A girl with short, honey blonde hair stood watching her breath vaporize in the cold Kalos air. Time seemed to slow down with every breath she took. Her cerulean blue eyes focused in on the boy in front of her. He was sitting on a log, staring at the snow covered ground. He blinked and looked up at the girl, his amber eyes glazing over her face. Sighing, he shifted the hat on top of his messy black hair and looked down, hiding half of his face.

"Ash..." the girl said quietly, almost to herself. The boy named Ash didn't respond. The girl hesitatingly took a step forward. The crunch of freshly fallen snow under her boot was deafening in the usual silence of the forest. Ash still didn't react. The girl was clutching at a blue ribbon, visible on her chest and she held a worried expression.

The girl took another step forward. Again the crunch of snow seemed out of place. This time however, Ash looked up. His normally bright eyes seemed lifeless and unfocused. He held a defeated expression that looked alien to his face. Ash finally took a proper look at the girl.

"Why are you here Serena?" He said in a monotone. The girl called Serena stared intently at his amber eyes with her piercing blue ones but couldn't penetrate the wall Ash had barricaded himself behind. She took another step forward.

"Ash, I'm worried for you. This isn't you. This isn't the Ash that I...I.." Serena trailed off as if she was afraid to finish her sentence. Her heart was now beating at a rapid rate and she begun to feel hot despite the frigid temperatures.

"I want to help you get through whatever this is Ash!" Serena tried again. Ash looked down again and silence fell. Serena stared at the usually cheerful and energized boy with pleading eyes. She was about to take another step when she noticed a single tear falling down Ash's cheek before collecting at his chin. Time seemed to slow down again as it fell and hit the snow. It left a small dimple in the untouched flakes at his feet. Serena was mortified. She now approached him and sat down on the log next to him. Tears were forming in her own eyes. Ash looked up at the frozen trees around him and breathed in.

"I'm sorry, Serena." Were the only words he managed to say before looking down again in shame. Serena couldn't stand this. It hurt her to watch the boy she liked- "No...its more...I love him. I am undoubtedly in love with him." She thought to herself. It hurt to watch the boy she loved so deeply go through this alone. She scooted a bit closer to him on the log and observed him. Ash was taller and bigger than from when she started the journey with him. Hell, they had all grown up both mentally and physically. Serena remembered back to when she lost her first showcase and cried on the dock. She remembered the pain and the loneliness she felt during that moment. She remembered thinking "No going back now" when she cut that first strand of hair and then not being able to stop until most of it was gone. She wasn't going to let Ash fall into that kind of depression.

"Ash, I know what defeat feels like...I've been here with my showca-"

"Serena, you don't understand." Ash suddenly spoke loudly and clearly. Serena stopped and listened. Waiting for him to continue. Ash took another breath.

"I have yet to win a single championship. Of the five consecutive regions I've gone to, every league I end up losing in the end. Now here I am, losing to the final gym leader and being unable to master this new power I share with Greninja. Why am I doing this to myself Serena? Why am I doing this to my Pokemon who trusted me to get them victory when I only end up failing in the end?"

Serena was thunderstruck. This wasn't what she expected. Ash wasn't the kind of person to doubt himself...that was usually her. This was a complete reversal of roles in their relationship. Normally it would be Ash who would be trying to urge her on, cheer her up, motivate her to go. Even Ash, someone so selfless he puts himself in dangerous situations without even thinking about what would happen to him, needed someone to urge him on. While he was giving everyone else a shoulder to lean on, he never got someone to lean on himself and now he finally broke.

Serena scooted in closer until they were hip to hip. A small blush appeared on her face when she felt the touch.

"Ash, do you even realise what you mean to us? To your Pokemon?" Serena said softly. She wasn't going to let her shyness get in her way this time. No, Ash needed her right now. She grabbed his hand and Ash looked at her in minor shock. "Ash, you are the most selfless person I know. Even to the point where you do stupid stuff that puts you in danger, like jumping off Lumiose tower or into that volcano." She laughed at first but then looked sad as she remembered his near death experiences. "You always put others before yourself. It's one of the things I really admire about you actually." She said quietly.

"Serena..." Ash trailed off.

"No, let me finish." Serena said a bit forcefully. Now it was her turn to look down at the snow. "Ash don't think for a second that you failed your Pokemon or even yourself. These Pokemon couldn't ask for a better trainer. You treat them with unending respect and kindness, teaching them so they'll succeed and coaching them to victory. You wouldn't have gotten this far if you were a poor trainer. Those Pokemon believe in you and they trust you to the very end. No matter if you win or lose the league."

Ash was stunned. He didn't speak.

Serena continued. "You mean the world to Clemont, Bonnie, and I too. I know Clemont looks up to you as both a trainer and a person. I know Bonnie sees you as another brother and a role model. I see you as..." She trailed off again but suddenly gasped as Ash pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you, Serena." He said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head on her shoulder. "I guess I just needed somebody to lean on." Serena started to smile uncontrollably as her own tears started to form. She slowly hugged him back and leaned her own head on his shoulder.