The Loss of Serenity

Brendan ran into the Pokémon Center's main room, Gwen with the look of fear still on her face. Despite having been out of the contest hall for ten minutes, she still was unable to calm down. There was no nurse at the counter, but the other option was probably better. There was a man wearing a white lab coat with a stethoscope. "Hey, my Ralts needs help!" Brendan said. The man, whose nametag identified him as Dr. Jameson, looked up and got a look of shock.

"Chansey get a gurney right now, and ready a sedative!" he said. "What happened to her?"

"We were just at the contest, and when one of the coordinators brought out a Murkrow she started getting scared. About halfway through the battle, she was panicking. It got worse every time the Murkrow attacked," Brendan said as the Chansey arrived with the requested gurney, a tray with a syringe and needle, and a bottle of what Brendan assumed to be the sedative. Brendan placed Gwen onto the cart and followed the two to the examination room.

"Young man, if you don't mind, I will need you to wait outside the room for a while. Once Ralts is stable, we will take her to a medical suite where you may stay with her," Dr. Jameson said as he entered the room.

"Thank you," Brendan said. He walked over to the padded bench a few feet from the exam room door, and sat quietly. Damn it, why didn't I get her out of the hall sooner? I knew something was wrong, but I didn't do anything about it! If this is how I react when my Pokémon are sending me clear signals that something is wrong, how will I be any better when those signals are more hidden? Brendan clenched his fists and his eyes tightened in frustration. He looked at the door with a look of deep concern etched on his face. Please Gwen, just be okay.

Just as he thought that, the "Operation in Progress" light turned off and Dr. Jameson exited the room with a sigh of relief. "Your Ralts has calmed down, and she is asleep now. All the little gal needs is a night of rest to recover, and she will be fine," he said.

Brendan breathed a little easier when he heard that. "Thank you Doctor."

"Be glad that you got her here when you did. If she got here much later, there may have been permanent damage," he said.

"What exactly happened?" Brendan asked, needing to get some information about his Pokémon's condition.

"The best I can tell, she had a severe panic attack. I'm no Pokémon psychologist, but she seems to have a deep seated fear of Murkrow and Honchkrow. That is something that must be addressed to make sure this doesn't happen. If she keeps having these episodes, the strain on her heart will shorten her lifespan significantly," he said with a grave tone of voice.

"I understand. I'll help her get through this," Brendan said, a slightly upset tone.

Dr. Jameson had a sympathetic look. "I will arrange for you and your Ralts to stay in our best suite," he said.

"Thank you," Brendan said.

Brendan sat in a chair by Gwen's bedside, and he was waiting for her to wake up. He was about to fall asleep when a soft knock sounded on the door. "Come in," he said. The door opened and revealed May, Norman, Lizia, and Grace.

"Hey, how is she?" May said, a look of concern on her face as she and the others entered the room.

"She's fine, she just needs some sleep," Brendan said with a slight smile. "How'd the contest go?"

"May won against Grace in the final match," Lisia said. "It was close, but May came out on top. It really was an impressive match."

"Well great job winning May," Brendan said.

"Thank you. But next time, I hope you can stay for the whole show," May said.

Brendan just looked at Gwen and placed a hand on her head. "So do I," he said. That was when Gwen's eyes began to flutter open.

W-where am I? What happened? Gwen asked.

"You had a panic attack," Brendan said. "I brought you to the Pokémon Center as fast as I could. The doctor said you would be fine if you slept for a while."

Oh, I see. I guess I'm still not over my fear of Murkrow and Honchkrow, Gwen said.

"Gwen, I know it won't be easy for you to tell me, but I need to know, why you are so afraid of Murkrow and Honchkrow," Brendan said.

Gwen was quiet for a time. Lizia, Grace, Mr. Maple, would you mind leaving me with Brendan and May? I'm not sure if I'm ready for so many people to hear this.

"Of course," Norman said. "We'll be right outside if you need us." They left the room and closed the door.

May looked at Gwen when they left, and she saw that Gwen was fidgeting a little bit, clearly not sure how to start this. And more than that, she had tears in her eyes. She placed a hand on Gwen's and held it tightly to comfort her. "It's okay Gwen, no matter what happened or what will happen, we will be here for you."

