Ash looked between his fiancé and the dark skinned man standing in front of him.

"You two know each other?" He asked.

"Cabe helped me earlier. He was the one who patched me up when I did this." Serena waved her hand up to show everyone her bandage.

"It was just some simple first aid." Cabe said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Most of which I learned from Mayer so you should really thank him."

"Wait. So what actually happened?" Bonnie asked.

Serena gave them a quick account of what happened. After she had finished Clemont turned to Cabe.

"Why were you helping clear up anyway?" He asked.

"Well your dad told me that he would be a few hours. So I went for a walk and ran into two of the actual clean up guys. They asked me if I was doing anything. I told them no. They then asked if I minded helping them just for a few minutes." Cabe gave another shrug of his shoulders this time scratching the back of his head awkwardly as he did so. "I couldn't exactly say no."

Mayer looked at his watch then addressed the group. "We got fifteen minutes, then we're going." He waved at the group shooing them in the direction of the stairs. "Go do what you need to." Ash, Serena, Bonnie and Clemont all went upstairs. Cabe sat down opposite Mayer and the two started talking.

When they were back in the room Ash turned to Serena. "So that's him? I thought he'd be bigger."

"Really? Why?" She asked

"The way you described him made him seem like he was some sort of lanky, poorly coordinated giant." Ash then made a series of rigid hand movement trying to emphasise his point.

"Pack." Serena told him. Ash snapped out of his trance and walked over to his bag and mumbled to himself ticking off the items.

"Toothbrush!" He unnecessarily loudly exclaimed before rushing into the bathroom. He returned a few seconds later with his sky blue toothbrush clutched in his hand. He dropped it into his bag, buckled it up and turned to Serena. "Ready?"

"Yeah. I'm just gonna go to bathroom one more time." She replied. While she was in there Ash gave the room a quick look over. Checking under the bed and in the draws for anything they might have left. Ash, satisfied that they hadn't forgotten anything walked over to his bag and slung it over his shoulder. As he turned back around Serena came out of the bathroom.

"Okay?" He asked. She gave him a smile in response, shouldered her own bag and the two of them walked out of the room. Ash dropped the room key off to Nurse Joy and glanced over to where Mayer and Cabe had been when they left. The seats were now empty.

"They must be outside." Serena said.

Ash and Serena walked out of the Pokemon Centre and saw Bonnie waiting. "You guys are late!" Bonnie declared in a grumpy tone that the two of them had become accustomed to. Before they could argue Bonnie started walking away, obviously expecting Ash and Serena to follow. Bonnie led them to a faded red minivan of which Mayer was occupying the driver's seat. Bonnie walked them round to the back where the trunk was open. "You can put your stuff in here." There was already a large pile of bags and so Ash and Serena had to carefully balance theirs on top. Ash shut the door and the three of them walked over to the sliding door allowed access to the back. The van had a two-two three seat formation. Cabe was upfront with Mayer and Clemont occupied the middle seat on the other side of the van to where the others were getting in. "I'm sitting on this one." Bonnie proclaimed pointing at the seat closest to where Serena was now attempting to enter the van. However the two of them could have guessed by the several pink stains and bright purple B that adorned the seat that Bonnie had claimed it years ago. Serena slid into the back right seat and as Ash was about to follow her a female voice from behind them shouted.

"Ash!" Ash turned to see Diantha jogging towards him. The champion quickly closed the distance between them and stood before Ash. A few drips of sweat appearing on her forehead. "So sorry about this." She said to the car as a whole. Looking at Ash she then said. "I told Serena that I didn't need anything from you, which is true. However you need something from me." She pulled a white envelope from the pocket of her beige trousers and handed it to him. "There's a piece of paper in there three phone numbers. The first is the Hall of Fame reception. The second is my office line. The third is my mobile. You ever wanna see if you've got what it takes to be Kalos champion. Call one of those numbers and I'll get the message."

Ash had forgotten all about the financial reward that came with winning a competition of this size. "Thanks." He told her. She nodded, then turned and walked back toward the Arena.

Ash climbed into the van and took a seat across from Serena. She turned to him a smirk on her face. "Did you just get the number of Diantha; Kalos' most famous actress and two time Kalos Entertainment's Hottest celebrity winner ?"

"Jealous?" He replied.

"No. Why would I be jealous that you now have unrestricted access to talk to arguably the most beautiful person within a thousand mile radius? So again no. No jealousy here" Ash slid the envelope into the pocket of his jeans, leaned over a kissed Serena lightly on her lips.

