'Maybe Paul was right...' Ash thought. 'Maybe I am... pathetic...'

"Um..." Ash's trance was broken by Serena's voice. She was standing next to him, handing him his bag. "Excuse me... I think this is yours..."

"Huh?!" He was confused. "Wow, thanks... I guess I must've forgotten it..."

"Mm-Hm..." Serena nodded. "That was quite the battle you had there..."

"Wait, you were watching?"

She nodded.

"Well, what do you know?" He said Mareep-ishly. "Sorry, I was so busy battling I didn't see you there..."

"Oh... that's okay..."

"My name is Ash..."

"Yeah... I know... Serena is my name..."

"Nice to meet y... wait! What do you mean, you already know me?"

"Mmm... here we go..." Serena said quietly before drawing in a deep breath. "Ash... do you remember me...?"

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

"Huh?" Ash pondered.

"Think back to when you went to camp in Pallet Town..." she explained. "I did too! That's where we met!"

"At camp?"

"That's right! We met at Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp!"

"Hey! I remember that camp!"

"You really do?"

"Yeah! Of course! I went there!"

"I know! And that's because I went there as well!"

Ash put a hand on his chin. He started to scout his memories of that camp. However, since it's been a good 4 or 5 years since he went there, and because he experienced so much in such a short period of time during his Journey, his memories of the camp were fuzzy at best.

"Hmm... Sorry... I can't say I remember you..." he said, chuckling with embarrassment.

"HUH?!" Serena was disappointed, to say the least, by Ash's response. "Oh no..."

"Sorry..." Ash slumped his head. He felt guilty for not remembering her. And that was the Cheri Berry on top of his guilt cake, since he still blamed himself for Pikachu's loss earlier. To his surprise, Serena let out a giggle.

"That's okay, Ash!" She replied, a big smile plastered on her face. "From what I've gathered, now you need to concentrate on Training... you can remember me later!"

"Right!"

"I've gotta say, Pokémon Battles are amazing!"

"You saw mine?" Ash covered his face, feeling embarrassed. "Then you know what a totally rotten mess I made of it..."

"A mess?!" Serena said, surprised. "I don't think so! You were awesome! I remember what you said to me the first and last time we met; you never give up until it's over! And you're obviously not giving up! You haven't changed one bit..."

Ash started chuckling. "You'd be surprised!" He said before bursting out laughing. After he stopped, he took a grip of his cap's visor. "But I'm not giving up! That just wouldn't be me at all..." he stood up and faced her. "Thanks, Serena... You're a big help!"

Serena's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. "Y-yeah... sure..."

"Hey, Ash!" Goh called out. He excited the Pokémon Center followed by Scorbunny and Scyther, being led by Ash's Froakie and holding Pikachu in his arms. "You weren't there when Nurse Joy brought out Pikachu..."

"Pika Pi!"

Pikachu jumped out of Goh's arms and quickly ran over to Ash. He chuckled as he tightly hugged Pikachu.

"Lookin' good, buddy!" He said before petting Pikachu's tail.

"Chaa..." The Mouse Pokémon cued with affection.

"So, listen..." Goh said, catching Ash's and Serena's attention. "I saw part of your battle, suffice it to say, you were a little out of your game back there..."

"No kiddin'..." Ash replied. "Tangrowth's Power Whip makes it difficult to get close and even if we do, Reflect is gonna protect it from taking heavy damage..."

"Not to mention that 'Sludge Terrain'..." Serena added in.

"That's right..." Goh said. "So, if you don't mind, I wanna help!"

"Really?!" Ash's eyes lit up.

"Sure!" Goh replied. "After all, that's the only way we're gonna get those ingredients, right?"

"Yeah..." Ash answered. "So... ya ready, Pikachu?!"

"Pika CHU!"

"Perfect!" Goh exclaimed as him and Ash walked to opposite sides of the Battlefield.

"Is it okay if I watch?" Serena asked.

"Sure!" Ash answered, his signature smile plastered on his face. "Okay, Froakie, I want you to watch too... so for now, go and sit next to Serena, 'kay?"

Froakie hesitated. It was as if it longed to battle. But alas it obeyed and sat next to Serena.

With everything ready, Goh grabbed one of his Poké-Balls. "I've been waiting to see what they can do... Now, Beedrill! GO!"

