A/N: Hello my lovely readers! A bit of a long chapter, huh? We get to see the consequences of Gordo's toughness on Serena in this chapter. I hope you all enjoy!

Also, to the most recent guest review: I appreciated the review and wish you had used a signed account so I could PM you. Why would I hate you for constructiveness, by the way? I love different and reasonable perspectives. I will say right now that the Ketchum grandparents aren't pushing Serena around. They simply don't like her, but Serena doesn't want to leave Ash, so it's causing a conflict. I liked your direction with Serena's character, but that won't be the exact direction I go for. I hope you will like my spin into Serena's reasoning on persevering through unfairness. If you can contact me through a signed account via PM, I'd love discussing this further. Thank you for liking the story thus far!

Onward to the chapter!

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us. -Wilma Rudolph

Chapter 9: Nature at its Core

When the elderly couple left the battlefield, Serena went up to Delphox and fell on her knees. She quietly wept in front of her first Pokémon's lap. Delphox summoned enough strength to sit up and caress her trainer's hair. Serena, surprised at the contact, froze momentarily. Delphox wanted to say something reassuring, but knew that Serena didn't understand Pokémon language. She also surprised them both by being able to sit up despite all that damage she took.

"Delphox… I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything to help you until it was too late." Serena said. She was trying to wipe away her tears.

"(Serena…) Serena could tell that Delphox said her name solemnly.

"I'm your trainer. I'm supposed to be able to protect you. I… I can't call myself your trainer if I let something like today happen to you." Serena said while looking away. Delphox quickly grew annoyed. She took out her fire stick and ignited it. Despite her injures, it burned brightly. Though she winced slightly trying to make the flame stronger, the flame seemed brighter than before the battle.

"(Stop saying those silly things, Serena! You'll always be my trainer no matter what happens!)" Delphox yelled.

"Delphox…" Serena may not have understood Delphox, but she knew her Pokémon was trying to cheer her up.

"(I really appreciate that you stuck up for me, even though that old creep was stronger than us. You did what you could.)" Delphox continued, hoping Serena would get what she was saying. Suddenly, Delphox began to glow pink. Then, she spoke with a slight echo in her voice, "… So don't say that, alright? You're an amazing person!"

"You can talk?" Serena blinked her eyes in shock. Delphox seemed slightly startled herself.

"I can talk?" Delphox seemed startled that Serena could understand her and the fact that her voice was echoing.

"She can't talk… not normally, but as a psychic type mythical Pokémon, I can enable her to speak telepathy temporarily." A third voice entered herself into the conversation.

Mew temporarily had made herself invisible upon Gordo and Alice leaving. She chose to stay around Serena to continue observing her and to not make their interaction awkward. Still, she found her curiosity hard to resist for too long. She figured Serena wouldn't be able to understand Delphox's words and accommodated for that.

"Why are you still near me? You did nothing to help Delphox even though you could!" Serena screeched.

"Serena… let me tell you something about how I teach. I am nature incarnate and nature will often be harsh and cruel to you. It will force you to adapt to whatever is thrown at you, but never out of malice. Nature forces the strong to come out and survive. You were never going to make progress as you were before the battle because you hadn't been through much. This is only the beginning of your trial through life." Mew began.

"…" Serena didn't know how to respond to that.

"I won't spare you or any other person… even my Ketchums… from this hard fact. You humans are my children and if you can't learn on your own, you have no reason to keep living. Fortunately, you proved that you can adapt to tough situations. That's what I want to see in a potential mate. I helped you at first because I wanted to see how you would take it. Upon seeing you freeze up, I decided to follow the philosophy I said before. And it worked."

Serena gasped and looked away from Mew. She was glad to see Mew showing more interest in her, but didn't know how to feel about her notion. Serena retorted, "Accepting help isn't a bad thing. Isn't it common in nature to have your elders teach you while you're young?"

"That's exactly what you're going through now. Eventually, those elders won't be there, so you have to be ready in the event that happens. My ways seem harsh to humans and I'll admit, I may take things a bit too far sometimes. However, my ways are effective. Ash learned so much in the short time I had him in a coma because he was forced to adapt to the situations I put him in by himself. His potential keeps rising higher and higher." Mew responded. She floated to be in directly in front of Serena's face. "I've haven't rejected you because of the potential I see within you as well."

