Hiya! I'm back for the latest chapter! I'm really sorry if this took too long to upload. I was very busy these past months that I didn't have time to write. But anyway, here's the new chapter. And finally after days have past, I got my imaginations back in action! I had already planned on a great plot for this fic. So, with that said, enjoy reading!


Chapter 7: Lumious City's Destruction

Where… am I…

Why… is it… so dark?

I… can't move…

Help… me… Somebody… help…

Hehe… Hehehe… Don't worry… You'll see him soon enough…

… after I get rid of his… 'girl… Hehehe…

… Who… are you?... What do… you want… from me?...

I want you… to get rid of the girl for me… Isn't that what you want?...

… Yes… I… want to… but…

But what?

… Why… help me?

To see the dreadful eyes of that boy upon seeing her all soaked in blood!

… No… That's… not what… I want… Let me… out of here…

Ohho no. I can't let that happen, especially this perfect timing… Hehehehe… I'll get rid of him once and for all… Hehehe….

Oh… yes you… will…

… Huh? Where's… my Pokeballs?...

They're in my care. Don't worry, you'll use them later… on her… Hehehehe…


A few days have passed after the reunion of Ash and Serena. They all have their bags ready to go. The Pokemon are outside of their Pokeballs to say goodbye to the house. They have been living a peaceful life, but soon they would have to leave it, as Serena has to go back home to her mother. She can't stand her life anymore, this glamour and popular life style. She needed a normal life for once. She and he have discussed this matter the other day…

Xxx

"What do I do now, Ash?" Serena asked as they were eating lunch.

"About what?" Ash said. Can't he see what she meant for once? Geez…

"About… my life…" Serena said. She had her hands on her table, not touching her food at all. She's been thinking about it lately, and no idea has crossed her mind since. She was regretful that she achieved her goal. She didn't know what to do anymore. All these fans, supporters, and news reporters are what blocks her path to a normal life. She needed answers, answers from someone she can rely on.

Life… Home… Ash thought about it for a second.

"…Hmmm… Now that you mentioned it, your mother is pretty much worried about you right now. I suggest we go back to your home and discuss this there with your mom." Ash said, and ate his food afterwards.

"I know. I just can't have a moment where I can't see any fans or reporters everywhere. It's so annoying." Serena said in disappointment.

"You know, if you really do want them far from you, why don't you leave, or surrender your title to someone else?" Ash suggested, sweating from the word 'surrender'. He wasn't the type of guy to say such thing, but it was for the best.

"I… didn't really give it that much thought. But then again, even after my title was to be claimed, they'll still be around for me, as they did for Aria." Serena said, her head resting on her right hand

"Think about it. Aria's been Kalos Queen for what, 8 – 10 years now. She's still quite popular in my opinion. And you've been one for two years. You're still not quite known around the world." Ash said.

"I'll give it a try… Leaving this kind of life is just what I want. Besides, I trust you on this." Serena said.

Xxx

Outside of the house, they stand in front of the house to say goodbye. Mawile was hesitant at first, as this was the home of her late trainer. Serena convinced it that they will stay here from time to time.

Everyone has said their goodbyes to the house, and the Pokemon were sent back to their respective Pokeballs with the exception of Pikachu and Mawile. Serena suggested to Ash that they should go to Vaniville Town on foot, making the suggestion of Ash earlier of Gardevoir transporting them fall flat. Why? It's simple. She didn't want to rush their time together. She wanted to spend more time together.

They were walking in a thick forest. The forest was so thick that it may be there to block the existence of Maple's garden from intruders. Luckily there were no wild Pokemon there that were aggressive as a Gyarados. Trees were waving and leaves were dancing in the wind. It was as peaceful as Maple's home.

"So, Serena. What'll you do after you give your title to someone?" Ash asked In curiosity.

"Well, I haven't been to Pallet Town after the Summer Ca-" Serena was cut off upon Ash's glassy and glowing eyes that seem to show approval of the idea she just said.

"Well then! Let's go there after that! I can tour you around town of you like! Honestly, I haven't been there for 8 years now, so I can expect some changes when I get back there." Ash said with his fist in the air.

"Speaking of Pallet Town, what about your mother? She may be worried sick about you missing for 8 years straight." Serena said upon realization.

