A/N: Please enjoy this 23,018 word chapter everybody (not even including the author's note). Don't feel like you have to read it all in one sitting if you can. Now, without further ado, here is the Battle Chateau conclusion.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon
Chapter 53: Serena's Chateau Finale!
"Are we set to go?" Serena asked once she and the rest had gotten their things together.
The group was standing outside of Serena's house and preparing to depart for Viridian City. Their destination had turned out to be an extremely mixed bag for the group, in particular for Ash and Serena. On one hand, Viridian City had been where they both were creamed at the Battle Chateau their first try. It had also been where they had their first encounter with Team Rocket, and where Ash had to face the leader of the criminal organization himself to get back his mom who was captured. There had been positives in that city, as well, however. Ash had earned his eighth badge. Team Rocket was disbanded, and of course, it's the place where Ash and Serena had finally become a couple.
Now, their reasons were different. They were going for Serena's chance to finally conquer the Battle Chateau. Her current rank of Duchess was a testament to how hard she and her Pokemon had battled to make it. She had to defeat four very skilled sisters called Chatelaines to truly master it now. The prize for conquering the Battle Chateau was said to be your picture on the wall and a 'fabulous prize'. The group couldn't help but wonder what it was since the staff and advertisements were pretty tight-lipped about it.
"Yeah. I think so. We'll meet up with Brock, Misty, and Leaf at Professor Oak's," Ash replied.
"So Gary isn't coming?" Serena asked a little sadly. It would have been nice if he was there, too.
"Gary disappeared again this morning and didn't answer when I called his Pokegear. He must be really hard at training somewhere," Ash answered.
"Ash, don't forget. You have to train hard, too! The Pokemon League is less than a month away, and it will be no good if you aren't in shape," Delia reminded.
"Togepriii!" Togepi piped up in Ash's arms.
"See? Togepi even thinks so," Delia pointed out.
"Right, Mom. I'll train as soon as we get back. I promise," Ash said as he smiled sheepishly.
"Let him relax, dear. Ash has proven to be a natural. He can afford to take a break every now and then," Red said as he placed his hand on Delia's shoulder.
"I know. I just want my baby to be his best," Delia stated.
Ash blushed in embarrassment at his mom calling him her baby. This didn't go unnoticed by Pikachu who was snickering quietly but just loud enough for Ash to hear. Despite all that has happened recently, she was still the same old mom.
"Feel free to make yourselves at home while we are gone. Our house is your house. Our Rhyhorn just had its breakfast so you shouldn't need to worry about it," Grace told Ash's parents kindly.
Grace had decided to accompany her daughter for her big day. It really thrilled Serena to know that her mom cared enough about her goal to come, too. Serena knew her mom was originally a little disappointed that she chose something else besides Rhyhorn racing, but she was still supportive of her goals, regardless of what they were. It would be the first time her mom would be watching her do a Pokemon battle, and Serena couldn't wait to show how far she had come.
"We really can't thank you enough for opening your home to us like this while our house is being fixed, Grace," Delia said.
"It's no trouble at all, really. Company is always welcome," Grace smiled.
"Come on, Mom! We need to hurry up and go! We aren't driving there! It will already take us a few hours!" Serena urged as she tugged slightly on Grace's arm.
"Alright. I'm coming," Grace answered as she followed her daughter and Ash down the driveway. It really did please Grace that Serena was so determined about her goal. Even if it wasn't Rhyhorn racing, she was doing something she wanted, if only for a short time.
The trip to Viridian City had been fairly uneventful, much less interesting than Ash and Serena's last encounter through here. The big reason was there wasn't a huge flock of Spearow chasing them. The group simply left the wildlife alone this time. Despite this, Ash couldn't help but briefly wonder whatever happened to the Spearow he hit and the flock that chased him.
They had arrived by the middle of the afternoon so there was still plenty of time to participate in the Battle Chateau before it closed. The Pokemon Serena had taken along with her to battle were Charla, Hitmonlee, Jigglypuff, Nidorina, Scyther, and Cubone. All of her Pokemon looked fine before they left Professor Oak's lab that morning, but still, it wouldn't hurt to make a quick stop by the Pokemon Center before trying the Battle Chateau. Serena needed to make sure all of her Pokemon were as healthy as possible before trying something so crucial.
Upon entering the Pokemon Center, Ash, Misty, and Serena let out a gasp. The center had been heavily damaged the last time they were here and was under construction for many months. Now, the place looked just like new! It was a testament to how much time had passed since the group started their journeys.
"So I guess this place was finally repaired after so many months," Serena stated as they looked around.
"Why do you say that?" Grace suddenly asked. "I talked to you and Ash that night on the video phone, and everything seemed fine."
Ash and Serena couldn't help but sweatdrop at that. They had never told their parents this was the place they first encountered Team Rocket, but Serena just let that one slip. Seeing as Team Rocket was gone now, they supposed they couldn't hide it forever.
"Well, uh, this is…where we first encountered Team Rocket. They were trying to steal the center's Pokemon," Ash muttered sheepishly.
"Oh, you two," Grace sighed as she put her hand to her forehead. "You couldn't even stay out of trouble for one day."
Ash and Serena couldn't help but raise their eyebrows at this. They were expecting a lot more dramatic and upset reaction from Grace, but she took it rather well. Maybe the fact that Team Rocket wasn't a threat anymore had something to do with it. Regardless, the two were thankful they didn't receive an earful.
"Heehee! That's Ash for you! Always getting in trouble!" Leaf giggled.
"Like you're one to talk," Ash told her with an eye roll.
"Anyway, we should go see how Nurse Joy is doing, and...," Misty started but stopped as she saw Brock was already at Nurse Joy's desk.
Unlike all of the last times when Brock was flirting with Nurse Joy, he was just standing there, not saying anything. His face was as red as a tomato, and he was shaking in an uncontrollable urge to take Nurse Joy's hands but was restraining himself. This was probably the most difficult thing he's ever done!
"Hello. May I help you?" Nurse Joy asked kindly when she saw Brock wasn't doing anything.
"Nurse Joy…," Brock said in little more than a whisper. Oh, how he wanted to sweep her off her feet and take her away! She would remark on what a charming and handsome man he was. They would give each other a passionate kiss! It would be Brock's dream come true…but Kabuto's wiggling pokeball told him different. Brock had learned quickly that if he said the wrong thing to Nurse Joy, he would be getting a claw to the backside. He could sense Kabuto's glowing red eyes watching his every move. That was much worse than Misty's ear pull.
"Um…are you okay? Was there something you needed?" Nurse Joy tried again.
"Nurse Joy…," Brock mumbled again before falling onto the ground in defeat. He couldn't do it.
"I'll take it from here, Nurse Joy," Misty said as she and the rest of the group came over. Misty then astutely grabbed Brock by the ear and dragged him away.
"But…but I didn't do anything," Brock muttered as she was pulling him across the floor.
"You're embarrassing us," Misty sighed as she dragged him along, but figured she could soften up a bit. "But you did do much better for yourself that time. It's a great improvement."
"Nurse Joy! How have you been? Do you remember us?" Ash asked brightly once that display was over.
"Of course I do! You are the ones that saved this Pokemon Center from those thieves a while back," Nurse Joy replied with a smile.
"That's right! This place sure has come a long way since we were last here!" Serena commented.
"It has, hasn't it?" Nurse Joy asked rhetorically before adding. "I take you all have come a long way, too."
"We sure have! In fact, I'm needing my Pokemon checked out before we head to the Battle Chateau. Would you be so kind?" Serena asked as she gave her pokeballs to Nurse Joy.
"I'd be very happy to," Nurse Joy replied as she handed them to Chansey. She then remembered something. She looked over at Misty and called her over. "Miss, I have something to tell you."
"Me?" Misty asked in confusion as she let go of Brock and walked over to join the rest. "What is it, Nurse Joy?"
"I remember the last time you were here. You brought in a destroyed bicycle. It was yours, correct?" Nurse Joy.
"Oh, right! It was," Misty replied as her eyes lit up. She then gave a glowering look at Ash and Serena.
In truth, Misty had completely forgotten all about her bike in the time they had traveled together. She didn't even remember how she met up with Ash and Serena. The only thing that mattered to her was that they were all friends now and the circumstances didn't matter. Of course, that was until the memory was just resurfaced by Nurse Joy.
"Eheheheheh! Come on, Misty. It's in the past. It was to save Pikachu, remember?" Ash laughed nervously as he and Serena instinctively took a few steps backwards.
"You two still owe me a bike, you know," Misty glared as she started stomping towards them, but Nurse Joy quickly intervened.
"Oh, no! There's no need! You see, I've been fixing your bike in my spare time since you left!" she hurriedly said once she saw the confrontation about to break out.
"Oh? Really?" Misty asked with interest as she stopped her advance and looked at Nurse Joy.
"Yes. It was heavily beaten up and blackened, but a lot polish as certainly fixed that. It shouldn't be too much longer before it's ready for you to ride again," Nurse Joy continued.
"Seriously?! Thank you so much!" Misty said jubilantly as she clasped her hands. "My bike is going to be okay!"
Ash, Serena, and Pikachu let out a huge sigh of relief. They really dodged bullet right there. What better way to start a fight with Misty than opening an old wound like that? At least they might be able to move on now. The two noticed Grace, Brock, and Leaf sidle up to them out of the corner of their eyes with curious glances on their face.
"So…what's the story with Misty's bike?" Brock whispered.
"Don't ask," Ash mumbled.
"Are we good now, Misty? No more need to worry about your bike, right?" Serena asked hopefully.
"Hmmm…I suppose with all the stuff we've been through, we're even now. As long as my bike still gets fixed, I won't hold against you anymore," Misty decided as she looked at the two.
"I'll have it ready as soon as I can!" Nurse Joy added as Chansey came back.
"Chansey! Chansey!" the pink Pokemon said brightly.
"It appears Chansey has examined your Pokemon, and they are fighting fit, Serena," Nurse Joy said with a smile and handed them back.
"Great! Thank you, Nurse Joy!" Serena replied as she clipped them to her belt.
"Well, Serena? Are you ready to become a "Grand Duchess?" Ash asked her.
"You bet! Let's do it!" Serena replied enthusiastically.
"Take care, everyone!" Nurse Joy called before addressing Misty. "Make sure to check back here often for the progress of your bike!"
"I will!" Misty answered with a nod.
The group was just about to turn and leave when they saw someone appear from a different area of the Pokemon Center. It was actually someone they hadn't seen in quite a few months. The jet black hair, red cap, and thin figure were unmistakable, though. The boy turned, and upon seeing the group, headed over to them, particularly Serena.
"I thought I might find you here," the boy stated as he crossed his arms and grinned.
"Calem!" Serena exclaimed as she ran forward to give her friend a hug. "What are you doing here?!"
Calem welcomed the embrace and returned it warmly. "Well, I might have heard that a certain someone had reached the rank of "Duchess" from one of the Chatelaines, and she would be coming today to challenge them," he answered.
"So Nita told you? I guess she caught the hint when I mentioned we were friends," Serena figured. Nita really was sticking her neck out for Serena. The honey-blonde haired girl would have to make sure to thank her.
"Yeah. It was her," Calem confirmed before turning to the rest of everyone. "How are all of you?"
"We're doing just fine, Calem," Brock answered before going over to shake the boy's hand.
"So this is Calem? Serena told you all about you! I'm her mother, Grace," Grace introduced as she went forward to give the boy a hug of her own.
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Gabena," Calem answered.
"Oh! And this is one of my best friends, Leaf," Serena spoke up as she practically dragged Calem over to the brown-haired girl.
"I see. You're quite a lovely young lady, too," Calem said to Leaf as he gently shook her hand.
"Heehee! You sure are a charmer!" Leaf giggled like a little schoolgirl.
Ash watched all of these exchanges with an unreadable expression. The truth was he had no reason to not like Calem. He was a nice, pleasant person who wasn't stuck up or a jerk in the least. Ash knew that Calem wasn't a rival for Serena because he and she were already a couple. Still, Ash could be a little protective of Leaf, too. Despite this, Ash knew he was being completely unfair to Calem with his past attitude and could certainly get along with him like everyone else. Calem never showed any bitter feelings to Ash, and Ash would do the same. Serena could definitely have boy "friends".
"Calem! How's it going?" Ash spoke for the first time as walked forward with his hand out.
"Hey there, Ash! I'm doing great!" Calem responded as he returned the handshake.
"Yep" Ash thought to himself. There was no hidden message in Calem's handshake. He was a genuine person.
"You're going to watch my battle against the Chatelaines, right?" Serena asked hopefully.
"I sure am! That's exactly why I'm in Viridian City!" Calem answered.
"You came all the way here for me?" Serena asked, impressed.
"Well, there is one other reason, but it can wait. I wouldn't miss an opportunity for one of my friends to win against the Battle Chateau," Calem replied.
"That reminds me. We heard you conquered the Chateau not too long ago," Brock remembered.
"Heh. Yeah. I did," Calem replied as he rubbed the back of his head.
"That's right! That was so amazing! What did they do when you won?!" Serena almost demanded.
"Slow down, there!" Calem laughed as he motioned his hands downward before replying. "First, I got my picture taken. The Chatelaine I beat last, who happened to be Nita, also, wanted a picture with me, too. Then, Hennessy gave me a plaque, which I transferred back home in Vermillion City, and they gave me their promised prize, in short."
"Hey, Calem, if you don't mind me asking, what is that special prize they give you if you conquer it?" Serena asked curiously.
"Heh. It wouldn't be any fun if I spoiled the surprise, would it?" Calem smirked mischievously.
"Fine. Be that way," Serena pouted before sticking her tongue out playfully.
"You'll see soon enough what it is, anyway, Serena. I know you'll win," Ash said, jumping into the conversation.
"Mmmhmm! You're right, Ash! I can do this!" Serena agreed.
"In that case, shall we head, out 'Duchess Serena'," Ash said in a mock gentlemanly way as he held his arm out.
"It will be my pleasure, 'Sir Ash'," Serena giggled as she took his arm.
With that, the group strolled out of the Pokemon Center en route to the Battle Chateau. Ash and Serena were in the front, followed by Leaf, Brock, Misty, and Grace. Calem brought up the rear.
As they were walking, Leaf hurried up next to Serena and whispered, "Calem sure is the gentleman, isn't he?"
"I know. He's a great friend," Serena giggled back.
