Final Chapter: End of the Road.

Summary: the battle between Ash and Serena concludes, who will win the last battle? Ash or Serena?

"Prepare for defeat Ash," Serena told Ash, she sent out her fourth pokeball to bring out her next pokemon, "Delphox, let's go," Serena called for a bipedal pokemon, red fur on the lower half that looked like a dress, yellow fur on the upperbody, still seething at what she had heard, her mind was set on destroying Ash in the battle, "hurry up Ash," Serena rushed the trainer.

"I was better off not being immortal," Ash complained, he threw out his next pokeball, choosing his next combatant, "Zoroark, I choose you," Ash called for his own fox like pokemon, mostly coloured black.

"Flamethrower," Serena called for the first attack of the round recklessly.

"Zoroark, evade the attack, then use Shadow Ball," Ash ordered his dark type pokemon. Delphox exhaled a flurry of flames with Zoroark being the target, the torrent grew larger by the moment and gaining momentum, noticing what going on Ash raised a blue barrier in front of him, 'whao, she is pissed,' Ash thought as the flames cleared up, his pokemon nowhere in sight, 'I want to enjoy this battle, not be killed by it, oh wait,' Ash thought as he watched his pokemon launch a powerful purple sphere at the opposing pokemon.

"Defend with Mystic Fire," Serena gave out another command, the psychic type pokemon used his wand form a barrier of Flames to stop illusion pokemon's attack from hitting him, "now use Grass Knot," Serena called out to her pokemon to attack again.

"She is getting reckless," Ash whispered to himself, knowing that Serena had just lost her cool. "Zoroark, use Dark Pulse," Ash immediately ordered his powerful pokemon to counter attack, a dark wave of energy was emitted from the claws of the dark type pokemon, crashing into the opposing pokemon sending towards the female trainer. It was then that Ash notice something strange, a smile on Serena's face, 'wait, why is Serena smiling?' Ash questioned himself, now seemingly confused as to what was happening.

Dawn watched this and shook her head in amusement, 'I wonder how long it will take Ash to figure it out,' Dawn wondered as she waited to see what was going to happen.

'Wait a second how did Serena find out about the apartment being almost destroyed?' Ash wondered as it soon became apparent, "Dawn told her about half of the apartment being wiped out," Ash quickly assumed, "but there is also the fact that my memory is nowhere near that horrible, in fact I know nothing happened last night," Ash stated while the battle went into a moment of lull.

"Yeah, she did, I was a little upset at first, but when she explained what had happened," Serena admitted while laughing at the trainer's expense, "so Dawn and I decided to pull another prank on you," Serena explained to her rival who had fell back in shock, "glad it wasn't too convincing," Serena breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not too convincing? You almost scorched me!" Ash yelled out while Serena giggled at him. Ash started laughing while looking around to see the girls laughing at him, 'well at least they can work as a team, even at my expense,' Ash thought. Ash returned his focus to the battle, "pulling another prank on me, now it's payback time," Ash remarked glaring at Serena who was still laughing at the trainer.

"Opps I think we went a little too far with it," Serena admitted to herself. Watching her boyfriend who was visibly upset with the prank the two girls had pulled on him.

(Flashback)

Serena was sleeping in the Hospital on her own, her phone started ringing, the young woman picked up slowly waking up, "Dawn, feeling a little better?" Serena asked her friend.

"Yeah, a lot better than yesterday," Dawn replied.

"Did the weather keep you awake last night?" Serena asked with concern.

"In fact it destroyed half our apartment," Dawn retorted with a hint of disdain.

Serena gulped at the ferocity of the weather that had lashed the Kalos League, "yeah it seems to have settled for now," Serena remarked as she got out of the chair and walked over to the window.

"Yeah, I know," Dawn's guilt sounded obvious to Serena, "Serena I am sorry, but last night I slept with Ash, since my bed was completely destroyed," Dawn admitted to her friend.

