Absol opened his mouth and began gathering dark energy, forming it into a small sphere. Across the battlefield, Mienfoo had struck a defensive stance, her heels dug into the ground. Her eyes were laser-focused on her sparring partner, shutting out the entire rest of the world around her. She watched as Absol formed the Shadow Ball to half its normal size, then fired it out in her direction.

Mienfoo watched it approach, more slowly than usual, before clapping her hands together and casting them out in front of herself. A shimmering red Quick Guard barrier appeared in front of her, and the weak Shadow Ball smashed against it ineffectively, vanishing into thin air. She exhaled and lowered her arms, dropping the barrier, as she heard a dissatisfied sigh from nearby.

"I mean, that's a good Quick Guard, but that's… not what I was hoping for," Ash spoke. "Can you block it without using Quick Guard? With just your arms?" Mienfoo grumbled for a moment before nodding, not looking his way.

Ash turned back toward his other Pokémon. "Alright, Absol, same thing! Shadow Ball, half strength!"

Absol obeyed immediately, forming another small Shadow Ball and firing it off at his opponent. Mienfoo stood her ground as the attack flew across the battlefield, trying to will her arms to stay by her sides. As the attack approached, her legs began to shake, and her breathing grew more ragged, her paws clenching into fists. Just before the Shadow Ball struck her, she turned to her side and dodged out of the way, the attack sailing past her and bursting weakly against the back wall of the Ace Center battlefield.

Ash rubbed the side of his face, watching as Mienfoo caught her breath. "Ah, man… is it really that bad, Mienfoo? It's half strength, type disadvantage…" The Pokémon spat out a retort he couldn't fully understand, but the frustration in her voice was crystal clear. Whether she was frustrated with him, Absol, or herself, he wasn't sure. Pikachu, sitting at his feet, did not appear to be any more enlightened.

"What are you doing?" said a familiar female voice. He looked over toward the Center's rear entrance to see Iris walking toward him, her Axew sitting in her hair. "You want her to get hit?" Brock and Serena followed behind her, studying the battlefield curiously.

"I'm trying to work on her stamina," Ash explained. "She's amazing at dodging and avoiding damage, but if she does take a hit, it takes a lot out of her. I want to work on that."

"Well, she doesn't, clearly," Serena replied, studying the Pokémon. Mienfoo shot her a dirty glare in return, causing Serena to recoil in surprise. "Hey, I'm on your side, here!"

"Let's just call it here, then, I guess." Ash's shoulders fell, defeated, as he turned toward Absol. "Thanks for the help, Absol." The Dark-type Pokémon nodded, trotting back toward his master happily, while Mienfoo plodded over slowly and reluctantly.

"Well, she's clearly an expert dodger," Brock said. "There's something to be said for playing to your strengths."

"Yeah, but I don't want my Pokémon to have weaknesses if I can help it," Ash responded. "If we're up against a faster opponent, what do we do then?"

Iris shrugged. "Change Pokémon? Get somebody who's good with status conditions and field control."

Ash rolled his eyes. "I know that, but… you know what, never mind. We'll work on it later. We have other things to do today, anyway." His eyes caught Serena's, who responded with an eager and excited grin.

"Are you all ready for the ball tonight, Ash?" she asked.

"Sure am!" He gestured to himself with his thumb confidently. "That party won't know what hit it!"

"Great! So you've got your tuxedo all ready to go?"

"Ready to go?" Ash cocked his head. "They won't just have them there like last time?"

Serena shook her head. "Those were just for the younger kids. We need to bring our own outfits."

"Oh…" Ash's bravado evaporated instantly. "Well then, I'm not ready, I guess."

"Same here," Brock chimed in, stepping forward and clapping his hand onto Ash's shoulder. "How about you and I head out later today and get a couple of rentals? We'll get sized, get some accessories, the works."

Ash nodded and grinned. "Sounds good to me." He turned back toward Serena. "What are you going to do today, Serena? More practicing for the Master Class?"

Serena shook her head. "No, not today. I just want to spend the day relaxing and not stress out about the competition. So I don't really have any plans."

"Alright! So you're ready for the ball, then?"

"Of course I am!" Serena exclaimed, a tiny bit scandalized. "I've been ready for weeks. I know exactly what I'm going to wear."

"Great!" Ash's eyes flicked over. "What about you, Iris?"

She shrugged. "No idea. Honestly, I don't really like dressing up for things like that. I figured I'd just go like this." She gestured down at herself, toward her standard outfit, an overlarge cream-colored shirt, a short pink skirt with a bow, and white tights.

Serena's eyebrows shot up. "Iris, you don't have a dress?"

Iris cocked an eyebrow right back at her. "Do I seem like a girl who owns a dress?"

Serena looked positively scandalized for a moment, before her shocked expression morphed into a devious, mischievous grin. "Never mind. Iris and I have plans."

