Loss was something Serena was deeply familiar with. From the times she saw her mother's disappointment after a rough competition to the fuzzy memories of a man who walked out the door and never returned, loss was always a part of her life in one way or another.

But despite all of that nothing could've prepared her for the utter heartbreak of losing her first performance. She was so sure she'd win as well. Maybe if she'd taken better care in planning her costumes then maybe they wouldn't have tripped up in their performance. Maybe if she created a more simple choreograph then maybe they could've pulled it off.

Whatever the case may be, her recent failure left a permanent mark on her. While Ash's unwavering faith in her ability cushioned her pain significantly, it's when she was alone that she feels like she's back on that stage reliving her failure over and over and over again.

Sometimes she can ignore the pain and force herself to sleep through the night. Other times she's left tossing and turning at its mercy. Tonight was one of those painful nights.

She knew she should've gotten over the incident by now. It'd already been a week since her atrocious performance and everyone had faith she could turn it around next time—everyone except her of course. No matter how much she tried to reason with herself, her doubts and fears always got the better of her

What if she utterly fails her next performance? How would she face her friends—how would she face Ash after all the encouragement he gave to her? How would she live with herself knowing she'd forever be the weakest member in her team? How much further can her friends tolerate her before they decide she isn't worth it?

Her last thought felt like a slap to the face.

The scent of fresh roses pulled her back into reality like a riptide. She perked her head up, and sure enough saw the familiar light of an electric lamp at the very edge of their camp.

She silently slipped out of her sleeping bag and tiptoed towards the light.

He was using a tree stump as a makeshift desk this time, with long sheets of paper sprawled messily around him. A familiar cup of steaming hot Roserade tea sat amongst the mess along with an electric kettle.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" She spoke up softly.

He visibly jumped at her voice but didn't seem too surprised to see her. He smiled and gestured to take a seat across from him.

"Here." He offered her his cup once she sat down. "I didn't drink from it yet."

"Thank you." She took the cup and greedily began sipping at the tea.

She felt the tension leave her body as the scent and taste of roses overwhelmed her senses.

"It's been a while since you've needed a cup." Clemont noted as he poured himself a portion into a spare cup.

Serena flushed. In all honesty she didn't mean to give him the cold shoulder after their previous late night meeting. It just happened that she grew accustomed to her new lifestyle and didn't need to rely on tea in order to sleep. Of course that meant the two of them fell back to their old routine of minimal interactions, Serena would be lying to herself if she said she was fine with that.

"I-it's not a bad thing!" He quickly elaborated after a pause. "I-I j-just blurted out an observation—a-a good observation! I-I'm sorry if that offended you or anything!"

"It's fine. I'm not mad." She giggled. Even now she found it funny how awkward he'd sometimes get around her. "I guess I've just been getting good sleep lately."

"R-right." He sheepishly dropped his eyes down on the paper in front of him.

"What are you working on tonight?" She peered curiously over at the paper. She couldn't make heads or tails of the numbers and letters scribbled down on the sheet, but she knew they were like a second language to him.

"Oh, it's a new gadget I've been dying to try out!"

Serena mentally clocked out as he began going into detail about his latest invention. It wasn't that she didn't care about what he had to say, but she really couldn't keep up with his level of knowledge. Even if she tried it'd just go in one ear and out the other.

"I lost you, didn't I?" Clemont said after what felt like hours went by.

"Am I really that obvious?"

"Your eyes tend to glaze over whenever I go on my uh...tangents."

Serena flushed at his comment. She was hoping her disinterest in his speciality wasn't so obvious, clearly she wasn't that good of an actress either.

"Sorry, I just don't really know what you're talking about half the time." She confessed as she guilty took another sip from his tea.

'Let's disrespect the guy after he gives you a cup of his own tea. Smooth. Real smooth...'

"It's fine." He waved her off with a laugh. "I'm just happy you're all willing to put up with me."

He proceeded to work on his complicated calculations again while Serena quietly enjoyed the rest of her drink.

