NOTE: I've been working alot on my Miraculous story, and thought that this story deserved some loving too... so here I am with another chapter just a few days later! :)

Onto some reviews! I've replied to these two people in a PM, but I thought you guys may be wondering the same thing, so...

aliensinnoh: I'm just wondering, how come whenever Serena has memories, its never memories of her, Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont? It's always Her, Alain, and Shauna. Does her original journey mean nothing to her?

There was never really any memories because Serena is constantly thinking about her current problems. She had problems with Shauna, so she thought about Shauna more. The same goes with Alain or anyone else really. I don't think you'd randomly think about others when you have current things to deal with. Plus, she tried so hard to get over Ash, and that had to include the memories that involved him. She remembers it all, but just buried it in her past. That doesn't mean those times didn't mean anything to her though.

StreetRacer-Sam: With Alain acting this way, have you forgotten their Kalos League Final match? They became good friends. Or have you not included it in the story? Or a girl is too much for two boys to handle? They don't seem on good terms anymore?

This is an AU, so it loosely follows the events of the anime. At most I would just say that the four traveled together and Alain defeated Ash. They became friends, yeah, but after Mairin died and Serena helped him, he ended up falling for Serena. He didn't like that Serena was always sad because of Ash, so he ended up disliking Ash for that reason.

DeretAmourShipping: Can Ash sing a song in a Event Like Alesso- I wanna know ft Nico and Vinz please?

I didn't apply to this one in a PM, but I don't really have events planned out in this story, other than the halloween one. However, the next one has a lot more events happening, so I'll see if I can add some kind of singing to it...

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed the chapter! - FantasyLover88, Daisy Pragnya (thanks for telling me the shipping name), Sol, Q-A Authoress, gabed1298, Guest, Roger0326, UptownFunk, LuigiTSG (I hope you finished your project, and get an A), KallyC.

Chapter Fourteen: The Lumiose Siblings

"Alright, Dedenne! Thunderbolt!"

The honey blonde smiled upon hearing the voice that belonged to one of her first and closest friends. She glanced over to her right at Ash whose pace was quickening with anticipation. Serena just knew that he had to witness the outcome of the battle. Of course, Pikachu just had to see it too. His little buddy jumped off of his shoulder the second Bonnie's voice was heard, and immediately scampered ahead of the two. It's tiny ears perked up upon hearing the electric whirrs coming from Dedenne's Thunderbolt. As Ash's brisk walk turned into a jog, Serena found herself also running, eager to see her friend once more.

Serena came to a stop right beside Ash and her eyes were welcomed to Dedenne standing on the center of the battlefield with a few scars on its cheeks, and its fur damp and murky. Opposite from where the tiny hamster like Pokémon stood was a Croconaw. The water type Pokémon laid on the battlefield, unmoving, and just as Serena's eyes glazed it, ClemBot, the referee announced Gym Leader Bonnie as the winner of the round.

Serena smiled again upon seeing the robot that Clemont built when they were kids. It still looked to be functioning exceptionally well, and still had the indent on its head. Every time she caught a glimpse of the indent, it always reminded her of the time when she asked Clemont why he wouldn't fix it. Believe it or not, at one point, Clemont's inventions stopped exploding, so Serena asked Clemont if he thought about repairing the indent. She was confident that he wouldn't mess up any of ClemBot's programming in the process. But Clemont refused to do so. He simply stated that he wouldn't do it because it was now apart of ClemBot's personality.

"Water type Pokémon are weak against Electric moves." Serena's gaze shifted over to the left, away from ClemBot. She looked over at Bonnie who continued to give her analysis. "I will say your Croconaw is one of the most strongest water Pokémon I've ever battled. You did say that you trained it to be able to withstand electric moves, and it really did surprise me when you proved that right. However, Dedenne is much smaller and is able to run much faster. Because of its size and speed, in the end, I was able to win the battle."

