Here we are: the end of the story! I hope you enjoy it, and be sure to read the notes at the end for some more information about what's next!
A few days had passed since the meteorite was destroyed, and the gang now found themselves at the Mossdeep Airport, preparing to depart for Kanto. Brendan and May had decided to see them off, and the group knew goodbyes were in order.
"So what's in the cards for you two now?" Ash asked. "Gonna stay in Hoenn?"
"Actually, I was planning to join May on her trip to Unova," Brendan declared. "She's taking on the contest circuit, and I'll be working with Professor Juniper on some field research throughout the region."
"Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you," Chloe responded. "Make sure to tease Brendan for me, alright May?"
"HEY!"
"Don't worry Chloe, he'll be getting plenty of that," May snickered. "And much more."
May smirked at Brendan as he blushed nervously. The rest of the group couldn't help but laugh.
"Ash, how come Serena never teased you like this?" Brendan questioned.
"Because I never noticed she liked me until recently," Ash responded. "You've got it easy."
"What do you mean I have it easy?!" Brendan retorted. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Don't worry Brendan, I'll help you with that," May taunted. As she leaned against him, the airport intercom went off.
"Dragonite Airlines Flight K370 to Pallet Town is now boarding. Please proceed to the gate."
Brendan and May pulled the gang into a hug as the announcement went off.
"We'll miss you guys," Ash declared. "Good luck in Unova!"
"And good luck in Kanto!" Brendan responded. As the group broke off from the hug, they went their separate ways, waving farewell to each other.
Goodbyes were often tough.
Boarding the plane was easy enough for the group, and they now found themselves en route to Kanto. Serena had taken the window seat, leaning her head on Ash's shoulder as she slept. Ash, blushing, fiddled through his pocket for a pair of earbuds. Giving one to Pikachu, he put the other one on as he looked for a movie to watch on the in-flight entertainment system, eventually deciding on Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team.
Across the aisle, Goh and Chloe were playing a game against each other using their Rotom Phones. It was a simple Pokémon battle simulator, where each player was given a random Pokémon to use against their opponent. Goh had ended up with an Excadrill, while Chloe was using a Sableye. Every time Goh took damage or made a stupid move, Grookey would whack him on the head with his stick, so he was very careful not to screw up.
"How about a nice Knock Off to get rid of your Leftovers Goh?"
Chloe's Sableye attacked Excadrill as it lost its Leftovers item. In response, Grookey smacked Goh with his stick as he glared at the Grass-type.
"You might be able to do that, but sometimes the best offense is pure offense."
Goh's Excadrill used Earthquake, sending Sableye down and winning the match. Chloe frowned, before grabbing a pencil from her bag and striking a piece of paper with another score tick.
"That leaves us at five-five. Tiebreaker?"
"Tiebreaker."
As the two of them returned to their game, Grookey rolled his eyes before jumping off of Goh's shoulder and onto the plane's aisle. Creeping up on Ash and Serena, he snickered before slamming his stick onto Serena's foot.
"YOWWWW!"
Serena's scream was heard by the entire plane as they turned their heads over to her. Nervously smiling, she looked down at her feet to see Grookey snickering and running off to Goh. Noticing Ash laughing slightly, she glared at him.
"Did you ask Goh to wake me up with Grookey?" Serena asked Ash.
"No, I didn't, I swear," Ash nervously responded. "Goh's Grookey is just like that."
Serena looked over to see Goh pointing his finger at Grookey and lambasting him for attacking Serena, and she couldn't help but chuckle.
"At least he's getting punished for it," Serena stated.
After their flight landed, the group found themselves in Pallet Town: the one spot of respite for Ash Ketchum following a long journey. The town he grew up in, the town where his Pokémon reside, and perhaps most importantly of all right now, the town where he met a certain Kalosian girl.
Ash, Serena, Goh, and Chloe were walking along the streets of Pallet, smiling to themselves blissfully. Ash had suggested visiting for two main reasons: he hadn't seen his other Pokémon in a while, and Serena had insisted on meeting with his mother Delia, a meeting he was dreading. Ash thought of the worst outcomes; mostly Delia going on about all the embarrassing incidents.
"I forgot how nice Pallet was!" Serena cheerfully exclaimed, holding Ash's hand. "Vaniville was never this neat."
"Well, when you live here for as long as I have it starts to get boring," Ash responded. "Goh, Chloe, you guys find Vermilion stale too, right?"
"No, because there's actually stuff to do in Vermilion," Chloe snarked. "Pallet has nothing on the big cities."
"Yeah, I'd get bored so quickly here," Goh added. "No offense of course Ash."
Ash chuckled as he looked to Serena, who was still eyeing Pallet in awe, her arm clinging to his. She closed her eyes before leaning her head on Ash's shoulder, smiling. Pikachu positioned himself between them as they continued to stroll along, before hearing a grumbling noise from none other than Ash's stomach.
"We're going to be walking for a while, so we might as well grab something to eat now," Ash declared.
"I think I see a restaurant over there!" Serena added. Along the street, there was a restaurant labeled "Pallet House", nestled along the corner of an intersection. The delicious smell of fresh food floated through the air from the restaurant.
"Man that smells good," Goh stated. "So Pallet House?"
"Sounds good to me!" Chloe responded. "Ash?"
"Y-yeah, Pallet House works!" Ash declared. While he was more than happy to eat there, there was one thing about the place that his friends didn't know.
It was his mom's restaurant.
Ash wanted to see her after his long trip through Hoenn, but also knew that there was the possibility of her meeting Serena. Crossing the street, the group made their way into the restaurant, walking through the doors. It was quite busy, with plenty of people and their Pokémon eating. Ash approached the front desk and ringed the bell to get the attention of the waitstaff, secretly hoping that it wasn't-
"Ash?"
As if on cue, Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother, was the one to see them first. Immediately, she squeezed Ash like a stuffed animal. Ash blushed HARD while Serena and the others snickered a short distance away.
"Ash, you're back! Oak said you'd be back sometime after Deoxys wrecked his lab! How was Hoenn? Did you make sure to have clean underwear? Were you safe? Did-"
"Mom, not in front of my friends!" Ash exclaimed, breaking away from the hug. "But yes to your questions."
Delia peered over Ash's shoulder to see Goh, Chloe, and Serena standing nearby, waving.
"Goh, it's good to see you again," Delia warmly stated. "And who are you two?"
"I'm Chloe, and I'm Professor Cerise's daughter," Chloe responded. "Goh and I are close friends, and needless to say Ash is another good friend of mine."
"And I'm Serena!" Serena declared. "We talked over the phone back when Ash was in Kalos. I traveled with him there, and then bumped into him in Hoenn!"
Delia couldn't help but notice the way Serena inched closer to Ash. The way Ash nervously looked at the two of them in response was all she needed to confirm her suspicions: her son finally had a girlfriend!
Of course, it was a mother's job not to reveal said knowledge right away, but to subtly embarrass their child for it until they told her themselves.
"Great to meet you Serena and Chloe! I'll get you guys a table right away!"
An hour later, the group was snacking away at their lunch. They had vegetable tempura for appetizers first. Goh was chowing down on a platter of tonkatsu, Chloe was devouring some curry rice, and Pikachu was gorging on an omurice (covered in ketchup of course). Meanwhile, Ash and Serena were sharing a plate of yakisoba, with two heart-shaped croquettes on the side.
Goh looked up and snickered; some of the curry sauce got on Chloe's face. She pouted at Goh before continuing to dig into the rice. Ash and Serena meanwhile were devouring the yakisoba, and even had their hands over each others' on the table as they did so! From a distance, Delia observed this and fondly smiled to herself.
They're absolutely together, no question about it. My little Ash is all grown up…
Delia stepped forward to the group, smiling as she watched them eat.
"So Serena, why'd you decide to come to Kanto?" Delia questioned. "From what I remember, Ash said you wanted to become Kalos Queen."
Serena looked up; a noodle was hanging from her mouth. "I still want to, but I also wanted to tackle Kanto's contest circuit. Plus…I missed Ash."
"Oh, are you two together?"
Ash briefly choked on his glass of water, gulping it down before looking at Delia nervously. Were they that obvious?
"I-er-"
"Yes Miss Ketchum, Ash and I are together."
