Serena's POV

Making fun of Ash with May and Wallace was a good distraction but now my nerves are in full force.

I wait in the tunnel, a glimpse of the contest stage at the end. 

Out there I'll have to face a Grand Festival winner, someone who has been doing this for five years compared to my one. Just like last year with Aria.

Am I really going to make it to the final in my first try only to lose again?

Now I'm wishing I did face May in a contest before this. Then I'd at least know her typical contest strategy.

"You're up Serena," A worker gestures to the exit.

I give my pink contest dress a nervous smoothing and begin to walk forward. I reach up and feel the blue ribbon still in my hair, giving it a little pull. "Here we go."

May is already onstage as I walk out, the crowd cheering like crazy.

My name is barely heard over the cheers despite the announcer's best efforts. We're on her home turf that's for sure.

We lock eyes and I can see the excitement on her face. She lives for this.

I'm going to have to really want this if I'm going to beat her.

And I do.

I've grown to love the battling aspect of contests, another challenge. It gave me an excuse to ask Ash for battle tips too. Now I understand the thrill he would get when battling, there's nothing like it. Except contest battling add another layer with the point system,

I smile back at her and we both give a determined head nod.

We are acquaintances, not friends, until this battle is over.

"Sylveon! Delphox!"

"Blaziken! Glaceon!"

The crowd quiets as they study our Pokemon.

May's Blaziken is an intimidating bipedal fire type. It has long feathered legs that are dangerous, and large bird-claw hands. Its long white feathers extend from its head to its torso.

Glaceon is a pretty but strong ice-type fox Pokemon. Her light blue fur shimmers like ice, and her cold dark eyes make you shudder. She has two long icicle-like ears that fall beside her face.

"We have rookie Serena versus the Johto Top Coordinator May!" The announcer yells. "This will be a 10 minute battle! Startingggg NOW"

The crowd's cheers overwhelm me for a second.

And hide May's voice.

A spiral of fire is fired towards Sylveon. 

"Delphox control the fire!"

The bipedal fox Pokemon uses her stick wand to pull the Fire Spin attack away from Sylveon. It quickly disperses into the air.

I glance at the scoreboard to see May's yellow circle go from full to not full.

"Syl!" A cry pulls me back to the action.

A block of ice crashes into the eeveelution.

An Ice Shard must've been concealed by the fire. I forgot she also learned to battle from Ash.

Sylveon gets up with lots of fight left in her.

"Sylveon Moonblast on Blaziken!"

A pink sphere of fairy type energy rises in front of her.

Glaceon steps out in front of her fire type ally and starts charging an Ice Beam.

"Delphox guide it with Psychic."

Delphox uses her psychic powers to move the moonblast attack around the ice beam and into Blaziken. It explodes into a burst of pink as it delivers the damage.

I smile but that doesn't last long because Sylveon is now an ice cube. She's taken two strong attacks now. 

Time to use that out of the box thinking.

Ash's POV

"This isn't good," I lean against the glass railing of Wallace's suite.

"Don't fall over," Wallace jokes and I adjust my balance. 

"I just want to be closer to the battle."

"Of course," He chuckles.

I focus back on the battle.

Serena's points are already cut to half while May still has 3/4 of hers.

"Pika," My pal cheers.

"You're right Pikachu," I agree. "Serena will have some tricks up her sleeve."

All of a sudden Sylveon's iceberg is lifted into the air by Delphox's psychic. I can tell the iceberg is glowing pink because of the black curtain in the background.

Blaziken lunges forward, probably hoping to finish Sylveon with a High-Jump Kick. It jumps high into the air, ready to start downwards towards Sylveon.

Except he doesn't get a chance.

The crowd erupts before the image fully processes.

Delphox shot Sylveon's iceberg like a rocket, hitting Blaziken hard and then exploding into a pink burst of energy, assumingly another Moonblast.

The smoke clears revealing two fainted Pokemon. Sylveon and Blaziken.

Both of the coordinator's points drop but May's more than Serena's. May still has the lead but it's much smaller.

"Wow," Wallace mutters astonished. "That move didn't have the usual contest elegance but it was marvellous."

The two return their Pokemon and the battle continues.

Glaceon and Delphox trade attacks but now that it's a single battle it is much simpler. Both Pokemon expertly deflect attacks, trying to use the combination of fire and ice to captivate the judges.

Except they're running out of time and Delphox's fire type advantage has helped equalize the scores.

"Delphox finish with Fire Blast!" Serena yells above the crowd's noise.

"Glaceon wrap it up! May returns the command.

I wonder what she means by this.

Delphox fires a huge flaming five-pointed kanji with her magical stick. I can feel the heat from all the way up here.

