Hey there! Took a long break after finishing my last story, and decided to try a different game for my second story. In light of the new Pokémon remakes coming out just a couple weeks ago, I decided to do a Pokémon story!

Ever since the Pokémon XY series began, I've been partial to Serena in terms of shipping. That doesn't mean I see them getting together in the anime, it's just the easiest one for me to see. They complement each other so well, but I won't go too in detail here because that's one of the focuses of the story (but of course not the only one!).

A few things to keep in mind:

1. I debated having Ash use his old Pokémon. I do find it kind of odd that he just leaves them with Professor Oak, but then I realized that if he had six old Pokémon, there'd be no point in catching any of the new Pokémon in the new region. I feel like Ash is still journeying; he's catching new Pokémon in each region, and when he finally wants to consolidate and form his final team, he'll have to go back and decide, but for now, I'm actually preferring him starting anew with each region.

2. I will be borrowing freely from both the anime and the game. For example, the intro is mostly taken from the anime, with my own input and slight changes at certain places. This will change as the story progresses, of course; I'll be taking more and more of my own liberties, but borrowing from them does help to effectively establish the characters (if you read my first story, you'll see that I did the same thing; as the story progresses, there is more and more deviation from the plot).

So, yeah. Hope you guys enjoy this! I know this part isn't as original, but it will as I take it in my own direction. Promise!


"Crew, prepare for descent." The captain's voice floated out from the plane's speakers, and the cabin crew began dutifully taking their places.

A raven haired boy, with a yellow mouse Pokemon on his lap, sat and glanced eagerly out the window at the new region he was entering.

"Ash, you and Pikachu must be over your heads with excitement right now!" The boy's companion, an older woman with her own Pokemon next to her, exclaimed as she observed the boy.

"Of course, Alexa! We're starting a new adventure, in a new region, with new Pokemon...what else can I be other than excited?" He turned back, and the woman noticed a glint in his brown eyes that made her smile.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu echoed the sentiment, eliciting another smile from Alexa. They quickly fastened their seat belts around both them and the Pokemon on their laps, preparing for landing. Ash's eyes quickly darted back to the window as he took in the lush, new scenery that became ever more vibrant as the plane descended.

"You ready, Pikachu?"

"Pik-a!"


"Hey..where is everybody?" Her voice warbled out and around the forest, but no one responded. "Anybody?" Suddenly, a bush began rustling next to her, startling her and making her take a step back. While backpedaling, she tripped over a rock, crumpling to the ground and yelping in agony.

"Ow!" She looked down at her legs One of her knees had been scraped and gored against the ground, and blood was flowing down that leg. Her ankle was also hurting, much more than she ever imagined, and so she started to cry. The rustling began again, and she tried to stand up to run away, but her ankle hurt too much to stand. All she could do was sit there and cry, and hope nothing dangerous came out of the bush…

"Wag!" A cute, little blue tadpole leapt out of the bush, and she screamed out again. The Pokemon looked at her, before hopping away on its two little legs, leaving Serena alone in the forest.

She tried to get up again, but couldn't. Her knee was still bleeding profusely, and she began to sob in earnest.

"I didn't even want to come to this camp," She choked between sobs. "Mommy!"

She turned her head as she heard footsteps coming towards her. They were getting louder, and louder. Shuddering, she closed her eyes, feeling the hot tears as they ran down her face.

"Hello?" Was that...a boy's voice? "What are you doing here?" She opened her eyes to see not a Pokemon, but another child. He had black hair and brown eyes, and wore a shirt that was yellow and red, the colors split by a diagonal line across his chest, and dark blue overalls.

"H-huh?" She was still in shock, partly from the ordeal before, and also from seeing another person here.

"I'm Ash. What about you? What's wrong?" He evidently could tell that she was sobbing. She was sobbing so much that she couldn't even answer; she just pointed to her leg, which was now caked in hardening blood, and her ankle, which was burning in pain.

His eyes followed where she pointed, and opened wide.

"Are you alright? Here, this should help." He pulled out a handkerchief from his overalls pocket. It was light blue, with a bar of darker blue forming the borders, and had a Poke ball at each corner. He tied it around her injured knee, tightly. "There! It's a good luck charm." Ash waved his hands foolishly above the now wrapped knee. "Pain, pain, go away!" He finished with a flourish, and Serena tried to get up.