Serena now feeling a little upset about the development, she walked out of the ward while Dawn was still talking to her, "I see, so you couldn't sleep in the lounge room last night since all the windows were blown out and was covered in snow," Serena reiterated her friends words, Serena grasped her phone tightly, "did anything else happen? You know something that shouldn't happen?" Serena questioned the bluenette.

"No, nothing happened, apart from him complaining like a little girl," Dawn giggled about what had happened after finding out about the destruction of her room, "hey Serena, want to pull a prank on Ash? To teach him a little lesson," Dawn suggested with a smirk.

"I am all ears Dawn," Serena replied as she looked up to the building, "wow, the heat, rain and blizzard made a huge mess," Serena marvelled at the destruction of parts of the apartment, "so what do you plan with this prank on Ash?" Serena asked her friend.

"Well how about you set the battle for noon? Since Ash has a terrible memory, we can use that against him," Dawn stated while Serena seemed more interested in the prank on her boyfriend.

"Yeah, I can pretend to get so angry that I will attempt to scorch him with my Delphox," Serena suggested as she started to imagine the expression on Ash's face.

"Alright, then we have it all set," Dawn stated with great pride.

"Yeah, I cannot wait to see how he reacts in this situation," Serena started to laugh to herself, "I will see you two later," Serena ended the call, she walked away from the building to get some food ready for lunch.

(Back to the Battle)

"You both planned this?" Ash questioned the young women with his fists clenched, "when the time is right, I will get my revenge," Ash decreed, he looked over at his Zoroark and nodded at the dark type pokemon, "Zoroark attack with Shadow Ball, the increase the power of the attack with Dark Pulse," Ash ordered his pokemon to do a combination attack, Zoroark formed a ball in the right claw, threw it at Serena's starter pokemon, then followed it up with a dark burst of energy to push the ghostly orb even faster towards the intended target.

"Delphox, use Protect," Serena ordered her pokemon quickly. The fire type pokemon formed a green barrier to defend itself against the devastating attack, the attack slammed into the barrier. "Now use Flamethrower to push Protect towards Zoroark," Serena instructed her pokemon with a much calmer disposition.

Ash gnashed his teeth together getting annoyed at Serena's battle tactics, 'they are so well thought out,' Ash thought while watching the protective barrier heading towards his pokemon, " Zoroark, jump into the air then, use Night Daze," Ash provided the next attack command.

"Delphox, use Protect again," Serena panicked in her command.

"Too slow!" Ash yelled out, his pokemon gained an eerie red aura, eyes glowing light blue, the pokemon exploded with the aura sending out a powerful shockwave, the wave crashed into the psychic type pokemon before he could form the protective barrier, Serena's pokemon was sent flying towards the wall, "I guess the score is two all," Ash stated, his pokemon landing in front of him, letting out a powerful roar, that would scare the smaller pokemon in the area.

Serena recalled her pokemon and laughed at the trainer, "I see, you have trained your pokemon when you had the chance," Serena whispered, thinking back to earlier in her journey, "you know Ash, apart from the prank, I have really enjoyed this battle, at least you are battling me at your best, even with pokemon you have caught in this region," Serena explained her enjoyment of this battle, "just two more pokemon each and our rivalry will end," Serena explained the stage of the battle.

"Yeah, I know….. Then it will be on to Hoenn," Ash replied, recalling his victorious pokemon, the raven haired trainer pulled out his pokeball, "I still don't forgive you two for the prank, a prank that was a little in bad taste," Ash chuckled as he shook his head, knowing that he had been ganged up by Serena and Dawn. "Let's finish this battle," Ash called for the battle to continue, "Lucario I choose you," Ash called for his fifth pokemon to battle Serena.

"Is that all Ash?" Serena questioned the trainer, "Florges, it's show time," Serena called out her fairy type pokemon.

"I wonder how he will get revenge on the both of us," Dawn asked herself while nervously smiling at the situation she was in.

