Ash woke late the next day, taking his time getting himself ready and eating breakfast, and it was mid-morning by the time he wandered into the lobby, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder as always. His eyes quickly focused on Serena, who was sitting in a chair and reading a newspaper.

"Hey, Serena." She glanced over at him as he spoke, walking toward her.

"Morning, Ash," she responded, her voice lacking its usual energy, sounding irritated. This caused him to pause briefly.

"What's up?" he asked, slightly wary. "You sound a bit miffed about something."

"I was just reading this, is all." She handed the paper to him, pointing to a particular passage she had been reading. He quickly started scanning it from the top.

"Hm, this is about yesterday…" He read it as quickly as he could, trying to find what was upsetting Serena; Pikachu leaned in as well, despite not knowing how to read. "Brock, me, battle, yadda yadda…" He started reading aloud, as he found what he thought was the offending portion. "'The talented performers Serena and Shauna also took on commentating duties once the battle started, announcing the action from up in the stands. While neither of them will become professional commentators anytime soon…' ooh, ouch…" He winced.

Serena folded her arms, looking away and grumbling. "I thought I did a good job…"

"Yeah, I thought so too," Ash replied, stretching the truth slightly. "Well, forget about them." He folded the paper back up and handed it to her, looking around the lobby. "Shouldn't there be more of us here? Where is everyone?"

"Oh, they're around. Let's see…" Serena sat back for a moment as she thought to herself. "Brock's taking on challengers at the gym, of course… Mads is practicing her Performance Battle routine today, with Shauna's help…"

"Performance Battle?" Ash cocked his head. "Doesn't Madison need a Battle Partner for that? Is Shauna her partner?"

She shook her head. "No, her partner is a friend of hers, named Barrett. He's a trainer trying to collect Gym Badges, like you."

"Huh, alright…" He nodded as Serena continued.

"…And Iris and Shannon are out having fun together." She rested her hands on her lap, on top of the newspaper. "So it's just the two of us today."

"Oh…" Ash took a moment to digest this, quickly realizing what it meant. The two of them had the day to themselves, unaccompanied and unencumbered, something he had been quietly hoping for since they had reunited. "Well… if you wanted, we could…" He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah?" Her eyes lit up as she sat forward, her voice raising in pitch, hoping he was about to say what she wanted him to say.

"You know, we could…" His brain was working overtime to find a sequence of words that he was capable of saying, in his sudden state of severe timidity. "Go do something, check out the city together, or… whatever you'd like…"

Serena smiled warmly; he hadn't quite found the words she was looking for, but the sentiment was there. "I'd love to, Ash." She set the newspaper aside as she stood up, watching relief wash over his face.

"Oh! Great!" He smiled back at her as she walked over to him. "There's just one thing I need to take care of first."

"Oh? Should I wait here?"

"Nah, it's fine. Come on." He turned and walked toward the main doors, motioning for her to follow, which she did. They walked down the street for only about thirty seconds, turning into another building not far from the Pokémon Center. After briefly talking with an older woman at the front desk, they walked through to a sizable outdoor expanse in the back, where dozens of Pokémon were eating, playing, relaxing or sleeping.

Ash reached down to his belt, grabbing all three of his occupied Poké Balls and tossing them in the air. "Come on out, everyone!" His Pokémon all appeared a moment later, and Sigilyph and Drapion quickly turned away to explore the space behind them, as well as the other Pokémon that occupied it. Ash grinned and watched for a moment before reaching upward, gently lifting Pikachu off of his shoulder and placing him on the ground.

"You and the others are going to have fun here today, alright?" he explained. "I'll come and get you all later. Have a good time!" Pikachu blinked, confused, unable to remember a time where his trainer had not brought him along as part of the day's activities. He continued to wear his dumbfounded expression as Snivy wrapped her vines around his waist, lifting him up and walking him further into the play area, a knowing smirk on her face.

"Alright, that's done." Ash stood up again, turning toward Serena. "Ready to go?"

"Mhmm." She smiled wide as she nodded back at him, excited. If there was any doubt as to his intentions before, there wasn't any now. She could feel her heart racing as they walked back outside, turning toward downtown Cyllage City. She'd been dreaming about this moment for a long time, and she was determined to make sure it was absolutely perfect.

