Hey, guys! I'm back again with another chapter! Anyway, let's get straight into continuing the story!
Ash slowly woke up, sliding out of bed before realising how cold it was and quickly jumping back in bed.
"Are you okay?" Serena asked, to which Ash nodded, shivering.
"I'm a little cold, though," Ash mumbled, to which Serena giggled and grabbed onto him.
"I'll warm you up," she whispered, climbing on top of him before resting her head on his chest.
"Thanks," Ash said, a faint blush on his face even though they were as close every night.
Serena nuzzled him before they felt the weight at the end of the bed shift a little.
Looking over, they saw that Pikachu was throwing their clothes onto the bed, telling them to get dressed while still under the covers.
"But that's going to be hard to do," Serena said, looking at Ash, who agreed.
"Just do it," Pikachu said, sighing before laying down again, waiting for them to get dressed.
Ash and Serena shrugged, grabbing their clothes before attempting to get dressed while still in bed, but to no avail.
Sighing, Ash hopped out of bed before quickly throwing his clothes on, relieved when he didn't feel cold anymore.
Serena did the same, almost falling over at one point due to her moving too fast.
Eventually, they finished and headed into the bathroom to get ready while Pikachu sarcastically applauded them.
The two of them left their room, Pikachu And Sylveon next to them. Heading to Nurse Joy, Serena thought of something.
"What are we going to do after this gym battle?" She asked, to which Ash chuckled.
"What do you think we're going to do?" He asked, making her sigh.
"Head through victory road and train our Pokèmon for the league?" She asked, to which he nodded.
"We don't have to spend the whole time training, though," he told her as they approached Nurse Joy. "Could you feel our Pokèmon, please?"
Nurse Joy nodded, taking their Pokèmon before Serena continued the conversation. "What else will we do?" She asked.
"We could head back to Lumiose to see Clemont, Bonnie and Sycamore," he said, shrugging. "Or we could visit your mother?"
Serena shrugged, unsure as to what she wanted to do. "There's no need to worry about that right now, though," Serena said, smiling. "As soon as we register for the league tournament, we can figure it out."
Ash nodded, agreeing before Nurse Joy handed them their Pokèmon. "Thank you," they said, heading to the cafè.
They ate their breakfast before heading to the gym, prepared to win their eighth gym badge.
As they made their way to the gym, they noticed a few people who were behaving a little odd. One man checked multiple times before crossing the road, a woman on a bench was frantically looking around, and another man was pacing around in circles, not going anywhere.
"What's wrong with them, do you think?" Serena asked Ash, who shrugged.
"Drugs?" He suggested, chuckling a little. "And you know that it's rude to talk about people behind their backs."
"I know," Serena said, giggling. "But they're weird."
"So are you," Ash replied, laughing when Serena pouted as a response.
They walked up to the gym before entering, noticing that it seemed to get colder than it was outside.
"We should finish our battles quickly, I think," Ash told Serena, shivering a little. "It's cold."
They started walking through the gym and onto the battlefield before they met the gym leader.
"How are you in a t-shirt?!" Ash exclaimed when he saw the man, to which he laughed.
"I've lived in this city for my entire life," he told them. "I'm used to the cold," he finished, looking at Ash and Serena's shocked faces.
"A bit too much," Serena mumbled, shivering. "It's creepy."
"I'm assuming that you two want to battle me?" He asked, to which Ash and Serena nodded. "I'll battle the girl first, then."
"Ladies first, after all," Ash muttered, going to the spectators stands.
"My name's Wulfric, by the way," the man, now identified as Wulfric told Ash and Serena before sending out his Abomasnow.
"Be careful, Serena!" Ash shouted, having just used his Pokédex to scan Wulfric's Abomasnow. "You're going against a Pokémon which is six levels higher than all of your Pokémon!"
A referee quickly ran in from another room, having not realised that a battle was about to take place. "Begin!" He shouted, almost falling over as he slid to a stop on the ice floor.
Serena nodded before she threw a Pokéball, releasing her Delphox before immediately commanding Delphox to use Flamethrower, who obliged, sending the beacon of flames towards Abomasnow, engulfing the Pokémon in the four-times super effective move.
Serena, Delphox, Ash, the referee and Wulfric watched as Abomasnow stumbled a bit, clearly having lost at least half of its health before it fell over.
"Have I won already?" Serena asked Wulfric, confused, who smirked, knowing that his Pokémon wouldn't faint after one attack.
Abomasnow crawled forwards a little before Wulfric commanded his Pokémon to use Ice Beam at Delphox's legs.
Abomasnow obliged, using its hands to create a whirlwind of ice which it then proceeded to send towards Delphox in a neat beam.
