Here's the tenth chapter; yes, we're finally into double digits, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Over these ten chapters, the story has accumulated:

Words: 34,682

Views: 1,301

Reviews: 29

Favorites: 16

Follows: 17

Current music: Not Gonna Die - Skillet

The trio of Ash, Serena, and Lucas didn't go out to dinner that night. Instead, they stayed back in their hotel room and ordered room service.

Serena also suggested that they should go to bed earlier than they usually would at home. None of them were concerned about sleeping in past ten in the morning, because that hadn't been something they'd done on the journey thus far. That said, all of them did want to get up early so that they could have a nice breakfast.

We'll need all the rest we can get, Serena thought as she lay in bed that night, staring at the ceiling of her private hotel room.

Five days. That was how long she'd been away from home. Other than going off to summer camp, she'd never been away from her parents for that long. Besides, this was quite something else from summer camp.

That had been in a relatively controlled and safe environment. While there had been some activities that the counselors hoped would put them out of their comfort zones, there had been nothing that was outright dangerous. The outcome was always certain, or at least relatively so.

Now, however...not so much. She was traveling further and further away from home, and the prospect of seeing her parents again was becoming more and more remote. That's not to say that she thought it would never happen, but she realized that the day that she was reunited with them wouldn't come any time soon.

She had no regrets about leaving on this trip with Ash. Her life back at home had been relatively predictable and boring, and that, surely, was more painful than anything that could await her on this journey. As a result, the knowledge that something bad could happen on this trip didn't have too much of an effect on her, at least not yet.

Serena looked over at the wall that separated her room from the one that held Ash and Lucas. Since the walls were insulated well, she couldn't hear the sounds of snoring or speaking, meaning that she had no way of telling if they were awake or not.

Hopefully they're sleeping better than me, she thought, smiling somewhat.

She might have thought it as somewhat of a joke, but it did worry her, even if only slightly. If none of them were rested, they wouldn't perform well at tomorrow's battle. At least, not as well as they could.

Serena thought about Lucas Whitefur, the Lucario they'd met on their first day on the road. For the most part, she didn't know what to make of him.

It was true that he was a nice individual. He'd joined them without much hesitation, and he'd quickly become part of the team. Both her and Ash saw him as their equal.

At the same time, however, she couldn't quite shake the inkling that there was something Lucas wasn't telling them. She didn't think it was anything particularly earth-shattering, but she wished that the Lucario could have been a little more honest with them.

Still, though, she thought, who really cares? Win the battle tomorrow first. Figure out what Lucas may or may not be hiding later.

Eventually, Serena did manage to drift off to sleep, trying not to think too much about it. When she woke up at roughly half past five in the morning, she didn't feel quite as rested as she usually did, but she felt all right.

She considered going to wake Lucas and Ash, but she decided against it. After all, they needed their sleep just as much as she did.

Even if she didn't want to get them up at this moment, she could still have some company, she soon realized. All of her Pokemon had been resting in their Pokeballs, but they generally had more energy than humans did.

Serena took her two Pokeballs off of the bedside table and sat up in bed. She then released Kalokalo and Galang one by one.

The Ivysaur and the Piplup both looked at her with slightly incredulous expressions.

It was then that Serena remembered why this was so. Yesterday, when they'd first booked this hotel, they hadn't bothered to show their Pokemon where they were. It was no wonder that her Pokemon appeared to be surprised.

"Where are we?" Galang asked his master. Serena, fortunately, knew what to answer at that moment.

"This is a hotel in Hearthome City. We got here yesterday, and now it's early in the morning. In a few hours, we're going to go to the gym and battle Fantina".

Galang looked excited at the prospect, but not as much so as Kalokalo. Really, it wasn't too surprising that that was the case. Serena had had Kalokalo for nearly six years by this time, ever since her 10th birthday, but he'd never gotten to participate in a gym battle.

"I can't wait" the Piplup said quietly.

