants." Ash said. "Max is also May's little brother."

"Hiya, I hope we can get along!" Dawn said with a smile.

"Hello." May said

This is Iris, she loves dragon type Pokémon, so I think you will get along just fine." Ash said as he introduced the small girl.

"Wait, does that mean she likes dragon types to?" Iris asked.

"I'm pretty sure, I haven't seen any of her Pokémon yet, but she keeps asking about dragon type Pokémon." Ash replied.

"Really!? Come on show us one! Please." Iris pleaded.

"Look who's the 'kid' now." Ash egged on.

"What was that!"

"Nothing."

Zinnia just sweat dropped.

"This is Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie. I traveled with them through Kalos. Clemont is a gym leader there to, crazy right." Ash said continuing with the introductions.

The trio just smiled and waved.

"Well that's all of them. Try to get along." Ash said.

"Ok I guess that's a good enough explanation, but I'm not gonna forget this moment, ya hear Ashy." Gary said. Ash just sighed, its finally over.

"Hey Ash." Zinnia said.

"Yeah?"

"I think the food went cold by now, I'm going to go reheat it." Zinnia said. At this, everyone saw Ash take off towards the house. "Is he always like this when it comes to food?" Zinnia asked.

"Yeah, that's classic Ash for ya, but if you think that's surprising, you have another thing coming your way. If I were you, I would start running back so you could get at least a fraction of what you made." Gary warned her.

"I'll take your word on that then, cya." Zinnia said as she took off towards the house. When she walked into the house she saw Ash wolfing done the food. "If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought that you were starving." Zinnia said astonished.

Ash swallowed a mouthful, then spoke "Holy mew, that was good, good enough to rival Brock and Cilan working together. Anyways', hurry up and eat, I want to see what Pokémon you have and I can't wait to see all of mine." Ash said, seemingly like a little kid at an amusement park.

"You can wait a little longer, I wanna sit down, and enjoy the food I made, not inhale it." Zinnia teased. "Besides, I wanna chat with your friends a little bit, get to know them." Zinnia stated, while grabbing what's left of the food she made. "Geez, you really didn't hold back did you. Did you forget that there's another person that needs to eat." Zinnia complained.

"Aww, come on, you got me so excited to see your Pokémon though. I want to show you all of my Pokémon." Ash whined. All of his friends had just walked into the house. "Hey Gary where's mom? Wasn't she with yall when she went to go pick you up?" Ash asked.

"She went with gramps to the lab, I'm thinking of heading there myself." Gary answered.

"Hear that, Zinnia even more people to meet at the lab." Ash said.

"Hold on, jeez, I'm almost done." Zinnia complained as she finished the last of her plate. "There, are you happy now." Zinnia said, albeit sarcastically. I was actually eating as fast as I could, I just eat slow. "So, what are you waiting for Ash, let's get going already." At this Zinnia saw Ash's eyes glisten. So cute!

"Alright! Come on guy's, we're going to the lab to say hi to my Pokémon, and to introduce Zinnia to mom!" Ash shouted as he shot out the door. "Zinnia, come on, hurry!" Ash said, peeking his head through the door.

"Do one of you know how to control him, even if just a little bit?" Zinnia asked hoping to learn some tricks on how to calm him down.

"I know a trick or two." Misty said while pulling out her infamous mallet. "It takes a little time to train him though." She said before charging after Ash said mallet. "Ash! Didn't I tell you to never rush a lady!" Misty threatened.

"What did I do! I haven't said or done anything yet Misty!" Ash said as he now started running to avoid being hit, rather than seeing his Pokémon and mom.

The group left behind just sweat dropped watching the two. "Old habits die hard." Brock said while letting out a chuckle. "We should probably start heading over there before Delila leaves." Brock advised.

"I agree with Ash, I'm excited to see what your Pokémon are." Iris said. "Can you throw one out now that Ash is gone." Iris asked with excitement. "It's a surprise for him isn't it. So, can't you show us." Iris asked trying to convince Zinnia.

"I'm sorry to get your hopes up, but I'm sticking to only showing them once we get there, but you're right, I am planning a surprise." Zinnia said apologetically. Although, with this many people watching, I'm having second thoughts now. Zinnia thought to herself before looking around. There's so many girls', scary.

"Now you've really peaked my interest, can't wait to see what you have in store for us." Cilan said with enthusiasm.

"Ohh boy, I can't wait to see what she has, especially if she has dragon type Pokémon." Max said, practically drooling with excitement. This perked up Bonnie who began chatting with Max.

"If she does have dragon type Pokémon what do you think it would be, Max?" Iris asked

"I bet 15 Ultra Ball's that she has a something from the Charizard family." Max said confidently.

"I'll take that bet." Cilan said, making Max visibly not as confident. "May I ask what region your from Zinnia?" Cilan asked.

"I originally came from Hoenn." Zinnia said. After she said this Max started sweating bullets as he checked his wallet.

"Hey that's awesome, me and Max come from Hoenn to! Our dad is the Petalburg gym leader." May said.

"I remember him, man his Slaking is so powerful, took me a second try at the gym to get past him." Zinnia said praising the normal type their father owns.

"Yea, Slaking always pulls through for win in the end." Max said.

"Now that I know where you're from, I bet double or nothing, that she has something from the Salemence tree." Cilan said confidently while smirking at Max.

"Max, you better not back out of the bet now." May threatened. Max just stared at the ground.

"Ash mentioned something about being Pokémon contestants. Would you show me a Pokémon you would use in the appeal round?" Zinnia asked.

"Sure!" Dawn said. "Alright Buneary, Spotlight!" Dawn called out as she threw its Poke ball and out came the rabbit Pokémon. "Buneary bun bun." The Pokémon cried out as it appeared. "Buneary here was one of my first Pokémon to catch."

"Aww, it's so adorable!" Zinnia said before petting Buneary. "Where can I find one? I might catch one myself."

"In the Sinnoh region, my home country." Dawn replied happily.

"I can see the Pokémon lab, last one there is a rotten Exeggcute!" Max yelled out as he took off running.

"Hey Max!" May shouted.

"Yeah!"

"Be careful not to trip, your shoes untied!"

Max stopped to tie his shoe, while the others ran past him. "May! Get back here! That doesn't count, you cheated!" Max yelled, mad that he got tricked.

"Don't get mad, you didn't have to tie it, you just choose to!"

As the group made it to the Pokémon lab, they saw Ash getting jumped by a horde of Pokémon. Zinnia saw this and started to freak out. "Mother of Palkia, is he going to be alright!?"

"Yeah, this always happens, just give him a minute." Brock said while just smiling at the scene in front of them. They continued to watch Ash interact with all the different Pokémon before they all jumped off him suddenly.

