The splitting headache was torture to Ash, even while he slept. In his dreams, he could even feel the pain in his head. It was excruciating. When he opened his eyes, it wasn't any better. That is, until he saw Serena's face light up at seeing him awake. Obviously that made him feel a little better. However, once he remembered what had happened the last time he was awake, he felt grief take hold of him.

"Ash, are you feeling better?" Serena asked, taking hold of his hand.

Ash mindlessly nodded, not really having heard the question. He looked around the room. He'd assumed he would have been in a hospital room, but he realized he was in a normal room. "Where are we?"

"Professor Sycamore's lab. The hospital is kind of full right now and he thought that since you're problem wasn't exactly physical, you should stay here." Serena explained. "All of your friends are waiting outside. And don't worry, Greninja and Pikachu and all of your Pokemon are ok. Greninja woke up only a couple of hours ago. Squishy's and his friend are ok as well."

"And you?" Ash asked quickly, looking carefully at her to spot if she was lying.

Serena rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, Ash. Don't worry about me. Actually, don't worry about anyone. Just try to relax and get better.

Ash sighed. He supposed she was right. It had definitely been a stressful...well it had been pretty stressful since Greninja had left and Palermo had shown up. Ever since he'd split from the group and had set off to deal with his own thing. Maybe it was finally time to relax a bit. However, he still had questions that needed answering. "How long have I been out?"

"Um...about three days." Serena answered, looking at him nervously, as if she felt like it was her fault he'd been out that long."

Ash realized why she was nervous though. No one else, not even Pikachu, was in the room. That must have meant... "Did you watch over me the whole time?" He asked.

Serena blushed and nodded. "I couldn't leave. Pikachu would have stayed too, but I wanted him to get some fresh air. Greninja is on his way over from the Pokemon centre now." Her face was bright red now. "It hasn't just been you and me in here the whole time. People have been coming in and out. It's not like-"

"Thank you." Ash interrupted. "And it's fine if it was just you." He realized that his headache was already starting to leave him, just by looking at Serena. He sat up, in preparation to go. "Well, I guess it's time to get moving. The city's probably a mess right? I should help."

Serena gently pushed him back down into his bed. "No, it's fine. The damage in the city was actually pretty minor and the grass and bug Pokemon have helped out with cleaning up the fields around the city. Your Leavanny's been really helpful with that."

"Are all of my Pokemon still here?" Ash asked, not fighting too hard to get up. He was pretty tired after all, despite the exhaustion.

"Yeah. They've been key to fixing things up." Serena explained happily. "They're all so wonderful, Ash. It's been really cool to meet some of them. I haven't seen some of the bigger ones yet, but the smaller ones have come to visit you. By the way...Bayleaf...does she...?"

Ash started laughing. "Bayleaf is pretty affectionate, that's for sure."

Serena smiled. "Yeah, I noticed. Although, she seemed to not like me too much at first. She warmed up to me later though, when she saw me taking care of you."

"You had it easy compared to Pikachu." Ash said. "Bayleaf was jealous of him as well and things were pretty rough at first."

Serena nodded and then her face looked a little more serious and Ash knew she was about to bring up the topic he'd been hoping to avoid. "So...do you want to talk about Mewtwo?"

Ash sighed and looked away. "I'd rather not."

"It's not good to hold in your feelings. I think we've learned that, haven't we?" Serena pointed out. "I know you're upset about it."

What, is she controlling aura now? Ash asked himself. With a sudden realization, he found that he couldn't feel the aura he'd been feeling since he was in Anistar City. Perhaps it was because of the Sundial. Maybe, with Mewtwo destroying it, Ash's abilities were gone. But how did that make any sense? He'd been able to use aura before he'd ever seen the Sundial. Why would it be any different now?

"Ash...please talk to me." Serena encouraged. "I obviously don't know much about whatever happened with you and Mewtwo before, but he saved us all and he did it because of you. That must mean you two were close."