"Since he's just a friend, you wouldn't mind if I got to know him better, would you?" Leaf playfully asked.
"Heeheehee! Do you think he's handsome, Leaf?" Serena smirked with a sly smile.
"Maaaaaaybe," Leaf responded with another giggle.
"Girls," Ash thought with a mental eye roll as Pikachu snickered at their behavior. Still, that conversation brought great comfort to him. There was nothing he had to worry about with Serena when Calem was around. They were just friends. Whatever stupid reason he had for being distant to Calem could be a thing of the past.
"Welcome to the Battle Chateau, beaus and dames!" Hennessy greeted as usual.
"Thank you, Hennessy," Serena replied with curtsey. Calem bowed even though he wasn't going to be participating. It just felt right even after he already conquered it.
"You must be Serena! I've been informed of your possible arrival today! You are having a very special matchup between all of our Chatelaines, correct?" Hennessy inquired.
"That's right!" Serena confirmed with a nod.
"Excellent! May I just see your ID and symbols to prove your identity?" Hennessy requested.
"Of course!" Serena answered as she handed the required items to Hennessy.
After glancing over them, Hennessy nodded his head before giving the items back to Serena and bowed.
"We most graciously have anticipated your arrival, madam. Please follow me to the dressing room," Hennessy said as he turned to leave, the group following suit.
As they walked, the group was getting several curious glances, particularly at Calem and Serena. A few people were whispering back and forth to each with things along the lines of, "She's battling all four Chatealaines today?" or "Isn't that the boy who beat the Battle Chateau not too long ago?"
It was slightly unnerving for Serena, but a quick glance at Calem showed he was rather unbothered by the huge amount of attention. Was he used to it by now or something? Did people already recognize Calem everywhere he went just because he beat the Battle Chateau? Would they do the same for Serena if she won it?
Sure enough, a maid was already waiting at the end of walkway and gave a polite bow to the approaching group.
"Hello. Would please follow me to the changing room?" the maid asked.
Serena nodded and followed the maid off, leaving the others behind. She gave a quick glance behind her and saw everyone nod their heads at her. As she was going down the hallways, she realized that if she did conquer the Battle Chateau, this would be her last time of putting on these clothes. Did they let her keep them as a souvenir? Her time at this Battle Chateau couldn't be any more different from last time. It was this same Chateau where she competed for the first time. Of course, she was beaten badly, but now, she was competing to be the champion. How fitting this would be her first and possibly last Chateau to compete in.
Wait. If she won, what does she do next?
As Serena came back to the group from changing, she noticed they were all looking up at certain wall. Following their gazes, she noticed there were several pictures of different people and their Pokemon. All seemed to be taken in the Battle Chateau as everyone had formal clothing on and holding a huge plaque in their hands. It was then she realized that this was probably the wall of all the challengers who managed to conquer the Battle Chateau.
"Hey, everyone," Serena greeted as she approached them, drawing their attention back to her.
"Hey, Serena. We were just looking at Calem's photo on the wall. This has all the people who made it past the Battle Chateau," Ash replied, confirming her thoughts.
Serena followed their gazes to the general vicinity they were looking at, and it didn't take her long to see Calem's photo. He was standing proudly and had his hand up with his fingers pointing in a V sign. A group of his Pokemon was all crowded around him. Besides his Dodrio, Serena saw he had an Exeggutor, a Cloyster, an Electabuzz, a Vaporeon, and a Rapidash. It was quite a diverse group of Pokemon. Serena briefly wondered if she would be able to win against Calem again should they compete now.
"It must feel great to have such an accomplishment under your belt, Calem," Serena said to him.
"Well, yeah, but now I've beaten the Battle Chateau, I'm kind of at a loss for what to do now," he answered.
This caught Serena's attention as she and everyone turned to face him. Calem was going through what Serena was worried would happen. He couldn't find another suitable goal.
"You could always try the Pokemon League," Ash suggested. "I'm sure with that awesome group of Pokemon you have, you would do very well."
"I've considered it, but even if I do start, I would need to wait awhile before I begin again since this year is almost over. I also want to try something different since most of my friends are already competing in the Pokemon League," Calem replied
"You really can't think of anything, Calem?" Serena asked a little discouragingly.
"Well, there's one thing I've been selected for that I could do. I'd rather not say what it is, though, because it's kind of confidential," Calem said quietly.
"Confidential?" Serena repeated.
Before Calem was able to elaborate on what he mean, the group was interrupted by Hennessy giving a loud shout. He was followed by a particularly large number of other servants and maids.
"May I have your attention, everyone?!" he called out, snapping all heads in his direction. "It gives me great honor to present to you all four of our Battle Chatelaines today! Please show them the courtesy they deserve!"
The butlers and maids then stood in two lines with small path to walk between in the middle. They all bent over to give the deepest bow they were humanly able to. The group thought this was a little extreme but followed their example anyway and each took a bow. Many other kids and teens in the Chateau humorously seemed to snap to an attention stance like they were in the military. They probably didn't know what to do, not too unlike Serena was the last time she was meeting a Chatelaine.
"Are all of the Chatelaines extremely hard to beat?" Serena whispered to Calem.
"They are. All four of them are very different in personality, but equally strong," Calem responded.
"Are they all equally beautiful?" Brock asked hopefully, but a deadpan look from everyone else made him close his mouth?
It wasn't long until the group heard the sound of clicking high heels. They had come to associate that sound with Nita the last time they were here and knew they were about to see her and her sisters at any moment. Serena spared a glance upward and saw four bodies going through the opening between the maids and butlers in a single file. Serena couldn't make out what they looked like because their parasols were blocking their faces from view. One of them had the expected yellow and orange outfit which Serena assumed to be Nita, and the others had similar bizarre outfits but different colors. One was clothed in blue and gray, one in red and pink, and the other in green and black.
The four assumed Chatelaine sisters continued walking to the group before stopping in front of them. Hennessy then made a motion for the group to rise from their bows and curtseys, and then signaled everyone else to do the same.
The four parasols then snapped shut and thrust behind the Chatelaines' heads, finally revealing their faces. There was Nita, of course, whom the group met previously and looked rather excited. The other next to her looked nervous and had thick blue hair that curved inward slightly before stopping at her cheeks and wore a blue hat. The one next to her had red hair with four huge curls of hair and a red hat. Two stopped on both of her cheeks while the others went down a little further and stopped at her shoulders. The look on her face tended to suggest she was rather arrogant. The last one had dark green hair that turned into a massive spiral on the side of her head and ended at her shoulders with a large green hat on her head. Like the previous sister, this one looked rather arrogant, but not to the same degree. With how bizarre their hairstyles were, the group couldn't help but wonder how long the last two sisters spent every day trying to get their hair like that. Hours?
Before anyone could get a word out, Brock spoke first. He ran forward and stopped just in front of the four Chatelaine sisters, taking them and the others by surprise.
"Be still, my aching heart!" Brock cried. "There are so many beautiful women in front of me that I can't control myself! Please let me….Aughhh!"
Kabuto had immediately popped out of its pokeball and stabbed Brock in the back with its claw. Brock fell to the ground where Misty took over and dragged him away by the ear.
"I can't control my hand from grabbing your ear so we're even," Misty muttered as she pulled him along. Despite trying keep neutral, Brock still had a long way to go to cure himself of his flirting tendencies. He may be able to resist one Nurse Joy, but not four Chatelaines.
Serena stared worriedly at the Chatelaines in front of her after Brock's little display. She hoped that she and her group hadn't caused a bad impression on them because of that. Nita had her eyebrows raised slightly while the blue haired ones was looking nervously back and forth, and the last two gave a sigh and rolled their eyes. Serena was pretty embarrassed for her and Brock.
"Forgive that interruption, madams. That young man was not the one whom you were to face," Hennessy gently interrupted to help out. Serena flashed him a grateful smile.
"It sure isn't!" Nita added as she smiled broadly in Serena's direction. "It's that wee lass right over there!"
The other sisters' eyes then shifted over to Serena. The honey-blonde girl attempted to give them all what she hoped was a confident smile, but she found it somewhat hard. The three sisters, particularly the red-haired and green-haired one, had very piercing gazes as they scrutinized her.
Finally, the green-haired one approached her and returned the smile, but the group couldn't help but think it was a little on the arrogant side. All the Chatelaines were probably nice, particularly Nita, but they also seemed to harbor an air of snootiness. Maybe it was just the way they were raised or the posh atmosphere of the Battle Chateau?
"How do you do, young missie? My name is Morgan. I'm the eldest of all of us four Chatelaine sisters. We all thank you for taking part in our cherished Battle Chateau," the green-haired woman said.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, as well," Serena answered with a quick curtsey, having recovered from her initial nervousness of seeing them all at once.
"I'm Dana! Thank you for coming! We all praise your bravery of attempting to challenge all of us in one day!" the red-haired woman spoke next as she also walked up next to the eldest.
"You already know me, of course! I'm the youngest, Nita. It is smashingly good to be able to face you again in battle! I hope you'll put on a great show like last time! I did call all of my sisters over here, after all!" Nita said eagerly.
"Oh! That's right! Thank you so much for doing that, Nita! It really means a lot to me!" Serena answered appreciatively.
"Think nothing of it, pet! I always look forward to a crackin' good battle with people!" Nita laughed.
"Now, Nita? We haven't had the lovely chance to battle the dear guest yet. Please try not to spoil the experience for us," Morgan scolded.
"Right. Sorry, sister," Nita replied sheepishly.
"What a moppet," Dana added.
The group exchanged glances with each other at this. As usual, it seems there was a little bit of teasing when it came to the youngest sibling. It didn't seem too much different from Misty's situation, after all. Out of the corner of their eye, they could see Misty with somewhat of a sympathetic look in her eyes towards Nita. She would know all about that considering how she practically threw herself into sibling stories during her and Nita's last encounter.
The group then turned to see there was one Chatelaine sister that hadn't greeted them yet. It was the blue-haired one, and she appeared quite shy compared to the other ones. While Nita, Morgan, and Dana appeared to be bursting with confidence, this one was…not. She was behind the other three with one hand behind her back and the other one was twirling her short blue hair.
"Evelyn? Don't just stand there. Come greet our dear challenger," Morgan called out to her.
The young, blue-haired woman shuffled forward, avoiding eye contact with Serena and everyone else in the room. Once she was in front of Serena, she immediately looked towards the floor as if there was something interesting there. Despite this, Serena attempted a smile to her out of politeness. Maybe that would get her to say something.
"It's nice to meet you…Evelyn?" Serena guessed the last part, judging from what Morgan had said.
"Ummmm…Welcome t-to the Battle Ch-Chateau. My n-name is Evelyn. Oh! B-b-but you already knew th-that , didn't you?" Evelyn stuttered.
"Evelyn! Quit twirling your hair like some nervous schoolgirl. It looks terrible!" Morgan berated.
"S-Sorry!" Evelyn quickly apologized and immediately took her finger out of her hair.
There were clearly some family issues going on with these Chatelaines. Did they act like this all the time when they were together? Is that why they were always at separate Chateaus every day so they could keep away from each other? Serena was under the impression that she was going to be in double battle with two of the Chatelaine sisters at a time. How were they going to work together if they couldn't even seem to get along?
"It's such an honor for us to be here today! My daughter Serena couldn't wait to try for her title as Grand Duchess of the Battle Chateau!" Grace cut in, trying to ease the obvious tension between the sisters.
"Ah, yes! You're her Ma! It's such a smashing good thing to meet ya!" Nita exclaimed as she frantically shook Grace's hands.
"No, please! The pleasure's all mine!" Grace laughed while the rest of the group sweatdropped.
Morgan then cast a glance at Calem and smiled. "Ah! You're that wee lad who gave us all a sound beating the last time we saw you? How are you, love?"
"I've been doing very well, Ms. Morgan. It's nice to see all of you are doing okay, too," Calem replied with a bow.
"Are we ever going to get to the battle or just talk all day? Togepi is getting restless with us just standing here," Ash whispered to Brock, gesturing to the squirming Pokemon in his arms.
"I don't care which one we do as long as I can look at those Chatelaines," Brock whispered back with a goofy grin on his face.
"While I always enjoy talking to my guests before I battle them, I believe we should begin our battle lest we stay overtime," Morgan suggested.
"Excuse me, Ms. Morgan. How will I be battling all of you?" Serena asked politely.
"You will be facing two of us at a time in what's called a double battle. Are you familiar with them at all, love?" Morgan inquired.
"Well, I know that each person uses two Pokemon, but I've never participated in one before," Serena answered as she looked upward in thought.
"Yes. Each party battles until both Pokemon are down. The one with a Pokemon left standing is declared the winner. Because you are facing two of us, we will all use one Pokemon each," Morgan responded.
Serena looked down towards the ground. Could she really pull this off? It's true she felt confident, but she had never been in a double battle. Her Pokemon always helped each other in training, but could they really work as a team to overcome Serena's toughest battle yet? She would have to be extra careful and pay attention to both of her Pokemon in order to win. Who would work best battling beside one another? Scyther was a loner most of the time and preferred to battle by itself so it might not be the best option for a double battle. Jigglypuff could cause some issues, too, despite greatly improving its attitude over the past few months. The Pokemon that would probably be most willing to work with others would be Hitmonlee and Charla. She would have to make sure at least one of those Pokemon was in each of her battles against the Chatelaines.
"You'll do great, Serena! I hear double battles are really fun and exciting!" Ash told her, trying to boost her mood.
"We're all here for you, sweetie," Grace added.
"I've been in a few myself. They can really help strengthen the bond between each of your Pokemon because they have to work together to win," Calem finished.
"Let's get on with the battle pets! I'm gettin' a wee bit antsy just standing here!" Nita spoke up.
"Patience, Nita. Our dear guest will not be battling you first," Morgan told her.
"No guff?! Why?!" Nita exclaimed while throwing her hands into the air.
"Is your head cut, girl? Your elder sisters would like to battle the lassie, as well. It wouldn't be fair if you battled her first when you already have before," Morgan answered somewhat arrogantly.
Nita gave a slight huff in response but said nothing else. She was right what she said about her sisters in their last encounter. They did tend to pick on her a lot, especially Morgan.
"Now that that's out of the way, you will be battling my dear sisters, Evelyn and Dana, to begin with. Should you defeat them, you will face Nita and me," Morgan continued.
"Oh! That's perfectly fine! Thank you!" Serena said quickly with a curtsey.
