He couldn't fall asleep. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable, as he was in his own bed, in his home. It wasn't that he was anxious or excited. Well, he was excited. Within the week he would be heading to Alola, a new place with new Pokemon, new friends, and new adventure. But, this never kept him up before. In fact that wasn't even what he was thinking about. For how dense he was, he knew there was something here he couldn't ignore.

Ash Ketchum was kissed by Serena Yvonne.

Now, this wasn't the first time he was kissed by a girl. Melody and Bianca (or Latias) both kissed him before, but this was different. They both pecked him on the cheek, and there was nothing else other than tradition (Melody) or thankfulness (Bianca/Latias) behind them. But Serena's was different. She kissed him on the lips. It wasn't a peck either, but an actually kiss. To him, it was totally unexpected. Even Bonnie and Clemont didn't know what it was about. And there was something else, something different about it. There was an emotion unknown to Ash behind the kiss. It was like when he reached the Finals. That feeling of finally accomplishing something he had always wanted to achieve. It was like she wanted to do that for a long time.

He knew he wasn't falling asleep anytime soon, so he got up out of bed and went down stairs. Delia had gone to bed an hour ago, so he knew she would be of no help to him. So, he went to the video phone and called the person he knew could help him. He dialed in the number and waited.

"Hello, Brock Harrison speaking." His old friend appeared on the screen, looking more or less wide awake. Sinnoh was several hours behind Kanto. "Oh, hey Ash. It's a bit late to be calling. What's up?"

Ash breathed out. "I have no idea. But, I think you can help."

"Help with what?" Concern crossed Brock's face.

"I haven't been able to sleep. And I think it's about Serena."

Brock furrowed his brow. "Serena, Serena, Serena," he said thinking, "Oh, that new girl you're travelling with. What about her?"

"Well, we actually just parted ways. She going off to Hoenn to work more on her dream."

"And…"

"Well, it was when she was on the escalator, going down to meet her flight. We said goodbye and then…"

"And then what?" Brock starting to really wonder where he was going.

"She ran back up the escalator and she kissed me." Ash blushed.

"Okay, so what? You've been kissed before." Brock said, much to his chagrin.

"It was different this time. It was like time slowed as she was doing it. She kind of just, sparkled."

This puzzled the older Pokemon Doctor in-training. Ash was, by far, the most dense kid in the world. A girl could literally spell out her feelings to him and he would still need explaining. He saw this with Misty, who gave him hint after hint.

But this girl, this Serena, was able to get through to him, whether he knew it or not. Ash had sent him a multitude of letters during Unova and Kalos journey. They mostly just gave updates on his captures, the people he battled, and Team Rocket, but his Kalos letters also included an entire section, usually a paragraph or two, just on her. He knew exactly what was going on. Ash, whether he knew it or not, actually fell for the honey-blonde girl. And he also knew it went the other way too. Her dressing up as him for a battle showed this in plain view. Brock was tempted to tell him exactly what was keeping him up, but he realized that he would need to figure it out himself to actually believe it.

"Still there?" Ash asked, making sure they hadn't disconnected.

"Ash, how did you feel around Serena?" Brock asked.

"Uh, sorry, but why?"

"Just humor me."

Ash stopped to think. "Well, I feel… I don't know how I feel. It's different than what I felt towards you or Mom or anybody. I feel, safe, like I can tell her whatever I need; my doubts, my insecurities, everything. And she actually has stopped me from making rash decisions that I would have made before I met her."

"Well, she sounds like a really good friend…" Brock said, trying to egg him on.

"Yeah, but, it's more than that. I feel like she always there, waiting there to support me. She was always there after I lost and even helped me get through my depression. And I kind of feel like I'm abandoning her by not going with her to Hoenn. I really want to be there to support her. I want to be there to help her get back up."

"Wow, she must mean a lot to you for you to second guess yourself about your next step. Now, just as a comparison, how do you feel about the other girls you've traveled with, let's say… Misty for example." He was pretty certain at this point of his feelings, but he needed to make sure.

"Umm, well, I kind of see Misty like a sister in a way. She was the first friend I made when I left Pallet Town and I guess she was there to stop me from doing anything stupid. But, I don't think I ever got to really know her." He said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she would always put up a facade that she wasn't scared or that she was always confident. I really don't know if what I know is the "real" Misty."

"And you feel that Serena doesn't?"

Ash stopped for a moment. "I don't think she does. She is just so, I don't know, real. Misty was always falsely confident, while Serena always felt like she actually was caring and kind. She just has that thing about her, that one thing that just makes her… Serena. You know what I am talking about?"

Brock smiled. He knew exactly how Ash felt; about finding someone just so real that there isn't a word to describe them. "Yep, I absolutely do."

Ash stretched back and yawned. "Wow, I feel much better now. Thanks Brock, it's great to have someone like you to talk to."

"I'm glad to help. Now, shouldn't you be going to bed?" Brock jested.

Ash chuckled a little. "Yeah, I guess so. Good night Brock."

"Night Ash." Brock shook his head as the call ended. He would really need to figure it out soon.

Ash silently crept up to his bed and fell into it. As he closed his eyes, he could only think of one thing, "I miss you."

Unknown to our hero, Delia overheard the entire conversation. And it made her so happy that Ash finally found someone. She would need to pry for more details on this Serena, but, she sounded like a good girl.

Author's Notes
Hi guys! Look, I'm not dead! While not part of my Champions storyline, I wanted to do a little something for the XYZ Finale. Speaking of the Finale, *walk away now if you haven't seen it yet. last warning, okay your fault now* I have two main things on the Finale I would like to touch on quickly. First, OH MY ARCEUS SHE DID IT! Serena kissed Ash! And, given where he was standing, it looks like she kissed him on the lips. And did you see Clemont's and Bonnie's faces! It was priceless. But on to the second thing. Why did they not show the kiss? It's not like they haven't shown Ash getting kissed in the past. Both times were in movies, but that is irreverent. Seriously, why?

Guest - Wes and Rui having anything to do with anything? Yes please!

Honestly, unless I can find a legitimate reason for them to appear, they will mostly be talked about but not actually seen.

Pizzalover - Hey Aura Guardian! I know you've been pretty busy, but OMG. Have you seen episode 46 of the anime? I won't give any spoilers if someone else is reading this who hasn't seen the episode yet, but man, I've rematches that ending scene at least a dozen times, and every time I get such deep feels! It was so beautiful, yet so frustrating! The only thing I'm not satisfied with is the reasoning behind all of it. It makes no sense!

Anyway, I hope you can get to making another chapter soon in your own time!

#Pizza

Thanks for understanding. It took me forever to get my WiFi back up and running. And I completely agree with your opinion of Ep. 46. It was beautiful, but complete BS. At least we have Ash-Greninja in Sun And Moon! And Ep. 47 gives me high hopes!

Well, that was all. I hope you enjoyed and I should have an actual update in the next week, probably Saturday or Sunday. Ciao!