"Hey Ash, there's just one more thing!"

"Huh?" Ash watched as Serena raced up the escalator before tensing up as Serena planted a kiss directly upon his lips. Bonnie and Clemont's faces turned bright red while showing off quite the shocked expressions, Serena's feelings for Ash were certainly not a secret as everyone other than Ash knew, they were simply shocked that she actually had the courage to kiss him! Ash stood there with a dense stare as Serena pulled away, not seeming to catch on but Serena didn't mind as she was sure he'd figure it out sooner or later.

Her cheeks burned brightly as she backed up onto the escalator once more before giving a gentle bow. "Thank you!"

Serena let out a sigh of content as she kept playing that moment inside her head. 'Just you wait Ash, I'm going to continue training and working hard then someday the two of us will find each other again!"

"QUA!" A loud roar could be heard outside causing the passengers to quickly rush towards the right of the plane in an attempt to look out the window.

"What's going on?!"

"Are we under attack?! I heard there used to be criminal organizations here back in the day!"

"Calm down everyone, this is Hoenn airspace. There's nothing to worry about, I assure you. Whatever is outside means you no harm." The plane's captain tried reassuring the passengers.

"Oh, what's that?" Serena couldn't help but gasp out as a large serpentine emerald colored dragon rocketed past with what appeared to be a trainer wearing a red and black colored spacesuit sitting upon the dragon Pokemon's back! Serena tilted her head at the sight before quickly reaching for her Pokedex in an attempt to scan the creature as it made it's way towards the atmosphere above.

"Rayquaza the Sky High Pokemon, Mega form. It flies forever through the ozone layer, consuming meteoroids for sustenance. The many meteoroids in its body provide the energy it needs to Mega Evolve."

"That was a legendary Pokemon?!" Serena gasped out before shooting another look out the window, she then narrowed her eyes as she made out what appeared to be Rayquaza exiting earth's atmosphere while a rather large asteroid loomed close to the planet. Serena sweated at the sight as the asteroid looked big enough to wipe out all of Hoenn and possibly the rest of the world with it but within a few short minutes the asteroid disappeared though there were signs of a battle as the familiar light of Hyper Beam could be seen while what could likely be a Psychic type fought back as she saw colorful light above! Serena rubbed her eyes before quickly shaking her head as she wondered if she were simply experiencing altitude sickness. Though it did bring her joy knowing that Ash wasn't the sole person responsible for saving the world, perhaps that was a sign they could settle down someday?


Several days had passed since she arrived in the region and upon finding out that the next Contest would be set in Slateport City, she decided to take the long way and take a page from Ash's book by seeking out new Pokemon. She wanted to start off her Hoenn adventure with at least one new team member to freshen up her routine though as she looked around, nothing really spoke to her. Poochyena were cute but seemed a bit too aggressive for her taste while Zigzagoon were mischievous and only ticked Pancham off as they kept trying to steal food from Serena's bag when they settled down for the night. She wasn't fussed by it however as she knew there would be plenty of other opportunities to catch Pokemon.

The following morning she made her way down the trail again before freezing up as she heard the distinct cries of a Pokemon in peril.

"Sol!"

"Huh?" Serena turned her attention towards the cry before clenching her fist as the cry sounded out once more. She quickly raced towards the noise but was sure not to give away her presence as she wasn't sure what exactly was going on.

"Hahahaha!" A set of laughter could be heard as Serena pushed through the bushes though she soon froze up upon seeing a large Raticate mech that had a giant red R painted across it's chest.

'Team Rocket! Did they follow me here?!' Though she'd soon realize that it wasn't Team Rocket or rather the ones she knew as the mech's head opened up to reveal a different pair of Rocket agents. They appeared to be around the same age as Jessie and James but were completely different when it came to looks as they wore black uniforms rather than the white uniforms that Serena was familiar with. The male Rocket agent had short green hair while the female had long blonde hair, what appeared to be a Shuckle stood between the pair as they laughed out. Serena slowly followed their gaze and uttered out a gasp of alarm as she saw a bruised Absol that laid pressed up against a rock with a protective look in it's eyes.

"Sol..."

"You might as well give up, you already tried your best and lost!" The male agent laughed out.

"Might!" A Mightyena howled out in agreement with it's trainer before snarling as he turned his attention towards the bushes, seeming to sense Serena's presence as she felt him staring directly at her!

"Biff is right, you already tried to beat us and lost. You might as well give up or else we'll be forced to put you down for good!" The blonde cackled out.

"Houndoom!" A Houndoom howled out in agreement.

The male agent's face shot a bright shade of red as Cassidy's comment appeared to have enraged him. "The name's Butch! How many times must I tell you people?! Cassidy, we've been partners for around eight to nine years now and you still can't get my name right! Why is it so hard to remember one simple name?! I swear you all do this on purpose!"

"Calm down, Billy. I didn't mean anything by it." Cassidy rolled her eyes while steam poured from Butch's ear. "You know that the boss wants us to help him unlock the secrets of Mega Evolution. Those three buffoons failed to retrieve a Keystone and didn't even find a Mega Stone either, we may have fallen out of the bosses favor recently but we could fix that right here and now if we snag the Keystone that Absol is guarding!"