Ash felt guilty. He'd let the worry about aura distract him from his grief. And now that Serena mentioned it, Mewtwo had sort of come to help him. What did he owe Ash? Was it because of what happened in Johto? "I saved his life once. Giovanni almost killed him in Johto and I helped him and the Pokemon he had been protecting." Ash explained to Serena. "I guess he decided to return the favour...even though it cost him what I saved in the first place."

"He'll always be remembered as a hero." Serena said, smiling. "I know I'll always remember him that way. He saved my life."

Ash stared at Serena for a few moments and then smiled. She was right...Mewtwo had saved her life. As guilty as Ash felt for what had happened to Mewtwo, he couldn't help but think he'd have only been feeling worse if that Hyper Beam had actually struck Serena when she was in Giovanni's net. "I guess Mewtwo actually gave me something better than I gave him."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked.

"I saved his life, but he saved something more important to me than my own." Ash explained. Obviously he didn't need to explain further, because Serena just gave a nervous smile and blushed.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Misty came in. "Hey Serena, we're about to-" She looked at Ash. "Ash! You're awake!"

"Misty!" Ash said happily. Obviously he'd seen her briefly during the battle, but really, this was the first time he'd actually seen her since seeing her in Kanto when he'd done the Battle Frontier challenge. "How's it going?"

"I'm fine." Misty smiled. "Uh...looks like you're fine too. Well, considering everything that's happened. Why don't you too come out for lunch?" She smirked and then poked her head back out into the hallway. "Pikachu! Greninja! I think someone is going to want to see you two."

Ash smiled, hearing the sounds of his Pokemon whipping down the hallway towards the room. Pikachu was first and he bounded up onto the bed and climbed onto Ash's shoulder, before affectionately nuzzling his face. "Hey Pikachu!" Ash greeted. Next came Greninja, he ran up to the bed and hugged Ash happily, glad to finally be with his trainer again. And safe this time. They hadn't been safe together since...before Glorio City. "Greninja, you were awesome in the battle. We were done for if it wasn't for you."

"He's such an amazing water type..." Misty said dreamily. "I really want one."

"She's been begging Professor Sycamore for a Froakie for the last couple days." Serena explained with a giggle.

"He said that if no new trainer picks a Froakie in the next few days I can have one." Misty continued. "Keep your fingers crossed for me." She then turned to leave the room. "Come on, let's have lunch."

Ash slipped out of bed and stood up. Immediately, his legs buckled beneath him, almost completely numb from not having been used the last few days. Luckily, Serena and Greninja were both able to catch him. "I can walk." He said stubbornly, but neither of them let go, obviously not believing him.

The trio, with Pikachu comfortably on Ash's shoulder, slowly followed Misty as she lead the way down the hall towards the outdoor section of Sycamore's lab. "Some of your Pokemon are staying here." Serena told Ash. "I don't think it's as big as Professor Oak's lab, but they seem to enjoy it."

Finally, they got outside and immediately, Ash was hit with a barrage of cheers, compliments, concerned looks and any other thing you'd expect from people that have been waiting for their unconscious friend to get up. It looked like almost all of his friends were still there. Clemont and Bonnie were obviously there, Meyer sitting between them. Brock, Dawn, May, Cilan, Iris, Mairin and Alain. Even Gary was there, a bandage wrapped around his head. Ash even noticed Calem and with even more surprise, Palermo.

Serena must have noticed that Ash was looking at Palermo, because she leaned over and whispered a quick explanation. "She fought in the battle. She says she can see why...um..."

"I get it." Ash said, unable to control a big smile as he sat down. The stress of the last few weeks finally seemed to be disappearing. It had been tough and they'd lost a lot, but things still looked to be going in the right direction. And finally, Ash had Serena again. Nothing could top that.

"So, Ash, had a good sleep?" Dawn asked jokingly, as everyone began to eat.

"I'm guessing not." Sycamore said, looking at Ash questioningly. "Do you feel differently, Ash?"

"Not too great, to be honest." Ash answered. He noticed Dawn look a little guilty and just shook his head to signal she didn't need to feel bad.

