CHAPTER 26: Dad & Lt. Surge!

"Ori? Corio!" I hear a gentle chirping in my ear, and slowly open my eyes.

Mambo is sitting beside me, dancing and singing.

Smiling, i slowly sit up, leaning against the bed-frame in a sitting position, watching.

He twirls and cheers, singing a lively tune. I grab Alto's pokeball from beside my bed, releasing the bird.

Alto catches on immediately, singing for the dancing Oricorio.

I hear Gardenia stir in her bed beside me, and realize that it's only 3:30am.

I quiet the pokemon, and usher them outside. I'm still in my pajama's, but i walk to the nearest cafe and grab a coffee anyways.

Much to my surprise, Lt. Surge is there as well, also in pajamas.

"Serena! How are ya, darlin'?" He laughs as we stroll up. I send the birds out to play, and grab a coffee, before sitting down with the lieutenant.

"I'm good, Surge. Thank you. Just went to bed early, so now i'm up early." I explain, sipping my drink, and Surge nods.

"I know that feeling all to well. So! Are ya excited to be challenging my gym today?" He shoots me a wink and the most charming smile i've ever seen, and i blush, hiding my face.

"Of course! I'm excited to show you the power of my flying types!" I say bravely from behind my coffee cup, and he just laughs, causing me to laugh to.

"Well, i'd best be going, little lady! I have some errands to run before i open the gym." He smiles and waves as he leaves.

I pour my coffee into a to go cup, and head out as well, to get tackled full force by something small and grey.

"Hey!" I stumble, but catch myself AND my coffee, looking at the little grey blur.

"Pidove?" It looks up at me expectantly, gesturing to the not on it's talon.

"Oh!" I pick the bird up, petting it softly, and gently undo the note.

It reads;

Serena,

Hope you made it to Vermillion alright! It's not the same around here without you guys, i miss you terribly. Have you met Lt. Surge yet? Isn't he so funny? Anyways, love you and hope to see you soon.

Your's truly...

Bill.

Laughing, i quickly head back into the cafe, and grab a piece of paper and a pen, then sit down at a table to write my response.

It goes;

Bill,

We made it safe and sound to Vermillion! Beatrice and Misty's Horsea evolved on Route 5! Can you believe it?! I miss you to, it's hard not seeing you around. I've met Lt. Surge! He even gifted me a pokemon, a flying type from Alola, called Oricorio! His name is Mambo, as he loves to dance! I hope you are doing alright, and i cant wait to see you again. Love you and MISS YOU!

Sincerely...

Serena.

I tie the note to the Pidove's claw, and give it some treats from the cafe, before sending it off again. It flies away, singing happily to itself.

I grab the two singing and dancing birds, and place them on my shoulders, before making my way back to the Center.

As i arrive, i see Mizara just coming out.

"Hey Miz! Whats up?" I hug her, and her silky smooth voice drifts into my head.

Going for a morning stroll. I love to watch the sunrise.

"Mind if i tag along?" She smiles, shaking her head, and puts her arm around me as we walk away.

We eventually make our way all the way out to Route 5 again, and watch the sunrise from the treeline.

I release all my other birds, whom's pokeballs i had in my pocket, and let them out to stretch and breath the morning air.

The sun suddenly breaks over Mt. Moon in the background, and the sky is alight with hues or orange, pink, and purple.

I hear Mizara sigh, as she leans against a nearby tree.

"Do you think she can see it to?" I ask quietly, and Mizara nods.

Your mother's favorite things in the whole world are you and your sister, but the sunrise and set were a close second. She used to say it's beauty reminded her of you and Hilary.

Nodding, i wipe the tear from my eye.

"I'm so overwhelmed, thinking that i'm going to see her again." I whisper, and Mizara nods, putting an arm around me.

Me to, dear. It's a lot to take in. She was... gone... for a long time, and now she's coming back. It feels almost like a dream.

I nod, those were my feelings exactly.

We wait until the sun is a bit higher, before we make our way back.

"Say, Miz? I have a quesiton."

Of course, my dear?

"Why do you walk everywhere, when you could Teleport?"

She raises her hand, scratching her head for a minute, before answering.

I guess, the best way to describe my feelings on the matter, would be that if i decided to Teleport everywhere, i would miss all of the beautiful sights, like sunrises and wind through the trees, and even seeing you and Hilary.

I nod, "I've always wondered. Thank you for answering." She leans down and kisses my hair as we walk into the Center.

We part ways, as she heads back to Hilary and Candice's room, and me to mine and Gardenias.

See you soon, Serena.

