Well, here it is, the 104th part of the fourth installment in my 'Heart' series on the right day as promised. This is a straightforward, wrap up, transition Part that closes up the Grand Festival arc and sets up things for the future so not much to say on this front. However, the big news with this Part is that with the upload of it Winning has officially reached the rare plateau of 1,000,000 words, the first story I've ever written to reach this mark though I have another that will reach it by the end of the year and Hearts 5 should as well as that's going to be at least 120 Parts long, but still it is a huge milestone so thank you to all of your support that has helped keep me motivated to reach this point. Also, as of the publication of this Part, I have finished the draft for Winning, literally I finished drafting the last Part less than half an hour before this was uploaded, so I'll pose an option to y'all now; do you want me to continue with weekly uploads or do you want the remaining Parts released as I finish editing them, along with the two remaining Supplements at the right points where they are set to be, which should ensure the completion of Winning by mid November at the latest? The choice is yours and I'll go with what the majority want. Anyway, that is all the administrative stuff I have for this Part and while there are no guest reviews that need a response there is a question to answer that I will do now. Do please do keep your reviews coming as I love hearing from y'all.
Will Lei appear at some point? Possibly, depends on how things work out but as he's born during Journeys and appears there it won't be until Hearts 5 and only if it works with what is going on. There is a chance as he is a canon character who would be around during the events of Hearts 5 but it all depends on how things work out and timing in conjunction with the plans for Hearts 5 which is currently fully outlined.
Anyway, that is it for this pre-Part note which means that it is once again time to sit back which and enjoy the latest installment in Winning Takes Heart. Part CLXXXIII: Serena's Path Forward.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
Part CLXXXIII: Serena's Path Forward
"Still doing well I take it" May said as she and Serena took their seats at a café in Lumiose City, the same one that they'd gone to the first day that they'd met almost two years ago now. "That final was something else. I think the only ones more intense at the end were Dawn's first two finals."
It was a few days after the Grand Festival final between Brianna and Serena which had resulted in Brianna beating Serena by a percentage point to win it. Both girls had given it their all, taken out one of their opponent's Pokémon during it, and gone to the wire but in the end Brianna had just managed it thanks to a final move with enough clock awareness to ensure it would land. That had been the deciding factor and secured Brianna the Ribbon Cup.
It had been a tough close loss, but Serena had handled it right because she'd been prepared for it thanks to Dawn's attitude after her loss in the Master Class and how Dawn had viewed the Master Class as a coordinator not a performer. It had helped Serena properly view the Grand Festival from the outset and Brianna in particular so she was prepared for the worst should it come to pass. To add to it all Serena had made sure that Brianna didn't get any pleasure out of the loss both by pushing her to the edge and how she handled the loss.
Since then, they'd celebrated the night after as all of them wanted to enjoy how well their little group had done even if none of them had won it in the end before they began to focus on the next and last thing of the year, the Lumiose Conference. The Kalos League tournament would start a week after the Grand Festival, the time needed to give a break to everyone and prepare the main stadium for the top 16 when the full battles of it rolled around, so they'd hit the ground running after the Grand Festival to prepare for it.
6 of their group had been involved in the Grand Festival, 6 more would be involved in the Lumiose Conference. Tierno was the only one in both, he and Trevor had already qualified for it from the year before, so he'd focused on training in Contests that had led to him qualifying for Grand Festival, while Ash, Max, Lyra, and Adam had all gotten the 8 badges needed this year. As such, all 6 were training hard in their own ways for it and to see how well they did in it.
From what was being said the Conference was going to be good for sure. In addition to Ash, who was already considered a favorite and the most popular face due to his reveal of fairy types and runner up performance in the Indigo Conference the year before, there was the runner up from last year present again along with the runner up in the Galar Cup the year before which was Galar's conference.
Those were the three big favorites but there were also people like Lyra who'd made a semifinal before and Max, Tierno, and another Kalos girl called Astrid who had quarterfinal appearances that were considered dark horses in the Lumiose Conference. Anything could happen after all so the Conference was getting really hyped up by the fans who were eager to see how it went down this year.
