this is the chapter of my Dessertshipping fanfiction where Sawyer first meets Ash and his friends and gains a crush on Serena. the part about having a crush on Serena is purely fanfiction, though.
disclamation: I do not own the 'Pokémon' anime. I only own Sawyer's point of view in this fanfiction. all rights of ownership in the 'Pokémon' anime go straight to Satoshi Tajiri as well as Nintendo. I don't exactly own the plot of this storyline, either. the only thing I do own from this story is Sawyer's point of view.
Sawyer walked into the Laverre City Gym, hoping to have a gym battle with Valerie, the Gym Leader.
Sawyer: Hello, miss. Is this where I sign up for a battle with Valerie, the Laverre Gym Leader?
The woman at the front desk was more than willing to help Sawyer sign up for a battle with the gym leader. The only problem with his request was that there was supposed to be an event going on, that day.
Concierge: Yes, young man. This is where challengers sign up to have a gym battle with Valerie, our head designer. Unfortunately, Valerie isn't available as gym leader today. My name is Sarah, by the way.
Sawyer was completely shocked about this news. How could a gym leader not be available to her own challengers?
Sawyer: You're kidding. Valerie isn't available as gym leader, today? Please, I have to have a battle no matter what.
Sarah: I'm very sorry. You see the Laverre Gym is closed because we're having an event here, today. There's really nothing I can do.
Sawyer could not believe what he was hearing about having come to challenge the Laverre City Gym on the wrong day.
Sawyer: Oh, man. Oh, man.
Suddenly, someone new came up to the front desk of the Laverre Gym. He was dressed all in blue and wore a red hat. A Pikachu was perched on his left shoulder.
New challenger: Wait, are you serious? There's really no way to have a battle now?
Sawyer became curious about this boy. The boy in blue seemed very let down by the news, just as Sawyer was.
Sarah: I'm terribly sorry.
New challenger: Come on, please. I came all this way.
Sawyer: Are you here for a battle, too?
New challenger: Yeah, I guess my timing's bad.
The boy in blue's Pikachu spoke its name in agreement with its trainer's comment about timing. Suddenly, a new voice came into the background.
New voice: Hey, that girl's a keeper.
It sounded very young, and a bit overly enthusiastic. Turned out that it belonged to a little blonde girl of about six or seven years old.
Little blonde girl: Please, take care of my big brother.
She held out her hand in what seemed like wedding proposal type of gesture to an auburn-haired girl wearing a green furisode dress, designed by Valerie the way it looked. Suddenly, a robotic arm took her away from the girl and brought her to a familiar looking blonde boy's side.
Familiar looking blonde boy: Please, I told you to stop this a million times.
Sawyer's brain: He looks familiar. I know him from somewhere.
Little blonde girl: But, Clemont, she looks really, really, really nice.
Clemont: I don't need your help. I can find my own girlfriend, thank you.
Sawyer's brain: I know I've heard that name before, but I don't quite remember where.
Little blonde girl: When?
Sawyer's brain: That's right. Now, I remember where I know that name from. Clemont is the name of the Gym Leader from Lumiose City.
Sawyer: Hey, it's the Lumiose Gym Leader.
Clemont: Who me?
Sawyer: Yeah, it's you. I'd know the faces of any and every gym leader in Kalos. How have you been, Mr. Clemont? Who are your friends? Who's looking after the Lumiose Gym for you while you're out of the city?
Clemont: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. One question at a time, if you don't mind.
Sawyer became embarrassed by his own bombardment of questions to Lumiose Gym Leader, Clemont.
Clemont: I can start off by introducing you to my kid sister and my friends.
Sawyer: Alright, Mr. Clemont. It's nice to meet everybody. My name is Sawyer.
Clemont: He came to challenge me at the Lumiose Gym, not too long ago.
Sawyer raised his right hand into his hair and rubbed it, embarrassedly.
Sawyer: Yeah, and I lost. But, I really learned a whole lot.
The boy in blue with the red hat and the Pikachu on his left shoulder introduced himself in return first.
Boy in blue: My name is Ash, and this is my partner, Pikachu.
The Pikachu spoke its name. The pretty honey-blonde girl dressed all in pink and red introduced herself next.
Pretty in pink honey-blonde girl: I'm Serena.
Sawyer's brain: Whoa, she's really cute. So enchanting.
Finally, the Clemont introduced Sawyer to the little blonde girl.
Clemont: This is my sister.
Clemont's little sister: I'm Bonnie, and this is Dedenne.
Bonnie held out her bag afterwards, but Sawyer only got confused by it. He got his clarification immediately following Bonnie's introduction when a small Dedenne popped its head out of her bag. Dedenne spoke its name.
Sawyer: Glad to meet you.
He turned his attention back to Ash.
Ash: So, if you're challenging gyms, how many badges do you have?
Sawyer: So far one. I really wanna get some more battling under my belt.
