Chapter 1: The Airplane

The plane takes a turn and Serena grabs the paper bag in the seat pocket ahead of her, breathing in and out. Ash and Pikachu laugh. "Serena, the plane is going to land - we're safe!"

Serena looks at him in surprise. "Are you sure about that? It's really icy in Sinnoh!"

Ash sighs. "Jubilife City does not have any snow in this season! We're going to be fine!"

"Why did we even come?" Serena retorts. "You've already travelled Sinnoh!"

Ash looks down at Pikachu. Pikachu scampers to the aisle and grabs a brochure about Sinnoh from his bag, bringing it back to Ash. Ash opens up the brochure. "A new Pokemon competition began, and new Pokemon have migrated here."

Serena crosses her arms indignantly. "What's in it for me?"

Ash turns the page. "Look - Pokemon Contests and Pokemon Stylists! And Poffins! You like those things!" He gestures to pictures of coordinators battling and then pauses, sighing.

Serena grins. "Oh! Look at that Buneary's accessory! Wow!" She points at an image when a Buneary's head pops up from the seat in front of them.

"Buneary? What are you looking at?" A voice asks from the seat when the plane takes a dip, causing Buneary to fall over. After a few moments, the voice continues. "See, Buneary? No need to worry! The plane is still in the air."

Ash perks up. Serena looks at him in confusion. "What?"

Ash gets up and looks over the seat. "Dawn!"

Dawn turns around and kneels on the seat. "Ash! You're on this plane! I thought that voice sounded familiar."

Ash nods and gestures to Serena. "This is my friend, Serena. Serena, this is Dawn!"

Serena grins. "Hi, Dawn. Ash has told me a lot about you. It's great to finally meet you! I saw your last contest on TV. Great job in Kanto." Dawn blushes.

"Thanks, Serena. So Ash, why are you back in Sinnoh?" Dawn asks. Buneary hops on the back of the seat and greets Pikachu. She blushes and then returns to Dawn's seat, curling up into a ball.

Ash points to the brochure. "A bunch of gym leaders and gyms in Sinnoh now joined some competition thing! I came back to challenge the competition and win!"

Dawn giggles. "Ash, you don't even know what it is."

Ash's eyes widen and he turns red, rereading the pamphlet. "Really? Hmph. Well since I'm going to be in Sinnoh, might as well."

Dawn then turns to Serena. "So what do you plan to do in Sinnoh?"

Serena shrugs. "Pokemon Contests are cool. But becoming a Stylist would also be amazing. I'm not sure what I want to do here - I just decided to tag along."

"Maybe we can all travel together!" Ash offers, remembering his time with Dawn in Sinnoh before. "That would be so great!"

Their conversation continues until the plane lands, and they all hop off of it and into Jubilife City. Dawn leads the two to the Pokemon Center while Serena shivers the whole time. "It's so cold!"

Ash laughs. "I told you to pack warmly!"

Dawn giggles. "It's actually nice out, Serena." She then has an idea. "If you want to, we can go shop for some warmer clothes!"

Ash frowns, but Serena rejoices. "Sounds amazing! Let's go!"