"We do?" Iris could feel a twinge of fear as she looked back at her female companion, and the manic look in her eyes. "I can't just…?"

"No, you can't just." Serena stepped forward, causing Iris to shrink back. "This ball is going to be one of the biggest events of the Showcase season! There's going to be live music, a feast, dancing… everyone's going to be dressed to the nines. That includes us. And you." She grinned, placing her hands on Iris's shoulders. "Trust me! With me helping you out, we'll be able to bring out a side of you that you never knew existed!"

"That sounds…" Iris glanced toward Ash and Brock, hoping one of them might come to her rescue. Both of them smiled and shrugged their shoulders, dashing her hopes. She sighed, defeated. "Fine, you win."

"Of course I do." Serena beamed, letting her hands fall to her sides. "Trust me, you'll love it." She turned back toward Ash and Brock. "We might be a little while. How about we all meet back up here before we go to the ball together?"

"Sounds good!" Ash nodded, smiling at her. "This will be fun. I'm excited!"

"I am, too," Serena responded. "This time we'll actually get to go together! I feel like we didn't get the proper experience last time." She grinned eagerly. "This time we'll make sure it's the best ball ever."

Ash turned a bit red, slightly embarrassed to be having this conversation in front of others, but he nodded and put a smile on his face all the same. Mienfoo, standing nearby, watched the exchange with a furrowed brow and a light scowl.

"Well, we need to get going, if we're going to have enough time to go shopping and get dressed up." Serena stepped back and stretched her arms behind her back. "See you guys later!"

"See you guys!" Brock replied with a nod.

"See ya!" Ash added, before turning his attention toward his two Pokémon. "Absol, Mienfoo, let's go inside and get you two rested up."

Absol rubbed his head against Ash's leg happily, ready for a break, as Pikachu climbed up Ash's other side to settle on his shoulder. Mienfoo walked quietly toward him, while Serena walked in the opposite direction, toward the rear entrance. As the two passed each other, Mienfoo briefly and subtly stuck her leg out in front of Serena's.

"Whoa!" Serena tripped and stumbled forward, needing several steps to regain her balance. She turned and glared in confusion at Mienfoo, who offered what seemed like a half-hearted apology before returning herself to her Poké Ball.

"Geez, don't take your frustrations out on me…" the performer grumbled, brushing her skirt down with her hands before continuing on.

One hour later, Serena was browsing the aisles of one of Fleurrh City's fancier department stores, with a captive Iris in tow. The former girl was flicking through dresses on racks with her fingers at an incredible speed, somehow able to evaluate three to four dresses per second. Iris was looking around more lazily, trying to see if anything caught her eye, but her lack of enthusiasm prevented anything from jumping out at her.

"See anything you like yet?" Serena asked.

"No, nothing," Iris answered. She kept looking around until an idea struck her, and she looked forward again. "What are you going to be wearing? Maybe I could-"

"I'm going to be wearing something different from what you're wearing," Serena responded immediately.

"Why, though? Why can't I wear the same dress as you?"

"First of all, it's not a good look for two girls to be wearing the same dress, especially if they're arriving together," Serena explained matter-of-factly, not even taking her attention away from the dresses she was perusing. "Second, you and I have different measurements and skin color, so what looks good on me isn't going to necessarily look good on you. Third, I'm wearing a strapless dress, and it would take too much time to get the boning on a strapless dress altered so it stays on you."

Iris blinked, not expecting such a thorough answer. "O-oh. Well… scratch that, then."

"Have you really never done this before?" Serena asked, stopping in her tracks and turning around to face her friend. "You've never gone out and gotten dressed up for an event like this?"

Iris shook her head immediately. "No way. There aren't any formal dances in the Village of Dragons. Everyone just gathers in the village square and wears whatever they want. The only time I've worn a fancy dress was to spite somebody else."

"What about school dances?"

Iris grumbled and looked away. "Nothing about school dances, that's what. I wasn't even there long enough for one."

Serena quickly pivoted away from the subject, not wanting to step on any landmines. "Well, you never just dressed up for the fun of dressing up? Didn't you enjoy getting ready for our Performance Battle? You said you liked how you looked at the end of it."

Iris shrugged. "That was different. That felt less like dressing up, and more like… helping you out, you know? Like I was your accessory or something. It wasn't dressing up for me."

"Iris, I've seen your morning routine," Serena responded immediately. "You take the time to make yourself look cute. You do your hair, you put on concealer if you need to, you keep your clothes pressed, all that. What's so different about this?"

"That's…" Iris struggled to answer for a moment, as she gathered her thoughts. "That's not, like, dressing up. That's just… making me look like me. This feels… I don't know, fake? Not fake, but… like I'm pretending. Like I'm putting on airs or something."

Serena snickered. "That is what we're doing, Iris. What's wrong with that? You don't think you'll look like you if you put on a cute dress?"