Those were just the top competitor that their group knew or had heard of, there were still plenty of others who could be threats to it that they didn't know about such as from the strangely large contingent of Unovan trainers present for some reason. As such everyone was training hard for it and that training would include a full battle practice between Ash and Dawn under traditional rules that night in the Lumiose Gym officiated by Clemont with Professor Sycamore present as well to observe things.
That was for tonight and until then Ash and Dawn were enjoying a date day in the city so Serena and May had decided to come to the café where they'd first talked after Serena had seen May's Contest display in Lumiose City and spoken to her about Contests the day they met. That had led to their friendship and travels, so it was fitting for Serena at least to suggest this place as she had taken the last few days to process her loss and make her decision for what she was going to do next year.
She wanted to inform May of it, make sure that she was making the right choice, and maybe get some news on the other Grand Festivals that were going on around the world. This was the best place and time for that.
"Yeah thanks to how Dawn saw the Master Class I was able to be ready for losing the Grand Festival should it happen." Serena said with a smile. "I had to remember that I am a performer not a coordinator and am doing this to become better at performing. Any success was incidental to the experience and making the Grand Festival was enough for me to be happy, the rest was a bonus as I didn't expect to make the finals considering the competition I might have faced. Sure, losing to that brat was frustrating and it was close in the end, but she didn't win it the way that she wanted which was good."
"Yes, she was clearly pissed at that and from what I've heard her and Drew left Kalos that night without telling anyone." May said. "It was actually rather rude of her to do so; the Committee isn't happy with her for it as she was supposed to do a few interviews as the latest Top Coordinator, but she left before she could do them. It's not enough to take any action on other than I think she'll be docked some prize money in the end and her warning will probably be extended through the end of the next Contest season rather than just last a full year but in the grand scheme of things that's about all they can do to her."
"That's appropriate." Serena said. "She didn't rage or rant, she just left in a huff when everyone wanted to talk to the new Top Coordinator and first Kalos Grand Festival winner. She can't get away from that without consequences, but it doesn't rise to the level of vacating a win and as it was after the Grand Festival it wouldn't be appropriate to activate her warning as that is limited to actions done within Contests from what I've heard."
"It is limited to actions done within the confines of a Contest so short of serious bad behavior her win was secured." May said. "A docking of prize money and extension of her warning should be enough of a punishment when you add in that her win will always be tainted by how she had to beat up on clearly inferior competition to become a Top Coordinator, one she accomplished barely against a non-coordinator who was only there because of the Wildcard. You have 3 career ribbons to her 20 and you almost beat her, that will really damage her image. Her victory was entirely pyrrhic one in the end which was good."
"Yup and this war isn't over." Serena said. "I don't know how we will get to end it but it's still going on after that, that much I know. We beat Kenny, she beat me, but this isn't done yet."
"No, it's not and there may be a way we win this." May said peaking Serena's interest. "And it's tied into how that warning she has being a little more meaningful than you'd think. This isn't like how Dawn's warning kinda became moot after she won in Kanto and didn't compete this year, so it lapsed sometime around the Dendemille Showcase if I recall the timings correctly, I think Brianna's may be a little more active than she'd like. Though even if she isn't she might get stripped of her title if she acts up too much in public speaking events in the next year so regardless that warning still carries some wait."
"What do you mean?" Serena asked. "About the activeness of Brianna not the other part, I can see the warning being in place to keep her from acting up even after winning as that makes sense so long as what she does meets the warning's criteria. It would be redundant if you were free of it before the time limit ended just because you won a Grand Festival, but you said it might be more active, why?"
"I've heard rumors of something in the works." May said. "Two years working with the Committee has shown me some of their inner workings and you pick up on things from time to time so I think something is coming that could be big. However, I don't want to jinx it as I really want it to come to pass."
"Will it allow us to end the war?" Serena said. "I still don't like that they started it but if it comes to it and we can decisively end it then I'll take it so that we can be rid of them because we both know that they won't let it drop until they achieve whatever they want to achieve with it."
