"Well, Ash, I think it's time to go," Clemont said, looking at the clock in the room. At those words, Ash was up from the computer, where he'd just been double checking the Pokemon he'd registered and he was putting on his hat.

"I can't wait!" Ash yelled, pumping his fist in excitement. He gave an embarrassed smile to Serena and Bonnie who had both winced at the yell. "I've been waiting so long for this. There's nothing like a Pokemon League. It all comes down to this."

"So do you need to go anywhere special?" Serena asked, adjusting her ribbon, almost like it was a nervous tick.

"Uh..." Ash paused, thinking about that. Usually the competing trainers had to assemble somewhere. He probably should've figured that out. "I'm not sure..."

Before Serena and the Lumiose siblings could scold Ash for his cluelessness, there was a knock at the door. Alain's voice followed. "Hey Ash, you there?"

"Yeah!" Ash called, running to the door and opening it. He was surprised to see Alain, Trevor and Tierno all there. Nobody else was with them. "What's up?" Ash asked, his confusion apparent on his face.

"All the competing trainers need to gather at the main arena," Alain explained, looking slightly amused. "We should probably head over there." He looked behind Ash at Serena, Bonnie and Clemont. "Mairin and the others will meet you three soon. Spectators can watch from the stands."

"Sure," Serena said, giving Ash an excited smile. "Have fun, Ash. I'll see you after."

"Of course!" Ash said happily, giving her a thumbs up. "You three have fun as well. Make sure to cheer me on."

"Battles only start tomorrow," Bonnie said, looking at Ash like he was crazy.

"I know," Ash said, as Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and Greninja stepped beside him, "but I still need to see where you guys are. I'll wave to you in the crowd." For some reason, that seemed to excite Bonnie, so she nodded with wide and excited eyes.

With one last wave, Ash, Pikachu and Greninja set off behind Alain, Trevor and Tierno. Butterfree and his family decided to stay with the others, presumably to let Greninja and Pikachu have the focus.

"Why is Greninja staying out of his pokeball?" Trevor asked, fiddling with his camera. Ash noticed he was being particularly fidgety with it.

"I feel like Greninja deserves to get the full experience here," Ash answered, giving Greninja a smile. "He was the key to beating Wulfric and Mega Abomasnow."

"Wulfric has a Mega Abomasnow?" Trevor and Tierno asked at the same time.

"Yeah," Ash nodded, looking surprised that they didn't know. Then he remembered Wulfric told him he only used mega evolution for the best challengers, so he decided not to mention that.

"Neither of us were able to beat him and he didn't even use mega evolution," Tierno explained, looking a little intimidated now, as he glanced at Greninja.

"That was a long time ago, though," Trevor said, looking surprisingly confident. He again fidgeted with his camera. "I think Wulfric would have a hard time against me now."

"Yeah," Tierno agreed, pulling out a pokeball and smiling at it, "Blastoise and I are a lot stronger. All my Pokemon are. Our dancing is in top form."

Ash smirked. "Hopefully we get to battle. I'd like to see it."

Tierno laughed nervously. "Ha...yeah, Ash. Um...let's just hope we don't meet too early. That'd really suck."

Alain, who had been quiet up until now, looked at Trevor. "So Trevor," he said, "Ash mentioned you have a Charmeleon."

"Actually, he's a Charizard now," Trevor announced proudly. "He's really strong." Again, his hand flitted to his camera. Ash just decided to assume it was like Serena fidgeting with her ribbon. It didn't mean too much. "You have a Charizard as well, don't you?"

"Yeah," Alain nodded. "My first Pokemon."

"And he can mega evolve, right?" Trevor asked, interest lighting up his eyes. "It turns into a black Charizard, right? I heard about it on the news when they reported on the Team Flare incident."

Alain smiled, looking amused by Trevor's interest. "Yeah, he becomes a dragon type when he mega evolves," he explained.

"That's so cool," Trevor exclaimed. "Did you know that Charizard can actually mega evolve in another way?"

"Really?" Ash asked, eyes wide. He had no idea that there could be multiple ways for Pokemon to mega evolve. Maybe he could find this other mega stone and give it to his own Charizard.

