Serena's clear blue eyes darted around hurriedly, flicking from one of her companions to the next, as if she expected one of them to suddenly assault her with the question the rational side of her mind attempted desperately to remind her would be impossible for any of them to ask. A glance at Lumiose City gym leader and inventor Clemont, fiddling with her town map as he tried to determine the swiftest route to their next destination, Snowbelle City. A glimpse to his lemon-haired sibling, Bonnie, as she played with Dedenne and Squishy, the mysterious pokémon they had ran into not too long ago and was being followed by a mysterious group of people. A jaded flash of the enticing and warm early afternoon Kalos forest environment that surrounded the route around them, bringing the dirt path under their feet to life with the sounds of rustling bushes and breezes swaying the leaves of trees carrying the promise of change as they travelled away from her recent Master Class performance in Gloire City. One incredibly brief peek at the business card tucked securely in her pocket, the rough paper a sobering reminder of the risk she was undertaking to continue her journey and the source of her anxiety. Finally, Serena's eyes found a target they could rest on in the unofficial leader of their merry band, Ash Ketchum. As he excitedly discussed battle strategies for his upcoming eighth and final gym battle at Snowbelle City with his partner Pikachu, who was perched on his shoulder comfortably, the pokémon master in training raised his cap to run a hand through his raven-colored hair, turning his head to catch the brilliant light of the sun perfectly in his own brown eyes. The feeling Serena was suppressing even more vigorously than the physical secret of the incredible offer promised by the coffee colored paper in the deepest recesses of her person found a way to surface itself, and a stream of... longing? Desire? No, she knew the word for the feeling coursing through her body.

Attraction. It was never anything but admiration and, well, attraction. He's so dense, brave, strong, and... attractive... hold on, why am I doing this to myself?! You can't think like this anymore! It would never work out with the offer you've been handed. Training under the one of the former best performers in the world...

The runner up to the title of Kalos Queen's conscious was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder from Clemont, causing the performer to start slightly, as if she was being slapped. The other lemon-haired member of the party threw a confused, slightly concerned look Serena's way before returning the pink map of Kalos he had borrowed to its owner and silently indicating the route he had selected for the next leg of their journey. Serena's initial terror at being contacted was erased into befuddlement at the unusual method of communication her friend was employing. When she saw what she had just been handed she understood why.

"Ten days?! Are you serious?! That's so long!" Serena whispered to Clemont with as roaring of a voice as any whisper could possibly be.

Clemont's silence now made sense. They had already gone out of their way on their journey to attend Serena's Master Class performance in Gloire City, an incredibly rare deviation from Ash's normal mentality of travelling from gym to gym and desperately fighting any major edits in the fastest possible course. The decision was so unique that Serena had begun to wonder and even fantasize about the possibility of Ash having some sort of reciprocation for her feelings. This hope evaporated just as quickly when Bonnie had commented on the move not an hour later and Ash had simply stated that he felt his pokémon needed more training before their next gym battle, the density of the aspiring pokémon master crushing the honey blonde performer's dreams while reminding her why she had them in the first place. Learning the scope of said detour would likely ruin the jovial mood of both Ash and Bonnie, a situation neither of the more level-headed members of the group were willing to create.

"That's what the map is telling me. No matter what route we take, it should take us at least ten days to make it to Snowbelle City for Ash's next gym battle," Clemont spoke with a small exhale, shifting his glasses up his nose in sober acceptance. "But hey, it's just more travelling, right? As long as we enjoy it and Ash never figures out how long we've been on the road, there shouldn't be any problems!" Clemont's voice rose to a level of normal conversation as he perked himself up, and Serena couldn't help but nod at his all-too-common impeccability in logic.

"Of course. We aren't pressured for time or anything, and I'm sure Ash wouldn't mind too much even if we told him," Serena agreed, mustering up a smile for the effort Clemont had put into finding a route and fixing her device after she had run into problems using her map, the screen's display breaking and appearing in patches before seemingly recovering itself at random, although Clemont insisted there was nothing out of order with her mapping system.

Clemont didn't need to know she was lying. There was no telling how long Palermo would be willing to keep the offer open, regardless of whether she wanted to take it or not, which was another reason that she couldn't allow any of her friends to know of the risk she was taking in continuing her travels with them. It was far too easy to envision the series of events snowballing into Serena getting dumped off alone at the nearest communication device should Ash or the others discover her secret, to the point that Serena thought of her future as a bleak certainty should the business card leave her possession. The largest unknowing proponent of said inhibition towards dialing the number printed on the ticket to success in her pocket spoke up as he recognized his name appear in conversation. "Did you two need something over there? Are you alright, Serena? You look a bit pale," Ash spoke with a turn of his head, his partner Pikachu pouncing onto its trainer's head to mime the piercing gaze.

Serena let out a tiny eep and quietly yelled at herself to relax. Freaking out about every little thing would only make everyone suspicious and more likely to learn about her card. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, fine, everything is fine here, I just, um... need to spend more time in the sun is all! Yeah, that's it!" While waving her hands in front of her rapidly wasn't the most inconspicuous way to sell her white lie, Ash thankfully seemed to be placated by the reasoning, at least until Bonnie got involved.

"But, Serena! You're turning all red now! Are you surrrrre you're alright? You aren't thinking about something? Or someone-" A sly smile decorated Bonnie's face as Serena rushed to interrupt the youngest member of the group.

"BONNIE!" Serena's shout left her mouth as she gripped her red vest tightly in both hands, drawing it closely over her pink dress and black tank top defensively.

Ash was clearly confused, but he instinctively defended Serena. "Bonnie, cut it out. Whatever you're saying is bothering Serena," he commanded neutrally, offering no room for argument.

Bonnie simply grinned, knowing her work trying to put everyone in their group in a couple was satisfied for now. Serena took a deep breath and returned herself to homeostasis. "I'm fine, really, Ash, just working on our route with Clemont. Please don't worry over me." A genuine smile found its way to the performers way as she spoke to her crush, as it often had a way of doing around the boy, and Ash reciprocated the expression.

"You know I know that you're strong, Serena. I just worry sometimes, you know?" The boy looked like he wanted to continue, but seemed to realize what he said and quickly returned to his conversation with Pikachu, as if he hadn't quite meant for his sentence to come out in the way that it did.

Serena shook this off and exchanged a shrug to sum up the encounter with Clemont. "Do you want me to say something to Bonnie? I apologize for whatever she was about to say just now," Clemont spoke uncertainly, assuring Serena that he understood Bonnie's implication just as well as Ash did.

