Prologue
These events take place approximately fifteen months after the events with May back in Hoenn.
It was Ash's first day at Kalos Pokemon University. Ash rose out of bed that morning to his Flechling alarm clock. He slammed his hand down on the bird figurine to calm the clock's irritating noises. Ash yawned and stretched his arms out as far as his body would permit. "Ahhhhhh…." Still half asleep, he grabbed his PokeNAV that charges on the desk next to his university-dorm-bed. Still no message from Dawn. Ash grew a bit saddened, but this was normal. "She didn't get back to me about yesterday? It doesn't matter now. She'll probably sleep in until 2 o'clock."
At this point, Ash and Dawn had been dating for a couple months. Ash opened the PokeNAV's messaging system and sent a message to Dawn, though she had not replied to his last message. "Hey. Hope you're having a good rest. And I hope that when you wake up you'll have a good day today." Ash tossed his PokeNAV onto his bed and began to get dressed. The day was about to begin.
Ash went to breakfast at the university's eating hall, and it was there that he met Serena. Serena was a shy girl who usually had no interest in eating breakfast; however, on her first day at Kalos University, she was determined to be active, be social, and attempt to make some new friends. Such things were contrary to how Serena usually acted.
Ash was grabbing food left and right at breakfast. The university has a buffet, and there was no way Ash was missing that! Suddenly, Ash's roommate, Cilan appeared next to Ash in line at the buffet. "Hey Ash," Cilan began, "How ya doin' today, bud?"
Ash replied, "I'm alright. How about you, Cilan?"
"Oh, I can't complain. Everything is going well so far."
"Glad to hear it!" Ash said gladly. Then, a girl in red attire came up next to Cilan.
"Hey, Serena! How are you? Have you met my friend, Ash?"
Serena looked Ash up and down. "I don't think I have. Nice to meet you, Ash. I'm Serena." In that moment, Ash felt a bit off. He didn't know why, but talking to this new strange girl was just odd to him.
Ash replied, "Nice to meet you too, Serena." Then he put a bit more food on his plate and sat down at a table not too far away. A minute later, Serena came over to Ash's table and asked, "May I sit here?"
Ash was a bit reluctant at first, but he said, "Go for it." Serena sat with Ash and they got to know each other better. They laughed and had a wonderful time talking.
Serena eventually finished her food and dismissed herself. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Ash. Maybe we can hang out again sometime."
Ash was elated that he had made his first friend already (aside from his roommate, Cilan) and he sincerely replied, "Definitely!"
When Ash put up his plate, he thought to himself, "Wow. That was fast. I didn't expect to meet anyone new for quite a while. I planned to just stay in my dorm most of the semester, but if I had some friends to hang out with, that'd be great." He walked out of the dining hall, and on his way back to his dorm, Ash noticed Serena sitting on a seat made for two just outside the dining hall. Ash raised his hand to get her attention. "Hey!" he shouted. "Good to see you again."
Serena turned and smiled. "Oh, hey Ash! It's been forever, hasn't it?" She was being sarcastic to be funny.
Ash chuckled. "Hey, can I sit with ya?"
Serena looked at the empty space next to her on the swing, and she directed a nod towards Ash. He sat next to her and they talked for what seemed to be hours more. They shared interests such as battling and playing with their Pokemon. Ash finally ended the conversation by saying that he had to get back to his dorm. "I've got to go, but I'd like to see ya again."
Serena smiled at him and replied, "Yeah, see you in five minutes." They both chuckled and went their separate ways.
A couple of months had passed, and Ash and Serena had become the best of friends. However, Ash noticed a problem with all of this. From that point on, when Ash checked his PokeNAV for a message from Dawn, he thought of Serena.
