"…So pretty much as soon as the Grand Festival ended, I got on a flight back home to Kalos," Serena recalled for a captivated Bonnie and Clemont. "Then a few days after that was the Coumarine City Showcase, and that's when I ran into Ash, Iris and Brock. We've been traveling together since then. Ash is taking on gyms, and I'm taking on showcases."

Clemont nodded, swallowing a bite of his lunch. "You sure are. You've already got two Princess Keys from three showcases."

"And you're about to get your third!" Bonnie encouraged, her face practically glowing. "I can't wait to see you perform in person again!" From atop her head, the orange-and-cream-colored Dedenne voiced his agreement.

Serena grinned wide as she took another bite of her meal. She and her friends - now numbering eight in total - were seated in a large dining hall, enjoying a V.I.P. lunch with fifty of the most V.I. of P.'s in Lumiose City. Most of the invitees had only brought one or two guests, but Clemont had wielded the combined might of two Gym Leaders, a League champion, and a fan-favorite performer, and managed to get a larger table for all of them. Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie were busy catching up, while Brock, Iris, Shannon and Madison enjoyed one of the most delicious lunches they had ever eaten. For Iris, the flavor and composition of her meal was oddly familiar, though she couldn't put her finger on why.

"So what about you? What have you two been doing since we left?" Serena asked.

"Hey, no fair!" Bonnie insisted. "I was going to ask Ash that!"

"Well, I asked first!" Serena fired back, as Ash chuckled. Bonnie pouted as Clemont swallowed his mouthful of food, sitting up straight.

"I've been tending to the gym, of course," he began. "I've made some upgrades to Clembot, so he can give feedback to trainers when they lose a battle with him. Doing that has allowed me to spend more time at Lumiose University."

"What have you been doing there?" Ash asked, taking another bite.

"I've been doing research into how to make the Power Plant more energy-efficient," he explained. "There's a bit of a net power loss whenever we process the solar radiation that comes from our satellites, and we want to recapture that power. Specifically, I've been trying to redirect the lost solar particles back into our superconducting ring using a variety of techniques, but I also can't spend more energy than we're trying to…" He trailed off as he took in the blank expressions of those around him, all of them utterly lost in the details of his explanation. "Well, it's… a tricky problem to solve, is the point."

Ash's quickly put on an encouraging smile. "I don't know what all that means, but I'm sure if you're working on it, you'll be able to figure it out."

"Eheh… thanks." Clemont rubbed the back of his head.

"What about you, Bonnie?" Serena turned her gaze toward Clemont's sister. "What have you been doing since we left?" A grin landed on her face. "Are you still trying to find someone to take care of your brother?"

"Hnn…" Bonnie groaned and slumped down onto the table, covering her face with her arms, mortified at the memories of herself asking every beautiful woman she met to be her brother's girlfriend. "Please don't bring that up…"

Serena giggled as Clemont reached out and rubbed Bonnie's back comfortingly. "No, she hasn't done that in ages. Thank goodness for that."

"You're ten now, right?" Ash asked. "Do you think you're going to be going on your own journey soon?"

"I don't know…" Bonnie propped herself up with her arms, a contemplative look on her face. "I sort of feel like I already went on a journey with you guys, you know? I already got to see Kalos, its people, its Pokémon…" She looked up again. "Besides, I'm pretty busy working these days. I'm not sure I'd have time to get away."

"Working?" Ash cocked his head. "What work are you doing?"

Clemont grinned and gestured proudly toward his sister. "Bonnie here is one of Lumiose City's most highly-requested Pokémon sitters."

"What? Really?!" Serena's whole face lit up with pride, as Bonnie grinned and sat up straighter. "Bonnie, that's wonderful!"

"Pokémon sitter?" Ash wondered aloud. "So you take care of people's Pokémon while they're away?"

"Mhmm." The young girl nodded. "It's mostly business people going on business trips and stuff, and don't want to bring their Pokémon to a hotel. I feed them, bathe them, play with them, make sure they take their vitamins… all the rich people here have their Pokémon take vitamins, for some reason. Who knows why."

"How often are you doing that?" Iris chimed in, as conversation on the other half of the table started dying down.

"Four to five days a week, normally. With overnights on the weekends."

Serena's eyebrows raised. "Wow, you really are busy. That sounds like a lot of work."