"What happened, why did they just jump off him like that." Zinnia asked confused.

"Give it second."

The ground started to shake violently. As ash got up he was once again grounded, but this time by a stampede of Tauros. "I take it that all of those are his to."

"They sure are."

"Why did he catch so many Tauros?"

"Who knows, its sad really, because I was with him when I caught all of them."

Zinnia just sweat dropped. "Hey Ash, we made it." Ash looked towards them and spotted her. "Quite a nice collection you got there, I don't think I'll live up to your expectations now that I've seen this. Ash's eyes sparkled in excitement visibly, causing everyone to just giggle.

Things are finally getting better, I made a new friend, I got to see all my Pokémon, I'm about to see mom again, and I finally get to see Zinnia's Pokémon. It's like a dream. Ash thought, ecstatic with how his day has been. "Zinnia this is all of my Pokémon, everyone this is Zinnia, say hi." Ash introduced. "RAAWWWRRR!" Ash's Pokémon greeted as they surrounded her.

Charizard walked up to Zinnia, and straight at her. It seemed as though he was going to attack her with how serious a look he had while inspecting her. To everyone's surprise Charizard just grunted and lowered his head, as if he were implying "I like you, I approve, now, pet me human.". "Wow Zinnia, Charizard took a liking to you immediately." Ash said completely bewildered. "He wouldn't even listen to anything I asked him to do when he evolved."

Zinnia smiled and started petting Charizard seemingly like she understood what it was implying. "Its nothing that special, is it?" she asked as she stopped petting Charizard, only to get nugged as if he were trying to say "Come on, just a little more.". Zinnia complied and continued petting him.

At this point Sceptile looked at Charizard, seeing as how he was so happy and content, decided that he wanted to check out the new girl. Sceptile jumped off from the branch he was hiding in, landed in front of Zinnia, and looked her dead in the eye. Sceptile then proceeded to lay around her in a protective manner, this particular action made everyone choke in shock.

They couldn't believe it, not only did one of Ash's most powerful Pokémon demand attention from the new girl, but also Sceptile!? Ash's most quiet Pokémon that always kept to its self, one of Ash's more superior battle Pokémon, had laid around Zinnia, a person it just met a couple seconds ago, in a protective manner. Today was just full of shocks and surprises. "Ash, I think your Pokémon like Zinnia better than they do you." Gary said still in a state of astonishment.

No one could move, none of them have seen Pokémon act like this, especially around somebody new. "Zinnia, now you've really peaked my interest in you. Come on, you said you'd introduce me and my Pokémon, to yours after we ate, so what are you waiting for, send them out!" Ash said ecstatically, recovering from his shock.

"Alright, but first, let's play a game." Zinnia said while growing a devilish smirk. This caused everyone to look at each other confused, wondering what she had planned. Now's my chance! No use in worrying about the other girls, if they wanted him they would have tempted him by now. So I don't plan on holding back, its put up or shut up. Zinnia thought to herself.

"Okay, I'm down, how do I play." Ash said without any hesitation.

"Alright, there's no backing out now Ash." Zinnia said as her grin grew. Hearing this Ash, started to wonder what he got himself into, while everyone was anxious to see what she had up her sleeve. "Misty, could you provide me back up in case he tries to run." Zinnia asked politely.

"Huh, uh, yeah sure." Misty replied as she got behind Ash while wielding her famous mallet.

"Great, now that that is out of the way. This is gonna be a punishment game Ash." Zinnia said, smirking crazily. This is it, she can finally claim her prize, she had finally won. When Ash heard this and saw her 'smile' he started to worry about what he had got himself into.

"Here are the rules, I'm going to hold out three Poke balls, the first one is going to be empty, the second is going to be filled with one of my Pokémon, and the last has a heart scale in it. The game will continue until you've picked four of my Pokémon. If you pick a Poke ball with a Pokémon in it, congratulations! You get to meet one of my Pokémon. If you choose a Poke ball that has a heart scale in it, you get another chance to choose. Now here's the fun part. If you pick the Poke ball that's empty, I get to do one thing, of whatever, I want to you." Zinnia explained.

Everyone was excited to see how the outcome of this turn of events. At this point, Ash got super pumped. Ohhh, I can't wait any longer! Ash and Zinnia thought at the same time. Zinnia grabbed two Poke balls from her belt and one from her pocket and held them out towards Ash. "Let the game begin." Zinnia said, now full of adrenaline.

Game Layout

Empty - Pokémon - Heart Scale

Ash took a second before choosing, "The one on the left." Ash said anxiously.

Zinnia tapped the center of the Poke ball to reveal what was inside. Nothing. "Whoops looks like you lost that round." Zinnia said. She started stepping towards Ash and stopped, standing in front of him, close enough to feel his breathing. "Let's call this your freebie." She whispered.

Zinnia then put the Poke balls behind her back and pretended to shuffle them, leaving everyone to wonder what she had planned. "Alright, take you next pick, Ashy-boy." Zinnia said in a teasing, almost sexy manner. Zinnia was now full of adrenaline, she couldn't wait any longer, but she had to endure just a little bit longer.

"It's on the right." Ash choose quickly, hoping that it would improve his chances.

Zinnia opened up the Poke ball and revealed…A heart scale. "Ohh, increase chance rate huh, alright, this just got a little more interesting." Zinnia said still confident about the Poke ball arrangements. "Come on, take your next shot."

Ash stared at the two Poke ball's left, "The left." Ash said while starting to break into a cold sweat.

Zinnia opened the Poke ball of his choosing to reveal…nothing. "Aww that's too bad Ashy." Zinnia teased while wrapping her arms around him, one underneath his left arm, the other mimicking the other. "You ready for round three? Because I'm just getting started." Zinnia said teasingly. She then 'shuffled' the Poke balls around.

This caused ash to freeze up, What is she doing? Is she trying to get catch me off guard?

"Third times' the charm, right? Zinnia asked using the famous quote. "Choose wisely now."

She's been reading me like a open book, she shuffled this time for sure, there's no way she would use the alignment in a row. Ash thought before he answered with a stern "Left." Zinnia then opened the Poke ball and showed Ash to reveal…nothing. Gaahhh, it's like she knows what I'm going to do. If that's the way it's gonna be, then I'll just choose at random.

"Aww that's to bad Ashy, it's almost like your trying to get the punishment." Zinnia said, acting as if she were a bit sad that he hadn't choosen incorrectly. She then licked around his ear playfully, then blew on it lightly, causing Ash to feel a shiver done his spine. "But I don't mind that one bit." Zinnia whispered with a seductive tone.

What is she doing! No fair, she's taking advantage of his excitement to seduce him! I should've done this! Ughh, I'm an idiot. Dawn thought.

