Chapter 7: Opening rounds, the Mega Tournament.

This tournament idea was brought to you by 26Naruto26 one of my reviewers, this idea was expanded upon and will last a few chapters, please enjoy this arc.


Ash had walked into the medium sized city, a massive Tower dominated the skyline and the sound of the crashing waves emanated, it was then he noticed the people in a festive mood, the streets were lined with stalls and the pokemon with their trainers were wondering through, Ash looked around to find the many food stalls selling a multitude of snacks and drinks, he looked around wondering where his new rival was hoping that she would have made it to the city, "you know buddy I think I won the race," Ash proclaimed with a smile as he looked around to see Serena participating in the festivities, "or not, I think we drew in this one," Ash whispered to his partner pokemon.

Ash slowly walked through the massive crowd and approached his young rival, "now Bagon you need to behave yourself," Serena told her green dragon type pokemon.

"Having trouble with your pokemon?" Ash asked after sneaking behind his rival.

Serena jumped up in shock after hearing Ash's voice, she turned around to see him with his hands on his hips, "don't scare me like that!" Serena yelled out in anger. Serena turned her attention to her different colored pokemon and started to sigh, "you know Ash, I have been trying to get this Bagon to listen to me, ever since I caught it, I could never train it," Serena commented with a frown, she recalled her pokemon.

Ash started to chuckle after hearing Serena's problem, "you know up until the Orange Island, I was having the same problems with one of my strongest pokemon, I think I was saying something about this a few days ago," Ash professed while Serena listened, shocked to hear that such an experienced trainer had issues with one of his partners, "that's right Serena, I was having issues with training my Charizard, eventually I saved his life and now he is one of my best pokemon," Ash explained as Serena listened with great intent, wondering how he did it, she knew that Charizard was a much bigger pokemon than her Bagon, "I had a battle against a Poliwrath, I lost my cool and called out my Charizard, he was hit by an Ice Beam, freezing him, I spent all night thawing him out," Ash told Serena the story of how he save his fire type pokemon, "but with that, my Charizard would still give me an affectionate Flamethrower to the head," Ash professed while Serena gasped at hearing the confession, she placed her hands over her mouth and leapt back.

"So will Charizard be participating in the tournament?" Serena asked curiously.

"Tournament?" Ash enquired unsure as to what his rival was talking about.

"You see Ash, there is this tag tournament, called the Mega Tournament, trainers from all over the world come to compete, each year the winning team members will be give an item called the Mega Ring," Serena explained the Tournament to the best of her ability, "and one of the trainers in that team will be given a Lucario by the gym leader herself," Serena told Ash with a smile.

"Well if that's the case you can have Lucario," Ash replied with joy.

"Me, are you going to join in?" Serena asked with a surprised expression, "also will I be your teammate?" Serena questioned the trainer still unable to hide her surprise.

"Yes I will be joining this tournament, and yes you will be my teammate, also I will not be using Charizard in this competition, it wouldn't be fair for everyone else," Ash replied to Serena's questions.

"Come on Ash, let's put our names down, oh and return Bagon," Serena recalled her pokemon.

Ash and Serena walked through the small city and towards the front counter for the tournament, Ash picked up a paper to use as a sign in, "alright Serena it seems like we only have three pokemon each, so I think I will go with Gabite, Froakie and Pyroar," Ash named his team for the tournament, Ash handed over the paper and the pen.

"Thanks Ash," Serena thanked the trainer and took the pen, thinking about the tournament she thought closely about the pokemon she wanted to use, 'I cannot use my Bagon, Ash and I will lose,' Serena thought to herself knowing how much the dragon disliked him as a trainer, "I will put in Floette, Amuara and Torchic," Serena wrote down her pokemon calmly.

"Good, oh and don't worry too much about it, I will help support you in this tournament," Ash promised the blonde haired trainer with a confident smile, the two walked over to the front counter ready to partake in the competition .

"Ash, you know the battles will not be happening for another few hours do you think we can… spend some time together?" Serena asked the trainer, she closed her eyes and grew a little nervous about her rival's response.

"Sure, where would you like to go?" Ash asked quietly as his partner pokemon scratched his head in amazement.

