"Ash, you can't allow yourself to lose focus."
Ash brought himself off the ground and groaned. "I know..." he mumbled, rubbing his back. "If Pikachu is going to battle alongside you correctly, you need to make sure you put all of your focus into the battle," Samuel exclaimed confidently, slamming his stick into the ground.
Ash looked over at Pikachu, who was snickering at Ash. Samuel had knocked him over upon not being able to react fast enough to his swinging stick, which was another part of his daily exercises. They had been doing the same thing every day for around six years, which meant Ash had become so much more comfortable and formidable when it came to physical training and Pokemon battling.
"Why don't we take a break?" Samuel suggested, setting his cane stick down. Ash nodded and walked over to a nearby tree with Pikachu. Sitting down, he sighed and drank from his makeshift canteen filled with water, staring out at the ocean. He saw Samuel leave the area to go tend to the usual things at his lodge nearby.
"Pikachu, you ever just wonder about them?" He asked flatly. Pikachu's ears perked up and he turned to Ash, his head tilted in confusion. "Y'know, our friends. The ones that I left behind," he elaborated. Pikachu frowned and nodded, remembering how much he cared for all of Ash's friends. "I'm still not entirely sure why I decided to leave. I mean, I just had a gut feeling that if I stayed there, I would've made things worse for everyone," he explained.
"Pika!" Pikachu protested against Ash, jumping up onto his hind legs. "I know I'm making things up in my mind, but it would've gone like that. I mean, look at Lucario and Greninja. They were my Pokemon, and now..." his voice faltered as he spoke, unable to finish the statement. "Well, you know," he finished. Pikachu frowned and sadly said, "Pika..."
Ash took another deep breath and took another swig of his water, staring out at the vast ocean. He thought many times about getting Dragonite to fly them back to Kanto or Kalos, but as time went on, he slowly forgot which way home was, eventually reaching the point of acceptance that without external help, he was never going to return.
A few feet away, Samuel had returned from the break and had overheard Ash's conversation with Pikachu. Ash had told him so much about his time traveling and the people he met, so Samuel knew just how important they were to him. He especially knew of the one girl, Serena, who had such an impact on him.
Samuel also knew, of course, that his very name would remind Ash of his hometown Professor, Samuel Oak. Combining all of this would make anyone want to return home, which was something he was well aware of. When he caught Ash talking to Pikachu about home, he quickly understood just where to go with things regarding him.
Samuel reappeared on the beach and yelled, "Break time is over. Back to the training!" Ash and Pikachu both stood up and walked over, beginning to resume their training. In Ash's mind as he trained, he wondered, When will I get to see my friends again?
{—}
"Soon, Bonnie!" Clemont exclaimed, his little sister pushing him back and forth in his hotel bed. "We'll go soon!" Bonnie continued rocking him back and forth, trying to wake him up. "Wulfric said I could be there as early as I wanted to!" Bonnie shouted insistently. "If I don't go now, I won't be warmed up!"
Clemont groaned and said, "Fine..." He felt his blankets get thrown off of him and heard Bonnie running out of the room in fear of her brother's anger. Clemont just shuddered as he lay on the bed in his pajamas, freezing. Bonnie will never stop trying to act like Ash, will she? He thought as he grabbed his glasses from the bedside desk. I don't blame her, it's just... she can't fixate on Ash.
He quickly changed into his blue jumpsuit, grabbed his Aipom Arm backpack that he had made shortly after his first one broke, and exited the room, seeing Bonnie in the lobby. "What took you so long?!" Bonnie exclaimed angrily, already by the door and ready to leave. "Someone woke me up rudely," Clemont responded. "So I took my time."
Bonnie pouted and flung the door open, her long braided blonde hair getting blown by the wind. In addition to growing out her hair since becoming a trainer, she had slightly changed her appearance, having blue jeans, a light blue shirt, and clean white shoes. Clemont thought it suited her, as it was very simple and fit her personality.
