We join Ash as he is making his way to the room after the incident with Serena in the previous chapter.

With Ash

As Ash was making is way up the stairs towards his room, he had a huge grin plastered on his face. To him, Serena's kisses were the best thing in the world.

As he was about to enter his room, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Ash turned around to see none other than Gary Oak standing there.

"What do you want Gary?" asked Ash, slightly tired.

"A Kiss." replied Gary.

"H-Huh? What!?" asked Ash. He had never seen this side of Gary.

Gary soon realised what he just said. He was thinking about Serena kissing Ash and just blurted it out.

"W-Wait, let me rephrase it! : A Kiss?" asked Gary.

Ash was still slightly puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" asked Ash.

"I saw the whole thing down there between you and Serena. Now, tell me what's going on Ashy-boy!" said Gary.

Ash's eyes immediately widened and he started blushing.

"N-Nothing!!" exclaimed Ash with a slightly panicked voice.

Gary just smirked.

"Your reaction tells me that it wasn't 'nothing'. " replied Gary.

"No, I'm seri-" Ash started but was cut off by Gary.

"Don't lie to me Ashy-boy. I saw the whole thing. I won't let you go until you tell me." said Gary sounding slightly more serious.

Ash knew there was no way out now. If Gary wanted something, he would get it no matter what.

"Besides, I thought you still liked that girl from Summer Camp." continued Gary.

Ash just smiled at his comment. 'I guess I have to tell him.' he thought to himself.

"That't the thing Gary. Serena is that girl." said Ash nonchalantly.

Gary's jaw dropped.

"W-WHAT!?" yelled Gary.

Ash immediately covered his mouth with the palm of his hand.

"SHHH!!! I don't want anyone else to know!" said Ash.

Gary then licks Ash's palm.

"Ewwhhh... WTF was that Gary?" asked Ash.

"What? You were covering my mouth for too long, and anyway... how do you know that Serena is that girl?" asked Gary.

"Well, they look the same, act the same and have a similar... aura, I guess. I don't know. I can just sort of tell that it is her." replied Ash while scratching the back of his head.

Gary just looked at Ash. He had confusion written all over his face.

"Oook... if you say so." was all Gary could say.

"I can't wait till the rest of the guys hear about this." said Gary excitedly.

"NO!!" yelled Ash.

"What!? Why?" asked Gary, slightly confused.

"I want Serena to know before anyone else." replied Ash.

"Hmm... alright, that makes sense." replied Gary.

"Well, I'm beat. I'm going to sleep now. Smell ya later, Ashy-boy." he continued while smirking at him and walking away towards his room.

"*Sigh* Good Night Gary." replied Ash while sounding a bit annoyed.

After that day, everything went very well. Ash and Serena continued their training. Thew became even closer than before. About 5 months have passed. Winter had come and gone. It was almost the end of spring.

Over this time, Serena had collected 2 more princess keys and Shauna had collected 3 keys too. This meant that both of them could take part in the Master Class.

Over the same period of time, Paul and Dawn had got together. May and Drew were dating secretly, just like Misty and Gary, however, their secrets were revealed. Alain and Mairin's relationship was also made quite public during the Christmas Ball where they started kissing passionately during the dance and well... everybody noticed. Ash and Serena had gone to the dance together. Iris had moved back to the Village of Dragons as she wasn't too keen on schools and Cilan had already graduated as an S-Class Connoisseur.

Calem and Shauna were still in a relationship, and it was clear that they loved each other and needed each other, however, Calem couldn't see it properly. Over time, he had redeveloped feelings for his ex... Serena. Well, it wasn't feelings as such. Watching Serena in her showcases made Calem admire her.  He thought that she looked beautiful... and wanted to be back with her. Calem was aware of the fact that Ash liked her, however, he was also aware of the fact that Ash hadn't done anything about it. He hadn't made a move on her. Calem knew that he still had a chance with Serena... but he was unsure if he could leave Shauna. He knew that he had a bright tomorrow with Shauna, a bright future... however, he thought that his future would be brighter with Serena.