Serena's eyes glistened as she stared at Bonnie with her mouth slightly agape. She was amazed by Bonnie's ability to offer advice to the individual who decided to challenge the Lumiose City Gym. Not only that, Bonnie was growing up beautifully. Bonnie was taller than the last time Serena saw her. She was even starting to develop in places that every girl did once they hit a certain age. Her hair was also longer than before, and her braid was still intact. The only difference was, instead of it being right above her forehead, the young leader had the hair meticulously braided across the back of her head, fully braided to one side. Serena remembered practicing the hairstyle on Bonnie for her cosmetology class. Bonnie liked it so much, she asked her to teach her how to do it. It was great to see that she was still holding onto keeping that style as her signature look.

It felt like it was just yesterday where Clemont decided to place the fate of the gym in Bonnie's hands. Serena could remember how excited Bonnie was when she received her own key to the gym. She could also remember how nervous she was feeling, and how she started off as a laughing stock to all the trainers in Kalos. It was a rocky start, but in the end, Bonnie was able to prove herself as a worthy gym leader. She didn't have as much experience as the others, nor did she have the greatest strategies, but she was working her way up to becoming one of the very best.

It was a strange thing for Serena to think that all those things happened a little over two years ago. It was even stranger for her to think that the last time she even talked to Bonnie was that long ago too. She's seen her at a few social events in the past, but they weren't able to talk during them because they were so busy with their own thing. She wasn't even sure as to when she saw Clemont last. He was asked to help with installing his Clemontic Showers all over Kalos. He was always traveling around, and when Serena came to visit, he was rarely there, so most of the time, it was just Bonnie and herself.

"No way!" Ash called out in utter shock. "Bonnie! You're the gym leader now!?" The raven haired Champion smacked his cheeks with the palm of his hands in disbelief.

As the opponent exited the gym with the help of ClemBot, the young blonde turned her attention to the two who stood at the edge of the battlefield. She jumped, startled to see the special visitors who came unexpectedly. "Ash!? Serena!? Is that you!?" She called out with a wide grin overtaking her face. "No way! I must be dreaming!" The gym leader smacked the palm of her hand against her head repeatedly. After being convinced that the visit was apart of her reality, the young blonde ran over to the two, and pulled them both into a tight hug.

"Pika pi!"

As the three reunited, Serena looked over Bonnie's shoulder to see Pikachu reuniting with its electric buddy. The two tiny Pokémon began to chase each other around in circles. The sight of its old friend was enough to recharge Dedenne's lack of energy.

"It's been awhile," Serena said, feeling Bonnie's immense grip squeeze the life out of her. As Bonnie pulled her in close with her one arm, Serena could see that Bonnie was a couple inches taller than her now. In the past, Shauna deemed Bonnie as an amazon. She predicted that Bonnie would be much taller than the both of them, and her deathly hug would be known as her weapon. It was a hug Serena surely missed.

Serena turned her head to look at Ash who was experiencing the deathly hug for the first time. His face turned red causing Serena to laugh. This was just with one arm. If he experienced it with two, well, he would probably be sent to the hospital.

The three ended their group embrace, and Serena could tell that Ash was discreetly trying to gasp for some air.

"You're all grown up now!" said Ash, still stunned by Bonnie's appearance. "And you're the gym leader too! We have to have a battle this instant! Where's Clemont? We should have a double battle!" His eyes began to sparkle, and the two girls already knew that he was already imagining the outcome in his head.

"That's a really good idea, Ash," said Bonnie. "But unfortunately, we can't. A few things changed in the couple years, and now you have to make an appointment. We're completely booked for two weeks."

"What!? Man…" Ash's jaw dropped. He looked as if his dreams were crushed. "Why is that?"

Bonnie glanced up at Serena with a worried look on her face before turning to look at Ash with a small smile. "I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders. "That's just how it is."

Serena knew exactly why it was that way though. It was because of Alain. Everyone who was a part of maintaining the Kalos League swore to secrecy to not reveal that the current Champion was unable to battle. They put a robot there in case it had to happen, and at one point, it did. The challenger lost, but was able to tell that Alain was not Alain. It was a robot. An AlainBot, made by Clemont. The challenger felt cheated, like he worked so hard for nothing. He ended up telling every trainer about his experience, and at first most people thought it was because Alain was just that good. But after years of not being able to see Alain battle on TV during live events, people were starting to believe that the challenger was telling the truth. The rumors spread to other regions, sprouting hundreds of trainers to come to Kalos to strive and take the role of Kalos Champion. Because of this, trainers now had to book appointments at the gyms.

