Author's Note:
And here we are with the always long awaited "next chapter" of Lumiose University! However, things change now. I've got quite a few backed up now, and the push to the end is now on. Lumiose University will be finished, and I want it to be finished in good time now. But we'll talk more about that after the chapter. So enjoy chapter 4, and I'll see you at the bottom.
Chapter 4: Back to School
Lumiose City was obviously a pretty busy place to be, but Clemont usually didn't notice it that much, having spent nearly his whole life there. Even with much of his time spent in his gym and working on his various inventions, he just never thought much about the hustle and bustle of the city whenever he needed to head out. Today, however, he definitely noticed it.
"I can barely find my way to the school with all of these people running around!" Clemont complained, looking to Elekid, who was out of his pokeball, wanting to see the city now that he and Clemont were back from Shalour City. "I'll never get my schedule for this semester now."
"Bee bee?" Elekid asked, holding up a sparking fist as though offering to fight his way through to make a path for Clemont.
Clemont nervously chuckled at that, raising his hands and shaking his head to signal that fighting wouldn't be necessary. "Uhh...thanks Elekid, but we'll try just toughing it out first."
Elekid simply shrugged at that, and waited as Clemont looked up the road where he finally noticed a group of what appeared to be Lumiose University students. He sighed in relief and signalled to his newest Pokemon to follow, and the two of them made their way through the crowds to get to the building where he assumed people were registering and getting their second semester schedules. It looked like there were probably even more students, perhaps some having joined late with the school having gotten more notice.
When he walked through the doors of the building, this one being somewhat smaller than the registration building from the first semester, Clemont was happy to see some familiar faces among the crowd and the Lumiose Luxray colours on some of the signs. Before lining up, Clemont looked around, realizing that he was probably right in his assumption that there were many newer students in the crowd. There even seemed to be a group crowding around for their entrance exams, which would likely be taking place in another building. I hope the Clembot trainers are working well, Clemont thought, smiling to himself, proud of the help he'd been able to give the school.
The Lumiose Gym Leader then entered the nearest line, happy to see it moving ahead fairly quickly, the students at the front that were finishing up running off with their new schedules. When he reached the front, he gave the man at the desk his name and list of classes he'd picked out in the original registration. The man quickly entered the information into his computer, and within a couple of minutes, Clemont was walking out of the registration building, looking over his new schedule excitedly.
Monday: 8:30am-9:50am – Evolution – Yuzo Konishi
Monday : 1:00pm-2:20pm – Pokemon Physiology – Professor Ivy
Tuesday: 10:00am-11:20am – Pokemon Nutrition – Suzie Yuki & Brock Harrisson
Tuesday: 2:30pm-3:50pm – Types – Agatha Yurei
Wednesday: 8:30am-9:50am – Evolution – Yuzo Konishi
Wednesday: 1:00pm-2:20pm – Pokemon Physiology – Professor Ivy
Thursday: 10:00am-11:20am – Pokemon Nutrition – Suzie Yuki & Brock Harrisson
Thursday: 2:30pm-3:50pm – Types – Agatha Yurei
Friday: 8:30am-11:20am – Movesets – Flint Hisaru
"A class with Flint, Agatha and another with Yuzo!" Clemont exclaimed once he'd read it over, looking down to Elekid happily, the electric type appearing more interested in their surroundings. "This looks like it should be a pretty good semester!"
"Bee bee?" Elekid said, tilting his head as he looked up at his new trainer. He raised his fists after a moment, a couple of sparks coming from his horns. Clemont understood immediately.
"Don't worry," the inventor answered, chuckling as they began to walk down the busy street again, "there will be plenty of battling as well."
Elekid seemed pleased about that, nodding as though it would be that way because he wanted it to be. As they walked, Clemont watched his new Pokemon, thinking of how strange it was that he had such a battle-hungry Pokemon. Obviously he enjoyed battling, and wanted to become a better leader at his gym, but Elekid almost seemed more like a Pokemon that would be attracted to Ash. It was surprising that he'd wanted to join Clemont.
"Bee?"