The stillness of the night served to soothe Serena for once. If she closed her eyes she could almost trick herself into believing she was sitting in the middle of a rose garden, with nothing but an engineer's pen scraping against paper to fill in the silence.

Through her brief moment of bliss, she could still feel her earlier doubts and fears clawing at the back of her mind, like a hunter hiding just out of sight. If she focused solely on the scent of roses she could just barely ignore its presence.

For a moment she could pretend everything was okay.

"Serena." His voice shattered her secret paradise.

He wasn't working on his blueprints anymore, his pen left hovering over an incomplete formula. Serena could feel his eyes burning holes through her head. She wondered if he could see her demons as clearly as she did.

She finished the last of her tea and acknowledged him with a casual nod.

"Are you...okay?" He tensed, as if bracing himself for an angry outburst.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She grinned. Internally she cringed at how high pitched her voice sounded.

"It's just...I'm a bit worried after your last performance."

"Don't worry I've completely gotten over it!" She didn't dare meet his eyes. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep up her act if she were lying directly to his face.

"It's okay to be upset about a loss like that, Serena. I get it, trust me, it's not easy to fail at something you love."

She couldn't help but think back to basically all of his past inventions. Until now she never really considered how he felt whenever one of his creations went up in flames. Normally she'd just roll her eyes in annoyance and silently hope he'd give his crazy inventions a rest, but now she wasn't sure if that was the appropriate response to his hard work.

"I-if you're really okay then I guess I was just overthinking. D-don't mind me." She heard his pen scrape the paper with even more vigor.

"How do you do it?" She asked so quietly she wasn't sure if he'd heard her at first.

"Do what?"

"You know." She sheepishly glanced over at his paper. "How do you find the motivation to keep building after something blows up?"

When he didn't respond right away Serena wanted to bury her head in sand. Maybe asking him about his long list of failed projects wasn't exactly the best thing to do after he kindly offered her tea and allowed her to invade his workspace.

"N-nevermind, I shouldn't have—"

"No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting that sort of question." He assured gently. "I guess it's because it's something I really care about."

"But doesn't it get demotivating?"

"Sometimes."

Serena frowned at the somber tone in his voice. She'd never heard him speak like that before, not even when his proudest inventions went up in flames.

"I'm known as some child prodigy back at home, but it's hard to live up to that title when everything I make blows up." He elaborated with a humourless laugh. "Makes me wonder if people have the wrong perception of me sometimes."

Okay, now she felt really bad for feeling annoyed at his projects. Who was she to judge him for failing his passion projects when she herself fell flat on her face in something she really cared about?

"But that's why I decided to come on this journey. After seeing what Ash could do I'm certain I can learn a lot from him." He added with more enthusiasm returning to his voice.

"Journeying with Ash can help with your inventions?" She asked, genuinely intrigued by his answer.

"Technically it'd help hone my skills as a trainer and gym leader, but it'll also help give me a better understanding of the world. I'm confident this journey will give me the wisdom to improve my inventions and create something that can truly make a difference in other's lives!"

"I never knew you had such an ambitious goal." She was always under the impression he just liked inventing in general. She never questioned why he was always so eager to create something to "help" them on their journey.

"I might not be the greatest at socializing but I know I can make a difference in someone's life through my understanding of science—e-eventually. I really want to contribute to our technological advancements and better the lives of people now and in the future!"

Serena noticed a familiar spark in his eyes as he spoke. It was the same spark she often saw in Ash whenever he was faced with a challenging battle.

"And that's been your main goal?" She asked.

"Yes. It's something I know I'm good at and I will excel in. Maybe not right now but I will in the future."

It was rare to see Clemont talk about himself with so much confidence. Serena found it rather flattering to be able to see this other part of him.

"I know I won't ever get to the same level as Ash in terms of success, but just seeing how he tackles life and every challenge gives me the confidence to go above and beyond in something I really believe in."

