Mikan Island: Pokemon Center Cafeteria, Night….

Early that day, Ash won Mikan Island's badge. The trio then moved to the pokemon center where they had gotten rooms for their planned stay here. Currently, Ash had left their room where Pikachu was currently asleep as he had no idea where James or Serena were.

Fortunately, he managed to find James feeding Togepi in the cafeteria. "Hey James." Ash smiled. "Should have guessed you'd come in here to feed Togepi."

"Well, my little guy does need his three bottles a day to grow big and strong." James smiled down at the baby pokemon before focusing on Ash. "Hey, where's Pikachu?"

"He's asleep already." Ash replied. "I know it's early, but he spent a lot of time training with Eevee earlier."

"I get it." James nodded. "Growlie and now Croagunk can be much the same way. Weather it's them training or the others wanting their help in training."

Ash nodded. "Hey, do you know where Serena is?"

"She went out to get some air." James replied.

"I think I'll go find her." Ash walked off. "Catch ya later."

Outside

Serena was sat on a bench which looked out over the ocean; however, her focus was on her pokeballs. She was out here thinking about her chateau challenge tomorrow. It wasn't that long ago that she lost such a critical battle against Verity which spurred her to train all this time.

Since then, she has been training hard with her team, but Serena was still concerned. What if she wasn't good enough to reach Duchess rank? She did fully trust her team as every one of them always gave it their best. Still, she couldn't help but worry.

"Hey Serena." Ash stated as he came out of the pokemon center.

"Oh, hey Ash." Serena stood up and greeted him with a hug which he returned.

"What are you doing out here?" Ash asked as they sat on bench only to receive a sad sigh from his girlfriend. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… Just thinking." Serena replied.

"Is it about the chateau challenge tomorrow?" Ash guessed as he rubbed her back reassuringly.

Serena nodded in response and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm worried I'll end up letting my whole team down. They've all been working so hard since the last lost, and I really want to get them that win."

"Serena, do you consider yourself part of your team alongside your pokemon?" Ash asked.

"Of course, I do." Serena replied firmly. "They're my team, and I'm their trainer."

"Then, here's the deal." Ash began. "When your team loses, you can recognize your own failure, but that doesn't mean it still isn't the team's failure. As trainers, it's our job to guide our pokemon. Still, you win as a team, or you lose as a team.

Sure, those loses can hurt, but they always manage to teach you something in the end. Beyond that, they can propel you to that next victory. While they should always matter, you can't let yourself be hung up on them. I mean, how else can you give the next battle everything you got?"

Serena listened to every word, and when he finished, she hugged him from the side. Ash smiled and wrapped his arm around Serena in response.

"You really are something…" Serena replied happily as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the embrace. "…you know that Ash?"

"Come on Serena." Ash laughed. "I'm just telling you what I've learned myself. It's nothing special."

Serena looked at Ash in surprise before shaking her head. "No Ash, you really aren't like other trainers. A lot of them would have given up long ago. Since pressing on no matter what seems natural to you, it shows how amazing you are."

"Thanks Serena." Ash would have loved to stay here, but it was getting late. "We should head in and get to bed. It wouldn't do for your team to lose tomorrow due to a lack of sleep."

Serena hated to admit it, but Ash was right. She reluctantly stood with him before the couple made their way back into the pokemon center and into their group's room.

Mikan Island, Next Day…

It was a beautiful morning as the trio walked through the island. Serena was now excited about her chateau challenge after her talk with Ash. Today is the day she becomes a Duchess and be one step closer to conquering the Battle Chateaus.

"Serena sure seems excited." James pointed out.

"Right." Ash slammed his fist in his open palm. "She is going to win today, for sure."

"Well, she has been putting in a lot of work, so I'm certain she will." James agreed.

It wasn't long until they arrived at the island's Battle Chateau.

"Greetings, gentlemen and madame." The butler outside every chateau bowed. "I am Santini, the Mikan Island butler."

"Good day." Serena greeted with a small curtsy. "My name is Serena, and I would like to compete today."

"Very good." Santini replied. "May I see your member's card?"

Serena smiled and handed her card over. "Here you go."

Santini examined the card, before smiling and returning it to the young dame. "Very good, Marchioness Serena." He nodded. "Enjoy your chateau challenge."

"I will, thank you." Serena replied happily.

"Please follow me." Santini led the group into the chateau.

Mikan Island Chateau

They made their way over to three maids. "Could one of you please show Marchioness Serena to the dressing room?"

"Of course." One of the maids replied before leading Serena away.

After about ten minutes, she returned in her dress.

"Hey Serena." Ash greeted. "You look great."

Serena smiled. "Thanks Ash."

"Can Marchioness Serena and Marques Seth please report to battle room 2?" Santini requested over the intercom.

"Guess that's my cue." Serena replied.

"Don't worry Serena." Ash gave his signature thumbs up and toothy grin. "You'll do great."

James nodded. "We'll support you all the way."

Serena smiled before they walked into the battle room.

Battle Room 2

Serena took her position in the trainer's box, opposite her opponent, while Ash and James took a seat on the side line.

The ref took his position and the battlefield changed to an ice field. "This is a first-round match of an official Battle Chateau Tournament, between Marchioness Serena and Marques Seth, taking place on the ice field. May both participants exchange pleasantry?" Serena curtsied while Seth bowed. "Now, both participants may choose there pokemon."

"Battle dance, Slowbro!" Seth shouted as he threw out the hermit crab pokemon.

Serena contemplated using Bellossom here; however, the grass type might not do all that well on the ice field. Ultimately, she decided to discard type advantage for power. With her mind made up, Serena gripped a pokeball.

"Machoke, battle time." Serena called as she threw out her fighting type.

Machoke appeared in his suited attire and fixed his tie before entering a battle stance.

"Let the battle begin!" The ref declared.

Marchioness Serena VS Marques Seth

"Slowbro, use confusion." Seth commanded.

"Preempt them with your dual chop!" Serena ordered.

Slowbro's eyes began to glow only for Machoke to rush in striking the hermit crab pokemon with dragon infused strikes.

"Let's follow it up with a thunder punch." Serena ordered.

"Use water pulse to knock him back." Seth countered.

Machoke rushed froward with his fist coated in electric energy only to be met by the pulse of water disrupting the attack and knocking the fighting type back.

"Now, use psychic." Seth quickly ordered.

Serena knew her pokemon wouldn't be able to avoid this attack, so she took the moment to set up for her next move. "Machoke, use focus energy."

Machoke managed to focus ensuring whatever move he used next had a greater chance of being a critical hit. He was then picked up by psychic energy and hurled into an ice spear. The psychic attack did a great deal of damage to the fighting type.

"Follow it up with a zen headbutt." Seth ordered.

"Machoke, dodge and strike home with a thunder punch." Serena commanded.

Slowbro, with his head coated in psychic energy, charged Machoke, but the fighting type managed to flip over him. The super power pokemon then cloaked his fist in electric energy and struck true with a critical thunder punch. This had the added effect of paralyzing Slowbro.

"Alright, you got some moves, but even a status condition won't stop us." Seth declared. "Slowbro, use ice beam now."

"Machoke, hold your ground and end this with a payback." Serena ordered.

Machoke braced himself taking the ice beam head on. The fighting type then cloaked himself in dark energy, which doubled in density, before striking the water/psychic type. Slowbro collapsed to the ground with swirls in his eyes.

"Slowbro is unable to battle." The ref declared. "That means the one moving onto the next round will be, Marchioness Serena."

Mikan Chateau

"Alright Machoke, you did!" Serena cheered happily.

Machoke stood there proudly as he readjusted his sunglasses and headband. Seth sadly recalled his Slowbro and said a word of thanks before leaving the room. Serena and her group made their way back to the lobby.

"You were awesome Serena." Ash congratulated. "Now, your one step closer to becoming a Duchess."

"I was impressed with how well you handled your disadvantage." James stated. "Clearly, you've learned a lot from our resident disadvantage specialist."

They all knew he was referring to Ash, but the guy simply didn't always take type advantage into consideration. Sure, having it was good, but what was the point of battling if you always concerned yourself with it?

"Can Marchioness Serena and Marchioness Stacy please report to battle room 3 for their second-round battle." Santini requested over the intercom.

The 2nd & 3rd Battles

Serena's second round was on the water field, and her opponent used a Dewgong. In response, she chose her Wartortle who swiftly took down the opponent with the various other moves, of other types, it knew.

This took Serena to the third round against Marques Zach. They would battle it out on the rock field, and he used a Magmar. Serena used Cubone. Thanks to his many ground type moves, it was a clear victory for Serena pushing her onto the final round.

Battle Room 1

"This is the final round match of the official Mikan Chateau challenge, between Marchioness Serena and Marchioness Margret, taking place on the grass field. May both participants exchange pleasantries?" Both Serena and Margret curtsied. "Now both participants may choose their pokemon."

"Go, Clefable!" Margret shouted as she threw out the fairy type.

Serena took out her pokedex:

Clefable, the Fairy Pokemon. The final evolved form of Cleffa. They appear to be very protective of their own world. It is a kind of fairy, rarely seen by people.

"This is it. Time for my pokemon and I to give this battle everything we got." Serena took a deep breath before giving her opponent a look of determination. "Battle Dance, Doduo!"

The twin bird pokemon entered a battle stance while Clefable was just happy to be there.

"Let the battle begin." The ref declared.

Marchioness Serena VS Marchioness Margret

"Thunderbolt!" Margret shouted.

"Dodge it and use swords dance." Serena ordered.

Clefable sparked with electric energy and fired only for Doduo to handily dodge before the astral swords appeared around him raising his attack by two stages.

"Follow it up with aerial ace." Serena ordered.

Doduo charged forward and vanished before appearing beneath Clefable. That's when he launched up kicking the fairy type pokemon back.

"Use after you." Margret instructed.

Clefable jumped around excitedly which Doduo felt compelled to mimic giving him the urge to attack first next.

"Use lunge." Serena ordered.

"Dodge it and strike with ice beam." Margret commanded.

Doduo cloaked himself in bug energy and lunged at Clefable who deftly dodged before hitting the twin bird pokemon with the beam of ice dealing out great damage.

"Let's combo it into strength." Margret instructed.

"Show them your feint attack." Serena commanded.

The pokemon charged each other with Clefable moving to meet Doduo head on. The twin bird pokemon kicked as the fairy pokemon punched. At the last moment, Doduo's feet vanished, and he kicked down on Clefable's head smashing him into the ground with dark energy.

"Clefable, use meteor mash." Margret ordered.

Clefable got to his feet and smashed a steel covered fist into Doduo sending him towards a wall.

"Doduo, steel wing at full power against the wall." Doduo coated his wings in steel energy and smashed them against the wall which sent the twin bird pokemon flying back at Clefable. "Now, drill peck."

Doduo spun as his beak increased in size, and he smashed in Clefable knocking the fairy type away. As the fairy pokemon smashed into the wall, it had swirls in its eyes before collapsing to his stomach.

"Clefable is unable to battle." The ref declared. "That means the winner of this chateau tournament, and the one raising her rank, is Duchess Serena."

Battle Room 1

Before Serena could celebrate, Doduo glowed brilliantly. "Doduo, you're evolving!"

Doduo grew and gained a third head before crying in victory. "Dodrio!"

"Awesome Dodrio." Serena cheered happily before getting out her pokedex:

Dodrio, a three-headed Bird Pokémon that can run faster than it can fly. Its three heads represent joy, sorrow, and anger.

Type: Normal/Flying

Ability: Early Bird

Gender: Male

Current Moves: Drill Peck, Swords Dance, Feint Attack, Aerial Ace, Body Slam, Tri Attack, Quick Attack, Steel Wing, Lunge, Jump Kick, Brave Bird

"Good for them." James smiled. "After how hard they worked, Dodrio deserves the evolution, and he's no doubt a much a stronger pokemon than before."

Ash didn't say anything as he stared at his cheerful girlfriend. He felt so proud of how far she's come. When they started their journey, Serena didn't know what she wanted to do. Now, she was a Duchess at a Battle Chateau. Seeing how far she's come filled him with determination.

"I will earn all the Orange League badges, win the Orange League, get all the badges I need in Kanto, and finish out by winning the Indigo League." Ash thought firmly. "Me, my pokemon, my family, and my friends will do it together!"

Outside the Mikan Chateau

"Congratulations, Duchess Serena." Ash praised as she met up with the group.

"Thank you, Ash." Serena giggled as she threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Now, you only have one more chateau challenge to take part in before you can challenge Rui for her tittle." James pointed out.

"Oh yeah." Serena never considered what she might do if she managed to beat Rui.

Sure, other regions had chateaus, but would that really be viable if she did defeat the current Grand Duchess? She knew that even if Ash beat the Indigo League, Elite Four, and Champion he'd still want to travel. Would that be a viable option for her without a goal?

Ash was concerned at her change in mood. "Are you alright Serena?"

"Huh?" The honey blonde girl replied. "Yeah... I'm fine..."

"You sure?" Ash asked unconvinced.

"Of course, I'm sure." Serena replied with more confidence. "I just realized that my chateau journey is almost over."

"Don't worry." Ash replied. "It will turn out great; just like it has been so far."

Serena inwardly sighed. "Guess Ash hadn't noticed my dilemma."

She was going to think about it more, but Santini came out of the chateau. "Thank Arceus I caught you madam."

"Santini, is everything alright?" Serena asked worriedly as the old butler looks like he is about to fall over.

"I'm fine, madam." Santini reassured. "We just learned that the next competition for Dukes and Duchesses will take place one week before the Orange League in Kumquat's Chateau."

"Oh." Serena was shocked. "Yeah, that would be important to know. It wouldn't do to miss my shot at Rui by simply not knowing where I'd battle other Dukes and Duchesses."