"I… know. I missed her, really. I should really go back home. But first thing's first. I have to help you with your problem, and then you can visit Pallet Town sometime!" Ash said with his fist in the air once more. As usual, Pikachu mimicked his trainer.

The sky was really clear that time. As Ash's hand was still in the air, he spotted a smoke coming from afar. It was rising in the air fast and getting bigger as well.

"Huh? What's going on there?" Serena said.

*gasp*

"Oh no! That's Lumious City's direction!" Serena said, wide-eyed.

The atmosphere above the smoke began to change an evil red. Clouds above began to darken.

"Fire… Let's hurry there." Ash said, grabbed Serena's hand and ran towards the direction while Mawile was behind.


As they near the city, they were passing by some people running from their destination. Ash stopped one to get some answers.

"Hey, mister. What's that smoke coming from Lumious? Is it fire?" Ash asked.

"Yes! A really, really big fire, that is! The fire department may not be able to handle such fire!" The man said.

"What happen then? Did a Pokemon rampaged in the city again?" Ash said, remembering the time of him saving a rampaging Garchomp.

"Yes! Not only that! There was this mysterious person in a black suit that commands that Pokemon! I don't know what he's after, but I'm not staying here to find out! There are people who were also targeted, you know!" The man said, and began to race from the city once again.

"T-targetted?! I can't believe such person!" Serena said in anger in her eyes.

"Let's look for him, then!" Ash said.

They reached the entrance of the city. The place was a wreck. Everything was messy; buildings were damaged, debris from buildings and roads were everywhere on the streets. The sky was dark red, the clouds were black. It was a sight of disaster that Ash and Serena had never seen before.

They went to the center of the city, only to find the Prism Tower tilted a little because of a damaged part of the building. No one was there, and it was quiet. Only the sounds of flame can be heard. And then Ash remembered Clemont. He was now curious as to where his location might be.

"Clemont! Are you here?" Ash shouted to make sure. Unfortunately, there was no reply.

"Maybe we should check inside." Serena suggested.

They went in front of the door, but it won't budge, even a little. It might have been damaged as well.

"I think he might be trapped inside." Ash said, pulling out a Pokeball. He threw the Pokeball in the air. Light came from inside the Pokeball and it materialized into Lucario.

"Lucario, I need you to open that door. Use Aura Sphere." Ash said.

"As you wish, master." Lucario said in telepathy.

Lucario then brought its hands into a pose. Blue aura was forming between its hands into a ball. It then launched the aura towards the door, seemingly smashed opened it.

"Thanks, Lucario. Return" Ash said. They began running inside the building.

They are now inside the gym. It was too dark, so Serena needed Gardevoir to use Flash inside.

The room was a mess too, debris were all over the place. At the other side of the battlefield was Clemont and an Electivire, lying against the wall unconscious.

"Clemont!" Both trainers shouted, and rushed towards his aid.

"Clemont, wake up!" Ash said, shaking his body. Fortunately, it wasn't the time for Clemont as he opened his eyes seconds later.

He then moved his head left and right to see where he was, and saw the two. "Ash… Serena…?" Clemont said weakly, and wince in pain of his wounded right arm.

Serena prevented him from moving more. "Don't move, Clemont. I'll get you healed up." Serena said, taking her aiding kit out of her bag and treated the wound gently. Meanwhile, Pikachu, Mawile, and Gardevoir stood in guard of the place in case any intruder comes in.

"Thanks… Serena… Serena? Is that you?!" Clemont gasp in realization. He didn't realize Serena was here. He then turned faced Ash.

"Ash, where did you find her?" Clemont asked.

"Now's not the time to talk about that! What happened here, Clemont? Who did this?" Ash said.

"Right. Let's talk about that later." Clemont said. Serena then tended to Electivire.

"I remember I was fixing Clembot for a rematch hours ago. A trainer came from the door and challenged me to a battle." Clemont said, his hands rubbing his head for further recollection.

"I heard him say. 'Let's battle…' in a voice I can't decipher if the person was a boy or a girl. Not only that, the person dressed weird. He was dressed in a full-body black suit. I can't see the person's face." Clemont continued.