Goh hurled his Poké-Ball and brought out one of his newly captured Bug types, Beedrill.

Serena looked a bit unsettled by it. She had never seen a Beedrill before in her life. After pondering what to do for a second, she decided to check her Rotom-Phone's Pokédex.

Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokémon

A Bug and Poison type

Beedrill fly quickly and attack using poison stingers on their forelegs and tail.

Goh took notice of the fact that Serena had a Rotom-Phone just like they do but decided not to bring it up for now. "Kay, Beedrill, Tangrowth's moves include Power Whip, Sludge Bomb and Reflcet, so try your best to replicate it!"

Beedrill buzzed and nodded.

"Wait, so you won't be supervising Beedrill?" Ash asked.

"Beedrill can work best on its own, I feel like I'll just hinder it..." Goh explained.

'That's not really how it works...' Ash thought. He then shrugged and figured it was best not to argue with it. "Alright! Let's go, Pikachu!"

"Pikachu!"

"Use Thunderbolt!"

After Pikachu leaped into the air, his cheeks crackled with yellow electricity before releasing a powerful bolt of yellow electricity from his body at Beedrill.

Just before the move was about to hit it, Beedrill managed to fly out of the way and planned a counter-attack. The stingers on Beedrill's arms started to glow light blue before charging in towards Pikachu.

"Dodge it!"

Pikachu did as he was told and quickly leaped out of the way of Beedrill's Twineedle attack.

"Stay strong! Don't give up!" Ash encouraged his Partner.

Beedrill kept trying to stab Pikachu with its stingers and Pikachu always leaping out of the way, never staying in a single spot for too long.

'Beedrill and Tangrowth can move their arms really fast...' he thought, analyzing the situation. 'But with Pikachu's speed, I know we can have an advantage...' Ash smirked. "Use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tail glowed white while a light blue aura surrounded it. He then leaped into the air before Beedrill could strike one final Twineedle, causing one of its stingers to get stuck on the ground. As Pikachu began his descent ready to smack Beedrill with his tail, the Poison Bee Pokémon brought one of its stingers upwards, blocking Pikachu's attack. Sparks flew off from the collision point of the two Pokémon as they both struggled for dominance until they were both sent backwards.

"Awesome! Looking good, buddy!"

"Pika Chu!"

"So... what's the deal with you and Ash?" Goh asked Serena, seeing how the two were observing Ash's Training.

"What do you means?" She asked in return.

"You know, when I mentioned my friend's name was Ash, you seemed really excited..." Goh elaborated.

"O-oh..." she realized what he meant, causing her to blush a bit. "I-I met him a few years back in Professor Oak's Summer Camp..."

"No kiddin'!" Goh exclaimed. "I knew that guy looked familiar, I just couldn't place where I've seen him before!"

"You mean you were there too?"

Goh nodded. "That was when I first saw Mew..."

"Mew?! As in, the Mythical Mew?!"

"Exactly! Nobody believed that I would be able to find it again or catch it, but we're gonna prove 'em wrong, right Scorbunny?!"

"SCOR! SCOR!"

Scorbunny looked so hyped that it started kicking pebbles into the air. One of them, unfortunately hit Serena's Fennekin in the head.

"Oh no! Fennekin are you alright?!"

Even though Fennekin was hurt, she was much more concerned about the fact that the pebble got stuck in a tuft of fur on her head and messed it up royally.

Seeing this, Froakie decided to help. It took two chunks of Frubbles from the mane around its neck. It then used the chunks to remove the pebble from Fennekin's head and straightening her haircut.

"Wow! Thanks so much Froakie!" Serena thanked the Bubble Frog Pokémon.

"Fenn Ekin!"

Froakie blushed at the compliments it was getting from Serena and Fennekin. Its blush only intensified when Fennekin decided to express her gratitude by giving Froakie a an affectionate lick.

After that whole scene happened, Goh's Beedrill was ready to retaliate against Pikachu. The stinger on its abdomen glowed dark purple before it released multiple brown globs of sludge from its stinger at Pikachu.

"Quick Attack! Dodge it!"

Pikachu's body became outlined in a light blue aura before he started charging forward, moving so fast he appeared to leave behind two after-images. He managed to avoid the globs of sludge that were hurled towards him, but just like in his Gym Battle, the globs sort of merged with the Battlefield.

"Watch out for that Sludge Bomb!" Ash warned.

