She stood on her toes as the airport escalator began to move her away. "Thank you," she said as Ash's eyes sparkled.

Serena touched the blue ribbon he had given her. It was a kind gift from when they travelled together, and now that she was on her own, it was her good luck charm. There was something special about ribbons that made them wonderful charms.

A stewardess announced they would be landing soon. On Serena's lap, Pancham awoke with a huge yawn and a stretch that almost knocked off his fashionable glasses.

Serena giggled as she adjusted the glasses on her Pokémon's head. With her Pokémon by her side, she wasn't truly on her own!

"Welcome to Hoenn," the stewardess announced as the plane landed, "the region of deep waters, dreamy islands, and beauty to behold!"

It was often said that Kalos was the region of beauty, but Hoenn upheld that value down to the unique battling style in Pokémon contests. It was why Serena had come here, to learn about Pokémon contests and be a better performer, worthy of being Kalos Queen.

The airport was right next to a beach, so Serena let the rest of her Pokémon out. Braixen's ears perked up as she danced around, enjoying the feel of the sand on her paws. Back when she had been a Fennekin, she had detested sand and mud and anything that could ruin her beautiful golden fur, but she was more relaxed now.

Sylveon's pale blue eyes scrunched up as Braixen accidentally kicked sand at her. Her ribbons covered her adorable face, and Serena giggled as she picked her up.

"Be careful, Braixen!"

Braixen paused and patted Sylveon apologetically. Sylveon bumped her nose onto Braixen's paw in response.

The four of them ran down to the shore. Serena took off her boots and socks. Braixen guarded them for her; as a fire type Pokémon, she was reluctant to wade into the ocean.

Pokémon and trainers swam together in the sparkling blue water. Serena couldn't recognize most of the Pokémon: a cute blue creature that looked like a lily pad at first glance; two precious-looking, heart-shaped fish next to another happy couple; a content round Pokémon with eyes that were disproportionately small compared to the rest of its body.

A trainer around her age noticed and remarked, "You look like a tourist. Are you impressed by how much water type Pokémon we have here in Hoenn? There's no other region like ours, and no diversity of water type Pokémon like what we have here!"

He was tall but young, around the same age as her and Ash—something about his smile and the gleam in his green eyes reminded her of the boy she'd left behind.

"If you'll be in Hoenn for a while," he continued, "you ought to catch a water type Pokémon. They'll really help you get around." As though to prove his point, he called out his own water type partner, a bulky but cute blue-green Pokémon with a fin on its head. "Marshtomp is my partner, and the first Pokémon I received. He's one of three starters in Hoenn; how I met him is a funny story, actually." He looked like he was about to recount it to her, then decided against it. "If you'd like, Marshtomp and I could help you catch your first Pokémon in Hoenn! As a gym leader's son, it's my duty to help other trainers."

Serena bowed. "That's very kind of you. My name is Serena, and I'm from the Kalos region. These are my performance partners: Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon."

"Hi, friends. The name's Brendan."

Serena waved at her Pokémon with a promise to return soon with a new companion. She and Brendan waded deeper into the shimmering blue ocean, Marshtomp swimming alongside, until the water reached their shoulders. Under Brendan's guidance, she held onto Marshtomp and they dove into the ocean depths.

Marshtomp created a bubble so Serena and Brendan could breathe underwater. Together, they swam further and deeper, Brendan pointing out water type Pokémon that swam past them. The heart-shaped fish were Luvdisc, popular among friends and romantic partners. The beautiful blue fish with butterfly wings were Lumineon, and the fossil-like Pokémon that looked like a rock was Relicanth.

Serena, Brendan, and Marshtomp arrived at the seabed. Serena recognized the Binacle and Skrelp here. Brendan pointed out two different kinds of crab Pokémon that scuttled past, leaving tiny footprints in the sand. "One of them is native to Hoenn, while the other one came from Kanto."

With an encouraging smile from Brendan, Serena reached to pick up one of them. It scuttled away too fast, and she picked up a clam instead.

"That's also a Pokémon," Brendan told her, finding an identical-looking one.

Not identical, Serena thought, noticing a small nick on Brendan's clam and a pale birthmark in the shape of a heart on hers.

"They're called Clamperl," he explained.

"Why are they called that?"

"Open it and see."

Serena didn't like the idea of prying open a Pokémon, but Brendan started tickling the Clamperl from the bottom, and she followed suit. The Clamperl opened up to reveal an adorable, lustrous pearl inside.

"How precious!" Serena gasped. Hoenn was truly full of hidden gems.

She and Brendan caught the Clamperl, and then Brendan called out to Marshtomp, "Did you find them, buddy?"

Marshtomp held out two shiny items with a triumphant cry.

"Great job!" Brendan patted Marshtomp's smooth head and took the items. One looked like a tooth, pointed and slightly chipped. The other was a scale with a small pale mark. "Clamperl has two evolutionary lines," Brendan explained. "The deep sea tooth will evolve it into a Huntail, which is blue, and the deep sea scale will evolve it into Gorebyss, which is pink."

Serena giggled. "Is the colour the only thing that's different?"

Brendan laughed. "It's more complicated than that, Serena, which is what makes Pokémon special. See, Huntail is a physical attacker, so it can learn moves like Bite, while Gorebyss is a special attacker with coverage moves like Ice Beam and Psychic."

