Gary smiled, as he looked into the conference room and noticed Ash, sitting at a table in front of hundreds of reporters. Ash was never the best with the media. He has a tendency to either brag about himself, too much, or would sit awkwardly, as he was bombarded with questions. To Gary's amusement, it was the latter.

Gary made his way through the reporters, who were just now filing out of the room, until he finally reached the table and saw Ash, with his head on the desk and arms over his head.

"You look more tired than when you battled against Trevor, out there today." he teased to his old rival.

Ash grunted, as he took his hands off his head and looked up to the smirking professor.

"You try being asked the same question, in twenty different ways, and then we'll talk!" he said, with a tone of annoyance in his voice.

"I heard that the last question was about your match-up on Saturday. That seemed new." Gary pointed out.

Ash chuckled while scanning the now empty room. "Yeah, but you missed the first dozen or so. They were all the same. 'How would I deal with his Persian or if I suspected that he has more powerful Pokémon in his arsenal?' You know, stuff like that. Just rehashing the same old question."

"Well, the media likes to be thorough." Gary teased.

"Either that or they like to hear themselves talk." Ash joked.

Gary laughed, as he saw Ash shake his two Pokémon awake. Pikachu and Lucario had dozed off, in the background, while Ash was tackling questions for roughly thirty minutes. They groaned and yawned, as they woke from their nap.

"Come on, Aaron," Gary used Ash's alias, in case anyone was around. "Let's get going. We're meeting up with Trevor for some ice cream. As well as seeing if any vendors have leftovers, for us to grab along the way."

"What about Angela and Ashley?" Ash asked with a curious look in his eyes.

"Angela's busy with treating Trevor's Pokémon, and Ashley wanted to watch her mother work. It'll be just the three of us." Gary responded.

"Alright. Let's go." Ash replied.

---

The two childhood friends exited out of the conference room, where they saw Trevor, waiting for them, by the door. The three friends walked around the atrium until they managed to find an ice cream vendor, who was cleaning, and asked if he had any ice cream left. The vendor smiled and handed the three young men some sea-salt ice cream, that was all that they had left, for today. Pikachu smiled, when he saw Ash grab a few extra ketchup packets, for the road, from another vendor, as they stopped and managed to get some hot dogs, French fries, and pretzels, that they had remaining. The group found a bench, outside the stadium, that was lit by a lamppost, but still gave them a sense of privacy.

"Is Serena with the others?" Ash asked, between bites of food.

Gary nodded, before wiping off some mustard from his lips. "Yeah, I convinced her to head back with the others. She seemed disappointed, but knowing her, she'll probably try and see you tonight."

"Thanks for doing that for me, Gary," Ash responded.

"Sure thing, Ash," Gary said, with food in his mouth. He swallowed, before continuing. "So you said that you wanted to talk to us about something."

"Oh yeah." Trevor joined in, after swallowing the French Fries in his mouth. "I forgot about that. So what's up?"

Ash made a sound of realization, before coughing and swallowing what was in his mouth. He turned to his backpack and dug through it, before taking out three Pokéballs. He turned to Gary, with a serious expression on his face, and wordlessly handed the three miniaturized Pokéballs to his longtime friend and professor. Trevor looked on with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Gary looked down in shock, as his fingers traced over the Pokéballs. "Ash, what is this?" he asked while looking back at Ash with a confused look on his face.

"It's the Pokéballs of my Venusaur, Floatzel, and Infernape," Ash said, in a serious tone, which sent shivers down his friends' spines. "I've told them to listen to you, no matter what, for the time being."

"Ash, that doesn't explain anything!" Gary was now panicking. "You can't be thinking about leaving now, Ash! You're so close! Serena would be devastated!"

"Yeah, Ash!" Trevor responded, while also panicking. "What's going on here?! Why are you giving Gary a few of your Pokémon?! Explain!"

Ash shook his head, as he turned forward and seemed to stare off into the distance. "It isn't anything like that, guys." Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw his two friends relax a little. "Listen, I talked to Giovanni, earlier in the tournament." Again, Gary and Trevor tensed, as Ash spoke more solemnly than ever before. "He claimed that he wouldn't try anything because he didn't have the pull, that he once had, over the PLA and police force, but I can't take that risk. I can't stay near Serena all the time, so I need you two to stay as close to her as possible, until the day of the battle."

Gary shook his head, once again. "But Ash, wouldn't it be easier for you to do that?"