"Ow! It still hurts," She whimpered, as fresh tears formed on her face from the pain of the effort.

"Never give up till the end!" The boy said. He held out his hand to her. She reached hers out halfway, tentatively, and he reached the rest of the distance, grabbing her hand and pulling her up to her feet. She couldn't stand, not on her ankle, so she fell forwards right when she got up; luckily, she fell right into the boy, who caught her and held her steady, his arms around her shoulders. "See? You stood!" He grinned sheepishly. "That's why you don't give up till the end! Anyways, let's go back to the camp!" He slowly led her back, their hands still holding, as they walked through a clearing…

"SERENA! IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP!" Serena's mother's voice rang out from downstairs, interrupting her from her dream.

"Ugh." She turned on her bed, using the pillow to cover her ears. Closing her eyes, she tried to get back to sleep.

Maybe I'll dream about him again...


Once the plane had landed, Ash began running for the exit right when it landed. He wanted to battle a Gym, first thing off the plane, but Alexa said that her sister was in Santalune City, not Lumiose City, where they had landed, but she would give her a call to see if she'd be ready to take on Ash when he arrived.

Ash tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Alexa to return from the phone booth.

"You ready to go, Pikachu?" He held up a fist, and a tiny paw returned the bump.

"Pika! Pika chuuu," Pikachu's cheeks fizzled and shocked, a sign that it was ready to battle.

"Yeah! We'll beat this Gym Leader-" Ash stopped as he heard footsteps approaching, and sprang to his feet when he saw that it was Alexa.

"Alexa! Are we going to Santalune City now? I wanna battle your sister, the Gym Leader!"

Alexa avoided his eyes as she replied.

"Um..actually, about your Gym battle...my sister said she's away from the Gym right now-"

"She's away? When is she going to be back?"

"Once my sister goes on a trip...she's usually not back for a while. BUT," she interjected before Ash could continue bemoaning his fate, "she said it should be quick this time, and she should be back before the week is over!"

"Oh." Ash still couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice, and Alexa noticed.

"I'm so sorry Ash..I know you were looking forward to your first Gym Battle here so much."

"No, it's alright, Alexa. It's not your fault. While I'm waiting, I might as well get some training in, though!" He had barely finished his sentence, and yet he was already out the door.

Alexa ran to follow. "Wait! You don't know where to train yet! You've never been here before, Ash!" Another thought struck her as she ran after the boy. "WAIT, Professor Oak told you to go meet Professor Sycamore, too! ASH! WAIT FOR ME!"


"Fletchling, can you go wake up Serena, please?" A brown-haired woman, slicing lettuce and tomatoes for a breakfast sandwich, spoke to the little red bird Pokemon. "Of course, I've already tried...but, obviously, once is never enough."

Fletchling nodded at her exasperated tone, and flew upstairs. She watched it go before returning to her cutting.

At the top of the stairs, one of the rooms' doors was open just a crack, and Fletchling managed to squeeze its tiny body through into Serena's room. It flew over to the bed, where blankets covered a person, leaving only honey-colored hair, with a pink bow in it. Fletchling landed on the blankets, hopping up and down, but the girl wouldn't wake up, so it decided to use the one method it knew would work.

It threw its head back, and then thrust its beak forward at the girl's cheek.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The girl screamed, jumping up out of her covers and revealing her pink pajamas. "Fletchling! I've told you a million times not to wake me up like that!"

"Fletch?" The bird tilted its head, as if telling Serena, "Well, you weren't going to wake up, anyways…"

She glared at it for a few seconds, before finally relenting. The little bird was just too cute for her to stay mad at, anyways, and she knew it had meant well.

"And I was having the nicest dream, too.."

"Serena! Time for morning training!" Her mother's voice echoed through the staircase from downstairs.

"Right…" Serena answered, decidedly unenthusiastically, before burying her face back into her pillow. "Not again…" After slowly making her way out of bed, she reached for her window, turning back the curtains and opening it to let in the morning sunlight and fresh air. From her window, she could see her family's Rhyhorn, which was lying outside of its little wooden shed. "Morning, Rhyhorn!"

"Rhai!" It raised its head in response, and she smiled. "Ahhh. Hope something interesting happens," she exclaimed as she stretched.

She didn't know it yet, but life was going to get a lot more interesting, and sooner rather than later.


Alexa finally caught up to Ash, who had to wait a bit for her to catch her breath.