"Can you really see me in a big fancy dress, with a bunch of lace and frills and stuff?" Iris shot back. "I'm not a girly girl. I'm a Dragon-type Gym Leader. I need to be feared and respected! Like, what if a challenger sees me like this, and they don't…"

Serena smiled softly, reaching out and resting her hand on Iris's shoulder. "Is that what you're worried about? You think putting on a dress is going to ruin people's image of you?"

Iris sighed and looked down. "I don't know… I just… I want to see myself when I look in the mirror. Not me pretending to be someone else."

"I understand," Serena replied, her voice gentle. "That's what I want, too. What I want is to find a way to make you look like… a side of you that you didn't know you had. Someone who looks different than you thought you could look, but still feels like you. And I bet we can do it, if you give me a chance. Do you trust me?"

Iris took a deep breath before sighing again, looking up into Serena's eyes. There was a strength and a sincerity in her smile, a warmth that started to melt away Iris's insecurities. After a moment, Iris exhaled and nodded. "Yeah, alright. You're definitely better at this than I am."

Serena smiled wide. "You're going to look great when we're done with you. You'll be shocked, I bet." She turned around and started flicking through dresses again.

"Mm. Maybe." Iris was still unconvinced, but willing to go along with Serena for now. "How long do you think it will take?"

"As long as it takes." Serena pulled a purple, sleeved dress off of the adjacent rack. "Ooh, maybe this? It could go with your hair. Let's see how it looks."

Iris swallowed nervously, following helplessly behind Serena, who was pulling her by the wrist toward the dressing rooms.

"Boy, I'm glad we aren't girls right now," Brock commented, as he held his arms out to his sides. "Choosing the perfect dress has to be way harder than getting fitted for a tux."

"You've got that right," replied a short, brown-haired seamstress, who was wrapping a tape measure around Brock's chest at that moment. "Finding a dress for a party can take me hours, if I'm lucky. Days, if I'm not."

Brock chuckled and glanced down at her. "Got to make sure everything is just right, huh?"

"Ugh, yes." She pulled the tape measure tight, noting the number. "And then when I have a dress, I have to coordinate my hair, my makeup, my nails… it would be so much easier if I could get a suit tailored for me." She stepped away and wrote down Brock's chest measurement. "You two should count yourselves lucky." Her eyes flicked over to the right, where Ash was standing nearby, looking lost in thought. "Alright, you're up next."

Ash's head snapped up as he blinked. "Ah, yeah. Right." He shook his head as he stepped onto the platform that Brock was vacating.

Brock didn't miss Ash's spacing out. "Everything okay, Ash? What are you thinking about? The dance?"

"No, not that," he answered. "I was mostly thinking about Mienfoo."

"Hmm." Brock nodded in understanding. "You were having some trouble with her before we left, it looked like."

"I want to build her stamina up, like I said," Ash explained. "She can't dodge everything. Eventually she'll be up against an opponent faster than her. And I don't want her to go down in two to three really good hits. So I wanted her to just take a few easy hits, to build her up, you know?" He held his arms out to his sides, at the seamstress's prompting.

"Well, did she know that?" Brock quipped.

Ash rolled his eyes. "Of course she knew that. We did some sparring with her and Pikachu first, then after that I suggested she do stamina training with Absol. I told her I wanted her to try taking some hits."

Brock raised an eyebrow. "Well, it doesn't look like she was trying very hard."

"Maybe she was, though." Ash's eyes flicked downward as the seamstress began measuring his outseam. "That last time, when she dodged, she looked… almost panicked. She was nervous, shaking a bit… her eyes looked scared."

"Scared of being hit and taking damage?" the seamstress asked, absentmindedly, as she moved to his inseam.

"Maybe? I don't know." Ash frowned. "She's taken damage before, though. In the battle against Diantha, she took a bunch of-"

"Diantha?" The seamstress instantly looked up. "Not like the champion and movie star, Diantha?"

"Ah, yeah, that one." Ash rubbed the back of his head. "I had a battle with her as a birthday present."

The girl looked at him as if he had just sprouted an extra head. She turned her gaze toward Brock. "He's just messing with me, right?"

"No, that really happened," Brock explained, unable to hide a smirk. "It's kind of a long story."

She looked back and forth between the two, waiting for one of them to crack and admit they were just joking, but neither of them did. After a minute, she shook her head. "You know what, whatever." She went back to taking Ash's measurements, and Ash continued talking.

"But yeah, she can take damage, and it doesn't faze her that much. But when I told her to not dodge, and to take a hit on purpose, something about that freaked her out, I guess?"

"Hmm…" Brock rubbed his chin. "She could have some sort of mental block, maybe? Or maybe she wasn't sure if she could trust you. It's a little bit of an unusual request, isn't it?"

Ash sighed. "I don't want her to not trust me. I want to help her get better and stronger, that's all. I know she wants that, too. I wish I could just talk to her and understand her."

