"ALOLA!!!~"
Ash, Serena, and everyone else were taken aback in surprise and nearly fell on the wooden floor. Ash had expected for his Alolan friends to be in the classroom, but he didn't expect them to pull off a surprise party for them yet again. Then again, he should have known this in hindsight since the people of Alola love to host celebrations and throw surprise parties for people. Especially Mallow and Lillie.
Ash smiled as for a moment, he remembered how he and his Alolan friends played a big role in preparing Professor Kukui's and Professor Burnet's wedding a couple of years back. In his opinion, it was an amazing wedding. He even got the honor of serving as the ring bearer. He thought it was amazing how the wedding was on the beach. It made him wonder how his and Serena's wedding would be like in the future.
"Wow, it's you guys!" Ash exclaimed in an excited tone, as he scanned the classroom. In the classroom were Mallow, Lana, Lillie, Sophocles, Hau, and even Rotom Dex. There were two other people present as well, whom he was unfamiliar with. Are they students at the school?
One of them was a boy with navy-black hair which was covered mostly by a red bucket hat with a black Poké Ball logo on it. He wore a light blue-colored tanktop, white swim shorts, and red/white colored shoes. The boy was about a few inches shorter than him.
As for the girl, she was similar in height to the boy and also has navy-black hair. Her attire consists of an orange shirt with straps, white shorts, and sandals. Her orange-colored shirt had red flower-like patterns and she also wore a straw hat with an Alolan flower decorated on it.
Before he could give it another thought and question who the new people were, he saw Lillie walk up to the group with a bright smile on her face.
"Welcome back, Ash! Professor Kukui called us and informed us of your sudden arrival to Alola." Lillie was the first one to formally greet the raven-haired Kantonian teenager. "So we decided to throw a little surprise for all of you."
"Sorry if it seemed rushed. It was kinda a last-minute decision." Mallow apologized as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.
"Yeah, Mallow was the one who insisted on throwing a party. You know how she is..." Lana teased. This comment caused Ash and the others to chuckle. All except Mallow that is.
"Hey!" Mallow yelled at the blue-haired ocean lover, as she gave off a pout and crossed her arms. "You don't have to call me out like that, Lana..." She watched as Lana simply just stuck out her tongue in response.
Ash chuckled and grinned with slight amusement. "Well, it seems like you girls haven't changed."
"I certainly hope not. We just saw each other a few months ago." Lillie replied with a giggle. She then noticed a couple more familiar faces. "Oh, Goh and Chloe. Alola!"
"Alola, Lillie!" Goh and Chloe greeted her in return.
"Alola Ash! I hope you have been training since we last saw each other." Hau greeted as he fist-bumped with the person who beat him in the Manalo Conference a couple of years back.
"You bet, Hau!" Ash said as he grinned at the Alolan native and returned the friendly gesture.
"It's really great to see you all again," Mallow said to the group with a bright smile. However, her eyes then landed on a certain honey-blonde teenage girl, causing her smile to widen. Then a smirk appeared on her face right after. "Well, Ash, aren't you going to introduce us to her?" Mallow asked as she nudged Ash on the shoulder.
Ash nervously chuckled. He knew that the Alolan girls were going to freak out and fangirl when they learn that Serena is his girlfriend. Those three were basically like his sisters that would tease and annoy him every once and a while. Nonetheless, he knew he had to introduce Serena to all his friends eventually. It was time to cross his Alolan friends off that list.
"Well everyone, this is Serena," Ash said as he gazed longingly into Serena's cerulean blue eyes. "... my girlfriend."
Everyone who didn't already know froze and didn't say anything in response. However, the silence didn't last long as a certain green-haired girl started getting really excited and was trying to hold back a squeal.
"Oh my Arceus! It's so great to finally meet you!" Mallow exclaimed as she shook Serena's hand. repeatedly. This caused Serena to giggle. She already liked Mallow. She had a very interesting personality and was overall a very enthusiastic person.
"Alola, Serena!" Everyone else greeted in unison after Mallow's little display of excitement.
