Crossroads - Between a Mermaid and a Princess Chapter 2: Rock, fashion and tag battles, a pokémon fanfic

Crossroads – Between a Mermaid and a Princess.

By Fox McCloude.

Part 2: Rock, fashion and tag battles.

Third day aboard the cruiser…

With so many activities on the ship, the trio wouldn't have a single minute of boredom. During the whole second day, Misty and Serena took their chances to do some shopping, specifically for new clothes, since during the third night there would be another important event to have a lot of fun together. The concert of Roxie and her band was scheduled for 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Meanwhile, Ash took part in some exhibition battles, to keep his Pokémon in shape, and also win some prizes for himself and his two female friends. Sometimes they would stay to watch, and Misty in particular went all gaga whenever she could see Greninja in action.

As Roxie's music resounded on the stage, the crow danced and screamed, and not just the humans; many Pokémon had joined in the fun. Serena's in particular, being natural performers as much as their owner, were enjoying themselves with the rock. Meanwhile, the human trio were in the middle of a very unusual dance amongst each other.

Ash had a complete makeover that day, since after Serena and Misty were done with him, his hair was trimmed (fortunately, they weren't as cruel so as to leave it all shaved). And despite his complaints, the two girls insisted he looked really good that way. The three had dressed up nicely for the occasion, and were hitting the dancing floor, with Ash serving as a Ping-Pong ball between the girls, who grabbed him, spun him around for a bit, and then pushed him to the other to continue dancing, repeating the pattern over and over. Even so, despite all the twirling, spinning and being pushed around back and forth, he managed to put up with both of them for no less than twenty different songs, quite a feat. After the penultimate song, the rocker girl stood on the edge of the stage, microphone in hand to make an announcement.

"Thank you, thank you all! Now, before our last song for tonight, I have a very important announcement to make. Which amongst you hail from the Kalos region?" A fair amount screamed back and raised their hands, Serena included. "Good, well, I'm pleased to announce that, very soon, our World Tour will be stopping by over there very soon. Starting on Lumiose City, Kalos, here we go!"

Once again, the crowd screamed in excitement. It was no surprise: Roxie and her band were the musical sensation of the moment.

"So to wrap up this performance, our last song for tonight will be the first of our new album. Dedicated to all Kalosians out there, LET'Z GO!"

That was the cue for Roxie's musicians to start playing. The final rocking had begun (insert XY&Z Opening instrumental version):

*HEY! Just like the morning sun that's shinning over Kalos!

(Our hearts are burning hotter than a FLAME CHARGE!)

YEAH! We're all prepared and so you'll never see us run from chaos!

(Breaking the mold, we'll let our passion DISCHARGE!)

Our overlapping feelings suddenly start to synchronize.

And they'll become a bond that will never disappear!

And I know that I will never shed a tear…

As long as you're with me.

(Oh, wow, wow, yeah, yeah.)

...

So LET'Z GO! To battles that are burning fiercely!

CARRY ON! In a crisis I will take my chance!

And LET'Z DO! A complete REVERSAL! Our determination is what makes us strong!

Yeah, our determination is what makes us strong!

...

HEY! There are so many obstacles getting in our way!

(We'll always tear them down, they'll never stop us!)

LOOK! The Victory Star is right ahead, so take a sprint and grab it!

(Our STEADFAST hearts lead us to our glory now!)

While time is passing, ticking faster than ever before.

Our hearts are still connected in unfading unity.

I'll get up the strength to get back up again …

As long as you're with me.

...

So LET'Z GO! Strong rivals will be waiting up ahead!

AND WE'LL SHOW! We can beat them with a One-Hit-KO!

SO I'LL KNOW! There's no way I can lose! 'Cause my heart and dreams are always here with me!

And I know you'll always be with me… YEAH!

*Guitar solo.*

Then I'll GO! To battle facing victory or loss!

So LET'Z GO! Yeah, I know you will be there for me!

LET'Z just GO! Friends by each other's side... show me that we will never be alone!

...

So LET'Z GO! To battles that are burning fiercely!

CARRY ON! In a crisis I will take my chance!

And LET'Z DO! A complete REVERSAL! Our determination is what makes us strong!

Now LET'Z GO! We will fulfill this dream with all we have!

So LET'Z GO! And we'll prove them we can beat them all!

LET'Z GO! Keep fighting with your heart, and your future for certain will be bright!

When you see yourself transcend to unknown heights!

YE-AAAAH!

...

SO! LET'Z turn it up now!

(Shock them like a THUNDERBOLT!)

YEAH! Keep standing tall and if we're fighting, stronger than a Hyper Beam, we will be surpassing our dreams!*

And with the last note of the song and one final applause, Roxie and her band said goodbye to their fans and left the stage. The concert was over, so Ash, Misty and Serena walked back to their cabin, exhausted and their legs aching of so much dancing, but it had been well worth it. As usual, the two girls were firmly clinging to the boy's arms, as if they wanted everyone to see them.

"Wow, Ash. Never thought you could be quite the dancer," Misty commented. "Where did you learn those moves?"

"Right here and now," Ash deadpanned. "You two were the ones who taught me."

"Aw, come on." Misty frowned at his response. "Really, Ash. Leaving aside the fact that we were throwing you back and forth, I don't remember having ever seen you dancing like that."

"That's true, Ash. You're a great dancer." Serena nodded. She took her chance to enjoy her time as much as possible, recalling that formal ball where she was able to dance with just about anyone but Ash himself, since the song ended when she got to him.

"OK, if you really need to know." The boy smirked a bit. "Mom has been organizing many parties at her restaurant. Sometimes it was boring to stay over there doing nothing, so I decided to try it once and… I guess I just got carried away and enjoyed it."

"Pikachu." The electric rodent nodded in agreement, as if he wanted to laugh at him for it.

"What? If memory serves you were quick to join in too, weren't you?" The trainer half-glared at his partner.

Indeed, Pikachu too had his own moment of glory at the dancing floor. Another practical use of teaching him the Counter-Shield was the fact that it was also pretty handy as an impressive breakdance step. Serena made a mental note of practicing it with Pancham for her future showcases: she already had some ideas for interesting combinations.

Once back at the cabin, Ash dropped himself on the bed, pulling off his boots immediately. He was grateful at having such endurance, or else he wouldn't have been able to keep up with both girls at once. The digital clock on the wall marked 11:17 pm, so the boy didn't bother to get into his sleeping clothes. He just snatched a pillow and clinging to it he fell asleep almost immediately. Serena and Misty, on the other hand, still had some energy for some girl chat before going to sleep.

"So? What's the plan for tomorrow?" the Performer-Coordinator asked.

Misty picked up the pamphlet with the cruiser's calendar. "There are no special events tomorrow. Ash will most likely get into some battles to win some prizes. Maybe I'll do that too."

"I'm sure you'll do great." Serena took the pamphlet for a bit. "Let's see… a Pokémon Cosplay Contest? Category Pikachu?"

"Pika?" Pikachu took a look as well, and then noticed Serena staring at him.

"What do you say? You want to try it?" The girl smiled at him.

The rodent happily nodded in affirmation. "Pikachu."