"That was a failure on my part, madam." Santini bowed. "Now, I shall be taking my leave."

Santini walked back into the chateau while the group made their way to the pokemon center. Once there, the group decided to relax for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow, they'd be heading off for Sunburst Island where the Crystal Onix is rumored to be. Ash wanted to catch it.

Kanto: Grandpa Canyon

There were many ways someone could pursue the tittle of Elite Four member. A couple were going it alone to be offered the position down the line or seek the job from any of the Elite Fours across the six regions that had them. Alola and Galar had their own ways of doing things.

After his time at the lab, Brock decided to seek the job from Kanto's Elite Four, but he was not arrogant enough to think his skills were on par with any of them. Wes wholly agreed and decided to put Brock through training. Agatha was the most vocal about him getting though it quickly.

She was the Kanto Elite Four member most eager to retire with Lorelei being a close second in favor of working on her books. Hey, Agatha had seniority in retiring first, so she had naturally been the one Brock was put under. Already, he was learning a lot in the ways of battle.

He was currently out here under the request of Wes who the Elite Four hopeful called up. "Wes, it's Brock. I've made it to Grandpa Canyon, so what am I looking for?"

"We've had reports of rock types resonating with something in the area." Wes replied. "Since you are a specialist, we felt this mission was right up your alley. Try to find the source and get back to us with your findings."

"Right, I understand." Brock stated before hanging up.

Brock hadn't had any guidelines concerning the pokemon he should bring, so the guy had chosen his pokemon as a mixture of those who needed training and those who were well trained. After dealing with Team Rocket, alongside Ash and the others, you couldn't be too careful.

Additionally, a couple of his pokemon had evolved with help from the league, so he was hoping to see their power to some capacity. His current team consisted of: Rhyperior, Golem, Sudowoodo, Tyrunt, and Omanyte.

"Go, Sudowoodo." Brock declared.

The rock type appeared and saluted. "Sudo!"

"Hey Sudowoodo, I got a question for you." Brock stated. "Are you feeling anything particular in the area which draws you in?"

Now that his trainer mentioned it, the rock type did feel a slight tug coming from deeper within the canyon. If he were still a wild pokemon, he'd have likely followed it already.

Sudowoodo nodded. "Woodo."

"Alright, lead the way." Brock declared.

So, the imitation pokemon led the way into the canyon. Awhile back, Brock had heard of some great fossil rush out here, but it quickly turned out to be a bust with no fossils beyond fecal matter. That just wasn't something that could be revived into a pokemon.

Cave

Sudowoodo ended up leading his trainer into and through a cave. The nearer they got to whatever was drawing the rock type in, the harder it was for the imitation pokemon to ignore the urge to go to it. Still, he managed to stop himself from running in.

Eventually, the pair entered a wide-open cave which seemed to have been abandoned in a hurry. There were empty cages littered about along with paperwork scattered on tables. In the center of the room, there was a large earthy brown crystal. Sudowoodo was mesmerized by it.

Brock decided to let his pokemon stare at it for now as he approached the table to find paperwork that didn't tell him much. It was likely that whatever group was here at least took the most pertinent information with them.

One thing that did stick out on some of the paperwork was a purple glove symbol which denoted Team Sangem's involvement. Since this was the only instance of them in Kanto, they usually operated out in the Orange Islands, this could be a copycat.

Eventually, one document caught his eyes causing Brock to call Wes, and they fortunately weren't that far underground. "Wes, it's Brock. I'm calling to report my findings."

"Understood." Wes stated. "What have you found?"

"I've found a cavern with a large brown crystal which seems to attract rock types." Brock explained. "Additionally, it seems to have been freshly abandoned and there is the possibility of Snagem involvement. Their symbols are all over these papers, but it could be a copycat."

"I see." Wes stated. "Just in case, I'll send G-men to other, prominent locations to determine if there are any patterns. Is that all?"

"I did find a document they may have forgotten." Brock replied. "It seems to indicate that whoever this is will be carrying out their next operation on Dome Fossil Island out in the Orange Islands."

"Understood." Wes stated. "There's soon to be an excavation carried out there, so I want you to return to the league immediately. I'll send a few G-men in the area to collect whatever's left while you will be heading out to join this excavation."

"I'll make my return post haste." Brock informed before hanging up and drawing out his rock type's pokeball. "Sudowoodo, return."

The rock type, still staring at the crystal, didn't even register his trainer returning him. Given what he's seen, Brock was confident Sudowoodo would be back to normal the further they got from here. Speaking of such, he walked out of the cave.

Sending Brock to Grandpa Canyon was an idea from Vital Info. Thanks to you, I was able to keep this chapter from being far too short.

Ibrenneke: You know it.