May watched how forward Zinnia was blushed slightly. How bold…If that's what it takes to get Ash out of his shell, I need to step up my game.

Serena had a, barely, but visible scary face. Who does she think she is!? I'm supposed to be the only one who does daring things to Ash! That should be me! Serena thought as she tried fixing her facial expression.

"Whew, is it just me or is it getting hot over here. Ashy-boy here caught an especially good one this time." Gary said as he started to laugh.

Why is it always him damn it! Why can't I ever get a girl like that! Brock thought as he cried anime tears.

Iris and Max just stood there and watched, completely oblivious to what's going on.

"Wow, I thought of Zinnia as a sweet and mellow girl, but it turns out she's actually nice and spicy, freshly steamed." Cilan commented before smiling.

Zinnia shuffled the Poke balls behind Ash's back.

Game layout

Pokémon - Heart scale - 'Punishment'

"Take your time Ash, there's no need to rush. I certainly don't mind holding on to you like longer." Zinnia said playfully yet seductively.

"Left." Ash said instantly.

Zinnia let go of Ash and spun around. "Congratulations Ash, one of four is now done!" Zinnia cheered as she threw the Poke ball in the air, releasing a power radiating Tyrantrum. "RAAWWWWRR" "Now now, settle down Tyrantrum, these are friends, not food." Zinnia said jokingly. When Zinnia saw the look on everyone's faces she just laughed hysterically.

"I knew it! I knew you had a dragon type Pokémon with you!" Ash yelled out while looking a gap at the massive prehistoric Pokémon. "Wow! I knew you would have an awesome Pokémon, but this is beyond what I had in mind!" Ash said, looking like a kid in a candy store.

"Dude, I've never a real-life Tyrantrum before! It's so much bigger than what I had imagined!" Max shouted, acting exactly how max does every new Pokémon he see's.

Iris fainted upon seeing the ancient dragon type.

"Wow, this is amazing Zinnia! There's not much known about Fossil Pokémon, such as Tyrantrum. Would you mind if I studied it sometime, that would be a huge hit on the news. Gary said.

"Wow, if she has a Pokémon like this, I can't wait to see what the rest of them are." Brock said while looking up at the t-rex Pokémon.

"Hey Ashy, you ready for Pokémon number two?" Zinnia said playfully as she made her way back into Ash's arms. "I could get addicted to this feeling." Zinnia said as she let out a blissful sigh. "I'm ready when you are Ash."

"Oh man, I'm ready!" Ash said excited.

Zinnia continued hugging Ash, while holding the Poke ball's behind his back. "Make your choice."

Meanwhile inside of the lab

"RAAWWWR"

"What in the world was that!? Sounds like its coming from the ranch." Oak said as he got up.

"What kind of Pokémon was that? I've never heard the Pokémon cry before." Delila said a little worried.

"I don't know, but it's not a Pokémon that I have in the ranch." Oak said as he and Delila headed to towards the ranch. What they saw astonished them, a pre-historic Pokémon was standing in the middle of the field.

Back with Ash and friends

"Left." Ash answered happily. Zinnia this time didn't let go of Ash, instead she just through the Poke ball behind her releasing a timid Noivern. Noivern looked at its trainer, and…applauded?

"Oh no, you're right again, you just shortened my game by a landslide. What am I gonna do to make up this 'precious' lost time?" Zinnia said sarcastically, but playfully. "I guess I need to step up my game." She said as she clipped the Poke ball to her belt and grabbed another. She then proceeded to shuffle them.

Game layout

Heart scale - Pokémon - 'Fun time'

"It's time for my comeback, I don't like it when you get it right, it takes away from my fun." Zinnia said making a pouty face. "Make your choice."

"Nice try but it's not gonna work on me this time. Left." Ash responded confidently.

When Zinnia heard this, she knew her plan worked, and had a smile plastered on her face. She opened the Poke ball to reveal absolutely nothing. "Too bad, looks like it's my win." Zinnia said as she started to nibble on his ear.

"Hey! That tickles." Ash complained while trying to stifle his laughter.

Zinnia then wrapped his arms around herself and started to nuzzle her face deep into his chest. This action didn't go unnoticed by the other girls.

Who does she think she is, flirting with Ash and using him however she wants, sure she's a little cute, but still, Ash shouldn't be fawning all over her and letting her take control of him! ARRGGHH, she's making me so mad, that should be me wrapped up in his arms. All the girls that at the same time. Misty put her mallet away and stood in between May and Dawn. "Hey, whadd'ya say we make a plan to get back at her." Misty whispered to May and Dawn.

"I was thinking the exact same thing." May agreed.

"I'm in, she shouldn't be that close to my Ash." Dawn whispered, with fire in her eyes.

"Man, what I'd give to be in Ash's place right now." Gary said with a heavy sigh. "Sadly enough, I don't think he understands that she's trying express how she feels about him. Poor girl, all that hard work, just for it to go unnoticed." Gary said as he let out another sigh.

Brock was chewing angrily into his shirt. Why can't good stuff like this happen to me. Brock thought shedding some anime tears. Cilan came over and tried calming him down a bit.

Max and bonnie were admiring the Noivern and Tyrantrum, so much that he didn't even realize they had started another guessing game.

"Hey Zinnia, if you just wanted a hug you could've just asked, I'd be more than glad to." Ash said not knowing how strong of an effect it would have on everyone. I may not know her story, but I do know, judging from the way she acts, she's probably been deprived of any attention. Ash thought, sympathizing with Zinnia. He started to hug Zinnia back, causing her to slightly freeze up.

When Zinnia heard this, her eyes glistened, blushed, then mentally cheered "R-really? I just have to ask? Do you really mean that!? You weren't just saying that were you!? Zinnia asked hoping she heard him correctly.

"Yeah I meant every word of it. And if you're ever sad and feeling alone, talk to me, I'll try my best to get those thoughts out of your head." Ash said with a smile. This shattered Zinnia's will, she couldn't help but fall in love with him. He's done so much for her, even offering support. "Now then, I still have two more Pokémon to meet, get ready because now I've learned your tricks now.

When the other girls heard Ash's bold declaration, they immediately hated Zinnia, she not only did she get Ash's approval for unlimited hug's, but she got a reaction out of him, something they've been trying for a few years now. Miniskirts, skin tight biker shorts, V-neck shirts, cute appearances, sexy appearances, nothing they tried worked on him. They had to do something, fast, before she won Ash over.

Zinnia felt dagger like stares seeping into her back. I knew I was stepping into enemy territory, but I have no regrets. If you wanted him, you should've tried harder. Zinnia thought as she smiled victoriously, while ignoring the venomous glares.

Zinnia prepared the next round, this time shuffling the Poke balls silently.

