(Ash)

Several months have passed since I found Serena again. I had always felt like that this miracle was our destiny. We were destined to be together until the world ends. Well, I am not really sure what our destiny is. But, one thing was for sure. 

We had a lot of years ahead of us to live. 

It was winter, or I assumed so due to the snowfall we had. Serena would know. There were a few inches of snow outside of the cottage we had sheltered up in. The strange thing that we had found out here, was that the world was barren of people and even Pokemon. We hadn't found anything yet, anyway. Giratina had supplied an empty world and of course, I wasn't complaining, but Pikachu had no reason to battle and that was sort of upsetting. 

I opened up the other curtain and saw Serena sat on a stump, Pikachu resting on her lap silently. With, of course, the lack of Pokemon, Pikachu had become a sort of pet for us. I still trained him every single day, just in case a battle may reach us. The rest of my Pokemon? I didn't bring them out much and the case stayed on the shelf we had in the main room, just in case. Sometimes I would bring them out to battle Pikachu, but it was never the same as battling an unknown opponent, so it was a decision I thought was best.

"Ash, hey, Ash!" I heard Serena shout and I met her gaze from the window. Her smile was warm and I smiled back, exiting the house.

"What's up?" I ran up and stopped to look around. 

"You do know it is Christmas soon, right?" Serena's words made me gulp nervously. "It's only in two days!"

"That might explain the excitement..." I looked around awkwardly.

"You forgot?" she tilted her head up to face me, frowning.

"I've never been able to keep track of the days," I admitted with a laugh. "Besides, we have no decorations or anything. 

"Yeah..." Serena let out a sigh. "It's been quite boring recently, hasn't it?"

I let Serena's words sink in. It was true, even if I did admit that the world with just her was better than the one without. We were bored now. Two now sixteen-year-olds in a world of their own. It was kind of like a cliche fantasy.

"I wish we could speak to everyone else again," I said reminiscently, thinking back. "It would be great."

"After everything that has happened, they would probably die from the shock of seeing me, if they somehow could." Serena giggled and she put Pikachu into her arms, standing up.

I had forgotten about most of the events. Serena's death all that time ago. Team Shadow. Everything. It all seemed like a distant memory. Like I was supposed to be forgetting it all.

"Serena?" I was thinking exactly like Cilan and Clemont would.

"What is it?" she turned to me with a confused look on her face.

"Can you name all of the people I have travelled with, the friends you have made in the past two years?" I asked her. This was to find out if we WERE supposed to be forgetting everything.

"Bonnie, Clemont, Miette, Gary, Cilan, Misty, May..." Serena paused there and then she began to tense, her face becoming full of frustration. She snapped and threw her arms up. "I can't remember!"

"Dawn, Brock and Parker...I think," I scratched my chin and then put my hands on her shoulders. "The point of that question was to find out what I was just thinking."

"We are forgetting the memories from the real world, aren't we?" I could see the sadness in Serena's eyes. I looked down at Pikachu and then back up at her and nodded. 

"I don't know how we haven't realised it yet," I crashed down onto the snow and Pikachu woke up at this point.

"Pika!" his ears instantly perked up and he jumped down onto me.

"Hey, buddy," I greeted him with a smile and looked back up at Serena, who sat down next to me. "What now?"

"Maybe this was how Giratina had made it," Serena let out another sigh and put her head on my shoulder. "What even is now?"

"We haven't seen Giratina in a few months," I went back into thinking. "The last time was when the big meteor crashed nearby. Do we need a disaster to occur for him to show up?"

"Well we can't just cause one, can we?" Serena sounded a little panicked.

"It's okay, just relax." I kissed her head and put my arm around her.

"Pika pi..." Pikachu's voice was full of concern.

We sat in silence for a moment and I took that time to think and focus as much as I possibly could. Was there any possible way we could cause a 'disaster'? I looked at Pikachu and then at Serena. Anything was worth a try, but I wasn't sure still.

"I know what this calls for!" I thought out loud, rushing inside. 

"Ash, wait!" I had dropped Serena onto the snow and she stayed there, her voice muffled against the cold ground. 

I realised pretty quickly that I would have to apologise, but I grabbed the case with my other Pokeballs and opened it up, taking out two specific balls and pressing the buttons so they grew back into their normal size.

"Greninja, Sceptile, I choose you both!" I threw the Pokeballs outside and raced after them, met by an angry Serena.

"You think you can just leave me in the snow like that?" she folded her arms and frowned rather bossily. 