"Grand! Please follow us," Morgan said with a smile before nodding to Hennessy.
"Of course! Right this way, madam!" Hennessy responded with a quick bow before leading them away. The group briefly wondered if he ever noticed the exchanges that went on between the sisters.
As the group began to follow the Chatelaines and Hennessy, they couldn't help but think how strange the sisters all were. They were all nothing alike and each had their own distinct personality with the two youngest, Evelyn and Nita, seeming to catch the brunt of the older twos' jokes. All seemed to forget their banters a split second later as they were all laughing animatedly with each other now in a somewhat haughty manner. If anyone could relate to them, however, it would be Misty.
"Is that how it is with you and your sisters?" Ash whispered.
"Yeah. You've seen it yourself, after all. My sisters and I argue a lot, but we really do love each other. If we were to ever have a double battle together, we would make quite a team. I'm sure it's the same for them," Misty answered.
The group nodded their head in understanding. That's just the way sibling bonds were, it seemed. Serena wasn't going to dismiss the Chatelaines inability to battle together just yet. They were already great trainers to begin with if Nia was any indication, and combined, it would quite difficult to take them down.
Upon finally reaching the battle room, Serena received a quick hug from Ash and Grace, followed by a thumbs-up from Calem before she headed over to her side of the room. Dana and Evelyn walked to the other side while Morgan and Nita joined the rest of the group on the sidelines. Nita had her fists clenched as she leaned forward and looked upon the coming battle eagerly while Morgan simply folded her arms and awaited the coming battle calmly. A judge stood in the center while Hennessy gave one last bow before leaving the room.
"Evelyn and I have a perfect combo! You can't take us on, little missie!" Dana shouted from across the room.
"I'm not all flash like my sister Dana when it comes to talking," Evelyn mumbled quietly. Serena barely heard her.
"Do try to give us a flashy performance," Dana finished.
"Here we go," thought Serena. "I can do this. I get the feeling this is going to be my last opportunity to face the Chatelaines before I'm in a bad position of choosing to stay with Ash or finish the Battle Chateau."
"Let's go, Serena!" she heard Ash shout.
Serena cast a look towards the left and saw all of her friends, mother, Nita, Morgan, and finally Ash looking at her with expectant looks. They all believed she could do this. The last thing she had to do was believe in herself. She lost to the Chatelaines once, but that was the only win they would have.
"This is a special double battle between the Chatelaines, Evelyn and Dana, against Serena Gabena. The Chatelaines will be using one Pokemon each while our challenger will use two Pokemon. The battle shall continue until each Pokemon of one side can't battle anymore! Please choose your Pokemon now!" the judge announced.
"Evelyn and I will go ahead and show you our Pokemon first, lassie!" Dana called out before addressing her sister. "Are you ready, Evelyn?"
"Y-Y-Yes. I am," Evelyn confirmed.
"Grand! Go Flareon!" Dana shouted.
"Vaporeon! P-Please come out," Evelyn said.
Two fox-like Pokemon came out of their pokeballs and took on a battle stance. One of them was covered in reddish-orange fir with dark eyes and a black nose. However, its very bushy tail, fluffy collar, and tuft of fur on its head were bright yellow. It looked like it had just come out of a blazing inferno. The other one looked aquatic and resembled a mermaid and light blue in color except for its ridges on its head and back which were dark blue.
"Vaporeon and Flareon," Serena mused to herself as she and Ash took out their pokedexes to scan them. Leaf had already encountered them in the past so she didn't need to look them up.
"Vaporeon, the bubble jet Pokemon and the evolved form of Eevee when exposed to a Water Stone. Its cell structure is similar to water molecules. It can melt away and become invisible in water. Flareon, the flame Pokemon and the evolved form of Eevee when exposed to a fire stone. It has a flame chamber inside of its body and can have its body reach incredible levels of heat when it stores enough energy," the pokedexes said.
"So these are two of the evolved forms of Eevee," Serena muttered as she looked over to the two Pokemon. She thought about her own Eevee. If it were ever to evolve, these were two of the options she had to choose from. She knew of three Pokemon Eevee could evolve into: Flareon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon, but there were said to be even more under special circumstances. For now, however, she was happy with the way her Eevee was, and it seemed content, too.
Right now, though, she needed to figure out which Pokemon to use against them. She still reminded herself that Charla and Hitmonlee would be the best team members, but decided on Hitmonlee due to Charla's weakness against water. She also remembered hearing something about Flareon having the Flash Fire ability which would make its fire attacks useless, too. That meant the best was Hitmonlee for this battle, but what about her other Pokemon? Nidorina, Jigglypuff, Scyther, or Cubone? As previously mentioned, Jigglypuff and Scyther would have the most trouble battling with another and would probably need more training. Cubone would be strong against Flareon but weak against Vaporeon. Nidorina didn't really have an advantage over either Pokemon so it broke even. That was probably her best option despite a rather strange matchup.
"Hitmonlee, Nidorina, come on out!" she called as she released the two Pokemon.
Nidorina appeared with a cry and took a battle ready stance, too. Serena had given it a good meal before coming to the Battle Chateau so it was full and ready to fight. It looked over to its partner in battle and raised an eyebrow in question when it saw the Hitmonlee calmly doing its pre-battle meditation.
"Nidorina?" it questioned the kicking fiend.
"Leeeeeee," it breathed in response before opening its eyes and standing up.
"Those two are kind of a strange combination. Do you think they will be able to pull off a win like that?" Misty questioned.
"I don't know. Nidorina and Hitmonlee have never really been training partners so they don't know very much about each other's strengths and weaknesses. It may be hard to form a good combination from them, but Serena might surprise us. It was a risky move, regardless, because it's against the Chatelaines," Brock answered.
Calem was thinking along the same lines as Brock as he watched the battle. Despite this, he knew Serena could overcome the odds. Her Charmeleon had defeated his Dodrio, after all, when they last saw each other.
Grace, meanwhile, was really excited to see her daughter battle for the first time. She didn't quite know what to make of the matchups due to her inexperience as a trainer. She had been a Rhyhorn racer, instead, but what she did know, is that she could believe in Serena's determination.
Ash had been the one to encourage her this whole time. He trained with Serena all yesterday afternoon to get her prepared for this. If there was ever a time for Serena to against all of the Chatelaines, it would be now. He gave a nod to Serena who noticed the gesture and nodded back. There was a silent understanding between them to do their best.
"Are both sides ready?" the judge asked as he raised his flags in the air.
All three trainers nodded while their Pokemon crouched down, ready to attack as soon as their trainer commanded it. Here it comes.
"Begin!" the judge shouted and waved the flags down.
"You dears know what to do! Let's start our match off by cloaking the battlefield in steam!" Dana shouted.
"Y-Yes," Evelyn added rather lamely.
The Vaporeon and Flareon nodded before shooting a Water Gun and Flamethrower into the air, respectively. The two opposing attacks met halfway before a cloud of steam erupted from the center, making it hard for anyone to see.
"They're already starting the battle by giving us a disadvantage. I should've expected nothing less," Serena thought to herself as she squinted her eyes to try to see. She then called out, "Hitmonlee, you can sense where Vaporeon and Flareon are, right?"
"Lee," Hitmonlee nodded before motioning for Nidorina to come over next to it.
The Poison Pin Pokemon scrambled over next to its partner and pricked its large ears upward to listen while Hitmonlee calmed its mind and tried to sense their opponents' presence. Flareon and Vaporeon weren't especially fast Pokemon so they wouldn't be charging at them from inside the steam. It would be a long-ranged attack the two would need to look out for.
As expected, the two heard the commands of Flamethrower and Water Gun next and prepared themselves. Hitmonlee and Nidorina crouched down and awaited for the attacks to come through the steam, but they weren't appearing. Vaporeon and Flareon must be taking their time and changing their location to fool their opponents. Hitmonlee closed its eyes and concentrated harder to try to sense where they were, but their constant moving made it difficult.
Finally, it heard a cry and a rush of attacks shooting for them. Hitmonlee opened its eyes and expected the attacks to come from the same direction, making an easy dodge. It and Nidorina's eyes widened when they saw an attack coming from either side of them. The Water Gun came from the left and the Flamethrower came from the right. Hitmonlee immediately picked up Nidorina and leaped forward just in time. The force from the explosion of the attacks combining still threw it off balance. It landed rather ungracefully on the floor before setting down Nidorina.
Serena knew she couldn't just stand there all day. Her Pokemon were waiting for her to issue an attack. She was just rather awed about how in sync the Vaporeon and Flareon were. Despite the sisters' constant feuding, they really did know how to work as a team. This would actually prove to be more difficult than facing them individually.
"Hitmonlee, use Hi Jump Kick! Nidorina, use Double Kick!" Serena yelled.
The Pokemon obeyed and began running at their opponents. It was a little hard to see in the steam, but their excellent senses allowed them to pinpoint where their opponents were. Dana merely smirked at this while Evelyn got a somewhat confused expression. This girl thought she could win by simply ordering her Pokemon to attack?
"That won't work against Evelyn and I's combination, little missie!" Dana declared. "Flareon, Fire Spin!"
"Use Water Pulse," Evelyn muttered.
Flareon shot a large amount of fire at the Pokemon duo as they were running towards them. Hitmonlee noticed this and tried to redirect its running, but Flareon made such a large spiral that it couldn't. Soon the vortex of fire closed in around Nidorina and Hitmonlee, rendering them unable to move. Flareon then got underneath Vaporeon before boosting it high into the air off of its back. Vaporeon was flung high above the top of the vortex and looked straight down from the top. It then fired a huge ball of water directly downward. The ball shot through the flames with nowhere for Hitmonlee and Nidorina to escape to because of the fire surrounding them. The Water Pulse reached its marks, blasting Nidorina and Hitmonlee backwards through the flames and onto the ground.
"There's got to be some way to slip up those two," Serena thought desperately, noticing that she was losing. "I know!"
"Nidorina, use Ice Beam on the floor!" Serena called.
Nidorina obeyed and shot a large beam of ice from its mouth all across the room. Soon the carpet was made of nothing but ice which caused quite a bit of unbalance for its opponents. Flareon and Vaporeon instantly began stumbling in order keep on their four feet.
"Great, Nidorina! Use Poison Sting and Hitmonlee use Mega Kick!" Serena shouted.
Nidorina obeyed and slid forward in order to use the attack. However, the important thing that Serena forgot was the floor may have been icy for Vaporeon and Flareon, but it was also slippery for Hitmonlee. While Nidorina slid forward on its knees. Hitmonlee immediately tripped and fell flat on its face before looking up and glaring at Nidorina. The poison Pokemon gave a sheepish scratch on its head before turning around and shooting several poison needles from its mouth. The attack connected with its targets which caused the two to grimace, but it clearly could have done more damage.
"What's Serena doing out there?" Ash thought as he watched the battle. "She isn't having the two work as a team at all!"
Serena berated herself on forgetting something like that. Using Ice Beam to make the floor slippery would normally be a good strategy. It had worked several times in the past, but that would only be if Nidorina was battling by itself. Serena had to think about how one attack affects everyone on the field, not just the Pokemon using it. These double battles were a lot tougher than they seemed.
"Flareon, melt the ice with your Flamethrower," Dana called out.
Flareon launched a stream of flames through its mouth which liquefied all of the ice in seconds.
"Now use Smog, pet!" Dana ordered next.
"Use Aurora Beam into the Smog, Vaporeon" Evelyn said.
Flareon opened its mouth and breathed out a noxious brown cloud from its mouth and launched it into the air. The Vaporeon then launched a cold beam that glowed many colors into the fog causing a chain reaction. The smog and glowing beam mixed before forming a freezing, poisonous cloud which settled around Hitmonlee and Nidorina. Hitmonlee covered its nose to avoid breathing in the fumes. Its intense meditation had given it a tolerance to the cold so it was able to withstand it. However, Nidorina wasn't so lucky and was both coughing violently and shivering, not knowing which was worse.
"Now use Quick Attack!" both Chatelaine sisters commanded.
The two Eeveelutions darted towards their targets at breakneck speed. Hitmonlee saw them coming through the cold smog and quickly grabbed Nidorina who was still having a coughing fit. It then quickly rolled out of the way of Vaporeon, but Flareon was still able to hit it. Hitmonlee grunted in pain before soaring backwards onto the ground. It couldn't protect Nidorina forever.
"My, my, my. What a pity? Is this all you have?" Dana asked Serena in a disappointed tone. "Nita talked you up quite a bit, saying you had potential. I have yet to see that."
"You'll be catching it later from us, Nita," Morgan told her sister as she crossed her arms. "This lassie is not even providing a challenge for Dana and Evelyn. Why did you call us here just to waste time with her?"
Ash couldn't help but glare at Morgan for putting Serena down like that. What did she know about Serena? His girlfriend was an excellent battler! She usually came up with great strategies to win, and her Pokemon were top notch, too! They can't judge her battling skills by just one encounter with her. A double battle was something very new to Serena. She just had to adjust. Ash had no doubt he would be shaky, too, if he were competing right now. Ash then shouted out to her.
"Serena! You need to focus on the strengths of both Hitmonlee and Nidorina! Use them to your advantage and combine their skills like Dana and Evelyn are doing!" he called.
Serena heard what Ash said and knew that's what she had to do, but what did Hitmonlee and Nidorina have in common? Absolutely nothing. She should've thought these double battles through a lot more clearly before she began. What on Earth could she do to have them work as a team? She was sure Hitmonlee and Nidorina were more than willing to, but she had to issue a command first. The calling of Flareon and Vaporeon's next attacks snapped Serena out of her thoughts.
"We should just finish this with a Flare Blitz, Flareon," Dana sighed. "Maybe we will have a better challenge another day."
"Y-Y-Yeah. Use Hydro Pump, too, Vaporeon," Evelyn said.
Flareon became enveloped in a huge flame and charged towards. It had such power that parts of the carpet were being stripped bare. Vaporeon took a deep breath shot a massive jet of water from its mouth. Both Pokemon grimaced as they saw the attacks heading towards them. It was either be hit by a Flare Blitz or a Hydro Pump. Neither option seemed more appealing.
Serena thought as hard as she could about situations like this. There had to be something she could do to at least stop one of the attacks! If she could do that, maybe she could stand a chance with the other. Vaporeon had a jet of water coming towards them. Nidorina had Ice Beam. Maybe that could stop it!