"That's great. I'll make sure to dress you up nicely, I'll just need to ask for Ash's permission in the morning."

"Why bother?" Misty intervened. "If Pikachu wants in, he won't refuse. The hard thing will be convincing him to let me borrow Greninja for a bit."

"Why are you so bent on using him in a battle?" Serena asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I love Water Pokémon, I'd die to have one of them for myself. He's so strong, so speedy, so… amazing!" The redhead's eyes sparkled in a dreamy state.

"I can't argue with that." Serena admitted. "Ash trained his Greninja since he was a Froakie. If you want one of your own, the best place would be Kalos, with Professor Sycamore. Maybe I could call in a favor and ask him to give you one."

"Really?" Misty's eyes sparkled again with excitement.

"I'm sure he'll be fine with it." Serena smiled. "Yet I can't guarantee it would have the same ability as Ash's. For all we know, one of those would be one in a million."

"I don't care, the regular one isn't too bad, either." The redhead shrugged. "Anyway… I'd love if Ash would let me command him in battle just once."

After seeing him in action during the battle against Angie, Misty had been pestering Ash nonstop, begging him to let her use Greninja. Maybe so far he had refused because Misty was rather… pushy with it, but Serena, who knew a kinder and sweeter way, could make him relent easily. If he didn't want to play favorites, he'd have both of them to borrow one of his Pokémon. Serena promised that she would help Misty with it. It was weird, they were supposed to be competing against each other, yet this felt more like a… cooperative game, so to speak. They didn't seem to be trying to outdo or one-up each other, and even in the best of cases they gave the other a hand when she needed it.

In many ways, more than rivals in love for Ash, they almost seemed like the best of friends, even though they had known each other for just a few months.

The next day, in the afternoon…

The plan didn't quite work out as they expected. Serena had taken the electric rodent for the cosplay contest, trying to decide which would be the best costume style. Ash agreed to let her borrow Pikachu, but when Misty wanted him to let her do the same with Greninja, the boy unexplainably refused. When she accused him of "playing favorites", Ash argued "Greninja can only use his full power with me", which was why he wouldn't let her use him. Not that the ninja frog had a problem with being commanded by a friend of his trainer's (in fact, he seemed to have taken a liking to Misty) but Ash refused to budge.

So meanwhile, Misty had to make do in one of the battle arenas. Her opponent was using an Electivire, while she fought with her Gyarados. She was trying to vent her rage on them for now.

"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!" she commanded.

The marine serpent gave out a mighty roar and fired off a spiraling water stream, hitting his opponent with sheer force. Electivire tried to retaliate with a Thunderbolt, but Misty then called out for a Flamethrower, roasting it before it could launch its attack.

"Electivire is unable to battle, Gyarados is the winner!" declared the guy who acted as referee. Misty's opponent returned his fallen Pokémon in disbelief, while she congratulated Gyarados.

Meanwhile, Ash was on one of the upper decks, having a little sparring session between his two flyers: Pidgeot and Charizard. The lizard shot out fire blasts the bird tried to deflect using Air Slash attacks. They both went flew up, down and turning around almost like two fighter planes in a dogfight, as they tried to get on the other's blind spot before attacking. Charizard's attacks had higher firepower and could tank the damage, but Pidgeot was a faster flyer and outmaneuvered him, so he managed to land more hits. In short, they were quite evenly matched in terms of general power.

"Alright you two, that's enough!" Ash called them. The bird and the fire lizard ceased their rounds of attack and flew down, back to their trainer's side. "Excellent work, both of you are improving greatly."

"I see that even on vacation you never stop training, do you?" Misty's voice spoke up from behind him. The redhead was back.

"I can't let my Pokémon get rusty, I need to keep them in shape," Ash said.

"Of course. Any particular reason you got those two sparring against each other?"

"Oh, nothing special," Ash replied. "Just some training for a little rematch. Pidgeot and I took part in a Sky Battles Tournament last year."

"Sky Battles?" Misty had heard Serena mention those once. She said they were quite popular in mountain zones with strong wind currents in Kalos.

"You should try them sometime, you have no idea how exciting it is," Ash said. "Just think about it: to experience by yourself what feels to fly like that, with your own wings. It's an awesome feeling."

"That does sound exciting alright," Misty admitted. "Although, you mentioned a rematch, did you…?"

"Ah yeah, Pidgeot and I were this close of winning, but we lost to a Salamence in the final round," Ash explained. "We want to go back this year to try again."

Misty couldn't help but giggle; wherever he was, or no matter how much time had passed, the years had done nothing to subside Ash's competitive streak. Even though he had learn to take his defeats in stride and with a lot more maturity than at the beginning of his journey, the truth was that, deep down, Ash still hated losing. If he didn't win on the first try, he'll make sure to put a bigger effort to redeem himself in an eventual rematch. That didn't mean he was a sore loser, of course: another of the things Misty loved of him was that determination and drive to push himself, to be better every day.

"Speaking of unconventional battles, did you know they're trying to promote Underwater Battles in Kanto?" The redhead had just remembered. "I was thinking of entering those too."

"Really?" Ash asked.

"We could, maybe… take part in them sometime, together?" Misty suggested. "And it would be a great way to see what your Greninja is capable of. I mean, if he can move like that on land, just think about what he can do in his element?"

"Misty… you're still begging me to let you use him?"

"Can you blame me for trying?" The redhead pouted. "Really, Ash, you let Serena borrow Pikachu, but you won't let me use Greninja?"

"I've told you, Greninja can only use his full potential with me," Ash replied. "He's gonna have a power limiter with you."

"Aw, Ash, please don't be so mean," Misty insisted, trying to give him a tender face.

For a split second, Ash thought he had seen a little of Serena in Misty's face, and deep down he thought she actually looked cute. That was a side of Misty she wouldn't often show when they were kids, but when she did, she did. Nevertheless, he wouldn't budge that easily.

"Misty, I told you. Greninja needs me in order to use his full power."

"You still haven't explained me that very well," the redhead pointed out. "Care to be a little more specific on that part?"

"Explaining wouldn't do, you'd have to see with your own eyes." That was Serena's voice speaking. "Hey, guys!"

The Kalosian performer-coordinator had returned, smiling cheerfully. Pikachu walked alongside her, still wearing the costume she had put together for him to use in the cosplay contest. It was a dark blue tuxedo, with a red bow tie, a white domino mask, a matching top hat and even a cape.

"Pikapi. Pikachu." The mouse looked very happy himself, as he proudly showed off to his trainer the golden badge with a blue ribbon on his side. It read: *First place; Pikachu Cosplay Contest; Category: Elegance.*

"Well, seems like you guys did well on the contest," Misty said. "Congrats."

Serena smiled. "Thanks. And that's not all, check out the prize we won."

The girl showed them a small, yellow sphere, which irradiated a strange energy, seemingly electric in nature. It was tied to a strap to be worn around the neck. Ash looked at it a little curious, unsure as to what it could be.

"Um… and this is exactly?" the boy asked.

"Don't you know?" Serena seemed surprised. "At the contest they said this was a Lightball. It's supposed to emit an energy that increases the attack power of a Pikachu who wears it. They said it could even match a Raichu."