"It is, but I love it, though!" Bonnie's eyes were sparkling. "Taking care of Pokémon is my favorite thing in the whole world. And now I'm getting paid for it! And I'm learning so much about all the different Pokémon out there!" Her eyes flicked upward, a bit lost in thought. "One day, I want to save up enough money so that I can open up my own Pokémon day care. That would be so perfect…"

"Go for it! I know you can do it if you put your mind to it, Bonnie!" Ash encouraged.

"Thanks, Ash! I really hope so." Her eyes were still dreamy as she imagined her future business.

Ash watched her daydream for a moment before changing the subject. "So if you haven't gone on a journey, does that mean you didn't go get a starter Pokémon from Professor Sycamore?"

"No, I did!" She eagerly grabbed her bag and reached into it, rifling through its contents before pulling out a Poké Ball and immediately opening it. "Come on out!" Everyone watched as the ball ejected the red energy inside onto the floor, which took the shape of a blue, frog-like Pokémon, with a mane of bubbles around its collar.

"Ah! It's a Froakie!" Serena exclaimed, immediately recognizing the base form of Greninja. Ash grinned wide, watching as Froakie hopped up happily into its trainer's waiting arms, sitting on her lap as she hugged it tightly.

"Isn't she the cutest?" Bonnie rubbed its head lovingly, and Froakie closed its eyes, basking in the affection. "She's so sweet, but she's really protective, too. I love bringing her with me when I'm sitting."

"She looks great!" Ash leaned in for a closer look, as the frog Pokémon looked back curiously. "I think you made a great choice, Bonnie."

Clemont smirked deviously. "Bonnie's wanted a Water-type Pokémon ever since a Simisear she was looking after set her hair on fire."

"Clemont!" She whirled around and glared at her brother, face flushing with embarrassment. "I told you not to talk about that!"

Serena blinked. "Wait, did that actually happen?"

"No! It never happened!" Bonnie replied sharply. "And he wasn't supposed to bring it up!" The others at the table laughed as she huffed and slumped in her seat, holding her Froakie a bit tighter.

"What about you, Ash?" Clemont turned his attention toward his old friend. "I'm sure you must have had some amazing adventures after you left."

"Yeah! And caught some amazing Pokémon!" Bonnie sat up straight. "Who do you have with you now? I want to see!"

"Well, I don't think I can bring them out here…" Ash grinned. "You saw Snivy and Absol, and of course Pikachu." He glanced over to his left, where Pikachu was sitting on the table, happily lapping at a small plate of tomato sauce. "Greninja's with me right now…"

Bonnie issued a squeak of delight. "Greninja! I want to see him again, too!"

"You will!" Serena reassured her. "We're going to bring him with us to Professor Sycamore's lab tomorrow."

Bonnie nodded vigorously, and Ash continued. "And I've got a Drapion and a Sigilyph, too. They're all great Pokémon, great fighters."

"Don't forget Houndour," Iris added.

"Houndour?" Bonnie spent a moment counting on her fingers. "Wait, that's seven. How do you have that many Pokémon with you? Shouldn't one of them be sent to a storage box?"

"Well, Houndour isn't actually my Pokémon," Ash clarified. "I'm looking after it for someone else."

"What difference does that make?"

"Each Pokémon that a trainer catches is registered under their Trainer ID, which is stored in the Poké Ball," Brock elaborated. "You can only have six Poké Balls with the same ID together before they start getting sent to storage automatically. But Houndour's ball is registered under a different ID, so he can keep it on hand along with six of his own Pokémon."

Bonnie nodded, understanding, as Clemont spoke up again. "You went to Alola after you were in Kalos, right? Bonnie and I saw that you won the Alola Pokémon League!"

"Yeah, I did! I went to the Pokémon School, and I did the Island Challenge, and I met all of these new friends…" Ash's voice was full of energy as he recounted his days in the sun-drenched Alola archipelago. "And there were so many amazing Pokémon! It was one of the best experiences of my life!" Next to him, Serena was beaming from ear to ear, enjoying hearing about his happy memories.

"You're so lucky!" Bonnie exclaimed. "I want to go to a place like Alola someday!"

Clemont grinned at her, before looking back. "So what happened after that? We kept looking up other Pokémon League winners after that, but we didn't see your name… did you stop competing?"

"Ah… no, I didn't…" Ash looked down a bit, the energy fading from his voice. "I kept competing, I just… stopped winning."