Clemont looked up in surprise, stopping as Elekid peered up at him in confusion. "Oh...sorry, Elekid, just thinking." He looked around, noticing that they weren't that far from the training facilities, and a smile came to his face immediately. "Hey Elekid, how about I show you where we do most of our battle training? I bet we'll be spending a lot of time there!"
The electric type's eyes lit up at that, and he nodded immediately, allowing Clemont to lead the way before quickly following after him. Within a few minutes, fortunately making it through the most crowded parts of the city fairly quickly, Clemont and Elekid could see the training facilities up ahead. The sight of it brought another smile to Clemont's face, knowing that not only would Elekid enjoy it, but that he would soon be spending long hours with his friends here, getting ready for their IPL matches and worrying about their classes. As nice as the break had been, he'd missed his friends a lot.
He walked through the doors after chasing after Elekid to reach the building, panting with exhaustion despite the sprint being fairly short. After a quick recovery, though, he looked around, realizing he wasn't the only one to have had the idea of checking out the training facilities again. He watched as a few trainers headed into the area with the battlefields, and was about to follow, when he noticed someone in the lobby, looking around curiously.
He was young man, a few years older than Clemont and his friends, with darker skin and spiky brown hair. He wore a dark green shirt, covered by an orange and grey vest, with grey pants. His eyes almost seemed closed as he peered at a sign, which Clemont realized was for the IPL, showing a picture of their team. The man seemed to chuckle to himself as he looked at the sign, smiling until he noticed Clemont watching him, as though sensing it. He turned, giving a small wave, and Clemont decided to walk over and introduce himself.
"Hi there," the man greeted, as Clemont reached him, holding his hand out. "I'm Brock. A...uh...new guest lecturer here at Lumiose University."
Clemont shook his hand, smiling and nodding in realization. "Oh, welcome to the school then," he said, gesturing around with a nervous laugh. "I'm-"
"Clemont!" Brock interrupted, chuckling as he pointed to the sign, where Clemont's name was printed over his image. "I hear you're the Lumiose City Gym Leader?"
Clemont nodded, feeling a little embarrassed by the sign, and the impressed look Brock gave him. "Yeah, although I'm not really running my gym much lately. I've got Clembot, a robot I invented, doing most of my duties."
Brock raised an eyebrow at the mention of Clembot, but didn't press for more information. Clemont assumed he'd probably been told about the models used for testing here at the school. "I'm actually a gym leader as well," he then mentioned, revealing the inside of his vest, where a grey badge was. "The Pewter City Gym Leader in Kanto." He laughed. "I've got my brother and father watching over my gym!"
Clemont laughed as well, appreciating that he wasn't the only one. He then paused, realizing something. "Kanto, huh? My friend Ash is from Kanto. He's from Pallet Town."
Brock nodded, gesturing back to the sign, where Ash's image was next to Clemont's. "Oh yeah, I remember Ash," he said, laughing as he seemed to remember their last meeting. "He was an...interesting challenger. It seems he's come a long way since facing off against my Onix with his little Pikachu."
"Pikachu...against an Onix?" Clemont couldn't help but chuckle at that, but then he remembered Pikachu taking on that Rhyperior in Ash's entrance battle. "Well, I guess type matchups aren't Ash's thing all the time."
"Haha, I guess he still does it then, huh?" Brock asked, laughing. "He was a beginner when he first battle me, so I guess we can't be too hard on him, and I suppose Pikachu's strong enough now he can handle most Pokemon."
Clemont couldn't deny that. "Pikachu's one of the strongest Pokemon I've ever met. He and Ash really seem to get each other. Ash seems to get all of his Pokemon so well." He looked down at Elekid as he thought of that, the electric type looking up at him with an encouraging grin, as though letting him know he wasn't any different. Clemont smiled back, grateful.
"Wouldn't expect any less of him," Brock said, nodding. "That Greninja of his seems like something else, that's for sure." He paused, looking deep in thought. "I wonder what Ash's feeding routine must be with him..." He shook his head quickly and looked back at Clemont. "I found it pretty strange to find out Ash was attending the school. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to stick around in one place."
"Well, he's not totally sticking around right now," Clemont replied, sighing as he remembered Ash's call a couple days before, where his friend had informed him he'd be staying in Alola a little longer. "He's in Alola right now. He's hoping to figure out more about his Greninja's transformation, actually."
Brock looked amused by that, but shrugged as he looked back at the IPL sign. "Well, I'm sure he'll be back soon enough. If he's committed to your battling team, he'll want to see that through." He then pointed to the schedule that was still in Clemont's hands. "In the meantime, though, you'll have to keep some notes for him. My Pokemon Nutrition class won't be easy!"
Ash wasn't normally one to sit still, whether it be at a table for a meal, watching a Pokemon battle, or especially, paying attention to a class. He almost always wanted to move in some way. He needed to. He needed to stay active if he wanted his Pokemon to stay active.
Sitting in the Melemele University class on Z-Moves, however, had Ash utterly captivated. Hala was the teacher for the class, and every word he spoke took hold of Ash's attention more and more. He was clearly an expert in the field, as Ash had seen before, and he knew enough to answer any question asked of him. And Ash had many, much to the amusement of the students around him, not that they minded, with most quickly noting down the answers given in response.
"Are there Z-Moves for each type of move?" Ash asked eagerly, as Hala was giving a quick rundown on some of the more basic Z-Moves. There doesn't seem to be any Z-Move that's basic, Ash thought.
"Oh yes," Hala answered, chuckling as he picked up a small box on his desk and opened it up for the class to see. There were a variety of crystals in the box, each a different colour. "There are Z-Moves for every known type of attack, such as Normalium Z and Fightinium Z. Normalium Z will generally take a normal type attack such as Tackle and power it up so that the Pokemon using it can use the Z-Move Breakneck Blitz. Fightinium Z on the other hand will turn most fighting type attacks into All-Out Pummeling. There are specific crystals for specific Pokemon, however." Hala gestured to Pikachu, who was sitting comfortably on the desk in front of Ash. "There is a crystal for Pikachu, actually, known as Pikanium Z that powers up the move Volt Tackle for a special move known as Catastropika."
"Whoa..." Ash had thought he'd learned a lot about Z-Moves from the questions he'd asked Hala back in Kalos and what he'd asked Kukui and Samson in Pallet Town, but this lecture had flooded his mind with a ton of new information. Much like how Mega Evolution changed how battles were fought in Kalos, Z-Moves could completely change the way trainers fought in Alola.
Ash's interest in the lecture didn't waver as it went on, and by the time Hala was finished with his lesson, it had almost seemed like no time had gone by at all. As students started packing up their things and leaving the class, Ash just sat in his spot, thinking of all the different kinds of attacks he could use with Z-Moves. Battling with Hau and working around them had been an exciting challenge, but he couldn't wait for his chance to use them himself.
By the time Ash realized the class was nearly empty, he looked around, quickly picking up his backpack and holding his arm out for Pikachu to scurry up to his shoulder. He noticed a couple of the students he'd briefly met after his battle with Hau, Kiawe and Sophocles, talking with Hala at the front, and paused, hearing one of them mention the Firium Z. Hala seemed to notice Ash perking up at the mention of the Z-Crystal, and motioned for him to join them at the front.
"What's going on?" Ash asked, looking down as he noticed Kiawe holding up his wrist, examining what Ash could see was a Z-Ring, with a red crystal in it.
"Kiawe here has been working on mastering the fire type Z-Move for quite awhile," Hala informed Ash, nodding to the Firium Z on Kiawe's wrist. "You see, Kiawe runs one of the trials here in Alola, and he's very particular about fire types, and in particular, the fire type Z-Moves."
Kiawe held up a fist, looking at Ash with fierce determination in his eyes. "There's no better feeling than dancing through the heat and flames of battle with your Pokemon! I've trained on Wela Volcano my entire life, and I'll never stop perfecting my fire attacks."
"You perform the Inferno Overdrive attack quite admirably with your Turtonator," Hala told his student, sighing. "I believe you've perfected it quite fine."
Sophocles chuckled, looking up at Ash as his Pokemon, a Togedarmu as Ash had been told, scurried up on his shoulder to peer at Pikachu. "Kiawe's as passionate as you seem to be, Ash. I bet you two would make good rivals."
