Note: Hey guys! I still feel rather uncomfortable writing battles, so please don't critique it too hard. I mostly go with anime logic than game logic. lmao I don't battle anyone in the games... I just spam an offensive move to get through it. LMAO.

Also, since this is amourshipping, sadly, I will not be inputting any other ships that involve Ash with someone else. :( I just wanted to see what other ships were popular other than Ash and _. Thanks for your input though. I think there will be 3 other pairs in the end, but it's still not decided.

Anyway, thanks to all the people who reviewed the last chapter! - aliensinnoh, Guest, Bluejack222, gabed1298, FantasyLover88, Q-A Authoress, Daisy Pragnya, skyblu23.

Also, aliensinnoh asked: How did Shauna become Kalos Queen & how did Palermo let her participate before Serena? I replied to them in a PM, but just in case any of you guys are wondering too, Shauna is a new student and won on her own without going to the school. :)

Chapter Six: The Grand Opening Ball

The Kalos Academy event hall shined with its golden décor and white trim. The bright lights situated around the room made the décor look much more vibrant. Just like every other formal event, the room was filled with a dozen round tables with centerpieces, and assigned seating to those who were apart of the performers program. At the center was the dance floor; usually dedicated to the classic waltz, and at the far end was the stage, obviously meant for any scheduled performances.

Despite the program being exclusively for the Performers, the entirety of the school was invited to the event to provide their support. Two long tables were placed at the back corner, filled with heaps of food for the attendees to enjoy. The door leading into the event hall was kept open to encourage the rest of the school to participate. Outside the room was the courtyard that was decorated with white pillars. Golden cloths draped around the pillars and the stony staircase that surrounded the round, illuminated fountain in the center.

Standing just outside the event hall, next to the white, arched garland was the honey blonde, encouraging the non-performers to grab a bite, and familiarize themselves with the current class of performers. As someone who was a part of the program, she was supposed to be inside, conversing with the important guests like Monsieur Pierre or Aria. As president, she also had a duty to make sure that the event was running smoothly, and there were no troublemakers in the area.

"I never thought that we would be wearing the same outfits." Miette pointed out, joining Serena as they smiled at the students entering the hall. "I hate to admit it, but Shauna and Amelia did a pretty good job..." Miette was a part of the council, but she didn't care much about her chances of getting booted out of it. She just joined because she had nothing else to do, and in the end, she just happened to enjoy it. She found it a shame if she had to leave, but it wasn't something that was affecting her.

Serena looked down at her outfit before looking straight at Miette. They were both assigned to wear white dresses that were made to look like togas. The dresses were long and flowy, and the material was gathered at the waist, and was tied together by a golden ribbon. To accessorize, they all wore strappy golden heels, and a golden leaf crown. Shauna thought it was a great idea to have all the performer's dress the same way. That way, they would all stick out, and everyone would be able to differentiate them.

Serena didn't want to admit it, but Shauna did an excellent job with planning the entire thing. Because they were roommates, Palermo just assumed that the two were working together, and then conveying their thoughts to the rest of the council. In reality though, Shauna was somewhere out with Amelia, planning the entire thing, and then conveying her ideas to her before going to bed. Before Serena could even provide her own input, Shauna would turn off the lights, and sleep. It sucked, but on the bright side, it gave Serena time to start on her platform, and design her posters.

"Yeah, it does look pretty great," Serena, agreed before taking another glance at the decorated area. Her eyes then rested upon Shauna who was happily conversing with Monsieur Pierre, and a few well-known judges. She radiated with such beauty, and Serena could feel her charisma from where she stood. Whatever the brunette was saying, it surely was keeping her listeners captivated. In this lighting she appeared to be meant for Kalos Queen, but just as her roommate, it was the complete opposite.

"Do you think Shauna would want to run for president?" Miette asked, causing another weight to hit Serena's already burdened shoulders.

"You think she would?" Serena asked with widened eyes. That thought never occurred to her. Shauna was already Kalos Queen, why would she want to be student body president?

