Pokemon One-Shots and Headcanons

Serena Meets Delia

Ash and Serena were on their way to Ash's house in Pallet Town to meet his mother, Delia. The Kanto native's heart was beating out of his chest. In just a few minutes, he would be introducing his girlfriend to his mother. Pikachu was at Professor Oak's lab to give the couple some privacy. He had told Delia that one of his friends would be coming with him, but he hadn't told her why. Ash hoped that she approved of Serena even though she wanted him to date Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean gym leader and his first traveling companion.
When they arrived at Ash's house, Delia was already waiting for them in the kitchen with a hot meal ready. The older woman smiled as her son entered the house.
"Hi, Mom," Ash greeted Delia, giving her a hug. "Serena, this is my mother."
"Hello, Mrs. Ketchum," Serena said politely, trying to hide the nervous tremor in her voice.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Serena," Delia said warmly. "Now, both of you take a seat. You must be hungry after traveling all the way from Kalos."
The two teenagers sat down and started digging into the sandwiches Delia had prepared. As usual, Ash ate as though he had been starved for the past ten years. He did take care to be a little neater in front of Serena, though. Serena ate more slowly than her boyfriend, but it was clear that she was enjoying the food just as much.
"So Serena, is there any reason why you came to Pallet Town?" Delia asked after a while. "Of course you're welcome, but Kalos is a long way from here."
Ash and Serena exchanged a nervous glance. The time had finally come to open up about their relationship. Taking a deep breath, the raven-haired boy fiddled with his thumbs for a moment before speaking up.
"Well actually, Serena's my-my girlfriend," he admitted.
It was entirely silent in the Ketchum household after this proclamation was made. Indeed, Ash could have sworn he could have heard a pin drop.
"She's your what?" Delia asked finally, with noticeably less warmth in her tone than before.
"Mrs. Ketchum, may I-" Serena began.
"No, you may not," Delia interrupted harshly. "Ash, I thought you were more mature than this."
"I am, Mom!"
"Well, it doesn't look like that to me!"
"Oh yeah? What does it look like?" Ash challenged.
He was furious now. He couldn't believe his mother was acting like this. What had Serena done wrong anyway?
"It looks as though you've chosen this girl because she's pretty!" Delia yelled.
"First of all, Mom," Ash shouted back, standing up. "This girl has a name! It's Serena! Didn't you hear me introduce her earlier, or are you too stupid to listen? Second of all, you have no right to talk about her like that! You don't know anything about her! And what do you know about why I chose Serena? Well, you don't deserve to know, but I'll tell you anyway. It's because she's kind, sweet, and she was a great friend from the start! It had nothing to do with her looks!"
"Ash, I am forbidding you from dating this girl," Delia said sternly.
Ash scoffed. "You're not forbidding me from dating anyone. I haven't been under your control since I was ten years old and I'm not about to start now. I love Serena, so either you learn to accept that or I'm packing my stuff right now and moving out."
"Ash, please. I think you and Misty would make a much better couple," the older woman retaliated.
"Oh, because you know so much about what a good couple looks like," Ash replied sarcastically. "That must be why Dad left you."
Ash knew that was a low blow, but he was too angry to care. Grabbing his backpack, he stormed upstairs to his room, slamming the door behind him. Yanking open his drawers, he started stuffing as many of his belongings as possible into his bag when he heard a knock at his door.
"If you're Serena, come in. If you're my mom, get lost," he called out irritably.
The door opened and Serena walked inside. "Hey, Ash," the honey-blond girl greeted him nervously. "Are you okay?"
Ash sighed and sat down on his bed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, giving her a smile. "I'm sorry about my mom, though."
"It's fine, Ash. Thanks for sticking up for me, though," Serena said, blushing.
"I wasn't going to let her keep talking about you like that," Ash said fiercely. "Just because she thinks I should be with Misty...."
Serena looked at him worriedly. "Do you want to be with Misty?" she asked.
"Oh, hell no!" Ash exclaimed, horrified at the very idea. "No way, no, Misty's never going to be more than a friend. I don't like her that way at all."
"So why does your mom think you should date her?" Serena asked, looking confused but also relieved.
"I don't know," Ash sighed wearily. "It just goes to show that my mom really doesn't know me at all, I guess. Or that she doesn't care about what I want. She just thinks about what she wants without thinking about whether or not I agree with it."
"I'm sorry, Ash," the honey-blond girl said sympathetically. She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So....about what you said downstairs...."
"Which part?" Ash asked, tilting his head to the side.
"The part where you said that you l-loved me," Serena replied, stammering and blushing. "Did-did you mean that?"
"Well, yeah. Of course I meant it," Ash said, puzzled. "Is-is there something wrong?"
Serena blushed harder and said, "N-no, not at all! I just-well, it's just that I was going to tell you the exact same thing. I love you."
Ash smiled and kissed Serena on the lips. "Come on, I'll finish packing my stuff and then we can go."
"Are you really planning to leave home?" Serena asked.
Ash let out a sigh. "I can't stay here anymore after what my mom said," he told her. "She's not going to back down until I break up with you. I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to trick you into breaking up with me either."
"Wow," Serena remarked, shaking her head. "Is your mom really that-"
"Selfish and manipulating?" Ash finished for her. "Yes, she is. She won't stop until she gets what she wants."
"Where are we going to go?" Serena asked.
"For now, we'll continue on our journey. I was thinking we'd visit some of my old friends and then go to the Alola region," Ash said thoughtfully. It had been a long time since he'd seen any of his other friends. He wondered how they were doing. There were also some Pokemon he had to pick up as well. "And after that's done, well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
After Ash had finished packing his bag, they went back downstairs. Delia was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a newspaper. She looked up when she heard Ash and Serena enter the kitchen and stood up.
"Well, Ash? I assume you're here to apologize and say you'll date Misty?" she asked expectantly.
Ash felt a rush of hatred towards his mother. Who was she to assume that he would bend to her will just like that? In a tone made of ice, he replied, "No, I'm here to say that I'm leaving and I'm not coming back. I will not apologize because there's nothing I need to apologize for. Stay away from me and don't ever interfere with my life again."
With that, he turned around and walked out the door with Serena, ready to start a new adventure with the girl he loved.