After a lengthy 7-hour flight and 2-hour train ride, Ash and Serena made their way up the hill that overlooked Pallet Town. They were desperate for some much needed rest and lazily dragged their legs the rest of the way, struggling to carry their luggage with them. It had been an extremely long day and it was nearing midnight now. For the whole journey, Serena was anxious about going to a whole new region she barely knew a thing about and her head was playing ping pong with several different intrusive thoughts. Yet, now she was here all she wanted was a nice warm bed. She could worry about everything else tomorrow.

With the last remains of energy they had left, they finally reached the front door and sighed in relief. Ash unlocked and pushed it open quietly, assuming his mum would be fast asleep by now.

'Just drop your luggage anywhere. We can unpack tomorrow,' said Ash.

'Okay. I'll just leave it in the corner over here,' replied Serena, moving over to the other side of the room.

Ash followed suit and put his stuff next to hers. Then he put his hands on his hips and scoffed.

'I have to say, it's good to be home! But it's definitely an odd feeling after being away so long!'

'Oh, I can only imagine!'

'So, what do you think then?'

'Oh, well I am too tired to really say much now. And it's a little surreal to be in your house to be honest!' joked Serena. 'But it's cosy! And Pallet Town seems nice too from what I saw on the way here.' Ash grinned.

'Well! I'll give you the grand tour tomorrow! But yes, I'm beat too. So, let me show you to the guest room…'

Ash helped Serena settle in and got her some pyjamas from her suitcase and then said goodnight. Ash couldn't help but love the fact Serena was actually back here with him. There was no way he was letting her go so easily. He feared if she hadn't agreed to stay with him, they may not have seen each other again. But now he was just really excited to show her where he began his Pokemon journey, obviously a much better feeling. He quietly shut her door and headed to his room for his own slumber.

The next day, Serena awoke to chattering in the kitchen. She yawned and sat up on her bed, a little confused where she was at first. And then she remembered and shook her head in disbelief. It was such a big decision and the reality of it was beginning to set in. She did all this just for one boy. But the most special boy. Serena turned on a small TV that Delia had left in there.

'Oh! Is that you, Serena? Are you awake?' shouted a familiar kind voice.

Serena quickly scrambled out of bed and opened the bedroom door.

'Oh, yes! It's me! Hello Mrs- I mean Delia!'

Delia walked over to Serena and gave her a welcoming hug.

'Hello! So lovely to finally meet you! I've made you breakfast. You can come and get it whenever you're ready. Ash couldn't wait and is already eating in the kitchen.' Serena giggled at the last part.

'Now why doesn't that surprise me!' Delia laughed with her.

'You know my Ashy! He's always loved his food. Well, don't be too long! I'm looking forward to getting to know you!' Serena nodded.

'Yeah, me too! I'll just freshen up and I'll be right with you!'

Delia made her back to the kitchen, but then stopped and poked her head back round the corner.

'Oh! And the bathroom's on the right, dear!'

'Oh! Thank you, Delia!'

Serena quickly made her way to the bathroom and took a fresh pair of clothes and toiletries with her. Some time later, Serena walked into the kitchen, looking absolutely immaculate and rejuvenated despite the jet lag. Ash was sitting at the dining table on his phone facing away from Serena, while Pikachu was snoozing in the corner of the room. Ahead of him was Delia, who was washing up and turned her head around.

'Oh, Serena! You're here now.' She stopped washing up and turned around fully to face her. 'Well, you sure do scrub up well! You look amazing! Absolutely love the ribbon, by the way! It really suits you! She looks great doesn't she, Ash?'

Ash took his attention off his phone to look at her too. He remained silent for a while and just stared at her for a few seconds.

'Hello, Ash?' Delia nudged him for a response.

'Uh, yeah! Yeah! You look nice. Really nice…' Serena giggled.

'Well, thank you. So do you...'