"Hey love birds." Mayer called out. "Cut it out, I can't see out the back window." Ash pulled back from Serena. "Thank you." Mayer backed the van up and drove them out onto the main road.

Mayer warned them that the journey would take a few hours and that anyone who asked 'are we there yet?' or 'how much further?' would have to walk the rest of the way. After they had been on the road for almost two hours Mayer pulled over at a small cabin just off the road which had a large sign that said. 'Rita's Roadside Rest-stop.' In dark green letters.

Mayer turned around to address his passengers. "We're still about an hour and a half from Lumiose. I suggest that anyone who needs the bathroom or a drink and-or snack go now." Cabe exited the cab and pulled the sliding door beside Bonnie open. Then he made his way toward the cabin. Bonnie hopped out soon followed by her brother.

Serena got up to leave expecting Ash to follow however when he remained planted in his seat she asked. "Aren't you coming?"

"No I'm good here."

"Okay. Do you want me to get you anything?" She asked.

"Water, please."

"Sure." She then exited the van and followed the others into the cabin. Rita's Roadside Rest-stop consisted of a few aisles of food, two fridges of drinks, some toilets and a plump short woman standing behind a checkout desk.

"Welcome." The woman said in a friendly tone.

"Hi." Serena replied before heading straight for the toilets. Clemont stood outside the men's and Serena took her place next to him outside the ladies.

"Sorry about my dad. He can be a bit grumpy on long drives."

Serena held up a hand to him. "Don't apologise. It's understandable." Just then Cabe unlocked the door and came out of the bathroom allowing Clemont to rush in. Serena hoped Bonnie wouldn't be much longer.

Once Serena had been to the bathroom she walked over to the fridge and picked out Ash's water and a fruit smoothie for herself and walked over to the counter to pay. "Let me get this." Cabe was standing behind her. A can of soda in one hand a bag of candy in the other. He placed them next to Serena's drink and took his wallet out. Before Serena could protest he had payed Rita and the two were walking back to the car.

"How's your hand?" He asked.

"Not too bad. I've been trying to keep it still like you said."

"Good. You'll probably want to change the bandages when we arrive and get a proper doctor to look at it."

"I will." Cabe took his seat up front and Serena clambered back into the rear seats. She handed Ash his water which he opened and took a long gulp from.

"Thank you."

"Your head still sore?" She asked

"A bit. Hopefully this'll help." He said indicating the water.

"Right gang." Mayer called from the driver's seat. "Let's get back on the road. Everybody ready?" A series of mumbled yes' indicated that everyone was. Like Mayer had said the journey took just over an hour and a half. During which Bonnie had roped everyone into a game of I-spy that lasted the majority of the time. As they reached the city limits of Lumiose the van slowed down considerably. Ash took the time to look out the window as they drove down the streets of the region's largest city. The lunch rush was over so many of the city's cafes were empty of customers. The pulled up outside the city's largest building, the Lumiose Tower.

"What are we doing here?" Ash asked no one in particular.

Clemont turned round to face him. "I need to check a few things, and I need to show you both something." Clemont opened the sliding door on his side and stepped out. Serena and Ash followed him. He went round the back and took out his, Ash's and Serena's bags before shutting the door behind him. The van backed up and drove off. The three of them shouldered their luggage.

"Dad wants to get back to the store." Clemont walked into the tower and up to the reception desk. "Good afternoon Christine."

Christine, a woman in her late thirties with pale skin and white blonde hair responded. "Good afternoon sir. Welcome back. Are you going up to the gym?"

"Not immediately, I was hoping to take my friends on a quick tour. So could I have three passes?"

"Certainly." Christine reached down and opened a draw and pulled out three plastic cards and handed them to Clemont. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

"Could we leave our bags with you?" Clemont asked. Seeing the look of hesitation that appeared on the receptionists face he added. "We won't be too long."

"Okay."

"You're the best." The three of them each handed over their bags to the receptionist who set them down beside her.

Clemont whirled around and handed Serena and Ash a pass each. "Let's go." He headed over to a row of security barriers and swiped the card. A light on the side of the gat flashed green and Clemont pushed it open. Ash and Serena copied him hesitantly.

"Clemont, where are we going?" Ash asked. "We came on a tour of the tower the last time we were here. You took us on it."

