A ray from the glimmering morning sun crept through the curtains as Fletchlings and Pidgeys did there morning calls.
Perfectly content with pretending to be asleep, Serena turned away from the rays of sunlight and buried her face in a pillow. But her life-long partner would have none of that.
The pillow vanished from beneath her face and she flipped out of her bed. Her backside hit the wood floor with an audible thump.
"Ouch." She grumbled, not really feeling anything in her dazed state. "That wasn't very nice Lucario."
Standing there, clutching the ceased pillow, Lucario snorted a retort which only she can decipher as speech.
"I know you really want to come with me to the new school but…" Serena tried to find the right words as she corrected her hair and smoothed down her pajamas. "Maybe we should wait a bit before I take you along."
Lucario grumbled hotly and put a pawed foot into the floor, making the whole room jump.
"I know they have Pokémon battles there but it would be completely unfair if we ever battled." Serena sighed. "Also, I would really like it if everyone didn't envy us. You remember how it was back in Canalave."
Refusing to back down, Lucario growled out an argument.
Serena sat down on her disorganized bed and looked into Lucario's eyes. In a flash their aura's linked and all of her Pokémon's feeling could be felt.
She nodded and petted the stubborn Pokémon on the head. "Alright you," She said cheerfully. "You can come, but I won't promise we'll get into any battles. Okay?"
Lucario howled in excitement and Serena had to hush the Pokémon before the sleeping neighbors got disturbed by the thunderous noise. Lucario dashed to the other side of the room and came back with three Poké Balls.
"Oh no you don't, you are enough to handle as it is. I can't possibly bring the others."
Lucario was about to fire up another argument but Serena stopped that with a firmly raised palm.
She sighed. "Alright, I get it." She was hoping to avoid attention on her first day. Bringing all of her Pokémon almost puts that hope out of her mind.
Lucario gave her a toothy smile and put the Poké Balls on the nightstand. Serena changed into something a bit nicer than her usual day attire because she wanted to make a good first impression with the other students and not the other way around. She slipped on a light black dress with the skirt going down past the knees, a large white bow on the lower back which kept the garment tight around her waist, and a cute white collar that accented her petite neck.
Looking into a floor length mirror with glimmering blue-grey eyes, she admired the dress and reminded herself to thank her mom for getting it for her. She decided to brush her dark blonde hair in a way so that a little was on the front of both shoulders with the rest straightened in the back with nothing covering up her forehead.
"Well," She said turning to Lucario, who was patiently waiting to leave. "Do I look normal or what?"
Lucario gave her a roll of the eyes.
"Well excuse me for wanting to fit in for once." She huffed and turned back to the mirror. She did a quick twirl and liked how she looked. She nodded at herself confidently.
Scooping two of the Poké Balls into her white striped bag, she turned to Lucario with the third.
"Promise me you won't act out anything, okay?"
Lucario nodded as she sensed the Pokémon's excitement.
"Return," Lucario zipped into the Poké Ball and she slipped it into her bag.
Down in the kitchen, Grace, a veteran Poké racer and mother, looked up to see her darling child come downstairs.
"Stylish as always dear," Grace flashed a warm smile. "You're definitely going to catch a few eyes with that on."
Serena blushed a bit. "I'm not looking for attention, just acceptance." She muttered.
"There's nothing wrong with sticking out honey. If anything it'll make you even more unique."
The younger took a seat at the kitchen counter where her mother's Fletchling was happily sipping away at freshly squeezed nectar. "You say that now, but remember how it was with me and the other kids back in Hoenn?"
"Oh they were just jealous. Everyone can be like that when they are young." Grace waved away at Serena's worries.
The girl flattened her hands on the counter. "But that's exactly what I don't want. I want to fit in and know what it's like to be a normal kid for once."
Grace put down her cooking utensils and gave her daughter a reassuring look. "There nothing wrong with being yourself. Don't let anyone else make you feel differently."
Serena looked down and petted the Fletchling. "I know mom, but just for today, you know, I want to experience what it's like to not stick out."
