Hey y'all! I've been wanting to write something like this for a long while now, and I've finally got a solid storyboard going. I know you probably don't care too much for this Author's Note crap but I think it's fair to warn y'all that there may be some swearing, depending on how I'm feeling while writing, although the general age of the characters will be left up to your own interpretation. But no violence beyond that of what we already see in the Movies and the like.

Also, I think it's fair to warn y'all that the romance angle will not necessarily be a primary focus in this story. I want to make sure that I write each character as close as possible to how we see them presented in the anime. As far as the relationship itself, I feel like more often than not, the relationship is overcomplicated and painfully awkward, taking focus away from the plot. I'm not one for relationship drama, so my goal is to write as if the relationship comes naturally; Ash and Serena are really good friends, and becoming an "item" is simply the natural progression. As such, this story will have lots of cuteness (or is it "fluff"?) and less romantic drama. The romance will be a result of the conflict, like any good fantasy/romance story should be. Look at Harry Potter, look at SAO, etc etc.

Some more cool stuff: every chapter will be named after a song. Not actually based on the lyrics of the song, but the chapter will only be NAMED after a song. Some of them will be from the Pokémon Anime, English AND Japanese, but some of them will be from elsewhere. Not all of them will be Pokémon-related. I'll be crediting each song in the Author's Note at the end of each chapter! They aren't actually like "songs you should listen to while reading", they're just songs I'm naming the chapters after. Even so, y'all should listen to them. Though do be warned that I do like a lot of rock, so if that's not your thing, maybe don't listen to them.

Also, separately, I'm gonna be doing some cool Wattpad-only stuff for the version of the story on here! It won't be different or anything, but I'll probably be showing off a lot of Amour Fanart I love, and posting videos up top for mood music and the like. Hope that's chill with y'all!

Also, I probably won't have Author's Notes like this with every chapter, except maybe at the end. But if I do have Author's Notes, they'll be kept very brief.

My goal is to update every Monday, starting NEXT Monday, June 3rd. Fair warning, that may not happen, but that will remain the goal. It'll probably be around 20 chapters, all about this length, if I had to guess.

I was gonna upload the prologue as a separate chapter, but it's so short that I just decided to just open this chapter with it.

Anyway, without any further ado, enjoy my new story!

Prologue

"Pikachu... where are we?"

"Pika..."

Ash and Pikachu were very much lost in the forest outside of the Pokémon School. Despite having explored these woods thoroughly over the past year or so of being at the Pokémon School, he still found himself lost somehow.

Pikachu's ears started to perk up. "Pika?"

"Pikachu, you hear something? What is it?" Ash looked to the mouse on his shoulder. Pikachu pointed in the 1 o'clock direction, and Ash went that way.

The duo eventually found a flowing river. "Nice job, Pikachu! We should be able to follow this back to the school!" he scratched under Pikachu's head, getting a happy cry from him.

Just as Ash was about to start walking, a bush next to him started to shake. Ash looked over to it, curious. Soon after, a shadow leaped out of the bush towards the river.

"WHOA!" Ash was caught very off-guard as he backed away from the shadow, slipping and falling to the ground. As he shook off the impact and disorientation, and regained his bearings, he looked to the shadow to figure out what it was.

It was a Poliwag.

"Hey, it's only a Poliwag! Well, that's no big deal. Sorry for falling over, Pikachu." Ash apologized as Pikachu smiled and nodded. Before Ash could stand back up, however, he looked back at the Poliwag and his mind flashed back to when he was very young.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Don't give up until the end!"

"See? You did it!"

Ash smiled at the memory. He stood up and approached the Poliwag, who looked at him in confusion before backing away slightly. Ash knelt down and held out his hand. "Hey, it's okay, Poliwag. I'm not gonna hurt you. I promise." Ash said lightly as Pikachu seemed to reassure Poliwag from his shoulder.

Poliwag looked up at Ash with a questioning glance before apprehensively approaching Ash's hand. Ash smiled and pet the top of Poliwag's head. Poliwag smiled contentedly. "You're a nice Pokémon, aren't you?"

Even now, the only image in Ash's mind was one of him holding the hand of a young blonde girl, leading her out of the forest. His mind then flashed back to not-so-long ago, and he saw the older version of the same girl, smiling at him.

Ash reached into his bag and pulled out a Pokeball. He tapped the button to Poliwag's head. Even though Poliwag let out a surprised cry, it showed no resistance, and the device soon let out a pleasant sound of finality. Ash smiled. "Well, looks like we have a new friend, Pikachu."

