All Aboard!

Dawn had broken on a new day; the sun was peaking over the horizon, the morning Swablu were singing, and the smell of breakfast downstairs wafted through the halls. Ash was straining to get up, his eyes just couldn't seem to stay open from such a bad night. Truth was, it had been a rough night for everyone, more sickening and more painful than a thousand Poison Jab attacks at once. With everything that had happened, no one would've gotten up with enough Z's, and who could blame them. Little did he realize it, Ash missed the biggest opportunity he would ever face, and would soon live to regret it all the more. The smell of fresh pancakes had enticed everyone with its sweet aroma, and soon everyone had come down. But, even with food now getting crammed in their bellies, everyone looked worse than a Muk in a rainstorm, everyone but Sawyer that is. Sawyer had been completely out of the loop with everything going on, and because of that, he was able to doze off like a Snorlax. However, being the only one who did get to sleep, he grew concerned- and a little suspicious- about everyone else.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked, completely oblivious to the situation. Everyone just stayed quite as they all slowly turned their heads towards him, sending a slight chill down his spine. "Okay…" He immediately retracted his question and went back to focusing on his food.

"Ugh, sorry Sawyer," Clemont said, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "We're all just really tired, I don't think any of us really slept last night."

"Tired, tired.. Bonnie…" Bonnie mumbled as she started to doze off into her waffles. DENEEEE! Dedenne had gotten up, and given her a hard Nuzzle right to the cheeks. "Ugh… Thanks, Dedenne, I needed that." Sawyer just scratched his head, even more confused.

"How come everyone's so tired?" he asked. "Am I missing something?" Pikachu and Ash looked at each other for a few seconds, just before Ash answered.

"No, we're fine," he said groggily. "We're all just stressed out; after all, today is the last day we'll be traveling together."

"Yeah," Serena said, fiddling with the berries on her plate with a glum expression. "That's all it is…" Sawyer wasn't completely convinced, but he decided not to give it another thought. He figured if it was important enough, they would be mature enough to deal with it themselves, although the events from last night would certainly prove him wrong. Shauna was barely chewing on her food, just as upset as Serena. After she swallowed, she put down her fork and took a deep sigh.

"You know," she started, "I think I'm gonna eat outside, on the terrace today." Shauna picked up her plate and slowly walked outside, just as Serena grabbed hers and began to follow.

"I think I'll join you," she said trying to catch up.

"Mmm, I think I'll grab some more waffles," Sawyer said as he finished off what was left on his plate. "Anyone want me to grab anything while I'm up there?"

"How about some of that Cheri Berry syrup?" Ash asked, breaking the silence. Sawyer nodded his head and went off to stuff his face even more, which was a first since Ash wasn't eating enough to stop him. "So I was thinking about what we should do before we head out to Alola. I think we should all head back home, stay for a while, and then meet up on Melemele Island in Alola once we're all done prepping. Sound good to you guys?" Bonnie and Clemont's faces turned pale as they looked at each other with awkward faces. "Is something wrong, you guys?"

"Well," Bonnie began, as she shrugged her head at Ash's question. "Actually Ash, there's something we wanted to tell you." Clemont sighed, dreading this moment, but knew they had to tell him.

"Bonnie and I talked it over last night," he continued. "and… well, you see, the thing is… *Sigh* Bonnie and I talked about it last night, and it just doesn't seem right." Ash just tilted his head and batted his eyebrow, even more confused. "I mean, going to another region sounds fantastic, but not if Serena's the only one of the group being left out." Bonnie stood up on her chair, as if ready to make a royal proclamation.

"If one of us stays behind, we all stay behind!" she announced to Ash. "If we all go, Serena should go too, or at least decide not to go herself."

"So, I'm sorry Ash," Clemont continued. "but we won't be going to Alola with you either." Ash stepped back in shock; he had barely been hanging on with the idea of going to Alola without Serena, and now he wasn't going with anyone at all.

"Well…" he stammered. "Okay… I get it, you're right… But I just can't take Serena away from her dream… I guess that means I'll be going alone."

"Sorry Ash," Bonnie said sorrowfully.