He reminded her of Ash, yet his knowledge about Pokémon was more theoretical, while Ash relied on intuition. Still, Serena was impressed. "You know a lot about Pokémon!"

Brendan grinned. "I am a gym leader's son!"

Serena and Brendan brought the evolution items back to the surface. Marshtomp clapped his fins in excitement as the two Clamperl floated, confused.

Brendan offered both items to Serena. "Which one do you want?"

Serena didn't know what either Huntail or Gorebyss looked like, but the pale mark on the deep sea scale reminded her of her Clamperl's birthmark, while the deep sea tooth was chipped like Brendan's Clamperl. She chose the scale.

"On the count of three," Brendan suggested, and Serena nodded. "One... two..."

The white glow caught the attention of nearby swimmers. Evolution was brighter than the sun on the beach. Serena's Clamperl had evolved into a beautiful pink Pokémon that resembled a mermaid. She glanced at Brendan's Huntail, which looked ferocious but somehow still cute.

Brendan laughed in delight, and Serena giggled. They continued swimming along with their water type Pokémon.

At the end of the day, the rest of Serena's Pokémon joined them as Brendan showed her to a Vanillite ice cream shop.

"That's not actually a Pokémon, right?" Serena asked, wanting to make sure.

"Of course not!" Brendan exclaimed. "But you can't deny that ice cream that looks like Vanillite tastes better than normal ice cream."

Pancham seemed to agree, at least. He devoured his Vanillite ice cream in two bites and then stared greedily at Braixen's.

"Thank you so much," Serena said when Brendan paid for the treats. "To be honest, I was a little nervous about coming to Hoenn. I travelled through Kalos with friends and part of me wanted to stay with them."

Brendan plucked the rock candy from his ice cream to crunch on. "Then why'd you come here? A vacation?"

Serena shook her head and took another bite of her ice cream. "I'm a Pokémon performer," she explained. "I participate in showcases in Kalos. But someone recommended for me to visit Hoenn and learn from Pokémon contests."

Brendan grinned. "I don't know much about showcases, but as a Pokémon coordinator, I'm great at contests!" He pulled out a thin case that resembled the badge case Ash carried, but more embellished. Inside was a cyan ribbon, along with spaces for four more. "I started my own journey recently, but I already won a Pokémon contest!" he declared. "I need at least two more ribbons to skip the preliminaries in the upcoming Wallace Cup, and two more after that to enter the Grand Festival."

Serena blushed, not understanding.

Brendan noticed and explained, "The Grand Festival is the biggest event for Pokémon coordinators. The winner becomes Top Coordinator, which is every coordinator's dream."

With a mischievous smile, he continued, "But personally, I think the real biggest event is the Wallace Cup, since it draws in coordinators from all over the world. This year will mark the grandest Wallace Cup since its inception, because it'll be held in Wallace's hometown, Sootopolis City!"

Serena had heard of Sootopolis City. Described as the mystical city where history slumbers, it was the biggest and most beautiful city in all of Hoenn. It arose from the crater of an ancient meteor crash and was isolated from the rest of the region.

Something else stood out to her. "Um, Brendan, what are the preliminaries for the Wallace Cup?"

Brendan finished his Vanillite ice cream and stood to demonstrate, Marshtomp joining him to add to the spectacle. "Three words, lovely Serena," he said, then stood on his toes and raised his arms into the air. "Impress!" He shifted to a fabulous pose with one hand held out to her and the other behind his head. "Wallace's!" Then Marshtomp leapt up and sprayed water into the air, creating a soft mist that bathed everything in a sparkling afterglow. "Pokémon!"

Sitting back at the counter, Brendan explained, "Everyone who wants to join the Wallace Cup but has less than three ribbons in this contest season will have to participate in the preliminary round first. It'll be held in the aquatic Route 126. Each Pokémon will perform in or above the water; there are waterproof cameras to track the show if your Pokémon dives and part of their performance is underwater. Then each of Wallace's Pokémon will choose their favourite performer."

Serena gasped as the last of her Vanillite ice cream plopped down onto Pancham. "Oh, sorry, Pancham!"

Pancham didn't seem to mind as he licked it off, Braixen and Sylveon laughing good-naturedly.

"I'm just shocked," Serena admitted. "I'm imagining dozens of performers in the preliminaries, and only six will be chosen?"

Brendan put a hand on her shoulder to soothe her. "It can be overwhelming for new coordinators," he agreed, "but Serena, you're a Pokémon performer. I believe you can take on this challenge." With a hint of mischief, he added, "And if you want to skip the preliminaries, you could try to win three contests in the next two weeks."

Serena squeaked, "The Wallace Cup is in two weeks?"

Brendan was more serious as he said, "This is the journey you need to take to achieve your dream, isn't it? Then use your time wisely, and learn about Pokémon contests from someone who already earned the title of Top Coordinator. There's a class for Pokémon contests being held in Fortree City, taught by Dawn."

The name was familiar. Wasn't Dawn friends with Ash? He'd said her Piplup was something special.

Serena bowed graciously. "Thank you for everything, Brendan. I'll head to Fortree City and learn from Miss Dawn."

Brendan grinned. "Good luck, Serena, and I'll see you in Sootopolis!"