Pikachu smiled at Ash knowingly. Despite not being able to speak to Ash in human language, he knew what Ash was thinking. They had spent most of their lives together, after all. He knew Ash was thinking about her when he saw that Poliwag.

Ash stood back up. "Let's go back, buddy. Sound good?"

"Pikachu!"

Ash started following the river downstream, with a new friend tagging along.

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A honey blonde girl walked out of the Pokémon Center, stretching, preparing for the new day. She had a new destination: Sootopolis City.

She brought out her ribbon case and opened it. She stared at her three ribbons, deep in thought. Two more to go, then the Grand Festival. She had arrived into Hoenn, taking the Novice Contests by storm due to her obvious performing talent from previous experience. She also had transitioned well into Contest Battles, by adapting her performing style, combining it with a special someone's battling style.

She looked up at the sky, a sad smile on her face. She knew they had to go their separate ways; she had her dream, and he had his. They just didn't align right now. She needed the time to focus on herself. They would certainly meet again someday. But her journey just wasn't the same without her friends. She missed them dearly. But, most of all, she missed him.

It had been about twenty months since they had parted ways in Kalos; since she had showed him her feelings in the only way she could think of. She didn't know his whereabouts, as he was very bad at keeping in touch. She could only hope that she would see him again someday. She didn't know when that would be. He was restless, and she didn't know exactly what she wanted to do with herself.

Serena closed her eyes. She had thought this exact same thing many, many times during her time in Hoenn. She had made friends here in Hoenn, but none that had become her travelling companions. After her relatively crazy journey in Kalos, she knew it was important to take this time for herself. But she would never forget him. She constantly thought of him, and their time together.

She looked down at her wrist. A blue ribbon was tied around it. It held all of her emotions, and her precious memories in its royal blue colored fabric. Even if she were to never see him again, she would never allow herself to forget about him. But she couldn't afford to think like that. Of course she would see him again. She smiled.

"Oh, Ash..."

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Chapter 1: Hoenn's Out

"Good morning, class! I know it's Monday, and you all are likely a little drowsy, but I have a little surprise up my sleeve that will hopefully lift your spirits."

Ash's head immediately shot up off the desk. "A surprise???" He inquired rather loudly, as he tended to do. Pikachu chimed in from his shoulder with an inquisitive cry of his own.

The whole class broke out into big grins. Ash looked towards his green-haired classmate on his right as she looked back at him with a similarly huge grin on her face. Everyone was grinning at each other in anticipation.

"Tell us what it is, Professor Kukui!!" Mallow pleaded excitedly.

Kukui hooked up his laptop to the big screen at the front of the room, and navigated the web browser to a paused video. He clicked the 'play' button, and stood back up and faced the class, smiling. Everyone sat on the edge of their seats as the video began to play.

A tall lady with curly, light brown hair wearing a long pink dress appeared on the screen. The words "BREAKING NEWS" scrolled past behind her. Ash managed to place her pretty quickly. "Hey, wait... isn't that Vivian?"

"Attention, all you Pokémon Contest fans out there! We have some huge breaking news! As I'm sure you are all aware, it's almost that time of the year again; time for the Wallace Cup!"

Ash gasped in excitement. "Whoa, no way!! The Wallace Cup??"

"Pika!!" Pikachu exclaimed with a huge smile on his little yellow face.

"And this year, I'm beyond thrilled to report that the Wallace Cup is coming home to Sootopolis City!! And as such, I am honored to be hosting the event. Coordinators from around the globe will be making their way here to the Hoenn region to participate in the one Contest a year that counts as a win wherever you may be! So don't miss the action! It'll be happening right here, on the PC Network, in just 11 days from now! That's next Friday! Coordinators, make sure that you are all here a day early, because registration for the Wallace Cup will close 24 hours before the beginning of the first round on Friday! The first round will begin at 2 PM on Friday. See you all then!" Vivian waved as the video ended.

Ash stood up out of his seat. "Professor Kukui, are we...?"

Kukui nodded. "That's right, Ash. We are ALL going to see the Wallace Cup in the Hoenn Region!"

The whole class broke out into huge smiles, turning towards each to voice their excitement. Lillie was the first to speak up. "That's amazing! We get to fly all the way to the Hoenn Region???"

Lana, with Sandy on her shoulder, walked over to Lillie and motioned for a high five, which Lillie happily accepted. "Isn't this so exciting?? Hoenn is the region with the most water, I can't wait to see what kind of Pokémon are there!!"

