Ash, along with Pikachu and Lucario by his side, and Trevor were walking around Silph Village. The lights that had enhanced the city were fading away. It was getting late.

Ash and Trevor wandered around the village, to help clear their thoughts after what had happened at the hotel, between Ash and Serena. Ash's heart was shattered into pieces. He needed someone to comfort him, while Gary tries to comfort Serena.

As they walked, Ash's head was looking down, onto the ground, with sorrowful eyes. Pikachu and Lucario stared at their trainer, with worried expressions on their faces. They knew that Ash was feeling upset about Serena's reaction to his isolation from his friends and loved ones.

Without Serena, can Ash win his next match? was what Trevor was thinking as he turned to look at his depressed friend, with a concerning look in his eyes.

There was silence among the group until Trevor finally spoke up.

"Listen, Ash. I know you're going through a tough time, right now. But you need to snap out of this. You've got a match tomorrow. You need to focus or you'll lose the battle and your only chance of ever getting your life back." Trevor stated.

Ash lifted his head up a bit, to make eye contact with Trevor while showing tears in his eyes.

"So what?" Ash replied while causing a change of expression, on Trevor's face, from worried to surprised. "Without Serena, I no longer have got the strength to continue fighting. I mean, let's face it. How could I possibly defeat Giovanni without Serena being there to cheer me on!? Where did I go wrong?!"

"Well, Ash," Trevor began to say, as his face started to become a bit more serious. "the answer to that is obvious. You revealed yourself to Serena too soon."

Ash turned to his friend and looked at him with confusion in his teary eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Trevor signed before continuing, "You let your emotions control your actions, Ash. You shouldn't have removed your mask in front of Serena, with the tournament still going on! Giovanni hasn't been defeated yet!

"What are you saying here, Trevor? Ash asked while gazing at Trevor with horror and confusion in his eyes.

"What I'm saying here is that Serena reacted, the way she did, was because you weren't really thinking about her when you made that decision to fight Giovanni by yourself and leaving all of us in the dark!" Trevor shouted, causing Ash to take a step back.

"Serena has been hurting for the last five years because of you not being there for her when she needed you the most! All the pain, suffering, and sadness that she had to endure for all those years, they were all because of you! For five years, you've isolated yourself from the people who really care about you! You've lost most of our trust! Your 'death' impacted us very deeply! When I thought you were dead, I lost my passion for battling because I wasn't able to save your life that day. With that guilt, my will to battle was almost gone."

When Trevor said that, a thought came across in Ash's mind. If he had to stop battling, then why he is here, right now, competing in this tournament? Ash then realized that Trevor must be fighting for someone, just like him. Ash then finally asked Trevor the question that has been in his mind, ever since the tournament began.

"So then tell me, Trevor, after five years of not battling, what or who made you decide to compete in this tournament?"

"Don't change the subject!" Trevor responded fiercely. "This isn't about me! It's about you and the stupid mistake you've just made!"

"Just tell me! Trevor!" Ash shouted out with an annoyed tone in his voice. "You've kept my secret from the others. You can be sure that I'll keep yours."

Trevor looked at Ash, then turned around while taking a deep breath. He turns back to make eye contact with a waiting Ash.

"Alright, Ash." Trevor began as he sighed. "If you really want to know..."

Ash and his two Pokémon gazed at Trevor with great interest, listening to what he's about to tell them.

"The person, who impacted my decision to compete here.....was my daughter," Trevor answered.

Ash and his Pokémon were in shock and awe after hearing his response.

"Your daughter?!" Ash responded before being shushed by Trevor while making sure no one was around to hear them talk. "When? How? I mean, what?! How do you have a daughter, Trevor?! Wait a minute, Trevor, at some point, in the last five years, did you happen to get married?"

"And I thought you kept tabs on us, Ash?" Trevor joked before answering his friend's questions. "But yes, Ash. I did get married."

He then shows him a ring on his left index finger. This caused Ash's jaw to drop. He was surprised to hear that his friend got married, and he didn't hear about it.