"Pika!"

Pikachu was able to reach Beedrill with little to no issue, but his Quick Attack was blocked by Beedrill's stingers. The stingers also caused Pikachu to bounce backwards towards one of the sludge-filled areas of the Battlefield. By pure instinct, Pikachu used Iron Tail and stuck it to the sludge, stopping his movement and protecting him from the sludge all in one go.

"THAT'S IT!" Ash exclaimed, excitement evident in his voice. "I'm ready for my rematch!"

"What? So soon...?" Serena questioned.

"I would normally question this too, but we do need those ingredients..." Goh remarked.

"Right!" Ash said.

"Well, if you're all ready, I guess I'll take Beedrill to the Pokémon Center..." Goh stated before returning Beedrill to its Poké-Ball. "See ya in a bit!" And with that, Goh walked into the Pokémon Center, leaving Ash and Serena alone with their Pokémon.

"Wow. It's amazing how hard Trainers and their Pokémon work..." Serena said as she approached Ash. "It takes a lot of time and effort to earn yourself a Gym Badge, doesn't it?"

"Don't worry! You'll be training like this in no-time!" Ash encouraged. "Soon you're gonna hit the road and catch more Pokémon so you can challenge the PML, right?"

"I guess so..." Serena looked down. "I know I have Fennekin, but... I'm not sure what my next step will be..."

"Gotcha..." Ash understood. "Just take your time and you'll know what to do..."

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu agreed with Ash as he jumped on his Trainer's shoulder.

Serena nodded. "I will. Thank you..."

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

After a quick visit to the Pokémon Center, our heroes managed to locate Erika once again, and they wasted no time getting things ready. Serena, Goh, their Pokémon and Ash's Froakie were watching the battle from the side.

"Okay, if we're gonna battle again... might as well do it right!" Erika exclaimed before looking up.

Soon enough, one of the PML's Drone-Rotoms managed to reach the Battlefield.

"Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!" It said. "The Pokémon Masters League battle between the Gym Leader, Erika, and the challenger, Ash, is about to begin!"

"I heard you..." Goh told Serena.

"Huh?"

"When you and Ash were having your talk..." Goh explained. "I knew he needed some inspiration, but I didn't know it was gonna come from you..."

Serena stared at Goh blankly, unsure of what to make of this.

"Each side will have the use of one Pokémon, and once that Pokémon is defeated, the battle will be over! There will be no substitutions!"

"Ready to rock, Pikachu?!" Ash asked with enthusiasm in his voice.

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu rushed towards the battlefield, his cheeks releasing electric sparks.

"Tangrowth! Let's go!" Erika exclaimed as she called forth her Pokémon for the match.

"The Battle will be between Pikachu and Tangrowth!" Exclaimed the drone. "Trainers ready?"

Ash and Erika nodded.

"3! 2! 1! BATTLE BEGIN!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38edmOVKtGQ

"Tangrowth! Power Whip!" Erika commanded.

Tangrowth's vine-like arms started glowing green before extending towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu jumped into the air, causing Tangrowth's Power Whip to crash onto the ground, leaving a small crater and a cloud of dust.

"Use Power Whip again!"

Tangrowth suddenly brought its arms upwards. Both of them missed Pikachu but soon enough they started to stretch backwards, trying to grab him.

"Use Iron Tail, let's go!"

Pikachu's tail glowed white before he swong it at Tangrowth's arms, causing them to abbandon their pursuit of him.

"Not bad..." Erika complimanted Ash and Pikachu. "You've grown accustomed to Tangrowth's battle style with just minimal training... I can't say I'm not impressed..."

"Save your praises for after I win that badge!" Ash exclaimed.

"Very well... in that case; Use Sludge Bomb!"

Tangrowth hurled multiple brown globs of sludge towards Pikachu.

"You know what to do!" Ash said.

Pikachu nodded and started charging at Tangrowth with Quick Attack. Just like last time, all the globs missed Pikachu, but they served their secondary purpose.

"Reflect! Go!"

Tangrowth spread its arms wide and a shining, rainbow-colored round barrier was formed in front of it. Pikachu collided and bounced off of the barrier, his trajectory certainly putting him in danger of colliding with the blobs of sludge.

This time, Ash was prepared. "Use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu did a flip and stuck his Iron Tail into the blob of sludge.

