Greetings fellow earthlings or aliens! I know that most of you are annoyed at the fact that this isn't a sequel to something like I promised but I have a good reason for doing this! I have participated in a contest! Let me explain!

I have made a new friend called W.R Winters on this site, who is a real gentleman and a fantastic writer! We decided to have a non-violent contest to decide who's one-shot is the best! Both of them are about Pokémon with the amour-shipping pairing! Since I have never writing a Pokémon fic before, I don't have an advantage but since W.R Winters is a die-hard pearl-shipping writer, he has no advantage either!

We have bot posted a one-shot Pokémon fic about amour-shipping like I just said and to decide the winner, W.R Winters has posted a poll on his profile to determine which one-shot was better. Please read both and vote on his profile! His one-shot is called 'You Belong with Me' and as you can see, mine is called 'Love in Simple Steps'.

Please enjoy and don't forget to vote! Oh and your cupcakes too!

It was a bright sunny day in the Kalos region with the Wingull flying peacefully about in the clear blue sky. In Coumarine town, the showcase was currently being prepared for as it was set for tomorrow and needless to say that fans were very excited. Not only that but the competitors were eagerly anticipating the showcase as well as doing some extra training for last minute preparation.

The heroes were currently at the Pokemon Centre after the annual festivals. Clemont and Bonnie were inside preparing dinner. Serena was on the training ground outside the Pokemon Centre practicing with her pokemon with Ash watching her. She was currently practising with Fennekin as she had chosen to compete with her in the first round. Pancham was not pleased to say the least but he was cheered up when Serena said that cheering is the best way to encourage their performance.

"Let's go Fennekin!" Serena said as she started to twirl on the spot. Fennekin did a somersault over her head before landing in front of Serena and did a graceful spin too before the two finished with a striking pose.

"Wow, those two are looking great!" Ash commented with Pikachu's nod of agreement.

As Serena complimented Fennekin, she shot Ash a small shy smile. Ash saw this and smiled back before looking down at his feet; deeply puzzled. From the events yesterday, his feelings had been a little muddled lately. It was like he was on something called a 'date' with Serena. He wasn't entirely sure about the simple outlines of a date but it was something that couples did. What confused him was that he and Serena weren't a couple and he wasn't even sure how he felt about the idea. He had thought it was a just a fun day out to look for presents but as he thought about it later on, he realised that it might have been something completely different.

It reminded him of a situation in Sinnoh a while back. A Phione had wanted to go with Buneary who belonged to Dawn, but Buneary had wanted to stay with Pikachu as she liked him more. He felt like Pikachu now as he didn't really know how to respond to Serena as much of this point.

He didn't know much about the feelings Buneary had for Pikachu. Sure, Brock had tried to explain it to him but it didn't process through his brain. He was more concerned about what had happened with Phione and Buneary. Dawn had said it was romantic while Brock had stated that he understood Phione's feelings about being rejected. Ash had felt rather secretly embarrassed as he was the only one who seemed confused about the situation while the others understood it completely. He didn't fancy asking Bonnie or Clemont about it since he didn't want to put them in an awkward position either.

Ash had of course seen his old friend Brock get shot down from the Joy's around the regions by Misty, Max and Croagunk. Was it just to make a friendly gesture or just for fun or something? Ash was clueless about this topic. He always was. Dawn had said that the feelings Buneary had for Pikachu weren't friendly feelings but rather something stronger. What was that word again? It was a four lettered word. Love! That was it! Seemed like a peculiar word in his opinion. Now that he thought about it, it was a lot similar with Bonnie. She was always going around asking women to marry Clemont who refused every time. It was funny sure, but Ash wasn't clear. No one could get married off the spot. Even he knew that. Someone had to…fall…in love to do that. How could someone do that? It sounded quite hard.

"Good work! That Princess Key will be ours for sure!" Serena shouted which broke into Ash's thoughts. Ash shook his head quickly and looked over at Serena while Pikachu gave him an odd glance. It looked like his trainer was thinking hard about something but he didn't know what it was since there was an unreadable expression on his face.

"What is love?" Ash muttered to himself quietly.

Maybe he should ask Serena more about the subject. She knew a lot about this kind of mushy stuff. Only then when the rays of the sun's rays cast themselves over Serena, did Ash see her in a completely different angle.

He widened his eyes at the sight of her soft hair. The wind blew it softly which made it dance and flow gracefully around her face. Her ocean blue eyes glistened like jewels in the sun which made Ash blink twice as he hadn't seen a girl this way before. That smile though…that was just…wow. Although his brain scolded him for doing so, his eyes lowered down to look at her body. He didn't really how describe it but it was so perfectly slender and just…perfect.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled, and Ash received a small shock through his body which snapped him out of his daze.