"For what it's worth, I think you're a fantastic trainer. Not everyone our age can run a gym by themselves." She said honestly. "I can't comment on the inventing side of things, but I think you're brilliant at what you do so far. Not everyone can whip out new machines at a moment's notice or have such a deep understanding of science."

His confidence was instantly shattered under a fiery blush," I-it's nothing too special. T-thank you, though."

'He really does get flustered easily.' She noted amusedly to herself. Teasing him would be too easy.

"Umm...for what it's worth I also think you're a fantastic trainer." His words, while coming from a good place, dampened her mood almost instantly.

She'd almost forgotten why she was up in the first place. Almost.

Suddenly she found herself plunged at the heart of her fears and doubts once more.

"You don't have to sugar coat things for me." She ran her fingers on the rim of her cup. "I know I'm not exactly the strongest member of our group."

"Why do you say that?" He prodded gently.

"I mean just look at me! I'm just barely able to keep up with Pokémon battles, between you and Ash there's nothing I can really do to help." She laughed bitterly. "And when I finally decide to do something I really love I end up embarrassing myself and my entire team! I'm just bad at everything."

A cool breeze sent the several sheets of blueprints flying into the tree lines. Clemont didn't make a move to go after them.

"Serena, is that how you really see yourself?" He asked her instead.

Serena didn't want to respond. She didn't even know why she bothered to tell him so much. It wasn't his responsibility to bear, but its was nice to be able to vent to him so openly.

"Serena, please answer my question. I'm really worried about you." He sounded desperate now.

"Why do you care? It's not like I'm saying anything that isn't true." She spat.

Guilt hung heavily on her shoulders almost immediately. Just because she was in a bad mood doesn't mean she should take it out on her friend.

"I don't see you like that." He responded before she had the chance to apologize. "It's quite the opposite actually."

'He's lying.' A voice at the back of her head sneered.

"You're just a beginner trainer, Serena. It's only natural to stumble a bit when you start something new. Ash and I already have lots of experience when it comes to Pokémon so it's an unfair comparison." He continued calmly.

"But there's so many other beginner trainers who are successful! Clearly there's something wrong with me!" She blurted. She bit her lip and glared at her empty cup.

'Why did you have to say that out loud, idiot?' She mentally chastised.

His pen clicked shut. When she heard him get up she was certain he was going to leave, probably annoyed with her self pity—or maybe he just saw just how bad of a trainer she really was and felt tired of trying to console her.

She didn't expect him to settle down beside her, their shoulders just barely grazing each other.

"Everyone grows at their own pace, Serena. There's no shame in progressing a bit slower." He spoke to her softly. "I believe you can overcome this. Ash believes you can do it."

Normally she'd bury her face in embarrassment when someone used her obvious crush on Ash to encourage her, but tonight it made a very familiar lump form at the back of her throat.

"What matters is you're still here and you're still fighting for what you want. To me that's the true sign of courage and strength."

The kindness and warmth in his voice only made her vision burn with tears.

"Don't give up without a fight."

"It's so frustrating, though." She whimpered. She hated how her voice cracked. She hated how she let herself lose her composure in front of him.

"I know."

"I-I don't want to disappoint him when he believes in me so much!" A single tear escaped down her cheeks, then a second one trailed after it, then a third and fourth followed shortly after.

Before she knew it, her vision was completely blurred from the tears overflowing in her eyes.

Instead of responding, Clemont simply wrapped an arm around her shoulder. His hold was gentle, she could've easily broken out of it with a single push, but she couldn't bring herself to escape his warmth.

"It's okay." He whispered. "It's okay to let yourself feel bad about this. It's healthier than bottling it all in."

"B-but, b-but--"

"Pretending you're fine won't solve the problem." He cut her off sternly. "I understand what you're going through. I won't judge, I promise."

That was enough to break whatever composure she had left. She burst out crying, just like she did back on that dock, and buried her face into her hands.

She mourned the loss of her very first performance, for her shattered self confidence after the public failure, for worrying her beloved Pokémon, and for lying to her friends about how she truly felt.

