Chapter 1

On their way to Ash's next gym battle, out heroes stop at a nearby town as nightfall comes. Checking into a small house nearby, they decide to stay in town for a few days.

The house is made out red bricks. On top is a chimney and in front are two windows. The roof seems to be made out of a stone like material. Their house is at the edge of the entrance to the village. It turns out that many trainers stay here for a mini vacation. Inside is a kitchen and two rooms. The house is small, but roomy on the inside. Ash and Clemont share one room and Serena and Bonnie share the other. It is around dinner time and Clemont starts on making dinner. They all sit down at a small wooden table. The food is laid out. Clemont has prepared pasta once again and a small salad made out of berries. For the following evening, everything is peaceful till morning...

Ash and the others woke up early and headed into town. Very few people were up at this time, the sun didn't even come up yet. Ash walked along side with Pikachu as they explored together. Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie were falling behind but they eventually stopped when Ash started to examine a poster on a street post.

The poster said:

It's almost our 25th anniversary and we have decided to hold a Pokémon tournament. There will be 2 competitions. A Solo and a double battle. The Solo battles will be first and then the double battles.

Solo Rules:

1) Only one Pokémon is allowed to participate

Double Rules

1) Two trainers and Two Pokémon

That's about it. Competition is in 2 days. Sign up on the sheet below with your name and Pokémon. No changes can be made. You have to use the Pokémon you sign up with.

Ash was thrilled. A Pokémon competition. Grabbing the pen, Ash signed his name on the piece of paper attached for the Solo round. Serena looked at the poster. This could be her chance to impress Ash.

"Hey Ash, could we do a double battle together?" Serena asked nervously.

Ash wanted to pretend he didn't hear that. Serena was his friend but battling wasn't her thing.

"Listen" Ash said trying not to disappoint her. "You're just not the type of person that can really battle and since this is like a challenge, I think it wouldn't be a good idea"

Serena wasn't disappointed. She was rather offended by this. Ash didn't think she could battle.

"I can battle"

"Serena, you barely train. You're afraid to get yourself dirty. Pokémon battles just aren't right for you"

"Well, I think I can!" Serena shouted and she grabbed the pen to sign up for the Solo battle. Her name was right beside Ash's so now; Serena and Ash were going to compete against each other.

"I guess we'll see who's right then" Ash said and he walked back to the house to train for the battle.

Serena, who really didn't know what just had happened, sighed to herself. She just signed up for a Pokémon battle competition. She just got mad that Ash didn't have faith in her but he was right, battling wasn't her thing. Now she had to beat Ash in a Pokémon battle to prove a point. Serena walked back to the house and started to train (For Once) Clemont and Bonnie had no idea what had just happened. She let out Fennekin and told her everything that had happened.

"Alright Fennekin, you know what to do" Serena told her.

"Serena, why can't you just admit Ash is right"

"He has no faith in me and I want to impress him"

Fennekin sighed. Her trainer had always gone all out to try and get Ash to notice her.

"Fine, I'll help"

"We are going to win this thing!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it" Ash said from behind.

"We will. How about a twist? If I win, you have to admit that I can so battle"

"Fine, but you won't win. You're using Fennekin and you obviously didn't notice which Pokémon I chose. When we were fighting, I forgot to sign up my Pokémon and since we're battling, I chose this Pokémon" Ash said as he threw out his Pokeball.

Froakie came out. Serena stared at him in disbelief. This wasn't fair. She had a type disadvantage.

"Really? A water type"

"When it comes to battling, I'm really competitive"

"We're still goanna win"

"Good Luck with that"

Ash and Serena turn and walk away from each other. Froakie looked at Fennekin for a moment. He could tell she didn't want to do this. He picked up a small white flower and gave it to her.

"Good Luck" he whispered and he went to find Ash.

Fennekin was confused but understood in a way. A small note was engraved on the stem. It read:

Meet me tonight

Chapter 2

It was nightfall. Fennekin was inside the room with her trainer, Bonnie, and Dedenne. She continued to eye the white flower. Froakie had given it to her earlier with a note engraved on the stem. The sky was turning from sky blue to cobalt. Her trainer was writing on a sheet of paper. Serena was trying to make a battle plan. Ash was right, she didn't have much experience in battling but she needed to prove to Ash that she could and maybe impress him along the way. Serena flopped down on her bed dramatically, this was hopeless. All she could do now is get some sleep. The lights turned off and they fell asleep- except for Fennekin. She was still eyeing the Flower.