"Ah! What the heck Pikachu!" Ash yelled while Pikachu snickered at his trainer before running off before Ash could do anything.

"Hey Ash, what's wrong?" Serena asked as she came over to sit down by him.

"Oh…nothing Serena," Ash responded as he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Come on Ash Ketchum, what's going on in that head of yours?" Serena asked teasingly with a giggle and gave him a playful nudge. To Ash's surprise, he found his face heating up a tad. He touched his cheek to feel the heat but had no idea why it was like that.

"I was just thinking about love, that's all. What exactly is it? I'm not really sure on it," Ash admitted. While he didn't notice this on Serena's face, she was trying to hide the shock and happiness coming to it.

"Oh Ash, you are so dense!" Serena exclaimed with a laugh, although she just laughed to hide her nerves. Her laugh was very cute, Ash thought but then smacked himself inside. Well that thought just happened, Ash thought.

"Am not!" Ash said as he nudged her back. He was surprised again when he saw a faint blush colour her cheeks. Is she coming down with the flu or something? Wait, I'm not and I just blushed the same way, Ash thought.

"Do you want to know? I'd be happy to explain it to you," Serena said nervously and Ash smiled warmly.

"That'd be good, thanks," Ash said.

"Well, where do I start? Love is…having strong and affectionate feelings for someone who means more than a friend to you. It's the same with Pokemon as some may compete for the heart of a certain Pokemon," Serena shyly explained.

"Well, if Pokemon battle each other for love, then how do people express their love for each other? I'm pretty sure they don't battle each other," Ash said which made Serena laugh again. Damn, that laugh is so cute, Ash thought.

"People can actually fight to prove their love for someone but that doesn't always happen. It's more like doing nice things for each other. Like a boy would get a girl some flowers if she was sad. Or maybe he would get her some flowers if she was happy," Serena told him.

"What if she doesn't like flowers?" Ash asked.

"It could be anything that has thought put into it. It's a lot like that festival yesterday. I heard that roses are considered to be the most romantic flowers. I completely agree, they're lovely," Serena stated.

"I see…then how do you know if you're in love with someone?" Ash asked and Serena seemed to shift about in her seat because of this.

"It's difficult to say. Some may get nervous, butterflies may go in their stomach when talking; they might blush or stutter when the person they love does something! All depends on the person. Some may even feel jealous when someone else flirts with their love or angry if they're hurt," Serena told him.

"So how would you react?" Ash asked. Serena eyes went wide when he said that and did her best to hide her blush.

"Me? Well…um…I'd smile a lot…blush…and giggle," Serena answered back. Ash cocked his head to one side as he examined her face.

"You mean like you're doing right now?" he asked and this time, Serena's face went bright red.

"You know what, it's getting l-late and I should really get some….s-sleep for tomorrow! Bye Ash!" Serena spluttered as she got up and sprinted back inside the building, leaving a bewildered Ash sitting on the bench.

"She was nervous just then…and she was stuttering and blushing too! Wasn't she?" Ash asked his partner, who had come back after sensing that it was safe for him to return.

Pikachu merely shrugged as he was completely clear on the situation between the pair. Serena seemed to know all about it but didn't want to admit it. Ash didn't know anything about it, yet he was starting to develop the feelings. Who knows? Maybe they'll figure it out tomorrow.

It was the day of the Showcase and Ash was watching her with Clemont and Bonnie in the audience. It was almost time to present Fennekin down the runway and he felt quite nervous for her. What had annoyed him was that a competitor, who had lost their round to Shauna, had been quite spiteful to her on the way out.

Ash was boiling with rage when she said that but instead of saying something, his thoughts trailed back to yesterday. She was hurt and he felt angry. Did this mean he had some feelings? It felt weird but it was a nice weird.

"Oh no," Bonnie whispered. Ash now realised that Fennekin had fallen from a loose ribbon and its outfit had come right off. Serena looked completely horrified as she hugged Fennekin close to her chest. Ash felt so sad for her at that point. She had trained so hard and everything had messed up in just one little slip. It was awful. He voted for her as he wouldn't for anyone else. She still came last though and even though she smiled, Ash knew she was crying inside.

"Wow, that Serena girl was terrible," a voice whispered. Ash turned his head to the side in annoyance to see two boys about his age staring down at Serena.

"Yeah did she but look at that body!" one of them whispered.

"I know right! I bet that's all she's good for. Looks are her best and only feature. Clearly she doesn't have the brains for performing," the other whispered, which sent them into giggles and snickers but with Ash, it was pure rage. He nearly asked Pikachu to shock them but he held back his anger.

As he then proceeded to stare at Serena in silence, he saw her in a more open fashion like he did yesterday when she was training. Now he saw why the male species may be attracted to her. Soft brown hair, smooth skin, gorgeous eyes and a great figure. So she was great. What right did they have to like her?