Game layout

Pokémon - Nothing - Heart scale

"Right hand." Ash answered happily.

"Hoho, you sure sound confident. My right or your right." Zinnia said.

"Yours."

Zinnia applauded as she opened the Poke ball to reveal a Heart scale. "Would you look at that, double luck." Ash grinned, now he knows which one it is.

"It's the right." Ash said confidently.

Zinnia grew a devilish smirk This is it, she won, she finally gets to redeem her prize. Zinnia opened the Poke ball and took a second before releasing herself from Ash's warm arms. She spun around and held out her right hand to show Ash, an empty Poke ball. Ash looked up and saw the look on her face.

As ash stared into her red eyes he began to panic mentally. Oh no, oohhh no. What is she going to do to me? I hope she won't punch me. Zinnia then grabbed his shirt. Oh boy, here it comes. I don't know what she has planned. Zinnia then pulled him in towards her. Ash closed his eyes preparing for the worst. I hope this isn't going to- Ash was interrupted from his thoughts, as the next thing that happened shocked him.

Ash's Pov

Wait, what happened? What's this? Ash wondered as he started to press back against this sudden 'sensation'. It's sweet. This feeling, this taste...it feels great! I like it! Ash thought as he started to press against the unknown in an attempt to get more. It's soft, like marshmallows pressing against my lips. Wait a sec...

Ash opened his eyes to reveal, Zinnia. Her eyes were closed and her face was a deep shade of red. Something clicked inside Ash. Wow, she's really cute, and pretty, how did I never notice this before. Wait, now's not the time to be thinking this! She's kissing me! Ash thought. "Mmm mmpf!" He tried speaking, but to no avail.

Ba dum

Zinnia's Pov

YES! It's finally here! She grabbed him by the shirt. Your mine now, Ash! She pulled him in. You're mine now, Ash! She closed her eyes and kissed him. Yes! This is so much better than what I thought it would be! She wrapped her arms around him, as he started to kiss her back. Oh my god! Did he just-Ohhh I'm so happy right now! I don't want this to ever end!

"Mmm mmpf!" No, not yet, I'm not done yet!

Normal Pov

The girls were furious, how could this random girl, that they had all just met, including Ash himself, just walk right in to their group, and kiss Ash. They wouldn't allow it, she is not getting out of this unscathed.

Brock on the other hand, he was trying to keep himself in line, straining to the point of biting his arm and lip, bleeding. How come this beautiful girl is up on Ash, playing aggressively desperately trying to get his attention! She's practically glued to his side! Why can't something like this happen to him!

"Hey now, keep this low key now! We don't want a bad reputation for people making out in the ranch." Gary said holding his gut, laughing. "Cilan, I wanna make a bet with you. I bet 500,000 poke dollars that Ash doesn't catch on." Gary declared.

From the way it looks, Ash started kissing back half ways through. Should I risk it? It is Ash after all. I will risk it, but I'm not doubling. "Okay, I say Zinnia does the trick and breaks him out of his shell." Cilan said standing his ground.

BAM! Zinnia was knocked to the ground, dropping the Poke ball's she was holding, releasing Goodra.

Zinnia was on the ground in a daze. "OH, MY ASH IS FINALLY BACK!" Zinnia looked up and saw some mystery girl in her spot, but picking Ash up in a hug. What just happened, who is she. Why is she getting in the way between me and my Ashy! Zinnia thought angrily.

"Mom! Can't breath." Ash said not even needing to guess who this was. Only one person in the world who crushed him like this and had a voice like that. Delila let go of Ash, just to look at him in the eyes.

"Young man, aren't you going to introduce me to this 'cute' new friend of yours. Don't tell me she's your girlfriend." Delila said with a well-hidden hint of malice, smiling 'gently' at him.

"Hey mom! I'm so happy to see you again!" Ash said hugging his mother, to which she happily accepted. "That girl over there, her name is Zinnia! I just met her before my flight back here." Ash said, completely oblivious to what was going on around him. This intrigued Delila, who was this little girl, trying to seduce her son.

Ash released his hug and walked over to Zinnia. "Zinnia this is my Mom, Delila. Best in the world." Ash introduced. "I sure hope you two can get along, because even though I just met her, I have this feeling that, she's a good person." Ash said while looking at Zinnia, directly into her red eyes.

Zinnia blushed heavily, looking down towards the ground trying to avoid his gaze. Delila looked at Zinnia for the first time and had a dangerous 'smile', if you could even call it that. "It's so nice to meet you, Zinnia. I presume that something happened between you and Ash." Delila said, keeping her 'smile' plastered across her face.

This didn't get passed the girls. As they tried holding in their laughs, they were applauding Delila mentally, cheering her on. Someone was putting that girl in her place, and it was the best possible person to do it, his mother. No matter what Zinnia did, it would be hard to get on Delila's good side.

"I, uh, I-I d-don't really feel c-comfortable thinking back on it…Ash c-could tell you the story, but if he d-does, make sure I'm not around, please." Zinnia shakily said as she quivered n fear with a blank expression showing. She doesn't want to even imagine what would have happened to her, if they got their way.

"Hey, are you okay? Don't think about it okay, you're safe, and that's all that matters now." Ash said as he walked up to comfort her. As this was going on Professor Oak decided to make an appearance.

"Hello Ash, you didn't forget about ol' me did you?" Oak said jokingly. As everyone looked at him "Hi Ash, it's been a while."

"Hello Professor Oak, it's good to see you're still doing well. Any research outbreak's?" Ash greeted.

*sigh "No sadly, but I see you got yourself a girlfriend. I don't think we've meet before either." Oak said cheekily. This perked Zinnia up a bit, Ash's girlfriend huh', that's got a nice ring to it.

"This is Zinnia, she's a new friend of mine. You've heard of Professor Oak before haven't you Zinnia?" Ash said with a smile. Zinnia nodded.

Everyone noticed that Ash didn't deny the comment Oak made. Delila had looked at her son questionably, why has he taken such a liking to this young girl. The girls just gritted their teeth, what else could they do? Gary's eyes widened, then he remembered the bet he made with Cilan and started to sweat.

"Why don't we head to the house and hear about your adventure, maybe even get better acquainted with Zinnia. I'll cook something up for everyone as well." Delila said.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Delila. While we're at it we can decide sleeping arrangements." Brock stated. "I'll help you with the cleaning when we're done."

"And I can help you out with the cooking and preparations. I'll also pitch in with the cleaning afterwards." Cilan claimed.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. Everybody, get ready because Ash's welcome back party is in the making." Delila said with a happy smile.

Zinnia returned her Pokémon, and everyone left to go to the Ketchum residence. Zinnia stayed behind the whole group, not wanting to get in the way of their conversations. Ash noticed this and slowed his pace till Zinnia was next to him, and matched her pace.