"I guess there's nothing wrong with that." Grace commented and put a breakfast sandwich down in front of her fourteen year old daughter. "Just don't try too hard to be something you're not."
She silently nodded…
"I'm off!" Serena called from the front door as she pulled on her freshly polished black slippers. The shine on them was enough to catch the sun's rays.
"Have fun on your first day!" Grace called back from the kitchen. "Best wishes!"
There modest home in Viniville Town was a welcome change from the rocky shores of Canalave City. Viniville was also a modest town in itself, surrounded by forest to one side and a large lake to the other. It was so small in fact that any children going to school had to take a short walk to the next town over.
Sleeping in a small hut in front of her house was her mother's prized racing Rhyhorn. It greeted her with a warm grunt.
"I'm off Rhyhorn, wish me luck." She said and patted the Pokémon's rock-solid head.
Rhyhorn got excited and tried to give Serena a heavy hug by jumping back onto its hind legs.
"Wait, Rhyhorn! Not on my dress!" She put up her arms and kept all two hundred and fifty pounds of Rhyhorn at bay. The Pokémon just wouldn't listen. "No, get down you!"
From beyond the fence of the front yard a boy stood, looking at the girl he saw who was actually able to keep a full grown Rhyhorn off her. "Umm, excuse me?"
A chill ran down Serena's spine as she turned to see a boy of her age, wearing a blue jack, brown baggy pants and a shoulder bag, starring at her with a slanted head.
"Do you need some help?" The boy asked.
Red shot into her cheeks and she immediately threw Rhyhorn off her. The Pokémon landed and rolled off its back then prepared to try to give her another hug but a sharp stare from her told it to do otherwise.
"Nope, everything is fine. Just perfectly fine." She said with a forced smile as she quickly patted down her dress. "You know how Rhyhorn's can get sometimes."
"Actually I don't." He responded. "That's the first one I've ever seen."
"Oh… okay." Words tend to escape when suddenly meeting anyone of her peer group. "So umm… you are who exactly?"
"My names Calem," He said with a chuckle. "You know, your next-door neighbor."
A lightning bolt struck her. How could she have forgotten her mother mentioning the house next door had a boy of her age living there and that he and she would be going to the same school?
"Oh, yeah, that's right." She said scratching the back of her head. "You're my neighbor, right…"
Calem waited for Serena to come out from the yard and they proceeded down the old bricked road towards Aquacorde Town.
"You know, you're pretty strong." Calem said out of nowhere.
Serena jumped at the sudden question. "What?" She said nervously, hoping he didn't think she was weird already.
He shrugged and folded his arms behind his head of neatly combed dark grey hair. "I was just wondering how heavy that Rhyhorn must be considering it's a rock-type."
"Rock and ground-type actually," Serena corrected him without thinking. "But-but yeah, he is pretty heavy and… stuff…"
"That leaves me thinking you must do some intense training with your Pokémon." Calem said.
"Rhyhorn is my mom's Pokémon." Serena said. "He's an old racing Pokémon from back when my mom competed."
"Your mom was a Poké Racer? How cool," He then looked at her inquisitively. "What about your Pokémon?"
Another lightning bolt went through her. "My what?"
He grinned. "You're Pokémon. You must have at least one. I bet you the whole neighborhood must've heard the howling coming from your house earlier.
And there went a third lightning bolt. Not five minutes out of the house and Lucario was already getting her in deep mud.
"Oh… everyone actually heard that…"
So much red went into her face as she looked at the ground that Calem was expecting steam to come out of the strange girl's ears any second. But there was certainly nothing wrong with being different.
"Yup, and I'm curious as to what Pokémon it is. It sounded powerful." Calem said.
Face still red Serena said. "Umm, well it's a…"
Lucarios are an incredibly rare and powerful species of Pokémon. If rumor got out that she had one, every kid in the school would ask her to battle. She couldn't handle that, not on the first day of a fresh start.
Calem could see her nervousness and smiled. "On second thought, don't tell me. I want to be surprised when we have our first battle together."
"Us? Battle?" Serena looked at him. "I'm not…"
"It can be just the two of us, no one else watching, what do ya say?" He pressed on.