"Don't we all." Brock watched as the seamstress wrapped her tape measure around Ash's chest. "Well, the best you can do is just keep trying, and listening to her body language. Maybe it'll get easier for her over time."

"I hope so," Ash replied, as the seamstress stepped away, writing down his measurements.

"Okay, I've got everything I need," she confirmed. "Come back in about two hours and we'll do a proper fitting. Then I can take your suits in more if we need to."

"Thanks a bunch." Ash turned toward his companion. "What do you say we get some lunch, Brocko?"

"Sounds good to me!" He nodded, and the two of them turned and walked toward the front door.

"How do you think the girls are doing?" Ash wondered aloud.

Brock chuckled. "I bet they're still hours away from being done." Ash grinned and laughed, as they stepped outside and began searching for food.

"Almost… there!"

Hours later, Serena and Iris were standing in a dressing room, with Axew watching from the corner, as Serena finished tying a ribbon around Iris's waist. "There. That ties everything together, right there. And it will hide the seams where the waist gets taken in."

She stood up fully and gently turned Iris around, facing her toward the full-length mirror on the wall. Her hands came to rest on Iris's shoulders from behind. "Now, tell me what you honestly think. How do you like it?"

Iris didn't answer right away, her eyes darting all over her reflection, taking in every detail of how she looked. They eventually came back up, as she locked eyes with herself. She didn't say a word, but Serena could easily see the smile in Iris's eyes, as her face brightened up and her lips threatened to curl upward.

Am I good or what? Serena thought to herself.

"Now, carefully insert the long end into this space right here."

Ash leaned in, squinting at the bow tie that Brock was currently tying around his neck, accompanying the tuxedo that he had rented. He tried to glance downward at his own neck, which was bearing a sloppy, partially-tied bow tie of his own. "Like this?" he asked, as he managed to slip the end of the bow tie through the loop that Brock had specified.

"Yep, like that," Brock confirmed, not commenting on the messy knot Ash had formed. "Then you just grab both ends and pull. But gently!"

Ash did as he was told, and he sighed in relief as he felt the knot hold. "Finally… third time's the charm, I guess, huh?" He grabbed a hand mirror that Serena had left on her bunk, looking over his handiwork. It wasn't quite as clean as Brock's - not anywhere close, if he was being honest with himself - but it at least qualified as a bow tie. With the impeccably tailored tuxedo he was wearing, he looked as though he might actually fit in at the ball.

"Not too shabby," he said, before turning his attention toward Pikachu, who was sitting on the bunk bed as well. "What do you think, Pikachu?" His ever-supportive Pokémon gave him a reassuring thumbs-up.

Brock was about to answer, but he was cut off by a gentle knock on the door. "Are you boys ready? Can I come in?" Serena's voice issued through the closed door.

"Yeah, we're ready!" Ash confirmed, as Pikachu climbed onto his shoulder. "Come on in!"

The door was pushed open by a white-gloved hand, capturing Ash's eyes immediately, and the rest of Serena soon followed. She was wearing a strapless, sky-blue gown, which left her shoulders and a scant amount of her collar exposed. The gown expanded into a wide-brimmed skirt that reached nearly down to the floor, hovering over it by less than an inch, hiding the sensible dancing shoes that she wore. Her look was completed with a faux-pearl necklace and a blue hairband, which framed her impeccably-styled hair.

"Hm!" Serena's eyes flitted over to Ash, then to Brock, as her face settled into a wide grin. "Looking sharp, both of you!"

"You too, Serena." Ash grinned as his eyes ran over Serena's face, which was lightly decorated with makeup. "You look really nice. Really… great." He could feel his cheeks heating up, as he found his normally sparse vocabulary limited even further.

"You sure do! You really know how to put together an ensemble. Very flattering," Brock concurred, much more eloquently.

"Thanks, you two." Serena smiled wide as she stepped up to Ash, reaching out with one finger and instantly undoing Ash's bow tie. "I've been preparing for this since we heard about the ball from Monsieur Pierre." She reached out with her other hand and began re-tying it at incredible speed.

"Well, I tried…" Ash muttered, feeling himself deflating after Serena unceremoniously discarded his handiwork.

"I know you did, Ash," she replied sweetly, as she secured the finished tie, before taking several steps back.

"Where's Iris?" Brock wondered, craning his neck to peer out the door. "Did you find a dress for her?"

Serena grinned giddily as she pushed the door further open. "We sure did!" She took a step away and gestured toward the door with both arms, as if she was introducing a movie starlet or a talk show host. "Ta-da! Presenting… Iris!"