"Hey, there's no need to be shy, everyone here is a nice person." Ash said.

"I know that already, I just, I can't help but shake this unwelcome feeling I get from someone." Zinnia said half-lying.

"Don't worry about it, it's all in your head." Ash said

"Okay, I'll believe you." Zinnia replied.

Ash's house.

Everyone was laughing and talking, having a good time. Zinnia even joined them in their conversations, becoming the center of attention most of the time. Ash told his whole tale of being in the Kalos region. Pikachu cooed in pure bliss as he drank a bottle of ketchup. Everyone let their Pokémon out to stretch and play around with each other, except Zinnia.

"Foods ready!" Delila called out. Everyone rushed to grab a plate before Ash and May got to the food, otherwise there would be nothing left. Gary held Ash and May back ass everyone grabbed their food. Ash and May suddenly got loose and raced passed him. Gary just sighed looks like he gets the leftovers.

Gary grabbed what food remained and found a place to sit. He then realized that he had forgotten to grab a drink, so he got back up to get one. Cilan walked up to him and handed him a cup of pink lemonade. "Here you go, thanks for letting us get our food." Cilan said as he smiled. Gary looked at him curiously, but accepted the drink anyway.

"It's no biggie, really." Gary said before returning to his seat.

Night time

Night time approached and Brock asked, "So, how are we going to sleep tonight? Anyone have an idea of how this will work?" to no one in particular.

"I'll sleep in Ash's room!" May called out in a hurry. She looked around and saw all the other girls's scoffed at her. May smiled victoriously.

"Okay, so the guest room is big enough to fit two people in it. Would any of you girls like to share a bed?" Delila asked.

"I don't mind." Misty said.

"I'll don't mind sharing a bed with Misty." Dawn said, a bit excitedly.

"The couch can be pulled out and also fit two people, any takers?" Delila asked, to no one in particular.

"I'll take it." Dawn and Iris said in sync. They looked at each other and laughed.

"I guess it's a girl's sleep over tonight. Are you girl's ready?" Dawn said enthusiastically.

"We have two spare rooms at the lab, one is big enough to fit two people, but the other can only fit one person. But we do have couch there also." Gary said.

"Me and Bonnie can share the big bed." Clemont said.

"I'll sleep in the other room then." Brock stated.

"That leaves me with the couch I guess." Cilan said.

"What about me?" Max Asked.

"You can sleep with your sister in Ash's room." Delila said.

"Wait, what about Ash and Zinnia?" Gary asked. They've been left out and there's nowhere else left to sleep.

"You're right, we forgot about them. Hmm." Cilan said as he began to think.

"Don't worry about me guy's, I was actually wanting to sleep outside tonight. I like looking at the stars before I go to sleep anyways. Just worry about Zinnia, I would like her to sleep comfortably at least tonight." Ash said as he grabbed his sleeping bag from the couch.

"I certainly don't mind sharing a bed with her." Gary said with a grin.

"Ew, no, she's definitely not doing that. Hmm, what to do." Misty said as she started to 'ponder'. Serves her right, seems karma is finally biting her in the ass.

"Don't worry guy's, I'll just sleep with my Altaria outside." Zinnia said earning stares all around, seemingly saying 'Well I guess that works' or 'She has a Altaria to?'

Wait…Damn it! She got us again! She really made the best out of this situation. She's good, but we'll get her next time. The girls thought while formulating another plan.

"Well, I guess the sleeping arrangements are settled then." Delila said unsettled.

Brock walked to Cilan and placed his hand on his shoulder. Cilan looked at him and nodded. He then walked to Delila and whispered something to her. "Well guy's, I'm bushed. I think I'll call it quits for today. Goodnight, cya tomorrow." Brock said as he left the house and made his way to the lab.

Gary took notice of this a walked towards Ash. "Hey Ash, good job making it this far in the Pokémon league, that's amazing, getting second place." Gary said as he started pushing Ash out the back.

Zinnia started to look for Ash, she wanted to tell him goodnight before she went to sleep. When she saw him talking to Gary outside, she just stood next to the door to get outside, waiting for a good time to interrupt the two.

"Thanks, that really means a lot to me." Ash said happily.

The two were now outside, away from everybody. "Okay Ash, what I'm going to tell you, you may not believe me, but that's alright, I at least warned you." Gary said, before taking a deep breath. Ash looked at him skeptically.

"Ash, prepare yourself, mentally, physically, and emotionally." Gary said with a deadly serious tone.

"What, why?" Ash asked confused at the situation.

"Because, everyone is going to turn their backs on you sometime tomorrow. They are going to tell you to stay home and to give up you dream." Gary started to explain. "If you don't listen to them, then they are going to try to harm you, brutally, and force you to stay home." Gary continued.

"What!? Why would they do that!? Ash asked, now starting to get antsy.

"You mom wants you to stay with her at the house, and none of them think that your capable of becoming a Pokémon master." Gary said calmly. "If you need any help with anything, call me, I'll try my best to help you as long as it's within my power."

Ash just stood there. If what Gary had told him was true, then his 'friends' weren't really his friends at all. But why would his best friend, someone he's known since birth, lie to him about something so serious? "Can I ask something?" Ash asked.

"They asked me if I wanted to get in on their plan. I refused, why else would I be telling you this." Gary said, predicting Ash's question.

"Here's the good news." Gary said a bit happier. "If you do decide to listen to them, then May, Dawn, Iris, Serena, and Misty will confront you. They said that they were going to try to manipulate you while you're feeling at your lowest, and confess to you." Gary said while cracking a small smile.

Ash looked at Gary a bit skeptical. "Why would they do that?" He asked Gary.

"Why else would they confess to you? They like you, quite a lot to." Gary said with a snicker, turning into a full laugh.

"What!? Since when?" Ash asked, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I can't say specifically when, but they all started liking you sometime during your journey's. Except for Serena, she liked you before you even started traveling with her." Gary said now smiling widely.

This revelation surprised Ash, no, that's an understatement. Ash couldn't think correctly right now. He had taken in so much information so quickly, that his brain started to overheat. "I don't know what to say right now." Ash said.

"Don't go crashing on me now, I have one more thing to tell you." Gary said happily. "I increased the amount of Pokémon you can keep on you at a time. Now you can carry up to 12 different Pokémon at a time." Gary said making Ash's eyes shot open.

"Dude! Are you serious!? That's awesome! Thank you so much Gary!" Ash said before giving Gary a light punch to the arm. "This will help me so much with what I plan on doing! Thanks dude, you're the best!" Ash said excitedly.