"Um I was thinking to a café," Serena replied apprehensively. Ash looked around and spotted a nice place, he led Serena towards the café and pulled out a seat for her, Serena started blushing at the gesture and sat down, 'wow, Ash is such a gentleman,' Serena thought while watching the trainer take his seat.

"How about we get an order?" Ash asked while looking at the menu on the table, Ash scanned the menu from top to bottom with a smile on his face drooling at the number of meals on the page, 'oh wow, so much food, I think I will order half a page,' Ash thought with joy.

"Um Ash, here I was want to give this to you," Serena said nervously while handing a fossil to Ash.

Ash stared at the fossil for a moment, "what is it Serena?" Ash asked as he turned the fossil around.

Serena gulped while Ash continued to inspect the item, "it is a Jaw Fossil," Serena replied while starting to play with her fingers, "um Ash, I was wonder….what you think of…..me?" Serena asked feeling nervous about how her rival was going to respond to her question.

"I think you have a lot of potential as a trainer," Ash replied with a smile, seemingly oblivious to the true meaning of the question.

Serena looked away as her heart started to race, "no that's not what I meant, you said a few times, that I was…." Serena started getting more nervous about wanting to talk with Ash, "cute," Serena finally finished her face turning a little red.

Ash looked over to his partner pokemon and smiled gently, "yeah you're cute, I mean, you dress nicely and I really like your personality," Ash replied quickly.

Serena gulped for a moment and started to feel more at ease, she looked up to the waiter who was ready to take their order, "I would like a cup of tea and a strawberry cheesecake," Serena placed her order.

Ash looked at the page and smiled, "I would like to have the top half of this page," Ash placed his order in much to the shock of the blonde haired trainer sitting opposite him and the waiter.

'What, I cannot believe it Ash is ordering a lot of food,' Serena thought while looking at his pleased smile, 'but that smile when ordering his food, he looks so adorable,' Serena thought with a warm feel in her heart.

Ash turned his attention to Serena as the waiter left to fulfil the order, "so Serena, how have things been in Kalos for you?" Ash asked while placing his elbows on the table and his head in his hands.

Serena took a deep breath and started to think back about her past, "well Ash, after moving to Kalos, I went to another school, I wasn't really confident about it, plus my mom wanted me to be a Rhyhorn Racer, something I really hate," Serena commented while memories of her past started to replay in her mind, "I didn't like school much, to be honest I am far from perfect, every guy in school would over look me for other girls and my confidence was at an all-time low," Serena explained everything as she gulped and hesitated about wanting to tell her rival more.

"So that's why you asked me about what I think of you," Ash replied, Serena nodded with a guilty expression, "to be honest Serena, you're a beautiful young lady, I mean any guy who would overlook you most likely doesn't have any brains," Ash said while trying to cheer up the blonde haired rival.

"Really, most of the girls in school called plain looking, they all said no guy would want to go out with me, I was subject to bullying in school, most times I would return home, bury my head into my pillow and cry, most times wishing I was back in Pallet Town so we could continue being friends," Serena explained more of her past to Ash.

Ash listened shocked about how his rival had a hard time, "and your mother's rigorous training didn't help you much either," Ash stated causing the girl to smile softly as the waiter placed their respective orders on the table in front of the trainer, "hey Serena, how about when we get to Lumiose City, we go to another café and maybe we can see a movie together," Ash suggested quietly.

"You mean a date?" Serena asked with a bright smile.

Ash with his face turning red, he noted Serena shedding a tear, he placed his right hand under the tear and wiped it away, "yeah, if that's alright," Ash asked nervously.

Serena felt more at ease after the feel of Ash wiping away her tears, 'just like back in the forest all those years ago,' Serena thought while flashing back to the day he bandaged up her knee with a handkerchief with a blue outline, "Ash, do you remember this item?" Serena asked while pulling out the same piece of cloth with a blue outline, she showed to Ash and with a hopeful smile she handed it to Ash.

Ash looked at it and nodded, "yeah, I think it was when you got hurt when we were kids," Ash replied fondly.

Serena acknowledged the memory and took back the item, "you know when I was getting bullied by these kids I would return home, not only cry but look at this and remember the times you made me smile," Serena professed while placing the handkerchief back into her pocket. She looked up to witness Ash eating his food, one plate after the other, 'wow this guy will be hard to feed, I wonder what other foods he likes?' Serena asked herself as she grabbed a fork and started eating her cheesecake.