Delphox attempted to dodge but failed, getting hurt from the attack while her legs froze to the ground, unable to move due to the attack.
"Now, use Energy Ball!" Wulfric commanded, to which Abomasnow complied and conjured a ball of magical grass which it threw at Delphox.
"Use Psybeam to send it back to Abomasnow!" Serena commanded, to which Delphox did as she said, not only sending the grass back to Abomasnow but also hitting it with Psybeam, dealing extra damage than intended.
Abomasnow staggered a little before slumping over, fainted. "Abomasnow is unable to battle!" The referee announced. "Delphox wins!"
Serena smiled, thanking Delphox before returning her starter Pokémon, dissolving the ice that surrounded her as she did so.
Wulfric returned his Abomasnow and handed the Pokéball to the referee while Ash and Serena swapped, Ash congratulated her and Serena wished him luck.
"I'll battle you with my Cryogonal," Wulfric told Ash, sending out his Pokémon before Ash released Gallade.
The referee started the battle before rushing off to heal Wulfric's Abomasnow as the battle began.
"Use Disarming Voice!" Ash shouted, starting the battle.
"Use Hail!" Wulfric commanded, deciding that it would be a good idea to try and set up a reliable way to attack Gallade all the time.
Cryogonal managed to summon the hail, pelting Gallade with ice while Gallade managed to attack Cryogonal with Disarming Voice.
"Now, use Psychic!" Ash commanded, making Gallade oblige, attacking Cryogonal again while still being slowly hurt by the hail.
Cryogonal took some damage before Wulfric told it to use Confuse Ray.
Gallade was struck by the move, seeming to be unaffected but dazed.
"Use Psycho Cut," Ash commanded, to which Gallade attempted to oblige, but failing, ultimately falling over, smacking his jaw on the ground. "Try again!" Ash shouted, watching Gallade stand up, fighting through the pain in his jaw as he created the psychic blades and swang at Cryogonal.
Cryogonal, already being somewhat weak Pokémon, couldn't protect itself against Gallade, a much stronger Pokémon. Cryogonal fall over, having fainted.
The referee rushed back in at the perfect time, announcing that Cryogonal had fainted as he handed Wulfric his Abomasnow.
Serena ran down the stands and hugged Ash. "Well done," she said enthusiastically.
Ash nodded, smiling, watching as Wulfric returned his Pokèmon, handing its Pokèball to the referee, who rushed off again.
Wulfric made his way over to Ash and Serena, stopping in front of them before taking a moment to look at them. "You're going to the league now, aren't you?" He asked, to which Ash and Serena nodded. "I hope one of you two win it," he said. "You both have so much potential."
Ash and Serena smiled, happy with the compliment. "Thank you," Ash said, returning Gallade before he turned, looking at Wulfric for a second before the gym leader reached into his pocket and pulled out two gym badges.
"Here you go," he said, handing them the badges. "The eighth part of your tickets to the league."
Ash and Serena took the badges, grinning a little as they thought about the somewhat relaxed time they would have while waiting for the league.
"Thank you," Ash repeated, making Wulfric chuckle a little.
"Don't mention it, kid," he said. "I hand out badges to at least three or fours people every week," he said, to which Serena raised her eyebrows.
"I thought that gym leaders battle constantly," she said, shocked. "I didn't realise that the battles are so scarce."
Wulfric laughed a little before Ash looked at the time, seeing that it was time for them to go and get lunch.
"I'll be watching your battles on the television," he told Ash and Serena once Ash expressed that they should leave.
"Thank you," Serena said, unable to stop smiling at the fact that they had won their last gym battle.
Ash and Serena left the gym, walking across the city in search of a cafè, to which they found a small, cosy restaurant.
They entered, sitting down before deciding what to eat and ordering.
After thirty minutes, they left the restaurant, deciding to head back to the Pokèmon centre to retrieve their belongings before they would make their way to the Pokèmon league.
They entered the Pokèmon centre, giving Nurse Joy a wave before they went to their room and packed their belongings into their bags.
"Where is it we go now?" Serena asked Ash as they made their way through the Pokèmon centre.
"We need to head to Victory Road," Ash told her, placing their room key on Nurse Joy's desk, thanking her before they left the building.
They made their way down the street, crushing the snow under their feet before they saw something.
"Is that Wulfric?" Ash asked, squinting.
"Yes," Serena said, clearly a little worried. "And he's fighting Team Flare."
A cliffhanger! I hope you appreciate the fact that you're all going to have to wait another week for an update, provided that you read this on the day I've posted it, after all. Anyway, leave a review with anything you want in it, as I will approve. Yes, even 'hate.' It's merely constructive criticism, so I'll be happy to hear about what I need to improve. BYE!