"You… see potential in me?" Serena blinked her eyes in surprise. Mew nodded.

"Of course. I wouldn't have aided you otherwise. Gordon and Alison may have designs to test you to their own satisfaction, but I also have my own design in this. Everything I do while Ash is gone will be to help you grow stronger, even if it may not seem that way at first." Mew said with a small smile.

"Hmm…" Serena looked down in thought. Mew took notice of the pensiveness of the girl and shrugged.

"Take what I say to your own interpretation," Mew told her.

"…Why do you want to help me?" Serena asked in a small voice. Mew chuckled slightly.

"I want to see where your path goes in relation to my youngest Ketchum. Ash has a habit of finding good humans in his journey to travel with. I see him light up near you… and I feel that's a good sign to try to understand you more, especially since he has chosen you as a romantic partner." Mew responded.

"I… don't know how to feel about your method, Mew. I do know that I don't like it." Serena said candidly. Mew nodded in acceptance.

"That's natural, dear. I'm not going to convince you to like my ways. Humans never like to be harshly treated, as all living things are like this. I'd be wondering what's wrong with you otherwise." Mew finished with a chuckle. She suddenly moved Serena away from Delphox and forced both of them to stand up. Mew said with glowing pink eyes, "Now… Delphox. I will heal you. Stay still."

Mew brought out her paws and they began to glow in a mystical blue energy. Delphox began to glow the same color and she began to feel refreshed. Serena watched the legendary Pokémon in awe while also thinking about what Mew told her earlier. If she was hard-set on following the life is harsh philosophy, she wouldn't have healed Delphox. In fact, Serena was convinced Mew would have forced Serena to figure out which herbs would be needed or force the girl to use her powers herself. Serena found herself bewildered by the mythical Pokémon, but thankful she was kind enough to do this for Delphox.

Serena wondered if Mew was beginning to warm up to her outside of her curiosity and willingness to help Ash out.

"Many thanks for helping me during the battle and right now, Mew. I'm sure I would have lost a lot quicker if you hadn't helped." Delphox said with gratitude.

"No problem. I noticed how unfair Gordon was being, so I gestured him to use resources other than aura to battle so he could push Serena harder. I do have to apologize for that, though. You took a massive beating for Serena to unlock some potential from within her. I hope you won't be too mad at me for that." Mew said while rubbing behind her head a little. She did feel a little guilty about that.

"If… your intention was to help Serena, then I guess I can forgive you. Just... let me know beforehand if you do plan something like this again." Delphox pleaded. Mew nodded and promised the fox she would let her know next time. The fire type turned to her trainer. "Serena… are you feeling better?"

"Not really. However…" Serena said immediately and shook her head. She closed her eyes as she said, "I do think that I should be your trainer still. I'm sorry for those foolish things I said after the battle. I need to grow stronger with you so things like today won't happen again. Today was a huge rude awakening. I'm just going to use what I learned for the future."

"Serena…" Delphox said sadly.

"It's alright, Delphox. I'll… have to defend us better next time." Serena said with narrowed eyes while curling her fists.

"If you need some time to recuperate before you begin Ms. Alice's portion of the trial, say it. Don't bottle in your emotions. It'll only hurt you in the long term." Delphox warned.

".." Serena merely looked away from Delphox, unsure of how to respond. Upon seeing Serena's indecision to respond, Mew decided to intervene.

"That's a good idea, actually. Go inside the house to collect your thoughts. Based on what I've observed in the past hour and what I've seen in the future, I feel as though I need to get someone for you." Mew said to her.

"Someone?' Serena blinked her eyes in surprise.

"You'll understand soon enough. Don't push yourself, dear. I'll see you in a bit." Mew then teleported away from the two of them. Serena and Delphox were now left alone. Delphox made a comforting smile to her trainer.

"(It's your choice, in the end of the day, Serena. I'll follow whatever you do.)" Delphox said with a confident tone. Although Serena couldn't understand her with Mew gone, Serena knew she said something comforting.

"I'm not sure what's in Mew's head, but so far she has been trying to help us, so I think we should wait for her. I doubt she'll drop a boulder on the house." Serena morbidly laughed. She started to walk back inside Aurora's house to wait for Mew. Delphox sighed sadly, but decided to follow her trainer inside the house.

