Serena made her way back into the performers' dressing room, her heart pounding, her hand clasping a key ring that now bore a gold Princess Key, with a heart-shaped emerald embedded in the handle. She could barely believe what she had just done. She had earned her first of three Princess Keys in dominant fashion, putting all of the performers in Kalos on notice, and showing Ash just how much she had grown as a Pokémon Performer. Now came the hard part: talking to him.

She quickly walked over to her mirror, where her bag was waiting for her; she reached in and pulled out a makeup wipe, starting to clean off her face. Her mind raced with all the things she had wanted to say to him, trying to think of what would be best. She had imagined their reunion for years, and while she hadn't expected it to come now, she still had plenty of lines and plenty of emotions that she knew she would need to express.

As she finished removing her makeup, she failed to notice the opening of the door, or the approaching footsteps. It wasn't until she saw a shifting shadow in the mirror that she realized she wasn't alone. She quickly turned around, finding herself face-to-face with an older woman, sporting sunglasses atop her head, a fancy full-length coat, and graying blond hair.

"That was quite the performance you put on, Serena," the woman spoke.

"Palermo!" Serena exclaimed, immediately recognizing the former Kalos Queen. "I didn't realize you were here…"

"Of course you didn't. I'm only seen here when I want to be seen." She took a step toward the young performer, an amused smirk on her face. "I have to say, I was worried for you when you rejected my mentorship offer, all those years ago. Obviously, my fears were unfounded."

"Ah… thank you, Palermo, very much." Serena smiled gratefully at her. "And thank you for your suggestion, to travel to Hoenn. Those Pokémon Contests really were a big help."

"Clearly, they were. Your Pokémon are leagues ahead of where they were before. So are you, for that matter." Palermo grinned. "You're a good student, evidently."

Serena nodded, a bit contritely. "I'm sorry about rejecting your offer. I know you could have made me a great Performer. It's just…"

The older woman shook her head. "You don't need to apologize, Serena. If it wasn't right for you, then it wasn't right for you." She folded her arms. "That's why I'm here. I just wanted to let you know that offer is still on the table, should you want it."

Serena's eyes widened. "It… it is? Really?"

"Of course. I still believe that you have the potential to be Kalos Queen. And I think you'd make a great one."

The performer flushed pink, not expecting such a compliment from someone so experienced. She smiled sheepishly, after a moment. "I… I'll think about it."

Palermo nodded in response. "Please do."

The two stood about for a moment, before Serena spoke again, sensing that the conversation had reached its natural end. "Well, I should… change out of this…"

"No, you shouldn't," the older woman responded, shaking her head. "In fact, you should put your makeup back on."

Serena blinked, surprised. "What? How come?"

Palermo smiled. "Because right now, there are roughly thirty little girls out there in the lobby, waiting to see you. Maybe more."

Serena was briefly stunned by this. "They… want to see me?"

"Who else? They're certainly not here to see a washed-up old fogey like me." Palermo smirked. "They want to see what a future queen is like. Go and show them. And bring a marker. They'll want autographs."

The younger woman stood for a moment, dumbfounded, before coming to her senses, smiling and bowing her head. "Right, of course. Thank you again."

Palermo nodded and put her sunglasses back down over her eyes, before turning and walking out the dressing room door. Serena watched her go for a second, before turning and reaching into her bag, pulling out her makeup kit, smiling wide. Ever since she was just starting out as a Performer, she had wanted to inspire others and make them smile, and here was her opportunity to do so. Ash would have to wait just a bit longer.


Several minutes later, she walked out the door leading into the lobby, with Sylveon by her side to help with the crowd that had apparently formed. She was shocked as a massive group of young girls ran over to her, wanting to speak to her, tell her how great she had been, ask for her autograph, pet her Sylveon, and more.

She laughed as they crowded around, grinning wide. "Alright, one at a time, one at a time…" She bent down to talk to one of the girls, who started raving about the amazing performance Serena had just put on.

Elsewhere in the lobby, Ash and his friends were standing in a corner, waiting for the champion to show up. As soon as Ash heard her voice, he quickly turned toward it, grinning as he saw her being swarmed, half expecting her to be lifted up and carried away. Iris and Brock quickly noticed her arrival as well, turning to watch.

"There she is," Ash spoke. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how popular she's gotten."

"After that performance, I'm not surprised, either," Iris responded, stepping closer to him, Axew back at his usual perch on her head. "That was amazing. Was she that good before?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. She was good back then, but nothing like this." He turned back to the two of them, Pikachu still watching Serena from his shoulder. "You guys should meet her! I'd love to introduce you."

Brock nodded, smiling and stepping forward. "Sure, that sounds-"

"Actually," Iris interrupted, reaching out and grasping the fabric of Brock's sleeve, "I think Brock and I are going to head back to the Pokémon Center. We'll see you back there later, alright?"