Oh well. They don't know about the card. That's what's important, for now. "No, it's fine. I guess I've just been a bit jumpy ever since the Master Class performance. It's still hard to believe it all really happened," Serena responded, not completely fibbing this time.

"Alright then, if you're certain. It's fine to feel a bit strange after such a big event. I felt that way after my gym battle with Ash. The enthusiasm he brought to that battle really took a lot out of me, but that was what made it memorable, I suppose." Clemont's head exited the path and returned to the moment to reminisce.

"Yeah. Ash really is amazing, isn't he?" Serena praised.

"Oh certainly! I've never seen a trainer with such a pure, unadulterated love for pokémon like Ash has! It's scientifically unfathomable, believe me!" Clemont's excitement for science and invention never failed to trickle into his speech, no matter the topic.

Serena hadn't ever truly considered it, but in witnessing Clemont's pleasant nostalgic trip combined with his gushing over science, there was something regarding these common moments, where the four of them were simply walking down a path, chattering amongst themselves or just taking in the environment, that made Serena want the journey she had undertaken to last forever. If there was ever a favorite moment on her travels she could point at and name for herself, then the simplicity behind being around friends that never seemed to come easily to her in every moment when nothing special or interesting was happening were her favorite moments. What she had considered plenty of times before was the object of Ash's affections, aside from food and pokémon battling that is. "Yeah... I wish he felt that way about me..." Serena spoke her mind, not realizing she hadn't told her mouth not to vocalize her thoughts.

"Huh?" Clemont's gaze tore itself away from Bonnie to the friend at his side.

Serena realized her mistake and backpedalled quickly. "Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it." She kept herself completely calm, inside screaming for Clemont to overlook the transgression of her tongue.

"Alright then. You know you can tell me anything, Serena, but I won't pry if you don't want me to." Clemont clearly hadn't inherited the nosiness his sister had in spades.

Serena released a breath she didn't know she had been holding. I need to be more careful. A slip like that in front of Bonnie and I would never hear the end of it. I have to find the right moment if, no, when I'm ready to say something. Until then... just take things a day at a time, and keep the card hidden. That internal decision made, Serena nodded to Clemont before starting another conversation with him about one of the inventions she knew he was working on, a machine designed to perfectly imitate a dedenne so that Dedenne could have a friend to play with when Bonnie was tired. Ash overheard this and ended up launching into a story about how he once travelled to an island full of giant pokémon that turned out to be just massive automations of the real deals, impressing Clemont with the science behind said creations and Serena with the strangeness of such an adventure. This was why she loved journeying, to experience the pure euphoria she received from learning new things about herself, her friends and the world around her, particularly about Ash and the incredible things he had already accomplished on his journey before he even met her again after their first fateful encounter at a Kanto summer camp all those years ago. She couldn't imagine having to part with Ash again, or the siblings for that matter, not when there was so much to learn that the performer couldn't help but feel the least bit inadequate compared to the other members of their party, with Ash's extensive travels, Clemont's science and gym battle expertise, and even Bonnie's strangely sage advice when it came to emotion, a sorely lacking subject for the two guys. It's my duty to support Ash after everything he's done for me. And maybe, just maybe, I still have a chance to get him to understand how I feel. I just can't tell him about the card. As the conversation between the four continued, Bonnie was the first to notice the person standing under a tree on the side of the path in front of them, right in a fork in the road, with one side clearly branching of into a less oft used path that wasn't even on Serena's map from the examination of their route marked out for them. When the person noticed the group, he stopped tossing a poké ball causually in his hand and stepped out into the light of the road with the confidence of repetition.

"I don't suppose any one of you would be willing to battle another trainer, would you?" he asked innocuously.

Ash's magic words were spoken, and he jumped to the head of the group, Pikachu bristling with electricity excitedly on his shoulder. "A battle would be awesome! I've been meaning to try out some techniques for my next gym battle!" he spoke with unabashed enthusiasm.

The guy chuckled heartily at Ash's headfirst approach, and motioned into the trees. "Alright then, there's a clearing just through the woods here. Follow me." He swiveled on his feet and paced quickly back towards and past the tree he had been standing under, not checking to ensure he was being followed and forcing everyone else to jog lightly to keep up with him. Thankfully, he wasn't kidding when he said the clearing was nearby, and soon Ash was staring down the mysterious trainer across from him while Clemont took the position of referee. "Is a one on one battle alright with both of you?" Clemont asked.

"Sounds good, Clemont!" Ash called, giving a thumbs up, while his opponent simply nodded in contemplation.

"Alright, then as soon as you send out your pokémon, the battle between Ash and..." Clemont paused awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry, it's Calem. I forget to name myself sometimes," Calem sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

"Alright, then the battle between Ash and Calem will be allowed to commence!" Clemont finished his obligatory introduction to the battle as both sides selected a poké ball, Pikachu pouting a little at missing the chance for a scrap.

As the sound of it reverberated through the air, Serena could swear she had heard that name, Calem, before, although she couldn't quite place where. The green poké ball logo t-shirt, ripped up jeans, black boots, red outdoors hat, sunglasses strewn carelessly across the aforementioned cap, and olive green bag revealed little except that Ash's opponent was a traveler, at least a few years older than they were. His grip tightened over the poké ball in his hand before he tossed it in a high arc in the air, brilliant white light spurting out of it in all directions before focusing itself and coalescing into the form of a large, tan pokémon with spikes on its back and large clawed hands and feet. "Alright, Spike, it's showtime," Calem spoke in a mellow, almost passive tone.

Bonnie, standing at Serena's side, jumped up and down excitedly. "Serena, I know that pokémon! It's a Chesnaught! We met one not too long ago, right?" she asked eagerly.

The energy the little firecracker displayed at the mere sight of any pokémon, even ones they had seen before, never failed to form a smile on Serena's face. "Yep! I guess Calem named it Spike, then. It looks a bit bigger than the one we helped out in the desert, though..." Serena checked her pokédex quickly and realized that the Chesnaught in front of them was indeed a bit taller than the average height of 1.6 meters, potentially even slightly leaner as well.

Calem noticed the interest his chosen battler was receiving. "Well, Spike here was my first pokémon. You don't journey for as long as we have without getting a bit better than average," Calem nonchalantly bragged, his pokémon flexing a bit at the praise while its trainer chuckled to himself.

Ash was, as Serena expected, not deterred. "Then that means this battle will just be a lot more fun! Hawlucha, let's go!" Ash chucked the poké ball containing his flying-fighting type pokémon into the air, releasing it into the sky and allowing the wrestling pokémon to perform a front flip before landing and posing dramatically on the ground.

Clemont looked between the two and raised his hands before lowering them just as quickly. "Alright, battle begin!"