"I don't know," answered Miette. "It's just, she's friends with Amelia, and Amelia ran against you last year. Amelia probably knows that she can't win against you, and will have Shauna run in her place. That way she can be vice president." She finished out proudly, like she just figured out something important.

"Thanks for that thought Miette..." Serena groaned, feeling another weight add to her shoulders. The bluenette was always so blunt.

"I'm just preparing you, Serena. After all, you didn't think that Gary would start all this. You should've just gone on a date with him. It's better to go through a few hours of torture rather than a few months."

"I know... I should've thought about that sooner..." Serena narrowed her eyes, before belting out a loud sigh. She then looked up, noticing Alain hiding behind a few bushes away from the brightly lit courtyard.

"Ahh yes, your secret boyfriend." Miette teased.

Serena glared at Miette, but the girl was completely unwavered by it. "I'll be right back," she said before heading towards the boy who was eying the area with caution.

"What are you doing?" Serena asked as Alain pulled her further behind the cluster of bushes. "Don't tell me that you're hiding again."

"I have no choice," he said.

"You're going to have to face them sooner or later." Serena was referring to any important figure in the room that was revolved around the world of pokemon battling. If she could remember, Diantha was in the very same event hall. She was after all, an avid follower of the showcases, and even appeared as a guest judge from time to time.

"I choose later," he responded. "I have to face the council in a couple weeks anyway." He shrugged, referring to what was going to happen to his title.

There was a chance that he would no longer be the Kalos Champion. It disappointed Serena as to how he didn't care much about keeping it. Kalos Champion was a title that every trainer strived for, and here he was, avoiding the entire situation. She knew it's been a couple years since Mairin's death, but he seriously needed to start getting a grip.

Whenever she brought the subject up, Alain never seemed to listen. Now, she occasionally informed him of her worries, but usually, she left it untouched. "Then why are you here?" She sighed.

"To offer you my support." He began rummaging through his jacket pocket.

Serena's eyes slightly widened as she stared at the object that Alain pulled out of his pocket – a small pink box with the familiar chef's hat logo imprinted right on the center. He obviously took a trip to Shalour City to get her a couple of macarons. It was Serena's favorite patisserie in all of Kalos. Whenever she had the time, she'd make a trip there every now and then and stock up on her favorite baked goods. She couldn't believe that Alain did that just for her.

"Sorry, I couldn't have gotten you more. I'll do better next time," he said before turning his body away from her. "See you later," he waved his hand before walking away.

Serena smiled to herself, and opened the box. There were three macarons inside; all three being pistachio. It was her absolute fave. She just needed to find a way to hide it from Miette. Miette absolutely adored those macarons too.

"Serena!"

The honey blonde whipped around, scanning the area before resting her eyes upon the raven haired champion running her way. Seeing him in a tuxedo stunned her for a short second. She's seen Ash in one when they were kids, but now that he was grown up, he looked even better.

"Hey Ash!" Serena smiled as the boy came to a stop in front of her. "You look great."

"Thanks." He slightly blushed before returning the compliment. His eyes then shifted downwards, noticing the pink box that was in her hands. "What is that?"

"Oh, It's just a few macarons that Alain got for me. It's his way of wishing me good luck."

"Alain, huh?" His voice lowered, almost sounding like he was disappointed.

"Yeah." Serena glanced over at Miette who was busy talking to Dawn and May. Those two also enjoyed the macarons from Shalour. She then looked at Ash who began stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Do you think you can keep it in your pocket until the event is over?" Serena asked. She did not want to share three macarons between the four of them. It just wouldn't work out.

"Huh?" Ash blinked. He seemed to have been deep in thought.

"Well, I kind of don't want to share with the others." Serena whispered before using her eyes to point at the three by the door. "If no one catches you with them, I'll share one with you when the event is over."

Ash smiled before taking the box out of her hands. "Sure," he replied before carefully placing it in his pocket.

"So where's Pikachu?" Serena asked as the pair slowly began to walk to the entrance.

"Playing somewhere, I guess. Pikachu and I used to be inseparable, but now that I'm growing up, I guess it sensed that sometimes I need my own privacy."

