Chapter 7 Serving Up the Flute Cup
At the Cerise Laboratory, Mimey leads the rest of the group through some morning kung fu exercises. "Slowly...slowly..." Serena mutters as she does the movements.
Chloe frowns, "Why am I also doing this?"
Professor Cerise laughs, "It's good for your health, so why not? Kung-fu exercises with everyone, first thing in the morning."
"Geez..." Chloe mutters, and Ash says, "Chloe, it will be fun, you just need to put your heart in it. You can't just give up until it is over."
Chloe looks at Ash with a nod, deep down inside, she has feelings for Ash, but she is too shy to talk about it, and she also notices how Ash and Serena are a couple, she feels like if she butts into their relationship, she would be the third wheel...
"How is Mr. Mime so steady?" Serena asks, and Professor Cerise says, "It must have a fit torso."
As the other Pokemon are watching, they are just confused about what they are doing. After taking a break, Ash is checking on the phone and says, "Serena, how about we go to Hoenn?"
"Uh? But I was just back from there..." Serena asks in confusion. "Why do you want to go there?"
Ash says, "Because I saw something interesting."
As they look at the phone, Ash turns to Chloe and asks, "What about you, Chloe? Do you want to come with us as well?"
Chloe shakes her head and says, "I still have school to attend, sorry."
This causes them to be confused, but they decide to discuss it later.
Ash and Serena are now in the Hoenn Battle Frontier, Ash says, "This is the Battle Frontier, it has two branches of same facilities in both Kanto and Hoenn. I still remember the time when I compete in all of them..."
"So you have completed it before?" Serena asks in awe.
"Of course, they are really tough, and I am glad to defeat them." Ash says.
After seeing the commercials of the Flute Cup, Serena says, "So that is why you want to come here, so you can attend the Flute Cup?"
"Of course." Ash says, "And I decide to enter with Pikachu and Mimey."
"Mimey? Can it even battle?" Serena asks, "I don't think I have seen him battle for once..."
Just then, Mimey shows a bizarre smile, causing Serena to be surprised. He starts to do mimic and Ash says, "Putting that aside...that is what Mimey says."
"No, I can't put it aside! I'm worried!" Serena says.
"Then who are you going to enter?" Ash asks Serena, and she says, "I am going with Braixen and Scyther."
"I'm really firing up for this." Ash says with excitement. Serena sighs, "You really love Pokemon battles, don't you?"
"Yeah, it's hard to explain, but I kinda feel like I can do anything when I'm with my Pokemon! What about you?" Ash asks Serena.
"You do know I participated in Contests and Showcase, but after the Contests having those battle rounds, I think I start to enjoy battling." Serena says with a smile.
Just then, they notice a Hariyama, and Ash asks, "Is that Haiyama participating in the Flute Cup?"
Serena scans the Pokemon and it says, "Hariyama, the Arm Thrust Pokémon. A Fighting type. Hariyama can send a truck flying with one of its slaps and it loves competitions of strength."
A trainer is sitting on top of Hariyama while combing his hair, Ash asks, "What? Do you want a battle?"
"Hey, you." The man says, "Could you move?"
Just then, Ash and Serena notice that they are blocking the trash cans, so they quickly move out of the way.
"Sorry." Serena says as they move out of the way, and the man just tries to throw an empty bottle into the trash can. "Don't sweat it." The man says, but he slips as he falls face into the trash can.
"Are you okay?" Ash asks. "Yeah...I'm fine. That didn't hurt! Not at all!" The man stands up with the red circle on the face.
Suddenly, a Masquerain just flew by and Ash says, "A Masquerain! Let's get it!"
"Hey, wait for me, Ash!" Serena yells as they rush towards the Pokemon, leaving the trainer and his Hariyama confused.
In the woods, Ash and Serena find the Masquerain resting at the pond, so Ash tosses a Pokeball and captures it on the first try. "Masquerain's Data is added to the Pokedex."
"Looks like we finished Bug Type in Kanto, and we are starting with Bug Type in Hoenn, huh?" Serena says.
"Yeah, then let's try to get ourselves a Dustox, which means we need a Wurmple." Ash sends out the Masquerain and asks it to find Wurmple, Masquerain nods as it flies into the air, but they are blocked by a Mightyena, and Scorbunny accidentally pulls out a tuft of its fur, causing it to become angry.
"What are you doing with my Mightyena!" Just then, the same trainer with the Hariyama from before appears, and he says, "Hey, aren't you two..."
"So this is your Mightyena? We're sorry that Scorbunny pulled off its hair..." Ash says as Scorbunny apologizes to him.
After dealing with the mistakes, they decide to sit on the bench as they start introduce themselves.
"I am Ash, and this is Pikachu." Ash says. "And I am Serena, and this is Sylveon and Scorbunny." Serena says.
"I am Hodge, and I am from Lavaridge Town. And this is Hariyama and Mightyena." Hodge says.
"Does that mean you signed up with Hariyama and Mightyena?" Ash asks.
"Sure did." Hodge says. "But why did you run off all of a sudden?"
"Well, we are not only battlers, but we are also working in the lab for catching all the Pokemon." Serena says.
Hodge starts to laugh and he says, "Well, are you a fun one?"
"Are you making fun of us?" Ash asks.
"No, I'm not. I just think your sincerity is cute." Hodge says, but Scorbunny tries to kick Hodge, but with Mightyena growling at him, so he kicks Ash instead.
"Why me, Scorbunny?" Ash yells. Pikachu is angry as he tries to shock Scorbunny, but it hits Ash instead as Scorbunny dodges.
Pikachu is furious that he missed, and he starts to chase after Scorbunny. Hodge says, "Those two are great friends, huh?"
"Yeah." Serena says. Then Hodge's phone rings and he says, "Oh, I got the tournament brackets."
Then it turns out that Hodge is facing Serena in the first round, Hodge says, "I won't be losing to you, so you should prepare yourself." Serena adds, "I'm not going to lose either."
The Battle Frontier Flute Cup soon gets underway, with Hodge's Mightyena battling Serena's Scyther. Ash yells, "Serena! You can do it! Never give up until it is over!"
"Of course." Serena says with a smile, then she scans Mightyena. "Dark Types are weak to Bug Types, so Scyther has the advantage! We can win the match, but we'd better play it safe."
"Let the match begin!" The referee says.
"Boost your Attack power! Use Swords Dance!" Scyther nods as it boosts its attack, and Hodge says, "Fire Fang!"
Though Mightyena just rushes in, dealing a single knockout blow with Fire Fang. Ash and Serena are stunned by the defeat, and Serena frowns, "I am sorry, Scyther..."
Ash says, "Scyther is still low level compared to our other Pokemon...and that Fire Fang is super effective...it's no wonder it lost..."
"Sorry, Scyther...my plan was bad." Serena says with a frown. Serena then sends out Braixen to battle, and Serena says, "You're right. We just need to win the net match, that is what matters."
"Let's push some pressure on Mightyena! Use Thunder Punch!" The attack causes Mightyena to get paralyzed, Hodge is surprised that a Fire Type like Braixen can use the move.
"Amazing..." Ash says in awe. "Now finish it with Fire Blast!" Serena adds, and Mightyena is knocked out with the attack.
Hodge says, "It seems like I underestimated you when you use that Scyther of yours." He sends out Hariyama out, and Serena says, "Let's put some pressure on them, Braixen! Use Psybeam!"
The attack hits Mightyena with Super effective. "Use Brine!" Serena is surprised as the Water Type move manages to hit Braixen.
"Follow up with Close Combat!" Hodge says as Braixen is being punched until it is unable to battle.
"Braixen is unable to battle! Hariyama is the winner, so the winner of this match is Hodge!" The referee says.
Serena rushes towards Braixen and says, "I am sorry, Braixen, you did a good job." The Pokemon just looks at her trainer with worry.
Back at the Pokemon Center, Ash says, "Serena, even though you have tried battling, but you would need more training to do it."
"I know...I was surprised that it would defeat Scyther with one hit..." Serena says.
"We just owned Scyther for a few days, we haven't actually trained him like our other Pokemon." Ash says, "How about you cheer me on and I'll win this match for you."
Serena smiles and says, "You're right."
Later, Ash and Hodge have breezed through the rounds and now face each other in the finals, eventually, they find Ash facing Hodge in the final round.
Ash leads with Mimey, while Hodge chooses to go with Hariyama first. Serena says, "Psychic and Fairy are good against Fighting Types like Hariyama."
"Get'em, Hariyama! Use Force Palm!" Hodge yells, but Mimey easily avoids the attack. Hariyama starts firing out a barrage of Force Palms, but Mimey continues to dodge them all. Serena notices the moves and she asks, "Are those...the kung-fu techniques that we saw earlier..."
