The day after Ash won his Plant Badge, he and his friends were taking their time waking up and getting ready to travel again. Serena had eaten a bit earlier than the rest, as she needed to make a video call and see if there were any news updates for the Kalos Showcase participants. Ash, Brock and Iris were taking their time eating breakfast, not in any hurry to get going.

After finishing his meal, Ash sat back happily, holding his stomach. "Oof, that hit the spot." He glanced back at his companions. "Well, are you guys ready to hit the road again? At a reasonable pace this time."

Brock nodded, wiping his mouth. "All recharged and ready to go. I think I'm ready to spend a few more nights in a sleeping bag."

"Same here," Iris agreed. "Honestly, after traveling like we did for two days, you come to appreciate a real bed a lot more."

Ash grinned, standing up. "Well, traveling to Lagoon Town will be a lot easier. We won't run like that again, I promise."

"It's alright, Ash," she responded, as she and Brock also stood, grabbing their plates to return them. "It was worth it. Serena will be a good companion to travel with." Brock nodded in agreement, as they all returned their dishes to the dish drop. They walked out of the cafeteria to go and fetch Serena, finding her near the video phones just as she was hanging up.

"Ready to go, Serena?" Ash called out. "Any news?"

She turned around in her chair, smiling as they approached. "Hey, guys! Yeah, there was news. They said that they're going to start incorporating Performance Battles later in the season."

"Performance Battles?" Brock asked, curious, not having recognized those from his program. "Are those like… Pokémon battles, but pretty?"

"Basically, yeah." She stood up. "They're supposed to show off the artistry of a well-choreographed battle. I've seen them once or twice before, but never participated in one."

"Well, that sounds fun to watch, but… are you supposed to be in charge of both of the battling Pokémon?" Ash wondered. He looked upward, trying to picture it in his mind, imagining himself yelling commands at two different Pokémon, repeatedly turning his head back and forth.

Serena shook her head. "No, it's not a solo thing. Each performer is supposed to find what's called a Battle Partner, who will be on stage with them. They're going to be part of the performance, too." She stepped closer as she looked into his eyes, hands clasped in front of her, wanting to make it as hard as possible for him to refuse her request. "Ash, would you be my Battle Partner?"

Ash smiled and nodded, not needing to be buttered up. "Sure! Sounds like fun!"

"Great, thank you!" She smiled wide, relieved and excited. "We can start getting some practice in once we've been on the road for a little bit."

"Sounds good to me." They all turned and headed for the door, stepping outside and making their way toward Route 12.


Four hours later, the crew had come to a stop in a clearing with a small campsite, ready to rest their feet and eat some lunch before they continued on. Brock was working on a meal with Iris's help, while Ash and Serena were standing across from each other as if they were on a battlefield, ready to practice. Serena had her Delphox out in front of her, while Ash was relying on Pikachu.

"So how is this going to work?" he asked, glancing down at the space between them, where their Pokémon would be battling. "What are we practicing? Isn't the whole battle going to be choreographed?"

She nodded. "It will be, but even if it's choreographed, a partner still needs to be able to follow a lead. That's what we're practicing." She gestured toward her Pokémon. "Delphox and I will lead, and you think of how Pikachu should respond. Remember, it's not about winning, it's about being fun to watch."

"Got it." He glanced downward. "You ready to go, Pikachu?" Pikachu looked back at him and nodded affirmatively, a little unsure of how this was going to go, but ready to give it his all for Serena's sake.

"Let's get started, then," Serena announced. "Delphox, start with Fire Blast!"

Her Delphox nodded, raising the flaming stick in her hand and slowly raising it to her mouth, deliberately moving slower for Ash's sake. He watched, mind racing through Pikachu's moves; normally, he would just have his Pokémon dodge, but he knew that wouldn't be interesting to watch. After a couple seconds, he thought of an idea, just as Delphox launched her attack.

"Pikachu, try to counter it with Electroweb!"

Pikachu nodded, forming a ball of electricity on its tail and flinging it out, watching as it stretched out and formed a web. The two attacks collided in midair, canceling each other out, but leaving an afterimage of a glowing web of flame in the air for a few seconds.