I smile and wave as we part, and head right into my room.

I see Gardenia is already showered and dressed, and has all three of her pokemon out around her.

"Hey guys!" I lean down and hug Turtwig and Cherubi, then standing up to hug Roserade.

"Serena! Where have you been? We have to go to the gym!" Gardenia laughs as she sees my messed up pajamas.

"Coffee with Surge, then sunrise with Mizara. Sorry, i lost track of time!" I usher all my pokemon into the room, then hop into the shower.

I get out, get dressed, and we meet up with everyone else in the lobby.

Hilary pulls me aside as everyone else walks out.

"Ser, have you told Dad?"

My eyes go wide.

"Oh my god! I haven't!" I gasp, and she grabs me by the shoulders.

"You need to go, back to Pallet Town. Today. If your quick, you'll make it there and back before your turn to fight Surge." I nod.

I release Belle and Bane.

"Okay guys, we need to fly fast. Faster than you EVER have before." They nod, determined, and i hop onto Belle.

We are gone in a second.

It only take a couple hours, surprisingly, before i see Pallet Town below us.

"Right there! Land there!" I shout over the rushing winds.

I see some of mom's pokemon roaming around the town.

We land in front of my house, and all the pokemon mob me.

"Hey babies! Hey guys! How's it going?" I wade through the pokemon to the door, and walk in.

Kalmiya, Mom's Blissey, is currently washing dishes, but quickly dries her hands to hug me.

"Bliss!" She croons, squeezing me.

"Hey Kally! Wheres dad?" But before she can answer, Dad appears at the top of the stairs.

"Ser bear!" He runs down, hugging me.

"And to what do i owe this surprise?" He asks, grinning wildly.

"Well..."

It only takes a couple minutes, but Dad is freely sobbing by the end of it, and hugging me close.

"I cant... believe it!" He sobs into my shoulder.

"I couldn't either. I couldn't..."

Suddenly, he stands back up.

"Could one of your Noctowl carry me?"

"I mean... yeah, probably, Bane's quite strong..."

"I'm coming with you." My eyes go wide.

"What?"

"I want to come see your gym battle in Vermillion. I want to see Hilary, and Ash, and the rest of the gang. Plus, i haven't seen Gardenia or Candice for a while." He runs upstairs, presumably to pack.

I walk outside, and tell the rest of moms pokemon about the good news.

He walks back outside, as i am getting mobbed by emotional pokemon.

We make it back to Vermillion around lunch time, and head straight to the gym.

We walk in, and Hilary flies into dad.

"Hey baby girl..." He kisses her hair, hugging her tightly.

"Isn't it amazing?" She cries, and he tears up, nodding.

"Hi Mr. Flora!" Both Gardenia and Candice wave in unison.

"Hey girls! How's it going?"

"Gerald, how are ya?" I hear a familiar voice behind me, and turn to see Surge in his army shorts and green shirt again.

"Lieutenant! Im doing well! And yourself?" They embrace each other, laughing.

"I'm doing might fine, Gerry. What brings you to the area?"

"These are my daughters, Hilary and Serena!" Surge's laughter booms around the building.

"I should have known, these to beautiful young ladies were your daughters!"

"So, whos turn is it?" I ask, and Hilary nods to Ash.

"Ash, then you." I nod, and we head back into Surge's battle field.

Ash sends out Tia, and Surge sends out... a darker Pikachu?

"Rai! Raichu!" It buzzes.

"BEGIN!" The ref calls, and both pokemon jump into action.

"Tia, use Drill Run!"

"Raichu, you use Thunder Bolt!"

Tia sprints at the Raichu, then throws herself into the air, rotating fast like a drill, and lands on the mouse pokemon.

Raichu steps back, having absorbed the whole attack, and shoots a lightning bolt at the pokemon.

Tia gets struck head on, but she doesn't even flinch. In fact, she looks... happy?

"Lightning Rod!" I hear Dad whisper behind us.

"Tia, use Bulldoze!"

"Raichu, use-" Surge is cut off as the entire field starts to rumble and shake.

Tia is stomping around, causing everything to shift.

A particularly violent tremor shoots towards Raichu, throwing it into the back wall, unconscious.

"Raichu is unable to battle, win for the challenger!"

Surge returns Raichu, then sends out... a pokeball?

"Electrode!" It hisses, rolling around.

"Tia, use Stone Edge!"

Tia throws a huge sharp boulder at the Electrode, pushing it back a few feet.

Surge goes to command his pokemon, but is again cut off, as Tia starts glowing white.