Clemont: So, you've done well since then. His Treecko's quite a unique pokémon and moves really well.
Ash: Wow, Treecko's your partner, huh?
Sawyer: Treecko was my very first pokémon, but we've still got a lot of work to do. I really wanna get stronger, and then go back and challenge the Lumiose City Gym, again.
Clemont: You'd be welcome, anytime.
Sawyer: Thanks, but what are you doing here now, Clemont?
Clemont: I've left the gym in my Clem-bot's able hands. That's because I decided to continue my journey with Ash.
Sawyer became even more curious about Ash.
Clemont: That way, I can get the chance to gain valuable experience watching Ash battle.
Bonnie suddenly stepped forward to tell Sawyer about Ash's prior victories against four whole other gym leaders in addition to her older brother.
Bonnie: Uh-huh. Ash is really incredible. He beat Clemont, too.
Sawyer found this news excitingly interesting.
Sawyer: REALLY?! YOU DID?!
Bonnie bragged about Ash even further.
Bonnie: And, he's got five whole badges.
Ash, Clemont, and Serena were not sure about Bonnie's bragging rights about Ash's achievements. But, Sawyer became more and more excited about meeting someone like Ash.
Sawyer: Five badges?! AMAZING! I'm gonna do my very best so I can catch up!
Now, it was Ash who rubbed his right hand on the back of his head embarrassedly.
Ash: I've still got a ways to go. I guess my sixth gym badge will have to wait until tomorrow.
Clemont seemed as though he was as disappointed in the lack of availability for a gym battle as Ash and Sawyer were.
Clemont: So, what do we do, now?
Ash's Pikachu spoke its name, once again. Serena, however, seemed rather excited about something or other.
Serena: We could go to Valerie's store, first.
Serena smiled beautifully when she voiced what she wanted to do. Sawyer noticed how lovely Serena looked when she smiled.
Sawyer's brain: Holy Arceus, Serena's so cute.
Ash, however, seemed to no problem talking to Serena about her own desires. He seemed to agree with her enough, though.
Ash: Good idea. Let's go.
Serena smiled her gorgeous smile at Ash upon hearing this.
Serena: Alright.
Then, Serena giggled the most intoxicating little giggle Sawyer had ever heard in his life.
Sawyer's brain: Oh my Mew, even her giggle is just like the chorus of a billion angels. And Serena's smile is so gorgeous, I could die.
The trip to the Laverre Gym's fashion store was easy on everyone, except for Clemont, of course, and Sawyer. It was hard on Clemont because the way to the store led straight up the stairs. Although it was slightly easier on Sawyer than it was on Clemont, Sawyer kept tripping over the stairs and running into poles and posts on the way up, because he was paying very little attention to where he was going. The cause of Sawyer's problem was him constantly looking in Serena's direction. Sawyer just did not seem to have it in him to pay attention to his own walking. Ash decided to go to see if Sawyer and Clemont were going to be alright with this climb.
Ash: Sawyer and Clemont seem to have a lot of trouble coming up the stairs. I think Pikachu and I will try to see if we can be of any help to them. Go on to the store, I'll catch up with you as soon as I've helped them.
Serena knew that Ash's intentions were good, they were always good. But, she did not appreciate Sawyer's clumsiness taking Ash away from her. Serena did not know it at all, but she ironically was the one who was actually making Sawyer trip all over the stairs, run into all those poles and signposts along the way up the stairs and make a total fool of himself. But in the end, Serena decided to just let them catch up with her and the other girls. Bonnie and Dedenne helped Serena make it all the way up to the fashion store.
Serena: We finally made it up the stairs, but maybe, just maybe we can wait for the guys to head into the store.
Of course, Serena only wanted to wait for Ash, but she realized it would not have been fair to Clemont and Sawyer if she said that out loud. Bonnie sulked a little bit at this.
Bonnie: Alright, we'll wait for Ash, Sawyer, and even Clemont to make it up the stairs.
Fortunately, they did not have long to wait for the guys because Ash was able to help Clemont up the stairs with Sawyer's help when the green-haired boy in the orange tie suddenly found the strength and agility to lead them all up the stairs within two seconds after the girls reached the top. It seemed to the rest of them like a bolt from out of nowhere that Sawyer could even perform such an upstairs climb so well and so fast. To Sawyer, himself, however, it was because of Serena being at the top of the stairs already, where he wanted to join her. Sawyer even went as far as to open the door for the beautiful Serena. He was very nervous and a bit shaky as he held the door open for Serena, though.
Sawyer: After you, ladies.
Sawyer's brain: Arceus, Serena's so alluring.
Serena had hoped Ash would be the one to open the door for her, but she chose not to look a gift Rapidash in the mouth.
Serena: Thank-you, Sawyer. That's very_ nice_ of you.
