Ash's Last Dance

A Change of Plans

Serena's POV

Once Ash and Dawn had finished their battle, we all made it back to the Pokémon Center where we sat down in the lobby and talked for a while.

I mostly watched and smiled along with the others as they laughed and talked about their plans for their journey through the region. It was nice to see that despite their accomplishments, everyone was as down-to-earth as any other trainer.

After a while, everyone began to get up and take their leave for the night. As I got up, ready to walk away, Ash called out to me.

Panicking, I slowly turned around, unsure of what he wanted to say to me. "Uh, yeah, Ash?" I asked nervously.

"You want to meet up with us tomorrow before we all set off? We'd all be down to give you any more tips and help you out with anything else."

I didn't say anything for a moment, stunned. Once I recollected myself, I nodded emphatically. "O-Oh yeah, of course! I'd love to," I replied.

He smiled at me and wished me goodnight before walking off, likely going to bed.

I took a deep breath to calm down. Ash had just asked me to come meet up with him and his friends again. Did he remember who I was or was he just being nice? Either way, there was no way I was going to miss out on what could be my last chance to see my old childhood friends.

With that in mind, I went up to my room, ready to get some rest for what was sure to be a taxing upcoming day.

Ash's POV

I woke up early the next morning, ready to get moving out of Santalune City. Walking downstairs once I got ready, I realized that I didn't have a clear idea of where exactly we were going next. The nearest gym from here was in Cyllage City, where Dawn's Expo would be in about a week. There was no point in rushing there now, as we'd have to sit around and do nothing for a few days until the Expo.

"Looks like we've got a few extra days on our hands, Pikachu," I said to my partner as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded in agreement.

I walked into the dining hall where, somehow, everyone was up before me. I groaned as I looked at my Pokétch in despair: 6:45 AM. At this point, I was convinced I should just not sleep at all. Pikachu cackled at my disheartened face before hopping off my shoulder to go to the Pokémon dining area.

Grabbing a plate and piling on some food, I walked over to where my friends were sitting. I greeted them quickly before plopping myself down at the end of the table and began aggressively chowing down on my food.

"Slow down, Ash. I don't think any of us know CPR or the Heimlich if you start choking," Dawn, who was sitting next to me, chided quietly as she looked over at me.

Pausing for a moment to swallow, I replied back snarkily with an eyebrow raise. "Mouth-to-mouth can't be that hard, Dawn."

She gave me a surprised look before rolling her eyes, exasperated with my antics. However, I could see a small blush forming on her face, perfectly highlighting her small smile.

Seeing her like that immediately brought back the memory of us pressed together on the wall. Thinking about it brought a huge blush to my face but also a giddy, warm feeling in my chest. I had a feeling I knew where this was going, but I wasn't going to jump to any conclusions just yet.

Quickly turning away to not draw too much attention to us at the table, I began stuffing my face again. Looking up again, I saw Bonnie eyeing me and Dawn with a suspicious look before she slowly went back to her food, making me slightly confused.

Once we had all finished eating, we walked out into the lobby to be greeted by Max, who was the only one other than May who didn't show up for breakfast.

"Oh, hey guys, why are you all up so early?" Max asked, confused.

"We're not up early, Max. You're just up late," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes. "You and Ash are more alike than I would've thought."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Max said with a shrug. "Anyways, I gotta ask you something, Ash."

"Yeah, Max?" I asked.

"Can I please come with you?" Max begged, clasping his hands together. "I can't take Drew anymore. For the sake of my sanity, can I please come with you guys? I'll do anything you want—"

"Alright, alright, Max," I said, stopping his rant with a slight chuckle. "I don't think any of us are against you coming along."

I looked back to see that everyone nodded in agreement, settling it.

"YES! So, where are you guys heading off to anyway?"

"Yeah, about that...we don't know where we're going," I replied.

Max gave me an exasperated look before sighing. "Then can we figure it out now?"

We all nodded before deciding to go out to the park to get some fresh air. We soon sat down, discussing the best course of action for us to take.

After talking for a while, I noticed a familiar honey-blonde trainer nearby who was practicing some kind of combination, similar to that of a coordinator.

Clemont also noticed her and called out. "Hey, Serena! Over here!"

She looked around for a moment before her eyes set on us. She smiled and waved before making her way over.

"Hey guys, why're you all up so early?" she asked as she reached us.

"See? EXACTLY!" Max and I both yelled in exasperation.

"You guys are hopeless," Dawn said with a sigh before turning to Serena. "We're trying to figure out where we're heading next. We have a few days to spare that we don't want to waste sitting in the same city."

"Where are you guys trying to go?" Serena asked curiously.

"Cyllage City," I replied. "But the Contest there is in a week, and it'll only take us a couple days to get there."

"Oh, then you guys should take the longer route through Coumarine City," Serena suggested with a smile. "There's a Pokémon Showcase there in a couple days, and I'm heading there today."

I looked at the rest of my friends to see what they thought of the idea.

"Yeah, that could definitely work," Clemont replied. "We'll make it to Cyllage City right on time and we can see the Showcase as well."

"Well then, I guess it's decided," I said before turning to Serena. "How about you come with us to Coumarine? It was your idea after all."

She smiled softly as she replied. "Of course. It does get a bit lonely out there with just Fennekin."

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A/N: Yeah I know its been like a year since I last updated. This time I'm not going to promise a time for the next update, but I'll try to make it happen soon. Happy belated New Year as well. 1200 words.