She stared at the ground for a long while and Calem didn't bother her further. They just walked in silence.
When they came up to Aquacorde High, their school, Serena finally said. "I'll think about it."
Calem turned to her with a warm smile. "As long as you consider it, I'm happy." He walked off towards the school. "We can meet up during lunch break in the courtyard okay?" He said waving behind him.
"Umm, yeah… sure…" She barely waved back. Not entirely sure if her first day was blown or not. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a battle with him. No one else would see. It would be just the two of them… alone… together…
She shook her head to get the red out and proceeded to her new homeroom class…
The class was nearly full when she slid the door open and stepped in. Everyone was chattering amongst their circles of friends and paid little attention to her. It was a good start.
"Hey Serena, over here!" A voice called out to her from across the room. Sitting in a desk next to a large open window was Calem, of all people, waving at her.
Serena gulped as Calem's friends all turned to look at her.
"Hey Calem who's she?" An energetic girl said not so subtly. "Is she your new girlfriend~"
"Don't tease Shauna. She's just my new neighbor." Calem said coolly, deflecting Shauna's habit of teasing others.
Serena approached the group of four slowly. "Hi," She greeted, not so confidently.
"Looks like we'll be in the same homeroom class for the remainder of the year," Calem looked at his friends. "Everyone, this is Serena, my neighbor. Serena these are–"
"Hold it!" Shauna blurted out. "I'm the one who does all the introductions here!"
Calem sunk down into his seat, covering his ears. "If you talked any louder people might think you're a Loudred."
"If I could be a Pokémon, I would but that's not the point here." She put one foot on the seat of an empty desk and stuck a thumb to her chest. "As you may already know, I'm Shauna." She said to Serena. "By the way, I love your dress! It's so cute! Not as cute as my Lil' Chespin that is,"
She then pointed to another boy in the group. He was tall and had a wide girth with short legs and long arms. "This crazy dance machine over here is Tierno. He's an expert when it comes to making his Pokémon move."
The big guy scratched the back of his head. "I can't deny it. I love to dance with my Pokémon! Nice to meet cha'."
Shauna turned and grabbed the last of Calem's friends and made him face Serena directly. "And this lil' one is Trevor. He's so smart that he's going to be graduating with us all even though he only just turned twelve."
"I'm not little. I just haven't grown a whole lot yet." Trevor grumbled under Shauna's hold. He was defiantly the shortest of the group with bright red hair and glasses. On his desk, where Shauna had grabbed him from, were stacks of textbooks all on the subject of Pokémon types and Pokémon battles.
"Umm, nice to meet you too," Trevor said as he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.
"It's very nice to meet all of you." Serena said, feeling a bit better now that she knew their names.
She took up the empty desk right behind Shauna's and directly across from Calem's with Trevor and Tierno sitting right behind them.
Shauna plopped down into her seat and immediately spun around to face Serena.
"So," She quipped. "What kind of Pokémon do you have?"
"Umm…" Serena began nervously, words evading her yet again.
"Come on~," Shauna quipped again. "You've got to have some Pokémon. Are they strong? Oh, are they fast? No wait, wait, are they supper supper cute?!"
Calem spoke up. "Easy Shauna, she'll tell you if she wants to."
Shauna turned to Calem, starred, than snapped back to Shauna. "Oh I see! You two must be secretly training together or something." She leaned towards the other. "You two will make such a cute couple~"
Serena was wondering if she had just been hit by a Horn Drill or she was just embarrassed at the accusations. The difference was null in her mind.
"There you go again Shauna." Calem said, still calm as ever. "If she wants to show us her Pokémon, she will." He turned to the aforementioned. "Right?"
"Right," Serena said, mentally thanking Calem for being an understanding person.
"Okaaaaay," Shauna said in a long, defeated tone. She then mentioned to Serena, "If I were you I'd be careful when battling our Calem. He's the school's champ ya know."
"Champ?" Serena looked at Calem and back.
"Shauna…" Calem groaned.
Shauna shrugged. "What? You are the undefeated, undisputed, undeniably best Pokémon battler among us."
"It's true." Tierno spoke up from behind.