"Honestly, I don't know on that regard." May said. "Drew and Brianna are pretty far gone at this point; I don't think besting them in battle settings will end it. Same with Kenny for that matter, especially after he's had a year to stew in Alola after his beautiful thrashing at Ash's hands. Probably they'll end up becoming some villain team like Magma, Aqua, and Flare that we have to beat and imprison to win in the end, that's likely how it will end I feel. Rocket is different for some reason; they don't get arrested."
"True but they seem too incompetent to be an issue." Serena said as their drinks arrived. "Well, if that is how it has to end then so be it. That would at least get them out of our lives for a while if nothing else."
"Agreed though I think it's for the best that we just ignore their presence unless we have to deal with them, they're too negative to think about unless we absolutely have to." May said and Serena nodded at that. "Thankfully, they're gone for the moment and hopefully we won't encounter them for a year or so, but you never know."
"Best not to look for trouble, we are free of them for a while and can be happy and with a Grand Festival win Brianna won't be too much of an issue for my own plans." Serena said hinting at the reason she wanted to talk to May, but she wasn't ready for that yet as she had a few more question before addressing her future. "But before that, where did they go?"
"Alola." May said after a moment's thought. "At least that makes the most sense, their Grand Festival begins today. It was delayed from what I heard due to figuring out how to apply their Wildcard. They didn't have anywhere near as many Contests as the other expansion regions but apparently 50 was the number all regions wanted to have in their inaugural Grand Festivals, but Alola only had 28 make it via either of the outright methods for qualification and only 14 qualified for the Wildcard."
"Oh yeah that would do it." Serena said. "Did Unova and Galar have things sorted at least?"
"Yeah both were good, Unova had 11 spots to fill from 25 coordinators and Galar 5 from 19 from what I heard." May said. "Galar was able to hold more Contests than any other region it seemed; it was quite impressive and even the Committee was surprised by how many they were able to host there. Part of Alola's issue was the fact that Drew didn't take the offer, so they were missing a 5th Top Coordinator which limited the amount of additional Contests that they could host. In the end they offered 8 space for a 36-person Grand Festival and have limited the number who advance to the battles to 8."
"I guess that makes sense." Serena said. "So, they went there because of Kenny I take it."
"Yup, he's the clear favorite." May said. "In fact, he's the only one there with at least one Grand Festival appearance at all and he has 3 so he's even stronger a favorite than Brianna was here. The fact that he didn't enter with a perfect record thanks to Iris beating him once is a huge embarrassment to him."
"Is Iris in it?" Serena asked. "She could stop him from winning it all which would be good."
"No, I sent her a message for the update the other day after I learned that those two had gone there and wanted to warn her and she told me she's not going for it this year." May said shaking her head. "She has 2 ribbons so will try next year, but the fact that she's not in it and beat Kenny is no doubt a huge blow to his oh so fragile ego. Regardless, Iris said that she's going to stay in Alola for another year as she still hasn't found one of the dragon types there and it's the one that she really wants, plus I think she's learning a lot there, so she wants to remain for a while longer. She's also entering the inaugural Alola League Conference thing."
"Right, they're finally doing one for that." Serena said. "Is it going to be good?"
"Iris said she's one of the favorites along with Lillie's older brother, she's the blonde girl with the Alolan Vulpix we met, who's called Gladion apparently and that Kiawe guy we met is also a favorite." May said. "Iris was very hyper in her message and told me that it's going to be some 151 person battle royal to determine the 16 trainers who will advance to the main tournament with no entry requirements because Alola doesn't have gyms yet so it's open to all trainers. They haven't announced the battle format though, or at least Iris hasn't learned what they will be yet."
"That seems a bit, I don't know, different I guess." Serena said. "The battle royal is cool but aren't most battles in Conferences 3 on 3 to begin with? Then they get to full battles later on. That seems to be the normal format at least. Last year I watched the Indigo Conference from here and the Lumiose one and both had full battles in the semifinals at least, that's where they started here last year though I think they're starting earlier now, and in Kanto it was top 16, that I remember."