"Oh… I see…" Clemont quickly grew quiet, as did Bonnie, both of them worried that they may have upset him, as he continued.

"After Alola, I went to the Galar region and traveled with some new friends for a while, but they both had to leave before the Galar League began. I took fourth place in that conference." Everyone at the table was quiet now, listening intently, none of them too familiar with the details of Ash's travels. "Then I went back to Johto and traveled by myself for a while. I got another fourth place in the Johto conference… after that, it was top eight… then top sixteen…" He spent a few seconds choosing his next words. "After that, I… wanted to take a break."

"It sounds like you were getting burnt out," Serena offered, trying to comfort him, having heard parts of this story before. "You did a lot of competing with basically no breaks in between. It makes sense that you'd want to take a rest for a while." Several others at the table quickly agreed with her. Ash gave a light nod in response, not looking up.

"I went back home, to Pallet Town, and just took it easy for a while. I was there for about six months, before my friend Dawn came by and dragged me out to Hoenn with her."

"Dawn?" Serena perked up at the name, not familiar with this detail. "Not the Hoenn Top Coordinator, Dawn?"

Ash smiled a bit, his spirits starting to lift up again. "That's her. That was the same year that she won the Grand Festival, even."

"That's just incredible." Serena smiled and leaned forward, resting her chin in her palms. "You know everyone, Ash."

"I guess so…" He rubbed his head before continuing. "So yeah, we traveled together in Hoenn for a while, as she competed in Pokémon Contests, and I challenged the Pokémon League again. At the end of our journey, she won the Grand Festival, and… I ended up winning the Hoenn League." He sat up more, his mood lifted by the happy memory. "After that, she had some fashion project to work on in Alola, so we both traveled there and stayed for a while. And that visit was the second time I won the Alola League."

"So you went from placing in the top sixteen to winning two Pokémon Leagues in a row," Clemont summarized. "That must have really boosted your confidence."

"And it'll be boosted even more when you win the Kalos League!" Bonnie chimed in optimistically, her voice bright as always.

"Thanks, Bonnie." Ash looked up again, smiling gently. "And yeah, it really helped a lot. It made me want to get out and go on journeys again. The whole period was kind of humbling, though. I still think about it a lot, especially after a big win. It sort of… keeps me in check. It reminds me that I'm just one screw-up from being a screw-up again."

The table remained awkwardly quiet, not sure how to react after this admission. Every one of them, save for Madison, had come to know Ash as endlessly confident and optimistic, always looking forward toward his next battle and his next goal with a smile on his face. If he did have his downcast moments, they were never longer than a day or so. Hearing this sort of uncharacteristic pessimism from him was jarring, and almost worrying. They sat in silence for a few moments, taking in the sound of chatter all around them, before Bonnie spoke up again.

"Oh! Ash, Serena! There's something I need to show the both of you!"

"Hm?" Serena glanced toward the young girl. "What is it?"

"It's back at home!" She reached for Froakie's Poké Ball, returning the Pokémon before standing up. "Come on, let's go! It won't take long!"

"Well, alright." Ash stood up as well, glancing back at the others as Pikachu leaped up into his arms. "We'll be back soon! See you guys!"

His other friends waved politely as he and Serena walked, then ran after Bonnie, who was sprinting excitedly toward her home, Dedenne clinging to her head. Inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he didn't have to talk about his travels anymore, glad that nobody had pried further.

He hadn't been completely honest with his friends. His downward spiral after the Alola League hadn't just burned him out, it had left him in a deep depression, highly unmotivated, gratingly irritable, and deeply unhappy. For almost the entire six-month period where he was at home, he barely even attempted to train, let alone have a Pokémon battle. If Dawn had not come to Pallet Town and strongarmed him into traveling with her, he might have still been there. Even now, his self-esteem had not fully recovered to where it used to be, and his lingering self-doubts continued to follow him through Kalos, whispering his failures into his ear, screaming them at him in the Reflection Cave. He was thankful every day that he had found Serena again, as she was able to silence the dissenting voices in his mind and fill him to the brim with confidence, one of several magical powers that she seemed to possess.

As Ash and Serena ran out of sight, their friends looked back at each other, not entirely sure what to talk about, not having the same shared connection with Clemont. The group was rescued from this awkwardness by a loud voice from one side of the room, commanding the attention of all the attendees.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" A woman with long, blonde hair and a formal dress waved at the guests, her voice amplified by a microphone and carrying over the various conversations, causing them to die down. "Thank you all so much for coming! Did everyone enjoy their lunch?" The crowd cheered in response, and applause soon followed; the woman waited for the applause to die down before continuing. "Wonderful! Now, please allow me to introduce you to the talented S-class Pokémon Connoisseur who prepared your meal!"