Clemont faced his friend. "In a few minutes all will be revealed."

"Since when are you so dramatic?" Serena asked.

"I'm not dramatic; I just want to show you something. Now hurry up." Clemont increased his walking pace, headed down a corridor. A few minutes later they arrived at an elevator near the back of the building and pressed the button to call it.

Serena leant against Ash and whispered. "What do you think he's up to?"

Ash gave a shrug. "Could be anything."

The two of them took their place behind Clemont just as the doors opened. The three of them walked in and Clemont pressed the button for floor forty three.

"Isn't that your gym floor?" Serena asked.

"Yeah." Clemont slid open a panel on the side of the elevator and entered a six digit code. When he turned back round he found Ash looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "So we won't stop on any other floor."

"That seems quite rude. If there's anyone waiting they'll…" Serena started before being cut off by Clemont.

"Don't worry hardly anyone ever uses these elevators anyway." The three of them stood in silence as the floors ticked by. Eventually the elevator stopped and the doors opened with a ding. The battlefield was spread out in front of them.

"Clemont in case you don't remember we have been here before. We had a battle. I won a gym badge." Ash said sarcastically. Clemont ignored him and strode out across the battlefield towards the other side. Ash looked at Serena and rolled his eyes, Serena gave him a shrug in response and the two followed. They reached the other side and found a thick metal door next to which was a small black panel with a glowing red square on it. Clemont pressed his thumb to the red square for a few seconds then the door unlocked with a loud thud and a robotic female voice spoke. "Access granted. Welcome back Gym Leader Clemont." The door opened to reveal a flight of stairs leading up.

"I thought this was the top floor." Serena said.

"It was." Clemont replied. "Come on."

Ash and Serena followed him. With each step Ash was getting more and more annoyed with Clemont.

"Right. We're here." Clemont declared.

"Finally!" Ash groaned.

Clemont ignored him. He was used to Ash's impatience. "Stand here." Clemont said indicating the large area before the door. Serena looked at Ash but there was as much confusion on his face as was no doubt on hers. However they did as they were told. Clemont pulled out something from his pocket and held it out to them.

"Blindfolds? Seriously?" Ash said. When he didn't get a response he put the blindfold on and all went black. He heard Clemont opening the door. He then felt a hand grab his wrist and give a slight tug to indicate he should start walking. He hesitantly stepped forward. After what felt like a year to Ash Clemont finally said. "Okay, stop. You can take them off now."

Ash immediately flicked his off and was momentarily blinded by the light. However when he's adjusted he saw what he was looking at. Lumiose City. He saw the streets lined with boutiques where he'd taken Serena shopping. He saw the colourful cafés and restaurants that were dotted around the city. He saw the housing district where the hotel was the two of them had stayed at. Beyond that he saw the City start to fade away, first becoming suburbs the houses getting bigger and less frequent. Finally, on the horizon, the Kalos region, stretching for miles in all directions. The wall of glass was interrupted twice on one side was the staircase they had used. Directly opposite was a set of elevator doors.

"So, what do you think?" Clemont said smugly.

"Clemont this is…" Serena started.

"Awesome." Ash finished.

"Why is no one else up here?" Serena asked.

"It doesn't open for another two weeks." Clemont answered. "But because I'm the gym leader, I get special privileges."

"Aw man, why didn't I become a gym leader?" Ash asked himself.

"You have a shot at being champion." Serena told him.

"Damn right I do." Ash said with a devilish grin on his face.

Ash walked around seeing the different districts of the city, all beautifully designed. When Ash reached the other side of the room he saw that it was as he had suspected a set of elevator doors.

"Hey Clemont. Why did we take the stairs?" He asked.

"That's the reason it doesn't open for another two weeks. They need to extend the elevator shaft."

"Ah." Was all Ash responded with.

"Now you guys have had a good look around. There's something I need to ask you." Serena and Ash stopped staring out the windows and turned to their friend. "I know you guys haven't talked about the wedding much but I was thinking if you wanted…" Clemont gestured to the area around him.

"Really?" Serena asked in disbelief. "Here?" Clemont nodded. Serena ran over to him and hugged her friend almost lifting him off the ground.

"How?" Ash asked as soon as Clemont was free.

"Well this whole floor was my idea. Before the only thing close to a lookout spot was on floor thirty seven, next to the bath-salt store and that place always stinks. So I suggested this. I asked if they would mind closing it for a day and they told me if we give them plenty of warning we can close the floor off to the public if you want to get married here."