"Hawlucha, high jump kick, go!" Ash called out immediately.

"Lucha lucha!" Hawlucha cried as it bolted forward before using the ground as a spring to launch its glowing knee into the unprotected chest of its foe with a force that shoved the pair backwards a few feet. Chesnaught grunted as it took the attack, but as the luminous glow faded away from Hawlucha's attack, the larger pokémon was still standing there, a lazy smile even decorating its face.

Calem tilted his head to the side a bit. "I hope you have something to use other than brute force in this battle, Ash."

Ash frowned. Serena knew that brute force was the main strategy Ash employed with Hawlucha, and, that failing, Ash would be forced to rely on his innovative battle strategies that he often came up with on the fly. It became apparent that Ash wasn't ready to give up the assault just yet. "Keep pushing, Hawlucha, karate chop, and don't let up!"

As Hawlucha drew back its arm to cut across Spike, Calem sighed. "You know what to do, friend."

Chesnaught nodded before placing one arm defensively over its vulnerable chest. As Hawlucha brought its strike forward, a green shield suddenly sprang from the arm and varying lengths of spikes sprouted from the verdant base. It was too late for Hawlucha to react as its arm was rammed at full force into a wall of pain, the momentum of the rebound sending Ash's pokémon flying backwards, crying out in agony as it gripped its injured arm. Serena was amazed. The chesnaught had given Hawlucha no time to react, and the effects were clear in the apparent shock that Hawlucha was in over having hurt itself instead of its foe. Spike sauntered over to the wrestler. Calem smirked slightly, but maintained his even tone. "Alright, Spike. Drop the hammer, will you?" he requested.

Serena panicked for Ash. Hawlucha was still reeling on the ground, and whatever Spike was about to do, it certainly wasn't going to be conducive to Hawlucha's success. She found one hand interlocked tightly with Bonnie's and the other on her blue ribbon, the gift from Ash a favored target for her hand when she got nervous. She didn't realize that Ash was just waiting for the chance to strike. "Hawlucha, now, x-scissor! Go for the knees!"

As Spike raised both arms high above its head, Hawlucha suddenly turned on its heels and revealed the x-scissor attack it had been hiding from its larger opponent. It was Spike's turn to not have time to react as Hawlucha cut quickly across the legs of the pokémon, the super effective attack having a much more noticeable effect, Chesnaught dropping to one knee and roaring in anger. Calem raised an eyebrow as Hawlucha jumped backwards, away from the attack being prepared against it. "Hey, that's on us, Spike. Don't let it get away with that again," he called out, showing a bit of... enthusiasm? It was difficult for Serena to discern.

Chesnaught grunted again before struggling to two feet. Ash wasn't about to give it the chance to fully recover. "Hawlucha, let's wrap it up quick with flying press!"

Hawlucha sprinted forward, baffling Calem and Spike, both expecting Hawlucha to jump into the air, only for Hawlucha to use Chesnaught's head as a springboard and stagger the pokémon before turning as it rose into the air to start to bring a hard flying press down on the enemy. Whatever emotion Calem had been experiencing, it vanished. "Swat it, Spike," he commanded.

"Chesaught!" the final evolved form of chespin exclaimed as one of its arms again began to glow green, this time enveloping the arm in the casing of a bright green log, which it promptly brought around to slam heavily into Hawlucha right as it was about to make contact with an unprecedented speed. The incredible brute force of the attack knocked the fighting-flying type clear off its course and into a nearby tree, the impact actually shattering the bark and sending Hawlucha through the trunk until it disappeared into the woods.

Clemont paused, partially in shock, and partially to see if Hawlucha would recover. Looking at the dumbfounded expression on Ash's face convinced him that a dramatic recovery wouldn't be happening. "Hawlucha is unable to battle! The winner is Calem's chesnaught, Spike!" Clemont raised a hand to Calem's side to accompany his official statement of victory.

"Hawlucha! Are you alright?!" Ash called to his fighter before running into the site where Hawlucha had disappeared, reemerging with a badly bruised and unconscious hawlucha.

Calem simply nodded and returned his pokémon to its poké ball, Spike only standing up a little straighter in acknowledgement of its success. Serena's heart sank. She hated seeing Ash lose, even in a simple battle against a passing trainer. "Ummm, Serena? Can you let me go? Please?" Bonnie chirped nervously.

Serena looked down and realized the battle had caused her to adopt a death grip over her friend's hand, and she quickly released the girl. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Bonnie! I didn't realize-" Serena was cut off by Bonnie again breaking out into a large smile.

"Wasn't that battle cool?! Spike is so strong! Hawlucha fought really hard, too!" Bonnie spoke excitedly.

Serena grinned. She was lucky Bonnie had been so interested in the match. Calem stepped forward to meet Ash and held out a small pale object with six triangular points sticking out from its center. "Here, Ash. Give this to Hawlucha. It will make your pokémon fighting fit in no time," Calem informed his former opponent.

Ash set Hawlucha down gingerly and took the medicine from Calem, examining it curiously before shrugging and giving it to Hawlucha. The effects were nearly instantaneous. Hawlucha's eyes snapped open and it jumped to its feet, posing before stopping to swivel around confusedly, as if it thought the battle was still going. Ash, Serena and Bonnie were taken aback at the power of the item, while Clemont simply stepped forward and allowed his glasses to glint knowingly. "That was a max revive, right? Those are very hard to come by. Where did you get it?" Clemont asked.

Calem shrugged. "I have several of them, and I felt a bit bad that Spike had knocked Hawlucha around so hard. He doesn't know his own strength sometimes. That one I think I found on route 8. In any case, you, with the yellow bag. What is that you have in there?" Calem finished answering Clemont and pointed to Bonnie, still standing on the mock sidelines of the battlefield.

Bonnie pointed to herself. "Me? My bag just has Dedenne and Squishy in it. Dedenne, Squishy, say hello!" Bonnie cheerily commanded, she and Serena moving closer to join the guys.

Dedenne and Squishy poked their heads out of their pseudo-trainer's bag and gazed at the newcomer. Calem squinted at Squishy, something Serena had gotten used to. After all, it was likely a completely new species of pokémon. "Can't say I've ever seen a Squishy before. Would you mind if I... held it?" Calem cautiously asked.

Bonnie's grin faded into uncertainty. "I don't know... That's up to Squishy, not me."