Serena just kept on smiling at Sawyer. He failed to see the awkwardness behind her smile when it was him who held the door open for her. He was too enchanted by her beauty to notice that she actually hoped that Ash would be the one to hold the door open for her and Bonnie. Sawyer smiled very goofily at Serena as she walked by him, entering the store.
Later on, Serena took out her partner pokémon, which turned out to be a Braixen which was as beautiful as she was. Sawyer became curious to his newfound crush's partner pokémon, so he took out his pokédex and looked up the beautiful girl's partner.
Sawyer: Who's that pokémon?
Sawyer's pokédex: Braixen, the fox pokémon and the evolved form of Fennekin. Braixen is well known for its beauty which can rival a Beautifly and can produce fire attacks when holding in hand the branch from its tail.
Sawyer: So, Braixen evolves from Fennekin, the fire-type starter here in Kalos. I can see why it's described as being beautiful enough to rival even a Beautifly's beauty. I bet when its fully evolved, its beauty can rival that of even a Milotic.
Serena saw that Sawyer had taken out his pokédex to do a bit of research on her Braixen. Braixen was rather offended by his previous lack of knowledge on it. Serena was a bit nervous about Sawyer's methods of getting to know her.
Sawyer's brain: Braixen's as beautiful as Serena. Leave it to a pretty girl like Serena to have a gorgeous starter partner pokémon like a Braixen.
Sawyer almost walked over to the beautiful duo of pokémon and master but was stopped when Ash held onto his shoulder.
Ash: Let's let them shop a bit. I'd like to sit down after that walk up the stairs.
As much as Sawyer wanted to go and talk to Serena, he decided he would settle for sitting with the guys and watching the pretty girl shop till she dropped. Serena seemed to feel a lot more comfortable shopping on the furisode stands with Bonnie, while the guys were openly comfortable with sitting down and watching the girls enjoy themselves in Valerie's fashion store. The girls were currently looking at an Umbreon-patterned furisode kimono.
Serena: Wow, doesn't that outfit look great?
Her Braixen agreed with her.
Sawyer's brain: Arceus, Serena and her Braixen are so beautiful.
Bonnie: It sure does. You'd look great in it, too.
Serena blushed slightly at Bonnie's compliment.
Serena: You think?
Sawyer's brain: You'd look better than great in something like that, Serena. You'd look completely, intoxicatingly gorgeous.
Serena: Thanks so much, but…
Serena suddenly gasped as she took notice of another one of the furisodes on display in the store. It was breathtaking, and it had a pattern like a Lumineon.
Serena: That one looks beautiful, too.
Serena, Bonnie and Braixen rushed over to the Lumineon-patterned furisode.
Back with the guys, Sawyer was talking about the girls' excitement with Ash and Clemont.
Clemont: Those two certainly have a lot of energy, don't you think?
Ash: They sure do.
Ash turned to face Sawyer, smiling and closing his eyes.
Ash: You know, I'm really glad they're having such a good time.
Sawyer returned the look to Ash and chuckled a bit.
Sawyer: Yeah, me, too.
Pikachu spoke a piece of its name. Ash suddenly noticed a battlefield outside of the store. He came up with an idea.
Ash: Sawyer, since we can't have our gym battles, why don't we practice some?
Sawyer was a bit worried about the idea of leaving the girls on their own in the store, but knowing they were safe made Sawyer cave in easily to Ash's request. Sawyer even had his own request in mind.
Sawyer: Hey, that would be great. If it's alright with you, could we have a double battle? I've never had one before.
Ash: Sure thing.
Clemont: Let's go to the battlefield just out the door, then.
They all made their way to the battlefield outside the fashion store.
Clemont: I think I'll act as the referee.
Clemont made his way to the left side of the battlefield.
Clemont: The double battle between Ash and Sawyer will now begin.
Ash held two pokéballs in his hands and summoned the pokémon from them.
Ash: Alright, I choose you two.
He summoned a Frogadier, the evolved form of Froakie, the water-type starter of the Kalos region, along with what looked like a Hawlucha, the wrestling pokémon and a fighting/flying-type. Both of Ash's pokémon looked as though they were ready, willing, and able to battle.
Ash: Now, I'm counting on you to win this.
Frogadier and Hawlucha spoke their names.
Ash: Sawyer, what about you? You'll be using Treecko, won't you?
Sawyer: Yes, of course, and the other pokémon is my secret weapon.
Sawyer summoned his Treecko like Ash thought he would. The other pokémon, his secret weapon, turned out to be a Bagon with an extremely rocky head. Treecko and Bagon spoke their names upon release from their pokéballs.
Ash: Yep, there's Treecko.
Ash took out his pokédex and the dex reviewed Sawyer's Treecko.
Ash's pokédex: Treecko, the wood gecko pokémon. Numerous tiny spikes cover the bottoms of Treecko's feet, allowing it to walk on ceilings and walls.
Then, Ash pointed his pokédex towards Sawyer's other pokémon, Bagon.
Ash: And that other one, there, is Bagon.