"I've heard rumours," Alain said, nodding. "I've never seen it, though. I'd really like to. It would be interesting to match it up against my own Charizard."

"Maybe someone in the league has one..." Trevor said quietly. "I've heard a lot of powerful mega evolution trainers are coming here."

"I hope so," Alain said. "I'd like to become the strongest mega evolution trainer, and I'll need to beat the others if I'm to do that."

They walked the rest of the way in silence and then finally reached the arena. It was massive and Ash took a step back just so he could take it all in. Out of all the huge stadiums he'd competed in, this one seemed particularly impressive. It was hard to see what it fully looked like at ground level, but he could tell it was in a kind of a circle shape, which made sense, considering that was usually what arenas were like. It was blue on the outside, and Ash could see pictures of Pokemon and trainers projected on screens all around it.

"Look, there's your picture, Ash," Tierno said excitedly, pointing so Ash could see.

Ash looked and saw Tierno was right. It was a bit odd seeing his face up on a big arena wall, for everyone to see. He scanned some of the other pictures, hoping to find his friends. He recognized one, finally, and smiled, seeing Sawyer. He hadn't spotted the actual green haired trainer yet, but at least seeing his picture meant that he'd successfully registered.

"This is pretty exciting," Alain suddenly said, and Ash actually heard the shake of said excitement in his voice. "I'm glad I joined."

"It's only gonna get better," Ash assured him. "Well...until I beat you."

Alain just gave an amused smile and the four trainers continued towards the stadium. There were a few others heading towards it, but from the noises inside, Ash could tell that most people had already arrived.

When they entered through the doors of the stadium, Ash felt his excitement double. He could tell that it was brand new. Everything was clean, the walls were covered in posters, TV's and more monitors showing pictures of the competing trainers. It felt really strange as Ash passed a picture of himself, staring down an unseen opponent.

"Do I actually do that?" Ash asked, pointing out the picture. He had no idea how they got these pictures. Maybe the gyms had cameras. He made a mental note to ask Clemont later.

Trevor laughed, looking at the picture. "Yeah, but it's actually scarier when it's real." Ash laughed as well and then they continued on.

They finally reached another door that lead into a long hallway. At the end of it, Ash could see the lights of the stadium and hear the sounds of the crowd. The ground seemed to be shaking from the noise. If the crowd, which wasn't even full at this point, was this loud now, Ash wondered how loud they would be when the battles began.

When Ash and his friends emerged from the hallway, he squinted and looked around. Many trainers were already there, conversing amongst themselves. The crowd was about three quarters full. The most noticeable thing about the arena, was that there was a huge hexagon shaped hole in it. Actually, now that Ash was in the arena, he realized that was the shape of it. It was a hexagon, not a circle. All the trainers had gathered around the hole. Ash glanced inside and all he saw was a pit and some bars and gears. What was this supposed to mean?

Ash suddenly glanced up, hearing everything go quiet. Well, mostly quiet. Some people were still talking, but the majority had stopped. Some people were staring up at something on the walls, while many others...were staring at him. He followed the gazes of the people staring at the walls and noticed they were looking at screens...that were showing him.

"Remember, Ash," Alain whispered, sounding serious, "you're pretty well known, now. Beating Malva and then saving Lumiose City has made you a bit famous. It'll get you popularity, but it might also put a target on your back."

Ash nodded, looking a little nervously around at the people staring. He noticed that it was mostly hostile looks, which he found to be unfair. What was he supposed to do? Lose to Malva? Let Team Flare destroy Lumiose City? Let Serena get hurt? He then narrowed his eyes and returned a few glares. He'd show these people he was the real deal.

As Ash continued his various staring contests, his gaze went to a blonde, female trainer that looked kind of familiar. She looked back, but unlike most of the trainers, she actually gave him a friendly smile. He was just remembering why she looked familiar, when he heard his name called behind him. "Ash!" came the happy voice of Sawyer.

Ash turned and smiled, watching as his green haired friend approached. "Hey Sawyer, great to see you again," he greeted. He noticed that Sceptile was at Sawyer's side. The reptilian grass type immediately started glaring at Greninja.