"TIA!" Ash gasps, as the light fades away, revealing the new and improved Tia.

"RHYDON!" She roars, turning to face the Electrode.

"Thunder!" Surge roars.

It sends a huge bolt of pure lightning at the newly evolved Tia, but she stands her ground, and takes in head on.

"TIA NO!" Ash goes to run forward, but Dad grabs him by the arm.

"Ash, look!"

The dust settles, and Tia is standing strong... laughing?

She giggles to herself, watching the electricity flow through her body, and doing no harm.

Then, her eyes go hard, and she sends a huge ripple through the battle field, and it slams into Electrode, throwing it into the air, and rendering it unconscious.

"Earthquake!" Brock gasps, as the ref calls the battle.

"Electrode is unable to battle, victory goes to the challenger!" He points at Ash.

Aah runs onto the field, and throws himself at Tia.

"ASH NO!" But it's to late.

"AHHHHH!" Ash shouts as hes electrocuted.

Laughing, Surge pulls him off, placing a wet cloth on Tia's horn.

"There you go. Now you can hug her!" He grabs the cloth, which is now buzzing with energy, and throw's it over his shoulder.

He motions me over.

"Alrighty, darlin'! It's your turn to show me what you got!" He laughs as i walk over.

I release Beatrice, and Surge goes quiet.

"I thought you were using Belle and Ace?" Hilary asks from behind me.

"I was, but Belle is tired from the flight and Ace is to slow for an electric type." She nods, and i turn back to the field, where Beatrice stares at me with determination in her eyes.

"We got this, Bea." She nods, turning to face Surge.

"Well well! This aint gonna be a boring battle!" He laughs, releasing Raichu again, who has been healed since its last defeat.

"BEGIN!"

"Raichu, Thunder Bolt!"

"Beatrice, Defend Order!"

Raichu sends a wicked bolt of electricity at Beatrice, who throws her hands up, summoning a wave of bee minions to take the hit for her.

The sound of buzzing with the electricity is almost deafening, as the minions dissipate the bolt.

"What in..." Surge mumbles, pointing at Bea again.

"Thunder!"

"Defend Order again!"

Bea throws up an even thicker wave of minions, but the huge bolt of electricity just manages to touch her, paralyzing her.

"Ves!" She hisses in pain.

"BEATRICE! Use Attack Order!"

Beatrice weakly throws her arm out, and a huge wave of bees swamps the Raichu, enveloping it in seconds.

Raichu's pained grunts can be heard from inside the swarm, which soon dissipates, leaving an unconscious Raichu.

"Raichu is unable to battle, win for the challenger!"

"Can i switch out my pokemon?" I ask the ref, and he nods.

"Max of one switch out per battle." I nod, and grab Bea's pokeball, but she stops me.

"VESPI!" She growls, pointing at the battlefield.

"Bea, your hurt!" But she shakes her head.

"Okay, fine. Let's finish this!" She nods, and turns to face Electrode.

"Heal Order!"

"Thudner Bolt!"

A wave of minions swarms Beatrice, healing her. The swarm is just thick enough to stop the bolt of lightning as well.

By stopping the bolt, they didnt finish healing Beatrice, leaving her still weak.

Before i can say anything, she lifts her claws, and sends a dark shadow at Electrode, fusing their shadow's together.

"Thunder!"

The bolt hits Beatrice head on, throwing her fragile body into the wall behind us, and causing her to faint.

Then, Electrode faints out of nowhere, and the fused shadow's separate.

"What in tarnation..." Surge mumbles, as the ref calls the battle.

"Electrode is unable to battle, victory goes to the challenger!"

I run out to Beatrice, and hold her head in my lap.

She stirs, looking at me.

"Ves..." She looks at me, then gently strokes my face, before i return her.

"What was that?" I ask dad, who shakes his head.

"Destiny Bond. A last resort, but Beatrice sure knew what she was doing." He shakes his head, in awe.

Surge walks over, shaking his head.

"I sure wasn't ready for that Destiny Bond." He laughs, and i shake my head.

"Me either, trust me." He throws an arm around my shoulders.

"So! That was some interesting battling you guys! We should go for dinner!" He laughs as we all shake our heads, then leads us to the PokeCenter to heal our pokemon, before leading us to a high-end restaurant behind the center.

Dinner is uneventful, with us all explaining what happened since Dad left Bill's, then how i met Surge and got Mambo, who dances for us.

After, we all head back to the Center, except for Surge, and Dad, who will stay at the Gym for now.

Me and Gardenia head into our room, and promptly fall asleep, quickly.