Ash's pokédex: Bagon, the rock head pokémon. Because Bagon dreams of being able to fly, it regularly practices by leaping from cliffs.
Sawyer's brain: I wish Serena were able to watch this battle. I bet Treecko and Bagon could impress her and her lovely Braixen. Oh well, I'm sure Serena and Bonnie are perfectly able to see this battle from the fashion store.
Clemont took it as his cue to let the battle commence and put his arm in the air then lowered it.
Clemont: Alright, then. Battle begin.
Sawyer called for the first attack.
Sawyer: Bagon, head butt.
Sawyer's Bagon made its move towards Ash's pokémon. But Ash seemed to know how to counter the head butt.
Ash: Hawlucha, meet it head on with karate chop.
Ash's Hawlucha advanced forward towards Sawyer's Bagon. Hawlucha spoke its name as it attacked Bagon with its own hand. It cringed in pain from the attack, afterwards.
Ash: Hawlucha, you OK?
Hawlucha responded to its trainer's concern by shaking off the pain. Sawyer chuckled a bit at this.
Sawyer: You may have noticed my Bagon has a really hard head.
Ash: Then, check this out. Lots of karate chops.
Hawlucha complied to its trainer's command. All of the karate chops Hawlucha did on Bagon's head seemed able to distract it from any further pain, and it actually seemed to weaken Bagon little by little. Finally, when it unleashed a super big karate chop, Hawlucha was able to send Sawyer's Bagon flying backwards. Bagon was able to take Hawlucha's attack, though.
Sawyer: Whoa, Ash. That was pretty impressive.
Ash: We keep on trying and we never give up. That's our battling style.
Hawlucha held out its wings in affirmation of its trainer's words. Sawyer was very impressed by this, but he was not willing to make this double battle easy for Ash.
Sawyer: I see, but we don't give up, either. Treecko, use Leach Seed. Let's go!
Treecko complied to Sawyer's command and spat attacking seeds towards the ground. When the seeds reached full effect, they sprouted up from the ground into vines. Hawlucha dodged them though.
Sawyer: Use Fire Fang.
Bagon complied to Sawyer's command and headed upwards toward Hawlucha. Ash noticed this and used Frogadier to help Hawlucha out.
Ash: Frogadier, use Water Pulse.
Frogadier complied to the command and sent it towards Bagon's Fire Fang. An explosion of smoke was the result. Ash and Pikachu praised Frogadier and Hawlucha.
Ash: That was great, Frogadier.
Frogadier took the praise in all modesty. Hawlucha thanked it for the help. Bagon was a bit peeved by how its Fire Fang came so close, but it took the outcome in stride. Sawyer took out his prized notebook to take notes on the battle at hand.
Sawyer: You work perfectly together. That's what I call teamwork.
Sawyer wrote down their strategy in his notebook.
Sawyer: You've taught me a lot. Thanks, Ash. I'll be sure to make a note of this experience.
Sawyer turned his attention back to the battle just in time to call for another attack.
Sawyer: Treecko, Bullet Seed.
Treecko complied to his trainer's order and spat out hundreds more attacking seeds at Ash's Frogadier.
Ash: DODGE IT!
Frogadier used its ninja-like agility to cartwheel out of the way of Treecko's Bullet Seed.
Sawyer's brain: This isn't good. Ash is making better use of the battlefield than I am. A strategy like this would never impress a girl like Serena. It's time to kick it up a notch.
Sawyer: Now, use Bullet Seed, one more time.
Treecko complied to Sawyer's command and fired off more attacking seeds from its own mouth.
Ash: Get in there, Frogadier.
Frogadier jumped into the firing of Bullet Seed for some reason. Then, it seemed to disappear into thin air, proving its ninja-like capabilities a second time in a row. Sawyer and his pokémon were shocked at this.
Sawyer: It's gone.
Sawyer suddenly saw Frogadier reappear in the air above them all.
Sawyer: Up there.
Then, Frogadier dove towards Treecko. Sawyer panicked a bit, fearful of the inevitable loss coming his way.
Sawyer: Treecko, Bullet Seed.
Treecko fired off a third Bullet Seed attack, but it was foolish hope.
Ash: Alright, use Cut!
Frogadier complied to Ash's command, splitting every last seed from the Bullet Seed in half. Then, the Bullet Seed halves were right above Treecko, and Frogadier made its way past Treecko on the battlefield. Frogadier withdrew its Cut attack and let Treecko be taken down by its own Bullet Seed attack. Treecko screamed in pain as the attack made contact.
Sawyer: Treecko, NO!
Treecko fainted from being hit by an attack which was originally its own.
Clemont: Treecko is unable to battle.
Sawyer recalled his poor Treecko back to the safety of its pokéball.
Sawyer: Thanks, Treecko. Now, take a nice rest.
Clemont: That's how Ash battles.
Sawyer looked at Clemont, suddenly a bit confused by this statement.