"S-Sol..." Absol grunted out as he slowly rose back to his feet, his determination and refusal to give up reminded Serena of a certain trainer.

Cassidy tilted her head back as she let out another cackle. "If that's the way you wanna play then so be it, Houndoom use Flamethrower!"

"Mightyena use Dark Pulse!" Butch shouted out.

Serena was quick to throw forward a set of Pokeballs as the two canine Pokemon readied their attacks. "Pancham use Arm Trust, Sylveon use Moonblast!"

"Huh?!" Butch and Cassidy turned towards the newcomer as she revealed her presence.

"Whose the blonde twerpette?" Cassidy questioned.

Butch could only shrug as he'd never seen her before.

"S-Sol...?" Absol stuttered while slowly turning towards his savior.

"Cham!" Pancham's fist glowed a bright white color as he lashed out, striking Mightyena's face while Sylveon fired a pink energy ball towards Houndoom. The two canine Pokemon let out a yelp before snarling out as they glared into their opponent's eyes.

"Absol, you okay?" Serena knelt beside Absol to check over his injuries.

"Sol.." Absol nodded before uttering out a soft cry as he flinched, making it clear that he was trying to act tough. Serena quickly looked over his body before spotting what appeared to be the problem, she shot a glance back towards the battle before spraying Absol's injury with a Super Potion.

"Houndoom use Flamethrower!"

"Mightyena chomp down with Crunch!"

"Doom!" Houndoom blasted Sylveon with a stream of fire while Mightyena sprang forward before chomping down on Pancham's forehead. The two let out a pained grunt as they were pushed back by their opponent's attacks.

"Pancham use Stone Edge, Sylveon use Draining Kiss!"

"Cham!" Pancham slammed his foot against the ground causing several large jagged rocks to burst from beneath the ground and rush towards Houndoom before gradually closing in on him.

Houndoom let out a loud yelp as the rocks surrounded him before closing in. Sylveon leaped forward before delivering a surprisingly affectionate kiss to Mightyena's face, a confused expression formed on the wolf's face while his energy began draining from his body.

"Alright, this twerpette is proving to be too much trouble." Cassidy snarled out as her patience wore thin. "Charizard, Granbull, Sableye, Tentacruel let's finish her!"

"Primeape, Hitmontop, Cloyster and Aggron let's help Cassidy out!" Butch shouted while still appearing to hold a grudge towards his partner in crime.

Serena let out an alarmed gasp as she found herself surrounded by ten different Pokemon, she wasn't going to just give up and let them destroy Absol and steal the Keystone though. "Braixen I need your assistance!"

"Braix!" Braixen cried as she burst from her ball.

"Braixen use Psybeam, Pancham use Stone Edge, Sylveon use Moonblast!" Serena cried out.

"Braix!" Braixen twirled her wand before taking aim at Cassidy's Charizard as a multicolored energy beam fired out from the tip. The beam flew towards Charizard but before it could strike, Houndoom leaped up to shield his teammate. Pancham's stones burst from the ground and knocked the Rocket Pokemon away but Aggron quickly countered with one of his own while Charizard lashed out at Braixen's chest with glowing green claws! Pancham and Braixen soon collapsed towards the ground in defeat as swirls filled their eyes. Sylveon fired off a pink energy orb but as soon as her partners fell, she found herself getting ganged up on with a barrage of Water Pulses, Triple Kick, Close Combat, Crunch and Flamethrower!

"Sylve..." Sylveon collapsed to the floor in a weakened state, her eyes turned to swirls as she uttered out a defeated groan.

"Braixen, Pancham, Sylveon!" Serena gasped out.

"Sol..." Absol gritted his teeth.

Serena glanced back towards Absol before looking back towards the Rocket agents as she held up her arms. "You'll have to go through me if you want to get to him!"

Butch and Cassidy shared a glance before shrugging. "Perfectly fine with us, attack!"

Serena closed her eyes as the Pokemon readied up their attacks, if this really was the end then she didn't want to see it happen.

"Blaziken let's help her out!"

"Blaziken!" Serena felt something large and fast breeze past her shortly before a collective howl of pain could be heard as the fire chicken delivered a rapid series of powerful blows to each of his opponents, even taking down Aggron and Charizard from the sound of things as a loud collective thud could be heard as the Rocket Pokemon fell towards the ground, landing in a combined heap while swirls filled their eyes. Serena opened her eye to see a Mega Blaziken causing her to squint for a moment as she wondered if it was Gurkinn's or the one that belonged to Clemont's father but upon closer examination she realized it wasn't the right one.

"Now destroy that mech with Close Combat!"

"Blaziken!" The fire chicken rushed forward before delivering a rapid series of punches and kicks to the Raticate mech's stomach causing the engine to lit up shortly before it exploded, sending Butch and Cassidy along with their vast arsenal of Pokemon blasting off into the sky above!

"Ugh, I can't believe we're blasting off yet again! This is all your fault, Bob. You should have seen her coming!"

"It's Bu-You know what, no! I've had it with you, I quit! I'm done with Team Rocket and I'm done with you!"