"His win-loss ratio is off the charts." Trevor piped up too.
"That good huh?" Serena commented and turned to Calem.
He shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal."
"It is to some of us real trainers." Someone said from behind. The group turned to see a boy in an all-white uniform stand over them with a long stare. His tied back hair was a silky white and he had piercing black eyes.
"Gex," Calem muttered with a stare of his own.
"Calem," The stranger responded in kind.
The boy named Gex cast a long glare at Serena who, to Calem's slight surprise, glared right back.
They stood there for a long while before Gex finally said, "And you are?"
"A new student here," Serena deliberately didn't give out her name.
Gex folded his arms. "You strong?"
Serena raised a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"If you're not strong than you shouldn't be talking to me. That's what it means." Gex said harshly.
Calem stood up and intercepted his gaze on Serena. "If this is about earlier, the answer is still no."
Gex brow furrowed even further than it already was. "Why won't you battle me? I know you're not weak and not a coward. You've proven that in our last battle. So why, I ask. Why won't you battle me?"
Every student in the room stopped their conversation and looked at the two. The air was thick with tensions.
"Because," Calem responded. "I don't like the way you battle."
Gex shook his. "How one achieves victory is up to the individual." He clenched his fist. "Who gave you the right to pass judgment on others?" The argument was heating up by the second.
"You push your Pokémon to the brink too much. I saw that the last time we battled."
Gex retorted. "And I nearly won that match too. Given another opportunity, I'd crush you and your team."
"Say what you want about me. I'm not having another battle with you. End of discussion." Calem said forcefully.
Gex turned to leave. "You cannot deny this forever Calem. Soon or later, we will have are battle." Gex left the room and everyone went back to talking amongst their friends, only this time they were talking about the rivalry between Calem and Gex.
Shauna turned to Serena. "I bet you're just dying to know what's with Gex."
Serena shrugged. "Maybe a little,"
"The rumor is he attended all the top trainer academies in the region and got kicked out of all of them because he battled too roughly. But don't let his arrogant attitude fool you, he's a wickedly powerful trainer whose been trying to beat Calem since the first day he got here."
"You'd be best off avoiding him." Calem sat back down in his seat and folded his arms. "I'd hate to see you get hurt."
I'm not the one who will be hurt… Serena thought seriously.
The teacher entered the room, Mr. Furo was his name according to Shauna, and had everyone sit down. He was middle aged with rusty brown hair, black glasses and wore a lab coat.
"Alrighty class, in a few months you all be graduating from our fine little school. Some of you will start journeys of your own and others will seek further education in a specific field of study, but before you can do any of that you'll need to pass these exams coming up."
Mostly everyone in the class groaned in unison.
"Hey, I want none of that," He said waving away their complaints. "These are important, as some of you may understand, so I want all of you to do your best. And don't forget, there's the Battle Field Trip for those who pass all of their exams."
He looked down his clipboard and cocked an eyebrow. "Well now, this is a treat." He faced the class with a grin. "Class, we have a new student amongst us~, oh how I love new students."
All eyes were suddenly on Serena, and all feeling in her face went out the window next to her.
"Come on up S-s-ser-…." Mr. Furo adjusted his glasses and looked at his clipboard. "Serena Grace Kigali, did I say it right?"
"Y-yeah…" And there went the fourth blasted lightning bolt. Did the teacher really need to say her full name in front of everyone? She can almost kiss this perfect day good bye now. Hopefully, just hopefully, no one paid any attention to news outside of Kalos Region.
She walked up to the front of the class slowly. "My name is Serena… nice to meet all of you…" She gave them a slight curtsy. A lot of the boys were gazing at her and a lot of the girls were glaring at her.
"Tell us about yourself Serena. Come now, don't be shy." Mr. Furo plopped down onto his rolling chair and propped his feet up on his desk like a true professional teacher.
"I was, um, born in Kento and raised in Hoenn. Now I'm here to finish school and hopefully start off on a journey." Telling everyone where she was from could do any harm right?
In the back of the class Trevor put his thumb and knuckle to his chin. "Her name is Serena Kigali and she was raised in Hoenn…" He muttered to himself.
