Not going to lie, I was incredibly disappointed with the lack of reviews on my sequel one-shot, Parents. Granted, I didn't ask for reviews, but I was at least hoping for more than one. To the one person who reviewed, you rock! Because of the lack of reviews, I kind of pushed this back as I figured no one would like to read my one-shots, but I went through with it anyway.

Granted, now, I had to rewrite how things would have been done. Originally, this was supposed to have taken place in Lumiose City, but I couldn't have a reason for them to go back there. So, I just made up a town and there we go.

Now, like I said, I did state this will not involve Ash being the main focus. It will be another person and that person should be incredibly obvious if you've read my two previous one-shots. This also ends the "trilogy" involving the parents motif. I hope those that read the previous two will like this as a closure.

Without further adieu, I hope you enjoy the third and final part!

1:49 AM

Pokémon Center

One would think people would be asleep at this time, right? Well, not to Serena. She studies the time with a hardened stare, it was late and she knew it. There was no reason at all for her to not sleep. However, like with everything, she worried over the possibilities that were bound to happen. Certain events that could mean the end of a journey or the beginning of a greater chapter in her life; she really isn't sure.

She hears the snores of her companions sleeping and she envies them. She wishes she too can sleep soundly without worry, but that wasn't meant to be. Not for her at least.

"Dene…"

She turned around to the low bunk bed across from her as a small orange rodent muttered its name as it slept, snuggling to the young girl that is currently taking care of it. Dedenne can be a handful when it wants to, but it was an adorable and obedient Pokémon most of the time. The young girl taking care of it, Bonnie, was going to become a great trainer when she is older. Her brother, Clemont, has certainly given her sound advice, all of which she listens to… sometimes. There were definite times the two argue over her listening to him and all she ever does is laugh at their bickering.

She hopes tomorrow – rather later in the morning – things would end well for everyone. Tomorrow was going to be a special day as she looks at her calendar: it is someone's birthday. The birthday belongs to someone special in her life: it belongs to her father.

After not seeing him for a couple of years, not since the divorce her mother and him had, she was ready to see him. Her father wasn't anyone of mass importance, other than being her dad. He wasn't a champion of a region, he only did the Kalos League twice and got Top 32 on his first try. Second try and he got Top 24, but it wasn't for him and so he retired early. The last thing he did before the divorce was be a stay at home dad while Grace made money from both sponsorships and victories at the Rhyhorn Races. She constantly won and has reached a point where she would do races across the region, but it was then decided she should go to other regions to attend their own races, be it primarily Rhyhorn or not.

Due to the long absences of never seeing each other, it would ultimately cause them to distance one another. When Serena was 5, they decided to divorce, but knew they didn't want her to see the action take place. As a result, Grace forced her daughter to attend the Pokémon Summer Camp for the entire Summer as she was busy finalizing the divorce papers. Serena did find out and cried hard, calling out for her daddy as she wondered why did they hate each other so much?

During their travels, Serena has found out her father knew who she was. He was able to track her down because he saw her PokéVision video, to which she was excited about. He was able to send her an e-mail, one that she was happily replying to back and forth every day. She would tell him about her friends such as Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie. She told him about her loss in one of the Pokémon Showcases, leading to her haircut, and what kind of Pokémon she had. He listened intently.

So, it came to a huge surprise to her that he was heading to a place called Fiore Town, a small town near Dendemille Town that is popular with tourists for their hot springs and geysers. He was heading there for a business meeting that involved talking to Silph Co. Apparently, Silph Co. and the Poké Ball Factor have struck up a deal that might lead to an acquisition… or something to that nature, Serena didn't really care about that. Her dad was heading a town that she and her friends were going to as well!

When she told her father that, the two agreed to meet up! She remembered exactly the meeting area, as well! They would meet up at the Fiore Town Park at 10:00 a.m.!

She also remembers the exact reactions her friends had:

"We're going to meet Serena's daddy! Yay!" Bonnie cheered happily, throwing her arms up as Dedenne did the exact same thing.

"Dene!" Dedenne cheered as well.

"That's great to hear, Serena! This could be a great opportunity for you two to catch up with one another!" Clemont said with a smile. To her, Clemont was like the brother she never had and she was happy, and still is, to have him support her.

Then there was Ash…

"That's really awesome, Serena! I'm glad you and him could see each other," Ash stated with a small smile, which she returned. The two had gotten really close, ever since the whole incident back a month and a half ago. She knows he no longer suffers any nightmares, which makes her incredibly happy to hear! She hated seeing him so vulnerable… it just didn't fit. She feared he'd relapse at the mention of her father, possibly out of the trauma of his own experiences. Luckily, that didn't happen.

