A few words of background before we begin. This is meant to directly follow the XYZ ending just a few episodes before the end essentially slotting in during "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life", directly after Serena's phone call with Pilemo. What that means is Ash never releases Greninja or returns Goodra to its home.

Serena walked out of the phone stalls and back towards Clement and Bonnie's home. She wasn't sure how to feel, going out on a performance journey was what she knew she had to do but that also meant going a different direction than Ash. She knew he wanted to start anew, discover new lands and new pokemon.

"Hey Serena" Bonnie said as Serena entered the house. "You look sad, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine just thinking about the future" Ash and Clement came into the room and when she looked at Ash her heart sank. "Hey Ash, could I talk to you"

Ash smiled and said "Sure what's on your mind"

"Maybe we could go for a walk"

"Okay" Serena led Ash out the door and into the night.

"Wonder what that's about" said Clement with some confusion

Exasperated Bonnie look at her brother "You really are clueless sometimes"

Ash and Serena walked out into Lumiose City, even after dark the while city was illuminated. The damage from Team Flare was starting to subside, there was plenty of construction, fixing roofs and side-walks that were damaged but on the whole the city was looking beautiful as ever.

As they walked past a small café "So what did you want to talk about"

"Well I have been thinking all about my future how I can become a better performer, and I was thinking about going on a performance journey of my own to the Hoenn Region. There is so much I want to learn about preforming and there I could try out Pokémon contests".

"That sounds like a great idea", Ash pet Pikachu and smiled "Hoenn that really takes me back".

"You think so?"

"Of course, going new places and trying new things is incredible and the Hoenn region is really cool".

"The thing is I am excited but there is also something else"

"What is that"

"You"

"Me?"

"Ash, I have enjoyed travelling around with you so much and earlier when you said that I could keep travelling with you that was what I wanted. But you taught me to follow my dream and go wherever it takes me and Hoenn is where I should go"

"Serena, you will be fine, you are strong and talented, nothing is going to hold you back if you want to do something"

"Oh Ash", Serena could feel her face blushing as she moved closer and kissed him. Ash was surprised but kissed her back for a moment. Serena then panicked and backed away. "well looks like it is getting late maybe we should go back" Serena didn't say another word.

When she woke up Serena felt strange, "did that really happen" she thought. It wouldn't have been the first time she had dreamed about kissing Ash but something told her that this time it was real. Suddenly the panic set in "Ahhh, I kissed Ash. I kissed him and just walked away, didn't say anything, AHHHH" Serena didn't know what she was going to do. She had made her decision about travelling to Hoenn and hoped walking with Ash would make her feel better about it. Of course, Ash had made her feel better but that just reminded her how much she didn't want to leave him and now there was this kiss. Serena decided she would go down stairs and see how she felt when she saw him. As she got downstairs Ash and Clement were sitting at the table watching something on TV.

"Come one come all and face the greatest battling challenge you have ever seen", a voice came out of the TV. A man with red hear in a Black and Red Cape was standing next to blue haired main in teal and white shirt and a woman in black pans with a black coat. The women said, "We are pleased to announce a special tournament in the Hoenn region, open to anyone who has earned at least 16 badges. This will not be your run of the mill regional tournament, this year we are looking for trainers from all over the world to come and take part in this historic event" The blue haired man then added "If you think you have what it takes, come to Evergrand city and register from the Pokémon World Cup"

"That was Cynthia, Lance, and Wallace", Ash said looking at the TV in amazement "there of the strongest trainers in the world, though I guess Wallace is no longer the champion now that Steven is"

"are you going to compete, I though you said you wanted to start over" said Clement

"Starting over can wait. I have to get in to that event, there are going to be lots of strong trainers and I am going to win it" Ash clenched his fist and felt a surge of excitement.

"So, wait does that mean you are going to the Hoenn region?" Serena was starting to blush she felt like she had come to terms with leaving Ash, but suddenly she had hope.

"Yea, looks like it is time to go back to Hoenn" Ash looked at Pikachu, "It's been a while hasn't buddy"

"Oh, right you already travelled around Hoenn once", said Clement

"yup, it was the first time I ever started fresh. It would seem both of us are heading to Hoenn then. You know we can continue to travel together if you want" Ash looked at Serena and saw how much she was blushing

"Wait, you are going to Hoenn Serena?" Asked Bonnie

"umm…I'm not, Well I was thinking about trying to learn about other forms of performance and Pilermo suggested I look, wait you mean that Ash?"

"Of course, I said you were welcome to travel with me".

Serena's heart began to pound, she knew that she desperately wanted to continue travelling with Ash, but what would it mean? When she kissed, him she did it thinking that this was the end and she just wanted to do it before it was too late. Now what would it mean. She would hope that they were together but then how would that work.

"when did it say the tournament began?"

"3 weeks in Evergrand city"

"Ok so we should look into travelling to the Hoenn Region"

"I was thinking about going back to pallet town first, I need to look at the pokemon that I have at Professor Oak's and I should probably say hello to my mom"

"So, the kanto region then, let me look at flights"

After looking a bit Serena found flights to Kanto Serena found them two seats that would take them to Viridian City, Ash informed her that it wasn't a far walk from there to Pallet Town and they would figure out how to get to the Hoenn Region later. Serena was extremely nervous about travelling to Ash's home but she thought she had some time to figure out exactly what was going on. Traveling with Ash was something she was used to and hopefully that would help clear her head.