Squishy looked directly at Calem for a moment that Serena felt like hung in the air for a solid eternity before looking up at Bonnie and nodding. Bonnie looked surprised, and Serena couldn't blame her, but nevertheless, the girl removed Squishy from its home and passed it gently over to Calem. He began to stroke Squishy gently, examining every angle of the creature. "Fascinating... It really does look like a new pokémon. You four are rather lucky to discover such a thing." He gently returned Squishy to its owner, the green blob sighing in content, seeming to have appreciated its time with the trainer.

Ash, not one to bother with science save to comment on how amazing it was, spoke up. "Hey, Calem, are you collecting gym badges like I am?" he inquired.

Calem chuckled and shook his head, digging into his bag to procure a derelict badge case, the official league logo and colors faded into nearly ambiguous spatters of vague shapes by time. "I'm afraid not. My last gym battle was several years ago." He opened the case to reveal eight dusty badges. "I'm actually on my way to the Suicune Festival in Cinder Town, and I just wanted to see if I could snag a quick battle beforehand," he explained.

Serena's interest was piqued. "Suicune Festival? What's that? Oh, I'm Serena, by the way, and the siblings are Clemont and Bonnie. You know Ash already," Serena spoke in introduction, indicating each person she named with a hand gesture in turn.

Clemont and Bonnie nodded in greeting while Calem smiled at each of them. "A pleasure to meet you all, truly. The Suicune Festival is a three-day event held in Cinder Town, during which its residents celebrate the yearly visitation of Suicune, the legendary pokémon of the north wind, to purify the river that runs through the town. Without the original purification Suicune gave to the river, the town would never have been able to develop in the first place," Calem elucidated.

Serena felt herself light up with excitement. "You mean there's a pokémon that can clean water with just its presence? And it appears every year in town?" She couldn't help but get a bit excited at the prospect of seeing a real legendary pokémon, the kind her mother used to tell her stories about when she wasn't being forced into ryhorn racing training against her will.

"Yes, and well, not exactly. Suicune supposedly only makes an appearance at the shrine located at the mouth of the river, although its location is undisclosed to the public. Everyone hangs out at the river to watch it become pure, instead. It's quite the sight to see." Calem had fixed his view in the distance as he spoke, remembering the event.

Startlingly, Ash nodded in agreement. "I remember when I saw Suicune purify a lake. It was really awesome to see it in action!" he exalted.

Calem, along with everyone else, stared at Ash in disbelief. "I'm sorry, you've seen Suicune in action before?" Calem questioned.

"Never mind that, why didn't you ever tell us!?" Bonnie complained into Ash's face.

The trainer looked to Serena for support, only to receive the same question being asked by her gaze. "Oh, um, well... it never really came up in conversation, but yes, I've met Suicune. It was quite an adventure, believe me." Ash looked ready to launch into said story, only for Calem to check his pokétch and slap his forehead disappointedly.

"Stranger things have happened than running into someone who has met Suicune, I suppose, but would you look at the time, I need to get to the festival now. Would the four of you like to join me? It's always more exciting to have company." He smiled innocently at the group.

Serena was ready to jump on the offer, as was Bonnie, but the performer withheld her enthusiasm when she checked to ensure that Ash was willing to go. Having seen Suicune before and looking at his only mildly interested expression, as well as Clemont indicating the already lengthy time period they were to spend on the road, Serena decided to take it upon herself to reject the offer so that Ash could reach his next destination without any more detours. As she opened her mouth to speak, Calem did. "The Champion Diantha is going to be there this afternoon for an exhibition battle, if that would be something that interests an aspiring league challenger, Ash."

Serena knew it had been decided the moment Calem uttered the word champion. "Well I can't miss that! Let's go check out this festival, guys!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

Bonnie hopped up and down in anticipation, Calem grinned, and Clemont simply sighed and allowed himself a small smile while Serena nodded in agreement with Ash's decision. She checked her tablet map for Cinder Town and confirmed that there was in fact a local festival being held there. It wasn't widely known of outside of the side of the region they were on, which would explain why Serena had never heard of it, but it was clear that this was the event to attend if you were in the area. More importantly, she found that there was a fireworks show at the end of the second day. If only I could somehow get Ash to agree to watch them with me... She hid her wistful thinking from her spoken words more effectively this time. "Sounds like a plan, Ash! This should be fun!" Serena affirmed for her crush.

That decided, Calem took the point position of the group. "Follow me, then. We're not that far from Cinder Town, so I'll guide you," Calem instructed.

The new group of five set off in the direction they had came, Calem leading the way while Bonnie pestered him with questions about everything ranging from Spike to Suicune to what he thought the weather would be like tomorrow while Clemont did his absolute best to wrangle his little sister. Serena realized she was now essentially walking alone with Ash, the three people in front of them a million miles away in terms of the amount of attention they were paying. She felt the same urges swirling around with nervous inhibitions inside of her as she tried to decide what to say to him. Starting was always the toughest part for her. Thankfully, Ash had something in mind. "Hey, Serena, would you mind if we only spent today of the three days at the festival? I really want to get to my next gym battle as soon as possible, but if you really want to stay to see the purification of the river, then we can stick around." He rubbed his nose as he spoke, and a small note regarding how cute he looked when he was nervous couldn't be withheld from entering Serena's thoughts.

"Ash, I would never try to delay you from getting to your next gym battle if I could help it. I would be more than satisfied with simply seeing the champion and exploring the festival today," Serena responded as honestly as she could to convince him of her sincerity. You have no idea how far I would go just to help you, Ash.

A look of relief washed over Ash's face. "Awesome! Thanks a ton, Serena. I'm going to let the others know," he spoke as he speed up to deliver the decision to the others, eliciting a groan of dissatisfaction from Bonnie at the brevity of their planned stay.

The oddity that was Ash's recent behavior regarding travel was not lost on Serena as the group returned to the fork in the path and took the road that was less travelled by. Annoyingly embarrassing as it may be, Serena considered talking to Bonnie about the shift in Ash's decision making as she pulled up a layout of Cinder Town on her map. The town consisted of the aforementioned river running straight through the center of town, dividing it between a commercial and a residential district. A main road ran perpendicular to the river with a rather large bridge for the small gap the river created where the two met that ran all the way through town. A pokémon center was located right next to a police station just inside the residential district, and the multiple roads weaving their way through the commercial district seemed ideal for setting up festival booths. The only commercial building of note in the residential district was a decently sized hotel on the edge of town. It came to Serena's attention that the odds of Bonnie leaking anything she sad to her regarding Ash were incredibly high. She began to run through the list of people who at least had some inkling of her feelings towards the aspiring pokémon master. Maybe I could ask Shauna... If I knew where she was, that is. "Serena! Hey! Behind you!" a voice rang out from behind Serena.