"It's okay," Ash replied, trying to keep a straight face. "I get it…" Just as Ash was about to walk off, Sawyer ran up behind them, a little befuzzled.

"Hey guys," he began, "I just got a call from a Kalos League representative saying there were some peculiarities in my entry forms."

"Is everything alright?" Clemont asked.

"Oh sure," Sawyer replied. "But it turns out some new hires tried to steal some of my personal information from them during the league. I think they said something about a camera crew. Anyway, they caught the irregularities, but I need to sign a few things to help sort it out. Which means a lot of paperwork, so I may not be able to make it to the train station with you guys later."

"That's alright," Ash said. He extended his hand to Sawyer and the two of them shared a firm, respectful handshake. "Good luck out there."

"Thanks, Ash," Sawyer said with his voice breaking a bit in awe. "Well, I'd better go tell Shauna we'll be stuck here for a while. Wish me luck." Sawyer chuckled a bit at the joke as he walked off to tell his companion the plans. Ash took a deep breath and sighed as he started to walk off.

"Well," he began, "I guess I'd better go pack. Come on, Pikachu." The little mouse Pokémon hopped up onto Ash's shoulder as he began to walk off, but glancing at Bonnie and Clemont for just a moment. "No hard feelings, okay." Ash went off with Pikachu to pack, unseen to the others that he was staring at the ground the entire way there.

***Later That Day***

The gang had packed everything up and made it to the next town. The roads had reopened, and it was as cold as Snowbelle City, which forced everyone to wear their warmest winter wear. It was 6:00 in the evening, just an hour before Serena's train was going to leave. Looking up at the entry way to the track, Serena felt something stirring inside. She was so nervous, shaking more than a Spinda during an earthquake, but she felt as ready as she could be. As she turned around to look at her friends one last time, she began to tear up just a bit.

"Well," she started, "This is my stop…" Serena began to well up more, as a few more tears started to stream out, which caused Bonnie to tear up as well.

"Serenaaaa!" she cried out as she ran up to hug her, tears flowing down her face. Serena knelt down and gave Bonnie a big hug. "I'll miss you!"

"Oh Bonnie," Serena said groggily, "I'll miss you too!" As the two of them began to finish their hug, Clemont walked up to them, with a few tears in his eyes as well. Serena stood up and smiled as even more tears filled her eyes and gave him a big hug to match.

"You'll do great!" Clemont said. "Don't forget to write."

"I won't," Serena said as she started to break away from the hug. As she turned to look at Ash, her smile suddenly began to fade. Ash had a few tears in his eyes too, he wanted to try to tell her goodbye, but when he walked up to her he didn't know what to say. The two of them stood there awkwardly for a short bit when Serena broke the silence. "So I guess this is it." Ash looked down, lost in thought about how it was really time: time to say goodbye.

"Yeah," he said, still stuck in the awkwardness. "You're going to see Palermo, and I'm heading home."

"Oh?" Serena said, tilting her head a little.

"Yeah," Ash said. "I looked into the local airports, and it turns out there's one in the next town that can bring me back to Pallet Town tonight." Serena gave a single hum as she understood, and tried to figure out what to say next, leaving them back in the awkward silence. "Look Serena... I..." Serena immediately turned her head to Ash and blushed a bit, hoping he might say something to prove her wrong about their relationship. "I just… *Sigh*… I hope you find everything you're looking for." Serena's blush died down a bit in disappointment, but she soon smiled, happy that they were still so close. Ash smiled a bit too, just as they both walked up to one another to hug. "Goodbye, Serena."

"Goodbye Ash," Serena whispered into his ear. A bell sounded from a speaker on the wall as an announcer said, "Train 17 to Snowbelle has departed. Next train to Coumarine departing in 55 minutes." Serena turned her head to look at the clock next to the speaker, then turned to Ash one last time just before breaking away. She picked up her bag and began to walk off, but not before turning around to take a good look at her friends. She smiled, tears still staining the sides of her eyes, but she was happy, even if it meant saying goodbye. "Goodbye." Everyone smiled one last time, just as she walked off to board the train. Ash's smile was the first to vanish, now that she was gone. As Clemont and Bonnie turned to talk to Ash about the news they had just heard.