"I see." She found it so weird that his buddy wasn't perched up on his shoulder. When they traveled together in the past, there's never been a day where Pikachu wasn't there. It was all so weird. There had to be a reason as to why Pikachu suddenly sensed that Ash needed some privacy. "What did you do to make it think that?" She decided to ask. "Did you get a girlfriend?" She teased, stifling a giggle.

"Wh-What?" Ash's face turned a bright shade of crimson. "I've never had a girlfriend before..."

"Really? You seem so nervous though, Ash. Your face is bright red." She giggled. "I think you're hiding it from me." She leaned in close, inspecting his incredibly red skin. She never thought that she would be teasing him about his love life. If this were her back then, she'd be flustered about the topic, and incredibly envious if he mentioned some other girl's name. Oh, she learned so much from Bonnie.

"I swear!" He protested, holding his palms out in front of him as some kind of defense mechanism. "It's just a weird thing to talk about since everyone I traveled with in Alola is dating someone. It sort of made me realize that I shouldn't have-" He stopped himself from completing his sentence. He shook his head, and Serena stared at him with curiosity.

"Shouldn't have what?" Serena asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nothing. I just don't understand relationships..." He chuckled before looking away for a few seconds. "So, uhm, how are you doing?"

"How am I doing?" Serena blinked. She wanted to know what he was going to say, but she hasn't talked to him in years. She felt like it would be rude to ask since they weren't very close anymore. Maybe sometime in the future she could ask him. After all, seeing Ash flustered over the topic of love was something that she was always going to remember.

"Yeah, you're the current president, so you have to worry about the elections, right?" He pointed out. "Man, I should've tied Gary to his bed the minute he came up with the idea."

"I have a lot to worry about aside from all that." Serena sighed before making a fist. "But, I'm sure I'll be okay. I'm sure I can win against him!" She finished off with determination.

"That's the spirit," said Ash, raising his own fist to Serena's. "And if you need help, just ask away."

"Thanks, Ash." Serena smiled as they reached the gates. Miette and the others were no longer standing by the entrance. That only meant that Palermo or someone else was going to make an announcement.

The pair entered the hall just in time to see Palermo standing on the stage, holding onto a glass of wine, and a microphone in her other hand. As Ash went his own way to grab a plate of food, Serena squeezed her way through the crowd to where most of the performer's were standing. Palermo was most likely going to commence with asking; whom she thought was the best performers, to perform on the stage. It was a tradition.

"As you all know, this is the time where I ask my top Performer's to captivate you all with a routine," Palermo said as soon as she got everyone's attention. "But, because the current Kalos Queen is now a student here at the academy, I would like to make a change to this year's ball."

Suddenly, the performer's looked to one another, wondering if anyone else knew about what Palermo had in mind. In Serena's mind, she was thinking that Palermo wanted Shauna to perform, and have the students take notes. That didn't really seem fitting for an event though. That seemed more fitting for one of her classes.

"I would like Shauna to battle one of my students," Palermo continued. "The best way to examine a trainers bond with their pokemon is through a battle, and I think it would be fitting for my students to see the difference between a professional, and, well... a student. What do you say, Shauna?"

Serena turned her head to look at Shauna who was standing at the edge with Amelia. "It would be an honor," Shauna replied with a beaming smile.

"Excellent," said Palermo. "Since one of my students will be participating in the showcases this year, I think it would be fitting if you battle her."

Palermo's eyes immediately met the honey blonde's. Serena's jaw slightly dropped as the information of her battle with Shauna was still processing through her mind.

Almost everyone around her began looking at the performers, trying to figure out which girl was Palermo's lucky apprentice. Usually, Palermo introduced the student who was participating in the showcases for the year by having them perform their routine last. Serena didn't want to admit that this change certainly made things interesting, and it certainly didn't take that long for everyone to figure out that she was going to be up against the Queen.

"Good luck," Miette whispered beside her.

