Writer's note: Hey everyone I'm back with another chapter! Been a good week for writing wise so I was able to put this chapter out. It's a little shorter but I still like how it came out. There's still more to come to thanks again for reading and be on the lookout for the next chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. All Characters are the property of Nintendo, and this is a fanfiction purely made for fun and non-profit.

Chapter 10

"The most beautiful girl in the world"

Ash wrapped his arms around Serena as the two fell towards the lake below them. He knew full well that if he lost his grip on her for even a second she could drown in the lake because she could barely move. "I won't lose you" the trainer thought powerfully to himself as the lake approached them.

The drop was only about ten seconds but to Ash it felt like ten hours. He had already in his mind taken so many gambles on Serena's life tonight, he just prayed fate would shine on them one more time. SPLASH! Ash and Serena hit the water feet first and went towards the bottom like a missile. The force of hitting the water was enough to knock Serena's fedora from her head and cause her to take in a mouthful of water. Ash quickly regained his senses underwater and looked over with relief to see that he still held Serena tightly in his arms. His relief quickly turned to horror as he saw the honey blonde with a pained look on her face and struggling desperately for air.

Ash used all his power to kick towards the surface. The fact he was kicking for both him and Serena greatly slowed their progress and it was hard for him to see the surface due to the darkness of the night but he just kept kicking. "Just a few more seconds Serena, please hang on.." he begged in his thought's as all of sudden Serena's eyes slowly closed and she stopped struggling. "NO!" Ash yelled out under the water as finally broke the water's surface and looked around in panic for the shore...

"Pika-pi!" a voice yelled causing Ash to swing around to see his beloved partner standing on the shore next to Frogadier and Hawlucha. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled as he quickly kicked over to the shore and picked Serena up out of the water and walked a few steps before laying her gently down on the ground in front him before kneeling down to her face.

"Serena please breathe!" he begged as he opened her mouth and began to breath into it to try to revive her. After breathing for her for a few seconds he tried to push on her chest a few times before going back to breathing for her again. "Pika-pi.." Pikachu muttered with a scared look on its face while Ash went back to pushing on her chest again unable to notice the small mouse at the moment. "Please Serena...please breathe" he said on the verge of tears as he once again brought his mouth to hers.

"Please no.." Ash sobbed mentally as it had been almost a minute since he began to try and revive her. Every second that passed now was like a dagger in Ash's heart. The longer this went on the less of a chance there was Serena would wake up. "I can't lose you Serena.." he moaned in his mind. They we're so close..not only so close to Starview Town but they we're also so close to starting their future together. It was the cruelest joke ever for Ash, to go through all this to lose Serena right at the end. "Serena.." the tears began to fall as Ash knew that Serena's time had most likely run out.

*Cough* ugh *Cough* Ash's eyes widened in shock as all of a sudden a burst of water came out of Serena's mouth and she began to choke violently. Ash never thought in a million years he be happy to hear the sound of Serena choking but it was like music to his ears at this moment. "Serena!" he exclaimed as he lifted her up into a seated position and began to pat her back to help relieve her choking.

After about fifteen seconds Serena's coughing died down and she was finally able to start breathing normally again. "Serena thank goodness your alright I was so scared!" he said with joy as she turned to him and gave him a weak smile. "Ash" the performer said softly as she somehow found enough strength to wrap her arms around his neck and hug him. Ash didn't even hesitate for a second and immediately hugged her back. "I thought I lost you for a second there." Ash said quietly as a couple more tears made their way down his face. Serena broke away from the hug and took a deep breath before speaking. "Ash there was no way I was gonna leave you after everything you did for me tonight, I love you so much Ash." "I love you too Serena.." he said with a weak smile before the two looked at each other briefly before bringing their faces together to do what they wanted to do earlier.

The moment their lips touched it was like a million fireworks went off all over the world at once. It certainly wasn't the first kiss Serena had fantasied about. They were both soaking wet and Serena was sure if she looked in a mirror right now she would probably think she was a total mess, but it was still as electric and somehow as perfect as she always hoped it would be.