Clemont (continued): Matchups don't matter because he always comes up with something surprising.
Ash: We do lots of special training and thinking on our feet so then we can win, no matter what comes up.
Pikachu jumped back onto Ash's shoulder and spoke its name, once again. Sawyer took out his notebook for some more notetaking.
Sawyer: I see. So, I guess that's how you're able to battle the way you do. I'll make a note of this experience. There must be an endless number of ways to battle.
Ash: Yep! So, Sawyer, what do you wanna do, now?
Sawyer: I wanna keep on battling. Bagon, let's go.
Bagon complied to Sawyer's command, even knowing it had to continue without a tag team partner.
Ash: That's the spirit.
Suddenly, they all heard a sound of some sort in the distance.
Ash: Hey, what's that?
Pikachu spoke part of its name from Ash's shoulder where it was. When they all went to see what the commotion was all about, they found that Sarah, the girl from the front desk, was telling the truth about there being an event today.
Clemont: What's going on?
They all look downward towards the lower level of the gym. It looked like a runway for a fashion show of some kind. It was probably meant to showcase Gym Leader, Valerie's, furisode kimono dress creations.
Sawyer: Hey, I remember hearing around Laverre City that Valerie is a fashion designer in addition to being the gym leader. But I didn't really know how great her designs actually were.
Ash: Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember Serena telling us about Valerie's designs on the way to the gym.
Clemont: Well, why don't we go and find out just how popular her designs are with the girls?
Ash: Yeah, I guess this would explain why the Laverre Gym had to closed, today. Valerie and her helpers were probably getting ready for this event.
Sawyer grew concerned about forgetting the girls.
Sawyer: What about Serena?
Sawyer shook Ash's shoulders upon asking such a question and blushed when asking the question only about Serena. Then, he realized Clemont's younger sister, Bonnie, was also back in the store.
Sawyer: And your kid sister, Mr. Clemont. What about her and her Dedenne?
Ash: Don't worry, they could always meet us at the fashion show.
Ash seemed a bit too carefree to want to tell Serena about heading to the fashion show, even knowing she would definitely want to attend such an event.
Clemont: In fact, I'm sure they're both on their own way to the fashion showcase, right now.
Sawyer did not know how to feel about attending such an event without the person who seemed the most into it, but he caved.
Sawyer: I just hope the girls can make it to the show, in time.
All three of the guys climbed down the stairs to the fashion show's runway. The entire area was crowded with women looking forward to the show. But Serena and Bonnie were nowhere to be seen or heard of.
Ash: I don't get it. I thought Serena and Bonnie would've arrived long before we did. What's going on?
Clemont: I have no idea.
Pikachu spoke its own name again. Sawyer began to get panicky over Serena most of all. Images of what could have kept her and Clemont's younger sister from meeting up with them at the show ran wildly throughout Sawyer's mind.
Sawyer's brain: Oh my Mew, what if Serena doesn't know about the fashion show, and she and Clemont's sister are still inside the fashion store? What if Serena and Clemont's younger sister were abducted by a kidnapper of some kind and are being held for ransom? What if Serena and Clemont's kid sister are locked in the bathroom somewhere in the gym and can't contact Ash and Clemont? Where are you, Serena and Clemont's sister, Bonnie?!
While Sawyer was stuck wondering about Serena and Bonnie, the fashion show started and one of Valerie's staff members from earlier in the day presented herself as the fashion show's master of ceremonies. It was the girl with black hair who wore Valerie's design to match her hair color. She was with Sarah from the gym's front desk.
Girl in black: Ladies and gentlemen, the time has finally come.
Sarah: We'll be presenting Designer Extraordinaire, Valerie's, newest collection.
Ash, Sawyer and Clemont became confused with this. Well, Ash was confused, anyway. He seemed to think a girl might better understand this event. So, he asked a fuchsia-haired girl in the audience.
Ash: Uh, what did she just say they're presenting?
Fuchsia-haired girl: It's a fashion show, displaying Miss Valerie's greatest design collection.
Ash: Fashion show, huh?
Like trainer like pokémon, Pikachu started to understand a little better, but not enough to totally get what was going on.
Fuchsia-haired girl: And it's just about to begin.
Then, the first model emerged from beyond the runway with her partner, an Azumarril, wearing a furisode kimono dress that matched her partner pokémon very much. The girl in black hosted the event.
Girl in black: First, an elegant creation with an Azumarril pattern.
Ash, Sawyer, and Clemont were suddenly in very much awe while the crowd behind them cheered as the model and her partner showed off their style.
Ash: This stuff sure is popular.
Ash and his Pikachu were equally uneasy about being at the fashion show without Serena and Bonnie. Sawyer felt as though Serena could do much better in such a dress.
Sawyer's brain: I know I said it before, but I'll say it again, anyway. Serena would look absolutely stunning in any one of these outfits.