In a matter of minutes, the stage was shifted and transformed into a battlefield. Serena stood at her end of the field, thinking of which pokemon she should use for the battle. Her and Shauna may not be battling champions, but Serena was aware that Shauna was pretty good at it. From watching her performances, she knew that her bond with her pokemon was quite strong, and that was most likely going to be the deciding factor for the battle.

The honey blonde turned her attention to Ash who was asked to referee the battle. He encouraged Serena with a smile before announcing the rules in front of the crowd. With a wave of his hand, he commenced the start of the battle, signifying that Serena should have her chosen pokemon already in her mind.

"Alright Florges!" Shauna yelled out, sending out her fairy type pokemon out into the battlefield. "Let's show them our bond!" Shauna winked before posing with her Florges.

"Flooorges!"

Her confidence was beaming, and Serena could already feel their unbreakable bond from just their signature pose. It reminded her of the time when she battled Aria long ago.

Serena gulped, making sure that no one would witness her fear of battling the Queen. She furrowed her eyebrows in determination before reaching into the hidden pocket sewed into her dress. She closed her eyes, reaching for the pokeball that contained the pokemon that was with her during the beginning of her journey.

"C'mon out Delphox!" Serena hollered, releasing her very first pokemon out onto the battlefield.

"Delphox!" Delphox stood up straight, sharing the same feelings as its trainer.

The crowd filled with a few cheers, and whispers. Everyone was excited to see Shauna's Florges battle instead of perform. It was a rare sight to see. If only they felt the same way about Serena and her Delphox.

"You may have the first move." Shauna urged the honey blonde.

Serena bit her bottom lip before looking straight ahead at her Delphox. We can do this. She told herself. "Use Fire Blast!" She issued her Delphox.

"Del!" Delphox twirled its branch within its grip before tracing the figure of two mirrored, curved lines with a horizontal line intersecting near the top. The fiery character burned in front of the fire pokemon. With another flick of its wrist, Delphox sent the fiery attack towards Florges who was already ready to overcome any attack thrown at it.

"Dodge it, and use Petal Blizzard!" Shauna commanded, causing her Florges to jump up high above the battlefield. In one swift motion, her Florges avoided the attack, and raised its arms above its head. It twirled beneath the lights, and released a flurry of pink leaves all around it. It was battling, but at the same time it was also delivering a performance.

Serena gasped, entranced by the beauty of the move. The flurry of leaves circled around Florges, slowly picking up pace before finally swooping downwards with the tips of the leaves aiming straight at Delphox.

Serena blinked before quickly urging her Delphox to dodge the attack. Before Delphox was given the chance to pounce from the ground, the flurry of leaves attacked the fox like pokemon, engulfing it in a leafy storm. Delphox yelped, taking a few steps back.

"Hang in there Delphox!" Serena called out to her pokemon. At least, the attack was only able to do half the damage. "Use Mystical Fire!"

As the flurry of leaves began to dissipate, Delphox recomposed itself and got a good handle on its stick. It began tracing circles of fire in front of it. Slowly, the circles moved outwards, looking like a ribbon that was constantly being twirled. Delphox then opened its mouth, releasing a stream of fire.

Before Florges could descend back to the floor, the stream of fire hit it straight on the chest. If there was something Serena remembered from her battling class, it was to attack when the opponent rendered too slow to even dodge it.

"Floorges!" Florges yelped in pain as it hit the battlefield with a loud thud.

Serena glanced back up at Shauna who seemed to look rather impressed. The two met eyes, and a small smirk formed upon Shauna's face. When they were younger, they battled all the time, and Serena rarely won. Shauna always teased her, and said she would never improve if Serena didn't improve along with her. Without her, she managed to improve on her own.

"Alright, Petal Blizzard!" Shauna called out the same attack.

Once again, Florges twirled around, this time on the battlefield. The cluster of leaves twirled around the fairy pokemon. Just like before, the cluster of leaves pointed at its opponent, charging in its direction.

"Fire Blast!"

Delphox's stick burned a bright red-orange as it retraced the same insignia as before. The fiery symbol then charged forward, colliding with the cluster of leaves. Instead of burning them away, the leaves began to burn at the edges, and began heading in the opposite direction.

