The Road to our Destiny

Chapter 1

"So, we meet again. I've been waiting. Have you found an answer yet?"

Serena plays with her fingers nervously. She tries to keep herself together with her eyes glued to the screen on the video phone, revealing Palermo's face.

It's been almost a month since Serena lost to Aria at the Master Class. Since then, she has been thinking about Palermo's offer to become her personal trainer for performances with no success in reaching a final decision. When Palermo offered the position shortly after Serena lost, she refused because she wished to continue her journey with Bonnie, Clemont, Pikachu, and Ash.

Ash.

He was the reason she left home and went out on her journey in the first place. She went to Lumiose City to retrieve her Fennekin and traveled to Santalune City just to see the boy who helped her when she was little. She didn't know what she wanted to do after finally seeing him again or how to react when she learned he didn't remember her apart from acting like she wasn't disappointed. But when the moment came to decide where to go next, it was Ash who offered Serena to come with him, Pikachu, Clemont, and Bonnie, and she knew in her heart that she couldn't refuse the opportunity. Since that day, Serena, Ash, Pikachu, Clemont, and Bonnie have gone through many adventures, challenges, and made all sorts of friends.

Along the way, Serena became interested in Pokemon showcases and so began to pursue her dream to become Kalos Queen. The path to the Master Class was long and hard, but it helped Serena grow as a person in ways she never thought she would. In the process, she captured a Panchum and an Eevee that evolved into a Sylveon, and her Fennekin became a Braixen. Together with her Pokemon, Serena won three princess keys and made it all the way to the finals for the Master Class, and despite her defeat against Aria, she wouldn't trade her experience as a performer for anything.

Despite all of that, however, Serena has been unsure of Palermo's offer. Ever since the offer was made she cheered for Ash at the Kalos League, she helped defeat Team Flare, and now her friends are getting ready to disband with Clemont and Bonnie staying in the Lumiose Gym and Ash going back to his home in Pallet Town in the Kanto region. So with her companions going their separate ways, Serena is left to figure out what to do now. She doesn't want to go back home to her mother, Grace, and as much as her feelings for Ash have gotten stronger, she has no reason to go with him to Kanto apart from just to stay by his side. So it seems like Serena really has no other choice but to accept Palermo's offer to further pursue her dream to become Kalos Queen.

But even though she still wants to achieve her dream, there is a feeling inside her that implies that she wants to do more. She wants something more meaningful than simply becoming Kalos Queen but hasn't been able to figure out what it is. Luckily, after having a battle and a helpful conversation with Ash, it became clear to Serena. She realized that when she was performing for Kalos Queen or held a performance to cheer up the people of Lumiose City after Team Flare was defeated, she felt very happy to see so many spirits lifted from what she was doing with her Pokemon, and so realized her real dream.

But Serena is nervous to tell all of this to Palermo. She's worried that the woman who was once Kalos Queen will disapprove of what she has to say. And yet she knows this has to be done for herself and her Pokemon.

With her three Pokemon, Braixen, Panchum, and Sylveon standing behind her for support, Serena nods and says, "Yes, Ma'am. I sure have."

"Alright, what is it?" Palermo asks.

With all the courage Serena can muster, she shuts her eyes, bows in front of the videophone, and lets it out.

"Forgive me, ma'am, but I can't go with you!" She confesses before facing the screen again. "Aria helped me. She really taught me that my smile can give other people strength. I experienced that for the first time. Even though they've been through so much, people smiled when they watched my performance. That's what made me decide. I want lots of different people to see me perform. That's what I have to do to really grow. If I were to study with you, I'd depend on you too much. That's not what I need."