Serena sat in the living room and began to think to herself. Delphox was right by her, but she was more concerned about Serena than what happened to her. She never imagined the bright girl to be brooding this much for her. On one hand, she was touched that Serena cared so much about her and was grateful that she had such a caring trainer. On the other hand, she was upset that Serena was brooding in the first place. Serena was always one to look at things positively, even when kicked down.

Serena was thinking about how powerless she was to stop Gordo and was afraid of what could happen against someone even more brutal. She never wanted to witness her Pokémon beaten like that again and would do anything to stop it. Her left hand began to glow pink as she stared into it.

Serena curled that fist and resolved to never become powerless again. She suddenly gained a determined expression. Delphox looked over to Serena and noticed the change. Although she was confused at her trainer's determined features, she was happy to see she seemed better. Delphox would have tried to talk to her again, but she noticed that she had reverted back into using her Pokélanguage again. She figured it was because Mew was no longer with them.

After waiting in the house for about a half an hour, Serena and Delphox noticed a pink glow outside. Curious, they both looked out the window. They gasped when they saw that Mew didn't have a human, but a Pokémon with her. The two quickly went back outside to check it out.

The Pokémon looked like a slightly withered electric mouse with a long lightning shaped tail. Her beady brown eyes seemed to have years of experience and she seemed very mellow, but curious about Serena. Her fur seemed rougher and lighter brown than other Pokémon Serena had seen of this type. Based on how she presented herself, Serena had a feeling she knew this Pokémon's nickname.

"Are you… Mrs. Aurora's Raichu? Wasabi is what she called you in her story of some of her earlier adventures." Serena asked. The Raichu nodded and seemed tickled at this. Mew made Wasabi glow pink to enable her to speak to Serena.

"Why yes, I am. You are Serena, correct?" Wasabi asked. The girl nodded in acknowledgment. Wasabi said with a respectful bow, "It's a pleasure meeting young master Ash's betrothed."

"Umm…. Betrothed? I'm… I'm just his girlfriend. I'm… not up to that level with him." Serena said while stammering. Serena's face immediately turned red as she turned shy. Wasabi suddenly gained a cheeky grin.

"Yet." Wasabi finished her last sentence, as she'd heard some hesitation in Serena's voice. Despite not being an aura partner, Wasabi seemed to know what Serena was thinking.

"I… I hope to marry him someday, at least," Serena admitted with her face even redder than before.

"You amuse me, girl. I used to be like you, being this shy. Funny how years of training makes you a bit reflective." Wasabi chuckled. She slowly walked toward the girl and brought out her tail for Serena to grab like a hand. Serena was confused by the gesture. Wasabi said, "Mew asked me to be your partner today. She said I will be needed for you to complete Alice's trial. Will you accept my tail in partnership?"

"My partner? You're willing to help me even though you just met me?" Serena blinked her eyes in surprise. The mouse nodded.

"I may have just met you, but I know a good kid when I see one. Aurora told me all about you when she first returned here with the young master. She seemed to like you quite a lot, even telling me how excited she was at how close you and Ash are. Seems like I'm not the only one excited at the prospect of adding a new member to the family, hehe." Wasabi laughed. This made Serena visibly blush again. Wasabi started again, "Well? Will you accept my invitation?"

"I… I accept. Thank you for this." Serena said as she grabbed the tip of Wasabi's tail and shook it. She was surprised at not getting shocked and marveled at Wasabi's control with her inner electricity. Wasabi stood back into a neutral position. Serena began to wonder something about the mouse. She pondered, "Because of the whole mother-son separation thing with Ash and Mrs. Aurora, I need to know this. Are you Pikachu's mother?"

"I've been a mother to several Pikachu, dear."

"I mean Ash's Pikachu."

"Ah… you're talking about Little Chu, right?" Wasabi asked. Serena nodded. Wasabi chuckled, "I'll tell you right now that he's not one of my children. I'm a Hokorian Raichu. Ash's partner is Kantonian. There's a distinct difference in the softness of our fur and the coloration."

"What's the difference?" Serena said, now curious.

"Hokorian Pikachu tend to have much rougher and lighter fur bristling with electricity. This is to deter our natural predators, the Chelestsic and Chelectop lines, from eating and finding us using the light yellowish grasses of Mufasa Fields. If they do eat us, they get shocked from the inside out, possibly killing them depending on the maturity of the Pikachu. Pikachu from Kanto have much softer and darker fur. The darker fur meshes with a deep forest better than a light yellow would." Wasabi explained.

