Amourshipping, and the only reason i've been on this website. I cannot believe it has been four years since I wrote my first fanfiction, which was an amourshipping fic, which makes three years since i deleted it in a fit of rage. Man, i was an edgy teenager, for no reason XD
But amourshipping will always have a special place in my heart, when I saw a character i had watched from age 5 to 13 find another that was absolutely perfect for him, and now, after the very disappointing Sun and Moon anime ended with Ash finally winning the League (that i'm actually happy for him, and a little salty that it wasn't Kalos :P), and seeing as how the amourshipping community has flocked to the 2019 anime in hopes of Ash seeing Serena again on his journey around the world, i felt that, in case of tragic letdown, i should make things go as my fellow community would have wanted.
This story is an ideal version of the "Ending of Ash's Pokemon journey" (if that were to ever happen lol), and takes place after episode 112 of the Pokemon XY anime (XYZ Ep 19), 'Master Class is in Session!'. For the first arc of this story, you may find that I'm keeping parts of my story parallel with what actually occurs in the anime, to keep things making sense. Also, for the sake of consistency, i'm going to make it so that every generation of Pokemon has been a year, meaning Ash and Serena are 16 during the XY anime (meaning they'll both be 17 or thereabouts by the end of that arc), and I guess, let's pretend that Clemont would be 13, and Bonnie 9.
Without further ado, thank you for reading, and i hope you enjoy it!
The time had finally come for Serena's Master Class performance. The Showcase was the first thing upon Serena, Ash, Clermont and Bonnie's mind when they had arrived in Gloire City, and now they were right outside the gates, it dawned on Serena just how much effort ever other performer had to put in to arrive at such a grand place.
Ash noticed the worried look on Serena's face. "There's no need to worry, Serena. I believe you've worked hard enough to get here, so you'll win for sure!" He exclaimed with an encouraging smile on his face, a welcoming gleam in his eyes that entranced the young girl.
"Thanks Ash, you're right! I can do this!" She nodded, more enthusiastically this time.
"It looks like this showcase is a lot more crowded and popular than the previous rookie classes." Clemont noted.
Bonnie also chimed in. "We'll be cheering you on though, Serena!"
She nodded again in reply. "Right!"
They hadn't noticed another girl with light brown hair sneak up behind them. She tapped Serena on the shoulder, who spun around. "Shauna!"
"Are you ready Serena?" She asked. "It's the moment we've been waiting for!"
There was a blue haired girl next to her. "The place where one of us'll get crowned Kalos Queen."
"Miette!"
"That's true! We all had to earn these princess keys, after all!" Another green haired girl standing next to Shauna said. The Smoochum holding onto her leg jumped happily in agreement.
"Nini!" Serena cried when she saw her friend.
Shauna giggled. "So you all know each other then?"
Nini piped up. "Of course! We all competed in the Rookie Class together!"
Miette, however, was not interested in catching up with Serena. She trotted over to Ash, who was watching the girls talk patiently, next to Clemont and Bonnie. "So, Ash! You'll be cheering for me, right?"
Ash nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I'll be cheering loudly for all of you!"
Miette grinned cheekily, while eying Serena, who was secretly intently listening to Ash. "What if Me and Serena faced off? Who would you cheer then?"
Ash tilted his head, seemingly unaware of what Miette was implying "Oh, in that case, I'll cheer all I can for Serena."
Miette tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Oh, did Serena get round to saying it, then?"
Serena grabbed Miette by the shoulders and yanked her away. "Miette!"
Ash stared after them. "What's going on?"
Nini sighed. "Sounds kinda complicated."
Bonnie shrugged. "Yeah, it is."
Serena and the other girls left to prepare; Ash, followed by Clemont, Bonnie and their Pokemon, left to take their seats. When they had arrived, the announcer and his Klefki entered the stage. The room went silent as he began to speak. "Welcome everybody, to this years Master Class, Pokemon Showcase! Today we have our lovely performers, all of whom worked incredibly hard to get to this point. May each performer take your three princess keys in hand, and use them to open the doorway to the stage, where you will all compete to become the next Kalos Queen."