"With the Sundial gone, I suppose not." Sycamore said, nodding.

Ash remembered what Gurkinn had told him. The Sundial had a connection to mega evolution and aura. Since it had seemed to connect with Ash, that could be why it had shocked his mind so badly. "Do you think it caused this?" He asked, wanting confirmation.

Sycamore nodded again. "I believe so." He paused for a moment and looked over at Greninja, who Ash noticed was sitting and eating with Delphox, Pikachu and Sylveon. It was strange, but Ash got the feeling that Sylveon and Pikachu were sitting quite close to each other. "Perhaps you should try using Greninja's special form?"

"Now?" Ash asked. He supposed it made sense. As tired as he felt, he had done the form when he'd felt tired before. And to confirm whether or not he could do it, maybe he should try. He looked over at Greninja, but his frog-ninja Pokemon was already on his way over, knowing he was wanted. "Ready to give it a go?"

"Ninja." Greninja nodded, looking determined.

Ash closed his eyes and focused. Immediately, he knew everything seemed to be off. He couldn't feel Greninja in the same way. He couldn't feel his energy, his life force, his aura or anything. He just felt the air around him. He opened his eyes and saw Greninja was looking back, disappointment on his face.

Ash looked at Professor Sycamore. "Do you think we'll ever be able to do it again?" He asked. He was also worried about how he'd be able to work with his other Pokemon. The Sundial had definitely helped him out with them as well.

"Well..." Sycamore said slowly. "I'm not sure. I think you were capable of bringing out great power in your Pokemon before, but it's possible that the Sundial's...um...disappearance, has shocked your mind. I think you and Greninja should still be able to accomplish quite a lot."

That wasn't exactly the answer Ash was looking for, but he supposed he wasn't going to get a better one just by being disappointed. Maybe he just needed to try and win with regular methods. He had no idea if he could, but really, there was no other way to go ahead at the moment.

"Come on Ashy boy," Gary said, "you know you can win battles without relying on special forms or anything. And Greninja, you definitely seemed pretty strong before you transformed during the battle. I don't think you'll have any problems."

Ash smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He then thought for a moment. There was definitely a way he could test Greninja's strength. He still planned on competing in the Kalos League and there was one more step he had to take before he qualified. And considering that time was running out before he could enter, he was going to have to get a move on things fairly quickly. "Greninja, you never got a chance in my last gym battle. How about we show Wulfric what we can do?"

"Greninja!" Greninja nodded, with a confident fist pump.

"Ash," Serena said, with an exasperated sigh, "you only just got up. Can't you take it easy for a few days."

"I think he should take it easy too," Calem said, "but he's running out of time to enter the league. If he doesn't have his eighth badge, he's going to need to get it."

"Not necessarily." It was kind of comical as everyone at the large table seemed to jump up in unison. Ash turned his head and his eyes widened as he saw Diantha, the Kalos Champion, walking out through the lab doors. "How's everyone doing?" She asked.

Everyone who knew who it was, stammered out a greeting. And, of course, Brock rushed over to tell her how beautiful she was and got a poison jab to the back from Croagunk. Finally, she came over to Ash and he realized what she had meant when she had first spoken. "What do you mean?" He asked, not wanting to just assume he was right.

"For what you did Ash, I would like to offer you a free pass to the Kalos League." Diantha answered. "There is no doubt that you are one of the most competent trainers in all of Kalos." She paused and pulled out three slips of paper and handed one to Ash. "With this, you can get into the Kalos League with no problems."

Ash stared at it. It was amazing. He could just relax and not have to worry about travelling all the way back to Snowbelle City. He wouldn't have to battle with Wulfric again. He wouldn't have to worry about Greninja's special form until the league started. He could just spend some time with his Pokemon and Serena and his friends. So, naturally, he handed the piece of paper back to Diantha. "I can't do that." He said. "I want to finish what I started."