"Serena!" Bonnie pouted, causing the honey blonde to break away from her thoughts of Alain. "You need to visit more often! I would visit you, but you know I'm busy here at the gym!"

"I'm sorry Bonnie," The honey blonde apologized before bowing down to her long time friend. "I've just been so busy at school."

It was true. She dedicated almost all of her time to training and doing her schoolwork. The only time she really left was during the semester break – to visit her mom. She supposed she could have made time to visit Bonnie then, but she just had so much to tell to her mom. Then again, she somehow managed to make time to bring Alain and Shauna out for a date. Right now she should be training for the next Showcase, but she decided on this. If she could make time for a date, then she could make time for Bonnie.

"You mean you've been busy with Alain," Bonnie snickered, a smug look plastered on her face.

"Wh-What?" Serena's face turned bright red, taken aback from Bonnie's comment.

"Last time I checked, Alain was your boyfriend! Of course you're busy with him!" The blonde puckered her lips and made a kissy face while adding kissy sounds for extra effect.

"Bo-Boyfriend!?" Ash blurted out in shock.

"Yeah!" Bonnie said, cheerfully. "You didn't know?! I remember Alain kissing her on the cheek, and telling her that he would miss her before he had to go somewhere." Bonnie began to giggle.

"What? Really?" Ash asked, looking away.

"That was a long time ago!" Serena tried, but Bonnie just wouldn't stop with the memories.

"He was the perfect boy for you, and I bet he still is!" Bonnie teased. "I knew you were too shy to kiss him on the lips. It's been awhile since then though, have you-"

"BONNIE!" Serena screamed out, her face turning a bright shade of red.

"What?" Bonnie blinked several times before looking to her with innocence. "Did I say something wrong?"

"What is going on?!"

The trio turned their attention to the doorway on the opposite end from where they stood. Serena squinted her eyes to see Clemont coming their way. He pretty much looked the same. He was just much taller, and a bit more muscular than before. He was always lifting parts for his machines; he was bound to build some kind of muscle. His hair was even more disheveled than the last time Serena saw him. But it was most likely because he spent so much time trying to figure things out, and hardly ever looked at himself in the mirror. Serena always told him that he would never be able to get a girlfriend that way. He never responded to her comment. He would just blush, and it was because Serena knew that Clemont had a crush on one of the other scientists in his group. Serena couldn't remember her name, but she remembered that Clemont always froze on the spot whenever she asked him a question.

"Ash!? Serena!?" The inventor began his awkward run to the trio. "My word." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose while inspecting the two in front of him. "It's been quite awhile, hasn't it?"

"It really has," said Ash. "Are you working on something, Clemont?" He began to eye the oil grease and other unknown liquids that stained his coveralls.

"I'm always working on something," Clemont stated. "I never stop for science!" A proud look overtook his face as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Too bad the name of your inventions still need some work," Bonnie teased.

"Bonnie!" Clemont looked offended. "My names are simply thorough."

"That's what instructions are for."

Serena giggled as she watched the siblings bicker for the first time in a while. She missed it a lot. In fact, being in the same room as the three who were with her during her first adventure made her miss her traveling days. It was fun being in school, but traveling around was much more refreshing. It was always a new thing everyday, and she never had to worry about a due date. Maybe the four of them could embark on a new adventure after her and Ash graduated from the academy.

"I just got lunch setup," said Clemont. "Bonnie has a few more trainers to battle today. I want to make sure her and her Pokémon are energized for the rest of the day. Would you two like to join us?"

"You bet!" Ash said, making a fist. "I'm starving."