"Sorry..." I shrugged and couldn't help but grin. "I had an idea but I don't know if it will work."

I looked at Greninja, who nodded and folded his arms. Sceptile also nodded and I looked back to Serena, who was silently waiting for an explanation of my plan, which I didn't really know how to explain properly.

"Well..." I began, scratching my chin in thought. "I was thinking of creating something with our Pokemon. You know, like a storm or something." 

"I don't think that will work, to be honest with you." Serena was being blunt and she was probably right. "You would need the move rain dance to even begin."

"I actually didn't think of that," I admitted and sighed.

"More like you forgot? Like we are forgetting a lot of things," Serena looked at my Pokemon and was blunt as all hell. "Sorry, you might not be needed." 

"Wait no, what about an avalanche? Mamoswine Road!" I had enough light bulb at the top of my head and I thought this was the right idea for sure. 

"We would need a Mamoswine..." Serena pulled a straight face and kept her arms folded. 

"Who cares about the damn Mamoswine," I threw my hand out, gesturing it was no big deal. "I'll power through on foot if I have to."

"No. it's too dangerous, Ash," Serena's voice was full of warning, but I didn't care. I wasn't about to just let us forget everything like that.

"I am not about to just let us both forget everything. We are going to find out as much as we can AND see if we can stop whatever is going on, okay?" I wasn't going to back down and she knew it.

"Yes, WE are. I am going with you," she said the words I knew she would but I didn't want her to say them. The worry in my eyes spoke for me, I didn't even have to say a single word to her. She could see I wanted to tell her it was too dangerous for us both, but as I went to open my mouth, she moved forward and pushed her lips on mine, to keep me quiet. After a few seconds, she took a step back and she looked so serious. "You won't stop me. We are in this together." 

All I could do was nod my head. I didn't know what to say.

"Pika..." Pikachu frowned at me like I was an idiot.

"You don't need to be so nervous," Serena giggled and I looked at her with panic.

"Nervous?!" I blurted out and I saw Greninja nodding behind her. "Whatever.."

"We'll go tomorrow, it's going to get dark soon so we should sleep." Serena looked up at the sky and then to me. "Okay?"

"Sure, sounds like a plan," I smiled and we headed inside. I returned my Pokemon into their balls and headed into my bedroom.

The night went by fast. We all slept like little babies, preparing for what might be a big adventure. It was going to be Christmas Eve and the prospect of us figuring things out during Christmas seemed slightly depressing, but it was necessary so we had to try our best, no matter what day it was. As the night passed, dreams filled my mind. I was running along, hand-in-hand with Serena. There was a group of people at the other end of the hall but I couldn't make out their faces...

Gary? Dawn?

One by one, each face faded away and darkness consumed the dream, forcing me to snap out of it abruptly and sit up in a panic. I looked at the door, which Serena had just opened to walk in and she looked at me with surprise.

"Bad dream?" she asked, placing my bad on my bed next to me.

"Something like that...I'm not really sure," I replied honestly, yawning into my hand. I had to focus and get ready to leave.

"It should be fine," Serena pulled on her coat and zipped it right up, slipping her gloves on afterwards. She was fully kitted out in her snow gear and I was still lazing around in my pyjamas.

"Sorry for making you wait," I yawned again and then ushered her out of the door. "I'll be outside in two minutes."

"I'll grab your Pokemon!" Serena shouted as I shut the door. I heard her frustration at my ignorance and couldn't help but laugh. It was funny when she got annoyed but I wasn't up for talking after just waking up, so I got ready as slowly as I possibly could.

After what seemed like forever, I stepped outside and kicked up the snow on the steps, walking to Serena, who didn't seem pleased. I felt a grin form on my face and I already knew what she was going to ask, so I just shrugged and latched onto her hand.

"Sorry," was all I said and she seemed to accept that with a small sigh. 

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped from Serena and onto my shoulder.

"It's going to be a long journey, should we be walking there?" Serena frowned and turned to me, forcing me to stop by gripping my hand and pulling me back.

"Wha-?" I realised her question and shrugged again. "Do you want to fly there?" 

"Would it not be easier? We could get closer and then walk the rest," Serena's face told me she didn't seem up for walking, despite being ready first and wanting to leave. 

"You seemed up for walking before," I raised an eyebrow. "What happened to that?"

"I never said I was, though," Serena glanced at Pikachu. "Do you want to travel on foot, Pikachu?"

"Pika..." Pikachu sounded disappointed at that idea. 

"I guess it is settled then," Serena smiled and then took a step back.