If Delia wasn't there and she had the right kind of confidence, she would have said what she really thought and told him how hot he looked right now. She could say that at any given moment in all honesty, but she never had the gumption to say it. There was a bit of an awkward silence for a bit until Delia broke it.

'Right, well! Your breakfast is in the microwave, Serena. I'll just quickly warm it up for you.' Please, sit!' She motioned toward the chair next to Ash.

'Thank you, Delia.'

Serena sat next to Ash and was so tempted to grab his hand, but decided against it. She had to remind herself she was technically just a guest and being in Ash's house didn't necessarily mean a thing. But she was practically living with Ash now and it was conjuring up a fanciful fantasy in her head. Delia quickly prepared her breakfast and put a plate full of eggs, bacon and toast in front of her.

'Merci.'

'Oh that's right! You're from Kalos! And they speak French there, right?'

'Yes, we talk English too of course. But French is the primary language.'

'Now that's interesting. I don't suppose Ash knows any French after spending so long there?' Serena laughed.

'He knows a little. But he's not very good at it, bless him.' Delia chuckled.

'Hey! I try my best! I just can't get the accent right,' interjected Ash.

'Well, yeah. You could be worse to be fair.'

Ash looked at Serena smugly, to which she just playfully rolled her eyes back at him in response. Delia observed their dynamic closely, very intrigued by it.

'But of course, you guys have a lot of history together from Kalos and the summer camp way before that, which Ash was telling me about. And now you're back from another long journey together. And it's quite amazing how Ash has achieved all his dreams with you now, Serena. You must be his good luck charm!'

'Yeah, I guess it is. And I don't know about that! I'm just glad I could be a part of such a big part of Ash's life!' Serena was always very coy about the subject.

'And I'm glad you did it all with me,' added Ash.

Delia couldn't help but admire how cute this was. And it was making her more curious about the nature of their true relationship with each other.

'It's quite a story alright! And it's sweet that you invited her back here, Ash. But I have to ask… what's next for you two? Will you stay together? Or…?'

'Um. I honestly have no idea, mum. But I think Serena and I both agree that we don't wanna leave each other. We haven't really discussed it properly yet, but Serena might be open to moving here permanently for a while. And she wants to enter the new Pokemon Contests and Showcases opening up here. So that could be a good place to start.'

'Ah, well that sounds lovely. I really hope you like it here, Serena. And remember you'll be welcome here for as long as you like.'

'Thank you, Delia. I really appreciate that!'

'No problem. You may not know what you're doing long term, but I do have an idea for what you can do today!' she said in a sing-songy voice.

'Oh. What's that, mum?' asked a very curious Ash.

'Well, Professor Oak did say he needs a bit of help with something today. So, perhaps you and Serena could go and see him? You just have to meet him, Serena. He's really quite brilliant!'

'Oh, okay. Well that sounds fun! What do you think, Ash?'

Ash was practically already on the balls of his feet, like he was about to run a race.

'Sure! You can meet all my other Pokemon too while we're there!'

Ash leapt from his seat, clearly eager to go as soon as possible. And there it was again. That sparkle in Ash's eyes whenever he was determined to do something, that Serena admired so much. She feared Ash may be feeling a little lost after winning the league, so was happy that he still seemed to be his usual self. At least for now. Then he ran off, telling Serena to hurry up as he went. Serena quickly ate as much as what was left on her plate, thanked Delia for the meal and rushed off after him. Delia was also happy to see that winning the league hadn't changed Ash too much and was as proud of him as ever.

Ash ran to the lab and knocked on the door several times, clearly excited to see his Pokemon. He couldn't wait.

'Alright. Alright! I'm coming!' said Professor Oak, behind the door. He opened it. 'Oh, well! Of course it would be you, Ash! No one else would knock like that,' he joked. 'Welcome back, my boy! And congratulations on completing your journey and winning the league! You've really come a long way since the first day you set off. You're a real asset to Pallet Town.'

