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English
Series:
Part 4 of Amourshipping One Shots
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Published:
2026-02-09
Words:
1,737
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1/1
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Who’re we talking about here?

Summary:

“Wait, wait, back up a second. Who’re we talking about here? Are we still talking about the same person that you referred to as a gentleman like, thirty seconds ago?”

“Uhm… yeah?”

“So what you’re telling me is that Ash Ketchum is… gentlemanly?”

“I mean, yeah. I would say so. Most of the time anyway."

May shook her head in disbelief. “Impossible. We must be talking about two different Ash Ketchums with two different Pikachus who both just happen to really like Pokémon battles.”

Or

Serena and May have a conversation about Ash. Turns out they both see him quite differently.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

”Man, I’m starved!”

Serena watched on with a mix of amusement and slight amazement as her friend May—whom Serena had met at her first contest in Hoenn a while back—inhaled the omelette she’d ordered at the diner they’d agreed to meet at after their most recent contest had ended.

“You know, you kind of remind me of somebody else I know right now,” Serena giggled before taking a bite of her pancake. It was six o’clock in the evening, but that didn’t stop them from ordering breakfast food.

“Really?” May covered her mouth when she seemed to realize she was still chewing. She took a moment to swallow and took a swig of water before continuing. “How so?”

“Appetite,” Serena said simply, hiding her wide smile behind a napkin.

“What are you implying with that, Serena?” May asked, tipping her head at her with a glare, pretending to be offended.

“Oh, nothing,” Serena cut a piece of her pancake in preparation for another bite. “Actually, you remind me of him in more than one way, now that I think about it.”

May tilted her head. “Really? Who is this friend of yours?”

“The one I traveled Kalos with before coming here.”

“Oh, right. I recall you mentioning your old traveling companions once. Are you referring to the one who competed in the Kalos League or the one whose inventions always blew up?”

“The one who competed in the Kalos League,” Serena clarified after swallowing her bite. She had mentioned Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie to May before, but hadn’t gone into detail on any of them, not even mentioning their names—since it hadn’t mattered at the time.

“So, what’s he like? I would guess that he’s probably pretty cool since I remind you of him,” May leaned forward in her seat, placing her elbows on the table.

“Well… yeah. He is pretty cool,” Serena admitted. “He’s not too different from you in terms of personality. Just maybe a little more…”

“A little more what?” May asked.

“Gentlemanly?” Serena shrugged.

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yeah. Your battling styles are actually really similar. And he’s really passionate about battling. Kinda like you are about contests.”

“I see.”

“He’s also kind, considerate, energetic, impulsive, maybe a little too impulsive sometimes… and really loves Pokémon,” Serena could feel her lips curving upwards the more she thought about her friend.

May seemed to pause for a moment as Serena spoke before swallowing her food, a mischievous smile finding its way to her face. “You seem to really like this boy. Huh, Serena,” May jabbed her fork at her accusingly.

Serena turned her gaze from May to the floor, feeling her cheeks heat up just a tiny bit. “Well…”

“Well…” May prompted.

“I guess I can’t really deny it…”

“Hmm. It’s no wonder you talk about him so fondly,” May laughed.

Serena playfully rolled her eyes. “Kinda like how you talk so fondly of Drew?”

That seemed to shut May up for a moment, causing Serena to giggle.

“Well, anyway,” May waved her hand, as if swatting away that subject. “He does seem like a nice guy. You said before that he took second place in the Kalos League, right? He must be a really good battler.”

Serena nodded. “Yeah. Ash is one of the best battlers I’ve ever met.”

May had been about to take another bite when she completely froze. “Wait, who?”

“Oh, guess I didn’t mention it before, but his name is Ash.”

May set her fork down. “You wouldn’t happen to mean Ash Ketchum, would you? You know, with the Pikachu?”

Serena raised her eyebrows. “You know Ash?”

“Know him?” May suddenly blurted, startling Serena a bit as she smacked the table. “I traveled through the entire Hoenn region with him!”

Serena sat up straighter and set down her fork. “Wow, really? What a coincidence!”

“I know, right! Who would’ve thought we’ve both traveled a whole region with the same… person…” May trailed off and blinked a few times in realization.

“Wait, wait, back up a second,” the girl said, waving her hands. “Who’re we talking about here? Are we still talking about the same person that you referred to as a gentleman like, thirty seconds ago?”

“Uhm… yeah?” Serena muttered, confused by her friend's sudden change in tone.

Serena had never seen someone’s face twist in confusion like May’s did just then. “So, what you’re telling me is that Ash Ketchum is… gentlemanly?”

“I mean, yeah. I would say so. Most of the time anyway.”

May shook her head in disbelief. “Impossible. We must be talking about two different Ash Ketchums with two different Pikachus who both just happen to really like Pokémon battles.”

Serena blinked, still very confused. But apparently not nearly as confused as May judging by her expression. “Are you saying that Ash wasn’t nice when you traveled with him?”

