Usurper

Chapter 9: Confessions

Serena went silent for a few moments before finally speaking up. "I...... I saw how you pushed away Misty for me and I felt bad. I.... I just hate how my feelings for you have hurt you. Nothing good has ever come from them!" Ash sighed and shook his head. "Serena, that isn't true at all. Misty texted me after my battle against Lance. She's sorry and wishes she could talk with you, but point and case- she wants us to be together." Serena started to laugh as she cried slightly, "So what's stopping us then?" Ash looked her in the eye. "Absolutely nothing at all Serena." She hugged him again and then Ash made the first move pushing her into a kiss.

Ash didn't know if he was doing it right, but he sure was happy.

The next day.....

Ash walked out of his room and saw Serena already in the kitchen. She was cooking breakfast with Kukui and Burnet and Ash smirked. He decided he'd break the news to them and possibly cause Kukui to have a heart attack at the same time. So he walked in and greeted the professor. "Morning Professors!" Kukui and Burnet gave a wave and wished him good morning. Ash then walked right over to Serena and kissed her forehead, causing her to turn as red as a fire blast. "Morning Serena!" Ash said with a smirk. Burnet dropped the spoon she was stirring with and Kukui threw the pan he was making eggs with. "AH DAMNIT!" Kukui yelled. Burnet started laughing. "Pay up honey," she said between laughs Ash and Serena looked at each other confused. Kukui looked at them and smiled "Well..... I sorta had a bet with my wife about if you guys would end up dating before or after the tournament. Turns out I was wrong. Very wrong"

Burnet laughed "Kids ignore my husband, the two of us wish you guys the best. Ash is like a son to the two of us and we just want to make sure that the both of you guys are happy and healthy and staying safe." Ash smiled at hearing this. "Thanks Professor Burnet." Serena smiled also.

Kukui cleared his throat. "Just to be clear..... The two of you NEED to be using protection." Ash and Serena both turned bright red and ran out of the kitchen. Burnet and Kukui laughed and went back to cooking breakfast.

Ash decided it'd be fun to break the news to his friends and see their reactions to him finally getting a girlfriend. His first stop was Mallow's restaurant, where he knew she'd be working and putting in some hours. He asked the group if they wanted to meet up for lunch there and they agreed.

Ash walked in the restaurant, but didn't greet his friends as he normally did. Instead, he just sent a message. He had Pikachu on Serena's shoulders. Pikachu loved Serena so this was no issue at all.

Pikachu chirped happily at seeing Mallow, Kiawe, Lana and Lille. Sophocles was running late.

Ash looked at Serena. "Honestly I think it's easier to show it than to say it."

Ash gently squeezed Serena's hand and people got the memo pretty quickly. Mallow squealed "oooooh Ash that's amazing! I'm so happy for you guys". Kiawe started to laugh "I'm proud of you Ash. Make her happy" Lana just glared at Serena. She just mouthed "remember my Sharkpedo." Serena shivered slightly. As for Lille, she was quiet for a bit before smiling. "Well, I'm glad you're happy Ash." It was an unspoken fact among pretty much everyone spare Ash that Lille had a huge crush on Ash. It had lessened in intensity ever since Lana beat her to the punch and after he left Alola she started to move on. But she was likely freaking out internally

Mallow noted to herself she'd have to check up on Lille. Set her up with someone else

Now that was done, Ash could focus on his match. Kukui had made sure that the stadium had sold out entirely for his match against Lance.

Alolans were eager to cheer on their champion against who they perceived as an enemy. Lance was an outsider in their culture, a poster boy of someone from a mainland region who didn't respect their culture, once calling Alola "a joke of a battling region." In an interview with the press. Lance didn't use Z moves, he didn't acknowledge the strength of Alolan Pokemon trainers. And they wanted to make him remember to respect their islands

When Ash got back, he walked in on Kukui holding a stone in the main room. "Professor, what's that?" Ash questioned him. Kukui tossed the stone at him. "Read it for yourself."

There was a sticky note attached to the stone

"To my son: I saw your last match on TV. Seems like you used my mega stone. This is another one in my collection and I've never even used it. It was a gift from an old friend and there's no sense in it collecting dust. Make good use of it. I'm proud of you."

-L

Ash read this twice before gripping the stone. His father was watching and he said he was proud. He smiled and gripped the stone tightly. He'd make good use of it. He swore to himself that one day he'd battle his father and win

The professor scanned the stone "Seems like this is a mega stone for Sceptile. You could use this in your match! Sceptile would do awesome! Considering he's a dragon type upon Mega Evolving!"

Ash started to ready his team for the big day, he had trained up Sceptile especially.

Teaching him Dual Chop, a destructive dragon-type move.

He helped him learn scale shot also, a move that would help his speed in exchange for defense. A trade Ash was willing to make

In reserve, he also taught Infernape stealth rock. A smart move considering many Dragons tended to be flying types. Finally, he was bringing Pikachu with his nuclear Z move that he knew would wipe any opponent off the face of the earth.

Lance stood on the top of a rock in the Vast Poni Canyon. These sorts of places he felt at home- no people to deal with- just nature and strength. Lance took in his surroundings and palmed a Poke Ball. He already used his ace against Ash, but he still had 3 great options. He'd make that child work for every inch in the battle and he wouldn't go down without giving him a fight to remember.

The day of the match arrived, Ash took a deep breath and headed into the stadium. It seemed like all of Alola was in the stadium, and if they weren't in the stadium, they were in the area. All chanting for him. Their champion. He would do it. He'd prove the whole world wrong and win. He'd defeat Lance and get one step closer to his final dream. Becoming a Pokemon Master.

A few hours ago.......

Leo Ketchum touched down in Melemele island on his Mega Pidgeot. It had been ages since he'd last been in Alola. Ever since his honeymoon with Delia. He felt a sting of pain. What happened was an utter shame and not a day went by without him regretting what happened. He made a mistake, a massive one. But he did what needed to be done. No one would ever understand, and if they did they wouldn't believe him. Hell, these days there was a whole project dedicated to finding him. Only, it wasn't "him" they were after. They were searching for his partner who he had to catch to save the world.

Leo Ketchum sighed and released Mew. The Mythical Pokemon giggled and flew around in circles. After almost 15 years, he still understood next to nothing about Mew. Its age was older than Leo could understand, Mew disliked to battle but when it chose to, it could defeat any member of his team with ease. And finally, Mew could talk telepathically. Today, Mew asked him "why have you come to the islands of the sun?" Leo sighed at Mew's questioning. "It's my son. He's come to battle for a large title. I am here to cheer him on. I need to see him battle in person." Mew chucked "Are you sure that's wise?" Leo shook his head "No..... No I'm not. But it's what I'll do regardless. Mew laughed again "you're making a good choice Leo."

He only hoped so.