"Whatever you think will make our journey easier. We could probably fly the whole way to the cliff, to be honest," I shrugged, dropping my bag onto the floor. I brought out Charizard's ball and threw it onto the ground. "Charizard, I choose you!"

Charizard came out and he immediately hovered just above the ground, to stay out of the snow. I put my bag on and then jumped onto his back, helping Serena on afterwards. Pikachu jumped from my shoulder and sat close to Charizard's head. Then, we flew off towards Mammoth Road.

The ride was smooth and Charizard was also enjoying himself. We sat in silence as we looked around at the scenery. It was so clear without any Pokemon or other people around. You could see each flower and stream, each colourful building. Everything looked amazing. The sun, which was surprisingly out although it was cold, reflecting off the water and the soft sounds of the waterfall made the area feel tranquil. 

We continued on, flying through the cold breeze and towards Mammoth Road. Some time passed and we left the sun behind, rising up to Mammoth Road, full of snow and icy winds. Charizard dropped us off near the end of the path. It was still deep with snow, but it was the best spot for landing. We got off Charizard and prepared to start moving.

"Serena?" I returned Charizard and turned to her. She didn't reply but waited for me to carry on. "There is maybe one thing we missed out for this plan."

"I already know what you mean I have thought about it," Serena shrugged and then turned around, looking at the two rocky walls that were full of snow. "Once you cause this, anything could happen in terms of disaster, but also, we have to leave the area as quickly as possible to get out of the avalanche, right?"

"Right," I nodded my head in agreement and then I brought out Greninja and Sceptile again. Greninja changed forms instantly, as he usually did now. "Pikachu, I'll also need your help buddy."

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu jumped in front of me and seemed eager to begin.

"Be careful!" Serena shouted behind me. It sounded like she had taken a few steps back. 

"Greninja, water shuriken, Sceptile leaf storm and Pikachu electro ball!" I gestured towards the rocky wall in front of us, that was full of snow. The wall, which was sloped slightly, rose all the way up and around a hill, which was covered in mounds of snow. "Give it all you got!"

One by one, each Pokemon unleashed their move on the wall. Leaves smashed, shurikens crashed and balls of electricity exploded against the wall, which caused snow to fall all over the place, sloping down the wall. Suddenly, the snow at the top began to break off and everything began to shake, snow falling all around in big mounds.

"Ash!" Serena almost screamed her lungs out and I turned, rushing over to her.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and Serena tripped, slipping into the snow. She began to slip from the hill behind her and I threw my hand out, lunging forward. In that moment, everything froze. My heart, my body, time itself froze on the spot. Flashbacks from Serena's death plagued my mind. I used all of my willpower to pray that I would catch her. As everything stayed frozen, I drank in Serena's face. The panic made my heart bleed, everything felt the same as the last time this had happened. 

Then, my hand swiped through mid-air and I watched as Serena fell down the hill and she crashed into the snow, which collapsed into a cave and she disappeared from sight, the snow piling up.

"SERENAAAAA!" I screamed as the avalanche behind me was now full force and I had no choice but to return my Pokemon and run. "Come on Pikachu!"

I ran for what felt ages. My legs were burning and I could barely breathe. Throughout it all, tears flooded my face and made everything harder. I stumbled into trees and then crashed onto the ground, eating snow in the process.

"She can't be dead again," I whispered to myself, wiping the tears away. "No, no no no..."

I felt everything just break and emotion began to burst uncontrollably from my eyes and I let it all out with an ear-wrenching scream. I felt empty inside. Surely she wasn't...gone? With nothing but adrenaline in my body, I scurried up onto my feet and rushed towards the area Serena had fallen.

(Serena)

I wasn't dead. Even if I was, I refused to believe it. My body fought and fought. The snow...it was so cold. I looked up and noticed it was really dark. I had no Pokemon or equipment to even see anything. 

"Ash?" I called out, slowly getting up to my feet. I didn't feel hurt, the snow had cushioned the whole fall. I gulped nervously and realised he was probably having some sort of emotional breakdown. "I can't die on him twice now, can I?"

With a grin at my own words, I had to think about what I could do next. Traversing through the darkness wasn't a great idea, but it was possibly my only option. The other was wait for Ash, who would eventually break through the snow and get me out, I know that much is certain. 

"Guess I'll wait," I said to myself with a sigh, sitting down on the cold floor. I looked up at the snow that had filled the hole. "Don't be too long, Ash."