Ash grinned at the thought, having heard a few students mentioning Kiawe was quite a skilled trainer. "I'd love to be rivals. How about a battle, Kiawe?" he asked, looking at the other trainer challengingly.
Kiawe looked to him, excitement in his eyes, before he sighed and looked down. "I'm worried I don't have what it takes to battle you yet, Ash. To avoid Hau's Z-Move the way you did...I've never seen such a thing. This is why I need to keep training harder. I'm not nearly as close to mastering my power with my Pokemon as I can be."
"But if you run a trial you must be really strong!" Ash countered, eyes widening in surprise. He looked to Hala, who just chuckled and shrugged.
"How about you at least show Ash your Z-Move, Kiawe? I'm sure he'd love to see it." Kiawe looked a little unsure, but then nodded, appearing to think of it as a different sort of challenge as he narrowed his eyes.
"Maybe you can try to spot any weaknesses in it." He looked up at Pikachu, who was now watching curiously from Ash's shoulder. "You defeated Hau's Z-Move with speed...but Inferno Overdrive would be far more difficult to avoid in that fashion..." He trailed off, looking at the ground as he thought.
With the decision made to have Kiawe demonstrate the Z-Move, Hala led the way out of the classroom and out on the school grounds. When they reached the practice battlefields, Hala seemed to purposefully select one that was as far away from any of the other trainers as possible. That only made Ash more interested and excited, and he looked up at Pikachu with shining eyes. He could tell this was going to be something special already.
When they were satisfied with their location and that nobody was too close, Hala turned to Kiawe, nodding for him to begin his demonstration. The Trial Captain seemed to be more determined now, apparently happy with his self-challenge to prove the attack difficult for Ash to spot a counter for. He took a deep breath, stepping forward, closing his eyes and letting the hot Alolan sun warm him for a moment. When he was ready, he threw out his pokeball, releasing the Pokemon he'd be demonstrating the Z-Move with.
"Turtonator, come on out!" he called out, a flash of light revealing a massive Pokemon before them.
Ash's eyes widened in excitement as he looked at the new Pokemon. It was standing on two legs, but the Pokemon appeared to be turtle-like, with a large shell on its back and a dull green head and limbs. The shell was spiked, looking quite fearsome, with red and yellow towards the outside and brown and red spikes towards the middle. He also seemed to have a smaller one on his head.
"Turtonator, the Blast Turtle Pokemon," Ash's PokeDex began, once he opened it and scanned the new Pokemon. "It lives in volcanoes, and feeds on sulfur and other minerals. The materials from this diet form the basis of its explosive shell."
"Explosive shell?" Ash asked, looking up in surprise.
Sophocles spoke up in answer. "It's Turtonator's not so secret weapon. He can use the move known as Shell Trap, where he powers up the shell and any Pokemon that hits it...well..."
"Boom," Kiawe suggested, chuckling as Turtonator puffed out some smoke.
"That sounds so awesome!" Ash exclaimed, his mind already thinking of how to take it on in battle. There are so many cool and unique Pokemon here in Alola! he thought, his eyes being drawn to another group with some more unfamiliar Pokemon out. As he looked, he noticed Professor Kukui stepping out of one of the buildings and looking over to them, before making his way over.
"Hey cousins," the Alolan researcher greeted, smiling as he looked at Turtonator approvingly. "Showing young Ash here another Z-Move I take it?"
"You bet!" Kiawe told him, looking excited to get the chance to show off the move in front of Kukui as well.
"Well, what're you waiting for Kiawe, show us!" Sophocles urged, gesturing towards Ash who was now visibly shaking with excitement.
Kiawe chuckled nervously at that, but then moved forward with Turtonator, facing towards the empty field past the battlefield, where nobody would be in the way of his attack. "Okay, Turtonator, are you ready?" he called out to his Pokemon, his Z-Ring ready on his wrist. Turtonator nodded, standing straight in front of his trainer, mimicking his straight positioning. Ash noticed they moved almost like Tierno and his Pokemon as they readied themselves.
