"We're here!" Serena announced to her Pokémon. Serena stepped through the gates of the Pokémon school and looked around. The yard was very empty since it was a weekend, but there were a few kids practicing their battles outside. Serena walked into the building and spotted a group of girls sitting in a corridor and reading books or drawing pictures of their Pokémon. The halls were getting cramped, so she put most of her Pokémon into their balls. The ones she kept out were Fletchling and Pikipek.

Serena kept wandering the halls until she found a door labeled "principal's office". Serena knocked twice and patiently waited. After a couple moments, a man opened the door for Serena. He had white hair, tanned skin, and was wearing a green flowered shirt.

"Ah? Professor Oak!?" Serena asked, shocked. She remembered the Kantoan professor from when Ash called home one time, but he was in Kanto!

"Oh, no no!" the man laughed as if this was a regular thing. "You see, I am Principal Oak of the Pokémon School! Professor Oak is my cousin!"

"That explains it," Serena thought aloud.

"Ah, you're here already?" a voice asked behind him. Principal Oak stepped to the side and another man appeared. He seemed to be younger, maybe in his mid-twenties. He had a hat, tanned skin, and an unbuttoned T-shirt.

"Alola, Professor Kukui!" Serena greeted, remembering the professor from when he invited her to the Alola region. She also remembered how people say "hi" here.

"Alola, Serena! Please, come on in!" Serena followed the two as they sat down at a table. Serena took her seat on the opposite end.

"We're so glad you were able to come here," Kukui said cheerfully.

"It's no problem! I'm just thankful you offered to pay for my ticket and everything, otherwise, I'd be in a pickle."

"It's the least we could do after asking you over here," he explained. "I'm sure my students would love to see you perform!"

Principal Oak nodded and chimed in. "Yes, we saw you on TV! The amazing thing is you and your Pokémon work together, not LUDI-SOLO! You seem to be a real MAKCHAMP! And, you have a lot of SPIRITTOMB! Your performances are MAGIKARP!"

"Erm, what's going on?" Serena scratched her head and a sweatdrop appeared on her forehead. The principal kept making confusing imitations of different Pokémon as he spoke.

"Oh, don't mind him," Professor Kukui started. "He likes to make jokes with Pokémon names when he talks."

"Oh, erm, thanks? Heh." Serena cleared her throat and tried to get back on topic. "So, you want me to perform for your class?"

"Yep! I really want them to see for themselves the heights a Pokémon and its trainer can reach!" The professor reached into his coat pocket and gave Serena a key card. "Give that to Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center when you're ready. She'll give you a room you can stay in for now since your performance is tomorrow."

"Thanks!"

"You prepared for tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yep! I've been so psyched to get to the Alola region!" Serena got up and bid farewell before heading out the door and through the corridor. She walked all the way back to the Pokémon Center so she could settle in her room. On the way, the same Garchomp they saw earlier flew overhead. Serena waved to whoever was riding it, but they didn't seem to notice her and kept flying in the direction of the school.

"I wonder if I'll ride one of those someday," she wondered. She opened the door and was greeted by Nurse Joy.

"Oh, Alola," she said and waved.

"Alola!" Serena walked up to the desk and showed her the card. "Professor Kukui told me to give this to you."

"Oh! You're the Pokémon performer that was coming!" she realized. "This is actually the key card to your room!" Nurse Joy handed her the card back. Serena thanked her and headed up the stairs to the rooms. She quickly found the one that matched the key card and stepped inside.

The room wasn't any bigger than an average hotel room. There was a microwave, a bed, a bathroom, and some other necessities. Serena dropped her backpack on the bed since that was the only thing she brought and plopped herself on the cushions. She sighed with contentment and closed her eyes for a few seconds.

"Piki..." Pikipek shyly whispered and tapped Serena's arm with its beak.

"Huh? What is it?" Serena sat up and faced her new Pokémon. She had to admit, it was absolutely adorable with the shy face it was making.

"Piki-pek," it whispered again and pointed to its stomach, which made a huge growl. "Pek," it said again with a pleading look.

"Fletchling," Fletchling declared and flew next to Pikipek.

"I guess you're both hungry, huh?" Serena giggled and reached into her backpack. She pulled out a box of Poképuffs and gave each of them one that was colored a dark-grey. She decided that her other Pokémon must be hungry and released them too.

