Serena's POV
We spent couple more days on Shalour City, until Riolu's recovery, and then we went on our way again.
Happy to see Ash smiling again and not so worried like he was in past days, I won my third and last required Princess Key.
Few weeks later, we arrived in Santalune City.
"Whoa, I remember this Pokemon Center. You brought my backpack here after I forgot it in the gym." Ash said after looking around the battlefield at the back of the Santalune City's Pokemon Center. "I'm so glad you've appeared that day."
"Yeah, me too." I said and tried to kiss Ash, but he dodged me.
"Sorry Sere, I'd like to kiss you, but it's too risky here. Someone might see us or take a photo and..." He was explaining but I cut him off and kissed him anyway.
And when we were kissing... snap... I heard a sound of someone taking a picture.
His head snapped to the side from where the sound came from, I mentally face palmed. "Why? Why now? Why someone has his camera always ready?" I thought and looked in the same direction where Ash was looking.
It took me a while to realize who's standing there, two young ladies, the Santalune gym leader and her older sister, who's a journalist.
"Viola!? Alexa!?" Ash said still holding me around my waist.
"Wow, you might have here a big article sis!" Viola said to her sister, looking at the photo she took. "Just imagine the title... The Alolan Champion and the next Kalos Queen! The most powerful couple in the world!"
"Just calm down Viola... I can't do this to Ash." The journalist was calming down her sister and we greeted and talked for a while, while having some soft drink in the Pokemon Center.
"Wait, so you actually want me to write an official article about you two?"
"Well, I know you're mainly writing about Pokemon, but I discussed it with Serena earlier, and we agreed that someday we should confirm all those rumors about us." Ash was saying and I agreed with him nodding. "So, yeah, since you're the journalist and I know I can trust you. You should be the one to write about the relationship between Serena and me."
"And how do you imagine this article?" Alexa asked.
"Well, do you think you can prepare some questions for me and Serena and write it like an interview article once we give you the answers to these questions?" Ash suggested and Alexa agreed.
"So, could we have that interview tomorrow at the gym?" Asked Alexa.
"Sure." Me and Ash confirmed.
We talked for a couple more minutes and then the sisters from Santalune City had to go back to the gym.
After that, we booked a room in the Pokemon Center and went training at the battlefield behind the Pokemon Center.
The next day after the lunch, we went to the gym to make the interview with Alexa to finally confirm all those rumors that the Alolan Champion is dating a promising performer/coordinator.
We arrived at the gym and went to the background where Alexa was waiting.
She greeted us and with her hand she motioned us to take a seat. She set up a microphone between me and Ash and turned it on connecting it to her laptop, then she brought us a glass of water, next she put her headset on and asked us If we're ready. "If there will be any question you don't want to answer, just tell me and we'll skip it, ok?" Alexa said and both me and Ash agreed.
"This article will be special. For the first time, it won't be about a Pokemon but about a Pokemon Trainer, well two Pokemon Trainers, very special Pokemon Trainers. As this pair requested, I'm here with the two famous people, the Alolan Champion Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and a rising star of Showcases and Contests Serena Yvonne from Vaniville Town." Alexa begun.
"So, let's start with first question... There're a lot of rumors, which says you're dating with each other, are these rumors true?" The Kalosian journalist read her first question.
"Yeah, I mean I don't have as good track of time as Serena here, but if I'm not mistaken, we're dating for almost four months." Ash said looking at me.
"Yes, you're right Ash, it's 114 days exactly." I said with a smile and a tint of pink color appeared on my cheeks.
"I assume your respective families knows about it." Alexa continued.
"Sure, we're both approved by our moms." Ash chuckled.
"Great, I know you've met two years ago, but that wasn't the first time you've met each other, right? How long do you actually know each other?" Alexa asked her second question.
"Right, first time me and Ash have met was eleven years ago, at the Professor Oak's Summer Camp in Ash's hometown in Kanto." I answered and saw a look of disbelief at Alexa's face.
"Wow, you sure know each other for a long time... Did something happen those years ago, or you fell in love with each other 'few' days before you started dating?" Alexa asked a question that wasn't at script.
I took a word again. "Well, back at the camp, I got separated from the other kids by mistake and got lost in forest, and with a combination of that situation and my clumsiness I injured myself tripping over a tree root. That's when I met Ash. He was randomly chasing a Poliwag and to my luck he found me. Seeing me injured he forgot about that Poliwag, wrapped my injured knee onto the handkerchief, helped me to stand up and became my hero. If I'm honest that's where my crush to Ash have begun and he's still my hero to this day."
"Cute, so Ash, did you got your crush on Serena at the same camp, eleven years ago?" Alexa asked my boyfriend.
"Well, I don't think I can say that. For me it has all begun two years ago. We were traveling with each other through the Kalos region and at the very last day, when we were saying our goodbyes, Serena kinda confessed that her little crush became a huge love during our travels in Kalos, I was really dense at that time and didn't really realized what she has said, but I knew Serena was different, something about her was indeed very different. Sure, I liked her, but I wasn't really thinking about dating her or something. That changed the last day as I said, she picked up all her courage and kissed me before boarding her plane to Hoenn and left me awe struck in the middle of an airport. That moment is a reason why I started thinking about her more and more, realizing that I love her." Ash spoke.
"How did you get together then, what happened those four months ago." Alexa asked us.