The four made their way to the Lumios airport. Ash looked out over the streets and for a moment it hit him that he was leaving Kalos. Ash had travelled all over the world by now but there was something unique about this region. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it but the culture of Kalos wasn't something he had experienced before and he knew that he wouldn't be getting it outside of this place. Just the smells coming out of all the cafes and bakeries would be nowhere to be found as soon as he got on that plane. Going home always brought on a strange feeling for Ash, it, it was the end of one adventure but of course the beginning of another. Sure, he wanted to get home and see his mom and he would always be excited about seeing his Pokémon back at Professor Oaks. But Ash was obviously most captivated by this new challenge that was ahead of him"

"Ash would never admit it but his loss to Alain hurt him harder that he let on. The business with Lysander and Team Flare pulled him away from it but now that he had time to think, this was the first time he had really tasted victory in a regional tournament. There had been some good results and he was proud of his accomplishments but the Kalos league was h0is real opportunity to pull it off and he had been so close. A part of him was really glad that this new tournament was starting soon without the usual badge requirements. Ash liked travelling a region, collecting badges normally but this time he wanted right back into the action and luckily, he was getting just that.

The group made it to the airport and entered. Clement had talked about the improvements he was planning for his gym. Bonnie on the other hand had not said a word the entire walk, she just looked down at her bag. As they approached the gate Serena said "Look Ash this is our terminal"

"Wait does this mean we are saying goodbye, I don't want you two to leave" Bonnie said looking at her brother sadly

"Bonnie, Ash and Serena need to move on with their journeys, we need to support them"

"It's ok Cement", Serena put her hand on Bonnie's shoulder "Bonnie I know that it is sad to say goodbye but we will still each other, you know I won't be away from Kalos forever and we can still talk on the phone"

"Don't worry Bonnie, goodbye isn't permanent, and one day when you start your journey you can come and visit me, and when you do we will have a battle", added Ash

"You mean it?"

"100%" Ash clenched his fist into the air

Clement looked at Serena "Serena I am going to miss having you here, you were such a big help taking care of Bonnie on the road and you showed me how to chase your dream and preserve through difficult times".

"Aww, thank you Clement, I am going to miss you too"

Clement turned to face Ash "Ash, I want to thank you for all this time. Travelling with you has made me into a better gym leader. I see how important it is to have the right attitude and play to my Pokémon's strengths not just what would make the most sense on a computer. One day I want you to return to the Lumios Gym and we will have another battle, by that time I will have gotten even stronger"

"You can count on it Clement"

With that Ash and Serena said their goodbye and made their way through the terminal and onto the plane. The flight was pleasant enough, Ash did most of the talking, stories about his home and his travels through Kanto and Jhoto. Serena had planned to use this time to discuss their relationship but she never found the right moment. She could tell how excited Ash was to be starting this new quest and she liked listening to his adventures, but it did mean that there was no time for what she wanted to talk about.

They reached Viridian City after a few hours and departed the airport.

"Oh, wow Viridian City it has been such a long time", Ash said taking a big breath.

Serena looked around and she immediately could see the difference between here and Kalos. It wasn't one thing in particular but the fashion wasn't there, there was a lack of bread wafting from bakeries. She didn't dislike it per say, but it would certainly take some getting used to. They walked through the city and saw what looked like a gym.

Ash looked up, "The viridian city gym, that was certainly a story"

"What happened there"

"It was right when I first got Pikachu" Ash rubbed Pikachu on the head, "Thanks to team rocket Pikachu's electric attack sorta destroyed the gym, it took a while to be rebuilt".

"So, team rocket was bothering you even back then"

"Yea, they've basically been around since I started, the really crazy thing was for a while this gym was controlled by Team Rocket"

"How did Team Rocket have a gym"

"Well, it wasn't like that officially but it turned out the gym leader was head of Team Rocket, but from what I've heard there is a new gym leader.

They stopped in at the Pokemon Center to rest for a bit and then set out towards Pallet Town. It was roughly a day's journey from Viridian to Pallet but as they were tired from the flight they decided to stop and camp off Route 1. Ash wanted to get home first thing in the morning so getting as much of the travel done was important. This presented a problem for Serena, back in Kalos when they camped the 4 of them mostly needed 2 tents. Serena had slept with Bonnie while Ash's and Clement had shared. It was never something they had talked about, just what seemed the most natural. Now however, things were a bit different. They had no need for a second tent for space.

They still hadn't exactly talked about where they stood and the possibilities scared her a little. Serena wasn't exactly ready for that but she didn't know what Ash would be expecting.

"I have an idea", said Ash looking up at the sky, "It's a beautiful night why don't we just sleep under the stars"

Serena blushed a little and replied "Are you just trying to get out of pitching a tent without Clement's help" Clement had of course handled most of the tents when they traveled.

"Well he always made it look so easy and now I'm not even sure I remember what to do", Ash said with a chuckle

"Ok, let's just sleep here then"

The two got ready for bed, Serena had been worried about the sleeping situation and she didn't realize how tired she as after all the travel and she fell asleep quickly after lying down.