"What?! You can't quit cause I quit!" Cassidy snarled out. "I've had it with the constant failures and I'm tired of your anger issues!"

"Anger issues?! All I wanted was some respect!" Butch shouted out. The two continued bickering as they flew towards the horizon.

"Blaziken..." Blaziken relaxed as he reverted back to normal, his trainer soon rushed forward to check him over before quickly making her way towards Serena and Absol.

"Is Absol okay?" Serena looked up to see a rather familiar sight, though she didn't know her connection to Ash she did recognize her from one of the Coordinator pamphlets that she bought at the airport for reading material.

"Y-Yeah, he's okay or at least he will be after a good night's rest." Serena nodded while feeling a bit star struck at seeing a grand coordinator right in front of her. Easily recognizable by her red and white bandanna, it was clearly May Maple! "I used a Super Potion on his injuries he should be okay."

May looked Absol over before giving off a nod of approval. "Well it looks like you've done a fairly good job, you're quite skilled at that for a rookie. No offense."

"Rookie?!" Serena's cheeks burned brightly as May seemed to pick up on the fact that Serena had only been a trainer for around eleven months.

"There's no need to be embarrassed," May offered Serena a friendly smile while placing her hand atop her shoulder. "I started my journey a bit later, around the age of thirteen. Mostly due to my fear of Pokemon..." May sweated before quickly shaking it off as she resumed the conversation. "My boyfri-er fiancée started his journey when he was fifteen, you're not alone in starting late!"

"Fiancée?" Serena couldn't help but question before taking notice of a diamond ring that rested on May's finger. "You got a fiancée?! Congratulations!"

May beamed brightly as she gazed towards the ring with an affectionate look. After Drew chose to start a relationship with Solidad, May honestly thought that she wouldn't find somebody capable of filling the void. She held no ill towards either of them for it as they were never a thing, she had been happy for them then and now. But shortly upon arriving in Sinnoh, she met a rookie trainer that winded up becoming her companion and after a few months the pair began to date. "He proposed shortly after his return from space, I-I guess riding a Dragon Pokemon out of the atmosphere triggered something inside of him cause as soon as he hit the ground, he popped the question!"

"T-That's great-Hold up..." Serena thought back to her plane ride and the Rayquaza that had flown past her window while somebody sat upon it's back. "That was your boyfriend?!"

May nodded her head before glancing towards the nearby town with a proud smile. "Long story short but him and Rayquaza had to team up so Rayquaza could unlock his Mega form in order to destroy a massive asteroid that threatened the region's existence but it turned out that asteroid was actually a Pokemon, a Deoxys!" May exclaimed. Though Deoxys had been captured to help calm him down, he was later set free to explore space after Rayquaza helped explain why they attacked him. Rayquaza then parted ways with her fiancée shortly after dropping him back on earth's surface.

"Really? Well it sounds like we both love incredibly powerful trainers!" Serena exclaimed while her cheeks burned brightly. "T-Though he and I aren't necessarily together... yet."

"Heh," May crossed her arms as an amused smirk formed across her lips. "I can tell that you truly love this guy, whoever he is."

"I-I do! He saved me back in Summer Camp and I've been holding a torch for him ever since! He helped save all of Kalos from this evil man, Lysandre and even had a Greninja with a special transformation that was called the Bond Phenomenon! He may be the strongest yet but I just know that someday he'll fulfill his dream of being 'the very best, like no one ever was!'"

May's eyes widened as she heard those words. 'Could it be...?' "I don't mean to pry but this guy, is he named Ash by any chance?"

"O-Of course, that's his name alright!" Serena spoke while her cheeks continued to burn a bright shade of red.

"Huh," May couldn't help but smirk. "Well it's good to know that Ash found somebody that likes him! My brother and I used to travel around with him during the Hoenn and Battle Frontier days, that was about three or four years ago."

"Oh Ash doesn't know... at least I'm not sure, it was hard to tell." Serena gazed towards the ground as she twiddled her fingers together. "I sort of... kissed him before I left."

"Kissed him? Was it the cheek? No offense but he can be dense so I'm sure that he wouldn't recognize that as a sign of affection."

"Oh no no no!" Serena's cheeks burned brighter as she waved her hands in front of her. "I-It was... it was... on the lips!"

"Really? Well that's bolder than Anabel." May let out a light laugh before tilting her head. "How did he react?"

"I-I'm not sure, I was going down an escalator so perhaps he changed at some point but he looked confused and as if he were trying to process it?"

"Hm, well I'm sure there's hope for you! Don't give up on him." May gave Serena's shoulder a light pat before turning towards Absol. "What brings you to these parts then?"

"Well I was planning on registering for the Slateport Contest, you see I'm a performer as well but I thought I'd try something different and give Pokemon Contests a go. Maybe I can even earn my first ribbon here!"

"Er-The Contest season doesn't officially start for another two months." May was quick to speak up. "The Slateport Contest is an official one but not 'official', it's just for fun with a special prize waiting for the winner of the contest. I'm one of the judges for this contest as a matter of fact, my fiancée's still a bit motion sick from his space adventure so I decided to take a little walk while he rests up at the hotel room." May thumbed towards the city before motioning towards Absol with her other hand. "I should be heading back as it's getting late but I've noticed that Absol's taken a bit of a liking to you."

