Chapter 17

It is early the next morning, and everyone inside Misty's house is filled with excitement. Serena, May, and Dawn are preparing for the contest while Misty and Brock feed everyone breakfast. Dawn and May are excited to start competing in contests again while Serena is thinking of her strategies as she eats her eggs and bacon. After a while, Dawn notices the concentrated look one the honey blonde girl's face, and puts her hand on Serena's shoulder. Serena snaps out her thoughts and turns to Dawn, who gives her a small smile.

"Nervous, Serena?" Dawn asks.

"A little," Serena admits. "I have every confidence in the performance section, but even after training with Ash I'm not sure I'm ready for the battling stage."

Suddenly, she feels a hand on her other shoulder, and she turns around to see Ash smirking.

"Don't worry about it, Serena," he says assuredly. "Whatever comes your way, I know you're going to overcome it. You're strong enough to get all five of your ribbons in a flash. I know it."

Serena's cheeks turn red, and she quickly shakes off her blush to give Ash a sweet smile.

"Thank you, Ash," she says. "I'll give it everything I got."

"I know you will," Ash says before he goes back to his breakfast.

Serena sighs and rests her head on her hand as she looks at Ash fondly, touched by his encouragement. Her moment is interrupted when she hears Dawn clearing her throat. Her blush returns as she turns to the blunette, who gives her a smug look and leans into her ear.

"You know, Serena, Ash may be as dense as my hair is blue, but you might want to be careful with how you fawn over him in public," she whispers.

Serena chuckles nervously while Dawn keeps her teasing smirk. The moment is broken, however, when May looks at the clock and gasps.

"Oh my gosh, is that the time already?!" she shouts. "We need to be at the stadium in fifteen minutes.

Everyone gasps in alarm and Dawn, May, and Serena quickly finish their breakfast before grabbing their things and running out the door. Everyone else soon finishes their breakfast and runs after them as fast as their legs can carry them. By the time Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Max, and Misty make it to the stadium, they find Dawn, May, and Serena panting by the front desk in relief.

"We made it just in time," Dawn says.

Everyone else sighs in relief until they hear a beeping sound from the stadium intercom.

"All contestants, please proceed to the waiting room," says a female voice from the speakers.

The three competing girls look at each other with May saying, "Guess that's us."

"Alright, good luck, you guys," Brock says encouragingly.

"We'll be cheering for all of you," Misty says.

"Knock 'em dead," Max says.

Dawn, May, and Serena nod in approval while Ash walks over to Serena.

"Remember, Serena, just give it everything you've got," he says.

"Right," Serena says with a determined nod. "I won't give up until it's over."

Ash laughs, amused with Serena using his own words again while she smiles back before following Dawn and May to the backstage. Misty frowns, noticing the way Serena was looking at Ash and sighs.

"Something wrong, Misty?" Max asks.

Misty snaps out of her train of thought and chuckles at the younger boy.

"Oh, nothing's wrong," she lies. "Come on, let's go get our seats."

****************************************************************************************

"Good morning, Cerulean City!" A woman announces from the stage. "Welcome to the first Pokemon contest to kick off the season. I'm your host, Lilian, and I'm excited to see what our contestants today have in store for us!"

The audience cheers while Brock stares at Lilian with hearts in his eyes.

"Wow! And I'm excited to see Lilian look as beautiful as ever!" he exclaims before two hands pull on both of his ears.

"She's not excited to see you, Brock," Max says as he holds on to Brock's right ear.

"You better sit down before you get yourself arrested," Misty rebukes as she yanks on Brock's other ear.

Brock howls in pain while Lillian goes on to introduce Mr. Contesta from the organizing committee, Mr. Sukizo from the Pokémon Fan Club, and the Nurse Joy from the Cerulean City Pokémon Center. Once she's done, Lilian turns to the side entrance of the stage.

"Now, without further ado, let's kick things up with our first contestant, Dawn!" she announces.

Everyone cheers as Dawn comes onto the stage with Piplup. The two of them wow everyone with Piplup firing bubbles in the air before freezing them all with Ice Beam and then destroying them all with Drill Peck. The audience and the judges watch in awe as thousands of blue sparkles float into the air before they start cheering. Dawn and Piplup bow a couple of times before they leave the stage.

A couple dozen other contestants soon follow, wowing people together with their Pokemon. May impressed the judges with her Blaziken destroying frisbees without breaking a sweat using Blaze Kick. Finally, after an hour of other contestants performing, Lilian clears her throat.