"Your welcome! If you choose to believe me and prepare yourself for tomorrow, then I think you can make it far, even become stronger than Lance." Gary said full of confidence. "I knew, that once you got home that you were going to leave almost immediately for another journey, so I began working on this before you got here."

"Hey Ash, I'm going to head to the lab, I'm tired from all the excitement today, so I'm calling it quits. Cya tomorrow maybe." Gary said as he started to leave.

"Before you go can you help me with something?" Ash asked.

"Yeah sure." Gary answered.

"Can you help me get the hammocks from the shed and set them up?"

"Sure!"

They left towards the shed when they heard the door open, and out came Zinnia. "Hey Ash, Gary. I just wanted to say goodnight before I went to sleep. Goodnight." Zinnia said before waving and turning around.

"Wait, Zinnia, me and Gary were just about to go get the hammocks, would you like to sleep on one as well?" Ash asked, offering to get them for her.

"Yeah, that would be great, thanks." Zinnia said flashing a smile.

Be dump

"Alright, we'll be back shortly. We'll it up for you when we get back." Ash said smiling back.

"Okay, thanks."

Ash and Gary went to the shed and grabbed two hammocks each, then headed back to set them up. They saw Zinnia waiting over by the tree. "Hey Zinnia, would you like to sleep higher or lower in the tree?" Ash asked as they approached.

"I don't mind either, but I'd prefer to be closer to yours, preferably next to you if possible." Zinnia said.

"I'll see what we can do." Ash responded obliviously. Zinnia just mentally face palmed.

Ash and Gary set one of the hammocks up hanging near the ground and set another one right over it, doubling it. "Why did you double over the hammock?" Zinnia asked.

"We did this because hammocks tear easily, so we doubled it to make extra sure that we won't fall through while you're sleeping." Gary answered.

"Oh okay, I understand that."

The two boys continued to set up the other hammock next to the other, but slightly elevated.

"Okay Zinnia take your pick on which hammock you want." Ash said.

"I'll take the higher one." Zinnia replied.

"Then I'll take the lower one." Ash said. *yawn "Cya tomorrow Gary, I'm going to go to sleep myself." Ash said.

"Cya Ash." Gary waved as he left.

Ash went inside the house, said goodnight to everyone, grabbed Pikachu, and walked back to his hammock.

"Come on out Altaria, it's bed time." Zinnia called out as she released the fluffy Pokémon.

"Wow Zinnia, Your Altaria looks so fluffy, it's like a cloud." Ash said amazed at the sight of the new Pokémon.

"Thank you." Zinnia said as she climbed up to her hammock. "Have you ever slept inside one of their fluffy wings? It's amazingly soft and warm, like what you would think of sleeping on cloud nine."

"Really? That sounds nice. You should let me try it one of these days." Ash said as he climbed into his hammock.

"Okay, I will if you let me sleep with Pikachu one of these days, he seems so cute, it just makes me want to cuddle him like a teddy bear." Zinnia said dreamily.

*yawn "Alright, that sounds like a deal. You hear that buddy, Zinnia would like to sleep with you tonight." Ash said. "Pika pikachu." Pikachu said as he climbed up to Zinnia and laid down on her chest near the nape of her neck. "Cha~" Pikachu cried out happily.

Zinnia hugged Pikachu. "Thank you, I've been thinking of doing this all day." Zinnia said as she continued to cuddle with Pikachu. "Pika~chu" Pikachu said gleefully. "Aww, he's so cute. Goodnight Ash." Zinnia said before closing her eyes.

"Goodnight Zinnia. Cya tomorrow." Ash said as he went to sleep himself.

*Five hours later

Zinnia woke up groggily. She started to sit up, but stopped remembering she had Pikachu with her. She looked at Pikachu then petted is head while smiling. She picked Pikachu up and sat straight up. She shifted Pikachu over to one arm lightly as to not wake him up, and grabbed a tree branch and made her way to the ground. She placed Pikachu down with Ash and walked to the house.

Zinnia made it to the house tip-toed to the restroom, so that she didn't wake Dawn or Iris. She went to the restroom and started to tip-toe back to leave when suddenly…*creak Zinnia looked up and saw Iris start to stir. Zinnia started to leave again, but quicker this time. Iris woke up and looked around, she saw someone leaving the house, but who? Iris got up and followed the 'mystery person' and saw that they were heading towards Ash.

Iris stopped at the door and watched them, having her arm ready to throw a Pokémon if it turns out to be a thief. Zinnia made her way to the hammocks but stopped when she saw Ash and Pikachu's sleeping face. So cute! She thought as she looked at the two. Zinnia slowly crept closer, and kissed Ash on the cheek.

Iris was shocked. Who was this person, and what were they doing? Iris started to get mad as she put two and two together, piecing 'They kissed Ash!'. Zinnia up Pikachu and held him firmly in one arm. Iris saw this and started to grab her Poke ball until she saw something else happen. Zinnia started to stealthily lay down with Ash, making sure she didn't wake him up. Iris was just standing there, mouth a gap.

Zinnia successfully managed to lay in the same hammock as Ash. Leg over his, arm crossed over his chest, and her face nearing his, Pikachu on the other side of his face. Perfect. Zinnia thought as she started to relax. Iris was PO'd, not only did this person kiss him, but now they were sleeping with him! Iris started to walk closer as quietly as possible. When she got there, she saw Zinnia, laying over Ash with the most happy and satisfied look. This ticked Iris of even more.

I'll get you for this, don't think you've won just quite yet. Iris thought as she silently stormed off.

Morning

Ash woke up and tried to stretch, but he couldn't move his left arm. Checking to see what the problem was, Ash blushed to see Zinnia's sleeping face right next to his. Whoa, when did she get here!? Why is she laying with me? Ash wondered as he watched her sleeping face. She is really cute like this though. I don't mind lying here, looking at her like this. Ash thought as Zinnia started to stir awake.

"Oops, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Ash asked politely.

Zinnia finally caught up with the situation and looked up at Ash's face. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't disturb you sleeping did I?" Zinnia apologized.

"No, I slept like a log." Ash said. "I think we should get up before someone see's us-"Ash began before he was cut off.

"Wow, you two are already at it. The day has just started to." Cilan said as he walked towards the house.

"I thought you two just met, that doesn't seem to be the case to me. The way the two of you act contradicts what yall tell us." Brock said, now appearing at the scene.

The two got off the hammock, fast so that no one else sees them like that. "When I said that, I meant it quite literally." Ash said.

"Whatever you say, I'm going inside the house." Brock said as he continued onwards.

"I'm going to help make breakfast, you two, at least try to sneak off somewhere to do those kinds of things." Cilan said as he followed Brock

"Wait so that means I have your permission to these kinds of things with him me!" Zinnia said with stars in her eyes.

