Party Dancecapades
Serena's POV
A few days after Liz joined the group on their journey, they had stopped at a nearby Pokémon Center to get their teams checked out. After getting their Pokémon back, Serena let her team out so she could groom them while Bonnie played with Squishy and the others discussed what they were going to do for the rest of the day.
"Well Eevee, feel good?" Serena asked when she finished with her.
[Sure do,] she replied.
[Hey, I'm next,] Pancham said.
[Now wait just a minute! I'm after Eevee, and you know that!] Braixen protested.
[Just because you're normally after Eevee doesn't mean it's yours full time,] Pancham stated, crossing his arms and looking away from Braixen.
[Why you little-]
[Can you both just stop? It doesn't matter who goes after Eevee,] Skiddo told them, but his words were in vain as Braixen and Pancham started fighting.
"One at a time! Wait your turn! You won't get brushed if you keep fighting!" Serena shouted.
Pancham and Braixen immediately stopped fighting. [Told you,] Skiddo muttered.
Once Serena was done grooming her Pokémon, she heard some panting by the door and noticed Ash was slumped over with Liz, Sino, and Greninja next to him. "Geez, for all the traveling you do you're really out of shape," Liz commented.
"I'm not used to running that long or keeping up with you and Greninja," Ash protested.
[Or maybe it's because he eats so much,] Ethan commented.
[Come on Ethan, don't be mean,] Eve told him, nudging the Umbreon's shoulder.
[Fine…]
"Well, I'd better check if there are any new videos," Serena said to herself. She stood up and went to one of the terminals and logged in. She then noticed she had a new message. "What's this about?" she wondered. She pressed the message and a video started playing with Pierre on the screen.
"Dear performers, bonjour, to the talented trainers who are rehearsing for their performances. One and all, I am Pierre, your host, and I am thrilled to invite you to my dance party. My party won't be the same without you. I want to give competing performers a break and do it in an elegant way. So come and enjoy, si vous plaît. In order to attend, you are required one thing: All performers and their Pokémon partners are hereby requested to have a date."
The second Pierre said date Serena couldn't help but take a glance at Ash, who was right next to her as the others wondered what was happening, and her face started to turn red at the thought of Ash being her date. She also noticed Alec giving her a knowing look.
"Elegant, fun, also, Aria, the Kalos Queen, will be in attendance as well. Au revoir, until we meet again."
The message then ended. "Can we come along Serena?" Bonnie asked.
"You're gonna go, right?" Ash asked.
"Why not," Serena replied with a small smile before turning to Eevee. "Do you want to go? There will be a lot of people there, but it'll be a great experience."
Eevee gave a small nod. "So, who are you taking as your date?" Clemont asked.
"I get the feeling that's obvious," Alec said, smiling mischiefly while elbowing Ash.
"Wh-what?" he questioned with a blush. Serena also blushed when she realized what Alec was suggesting.
"Alec!" she shouted in embarrassment.
"What? I did nothing," he replied, holding his hands up trying to act innocent.
Serena then worked up her courage. "So Ash, do you want to go with me?" she asked, feeling extremely nervous. Ash didn't respond but his face reddened and Serena could feel hers going red as well. "I-I-I mean, it doesn't have to-"
"Sure, I'm okay with that," Ash interrupted.
"Finally," Bonnie whispered but Serena barely heard it.
"So, who will Eevee go with?" Clemont asked.
Before Serena could answer that question, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and approached Eevee. [Care to go with me Eevee?] he asked.
[Um… sure, I guess,] Eevee replied, her shyness creeping into her voice.
"Well, I think it's obvious that me and Cassidy are going together," Alec said, looking at his girlfriend.
"I'd be disappointed if you didn't," she said, leaning onto Alec's side.
"I guess I can go with Clemont then," Liz said. That statement caused the boy in question to get a massive blush. "Don't think much of it Clemont. It's just two friends going to a dance," she told him.
"Well, alright," Clemont said, calming down a bit. "So, who are the Pokémon going to go with?" he asked.
"Well, all you're Pokémon are boys so someone can go with Snowflake," Liz replied, letting her out. Ethan immediately glared at the Glaceon once she was let out.
[So we're going to a dance, huh? This oughta be interesting,] she said.
"Don't Ethan. I don't want to deal with a fight right now," Alec told his partner. Serena looked and saw Ethan looked ready to attack Snowflake at a moment's notice.