"And now for our final contestant, making her debut all the way from the Kalos region, give it up for Serena!" she announces.

"Yeah! Go, Serena!" Ash shouts.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu calls out.

"You got this!" Brock yells.

Serena runs to the stage, giving the audience a wave and a cheerful smile. Then, with a graceful twirl, she throws a Pokeball high into the air, and it opens to reveal Pancham.

"Pancham, use Stone Edge!" She commands.

Pancham slams its hand on the ground, causing glowing light blue pillars of rock to appear all over the stage.

"Now, just like we practiced," Serena orders. "Jump into the rocks and hit them with Arm Thrust."

Pancham's hand turns white, and it starts hopping on top of the blue rocks and destroying them one by one, causing the rocks to explode into tiny sparkling pieces. The audience "ooo" and "ahh" before applauding happily.

"I get it," Brock says as he, Ash, Pikachu, May, Max, and Misty applaud. "She's doing the same thing she did when she performed for my siblings except she's using Pancham's Arm Thrust instead of Braixen with her fiery stick to destroy the Stone Edge. Good way to adapt when you're using only one Pokemon instead of all of them in your party."

"You got that right. Way to go, Serena!" Ash cheers.

Serena's smile brightens as she and Pancham spin and make a final pose with Serena shouting, "And finish!" The audience continues to applaud while the judges give their compliments to her. After a few seconds, Serena and Pancham break from their pose and give their audience a bow before heading backstage where Dawn, May, and Piplup are waiting for them.

"Great job, Serena," Dawn compliments.

"That was amazing," May says.

"Piplup," Piplup says.

"Thanks. Hopefully, it's enough to make it to the next round," Serena says.

"Pancham," Pancham says with a nod.

"Oh, yeah. You got in no doubt," Dawn says encouragingly before she points at the TV hanging against the wall. "In fact, it looks like they're going to announce the people who will be moving on."

The three girls, and Pancham and Piplup huddle together, and wait eagerly to find out the results. They wait until the camera focuses on the big screen above the stage, and sixteen images appear. Dawn, May, and Serena study the screen carefully until they find Dawn's image appearing on the top rack, May's image in the middle, and Serena's appearing on the bottom right.

"Alright!" May and Dawn shout simultaneously.

"Whew," Serena sighs. "Looks like I just made it."

"Yeah, and I'm glad they showed everyone at once instead of showing one person at a time to build the suspense until they show your picture last. I hate it when that happens," Dawn says.

"Me too," May says. "But, hey, we all made it, so let's get ready for the battle round."

"Right," Serena says in agreement.

*************************************************************************************

Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, May, and Max have been watching battle after battle for the next hour. May crushed her first opponent without a hitch, and Dawn outsmarted her opponent with Piloswine, but everyone is secretly wondering how Serena is going to do on her first contest battle.

"So Brock, how do you think Serena's going to do?" May asks.

"Hard to say," Brock answers. "She knew what she was doing during the performance round, but the battling is a whole other ballpark."

"Don't worry, she's been practicing hard with me for the past couple of weeks," Ash says. "She's going to pull through no matter what."

"I hope so," Max says.

"And now for our final first-round battle!" Lilian declares. "On the right side, we have Serena, and on the left, we have Russell!"

The group cheers for Serena, who smiles and waves again while a scrawny man with gray hair comes from the other side. The two opponents stare at each other before they throw their Pokeballs to reveal Pancham and a Hypno.

"Battle begin!" Lilian shouts excitedly.

"Alright, Pancham, let's get started with Stone Edge," Serena shouts.

Once again, Pancham slams its hand on the ground, causing glowing light blue pillars of rock heading toward Hypno.

The skinny man named Russell smirks, and with a monotone voice says, "Psybeam."

"Nnnooooo," Hypno bellows as it summons a multicolored beam and fires it at the Stone Edge, causing the rocks to explode into multicolored sparkles. The judges gasp in amazement, and Serena's bar on the screen goes down, making her uneasy.

"Alright, focus, Serena focus," she says to herself. "Pancham, use Arm Thrust!"

Pancham's arm glows again, and it charges at Hypno.

"Oh please," Russell says, shaking his head. "Confusion."

Hypno's eyes glow blue, and Pancham is lifted into the air. The small bear Pokemon panics as Hypno sends it flying in circles, causing Serena to lose more points. Serena stares at the scene worries until she gets an idea.

"Pancham, use Dark Pulse," she orders.