"Come on, you don't need to say it like that…" a voice weakly mumbled from the hallway, accompanied by the sound of footsteps. Everyone watched as a sheepish Iris stepped into the room, one arm holding the other behind her back, with Axew following behind her. She was wearing a simple, red dress with thin straps, which clung close to her figure before broadening slightly at her hips, coming down to just below her knees before stopping. Around the waist of the dress was a matching red ribbon, which was tied into a large bow on her side, much like the one on her usual outfit. Her ensemble was completed with matching red shoes, a pendant necklace, and a white flower that had been placed carefully into her hair.

Iris kept her head low, feeling self-conscious, but her eyes were focused upward on Ash and Brock, wanting to see their honest reactions. "Well… here I am…"

"Whoa!" Ash exclaimed. "Iris, that looks good on you! That's cute!"

"Yeah?" Iris felt herself standing up a bit straighter. "You think so?"

"Ash is right," Brock agreed. "That really suits you! You look perfect for a ball!"

Iris smiled wide, her chest feeling warm at their praise. "Thanks, guys. It was all Serena, really." She felt a tug on the hem of her dress and glanced down, grinning when she saw Axew reaching up at her. She reached down and lifted him up, placing him on top of her head.

"I don't know if it was all me," Serena fibbed. "We both sort of worked together to narrow things down until we found something she liked."

"Well, you both did a great job." Brock took a step forward. "We're going to be the best looking group at the ball tonight."

"Yeah, we are." Ash stepped forward as well, slightly irritated that Brock was beating him to the punch with most of the compliments. "Are we ready to go?"

Serena nodded. "Yep! All ready. Let's go!"

Brock smirked as he stepped up to Iris, offering his crooked arm to her. "Shall I escort you, my lady?"

Iris snickered. "You're such a dork, Brock." Nevertheless, she accepted his offer and let her hands come to rest on his arm, wrapping lightly around it. The two of them slipped through the door and into the hallway of the Ace Center.

Ash turned to face Serena and grinned, offering his arm as well. She grinned right back, accepting immediately, and they followed Brock and Iris out the door, toward the lobby of the Ace Center.

"So what's this ball like?" Iris asked to nobody in particular.

"Oh, it's so much fun!" Serena answered excitedly, pulling herself closer to Ash. "Last time it was in this huge, beautiful mansion, in a giant ballroom, with a live band and great food… and we all danced together, moving from one partner to another, and there was even a Pokémon battle later…"

Brock chuckled, not needing to look at Serena's face to know she was starry-eyed. "Sounds like exactly the sort of thing you like, Serena."

Iris chuckled, as the four of them walked out the front door and onto the streets of Fleurrh City. "Good luck with your dance partner."

Ash bristled a bit at this, as Serena glanced away. "Hey! Come on, I'm not that bad!"

"Well, we'll see if you've gotten any better when you get there," Iris replied. "Hopefully Serena doesn't have sore feet by the end of the night." Ash grumbled, swallowing the retort that was threatening to make its way out of his mouth, not wanting to start an argument while Serena was on his arm.

Serena was paying no attention to Ash and Iris's bickering. She continued to look backward at the Ace Center, and the battlefield that had been briefly visible as they all left. This was the same battlefield that Ash had been training on earlier. A battlefield that Serena hadn't practiced on yet. She hadn't practiced anywhere, all day. An entire day of potential improvement, wasted on-

She closed her eyes tight, trying to dismiss the thoughts. This wasn't the time for that. She had been looking forward to this ball for ages. This was the fancy date with Ash she had wanted for months, even years. She deserved a day off-

Madison wasn't taking days off. She was probably working as hard as she could, to train up her team, hone her routine and earn that final Princess Key. Then the two of them would meet in the Master Class, and if Serena wasn't ready, then-

No! Enough of this! She was plenty prepared. She had been working toward this goal for years. Her Pokémon were exceptionally skilled and well practiced. One night of fun wasn't going to-

She hadn't practiced all day.

"Serena?" Ash glanced over at his date, feeling her hands tightening around his arm, and saw her glancing backward at the building they had just left. "Everything okay?"

"I… think I left something in the Ace Center." Her hands slid off of his arm, as she turned away. "I'm going to grab it real quick. You guys go ahead. I'll meet you there."

"Huh?" Iris turned her head as well, as Serena started walking away, at an unusually quick pace. "Really? We can just wait for you-"

"Go! It's fine!" Serena insisted, picking up the pace. "Go and find a good table to sit at! I'll be right behind you!" She turned and hurried into the Ace Center, the automated doors closing behind her. Her companions were left staring at the doors, befuddled.

"Uh…" Ash blinked several times. "What should we do? Should we wait for her?"

Iris shrugged. "She said to get going. I guess that's what we do? I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm guessing she doesn't want to feel like she's holding us up," Brock offered. "And she won't be far behind us."

"Mm…" Ash bit his lip, getting the sense that something was amiss, but he shook the feeling off, deciding to put his trust in Serena. "Alright… let's go, then."