"Nidorina, use Ice Beam on that Hydro Pump!" Serena shouted.
Nidorina nodded and shot a beam of ice once more from its mouth. It collided with the Hydro Pump as the two struggled for dominance. Due to the advantage, the Ice Beam started to solidify the Hydro Pump, and within seconds, the large jet of water had turned into a large chunk of ice and fell onto the floor with a resounding crash.
"That was close," Serena said to herself until she remembered Flareon still charging towards them. She then saw the ice from the Hydro Pump just sitting there and an idea came to her. "Hitmonlee, use… Mega Kick on that shard of ice!"
Hitmonlee looked back at Serena and gave an approving nod before leaping into the air and kicking the huge ice piece as hard as it could, making sure to aim for Flareon. The large chunk of ice shot through the air towards the very surprised fire-type. Flareon's eyes widened when it saw the frozen projectile blasting towards it and tried to redirect its attack, but was unsuccessful. The massive ice piece slammed into Flareon despite its Flare Blitz and knocked it clean across the room where it hit a wall before falling to the ground with a dazed expression.
"That was great, Serena!" she heard Leaf yell.
"That sounds more like Serena," Brock smiled and folded his arms. "That's how they can work as a team."
Ash smiled in triumph when he saw Morgan raise her eyebrow in interest, and Nita gave her an "I told you so" look. That will show her not to judge Serena so quickly.
"Serena really has gotten a lot better since I first faced her," Calem said to Ash.
"You have no idea," Ash replied with a grin.
"Hmm? Well this is a surprise. Maybe you have some fight, after all," Dana stated rather haughtily as Flareon got up and joined with Vaporeon once more.
"W-W-We'll have to make sure not to do that again," Evelyn agreed. "Use Aqua Ring on both you and Flareon."
The Vaporeon obeyed and seemed to concentrate before a ring of water appeared around itself and Flareon. Despite Flareon being a fire-type, it still got the benefits from the move. Now its health could be gradually restored.
"Serena's going to have to attack them fast and hard now," Calem stated grimly as he watched. "If she can't cause enough damage in a short amount of time, those two will keep regaining health and be almost impossible to knock out."
"So she'll need to use powerful and effective moves?" Misty inquired.
"Right," Calem confirmed.
"So do Hitmonlee and Nidorina have any good moves?" Ash asked, wanting to know as much about any Pokemon as possible, of course.
"Well, Hitmonlee has some pretty powerful attacks, being a fighting-type, but it's Nidorina I'm little worried about," Calem answered.
"You sure know a lot about Pokemon. You wouldn't by chance be trying to fill up your pokedex too, would you?" Leaf asked with interest as she sauntered over to Calem.
"Hahaha! No, I'm not actually. I just think it's crucial to know as much about a Pokemon's move set as I can. That way I can be prepared for anything," Calem explained.
"Ash could learn a thing or two from you, Calem. He only seems to know his own Pokemon's moves," Misty teased, causing Ash to glare at her.
"Excuse me, but who was it that just got all eight badges of Kanto?" Ash thought, but chose not to voice his opinions to avoid an argument. He wanted to focus on Serena's match right now.
"Okay. I made one good combination. What's something else I can do?" Serena thought again to herself. Maybe she could try something similar to what she did previously?
"Use Quick Attack again!" the Chatelaine sisters commanded once more.
"Quick, Nidorina! Use Ice Beam on the floor, but focus on one spot!" Serena called out as the two fox-like Pokemon began to speed towards Nidorina and Hitmonlee.
"Not so quick, pet! Use Flamethrower on that Ice Beam, Flareon!" Dana called.
No sooner had Nidorina began to shoot Ice Beam on the floor than Flareon had already produced a Flamethrower. The two attacks met, and the Ice Beam immediately fizzled out. The two Chatelaines' Pokemon collided with Serena's Pokemon, knocking them back once more.
"Use Fire Spin again," Dana smirked.
The fire-type attack once more shot from Flareon's mouth and swirled around the two Pokemon getting back off the floor. Not one to be outdone like that again, Hitmonlee once more grabbed Nidorina and jumped over the flames before they got too high, but that's what Dana and Evelyn wanted. As soon as Hitmonlee got out of the flames, the two saw an Aurora Beam heading straight for them. The attack struck Hitmonlee right in the center where it dropped Nidorina before falling onto the floor in pain.
"Hitmonlee!" Serena cried.
"Nido Nidorina!" Nidorina encouraged as it shook Hitmonlee.
"Leeeee," the kicking fiend breathed to indicate it still had fight in it. It stood back onto its feet, but it was getting pretty tired by having to save Nidorina from a lot of the attacks.
"That Hitmonlee is pretty tough, lassie," Dana stated. "I say we try to take it out first. Do you agree, Evelyn?"
"Y-y-yes. We should," Evelyn answered.
"Use Quick Attack and surround Hitmonlee!" the two shouted.
The two Eeveelutions began running in circles around Hitmonlee and Nidorina in an effort to confuse them. Hitmonlee tried to sense their movements with its mind, but they were too quick for it to keep up with.
"Use Poison Sting across the whole area to stop them, Nidorina!" Serena cried.
Nidorina opened its mouth and began shooting several glowing needles from its mouth and spun as fast as it could while launching the attack. It wasn't long before Flareon and Vaporeon ran straight into the needles which immediately made them grimace and slow down. Serena was about to order another attack, but Evelyn and Dana beat her to it.
"Use Flamethrower on Hitmonlee!" Dana called.
"Use Ice Beam on Hitmonlee," Evelyn added.
Flareon and Vaporeon got on either side of Hitmonlee and launched their respective attacks to their target. Hitmonlee's options were limited as it certainly didn't have enough time to dodge the attacks. The attacks soared through the air and collided with Hitmonlee head-on.
"Monlee!" Hitmonlee cried in pain as it collapsed onto one knee due to the attacks. It was sweating because of how much pain it was in. It didn't think it could take any more attacks.
"Can you stand, Hitmonlee?" Serena cried out.
Nidorina stared worriedly at its partner. Hitmonlee was in so much pain because it was constantly trying to protect it. Nidorina wasn't necessarily a weak battler, but it wasn't the strongest of its trainer's Pokemon, either, and it knew so. It preferred to eat or help support on the sidelines when working together. It could definitely battle if it needed to and had quite a few victories. However, this time, it couldn't even help that much with Hitmonlee. If it could lend its strength to Hitmonlee, and still support it, they might be able to take out these two. Flareon and Vaporeon had great combinations of attacks, why couldn't they? Nidorina then felt itself glowing with energy and became enveloped in a blue.
"What's going on with Nidorina?" Serena wondered aloud as she watched.
Nidorina then directed its energy towards Hitmonlee, and the kicking fiend suddenly felt itself overflowing with strength, like it had been supercharged. Hitmonlee suddenly stood on its two feet and took on a fighting stance, ready to take out its opponents.
"What just happened?" Ash asked everyone around them, hoping they at least had some idea.
"I think Nidorina just learned the move Helping Hand," Brock responded as he folded his arms.
"It's a move that's perfect for double battles because it lets one Pokemon boost the power of its partner so its moves are more powerful," Calem elaborated.
Serena's eyes lit up in excitement once she heard that. With Nidorina being able to lend its strength to Hitmonlee, they should be able to pull of some great combos. They could really work as a team, after all. Suddenly feeling confident, Serena called out her next command.
"Hitmonlee, use Hi Jump Kick! Nidorina, use Poison Sting!" she yelled.
"Prepare to dodge it, my pet," Dana said.
"Y-y-you, too, Vaporeon," Evelyn added.
They were expecting Hitmonlee to run up to their two Pokemon and try to attack physically, giving them plenty of time to dodge. It was very surprising when Hitmonlee instead leaped into the air before swinging is leg around in a full circle. A blast of energy from the force of Hitmonlee's kick erupted from its foot and sped towards the two dumbfounded Pokemon. That must have been because of Helping Hand's power boost!
The massive burst of energy landed just in front of Vaporeon and Flareon, creating an explosion and blasting them off their feet. That's when Nidorina got a clear shot with its Poison Sting and shot the glowing needles at the Pokemon. It finally got good aim in and was able to cause some good damage that time. The two Eeveelutions landed on their sides with painful grunt before standing up again.
"What power! Quite impressive. That's more like it," Dana praised. "Now try to entertain us!"
"Use Ice Beam on the ground but concentrate it on one spot, Nidorina, and then use Brick Break, Hitmonlee" Serena commanded.
"Not so fast, lassie! Use Flamethrower again, Flareon!" Dana shouted.
Nidorina had done the attack much faster now, and was already through before Dana had even finished talking. A large block of ice now stood where the Ice Beam was concentrated. Hitmonlee jumped into the air and raised one of its seldom used arms before slamming it down on the block of ice, completely shattering it towards its opponents. Many shards of ice blasted through the air, completely bypassing the Flamethrower and striking Flareon and Vaporeon continuously. Ice wasn't normally very effective on their typing, but the shards were so prickly and moving so fast that it actually really did sting a lot. Unfortunately, the Flamethrower kept going and stuck Nidorina, engulfing it in flames. Nidorina gave weak cry before collapsing on the ground, struggling to stay in battle.
"This is going on a wee bit longer than it should," Dana said. "Knock those two out with Flare Blitz, my pet," Dana told Flareon while Vaporeon was still struggling to stand up. The ice shards had been slightly more effective against the water type because the other shards melted fast after hitting Flareon's hot skin.
Flareon gave another cry before becoming enveloped in fire and tearing off down the battle room straight towards Hitmonlee.
"Use Hi Jump Kick again, Hitmonlee!" Serena yelled.
"Use Flamethrower to stop it!" Dana countered.
Flareon blew forth a hot flame from its mouth even though it was still charged with Flare Blitz. It must have been really trained to do two attacks at once like that. Hitmonlee's eyes widened at the coming flame and quickly spun out of the way which caused its aim to be off and the flash of energy missed Flareon completely and it crashed into Hitmonlee full force. Hitmonlee brought up its foot just in time and yelled in pain at the attack before trying to push Flareon back. The two were in a huge competition for dominance. By that time, Vaporeon had gotten up and Evelyn issued her next command.
"H-h-help out Flareon, Vaporeon," Evelyn muttered.
Vaporeon also gave a cry before charging forward to help Flareon. Hitmonlee's eyes widened once more when it saw Vaporeon coming towards it coming towards it. If those two combined their efforts, that's all that would be needed for Flareon to get the advantage and probably knock it out with Flare Blitz. Hitmonlee began struggling even harder to push Flareon back with its strong foot powered by Helping Hand, but Flareon was fairly strong, too, and powered by Flare Blitz.
"Watch out, Hitmonlee. You have to break free of the contact and try to get away!" Serena yelled at it, knowing what was fixing to happen.
The kicking fiend knew she was right and was about to break contact to give itself a chance when it saw Nidorina getting back up. The poison Pokemon quickly shook itself and noticed the danger Hitmonlee was in. Serena saw it get back up to and quickly pointed her finger in Hitmonlee's direction before giving her next command.
"Hurry and help Hitmonlee before Vaporeon reaches it," Serena yelled.
"Use Hydro Pump to stop Nidorina," Evelyn said once she heard that.
While still running, the Vaporeon once more opened its mouth, and a jet of water exploded from it. The attack soared through air, but Nidorina was faster and rammed its body into Flareon, slightly hurting itself from the fire that Flareon was enveloped in, but still okay. Flareon stumbled, and Hitmonlee and Serena saw their chance.
"Use Mega Kick!" Serena shouted.
Hitmonlee immediately pushed its leg with all of its might and threw Flareon from its body, right into the path of the incoming Hydro Pump. Flareon gritted its teeth just before the attack struck it. The Hydro Pump blasted Flareon right in the center of its body. It was thrown clear across the room by the force of the super effective attack. Flareon hit floor and skidded several yards before stopping in front of Dana's feet.
Vaporeon couldn't help but feel guilty as it saw its partner hit by its own attack and saw how the attack had blown Flareon clear over its head. However, that moment's distraction was all that was needed for Serena to order her next attacks.
"Use Double Kick, Nidorina, and Use Hi Jump Kick, Hitmonlee!" she ordered.
The two Pokemon charged forward and Vaporeon was met with two pairs of feet to its face, one from Hitmonlee, and another from Nidorina. The attacks connected and Vaporeon cried out in pain before flying backwards towards Flareon. The fire-type had managed to stand up again, but not for long as it saw Vaporeon heading straight for it.
"Try to dodge it," Dana called, but it was too late.
Vaporeon crashed into its partner with the force of its full body, and the two Eeveelutions fell into a heap, one on top of the other. They gave a weak cry and moved no more.
"What a croc!" Dana exclaimed.
"Both Pokemon are unable to battle! The winner is Serena Gabena!" the judge declared as he waved his flag in Serena's direction.
Serena stood in shock. She had just won her first double battle, and against two Chatelaines to top it off. She actually pulled it off!
"I won!" Serena cried as she ran forward to Hitmonlee and Nidorina to embrace them both. "You two did so awesome together!"
"Nidorina!" the poison pin Pokemon smiled through its tired state and looked up towards Hitmonlee. Its stomach then growled, and it blushed in embarrassment. It couldn't help but want a nice meal after a hard fought battle.
"Monlee," Hitmonlee responded and nodded its head to Nidorina before accepting Serena's hug. It believed it might have found a new training partner in Nidorina. That is, of course, if the gluttonous Pokemon would quit stuffing its face all of the time.
The two Chatelaines returned the Pokemon before smiling appreciatively at their pokeballs. The two then walked towards Serena where they were soon joined by the other sisters and rest of the group. Serena looked up and actually saw the Chatelaines besides Nita actually smiling at her for a change.
"F-fair play, dear trainer!" Evelyn stuttered.
"To think you would be able to break through Evelyn's and my combination! I haven't had a trouncing that good since that lad over there!" Dana said, referring to Calem.
"I'm impressed, as well. Maybe Nita was correct about you, after all," Morgan said as she rubbed her chin.
"See!? See?! I told you! This wee lass is pretty good!" Nita exclaimed.
"Settle down, Nita. I say we give our dear challenger a break now," Morgan suggested thoughtfully. "We should go and have a little lunch before meeting here in two hours. She shall face us then. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes. Of course!" Serena answered.
"Very well. We shall take our leave, sisters. Please rest during this time," Morgan said gently as she strode out with Dana and Evelyn following her. Nita gave a quick smile and a wink before hurrying to catch up. With that, they were gone.