Pancham stops panicking and shoots a Dark Pulse right at Hypno. The psychic Pokemon's eyes widen as the attack hits it square on the chest, causing it to lose control of its attack, freeing Pancham. Serena smiles excitedly as Russell loses a large chunk of his points.

"Good thinking from Serena since dark type moves are super effective against psychic types," Brock says in approval.

"Alright, use Dark Pulse once more," Serena orders.

"I think not," Russell says with a serious frown. "Disable."

Hypno shoots several blue rings at Pancham just as it's about to fire another Dark Pulse. Pancham looks at its arms in shock as the attack fizzles and disappears from its hands.

"Uh, oh. It looks like Hypno has prevented Panacham from using Dark Pulse," Lilian says as Serena loses more points.

"Use Confusion one more," Russell says with a grin.

Once again, Hypno's eyes glow blue and lifts Pancham into the air and sends it flying in circles.

"Oh no, what do I do now?" Serena thinks worriedly. "With Dark Pulse disabled, Pancham only has Stone Edge, and Arm Thrust left, and we can't do either unless he's on the ground."

But as she thinks about it, a loud ding is heard, and Serena's heart drops, realizing the worst.

"Time's up, and it looks like Russell wins!" Lilian announces.

The crowd cheers while Serena frowns sadly. Hypno lowers Pancham back to the ground before Russell returns it in its Pokeball and leaves with a smirk. Pancham drops its head as it walks over to Serena, who gets down on her knees and pets it.

"It's okay, Pancham," she says kindly. "You were great. We'll get them next time. I promise."

Pancham sighs and gives Serena its own sad smile before she puts it back in its Pokeball, and leaves the stage.

*********************************************************************

Backstage, Dawn and May are quick to apologize to Serena for her loss. She shakes her head and gives her friends a sad smile before exiting the room. Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Max, and Misty decide to go over backstage to comfort her, only to find out from Dawn that she left before she and Piplup head to her next battle. The five of them leave the room and search until they hear someone talking from the other side of one of the exit doors. Brock opens the door to find Serena sitting down on her knees in the cement while talking to Braixen, Pancham, Sylveon, and Poliwag with a sad smile on her face. She turns her head, noticing that she and her Pokemon are not alone and smiles.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" she asks softly.

"We were just about to ask you the same thing," Max says. "Are you doing okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Serena says plainly. "I'm a little down about the loss, but I learned a lot about contest battles, so I'm just going to practice some more."

"Are you sure?" Brock asks.

"Absolutely," Serena says. "No sense in beating myself up when I can start getting ready for the next time. Right, Ash?"

"Right," Ash says with a smirk. "And I want you to know that you two were awesome out there."

"Pika, pika," Pikachu says in agreement.

"Pancham," Pancham says appreciatively.

"Thank you, Ash," Serena says. "Now, if you'll excuse us, I'd like to practice right now."

"Of course. Let's go, everyone," Ash says.

"We'll see you after the contest, okay?" Max says.

"Sure. Keep cheering for May and Dawn for me," Serena says.

"Will do," Brock says as the group turns around and leaves.

Serena nods, and turns back to face her Pokemon.

"Alright, as I was saying, I think we should work on a more creative performance for each of you," she says. "Pancham did great on the performance round, but I think we should take the fact that I barely made it into the next round as a sign to do better so that we can breeze through the round, no problem."

Braixen, Pancham, Sylveon, and Poliwag nod in agreement. Serena smiles until she hears footsteps coming from behind, and turns around to find Misty looking at her sadly with her hands behind her back.

"Misty, I thought you went back with the others," she says.

"I was going to, but I wanted to talk with you," Misty says.

"About the contest?" Serena asks.

"No, about Ash," Misty answers. "Do you mind if I sit down with you?"

Serena keeps her curious face before she says, "No, go right ahead."

Misty gives Serena a small smile and walks over to sit down next to Serena with her legs crossed.

"So, what is it about Ash you want to talk about?" Serena asks.

"I want to talk to you about your feelings for him," Misty says.

Serena blinks before she sighs.

"Of course," she groans. "Even you have figured it out."

"Actually, I didn't until May told me," Misty admits. "And then I saw the way you look at him, and then I realized I didn't notice partly because I didn't want to notice."

"What do you mean?" Serena asks.

Misty takes a deep breath, and stares at the ground.

"The thing is, I am used to seeing Ash looking at other girls as nothing more than friends," she says. "Whether it's with May, Dawn, Iris, or me, I've never heard of him looking at us any differently, and it hurts."

"Why does it hurt?" Serena asks.

