I had been talking to her for what felt like hours when, for the first time that day, she didn't say a word. I wasn't that upset that I was being tuned out (I was probably boring her anyway talking about the Holo Caster functions), but when I looked to see what had seized Serena's attention, I found myself observing a cute, fluttery pink dress in a boutique window.

After a few seconds, Serena realized that she hadn't been listening. "Oops! Sorry, Trevor," she said, turning to face me with her dark, apologetic eyes. "I was just a little distracted. What were you saying?"

I hesitated. "...It wasn't that important."

"Aw, man, I made you mad..."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "No, not at all! I just, uh... I rambled for so long, I'm not even sure what it was I was talking about..."

"What a relief," she murmured as she exhaled. "I would've hated to see you upset."

Not a moment later, our friends had finally found their way in Lumiose City and ran up to us. Serena was supposed to meet Shauna to go see the Video Studio, while I was going to meet up with Calem and Tierno later. We waved and went on our way.

When I had responded to her, I was telling the truth... sort of. I was starting to forget what I had been previously talking about because I was determined to somehow get that dress for her.

I was sitting at a table by the Galette Stand with Calem and Tierno while I tried to plan my endeavor in my head. When would I sneak off to the boutique? Would I have enough money? Costs weren't my main concern, but if I were to tell these guys that I wanted to buy Serena a dress, they would never let me hear the end of it.

"Trevor, where ARE you?" Tierno shouted, as if I was far away.

I stared at him, obviously not understanding the question. "I'm right here."

"No no, I mean, where's your mind?" he asked again, this time, getting a little too close for comfort. He stared me down and jabbed his finger onto my forehead. "You've been lost in thought this ENTIRE TIME," he added, poking my forehead as he emphasized the last two words. I only muttered a weak "sorry," not wanting to accidentally reveal my plans.

Something clicked. "You're planning something."

"No! Nothing!"

"Yup! You're totally thinking about evolving Pikachu!"

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Your Pikachu, right? There's a store here that sells the evolution stones, including a Thunderstone." Tierno placed a finger on his chin, nodding as he explained his theory. "With that, you could evolve Pikachu, no problem! Though, it IS an irreversible action, which would, of course, make sense that you'd put this much thought into it." He looked at me with a face that screamed, I just cracked the case.

"You hit the hammer on the nail," I responded, secretly grateful that he came up with an answer before I could.

"Personally, I think you should go for it," he said with a thumbs-up.

I thought about it for a second. "You know what? You're right. I'll go ahead and buy th- I mean, evolve Pikachu!"

Tierno gave me a hardy "That's the spirit!" as I leapt from my chair, leaving my payment on the table as I took off. I followed my gut and ignored Tierno's well-intentioned exclamation that the store was in the opposite direction.

Living in Lumiose all my life, it wasn't that hard to find this boutique again. To make sure, I peeked in the window and was relieved to see the same pink dress still being modeled by a mannequin. Confidence a-brimming, I stepped into the establishment.

That confidence vanished once the stylish customers glared at me. I was met by a store clerk who approached me in an unusually fast manner, considering she was at the back corner of the store.

"Excuse me... sir," she said with a hint of disdain, "I'm afraid you're not stylish enough to shop here."

For a crucial second, I froze. She grabbed my arm to 'show me the door', but I retorted. "Wait, why would you reject a paying customer because they're not stylish enough?"

"Unstylish people give this boutique a bad name!" she angrily snapped, right before literally tossing me outside. "Now, geeeeeeeettttt LOST!" Please keep in mind I made no exaggeration there. I was literally tossed out of the boutique and landed flat on my face. It was clear to me that if I was to successfully do this, I wouldn't be able to keep my plan a secret. With this in mind, I knew exactly who to consult: my older sister.

I found my way home ten minutes after the boutique debacle and was not surprised to see my sister open the door for me with a confused look.

"Did you get into a fight or something?" she asked with a tone not holding concern, but rather, curiosity. I shook my head as I walked into my familiar house and flopped onto the sofa. "No really, I can't imagine you fighting anyone, but if you did-"

"I didn't get into a fight!" She didn't seem to appreciate getting cut off. "I got tossed out of the Lumiose Boutique. Like, literally tossed out."

"Oh yeah, they do that," she added. "What were you doing in there? Those guys are way too stuck up."

"I was... going to get a present for a friend," I answered nervously.

