Here's chapter 3 of my story. The reason the first 2 chapters were uploaded so quickly was due to me completing both of them before uploading.
"It should be over that hill"
After what may have been for Serena one of the best rests she had in a while, both Ash and Serena had packed up in the early morning and continued towards Santalune city. They had got up especially early due to Ash wanting to make sure they got there by midday at best, so they could have enough time plan their next move. Ash, though not having mentioned it, wanted to take a rest at the Pokemon centre and then continue on to the hall of fame on the very same day. He hadn't brought it up yet, because he wasn't sure if they would get there with a good enough time left in the day, and if they would have enough energy to continue on. But as luck would have it they managed to make it to the top of the hill overlooking Santalune city just as it hit 12 o'clock.
"We made it" Serena said sighing in exhaustion.
It had been a long time since they had been in Santalune city. For Serena it contained a lot of memories she held dear to herself. It was the place she had reunited with Ash, were she saw first hand his impressive battling skills. And above all it was were he had asked her if she wanted to travel with him, Clemont and Bonnie. And now they were back near the end of their journey. It somewhat seemed to be fitting for the one place they had to go through to get to their destination. But at the same time it reminded Serena of how her travels with Ash were nearing the end. That thought made her feel sad.
"Come on let's go" Ash said as they both began to run down the path leading to the city entrance.
The city itself seemed to be pretty unchanged from the last time they had been there. Though Serena did notice there were alot more people around.
"I wonder why there are so many people around" Ash commented.
Serena also noticed a lot of people putting up decorations, and setting up stools.
"It looks like an event is taking place here" she responded.
They soon entered the town square, were they continued to see people setting up lights and other things. However their thoughts were quickly interrupted by a voice coming up behind them.
"Ash, long time no see".
Both Ash and Serena turned around to see the Santalune City gym leader Viola walking towards them holding her camera.
"Hey Viola, I should have known we'd run into you" Ash said as he walked up to Viola.
"Hold on just a second" Viola said as she quickly turned to the left and snapped a picture of a trainer and Pokemon hanging up some of the lights.
She turned back to Ash and Serena, who had joined Ash's side.
"Sorry, but I couldn't pass up a perfect shot".
"It's okay" Serena said, "it's nice to see you again".
"Nice to see you both as well, oh and Ash congratulations for Winning the Kalos League, I can only assume your heading for the hall of fame".
"Right, we were planning on taking route 22 to get there, but we had to come through Santalune City first".
"I see" Viola said smiling.
She then asked "Are you planning on staying here for the festival".
"Well" Ash said scratching the back of his head. "We didn't know there was a festival going on until we got here, and we haven't yet decided what we're doing next" Ash said as he turned to Serena.
"By the way what is the festival about" Serena asked Viola. "I didn't think Santalune City celebrated any festivals".
"Well it was kind of decided to do at the last minute" Viola said looking over the crowds of people walking through the streets. "It's celebrating the end of the team flare conflict and the rebuilding of Lumiose city".
She turned back to Ash and Serena. "The town officials thought a festival would be the perfect way to lift everyone's spirits after what happened".
Viola looked like she was about to continue but her watched buzzed.
"Oh sorry you two but I need to get back to the gym, it was nice seeing you both again".
She turned to leave but before she did she said "I hope you two stay for the festival, everyone here is pulling out all the stops for it".
She then dashed off in the direction of the gym, leaving Ash, Serena and Pikachu in the square. They probably would have looked around the town a little longer but Ash's stomach abruptly rumbled.
"Sorry" Ash said embarrassed.
"We should probably go to the Pokemon centre and get some food" Serena said giggling.
Ash laughed "Yeah we probably should". And with that they both headed to the Pokemon Center.
After entering the Pokemon centre and figuring out what rooms were available, unfortunately there were only 2 bedrooms for one left at both at opposite ends of the centre. There Pokemon had been healed thanks to Nurse Joy, and the three went to get something to eat.
"So what are we going to do now" Serena brought up while eating.
"Honestly, I was hoping we could continue traveling to the hall after we've finished" Ash said. He then took a bite out of the burger he was eating. "But I don't think I have the energy to make it there today". Serena wanted to get to the hall but also really wanted to see the festival that night. And she had to agree on the fact that neither of them had the energy to keep traveling for the rest of the day.
"There are only two rooms available, so if we're going to stay we should probably get them now before they're gone" Serena said.
"I can go get them now" Ash said getting up. "And after that I was hoping to get some training done".
"Ok, and then we can go and look around the festival in the evening" Serena said. She then realized that she had asked Ash to do something for her that might affect how long he has to train. She was about to bring this up but Ash said "It's a plan" and went to get the rooms.
