Alright, it's time for Greninja to make his comeback. Also, regarding the reveal of Dusk Lycanroc, I'm changing Ash's Lycanroc to that form to reflect the upcoming anime episode.
Song of the Chapter: Battle! Trainer (Black & White)
Serena sat in the crowd of the stadium, anticipating the battle. She knew Ash was bringing back Greninja, but didn't know the rest of his team. As Serena continued to gaze at Ash in admiration, her Oricorio emerged from its Poké Ball and began shaking her pom-pom-like wings around, as if it wanted to cheer on Ash.
"Oricorio, smart idea!" uttered Serena. Meanwhile, Sophocles and Kiawe were talking with Professor Kukui.
"Smart idea to give out those sushi coupons," uttered Sophocles. "Did he know it was you?"
"I just said it was the administration," replied Kukui. "Hopefully those two will eventually get together by the time that the conference is over."
"The battle between Ash Ketchum and Linda Fields will now begin!" exclaimed the announcer. "Each Trainer gets three Pokémon, and no substitutions! The battlefield for this battle will be a Fire-type battlefield."
A volcanic battlefield emerged from the center, with Ash and Linda walking onto it.
"So you're from Kanto then," uttered Linda. "Let's see if you can tackle my team."
"Oh, it's on," replied Ash. "Donphan, I choose you!"
Donphan slammed into the ground, letting out a triumphant roar.
"Darmanitan, let's go!" exclaimed Linda. Darmanitan hit the ground, pounding his chest with his fists.
"Defense Curl!" exclaimed Ash. Donphan curled up his body into a defensive form, reducing damage taken.
"Fire Punch!" exclaimed Linda. Darmanitan rushed towards Donphan, hitting him with a fist covered in flames.
"Rollout!" exclaimed Ash. Using Defense Curl's ball-like structure, Donphan rolled towards Darmanitan, smashing into him with immense force. The Rock typing caused the attack to deal vicious damage.
"Grass Knot!" exclaimed Linda. Darmanitan created a vine of sorts that tripped up Donphan, dealing quite a bit of damage.
"Hyper Beam!" exclaimed Ash. Donphan let out a massive beam of energy that hit Darmanitan hard. Yet, he held on somehow.
"Fire Punch!" exclaimed Linda. Darmanitan dashed at Donphan once again with a flaming fist.
"Counter with Defense Curl!" exclaimed Ash. Donphan rolled up his body again to counter the attack, knocking away Darmanitan.
"Now follow up with Rollout!" exclaimed Ash. Donphan rolled at Darmanitan once again, knocking him out.
"Darmanitan's down, leaving the score at 3-2!" exclaimed the announcer. Ash cheered, but knew there was more to come.
"Darmanitan, return," uttered Linda. "Cacturne, you're up."
Cacturne crashed into the ground, grinning sinisterly at Donphan.
"Take Down!" exclaimed Ash. Donphan charged at Cacturne with immense force.
"Counter with Spiky Shield!" exclaimed Linda. Cacturne blocked the hit with the spikes on its body, while also damaging Donphan.
"Defense Curl!" exclaimed Ash. Donphan curled up his body again to reduce damage taken.
"Energy Ball!" exclaimed Linda. Cacturne fired a ball of natural energies at Donphan, dealing heavy damage.
"Rollout!" exclaimed Ash. Donphan rolled across the battlefield at Cacturne, knocking it a fair distance.
"Dark Pulse," uttered Linda smugly. Cacturne let out a blast of malicious energies that hit Donphan hard and sealed his fate.
"Donphan's unable to battle, tying up the score at 2-2!" exclaimed the announcer. Ash checked Donphan for injuries, but he seemed to be fine.
"Donphan, return," uttered Ash. "Staraptor, let's go!"
Staraptor flew into the sky, flapping his wings constantly.
"Knock Staraptor out of the sky with Dark Pulse!" exclaimed Linda as Cacturne fired off a blast of shadowy energy at Staraptor.
"Dodge it and use Brave Bird!" exclaimed Ash. Staraptor did a quick roll to the side to avoid the Dark Pulse, before swooping down at Cacturne with a full-on tackle from the sky.
"Energy Ball!" exclaimed Linda. Cacturne let out a powerful ball of natural energies that dealt quite a bit of damage to Staraptor.
"Close Combat!" exclaimed Ash. Staraptor lunged at Cacturne, smashing it with his wings and feet.
"Hidden Power!" exclaimed Linda. Cacturne let out a ball of mysterious energy that hit Staraptor hard, and for plenty of damage.
"Finish this with Aerial Ace!" exclaimed Ash. Staraptor slashed Cacturne with his wing by attacking from above, knocking it out.