"Huh?" Serena turned towards Absol who had fully recovered from his injuries and could be seen looking up at her with great interest in his eyes.

"Sol..." His cheeks burned red as he gazed at her, the Dark type flickered his gaze back towards the rock before performing a bow as he took a step back. "Absol..."

Both a Keystone and a blue colored Mega Stone could be seen embedded inside of the rock, the Mega Stone appeared to have a reaction to Absol's presence as it lightly glowed whenever his tail flickered towards it.

"Y-You want me to have those?" Serena asked.

"Sol, Absol!" Absol gave a quick nod of confirmation.

"Thank you," Serena gave Absol an appreciative look before lightly sweating. "Though I'm not sure how I'll use those seeing how I lack a Mega Ring."

"Huh? Oh that won't be a problem," May was quick to speak up. "I actually have a friend in town that's quite skilled at designing stuff, I could have her cook something up that you could wear. There are other accessories capable of Mega Evolution like a glove, a hat or even glasses that you could wear. Heck you could even make an actual ring and then of course you've got the Mega Bracelet, my fiancée and I both have one of these." May lifted up her arm to showcase the white colored wristband before offering Serena a smile. "You could pick whatever you like and I'll have her fix something up overnight for you!"

Serena thought for a moment as she went over the options. A Mega Hat would be cool but one could easily loose it if they weren't careful, her eyesight was fine so she didn't need glasses, which made her mind dwell towards the gloves. Serena remembered how Ash seemed to love wearing gloves, so much so that his mother packed him extra pairs in case his were ever torn up. She rarely saw him without gloves that picturing him without them just felt weird and wrong, she let out an sigh of content as her thoughts drifted towards Ash once more before swiftly shaking her head as she returned to reality. "I'd like a Mega Glove please, p-perhaps it could be pink?"

"Don't want it to clash with the rest of your outfit?" May looked Serena over before performing a light bow. "Of course, I'll relay the information to her. Though first I do believe that Absol wishes to go with you, he seems quite... fond of you." May giggled out as Absol was staring up at Serena with the same look the Kalos trainer gave Ash.

"Huh?" Serena turned back towards Absol and couldn't help but blush as she saw Absol gazing at her with an affectionate look. She sweated lightly before dropping to her knees as she retrieved a Pokeball from her bag. "Absol is this true..? You wish to join me and compete in Pokemon Contests throughout the Hoenn region?"

"Sol, Absol!" Absol eagerly cried out.

Serena and her Pokemon smiled as she held the Pokeball out in offering. "Well then welcome to the team, Absol!"

"Sol!" Absol gave the ball a gentle headbutt causing a bright red light to engulf his body as he was absorbed into the ball. The ball shook twice within Serena's hand before chiming out to signify the capture.

"Alright, we just caught an Absol!"

"Braixen braix!"

"Pancham!"

"Sylve!" Serena and her Pokemon cried out while she held the Pokeball high above her head.

May sweated at the sight before silently shaking her head with a smile. 'Those two really are perfect for each other.'


"And done, your registration is complete and you're now eligible to compete in Pokemon Contests throughout the Hoenn region. You will have to obtain new a new pass if you wish to compete in a Contest set in Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, etc. And so long as you don't lose that pass, you'll be eligible to compete in the following Contest seasons set in Hoenn and by 'lose' I mean get suspended. We can always issue you a new pass if you physically lose yours of course!" The attendant laughed while handing Serena her Contest pass. "There you go, Serena."

Serena and Braixen smiled at the Contest pass as the young Kalos trainer held it within her hands. "Thanks, we really appreciate it!"

"Braix!"

"You again? How fitting, I can finally get my long awaited revenge!"

"Huh? Who said that?" Serena recognized the voice but couldn't place it until she turned around and found herself face to face with Amelia. "Amelia?! What are you doing here?"

"Why do you think, loser? To get revenge on you for stealing what was rightfully mine!" Amelia hissed out.

"Stealing? But I never stole anything from you." Serena frowned.

"Don't be ridiculous, you took the win at Fleurrh City by stealing not only the crowd's attention but Palermo's favor. I will never forgive you for that and intend on making your life as miserable as possible!" Amelia growled.

"Wait you mean...? I didn't steal anything, people just liked my performance more than yours!" Serena clenched her fists while glaring back at Amelia.

"Braixen braix braix!" Braixen chimed in.

"Oh please you know as well as I do that you just got lucky, you couldn't even beat Aria! If I had won, Kalos would have a new queen. A queen with exceptional taste I might add." Amelia added while looking Serena over with disgust. "It looks like you picked your clothes from a bargain bin at a thrift store."

"So what if I did?! Not everyone is rich you know!" Serena shouted back. "And I lost against Aria because I still have a ways to go, Aria's been the Kalos Queen for years. Beating her won't be easy! That's why I traveled to Hoenn, to compete in Contests and further my skills so that someday I can return to Kalos and try again, I'll beat Aria someday!"