Iris's eyebrows shot up at the mention of a Pokémon Connoisseur, and she sat up to get a better look at the man walking toward the woman with the microphone. She gasped as she immediately recognized his green eyes, green hair, and ever-present green bow tie. She stood up in a hurry, nearly knocking her chair down with her legs, waving energetically with one arm as the connoisseur waved to the crowd.

"Cilan!" she called out, trying to be heard over the applause. "Cilan, over here!" She stood up straighter, raising her hand as high as she could, in an attempt to catch his attention. He eventually glanced in her direction, his eyes lighting up, and he began to wave back, letting out a delighted laugh that Iris couldn't hear. As the woman thanked everyone for attending, and the V.I.P.'s began to stand and leave, Iris jogged in Cilan's direction, as Cilan speedwalked back toward his old traveling companion.

"Iris! What a pleasant surprise!" The two of them met in the middle of the room, clasping hands. "I didn't expect to see Unova's newest Gym Leader all the way out here in Kalos!"

"I'm taking a vacation!" she explained, as the two separated. "I've been trying to see the region and catch more Dragon-type Pokémon. It's been great so far."

"And you've got some friends with you, I see." Cilan's eyes roamed over the four others who were walking up behind Iris, settling on the Kalos Gym Leader. "Oh! I remember you from our little subway adventure, way back when."

"That's right! I nearly forgot." Clemont smiled up at him. "Thanks again for helping my sister back then."

"Shannon is here, too, from the Village of Dragons," Iris continued, gesturing to her friend, before moving on to the other two. "And this is Madison, and this is Brock."

Cilan chuckled, finding himself with a queue of hands to shake. "That's a large group you've been traveling with. I wish that Ash was here with us, too. Then we could have a proper reunion."

"He is here!" Iris responded. "He stepped away for a bit, but I've been traveling with him for months!" She reached down and grabbed her phone. "I need to tell him that you're here. He's going to flip!"

"I was joking!" Cilan laughed, rubbing his head. "Wow… what are the odds of all of us being here at the same time?"

"What are you doing back here in Kalos, Cilan?" Clemont asked, as Iris fired off a text message.

"A few things," he began. "I was doing a workshop here in Lumiose City for other Pokémon Connoisseurs, teaching them how to better perform evaluations. Then I was asked to cook for this event, of course. And this evening, I'll be a judge in a cooking competition here."

Brock's face lit up at this comment. "A cooking competition, huh? Wish I had known about that earlier. That would be fun to compete in."

"Oh? Would you like to join in?" Cilan smiled. "It's not too late, you know. There are still some spots open, if you want to give it a try."

"Really…" Brock rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"You should do it, Brock!" Madison encouraged. "Your cooking is amazing!" Iris and Shannon eagerly agreed.

"Well, alright then! That settles it!" Brock clenched his fist resolutely. "I'm going to cook the best meal of my life!"

"Good luck, Brock! I'm looking forward to judging your cooking." Cilan and Brock locked eyes for a moment, each of them thinking that the other looked vaguely familiar. The conversation soon shifted back to Iris, who started talking about her tenure as the Opelucid Gym Leader, as the group sat down and waited for the others to return.

"…and here's my room," Bonnie commented as she stepped through a door, followed closely by Serena and Ash. The two teens looked around, as Dedenne hopped off of Bonnie's head and onto her bed, sitting down and propping himself against the headboard.

"What is it you wanted to show us?" Serena asked, not seeing anything obviously out of place. Ash was similarly puzzled.

"Over here!" Bonnie stepped over to her desk by the window, reaching out for the bag sitting on top of it, opening a flap and peeking inside. "Come on out! Serena and Ash are here! They'd love to see you!"

Ash and Serena blinked, surprised, not sure what bite-sized person or creature Bonnie might be talking to inside her bag. They watched as the fabric started to shift, as something inside started to wriggle its way out. It eventually peeked outside, and the two gasped as they saw what it was, immediately recognizing the tiny green Pokémon with a red jewel embedded in its stomach.

