A Soulmate AU! Maybe a bit of a subversion? And my linguistic headcanons come through in a big way! (Yeah, I've got linguistic headcanons for the Pokémon universe 😂)
—
Ash didn't really care about soulmates. He had one, or at least he had the little name written on the inside of his left wrist that meant he had one.
It was written in Common letters, in very cute cursive: Serena. He honestly wanted to forget all about it, though—why have a soulmate when you could have Pokémon instead?! So when he was ten years old, he left on his journey to become a Pokémon Master. He put on gloves that covered his wrist and did his best to both ignore the name and forget what it was entirely. (Since covering your left wrist often meant you didn't have a soulmate or they were dead or somethingsk else had happened, people didn't ask him about his soulmate—exactly what he wanted.)
His whole world was Pokémon, battles, Leagues, and new adventures. He made many friends, met so many incredible people and Pokémon, and ultimately was having the time of his life as he traveled the world.
He was fifteen when he went to Kalos, fresh from Unova and a disappointing loss at the League there. He'd do better this time!
His first gym battle in Kalos didn't seem promising, though. Viola, the gym leader, hadn't held anything back once she'd learned he'd competed around the world. His Fletchling and Froakie had put up a good fight, but they hadn't been able to win—not by a long shot.
So now he was just contemplating his entire purpose in life while his Pokémon recovered under Nurse Joy's care. What if he couldn't win a league? Should he stop trying? It had been years now. Maybe there was something else he should be doing. Maybe he was just disappointing all his Pokémon and getting them hurt—he always promised to help them be stronger, but they were never the strongest.
Maybe he should go home. Maybe he was wasting everyone's time.
Then someone walked up to him and handed him his backpack, which he hadn't even realized he'd left behind as he'd run to the Pokémon Center with his Pokémon. He thanked her, and then Clemont and Bonnie said she'd been at the gym battle. Yikes, what a first impression. She seemed nice, though, if she still brought out his backpack after he made a fool of himself.
Bonnie and Clemont introduced themselves (and Dedenne), and when Ash said his name, she'd said, "I know." What? "My name is Serena."
He couldn't help the instinctual flinch. He'd met a few people named Serena on his travels, and he was always wary of them. As much as he'd tried to forget, the name was emblazoned on his skin. It had come to represent something terrible to him—the end of his travels, the end of his dreams, the end of fun. And here was some girl who'd come out of nowhere and known his name! Did girls have some kind of secret power to meet their soulmates and know who they were?!
As they talked more over the course of the day, though, he found out she'd met him in Pallet Town at one of Professor Oak's summer camps and wanted to return his handkerchief. She talked about finding an old friend and getting away from her mom, about wanting to start her journey.
Nothing about soulmates. Nothing about the name on her wrist, or asking to see the name on his.
She cheered him on while he was training and when he challenged Viola again. Later, when Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie were about to leave, Serena had smiled and wished them luck.
She didn't even ask if she could join them, which pretty much cemented it for him—this Serena was not his soulmate, so he could be friends with her. To that end, and getting the feeling that she was a bit scared of what to do next, he asked her to come with them. After all, she'd cheered him up, cheered him on, seemed kind, and Bonnie liked her a lot as well.
They were going to have so much fun!
—
Serena made the best treats Ash had ever had. He didn't have a clue how she did it, but he'd agree to do crimes for her cookies.
She used her baking powers for good, though, and not evil. She just liked making treats and sharing them. Her smile when someone complimented her baking was so genuine and sweet that Ash always was sure to tell her how awesome they were. And when she was happy, she made more treats, so it was a win-win!
—
Serena loved fashion. Ash didn't get it, but it was fun to see Serena get so excited about something. And he had to admit that her outfits were always nice and her Pokémon always well-groomed.
So when he got a blue ribbon for being a lucky number customer, of course he gave it to her. What would he do with it? No, Serena should have it—she'd find a use for it.
Then it was time for her first showcase. He was so excited to see it, especially when they learned the first round would be fashion—Serena was a pro at this! It was practically guaranteed!
Sure enough, when she left the little outfit-making booth, Fennekin looked positively adorable. The audience all seemed impressed by what she could do in such a short time and Ash couldn't help smiling—she'd done so well! People were sure to vote for her! And she looked happy up on the stage, waving to the crowd and saying something to Fennekin.
But then the little fox stepped on one of the ribbons and tripped, slamming chin-first into the runway, and the whole outfit fell apart, beads and pins and ribbons scattering, the carefully groomed fur messed up.
And Serena fell to her knees, holding Fennekin close. Ash couldn't see her face, her hair shielding her expression, but he knew she must be devastated. Bonnie gasped and clutched Dedenne closer and Clemont sighed.
Then Serena stood and slowly walked back to the middle of the stage for the voting. Of course Ash and the siblings voted for her, and others did as well, but it wasn't enough to qualify her for the second round.
The showcase wasn't as fun after that. It was cool to see the performers and the Pokémon cooperating so well and the moves were all used imaginatively, but Ash knew how much Serena had wanted to perform, and it was hard to appreciate it knowing she couldn't. The others seemed to feel the same way, although they did their best to cheer for Shauna when it was her turn.
