Pokemon Amourshipping the Movie: Goodbye Ash

Chapter 8: Father and Son

"Serena, I don't want to talk about Felix."

"I know." She came forward and tenderly took him by the hands.

"Ash, what Felix did to you was wrong. He should've been there for you as a father all these years."

"He should have, but he wasn't. He abandoned my mother. He abandoned me."

Serena nodded but moved her right hand against his cheek to wipe away the tears.

"He did, but I saw genuine remorse in him when I met him in Sinnoh. Ash, I know how much this must hurt you, but I truly believe he wants to make amends. That he wants to be here for you now."

Ash clenched his eyes shut and nearly jerked away, but Serena wouldn't let go.

"I don't need him!!! I've done fine without him all these years!"

"Have you!?" Serena shouted, sounding angry. Ash and Pikachu looked back at her, but Serena looked sad instead of angry.

"You have a chance to be with your father! Do you know what I'd give for that!?" Serena choked on her tears.

"Serena?"

The Kalos Queen reached into her bag and very carefully took out a picture. Ash and Pikachu looked closer and recognized Serena's mother but standing beside her was a man they'd never seen before.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, with Serena's blue eyes and honey-blonde hair done up in a military buzzcut to match his army uniform. Ash's eyes widened slightly when he saw Serena, perhaps a year younger than when he first met her, held in the man's arms.

"This was my papa, Alexandre."

"He was a soldier?" Serena slowly nodded.

"He was a Major in the Kalos Army. But mama says I was his world, that he'd sometimes get into trouble because he'd come home early to see me."

Ash almost hesitated to ask but somehow found the strength.

"What happened?"

Serena's hands trembled as she stared back at the photo.

"All I remember was soldiers coming to our house and mama crying. There was an accident at the base, and his building caught on fire. Papa wouldn't leave until he got all his men out."

Ash didn't speak. Instead, he merely wrapped his arms tightly around Serena, holding her while Pikachu nudged his head against her.

"Your father was a brave man." Serena nodded and put the picture away. After a long breath, she similarly placed both hands on Ash's face and stared deeply into his eyes.

"Ash, if you don't do this, you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Ash didn't immediately respond, but Serena could see she'd made an impact.

Elsewhere, Felix rested atop a building, not having spoken since Ash ran from him.

"Grouuu!!!" Lucario pleaded again, but to the same result.

"It's been a long time, sensei." Felix didn't move at first but soon lowered his head even further. Lucario, however, looked up at a colossal Charizard who now loomed over them alongside Daniel Rian.

"Grouu."

"Grauuu." Charizard bowed his head respectfully to his old teachers while Daniel approached Felix.

"I had a feeling you might show up here eventually, sensei. Took you long enough." Daniel spoke in a rather stern tone toward his old mentor, who continued to cry.

"Ash rejected me. He doesn't want me in his life."

"Are you really that surprised?"

Felix looked up at Daniel, who crossed his arms while staring down at him.