"I'm sorry sir, we only allow friends of the coordinators into the backstage area. Are you a friend of one of the coordinators participating?"

"Yes sir, her name is Serena."

"Hm... okay. You may go. But do not misbehave. We have security back here as well. If your actions are deemed obnoxious or rude, you may be thrown out. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

Ash and his partner passed through the security gate and arrived in the backstage area of the Sootopolis Stadium. He walked down the hall, passing by coordinators and friends as he searched for the room that connects to the stage entrance, where most of the coordinators tend to stay. He eventually found a room filled with coordinators and their Pokémon, with televisions scattered across the room, as well as a few in the center, facing different directions, all showing the live contest feed. They all showed that the judges were currently in the middle of discussing the results of the first round, and all the coordinators seemed to be out, waiting impatiently for the results to be announced. Ash immediately started looking around, searching for the honey blonde.

Dawn noticed Ash come in. She turned to him, holding Piplup in her arms, Bellossom at her feet. "Hey, Ash! What's going on?"

Ash and Pikachu turned to Dawn and waved. "Oh, hey Dawn! You did really great!"

"Thanks, Ash!" She smiled. Ash continued looking around, causing Dawn to tilt her head slightly, puzzled. "What are you looking for?"

Ash didn't stop looking around, but he smiled lightly. "A friend."

Dawn blinked a couple times at the vague answer, staring at him in confusion. "Uh... maybe check the makeup room?"

Dawn pointed over to a door towards a nearby corner of the room, which had a label next to it that showed it was the makeup room. Ash nodded. "Worth a shot."

Ash wandered over the door, dodging all the coordinators and stopping in front of the door. He took a deep breath.

"Pika." Ash's partner said from his shoulder, rubbing the back of his trainer's neck gently, comforting him. Ash smiled at him.

"Thanks, Pikachu. You're right." He turned back to the door and opened it gently.

"...he's here. I know it." Ash heard a familiar female voice say from inside the room as he opened the door.

As soon as he got a full view of the room, he saw all the huge mirrors and decorations that surrounded them. As he closed the door behind him, he saw that all but one of the mirror stations were empty; one seat held a girl his age with honey blonde hair down to her shoulders. The girl was wearing a pink and red medium-length dress that exposed her shoulders. She was petting a Sylveon who sat on the floor next to her. A Braixen also held her paw on her trainer's shoulder. Ash smiled when he saw this scene, reminding him of his time in Kalos. The girl and her partners all heard the door open, and turned toward the sound. The brightest of blue eyes turned to look up at him.

Ash immediately grinned his signature grin. "There you are."

He held up his hand in greeting, mimicked by his partner on his shoulder.

"Hey, Serena."

The girl gasped, putting her hand over her mouth as sheer emotion flooded out of her. She stared right at the boy of her dreams, dressed in the same clothes he wore when they travelled together. Her eyes started sparkling, and when she moved her hand away from her mouth, it revealed the loving smile on her pretty face. He could almost see the joy and emotion in her bright blue eyes.

"Ash..."

Serena hastily stood up out of her chair and ran toward Ash. Pikachu quickly hopped off of Ash's shoulder. She held out her arms and jumped at him. Ash caught her in his arms, bringing her close to him while she put her arms around his neck, resting them on his shoulders. He used her momentum to spin her around once, before placing her back on the ground delicately. As her movement stopped, her head found a resting place on one of his shoulders, snuggling into that spot comfortably. He rested his head on top of hers, rubbing her back lightly. Serena let out a sigh of content and happiness, her smile still very present on her face. She began to tear up slightly out of sheer joy.

Pikachu waved over at Sylveon and Braixen, also wearing a huge smile. Sylveon pranced over to the yellow mouse and happily nuzzled Pikachu's cheek, causing the mouse to blush slightly, appreciating the affection. Pikachu nuzzled her back. Braixen reached down to give the electric-type an affectionate hug, one which Pikachu tried to return, though limited by his relatively short arms. Sylveon wrapped her feelers around them both, creating a group hug.