Diantha nodded, smiling. "Of course. I can't say I'm surprised." She then looked over to where Gary was sitting. "Gary Oak, the grandson of Professor Oak in Pallet Town?" Gary looked pretty surprised, but he nodded. "I'd like to offer you a pass as well. Perhaps you'd be more interested since you haven't had time to collect any badges. From what I've heard, you were also a key figure in the battle. I believe you would make an excellent addition to the Kalos League."

Gary immediately shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm not too into that anymore. It was a lot of fun when I competed in Kanto and Johto, but Pokemon research is more what I'm interested in."

This seemed to surprise Diantha a little more than Ash's refusal, but she nodded in acceptance. Ash noticed, though, that she still had the third slip in her hand. There was someone else she planned to give the offer to as well. He looked at Calem, but remembered that he seemed to have acted like he'd already had his eight badges. His mental question was answered when Diantha approached where Alain was sitting. "Alain, perhaps you'll accept the invitation. I'm aware that you defeated countless enemies in the sky and also fought well against Lysandre and his Gyrados."

Ash immediately saw Alain was about to shake his head. However, in that moment, Ash realized he didn't want Alain to refuse this offer. He would have liked Gary to accept as well, but understood his reasons for not doing so. Alain on the other hand, didn't really have anything else to do at the moment."Do it, Alain. The Kalos League should have the strongest trainers. It's only right if you join."

"I'm not really into that kind of thing, though." Alain said. "I'm-"

"You like battling, don't you?" Ash asked. "You've beaten Greninja and I twice." Ash narrowed his eyes and smirked. "We need a chance to get our revenge and there's no better place than the Kalos League."

Mairin was next to try and persuade Alain. "You should do it. It would be rally fun. And this way, there's more of a chance that one of our friends will actually win it. It would be so awesome if you and Ash face each other, too."

Diantha nodded. "We need the Kalos League to be better than it has ever been, Alain. Lumiose City and all of Kalos need to have something to rally around after what has happened here. I am desperate to find as many talented trainers as possible."

Alain looked like he was deep in thought. He looked at Mairin first, who nodded encouragingly. Then, he looked at Professor Sycamore, who smiled and nodded as well, obviously in support of Alain entering. Finally, he looked over at Ash. "You say you and Greninja want revenge?" He asked.

Ash looked at Greninja, who was gazing at Alain with a determined look. He then turned back to Alain and nodded. "We're ready when you are?"

Alain smiled and then nodded. "I'll see you in the finals, then." He looked at Diantha. "I'm in."

"Wonderful." Diantha said, handing him the slip of paper. "You won't have any problems if you register using this." She then turned and looked at Ash. "And Ash, make sure to win that last badge in time."

"No need to worry." Ash said, exchanging a look with Dawn, who laughed at the use of her old saying.

"One more thing." Dianth said. "As you know, Malva has...um...left the Elite Four with a bit of a problem. Obviously, with her involvement in Team Flare's activities, I've had to remove her from the group."

"Who's going to replace her?" Ash asked.

"Time will tell." Dianth said, smiling. "See, we've decided that the Kalos League will be a suitable place to find possible recruits. Now, whoever was to win the league, would need to prove themselves in the Champions League, however, depending on how they did, the winner of the league may be invited to join the Elite Four. Although, if they were to defeat me, I would be taking the final Elite Four position, while the challenger who defeated me took my place as champion."

Ash stared at the ground in shock. Wow...he could end up becoming a member of the Elite Four if he won the league. And of course...he could become champion. He thought of that day when he'd battled Diantha with Pikachu against her Gardevoir. They'd clearly lost, but Ash had promised Diantha that he would challenge her again. And he had told her he would challenge her not if, but when he won the Kalos League. Ash looked at Serena. He definitely had good motivation to earn one of those positions.

XXXXX

"You seem to be feeling better." Serena noted as she and quietly walked around Professor Sycamore's lab. Ash had wanted to help with cleanup still going on in the city, but Serena and the others had managed to convince him to rest at the lab a bit longer. Serena smiled to herself, well aware that she and Ash were finally alone again, with Pikachu and Greninja having decided that their trainer was fine to stay with her.