Ash and Mallow happily high-fived, too. "Yes! This is amazing! This is our biggest trip so far! I can't wait!" Mallow said happily. Shaymin cried out in affirmation.

Ash pumped his fist. "Pikachu, we finally get to go back to Hoenn!! This is gonna be awesome!" Pikachu pumped his fist excitedly and cried out in agreement.

Kiawe and Sophocles fist bumped. "This is gonna be so cool!" Sophocles exclaimed. Kiawe nodded in agreement.

"Attention!" Kukui exclaimed, regaining the attention of his class. "Remember, this will be a fun trip, I assure you of that. However, we should also remember that it must have educational value as well. We are going to Hoenn next week to learn and observe the type of Pokémon that live there, and the different ways that people use their Pokémon there. You already know about Gym Battles, but now we'll be taking a look at Pokémon Contests."

"So, then, can you tell us about Pokémon Contests, professor?" Lillie asked the shirtless man.

"Of c-"

"Allow me!"

Everyone's attention was diverted to a voice at the far left of the classroom; the one belonging to Ash. He stood up confidently and walked to the front of the classroom, facing everyone. Kukui smiled, backing away slightly to let Ash do his thing.

"Basically, a Pokémon Contest is this really cool competition where Trainers try to show off their Pokémon in the best way possible! Coordinators use moves and move combinations along with skill and timing to create a performance that shows off their Pokémon's own unique abilities! Bonus points if the performance is pleasing to any of the senses." Ash explained as the class listened intently.

Ash walked over to Kukui's laptop, clearly on a roll, and typed something into the search bar. He then pulled up another video.

"There's two different rounds to a Pokémon Contest. First is the Performance round." he motioned to the big screen. It was Dawn's performance from the Wallace Cup at Lake Valor.

"In this round, Coordinators and their Pokémon do their best to show off to the judges, specifically show off the appeal and unique qualities that their Pokémon have. See how Ambipom uses moves to show off and appeal to the judges? One of Ambipom's most unique qualities is that is has two tails that can both attack at the same time. So that's an example of something you would show off to the judges to impress them." Ash explained as his former Pokémon was shown using its Double Hit on the water to create waves. The class watched on in awe.

"Okay, I think I get it! So, I guess you might think that you want to show off the prettiest moves, but in reality, you actually want to show off what makes your own Pokémon special in a creative way!" Lillie said, smiling.

"Bingo, Lillie!" Ash winked and gave a thumbs up.

"The judges decide who will make it past the first round. In a normal Contest, only 8 Coordinators go on to Round 2, but in the Wallace Cup, 16 Coordinators move on." Ash explained.

"The second round is the Contest Battle. They're way different from normal Pokémon Battles. The quality of your performance is measured by the points you score. The goal is pretty much the same as the Performance Round, but this time, you're matched up with an opponent who is also trying to score points at your expense. So being in sync with your Pokémon and having good timing and strategy are super important." Ash explained again as went back to the laptop, this time showing the class the final round from that same Wallace Cup; Dawn versus May.

"So it still has the same general feel as a battle, but in Contest Battles, you have a 5-minute time limit, and the points taken away from you are subjective to the judges. So it's still super important to be able to show off your Pokémon and appeal them to the judges in any way you can." Ash smiled a bit bashfully as he turned back to the class. "Sorry I'm not too good at explaining this, but I promise it's super cool. I'm sure you're all gonna love the Wallace Cup!"

"But Ash, how do you know all this stuff?" Sophocles inquired.

Ash turned back to the screen and pointed at the brunette and her bluenette opponent. "I travelled alongside both of these amazing girls and watched them both compete in Pokémon Contests around Hoenn, Kanto, and Sinnoh. I guess it's fair to say that I learned a whole lot from watching all those Contests."

"No way!! Ash, these girls are the ones you travelled with in other regions??" Mallow asked him.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I travelled with May in Hoenn and Kanto, and I travelled with Dawn in Sinnoh."

"Pika!" Pikachu affirmed.

"Wow, Ash, you've already been to a lot of places. I'm honestly pretty jealous." Kiawe crossed his arms and grinned at Ash.

"Yeah, me too." Lana nodded in agreement.

Ash scratched the back and his neck and laughed. "Well, you know. The road to being a Pokémon Master takes you to a whole lot of different places, that's for sure."

"Thank you for your explanation, Ash. As someone who doesn't have any firsthand Contest experience, I'm glad you were willing to step up and tell everyone what you know." Kukui winked knowingly at Ash.

Ash's eyes widened. "Uh... yeah, no problem."