Brock's face fell a bit. "Whuh… but I was hoping to…"

"Come on, Brock…" she growled, turning and walking toward the front door, dragging him forcefully along. As Ash watched them leave, he felt Pikachu leap off of his shoulder and run after them, able to take the hint from Iris. He climbed up Brock's side and onto his shoulder, turning back toward Ash and waving at him, in a clear "good luck" gesture.

Once they had all left the venue, Ash turned back toward Serena, watching as she interacted with the collection of young girls around her. Several of them were kneeling next to Sylveon, petting its body and its ribbons, while Serena conversed with an excited young girl with curly brown hair. She looked completely in her element, caught up in the moment, a wide smile on her face. In that moment, she looked fulfilled, like she had everything she needed.

"She sure looks happy…" he muttered to himself. He stayed for several minutes more, watching as she continued to talk and laugh, never once looking his way. He eventually reached up and tugged his hat down a bit, covering his face, and he walked out one of the side entrances, stepping outside. He walked down the steps quickly, not wanting her to notice that he had left. Serena didn't notice anything amiss, moving on to the next young girl.


Some time later, Serena had finally gotten through the crowd of girls that were excited to see her, and she looked around at the nearly-empty lobby. The room had cleared out ten minutes ago, but she had continued to wait for the one person she had really hoped to see, her heart sinking further with each passing minute. As the cleaning crew came out to start sweeping the floors and pick up discarded programs, she was finally forced to accept the truth: there was nobody else coming to see her.

She looked down, her head and her heart feeling heavy. "I guess that's it." She turned around, walking backstage once again, slowly. She wasn't sure how this reunion was going to play out, but this was one thing she had never expected. This was definitely much worse than never seeing him again.

"I guess five years is a long time," she spoke to herself quietly as she walked into the dressing room, trying to rationalize what had happened. "People change… a lot. It was silly of me to think that things could be the same as before." She reached out and closed up her bag, not bothering to remove her makeup, trying to act like she wasn't completely devastated.

As she picked up the bag, she could feel something wrapping around her arm. Looking down, she saw Sylveon with a sad and sympathetic expression on her face, hating to see her trainer so upset. Serena forced a smile, kneeling down and embracing her Pokémon.

"I'll be alright, Sylveon," she lied. "You're a sweetheart."

She stood up after a few moments, returning Sylveon to her Poké Ball, before she started walking toward the entrance, feeling numb, all of the wind taken out of her sails. She didn't even want to think about her next Showcase right now, or really about anything at all. She closed her eyes as she pushed open the front door, stepping outside into the night air.

"Hey, there you are."

Her eyes snapped open, and she lifted her head to look at the figure standing at the bottom of the stairs. There he was, looking a bit cold and even more tired, but smiling wide, excited to see her; given what time it was now, he must have been waiting here for close to an hour. She felt her bag slip from her grasp, hitting the ground.

"You sure are popular now," he continued. "There was an army of people out there waiting to see you after the Showcase."

"Ash…" she uttered quietly, not sure what else to say, as she experienced the most severe emotional whiplash of her life.

"You were really incredible up there," Ash went on. "I can't believe how much better you've gotten."

"Ash…" she repeated, her heart pounding once again. All of the things she had wanted to say, all that she had practiced over the years, had completely fled her mind as she processed what was going on. She had spent years building up her strength and her confidence, and he had managed to reduce her to this in a matter of seconds.

"I… I was going to come and find you," she finally managed, her voice barely audible. "You were supposed to wait for me."

"Sorry," Ash offered. "Guess I didn't want to wait any longer."

She could feel her breathing becoming shaky, her mind and her heart reeling. Despite all of the time she had spent imagining their eventual reunion, she had never imagined anything like this. She never thought he would want to see her as much as she wanted to see him, and yet here he was, standing out in the cold for ages, just for a chance to speak to her alone. She tried to speak again, but she had no words.

She started to slowly walk down the stairs, her pace steadily picking up before she found herself running to him, tears falling from her eyes, glistening in the light of the street lamps. She closed her eyes tight as she reached level ground, throwing herself into his arms and holding him tight as she buried her face in his shoulder, feeling his arms wrap around her.

"I…" She sniffled. "I told myself I wouldn't cry when this moment came, but… just… I'm so happy to see you, Ash."

"Yeah," he muttered quietly, holding her gently. "You too, Serena."

The two stood there for several long moments, not saying anything, just feeling the warmth of the other's embrace. There was no longer any cold, nor exhaustion, just the two of them together, as they held each other in the cool night air.


Back at the Pokémon Center, Iris and Brock were sitting at a table near the entrance, playing a card game to pass the time. Brock was clearly winning, while Iris grew more and more irritated with how the game was going; Pikachu watched curiously, while Axew was curled up on a nearby chair, fast asleep.

