After hearing those names, Ash stood there frozen, in front of the mother and daughter, with the door, leading to the elite suite, behind.
Ash's thoughts were racing upon discovering who they were. Wait a minute! Their names are Sara and Ashley!? Are they Trevor's wife and child?! I'll know when we all get into the box.
"Aaron?" Sara spoke up, while giving a puzzled look to Ash, as he is snapped back into reality, "You feeling alright there?"
Ash shrugged the shunned look off his face, and responded to Sara, "Oh yeah. I'm alright. So, shall we enter the elite suite?"
"Yeah!" Ashley shouted in excitement, as she can't wait to watch the battle that would be starting soon.
Ash opened the door and entered into the elite suite. Upon entering, he noticed his friends were in the middle of a heated conversation about him and Trevor.
"Guys, clearly Trevor might be the one who finally beats Aaron!" Max explained to the group. "I mean, come on, he has got one thing that Aaron doesn't have."
"A relationship?" May responded with a chuckle.
"A girlfriend?" Dawn asked with a chuckle as well.
"No, not those things!" Max started as he was starting to get annoyed with the two coordinators making fun of Trevor's love life. "Unlike Aaron, Trevor has a freckling legendary Pokémon on his team, which no one has ever defeated it in battle!"
"You're talking about his Mewtwo." Ash spoke up as he managed to get the group's, of his old traveling companions, attention.
They gazed upon the trainer, along with his two Pokémon, who had entered into the box. All of them, except for Serena and Gary, gave a nervous chuckle.
"Oh, hey there, Aaron." Serena spoke up with a smile across her face, "Nice win, back there!"
Ash, underneath his mask, was smiling as he gave Serena a thumb's up to her response. "Yeah, it was all thanks to you and your pep talk."
Serena blushed at his remark, even though that it was all true. If Serena hadn't cheered him up, Ash would had lost to Paul.
"It's was nothing, but I'm glad that my pep talk helped you out, Aaron." Serena responded with a smile.
All of a sudden, Dawn and May squealed in delight, as they rushed over to where Ash was standing. They looked as if they were about to punch him with lots of questions about his interaction with Serena, during the intermission of his battle with Paul.
"So, Aaron, tell us!" Dawn began as Ash give a nervous smile, underneath his mask. "Did you kiss Serena? How it felt?"
"Well, I-"Ash started to speak before he was interrupted by May, who continued asking a barrage of questions.
"Do you really have feelings for Serena? What kind of pep talk did she give you? Was Serena the lady that you described, at the restaurant, a few nights ago?"
Luckily for Ash, he was spared from answering these questions by Gary, who stood up and walked over to where the two girls were standing, in front of the poor masked trainer.
"Look here, girls," Gary began as Ash gave a sigh of relief. "Didn't you listened to what Trevor told you before? People, who are in a relationship, sometimes like to keep the interactions, between them, a secret. They tend to do this because they don't want to grab unwanted attention or embarrassment from their friends and families. So let's just leave Aaron and Serena alone about this. Okay?"
The two coordinators gave an annoyed grunt and a frustrated look towards Gary, as he had interfered in their attempt to get details about Serena's interaction with Aaron, during the intermission period of the last battle, since Serena won't tell them about it.
"Argh! What does Trevor even know about love anyway?!" May shouted out of frustration.
"Yea," Dawn began as she also felt a bit frustrated about Trevor's advices on respecting the privacy of their friend's relationship. "Trevor shouldn't be giving advice on relationships, especially since he hasn't had one before."
"You're wrong!" a voice cried out.
The group, including Gary and Serena, were puzzled about the origin of the voice that argued against Dawn. Suddenly, Ashley, along with her Pichu and Charmander, came into the box, with a smile across her face.
"I'm sorry," May responded to the little girl that had just entered the suite. "Was that you, who responded to Dawn just now?"
Ashley nodded, before stating, "Yep." She then looked at Serena, before giving her a wide smile across her face. "Hi there, Aunt Serena!"
Serena chuckled at the child's greeting as she got up and walked towards the child. When she got there, Serena picked up the three-and-a-half-year-old child, as she gave Ashley a big bear hug.
"Oh, Ashley, I have missed you! You've gotten so big, since the last time that I saw you." Serena said to the little girl, who she is holding and hugging in her arms.
"Yep," Ashley responded to the performer as Serena puts her down on the ground. "I've been eating my veggies, just like you and mommy always tell me to do."
"Speaking of mommy," Serena began as she looked around the box, for Ashley's mother. "Where is-"
"Right here!" Sara called out as she entered into the elite suite, with a smile across her face.
"There she is!' Ashley responded as she pointed to her mother's location, for Serena to notice.
The expression, across Serena's face, went from joy to utter excitement at the arrival of Julian.
"Sara!" The performer called out to Ashley's mother, as she rushes over to her.
"Serena!" Sara shouted out, as she extended her arms outward, to catch the running Serena and give her a big hug.
"It's been so long! How have you been?" asked the performer as if she knew the little girl's mother.
