It was just before dawn the next day. Ash had just woken up and decided that it was a good time to try on the clothes that Serena made for him. The jacket had a hood which he wasn't the biggest fan of but the rest of the attention to detail was 'awesome', as he would say.

Both sides of the pants had a chain-like drawing with four differently colored circles inside. Just like the Masked Royal. He could not believe that she decided to do it, he had only really mentioned it once.

Then there was the fact that right bellow the hood on the left side of the jacket was an engraving with golden thread which read 'Future Pokémon Master'. The coolest thing about it was that the thread was a little loose in the word 'future', so when Ash achieved his goal, he could just tug on the thread and the word would be gone, leaving just 'Pokémon Master'.

"I can't believe Serena did all this for me..." he mumbled to himself while checking out her fine craft.

"Pi Pikachu!"

"C'mon, Pikachu! I think we can get some training done before the Showcase!"

"Kachu!"

Ash called forth Froakie, Treecko and Rockruff before taking off running out of Cerise Laboratories.

Meanwhile, in her shared room with Chloe, Serena found herself landing on the ground with a quiet, yet noticeable, thud. She had just woken up from a nightmare in which she had messed up in her Showcase and embarrassed herself in front of the whole crowd.

"Thank goodness it was just a dream..." she whispered, careful not to wake her roommate.

She was about to take the first big step towards accomplishing her dream, and her nerves were getting the better of her. After taking one loving glance at her Pokémon, who were sleeping peacefully on the nightstand, Serena decided to take a walk in order to calm her nerves.

No sooner did she walk out of the building before noticing Ash and his Pokémon running laps around the streets. She wanted to call out to him but stopped herself, in fear of disturbing the neibourhood. Instead, she just admired him from afar and chuckled to herself. After getting reacquainted with her long-lost childhood friend, she could confidently say that running laps at 5 in the morning with his Pokémon was definitely an Ash thing to do.

Little did she know, he wasn't just training for his own gain.

"Alright guys!" Ash said, already being well out of ear-shot from his honey haired companion. "Today is Serena's first Showcase! And if she wins, it'll also be her ticket to the Master Class! I want to see you guys cheer her on with all you got!"

"Rockruff!"

"Fro kie kie fro!"

"Tree..."

"C'mon, Treecko! She trained real hard for this!"

"Cko..." the Wood Gecko Pokémon relented.

Ash smiled before a shimmering light caught his attention. Turning around, he and his Pokémon witnessed the beautiful sunrise, breathing in the clean air of the early morning before Ash's eyes lit ablaze.

"Today's gonna be an awesome day!" He declared. He whipped his fist towards the horizon. "Serena's gonna win that Showcase for sure!"

.......................................................................

By now the sun was already up and so were our heroes. On their way to the Showcase Hall, Goh didn't waste time once he spotted a wild Murkrow.

You know how this goes by now...

"Poké-Ball... Go!"

Murkrow has been registered to your Pokédex

"Alright! One step closer!" Goh celebrated with Scorbunny cheering for him on his shoulder. "Kind of like you, Serena..."

"Yeah... I guess you're right..."

"Serena! There you are!"

The four heard a familiar voice coming from behind them. They turned around only to see Shauna running towards them with her Bulbasaur right beside her.

"Shauna!" Serena squealed in delight upon seeing her friend and inspiration. Shauna stopped in front of her and the two girls greeted each-other with bright smiles.

"Did I miss something?" Chloe asked, feeling a little frustrated since she didn't get what was going on.

"A while back Ash, Serena and I met up with Shauna and her friends. She's a Rookie Performer too!"

"Scor Bun!"

Chloe nodded in understanding.

"Guess you'll be in the Showcase too?" Ash concluded.

"I can't just stand by and let Serena take all the glory, can I?" She giggled before her expression turned serious; "Because from now on, we're rivals, right?"

Serena's eyes widened in realization. "Yeah... I guess you're right..."

"And there's no way I'm gonna lose!"

The two shook hands before Serena closed the gap between them and looked at Shauna with flaming determination, proclaiming; "I'm not gonna lose either!"

"Hey there! You got room for one more?"

The gang turned around and saw the familiar, blue-haired visage of...

Dawn. The girl they had just met at the festival the previous day. As it turned out she was also taking part in the Showcase.

Close by, but just far enough so that our heroes could not notice, a limousine had parked. Inside, a chauffeur turned to face the older woman she who was seated at the back seat.

"Miss Palermo, we've arrived at the venue..." she said.

"Do I really have to go through this?" The older woman, Palermo, groaned, sounding not one bit amused.

"Yes." Her chauffeur replied in a flat tone. "I'll have the limo pick you up when it's over..."

