Who I Am - Lightning99
Chapter 30:
Lana's Trial
The next morning, Ash awoke to a relentlessly meowing Litten softly pawing at his face, a honed eagerness shining in his eyes. Despite his grogginess, Ash sat right up, admiring Litten rather pridefully. Knowing that his reckless plan had saved Litten from drowning in his thoughts and witnessing the resulting reignition of his burning resolve gave Ash a blissful feeling of relief and, oddly, triumph. He had saved him.
Spurred by Litten, Ash leapt out of bed and hurriedly prepared for the day and, hopefully, their re-match.
They probably annoyed Lana to the last thread of her patience that morning – they had banged on her and Mallow's door until she opened it with a bedhead and a scowl that could kill, Mallow behind her, flustered – but Ash desired to request a rematch as soon as possible. For real this time, with no background predicaments holding them back, no ulterior motives. Just a true, good challenge of skill and tactics.
"Ash," Kiawe announced from beside the stairs when Ash descended to the foyer.
"Waiting to ambush me?" Ash amiably joked.
"Hah!" Kiawe chuckled deeply. "No, no, just waiting. I heard you mention your trial rematch earlier."
"Really?"
"Yes, you made quite a racket. You probably roused the whole floor."
"Oops…" Ash muttered, glancing upwards awkwardly, guiltily.
"If you don't mind, I would like to watch your trial," Kiawe said, folding his arms stiffly.
"Sure, I don't mind; you'll have to ask Lana. But don't you have to work at your own trial?"
"Not today. I'm currently waiting for that unique request I posed to Kahuna Olivia to be completed. I am to wait a day or so," Kiawe explained. "In that case, I'll come with you. Are you heading to the trial site now?"
"Oh, you're heading to your rematch?" Clemont's voice asked from the stairs. Looking dishevelled with his bedhead, he stumbled down the steps beside the conversing pair carrying in his arms his backpack stuffed with tinkering tools and metal contraptions Ash couldn't name. "Good luck, Ash. I know you'll win."
"Do you want to join me in watching?" Kiawe asked.
"It's alright, thanks though. I'm almost done with my invention. I want to complete it as soon as I can," Clemont answered.
"Thanks, Clemont," Ash said, nodding appreciatively.
Nodding back, Clemont headed for the door just as Lillie, mid-yawn, tenderly rubbing the underneath of her eyes, joined them.
"Morning, Lillie!" Ash cheerfully greeted. Lillie flinched; she quickly covered her mouth with her hand and smoothed her hair, her cheeks flushing pink.
"G-Good morning, Ash. Y-You startled me," Lillie said. She turned to Kiawe. "Good morning, Kiawe."
"Good morning, Lillie," Kiawe greeted. "Now, Ash, are we heading to the trial site?"
"You're having your rematch today?" Lillie asked.
"Yep! Kiawe's coming to watch. You wanna join?"
"Oh… Y-yes, I don't mind. I have to visit somebody at the lab again today, but I'll come over afterwards," Lillie said.
"You've been going there a lot, huh? You must be meeting someone close to you," Ash said absently.
"O-Oh… Yes…" Lillie said, looking to her feet. "I-I'm waiting for some news…" Realising he shouldn't push the subject due to her hesitance to explain – which seemed to be an oddly recurring theme with Lillie – Ash turned to Kiawe.
"We've gotta have breakfast first, but we'll head over later!" Ash said, dashing for the dining area. That morning, Ash devoured half a tray of croissants as his share, and Clemont's abandoned share, too. He needed all the fuel he could get to tame his excitement.
At mid-day, after waiting outside of the lab Lillie had entered for about fifteen minutes, who explained that she had to return the next day for some set of results, Ash returned to the pillars of Brooklet Hill. This time, a little audience consisting of Brock, Dawn, and Kiawe – and now Lillie – was gathered on the heated sand.
Spotting Ash's approach, Lana shooed the group through the pillars – they all shouted encouragement his way during their hasty departure – and then gestured him over.
"Ok," Lana said, placing her hands on her waist, "as we talked about, I changed my challenge a little bit yesterday. This time you have to herd both sets of Pokémon, one set in the top lake, the other in the bottom. Hopefully, that'll make it a bit more challenging. You may now use three Pokémon. Other than that, everything's the same."
"I'm good," Ash said, flourishing Rockruff and Litten's Pokéballs. They jumped out eagerly, of their own accord, every aspect of their stances and countenances depicting steadfast preparation.