Serena, who was backstage, looked to her keys in awe of them and her own memories. As she turned in her first key, she was reminded of her first showcase, the one where she dressed Fennekin to look her cutest - but ultimately, the ribbon was too long and poor Fennekin slipped over. Serena remembered taking the little fox in her arms and vowing to work hard never to let this happen again - and to show herself that she could now do it, let go of her scared, past self - along with her own hair. It had worked - with Ash's motto on her mind at her next performance, to 'never give up until it's over', and despite having an accident with her dress, she screwed up her courage and persevered through it with a determination that matched her role model, and won.
The key went in like a charm, and she flipped the chain to its next key. "My second princess key." she whispered to herself. This key showed the bond between her and all of her Pokemon. Eevee, despite disappearing mid performance, was found in the nick of time, and Serena, along with her Pokemon, managed to stay strong for enough time to win the showcase.
This key went in, and then she reached over to place in her third. This key was one she had won after Eevee had evolved into Sylveon, and her quick thinking and her Pokemon's brilliant improvisation allowed her performance to continue - and she won. The key turned, and the door opened. It was finally time. Serena walked forward out onto the stage. When she and the others reach the stage, there was a deafening cheer from the incredibly large audience. She gulped, but smiled as she waved to the crowd. Ash saw Serena and stood up to cheer and threw a fist into the air. Pikachu and Chespin were sitting on each of Clemont's knees, and jumped up and down, causing Clemont to sigh and sweat drop, though quite bemused.
"And now, please welcome our current Kalos Queen, the beautiful Aria!" Pierre announced.
Serena turned around. Aria was behind them, descending the staircase in a perfect dress with her Delphox beside her. "Thank you all for coming here tonight, and please, let us hear a round of applause for these wonderful performers." She said with a smile. The crowd erupted into cheering and clapping.
Bonnie stared all around her. "Wow, everybody loves her!"
Clemont agreed. "I guess thats why she's Kalos Queen, huh."
Instead, Ash grinned, staring straight at the girl who he had travelled with for so long. "Serena's worked so hard to get here, put in so much time to practice with her Pokemon... She's so awesome, and I bet she'll win."
"What a fantastic speech, Madame Aria." Pierre said warmly. "And now for me to explain the rules. This Master Class will not have any themed performances - instead it will be freestyling only, in a tournament style. 3 people will compete per round, and they will be battling for the audiences attention. Then, you in the audience and at home can cast your votes for the performer whom captures your attention, with the glowsticks left on your chair, or your TV remote!" He announced.
Serena looked up to the screen above her, and her eyes widened when she saw who she was up against. She shook off the nauseous feeling building up inside of her, and instead looked intently to the crowd, even as she walked back to the lobby, for the first round to begin.
Serena sat on a chair in front of the mirror, her Pokemon: Sylveon, Pancham and Braixen next to her. "Okay Braixen, i want you for the first round, okay?
Braixen nodded. "Brai!" she replied.
Before long, a woman entered the room. "Okay, Miette, Serena, Lyn, you three are up now, please head backstage, and good luck." She said. The other girl, who's name was apparently 'Lyn' dashed off followed closely by her Glaceon.
Miette walked over to Serena. "Hey Serena. Whoever wins... No hard feelings, right?"
Serena smiled. "Right!" And so the two walked out of the comfort of the lobby and onto the stage, with the entire Kalos region tuning in to see.
Bonnie and Ash leapt out of their chairs. "Go, Serena!"
Clemont put his hands on his knees and looked down. "Cmon, just stay calm..."
Miette went first, her Slurpuff starting off using Cotton Spore. Serena waited for them to finish, until finally the spotlight flashed on her.
"Okay Braixen, use Flamethrower!"
Braixen nodded, grabbing her twig, which ignited with a dazzling flame on the end. Serena and Braixen spun around each other, lining up symmetrically to grab the stick, and they threw it into the air, causing the flames to spiral around them, and then dissipate into a beautiful array of sparks. She pumped a fist into the air, and the spectators clapped and cheered.
"Wow, that was great!" Clemont yelled.
"Yeah, and its all thanks to that training!" Ash grinned. "Come on, Serena. Show everybody what you can truly do!"