Although it did cause her to blush tremendously when she remembered him exclaiming:

"I can't wait to tell him how great you are!"

"Pika!" Pikachu even agreed! The two siblings voiced their agreement, causing her to blush even further from the praises.

Now, they arrived a day early than his expected arrival and she was honestly nervous. She realized she kept reminiscing and went back to staring at the time. Did it even change?

2:24 AM

… Not for that long.

She sighs, 'How am I going to even introduce myself to him? It's been so many years…' She wasn't regretting her option of seeing him. It's been too long and she wanted to at least reconnect with him once and for all. Her mother might not agree with it, but it was her decision anyway. She was independent! … Sort of.

She forces herself to close her eyes and begins to count sheep, '1… 2… 3… 4…' she mentally counted in vain, because all she could do right that very minute was wake up. She sighs again, 'I should probably get some water and calm myself down.'

Getting up, she makes sure no one wakes up from their slumbers, especially the two Pokémon sleeping on their trainer's beds. They could wake up from almost anything, but considering Ash trained all his Pokémon to their fullest for the day, Pikachu wouldn't be a problem sleeping the entire night away. Dedenne would probably wake up, but it's very comfortable in Bonnie's arms, so it probably wouldn't.

She tippy-toes her way out, opening the door slowly, wincing as it creaks. She wishes that didn't happen! It's so cliché, but it really does happen and it's annoying. She turns around to make sure her companions were all asleep still and they were. She smiles lightly, but it fades away as she closes the door and hears the same creaking noise. If only Nurse Joy could get someone to fix it…

She heads to the vending machine that illuminates a certain amount of space in the hallway and gets her water. She loves water, it's absolutely refreshing for her and for some reason it actually lulls her to sleep. She doesn't know why, but it does.

"Serena?"

She jumps from the voice and turns to Ash, he stares with a curious look on his face. "Oh, hey, Ash," she greets him with a smile, her voice in a whisper as to not awaken other people, "did I wake you?" she asks apologetically.

Ash shrugs, "Nah, just woke myself up… bathroom break, but I noticed you weren't sleeping and went to check to see if you were okay."

She smiles, typical Ash. She knew he wouldn't wake up unless food was involved or someone was yelling in his ear. Yet, not to her, he always wakes up to her gentle nudges whenever he sleeps a little bit late. She doesn't mind him sleeping a little bit later than usual, so she does give him some time to sleep in. They all deserve to sleep in, but not too late. She's thankful that if she sleeps in late, Bonnie wakes her up more gently than her mom's Fletchling who just pecks her forehead. It was annoying!

"Ah," she nervously laughs, "well, I guess I'm okay… just a little bit nervous, you know?"

He cocks his head to the right, but nods, "Ah, I see. About your dad, right?" he asks, wanting to make sure. She nods in affirmative.

"Yeah, you know… I haven't seen him since before I went to the Summer Camp. My mom divorced him during my stay there," she states with a downtrodden look, with one hand of hers gripping her arm. She didn't like to think about the divorce all too much.

Even now, she doesn't understand the true reasoning behind their divorce.

"Man, that must have been rough, Serena…" he empathizes as he puts his hands on her shoulders, much to her shock, "but, listen to me, you are a strong girl. You can go through this, okay? You and your dad," he pauses while trying to find the right words, "you and him will have the time of your lives! I know it and I know you know it too!" he exclaims with a grin, showing his confidence in her.

She was floored, "Do you really think it's that easy?" she asks nervously, her self-esteem was lacking half the time. She was never sure of what she ever does, or starts to fear the worst in any situation. She doesn't like to be a pessimist, but she's not as optimistic as Ash is, much to her disappointment. What's so good about a girl like her that can't – No! She must put herself down! She's strong!

"You might think it'll be scary, it might be, but I know you, Serena. You'll do amazing! I can see that later in the morning when he arrives, we all will be celebrating your reunion with him!" he says with an extremely excited and persuasive tone. He was that confident and she knew she was feeling the confidence build up in her!

"You're right! We're going to see my dad and you, Pikachu, Bonnie, Dedenne, and Clemont will all meet my dad!" She cheers happily as she feels like a weight was released from her chest. She yawns a bit, showing her exhaustion. She still needed to sleep and smiles, hugging Ash.