Serena smiled wide, both pleased and impressed. "Good work, Ash! Now let's see…" She started thinking of her next move, but before she could, she heard Ash calling out a second time.

"Pikachu, use Electroweb again!"

She blinked. "Wait, hold it!" Her call came too late, as another electric web was flung toward her Pokémon. Delphox yelped and tried to get out of the way, but the web managed to wrap itself around her tail, sending a painful shock through her.

"Ash, what are you doing? I lead, you follow, remember?" Serena shot him a disapproving glare as Delphox shook off the attack; Ash shrunk down a bit, embarrassed, as did Pikachu.

"Sorry… just got caught up…"

She sighed. "Well, let's try again. Does Pikachu have any other… flashy moves besides Electroweb?"

Ash frowned, thinking to himself. "I mean, not really, honestly. He's been trained to win battles, not to look cute doing it." Pikachu turned around, shooting him a skeptical glance, thinking that he looked pretty cute all the time.

"Well, maybe you can try someone else?"

"Probably…" He looked downward. "Sorry, Pikachu. Come on back." His Pokémon sighed, walking dejectedly back to him, as Ash grabbed a Poké Ball and tossed it out, summoning Snivy to the field.

"Snivy, want to try your hand at a Performance Battle?" he asked. She turned around and nodded affirmatively, feeling much more confident than he was.

Serena stepped back into position, ready to get back into it. "Delphox, charge forward!" Her Pokémon nodded, running at Snivy with a bit of a graceful gait. Ash's instinct was to counter, but he suppressed it, choosing another option.

"Snivy! Dodge it by… going overhead!"

Snivy nodded, using her vines to launch herself into the air and over Delphox's head. She spun around as she did so, her vines turning about like ribbons, before she landed daintily on her feet like a ballerina. Both trainer and performer sighed in relief, glad to see that Snivy seemed to have a natural performing instinct.

"Let's keep it up!" Serena called out. "Fire Spin, Delphox!"

Delphox raised her stick once again, drawing circles in the air before sending flaming rings at the opposing Pokémon.

Ash grinned, feeling more confident. "Snivy, jump through and use Leaf Storm!" He watched as Snivy formed a mass of leaves around her, flinging them forward as she jumped through the flaming ring, causing all of the leaves to catch fire. Delphox quickly danced away from the flaming projectiles, before turning around to watch them fly straight toward Ash.

Serena gasped, as Ash's eyes widened in panic. He tried to quickly back away, but ended up stumbling and falling onto his back, the flaming leaves just barely passing by him.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" Serena ran across the field to where he was laying down, as the two Pokémon stood around him as well. He continued to lie still on his back, looking up at the sky; the fiery projectiles had left parallel lines of black soot on his face, making him look like he had just been taken off of a grill.

"Maybe we should try this after lunch," he spoke.


Fifteen minutes later, all four of the travelers were sitting at a picnic table, finishing up their lunch; their Pokémon were sitting in the grass, out of their Poké Balls, eating their own food. Serena finished her meal first, wanting to get back to practicing, now that she knew how much work was going to be needed. Ash took his time, finishing last, much more reluctant to resume.

"Thanks for lunch, guys," he commented as he pushed his plate away.

Brock nodded, as Iris reached out to take his plate, starting to clean up. "Going to practice some more, Ash?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, frowning. "This Performance Battle stuff is a lot harder than I was expecting. It feels like all of my battle instincts are wrong."

"You shouldn't think of it as a battle," Serena responded, standing up. "In a Pokémon battle, you're trying to overcome and defeat your opponent. A Performance Battle is about working together with the other person. It's more like a dance."

"Well, that explains why I'm so bad at it," Ash replied, sighing. "I'm no good at dancing, either."

"What do you mean? Didn't you dance with Miette at Monsieur Pierre's party, way back when?"

He slumped forward, chin resting on the table, not appreciating the reminder of that embarrassment. "The less said about that, the better."

Serena's eyebrows shot up. "And you've never learned how?!"

Ash glanced up a bit, surprised to hear her so bothered by this. Before he could respond, however, she had already marched around to his side of the table, reaching her hand out toward him.

"All right, Ash, get up! On your feet!"