"You say something Trev?" Tierno whispered to him.
"Hmm, I think I might know Serena from somewhere." Trevor replied.
Shauna turned around in her seat to join the conversation. "Wait, is she famous or something?"
Trevor hunched his back and thought. "I don't know why but there's just something about that name that reminds me of something. I'll have to do some research."
"Hey, let us know how what you find." Shauna said.
"You guys aren't serious are you?" The three of them turned to Calem. "If she has something to say, she'll say it."
"Come on Calem, you saw it too. How she stood up to Gex and everything. She's more than she appears to be." Shauna retorted.
Calem folded his arms and looked out the window. He had to admit it, he was very curious about his new neighbor.
"I'll see what I can research later." Trevor nodded…
The sun was as radiant as it was in the morning. During the lunch break all the students gathered in the courtyard to eat, chat, and most notably battle.
Serena found Calem and Tierno sitting on a bench set to the side.
"Hey Calem, Tierno, where's Shauna and Trevor." Serena asked as she sat down next to Calem.
"Trevor is in the library doing some research. As for Shauna…" He pointed ahead of them. "She's over there."
Where Calem was pointing was a battle field drawn into the ground with Shauna standing on one end and Gex standing at the other.
"What is she doing?" Serena asked with alarm.
Calem folded his arms. "Something incredibly foolish,"
"We tried stopping her," Tierno said from other side of the bench. "But she's never the one to listen."
"So she's battling Gex. Why?" Serena had to ask.
Calem sighed heavily. "Payback, for how he treated you earlier. Shauna may tease a lot but she's hard headed when it comes to standing up for her friends. That stubbornness is going to get her Pokémon hurt, badly."
Serena put on a stern look. "Then we'll stop the battle."
"We can't, Shauna would be hurt by us." Calem said.
"But there's no judge." Serena shot back. "If what you guys have said about Gex is true, there's nothing to stop him from going all out on Shauna."
"I know that." Calem put his fist into the bench. "That's why I'll be the one to jump in if Gex crosses the line." There was a cool yet tempered anger in Calem that Serena could sense. He really meant every word…
Shauna whipped out her Poké Ball and pointed it at Gex. "Get ready! I'm not going to hold back one bit!"
Gex took a Poké Ball from his pocket and held it. "Then I shall respond in kind." He had a cold, steely attitude that only added to the air of tensions. Most of the students around the courtyard were watching.
Shauna threw at her Poké Ball, "Time to shine, Chespin!" The small Grass-type Pokémon came out with a cute yet serious battle cry.
Gex scoffed at the thing. "Big mistake. Devastate them, Onix!" Gex's Poké Ball unleashed the massive Rock and Ground Type Pokémon. Its roar made many back away from the field.
Tierno spoke up. "Chespin's got a major type advantage over Onix. So this match could go in Shauna's favor."
Calem shook his head. "I know how he uses that Onix." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is Shauna thinking?" He muttered.
Shauna grinned confidently. "We'll move first, Chespin use Pin Missile!"
Chespin angled the quills on its head at Onix and sent hundreds of little missiles sailing towards Onix.
"Use your tail to block it!" Gex ordered. Onix responded with its tail taking all the hits and not even affecting it. "Now counter with Iron Tail!"
Onix's tail shot forward with a powerful glow.
"Dodge it!" Shauna called. Chespin, small as it is, was a hard target to hit. It jumped and rolled away from the crushing blow that left a crater in the ground. "Give them your Stun Spore!"
Chespin closed its eyes as if to sneeze and cloud of yellow pollen came pouring out at Onix.
"Onix, use Sandstorm to blow it away!"
The Onix spun rapidly on its coiled tail which knocked up a massive sandstorm that engulfed the whole field.
Shauna cried out as the storm engulfed her too.
"Oh no!" Calem alarmed.
"Onix, use Double-edge!" Chespin never saw it coming. Onix blindsided it with a devastating move that threw the Pokémon halfway across the field. The Sandstorm subsided and Chespin was down.
