Chapter 1: A Surprise Reunion

2017 had been a great year for Ash. He'd me lots of great people during his time in Alola, and fought lots of memorable battles along the way. To top it off, he won the Alola League. It was a dream come true, or so he thought.

Now, he was on a flight back to Kanto. From there, he would celebrate with all of his friends from over the years on a cruise ship chartered specifically for the occasion. Misty, Brock, Professor Oak, May, Max, and everyone else would all be there.

Ash gazed out of his airplane window at the sunset lined ocean before him, reminiscing on his past journeys. Pikachu was fast asleep on the seat next to him. "What next? Maybe I should find another Pokemon League in a new region.", he thought. It was the obvious thing to do, but something about the idea seemed empty- as if it had already been accomplished.

Ash closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "Maybe I need something new in my life", he thought. Before he knew it, he dozing off and deep in sleep.

Fast forward 12 hours

After a several hours in transit, Ash finally reached the harbor where the cruise was scheduled to set sail. Unable to locate any of his friends, he walked to a nearby bench that overlooked the ocean. He sat down for a moment, and began thinking again about the things that he thought about on the airplane. "Maybe I should just settle down, and teach a Pokemon class at the University", Ash said with a sigh.

At that moment, a loudspeaker announced "The time is now 3:30pm. The ship will begin boarding in 30 minutes".

"Looks like we've got a while. Might as well go shopping a bit before we head out to sea, what do you think Pikachu?", Ash asked.

"Pika pi", Pikachu chirped in agreement.

"Ok, I'll race you to the PokeMart then", Ash said while quickly grabbing his backpack.

With that, Pikachu darted off before Ash could even begin running. Pikachu stopped for a moment and looked back, as if to wait for his trainer. Ash quickly caught up and the two began running side by side toward the PokeMart, and within 5 minutes they had nearly reached the sliding automatic doors at the front of the store. "Let's go!" Ash shouted, while running straight at the door which started to open as he approached them. Just as he was about to step inside, a girl stepped out. Ash screeched to a halt, almost running into the girl.

"Woah. I'm so sorry miss-", Ash said, breathing hard. He bent down while putting his hands on his knees due to exhaustion as he had just ran nearly one mile.

"Ash?", the girl said.

Ash looked up.

"Serena?", he said.

"Ash!", Serena cried with joy, opened her arms wide as if to prepare for a hug.

"Serena!", he said while returning the hug.

"I've missed you so much Ash. You need to tell me all the details right away. Let's go sit down at that table over there", Serena said while pointing to a table under an umbrella.

"Sure. I missed you so much too Serena", he replied as he sat down at the table.

It had been a year since they last saw each other. Serena's hair had grown long again, and she looked as beautiful as ever. Serena sat down across from him and paused for a moment, then reached behind her head to tie her hair back as the coastal winds started to pick up. Ash watched as she gracefully held her hair in place while slipping a clip over it.

"My gosh. She's matured so much and become so beautiful now. I can't believe I actually kissed that", Ash thought, losing himself in his thoughts.

"Ash? Ash!", said Serena, waving her hand as if to catch Ash's attention.

"Wha-What? I'm listening.", Ash replied.

"Okay good. So, Mr. Pokemon Master. You've got it all now, huh. Does the Pokemon Master have a girlfriend?", Serena asked.

"Uh, no no no. Why do you ask?", Ash stuttered.

"Just wondering", Serena winked, letting out a small smile.

"So, what's new with you, Serena?", Ash asked.

"Well. Since you asked, I…"

At that moment, Ash seemed to lose track of the concentration again. He was fascinated with Serena's sapphire-colored eyes and the way the world just seemed better with her in it.

"How did I not realize how beautiful she is before now?", Ash pondered.

Serena continued to tell her story, oblivious to the fact that Ash was no longer listening. Another 20 minutes passed, and out of nowhere, a tanned, dark haired male interrupted them. It was Brock.

"Hi everybody! You two ready to head out on high seas?", Brock chirped.

"Uh… Yeah… Let's go", Ash responded.

"Ash… is there something wrong?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, is something the matter Ash? I've never seen you like this before", Brock chimed in.

"I'm fine, guys. Let's just go.", Ash retorted.

Brock looked at Ash, then at Serena, then back at Ash, then smiled. He then grabbed Ash by the hand and said "Yeah let's go. I've got a lot to tell you about. I think i know what your problem is by the way. We'll talk about it later..."