"Eat up, you two! You definitely deserve it!" Serena said cheerfully as she served Nidorina and Hitmonlee their food, courtesy of Brock's cooking. She then sat down to feed Togepi before she would eat, too. The baby Pokemon couldn't have solid foods yet, but once again, thanks to Brock, a good formula was designed to feed it with until the time came. They were at a nearby café in Viridian City. Since Serena had two hours to take a break, now was as good a time as any to eat something. They had all of their Pokemon out so they could have a snack, too, with the exception of Misty's Gyarados considering how big it was. Since they were on the outside patio and not indoors, this wasn't a problem for their Pokemon.
Nidorina wasted no time in digging into the meal while Hitmonlee took its time. It preferred to enjoy its meals slowly and savor the taste of the food rather than pig out. Hitmonlee found that it could still be full by taking its time and letting it settle. By eating less food, it could focus instead on strengthening its mind and still be in tip top form.
Hitmonlee then cast a glance at how Nidorina and the raven-haired boy were devouring their food and couldn't help but sigh. Nidorina noticed its glance and gave Hitmonlee a thumbs up. The kicking Pokemon quirked an eyebrow at this but slowly returned the gesture. What a foreign concept doing this "thumbs up" was to Hitmonlee. After doing a team battle with it, Nidorina felt closer to the fighting Pokemon. Maybe they could work together again in the future!
Nidorina looked back towards it food and discovered it was gone! All it took was a quick look to the left and saw it was none other than Misty's Shellder chewing the food without the least bit of guilt on its face. The sneaky Pokemon must have used its long tongue to take the food while Nidorina wasn't looking! Upon seeing that the poison pin Pokemon was watching it, Shellder stuck its long tongue out. While some might confuse this as its natural expression, there was something taunting in the way it was doing so.
"Shellder! That wasn't very nice!" Misty scolded after witnessing the event.
Shellder turned back to Misty and blushed before hopping over and licking her leg. Misty recoiled at its slimy tongue but sighed in defeat. What was she going to do with this mischievous Pokemon?
Nidorina's eyes watered like it was about to cry but soon saw Hitmonlee had pushed its food over in front of it. Nidorina looked up hopefully at Hitmonlee, and the fighting-type gave a polite nod to show it was okay. Shooting a grateful smile towards it, Nidorina continued scarfing down the rest of Hitmonlee's food while Hitmonlee decided to just find a nice quiet place to meditate. That would prove rather difficult with the amount of people and Pokemon around, however.
"That Shellder of yours looks like it's a handful," Calem commented to Misty before taking a bite of his food.
"It is," Misty confirmed while she massaged her temple. "The first thing it did when I caught it back on the Seafoam Islands was lick me right across the face."
"I liked your meeting with Psyduck better," Ash cut in. "It kissed you!"
The whole table erupted into laughter at that while Misty glared. That had been so gross when Psyduck did that. Casting a glance, she noticed that the yellow duck Pokemon was completely oblivious to being mentioned. It was just chomping away contently at its food. Despite this, Misty couldn't help but smile. It's her lovable, clueless, duck, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Nidorina and Hitmonlee seem to be hitting it off better now," Brock mentioned, changing the subject after he saw the display between the two Pokemon.
"Have you thought about which two Pokemon you are going to battle with next, dear?" Grace asked Serena, drawing all eyes to said girl.
"Hmmm…," Serena mumbled thoughtfully as she looked over all the Pokemon with her at the moment.
Rather than eating its food normally, Scyther preferred to stab its sharp claws through the food before bringing the bits to its mouth and ripping the piece off its claw and swallowing it whole. It was pretty savage looking, to be honest. Going along with her thoughts earlier, Scyther didn't seem like it would be the best teammate at the moment. She hated to say it, but it might actually throw the other Pokemon under the bus just to save itself to keep fighting.
Her eyes then moved over to Jigglypuff who was merrily eating away. It looked so cute and happy while doing so. Serena and everyone else in the group weren't fooled, however. Underneath that adorable exterior was a fierce fighter but also a bad-tempered Pokemon. As if to emphasize the point, Misty's Shellder had just started to go after Jigglypuff's Pokemon food with its long tongue, too, but a dark and menacing look from the pink puffball immediately made it shrink back and go about its business. Though its attitude had improved significantly since she first caught it, Jigglypuff still had a tendency to be the center of attention and might not do as well in a double battle.
Next was Charla, who was of course, eating next to Ash's Charizard. It was her first Pokemon and was definitely one of her strongest and only fully evolved Pokemon that required evolution. Speaking of evolution, Charla had seemingly gotten away from its trendy fashion love compared to when it was a Charmeleon or Charmander. All it seemed to like to do now was battle or spend time with its boyfriend. Despite this, Charla would undoubtedly be a powerhouse against Nita and Morgan. It did almost beat Nita's Dragonair last time, after all. It would also certainly be willing to work with other Pokemon to help Serena accomplish her goal, too. That was one Pokemon she could use.
Last, but not least, was Cubone, who was sitting the closest to her. It was her most recently "captured" Pokemon. It was the Pokemon she had taken care just like she is Togepi now. It had grown a lot during that time. If she were to use it in her Battle Chateau match, she wasn't sure if Cubone could handle such a difficult match. Not to mention, its very first battle would be a team battle. Serena knew Cubone would do anything for her and certainly be willing to attempt to work with Charla, but once again, could it handle the battle? It was such a difficult decision on who to use. She couldn't use Nidorina and Hitmonlee again because they were still tired from the last battle.
Togepi's light chirp made Serena snap out of her thoughts as she looked back down towards the baby Pokemon. In her preoccupation, she had unknowingly stopped feeding Togepi. The little Pokemon was reaching up towards the bottle, still eager to have more.
"Oh! I'm sorry, Togepi," Serena said apologetically as she resumed feeding it.
"Priiiiii!" it cried happily before taking the bottle once again.
Serena looked back up at her mother and friends and saw they were still anticipating an answer from her. She slowly inhaled and exhaled before giving her answer.
"I don't know," she finally said as she looked back down at Togepi to avoid eye contact with everyone. "I just wonder how many of my Pokemon are actually suited for double battling with no prior experience. Charla would be probably be fine, and I know Cubone would want to work together, but all my others…,"
"You could swap a few out from Professor Oak's lab," Leaf suggested.
Serena shook her head. "It wouldn't make much of a difference. Eevee is too playful right now to try to work together with another. Slowpoke probably doesn't know how to battle at all, and like Cubone, Omanyte doesn't have a lot of battle experience. I guess I really didn't think this through when I agreed to do a double battle with the Chatelaines."
"It was the only way you could do it, Serena," Ash tried. "Nita's sisters weren't willing to stay at the same Battle Chatelaine for more than a day. I went ahead and agreed without really asking you."
"I know you did it to help me, Ash, and I know you're right," Serena replied with a smile. "It's just I don't know how I'm going to win this. I know my Pokemon are strong enough to win, but it's because of my lack of training them in double battles that I'm worried."
Charla and Cubone happened to hear the conversation and frowned. They didn't think Serena was at fault for this. She was worried that they wouldn't be able to work as a team because she had never trained them? Well, they were certainly prepared to try! The two Pokemon nodded to each other before abandoning their food, and in Charla's case its boyfriend, to go and address Serena. Shellder didn't waste any time in using its long tongue to slurp up their remaining Pokemon food. The two Pokemon glared at it but just shook their heads to face Serena again.
"Hey. What is it, you two?" Serena asked once she noticed Charla and Cubone looking at her.
Charla gave a light roar while Cubone began twirling its bone like a baton, trying to show off all of its tricks. Charla then picked up Cubone and held it high in the air like a trophy. Cubone struck a pose and flexed its tiny arms as a show of its strength.
"I think those two are saying they want to participate in the next double battle, Serena," Brock explained.
"You really don't mind?" Serena asked hopefully to them.
Both Pokemon shook their heads in response. They were going to win!
"They're going to do great, Serena! They do have a great trainer, after all!" Ash said with a smile, causing Serena to blush and smile sweetly back at him.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu said as it went over to pat Cubone on the back. It was proud of its little brother for trying something new despite not battling before.
"Cubone," Serena started as she set down Togepi and took its tiny hands in hers, "This is going to be a very difficult battle to win, and you've never had a real Pokemon battle before. I know you've been training with Pikachu and my other Pokemon, but I'm just worried for you. I don't want you to bite off more than you can chew."
"Cubone bone!" Cubone responded as it shook its head vigorously. Serena had been very good to it, and it wanted to repay the favor! It wasn't going to let her down like that!
"Cubone actually might be right, Serena," Brock spoke as he rubbed his chin. "Even though Cubone's never battled before, it has seen several battles and trained really hard. It isn't a starter Pokemon like your Charla was when you first tried the Battle Chateau. That at least has to count as some experience."
Serena turned back to Cubone and saw the hard determination in its eyes. They showed no fear or reluctance or hesitation. It truly believed it had what it took to win this for Serena. Besides, it would have Charla there to help it out, and Charla has had experience fighting the Chatelaines so it would know what to expect. How could Serena say no to that face?
"Okay, Cubone. If you really are sure of this, it's good enough for me. Let's do it!" Serena said with a nod.
Upon hearing this, Cubone put a big smile on under its skull helmet and leaped into Serena's arms for a hug.
Serena returned it before looking up at Charla, too. "I know last time wasn't the best experience with the Battle Chateau, but we've got this now! We'll show them just how much stronger we are, Charla!"
Charla roared in approval before blowing a stream of fire into the air as a show of its strength. It seemed to have adopted that trait from Ash's Charizard. Speaking of the other fire lizard, it came over and growled lightly at Charla before blushing, which Charla returned to it. Despite being more used to it by now, the group still thought it was rather funny seeing two fire breathing dragons being affectionate to each other.
With that, Charla grabbed Cubone from Serena and headed a short distance away with Ash's Charizard in tow.
"Where are you going?" Serena called after them.
"I imagine they're just going to get some training in so they can learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. You might want to go with them," Calem suggested.
"Of course!" Serena cried hurriedly as she stood up from her half-finished lunch. "Ash, finish feeding Togepi! I've got to get ready!"
With that, she took off after her two Pokemon, eager to not let her rematch against Nita and her sister a repeat of last time. She was going to win this.
"Uh, sure," Ash muttered as he reached over for Togepi. "Come here, Togepi. Would you like some more of Brock's formula?"
"Priii!" it chirped at being held by its daddy.
"There we go. Ready for the choochoo trainer to go in!?" Ash smiled as he took the bottle and put it to Togepi's mouth for it drink from.
"Ash, who would have thought you could sound so…motherly," Leaf laughed at him, emphasizing the last word.
"Pikahahaha," Pikachu laughed openly at its trainer trying to act like a parent.
Ash then noticed that all of his other Pokemon were either laughing or snickering, too. He blushed in embarrassment. Maybe he was overdoing it a little bit. He still had a lot learn.
Here Serena was. It was her battle against Nita, the Chatelaine she had lost to before, and Morgan, the oldest sister and probably the most experienced at battling. It could possibly be her final fight in the Battle Chateau depending on how she did. It would be difficult but not impossible. She didn't make the same mistake as with Hitmonlee and Nidorina by sending them into battle without getting to know each other more. No. In the brief time she had, Serena let Charla and Cubone try different combinations with each other and learn about others strengths and weaknesses beforehand. She could do this.
"Ya mind yourself since I battled ya?" Nita asked from across the battle room.
"I have! I'm going to give you a show you'll never forget!" Serena called back.
"Crackin'!" Nita replied with a smile.
Serena had all of her friends and mother still supporting her. They were currently off to the side of the battle room along with Dana and Evelyn. The two Chatelaines had their arms crossed as they watched. Ash was almost as just as eager for this battle as Serena. He, Pikachu, and Togepi were at the very edge of the line where guests could watch with his eyes wide and fists clenched. If he was any further up, he would need to be called to stand back.
"Now, Nita. Try not to act as though you know what the outcome of the battle will be. We haven't even started the match yet," Morgan scolded.
"Sorry, sis," Nita muttered.
"This will be an official match between two of our Chatelaine sisters, Morgan and Nita, and the challenger, Serena Gabena for her title of Grand Duchess. It will be a double battle, and the team that has at least one Pokemon standing will be declared the winner. May the battlers please choose their Pokemon!" the judge yelled.
"Go, Charla and Cubone!" Serena shouted as she released the two prepared Pokemon.
Charla and Cubone appeared with a roar and a cry, respectively. They were ready to win this match for their trainer! It was up to them, and they weren't going to let her down! In turn, they knew she wouldn't let them down, either! They were prepared for whatever Pokemon Nita and Morgan decided to send out.
Serena herself was actually curious which Pokemon they had, too. She wasn't quite sure if Nita would use a Pokemon that previously battled with Serena or if she would use something new altogether. Judging by the Pokemon Dana and Evelyn had, Morgan might have an evolution of Eevee, too, but there were only three that she knew of, right? Would Nita possibly have a duplicate of one of her sisters or a new Pokemon? Her question was soon answered when Nita and Morgan sent out their Pokemon.
"Come out please, Jolteon," Morgan said calmly as she released the Pokemon.
Jolteon was a fox-like Pokemon covered in yellow, needle-like fur with long pointed ears and a white rough around its neck. It seemed to radiate with electricity around its body. It was the other evolution of Eevee that Serena was expecting.
"So that's Jolteon," Serena mumbled as she and Ash took out their pokedexes to scan it.
"Jolteon, the lightning Pokemon and the evolved form of Eevee when exposed to a Thunderstone. This Pokemon can easily become sad or angry. Every time its mood changes, it stores electrical power," said the mechanical machines.
As Serena looked up from her pokedex, she noticed Nita hadn't sent out her Pokemon yet. She was merely staring at her pokeball with a huge smile on her face.
"Nita, dear. Go ahead and send out your Pokemon," Morgan told her.
"I'm just super excited for this smashing battle with my newly evolved Pokemon. I can hardly contain myself. This will be its first battle in its new form!" Nita said excitedly.
"How nice," Morgan said dully. "Please do hurry up. We haven't got all day to stand here."
"Yep! Go, Umbreon!" Nita yelled as she released another Pokemon the group wasn't aware of yet.
