Sorry for the delay (college is pain), but I'm back with another chapter! WOO-HOO! Hope you all enjoy!
Here's something I feel stupid about: not giving a description of Serena's Serylah disguise. If anyone's curious, I imagine for her disguise to be, from top to bottom, a blue cycling cap, a pair of shades, a black trench coat dress, and a pair of zippered black boots. (these are all from the XY games)
About the jokes of the Pokémon XY games and RWBY in chapters 3 and 4, yeah, never mind about those. No one got them, so I'll just put up another prize thing later.
Also, HOORAY for 100 followers for this fanfic! Seriously, thank you all so much! I never even dreamed of this fanfic even making it that far, so this is really awesome honestly! You all rock and I love you all!
Anyways, that's all I have to say so, once again, please enjoy!
(plays Spiran Scenery / Spira Unplugged from Final Fantasy X)
On the very next day, the morning sun rose high up above Vaniville Town as its beautiful and warm light shined down and peaked through the closed drapes of an open window onto an already empty bed. Nearby that empty bed was Serena, who had already changed into her regular attire.
Normally, since Serena is a heavy sleeper, her mom always had her Fletchling to wake her up, but not today. Starting this morning, she's going to be serious for now on. She now finally knows where Ash is after all these years and it's her goal to set out to find him. Thankfully, there weren't any Pokémon Showcases she has to attend to in a while, so that's one thing outta the way, but there's still a lot more that she'll have to overcome to at least reach Kanto. And the first thing is her mother.
"Serena, breakfast is ready!" Serena heard her mom from downstairs.
Serena sighed to herself and said, "It's time." before she grabbed her six Pokéballs and made her way downstairs.
"Coming mom!"
In the bottom floor of her house, over at the kitchen counter, Serena saw her mom pouring orange juice in two cups next to a plate with a stack of pancakes. After Grace was done, she then saw her daughter already downstairs, and for the first time in forever, before 8:00 A.M.
"Good morning mom!"
"Good morning sweetie! My, it's quite a surprise seeing you up so early for once! Got something planned for today? I don't recall hearing about any upcoming showcases for this month."
"There's no showcase mom, it's... something else."
"Oh, what is it then?"
"I'll explain when we eat, I'm gonna get my Pokémon their food."
"Hm, alright. Would you mind if you also brought out Fletchling and Rhyhorn's food too? I already got their's ready." Grace said as she placed two food bowls, one big and one small, full of pokémon food on the counter.
"Sure thing!"
Serena took out six more food bowls from the cabinets and filled them all up with pokémon food. Stacking all eight bowls together (with Fletchling's on top), Serena carefully made her to the front door where she opened up to reach her front yard. After making it to Rhyhorn's little pokémon house, Serena placed the tower of food bowls onto the ground and she took her mom's two Pokémons' bowls on the grass near Rhyhorn's house.
Smelling breakfast, Rhyhorn and Fletchling (who was in the trees) woke up from their slumber and walked toward/flew down their bowls before happily greeting Serena.
"Rhy!"
"Fletchling!"
"Good morning to you guys too!" Serena pleasantly said as she petted the both of them.
The two household Pokémon started to munch of their food as Serena took the other six bowls and spread them out. She then took out her six Pokéballs and threw them to the air.
"Everyone, time to eat!"
Delphox, Pangoro, Sylveon, Absol, Walrein, and Charla all emerged from their capsules and happily joined Rhyhorn and Fletchling in breakfast.
Serena smiled at her six dear friends and she silently approached them, causing all six heads to bring their heads away from their bowls and look at their trainer's face.
"Guys, I'm going to talk with my mom over, well, you know, so I just the discussion to be just between the two of us and no one else. You all understand, right?"
All six of the loyal Pokémon nodded. Having to have heard Serena's conversation with Jimmy last night from their Pokéballs, they knew what Serena wanted to talk about with her mom and agreed that it'd be best they just stay out and not get involved with the upcoming mother-and-daughter talk.
Serena once again smiled at them and she turned around and went back into her house. Inside, Grace was already sitting at the dining room table with a plate of pancakes and a cup of orange juice. On the other side were the same contents for her daughter. Serena slowly closed the front door behind her as she stared at her mother who was starting to eat up her meal.
Eighteen years under her care, Serena loved her mother dearly. She was extremely loving and caring for her daughter, but she always knew what was best for her. Letting her go on a Pokémon journey, allowing her to change her dream from Rhyhorn Racing to Showcases, even letting her explore several other regions to look for Ash, but despite all that, Serena knew things are going to be different soon. When Serena finally made it back to Kalos, she and her mom had a heartfelt talk over how Grace thought she was losing her daughter due to her mad search and this made Serena realize that if she were to continue on, it would only give Grace the same pain Delia received when her son disappeared, so from that day, Serena promised to never risk putting her mom in that type of pain.
But it has to be different now. Unlike before, she won't be mindlessly wandering around an entire region, it's all just one mountain range, so it's not like she'll be gone for a long time. Plus, she's 18 now, so she has to make her own decisions. Throughout the night, Serena originally planned to come up with a lie on her reason of going to Kanto, but after much thinking, she figured it would only cause more pain than it would to tell the truth. It's now all in the matter of trying to make her understand.
"So mom, about the plans I have for today..."
"Oh yes, what are they? My curiosity's piqued."
"Alright. I plan to fly over to Kanto."
"Kanto? What do you have over there?"
While Grace was okay with her daughter flying over to another region (as long she doesn't spend too much time there), she's really curious on why she would go there in such a supposedly random time.
"Well mom, I want to go over to Mt. Silver, and I know it's been labeled as one of the most dangerous locations of the entire world, but right now, I don't care about that."
"But, why would you want to go there?"
...
"I want to look for Ash."
(plays How She Sees The World from Bioshock 2)
"Serena, please tell me you're joking."
