"Leaf?" I asked unconsciously.
"Yes!" Leaf nodded.
She hugged me again before Giselle pulled us apart just a few seconds later.
"Excuse me? I think it's quite indecent to hug like that in public. Besides, who are you?" Giselle said, clearly annoyed.
Verity had already irritated her a bit, but after seeing Leaf suddenly kiss Ash, her jealousy exploded instantly. How many more girls did Ash have? Weren't Celeste, her, and the others enough? Why did it seem like his harem just kept growing? For God's sake, she didn't even know this girl!
"Nice to meet you all! My name is Leaf Green, Gary's number one… and Ash's fiancée!" Leaf said.
"WHAAAAAT?!" the girls exclaimed.
"What does this mean, Ash?" Giselle demanded.
His fiancée? Why had she never heard about this fiancée? Had Ash been hiding her all this time?
"Um… how do I explain this?" I said, feeling rushed.
"Wait a second! To be his fiancée you need the approval of all the sisters. You can't just proclaim yourself his fiancée like that! We have to respect the hierarchy!" Giselle said, not letting Ash finish.
"Hierarchy? Sisters? What is she talking about, Ash?" Leaf asked, confused.
"Well…" I tried to say.
"Ash already has four girlfriends including me!" Giselle declared immediately.
Leaf's eyes widened in surprise, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Is that true, Ash?" Leaf asked curiously.
"The truth is…" I tried to speak again.
"That's right! And to join his harem you need our approval first. You can't just declare yourself his fiancée. You have to go through a process!" Giselle nodded, satisfied.
"Oh. When did you start dating your first fiancée? Can I know?" Leaf asked curiously.
"When I started my journey," I answered.
I had finally managed to speak.
"I see, that means…" Leaf said.
"Exactly! First you need our approval, and then we'll decide if you're worthy of joining his harem!" Giselle nodded smugly.
"No, that means all of you are my little sisters because Ash and I got engaged years ago!" Leaf declared.
Angry? No. Scared? Why would she be? Jealous? A little. But she already knew that a man like Ash was destined to have many women, so she wasn't too surprised when Giselle said he had four girlfriends. However, she couldn't allow them to say she would be the last. She had gotten engaged to Ash years ago, which made her the big sister and the rest her little sisters! She was the main wife and leader of the harem. It was a fact!
"That can't be true. Ash never told us anything about that. You must be making it up! Right, Ash?" Giselle said.
"Well, the truth is… she's right," I nodded.
"What?! How come we didn't know anything about this?! Why didn't you tell us?!" Giselle exclaimed.
She didn't mind him having more girls — that was clear when she joined his harem — but… why hide Leaf's existence? What was the point?
"Wait, it's not my fault. The promise was six years ago. It was normal that I didn't remember," I said.
I remembered as soon as I saw Leaf, but I hadn't even remembered Leaf until I saw her, so I couldn't be blamed. Besides, that Ash wasn't me, and we already know the anime Ash was very innocent and didn't understand what getting engaged meant. How could this be my fault?
"Six years ago?" Giselle asked, stunned.
That was many years before Celeste! If what Ash said was true, then Leaf really was his big sister!
"Wow, I see an interesting story here! Why don't you tell us how it all happened? I need to know!" Verity said.
"I don't usually get involved in other people's business, but… I'm curious too," Neesha added.
The boys were also curious, but seeing Giselle's glare, they preferred not to voice their opinions out loud for fear of being murdered by her. Even Gary trembled slightly.
"You guys!" Giselle said angrily.
"Don't get mad, Giselle. Aren't you curious too?" Verity said with a smile.
"Well, I…" Giselle hesitated.
Of course she was curious! How could she not be?
"Decided! Tell us everything before the rules start!" Verity said.
"I will! I always love telling this story!" Leaf nodded.
The story of how they got engaged… she always loved remembering it.
"It all started seven years ago…" Leaf began to explain.
{Note: The story is quite long, so I prefer to narrate it in paragraphs rather than as a conversation from Leaf. However, you can imagine that Leaf is the one telling it, if you prefer that.}
It all started seven years ago when Professor Oak decided to organize a summer camp for young people interested in Pokémon. The camp would be led by him, and the activities included close observation of Pokémon in the wild, explanations about them, and many other fun things.
Registration was done online, and due to Professor Oak's fame, hundreds of applications from children all over the world arrived the same day the announcement was posted, with more coming in the following days. Because of this, Professor Oak set a limit of 20 children. Only 20 kids out of those hundreds were lucky enough to participate in the summer camp. Of course, some already had reserved spots even before the announcement was made public. Those three were Ash, Leaf, and Gary. The other 17 spots would go to 17 other children lucky enough to win the lottery.
A few days later, the lottery ended and the 17 chosen children celebrated their acceptance into Professor Oak's summer camp and began bragging to their friends, awakening the envy of hundreds of other kids.
Time passed, and with it came summer, and of course, the camp. The camp would last a full month, and the children would stay in accommodations provided by the Pallet Town council, where they would have all kinds of comforts and monitors watching over them 24 hours a day, so all their needs would be covered without problems.
