Chapter 38 – Day Three Blockbusters!

[A/N] The second longest chapter in the fic, actually posted on time? Whoever would have thought such a thing to be possible?

Here's the big news: CHAPTER 25 (ERIN V DIANTHA) has been COMPLETELY REVISED. Now, Druddigon beats Amourus, Talonflame slaughters Deerling, Ralts takes down Talonflame, and Gardevoir beats Druddigon and Deerling. Diantha's attitude also is now in character (Calmer, less reactive.) The volume of negative feedback against that battle was just too much to not go back and change it, so now hopefully it's better.

Clemont's Perspective – Summer Camp

The whistle pierced his ears as Clemont desperately tried to keep up with Ash and Serena. The two were sprinting ahead at full speed, and he was barely able to keep up behind them.

"Don't look at me like that, Froaky! You wanted this!" Ash yelled as he sped up even more, Froaky barely keeping pace at his side. Pikachu was using quick attack to keep up without much effort, while Fletchinder and Hawlucha glided together overhead.

"Double time, princess! You wouldn't want your little prince to get too far ahead, would you?"

Serena stumbled slightly before getting her balance back and screaming, "Rotom, just go die, will you?"

Clemont shook his head at his legs burned. Digging into the sand, he tried to catch up with his friends assisted by his Pokemon and Fennekin. Bunnelby buried under him and solidified the ground as Chespin used his vine whips to push him forwards. Fennekin, just as slow as he was, struggled to stay at his side.

Finally, he couldn't keep going and sank to his knees. He stared as Ash, Serena, and Froaky raced down the beach as if they were trying to win a hundred meter dash. His Pokemon stopped and stared as well as he groaned, "I can't keep up! What on earth has gotten into them this morning?"

Team Rocket's Perspective – Summer Camp

"Thanks very much!" the last camper said as he took his plate and went to sit at one of the long tables the crossed the main hall.

Jessie beamed with sparkles in her eyes as she looked over the hall. "Ooh, all of these wonderful kids just adore my amazing cooking!"

Meowth looked up at her skeptically. "Yer cooking? All you did was set out the pans and read the recipe!"

He yowled as Jessie picked him up by the scruff of his neck and held up her fist. "Say that again, you mangy cat," she snarled.

"It's no matter," James said with a shrug. "After all, with this much good cooking, we've just gotta be rolling in cash!"

Jessie sighed dreamily. "I'll finally have a mansion, and a butler, and lots of nice clothes..."

Meowth nodded. "And da boss with finally choose ta be with me over dat evil Persian..."

"And I'll finally get back to my bottle cap collection," James said. "There are so many rare Kalosian ones that I've-"

The purple haired Rocket slugged him in the back of the head, sending him face first into the table. "Oh, just shut up, won't you? We all know the fame will be mine and mine alone, world class chef Jessalie!" She launched into a manic laugh, and gave Meowth a death stare as he opened his mouth.

"Wobbuffet!"

"Oh che-efs!" a singsong voice came from behind them.

The trio spun around and jumped to attention as Madame Katherine grinned at them. "Yes, ma'am!"

She held up three matching envelopes. "All of these kids just love your cooking. It's raise time!"

Eyes as wide as dollar coins, the rockets all grabbed their checks and exclaimed, "More cash!"

Erin's Perspective – Summer Camp

Erin snorted softly to herself as she watched Team Rocket go absolutely crazy over a bunch of checks. They're so ridiculous. I have half a mind to go get rid of them, but they do cook good food…

"What's so funny?" Paul whispered into her ear.

Their entire group, sans Bonnie, was sitting at a big table in the center of the hall eating breakfast. Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna were eating at the table directly behind where Erin was sitting. "It's Team Rocket, obviously."

Paul tensed up and leaned further in nervously. "Team Rocket? Where? What are they planning?"

Erin laughed and shook her head. "Have you honestly not noticed? They're posing as chefs in the kitchen. Their disguises are really awful."

Paul glanced over, then shook his head. "I'm an idiot. How did I not notice that before? Either way, what should we do?"

"Nothing," she shrugged. Paul shot her a questioning look. "Honestly. It's not even worth the effort. They cook pretty well, and they have a really harebrained scheme plotted for the last day. Besides, I want to let Deerling handle them when the time comes." Her last sentence carried a note of pride in her voice.

"How do you know all of that?" Paul asked, and she shot him a look. A flash of recognition turned to a conflicted confusion, and he silently turned away.

She didn't really know how she felt about using her prior knowledge like that. She had consistently dealt with the Rockets before they had reached Cyllage City ahead of time, but since then, their journey hadn't really drawn many parallels to the anime she only now barely remembered. I've been here for so long that this just feels normal. It's too easy to forget that I don't really belong here. Maybe I should have just told him that I had guessed their plans.

He gave you his trust, a smaller voice whispered. He deserves to know.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Professor Sycamore walked up to the microphone and tapped on it experimentally. "Excuse me, can everyone hear me?"