"I'm sorry mom, but I'm not. Last night, I met this guy who had went to Mt. Silver not too long ago, and when he reached the top, he saw him, Ash, my friend who I've always been looking for, who also turns out to be the Legend of Mt. Silver!"
"Sweetie, the Legend of Mt. Silver is only a myth and even if it was real, there's no way it could be Ash."
"He is, that guy told me himself."
"And how do you know he wasn't lying?"
"Because I could both see and hear his honesty, from the look of his eyes to the sound of his voice. He was lying to me at first because he was suppose to keep Ash's location a secret, but after we talked for a little bit, that was when he told me the truth once he figured how much I want to find Ash."
"So you think Ash Ketchum is at Mt. Silver just because a guy you just met told you so? And you "saw" and "heard" the apparent honesty? Serena, I'm sorry, but you're talking like a child."
"But I'm not a child, I'm eighteen! Mom, I'm an adult now, you should know I am able to take care of myself."
"I do know sweetie, and I've always trusted your independency even before you reached that age, it's just that...that...I don't want to risk permanently losing you. You may feel going though Mt. Silver might seem no problem, but it's not. There-"
"I know mom. Avalanches, vicious Pokémon, snowstorms, deadly climates, and maybe even some wandering Pokémon poachers, but I dealt with plenty of those things before. Plus, I'll pack well, I'll dress warm, I'll bring all my Pokémon, and Palermo has even taught me how to fight for myself! Mom, I'll be fine!
"You don't understand!"
Grace slammed her fist on the table as she said that, causing the pancakes on her plate to bounce and her cup of orange juice to nearly fall over.
Outside, the Pokémon all heard the loud noise. Curious and concerned, Rhyhorn and Fletchling glanced at each other before Rhyhorn started to make his way to the front door to check up on his master and master's daughter, only to be stopped by Delphox after just a few steps, telling the older Pokémon to just leave whatever's going on in there between their trainers.
"You may think you're able to handle it, but you're wrong!"
"But I know I can do it!"
"How do you know Ash could still be at Mt. Silver anyway?! What if he moved away?"
"Well, I know you're gonna think this will sound childish again, but I can feel his presence there with my heart! He's out there, at the top of the highest, I need to find him! I need to find out what were his reasons for disappearing from everyone eight years ago and hopefully get him back down to his friends and family again!"
"Serena-"
"Mom, I love him!"
A minute of silence occurred once those words left Serena's mouth. Grace knew of her daughter's feelings for Ash and being reminded of that made her think; if, by chance, Ash really was at Mt. Silver, would she just be hurting her daughter? Even though Serena promised to tone down her search after she returned from the Decolore Islands, Grace's heart could easily detect that Serena still really wanted to find Ash and that always made her feel a little guilty deep down since she was one of the most notable individuals who encouraged Serena to take it easy.
Conflicting thoughts now rushed all over Grace's head. She didn't want her daughter to be internally hurt anymore, but she also didn't want Serena to die. As Grace thought about her decision, she soon found herself wrapped in a hug courtesy of her beloved daughter.
"Please mom, I just want you to understand. If I were to find Ash, not only would it help me, but also Delia, Ash's other friends, anyone he had connected to before he disappeared. I at least just want to make sure he's okay. I promise I'll stay safe and I won't get my Pokémon too hurt. Just please mom, give me at least one chance."
Grace sadly stared at her daughter for a moment. She was still unsure whether to allow her daughter to do this or not.
Just then, an idea popped into Serena's mind.
"Mom how about this? What if I battle and defeat one of the strongest trainers here in Kalos, that way, I would prove to you that as a trainer, I'll be more than capable of taking on Mt. Silver!"
(music stops playing)
This sounded really intriguing to Grace. This region was full of really strong and experienced trainers and if her daughter were to actually defeat one, that would prove a lot.
"Hm, I guess, but what trainer do you have in mind?"
Serena smirked and said, "Let's just go over to Lumiose City and then you'll see."
(plays RWBY Episode 5 The First Step Part 2 Score (starts at 0:18) from RWBY)
Like a blur, Serena dashed back up into her room and went back down in her Serylah disguise.
"Lumiose City?" questioned a confused Grace.
"Yep!" Serena gleefully answered and she grabbed her mom's hand and dragged outside. "Come on! We can take Charla to get there!"
In the front yard, Serena happily announced to her Pokémon that they're going to Lumiose City. They were all confused at first, but they quickly complied as Serena recalled all of them, except for Charla, back into their balls. Grace, while still confused herself, told Rhyhorn and Fletchling to watch the house while they are gone. Then in less than a minute, Serena and Grace got onto Charla's back and the female dragon ascended to the air, awaiting for the chosen destination.
"Alright girl, off to Lumiose City!"
Charla excitedly roared and flew towards the central city of Kalos. As she flew, her trainer quietly whispered to her where exactly she wants Charla to land in Lumiose City. The dragon nodded and continued on flying.
"Sweetie, this region is full of challenging trainers. I really hope you know what you're doing."
"Of course I do mom! You should preparing yourself for the intense battle you're about to see soon!"
Even though Grace was still unsure of having her daughter go to Mt. Silver and she really had no idea what Serena has planned now, she couldn't help but smile at her daughter's confidence. She really has grown up to be a strong, independent lady these past 8 years.
(plays The Sycamore Pokémon Lab from Pokémon X and Y)
Not too long later, Charla landed right on the spot her trainer wanted to drop off at: Professor Sycamore's Laboratory. Serena and Grace got off the dragon's back and Serena thanked Charla as she recalled her back to her ball.
"Thanks so much Charla. Now return."
"So Serena, are you going to tell me now what trainer you're going to battle?"
"He's right in there." Serena said with a grin as she pointed to the laboratory.
Now knowing who her daughter wants to battle, Grace alarmingly asked, "Serena, are you sure you want to battle him?"