"Thanks, Ash… for being there for me," she says graciously while resting her head on his shoulder, she shudders as he plays with her hair as he hugs back. She really liked him playing with her hair…

"No problem, Serena. Now, I think you and I should go back to bed," he suggests with a yawn of his own after. He was just as tired as Serena, maybe even more so. Training with his Pokémon was always hard work and he enjoyed every second of it.

But right now, he feels like enjoying every second of sleeping on a comfortable bed. He feels Serena nod, yawning once again.

"Right… let's go," she yawns between words as the two sleep in their respective beds.

Fiore Town Park

10:30 AM

"Where is he?" she asks impatiently, yet also incredibly worried. What if he decided to back down? What if he didn't want to see her? Her mind was racing with all those thoughts and the sense of dread was slowly appearing, causing her to tremble and her eyes to begin watering.

Maybe he didn't love her…

She bites back her tears and sob, clenching her fist.

'Be strong… be strong… be strong…' she kept repeating in her mind a mantra, not wanting to stare at the clock.

Ash and the others were clearly worried for her, with Bonnie getting upset and almost wanting to yell where Serena's father was.

"He better arrive! Serena shouldn't need to wait this long! Clemont, you should do something about this!" she demands her brother as he sighs, shaking his head. What can he even do to help? This was something no experiment could help with, much to his disappointment. He doesn't like seeing Serena upset.

Bonnie wanted to just to look around and ask adult men if they were Serena's father! If one of them even said yes, she was going to make sure Dedenne used Nuzzle on them! That'll teach them to hurt Serena!

Both Ash and Pikachu stare at Serena, completely worried and upset. They were upset her father might not even show up. He didn't want what he said to her last night to be a lie! How could he face her with such a declaration and have it go down the drain from this act?!

Serena turns around shakily as her eyes slowly drop tears being held and her voice was just as shaken, "W-we should probably s-start going… or something, guys," she says weakly as her voice cracked at certain words. She choked on the thought of leaving, but knew it was for the best.

The realization set in for her… he wasn't coming.

She then crumpled on the floor, sobbing hard at the fact her father didn't show up. He broke a promise! He promised her they'd meet! She felt her two Poké Balls shake and then release her two Pokémon: Braixen and Pancham. She quickly hugged them both and they both felt déjà vu over this… they hugged her as they wished they could find her father and beat him to a pulp!

Ash and the others went to support her and Ash stayed silent, feeling horrible. He didn't like to lie to someone like Serena and he felt bad for giving her so much hope…

He was about to voice his apology, but they hear a guy call out from a far:

"Serena?! Serena?! Is that you?!"

They all looked up to see a man with honey blond hair like his daughter, his hair was combed back. He sported a small beard that made him look older and rugged, though his voice betrayed the look. He had a slightly deep voice, but it held a youthful disposition, despite his formal attire and rugged look.

He dropped his briefcase as he couldn't believe it! It was his daughter!

"Serena, sweetie… Oh my God, I'm so, so sorry!" He apologizes as he genuinely looks distraught, he runs to her, "I… I was held up! The boring old wigs were too busy trying to settle an agreement!" He sees her two Pokémon staring at him with an angry countenance and he doesn't blame them.

"D-daddy?" she stares at him, hoping to god he wasn't just an illusion.

He nods, tears welling up in his own eyes, "Yes… Yes, I'm your father, Serena… Look at you, you're a beautiful young woman now."

She flings herself to him screaming, "Daddy!" she holds him tightly, sobbing in his chest. He doesn't care about the suit getting wet as he cried, holding her in his arms. He didn't care! He just wanted to hold his daughter in his arms again! The years of never seeing her was too much! Grace and him lost contact after the divorce. They wanted to keep things amicable, but with the fact he had to move and Grace was already going around other regions to race, it kept checking up hard on one another. As a result, after Grace moved back to Kalos, he had to move to Kanto and the two never were able to allow him visits to see Serena.

He almost lost the chance to see his daughter again!

It tore him up.

They would cry for another few minutes, before they would pull each other away gently. He stared down at her with an incredibly upset look, "Listen, Serena… I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to be so late… Please forgive me."

Serena stares at him for a good couple of seconds, nodding with a smile, "I do, daddy… I thought you didn't want to see me again!"

"Never! I would never do that!" he gasped at the thought, this was his daughter! His own flesh and blood! He would give up an entire arm and leg to make sure he'd see her! He didn't need to, but he would have!

Ash and the others smiles as the two began to chat, knowing they should let them talk it out. Ash was honestly happy Serena got at least a happy ending! She didn't deserve such heartbreak and he'd be damned if he'd let anyone hurt her.