"I'm doing great!" Sara responded, before asking Serena the same question. "How about you?"
Serena shrugged her shoulder, before she gave her answer, "As of now, amazing!"
Sara closed her eyes and gave Serena a big smile towards her feeling, at this moment. Serena then took a step back from Sara, as she's studying the woman's outfit, up and down.
"Oh boy," Ashley responded to Serena's studying her mother's outfit. "Once they start talking about fashion, it's impossible for them to stop."
Ash gave a chuckle to the little girl's reaction at Serena looking at Sara's outfit.
"Really, you don't say?" Ash responded to Ashley's statement about Serena and Sara's fashion talks, while gazing at the two ladies, as they're starting to talk about fashion, which is what most girls like to talk about, most of the time.
"Those clothes looked great on you! Did you buy them at that clothing store, in the city?" Serena commented Sara's outfit, while asking if she had gotten them in that clothes store in Saffron City.
"Thanks for the compliment, and yeah, I did." Sara responded, as she also studied Serena's appearance. "By the way, you have to tell me where you get that outfit from! I want to buy one, for myself."
"Oh this?" Serena questioned as she grabs a part of her outfit, by the shirt, which Sara gave a nod. "This outfit can only be brought in the Kalos Region. Tell you what, when I get back to Kalos, I'll buy you one and ship it over to you."
"Really?" Sara asked, with a surprised tone in her voice, her performer friend. "That'll be great! Thanks!"
"No problem." Serena said before continuing to talk about fashion with Sara.
While they were talking fashion, the rest of the group, except for the champions and Gary, who just had a confused smile across his face, as he had no idea what those two were talking about, had their mouths wide open in shock. They were puzzled at the sudden appearance of a mother, who Serena seemed to know, and her daughter. They gazed at them, in silence and confusion, until finally, someone spoke up.
"Hey!" Bonnie shouted out to grab Serena and Sara's attention, as they stopped talking, and then, turned and looked at the puzzled group of Serena's friends. "Can somebody tells us what the heck is going on here?!"
"Yeah. For starters," Brock started as he looked at Sara and Ashley, standing in the back, with Serena and Aaron. "Serena, who are these people and how do you know?"
"And what did your daughter mean when she stated that I was wrong about our friend, Trevor?" Dawn asked with a curious look on her face.
Serena, Sara, and Ashley all chuckled at the gang's confused expression on their faces, before Serena gave a response to their questions.
"First of all, this is Sara and her daughter, Ashley." Serena said, as she pointed to the mother and daughter, who were standing behind the performer.
"Nice to meet you all. I've heard so much about each of you, from Serena." Sara greeted herself to the group, as she turned and looked at Max and Bonnie with a caring smile across her face. "Serena also told me that you two would make an adorable couple."
"We're not a couple!" Max and Bonnie both yelled out their response at the same time, while a bright red appeared across their cheeks, leading the group to burst out in laughter at the two young trainers.
Sara then continued, after the laugher died down, as she pointed at her daughter, who was standing next to Aaron. "And of course, you've already met my daughter, Ashley, here. She's 3 ½ years old. She'll be turning 4 on February 27th."
"And these are my buddies: Pichu and Charmander!" Ashley stated as she pointed to her Pokémon.
"Pichu!" the tiny mouse Pokémon shouted out as it sat on the little girl's shoulder.
"Charmander!" the lizard Pokémon responded as Ashley holds it in her arms.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Brock." Brock responded to their introductions before starting to introduce the rest of the group, to the mother and daughter, in the back. As Brock introduces the group to them, he pointed to each individual, so that they know who is who.
First, he pointed to the water type trainer, who was next to him. "This is Misty."
"Oh yeah! I know all about you." Sara responded as she acknowledged Misty. "You're the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City!"
"Yeah," Misty stated. "How did you know that?"
Sara gave a smile to the water type trainer, before answering, "I know because Cerulean City is where I'm from!"
"That's great!" Misty responded with joy in her voice. "Glad to meet a fellow Cerulean citizen here."
"Likewise." Sara said as Brock continues with the introductions of the group.
"That's Max and Bonnie over there." Brock said as he pointed to the two young trainers, sitting next to Clemont, in the front row of the suite.
"Nice to meet you two." Max said.
"Ashley, you and your Pokémon are so cute!" Bonnie shouted out with happiness in her voice as the little girl reacted, to the compliant, with a shy giggle, while the two small Pokémon reacted by scratching the back of their necks.
"The person, sitting next to them, is Clemont, an inventor, Gym Leader of the Lumiose Gym in Kalos, and Bonnie's older brother." Brock said while pointing to the inventor, who was sitting in the front row.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Clemont said as he activates his Aipom Arm, from his backpack, and used it to shake hands with Ashley.
"Wow. Science is so amazing!" Ashley responded as she giggles, while shaking hands with the invention, which also caused Clemont to chuckle at her remark. He remembered, from his travels with Ash in the Kalos Region, that whenever he revealed a new invention, Ash would always say that remark to him.
