Serena / November 22nd
I still couldn't do it. It had been a few days since Calem broke up with me, but I had still been unable to confess to Ash how I really felt about him. It had either been the pure nervousness, or that I had no idea how to put it into words.
It was a Friday after school when Calem approached me again - usually I walked home with Ash and Gary, but that stopped not long after I had begun dating Calem. "You still haven't talked to Ash?"
I shook my head. "I just don't know how to do it"
"Well, you could choose to be either straight forward with it, or you could do something a bit more special" Calem said. "Whatever you choose to do, I know that it'll go well"
You may have been wondering how school went between me and Ash after our argument on Sunday. Well, there wasn't much to say besides the fact that Ash would avoid talking to me, unless it was lunch or break time where we would hang out with our group of friends. Even then, we didn't say anything to each other.
As for our friends, they thought Calem and I were still dating, but understood why Ash and I weren't talking anymore.
.
When I finally decided that I would confront Ash, it was around six in the afternoon, about three hours after school had finished. I walked across the street and knocked on the door, to which Gary answered.
"Oh, Serena. I didn't expect you" Gary said
"Is Ash here?" I asked
"So that's why you're here" Gary nodded. "The rest of us were wondering when you were finally going to tell Ash"
"What do you mean?"
"None of us really believed that you were still dating Calem; it was pretty obvious" Gary explained. "Ash should be up in his room, he doesn't really come out unless he's training or eating"
I nodded and walked inside; I had never really been in Ash's house for more than a couple of moments, so this would only be the second time going into his room - that was, if he wanted me to. As I began my ascension up the steps, memories from the past couples of months flowed through my mind. All the drama between X and Y really led up to this moment, and there was no way I would have ever had seen it coming.
Once I reached the top step, Ash's room was the first door in front of it. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door; I had no idea wether it was just my nervousness making time slow down, or if Ash had hesitated in opening the door, but it didn't open until a couple of minutes later.
"Serena?"
"Hey Ash. Can we please talk?" I said
"Yeah, sure" He surprisingly agreed. "I was actually about to go over and talk to you too"
We sat on the side of his bed, facing the wall where he had his desk. Last time I had been in his room, it had been pretty messy, but this time around it was surprisingly clean, as if he had been expecting visitors.
"Calem broke up with me" I began
"He did?" Ash asked, a little bit surprised. "You guys looked fine today"
"Yeah" I confirmed. "He said it was because there was someone I loved more than him; someone that was better for me"
"Oh" Ash said, not realizing I was talking about him
"It's you, Ash" I had to clarify. "It was always you... ever since that day at summer camp. When you first got to Kalos, I was unsure of how I felt, because sure... I had a crush on you back then, and while I hadn't forgotten about you... it had been a long time.
Sure enough though, it didn't take long for me to realize that I really did still like you. I think it was your optimism and your confidence in both you and your friends, but I had underestimated just how much I had fallen for you"
Finally saying it was like the heaviest weight in the world lifted off my chest. Ash looked pretty surprised, and I knew it would take a couple of moments before he soaked it all in. Eventually, he exhaled with relief and smiled.
"I feel the same way Serena, and I should have told you how I felt, but I doubted that someone like you could like me" Ash said. "I had a crush on you in summer camp too, in fact, I remember being pretty depressed for the entire week after you left.
Over all of my journeys, I learned how to care about a lot of people, but it wasn't until I got here to Kalos that I learned that there was someone I could care about more than anyone else. Serena, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, because you deserved to know. And, I'm also sorry about how I treated you last week... I should have listened"
"Well, what's in the past is in the past" I said, offering a smile
It was true; Jason, despite everything he had gone through, had told me that he believed that there was a happy ending to this story. He had also said that all happy stories have their roadblocks and troubles, which is what makes the ending so satisfying. As the two of leaned in towards each other, I understood just what he meant.
Through all of the drama, Ash and I became a lot closer to each other in the end, much more than we would have been without it. That's why, when our lips touched, everything in the world felt just right, like everything clicked into place. It was Y who had believed in the light at the end of the tunnel, even if I myself didn't see it; it had been through his efforts, even if indirectly, that Ash and I finally settled things.
November 23rd
I had gotten the most sleep I had in a long time, and for once, I woke up feeling energized and ready to tackle on the day, even if it was just a Saturday. News had spread quickly through our friend group, and today, we were suppose to go out and "celebrate it all being over," according to Gary.