Ash was in the other room along with Clemont. Although it was quiet since Clemont was sleeping. Ash was wide awake preparing for the battle against Serena. In two days, the tournament was going to commence. Honestly, Ash didn't want to battle against Serena. This was going to put a dent in their friendship. The only reason he said no was that, Serena was going to slow him down. He knew it was wrong to reject her, but what else could he do. Froakie yawned. It was getting late and they needed sleep. "I'm going outside for a bit Ash" he told him. Ash nodded his head and fell asleep on his bed.

The door creaked open as Froakie hopped outside. Fennekin was slightly awake and she then remembered the note. Careful not to wake her trainer, Fennekin walked outside on the wooden patio at the front of the house. She stared at the night sky and the twinkling stars. It was very quiet and she was starting to wonder if he would show up. Someone lightly tapped on her shoulder and she turned around startled.

"Oh, it's just you" Fennekin sighed in relief.

"I see you found the note" Froakie said. "You don't really want to do this. I can tell"

"How?"

"Well, you don't really battle much and Serena and Ash barely fight"

"So, why did you want to see me?"

"Just wondering if you need help with training"

"You'll help me?"

"As long as you don't tell Ash. I'm not allowed to help the competition"

"Thanks. You're actually really nice"

"Don't call me that"

For about an hour, they practiced dodging, speed, and attacks. It was actually kind of fun. Although it was only the two of them, they enjoyed each other's company. Fennekin had really improved...A lot. It was around midnight when they snuck back inside. No one found out and they both slept in peace.

The next day, Serena was petting Fennekin on the patio while watching Ash train with Froakie. She kept thinking about the type disadvantage she had. Although she liked Ash, something about the way he rejected her made her a bit angry. She wanted him to think of her as something more. She also wanted him to know that she was capable of more than dressing up and baking. Clemont noticed Serena was down and sat down next to her.

"If you want, we could have a practice battle" Clemont offered.

"Sure, that would be great"

Serena looked down at Fennekin who was smiling at her.

Ash stared off at the distance and noticed Clemont talking to Serena-alone. Something about this caused a burning feeling. Ash didn't know this but he was a bit jealous. Just the thought of Serena being with someone else made him slightly annoyed. It didn't matter though since he had other things to focus on.

On the battle field, Serena was training along with Clemont.

"Fennekin, I choose you" Serena shouted nervously. The fox Pokémon jumped in front of her trainer.

Clemont pushed his glasses up.

"Chespin, C'mon out!"

The spiny nut Pokémon flexed its spikes on top of its head.

Ash looked over again and saw the battle commencing. He quickly sat on the patio and watched them. Froakie sat down beside him, looked over, and was surprised to see Fennekin.

"I'll let you have the first move" Clemont said.

Serena was not thinking straight at the moment. Fennekin looked up at her trainer waiting for a command. She then looked over at Froakie who was mouthing the words "Just battle". Fennekin took in a deep breath and used Flamethrower. Chespin dodged easily and used Pin-Missile. Fennekin looked at the green vines coming towards her and had a sudden flashback. When she was training with Froakie, he told her to use speed to evade the attack or try and counter. Fennekin quickly jumped from side to side, dodging all the attacks. Serena was amazed that her Pokémon could do that. Clemont on the other hand was astonished by this. Before he could figure out what was going on, Fennekin used scratch constantly on Chespin and finished it off with ember. She then trotted over to Serena. Clemont was surprised that he loss but was rather impressed with Fennekin. He returned Chespin to his Pokeball and congratulated Serena. Ash's eyes were wide open as he replayed the battle in his head. He looked over at Froakie.

"We have competition" Ash told him.

"Looks like we do"

Ash walked over to Serena.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but you're actually really good" Ash told her.

"Really? I-I mean, yeah I've been training for a while" Serena said trying not to blush.

"I think I'll look forward to our battle then, but don't think I'll go easy on you"

"We won't go easy on you too"

Ash walked away thinking about the battle. Could Serena actually beat him? Serena sat down next to Fennekin.