The new Pokemon appeared with a cry and gave long stretch before getting into a battle ready stance. Umbreon was a sleek Pokemon with fur as black as night and crimson eyes. It had a bushy tail and long ears with a yellow band around each of them.
Everyone besides the Chatelaines in the room tilted their heads at this. This Pokemon certainly looked somewhat like an Eevee, but not one they had heard of before. Was there another one they weren't aware of?
Ash, Serena, and even Leaf opened up their pokedexes to scan the new Pokemon to see what it had to say about it.
"Umbreon, the moonlight Pokemon and the evolved form of Eevee when exposed to high friendship at nighttime. The rings on its body glow eerily in the dark, and it can spray poisonous sweat from its body," the pokedexes said.
"High friendship? What does that mean?" Ash asked to no one in particular.
"I think we've seen it before," Brock answered. "Remember how Koga had a Crobat when you first faced him. A Golbat was said to have evolved into Crobat through high friendship, too. This must carry the same idea."
After knowing what he was saying, Brock looked back towards Golbat's pokeball and smiled. He wondered if he would ever be close enough to Golbat. They had bonded quite well over the past several months, but would it ever be enough to be considered for evolution? Was that even how it works? As a Pokemon breeder, it was part of his job to find out.
Serena once more thought of her own Eevee. She wasn't planning on having it evolve anytime soon, but if it did, which would it become? There were so many choices. It wasn't called the evolution Pokemon for nothing.
"Alright! The match starts now! Begin!" the judge declared.
"Use Quick Attack, Jolteon," Morgan said as the lightning Pokemon dashed forward
"Ya think your Nidorina is the only one who can use Helping hand, pet?" Nita immediately asked. "Morgan and I will prove you wrong with our unbreakable combination! Use Helping Hand, Umbreon!"
"Umbreon knows Helping Hand, too?" Serena thought.
"Now why didn't we think of that?!" Dana suddenly exclaimed from the side.
Nita's Umbreon began to glow with a white aura which suddenly shot forward into Jolteon, giving power to its attack. The Jolteon then became even faster and was across the large room to its opponents in seconds. Its target seemed to be Cubone.
"Quick Charla! Protect Cubone and brace yourself!" Serena yelled out.
"Charla immediately flew in front of Cubone the second Jolteon reached it. Charla reached out with its arms and caught Jolteon, halting the lightning Pokemon in its tracks. Despite this, Charla skidded back several yards and grimaced in pain due to the impact. That Helping Hand really did help power up normally weak attacks.
"Hmm Hmm! Discharge, Jolteon," Morgan smiled.
Before Charla could recover from the Quick Attack and release Jolteon, it unleashed a bunch of electricity from its body. The bolts went everywhere but struck Charla the most. The fire dragon roared in pain before hurling Jolteon away from it.
"Use Bonemerang on Jolteon, Cubone!" Serena called.
Cubone nodded and got a running start before skillfully throwing its bone at Jolteon. The electric type narrowed its eyes as it saw the bone was about to hit it in midair. Morgan was prepared, however.
"Please use Double Kick to knock that troublesome bone away, Jolteon," Morgan told it.
Jolteon then landed on the ground from Charla's throw and reared its hind legs back before kicking the bone twice back to its recipient. The bone reciprocated back to Cubone who caught it and glared at the Jolteon, who glared back. Charla shook itself from the electricity and joined Cubone by its side once more.
"They seem to take our attacks pretty well, Umbreon. I say we fix that! Use Screech!" Nita shouted.
Umbreon then opened its mouth and released an earsplitting noise across the room, forcing Charla and Cubone to cover their ears and grimace. Even Serena, Ash, and the others had to cover their ears. The only ones who appeared unaffected were Nita, Morgan, Jolteon, and Umbreon.
"Use Pin Missile!" Morgan shouted for once.
Jolteon opened its mouth and sprayed a barrage of needles at its opponents. Charla and Cubone grimaced in pain from the continuous attack. Pin Missile normally wouldn't be very effective against a Charizard or Cubone, but Screech had drastically reduced their defense.
"Use Flamethrower to burn away that Pin Missile, Charla!" Serena yelled.
Despite the pain, Charla opened its mouth to reveal the hot flames. The Flamethrower completely scorched the Pin Missile and kept going. Jolteon and Umbreon had to leap out of the way to avoid it.
"Now use Focus Energy, Cubone!" Serena said next.
Cubone took a deep breath and closed its eyes. It felt like it was able to focus better now and land its attacks at its opponents weak points more easily now. It was pumped up!
"That should make things a little easier for Cubone," Calem said and folded his arms. "It probably doesn't have a lot of power now, but now the fact that it'll get critical hits more easily should make up the difference."
"Is it permanent?" Ash asked him.
"It is," Calem answered and then added as an afterthought. "I'd like to battle Serena again at sometime soon myself to see how much better she's gotten since I last saw her."
"Charla, use Smokescreen! Cubone, use Bone Rush!" Serena yelled.
Cubone took off running while Charla unleashed a black smoke from its mouth which covered the battle field. Even though the Jolteon and Umbreon couldn't see, they weren't particularly worried. They would still be able to sense where their opponents were.
"Nice try, pet, but our Pokemon will be able to know where your Pokemon are at before they can attack! We've already trained them for tricks like this," Nita smiled.
"That's why I had Cubone use Bone Rush!" Serena called back.
Morgan and Nita raised their eyebrows in question and were surprised when they already found Cubone descending on their Pokemon. That was a lot faster than they thought!
"Jump out of the way, Jolteon," Morgan said.
"You too, Umbreon!" Nita shouted.
Jolteon was quick enough to evade Cubone, but Umbreon wasn't so lucky. The lonely Pokemon was upon Umbreon a second later and began smacking it with its bone continuously. The moonlight Pokemon gritted its teeth as it was hit. Cubone then clubbed it one last time and Umbreon gave an especially big cry of pain on that one. It must have hit a weak spot!
"Crackin'! This ain't good! Use Assurance, Umbreon!" Nita called.
Umbreon gave a dark look to Cubone and rammed into it quite hard. The attack was extra powerful because Umbreon had just taken recent damage. Cubone was sailing backwards and threatened to hit a wall, but Charla flew into the air and caught it before gently setting it back on the ground.
"Nice catch, Charla!" Serena praised.
Charla gave a nod to Serena before smiling down at its smaller partner. Cubone gave it a thumbs up in return. The two then looked to see where Jolteon had gone but discovered it wasn't there anymore!
"Use Thunderbolt, my dear Jolteon," they heard Morgan say.
The two frantically looked around before finally glancing upward and saw Jolteon in the air descending upon them. It was almost unreal how fast Jolteon was and how high it could jump. Its body crackled with electricity before shooting a bolt of lightning downward to Charla.
"Protect Charla, Cubone!" Serena yelled.
The lonely Pokemon dove into the way of the attack and began twirling its bone like a baton. The electricity bounced harmlessly off the bone, completely negating the attack. Jolteon wasn't so easily stopped, however.
"Use Quick Attack," Morgan said.
The Jolteon shot forward with the speed of a bullet and rammed into Cubone, sending it spiraling backwards and landing a short distance away from Serena. It slowly got off the ground and shook itself. That Screech and Helping Hand really made the Quick Attack hurt more than it should.
"Try to use Flamethrower on Jolteon, Charla!" Serena yelled.
Charla once again blew forth the raging hot flames from its mouth. Jolteon easily evaded the attack and darted forth once more and used Quick Attack. It struck Charla hard in the stomach, sending it skidding back and grimacing in pain.
"That Jolteon is fast. Every time I order my Pokemon to attack it, it just easily moves out of the way. Ash had this problem when he faced Koga's Crobat, but Charla and Cubone don't know any moves that never miss like Haunter did," Serena thought.
She wasn't able to think long, though. Nita's Umbreon had recovered from the series of attacks that Cubone made with Bone Rush and was ready for more. It got running start before Nita commanded her next attack.
"Use Confuse Ray!" Nita yelled.
"Use Thunderbolt," Morgan said with a smile
Umbreon's eyes glowed blue as it continued to run towards Charla. The fire dragon turned to look away from the attack but was immediately met with Jolteon to its side. The lightning Pokemon was just seconds from zapping Charla.
"Try to fly away, Charla! Go help it, Cubone," Serena yelled.
Cubone ran forward towards Charla as fast it could while the fire dragon tried to take flight in an effort to get away from the two Eeveelutions. Jolteon launched the attack upward which struck the fire dragon causing it to roar in pain from the super effective attack. It was then Umbreon was able to leap right in front of its eyes and used the Confuse Ray. Charla wanted to look away but was unable to in time. Its eyes glowed blue as well for a moment before a dazed look entered its eyes.
"Charla?" Serena called out worriedly.
Charla didn't appear to hear Serena, however. It began to randomly fly in erratic patterns around the room. It didn't even seem to know what it was doing! It crashed into walls several times, but despite this, it kept resuming the same thing. It had definitely become confused.
"Smashing! Now that Charizard is taken care of, we can take out that Cubone and then finish the other off with a bang!" Nita smiled.
The Eeveelutions then sprinted into action and surrounded Cubone. The lonely Pokemon immediately stopped running and stared fearfully at the two bigger Pokemon in front of it. It hopefully looked at its partner for help, but Charla was too busy flying around crazy-like to know what's going on.
"There has got to be some way to snap Charla out of its confusion!" Serena thought desperately. She had to think. What were all the other ways she or her friends' Pokemon got out of situations like this? Calling out to it probably wouldn't work.
Ash wanted to call out to Serena in order to help her out but was worried that it was against the rules. In the past, he knew a large impact to the head would usually have Pokemon regain its senses if it was confused or not paying attention. Cubone's bone would be perfect for something like this! He then looked over at the slightly panicking Serena, silently hoping she would look in his direction and understand what he was trying to tell her.
"Use Pin Missile, Jolteon!" Morgan called.
Jolteon's fur seemed prick up once more as it shot several more needles in Cubone's direction. Cubone shielded itself as much as it could with its bone, but it was having little success.
"Use Bone Rush on Jolteon, Cubone!" Serena yelled. She didn't like the fact that she could only attack one Pokemon at a time, but Cubone knew no wide coverage attacks.
Cubone dashed up as fast it could to Jolteon. Once more, the lightning Pokemon easily leaped out of the way, but Serena and Cubone knew it wasn't going to do that. Cubone then threw its bone in the direction Jolteon had jumped, but the lightning Pokemon dodged that, too! Cubone then felt a blow to its backside which sent back onto the ground in pain. It turned out the culprit had been Umbreon who had sneaked up behind Cubone for a Faint Attack.
Serena knew the situation wasn't looking good. Charla was flying around senseless, not even paying attention to what was going on around it. Cubone just didn't seem to have the power to take on Jolteon and Umbreon by itself, which is what she was worried about all along. She gritted her teeth as thoughts of the worst case scenario began to flood her mind. What if she lost this match? She doubted the Chatelaine sisters would give her this opportunity again. If that was the case, how was she supposed to continue having time to do the Chateau and still be with Ash? She would be right back to square one!
As Serena remembered Ash, she got the feeling that he was looking right at her. A quick glance of her head confirmed it to be true. Ash was staring right into eyes as if trying to tell her something. It had to be something obvious or helpful that she was simply forgetting in her panic. They didn't have the connection with aura or psychic right now so there was no way she could read his mind to find out. She shouldn't really need it in this situation, though, right? She and Ash were a couple now. Their bond could be stronger than that. They should be able to finish each other's sentences and read minds! He must be wanting her to remember something about the battle since that was the situation at hand. Did it have anything to do with releasing Charla from its confusion? Despite Ash being a good distance away, she could still see his dark brown irises, and they held so much meaning inside of them despite Ash not saying anything. She saw him glance in the direction of Cubone ever so briefly and understood what he meant.
XXX
"Hahahaha! Cubone's bone has enough force to bring anyone back to reality!" Ash laughed.
"Cubone bone!" Cubone agreed.
XXX
That was it! Serena could use Cubone to snap Charla out of its confusion! All it would need is a good smack! It worked so many times in the past with similar situations, such as Serena's oversleeping. It had to work now! She then smiled at Ash to show she understood what he was trying to say. With that, she focused once more on the battle. The moment seemed to last an eternity, but it had only been a few seconds in reality.
"Cubone! Take careful aim on Charla and use Bonemerang!" Serena yelled.
Cubone briefly glanced at Serena in confusion before its eyes lit up in understanding. It then began to focus on Charla's wild movements and tried to predict where it would go. It wouldn't get too many shots at this with two evolved Pokemon surrounding it. Speaking of…
"Not today, pet! Use Quick Attack, Umbreon!" Nita shouted.
"You too, Jolteon," Morgan added.
Cubone's eyes widened as it saw the two Pokemon coming towards it very quickly. If it didn't throw it now, it would get another chance for a while. Taking a leap of faith, Cubone threw the bone in what it hoped was going to be Charla's destination. The two Eeveelutions slammed into it a second later. Cubone went soaring backwards and landed on the ground once again. It almost had the wind knocked out of it from the double whammy. It wasn't used to battling like this and didn't think it could hold out much longer.
Cubone's bone, however, continued to soar through the air towards Charla. The fire dragon was still zigzagging and crashing into the walls. The bone still looked like it was on track through. Serena and Cubone watched hopefully as the bone continued to soar straight for Charla's head. Closer and closer it got. It was almost there! She might still have a chance if Charla recovered from its confusion! And then…
It missed.
Serena's heart sank as she saw the bone just miss Charla and continued sailing past it. Poor Cubone just didn't have enough time to properly aim. Not to mention that Charla's movements were too unpredictable. Now that Cubone didn't have its bone, it would be utterly defenseless against the Chatelaine's Pokemon. To top it, Charla was still confused and would probably knock itself out before long.
Serena then looked down towards Cubone and saw it was actually smiling despite the situation. She looked towards the bone and saw it changing direction! Of course! Cubone wasn't just throwing its bone normally to hit Charla! It threw a Bonemerang in case it missed so it would get a second chance. How could she have not remembered that! Was it just her general nervousness of the situation?
The bone arced completely and once more was flying towards Charla, but Nita and Morgan didn't seem to notice. They were too busy focused on Cubone, thinking the chance to literally knock Charla out of its confusion had come to pass. The bone continued to sail through the air. It was almost at Charla again. Serena held her breath, and it connected!