Ash sighed and looked at the ground, in front of him. "Gary, if this doesn't work, if I can't stop Giovanni here, then I'm going after him, following the tournament. I don't know what will happen, but maybe, with three of my strongest Pokémon, along with Trevor's Pokémon, you guys will be able to protect yourselves and the others."

"Come on, Ash! Don't be talking like this, man!" Gary began to feel his voice rise, as he felt his body beginning to shake.

"You're this close!" Gary began to yell, "You are Ash Ketchum! You've always come through in the clutch when you really needed to!"

"That's right!" Trevor shouted. "You've proven that today by defeating me and Gregor! You can get through this challenge and come out as a winner! No matter how many times you have fallen, you always get right back up and continue to fight for the people you love!"

Ash chuckled, as his eyes rose to the sky above them. He took in the stars, while silently sitting next to his friends. Gary then took a closer look at Ash and went silent. Trevor saw it too. There was sadness in Ash's eyes, no longer excited or enthusiastic. Gary and Trevor began to shake, even more, when they noticed another expression that they've never seen before in Ash. Fear.

"Ash . . ." Gary whispered.

"Listen, guys, I don't know what will happen in two days," he sighed, as his gaze fell back on the shaking friends. "I'm scared as hell. Last time I faced him, I nearly died in an explosion; but this time, there's much more at stake here."

This time, Gary chuckled, as he began to relax again. "I don't know, Ash. The fate of the world is pretty high stakes."

Unfortunately for the young professor, no one was laughing.

"This isn't something to be joking about, Gary, and you know it!" Trevor responded, with a tone of annoyance in his voice, as they saw Ash shake his head while turning to Lucario and Pikachu, who was sitting and joking around a few yards away.

"Trevor's right," Ash responded as he turned back to his two Pallet Town natives. "This isn't a joke. We've have lost so much, last time. Trevor lost his father because of Team Rocket when he was little. We aren't fighting for just the outcome of the world anymore; no, it's so much more than that. We're fighting for our very lives, in order to return to those things that we hold very dear to us. With stakes that high, anything can happen."

Gary began to speak but was interrupted by Ash. "I know I'm asking a lot from you too, but just promise me that you'll both take care of everyone if things don't go the way we want to. Promise me that."

Gary and Trevor turned to each other, before nodding and looking back at Ash, with a smile. Gary then placed an arm around Ash and playfully shook him.

"For the great Ash Ketchum, I'd face all the champion at once!" Gary replied.

You can count on us, Ash, to protect our friends and family from any threat!" Trevor responded.

Ash chuckled, as he looked into each of his friends' eyes. "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it."

"Sure thing, Ash," Gary replied.

"Yeah. And now," Trevor began to speak. "I think it's time for a little icing on the cake!"

The two Pallet natives were confused by their friend's statement until they noticed the young man giving them their sea salt ice cream. The trio then began to eat them.

"It's salty," Gary began to say, after taking a bite out of the blue ice cream.

"But sweet!" Ash finished the young professor's thought, as it seemed that they both enjoyed the ice cream flavor.

"That's usually the reaction I see on people's faces when they first try it," Trevor responded as he had eaten this kind of ice cream before. Angela introduced it to him when they first met, and it has been Trevor's favorite since.

After eating the ice cream, Gary was the first to get up from the bench that they had been sitting on.

"Come on, guys. Let's head back. I'm sure Serena will want to talk to Ash before it gets too late."

"Agreed," Trevor replied.

The three friends got up and walked to the hotel, with Lucario and Pikachu following right behind them.

---

Giovanni rustled through his pocket until he got hold of an electronic key card. He swiped the card and opened the door. When he heard the beep, indicating that it was unlocked, he opened the door and walked in, with his Persian following closely behind. He sighed, before slumping into a chair, in the corner, and turning on a little lamp, which was positioned on the adjacent table.

He could hear Persian purring, as she climbed into the bed and curled up in a ball, leaving him with the other half of the bed, whenever he decided to call it a night. He smiled weakly, as his eyes danced across the faintly lit room. His gaze moved from the window, which displayed the brightly shining Saffron City, in the distance, to the peaceful classy cat Pokémon; until finally, coming to a rest on a small picture frame that was on the table next to him.

He slowly moved his hand, until he grabbed the picture frame while bringing it up, in front of him. His smile grew, as he took in the image.

The picture showed him sitting in his plush office chair, behind his desk, with his Persian on the ground, with a paw on his lap. They were genuinely smiling at the camera, but it wasn't their image that made him smile.

Standing behind him, on the left, was a young blonde, with about shoulder-length hair, which was stylishly curled. She wore a unique uniform with a white and pink cap, long white gloves with a black shirt, along with a pink R in the middle. She wore a white skirt that had a pink line, on the bottom of them, along with white boots that ran up to her thighs, with a pink ring, on them, at the thighs.

