A few weeks later…

Owen was slowly making his recovery with his broken bones. Cynthia and Diantha had major concussions, but recovered in the time they were in the hospital. Everyone was gathered in Owen's hospital room chatting happily amongst one another. Red walked up to Owen "When you get better, give me a visit at the peak of Mt. Silver."

Owen smirked "Is that an invitation?"

Red returned the smirk "Think of it more as a challenge. I wanna see what you've got." Red held out his fist to Owen and Owen accepted the fist bump. Gold then chimed in "Now THAT'S a battle I've GOT to see. How about you guys?" Gold turned around and saw everyone with a look that said "I'll be waiting."

They all went back to chatting happily. Ash had the sudden urge to use the restroom. He announced his urge and made his way out of the room and towards the bathroom. Serena, chatting with Blue and Silver noticed and excused herself from the conversation. She followed Ash and noticed he was headed to the bathroom. She waited for him outside the door. When Ash got out, Serena tackle hugged him, startling him in the process. "Hey Serena." He said with a smile.

Serena smiled back. "You owe me." She said cutely. Ash looked confused. He had no idea what she was talking about. He tilted his head and waited for her to explain.

"It's been six days since we beat team rocket. So eight since I was kidnapped. So you owe me eight kisses right now." Ash turned bright red. She simply giggled and threw her arms around his neck. "S-Serena we probably shouldn't do that here, they might see us!" Ash protested. Serena grinned "I mean, they already saw us kiss, what does it matter?"

"But –"

"Oh, shut up."

With that, Serena pulled Ash into a passionate kiss. Ash accepted it and closed his eyes. They both smiled into the kiss. It seemed to last forever, but for the two of them it wasn't long enough. They pulled away after about a minute. "That's one." Serena giggled.

"What's taking Ash so long? He said he'd only go to the bathroom." Clemont wondered out loud.

That gained the attention for the entire room. Bonnie then spoke up "Hey, where's Serena?" Everyone in the room perked up and made the connection. They all rushed to the door, with the exception of Owen who couldn't walk just yet. Blue slowly opened the door. Everyone minus Owen was poking their heads out to see.

Blue ran out towards them "AAHHH YOU TWO" Upon hearing that, Serena and Ash broke apart their second kiss. She squealed and tackle hugged them. "I'm so happy for you!"

Everyone walked out of the room to congratulate them. Red and Bonnie pushed Owen out so he can see what was going on. When he saw what was happening, he looked over at Bonnie and they slyly grinned to one another and fist bumped.

Owen looked at Ash "Congratulations you two, you deserve one another."

Ash looked back at him and smiled "Thanks."

Everyone moved back into the room, leaving Ash and Serena alone again. They looked at one another and lightly kissed. It wasn't a long one, but they both smiled at one another. "That's three." Serena said with a smile.

Ash put his forehead against hers, closed his eyes and smiled. "You're the best." He opened his eyes and noticed her blushing wildly. He thought it was adorable. He was about to speak, she cut him off. "You know, it's a little unfair."

He looked at her and tried to decipher her cryptic words. "What do you mean?"

"You got to say it first. I wanted to be the one to say it first. Cause you know, I HAVE liked you longer." She said matter-o-factly.

"What are you talking about?" he inquired. She simply looked at him and smiled innocently.

"I love you, Ash."

Ash was caught off guard, he wasn't expecting that. Nonetheless, he accepted it.

"I love you too, Serena." He smiled.

They shared one last kiss before walking back to Owen's room. When Ash put his hand on the door he heard Serena "That was four." He smiled at her, and opened the door. "After you, girlfriend."

Her eyes lit up. She couldn't contain her smile. "With pleasure, boyfriend."

The new couple entered the room and chatted away. Everyone had a great time there in Owen's hospital room.

A few weeks later, Owen was released from the hospital. Everyone was outside waiting for him to take his first steps out of the hospital in weeks. He was on crutches, but he would be able to manage. They were temporary anyway. He looked over at Ash and Serena holding hands. It was Ash who spoke: "What are you gonna do now?"

"Probably go back to Alola. I have some serious training to do if I'm going to take on Red." Owen looked at Red and smirked "yeah, I accept your challenge." Red looked at Owen "I'll be waiting." Owen then looked at Serena "take good care of him, he's reckless."

Serena giggled. "Only if we can all stay in touch."

They all smiled warmly and looked at one another. Steven handed little sheets of paper to everyone "Hey, how about we all write down our numbers and address'? We can stay in touch like that!" He reached in his pocket and pulled out a pen.

They all exchanged information. When Red and Ash exchanged information they looked at their papers and stared at each other. "We're neighbors?!" They said in unison. "Professor Oak has a lot of explaining to do" Ash pouted. Red then looked at everyone.

"Champions, trainers, gym leader. As captain, I decree that once a year on this day, we meet at Ash's house in Pallet town. We'll have a great time like we did these past few weeks with one another. I think it'll be great!" He finished with a smile.

Not one protest, everyone agreed.

A few minutes of chatting later, they all went their separate ways. Owen turned around and shouted "See you all in a year!"

Steven rose his arm, signifying his goodbyes. Everyone else followed Steven's actions. This was the first time Champion's, trainer's, and gym leaders were alike. Not in battle strength or the way they raise their pokémon.

They all walked in their respective directions, each with a smile on their face.

-End-

Hey Everyone, thank you so much for reading! I really, really appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed! I'll be releasing four epilogue chapters next week. I'll be a little while in trying to decide what ship i'd like to do next, but there will be another one coming! Anyways, Thank you all again for the favorites and reads! I really appreciate it! 3