Triple Battle Inspiration

Alec's POV

The group had arrived in Anistar City the day before Serena's Showcase and they decided that they'd do that first then Ash's gym battle. Serena currently was finishing a practice performance. "And ta-da!" Serena shouted as Pancham, Braixen, and Skiddo did a finishing pose.

"That was awesome Serena," Ash told her.

"Yeah! You were so cool!" Bonnie added.

"Thanks," Serena replied.

"Looks like you're all set for tomorrow," Clemont noted.

"And here I thought she still had a lot of stuff to do," Alec joked.

"Actually, I still do. If I want to perform as well as Aria," Serena answered seriously.

"I was kidding," Alec clarified quickly.

[Well I thought it was amazing Serena,] Eevee said from Ethan's side.

"Thanks, Eevee. You'll be watching this performance, but you'll go next time," Serena told her. Eevee had been getting the hang of performance routines, but Alec had to agree that Eevee was too new for a full-blown showcase.

Chespin the popped out of his ball. [Hey Eevee!] he greeted. Eevee put Ethan between herself and Chespin but he still tried to get to her. Ethan tripped Chespin then pinned him.

[Cut it out will you?] Ethan asked.

"Come on Chespin," Clemont said, pulling him out from beneath Ethan and holding him.

"You don't want to scare Eevee," Bonnie added.

"There you are!" a voice called out. The group turned to see Tierno nearby with a Blastoise.

"Hey, Tierno!" Ash greeted.

"How's it going, everybody. It's great to see you," Tierno greeted. "And you," he started, spinning like a top towards Serena. "I'm super happy to see you," he greeted in a kneeling position with his hand held out.

"Thanks. It's nice to see you two," Serena greeted with a small sweat drop as Alec looked at Tierno unhappily.

"Wow. Did your Wartortle evolve into Blastoise?" Ash asked, looking like he wanted to get Tierno's attention off Serena too.

"You bet. We've been practicing our rhythmic battle routines ever since," Tierno answered as Bonnie tapped Blastoise's shell.

"You're big!" Bonnie commented. She then grabbed Blastoise's arm as he picked her off the ground.

"Huh. They aren't here yet are they?" Tierno asked, more to himself than anyone else.

"Hey, guys!" Shauna called out as she came up with Ivysaur. She then looked at Tierno. "You made it here before we did."

"Ha. I'm number one," Tierno bragged.

"Shauna! How have you been?" Serena asked her friend.

"Just fine. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm great. You entering the Showcase?" Serena asked. Shauna nodded.

"Looks like we're in for some heated performances tomorrow," Clemont noted.

Alec then noticed Ethan looked behind them. "What is it Ethan?" he asked. Before Ethan could answer, something purple tackled into him and the two things rolled on the ground before Ethan was pinned by an Espeon.

[Hey Ethan,] the Espeon greeted and Alec recognized the voice.

[Eve?!] Ethan asked in shock.

[Correct,] she said proudly.

"Eve! There you are," a voice called out and Alec turned to see Cassidy running up. She immediately recognized some of them. "Alec?!" she asked in surprise with a small blush on her face.

"Hey Cassidy," Alec greeted, feeling butterflies in his stomach.

"It's good to see you," Serena greeted.

"Good to see you all two," Cassidy replied.

"Who's this?" Shauna asked. Cassidy, Tierno, and Shauna introduced themselves to each other.

Cassidy then looked at Alec. "Look… Alec. About when we last saw each other and I… you know… I meant to do the other one as well and it just slipped my mind," Cassidy said, sounding embarrassed. Alec did remember and felt his own embarrassment coming up.

"Oh, it's fine," he replied quickly, a small blush on his face.

"Are you two a thing?" Shauna suddenly asked Alec and Cassidy. Both of them blushed heavily as Serena burst out laughing.

"Nonononono," Alec said quickly.

"We're just friends," Cassidy added just as fast.

Shauna looked at the two again and shrugged. "So, who's Eevee is that?" she asked, pointing to Eevee who was hiding by Ethan, who was trying to introduce her to Eve.

"Mine. Eevee's a bit timid," Serena said, approaching Eevee and picking her up.

"That's amazing Serena. And just think, you could have all kinds of performances depending on how Eevee evolves," Shauna stated.

The group then went inside to eat and Alec sat between Tierno and Cassidy. "So, why isn't Trevor with you guys?" Ash asked.

"The plan was he was supposed to be here as well, but Trevor messaged me saying that he found another Pokémon he wanted to photograph and has been following it," Shauna explained.