"We can just beat Wulfric on our own, right Dedenne!?" Bonnie shouted, causing Dedenne to pop out of her bag and shout alongside her. Clemont just chuckled at the two and shook his head. "It is your last gym battle in Kalos after all," he admitted. "And who knows, maybe they'll be hosting the Kalos League soon."
Bonnie nodded and grinned at Dedenne. "You ready to beat that old man?" She asked Dedenne, who smiled as Bonnie ran out the door. "Wait, Bonnie!" Clemont exclaimed as he awkwardly sprinted after her, his shoes clamoring against the hardwood floor. "Don't fall behind, Clemont!" Bonnie yelled in the snow-covered roads behind her, taunting her older brother.
A few minutes later, Bonnie was staring at the entrance to the Snowbelle City Gym. She had been for about a minute now, unmoving and barely breathing, Dedenne mimicking her actions. "This is it. All of our friends are with us, Dedenne," Bonnie whispered. "Dene..." Dedenne whispered back.
Bonnie looked to her left when she heard panting coming from Clemont. "You're so slow! Like always!" Bonnie yelled in frustration. Clemont sighed and scratched his head. "Sorry... again," he apologized. Bonnie huffed and shook her head. "At least you're here..." she softly said, giving him a soft smile. He returned it and faced the entrance. "Wanna go inside?" He asked, grabbing his sister's hand. "Yeah. I'm ready," Bonnie said, entering the gym alongside her brother.
{—}
"And ze Performers moving on to ze final round are...!" Monsieur Pierre began, stopping right before the results to raise tension. Goh was practically on the edge of his seat as the room was silent. "Florence, Bella, and Chloe! A big round of applause for all of ze lovely Performers who put on a great show!" He announced enthusiastically.
Goh jumped up out of his chair and swung his arms. "Yeah, Chloe!" He exclaimed amidst the cheering from the audience. He saw Chloe give a soft smile to one of the other Performers who had made it before all of the Performers were escorted back to the waiting room. He knew he wanted to meet up with her before the next round, but something caught his eye as he stared down at the front of the stage.
In the front row, where only specific individuals sat, was Palermo, the woman he had conversed with within the lobby. He raised an eyebrow as he saw her pull out a phone and begin talking as everyone filtered out of the auditorium for intermission. Eventually, it was only Goh and her in the auditorium, as everyone had wanted to walk around during the break.
He turned towards the door that would lead into the lobby and contemplated his actions. He could go and apologize to Chloe for being late and end up in hot water with her, or talk with Palermo, as she had piqued his interest with how she was in the front row. Eventually, he reluctantly turned away from the now closing doors and set his sight on the busy woman, still in her seat.
He slowly made his way down the stairs and began to pick up on her conversation ever so slightly. "...yes there's another promising one, I think it's possible..." Goh heard her say, pausing after hearing a response from the person on the other end. "...I know you may not think so, but it's been years..." Goh was now only a few feet, and she hadn't seen him yet.
"...her name? I'm pretty sure it's Chloe..." Palermo spoke, shocking Goh. She just mentioned Chloe's name! He exclaimed to himself. But why? He stood right behind Palermo, being as quiet as possible. "...is something the matter with this...?" Palermo hesitatingly asked, her voice almost seeming cautious.
"H-Hello?" Palermo brought her phone away from her ear and stared at the screen to see that the call had ended. She sighed and placed her phone in the bag, staring at the stage and shaking her head. "How long were you going to stand there?" She suddenly asked, causing Goh's heart to drop. She turned around and nonchalantly stared at Goh, who quickly began profusely apologizing for his actions.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to spy on you, I just wanted you to tell me why you're sitting here and I didn't want to-," Goh blurted out, filling the silent room with unintelligible nonsense. Palermo put up her hand, signaling Goh to stop. "Start over," she stated coldly. Goh sat down in the row across from her and took a deep breath.