"Cacturne's done for, which leaves the score at 2-1!" exclaimed the announcer.
"Cacturne, rest up," uttered Linda. "Froslass, finish this!"
Froslass emerged from her Poké Ball, floating over the battlefield.
"Brave Bird!" exclaimed Ash. Staraptor lunged at Froslass for immense damage, hitting her fragile Ice-type body.
"Ice Beam!" exclaimed Linda. Froslass let out a beam of ice-cold energy at Staraptor, dealing vicious damage.
"Aerial Ace!" exclaimed Ash. Staraptor hit Froslass with a wing strike, but was beginning to be worn down by the battle.
"Psychic!" exclaimed Linda as Froslass hit Staraptor with telekinetic energy.
"Give it all you've got with Brave Bird!" exclaimed Ash. Staraptor lunged at Froslass once again.
"Ice Beam," uttered Linda. Before Staraptor could land the hit, Froslass hit him with another beam of frozen energy.
"Staraptor has been taken down, leaving the score at 1-1!" exclaimed the announcer. "This battle will decide who's advancing to the next stage, and who's returning home."
As Ash returned Staraptor to his Poké Ball, he began to grasp Greninja's as Pikachu looked on in happiness. As Ash looked around the crowd, he saw Serena cheering him on alongside her Oricorio. Ash blushed slightly before getting ready.
"Greninja, it's all or nothing!" exclaimed Ash. Greninja leapt from his Poké Ball, nodding at Ash as he landed.
"Ice Beam!" exclaimed Froslass. As Froslass hit Greninja with the Ice Beam, Ash felt his and Greninja's heartbeats syncing.
"Alright, it's time!" exclaimed Ash. "Stronger, stronger, STRONGER!"
Greninja transformed into his Ash-Greninja form, preparing to bring the battle to an end.
"Water Shuriken!" exclaimed Ash. Greninja produced a massive Water Shuriken, before tossing it at Froslass for immense damage.
"Shadow Ball!" exclaimed Linda. Froslass struck Greninja with a ball of shadowy energy, but Greninja shrugged it off. Ash felt some of the pain too, but Greninja's Dark typing helped resist it.
"Dark Pulse!" exclaimed Ash. Greninja produced a blast of malicious energies, striking Froslass hard.
"Ice Beam!" exclaimed Linda. Greninja was struck by ice-cold energy again, with Ash feeling the icy pain.
"Double Team!" exclaimed Ash. Greninja produced multiple copies of himself as they dashed around Froslass, mesmerizing her.
"Use Shadow Ball to find the real Greninja!" exclaimed Linda. Froslass fired off a Shadow Ball, but it didn't hit the real Greninja.
"Now finish this with Water Shuriken!" exclaimed Ash. Greninja let out a gigantic shuriken made of pure water, before knocking out Froslass with it.
"And Froslass is finished!" exclaimed the announcer. "Which means Ash wins the battle and advances to the next stage of the conference!"
Ash cheered, hugging Greninja tightly. As he exited the battlefield, he quickly found Serena and the others sitting nearby.
"You did great!" exclaimed Serena. "Greninja seems to have become stronger than ever!"
"Yeah, he did seem more powerful," replied Ash.
Late that night, Ash found himself watching his Pokémon train and socialize from inside the cabin. He knew he had made it far in the conference, but when would he be taken out?
And more importantly, when would he confess to Serena?
Ash knew that he loved her. Her personality, her support for him, and her charm. He couldn't deny it. Yet, the stress from the conference was getting to him. He knew that he'd have to confess before Serena left Alola.
"You okay Ash?" asked Serena. "You seem deep in thought."
"Yeah, just thinking about the conference," replied Ash. "There's a lot of tough opponents here."
"I'm sure you'll win this time," replied Serena. "But if you're ever stressed or worried about anything, come talk to me."
"Thanks Serena," replied Ash. "So, I've noticed that our two Sceptiles are getting close."
"Yeah, they seem to really like each other," replied Ash. "Have you ever had that special someone in your life?"
Ash blushed slightly, but Serena fortunately didn't notice.
"Not something I think about often," replied Ash. "But to answer your question, no. I've had lots of friends, but never have I had one really good friend."
"Yeah, I'm still looking too," replied Serena. "But we're friends, right?"
"Don't ask such an obvious question," replied Ash. "I'd even go as far as to say we're more than friends. I've known you for longer than anyone I've met. Even longer than Pikachu."
"Wow, that's incredible," replied Serena. "And I think the same about you."
As Ash looked at Serena, he could tell that she was also having thoughts about him. He needed to break the silence soon.
And the chapter comes to a close. There's going to be a timeskip to the quarterfinals next chapter, and the confession will be after that. Anyways, see you soon!