Glaceon wastes no time starting a Blizzard attack. Except it's no regular blizzard.

Snowflakes whip around the stage until forming a violent tornado. Some of the stage panels are even pulled into it.

The two massive attacks crash into each other but the fire blast immediately disappears.

Flakes of snow turn into droplets of water, forming basically a whirlpool on stage. And guess what's good against fire types.

2 seconds later the water envelopes and throws Delphox around the stage. The end result being a soggy immobile fire type.

I'm not sure if Delphox fainted or the bell rung first but either way it was over.

May won.

The roaring crowd hurts my head as I try to process how to feel. It was a win-win contest for me because both are some of my closest friends... but deep down I wanted Serena to win.

I clap with the rest of the crowd as the girls shake hands and the Grand Festival organizer brings out the trophy. The trophy is essentially a huge golden chalice, so big May had to readjust her grip a couple times to get it in the air.

"What a contest!" Wallace erupts. "You know how to pick your friends Ash."

"You bet!" I cheer. "They were both so good."

"It won't be long until Serena wins one as well," Wallace states. "May's experience is what won in the end."

"Yea hopefully Serena is proud of how close she was," I glance towards the door.

"Do you remember the way?" Wallace asks and I look at him confused.

"Ohh yea," I nod. "Let's go Pikachu."

He climbs on my shoulder and we try to follow our path from earlier to the competitor changerooms. "I think it was this way."

It's much quieter than before back here. Everyone is probably out watching the closing remarks. A good thing for us because I've been kicked out of too many backstage areas to count at these contests.

Serena's room comes into view and the door is closed. 

I knock... no response.

Maybe she's still onstage. I probably shouldn't open the door though incase she is in there changing or something.

"Serena?" I call through the door.

That must've been the magic password because the door slowly opens a crack.

Peeking through is a teary eyed coordinator. Her blue eyes shimmer in the bright lights overhead. "Can I come in?"

"You should be congratulating May," She mumbles, loose strands of her blonde hair stuck to her cheeks.

"She'll be fine," I give a small chuckle and push my way in slowly.

Serena lets me by and shuts the door.

Immediately I feel her head against my chest, tears bleeding through my shirt. I wrap my arms around her, not sure what to do. 

I notice her four Pokemon all out in the room as well, somber looks on their faces. Pikachu hops off my shoulder and begins talking to them. 

"You guys were amazing," I start and feel Serena's crying slow. "You guys must've worked so hard to get to the finals in your first year and should be proud."

"But we got second again."

I separate from Serena so I can look her in the eyes.

The last time we were like this was the escalator in Lumiose. She still has that same beautiful sparkle in her eyes, even if they're a little red from crying. I can't say my brain processed that event but I did miss this feeling.

"Second on your first try," I remind her and she looks away. "That's impressive and take it from someone who took 6 years to finish second."

"That's true," Her lips curl. "You know just what to say."

"I try," I wink at her and start to take away my arms. 

"No," She says muffled now that her head is back in my chest. "I missed having you around Ash."

"Well Serena," I brush back her hair so I can see her face. "How about we travel together again?"

"Really?" She jumps back, eyes wide.

"Why are you surprised?" I laugh. "I don't know what I want to do next so we can go wherever you need to go be a coordinator or performer or whatever."

"Ash," Her eyes get all teary again. "I-"

"There you are," May bursts in but then stops suddenly. "Oh sorry um."

Serena pulls away and walks over to hug her friend. "Thanks for the battle May."

"Of course," The brunette returns the hug. "You were easily one of the toughest opponents I've faced."

"Really?"

"I'm sure Ash could tell too," May answers.

"Yea May cruised through the Johto Grand Festival last year," I joke. "She had to earn this one."

"Hey!" May punches me in the arm. "You haven't even said congratulations yet."

"Yea yea," I roll my eyes. "Congratulation Princess of Hoenn."

"That's better," She smiles. "Now let's go celebrate!"

I glance at Serena who is looking much happier now. I guess the initial shock of losing has passed and we were able to convince her to be proud of her effort.

"Good idea," Serena smiles at her Pokemon. "I think we all deserve that for working so hard."

I admire the trainer who hugs all of her Pokemon. She was always the one that was there for me in Kalos and it feels right being there for her for a change. "And then we can get ready for our next adventure!" I cheer as we leave the room.

Whatever that will be.

Green's POV

The one downside of a lodge style house is that everything creaks. My bedroom door? Creaks as I open it. Hallway? Creaks as I sneak through the darkness. Stairs? Really creaks.

It's probably past midnight so the only sound is my creaky path through the house. If only I snuck out more so I'd be more of a pro at this.

"Weaaav," I make out my Dad's Pokemon in the darkness. The bipedal dark type does not look happy to see me.