Ash cracked his knuckles, preparing for the battle, "I hate pranks that are in bad taste," Ash admitted his dislikes to Serena, who was getting a little nervous at how Ash was reacting to their prank, "I see you don't like how I respond," Ash pointed out with a smirk, "here is the start, Lucario, start things off with Metal Sound," Ash started the fifth round of the battle against Serena's Florges, clasping his paws together a loud sound emanated from the metal spikes on the aura pokemon's paws, sounding like fingernails scrapping down a chalk board.

"Hurry up and use Moon Blast," Serena quickly instructed her fairy type pokemon.

Ash smirked at the pink sphere forming in the hands of the opposing pokemon, "Lucario sending it flying with Bone Rush," Ash barked out his instruction, he watched the pink ball catapult towards his pokemon. Lucario formed a bone staff and smashed the incoming attack back towards the original location.

Serena gasped at what she was withness, "use Shadow Ball to stop the attack," Serena ordered her fifth pokemon, forming another sphere, the original attack sped towards her as she released another powerful attack aimed at the Moon Blast, the two attacks collided before Florges was hit by her own attack, creating a powerful explosion that sent out a powerful shockwave that knocked Serena off of her feet.

Ash slid back as the shockwave pushed his pokemon towards the wall behind the raven haired trainer, "nice reflexes," Ash complimented his rival, he looked up seeing that Serena was slowing getting back to her feet, "Metal Claw now," Ash instructed his pokemon to attack yet again, not wanting to give Serena the chance she needed to get back into the battle, the aura pokemon charged towards the garden pokemon with metallic claws extended outwards.

"Use Psychic," Serena issued her counter attack, the eyes of the fairy type pokemon started to glow a bright blue, causing a blue aura to surround the opposing pokemon, "send it into the air, then send Lucario crashing into the ground," Serena commanded her powerful pokemon to attack, the aura pokemon was lifted into the air quickly, just as quickly the fighting type pokemon came crashing down with great velocity.

"Not bad at all Serena," Ash replied, watching his pokemon getting up panting after the vicious attack, "Lucario use Aura Sphere," Ash called for the next attack, the tiring pokemon formed a ball of aura in his palms.

"No way Ash, Florges use Moon Blast," Serena issued her instructions to her pokemon, forming another pink sphere, the two pokemon fired their attacks at one another. At full speed the two attacks clashed with one another causing another powerful explosion, this time sending arches of lightning in every direction, barely missing their trainers and Dawn, "Florges!" Serena hollered out for her pokemon.

"Lucario, are you alright?!" Ash asked for his pokemon, who was caught in the blast with Serena's Florges, another powerful shockwave flew out from the collision causing the two trainers to cover their eyes from the billowing dust that flew out towards them, "oh man that was crazy," Ash whispered as the dust had finally settled around the two trainers. Ash dusted off his jacket while Serena smiled at her opponent, "well I guess that was a draw," Ash remarked while Serena nodded in approval.

The smoke had cleared and the explosive collision vanished, confirming what Ash had stated, they recalled their pokemon from the battle, looking at one another, "now it's time, how I have waited for this moment," Serena pulled out her next choice of pokemon.

"I have waited for this, so let's get the formalities out of the way," Serena tossed out her last pokeball for the final round of the battle against Ash, "Blaziken, let's go!" The blond haired trainer called for her final pokemon.

Ash followed suit, throwing out his final pokeball to battle Serena, "Garchomp, I choose you!" Ash called for his last pokemon.

Ash and Serena revealed their megarings with Dawn watching on in amazement, "it's time," Dawn whispered curious as to what Mega-Evolution was all about, "this will be my first time seeing mega-evolution," Dawn stated wondering what was going to happen with the two pokemon.

Ash and Serena pressed their keystones at the same time unleashing a torrent of energy towards their respective pokemon, "Mega-Evolve!" the two combatting trainers yelled out in unison, the three people watched a large sphere forming around the two pokemon, before the blew apart revealing the mega-evolved forms of the two pokemon.

"Wow, they look really different," Dawn gasped in amazement, she swapped her gaze from one trainer to the next, both unflinching, a loud rumble of thunder soon echoed through the empty arena, 'this is just great, the weather was perfect a moment ago,' Dawn looked at the dark clouds rolling in.