Shauna had noticed slight changes in Calem. He would always go congratulate Serena as soon as she won. It made Shauna feel like a second choice. It belittled her in front of Serena. It always made her seem like a second best... and she didn't like it. She held no grudges against Serena... she was just upset and slightly puzzled by Calem's actions.

Ash had to return to Alola once. He had to face a challenger and he had won easily. He rarely used more than 2 Pokemon in his battles. He was that strong. Gary never stopped pestering him about his feeling for Serena, but Ash would only reply with the same thing.

"I'll tell her when the time is right."

Ash didn't want to be a distraction to Serena. He wanted Serena to do her very best during her showcases, and so far so good.

We join the group of friends as they watch the Master Class Showcase. This is the weekend before KIT starts again for the third (and final) semester of the academic year. Shauna, Serena and Katie were the semifinalists. Serena had won the Semi-final. She has finished her performance against Aria and is currently waiting for the results.

With Serena

"We will now find out if we have a new Kalos Queen. So, Mesdames et Messieurs, please settle down." said Pierre.

As soon as he said so, the crowd fell into deafening silence.

"The winner... of this year's Master Class Showcase is...

 PERFORMER SERENA!

And with that, we have a new Kalos Queen!"

As soon as Pierre finished his sentence, Serena started crying tears of joy. She hugged her three Pokemon, Delphox, Sylveon and Pancham very tightly. The crowd roared. They had enjoyed Serena's performance immensely. It was a performance worth being performed by the Kalos Queen... and only by the Kalos Queen.

As soon as she let go of her Pokemon, she was immediately tackled into another hug.

With Ash

As soon as Ash heard the announcement, he jumped out of his seat and ran towards the stage. He didn't care about the rest of the world. He was just over the moon because of the fact that Serena had won.

He then climbed onto the stage and ran straight to Serena. He noticed that she got out of her embrace with her Pokemon so he tackled her into a hug.

No one's POV

Ash hugged Serena tightly, lifted her up and started spinning around. Ash was extremely happy because of the fact that Serena had achieved her dream. It was a joint effort between Ash and Serena and to have their hard work pay off, both of them couldn't contain their excitement.

As Ash spun her around, Serena couldn't help but giggle and Ash couldn't help but look up at her and smile. The group of friends, bar Calem, had huge smiles on their faces. Calem was still unsure how he felt about the whole situation.

Ash stopped spinning Serena around and set her down. There faces were only inches apart when he set her down. He then proceeded to talk.

"Congratulations Serena!! I can't believe that you're the Kalos Queen now!!" exclaimed Ash happily, not realising the proximity of their faces. 

"T-Thank you Ash. This is all because of you." replied Serena while looking into his eyes."

"...Serena..." was all Ash could reply. He, too, was staring into Serena's eyes.

The two ere lost in each other's eyes. Unknowingly, their faces were inching closer and closer. Ash could feel Serena's breath on his face and the same was the case with Serena. They never broke eye contact.

The two sad started closing their eyes, getting ready to enjoy the best feeling in the world until Ash was abruptly pulled away. He felt hands on his shoulders. Ash and Serena were both caught off guard by this.

Ash looked back and found that there were two bulky men with ear pieces pulling him away. As he was inspecting them, he noticed that they had a shirt with 'SECURITY' written onto it.

Ash now realised what was happening. He looked at the audience and Aria who were all wide-eyed. Everybody was taken by surprise and Ash now felt a little embarrassed. He then looked back at Serena who was staring at Ash dumbfounded. Ash then grinned sheepishly while waving a 'good bye for now' to Serena. Serena then giggled at Ash actions and the waved back shyly at him.

The group of friends were slightly disappointed by the fact that this kiss didn't happen... but they didn't let that ruin the moment. Serena was now the Kalos queen and everybody, including Shauna, was happy for her.

