Serena

Serena is a Pokémon Trainer from the Kalos region and was one of Ash's traveling companions. Her goal was to be named Kalos Queen the highest prestige achievable for Pokémon Perfomers. She and Ash met before the start of the series when Ash aided her in her time of need. She developed a strong crush on him from that day on and it is one of her most notable characteristics, evident through her blushing whenever she looks at, talks to or amazed by him. Serena's first outfit consisted of a dark gray tank top with a white collar, dark gray stockings, long honey blond hair that reaches just above her waist, medium skin tone, red skirt, black hi-tops with pink semi-Poké Ball printing on the sides similar in design to Hilda's, and a dark pink hat paired with a black hatband and ribbon bow. Serena marks a return to basing Ash's female companion off of that generation's female player character in the video games. However, Serena is also the first to have undergone minor cosmetic changes for the transition to the anime, whereas May and Dawn remained the same.

 Among the cosmetic changes are; She appears a little younger or shorter than her game counterpart. Her fingernails are short and trimmed like most other characters on the show, rather than long like her game counterpart's. Her fingernails are kept natural without any nail polish on, while her game counterpart wears a faint pink nail polish. Her shirt collar is white instead of black. The sunglasses on the hat are replaced by her tiny bow. She doesn't have a Mega Ring. Her eyes are blue despite the fact that her game counterpart's is a gray color (even her game counterpart's contacts can be changed to blue). Her hat appears larger, more curved, looking similar to a straw hat. She wears high top shoes unlike her game counterpart, who wears sneakers; however they are in the same design. The line going down from the top of her shoes, down to the soles, is one straight line, while on her game counterpart's sneakers, they are two separate lines. She also does not have the purse that her game counterpart does, instead having a backpack. Starting from A Showcase Debut! onward, she wears a new outfit with her hair styled in a short wavy bob and wears a new reddish-pink fedora, a bright pink dress with a white collar, her gray top underneath, and a red waistcoat with a blue ribbon on her chest, the same stockings, and brown boots. When she was young, she wore a pink dress, with Mary Jane shoes, and a straw hat tied by a light pink hatband, and ribbon. For pajamas, she wears a lavender hoodie with pink heart insignias on the hips with dark-pink shorts, along with a red or pink bow. As of A Frolicking Find in the Flowers!, she wears pink sandals whenever she's in her pajamas while outside. Serena is a very kind and polite girl. But she can be sassy and mad when she gets dirt on her. She is always concerned about what her friends are doing. She also has a passion for fashion and clothes. She tries to find the prettiest clothes, and finds that whatever her mother picks out tends to be the less fashionable.

 Knowing this, she hates getting dirty and being soaked in mud. She loves to bake for her friends, who always delight in getting to eat what she makes for them. Serena has developed strong feelings for Ash, constantly blushing when interacting with him. She has also begun to take on his determination, greatly inspired by his motto: "Never give up till the end", and as such begins to takes hits for her Pokémon like he does. She also tends to get flustered whenever someone brings up her crush on him and blush quite heavily, namely whenever Miette appears or when Shauna accused her of liking him all together, she also seemed rather flustered when Penelope requested Ash to be with her before discovering what she really meant. Serena possesses a unique charm when it comes to Rhyhorn, possibly due to her upbringing, as nearly all of those that she encounters gravitate towards her without the girl in question doing anything. Despite being Ash's newest female companion who just started her journey, she had previously met him when they were younger back in Pallet Town years ago at Professor Oak's Pokémon summer camp. Serena was lost in the woods while trying to look for the rest of her group, resulting in herself getting wounded after getting startled by a Poliwag. But at that very same moment, Ash came to her aid and escorted her out. Since that day, she kept the handkerchief he used as a bandage as a way to remember the kind act and inspiring words he told her.