"Pancham-pan," Pancham thanked her when he got his Poképuff. Sylveon thanked her too and wrapped its ribbons around her arm. Serena offered a Poképuff to Braixen, but she politely gestured that she wasn't hungry yet.

Serena decided to eat her own snack and was munching along with her Pokémon. At least, with the exception of Pancham, who was eating faster than a Munchlax, until Serena told him the only ones she had left were the Fire-type ones. Pancham nodded. He was hungry, but not desperate enough to have his mouth go in flames.

Serena rolled her eyes and stared at the Poképuff. Memories began washing over her like a tsunami. "Hey, Braixen?"

"Brai?"

"You remember Ash, right?" Braixen nodded. "Remember when I kept telling him the Poképuffs were for you guys, but he accidentally grabbed the Fire-type one and started breathing fire?"

Braixen looked up for a moment and tried to recall her trainer's adventure with Ash. When they both recalled the scene, they burst into giggles and had to lie down on the bed to try and stop.

"I really miss him," Serena said somberly.

"Sylve," Sylveon said, matching her tone. Serena almost forgot that its ribbons were wrapped around her arm. Sylveon use their ribbons like feelers and can sense their trainer's emotions.

"I'm okay, Sylveon," she remeasured. Sylveon could still feel its trainer's uneasiness, so it leaped onto the bed and tried to snuggle close to her.

"Thanks," she whispered and stared into empty space. One question was rolling through her mind like crazy...

Where was Ash now?

<><><><><> 

"ASH! You're going to be late for school! AGAIN!!!"

"ACK! COMING!" Ash ran up from the basement and swung his bag on. Rowlet grabbed Meltan before dropping it into the bag and diving in.

"Hey, Ash, what's with the getup?" Rotom asked when he noticed Ash's clothes were different. Instead of his usual T-shirt and shorts, he was wearing a short-sleeved sweater and jeans. Rotom also noticed gloves on his hand, but the only time he's seen him wearing gloves was when they suit up as Ultra Guardians.

"Nevermind, we gotta go!" Ash made a beeline for the door and sprinted away before Rotom could ask any more questions. Rotom just sighed and followed Ash.

"ASH!" Rotom cried when he couldn't keep up anymore. Ash skidded to a stop and spun around.

"Ah! Sorry, Rotom," Ash said and ran back to him.

"Why...are...you...running!?" Rotom panted.

"You were the one that said we were going to be late!"

A purple face appeared on Rotom's screen. "I may have just been trying to get your attention. We still had thirty minutes until school started," he said bashfully.

"Ah! Aw, man." Ash dropped his head and sighed. "Sorry. I'm also pretty curious about who the Pokémon performer is. She's supposed to be coming today, but I have never heard of her."

"Do you know her name?" Rotom asked.

"N-no," Ash admitted.

"Then how can you be sure you don't know the person?"

"Eh? You're right," Ash chuckled bashfully. "For all I know, it could be Miette." Ash shuddered at the thought of Miette suddenly appearing in Alola and chasing him around again.

"Was she another one of your old companions?" Rotom asked.

"Not really," Ash replied. He walked around and leaned on the fence post on the edge of the cliff. "She was a rival of Serena's, in more ways than one, really." Ash sighed and wished Serena was here with him, right now. Ash was about to keep explaining, but a certain annoying trio appeared, riding their motorbikes, causing a cloud of dust to swirl behind them.

"Pikachu," Pikachu growled when they approached.

"Hey, kid, get outta' the way," the first one warned.

"Team Skull," Ash groaned. He had a sudden thought and wondered if, since he was wearing his Kalos outfit, he would look a bit less like a kid and more intimidating, as silly as it sounded.

"Yeah, that's right," the first one said again. "And you'd better get out of our way, or else we'll do it for you!"

"You do realize we're all the way at the edge of the road, right?" Rotom quipped.

"Hey, knock it off, tin can," the pink-haired girl yelled. Rotom yelped and ducked behind Ash.

"You think you can mess with us? All right then." All three of them reached for their belts and retrieved their Pokéballs. "Salandit, go!"

"Zubat, go!"

"Garbodor, go!"

One by one, each of the Pokémon appeared from their balls, growling angrily and showing off their power, which was close to none. Ash sighed and motioned for Pikachu to get in on the battle.

"USE VENOSHOCK!" All three of them yelled. Each of the Pokémon aimed their attacks at Pikachu and shot a purple goo at it.