Behind and to the right of him, was a man with grey hair, which was curly and fell past his ears, along with a thick mustache of the same color. He wore a purple shirt, under a white lab coat, with brown pants and shoes. What stood out about the older gentleman, was a monocle that he wore on his right eye.

Although he didn't like to admit it, Giovanni had grown close to the two members of the Team Rocket staff over the years. Domino was a bright and beautiful young girl, who had become one of, if not, his top agents. He considered her as a daughter, more than anything.

As for Dr. Zager, he was a friend that went way back into the Team Rocket history. In the early years of the organization, Giovanni had found the great scientist, out on the streets, at a rather early age. The scientific community had blacked ball the young inventor because of his rather eccentric and inhumane methods of Pokémon control. Giovanni had found and given him the job as a lead scientist for Team Rocket.

Since the two had worked so closely together, for many years, they had developed a close friendship. They were the closest thing to a family that he ever had.

A few months after the explosion, once the heat had died down, he started looking into what had happened to his two friends. Dr. Zager was executed for his crimes of inhumane treatment against Pokémon, after a quick trial. Domino had gotten a luckier break, if there was such a thing, for her role in the organization. She was never someone that was sent on hits, so she wasn't given the death sentence, like many of his other elite agents; but instead, she was sentenced to life imprisonment, which wasn't much better.

At least, I can get her out, once all this is over. Giovanni thought as he felt a few tears, beginning to fall from his cheeks.

He let out a low growl while wiping the tears away with his hands, before slamming the picture frame face down, causing the glass to break.

He was silent, for a bit, before feeling something rubbing against his hand. He looked down to see his Persian gently rubbing his hand. He smiled and chuckled softly, before petting his last remaining friend, behind the ear, while earning a purr of content from the normal type.

The boy will pay for what he has done, and soon, Team Rocket will rise again to its rightful glory!

---

Serena tossed and turned in her bed. She grunted as she was being serenaded by the sound of snoring, coming from the other three girls, in the room. She wished that she could have joined them, in slumber, but she was a wreck of nerves. The day had been a peculiar one.

It had started off well by being able to finally sleep in. Ash had said that he would come and wake her, after his morning training session, for lunch. While she enjoyed the time with him, she could tell that his mind was elsewhere. He was uncharacteristically quiet, for himself, along with Lucario and Pikachu, who mirrored his attitude. Then, there was Gary, Trevor, and Angela. They had stayed closer to her than usual, but this, she figured, had something to do with Ash. He had probably asked for his old friends to keep an eye on her, so she just brushed it off.

She had watched his news conference during the media frenzy, which followed Tobias and Trevor's third-place bout. He only gave one sentence and one-word answers, throughout the entire interview. He rarely rose his head to meet the eyesight of the countless reporters that were in the room. She had hoped to see him, as soon as he returned from the interview, which ended around eight that night. She waited in the lobby for a few hours, but he never came. She had spent the last hour tossing and turning, in her bed, trying to sleep.

She looked at the digital clock, which rested on the table, between her and Bonnie's bed. She groaned when she saw that it was already midnight.

Maybe he's in his room right now. She thought, as she gingerly got out of her bed.

She tiptoed through the darkened room, before reaching the door. She grabbed the doorknob and slowly pulled the door open, while being careful not to let in too much light from the hallway, and slipped out.

She walked over to the door, that was across from her. She took a peek down both sides of the hall, to make sure that she was alone, before knocking on the door. She waited for a few moments, before deciding to try again. She knocked louder, before putting her ear up to the door. She keenly listened for any signs of life on the other side. She backed up and sighed, as she came up empty in her search for Ash.

Where could he be? He hasn't come back from the press conference. She smiled when a thought dawned on her. I'm sure he's there!

Serena quickly opened the door to her room. Without the lights, she managed to find her way to her bag. After a few minutes of rummaging through her belongings, she came across a pair of long socks and a sweatshirt. She threw them on, along with a pair of shoes, and exited out of her room. She quickly made her way through the halls, until she arrived at the elevator. She got in and descended down to the lobby. Once the doors opened, she rushed out and into the crispness of the night.

---

She found her way into the forest. She ducked past limps and through bushes, while letting the light of the moon, screening above, guide her path. She came out into the same clearing, which Ash and she had encountered each other there, so many times before. Her heart skipped a beat, as she saw him sitting there, in the glow of the moon. The light was dancing off his ebony hair that was freed from his hood.

