"It's really her, isn't it?!"

"The famous teenager from Kalos who almost won the Kalos Circuit? She's racing here?!"

"It really is Serena! See, she's wearing her special riding suit. I read an article that said she designs them herself."

I ducked my head down and tried to ignore the whispered conversations as I made my way to the rhyhorn I would be riding in just a few minutes. Even though I was in Sinnoh, apparently I was a hot topic for all serious rhyhorn racers and it made me want to scream in frustration. It was absolute heaven to be here in Sinnoh and do anything that I wanted all day long. I'd hoped that when I showed up for the rhyhorn race my mom signed me up for that no one would recognize me, but that obviously wasn't the case.

At least there aren't many fans watching, I thought to myself. The Sinnoh region was fairly new to rhyhorn racing so I wasn't too surprised to see that the stands were only barely half-filled.

Let's do this, Serena. The sooner this race is over, the sooner I can finally try those Old Gateau's that I saw in the bakery last night, I told myself to try and pump myself up.

After checking on my rhyhorn to make sure it was still looking excited, I mounted smoothly. Shifting slightly to get in a more secure and comfortable position I took up the reins and leaned forward. From the corner of my eye, I saw the race official walking up to the edge of the starting line. As had become routine for me, I took as deep of a breath as I could before closing my mouth and holding it.

As soon as the starter pistol rang out I immediately urged my rhyhorn into action. After a few seconds though I realized that something was very different. Where was the dust cloud? Why wasn't my nose being filled with grit and dirt? It went against everything my mom had taught me, but I couldn't help but look behind me and I was shocked to see that there were at least two rhyhorn lengths between me and the closest racer.

I furrowed my brow, wondering what was going on. The rhyhorn I was racing on wasn't nearly as fast as others I had ridden and I hadn't even urged it to its full speed yet, so why was I pulling so far ahead?

Maybe they are using my strategy of saving their rhyhorns energy for the last leg of the race? I wondered briefly. My rhyhorn jerked to the side slightly, prompting me to turn my eyes back on the road. Whatever the reason, I wanted this race over with as soon as possible so I refocused on the task at hand. 

This race was a cross-country style that took us through a winding path through the Eterna Forest. As my rhyhorn carried me swiftly through the trees I couldn't help but take a moment to be in awe of the beautiful scenery I found myself in. The trees growing along either side of the path were tall and majestic and their branches stretched over the path so that the sunlight shone down in mottled patches. Slowly I sat up in a more relaxed position on rhyhorn's back and looked around me, amazed. Had I really been missing views like this all these years of practicing rhyhorn racing? Running through the forest completely alone I felt a strange peace that I didn't think I had ever felt before.

What would it be like to explore a place like this? I wondered absently. Just as I was about to crouch back down and urge my rhyhorn to speed back up, a flash of black and blue that didn't seem to belong in the lush greens and browns of the forest caught my eye. Turning my head around, I found myself staring for a brief second into extremely familiar dark brown eyes.

My mouth fell open and before I knew what I was doing I yanked back on the reins, pulling my rhyhorn to a skidding stop. Even as the large pokemon underneath me scrambled to try and stop its forward momentum I kept my eyes firmly locked with the teenage boy whose face was filled with surprise. His hair was different, with its blue streaks and fashionable mess of spikes on top of his head, but he had the same tanned skin, slight build, and dark brown eyes that I had thought of for the past ten years.

"Ash," I breathed out in disbelief. 

A gentle breeze wrapped around me as I stared fixedly into his eyes. Time seemed to freeze and I wondered if this was a sign that my life was suddenly about to change. But no sooner than I had thought it, he turned on his heels and ran into the forest, disappearing behind a thick tree trunk.

"Wait!" I cried out. Panic gripped me as I launched myself off of my rhyhorn's back and plunged into the forest after him. "Ash! That is Ash, isn't it? Please wait!"

I felt like I was flying, my feet were pumping so fast. Just like when I was in a rhyhorn race my focus narrowed to just the path in front of me and I jumped over bushes, ducked under low-hanging branches, and tried to listen to any sound that could possibly be the sound of someone else running through the forest.

I didn't imagine it. It really was Ash. Wasn't it? I thought desperately as I continued to run for all I was worth in the direction that the strange but incredibly familiar figure had gone.

A shriek ripped out of my throat as, in my momentary distraction, my foot hit a root and sent me sprawling into the grass. For the first time, I realized that I was breathing incredibly hard and my lungs felt like they were on fire.

How long have I been running? I wondered internally as I gasped for breath. Slowly, I pushed myself up and looked around me. Everywhere I turned I could only see trees and thick bushes. Nervously, I lightly bit the inside of my cheek as I sat down in a cross-legged position and took stock of just what I had done.