No, it's really not okay, Gwen said. I'm glad that you two will be here for me, but the reason I'm so scared of Murkrow and Honchkrow is… That was when she began to cry openly. Because my mother was killed by a flock of them.

May didn't know what to say. This was a big revelation.

Brendan, however, knew how to address this. "Please, tell us what happened so we can help you."

Alright, I will. It happened about a year before I met Brendan:

*One year earlier*

"Sam! Stop that, it hurts!" Gwen cried out as she ran and covered her head from the incoming pebbles. All that came from behind her was laughter from the other Ralts. She was running with her eyes closed, so she didn't see the cliff getting closer. Sam didn't see it either until he stopped throwing stones long enough to notice. When he did, he dropped the remaining rocks.

"Gwen, stop!" Sam said. "You're running straight for a cliff!" Gwen heard him call out, so she opened her eyes, but despite trying to stop, she tripped over one of the rocks that landed in front of her. She stumbled too far and she fell over the edge. "Gwen!"

"Aaaaahhhh!" she cried out as she rolled and bounced down the steep slope. It wasn't long before she landed at the bottom of the cliff, just about twenty feet below. "Owww!" she said as she landed hard. Gwen's right leg felt like it was broken, and her body was covered with cuts and bruises.

"Gwen, are you okay?" Sam called out, clearly scared as he looked over the edge of the cliff.

"I think so, but I think my leg is broken!" Gwen called back up.

"I'm going back to the village to get help, just hold on!" Sam said.

"O-okay," Gwen said. "Not like I really have much of a choice," she muttered.

It felt like many hours had passed since Sam left, even though Gwen knew that her village was about a half an hour walk away from where she was. She was trying to keep herself calm as she lay there, but the pain radiating from her arm kept bringing her mind back to her predicament. The only thing that really helped her relax was the pond nearby. Other than that, she was terrified.

"Serenity! Serenity!" Sam called out as he ran toward Gwen's home, one of the grass huts that filled the hidden village of Ralts, Kirlia, Gardevoir, and Gallade. The cloth draped in the doorway was pushed aside as a Gardevoir came outside.

"What is it Sam?" Serenity asked, noting the worry in the boy's voice.

"Gwen's in trouble, she needs help!" Sam said. Serenity gasped in surprise as her eyes went wide.

"Where is my daughter?" Serenity said.

"I'll take you to her." With that, Sam and Serenity both ran from the village.

Gwen was growing concerned now, as menacing storm clouds gathered overhead. "Sam, Mom, where are you?" she said. When she heard movement near her, she thought that it was her rescue. Oh how wrong she was. What she heard was neither her mother nor her friend. What she had heard, which became clearer by the second, was the beating of wings.

"Mom, where are you?" Gwen said, fear clear in her voice. Her fears proved to be well founded, as, unprovoked, a flock of Murkrow and Honchkrow swooped down at her and began to attack her.

"Get out of our territory!" the largest Honchkrow said, with a thick Italian accent. "Or we will kill you!"

"I can't walk," Gwen called out. "My leg is bro-. OW!" she was cut off as two Murkrow pecked at her.

"Does it look like we care if you're injured?" the large raven Pokémon said. "This is our territory and you trespassed. Now move!" A blinding flash of light filled the area.

"Liar!" Serenity yelled. "This has never been your territory, it belongs to the Gardevoir and Gallade village. Now leave my daughter alone, or I will show you no mercy!"

"What the hell can you do, you hussy?" the Honchkrow said.

"This," Serenity said. Her eyes began to glow with a soft pink glow. Gwen quickly found herself teleported to her mother's side before another blinding light that filled the area as Serenity hit the flock with a Dazzling Gleam attack.

"Mom!" Gwen said as she hugged Serenity's leg, earning a smile from the Gardevoir.

"You're safe now Gwen, I'll handle this," Serenity said. "But first, you need to be healed!" She opened her palm toward Gwen and a ring of purple energy appeared and Gwen felt her injures heal in an instant. "Now, find Sam and get out of here. I'll deal with this gang."

"O-okay," Gwen said.

"Forget about getting out of here, little bitch! Now, all of you use Payback!" Honchkrow said. Every one of the Murkrow and Honchkrow in the flock fired multiple dark streams of energy at Serenity.