"I... I can't believe it's really you." Serena said, nuzzling more into Ash's shoulder. She took in the feeling of being snuggled into Ash as he rubbed her back. It was the most content and happy she'd felt in a very long time.

"It's so great to see you again." Ash said softly, enjoying the moment alone with the honey blonde. Having such a whirlwind of a couple days, he felt at peace with her in his arms. It was finally peaceful. Serene.

After a while, the two backed away ever so slightly from each other, both still smiling widely. Ash kept his arms around her while she slid her hands down to his chest. She blinked away her tears, staring straight ahead, eyes level with Ash's jawline. She looked up to meet his eyes, smiling. "You're taller than me now."

Ash chuckled. "Is that an issue?"

Serena shook her head, still smiling. "Of course not. This feels more right."

Ash took one of his hands back from around Serena and removed his hat, dropping it on the ground next to him. Serena briefly gave Ash a look of confusion, keeping her hands placed on his chest. He then placed that hand on the back side of Serena's head. He leaned his head forward slightly so that their foreheads were touching. They both smiled and closed their eyes in content. Ash spoke again, softly. "I've missed you, y'know."

Though she felt her face burn red, Serena responded without hesitation. "I've missed you too."

The Pokémon looked up at their trainers, all smiling. Ash brought his head back as the two finally separated and opened their eyes. Serena took his hands, not ready to separate from him entirely. Ash smiled as their fingers interlocked. She looked back up at him, smiling bright. "What are you even doing here?"

Ash grinned playfully. "I came to see you perform, obviously."

Serena blushed and giggled, rolling her eyes. "Sure, Ash. There's no way you would've known when the Wallace Cup was happening and gotten here in time with how you are. You can't stop moving, doing things."

Ash chuckled. "You caught me. My class is on a field trip from the Alola region."

Serena raised her eyebrows. "You? In class?"

"If you told me that when we were travelling together, I wouldn't have believed it either. But our class is special. So is the Alola region. They don't have gyms or anything, and this year is gonna be the first time ever holding a Pokémon League there." Ash admitted. "It's tropical; you would love it."

"Aw, how very considerate of you, Ash. I'll have to come visit sometime." Serena winked.

"And what about you? How are your contests going?" Ash asked her.

"Great! I've got three ribbons so far."

"Well, your performance earlier was amazing. I'm sure you'll make it to round two." Ash said confidently. Serena smiled at him gratefully, appreciating his confidence in her.

"You look really pretty, by the way."

"Oh!" She felt Ash let go of one of her hands and lift the other up above over her head. She instinctively twirled around once, like a formal dance, her dress' skirt lifting ever so slightly and twirling with her. Serena blushed deep red, but composed herself. "Thank you, Ash."

Ash let go of her hand, still grinning.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu cried out happily, jumping up towards Serena. The honey-blonde caught Ash's partner in her arms, smiling wide and giggling.

"Hi, Pikachu! I've missed you, too!" She hugged Pikachu close, bringing him towards her face for him to nuzzle. She giggled again as he did so, enjoying his affectionate gesture and the feeling of his soft fur.

Ash smiled and knelt down, picking up his hat and placing it back on his head. Sylveon smiled and approached him, wrapping her feelers around his arm.

"Hey there, Sylveon." Ash smiled at the fairy-type and scratched her head and pet down her back. Sylveon closed her eyes in content, nudging Ash's leg affectionately.

Still knelt down, Ash looked towards the fox Pokémon and offered his hands to her, which she happily accepted, placing her paws against his hands. Ash closed his hands around her paws.

"Braixen! How are you?" He smiled at the fire-type, who responded happily.

Ash stood back up to find Pikachu comfortably on Serena's shoulder, still nuzzling her face affectionately. Serena was scratching Pikachu's head. Sylveon walked between the two and wrapped her feelers around both trainers' arms, causing the two to look down at it and then at each other. They both smiled, with Serena blushing slightly.