"Come on Weavile I'm just going to see a friend," I explain.

The Pokemon is naturally nocturnal so it guards our house at night. We've never had a problem but you never know with my Dad's job. He's not there to stop us from sneaking out but it's probably a side quest my Dad gave him secretly.

The Pokemon doesn't move out of my way.

"I'll bake you pokepuffs tomorrow," I bribe him.

No one knows his soft spot like I do.

The Pokemon gestures to the door with his silver claws.

"I won't be too long," I assure him and escape into the night.

It feels weird being out here. There's a few lamp posts on but Maple Village doesn't exactly have a nightlife scene.

I hurry to the Professor's lab, staying out of the light as much as possible. I'm assuming Gold is staying in the loft so I just need to get on the roof.

I climb a nearby tree, the scent of sap filling my nose. My hands already feel sticky and I just started climbing. I maneuver to a sturdy enough branch that reaches over the lab.

I've never done this before but that was easy. I drop only a few feet onto the black shingles and catch my breath.

The square window sticks out a couple inches from the wall. I don't see any light but I'm pretty sure the bed is right under the window. He should wake up if I hit it hard enough.

I start tapping the glass but it's too dark to see if he's stirring from it. The cool and cloudy sky is keeping any moonlight from helping me. I start hitting the glass harder with my knuckles.

"Come on sleeping beauty," I mutter.

The window moves and I fall back startled. Shingles are not comfy to fall on.

The window swings open and I see Gold blinking hard trying to process what's going on. "Green?"

"Yes it's me get out here," I whisper.

He climbs out in his black shirt and red plaid pyjamas. "It's cold."

"That's why I'm wearing a sweater," I point to the black sweater keeping me warm. My purple pyjama pants are kind of drafty though.

"Why are you here?" He runs a hand through his messy navy hair.

"I want to know what you and the Professor figured out."

"I'm not sure I should tell you."

He moves to the edge of the roof, his legs dangling over the side. I join him, our shoulders against each other.

"You can trust me."

"It's not that."

He looks straight ahead at the peaceful town. I can tell he's looking at the Arceus statue rising above the houses.

"Please. I will follow you until you tell me."

My magical puppy eyes don't work in the darkness unfortunately.

"I'm leaving," He states quickly. "There's something I need to do in every district."

"But that's impossible," I protest. "You won't make it."

"Professor Cedar has a plan."

"I don't care how good your plan is, there's no way!" My whisper becomes a whisper-yell.

Silence passes by.

They obviously don't have a good plan but I feel like it's their only option.

"I'll go with you," I get him to look at me. 

"That seems like an awful idea."

"People know who I am."

"That's kind of my point," His eyebrows frown.

"People are going to pick you out like an apple in an orange tree," Not my best analogy. "If I'm there they may trust you."

He stops to actually consider it. "But you can't leave either."

"I can convince my Dad to let me leave," I say confidently even though I know that's a stretch. "I'll bring him over here tomorrow."

"I don't know Green."

"You can fill me in on the rest when we leave," I stand up.

"Friday." He says. "That's when I'm leaving, with or without you."

"As in two days?" I ask knowing the answer. "Okay just make sure you're gone tomorrow morning when I bring my Dad here."

He nods and I head towards my escape tree. 

"Green," I turn back to face him. "There's no going back if you agree to do this."

"How bad can jail be?" I joke. "Also this is yours."

I hand him the black and gold hat that washed up with him on the beach. I went back there today to see if it was still there.

He takes it and smiles. "Thank you Green."

"Try to keep it on your head," I roll my eyes.

I leave and make it back home quickly.

Except the house is different. A line of light bleeds from underneath the door leading to my Dad's office. I tip-toe my way over there, hoping Weavile doesn't stop me this time.

I can hear his voice, a serious tone coming through the door.

I cup my hand over my ear and try to pick up what I can. Thankfully, the walls of this house are thin.

"Are you sure Mr. President?" I hear him ask. If only I could hear both sides.

"Yes morale is low but I don't know if this is a solution."

"You haven't let anyone in in a long time, is this the greatest timing for it?"

He wants to let someone into the region? That is big news.

"No no, of course, I can figure that out. I'm just hesitant but I trust your judgement Alex."

"If you don't mind me asking, is there a reason we're getting closer to opening the region back up?"

"Oh?"

Oh what Dad? Feel free to use your words.

"That is good news. How about we schedule a meeting for Friday and we can discuss the logistics after you reach out."

"Great thanks. Have a good night."

I better get out of here.

The office door opens just as I get around the corner into the kitchen.

His shadow expands across the room before he turns the office light off. Thankfully, he marches right upstairs without looking around.

"What's going on?" I mutter.