Recovering from thinking she was insane for hearing what sounded eerily like the voice of someone she was literally just wondering about, Serena turned to see none other than Shauna, the performer who had introduced her to the world of pokémon performing earlier in her journey, approaching excitedly from the route her group had just traversed. She welcomed her friend with a wave and a smile. "Shauna! It's great to see you again! How have you been?" Serena asked.

Shauna stopped to reclaim her breath, a bit winded after running to catch up to the group. "I'm fantastic! I was heading to the Suicune Festival to meet up with Trevor and Tierno and I thought I caught a glimpse of you, so- YOU!" the girl broke off in a shout as she noticed the new addition to the normal roster of Serena's companions.

The commotion caused Calem and the others to turn around, Bonnie, Ash and Clemont lighting up at the familiar face. Calem, however, let out a flash of a grimace that melted away into a welcoming grin almost as soon as Serena noticed it, making her question if it actually happened at all. "Ah, if it isn't Sunshine incarnate herself! How long has it been again? A month or two?" Calem's level tone revealed none of the uneasiness Serena would have been feeling if Shauna had been approaching her with the same enragement she was storming over to Calem with.

When she reached the older boy, Shauna drew her hand back and slapped him across the face with a satisfyingly sharp smack. "Four years, six months, twelve days. That's how long it's been, Calem. Not that you'd care, right?" Shauna used more malice than Serena had ever heard from the girl as Calem simply rubbed his face, the slap unable to alter his countenance.

"Listen, Sunshine, I'm sorry, really, I am. However, I promised you I would see you again and here I am, right? I saw your Master Class performance, and it was spectacular, by the way. You definitely should have won," Calem apologized calmly.

Shauna was ready to lay into Calem again, but she paused when he mentioned her performance. Serena was personally a bit offended that Calem didn't recognize her as the runner up in the competition, not that fame was a big target for her or anything. "You... you actually watched my performance? And you liked it?" The rage had completely disappeared from Shauna's voice, replaced by what Serena identified as shyness. She's speaking the same way I do when Ash compliments me...

Calem winked at Shauna. "Of course I did! I always knew you were going to be a wonderful performer, even when we were younger. That Kalos Queen title will be yours in no time."

Shauna blushed heavily and murmured something unintelligible to the others to Calem that caused him to snicker a bit. "Serena is a great performer as well. You two make good rivals," he reassured Shauna.

Serena allowed the desire to make a snide remark towards Calem ebb away when she realized what Shauna had practically whispered to Calem. More important was the fact that Calem and Shauna knew each other somehow, something that everyone in her group had taken notice of, even Ash. "So, you two know each other? How did that happen?" Ash inquired, shifting his gaze between the two, as if he was having trouble connecting the taller boy to the girl in the pink shirt with black bowties and jean shorts.

Shauna, who had gotten rather close to Calem, suddenly shoved him, causing him to stumble backwards a foot or two, barely holding his balance, while she crossed her arms and turned away from the victim of her abuse. "He's just a childhood friend of Tierno, Trevor and I. He started his journey years before we did and then he abandoned us. That's that," Shauna spoke matter-of-factly.

Calem straightened himself out and sighed. "You know that's not quite the truth, Sunshine. However, if you won't tell them, then I won't either. Shall we be going?" he offered.

Serena looked between her friends, each one returning her look of confusion until Shauna opened her green eyes and grabbed Serena's hand. "Yeah, let's go Serena. I don't want to keep OUR friends waiting." She began to drag Serena away, Serena throwing a look of worry towards Ash, only for him to shrug helplessly and for Calem to give her a thumbs up. Brilliant situational advice from the guys in mind, Serena matched her stride with Shauna until the two were a decent distance away from the boys and Bonnie, road signs indicating the imminence of the town reassuring them of the accuracy of their intended course. Shauna eventually got around to releasing Serena's hand and sighed heavily. Serena decided to prod carefully, for the sake of avoiding future awkwardness between the two while they were at the festival together. "So, Shauna. Did you want to talk about him?" she asked gently.

Shauna didn't say anything for a moment, and Serena began to wonder if she had heard the question before the girl twisted her head to look right at Serena, a tear starting to form in her green eyes. "I... It's just been so long... I thought I'd never see him again, and... to just have him show up again... I didn't know what to so, so I hit him with all the pain he made me feel when he abandoned us. I hope he's not mad. I probably sound crazy, don't I?" Shauna asked with a small sniffle.

Serena shook her head empathetically. "Oh, no, not at all! I felt really similar when I saw Ash again for the first time. I just... didn't hit him when I met up with him again," Serena admitted.

Shauna didn't seem to notice that Serena had revealed that she had met Ash before they had started travelling together, instead latching on to the positive response she received. "Thank you so much for understanding me, Serena. I can't wait to tell Tierno and Trevor about this. I guarantee you they'll be just as angry at him as I was-am! As angry as I am at him!" Shauna spoke, standing a little straighter in an attempt to emphasize the severity of her implications.

Privately Serena couldn't help but doubt Shauna's statement, instead guessing that the girl was just experiencing the feelings of having a crush that she herself was incredibly used to experiencing, but she allowed those thoughts to remain just that, simply nodding in agreement with her friend as they finally reached the edge of what had to be Cinder Town, the quaint nature that many of the towns in Kalos had contrasting uniquely with the heavy tumult of people moving about as they prepared decorations like paper models of what appeared to be suicune and advertised products from stalls while others wandered about, taking in the atmosphere or conversing with acquaintances. The whole scene was confusing, and Serena's hope that she would be able to navigate the town effectively disappeared in the large masses of people wandering the festival grounds of the town, as integrated in the festivities as the ground itself. In essence, it was overwhelming. Shauna and Serena stood there at the town entrance for a moment, taking in the bustle of activity and the excitement on the faces of everyone involved as Ash and the others caught up to them, similarly impressed by the scope of the festival. "It's a larger celebration than I anticipated... the locals here really go all out, don't they?" Clemont commented.

"This is awesome! I want to explore all of it!" Bonnie cried out, Dedenne saying its name in agreement.

Calem stepped forward. "Well, I've been to town before, so I'd be more than happy to show you all around. Diantha is going to be making her appearance at the small arena they've erected on the other side of town, so we'll need to pass through the thick of things anyways. Is that acceptable?" He asked.

Ash took initiative for the group. "Yeah, that would be great, thanks Calem!" he spoke.