Palermo sighed and exited the vehicle, making a straight shot towards the hall and ignoring any reporters or paparazzi who decided to prey upon her like a hungry Mandibuzz.

.......................................................................

Serena, Shauna and Dawn entered backstage and saw many other girls there. Some were dressing up, some were grooming their Pokémon with their final touches and others were training for their grand entrance.

Letting all the information get to her caused the realization to suddenly dawn on Serena.

"I've got so many rivals..." she mumbled to herself.

"Of course, we all want the same thing, don't we?" Shauna said.

"It's gonna be just fine." Dawn reassured. "Just try not to get overwhelmed..."

"That's right! Overwhelm them instead!"

The voice that came without warning caused the girls to almost jump inside their skin. Turning around they saw a purple haired woman already dressed in a color-matching gown. Her expression showed that she meant business, but Serena couldn't help but feel that it was familiar.

"Make way, your queen is coming through!" She said.

"Wobbuffet!"

If the Showcase's winner was determined on smugness alone, she would've already taken home the Kalos Queen tiara.

As the moment of truth was quickly approaching, the seats of the hall were filling up quickly. As Ash, Goh, Chloe and Barry (who arrived a little late) took their seats, the lights began to dim.

"I wonder if Jessie will pull it off..." the blue haired man (who was totally not James) nervously asked behind his fake sunglasses and fedora.

"No worries!" Meowth reassured him. "There isn't a spotlight she's not in love with..."

"Bonjour, people of Pasio! Devoted fans of Pokémon; this week's Rookie Class festival Showcase, the celebration of beginnings... is about to begin! With grace and elegance! Yet another familiar voice spoke in a hyper exaggerated accent.

Sure enough, Monsieur Pierre made a rightfully dramatic entrance to the center hall.

"I will be your guide through this splendid dream world!" He continued. "I invite all of you at home, as well as here in the audience, to be part of a beauty unsurpassed ANYWHERE else!"

From her VIP little box, Palermo remained unimpressed and scoffed. "I can't believe I let Leon talk me into letting them set this up in Pasio..." she grumbled. "It's just a waste of my and the audience's time. There will never be a Showcase Queen like Aria..."

"Our gifted Performers and their Pokémon are sure to fill each and every one of your hearts with magnificence, awe and delight!"

Serena could barely hear Pierre's words of grandeur over her own thumping heart and storming thoughts. She had just put the finishing touches on the dress her mother bought for her the previous day.

She took a look at herself in the mirror and mouthed the words 'don't give up 'till it's over', in hopes that it would give her confidence.

"And the winner of the Rookie Class will receive the coveted Princess Key!" Pierre explained, raising his hand and showing the audience said key.

"This will be the winner's key to unlocking the door to the Master Class!"

Palemo almost gagged in disgust. "Only one Princess Key to qualify?!" She said, appalled yet still maintaining her flat tone. "I almost feel bad for these girls. They don't stand a chance..."

...

"Shauna! Jessiline! Alouette! You're coming up next!"

The girls whose names were called quickly thanked the messenger and ran up to stage.

"Off I go! Wish me luck!" Shauna said.

"Good luck!" Dawn and Serena said in unison.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, without further adieu... let the Theme Performance begin with..." Pierre paused a bit for tension, which sort of annoyed Goh and Barry. "Voila! Pokémon Styling! And since our first three Performers are already in their booths, I invite the audience to count down with me before their ten minute timer commences..."

A giant number flashed above Pierre. The number changed with the next words that Pierre and the Audience uttered in unison, albeit in different languages.

"Trois. Deux. Un. Let them begin!"

Pierre snapped his fingers and the number above his head was replaced by a sparkling blue hourglass, which turned upside down and caused the sands of time to begin arunning.

In the audience's point of view, nothing much was happening for the following ten minutes, yet the tension in the air was unbearable. However, the three Performers in the booths were frantically and elegantly giving their Pokémon as much style as possible in the narrow window of time they had.

Before anyone knew what was going on the sand in the hourglass had fully run all to the bottom. One-by-one Pierre let the girls out so they can show to the audience their own unique masterpieces. When the three were done, Pierre instructed them to stand shoulder to shoulder while he explained what the audience should do next.

"Now ladies and gentlemen, you will be the judge! Please grab your glowsticks..."

Ash looked a bit puzzled before Goh nudged him and directed his gaze to under his seat. "It's been sitting there since the start..."

"Right..." Ash said embarrassingly as he reached for his glowstick.

"When I give you the signal, please light up your glowstick in the color corresponding to the Performer you judged to be the best!" He said before snapping his fingers.

In a flash, dozens of color-coded orbs flew from the audience to the stage. There were uncountable pink and yellow orbs, which went to Shauna and Allouette respectively, but the scene seemed to lack the blue orbs which corresponded to "Jessiline".