"Yeah, it'll be fun" Serena replied. "If we win, we're going to get the Relic Badge. That's just one of the badges you can get in the Sinnoh region".

She talked with her Pokemon for a while longer, before she decided to go in and check on the boys. It was now nearly seven in the morning, and, while she didn't want to wake them up too early, she knew that it would probably be better for them to have some time to prepare.

Serena took her room key and left the room she'd been staying in. Heading to the adjacent room, she knocked on the door.

"Come in" said Ash Ketchum's voice.

She opened the door and saw that both Ash and Lucas were awake, and they both looked excited as well.

"First gym battle" said Lucas. "I'm pretty excited for it".

"Yeah, it'll be pretty sweet" replied Ash. "I just can't wait to get that badge".

Once the three of them had all brushed their teeth and done anything else that they needed to do, they went down to the lobby to have breakfast.

While they were eating, they took in the sight of Hearthome City coming to life. Most of the people were either people going to work or women walking with their children.

Due to being considered child-friendly, Hearthome City was very desirable for parents of young children. As a result, real estate there didn't come cheap; you would have to pay a pretty penny to reside anywhere near it. And, in the interest of the children, there wasn't exactly a frenetic scene of nightlife. For some people, living here wasn't worth it.

In spite of that, or perhaps because of it, Serena decided that she liked this place; she really did. It might not have been her top choice to live in, but it had its own charm to it that was undeniable. That was something she could certainly appreciate.

As Lucas bit into a piece of toast, he looked over at his Pokeball. "I don't know which of us is going to fight Fantina. Will it be me or Jabeni?"

"My guess is", Ash said in between bites of an apple, "that Jabeni will be the one fighting one of her Pokemon. Just because you're technically the trainer".

Lucas nodded, but he looked slightly apprehensive.

That's understandable, Serena thought. After all, you don't see non-human trainers all the time.

At first, she worried that the gym wouldn't allow Lucas to battle, or else treat him as though he were a battling Pokemon and not a trainer. But then she told herself that that was silly; they'd already accepted it yesterday when they'd put in their names to reserve a battling slot. She shouldn't have even been worrying about that.

Once they were done eating their breakfast, they headed back up to their rooms and waited for half past nine. That was the time they'd decided they would leave. If all went according to plan, meaning that they won this battle, that night would be the last one they spent in Hearthome City. (You had to check out of the hotel before 10:30 AM, and the trio wasn't going to do that just in case they failed to defeat Fantina).

They arrived back at the gym with twenty minutes to spare. While they were in the waiting room, waiting for their turn to battle, Kalokalo looked over at Serena.

"Are you nervous, Kal?" she asked the Piplup.

He nodded. "I just...don't know why I'm nervous, but I am".

Of course, Serena had some pre-battle jitters as well. She didn't know why she was so worried; it wasn't as though they were going to be killed if they lost the battle.

Part of it was most likely that she'd set herself up to expect a success. She didn't want to let herself down by losing.

Lucas also looked pretty nervous, but Ash's Pikachu, Coyopa, was rocking back and forth on his feet, grinning ear to ear. It was plain to see that Coyopa, at least, was excited for this battle.

I am, too, Serena told herself. I really am. It's just that I'm nervous as well. But where's the fun without a little bit of risk, you know?

That's one way of putting it, a voice inside her head told her. Or maybe the risk just isn't worth it. Maybe you should head back home now.

No, Serena replied to that voice. I'm not letting Ash and Lucas down.

Ash looked back at her eventually and clearly saw that she looked worried. He gave a small, almost imperceptible nod that Serena was sure Lucas hadn't noticed. He was too busy petting Jabeni and Kalokalo to do that.

Finally, a voice over the intercom said, "Next battlers".

Serena's heart leaped into her throat. All of the excitement and anxiety she'd had earlier was coming to a raging boil.

It was time to see if she was any good or not.

