SH - Becoming A Pokemon Master!

S2 ~ CH-22 - A New Future!

As she was lost in her thoughts, Ash noticed her staring. "Something wrong?" He asked.

Serena closed her eyes for a second and shook her head slightly. "No, nothing." She smiled, keeping her head in her palms while she watched him.

Ash tilted his head slightly sideways. He didn't believe her and continued asking. "Don't you like your cake? We can get something else for you?"

Again, Serena shook her head. "No need." She answered. "I really like it." She then proceeded to put her arms down and took the spoon in her hand again. She looked at Ash and smiled at him as sweet as she could. "I'm just so proud of you." She said truthfully.

"Proud?" Ash repeated her. He was a bit confused now. "For winning the battle?" He asked.

Serena hummed. "That and how you've come back to me." She smiled. "I just want to repay you for your hard work." She said, trying to sound as beat up as she could.

"Hey." Ash said, stretching his arm and placing his hand on hers. "You don't need to repay me. I wish I could repay you for sticking with me and helping me out of this mess." He replied.

Serena's smile grew as she took his hand in hers. "I did it because I love you." She said. "And if I need to, I'd do it again."

Ash smiled at her words before kissing her hand. "And I love you." He grinned. Serena giggled at his actions,  joking a little.

When she stopped laughing, Ash asked. "So, we still have some time to kill before we have to travel back to Lumiose City. What do you wanna do?"

Serena thought for a moment until her eyes lit up. "Didn't Aria tell she was hosting a talent show?" She spoke up. "How about we gonna watch?"

"Sounds good!" Ash agreed. "But I have something better in mind than watching.

"Oh?" Serena questioned him curiously. "And what may that be?" She added.

"You'll find out soon." He said, standing up from his seat and offering his hand to take. "C'mon! We can't be late!" He grinned of excitement.

Serena giggled as she took his hand and stood up aswell. "Who's excited now?" She joked.

They exited the cafe after Ash paid the bill. It didn't take them long to find out where Aria was holding the talent show as there were many posters hanging around the city, pointing them towards the Sundial.

Soon, they arrived at their destination. Aria was already holding a few auditions and watching some people perform tricks with their pokemon.

A small stage was set up, along with a decent sized stand where most participants were sitting on, either watching or waiting for their turn. It wasn't anything grand but that was exacly what Aria had been aiming for. She believed that even talent from the street could be amazing. Not everyone had it in them to show themselves off on a big stage, especially when people were struggling with self doubt. This was the reason why she wanted to give this opportunity back to the people.

The current participant was making her Flareon jump through some hoops that were set on fire. After her performance, she bowed gently and got off the small stage.

"Alright everyone." Aria stood up from her seat. "Let's take a small break for now. We'll continue in fifteen minutes again." With that, some groaned but eventually, everyone left the stands to get something to eat or drink from a nearby hotdog stand.

Meanwhile, Ash and Serena approached Aria. The latter just let out a sigh, letting out a small complaint of how tiring it was.

"Hey Aria!" Serena said her name with a large smile on her face. The pink haired performer looked up to see Ash and Serena approaching. A large smile formed on her face. "Hey guys!" She said happily. "Glad to see that you guys have come!"