"Really?" Ash took for a closer. "That sounds pretty cool."

"And it's perfect for Pikachu," Misty agreed. "Great prize for the first place."

"Actually, this was the second place prize," Serena explained. "The first place prize was a Thunder Stone, but I asked the runner-up if he wanted to exchange. I think we already know what Pikachu thinks of that, right?"

"Pikachu," the electric mouse replied.

Misty arched an eyebrow, as she eyed Serena with interest. That was quite a bold move. They both knew perfectly the aversion the electric rodent had to evolving (always wanted to show he could be as strong as his evolver form), and if the prize for winning was useless because of that, it was a good idea to exchange. Maybe, if she wanted to convince Ash to let her borrow Greninja, the key would be getting him something that could help him with the training. Those were the best gifts for someone like him.

"Alright, that's enough of a workout for today. You two, it's time to return," Ash said to Pidgeot and Charizard, recalling them. "And now, I don't know you girls, but I'm famished here; shall we go eat something?"

"Yeah, sure," Misty said. "What are we having today?"

"Something light, for a change," Serena begged. "I was so full yesterday, I couldn't even finish that grill by myself. Really."

"Alright, we'll have something light today," Ash replied.

The foursome formed by the boy, his two female friends and his inseparable electric partner went towards the food fair. As they walked, Serena tried to imagine what something "light" would amount for Ash and Misty. In the four days and three nights they had spent on that cruiser, they always ordered for the strongest plate in the menu, and always finished it without leftovers. They were lucky the expenses were covered in advance thanks to the prize, otherwise they would have no way to pay everything those two devoured on each meal.

That night…

Just as they finished their "light" lunch, Ash was challenged by another trainer who wanted to earn a Trichromatic Badge (apparently after seeing his match against Angie). After arranging the official battle, the trainer from Pallet went to the battle arena at the scheduled hour, which meant Serena and Misty were alone at their cabin, trying to decide what they would do the following day. Serena was quite bent on going to the fashion show organized by Elesa and Valerie. While Misty approved, she wasn't sure if Ash would come along; the boy wasn't exactly a fashion enthusiastic like them. Furthermore, the info about the show stated that whoever wanted to attend would have to go "in style" (which meant dressing up elegantly or in cosplay). Now they were discussing the best way to "persuade" him, after all, they didn't want to leave him alone.

"How are we gonna convince him?" Serena asked.

"You don't worry about that," Misty replied. "What matters now is that we need to make him look presentable."

"Well, the show starts in the afternoon, we can buy or rent a costume for him in the morning," the kalosian girl suggested. "But you still haven't answered my previous question."

"I've got it covered." Misty winked at her. "If everything else fails… I brought this along."

That said, the redhead skimmed through her bag, until she found what she was looking for. She had packed it just for a little hunch while getting ready for this trip. No clue whatsoever on why she had kept this costume in the first place and for so long, but now she was glad for it.

"Here it is. Never thought this little outfit would come in handy."

The costume was a strapless leotard, fully white in color except for a green gem on the chest, and on the back part of the waist it had what looked a lot like Goldeen fins. Plus, it had long matching gloves, high-heel shoes and stockings. The redhead stood before the mirror, placing it in front of her to see how it would look. Serena eyed it with interest.

"A little souvenir of our early adventures," Misty recalled. "I only wore this costume once, and it was kinda embarrassing when he saw me, but… I think he liked it."

"It's cute, but maybe we could improve it a little?" Serena asked.

"Improve it?" Misty wondered what the performer-coordinator would have in mind, but before she could ask any questions, Serena was searching into her own bag for something. She then produced a small box.

"It's good that I never leave home without this," she said with an ample smile.

The box stored a small tailoring kit, including scissors, pins, string and some small fabric rolls. Serena quickly made use of her sewing skills, adding to Misty's leotard a few laces and frills to make it a little… flashier. The only thing the Kalos girl regretted was not having a tricolor fabric that could imitate the Goldeen fins (they seemed to be made of semitransparent latex). Nevertheless, when Misty tried the costume, she had to admit she liked the result.

"So? What do you think?" Serena asked.

Misty smiled with satisfaction. She even posed a little to admire her reflection on the mirror. "Not bad, it looks pretty good. You could have future as a fashion designer."

As she gazed at her own reflection, Misty suddenly had an idea. If (ten-year-old) Ash liked seeing her in that costume… what would he think of seeing Serena with a similar one? Why not giving him a double dose? She eyed her friend, as the thoughts formed into her mind, smiling mischievously.

"Misty, why are you staring at me like that?" Serena suddenly felt nervous.

"Hey, Serena, why don't you make a similar one for yourself?" Misty went straight to the point.

"Eh? What? You mean that I wear… a costume like yours?"

"Oh come on. You're a Pokémon performer and coordinator, surely you must have dressed up in endless costumes, am I wrong?"

"Y-yeah, but… never one like… this one." Serena blushed at the thought. Sure, she had worn many costumes with different styles, but none of them quite as… skimpy as Misty's. Not to show off too much skin or too form-fitting with her body.

"And what's wrong with that? You're an attractive girl, surely it would look good on you," Misty insisted.

Serena still refused, but the redhead's persistence finally got her to cave in. Finding a leotard of her own, Serena made a costume following the same pattern as Misty's, except that she used her own Pokémon (specifically her Sylveon) as an inspiration. She also made a mask which even included the ears. Misty thought it looked quite adorable. Once they were done, they both gazed at the mirror.

"What did I tell you? You look lovely."

"It's still embarrassing." Serena moved her hands trying to cover herself, especially her legs (despite having them covered in stockings).

"Don't be such a party pooper." Misty smiled. "Ash is gonna love this."

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Hey, girls? We're back!" Ash called from behind the door.

"Ah, speak of the devil," Misty said. "It's a perfect chance. Hold on a second, Ash!"

"Misty, wait, please don't open yet!" Serena tried to stop her, but it was too late: Misty's hand reached the doorknob and a second later the door was wide open, letting Ash and Pikachu in.

"Sorry for the… lateness…"

The boy's jaw almost dropped down to the floor upon seeing his two friends. He was quite shocked (in a good way) to see them dressed in those costumes, and their expressions couldn't be more opposite from each other: Serena tried (unsuccessfully) to cover herself with her arms, while Misty kept her flirty smile, not missing the chance to turn around and let the boy admire her in full at once.

"What do you think?" she asked. "Do you like?"

"Misty… did you really have to?" Serena groaned. There was no point in running away; Ash had already seen them.

"Aw, come on, didn't he already see us in swimsuits? Who cares about these?" the redhead said, without a single hint of shame. She then turned towards Ash. "So, did we leave you speechless with our beauty or what? Say something."

Speechless was falling short; the boy had to manually close his jaw and remind himself of breathing, and also hold back a little nosebleed he felt coming up. It was weird: like Misty said, he had already seen them both wearing swimsuits, so it seemed inexplicable that he'd remain stiff just for seeing them with those costumes. Then again, those were deliberately made to look sexy, form-fitting so as to highlight each of the girls' personal attributes.

"You… you look really nice." That was all he could say after he could talk again.