A resounding chorus came from the cafeteria, and he grinned as he waved at the screen. A chart came up with the relative point values of each of the teams. It read:

TEAM SQUIRTLE – 10 POINTS

TEAM DIALGA – 7 POINTS

TEAM FROAKY – 3 POINTS

"These are how all of the point totals stand from yesterday's exciting fishing competition!" Sycamore exclaimed. "All the teams really casted out yesterday-" Groans rose from the assembled listeners. "Between the top two teams, there was some reel competition out there." More groans joined the chorus. "It took some serious de-bait-ing to determine the victors." The boos overwhelmed his voice, and he held up his hands. "In all seriousness, you all did simply marvelous with your fishing! Team Dialga's Lumineon was especially gorgeous, but we felt that we had to give the big prize to Team Squirtle's Wailord!"

Erin sighed. "That Lumineon only came because your Clauncher promised it food, right?"

Paul shrugged noncommittally. "It's not like I was going to sit around all day with a rod just to get a Magikarp, was I?"

"True."

Sycamore turned the screen back off again, and looked over the crowd. "Today's competition is sure to be just as marvelous, because every team is going to be making their own Pokevision video! Once you're finished eating, we have all of the equipment that you could possibly need in the front hall. Get to it!"

The hall filled with excited conversation as people started to get up and leave the room. Erin suddenly had a bitter taste in her mouth at seeing her name under the list of Team Dialga campers, and got to her feet as she pulled on Paul's sleeve. "Hey, let's get out of here. I have a couple ideas for things we could do."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

She beamed at him. "You'll see!"

"Erin." She turned to see Serena standing behind her with a dark expression on her face.

"What's up?" Erin asked cautiously.

Serena narrowed her eyes, and Erin took a step back as she pointed her bad arm at her. "You screwed up my Pokevision video the last time we made one. This time, you're going down."

Concern was quickly overtaken by Erin's desire to win. She reached out and shook Serena's arm. "Deal. Don't think that I'm going to let you off easy because I feel sorry for you, either."

Serena glared back at her and jerked away. "Like that would happen, Yvonne."

Erin frowned as Serena stalked past Ash and started talking to Clemont. What on earth has gotten into her today? She didn't have much time to ponder it before a slender hand landed on her shoulder.

Shauna grinned as Erin turned around. "Erin, you look absolutely amazing today! Your hoodie just looks great!"

Erin looked over at Paul for a second before blushing and hiding her face in her hair, brushed over her left shoulder. "Thanks, I'm a little embarrassed."

"She's not wrong," Paul murmured, just loud enough for her to hear, and her blush deepened.

Tierno went into a cute-induced stupor as Trevor stepped in front of Shauna. "Hey, we all want to know whether you're ever going to make another song. Wouldn't that make the best Pokevision video ever?"

Erin shrugged slightly. "I don't really know yet, honestly. I'll definitely keep it in mind."

Shauna nodded. "That would be amazing! Just don't forget that we're still competing! Team Squirtle will have the best video, I just know it!"

"Good luck!" Trevor called with a wave as he and Shauna dragged Tierno away towards the entrance.

"See ya!" Erin called after them with a wave, before turning back to Paul. "Come on, let's go make a Pokevision video!"

Mairin's Perspective – Summer Camp

Mairin sighed as she dragged the heavy recording equipment behind her. "Come on, do we really have to make a video?"

Elle looked at her questioningly. "I thought you said you were excited for this yesterday?"

"So? Now I'm not." The equipment was all loaded into a wagon which she was pulling behind her. She tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her face, and the handle slipped from her hands. She hit the ground hard as Elle caught the handle before helping her up.

"Are you okay?"

Mairin shrugged, suddenly realizing that they were surrounded by forest on all sides. "Hey, I have an idea! Staying on the path is too boring, so let's go and explore!"

Elle shrugged. "Sure, I don't see why not." Kneeling down, she tied the wagon to a nearby tree using a bit of rope that she had stashed in the bottom as they walked off into the woods.

Light filtered down to the forest floor as Mairin picked her way through the dense underbrush. She felt at peace, but the tug of sadness from Alain's absence was ever present. We met in a forest just like this one. I remember, he was facing that trainer named Astrid with her cool Mega Absol. That was totally awesome!

A loud caw came from overhead, and a Murkrow swooped down from above and grabbed Mairin's green hat off of her head. It hovered over her and cackled for a moment before soaring off into the forest.

"Hey!" Mairin yelled, "Give me my hat back!"

"Come back here!"

The duo took off after the crow, running through the forest in an effort to keep up. They reached a wide clearing, and the crow dropped the hat to dive down towards a large log.

Elle frowned as Mairin picked up her hat and pulled it back over her hair. "That's weird. Why would it take the hat then give it back?"

Mairin gasped as she noticed a tiny brown Kricketot cowering underneath the log. Murkrow, clearly intent on eating the bug type, was trying to stick its head underneath to get it. "Hey! Get away from him!" she yelled as she ran forwards, waving her arms to try and scare it away.

