Hey, it's Sentai Red!

New chapter is finally up! I'm also happy to say, if I haven't said it already, that Episode 11 is finally done! It has been re-written to the nth degree and I'm finally with how it turned out! Oh, man! The sense of relief escaping me is insurmountable! With Episode 11, I'm finally starting Episode 12 and I'm continuing onward! Episode 12 is almost done, at about 4.5K words at the time of this upload! Then, when that's done, I'm going to give it to someone to proofread for me! Then, Episode 13 will officially begin its writing phase!

I'm finally back to having a buffer again and it's making me incredibly excited! Episode 11 was the worst to write, as it ate up most of my buffer time and I like to try upload once a week! The cruise really messed up my buffer, but that's fine! Anyway, enjoy the new chapter! This one is one of the more lighthearted ones! I hope you enjoy!


Episode 10: I'm a Pokémon Coordinator! Miette is Here?!

It was a bright and sunny morning as the kids woke up, ready to begin their day – the Pidgey were chirping, people were already bustling about, and breakfast was being served by none other than Brock himself! His siblings already ate, as per their normal breakfast time, but the trio consisting of Ash, Serena, and Misty woke up later than them as they haven't been used to such a schedule. In all honesty, Brock just let them sleep in for the most part.

He figured that going through Viridian Forest to here, plus then training to battle him, was already a stressful situation, so he gave them the extra time to sleep. It also made it easier for him to cook for his siblings and father, giving him the time to cook for the guests without worrying about running out of food.

Misty was the first one to awaken, getting out of the guest bedroom that she shares with Serena, and she watches as all the kids are in the living room, all hanging around one another without a care in the world. "Good morning, Brock," she yawns out, stretching.

Brock just turns to her, putting a plate on the table with a smile, "Ah, good morning, Misty! I've made food for you guys too!" She drools at the sight of the food, but wipes it off quickly and sits down, thanking Brock for the delicious looking food.

As she eats, she turns to watch all his siblings play around, or just talk to their father, Flint, as he gets to know all his estranged children. She watches with a smile, then turning to glance at Brock, who watches them with a neutral face. "Hey, Brock?"

"Hm?" He just acknowledges with a simple grunt.

She sighs, remembering the blowout from yesterday, "How are you feeling?"

Brock pauses, taking the time to answer it, "Well," he trails off, "it's… weird." He watches as his brother Forrest is happily talking to Flint, with the other kids all talking to him once they get the chance to. "I've always respected my dad when I was younger, you know. But when he left us to be a strong Pokémon Trainer, I was all for it, but… he never came home. He was always out and never once did he call us to let us know how he was doing. Not once did he ever check up on me or mom, or any of my siblings."

Misty nods, empathetic to Brock's situation, "And now that he's back?"

He chuckles, "It's weird still… it's like, I can't imagine him staying, but what if he meant it? Ash did say to give him a chance, and I can't believe I actually am. It's also strange to hear that my father even used Ash to benefit himself. It's a very weird situation, but… I'm happy to see my dad back, I guess. Now my younger siblings can have a parent for once."

Misty smiles and nods, "Yeah, but don't sell yourself short. From what we've seen, you've been a great parent figure to your own younger brother and sisters. I think that they love and appreciate you a lot for all that you've done for them." Brock nods, appreciating Misty's words as he continues to watch, but with a smile forming on his face.

Ash would be the next person to walk down the stairs, greeting everyone with a small bow and a light yawn, "Morning, everyone…" Pikachu and Froakie both mirror his actions. Both Brock and Misty acknowledge him, with their own greetings for him. The trainer and his two Pokémon smell the food, and like Misty, they all drool at the smell. "That smells amazing…"

With a hearty laugh, Brock gestures the boy to sit down, "Well, come on and eat, Ash! Breakfast is ready! Now, all that's left is Serena, right?" Ash nods, sitting down and gets one of the plates off the table, giving himself some of the food, while leaving some for Serena.

"She's usually a heavy sleeper," Ash mutters, eating his food, "sometimes I would have to hear her yell about her mom's Fletchling pecking during our call sessions." He chuckles, remembering her angry rants about it.

