Kanto's Pride

Chapter 19

"So Ash, how was it?" asked Serena.

"It really was amazing Serena. Watching your performance after so long felt very nostalgic and heartwarming," Ash replied with a smile which Serena always loved.

"Th-thank you. It means a lot coming from you," Serena said as she looked away to hide her blush.

Before you get lost, let me explain what happened.

Ash really had a hard time to get through the crowd. Professor Sycamore and Gary was interested in how Ash trained his pokemon. Misty and Lana pestered him with questions about how he taught his Feraligatr Flamethrower. Honestly, he didn't know either. They were just practicing hyper beams one day when suddenly it.. turned into a flamethrower? Who knows?

After much efforts, he was able to get out of the arena in one piece. Serena also tagged along with him for some reason.

After Ash caught his breath, Serena asked him for a favour. As the Kalos Queen, she had to do a short performance to start another right here in Lumiose city. She was getting late already due to watching the battle. Ash felt bad about it and told his Gardevoir to teleport them, which she obliged.

After they reached their, Serena invited the Champion to watch her performance, which he agreed to. It has been a while he had done that. Ash entered and took a seat in the VIP. Palermo was there as well, who was delighted to meet Ash in person. They talked about a lot of things, until she asked if Ash and Serena were dating. Ash blushed, but still told her that they were just friends.
For now that is.

Serena's team consisted of her newly evolved Delphox, Sylveon, Pancham and a new member, which was an Ampharos.

Ash remembered Serena's performances from before and they were great. But now she was thousand times better at it. People loved her performances, but mostly her smile. The smile that Palermo taught her about and which greatly helped in her career.

After the fantastic performance ended, Ash took his leave. He met with Serena behind the stage and both decided to have lunch in a restaurant since it was almost time for it.

The soon to be couple were having their lunch in a VIP booth, chatting about things and stuffs.

Suddenly, Serena remembered something as she pulled out something from her bag. It was a blue ribbon.

"Hey Ash, remember this?" she asked.

Ash looked at the ribbon in her hands. It looked familar for some reason. He didn't notice he was taking his time.

"Well can't blame you if you forgo-" she started, a little bit sadly when Ash remembered.

"Wait, you still kept that ribbon I gave you as a gift all those years ago?" he asked incredulously.

She smiled. "Of course dummy. And it's not just any gift," she pouted.

Serena sighed before she started, "It reminds me of all the times we spent together, the adventures we had, everything I learnt from you and most importantly," she whispered the rest with a loving tone, "It holds a special place to my heart."

Ash felt a chill ran through his body. His face was red when he thought about how Serena could have meant that in a different way. But then again, it could've been just a friendly gesture.

'I really could use Gardevoir's help right now,' Ash thought desperately.

"Ash?" Serena interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh... Um.. Thanks Serena. I really appreciate that you think so highly of your past." Ash said, a little bit formally.

"Our past," Serena corrected and unintentionally, placed her hand on Ash's hand on the table.