"So Serena, you went up against Team Flare ha?' Ash asked while putting another plate of food down.

"Yeah, but the odd thing is, they are similar to you," Serena commented while pointing at the trainer.

"What do you mean, I don't go around killing everybody," Ash enquired in shock.

Serena shrugged her shoulders and stood, "okay then, let me ask you, what do you think of my attire, fashionable or strange?" Serena asked her rival.

"How would I know? I mean come on I am not into fashion or anything like that," Ash replied with a frown, he crossed his arms, but before he could get up Serena grabbed his arm and dragged him to the streets, "where are you taking me? We do need to pay for the meals," Ash stated before trying to grab for the last piece of food on his plate.

"Nothing to worry about Ash, I put a cheque on the table," Serena replied with a grin, she continued to pull Ash towards another location, "since you have no idea about fashion we should at least get you some better clothes," Serena chimed while stopping at the location of choice.

Ash looked up to see a shop filled with suits, "no, not this, somebody get me a paper bag," Ash cried out while being dragged into the shops, "I hate suits," Ash yelled out before trying to run out of the building.

"Well then, I guess that mean I will not be going to the movies with you or going to a café in Lumiose City," Serena commented, Ash stopped after hearing the reply, he looked down and walked back with Pikachu laughing at his trainer, Ash looked back at his partner pokemon, 'yes, I have him wrapped around my little finger, soon, I will get him a suit for,' Serena thought while placing a finger from her right hand at the corner of her mouth, she started to think about him in a suit while she was wearing an elegant white dress.

"Hey Serena what are you thinking about?" Ash asked while his partner pokemon laughed at him, "traitor, no gym battle for you," Ash snapped at his pokemon.

Serena waved her hands in front of her face and stepped back, "nothing Ash, just a silly thought that's all," Serena replied as she turned to see a nice suit on one of the stands, 'that was close,' Serena thought while breathing a sigh of relief, Ash followed her to the area and pictured him wearing the suit, "hey why not try it on Ash?" Serene enquired quietly.

"Will it get me out of this shop?" Ash asked while looking back towards the young lady, she nodded with a nervous smile, "okay I will try it on," Ash replied while grabbing a test suit for the customers, he walked towards the fitting room and started to change himself.

'I can picture it in my mind, but I wonder what he will look like in real life?' Serena asked herself waiting to see what happens, sipping her smoothie that she had taken from the café, "come on Ash, hurry up," Serena called for her rival.

Ash emerged from the fitting room, surprised at the appearance, Serena dropped her smoothie and placed her hand over her mouth in shock, "so Serena how do I look?" Ash asked the blushing lady.

'Wow, it is better than I imagined,' Serena thought to herself, she gulped and got a little closer to Ash, "I want you to wear that more often, you look really good," Serena replied, he mouth agape she shook it off for a moment and turned towards the exit.

"I should buy this suit?" Ash asked, but the blonde haired trainer ignored the question.

Not sure what to think Serena continued her way out of the store, while Ash paid in full for the suit, she looked around towards the main arena as the opposing trainers prepared for the battle, her heart racing knowing that Ash looked really good in the suit, she drowned out the noise of the festivities and remembered the picture of Ash in a suit, "I was wondering what he would look like," Serena whispered to herself, she looked back to see Ash purchase the suit, a smile graced her face, watching Ash exit the building, "I cannot believe you bought it Ash," Serena said silently.

"Yeah, but if I didn't buy it, you would be upset," Ash replied calmly.

"Come on Ash, we need to get to the tournament," Serna told her rival. The blonde haired trainer walked a head while placing her clasped hands under her chin, 'I cannot believe it he looked so cool in that suit, I want to see him dress like that more often,' Serena continued to resolve, she continued towards the stadium with Ash walking behind her.