"That can't be! Who turned off my light?!"

Much to her annoyance.

Eventually, the orbs stopped coming.

"The Performer who will advance to the next stage is..."

Three key-holes appeared above the Performers. One was barely filled with blue light, another moderately filled with yellow light and the third glowing abundantly with a pink hue.

"Shauna and her fabulous Bulbasaur!"

The crowd erupted into cheers as Shauna began jumping in glee, not believing that she had won. She picked up her Bulbasaur and twirled around with it.

"Bulbasaur, we did it!" She squealed.

"Bulba!"

.......................................................................

After Shauna's group there were a few others who were called up, Dawn was even the winner of her group. Serena's name was yet to be called, and with each passing minute, her nerves grew. It got to the point where she began to uncontrollably shake her hand before being calmed down and brought back to reality by her Pokémon.

After what felt like forever, it was finally Serena's turn to show her skills. When she and two other Performers arrived on the stage, Ash and his Pokémon began to cheer.

"There she is! Alright! Give it all you've got, Serena!"

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Froakie Fro!"

"Tree Cko!"

"Arf Arf Ruff!"

Right before walking into her booth, Serena clasped her soft furred Fennekin in her arms. The Fox Pokémon gave her a reinforcing look, which helped with the nervousness. She took one final inhale... and walked into the booth.

'Fennekin and I have been training so hard for our Performance today... and like Ash said; take your time and you'll know what to do... I won't let that advice go to waste... I know what I'm gonna do; I'm gonna give this everything I've got, and I'm gonna win!'

...

"Time's up! Dear Performers, please proceeded to the runway..."

And after her other two opponents showed their styling skills to the audience, it was finally Serena's turn.

"Let's go..." was all she said before walking up to the runway, Fennekin by her side wearing the outfit she made especially for her.

Serena not only blew away the audience, but her friends too. Chloe held the panting Yamper close to her chest and her eyes sparkled up with what Serena was able to do in just a few minutes. Goh was also amazed. He pumped both his arms and claimed that she was definitely going to win this one.

And Ash? Well... he just stared at her blankly.

At that moment everything else in Ash's world turned to black except for himself and Serena who was still under the spotlight. His Pokémon were cheering for his friend as loudly as they could, but he heard none of it, he was entranced by her. And the worst part? He had no idea why. He was caught like a Deerling in headlights, especially when he caught glimpse of her eyes.

His trance would be broken soon enough, but not how he'd want it to. As Serena proclaimed to her Fire-type partner how much fun she was having, Fennekin accidentally stepped on a loose thread that was connected to her bowtie. The Fox Pokémon lost her balance and very quickly fell to the ground, much to Serena's and the audience shock and disbelief.

Even "Jessiline", who was still resenting all the Performers who went to the stage after her, couldn't help but feel a ping of sorrow for Serena.

The honey-blonde Performer scooped up her Pokémon in her arms and quickly left the stage, her head hanging low in shame and her thoughts blaming herself.

...

The audience voted, and Serena got the least amount of votes in her group, which meant that she was disqualified and would not be making it to the next round. Wanting to cheer for her friends from the audience, Serena went over to an empty area high above the usual seats. There, she was trying to comfort Fennekin by giving her a loving stroke on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, Fennekin..." she said in a lamenting tone.

"Kin!" The Fox Pokémon barked, on the verge of tears.

"I guess I just... overdid it..." she said, in a choked tone, as if she was also fighting back tears.

"Hey, you did a great job showing off Fennekin..." Serena quickly shook her head to remove any sign of tears as she looked up to see Ash, Goh and Chloe in front of her with their Pokémon.

"Ash's right, you know." Chloe added. "That was amazing!"

"Couldn't agree more! You two looked really great over there!" Goh finished.

"Scorbunny!"

Serena smiled and sniffed. "Thank you guys... really..."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Ash asked, his voice filled with concern.

Serena nodded.

"I'm gonna be fine..." she said. "Now let's cheer for Shauna and Dawn. If I'm not gonna win this, one of them should!"

"Right!" Goh exclaimed.

"We'll see you after the Showcase!" Chloe added before the two Vermillion City natives began walking away.

Ash was right behind them until he noticed that Froakie wasn't with him. Instead, he was next to Fennekin, trying his best to comfort her, just like he did when Ash was training for his first Gym Battle.

"On second thought..." Ash told Goh and Chloe. "I'll stay up here with Serena. Catch you during dinner?"

Goh shrugged and Chloe nodded before the two disappeared from sight.

...

The next round of "Freestyle Performances" was truly a sight to behold, as the girls really gave it their all with performance and skill, as Pierre put it. And while even the weakest of these performances would put even the best styling walk-through to shame, nothing Ash felt while watching them came even close to what he felt when he saw Serena simply walking.