He sat up, eyebrows raised, a bit shocked at her forcefulness. "Right now? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious," she replied. "Right now, let's go."

He glanced down at her hand for a moment, a bit stupefied, before taking it. He stood up and followed her away from the table, knowing better than to argue with her when she was using this tone of voice.


Several minutes later, slow music was playing from Serena's phone as it rested on the picnic table. Brock and Iris were sitting at it, watching with morbid curiosity as Ash and Serena practiced dancing, holding each other lightly as she tried to lead him about. She was trying her best not to get frustrated with the lack of progress, but Ash's nerves were making him particularly resistant to learning.

"Ash, you're nearly a whole foot away from me. The whole point of slow dancing is to be close to someone."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," he replied, glancing down at the gap between them. "I'm worried that I'm going to step on your feet."

"Well, worry less," she responded quickly. "If you step on my feet, at least you're learning where not to step. You're not learning anything all the way over there. Just stay close."

She took a step closer to him, closing the gap, their faces inches apart. "You want to be close to me, don't you?" she asked, her voice quiet, her eyes on his.

Ash quickly flushed red, looking back into her eyes. "W-well… yeah…" he stammered in response, taken aback by the sudden intensity.

She gave him a soft smile. "You just need to relax, and get out of your own head. Just do what comes naturally." She started moving again, taking a step and turning a bit, trying to lead him in her direction. Ash lagged behind her steps a bit, taking a millisecond too long to realize she was moving, and he tried to quickly turn in order to compensate. The momentum of his sudden turn nearly knocked her off her feet, and she yelped as she fought to regain her balance, which she quickly did.

She sighed, getting more visibly frustrated. "Okay, that was too relaxed…"

"Ugh, this is hard to watch." Ash felt a hand tugging on the back of his shirt, turning around to see Iris standing there, looking even more frustrated than Serena. "Step aside, Ash. This obviously isn't working." She pulled harder, tugging him away from his instructor. As he stepped back, Iris quickly took his place in Serena's arms, causing her to flush pink, surprised.

Once she was in position, Iris turned and looked back at him. "I'm going to show you how this is done. Watch how I dance with her, and then try to do what I do, got it?"

He nodded, embarrassed that it had come to this, but wanting to do better for Serena's sake. Iris turned back and nodded toward her new dancing partner, prompting her to start. Serena was both shocked and impressed at Iris's forcefulness; as the two of them started slowly dancing together, she wondered if she should adopt a similar attitude with Ash.

Ash stepped back, sitting next to a stone-faced but highly amused Brock at the table, as they watched the two girls dance. He carefully studied Iris's movements, watching where she stepped, and how she responded to Serena's lead; he wasn't sure he was absorbing anything, but he tried to take in as much as he could. Serena quickly relaxed as she realized that Iris was a much more skilled dancer than her previous partner, smiling and letting herself have fun.

"You're good at this," she said, grinning as she spun Iris about.

Iris smirked as she spun, effortlessly getting back into position as they kept dancing. "It's not like it's hard. You just need a partner who knows what she's doing."

Ash kept up his intense focus, watching as the two girls moved together, noting how perfectly in sync the two of them were. A minute later, his eyebrows shot up as something suddenly clicked in his mind.

"That's it!" he exclaimed suddenly, standing up, causing the two dancers to quickly stop.

"Yeah?" Iris glanced back at him, smiling. "You think you have it now? Want to try again?"

"No, not that!" His eyes moved toward the other dancer. "Serena, Iris should be your Battle Partner!"

Both of the two girls paused, not expecting that suggestion. They turned and looked back at each other, contemplating the idea.


Minutes later, Serena and Iris were standing across from each other in a battlefield configuration, just as Serena and Ash had been thirty minutes ago. Serena had her Delphox out once again, while Iris was using an Altaria, which Ash had never seen her with before.

"Let's see what you've got, Iris!" Serena called out. "Delphox, Flamethrower!"

Iris watched as Delphox summoned a stream of fire from her lit stick. She was unfazed, knowing how to respond, barely having to think about it.

"Stop it with Dragon Breath, Altaria!"