Amelia laughed in a mocking tone. "Sure you will, sweetie. Just you wait, I'll be so busy cleaning up Contests that you won't be able to gather up a single ribbon!" Amelia laughed before giving off a wave. "Now if you excuse me, I've got to freshen up with another layer of makeup! Ciao!"

Serena glared after Amelia while steam poured from her ears. She couldn't believe that Amelia could be so toxic!

"Braix..." Braixen took hold of her trainer's hand, helping her calm down and return to reality. Serena shook herself off before offering Braixen a light smile.

"Don't worry Braixen, this might not be a real Contest but we'll give it our best and take Amelia down. We'll show her that we weren't lucky!"

"Braixen!" Braixen cheerfully cried out.

"Excuse me, you're Serena right?" Serena turned around as she heard another individual call out her name.

"I'm Serena, yes. Who are you?" Her words caused a collective gasp that spread throughout the Contest Hall.

"How do you not know Lisia?! She's more popular than Drew, May Maple, Dawn Berlitz, Zoey and Solidad combined!"

"She's the niece of our former Champion, show her respect!"

The attractive turquoise haired girl sweated at her fan's outcry. "Ignore them, fans can be a bit crazed at times." She giggled out before pulling out a singular pink glove. "Here you go, you requested a Mega Glove did you not? Well your Key Stone should slap right onto it, with it you should be able to transform that Absol of yours into Mega Absol!"

"B-But our bond shouldn't be strong enough for that, we just met!" Serena sweated.

"That may be true but from what May told me, Absol adores you. That should be more than enough to grant you the power to Mega Evolve." Lisia smiled before lifting up a hand. "Now if you excuse me, I've got to join the other judges. Good luck with the contest!"

Serena slipped the glove over her right hand before looking herself over with an approving smile. "A perfect fit," She turned back to Braixen while clenching her newly covered fist. "Alright Braixen, let's give it our best in there!"

"Braix!"


"Good morning Slateport City, it's your MC Vivian returning once more to bring you all a very special Pokemon Contest! I'm sure you can already tell that the usual judges aren't around, we thought that they deserved a break until the Contest season officially starts so put your hands together for May Maple, Dawn Berlitz and Lisia Mikuri!"

The crowd cheered loudly while the three Grand Coordinators gave them all a wave.

"Hello everyone, it's nice to be back here!" Dawn smiled.

"It always feels weird sitting behind this thing." May sweated.

Lisia was a lot more friendly than May and Dawn were as she excitedly waved towards the crowd and even blew some kisses towards them, resulting in even louder cheers from the crowd.

"Lisia, why don't you show the crowd what the Coordinators are competing for?" Vivian called out.

"My pleasure, Vivian." Lisia reached behind the judge panel before pulling out an egg incubator that held an egg inside. The top half was a blue coloring while the bottom half was a lighter shade of blue, two orange circles could be seen intersecting with the blue colorings. "This is a Pokemon egg belonging to a very rare and special Pokemon!"

The crowd cheered loudly while Amelia gazed at the screen from backstage, a look of determination flared within her eyes as they locked onto the egg. "You will be mine..."

"An egg?!" Serena couldn't help but sweat as raising an egg was something new to her. She'd seen eggs before but Noibat practically hatched the moment Ash found him, she couldn't help but wonder if she was even capable of raising an egg.

"Indeed!" Vivian smiled while turning back towards the audience. "Now let's get to the appeal round shall we? First up is Amelia, give her a round of applause!"

The crowd clapped and cheered loudly. Amelia flashed Serena a mocking smirk as she pushed past her before making her way onto the stage.

"Dragonair, Espeon it's time to show these judges what real beauty looks like!" Amelia cried out while tossing a set of Pokeballs into the air.

"Dragooo!" The shiny Dragonair cooed out as she burst from the ball.

"Espe!" The male Eeveelution twirled his tails together as he looked towards the audience.

"Dragonair use Ice Beam, Espeon use Psychic just like we practiced!" Amelia shouted while doing a light twirl.

"Dragooo!" A beam of ice flew from Dragonair's mouth, a large block of ice formed upon the stage. Espeon's eyes turned a bright blue color while a similar color surrounded the block of ice, the ice block shook before shattering to pieces while revealing quite the detailed ice sculpture of Amelia!

"Tada! A true work of art, no?" Amelia giggled out as the crowd cheered.

'Her ego is worse than Jessie's.' Serena sweated.

May and Dawn sweated at Amelia's comment before displaying 9's across the scoreboard while Lisia gave her a 9.5!

"A great score to start things off!" Vivian excitedly shouted out. "Will the others fare better or do just as well a job? Let's find out, next up is Serena!"

Serena turned to head out as the crowd cheered out only to wind up tripping and faceplanting onto the stage as Amelia stuck out her leg in an attempt to trip her up as they passed each other, the incident went unseen as it happened in a blind spot so all everyone saw was Serena tripping. "Ow!" Serena rubbed her nose as Braixen helped her back to her feet before glaring back towards the backstage area. "Amelia..." She couldn't help but growl out.

"You okay?" Vivian questioned, her mic was turned off as her voice wasn't echoing. "You didn't sprain anything did you?"