Gex shook his head. "Your Pokémon couldn't even take one hit. Chespin's strength perfectly reflects its trainer's skill."
Shauna bared her teeth at him. "We're not down yet. Chespin, surprise them with Seed Bomb!"
Chespin flipped up and blasted Onix with a powerful grass type move. The ball of green energy hit Onix directly in the face.
Shauna grinned. "Just when you think he's down, Chespin always get right back up!"
Chespin gave off a growl too. It was hurt, but still able to fight.
The smoke cleared and Gex gave Shauna the most shocking look she's ever seen. "My Onix has something to say about that." He said through clenched teeth.
Onix looked like the Seed Bomb did little damage and it roared viciously at Chespin. For the first time in the battle, a sense of fear came from Chespin. Serena saw that the battle was about to end very badly.
"Dragon Breath Onix!" Gex yelled.
Chespin had no time to dodge. The poor Pokémon took a direct hit from the fire like stream of energy from Onix's maw.
"Chespin!" Shauna cried out.
The tiny grass Pokémon hit the ground hard.
"Are you okay Chespin?" Shauna called out to it.
Chespin began to push itself up, a defiant look on its bruised face. But then–
"Onix, put it down with Iron Tail!"
Chespin took the full brunt of the attack and was cratered into the ground.
Everyone around gave off gasp as Shauna began to tear up.
"Maybe we'll give it one more hit. Just to make sure it stays down." Gex said with a malevolent grin and raised an arm. "Onix–"
Calem snapped. "That's it!" He reached for a Poké Ball on his belt but was stopped when he saw Serena charge the battlefield with a Poké Ball of her own in hand.
"–use Iron Tail!"
Onix's tail came crashing down. Dust covered the field yet again. Everyone was silent and the long seconds dragged on.
Whispers of surprise immediately arose when the dust finally cleared.
"What?!" Gex was the first to say what everyone else had on their minds.
Beneath Onix's tail, and standing in front of Chespin, were Serena and her Lucario. Lucario held up Onix's tail with one pawed hand while Serena had shielded Chespin with her own body.
Serena shot Gex and glare that made even his Onix flinch.
"Lucario, Bullet Punch."
One, impossibly fast, punch was all that was needed for Lucario to send Onix falling backwards. The hulky Pokémon had been thrown off balance and landed next to Gex. The shocked trainer had to throw up his arms to block the dust kicked up by Onix as it slid across the ground.
"C-C-Chespin!" Shauna ran over to Serena who was holding the battered Pokémon in her arms.
Serena gave Chespin back to its trainer. "It needs a Pokémon Center. Some of its injuries are serious."
Shauna cradled her Pokémon. "Thank you Serena." Tears were imminent. "B-but how did you–"
Serena sighed. "It's nothing. Just run to the Pokémon Center, and fast."
"Right!" Shauna ran into the school which had its own Pokémon Center built in. On the way she passed Trevor who immediately ran over to Calem.
"Calem! You're not going to believe this!" He skidded to a stop at Calem's side and panted heavily.
"Not now." Calem said, he still had his Poké Ball in hand but did nothing with it. He was still getting over how fast both Serena and Lucario had moved. He had blinked for only a second when the Iron Tail had hit. If Lucario hadn't stopped it, Serena would've been crushed underneath. But somehow, the Lucario did it with one hand!
"Yes now!" Trevor shot back. "Serena is no ordinary girl! She's a champion!"
"Champion?" Calem finally looked at Trevor.
Trevor nodded his head. "While in Hoenn she won the Ruby Cup Tournament three years running starting at the age of nine! She's never been officially beaten in battle at any time! All the info was on the Global Net. Almost all the trainers in Hoenn know her by a nickname!"
"No way…" Calem said breathlessly.
Meanwhile, Gex and Serena locked gazes.
"I'm not going to begin on how you broke the rules here." Gex began. "I'm not even going to complain on how you interfered in our match." He balled his fist up tight. "What I want to know is… how strong are you?"
Serena stood there boldly, no longer affected by all the stares she was receiving. Her mom was right, normal just wasn't her. She was something else entirely.