"You're leaving tonight, huh?" Clemont asked.

"Yeah," Ash responded. "I guess with nothing else keeping me here, I should probably get home to my mom as soon as possible." Clemont was a little irritated by this, but what he said made sense, and he knew Ash was pretty heartbroken from everything. So all he did was smile and concur.

"Well then," he began, extending his hand, "Until we meet again." Ash smiled a bit as he took Clemont's hand and gave it a hearty shake. Bonnie couldn't stand what she was seeing and teared up a bit more, soon running right into Ash's arms, mid-shake.

"Bye, Ash," she said, teary-eyed. "Bye, Pikachu!" The two of them gave her a big hug and walked off to try and catch their plane. Pikachu nuzzled Ash a bit as they went along, trying to comfort him from how he really felt. Ash patted his best friend on the head as they slowly walked away. Once he was out of the train station, he turned around and gave it one last look, thinking about where Serena was going and how it would all change after this. All he did before continuing was whisper one thing; one little wish he wanted for Serena, more than anything, in spite of how hurt he was.

"Have a great life."

***30 Minutes Later***

The wind had started to get stronger, and the temperature kept dropping. It was as if there were a pack of Abomasnow in the area. Everyone was freezing, and no one was able to move, no one except for a young couple on the run. Sawyer had finished up his paperwork early, and he and Shauna were rushing to make it to the train station before Serena left. They'd said their goodbyes earlier, but with a chance to see her off themselves, they weren't going to miss it.

"Hurry Sawyer!" Shauna called out, way ahead of him. "Ugh, and I thought Clemont was slow! If we miss them, I'm not baking anymore PokéPuffs until you stop moving slower than a Slowpoke in glue!"

"I'm-going-as-fast-as-I-can!" Sawyer said, huffing and puffing in exhaustion. "Hey! There's the station!" Sawyer caught up to Shauna just as he spotted it, and was practically exhaling Frost Breath attacks when he stopped.

"If we hurry, we can still catch them!" Shauna said, even more, pumped now. "Let's go!" Shauna dashed ahead of Sawyer just as he was finally able to feel his lungs again.

"Wait uuuup!" Sawyer cried out, barely starting to run after her. "Maybe you don't, but I really need to breathe!" Shauna was right about one thing, they were still there. Serena was still waiting for the train to leave, and Clemont and Bonnie had gotten sidetracked. Dedenne had run off during their farewell with Ash, and Bonnie was frantic.

"Dedenne!" Bonnie cried out. "Where are you, Dedenne?! Oh Clemont, what if we don't… what if Dedenne is…"

"Shh..." Clemont said, trying to comfort his little sister. "Don't worry, we'll find it. Dedenne may get loose a lot, but it always comes back in the end." Bonnie wiped away the little tears that had started to form around her eyes and held a new, determined expression; she was now totally pumped to find Dedenne. However, it seemed there wasn't really much need for it.

"Is this yours?" Shauna grabbed their attention as she held up Dedenne in her hands, making Bonnie smile wider than she had for a long time.

"Dedenne!" she cried out as she ran up to give it a big hug. "Thank you, Shauna! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Shauna giggled a little as she watched Bonnie toss Dedenne up in the air in celebration. Meanwhile, Sawyer had finally managed to catch up to her and was about to collapse from exhaustion.

"Wow! You guys are here!" Clemont exclaimed as he walked up to them. "Did you both really hike all the way from the Pokémon Center?"

"Don't-say-hiked," Sawyer pleaded, too exhausted to want to even hear anything about walking.

"Sawyer finished up the papers early," she explained. "So we thought we'd hurry and try to say goodbye to Serena before she leaves. Where is she?"

"Um, platform D-6," Clemont said. "The train is there, but it won't be leaving until they can finish maintenance. Her seat should be in car number 5."

"Alright," Shauna said, smiling. "Come on Sawyer, let's go!" Shauna began to run off but stopped when she realized that Sawyer was just standing there, breathing heavily.