Ash turned his attention to the weather as it started rolling in, "well it seems we better get this over and done with quickly," Ash informed his girlfriend calmly. "Start things off with Stone Edge," Ash ordered his pokemon to start the battle.

Forming a spiral of stones around his body the dragon type pokemon sent out a devastating volley of stones towards his foe, but Serena didn't flinch for a moment, "jump into the air," Serena issued her instructions to her pokemon, the stones crashed into the ground where MegaBlaziken had jumped from, "now attack with Flamethrower," Serena called for the attack, the red and brown pokemon pulled his head back and then threw it forward with a steady stream of flames rushing at the target pokemon, burning the ground in every direction.

"Garchomp, use Earthquake to raise parts of the ground for a defence," Ash gave out his order, MegaGarchomp started to glow red, causing the ground to shake violently, raising a powerful pillar to block to incoming attack, the flames spread across the raised piece of earth, making it glow red.

"Not bad Ash, but not good enough, Blaziken attack with Brave Bird," Serena replied to Ash's defensive attack, the mega-evolved fire type flew towards his foe, radiating an intimidating blue aura.

"Garchomp use Dragon Claw," Ash replied, his dragon type pokemon rushed towards his foe, his sickle like arms glowing white.

The two pokemon collided in the middle of the battlefield, with a bolt of lightning crashing in the background, illuminating the darkness, the two pokemon exchanged vicious blows as they hit one another before sliding back towards their respective trainers, taking the chance to glare at one another, the two pokemon got up, still getting ready to face one another in the battle, "Blaziken attack with Sky Uppercut," Serena called for her pokemon to attack yet again.

"Dodge the attack, then use Poison Jab," Ash instructed the mach pokemon, before Garchomp could dodge the attack he was hit by Blaziken's attack, "that was fast," Ash hissed in amazement.

"My Blaziken's ability is Speed Boost, my Blaziken gets faster throughout this battle," Serena informed Ash whose Garchomp was getting up from the powerful hit, "Brave Bird," Serena gave out her next instruction, the blaze pokemon gained another blue aura, rushing towards her rival's pokemon with amazing speed.

"Earthquake to defend," Ash quickly ordered his pokemon, Garchomp shook the ground causing part of the earth to raise up, hitting Blaziken and sending him into the air, "yes," Ash celebrated a little, but soon noticed Balziken rushing towards the ground with Brave Bird still active, "Garchomp, use Dragon Claw," Ash ordered his pokemon, the two pokemon collided once again.

Both pokemon clashed with the intent to win, the two pokemon growled at one another as their respective trainers kept cheering them on.

"Flamethrower!" Serena yelled out the next attack, the fire type breathed out more hot flames on the dragon type pokemon, this time at close range, with no chance to defend against the attack, both combatants fell back, now panting from the intense battle they had been partaking in. Serena started laughing at her rival as she noticed the tiring dragon type pokemon, "the longer this battle goes Ash, the more it will go in my favour," Serena informed Ash who was growing more frustrated with the way the battle was going, "too bad Ash, I thought you were going to destroy me in this battle," Serena reiterated Ash's promise to Serena.

'Oh man, she is right, I underestimated her,' Ash admitted to himself, laughing knowing how much Serena had improved as a trainer in such a short space of time, "you're an excellent trainer Serena," Ash complimented Serena who started blushing at her rival's announcement.

"I have always wanted to hear that from you Ash," Serena confessed to Ash who nodded at the blonde haired trainer, "but that will not save you from defeat, Blaziken attack with Sky Uppercut," Serena punched the air in front of her, calling out for the next attack of the battle against Ash.

"Fine, Garchomp, there is no point trying to dodge, use Dragon Claw," Ash informed his powerful pokemon, ordering his pokemon to make the counter attack against Serena's pokemon, the two mighty pokemon rushed towards one another, MegaBlaziken with two glowing fists and the two sickles also glowing, the two pokemon slammed into one another making a crater in the middle of the battlefield, the pokemon stepped back and clashed once again, this time throwing the two pokemon out of the crater.