Somewhere in Alola with ???

So... Ash is back in Kalos now... and that Serena is the Queen. That sure was a heartfelt moment that had on the stage, but know this Yvonne, Ash is mine and mine only.

I could have become Queen three years ago if it wasn't for Shauna. I don't care now though. Asll I need is Ash.

... I guess it is time for me to end my exchange student programme here in Alola and move back to KIT.

With that, the mysterious new character immediately bought a ticket to Kalos. It is supposed to leave Alola on the day after on Sunday morning and reach Kalos on the same Sunday evening.

The group of friends reunited with Ash, who was thrown out of the hall. He was about to get a lifetime ban, but Serena stopped them by letting them know that Ash was a friend of hers.

Calem was now sure that he liked Serena. He was in awe at the fact that she was the Kalos Queen now... however, he knew that both Ash and Serena had feelings for each other. Calem had to find a way to get rid of Ash Ketchum.

Calem has grown to like Ash as a friend. He was a nice person and because of Ash, Calem has grown as a trainer. Watching Ash battle has made Calem stronger and he was grateful to Ash for that, however, as the old saying goes; All is fair in Love and War.

No matter how good of a person Ash was, Calem still wanted Serena... and he would have to find a way to take Ash out of the equation... in the nicest way possible... and he had just the thing for it. He had a plan... but for it to work, he had to be strong.

With Ash

The Showcase was held in the south side of Lumiose City so they only had a 20 minute walk back to their dorms.

Ash was walking beside Serena. They have had so many awkward moments since the beginning of the year that they don't even faze the two teenagers anymore. They could literally be on top of each other, blushing like crazy in one moment, and in the next moment, they'll talking and laughing like nothing even happened. It was normal for them now. It was almost like they're the best of friends now.

As the two were walking with their group of friends, Ash heard someone behind him.

"Hey, Ash?"

Ash turned around to see a nervous Calem behind him.

"Hey Calem, what's wrong?" asked Ash.

"Uh... I was just wondering if I could have a full 6-on-6 battle against you? I know I'm not strong enough to win yet... but I want to see how much stronger I have gotten since the beginning of the year." replied Calem.

The word 'Battle' always sparks a fire inside Ash, so naturally, he had a enthusiastic reply.

"Of course Calem, I'd love to battle you!" replied Ash.

"Really? That's great! I can't do anytime this week though, because I have a couple of challengers. You know Elite 4's have a lot more challengers than Champions." replied Calem while chuckling a little.

"Yeah... just let me know when you want to battle, alright?" asked Ash while grinning at Calem.

"Alright, I will!" replied Calem enthusiastically. He then turned around and ran back to Shauna.

Ash turned around to look at Serena who had a puzzled look on her face.

"That was... random." said Serena.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" asked Ash.

"Well... I mean, he had the whole of spring break to ask you for a battle... why ask now?" asked Serena.

"Why not? There isn't much to do right now either." replied Ash while smiling at her.

"Yeah... I guess you're right." replied Serena... but she had a really bad feeling about this for some reason. She knew Calem and knew that he wouldn't just challenge someone like that no matter how strong they are. He always has had a very good reason to challenge someone...

Serena thought nothing of it for now and went with the flow.

The group had a celebration feast for Serena's achievement. They all ate until they couldn't anymore... excluding Ash and May. They continued eating even after they couldn't eat anymore. Eventually, night fell and everybody returned to their dorms. Ash and Serena were both ecstatic because of today's events... especially that little moment they had on the stage.

Both Ash and Serena tried not to make a big deal of it... but it was. It was the first proper hint of their mutual feelings towards each other. Both of them had butterflies in their stomach and their hearts were fluttering as they slowly drifted into sleep... little did they know that they were about to face a new threat to their friendship which was blossoming into something much more.

That very night, a plane from Alola landed at Lumiose Airport. One person, in particular, was eager to meet Ash again... she was sure that this time, Ash would fall for her... and she had a plan.

