"Latias! Zen headbutt!"
The familiar red legendary pokémon slammed into Team Rocket with the speed of a jet fighter, sweeping them up into the air.
Ash's pokéballs clattered to the ground, along with the case Pikachu was trapped in, which shattered on impact.
"We're blasting off again!" James yelled.
"It's too soon for this!" Meowth added.
"It's not fair, my plan was perfect!" Jessie finished off, as they soared into the sky.
That drop would be deadly for anyone else, but Ash had a feeling they'd somehow get out of it like they always did.
As soon as he had scrambled to pick up the pokéballs, Ash turned to see who had saved him and saw none other than Serena, standing in full contest gown, a cream-colored top matched with a long, sleek sequin skirt which matched Milotic's scales. Ash was speechless. She'd looked great on stage, but up close she was absolutely gorgeous. Right as he thought his cheeks couldn't heat up any more, another familiar face kissed him on the cheek.
"Huh? Bianca?"
Serena looked like she was about to have a stroke. "Latias! What the hell are you doing?"
The girl glowed and transformed back into Latias. She made a loop around Ash before going over to Serena and chirping.
Whatever Latias had said to Serena made her take on a blush to rival Ash's own. Ash had often wondered why it was so easy to understand one's own pokémon, but anything other pokémon said sounded like gibberish. He chalked it up to a trainer's bond with their pokémon.
"So, Ash, what are you doing here?
Ash snapped out of his daze. "Huh? Oh, I'm in Hoenn to train with Lance for the Ever Grande Conference. He thinks I stand a real shot at winning this year."
Serena looked almost disappointed. Clearly he'd said something wrong.
"Pikapi! Pika pika-pi." His friend thwacked him on the back of the head.
"Oh! So, when I heard the Grand Festival was happening, I thought I'd come to cheer you on!"
Serena's cheeks flashed pink again. "Really? You came for me?"
"Yeah! You were great out there! How long did it take you to put that together?"
Latias circled the trainers curiously.
"About two months, give or take. Getting the costume to look believable wasn't easy. But I did it, and Milotic rocked the performance!" Serena beamed with pride.
"Pika!" The pokémon snapped at Ash, and pointed at its wrist.
Ash grabbed the back of his head. "Um… Serena…" He trailed off.
"Huh?"
"I was wondering…"
Serena started to fidget.
Pikachu looked at Ash threateningly and sparks came off his cheeks.
"Wanna catch up over dinner?" He spit the words out so fast they almost sounded like one.
Serena turned red as a cheri berry. She opened her mouth but no words came out.
Now it was Ash's turn to fidget. "I mean, I get it if you don't want to. I know you're probably busy training… I just thought…"
He paused. "I thought it'd be nice."
Serena took a moment to compose herself. "I'd love to have dinner with you, Ash."
"You would?" Ash brightened up.
"Pika…" His partner let out a sigh of exasperation.
"Of course I would! Did you have somewhere particular in mind? There's plenty of great restaurants here on the festival grounds."
"Um… actually, I already have a reservation." He pulled out his DexNav and quickly keyed in the name of the restaurant which had been written on the card. To his surprise the restaurant was on the other side of the city. Without a car there was no chance they'd make it on time. He showed it to Serena.
Serena blinked in shock. "Isn't that place crazy expensive Ash?"
He stammered, "Umm, a friend gave me a gift certificate. But it doesn't really matter…" He sighed defeatedly. "We'll never make it in time."
Serena giggled. "Ash, have you never taken a taxi before? In a city this big there's more ways to get around than just on foot."
"Huh?"
"Forget it, come on!" She returned Latias to her pokéball and grabbed him by the hand before breaking into a run towards the taxi stand.
"Woah!" Ash grabbed his hat to keep it from flying off as he ran to keep up.
~ ⁂ ~
Serena giggled watching Ash try desperately not to shovel the food into his mouth. She sipped at her wine, the first she'd had since Kalos. Apparently here in Hoenn you couldn't drink wine until you were 18, but it seemed a fancy place like this was willing to play a bit fast and loose with the rules.
"So, what's the story with you and Latias?" Ash asked her. "Last I saw her she was in Alto Mare City."
"Well, I'm not sure about that, but I saved her from Team Rocket on Southern Island."
"Latias was having trouble with Team Rocket? She seemed to take them out pretty easily an hour ago."
Serena laughed. "Not our Team Rocket. These guys were way more serious. Steven Stone helped me save her." She put a finger on the side of her chin, pausing to think. "Actually, I've run into groups of Team Rocket's grunts a couple times here in Hoenn. Barely got out of a couple of nasty situations."
Ash gave her a look of concern. She smiled at him.
"Don't worry about me, I can handle myself now. I know a lot of trainers don't think too highly of coordinators, but you of all people should know the kind of training we do can still make our pokémon pretty fierce in battle."
Ash sighed, "I know that, but I'm still not happy to hear you've been dealing with them. I've only run into the rest of Team Rocket a couple of times, but they were usually much more dangerous than the trio we're used to. I just don't want you to get hurt."
Seeing him blush made warmth creep up Serena's face too. They focused on their food for a moment before Ash broke the awkward silence.
"That's weird though," he said, his mouth half full. He swallowed. "Most of the time Team Rocket doesn't really operate outside Kanto and Johto. I wonder why they'd be here."
Serena shrugged. "Beats me. You think they're up to something?"
"I hope not, but the last few times I've seen criminal teams acting weird haven't usually turned out great."
Serena's mind flashed to Team Flare. She shuddered, remembering the battle of Lumiose.
"You're not wrong."
"Hey, don't worry. Whatever happens, we'll face it together."
If the Butterfrees in her stomach got any more agitated, Serena was worried she might explode. She tried to change the topic.
"This crême brulée's pretty good," she commented. She paused. Was dessert really already on the table? The evening was going by in an instant.
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "It can't compare with your macarons though," he added happily, and dealt the finishing blow. She heated up as if the dessert was made of tamato berries. She blinked back tears.
"Serena, are you alright?"
"I'm – perfect – Ash," she stammered out. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.
So many years of waiting, and here she was, eating dinner with the boy who had helped her all those years ago, on the eve of a massively successful performance in the Grand Festival which she stood good odds of winning.
"Well, I know that." The words seemed so innocently unaware.
How does he do that? How does someone so dense just pile it on like that? She was screaming at herself internally. Her eyes let loose like floodgates and she started crying.
Ash rushed around the table and put his hand on her shoulder. "Serena? What's wrong?"
She looked him in the eyes, grabbed his head, and kissed him.
~ ⁂ ~
Ash felt as if Pikachu had used thunderbolt on him, except this feeling was distinctly more pleasant. It was nothing like the peck she'd given him at the airport. He had no clue what to do except close his eyes, but his arms naturally wrapped themselves around her. Before he knew it, they were in a taxi on the way to Serena's hotel on the festival grounds.
He was pretty sure he'd left much too large a tip at the restaurant from how distinctly light his wallet felt in his pocket, but he didn't care about that right now. The only thoughts on his mind were Serena's lips as they met his again and again and again.