"Wow. That's cool to learn." Serena said, somewhat intrigued.

"If you have any more questions for me, I'll be happy to answer them," Wasabi said with an easygoing smile.

"One more thing… Mew?" Serena asked the legendary Pokémon. Mew tilted her head in curiosity, but gave Serena her full attention. "What was that white thing that Mr. Gordo used against me?"

"That was a Z-Ring Bracelet. With a Z crystal, you can power up a certain type and use it to hit your opponent. This device originates in Alola." Mew explained.

"Alola, huh?" Serena tapered off to herself. That wasn't the first time she'd heard of the place. She remembered Clemont mentioning how Aurora cooked her food with the Alola region in mind. She hadn't thought too much of the region, though.

"Here's another tidbit about Alola. Alola have much more drastic regional forms than any other region. Raichu from there looks much more different than Raichu from Kanto or Hokori. Instead of having sharp points at their tails, they have curvier tails and blue eyes. They can levitate and use electric and psychic type moves, too. They are also Psychic types themselves."

"What?!" Serena widened her eyes in surprise.

"I think this is a good opportunity to explain what Alola has to offer as we head to the crystal caves. Wasabi, feel free to add some input as Aurora did take you on her journey there. You got to see a lot of things first hand." Mew said. Wasabi and Serena nodded. Serena decided to return Delphox to her capsule. She wanted the fox to get some good rest after what happened to her.

Mew and Wasabi explained the lore of Alola, from Z-moves to regional variants to how the region was much more mellow than other regions. Serena was surprised to hear that Alola didn't have any gyms, but was curious about these island challenges. Her thought immediately went to Ash when she heard them explain that island challenges involved figuring something out, then battling a large totem Pokémon. She knew Ashton liked to figure things out while Ash liked to battle things, so she felt like these island challenges would be a perfect fit for what Ash as a whole liked.

Wasabi talked about how all the known regional variants in Alola were Kantonian in origin and gave some examples of Pokémon. Serena heard her mention how Ninetails is an ice type and fairy type in Alola or how the fire and ghost type Marowak became that way to overcome the grass types in the region. Serena remembered those Pokémon as being fire and ground type everywhere else respectfully. Serena was now much more curious about the region.

She also was curious about Z-rings and how they added an extra layer in battling. She was thinking about how certain types of moves might fit into one of her routines and grew excited to learn more. Maybe Ash and her could get Z-rings in the future. She'd love to ask Aurora about these rings more since she used to be a Coordinator. Maybe she would know ways of using them in a flashier way?

Through all the talking, Serena, Mew and Wasabi made it out of the forest and into the crystal caves. Mew led them down to a quick path right at the entrance from the lower level of the Tree.

As they walked, Wasabi also told Serena all the moves she knew. Serena widened her eyes at the sheer variety this mouse knew. Wasabi explained that Aurora went to move tutors occasionally during her journey. She also could tutor moves certain moves for Pokémon. The mouse also explained that some of Aurora's aura partners had unorthodox moves as a result, but Serena didn't know what they could be. Wasabi gave the example of her knowing Surf from being in Alola and learning from a surfing master. Serena had one more thing to ask Aurora when she returned from her Champion duties.

As they were walking, Wasabi was eyeing Serena closely. She decided to ask, "Why are you putting yourself through this, anyway?"

"Huh?" Serena blinked her eyes in slight confusion. Wasabi decided to clarify her viewpoint.

"It's clear from Mew's description that Aurora's parents do not like your presence here. Yet, you're still here trying to get through to them. I'm wondering why." Wasabi reiterated in a way that would get Serena to respond.

"To be honest, I'm not sure why," Serena admitted. The mouse looked up at the human, unimpressed. She seemed to be slightly disappointed.

"Oh? Think a bit harder. There's always a reason why humans act the way they do…" Wasabi urged. Serena took a moment to think a bit harder. She really didn't know why she was still trying to go through this. Then, it hit her.

"Well, I guess part of me doesn't want to give up. I don't want to give up trying if I haven't made my best attempt at trying to get through to Ash's grandparents. This odd trial is my best attempt at it." Serena explained. Wasabi seemed a bit more satisfied hearing this.

"Hmm..."