We join Ash as he makes his way to the cafeteria on a Monday morning.

With Ash

As Ash was walking, he started talking in his surroundings. There were beautiful flowers blooming everywhere. The barren branches of Winter were now green and lush with leaves and vegetation. It was a beautiful spring morning.

Ash reached the cafeteria and walked towards his friends... however he froze in his tracks as he started at what, or who rather, he saw outside from the windows of the cafeteria.

'She's here? What is she doing here. This is bad. This is really bad. I could do without annoyances like her right now.' thought Ash. He then realised that he was standing there while just staring out of the window. He quickly went to the counter, paid for his breakfast and made his way to his group of friends. As he did so, he noticed that Serena looked a bit troubled and was lost in her thoughts.

"Hey Serena, you alright?" asked Ash

With Serena

~Flashback (about 10 minutes ago)~

As Serena was making her way to the cafeteria, she saw a spot of blue through the hedges. She thought it was Ash so she tried to get a better look, however, when she did get the chance to get a better look, she froze and broke a cold sweat.

'She's back!? Already!? I thought she was supposed to return next year. What is she doing here!?' thought Serena.

She then made sure to walk past her as stealthily as possible... which she was successful and doing, however, she couldn't stop thinking about ???. To get straight to the point, Serena and ??? hated each other... and they have since they were little. ??? used to bully Serena and Serena used to hate ??? for doing that.

~End of Flashback~

Serena was snapped out of her though by a voice.

"Hey Serena, you alright?"

Serena looked up to see that it was Ash. She smiled at him and then replied.

"I'm fine Ash."

No one's POV

The group talked among themselves about Serena's performance and then about the remaining part of the year before Summer started.

Eventually, they all made it to class. As usual, on a Monday morning, their first lesson was Maths. There was a multitude of conversations taking place around the classroom, however, they all abruptly stopped as soon as Prof. Rowan walked in.

"Alright class, I have an announcement to make today." he started off.

This caught everybody's attention.

"We have a returning student. We all know that she went on an Exchange Programme at the beginning of the year, however, due to complications, she had to return early." he finished.

There were around half a dozen students that left on an Exchange Programme in the beginning of the year. The students were clearly excited to see which one of their friends had returned.

Serena, however, was anything but excited. She knew exactly who it was and dreaded the moment she walked in through the door. Ash too had an idea of who it was... but didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Alright, please come in." said Prof. Rowan.

The door opened and in walked a Blue-haired, Crimson-eyed girl about the same age and height as everybody else. Some of the were happy to see her while some, not so much.

All of Serena's friends turned around to look at Serena, who was just sitting there wide eyed, not even moving. She didn't know what to do... so she just froze there.

Suddenly, a loud clap was heard behind Serena. Serena turned around to see an Ash who had just face-palmed himself with both hands... Ash had a history with this girl... and he didn't want to relive it...

Serena was a bit surprised by Ash's reaction. She didn't know why Ash did what he just did.

The girl then spoke.

"Hello, to those of you who don't know me, I'm Miette Poffle!"

End of Chapter 16.

Things are starting to get a bit juicy now. Miette is here... and Calem likes Serena again. What happened between Ash and Miette? What was Calem's plan?

We'll find out very soon!

The book has probably entered the final third right about now. There shouldn't be that many chapters left.

Thanks for reading.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

I will see you in the next one.

Before I finish today, I was thinking of watching Your Lie In April. I heard that it is really good... but I don't know if I should watch it. Do you guys think it is worth the time? I have watched the first two episodes... and I quite liked it... nut I'm just asking for opinions from you guys.

In other news, Movie 20's trailer is out... and I found it very interesting. No doubt I'll enjoy it. I think the movie will be to do with Ho-Oh... that was that poster with Ho-Oh on it... and we have't had a Ho-Oh movie yet. We often have movies dedicated to all Legendaries in a particular region, but we never had one for Ho-Oh.

I hope It'll be good.

Again, thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter!