It is early in the morning, and Serena is waking up. She checks her surroundings and sees she is in her sleeping bag on the floor of the guest room. Bonnie, Iris, Mairin, and Dawn are in their sleeping bags while May is sleeping on the bed in honor of her winning the Grand Festival. There's an empty spot on the floor where Holly was sleeping, and so Serena figures she and Brock have left for Pewter City. Beside her, Absol is sleeping cutely, happy to be sleeping by its mother figure as usual.

With a small smile, Serena carefully hugs her young Pokemon and leaves the room, deciding to let Absol sleep some more. She changes into her normal clothes and walks downstairs to see Delia making breakfast for everyone in the kitchen. It isn't long before Delia notices the honey blonde girl and smiles.

"Good morning, Serena," she greets. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did," Serena answers politely as she sits down on the dining table. "I noticed that Holly and Brock are gone."

"Yes, they are," Delia says as she flips the pancakes on the pan. "You know, they told me about how they met and everything last night. They are such a charismatic couple."

Serena smiles and says, "I know."

Delia turns to Serena while the pancakes cook and walks over to her.

"Speaking of which, have you made any progress with a certain son of mine?" She asks.

Serena winces, and she looks away sadly. Delia frowns, instantly getting the message.

"I guess not," she says.

Serena shakes her head a little before she smiles slightly and says, "I did kiss him on the cheek two times. Though."

"You did?!" Delia exclaims.

"Yeah, and before I had my battle with May, I let out how much his support means to me by hugging him tightly," Serena says.

"Aw, how did he react to you doing all of that?" Delia asks.

"Well...he was actually asleep the first time I kissed him," Serena admits awkwardly. "But the other two times, he just smiled and basically said that I didn't have to thank him for being a good friend."

Delia groans and facepalms in disbelief.

"What are we going to do with that boy?" She moans.

"I'm not sure if there's anything we can do, Mrs. Ketchum," Serena says.

"What do you mean?" Delia asks.

Serena sighs before she says, "I get the feeling that Ash and I will go our separate ways after the Indigo League. I don't know what he plans to do whether he wins the tournament or not, but I feel certain it's a place I can't go. He has his dream, and I have mine, and we can't always pursue them together."

Delia looks at the teenage girl sadly, realizing she has a point. They both look down on the floor sadly for a minute until Delia gets an idea and smirks at the honey blonde girl.

"You know, you two may not have to go your separate ways, but if you do, there's something else you can do," she says.

Serena looks up at Delia, shocked, and asks, "What?"

"It's very simple," Delia says. "You just have to kiss him."

"But I just told you I -" Serena begins before Delia interrupts.

"I don't mean that kind of kiss, dear," Delia says. "I mean..."

Delia points at her mouth, and Serena's face immediately turns as red as a strawberry.

"What?!" Serena exclaims.

"That's right," Delia says. "If you want to make one last attempt before you go your separate ways, then you give him a real kiss and put all your feelings into it. Even if he doesn't understand it, it's something that he will always remember even if he can't explain it."

"Does that really work?" Serena asks.

"How do you think I got his father?" Delia asks with a wink.

Serena chuckles lightly at Delia's response before she looks down and thinks about what she's saying with her face still red. Suddenly, Serena smells something funny, and she turns to look at the stove.

"Mrs. Ketchum, your pancakes are burning!" She yells.

Delia turns to her stove and screams before rushing to her pan and flips the pancakes again to see one side already as black and hard as coal. She groans sadly and tosses the pancakes in the trash before she starts another batch.

"Looks like it'll be a while before breakfast is ready, Serena," she says.

"Would you like me to help?" Serena offers.

"That's sweet of you, dear, but I can handle this," Delia says, smiling kindly.

"Oh, okay," Serena says. "In that case, I think I'll take a walk outside."

"Alright, but don't go too far," Delia suggests. "I can't guarantee how much food will be left once breakfast starts with Ash, May, and Iris at the table."

"Okay," Serena replies.

With that, Serena stands up and heads to the front door, passing by Professor Sycamore, who is snoring on the couch with a blanket. She exits the house and takes a breath of the morning air before she puts her hands behind her back as she walks. While she admires the sun rising above Pallet Town, she thinks about Delia's suggestion. The idea makes her cheeks heat up again, but at the same time, she considers the possibility that it should happen. She has already kissed him on the cheek twice, and a full-on kiss might be the most logical next step.

"It would be something I would have against any other girl like Misty or Macy," she thinks. "But would it do any good? He's so dense that he didn't seem to think much about the other two times I kissed him. I hoped the message came across when I talked with him privately, but -"

She lets out a sad sigh and slumps her shoulders as she walks. She looks down at her blue ribbon and starts caressing it slowly. She feels slightly better as she thinks about the night he gave her the ribbon. It made her so happy for him to give her a gift to show her his appreciation for her help that day. She closes her eyes as she walks and thinks about how wonderful it would be if he did something like that again.

But then she hears a voice, and she opens her eyes. She looks around where she walking and notices she's walking by the Pallet Town Cemetery. From a distance, she can see Timothy sitting in front of a tombstone and talking to it. Serena looks at him curiously as she watches him smiling and moving his arms around like he's telling a story to the tombstone. The honey blonde girl's interest gets the better of her, and she slowly walks over to the man. When she gets close enough, she looks behind Timothy and looks at the tombstone.

Here lies Judith Durbin.

Snarky wife

Loving mother and grandmother

Serena gasps realizing whose tombstone it is. Timothy hears her and turns around to see the honey blonde girl standing right behind him.

"Serena?" He says.

"I'm sorry," she apologizes. "I was just going for a walk, and then I overheard you talking to a tombstone, and I got curious."

Timothy stares at her for a moment and smiles.

"It's okay. I understand," he says softly.

The two of them awkwardly stay silent for a moment until Serena clears her throat.

"So you felt like visiting your grandmother's grave this morning?" She asks.

Timothy nods and says, "I do it every time I'm home after a journey so that I can bring her up to speed with my life. I was just telling her about my battle against Brandon at the Battle Frontier."

Serena smiles and asks, "Mind if I join?"

Timothy shrugs and gestures Serena to sit next to him. The honey blonde girl sits down on her knees, and Timothy takes a moment to recollect where he was at his story before he continues gazing at the tombstone.

"So to bring Serena up to speed, Brandon and I are on our last Pokemon with Poliwrath and his Solrock," he begins. "Poliwrath just countered a Shadow Ball using Bubble Beam and then used it again to hit Solrock only for Solrock to send it back using Confusion. We tried to use Surf, but Solrock disrupted it using Psywave. Then I told Poliwrath to use Hydro Pump, but Solrock dodged it and used Psywave again to hit Poliwrath, and then Brandon had it use Confusion to send Poliwrath slamming against the wall. Poliwrath was struggling to get up, so Brandon decided to try again with Solar Beam to finish it off."

Serena looks at Timothy intently, curious about where the story is going. The brown-haired man with the "H.A.K." shirt smirks at her before he continues.

"So I had Poliwrath use Surf one more time, hoping it can use it as a diversion to move away while Solrock misses," Timothy says. "Thankfully, Poliwrath was able to conjure another large tidal wave and move away to the side, so that's Solrock's Solar Beam completely missed, allowing us to finish it off with Hydro Pump. With a direct hit from a water attack, the referee announced that Solrock was down for the count and that Poliwrath and I won the battle, and just like that, I completed the Battle Frontier."

Serena smiles at the last part, and Timothy smirks at her before he continues.

"So with that, I made it to the hall of fame, and Scott offered me to become a Frontier Brain, even making a symbol out of my 'H.A.K.' shirt. Obviously, I refused because I still have my goal to pursue, so Coovers and Electchu and I came back to Pallet Town, and that pretty much sums up what I've been up to since last I visited, Grandma Judy."

With Timothy's story finished, the area becomes silent again. Neither Timothy or Serena know what to say to each other while they look at the grave. After a while, Serena looks at Timothy and smiles softly.

"I bet Grandma Judy enjoyed that story," she says.

"I'm sure she did if she's listening," Timothy says without looking at Serena. "She always enjoyed my stories ever since I became a trainer. Every time I came home, I would tell her about my latest journey with all the new Pokemon I've seen or captured. Most of the time, she didn't understand what I was saying because she never knew that much about Pokemon having lived her whole life in Pallet Town, but she adored hearing how I was enjoying my time as a trainer."

"But how was she able to take care of Electchu and Poliwhirl after your last encounter with Trent?" Serena asks, confused.

Timothy flinches, knowing that the day he saved his Pokemon wasn't the last he saw of his old rival. He quickly looks at Serena with a smile so that she doesn't worry before he answers.

"Grandma Judy was a mother and a grandmother most of her life," he says. "My friends didn't need to be human to get the love and comfort they needed after that day."

Serena smiles and looks back at the grave.

"That makes sense," she says. "When my mother and I were living next door to her, and I would sometimes stay with her while my mom is at work, she would be there to comfort me if I got hurt or something...but not after making a snarky comment."

Timothy grins and says, "Let me guess, the comment was, 'Well, what did you get hurt for, ya dumb kid?'"

Serena giggles and says, "Yeah. You too?"

"Oh yeah. I was her favorite grandchild, and even I wasn't free from that whenever I tripped and hurt my leg or something," Timothy chuckles. "Even when my dad was little, that's what she'd do. The way he tells it, he would fall off his bike and come crying over to Grandma Judy. She would stare at him like he said something weird and asked, 'Well, what did you do that for, you dumb kid?' before comforting him and giving him a band-aid."

The two of them laugh out loud for several seconds before they sigh, and the area becomes silent again. The two of them look away from each other, thinking of what else to say before Serena frowns and turns back to Timothy.

"How did she go if you don't mind my asking?" She queries.

"Pneumonia," Timothy answers bluntly. "She was at that age where she would get sick to the point that it was practically a regular errand for her to end up in the hospital after getting Pneumonia again. For a while, it looked like it would never get the better of her, but then one day, her body was so weak that the medicine stopped working. I think I was in Hoenn when the Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Center I was staying the night at told me I had an urgent video call, and it was my mom telling me that Grandma Judy wasn't going to last much longer. I bought a ticket back to Kanto as soon as I could, but it wasn't long before I got another video call for me from my mom telling me that she was already gone."

Serena frowns sadly while Timothy looks down at the ground.

"I only made it back just in time for the funeral," he says. "I got to say goodbye to her body, but it just wasn't the same. I wanted to say goodbye to her properly with her seeing me with the shirt she made for me one more time."

Serena looks at him puzzled and asks, "You mean the one you're wearing right now?"

"Yep," Timothy says, showing Serena the shirt with a small smile. "H.A.K. was a nickname I gave myself several years ago. Eventually, it amused Grandma Judy so much that she decided to make a gray shirt with the name in my three favorite colors. It always made her happy to see me home or watching me compete in a Pokemon League on TV wearing it. That's why I thought she would have loved to see me in it one last time before she passed away."

"I'm sorry," Serena says sadly. "That must have been hard."

"Yeah, it was," Timothy says. "I mean sure, having her live so long that I'm in my mid-20s before I lose a grandparent is nothing to sneeze at, but it did mean she missed out on me seeing win the Johto League."

"I bet," Serena says. "She would have been proud of you."

"Yeah, she always was," Timothy says. "That's something I don't want to forget. Every time I Ieft for another journey, she would hug me and tell me that she's proud of me no matter what. I took it for granted then, but now..."

Serena nods, understanding what Timothy is saying. Then she turns to the grave and sighs.

"I wish I could never experience what it's like to lose someone so precious to me," she says. "But I guess that's part of life whether you want it or not."

"Yeah," Timothy says softly. "It's harder to let go too."

Serena winces before she nods in agreement. For a while, the two of them remain silent as they continue to stare at Grandma Judy's grave. Finally, Timothy stands up and clears his throat.

"Well, I guess I better get going," he says. "Coovers and Electchu will probably be awake by now and will be wondering where I am."

Serena frowns and asks, "Is it alright if I stay and talk to her too?"

Timothy smiles and says, "I think she'd like that."

Serena smiles back, and Timothy turns around to leave. But when he's a few feet away, Serena speaks again.

"Timothy?"

He turns to her, wondering what is on her mind. The honey blonde girl thinks about what to say for a moment before she gets to the point.

"The name you gave yourself, H.A.K., is that an acronym?" She asks.

"It is," Timothy says.

"What does it stand for?" She queries.

Timothy looks away and thinks hard for a moment. Serena waits patiently until he turns back to her with a smirk.

"Tell you what," he says. "Win a Grand Festival, and I will tell you. Deal?"

Serena pouts at the man in disappoint. She clearly wanted an answer now, but it was clear to her that Timothy won't answer any other way. She forces a smile and nods.

"Alright," she says. "It's a deal."

Timothy nods back and turns around to leaves the cemetery, leaving Serena all alone. She turns her head back to Grandma Judy's grave and sighs as she thinks about what to say.

"Hi, Mrs. Durbin," she says. "It's me, Serena. You're old next-door neighbor."

She stays silent for a moment, pretending that the woman she's talking to is responding before she continues.

"Yeah, I'm much bigger than when you last saw me," she says. "I'm fourteen, and I'm a Pokemon Performer now. Actually, I'm technically a Pokemon Coordinator too. I just went on a journey to compete in Pokemon contests and win five ribbons to compete in the Indigo Grand Festival. I made it all the way to the final round with my Pokemon, but then I lost badly to my friend, May."

Serena stays silent again for a few seconds before she chuckles to herself.

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you're going to say. 'What did you do that for, you dumb kid?'" she says, snickering. "Well, May was more experienced, and her Pokemon were more powerful than mine. But don't worry, I plan to work harder and beat her next time."

Serena pauses, imagining Grandma Judy is saying some words of approval. Her smile falters slightly knowing what to say next.

"Remember when I told you about a boy named Ash, who rescued me at Professor Oak's summer camp? I got to see him again," she says. "I saw him on TV, and I got my first Pokemon to look for him. He invited me to join him and our friends, Clemont and Bonnie, on his journey through Kalos. Then we both came here to Kanto and went on another journey. While I was collecting contest ribbons, he was getting ready to compete in the Indigo League with Timothy and some of our other friends."

Her smile turns into a frown, and she puts her hand on her ribbons again as she continues.

"But soon we probably will be going our separate ways," she says. "He has to go on and become a Pokemon Master, and I want to make many people smile with the performances I do with my Pokemon. The thing is I hope we can keep traveling together because the time we've spent is the best time of my life. More than that, I want him to understand how much I..."

Serena's voice dies in her throat, and she looks down on the ground.

"I know you would tell me to just say how I feel and call me a dumb kid again like it's so obvious," she says. "But he doesn't understand feelings like that. His mother, our friends and I have tried, but he doesn't understand that kind of adoration. I can't explain why. He just doesn't."

She pauses for a moment and sighs.

"His mom thinks I should just give it one more try by giving him a kiss," she says. "Admittingly, part of me wants to if for no other reason than just to have that moment with him. But even with that comes likely not seeing him again for who knows how long. It was so long before I could see him again after the summer camp. I'm worried about what happens if we separate again."

Serena repositions herself, sitting on her bottom and hugging her legs while resting her head against them.

"I wish I had a clear answer," she says. "I wish I could do something that would make us both happy together."