(Ash)

"She isn't dead, she isn't dead, she isn't dead," I couldn't help but speak to myself over and over. I had never felt more alive than ever before and yet, part of me felt dead at the thought of losing Serena...agaiin.

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped from my shoulder and ran at full pace towards a clearing, just outside of the forest. I followed him with uncertainty. "Pika, Pika Pi!"

"Is this the hole?" I looked up at where the avalanche had happened. Snow was absolutely everywhere and some trees had been tipped over. 

"Who dares cause destruction in this world?" Giratina appeared in front of me, sending me backwards towards the forest.

"I needed you to be here," I put it quite plainly to Giratina and then I panicked. "Serena is stuck in the snow, she needs my help!"

"Everyone gets what they deserve," Giratina shifted around and seemed to want to make matters different. "What is it you want help with, first of all?"

"I want to know why we are forgetting the real world we left behind...and if there is any way of ever going back in the future," I was hesitant to ask, but it was the one question we had never asked before. 

Giratina considered my questions in silence. He didn't seem willing to answer yet he probably had all of the answers. The legendary Pokemon before me could only stare and as the silence continued, I didn't know what he was going to say next.

"I will give you everything you want. Answers...power...anything at all, if you can do one thing," Giratina finally spoke and his words intrigued me.

"I'll do anything," I replied instantly.

"Good, because you will have to defeat me in my own world!" Giratina moved and prepared to battle, while I drank in his words.

"You want me to defeat you, in battle?" I just had to ask for a more specific answer. 

"Of course. Only then, can you have what you need," Giratina's response was true...I somehow knew that it was.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and I felt a reminder of Serena being stuck in the snow somewhere. I was fighting for her survival once again. I was fighting for the possibility of seeing our friends once more. I was fighting for the secrets that we wanted to reveal. Everything was on the line and as the realisation sank in, my body filled up with rage and emotion. I threw out Greninja's Pokeball and took a deep breath, before releasing the rage.

"I will beat you! Even if it means I have to use all of the power my Pokemon have!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and then I watched Greninja transform instantly before my eyes. 

"Pika pi!" Pikachu joined Greninja's side, ready to fight.

"It's time to battle," I smirked with confidence, feeling the fire in my eyes.

Giratina began, crashing into the ground and glowing gold in colour. The ground in front began to crack and a golden glow followed the cracks as they shot straight towards my Pokemon. 

"Pikachu, quick attack and Greninja dodge it!" I focused more on Pikachu, knowing that his move would have no effect on Giratina. That wasn't the move he was going to be attacking with. "Pikachu now, iron tail!"

Pikachu, at full speed, had run all the way to Giratina and then he used his momentum to leap into the air. With a flick of his tail, a coat of iron covered it and then Pikachu dropped from the sky, spinning and slamming his tail on Giratina. The move hit with good power, but it didn't seem to do much to the tall, strong legendary who controlled this world.

"Greninja, water shuriken!" I knew I couldn't let Giratina get a strong attack in and Greninja felt my thoughts. "Go!"

Greninja formed a water shuriken and it grew and grew into a huge star of water. Then, taking a slight step back, Greninja unleashed the shuriken with force and speed at Giratina, who wasn't fast enough to dodge and the shuriken hit Giratina in the face, exploding and creating a cloud of smoke.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt and Greninja use aerial ace!" I glanced over at the snow-covered hole and reminded myself why I was fighting. It made me feel like I needed more strength. Greninja felt my feelings. He knew I wanted more from him. I looked back at the smoke and saw something glowing. What was it?

Suddenly, the wind picked up around me and Greninja was a blur as he burst past at full speed. His hands and feet began to glow and then Greninja leapt into the air, striking through the smoke. 

"PIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Pikachu leapt into the air and then unleashed his power. "CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The thunderbolt shot straight through the smoke and caused it to disperse. Greninja attacked again and then we all realised that Giratina had disappeared. Vanished on the spot. I thought back to a moment ago, the glowing in the smoke.

"Both of you, watch out!" I shouted, but it was too late.

Giratina appeared behind Greninja and attacked, striking him down with a strong hit from behind. I felt the pain and fell to one knee. Giratina sure was powerful. Pikachu rushed over to Greninja just as the ground suddenly began to shake. Then, it all began to split apart, from around the Pokemon and the cave, separating me from the fight. 

"Pika!" Pikachu rushed over to the edge of the crack as the land separated. I was on the other side and I knew what I had to do.