The three of them, plus Pikachu, turned and started walking toward the manor where the ball was being held. They all walked a little more slowly, subconsciously hoping that Serena would run after them and catch up with them before they arrived. Ash found himself glancing backwards several more times, until the Ace Center was no longer in his field of view.

Inside the center, Serena made her way toward the battlefield, grabbing her Poké Balls and releasing the Pokémon within as soon as she set foot onto the ground. Delphox, Pancham and Sylveon all appeared in a flash of light, looking around in confusion at their surroundings. They quickly turned their attention back toward their trainer, searching for an explanation.

"I just want to do one quick run-through of the routine," she explained. "It will only be a couple minutes. I just don't want us to get sloppy."

All three of them goggled at her in disbelief, none of them moving into position yet. She clasped her hands together, pleading. "Please? For me, just this once?"

Delphox shook her head, clearly disapproving, but moved into her starting position all the same. Sylveon and Pancham followed, keeping their eyes on their trainer, making no attempt to hide their concern. Serena pulled her phone out of the pocket of her dress, turning on her music and setting it on the ground as she got into position. Her heart was beating at a million miles an hour as the song began, and all four of them started their routine.

"Mmph." Iris leaned back in her chair, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Man, this really is good food. Serena wasn't kidding." On the table next to her, Pikachu was lapping happily at a bowl of some tomato-based soup, while Axew had a bowl of delicious chowder.

"This trip through Kalos has been one of the tastiest I ever had," Brock concurred, through a mouthful of food. He swallowed and put his fork down. "Only Alola can really compare, I think."

"I've never been to Alola," Iris replied. "What's it like?"

Brock began explaining the culture and cuisine of Alola, as Iris listened attentively, sitting up with her hands on her knees. On Iris's other side was Ash, sitting back with his arms folded, his eyes lazily scanning the crowd of dancers in front of him, swaying and twirling with their partners. The sound of orchestral music, provided by a live band at the far end of the massive ballroom and dampened by the various carpets and tapestries, washed over him and passed him by. They had arrived at the event twenty minutes ago, and they hadn't heard a single word from Serena that whole time. He had felt something was off as soon as she had left, and that feeling had only intensified since then.

"Excuse me." Ash looked up at the sound of a female voice, and spotted a girl roughly his age - maybe a year older - standing in front of Brock. She had long, red hair tied into a ponytail, and was wearing an emerald-green dress that matched her eyes. "Would you like to dance? I need a new partner."

Brock smiled and shook his head, as Ash and Iris turned their attention back to the dance floor. "I'm flattered, but no thanks. I have a girlfriend." He saw the girl's eyes dart toward Iris, and he immediately held out his hands. "No, not her. She's just a friend. My girlfriend isn't here, but still…"

"Eh, so what?" She shrugged and smiled at him. "Plenty of people here have boyfriends and girlfriends, and they're still dancing with other people. It's all just for fun. Come on!" She took a step closer.

Brock scooted backward in his chair, swallowing a bit. "I… think I'll pass. No offense, you're lovely and all, but…"

She sighed and took a step back. "Fine, fine." She turned her head to the right. "How about you, cutie? Want to dance?" Ash didn't react to her words, lost in thought.

"He has a date," Iris explained, eyes flicking in the girl's direction. "She just stepped out to grab something. She'll be here any minute."

The girl smirked and leaned in closer. "I wasn't talking to him."

Iris sat up, her eyebrows raising. "Oh… oh!" She felt her cheeks flush, as she realized what the girl meant. "I… uh… sure. Let's do it."

The redhead giggled and extended her hand, which Iris took. The stranger led Iris out onto the dance floor, before turning to face her and putting her free hand on Iris's waist. Brock watched with amusement as the two girls began to dance, merging into the crowd. Ash did not, his focus elsewhere, as it had been all night.

"Something isn't right." He stood up and turned toward the exit. "She should have been here by now. I'm going to go look for her."

Brock watched him go, unsurprised. "Text us if anything's wrong, alright?"

"Yeah." Ash started speed walking toward the exit, glancing back at his Pokémon. "I'll be back soon, Pikachu! Stay here and enjoy the ball, alright?"

Pikachu gave him a worried look, but the boy gestured toward the Poké Balls on his hip. He relaxed slightly, going back to lapping at his food, as Ash quickly made his way to the exit. He pushed open the doors and broke into a light jog, heading for the Ace Center.

"Whew! Alright, I think we have that down," Serena spoke, looking down at Sylveon and Pancham. "Great job, you two." Both Pokémon relaxed, slumping forward tiredly. Their trainer had been running them through a difficult spot in their routine for the past ten minutes, and they were both ready for some rest. Delphox stood nearby, her expression relaxing as well.

Serena clapped her hands. "Okay! Just one more time, from the top! We're almost done!"

