Finding Truth Amongst The Lies

Chapter 5: Ash's POV

I regarded the young woman that Pikachu and I had rescued from an angry Ursaring with what I hoped was an open, happy expression. Inside though I was going crazy trying to search through all of my memories and pinpoint how it was that I knew this girl. She obviously knew me, but I honestly couldn't recall ever meeting anyone like her.

She was dressed in a dark brown, full-body suit that hugged her curves nicely but seemed loose enough for comfort. There were several patches of pink hearts in groups of three throughout the suit, one over her left knee, another across her right hip, and another over where her real heart would be. She had honey blonde hair that was pulled up in a high ponytail and threaded through the opening of the racing cap she was wearing. When I had glimpsed her through the trees she had been wearing protective goggles, but now they appeared to be missing and I could look into her big, sky blue eyes without anything to block them.

When I introduced myself as Satoshi Kilian the girl's face instantly fell into an intense look of disappointment. A sense of guilt washed through me as I again searched for where I could have possibly met her.

"I see. I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble then," she said with sadness seeming to leak from her eyes into her words. I knew I should keep searching for the poison barbs that Celeste had sent me to find, but the girl's sadness seemed to call out to me and I found myself laughing, trying to lift her spirits.

"You didn't cause us any trouble! Pikachu has been looking for an excuse to let off some steam, right, buddy?" I asked lightheartedly. 

Pikachu ran over and jumped up onto my shoulder, waving his tail in a silly greeting to the girl who looked close to tears. Her lips quirked up in an attempt at a smile as she looked from Pikachu to me and she sniffed delicately.

"Well, thank you again for saving me," she said sincerely, looking around her as if she weren't quite sure where to go.

"You lost?" I asked. A light blush colored the girl's cheeks and she slowly nodded her head. "Why don't you let Pikachu and me help you back to the path?" I offered, feeling somewhat responsible for her having gotten lost in the first place. The girl's shoulders sagged slightly and she gave me a grateful look.

"You're sure it wouldn't be too much of a bother?" she asked hopefully.

"Not at all!" I agreed immediately.

"Chu pika!" Pikachu said with a nod of his head in agreement.

"Alright then. My name is Serena," she introduced herself as she extended her hand to mine. I took it, noting that she had a stronger grip than I was expecting. Although I assumed that must come from being a rhyhorn racer.

"It's nice to meet you, Serena," I said, once again going through my memories to try and remember if I had ever known a Serena before. "So, who is this Ash guy?" I asked as I walked confidently in the direction of the path.

When Serena had first called out to me I had panicked and tried to disappear into the trees, which I had done successfully. But even though I disappeared, she'd rushed into the trees without fear, always calling out my name and pleading with me to wait for her. If I wasn't undercover I would have gone to her and asked what she wanted immediately, but if she really did know me then I figured it would be too dangerous for me to speak to her. Now that I had convinced her I wasn't Ash though, I wanted to know how she knew me.

"Oh, well, he was a boy I met at a pokemon camp in Kanto when I was a young girl," Serena explained with an embarrassed expression. She told me the story of how she had gotten lost in the woods and how I had found her and helped her back, then made sure to include her in the rest of the week's activities.