Rotomdex was stunned by this development so he started taking pictures of both Ash and Serena together. This action caused both Ash and Serena to blush in embarrassment at the attention they were receiving.
"Oh, so you're the same Serena Ash would often talk about!" Sophocles mentioned as he rubbed his chin.
Serena blushed slightly more. "Ash... talks about me...?"
Mallow eagerly nodded, while Lana, Lillie, and Sophocles laughed in the background.
"Of course, you were all he could talk about during his time here!" Mallow said with a laugh. "It was honestly so cute! I shipped you two so hard!"
Now it was Ash's turn to blush a darker shade of red. "Alright, alright that's enough for now, you guys."
Ash looked around the classroom in an attempt to change the subject of the conversation. His eyes landed on the two people he was unfamiliar with. "Oh, hello. Who are you two?"
Hau stepped up as he felt that it was his duty to introduce the two people. "Oh Ash, meet Elio and Selene. They are recent transfer students from a Pokémon school in the eastern part of Melemele Island." Hau introduced with his usual laidback attitude. "They are also my best buds from childhood."
"Alola there! I'm Elio and this is my cousin, Selene." The boy known as Elio greeted with a cheery smile.
"Alola!" Selene greeted and waved right after.
"Hello, I'm Ash Ketchum from the Kanto region. This is my partner Pikachu and my girlfriend Serena and her own Pikachu." Ash said.
"Hi, I'm Serena!" Serena greeted right after her boyfriend.
"The name is Goh, nice to meet ya. These are my Pokémon Cinderace, Drizzile, and Grookey." Goh said as he pointed to each one of his Galar starter Pokémon.
"I'm Chloe and this is Eevee and Ponyta." Chloe introduced herself last.
"Eevee-ve-voi!" Eevee barked out happily.
"Wow, that's such a cool Ponyta you have there! Is it the Galarian variation?" Sophocles asked as he admired the Pokémon. Chloe nodded in response.
"Well, It's always great to meet new people," Elio said after listening to all the introductions. He started looking them over one by one. When he started examining Ash, he nearly fell off the table. Elio's eyes brightened with realization. "No way..."
Ash, Serena, and everyone else looked at the navy-haired teenage boy with curiosity and confusion. Ash tilted his head.
"What's up, Elio?" Ash asked as he had no idea why Elio seemed to be so shocked and excited at the same time.
"YOU'RE THE ALOLA REGION'S REGIONAL CHAMPION!!!" Elio blurted out. He quickly grabbed his backpack and started digging around inside of it for something.
"You're right, Cuz!" Selene said as her eyes widened in disbelief. "I didn't notice it, till you pointed it out."
"CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?!?" Elio asked as he had out a piece of paper and a pen. He started leaning closer and closer into Ash's personal space, causing both Ash and Pikachu to sweatdrop.
Selene mentally facepalmed as she quickly grabbed her cousin by the ear and dragged him back before his nose could practically be touching Ash's. "Ack! Not again, Elio!"
"I'm so sorry, Ash. My cousin here is just such a big fan of you. He saw your battle against Gladion on television during the Manalo Conference." Selene apologized on behalf of Elio.
Ash chuckled lightly. "It's quite alright. I've been approached by fans lots of times. Probably not as much as other regional champions since the Alola Pokémon League has only recently been established by the official Pokémon League Association."
"Plus, the Alola League was different from traditional Pokémon leagues in other regions, because it didn't require any gym badges to participate," Lana added.
"It sure was fun, though. Kiawe was very competitive during that time, though." Mallow said as she giggled at the memory. Kiawe could be calm most of the time, but when it came to Pokémon battles and fist fighting, he had the spirit of a flaming Moltres.
"Hey, where is Kiawe, anyways? Is he still doing his morning deliveries around the islands with his Charizard?" Ash asked as he looked around for his dark-skinned friend with a fiery passion for battles.
Lana shook her head. "Actually, Kiawe graduated from the academy early. About a month ago to be exact. He actually has something to do, so we won't be seeing him for a while."