At first, Kiawe thrust out his arms, Turtonator moving in perfect sync with him from in front, the Z-Ring glowing brightly almost immediately as a yellow aura seemed to connect the two. They then spread their arms out wide, before quickly bringing them back in, holding out one fist over the other. Ash got the feeling it was almost like Kiawe and Turtonator were harnessing all of their energy, and he could see smoke already pouring from the fire and dragon type Pokemon's shell. Kiawe wasn't done though, his motions even more precise as he raised his arms, thrusting each into the air as though he was raising something up above him. Then, he finished off, folding his left arm over in front of him, grasping his right arm and gesturing forward towards Turtonator, the yellow aura continuing to grow brighter.
Ash's eyes widened as Turtonator seemed to glow in a combination of the Z-Move energy and the heat of his own body. If he hadn't been worried about missing a single moment, he might've shielded his eyes. He watched in awe as Kiawe yelled, "Inferno Overdrive!" and Turtonator cried out in unison, fire engulfing his entire body. It seemed to glow brighter and brighter and exude more and more heat as it grew around him. Then, before Ash could blink, Turtonator seemed to explode forward, the blazing inferno radiating so much heat, he and the others had to step back, despite Turtonator going further away from them, out into the empty field, before finally coming to a stop, the flames dying down as he turned, panting to look at his likewise tired trainer.
"And that," Kiawe said, breathing heavily as he turned to the group, "is Inferno Overdrive."
Kukui seemed almost as impressed as Ash, eyes shining with excitement as well, despite the fact he'd probably seen the move performed plenty of times. "That was quite the blaze, cousin! You've been training really hard!"
"Perhaps our lessons are doing the trick, Professor," Hala suggested with a laugh, before looking over to Ash. "Well, Ash, did you see any ways you might've been able to avoid that Z-Move?"
Ash laughed, shaking his head as he looked up at Pikachu. "I don't think we could've avoided it like All-Out-Pummeling." He then paused, thinking a moment, before shrugging and looking over to Kiawe. "I think I'd just have to meet it power with power."
Everyone stared at him in surprise at that comment, but a moment later, Kiawe burst out laughing. "Now that would be something to see! Sophocles is right, Ash. You would be a great rival!"
"As soon as I can learn to do a Z-Move like that, we'll need to have a battle," Ash told him, raising a fist in challenge, Pikachu doing the same from his shoulder.
"In that case, I suppose you'd better do some more training," Hala said, bringing Ash's attention to him. "Crabominable has been looking forward to working with your Greninja. I think it's time we figure out more about that little mystery."
The first place Serena wanted to go to, once she'd arrived back in Lumiose City and received her second semester schedule, was the training facilities. With the knowledge that Ash would be staying in Alola a bit longer, she was hoping her other friends would be heading there as well, and they could spend some time training together before getting settled at their dorms. Dawn and Shauna had decided to go back early, but she'd been looking forward to seeing Tierno, Trevor, Clemont and Marie. Unfortunately, when she'd arrived, no familiar faces were there among the other students that had decided to do some training.
She sighed as she looked around the room, eyes settling on one of the empty battlefields towards the back. I suppose I might as well do some training while I'm here, she thought, her hand immediately pulling out Absol's pokeball. She figured some standard battle training might be a bit better to work on today, her mind going back to her battle with Astrid, as it had many times since meeting up with the talented trainer.
When she reached the battlefield, she stepped onto it, and opened the pokeball, releasing Absol in a flash of light. The Disaster Pokemon stretched as he turned to look at her, his sleek fur looking so different from when she'd first seen him after being chased down by that hunter. The difference in his health brought a proud smile to her face, and she knelt down in front of him, hugging him lightly. It surprised him a little, but he didn't back away. In fact, he nuzzled her lightly, before she stood up.
"Absol, you've come such a long way," Serena told her fierce fighter. "I'm so proud of how much you've progressed, and how well you've done even since you've gotten out of the Pokemon Centre."
"Sol," he murmured, nodding to her.
Serena smiled again, appreciating her Pokemon even more. "Do you remember what Astrid suggested we do?" she asked after a moment, looking determinedly in Absol's eyes. "About the...Mega Stone?"