"What?!" Erika gasped in shock.

"I knew I needed to find a way to avoid that 'Sludge Bomb Terrain'..." Ash explained. "Turns out Pikachu had a great idea on how to deal with it!"

"Pikachu!"

"Now use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu's cheeks crackled with yellow electricity before releasing a powerful bolt of yellow electricity from his body at Tangrowth. Tangrowth wasn't fast enough to dodge Pikachu's lightnjng fast electtic attack, and do was hit square in thd face, taking a lot of damage in the process.

"Tangrowth! Are you alright?" Erika expressed her concern towards her Pokémon.

Tangrowth shook its body a bit before turning towards Erika and nodding. At the same time, Pikachu managed to break free from the ground and escape the glob of sludge he was voluntarily stuck in.

"This battle isn't over yet!" Ash exclaimed.

"I agree!" Erika said. "Sleep Powder!"

"WHAT?!"

Tangrowth released a blanket of glowing green spores from its fingers towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Quick, dodge it!"

Without wasting a second, Pikachu was able to just barely avoid being hit by Sleep Powder, meaning that he was still in the ring.

"I'm affraid you can't defeat Tangrowth at this rate..." Erika said. "Looks like you're gonna have to wait longer for your badge..."

"Yeah?! Well there's no way we're giving up!" Ash exclaimed with determination. "That's not what we're about! We'll keep going until the very end AND THEN SOME!"

Serena's eyes widened as she remembered the day she and Ash first met and he uttered these words to her.

'Don't give up 'till it's over'

"We can't afford to make any mistakes, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed. "Use Thunderbolt!

"Power Whip!"

Before Pikachu was able to attack Thunderbolt, one of Tangrowth's arms slapped him in the face, causing him to fire a Thunderbolt off into the air.

"I admire your spirit..." Erika spoke. "But I'm afraid this is when we part ways... Use Sleep Powdee once more!"

Before Ash and Pikachu vould react, Tangrowth appeared in front of Pikachu. The Vine Pokémon released another blanket of spores, this time making contact and leaving Pikachu feeling a bit woosy.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out.

Erika sighed. "It's a real shame it had to end like this..."

"No! Ash! You gotta hang in there!" Serena cried out.

"Let's wrap this up, Tangrowth... Sludge Bomb!"

Tangrowth inhaled a large amout of air in preperation for its final attack.

"Pikachu! Wake up!" Ash cried.

Pikachu was struggling to stay awake, but it looked like he couldn't keep this up for much longer.

"REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING, ASH! YOU CAN DO IT!" Serena exclaimed.

This caused something in Ash's mind to click. "Pikachu! Use Electro Ball and shoot it straight up!"

"Excuse me?!" Erika said, clearly confused.

Pikachu's body became surrounded in yellow electricity and multiple yellow sparks come off his body. All the electricity then condensed at Pikachu's tail and formed into an orange-yellow orb of electricity with sparks of yellow electricity coming off it. With his last moment awake, Pikachu launched the ball into the air before falling asleep.

Before Erika or Tangrowth could do anything, the ball crashed down into Pikachu. After the dust cleared, Tangrowth's Sleep Powder had been fully cleared from Pikachu's system thanks to that Electro Ball. He stood there with a big smile on his face.

"Pika!"

"WHAT?!" Erika cried out.

"ALRIGHT!" Serena exclaimed.

"Incredible! That Electro Ball totally countered Tangrowth's Sleep Powder!" Goh remarked.

"We're not done yet! Use Sludge Bomb!" Erika commanded.

Tangrowth blasted Sludge Bomb from its face.

"Use Electro Ball once more!"

Pikachu jumped into the air and flung an Electro Ball at Tangrowth's Sludge Bomb. Both moves collided and exploded in the center of the battlefield.

"Use Power Whip!"

Once again, Tangrowth flung its arms (glowing green) towards Pikachu.

"Dodge! Dodge! And then dodge some more!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu did as he was told and kept moving around the battlefield, with Tangrowth's arms mere inches behind him. After some time, Pikachu stood face to face with a tree that was blocking his path.

All hoped was lost for Pikachu, Tangrowth's powerful move was coming closer and closer until...

It stopped.

Erika looked puzzeled while Ash smirked. Pikachu's continuous dodging of Tangrowth's arms caused them to get entangled with each other, like tying a knot.