"I believe that the preliminaries vary from region to region so the battle royal must be Alola's one due to how open it is." May said thinking on it. "Ash is the expert on it, he's been in 5 other regions so knows how the preliminaries can be different."
"They were three on three battles in Kanto, I recall watching that." Serena said. "What are they like in Hoenn?"
"Hoenn is oddly large for their entrants, the largest of any Conference I believe." May said. "The prelims which reduce the number down to 256, the usual starting number elsewhere, are one on one battles. Then the early rounds before the final tournament are double battles, the only region that does those I think, before the full battles begin in the round of 32 but Hoenn is unique in having full battles starting that early."
"That is early." Serena said. "And must make it a really long Conference."
"It was pretty long but with the number of trainers in it I guess the Hoenn League felt it prudent to start the full battles earlier." May said. "Remember until this year Kalos didn't do full battles until the semis when it's traditionally the quarters at the latest elsewhere though Kanto has moved them to the last 16 and I think Ash said that Johto does it then as well. Apparently Johto's preliminaries are a round robin group stage so you can actually lose a match in the Silver Conference preliminaries but so long as you win the other two and the other trainers in your group don't then you can advance to the full battles despite having a loss."
"Huh I never realized that there was such a variety." Serena said. "Contests vary, as do Grand Festivals, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Conferences do as well. Hopefully Ash wins it here and we're much more traditional in Kalos, it should be standard three on three battles before the full battles."
"I wouldn't worry about Ash, I'm sure that he'll be fine." May said. "His last result was runner up so I know that Ash will make the full battles without an issue, he almost always does. In fact, the only time I think he didn't was in his first ever Conference in Kanto and even then that was only because they started in the quarterfinals at the time, and he lost in the last 16 which was still the final tournament so he's always advanced past the preliminaries."
"Well, I can't wait to see all of his battles." Serena said. "As well as his one with Dawn later to practice, that will be fun."
"It will be but let's wait on that one." May said. "And we'll hear from Iris I am sure as to how she does in the Alola Conference. I hope she wins it all and that Kenny doesn't win the Grand Festival but alas he's the heavy favorite so he should win it."
"Well, it will be even cheaper than Brianna's, so I don't mind." Serena said. "How about the other regions? Who's won them or are favorites?"
"Oh, right I just checked this morning, and I am sure Dawn is celebrating a bit as she's closer to the two winners from the last few days." May said. "Her countryman Nando won it all in Johto the day after the Kalos Grand Festival and Mollie won it all in Unova last night. She faced the only person to beat her on the circuit in Unova in the final and beat him to win it all, so it was certainly an earned victory in my book. Yuma will be thrilled for her and now she's also a Top Coordinator so I'm sure that if she and Dawn ever have a rematch it will be great as Dawn really wants to avenge that loss."
"I'd like to see that battle, Dawn's talented so for her to not have a victory over another Coordinator, well, I want to see that rematch." Serena said. "I recall both Mollie and Nando from Kanto last year, they were favorites there as well so it's nice to see them win it all at last."
"Yeah I don't really know Nando but I'm sure Dawn is happy for him, and he's now got the Silver Conference as well, so I hope he does well there as he's still a dual specialist even if he is overall better at Conferences from what I've seen." May said. "Mollie I know from meeting her before her first Contest, which was Brock's as well as Yuma's suggestion that he should try it because breeders and coordinators weren't that different got him to sign up right away."
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." Serena said. "Based on what you said about your travels with him it seems like a suggestion from a pretty woman would get him to act right away though he has settled down now."
"I still can't believe Lucy liked him as well, I didn't see that coming." May said. "And we met her before we met Yuma but yeah her suggestion to Brock that he should give it a try was more than enough for him. He even made the final to lose to me though he beat Mollie in both of theirs' first Contest battle after the appeals. He was so good that Yuma decided not to train him despite initially thinking of doing it. Instead, she saw the potential in Mollie and took her under her wing. That was shown last year with how well Mollie did in Kanto and now she has a Ribbon Cup and unlike Brianna, her record is enough to overcome winning in an expansion region."
