Chapter Text
“This feels like deja vu,” Serena laughed as they walked into the Lumiose gym. Ash chuckled. “Sure does,” he agreed.
They made it into the arena and found two familiar faces waiting for them. Clemont beamed at Ash and Serena as they came in, and Bonnie squealed in excitement.
“You’re here, you’re here!” She exclaimed, running to meet them and tackle Serena in a hug. Serena laughed and ruffled her hair. “Good to see you too, Bonnie. Hi, Dedenne- and is that a Snom?” Bonnie giggled as Clemont came to join them. “Sure is!”
“Does that mean you’ve officially started training, Bonbon?” Ash asked. Bonnie huffed dramatically and Clemont smacked his forehead. “No. My stupid brother and dad said I’m still too young,” she said. Clemont sighed. “You are too young. You’ll be 12 in two months- then, Dedenne and Snom will officially be yours to train.”
Serena made a sympathetic noise. “That’s all right, Bonnie. You’ll be a great trainer when it’s time.” Bonnie smiled. “Are you leaving right now?”
Ash glanced at Serena. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt to stay one night. The first showcase isn’t for another month, so there’s time.” Serena nodded. “Great. There’s a spare room we can make up for you two,” Clemont said, pleased.
Bonnie ran off to go make up the room as the others hung around a little longer. “Why haven’t you let Bonnie start training? She’s had Dedenne for years now,” Ash pointed out. Clemont looked away uncomfortably. “It isn’t my decision. I’m letting Bonnie think it is mostly me, that way she’ll be less upset, but… it’s actually our father who’s so against it,” he admitted. “He doesn’t want her to train at all. I think it’s his goal to have me run the gym permanently, so he’s aiming to put off Bonnie’s training for as long as possible so she doesn’t qualify to run it.”
Serena frowned. “He doesn’t want Bonnie to run the gym?” Clemont shook his head. “He wants her to travel the world, see other regions, y'know? I get that, but I was always the one with a head for travel and discovery, not her,” he explained. “I don’t think Bonnie was ever planning to do something else. Meanwhile, I’d love to travel like you have, Ash.” Ash grinned. “You can at least keep traveling Kalos. And Bonnie will be a great gym leader one day.”
Clemont smiled. “So, how have you two been? I know we video chatted a little bit ago, but that wasn’t the same as a real chat.” Serena smiled. “I’ve been great! Delphox, Pancham, Sylveon and I have been working really hard on new routines. I think I have a shot at some real success this time.”
“I moved to Alola,” Ash said. “I finally graduated from the Pokemon school, so now I’m just… looking for the next adventure, I guess!” Clemont nodded. “I like that. You’re a champion and a scholar, so it’s time to find the next challenge.” Pikachu nuzzled Ash’s cheek affectionately. “Any other updates?”
They glanced at each other and shrugged. “I guess… I’m not competing in leagues anymore? Does that count? Except, well- for the next masters 8 tournament, but that isn’t for a while,” Ash said. “Well, I don’t know about you, Ash, but I’m exhausted,” Serena declared. “Yeah, actually,” Ash said.
Clemont nodded. “Let’s get you set up in the guest room. We’ll leave in the morning,” he said.
They trailed him up to the housing part of the spire, where Bonnie was putting sheets on a set of twin beds. Serena set her bag down on a chair as Ash began to pull out his Pokémon’s balls. “Come on out,” he said, and the balls popped open to reveal a Lucario, Lycanrock, Dragonite, Rowlet and a familiar Talonflame. Bonnie immediately cooed over Lycanrock, Dragonite and Rowlet, as Delphox nudged Serena. “Oh, right!”
“I caught an Oricorio, see,” Serena said, bringing out a pokeball. It sprang open and a bright yellow pokemon popped out, waving around its pompoms cheerily. Bonnie stared at it with rising joy as Lycanrock lay down on her lap agreeably. “So it’s the electric-type kind?” Ash asked.
“Mhm. He’s got the best moves! You could almost say his dancing is electric,” Serena said with a wink.