"YOU WILL NOT DO HARM TO MY DAUGHTER!" Serenity said as she created a barrier around herself and Gwen. "Now, I will show you what happens when you anger a Gardevoir, especially for attacking her baby!" She yelled out. She gathered multiple balls of pearlescent pink energy and threw them at the flock, where they exploded. The attack, however, only seemed to anger the flock.

"Oh, I would not worry about your daughter anymore," Honchkrow said. "Now, I think we're going to kill you! Everybody, hit her with Brave Bird from all sides!"

Serenity's eyes went wide. She understood what would happen to her. No matter how strong she was, there was no defending against so many Pokémon using the most powerful flying attack. And with so many coming at her, she doubted that she would get home unscathed, if she got home at all. Serenity just looked to her daughter, and gave her a sad smile. "Gwen, this won't be easy for you, but no matter what happens to me, just remember that I love you. Now, you must stay safe," she said as she teleported her daughter away from the danger. There was so much more that she wanted to say to her daughter, but she had not the time to say what she wanted to.

That was when the flock of Murkrow and Honchkrow began to dive at her with blue flames erupting around them. Gwen, I wish I could be there to help you as you grow up. You will need to be strong from now on. I am so sorry that this had to happen, but I know that you will be okay, that you are destined for greatness. I know we will see each other again, I just know it. I will watch over you, my pride and joy. I love you. That was when all of the incoming birds slammed into her, creating a massive explosion.

Gwen had tried to stay with her mother while being teleported, and as a result, she appeared at the top of the cliff, and she crawled over to the edge. She peered over just in time to watch her mother get hit by the entire flock of Murkrow and Honchkrow, slammed into her mother and created the explosion. "MOTHER!" she cried out. The flames subsided and the flock flew away, clearly proud of their victory.

"Alright boys and girls, let's go back home. This will show everybody that we are not to be messed with," the head Honchkrow said. This got people cawing in agreement. They all flew to the tree line and went deep into the forest, finding their nesting for the night.

Gwen could not keep herself on the cliff, she climbed down the rock wall as fast as her body could carry her. "Mother!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes as she ran toward the burned and battered body on the ground. "Mother, please be okay!" Gwen got to her mother, who still had not moved from the spot that she had fallen, and tears were falling freely. "Mother, please get up!" Gwen shook Serenity's shoulder, trying to wake her up, hoping she was just knocked out. "Mother, PLEASE!" That shaking cause Serenity's head to turn and face Gwen, revealing that her eyes were wide open, but Gwen could see that their light had already gone out.

"No," she said, shock easily seen on her face. "No, you can't be dead. You can't be! Mother, COME BACK TO ME!" Gwen said.

*Back to the Present*

I was told that the rest of the village found me there a few hours later. I don't remember when that happened, I wasn't really conscious at the time. It took me half a year to get over my grief, and even though the village helped me, after a while I didn't feel like I belonged there anymore. I left about two weeks before Brendan moved to Littleroot Town. I was actually on Route 101 when he and his mother went by in their moving van. I sensed that Brendan had an innate talent for Pokémon training, but I sensed something even greater in him. I sensed that he had a pure heart. That was when I decided to meet and befriend him. I figured that having a trainer would do me good.

"Gwen, I'm so sorry," Brendan said.

I-it's alright she said as she silently cried. I just need some more time.

Brendan picked up Gwen and held her closely. "I'll be here for you, no matter what. If you need to talk to either of us, don't hesitate."

"Exactly, we will both be here," May said stroking Gwen's hair, which seemed to calm Gwen a lot.

Thank you both, Gwen said.

"I just want you to promise me that you won't keep things like this hidden from us anymore," Brendan said. "If you hide things from us, we won't be able to help you through your troubles."

Gwen looked up at Brendan in a way that told him that their bond had just been strengthened considerably from this moment alone. Thank you Brendan, and you too May. You're the best friends a Pokémon could ask for.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, reviews are welcomed so long as they are constructive.

In the next chapter, we will meet a certain sunglasses and Hawaiian shirt wearing talent scout and, there will be a new addition to both Brendan's and May's teams.

So, enjoy life until next time.