'Thanks, Professor. That means a lot coming from you. And sorry, I just really want to see my Pokemon.'

'Ah, understandable. It has been a while since you saw them all. They're all round the back. Come with-'

Just then, Serena caught up and was breathlessly trying to regain her breath.

'You'd think… I'd have got used to it…. by now… but catching up with you… is really… really tough, Ash.'

Professor Oak stopped and looked at her with a puzzled expression, but then seemed to figure something out.

'Oh, hello! You must be the famous Serena I've heard so much about from Delia!'

'Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you, Professor Oak.' She extended a hand out and he shook it firmly.

'Nice to meet you too, young lady. You're from the Kalos region, right?'

'Yes, I am.'

'Ah! Yes! Beautiful region, Kalos! I've written a few poems about it. And I do so enjoy my conversations with Professor Sycamore about Mega Evolution…' he said, stroking his chin and briefly entering a deep thought. 'Anyway! We were just about to say hello to all of Ash's Pokemon! Are you coming?'

Serena nodded and then they all headed over to see them.

'Hey. Where's Tracey, Professor?'

'Oh, he had to erm… go run a few errands! Yes, that's right! I needed more Pokeballs and other supplies, so I sent him out to get some! He'll be out for a while.'

Professor Oak seemed to have forgotten where Tracey was for a second, which Ash thought was a little odd. He shrugged the thought off.

'Oh, okay. I hope I can catch up with him soon.'

Serena asked Ash who Tracey was and he quickly explained he was an old friend he briefly traveled with, who was now Professor Oak's assistant. Serena was always interested in meeting more of Ash's old friends, because May and Max were so good to her during her time in the Hoenn region. And if they were anything to go by, Ash definitely picked his friends well. He also picked very interesting Pokemon too, thought Serena, as she saw Bulbasaur trying to keep the peace between a few of the more naughty Pokemon on site.

'There they are!' exclaimed Ash. 'Hey, everyone! It's me! I'm back!' He waved his arms about.

There was silence for a second or two and then a stampede of Pokemon suddenly came charging towards them. Serena opened a mouth in shock at all the Pokemon Ash had caught over the years.

'Oh, my,' she said, completely stunned.

At the front of the pack, was none other than Bayleef herself, who was clearly still just as infatuated with Ash as ever. She tackled him to the ground first and nuzzled her head against his. The others joined shortly after and welcomed their much-loved trainer back with joy. Ash embraced them and gave them just as much love back. Serena looked over at Bayleef on top of Ash and couldn't believe how much affection she and the rest of the Pokemon had for Ash. And then she couldn't quite believe her next thought, but she was actually becoming quite jealous of Bayleef being on top of Ash. She too would happily tackle him to the ground anytime, cuddle him and stare into his big beautiful brown eyes all day long, but unfortunately it wouldn't be that simple. And she wasn't a Pokemon so it may not go down as well if she did it. She may never be as lucky as Bayleef, she thought finally.

'Hey, Rena. Come meet the gang! Everyone! This is my good friend, Serena! Give her a nice big welcome please!'

Serena quickly snapped out of her self-indulgent thoughts.

'Uh, hi, everyone! Nice to see you all,' she said nervously, still overwhelmed by the sheer amount of them.

She knew all of Ash's Kalos Pokemon of course, but there were so much more than them.

The Pokemon all greeted her back in their own way and the Kalos Pokemon were happy to see her again. Bayleef was more reserved, however and simply just stared blankly at her. She could instantly sense that she was a contender for Ash's attention.

Ash and Serena stayed and played with them for a while, while Professor Oak went back inside to conduct some tests. Then Ash took Serena on a brief tour of the whole place and walked her over to the raunch, where a number of Pokemon were galloping up and down.

'You see all those Tauros over there, Rena?' he said, pointing over at them.

'Yeah?'

'They're all mine too,' he said, scratching his nose and sticking his tongue out cheekily.