Pancham glared at her, and immediately began to raise his voice in protest. Serena started to respond, but was quieted when her Sylveon sat down next to Pancham, refusing to return to her position. She looked back and forth between the two Pokémon for a moment, before turning her attention to Delphox. The fox Pokémon folded her arms, clearly indicating that she was not playing along either.

"Guys…" Serena's protests were weak, and vaguely despondent. "Come on, we've only…" She turned to glance at her phone lying on the ground, and her heart stopped as she saw what time it was. She had returned to the Ace Center nearly thirty minutes ago. That was far too long to claim she was just retrieving something she had forgotten. Her friends were going to flay her alive.

She groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay, fine, you win. We need to get going. Sorry, everyone." She tapped the return buttons on the Poké Balls at her hip, and all three of her Pokémon returned to them as beams of red light. She knelt down and grabbed her phone, slipping it into her dress pocket before turning for the exit.

As she reached the edge of the battlefield, she slowed to a stop, her mind racing once again. There was just one move she wanted to get down. One maneuver. One jump…

She turned and walked back onto the battlefield, getting herself into position. Timing her motions to the music playing in her head, she twirled several feet across the battlefield before leaping off of one foot, raising both legs and clearing several feet before landing on her other foot. She looked back at the distance covered, unsatisfied. She wanted to be higher, to give Sylveon more clearance as the Pokémon dashed underneath.

She immediately got into position, twirling and jumping again, landing, then repeating the step. She did this several times in a row, each time pushing her muscles a little harder than she had before. She needed to jump higher. She needed to move better. Madison's movements were nearly flawless in their execution, with a gracefulness that Serena had yet to match. She needed to be better, if she wanted to become Kalos Queen. She needed to be the best. She needed to be perfect.

As she leaped off the ground once again, Serena could feel something in her left calf go pop.

Her eyes shot open, and she immediately reached down to grab at her leg, crashing hard into the ground. She hissed in pain as she pushed herself into a sitting position on the ground, both hands wrapped around her now-painful calf. She breathed through her teeth for a few moments, as the sharp, intense pain slowly faded into a dull ache. She took a deep breath as she placed her foot flat on the ground, gingerly trying to put some amount of weight onto it, and immediately regretted it. She yelped in pain and immediately leaned back, taking her weight off of her leg and relieving some of the pain.

"I don't believe this…!" she muttered, her voice increasing in volume as she spoke. She couldn't decide if she was more humiliated or angry with herself for pushing her body so hard. There was no way she was going to be able to get practice in now. She couldn't even walk under her own power.

She could feel her heart sink as the full implications of what she had done set in. She couldn't walk. She couldn't dance. She couldn't even make it to the ball to meet Ash and her friends. What was she going to do? Could she even make it back to her room without crawling through the lobby, in full view of all of the trainers staying at the Ace Center? Even if she did somehow avoid making a scene, how was she going to explain herself to-

"Serena!"

She closed her eyes tight as she heard Ash's voice calling across the battlefield. This couldn't be real. Not now. Not like this.

"Serena, are you alright?!" He ran across the field toward her, kneeling down next to her with one hand on her shoulder. "What happened? Is something wrong with your leg?"

"Ash…" She needed a moment to take a breath and gather the wherewithal to speak. "It's… not as bad as it looks. I… it's a pulled muscle in my calf."

"A pulled muscle?" he reiterated. "Are you sure that's all?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she confirmed. "I've had this happen before. It's going to hurt for a week or two, but it'll go back to normal."

"Alright… that's good." Ash pivoted and sat down next to her. "How did this happen? Did you… trip, or something?"

"No, I didn't trip. I…" Serena could already feel embarrassment washing over her, pushing away the strength she needed. Part of her was insisting that she make up some tale about Team Rocket, or some other performer who had grown jealous of Serena's success. But she knew she could never live with herself if she lied to herself. So she took a deep breath and told the truth. "I was… practicing."

"Practicing?" Ash repeated. "Like… your performance routine?"

She nodded meekly. "Yes. That."

The silence that followed was almost unbearable. She couldn't bring herself to look toward him, certain that there would be disappointment in his eyes. Several times he made a sound like he was going to speak, but the words died in his throat. Eventually, two words made it out.

"But… why?"

Serena nearly winced. His confusion was so powerful that he sounded almost on the brink of despair. It was as if he didn't recognize the girl he was talking to. Truthfully, she wasn't certain if she did, either.

"I don't know," she answered simply.

"Like… there was so much time to practice today, if you wanted to," he continued. "And you said you were fine. Why would you want to do this just as we were…" He paused as something else occurred to him. "And you said you forgot something? Was that just… this?"

"Yes," she meekly replied.

"I… just…" His confusion was now slightly less despairing, and slightly more offended. "Why did…"

"I don't know!" she reiterated, more sharply this time. "I just… panicked, okay?"

"Panicked about what? The Master Class?"

"Mm." Serena continued to look away from him.

