The Road to our Destiny

Chapter 84

Serena looks down and watches her hands shake as she sits on a bench in the waiting room. It's the third day of the Johto Grand Festival, and the tournament is coming close to the end with the final contest battle. Serena has managed to make her way to the final round by beating Dawn during the quarterfinals and barely having more points than Solidad in the semifinals. At the same time, however, May has also triumphed against Harley and Drew during her battles in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Now the festival is taking a short break so that Serena and May's Pokemon can heal up before the final battle that will decide who will become Top Coordinator.

Serena sees two hands take hers, and she looks up to see Dawn giving her a frown while sitting on the bench opposite from hers.

"Come on, Serena. Get it together," she says. "You can do this."

Serena gives her friend a small smile and says, "Sorry, Dawn. I guess I can't help myself. I barely did a thing against May's Pokemon before she took down Braixen and Pancham just like that."

"But you have gotten so much stronger since then," Dawn points out. "You defeated Solidad just like May did last time."

"Yeah, barely," Serena says. "I didn't take out either of her Pokemon."

"And she didn't take down any of yours either," Dawn counters. "And besides, the goal isn't necessarily to take down your opponent's Pokemon, you can still win by having more points than May or get her to lose all of her points. If you can do that to Solidad of all coordinators, then you can do it to May. Got it?"

Serena takes a deep breath, and her hands stop shaking slightly.

"You're right, Dawn. I can do this," Serena says, feeling a little confident. "I'm going to win that trophy, and I'm not going to let May stop me."

"That's my girl," Dawn says with a smirk.

"Hey!" May barks, walking over to Dawn and Serena. "Why are you rooting for her and not both of us?!"

"Because I'm closer to her than you," Dawn says matter-of-factly. "Besides, you already got a nice, big, shiny trophy, so someone else should get one. And if that someone can't be me, then I want it to be Serena."

May pouts childishly before she smirks and turns to Serena.

"Well, I beat you last time, so I don't see this turning out any differently," she boasts.

Serena smirks and opens her mouth to counter until Dawn speaks again.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," the blunette girl claims. "The way I see it, if she can kiss Ash on the lips, then she can do anything."

Serena's eyes widen, and her cheeks turn pink.

"D-D-Dawn!" she stutters, embarrassed.

"You really think she's going to win because she kissed Ash?" May rebukes with her hands on her hips.

"Why not? It makes her braver than you are with Drew," Dawn says with a smug look.

May's face turns red, and she screams, "Knock it off with that already!"

The two of them start bickering like little children while Serena shakes her head at her two friends. She then looks down to look at her ribbon and smiles fondly. She starts to caress the blue fabric and think about the last time she saw the boy of her dreams. She closes her eyes and giggles slightly as she replays the moment she kissed him and told him how she feels. Ever since then, she has been feeling more cheerful during her journey through the Johto region. Even when she lost a contest, she didn't let it bother as long as she entertained the audience, and remembers that special moment with Ash.