"You-go-ahead," Sawyer said, barely getting his breath back. "I'll-catch-up." Shauna just closed her eyes, shook her head, and shrugged at Sawyer. He was slow, but she loved him anyway, slowness and all. Sawyer finally managed to get his breath back, and stood up straight as he regained focus.

"Few! That's better," he said, looking at Clemont and Bonnie. Then it hit him: Clemont and Bonnie were here, but Ash was nowhere to be found. "Hey, where's Ash gotten to, shouldn't he be here to say goodbye?"

"We said our goodbyes a half an hour ago," Clemont explained. "We just got sidetracked when Dedenne ran off. Ash said he was leaving early for Pallet Town, so he went ahead to catch a plane."

"What?!" Sawyer said in shock. "He didn't even tell you guys he was going? That doesn't sound like Ash; he would've at least gone back with you guys to Lumiose City."

"Well, you know Ash," Clemont said. "He does what he wants, and there's no telling what he'll do next." Bonnie just pouted at that remark, frustrated about how true it was.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Like one minute he'll be all excited to take us to Alola, then the next he'll be too Torchic to ask Serena!"

"Wait, what was that?" Sawyer asked. Bonnie hadn't mumbled quietly enough, and Sawyer heard him. "Did you say Ash was going to ask Serena to Alola?!" Bonnie suddenly became flustered; she couldn't believe she blurted out the secret for everyone to hear, again. She tried to cover it up, but it was no use. Sawyer was beginning to put the pieces together, and they all fit perfectly. He looked her right in the eyes and stopped her as she was beginning to blurt out more. "Tell. Me. Everything." Bonnie knew from experience there was no use denying it and explained everything to Sawyer, a little surprised he was still so out of the loop.

Ash had been walking for 45 minutes but hadn't gotten very far. He was barely out of town when he heard the train whistle. As he looked to it, he knew that soon it would be departing, and he would likely never see Serena again.

"Well buddy," Ash said, looking at the electric mouse on his shoulder, "I guess it's just you and me again." Pikachu did nothing but turn his head and scowl as Ash tried talking to him. "What? Don't tell me you're planning on leaving too!" PIKAPIKA! The little Pokémon snapped at Ash for that remark, but Ash apologized and rubbed his best friend on the tail. "Sorry buddy, I know you'd never do that, I won't joke about it again." Pikachu smiled a bit as he got scratched in his favorite spot, but quickly changed his face back to a frown. "What? What did I do?" Pikachu knew Ash was upset, but he couldn't take it anymore. He knew if Ash had just said something sooner, there wouldn't be any problem, and he planned to keep it that way until they were back in Pallet Town. "Fine, be that way." Ash just looked ahead and kept going, until the call of a familiar voice stopped him. "Huh? Is that-" Ash turned around to see Sawyer not too far away, running and panting hard as he tried to get him to stop. "Sawyer? What are you doing here?" Sawyer stopped right in front of Ash and knelt down on the ground, trying to catch his breath.

"Well, for one thing," he began to explain, "Thinking Shauna's right, I need to cut off the sweets." Sawyer quickly caught his breath and stood back up as he recovered. "But also, I'm here to stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life." Ash just tilted his head in confusion; what Sawyer was saying sounded like gibberish, caused by him being short of breath. "Ash, you shouldn't keep it to yourself. You need to tell Serena. You want her to go to Alola with you, so you can't just let her go without saying anything!" Ash just jumped back a bit and turned his head in denial.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" he said, trying to deny everything. Pikachu and Sawyer both just gave him glares of ridicule. Why did he think there was any point denying it?

"Ash, Bonnie told me," Sawyer explained. Ash got a shocked look on his face and gritted his teeth about that. "Don't be mad at her, it just slipped out. More importantly, what I don't get is why you're not saying anything to Serena. You invite everyone, except for the one girl you like? That doesn't make any sense!" Ash jumped back again and began to blush at that comment.

"W-what?!" he said in shock. "What would make you think-"

"Ash, don't be coy with me," Sawyer said with a stern glare. "Everyone else might not notice it, but I do. I've seen the way you look at her, that smile you get on your face when she does something for you, or something talented and amazing. That's the same look I get when I'm with Shauna." Ash blushed, even more, trying to find some way out of it.