"I'm going to jump!" I shouted, taking a step back. Then, I dashed forwards as the ground continued to separate and jumped with everything I had. Floating through the air made time slow once more. As everything froze, I hesitated. Was I going to make it across? What if I fell now and Serena was trapped forever? However, I managed to make it across, stumbling on the edge and then falling face first into the snow. The ground was still shaking and as I looked up, Giratina had gone from our sight again. "Pikachu jump up and use electro ball on the ground. Greninja, double team!" 

Greninja began sprinting around, multiple versions of himself appearing. Pikachu jumped and a huge ball of electricity formed at the end of his tail. Then, Pikachu fired the ball straight at the ground.

"Cha Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed as the ball smashed into the ground, causing snow to rise up into the air, creating a cloud. Then, I saw the glow of Giratina once more.

"Greninja, quick, aerial ace!" I didn't even have to point out where Giratina was as Greninja could feel the presence from what I saw and as quick as a flash, Greninja hit Giratina with the aerial ace, kicking and fighting to stop Giratina from attacking.

"You cannot win," Giratina sounded serious as the ground shook once more, causing Greninja and Pikachu to stumble back. "I control this world and everything in it. Did you really think the fight would be so simple?"

"No..." I got up onto my feet and adjusted my hat, looking up and straight at Giratina with a serious expression. "All of my life, I have never known the feeling of a simple fight. Each battle has been a challenge, especially with legendary Pokemon such as yourself, Giratina. It does not matter how strong you are or what power you hold, I will beat you and as you promised, discover what Serena and I have wanted to know!"

Greninja felt my burst of emotion and the water shrouding him exploded into a frenzy. Greninja's eyes flash red and without me saying a word, he began forming a water shuriken that grew. 

And grew.

And grew.

"Pikachu, aim for the shuriken with THUNDERBOLT!" I yelled to Pikachu with all of the power in my voice, feeling my throat burn in the process. Everything was riding on this one move combination working perfectly. We had to win somehow.

The shuriken began to glow orange and then it was Pikachu's turn. 

"PIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Pikachu replicated my feelings and knew how much power I wanted him to bring to the fight. He knew how serious it was. "CHUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu unleashed a frantic yet powerful thunderbolt. Firing like a cannon at the shuriken, it made the orange-glowing ninja star turn yellow, sparks of electrical energy swirling around it. Then, Greninja threw the shuriken and it blasted straight at Giratina, who seemed to accept that the move was going to hit and it did, creating a burst of yellow light that blinded us all and an explosion so big, the ground shook harshly once more and I tripped over into a sitting position, staring at the smoke as it began to clear. 

"You show great power and true promise, Ash Ketchum" Giratina spoke like the moves had done nothing, the smoke clearing. "Consider this an important lesson learnt. You can become stronger than you are and I cannot hold that from you. However, Serena, in the real world, is dead. This is her lifeline. I'm not sure if there is a possible way of bringing her back." 

"You have a lot of power, Giratina," I felt defeated, even though Giratina had accepted his own loss. "Could it not be possible? I don't want to forget the world around me."

"I could bring your friends to you if that is what you wish." Giratina's words made me think, his voice repeating in my head over and over again.

"I...I don't know what to say. The real world is a better place for us all but even so, the possibility of seeing everyone again...it's too surreal. It would be the best Christmas present ever." I felt a sudden amount of exhaustion fill my body and I looked over at Greninja, who had returned to his normal form, seemingly at his own limit from the battle.

"I will do as you wish. You have cared for these lands and shown true promise in your ability. The next time I test your power, young trainer, I expect more. Otherwise, the chaos that this land brings will be more powerful than you have ever seen before!" and with those final words, Giratina disappeared through his portal once again. 

I struggled to get to my feet, my legs shaking from the exhaustion of the battled. Everything seemed like a blur as I stumbled slowly towards the cave, Pikachu and Greninja following behind me at the same pace. It was quiet, nothing but the icy cold winds whistling through the trees accompanying the silence.

"Serena," I whispered to myself and then stopped at the edge of the cave that was filled with snow. Crouching down, I put my hand into the snow and dug some of it up. That section of the hole collapsed and the snow on top filled up the hole again, but there was less this time. 

"Ash?!" I heard Serena shout and my heart froze momentarily, relief washing over my body.

"I'm going to dig up the snow and get you out!" I told her. She didn't reply so I got straight to work, digging up the snow as frantically as possible. Pikachu even joined in to help. As did Greninja. Working as a trio, we continued to dig up the same corner, watch the snow fill up that corner again and then continue, so the snow at the other end filled up this corner and the mound started to get smaller and smaller. 