Ten minutes later, the two of them were walking quietly through the streets of downtown, trying to find someplace to spend some time. It was evident now how nervous both of them were, as they had barely said a word to each other since they left the Pokémon daycare, and the silence just grew larger and more awkward with each passing moment. The pair had been stopped once by a group of fans, who wanted to congratulate Ash on a well-fought battle the day before, but at this point Serena was hoping they would be stopped again by someone else, if only to break the silence. They had both individually turned to window shopping, looking through the glass at the wares on offer as they walked past the shops, trying to find something to spark conversation.

"Hm?" Ash came to a stop as they walked past one store, turning and looking at the crystals being showcased. "Wait a minute… is that Lucarionite? Am I reading that right?"

"Huh?" Serena stepped up next to him, following his gaze, reading the small paper sign attached to a basket of what looked like orange marbles, with blue and red cat's eyes. "Yeah, that's Lucarionite, all right."

"But… the last time I was in Kalos, Korrina had to travel into the mountains just to get a single one of those," he replied, clearly baffled. "And now they're just selling them in stores? What happened?"

"Oh, there's no way that's natural Lucarionite," Serena answered matter-of-factly. "It must be synthetic."

"Synthetic?" He turned to face her, even more incredulous now. "You mean people can make their own Mega Stones?!"

She nodded in response, relieved that conversation was finally flowing. "Yes. Well, Team Ace can. They're the only ones who have figured out how to do it, and it doesn't sound like they're sharing their secrets with anyone else. They started selling them in shops a couple of years ago."

"And they really work?!" he exclaimed, feeling like a portion of his world had been turned upside-down.

"Yep, they really work. They're just as good as organic Mega Stones."

"That's amazing…" Ash turned back to the store window, realizing that there were many kinds of Mega Stones on sale; he could see Pidgeotite, Sceptilite, Galladite and more. His eye shifted to the price tag on one of them, his eyebrows shooting up as he saw how expensive they were. "Wow, that's pricey…"

"Yeah, they are. A lot of people can't afford them." She shrugged. "But Team Ace has to make money somehow, I guess."

He nodded, his mind starting to ponder the ramifications of this. "So are there more people Mega Evolving their Pokémon now?"

"Yes, definitely," she answered. "Some trainers used to have one Mega Stone for each Pokémon they had. Eventually the Pokémon League had to make a rule, limiting trainers to one Mega Evolution per battle. But for a while, battles were really out of control, I hear."

"Wow, that would have been incredible to watch…" He eventually stepped back from the window, looking toward her. "Maybe I'll be able to get a Mega Stone of my own this time."

She smiled back at him. "Maybe so."

The two of them turned and continued on, heading deeper into downtown. As their discussion about synthetic Mega Stones ended, the awkward silence fell over the nervous pair once more, causing their hearts to sink again.

It wasn't long before the two found themselves sitting in a cafe near the ocean, at Serena's suggestion. There weren't very many customers at the moment, which made it easier for them to hold a conversation, though Serena wasn't sure if that was better or worse. They had attempted to make small talk several more times, but it had invariably been awkward and forced, and so for the moment they had returned to silence, sipping from their water glasses while waiting for the wait staff to take their order.

This is bad, this is so bad, this is awful, this is a disaster, Serena thought to herself as she took a drink of water. I've been pining for this boy for the past five years and it turns out we have absolutely no romantic chemistry. Maybe this was all a mistake… She had imagined their first date more than once over the years, and in her mind it had always been a quiet but romantic affair, with gentle touches, affectionate glances and light conversation. The setting was right, but the mood was miles away; the only romantic thing that had happened so far was Ash pulling out Serena's chair before she sat down.

Ash was no more happy with how things were going; he could feel himself blowing it in real time, with every passing second making the situation worse. He glanced around the cafe, trying to find something they could talk about, having no idea why this was so difficult. They never had any trouble keeping a conversation going before now, but something about the added pressure of a first date made everything so much harder. He eventually looked away entirely, glancing out the front window of the cafe, not wanting her to see how embarrassed he was.

As he looked out at the ocean side of the city, something caught his eye, barely visible above the rooftops. His eyes lit up as an idea hit him, and he quickly stood up, pushing his chair back with his legs, causing Serena to look up at him curiously.

"Hey," he spoke. "Let's get out of here."

"Huh? What do you mean?" He could see her expression fall, as she assumed the worst. "You don't want to stay…?"

"I thought of someplace we can go to have some fun." He gave her a reassuring smile. "Come on!"

Serena's eyes widened a bit in surprise, wondering what he had in mind, not sure if she should be trusting whatever instincts were guiding him at the moment. She quickly nodded and stood, deciding that whatever he was thinking couldn't possibly be worse than this. "Alright, let's go."

The two of them walked back out onto the sidewalk, with Ash leading the way, looking excited. Serena followed him curiously, trying not to look too far ahead; if he was trying to surprise her, she didn't want to inadvertently ruin it. Eventually, the line of buildings gave way, and she could clearly see one of Cyllage City's major piers had been built up with numerous booths, with vendors offering food, games and more. Her eyes were quickly drawn not to the hustle and bustle on the pier, but to the surprisingly tall blue-and-black roller coaster that had been assembled just for the event.

"The carnival…?" she wondered aloud, surprised. Amid all the excitement about the gym, she had forgotten that Byron had organized this along with the city's other events.

"What do you think?" Ash asked, turning to face her. "This might be our only chance to go."

"I don't know… isn't this more for kids?"

"We are kids," he countered. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Well… alright, let's check it out," she relented, deciding to place some trust in his instincts. "As long as we don't have to ride that roller coaster."

Ash grinned. "Oh, that's the first thing we're doing."

"What?!" Serena exclaimed, immediately regretting her decision to trust him. Her eyes moved back to the ride, watching as one of the trains plummeted down the hundred-foot first drop. "You want us to get on that rickety-looking thing?"

"Why not? You're not scared, are you?" He looked over her expression, realizing that he was accidentally right on the money with his assessment. "Serena, I've seen you fly through the air on a showcase stage before, with nothing underneath you, and you weren't scared then."

"Yeah, with my Pokémon," she shot back. "I trust them with my life. What I don't trust is this giant metal contraption that wasn't here a week ago."

"Nah, you worry too much. Come on, let's go!" He reached down and grasped her hand, starting to jog onto the pier with her in tow.

"Ash…!" she protested weakly, following him as he made his way toward the line for the roller coaster.

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were exiting the ride and walking back onto the pier, both looking a little shell-shocked.

"That was… shakier than I wanted it to be…" Ash admitted, thankful to feel a sturdy pier under his feet. "But it was still fun, wasn't it?"

"If you say so," Serena responded. "I guess aside from the turns, it wasn't so bad… the first big hill was pretty thrilling, actually. That was the best part."

"Yeah, it was," he agreed, smiling. He was fibbing a bit as he said it; to him, the real best part was Serena having both her arms wrapped tightly around one of his throughout the entire ride. Secretly, she was thinking the same thing.

He took a look down the pier at the various booths. "What should we do next?"

"Let's get something to eat," she suggested. "I'm pretty hungry. Plus, then you can't take us onto any more rides like that for at least an hour."

He laughed. "Alright, sounds good to me." The two of them walked down the pier together, following their noses to the scent of carnival food.

Soon afterward, Ash and Serena were exploring the attractions that had been set up for the carnival, with full stomachs. They had managed to down three croque madames between the two of them, and they were now snacking from a package of beignets Ash had bought for them, after Serena mentioned that she was trying to regain the weight she lost in Sinnoh. They were discussing the idea of trying some of the carnival games when they heard a voice calling out in their direction.

"Hey there! Mister League Champion!"

He quickly looked toward the sound, seeing a man standing behind a booth beckoning him over. He looked around for a second, wanting to see if the man was trying to get someone else's attention, before pointing to himself. "Me?"

"Yes, you! How many other League Champions are here today?"

Serena looked at the man with a mix of curiosity and suspicion, as Ash stepped forward. "What's up?" He studied the booth carefully, seeing a line of Poké Balls in front of the booth operator, with a metal target hung up near the back.

"I saw that battle of yours on TV. Great stuff!" the operator replied. "Clearly you know how to battle… but do you know how to throw a Poké Ball?"

"Of course I do!" Ash grinned as Serena stepped up behind him. "I catch new Pokémon all the time!"

"Well then, you'd be an expert at this game." The booth operator gestured behind him. "Take a Poké Ball and hit this target like you're catching a Pokémon. It measures your accuracy, strength and spin, and scores you from 0 to 100. Get an 85 or higher, and you'll win a prize for the lovely performer you're with today." He pointed toward the sides of the booth, where a variety of plush Pokémon dolls lined the shelves. "What do you say?"

"Sure! Let's do it!" He turned back toward Serena, handing her the box of beignets. "Can you hold onto these?"

She nodded, smiling as she took the pastries from him. "Good luck, Ash!"

"I won't need luck," he responded, full of confidence as he put a bit of money on the counter. "That prize is mine!"

He received a Poké Ball from the operator before taking a step back, pressing the button on the front to expand it to normal size. He focused on his target for a moment before winding up and letting the ball fly through the air, watching as it hit the target with a loud clang. All three of them watched the small scoreboard above the target, which was changing between random numbers at a rapid pace as it calculated Ash's score. After a few seconds, it played the sound of a ringing bell as it displayed his score, causing his face to fall.

"71?!" His further lamentations were cut short by the sound of a snorting laugh off to his side. He quickly looked over to see Serena with her clenched fist covering her mouth, trying to hide an amused grin.

"Sorry," she offered, as he groaned and slumped forward. She felt guilty for laughing, but the combination of his prior bravado and his low score was too funny to resist.

"How about you give it a try, miss?" The operator turned to face Serena, petitioning her to try her luck. "Think you can do better?"

She mulled this over for a second before nodding, stepping toward the counter. "Sure, it's worth a try." Ash took the beignet box from her as she placed her own money on the counter, receiving a Poké Ball of her own. She took a moment to focus before winding up and throwing the ball at the target, and once again everyone watched as her score was calculated. Her eyes widened in shock as the ringing bell announced the arrival of her score: 49.

"What?!" Her shock quickly gave way to annoyance, as she shot a preemptive glare in Ash's direction, expecting a smart remark.

"I didn't say anything," Ash responded, grinning as he held up his hands innocently.

She grumbled as she reached into her purse, pulling out some more money. "We're doing this again, both of us." She placed the money on the counter. "I can't walk away from this with a failing grade."

"You can do it, Serena!" Ash encouraged. "Show that target who's boss!"

She grinned wide at him and nodded, as the operator handed her another Poké Ball. The butterflies in her stomach had long since disappeared, and the two of them were once again talking and having fun as they always had, a far cry from the nervous silence of an hour ago. She had tried to take him on the perfect, most romantic first date, but her attempts had backfired completely. Meanwhile, Ash had only thought about what would be a fun time, and his efforts had blossomed beautifully. Maybe he was more insightful than she gave him credit for.

She turned back toward the target, rearing back and letting the Poké Ball fly.

Many hours later, after the sun had gone down, Ash and Serena were kneeling on the beach of Cyllage City, lined up with hundreds of other visitors, each of them holding a paper lantern they had assembled. Several young men and women in Team Ace uniforms were walking along the beach with long lighters, lighting each of the lanterns in turn. Ash and Serena both held theirs up as a Team Ace member passed by and lit their candles, before leaning forward and resting their lanterns on the water, where they sat floating. A gentle push set them on a course toward the ocean, and they both stood up to watch the armada of floating lanterns, their flames reflected by the water underneath.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Serena asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, it really is."

She glanced over at him, smiling warmly. "You did this, you know."

"Huh?" He looked back at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"When we first arrived here and we found out the gym was closed, we could have just left," she explained. "You could have found another gym somewhere else, but you didn't. You chose to stay and make things better, and look at what's come of it."

"I didn't do all this, though," he replied, gesturing to the crowd. "This was all Byron's idea, not mine."

She shook her head. "That doesn't matter. He wouldn't even have come here if not for you. You planted the seed. These are the fruits of your labors."

"Well…" He could feel his face flushing, embarrassed. "I mean… I couldn't just leave. I had to help somehow."

"I know you couldn't," she responded. "That's what makes you special, Ash. That's what makes you who you are."

"Oh… well… thanks…" He smiled sheepishly, as she turned to face him fully, taking a step forward, closing the gap between them.

"Thanks for a wonderful day, Ash. The carnival turned out to be a great idea."

"Of course." He smiled at her. "I had a great day, too." She smiled back at him, her eyes locked on his, not looking away. The two of them kept their gaze on each other for several long and increasingly awkward seconds, before it became clear to her that he wasn't going to get the hint.

She cocked her head a bit. "You've… never kissed anyone, have you, Ash?"

"Whuh?" His eyes went wide, and his face red, as he suddenly realized what was happening. "I… I mean… I kissed you back in…"

She shook her head. "No, I kissed you. You didn't kiss me back." She grinned a bit. "I think you were too surprised."

"Ah…" His eyes were darting between her eyes and her lips, feeling like his brain was short-circuiting. "Well… I guess…"

"Well," she began, taking another small step forward. "When a girl stands close and looks at you like this, it means she wants you to kiss her."