"Uh, sure. But you'll have to get more than just mine to be safe." Cilan said, unsure of what to say to that. Zinnia just turned around and looked at Ash, with a smile and crazed look.

"You hear that Ash? I've received his consent." Zinnia said with stars in her eyes. Ash just stood there, sweat dropping.

"Zinnia, what's with that face?" Ash asked a bit timidly. No response. "Anyways, let's go inside and say hello to everyone. We don't want to keep them waiting." Ash said in attempting escape the situation.

"Okay, we should also help prepare the table and stuff while they cook." Zinnia agreed as she walked to the house.

The two walked into the house and saw everyone one doing something. Delila was cooking, so was Brock, Cilan was doing dishes, Serena and Misty were setting up the table, Dawn and Iris were collecting dirty dishes, May was straightening everything up, and Max was taking out the trash. Ash and Zinnia just looked around to find Clemont, Bonnie, and Gary were missing. Then the door opened to reveal Clemont and Bonnie.

"Good morning Ash, Zinnia, how did yall sleep last night?" Clemont greeted.

"We slept pretty good. How about yall?" Ash greeted back.

"I think we slept pretty good ourselves." Clemont answered.

"Breakfast is ready! Come and get it!" Brock called out while grabbing a plate. When Ash and May heard this they perked up. Clemont grabbed Ash, while May was tackled by Misty. As Ash and May squirmed to get free from their grip, everyone had grabbed their plates and brock and Cilan came to trade off with Clemont and Misty so that they could grab their food. "Let me go! I just want to grab some food!" Ash and May said as they struggled.

Once everyone had grabbed a plate Cilan and Brock released the two, and they took off faster than a thunderbolt towards the kitchen. "Once food comes up, yall turn into real beasts you know that." Brock said.

"Does anyone know where Gary is?" Ash asked.

"When we left, Gary was still asleep. I assume that he'll eat breakfast at the lab, and then meet us here." Cilan said.

"Huh, I guess he was really tired yesterday." Ash said.

Meanwhile at the lab

Gary woke up and stretched, to stop midway through from the painful pounding in his head. Gahh, why does my head hurt so much! Gary thought as he looked at his clock. What! It's already 10:47! I had it set for 8:15! Those bastards turned off my alarm! They plan on betraying Ash now! Gary yelled mentally as he got up in a hurry, to stop almost instantly from needles piercing his brain.

Argh, I need some water, this headache is going to kill me. I should have been extra cautious around Cilan, he must've put something inside the drink he gave me. Damn it! They played me! Gary thought in a panic as he slowly got ready to leave.

Back with Ash

Everyone has now sat down somewhere and now have eaten all of their food on their plates. Everyone except Ash and May that is, who seemingly were competing on who could eat the fastest. Several minutes of this passed by, until the food was gone completely. Ash and May both laid back in their chairs, pat their stomach, and let out a sigh. They looked at each other and burst out into laughter. When they settled down they looked around the room to see that everyone had a cringing face on. This just caused Ash and May to laugh again.

When the two finally calmed down May suddenly grew a serious face. Ash looked around the room again to see that everyone else also had a serious face now. "Ash, we need to talk." Brock said with a stern voice. Ash looked at Brock curiously, but nodded his head nonetheless.

"Ash honey, we think you should give up you dream and start looking at reality more." Delila said in a calm voice.

"What!? Why!?" Ash yelled as he began to think back on what Gary said. They'll try to harm you, brutally, and force you to stay home if you don't listen to them. Ash shivered and started to psych himself up for what was going to happen next.

"You haven't been able to win a league since you started your journey, and the accomplishments that you did get are just flukes!" Misty said hastily.

"Your first league you lost because you were so weak, that your own Pokémon noticed and didn't even want to listen to you." Brock said shortly after.

Ash's face darkened.

"You lost against a Blaziken in the Johto region with a type advantage." Max added.

"You choose to not to evolve your Pokémon and make them even stronger and for what, friendship? Sorry pal, but if you want to be the best you need to at least do that much." Clemont said.

Ash didn't respond, he just lowered his head.

"You never once beat Paul in a battle, except for once out of the many battles you had." Dawn said.

Zinnia started to get antsy at what she was witnessing. What are they doing!? This isn't how you support someone who has just lost, arms reach away from accomplishing the life goal! They don't sound like friends to me right now. You need to encourage him, not tell him to stop chasing his dream. Zinnia thought as she started to get angry.

"You lost to a trainer who had just barely begun their journey, who had just recently got his first Pokémon. You lost using Pikachu, who has traveled through many leagues and has fought in many, many battles. Granted he couldn't use electric attacks, but you still had other moves such as Iron Tail or Quick Attack." Cilan commented in.

"You lost yet again in Kalos, which by the way was your eighth adventure. You should have been ready for it, you should have learned that you need to use your stronger Pokémon, but you didn't." Iris said.

"You didn't win in the Hoenn region either, lost to a Meowth on a stand still." May chimed in.

"Ash, I want you to stay home with me. You could go to PokeSchool again, get a scholarship, get a nice paying job." Delila started saying, explaining what she had planned for him.

Zinnia was feeling a mixture of feelings, worry, anger, astonishment, fear. She was shocked to hear all of his achievements, and how she was hearing all of Ash's 'friends, if you could call them that, were telling him to stop pursuing his dream. Zinnia was fuming over the fact that not only were his friends in on this, but his own mother too! She was worried that Ash might break, or that he might actually succumbed to them. Scared that they might do something to Ash.

Everyone watched the raven haired boy, as he looked up and started to speak. "So, this is how you all really feel." He said, earning series or nods. "You know, Gary warned me about this last night. I thought to myself 'maybe, maybe he's wrong, maybe he was just pulling my strings.', but here you are, doing exactly as he warned me about. But, you know what? I'm not mad, because now, now I know how you honestly feel about me." Ash said as he raised his head up.

"And I respect that. But I will not be giving up my dream just because you believe that I can't accomplish it, or because you think you are making the best decision for me." The boy said sternly, as he noticed Misty pull out her mallet. "And if you can't accept my choice, then get over it. Because I will not let you mold me into the puppet that you pull the strings to! I control my life, I decide my own fate, nobody else does. If I screw up somewhere along the way and fall off the beaten path, then that's my own fault. But I know that my friends, True friends, will be there for me, to help me out of my stump, get me back on track." He said, as one lone tear slid down his stoic, enduring face.

Everybody looked at the young boy, confound. They didn't expect him to react like this. It was almost, eery, how he reacted so, calmly. It was unnerving to say the least. They didn't know what to say or do, he spoke his mind, standing for up for himself protecting his dream. He grabbed Zinnia's hand and started walking to leave, but stopped once he got to the door.

