The Road to our Destiny

Chapter 10

After Ash and Serena make it to the Viridian City Pokemon Center, they drop off Pikachu and the rest of their Pokemon to Nurse Joy so that they can heal after the Fearow attack. Ash and Serena decide to take a seat in one of the benches in the lobby and wait, hoping they can be back on their way to Cerulean City. The two teenagers wait patiently for about an hour until Nurse Joy comes back from the back room, and they stand up.

"Nurse Joy, is our Pokemon alright?" Ash asks.

"Yes, your Pokemon are going to be just fine," Nurse Joy assures. "But Pikachu was hurt pretty bad, and your other Pokemon used up a drastic amount of their energy that they need to rest overnight."

Ash and Serena frown and look at each other concerned.

"I hope one day won't delay us too much with going to Cerulean City," Serena says.

Ash nods, before giving the honey blonde girl a reassuring smirk.

"Don't worry, Serena. We'll be there before you know it," he says. "Worst case scenario, I'll switch one of my Pokemon for Charizard or Staraptor, and they'll fly you over there."

Serena smiles sweetly, touched by Ash's claim.

"Thank you, Ash," she says softly.

Nurse Joy smiles warmly at their moment before she clears her throat to get their attention back.

"Anyway, since your Pokemon will we staying here, I can book you two a room for the night," she says.

"That would be great, Nurse Joy. Thank you," Ash says.

"Yeah, thanks," Serena says.

Nurse Joy nods and walks over to the front desk to come back to hand both trainers' key cards before she goes back to the back room. Ash and Serena put the key cards in their pockets before they turn to each other.

"I guess we should go get some lunch while we're here," Ash suggests.

"Good idea," Serena says before she takes out her tablet and looks through the map. "There's a meatball sandwich restaurant not far from Viridian Gym."

"Great. Let's go," Ash says excitedly.

Thus, the two teenage trainers make their way out of the Pokemon Center and to the meatball sandwich restaurant. After placing their orders, they decide to sit in one of the outside tables of the restaurant to enjoy the views of the city as they eat. After a few minutes, a waitress comes and brings them their food, and Ash quickly starts taking large bites of his meatball sandwich.

"Ash, slow down. You're going to choke eating that much at once," Serena rebukes worriedly.

Ash takes a moment to swallow and says, "Don't worry, Serena. I'll be fine. Besides, this is so good."

Serena sighs disapprovingly and takes a reasonable bit of her sandwich and smiles.

"Wow, this is pretty good," she says.

"See? What did I tell you?" Ash says before taking a large gulp of his drink.

"Well, you should at least chew a few more times before you swallow," Serena says.

Ash hesitates before he mentality decides to comply and chews several times before he swallows his next portion of food. Serena smiles, satisfied, and the two begin to eat quietly until Ash decides to speak.

"Well, this has been quite a way to start our journey, huh?" He says.

"It sure has," Serena says. "It certainly wasn't how I imagined my first time using Poliwag for a battle."