"Be careful not to get too close to the edge Ash!" Serena called out. I assumed the snow was falling around her and it could cave in at any minute.

"I hear you loud and clear Ma'am," I joked, laughing with more relief. I felt really good now. Serena was okay and deep inside, I knew she would be. 

We all continued digging for what felt like ages. The sun was going down, which meant the evening was creeping up on us and it would be night soon. I didn't realise until I took a moment to stop digging how tired I actually was. The journeys we had over the past two years had helped me overcome fatigue and tiredness, but even my legs hurt. However, digging was the only option so we all had to keep going. 

As the mound of snow got smaller, my hopes for getting Serena out safely got larger. I turned to Greninja, thinking up a plan on the spot.

"I want you to get Serena out when the rest of the snow falls, ok?" I said and Greninja turned to me, only nodding. Almost instantly, we both turned back to our work and finished up the digging. I took my hands away as the rest of the snow collapsed, opening the hole entirely. My fingers were freezing, but the gloves I wore helped me out. They would soon warm up.  I peered down the hole and saw Serena's face. She looked up at me with a smile.

"About time," she joked, adding a grin. "I've been waiting for too long."

"I'm just glad you're okay, I was having major flashbacks," I laughed nervously, sighing once again with relief. "Okay, Greninja, you're up."

Greninja carefully moved along the edge, to get deeper in the cave and his tongue unravelled from around his mouth, wrapping up Serena. Ever so carefully, Greninja lifted Serena out of the hole and to safety. As soon as she was dropped off, I tackled her into a hug and held on so tightly, like I would never want to let go again. We laid in the snow for what felt like forever. At least, I wanted it to last forever.

"I'm okay, Ash," I heard her soft voice in my ear.

"I know...I'm glad," I replied, finally getting up and to my feet. I brushed the snow from my clothes and took out Charizard's Pokeball. "Ready to go home?"

"Ready," Serena nodded and she smiled again but then frowned slightly. "I wonder if Giratina has shown up."

"About that..." I brought out Charizard and told her everything that had happened. "So now, Giratina seems to want to test my strength and in return, the world will be safe, unless I fail his tests."

"And if you fail," Serena continued, still thinking over what I had said. "The chaos in this world will multiply?"

"Exactly," I laughed nervously and then smiled with confidence. "I can take on any test he has for me, though, just you watch."

"You never change, Ash," Serena giggled.

"You love me for it, though," I grinned and hopped onto Charizard's back.

"I sure do," Serena agreed with another giggle, climbing on behind me.

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped in front of me and then I brought out Greninja's Pokeball.

"Thanks a lot, Greninja, you have been a really big help today," I said and he nodded, respecting my words. I returned him to his ball and then stroked Charizard gently. "Ready to fly?"

"Let's go!" Serena said and we flew into the sky, heading all the way back home. 

The journey back was peaceful and relaxing but it gave me time to think. Since the start of the Pokemon Tournament, everything that had happened was for a reason. Team Shadow came out of hiding and caused a whole bunch of problems, wreaked havoc across many regions and disrupted the peace. After we had defeated them, I thought that everything would be simple and quiet. I thought that was it for my journeys. How I was wrong. The return of Team Shadow was horrifying. Fighting legendaries and...Serena's death. Everything happened for a reason. Just like now, I got to this point, this world, for a reason. Giratina's hidden world. Now, everyone had the potential to be here. Was it going to happen? I wasn't so sure. But, what I knew was that it was Christmas tomorrow and the night was coming fast. 

"I think I could do with sleeping the night away," I yawned into my hand as we landed down outside of the cottage.

"Well, it is Christmas tomorrow and you did work hard today," Serena nodded and she leant forward, putting her head on my shoulder and hugging me lightly. "I'll get some rest as well."

We got off Charizard and I returned him, putting the Pokeball away. It was finally the end of the day, so after a few more minutes of talking and saying good night, we went to sleep and prepared for what would possibly be a quiet Christmas day.

The night passed by too quick. I was up in a flash, heading into the kitchen. What I found surprised me. Serena was asleep, head resting on the counter. There was a bowl full of cake mixture in front of her and this made me smile. I walked into my room and grabbed a blanket. Heading back into the kitchen, I wrapped it around Serena and then I heard something outside.

"IT'S CHRISTMASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" I heard a large group shouting at the top of their lungs and the excitement in my body sent my heart into a frenzy.

"Wha-what?" Serena, in a daze, rose up and the blanket fell onto the floor. 