May and Dawn gave each other a knowing look as they personally experienced that sort of humiliation from their own rivals Harley and Ursula.

"I'm fine, I-I just tripped. It was just an accident, don't worry about it." She didn't feel the need to start drama when there wasn't anything to back up her claim, she'd make Amelia regret it by beating her the right way on the stage! Serena brushed herself off before tossing a Pokeball forward. "Braixen, Absol let's put on a show!"

"Braix!" Braixen leaped forward while Absol burst from his Pokeball.

"Absol..." Absol glanced towards the audience before looking back towards his trainer with a light growl.

"Absol use Thunderbolt, Braixen use Psychic!"

"Braix braix!" Braixen twirled her wand as she waited for Absol to fire off his attack.

"Sol..." Electricity crackled through Absol's fur before shooting from his body, Braixen quickly twirled her wand as blue telekinetic energy surrounded the electricity and sent it sky high before breaking it apart causing light blue electrical sparks to rain down upon the stage like confetti.

The crowd cheered loudly as Vivian shouted out. "A marvelous performance! Now let's see what the judges have to say!" She turned towards the judge panel to see a 9.5, a 9.5 and a 10! "Oh my, a remarkable score! Besting Amelia already, will another Coordinator be able to top that or will Serena hold the top score? Let's find out with our next contestant!"

Amelia's face was bright red as she seethed from anger. "Unbelievable, she did it again!" She snarled out.

Both Amelia and Serena advanced into the battle stage where they could excelled with flying colors, Pancham and Sylveon easily bested a team of Dustox and Breloom before Braixen and Sylveon bested a pair of Froslass! Now it all came down to the finals where Serena found herself being stared down by Amelia as they stood at rivaling positions upon the stage.

"It's all come down to this folks, Amelia and Serena facing off in the finals! Which of these Coordinators will take home the win and the rare Pokemon egg?!"

"Dragonair, Espeon it's time to show this peasant brat what real beauty looks like!" Amelia sung out while performing a twirl as she tossed the Pokeballs forward.

"Dragooo!"

"Espe!"

"Pancham, Absol let's put on a show!"

"Pancham, cham cham!" Pancham did a little dance as he burst from his ball.

"Absol..." Absol uttered out a light growl.

"Pancham use Dark Pulse on Espeon, Absol use Thunderbolt on Dragonair!" Serena swiftly ordered out.

"Pancham!" Black-purple static energy formed within Pancham's mouth before shooting out towards Espeon, the Eeveelution grunted out as the attack knocked him back but he shook himself off before glaring at Pancham.

"Sol!" Absol cried out as he fired an electrical bolt towards Dragonair.

"Nair!" The dragon let out a pained cry as the electricity surged through her body.

Amelia didn't appear concerned as she did a quick twirl while calling out. "Attract!"

Espeon and Dragonair both posed while giving off seductive looks towards their opponents. Serena couldn't help but grit her teeth, it was futile to plan against the attack as Espeon was a male while Dragonair was a female. Amelia had the basics covered and Serena lacked a counter as she didn't own any of the Pokemon capable of resisting.

"Cham!" Hearts appeared in Pancham's eyes, drool began pouring from his mouth as he gazed towards Dragonair.

However Serena and Amelia were both equally shocked as Absol remained standing without the slightest bit of difference in his stance.

"W-What?! What's going on here, Absol should be affected by Attract!" Amelia let out a snarl of frustration.

"I-I'm not sure..." Serena gazed towards Absol with an unsure expression. "How come it didn't work on you?"

"That's simple, Attract doesn't work on Pokemon that are already in love with another Pokemon or individual." Dawn explained.

"Wait..." Serena's cheeks turned bright red as she shot another look towards Absol. "You love me?!"

"Sol..." Absol blushed heavily as he avoided his trainer's gaze.

"I can't believe this nonsense, you should be banned for this! That's cheating, it's illegal! Pokemon on human relations are against the rules!" Amelia snarled out.

"Hey now, that may be true but a trainer isn't to be held responsible for a Pokemon having a simple crush on them. It can't be help, I've seen plenty of Pokemon that crush on humans before eventually switching to a Pokemon after meeting the right one." Lisia explained.

"Right, my friend owns a Bayleef that absolutely adores him. It's just something that happens, it can't be helped." May explained.

Amelia was seething with anger. She was used to getting by with the help of Attract so naturally she couldn't stand having somebody having a workaround of her signature technique. "Yeah well-Fine whatever! I can win, even if my opponent has to resort on dirty tactics to win!" Amelia growled out. "Dragonair use Dragon Dance, Espeon use Shadow Ball!"

"Espe!" Espeon fired off the black-purple ball of ghastly energy towards Absol while Dragonair quickly flew in circles, boosting up her attack stats.

"Pancham use Dark Pulse, Absol use Night Slash!"

"Pancham..." Pancham stared off with a dreamy expression, not seeming to hear his trainer while Absol raced forward. The tip of his scythe glowed a bright black-purple color as he slashed out, striking Espeon directly across the chest!

"E-Espe!" Espeon let out a cry before collapsing onto his side as swirls filled his eyes, rendering him unfit to continue.