"Really?"
"You originally decided a challenger should be able to complete it with two Pokémon, right? So that's what I'm gonna do."
"That's so like you, Ash," Lana said fondly. "You ready?"
Litten answered for Ash in a series of yells made cacophonous when Rockruff joined in. Since Lana could only interpret the meaning of their noises, Ash nodded to Lana for confirmation.
"Once again, wait for my signal," Lana said. She strode off through the pillars, and Ash readied himself. He could feel the others stood beside him exuding the same eager aura. They were ready.
The stream of lapis water shot straight up, forming a fleeting rainbow in the cloudless sky. Neither Ash nor his Pokémon waited until it began to descend as faux rain; they sprinted down the gulley at thrice the speed they had previously. This time, Litten wasn't lagging.
Ash found Lapras in the same place as before. He leapt easily onto the seat, brushing his hand smoothly over Lapras' head. Litten and Rockruff jumped on his back, poised on the knobs of its shell, and they were off.
Ash found the first ripple with equal ease to his first attempt. This time, both a Wishiwashi and a Dewpider sprung out of the water, one on either side. They both fired a Water Gun at one another, towards Ash and Lapras situated in the crossfire.
"Rockruff, block one with Rock Throw! Litten jump up and use Ember on Dewpider while it's above the surface!"
They were a perfect double-battle duo, concurrently enacting their orders with flawless timing. Rockruff jumped and spawned the rocks on his tail whilst Litten, fleet-footed this time around, hopped across Lapras' shell to the side of a Water Gun. When Rockruff's spinning tail launched the rocks, which collided with one Water Gun, Litten spat a perfectly placed Ember onto Dewpider's head, popping its bubble and striking it in the face. Seeing as it was a Water-Bug Type, the move seemed to inflict decent damage. But the most important factor was that Litten's reaction time was impeccable. He was back.
The opening battle was a quick one. Both Wishiwashi and Dewpider ducked under the water after their first attacks. They hid for a few seconds then reappeared in a simultaneous pincer attack. Ash countered it with Thunder Fang – Rockruff knocked out Wishiwashi – and had Litten use Scratch on Dewpider. Following up with a rapid eruption of Embers, Dewpider was rendered immobile in the water.
Because he knew both Litten and Rockruff desired a re-match, Ash let Wishiwashi loose downstream and left Dewpider in the upper lake. He headed to the next ripple and found a similar conflict already in motion: three of a Dewpider's long, pin-like legs had a Wishiwashi trapped like a prize in a claw machine as it spat a stream of bubbles into its body.
The scene was similar at the rest of the rippling patches too. It was as if the Dewpider and Wishiwashi were at war and he was an interloper tasked with pacifying them. As Lana had supposed, it was a lot more action-packed this time. He was forced to instruct a constant flow of commands to his Pokémon to tranquilise and herd the Water Types; he had to avoid being hit by the herded, revived Dewpider taking pot-shots at him from behind; and he had to swish Lapras around to avoid any aimless moves. The multitasking kept him working and a grin etched on his face.
It took a few minutes to clear the first lake and head for the rapids. This time, neither Litten nor Rockruff had taken any serious damage, only little splashes of water or scrapes after landing awkwardly on Lapras' shell.
Entering the rapids was even more thrilling than before. Not only did Ash have the onerous task of evading the rocks through the spray obstructing his vision, but he had to remain wary of the Water Guns and Bubble Beams pursuing him. Thankfully, Rockruff and Litten lessened the load using their initiative. Rockruff blocked all of the Water Guns with a constant barrage of Rock Throws, and Litten popped the Bubble Beams as best he could with Ember. Adding Ash's navigational abilities, they weaved through the hindrances safely, skipping out the bottom like a rubber dinghy at the end of a waterslide.
This time, Ash didn't feel underwhelmed in the second lake. Rather, his concentration and stamina were immediately tested by the Wishiwashi and Dewpider barraging him. They didn't bother to wait for him to search the ripples. Groups of either species were clamped together, tussling with their moves above and below the water, splashing consequently like kids playing in a pool.
They dived right in, blocking moves and countering, breaking up the conflict as best they could. At times, Ash barely evaded a number of the wild attacks on Lapras, and Litten and Rockruff were hit by some. But none were fatal or worrisome; given their newfound determination, it was as if they had twice their usual health.
