"I still can't believe you're leaving." Chloe said.
"It's only for a few weeks, I guess I'm just homesick. I don't get to be home as much as the rest of you." Serena said. "Besides, I'll be back before you know it."
"So how'd Ash take the news, I figured he'd try and stop you, or at least convince you to not leave just yet." Chloe said swinging her legs slightly.
"He doesn't know yet." Serena admitted.
"Serena, you're leaving in ten hours, and you haven't told Ash!" Chloe said in shock.
"Shushshshs!" Serena said frantically. "I've been waiting for the right moment, and I don't want him to find out by your shouting!"
"This is crazy, you have to tell him!" Chloe said.
"I know, I know, I just, I'm not sure how. I want to talk to just him about it, and I haven't had that opportunity" Serena admitted.
"And I'm not sure you will." Chloe said.
"What do you mean?" Serena asked.
"Today's the day the Aether Team is arriving to try and send Guzzlord back." Chloe said. "Ash will most likely be busy all day."
"No! I'm so stupid!" Serena exclaimed.
"If you hurry, you might be able to talk with him before they get here." Chloe offered.
"Right, I still have time." Serena said regaining her confidence, and leaving her room to find Ash.
Down in the main lab
"So here is the general area the wormhole appeared in." Ash said, pulling up a map. "I have to ask, should we be concerned about this big of a portal opening all the way out here though?"
"You said Naganadle crashed right in front of you, correct?" Wicke asked.
"Yeah, he destroyed my car's engine in the process." Ash admitted. "Before Guzzlord blew it up at least."
"Don't tell me things like that! I worry about you enough!" Burnett scolded.
"Anyways." Burnett interjected. "I believe Naganadle was looking for you. He's been able to open wormholes in the past, so hopefully one opening here was his doing."
"Which also makes the possibility of opening the wormhole far more difficult." Burnett sighed.
"The van is all loaded, ready whenever you ladies are." Mohn said walking in.
"Go on ahead and get set up, I'll get Naganadle and Guzzlord." Ash said.
"We'll see you there." Wicke responded.
"Oh Ash, good I need to talk to you." Serena said walking in as the Aether members walked out.
"Can it wait, we're about to send the Ultra Beasts home." Ash said.
"Oh, Uhh yeah no problem." Serena said.
At the site of Guzzlord's attack
"Okay, activating the search protocol now." Burnett said, typing away at her laptop.
"And here comes Ash." Wicke said looking off in the distance, a Charizard, and Nagandle coming in for a landing.
"I've got Guzzlord's Pokeball right here." Ash said fishing it out of his bag.
"Are you sure this is where the portal opened?" Burnett asked.
"We're standing in a Guzzlord sized crater, I'm pretty sure this is the spot." Ash said. "Why?"
"There are no residual ultra readings. It's as if the portal never opened in the first place." Burnett explained.
"Perhaps if Naganadle opened it the first time, he could open it a second time." Mohn suggested.
"Great idea! Naganadle, can you help us out?" Wicke asked excitedly.
Naganadle flew up into the air, poking at the sky, eventually floating back down.
"You know, we ended up in Orre when we came back to earth." Ash said. "Maybe similarly to how Alola is a weak point between us and Ultra Space, maybe Kanto is a strong point."
"So opening a wormhole was a one time thing." Burnett realized.
"Which presents its own problems. I made the beast balls as temporary holdings for the Ultra Beasts while we brought them home. Even if we wanted to, I'm not sure it's safe to transport Guzzlord back to Alola." Wicke theorized. "Even by hand, there's a chance they could break free."
"Then why not leave it here?" Ash offered. "We have a backup in case Eternatus escapes, it'll probably work for Guzzlord too."
"Our job is to make sure all the Ultra Beasts get home safely. We can't just leave it here." Wicke countered.
"And what if there isn't a safe way to do it, what if until a wormhole reopens in Kanto, Guzzlord has to stay here. The lab is best equipped to fight against Guzzlord if it escapes, and Lusamine would back me on this." Ash argued.
"I'll talk to Lusamine about it when we're back in Alola, if she believes otherwise, we will come up with a way to ensure safe transportation of both Guzzlord and Naganadle back to Alola, and hopefully to Ultra Space." Mohn said, settling the dispute.
Back at the lab
"Sorry about that." Ash said, walking into the lounge. "You wanted to talk about something?"
"Yeah, I've been trying to find the best time to tell you this, and it's pretty big news." Serena said.
"Before you start, here." Ash said, holding out a nicely wrapped box.
"What is this?" Serena asked.
"Just open it." Ash reassured.
Inside the box was a jar of sand.
"It's so, thoughtful…". Serena said a bit confused.
"Remember when I went to Alola, a few summers back. Well I also went back to Orre, back to the outskirts stand. That's sand from roughly where we came back home. Reminding me, and now you, that no matter how far apart we are, we'll be together." Ash said.
"How long have you known?" Serena asked with a teary smile.
"A few days. Now we should hurry or you'll miss your flight. Say hi to your mom for me, and call when you land." Ash said supportively.
"It'll be almost 3am by that time." Serena pointed out.
"And I'll be up waiting." Ash said.
Authors Note
Obviously this isn't goodbye to Serena, it's just for a few chapters, she'll be back before chapter 300 don't worry.