Ash and Serena watched their two pokemon flying towards the empty seats of the main arena and crashing destroying parts of the seating arrangement, "well I guess we were lucky no one is watching this battle, otherwise someone would have gotten killed," Serena turned to her pokemon, getting up slowly and preparing to recommence the battle against Garchomp, "Brave Bird," Serena called for the next attack.

"Garchomp attack with Dragon Rush," Ash replied with his commend.

The two mega-evolved pokemon sped towards one another glowing in bright blue auras, the two trainers encouraging their pokemon to do their best, until the two pokemon thundered into each other causing a powerful shockwave that blew the two trainers off their feet, Ash sat up and watched the two pokemon falling to the ground, unable to take in what had just happened, both combatants hitting the ground at the same time, "Garchomp!" Ash yelled out in shock.

"Blaziken," Serena quickly got up and in awe at what was going on. The two pokemon got up, slowly, panting from the intense hit that they had taken from the last exchange, still mega-evolved, it was then that Blaziken reverted back to his original form and collapsed from the battle, "I lost," Serena gasped in horror, watching Ash's dragon type reverting back to his form as he collapsed to the ground after he remained standing out of sheer will power, she recalled her pokemon and watched Ash celebrate his victory against Serena, 'I don't believe it, we were supposed to battle in the final, right now, I feel like we still didn't achieve what we set out to achieve in this region,' Serena walked slowly towards Ash, thinking about the situation that had unfolded during the league.

Ash recalled his pokemon and walked up to Serena, she extended her hand out to Ash, "that was a great battle Serena," Ash complimented Serena who was still feeling a little upset with her defeat against Ash. "Oh come on, you're upset that you lost against me, I underestimated you," Ash tried his best to cheer up Serena, but she was still annoyed at what had happened with the Kalos League, she turned towards her friend, "what is Serena?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

Serena clenched her fists and shaking with anger, "our rivalry isn't over, not until I defeat you Ash," Serena announced to Ash who was in shock with Serena's words.

Ash started laughing while Serena walked towards the bluenette, 'of course, the only way she wants to prove that she is a great trainer, is if she beats me in battle,' Ash thought while seeing Dawn doing her best to cheer up her friend, 'well at least those two are getting along,' Ash watched the two girls talking to each other.

"Yeah I know Dawn, I think we took it a little too far," Serena told the bluenette as she and Serena turned towards the hallway of the main arena.

Ash walked up to the two girls with a playful smile, "now that this battle is won by yours truly, I think now I need to get something done," Ash said with a smirk, he placed his arms around the two girls who were feeling really uneasy about the way Ash was acting, he took a deep breath and shook his head, "you know how I like to get my revenge? Pikachu Thunderbolt now," Ash ordered his pokemon to shock the two girls, Pikachu held back a little while zapping the two girls Ash watched with a broad smile on his face, the hair of Serena and Dawn started to stand up on end.

"No more pranking Ash ever again," Serena and Dawn promised as they looked over at Ash, their hair sticking out on end.

Ash started laughing, it was then he produced a camera, "now hold that expression for just one moment," Ash ordered the two girls who were surprised by the photo that Ash had taken, "now, how will I get more people to see this?" Ash asked the two girls who were waving their hands in front of their faces, "I know, the internet is pretty good way for that to happen," Ash replied, as the girls fell to their knees as if to beg for Ash not to do.

"Please Ash, we take pride in our appearances," Serena begged Ash clasping her hands together.

"Not bad, but I am afraid that isn't good enough," Ash replied as Dawn approached the trainer while begging him.

"I will go out with Paul just so long as you don't post that to everyone we know," Dawn begged the trainer.

"Sorry Dawn that doesn't interest me either, there is something else, I think it is very basic," Ash retorted, he turned away with his arms crossed, hoping to hear two words from Serena and Dawn.

"We're sorry," Serena and Dawn apologized in unison.