"How come I didn't hear about that? Do the others know about this? What your wife's name? And how old is your daughter?" Ash asked, while at the same time, overwhelming Trevor with his barrage of questions.

"Woah! Slow down, Ash." Trevor began. "First of all, my wife's name is Angela. She's a Pokémon Doctor. Second, my daughter is three and a half years old. As for the wedding, it was held at a private ceremony four years ago. I didn't want Angela to be overwhelmed by the media because you know a guy with a Mewtwo would attract that kind of attention. After I got married, I asked my boss at the Pokémon Rangers HQ to keep any personal information off my records, so that the media cannot invade on my personal life, and especially, not bothering Angela or our daughter. I haven't told the others yet because I wanted to be a surprise for them."

Ash interrupted, "A surprise? What do you mean?"

"Well, Ash," Trevor continued. "They're actually coming here tomorrow to meet everyone. The only two people, who already knew about this, are Gary and Serena."

Ash's interested face soon turned to a small frown. Trevor noticed this. "Oh sorry. It's just that she was actually the one who convinced me to propose to Angela. In fact, Serena was her maid of honor."

"And Gary was your best man, correct?"

"Yeah," Trevor responded as he noticed a frustrated look on Ash's face. "Hey, Ash. You would have been my best man, but you were technically 'dead' at the time. I had to find someone else and Gary seems like the kind of guy that can keep secrets. Am I right?"

Ash nodded, and then, asked, "How did you meet Angela, Trevor?"

Trevor gave a chuckle before answering, "Well, Ash, I met her because of what happened when I first met Gregor."

"Really? What happened?" questioned Ash.

"About 11 years ago," Trevor said, beginning to tell his story. "I went into the Cerulean Cave, after hearing rumors about a very powerful wild Pokémon, who has defeated and injured many trainers and their Pokémon. When I reached the end of the cave, I discovered the Pokemon, which was a Mewtwo (Gregor). When I told him my name, he was shocked to learn my last name was Hallett. He asked if my dad's name was Michael, which it was. He informed me that my father had once rescued him from Team Rocket many years ago. He asked how he was doing. I sadly informed him that my father was killed by Team Rocket. Gregor was deeply saddened by the loss of his dear friend. All of a sudden, some members of Team Rocket appeared and activated devices that surrounded Gregor. It looked like they were preventing him from using any of his moves. They then pushed me out of the way and proceed to attack him with electric batons. Witnessing the horror of Team Rocket beating the shit out of him, I decided to take action and use Charizard to destroy their devices. Unfortunately, Gregor was too weak to fight back. When a Team Rocket Grunt was about to hit him with an electric baton again, I pushed Gregor out of the way. By doing that, I got hit and electrified. Gregor, who noticed me taking a hit for him, then uses whatever amount of energy he could muster to send those Team Rocket bastards flying out of the cave. However, that attack completely exhausted him. He wasn't going to make it, due to the loss of blood caused by his injuries. I was in bad shape and started to lose consciousness. I wasn't able to help Gregor get to the hospital; but thankfully, Charizard was able to carry us out of the cave and fly to the nearest Pokémon Center, which was in Cerulean City. From what I was told, Charizard entered the building and Nurse Joy, who happened to be Angela's mother, was quick to respond with the emergency. She took Gregor to the emergency room. As for me, when I regained consciousness, I was in this room with a young girl, who was taking care of my wounds, and her Shiny Eevee. She informed me of everything that happened. She even told me her name. Angela."

"Angela?!" Ash interrupted Trevor's story with a shocked and puzzled look across his face. "You mean, the same Angela, who's currently your wife?!"

"Yes, Ash, the same Angela," Trevor answered with an annoyed look in his eyes. "Now, shut up and let me tell the story here, please. Thank you."

