Hey guys, Jeff here!

First and foremost, I just want to apologise for not updating last week, since I wanted to focus on My Little Pikachu first but I was also very busy at the time... :/
Oh well, at least now there is a new chapter! :D

Anyways, let's get to reading...

Serena gasped out of shock and fright, since she didn't really expect to see this, especially in her room. This thick, black dust that was just sitting in the corner of the room nearest to the door, which she just spotted before heading out with the gang who has gone off downstairs. I mean, Serena just doesn't have words for it, words to describe the ashes that she is actually holding right now with her hands, but what she does know is that she has a lot of questions to herself, a lot of questions about this black substance that has appeared in front of her, but which also appeared in her dream.

Serena stopped for a second as she grasped the ashes with a tighter grip. She didn't really have any explanations right at this moment, explanations why this was here, what it was doing here. All that she thought about, all that she asked herself was that how could these ashes that were actually just from her dream, the very same ashes that symbolises the burning of her blue ribbon, appear in the normal world, how could the ashes from her dream be present in normal time?

Serena looked down towards her chest, looking for the blue ribbon and if it is present, and not burnt into pieces, which was what her dream portrayed to her. She looked at her blue ribbon with caution, seeing if there is anything wrong with it, to see if there was a hint of a burning or anything like that to the blue ribbon that she cares and treasures so much, since it was a present from Ash, and this is the main reason why she worries about it a bit much she felt.

Serena sighed. Luckily, nothing is wrong about the blue ribbon, which she was definitely relieved about, since she didn't really want anything to happen to it, to something that was definitely precious to her. People might say it was just an accessory that went well with her outfit or something like that, but she is always on the opposite, since this ribbon actually symbolises her friendship with Ash, the friendship that they had built for so many years, starting back when they both met in summer camp in the Kanto Region, but Serena thinks every day is if this friendship is somewhat more in her eyes…

At this point, she had enough of this nonsense, had enough thinking about why and what is the ashes from her dream doing here, since this, she knew, was going to bother her most likely during the whole day, which was the day when she is competing for the Tripokalon in order to earn her 3rd Princess Key to earn her the right to compete for the Master Class, which is sort of forgot at first. I mean, that's why they had come into this town and it's for the privilege for Serena to compete at her best in order to achieve her dream, which everyone really respected, since they were also supporting Ash with his dream.

At this moment, she drops the ashes that are from her hands and she then decides to forget the whole thing, the whole experience that she had in that dream of hers, or you could say it was a nightmare, since it definitely was one. No matter, since Serena decides, even though it was a dream or nightmare or whatever it was, she decides to just forget the whole thing and move on… for now…

Reaching into her pockets now, reaching for the Pokéballs that were deep in her pockets that contained her precious partners, her partners that were with her throughout this journey, the ones that support her towards achieving her dream. She reached into her pockets and grabbed a grip with her Pokéballs, and then threw them into the air, which in turn indicated that her Pokémon are supposed to come out, which was what the bright light that came from the Pokéballs that revealed her Pokémon at this moment – Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon.

Serena squatted down towards their height. "Look guys, we have got another Tripokalon in our hands, so let's say we win this one and get our third Princess Key!"

All of her Pokémon cheered beside her. It's not really a surprise that they are all excited and super hyped up for this upcoming Tripokalon, since they put a lot of work practising and perfecting their moves that they are going to use for the performance itself, especially when they need to be well coordinated in order to win, especially now they knew they were going to face tough opponents that are also pursuing the same dream as them.

Serena smiled. "We all worked really hard for his Tripokalon, so let's make sure we do our very best, just like what Ash always does at his gym battles, so what do you all say?"

At that moment, all of her Pokémon cheered once again, saying their own name as they did, indicating to Serena that they are pumped up and ready to win for her third Princess Key, but then again she realised that it's not just her Pokémon that is competing but also herself, which she was unsure about, since she lacks somewhat confidence in herself. I mean, she truly trusts and depends on her Pokémon entirely and she admits that, as she did win her two Princess Keys because of it, but what she really wants to have some confidence in herself, which she doesn't know how to have it.

'What should I do?' Serena thought about her problem. 'What can I do?'

At that point, she then announced that they should all join the others down in the lobby, where they are most likely having breakfast, but also they were probably waiting for her or maybe they were starting to worry about her once again, since the last time they worried about her was when she was in that awful nightmare that she had, which no one really expected.

As she existed the room, taking everything that she had right now, and walked out into the corridor to make her way towards the lobby, but all she could focus on her mind was about her nightmare. I mean, this was the same corridor where her nightmare actually took place, since she specifically remembered the spots where her dream took her, as it was a horrible experience, especially for Serena, as she witnessed the results if she didn't apologise to Ash, which she was glad on doing.