"Aww, and here I was wanting a rematch with him to prove how much stronger Cinderace and I have become..." Goh moaned in disappointment.
"Cindah..." Cinderace groaned, imitating Goh's behavior.
"Oh well, hopefully Kiawe can make it to the world coronation series to cheer us on," Hau said as he put his hands behind his head in a relaxed position. "He's a pretty tough trainer. Especially his usage of Z-moves and strategies."
"Oh, he'll be there alright..." Sophocles mumbled to himself. Unfortunately for him, Ash's ears barely picked up on what he said.
"What was that, Sophocles?" Ash asked as he glanced over to the short chubby teenage boy.
"Oh, I said he'll be there to cheer everyone on, no doubt about it." Sophocles nervously said. "Phew* That's a close one. I can't expose Kiawe's secret."
"Uhh... okay..." Ash said with a sweatdrop. He felt that Sophocles was hiding something from him, but decided to drop the subject for now.
"Speaking of the World Coronation Series, Elio and I will be partaking as well," Selene announced to everyone. Elio nodded his head in confirmation of her claim.
"Oh wow, really?" Ash asked with excitement. It was always exciting to meet more trainers. If these trainers were eligible for the World Coronation Series Tournament, then that must mean they are talented trainers. "Then I hope I can have the chance to battle you two."
Selene nodded then looked down as she nervously moved her feet on the floor. "That is... if we make it far enough that is..."
"Ahh, c'mon Selene! You won't make it far with that attitude, cuz!" Elio said in an attempt to motivate his cousin.
"Yeah, Elio is right, Selene. You won't make it far with that mentality. I am sure you guys will succeed." Hau reassured.
Selene softly smiled at her cousin and then at her childhood friend. "You're right. Thank you both."
"I'm sure you will all do very well," Lillie said in a supportive tone. The blonde-haired Alolan teenager then glanced over her shoulder to look at a certain Pokémon. "Don't you think so, Snowy?"
"Nine-nine!" Snowy cried out in agreement with her trainer.
Ash, Serena, Goh, Chloe, and everyone else looked to see a gorgeous pale-colored fox Pokémon walk up to them and stood right beside the blonde-haired teenage girl. Lillie smiled and gently stroked the back of her Pokémon.
"Aww... that Ninetales looks so beautiful..." Serena breathed out in amazement. She has seen Ninetales in the past, but she never saw the Alolan variation so up close before. The honey-blonde girl was about to take out her Rotom phone but was stopped by a certain floating red Pokédex hovering around her.
"ZZZ~ Allow me, miss," Rotomdex said. A couple of seconds later, an image of Alolan Ninetales appeared on Rotomdex's screen. "Ninetales. Alola form. The fox Pokémon. An ice/fairy-type. These peaceful Pokémon are known to rescue people from treacherous mountain accidents."
"Heh, thanks a lot for helping, Rotom." Ash chuckled amusingly. It was made apparent to him that Rotomdex still gets jealous of the Rotom phone devices that seem to have grown common in the modern world. The raven-haired teenager then looked at Lillie. "Wow, so Snowy decided to finally evolve, huh?" Ash pointed out as he looked at Lillie for confirmation.
Lillie gave Ash a small nod and a smile. "Mhm. Snowy decided it was time and I allowed her to. If she's happy with it, I'm happy with it. Gladion actually helped Snowy and I find the ice stone that was required for the evolution."
"Speaking of Gladion, how is he these days? I bet he is training for the World Coronation Series, huh?" Ash asked, curious about the whereabouts of his blonde-haired rival with his distant personality.
"Oh, last I heard, brother went with Silvally and the rest of his Pokémon to Mt. Lanakila for special training," Lillie replied. "He's been gone for a couple of weeks now and I have no idea when he will return."
"Man, I can't wait to battle him again. The world coronation series is going to have a lot of stiff competition this time around." Ash said with determination in his eyes. The prospect of so many skillful and powerful trainers with their Pokémon gathering all in one place made him motivated to train more. "The tournament can't come soon enough."