"Well doesn't she have wins of Dawn, Kenny, and Nando?" Serena asked to which May nodded. "Then clearly she's got talent and can now claim wins over at least two Top Coordinators who won it all in non-expansion regions. That was what helped Jessilina's status this year as she had beaten Dawn in the past. I do wonder what will happen with her."
"Oh, she's going to Alola next year, she already announced it." May said surprising Serena. "Yeah Jessilina loves interacting with the fans and circuit, she's a great promoter for Contests in fact and her personality is so pleasant that many love her in return, so she did an exit interview after Brianna won but refused to stay around. Jessilina was more than happy to take that interview spot instead though she didn't comment on Brianna's win other than to say that she at least lost to the winner before announcing that she was going to travel to Alola and try her hand there next year."
"Why not Galar or Unova?" Serena asked.
"Apparently she's spent time in Unova and doesn't want to go there again, she does have a Swoobat and Frillish so clearly she's been there at least." May said. "She claimed she considered Galar but in the end opted for Alola because of the weather and the more laid-back nature which she felt was more suited to her homely style than a more industrial and varied region like Galar."
"I guess I can see that, and she'll win there for sure." Serena said. "Or at least she'll be the heavy favorite given her past successes. She almost beat Brianna here; she's going to do well there."
"Oh no doubt about it." May said. "With her record she'd be the overall favorite anywhere at this point, depending on initial battles that is as she may fall into a lesser favorite category if she can't start strong."
"Yeah there seems to be other factors that play a role." Serena said trying to think on it and failing to see how it worked. "I don't really understand it though. Anyway, who's going to win in Galar this year? There wasn't an overall favorite there if I recall, at least no one like Brianna, Mollie, or Kenny."
"No there were actually two it seems who have been taking wins and losses from each other in a heated rivalry that has really boosted the interest in Galar as both have 5 and 3 records, but their losses have only been to each other this year." May said. "One's from Hoenn called Stefano, I was in a Contest with him, but he lost to Jessie from Team Rocket who had entered in disguise though I wouldn't learn about that until after I beat her in my final Kanto Contests, and the other one is a Sinnoh trainer called Kyle. He's appeared in a few Wallace Cups, beat Ash in the one in Sinnoh before losing to Dawn and then lost to Ash in Hoenn last year."
"Stefano, didn't he lose to Dawn in the Kanto Grand Festival last year?" Serena asked. "Kyle I don't know at all, and I did watch the Wallace Cup in Hoenn because you were in it."
"Yeah I think you're right and he lost to Dawn in the Saffron Contest final as well now that I remember, I followed her Contests last year, so I knew that the name felt more recent to me than his appearance in a Hoenn Contest back in the day." May said thinking on it. "Apparently he and Kyle have been the top 2 all year in Galar and they're set to meet in the final tomorrow. Galar is holding the final on a separate day despite using the same venue for some reason."
"Each region is different." Serena said. "Well, I am sure that will do a lot for Contests over there."
"No doubt and the loser will be a favorite elsewhere next year." May said. "Probably in Unova or Kalos as he wouldn't want to go to Alola with Jessilina so publicly going there and how the competition there is still seen as lower to the other expansion regions."
"Well, I hope it's not Unova." Serena said.
"Oh, why not?" May asked smiling as she had a feeling that this was the crux of why Serena had wanted to spend the day with her. "Why shouldn't the loser go to Unova."
"Because that's where I'm going next year, and I want to win the Grand Festival there so less competition the better." Serena said finally getting into her future plans as the opening had presented itself to her. "Though I wouldn't mind, it does mean more to beat a good challenge but at the same time I'd rather not face someone who's going to be an overwhelming favorite."
"So, you've decided what your plans are next year." May said. "You're going to go to Unova then. What's the reasoning behind it? Just curious, I completely support this idea."