"Incredible, it appears that Serena scored a critical hit! That'll cost Amelia a great deal of points!" Vivian exclaimed.

Amelia gritted her teeth as she returned Espeon to his ball. "You'll be avenged, my sweet. Dragonair use Draco Meteor!"

"Dragooo!" Dragonair shot a orange energy orb up into the sky which burst into a series of meteors that rained down upon the battlefield, striking Pancham and Absol and knocking them into the air before they hit against the ground.

"Sol..." Absol gritted his teeth.

"Cham!" Pancham clasped his hands together as he gazed up towards Dragonair with a dreamy expression, not seeming to mind that his crush just attacked him!

"Alright Dragonair, we've got them!" Amelia cackled out. "Now use another Drag-Dragonair?"

"Dragooo!" Dragonair cried out as a bright blue light surrounded her body, her skin began shedding away to reveal a dark green color while the familiar form of Dragonite arose from the bright light. "Dragonite!"

"Incredible, it appears that Amelia's Dragonite just evolved! That is going to cost Serena quite a fair bit of points!"

"What?" Serena turned her attention towards the scoreboard before sweating as she saw a good chunk of her points were taken away, leaving her at roughly a quarter of a circle! She glanced towards her glove before clenching her fist. She didn't initially plan on utilizing Mega Evolution unless her opponent did as she found that an unfair advantage but Absol was currently dwarfed by Dragonite when it came to power so she needed to act fast or else Amelia might actually win! "Absol, let's show Amelia the power of our bond, Mega Evolve!" Amelia tapped the Keystone causing a bright pink light to envelop Absol's body as he transformed into his Mega form!

"Absol!" Absol growled out as he stared down the newly evolved Dragonite.

"My precious, what happened to you?!" Amelia finally spoke up while looking quite distraught over Dragonite's evolution rather than showing the usual excitement that most trainers held towards evolution. "Your beauty, it's... it's gone!"

"Drago..." Dragonite hung her head as her trainer uttered those words, it broke her heart to hear her beloved trainer say that.

Serena glanced towards the scoreboard and smirked lightly upon seeing that the activation of Mega Evolution evened out the scoreboard.

"Alright Absol, get in front of Pancham and use Blizzard!"

"Absol!" Absol leaped in front of his teammate, shielding him from the cold weather as a large flurry of ice and snow flew across the stage. Dragonite grunted out as the ice and snow struck his body, more of Amelia's points were docked away leaving one tenth remaining!

"Oh whatever, beauty or no beauty we can still beat this peasant! Dragonite use Draco Meteor!" Amelia pointed towards Mega Absol before freezing in place as no attack came. "Dragonite...?" She turned towards Dragonite only to see the Dragon staring at the ground with a heartbroken expression. "Oh come now Dragonite, don't be ridiculous! You may not be beautiful anymore but that shouldn't stop you from crushing Absol like a chew toy!"

"Drago..." Dragonite rubbed her eye as tears fell from her eyes, wiping them away before anger flared brightly as she turned her gaze towards Absol. Shee may have lost her trainer's love but perhaps she could earn it back by beating Serena and her team! "DRAGO!" Dragonite angrily cried out as the orange light began charging within his mouth.

"We've got to act quick, if that attack hits we're finished! Absol use Thunderbolt, Pancham please use Dark Pulse if you can!"

"Sol!" Absol quickly fired off an electrical bolt, giving Dragonite quite the electrical shock but it wasn't enough to take Dragonite down. Amelia was now even with Serena on points, whoever hit next would surely win regardless of who was left standing!

"Pancham, come on! I know you can do it, use Dark Pulse!" Serena called out to her Pokemon.

Pancham shook his head as he snapped out of fantasy land. "Cham!" The panda cub clamped his paws together and fired off a pulse of dark static energy towards Dragonite, striking a hit right as Dragonite fired off his own attack resulting in Amelia's points draining to zero right as Draco Meteor began striking down upon the battlefield!

"No!" Amelia shrieked out as the scoreboard adjusted to showcase Serena as the Slateport Contest's winner. Her shout was soon drained out by the cheering crowd.

"And Serena wins the Slateport Contest!" Vivian shouted into her mic.

"W-We did it, we won our first contest!" Serena couldn't help but leap into the air as she celebrated her victory.

"Sol, Absol..." Absol reverted back to his normal form as he nuzzled against his trainer's leg.

"Cham Pancham!" Pancham cheered alongside his trainer while a bright blue light engulfed his body causing the crowd to go silent as he began changing form. Pancham grew taller until he towered over Serena while simultaneously bulking out as his body formed quite the muscular physique! The sunglasses remained arched at the tip of his snout as the light faded away to reveal the form of Pangoro!

"Pangoro, goro!" Pangoro beat his paws against his chest as he roared out.

Serena looked up towards Pangoro with a proud smile. "You did it, Pangoro. You evolved!" Though upon noticing the sunglasses she couldn't help but sweat as Pangoro's head was too big for them, she'd have to buy him a new pair.

"Pangoro!"

"Absol!"