"Now, for the simultaneous performances!"
Miette made no hesitation in starting. "Slurpuff, Fairy Wind!"
Serena joined in. "Braixen, use Fire Blast!"
"Glaceon, Ice Beam!" The other girl said.
The three moves shone and sparkled all over the stage, but Braixen's fire blast shone all over the audience, the sparks falling like snow over the stage, before disappearing into the floor.
Serena blushed and waved, her heart fluttering. She was tired, yet ecstatic. These smiles... Was it what being a performer was all for?
"Now it is time for everybody to cast your votes. Please switch your colour on your glowsticks or TV remotes to your favourite performer's corresponding lock." said Pierre.
Up on the screen above, there was a graphic showing the locks filling up - Serena's one, side by side with Miette and Lyn, started to fill with colour.
"And the winner of this round is Serena! Congratulations!" He announced, beaming.
Serena gasped. She spun round on her heels to face her overjoyed partner. "Braixen, we did it!" and pulled the fox in her embrace.
She ran backstage to the lobby where her Pokemon were waiting for her. Pancham and Sylveon leapt onto her in delight. "I want you two for the next two rounds, 'kay?"
Shauna was also there. "Well done Serena! I'm so happy for you!"
"Shauna?" The woman called out. "You're on standby, okay?"
Shauna jumped away from Serena. "Well, i gotta go now! Cheer me on, will ya?"
"You got it!"
Shauna leapt to the doors with Ivysaur. she ran past Miette, who was hiding behind a wall, wiping away her tears. She casually walked over to Serena. "So Serena, congratulations, you beat me this time." She said simply. "Fair and square."
"Miette..." Serena murmured quietly, unsure of what to say.
"It's okay, don't worry about me. Just, win this for me, okay?" She exclaimed, her voice breaking.
"For me, too." Nini called out to her from behind her. Her eyes were red from crying.
"Nini... Alright, i can - no, i will do this!" Serena said to them.
The rounds took off, one after the other, and Serena, with Pancham in the second round, won that round with Pancham flipping over her, and finishing by leaping into the air riding on a stone edge.
The next round she was with Sylveon, and they choreographed a dance, just like the one Serena saw when Eevee danced alone in the flowery fields, and again in her double battle with Shauna, against Ash and Tierno. They got through that round as well, albeit very closely.
"Now it is time for the semifinal round! Each performer may use two of their Pokemon for this performance. For this final round before facing off against the Kalos Queen. Are you ready? Lets go!"
Serena looked to her left. Shauna was standing there, locking eyes with her. "It's not over yet, Serena."
"I know." She nodded, and then extended her hand for a handshake. "Let's just be happy we made it this far, and may the best performer win!"
"Yeah!" Shauna replied, reaching out to take her hand.
The spotlight turned on the pink haired woman, Jessily.
"Gorgeist, use Leech Seed!"
"Gorgeist!" The pumpkin pokemon exclaimed, and showered the stage in green bullets, which summoned large vines to swamp around her and pick her up. the jester dressed Meowth grabbed hold of the Gorgeist and they hovered into the air with their trainer.
When they hit the ground, The light lit over Shauna.
"Ivysaur, Vine Whip! and Flabebe, use Fairy Wind!"
The vine whip carried Shauna off the ground, and twirled her as if she was flying, the fairy wind trailing along behind her. She spun in a full circle, and then the vine whip let go of her and hit the floor, causing the fairy wind to fly upward like a beautiful pink whirlwind, which slowly sank to the ground.
Finally, the spotlight shined over Serena. She took a deep breath, and smiled glowingly.
"Sylveon, use Swift, lets go!"
Sylveon spewed out a neat array of stars from her mouth, each of which glistened as they popped into a golden firework, as her and Serena began to dance in unison with each other.
"Pancham, use Stone Edge!"
The small panda backflipped over her and punched the floor, causing jagged rocks to appear behind Serena. Sylveon leapt on top of them gracefully and began to skip over them, eventually jumping into the air and using Fairy Wind.
The pink mist picked up Serena and Pancham, and they floated up to Sylveon, as the pink mist faded. They began to fall. Serena aimed her palm towards the stage, and the three landed upside down next to each other.