"Yeah," Sawyer agreed, giving Sceptile a nervous glance, obviously a little worried his partner Pokemon was too eager to fight. "So Ash, I heard about what you did. That's so amazing that you saved Lumiose City." He gestured around to the still glaring trainers around. "These people are crazy not to like you. You're a hero."

"Uh..." Ash rubbed the back of his head, giving a nervous laugh. "I wouldn't say that."

Alain, Trevor and Tierno had noticed Ash was talking to Sawyer at this point, so Ash introduced everyone to each other. Alain and Trevor were particularly excited upon hearing about how Sawyer's Sceptile, still glaring at Greninja at this point, could mega evolve. Likewise, Sawyer was fascinated about Alain's Charizard and the information that there were two different mega evolutions for Charizard. He noted this information down in his notebook, and Ash thought he noticed Sawyer make a note to be cautious of Alain's Charizard.

Suddenly Sawyer's head jerked up and he looked at Ash with wide eyes. "Ash, you'll never believe who I battled!" He didn't wait for Ash to guess, although a confused glance with Pikachu would have been the only answer Ash could've given. "Malva!" Fortunately, he managed to say this as a whisper, so no other people heard. Ash had a feeling it was better for that battle to stay secret. "She's coming here," Sawyer said, looking around as though she might be right there.

"I know," Ash said quietly, ignoring the surprised looks from Trevor and Tierno. Alain didn't seem surprised, although he knew more about Malva than any of them. "She attacked Serena a while back. I can't wait to make her pay."

"Shouldn't we call the police?" Trevor asked, sounding nervous. "Malva might get Team Flare to make a comeback."

"No!" Ash said firmly. "She's here to send her own message. I'm gonna make sure she gets one from me, instead."

XXXXX

Serena and the others set off not long after Ash. She trailed along at the back of the group, even behind Clemont. She was fidgeting with her ribbon nonstop. As exciting as this all was, it was definitely nerve wracking. She'd been nervous before her Masterclass, but somehow, this made her heart race even more.

"Worried about Ash, huh?" a voice said, coming from Serena's left. She turned and saw Misty had dropped back to walk with her.

"Um...well...yeah," Serena said, with a slight nod. It was kind of a silly question. Why would she not be worried? Ash deserved to accomplish his dream. He'd been working so long to achieve it. And...he wanted to win it for her. That made it seem more important.

"Wow...Ash got a keeper in you, didn't he?" Misty asked, although it was like she was speaking a thought without realizing it. She then looked at Serena and smiled. "How'd you break through that thick, dense skull of his?"

Serena laughed at that, thinking of all the times Ash had been so clueless. Then, after thinking a moment, the answer came to her. "I didn't give up. I'll never give up on him."

Suddenly, Serena was surrounded, as Dawn, May, Shauna and Iris, all dropped back to join in the conversation. Gary, Brock, Cilan and even slow Clemont, were all up ahead, not knowing what was happening. Bonnie and Mairin were ahead as well, but Serena could tell they were eavesdropping.

"Serena," May started, looking seriously at her, "have you and Ash gone on a date?"

"Um..." Serena muttered nervously. That was a tough question to answer for two reasons. One, because it was asked so suddenly. And two, because when they'd gone on what could have been considered a date, it hadn't really started out as them being a couple. Maybe ending it as a couple made it one, though. She just decided to shrug, thinking that was a safe answer.

"You haven't gone for dinner or anything? A walk?" Dawn asked, looking disappointed.

"Well, before helping me with the Masterclass, we took a walk on the beach," Serena answered, smiling as she remembered that night. It was the first time the idea of Ash reciprocating her feelings had seemed possible. But again, was that a date?

May didn't seem to think so. Or her question, at least, made Serena realize that maybe it hadn't really been a date. "Did Ash really understand what was going on?"

Serena couldn't help but feel slightly irritated. Did any of this really matter? She and Ash were together now and that was all that mattered. "Look," she said, with surprising force, "Ash might not understand love the way we might, but I don't care. He doesn't need to take me on dates to show me he cares and I'm definitely not going to complain about not being on a date when we weren't even a couple."