Ash and I met in the middle of our houses and smiled as we held each other's hands. Gary had a satisfied smile on his face as he walked over to us, because he too had helped this happen. In fact, this had been everyone's win, including Calem's.
"Well, It finally happened" Tierno said as he, Trevor, Shauna, and Miette appeared down the trail
"And to think I was starting to get impatient" Miette winked at me, and I simply sighed and shook my head
When I thought about it, it had been Miette of all people who helped me realize my feelings for Ash. Y helped me understand just how much I did, and Calem was the one who had pushed me to pursue them.
Clemont - he had become part of our friend group throughout all of this, but I guess I had never found the time to tell you guys - Bonnie, and Calem appeared next. I had wanted Jason to come too, because he had been a big help as well, but I knew that he had his own romantic issues going on with Anna in the meantime.
"Congrats you guys!" Bonnie said as he ran over to us
"Thanks Bonnie" Ash replied
"Well there's no point in celebrating if we're just going to stand around" Calem pointed out. "Come on, nothing like good old snow in late November"
This time, the walk to Lumiose City felt much shorter between all of the fun we had been having on the way there. We were on our way to Clemont's gym, where his dad, the previous owner of the gym, had something set up for us.
"Yuck, what's this" Bonnie said as she picked a piece of black snow off of her tongue - she had been trying to catch snow on it.
"Black snow... that's odd" I replied
"I don't see anything other pieces of it, so it may just be a weather defect" Clemont guessed
Currently, we were out in a large open field, taking a shortcut to Lumiose City. We stopped and looked around for any other pieces of black snow, but could find none; we dismissed it as nothing more than a weather defect, just like Clemont had said.
Two minutes later, there was a large explosion, and off to the right, up top a small hillside that overlooked the valley we were in, there was a spiral of dark energy. The blue sky suddenly became polluted with darkness, and a black mist with a golden outline around it flowed all around us.
"You should give yourselves a round of applause" X said, walking out of the spiral of energy. "Sure, you didn't completely form the bonds, but I've gathered just enough energy for my goal"
By now, it looked like it was the middle of the night, and it was hard to see anywhere in the distance. X's Corvinight laughed, and dark-type Pokemon began to conjure up all around us. We all reached for one of our Pokeball's and released them.
"What's going on?" Trevor asked
"It's a long story" Calem said. "This isn't any good though"
The battle commenced a few seconds later, our Pokemon against the seemingly infinite horde of dark-types. The others had more than one Pokemon, and they were getting taken down quickly, while Pikachu and Fennekin were working together to take out the weaker Pokemon.
"You shouldn't fight back" X said. "Instead, rejoice and witness the birth of a new world"
Ten minutes later, and we were all down to our last Pokemon. Pikachu and Fennekin were on their last bit of stamina, but the horde of dark-types didn't seem to be getting any smaller. A Weavile suddenly jumped at Fennekin, but a jolt of electricity hit in the side, causing it to crash into a nearby tree.
Through the snow and dark night, I was barely able to make out two figures, and I could tell who they were based off the outline of staffs. Charizard's roar came not longer after, and the move God Sleeper finally managed to permanently wipe out the horde of incoming Pokemon.
A little bit of the light came back into the sky, and I could see both Y and Anna with their Pokemon - Charizard and Zeraora. I had completely forgotten about the bonds, but I thought that this day might have come eventually.
"It's no use" X assured
Two cocoons of darkness appeared in the air, and bursting out of it came the legendary Pokemon Yveltal and Necrozma. X's plan suddenly made sense in my mind, and he planned to use both of those Pokemon to eradicate everything... and I knew that they had the potential too.
Charizard Mega Evolved and activated Fire-Lightning mode, charging at Yveltal, but was quickly shot down by a blast of energy that put out of commission in one shot. There wasn't much to say about what happened after - Necrozma attacked us, and it was taking all our Pokemon to keep it at bay, while Yveltal was already flying off to begin its rampage.
X was holding up a golden staff that shone brightly in the night; dark beams of energy shot out of it in massive amounts, flying away to being destroying cities, and possible other regions if they could go that far.
"Is there no way to stop this?" Calem asked as his Bisharp used Iron Scales to defend from an attack
"I'm afraid not" Y said, his Moltres firing a Flamethrower at Necrozma, which did nothing but bounce off. "He's already gathered enough energy from the Bonds of Amour to end this world and start a new one. Only God himself can save us now"
"God himself..." Anna repeated as Zeraora sent Necrozma crashing into a tree
"You mean Arceus?" Tierno asked. "But does he even exist?"