"Nice? Is that all you have to say?" Misty inquired. "Aw, geez, Ash, surely you can do better?

And what else could he say? Maybe, he could say that both of them looked really beautiful and sexy, that those costumes looked perfect on them, highlighting her well-toned and shapely figures. That wouldn't sound bad. Yet doing flattery on beautiful girls was never his thing. That was Brock's.

"Well, no matter," Misty said in resignation. "Ash, Serena and I were talking; we want to go the fashion show tomorrow. And we need you to dress up nicely."

"We have to get you a costume," Serena said, a little more relaxed now. "We can rent you one tomorrow, if you want."

"Eh? Ah… yeah, sure." Ash response seemingly came out of inertia.

"Great!" Misty exclaimed in excitement. "Well, if you don't mind, get in the bathroom for a bit, Serena and I need to change. We don't want to ruin these before tomorrow, do we?"

The redhead pushed her friend towards the bathrooms door and closed it. As he waited for them to change their clothes, Ash couldn't do anything but listen to his two friends chattering on the other side.

"I don't know how I let you drag me into this." That was Serena talking.

"Too bad, honey. There's no turning back now." This time it was Misty. "Besides, did you see his face? It was priceless. I'm telling you, he loved us."

"Pikachu… I still don't get it, what are those two up to?" he asked his partner. "Are they just doing it to make me uncomfortable?"

"Pika…" The mouse just exhaled in resignation.

The next day…

Ash and Pikachu were still waiting for the girls outside of the cabin. He had heard around that, for events like this, women took forever to get dressed. He was playing with his mobile apps to kill time, since he had gotten his costume ready for quite a while. It was rented: an elegant three-piece suit, navy blue, black and yellow, with a black cape and face mask looking a lot like a Lucario. Since the girls had chosen Pokémon motifs for their costumes, he felt he should play along too. Meanwhile, Pikachu was no longer wearing his own costume, instead only carrying the Lightball Serena had won for him hanging from his neck.

"Sorry for the way!" Misty cheerfully said as she opened up the door.

Ash took his time to appreciate the sight, now that he was prepared. The costumed really looked perfect on them. The first time she saw Misty with that Goldeen costume, so many years ago, he admittedly thought it was nice, and he didn't mind repeating the experience now that she was more physically developed. Furthermore, the frills Serena added actually boosted the visual attractive. And speaking of Serena, she didn't fall behind on looking beautiful herself. A rather unusual facet of the Kalosian girl, who despite loving fashion and trying new clothes (a must for her competitions), she was usually more modest on her dress code. Nevertheless, Misty had given her that little nudge to leave her… comfort zone.

As much as he wanted to deny it, Ash decided it wouldn't be bad to enjoy the show as much as he could. And as usual, the two girls clung to his arms as they walked towards the hall where the fashion show would take place.

"Wow, check out how many people," Misty observed as they stepped in.

They had a full house, and everyone was in costume. Serena and Misty were quite surprised to see some girls who went the extra mile to make their own outfits even more daring than the two of them. It was a total mess, and the show hadn't even begun yet. While they waited, they went to the table to get a drink and calm down the thirst. The hall's lighting dimmed, and the reflectors on the catwalk switched on at last, as the two main protagonists of this event took the stage.

The Gym Leaders from Unova and Kalos. Elesa, the blonde supermodel from Nimbasa, wore a wool coat matching her hair. It was open on the front, revealing a light blue and yellow dress, very short and form fitting, exposing her long legs. She also wore heels, the left one being red and the right one blue. Valerie, meanwhile, wore an outfit very similar to the one Ash and Serena remembered from her visit to Laverre, the dark pink kimono with those huge sleeves almost looking like wings, with black, platform sandals matching the long stockings covering her legs. Very different styles, but complementary to each other.

"Hello, everyone!" Elesa grabbed the microphone and shouted excitedly. "Welcome to our joint fashion parade!"

"It's a pleasure to see there are so many of you today," Valerie said, in a calmer tone, but just as cheerful as Elesa.

"You said it, my friend. It's great to see many enthusiasts here to see our collaborative collection, isn't it?"

"Right you are, Elesa. So, without further ado, it's time for us to show the world the fruits of our work."

"Come on, you girls! It's time to dazzle everyone!" Elesa shouted.

In the middle of the crowd's applause (and much to Ash's chagrin, the screaming of Serena and Misty), the two Gym Leaders stepped aside so their models could take the stage for themselves. Serena and Ash quickly recognized amongst them several of Valerie's young assistants in the Laverre Gym; the years had been kind to them, granting great beauty. Not to mention the outfits they wore, very much like the kimonos Valerie designed. Aside from them, there were some older models, whose style was more similar to Elesa's form-fitting dress. Occasionally, Serena and Misty commented on which of those they would like to try: the Cerulean Gym Leader seemed to lean more to Elesa's models, whereas Serena preferred Valerie's. They began to reconsider their opinions when some designs appeared, seemingly combining the best of both worlds: the extravagant Pokémon-like style of Valerie, and the highlight of the silhouettes from Elesa.

Ash, while still wondering how he got dragged (or rather LET himself get dragged), in the inside was trying to picture his two friends with those outfits in the show. Even though he LOVED the ones they were wearing (and that was saying a lot), he wouldn't mind seeing them with some others. In particular, he was picturing Misty with designs inspired in Water-type Pokémon (like Milotic or Suicune), and Serena with some based on the members of her team (Delphox, Roselia or Froslass).

If that weren't enough, the two hostesses decided to join in the fun and take a walk themselves, showing off their own charms to the crowd. Why not taking the chance? They were a pair of beautiful women, admired by many inside and outside of their regions, and their sole presence was enough to get everyone screaming in excitement. Well, almost everyone. Ash would gaze at them, but even if they were attractive… they weren't his type. That was reserved for… certain particular girls.

The noise continued for quite a while, with a few attendants even trying to climb up into the catwalk and had to be pulled off by the security staff. Fortunately no major incidents occurred, and at the end of the show, Elesa and Valerie stepped up again as the crowd gave them another grand round of applause.

"Thank you, thank you all! We love you guys!" Elesa shouted as she sent flying kisses. "Now, before we say goodbye, Valerie and I have one last surprise."

"Right here, right now, we will give two of you guys the chance to challenge us in a double battle," Valerie added. "If you can beat us, we shall offer you a fabulous prize. Who wants to try?"

People started muttering around. The two gym leaders were known to be remarkably strong individually, but together… nobody was sure what kind of combination they could make. Seemingly nobody was brave enough to take them up in their challenge; that is, except one boy and his two female friends. Serena and Misty were excited of imagining the prize (maybe something fashion-related, they would love that). Ash, couldn't care less for the prize, the challenge itself was what mattered.

"You want a challenger?! Here I am!" he shouted. Everyone looked at him, and the two gym leaders immediately recognized him. They were surprised, but quite happy to see him.

"Well, do my eyes fool me, or is that Ash Ketchum I'm seeing?" Valerie asked.

"No, my friend, you're totally correct," Elesa replied. "Fancy meeting you here, Ash. Oh, and aren't you in some good company?"

Obviously, she was talking about the two girls holding his arms. The black-haired boy blushed a little, then again, it wasn't like he could do much to escape them (if he really wanted to escape).