"Yep," Dawn said with a smirk, "we're making sure you two go on a date."

"Come on, Serena," Shauna pleaded. "It would be nice, don't you think?"

"Ash is going to be spending a lot of time training and battling over the next week or so," Iris explained. "It's only right you two have a proper date before that."

"Why do you all care so much?" Serena asked, feeling her cheeks grow hot from embarrassment.

"It's just too good of an opportunity," Dawn answered. "We've never seen Ash take note of a girl. And," she glanced around at all the girls, "let's be honest, we're not bad on the eyes right?"

Serena narrowed her eyes. What was Dawn saying here? "Are you jealous?" Serena asked, but then she immediately clapped her hands to her mouth. That was meant to be a mental question.

Dawn only laughed at that, though. "No! Don't worry about that, Serena. I'll admit that maybe when I first met Ash..." she blushed and stopped talking, but Serena noticed the other girls, even Shauna, despite not even knowing Ash as well, were nodding in agreement.

"What? Did you all like Ash?" Serena could hear a slight hint of panic in her voice. No girl wanted to be told by her boyfriend's group of friends, that were girls, that they had all been interested in him at one time. It didn't matter, though, as they all nodded with embarrassed smiles. "I don't need to know that!" She was particularly aiming this at Shauna, who she considered her best female friend outside Bonnie.

"Serena, relax," Misty said, placing a hand on Serena's shoulder. "We've all moved on and we're happy for you and Ash." She paused and waited for the others to signal their agreement. "See, we just don't want Ash to screw this up. You're perfect for him. We just know how dense he is and really, that's lost him a chance with a lot of girls, right?"

"It was meant to be, though," May added. "You and him are adorable together. We just want to get Ash to show his feelings better."

"He told me he wanted to win the Kalos League so he could be Champion while I became Kalos Queen," Serena informed the others. "I think he showed his feelings just fine."

"Wouldn't one last night alone together, before the league, be nice?" Iris asked, eyes shining in excitement.

Serena couldn't lie. It would be nice, of course. "It doesn't matter. Ash has done enough to show me he cares. Anything else is just a bonus." She glared ahead, not looking at the other girls. Now she was frustrated. She'd allowed them to make her think about it.

A date with Ash before the Kalos League...it was such a nice thought.

XXXXX

When the lights dimmed, it was obvious that things were about to start. Ash took a quick glance towards the stands and was luckily quite easily able to spot his group of friends. Of course, his main focus was on Serena. Seeing her made his heart beat faster, as it always did these days.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer started speaking, "welcome to the opening ceremonies of the Kalos Pokemon League Lumiose Conference!" The cheers made the whole arena shake like there was an earthquake. Ash was a little worried someone might fall in the pit.

The announcer continued once the crowd had finally quieted down. "The greatest Pokemon trainers have assembled here today, in order to compete in this tournament. The Kalos region has some of the toughest gym leaders in the world, so these trainers have accomplished an impressive feat just to get here. The battles are sure to be fierce and competitive."

The announcer continues to pump up the crowd with promises of how exciting the league would be, and then finally moved on. "Now, I'm sure many of you are wondering why the stadium has a pit in the middle of it. Well, how about we give an example of how this stadium works"

A spotlight then lit up the pit and Ash's eyes widened as something started to shoot up from the bottom of it. It only took a moment, and then a flat surface with a huge staircase came up. At the top was a bowl, which Ash realized would likely be for lighting the torch. Diantha was next to it, holding a microphone.

"As you can see, the stadium allows for different fields to come up," the announcer explained. "If you would please look up on the screens, you will see examples of the fields we have designed."

When Ash looked up, what he saw was definitely not what he expected. The fields were nothing like the ones he'd battled on before. These were complete environments. There was one with a forest and a river, with tall grass and trees. The ice field had a snow topped mountain in the middle, surrounded by large chunks of ice and a few small bodies of water. The rock field was somewhat similar, but far more dry, obviously. The water field was one big lake, with trees surrounding it and some rocks scattered throughout the water.

Once the excited murmuring of the crowd had died down, the announcer spoke once again. "Now, for the main event of the evening. If you'll turn your attention to the middle of the arena, you'll see that Champion Diantha is here to help open things up."