"I don't understand, though," he continued. "You're so good! You blew through the Rookie Class competitions like they were nothing! You almost made it last time you tried it, and now you're way better than that! Why would you be so worried about it?"

"Last time wasn't really the same," Serena replied, able to speak more coherently on a subject she had spent some time thinking about. "When I first tried this, I never thought I would make it all the way to the top. I was just doing it because it was fun, and my Pokémon loved it, and it… made me feel good about myself. However far I got, that was just a bonus. But this time, I know I have a real shot at winning everything. So now I'm… scared about screwing it up."

Ash nodded, understanding. "I don't think you're going to screw it up, Serena."

"I just did," she shot back bitterly.

Ash opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again when he found he had no words. He stayed seated next to her, looking around the battlefield, weighing over everything in his mind. Serena did the same, feeling her stomach sinking as the seconds passed with no words from him. Normally in a situation like this, she would expect a waterfall of encouraging words to flow out of him, to try and lift her spirits up. Then again, she wasn't normally lying to him in an attempt to hide her own neuroses. It seemed that even Ash's patience and understanding had its limits.

"Did Brock and Iris end up dancing together?" she eventually asked, her voice quiet.

"They did, once," he answered. "But I think the height difference was a bit too much for them."

"Makes sense." She held her knee close to her chest. "I wish I had seen that. I wish I had gone… I bet it was beautiful. The decorations, the music…"

He turned to face her. "Do you still want to go?"

She blinked in surprise. She honestly hadn't even considered it as a possibility. "I'm… not sure," she replied.

"People were asking about you," he continued, his voice hopeful. "Shauna asked, Nini asked… I think they'd be happy to see you."

"What about Madison?" she asked, before she could stop herself.

"I don't know. I didn't see her. Maybe she was too busy traveling."

"Alright." She kept her response to a minimum, not wanting to admit that she was thankful for Madison not being there. She didn't feel like confronting the source of her anxieties today.

"So, what do you think?" he prompted.

"I don't… ugh." She leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. "I mean, I can't dance like this."

"Well, yeah," he conceded. "But you could sit, and talk to people, and I could get you some food. You could listen to music and stuff. It would still be fun, wouldn't it?"

"Ugghhhhh," she repeated, more comically this time, trying to create a moment of levity as she weighed over her options. She eventually let out a long, slow exhale. "Yeah, I think I do. I want to see people. And if I'm trying to be Kalos Queen, I should probably show up there. But I don't even know how I'm going to get there. Am I supposed to limp through the front door? I can't do that."

"Hmm…" Ash thought for a moment, leaning back against her, before an idea came to him. "Let's try something."

"Huh?" She sat up and looked toward him, as he got to his feet. "Try what?"

"Give me your hand," he said, reaching down toward her with his right hand. "Maybe I can help you walk and nobody will notice."

"You think we can do that?" Despite her skepticism, she reached out and took his hand, and he helped pull her to her feet.

"Let's try walking like this," he suggested. "And you can hold onto me and use me like a crutch. Just keep your arm stiff."

Serena couldn't keep a smile from creeping onto her face. This was so typical of Ash. His understanding might be limited, but his support wasn't. "Alright, let's see, then."

She took a step forward with her injured leg, and Ash followed suit, trying to match her pace. As she lifted her good leg, she tightly held onto his hand, pushing up on it as if he were a literal crutch. There was still a light pain in her leg as she stepped, but she was able to complete the step without collapsing. They tried several more, moving forward slowly but smoothly, showing almost no signs that anything was wrong.

"See?" Ash grinned. "You can make it to the ball after all."

Serena smiled as she leaned against him for a moment. "Looks like we're going, then." She pushed herself back up and turned toward him. "Is there any dust on the back of my dress?"

He took a step back, glancing behind her, and frowned. "Yeah, there is some."

"Can you brush it off?"

"Yeah, sure." He carefully let go of her, as she shifted her weight onto her good leg, and he casually ran his hand across the back of her gown, removing the dust from the battlefield that had settled on the cloth. He brushed gradually lower, and Serena could feel his movements becoming more hesitant as he approach the skirt of the gown.

"Watch the hands," she advised, a smirk audible in her voice.

"I… I am!" he insisted, as he very carefully used the back of his hands to remove the rest of the dirt from her dress. Once she was sufficiently cleaned up, he stepped forward and claimed her hand again, and the two walked hand-in-hand toward the lobby.

"Thank you, Ash," she said quietly. "I'm sorry I lied. I'm sorry I'm a mess."

"You're not a mess," he replied.

"Well, I feel like one."

He frowned. "We can talk about it later. Let's just get you to the ball."

She nodded, resisting the urge to lean against him, as she kept a tight grip on his hand. "Iris is never going to let me hear the end of this, is she?"

"I doubt it."

She sighed again, trying not to think of her snark-filled fate, as the two walked hand-in-hand through Fleurrh City, toward Monsieur Pierre's ball.