Zinnia's looked up at Ash with sparkling eyes. I can't believe it. He stood up for himself, and his dream. I think I just fell in love with him even more!

"I'm leaving, and when I come back, I'm going to prove that I have what it takes to be a Pokémon master. And I'm not going to let anyone tell me that I can't." Ash said.

"Alright fine, go. But I don't want to see you come crying back because you failed. From here on you are a grown man, you can make your own choices." Delila said as she turned around with a huff.

Ash turned around and headed to the lab. The two walked quietly along the trail.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Zinnia felt her face begin to heat up. Doesn't he realize that he's still holding my hand! Zinnia looked up at Ash and saw that he still had a plain look on. Well, there's my answer. Well, I don't mind this. In fact, I think I'll just leave it be. Zinnia thought happily.

…

Ash fidgeted a little. "Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to hold your hand for so long." He said as he let go of her hand.

Zinnia took in a deep breath. Ffff..Oh Come On! Really, Really? You just now notice when I start to enjoy it. Zinnia mentally screamed.

…

"Ash?"

"Yes?"

"Can I take you up on your offer?"

"I made an offer? What was it?"

"You said I can hug you anytime I wanted to. And that I could ask for one and you would. So, can I?"

"Sure!"

"Actually, I was wanting to know if you would give me a Tepiggy back ride.

"Uh, sure?" Ash said before stopping.

Zinnia jumped on his back, almost taking Ash down. "Alright Ashy, giddy up Horsea!"

Ash just smiled and chuckled. He hasn't seen this part of her before, it was unbelievably cute. "You sure seem happy right now Zinnia, I'm glad to see it.

Ba dum

"That's because I am. I'm only like this around you because I deemed you trust worthy." Zinnia said, with the most 'happy to be alive' tone of voice.

"You are really cute like this, I want to see you like this more. It suits you." Ash said with new found happiness.

"Thank you! You Ash, you need to always keep that smile on your face. That serious, pain enduring face doesn't fit you at all." Zinnia said. "I'm glad to have changed your mood even if it was just a little, I didn't like the Ash a second ago."

The two made it to the lab finally and rang the doorbell.

Ding dong

"I'll get it gramps!" The two heard before the door opened. "Oh, hey A-sh, whoa, you two seem close." Gary said a bit surprised. Zinnia waved at him noticing he was now looking at her. "They haven't made their move yet have they?"

"No, they did, but I think I convinced them to let me be unscathed. I left and headed here." Ash said nonchalantly. "I'm about to head on a journey with Zinnia through Kanto, I have a few things I need to do along the way myself."

"Ash let me down." Zinnia said, to which he complied. "I'm just wandering around aimlessly, really. I think I might take on the gyms across every region though."

"So, what are you doing here then? Shouldn't yall be on your way to do whatever?" Gary said before growing a smug look. "Or is that just your excuse to fool around as much as you want?" Gary said nugging the both of them.

"I came here to collect some Pokémon." Ash said with a smile, obliviously.

Gary deadpanned and Zinnia just looked at the ground, slightly dejectedly shaking her head. "You could have just went along with it Ash." Zinnia said lightly.

"Did I say something weird?" Ash asked confused.

"No, your just an idiot." Gary said getting his composure back. Ash just rubbed the back of his head guiltily. "So, which Pokémon do you want, I'll grab them right now."

"I need Donphan, Staraptor, Infernape, Swellow, Sceptile, Charizard, and Tauros. Here's Hawlucha, Goodra, and Talonflames' Poke ball's." Gary took the Poke balls and left to get the needed Pokémon.

"So Ash, what do you plan on doing this time while you are going through Kanto?" Gary asked as he came back with the needed Pokémon.

"I'm just gonna train, and bond more with my Pokémon. Like I said before, I am really just following Zinnia. I might fill up my Pokedex more though. What I do know, is that I am not coming back for a while, not until I have proven that I can be a Pokémon master." Ash said, determination evident in his voice.

"Well, good luck out there. If you start feeling lonely, just remember, Zinnia is right there beside you." Gary said with a smug grin plastered over his face. Zinnia just perked up.

"You see that Ashy? I got his consent too!" Zinnia said, with glisten in her eyes.

"Alright thanks, I'll do that, I'll call you if I ever need to exchange my Pokémon." Ash said with a smile, still completely oblivious. "We should be on our way now. Cya."

"Cya Ash, Zinnia. Don't have too much fun out there." Gary said as he walked back into the lab, closing the door behind him.

"We're all set Zinnia. Man, I'm so excited to see how this adventure turns out." Ash said.

Yay! Let's be on our way then!" Zinnia said energetically. The two began walking towards the famed Viridian City. "But first things first." Zinnia said before she latched onto Ash from behind. "Okay, now we're all set. Full speed ahead!" Zinnia yelled as she hugged Ash tightly from behind.

Ash blushed and stiffened up a little. He could feel Zinnia's boobs pressing against his back. This was gonna be an interesting story to tell, to say the least.

Okay, I came back and did a lot of improving on this chapter. (I believe) The ending just didn't fit right with me. I still don't really like it, but ehh, I'll come back for it later. I really hope you peps enjoy it, and I'm sorry if I over procrastinated on featuring Zinnia on this chapter. I really loved her character from the game. I don't know why.

Something I have realized, is that I am really lazy ~('_'~). Your reviews really help motivate me. I don't mind if you msg me just to have a friendly conversation either. I would actually encourage you to do so if you want to. But keep those reviews comin', I would definitely love to see what you guys' think and what I should do to fix this.

Chapter 3 is now in the making, but its gonna take me awhile to release it because, ONE I'm watching the Kalos series, TWO I need to actually START chapter 3, and THREE I have a bit of a schedule this week. And there's a couple stories I want to read, If anyone recommends me any I'll check it out. I love my Ash x Anabel and Ash x Cynthia.

I started watching the Sun and Moon series, and don't even get me started on a adorable Suiren (Lana) is. Don't get me wrong I love all the characters on this new series, it's just I like Suiren the most, I mean come on, how could you NOT like that adorable face. Will definitely look for any of those stories.

Dude…

Kudos to Tru_InTha_Blue

I was reading his story 'From one side to Another' and Oh mai deer Lanta, I love this guy's writing. I loved the concept and the base of the story and I Especially loved the shipping. It all flowed together in perfect harmony. So smooth, like a Lilligant's petals. I loved this story so much, wish I could be that good at writing.

Question time

What was your favorite part of this chapter and last chapter?

What is your favorite Pokémon?

What is your favorite legendary Pokémon?

What is your favorite Ash x ?

Are you enjoying the story so far?

And my final question.

Should I try to turn this into a harem?

P.S: (Sauce?)