"I'm stronger than you'll ever become." She said, her dress was covered in a thin lair of dust and some parts of it were ripped by loose rocks from the last Iron Tail.
Gex finally snapped. "Just who are you!"
"My friends know me as Serena, but any trainer who crosses my path knows me by one name only."
Trevor gulped. "She is…"
Serena stuck a thumb to her chest. "I am–"
"The Iron Maiden!" Serena declared to Gex just as Trevor said it to Calem.
Gex scoffed. "I don't care what people call you! The only thing I care about is being the strongest! And you're in my way of that! ONIX!"
Onix, despite being seriously injured, got up with a spur of rage. It roared loudly and beckoned to its master's call.
"Double-edge!"
Onix barreled towards Lucario, who stood not even five feet away from Serena.
"Serena, get out of there!" Calem called out.
It wasn't until the last possible second, as Onix was mere feet from Lucario, did Serena give an order.
"Extreme Speed,"
The Double-edge hit nothing but dirt. Lucario reappeared a distance away, holding Serena around the waist.
"That how she did it," Calem breathed a sigh of relief. "Her Pokémon used Extreme Speed to intercept Onix's Iron Tail from before."
"So fast! Wickedly fast!" Tierno exclaimed.
Trevor nervously adjusted his glasses. "The reason why they call her the Iron Maiden is because of her Steel-type Pokémon. They're said to be unlike any other."
Gex glared in shock. "No matter how fast you are, you can't dodge this! Dragon Breath!"
Orange and purple flames came rushing at them. "We won't have to." Serena responded. "Lucario use Light Screen."
A mirror-like wall formed before Lucario's raised hands. The Dragon Breath broke upon it like ocean waves on rocks. The ground around them was scorched but Serena and Lucario remained unharmed.
"This is just not possible. My Onix is the strongest!" Gex yelled.
"Onix is strong. You're just too weak to use its full potential." Serena said with a cold hard tone that reflected the hardness of her Pokémon's steel.
"I'm… weak…" Gex's anger slipped away and was overcome by shock. "I-I-I can't be weak. No, I'm not!"
Serena raised a hand. "Lucario, show him what we mean."
Lucario howled with an earsplitting level of sound. The ground shook as a blue aura built up around it, making it look as if it were surrounded in a spiral of glimmering blue flames.
Serena is fully in sync with Lucario's aura and could feel it build up around him. There bound was one that has been forged over a lifetime of living together and working hard to became the absolute strongest. Their bond was something that was stronger steel or anything else. Every time they had ever battled, it was always together, as one.
"Now," Serena put both her hands forwards, palms flat. "Aura Sphere!"
Lucario mimicked Serena's jester and a pulsing ball of energy formed in front of it. The ball expanded till it was the size of Lucario itself before it released it. Onix never had a chance of avoiding it, the Aura Sphere never missed.
The force of Aura Sphere alone was enough to carry Onix over Gex's head and land on the far end of the courtyard, leaving a long trail where Oni's tail had been dragged through the dirt. The Pokémon showed no signs of movement. It was done fighting, just like Serena.
"Gex." Serena commanded the other trainer's attention.
Gex looked at her with bulging eyes and a wipe open jaw.
"If you're not strong then you have no business talking to me or my friends." She said, sending his own words right back at him. "If you ever hurt my friends again…" She threw a piercing look at him that sent a paralyzing pulse through his body. "I'll destroy you!"
So far this chapter is really just a test to see if I'll have enough support to get this story off the ground. I have a plethora of ideas ready to write out and everything. I am boring a few plot devices from the games, mainly the Mega Evolution factor, but other than that a few borrowed names most of this will turn out to be very original.
Fair warning: You'll find subjects in later chapters that Nintendo & Game Freak would have never ventured into. E.I.: Life/Death, Family Struggles, Intense Pokémon Battles and some End of the World plot (maybe).
If you think this is worth continuing, let me know. If you want to tell me how terrible of a job I'm doing and that I should go die, feel free to let me know and I'll probably just ignore you. If you're a grammar Nazis, I've got spellcheck. If you want internet cookies, click review ;)
Till next time fellow trainers,
Xander867