"Ash told me never to give up when we both were younger. This was before his journey, but after he separated from his biological mom. He saved me from a Pokémon approaching me and told me never to give up when I thought the Pokémon was going to attack me. I always take his words to heart and even if I freeze, I won't give up." Serena explained to her.

"Young love is intriguing to see. Who have you found here, young master? Is she worthy of you? Guess I'll see when Alice sends us off." Wasabi mused in her thoughts. She decided to say aloud, "Interesting. It's clear you care about Ash, but be careful in going too far in something. Giving up isn't always a bad thing."

"Are… you saying I shouldn't try this then?" Serena said with hints of anger in tone. Wasabi was surprised at the sudden shift, but happy. She wanted to hear that the girl truly cared about this. To some level, she did. Wasabi felt like she wasn't wasting her time.

"No. I'm saying that you need to know your boundaries and not to go too far. Don't force yourself to do things you don't like for someone else. Otherwise, you're left to be unhappy." Wasabi advised.

"I'll never give up until I've made my best attempt. If I'm unhappy trying, then so be it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I truly didn't try to be more peaceful with Ash's grandparents. Ash's mom, at the very least, likes me, so it's not all bad. If this fails, I'll see what happens after." Serena said in a strong tone. Wasabi seemed concerned.

"I respect a girl with drive, but Aurora's parents are quite mean to people they don't know. They're also very stubborn. I don't want to see anything happen to an innocent girl." Wasabi admitted.

"…" Serena didn't know how to respond to that.

"Still… keep up your conviction. If you do manage to get through, you'd gain the trust of two experienced guardians that would do everything in their power to protect you. Most importantly, they'd treat you like family. I admire your attitude and I look forward to being your sword in this trial. No Pokémon will defeat me. Count on it." Wasabi stated confidently.

"Thank you, Wasabi." Serena thanked. Wasabi made an easygoing smile in response.

When they made it out of the caves into additional grassland, they noticed Alice and Gordo battling each other in the air. They seemed to have gotten tired of waiting, so they had decided to keep themselves entertained.

Alice had a dark look on her face. It seemed nearly ghostly. Gordo was eager to show off his fighting spirit. Gordo shot several aura spheres at his wife. Instead of dodging them, Alice phased through them like a ghost. Even the way she was floating made her appear like she wasn't fully anchored to this world. Serena couldn't see her legs from in her dress. Serena wondered who Alice's main partner was if Gordo's was a Machamp.

Alice's wavy hair began to move wildly on its own. She brought out her hand. She surrounded Gordo with spears of ice that looked ready to impale at a moment's glance. Gordo looked around himself, slightly surprised, but mostly excited. Alice closed her hand. Within a blink of an eye, the ice spears slammed into Gordo. There was a bunch of steam upon impact. Alice narrowed her eyes.

Suddenly Gordo emerged from the steam, fists blazing with dark red aura. Alice seemed surprised at how fast he was moving. When he lunged at her, he seemingly phased right through her. Alice disappeared from the air. Gordo snorted to himself and turned left. Making his eyes completely yellow, he found where Alice was really hiding and grabbed her arms. He quickly forced both of her hands behind her to restrain her. Alice gasped at Gordo's speed. Her brown eyes, however, hid a twinkle.

"Your illusions won't trick me again, dear," Gordo said. He then proceeded to surround her in a bubble of water, trapping her. Alice couldn't break out due to how Gordo made it. It wasn't completely water and Gordo was using his own aura to trap her instead.

"Hggh!" Alice said from inside. She was banging it as hard as she could, but nothing was happening. The bubble from within was full of air since Gordo didn't want to drown her, but still wanted to win their battle.

"Looks like I won this exchange." Gordo snickered. He leaned against his aura made bubble with a cheeky grin. Alice laughed slightly and shook her head.

"Don't sell me too short, hun. A good guardian always saves all her tricks until the end." Alice thought with narrowed eyes. Alice's brown eyes turned completely light blue. She had a confident smirk as she turned Gordo's bubble completely into ice. She seemed frozen inside. Gordo immediately was shocked and concerned.

"What the?" Gordo said, trying to turn the water back into aura. He felt like he was being overridden by her. Gordo hissed when the ice ball exploded into several shards, scratching Gordo immensely and causing several cuts throughout his body. Gordo groaned, "Gah!"