After they had sorted out rooms, Serena went up to her room, while Ash and Pikachu went to the outdoor battlefield.
"Greninja I chose you" said Ash releasing Greninja from it's Pokeball alongside Pikachu.
"Alright you two, i've been thinking more about a strategy to use against Diantha" Ash told the two Pokemon who were listen intently.
"A way we can prepare to battle Gardevoirs speed is for you Pikachu, to battle against Greninja". Pikachu and Greninja both looked a little confused.
"The way this will help" Ash continued, "is the fact Greninja is just as fast as Gardevoir, so battling against Greninja, who will be going at top speed, will allow us to adapt more to Gardevoirs speed and Diantha's battle style. Both Greninja and Pikachu nodded in approval, and they both positioned themselves on the battlefield.
"Ok Greninja, the only thing i need you to worry about is to keep dodging the incoming attacks" Ash called across the field. Greninja in response took a defensive stance.
"Alright Pikachu, use quick attack"!
Pikachu dashed at full speed towards Greninja, but right before the move made contact, Greninja completely dodged the move by moving to the right. This caused Pikachu to dash right past Greninja.
Pikachu quickly altered direction and jumped backwards, turned around in mid air in to get the best view of Greninja.
"Greninja use water shuriken"!
Greninja quickly formed a large water shuriken and threw it at Pikachu.
"Pikachu deflect with Iron tail"!
Pikachu quickly used Iron tail in air, deflecting the shuriken, leaving Greninja not enough time to counter with another attack.
"Use iron tail again"!
Pikachu tail glowed silver and landed a direct hit on Greninja. The impact sent Greninja flying back, before recovering it's defensive stance.
Ash thought he might have found a brief opening for an attack he could use against Gardevoir. When Pikachu deflected the water shuriken, it gave them an opening to attack Gardevoir and hopefully not have enough time to dodge or counter attack.
They continued with this battle technique and Ash was pretty confident that this could work against Diantha. After attempting this several times, Ash called out Goodra.
"Goodra, since you can use Bide I was hoping to test if it could be used effectively against some of Gardevoir's stronger moves" Ash told Goodra. Ash took note that one of the strongest moves he can use against against Goodra to test Bide, would be Greninja's most powerful water Shuriken, but was hesitant to try this as he wasn't sure if the move could end up hurting Goodra.
"I have an idea, but im worried that it could cause a lot of damage" Ash spoke to Goodra.
"I don't want to attempt it if it could cause you to get hurt".
But Goodra put its hand on Ash's shoulder reassuringly. Ash though still a little concerned, decided to restrain the situation by not using Ash Greninja form to limit the power of the attack. Goodra took position on the battlefield opposite Greninja.
"Okay Greninja, I need you to use Water shuriken at full power". Ash turned to Goodra. "I need you to use Bide to resist the attacks. Both nodded and Goodra took to the defense while Greninja prepared to attack.
"Greninja use Water shuriken"!
Greninja generated a massive Water Shuriken throwing it at Goodra. Goodra used Bide to resist the attack. As the smoke cleared, Goodra was still standing though it had taken a large amount of damage. Ash wasn't sure if Goodra could take another attack. He was about to call Greninja off, but Goodra gave Ash a look of reassurance and to continue. Ash called to Greninja to use another Water shuriken. Greninja threw another Shuriken at Goodra. Yet again Goodra was able to resist and Bide now having fully powered up, blasted a bright beam of the same power as the two water shurikens at Greninja. The was a blinding blast of heat and smoke. Greninja jumped out of the smoke showing he was still standing though definitely had taken a heavy amount of damage.
Ash knew this was a step in the right direction, but knew he would have to try a more effective method against Gardevoir.
During this time, Serena had returned to the main part of the Pokemon centre to make a call. She dialed the number for the Lumiose Gym. After a few seconds Clemont came into view on the monitor.
"Hi Serena, where are you calling from" Clemont said.
Serena responded "From the Santalune Pokemon center, we just made it here this morning, how are things going at the gym".
Clemont expression brightened slightly. "He've been able to restore most of the power to the gym, in about a few more hours we should have the entire power back and fully running, then we should be able to get going to the hall".
"How are you going to get to the hall in time" Serena asked.
"Professor Sycamore just got back to his lab and he's offered to give us a lift to the hall" Clemont responded. "How are things going with you and Ash".
"Ash is training right now" Serena said, "We've also decided to stay in Santalune City for the night as there's a festival going on here".