"Well, she can go with Bunnelby," Clemont offered, letting out the rabbit.
[I don't mind,] Bunnelby said.
[Sure. I guess that works. It's better than going with an annoying Umbreon,] Snowflake said, taking a jab at Ethan.
[What was that?!] Ethan asked angrily.
[Ethan. Calm down. You can have your payback later,] Eve told him.
[Fine,] he grumbled.
"Well, now that we've got all that sorted out, we'd better get going," Serena told everyone.
Alec's POV
The group left the Pokémon Center and followed Serena who had the directions to where the dance was taking place. "So, how much further is this place?" Clemont asked, sounding nervous.
"It should be just up ahead," Serena said as a building came into view. It was an old castle that sat in the middle of a river with a draw bridge connecting it to land. Outside were a bunch of other people, likely other performers and their dates.
"Awesome! Looks like it's going to be a lot of fun," Ash commented.
"I know. Look at that crowd," Bonnie said before turning to Clemont. "Are you gonna be alright?"
"Who knows. I'm wondering about that myself," Clemont said nervously.
"You'll be fine Clemont," Liz told him.
"So is Ash your date Serena?" a familiar voice suddenly asked and Serena jumped back.
"Miette?" Serena asked in surprise.
"Yep," she answered.
Serena then developed a smirk for some reason. "Well, Ash is my date to this," she said proudly.
"Is that so. Well, good for you," Miette said, but Alec could pick up a trace amount of jealousy in her voice.
"So, who are you going with?" Serena asked.
"An old friend of mine," Miette answered as a familiar face to Alec and Liz approached.
"Calem," Alec growled as he and Liz glared at him.
"Alec and Liz. It's been a while," Calem greeted coldly.
"Wouldn't have hurt to have been longer," Liz muttered.
Everyone but Ethan and Snowflake looked at the three with some confusion. "Okay, is there something going on between you three?" Ash asked.
"Let's say the three of us don't get along so well," Calem answered. "Though we can settle our personal grudges later. We have a dance to attend," he added.
"Fine," Alec grumbled while noticing Cassidy giving him a you'd-better-explain-this look.
"You caught an Eevee?" Miette suddenly asked, breaking the tension around the group.
Eevee hid behind Serena again. "Yeah, you'll be amazed when you see Eevee perform. She's such a beautiful dancer," Serena told Miette.
"I saw your last showcase, so you'll be a great rival," Miette said to Eevee. "Now let's go, we have a party to attend," she added, grabbing Calem's hand and dragging him into the castle.
"Well, we might as well enjoy ourselves," Alec stated as he started walking towards the castle as well with everyone else behind him.
The group entered and got themselves checked in. There was some confusion, as Cassidy and Liz weren't performers but Serena explained that they were with her and got it all sorted out. "Alright, well, you'll all be needing these cards," the receptionist said, handing everyone a card.
"What are these for?" Serena asked.
"You'll need them for a special event later. We also have outfits for you to rent," she answered before pointing to a room not far away.
When the girls entered, they all got excited as they saw all the choices they had. "And now we've entered the girl's domain," Alec remarked.
"If I recall, Liz has a bit of difficulty picking out fancy outfits, so Arceus help whoever's her date. Course Miette's the same," Calem added before the two sighed. Clemont had now started to comedically sweat. Alec and Calem might not get along, but Liz's problems with picking fancy outfits was something they had both experienced and could agree on.
"What was that?" Liz asked the two with a dark tone.
"Nothing!" both boys said quickly.
After the girls got the outfits they wanted, the guys quickly went to grab suits for themselves. Alec grabbed a simple black suit that had a blue handkerchief hanging where the tie usually went, grey dress pants and shoes. He stepped out of the changing room and went to see if Cassidy was ready. "You ready Cassidy?" he asked.
"Just about," her voice said from behind the curtain. Alec turned to sit on one of the nearby benches while he waited but the curtain then slid open. He turned to look and immediately got a massive blush on his cheeks. Cassidy had chosen a bright purple, sleeveless dress with a dark purple bow around her waist with the knot facing back.
"Whoa, you look amazing," Alec complimented. It was Cassidy's turn to blush and she gave him a shy smile.
"Thanks. You look great too," she replied.
[Come on lovebirds,] Ethan said as he and Eve started to push their trainers together. The Pokémon were given a single piece of clothing for the dance. Male's got a blue bowtie while females got a tiara.