They both turned as soon as they heard a muted pair of voices, followed by the whirr of the automatic doors opening, as both Ash and Serena walked inside. She had regained her composure several minutes before, and the two of them were talking animatedly as they spent some time catching up, her bag slung over his shoulder.

"Pipika!" Pikachu cheered happily, jumping off the table and racing over to the both of them. He leaped excitedly into Serena's arms, and as she caught him he began licking her cheek affectionately.

She laughed, delighted, feeling the tickle of tiny electric shocks as he showered her with affection. "Oh, I missed you too, Pikachu!" Iris quickly stood up and walked over to the pair, excited to meet her and eager to abandon the card game that she was losing; Brock quickly followed, wanting to meet the girl that Ash was so excited to see.

"Guys, this is Serena," Ash spoke, introducing her to them; he knew that Iris and Brock both knew Serena's name, but he wasn't sure how else this was supposed to be done. "Serena, this is Iris and Brock. I met both of them before I came to Kalos the first time." She smiled wide, holding Pikachu gently in her arms as the other two walked up to her.

"It's great to meet you!" Iris said cheerfully, extending her hand, which Serena shook. "I'm from Unova. I'm the Gym Leader in Opelucid City."

"That was an amazing performance you put on," Brock added, extending his hand as well. "I'm training to be a Pokémon Doctor, but I used to be the Gym Leader of Pewter City, in Kanto."

Serena grinned, shaking Brock's hand. "Wow, Ash, you sure know a lot of Gym Leaders, don't you?"

"Huh?" Ash replied, not having thought much about it before. "I mean, I know a couple…"

"A couple?" Brock cocked his head. "What about Misty, in Cerulean City?"

"Or Cilan, in Striaton City," Iris chimed in.

Serena grinned wider, a light teasing in her voice as she spoke. "Don't forget about Clemont, here in Lumiose City."

"Ok, so I know a lot of Gym Leaders!" Ash responded, a bit irritated at everyone ganging up on him. "What does it matter?"

Iris grinned, ignoring Ash's outburst, looking back toward Serena. "Ash has told us all about you. When he heard you were going to be here, he made us run all the way from Laverre City to make it in time."

Serena's eyebrows rose, and she smiled as her face turned a bit pink. "He did, really?" She glanced over at him for confirmation, seeing him smiling sheepishly and looking down. She felt her heart swell a bit in response.

"How long will you be in Kalos?" Brock asked. "Are you doing the whole Master Class cycle?"

"Mhmm." She nodded. "I'll be here for several months, at least. The Showcase season mostly lines up with the Pokémon League schedule."

"That's great to hear," Ash chimed in, looking back up at her. "Would you want to travel with us, Serena? It wouldn't be the same without you."

She beamed at him, having been waiting for this question. "Of course I will, Ash! I wouldn't want it any other way."

He smiled even wider, relieved and thrilled. He took a moment to take note of the subtle changes he'd observed in Serena's personality. Her travels over the past five years had clearly given her a good deal more confidence, and with that she had become more playful, as well; he decided that he liked this change very much. Serena, for her part, was happy that Ash hadn't changed too much, and that the two of them were still equal in height.

"Well then, we've got a bit of work to do," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his town map. "If we're going to be hitting both Gyms and Showcases, we'll need to figure out where we're going."


Ten minutes later, all of them were seated around the table once again. The card game had been discarded, and the town map had been laid out, as they worked out where they were going to be, and when. Ash took notes, marking up the map with a pencil, as Serena used her phone to look up important dates.

"I think we've got the Western half of Kalos down," Ash spoke, glancing down at the map. "We can just do one big loop and it'll work out. It's the Eastern half that's tricky…"

"Actually…" Iris chimed in, pointing to the bottom-left corner of the map. "Do we have time to travel along Route 8 after Cyllage City? There are Bagons in that area, and I'd love to catch one. There aren't too many pure Dragon-types in Kalos."

"Sure, we can do that," Serena answered, leaning over the map. "We've got nearly two weeks to spare before we hit Lumiose City." Ash nodded, erasing one of the lines he had drawn and penciling in another, as Serena looked toward Brock. "Was there any place you wanted to see while you were here, Brock?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm not going anywhere in particular. As long as I get to see lots of Kalos, I'm fine." Ash nodded before he turned his attention to the right half of the map once again.

"So the Master Class is in Gloire City again, but…" he muttered. "There are still two other Gyms past Gloire that we need to tackle, and the timing is kind of rough." He absentmindedly drew a couple of question marks near a snowy, mountainous region. "We might have to backtrack from Snowbelle City to make the Master Class, then backtrack again later from Santalune City to make the Pokémon League… that's a bit messy."

Serena shook her head. "Actually, the Snowbelle Gym is closed down."

He blinked, glancing up at her. "What? When did that happen?"

"A couple of years ago, when Wulfric retired."