'What? No way! How? There must be like... like 30 of them!'

'Yeah… it's a long story.' He chuckled.

'I'm just truly amazed at how many Pokemon you have, Ash! And they're all wonderful!'

'Well, they've all helped me get to where I am today in some way. And I cherish and love each and every one of them. I do feel a little bad that I haven't been around much to spend time with them though… but maybe that'll change now.'

Ash looked over at his army of Tauros and all his other Pokemon. He was like a proud parent, watching over them. Serena wasn't expecting him to say all that about his Pokemon, but once again, could only admire him more. He wasn't perfect. Far from it. But he sure was everything Serena wanted in a man. She bit her lip, feeling a whole new level of attraction for him that she didn't even think was possible at this point. Then she realised she was staring at him a little too long and thought she should say something, before he noticed her ogling him. She looked over at his Pokemon with him.

'Well, you had to achieve your dreams, Ash. No one can blame you for that. Plus anyone who knows you, knows that you care over and beyond for all your Pokemon, irrespective of how strong they are. And anyone can see how much they love and appreciate you the same way.'

Ash was touched by Serena's words and began to stare at her for a while too. Not as long as Serena did. But certainly long enough. Then he nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. Serena slowly looked over at it and clammed up a little, not quite knowing how to react to it, then quickly shifted her focus back at Ash. Whenever he touched her, she always got a little tense - a good tense, half hoping in anticipation that he would do something to her that would make her turn to jelly. But he didn't. Not this time. Again. Yet it never felt this intimate before, as Ash looked deep into her ocean blue eyes. It was as if time stood still and they were floating away from reality. And then Ash spoke and brought her back to the real world. Maybe next time…

'Thank you, Rena. You always know the right thing to say.'

He rubbed her shoulder a little and then suddenly pulled her into a hug. Serena was taken off guard, but allowed herself to enjoy the moment as the wind started to blow hard against them. It wasn't everyday she got to get this close to him. Then Ash let go and his face brushed past Serena's. If only he had got his face even closer to hers, she wished. She needed more than a hug. But that was the best she was going to get at the moment.

'O-Of course,' she stammered, still a little taken aback by the moment. 'I'm always gonna be here for you and I'll always try to keep saying the right things whenever I can.'

Ash grinned and patted her arm affectionately.

'I know, Rena. I really love that about you.'

Ash turned away after he said that and then hastily suggested that they go back to the lab. But Serena was still processing what he had just said and was internally screaming at the mention of the "L" word and only managed a babble as a reply. Ash led the way back, while Serena had a brief mini meltdown behind him, as if she was letting off real steam. Whether he realised it or not, he was really pressing all the right buttons for Serena right now and she needed to cool off a little, before she did something like Bayleef did earlier. She fanned herself with her hand and groaned, even though it wasn't that hot. Something was definitely hot though.

When they got back, they had tea and biscuits with Professor Oak and chatted with him. Ash took the opportunity to catch up with him and Serena learned more about Ash's past too. Including the funny story of how he was late for his first day as a trainer and how he met Pikachu. Serena found it very amusing but also very fascinating. Ash was certainly a very interesting man. She compared it to her own first day and how she met Fennekin, but Ash always had a way of doing things unconventionally and standing out from most other people. After a good hour of talking, Ash got up and stretched his arms.

'Well! It's been nice, Professor. But we've gotta get back home. Mum'll be wondering what's keeping us.'

'Oh, wait a minute will you! We spent so long talking about the old times and you winning the league, that I forgot to ask you the most important question of all!'

'Oh, what's that Professor?' Ash sat back down and smiled at him in respect.

'Well. You're a Pokemon Master now, my dear boy! But what ever will you do next?'

Ash's smile quickly faded away and he looked down to the carpet on the floor. This was the only question he didn't have an answer to. He sighed and lifted his head back up and rested it in his hands. Then he just shook his head and breathed heavily. Serena peered over at him, trying to read him and what he was currently feeling.