Lisia soon stepped from behind the judge panel, the blue and orange egg laid within her arms before it was held out towards Serena as Lisia stood in front of her. "Here you go, I'm sure that you'll make a fine owner for this egg and raise it well. Good luck with your contest career."

Serena accepted the egg while offering the grand coordinator a warm smile. "Thanks and good luck with yours!"

Lisia gave her a light wave before heading back towards the judge panel.

"And that brings the Slateport Contest to an end but don't fret as the next Contest season will start four weeks from today in Rustboro City! I hope to see you all there." Vivian shouted out while the crowd loudly cheered.

Amelia snarled as she returned Dragonite to her ball. "This isn't over, Serena. You better watch out cause I'm going to win the Grand Festival no matter the cost!"

Serena watched Amelia storm off before turning her gaze towards the egg with a warm affectionate look. "I can't wait to meet you, whoever you are!" Despite making an enemy of Amelia today, she was very much excited for her upcoming Hoenn adventure. There were so many new interesting people and Pokemon alike to meet and she couldn't wait to earn her first ribbon! Serena closed her eyes for a moment before staring off with a dreamy expression. 'Just you wait Ash, it won't be long before we see each other again. I'll win the Grand Festival and make you proud!'


Grace's attention was focused upon the dirty dishes as she scrubbed them, her thoughts drifted towards her daughter as she couldn't help but wonder if she was alright as she hadn't heard from her in awhile. A large shadow breezed past the window causing Grace to look up before gasping out as a dark green Dragonite landed in the front yard. She was initially concerned before calming herself as Rhyhorn rushed towards Dragonite in a familiar manner, meaning that it could only be her daughter! Grace set down the dishes before rushing on out to greet her daughter with open arms. Quite some time had passed since Serena left for the Hoenn region, long enough for her hair to fully grow back while she now stood level with her mother in height.

Serena smiled as she shared a hug with her mother before reaching into her bag to retrieve a fairly large golden trophy. "I won!"

Grace's eyes lit up before she pulled Serena in for another tight hug. "I'm so proud of you, I knew that you could do it!"

"Sol, Absol!" Absol let out a light growl causing Grace to back off while Absol stared at her with a jealous expression.

Serena sweated lightly as she glanced towards her Pokemon. Braixen stood proudly next to Pangoro, Sylveon, a Swampert and Amelia's former Dragonite, Serena having extended an invitation to join her team after Amelia released her in the midst of their Hoenn campaign. "She's my mother Absol, no need to get jealous." She sweated before motioning towards the rest of her team. "Mother meet Absol, Swampert and Dragonite. I caught them during my adventures in the Hoenn region!"

"And Pancham evolved I see," Grace smirked as her eyes landed upon the large panda. "Hello Pangoro."

"Pangoro!" Pangoro gave off a wave.

"What of Braixen? I thought that she'd evolve." Grace questioned.

"Oh she doesn't want to, she's content with the way."

"Much like a certain Pikachu?" Grace teased.

Serena blushed heavily as she looked away, proving that she still cared for Ash and hadn't met another guy during her travels. "Yes, just like Pikachu..."

Grace let out a light laugh before offering her daughter a warm smile. "You know I actually heard that he plans on heading to the region south of us fairly soon and there just happens to be a Pokemon Contest circuit there!"

Serena's eyes lit up at the prospect of encountering Ash again. "The name of the region escapes me but I've always wanted to travel there, it's absolutely beautiful!"

"And the Grass starter is such a cutie!" Grace gushed. "You've just got to catch it!"

"I'll certainly try but finding Ash again takes priority..." Serena sweated.

"But of course," Grace gave off a light bow. "I trust that you'll be heading off again then?"

"After tonight, it's been awhile since I had one of your meals. I honestly missed them." A wide smiled formed upon Grace's face upon hearing her daughter's words. "Well then come inside, I've got food for everyone!"

Serena's Pokemon let out an eager cheer before following Grace into the house. Serena remained outside for a moment while turning her gaze towards the south with a look full of determination. 'Well Ash it looks like it won't be long before we see each other again, I can't wait to see you!'

It should be obvious but no, this isn't canon to any of my other work. It was just a fun one shot that I thought of and wanted to do. I was always pretty disappointed that they chose to do a Clemont/Cilan special over showcasing Serena's adventure in Hoenn(And Cilan's one of my favorite characters!) and lately it looks like May is getting screwed out of a chance to appear in Journeys so I figured why not write something up and pretend it's canon while giving May a bit of a role to make up for her absence there! The ending was just for fun and a possible tease at the future?

Episode Delta will likely never happen either so I decided to briefly showcase it, Zinnia does exist I just couldn't think of a way for her to appear without feeling forced. Why would they need to meet? And the whole Butch/Cassidy thing was added in to provide context for why they broke up before Journeys. Originally I was just going to throw in an appearance from one of my Pokemon Hunters but I figured it'd be better to use Butch/Cassidy.

Amelia was always interesting to me and I feel she was deserving of a rival slot(Unlike Nene... just why?) as she could have added in drama and provide the antagonist rival role that has been missing since Paul left.

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed it, I had fun making it but I think I'm just going to stick to writing stories and not one shots. It was just something I wanted to experiment with.