With a confident smile, Serena turned and made her way to the lab door and said, "Positive."
Inside the lab, the ever-so kind and generous professor of Kalos was seen tending to the newly received starters of Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie as his Garchomp happily watched on, pleased to see the smiles of the younger Pokémon. Professor Sycamore then heard a knock at his lab doors, so he went up to the doors to open them, seeing one of his favorite trainers, Serena, in her Serylah disguise as always.
"Serena! It's good to see you after such a long time! How have you been?"
"I've been fine professor! Thanks for asking! Hey, I've come to ask you for a favor, do you mind?"
"Not at all Serena! You can ask me for anything you want!"
"Alright then. Professor Sycamore..."
"Yeah?"
(music stops playing)
"I challenge you to a battle!"
"E-excuse me?" asked the surprised professor.
(plays Event - Strategy (Slower) from Sonic Adventure 2)
"Yes Professor Sycamore. I wish to challenge you to a battle so I could prove to my mother that I am capable enough to scale to the top of Mt. Silver over at the Kanto region."
"Mt. Silver? Why would you ever want to go to such a treacherous place?"
"Cause I know Ash Ketchum is there."
"You really do?"
"I sure do, so it's really important I battle you and hopefully win to prove my power! Also, I know it may seem really hard to believe that Ash could be at Mt. Silver, but please believe that I know from my heart that he's there, so please professor, could you do this for me?"
Professor Sycamore stared hesitantly at Serena for a bit. This all seemed so sudden, but thanks to his intelligence, he was able to easily comprehend what Serena had just told him and what she's asking for. And even though Serena was right in that it was hard to believe that Ash could be at Mt. Silver, Sycamore could tell by the determination in her eyes that she knows what she's talking about.
"I understand what you're saying Serena, but what if you lose?"
"Then I would see myself that I'm not ready as I think I am and I will train for a rematch at a different date." Serena humbly answered.
Hearing this, the professor smiled at the confident and mature trainer.
"Alright. Then you got yourself a battle."
"Thanks so much professor! And for our battle, are you fine with a 4-on-4 double battle?"
"Sounds fine with me," the professor replied as his Garchomp approached from behind him, having to have heard the word 'battle'. "You think you're up for it?" Sycamore asked his faithful dragon.
"Garcho!"
"Great! And now holding back! Also, I know the perfect referee." Serena said as she took her phone out.
Few moments later, Serena and Sycamore were positioned on a Pokémon Battlefield not too far from the lab with Clemont in the middle as referee and Bonnie next to him. Around the entirety of the battlefield watching the battle (besides Grace) were many civilians of Lumiose, intrigued to see a supposedly random girl battle the region's local Pokémon professor.
"Hey bro, why is Serena challenging Professor Sycamore to a battle?" Bonnie whispered to her brother.
"I don't know," Clemont whispered back, "after I came over here when Serena texted me, I asked her why, but she told me it was a secret for later."
"Hm, oh well." Bonnie said suspiciously.
Bonnie then walked a few feet away from her brother to give him space for his job.
Grace stared worriedly at her battle-ready daughter, hoping the best for her in this fight. Amongst the crowd, she heard many civilians say things like "who is that girl and why is she challenging Professor Sycamore?" or "For some reason, the girl looks very familiar." or even "This is gonna be an awesome battle! I love seeing Professor Sycamore fight!"
Within her disguise, Serena also heard the small comments from the people watching her battle, making her realize this is the perfect time to do something she always wanted to do since the very first day she was mobbed by fans after she became Kalos Queen...
But not right now. Let's wait for a little more.
Serena and Sycamore both nodded towards Clemont, indicating they were ready. Clemont nodded back and shouted out, "This will be a 4-on-4 double battle between the Kalos Pokémon Professor, Professor Sycamore, and Serylah of Aquacorde Town! Substitutions are allowed for both sides! Trainers, are you both ready?"
"I sure am!" responded Sycamore.
"And so am I! Also, my name is not 'Serylah', and I'm not from Aquacorde Town! Instead, my name is..."
(plays Love is Blue Equipped from Bayonetta 2)
Before finishing her own announcement, Serena threw off her blue cycling cap and replaced it with her natural pink fedora. Next, Serena unbuttoned her black trench coat dress and threw it away to reveal her regular pink dress-red jacket attire underneath. She then unzipped her black boots, hopped out of them, and took out her preferred brown boots out of her backpack to put them on. Lastly, Serena took off and unclipped her shades, threw them to the air, and impressively positioned her body for them to land right into her open backpack.
"...Serena, and I'm from Vaniville Town!"
The crowd of people were utterly shocked at what they just saw. The new girl battling Professor Sycamore was none other than their own Kalos Queen herself! Grace, Bonnie, Clemont, and Sycamore were also surprised that Serena would do just such a thing at the moment. The feeling of shock among the crowd quickly turned into excitement as they all cheered for their Kalos Queen, expecting an awesome battle between her and the regional professor.
"It's time for me to show everyone that I'm not just a queen, I'm a trainer!"
This statement from Serena caused her mom and friends to smile. It was now her moment to show that showcases are not her only talent, but battling too, as well as showing her bond and trust between herself and her Pokémon.
"Alright," started Clemont, "now that we know the real identity of Sycamore's opponent, it's time for the trainers to send out their Pokémon!"
Sycamore took out his first two Pokémon and threw them up above the battlefield.
"Charizard and Blastoise, come on out!"
From Sycamore's two Pokéballs came the two fully-evolved starters of the Kanto region. The both of them looked tough and ready for a challenge.
Seeing these strong opponents, Serena grinned and threw out her own Pokéballs to the battlefield.
"Delphox and Pangoro, here we go!"
Out from the capsules were Serena's first two Pokémon ever. On the battlefield, they stood tall and strong, anticipating for the battle to start.
"Alright, battle begin!" shouted Clemont.