Suddenly, the door to the makeup room opened. "Ash? Are you in here?"

Ash and Serena turned back towards the door and saw Dawn peek her head in. She looked at Ash and smiled. "Hey! There you are."

Ash gave her a questioning look. "Hey Dawn, what's up?"

Serena gasped. "You're that girl who performed first with the Piplup and Bellossom! You were amazing!"

Dawn smiled. "Thank you! I recognize you as the girl with the Mudkip and Pichu with the Kalos-style performance. I've never seen anything like that before, you were amazing too!"

"Thanks!"

"Serena, this is Dawn. Just like I travelled with you in Kalos, I travelled with Dawn in Sinnoh." Ash introduced them.

Serena waved. "Hi! It's very nice to meet you, Dawn."

"Back at you, Serena!" Dawn waved back. "Oh yeah! C'mon, they're about to announce the results of the first round! Get out here, quick!"

Dawn left the door open as she rushed back to the center of the main room to watch the TV. Ash smiled over at Serena, still with Pikachu on her shoulder. "Well? Let's go, Serena! We don't wanna miss that!"

Serena nodded. "Right!"

They both walked out of the makeup room and found Dawn staring up at one of the monitors in the center of the room. Ash and Serena went over and stood next to her, Sylveon's ribbons still around both trainers' arms. The four judges seemed to be finalizing their discussion, before separating after a moment and nodding at Vivian.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, the judges have made their decisions!"

Serena looked up at the screen in suspense, holding a hand close to her heart. Sylveon lifted a paw and touched Serena's leg with it. Serena looked down at it in surprise, but then nodded, slowly regaining her confidence. Braixen placed a paw on her trainer's shoulder. Pikachu nudged her face lightly. They were all showing that they believed in her.

"Serena."

The girl turned to Ash, who nodded, grinning confidently. Serena's smile slowly returned to her face, and she nodded back.

"The sixteen coordinators who will be moving to the second round of this year's Wallace Cup are... on the screen now!" Vivian exclaimed, motioning up to the big screen in the stadium.

The sixteen faces showed up clearly on the monitors. Dawn was there on the top left, while Serena had also made it, her face showing up towards the bottom right.

"We made it!"

Dawn and Serena exclaimed simultaneously, though Dawn was more excited while Serena was more relieved. Ash grinned again, looking over to his Kalos companion to see her smiling with her hand placed over her heart in relief.

"The second round matches are to be exactly what you see on screen right now!"

Bracket lines showed up on the screen, connecting the coordinators in groups of two without changing the order that they were displayed. "Round 2 will begin tomorrow promptly at 10 AM! Until then, have a wonderful evening, and we will see everyone back here tomorrow!"

"So that means... if I make it all the way to the finals... Dawn and I will battle." Serena said to herself quietly, looking over at Ash's Sinnoh companion. She didn't know much about the bluenette, other than that she was good friends with Ash, but she also knew that she was very talented. She would need to be prepared before tomorrow.

Then she looked over at Pikachu on her shoulder, then back at Ash, and her face relaxed into a small smile. She decided that she would worry about all that later. She scratched under Pikachu's head, who smiled back at her and let out a light cry of content in response. After all, it was only the one person that she missed more than anyone who had just suddenly re-entered her life, if only for a brief period of time.

"Ash, I'm gonna go see if I can find Brock and the others, you coming?" Dawn turned to him.

"Yeah, go on ahead. I'll catch up, just give me a second." Ash turned his head to look at her. Dawn nodded. Ash then turned back to his Kalos companion. "You'll come too, right, Serena?"

"Hm?" Serena looked to Ash in surprise, blushing lightly. "You want me to come with you?"

"Of course! You're here; it'd be great to catch up and spend some more time with you."

Serena's blush got darker. She smiled and nodded. "I would love to come with you, Ash."