"Sounds good, so i guess we'll see you at the Hall of Fame tomorrow".
"Yes we will" Serena responded. They both said goodbye and hung up.
Serena was about to head outside to watch Ash train, but then a thought crossed her mind. She instead dialed her home. Yet again she waited until her Mom picked up.
"Serena, I didn't expect to hear from you" her Mom said in surprise.
"I'm sorry for not calling sooner" Serena said. "Mom there's something I need to tell you".
Serena told her about how she had decided to travel to Hoenn to continue to develop her skills as a performer. Her Mom listened as she continued to explain how she needed to find her path to becoming not only a better performer but a better person.
When she was finished Grace responded "Hoenn's quite far away, are you sure you'll be fine on your own".
"Mom you don't need to worry about me, i'm more than capable of taking care of myself" Serena said.
"I'm sorry, but your my little girl, i'm always going to worry about you".
"Mom"
"It's okay Serena, I'm just happy that you were able to make a decision that was best for you". There was brief pause before Grace asked.
"So are you currently traveling with Ash and the others".
Serena responded "Only with Ash at the moment, we're traveling to the Kalos League hall of fame, Clemont and Bonnie had to stay behind at the gym but they're going to meet us up there".
"So you and Ash are traveling together" Grace asked quizzically.
"Yes" Serena responded. "We're currently in Santalune City, we've decided to stay for the festival that starts this evening".
Grace smirked slightly. "Is this a date by any chance".
Serena turned bright red. "It's not a date Mom" Serena said embarrassedly.
Grace laughed. "I'm only joking, anyway I need to go and feed Rhyhorn, promise you'll call me again soon".
"I will, bye Mom, I love you".
"Love you too sweetie".
Serena hung up the phone sighing to herself. She was just glad that her Mom was happy for her and respected her decision. She turned her head to look out the exit to the battlefield. She could see Ash training with all his Pokemon. She smiled to herself. She rarely got to go or do anything with Ash alone. She knew she would be leaving soon but decided the best thing to do was to make the most of the time she had left with him. Serena then exited the Pokemon center to watch Ash train.
The rest of the day mainly consisted of Ash training while Serena was not only planning out her next Performance routine but also trying to find the best time she can get a plane to Hoenn. The best one she could get would be in two days, the day after Ash's battle with Diantha. She eventually settled with this date.
It wasn't long before the sun started setting as the city lights began to turn on, illuminating the city. From the Pokemon center people could hear the sound of music and alot of bustle, which was to be expected with there being a lot of people attending the festival.
Serena was in her room brushing her hair, preparing to leave with Ash. After all the stress of figuring out what plane to take in two days, she just wanted to let all her worries go and enjoy herself. She also checked the ribbon she had on the front of her outfit, to make sure it was clean and as best looking it could be. In a way she not only considered it a sign of her friendship with Ash but a good luck charm. Serena was pondering over this when she heard a knock at her door.
"Coming" she said as she went to the door opening it to see Ash waiting for her.
"Ready to go" he said.
"Yeah, lets go" Serena responded, but paused when she realised Pikachu wasn't with Ash.
"Where's Pikachu" she asked.
Ash responded "Well with all the training we did today Pikachu was pretty worn out, so he's resting".
"Oh" Serena said before asking "Well if you want to stay with Pikachu I can go to the festival while you stay here".
"No Pikachu will be fine on his own, I asked him and he said I should go".
"Okay then, let's get going" Serena responded smiling.
And with that Ash and Serena left the Pokemon center and entered the slightly busy streets. The lights and decorations gave the place a very magical feel to it. Music from the town square echoed through the streets. Both of them walked around exploring the various stands that were up. A Lot of them were selling food, but there were stands selling some interesting antiques such as evolution stones and even some selling fossils. A bit odd to be selling fossils at a festival Serena thought to herself. Of course Serena was drawn to a lot of the outside shops selling outfits and other accessories, which Ash tried to look interested in. In fact Serena went to try some one of these outfits on. The main one was a red dress not to similar from the dress she wore at the Performers dance party. She came back from the changing room were Ash was waiting.
"So Ash, what do think" she asked twirling.
"Yeah It looks good on you Serena" Ash responded.
"Really" Serena said smiling. "Thank you".
After Serena had got changed back into her normal clothes, the two headed to one of the town squares were to their surprise they saw people gathered around a stage were two Pokemon Performers were doing a routine. Serena watched in awe at the gracefulness of the Pokemon as well as the performers. She knew she had a lot more things to learn to continue to improve her skills.
"There really good" Ash spoke up. He then turned to Serena.
"But to be honest, I prefer your performances".