The darkness Pokemon cawed as it suddenly turned as flew towards Mairin with a wing attack. She yelped and dodged to the side, and the bird flew up into the air, angling to come down for another pass.

"Go, Swirlix!" Elle shouted, and the fluffy fairy type appeared in the center of the clearing. She turned to look at Mairin and asked, "Are you okay?"

Mairin nodded, and she grabbed her own Pokeball nervously. "Uh, Bebe, you too!"

"Draining kiss!" Elle commanded as she twirled around. Mairin watched in slight awe. Wow, she's just like Alain in battle! She's totally cool, but also really cute.

Murkrow dodged the attack and shot straight towards Flabebe. Mairin's eyes widened. Wait, I don't know what to do!"

"Quick, use cotton guard!" Swirlix jumped in front of the tiny fairy type as balls of cotton swirled around her body. The attack intercepted the force of the attack but still knocked Swirlix back into Flabebe, sending both into Mairin's arms.

She let the two Pokemon go, and both jumped back out in front of her to keep on fighting. Elle stepped forwards and swept her arm out to stop Mairin from stepping forwards. "Just stay back. I can handle this. Swirlix, spin and use fairy wind to blow the cotton onto Murkrow."

Murkrow came in for a third run with an assurance attack, but was blown back as a spiraling gust of glittering wind sent a ball of sticky cotton onto its wing. The bird plummeted to the ground, knocked out. Elle finished twirling with her Pokemon, before taking a bow. "Tada! We're safe now!"

Mairin's eyes sparkled as she embraced Elle, Bebe coming to land on her shoulder. "You're so amazing, Elle! You battle like you're performing!"

Something in Elle's expression faded, and she shrugged. "Nah, it was nothing. Come on, don't you wanna go save that Kricketot?"

She pondered what she could have said for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah." Walking over to the log, she bent down and held out her hand for the tiny bug. "Hey, you can come out now! See, you're safe."

The bug type cocked its head, then chirped and hopped onto her hand. Humming softly, it rubbed against her warm skin and looked up at her inquisitively.

Mairin looked down at the small Pokemon thoughtfully before getting an idea. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pokeball, which she held out for it to see. "Hey, do you want to come with me? You and me and Chespie and Bebe can be really good friends!"

Kricketot nodded brightly, and gently poked the button on the ball and was sucked inside. The ball shook twice, then dinged to signify the successful capture.

"Alright! I got my third Pokemon!" Mairin exclaimed happily. She pressed the ball against her cheek, and it rocked in recognition.

Elle walked up behind her and the older girl put her hand on Mairin's shoulder. "Hey, do you want to go back towards out stuff and eat lunch now? I think we've done plenty of exploring?"

"Okay!"

They had just made it back to their wagon when a voice rang out behind them. "Oh, hey Elle! Do you guys want to eat lunch with us?"

Sawyer's Perspective – Shalour City

"Alright Treeko and Honedge, are you ready to go over this one last time?"

The green haired boy smoothed out the page of his dog eared notebook for the fourth time that day. On it, an intricate battle diagram was outlined and detailed notes on strategy were labeled. "So, first Treeko will go out against either her Meinfoo or her Machoke. Korrina doesn't have anything on her Machoke that can do serious damage to us, but Meinfoo probably will have acrobatics."

Sawyer flipped the page and pointed to a diagram that he had constructed. "Since acrobatics needs to be used from the air, Treeko, you need to keep your distance from Mienfoo as much as possible. If she gets him above us, then the battle is over. We can use razor leaf to attack from a distance. When she uses acrobatics, then we'll use quick attack to get behind her. Since she'll be in midair, Meinfoo won't be able to turn back for another physical attack. The only thing she might have is focus blast, which we can dodge. After that, razor leaf will probably finish Meinfoo easily."

Treeko frowned and pointed to an arrow on the diagram questioningly. "Tree?"

Sawyer frowned. "Yeah, I'm not so sure about that either. My main thought there was that if she pulls out something unexpected, you should take a sharp turn out with quick attack to avoid the blow. Either way, the second you go down, Honedge will shadow sneak onto the field and use aerial ace. If you get in on Meinfoo or Lucario, swords dance first instead."

Sawyer turned to the final page of his battle plan and sighed. "Now, her Lucario is the really dangerous one. Treeko, you have nothing that you can use against her, because all of your attacks are just half effective against a fighting steel type. Honedge, a bone rush will probably instantly knock you out, so we need to be really careful. Really, the only thing that we can do against her is to shadow sneak, aerial ace, and repeat. Under no circumstances should you let her get near to you for longer than a split second. Whenever we have an opening, use swords dance to give us a better chance. You guys got it?"

After the two cries of affirmation from his Pokemon, Sawyer returned both of his Pokemon and turned to look at the gorgeous ocean vista from the balcony he was sitting on. The midday sun rose high above the fabled Tower of Mastery as he closed his note book. As he picked it up to put it into his shirt pocket, a signed photo with the Hoenn champion Steven Stone slipped onto the old cobblestones. He smiled as he slipped it back into the book and rose to his feet.