Kiawe narrowed his eyes and grinned slyly. "Hey, wait a minute... Ash, does that mean you've competed in a Contest before??"

Ash nervously turned to Kiawe, sweat already building up on his face. "Uh, you know, maybe once or twice here and there..."

Pikachu was trying his hardest not to laugh. The rest of the class was looking at Ash in confusion, but didn't notice that Kukui had already pulled Ash's performance from that Wallace Cup.

"Oh no..." Ash facepalmed as Pikachu finally let out his laugh. Everyone turned back to face the screen to find that Ash and his Buizel were standing confidently there on the stage of the Wallace Cup. He was wearing that old-fashioned tuxedo and fedora that was so incredibly different from something the class thought Ash would wear, that it seemed to catch everyone off guard.

Lillie was the first to speak up. "Ash, you were in this Wallace Cup too??"

Mallow grinned coyly. "Wow, Ash. That outfit is really something."

"Listen, okay, I couldn't just go out there in my jeans!! I needed to do something and I didn't really have a whole lotta options..."

"Only a true man of culture would adjust a fedora like you just did." Sophocles teased.

Ash sweat-dropped. "Yeah, uh... hey, why don't you just focus on my performance instead of my weird outfit...?"

"Ash, your Buizel is adorable!" Lana exclaimed excitedly.

"Thank you, Lana. At least someone is on my side here..."

"... but your outfit could use some work. What on Earth were you thinking?" Lana finished her thought.

Ash fell on the ground, face first. They would never let him live that one down.

"Alright, class, that's enough. Sorry about that, Ash, but I couldn't resist." Kukui teased. "Back to business, everyone. We'll be leaving for Hoenn in 8 days from today, on Tuesday. You'll have next Monday off to rest your batteries, then make sure you come in early on Tuesday, and with all your things, because we're leaving for the airport in Hau'oli City, pronto! Our flight will leave at about 10 AM, but we'll have to check into the airport at about 9 AM. So be here at 8. Everyone got it?"

"Yes sir!"

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"Here we are! Hau'oli City airport!" Kukui exclaimed as he turned back to the class. "Alright, roll call! Let's make sure everyone's here. Mallow and Shaymin?"

Mallow jumped and waved her free arm, while the other kept hold of her admittedly big green suitcase. "We're here!" Shaymin cried out in affirmation in her arms.

"Lana and Sandy?"

Lana waved. "Present!" she yelled over the airport noise as Sandy called out as well.

"Sophocles and Togedemaru?"

"We're all ready, sir!" Sophocles pumped his fist above his head as Togedemaru jumped slightly off of his head and cried out in excitement.

"Kiawe?"

"Here!"

"Lillie and Snowy?"

"Here, professor!" Lillie called out as the Alolan Vulpix on her shoulder raised her paw in acknowledgement.

"Ash and Pikachu?"

...

"Ash. And. Pikachu."

"WE'RE HERE PROFESSOR!!"

"Pika!!"

Kukui looked out into the sea of people outside of the entrance to the airport to see Ash running towards them, with Pikachu on his shoulder and a drink cup in his hand. As he finally joined the group's tight circle, Mallow looked at him suspiciously, eyeing his cup.

"What? I wanted a milkshake."

Mallow gasped in exasperation, but couldn't help to smile up at Ash in spite of his general goofiness.

"Alright then, looks like everyone's here and accounted for. Let's move, class!"

"Alright!" Everyone fist pumped.

As the class plus Kukui uncomfortably made their way through the sea of travellers, business-folk, and airport personnel, the class began to talk amongst themselves, beyond excited for their newest Field Trip. After a successful check-in and baggage scan, as well as a very long wait in the line for a security check, the group found their way to their gate, as they waited for their plane to arrive. They were to land in Lilycove City after about a 6-hour flight.

The three boys sat across from the three girls in the waiting area, while Kukui was talking with his wife, Professor Burnet, who was also coming along for the trip. Ash was getting a little restless.

"Ash, don't start getting antsy already, we're not even on the plane yet. And we have a pretty long flight ahead of us." Kiawe said.

"I know, but you know I'm no good at sittin' around in one place like this for a long time." Ash complained as his feet repeatedly tapped the floor. Pikachu nudged his face against Ash's in empathy, a little impatient himself.

"Ash, I'd much rather be up and doing something too, but just remember, when we touch down, we'll have the rest of today and all of tomorrow to do whatever we'd like in Lilycove City!" Mallow said, hoping to reassure him a bit.

"That milkshake probably didn't help, Ash." Sophocles remarked, grinning slightly.