"That's Trevor alright," Clemont commented.

"So Ash, you challenging the Anistar Gym next?" Tierno asked.

"Yep," Ash answered.

"Well, I already challenged it," Tierno boasted.

"Did you earn the badge?" Ash asked.

"Nah. I lost," Tierno admitted.

"I challenged Anistar as well, but I ended up winning," Cassidy said.

"Congrats. How'd you do against Wulfric?" Alec asked.

"Another win, though he was really tough," Cassidy admitted.

[That's the old man for you,] Ethan remarked.

"If I recall, Anistar's a Psychic-type gym, right?" Clemont asked.

"Yeah. I'm lucky I had Illusion to take those Psychic-type attacks. That battle would have been a lot harder if I didn't," Cassidy answered.

"Is it that hard to win there?" Ash asked.

"Let's just say the gym leader has a very good strategy," Cassidy told Ash.

"Ash can be so upbeat," Shauna commented, then whispered to Serena which Alec overheard. "That's why you like him, right?"

Serena immediately blushed. "Like him?! Well, it is true that his positive mental attitude is something I admire a bit," Serena said.

"Wait, what was that?" Ash asked.

Serena then made a noise that sounded like a heated tea kettle. "It wasn't important!" she shouted.

"Uh, okay…" Ash said, a bit confused. Alec facepalmed.

"Why do those two have to be such idiots?" he questioned under his breath.

Eevee then suddenly ran up and jumped onto Serena's lap. [Come on Eevee,] Chespin said, walking towards Serena holding a Poké Puff. Bonnie then grabbed him.

"Chespin, you stay right here," Bonnie told him.

[Aw come on,] Chespin complained, eating the Poké Puff.

"Eevee's really shy," Shauna commented. "Is it really going to be in the showcase?" she asked Serena.

"My hope is that Eevee will be in the next one," Serena explained.

"I see. But lots of people show up, so Eevee might get nervous. It could be a little bit of a problem," Shauna replied.

"Yeah. Eevee's still not entirely used to us," Clemont noted.

"Nah. Eevee seemed just fine me coming up to her slowly," Bonnie explained.

"And Eevee's an incredible dancer," Serena added.

"Really?" Tierno asked, a bit of pride in his voice.

"I do wish you could all see her dance. It's beautiful," Serena answered.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you're going to work really hard, and before you know it, you'll be performing your dance for everybody," Ash reassured Eevee.

[You'll do great Eevee,] Braixen said.

[We're a team and we'll win,] Pancham added.

"Eevee, what do you say we do some training!" Ash called out suddenly. Eevee's response was to run behind a nearby plant.

"Nice work," Alec commented to Ash.

After Eevee came out, Pikachu, Frogadier, Dedenne, and Chespin stood in a line. The idea was to get Eevee used to everyone slowly with a few Pokémon at a time. [I'm not too sure about this,] Eevee said.

[You'll be fine. Now go on,] Ethan said, pushing Eevee forward a bit. Eevee slowly started moving towards the four Pokémon as Eve stepped beside Ethan.

[Hey Eevee,] Chespin said, causing Eevee to freeze.

"Chespin, shhh," Bonnie ordered and Chespin stopped talking.

"Eevee, I'll be right here so you don't have to worry," Serena told her. Eevee nodded and continued her approach.

"Why is Eevee comfortable with Ethan?" Tierno asked.

"Probably since Umbreon is an evolved form of Eevee, so it brings her some kind of comfort from what I've heard," Alec answered.

"Might work for Eve too with that logic," Cassidy commented.

Eevee started by approaching Dedenne, taking it a step at a time. [Hey,] Dedenne greeted Eevee as she stopped.

[You're doing great,] Ethan encouraged as Eve walked up to Eevee, not even flinching.

[Come on,] Eve said, giving Eevee a slight push. Eevee stepped up to Dedenne and briefly held up her paw before turning to brush Dedenne with her tail. [Good work,] Eve said. Eevee then moved to Frogadier and brushed his hands with her tail. Eevee then did Pikachu and as she moved on to Chespin, Alec could see the Grass-type getting nervous. As Eevee approached, it was clear that Eevee was, if not more, nervous than Chespin.

As Eevee was about to brush her tail on Chespin, he let out a yelp from trying not to breath and Eevee ran back and hid behind Serena's legs. Chespin looked disappointed in himself as Ethan walked up to him. [You tried,] he told him.

"Looks like it's going to be a while till Eevee's comfortable with everyone," Cassidy commented.

"Hang on, I think I have an idea. We can have a battle," Serena suggested.