Not only had I abandoned a rhyhorn race, but I had run into a forest, alone, in a region I had only been in for three days. I knew no one. I didn't have a map. And to make everything worse, I had most likely just lost my only chance of ever being reconnected with my childhood friend.

Tears began welling up in the back of my eyes and I bowed my head as a feeling of forlorn melancholy descended on me. How could I have been so stupid? I had probably imagined seeing Ash; why had I been so foolish?

"Ursa?"

My head jerked up so suddenly that several tears spilled from my eyes and down onto my cheeks. Blinking rapidly to clear my vision I cocked my head to the side in confusion as I took in the adorable creature that had appeared in front of me. I had never seen one in person, but I knew from research I had done that this little one was a Teddiursa. Its body was covered in light brown fur except for a large white moon shape that stretched across its forehead.

The little cutie hesitantly stepped closer to me and imitated me by cocking its head briefly to the side. A small giggle escaped me and I reached up to brush away the rest of the tears that were still swimming in my eyes. Teddiursa copied me again, wiping its clawed hand against its eye and this time I laughed.

"What are you doing, little one? Are you lost?" I asked softly, reaching out a tentative hand towards the small pokemon. Teddiursa sniffed my fingers curiously and smiled widely, running around in a small circle and wagging its stubby tail.

"Oh, you are such a cutie!" I gushed happily. Before I could suggest we find our way out of here together though a low growl rumbled from my left. Fear gripped me and I slowly turned to look in the direction of the growl.

"H.. hello?" I called out hesitantly.

Suddenly, a huge Ursaring jumped out from the shelter of the trees and roared angrily toward me and Teddiursa. I squeaked in fright and scrambled to my feet. Even though my legs were trembling like leaves I put myself in front of my little friend.

"T-there's no reason to be angry," I said, trying to sound soothing, but with how much my voice was trembling I doubted the large pokemon could even understand me. It let out another roar and a large yellow orb began to glow in front of its muzzle.

My body froze as I watched the pokemon prepare for its attack. Regret and shame washed through me as I thought that this could, quite possibly, be my last moment on this earth. I thought back to all of the moments when I had let my mom have her way. All of the times I felt like I was being pushed and prodded by her. As I looked back through my memories in that split second I realized for the first time that the life I was leading hadn't been my mom's fault at all. I was the one who hadn't had enough strength to tell her that I didn't want to become a rhyhorn racer. If only I hadn't been so scared of being alone that day we raced on Skiddo then maybe... maybe I could have actually left and become a pokemon trainer.

My eyes slowly closed as I accepted my fate, but instead of the searing heat and pain that I had been expecting, firm arms wrapped around my body, picking me up with ease. Instinctively I wrapped my arms around the neck of my rescuer as they leaped to the side just as the Hyper Beam crashed where I had been standing.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" My eyes popped open at the masculine voice and I looked up in shock to see that it was the boy I had been chasing.

His dark brown eyes weren't looking at me though, instead, he was looking determinedly towards the Ursaring that had just attacked. I turned to follow his gaze and saw a small yellow pikachu leap from the branch of a tree. Mid-air, electricity began to crackle around his small, furry body and then a huge lightning bolt shot towards the Ursaring. The huge pokemon yelled in pain and stumbled back several steps.

A whimper escaped me when I saw my little friend bound over to the giant Ursaring, but I relaxed when the charred Ursaring batted the Teddiursa gently on the head. The large pokemon roared at us but then turned and began lumbering through the forest with the small Teddiursa following after it.

"I guess it thought you were trying to hurt Teddiursa." I glanced up at the boy who looked so much like Ash and he turned his face down to me while giving me a broad grin. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. Thank you," I responded, feeling a little breathless. The fact that he was still carrying me bridal style suddenly clicked into place and I felt my face heat up like crazy.

"Oh! You can put me down!" I squeaked, feeling more flustered than I ever had in my life. 

The boy laughed and gently set me on my feet. I quickly took a step back and brushed off my dark brown riding suit, feeling more self-conscious than I could imagine now that I was face to face with who I was becoming increasingly sure was my friend Ash from childhood.

"Ummm, I'm sorry to ask but... are you... Ash Ketchum... from Pallet Town?" I asked haltingly, glancing up into the dark brown eyes that I was sure belonged to the little boy that had rescued me in a forest like this so long ago. The boy cocked his head with a slightly puzzled expression and I felt my heart sink into my stomach as he shook his head awkwardly.

"Sorry, but I've never heard of him. My name is Satoshi. Satoshi Kilian from Sunnyshore City."

A/N Sorry this chapter is a little short but hopefully you enjoyed it!