Clemont stayed by her side during the whole ordeal. Simply offering the occasional words of comfort and rubbing small circles on her back.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been crying. By the time she was finished she felt like a massive weight was lifted off her shoulders, and her eyes felt significantly more heavy. She didn't even realize Clemont still had his arm around her until she straightened her back.

"S-sorry!" He immediately retreated from her space. Even in the silver moonlight she could see his face flushed from embarrassment. "A-are you feeling better?"

"Yeah." She smiled—for real this time. "Thank you. I really needed that."

"A-anytime. W-what are friends for?" He scratched the back of his head shyly. "Umm...maybe it's not my place to say this, but I think you shouldn't focus so much on impressing Ash. It's fine to try and live up to his expectations, but this journey is also yours. You should strive to impress yourself."

A part of her didn't want to believe her sole motivation to improve herself was to impress Ash, she always thought she was above placing her self worth on some guy, but his words felt like a punch to the gut.

Maybe she did lose her focus a little after reuniting with her childhood crush.

"When did you become so wise?" She jokingly elbowed his shoulder. "Do you secretly practice philosophy on your free time?"

"I-it's just an observation I made, but I could be wrong! I-I'm not necessarily good at stuff like this.!"

She was right. Teasing him really was easy.

"For someone who isn't good with this stuff you're awfully good at it. Maybe I should try and ask you for more late night advice in the future."

She let out a laugh as he stuttered incoherent words in response.

"You have a point, though." She added more sombrely." I'm not just some clueless girl who's tagging along for fun. I have a goal now and I should focus on it for myself."

"Y-yeah. F-focusing on competing with yourself c-could help alleviate some pressure." He stammered, still recovering from her playful banter.

Of course she'd still be striving to catch Ash's eyes but he didn't need to hear that.

"Pika pika?"

She let out a short yelp as Pikachu suddenly leapt onto her lap. The small Pokémon lowered its ears as it got a closer look at her face.

'Wait, if Pikachu is here then...'

"Hey, what's going on guys?" Ash sleepily joined them around the tree stump. His hair was still scuffled from sleep and he barely sounded awake.

Serena felt her cheeks burn up almost instantly. There was something about Ash being half-asleep that made him so much more adorable.

"Sorry, did we wake you two up?" Clemont calmly came to her rescue.

"Pikachu heard something and dragged me out of bed." Ash blinked sleepily at Serena. She felt her heart leap up to her throat under his gaze. "Are you okay, Serena? You look like you've been crying."

"I-I'm fine! I just couldn't sleep and asked Clemont for some tea!"

A part of her wanted to tell him the truth, hoping he would comfort her like Clemont did, but another part was in complete meltdown mode at the thought of being in Ash's arms.

"Pika…" Pikachu frowned at her lie.

She assured the Pokémon with a small scratch on the head. "Don't worry. I just needed something to help clear my head." She whispered to him.

"Tea? Is that why it smells so nice over here?" Ash said, completely oblivious to the somber mood. Sometimes Serena isn't sure if she should be impressed or horrified at his cluelessness.

"Yeah, Clemont has this amazing flavour of tea." She gestured to the electric kettle on the tree stump. "It helps me fall back to sleep."

"Wow, that sounds so cool! Does he have another awesome explanation on why it does that?!" He exclaimed, the sleepiness from earlier suddenly replaced with child-like wonder.

"Unfortunately there isn't any solid evidence in terms of health benefits, but anecdotal evidence seems to point to a nice calming effect." Clemont chuckled at Ash's enthusiasm. "I can pour you a cup if you'd like to try."

"That sounds awesome! What do you say, Pikachu?"

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu matched his trainer's enthusiasm.

That's how Serena found herself spending most of that night surrounded by friends and four rose-scented cups.

The next night she met with Clemont again for another cup of Roserade tea. This time, however, she surprised him with an extra batch of cookies she made just for the two of them.