"You know buddy, Serena is acting a little weird, I mean what was the purpose of making me get a suit?" Ash asked while his partner pokemon closed his eyes and shook his head. The raven haired trainer looked ahead to see Serena walking a head, he felt his heart racing and his face heating up a little, 'we had only met, but Serena is really cute, I mean she is…' Ash thought while placing his right hand over his head, "what am I thinking, I have only just met her, but I feel as though I have known her a lot longer," Ash asked himself while remembering the date request he made to her, 'her personality is sweet, am I?' Ash wondered while keeping his eyes glued on the young woman in front of him, yet again he shook it off like it was nothing, it was something that continued to bother him.

"Hurry up Ash, the tournament is about to begin!" Serena called over to Ash, she turned around and ran towards the stadium, 'this isn't like Ash to dawdle like that, what is he thinking, I mean he was the first guy I had a crush on since he helped me in the forest,' Serena thought while thinking about her past again, she entered the stadium quietly with Ash following her in soon after, "took your time," Serena teased Ash.

Ash walked slowly but calmly, wondering what he was thinking when it came to Serena, "you know buddy, it was at Parfum Palace when I was thinking about something, I still don't understand it, but is this how it feels buddy?" Ash asked in a concerned manner, "you know the racing heart and sometimes I feel a little nervous when talking to her," Ash stated the situation to his partner pokemon.

Ash walked into the main stadium to see a crowd of people ready to watch the Tournament take place, it was there that Ash spotted Serena walking backwards towards him, "not them, please anyone but those two," Serena whispered while pointing towards four people from her past, Ash looked up to see two girls both dressed in a blue dress with a white blouse and two teens about the same age as Ash both dressed in a white college jacket and blue jeans.

"Serena, are you alright?" Ash asked with concern.

Serena tried to walk further away before she was spotted by the group of four, "well if it isn't Serena, the sweet little girl who couldn't stand up for herself," one of the girls said in a teasing manner.

"Oh yeah, that little girl who would always cry because she wasn't in her home region," the male trainer recognised the blonde haired trainer.

'I guess these weaklings must be her bullies from school,' Ash thought to himself before extending his arm out in front of his frightened rival, he glared at the four people with his Pikachu sparking from the cheeks.

"Hey this doesn't concern you," the blacked male on the left stated while smiling at the trainer.

"Why don't you four pick on someone who can defend themselves, someone like me," Ash replied with a determined expression on his face.

The girls started to laugh at the trainer, "oh did sweet little Serena find herself a boyfriend, funny she couldn't find one during school when there were others better looking than you," the red head stated with a smug smile.

"Well I guess they had small brains like the four of you," Ash replied with a smile, the male trainer on the left grabbed Ash by the collar, "what are you going to do? Punch me, because if you do, you get disqualified and that means no Mega Ring for you clowns," Ash enquired while smirking at the much bigger man, "oh and to answer your question, I guess she found one," Ash commented while grinning at the opposing trainer.

The four people walked away and left Ash and Serena alone, "Serena, are you alright, I want to battle those four, prove to them that you're a decent person," Ash said while looking up at the tournament board.

Ash and Serena watched for a moment, they watched as their team was shuffled with the rest of the teams, it was then that Ash and Serena found out that they were facing Serena's bullies, "did we have to face them?" Serena asked while noticing Ash cracking his knuckles, "why are you so excited Ash?" Serena asked the trainer with a frown.

"I want to beat them badly," Ash replied with a smirk, "plus I cannot stand what they said about you, I would rather get knocked down and get back up rather than let them walk over you like that," Ash explained while Serena stood in shook, her mouth agape at the trainer's reply, "our battle is first, excellent, I really want to embarrass them," Ash said while giving his rival a thumbs up.

Serena gulped nervously she spotted the four trainers laughing at her and Ash, 'why did Ash have to get involved?' Serena wondered, she looked up and smiled at the young man, her face was slightly reddened by the fact that he stood up for her, 'but then again, I think I am in love with Ash,' Serena thought while looking at the trainer fondly without him realising.

'I will not let anyone hurt Serena,' Ash thought to himself while trying not to look back.

(15 minutes later)

Ash and Serena were standing at the ready to face their first opponents, they watched the duo calling out their two pokemon for the battle, the male trainer called out a large rock like pokemon with two short arms and two powerful legs while the girl called out a blue pokemon with a white coat, "Golem and Sawk," Ash whispered while pulling out his pokeball.