Waiting in line to get a ticket for the funicular to the beach, he thought back to his journey to that point. He had started three months ago back in Kiloude City, where he had received the Flame Badge from the gym there. A quick train ride to Lumiose and a short walk to Santalune had given him the Bug Badge, and a long journey northwest had brought him to Coumarine city for his Plant Badge. Now, he was ready to challenge Korrina and to win her Rumble Badge with his two Pokemon. With my strategy, there's no way that I could loose!

The narrow sandbar stretched out in front of him as he confidently strode down the length of the beach. Rippling water lapped at the empty Clamperl shells scattered around his feet as he reached the paved interior of the small inlet that held the spiraling tower. Walking up to the door, he yanked on the door handle, only to discover that it was locked.

Frowning, he knocked sharply on the door and yelled, "Hello? I'm here to challenge the Shalour City gym!"

"I believe that you would be looking for me."

Sawyer spun around as a girl skated up to him from behind. His eyes widened and he took a step backwards as he saw her appearance. Her eyes smouldered with an intense blue, and her long golden hair, which poked through a blue and black skating helmet had a black streak splitting it straight down the middle. Her clothing matched her helmet, and an intimidating Lucario strode up behind her. He gulped, and held out his hand. "Hi, my name's Sawyer. Are you Korrina?"

Her face seemed to be intensely conflicted for a moment, before she broke out in what seemed to be a forced grin. "Yup, that's me! I bet you're wondering why the door is locked and the windows are boarded up."

"Actu-"

"It's because I haven't been here in two months!" Korrina exclaimed slightly too happily. Sawyer raised his eyebrows as she stared the door up and down before striding up to it. "Of course I lost my keys too. Did you know that Grandpa gave me my first keys to this dump? Probably wasn't such a good idea to lose them, don'tcha think, Lucario?" Her voice rose higher and higher before cracking on her last sentence.

"Are you okay?" Sawyer asked cautiously as he took a hesitant step away from Korrina.

"Why do you ask? I'm just wonderful!" she exclaimed with a giggle. She turned back to the door, and her mood flipped on a dime. "I never did like this door anyways," she growled.

Sawyer's jaw dropped as her leg glowed bright blue as a hazy aura materialized around it. Spinning around violently, the gym leader knocked the massive stone doors off their hinges. A second kick sent the left tumbling inwards, and she stepped across the threshold and into the darkened tower. "So? Are you coming?" she called back over her shoulder.

He had half a mind to refuse, but a threatening look from Lucario quenched any thought he might have had of arguing against the psychotic gym leader. This is a mistake, but I'm not going to let all of our hard preparation go to waste. Taking a moment to rediscover his confidence, he nodded more to himself than anyone else and took his next step forwards.

The lights inside the tower blinked on, and Sawyer's fears were washed away in an overwhelming wave of awe. A towering stone statue of a Mega Lucario overshadowed him to such a degree that he felt as if it would step off its pedistal and crush him. Intricately detailed frescoes wound their way around the walls, intersecting stained glass mosaics and gilded tapestries. Billowing black drapes hung from the amber railings of the spiraling walkway, giving the austere spire a somber touch. Korrina's skates clattered against the worn stone floors, smoothed down after centuries of use.

They ascended, Sawyer forcing himself to take longer strides to keep up with the gym leader. Her blond and black hair billowed out behind her as she forced her skates to take her higher and higher, slipping as the wheels tried to spin the other way before catching herself and pushing them harder. Lucario, a shadow of his ancestor beside him, prowled along silently behind them.

Sawyer gasped again as they emerged onto the balcony, a massively wide stone platform jutting out into midair, and Kalos unfurled before him. "This is incredible! Thank you so very much for showing me this!"

Korrina, however, only had eyes for the stone coffin that was sitting at the edge, surrounded by flowers. "There, you've seen the main attraction. Let's get this over with," she growled, turning on her heels and racing back into the tower.

"Korrina, wait!" Sawyer yelled as he chased after her, only to catch his breath as the gym leader leaped into the air, feet glowing blue. She soared above the Lucario statue and came down on the opposite bannister hard with her skates, sending sparks flying as she grinded the edge of the stairs perilously close to falling. Two stories down, she jumped again and caught Lucario's arm before wildly spinning around it and flying down towards the ground. She landed with a tight spin move, then looked up with a frown. "What are you still doing up there? I thought that we were going to battle."

"I-" began, then frowned. "I'm coming!"

The darkened gym sprang to life as Korrina and Sawyer walked onto the hardened battlefield. She skated over to the opposite block and settled into a ready position. "Well, shall we start?"

Sawyer stepped up to his side in confusion. "Uh, aren't we going to have a referee? I thought that was league regulation."

Korrina shrugged. "Don't have one anymore. How many Pokemon do you have?"