Serena kept her eyes on the attack, hoping that it would strike Florges.

"Petal Dance!" Shauna ordered, and her Florges was quick to obey.

"Flor...!" Florges hollered as a shroud of leaves twirled ahead at it. The attack charged straight ahead, hitting each separate flaming leaf. The impact caused the attack to return to its original target.

Serena widened her eyes as she watched Delphox try to dodge the attack before getting hit. It was too late though, her Delphox yelped out in pain as the fiery leaves came into contact with its body. The crowd around her roared, and applauded Shauna's great power. Even Ash looked rather surprised by how well Shauna was doing. Serena just knew that he was going to ask her for battle as soon as this one was over.

Serena clenched one of her fists, and gritted her teeth. She improved over the years, but Shauna did too. Her bond with her Florges was profound. She could see that Florges had a great desire to improve along with Shauna. Because of that, its attacks were much stronger.

Her own bond with her Delphox greatly improved too though. Just because Shauna was the current Kalos Queen, that didn't mean that she was better than her. A title had no meaning unless you were able to live up to it. Serena was willing to do whatever she needed to do to show that she deserved that title more than anyone else. Out of all her Pokemon, Delphox knew that the most.

"Okay, Delphox!" Serena called out. "Let's show them how strong we are too! Fire Blast, let's go!"

Like it was reading her own heart, Delphox's fiery attack burned brighter and hotter than before. It aimed its attack straight at the fairy pokemon, engulfing it in its flames. Florges cried out in pain, unable to take the heat. As it fell to the ground, it grunted, feeling the effects of the status condition that the Fire Blast left behind.

Shauna grimaced, staring at her Florges who was having a hard time bringing itself up from the ground. It wasn't giving up though, and Serena could see that this Pokemon was really one tough cookie.

"Petal Dance!"

"Fl-Fl-Florges!" Florges trembled as it tried its best to unleash another attack.

Here we go again. Serena thought as another wave of leaves began to head towards Delphox. She thought for a second, thinking about what she could do to stop this never-ending loop of leafy attacks. She glanced over at Ash, wondering what he would do. He was always known for doing the unexpected. Maybe that's what she had to do, and maybe somehow, it would just work in her favor. "Use Psychic to control all those leaves!" She commanded.

Delphox looked back at its trainer, before abiding to her instructions. With great concentration, Delphox scanned the immediate area, and controlled every single leaf that was flung towards it. The crowd gasped, curious about how the battle was going to end.

Imitating Florges, Delphox controlled the leaves and made the cluster twirl around it before shooting them straight back at its opponent.

"Moonblast!" Shauna commanded.

Florges held its arms above its head, creating an image of the moon behind it. The moon began to glow before unleashing a bright beam of light.

"Fire Blast!" Serena said. She was very much focused on the battle now, and her reaction time was much faster than before.

Delphox swiftly traced the symbol once more before unleashing its fiery flames. The attack collided with the flurry of leaves, boosting them forwards before finally colliding with the beam ahead of it. The emerging attacks caused an explosion, covering the battlefield in a shroud of dust and debris.

Serena waved her hand out in front of her, and let out a cough. The beat of her heart quickened as she stared ahead, trying to see the outcome of the battle. As the puff of grey smoke settled, Serena, and everyone else stared intently into the battlefield. Her eyes widened as she saw her Delphox standing up straight ahead of her with Florges fallen to the ground.

"Serena is the winner!" Ash announced.

I won? Serena thought, feeling like this battle was unreal. I beat... Shauna?

She pinched her arm to make sure it wasn't a dream. Realizing that it wasn't she rushed over to her Delphox to embrace it. "We won!" She said as a few of the performing students ran towards her to congratulate her. She felt like she was on top of the world and winning the crown was going to be incredibly easy.

Serena then looked ahead at Shauna who was conversing with a few other important figures. She had a bright smile on her face, but Serena could tell that it was fake. The crowd around her broke into a dozen whispers, fazed about what just happened. Within all the chaos, Serena continued to stare at the brunette. As she finished talking with Monsieur Pierre, she could see that she excused herself, and left the room through the other unused entrance.