Ash sat there in silence, before being startled, as he felt a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and a body pressed against his. His shock dispersed into happiness, when he smelled a flowery perfume, lingering behind him. He chuckled, as he felt a cheek rubbed up against his.

"Hey there, stranger," he said softly.

"Stranger? I better be more than just a stranger to you." Serena teased. "I mean, after all, we have kissed before. I don't know what type of girl you think I am. Just going around kissing strangers." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, whatever," Ash responded.

He quickly turned in Serena's arms and tucked his arms around her. He rotated Serena and twisted his body so that Serena was now sitting in his lap.

Serena gave a small yelp at the sudden action. She began to chuckle, before playfully hitting Ash in the chest.

"You jerk!" The chuckling performer responded.

The two continued to laugh before Serena turned sideways and rested her head on Ash's chest, while one of her hands played with the Pokéball, around his neck.

"So, may I ask why you're out here?" she questioned softly.

"Just thinking," Ash responded quietly.

"About what?"

Ash took a deep breath, before exhaling. Serena noticed a deep breath and took her head off his chest, in order to see his face. She viewed the trainer, who had his mask off, with a worried gaze.

Ash saw the uneasiness, which her eyes were expressing, and averted his gaze, before talking. "About tomorrow, and if I'm ready for the battle. I've been waiting five years for this moment, and now that it's here, . . ." Ash's voice began to trail before he let out another sigh. "I don't know if I'll be able to finally beat him."

Serena gently placed her hand on the side of Ash's face, while her thumb gently ran over his cheekbone.

"You remember the night before the Lumiose Conference Finals?" Serena asked her loved one.

Ash kept his gaze away, as he nodded his head. Serena began to grow frustrated.

"Ash, look at me!" Serena ordered, which Ash responded to her demand by tilting his head so that their eyes met. "Do you remember that night?"

"Of course I do, Serena. I was a nervous wreck, just like what I am now." Ash said as he remembered that night.

She smiled and nodded. "It was also the first night that we kissed. I never told you this, but I couldn't sleep that night either."

"You couldn't?" asked Ash, with a confused look on his face.

Serena shook her head. "No, I couldn't."

---

Serena tossed and turned in her bed, before having felt a cold wind blow against her body. She shivered, under her sheets. She then turned her head and noticed the sliding glass door, which leads to a balcony, was opened, along with Ash's bed empty, except for a little yellow ball of fur, who was curled up on one of the pillows.

She got up and went to the door. She stuck her head out and noticed Ash, leaning up against a railing, as he was staring out into the night sky. She quietly walked up next to him and leaned on the railing, so she could see his face.

"Hey, you feeling alright?" Serena asked, which seemed to have shaken Ash out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh. Hey, Serena." Ash responded as he turned to the girl that stood next to him. "Yeah, I'm fine.

Serena looked at him with skepticism. "I'm not buying that, for a minute. Tell me, what's wrong?"

Ash sighed, before turning back to the view, that the balcony gave them. "I've never been this close to my goal before. I mean, I've gone far in various conferences before, but not like this. I'm not sure if I'm ready for this."

"But you've worked so hard, Ash," Serena was shocked at what she was hearing. The ever-confident Ash Ketchum was doubting and questioning his own abilities. "I'm sure that you'll win."

Ash shrugged his shoulders. "That's what I always felt before I lost. I mean, I should have beat Ritchie, but Charizard wouldn't listen to me. Then, Charizard finally does, but I couldn't get past Harrison and his Blaziken. It was the same deal with Tyson and his Meowth. After that, I finally get over the Quarterfinal hump by beating Paul, but only to come face to face against a team of Legendary Pokémon. Finally, I lose in possibly the most embarrassing fashion yet: I lost to Cameron, who came to the battle with only five Pokémon!" He sighed again, as the weight of so many close calls has finally taken their toll on him.

"Ash, you can't let those defeats, from the past, bother you," Serena said. "That was then, and this is now. They don't have anything to do with tomorrow's battle. Sure, you've learned from them, but it won't make a difference, whether you won or lost in those conferences, tomorrow in the Finals."

"How can you be so confident, Serena?" Ash questioned his performer friend.

When she saw Ash turn to her, Serena began to blush. She had always been there for him, while he was in Kalos, but this seemed different somehow.

She gulped, before continuing. "Because . . . Because I'm talking to the most amazing person that I've ever met," she said sheepishly.

She looked up, from the ground, to meet Ash's gaze. He's not stopping me! That's good, right?

