I am so sorry for the wait on this chapter! I kept getting distracted from my writing, and realized that I suck at writing battle scenes, so please forgive the monstrosity below. I think I've kept you long enough, so enjoy!
Luckily, the ground outside was dry enough for everyone to go outside without getting completely muddy. The heavy rain must've died down while she was in Memory Land. While Monica helped Clemont set up her xtransceiver to a larger screen he had just happened to have, Serena called out Fennekin and Pancham and gave them a short pep talk, complete with Ash trying to talk over her to give her some pointers and Bonnie trying to brush Fennekin's tail. It was all she could do to not ask them to please shut up.
Once she was done, she took her place on one side of the battlefield. "Ready whenever you are, Monica!" She called. Monica nodded, a smile set on her face.
"I'll start the call!" She typed Hilda's number into her xtransceiver, the smaller screen transferring over to the larger one. "Hopefully she actually picks up."
"I can't wait to meet her!" Bonnie cheered excitedly. Dedenne cheered as well from on top of her head.
The xtransceiver rang three times before being picked up. The girl on the other side had long, curly brown hair that framed her face. Her large brown eyes blinked. "Monica?"
"Hilda." Monica's smile wilted just a tiny bit. "How're you doing?"
Hilda shrugged, looking off to the side quickly. "Alright. How's Kalos?"
"That's actually what I called you about." She stepped back from the camera, revealing everyone. They smiled and waved, ignoring the confused and slightly angry expression Hilda was wearing.
"Mon, what did you do?" She asked with a sigh, crossing her arms.
Monica winked at her. "Well, first off, these are my new friends." She pointed at each of them as she introduced them. "There's Clemont, Bonnie, Ash, and Serena. And you, my dear Hilda, are going to watch me and Serena battle."
Hilda let out an exasperated sigh. "Is this about being a trainer again? I keep telling you, Mom's not gonna change her mind, no matter how much I argue with her. It's easier to just go along with what she says."
"C'mon, I know you, Hilda, and I know that you can't look away from a battle. Especially if you get to see. . ." She withdrew a poké ball, tossing it into the air. Flora emerged from the flash of white light, floating right into the camera when she saw who was on the screen.
"Muuuuu Munna!" Flora cried happily, floating up and down as if she were jumping.
Hilda couldn't hide her smile. "Flora? Nice to see you too!" She returned her attention to Monica. "Alright, Mon, I'll watch, but only for Flora. I'll tell you right now, though: it's not going to change anything."
"We'll see." Flora floated to Monica's side, following her to their end of the battlefield. "Ready, Serena?" She called.
Serena nodded, looking down at Fennekin and Pancham, both by her side and ready to battle. "Fennekin, you're up first!"
"Fen!" Fennekin ran onto the battlefield, already taking up a defensive stance. Ash had told her that Pancham would have a greater disadvantage against both Flora and Star, so she figured she should go with the advantage first. Flora took up a defensive stance as well,
"You make the first move," she told Monica.
Monica nodded excitedly. "Flora, you ready? Use Zen Headbutt!"
Flora reared up, head glowing blue, before charging at Fennekin. Fennekin held her ground until the last second, jumping out of the way, leaving Flora to crash into the ground in front of Serena.
This was her chance. "Now, Fennekin, get in close and use Scratch!" Fennekin charged towards Flora, who was just starting to get up.
"Dodge it, then counter with Tackle!" Monica cried out. Flora shot out of the way as soon as possible, knocking into Fennekin and sending her flying backwards with a Tackle.
"Come on, Serena! Don't give up!" Ash cheered from the side. She smiled, not wanting to look away from the battlefield but still acknowledging his advice. She wouldn't give this up. She was determined to win.
"You alright, Fennekin?" She called. Fennekin stood, giving a determined nod. Of course, Fennekin wasn't one to give up, either. "All right! Use Hidden Power!"
Blue balls of energy surrounded Fennekin, firing off at Flora in a successive line. Flora dodged most of them without having to be told, with only the last two hitting their mark. Flora wasn't phased much, though; it was evident that Monica had much more experience than she did in the realm of battling.
"Flora, let's retaliate with Tackle again!" Flora charged forward, hitting Fennekin with the Normal-type move. Fennekin flew back, but still landed on her feet.
"Hidden Power again! Keep them going!" More balls of energy shot towards Flora in quick succession.
Monica held out a finger. "Not so fast! Flora, Protect!" A green shield slammed up around Flora as the energy balls collided with it, ramming one after another after another.
Serena thought for a moment. Flora wouldn't be able to use Protect forever. "Keep going, don't give up!" She shouted to her pokémon.
"Kin!" Fennekin kept firing Hidden Power until finally Flora's Protect crashed, the last few attacks hitting their mark. Flora flew back, landing on the ground, but quickly getting back up.
