Time Heals All Wounds, Right?

So It Begins

Can we go?

"Go where?" Where could he want to go, there aren't many places to go here.

I want to greet Bonnie, she seems very nice. At this I smiled. She is, she's grown up to be a strong trainer.

"Why not, plus it will give me a chance to see how Bonnie is going with her Z-Move." I guess the food did the trick because Lucario jumped up in excitement and rushed over to them. It's odd, at first it was like Pikachu was Riolu's older brother, and now Lucario is like Pikachu's older brother but this time they like to cause damage together.

"Try not to act like you know them buddy."

"PI-KA" he said while standing up saluting. At least some of us still have humor left in us. As I walked closer I could see that Bonnie was hugging Lucario, and of course he was hugging back.

"I've never seen a Lucario like this one."

"I wonder who it belongs to?"

"I know who this is," That last voice coming from Bonnie.

"Who knew we would meet again so quickly?" I spoke which caused everyone's attention to shift towards me.

"RED" Bonnie cried and ran over and gave me a hug.

"Ohhhh, you're the one Serena over here told us about. Well nice to meet you I'm Dawn, this is May, Max, Cilian, Misty, Brock, Gary, and since you know Bonnie I'm assuming you've met Clemont, Calem, and Serena."

"Nice to meet you." I turned to Misty and Brock, "Nice to see you two again."

They both just smiled and waved back. I looked at May who was giving me strange looks. "Wait, hey I know you, you're going up against our friend Iris in the first round tomorrow."

"Y-yea I am." I said trying to calm myself. For a split second there I thought May knew it was me. "If you'll excuse me I'll have to go get some rest."

We said our goodbyes and I headed over to my room. I layed Pikachu and Lucario on my bed. I'm going for a walk since I know I won't be getting much sleep tonight. I went back down the elevator and left the building heading towards the woods.

Serena POV
   "No, I won't do it" I almost screamed at my friends.

"Why not huh?" May repeated with a small smile on her face.

"Yea you need to open your heart Serena," Dawn added.

"I came here looking for Ash, he opened his heart to me and well it's complicated…" I said with my voice dying into a whisper. May put her arm on my back.

"Look, we just don't want you to get hurt."

"What happens if you don't find what you're looking for, at least give him a chance." Dawn looked down, "What if he really is gone, time to leave the past behind Serena."

"I, guess so…" I don't want to, but they have a point. Ash wasn't listed on the participants list, and no one has heard of him. One thing I won't lose hope until this tournament is over. "I'll be right back, I need a breath of fresh air."

I walked out and headed to the Pokémon Center. Out of the corner of my eye I think I see Red walking into the woods. I wonder what he could be hiding. I followed him for about three minutes before I completely lost him. Last I saw him he went towards the forest. I guess that's a good place to start for now.

Time Skip
   "Ugh, where did he go? I've been looking for about half an hour and there is no sign of him." I groaned to myself. I was about to give up when a pleasant sound reached my ears. I started to walk in the direction of small tunes that were playing in the air and I came upon a clearing with Red sitting in the middle playing an instrument. I just sat here in silence, his music was so full of emotion, full of beauty. Moments later he caught me off guard when he started to glow a light shade of blue and small blue orbs appeared around him. I got scared, but my fears slowly melted at what was happening before me. The blue orbs came next to me and took the form of a Pikachu who started to dance around me. I looked up and saw many scenes of the people of Alola. One of a League battle, others were from being inside a classroom, and then I realized these were Red's memories of his time in Alola. More Pokémon appeared around me. This was all amazing, right in front  Red an image started to slowly appear, but it's hard to make out who it is. Slowly the features start to become clear and it's… me. I'm wearing a unique dress that I only wore once, the day of my party.  How did Red know I wore this… unless he was there. Then the music came to an end and all the Pokémon and images around me disappeared.

Ash POV/ A Few Minutes Earlier
   Finally I found somewhere where I could clear my thoughts. I sat down and pulled out a flute. To most people this is just a fancy flute but that's because they don't believe in legends. I placed Sun Flute near my mouth and started to play whatever notes came to mind. Slowly my memories started to show, but unlike most times I let them flow. I closed my eyes and started to remember some of my past. I could no longer hear what I was playing but I knew I still was. With my eyes closed I saw my battle against Kukui and Tapu Koko, me at the Pokémon School with all my Alolan friends, winning  my Grand Trials, and getting my first Z-Crystal. I wanted to go back when further. I start to see a memory of Serena. It was from the night I left. She looked so beautiful under the moonlight. My eyes shot open before I could remember anymore and just sat here for a few minutes.

"Why did it have to be this way." I groaned to myself. 

"Why did what have to be that way?" A soft voice came from behind.

Serena POV
   "Why did what have to be that way?" I said curious.

"What are you doing out here this late?" He asked not looking back at me.

"I came looking for someone."

"Did you find them?" I could hear a hidden emotion in his voice.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." I said which caused him to slightly flinch which I noticed. He stood up and turned to look at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked as I made my way towards him. He gave me a look asking what it was. "Take off your covering."

"You know the answer to that."

"I know, but please… I just have to make sure." He let out a deep sigh and looked away from me. He took a step away and he did it. He reached up and undid the cover and placed it in his pocket.

"Do you really want to find out?" He said with his back turned to me. In full honesty, not at all. If it's just Red them hopefully we can start something, but the way I feel around him, his warmth. I may not want to but I need to know. I walked over and placed my hand on his back and closed my eyes.

"Turn around please…" I felt him shift to turn around to look at me and now my hand was on his chest. I could feel his chest expand and contract with every breath.

"I don't want you to be disappointed." I slowly opened my eyes hoping for the best. It took a few seconds for my vision to adjust to the light. Once I made out a wave of disappointment flew through my body.

" I'm sorry Red, I was really hoping to find someone else under your mask."

"It's alright, it's starting to get late. We should start heading back" he said while looking at the stars. I guess I won't find Ash here, but I'm not going to give up just yet I can feel he's here.Ronald
Ash POV
   I entered my room and just sat down with a huge sigh. I almost let my emotions get the better of me. The truth is that it's not that I didn't want to disappoint her, it's that I'm not ready to show myself yet. I turned off the small hologram projector that was on my shirt.

"Lucario"

Yes Master?

"I think it's time to show the world what we can do." I walked over to my bed layed down. Tomorrow will be my first match against Iris, I can't wait to see how much she has grown.