"Alexa, you okay?"

"Yea...I'm..fine…" She wheezed. "Just..been a while...since I ran…." She stood up, having caught her breath. "Anyways, remember, Professor Oak told you to go see Professor Sycamore before starting your journey?"

"Oh, you're right!" Ash snapped his fingers. "Okay, where's Professor Sycamore's lab?"

"It's right this way." She gestured towards the outer ring of Lumiose City, and Ash followed until they reached a large building with rows of huge glass windows. The gates outside had Poke balls sculpted on them, and a sign that read, "Sycamore Pokemon Lab".

Ash and Alexa pushed open the door, which led into a large, open hallway. It seemed to be deserted.

"Um..Professor Sycamore? Are you here?" Ash yelled out.

"Pika..?"

They heard a man yawning, and then footsteps in the corridor to the right. A tall man in a lab coat, which decidedly unruly hair slowly strolled into the hall.

"Yes, I'm Professor Sycamore." He extended his hand to shake Ash's. "Hello, Alexa. And you are..?"

"Nice to meet you, Professor! I'm Ash, from Pallet Town, and this is my partner, Pikachu!"

"Pika pika!" A little yellow paw raised up in greeting.

Professor Sycamore grinned.

"Ah, so you are Ash Ketchum. Professor Oak has quite a lot of things to say about you, you know. Anyways, as you probably guessed, I'm a Pokemon researcher working here in the Kalos-"

"GAR!" A large, blue dragon with a red belly stalked into the room. It's body was almost like a jet, aerodynamically streamlined and complete with fins on his back and the his hands.

"Wow! A Garchomp!" Ash stood up in excitement. He had a Gible back in Pallet Town with Professor Oak, and he knew that Garchomp was the fully evolved form of Gible.

"Yes. Garchomp lives here in the lab! It helps me with my research."

"What do you research, Professor?"

"Well, I research evolution. Let me show you." He led Ash towards the back of the hallway. "Alexa? Are you coming?"

"Oh, no. I have some business to attend to. I'll meet you later, Ash, to go to Santalune City?"

"Yeah! Thanks for everything, Alexa!" He waved as she retreated out the front door.

Professor Sycamore led him and Pikachu out to a backyard which was swarming with Pokemon. As Ash left, but as he did, he thought he caught a flash of something orange in the corner of his eye.

Was that someone?

"So, as I said, Ash, I research evolution. What if I told you that Pokemon could have an additional evolution, and that Garchomp helps me with that research?" Ash turned and shook off the thought; he was sure he was just seeing things, and quickly followed the Professor.

"Wait, are you saying that Garchomp...can still evolve?"

"Yes. That's my research. There have been reports of a few species of Pokemon that can evolve past their final stage..a form of evolution that has come to be referred to as 'Mega Evolution'".

"Mega Evolution?"

"Mhm. Most everything about it is a mystery..all we know is that a Key Stone is needed for the trainer, and a specific stone for each Pokemon that is able to Mega Evolve. Also, the trainer and Pokemon must have an exceptionally strong bond with their Pokemon. Oh, and, at the end of the battle, the Pokemon reverts back to its original state. It's really quite fascinating..but that's all we know about it as of now."

"Wow! So what Pokemon can Mega-" Ash was interrupted by one of the lab workers sprinting into the room.

"Professor Sycamore," she screamed. "Garchomp's gone rogue! It's destroying the lab!"

"What?" Professor Sycamore gasped in shock. "Where is it now? We can't let it get to the city...it'll destroy it in a matter of minutes!"

The lab worker pointed towards the hallway they'd just left, and Ash and the Professor hurriedly sprinted over.

There, in the middle of the room, was the same Garchomp they had just seen, except there was a red glow to its eyes; something was clearly affecting it. It was howling and writhing around, all while shooting out purple beams of energy from its mouth.

"Professor, it looks like something's hurting Garchomp!" Sycamore nodded frantically.

"Yes, but what-wait! There!" He pointed at a band that was fixed around Garchomp's neck. "That must be it!"

Just as they noticed it, however, Garchomp blew a hole in the front door, and promptly stepped out and flew into the city.

The Professor stopped in his tracks.

Screams flooded in from outside through the now-open front door.

"Oh dear."


Serena opened the fridge, reaching for a sandwich from the morning. It was dinnertime, and she was exhausted from all the Rhyhorn training she'd done for the day. Not to mention, her face and body were covered in cuts and bruises from being unceremoniously tossed from Rhyhorn's back.