(plays Battle! VS Friend from Pokémon (Anime))
"Charizard, use Wing Attack on Pangoro! And Blastoise, use Water Pulse on Delphox!"
As soon Sycamore finished saying that command, Charizard's wings glew white and he took off towards Pangoro as Blastoise fired two orbs of water towards Delphox.
"Delphox, protect yourself with Light Screen! Pangoro, when Charizard gets close, grab his wings!"
Both Pokémon nodded as they watched the attacks get nearer and nearer. Delphox used her magical branch to conduct a psychic purple shield in front of her, protecting herself from the Water Pulse.
Pangoro kept his eyes on Charizard and obeying what his trainer said, Pangoro put his arms out and grabbed Charizard's wings when he got close. The large panda was pushed back a little, but he stood his ground and kept his palms on the Wing Attack, putting the two in a tight struggle as they tried to push back the other.
"Now use Dark Pulse, Pangoro!"
Hearing this, Pangoro smirked and fired beams of dark circles from both of his hands, sending Charizard back towards Blastoise's side.
"Great job Pangoro!"
"Watch this! Charizard, Flame Burst on the center of the battlefield!"
Sycamore's Charizard flew over the center of the battlefield and fired the Flame Burst attack straight to the ground, creating a huge cloud of smoke all over. Delphox and Pangoro cautiously looked around their area, unaware of their opponents' location.
"Charizard, give Pangoro a Flamethrower!'
After landing back on the ground, Charizard fired Flamethrower to Pangoro's direction. Pangoro was able to hear the command in time, so he crossed his arms in a defensive position to lessen the damage, though he was still pushed back as the attack kept going on.
"Protect Pangoro with Light Screen, Delphox!"
Delphox ran towards Pangoro and produced another shield, this time in front of Pangoro to protect him from the Flamethrower.
"Blastoise, use Skull Bash!"
Serena and her Pokémon were surprised to hear this command until they all saw Blastoise charging through the smoke to Delphox and Pangoro's direction, head first, phasing straight through the Light Screen and hitting both Pokémon, sending them back as the smoke cleared up.
"Clever move. Pangoro, fight Blastoise back with Arm Thrust!
The large panda jumped back to his feet and ran towards Blastoise, who was only a few feet away.
"Iron Defense!"
Blastoise tucked his head, cannons, arms, and legs into his shell as the giant armor shined like metal, just before Pangoro reached him. Pangoro then slammed his white-glowing hands repeatedly on the turtle's shells, though no having little-to-no effect due to Blastoise's high Defense.
As Pangoro was busy with Blastoise, Serena directed her command to Delphox.
"Delphox, use Mystical Fire on Charizard!"
Delphox, who was now up from the previous Skull Bash attack, swung her branch in a circle in front of her, forming a ring of fire. She then fired a stream of flames from her mouth, fusing with the ring as it headed towards Charizard, who was still in the air.
"Counter that with Flamethrower!"
Charizard fired his own stream of flames from his mouth and the attack met with Delphox's Mystical Fire in the air.
As the fire attacks tried to push back the other, Serena shifted her eyes below to see Pangoro still pounding on Blastoise's shell, giving her an idea upon seeing the distance between Charizard and Blastoise.
"Use Psychic on Blastoise!"
As Delphox still fired Mystical Fire from her mouth, she pointed her branch towards Blastoise, lifting him up to the air with her psychic power as the turtle remained hidden in his shell.
"Now throw him to Charizard!"
Swinging her branch to the left, Blastoise was flung over to Charizard's belly just as he was retreating his head, cannon, and appendages from his shell, damaging both Pokémon and leaving them to fall on the ground. Upon landing, Blastoise was on top of Charizard, making it hard for both of them to get up due to Blastoise's heavy weight.
"Pangoro, now use Stone Edge!"
Pangoro side-flipped in front of Delphox and slammed his right fist on the ground to summon a line of sharp stone pillars towards Blastoise and Charizard. The attack landed its hit, blasting both Kanto starters back in front of their trainer.
"Blastoise, Charizard, are the both of you okay?"
Blastoise was able to get up from the attack, though he struggled for a bit due to the huge amount of damage he sustained from the attack. Charizard, on the other hand though, wasn't so lucky as due to his quad-weakness to Stone Edge, suffered even more damage and after a failed struggle back on his feet, the dragon's head and upper-torso fell down to the ground, knocked out.
"Charizard is unable to battle! Professor Sycamore, please send out your next Pokémon!" announced Clemont.
Sycamore nodded and he recalled Charizard back to his ball.
"You did your best, my friend. Please rest up from this battle. I must admit Serena," said Sycamore as he put away Charizard's Pokéball and took out his thirst one, "you sure have gotten better over the years."
"Thanks! Same to you."
"We're not done yet though. Venusaur, here we go!"
The fully-evolved grass starter of Kanto was released from Sycamore's third Pokéball. Venusaur stood right beside Blastoise, ready for battle.
"Venusaur, use Petal Blizzard, and Blastoise, Iron Defense!"
Blastoise withdrew into his shell again as Venusaur released a huge storm of pink petals from his flower, spreading out in the entire battlefield. Blastoise, being the nearest, was hit first and while he was protected with his shell, he still some small, yet minor damage. Meanwhile on Serena's side, Delphox and Pangoro both saw the pink petals get closer to them.
"Dodge all that Delphox! Pangoro, defend yourself with Stone Edge!"
Pangoro stomped his right foot on the ground, bringing up a single stone pillar in front of him that he used as a shield for the Petal Blizzard. Delphox somersaulted underneath some petals before backflipping and side-flipping over some more until the attack ended.
"Aqua Tail!"
Just as soon after the Petal Blizzard finished, Delphox was suddenly struck by a powerful jet of water coming from the tip of Blastoise's tail. The fox was down, but not out.