Serena let out a squeal of joy and turned to Ash. "Can we? Please." Ash looked at her. He could see in her eyes how much she wanted this. He wanted it too, he hadn't thought about where they would get married but he couldn't think of anywhere that would top this.

"Clemont we would love to get married here." Ash said with a smile still looking at his fiancé. Serena stood of her toes and kissed him. Ash started to run a hand down her back but a loud cough from Clemont stopped him.

"Save it for the wedding night love birds." Ash and Serena, now red faced looked and the young gym leader. "Do you guys want to stay up here or go get something to eat?"

"I'm quite hungry." Serena told them.

"Me too." Ash added.

"You're always hungry."

"Point taken."

The three of them went back down to ground level and picked their luggage back up from Christine at the reception desk and Clemont promised that he would repay her for it. They then walked out onto the street.

"Where to Mister Gym Leader?" Ash asked.

"You guys in the mood for sandwiches?" Ash and Serena each gave a nod. "Good." Clemont led them down a road away from the tower and shortly they were at a small café with a yellow awning and a sign that read. 'The Dandelion Café'. Clemont led them in. The café had a long counter behind which stood an old couple. The man was tall and stocky with short grey hair. The woman was a head shorter than her husband and slightly thinner. Her long silver hair was tied back in a bright blue hair-net.

"Hey Marty." Clemont called to the man.

"Clemont is that you?" The old man stared at the three of them in the door way. "And is that the Kalos league victor with you?"

"Sure is. It's been a while." Clemont turned to his friends. "Whenever I had to spend the day working at the gym I would always come and get lunch here."

"And one day you just left without even saying goodbye." The old woman added.

"Cara you know that wasn't my fault."

"Mmmmm." Was all Cara responded with.

"Well sit anywhere." Marty told them. Clemont led them to a table by the window where they could look out at the street and the other shops that inhabited it. "I'm assuming you want your usual Clemont."

"You know me too well." Clemont said with a smile.

"And for your friends?"

"I'll just have whatever Clemont's having." Ash said.

"Me too." Serena added.

"Well that's nice and simple." Marty said to himself. He set about making them sandwiches while Cara made them drinks. She soon appeared with three large glasses full of layers of colour.

"What are those?" Serena asked.

"Rainbow berry shakes." Clemont told them as Cara set them down on the table. "Don't stir them. They're so thick that each layer stays separate and has its own flavour."

"That's so cool." Ash said sipping his the moment Cara took her hands off it.

"I think so." Clemont was about to say something but was distracted by Marty arriving with a tray of three plates stacked with food. He placed one before each of them. "Thanks Marty." The old man returned Clemont's gratitude with a smile. "Let's eat." The three of them ate their sandwiches. It immediately became obvious to Ash and Serena why Clemont chose here to get his lunch whenever his was working at the gym. Marty definitely knew how to make a sandwich and before he knew it Ash had finished his, although that wasn't really saying much. He sat patiently sipping his milkshake, going through all the layers of flavour, whilst the other two finished. Clemont paid for the meal.

"Come back soon guys." Marty called to them as they walked out of the door.

"I need to get back and sort some things out with my dad. Are you guys heading to a hotel?" Clemont asked.

Ash and Serena exchanged a quick glance and a nod before Ash replied. "Yeah."

"I thought so. I'm also assuming that you guys are wanting some alone time?" Clemont said with a devilish grin.

"Yes." Ash replied dryly.

"I thought so. I'll be at the gym tomorrow drop by anytime. Have a good night you two." With that Clemont turned and walked away from them.

"Night Clemont." Ash and Serena called concordantly.

Ash interlaced his fingers with Serena's. "So where to?"

"I liked the hotel we stayed at before. It was very…" Serena paused thinking of the right word. "…us."

Ash nodded and looked away from her. "I think it was…" Ash looked around trying to remember where they were in relation to the hotel. "…that way." He said although there was little confidence in his voice.

Serena raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to get us lost?"

"Maybe." She sighed. "But would that really be so bad?" Ash took his hand out of Serena and placed both it and his other on her hips and pulled her toward him. "I would be wondering a beautiful city with a beautiful woman." He then added sarcastically. "You're right, that would be terrible." He pressed his lips to hers and her hesitations vanished. When she broke away she pointed in the direction Ash had indicated.

"That way it is."