They were able to clear the second lake easily. Another war with the rapids later – this time, the attacks came from the Wishiwashi in the lake in front of him – and Ash settled in the final lake, panting, feeling inexorable exhaustion in his arms from vigorously tugging Lapras left and right so repeatedly.
However, his desired respite was ruthlessly denied by the whooshing sound of the congregating Wishiwashi darting beneath him. They already started pooling before Ash even fronted the waterfall – the shadow was about half-sized when he saw it. But Ash ignored the Totem, for now, deciding to ready himself.
"Litten, Rockruff, position yourselves on the rocks," Ash said, gesturing to the flat-top stones randomly interspersed in the lake. In afterthought, he added, "Be careful of the Alomomola."
Ash guided Lapras to a stop in an open section of the lake, Rockruff and Litten stood on rocks either side of him. The Totem appeared identically to the manner of his previous attempt, first its head, then its gargantuan body, slapping the water and dousing them in a tiny tidal wave. Simultaneously, Alomomola danced in and out of the water.
Finally poised in the water, the Totem Wishiwashi bellowed so loudly Ash could feel the very air vibrating. The sun almost immediately disappeared from the sky. Ash looked up as a ceiling of grey clouds speedily clustered over the battlefield. Heavy rain suddenly began pouring from them, plipping into the lake and dousing his hair.
Recognising Rain Dance and that Water-Type moves would only be more powerful in such conditions Ash enacted the first attack. He commanded both of his Pokémon forwards. They set off dashing, bounding between the rocks effortlessly, determinedly. Timing it to perfection, Ash had Rockruff roll beneath Alomomola's charge, leaping to the next rock by pushing from his hind paws in a kick-up.
"Guys, jump on top of the Totem!"
Diving in on either side, Litten and Rockruff trampolined from its fins to its body, onto its head. Ash commanded an onslaught of moves to follow; first, Rockruff trimmed some smaller Wishiwashi out of formation with Thunder Fang, then Litten scratched at more of them, carving into the Totem as if digging a hole; from what Ash could see, Litten was attacking simultaneously, meaning he had finally mastered Fury Swipes. However, that troublesome orange aura coated the Totem, clearly lessening the damage. Rockruff and Litten were tossed back to the rocks when the Totem shook its body.
In the next minute, Ash attempted to have Rockruff and Litten enclose upon the Totem again, yet was foiled numerous times by Alomomola batting his team back with Double Slap and the small, discarded Wishiwashi firing obstructive Water Guns that they had to dodge.
Wiping the rain from his eyes, Ash changed his tactic, deciding to target the Alomomola first, a much simpler endeavour given the footholds of the surrounding rocks. The rocks protected against attacks from beneath the water and provided a good vantage to counter, too. Tag-teaming, Ash had Rockruff intercept a charge from Alomomola with Rock Throw, which grounded it atop a rock, and Litten followed up with an unprompted Fury Swipes. A Thunder Fang later, and the Alomomola flopped feebly, unconscious.
Ash turned around just in time to witness the Totem charging one of its overpowered blasts of water, its eyes directed on Litten and Rockruff.
"Scatter!" Ash called. The attacked ripped the air in half once again, but this time, Litten and Rockruff had darted to the outer rocks, avoiding the move.
For about five minutes, Rockruff and Litten jumped on the Totem, attacking. Whenever they were shaken off, they ran sinuous paths over the rocks, avoiding the Water Guns, then jumped back on, delivering Thunder Fang and Fury Swipes to deal as much damage to its infinite endurance as possible. But they were slowly being worn down by the Water Guns; Rockruff and Litten's fur was each sopping and shaggy. The more Wishiwashi that were ripped from the Totem the more the lake looked like a room of watery lasers.
Thankfully, the Totem was taking equal amounts of damage. Another five minutes later, the Totem was full of holes. Still, it didn't fall, and it still had enough energy to charge water in its mouth, smaller now, however.
While Litten was parkouring through the Water Guns, the closest of which Rockruff blocked with Rock Throw from afar, the Totem unleashed another attack, finally landing a hit on the pair. However, unlike the last one that catapulted Litten into the wall, shattering the stone, they were merely knocked to the furthest reaches of the rocks, dumped into the water. Slowly, the pair climbed out, panting, even more sopping.
Ash tightened his jaw. They couldn't take another hit like that; the Totem was already desperately preparing one. But it looked as if the Totem would still be able to endure several attacks. Deciding to risk it all on one move, Ash stepped down onto Lapras' shell and jumped onto one of the rocks himself, facing the Totem Pokémon. The rain piddling against him, drenching his hair to his head, tracing and rolling over his cheeks and along the sharp edge of his jaw, Ash addressed his team.