The foursome sat by the dining table placed in Clemont's cluttered office room. Serena and Ash sat by one another with the two siblings sitting across from them. Sitting next to the table was all of their Pokémon, munching on their Pokémon food. It was a happy sight for Serena to see. All of her Pokémon were happy to be reunited with the first Pokémon they ever made friends with. Chespin and Pancham were even sitting next to each other without arguing, and all of their newer Pokémon were enjoying their time as well. Ash had a completely different team all from Alola. Other than Pikachu he had a Decidueye, an Alolan Sandslash, Komala, Turtonator, and a Mimikyu. While Serena was helping Clemont finish setting up the table, Bonnie was examining each of Ash's tropical Pokémon. She was especially curious about Sandslash and Mimikyu. Ash on the other hand was admiring Bonnie's Pokémon. Back then, she only had Dedenne and Dedenne was still considered as Clemont's Pokémon because she was too young to have one. Now, Bonnie had three extra Pokémon on her team – Mareep, Manetric, and Minun.

Serena hasn't even seen Ash's team until this moment, and it made her much more curious about his life in Alola. How did he meet all of them? What other kind of Pokémon were there? She thought he would have shown her his team the second they saw each other at the academy. But he didn't.

Her curiosity was satiated when Clemont's own curiosity caused him to bombard the Alolan Champion with a never-ending list of questions. Usually, Ash would be stuffing his face, and at first he did, but once Clemont began to ask questions, Ash stopped to answer. They spent what felt like hours catching up with one another. Ash talked about how his Dedidueye was his starter Pokémon. But at first, it was a Rowlett. He talked about how he met his Mimikyu in an abandoned market, and how Komala joined his team because he helped it find its log. He went on and on about his adventures and explained these things he called trials. It sounded fascinating and made Serena want to travel there one day too.

Serena told Bonnie and Clemont about how she was able to compete in the Showcases again. She even told them about how she reconciled with Shauna, but wanted to save the details for another day. They were all happy with her, and then began to tell her and Ash about what they've been up too. Bonnie's been enjoying her time growing stronger as a gym leader, but explained that she wanted to become a Pokémon breeder. She even stated that she applied at the academy and was just waiting for a response. Serena was happy to hear that, and surely hoped that Bonnie would be accepted.

Clemont talked about a new invention. An invention that put a twist to his Clemontic Showers. The Clemontic Showers was typically used to recharge electric Pokémon. Clemont decided to create an invention called the Joyous Showers. It would the same, except it would be able to heal every type of Pokémon. It was to be like a miniature Pokémon Center, and would provide some healing aide if a trainer wasn't anywhere close to one. It was still recommended to get a check up by Nurse Joy once they reached an actual Pokémon Center, but if a Pokémon were in critical condition, it was aimed to lessen the pain until they were able to get ahold of Nurse Joy. It was a great idea, and Serena was happy to see that he was working on it with no problems. He even showed how it worked by using it on Dedenne, and Serena was absolutely amazed.

"Enough about us though," said Bonnie as they each began to dig into their own Lumiose Galette. "You need to tell me more about you and Alain. Why did you break up!?"

Serena almost choked while chewing on her food. She coughed before reaching out to take a swig from her glass of water. "What do you mean, Bonnie?" Serena eyed the blonde with warning. Clemont was unaware of the fact that she dated him because of her undying love for Ash.

"Was he able to get you over you know who?" she whispered.

"They're at it again," sighed Clemont.

"What do you mean?" asked Ash. "Whose 'you know who'? I must have missed out on a lot."

"No, I was here most of the time, and I still don't know who 'you know who is'."

The two girls giggled.

"It's a girl thing," said Clemont. "I've speculated that girls act a certain way when they try to talk about important things in front of other people who they don't want to let in on their secret."

"Ohh…" said Ash in realization. "That means they must be talking about a boy…" He hesitated to continue. But he did anyway and as he did, he looked over to Serena with a sad look on his face. "A boy that Serena must like?"

"How do you know that!?" The two siblings yelled out in shock.

"And I thought you were dense!" Bonnie said out loud. "I guess it's just my brother now."

"What do you mean?" Clemont blinked several times, still not understanding the situation. "I'm not dense!"

"Yes you are," Bonnie deadpanned before looking back to Ash. "How do you know anything about relationships? Could it be that you had a girlfriend in Alola?"