"Come on you two call out your pokemon so we can defeat it quickly," the male trainer taunted Ash and Serena.

"Forakie, I choose you," Ash called for his water pokemon to battle the duo.

Ash looked over and waited for his rival to call out her pokemon, "Floette, I choose you," Serena called out her small pokemon.

The two opposing trainers started laughing at the two and shook their heads, "you two intend to beat us with two weak pokemon like that," the male trainer questioned Ash while shaking his head, "Golem, attack with Roll Out," the male trainer called for the first attack of the battle.

"Sawk, attack with Karate Chop," the female trainer ordered her pokemon.

Golem started rolling towards the blue frog and the karate pokemon ran towards the fairy pokemon ready to strike with an open hand. Ash smiled at the two and readied himself for a swift counter attack, "Froakie attack with Water Pulse," Ash instructed his pokemon calmly. "Serena use a fairy type attack on Sawk," Ash whispered to his rival. Froakie formed a ball of water in his palms and threw it at the rolling Golem, the attack hit hard causing the rock type to fall back from the force of the attack.

"Right, use Moon Blast Floette," Serena ordered her pokemon, the Floette started to glow with the light of the moon, then she unleashed powerful blast of energy towards the fighting type pokemon, the two powerful attacks caused the two pokemon to fall back near their trainers making them gasp in horror as their pokemon started to get back up slowly. Serena looked on in shock as the opposing pokemon barely held on, "Ash what happened?" Serena asked her rival who was smiling.

"Sturdy, an ability that prevents one hit knock-outs," Ash commented while the two pokemon got back to their feet.

"So we need to hit them one more time," Serena acknowledged while her pokemon got ready to attack again.

"We will not let you defeat us!" the two trainers declared while they glared at the duo.

Ash smirked while looking over to their pokemon, "your pokemon might seem strong, but they

aren't well trained," Ash replied, "Froakie, attack with Bubble Beam," Ash ordered for another round of the battle.

"Roll Out now," the male trainer ordered his pokemon again.

"Use Brick Break," the girl trainer called for another attack.

Ash sighed knowing that their battle lacked any form of strategy, "why us?" Ash asked himself while remaining calm. His pokemon easily dodged the attacks and hit the two pokemon with a burst of bubbles leaving them busy to contend with Serena's pokemon

Serena nodded and looked at her pokemon, "finish this with Dazzling Gleam," Serena told her pokemon. The fairy type pokemon started to glow unleashing a powerful light towards the two pokemon.

Ash smiled at his rival, he turned back to the battle to see the two opposing pokemon fainting from the battle, "oh wow, Ash and Serena have beaten the two powerful trainers," the MC said with a smile while the four trainers recalled their pokemon from the battlefield.

After recalling the pokemon the opposing two trainers walked up to them and shook their hands, "wow you both surprised us," the male trainer said with great embarrassment, the two opponents showed more respect to Ash and now Serena, "oh and one more thing, it might be a little late, but sorry for our attitude towards, you," the male trainer apologised to Serena with a nervous smile.

"Well people do grow up, I mean the last time I remember seeing Ash was where we were kids," Serena acknowledged while the couple in front them smiled calmly, "apology accepted, next time you bully me, I might beat you into submission, right Steven and Christine?" Serena joked to the two people in front of her.

"Ah, I think I will pass on that battle and I will make sure not to pick on Little Serena again," the male trainer know as Steven chuckled while walking back.

"Wimp," Christine berated her boyfriend, Christine grabbed the blonde by the arm and pulled her away towards the hallway, "hey Serena, can I ask you something?" the opposing female trainer asked the younger trainer.

"What is it?" Serena asked nervously.

"I saw you walking around the city with that guy," Christine stated while looking over to Ash, 'he is quite the catch in my eyes,' the young woman thought with a smile, "is he your boyfriend?" the woman whispered causing Serena to turn bright red.

Serena jumped back shocked at what she was asked she waved her hands in front of her face and shook her head, "what? What makes you think that? We're just rivals," Serena asked while the two guys looked at the blonde haired trainer who was still in shock and now trying to hide her blushing from everyone.

Ash approached Serena with a smile on his face, "come on Serena, we need to rest our pokemon and watch the rest of this round," Ash said while walking next to the blonde.