The bone clonked off Charla's head and fell to the ground. The fire dragon immediately held the spot where it hit in pain and rubbed it. It then shook its head as its eyes lost the blue tint. It worked! The bone actually brought Charla back to its senses! It didn't waste any time in flying straight towards Cubone, making sure to pick up its bone from the floor as it flew by.
"Good job, Serena," Ash said to himself.
"If I'm not mistaken, I bet you had something to do with giving Serena that idea," Calem said from beside Ash before adding, "You two must have a great bond."
"Yeah. We both just tend to know what the other is thinking," Ash replied with a smile.
"What a croc that was! Use Confuse Ray again, Umbreon!" Nita said, now noticing Charizard wasn't confused anymore.
"Use Thunderbolt, Jolteon," Morgan said.
"Use Flamethrower, Charla!" Serena yelled.
The Chatelaine's Pokemon launched their respective attacks at each other. Charla immediately looked away from Umbreon's eyes and flew out of the way of Jolteon's Thunderbolt in order to dodge it. It then looked like it was preparing a Flamethrower to Jolteon, which of course, the lightning Pokemon was ready to doge. Just as Jolteon prepared to jump out of the way, Charla switched targets to Umbreon. It then let loose the hot stream of fire. Where Jolteon would have been fast enough to dodge, Umbreon wasn't. It was completely engulfed in the fire and stood there stunned when the attack finished, but Charla didn't stop there. It flew to Umbreon and grabbed it before lifting it high into the air. Charla then swooped over to Cubone and tossed it its bone. It then signaled for Cubone to get on its back, which it happily obliged.
"This ain't good! Use Confuse Ray now that the Charizard is close to you!" Nita shouted.
Umbreon attempted to use Confuse Ray again, but Charla immediately roared right in Umbreon's face with a look that could kill, causing it to shrink back. Charla was really getting tired of that attack. It would be darned if this Pokemon confused it again. Serena and the rest of the group sweatdropped. They couldn't tell if Charla was actually using Scary Face the move or just making a scary face in general.
Morgan twisted her face as if deciding what to do. She didn't want to have Jolteon use any electrical attacks or Pin Missile because it would hit Umbreon, too. Even with the use of Helping Hand earlier, Umbreon was still struggling to break free. She and Nita could do nothing but watch. Morgan could have Jolteon use an electrical attack on all three Pokemon, but that would be rather heartless because of Umbreon even though it was the best strategy right now.
"Use Faint Attack!" Nita cried desperately.
"Use Bone Club, Cubone!" Serena countered.
Cubone leaned over Charla's shoulder and clubbed Umbreon as hard as it could, effectively halting the attack. Umbreon got a dazed look on its face and Serena decided to go in for the finisher.
"Use Seismic Toss, Charla!" she yelled.
Cubone hopped off of Charla so it wouldn't get caught up in the attack. Charla began flying as high as it could and began going in circles to build momentum.
"Nita, you little waster! Do something!" Morgan yelled.
Nita seemed to think for a second before an idea came to her head. She then smiled.
"Use Sucker Punch, Umbreon!" she called.
Umbreon shook itself from the disorientation Bone Club gave it. It then pushed through the dizziness that it was getting from Charla spinning and reared one of its paws back before striking Charla hard across the face. The fire dragon roared in pain and let go of Umbreon. As Umbreon fell to land gracefully on the ground, Charla roared in aggravation that its finisher was canceled out like last time when it faced Nita.
Serena, however, had learned from her mistakes last time and was prepared. Charla had Cubone to help it now. As soon as Umbreon did the Sucker Punch, Serena had Cubone spring into action. As the moonlight Pokemon fell, its eyes widened in surprise as it saw Cubone leaping right at it, higher than one would expect for such a small Pokemon.
Predicting what would happen, Morgan ordered her next attack now that Umbreon was free of Charla. "Use Thunderbolt, Jolteon!"
"You know what to do, Cubone!" Serena yelled.
Cubone nodded its head as it concentrated. It would need perfect aim in order to pull this off. All that training it had with its bone would be tested. It took a brief look at Jolteon and saw the electricity fly from its body. It saw Umbreon falling towards it and saw its eyes beginning to glow blue. It was going to try a Confuse Ray, but Cubone would make sure it didn't do it in time. It grabbed its bone with both of its hands and wound around like a baseball bat. It swung with all of its might and Umbreon was knocked back into the air.
Like Flareon and Vaporeon before it, Umbreon was knocked right in the way of Jolteon's Thunderbolt. The attack struck Umbreon instead of Charla, and the moonlight Pokemon cried out in pain from the attack. Charla then took its chance and grabbed Umbreon again now that it was stunned. It wasn't going to miss this time.
"That was great, Cubone!" Serena praised. "Now use Bone Rush to distract Jolteon!"
Cubone obeyed and immediately rushed towards the lightning Pokemon. Jolteon easily avoided the attack, but Cubone went after it again. Both it and Serena knew the intention wasn't to actually hit Jolteon. It was to keep Jolteon busy while Charla finished off Umbreon.
The fire dragon went in for another Seismic Toss now that Umbreon was back in its grasp. The moonlight Pokemon was still crackling from electricity after being hit by its teammate's Thunderbolt and didn't have the strength to do Sucker Punch right now. It began to get dizzy as Charla began to fly around in circles again. Once it was satisfied, it heard Serena's command.
"Use Seismic Toss, Charla!" she yelled.
"Crackin'! Use Sucker Punch again, Umbreon!" Nita yelled, but it still was unable to.
Charla immediately dove for the floor. Once it picked up enough speed, it threw Umbreon with all of its might downward. Umbreon sailed through the air, and for good measure, Serena called out another command.
"Use Flamethrower, Charla!" Serena yelled.
Charla once more released the flames from its mouth. As Umbreon was heading for the floor, it saw the flames coming closer and gritted its teeth. Umbreon was engulfed in flames just before hitting the ground, creating a huge booming noise. The flames from the Flamethrower erupted in all different directions upon hitting the ground with Umbreon, but not far enough to harm anyone else in the room. When the smoke cleared, Umbreon was on the ground, clearly knocked out.
"Alright, Serena!" Ash yelled.
"What a trouncing! I can't believe this!" Nita exclaimed.
"Lovely, Nita. Now I need to take care of the guest myself," Morgan sighed.
Knowing that Umbreon was taken care, Charla roared in victory before going to pick up Cubone. It spotted the lonely Pokemon still at it with Bone Rush despite the threat of not particularly needing to anymore. Charla swooped in and scooped the Cubone up in its arms before placing it on its back. With that, they went after the Jolteon.
"How troublesome," Morgan said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Jolteon, use the fastest Thunderbolt you can. Make sure that Charla can't dodge it."
"Jolt! Jolt!" Jolteon cried before stopping and blasting a massive amount of electricity at the Pokemon duo.
"Block it, Cubone!" Serena shouted. Just because Charla couldn't dodge it didn't mean Cubone was too slow to throw it bone in the way.
The bone spiraled through the air into the path of the Thunderbolt, effectively negating the attack. Jolteon and Morgan growled in frustration upon seeing this.
"Pin Missile!" Morgan tried again.
As Jolteon shot another steam of needles from its mouth, it was clear it was getting tired as its movements were more sluggish. It hadn't really taken a lot of damage, but it had dodged an insane amount of times which was starting to take its toll. Both Charla and Cubone had taken heavy damage and were about at the end of their ropes, but they still had each other which really put them in a better mindset than Jolteon.
"Flamethrower, Charla!" Serena yelled.
Charla instantly shot forth another Flamethrower, completely incinerating the Pin Missile and causing any that remained to fall to the ground. Morgan finally cast a worried look as she saw her Pokemon's main two attacking moves could be countered so easily. It was with that in mind that Serena decided to go on the offense now as a surge of confidence went through her.
"Use Ember, Charla!" Serena called.
Despite not using the move in quite a while, Charla still knew Serena's strategy. Ember was still its quickest attack. Charla instantly blew forth the small bits of fire like a machine gun. They sped through the air and struck the Jolteon which was too slow to dodge for a change. It howled in pain and stepped back out of reflex before glaring at its adversaries.
"Use Quick Attack, my pet!" Morgan shouted desperately.
With the two of its main attacks out of the question, Jolteon had no choice but to rush at the two in hopes to hit them. It couldn't dodge forever. Unless that Charizard used Ember again, it should still be fast enough to dodge any attacks. It then leaped up at its two adversaries with the intent to crash into them. If it could stun them long enough, maybe it could get a few attacks in.
"Bonemerang, Cubone!" Serena yelled.
As Cubone threw the bone straight at Jolteon, it almost smiled. Despite getting a little tired, it could easily dodge that bone even in midair. It could feel its trainer's smirk behind it. Yes. I could do this. That was until Serena called her next attack.
"Use Flamethrower on Cubone's bone, Charla! Then flap your wings on the fire!" Serena yelled. She didn't know what compelled her to say a something crazy like that. It just felt right.
Nevertheless, Charla obeyed and blew forth the hot flames onto the spinning bone. What surprised everyone in the room was the when the flames started to surround the bone, turning it from just a normal bone to a fiery projectile of doom. When the wind from Charla's wings hit it, not only did the bone speed up, but it also fanned the flames making them larger, and by that time it was only a second away from hitting Jolteon.
The lightning Pokemon's eyes widened as it saw the flaming object come closer to it. There was no way it could dodge with how large those flames were. Cubone's bone collided with it head on, causing an explosion. Jolteon was sent sailing back towards the ground, but Cubone jumped off Charla's back and chased it down, catching its bone as it went.
"Use your wings to give Cubone speed, Charla!" Serena called again.
As the fire lizard began flapping its wings, Cubone was reaching an amazing speed as it zipped through the air after Jolteon. It had a look of pure determination in its eyes as it saw the helplessness on Jolteon's face as it saw its opponent gaining on it.
"Do it Cubone! Bone Club!" Serena shouted.
"Do something, Jolteon!" Morgan cried out.
That last command was lost, however. Cubone brought its arm down in an arc forward and bashed its bone against Jolteon harder than it ever had before. Jolteon cried in pain as the impact only increased its speed to the floor. Less than a second later, Jolteon hit the floor where a resounding crash was heard. Cubone landed on the floor on both feet while Charla flew in next to it and landed. Both Pokemon and trainers waited to see if Jolteon would get back up.
"Jolteon," Morgan asked quietly.
"Joooooolt," it muttered weakly. It couldn't fight anymore.
The judge raised his flag in the air. "Both of the Chatelaine's Pokemon are unable to battle! That means the victory goes to Serena Gabena of Pallet Town!"
Serena stood there, completely dumbfounded. She couldn't believe it. She actually pulled it off! She actually won! This was probably her most amazing victory ever! She just conquered the Battle Chateau! She did! She believed in the strength of her Pokemon for a double battle, they came through for her! She had the best Pokemon a girl could ask for. She wasn't broken out of her trance until Cubone collided into her chest for a hug, followed by Charla. The fire dragon tackled her on the ground and began licking her face with its long tongue. It was a very sweet, albeit slightly gross, gesture.
"Charla! That tickles!" Serena laughed, now that she's recovered from the shock.
She then turned and saw her friends coming towards her with Grace in the lead. Charla allowed Serena up so she could greet her mother. She stood up and welcomed the warm embrace her mother gave her, followed by Leaf, Calem, Pikachu, and last but not least, Misty and Brock.
Serena, that was amazing! You beat the Chatelaines!" Leaf exclaimed.
"I'm so proud of you, sweetie! You did incredible!" Grace told her daughter through tears of joy.
"That was well done, Serena. It's great to have a friend that's going on the Battle Chateau wall with me," Calem said.
"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu added.
Serena looked up from the embrace of her friends and saw Ash standing there with a huge smile on his face. He was standing there expectedly but still wanted her to have a moment with her friends and mother. Upon seeing Ash, everyone stood back and allowed her to go to him. Serena walked forward with a smile just as big. Ash began to close the distance, and within seconds, they were in a huge embrace with Serena resting her head blissfully on Ash's shoulders
"I'm so happy for you, Serena! You were incredible!" Ash said while they continued to hug.
"Thank you, Ash. I couldn't have done this without you," Serena replied.
"Heh. Don't say that. You had it in you the entire time," Ash smiled.
"No. I mean it," Serena said as she lifted her head to look him straight in the eyes. "It was you who encouraged me to never give up until the end. It was you who told me I would find a goal to do. It was you who told me everything would turn out okay, and it did. It was all because of you, Ash. This was both of our victories."
Ash stared at Serena in surprise. He knew he had thrown in a few encouraging words but didn't know he made that much of impact on her. That was probably one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to him. It was made all the better that it came from Serena. He couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed and turned red.
"Eheheheheh! Thanks, Serena. You know I'll always be here for you with anything," Ash finally spoke.
"I know. I'll be here for you, too," Serena answered before she leaned her head back on Ash's shoulders.
"Ahem!" a voice said from beside them.
The two turned to find the four Chatelaine sisters standing there with very broad smiles on their faces. In perfect sync, the four then curtseyed to Serena.
"On behalf of the Battle Chateau, we concede defeat to you, Serena. You have given us all a good trouncing. You have officially conquered the Battle Chateau. What a magnificent performance," Morgan said with a smile.
"You're really special!" Dana added.
"Y-Y-Yes. Great performance!" Evelyn said.
"Astoundingly smashing battle, lassie! Wouldn't have expected any less from ya!" Nita exclaimed.
Serena, for once, rubbed the back of her neck in an embarrassed manner at all of this attention. Normally, it would have been Ash who would do something like this, but Serena apparently picked up that gesture from him. They were clearly rubbing off on each other. Despite her embarrassment, she did enjoy the praise she was receiving.
"May I ask something of you, dear?" Morgan began, addressing Serena.
"Oh, certainly," replied Serena.
"Would you consider working here?" Morgan requested, jumping straight into the point. "We would be famous in a day if we had someone like you working here. Oh, what a profit we would make. We would even make you a special outfit so you would match us Chatelaines!"
"You want me to be a Chateau Chatelaine?" Serena asked in an amazed tone.
"Absolutely, pet!" Nita chimed in eagerly.
"Of course, there would be a few contractual obligations. For one, you would have to live at one of our Battle Chateaus the rest of your life. You wouldn't have very many days off, either," Morgan continued to list the cons.