"'Call sessions?'" Brock wonders, with Ash nodding. He realizes that Brock isn't aware, so he explains it fully.

"Yeah, Serena is from the Kalos region. She and I have known each other for like 4 years now? She and I met at Professor Oak's Summer Camp, and we've just been close ever since." Ash grins. "So, during those times, we just used our video phones to have our call sessions!"

Satisfied with that response, Brock questions, "So what are our plans for today? Are we heading to Cerulean City?" Ash thinks, making Misty blink. Wait… 'we'?

She interrupts their thoughts, clearly confused, "Wait, you're coming with us, Brock?"

Brock nervously laughs, "Yeah… I should have asked you girls, but I figured since Ash was the one essentially leading you guys around, I thought I could ask him if I can travel with you guys. I hope you don't mind!"

Misty waves it off, "Oh, please! You're more than welcome to join us! And yeah," she eyes Ash, "he does seem to be the one dragging us everywhere, so I suppose it makes sense." She teases the boy, making him huff at her. "I guess since he's the little leader of this ragtag group, we should just let him decide what the next course of action would be! Though, preferably not Cerulean City." She whispered the last statement, not wanting to explain why she doesn't want to go there just yet.

Luckily for her, the two boys didn't hear the whisper and just let Ash shrug, "Well, I'm fine to head off any time, but today's the start of the Pokémon Contest here and I promised Serena that we would watch it together." Brock and Misty look surprised, but nod.

"That sounds fun, actually. I've never seen one live, but from what I can tell, they definitely offer a different experience than just battles," Misty reacts pleasantly to the idea. "Is Serena interested in doing contests? She didn't really say what she was into."

Ash pauses in his response, feeling it would make sense to say it to his new friends, hoping they can support Serena as well, "Well… she's been thinking about it. Honestly, she said she really didn't have much of a goal to begin with. We just both agreed to travel together, but I know it's been hurting her to not find a goal to call her own." Ash frowns, feeling bad for his friend. "She sometimes even feels like she'd be made fun of if she never ends up finding her dream."

Brock sympathizes with the young girl, knowing the pain of never finding their true calling or partaking in it, "Well, let's support whatever she decides to do. If she wants to do Pokémon Contests, then I think we all watch it together and help her out."

Misty nods, putting her hands together as her eyes shimmer, "Oh! That would be so fun to see! With her Eevee and Fennekin, she'd have such a great team to show off their skills and beauty!" Ash side eyes Misty.

"… You forgot her Beedrill."

Misty just grunts in realization, still bothered by bug-types. Brock just chuckles, "Well, I suppose one of you should wake her up. The sooner she eats, the faster we can see a live contest!"

"I'll go!" Misty happily volunteers, making Ash and Brock nod at her appreciatively. It'd be weird for the two boys to enter a room with a girl sleeping, even if one was her best friend and the other was the host.

As Misty enters the room, she blinks in surprise as she sees Serena already up, dressed up and everything. Serena was in a trance, dancing to a song playing in her mind, posing around as if commanding her team to perform moves. She tip-toes around, spinning around gracefully.

"Hmhm…hmm…" Serena hums, lost in thought, doing even ballet in the middle of her trance.

If it was anyone else, Misty would have laughed, but to see Serena doing it? The girl was really into it, with passion overflowing, with her movement showing how she really feels in that instance. When Ash state she was unable to find her own goal, she didn't expect the girl to already be invested with being a Coordinator.

When the two were sleeping in the same room, she noticed Serena was on her tablet, but the audio was low, and the brightness was at its minimum setting. Was she watching videos? It could be.

Serena kept dancing, posing, and calling out moves, not loud enough to alert others, but has the same amount of confidence as would be otherwise. It was only then that she felt someone watching did she finally open her eyes. When she opened them, she noticed Misty watching with an awed look to her, making her stumble from her dancing and she just trips on the floor.

"Oh, boy," Misty sighs, going to the girl and helping her up, "Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you! You looked so into it; I just couldn't help but watch." Serena blushes, embarrassed to be seen by someone in the middle of her trance!

She covers her face up with her side bangs, meekly looking away. She thought Misty would have made fun of her, so she tries hard to not be seen by the older girl. Misty doesn't seem to notice and smiles, her eyes showing how impressed she is, "You danced so brilliantly, Serena! How did you learn to dance like that?"

Surprised at the compliment, Serena bashfully smiles and accepts the compliment, "Hehe… Well, in Kalos, in school, we are taught how to dance to classical music and taught various ballet and dance routines. My mom never did them, but she let me take them instead of being a Rhyhorn Racer."

Misty blinks, "You're a Rhyhorn Racer?"

It was at that moment that Serena knew that she never really spoke to Misty, or even confided in her. Sure, the girl can get on her nerves, especially regarding Ash, but the two are traveling together with said boy. Maybe it is time to finally open up? She sighs, "Oh, right. I guess I never did explain it, huh? I'm sure Ash told you that my mom is one, but I never wanted to be one, so… To better help me find out what I wanted to do, she let me do some dance classes and home economics in school to see what I'd be good at. She knew I wanted to be a trainer, but she was always concerned about what I really wanted to be."

She turns away, but with a thoughtful smile forming, "With Ash, I knew if I could journey with him, I'd find out what that would be. I know he wants to be a Pokémon Master and Brock now wants to be a Breeder, but where do I go from here? When Ash told me about being a Coordinator, I think I found my calling! Maybe, by watching them live, I can finally see the path I want to take! I even had a friend tell me about that and Performances in Kalos, so I figured I should try them out and go from there."

Misty nods, replying with her own vigor, "I know how it is, Serena, believe me! When I was a kid, I wanted to be a performer like my sisters. However, they never saw me as one, believing I'd be better off as a trainer, so that's what I'm doing. I want to be both a performer like them, but also show them I can be a strong Water-Type Master."

Serena seems impressed and smiles, when she realized Misty wants to perform, "I guess that's why you didn't make fun of me for dancing, huh?"

"Nope! In fact, I'm almost jealous how well you dance!" Misty laughs in good fun, making Serena realize that the two can be friends.

One thing still lingers in her mind, but she pushes it away for now. That's not important right now! Her stomach grumbles, making Misty snort, "Just like your boyfriend, I swear." She takes Serena by her wrists, ignoring the girls' protests.

'B-boyfriend?! H-Huh?!' is all Serena can think about.

Didn't Misty like Ash?!

Then again… that's not important right now! She is led to the dining area, where Ash smiles at her warmly, a plate in his hand that has smaller portions than he normally eats. He puts it on the table for her and beckons her to eat, making Serena realize it was for her.

She thanks them, but when she eats the food, she gasps, "Oh wow, this is amazing!" She didn't really get to eat much last night, due to being more exhausted with her training and with watching Ash's battle; so, as she eats the food laid out in front of her, she can't help but be enamored with the food! She eats it quickly, while still somehow maintaining her normal eating habits.

Brock only watches in wonder, laughing to himself, 'Good thing I can cook for big groups, otherwise I may end up starving the kids!'

After also feeding their Pokémon, where Misty was finally able to show off Starmie, Staryu, and Goldeen, much to the delight of Serena, they finally left Brock's house. Serena was super ecstatic, grabbing Ash's hands and runs off with a happy smile, squealing, "Let's go! The sooner we get to the Contest Hall, the better our seats will be!"

Ash stumbles in his attempts to walk with her. Brock chuckles, "We're heading the wrong way! The Contest Hall is over the opposite way from my house!" He points southbound, making Serena sheepishly rub the back of her head in a very Ash way.

Ash smirks, "Seems I'm not the only one that has trouble with directions," he jokes, making Serena swat his arm playfully.

"I'm not from here, Ash, so what's your excuse?" She quips back with a teasing smile, making him look away, grumbling about how she can always win. She just laughs at him, pulling his cheek playfully. "Come on, you," she winks.

The squad eventually were able to find the Contest Hall, a beautiful building with the Contest logo plastered on the top of the building. What they also notice is a giant TV build on the building as well, showing those unable to enter or watch from the inside a chance to watch the actual performances.

Serena clasps her hands in delight, looking around. Yes! This is it!

She rushes to a Nurse Joy waiting for anyone to join or take seats. "Hello and welcome to the Pewter City Contest Hall! How may I help you?" She asks the group coming in politely, Brock freezing spot as he stares at the beautiful woman in front of him.

Before Serena or anyone else can say a word, they all watch in pure shock as Brock whizzes past the girl, kneeling and holding a bewildered Nurse Joy's hand. "Oh, you can help me alright! My name is Brock and I wish to take you out on a date!"

The two girls and Ash watch on, looking away, covering their profiles as to say they don't know him. Pikachu and Froakie just watch, before they just snicker. Froakie uses his frubbles and launches them at Brock's mouth, making him try to take them off.

Pikachu just zaps the older teen, making him fall to the ground in pain, covered in soot.

"Anyway… Yes, Nurse Joy, I would like to register as a Coordinator!" Serena was able to change the subject, making Nurse Joy sigh in relief. The nurse then smiles, opening up on her computer a form that she prints out.

She hands Serena a clipboard that has the form and a pen on it, "Sure thing! Just make sure you put your information in here! Once that's settled, you'll be registered in our database as a Coordinator! And," she pulls out a sleek case, "this will be for you to hold all 5 ribbons once you finish registering!"

Eyes full of stars, Serena rushes to a bench to sit down and begins writing down all her information.

Ash walks by with an amused look on his face as he glances over the form.

Name: Date of Birth: Gender: M/F/O

Address: City: Region:

Pokémon:

Emergency Contact #1:

Relationship to Performer:

Emergency Contact #2:

Relationship to Performer:

He zoned out as he watched Serena scribble the information in, using her tablet to pull up her mom's number. Then he noticed she put Ash as the second emergency contact, putting the relationship as 'Best Friend'. He blushes at the notion, looking away from her as she continues to fill out more information.

He didn't see that there was more stuff to fill out, but she spent a good time doing it all – she even double checked to see if all information was correct! She then gets up from the bench, shocking Ash with her excitement, "Done!" She exclaims, her eyes starry as ever. He smiles, proud to see his friend find something to do as a trainer – No, now as a coordinator.

She rushes to the lobby, handing over her registration form, to which Nurse Joy was able to enter it in the system and provide Serena not only the ribbon case, but also an ID Badge. When giving the nurse an inquiring look, Nurse Joy was able to explain, "Oh, this is a new policy from the Pokémon Activities Committee! The idea is to prevent those from using another Coordinators identity, so as long as you have that ID, we can verify you! Now, will you be joining today?"

Serena takes in the information and nods, "Thank you! And no, we're just watching! It'll be us four!" The nurse nods, giving the girl four tickets.

"Alright! The contest will begin in about an hour, so find your seats that are on the tickets and enjoy!"

Realizing she has time, Serena rushes out of the lobby, and throws her Pokéballs in the air. Her Eevee, Fennekin, and Beedrill all land and hug her happily, making her laugh giddily, "Hehe! You guys are really happy, huh?!"

She then pulls away from the softly, giving them all a determined look, and she spreads her arms out, "Well, guys! We're going to be Pokémon Coordinators! We're going to have a mix of battles and performances! Let's show the crowd what we're made of!" Her Pokémon all cheer, all eager to help out.

She laughs, "Good! Now, while we won't be joining in this one, that doesn't mean we're going to skimp out on training! When the show is over, we're going to perform combos and we'll get stronger so we can win our first one! What do you guys say?"

"Vui! | Fenn-kin! | Bzzt!"

They all cheer, supporting their trainer. If she wants to show off their skills different from a normal battle, then that's fine with them! Whatever makes their trainer happy will make them happy! For Eevee and Fennekin, they're even more excited to perform live. For Beedrill, he wants to make sure he can be of use to his new trainer and make her proud!

Overwhelmed by their support, she hugs them all tightly, "Thank you, guys…"

She's really proud to have them be her Pokémon…

"Well, I didn't expect you of all people to be here, Serena…" That voice! She looks away from her Pokémon, turning around to see a familiar blue haired girl, with red eyes. The girl gives her a smug smirk that slowly disappears to become a genuine smile. "Hey, girlie!" Serena reacts happily, running to her old friend.

"Miette!" The two hug one another tightly, not seeing one another since the Kalos Summer Camp!

"Oh, so good to see you too, Serena! It's been so long!" Miette looks over to see the Pokémon her friend has and marvels at them: an Eevee, a Fennekin, and a pretty large Beedrill! She walks over and inspects them, her Pokémon looking uncomfortable at being gazed. "Hmm, they look well kept! I'm impressed, Serena!" She praises her friend, who thanks her in return.

Beedrill tears up, happy to be praised for his trainer and Miette blinks, "Oh, that's a surprising personality!"

Serena giggles, rubbing her Beedrill's head, "Yeah, he's a sweetheart. We didn't have the best introduction, but he's long since been forgiven – he's just a cute bug-man of mine!"

"Enough about me, what about you, Miette? What are you doing here in the Kanto region?" She didn't want to sound like she didn't want to see her friend, but because they're both Kalosian, you'd figure Miette would travel in Kalos first!

With a shrug, Miette responds simply, "I figured it'd be nice to travel someplace else versus the typical home region." She then eyes her friend, a smirk popping up, a smirk that Serena knows too well. "How about you? Why are you in the Kanto region?"

Serena eyes the contest building's door opening as Ash walks out with Pikachu and Froakie, a small blush on her cheeks appears as she then turns to a knowing Miette, "Uh. Well, you see," she stammers, rubbing the back of her neck, "I-I figured it'd be a nice change of pace too!"

"Hey, Miette!" The two look to see a happy Ash going towards them, Miette gasping. She always knew Ash was a cute kid back in the day, but now?

'He's certainly the ruggedly handsome looking type,' Miette thinks to herself, admiring Ash, which makes Serena twitch. First Misty, now Miette? What's with Ash getting other girls to flock over him?!

"Ash, it's good to see you!" She hugs him, making Serena stare with a surprised look, which is then replaced with intense jealousy. To both their surprises, Ash hugs back! Serena's eyes twitch even more, her face morphing to an angry countenance. She grits her teeth, imaginary smoke coming out of her nostrils. Her Pokémon backed away from the fired-up girl. They know not to mess with an angry Serena, even Beedrill was wise enough to back away and he's been with her the least!

"Haha, it's great to see you too," Ash politely says. "It's been a while since the summer camp! What are you doing here?"

Miette winks, "Oh, well, just wanting a change of pace, is all! I knew you lived in Kanto, but I didn't expect you to be here! You were older than us by a couple of months, so I thought you'd be already in the middle of your journey."

Ash shrugs, "True, but I waited for 'Rena to start her journey. Besides, she and I aren't too far apart in months, so it wasn't like I lost that much time." Despite the jealous rage she's currently under, Serena couldn't help but smile, happy to hear he waited for her like that.

With a flirty look, Miette leans towards Ash, making him blink at her sudden shift in mood, "Would you have done the same for me, Ash?" She puts one of her hands on his chest.

Serena looks like she really wants to strangle Miette! Ash stares at Miette, who bats her eyelashes at him. To her surprise, he blushes, looking away. "Probably!" He laughs nervously, "Didn't think you'd join up or anything. Or want to. Besides, I really wanted to journey with 'Rena more than anyone else." She fakes a look of disappointment but turns to Serena and winks at her.

"I suppose that's fair, but maybe next time consider me as a travel companion," she winks. Ash, yet again, looks away, flustered. She then gives him a small giggle and then turns to a furious looking Serena, "And I'll see you later, Serena! I figured if you're doing contests as well, then we may end up being rivals!"

Serena loses her anger as she looks at her friend in shock, "You're doing contests, too? What about your PokéPuff contests?"

The blue haired girl shrugs, "They don't have those here in Kanto, so I figured why not do the next best thing? Besides," she pulls Serena close and whispers in her ears, "if you don't step it up and confess to Ash, I may just take him away from you. I won't be just a rival for contests, you know." She pulls away and waves at the two as she heads off in another direction, with Serena glaring daggers at the girl.

"I'll be watching the contest, guys! And Ash, make sure to look for me!" Was all what she said to them before heading off.

Ash just waves back. He notices Serena being tense and blinks, "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" She snaps sassily, making Ash laugh nervously at her attitude. She then grabs his hands and pulls him with her, her Pokémon following suit. As much as they didn't like Miette, seeing how upset Serena got, they knew it's best to just leave it to their human trainers to sort things out.