The two watched with a proud smile, seeing the two talking together, "you know, I think little Serena has a boyfriend," the female trainer commented while seeing her victim from the school days smile brightly.

"Why do you say that?" the female trainer's boyfriend asked.

"Her face went really red, and she denied it outright, but I can tell she is in love with that guy," the woman said with a smirk, "then there is the way he acts around her," she pointed out as she remembered the moment Ash stood up for her.

"Well what do you know, little Serena grew up, too bad they beat us in battle," the man said while scratching the back of his head.

(Two hours later)

Ash and Serena were watching the battle at another café, this time both of them were walking back to the stadium with a smoothie each, "you know Ash, I haven't thanked you for," Serena started as she got nervous at wanting to talk to Ash, she looked over to him and smiled gently, "thanks for standing up for me, I never really had the courage to that before," Serena thanked her rival while placing the straw in her mouth to drink some of the smoothie.

"N-not a problem, I didn't want to see you getting bullied Serena," Ash replied nervously.

Ash and Serena made it to the arena to see the last two teams completing their round, "seems like we will be battling soon," Serena said with hope.

Ash and Serena looked up to see who their next opponents were going to be, "I hope it will be someone good," Ash eagerly awaited the revelation of his next team he and Serena would face off against next.

"So, Ash I was thinking," Serena started while feeling more nervous about talking to Ash, 'I really want him to see me battle the gym leader,' Serena thought with a frown.

"Serena, are you alright?" Ash asked his rival quietly.

"Yeah, I am fine Ash, I was just wondering…if you would like to s-see me battle against the Gym leader," Serena asked the trainer nervously.

"Yeah of course, it would be interesting to see what other pokemon you have," Ash replied with a soft smile as their next opponents were revealed.

Serena smiled at the trainer as she felt more at ease with his reply, 'yes I get to show him how much I have improved,' Serena thought to herself while softly smiling at the trainer.

Ash looked at the team they were facing off against as he clenched his fists in anger, "what I know those two, Team Rocket, just what are they after?" Ash asked while keeping calm, 'great I wonder what pokemon they have this time,' Ash wondered with a frown.

Later that night Serena was sitting in her room writing in her book, "it is unbelievable, the people I battle against were my bullies from school, they turned out to be nice people now," Serena told herself as she wrote down her thoughts in her book, it was one thought that crossed her mind, something she couldn't deny to herself, the light beamed down on the book as the ideas flowed in, "is this what this feeling is like? I thought I would never experience it for myself, how do I tell him? Since I was told that I never would find a guy," Serena kept asking herself as she wrote more in her book, "I battled with him at my side, his courage seems like it will help me overcome everything, maybe it will make my dreams come true," Serena kept on writing as she talked to herself, "is this what it means to be….." Serena started asking herself before hearing the knocks on her bedroom door.

"Serena, I can hear you talking are you alright?" Ash asked causing the young lady to close her book.

Serena placed her book back into her backpack, "nothing is wrong Ash, just thinking out loud," Serena replied while jumping into her bed, 'it feels wonderful to know that I have finally found someone, I can truly love, but how do I tell him, he might reject me,' Serena thought to herself as more thoughts played through in her mind.

Meanwhile Ash walked into his room and looked over to his partner pokemon, "I know buddy, you seem disappointed, how do I tell her? What if she rejects me? I have never told a girl that sort of stuff before," Ash told his friend while thinking about the young woman again, he walked to his bed and thought about his past with Serena, 'how do I say it?' Ash asked himself while his Pikachu shook his head in shame, "hey take it easy buddy, I have never felt this nervous before," Ash told his partner pokemon while taking a seat on his bed.


Ash and Serena defeated their first opponents, the two are now starting to show signs of developing feelings for one another but they remain unaware if it, but now they face a much tougher challenge Team Rocket, will Ash and Serena win this next round?

Next time Chapter 8: Troubles arrive

I will be starting a one-shot series between Ash and Serena called Amour Stories, they will be short and sweet stories ranging between 1000-1500 words each, if any of you want to make a request please PM me about it, the series will last between 35 and 40 stories, might go longer depending on how many requests I get, or how much more I like this pairing, the good thing is I really like this pairing more so than Pearl and Advance.