Hey everyone, for those of you who have read some of my stories and/or followed me...I'm back! I was suddenly inspired to write this story, which I've been meaning to write for a long time. Let me know what you think of it in the reviews, it really helps to motivate me to write. Hope you enjoy, and thanks in advance for reading! :)

Prologue

This story is about the relationship between Ash and Serena, from the day they were six years old until the end of Team Flare's plan of mass destruction. But there's a twist. Before I get into that, let's talk about Team Rocket for a minute.

Ah, Jessie, James, and Meowth...there's so much to say about the infamous trio of troublemakers commonly known and referred to as Team Rocket. Though their motto states otherwise, Team Rocket's primary goal in life is to obtain (via theft) Ash Ketchum's exceptional Pikachu for their demanding and intimidating boss, Giovanni. Loyal to their leader and persistent in their cause, Team Rocket followed Ash and his various companions across the globe, venturing close behind Ash and sometimes even a few steps ahead of him, all for the sole purpose of stealing Pikachu. Alas, each attempt amounted to nothing whatsoever, yet the trio never seemed to be too discouraged, and certainly never considered conceding defeat. But, you already know this.

What if, at some point, Team Rocket had given up on their mission? What if they had finally accepted the fact that Ash and his companions would always come out on top, and that the good in this world would always trump Team Rocket's evil plans? What if they had finally admitted to Ash and themselves that they would never, ever succeed in capturing Pikachu?

Perhaps, after their countless failures in Unova, that Jessie, James, and Meowth finally quit and never traveled to the Kalos region. That would've been great news for Ash, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena, right? Well, it depends on how you look at it, but I think the general consensus is that no, it would have been very unfortunate. Why? Because Ash and Serena would have never met...at least, not in the same way. Without Team Rocket, there would not have been an angry Garchomp rampaging through Lumiose City. Without the angry Garchomp, there would have been no live news broadcast featuring a young boy leaping off of Prism Tower to save his Pikachu. And without the news broadcast...how would Serena have known that Ash was in Kalos?

This is how it would've all happened…

Chapter One

~ A Refreshing Start ~

It's a warm, sunny afternoon in the beautiful Kalos region. The Lumiose City Airport is particularly busy around this time of year, as the Unova League and the Pokemon World Tournament have both come to a close for this year. Recent studies on a mysterious new variant of evolution have also attracted thousands of trainers of different strength and experience levels to the region of Kalos, where dreams and adventures begin.

A young trainer and his partner Pokemon Pikachu look out the window of their plane, which is just minutes from landing in the bright and bustling Lumiose City. Flocks of Fletchling scatter through the skies, filling the air with their cheerful chattering. On occasion, if one is lucky enough, a Talonflame can be seen soaring overhead at an incredible, almost unmatched speed.

"You ready, Pikachu?" Ash Ketchum asked his companion.

"Pika, pika pi!" replied Pikachu, clearly just as excited as his trainer. The two make an inseparable pair, and their powerful bond has proven to be quite exceptional countless times on the battlefield. Now, the two of them are beginning their next adventure.

After what felt like hours for Ash, the wheels of the plane finally touched the ground. Ash and Pikachu were practically running off the plane as the doors opened to the fresh open air.

"Heyyyyy Kalos Region! Ash from Pallet Town is finally here!" the enthusiastic trainer shouted to no one in particular.

"Pikachaaaa!" Pikachu chimed in.

Alexa smiled. "What's with all the yelling?" she asked, her Helioptile perched on her shoulder as usual.

Ash turned to her with a determined smile on his face. "Just saying hiya to the Kalos region. And as soon as I walk down these steps, we'll finally be here!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly, a pair of Spritzee flew overhead and caught Ash's attention. Well, part of it...the other part was attempting to walk down the stairs, and Ash ended up stumbling and rolling down to the bottom. The loud "thud" of his landing attracted a bit of a crowd, but this fall was nothing for Ash, who simply got up with the same amount of enthusiasm as before.

As fast as his legs could carry him, Ash started sprinting towards the city when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a mysterious Pokemon.