Serena winced. Landing like that at such force sent a pain searing through her hand and into her brain. She struggled to maintain her balance. Sylveon looked to Serena in worry, and quickly wrapped her waist in ribbons, to flip her the right way again. Serena slid across the floor and got up radiantly, as if it was effortless.
"Oh Sylveon, thanks for that." She whispered to the white dog, who only nodded in relief.
Above, Ash, Bonnie and Clemont were watching in complete excitement. "That was incredible!" Ash yelled.
Bonnie couldn't agree more. "She'll win, she'll win for sure!"
"Brilliant! Right at the crucial moment, too!" Clemont added.
"Now it is time to judge." Pierre announced. "Please take your glowsticks and choose the colour of your favourite performer."
The three of them immediately switched their glowsticks to pink, and watched as the three locks filled up.
Jessily.
Shauna.
Serena.
The three of them looked intently at the audience, at the beams of light drifting towards them and into their chests...
"Now the winner of this round is being chosen... The one who will face Aria for the title of Kalos Queen!" he shouted.
The room went dark until not even the performers were visible.
"And the winner is..." A spotlight hit her. "Serena! You've done it!"
Serena's knees almost buckled. She burned red, tears of joy streaming down her face. "We did it you two... We won!" She cried, hugging her two partners close.
Shauna stepped towards her. "C-congratulations Serena!" She called, her voice quiet. "Will you... Will you hold onto my dream?"
Serena looked sadly at her. "Shauna?"
She looked towards the ground. "I may be upset, but... You won this one. You're the best out of all of us, so you go on and win this whole thing, you got it?" She cried, running forward to hug Serena. Serena smiled again, and returned the gesture.
Soon after, she was led by the woman to another room, where she was told to wait until the final round had been prepared. She sat down on a bench, and, when she made sure she was alone, took off the glove that she had landed on during the semis.
She stared at it in terror. Her wrist had gone bright red, and her hand pale. A serious sprain. She shook her head at her worried Pokemon. "Don't worry you three, i'll be just fine."
Braixen began to protest, but there was a sudden knock at the door. "Y-yes, come in..?"
The grey haired woman emerged from the double doors, her eyes focused not on Serena's own, but rather, the arm she was hiding. "Show me." She told her.
"Huh?" Serena tried to act unaware, but suddenly had a sinking feeling.
"Your wrist."
"H-how did you know?"
The lady, Palermo, picked up the girls hand. "I could tell by how you moved." She scanned it with a calm expression. "Try making a fist." Serena tried, to no avail. "As I thought. You'll need to forfeit the finals. There's no way you can continue with this."
Serena's eyes widened. She felt as if her heart would shatter. Her pokemon jumped forward. "Forfeit? Not like this... I have my pokemon by my side, every step of the way... And I made it this far already! There's no way i'm gonna give up until its over!" She yelled.
Palermo looked taken aback. She glared at Serena, and then her expression softened. "You remind me so much of her... Fine. I'll treat it for you, but you have to take it easy or it'll get worse."
Serena beamed. "Really? Thank you so much!
She looked back at Serena, more fiercely this time. "And promise me you'll let a doctor see it afterwards."
Serena nodded. "Yes, i will."
Meanwhile, the performance was set up, and Pierre with his Klefki went forward. "The final round is about to go underway! This time, the performer may use as many Pokemon as they want - lets wish them best of luck in their performances!"
A round of applause bellowed throughout the room, and this got more intense when Aria and Serena entered and descended the separate staircases, lights and camera flashes beaming on the two girls.
"Who will win?" He questioned. "But without further ado, let us begin with challenger Serena's performance!"
Ash stared intently at his friend. "You can do it, Serena! Don't give up!"
Serena reached the bottom of the staircase. Her pokemon leapt in front of her. "You two ready?" She asked, grinning. They shouted in agreement. "Then lets go!" They began to dance side by side. Serena had an idea - she would mix every performance that got them this far. "Braixen, use flamethrower!"
"brai..xen!" The fox yelled. The flamethrower lit the front of the stage for the audience to see the performance take off.