"Well then, we got ourselves one challenger. Who's going to be your partner?" Valerie asked.

"I will!" Serena and Misty cried out in unison. Still clinging to Ash's arms, the two girls suddenly glared at each other, and for a split second, Ash could almost swear he saw sparks flying between their eyes. It was then the trainer realized in what predicament he had just gotten himself into.

"Ash… you do know I'm a gym leader too, right?" Misty said in a sweet voice, as she rubbed her finger on his chest. "If you need a battle partner, there's no one better than me."

"Hey! Don't forget that I too have experience as a Pokémon Coordinator," Serena replied. "Believe it or not, I've gotten better over these years. I could surprise you with my contest battling style."

"You don't say…" Misty challenged her. "Well then, Ash, who are you going to choose?"

Ash kept looking from Misty to Serena, time and time again. Here was one of those flaws he always had since he was a kid and never truly got over with: his habit of jumping headfirst into challenges without thinking things through. Now he had to face the consequences: it was a tag battle, with meant he could only enter with one of the two girls, leaving the other in the sidelines. Strategically speaking, Misty had more battle experience since she was a gym leader herself, but he didn't want to underestimate how much Serena had improved. Misty was giving him a flirty and seductive smile, while Serena gave him sad Rockruff eyes.

"I'm sorry, but… hurry up and decide, time's a wasting," Elesa called them out.

"We're on it," Ash replied. Thinking quickly which would be the safest way not to play favorites and keep his own physical integrity intact, the boy took a deep breath and told him his decision. "Alright, let's do this, how about that the two of you enter in my stead?"

"WHAAAAAAAA?!"

"Look, I'm not in the mood to play favorites," he stated. "If you two are as good as you claim, and I'm sure you are, you should be able to take this on, right?"

Ash Ketchum, passing up a battle? On normal circumstances, that would be impossible, unconceivable, something the old Ash would be ashamed of. However, the current, more mature Ash knew this was for the best. Choosing one of the two as his partner, either for sentimental or strategic reasons, still implied playing favorites, and he didn't want to face an angry Misty or a sad Serena later, which would be the most likely results of either scenario.

However, after Ash's proposal, Misty gave it some thought. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Even better, this way, there was actually a way the three of them could fight. A great chance to impress him, and at the same time, maybe the chance to get him to relent on that little request.

"Alright, since you put it that way," Misty agreed, "but there's one condition. We'll be using YOUR Pokémon."

"Say what?" Ash asked.

"Ash's Pokémon? Misty, what are you up to…?" Serena stopped when Misty raised a finger towards her.

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," the redhead replied, winking. She turned back towards Ash. "Think about it: if we use your Pokémon, it'll be as if the three of us were fighting. Plus, it wouldn't be the first time we do something like this, would it?"

"Hey, that's… that's not a bad idea." Serena nodded in agreement. "Please, Ash?"

"You can't be serious," Ash said. "*Sigh*, if you really have to. Serena, who do you want to use?"

"I think I'll go with Pikachu, if you don't mind. I feel more confident with him," the kalosian girl replied. Obviously she was recalling that one time she commanded him in a battle, when he had a fever and she dressed up in his clothes when that crazy rocker guy came up to challenge him so he could rest.

"Alright, you heard her, buddy." Ash gave him the 'go ahead', and Pikachu jumped off of his shoulder towards Serena's arm. With this, Ash turned to Misty. "I don't have to ask you which one you want, do I?"

"Obviously not," the redhead replied in delight, as Ash grabbed Greninja's Pokéball and let him out. Misty approached him. "Hey, Greninja, you're looking good."

She began touching him everywhere to feel him, until she stopped on his tongue/muffler. The frog suddenly relaxed and made a gesture that he seemed to like that, it seemed to be his sweet spot. Ash just rolled his eyes, but since Elesa and Valerie were getting impatient, he told both of his Pokémon to obey Serena and Misty in this battle. All was set now: the girls and the two Pokémon walked up to the stage, face to face with their opponents. Elesa and Valerie exchanged glances, each one grabbing one Pokéball, ready to start.

"Zebstrika, come out and dazzle them all!"

"Mr. Mime, your turn!"

The Electric zebra and Psychic-Fairy mime appeared. Serena and Misty gestured Ash's Pokémon to get in position. The kalosian, following Ash's example, decided to open up with an offensive move.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt against Mr. Mime!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUUUU!" The electric rodent unleashed his attack against Valerie's Pokémon, but to his shock (and also Serena's), the attack was redirected towards Zebstrika, who just stood there and absorbed it.

"What?!" Serena gasped.

"That Zebstrika must have Lightning Rod." Misty said. "We should be careful with that. Greninja, Water Shuriken!"

"Ninja!" The frog took two spikes of the water on his back, and reformed them in a couple of smaller shurikens, throwing one to each of their opponents.

"Mr. Mime, use Protect," Valerie calmly said.

"Mr. Mime!" At this command, the Psychic-Fairy Pokémon jumped in front of his partner, placing both hands forward to generate a barrier to stop both shurikens. From behind, Elesa and Zebstrika were ready to begin the counterattack.

"Zebstrika, Charge Beam against Greninja!" the Unovan model called out.

El equine Pokémon focused its electric powers and prepared to fire its attack in a focused energy beam. Misty and Serena tensed up: that initial mistake the latter had done upon using an Electric attack without anticipating the Lightning Rod would boost the power of this attack, and it could even increase further every time it was used.

"Greninja, Double Team!" Misty commanded.

"Ninja!"

Greninja leapt high in the air, creating multiple copies of himself all over the battlefield, and just as soon as Zebstrika fired off the beam, it hit one of the clones, fizzling it out, but there were still many around.

"Mr. Mime, Dazzling Gleam," Valerie called.

"Mime!" The mime began glowing in a multicolored light. The attack went wide all over the field, hitting Pikachu and fizzling out all of Greninja's clones, identifying the real one.

"Zebstrika, Charge Beam!" Elesa shouted

"Strika!" Zebstrika once again charged up its attack, this time managing to hit Greninja. The frog covered himself with his arms trying to endure it, although the power boost was notable, pushing him backwards. For a miracle he managed to land on his feet, despite his vulnerability to that element.

"Greninja, Aerial Ace and Cut against Zebstrika!" Misty shouted.

"You too, Pikachu, Quick Attack and Iron Tail against Mr. Mime!" Serena cried out.

The electric mouse dashed forward towards the mime, his tail taking on a metallic glow, and the frog did the same with the zebra. Thanks to their great speed, both of Ash's Pokémon landed their hits, and the Iron Tail was supereffective against Mr. Mime for being a Fairy-type, even more thanks to the speed boost from the Quick Attack. Valerie and Elesa's Pokémon staggered after taking the strikes, but they were still far from being defeated.

"Zebstrika, Flame Charge!" Elesa commanded.

"Zebstrika!" Stomping furiously on the ground, the zebra ran engulfed in flames against Pikachu, so fast that Serena had no time to react, neither could he dodge by himself.