"Serena! Look! Something unbelievable is happening," her mother called from the living room. Serena, already not in the best mood, snapped back.

"Oh, yeah? Well, something unbelievable has happened. To my face," she said venomously as she entered the living room, pointing to the multitude of bandages on her nose, cheeks, and chin.

"Oh? Oh." Her mother averted her gaze, pointing at the TV. Serena took a seat on the couch.

"Mom, what movie are you watching?" She saw the Garchomp on top of what looked like Prism Tower, and it seemed to be shooting random Hyper Beams.

"This isn't a movie, dear. This is actually-" Her voice was interrupted by the newscaster's.

"We're live from Lumiose City, where a Garchomp has gone rogue and appears to be rampaging the Prism Tower! And-wait, is that? Yes! There's a boy and a Pikachu, and they appear to be talking to the Garchomp and trying to calm it down. More updates if we can get closer!" Her voice clicked out, leaving just the visual of the Garchomp, and now the boy came into view, along with his Pokemon.

Serena's eyes widened.

Could it be?


Ash slowly approached the Garchomp. He didn't know how high up they were...just that he had to climb a lot of ladder rungs to get up here.

"Hey! Garchomp!" The dragon turned its head, eyes still blazing red. "I know you're in pain! But I need you to let me help you!"

"GARR!" The Pokemon let out an umbral roar, before unleashing another Hyper Beam, directly at Ash. On the thin precipice, there wasn't anywhere he could dodge…

But then a blue blur leapt from behind him and threw a fluffy white ball that seemed to block the Hyper Beam. The purple laser exploded on contact with the fluffy substance, and smoke encircled them.

"Pika?!" Pikachu yelled out for its trainer and friend. "PIKA!" It scampered to the center of the crater formed by the blast, where Ash lay, dizzy but unhurt.

"I'm fine, Pikachu, but what was-" He paused as he saw another small Pokemon lying next to him. It looked like a blue frog, except that it had a ring of the same fluffy white substance that Ash had seen around its neck. It was also very badly hurt, having taken the brunt of the Hyper Beam attack. "You…" Ash was at a loss for words. "Thank you. I'll get you down safely, I promise." He picked up the Pokemon in one hand, and Pikachu leapt back onto his shoulder. In the confusion, Garchomp had flown up to the very top of Prism Tower.

Ash sighed. More climbing…

He ran back to the ladder, and carefully hoisted the frog Pokemon and Pikachu onto his shoulders, before resuming his ascent. He climbed slowly, gingerly, making sure that the frog Pokemon could stay on his shoulder without falling.

Finally, he reached the top.

"Garchomp! Please, we're here to help!" He carefully laid the frog onto the ground near the wall, as far from the ledge as possible.

"GARRRR!"


Serena and her mother were still in the same spot, riveted by what was unfolding on the news. They watched as the boy somehow survived the Hyper Beam, and now he was face to face with the Garchomp. The boy's back was turned to the cameras, so Serena had no way to sate her burgeoning curiosity as to who exactly the boy was.

Another purple beam emitted from the Garchomp, heading straight for the injured Froakie that was resting near the side. Her eyes widened; that would surely knock Froakie off the ledge…

But the boy threw himself in front of the blast, returning the favor that the Froakie had given him just moments ago. The rubble and smoke cleared, and the cameras showed the boy huddling over the Froakie, shielding it with his body. He managed to slowly get up, and Serena and her mother both sighed in relief. They continued watching as the boy got back on his feet, and slowly approached the Garchomp. He seemed to be talking to it as he walked, and for once, the dragon seemed to be listening.

"What is he doing...if he gets hit by another Hyper Beam at such close range…" Her mother shuddered at the thought of what could happen.

The boy was only a few paces away from the Garchomp, still appearing to talk to it. Suddenly, he sprang up and onto the Garchomp, bringing out another gasp from Serena and her mother. He went straight for the band around its neck, and quickly pulled it apart and tossed it off the building. The Garchomp instantly fell to its knees, exhausted by its ordeal, and the boy slid off the Garchomp, careful to land firmly on the ledge. The cameras began to zoom in on the boy and the Garchomp, and Serena began to watch a bit more attentively.

There was something about him that seemed..familiar.