'I genuinely haven't got a clue…'

'Well-' began Professor Oak. But Ash wasn't finished yet.

'And that absolutely terrifies me, Professor,' he interrupted. 'I never thought this far ahead…'

Ash looked back down again, not looking at anyone for a single second. Serena gasped a little, surprised Ash was expressing this so openly and so out of the blue. It was very rare that he actually opened up when he was feeling upset about something. He was almost always so optimistic no matter what. And the 1% of the time he wasn't, he was a closed book.

'Oh, Ash,' whispered Serena to herself.

'My dear boy, I completely understand. Gary, my Grandson to you, Serena, went through something very similar before he decided what he truly wanted to do. You will figure it in time, Ash. You just need time. And I'm sure Serena here will help you every step along the way, as she has already done so far. Delia has told me how close the two of you are and the bond you share.'

Both Serena and Ash immediately blushed at the comment and Serena couldn't stop herself from smiling about it. Professor Oak could clearly see there was something between them and continued on:

'In my experience, I've always found that as long as you have someone as loyal and loving as Serena by your side, you will always find the right path in life eventually. Companionship is all you ever really need, my young friends. Look after each other and you'll be just fine. I promise.'

Professor Oak always had a way with words, especially being a part-time poet, but those particular words were really resonating with them. Ash's smile swiftly returned and that determined look in his eyes that always gave Serena butterflies, re-ignited like the Indigo Plateau flame.

'Thanks, Professor! You're the best,' said Ash.

'You are very welcome, young man. Now, I know you were just leaving. But with Tracey gone, I could use an extra pair of hands around the lab… Just for today, perhaps?'

Ash looked over at Serena, as if to get her approval. She had essentially dropped everything to be here with him, so he wanted to make sure she was happy.

'What do you think, Rena?'

'Sure! Why not! It's not like we have anything else planned!'

They all laughed at the passing remark and then proceeded to Professor's Oak's study. The day flew by, as the clock neared 6pm and the sun was beginning to set in hues of purple and orange. Professor Oak looked over at the clock.

'Oh my! Is that the time? I think you better be heading back home now. It's getting late. I can take it from here now. Thank you for all your help, you two,' said Professor Oak.

Ash and Serena were glad to help, but were relieved that they could finally go home now. It had been another long day. They opened the front door and left the lab.

'It was lovely to meet you, Serena. Thanks again!' called Professor Oak.

'You're welcome, Professor! See you later!' they both shouted back, as they were leaving down the pathway.

Ash and Serena waved goodbye to him and the Pokemon and headed home. The autumnal air was drastically changing the atmosphere and making it a very chilly night as they walked home. Ash took his jacket off and wrapped it around Serena without even thinking about it. No words were even said. Just a heart-warming look from Serena. They were lucky enough to actually see the Sun set too and it was all rather romantic, at least in Serena's mind anyway.

As they approached the house, something seemed a little off as they saw no lights were on and it was dead quiet. Ash looked at Serena, with a slightly worried look. He told her to stay behind him, assuming the worst. His first thought was that this could possibly be another Pikachu nabbing attempt from Team Rocket. He hadn't seen them since before the tournament and was wondering when they would show up again. He quietly took out his keys, trying to stop them from jangling and turned them in the lock. But he quickly realised the door was already open and stopped turning the key. This was very strange. Very strange indeed. He decided he would try the "rush in and take them off guard" approach. He let Serena in on the plan and then they both nodded. Ash barged in and shouted:

'ALRIGHT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE! IF THAT'S YOU, TEAM ROCKET, YOU'RE IN BIG TROUBLE!'

There was silence for a bit and then a few sniggers. Ash looked around confusedly and then the lights suddenly came on. He squinted his eyes to get used to the light and when they finally adjusted to it, he opened them to see several familiar friendly faces, including a certain redheaded girl at the front of them all. They all bellowed out:

'SURPRISE!'