The crowd cheered somehow louder than before. Diantha's popularity was definitely obvious in that moment. She waited a few moments, smiling and waving and then held up a hand to signal for quiet. "Thank you all for that warm welcome," she announced, her voice causing anyone who hadn't stopped talking to immediately do so. "It is an honour to be here in the presence of so many trainers trying to take my job." This drew huge bouts of laughter from the crowd but only polite chuckles from the trainers. It was true, after all. They certainly did want her job.

After the laughter died down, Diantha continued. "As many of you know, the opening of Pokemon League competitions often begin with a torch runner lighting the fire of Moltres." There were some murmurs of agreement and some nods. "Well," Diantha said, and her head turned so it was facing in Ash's direction, "I believe we should have a special torch runner, light the torch. As a thanks for saving Lumiose City, the Kalos region and the entire world."

All of a sudden, there were more murmurs of excitement and then there was a tap on Ash's shoulder. He turned and saw a league official holding out the very torch Diantha was talking about. Something about the league official seemed familiar. He had blue hair and... "James?" Even Ash was surprised he recognized him, considering how many times he'd fallen for Team Rocket's bad disguises.

"Don't worry, twerp," James said quickly. "I'm not here to ruin anything. I was told to bring this to you, that's all."

Ash just shook his head in disbelief, but took the torch anyways. Before he turned away to take up the torch, he looked at James one more time. "Thanks, James." It was gratitude for far more than bringing the torch.

"Good luck, twerp," was all James said, before turning away.

Ash, Pikachu on his shoulder and Greninja at his side, quickly made his way through the crowd of trainers. They weren't giving him dirty looks now, but he assumed that was due to the cameras on him and any glares might be spotted. As he walked up the steps, he couldn't help but laugh a little. This wasn't the first time he'd done this. In fact, it wasn't even the second.

Finally, he made it up the steps and came face to face with Diantha. Others might have been starstruck in that moment, but really, to Ash she was a friend rather than an adored celebrity. She nodded to him and he approached the pyre.

Ash held out the torch, but didn't light the fire immediately. First, he turned to Greninja. "Together," he told his Pokemon. Greninja nodded and reached out a webbed hand. Then, Ash looked at the sky. "Thank you," he whispered, so only Pikachu and Greninja could hear.

Then, Ash and Greninja moved their arms forward and lit the torch together. The Kalos League had officially started.

When the flames shot up, Ash and Greninja stepped back, admiring it. Moltres' flames were truly unique and beautiful. No other Pokemon and no normal fire, could create such heat and beauty.

The crowd cheered loudly and then Diantha started speaking again. "Thank you Ash, for without you, this league wouldn't be happening." She then called for the announcer to start speaking. As he was making some sort of speech about the history of the league, Diantha turned to Ash. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but-"

"Malva?" Ash interrupted, scanning the crowd of trainers to see if the former Elite Four member was there. He felt a cold shudder as he did, indeed, spot her in her Mauve disguise.

"Yes," Diantha answered, her voice much angrier than Ash had ever heard her sound. "I doubt Team Flare is involved, but she may be planning something."

"Honestly, I don't think that's what it is," Ash said, shaking his head. "She's been collecting gym badges legitimately as far as I know. I think she just wants to prove a point."

Diantha studied Ash a moment and then nodded, smiling. "And you want to get the chance to battle her? In a full battle?"

"That's the plan," Ash answered, voice full of confidence. He hadn't really thought too much about Malva until Sawyer had mentioned her, but now that he thought of it, he really wanted to beat her. "Please don't call the police on her just yet. I really don't think she's planning something dangerous."

"I'll keep an eye on her, but if you truly think she isn't going to cause trouble, I suppose we can let her compete," Diantha agreed, surveying the crowd below them. "Unfortunately some unlucky trainer may lose a spot due to her being involved, but trainers expecting to win this thing need to be capable of holding their own against the Elite Four."

"She won't get past me," Ash assured her. He then narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Remember our deal?"

Diantha laughed a little at that and gave a short nod. "If you win the Kalos League, you and I shall battle."