Ash looked around towards a certain area of the classroom. He saw some familiar Pokémon that belonged to his Alolan friends such as Hau's Decidueye, Mallow's Tsareena, Lana's Primarina and Eevee, and then finally Sophocles's Togedemaru and Vikavolt. However, he also noticed another Decidueye, a Brionne, a Crabominable, and a shiny Ribombee among the Pokémon. They most likely belong to Elio and Selene.
The two Pikachu, Snowy, Goh's Cinderace, Drizzile, and Grookey, and Chloe's Eevee and Ponyta were interacting with the other Pokémon. Ash also decided to let out his Lycanroc to reunite with some old friends.
He saw Serena also glance at all the Pokémon. She had a look of awe and wonder. "She probably hasn't seen this many Pokémon native to Alola in one place before..."
"So many Pokémon in one place, must capture some images of these Pokémon at once," Rotom said as it soon started hovering over the group of Pokémon. It started off taking pictures of Chloe's Galarian Ponyta, Goh's Cinderace, Drizzile, and Grookey, and then group pictures of all the Pokémon.
"That Rotom Pokédex... it seems familiar..." Serena mumbled as she was thinking. Where has she seen it before? Then it hit her! She looked at her boyfriend, who looked back at her with a confused expression.
"Is something wrong, Sere?" Ash asked as he held Serena's hand tightly. If anything was bothering her, he wanted to comfort her and abolish any discomfort that came her way.
"Ash, isn't Rotomdex one of Clemont's inventions?" Serena asked her boyfriend. She recalled Bonnie showing her some of Clemont's successful inventions in a catalog a while back.
Ash gave Serena a puzzled look and then took a quick glance over to Rotomdex. The floating red Pokédex was still busy taking pictures of the Pokémon. "Really? Clemont did that? I didn't know that."
"Pika-chu...?" Pikachu squeaked while tilting his head.
"Indeed." Professor Kukui said as he entered the classroom. Everyone turned to see the tanned-skin professor approaching them. "Principal Oak and I actually got help from him a few years ago when I went to Kalos. He sure knows his technology. I heard he's grown more successful in the Kalos industry."
"Wow! Science is sooo amazing!" Ash exclaimed. "I can't believe I was using one of Clemont's inventions without even knowing it."
"However, it's still a prototype so there aren't many Rotomdex at the moment. We may plan on manufacturing more of them if given the chance. I might just contact Clemont about it in the future." Professor Kukui said.
"That's good. Rotomdex is very useful." Ash said. "I'm sure new trainers would be happy to have a Pokédex like-"
"WOAH WOW!!!" A feminine voice squealed out of pure excitement as if she had just seen her favorite celebrity in person. Ash looked to see who made that loud squeal that interrupted his conversation with the professor.
Mallow was jumping up and down as she pointed at the piece of jewelry on Serena's finger. Her eyes were gleaming with wonder. "Serena, are you engaged to Ash?!"
"Huh, Ash you already popped the question?" Sophocles questioned.
"This is getting interesting." Lana muttered.
"Oh what?! Does the Alolan champion have a fiancé?! Since when?!" Elio exclaimed with surprise that his role model is getting married already.
"No, no," Ash said as he put his hands in front of him to try to clear up the misconception from his friends. "Mallow, Lillie, Lana, and Sophocles. Remember the rings I had Kahuna Olivia make for me?"
"Oh, so that's the one that was infused with the key stone ore your provided Olivia with," Mallow said with realization.
"Wait what? You have a key stone?! Why didn't you tell me, Ash?" Goh asked as he learned of this newfound revelation. He was prepared to interrogate his friend further.
"I'll tell you everything later, Goh." Ash assured him.
"Do you have a Pokémon that can mega evolve, Serena?" Lana asked the honey-blonde teenage girl.
"Well, I do have my Audino who has a mega stone, but we haven't attempted to try mega evolution yet." Serena admitted.