Serena was so happy, she looked embarrassed when she realized she forgot about her friends! But looking over, she knew they didn't take any offense and they all grin, giving her a thumbs up. She nods smiling and turns to her father, "Daddy, I have some people you should meet!"

She grabs his hands, pulling him once he got his briefcase, as she faces her Pokémon first, "These are my two Pokémon: Braixen and Pancham! Braixen was my first Pokémon and Pancham became my new teammate as well! We're currently training for the next Pokémon Showcase!"

Her father nods, smiling, "Ah, those are always fun to watch! I'll definitely root for you and your Pokémon when I see it on TV! They look well trained and well cared for! Makes me think of my old team." He reminisces a bit, but smiles at the two Pokémon in front of him. Although they have yet forgiven him, they can at least excuse the fact he at least came. He looks at them both and bows, "Thank you for taking care of Serena, I bet she's a wonderful trainer to you both and I bet you both love her dearly."

Braixen and Pancham both nod as they cry out their names in agreement.

"Brai, brai!"

"Pancham-cham!"

Serena then leads him over to her human friends.

"This is Clemont! He's the inventor of our group and he also makes amazing food!" She greets off the brother figure in her life and her father smiles shaking hands with him, who accepts and returns it politely.

"Hello, Clemont, I'm Mark" her father greeted happily, wanting to make up for the bad start.

"Hello, Sere – uh, Mark, I'm Clemont It's finally great to see you!" Clemont greets him with a smile, shaking his hand happily. He was ready to set this all behind them.

Serena then sees Bonnie, pouting, with her arms crossed and her head turned away. She knew what was going on and kneels down to Bonnie, "Bonnie, I know you're upset… but please, give him a chance… for me?"

Bonnie hesitated staying angry and nods, "Oh alright, but I won't forgive or forget if he makes you cry! I'll sic Dedenne on him!"

Dedenne pops out, ready to use Nuzzle, "Dede-dedenne!" it agreed with its trainer!

Serena giggles, "Oh yes, please do!"

Her father pales at the thought and smiles nervously, "Hi there, so you're Bonnie, Clemont's little sister! And this must be Dedenne! Well, you two are a cute bunch!" He goes in his bag and gets out a small lollipop, "I was saving this for myself for the ride back home after a few days of staying, but I hope you take this as a token of apology."

Bonnie's eyes widen and gleam at the sweet, "Yes! Yes! I forgive!" She thanks him and takes the candy, opening it. The others laugh in good nature at her.

"Hi, I'm Ash Ketchum and this is my partner, Pikachu!" Ash greets him the way he naturally does and Pikachu squeaks its name just as excitedly as its trainer.

"Pika!" It squeaks with a smile and Mark stares at Ash intently, making the boy slightly perturbed. Did he do something wrong? Serena and the others were thinking the exact same, what was going on?

Before anything could be said, Mark grins, "Ah, you're the infamous Ash I've heard so much from! I can see why she thinks so highly of you. I approve!"

"W-what?! Daddy! No!" Serena gasps, her entire head turning red like a tomato as she pulls away her father away from Ash, who also seems shocked. She doesn't notice his own blush as she begins to yell at her dad for embarrassing her like that, much to his amusement. He just laughs at her scolding, making her whine.

Ash then smiles as the two make up and wonders, what would have happened if his dad never did what he did? Would he be proud of his son? Would he have been as supportive like Serena's father is now? Pikachu notices Ash stare off into space, "Pikapi?"

It waves its paw in front of Ash's face and Ash blinks back into reality, "Oh, uh, sorry, Pikachu! Guess I was thinking about something!"

"Pika?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about, buddy!" Ash smiles warmly at his partner as he scratches Pikachu's head, much to the rodent's pleasure.

"Cha…" it coos happily at the scratch.

Ash laughs as Serena kicks her dad in the shin for another joke he did, causing everyone to laugh as well, even her father. He was glad everything is coming out alright in the end for Serena. Now, if only he knew what her father was trying to say about them…

"Ash?" he heard Serena call him and he looks to her as she smiles, "You okay? We're all going to go eat some brunch!"

Ash's stomach then growls at the mention of food and he laughs nervously, "Guess that was the right moment, eh?" He feels his heart flutter when she laughs sweetly at him.

"Poor Ash, always hungry," she teases as she holds his hand tightly, pulling him with her, and he smiles at the action. She then turns her head slightly behind as she smiles, "Thanks for never giving up on me, Ash."

"No, Serena, thank you. You know how our motto is." He states with a grin, which she reciprocates.

"Never give up until the very end!" they both state with a laugh and they run to catch up to her father and their friends.