"That's what I need to hear," Ash replied smirking at the two girls, he walked away from them while deleting the picture from his camera. Ash continued through the hallway laughing at the expressions the two had shown, 'well I cannot go too far with getting revenge,' Ash thought as he did some thinking about his battle, "you know Pikachu, Serena isn't a bad trainer," Ash admitted quietly. "Oh and by the way since I have all the badges from Hoenn, I will be competing against you Serena at the Hoenn League," Ash explained his goal to Serena who nodded with approval, 'I suspect Dawn will be competing as well,' Ash looked over to the bluenette who had her eyes glued upon him.

(3 Hours later)

Ash walked away from the Kalo's league location on his own, he turned to get one final view of the regional league, "come on buddy, we need to head home," Ash whispered, looking up to find black clouds rolling in from the distance, 'another storm, I guess we are going to see another change,' Ash thought to himself, hearing the distant rumbles of thunder.

Just as Ash was walking away Serena approached Ash, a broad grin on her face, "wait up Ash, I want to follow you to wherever," Serena pleaded with the trainer.

"Why? There are something I need to sort out on my own," Ash's reply to Serena came, his expression stern, but he knew that Serena was determined to follow him, "I will meet you in Hoenn," Ash promised his girlfriend with a nod.

"Alright, but you better be there Ash, don't you dare break that promise," Serena reminded Ash, turning away, she looked towards the Kalo's league stadiums, and felt Ash's arms wrapping around her waist, "thank you for being my rival Ash," Serena thanked her boyfriend as she closed her eyes.

"No problem Serena, it was my pleasure," Ash answered back with pride, he let go of his embrace and turned away, he was about to start leaving by Serena grabbed his left hand, "even though it was at my expense, you and Dawn make an awesome team, makes me wonder, what you two will be capable of, when the time comes," Ash chuckled, he gripped Serena's hand.

"Wait a minute Ash, before you leave, there is something I want to give you," Serena stated while tightening her grasp on her love's hand.

Ash turned to meet Serena's gaze, she tilted her head and bowed at him, "what is it Serena?" Ash enquired gently.

"Why a goodbye kiss," Serena replied as she placed her hands softly on Ash's face, she gazed into his brown eyes and quickly pressed her lips against his, even for a fleeting moment, it seemed like time stood still for Ash and Serena.

Watching from the distance Dawn held onto her Piplup, proud of her friends, "you know Piplup, we will be heading home to see what is left over," Dawn told her starter pokemon, keeping her eyes glued on Ash and Serena who were still connected at the lips, "I certainly wished my first kiss was with Ash," Dawn confessed as she turned away.

Ash and Serena pulled away to get some air, "you better keep your end of the bargain Ash," Serena said while walking towards her blue haired friend, "because if you don't, I will hunt you down myself," Serena threatened the young man. Serena turned towards her friend, the blonde haired trainer approached the bluenette, "Dawn wait up," Serena called to her friend.

"What is it Serena?" Dawn questioned her friend.

"From this day onwards, we are rivals," Serena announced, she extended her left hand out towards her friend.

Dawn reached out for Serena's hand and smiled, "there are conditions," Dawn replied as she shook her friends hand, "you are not allowed to lose to anyone except against me, you better win five ribbons and eight gym badges, because I will be taking the same path as you," Dawn announced her intentions to Serena.

"Got it," Serena replied a she turned away, but Dawn didn't let go, "oh right there is one more right?" the blonde asked as she turned back to her friend.

"That's right," Dawn retorted brimming with confidence, the two girls looked over to Ash, "I was about to give up, but during your battle with Ash, you said giving up was not an option, so I will not be giving up, I want my life to go on without regrets," Dawn explained as the two girls looked at one another with acknowledgement, "the moment you drop the ball with Ash, I will take him," Dawn released her grip, she turned away and started walking away, Serena nodding in acknowledgement, "immortal or not, I have chosen not to give up," Dawn professed leaving her friend behind.

'I think I understand you a bit more now Dawn, fine, I will lose to no one, not even you,' Serena resolved her intentions, seeing Dawn and Ash walking away, "Dawn, you have a very long time to go, I do not have the intentions of dropping my guard concerning Ash," Serena whispered, her vision soon switched to Ash, who was calling out his Charizard.