"Oh my gosh! It's Squishy!" Serena rushed forward, kneeling down for a better look at the small creature, recognizing it as Bonnie's companion during their first journey. This tiny being was the core of a much larger creature, the legendary Zygarde, but in this form it was much more helpless, as well as cute. "I can't believe it!"

"No way!" Ash exclaimed, following Serena's lead. "But he left after the whole Giant Rock thing! When did he come back?" Pikachu leaped out of Ash's grasp and landed next to the small, green Pokémon, greeting him enthusiastically.

"It was about two years ago." Bonnie scooped the tiny Pokémon up, cradling him in her arms. "I came home one day and he was sitting on my desk, lying in the sun. I don't even know how he got in."

"Has he been with you that entire time?" Serena reached out and ran her thumb along Squishy's head, causing him to close his eyes.

"He comes and goes," Bonnie answered, looking down and watching as Serena stroked Squishy affectionately. "He'll be here for a few weeks, then he'll leave for a few weeks. He's probably doing important, guardian-type stuff. I don't mind, as long as I get to see him."

"I bet being a guardian of Kalos is hard work," Ash added. "Does he ever… you know… talk to you?" He thought back to one of their last interactions, where Squishy had taken on the form of Zygarde and spoken to all of them in plain English, broadcasting his words into their minds telepathically.

Bonnie shook her head. "No, he doesn't. He mostly just lies around and keeps me company. It's a lot like when we first met. He's only ever said one thing since he came back."

"What's that?" Ash asked, as Serena stopped petting the Pokémon and stood up straight.

Bonnie smiled sweetly, holding Squishy more tightly in her arms. "He said 'I love you'."

"Oh, Bonnie…!" Serena covered her mouth with her hands, touched.

"At least, I think he said it," the young girl clarified. "It's kind of hard to tell. It was late at night and I was really tired. I'm still not sure if he said it, or if I just imagined him saying it."

"Well, it doesn't matter if he did or not," Serena replied, beaming. "You know it's true either way. He wouldn't be back here if he didn't miss you."

Bonnie grinned wide, leaning down and gently kissing Squishy on the top of his head. "And I missed him, too." The Pokémon closed his eyes again and slumped, letting out a contented sigh.

Ash grinned as well, watching the two interact like a mother and child, before a buzzing from his pocket caught his attention. He reached down and grabbed his phone, opening up a text from Iris, eyebrows shooting up as he read it. "No way! Cilan is here, too?!"

"Huh?" Serena glanced over. "Who is Cilan?"

"He's the person who cooked lunch for everyone! Me and Iris traveled with him in Unova!" He tossed his phone back into his pocket. "I'm going to go and say hi! You two should come down and meet him!"

Serena smiled gently and shook her head. "You go ahead. I'm going to catch up with Bonnie for a bit longer. We'll be there later."

"Alright, see you later!" Ash dashed off excitedly, followed by an energized Pikachu. The other three watched as they flew through the door, nearly forgetting to close it.

Serena sighed and sat down on Bonnie's bed, incredulous. "I was just joking when I said he knew everyone, but he really does."

Bonnie sat next to her, practically glowing, resting Squishy on her lap. "It's so nice having everyone here again. It feels like the old days, traveling through Kalos together."

"I know what you mean." Serena nodded, smiling wide. "That journey was probably the best time of my entire life."

"Mine too!" Bonnie agreed excitedly. "It got kind of intense sometimes, and a bit scary, but it was so much fun! We did so many fun things, like… like when we were models in Valerie's fashion show!"

"That's right!" Serena had been nervous and stiff during that event, but ultimately she was glad she had participated. "Or when we helped make that Pikachu superhero movie?"

"Oh, I forgot about that!" Bonnie was grinning from ear to ear, basking in the delightful memories. "Or all those nights where we stayed up and did Pokémon impressions?"

"Mhmm, I remember. Those were a lot of fun. You were good at those."

Bonnie nodded, her voice getting softer. "And then when we were done, you'd tuck me into my sleeping bag…" She leaned back against Serena, closing her eyes. "And you'd lean in and kiss me on the forehead, and you'd say 'sweet dreams' or 'love you, Bonnie'…"

"I remember that, too." Serena reached out and wrapped her arms around Bonnie's shoulders, pulling the young girl closer. "It was true then, and it's true now."

Bonnie rested her head on Serena's shoulder. "I still think about that sometimes… when I'm having trouble falling asleep, I think about it, and it helps me relax."