"Rockruff, run in, keeping the Water Guns off us! Litten, you're with me!" Ash called, then turned to the Totem. Ash looked down at Litten and smirked. He reached across to his left wrist, grabbed his Z-Ring, and twisted the grey crystal. The light of the Normalium Z spread out of his ring, surrounded Litten, and the pair began enacting the actions in tandem.
"Breakneck Blitz!" Ash shouted. For the first time, Litten had success. It was a little different this time, given he had to jump between the rocks, but Litten charged, unrestrained, directly towards the Totem. As Litten neared, he jumped off a rock, the speed and power of the Z-Move carrying him the rest of the way through the air.
While mid-air, the Totem Wishiwashi unleashed another jet of water. The two moves clashed, but Litten soon overpowered it, pushing through, crashing directly through the Wishiwashi's head, scattering the school like bowling pins. Litten kept going with the Z-Move, only finishing when he crashed through the waterfall and into the cave beyond it. As the Wishiwashi rained down into the pool, finally, the Totem was defeated.
Elation spurring him on, Ash searched around for the Z-Crystal he had to retrieve. Litten's voice echoed out of the cave, telling Ash it was there, and so he guided Lapras over to the cave, hopped off, climbed the rough wall, and entered.
It was a small cave, as cobbly as the tidepools above, the sounds of pinging water dropping from the roof echoing despite the rushing waterfall. In the centre, there it stood: the pedestal with a sparkling blue Z-Crystal situated inside it. Ash stepped up to the pedestal, took a look at both Litten and Rockruff, and, with a feeling of great pride charging his exhausted body, retrieved the Z-Crystal.
Following his swift exit from the cave – which came in the form of a triumphant bellow and a reckless dive through the waterfall – Ash swam to the beach where he was received by congratulations from his soaked friends and blushing from Lillie for some reason when he discarded his buoyancy aid. Afterwards, Lana demonstrated the Z-Move with the Waterium Z. Ash spent a minute or two copying her, scribbling the moves in his head for future practice.
When all formalities were completed Lana ripped away her day-to-day outfit to reveal a one-piece swimsuit beneath. She ran to the lake and dived in. Ash soon joined her in the water, then Brock joined them – his tropical, palm tree shorts were actually swimming trunks – baring his surprisingly muscled body that Kiawe regarded oddly respectfully. Dawn was next, whose swimsuit was incorporated into her outfit too and prompted Lana to claim how unfair it was that she looked as great as Mallow in a swimsuit.
They played in the lake, and with the Wishiwashi, Dewpider, and Alomomola for a long time. After such an arduous task that the trial had been, Ash appreciated the simplicity of swimming and splashing each other with water, competing in frivolous races. Whether his joy amplified the fun he had, or it was just being with his friends, Ash didn't know. Frankly, he didn't care.
They headed back to the Poké-Center late into the afternoon. After a shower and some much-needed sustenance, Ash settled into one of the seats in the Poké-Center, discussing his day with Mallow, who was eager to question him about it the minute she returned.
Time seemed to disappear while they talked, much of which Mallow did, quite excitably. Ash didn't mind it, though. Talking to her was soothing, comforting.
In little respites of Mallow's babbling, Ash let his thoughts wander a bit, to his Pokémon, to his friends, and the approaching trial for Professor Oak. Given the emergence of the issues he had just dealt with, that trial and his mother's new information had been far from his cares. Seeing as it was nearing the day, however, Ash was increasingly nervous, apprehensive.
As Mallow resumed talking, Ash spotted Clemont return with an almost completed invention, Lillie head to their room looking rather dejected, and Hau hounding Lana about a challenge next. By the time night arrived, he and Mallow were the only ones left in the lobby after Lana made an expression Ash couldn't read and dashed away, waving. Again, it made Ash curious as to what was going on with them.
With a large yawn, Ash eventually bid goodnight to Mallow and headed to his room. He stopped, however, beside the doors to the balcony, in a similar way as he had a few nights prior. Only this time, it was Lana stood on the balcony wearing her sleepwear: an ocean blue vest top and white shorts.
"Hi, Lana!" Ash cheerfully greeted, leaning beside her, resting his elbows on the mahogany bannister.
"Ash! Finally got Mallow to shut up, eh?" Lana asked amiably.