Neither girl made a move for a moment. Monica began laughing silently, but it soon grew in volume until everyone could hear it. "Amateur move, Serena! Your attack may have hit eventually, but it tired out your Fennekin as well. Now they're evenly matched in strength." Looking over at Fennekin, what Monica said was true; Fennekin was as worn out as Flora was now, after using Hidden Power consecutively so many times. "Flora, use Zen Headbutt!"
"Fennekin, get in close and use Flamethrower, then jump out of the way!" Serena yelled, the heat of the moment bringing out her competitive side. No way was she going to lose this battle, no matter how much more experience Monica had!
They two pokémon charged each other, Flora's head blue with Zen Headbutt. Fennekin charged up with Flamethrower, the fire hitting it's mark right away. Flora was moving too fast though, charging through the column of flame and straight into Fennekin, surprising both pokémon and trainer. The two shot to the ground, just to Serena's right, kicking up dust. The dust cleared soon enough, but Serena was too afraid to see who was still standing.
Clemont called it.
"Fennekin and Flora are both unable to battle; therefore, neither side is the winner!" He announced, playing referee. Indeed, both pokémon were sprawled out, unconscious.
Monica and Serena both pulled out their respective poké balls, returning their pokémon. "Thank you. Take a nice rest," Serena whispered to the poké ball before shrinking it and holding it firmly in her hand. Her yoga pants, unlike her skirt, didn't have pockets, so she held onto both Fennekin and Pancham's poké balls until she needed them. She looked down at Pancham. "Ready to go?"
"Cham pan pan!" Pancham replied, running out onto the field. Monica smirked, taking out her second poké ball.
"I hope you know what this means," she said, tossing the ball into the air. Star appeared on the field, a smug look on her face. "We've got the type advantage."
"I didn't know you had a jigglypuff, Mon," Hilda commented with slight interest evident in her voice. "It's kinda cute."
Monica turned and smiled. "Yeah! Her name's Star, but don't let her appearance fool you." Her eyes cut to Star before turning back to the screen. "She's caused way too much trouble both today and in the past."
"Type advantages don't mean anything!" Ash called from the side. He smiled, giving Serena a thumbs-up. "You've got this, Serena!"
"Go, Serena! Go, Pancham!" Bonnie cheered, jumping up and down. Dedenne, safely in her arms, cheered as well.
Monica's attention turned back to the battle at hand. "Let's not waste any time. Star, use DoubleSlap!"
Star started running towards Pancham. "Pancham, counter with Arm Thrust!" She knew it wouldn't do much, but at least it might put off some of the damage. Pancham's arms glowed white, striking just as Star struck, causing the two to be held at a stalemate. Now was her chance to get the upper hand! "Now Pancham, Stone Edge!"
Pancham slammed his hands to the ground, surprising Star so that she forgot to use DoubleSlap. Glowing blue stones emerged from the ground, flipping Star into the air and making her bounce along as new ones rose after the first.
"Star, balance in the air and use Round!" Monica called determinedly. Star did just that, emitting a high-pitched noise. Serena covered her ears, groaning slightly at the sound. She saw that everyone, even Hilda, was doing the same. Pancham got up as well, recoiling from the sound. Star jumped down safely from the last stone, appearing only slightly battered. "Now use Pound!"
"Pancham, dodge it!" She was hoping that Pancham's ears had recovered enough to hear her call. Star sprinted forward, arm out to the side. Pancham leaned to a side, but to no effect, as Star had feinted to the opposite side, striking on Pancham's side. Pancham stayed on his feet, running out of the way in case Star decided to use Pound again.
Serena weighed her options. She could try Stone Edge again, but Star and Monica already saw that trick. Dark Pulse and Arm Thrust both wouldn't be super effective, either. She just needed a way to keep Star occupied so she couldn't use any super effective moves, either.
"Keep Star away by using Dark Pulse!" She called out, and Pancham responded immediately. The balls of black and purple circles appeared in his hands before he combined and fired them at Star, hitting straight-on. Star took little to no damage, however, as she had a type advantage.
Monica grinned. "This is about the only time I'll ever say this. Star, use Sing!"
Everyone around her quickly put their hands over their ears, preventing them from hearing Star's voice and falling asleep. Pancham, on the other hand, was unlucky, as he got a full blast of the song. "Pancham!" She cried out, but the Playful pokémon was already asleep.
The purple-haired trainer turned to Clemont, her hands at her side once more as Star grew silent. "You may as well call the battle now," she grinned in triumph. "Pancham won't wake up for at least five minutes, and I don't want to hurt him any more in this battle if I don't have to."
Clemont looked to Serena to see what she thought. She glanced at Pancham, asleep on the field. With a sigh, she said, "Go ahead. Monica's got a point."