People were filing out of the main room, many disappointed and some happy or relieved. There were so many coordinators surrounding them that Serena didn't notice someone walk up to them.

"Well, well, I didn't know you had a Pikachu, Serena."

Serena's face turned immediately changed to one of slight fear and nervousness. She turned around to see a boy slightly older than she was, with short, slicked-back blonde hair and a handsome face. His frame was more muscular than Ash's, and also stood an inch or two taller than Ash. He wore a white tuxedo with a yellow button-down and white tie.

"Uh... hey, Austin..." she said rather unenthusiastically, her face indicating that she would really rather not have to interact with this guy. Even Sylveon and Braixen shot angry looks at the boy.

"You look beautiful, as always, Serena." He winked at her, as if trying to get her to swoon over his looks, attempting to take one of her hands before she retracted it to avoid him. "Please, tell me about your new Pikachu."

"Um-"

"The Pikachu's mine."

Ash walked past Serena and stood next to her, as if preparing to defend her. His face was one of anger, a look similar to what he would give Team Rocket. Pikachu jumped from Serena's shoulder back onto Ash's shoulder and put on a slightly angry frown as well. Serena put on a smile of relief at seeing Ash, and she blushed, knowing that he was still always prepared to protect her. The blonde boy noticed Serena's blush and genuine smile; something he had never seen from her, at least while he was around. He looked over at Ash and frowned angrily.

"And you are?"

The blonde boy attempted to regain his composure. "Austin."

"Ash. You already know my partner."

"Well, it's nice to meet you." Austin said, very clearly not meaning that. He turned to the girl by Ash's side. "Serena, I would be delighted if you would accompany me to dinner tonight."

Serena's look of discomfort intensified. She looked up at Ash next to her and then back at Austin. She started shaking ever so slightly. "Well... you see-"

"Look, dude. I don't like the way you're making my friend uncomfortable. I normally try to give people a chance, but you've clearly done something to make her not like you very much. Can't you see that she doesn't really want to talk to you?" Ash said, his voice firm and strong. He put his arm in front of Serena as if to protect her from danger.

Austin scoffed. "She's very clearly not feeling well right now. Otherwise, she would be delighted to see me."

Ash narrowed his eyes, not even pretending to buy it. "Somehow, I don't think that's true."

He looked over to his friend and saw that she had her eyes closed and a determined look on her face, as if steeling herself to speak up. She suddenly grabbed Ash's arm with both of hers, pushing herself close to him.

"Austin, I will not go anywhere with you. In fact, I'm already going with someone else." Serena smiled happily up at Ash, who looked down at her, surprised at first, but then grinned back at her.

Austin's face turned to one of rage for a split second before he composed himself again. He made a snarky smile. "Suit yourself. Hopefully we get to meet in the semifinals so I can show you the effects of hanging around the wrong people."

Austin walked out of the room, giving Ash a nasty look as he passed. Serena kept herself glued to Ash's arm the whole time. She sighed in relief as he finally left the room. She smiled at Ash again. "Thanks for that, Ash."

Ash smiled at her. "No problem, Serena. What's that guy's deal, anyway?"

Serena frowned. "He comes from a very privileged family. He's never seen something he wanted that he didn't get, aside from maybe a Contest Ribbon or two. That includes girls too. He asked me on a date when we met a contest a while back, and I declined. It must've been one of the only times a girl has ever said no to him, because he flipped out and started harassing me, and in public too, in one of these rooms. And no one could really stand up to him and security wouldn't throw him out, because his family has a lot of influence."

"Since then, he always continues to ask me out, hoping that if he keeps pestering me, I'll eventually say yes. I really want nothing to do with him. But I'm afraid if I directly say no again, he'll harass me again. I've been doing my best to avoid him, but he always seems to find me. But it went much more smoothly with you around. Thank you, Ash." Serena said gratefully, letting go of his arm.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Serena." Ash brought her into another hug. He started to rub her back softly again in an attempt to comfort her. Serena was surprised at first but quickly buried her face in his shoulder again, wrapping her arms around him. She began to smile, still loving every second of snuggling into Ash's jacket.