"Two, but-"

"Meinfoo, let's go!" the gym leader yelled as she sent a pokeball soaring into the air. In a flash, a small bipedal red and beige Pokemon appeared with a wild cry.

Perfect! Who cares about any of the weirdness? With my strategy, there's no way that I can lose. Settling into his battle mindset, he lobbed his own ball onto the field, revealing Treeko. "Alright, whenever you're ready."

Korrina v Sawyer

"Mienfoo, fake out!"

Before Sawyer could blink, Mienfoo had shot across the field and slammed into Treeko, sending his Pokemon flying backwards before he could react. Damn! I knew that I should always call protect first. Hastily, he pulled out his notebook and scribbled down a hasty note before looking back at the battle.

"Treeko, strafe razor leaf with quick attack!" Sawyer commanded. Treeko nodded, then shot away from Mienfoo. Slightly altering his trajectory, the wood gecko Pokemon circled the fighting type, periodically shooting bursts of razor leaves at it. It dodged the first several before getting knocked upwards as the sharp leaves cut through its dense fur.

Korrina visibly seemed to be getting angrier, and she pointed at Treeko. "Counter razor leaf with swift, then hit that thing with acrobatics, now!" A cloud of stars burst in smoke as Mienfoo shot through, surrounded by a burst of light blue energy.

"Our strategy, now!" Treeko changed directions in an instant, shooting forwards at a wild angle directly under the fighting type and blasting it upwards with razor leaf.

Korrina's eyes flashed and she bared her lip. "That won't work. Mienfoo, control the air with swift, then use high jump kick."

Sawyer's eyes widened as the attack was countered and Mienfoo stopped his forwards momentum by blasting the ground with swift. Treeko was barely aware as Mienfoo careened towards his fleeing form at top speed. "Protect, now!"

The high powered fighting attack smashed into the rainbow barrier. Treeko, unable to stop his momentum before throwing up the hasty defense, rolled forewards as the ephmeral barrier pitched with him. Mienfoo broke its attack and slowly prowled around the barrier in a circle as Treeko regained its footing.

Sawyer gritted his teeth as he stared at his Pokemon, who already looked fairly tired. I'm loosing control of this battle! What am I supposed to do? My strategy clearly isn't going to work, so maybe we need to take another approach.

He never got a chance to think it through, however, as Korrina grinned viciously and called, "Swords dance!"

Sawyer's eyes widened. "Screw that! Quick, use quick attack and charge razor leaf to get in close then pound! If she calls a flying type move, protect!"

Mienfoo's half completed dance was broken as leaves slammed into its side followed by an angry Treeko. The martial arts Pokemon rolled across the battlefield as he unleashed an angry onslaught of pound attacks.

"Knock off then low sweep!" the blond and black haired girl called. Mienfoo tensed, then right as Treeko was in between attacks, its feet melded into a dark aura and it slammed him away into the ground. Seconds later, it dashed over and swept its foot into his side, sending him flying. "Now finish this with acrobatics!"

"Protect!"

Mienfoo collided with the rainbow barrier once again, and the two Pokemon slid back down to the ground. Treeko looked worse for wear, and the other wasn't that much better. Sawyer frowned as Korrina gave him another disconcertingly nice smile. "Looks like you're in a bit of a bind, now aren't you. How are you going to respond, challenger?"

Sawyer held up his Pokeball and pointed it at the battlefield. "Treeko, return!" he yelled with a nod.

Korrina smirked victoriously. "It looks like you've just concede-"

Honedge burst from a deep pool of shadows behind Mienfoo and viciously raked its sword down the fighting type's side, then back up again. It flew backwards towards Korrina's feet, landing in a decisive knock out. The ghostly sword hummed before floating over to Sawyer's side and taking a fighting stance. He nodded to his Pokemon before looking up at Korrina. "We haven't conceded anything yet! We're pumped up and ready to go."

With a visceral snarl, Lucario stepped onto the battlefield and assumed a fighting pose. Sawyer's brow furrowed in confusion. Wait, but Korrina didn't give him any commands? Although… I didn't tell Honedge anything either, so I guess that it's only fair.

"Honedge, we'll go shadow sneak then aerial ace then," he ordered, and his Pokemon vanished.

Lucario closed his eyes and began to glow with a light blue aura. Sawyer gasped in shock as the same aura appeared around Korrina. Honedge appeared and quickly struck Lucario's flank before vanishing again. The aura Pokemon violently lashed out with a bone rush at the place where the sword Pokemon had been, just a split second too slow. Sawyer filed the knowledge away victoriously. We can win this now! She can't touch Honedge!

Korrina simply stood on her side of the battlefield, aura gradually flaring up brighter and brighter as the two Pokemon darted around the field. Lucario was taking damage, but it barely seemed to be making a difference as he wildly attacked at his own pace. Honedge scored a particularly brutal hit and reappeared next to Sawyer as Lucario stumbled backward. "What are you doing, Korrina? Can't you control Lucario?" he shouted across the battle field.