"Because I love him too."

Serena's eyes widen, and Misty turns her head to face her with a sad look.

"You...you...but Brock said…" Serena says.

"Yeah, I imagine Brock is clueless about it too. I admit there were many times throughout our journeys where I found the idea of being Ash's girlfriend to be ridiculous," Misty says with a sad smile. "But, I guess that's what happens when you don't realize what you have until it's over."

"What does that mean?" Serena asks.

"Has Ash told you how we met?" Misty asks.

"Yeah, he accidentally destroyed your bike, and so you decided to follow him until you got a new one," Serena answers.

"Yeah, well, that was true originally," Misty admits softly. "But as time went on, I forgot about my bike completely until we were in Viridian City after coming back from the Johto region and the Nurse Joy there brought it back completely fixed. It was when I saw Ash being happy for me that I got it back that I realized I didn't want to leave his side."

Serena's eyes widen more while Misty sighs again.

"I'm sure you've heard more stories about Ash and me bickering like the children we were," she says. "But, when I saw my bike repaired, I realized how much I really cared about him, even to the point of being jealous whenever a girl flirted with him or when he was blushing at the sight of a pretty girl."

"He's done that?" Serena asks, surprised.

"Yeah, once with this girl named Giselle," Misty says. "Anyway, by the time I fully processed how I felt, he and Brock and I were already going our separate ways."

"But why didn't you say anything?" Serena asks. "Maybe you could have at least tried something before you left? In fact, why did you have to leave?"

"Because I was needed here," Misty answers. "My sisters were doing a terrible job running the gym, so it was up to me to retake responsibility. Besides, I already knew Ash didn't feel the same way because before we parted ways. He just said in that cheerful voice that we'll always be good friends."

"But you still could have said something to show that you would like to be more," Serena says.

"Maybe," Misty says. "But when I heard those words, I realized that we could never be together. No matter how much he complimented me about my accomplishments or how nice I looked when I was occasionally wearing a dress or swimsuit, I was no more than a good friend, and it became clearer when I met May during his journey to Hoenn and Dawn when we were swapping stories during dinner last night. He never felt that way about anyone, and judging what I've heard about Iris from Dawn, I would be shocked if he ever thought that way about her either. And I hate to say it, Serena, but I don't see him ever feeling that way about you either."

Serena frowns and says, "You don't know that."

Misty gives Serena a look of pity, hoping the honey blonde girl will understand.

"Serena, I've traveled with him longer than anyone. I know that better than anyone. Or at least I can face reality for what it is," she says. "Can you honestly tell me that he has looked at you differently from other girls?"

Serena opens her mouth to speak, but the words die in her throat. All that comes to her mind are times when Ash only smiled at her the same way he would smile at Clemont, or Bonnie, or Pikachu, or Professor Sycamore or anyone else. Misty nods, knowing that her point is made.

"And besides, what will you do when you and Ash are done with your journey here in Kanto?" She points out. "Do you think he will fall for you and go wherever you want to go? Would you allow him to give up on his dreams just to be by your side while you go after your dream?"

"Of course not," Serena rebukes. "I would never want him to stop trying to become a Pokemon Master. His love for his Pokemon and his passion for his dream are why I -"

Serena stops herself, and her eyes widen as she realizes what Misty is getting at.

"Exactly," Misty says. "And that's also why I won't confess to him. As much as I cherish the time I've spent journeying with Ash and our friends more than anything, I have a duty to my gym that I can't ignore. If I convinced him to stay for me, he wouldn't be the same as he is right now doing whatever he wants to do to try to accomplish his dream. Sooner or later, you will be in the same spot where you want to go one direction for your dream, and he wants to go somewhere else. You may try to confess your feelings if you wish, but I think we both know he won't feel the same way."

Serena winces, hurt by Misty's words. Braixen, Pancham, Sylveon, and Poliwag glare at Misty, disproving of the way she is talking down to their trainer's dream.

"Please understand, all of you. I am not saying this as a means to crush the competition for Ash or anything," Misty begs before turning back to Serena. "All I want is for you to know what you're getting into before you bring yourself into disappointment. I know it's hard to hear, but you must know it's the truth. If you can accept that what you want won't happen, it might spare you the pain."

Serena looks down on the ground with a hurt look on her face. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, Misty's words make sense. Even when Serena was traveling through Kalos with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie, she can't think of a time when Ash thought of her or any other girl any differently from any of his other friends. But as she thinks about it, Poliwag suddenly hops onto her lap. She turns to the tadpole Pokemon taken aback, and Poliwag smiles and nudges her affectionately. She smiles appreciatively and turns to Misty with a look of confidence in her eyes.