The three of them stepped into the arena, and Serena was struck by just how large a room it was.

The room was as large as an indoor hockey rink, and it somewhat appeared as such, the lack of ice on the ground notwithstanding. However, the stands had spectators, perhaps twenty or so people who appeared to be from all walks of life, just like the random assortments of people they'd seen on the subway earlier.

Really, this shouldn't have made Serena nervous. It was only twenty people, after all, and it wasn't as though this battle was being recorded for all of posterity.

However, with the pre-battle jitters that she'd already had, the crowd of twenty people might as well have been twenty thousand, and she wouldn't have been any more nervous than she already was.

On the other side of the arena stood Fantina, the gym leader of Hearthome City. She was a tall, skinny woman with a long dress that was a dark shade of lilac. She also had hair that was a similar color.

Serena looked up at the stands, where she could see that a man was standing, wearing a black and white shirt. She could only assume that he was a referee of sorts.

"On one side, it is the gym leader, Fantina, of Hearthome City" announced the referee through the microphone, in a booming tone. "On the other side, it is Ash Ketchum, Serena Courtland, and Lucas Whitefur. Only the challengers are allowed to swap out Pokemon. The battle will end when one side is unable to continue".

Serena's heart was beating faster than ever. This was it, this was when the battle was about to begin. She couldn't wait to actually get the Relic Badge...but then again, she and her Pokemon would have to earn it.

"Yes" said Fantina, looking towards the stands as if expecting cheers to come. When they didn't, she continued. "I have three Pokemon, and each of you have your own teams, correct?"

The three of them nodded.

"What we're going to do, then, is have each of you battle a specific one of my Pokemon. The Lucario - I take it you are Lucas, correct?"

"That is correct" Lucas replied.

"You and your Pokemon will do battle against my Mismagius. Ash, you'll go against Duskull".

As she named each Pokemon, she released it from its Pokeball. Looking at Serena, she said. "You, Serena...you'll fight against Haunter. Like the referee said, the battle will end when one side is unable to continue".

The three trainers nodded their agreement, and then the battle began once all three of them had released their Pokemon. Ash chose Coyopa, Serena chose Kalokalo, and Lucas had no option but to use Jabeni for this fight, since that was the only Pokemon he had.

Serena knew that battling required her to focus mostly on her own Pokemon; she couldn't care too much about how Ash and Lucas were doing. "Kalokalo", she ordered, "use Pound!"

She was almost immediately completely absorbed in the battle. Even though Kalokalo had only had fairly limited training over the last six years, he was quite impressive as he did battle against Fantina's Haunter.

Haunter used a Shadow Claw, which Kalokalo was barely able to dodge. At the same time as that was happening, Serena stole a quick glance over at the other two battles.

Jabeni, Lucas's Zorua, was fighting against Mismagius, but the latter was proving to be a very difficult foe. The main reason for this was that Mismagius was able to teleport around the stage. As much as Jabeni would have tried to keep up, the Zorua would tire eventually, and then there'd be nothing to stop him from being attacked.

Meanwhile, Coyopa was dashing around the arena, shooting lightning bolts like crazy. Some of them were connecting, but many were not. Duskull was a fast mover as well, which Serena supposed could apply to all of Fantina's Pokemon; the gym leader did, after all, specialize in Ghost type Pokemon.

Okay, that's about enough of focusing on other people, Serena thought to herself. She knew that she really should be paying attention to what was going on with Kalokalo and Haunter.

Unfortunately, the twenty or so seconds that she hadn't been paying attention to her own battle were enough for the Piplup to have been grabbed by the Haunter. It appeared as though Haunter were trying to choke Kalokalo, because he was squeezing tighter and tighter.

"Let...me...GO!" the Piplup screamed, trying in vain to get out of Haunter's grasp. Of course, the Ghost type wasn't going to do that without a fight.