"Despite the weird greeting, I accepted the challenge. I sent out Electivire to battle. I wanted to end the match as early as possible." Clemont stopped there.

"What happened next? What did the trainer send out?" Ash said.

"The person sent out a Blaziken. But…" Clemont said, trying to remember what happened.

"The Blaziken. It was wearing a mask. I had a weird sensation then, since it was enveloped in a dark blue aura. It may be the effect of the mask it wore." Clemont said in horror. He is visibly shaking from the thought.

"The battle started, and we had the upper hand, until the Blaziken used a powerful move on my Pokemon. And then, Electivire was sent flying towards me from the hit, and that's when we were knocked out." Clemont finished.

"'That's all I can remember. Man, my head hurts…" Clemont said. Serena was just finished tending Electivire. And felt familiarity from the words 'black suit'. Electivire stood up, and thanked her for healing it.

"A black suit… It feels... familiar, don't you think?" Ash asked Serena.

"Yeah. I feel like I've seen this person before." Serena said.

Ash put his hand beneath his chin to think. Unfortunately, none has crossed his mind. But it did felt familiar to him.

"I just remember!" Clemont said in a slightly louder voice.

"Whe-where's dad? Where is he? Is he alright?" Clemont asked in worry.

"We don't know. We haven't seen him since we got into the city." Ash said.

"Oh no… I have to find him now! I don't know if he's alright!" Clemont said, attempting to stand up, but was pushed down by his painful wound.

"Crap! I can't even stand up!" Clemont said angrily.

"Don't strain yourself even further, Clemont! We'll find him for you. We'll just wait for you to get better." Serena said.

"No, go find him right now. I'll be okay here alone. Electivire here can protect me from anything, after all. Right, Electivire?" Clemont said. Electivire nodded in the affirmative.

"Are you sure? We don't have much time left before the city is destroyed by them." Ash said.

"I'm sure. Now go. Please, find my dad." Clemont pleaded. The two trainers nodded to each other.

"Before that, I'll leave Dragonite here for more security." Ash said, sending out Dragonite.

"Dragonite, please take care of Clemont here while we're away, okay?" Ash said.

"Drago dragonite dragonite!" "You can count on me!" Dragonite said.

"Thanks, Dragonite." Ash thanked his trusty dragon-type Pokemon.

As the two trainers were about to go, Ash saw what it seemed to be a half-ribbon Clemont was holding.

"Clemont, where did you get that?" Ash asked.

"Oh yeah. That day, when you went away from the café, I gave a tour to May since she was knew to the city, but after a while, her eagerness separated us from then on. I went and searched for her even at that night, and I found this lying on the park." Clemont said.

"So she went missing last night." Ash said.

"I think so too. She wouldn't just leave this lying anywhere." Clemont said.

"Okay, then. Thanks, Clemont." Ash said.

The two trainers went away with Pikachu hopping onto its trainer's right shoulder, Gardevoir being sent back to its Pokeball and Mawile catching up to the two.

"Please, be alright, dad." Clemont prayed.


Outside, the place was more wrecked than before. Trees were brought down, more debris were everywhere. Some were even on fire. The sky was in a greater shade of dark red.

"This is getting worse. If we don't hurry and catch the criminal, this city's going to be history." Ash said, gritting his teeth.

"I'll go search for Clemont's dad. I know where his house is. You go find the criminal." Serena suggested.

Ash thought about it for a second. It was too risky for her to search for Clemont's dad alone. The criminal can attack her from anywhere, anytime.

"I'll be fine on my own. I have Gardevoir here. " Serena reassured.

"…Ok. Just be careful, all right? I don't want to lose you here, especially that we just got back together…" Ash said, proceeding to hug her tightly.

"I promise…" Serena whispered, returning the hug.

The two trainers released the hug, and went on separate ways. Ash went to the eastern side of the city while Serena went to the opposite side.

Serena then arrived in Clemont's house. Inside was a mess as well. The sofa's torn up, furniture was broken, kitchen wares were all over the place, walls and floors were cracked.

"Hello?! Is anybody here?" Serena shouted, but no reply was heard. After about 10 minutes, they found nothing.

"Mawile wile" "We should go back to Ash." Mawile suggested.