Unable to take so many ice shards gazing his skin, he started to lose control of his levitation and fall from the sky. Before he could fall on the ground roughly, a light blue outline surrounded him. Alice floated right beside him as she softly carried him down with his aura. Gordo landed on the ground lying on his back with several cuts on him. Alice immediately tended to him. She placed her hands on his chest and began to concentrate her power on healing Gordo from his injuries. He looked up at her goofily.

"Game, set and match, honey. I may not be as overt with my aura as you, but that doesn't mean a thing if you don't have control over the situation. You'll never best me if you don't control the situation completely." Alice said while concentrating.

"Gah… I almost had you…" Gordo winced when she hovered her hands over one of his wounds.

"Easy there, you big lug. I'll be finished healing you shortly. I'm sorry. Did I go a bit too far there…?" Alice said in remorse. When she was retaliating, she was thinking more about how she would get out of Gordo's bubble than the consequences of her actions. She felt guilty.

"Hahaha… of course not. It's always a treat seeing you legitimately trying in a battle. It's refreshing… especially considering you don't like fighting. Don't worry. I'll be fine like I always am." Gordo said to cheer her up.

"Um… can I… help… with healing him?" Serena called out.

Alice seemed surprised to see Serena here and didn't notice she was here until now. She was wondering why Wasabi was with her and figured Mew had something to do with it. She wasn't expecting Serena to ever offer to help her husband, especially after what he just did to her. It left Alice baffled.

"…" Alice didn't respond to her.

"I don't want your filthy mitts near me. Alice can do it herself." Gordo hissed. Gordo was much more definite in his emotions. He would never trust a psychic to use their power on him. Serena sighed and turned away, not surprised, but slightly dismayed. Meanwhile, Wasabi was narrowing her eyes in disgust at Gordo. She was just like her trainer with a lot of things so seeing the disgust didn't surprise Gordo. Mew seemed to be observing everyone.

"Hmm…" Alice closed her eyes in thought, but finished her work. Gordo, sat up, almost good as new. He noticed Alice looked significantly drained after helping him and offered to let her rest her head on his lap. However, his wife declined and stood up promptly. Her husband followed suit. She turned to Serena and said, "Thank you for the offer, child. Forgive Gordo's discourtesy to you there. He's always been a bit of a prideful sort."

"Er… No problem?" Serena said, surprised that she would apologize. She wondered what changed.

"You had us waiting a while. I'm surprised Gordo didn't break you. Makes things more interesting, I suppose. It seems like you're finally ready… with some outside help. Wasabi, it's a been a while." Alice said.

"Likewise, Alice." Wasabi formally acknowledged her.

"I'm assuming Mew looked into the future to see what I would have you do and saw that you would fail without Wasabi. I'm a bit surprised she'd do that for a non-Ketchum." Alice said with slight intrigue.

"I see potential in her and… and I was evening the playing field. You know how unfair your trial is considering Serena's main Pokémon is a fire type and her other two Pokémon aren't nearly strong enough or durable enough for the challenge." Mew said with a suspicious tone.

"What is this trial, anyway?" Serena asked. Even though she was feeling discouraged that Alice had set her up to fail, she was glad Mew stepped in on her behalf again. She felt like Mew believed in her just as much as Ash and Aurora would. With that in mind, she felt determined to succeed.

Alice went inside her dress through her chest and took out a pink crystal. Serena marveled at how pretty it was. She threw it to Serena. The girl barely caught it. Alice explained, "You are to find three crystals just like the one I gave you. Each crystal is guarded by a variation of the same Pokémon. They will each have their own style you will need to overcome. I noticed your battling skills are weak, so this will force you to think outside the box with your Pokémon. You have until nightfall to find the crystals, otherwise, you will fail."

"What? Why is there such a strict time limit?" Serena said, slightly pouting. She noticed that it was slightly after noon. The crystal caves were like a labyrinth when not taking the straight path up or down and Serena didn't know the layout like everyone else.

"The reason for this is because the crystal I gave you should help you locate the other three. The aura signatures are identical. This trial will also force you to learn to use your aura to sense distant objects and learn the tree's labyrinth style cave system. If you pass, you would have been able to sense the other crystals. I imagine Mew won't help you with that part." Alice said.

"That is correct," Mew confirmed.