(2 Days later)

Ash entered his home town, everything was in ruins, scanning the view, not even a blade of grass could be seen, the trees had withered and died with buildings either still standing or on their sides, not a single person could be seen walking the town. Ash walked slowly on his own saddened by what he had seen, the day was hot, "you know Pikachu, this place is really gloomy, I cannot believe this was the result of what Team Rocket did," Ash lamented his failure to his partner pokemon, he approached a small house with a red roof, the gate was off its hinges, the garden was gone, he walked up to the building and pushed open the door, "not much has changed buddy," Ash said while entering the house.

Pikachu leapt off of his trainer's shoulder and ran around the house, "someone is here," Ash whispered, he followed the electric mouse towards the kitchen, he spotted a woman with brown hair tied up in a ponytail, but she didn't even notice that someone was behind her, "mom?" Ash called out, but the person didn't hear.

"Almost time for dinner, I hope Ash enjoys this meal," the woman stated turning around, not even noticing that Ash was standing in front of her.

Ash walked up to the woman, a person who was very familiar to her, "mom, I am right here," Ash announced his preceance to his mother but she still didn't notice him, Ash placed his left hand on her shoulder, which phased through her appearing from the other side, it suddenly struck in his mind that this was the spirit of his mother, "oh," tears started streaming down his face, "a spirit of my mother," the trainer turned away to see his Pikachu nodding at him, Ash glanced over his shoulder and smiled seeing her follow the rituals she had always followed, "thanks for everything mom, I only wished you could have met Serena," Ash turned away and started walking towards the door, only to hear the spirit crying.

"Too bad I couldn't meet the girl he loves, she must be really special," Delia's spirit cried.

Ash smiled as he opened the door, "she is mom, Serena is a great person, too bad I am the centre of attention for two women instead, personally I hate that part," Ash admitted exiting his old home, laughing at the situation he was in, he walked towards the gate, turning his gaze back to house, he spotted his mother working in the kitchen, "I love you mom," Ash said while walking away from the house, he looked back one more time, only to find that the spirit was no longer there, she had completely vanished from the scene.

(Vanivile Town)

"Mom, I am home," Serena called out to her mother, she looked around to find her mother, but she wasn't around, she looked around until she found a letter on the table, she picked it up and read it quickly, "oh you have to be kidding me, she is going on a date with Professor Scyamore," Serena complained a she grabbed a pen and paper. Serena started writing down what came to mind, the meeting of a few friends and her new rival, 'I won't be home for a long time to come, this is where I will say goodbye for now, but I will see you again,' Serena promised in her letter to her mother.

Serena pulled out her book and placed it on the table, she grabbed her pen one more time, and wrote in her book, 'The sequel is soon to come, one filled with rivalry and action, I cannot let my guard down, since I now have a worthy rival in a really good person, by the name of Dawn,' Serena wrote down in her book, she turned away from the table, she placed a picture of her and Dawn shaking hands, glaring at one another, but in a respectful manner with Ash standing in the background as if her were between them, "Dawn, I will defeat you in Hoenn, so you better not lose either," Serena whispered as she walked towards the door.

Closing the door, Serena looked towards the stormy skies, 'Ash, Dawn and Paul, I will see you three very soon,' Serena watched the lightning crash towards the ground, she walked bravely towards her next destination, thinking only of her intentions in Hoenn, she walked through the town until she met two familiar face, "Steven, Christine," Serena called to her friends.

"Hey Serena, how are things going?" Steven asked his friend with a smile.

"So where is Ash?" Christine asked her friend happily.

Serena hesitated for a moment and started to laugh a little, "we are going to meet up in Hoenn, he had a few things he needed to sort out alone, so I am giving him the space he needs to have," Serena replied to her friends.

"Hey Serena, there is something I want to ask you," Christine asked her friend calmly.

"What is it Christine?" Serena asked the older trainer curiously.