Ash briefly thought about what Serena would be like as a Battle Chatelaine. He honestly couldn't imagine her wearing a bizarre outfit like that or talking in that heavy accent they all shared. It would be extremely weird. He almost shuddered at the thought but didn't show it because it would be a little rude. Most importantly, however, if Serena were to be a Battle Chatelaine, they wouldn't get to travel together again and rarely see each other on top of that. He, as well as everyone else, looked over to see what Serena thought, but it seemed like the honey blonde-haired girl knew her answer before the request was even finished.
"I appreciate the offer very much, but I'll have to pass on it," Serena answered as politely as she could.
"Oh? If you don't mind me asking, any particular reason why?" Morgan inquired, clearly surprised.
"Well, it would be fun to be one of the leaders of a Battle Chateau and challenge new trainers every day and look…flashy while doing it, but I enjoy traveling too much to do it. I don't think I would be satisfied staying in one place right now. I want to continue traveling with my friends and doing new things with them every day. Most importantly, there's…," Serena trailed, giving Ash a knowing look, which he smiled back.
"Ah! Young love! If only I had time for such a thing!" Nita commented, getting the gist from the way Ash and Serena looked at each other, causing the two to blush.
"Now, Nita. Don't get them all flustered like! It's none of our business," Morgan scolded lightly before looking back at Serena. "Well, if you are sure, we will honor your decision. Just know, the offer will always be open should you change your mind."
"Of course. Thank you very much," Serena replied.
Calem, meanwhile, regarded Serena with a curious look. He wondered what Serena was going to do now that she conquered the Battle Chateau. It would be extremely unlikely that she could do what he is going to start doing. So what were her plans now? Surely she had to have some other sort of goal in mind. He briefly remembered her saying she likes to dress up in different outfits and always look her best. As he thought, an idea suddenly hit him. It was only something he himself recently found out about.
"I wonder if Serena has ever heard of Pokemon Performing," Calem thought to himself about the idea.
"Okay, everyone! I would like for you all to give a big smile for the camera!" Hennessy said as he prepared to snap a picture from a camera perched on a tripod.
Currently, Serena had all of her Pokemon out as they all crowded around each other with Serena in the center. She was holding a large trophy in her hands. It was golden and in the image of the Battle Chateau itself. Underneath the trophy was a stand that spelled "Grand Duchess Serena Gabena" in cursive on it. This would most likely be the photograph that would go on the wall in the Battle Chateau so they needed to make it a good one. After that, she was allowed to take pictures with her family, friends, or a combination of the two. Those, of course, would be transferred to her home. Grace had already said these pictures and symbols would go great next to her Rhyhorn racing awards. Serena beamed upon learning that.
Upon seeing Hennessy was getting ready, Serena gave the biggest smile she could while her Pokemon did the same. Afterward, Serena wanted to a take a picture with just Ash alone before the others. The Chatelaines almost insisted Ash comb his hair before standing next to Serena to avoid the contrast in outfits, but Serena intervened saying she preferred Ash just the way he was.
As he stood next to her, ready to take the picture, Ash gave a sideways glance at Serena and couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked right now. Her hair was absent of being down and in the small ponytail towards the end. Instead, she had a giant pink ribbon in her head, holding it in a large ponytail that reached her shoulders. Combined with the elegant pink dress she was wearing, Ash thought she looked like a real princess. He unknowingly had a blush creeping upon his face when he heard Hennessy snap the picture.
Alarmed, Ash turned to the camera, this time blushing in embarrassment rather than the way Serena looked. As the photo slid out of the slot, Hennessy looked over it to make sure there were no smudges or blurs before chuckling to himself. He then handed the picture to Serena who looked over it with Ash, and Ash looked away sheepishly. In the photo, Serena had a lovely smile on her face and looked as happy as could be. Ash, on the other hand, was looking sideways at Serena and blushing like mad.
Pikachu had run up Ash's shoulder to get a good look at the picture before snickering. The others soon joined in before smiling to themselves at the funny look on Ash's face, even Togepi. He could be so awkward sometimes.
"Heheheheh. Sorry, Serena," Ash mumbled lamely.
"No. That's okay, Ash," Serena replied as she stared at the picture herself before giggling. She was extremely happy Ash thought she looked pretty enough to blush in the picture. Rather than taking another one, Serena preferred to keep it. Call it a little egotistical, but Serena was always overjoyed when Ash would compliment her on the way she looked. Blushing was just as good as words in her opinion.
After Serena had taken all of the pictures she wanted, the Chatelaines and Hennessy approached her with her final symbol and plaque commemorating her achievement. As Serena took the items from Hennessy's hands, she looked at items closely. The Battle Chateau was something she had started almost a year ago, and now she finally completed it. She was a Grand Duchess and would go down in Battle Chateau history. It was quite overwhelming for her.
"Well, my dear. I assume you are wanting to know what you prize is for conquering the Battle Chateau?" Morgan said with a smile.
Serena looked back up at Morgan in a surprised manner. Truth be told, she had actually completely forgotten about that in her excitement. Everyone else stared curiously at Morgan, wondering the same thing, too.
"Well, normally the prize is we would offer Grand Dukes and Duchesses to become one of our honorary Chatelaines, or at least give them honorary visits every time they come, which is a good prize in itself. Seeing as you already declined that, however, there is an alternative," Morgan continued as she brought into view something for all to see.
It was a Pokemon egg.
"A Pokemon egg?" Serena questioned as she looked at the Chatelaines confusedly.
"Not just any Pokemon egg, pet," Nita said. "There is a very special Pokemon in here that isn't native to the Kanto region. I was a real pickle getting this egg, I say!"
"Cool! What Pokemon is inside of it?" Ash asked eagerly, jumping into the conversation.
"Now, why would we want to spoil that for ya?" Nita asked with a wink. "You'll see in due time."
"Wow. Another Pokemon egg," Serena muttered as she took it and examined it. It honestly didn't look anything too special. It was rather plain looking and olive green in color. Past experience has shown Serena not to judge a book by its cover, though. Regardless of whatever Pokemon was inside of it, Serena would still love it just like any other Pokemon she owned.
"Keep in mind, that egg is rather fresh and will take quite a while to hatch. You mind yourself until that time comes, ya hear?" Nita asked.
"Of course," Serena answered before turning to Ash and giggling. "Heehee! This is already the second Pokemon egg received on our journey so far!"
"Yeah. I know you'll be a great trainer to whatever Pokemon is inside there," Ash said.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu added.
Cubone looked on with a smile to itself. It looked there would be another Pokemon it could be a big brother to. While starting off as one of the youngest Pokemon, it was quickly becoming one of the oldest along with Pikachu. It was quite a change.
"Thank you very much!" Serena said with a smile as she looked back once more at the Chatelaines.
"No problem, pet! Make sure to go far with all you endeavors! We'll be rootin' for ya!" Nita replied with a wink.
"Endeavors," Serena thought again. That's right. What was she going to do know that she conquered the Battle Chateau? She was going to cheer Ash on of course at the Pokemon League, but what about after that?
The group was now standing on the outskirts of Viridian City. They all just had a great feast in celebration of Serena's victory at one of Viridian City's fanciest restaurants. It was well into the evening now and would definitely be dark by the time the group returned to Pallet Town. It was time to say goodbye to a friend, however.
"You're leaving again already?" Serena asked Calem sadly.
"Yeah," Calem replied. "I need to stay the night here as I'm meeting with a certain someone early tomorrow morning. It's pretty important, and I can't miss it. That's actually the main reason I was in Viridian City in the first place."
"I see, but we'll see each other again, right?" Serena asked hopefully. She couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with that something Calem mentioned he might be doing. As much as she wanted to ask him, she didn't want to appear nosy and believed Calem would tell her if he could.
"Who knows? There might be a time when our paths will cross again. You have my Pokegear number, right?" Calem asked.
"I sure do!" Serena nodded.
"Just call me if you ever want to talk," Calem continued.
"Heehee! You wouldn't mind if I had your number, too, would you?" Leaf asked with a giggle. The group couldn't help but think she was acting like a little bubbly schoolgirl, right now.
"Oh! Of course! If you really want it!" Calem said with a sweatdrop.
"No, it's fine. I don't want to be a bother," Leaf continued to giggle.
"So, Serena. I can't help but ask," Calem spoke up, drawing attention to him. "Have you thought about what you are going to do now that you conquered the Battle Chateau?"
"Well…," Serena started as she thought.
Not too recently, she had been extremely worried about not being able to complete the Battle Chateau, or how it would take her a while to do it. Now that she had conquered it, she didn't know what she could do. She wasn't as worried as she was when she first began her journey. It was part of the fun of discovering the different options she had. Despite this, it was always nice to have something to consider.
"I'm not really sure," she said at last.
"Well, I was looking through this magazine at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City before I met up with you and happened upon this article," Calem said as he handed the magazine to Serena.
"Really?" Serena asked as she took a quick look at the headline and raised an eyebrow.
"Pokemon Performing?" she inquired and looked up at Calem.
"Well, yeah. I know you like fashion and coming up with any creative ideas so I thought it might interest you. Just read the article when you get a chance, and you know, mull things over," Calem replied.
"Hmm…," Serena mused as she looked over the article. There was certainly nothing wrong with checking it out in her free time.
While no one else in the group had heard about it before, Grace had. It was actually something quite common back in her home region of Kalos. Many trainers competed in what was called "Pokevision" and competed in various performances with their Pokemon ranging from tricks to fashion designing. Being as young as she was when they moved, Serena wouldn't remember anything like that. It would make sense that Calem would know about it considering he's a Kalos native, too. She remembered thinking Serena would make a great fashion designer at the start of her journey, maybe this wasn't too different.
"Well, with that, I better head off," Calem said as he tipped his red hat at everyone.
"Goodbye, Calem, and thanks for cheering me on," Serena said as she gave him a hug.
"No problem," Calem replied as he returned it.
"I think it's so great Serena has met you," Grace spoke. "The Kalos region is so far away, and I know it's nice Serena has someone to relate to with her hometown."
"Of course!" Calem nodded before turning around. "I'll see you guys later."
"Bye, Calem!" Serena waved as he started off. The rest of the group began waving, too, while Leaf waved the most frantically out of all of them, and Togepi merely laughed playfully.
As Calem became further away, Serena eventually put down her hand and watched with a smile. She didn't know how, but Calem might prove to be a big influence on her life. It wouldn't be as much as Ash, of course, but still a big one. He just presented her something that he thought would be interesting to her. He was such a nice boy to do that. It was with that in mind that she knew she would see Calem again. It was now time to think about other things again. Now that she had completed her goal of becoming a Grand Duchess, she now needed to be there for Ash as he finished his goal: winning the Pokemon League. Speaking of…
"Well, Ash. Now that Serena has become a Grand Duchess, maybe you should follow her example and finally get some training in. The Pokemon League is less than two weeks away!" Misty told him.
"I know! I know!" Ash hurriedly said as they started on the road back to Pallet Town.
"It will be here before you know it," Brock added.
"Don't worry. I'll be sure to train. We're going to win, right buddy?" Ash asked Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" it responded and pumped his fist into the air.
"In fact, I think I'll start tonight! Last one to Pallet Town is the rotten egg!" Ash shouted as he took off running.
"Wait, Ash! You know I hate it when you get head starts like that!" Leaf called after him as she gave chase, followed by Serena, Brock, Misty, and finally Grace.
"You know I can't run like I used to!" Grace tried yelling as she took up the rear.
It was true. Serena had finally achieved her goal of conquering the Battle Chateau. Now that it was over, it was Ash's turn. He knew there would be some seriously tough trainers he would be battling at the Pokemon League. Well, they would have to be good if they got all eight badges, namely Gary and Paul. Ash was going to make sure he put everything he had into these last two weeks. He was Ash Ketchum, and he was going to be the best, like no one ever was.
Serena has first heard about Pokemon Performing but won't just jump right into it. She will be thinking hard about what her next goal will be. That will be most of her role throughout the Orange Islands as she competes in various things to decide what's best for her.
As mentioned, Serena's egg is a long way off from hatching. It won't hatch until sometime in Johto.
Calem will have a very important role in his next appearance which is set for Johto. How? You will just have to wait and see. (He won't be a Pokemon Performance rival to Serena)
The next chapter will be up next week! Have an awesome week! Live long and prosper!
Chapter 54: The Path to the Pokemon League
Answering the Questions:
Will Misty be shown training with her Gyarados?
Sometimes.
When will Eevee evolve? Will it evolve by happiness/friendship or a stone?
I already said it won't evolve until Johto, and I won't reveal how it evolves or what it evolves into.
Will Ash get any other electric types besides Pikachu?
If he does, it won't be for a very long time. I want Pikachu to be his only electric type for a while.
Will Ash get a Darkrai?
Like with any other legendary Pokemon, probably not but will befriend one.
I was wondering what you plan to do with Gary after the Kanto arc. Is he gonna become a pokemon professor like Oak, continue with his journey like Ash and visit the other regions and battle more gyms, or is he going to become the new Viridian Gym leader?
Well…right after Kanto while they are in Orange Islands is neither of those, but Gary will visit the Johto region like Ash and probably become a Pokemon researcher after that.
Will Ash ever help his Pokemon create original moves or combine moves?
Yes.
Are they still going to meet Bruno of the Elite 4 before the Indigo League begins?
You'll know soon enough, along with the rest of the Elite Four.
When will ash and serena go on another date?
I'm trying to squeeze one into the Pokemon League chapters right now.
When Serena starts doing pokemon performing will jigglypuff be stubborn again?
Not stubborn. More like wanting to be the star of every show. It may let the performing go to its head which would result from a talk from Serena.
Are you planning to make orangeshipping on the orange islands
Probably not. Misty will like Rudy more since she already met him in Chapter 35.
How do you plan on advancing and developing Ash and Serena's relationship from here on out?
Through talks, spending more time together by themselves, dates, being a mom and dad to Togepi, things like that
Whom will Togepi be an official part of the team? Ash or Serena?
I haven't decided yet.
Will Ash's Charizard or Charla fall for a Charizard in the Charicific Valley?
No. They are loyal to each other.
Will there be a new baby pokemon?
Serena's egg.
Do you plan to have Brock eventually settling down with a girlfriend?
Brock might get a girl, heheheheheheh.
Are you going to us Great and Ultra Ball or just say with using Pokeball?
If I feel the need to introduce them, then yes.
Will Ash catch a Dunsparce?
Maybe.
Will Serena get ideas from May and Dawns Contests?
Yes, the reverse can also hold true.