"Will you stand still?" Hodge is getting frustrated.
"Now use Focus Punch!" Ash yells. Mimey manages to deliver a direct hit, causing Hodge and Hariyama to get surprised.
"All right!" Ash says. Serena says, "Mimey can battle like that..."
Hariyama tries an Arm Thrust, but Mimey's Reflect stops it from doing any damage. Mimey continues to trap Hariyama with Reflect walls before using Psychic to deal the finishing blow.
"You did it! Mimey!" Ash says. Serena is in awe with the Pokemon in front of her.
Hodge calls out his Mightyena, and Mimey suddenly crosses his arm to Ash, and Ash says, "Do you mean you don't want to battle him? If that's the case, come back and take a rest."
Ash recalls Mimey and then sends out Pikachu.
Hodge starts with a Snarl, though Pikachu swiftly evades with Quick Attack and lashing Mightyena with an Iron Tail. As he descends back to the field, Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, which proves powerful enough to blow a hole in the stadium's ceiling.
"Sucker Punch!" Hodge calls, and Mightyena speeds around Pikachu, almost invisible as it bides its time to attack. As Sucker Punch hits, Pikachu is thrown into the air.
"Electroweb! Aim at the ceiling!" Ash says, and Pikachu does what he says, and it allows him to rebound with added velocity.
"Iron Tail!" Ash yells, and Pikachu uses his Iron Tail to smash directly into his opponent, knocking out Mightyena.
"Mightyena is unable to battle, Pikachu wins! " The referee says.
"Unbelievable! Ash and Pikachu used the force of Mightyena's attacks against it!" The announcer says, "Contestant Ash achieves an unquestionable victory!"
On stage, Ash has received a set of five flutes in honor of the victory, and Hariyama stomps towards Ash and Hodge says, "Ash, that was the best battle I've ever had!"
Ash tries to shake hands with him, but Hodge falls to the floor, causing a lot of people to laugh.
"Congratulations on your win, Ash." Serena says.
"Thanks, Serena." Ash says.
Serena turns to Mimey and says, "And Mimey is really cool as well."
"But since we have time before we leave, how about we continue to catch all the Bug Type Pokemon in Hoenn?" Ash asks, and Serena nods.
After searching for a while, they find a Wurmple and a Nincada when they are crawling on the ground, and they also notice a Volbeat and Illumise showing affection with each other, and they also join in Ash and Serena after seeing how they are showing affection as well.
"Wurmple, Nincada, Volbeat, Illumise are added to the Pokedex." The Pokedex says, and Ash says, "I guess that's it."
"Yeah." Serena says as they leave Hoenn.
Back at the Cerise Lab, Ash and Serena show the Professor with more Bug Type Pokemon, and Chloe asks, "Are you sure you only catch one Wurmple? Who knows what will it evolve into..."
"We just need to hope that it is a Cascoon since we already have a Beautifly." Ash says as Serena nods. Ash still notices Chloe's expression as she is frowning.
Back in their room, Ash says, "Serena, I somehow feel like Chloe is getting jealous of you."
"Jealous of me? Why?" Serena asks.
"I am not sure, maybe it is because we usually spend our childhood together, and after separating for 7 years, I think she is jealous of me spending time more for you..." Ash says. "I just hope I can help her somehow..."
Serena frowns and she says, "You know, Ash...perhaps Chloe shares the same feeling I have for you, that might be why she is depressed."
"Are you sure? But you are my girlfriend...and I just want to get along..." Ash frowns.
Serena sighs, "Ash...if it wasn't for you and Chloe, I would have lost in the forest...besides, we know how she is close to you in childhood, so I wouldn't mind if I am going to share you with her."
"Are you sure about that?" Ash asks, "I mean...what if she doesn't want to share me with you?"
"It is her decision, right now, we just wait and observe her more." Serena says as they fall asleep on their own beds.
Here is a new chapter, and a lot of people have been asking me when Chloe is going to be with Ash, I want to tell you that she will eventually get to share Ash with Serena, but not in the first chapters because the Pokemon Company doesn't give her a lot of screen time until the future chapters. And there are also people complaining about why Ash has to share Pokemon with Serena, and I already give that answer in the sixth chapter. Ash and Serena share Pokemon so that the Pokemon won't be ignored. So please stop asking those questions.
New Pokemon: Masquerain, Wurmple, Nincada, Volbeat, Illumise.