"Wait, you like Shauna?" he said, failing to change the subject. PIKAPIKA! Pikachu snapped at him, stopping him from trying to Buizel his way out of it. "You too Pikachu?"

"Ash, Pikachu's right," Sawyer said, getting them back on track. "We're talking about you now. I know you like her, and I need you to be straight with me." Ash just scoffed at Sawyer and tried to avoid his gaze.

"Alright, so what if I do?" Ash said. "What's your point?"

"My point is you're not making any sense," Sawyer continued. "If you like her, why won't you ask her to go with you?"

"I don't want to interfere with her dream," Ash snapped.

"That's not it," Sawyer said, denying it.

"I don't want things to get awkward between us by asking her," Ash tried again.

"That might be partly true, but that's not it either," Sawyer refuted. "Come on Ash, just tell me the truth! Why won't you ask the girl you love to come travel with you?" Ash had his teeth clenched, but finally came out with it when he couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay, you want the truth?" Ash said, beginning to shout a little, as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder before it got too ugly. "Here's the truth! I'm just not ready! I can't go through this again!" Sawyer and Pikachu both became really confused as Ash said that, which made Ash even more upset, though he began to tear up a little instead of scream. "3 years ago, I traveled with a girl named May. She was really fun, still learning and I was able to teach her. So, there was some point where I ended up falling for her just like Serena. Later that year, we visited her parents in Petalburg for Christmas. Without looking, we got caught under the mistletoe together and ended up sharing our first kiss. I was afraid she didn't like me back, but that moment it became clear. For those few seconds together we weren't just Ash and May, we were Ash and May if that makes any kind of sense." Sawyer began to become a bit concerned as he listened to Ash, but he understood what he was saying. "But before we could finish, her parents walked in. They were furious about it, and they almost forbid her from traveling with us anymore. The only way I could change their minds was if I promised never to try anything with May again. I didn't want us to stop, but I didn't want to lose one of my best friends even more." Ash turned away from Sawyer and began to well up a bit after admitting all that to someone. Sawyer walked over to his friend and grabbed him by the shoulder. Ash turned around and wiped the few tears he had left off his face. "I'm sorry. I never really told anyone about that before."

"It's alright," Sawyer said, trying to help him, but he hardly knew what to say. "So you won't say anything to Serena because you're still in love with May?"

"What? No," Ash said, rubbing his eyes. "I moved on from May a long time ago. But that feeling I had the rest of the time we were traveling, that horrible, gut wrenching feeling I had, knowing that we could never be more than just friends… it's too much for me to think about. I just can't go through that again, and even if Serena does feel the same way, I'm just not ready… *Sigh* Not like it matters much now anyway, she's going with Palermo to make her dreams come true. She'd never give that up." Ash looked down at the ground, more depressed than ever. Sawyer was really concerned about him, but took a deep breath and knew what he had to say.

"Alright Ash," he said, "I can't imagine going through that and never being able to do anything about it, but I think you may be worrying a little too much here. I might not be that good at reading girls, but I'm pretty sure I've seen Serena look at you that way more than once. I could be wrong, but that still means there's a chance. But I get it, even if she does, you're not ready to say something, but so what? Don't tell her now; tell her tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, whenever you decide it is you're ready. But if she's not there the moment you are, and you let her go off with the one person in the world who can make her dreams come true, in a region where she's already really famous and has hundreds of guys who are crazy about her, she's not coming back with any doubts." Ash listened to what Sawyer had to say, and understood, but seemed to become glummer and even more confused about what to do. "Even if it's not likely, the decision to go with Palermo or not is her choice, so what good is worrying about it when you don't even know for sure there's no chance?" Ash clenched his fist as he tried to sort out in his head what he had to do. All sorts of conflicting feelings were going through his mind now, but what Sawyer said made sense, and soon he unclenched his fist as the answer became clear.

"I need to stop that train," he said. Sawyer and Pikachu smiled as Ash realized what he wanted, and what he had to do to get it. "Come on Pikachu, Sawyer." Pikachu climbed up on his shoulder and Sawyer placed his hand on Ash's shoulder, concurring with what Ash was about to do. "We've got a train to catch!"