Serena kissed Ash on the cheek as he nervously sat there in silence, blinking briefly and awaiting the coming storm.
"Thank you for being honest Serena," Delia stated. "And call me Delia! You're part of the family now."
"You…you knew?" Ash questioned. Delia then turned to him happily, placing her hands on top of her son's.
"I'm your mother, of course I knew! My little boy's got himself a girlfriend and I'm so happy! You've been out on your own for four years, and only now you've found her! I'll need to give her a list of all your embarrassing childhood stories and favorite recipes, as well as-"
"Mom!"
Serena snickered behind her hand as Ash glared at Delia. She laughed in response, hugging Ash and Serena. They returned the hug as Goh and Chloe looked on awkwardly. Did Delia just forget they were here too?
Following their time at the restaurant (and Delia telling everyone about the time Ash tried to eat a bath bomb when he was five), the gang was headed for Oak's lab.
"It's not THAT funny," Ash stated. "I was bedridden for two days after that!"
"Come on Ash, she's your mom! It's her job to embarrass you," Serena snarked.
"And that's why when we meet with Grace again, I'm gonna ask her about your embarrassing stor-OW!"
Serena had stepped on Ash's foot in the middle of his sentence as he looked at her with a questioning stare. She then smiled at him with her eyes closed before kissing his cheek.
"I can't stay mad at you…" Ash grumbled, grabbing ahold of her hand again as they made their way up the hill towards Oak's lab. The view from here was incredible; the entirety of Pallet stretched out before them! Arriving at the top, Ash rang the doorbell as the group waited for Oak to answer. Eventually, it opened to reveal Tracey with a piece of pizza dangling out of his mouth.
"You…you guys got here faster than I expected. I never got to finish my lunch."
"Is that pineapple on that pizza?" Goh questioned, staring down Tracey.
Tracey immediately lopped the slice into his mouth like a seal, before standing aside to let the group in. As they walked in, Goh peered at Tracey in suspicion as they walked out to the corral. Ash's Pokémon were scattered all throughout the area, but immediately took notice of Ash. Then, the sound of rumbling hooves filled the air as Ash looked to his left.
A stampede of Tauros was dashing right for him.
"ASH!"
Serena darted in front of Ash, extending her arms in front of him. The Tauros skidded to a halt almost immediately as Ash put a hand on Serena's shoulder.
"They always do this, don't worry."
Ash stepped forward and brought as many of the Tauros as he could into a group hug as they happily cheered. Serena, Goh, and Chloe looked on admirably, before turning their gaze to Ash's other Pokémon. Of particular note, Hawlucha, Noivern, and Talonflame were happy to see Serena again, while others like Snivy and Buizel were keeping their distance but smiling at the group.
"Ash, you never said you had this many Pokémon!" Chloe exclaimed. Ash shot her a grin before being ambushed by Muk, who practically threw himself on top of the boy.
"Muuuk."
Ash laughed as Muk sat on top of him, prying him off before getting up. Looking around, he could see Goh smiling in awe at his Shiny Noctowl, Chloe feeding his Infernape, and Serena laughing as Bayleef rubbed against her leg.
"Bay, bay!"
Bayleef nuzzled Serena's knee, letting off a mild floral scent. She then looked to Ash, who gave Serena a thumbs-up.
"Normally Bayleef hates it when other people get my attention. Guess this is her way of welcoming you."
Serena blushed lightly as she walked over to Ash, holding hands with her. Ash's Pokémon glanced for a few seconds, before erupting in joy. Talonflame even high-fived Hawlucha with his wing, leading Ash to wonder if even those two noticed Serena's affection for him.
"Noiv?"
Ash looked at Noivern, who was smiling at him and Serena. He then stood up and turned his back towards the couple, turning his head around to smile at them.
"I…I think Noivern wants us to ride him," Serena realized. "And to be honest, that sounds awesome!"
"You said it Serena!" Ash responded, smiling at her. Pulling her hand, the two of them ran over to the Dragon-type and got onto his back. Serena held onto Ash from behind as Noivern flapped his wings and ascended into the skies. Goh and Chloe were too distracted by Ash's Pokémon to see that they had left, but didn't seem to mind. Ash's Pokémon were fun to be around!