"Over there, is May and Dawn. They're Pokémon Coordinators." Brock said as he pointed to the two coordinators, who were standing, in the back, with Aaron and Serena.
"Glad to have you join us here." May responded.
"Although we tend to get into heated conversation, we'll try not using foul language in front of your bundle of joy, so you don't need to worry about that."
"Thanks." Sara stated as she appreciated their promise of not using foul language in front of her daughter. She didn't want Ashley to learn foul language, right now.
"And finally," Brock began as he pointed to the young and old professor, sitting in two rows back from where Brock and Misty were sitting. "That's the great Professor Oak."
"Greetings, Sara and Ashley, it's nice to finally meet the both of you." Professor Oak responded with joy in his voice, while leaving most of the group puzzled by his statement.
"And this is..." Brock was about to introduce the young professor, who sat next to Professor Oak, before he was interrupted by Sara, who seemed to already know the young professor.
"Gary Oak! Professor Oak's grandson." Sara stated as she waved to Gary, while he turned and looked at the young woman behind him.
"Hey there, Sara. It's good to see you again." Gary responded to Sara, as she stopped waving.
"Likewise." Sara replied, as the group were confused on how she already knew about Gary.
"Yeah," Brock responded with a shunned look on his face, as he turned and gazed at Gary. "Gary, how you do know her too?"
Before Gary could even respond, Sara answered for him. "Simple, he was my husband's best man at my wedding."
"Really?" May responded. "So you're married, huh?"
"Happily married, yeah." Sara stated with a smile across her face.
"So, who is your husband and where is he right now?' Dawn asked with curiosity expressing across her face.
"Well, right now, I supposed he's getting ready for his upcoming battle." Sara answered. "As for his identity, however, well you guys already know him."
"We do?" questioned Bonnie.
"Dawn," Sara said as she turned to make eye contact with Dawn. "Remember when you asked what my daughter was talking about when she stated that you were wrong about your friend, Trevor."
"Yeah, what about that?" asked Dawn, who she, along with May, are puzzled about how does Ashley's statement, from earlier, had anything to do with Sara's husband.
A few seconds later, both coordinators grasped in shock as they just made the connection between Ashley's argument, of Dawn being wrong about Trevor, and Sara's husband.
"Hold the phone. Sara, are you saying that...?" May responded as her mouth opened wide in shock, which caused her to not finish her statement.
"Sara, is your husband...?" Dawn question, as her face was also expressing shock and awe that made her speechless.
"Yep." Sara began as she smiled and giggled at the two speechless coordinators. "My husband is indeed your friend, Trevor!"
"WHAT?!" The whole group, except for Ash, Gary, and Serena, who already knew about Trevor's secret, shouted out at the same time towards the updated information about their friend, who will be battling soon below, as their jaw dropped, out of shock. The news was so shocking that even the champions were surprised at the fact that Trevor had a wife and child.
"Trevor is married?!" May responded in shock. "And has a kid too?!"
"That son of a-"Dawn was about to swear, before stopping herself. She knew that she can't use foul language, in front of Ashley, who was looking at Dawn with a puzzled look. She gave a nervous chuckle, before changing her words. "I mean, that sly fox."
Ashley smiled at Dawn, for not using the foul language, in her statement about her father.
"How come he never told us?" Brock asked Julian, while also turning to Serena, who was giggling at her friends' reactions towards the news. "Serena, you knew about this."
Serena nodded, and then, stated. "Of course. I mean, after all, I was her maid of honor, at the wedding."
"You were?!" Dawn and May both shouted out, at the same time, towards Serena, who just laughed at the two coordinators freaking out about the fact that Serena was a part of Trevor's wedding and they didn't know about it.
To calm the group down, Lance whistled loudly, with two of his fingers in his mouth. Once he gotten everyone's attention, he started to talk.
"Look," Lance began. "I know you people have questions about this sudden update on Trevor's life. Believe me, I, myself, am shocked about this; but right now, his battle is about to start and I'm sure that Sara and Ashley would like to sit down now, so that they could watch Trevor battle. Afterwards, I'm sure you'll be able to ask your questions to Trevor, if he doesn't mind, of course. Are we clear on that, everyone?"
Everyone nodded, as the announcer had just informed the crowd that the battle is about to begin. Everyone took their seats, including Ash, who sat next to Serena, Sara, and Ashley, in the back row, with Max, Bonnie, Clemont, and May, in front of them, as they waited patiently for the battle to start.
Ash gazed down at the battlefield below. His thoughts began racing just as Trevor's platform began to rise. I have won my battle and secured a place in the Semi-Finals, and now, it's your turn to battle and win! Beat Ritchie today, and you'll face me, in the next round!
Aaron noticed Trevor's platform, with him on it, finished rising, while revealing the Kanto native to the whole stadium. Trevor's eyes were burning with confidence as Ash gazes at them with his eyes, that burn with determination. Alright, Trevor, it's time. Win this, so that you can face me next!