Kalokalo was doing his best to wriggle out of the grip of Haunter, but it was clear to see that he was fading fast. Another few seconds and he'd be knocked unconscious, and then Serena would have to replace him with Galang.

It's not that Galang's not a good fighter, Serena thought. But if I have to swap out this early, that really doesn't bode well, does it?

Finally, in what appeared to be the Piplup's last few seconds, he was able to get out of the grip of Haunter and stagger over to Serena's side. He readied himself to attack once more.

Serena wasn't so convinced that he was ready for that, though. There was a faint purple glow around Kalokalo, and he was swaying on his feet. Those were both ominous signs to be sure.

The Piplup stumbled towards Serena. "I can keep going" he insisted. Haunter was hovering on the other side of the arena, looking hungry for more, but Fantina was clearly holding him back. At least the gym leader had some sense of decency, if she was doing that.

"Nope" Serena replied. "Kal, I'm the trainer, and I say you need a break".

"I...do...not…" Kalokalo croaked as he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The girl smiled, chuckling slightly. "I think that just says you do".

With a flash of red light, Kalokalo was recalled into his Pokeball. Serena, even though she'd tried to make light of the situation, was under no illusions that things looked rather dire for her. Haunter appeared to have taken very little damage, but he'd been able to dispatch the Piplup just like that.

"Go, Galang!" Serena exclaimed, looking at her Ivysaur. "Beat Haunter!"

To her right, Serena could hear a cry of joy. She was in the middle of the arena, with Ash on her left and Lucas on her right. She assumed that this meant that Jabeni had defeated Mismagius; she wondered how he had done so, given that Mismagius had been teleporting around like crazy.

To her left, Duskull was still going strong against Coyopa. Ash had not yet had to swap in Levu, but it was clear that the Pikachu was tiring. If this battle went on for much longer, he might indeed have to switch Pokemon.

Galang proved more adept than Kalokalo at dodging Haunter's attacks, as well as actually landing hits. Within five minutes, it sure looked as though Haunter was on the ropes.

Serena took the opportunity to look over to the right side of the gym, and her hypothesis turned out to be correct. Lucas Whitefur, despite probably being the least experienced of the three trainers, had been the first one to defeat one of Fantina's Pokemon. By any objective standard, that was quite a feat.

Okay, Galang, do your stuff, Serena thought, as though Galang were capable of telepathy. I know that you can win this battle.

Indeed, Galang was doing pretty well at attacking. For the most part, the Ivysaur seemed to believe that offense was the best defense, and he was battling rather aggressively.

Let's see if that works.

It seemed as though it might have been, because before long, it looked like Haunter was on the ropes. The Ghost type was wavering, looking very much like it would faint soon.

About to get this done, Serena thought. She'd been nervous before this battle, but it really was going their way.

As it would turn out, she was right. After a couple more hits by Galang, mostly Vine Whips (he was that much of a barbarian), Haunter crumpled to the ground in defeat.

This meant that Serena's portion of the battle was over. Lucas, who was now stroking Jabeni's sweaty fur, looked over towards the girl, and gave a thumbs-up.

Serena smiled, feeling very proud of herself indeed.

But it's not over yet, she thought. Ash has to win his part of the battle before we can get our badges.

Coyopa, as it turned out, had more energy than even Ash had thought. Ash kept trying to persuade the Pikachu to take a rest, that he should stop and let Levu have a turn, but Coyopa was resisting.

Just a few minutes later, however, it was over. Duskull crumpled to the ground and did not get up again.

"The battle is over!" announced the referee loudly. "The winners are Ash Ketchum, Serena Courtland, and Lucas Whitefur!"

I could have added more here, but I decided that it would go better in the next chapter. The next chapter may be a little longer than usual in coming out, the reason for which should become obvious pretty soon.

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!

Ash: Coyopa (male Pikachu), Levu (male Leafeon)

Serena: Kalokalo (male Piplup), Galang (male Ivysaur)

Lucas: Jabeni (male Zorua)