The Queen's Champion

Chapter 4: A Royal Confession

"Is it...really you?" Serena asked the raven haired boy, still not believing her own eyes. It's been years since they last saw each other in person.

"It is Serena." He reassured as he gave her his signature grin.

Serena needed time to think, so she called back her pokemon and smiled at the group of Pokeballs before storing them in her pocket.

She knew what to say next but her mouth was apparently a mind of its own.

"I missed you so much!" She said with a slight voice crack which caused her to feel embarrassed.

"Sorry that came out wrong." She apologized covering her face with her gloved hands.

"Hey, it's ok, I missed you too, Serena." He chuckled quietly as he took one of her hands in his own hand. Serena calmed down a bit as she continued to look at him.

The silence started to get awkward so Ash decided to do some small talk.

"How about we stroll around the city for a bit to catch up?" Ash asked with hopefulness in his eyes.

Serena smiled eagerly, "Of course."

And so they began to walk down the city's endless shops and restaurants
while keeping a low profile.

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They walked side by side around the city for about an hour or two, just to enjoy the scenery and each other's company. They ask questions on their whereabouts. Like how Clemont and Bonnie were doing or in Ash's case, bringing up old memories.

"The weather really adds to the atmosphere of the city huh?" Ash hummed as he looked up at the sky.

"Indeed it does, the winter season was always my favorite." Serena responded and asked him a question.

"So...how is it being the World Monarch?" She asked with a curious tone.

"Oh man, where do I start!" He laughed, making Serena giggle a bit.

"At first it felt unbelievable, defeating Leon was a huge challenge for sure." He paused and showed Serena his key stone that was implanted into his glove.

"I trained all of my team with help of my old Pokémon during the world coronation series." He continued.

Serena got even more curious and asked another question. "Oh, is Greninja with you since you are here?"

"Yup and we are fully mastering the bond phenomenon!" He answered proudly while flexing his arm causing Serena to stare at before looking away with a slight blush.

"I'm glad, who else do you have with you?" Serena queried as they strolled to a more secluded area.

"Right now they are all in the Lumiose Tower, so I have Pikachu, Greninja, Lucario, Infernape, Hawlucha and...." He counted on his fingers until one of his pokemon appeared below him and Serena.

"Gengar!" The ghost Pokémon came up from the ground and floated above Serena.



Ash didn't even get a second to react as Serena screeched and jumped to hug him tightly. This caused Ash to fall back a bit as he wasn't prepared but caught himself with his heel digging down the snow.

Ash suddenly remembered that Serena had a fear of ghosts since their travels together.

While hugging Ash, Serena noticed the fact he was actually now taller than her by a couple of inches to the point she was on her tippy toes. He had broader shoulders than before and had an earthy smell, probably due to all the training and traveling. Eventually, she realized what she just did. Her eyes split wide open in panic and let go of Ash in a quick motion.