Pokémon XY: Trying Something New

Cold Sweat

Y

"I want a triple chocolate fudge swirl with three scoops of strawberry sprinkles and oodles of caramel sauce! Oh! Actually I want a double vanilla bean sundae with a big squeeze of chocolate sauce and two candied bananas! Oh! But how about—!" Bonnie's rapid-fire requests were adorable, but that didn't make them any less intense, especially for the hapless creamery attendant charged with fulfilling them. The nervous assurances from Clemont weren't much help either.

Today the party found themselves in Ambrette Town, the last stop before Cyllage City and Ash's next Gym Badge. It was a quiet place, built into a rocky hillside, with few attractions beyond a rather impressive aquarium. Before any of that though, there was one spot the group needed to check out first: The town's famous ice cream shop. Bonnie wouldn't let them step one foot out of the city until they went.

With her ice cream already in hand, Serena could only watch and giggle as Bonnie cycled through increasingly complex variations of her order. It was getting almost absurd now. By the end of this, she might run that poor ice cream shop worker to an early grave.

It was still funny though.

"I wonder..." Serena's thoughts drifted to the other member of their group, Ash, who had already gotten his ice cream. Or so Serena thought. When she glanced over to him, she found him surprisingly empty-handed, chatting excitedly with Pikachu. "Oh, did you not order yet, Ash?"

"Ordered and finished!" Snapping to attention, Ash gave Serena a wide grin, revealing a chunk of chocolate chip still in his teeth. He picked that away with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Aw come on Ash, that was fast, even for you!" Serena teased, nearing the end of her first scoop as she said that.

"Hey, what can I say, I'm just that excited to get to the next gym!" he explained, putting his hands behind his head. Glancing over to Bonnie and Clemont still ordering, he slumped. "Though at this rate, we won't get there until I can qualify for next year's league."

Serena giggled at Ash's antics, the boy's expressive movement about the whole predicament tickling her funny bone. Yet, as Serena returned to focusing on her own ice cream, a thought rested in her mind: Why was Ash so impatient to get to the next gym?

Before she could ponder the question, the front door to the ice cream parlor slammed open.

"Ash Ketchum! I knew I'd find you here! And with Serena as well!" A familiar voice rang through the air of the parlor, snapping Ash and the others to attention. A familiar face had arrived.

"Alexa! Wow, it's been a bit!" Ash exclaimed, Pikachu perking up from his shoulder and giving a greeting of his own. "What brings ya to this neck of the woods?"

"Just a bit of research for an article I'm writing! Viola told me you'd gotten her Gym Badge, so since I was in town, I figured I'd find you around here as well." As Alexa gave her explanation, she glanced behind Ash and Serena, to the front counter. A smile crossed her lips. "Clemont! It's nice to see you!"

"Thank you! Same to you!" he answered with an exasperated sigh, giving her a wave before returning to tending to his sister. Her order had changed again.

"What kind of article are you writing?" Serena asked, finishing up her ice cream and tossing the napkin away.

"I'm glad you asked! Ambrette may be a small town, but it has something very unique— The fossil lab!" Striking an excited pose, Alexa grinned. "The scientists there told me they've made a big discovery!"

"Fossils? Like a bunch of old bones?" Serena's excitement dwindled slightly at Alexa's description, the idea of a bunch of dead Pokémon skeeving her out. Unfortunately for her, she was alone in that thought.