Next, came another model and her female Meowstic partner with a pattern that matched the Meowstic. Third, enter another model with a Gothorita partner whose dress also matched that girl's partner. Then, came another model sporting a Chimecho partner also with a dress pattern to match. It was an epic fashion show for the rest of the audience, but without Serena and Bonnie there with them, the show was not as pleasant for Sawyer, Clemont, or Ash.
Clemont: Maybe, we should tell Serena and Bonnie about this.
Sawyer: They're not here?
Sawyer actually did know they were not there the whole time, but he was trying to mask his crush on Serena with falsified ignorance. Suddenly, the girl in black spoke again.
Girl in black: And next up, designs featuring the beautiful patterns of Florges and Chingling.
Much to Ash's and Clemont's surprise, the models for the Florges and Chingling pattern furisode dresses turned out to be none other than Bonnie and Serena, themselves. Bonnie seemed to be having the time of her life in her Chingling-patterned furisode dress, but Serena looked a bit on the nervous side in her Florges-patterned furisode kimono. Dedenne and Braixen looked like they felt right at home on the runway with their partners. Dedenne stood perched atop Bonnie's head. Ash and Clemont were exceedingly surprised to say the least when the two of them finally noticed what their traveling companions were doing and wearing.
Ash: Serena?!
Clemont: B-Bonnie?!
Serena became even more nervous than before upon Ash's acknowledgement of her outfit. But, Bonnie, being the obviously fearless trendsetter type of girl she was, felt as though she was right in her element on the runway. Braixen and Dedenne also noticed their partners' friends in the audience and were both proud to show off for them.
Serena: It's Ash!
Bonnie: See? Aren't I cute?!
Clemont: B-Bonnie, what in the world are you doing?
Bonnie: I'm modeling, of course.
Clemont: Yes, I know that, but why are you modeling?
Sawyer's brain: I can't believe it. I had no idea Serena was model for Valerie's fashion show. This would definitely explain why she's so pretty. I was right about Valerie's outfits. Serena looks breathtaking in that beautiful Florges-patterned dress.
Sawyer: I had no idea Serena and Bonnie were models. You're traveling with a gym leader and models. I'm completely jealous.
Sawyer became more blown away than ever by Serena's beauty. But Ash seemed to have a contradiction to Sawyer's assumption about Serena being a model.
Ash: No, not exactly. Hey, Serena, what's this all about?
Serena blushed as she explained what she, Bonnie and their partner pokémon were modeling in the fashion show for.
Serena: The actual models weren't able to make it, today. And then, they saw us. So, Valerie asked if we wouldn't mind taking their places.
Suddenly, as someone new came out, the crowd began to cheer like crazy. The someone new turned out to be none other than the Laverre Gym Leader and Fashion Designer Extraordinaire, Valerie. She was wearing a furisode kimono dress just like the clothes she designed for a living outside of being a gym leader. Serena squealed in awe of Valerie's appearance.
Serena: Valerie looks incredible.
Sawyer agreed with Serena from the audience.
Sawyer: She DOES look incredible.
Sawyer's brain: I can really appreciate a girl with an exotic sense of fashion, Serena and Valerie both.
Ash, however, was only interested in seeing how Valerie would battle as the Laverre City Gym Leader more than anything else.
Ash: That's Valerie, the gym leader.
Ash's Pikachu agreed with its trainer from his shoulder where it was. Valerie finally finished walking to where she intended to be on the runway.
Valerie: Hi there, thank you all so very much for coming to my fashion show, today. Every one of my latest designs incorporates pokémon motifs. That's because my philosophy has always been that true beauty can only be found in nature. Also, all of my creations are designed to look their absolute best when worn during battle.
Ash: What did she just say?
A girl in the audience: It's finally starting.
Sarah, the light auburn-haired girl from the front desk of the gym just a little earlier, looked out into the audience as though she were looking for someone in particular. Sawyer then saw that Sarah was looking for him. Then, Sarah went over to Valerie and whispered something into her ear. Valerie pointed to Sawyer as she acknowledged him.
Valerie: You with the orange tie?
Sawyer became slightly confused at Valerie's sudden acknowledgement of him.
Sawyer: Orange tie? You want me?
Valerie: Yes, will you please come this way?
Ash and his Pikachu were a little bit jealous that Valerie requested for Sawyer.
Ash: Sawyer?!
But then, the two of them remembered that Sawyer did technically get to the gym before they did. So, they just decided to take it in stride and see what they could learn about Valerie's battling style as well as her pokémon.
Valerie: Serena, would you mind helping him up to the runway, since he seems to know you?
Sawyer's brain: What? Serena's gonna help me get onto the runway? Is this some kind of dream?
Serena: Uh, I actually just met Sawyer today. Maybe, somebody else could help him up.
Serena could not see it, but Sawyer started to feel a little bit hurt that Serena suddenly would not give him the time of day. Luckily, for Sawyer, Valerie came to his rescue by turning her request into a command.