"Wh-What?" Ash gulped. "I didn't!"

"I asked him the same thing, Bonnie," said Serena. "Look at him he's sweating."

The two girls inched closer to the boy, their eyes unblinking. Serena could make out some sweat dripping from Ash's forward, and she could see that the topic was making him extra uncomfortable. He had to have had a girlfriend in Alola. He couldn't have gone from dense to some sort of specialist without some kind of experience with it.

"I told you, Serena," he said, nervously. "A lot of my traveling companions were dating or had a crush on someone… I was just around it a lot…"

"Right," said Bonnie, unconvinced. She then reached under the table, and pulled out a pen and notepad. "I'm gonna need the numbers of these so called companions and their names."

Ringgg Ringgg!

"Oh, look… Serena, I think your phone is ringing," Ash chuckled nervously.

"Oh." The honey blonde leaned back into her seat and reached over for her purse that was hanging off the edge of her chair. She pulled out her phone, and saw Shauna's name flashing on her screen. "It's Shauna," she said.

She pressed on the green button before bringing the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey! It's me!" said Shauna. "I'm sorry for not being able to answer my phone. Those people at the arcade treated us to lunch. They then wanted Alain and I to teach them a few of our moves."

"That's fine. Ash and I assumed so."

"We're done now though, and we'll be heading back to the Roller Rink. Shall we see you there?"

"Yeah, no problem."

And with that Serena hung up her phone. "Sorry, you guys," she said. "But its time for us to go. We have to meet Alain and Shauna back at the Roller Rink."

"Roller Rink?" Bonnie perked up. "Clemont, we need to get some Kalos Frites one of these days!"

"Sure, Bonnie… if you don't have a gym battle." The oldest sibling looked down to his watch before looking back up. "Your next opponent should be here soon."

"It was really nice seeing the both of you again," said Ash. "We really do need to battle next time though. If we don't, I'm gonna throw a fit."

"So, if I beat you would that make me Champion of Alola?" Bonnie joked as they stood up from their seats.

"You're not gonna beat me."

"We'll see about that!"

"Bonnie," said Serena. "I really hope to see you at the academy next semester."

"You can count on it!"

Serena and Ash made their way back to the Roller Rink, and took a seat on one of the bench's just outside the joint. They sat there in complete silence for ten minutes, watching the citizens of Lumiose city pass by them.

"Serena?"

Serena took her eyes off the items at the nearest boutique shop. "Yeah?" she said, turning her face to look at him.

"So… Alain was your first boyfriend?"

Serena pursed her lips together before looking away in embarrassment. She didn't think that Ash would be the type to bring that up again. Bonnie was definitely going to ask for details the next time she saw her, but Ash? He thought he would be disinterested in her love life.

"It was only for two months!" she blurted. "And it doesn't count."

"What?"

Serena turned back to look at him while leaning forwards to grip onto the edge of the bench. "It was… only for two months…"

"How come? And why doesn't it count?"

Serena sighed. "Everyone was telling me that I looked good with him, and that we made a perfect match. All I did was help him cope with Mairin and start battling again. They told me that I should date him, and I did…" she said as a confused look formed upon Ash's face. She didn't want to tell him that it was mostly because of him. "I decided to give it a try."

"You didn't like it?"

"Oh, no I loved it," Serena admitted. "After Mairin died, Alain opened up to me, but when we started dating he opened up to me even more. It made me happy because he was still willing to express his feelings to someone. Most people who are stuck in a rut push everyone away... but he didn't. He kept me close. I know almost everything about him, and he practically knows everything about me. He treated me the best, and always put me before anyone else." Serena looked down to the space between her shoes. "He was my first kiss. My first friend who knows all my secrets. He was almost my first everything…"

"Then why did you break up?"

"Because… I just couldn't like him in that way. It doesn't count to me because I just didn't feel the same way. He was the perfect boyfriend, but no matter what he did, I wasn't falling in love with him." Serena looked back up before jerking her head to look at Ash. "I don't regret any of it though. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have gotten over… gotten over my fear of pursuing my dreams…"

Ash just stared at her with a straight face. Serena was unable to read his emotions or take a guess at what he was thinking about. This kind of Ash was still new to her. With most people, she could make a pretty accurate guess about what they would think, but Ash was different. Maybe it was because the Ash she knew was never interested in love.