Korrina and Lucario both stopped dead and stared at Sawyer. He gulped and inadvertently took a step backwards as he saw the murderous aura blazing in their eyes. Did I say something wrong?

"I-" Her voice was faint at first, as if she was trying to recall a line. When she found it, she snapped into venomous clarity. "I don't use Lucario as a tool. I mean, I won't use him. No! I can't. I can't. I..." Her eyes widened as she stared at the ground and massaged her temples.

"Korrina, are you sure tha-"

"This tower is bullshit!" she screamed, stopping him midsentence.

He was silent, either out of awe or fear of watching someone come apart at the seams.

"Grandpa… He was blinded! He thought that Mastery was the goal. He told me I had to master Lucario, and it killed him! He's fucking dead!" Korrina's aura blared even higher, turning the vast gym blue as her voice cracked.

"Korrina..." Sawyer murmured as he took another step backwards, Honedge coming in front of him protectively.

"And you know who's fault it is?" the gym leader screamed. "Erin Yvonne! She- she left him on that mountain to die! She tried to force me to master Lucario! She knew Grandpa was going to be there, and she let him die! She let him! She has to pay! I won't let her do it to me again! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL ERIN YVONNE!"

Korrina's anguished screams turned into a wordless outpouring of agony as she and Lucario simultaneously began to glow bright blue and change appearance. Sawyer, who up to that point had been stunned speechless, gulped as he began to slowly back away to the door of the gym. Lucario slowly shifted into the Mega Evolved form that he had seen depicted in the massive statue, and he realized that he had no chance of winning his gym battle. What truly scared him was Korrina, whose clothing and form was slowly shifting to mirror Lucario. Her black and white hair billowed out behind her wildly in the aura storm that engulfed the room, and Sawyer had to grab a hold of Honedge to stop his Pokemon from being blown away.

The aura rushed in to form an intense halo around trainer and Pokemon as Korrina stepped onto the battlefield. "Where do you think you're going?" she snarled. Her roller skates had melded with her feet to form a spiked ridge, and as she slammed her left foot against the battlefield, a lattice of cracks spread outwards into the hardened dirt. "Our battle was only getting started."

Sawyer stared wildly at the slowly advancing trainer and Pokemon, and made the only logical decision he possibly could. Hastily, he recalled Honedge, screamed louder than he had in his entire life, and ran.

Behind him, he could hear Korrina howling in rage as he dashed up the fight of stairs from the basement. The double doors crashed down behind him as trainer and Pokemon alike burst through. He ducked as an aura sphere crashed into the wall above his head, sending dust and chunks of stone downwards as he burst out into the main chamber of the tower.

"COME BACK!" Korrina screamed as he burst out of the tower. Entirely winded but terrified for his life, Sawyer ran the entire length of the sandbar before collapsing, exhausted, on the main beach. Tourists looked from him to the tower in confusion as he let himself look back to see Korrina fall to her knees.

The door to the Tower of Mastery fell beneath her knees, she was alone, and she was lost, and he was gone. Their eyes met, even though it was to far to see where her eyes truly laid, but they met nevertheless. Hers was a desperate plea.

Please come back.

His fear won over, and he shook his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he scrambled to his feet disappeared into the city above.

Korrina was left alone on the island as the rising tide washed the sandbar away, foam to blue to murky depths below.

Erin's Perspective – Summer Camp

Erin grinned as she smoothed over her finished sheet. She turned to Paul and their assembled Pokemon. "Alright, so here's what we're going to do..."

Serena's Perspective – Summer Camp

"Hey, Serena, are you sure that this place isn't good enough? We're really far away from camp by now," Clemont groaned as he stopped to lean against a tree.

She nodded, a little bit uncertain of herself. "Yeah, this just doesn't feel right yet."

Rotom groaned as it spun around her head. "Please, princess. I've had this stupid map on my display for an hour and a half. Take some pity on these creaking circuits."

Serena shot the Pokedex a look, and it gave and electronic gulp and hovered back in front of her and shut up. "I don't know. All of these marked clearings on the map have had way too much undergrowth. Can we keep moving?"

Clemont nodded, and he walked over to a nearby log and grabbed Bonnie's hand, who vacantly stood up and followed after him. Serena started as Ash brushed by her shoulder, staring ahead with a dark expression and not acknowledging her. She watched his back sadly as Pikachu frowned back at her in confusion. Forcing herself to start moving again, she looked back down at the map. "Alright, the next one will probably be right down this path. Let's go." She had meant to inject enthusiasm into the last remarks, but they came across as flat and disinterested.

Ash stalked along in front of them as Clemont caught up to her. "Okay, I don't like this at all," he whispered. "I'm not just going to watch my two best friends do this. What on earth is going on between you and Ash?"

"We..." We're nothing. Is it even possible for us to be something anymore? She shook her head, and answered her own question. "I really don't know."

Clemont's eyes flashed, and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Oh, come on. Don't give me that. If you don't tell me yourself, I'll just say what I think." She shook her head, and he frowned. "I think that you and Ash both like each other."