"Don't worry, Ash. It's not your fault."

"I'll make sure he doesn't get too close to you."

Serena smiled, pushing away slightly from Ash. She shook her head. "That's okay. I'll be fine, I promise."

Ash looked down at her. "Are you sure?"

Serena nodded. "I want to be able to tell him off myself. I need to be able to defend myself in situations other than just with that guy. You've helped me get my confidence back, now I can take it from here."

Ash smiled at her. That was one thing he liked about her; she was independent and strong-willed. And when either one of them was down, the other would pick them back up. But he would still never hesitate to protect her from any kind of danger she might be in.

They broke their hug, and Serena returned her Pokémon and motioned to the door. "C'mon, we should go quick to meet up with Dawn and the rest of your friends, right?"

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go!"

Serena nodded happily and turned to the door before she heard Ash speak again.

"Here."

She turned back to Ash to see that he had his arm held out towards her. She looked up at him in surprise. Ash winked. "There's probably some big crowds out there. It's so you don't get lost."

Serena blushed slightly. "You don't mind?"

Ash shook his head. "Of course not. M'lady."

The last bit, although playful, caused Serena to blush even more. She giggled at Ash's antics and took his arm. "You're such a gentleman, Ash."

Ash chuckled at hearing the familiar phrase said a bit more seriously. He rubbed the back of his next with his free hand. "Well, you know. I just don't want us to get separated out there."

Serena smiled sweetly at him. "I appreciate it."

"So, let's get moving!"

"Mm-hm!"

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"Ash!"

"There you are. You should really talk to us next time you get up randomly to go somewhere!" Mallow said pointedly.

Ash's face turned red slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry about that, guys. But, I brought a friend!"

"Ash!"

The honey-blonde finally caught up with him. "You can't just take off like that! You left me all alone, I could've gotten lost!" Serena pouted.

Ash laughed nervously. He looked over to Pikachu on his shoulder. "I just can't win, can I?"

Brock immediately recognized the girl as the one that it seemed like Ash had known. And he had been right; Ash did know her.

Both Dawn and Serena were still in their dresses, as no opportunity had been presented to change out of them. It was a little awkward for them to look so formal in casual situations, but they were both used to it.

Lillie pointed at the girl next to Ash. "I recognize you! You're the girl with the Mudkip and Pichu!"

Serena nodded happily, humming in confirmation. Ash motioned to her. "Everyone, this is Serena. She was with me during my journey through the Kalos region."

Serena bowed politely. "It's very nice to meet more of Ash's friends! A friend of his is a friend of mine."

"Hi there, Serena! My name is Lillie!"

"I'm Lana!"

"I'm Sophocles!"

"I'm Kiawe."

"I'm Mallow!"

Ash leaned in towards Serena. "Those five are my classmates."

Serena nodded. "I see!"

"It's very nice to meet you, young lady. I'm Ash's teacher, Professor Kukui. This here is my wife, Professor Burnet."

"Hello!"

Serena nodded, smiling.

"Hi Serena, my name is Brock! I travelled with Ash for quite a long time. Any embarrassing stories you wanna know about him, I've got them all." Brock said, grinning.

Serena giggled. "I might have to take you up on that offer, Brock."

"I hope you don't mind that we have such a big group, Serena." Ash said rather nervously.

Serena shook her head, smiling cutely. "Of course not! I was honestly so surprised when you said you were attending school, so it's great to meet your classmates and some of your old friends too."

"Yeah, it feels like three different worlds are colliding for me right now." Ash chuckled nervously.

"Serena, you will join us for dinner, won't you?" Professor Burnet inquired.

Serena nodded happily. "I would love to!"