Shauna puffed up her cheeks in annoyance but said nothing. Serena smiled sympathetically at her and joined the others, walking in between Ash and Bonnie, occasionally working with Clemont to keep either of them from sprinting off to investigate some fascinating stall or attraction before Calem had finished showing them around. As they passed through the town square, a circular clearing in the center of town split by the river that ran through the town and conjoined by the lavishly decorated bridge that ran across it, Shauna was the first to spot Tierno and Trevor standing with their backs to the group at a food stall. "Hey, Trevor, Tierno! Look who decided to show his face again!" Shauna called to her two close friends.

Trevor and Tierno spun around, Tierno's mouth filled with some unnamable pastry while Trevor had a firm grasp on some delectable cotton candy. At the sight of Serena, Tierno's eyes shone, and Serena inwardly steeled herself for the inevitable as the aspiring dancer sprang forward and landed on one knee in front of the performer. "Shrnnah! Hw dd y..." Tierno paused and managed to swallow the clump of what used to be recognizable as food clogging his words. "Serena! How did you get even more beautiful than the last time I saw you?!" Tierno asked dramatically, drawing more than a few stares from passerby.

"Ummm... It's... It's nice to see you too, Tierno," Serena stuttered awkwardly, her face flushing at the unwanted attention.

"Tierno, what kind of question is that? You're making a scene. Hello there, everyone," greeted Trevor pleasantly.

Serena noticed Ash almost nodding to himself with Trevor's first statement, but Shauna was the most in disbelief over the initial appearance of the two. "Are you two serious? Do you not see the person standing right in front of you?!" she asked.

"Yeah..." muttered Tierno dreamily, causing Serena to edge a little closer to Ash and Bonnie.

Trevor had the good sense to look around, and he did a double-take when he noticed Calem standing there, a dumb smile on his face. "C-Calem? Is that really you?" Trevor asked trembling almost giddily.

"The one and only, I'm afraid. And am I mistaken, or is this the world famous Snap, pokémon photographer extraordinaire?" He spoke warmly, the way an old teacher would address a successful student.

Trevor smirked, holding out a hand and shaking with Calem firmly. "Guilty. It's been too long, friend. I have a ton of photographs to show you, but I'd love to hear what you've been up to first," answered Trevor.

As Calem was about to respond, Tierno, who had finally noticed the elephant in the plaza and had finally gotten over the fact that Calem was standing in front of him, ran up to the older boy and enveloped him in a strangling bear hug. "Yo, X-factor! I haven't seen you since... I haven't seen you in forever! You still owe me a battle!" Tierno gushed, overcome with joy at the return of his friend.

Calem struggled heartily and eventually wriggled himself into a position where he could breathe. "Heh. same old T-man, I see. All passion, no filter. I'll make sure you get that battle, don't worry." Calem reassured him.

Shauna could have caught flies with her mouth. "You two have to be kidding me. Do neither one of you remember how he abandoned us after he won the stupid Kalos League?" She fumed.

Things suddenly clicked for Serena. She had a vague memory of watching the Kalos League finals on television with her mother when she was younger, although at the time she had no reason to care for the battles and was just grateful to not have to practice ryhorn racing with her mother for a day. She remembered silently thanking Calem for having such a long final battle with his opponent. Trevor turned to his female friend lazily. "Of course we do. We'd just rather celebrate him being here than hold a grudge with him for decisions he made years ago. You and I both know we were too young to follow him where he went when he won," Trevor explained.

"Hold on a second. You've won the Kalos League before?!" Ash asked incredulously.

Calem shrugged. "It was a different time. I was a different person. It's all behind me now. In the present, the stadium is located at the end of the path directly in front of the bridge over there. If we're to explore the festival, now is the time. Diantha is set to come on in about an hour or so," Calem explained.

Ash didn't appear satisfied with that answer, but when Calem let the reins off, any inhibition at participating in the sensory overload of festivities around him vanished into the delicious-smelling wind and he quickly bolted off in the direction of the stalls, calling over his shoulder that he would meet up with the others later. Serena sighed. Another chance to get alone with Ash, another instance where he runs off. I can't give up until it's over, though. Shauna, noticing the desire in Serena's eyes, leaned over teasingly, momentarily forgetting her anger. "You know, Serena, if you stuck a little closer to your boyfriend, then he might let you tag along with you more often," she jeered in a sing song voice.

Serena turned bright red, but a quick glance around her gave the girl all the ammunition she needed to fire back. "The same could be said for you and Calem, Sunshine," Serena retorted, putting just the smallest hint of sarcasm in the last word.

Shauna browsed the area and came to the same conclusion as Serena, that Calem had already slipped away while everyone was looking at Ash. "Oh, no he doesn't. He's not getting away from me this time!" Shauna declared as she ran off in a random direction, giving Serena the chance to allow the blush to disappear from her face.

Bonnie grinned her mischievous grin reserved for romance. "They make a perfect couple, don't you guys think? Clemont, this means I have to find you somebody! There has to be a girl here willing to take care of you!" Bonnie proclaimed before sprinting off into the crowd to look for someone to marry her brother.

"Wait, Bonnie, no! I've told you a million times to cut that out!" Clemont cried as he raced off after his sister, his large pack and aversion to exercise encouraging movement sluggish enough to prevent him from ever catching his quarry.

"Well, I believe that just leaves the three of us. Would you like to explore the grounds with Tierno and I, Serena?" Trevor asked politely.

Serena glanced at Tierno. She was a bit uncomfortable being around him without Ash, but Trevor was nice enough. "Yeah, that would be great!" She responded with mustered-up enthusiasm.

Tierno smiled broadly and took the lead, pointing out stalls he had noticed and found interesting while Trevor conversed with Serena about what their groups had been up to since their last meeting, which was admittedly not that much, as they had just convened together at the Master Class performance. They stopped at another food stall run by a suspicious looking blue-haired man, pink-haired woman, and incredibly short man that had the best food at the entire festival, at least according to Tierno. As Tierno for the fifth time began to revel over the intricacies behind the differences in carnival food and festival food, Trevor finally noticed a booth that sold photograph frames and excused himself to likely buy out half of their wares. Without Trevor, Tierno realized he had Serena all to himself, as did Serena. "Hey, guess it's just you and me, Serena! Want to go check out the food on the south side? I've been getting rumors that it might even be better than the stuff those guys with the weird hair were serving!" Tierno started to dance in place as he talked, the boundless energy reminding Serena of Bonnie, and, she had to admit, just a little bit of Ash.

"Actually, Tierno, it's been fun catching up, but I'm completely stuffed. I think I'm going to walk around on my own for a while, if you don't mind," Serena tried to solicit as firmly as she could.

Tierno looked like he wanted to argue, and even opened his mouth to do so, but thought better of it when Serena glowered at him. "Oh. Alright then. I promise I'll see you at the champion's exhibition battle, then!" Unlike the others, Tierno merely walked off, throwing a look back at Serena with a bit of hope in his eyes every few steps.