The cameras turned to show Pikachu running toward its trainer, before turning its focus back to the trainer. But just before it could, Pikachu lost its footing on the ledge.

The ledge, weakened by the incessant Hyper Beams, crumbled beneath the mouse's feet, throwing rocks and Pokemon down from the top of Prism Tower.

"PIKAAAAA!"

The cameras instantly zoomed out once more. The trainer heard his Pokemon's cries and reacted instantly.

"PIKACHU!" Without a second thought, he sprinted at where Pikachu had fallen…

And leapt straight off after it?

Serena couldn't gasp; all she could do was put a hand over her mouth in shock. The camera followed them as they fell, and they were almost at the bottom.

She covered her eyes, unable to watch the inevitable.

Eyes still closed, she felt her mother tapping her.

"Serena, look!"

She opened her eyes just a bit, still afraid of what she might be seeing. But after peeking at the screen, she realized everything was okay. She saw the Garchomp, now with the trainer on its back. Apparently, it had recovered and dived down quickly enough to save the boy and his Pikachu and the Froakie. It was called the Mach Pokemon for a reason, after all.

Serena finally relaxed, leaning back on the couch.

"What a relief! I'm glad he's okay." Her thoughts ran back to her initial sighting, and her eyes went back to the TV. Were they finally going to show his face?

The cameras zoomed in, and Serena almost fell off the sofa in shock.

"That..that boy! It can't be!"

But it was him.


"Ash! Pikachu! You're safe!" Professor Sycamore, who had been watching from the base of Prism Tower, ran over the the two. "And you have..ah, so that's where Froakie went."

"Froakie?" Ash looked at the injured frog on his shoulder.

"Yes. It's one of the starter Pokemon normally given to trainers when they begin their journey here in Kalos, much like Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle in Kanto."

"I see." Ash began to wobble as the adrenaline wore off and his body remembered the aches and bruises all over.

"Ah! You must be tired from the ordeal. Here, stay in the lab tonight; I know there's not much left of it..but at least its somewhere to stay for the night."


After a good night's sleep, Alexa came by in the morning to lead Ash and Pikachu to Santalune City. Professor Sycamore walked them to the door, where they said their goodbyes.

"Well, Ash, I hope you and Pikachu slept well."

"We did, Professor! Slept like a log." Ash said gratefully. The Professor reached into his coat pocket and took out a familiar red device.

"I guess your real journey into Kalos begins now, doesn't it, Ash? If so, you'll need this. It's a Kalos Pokedex; I'm sure there are plenty of new Pokemon here for you to find, and that should help you out." He held it out to Ash, who accepted it.

"Thanks a lot, Prof-" A white fluffball flew across and hit Ash in the face. "Whuh?" Ash said as he fell over. He looked in the direction the fluffball came from, and saw the same frog Pokemon.

Froakie, he reminded himself.

"Froakie?" He quickly moved over and knelt in front of the Pokemon. "What's up?" The Froakie had a Poke Ball with him, and nudged it towards Ash in response.

"Frohh."

Professor Sycamore's voice came from behind as he caught up.

"I believe it wants to go with you."

"Huh. So, Froakie, you wanna come with us?" He asked the Pokemon. In response, the Pokemon grabbed the Poke Ball, jumped onto Ash's lap, and pushed the button on the capsule. Froakie was sucked into the ball in a flash of red light. It shook once, twice, three times, then sparkled to confirm the capture.

"YEAH! I GOT A FROAKIE!" Ash yelled out, eliciting chuckles from Alexa and Sycamore.

"Ash, if you keep celebrating and posing every Pokemon you catch, you're never going to make it to Santalune City, you know."

"Oh! Right! My Gym Battle! C'mon, Pikachu, Alexa, let's go!" He began sprinting down the street, yelling over his shoulder, "Thanks for everything, Professor Sycamore!"

Alexa shook her head once more. Ash's exuberance was really something else, she thought as her eyes followed him. Then she noticed something weird about where he was going.

"ASH! WAIT! YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!"


"You're sure you want to do this, Serena?"

"Yes, Mom. I'm sure." Serena's mind was set.

"You know, Serena, there's a chance he doesn't remember you. It was quite a few years ago that you went to this camp."

"I know, Mom. But I'm not going just for him." Her mind quickly raced for another reason. "I'm old enough to be a Pokemon trainer, to go on my own journey. If he doesn't remember me, I can still go out into the world and adventure, and meet new people and go to new places."