An Adventure of a Lifetime

Chapter 34

Ash woke Serena with a gentle kiss on the forehead as the plane started it's decent towards Melemele Island.

"We're here sleepy head." He said softly.

"Mmhmm!" Serena groaned as she stretched. "Did I really sleep the whole way here?" She asked with a small pout. "I didn't mean to!"

Ash laughed a little as he put his seat upright. "It's ok Serena, I know you were tired from the flight on Charizard from Viperia to Aurora. Besides, it's a boring flight over the ocean and your going to want all the energy you can muster when we get there." He said.

They both looked out the window and saw the islands of Alola spread out below them. The lush greens of the rainforests were a vivid contrast to the lighter greens and browns of the plains where herds of Milktank and Tauros were grazing.

The white beaches outlined all the islands perfectly and, with a little difficulty, Ash was able to spot the place he had called home for a year.

"See that little house on the beach to the left of the rock formation just over there?" Ash asked Serena.

She looked where he was pointing and could make out what he was describing. "I do see it!" She said excitedly.

"That's Professor Kukui and Burnets place!" Ash said with a smile. "That was where I called home for a year."

Serena smiled at the fond look on her boyfriends face. "Lots of good memories I take it?" She questioned.

Ash laughed. "Hahaha oh man, some very fun memories to be sure! Rotomdex watching detective shows, Munchlax eating everything in sight." Ash had to stop and take a breath. He looked out the window and sighed softly. "It's also where I felt like I had a proper dad. Sure Professor Oak was always looking out for mom and me, but he was more like a grandfather to me. Professor Kukui, well he was a real father to me. Not just checking in on me and making sure I'm alive, but actually wanting to talk to me and know how I was doing. He was always teaching me things too. Once Burnet arrived in the house, it felt complete and helped me see what a real family should be like." He finished.

Serena laid her head on his shoulder. "I can't wait to see the region. I know you have your Champion duties but I hope we can explore a little while we're here." She said.

Ash smiled. "We will do some exploring for sure. Maybe get you to do an Island Challenge trial!" He exclaimed.

Serena looked a little unsure. She had heard Ash talk about them before and wasn't sure her team was ready for something like that. However, before she could reply, the airplane touched down with it coming to a stop just a few minutes later and the doors opening for disembarking.

Ash and Serena waited till everyone else was off before grabbing their backpacks and walking towards the door to the stairs that would take them to the tarmac. As they walked out of the aircraft, a cheer went up from the crowd that was assembled.

"I'm having big déjà vu feelings with this!" Ash stated as he laughed. "This happened in Kalos when I got off the flight from Kanto." He explained to a confused looking Serena.

She smiled and shook her head. "Only you can draw a crowd like this!" She said indicating the hundreds of people cheering for Ash.

At the front of the crowd were his Elite Four and Professors Kukui and Burnet. Ash instantly noticed that Burnet looked much more tired than he remembers ever seeing her, then remembered how close she was to delivering her baby.

"Welcome home Ash!" Kukui called out as he walked over the bottom of the stairs. "We can't wait to hear about how things have been since you started your journey through Ransai!" He finished as he pulled both Ash and Serena into a warm embrace.