"No," she says. "I can't do that."

"Serena…" Misty begins.

"I won't, Misty," Serena says. "You can't just tell me why I will never get what I want and expect me to just give up like that. I used to give up doing what I wanted to do all the time while my mom forced me to do something I never wanted to do. But ever since I went on my journey to see Ash again, I grew stronger by making my own decisions and pursuing my new dreams no matter what. And in the end, I didn't become Kalos Queen, but through my failure, I discovered that I wanted to do more than perform in showcases, and that is why I won't give up on my dream to make people and Pokemon happy, and I will never give up on becoming the one person who will always be by Ash's side. I just wouldn't be who I've become ever since I left home. And I know Ash is blind to those kinds of feelings, and I know it looks like he'll never feel the same way, but what I have for him is not something that you throw away when things look inconvenient. So, matter what, I won't give up until the very end."

"Poliwag!" Poliwag says encouragingly.

"Sylveon!" Sylveon says gleefully.

"Pancham, cham," Pancham says proudly.

"Braixen," Braixen says in approval.

Misty looks at all of them, slightly taken aback by Serena's response. Then she sighs with a sad smile on her face.

"Well, if that is your decision, I won't stop you," she says. "Just be careful with how far you go for pursuing your dream."

Serena nods with an appreciative look.

"Thank you, Misty. I know you mean well," she says sincerely.

The two girls look at each other with small smiles until they hear loud cheering from inside the building.

"I guess we better head back," Misty says. "We still need to cheer for May and Dawn."

Serena nods and returns all of her Pokemon as the girls stand up and go back inside.

********************************************************************************

At the end of the contest, May and Dawn faced each other in the final round of the battle round, and Dawn emerged victorious. She and Piplup were still jumping up and down with glee when Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Serena, Max, and Misty came to the side entrance of the stadium to meet with Dawn and May.

"Alright! I got my first ribbon already!" Dawn shouts giddily.

"Piplup!" Piplup chirps gleefully.

"Calm down, Dawn. No need to be so excited just because you won," May says.

"Now that's funny coming from you," Max remarks. "How many times do you like to clean or kiss your ribbons every time you get a new one?"

May chuckles nervously, proving Max's point while everyone else laughs.

"So, where are you guys going now?" Ash asks.

"Well, May and I have decided to go to Vermillion City so that I can challenge the gym leader and May can partake in the contest there," Max announces.

"Ah, you'll be challenging, Lt. Surge, huh?" Ash says with a grin. "You better train hard for that, Max. He's a tough one."

"Oh, I will, Ash. That's a promise," Max vows.

"How about you, Dawn?" Serena asks.

"I'm honestly not sure," Dawn admits while scratching the back of her head. "There's a lot of contests that are starting soon all over the region, so I might just pick one that is closest from here."

"Really? Well then, let's see," Serena says as he takes out his tablet. "Hey, there's one in Saffron City. It's just south from here, and it starts in a few days. That's also where you want to have a rematch with the gym leader, right, Ash,?"

"Yeah, that's where Sabrina and Haunter are," Ash confirms.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu says excitedly.

"Sabrina and Haunter?" Serena asks.

"We'll explain along the way," Brock says with an uneasy chuckle. "Anyway, would you like to tag along to Saffron City, Dawn?"

"Sure, that would be great," Dawn says happily.

"Piplup!" Piplup shouts.

"Then I guess this is goodbye for now," Misty says.

"We'll see each other again, Misty. Count on it," Ash says with a toothy grin.

Misty gives Ash a small, caring smile and says, "I will. Good luck on your journeys, everyone."

"Thanks, Misty," Max says. "You better watch out, though, because next time I'm going to best you."

"I look forward to seeing you try," Misty says with a playful smile.

The two of them laugh until Brock notices the time and clears his throat.

"We better get going," he says. "We should get a head start before the sun sets."

"Good idea. Max and I should do that too," May says. "Goodbye, everyone!"

"Bye!" Everyone says as May and Max start walking east while Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Brock, Dawn, and Piplup head south with Misty waving to everyone.

As her friends grow farther away, Misty stops waving and stares at the distant figures of Ash, Pikachu, Brock, Dawn, Piplup, and Serena. Her smile fades as she thinks about what Serena said to her.

"Best wishes, Serena," she says softly before she turns around and walks away.