I felt nothing in my head, but suddenly, my legs were rushing to the door and I crashed through it, drinking in all of the faces facing me. I couldn't believe my eyes. Months and months of waiting. I remembered my thoughts from the night before. Everything that had happened was for a reason. It led us up to this very moment in time. Happiness was always supposed to come in the end, wasn't it?

Dawn.

Misty.

May.

Gary.

Brock.

Clemont.

Cilan.

Miette.

Iris.

Bonnie

Each person looked at me. Gary was grinning like an idiot as Dawn and Miette rushed me with tears in their eyes. 

"ASHHHH!" they screamed, crashing into me. Everyone else joined in, a large group hug as tears flew and emotions were released. 

"Long time no see," Gary nodded to me and I put my hand in his, shaking it. 

"Come on guys, group hug!" Cilan grabbed onto us both while laughing like an idiot and then Clemont and Brock joined in. 

"It's been so long, I can hardly believe it!" Clemont pushed up his glasses and smiled.

"Oh...my...GOD!" Dawn literally screamed and everything went silent for a moment.

Serena stepped around the door and outside, looking at everyone. She ducked her head for a moment, going red in the face from all of the staring. I felt overcome with happiness as she looked back up.

"Hi," was all she said, with a smile so big her face could have fallen off. No one moved and nothing happened. There was no sound coming from anyone as they all stared with shock at Serena. I wondered if anyone was going to pass out. Time was frozen. No one could believe Serena was right there in front of them. I could feel the emotion in the air about to burst and then...it did.

Dawn and Bonnie grabbed Serena and they both started crying with happiness. Miette joined in and then everyone joined in. I stood outside of the large circle of continuous hugs and crying. It was so loud and it suddenly hit me that...everything was back. EVERYONE was back. I looked down at my hands and realised tears were dropping onto them. I looked back up at everyone and I smiled. Smiled with joy. 

"I.....I..." Miette was struggling to breathe from crying so much. "I just can't help it, this is all so su-surreal."

"Calm down," Serena giggled and everyone else laughed, wiping the tears away. 

As everything did calm down, the smiles never faded. Everything was perfect now. Everyone had gifts and a bunch of decorations that they had hauled over from the 'real world'. Everything was unreal. I couldn't believe any of it, spending every five minutes pinching myself to see if I was dreaming. We spent an hour or so having fun and setting up the decorations and lights. There were so many bright colours, tinsel, baubels, a star for the tree. So many different decorations to set-up. It was a lot of effort, but definitely worth all of the time in the end.

 Serena and Dawn happily cooked a Christmas dinner while the rest of us sat in the lounge, telling jokes and having fun. Gary, in the stupidest way possible, told us the story of the past six months. 

"So, you helped out with the alliance after all?" I nodded in appreciation after hearing the story and then realised something else. "Wait, a Hall of Fame?" 

"Yep, with you and Serena," Gary nodded also and then he laughed. "But I imagine we are all on it now."

"You're staying?" I asked, looking at Clemont, who would have the answers. 

"We have all of our stuff, if you hadn't noticed," Bonnie was the one to talk. 

"Thanks, Bonnie," Clemont sighed and then he addressed me. "We plan on staying. Then, we can all figure out if Serena can get back to the real world. If we figure it all out, then everything could possibly go back to normal."

"Yeah, well," I contemplated Clemont's words and decided to give them some information. I told him about Giratina testing me and the chaos that could ensue in this world if I was to fail.

"You'll be fine, Ash," Bonnie didn't seem too fussed. "You're super strong, nothing will stand in your way!"

"She's right," Cilan agreed and then he laughed. "Sorry, I just realised how serious things got!"

"Cilan's right!" May and Iris spoke at the same time and they couldn't help but laugh at each other. Everyone joined in and then things settled down, May taking her turn to speak. "Just as we are now, things need to be more light and fun."

"It is Christmas, after all," Iris nodded in agreement. 

"Who's up for Turkeyyy?" Dawn sang as her and Serena brought in the food. 

"This smells amazing," Brock was ready to dig in. "Although, I bet me, Cilan and Clemont could have done a superb job too."

"Well, I wanted to cook for a change," Dawn folded her arms and sighed. "That is my present to you all."

"Don't mind if I do!" I couldn't help myself and I dug in. 

We all ate our fill and continued to talk, happily reminiscing about the adventures we had over the past two years. It was all perfect. Slowly, as the night began to creep upon us, more snow began to fall and we took ourselves outside.