"Good. At least the trial isn't completely neutered. You should start as soon as you can. Time's ticking…" Alice said with a neutral expression. Serena and Wasabi looked at each other and nodded. They quickly went inside to overcome Alice's challenge. Mew stayed outside for a few moments.

"You know… I'm impressed with how diabolical you are, Alice. Makes me wonder why you're so much more like me than your husband is." Mew noted. Alice and Gordo seemed surprised to hear this.

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or concerned you feel this way," Alice admitted.

"Humph. Concerned, if anything. That means I need to keep a closer watch on you. I'm glad I looked into the future here. I noticed you were going to be a bit… off in your interaction with Serena just now. Not all pink crystals are stable and you know she doesn't know that. Serena would have died in there without Wasabi… and you planned it." Mew growled.

"…" Alice's eyes turned from neutral to having slight malice. Gordo seemed surprised at Mew looking into the future here. She never did that unless the situation was very serious. He didn't think Alice killing her off was a bad thing, but still wasn't sure how he felt about it. Gordo knew Alice could be shrewd and calculating… but he also knew that if she didn't like something, she was much deadlier than he was.

"Ash… would have gone on a rampage upon returning… and a devastating one at that. I've… been directly his target of hatred during in his coma trial and his potential to raze is… distressing. The Tree… and so many Pokémon would have been burned to ashes in his anguish. Be careful of what you try to do to Serena. He cares about her way more than you think he does." Mew told them.

"I… I…" Alice seemed both surprised and terrified upon hearing this. She didn't think her trial would have that much of a consequence. She really didn't think Ash would be that hurt.

"You've thought several steps ahead to hinder her… but think about the bigger picture here. Is your hatred of psychics really so important that you'd be willing to harm your grandson's love and his perception of you in the process?" Mew questioned.

"…" Alice didn't know how to respond.

"I need to catch up with the girl. Think completely next time. I can't stop bad things from occurring often, but this," Before teleporting away to Serena, Mew said, "…was something I couldn't ignore."

"Alice… are you alright?" Gordo said in concern.

"… No, I'm not." Alice said candidly.

"Can I… do something to make you feel better? Mew being this deadly serious is rare to see, so I know you're feeling a little overwhelmed by it." Gordo said.

"She… was reprimanding me like a mother would her child for doing something reckless. Am… I in the wrong for doing what I thought was right? Delilah… tried to kill us even when we were nice to her... even when we raised her. Now… she's… just like the rest of them. I didn't want Serena to do the same to us someday." Alice admitted.

"Psychics are awful people, though. Delilah just showed that were right about them. She's crazy and was willing to kill Aurora, twice even! No matter how much Aurora was nice to her, she didn't change. Nothing Mew says can change that, too." Gordo said to try to cheer her up.

"But… aren't we awful, too?" Alice questioned.

"Honey… don't say that…" Gordo said, slight affronted.

"But aren't we?!" Alice yelled. Gordo widened his eyes in surprise. Alice said while looking away, "I almost made an egregious mistake that would have cost us our grandson so soon after we just met him again. I love Ash and I thought this would be protecting him from someone that could one day hurt him. I don't want to be as bad as psychics, but I guess I really am horrible like them, aren't I?"

"Alison… don't think for a second that you're horrible. People make mistakes. That is what makes us human! I will defend you to my last breath, no matter what you do. Whatever mistake you do or feel like you've done shouldn't bring you down." Gordo said while clutching her shoulders. Alice shook her head and forced him to let go.

"I…don't think you should be defending me like you are, but I appreciate it, sweetie. Killing someone just because you think they shouldn't be here isn't a mistake. It's a calculated crime… that I am ashamed of." Alice shook her head. She looked down and sighed. The raven-haired lady then said, "Whether or not the girl finishes the trial, I feel the need to make things right. Let's… go back to the house for now."

Gordo decided not to say nothing else, but he did nod. With that, the duo held hands and flew back toward Aurora's house.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Does Alice truly feel guilty for her actions? Why was she willing to be so drastic this quickly? You'll find out the reason the next time she's mentioned and you'll see if she's really sorry the next time she physically appears.

Who will Serena encounter in the caves? The three Pokemon I chose should be different enough despite being the same species. I wonder if anyone will figure it out. I did provide a hint. Look closely~

I do hope you all have a wonderful day!

Next Chapter: Rocky Road