"I don't know how but thank you" Serena told her.

Serena walked with Fennekin back to the house. Ash actually said he was impressed. Before they went in, Fennekin noticed Froakie was sitting on the patio with his eyes closed. Serena quietly watched her walk up to him.

"Hi, ready for our battle tomorrow?" Fennekin asked.

Froakie opened his eyes and smiled.

"I'm always ready"

"I think we have a fair chance of winning"

"Well then, Good Luck" he said as he went in the house.

Serena had no idea what just happened but she didn't question. Fennekin jumped on to the bed to take a small nap when she noticed something. A white flower. A note was engraved in the stem like before. Then note said:

Congratulations on your battle! If you want to talk, meet me at the Oak tree behind the house in an hour.

Chapter 3

Ash was in his room, completely alone. His eyes were glued to the ceiling as he thought about Serena's earlier battle. How was that even possible? Maybe she was able to battle like she said. As he kept thinking about the battle, his thoughts drifted to Serena. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect smile….*SMACK* Ash slapped himself. "You're just confused" he said to himself. For some reason, his mind was thinking about Serena still but he ignored it. Soon, he had fallen asleep.

Fennekin walked to the back of the house quietly. Making sure she wasn't being followed, she slowly trotted over to the Oak tree. Serena was in the room. Clemont and Bonnie went to do some shopping and Ash was asleep. Although, their Pokémon were left outside. Fennekin waited silently under the tree. The bushy branches provided shade as the sun shone brightly in the sky. Clouds passed by forming different shapes and sizes. "Where are you" Fennekin mumbled. Before long, a small acorn hit her on the head. The branches in the trees rustled above her causing leaves to fall to the ground.

"Froakie, what are you doing?" Fennekin said in a hushed whisper.

"No one can know I'm helping you"

"Why not?"

"I'm going against you and I don't want everyone to think I'm…..nice"

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Just wondering how the battle went"

"It was great, thanks to you"

"I don't want to go against you but I don't have much of a choice"

"I know. Just a question and you don't have to answer, why did you help me in the first place?"

Froakie stared at her for a long time trying to come up with something.

"Well…you see…I-"

He got cut off as Pikachu came. Pikachu walked over to Fennekin and looked around.

"Do you know where Froakie is? Ash says it's time to train" Pikachu asked.

"I think I saw him ove-"

*CRASH* the branch snapped. Froakie fell on to the ground surprising Pikachu.

"What's going on?" Pikachu asked suspiciously.

"I'm climbing trees" Froakie told him.

"Really, because it looks like you're spying on the competition"

"Uhh…sure, let's go with that"

Pikachu and Froakie headed back to Ash leaving Fennekin at the tree. Pikachu suddenly stopped them.

"Alright, what's the real reason you were in the tree?"

"No reason"

"You're lying"

"Am not"

"C'mon, what are you not telling me?"

Froakie sighed to himself. Pikachu knew something was going on.

"If I tell you, then you can't tell Ash"

"…..fine"

"I-I was helping Fennekin with battling"

"YOU WERE HEL-"

Froakie slapped his hand over Pikachu's mouth.

"SHHH"

Slowly, he took his hand off Pikachu's mouth.

"I need to tell Ash"

"You promised you wouldn't"

"Errr….fine"

"Thanks"

"Wait, why were you helping her in the first place?"

"Because she doesn't have much experience and she's my friend"

Pikachu stared at him strangely.

"Are you sure that's it or is there something more?"

"Nothing more"

"You know that you're blushing right" Pikachu pointed out while laughing. "Do you like Fennekin?"

Froakie didn't say anything. He did like Fennekin but didn't want to admit it to Pikachu.

"Umm…no"

"Say whatever you want but I can tell"

"Fine, but don't tell anyone"

Pikachu smirked and the two of them ran off to find Ash.

Serena sat on the edge of her bed. How did Fennekin fight like that? Now they had a chance to win but now they needed a strategy to counter with Ash's. Her thoughts drifted back to when they were younger. He found her in the forest hurt and he rescued her to safety. After that she had a major crush on him. So why was she fighting? The truth was she wanted to fight with Ash not against him. If she could win him over in this battle, everything could change. She sighed to herself as she laid on the bed and closed her eyes. Tomorrow was the day…..