She felt confidence beginning to grow inside of her. "You've always inspired me, ever since we were younger. Then, you came to Kalos, and now, my entire world has changed. You've opened the doors that I never knew existed. If you had told me, last year, that I would be performing, in front of thousands of people, I would have laughed; but because of you, I was able to realize a dream that I didn't even know I had. You've always been there for me, Ash, always encouraging me by telling me to never give up. When you win tomorrow, I'll be there to cheer you on."

They stood in silence for what felt like hours to Serena. She felt the beating of her heart racing, as she waited for Ash to respond. All of a sudden, she stood in shock, as Ash wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. She tensed at his touch, but slowly melted into it. She then buried her head into his chest, while wrapping her arms around his back. She soaked in every second of the embrace, while her crush was holding her in his strong arms, his head resting in the crook of her neck, and the texture, of his shirt, on her cheek. They finally let go of the embrace and looked into each other's eyes, Auburn eyes meeting blue eyes.

"Thanks, Serena. That means more to me than you know." Ash said, with a small smile forming on his lips.

Serena tilted her head, as she took in his smile. Well, it isn't his adorable toothy grin, but it's better than nothing. She thought.

"You're welcome." She responded.

Suddenly, an idea came to her mind. She had said so much tonight already and he had hugged her in a way that he had never done before. Should she risk it? This is Ash. I may never have another chance as good as this!

"One more thing!" she exclaimed louder than she wanted to.

"Huh?" Ash responded as he looked at her, with a confused look on his face.

"I have one more thing to help inspire you tomorrow," Serena stated.

"What's that?" He asked.

"This."

She gently gripped Ash's shirt, before softly pressing her lips against his. She felt her heart burst, inside of her chest. It felt like she had always imagined it would be; electric. She began to feel a tingling sensation that started from her lips, and then suddenly, began racing through the rest of the body, while carrying a warming feeling with it. She parted from the kiss, with a smile on her face, which only grew when she saw it mirrored on Ash's.

"Wow," Serena whispered. She backed away from Ash, before turning and walking into the room.

Suddenly, she felt a grip on her arm and was spun back around. Before she could say anything, she felt his lips against hers and his arms around her waist. Her shock lasted only a moment before she closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around Ash's neck.

Again, they broke the kiss, but Ash didn't move back. Instead, he whispered, "Best piece of inspiration ever."

---

"You see, I was feeling nervous about you too, just like how I am today." Serena smiled, while she spoke. "And just like that night, you're letting the past affect the present. So what if you didn't stop Giovanni, five years ago? Tomorrow, it won't matter. All that will matter is what happens when the battle begins."

Ash sat there, pondering what the performer had just said to him. Had he let the last five years really affect him that much? Of course, he had. Why wouldn't those years have put any pressure on him? Still, with Serena in his arms, he began to feel her confidence rubbing off onto him. He grinned his toothy smile that she loved so much.

"What's going through your head now?" she asked while being hopeful that her words made an impact on her loved one.

"Just wondering if I could get a little 'inspiration' tonight, just like the one that I received, back in Kalos," he said playfully.

"Why didn't you ask that earlier?" Serena teased, before leaning in and placing her lips on Ash's.

Ash felt the warmth radiate from her kiss, as well as the tingling sensation of her hands while being wrapped around his neck.

All that matters, right now, is tomorrow. The past is the past, and tomorrow is a brand new day.

He smiled to the kiss, as once again, the Kalos Queen has caused all his anxiety to slip away into the majestic night sky.

---

Ash finished the last notes of his song, which he played on his ocarina, before opening his eyes and viewing Pikachu and Lucario. They were ready. Silently, they rose and made their way out of their locker room. They had stepped onto their platform, before hearing a voice behind them. Ash turned to see Serena, standing there, with a smile on her face.

"Why are you here?" he asked, as she approached the masked trainer.

"I felt like a thumb's up wasn't going to be good enough, for today." She slipped off his mask and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

Ash smiled, as they parted from the kiss. "Thanks." he said, "I needed that."

"So did I," Serena responded sheepishly. "Now go out there and do your best, and when you win, I'll be right there, next to the stage, waiting for you."

"I'll see you there," Ash replied.

Ash took one last glance back to Serena before his platform began to rise and the roars, of the crowd, began to drown out his thoughts.

Beside him, Lucario was growling, while Pikachu sat, atop his shoulder, with sparks flying. Standing across from him, on the battlefield, Giovanni held a Pokéball in his hands, while Persian crouched, as she was mirroring her master's tensed frame.

Ash enlarged a Pokéball, in his hand, with only one thought running through his head.

This ends now!