Ash had finished his grand tale by now, allowing the others to take part in the dinner time conversation. Meyer had left before Ash began his story to prepare more food, but mostly because he didn't want to intrude. In the next room, he could hear the very distinguishable squeals of Bonnie, who was clearly overjoyed on the revelation. She knew that the two were a couple for a while now, as they had announced it when they returned to the Pokémon Center that day, but Bonnie had been dying to know the "full" details ever since. Ash was very occupied with his preparations for the Kalos League at the time, and Serena was too embarrassed to say anything. Clemont had secretly been guiding Ash, as well as Serena the entire time on their journey- ever since they began-, so he knew how the two felt towards each other, though he refused to tell Bonnie any of the secrets both parties had shared with him, leaving Bonnie in the dark. Still, Bonnie was perceptive as always, and she found out on her own the little secrets they told Clemont without much difficulty.

Meyer returned to the table and placed more food on the table, and was about to leave, but Clemont assured him he wasn't intruding. The older man sat down at the head of the table and began to eat. It wasn't long before the peaceful silence was interrupted by Bonnie once again. "Ash? What Pokémon will you be using tomorrow?" Ash was still wolfing down his food, and it took a moment for him to respond. "I can't really tell you, but the only hint I'll give is that they are my six strongest Pokémon. We're ready for our battle tomorrow, isn't that right Pikachu?"

Pikachu and the other Pokémon were seated on the floor, munching on the special Pokémon food that they were given. The little mouse pumped his chubby fist and squealed a happy "Pi-Pikachu!" in reply. Ash chuckled, before returning to his food. Clemont went on to explain the details of how he managed to repair Clembot, much to the silent dread of the others.

Ash was the first to finish, and with a mouth full of food, thanked Meyer. "All right guys, let's train!" The other Pokémon mumbled their cry of approval, all with stuffed mouths as well. Snorlax, in particular was having a bit of trouble exiting the room, being forced to waddle his way out the door to the spacious backyard of the home.

Serena was the next to finish, giving her thanks and dashing outside with her own Pokémon to watch Ash train. She had often been inspired by him in her performances. Many times she would get to work polishing her own performances after she had watched one of Ash's training performances. She watched with admiration as he tried to teach his Charizard a combination of using Dragon Tail and Fire Punch, with great results. Charizard was able to quickly throw out a swift Dragon Tail, knocking his opponent, Noivern, upwards. Then he followed up with an equally fast Fire Punch, landing a solid hit and sending Noivern backwards. Noivern was still the youngest and most inexperienced battler on the Kalos team, but at least having strong opponents like Charizard hardened it into the fearsome Dragon Type it was now. Ash continued for a little longer, teaching new, more powerful moves to his Pokémon. After about an hour, the raven haired trainer nodded and returned his Pokémon. He was ready for tomorrow. However, since he was allowed to keep several more Pokémon than normal, he decided to take his Kalos team too, so that he could switch to his normal team by the time he finished the Victory Road trek.


The night was rather quiet in Lumiose that night, allowing the group to sleep soundly. One person, was still awake. Serena stood out on the balcony, admiring the night sky. She was dressed in her sleeping attire, and her trademark bow in her hair. She was lost in thought, her hair flowing freely in the slightly chilly air. Now that her journey was coming to an end, what would happen now? She knew that she wanted to continue traveling with Ash, but at the same time, she was Kalos Queen. She couldn't just leave, right? Aria would probably be more than happy to help defend her title while she was away, but then again, would Monsieur Pierre allow it? He had only allowed it once, when Shauna had managed to tie with Aria, giving her the chance to step up and become Queen, but she said no, as she was also still on a journey with Tierno and Trevor. Maybe Pierre would agree again. Maybe not.

Serena was so lost in thought that she hadn't realized the light footsteps of Ash approaching her. Only when he brought his arms around her back and hugged her from behind was she startled out of her trance. "What's up Serena? Something wrong?"

Serena smiled faintly. "Well, I was just thinking...Will I be able to leave Kalos with you? Or will I have to stay and defend my title as Kalos Queen?"

"Well, I don't know about Pokémon Performances, but I do know that you can leave the region if you want if you're Champion. Back in Kanto, I managed to conquer the Battle Frontier, and I became a Frontier Brain. I wanted to keep traveling though, so I spoke with the officials. They agreed to let me leave, but I was able to retain my status as Frontier Brain." Ash then revealed his Trainer ID to Serena, who gingerly took it into her hands. She scanned through the card briefly, realizing just how much her boyfriend traveled.

"Champion of the Orange League...Frontier Brain of Kanto...Top Four in the Sinnoh League..." and the most recent," Champion of the Official Kalos Pokémon League."

Ash chuckled nervously. He had never spoken to her about his past achievements, and it was a little embarrassing for her to discover it all of a sudden. Serena handed him the card and turned herself to face him, wrapping her arms around him as well. "Thanks Ash...Once you're done beating Diantha, I'll email Monsieur Pierre and ask him. If yes, than I can go, but if not..."

"Hey. Don't worry about that now," Ash quietly said. Serena nodded, and a comfortable silence followed. Serena then spoke up after a while. "Aren't you nervous?"

Ash looked down at the girl, and gently pulled one of her arms from around his back and onto his heart. "You can probably tell." Serena chuckled when she felt Ash's quickened heartbeat.

"I am nervous, but I know my Pokémon can pull through. We've come so far, and there's no way we're gonna lose to Diantha. Not after Greninja almost took down Gardevoir a while ago."

Serena smiled at his determination, before letting out a cute yawn. "Someone's tired," Ash teased.

"Not...Really..Your fault for being warm..." Serena managed to mutter, before she let out another yawn. The raven haired trainer's lips curved upwards as he took the drowsy girl into their room. Ash tucked her in and kissed her forehead. Then, he took his place beside her and pulled up the covers. Serena crept closer to him silently, until she was able to rest her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat once again. Ash wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in close. He ran his hand through her soft hair, before uttering a soft "Goodnight Serena" to the half asleep girl. "Sweet...Dr..eams Ash."