Ash's Last Dance

The Day of the Race

Serena's POV

I had no idea how I ended up at the battle arenas in the park, but it turned out to be the best decision I had made all day. I didn't know if my luck was great for making me run into Ash over and over again or because it kept giving me chances to see him, despite the slim chance of ever seeing him again after.

Needless to say, I was delighted when the auburn-eyed trainer stood in front of me, ready to battle. But then I realized I had little to no battling experience. The only battling I had done was fighting off pesky bugs that kept trying to string me up on the route.

But, I decided to give it a shot and got absolutely smoked. I mean, there was no way a starter Pokémon would be able to beat Ash's well-trained and experienced Pikachu, right?

After our short-lived battle, Ash ended up healing my Fennekin. I left quickly, starting to feel kind of awkward. I spent some time walking around town before going back to my hotel, trying to mentally prepare myself for the next day.

Ash's POV

The next day, I woke up pretty early and quickly got ready before heading downstairs for breakfast. Unsurprisingly, Dawn was already there, but somehow May was as well. As far as I remembered, May slept in just as much as I did.

"How are you always up before me?" I grumbled, walking to the two of them as I grabbed a plate.

"I don't get up before you, it's just that you get up after everyone else," she replied.

"Actually, I'd be just fine with waking up after Ash," May added, yawning.

I rolled my eyes, and after some small talk, Clemont and Bonnie walked in.

"Morning, you two," I greeted.

"Good morning!" Clemont said, looking quite refreshed. Bonnie, on the other hand, looked like she had barely slept an hour.

Noticing my look, she responded, "He decided to stay up all night working on some random invention of his," she said with a sigh. "They all usually blow up, so I'd advise you to stay at least 10 feet away at all times."

"That's not true!" Clemont countered indignantly. "Clembot didn't blow up!"

"Yet somehow, that invention managed to go wrong as well."

I stifled a chuckle before shaking my head. "You ready to go Rhyhorn racing?" I asked, looking at Clemont.

He paled. "W-What?! I can't ride a Rhyhorn!"

"Max and I already got you a ticket. You can't back out now, Clemont."

He groaned. "The last time I tried to ride a Rhyhorn was when I was 10, and that was at one of my friend's places. Let's just say it didn't go well for my face."

"Well, that's the whole point of anything, right? You keep doing it until you get better," I replied, trying to cheer him up.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Hey, May! Where's Max?" I called to the brunette, who was sitting at a table already.

"He went out to do something. He said he'd be back soon," she responded.

I nodded and finished putting things on my plate before sitting at the table and scarfing it down.

"It's honestly kind of creepy how similar you guys eat," Dawn commented.

"I take that as an insult," May replied.

"What?! When you're eating, I can't tell if it's you or your Munchlax," I responded.

May gasped before chucking a napkin at my head. "That's not true! I'm surprised you haven't died yet at how fast you stuff food into your mouth-"

"I like to think that both of you eat like starved Donphans at any given moment," Max's voice came from behind us.

We both looked back with raised eyebrows. Max quickly got the message and ran off to get his breakfast as well.

"So, the Rhyhorn race is at 2, so we should probably get there around 1 just to make sure we're all set and all that," I said, looking at everyone. "I also have some tickets if you guys want to watch. I would've gotten rider tickets, but they sold out."

May's POV

"Why the hell not," I replied. "I'll take one."

Ash fished one out of his pocket and handed it to me.

While I had no clue about how Rhyhorn racing worked, it was definitely better than getting dragged off by Drew and Solidad for another random thing. It turned out that Solidad didn't even show up for our battle yesterday.

Instead, Drew decided to walk with me around the city, and while that was nice, I still felt like there was something else I wanted to do. So, I decided to spend as much time as I could with these guys before I might have to say goodbye again. For the third time.

Once we all finished eating, we walked outside and went to the park where Ash and Clemont challenged some trainers to a double battle. Dawn and I talked about different routines we could use for our respective competitions and even did a couple of double battles ourselves.

It was a chill and relaxing moment for all of us. None of us had truly started our Kalos journeys yet, and it had been a while since we were out and about. Unlike Hoenn and Johto, Kalos was much more urban, meaning there were a lot more towns and less wilderness for us to get lost in. While that would definitely mean we wouldn't be getting lost and having as many wild adventures as before, it would still be pretty enjoyable.

Just thinking about it all made my heart race, just like it did before the start of any journey, whether it be Hoenn, Johto, or Kanto. Only time would tell if this would be one worth remembering.

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A/N: A short filler, but I needed one to help move the story along smoothly. Hopefully I'll update soon. 1000 words, cyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.