Serena thought to herself upon seeing this attack. Venusaur and Blastoise working together is going to be tough to go through. While Pangoro would be able to keep up thanks to his strength and durability, it will be harder for Delphox as Venusaur's ranged attacks could keep her at bay, giving Blastoise the perfect opportunities to land his water moves on the fire/psychic Pokémon. Perhaps someone more mobile could turn the tide.
"Delphox, return!" Serena called out as she recalled her starter. She then took out another Pokéball and threw it to the air.
"Charla, come on out!"
Serena's own Charizard appeared from the Pokéball, and she roared upon release.
"Blastoise, use Water Pulse on Charla!"
"Counter it with Air Slash!"
Charla flapped her powerful wings to release multiple white air-made blade discs towards Blastoise's Water Pulse, canceling both attacks.
"Use Petal Dance on Pangoro, Venusaur!"
From Venusaur's back came a stream of petals heading for Pangoro.
"Pangoro, focus on the attack and fight your way through to Venusaur with Arm Thrust!"
Pangoro nodded and focused his eyes on the incoming Petal Dance. At the right moment, Pangoro rushed to the attack and with careful precision, used Arm Thrust to punch the petals away as he ran for Venusaur. When he finally got close, he slammed his fists twice on the grass/poison Pokémon's face, pushing him back.
After a small fist pump, Serena focused her attention back on Charla and Blastoise. While Charla was a really strong fighter, her attacks won't be able to do much to Blastoise due his high Defense. The only way to bring it down is to, of course, hit it with something super-effective, and that solution is right next to Pangoro.
"Charla, use Slash and land yourself behind Pangoro!"
Charla flew towards Blastoise and slashed him with her white enlarged claws before spinning up and landing a few feet behind Pangoro.
"Both of you, Aqua Tail and Petal Dance!"
"Dodge!"
As soon both attacks from the Kanto starters begun, Charla flew back to the air and Pangoro side-rolled away, leaving for Blastoise's Aqua Tail to fire right underneath Venusaur's Petal Dance, causing the two of them to get hit by each other's attacks. Blastoise suffered the most as Petal Dance was a grass attack and he struggled to stay on his feet, now severely damaged.
"Finish Blastoise with Dark Pulse!"
"Iron Defense, quick!"
Unfortunately for Sycamore, Blastoise was too tired to use Iron Defense, allowing him to get hit by Pangoro's Dark Pulse, which was just enough to defeat him.
"Blastoise is unable to battle! Professor Sycamore, please send out your last Pokémon!"
Sycamore recalled Blastoise and took out his last Pokéball. Before he threw it out, he brought his head back up to see Serena smirking at him. He smirked back, she was ready for the main course.
"My old friend Garchomp, show them your power!"
The professor threw the dragon's Pokéball and the said land shark was released, who let out a terrifying roar. The whole crowd enthusiastically cheered, excited to see the strongest Pokémon of the Pokémon Professor.
Serena smiled at the powerful Garchomp. This would be tough, but it's also her chance to prove her strength to her mother, so there's no way she's gonna give up.
"Alright guys, let's do our best! But first, let's take out Venusaur first and do your best to avoid Garchomp's attacks!"
Charla and Pangoro both nodded.
"Venusaur, use Synthesis!"
"No you don't! Charla, use Fire Spin!"
Just as Venusaur's flower started to glow white and absorb the sunlight for health, Charla fired a stream of spiraling flames to him, landing its hit and trapping Venusaur in a ring of fire, completely negating Synthesis due to the constant damage.
"Bring Charla down with Dragon Claw!"
Garchomp flew towards Charla with both of her fins surrounded by green aura in the shape of claws. Charla tried to avoid her attack, but was soon hit with a downward, strike, bringing her to the ground, but not fainted just yet.
Another idea came to Serena's mind. While Charla can distract Garchomp, she can switch Pangoro for Delphox to give Venusaur more fire attacks which would bring down the grass dinosaur faster.
"Pangoro, return!" Serena called out as she returned Pangoro to his Pokéball. "Don't worry buddy, you'll be back out soon. Go, Delphox!"
In place of Pangoro came Delphox, who was still little hurt from the last time she was out, but still ready to do her best for her trainer.
"Charla, do you still feel good?"
Charla turned to her trainer and gave her a thumb-claw up.
"Great. Distract Garchomp with Slash and keep her away from Delphox!"
Charla nodded and flew high to the air as Garchomp followed, with the two dragons striking and blocking each other with Slash and Dragon Claw.
"Venusaur, try to blow away the Fire Spin with Petal Blizzard!" Sycamore called out, bringing his focus back to the Kanto grass starter as his Garchomp battled against Charla in the air, trusting her she knows what she's doing.
"Mystical Fire quick!"
Venusaur tried to activate the attack, but the non-stop exposure to the flames of Fire Spin had him too exhausted to use Petal Blizzard, giving Delphox the perfect chance of hitting him with Mystical Fire, knocking him out.
"Venusaur is unable to battle! Professor Sycamore is now down to only one Pokémon!"
Everyone watching the battle were either shocked, overly impressed, or both. Serena was able to take down three of Sycamore's Pokémon while she still has all four, albeit, three of them have already taken a huge amount of damage. It really comes to show that she's more than a performer; she's a strong Pokémon Trainer.
"You go, Serena!" cheered Bonnie.
"Denene!"
Grace was on the point of crying tears of joy and pride. She was so proud of how strong of a trainer her daughter has gotten.
Just then, Charla was suddenly seen landing hard on the ground, having to have suffered a heavy hit again from Garchomp's Dragon Claw.
"Charla, are you okay?" Serena concernedly asked the dragon just as Garchomp landed back in front of her trainer. Charla weakly stood back up and gave her trainer another thumb-claw up to tell her she's still able and willing to battle.
Serena nodded at her dragon before turning her head to face Sycamore once again as he started to speak out to her.