He glanced back down at the map, slumping a bit, his chin in his hands. "Well, that's just great. Where am I supposed to get my eighth Gym Badge?"

"There's a new Gym, it's… shoot, I used to know this…" She went back to her phone, performing a quick search. "Oh, that's right. There's a new Gym in Fleurrh City. It's a Dark-type Gym, run by Athena."

"Fleurrh City?" Ash's eyes lit up as he found it on the map. "That's perfect! That's right on the way to Gloire." He drew more lines on the map. "Now we only have to backtrack once. Guess we're not hitting Snowbelle City after all." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Iris sighing in relief, never having been a fan of the cold.

"I think we've got it!" he proclaimed, holding up the map in triumph. "Seven Gyms, six Showcases. We're all set to go." He started folding it up. "And along the way, I'll catch the remaining Pokémon I need to compete in the League."

"Catch them?" Serena asked, surprised. "You didn't bring a team with you?"

"I never do," he replied, putting the map back into his pocket. "Whenever I enter a new region, I try to catch and raise all of my Pokémon during my travels. That's how I've always done it."

She cocked her head. "What about Pikachu?"

"Thank you," Iris interjected, slumping forward. "I was telling him the same thing days ago." Brock chuckled.

Ash glanced down at his Pokémon sitting on the table, who looked back at him curiously. "Pikachu's different. The two of us have always been together." He reached down and pet Pikachu gently on top of his head.

Serena nodded, still looking skeptical. "Well, I don't want to tell you how to build your team. But a lot of people who compete in the Kalos League have Pokémon they've been training with for years. Having more Pokémon you're familiar with might… make things easier."

He frowned and looked down, thinking this over. He was reluctant to change the strategy he'd been using for years, but he also had too many near-misses and not enough championship trophies under his belt. Everyone watched him mull this over for a few seconds, before his eyes lit up a bit.

"You know, there is one Pokémon I could bring along who would definitely make things easier."

"Yeah?" Brock sat up, curious. "Who's that? Charizard?"

"Nah, not him." Ash stood up. "Hold on, I'm going to make a call to Professor Oak." He turned and headed toward the Pokémon transfer station, as the others watched him go, wondering who he was going to add to his roster.


"Alright, Ash, your Pokémon is on its way."

Ash grinned into the screen of the video phone, looking at the old man from his hometown, who had given him his Pikachu so many years ago. "Thanks a lot, Professor. Sorry for calling you so late."

"That's alright, my boy. But I wouldn't complain if you started making these sorts of calls in the daytime."

He smiled sheepishly. "Right, sorry. Have a good night."

"Best of luck in the Kalos League, Ash!" With that, Professor Oak hung up the phone to initiate the transfer. Thirty seconds later, the transfer station came to life, humming and glowing for a minute before quieting down, a Poké Ball appearing on a podium built into the device. Ash grinned and reached out to take it, before walking back to the main room, where his friends were waiting.

"Did you get your Pokémon, Ash?" Serena asked, sitting up.

"I sure did!" He grinned and threw the Poké Ball out in front of him. "Come on out!" The ball hit the ground, opening up and releasing the stored energy inside. A couple of seconds later, the energy had formed into a short, green, snake-like Pokémon with half-closed eyes and a smug expression. Serena and Brock looked at it curiously, while Iris, Axew and Pikachu immediately recognized it.

"Ah! It's Snivy!" she exclaimed, smiling wide. Serena took out her Pokédex and pointed it at the new arrival, as Pikachu rushed over to greet his old friend.

"Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon," the machine recited. "Being exposed to sunlight makes its movements swifter. It uses vines more adeptly than its hands."

Ash grinned wide, watching as Pikachu and Snivy clasped hands, happy to see each other once again. "Snivy's one of the best Pokémon I ever caught. She's really strong, and she can help my other Pokémon grow, too." He walked over and kneeled down next to Snivy, who looked back up at him.

"What do you say, Snivy? Want to help me take on the Kalos League?" She smiled and nodded in response, voicing her approval, glad to be part of a journey again instead of cooped up in Professor Oak's lab. Ash grinned wide, holding up his hand; Snivy responded by extending a vine from her collar, which reached up and smacked his hand for a high-five.

"Perfect," he said, as everyone else smiled and gathered around. "Now I'm ready to tackle anything." He looked around, glancing over the smiling faces of everyone around him. He felt like everything was finally in place, that everyone he needed was here with him. Nothing was going to stop him now.

The moment was interrupted as he felt a gentle tugging on his pant leg. Glancing down, he saw Pikachu looking back up at him, looking as if he might fall asleep at any moment. He grinned a bit and scooped his Pokémon up in his arms.

"Right, right," he spoke. "First we need to sleep, then I'll be ready to tackle anything." The others nodded and laughed, all of them suddenly tired, as everyone moved to get some rest.