"Mr. Mime, prepare a Psybeam attack," Valerie indicated. With this, her Pokémon began charging psychic energy in its hands, focusing it in a multicolor sphere. Serena foresaw that this attack would go aimed at Pikachu: he was the only logical target.

"Misty… Greninja is also a Dark-type," she whispered to her partner. The redhead looked at her sideways, and nodded in understanding. Said and done, Mr. Mime fired its attack towards Pikachu.

"Greninja, jump in front of Pikachu!" Misty yelled.

"Ninja!" Crouching on his legs, Greninja leapt to get in between Pikachu and Mr. Mime's Psybeam. Upon making contact, the attack dissolved into nothingness, without any effect, shielding him and giving the rodent the space to counterattack.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack and Iron Tail!" Serena called again.

"Zebstrika, intercept with Double Kick!" Elesa shouted back.

Pikachu rushed to strike at Mr. Mime, but just like Greninja, Zebstrika got in his way to shield its partner, rearing on its hind legs, and the front ones glowing in orange energy, ready to intercept Pikachu's metallic tail strokes. Equal in power, both attackers stepped back after the impacts, with both Pokémon duos taking a moment to catch their breath.

From below the stage, Ash could see his friends were doing well, and that was saying a lot, considering the disadvantage they were at. Zebstrika's Lightning Rod ability neutralized Pikachu's electric attacks (not to mention the Charge Beam boosted its power even more). If it wasn't because he couldn't intervene, he'd have helped them with a few pointers. Greninja had trained hard in endurance to withstand Electric-type attacks, but even he'd have his limit if Zebstrika kept pushing with that attack, and they were severely handicapped if Pikachu couldn't use his strongest attacks to help. Which was exactly what went through Serena's mind at the time. Maybe choosing Pikachu wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Serena… Pikachu can use Volt Tackle." This time it was Misty who whispered at her, in the same tone as the Kalosian when she told him Greninja was a Dark-type.

"Volt Tackle?" Serena repeated. "But how would that help?"

"Lightning Rod can easily drag special attacks like Thunderbolt or Electroball, but Volt Tackle is physical. We just need to stay out of reach," Misty explained. "Greninja and I will take care of Zebstrika, you and Pikachu focus on Mr. Mime."

Serena had never seen Pikachu use Volt Tackle during her time travelling with Ash, did he always have that attack in his arsenal? It seemed risky for Misty to fight Zebstrika head on, but considering that Greninja had been able to beat opponents with type advantage before, she chose to trust them. Meanwhile, Valerie and Elesa decided it was time to take off the kiddie gloves and get serious.

"Zebstrika, use Wild Charge against Greninja!" Elesa called.

"Zeb!" Just like before, the electric zebra began stomping wildly before dashing off, but this time engulfed in an electric aura, not unlike that of a Volt Tackle.

"Greninja, dodge and use Double Team!" Misty countered.

"Ninja!"

Just like before, Greninja created multiple clones trying to confuse his opponents. Valerie, just like Elesa, decided to take priority on taking out Greninja first, and she was about to use an attack that would help them do so. First, she ordered Mr. Mime to use again Dazzling Gleam to dispel the clones and identify the real one. Once Zebstrika used the Wild Charge, Serena replied ordering Pikachu to counter with the Quick Attack/Iron Tail, managing to intercept him, but in doing so, they left Mr. Mime unwatched, thus giving it the chance to prepare another attack.

"Mr. Mime, Energy Ball!" Valerie commanded.

"Mime!" Cupping its hands together, Mr. Mime created a green energy sphere, ready to throw it at Greninja. This got Serena on alert: that was a Grass-type attack.

"Pikachu, stop Mr. Mime with Volt Tackle!" she called.

Taking advantage of the distance, Pikachu ran off, charging up in electricity before Zebstrika could activate its ability. Despite his efforts, however, he couldn't stop Mr. Mime from hurling the green sphere with great swiftness and accuracy. The attack caused Greninja to stagger, giving Zebstrika the perfect chance to follow with a Charge Beam. The frog managed to tank the hits, but just by the hairs, they could see he was getting to his limit.

Still, this had a prize. Pikachu managed to hit Mr. Mime with the Volt Tackle. A devastating attack, as Serena could see, although the recoil caused Pikachu some damage as well upon hitting the opponent. That was a strike they could capitalize on, if only because Elesa and Valerie didn't know he had it. Now, they grouped together their two Pokémon to stay in Lightning Rod range and avoid another attack like that.

"It's time to end this. Mr. Mime, Energy Ball!" Valerie called.

"Zebstrika, Charge Beam!" Elesa followed.

The most obvious course: Elesa and Valerie were trying to take out Greninja first, capitalizing on the fact they both had good type matchups against him. Serena and Misty didn't move: they anticipated that they'd launch their attacks separately, the first to have Greninja dodge, and the second to catch him off-guard while he was vulnerable. The question was, which one would come first?

"Greninja, prepare to jump when I tell you!" Misty warned him.

The frog waited, while the Water-type specialist looked from one side to the other. Mr. Mime o Zebstrika? Energy Ball or Charge Beam? She had to predict which of the two would come first to dodge. If Zebstrika attacked first, she'd have to jump and throw a Water Shuriken to counter the Energy Ball. If Mr. Mime did, it'd be the other way around. After two seconds, Mr. Mime finished charging its attack and raised its hands to throw it.

"Greninja, prepare a Water Shuriken and charge at Mr. Mime!" Misty commanded.

"Ninja!"

The frog ran off with the shuriken in hand, ready to throw it once Mr. Mime launched his own attack. But it was a trick: Mr. Mime just moved the hands pretending it'd throw it. Instead, Zebstrika fired first, and the Charge Beam went out much wider and faster than the previous one.

"Greninja, look out! JUMP!" Misty yelled in desperation.

Greninja was barely able to react in time and get out of the Charge Beam's reach, but having jumped that way, Valerie and Elesa's plan had worked: now he was in the air fully exposed for the other attack. The finishing blow was at hand, thus in that instant Valerie pointed her Mr. Mime to throw its attack. He wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

"Pikachu, stop it with Electroball!" Serena exclaimed, reacting in the very last second.

"Pikapikapika-CHUPI!"

The green energy sphere collided with the electric one. Intentionally, Pikachu held it on his tail and didn't let it go until he was at point-blank range, to prevent it from being redirected by Zebstrika's Lightning Rod, thus allowing Greninja to land back safely without further damage. However, this still complicated things more: if Zebstrika launched another Charge Beam attack, it would be even stronger than the previous one, and there was no guarantee that he could dodge it.

"Think, think… what would Ash do in this moment?" the Kalos girl asked herself.

Serena glanced at her friend, who unlike the rest of the crowd was unusually quiet: no screaming, no clapping, and no cheering at all. Ash returned the glance with determination, trying to convey the message that he trusted them, that he firmly believed they could win. At that time, he would have thought of something, something crazy and unusual, but it would help him win. If Valerie and Elesa were focusing their attention on Greninja for considering him the bigger threat, maybe she and Misty should do something similar.

"We got to do something about Zebstrika and its Lightning Rod," Serena said. Upon thinking for a couple seconds, the realization suddenly hit her. Maybe that was the key after all. "I got it! Misty, have Greninja evade everything and be ready to attack Zebstrika when I tell you!"