The camp was a complete success. The children had a great time and the month flew by. However, during that time was when Ash and Leaf got engaged. Ash and Leaf were already childhood friends, and from a very young age, Leaf had always been in love with Ash. That summer she decided to become his official girlfriend. She wasn't going to let that opportunity pass, so she stuck to Ash throughout the entire camp and even sneaked into his bed several times, only to be scolded numerous times by the camp monitors. But all her efforts paid off, because near the end of the camp, at sunset, while the two were sitting under the shade of a large tree, Leaf confessed and Ash accepted, becoming the happiest moment of her life. Even to this day, that remained her most precious memory.
"Ughh, how beautiful," Neesha said.
"And so romantic. Watching the sunset side by side… I wish someone would confess to me like that," she said, looking at Ash with melancholic eyes.
"I have to admit… it's not bad," Giselle said.
She didn't want to admit that the story had moved her and almost brought a tear to her eye.
"Thank you! Even today, everything we lived in that camp, everything we lived that day… is still my most precious memory," Leaf said with a smile.
"Heh, a beautiful story and all that, but… where did you leave the part about that little brunette girl following you two everywhere?" Gary asked mockingly.
"Little brunette girl? Who is he talking about?" Giselle asked curiously.
"Uh… it's no one," Leaf said.
For the first time she frowned — a frown she hadn't even shown after learning that Ash had formed a harem behind her back.
"No one? Why don't you tell them who you were, Ash?" Gary said with a grin.
It seemed he had hit a sore spot with Leaf.
"Fine… I'll tell you…" I nodded.
Everyone was looking at me with such expectant eyes that I started to doubt if I could refuse.
"It all started on one of those many days during the camp…" I began to explain.
{Note: Same as with Leaf — I'll narrate this story. Imagine Ash is the one telling it if you prefer.}
It all started on one of those many days. Ash was quite a mischievous boy and his interest in Pokémon surpassed that of the others, so he often separated from the group to observe Pokémon on his own. Sometimes even Leaf lost sight of him. That day was one of those times. Professor Oak was doing a small excursion along the first route, observing the Pokémon that lived there and explaining curiosities about them. Ash took the opportunity to slip away from the group while everyone was listening attentively to the Professor.
Without anyone noticing, Ash ventured deeper into the route, marveling at the Pokémon in the area until he saw a huge tree and had a wonderful idea. If he climbed the tree, wouldn't he get a better view of all the Pokémon? Just thinking about it excited Ash, and he immediately climbed the tree. But as he did, he heard crying coming from the base of the tree. Curious, Ash looked down and saw a little girl sitting at the base of the tree. A little girl with brown hair who was sitting alone, crying as if she had no comfort.
Seeing her like that, Ash decided to comfort her without thinking twice.
"Is something wrong?" Ash asked.
When she heard that voice, the girl startled and looked up. Her small blue eyes, flooded with tears, looked at the boy who had just spoken to her.
"I… I got lost and don't know how to get back," the girl said.
Then she started crying again. Seeing this, Ash climbed down from the tree and stood in front of her.
"Don't worry, I'll help you," Ash said with a smile.
"Will you really help me?" the girl asked.
"Of course. Even if it doesn't look like it, I know this place like the back of my hand, so I can definitely help you. Just tell me where you got lost and where you last saw your parents. I just need you to tell me if you saw anything that can help me find them," young Ash said.
"No, I didn't get separated from my parents," the girl denied.
"You didn't? Then who did you get separated from?" young Ash asked.
"I… I'm one of the girls from the camp. I got separated from the group by accident. I stayed watching some Pidgey and when I realized it, everyone was gone. I tried to find them but couldn't, and I ended up here," the girl explained.
"From the camp? What a coincidence, I'm there too! But that's strange, I never saw you there," young Ash said.
"It's just that I… have very little presence and besides, no one wants to play with me. I haven't even made any friends since I arrived," the girl said with tears in her eyes.
"That can't be! How is it possible that such a cute girl like you doesn't have friends?" young Ash said.
"C-cute! Cute me? I-I'm not cute at all," the girl said, embarrassed.
Other than her mother and father, no one had ever called her cute. Even at her school she had no friends. She was always isolated, alone, and friendless. In fact, people even used to pick on her, and the worst part was she didn't know why. She wasn't a very talkative girl, but a shy one who never bothered anyone.
"Nonsense. You're very cute and anyone who doesn't see it is blind," young Ash denied.
Young Ash said these words innocently, without realizing that those simple words had reached the heart of that little girl.
"T-thank you," the girl said, blushing.
"You're welcome… Also, you said you don't have friends. Is that true?" Ash asked.
Young Ash couldn't imagine how a girl like her could have no friends.
"Not a single one… not even where I live," the girl nodded sadly.
"Well, that ends now, because from this moment on we're friends!" young Ash said.
Then he extended his hand and took the little girl's, who immediately blushed.
"Me, your friend? Are you sure?" the young girl asked curiously.
"Of course! Now we're friends!" young Ash nodded.
The girl got excited. No one had ever wanted to be her friend before. It was the first time someone wanted to, and those words touched her soul.
"By the way, my name is Ash. What's your name? Now that we're friends we should know each other's names," young Ash said.
The girl lifted her gaze and with those beautiful blue eyes and a smile she rarely showed in her life, she answered with delight.
"My name is Serena. Nice to meet you, Ash," Serena said with incredible happiness.