"I'm feeling pretty good about the future right now." Ash replied. Serena could just hear a hint of excitement in his voice. He'd seemed to be in a pretty good mood since Diantha had shown up. Maybe he was just happy that Alain was going to be in the league. He definitely liked facing strong opponents.

Something was bothering Serena, though. It wasn't anything major, but she would have liked some kind of confirmation. She realized that despite the hug Ash had given her when Mewtwo had saved her, nothing else seemed to be going on. It was almost like she had her secret crush on him again. She had thought that once it was all over, they'd be together again, but for some reason, nothing seemed to be really pointing in that direction.

"What's wrong?" Ash asked, noticing something was up.

"Nothing." Serena said quickly. Ash gave her a doubtful look and she sighed. "Um...remember when we talked on the phone the other day?"

"Yeah." Ash nodded. They were both silent for another few moments and then Ash laughed. "Come on, Serena, just because I haven't been hugging and kissing you, doesn't mean I've changed my mind. Remember, I could barely stand up when I woke up earlier." He looked at her seriously. "I love you. I didn't stop when we split up in Snowbelle City. I don't plan on ever stopping."

Serena noticed a couple of eyes peering through one of the bushes and got the feeling a couple of Ash's Pokemon were spying on them. She didn't care too much, though. All that mattered was Ash telling her what she needed to hear. And not just that, she could tell he meant every word of it. "I didn't stop either." She said. She thought of what Palermo had told her the day before, while she was watching over Ash as he slept. The old performer had told her that Ash would be able to teach her far more than anyone else and that even in his absence, Serena had learned from him. Palermo had told Serena that it wasn't right for them to break up, regardless of what it meant for her becoming Kalos Queen. However, she had said it would likely help in that regard as well. "We're not leaving each other again, right?"

"Never." Ash said, taking Serena's hand in his and they continued to walk around the garden. After a few minutes of silence, Ash spoke again. "I was hoping to set off for Snowbelle City tomorrow. I want to win that eighth badge."

"Are you sure you're ready?" Serena asked, concern in her voice.

"Of course. Wulfric told me to be ready. Maybe I'm not going to be at my best, with whatever the Sundial did to me, but I know that I'm still prepared." He took a deep breath. "I'm not winning this thing for me. I'm winning it for Mewtwo. He's given me something that I need to take advantage of. It's the perfect opportunity."

Serena got the feeling that Ash had been thinking carefully about something. He definitely seemed extra motivated. "You seem to really want to win. What's up?"

"If I can win the Kalos League, Diantha said I might be able to join the Elite Four. I might even be able to become champion." Ash explained. He stopped and looked Serena in the eyes. "You know what that would mean, right?"

"You'd accomplish your dream. You'd be a Pokemon master." Serena said, smiling.

Ash shook his head. "Even better than that."

Serena narrowed her eyes in confusion. She didn't quite understand what he meant. What could be more important than winning the Kalos League and becoming a Pokemon Master. Maybe Ash thought he'd have to do more than just be an Elite Four member or Kalos Champion to be a Pokemon Master? She shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Serena, I'd be able to stay in Kalos." Ash said.

"You could stay anyways. Even if you didn't I'd still go with you, wherever you went." Serena said quickly. She didn't want Ash to feel like he had to stay here just because of her.

"I want to stay, though. Obviously I need to accomplish my dream, but I could do both. It's the best scenario. I'll win the league and then you'll beat Aria and become Kalos Queen." Ash was shaking in excitement now. "Think about it, Serena. I'll be the Kalos Champion and you'll be Kalos Queen. It's how it should be.

Serena smiled, imagining both of those scenarios happening. It definitely looked good in her mental image of it. "First, you need to win the Kalos League," Serena said, "and that means winning that eighth badge."

"And I'll need you there to cheer me on." Ash said, nodding.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." Serena agreed.

It was quite a shock for Ash's snooping Pokemon as he kissed the unfamiliar girl they saw him with. But for Serena, it was just setting the world right again.