Her Pokémon cried out, stretching its neck out forward and issuing a green beam of energy, with white rings around it. The two attacks collided in the middle, the flames shooting outward in rings, fading just as they started reaching the picnic table.

Ash and Brock sat nearby and watched, impressed, as Altaria started using Steel Wing near Delphox's feet, prompting the fox Pokémon to dance elegantly out of the way of each attack. Serena and Iris soon started to issue commands more quickly, clearly on the same wavelength, as their Pokémon half-battled and half-danced around the clearing. They eventually landed together in the middle of what would have been the arena, Delphox leaping in as Altaria swooped down, striking a dynamic pose as they finished. Brock and Ash quickly stood up, applauding, as Pikachu cheered from around Ash's feet.

"That was great!" Brock called out. "You two really work well together!"

"You sure do," Ash added. "If that's what you two are like without practice, those other performers don't stand a chance!"

Serena smiled wide as she walked forward, thanking them both, before focusing back on the girl in front of her. "You really are good at this. Would you mind being my Battle Partner, Iris?"

"Sure I will." Iris nodded in response, smiling back. "That was a lot of fun. I can't wait to see what it's like on stage!" Serena grinned, and the two of them quickly shared an excited high-five, before they turned to help pack up the cooking equipment. A few minutes later, all of them were back on the road.


Later that night, all four of them were sitting around a campfire, relaxing after a tasty dinner courtesy of Brock. The girls were discussing ideas for their routine for quite some time, as the boys partly listened, while partly making conversation with themselves. After an hour or so, they all agreed to retire to their tents, ready for sleep. Serena and Brock quickly disappeared into their tents, as Iris let Axew into hers.

Ash walked more slowly back to his tent and unzipped the door, with Pikachu walking in as soon as he did, ready for some rest. He started to follow his Pokémon, but he paused as he heard a hushed voice from behind him.

"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?" He turned around quickly, seeing Iris standing there, arms folded and eyes glaring at him.

"What are you talking about?" He cocked his head, confused.

"You know what I'm talking about. I mean you managing to finagle your way out of being Serena's Battle Partner." She folded her arms more tightly, eyes narrowing. "Are you proud of yourself?"

"What's the big deal?" he responded defensively, keeping his voice low so the others wouldn't overhear. "She has you as her partner now. She's going to do just fine."

She placed her hands on her hips, leaning forward. "She didn't want just any partner, Ash. She wanted her partner to be you! She wants to spend more time with you, you dolt!"

"I know that!" he shot back. "That's what I want, too! But I'm not going to put her Showcase dreams at risk just for that. I'm not the partner she needs. I'm no performer."

Iris was unsympathetic. "I'm no performer, either, but I figured it out quickly enough."

"Right. Because you know how to dance, or whatever." He turned around, not interested in more of this conversation.

"Exactly." She reached out and grasped his sleeve tightly. "And that's why you're going to learn, right now."

"What?" He turned back around to face her, incredulous. "Are you joking?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" she responded angrily.

He studied her face quickly; she did not look like she was joking. He thought about pulling away and refusing, but he knew Iris well enough to know that she was going to win that battle, with the mood she was in. He sighed, deciding it was better to just agree, and not cause a scene.

"Ugh, fine." He brushed her hand away. "If I have to."

"You do have to," she responded, taking a step back. "Honestly, Ash, five years later and you're still such a little kid."

She started walking into the nearby forest, looking for someplace for the two of them to practice, as he followed her, unable to believe he was in this situation again. Pikachu watched curiously from Ash's tent as they left, but ultimately decided not to interfere with whatever was going on. He walked back in, curling up and quickly falling asleep.

After a couple minutes of walking, Iris spotted a small clearing among the trees, and quickly moved toward it. "There. That's a good spot." Ash followed her, his expression having changed from annoyed to confused.

"Iris," he spoke. "Why are you doing this? What does it matter to you?"

She glanced back at him as she walked, her expression softening. "I can see how happy she makes you, Ash," she replied, her voice gentle. "I just don't want you to screw it up."

He was a bit surprised by this answer, but he quickly nodded in response, appreciating her concern. "Yeah… me neither."

They both stopped and faced each other as they stood in the clearing, taking their positions, as the lesson began.