"Eep!" Serena squealed as she threw her hand over Clemont's mouth and threw them both onto the ground. Clemont had the sense to let go of Bonnie's hand before he tumbled down underneath her. "How do you know?"

The Lumiose gym leader let out a muffled grunt, and she realized that she was essentially lying on top of him. She shot Ash a quick look, who hadn't turned back, and rolled off of him. "What was that for?"

"You know?" she whispered again softly.

Clemont rolled his eyes. "Well, isn't it kinda obvious? I've known that you liked Ash since the Cyllage Gym, right when you ran off after him. And he's liked you for just about as long, since that night after he caught Hawlucha and you caught Zorua. When you reunited at the Tournament Extraordinaire just made it all clearer. Do you want to tell me what's going on between you two now?"

"We should walk," Serena said, her head spinning wildly. Clemont knows too!

He nodded uncertainly, but before he could begin to speak again, a yell came from up ahead. She drew in a sharp breath as she saw the deep ravine in front of them, and ran up to its edge. "Ash, are you okay?"

The raven haired boy groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position twenty feet below them. "Yeah, I think so. My ankle really hurts." Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek concernedly, and he smiled slightly as he stroked his Pokemon's back. "Hey buddy, you fell down here with me to?"

"Ash, don't worry! We'll send for Professor Sycamore to come and help you out. Just hold tight, okay?" Clemont yelled, then turned to start running back towards the camp.

He paused as Serena put her hand on his shoulder. "Wait, I still want to talk to you alone," she said low enough so Ash couldn't hear her. "Rotom?"

"Are you finally done with using me as a map?" the plasma Pokemon asked hopefully.

Serena nodded. "Go find Professor Sycamore and tell him that Ash is hurt, please, then show him how to get back here."

"Your desire is my command, princess."

"You know what?" Serena said with faux sweetness, "I think I'll even help you get there." Wheeling around, she launched the ghost type over the trees in the direction of the main hall.

Clemont sweatdropped. "Sometimes I wonder why Rotom wanted to be caught by you in the first place."

Below, the sounds of a mock battle began to echo through the ravine. Serena gingerly set herself down at the trunk of a nearby tree and sighed as Clemont gently put Bonnie down, who had fallen asleep, and settled next to her. "So what did you want to know?"

"Well, Ash is my role model and the person who I strive to beat," Clemont said thoughtfully. "I'll always look up to him, but you're my best friend, Serena. I don't want either of you to get hurt, least of all by each other. Can you please tell me what's going on?"

"How much do you want to know?" she asked softly.

Clemont shrugged. "I just want to help you two, so however much makes you feel better."

Serena smiled lightly, slightly startled by how open he was to talk to her. "In that case, do you mind if I tell you everything?"

He nodded. "I'm listening."

Serena took a deep breath, before having an idea and releasing Fennekin from her pokeball. Comforted as her Pokemon curled up in her lap, she sighed before she started talking. "I think I should tell you first that Erin isn't my sister."

Clemont frowned. "Right, but we all already knew that."

Serena shrugged. "Before that, I had a pretty normal life. I mean, all the other kids in Vainville were long gone by the time I got Fennekin, so I wasn't exactly social, but it wasn't too bad. I practiced my Ryhorn racing a lot, although..." She stared down at her bad arm and sighed. "At least now, Mom can't make me do it anymore, right? Anyways, everything was normal, until Erin just appeared in my room one morning."

Clemont's jaw dropped. "What do you mean, she appeared?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," she said, clenching her teeth. "And not just her. My bedroom suddenly had two beds, our tiny kitchen table was twice the size, and she had stuff that belonged to her all over my house. Worse, my mom even thought that she was my sister."

He shook his head vigorously, then grinned sheepishly as she stopped. "Sorry, this is all just a little hard to wrap my head around. She really just appeared?"

"Yeah, but that's not even the weirdest part. It was almost as if… she knew me, somehow. I mean, she knew that she wasn't supposed to be there too, but..." She paused, then sighed. "We were watching the news when Ash jumped off of Prism Tower. I remembered him from Professor Oak's summer camp from back when we were little kids, and I decided that I needed to see him again. Erin decided to tag along for the ride."

"And that was when you met us?"

Serena shook her head. "Actually, no. She was really weird at first. Like, she acted like she had never seen a Miltank before. I asked her where she came from, and she said Pallet Town, which I know was a lie. I made her promise me that she would tell me where she was actually from, which she still hasn't fulfilled."

Clemont looked fairly shocked as he brushed a loose strand of hair out of Bonnie's face. "Serena, I honestly had no idea about any of this. I haven't really talked to Erin since before Cyllage City. Come to think of it, she only ever really talks to you and Paul."

"Then our bus to Lumiose was attacked."

"WHAT?"

The attacking noises stopped from the ravine, and Ash called up, "Hey, are you guys good up there?"