"Do you have a plan?" the redhead asked. Serena nodded in response, her eyes clearly saying 'it's crazy enough to work', so typical of Ash or anyone else who had enough contact with him. "Alright, hope you know what you're doing. Greninja, Double Team!"

Greninja obliged and summoned his clones again. The usual response from their opponents came up immediately: Valerie once again had Mr. Mime attack with Dazzling Gleam to dispel them, preparing the chance for Zebstrika to charge with an electric attack to finish him off. Then, Serena did the unthinkable:

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt now!" she commanded. The electric mouse complied, and as usual, the attack was redirected by Zebstrika's Lightning Rod.

"What are you doing, sweetheart?" Elesa asked. "Don't you see that'll only power up my Zebstrika even more?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want," Serena replied. "Pikachu, keep up the attack, don't stop!"

The rodent not only kept up: he actually poured even more energy into it. His electric energy reserves were impressive, no doubt about that, but everyone wondered what they could be up to. Aside from Ash, who didn't take long to deduce what Serena was trying to do, the first who realized were Misty, Valerie and Elesa, the first smiling from ear to ear, and the other two having a shiver, particularly the Unovan model, since the ability that gave them their advantage was about to be used against them.

"Greninja, charge, attack Zebstrika with Cut!" Misty called.

The frog shot forward at full speed, holding two kunai-shaped water blades, as he also understood the plan. Inside, he thought it was spontaneous, unpredictable, the wonders of having chosen Ash as his trainer. As Pikachu kept attacking with Thunderbolt, Zebstrika powered up more and more, but this had a complication: while the Lightning Rod absorbed electrical power, Zebstrika was unable to move at all, whether it was to attack or defense. Thus, the zebra was rendered helpless to stop Greninja from attacking. Seeing that her partner couldn't protect herself, Valerie decided to act in her stead.

"Mr. Mime, stop Greninja with Protect!" she called.

"Mime!" The Psychic-Fairy Pokémon jumped in Greninja's path to try and defend its partner. But Misty wouldn't fall for that defense this time.

"Greninja, dodge with Aerial Ace and keep going!" Misty commanded.

Mr. Mime placed itself in front of Greninja and raised its barrier to try and cut off his advance. It would have been successful, if it wasn't because Greninja used the Aerial Ace to stop short of slamming into the barrier, vanishing from sight, and then reappearing behind Zebstrika, where Mr. Mime's protect wouldn't be of any help. That was the cue for Serena and Pikachu to cease the Thunderbolt and clear the way for their partners.

"Greninja, Cut!" Misty yelled.

"Gre… NINJA!" The ninja frog extended his two blades, jumping over the helpless Zebstrika. All that stored power wouldn't save it now.

SLASH! A pair of direct cuts to the neck, landing a critical hit. The electric zebra let out a wince of pain, before exhaling a pitiful whine and crumble down on the ground, defeated. One out, only one more to go, and with Zebstrika out of the way, Pikachu was free to use his stronger attacks. Now Valerie and Mr. Mime were on their own.

"Alright, Greninja, use Water Shuriken!" Misty kept pressing on.

"Pikachu, Electroball!" Serena added.

Both Pokémon launched their attacks simultaneously. Mr. Mime had to jump out of the way, barely dodging, but motivated after having gotten one of their opponents out of the game, Ash's friends decided it was time while they still had the chance and kept up their attack.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Serena shouted. The rodent charged with the metallic tail to deliver the strike.

"Mr. Mime, Protect!" Valerie shouted back, in a desperate attempt to protect Mr. Mime. The Steel-type attack had higher priority, but it cleared the path for Greninja to come from behind.

"Greninja, Aerial Ace and Water Shuriken!" Misty yelled.

Even though Protect saved it from Pikachu's Iron Tail, Greninja once again snuck behind Mr. Mime using Aerial Ace, his water giant star in the ready to throw it right on its back. It was a direct hit, and once the Protect barrier wore off, Serena and Pikachu charged with another Volt Tackle for more damage. Both of Ash's Pokémon placed themselves side to side, right in front of their (interim) trainers, who were exchanging complicity glances with one another.

"What do you say we end this in style?" Misty asked.

"That's great for me." Serena smiled. "Pikachu, give me a supercharged Electroball!"

"Greninja, Water Shuriken, full power!"

Pikachu began charging up one last electric sphere, having all free reign to use his power, while Greninja followed suit as he raised a giant water star over his head. Valerie, refusing to give up until the last moment, prepared one last ditch effort.

"Mr. Mime, use Energy Ball with everything you have!"

As its two opponents prepared their attacks, Mr. Mime followed suit with its own, focusing on its hands a green energy sphere, powering it up until it more or less grew the size of a beach ball. Pikachu was the first to throw his Electroball, thus Mr. Mime responded in kind. Greninja threw his shuriken, which merged with the Pikachu's attack, creating an electrified shuriken with the sphere in the center, faster and more powerful than either of the individual attacks. The Energy Ball could have stopped them separately, but combined… upon colliding, the 'Electro-Shuriken' quickly overpowered the Energy Ball and kept going forward towards Mr. Mime, who could only watch in horror the incoming projectile about to hit.

BOOM! The impact was direct, letting out electric sparks and raising a lot of smoke. Once it cleared, they saw the result: Mr. Mime was down too.

"Zebstrika and Mr. Mime, both of them are unable to battle!" the girl acting as referee declared. "Victory goes to the challengers, Misty and Serena!"

"YEAH! WE DID IT!" Ash's friends shouted in unison, high-fiving each other in triumph, while the crowd exploded in applause and cheering.

"Pi-Pikachu!"

"Ninja!" Greninja and Pikachu high-fived too.

Elesa and Valerie returned their fallen Pokémon, and then exchanged glances with each other. They didn't need to say anything; they had lost, but they didn't feel bad for it. Misty and Serena had fought wonderfully, even more so considering that those weren't their own Pokémon they were commanding, but to their credit, they were able to imitate very well their owner's battling style. After all, the Gym Leaders had faced him when he challenged them in their respective regions to earn those badges. Ash Ketchum's influence was quite noticeable in his two friends. Now it was time to congratulate them as it was due.

"You were amazing, both of you," said Valerie.

"You left us all dazzled," added Elesa. "I haven't had such an exciting match in years."

"The credit is not only ours," Serena replied with modesty. "Ash trained them, after all."

"Yeah, these are definitely his Pokémon." Elesa kneeled to stroke Pikachu on the chin. "They're even more impressive than the last time, if you allow me to say so."

"Alright, so, now that we're done with this… didn't you two say you'd have a surprise for us?" Misty said. Elesa and Valerie giggled: obviously the hadn't forgotten. The prize for beating them.

"Alright. So, since you girls seem to love fashion as much as us, how about this?" Elesa produced a paper that looked like a signed certificate. "Our new collection is exclusive and it won't be out for three more months, but if you want, you can have a little in advance."

"Aside from the costumes, you can also request for accessories for your Pokémon, if you want," added Valerie. "All you have to do is presenting this at any of our affiliate shops. The rest is on us."