Absol nodded, a smile actually coming to his face. He was equally determined it seemed. "Absol," he murmured, his deep tone encouraging Serena further.
"I want to be ready if we're going to try and do this," Serena said, looking away as she tried to think of what they might have to do. Surely if there was a Mega Stone in Kiloude City, Pokemon would be near it. At least, based on what Astrid had mentioned, some would be drawn to the energy. She even said some might attack us. That's not even including trainers that might get in the way.
The idea of other trainers looking for the stone made Serena nervous that she might never get her chance, but according to Astrid, it would be very difficult to find, and only trainers with very close bonds to their Absol would have even a chance at finding it. And even then, the Absol would need to be adept at sensing its energy. And at that point, it's fair game for trainers to battle it out for the stone.
"We haven't had much chance to battle," Serena said, finally looking back to Absol, "but we did well in Professor Sycamore's tournament, and Astrid thought we did fairly well against her." Her mind went over the battles they'd fought, and she felt something was off about each one, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
She decided that to figure out what she could work on, she should have Absol train with one of her other Pokemon a bit. So, a moment later, she was tossing out Pancham's pokeball, the Playfull Pokemon emerging in a flash of light and flipping up his sunglasses to his forehead as he turned to look at his trainer. "Cham pancham!" he called out, looking ready to help as needed.
Serena felt somewhat giddy as she began, feeling like she was running one of Ash's training sessions as she called out various attacks for the two Pokemon. She made sure to mix in a few performance moves as well, wanting to keep them sharp in that regard, but overall they seemed to be doing quite well in their battle attempts.
Pancham was definitely the quicker of the two, his more advanced performance training serving him well. He deftly avoided many of Absol's distance attacks, and controlled the fighting in close with his smaller frame and use of Arm Thrust. When Absol managed to land a hit with a combination of Detect and a quick follow up attack, however, it was clear that he had the ability to overpower his smaller opponent. Serena just wished she could find a way to make it easier for him to move freely and use his attacks faster.
Double Edge was seemed to be Absol's strongest attack, but he only seemed to be able to use it when meeting an attack head on as Pancham rushed towards him from a distance. Detect was definitely useful, saving him from many of the in close attacks Pancham attempted, but it couldn't be relied on too much before Pancham could slip through with an attack. Psycho Cut and Dark Pulse were both useful, allowing Absol to keep some distance at times, but both appeared to be a struggle once Absol needed to attack in close and Pancham was too quick for him.
"Cham!" Pancham cried out as he ducked under an attempted Dark Pulse from Absol, before raising his arms and firing out his own from in close. It exploded against the opposing dark type and sent Absol skidding backwards, gritting his teeth. That was when Serena realized what they needed to do, thinking both about Absol's battle ability, but also about the usefulness this would have in future performances.
"Absol!" Serena called out, getting both of her Pokemon to look at her as she took a few quick steps forward to get their attention. "I think I know something we should work on with you. What do you think about trying to learn a new move?"
"Sol?" Absol tilted his head, looking at Serena in confusion, before his eyes went to Pancham, as though considering where the battle had seemed to go wrong for him. When his eyes went back to Serena's, he nodded, appearing to think the idea a good one.
"A new move? Ah, zat would be an excellent idea!"
Serena blinked in surprise, turning around at the voice. "Ms. Fantina! Hi!" she greeted, a little flustered with the sudden appearance of her coach and teacher. "We're just doing a bit of training. I thought a new move might be helpful for Absol."
"It looks as if you are training for battling," Fantina noted, raising her eyebrows in curiosity, although she didn't seem to be acting as though it was wrong. Serena remembered that Fantina was a gym leader in Sinnoh after all. Battling was something she knew very well despite her other capabilities.
"I...well, there's something Absol and I are trying to work towards," Serena murmured, not sure she wanted to admit that it was largely due to her interest in finding the Mega Stone. "But during our practice battle I did notice he needed a better variety of moves. If he had something to use besides Dark Pulse, that would be better both in battle and in performances, especially when working with Pancham."