"It's so calm out here," Misty sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the silence as we all stared at the sky. Then suddenly, a snowball smashed against the back of her head. "...Who...ever...threw that....is going to DIE!"

"Oops," Miette squealed and she began to run away as Misty made a snowball and threw it at her. 

The whole gang broke into a snowball fight, except for Serena, who was standing by my side in complete silence. We were used to just staring at the stars that we took no notice as the riot ensued. 

"I love you, you know," I whispered into her ear, pushing a snowball on the top of her head.

"And I you," Serena did the same, but she slapped it across my face, snow breaking everywhere. "Merry Christmas, Ash."

 "Yes...a Merry Christmas to everyone," I murmured with a face full of snow, still looking up at the sky. I was wondering where one other person was on this occasion. We still had a friend that was not here...

(Parker)

I sat on the hill, staring down at Ash and his friends. They were so far away, yet so close. None of them would notice me here, though.

"I did as you asked, master. I gave Ash his love and everything he wanted, with the prices that you demanded." Giratina's eyes flashed red as he spoke from the shadows. 

"You can take your leave after you get me back to the real world," I threw the mind-control device in my hand up and then I caught it. "This first prototype would have always come in handy. You were a good test subject in the beginning, all of those years ago with the others, huh?"

"What is it?" Giratina asked and I shook my head, sighing.

"Nevermind," I smiled and then stood up, feeling the wind in my hair. It caused my jacket to flow to one side. "I hope that everything here is what they wanted. It is what they all deserve, after all. Two years of hell and a lot of fighting has led them up to this point. After so much despair and effort, happiness is all they need to keep on going. I hope the rest of your lives are well and may the new year show you the path of a new challenge. A new journey, perhaps. They say legends never die. They are eternal, etched in the stones of our kingdom. Never to be forgotten."

Giratina opened up the portal to the real world and then I took one last look at the group below.

"Merry Christmas, Ash," I said, the smile still plastered on my face. "And a happy new year to you all."

And as I walked towards the portal, I knew I would see them all again soon. 

It would be a late Christmas present.

A Merry Christmas Indeed.

The end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MERRY CHRISTMAS!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for reading. The uh, ending is a little short but I have put 3 days of effort into this one chapter, so I really hope you appreciate that and I also hope that you enjoyed the Christmas Special.

Who knows what might happen next XDDD

I feel really excited that I had the opportunity to write this.

Thanks for all of the support for this book and Going for Glory. I really enjoyed the time I spent on both books. A total of almost 100 chapters across two books is pretty crazy and you guys that have loved liked or even hated them have made me a better person and want to continue improving as a writer.

Going forward, I am focusing on The Investigation Club. Had a little hiatus while I prepared this special, but that will be continuing in due time, do not worry if you enjoy that book.

As per the end of each book, I do little shoutouts to people who I have noticed writing and think they deserve some more recognition, even if they have quite a lot already :)

Firstly Trevor_Hallett has some great amourshipping and general Pokemon books. He made his own Christmas book for amourshipping, so definitely check that out and why not give him a quick follow while you are at it :)

I also have noticed XxWhiteYvonnexX as she has ALOT of amourshipping books and is a very avid fan. Make sure you check them out. Like seriously, I don't read on Wattpad often but when I finish a book, I always make sure I do just to see what kind of people are writing and if you don't check out these books you might miss out on some good reading!

Anhkiet_Huynh is a good friend of mine and he works on a lot of Pokemon books. His books are incredible and his one-shot 'Renewal of a Spark' is something you should really check out if you have the time. Also 'A Journey to Remember'. Keep up the good work Anhkiet. We need to talk sometime maybe, catch-up or something :)

Besides the three above, I haven't really checked out anyone else recently. I have shouted out plenty of other people before like Pixel_Stix and Grace_Everdeen (yeah go check their stuff out too ^_^). However, you should really just check out every amourshipping and Pokemon book on Wattpad. You never know, you might find the best book of all time and have so much fun reading you could never put it down. Give everyone a chance that they deserve XD

With that concludes the Christmas Special. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas or holiday should you not celebrate Christmas. I hope everything you get is what you expected and that the food is delicious (because food, yknow). 

Also, have a great new year and may 2017 bring us all good luck and fortune. 

Happy holidays everyone! :)

(Note: If you want to review this, you can do it as a 'one-shot'. I give anyone who does reviewspermission I guess XD

and also if there are any REALLY ANNOYING MISTAKES, please point them out. I spent too long on this and editing it isn't easy, so thanks for your time.

Merry Christmas again!)

Have a good week!