"Serena" Y said. "We have five type-masters; it might be possible to recreate the ritual performed all those years ago"
One by one, our Pokemon went down to the hands of Necrozma, and when it was done with its rampage, it looked ready to move onto us next.
Y carefully placed his five staffs in a circle around him. "Place your hands on a staff, there's only one way to find out if it works or not"
Anna went first, and the staff circulated with electricity at her touch. Calem went next, and the staff lit up with a silver glow. Ash and I walked over, placing one of ours hands on the staffs next to each other. They lit up with blue and pink light respectively, but there was also a part of those lights that were connecting. Y finished it by putting his hand on Charizard's staff, causing it to burn up with flames. His and Anna's elements began to mix like Ash and I's were.
The ground began to shake violently, as if it was threatening to suck us up and send us to the Underworld. X lowered down his staff and eyed us with interest, while Necrozma began to back up with some kind of fear. There was a cracking sound, and I noticed that Y's staffs were beginning to break from all of the energy that they were holding.
Necrozma finally snapped out of his trance and fired a massive Dark Pulse. My life flashed before my eyes as it got closer and closer, until there was nothingness. All I could see was black, until my vision exploded back into reality. The stars in the sky were glowing brighter, connecting, and I could see all of the famous constellations. Light began to overtake the darkness, and there was some kind of heavenly chanting.
Looking around, my eyes widened to see a massive Pokemon standing over us. It stood maybe a thousand times our size, one of it's feet dwarfing us to unimaginable heights. All of those famous pictures of Arceus had been true, because he looked like just like what they had imagined.
I noticed my hand wasn't on anything anymore, and looking down at the snowy ground, Y's staffs had shattered to pieces, with nothing but the Pokeballs remaining. Looking back up, X's face was still beneath his hood, but I could tell that he was scared. Necrozma was too, as it instantly bowed down.
"I would take a picture if I could move..." Trevor said
"It's Arceus... the God of all Pokemon" Clemont readjusted his glasses
"It amazes me that humans could become so foolish" Arceus spoke - his voice sounded like it echoed across the entire world, which was probably true considering his size - "I never thought that when creating the elemental spirits, that they would posses such control as to take something as small as high school drama... to this"
Unsurprisingly, Arceus was right. Just because of our titles as type-masters, high school relationship drama had transformed into the literal end of the world, with the God of Pokemon being summoned.
"Judgement day has arrived" Arceus continued. "I will restart this world anew, but not in the twisted ways of Abbadon. Everything leading up until now is meaningless, because none of you will remember this"
Ash and I shared a sad glance, and we held each others hands.
"Hold on" Y said
Arceus looked down at us, and it hurt my head looking into Arceus's eyes; it was like trying to imagine and understand everything in the universe at once. "Who are you?"
"My name is Y, and I was suppose to the guardian of this world in the events that Abbadon would arise" He explained - there was a certain audacity in his tone - "I failed, and everything that you see before you is my fault, so if you're casting judgment, then cast it on me, because I've been ready to take it for years"
Calem stepped in too. "It's my fault too; I knew all about the bonds but did nothing to stop them"
"So mortals do care" Arceus muttered. "Taking responsibility for your actions is something I admire... very well, I will give you all second chance. I suppose it is my fault too for not personally dealing with Abbadon. You won't remember this, but know that you've been spared"
The ground shook harder than I had ever felt it, and there was a bright white flash. When I woke up, we were all laying in the same grassy field, with the bright sunlight casted down upon us. For some reason... I remembered. I remembered that Arceus had been there just a couple of moments ago, and that what he had done. Looking around, we were all there except for Jason and Anna, who had disappeared.
But, there was still the remains of Y's staff - shattered gold pieces that was. Later I discovered that I was the only one who remembered what had happened, and some part of me thought that Arceus had done that on purpose.
For the next few weeks, we carried on, waves receding against the tides, our problems nothing more than the past. Y had disappeared, and so did Jason, which is how everyone found out about his identity. While he may be gone, his affects and what he taught me will always carry on, and I knew that every time I looked the boy next to me.
the boy next to me. Ash was always by my side when I needed him, and I knew that, he always would be...