Ash nodded and allowed him to continue his story. "Alright, after that, Angela then asked what happened to me and Gregor that got us to be in critical condition. I explained to her everything that happened in the cave. After I was done explaining everything to her, Angela was horrified to hear that Team Rocket was beating up a defenseless Pokemon. Although she praised both me and Charizard for rescuing Gregor, Angela told me that I was too reckless with my actions, especially the part where I took a hit for Gregor. I could have been killed. You see, Ash, back then, I didn't care if I risked my life to protect Pokemon from Team Rocket. Ever since they killed my father, I was always alone and had a difficult time trusting other people. I only trusted Pokemon to keep me company and help me fill the loneliness in my heart. However, as I was talking to Angela, I felt like I could trust her. In fact, she was the only person that I could feel comfortable with."

"Sounds like it," Ash responded, listening to Trevor's story. "What happened next?"

Trevor continued, "Okay. I also told her that Gregor was the strong wild Pokémon from the rumor. Angela asked me why didn't I catch him when he was too weak. I told her that it wouldn't fair to capture a Pokémon when it's in critical condition, without properly battling it like you're supposed to. After saying that, I could tell that Angela was amazed by my resolution. While waiting for her mother to come out of the emergency room, Angela took me to get some Sea Salt Ice Cream. They tasted salty, but they were also sweet. Thanks to Angela, Sea-Salt Ice Cream has been my favorite kind of ice cream to this day. While eating our ice cream, we chatted about our interests in Pokémon and realized that we had much in common. Like me, she lost her father at a young age due to an accident. We both have lost our fathers when we were young. We've both also experienced being teased by the other kids because of our quiet and mature personalities. She also has a Charizard, who was female. It didn't take long for me to notice my Charizard had taken a liking to hers. When we got back to the Pokémon Center, Angela's mother was still fixing Gregor up. I decided to stay at the center until Gregor got better. My father would have done the same thing for him. At first, I thought I was going to be boring sitting and waiting in the dark alone; but luckily, Angela was there. She was fascinated with how I care deeply about all living creatures, including Gregor, even though he was created in a lab. I told her that I viewed Gregor as a living creature and friend. When I said that, Angela was smiling. Her smile was what eliminated the loneliness in my heart and fill it with the light of hope and love. Her smile also brings comfort to those around her, including the Pokemon she helps take care of. She has a great personality, character, and most importantly, she devotes her life to helping both people and Pokémon. It seems we were made for each other."

"Kinda like what Serena is to me-" Ash said before stopping himself when he mentioned Serena's name. Ash looked down with defeated eyes as Trevor stared at Ash with concerned eyes. "Sorry, please continue."

"Alright," Trevor said, before continuing. "After Gregor got better, I asked if he wanted to come along with me on my journey. Gregor agreed to my request because his father asked him to watch over Trevor if anything were to happen to him. After catching Gregor, Angela suggested I give him a name. She suggested the name 'Gregor', after the guy who discovered Genetics. It made sense, especially since Mewtwo is known as the Genetics Pokemon. Following that, Angela asked if she could join my journey as well. I immediately said yes to her request. Her mother allowed her to travel with me. That day was one I would never forget for the rest of my life because I met the two people who really changed my life for the better. Angela and Gregor. And so, we traveled to other regions together. With Angela, I was enjoying any new experiences during our travels. It wasn't until we got to Sinnoh when we both confessed our feelings for each other. We started dating afterward. When Angela decided to become a Pokemon Doctor, she took time off from traveling to take classes and study to become one. I was proud of her decision, even though I would be traveling alone for a while. When I met you, Ash, I decided to travel with you in Kalos and helped train you to become a better trainer."

"And that training helped me a lot since I won the Kalos League," Ash said.

"That's right," Trevor said, before resuming his story. "You were going to challenge the Elite Four. Unfortunately, that whole Team Rocket crisis forced you to risk losing your life over Serena and Mewtwo, who was Gregor's brother."

"Yeah..."Ash said with a tone of sadness in his voice, hearing Serena's name again.

Trevor noticed Ash's saddened face. I have got to stop mentioning Serena to him.