Feeling a bit guilty, Serena turned away. She didn't want to hurt Tierno's feelings, as he was still a friend of hers, but her heart had been intertwined in the destiny of Ash ever since that fateful day at professor Oak's summer camp when they met for the first time and he instilled the principles that Serena still carried inside of her today. As she browsed the stalls of the festival lining the stone path, Serena began to lose her thoughts to Ash, dreaming about everything from their fantasy future together to what kind of poképuff she could make that the boy would enjoy, as he enjoyed eating the food meant for pokémon for some reason. As enjoyable as it could be to think about Ash, it seldom gave her any sort of solution to what to do to test the waters with him. Today, however, that felt alright, and Serena decided that, for this moment, it was alright to allow her mind's desires to run free. After all, it was good sometimes to remind herself just how important the boy was to her, and to reverberate the mantras of never giving up that he had taught her to herself. Unknowingly, Serena passed the edge of town and reentered the forest, uttering the phrase "Don't give up until it's over," religiously to herself. She was only loosened from this rigid mental state when she bumped into a tree and looked up to realize that she had somehow wound up getting herself hopelessly lost. "What were you thinking about?" A deep voice to Serena's right inquired, causing the performer to jump.

"Oh, I was just thinking about somebody. What are you doing out here?" Serena questioned slightly nervously, staring into the trees to spot the stranger talking to her.

A very large man stepped out from between the trees, and Serena had to crane her neck upwards just to see his face through the tattered clothing, red beanie, green scarf, and long, matted yet clean white hair. His very presence intimidated Serena, and she found herself taking an involuntary step back. "I believe my appearance speaks for itself, to answer your question. Your little phrase there. What was it? Don't give up until it's over? Does that come from the person you're thinking about?" The large man made no movements other than his initial reveal from the trees, and Serena couldn't even see his facial features clearly due to his height.

"Yeah... why?" Serena responded tentatively, her mother's warnings about getting into conversations with strangers alone ringing warning bells left and right in her head.

The man heaved a large sigh. "It's an interesting philosophy, I suppose. I know a thing or ten thousand about having someone on my mind. If you intend to participate in the festivities young one, then you'll want to follow the sun west from here. Personally, however, I recommend you just gather your friends and leave town while you still can," he spoke with a heavy tone, choosing every word delicately and deliberately, as if he were picking individual flowers from a field.

Serena wasn't about to take random threats from people. "And why should my friends and I leave? And how do you know I have friends?" she fired back, dropping her inhibition for indignation.

Another large sigh was emanated, speaking clearly not a comfortable activity for the man. "I have no power to inhibit your actions, nor would I if I did, and I don't find any sort of comfort in providing you this warning. You would be wise to ignore a stranger's prophecy for the future, after all," the man grumbled with the quiet authority that only age could provide.

Serena opened her mouth to let gratitude for the directions, confusion at the whole encounter, scorn for his rude borderline threat, anything spill from her mouth after that string of sentences that had just penetrated her conscious, but the man turned away and had disappeared into the woods as quickly and subtly as he appeared, an amazing feat for one of his size. Serena actually pinched herself to make sure she hadn't just dreamed that person up. Staring into the woods for a solid minute didn't answer the questions that had been foisted onto her by the man, and eventually Serena copied his sigh and turned in his recommended direction. I'm not going to let that guy get to me. He's just a strange man in the woods, and he said it himself that I shouldn't listen to him. That doesn't explain how he knew I was around others, though... I'll ask Ash. The thought of Ash knowing someone she didn't tripped the earlier shock of how the boy had seen such a rare and majestic legendary pokémon while also not telling his travelling companions. As romantic as the mystery of Ash's past travels were, Serena couldn't prevent the twinge of self-righteous anger that the boy wasn't sharing such important events with her. Doesn't he care enough to tell me about the more important points on his journey, or is it that he doesn't trust me? That couldn't be it. He definitely trusts me, right? I've known him for so long, there's no way he doesn't trust me. Serena mentally checked herself. Basing her self-esteem on how others viewed her was never conducive to her success, particularly if she wanted to ever present herself as worthy enough for Ash. She still found herself with the unshakeable feeling that there were some things Ash never told her that she needed to know about as she reentered the town, silently thanking the man she met for at least providing accurate directions. As she prepared to set out for the stadium before the match started, another disembodied voice called out to her, "Hey, you. Blonde lady."

Glancing around didn't reveal anything to Serena, a subject of the summons or the speaker itself. "Yes, you with the blue ribbon. Come over here for a moment," the voice urged.

Serena finally managed to identify a red tent at the very end of the line of stalls, the front flap covering the majority of the interior of the apparently tiny space lifting up by itself when she focused her gaze on it. There was nobody else around. "What is it with people talking to me out of nowhere today..." Serena muttered to herself, curiosity winning out over common sense as she approached the tent. Whatever was inside, it couldn't be weirder than the encounter she had just dealt with.

As Serena stooped low to enter the tent, she was pleasantly surprised to find it was larger on the inside than it appeared, with enough room for a two chairs and a small table draped in a lavender cloth. Behind the table, a man dressed in a purple suit, red bowtie, and white cape brushed his brown hair into impeccable submission, ignoring a small strand that ran down between his eyes. "Yes, you're the one, that much I can ascertain. Tell me, my lady, what is your name?" He held out a white gloved hand in greeting.

Serena was just a bit put off by the man's fashion choice, but seeing as how she was inside the tent already, she decided she might as well introduce herself. "Um, my name is Serena. What are you talking about?" she asked, shaking his hand.

The man threw his head back and chortled heartily. "Hello there, fair Serena! I am Eusine, and the trade I deal in is, to put it modestly, the future itself! If you have any question regarding the unclear path in front of you, I can guarantee that it is possible to blow the foggy unforeseen away with my incredible technique! So, what I'm talking about, Serena, is that you were someone I foresaw to having a troubled future! Would you kindly allow me to read your fortune for you?" Eusine spoke in a swift and flowing tone, letting each syllable follow the other like the lyrics to a song without music.

How this Eusine fellow managed to see that Serena had just been warned about a bleak future didn't matter to Serena. What mattered was that he use this precognition ability for her benefit as soon as possible. "Oh... If you're certain about this, then I suppose it couldn't hurt," she convinced herself, taking a seat across the table from the fortune-teller.

Eusine reached into his pocket and procured a deck of cards, shuffling them with indiscriminate care before laying them all out on the table in front of Serena. "Excellent. Draw a card, then, and after I interpret yours, I will as well," he instructed.