Serena and Misty's eyes glittered in joy and excitement; suddenly they felt like little children inside a sweets or toys shop with everything for themselves. They hugged each other and began to jump in celebration. From below, Ash could only watch and smile in resignation. They reminded him so much of himself when he was a rookie, but he wasn't one to talk, considering that he would still engage in that every now and then.

At night…

Another great day, another great evening, and the trio was exhausted. They had to take turns to take off their costumes (especially the girls, with theirs being so tight and all), but now they were ready to go to bed. Serena and Misty couldn't still contain their excitement. They had just won another grand prize to celebrate, and they were now watching the catalogue.

"Hey, Ash, would you like if we bought you something too?" Misty asked. "Elesa and Valerie's collection looks amazing, and I'm sure you'd look great with some of these."

"Didn't you have enough with cutting my hair?" the boy replied from the bed, playing with his mobile apps.

"Aw, don't tell me you're still mad at that." Misty made a fake pout. "We made you a favor and you know it. That wild hair doesn't become you anymore."

"Doesn't matter, it'll grow back." Ash just shrugged. "That's your prize, enjoy it yourselves."

"Party pooper." Misty then turned towards Serena. "Really, tell me you wouldn't love to see him in one of these."

"Sure I would." Serena gazed at one in particular that looked like a prince's garb. Just picturing Ash in something so elegant made her eyes sparkle, and she couldn't hold back a dreamy sigh.

Ash rolled his eyes. Women, who could understand them? They were still a mystery to him, no matter if they had been his friends for over one and a half decade, give or take a little. Who was counting the days, anyway? For now, he decided to take a shower and then drop himself on the bed for a well-earned sleep. Who would have guessed that a costume party and a fashion show could be so tiresome? At least for men, because Serena and Misty still brimmed with energy. And now that Ash was in the bathroom and out of earshot, they decided to spend it talking about something else.

"It was fun, don't you think?" Misty said. "This makes me wish even more to catch a Greninja for myself one day."

"Would you like to come with me to Kalos after these vacations?" Serena asked.

"I'd love to, but I have to be sure my sisters won't be slacking off with the gym." Misty stopped for a bit before continuing. "Say, Serena, there's something I've wanted to ask you for a while."

"What is it?"

"When you traveled with Ash around Kalos… did you ever encounter, you know, some 'competition' for him?" Misty tried to be as direct as possible.

"Competition? As in… other girls?" the Kalosian replied, and the redhead nodded in response. "*Sigh*, actually… yes, a couple of times."

"Hmm, and how did you deal with it?" the redhead inquired with a bit of interest. "Will you give me some names I should be on the lookout for?"

"To be honest, I think there's only one, at least in Kalos," Serena confessed. "Her name's Miette. Believe it or not, we started as rivals in a Poképuffs contest, but later she turned out to have entered Pokémon Showcasing as well."

"Hmm… and what was she like?" Misty asked.

"Even though we often competed against each other, she was actually pretty nice for the most part, if a little snobby at times. In fact, she seemed to catch on very early that I had a crush on Ash, and decided to flirt with him just to tease and get reactions out of me. Still, one day that we met by chance, she confessed to me that, she did it for so long, she actually came to realize Ash was her type after all. Ironic, isn't it?"

"I'm not that surprised, that would happen to any girl who spends enough time with him." Misty obviously included herself and Serena in that group.

"What about you? Is there any of them in your region?" the performer-coordinator asked.

"Perhaps not in Kanto, but there's a couple of them in other regions we visited together," the Cerulean Gym Leader replied. "One of them was called Melody, but she lives in Shamouti, in the Orange Islands. The other, a female Johto trainer called Macy. Unlike your friend Miette, those two went very physical with Ash just as soon as they met him. Didn't have any sense of personal space, it seemed."

"Oh, my." Serena covered her mouth. "So what did you do?"

"What do you think I did? Scare them away, of course. Or at least I tried." Misty lowered her head in a bit of shame. "At the time, I was really sensitive if someone insinuated that Ash was my boyfriend or something like that, and of course I wouldn't admit it out loud."

"Hey, you're not the only one," said Serena. "You think it's easy to admit upfront that you like someone, especially if it's a boy you've known for so long?"

Misty nodded in agreement. It was even harder when you spent so much time denying having any feelings for that boy, like she did for all the time they traveled together. She still envied (or rather, admired, that would be the right word) Serena for having been brave enough to express her feelings somehow, even if it wasn't with words.

"So… how are we going to have that… competition, you and me?" Serena finally asked so as to break the silence.

"I think we can spend the first week getting to know the place, so we can decide where we'd like to go," Misty replied. "Then we can choose a couple of spots, some to go the three of us together, and of course some where each of us can spend some alone time with Ash."

"That's fine with me. We'll do it on equal time, right?" Serena asked.

"Right." Misty winked.

They both continued chatting and laughing, sharing some interesting stories, about Ash and many of their respective 'love rivals'. Misty even told her about that one time she intentionally made him angry, by pretending she was attracted to an older boy (who, admittedly, she did find handsome) just to see his reaction. When Serena gave her the evil eye, Misty immediately added that boy was a Gym Leader, and she didn't mean it in a bad way (an outburst of immaturity, looking back now). In fact, she felt so remorseful about it, later when Ash faced another Gym Leader who openly showed to be attracted to her, during the challenge she began cheering for Ash when he seemed about to lose, which helped him turn around the fight and win. Serena commented that she would have loved to see that.

After a while, Ash came out of the shower, already with his sleeping clothes on, and asked them what they talked about. Misty refused to answer, other than 'women stuff', and he chose not to press any further, having the (correct) feeling that they would be talking about him. Obviously those two were up to something with him in the middle, seeing that the two were very enthusiastic in dragging him to have fun with them. Not that he would complain, he admittedly was enjoying his time, even if it was more tiresome than any kind of training he'd ever done, but he still wanted to know what they were up to.

They still had two days left before reaching Alola, and for some reason, Ash had the feeling that his vacations would become even more active and swinging once they reached their destination. He could barely wait.

To be continued…

Author's notes:

Alright, sorry for taking so long with this. Things had been pretty hectic around here, so much to do and so little time

Anyway, this pretty much covers the part of the cruiser as I wanted. I personally enjoyed writing the tag battle, since I could use it to give Pikachu some screen time, and showcase Misty and Serena as an effective team, a way to make their friendship stronger. How did it end up, did I make it? That said, I do have plans to have them use their own Pokémon over the course of the story, so don't worry, they'll too get their proper spotlight.

So, before I leave, I think I'll reply to two particular reviews individually. The very first one I got in the English version of this story: while I've decided to take up your pointers, I still don't like the way you came about it, and I'll say it again, you were lucky you caught me on a good day. The other is for the guest Pokemon fan. There's a reason why I left a preliminary note in the previous chapter recommending to read "Friends and Rivals Alike", since the questions you asked are answered there (like I said, that was the prologue for this story). With that done, now it's time to properly thank for the reviews to ManleyTogekiss, Pokemon fan, Harmonious Wolf, Guest and Kori A Grayson. As usual, I'll first write the next chapter in Spanish, so hopefully I'll have it ready in a month's time (when I'm done with other stories I have in course). See ya around.