"I've been thinking about this since I spoke with Sabrina the first time and then after talking to my mom after the Aquacorde Contest and Sabrina again a few days later before getting back here I knew that I wanted to leave Kalos for at least a year." Serena said. "I love my region and all the friends I've made here, this year in particular with Ash around despite how bittersweet it is, has been incredible but I know that if I am to fully grow, if I am to become my own person and defeat Aria one day to become Kalos Queen then I have to do this. I have to go on my own journey in a new region on my own and forge my own path kinda like how you did when you left Ash in Kanto."
"Yes, it was a hard time as I'd been by his side for two years and finally come to terms with how I had a crush on him, but I knew after my loss in Kanto to Solidad and how she'd so expertly played me because I used Ash's style that I had to go on my own for a bit." May said. "My years in Johto and Sinnoh after that, despite what I dealt with, were formative and I wouldn't be where I am today without them as they helped me forge my own style. This is a great idea for you, a way to truly discover yourself away from me, Ash, and even Dawn and Bonnie to an extent, and finish growing as a performer. Unova is certainly an interesting choice though, why there?"
"I honestly don't know; it just feels like the right place to visit." Serena said thinking on it. "Part of it is how it's so unique a region, part of it is that it's an expansion so I can continue my Contest path there without worrying about the whole old school stuff of the other regions, but it is still competitive enough to be a challenge to me, and part of it is how they have their own unique quirks that can help out. Dawn said she visited a show there that was different to Contests and Showcases so I want to check that out and Ash's spoken of those Battle Club events that might be cool to participate in as well as I've learned a lot from battles this year."
"And the Wallace Cup is there again." May said. "A great way to defend your win in without traveling too much for it. I think that Ash and Dawn actually know that area in fact, I know I don't, but I've also never been to Unova, so I know nothing about the region."
"I'll ask them about it when I tell them but I'm certain I want to go to Unova, compete in Contests there, explore it, have fun, and truly find my own style to take back to Kalos on my own." Serena said. "Miette's doing it in Kanto, Shauna's going off on her own as well though I don't know where yet, but I think she's considering Johto, so I'll go to Unova to further my own journey. When I go there I'll only take Delphox like how Ash restarts with Pikachu so I can broaden my Pokémon there as well though I want to bring the others in at times to see the region as well."
"I think that's a great idea." May said with a smile. "One that will benefit you a lot."
"Thanks." Serena said with a smile of her own. "Um, do you know what their Contest rules are though? I only really cared about the Kalos ones this year as I was going to be participating in them, but I want to be prepared for Unova and this time I'm going for the full 5 to qualify outright."
"As you are on your own that won't be too hard, Dawn did that in Johto on her own in 3 months, so I expect you to have 4 by the time of the Wallace Cup rolls around." May said. "As for the rules, I'm not sure. I know that they don't require coordinators to dress up, and in fact they seem to really prefer it if you don't."
"That's annoying." Serena said. "I like dressing up."
"I think it's because they are significantly more casual there." May said. "Also, as far as I know, you only need one Pokémon to register for a Contest. They are pretty bare bones really. There may be some specific quirks there or changes as they get used to them, but I don't really know any finer details regarding their Contests. I do know that in respect for the region's desires, the Wallace Cup will not require dressing up, the first time since before it was last in Sinnoh that that's been the case."
"That makes sense and ok that is good to know as I plan on only going over with Delphox the way Ash does with Pikachu, but I'll bring the others in from time to time to see the region." Serena said. "I guess a lot will be learning on the ground when I get there but I'm not going to leave until after Ash is done with everything he has to do in Kalos, I want to support him until the very end. Only then, when he too knows his next plans, will I head out. In fact, another reason for Unova as my next region is because Ash has been there so he's unlikely to go there again. Even if the worst happens and he doesn't win the Lumiose Conference, which we all want him to do so, he'll go to Alola or Galar instead."
"That can be expected from Ash, he does like to go to new regions and with no reason to repeat a reason he'd likely chose Alola or Galar next." May agreed. "And all that is a good plan. Probably best to not tell him until he's done with the Lumiose Conference so as to not distract him. He won't mind you're going off on your own, he'll even encourage it and look forward to seeing you again, but he does have to focus on that."