"Pancham, Stone Edge, Sylveon, Fairy Wind, now!"
Serena twirled over to Pancham, who hit the ground with his fist. It was another set of 5 stone pillars, this time facing the audience. Sylveon jumped on them one up the other, like it was a staircase, followed shortly by Serena. Sylveon jumped off of the highest one, and used fairy wind over the audience, to projectile herself back towards the stage.
Serena called out to her fox. "Now Braixen, use Ember on each of the pillars!"
Braixens eyes widened in fear. Serena was still on the pillars, and if she missed... Braixen shook her head. 'Now's no time to be worried.' she thought. And so she waved her stick in front of her face, and blew a ball of fire onto each stone pillar, as Serena jumped - into the fairy wind. Braixen breathed a sigh of immense relief, and went to pick up Pancham as they both leapt into the fairy wind.
The force of the mist sent them all together above the stage, and this time, it descended very slowly, as they danced together playfully - Sylveon's thoughts flashed back to the time when she was still just a timid little Eevee, too shy to even want to be seen. Now it felt nothing of the sort - only joyful when performing - and glad to have met such a kind trainer.
"Sylveon, use Swift, and Pancham, use Dark Pulse!"
As each of the four landed perfectly on their feet, the two moves collided at such a force that it set off a firework, and even caused the air itself to sparkle. The spectators were screaming, clapping, cheering... Serena's face glowed with happiness to see so many people this overjoyed. She waved back, even as the light drifted away from her and onto Aria.
Aria took a deep breath. "Delphox! Mystical Fire! Vivillon, Psybeam!" She shouted. The butterfly Pokemon, Vivillon, took to the air and hit the flames from Delphox with a psybeam, causing a huge sparkling ball to explode sparks across the stage.
"Aromatisse, use Reflect!"
Her Aromatisse poured glistening bubbles across the stage; Aria jumped on one as Vivillon picked her up, flying up into the air.
Serena looked at her, mesmerised. "She gives so much happiness to everyone... Her smile fills them all with such strength! I wonder if i've done the same thing?" She wondered. However, Braixen looked up at Serena and grinned. Serena saw it - it was Ash's grin. She beamed. "Yes. Ash taught it to me... Everything he knows, all of his experiences on his previous travels, and about never giving up... And I passed it onto my Pokemon. I can do this. It isn't over yet."
Aria waved to them all with a smile. "And we're finished!" She cried, greeted by cheering.
Even Ash was impressed. "Man, Serena's got it tough, that was fantastic. But I think she's got it." He said to his friends. 'Her smile... That just made me feel so strong, even... Proud.' he thought.
Ash stopped. Proud? The only time he's ever felt that way was to his Pokemon. But why was he this sentimental about Serena's performance? Ash pondered to himself. 'Perhaps... Perhaps it's her attitude. I see my own good traits in her, and she's only... She's only improving from here.' Ash realised. The experiences they shared... It's what made him feel this way. He was proud of Serena for being so brave, despite everything. Never once has he ever felt negatively towards her. She was just a brilliant person, that brought him joy and strength that he had never felt before.
Serena was down below, waiting. Waiting for the moment where she will either win, or lose.
"These two lovely ladies have shown you their respectable talents, showing off their skills, their creativity, and their bond with their Pokemon." Pierre acknowledged. "And now, please cast your votes for who you think is the most worthy of the tiara, and title of Kalos Queen."
Every step of her journey counted towards this moment. She closed her eyes, and waited as her lock filled up with light.
Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed! I'm aware, I did just copy mostly off of XYZ Episodes 19 and 20, but still, i adapted it slightly, though i'm very bad at describing performances. I hope it didn't sound too lackluster.
My story is not that much inspired by other amourshipping fics, though I do look to some well made fanfictions of completely different origin to aid my writing. My amoushipping inspiration tends to come from AMVs (used to make them as well, back in the day haha). The Poketuber PokemonRangerBoy12 is my biggest source of inspiration, because his videos are brilliantly made. So, big thanks to him; i recommend you check him out if you like amourshipping.
Anyway, I hope you read on to the next chapter, and those of you who do... See you then!
-Jay