"Ash," Trevor said to get his depressed friend's attention. "When I thought you died, I was devastated that I couldn't save you from that explosion. Your death convinced me that I needed to be with my loved ones and do my best to be there for them, no matter what. After coming back to Pallet Town, Angela was already there and she could tell I was deeply saddened by your 'death' and would need her to be by my side to get through this. I told her that our days of traveling are over and wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. She accepted this and we moved into a house together. I decided to become a Pokemon Ranger because I wanted to continue protecting Pokemon from evil people in Kanto, while still being there for Angela. A year later, I proposed to her and we got married a few months later. Eventually, Angela was pregnant and her Charizard mated with mine and they produced an egg and a Charmander hatched from it. And then, nine months later, Angela gave birth to our daughter. We were both happy when she was born. To this day, Angela and I have always find time in our busy schedules to play with our baby girl and be there for her during those important moments. And I guess that's a good place to stop right now."

When Trevor finished his story, Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario was amazed by the details and events in Trevor's story.

"Wow. That was amazing, Trevor. Almost puts mine to shame." Lucario responded, while Trevor scratches the back of his neck and chuckles to Lucario's statement.

"To be fair with you, Lucario, your story had more action than mine had," Trevor stated while being completely honest with the Aura Pokémon standing in front of him.

"So how exactly did your daughter convinced you to compete?" Ash questioned Trevor since he still hasn't answered Ash's original question.

Trevor realized what time it was. It was 2 o'clock in the morning. They both need to get some sleep, especially since they both have matches to win in a couple of hours.

"Alright, Ash," Trevor said. "This is how my daughter convinced me to compete here."

Trevor then took out a PokéGear and started playing a recorded message from Angela and their daughter.

The first voice belonged to Angela.

"Hi, honey! We saw you win your match against that Jon Dickson! Awesome job! Gregor looked just as strong as he was back in the day! We're starting to pack our bags for the trip to Saffron City. Can't wait to finally meet the rest of your old friends! Oh! Trevor, our daughter has a few words to say to you. Here you go, sweetie."

The second was Trevor and Angela's daughter. There was something about her voice and words that sparked a familiar tone to Ash, as he's listening to the recording.

"Hi, daddy! I can't wait to watch you battle in person! Remember, never give up until it's over! I love you, daddy! See ya soon!"

The recording then goes back to Angela's voice, as she's chuckling towards her daughter's statement.

"She's quite the energetic one. Anyway, I'll see you in a few days, honey! I love you! Bye!"

The message stopped playing. Trevor looked up and gazed at Ash, who had a stunned look on his face. Before he could even say a word, Trevor quickly answers the question that Ash was about to ask.

"Yes, Ash," Trevor responded. "I told my daughter everything that I knew about you. You're like a role model to her. You truly inspired her in what she wants to be when she grows up. A Pokémon trainer, just like the two of us."

Ash is stunned to see that he has influenced Trevor's daughter's life. Trevor chuckled at Ash's reaction.

"Well, we better head back to the hotel, right now. We've both got big matches tomorrow. We want to be in perfect shape before them. Am I right?" Trevor said as Ash nodded in agreement.

As they were walking back to the hotel, Ash still felt a bit upset about Serena. He stopped when they got to the entrance. Trevor turned and looked at his friend with confusion in his eyes.

"I am going to walk around a bit longer," Ash stated. "I need to take in everything that has happened today."

"Alright," Trevor said with a concerning tone in his voice. "But make sure you get some sleep. I don't want you to lose your match over a lack of sleep."

Ash nodded and started to walk away, with Pikachu and Lucario following him. Trevor was about to enter the hotel until Ash called out to him.

"Wait!" Ash shouted, which got Trevor's attention."I forgot to ask, but what's your daughter's name?"

Trevor chuckled before turning to Ash and giving him his answer.

"Ashley. Her name is Ashley." Trevor answered. "She was named after her role model."

Ash smiled at the fact that he named his daughter, after him. Trevor then entered the hotel and went back to his room to get some sleep. As for Ash, he, Pikachu, and Lucario continued their walk through the village that lasted for the rest of the night.