Fantina nodded, smiling in agreement as she looked at the two Pokemon, who were watching the exchange curiously. "Zer is something to be said for having a diverse set of moves for your Pokemon, zat is for certain. Impressive zat you discovered zis with battling despite your experience being elsewhere."
"I guess I've learned a lot from Ash," Serena suggested, laughing a little as she shrugged.
"Many of us seem to," Fantina agreed, chuckling. Her eyes went to Absol for a moment, and then back to Serena. "Are you planning to use Absol in ze next IPL performance?"
Serena didn't answer right away, looking at Absol uncertainly. Sure, she'd used him in an exam and battled with him a few times, but he hadn't really had a great deal of training for something as high level as the IPL performances. Considering how nervous he'd been during that Shalour performance, she was still a little hesitant. Of course...if they wanted to improve...
"I would suggest you think about it," Fantina spoke again, smiling encouragingly. "Your bond is strong. You might find zat it makes up for any weaknesses you may find yourselves facing."
With that, Fantina departed, saying a quick goodbye before she greeted a few other students at their own battlefields. As Serena noticed her teacher leaving the room, she smiled widely as someone else entered from the other side of the door. She signalled to him quickly, and he caught sight of her, heading over to her with what appeared to be an Elekid trailing after him.
"Clemont! It's so good to see you!" Serena greeted, once he'd reached her battlefield. "Did you have a good break?"
"Yeah, it was great," Clemont answered, smiling as he gestured to Elekid. "I caught Elekid while I was in Shalour City. He seemed to really want to come join our team here in Lumiose."
"That's great!" Serena exclaimed, walking forward to greet Clemont's newest Pokemon. She remembered him from their IPL matches in Shalour City, when he'd helped in finding Absol. "Welcome to the team, Elekid."
"Bee bee!" the electric type greeted, giving her a fist bump, which she returned awkwardly.
"How about you?" Clemont then asked, looking curiously to Absol and Pancham. "Already training, I see."
Serena laughed, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Well, Dawn, Shauna and I had a nice time in Vaniville Town. Astrid came to visit us as well briefly." She wasn't going to hide her goal to get the Mega Stone from Clemont, and excitedly told him about the rumour Astrid suggested they look into. "She says the Mega Stone could be somewhere around Kiloude City. We want Absol to be ready for whatever challenges might be around there. I'm thinking of teaching him a new move."
Clemont seemed quite excited about the idea, which Serena was glad to see. "A Mega Stone...wow, that would certainly add something to your performances. Mega Absol seems to be one of the particularly nice looking Mega Evolutions from what I've seen." He then narrowed his eyes, looking up in thought. "A new move, though...I wonder what could work both in battle and with your other Pokemon in terms of performances."
Serena nodded, unsure of how to solve that problem herself just yet. "It would be nice to use a water type move with Braixen's fire attacks, but I don't think Absol can learn any of those."
Clemont shrugged. "He could learn Water Pulse I believe, but...I'm not sure that would change much in terms of your issue with Dark Pulse." He thought for another moment, and then his eyes lit up as he looked up to Absol. "It's not a water type move, but there is a move that might be able to work with Absol's style, and complement your other Pokemon quite well."
Serena felt a rush of excitement at hearing that. "What is it?" she asked eagerly.
And when Clemont told her, she knew right away that it would be perfect.
Author's Note:
And there we have it. Clemont meets Brock, who will be a guest lecturer for the Pokemon Nutrition course, Ash is going to train a bit more, including some special lessons with Hala, and, Serena is training hard with Absol in order to enter him in the next IPL match, learn a new move and eventually acquire a Mega Stone. Lots of stuff in store for the next run in this story.
As for that, obviously LU has had its many many struggles. I'm obviously not as motivated for this story as for my Bonnie story, but I'm committed to finishing it. The updates will be fairly regular now. The goal is approximately two a week until everything is finished (just one this week). Might be three, might be one some weeks. Hell, it might be four or none on the odd week. I can't say for sure with every one. But, assume I'm dead if two weeks go by without an update unless otherwise told. Chapters in Part 2 will generally be shorter than they were in Part 1, but there's still plenty of content to come. It's time to do this.
"Gotta Write 'em All"