"You've gone so far as a trainer ever since I gave you Fennekin eight years ago. Not your only has the power of your Pokémon and your inner strength has grown, but also the bond and trust you have for your Pokémon. I am very proud, but there's way we're backing down yet."
After Sycamore said this, he brought out his left arm and flipped the watch on his wrist to its other side, revealing his Key Stone underneath.
"Serena, it's time we show you how our bond has gotten stronger as well! Garchomp, Mega Evolve!"
(plays Master Hand from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)
Professor Sycamore tapped on his Key Stone to activate his Garchomp's Garchompite, transforming her into her more bulkier and spikier Mega Form. After the evolutionary process was over, Garchomp roared and the crowd went wild.
"You believe in you, sweetie. I know you can do it." Grace whispered to herself.
Back to Serena, the real challenge was finally here, but neither her or her Pokémon are not gonna give up until it's over!
"Let's do this guys! Delphox and Charizard, use Mystical Fire and Flamethrower all together!"
Both of the fully-evolved fire type starters simultaneously launched their attacks, combining them together to make one huge stream of fire.
"Guard yourself with Dragon Claw!"
Mega Garchomp's fins were surrounded with a green claw-shaped aura once again and she positioned them in a defensive pose, effortlessly blocking the stream of fire despite how humongous it was.
"Now give them your Dragon Pulse!"
Mega Garchomp fired the multicolored dragon-shaped beam towards Serena's fire types and they both managed to avoid the attack. However, due to the power of the attack, it created a huge blast on the ground that sent Charla higher to the air against her will and Delphox to fly off the ground, though she managed to regain her composure and safely land on her feet.
"Delphox, give it all you got and use Psychic!"
Mustering up all her energy, Delphox pointed her branch towards Mega Garchomp and actually managed to grab her with her psychic power, allowing Delphox to repeatedly slam her to the ground, even lowering her Special Defense a couple of times.
After one last slam, Mega Garchomp was left on the ground, but she was able to quickly get back up, appearing completely unharmed from the attack. Delphox though, due to all the strength she used for the Psychic attack, was now looking extremely worn out.
"Take out Delphox with Dragon Claw!"
In blinding speed, Mega Garchomp flew towards Delphox and struck her with Dragon Claw, launching her right beside her trainer, knocked out.
"Delphox is unable to battle! Serena, please send out another Pokémon!"
Before she did what Clemont said, Serena kneeled down to her faithful starter Pokémon and she held her head up as she comforted her.
"Delphox, you did a wonderful job. I couldn't thank you enough."
The magical fiery fox opened her eyes and weakly nodded to her trainer with a smile.
"Delpho..."
Serena smiled back at her best friend and she took out her Pokéball.
"Please, return and take a nice long rest."
Delphox was recalled back to her capsule and Serena stood back and took out Pangoro's.
"Alright Pangoro, it's back to you!"
From his Pokéball, Pangoro returned to the battlefield, pounding his fists in excitement.
"Delphox did her part on Sycamore's Garchomp. Now let's hope Pangoro and Charla can do theirs'." Serena thought to herself.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Pulse!"
As Mega Garchomp's Dragon Pulse went its way towards Charla and Pangoro, the large panda, without needing an order, stepped in the attack's direct path and brought his arms out, hoping to completely block the attack. It worked at first, but then the power of Dragon Pulse became too much to bare, damaging Pangoro.
"Are you alright, Pangoro?"
In response, Pangoro shook off the damage, grinned, and pulled down his sunglasses over his eyes, showing he was ready for more.
"That's the spirit! Pangoro, use Dark Pulse!"
Pangoro fired the ray of dark circles towards Mega Garchomp, who only flew up away from the attack, leading it to hit the ground behind where the dragon was at and cause debris to fly out.
"Now angle your arms a little lower and spin around!"
Listening to his trainer's commands, Pangoro readjusted his arms to have the Dark Pulse he was firing to hit the ground more precisely and he then rotated a full 360, ruining the battlefield ground around him.
"Hm, I wonder what's her plan now. Garchomp, use Crunch on Pangoro!"
Mega Garchomp's teeth glew white and she flew down towards Pangoro who had just finished using Dark Pulse.
"Defend Pangoro with Slash, Charla!"
Charla quickly flew in front of Pangoro and quickly used Slash to block Mega Garchomp's attack from her partner, leading to the land shark's teeth biting down on her claw.
"Garchomp, bring her down!"
With on mighty downward thrust of her neck, Mega Garchomp threw Charla down and slammed her on the ground.
"Hammer Arm!" Serena quickly commanded her Pangoro.
Due to how sudden this command was from Serena, Sycamore couldn't react time as he saw the panda bring his red-glowing fist down towards his Mega Garchomp's head. The only thing Mega Garchomp could do was bring her fins out in a defensive position, allowing to slightly block the attack while getting pushed back in front of her trainer as she landed back to the ground and skid on her feet.
As Charla once again got back up, Serena gave another command to Pangoro.
"Use Stone Edge and keep it up!"
Pangoro slammed his fists on the ground non-stop, sending multiple pillars of stone to Mega Garchomp's direction.
"Destroy all of them with Dragon Claw!"
As the stone pillars got near Mega Garchomp, she only destroyed them all with Dragon Claw, though Pangoro still kept going, like his trainer said.
"There's no way you can tire us out, Serena! Garchomp, keep going and stay strong!"
As Pangoro kept using Stone Edge, Charla turned her head to Serena, who nodded to her. Charla nodded back and she silently flew closer to Mega Garchomp. Sycamore noticed this in time to give another command for his Mega Pokémon.
"Charla's sneaking up! Tried to defend yourself from her!"
Unfortunately for Sycamore, his Pokémon was still defending herself from Pangoro's endless Stone Edge entourage to keep focus on Charla as the fiery dragon flew faster to her.