The mention of mega evolution made Ash flinch as he remembered the incident with Heracross from a couple of days prior. However, he felt a warm hand grasp for his right hand. It was Serena, who was giving him a warm, understanding smile. It caused him to smile back at her.
"TOGE-MARU-RUUUUUUUU!"
Everyone turned to see Togedemaru crying her eyes out and rolling around the floor in a little ball. They saw both of the Pikachu sweatdropping, while Ash's Pikachu looked slightly guility. Togedemaru was heartbroken. The chubby white rodent Pokémon started wailing out her despair as she started colliding with desks, other Pokémon, and people's feet.
"Oh, come here Togedemaru..." Sophocles said as he tried to comfort his Pokémon.
"I wonder why Togedemaru flipped out like that..." Ash muttered, scratching his head in confusion.
Nearly everyone mentally facepalmed and face faulted at the raven-haired teenager's denseness. Even some of the Pokémon couldn't believe it.
"Ash, Togedemaru is sad because Pikachu rejected her," Serena said, trying to catch her boyfriend up with the news.
"Oh..."
"Pikapika..." Pikachu squeaked as he scratched the back of his head. He knew that Togedemaru had a crush on him, but he didn't reciprocate the same feelings. He has Serena's Pikachu, now. It actually made him feel guilty putting Togedemaru down like that.
Then the mouse Pokémon froze. He realized that there would soon be another Pokémon he will have to face. Buneary. He recalled Buneary being a very emotionally vulnerable Pokémon and was very fragile. Even when they first met, he managed to make Buneary cry. Oh no... he was going to have a tough time when they meet again. He was lucky that Dawn didn't call out Buneary while he was around when they were in the Kalos region.
"Well, that happened..." Professor Kukui said before turning his sights back to Ash, Serena, Goh, and Chloe. "So what is your purpose of visiting? I doubt it's just because you want a vacation."
Goh's eyes widened as he remembered their purpose of coming over the region. With the recent events, he nearly forgot. "Oh, that's right. Chloe, Serena, Ash, and I are here to gather data on the Island Guardians and how they helped the people of Alola for the past few centuries."
"Hmm..." Professor Kukui averted his gaze and rubbed his chin as he thought. He then looked back at Goh and responded, "Well, I am happy to tell you about them. We also have books and information in the library."
"Oh thank you, we would love to check out the library," Chloe said.
"This research only requires two people. Ash and Serena, you both can hang out for a while. Chloe and I will be at the library to gather some information from the textbooks." Goh said. Goh took out three Poké Balls to return Cinderace, Drizzile, and Grookey back into their Poké Balls.
Ash, Serena, and the rest of the group watched as Professor Kukui, Chloe, and Goh exited the classroom to head to the school library.
"So, Serena. I believe I owe you a date?" Ash asked his girlfriend. He believed that it was the perfect time to take Serena out on a date. Plus, he would love to show her around the island while they were there.
Serena's eyes watered as she tightly hugged her boyfriend. "Of course Ash, I would love to go on that date with you!"
"Aww!" Mallow squealed as she was still excited over the fact that Ash was in a relationship with someone. "So cute!"
"Anyways, I'm going to show Serena around the island. We will catch you guys later." Ash said as he took out a Poké Ball. He aimed it at Lycanroc and quickly recalled the Dusk form wolf Pokémon back into his Poké Ball.
"Pika pi?" Pikachu squeaked to Ash while tilting his head.
"Of course buddy, both of you can come along as well," Ash said as he rubbed the head of his faithful starter Pokémon. This wasn't a formal date where they would be going to a fancy restaurant or wear formal clothing, so he wasn't going to leave Pikachu out yet.
"And of course you can come too." Serena giggled as she tapped her Pikachu's nose playfully.
"Pika!" Serena's Pikachu cooed.
Ash and Serena waved goodbye to everyone before proceeding to leave the classroom and exit the Pokémon school. The couple was very ecstatic about their date in Alola as they were holding hands and were walking through the streets of the Alola region.
Little did Ash, Serena, and the people of Alola know, something was occurring that caused the sky to slowly crack open.
To be continued...