“Oh, no. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a nice guy. He was like a mentor to me, actually. And I guess you could say that he was kind of a little bit of a gentleman whenever it really mattered, but I would never describe him as one.”

“Really?” Serena asked. “He was usually quite considerate when I traveled with him."

“Pfft,” May laughed. “Nah. If someone ever asked me what I thought of Ash on a typical day, maybe I would’ve said nice, but Gentlemanly? Considerate? Not a chance.”

“I mean,” May continued. “I guess he could’ve changed. But, like, we used to argue and fight on a weekly basis.”

“Wow. Ash and I really got into a fight once, and that was more than enough for me."

“That’s… absolutely incredible,” May muttered in awe. “You must be, like, his soulmate or something… Wait! Hold on! You said you liked him, didn’t you!”

Serena looked away, suddenly very interested in the pattern on the table.

May kicked her feet under the table with a giddy expression. “Oh my gosh! You like Ash Ketchum! Ash actually found a girl who likes him!”

“Well, y-yeah… but s-soulmate? I-I don’t know about that,” Serena stuttered.

“I don’t see any other explanation,” May shrugged. “I’ve talked to other traveling companions of his, and they all have similar experiences. So it’s not like it’s just me.”

“I honestly couldn’t imagine arguing with him very often,” Serena shook her head slightly.

“Like I said—soulmates. No other explanation.”

Serena clutched her skirt. She had finally gotten away from all the teasing from Miette and some others by coming here to Hoenn. But now she had May to worry about.

“But hey, don’t worry,” May said as she picked her fork back up and took a bite. “You have my blessing. And it’s a miracle that he actually found someone like you who likes him.”

“I-it’s not like we’re actually… you know…” Serena muttered uncomfortably, idly picking at her food.

“Did you ever tell him? You would’ve probably had to be direct with someone like him. Ash doesn't take hints very well."

“Oh, I was direct all right…”

“So you did tell him! What’d he say?”

Serena let out a slight squeak. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“Well?” May pushed. Clearly, she wasn’t going to let this go.

“I mean… technically I didn’t say anything," Serena murmured.

May tilted her head. “But didn’t you just say… wait…”

Serena grimaced. Here it comes.

“Wait! You don’t mean you…”

Serena nodded shamefully.

“Oh my gosh! That’s amazing, you were direct alright!” May leaned back in laughter while Serena wallowed in shame and embarrassment, looking anywhere but at May.

“What did that dimwit say? Does he like you back?”

“Well. I kinda avoided that part. I left right after…”

“What!” May stood up. “No way. I’m calling Ash right now to ask him. I wanna hear what he thinks about all this," the brunette declared.

“Wait, no! May, wait a second!” Serena shot up to her feet to stop her.

Serena’s friend giggled. “Fine. But only under one condition.”

Serena swallowed. “What?”

“You have to ask him how he feels next time you see him.”

Serena sighed. “Ok, ok. I’ll do that. But there’s no need to call him right now! I mean, what good would that do?”

May shrugged. “I dunno. I don’t have his number anyway. That dummy didn’t think to give it to me before we parted ways.”

Serena suddenly felt pretty stupid. “Oh…”

May just grinned proudly before sitting back down at their table with a satisfied expression, continuing to work on her food.

Serena exasperatedly shook her head before sitting back down herself.

Although she was glad that May couldn’t make a very awkward and embarrassing call to Ash, Serena still planned on doing what she said she would. After all, it would be pretty hard not to after making her feelings as obvious as physically possible.

There was quite a high chance that Ash wouldn’t… well… feel the same. Since he was more than likely still focused on battling. But it would be a waste not to at least ask. And either way, Serena still valued her friendship with him above a potential romantic one.

“By the way, Serena, if you have his number, I wouldn’t mind getting it from you. I haven’t seen Ash in years, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to reach out,” May said.

“Oh, sure.”

Serena smiled as she took another bite of her pancake. Truthfully, Serena had tried calling him once. His mother had answered and told her that he was currently in the Alola region.

His mother had then given her the number to the place he was staying in Alola, but she decided to wait on calling him for the time being.

Because she did make Ash a promise that she would become a much more charming woman before their next meeting. And, while she felt that she had made some progress toward that promise, she still had a long way to go.

After all, Ash is her goal. Or, that’s what she told him anyway. She couldn't help but cringe every time she thought about what she'd said. So embarrassing…

But for the time being, she just wanted to focus on herself. Ash could come later.

“So, anyway, how did his lips feel, Serena?” May said, barely able to contain her grin.

Serena's fork dropped onto the table with a loud clatter.

“May!”

Notes:

Thanks very much for reading! Kudos are always appreciated if you enjoyed and feel free to comment any thoughts or feedback.

If you liked this story, you can also check out the others in my Amourshipping One Shots series.

Series this work belongs to: