The Queen's Champion

Chapter 1: Let the Journey begin...

"I'm s-so proud of you Ash, you've grown so much over the years." Delia spoke with tears threatening to fall.

"I know, please don't cry mom." Ash chuckled as he tried to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, i-it's just is so strange how time flies, I still remember when you were just a ten year old boy when you first started your journey like it was yesterday." Delia sniffled while wiping her tears with the palms of her hands.

"And now, l-look at you, you're a young adult who won the World Coronation Series!" Delia exclaimed proudly as she hugged her son tightly. She was absolutely joyful to hear her son winning a worldwide tournament knowing he is one step closer to his dream.

"I'm only sixteen mom." Ash remarked while returning the hug.

"Still, you are growing up a little too fast for my liking." Delia laughed as she pulled away.

"I know, but I can't stay ten forever you know." Ash smiled as his partner Pikachu suddenly jumped on to his shoulder.

"Pikachu!" The little mouse Pokémon chirped.

Delia looked at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, please protect him for my sake during your trip." Delia softly said, scratching Pikachu's chin.

Pikachu smiled and gave her a small salute.

"Pika!"

"Thank you, and Ash please be careful when you return to Kalos."

"I will mom, don't worry." Ash smiled as he got his luggage from the trunk.

He gave his mother one final hug and began walking toward the airport's entrance until he heard his mother call out to him.

"If you find a girl in Kalos that you like make sure to be a gentleman toward her!"

"Mom!" Ash yelled as he turned around with embarrassment plastered on his face.

"What, you know the Kalos region is known for its culture, the fashion, the architecture, and of course the romance!" Delia said with much excitement.

"Goodbye mom!" Ash groaned as he walked into the doors while he can hear his mother laughing a bit behind his back.
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"Attention passengers, Flight Luvdisc 1027 will soon take flight in 10 minutes, all remaining should aboard immediately." The lady announced throughout the intercom.

The World Coronation champion heard this and began walking toward his designated flight. He just made his farewell to his mother while thinking of her words before his departure.

'Be a gentleman.' Ash kept thinking as he drew closer to his destination but was quickly interrupted by a crowd filled with the media press. They put cameras and microphones right up to his face.

'Wow these guys have no idea what personal space is huh.' he annoyingly thought but shrugged it off.

"Ash Ketchum, now that you defended your title as Monarch what do you plan to do?" questioned one reporter.

"Uh..." Ash trying to find a good explaination but failed to do so.

"Ash Ketchum, are you going to the Champion Summit in Kalos?" questioned another.

"O-oh yes, I am." Ash answered as he was bombarded with more questions.

"What do you plan to do?"

"What is your favorite region?"

"What are your battle tactics?"

All the normal type questions which were not hard to answer until one question stood out like a sore thumb.

"Are you single?" One interviewer asked with the microphone up to his face.

Ash began to remember a certain honey blonde came to his mind but quickly recomposed himself.

"Well, y-yes I am but hey I got to go because I don't want to miss my flight." Ash spoke as he managed to escape the crowd with slight difficulty.
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He made it to his flight to Kalos just in time after the assistant checked his ticket to see if everything was up to date and was granted the green light to board the plane.

Ash sat in his seat by the window and put his arm on the seat's arm rest.

"I wonder what has changed since I last came there." He sighed to himself.

'Will I be able to see Bonnie and Clemont again?' He thought.

Ash turned to his partner Pikachu

"Do you think I'll find love there buddy?" Ash laughed suddenly remembering what his mother said.

"Pika pi." Pikachu shrugged as started to fall asleep on Ash's lap.

"Get some rest buddy, we have lot to do soon." Ash scratched one of Pikachu's ears.

Ash knew once he landed in Kalos there were gonna be lots of fans waiting for his arrival. He was still getting used to the fame that came along winning the battle against Leon.
Ash didn't mind the people who looked up to him but when a large crowd comes running at you, it tends to get pretty stressful as many wanted pictures, autographs or even interviews. It wasn't really that bad when he became the champion of Alola but winning the title of Monarch was an absolute pain when it came to fans and the press. He continued his thoughts as the flight started to go airborne.

One of his reasons why he was traveling to Kalos was that he was invited to the champion summit that was being held in Lumiose city to discuss future tournaments. He wasn't really the type of person to do all the paper work but it's one of the cons of being a world renowned champion.

But he did have another motive to visit kalos, to reunite with a former companion. Ever since he grew older, the more he understood feelings in a romantic sense but still isn't quite sure what exactly he is feeling as it was all still new to him.

He was confused, frustrated, heck even a little bit scared but was also really happy for some reason.

Whenever he thought of her, it made his stomach feel like butterflies which was a completely new thing for him to feel.

Her smile brought comfort and warmth whenever he saw it. She was broadcasted on TV almost every month for her showcases.

She and her signature crown were on posters and billboards across the regions like Galar and Alola.

She achieved her dream to become Kalos Queen, and that left Ash to wonder about her other goal.

"You are my goal."

Ash thought carefully about what she said years ago.

'What does she mean I'm her goal?"

He wanted to find the meaning behind it because it was at the back of his head for years and only grew bigger everytime time he remembered her...

'Serena.'