Serena beamed, resting her head on top of Bonnie's, her heart full to bursting. "i need to come visit you two more often."

"You really do." The two girls sat together in silence for some time, eyes closed, basking in the mutual affection, listening to each other's slow and steady breathing. The moment reminded the both of them of falling asleep together in the same tent, side by side, inches away from each other.

Bonnie was the one to eventually break the silence. "So, have you two kissed yet?"

Serena's eyes shot open as she sputtered out a laugh. "Bonnie!"

"Come on, tell me!" Bonnie sat up, looking the older girl in the eyes. "I want to know everything that's going on with you two!"

Serena continued laughing as she let go of Bonnie, stretching out her legs as she started recounting the more romantic details of her journey, with the younger girl giggling endlessly the entire time.

That evening, Ash, Serena and their traveling crew were seated in a small event hall, part of an audience of about a hundred. They watched with tense anticipation as twenty-odd amateur cooks had their meals tasted by a panel of four sophisticated judges, with Cilan sitting on the far left. Clemont and Bonnie had returned home to rest, but everyone else was eager to support Brock, and curious to see how he measured up against other cooks.

Once the final dish had been tasted, the three judges conferred among themselves for several minutes, as the contestants waited at their stations with bated breath. The judges eventually waved over the master of ceremonies, the same blonde woman from the lunch earlier that day, and quietly informed her of their decision. She nodded and lifted the microphone she was holding up to her face, announcing the results.

"The judges have made their decision!" she declared, garnering everyone's attention. "In third place, we have Tobin, from Snowbelle City!" She paused for a moment, waiting for the applause to die down. "In second place, Emma, from Ambrette Town!"

Ash and his friends applauded politely as the lower places were announced, growing increasingly excited and nervous as the names were called out. At this point, it was clear that Brock was either the winner of the competition, or he hadn't done well enough to be worth mentioning. They kept their fingers crossed as the MC began to speak one more time.

"And finally, the moment you've been waiting for! The winner of the Lumiose City Amateur Cook-off is… Brock, from Pewter City in Kanto!"

Instantly, all five of his friends were up on their feet, applauding and whistling and cheering out their full-throated congratulations. Brock looked stunned as he walked up to the front of the room, reaching out and shaking the beautiful woman's hand for just a bit too long before she had to pull away. He took in a deep breath and let it out, sticking his chest out proudly as the woman began to speak once again.

"Our winner will be receiving a full new set of cooking supplies, so that he can continue to make delicious meals like the one he presented to our judges!" she announced. "But that's not all! We have one more surprise for our winner, should he choose to accept it… one final exhibition cook-off against our guest judge, Cilan of Striaton City!"

Ash and Iris quickly glanced at each other, both of them thinking the same thing. The two of them had extensive experience with Brock's and Cilan's cooking, and the food from both was among the best they ever had. Neither of them could decide which one was the better chef, and the two were very eager to see who would come out on top. They gave each other an excited grin before returning their eyes to the stage, watching as Cilan stood up and flexed his fingers. Brock and Cilan met in the center of the stage, reaching out and shaking hands, ready for battle.

"Both cooks will prepare their signature dishes, and will have them judged by our three remaining judges! Are you both ready?" She looked back and forth between Brock and Cilan, both of them giving a confident nod. "Well then! Both of you… get cooking!"

Brock quickly rushed back to his cooking station, with Cilan running to an unoccupied station off to the side of the room. As the crowd began cheering once again, Ash and his friends kept a careful eye on both cooks, observing a flurry of chopping and dicing on both sides as they both worked as hard as they could.

As the final exhibition round continued, however, there was a clear disparity in how the two cooks were approaching their task. Cilan was a whirlwind of activity, slicing and mixing vegetables, tending to a sauce and even kneading his own pasta dough. Conversely, Brock was spending almost all of his time standing over a single pot on the stove, occasionally giving it a taste and adding a sprinkle of something or other. His friends in the audience could feel the wind slowly being let out of their sails, as it appeared that Cilan's energy and advanced techniques were going to carry him to an easy victory. Then again, he was a special judge for a reason.

Twenty minutes later, both cooks were putting the finishing touches on their plates as a buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the round. The crowd applauded as the two stepped back, exhaling and wiping away sweat, before lifting up their dishes and stepping up to the judges' table. Cilan was the first to present his work, and he placed a full and colorful plate down on the table.

"Judges, I have prepared for you a delicious tagliatelle alla Bolognese, with a frisée salad on the side." He placed the plate in front of the first judge and stepped back, calm and relaxed as the three judges passed the dish around, tasting its various components with contemplative looks on their faces. The judges made no comments, giving no indications as to their thoughts, before thanking Cilan for presenting his dish. Brock was the next to step forward, placing a much more dull, flat and mono-colored plate in front of the first judge.

"I made a plate of my famous Pewter City curry, with some jasmine rice," he stated proudly before taking a step back. The judge glanced down at the dish with a skeptical expression on his face. While Cilan's plate had been complex and colorful, with numerous different flavor and texture elements, Brock's plate was exceedingly simple, with white rice on one half and a dark brown curry covering the other half. Brock could hear the audience murmuring with concern as the judges began tasting his dish, passing it down the line, their expressions blank.

Once they had their fill of both dishes, the judges began their deliberations. As their discussion dragged on and on, the audience began to grow curious and impatient, not sure why this round of judging seemed to be taking so long. Even Brock and Cilan became visibly restless, looking around and the crowd, then at each other, silently asking each other with their eyes if they knew what the holdup was. After several long minutes, one of the judges stood up and walked over to the master of ceremonies, speaking their decision into her ear before taking a step back.

"Finally, we have our decision! And the winner is…" She paused for dramatic effect, eyes moving back and forth between the two cooks, before she raised her hand in the air in celebration. "Both of you!"

The audience broke into a moderate applause, amused and confused and slightly disappointed, as the woman handed the microphone off to the judge, a heavily bearded man in an immaculately tailored suit. He cleared his throat before beginning to speak. "The two dishes we were served represent the best of two entirely different schools of cooking. Cilan's tagliatelle was elegant and sophisticated, while Brock's curry was rustic and flavorful. To try and choose one over the other would be akin to choosing between apples and oranges." He gestured toward the dishes on the judging table with his free hand. "I urge both of you to try the other's dish, to see what your opponent has done."

Both cooks stepped forward, reaching out to grab a spare fork, intensely curious. Cilan reached down and grabbed a forkful of curry and rice onto his fork, looking it over for a second before placing it in his mouth. He chewed on it for a moment, his eyes widening more and more as he ate, eventually holding his cheek in his hand.

"Oh my!" He closed his eyes, savoring the flavor, feeling as if he was floating away on a delicious cloud. "The simple appearance of this dish gives way to an extraordinary wealth of flavor! The layers build and build upon themselves, like a symphony building to the peak of a crescendo! Such a rich and deep experience in this single forkful of curry!"

Brock followed suit, reaching down and twirling some tagliatelle with sauce onto his fork before bringing it to his mouth. His face lit up as a grin spread across his face. "Wow! That's tasty!"

"Congratulations again to Brock, for putting up an impressive battle not once, but twice!" the MC announced as she reclaimed her microphone. "And thank you to everyone for attending this exquisite event! I hope you'll join us all tomorrow for our professional competition!"

The audience gave one last round of applause, before everyone started standing up and shuffling out of their seats. Brock and Cilan turned to each other, smiling as they shook hands.

"I'm glad you chose to enter this competition, Brock," Cilan spoke. "You were a very impressive competitor. And if I may say so, your rustic, down-home cooking style was a breath of fresh air."

"Thanks for inviting me," Brock replied. "And same to you. I can see why you're an S-class connoisseur."

Both cooks nodded toward each other, once again trying to determine why the other's face seemed so familiar, before their thoughts were interrupted by the approach of Ash and the others. They turned and joined the group happily, all of them offering words of praise and congratulations as they began to walk out of the event hall.

"Yoohoo! Brock!" He immediately turned around as he heard his name, his breath hitching as he saw the lovely MC waving him over, an amused grin on her face. He quickly broke into a run, nearly tripping as he raced over to her.

"Yes? What is it?" he responded breathlessly, as she let out a brief giggle that sent his heart soaring.

"You nearly forgot your prize!" She gestured toward a table in the corner of the room, bearing his newly-earned collection of premium cooking supplies.

"Ah… right… thanks." He put on his best smile as his ego quickly deflated, walking over to claim his winnings, before turning to leave with his friends once again.

To read more about Serena and Bonnie during their first journey, read the story "You Don't Have to Tuck Me In Anymore".

To read about the day Dawn came to Pallet Town, read the story "Snowballed".