Steven Stone had just returned to the Devon Corporation's headquarters. Entering an elevator and pressing a specific combination of buttons, he descended down to a research floor of the building. Scientists were hard at work, though some took the time to give Steven a nod of respect. The Hoenn champion walked to a desk, where a blond-haired woman was hard at work on a computer.
"Ah, Steven Stone!" The woman greeted Steven with a smile. "What sort of treasure have you got today?"
"It's a Pokémon actually," Steven responded, placing a Poké Ball onto the desk. "Inside this Poké Ball is the Deoxys that was inside the Grand Meteor Delta. After all these years, we've finally obtained one to study!"
"Gosh Steven, I can't imagine what kind of stuff we could find out from this!" The woman smiled at Steven again. "I'll be sure to bring it into the vault after my lunch break."
"That would be great," Steven responded. "Keep up the good work…what was your name again?"
"Domino!" the woman beamed. Steven smiled at her as he walked out of the room and back into the elevator. Domino got up off of her desk and walked through a door, entering a long hallway. Opening up one of the heavily-secured doors, she was met with a large, open room. Domino threw out Deoxys's Poké Ball as it appeared before her. While the Poké Ball had tempered its aggression, it still looked at Domino wearily.
"Ah, so you're Deoxys! I'm glad to finally meet you. Unfortunately, you'll be receiving a change in location."
Domino brandished another Poké Ball and threw it to the ground. A Ditto emerged from it, and immediately transformed into Deoxys. The original Deoxys stared down Ditto in curiosity, before Domino smirked and returned it to the ball.
"Now then, 'Deoxys', you know what to do here," Domino stated. "Do not let the facade be broken."
The impostor Deoxys nodded at Domino as she left the room. Looking around briefly, she pulled out her Rotom Phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Boss, this is the Black Tulip."
"The specimen has been secured."
With Ash and Serena on his back, Noivern soared through the skies of Kanto, darting past clouds and gliding along. A flock of Butterfree flew next to the group, and Ash could've sworn one of them nodded at him before breaking away. He looked towards Serena, who was closing her eyes, holding onto her boyfriend as they soared through the skies.
"This…this is bliss," Serena muttered. "You don't know how long I've loved you for Ash."
"And I didn't know until recently," Ash remarked. "I'm…I'm sorry I never noticed sooner."
"Ash, if you had noticed, you probably would've been begging to come to Hoenn with me," Serena snarked. "And if that happened, you wouldn't have won the Manalo Conference!"
"I suppose that's true," Ash admitted. "But hey, let's enjoy what we have now! We've got the rest of our lives to push for our goals together, though I'm unsure of how exactly this "romance" thing works."
"Well, looks like I'll have to teach you that," Serena smugly stated. She then kissed Ash from behind as he blushed.
"If it's any consolation, at the time I thought you looked cute in that Fennekin costume," Ash assured. "Though I guess I didn't quite know what that feeling meant at the time."
"Oh, shush," Serena cracked. "Part of the reason I wore that was to see your reaction."
"It certainly worked," Ash responded. "But how you look makes no difference to me. You like me for who I am, not what I do."
"Would you still be saying that even if I got out the Fennekin outfit again?"
"I..er…"
Serena laughed to herself at her boyfriend's stammering. She had a long way to go when it came to teaching him about romance.
After about twenty more minutes of flying, Noivern had returned to Oak's laboratory. As he landed, Ash jumped off of the Dragon-type, extending his hand for Serena to take as she descended alongside him. Goh and Chloe were a short distance away, their Pokémon playing with Ash's. Hand in hand, the two of them walked over.
"Seems like you two have had fun," Ash remarked. Goh smiled at Ash, giving a thumbs-up.
"It's always great to see your Pokémon Ash," Goh responded. "One day I'd love to talk with each and every one!"
Totodile jumped up, biting down on Goh's head. Ash chuckled in response, prying Totodile off of Goh's head. He then felt a vibration in his pocket, pulling out his Rotom Phone to see a text from Professor Cerise.
Ash, are you guys able to return to the lab? I have a new research mission for you.
Ash smiled, returning the text.