He nodded, acknowledging her decision. "Pancham is unable to battle! Star and Monica are the winners!"
Ash and Bonnie cheered for both of them, but perhaps the loudest was Hilda, who had completely gotten into the spirit of the battle. Serena enlarged Pancham's poké ball, calling him back. She had learned a lot from this battle, for sure.
"Good job, Monica," she congratulated with a genuine smile. Monica smiled back, all competitiveness from the battle no longer evident.
"Thanks, Serena! You did great, too." Both girls turned to the screen. "So, Hilda? Did that remind you of the old you?"
Hilda tugged on the strands of her hair. "Absolutely. It was refreshing, too. All I've been doing in this small town was cooking and babysitting. Funny how Mom would let me do that on my own." She snorted. "I definitely needed to see a good battle. Thank you both for that."
"Are you going to see if you can become a trainer, then?" Ash asked. Monica's eyes held a sense of longing for the other girl's answer.
Only a second or two went by before that answer came. "I can try, but Mom hasn't changed her views much since you left, Mon. But I also know more about how to persuade her now." She winked at her friend playfully. "Who knows? Maybe I'll finally be able to make her see reason!"
"Yay!" Bonnie exclaimed, obviously happy for the turn of events. "When we're both trainers, we should battle!"
Hilda laughed good-naturedly. "We should definitely do that," she told the young girl, whose face lit up.
"That's it! You look like a keeper, for sure!" She got down on one knee in front of the screen, much to Hilda's bewilderment. "Will you take care of my brother?"
Clemont stormed over, his face a bright red. "Bonnie! How many times. . ." he mumbled the rest of his statement, his aipom arm helping carry her away.
"Please think about it!" Bonnie called happily as she was carried off.
Hilda stared after the two siblings for a moment before looking back at Hilda. "Do you see it, too?"
Monica giggled, scratching the back of her head. "I know! When she, um, 'proposed' to me earlier, I immediately thought of how I used to do that to you."
A strange noise sounded in the area. All three pairs of female eyes immediately found their way to Ash, who was laughing to himself. "Sorry 'bout that," he apologized. "Guess I'm hungry again."
Serena made a shooing motion with her hands. "Go inside with Clemont and Bonnie, I'll be there in a minute to help him with dinner." Not needing to be told twice, he and Pikachu followed the Lumiose siblings' trail, stomach rumbling even more. She shook her head subtly at his never-ending appetite before turning back to the conversation at hand. "I'll leave you two alone to catch up. Monica, you're welcome to join us for dinner if you like."
"Thanks, that would be nice! I'll be a few minutes," she said gratefully.
"It was nice meeting you, Serena," Hilda mentioned to her now retreating back. Serena turned around, walking backwards.
"You, too! I hope everything goes well." With a final wave, she entered the Pokémon Center, glad she could be such a big help.
X-X-X
The rest of the day flew by, with barely any daylight left after they finished eating. Tired from the day's events, everyone agreed to go to bed early and get back on the road the next morning. Ash, specifically, was excited for this, wanting to get on his way to his next gym battle.
Serena, however, wasn't all that tired, given her "nap." She opted for reading up on the next town on her tablet, the light set on the lowest setting so she wouldn't disturb anyone else. She was up for hours, looking at just about everything she could about the next town.
"You're still up, Serena?" Ash's groggy voice broke the silence of the room.
She flipped her tablet shut. "Yeah. Did I wake you?"
He smiled at her through the darkness. "Nah, I just couldn't sleep." Silence befell the two once more. "Today was crazy, wasn't it?"
A small puff of air escaped her lips. "That's one way to put it. I'm glad I managed to stay distracted, though." She flopped backwards onto her bed, setting her tablet down gently on the nightstand next to it. "That might've actually been exactly what I needed."
"How? I thought. . .I mean, the way you reacted when you woke up. . ." he trailed off hesitantly. Beside him, Pikachu rolled over.
She turned her head, smiling at him. "That was just the last memory. I had some good ones, too," she explained. "One in particular."
"Yeah? Which one was that?" He laid back in his bed as well, his hands behind his head.
"The one from New Year's Day." No more had to be said. She knew he understood exactly why she loved that memory.
"Oh yeah. The one where we-" he yawned. "We figured everything out about our feelings and stuff. I'm glad we did that." His breathing steadied, indicating that he had fell asleep again.
Serena smiled to herself. She was starting to feel sleepy, too, now. She needed to be well-rested if they were going to be on the road all day tomorrow.
A yawn overtook her. She closed her eyes, starting to slip into sleep. "Miss you, Dad," she whispered to the quiet room before falling asleep once more.
There's only one chapter to go! It might not be up for awhile, however, because finals are drawing nearer. Once I wrap this up, I have a few surprises up my sleeves for all of you that I hope you'll enjoy!