They follow their trainer and her crush to the building, where Brock and Misty were talking amongst themselves. They look to see a rather annoyed looking Serena, followed by a sheepish Ash and the two just bite back the urge to snicker.

Serena sits down and groans, "That Miette!"

Brock looks over to Ash and mouths "Miette?"

Ash nods, "She's a friend of ours from the Kalos Summer Camp Serena and I went to. The two of them have always been at odds with one another, doing baking classes and trying to see who the better baker was. Another friend, Tierno, and I were always the taste-testers. My stomach was never more upset that day than any other." Ash laughs at the memory; the time one of them accidentally put in a cup of salt.

Brock nods, "So I assume she's going to be the same with contests?"

Serena growls, "Oh no! I'll make sure I beat her here like I did back in our PokéPuff contests!" She stands up, determined to win, making everyone just stare at her with a bead of sweat dropping from their heads.

Ash just whispers to Brock and Misty, "The two never really won against one another, Tierno and I just kept saying it was a tie, because we didn't want them to continue arguing."

"What was that Ash?!"

"N-Nothing!"

Brock and Misty snicker to themselves, seeing a terrified Ash. They never even expected to see Serena so hyped up and ready to bite at anyone, it's amusing to say the least!

Time would pass as they all began to enter the arena, sitting down in their assigned chairs. Serena, in her excitement, holds Ash's hands tightly with her own. Ash doesn't mind as he just watches, almost as excited as the girl next to him. Brock and Misty were both also very interested, Brock to see the beautiful girls, and Misty because it's all performances.

Lilian, the Contest Announcer, appears in the mainstage, to a cheering crowd.

"Hello, everyone!" Her bubbly voice seeping through as she waves at everyone in front of her. Brock has hearts in his eyes, as he stares in love at the woman on stage, much to Misty's annoyance.

"She's so beautiful! The woman of my dreams! Lilian! I love you!" He cries out, making Misty hit him upside the head, a bump quickly forming, as she growls at him.

"Brock, don't you dare kick us out of here!"

Both starting trainers and their Pokémon laugh nervously at the older teens' interactions. Serena then refocuses her gaze back to the mainstage as Lilian continues her speech and she just watches, her eyes glued to the arena, her mind racing of all possibilities.

Ash looks over to a glazed eye Serena and smiles, "You're really excited, huh?"

She regains her focus and turns to Ash, a little sheepish, but eagerly nods, "Of course!"

"… And please give it up for our panel of judges: Mr. Contesta!" She gestures to an older looking man, who appears to be sophisticated looking, with an eye for detail. Serena realizes that Mr. Contesta is part of the Pokémon Activities Committee and as such, is considered one of the best judges to ever grace the world of Pokémon Contests.

"It's a fine day to be here, Lilian," the man states with a firm smile, "and I look forward to seeing what our contestants can do."

Lilian then gestures to a short, round looking man, who just smiles and nods. "Say hello to Mr. Sukizo! Another amazing judge from the wondrous PAC!"

"It's remarkable to be here!"

And Lilian then gestures to Nurse Joy, "And finally, we have our lovely Pewter City Nurse Joy!"

She bows politely, "It's always astounding to be here, Lilian. I'm invested to see what our brilliant Coordinators can do today!"

The crowd burst into cheer, roaring to see the performances, Serena's eyes hardened with determination. She clenches her fist, making Ash wince as she still is holding his hand, but he doesn't say anything. 'This is it…' she watches as Lilian spouts her catchphrase to begin the contest!

"Let's get busy!"

'I think I found my dream,' Serena thinks as she watches everything unfold before her very eyes.

Light shows. Colorful fireworks. Elaborate dances.

This is amazing! This is what she wants to do!

She watches the battles in the second round with undivided attention, analyzing every single move – every dodge, every counter – everything. She watches to the very last moment, watching as people stand up to cheer for the winner. She watches as the victor proudly presents to the audience the ribbon for winning, a sign for more to come. All she has to show is an eager smile, ready to take the plunge into the new world that are contests!

'I can't wait to be a Coordinator!'