"Pikachu, dodge, and use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu nodded and jumped straight into the air before the attacks hit it. It charged up all the electricity it could around itself and released it directly at the Pokémon, quickly making them faint from the powerful attack.

"WITH ONE MOVE!?" The Team Skull Grunts called their Pokémon back and fled on their bikes, yelling insults and "we won't forget this!" at Ash.

"Man, that was some Thunderbolt!" Ash praised Pikachu. Pikachu climbed up his arm and nuzzled its cheek on his.

"Ash, we really have to go now!" Rotom shrieked.

"Hah! Not falling for that again," Ash declared.

"No, I'm serious! It's almost eight o'clock!"

"Gah! Let's go!" Ash collected himself and dusted off his pants, then sprinted off with the same speed as before. Rotom sighed and chased after him. They soon arrived at the front gates after a few minutes.

"Am I late!?" Ash yelled.

"Later than usual," Kiawe observed. "Weren't you the one who was the most curious about who's coming today?"

"Hehe," Ash rubbed his nose bashfully. "I kind of got caught up."

"What happened?" Lillie asked, concerned.

"I had a run-in with Team Skull," Ash explained.

"Not them again," Mallow sighed and facepalmed. Marowak ran up from behind Kiawe and ran to the front gate. It raised its bone like a sword and began waving it around like it was expecting an attack.

"They're gone, Marowak," Kiawe explained. Marowak stopped and dropped its head dejectedly.

Soon after, Professor Kukui walked over to them and asked if they could help set up the seats. They agreed and started unfolding the chairs in rows in front of a stage that was set up on top of the battlefield. The stage had a circular design. Lights and speakers hung from the top, while the floor was a low board. 

Somehow, the ground where the chairs were set was elevated, so they all had to climb up to put them on.

"Man, I'm beat." Ash wiped the sweat off his forehead. He took off the sweater he was wearing and his gloves and put them in his bag, leaving him in his usual attire.

"Now, we wait," Kiawe said and motioned for everyone to sit down. Soon, more students came running down and taking their places on the seats, many of them with their Pokémon. Ash spotted a Mudkip, a Dedenne, a Togepi, a Sligoo, a Grovile, and even a Shuppet, all waiting for the show to get underway.

Meanwhile, Serena was inside the classroom in the Pokémon school, reviewing their routine with her Pokémon.

"Do you remember your parts?" she asked. All of her Pokémon nodded, except for Fletchling and Pikipek, who looked down and chirped sadly.

"Oh! I'm sorry, guys!" Serena scooped up the two Pokémon and nuzzled them. "I didn't really have time to work on the routine with you, Pikipek. And Fletchling, I didn't even know you wanted to perform!" They both just nodded at her understandingly and flew around in a circle.

"Say, that gives me an idea!" Fletchling and Pikipek looked at her quizzically before flying down to rest on her hat. "Pikipek, do you know Feather Dance?" Pikipek nodded enthusiastically and used its powers to ruffle up its feathers, then clapped its wings together, sending a cloud of feathers at Serena's face.

"Pfft," Serena spat the feathers out of her mouth. "Yep, that one." She spotted a feather stuck in her hair and plucked it out. "Fletchling knows it too, so you guys can fly around the stage while we're performing. When we're done, you use Featherdance like fireworks above us!"

Serena's Pokémon gave enthusiastic and encouraging remarks to both of them, making Fletchling and Pikipek nod at each other in confidence. Braixen suddenly said something teasing, making Pikipek and Fletchling instantly blush and turn away from each other.

Wonder what that's about. She shrugged and looked in a mirror, making sure her bow was on right. She smiled and let out a chuckle. "Now, let's give it our all!"

All five of the Pokémon put their hands (or wings, in Pikipek and Fletchling's case) together, with Serena joining in last. They cheered and raised them up in unison before rushing down the the bottom floor of the school. A stage was already set up outside, so she quickly rushed to the back and behind the curtain.

"Okay, get into position," she whispered. Pikipek and Fletchling took their places in the air, while Pancham, Braixen, and Sylveon circled around her.

Outside, the entire Pokémon School was gathered to watch the performance. Ash and his friends were seated at the top since Mallow kept insisting that they should get the best spots while they were still available.

Professor Kukui walked up to the stage and held a microphone. "Alola Pokémon School! Today, we have a special guest who has come all the way to the Alola region to demonstrate the true bond between Pokémon and trainer! Let's all give a big Alolan welcome to...Serena from Vaniville Town!"