"Uh-huh. It's for... what's her name... Serena, yeah?"

I nodded. What I was about to say next was something that I had to force the words to sound. "Sis, will you help me be stylish?"

Her eyes lit up like I hadn't seen in a long time. This was one of those times where she was able to deal with me being a little brother rather than a sister; she never had anyone to dress up or make-over once she got older, and I suppose my plea for fashion advice would suffice.

Without any warning, the ace trainer hefted me off the sofa. "We're going to the boutique in Anistar City first thing tomorrow. After you bathe," she continued as she frantically brushed dirt off my sleeves, "you're getting a haircut. That coconut head of yours needs to be whipped into shape!"


I felt like a new person as I stepped into the intimidating boutique in Lumiose once again. After cutting my hair so much that I could see my jawbone and the shopping spree in Anistar City that felt like pulling teeth, if they were to kick me out again, I wouldn't know what I would do.

Those in the store glanced at me wearing what my sister called 'Anistar's best', then went back to their business. So far, so good. The same store clerk who tossed me out the day before walked up to me and smiled, hopefully not recognizing me. "Welcome. Is there anything I could help you with?"

"Oh, yes please," I began, "I'd like to get-" I stopped. The mannequin that was donning the pink dress from yesterday had been changed into a completely different dress. The clerk smiled patiently as I started to fret. "...uh, wasn't there a pink dress on display yesterday?"

"You have a keen eye, sir," she responded. "If you were hoping to buy it, I'm afraid I cannot help you. We change the mannequins daily, but we did have some left... you came a little too late, though, because a stylish young woman came here this morning and bought the last one."

"...oh." This 'plan' wasn't working out.

"I'm sorry, sir, but if you'd like, we have plenty more suggestions if you would like to buy a gift for someone."


It wasn't long before I went back to wearing my regular clothes. Even with the acceptance of the boutique, I didn't feel stylish at all. I couldn't even get the dress for Serena. I doubted that any of my friends were in Lumiose anymore, so I sat alone eating a Galette.

That's when I saw Serena. She approached me and didn't bother to sit down with me. Something was definitely different about her today... and it was that she was wearing the same dress I failed to get for her.

"Trevor~!" she beamed. "Look at me!" Giddier than usual, she did a twirl to display her fluttering dress.

"You look amazing, Serena." Something about Serena's happiness was incredibly contagious, so I couldn't brood for long. However, there was still a question on my mind. "Sere-"

"WOAH!" she interrupted. "Did you get your hair cut, Trevor?" I blushed and nodded, wrongly assuming that no one would've noticed. She laughed. "It looks great on you."

"Serena," I started again, "where did you get that dress?"

"Oh, this old thing?" she joked. "I got it at the Lumiose Boutique just yesterday. I picked up the last one, can you believe it?" She laughed again, and I smiled, relieved that her admired dress was finally hers. "Remember when I kinda tuned you out the other day? I saw it in the window, and I just couldn't stop staring at it... so I went and bought it!"

"That's great." I picked up my backpack from the ground and dug through the contents. She looked incredibly curious about what I was doing. "Actually, I... well, I noticed the dress too, but I guess you beat me to it." Serena raised her eyebrows as I took a boutique bag from the backpack. Standing up, I handed her the bag, saying, "I ended up buying you this instead."

"Trevor, you didn't have to-"

"I thought that you didn't get the dress, so I didn't want you to be upset." I motioned for her to open her gift. Serena stuck a hand into the bag, and her face brightened when took out a flower hairpin.

"I love it!" She took off her hat to put away in her bag and pinned the flower into her hair. It didn't match her dress at all (I was not aware she had the dress to wear it with), but it didn't faze her at all. "I'll be sure to wear it very often." I grinned.

Then, she gave me a strange look. "So... how did you even get into the boutique? Aren't they really stuck up? They say they only let in the most stylish people." She then realized what she said. "Oh, not to say you're not stylish..."

"I know I'm not stylish, Serena. I was literally tossed out the first time I walked in, so I..." I still wasn't used to saying the words, apparently, "...asked my sister to help me be stylish. Hence the haircut, and some new clothes in my wardrobe."

"You went through all that trouble for me?"

I jolted. "I-It was no trouble at all! Really, I-"

Without any warning, Serena leaned towards me and kissed my forehead. She chuckled after standing up straight again, faced by a red-faced stuttering, unstylish boy. "Thank you so much."