"Steven and I are getting married next year, would you please be the bride of honour?" Christine asked her friend, she stepped back in shock at the question that as asked of her, unable to get a grasp of what was being asked of her, "Serena?" Christine waved her hand in front of Serena.

"Yes, I would be happy to take that role," Serena replied with great joy.

"Thanks Serena," Christine replied with joy, she looked at the ground, "Blair and Mark haven't really talked to us since Shalour City, so there was no way we could ask them," Christine stated while holding Steven's hand.

"Yeah, and since you are the Bride of Honour, give Ash this message, I am inviting him to partake in this wedding as well, all your other friends are welcome too, even that blue haired rival of yours," Steven pointed out with a smile.

"You have seen her, compared to me, she is amazing, I have my work cut out for me," Serena admitted as she started walking towards the exit of the town, "she can do everything I can do, maybe she can do it better than me," Serena explained to her friends, she clenched her fists and turned to her friends, "there is no way, I will be beaten by Dawn," Serena's determination was now on full show for her friends. She left the small town to head to her next destination.

(Jubilife City)

Dawn walked towards the boundry of the city, wondering where the next piece of land was, "wow Piplup, Sycamore was right, this place is a mess, we need to stop these disasters from destroying the world," Dawn told her pokemon, she turned around to find a familiar person approaching her, "mom, you're alive," Dawn remarked in shock, she ran up to her mother and hugged her, "I was so worried that you were caught up in the floods," Dawn cried.

"No need to worry," Johanna replied with a smile, "so have you seen Ash yet? Have you told him how you felt about him?" Johanna asked her daughter with a smile, Dawn nodded in response to her mother's questions, "that's my girl," Johanna complimented her daughter.

"Yeah, but Ash has already got someone else," Dawn cried, she stepped back for a moment, and turned away, "I declared my intentions on not wanting to give up on winning Ash over, to my new rival," Dawn explained to her mother, wiping away her tears, "I will be with Ash, that I can assure you," Dawn confidently promised her mother as she smiled at her daughter.

"Never giving up on the one you love, you certainly have a lot of courage Dawn," Johanna proudly told her daughter, "where will you be heading?" Johanna asked her daughter.

Dawn looked at her starter pokemon and smiled, "where he is heading," Dawn replied quickly, "I am heading to Hoenn, to compete in contests and win the gym badges," the bluenette announced to her mother her next plans, 'then I need to stop what happened here, from ever happening again,' Dawn thought, staring at the new cost line that was in front of her.

"I see, you will not be giving up that easily," Johanna told her daughter, seeing her running off to her next destination, showing immense pride in her daughter.

(On the ship towards Hoenn)

Ash was standing at the front of the ship, "the last time we were heading towards Hoenn, we had Team Rocket chasing after us, we also didn't have the weather as hot as it was," Ash reminisced on his first journey through Hoenn, wondering what it would be like this time around, how much Hoenn had changed since the early days.

The words of his first rival echoed through his mind, 'Ash, it is going to be tough, but moving on from Pallet Town is all you need to do, for now,' Gary's words played through in his mind.

"Sorry Gary, but I cannot do that, all the memories here are too important for me," Ash whispered as he spotted a landmass appearing from the horizon, "Hoenn again, I missed this region," Ash admitted to his partner pokemon, "from now on buddy, we do our best to go forward, I have a feeling this trip through Hoenn will be much tougher than the last," Ash stated while turning towards the cabin area to prepare for his next travels.

That's all she wrote ladies and gentlemen, thanks for reading the story, now on to other stories, also if you guys are interested I am going to start a series of stories, the series will be call Triple Threat, it will involve three characters in unusual situations, the series of stories will be (M) rated because of some themes in the stories, but not all of the short stories will be (M) rated.

But for now the other stories I will be tending to is Almost Easy 2 and Trainer and the Princess 4 the latter of which is almost complete.

To be continued, in Crossroads, to which I already have some really good ideas on how to give this story some life, there are some ideas that will not be popular, but I feel that it will have a part to play in that round.