Shauna's performance blew the crowd away, using both her Bulbasaur and a Flabébé of her own. Seeing her do something like that really made Serena gasp in awe.

The moment of truth had come at last, and the audience were now voting for the winner of the Showcase as a whole. The orbs flew in at a rapid pace, but in the end, the Performer who got the most amount of votes and was declared the winner was...

"Performer Shauna!"

"This ends the current Pokémon Rookie Class festival Showcase!" Pierre concluded after giving Shauna the Princess Key. "We hope to see you next time for another magnifique Performance! Au revoir!"

.......................................................................

"There." Palermo affirmed talking on her phone. "I watched all of it... and no. No-one really impressed me..."

She enthusiastically walked off to her limo, catching a glimpse of the group (plus Dawn and Barry) congratulating Shauna on her victory. Well, Barry was throwing a Stomping Tantrum and threatening to fine whomever runs this place (ironic, Palermo thought) but the rest were quite happy. After the Research group broke off from the three other stragglers, Serena decided to take a walk by herself for a while.

"That's odd..." Goh said after she was gone.

"I don't think so..." Chloe replied. "She really wanted that Princess Key, and she may need a moment to vent her frustration..."

"You think she'll be alright?" Goh wondered.

"Serena will be fine..." Ash said confidently. "Don't forget... she's strong..." he smiled at that statement.

...

Serena walked over to the pier of Centra City, her two Pokémon sitting close by, worried since she hadn't uttered a word since she walked away from Ash and the others.

She finally let her bottled up feelings free, which translated to her crying a little more than she would've wanted to.

Fennekin and Pancham hurried to her side and tried their best to cheer her up, which surprisingly for them, worked. They both jumped into her arms and she squeezed them tightly, her tears being replaced by a bright and beautiful smile.

Palermo's limo stopped at a red light right behind her, and that gave the grumpy passenger first row tickets to Serena's attitude regarding loss. And that surely would come in handy later, especially because Palermo recognized Serena from the Showcase.

"I'm sorry..." she cried. "It was all my fault. But you know what? You see, I've never felt like this before. You know why? I'm a Performer now! I'm finally at the starting line on the race for my dream!" She looked up at the setting sun. "And I cannot... will not give up now!"

She opened her bag and was looking for the scissors she used to cut Fennekin's accessories, but something else caught her eye. She planned on cutting her hair to symbolize a new start to her life, but the metaphor would've worked better if the sun was rising, so she decided to take a more... subtle approach to her makeover.

She brought her hands up to her hair, removed the bow she was wearing and let it fall to the ocean, all while getting flashes to everything that has happened to her so far. It wasn't much, but she was just beginning.

As the red-light turned green, Palermo's chauffeur turned to face her. "Palermo. Did you see someone of interest?"

Palermo turned to the woman and chuckled. "It's a secret."

...

Back at the Cerise Laboratory, the group decided to wait for Serena before they started eating, much to Ash's annoyance. His annoyance turned to concern when she hadn't shown up for quite a while.

"I'll go look for her!" Ash said, right before Serena shocked everybody with her new appearance!

Art by NoVaNoah

"Hi guys! Sorry I'm late!" She said cheerfully before twirling around and striking a pose. "What do you think?"

The three and their Pokémon gasped.

"You did something with your hair?!" Ash gasped.

"And you changed your look?!" Chloe added.

"What on Earth happened?!" Goh exclaimed.

"It was time for a change. And I think it looks cute on me..."

"Gotta agree with ya there." Ash said, causing Serena to smile through the redness her cheeks were radiating.

"Aww... Thank you, Ash!"

Something then caught Ash's attention. Wrapped around her wrist like a wristband, was the blue ribbon he had just gifted her the day before.

"That ribbon..." he said. "Is that...?"

She nodded before he could finish his sentence. "Yeah! It's the present you gave me! Gotta carry your upbeat attitude with me somehow!"

"Awesome! Looks great!" Ash smiled.

"Pikachu!"

Serena smiled and placed both her hands on top of her heart, her right hand clasping over her left wrist, which was the one that held the ribbon.

"Looks great and all, but can we eat now? We have a big day tomorrow!" Goh asked.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Ash exclaimed.

"Count me in!" Serena exclaimed as she took her seat.

And so, with Serena's Pokémon Showcase debut behind her, our heroes' journey can begin anew, as a new assignment awaits for them tomorrow! What sort of tear-jerking experiences will it bring...?

Outside of the Cerise Lab, watching in on the gang eating, was an invisible mass, which quickly materialized into a blue, chameleon-like Pokémon.

"Sobble...?"

Only one way to find out!

As the Journey continues!