"How could this be?!" Erika cried out.

"Time to wrap this up, buddy!" Ash exclaimed. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu leaped into the air and his cheeks crackled with yellow electricity before releasing a powerful bolt of yellow electricity from his body at Tangrowth. The powerful Electric attack once again made direct contact and resulted in a huge explosion.

"TANGROWTH NO!"

After the smoke cleared, Tangrowth was lying on the ground, its eyes now spirals.

"Tangrowth is unable to battle!" Announced the Rotom-Drone. "The victor of this match is the challenger, Ash!"

"ALL... RIGHT!" Ash jumped into thr air with excitement. Pikachu then made his way towards Ash and leaped into his arms. "Man, you were awesome, Pikachu!"

Erika returned Tangrowth to its Poké-Ball. "Thank you, Tangrowth for a great battle..." after that she approached Ash with a smile on her face and a feeling of nostalgia. "Very well... Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, as proof of your victory over me, and by the authority of the Pokémon Masters League, I present you with... the Tranquility Badge..."

"Awesome! I just got a Tranquility Badge!" Ash exclaimed as he thrust his arm upwards, showing the world his achievement. He then looked at Erika and cleared his throat. "Thanks a lot, Erika..."

"The pleasure is all mine..." Erika gave Ash a bow of courtesy, to which he did the same.

Beep beep

Ash heared a beeping and felt a vibration in his pocket. He checked his phone and was shocked to see that his PML rank had changed. It skyrocketed from being over rank 9000 to rank 3,763 in just one match.

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

The sky had already started to darken and the sun began descending towards the horizon.

"Congratulations, Ash!" Goh exclaimed after picking up the necessary ingredients from Erika. "I never would've come up with any of those tricks! Never in a million years!"

"Yeah! It was amazing!" Serena added.

"Thanks a lot!" Ash said. "And I couldn't have done it without help from you guys..."

"C'mon Ash... we had nothing to do with your win and you know it..." Goh said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Nah, you did!" Ash said. "You see, I was inspired when I saw Scorbunny kicking that pebble onto Fennekin's head... I figured it would be really hard to fall asleep if that ever happened, so I thought; 'might as well give it a try...' and it worked like a charm!"

"Wow..." Serena marvelled at Ash's ability to think outside the box.

"Wow indeed..." Goh added, also looking a bit shocked. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm beat! And now that we got what we need, let's head back to the lab!"

"Right..." Ash said as the two boys and their Pokémon started walking. Before going away though, he turned to Serena. "So, Serena, where are you heading off to from here?"

"Uh... me?" Was all Serena could respond. She hadn't thought about it at all. She was trying to think of a good excuse for the better part of the following seconds until Ash cut her off.

"Hey! Why don't you just come with us?" He offered.

"What...?" Serena said in a hushed tone, not believing her ears.

"That's actually not a bad idea..." Goh chimed in. "We could always use more help with our assignments..."

"Thanks to you, I came up with a way to beat Erika..." Ash said. "So if you could help me from here on out, um..." he rubbed his finger under his nose, sounding a bit embarrassed. "It would be great..."

"So... what do you say?" Goh asked.

Serena didn't need a lot of time to think about it. Placing a hand on her chest and giving off a radiant smile, she answered. "Sure!" She winked. "How could I say no to that?"

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika Pika!"

"Then let's not waste any more time, guys!" Goh said. "The future awaits!"

And with that, the three ran off into the sunset.

The path of our heroes has finally connected! And it seems like fate was on their side! Ash is now quickly climbing the ranks of the Pokémon Masters League, Goh just caught his partner Pokémon and then every Bug type he came across, and now, Serena has joined the group! They had a long day and deserve a good night's rest, but what will the future hold for them?

Erika had just exited the Pokémon Center holding Tangrowth's Poké-Ball.

"Um... what a day..." she said as she stretched her arm upwards. "But why does it feel like I'm forgetting something...?"

She looked at her wrist for a second until she realized that she wasn't wearing a watch, and thus couldn't tell the time. This, however, reminded her of the thing she forgot.

"Now I need to find Ash again..." she said before yawning and starting to walk away.

Unbeknownst to her, a bird-like Pokémon had been spying on her not just now, but throughout her whole battle with Ash. And now, it was determined to find him.

"KOKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Only time will tell!

As the Journey continues!