"O-oh…" Ash could feel his hands start to shake a bit, more nervous now than he could ever remember being in his life. She could tell what effect she was having on him at the moment, but she didn't mind; it made her feel special. She watched patiently, her hands clasped behind her back, as he struggled to work up the wherewithal to do what he needed to do, which took every ounce of strength in his body. Eventually he bit the bullet, closing his eyes, puckering up and moving in quickly.

Serena's eyes went wide as she saw Ash coming in like a freight train, and she had to quickly throw up her hands to defend herself. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" she exclaimed as her hands managed to catch his oncoming face. "Ash, that's not a kiss, that's a headbutt!"

He quickly backed away as he realized how badly he had screwed up, humiliated and crestfallen. He looked down at his shoes, barely able to croak out an apology as he turned away, his hands still shaking.

She continued studying his face, her bewilderment quickly turning to pity. He really had no idea what he was doing. "You look terrified," she commented.

It's because you're the most amazing girl I've ever known, and I'm constantly scared that I'm going to ruin everything and push you away and it will all be over, he thought to himself, not having anything close to the courage he needed to say it out loud. He couldn't even manage to look her way, until he felt her hand on his jaw, turning it to face her. She was closer than ever now, their faces only inches apart.

"Ash, just relax… take it slow…" She slowly began to move closer to him, her eyes still fixed on his. He followed her lead, slowly closing the gap between them, his heart pounding out of his chest. He watched as her eyes closed partway as their faces got closer and closer, until they were about an inch apart. He could smell the faded scent of shampoo, feel her light breath on his skin, as he realized that she had stopped. He was going to have to finish this himself.

Summoning all of the strength he had, he closed his eyes and slowly forced himself forward the final inch, until he felt his lips touch hers.

The immediate sensation was impossible for him to describe, feeling like an electric shock made of something other than electricity, shooting instantly throughout his entire body but focused on his heart. It took him a second to recover from it, as his instincts kicked in and the two of slowly kissed, excitement and relief taking over him at the same time. The last time their lips had met, he was too shocked to remember the moment itself, only the immediate before and after; this time, he was determined to take in as many details as he could. He noted the sharp intake of breath she had taken as their kiss began, the light taste of powdered sugar on her lips, the way his cap poked at her hat and threatened to knock it off her head, the tantalizing closeness between their bodies that led to what felt like an electrical buildup in his chest.

After what felt like an eternity, he felt her pull away from him, his eyes opening just as hers did. Both of them were beaming from ear to ear, their cheeks and ears flushed red.

"Wow…" he managed, not sure he was capable of saying anything more than that.

"Yeah…" she responded, a bit breathless. "That was… nice."

"It was…" He nodded slowly. "Sorry I screwed it up the first time…"

"It's alright," she replied. "You'll get another chance to practice, I'm sure."

He grinned at her, liking the sound of that. They eventually turned back to the ocean, where the paper lanterns had traveled a good forty to fifty feet, becoming their own constellation in the blackness of the ocean. They watched together in content silence, as Ash took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, not sure whether or not he wanted to calm his racing heart.

He glanced over at Serena once again, studying the smile on her face, the blush in her cheek, and the sparkle in her eyes. His eyes ran down her frame quickly, noting the tail of a new plush Dedenne sticking out of her purse, stopping at the hand hanging down at her side. Without a moment's hesitation, he reached out and took her hand in his, giving it a light squeeze. He watched her smile grow even wider as she squeezed his hand back, keeping a gentle but firm hold on it. He smiled as well, feeling a warmth spread through his entire body as he turned back toward the water, the two of them watching the lights drift off toward the horizon, hand in hand.

Half a mile from the beach, a lone figure stood on a rooftop, overlooking the serene scene. Its eyes were focused on the Team Ace members, who were standing behind the line of tourists and citizens, talking amongst themselves.

Team Ace… the figure thought to itself, its arms folded, holding itself with hands that each ended in three overlarge fingers. What is it that you hide behind this facade of charity? What is the true goal of your scientific endeavors? What purpose do you truly have for existing?

The figure's long tail slowly rose as the feeling of suspicion grew, the purple color contrasting against the white that covered most of its body. I've already collected several pieces of this giant puzzle. It won't be long before I have everything I need… then we'll see just how charitable you really are.

Sensing that it wouldn't be gathering anything from observing this event, the being closed its eyes and teleported out of sight, vanishing into the night air.