"WHAT!?" Ash shrieked and jumped off his chair. His cry was drowned out by the applause the other students were giving, which he was grateful for. D-don't get your hopes up! There's probably other girls named Serena that also happen to be from the same place...

But when the curtains were pulled, there was no mistaking her; her powerful smile, the determined aura surrounding her, and the way she carried herself on-stage. Ash noticed her honey-colored hair had grown a bit since she cut it, and she still had the same blue ribbon on her new outfit.

She and her Pokémon were all dressed up as if this was an official performance. Serena was wearing a pink dress and white gloves. She had a turquoise headband in her hair with a red bow on it. Braixen was dressed up in a similar fashion, with blue beads strung in its tail. Sylveon had red stockings on its legs, and Pancham was wearing a bigger pair of shades with spikes on the rims.

When the applause died down, upbeat music began playing on the speakers. Out of nowhere, two other Pokémon that were hiding at the very top of the stage swooped down and danced in the air. Serena and her Pokémon tapped to the beat of the music with their feet.

"Let's go!" Serena suddenly called. Pancham backflipped behind Serena while Sylveon and Braixen moved next to her. Braixen ignited its stick and began twirling around like a ballerina. Sylveon pranced in a circle while sometimes using small Fairy Winds to get a boost for a back-flip. From behind, Pancham punched the ground and used Stone Edge, making a semi-circle of blue pillars appear around them. Sylveon used its ribbons to toss Serena onto one side of the circle while Braixen simply leaped on. Pancham somersaulted down and joined Sylveon. On the top. Serena and Braixen joined together and danced on the pillars.

"Now!" Serena leapt off the pillars while holding Braixen's hand. From above, the two flying Pokémon Ash saw earlier used Peck and Air Cutter to break the rocks, causing a shower of blue glitter to rain on the entire stage. Serena and her Pokémon all joined together in a circle and danced around again. Two shards from the stone edge fell into Serena's hands and she waved them around like batons as she danced. "Use Flamethrower, Dark Pulse, and Swift!"

Each of the Pokémon used their respective moves and aimed them at the center of the stage. They collided and formed a huge ball of light above them. Serena tossed the crystals in the air and the ball soon exploded in a rain of sparkles that even reached the audience, making everyone cheer even louder.

This is actually happening, Ash thought. He pinched his right arm to make sure he was awake, which he was. His astonished expression was then traded with butterflies and a giddy smile. He took a deep breath and waved from his seat. "YEAH! Go, Serena!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Serena didn't know why, but at that moment, she suddenly felt a wave of pure joy and longing wash over her, making her even more confident she'd get this right. "Big finish!" she called to Pikipek and Fletchling. Before, they were flying too fast for anyone to tell what kind of Pokémon they were, but now everyone could clearly see them as they ruffled their feathers together. They flew back-to-back before going to the edges of the stage. They both clapped their wings together and used Feather Dance, sending clouds of multi-colored feathers like confetti to the ground. Sylveon used Fairy wind to move them around and make them explode like a firework.

Serena moved to the back of the stage and charged forward, getting on her knees and sliding to the front. "Ta-da!"

Instantly, the crowd began cheering louder than ever. Many of them had never seen an actual Pokémon Performance and were psyched to finally witness one. Of course, Ash has seen multiple, but he was still yelling louder than ever. This was Serena, the girl he's been wanting to find for so long. On the stage, Serena and her Pokémon bowed and walked to the back. Seeing this as the perfect chance, he climbed over the chairs towards the edge.

"Ash, where are you going?" Mallow asked.

"I'll be right back!" he called back and jumped down. Professor Kukui went back up on the stage, but Ash wasn't paying attention as he made a mad dash for the back of the stage. He skidded to a stop and turned around. Serena was there, thanking her Pokémon for doing such a good job. She looked so pretty in the sunlight that Ash couldn't help but stare. He finally got back to his senses and rushed over to her.

"That was amazing!" he cried. Serena was caught off guard and twirled around to face the voice. When she saw Ash, she covered her mouth and gasped. No...WAY! She didn't know what to feel, but overjoyed hardly described her at the moment. Ash ran up to her until they were face-to-face. Tears began to form in her eyes as she reached and touched his face.

"A-ASH!?"

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I gotta admit, writing that tugged on my heartstrings SO MUCH! I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I love writing it! It makes me so happy to know people are actually reading this stuff!

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