We can get there from Pallet as soon as possible. Also, we'll be bringing someone along who's interested in joining us.
Ash put his phone back into his pocket as he looked to the rest of the group.
"Alright guys, I just got a text from Cerise," he stated. "We'll need to get back to the lab when we can. Goh, Chloe, can you two help me vouch for Serena to join us as a research fellow?"
"Can do Ash!" Goh exclaimed.
"We're practically sisters at this point, so I can for sure!" Chloe added.
"Oh, you guys…" Serena smiled at her friends' optimism as they ran off, but Ash stopped her briefly.
"Don't worry Serena, we'll be approaching everything together. And even though Goh and Chloe are with us, I'll be sure to set aside some time for us two alone. No offense Pikachu."
"Pika!" Pikachu optimistically cheered in understanding. Serena giggled as she held her hand in front of her mouth, before walking over to Ash. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned in as they touched foreheads, smiling at each other.
"I love you Serena."
"I love you too Ash."
The two of them kissed briefly, breaking away after a few seconds. Hand in hand, they walked forward to join back up with Goh and Chloe, knowing that whatever awaited them…
They would be together to face it.
"Sir, the Deoxys has just arrived. Are we free to commence our research?"
"By all means Matori. Project Nugget demanded such a resource."
"As you wish sir."
Currently, Giovanni, the head of Team Rocket, was sitting in his office, petting his beloved Persian. The acquisition of the Deoxys that Devon had secured was another grand achievement for the organization. A knock was heard as Giovanni gestured to his guards.
"Open it."
The door opened as Jessie, James, and Meowth, three of his subordinates, walked into Giovanni's office. Meowth sniffed the air, before glaring at Giovanni's Persian.
"You wished to see us boss?" Jessie questioned.
"Indeed," Giovanni responded. "Kneel."
The trio kneeled in front of Giovanni's desk as he coldly stared them down.
"You three are being reassigned," Giovanni stated. "Your presence as field agents is required no more."
"A promotion?" James replied. "What sort of work are we doing?"
"This dossier has your orders. Now go. Make Team Rocket proud."
As the group rose from their kneeling, Giovanni slid a folder over his desk. James went to retrieve it as the trio departed.
"Sometimes I wonder why I keep them employed. Perhaps this upcoming operation will be their final test."
Giovanni smirked as he petted his Persian. Soon, Team Rocket would have its chance.
Well, that happened. Who knows what Giovanni has in the works?
I hope you enjoyed the finale, and are excited for the sequel! So far, work on it is in the early planning stages so I don't anticipate it being out for at least a couple of months. Besides that, I'd also like to shed light on some cut story arcs and content now that the story is over!
-Around the time of the Trainer Hill story arc, I was planning to have Ash and Serena's Sceptiles lay an egg, with the group not knowing the result until it hatches. Goh would've taken care of said egg, and it would be his major story arc. This changed once I got the idea for the meteor fragment to hit, and I felt as if the egg story would be contrived. This was a fairly last-minute change, and as a result I feel as if I've neglected Goh as a character. Fret not though, he will be getting some good focus in the sequel!
-May's return was going to be a bit more fleshed out but I felt as if this detracted from Ash and Serena's growing relationship. She would've even traded her Munchlax with Serena's Pancham, but I decided against this. This is why I chose Munchlax and Pancham to help out Pikachu and Sceptile in the hot springs chapter: I liked the idea of their bonding.
-I had considered teasing Vermilionshipping as well as a possible ship with Pikachu and Sylveon, but I felt as if the story was already packed with enough shipping content. Maybe in the sequel we'll see Goh and Chloe getting closer, but I don't think Pikachu will be shipped with anyone.
-Serena was originally intended to catch Rayquaza, hence why I kept one of her party slots intentionally empty. This was changed due to it not feeling right to me, but that party slot will likely be filled in the sequel.
-The OCs we had in the Mauville chapter were due to reappear for the Kyogre-Groudon fight (which I wish I fleshed out more), but cut due to me wanting to focus on the Sky Pillar conflict.
Hopefully you guys understand why I went down the route I did, and thank you so much for all the support! If you ever wish to talk to me, my Discord is Krex#0843!