"Great! We have reservations for a table big enough for all of us; let's get moving quick, everyone!" Professor Kukui announced.

"Um..." Dawn began, getting the Professor's attention. "You don't think Serena and I could have a quick moment to change out of our dresses, would you?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, of course, girls. Go right ahead. We'll be waiting right here for you." Kukui agreed.

"Thank you, Professor!" Dawn said happily. She took Serena's hand. "C'mon, let's go quick, Serena."

Serena nodded, slightly puzzled. "Right."

As they both ran off in the direction of the changing rooms, Brock looked over at Ash to see him watching Serena with a smile on his face. It was completely unlike Ash to pay so much attention to a girl for no particular reason. He knew something was going on there. He was determined to get to the bottom of it.

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"So, Serena, you and Ash seem really close, huh?"

"Huh?" Serena was caught off-guard by the question. The two girls were in adjacent changing rooms, so they could very easily hear each other while they were changing. Luckily, no one else was around them to overhear. "Well, I mean, I guess so..."

"Ash seemed really happy to see you. And you were smiling pretty much the whole time. Even your Pokémon were happy to see him." Dawn said.

"I'm surprised you noticed all of that, Dawn." Serena admitted, blushing. Even though she knew nobody could see her right now, she still couldn't help but blush at the idea of her and Ash being extra close.

Dawn giggled. "You can't hide anything from me, girl."

Serena's blush turned darker. For one, she was embarrassed that Dawn had noticed her evident happiness around Ash, but she was also relieved that Dawn was quite clearly treating here like a friend already, even though they barely knew each other. She knew that she could trust Dawn, even despite not knowing her well.

"We'll have a chat later." Dawn said as she and Serena both exited their rooms. Dawn winked at Serena. "You look cute! For now, let's head back to the group."

Serena smiled and nodded. Maybe Dawn would be able to help her somehow.

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"Sir, we've arrived in Sootopolis City."

"Good. It is only a matter of time now. Soon, I will reawaken the legendary Pokémon of the Hoenn Region. I cannot wait to see them with my very own eyes. To witness their power."

"If all of Hoenn perishes as a result; then so be it."

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Hope that reunion was cute enough for you! Sorry that like, nothing much besides that actually happened in this chapter. I feel like too many FanFics focus too much on all the drama of relationships, or just straight up take it way too far, too soon. Like, your favorite Pokémon couple will reunite and all of a sudden Ash is professing his love for the girl. Like "HEYHEYWHOAHOA HOLD UP I just got here okay calm down". You know how it is.

So, I'm sorry, but Ash and Serena immediately making out was never gonna happen. I take pride in my character work; and guess what? Ash is not at all a romantic. He's definitely a very nice guy. But he's not at all a romantic. Serena is certainly more so than Ash, but still not a huge romantic or anything. They're both pretty straightforward and down-to-earth. I'm also not at all interested in romantic tension and drama. So basically what I'm saying is, there's gonna be a lot more snuggling and playful flirting, and a lot less making out. Sorry?

Random site note: I actually get a kick out of the dynamic between Pikachu and Ash's friends. Like, Pikachu getting friendly with Ash's friends is super cute to me. The idea of that trainer's Pokémon reflect the feelings of their trainer is really cool; like writers can use Pikachu or some of Ash's other Pokémon to hint that Ash likes someone more than others. Plus, the little dude's just super adorable, isn't he?

Random side note 2: electric boogaloo: if you think that them touching foreheads was kinda random, I can explain. For one, I actually think it's super adorable. But what actually inspired it was that Natsu (Fairy Tail) does that a few times, during some of the more emotional moments. I personally feel that Natsu's character is almost exactly what a more mature Ash would be. Natsu may be more crazy than the way I'm writing Ash here, but he is still the basis for Ash's character in this story. Also thinking I might write a short little Fairy Tail (NaLu, obviously) thing once this is done.

Song: "Still Into You" by Paramore from their 2013 Self-Titled.