"I wasn't trying to spy on you," he said, slower and calmer this time around. "I was just curious as to why you were sitting in the front row since that's for certain people." Palermo stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Alright, truth be told, I'm what some people call a Pokemon Producer." Goh raised an eyebrow.
"What does that mean?" He asked, earning another sigh from Palermo. "Just a title the press made up so that they could create an image of me," she responded. "I was Kalos Queen a long time ago, so I've been able to help countless Performers achieve their dream of becoming Kalos Queen." Goh's jaw dropped in disbelief. He wouldn't have believed that the old woman before him had once been Kalos Queen.
A connection suddenly clicked in Goh's brain. "Wait, so did you help Serena become the current Kalos Queen?" He asked curiously. Palermo flinched for a second at the name, before quickly recovering and shaking her head. "No... I-" she began, before stopping herself for a moment. "I didn't need to. She managed all of that on her own."
Goh frowned and said, "Oh, okay. I was hoping you did because she's my friend, and we haven't been able to contact her in years." Palermo raised her eyebrows at this comment. "She hasn't spoken of any friends," she said softly. Goh's eyes lit up. "So you do talk to her?" He asked in excitement.
Palermo shook her head. "I do, but... it's complicated," she responded in a whisper. Goh noticed that this woman most likely never showed her emotions, but talking about Serena had sent her past that limit it seemed. "I can't let you see or meet with her. She's too busy," Palermo said astutely, disappointing Goh.
He clenched his fists and mustered up the courage to retaliate. "Ms. Palermo, please! It's been three years since any of us have gotten to talk to her! She completely cut us off after Ash disappeared!" If Goh had thought that Palermo was shocked before, then he was greatly mistaken.
Palermo gasped at the name of Ash and stared at the ground for a moment. "What's the matter?" Goh asked. "Do you know Ash?" Palermo quickly shook her head and stood up. "I... have business matters to attend to," she quickly said, making her way up the stairs towards the auditorium doors. "Wait! You can't just leave!" Goh exclaimed, standing up. "I want to know why you were talking about Chloe!"
He was met with a door opening, allowing small amounts of light and the noise of people talking to get through. Goh slumped over as he realized that Palermo had just left before answering his most pressing question. He sighed and grabbed his bag, realizing that the final round was going to start soon. He had missed his opportunity to meet with Chloe, so he wanted to make sure to be there for the end.
As he found his seat, people began trickling back into the auditorium, their new snacks, and drinks in hand. All the while, Goh sat wordlessly in his chair, thinking about his interaction with Palermo. Why wouldn't she let us meet with Serena? He asked himself, failing to answer. And why did Ash impact her so profoundly?
{—}
Serena hung up the phone upon hearing the name 'Chloe' leave Palermo's mouth. She set down her phone on her desk, her hand trembling. I can't let them back into my life. Not after everything that's happened. Grabbing her hairbrush again, she worked away at perfecting her hair, making sure its long, honey-blonde nature stayed perfect.
After about thirty minutes of working on it, she finally finished and stood up, analyzing her outfit. She had no reason to suspect that Chloe would be arriving to challenge her anytime soon, as she had never shown up to the Finals Performance that would determine the new Kalos Queen that occurred every year.
Tying the bow situated on her hair, Serena took a deep breath. Palermo wanted her to allow new Performers to challenge her for the title, but Serena had simply opposed the idea, saying long ago that no one would reach her skill level. She still had not realized the absurdity of such a statement, even after three years.
Serena stared at her entire outfit for a while before flopping back onto her hotel bed in the empty and barren white-walled room. Why did I even dress up? It's not like I'm going anywhere, she asked herself. She knew the answer, of course, which was that the last time she had allowed herself to take a lazy day and wear anything below perfect, she had cried over a certain raven-haired person.
That was three years ago, the day after she had taken the title of Kalos Queen. Ever since then, she had forced herself into classy and proper dresses and outfits to avoid breaking down again. Never again. She told herself every day as she woke up to experience another boring day. I'll never cry over him ever again.