Serena blushed. It wasn't uncommon for Ash to complement her, even if it was clearly as a friend, but everytime he did it always made her feel a happiness she usually did when she was around Ash.
They both continued to look around at the various things that had been set up. Ash even found a stand selling rare Pokeballs. Though he couldn't afford them it was amusing to Serena to see Ash get excited over something. They even found a stand selling macarons, which luckily they could afford. They bought them and eventually came to the centre of the city were the music was clearly coming from. A small orchestra was stationed at one end of the square, while the rest of the square was made up of several people slow dancing. It was obvious that the people dancing were just people who came to the festival. There were a few tables with chairs at the ends of the square, so Serena and Ash sat down there and watched while they were finishing there macarons. Serena then realised something.
"Hey Ash" she piped up. "I forgot to tell you, I was able to contact Clemont and Bonnie, they said the power at the Lumiose Gym has been fixed, and thanks to Professor Sycamore they should be at the hall of fame by the time we get there".
Ash's face brightened. "That's great, everyone will be there".
Serena then asked "Did you come up with a strategy".
Ash smiled proudly.
"It took me a while, but thanks to Pikachu and the others we now have a full proof plan" Ash said.
"You don't mind me asking what that plan is" Serena asked giggling slightly.
"You'll see during the match" Ash responded. Serena could hear so much determination in his voice that she couldn't not believe him.
"I also wanted to thank you for helping me out" Ash told Serena.
Serena smiled. "Ash, I didn't do anything, you came up with the strategy yourself".
"Of course you did Serena, thanks to your advice i'm now looking at this match from the right angle" Ash responded.
"While I'm still a little nervous, the importance of this match and what you told me encouraged me to go into this match with more determination then any match i've ever faced".
Ash paused before saying "So I owe you one".
"Thank you Ash" Serena said softly. "That means alot to me".
"I mean it, you've helped me through a lot of my battles, like my battle with Korrina and Wolfric, as well as when we battled against Miette and her partner at the dance party.
Serena continued to blush. She was about to respond when the orchestra composer announced they would be playing one last song, which when the music started playing was a slow song. Serena looked out at all the people dancing and her expression turned sad.
"Is something wrong" Ash asked.
"I was just thinking about how much this square feels like the dance party we all attended".
Ash went silent again then out of nowhere said "Hey out of all the people who were with us at the dance party, we didn't dance together".
Serena turned bright red again. "No I guess we didn't" she said trying to hide the hint of embarrassment in her voice.
"So since I owe you one, why don't we have a dance now" Ash said getting out of his chair.
Serena felt her face go so red she thought steam would come out her ears. Was Ash really asking her for a dance. She just stared at Ash with a blank look on her face.
"Come on it'll be fun" Ash said cheerfully holding out his hand for Serena.
Serena though still stunned, slowly reached out and took Ash's hand lifting her out of her chair and leading her to the dance floor.
Once there Serena in her slightly stunned state wasn't sure what to do next. Ash, who clearly didn't know what to do said "Sorry, I'm not that good of a dancer". Serena, who finally came out of her blank state laughed and said "I know, don't worry I'll lead". Serena put her hands on Ash's shoulders and Ash instintinctily put his hands on Serena's waist.
"Alright, now we just sway" She said smiling while blushing madly. The two then gradually started swaying to the music.
Serena couldn't believe what was happening. She was actually dancing with Ash. She finally realized this was the closest she had ever been with Ash. She knew she had a happy expression on her face, but in that moment with her heart beating in her chest and looking directly into Ash's eyes, she wanted to tell him everything, about how she felt about him and how much she was going to miss him. But no matter how perfect the moment seemed to her she just couldn't find the courage to tell him the truth. But she was able to pull herself into a warm embrace. Ash was a little shocked by this but he didn't pull away. They continued to dance until the song came to an end. The song had only been playing for a few minutes but for Serena it felt like an eternity. But eventually they pulled away from each other as everyone started to leave the dance floor.
By this time it was pretty late so the two walked back to the Pokemon center in relative silence. Once they got there they went to there rooms. With the positioning of the rooms they had to walk by Serena's room first. They both stopped outside her room were they went silent again. Then Serena spoke up.
"Thank you for the dance" she said smiling.
Ash scratched his nose laughing slightly. "It's okay, anything for a friend".
Serena smiled and entered her room while Ash left for his.
Once in her room Serena flopped onto her bed. She began going over everything that had happened that day and she came to a realization. She was certain she wanted to go to Hoenn to continue developing her skills as a performer, but after that dance with Ash, she now wasn't sure if she was making the right decision.