Eventually they did settle down to sleep, the pokemon distributed around the room with the exception of Pikachu nuzzled into Ash’s chest and Sylveon curled elegantly at the foot of Serena’s.
When the morning came, Serena woke up to a chilly little bundle pressed against her cheek. She mumbled in confusion before realizing it was just Snom, sweetly nuzzling against her with all the enthusiasm it could muster. She smiled, sitting up and pulling Snom into her lap. The spikey little pokemon was surprisingly soft, and it settled happily against her warmth.
Meanwhile, Dedenne nuzzled Ash’s cheek- but unfortunately a nuzzle from Dedenne causes a shock, and Ash yelped out loud as an electrical current woke him up. Serena laughed as he groaned, patting Dedenne’s head. “Bonnie, we’re up. No need to sic your pokemon on us,” she called out.
Bonnie gigged, poking her head into the room. “Clemont says breakfast is ready, and then it’s time to go,” she replied. Serena nodded as Dedenne sprang away from Ash to hop onto Bonnie’s shoulder. Snom remained firmly planted on Serena’s lap, so she ended up letting it balance on her head while she got ready.
Ash dressed in his typical shirt, blue jacket and hat. He slid his sneakers on and began putting his pokemon back into their pokeballs while Serena brushed her hair (as best as possible with Snom on her head) and pulled out her new traveling outfit.
Once Ash left, she got dressed quickly into the pink and black dress she’d started wearing recently. Serena put Delphox and Pancham back in their pokeballs and headed out to breakfast, Sylveon trailing behind her.
Bonnie collected Snom off Serena’s head as she sat down at the table. Ash was already scarfing down his plate of eggs, sausage and pancakes. Clemont set a plate in front of Serena before sitting down with his own. “Thanks for breakfast, Clemont,” Serena said as she picked up her fork. “Thwanks for brefes,” said Ash around his mouthful of food.
Bonnie laughed, digging into her own pancakes. “I’m sorry I can’t come this time,” she pouted. Serena smiled kindly at her. “Maybe we can circle back to Lumiose when the school year is finished and you could come along during the summer,” she offered. Bonnie brightened and turned pleadingly to Clemont, who chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, we’ll make it happen. You’ll be able to properly train by then, anyways,” he said.
They said their goodbyes to Bonnie, checked Clembot was set up correctly, and finally left the tower, a trio reunited. “Where to first?” Clemont asked. “Lagoon Town,” both Serena and Ash answered immediately. Clemont burst out laughing. Serena chuckled as Ash rubbed at his face sheepishly. “Well, we spent the plane ride from Alola going over the route,” he said.
“Was it a good flight?” Clemont asked. Serena nodded. “I was asleep for most of it, truthfully, but Ash said it was a smooth flight,” she said. Ash nodded in confirmation, but blotches of pink began to appear on his cheeks. Clemont squinted at him for a second, then snorted before continuing along.
Serena gave Clemont a puzzled look as they walked. “What?” She turned to Ash, noting the pink of his face that was starting to turn red under her scrutiny. “What??” Ash shook his head. “Nothing at all,” he insisted, and she shrugged.
Letting it go, they kept walking through Lumiose towards the route they needed to take. They walked through the shopping district, and Clemont caught Serena gazing thoughtfully at the mannequins in store windows. “Something catch your eye?” He asked.
She startled. “Oh- no. Just admiring them. I actually have a new showcase dress ready,” she said. “I designed it, and a friend I made at the contests had it made for me. I’m very excited to show it off.”
Ash grinned. “Me, too. You’ve worn a few outfits now, haven’t you? The one your mom got you, the one from Valerie, and your contest dress, right?” Serena nodded. “There were two different designs for contests, actually, one for warm weather and one for cold, but yes. I’m surprised you remember,” she said. Ash looked at her in surprise. “Of course I remember.”
Serena looked away, suddenly bashful. Clemont let the silence stretch between them for a few seconds before breaking it. “A designer friend, huh? You must’ve made a lot of connections doing contests,” he said.
Relieved, Serena nodded. “Right…”
They kept up their idle chatter all the way to the route.