"Yeah, we're fine!" Serena yelled back before putting her index finger across her lips. "Yeah, a Pokemon sent a hyper beam straight through the bus. We were really lucky to be sitting in the back, because we got out safely. We made it through the woods to Lumiose, I got Fennekin, and from there, you know the rest."

"So you had already gone through all of that by the time you met us, huh?" The young inventor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Is there anything else you haven't told us about?"

"Yeah, actually. When Erin jumped after Druddigon into the ravine, I had just made a big deal about how she was trying to steal Ash, or something like that."

"So she knows about your crush too?"

Serena nodded. "We fought basically every day that we traveled together before we split up. It's just… She looks so much like me, and she's annoying and has so many secrets that I know she's keeping from me, and she just pisses me off!" her voice had risen slightly, and she sighed as she deflated and sank down the tree trunk.

"She's a lot like you," Clemont murmured. "If the two of you didn't say otherwise, it would be easy to mistake you as twins."

Serena opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out. "I guess you're right."

She was silent for a while, and Clemont filled the empty space. "So after we left Erin, you got more time to be with Ash alone, and your crush got deeper. He also got one for you in the same time. Then, you were kidnapped, which nearly drove him crazy with worry. Did I miss anything?"

"No. Then TE happened."

"..."

"..."

"Do you want to tell me what happened two nights ago?" Clemont asked softly.

It started slowly, but eventually it all came spilling out. She told him about her failure, about her amputation. She told him about Ash's training and watching him battle Froaky. She told him about the kiss. She told him about the scissors. She told him about their argument the day before. By the end, she was crying.

Clemont awkwardly reached over and gave her a hug. "Serena, I'm so sorry," he whispered. "Why didn't you tell us that you tried to commit suicide? There are things that can help with depression, and you don't have to go without a hand forever..."

She stared at him sadly. "My entire life, I've been crazy about the way that I look. My mom, she thought that clothes were just a utility, and I guess I kinda always thought she was wrong. Ash helped me to realize that there was something more to life than Ryhorn racing and nice hats. I told myself that I was going to be like him. I was going to save lives, Clemont. I tried to stop the TE disaster, but I was useless. We beat J's Salamance, but all I could do was cower in a corner. If it wasn't for Looker and Zorua, who's gone now, we would all be dead anyways."

Clemont hugged her tighter, but there was nothing he could say.

"Erin is the only reason that I'm even alive right now," Serena murmured. "She's been stealing my spotlight ever since we left Vainville town. How am I supposed to be strong when I need her to save me? How am I supposed to be good enough to get Ash's attention when every time I pass someone, they take one look at my hand and look away? When he said that to Froaky, I just snapped. He had been the only thing keeping me going, and all of a sudden, he was backing down on what drove me to like him in the first place."

"I'll talk to her," Clemont said, pulling away.

"What? Why?"

Clemont stared at her. "Serena, you just essentially told me that a girl who is posing as your sister drove you to try and commit suicide! That's not okay. She needs to tell you the truth, whatever that may be."

Serena's eyes widened, and she shook her head. "No, wait! You can't do that."

He growled as he briefly pulled away. "Keeping this in won't help you! Serena, I can't let you stay in this depression. Yes, the TE Disaster hit you harder than anyone else, but that just means you need to open up about it."

"But I don't want to make her think that I'm more vulnerable than she already does!" Serena exclaimed. "I'm sick of her treating me like a little Bidoof who lost its nest. I want to show her how strong I can be!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you want to know where she came from, does it?"

She slowly nodded in agreement. "I guess so."

"You know what the best way to show everyone that you really are strong is?"

"What?"

Clemont smiled as Rotom, Professor Sycamore, and a team of rescuers burst through the woods. "Let's make an amazing Pokevision video first, and then we get into the Hall of Fame. When our names are on that wall, that's the first step, isn't it?"

Serena finally managed a smile and nodded. The first step. From there, who knows where we might go?

[A/N] Who knew that Professor Sycamore could be so punny?

A big focus here is on Serena and Clemont and their relationship. I feel like it's never fully explored in the show, so I really want to flesh it out more here.

Korrina is in a pretty sharp downwards spiral right now. Grief and aura do not mix particularly well, even without Korrina's emotional instability.

I love Team Rocket in moderation. It's nice to write a bit of comic relief every once in a while.

Anyone who's read Generation II, a story I started and stopped a while ago, will recognize the Kricketot Mairin just caught. I just think those two make such a good match, and I honestly don't know why.

Also, Sawyer! Fun fact: he never got Grant, Korrina, or Clemont's badges in the anime, but got some unidentified ones instead. That's not going to change here.

Reviews:

Fanatic – Thank you!

Amourshipping Guest – It's coming, I promise you. It will happen in part two, but the plot needs its time to progress properly. All in due time.

Amourshippers, remember to check out my community, Quality Controlled Amour, by clicking through to my profile or searching in communities. Everyone else, remember that I appreciate any and all feedback you can give! Thanks, and Pokefan87, signing out.