"Garchomp look out!"
"Give her an up-close Flamethrower!"
Before Mega Garchomp could react, she was struck by a point-blank Flamethrower right to her face, though it didn't appear to do much damage. Charla flew back to her trainer's side, next to an exhausted Pangoro who had ceased his storms of Stone Edge. Serena anxiously stared at Mega Garchomp, hoping what she had planned work. At first, it seemed like it didn't, until Mega Garchomp was suddenly engulfed in a brief, but huge flame, showing she had been inflicted with Burn, thanks to how close Charla was to Mega Garchomp for the attack.
"Yes!"
"One Burn is not going to stop us! Mega Garchomp, use Crunch, and then Hyper Beam!"
Mega Garchomp swiftly flew over to Charla and bit her hard with Crunch before throwing right down on Pangoro. The land shark then delivered the both of them a powerful Hyper Beam, creating a huge dust of smoke. As the dust cleared, Mega Garchomp, after suffering from her Burn again for a little, flew back down on the ground in front of Sycamore. Once the dust was completely cleared, both Pangoro and Charla were shown to have fainted.
"Both Pangoro and Charla are unable to battle! Serena, please send out your last Pokémon!"
Serena took out both of their Pokéballs and recalled them back in.
"The two of you did fantastic and there's nothing more I could do to thank the both of you. Take a long, deserved rest now, okay?"
Back to the crowd, Bonnie whispered to Dedenne, "What's Serena gonna do now? She now only has one Pokémon and Sycamore's Garchomp has barely taken any damage."
"Dene..."
"Don't worry you two," Grace reassured them, having to have heard them, "my daughter knows what she is doing."
Now back at the battlefield, Serena took out her last Pokéball.
"Delphox, Pangoro, and Charla all did what they could," Serena spoke to the capsule, "and now it's your turn. Please, whether or not we are destined to win or lose, just do your very best. I believe in you."
With a determined look in her eyes, Serena threw her final ball to the battlefield.
"Absol, I choose you!"
Coming out of Serena's final Pokéball was the natural disaster sensing Pokémon, Absol.
"Go Absol, go!"
"Dene denene!"
"Give it all you got!"
"Well, I haven't seen that one in a long time," commented Sycamore. "Looks strong as ever, you obviously have taken good care of it, but sorry Serena, it's time for us to end it! Garchomp, Dragon Pulse!"
"Not just yet, professor! Jump into the air, Absol!"
Before the Dragon Pulse could reach her, Absol jumped extremely high in the air, avoiding the attack.
"Slam her down with Dragon Claw!"
Mega Garchomp flew up to Absol's level and attempted to strike her to the earth with Dragon Claw, but thanks to Mega Garchomp's Burn, the land shark was damaged once again, giving Absol the chance to land back to the ground, unharmed.
"Go after Absol!"
Mega Garchomp flew back down to the battlefield and started chasing down Absol as she fired more Dragon Pulse attacks to her.
"Use the terrain, Absol!"
Just as her trainer commanded of her, Absol used the battlefield grounds that had been ruined by Pangoro's Dark Pulse. Absol used many loose pieces of the ground to kick up and use as brief shields for the Dragon Pulse and then using arched up chunks of terrain to either duck underneath or jump away a good distance from her opponent. Later, Absol jumped behind one arched up chunk to defend herself from another Dragon Pulse, creating another brief cloud of dust.
"Jump, and use Razor Wind!"
Absol jumped from the cloud and fired her white crescent-shaped energy waves from her horn to her opponent, not only severely damaging her, but also having enough force to bring her to the ground. Now normally, an attack like Razor Wind really shouldn't do a whole lot to a Mega Garchomp, but upon seeing this happen, that's when Sycamore realized Serena's strategy.
"I see what you did there Serena. You used Delphox's Psychic to lower Garchomp's Special Defense, then had Pangoro's Dark Pulse change the terrain for Absol's advantage, and lastly gave Garchomp Burn with Charla's Flamethrower to give Absol the time to avoid Garchomp's attacks. Now that's skill, Serena."
"Thanks! I have learned from the best, y'know!" said Serena, obviously indicating towards Ash. "And after this, I will find the best."
"I see what you mean," responded Sycamore, knowing who she meant, "but it's not going to be enough! Garchomp, Hyper Beam!"
Mega Garchomp got back up and fired her Hyper Beam attack straight on Absol, inflicting heavy damage on the natural disaster Pokémon as she was blasted away.
"Don't give up Absol! Run around Garchomp with Double Team!"
Absol produced multiple clones of herself and she ran circles around Mega Garchomp.
"Dragon Pulse on all of them!"
Mega Garchomp fired her Dragon Pulse on all of the Absol around her, but much to her surprise, every single one of them were gone and she looked around, the real Absol suddenly appeared above her.
"Garchomp! Above you!"
"Psycho Cut!"
Absol's horn glew purple and she released a purple crescent energy wave down to Mega Garchomp, hitting her.
"Retaliate with Dragon Claw!"
Quickly recovering from the Psycho Cut, Mega Garchomp jumped up and brought Absol down with Dragon Claw and as Absol bounced up from the impact, Mega Garchomp struck her again, sending her skidding on her side back in front of Serena. After that though, Mega Garchomp suffered again from her Burn.
"Absol!" Serena called out in worry.
While she was incredibly damaged from the attacks she took from the Mega Evolved Pokémon, Absol knew how much her trainer needed to win this battle, so with all her strength, she got back up, only to be hit with fast Dragon Pulse attack. Even after that though, Absol was still not done yet!
"Absol," Serena called out, "I believe in you, no matter what! It's do or die now, so let's put our trust for each other to its max and win this!"
Pumped up with her trainer, Absol howled and glared determinedly at Mega Garchomp.
"Dragon Pulse!"
"Jump on that ramp!"