Ash chuckled good-naturedly. "Something like that. I don't mind. She's really easy to talk to."
"She's amazing, isn't she?" Lana muttered, turning out to watch the forest, wherein a couple of Fomantis bobbed along, disappearing between the leaves of a bush. "I think the world of her."
"Yeah, I can tell."
"It's only natural," Lana said, "since she's my first ever friend. And, honestly, one of few friends I have."
"Really?"
"Yep. Probably just our group. I don't get along with a lot of people. They either get annoyed by my personality or prefer to hang out with somebody else. I do have a pen pal I write to now and again from Kanto. I haven't spoken to her in a while, not since something big happened in her life… Never met her in person, though.
"The thing is… I used to be incredibly shy. I wouldn't go near a single person, so I was kinda lonely. Then, one day, I met Mallow in the forest, and we had a little adventure. Since then, she's stuck by my side, helped me make friends, and made me a bit more of a confident person. Without Mallow coming into my life, I'd never have been able to do anything I have today: I wouldn't be training to be a Trial Captain, we probably wouldn't have met… Not that it was all good. I probably wouldn't have been so ruthlessly rejected by my first crush but there you go. I learned from it."
Ash was slightly amused by the final comment, but that feeling was quickly discarded when he recalled something Mallow had previously said on the exact topic. It bounced around his head, feeling somewhat significant. When it finally bound his thoughts together, Ash, experiencing a rare epiphany, surmised a startling reason as to the strange situation he had recently spied between Lana and Mallow. Per his deduction, it all made sense now. He felt like a detective for figuring it out.
"No way… I've got it!" Ash excitedly shouted, causing Lana to flinch. "I know why you and Mallow have been acting strange recently!"
Instantaneously, Lana froze, her eyes alarmed, her lips pursed. "Uhh, what?"
"It's something Mallow said about you and your first crush a few days ago!"
"I, uhh, I don't know what you mean," Lana tried, sounding more alarmed now, more like she had something to hide.
"Oh, come on! I'm oblivious, and even I've seen what's going on! One minute you're pulling Mallow to share a room with you in the hotel, then you're pushing her on to me while Mantine Surfing. Add that to Mallow saying, 'she always wanted to be with them but pushed them away because she was nervous' about your first crush, and you've got your answer!" Ash explained, feeling proud of himself for figuring something out for once. Take that Bonnie, he thought. She had always accused him of being dense.
"Uh, Ash, wait. Please don't tell me I gave it away…" Lana desperately tried, but Ash was determined to announce the truth.
"You have a crush on Mallow!"
In the aftermath of his unveiling – during which he faced Lana with his arms on his hips, a certain grin on his face – the only audible sound was the rain picking up, gently pattering the leaves around them. Then, Lana spoke, her expression morphing into some form of amusement.
"Heh?" she breathed, sounding on the verge of laughter.
"It's like she said. You want to spend time with her as with the hotel but you're nervous, so you push her away, like during Mantine surfing," Ash explained, believing his conclusion as fact.
Lana just laughed at him. For a long time.
"What?!" Ash asked, sounding childishly offended.
"You're a dense idiot!" Lana exclaimed, still laughing. "I don't have a crush on Mallow! If anything, I feel sorry for her right now. Oh, Arceus, this is too funny!"
"What's so funny?!" Ash shouted, dismayed he had been wrong. He had been so sure about it too.
It took a few minutes for Lana to calm down, by the end of which she was wiping the tears from her eyes, uncaring about the rain. Though, when she spoke, her tone was a little more sombre than he had expected.
"Did you genuinely think that was it?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
"No, but… I mean… we're both girls."
"…So?"
"Well… Some people think relationships like that are wrong, others get all weird when talking about it, yet you mentioned it so casually," Lana said.
"Huh? People think that's wrong?" Ash asked, genuinely surprised. Ash was somewhat clueless about a lot of things, and he knew his view on such situations was uneducated and he regarded them with his heart rather than his head, but he couldn't fathom why there would be a problem.
"Yeah. It's a pretty big deal," Lana said.
"Why?" Ash asked, scratching his head awkwardly. He had never been good at talking about such things. "Why do people have to make a big thing about two girls liking each other? It's as natural as a boy and a girl liking each other, right? I dunno if it's a simplistic view, but it's not a big deal, and people shouldn't make it one. It shouldn't matter if you're a boy or a girl. Love is love."