Serena took a deep breath and closed her eyes before randomly selecting a card. It wasn't as if she was fully convinced of the legitimacy of Eusine's abilities, but it was better to be safe than sorry. She stared at the card she had ended up with, the queen of hearts. Eusine smirked. "The queen of hearts, right? Quite the lucky card to have, in the right hands, that is," Eusine spoke knowingly.

A gasp left Serena's mouth. "H-How did you-" she stuttered.

"Do the impossible?" Eusine interrupted. "As I said, I read the future. or. to be more specific, I foresaw all the possibilities that stemmed from your choice and I ascertained the exact course your fair hand would lead you in. Now, with that card, I can see that you have an extremely important decision holding you back from something in your personal life. A...conflict between business and passion, possibly?"

Serena was starting to get that creeping feeling that arose in her whenever she and the others investigated a haunted house. This guy is way too good at his job. There's no way he could know about my offer... "Well, I guess I did have this one dilemma..." Serena admitted.

Eusine leaned in to listen as Serena tried to find the best way to admit the conflict between her performing career and her love life to a total stranger. Before she could, a rustling was heard behind her, and she whipped around to see none other than Ash himself appear in the tent. "Serena, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! Come on, the exhibition battle is about to start!" Ash opened the flap of the tent to invite Serena out.

Serena flicked her gaze between both guys and decided that going to see the battle with Ash took precedence over trying to foresee a future that would come to her eventually anyways, in truth any excuse to escape the strangeness that was the last hour of the festival at this point being an incredibly convincing one. Eusine himself was staring intensely at Ash, as if, for all of his vision, he wasn't totally sure if the person he was looking at was real or not. "Thank you, Mr. Eusine, but I really must be going now," Serena spoke formally, standing and bowing quickly before returning the playing card and exiting the tent with Ash.

"As you wish," Eusine's goodbye rang out into the vacant air of his tent, barely registering in Serena's ears.

Shaking her two encounters off, Serena suddenly became aware that she had spontaneously achieved her goal of being at the festival alone with Ash, albeit only until they got to the stadium. "So, what was that guy's deal?" Ash inquired.

Serena shrugged. There was no way she was going to tell him what she had almost told Eusine. "Oh, he was just a fortune-teller. He was reading my fortune, but I don't think he knew what he was doing. I'm honestly glad you showed up when you did, so thank you for that." Serena smiled gratefully at her crush.

Ash beamed. "Of course! Anything for you, Serena! Come on then, everyone else is waiting on us!" Ash exclaimed as he suddenly took off in the direction of their destination, taking care not to run too fast as to leave the slightly slower Serena behind.

As she ran after Ash in more ways than one, Serena tried to stop herself from admiring her crushes athleticism. It never hurt to be infatuated with a guy who was...fit, although it certainly played no factor in why she pined for the boy in the first place. The imposing stadium came into view as the two's pace drew them hastily to their destination, Ash laughing and cheering on his companion while she reveled in his presence and did her best to match his pace. It was simple, and that made it heavenly to Serena.

The event was free as a result of the champion's sizeable donation that even allowed the stadium to be built, according to a sign on the outside of the stadium entrance. The structure itself wasn't inherently massive, consisting of two entrances on either long side and only rising up a few stories into the air, clearly with the implication that the whole structure could be deconstructed to free the field outside the town upon the festival's conclusion. Entering the stadium, Serena and Ash found a large number of people already seated in the rows of stands that occupied every part of the stadium aside from the entrances and the walls above where the champion and her challenger would be entering. An awning provided glorious shade to either side of the stands as more viewers continued to trickle in along with Ash and Serena. On the opposite side of the stands, an announcer's booth perched on the roof, a predatory bird maintaining a watchful eye over the battlefield occupying the center of the stadium, waiting for its chance to expose with speaker systems wired throughout the stands any movement that happened to cross the central grounds. Eventually the pair managed to locate their companions and the two seats Tierno and Clemont had saved for their friends between them. Serena took her place between Ash and Tierno and noticed that Shauna had her arms crossed with a pouty face while Trevor unsuccessfully tried to console her. Acknowledging her friends and bypassing another awkward hello to Tierno, Serena leaned over to Shauna and asked, "Hey, Shauna, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

Shauna said nothing, so Trevor answered for her. "She's upset that she couldn't find Calem after he disappeared earlier. I'm sure he's just running a bit late, Shauna," Trevor attempted to reassure Shauna, who only huffed in response.

"Well, wherever the X-factor is, he's gonna miss out on an awesome battle. Nobody throws down quite like Diantha does!" Tierno exclaimed proudly, as if he had trained Diantha himself.

Clemont nodded in agreement, just as the loudspeaker suddenly roared to life. "Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the first day of the annual Suicune Festival! I hope you're ready to witness some spectacular battling, because we have none other than the champion of the Kalos region, movie star and beauty of our times, Diantha in the stadium and ready to exhibit her skills for you today! So, is everyone ready to get this exhibition battle underway?" The male voice over the speaker clearly knew how to rile up a crowd, and the nearly full stands were chanting Diantha's name rhythmically almost as soon as he mentioned her name.

"Alright, then, let's bring her out! Everyone put your hands together for the Kalos region champion, Diantha!" called the voice from everywhere and nowhere.

Diantha's entrance released the pin in the grenade of enthusiasm stockpiling in the audience, and the stadium roared its approval as Diantha emerged from an underpass on Serena's right side of the stadium that was void of stands, waving to the crowd as they all cheered for her, Serena and her friends included. Tierno leaned over to Serena and spoke loudly to her over the commotion, "Diantha really draws a crowd, huh?"

Serena nodded, unable to withhold her admiration for the champion. "Yeah, she's incredible!" Serena agreed.

Ash managed to hear the two and leaned over to Serena to comment as well. "Serena is going to attract just as many people with her performances when she becomes Kalos Queen, right, Serena?" he asked.

Serena wasn't sure how to respond to such high flattery from the usually dense boy, but she managed to nod, noticing the anger she was getting from Tierno at the attention she was giving Ash, but shrugging it off to revel in the random compliment the boy had bestowed upon her. While doing so, Serena realized that Shauna was the only person Serena could see not enjoying the energy of the stadium, refusing to even applaud the champion's entrance. She was about to try to convince her that Calem would certainly be showing up shortly to fill the empty seat next to the girl when the loudspeaker decided to continue its momentum. "You may be asking yourself: hey, who could possibly take on such an incredible champion? Well, we think we've found a worthy opponent. Please give a hearty Cinder Town welcome to former Kalos League winner, Calem!"