Valerie: No, none of my other models seem to know the challenger the way that he seems to know you. So, I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid that the task of helping the challenger onto the runway falls to you and you, alone.
Sawyer's brain: I can't believe a gym leader would help someone like me with pursuits of the heart.
Serena: Alright, Sawyer. Could you take my hand so I can help you up onto the runway?
Sawyer blushed heavily at the very thought of physical contact with the beautiful Serena. He blushed so hard; Sawyer almost failed to accept Serena's request through all of his stammering.
Sawyer: Uh, Y-Y-Yes, of course, I-I-I can take y-your hand, Serenity. I-I-I mean, Serena.
Sawyer's brain: Idiot. It's Serena, not Serenity. What is wrong with my head? Whatever it could be, I've gotta let it go. I need to focus on the fact that I've been called up by the Laverre gym leader, Valerie, herself. What could she want me for, anyway? I'll ask her.
As soon as Serena helped Sawyer up to the runway and towards Valerie, he got his chance to ask.
Sawyer: Uh, so, what's this about?
Valerie: I would like to have a battle with you right here.
Sawyer was suddenly confused by the very concept of a battle with the gym leader on a runway, of all locations.
Sawyer: Here?!
Valerie then decided to raise the stakes for their battle in the oddest battlefield Sawyer had ever battled on. She raised the stakes for the battle by promising Sawyer a prize for if he won.
Valerie: Now, of course, if it turns out that you defeat me, I'll gladly reward you with a gym badge.
Sawyer: Really?!
Sawyer was surprised by the concept of a battle on a fashion show's runway, once again. Only this time, there also seemed to be a small hint of excitement in his voice after hearing he would receive a gym badge as a prize if he were to win. Judging from Ash's reaction in the audience, he was also a bit confused by the concept, but the fuchsia-haired girl in the audience from before explained it to Ash. Sawyer could hear her explanation, too.
Fuchsia-haired girl: It's her custom. Valerie does this to demonstrate how her creations always look their best when worn in battle.
Sawyer's brain: This is my chance. I'll take everything I've learned and win that badge for sure. Not to mention that Serena is sure to acknowledge me if I manage to beat Valerie.
The girl with black hair who wore the black furisode kimono dress acted as the referee.
Girl in black: And now, the battle between Laverre Gym Leader, Valerie, and Sawyer, the challenger, will now get underway.
Sawyer was ready, willing, and able. He was also quite confident in his pokémon.
Sawyer: I'm ready to go.
Girl in black: This is a one-on-one battle. It will be over when either side's pokémon is unable to continue.
Sawyer: Now, Bagon, let's go.
Bagon came out of its pokéball, ready, willing and able to battle. Of course, the fact that Sawyer did not know anything about Valerie's fairy-type pokémon, like the fact that dragon-type moves are to fairy-types as electric-type moves are to ground-types, was destined to create trouble for his poor Bagon.
Sawyer then looked into the audience and saw that Serena and Bonnie had rejoined Ash and Clemont after changing out of their furisode dresses which they wore for the fashion show. At the sight of Serena in the audience, Sawyer gained some unrealistically optimistic confidence in his Bagon.
Sawyer's brain: It's Serena. OK. I can do this if I just focus. Focus, Sawyer, focus. Whatever you do, don't let yourself get distracted by a girl, not even a very pretty girl. NO! Stop thinking like that. Keep your focus on the battle. If you prove that you can keep your focus, you might just win Serena's heart in addition to the badge. If I do win that badge, I'll have to remember to also thank Valerie for helping me in gaining confidence with Serena. Serena would be so impressed if I win. I could use Serena as a drive instead of letting her turn into a distraction. Hey, I wonder what pokémon Valerie's gonna use.
Valerie: Spritzee, come out.
Valerie's Spritzee made its appearance into the battle. It was a pink pokémon with long eyelashes and a silver mask-like substance covering its face. It had cherry red eyes, small bird-like wings, feet on the area underneath its own head, and a lock of hair atop its head resembling a fragrance mist symbol. It spoke its own name upon its release from its pokéball. Despite Serena being a motivation for Sawyer to win the badge, not knowing a single thing about fairy-type pokémon was not going to be any picnic for him.
Sawyer: Bagon, use Dragon Breath.
A/N: Bad choice of call on an attack, Sawyer.
Bagon complied to its trainer's command.
Sawyer: Yeah, I landed the first attack.
Sawyer's brain: I hope Serena was able to see that.
Then after the dust from the attack settled, Sawyer and his Bagon learned the hard way just how completely and totally ineffective dragon-type moves are when used against fairy-types. As it turned out, dragon-type moves cannot do a thing to fairy-type pokémon.
A/N: Called it!
Spritzee endured the attack so well and came out of it completely unscathed. Sawyer was at first confused by this, as was his Bagon.
Sawyer: How can it be? I'm sure it made contact.