Alec gave his best smile. "Shall we?" he asked Cassidy, offering his hand. She took it and the two headed out to the party where the others were. Ash, Serena, Clemont, Liz, Calem, and Miette were all already there. Ash, Clemont, and Calem had suits that were in a similar style to his own, but Ash's was blue, Clemont's was green, and Calem's was red. The girls each had their own dresses, with Serena and Liz's being similar but Liz's had straps around her shoulders. Meanwhile, Miette had chosen a bright blue dress, and Bonnie's was yellow. The Pokémon were also there, with Miette bringing her Slurpuff and Calem bringing a male Meowstic.
"Man, this thing is pinching my neck," Ash complained, pulling on his collar.
"We're not used to dressing up like this," Clemont noted, tugging at the ends of his sleeves.
"Most of you aren't. You get used to it after a while," Alec told the two as he and Cassidy approached.
"You would say that, rich boy," Calem commented. Alec shot him a glare as the girls started complimenting each other.
The lights then dimmed and a pair of spotlights shined on Pierre and Kalos Queen Aria, who was standing on top of a staircase with Klefki and Delphox. "Ladies and gentleman, thank you all for attending my dance party today. And now for our special guest, I'm honored to introduce our special guest, our Kalos Queen, Aria," Pierre said.
"Nice to see you, everyone," she introduced.
Pierre and Aria then descended the staircase and did the first dance. As that was happening, Alec noticed most of the women in awe of Aria, which wasn't surprising considering who she was. When they finished and the lights turned back on, everyone clapped for them. "Now, the dance floor is open for all of you. Please have a wonderful time," Pierre told the crowd before music started playing.
"Well Cassidy, shall we dance?" Alec asked her, causing a blush to appear on her face.
"Yes," she answered.
As the two danced, Alec just couldn't take his eyes off Cassidy, but one thing he did notice was Ash completely failing at trying to dance with Serena, but she was taking it with good stride. Eventually, the music stopped. "Alright everyone. Form into circles, it's time to change partners then, let's dance," Pierre told them.
The humans and Pokémon formed four separate circles, with the humans on the outside and Pokémon on the inside. When the music started, Alec did dance with some of the girls as the circle rotated, some of them almost freaked out when they realized he was there. "I'll admit. I was kind of expecting you to show up," Aria said when he ended up with her.
As they finished, the music then stopped. "Well, Serena is a performer. Thanks for helping her out back then, by the way," Alec told her.
"So you saw through my disguise?" she asked knowingly.
"A different hairstyle and calling yourself Ariana? Pretty easy to put the two together. Especially when you mentioned you were a performer," Alec replied.
"Well, I'm glad I was able to," she stated.
"Alright. Now let's begin today's main event. Our enchanting tag battle," Pierre announced. "There are no Pokémon Battles in a Showcase, so consider this a special treat. All of our participants will be chosen at random. Please raise the card you received at the reception desk, and hold it up to the light. If a mark appears, then you are one of our luck participants," he added.
Alec held his card up, but nothing appeared, though he did hear sounds from four people, and he recognized all of them. The four people were Ash, Serena, Calem, and Miette. Everyone then went into another room that had a battlefield set up where the battle would be Ash and Serena vs Calem and Miette.
"Alright then. Battle begin!" Pierre declared, standing with Aria on a balcony above the battle.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack on Slurpuff!" Ash commanded. Pikachu charged in and slammed into Slurpuff, knocking her back.
"Energy Ball!" Miette called out.
"Eevee, Swift!" Serena shouted. As Slurpuff fired Energy ball in mid-air, Eevee fired Swift into it before the attack could hit Pikachu.
"Meowstic, Disarming Voice!" Calem called out. Meowstic's ears rose and he unleashed a pink hearted soundwave, knocking both Pikachu and Eevee back.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail on Meowstic!" Ash shouted.
As Pikachu jumped up to slam his tail into his opponent, Calem stopped it. "Catch it with Psychic!" Pikachu froze in midair while surrounded by a blue light, but Ash smirked.
"Thunderbolt!" Pikachu smirked as well before releasing the electric attack, catching Meowsitc off guard.
"Eevee doesn't even look bothered by all the attention," Clemont noted.
"Not surprising. She's been spending time with us," Alec pointed out.
"Calem, I have an idea, but I need you to get them in the air," Miette told him.