Absol ran towards the ramp her trainer was pointing to while avoiding some consecutive Dragon Pulses. She then jumped off the ramp over Mega Garchomp who was just about to give her another Dragon Pulse, only to be caught off guard by her Burn once again.
"Razor Wind!"
Absol launched more energy waves above Mega Garchomp, damaging her some more.
"Now use,-"
Before Serena could finish, Absol fired off her own attack, and a new one at that: Ice Beam, right dead of Mega Garchomp's head, causing very painful damage to her.
"Garchomp, no!"
"Absol, you learned Ice Beam, didn't you?" asked a surprised Serena. Her Pokémon turned her head to her and nodded with a smirk.
"You're almost there, Absol!"
"Denenenenene!"
"You can do this!"
"It's not over yet! Garchomp, Hyper Beam!"
"Dodge, and use Ice Beam!"
Mega Garchomp fired another Hyper Beam to Absol, but Absol only jumped away from the attack and fired Ice Beam once again at her opponent, and much to everyone's surprise, this was enough to finally take Mega Garchomp down.
(music stops playing)
"Garchomp is unable to battle," announced Clemont as Mega Garchomp reverted back to her regular form. "This means the winner is Serena of Vaniville Town!"
(plays Congratulations on Entering the Hall of Fame from Pokémon (Anime))
The crowd now went extremely wild upon seeing their Kalos Queen achieve such an incredulous victory.
Absol smirked at her victory before she started to fall down to her side from the huge amount of damage she sustained in battle, only to be quickly caught by her trainer.
"Absol, you were amazing! You, Delphox, Pangoro, and Charla! You all were just awesome!" Serena gratefully said to her Pokémon as she hugged her. In return, Absol licked her cheek.
Meanwhile, Professor Sycamore walked towards his fallen Garchomp.
"You and everyone did your very best. Thank you all so much." Sycamore said as he knelt down to his land shark and held up her head for her. Garchomp affectionately nuzzled her trainer in return before she was recalled into her Pokéball.
With Garchomp recalled, Sycamore stood back up and walked towards Serena and Absol. The two females saw this and looked up at the professor.
"Like I said before Serena, you've grown into a much stronger trainer these past eight years. Not only are your strategies impressive, but the amount of trust you have for your Pokémon is just completely impeccable. I couldn't be more proud."
"Thank you so much, professor. Though I wouldn't be like that now if it wasn't for you-know-who."
The professor chuckled and said, "Well, I wish you the best of luck on your search for I-know-who," Sycamore then knelt down to Serena and hugged her. "Please stay safe Serena, and please remember to always watch over your Pokémon's safety as well."
Serena returned the hug and said, "Of course, professor."
When they were done, Sycamore stood back up, said his goodbyes to Serena, Grace, Bonnie, and Clemont, and went his way back to his lab to heal his Pokémon. Half of the audience followed him, asking for autographs as they were overjoyed on seeing their regional professor battle. The half stayed for autographs from Serena, but she politely told all of them she will have to do them later as she's on a tight schedule right now.
With all the fans gone, Serena recalled Absol and went up to her mother.
"So mom, now that I've actually defeated Professor Sycamore in battle, do you I ha-"
Before Serena could finish, Grace brought a finger to her daughter's mouth.
"Shhh. You don't have to prove anything else, sweetie. You're ready."
Serena smiled at her mother and the two quickly hugged each other.
"Just remember to come back in one piece." said Grace as they hugged.
"Of course mom." replied Serena.
When the two were done hugging, that's when Clemont, Bonnie, and Dedenne approached them.
"Ready for what?" asked a confused Bonnie.
"Well Bon, I'm gonna be visiting Kanto for a little bit." said Serena.
"Why?"
"Jimmy told me some stuff." Serena whispered to Bonnie.
At first, Bonnie was confused by what Serena meant, but after the two looked into each others' eyes for a bit, Bonnie soon realized why Serena wanted to go to Kanto, and thanks to their sisterly relationship, she believed her.
"Good luck." Bonnie whispered back.
"Dene."
"Thanks, you two."
"Why are you going to Kanto?" asked a confused Clemont, not hearing what her sister and Bonnie were talking about.
"Just wanna visit some friends in Pallet there." lied Serena, knowing Clemont would try to stop her for her safety if he knew.
"Hm, okay."
After healing her Pokémon, Serena bought herself a plane ticket for the Kanto region and she was just about to board a plane at the Lumiose Airport, but first, she was saying her goodbyes to her mom and friends.
"Stay safe, sweetie!"
"Don't take too long, sis!"
"Denenene!"
"Say 'hi' to Oak for me!"
"No problem, you guys! See you all soon!" Serena shouted as she waved back and entered her plane. Few moments later, the plane ascended to the sky and took off.
Back on the ground, Grace watched as the plane her daughter was in disappeared in the distance.
"Serena, my beloved daughter, you're no longer a child, but a strong, independent lady, and I couldn't be more proud. I should've known from the start you were more than capable of doing this."
(plays The Afternoon Streets from Kingdom Hearts 2)
Inside the plane, Serena polished the Pokéballs that held Delphox, Pangoro, Absol, and Charla on her lap as she said, "I couldn't be thankful for what you all did. I love you all with all my heart." After she said that, all four capsules wobbled on their own, her Pokémon showing their appreciation for Serena from inside their balls. Serena smiled at the sight of this as she then took out Sylveon and Walrein's Pokéballs too.
"Professor Sycamore was tough, but Mt. Silver is going to be tougher, but I know it shouldn't be a problem for us. I believe in all of you guys and like I always say, we won't give up until it's over. I know we can do it."
Yays! Serena is now just getting closer and closer to Ash!
Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thanks again for helping this fanfic reach 100 followers! Like I said, this is really awesome!
Like always, please leave a review if you have anything to say, ask, bring up, suggest, whatever you want! I really much appreciate them!
Have a great day!