Valerie and her Spritzee seemed as though they were celebrating Sawyer not knowing that dragon-type pokémon were such a poor match-up in a fairy-type gym. Valerie just chuckled like she had known the outcome of the battle from the start with Sawyer relying on his Bagon, a dragon-type, to battle against her own Spritzee, a fairy-type. Sawyer suddenly caught onto what Valerie was getting at when Ash's friend, Clemont, helped with Valerie's point from the audience. Sawyer brought out his notebook to take notes on fairy-types which were totally new to him.
Sawyer: Let's see. Dragon-type moves don't work on a fairy-type. I'll be sure to make a note of this experience.
Then, he started to hear fangirls taking and gossiping from within the audience.
First fangirl: Look at Miss Valerie.
Second fangirl: So beautiful.
Valerie decided to see what else Sawyer could do against her, not that it could help the way it was guaranteed to go with her for the win.
Valerie: It's not enough. Not enough, yet. Not enough for my beautiful battle.
Sawyer was not willing to give up without a fight, despite being at an obvious type-disadvantage. Bagon had plenty of non-dragon-type moves in its arsenal of attacks.
Sawyer: Then, try this. Head Butt.
A/N: Don't know what that'll accomplish in the battle going on at the moment, but OK! It's your call to make.
Bagon complied to its trainer's command like a boss pokémon. But it wound up missing Spritzee all together since Spritzee could fly. They still refused to give the fight.
Sawyer: And, this. Continuous Head Butt.
Bagon complied to its trainer's command and bombarded Spritzee with one Head Butt after another, even when Spritzee just kept on dodging Bagon's Head Butts. Spritzee missed no movements, while Bagon just grew tired.
Sawyer: But, how?! It dodged every single one of them.
Valerie: Now, I think that it's our turn to make this battle beautiful. Spritzee, let's go.
Spritzee complied to Valerie's command and flew up high in the air. Sawyer grew concerned about the inevitable loss.
Sawyer: Don't let it get away. Head Butt.
Bagon complied to its trainer's command, but it was too late to even try to catch up to its opponent. Valerie was all ready to make her first call for attack the whole battle over.
Valerie: Alright, Dazzling Gleam.
Spritzee lit up the whole battlefield as a result of its Dazzling Gleam. It was gorgeous yet deadly, just like anybody would expect from a fairy-type move. The Dazzling Gleam was strong enough to take out Bagon without the need for a follow up move, and it proved that fairy-type moves were as effective on dragon-types as ice-type moves were, maybe even more effective. Bagon fainted from the Dazzling Gleam at that very moment.
Sawyer: Bagon, NO!
Girl in black: Bagon is unable to battle. The match goes to Gym Leader, Valerie.
Everyone in the audience cheered for Valerie, while they all criticized Sawyer's battling strategy. Sawyer chose to just ignore them and tend to his fallen pokémon.
Sawyer: Bagon, you battled really hard.
Sawyer recalled his Bagon to its pokéball. He was too depressed about his loss to even talk to anybody. Valerie soon came up to him.
Valerie: Thank you.
No doubt Valerie was thanking Sawyer for the battle and attempting to assure him that there was no reason he should be ashamed of his defeat. Sawyer stayed sad for a little bit, but then he found the emotional strength to lighten up a bit.
Sawyer: Thank YOU very much!
Then, Valerie walked off to exit the runway. Before she exited the runway, however, she smiled out at the audience.
Later that night at dinner, Sawyer was getting some food in his stomach along with Ash and his friends.
Sawyer: I learned so much, today. I would challenge her again, for sure.
Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena seemed very glad to see Sawyer in such high spirits, once again.
Clemont: That's the spirit.
Bonnie: Good luck, Sawyer.
Ash, however, was more focused on the food than anything else. The boy in blue practically shoved the food down his throat, he ate it so fast.
Ash: Man, that was good.
Ash put his hat back onto his head and readied himself to go outside.
Ash: Alright. Time for some special training.
Serena turned her concerns back to Ash.
Serena: Ash?
Ash: I wanna be ready for my gym battle with Valerie, and that's gonna be really soon. Let's go.
Ash's pokémon seemed to follow his energy, since they all ate their pokémon food lightning fast just as he had eaten his dinner. They all caught up with their trainer, but gained puffy cheeks in the process. Sawyer wanted to catch up with Ash.
Sawyer: Hey, Ash, may I join in, too?
Ash: Yeah, that'd be great. You could really help us out a lot.
Sawyer was excited and more than willing to help with Ash's battle strategy.
Sawyer: Thanks.
Serena seemed concerned about the two of them having rushed through their dinner.
Serena: Hey, what's the rush? It wouldn't hurt to take the time for a proper meal.
Clemont was able to reason with Serena. She followed Ash and Sawyer outside as soon as she was finished with her own food. Serena was followed by Bonnie, who, in turn, was followed by Clemont.