Serena met them after the award ceremony, and while she was subdued, she still smiled and congratulated Shauna on her win. Then she and Bonnie went off to do something, and Clemont said he was worried for Serena—that had been a pretty rough way to lose, especially for a first try.
Ash wasn't worried, though. "Serena is strong." No matter what happened next, she'd get through it. And she had them! All her friends and Pokémon were there to help! She wasn't alone.
They didn't see her that night or the next morning, and just when they were about to start looking for her, she flounced in with a new haircut and a new outfit.
And that blue ribbon was tied in a bow right over her heart. He smiled—he'd known she'd be able to make something with it. The faintest blush bloomed on her cheeks as she smiled at him and his smile stretched a bit wider. He also saw she'd tied a bit of the ribbon around her wrist.
Then she was running out the door, laughing and calling for them to hurry up. He raced after her and knew that he'd follow her anywhere if she kept smiling at him like that.
—
Nurse Joy raised her eyebrows as they ran up to the counter. "I need to register for the league!" he cried.
The Nurse had him scan his Pokédex to get the information—and then a chime went off. "Registration is now closed."
"Just in time," the nurse said.
Serena chided him for getting distracted by a battle when they had already been late. Ash rubbed his neck. She was right. Thank goodness she'd reminded him what they were doing—he couldn't imagine heading home to Pallet Town with the excuse, "I missed the league because I wanted to fight a trainer right before signups closed."
Serena then snuck him and Pikachu a couple PokéPuffs. "Don't want you two getting hungry," she whispered with a grin. "What if you missed your first match because you were looking for food?"
And it was then that Ash realized he wouldn't have minded if Serena had been his soulmate. He wouldn't have minded at all.
—
She kissed him at the airport.
He almost ran after her.
—
It was two years later that he saw her again. They were both eighteen now, and Serena looked radiant. Stylish and confident, and she smiled at him just like she always had.
He noticed she was still wearing a ribbon, his ribbon, around her wrist. Her left wrist, he finally realized. She was covering her soulmate's name. With his ribbon.
He was off the ferry in an instant. He had to know why.
Goh and Chloe called out to him and he said he'd catch the morning ferry.
Then he looked at Serena, who was blushing bright red. He grabbed her wrist, gently, and tapped the ribbon bracelet. "Why are you wearing this?"
She touched the ribbon and then took a deep breath. "I'm not looking for my soulmate."
"Why?"
She looked at him, blue eyes piercing. "Why do you cover your wrist?"
"I don't really care about soulmates." Then, somehow feeling more nervous than he ever had before a battle, he stepped a bit closer.
She didn't back away, just smiled at him, her hand twisting in his grasp to thread her fingers between his. They were on the same page here, he could feel it, and he found himself smiling, too.
How weird, that his soulmate was someone named Serena, but he'd fallen in love with a different person with the same name. Weird and wonderful.
"I choose who I…I choose. And I choose you."
"I choose you, too."
—
They'd been dating for six months. Serena took her ribbon bracelet off to wash her hands after they'd gotten covered in a mix of flour and oil (she may have been trying to teach him to cook and it may have been going badly). He froze when he saw what was written on her skin.
Serena looked at him, at where he was looking, and slapped her other hand over the offending wrist.
He asked to see the name again.
Serena refused, tears in her eyes.
"Why not?"
She shook her head. "Please don't leave me. I don't want to find anyone else. I found you. I choose you."
He pulled off his left glove.
Serena squeaked and closed her eyes.
"Serena," he said, a smile on his face. "It's alright."
"It's not!"
"…do you trust me?"
Her watery eyes met his. "Of course I do!"
"Then please, trust me." And he held out his wrist.
Her lower lip wobbled. She took a few deep breaths, then finally looked at his wrist. She stared in uncomprehending silence for a moment. "But…but that's…"
"Yeah." He pulled out his phone and pulled up his trainer card. "Can I show you something?" She nodded, still confused, and he flipped the phone so she could see it. "This is my card in Common." He tapped the language change button. "And this is my name in Kantogo." Which was, of course, the regional language spoken in Kanto, which had its own writing system.
She looked at her wrist, then back at the card to the kanji characters that matched the ones on her skin, then at him. "You have…another name?"
He nodded. "Satoshi. It's for official stuff. My mom is the only one who calls me that, though, and only when I'm in trouble."
"Satoshi," Serena repeated, and Ash came to the startling realization that he quite liked hearing it when she said it, and he probably wouldn't mind hearing her say it for the rest of his life. "There were…I looked up all the names those characters could be…" She laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes and getting flour everywhere. "I never thought my soulmate wouldn't go by that name at all." When she smiled at him, he was relieved to see it was the same smile she had given him since they started dating, fond as could be. "Well, it's not like it matters now. Soulmate or not, I choose to be with you."
Ash kissed her for that. For loving him when she didn't know they'd been made for each other, for taking that risk.
A soulmate had not been the end of Ash's hopes and dreams, the end of who he was. Falling in love had not made him forget his goals. And he realized she was right—no matter what was written on their wrists, they got to choose how to live their lives.
He chose to live his life with her.