Did he know how kind she is towards her Pokemon outside of a showcase? How she feeds them Poke Puffs to make them happy? How she always puts a smile on her face when her Pokemon like Pancham can be difficult?

What else did they know besides her looks?

That her favourite colour was pink? That she loved to bake? That she always wants to look her best? Did he know how determined she actually looked in battle even when the odds were against her?

Ash realised that Serena was an important part of his life and not just because he had known her from his childhood camp. She had given him confidence in his darkest hours. Not only that but when she ever looked sad or scared, a part of his heart dropped into his stomach. Yet she stood strong. He stood by her too. No one else knew how he felt about the special connection they shared.

He now knew what had to be done.

"Give me five minutes. I have to get something," Ash said quickly as he sprinted forward so fast, Pikachu fell from his shoulder and fell to the floor. Bonnie picked him up while Clemont looked over at Ash oddly as he seemed to have stamped hard on two boy's feet on his way out.

"So he just ran out?" Serena asked in surprise with a little bit of hurt. She had hoped he would be here to give out a high-five or even a hug when she came. Seems he had more important things to do.

"Yeah, that was kinda rude don't you think?" Bonnie asked with a nod from Dedenne, making Clemont frown a little.

"Not at all. He said he needed to grab something. It must have been important or he wouldn't have gone. He knows how important this showcase was to Dawn," Clemont stated which put a smile on Serena's face. Did he really think that? To be honest, if anything was rude, she had noticed two boys eyeing her up from afar.

"Thank you Clemont," a voice said. The friends and pokemon turned to see Ash approaching with something behind his back but no one could see what it was.

"Ash, where were you?" Serena asked but was silenced by the serious expression on Ash's face. She had never seen him look like that before.

"I was getting something…for you," Ash said slowly. Serena stepped forward slowly as she didn't really know what else to do.

"For me?" Serena asked back quietly.

Yeah…I was thinking about what you said yesterday. The feelings. Well, I saw you a little differently today. It was a good different! I also felt something I've never experienced before when looking at or you or being you with you," Ash said as his face began to turn red. He then revealed what he was hiding and handed them to Serena.

"Oh Ash, they're beautiful!" Serena said with a gasp. She held the bouquet of roses in her arms and looked at how soft they were. They really were the perfect flowers.

"So cute!" Bonnie squealed but was quickly silenced by Clemont as he didn't want her to ruin the moment.

"I remembered what you said. Someone offers another person something to make them happy and also that you liked them," Ash said shyly. Serena then looked at the roses and then at Ash and inhaled deeply and projected a big smile on her face.

"These are lovely in all Ash but there is something else," she said and Ash looked surprised.

"What is it? I'll go and buy it!" Ash stated but was silenced when Serena placed a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"Oh no, this is something that is completely free and is only given by your crush…because it is a sign of their love for each other. But if you don't then that's…" Serena started but was silenced when Ash touched his lips with hers.

Bonnie was cheering loudly, Clemont was smiling as he was happy for them and he could see out of the corner of his eye that the boys who were staring at Serena were seething with jealously.

Serena felt the heat rise up on her cheeks but wrapped her arms around Ash's neck as she deepened the kiss. She had dropped the roses in the process but was quickly caught by Bonnie. Ash slid his hands around the waist as he deepened it too. This was just the feeling he was going for and neither of them wanted to end. Ash pulled her body closer to his and she felt his stomach press up against her which only made her blush harder. Serena had waited for this moment for a a long time and she wasn't about to waste it.

"Hey sugar! Since that kid is getting some…" one of the creepy boys started, but was quickly silenced as they both fell to the floor out cold due to Pikachu electrifying them. Only then did the kiss end as Serena looked at her unconscious friend.

"That was mean Pikachu," Serena scolded although she was glad as they were starting to creep her out a little bit.

"Yeah, don't do that again," Ash said but secretly gave his friend a thumb up. He was actually hoping Pikachu would do that.

"By the way Ash, I didn't think that you would that if I'm perfectly honest," Serena said with a bright smile and Ash gave her his signature smirk.

"I'm not that hopeless at this am I?" he asked.

"No, I guess you're not," Serena replied with a giggle as Ash then went to kiss his new girlfriend once again. Or at least that was what he thought she was now. It didn't matter about the name anyway. He liked the feelings that love gave him. It was nice.

Maybe it was a little bit better than battling. Just a little.

And there we have it! That was really fun!

So, don't forget to vote on W.R Winters profile to declare who's one-shot is better! Starskulls or W.R Winters! Take your pick wisely!

W.R Winters one-shot: You belong with Me

Starskulls (me!) one-shot: Love in Simple Steps

Have fun voting and bye for now! May the best author win!

~Star