Lana was silent once again after his comment, though this time it seemed to be because she was speechless. "You're completely right. You're just as amazing as Mallow… But why do you speak as if you've been in love before?"
"Ah… No… I-I dunno about that… But, wait, if it's not that you like Mallow, maybe Mallow likes someone… Kiawe? Nah, it can't be him… Hau?"
"Have you ever thought it could be you?" Lana asked.
"Nah, it couldn't be me," Ash said certainly. "There's no way."
"Huh?" Lana asked with astonishment.
Thinking of Serena's prior comment, Ash chose to change the subject. "Uhh… What were you thinking about before I came?"
Lana frowned at his blatant ignoring of the subject but didn't press the matter, which he was thankful for. "You."
"Ah… Umm… I'm flattered."
"Hah! No, I mean your first trial attempt. You've stopped me from asking about it so far but… You lost on purpose, didn't you?"
"Honestly, no," Ash answered truthfully. "I just knew I would lose. Litten was having a tough time after losing and I wasn't able to help him feel better before the trial. That's why I kinda turned it into a lesson for both Litten and Rockruff. I'm a more experienced trainer than I used to be. I know how to take care of Pokémon, I'm better at making tactics, and I'm more confident about what moves to use. But all the experience in the world can't make a Pokémon strong unless they know what it's like to lose. That's how I think of it, anyway. This was the perfect opportunity to take my inevitable loss and turn it into a lesson on what defeat feels like. Sorry for using your trial to do that."
He sincerely felt bad for his first attempt. He had tackled it with other things on his mind, even after he had promised Lana that he'd give her trial a good go.
"I don't mind," Lana said, shrugging indifferently. "I was struggling with how to set up my trial, too. When you attempted it the first time, I had only cobbled it together. I didn't know how well it would work. Your ideas on how to improve really helped me out."
"So, I was your test subject?"
"Pretty much. Though, I did tell the Pokémon to go a lot harder on you this second time. Usually, they wouldn't attack after being knocked out or after falling out of the Totem formation."
"Well, today's challenge was a lot better, just so you know. I didn't have a moment to rest. It was incredible," Ash stated.
"Why thank you, Ash. Everything worked out in the end. Plus, I get the bragging rights for being the first person that you lose to since it was my trial. I mean, technically."
Ash laughed. "I guess that's true."
"Do you have everything you need?" Grace Yvonne kindly asked, zipping up Serena's bag after stashing away Rhyhorn's Pokéball.
It had been a few days since she returned home, during which time she had reunited with her mother and detailed more clearly the goings-on in Kanto. Explaining the terrible way that she had acted while hypnotised was a difficult process, but she had finally gotten there, finishing the story at almost midnight. She had slept well that night, in the comfort of her soft bed once more, free from the clutches of her memory and Oak's lab.
"Yep," Serena answered, placing her original hat atop her head, her honey hair almost at its old length again.
"Be careful, sweetie. I know you have your Pokémon with you, but don't get too reckless. I know how Ash has influenced you lately."
As she gave her mother a tight hug, Serena smiled at the thought. Ash truly had changed her in many ways. She had previously been hesitant to leave her house and explore, but now she was going out alone. And it had all started when she saw him recklessly leap from the top of Prism Tower after Pikachu.
"I will," Serena said, and she stepped out into the front yard, still blooming in the early Autumn; her mother followed her out. She knelt beside Rhyhorn, rubbing her nose. She had a long trek ahead of her, so she had opted to finally put her countless, painful, and arduous hours of Rhyhorn riding practice to good use.
"Where are you heading first?" Grace asked, pride in her posture.
"The wetlands. Route 14, I think. That's where Ash's Goodra is. I figure Goodra will be a lot easier to find than Greninja…" Serena answered, standing back up and dusting her jeans, pondering where in Kalos the latter could be.
"I see. Good luck, Serena. I'm sure you'll be able to see Ash soon."
Nodding, Serena climbed onto Rhyhorn's saddle, grabbed the reins, and looked up at her mother. "Alright, I'm off!" she said and flicked the reins lightly. Rhyhorn began moving, picking up pace as they left the yard.
Serena shared a wave with her mother until she exited Vaniville town. She soon arrived in Aquacorde Town, wherein, each riding their own Pokémon, Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno were waiting for her. They had all been around Shauna's house when Serena had returned home, and when she told them of her job, they had asked to assist her, something she was quick to accept.
After she greeted each of them, they headed into Santalune Forest.