"Can I ask you a question?" he said after some time.

"Sure. What is it?" Serena smiled.

"If I never left, do you think that it would have been you and me… instead of you and Alain?"

Serena's lips slightly parted and she stared at him in disbelief. Her mind began to race in several directions, trying to process some kind of answer to his question. But she couldn't answer it. She didn't know what he meant.

She continued to stare at Ash, dumbfounded, and as she tried to figure out what was going on in his head, Ash leaned closer to her. His eyes were glued to hers, and Serena could feel her cheeks burning. His face was now a mere few inches from her, and Serena watched his gaze shift downwards towards her lips.

Serena licked her lips, wondering what Ash was going to do. She let her grip off the edge of the bench and brought her hands to her lap, and began to twiddle her thumbs.

"I just-" Ash mumbled.

"Serena!" Shauna's voice could be heard from afar.

The raven haired Champion sighed before leaning back until he was pressed up against the bench. Serena gulped, feeling like she forgot to breathe throughout the whole thing. She stood up from the bench, and turned around to see Shauna running her way with Alain sauntering along behind her.

"Shauna!" she called out.

"I'm pretty tired," said Shauna after reaching the two. "You know, I know you planned to spend the whole day out, but I think I'm ready to go back to the school. Plus…" The brunette leaned in close to whisper in Serena's ears. "I think I'd like to tell you about my time with Alain."

Serena smiled. She couldn't wait to hear the details. "That's fine with me. I'm actually pretty tired too, and I know that Alain is." Serena looked up at the Kalosian Champion who looked like he was emotionally drained. Serena could tell that it was because he was talking to so many people. On the bright side, at least none of those arcade maniacs were trainers. If they were, he would be receiving a handful about his duties as Champion. She should have made him wear a disguise before leaving the school, but at least, no one seemed to have bothered him.

"You're tired too?" Shauna questioned. "What were you two doing?"
"We went to visit the siblings."

"Without me!?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it when we're back at the academy."

Serena listened to Shauna go on and on about her day with Alain. She was happy to hear that Alain was actually talking to her, and even protecting her from the weirdoes who wanted to take her out on a date. She told Serena that none of them recognized her as Kalos Queen or Alain as the Kalos Champion, but it was because they were gamers and spent most of their time inside, playing games. What made Shauna even happier was the fact that people thought that the two of them were dating, and even called them a cute couple.

"Anyways," said Shauna. "How was your day with Ash and the siblings?"

"It was pretty good," Serena replied as she tucked herself into her bed. "You were right about Bonnie being an amazon. She is taller than me now."

"I called it!" Shauna giggled as Serena heard her move her own blankets aside to tuck herself in.

Serena reached out to the lamp located on the nightstand between their beds. She turned it off before making herself comfortable once more.

"So, do you think you could ever like Ash again?" Shauna asked.

"You know, I think I'm over him for good," said Serena, but she knew it was a lie.

As Shauna fell into a deep slumber, all that Serena could think about was what Ash had said to her. What did it mean? Was he jealous about her friendship with Alain? Or did it mean that he wanted to be Serena's first… almost everything. Because almost everything included being her first kiss, and well, she couldn't bring herself to believe that Ash would even want to kiss her.

Next Chapter Preview: Degraded

"You guys will be receiving your final assignment worth 30% of your grade," said Professor Sycamore. "You will have to examine Pokémon from a different habitat. With the long weekend coming up, I suggest that you plan to travel somewhere not too far off."

"Why don't we go to Snowbelle City?" Serena suggested. "It's a snowy habitat there, and there's a Showcase happening on the long weekend."

"That's perfect!" Everyone agreed.

NOTE: So what do you guys think? :) I have a sequel planned so I've strongly hinted at Bonnie being in the next one. haha What do you think about Ash's question? DUNDUNDUN

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