It was tall, slender, and fast. It stood in the midst of the sunlight, appearing like a shadow. Ash stared in awe. He had seen plenty of Pokemon before, and while this Pokemon looked somewhat similar to ones he had seen, he figured that this Pokemon was different somehow. Then, as fast as it had appeared, the Pokemon dashed away from sight.

He met up with Alexa at the nearest Pokemon Center to tell her about what he saw. She shared in his excitement, but he was disappointed to learn that her sister's gym was not in Lumiose City, but in Santalune. He immediately perked up, however, when she told him of the Electric-type gym in Lumiose, located in the heart of the city known as Prism Tower. Shortly afterward, he was off again.

"Boy oh boy, I'm so psyched!" he said as he walked through the doors of Prism Tower. A computer screen over a doorway automatically switched on, as if in response to Ash's words. An electronic voice spoke: "Welcome to the Lumiose Gym."

"My name's Ash, and I've come all the way from the Kanto region! I want a gym battle, please," Ash said, his heart pounding with excitement.

"How many gym badges do you have?" inquired the voice.

"Badges? Well, this is my first gym battle here, so I haven't won any yet," Ash replied.

Shocked, the voice replied, "You have none?! Not a single gym badge?! In order to challenge the Lumiose Gym, you must have accumulated at least four gym badges."

Ash look puzzled, but before he could really say anything, he felt his entire body being zapped with electricity. "Ahhhhhhhh!" he shouted, and before he knew it he and Pikachu were dropped into a trap door underneath them that threw them out of the tower...about four stories high from the ground.

A local boy and his younger sister turned to see Ash and Pikachu falling toward the ground, and they knew they had to do something. "I'll catch the boy!" Clemont, the boy, shouted. His sister, Bonnie, shouted, "I'll get Pikachu!"

Luckily, Clemont's Clemontic Gear was able to provide a large, inflatable surface to cushion Ash's fall. Bonnie caught Pikachu soon thereafter.

Ash thanked them for saving him, and remarked that the Lumiose Gym was weird, and explained that it was the first gym he'd been to. The three of them introduced themselves, with Bonnie marveling at Pikachu the entire time.

"Bonnie's a little bit too young to have any Pokemon yet, so she's really impressed when she meets someone who does," Clemont explained. Ash asked about Clemont's Pokemon, which then led to a battle.

"All right, Bunnelby, come on out and let's have a battle!" Clemont exclaimed as he released his Pokemon from its capsule. A gray-and-brown bunny with tall ears appeared with a cheerful attitude.

"Lots of luck to both teams!" Bonnie shouted excitedly, marking the start of the battle as the referee.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu leaped into the air and released its famous Thunderbolt attack straight towards Bunnelby.

Clemont remained calm. "Now, Bunnelby, use your ears to stir up the sand!"

Bunnelby did as commanded, and the quick upwelling of sand completely negated Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

The battle continued fiercely, both trainers and Pokemon gaining more respect for the other as they learned more about each other with each move, with each command. At one point, Bunnelby caught Pikachu's tail in its ears, but Pikachu responded with a powerful Electro Ball.

"Pikachu! Finish it with a Quick Attack!" Ash commanded, determined to take advantage of Pikachu's superior speed.

Bunnelby tried to avoid it, but Pikachu was too fast. It slammed straight into Bunnelby, sending it flying backwards and slamming onto the ground, knocked out.

Bonnie waited a few seconds before announcing, "Bunnelby is unable to battle! Pikachu is the winner!"

"Awesome! Great job, Pikachu!" Ash cheered, and the two partners celebrated their first victory in Kalos.

Clemont recalled Bunnelby back into its Pokeball. "You did well, Bunnelby. Take a good rest," he said. Then he nodded towards Ash. "That was a good battle...you and Pikachu are a really strong combination!"

As the two trainers talked about their battle, a small, blue Pokemon observed them from a tree branch, hidden from view. It had seen the whole battle, and was duly impressed. It followed Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie, who all headed to the Pokemon Center to heal their tired Pokemon.