Hiya everyone!  SylveonKwami here.

*le gasp* A CHAPTER THAT IS IN ONE PART ONLY!?  I know, I know.  It's a lot to take in (XD).  But anyways, I wanted to get an entire chapter out today, so this one might be a bit longer... but you guys don't mind, right?

Here's chapter 17- don't forget to vote and comment if you liked it!

Hope you all enjoy :D

Serena

"Swimming?" Serena asked, incredulous.  "H-How are we supposed to swim if we don't have any-"

"Swim gear?" Ash guessed, and she nodded.  "Uh... now that you mention is, that is a good question..."

Serena almost face-palmed herself right then and there.  "W-Well, maybe we could go in the water in these clothes..." she thought.  It'll be a hassle to dry them, but still...

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Ash exclaimed, taking off his jacket so he was just wearing his t-shirt.  Serena saw him try to take off his pants, but she instantly went red in the face and stuttered to try and stop him.  He saw her, laughed, and told her that he had a pair of shorts on underneath.  She thought he was lying (even though he would be too dense to be), but he actually did have another layer- Serena went red in the face thinking about how that could've gone if Ash... well, you know.

"Maybe you should take off your stockings," he suggested to her, and though she instantly rejected the thought, she knew she would be more comfortable, so she meekly nodded. 

Blushing intently, she took off each of her boots, and placed them gently next to her.  She pulled off her gray stockings quickly, and though Ash wasn't staring at her, she knew that she didn't have on much underneath.  She took off her red vest and laid it beside her boots.  She felt horribly naked (even though she still had her dress on), but she knew that Ash would never try to harm her.  It wasn't him.

"R-Ready!" she exclaimed when she had finished.  Ash gave her a thumbs up and walked up to her, and grabbing her hand (earning a yelp from Serena), he led her too the water.  He stepped in, splashing a bit of water on her.  She tried to shield herself, but her dress took a few drops of it.  She sighed, not really caring- she was literally going into a stream, it's not like she was going to not get wet.  

"Well?  What're you waiting for?" Ash asked, confused.  He must've noticed her expression, because he said "Ah, it's okay Serena, we're just standing here- nothing bad's gonna happen.  If you don't want to swim, I'll get out," he said, starting to make his way towards the water's edge.

"A-Ah!  No no, Ash, I want to swim," Serena insisted.  She sneaked a glance at Sylveon, who gave her a reassuring smile.  Feeling more confident, she hopped in the water, her legs stiffening up at first because of the cold.  After a couple moments, her body got used to the water's temperature, and Ash came and took her hand.  She gladly excepted it and waded farther into the stream.  It's not like it got much deeper, because come on, it was a stream!

"The water's so relaxing," Serena said, feeling peaceful.  She let go of Ash's hand and stretched.  "This forest really is the- huh!?" she exclaimed as some water flew at her and hit her face.  With some of the water dripping off her, she turned around to see Ash giggling a little- she knew who her culprit was.  

"Your'e really gonna get it!" she screamed, putting her hands into the water and splashing it at him.  She hadn't meant to do it so hard, but it turns out she was really strong when she wanted to be- she got it all over him.  "O-Oh, Ash, I'm sorry-"

"It's on, Serena," he said with a determined look in his eyes.  "WATER FIGHT!"

He aimed a big jet of water at her, and it landed all over her dress.  She glared at him with a mock death glare, and continued throwing water at him.  "You're going to regret that!" she told him, laughing as she said it.  He laughed with her, splashing more water at her.  It went on and on, with more splashing and more come backs, until both of them were too tired to fight any more.

Ash raised both his hands up.  "Truce?"

"Truce," Serena agreed, exhausted.  She looked back at the sky- was it her, or had the sun moved a little?

"Wanna come out?" he asked her, and she nodded breathlessly.  Together, they climbed out of the stream.  Serena instantly started to shiver, and when she looked over at Ash, he was too.  They laid down on a sunny patch of earth, both of them relishing the warmth that got to them.

"This is nice," Ash said, sighing with relief.  Serena nodded, smiling. 

"This has been a really fun day," Serena told him, because honestly, today was the most fun she'd had in... a really, really, long time.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked her, shocked.  "The day's not even over yet!  There's still plenty of fun to be had!"

She giggled.  "Sure, whatever you say," she said, turning her eyes in another direction.  She looked at some bushes, and they were... moving?  No, that couldn't be right, there was no wind... quickly she realized what was going on and she clutched Ash's arm.  He looked at her, confused, and she just sat up and pointed.  "Over there," she whispered, deathly afraid because what if it was the Umbreon?

"Oh," Ash said, realizing what she was talking about.  Clearly he as less scared than her, because he was still smiling and acting calm.  "Hey guys," he called out to the Pokemon.  "Can you deal with, uh... whatever's in there?"  

The Pokemon looked at him, looked back at the bushes, and nodded.  Sylveon ran up to it and hissed, raising her feelers.  Espeon was more timid- she just stood there, firm, while both Pikachu and Talonflame stood behind them, blocking Ash and Serena.

A couple seconds later, an injured Fletchling hopped in the area- everyone stepped back in surprised.  It clearly had battle injuries, and had tears in its eyes.  It looked young, and it clearly was alone.  Serena's heart cried out and she raced for it, despite Ash's protests.   

"Can anyone heal it?" Serena asked desperately.  She knew that Sylveon had no healing moves, and she wasn't surprised to see Pikachu and Talonflame both shake their heads.  Espeon, however, was silent.  She approached the injured Pokemon, but it hopped away from her scared... Serena's heart broke.

"Aww, it's okay little guy," she said gently, trying to lessen the Fletchling's fear.  "We're trying to help you... just stay still, alright?"

The Fletchling looked at her and nodded, though it still looked scared.  Serena gestured for Espeon to come and to whatever she was planning to do.  A small ball of light appeared in front of Espeon, and she directed it to the hurt Pokemon.  The light touched the Pokemon, and there was a bit of a pause; soon after, the Fletchling was completely healed.

It gave a happy chirp and fluttered its wings- and with a small call (probably a thank-you), it flew away, soaring above the treetops.

"Thanks, Espeon," Serena said, relieved.  Espeon happily waved her tail and nodded.  

"Serena, that was awesome," Ash said, running up next to her.

"Thanks Ash," she said, beaming.  Was it her or was he blushing?

Congratulations, you've reached the end of this surprisingly short chapter.  Sorry, I thought it was going to be a bit longer... sorry, everyone.

Never the less, I hope you all enjoyed this part.  Updates should be coming next week, hopefully!  With school starting up again and exams on the way, it might be delayed (again).  

Anyways, I'm gonna go.  Have an awesome day/night!

Stay tuned ;)