Ash scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Yeah, you're probably right." He then turned to Mallow, who yawned widely. He shot her a concerned look. "You alright, Mallow?"

"Mm?" she turned to Ash and waved her hand slightly. "Oh, don't worry, I'm fine. I actually was so excited about this trip that I had a little trouble sleeping last night." she admitted, scratching Shaymin's little head.

Lillie and Lana smiled empathetically. "I know how you feel." Lillie told her. "I had some trouble falling asleep myself, to be honest."

"But it'll definitely be worth it when we get there. We're gonna get to see so many new things and I know we'll all have a great time." Lana said excitedly.

"This is the call for flight 395 to Lilycove City in Hoenn, your plane has arrived and we will be calling you to board as soon as everyone has exited the plane. Please gather your things and be prepared to board." a voice spoke through the airport speaker system.

"Everyone ready?" Kukui's voice called as he walked over to the group with Professor Burnet.

"Yes sir!" Everyone said in unison.

"Good. We'll be boarding in just a minute. Grab your carry-on bags and follow me to the boarding line." Kukui pointed to the entrance of the aforementioned line. The students nodded in affirmation.

Everyone soon boarded the plane and sat down with all of their carry-on items. Each row of seats was arranged with three seats on either side of main isle. Lillie, Mallow, and Ash sat in one section, Lana, Sophocles, and Kiawe sat in the adjacent section, and the adults sat directly behind Ash. Lillie and Lana had window seats, while Ash and Kiawe had isle seats. Needless to say, neither of those two were particularly excited about that.

Everyone settled into their seats and the plane took off a little while after. As the plane found a home altitude in the sky, everyone was able to relax and enjoy the ride. Mallow almost immediately yawned. "I think I might try to make up for the sleep I lost last night."

Ash nodded. "Good idea. Hopefully I can find a cool movie to watch on this thing here. There's so many to choose from. Technology is so amazing!" he looked down to Pikachu on his lap, who nodded in agreement. Lillie smiled at them as she pet Snowy on her lap, who relaxed into her touch and closed her eyes in content.

As Ash was using the touch screen to search for adequate entertainment, he felt something fall onto his shoulder. He looked over to find that Mallow had already drifted to sleep, and, in her slumber, had fallen on to him with her head now resting on his shoulder. He was caught off guard at first, shooting a glance at Lillie, who smiled sheepishly. "Let's leave her be. She was obviously quite exhausted from not getting enough sleep last night."

Ash nodded, his smile returning to his face as he turned back to the screen in front of him. Noticing Ash was still a bit antsy, Pikachu got up from Ash's lap to move over to Mallow's. Shaymin smiled and the two curled up together for a collective nap.

A certain green-haired girl couldn't help but let out a smile, and she gently scratched Pikachu's head.

As Ash finally settled into his seat for movie time, he subconsciously leaned his head over to rest on Mallow's. However, his thoughts drifted to another girl, a girl buried not-so-deep in his memories of the last region he travelled in. He knew she was in Hoenn, and he knew she was competing in Contests. He knew no Coordinator would pass up a chance at competing in the Wallace Cup. Not even Ash himself passed it up back in Sinnoh. Would he see her there?

Feelings change. Ash himself, however, does not. He has been and will always be a reckless, determined goofball who's always ready for adventures or a battle. But somehow, he was oblivious to some of the more complicated emotions; at least, that was until the incident at the Lumiose City airport. His mind always seemed to drift back to it. He couldn't help but think of her, her pretty face, her sparkling eyes, her lovely smile. Even after all these years, Ash had been so focused on his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, that he hadn't even tried to understand the idea of "liking" someone. Honestly, he still didn't really understand. But perhaps now, he had a little idea. Maybe, if he saw her again, he would learn more about what he felt.

All he knew is that he wanted the best for her. He wanted to see her succeed. But most of all, he wanted to see her again.

In a few hours, everyone would finally be in Hoenn.

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Yeah, surprise! I know this is supposed to be AmourShipping and everything but I couldn't help it. I adore Mallow. Also, as a side note, I'm keeping Mallow's Tsareena as a Steenee instead of a Tsareena because, well, you know... then we'll have a Tsareena and a Serena... and that would just make my brain hurt. Steenee's cuter anyway.

But as I'm sure you can tell, I really want to write these as if they were actual episodes of the anime. This will surely lead to all kinds of random silliness, in actions and dialogue. So just be prepared.

Song is: "Hoenn's Out" which is a Pokémon Parody of OneRepublic's "Love Runs Out" by NateWantsToBattle.