"Well, I'm starting to think that it was all either coincidence or a fate. At that time, I was working at the Cerise Research Institute in Vermilion City as a Research Fellow and Professor Cerise wanted me and my colleague to study the Kyogre and Groudon in Hoenn. Knowing that in the Pokemon Center's room won't be enough space for the research, I contacted my friends at Petalburg City's gym asking them if we could stay for a while in their house." Ash begun and I took over.
"At that time, I finished the Hoenn Grand Festival in second place and at the party after the Grand Festival, I've become a friend with May Hayden... daughter of the Petalburg City gym leader and she invited me over to her house." I continued.
"And that's how we met again. Then it was rather quick. Me sitting outside alone while we were camping at 1 AM. Serena, who couldn't fall asleep, going out of her tent for a little walk. She found me and sat next to me... then talking, flirting, confessing, kissing, in that order, I think. It was magical, best moment of my life, even better than winning the Alolan League maybe, I will always remember that moment." Ash ended and I chuckled, agreeing to it.
"Sure, we left few moments, but everything else is private." I said completing the story.
"Well, my next question was if someone helped you two to get together. But you already answered that it was a famous Hoenn coordinator, who goes by nickname Hoenn Princess, May Maple. So, Serena, why did you address her as May Hayden?" Alexa asked me.
"Oh no, did I really say May Hayden? Well, I'm technically not wrong due to the fact that during our stay in Petalburg City, May's boyfriend, Johto and Hoenn Top coordinator Drew Hayden, proposed to her. So, May'll become Mrs. Hayden really soon, I think." I said to Alexa. "But I don't know if it's published yet, or May and Drew want to keep it a secret for now."
"Ok, a note for me. Write 'I've become a friend with May Maple' in the article to not leak the information about marriage proposal and completely leave out this question about May." Alexa said for herself to the microphone.
"Right, that concludes the part about your past, but what are you doing now and what are you planning to do in the future?" Alexa asked her last question.
"Right now, we're both training. I'm allowed to participate in the Kalos Queen Master Class, so I'm aiming to challenge Aria again after two years and hopefully claim the title this time." I spoke first.
"Yeah, as Sere said, we're both training right now, she's aiming for the Kalos Queen. And since I quit my job in the Vermilion City, I'm working out, so I can hopefully challenge Leon, or at least get a good result in a Coronation Series Final Tournament." Ash confirmed before continuing. "And after that, and that's something I thought about recently, I want to get to my champion duties and maybe form my Elite Four in the Alola."
"Thank you both. That would do it for an article. Last question, when do you want to publish it?" Alexa said thanking us and turning both microphones off.
"I don't know, you call it Sere." Ash said turning to me.
"I don't know either..." I shrugged.
"Then how about I release it before the Kalos Queen Master Class? For the big impact!" Alexa exclaimed.
"Yeah, why not?" I agreed and Ash only shrugged.
That ended the interview. We hung out in the gym for couple more hours. Ash watched the gym battle while I spent my time with Alexa, chatting in the background of the Santalune gym. After that, we went back our Pokemon Center room.
Time flew by and in the blink of the I found myself standing in the final stage of the Master Class...
I had closed eyes and crossed arms in front of my chest, each of my hands was holding two Pokeballs. I took a deep breath and waited for the music to start. Once it did, I released all four of my Pokemon from their Pokeballs and begun the performance.
My performance was based on fire and water combination with Sylveon and Pancham as supports to add some more colors.
I was happy that everybody managed to perform like we trained or better and everyone, including me, were doing their parts.
I didn't have a clue how it looked like from the stands, but I believed Ash's words, that he has never seen more beautiful performance.
The music soon ended and I, breathing heavily and smiling, quickly found Ash, sitting, or at that time, standing, clapping, and cheering. I couldn't have missed his lips curved to a big smile... Then, when I was bowing to the audience, I saw quite a lot of people with the same expression as Ash.
"Did we really do it? Did we really make those people smiling? Is our performance the reason why they're smiling?" I asked my Pokemon once I got to the background.
"It looks that way Serena. I think you really did it. You've certainly grown a lot since your last Master Class." I heard a voice from behind me.
"Huh?" I turned around and saw Palermo standing behind me.
"All I can say is, cherish that boyfriend of yours." Palermo surprised me with her statement.
"I guess you've read the article..." I said blushing.
"Yes, but I knew it earlier. I've sat next to Ash at the Shalour City Showcase. The way you waved at him and smiled just made it so obvious." She said which made me blushing even more. "Anyway, what I wanted to say is, he gave you so many things you were lacking, like a healthy confidence. Seriously, cherish him as much as you can, you won't find another guy like him." She said next and I think she spoke from her experience.
Our conversation interrupted Monsieur Pierre, announcing Aria's performance, so I just smiled and nodded to her and we went to watch the stunning performance of the current Kalos Queen.
Soon after Aria's performance, I was standing next to her and all the people all over the Kalos were waiting for the results.
"Mesdames et messieurs! The results are here! The winner is and the title of Kalos Queen belongs to... !!!" I heard Monsieur Pierre announcing...
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Aaaaand the cliffhanger, sorry!
Another chapter done! Still quite a lot to go, but this book is slowly going to it's end.
Soooo, I've been wondering ... if, once I finish this book, should I write another story?
I recently got an idea of some kind of Aura Guardian action story with Amour and Egoshipping, maybe Contestshipping, taking their parts in the story.
So, I'm just wondering if you want a second book, once I finish this one?
Thanks for the support!
'Till next time