"Got it. Meowstic, Psybeam!" he called out. Meowstic fired and both Pikachu and Eevee jumped into the air to dodge.
"Use Cotton Spore!" Miette shouted. Slurpuff sent out the cloud and it appeared beneath Pikachu and Eevee as they landed, getting trapped in the substance.
"Psybeam once more!" Calem called out. Meowstic fired again, this time scoring a direct hit.
"Pikachu! Can you still battle?" Ash called out.
[I'm good,] Pikachu replied.
"Shadow Ball!" Calem called out. Meowstic fired and hit Pikachu again.
[Pikachu!] Eevee called out in worry. The smoke cleared to reveal Pikachu on the ground, but he wasn't out. [Serena! Let's go!] she said confidently.
"I hear you. Swift!" she called out. Eevee jumped up and did a little twirl in mid-air before firing at Slurpuff.
"Send it back with Psychic!" Calem ordered.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. As the stars turned back towards Eevee, Pikachu's Thunderbolt appeared between them taking out the attack.
"Energy Ball!" Miette called out. The attack appeared through the smoke and hit Eevee.
"Eevee!" Serena called out as she landed near her, but still on the field.
"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash shouted.
"Energy Ball!" Miette called out. The two balls collided causing an explosion.
Ash continued to call out commands, but Alec focused more on his sister, who was talking to Eevee in a hushed tone. "...but someone once told me that my smile had the power to give others strength. That same person unknowingly helped to unlock my ability to Speak. I don't know how much strength I can give, but I want to be yours," she told her.
Then something special happened. A faint blue ribbon came from Eevee's neck and gently wrapped around Serena's arm. As Eevee stood up, her body began to glow with a familiar light catching everyone in the room off guard. "Eevee's evolving," Liz said in realization.
When the light cleared, Eevee had evolved into Sylveon. [Don't worry Serena. We aren't finished yet,] Sylveon said confidently.
"Your right. We aren't," Serena replied while standing and Sylveon turned to face her opponents.
"It may have evolved, but we're still going to win. Slurpuff, use Energy Ball!" Miette called out.
"Dodge it!" Serena called out. Instead, Sylveon unleashed Fairy Wind and blocked the attack.
"Nice work Sylveon," Ash complimented.
"Alright. Now this battle's getting interesting. Meowstic, Shadow Ball!" Calem called out. Meowstic summoned multiple Shadow Balls and they swarmed towards Sylveon.
"Dodge it!" Serena commanded. Sylveon then put her dancing into the battle by jumping around and dodging all of the Shadow Balls with ease and elegance. "Now Fairy Wind!" Sylveon unleashed the sparkling pink wind towards Meowstic and Slurpuff, but Meowstic managed to dodge in time.
Slurpuff meanwhile was sent flying out of the field and was knocked out. "Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Ash shouted. Pikachu jumped into the air and threw the attack at Meowstic.
"Block it with Psybeam!" Calem ordered.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. The two attacks fired and both hit the Electro Ball, but with the help of Pikachu's Thunderbolt, it pushed through Psybeam and slammed into Meowstic, knocking him out.
"Si vous plaît everyone, give a big round of applause to mademoiselle and her partner. What an exciting battle indeed," Pierre said as everyone applauded Serena and Ash. The two then head back to the group.
"Good work out there," Alec congratulated them.
"Thanks. I was kind of worried for a moment though," Serena admitted.
"Well, Sylveon thought otherwise. The fact that she evolved speaks volumes about the bond you two share," Liz told her.
"What do you mean?" Serena asked.
"Eevee can only evolve into Sylveon if the bond between trainer and Pokémon is strong enough. More so than with Espeon and Umbreon," Alec started. "You and Sylveon have something special that goes beyond the Speaker abilities."
"So, like your Full Synchronization? I could use that?" Serena asked.
"Only works with Mega Evolution," Alec stated bluntly.
"Right," she realized, hanging her head a bit in embarrassment.
Pierre then spoke again. "As thanks to you all for your attendance today, I'll let you in on where the next Pokémon Showcase will be held. And that exciting location is… Fleurrh City!" he announced.
"Serena," Miette pipped in, getting the group's attention. "We'll settle this at the next showcase."
"Yeah," Serena replied with a confident smile.
After everything had settled down, the group was in their normal clothes and left the palace, heading to Fleurrh City so Serena could get her final Princess Key.