The honey blonde wasn't sure as to what she was doing, but as everyone continued on with sharing their thoughts about the showcases for the year, she sneaked out the same door and followed Shauna.

"Hey," Serena greeted as Shauna whipped around to face her. The sounds of her heels clicking against the stony staircase must have given it away. She bit her bottom lip, feeling incredibly awkward. All Shauna did was stare at her with a look of anger on her face. Serena gulped. "It was a close battle, huh?"

"It sure was." Shauna said.

"I'd like to battle against you again sometime..." Serena said, attempting to become her friend. She didn't exactly choose the right moment to do so since her win must have taken a toll on Shauna's pride as Kalos Queen. When the honey blonde left the room, a lot of people were saying that she was going to defeat her easily in the competition. If she were in Shauna's shoes, she would hate to hear all of that.

"Sure."

Serena found it incredibly hard to continue with the conversation since Shauna was disinterested in doing so. She's tried a couple times, but Shauna always shot her down. It irked her to the extreme. It's been years since Shauna decided to break off their friendship.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Serena decided to ask. She didn't care if it was rude to ask such a thing. She had the right to know the answer. After all, she couldn't repair the damage she's done if she didn't know what it was. "We were great friends, and you decided to just throw it all away."

Shauna scoffed and crossed her arms.

Serena could tell that she crossed the line when she asked, but she didn't care. Shauna couldn't hate her anymore than she already did.

"If you were my real friend, you would know."

"A real friend tells them when something is wrong. Not hide it, and expect them to figure it out." Serena could hear Alain's voice.

She scanned the immediate area before finally finding the Kalosian Champion coming out of his hiding spot behind a cluster of bushes. With his hands in his pockets, he descended down the small hill, and joined the two girls. "If you had a problem with Serena, you should have talked with her about it," he said. "Her life doesn't revolve around you and your needs." He scoffed. "You're Kalos Queen aren't you? Shouldn't you be aware that putting others before yourself is much more important?"

"Alain..." Serena whispered, trying to shoo him away. He was making the situation worse than it already was.

"Excuse me?" Shauna said, stunned by his harsh words.

Alain raised one of his hands, and got ahold of Serena's flailing arms. "Serena beat herself up for months wondering what she did wrong to lose your friendship. She cried a dozen times because of you. Even when you put her through all of that, she still wants to be your friend." He took a few more steps forward, and stood in front of the honey blonde. "Now, if you ask me, I don't get why she would even want to be your friend. You're nothing but a selfish snob who doesn't deserve to wear the crown."

"Alain!" Serena tried again, but he just wasn't listening.

"You're one to talk!" Shauna shouted. "You can't even battle! You have a a robot doing all of your work!"

"You're right! I do!" He yelled out. "But this isn't about me. This is about Serena. She's the greatest friend I've ever had, and it's my job to make sure that she's always happy!"

Serena's eyes widened at Alain's words. She knew that he cared for her, but she never thought that he would say something like that. Suddenly, she felt a few tears sting the edge of her own eyes. She knew she should have went with the waterproof mascara. Now she was going to head back into the event with smeared makeup, and everyone was going to question it.

"I suggest you find a new roommate, or get the hell out of this school. You don't deserve to be in the same place as Serena." Alain finished off before grabbing onto Serena's wrist.

"What are you doing?" Serena asked as Alain began dragging her out of the area.

"We're leaving!" He said. "You're going to recompose yourself, then you're returning to finish with the event."

Serena turned her head to the right, looking at Shauna. Alain had no right to say any of those harsh things. He was the type to say what was on his mind though, and once he did, Serena knew that there was no stopping him. She felt angry that he said those things, but at the same time he said everything that was on her own mind.

Serena then turned her head to the left, seeing Ash standing just outside the door with the box of macarons in his hands. He looked shocked and uncomfortable. Did he witness all of that...? Serena thought to herself as Alain continued dragging her along. By the look on his face, he surely did.

And thats the end of the chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it.