Serena shrugged. She felt a strange feeling in her, like something is there, but she knew that there isn't anyone there, it was just her feelings, her feelings of remembering her dream that is just scaring her, haunting her in a way, since it was staying in her mind like that, but she knew that she just has to move on and forget about the whole scenario that is forming on her head, since it was done, it was over. Even her Pokémon recognised that this dream that she had was not true, but Serena is, of course, not convinced about that conclusion, like there was something else in that dream that she didn't meet, that didn't happen or that it happened but she didn't witness it; but all she could do was just forget about the whole thing.

Moving on from the corridor, she then continued going on her way to the lobby, where most likely everyone in the gang was eating, which was what she found out when she happen to stumble upon them eating in one table. That didn't really surprise her, since they are going to start late as Serena did wake up a bit later than everyone else, but then again her reason for that was she had this dream that she wished she will never have again.

She sat on where everyone was, sitting next to Ash, since that was the only space left for her. Her Pokémon, on the other hand, was fine with the other Pokémon and joining them halfway through whilst they were eating, which is also what Serena did, joined halfway through with Ash, Clemont and Bonnie in a table. The whole gang wondered though about Serena, probably why she has come down quite late, but also why she had that certain dream last night, which everyone was really curious about finding out answers.

Clemont sighed. "Serena? I do apologise for bringing this up again, but do you know why you had this nightmare last night?"

Serena shrugged. "Well, I-I actually d-don't know… but what I do know it was something that I don't want to see ever again…"

"Why? What did you see?" Clemont questioned.

"I-I s-saw… I-I~" Serena stuttered.

"I think we should stop asking Serena about what happened last night." Ash interrupted.

Bonnie giggled. "Concerned about Serena, aren't you Ash?"

Ash blushed. "W-Well, that's what f-friends are for, r-right?"

"Bonnie, stop it." Clemont hissed.

Serena sighed. "Don't worry about it, you guys. I'll tell you anyway. So, what I saw was the result if I didn't apologise to Ash, if I didn't say sorry to him. It showed that everything would go the opposite way and that my blue ribbon… would be burnt to ashes…"

The whole gang stopped for a moment, because it sounded to them that Serena did care about the blue ribbon that she possessed. This was actually the first time that Serena has brought up this, the topic about her ribbon. They all knew that Serena adored the ribbon, that she treasured and cared for it, which was shown to them as she said what she said, since they all know that Ash gave that to Serena as a sign of their everlasting friendship, but they didn't think that she would be this much caring about it, but who could blame her?

Ash put his hand on Serena's shoulder and smiled. "Come on, Serena! Cheer up! Remember this was just a dream and it will never happen for real!"

Clemont nodded. "Ash is right, Serena. Just move on from it, since it will never happen."

Bonnie smiled. "Besides Serena, you've got your Tripokalon to look forward to, so you can't have this attitude whilst performing, right?"

Serena stopped for a second and thought about something, about her friends. She always knew that they will be supporting her until the end and they will do it to the best of their abilities, which is what she had just witnessed here – she has witnessed the bond that they all share, that they all have between each other, the bond of friendship.

To be honest though, they are all right about what they said to her, about how she should forget about what happened, which is what Ash and Clemont said, but also about how she should change for the better, since she was going to perform in a Tripokalon, which is what Bonnie mentioned to her not a few moments ago. All of what her friends, her companions are here for, how they are helping each other rather than just helping themselves, how they are working together rather than working on their own, which is what they all share between one another.

Serena smiled. "Oh, thank you guys. You really helped me out!"

Ash smiled. "Oh, come on. There's no need to thank us, you know."

"Yeah. We're just here for you, Serena." Clemont added.

Bonnie smiled, grabbing Serena's hand. "Come on, Serena. We need to go to your Tripokalon."

Serena nodded. "All right then."

"The past is the past." Serena thought. "The present is now, because I've got my friends by my side."

There you have it, guys! Chapter 10 is done! Hopefully you have enjoyed this chapter! :D

Wow, what can I say with this chapter! I think that everything is fine now, especially in Serena's case, since I think she has gotten over that nightmare that she had, so at least that's a good thought in her perspective. Also, now she has got her Tripokalon to look forward too :D

Before I go, I just want to apologise about how short this chapter was, but hopefully you like it anyways.

In addition to that, I just want to mention about last chapter was actually part of an idea that Hawkins579 sent me, so I would like to give him a shout-out.

Anyways, I'll see you all in the next chapter, but also please put your thoughts of this story in the reviews! Please show some support!

But also Private Message me for any story suggestions!

Also, please check me out on Twitter at jeff_amour if you can for updates of my stories!

So, that's it from me!

See ya! Have a great day!