"I guess there's no one here then." Serena said, walking towards the exit.

Before she went outside, she saw a small folded paper taped on the wall near the door. She felt suspicious about the paper as to why it was still clean and not crumpled. She then took the paper and unfolded it. Serena began reading what it is written on it.

'Clemont, if you are reading this, look behind the sofa. There's a Pokeball there I want to use in case of emergency. I can't believe the city was already in a state of destruction in just an hour. I'm gonna find to culprit and bring justice to them. Be careful out there, son.' was written on the paper.

"Behind the sofa?" Serena thought, and looked behind the torn sofa just beside her. There was indeed a Pokeball there. She was curious as to what Pokemon it contains, and so she released it and revealed a Blaziken.

"Blaziken?" "Who are you?" Blaziken said.

"Blaziken? I thought for a second you were the culprit." Serena thought"

"I know you were waiting for Clemont, but he's injured right now in his gym, and he can't move. So it was left for me to find his dad, but I found you instead. Please aide me in search for the criminal, Blaziken." Serena pleaded.

Blaziken thought that this girl was really honest just hearing her pleading voice, and nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, Blaziken. Please, bear with me for a while." Serena said, returning the Pokemon to its Pokeball, and went away deep in the city in search for Ash with Mawile in the back.


Ash was wandering aimlessly in the city, hoping to stumble upon the culprit. It seems he's relying on luck this time. The air was too thick because of the smoke from the fire, so running a long distance to find the culprit is out of the question.

He came across the park Clemont mentioned, and went in the center. He looked left, right, and up, but not a single clue.

"Looks like no one's here either." Ash said.

"Hmm?!" Ash said in alert. Pikachu felt it as well, and its cheeks were enveloped in electricity. They were on guard.

They felt like they were being watched. It felt like something was getting closer every second passes, but they couldn't seem to spot it.

When Ash looked above, he saw an orb of light orange, coming straight towards them. The closer he looked at it, the more it seemed to be on fire. He realized it was getting closer, so he commanded Pikachu to attack it.

"Quick, Pikachu! Use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu jumped from his right shoulder. Its tail glowed a bright white and clashed with the sphere of fire. Pikachu and the sphere landed on the ground after collision. Ash and Pikachu was on guard of what it might be.

The fire from the sphere began to get weaker, and revealed a Blaziken. It was wearing a mask. It perfectly fitted Clemont's description. The trainer in a black suit might be the one behind the destruction of the city!

Ash thought that if Blaziken is here, the trainer might be as well.

"Show yourself!" Ash shouted.

5 seconds later, the trainer revealed himself. He was right beside him! How come Ash didn't sense his presence?!

The trainer in the black suit threw a punch at Ash, only to be blocked by Pikachu's Iron Tail.

"Perfect timing!" Ash said.

"Grr…" the mysterious trainer mumbled.

The trainer the backed away quickly, and now it was beside Blaziken.

"Hey! Why did you destroy the city? What was your purpose in doing that?! What will you gain from it?!" Ash asked in anger, but the he received no reply.

"Do you know numerous lives were taken by you and your treacherous doing?! I can't forgive you for that!" Ash said. The mysterious trainer and Blaziken were ready to battle. Blaziken was then enveloped in the same dark blue aura Clemont described.

"If it's a battle you want, then it's a battle you get!" Ash said. Both he and Pikachu are gearing up for the battle.

The sky is dark, the atmosphere was heavy, and tension between them is intense. Ash had not been able to battle a trainer in a very long time. This is a chance for him to see if his training in Mt. Silver paid off. And now, the fate of the city rests in his hands.

"Begin!" Both trainers shouted.


Now time to reply to a question:

Hello again im reading this story again as I am really enjoying the plot and I love the idea of team flare trying to get revenge but I have a question to ask. Someone I believe posted about this story being anti-amourshipping? Just wondering if that is true or not, if it is the case I will be sad but I respect your decision and I am enjoying your story. Really looking forward until the next installment :)

No. This is not an anti-amourshipping fanfic. If you're referring to an anonymous review accusing me of negative aspects of the ship, ignore that. And I'm pleased to hear you enjoy my story :)

Anyway, stay tuned for the next chappy and don't forget to review! :D