Ash couldn't help but feel like he had just kissed an angel when he felt Serena's lips touch his. They were so soft, just like Serena's face and hands were. Ash assumed that she was soft everywhere, it just fit Serena. However he knew inside that the honey blonde was probably dreading how she might look right now so after breaking the kiss he looked at her and smiled. "Your so beautiful Serena."

"Oh Ash" she giggled lightly "that's really sweet of you to say but I'm sure I look like a complete disaster right now." She said with a sad smile knowing she probably looked like a girl who had just been through hell in one of those horror movies she hated. "Your so wrong Serena.." Ash said with a smile as he brushed a lock of her soaked hair behind her ear and cupped her face with his hand. "Serena you hair could be a total mess and you could be covered head to toe in mud with tattered clothes on and I still would think your the most beautiful girl in the world." he said as he flashed her his signature toothy grin.

Serena was so taken back by his words all she could do was blush madly and mutter out "A-Ash." Ash then looked behind her and began to chuckle drawing a look from Serena. "What's so funny Ash?" she said with a disappointed look on her face. "Look behind you" Ash said still chuckling "looks like Frogaider found something during his swim." Serena turned her head towards the frog pokemon and immediately began to giggle. Standing there was Frogadier with a serious look on its face while on the top of its head sat a familiar pink fedora. It was absolutely classic.

"I didn't take you for being a fashionable one Frogadier" the performer said as the group began to laugh drawing a blush from Frogadier who then swiftly handed the hat to Ash try and end it's embarrassment. "T-there we go" Ash said in between laughs as he placed Serena's hat back on her head. "Perfect" he said with a smile to honey blonde before turning his attention towards his Pokemon. "I don't know how to ever thank you all for what you did tonight" he said with a tear in his eye. "I'll never be able to repay all you. Pikachu, Frogadier, Hawlucha, Fletchin...der?" Ash blinked again and noticed the bird pokemon wasn't with the other three. "Any of you see Fletchinder after we jumped?" Ash said with a concerned look on his face. His pokemon all shrugged and shook their heads as if to say they didn't have a clue as to the flying type's location.

"Fletchinder!" Everyone's eyes suddenly turned to the sky as if on cue the flying type descended from the sky and landed next to Ash's other pokemon. "Fletchinder there you are! We were worried about you what happened?" Ash pondered to the bird pokemon as it pointed its wing back up the top of the cliff where they had jumped from.

"Wait a second.." Ash muttered as he looked down at Serena before his eyes widened in realization. "What happened to that Team Flare guy? Surely he should have came after us by now." Ash said drawing a frown from Serena. Fletchinder began to speak before making various motions as if it was trying to tell Ash something. It then pointed to the forest east of them.

*Moments after the jump*

Smoke was still billowing around the Team Flare admin as result of Pikachu's Volt tackle. "*cough* You won't *cough* get away with this!" the admin said as the smoke began to clear. When the dust finally settled the admin looked around and saw five of his pokemon gasping for air from all the dust kicked up. His sixth pokemon Noivern was on the ground knocked out. "You pay for that sneak attack young man!" he said with anger as he returned the fainted flying type to its pokeball. He then turned to face the young man and noticed he wasn't standing before him anymore. They were gone! "Where did they go?!" he yelled as he and his pokemon began to look around for them. "Nine!" the elegant fox pokemon yelled out as it pointed its snout towards the treeline. "It's the young man's Fletchinder! They must have used the smoke as cover to make a break into the forest!" he watched as the bird pokemon descended into the trees. "Quick after them!" he yelled as he and his pokemon darted into the forest. Without his Noivern they would be forced to search on foot for the young couple now..

*present time*

"Oh I see now you led them into the forest on purpose Fletchinder!" Ash cheered realizing the that they could finally rest easy now. By the time the admin realized what really happened Ash and Serena would already be back in Starview town. "That was really clever Fletchinder thank you!" Serena giggled causing the bird pokemon to scratch the back of its head in embarrassment. "Alright then." Ash said as he scooped Serena back into his arms and looked down at his pokemon. "Let's go home!" he said drawing a smile from Serena and a huge cheer from his pokemon. With that they began the short walk along the remainder of the river into Starview Town.