"Well, count me in," Ash said quickly.

"Let's make it a triple battle. Me, Ash, and Tierno vs. Serena, Shauna, and Cassidy," Alec suggested.

"Works for me," Shauna said.

"I'm in," Tierno stated.

"Sure. I could use some training," Cassidy said.

Serena then picked up Eevee. "You want to be my battle partner Eevee. I think it'll help you get used to others," Serena offered. Eevee nodded and the group headed out to the battlefield.

The battlers stepped up to their sides while Clemont went to the referee position. "Alright. The triple battle will now begin. Each trainer will each use one Pokémon each and the battle will be over when one team is fully unable to battle," Clemont declared. Everyone called out their choices. It was Ethan, Pikachu, and Blastoise, vs Eevee, Eve, and Ivysaur.

"Let's do it. Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash commanded.

"Figured Ash would go first. Ivysaur, use Energy Ball!" Shauna ordered. The two balls fired at each other and created an explosion.

"Now time for our Rhythmic Battle Style. 'Kay Blastoise, Rapid Spin!" Tierno shouted. Blastoise spun like a top and went towards Eevee.

"Eevee, Protect!" Serena called out. Eevee put up the blue-green barrier in time as Blastoise bounced off.

"Ethan, Dark Pulse!" Alec called out. Ethan fired towards the three opposing Pokémon.

"Eve, Dazzling Gleam!" Cassidy commanded. Eve stepped in front of Ivysaur and Eevee and fired the rainbow bursts, cutting up Dark Pulse mid flight.

"Ivysaur, Razor Leaf!" Shauna shouted. Ivysaur fired towards Blastoise who danced out of the way despite his size and weight.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"Eevee, dodge it!" Serena ordered. Eevee however tripped over herself as Thunderbolt raced towards her. When the attack landed, Eevee had been moved out of the way in time by Eve's Psychic.

"Night Shade!" Alec commanded. Ethan suddenly appeared on Eve's side and fired the Ghost-type move.

[Eve!] Eevee called out.

"Eevee, use Swift!" Serena shouted. Eevee fired at Ethan.

"Ethan, send it to Ivysaur!" Alec shouted. Ethan used Psychic on the swift and the stars changed course to Ivysuar, who was trying to avoid Blastoise at the moment.

"Alright. We've got our rhythm," Tierno declared.

"Let's keep it up," Ash said and Alec nodded in agreement.

"Show them how you can dance Eevee!" Serena called out.

"I'd like to see that, but let's see how you keep up with our moves. Blastoise Water Gun!" Tierno commanded.

"Jump Eevee!" Serena commanded. Eevee listened to Serena just as the water hit where Eevee was. She jumped right over the Water-type and started dancing in such a way that it was messing up Blastoise's rhythm he was so used to battling with.

"I'll get Eevee, you take Ivysaur," Alec told Ash. "Ethan, use Iron Tail and get Eevee off Blastoise!" Alec shouted.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail on Ivysaur!" Ash called out. The two Pokémon used their move, but where Pikachu's hit, Ethan was intercepted by Dazzling Gleam.

"Your fight's with us now!" Cassidy called out to Alec. "Shadow Ball!" she commanded.

"Dark Pulse!" Alec ordered. The two moves clashed just as Blastoise was knocked back by Eevee's Swift.

"That Eevee is something. It totally countered our rhythm," Tierno complemented.

"And this is only their first battle and Serena and Eevee are in almost complete sync. This is getting good," Alec stated.

"Can we put this on hold?" Serena suddenly asked. "That move gave me an idea for a performance routine and I really want to practice it." she explained.

"Well, for something like that I suppose you have to," Alec said.

"Thanks," Serena said as she and Shauna left.

"So, what about our battle?" Cassidy asked.

"How about this. The three of you against me," Alec suggested.

"I'm down for that," Ash said.

"Wait. You're going to battle all three of us by yourself?" Tierno asked.

"Sure. Let's go for it," Alec said confidently.

"I'm game," Cassidy said. Ash and Tierno went to Cassidy's side of the field as Ethan went back to Alec.

"Alright then. Arco, Jaws and Inferno, come on out!" Alec shouted, throwing the three balls.

Morning: Serena's POV

When Serena woke up the next morning, she was surprised by the time and panicked. They were going to be late for the showcase. "Guys! Wake up! We're going to be late!" Serena shouted. That jolted everyone up and they scrambled to get ready. "Not how I wanted to start the day," Serena thought to herself as they all ran towards the Showcase.