"Agreed, I'll keep it from him until it is time." Serena said. "And what about you? What will you do May?"
"I haven't decided yet." May admitted. "As I said I've heard rumors of something that will interest me but I'm not putting stock into them just yet so for now I'll support Ash until he's done here and then decide what my next course of action will be. I know I can't travel with him and Dawn without you there as well, too hard to be a third wheel and this year was great, but I think it's time to explore more regions alone, so we'll see. I want to see Unova, Galar, and Alola so I'll probably try to see them all next year if nothing else and catch up with you at some point."
"Just let me know if you are in Unova." Serena said. "I hope you come there so we can catch each other up on the year together."
"As do I." May said. "And hopefully next year will be interesting."
"Same." Serena said. "On that note, do you know if the Contest Committee will allow Mega Evolutions next year? I don't have a Mega Evolution capable Pokémon but I may next year so it would be cool to use them in Contests."
"There are talks about Mega Evolution and the Alolan Z-Moves we learned about from when we met those Alolans in Kalos." May said. "But I think they're going to wait for the Grand Festivals to end before making a final decision on them and may limit them to the regions where they are actively being studied by those regional professors. I heard that they can't use that strange Dynamaxing thing that Galar does."
"Oh yeah Bonnie explained it as Owen has some band that allows him to Dynamax his Pokémon." Serena said recalling something Bonnie had said one night. "It's limited to specific areas of Galar due to how it requires specific energy only found in those locations or something like that. 7 of their 8 gyms and their main stadium are apparently set up to use it according to Owen, via Bonnie, so it's a pretty big thing there but I don't understand it."
"Neither but I know that Contests in Galar aren't held in the stadiums, but new Contest Halls built specifically for the Contests so that could explain why the Committee doesn't seem to have any plans for Dynamaxing just yet." May said. "The exception is the Grand Festival which is being held in the main stadium there and I think that if the Committee goes ahead with allowing Mega Evolution and Z-Moves next year they may allow Dynamaxing as a Galar Grand Festival only thing, providing they understand it that is."
"That would make sense." Serena said as she finished her drink. "Well, I won't know as I won't be in Galar next year."
"I'll learn more should I visit the region and I certainly want to learn more if I do go there." May said also finishing her drink. "But as we're done, let's enjoy a day in Lumiose and then get back for the battle tonight. Should be a good one."
"Yes, I could use a relaxing day." Serena said as the girls got up, they'd already paid for the drinks, and left the table. "It's been a long year but we're almost at the end of it. Let's be there for Ash so that we can end on a high note."
May just nodded as they headed out and into Lumiose City. Serena had accomplished what she wanted and was now set on her path for next year. She couldn't wait for it and hoped that May would find her own path as well.
Until then though there was the Lumiose Conference, and they were all going to be there to support their friends in it and, in Serena's case at least, hope that Ash won it. It would start in a few days and Ash would be ready for it, they knew it, so they couldn't wait to see what was in store for them as the final part of their year in Kalos began.
Well, there it is, Serena's plans going forward and the wrap up of the Grand Festival with some news of what else is going on around the world to conclude that arc and set up the upcoming Lumiose Conference. Serena is going to be in Unova next year and I've already decided on the 5 Pokémon she'll catch, of which 3 are certain but I will listen to suggestions for others, but for the most part expect to see very little of Serena in Hearts 5. She's the first of the major players who has already decided her path for next year, the rest will do so in time. Lastly, as alluded to in this Part and at least one other in the past, there is going to be a Supplement coming out set after this Part and before the next one that will be a full battle between Ash and Dawn similar to the Supplement that showed his full battle with Owen so stay tuned for that in the coming days as I expect it out by the end of the weekend at the latest. Anyway, that is all I really have to say in this short transition Part, next up is the final transition and set up Part as we move into the Lumiose Conference, so I will leave this Part off here. As always please favorite (both this story and me in general to be notified of any new content I post), review as I really like hearing what you think of my work and your suggestions that help complete this story (and respond as best I can) and just in general keep enjoying my work. Until next time.
Stringdog
