One month and some days later…
The battlefield was set and the two battlers went at it with full determination.
"Alright Pansage, use Double Slap!" A young first year student by the name of Joey sent his Pokémon head long at his opponents Pokémon.
Calem acknowledged the younger's effort but his Pokémon would never fall to such an attack. "Dodge it Absol, then counter with Sky Upper Cut!"
Calem's Pokémon, the calm and collective Absol, shifted right to avoid the little Pansage's Double Slap. Then, with a furious blow from its glowing head horn, it sent the Pansage rocketing upwards.
"Bring it back down with Aerial Ace!" Calem said.
Joey panicked. "Try to dodge it Pansage!" But it was no use. Pansage had no maneuverability while airborne.
Absol jumped and caught Pansage on its horn which delivered a super-effective Aerial Ace. Pansage landed on its back with a thump and showed no sign of getting back up.
"Looks like that's it," Calem said.
Joey slumped over with a sigh. "Ah, I almost got you too." He returned an exhausted Pansage to its Poké Ball. "Good match Calem."
Calem nodded with a smile. "Good match." He returned his Absol to its respective Poké Ball and went over to sit down on a bench set to the far side of the school's courtyard.
"How many does that make?" Tierno asked as he wolfed down his lunch like a hungry Snorlax.
Trevor spoke up without looking away from his portable computer. "Fifty-seven battles in total with fifty-seven wins and zero defeats." He said as he continued to type in data.
"Gee, thanks for keeping count." Calem said with a bit of sarcasm. "It's not a competition, really."
Shauna rolled her eyes as she ate her lunch too. "Oh come on Calem, it's obvious you're training up for the Lumiose Cup." She took a big bite out of her rice cake. "You want to be number one at the tournament and then have your first battle with Serena."
Calem dipped his head a little. "Read my like a book, Shauna." He looked over to the other side of courtyard where another battle was coming to a conclusion. "I'm not the only one who's been hard at work."…
A large plume of dust was kicked up from the last move of the match and when it finally settled, Marcus' opponent's Pokémon was down for the count.
"Oh no, Mareep!" Jodie, another first year student and twin sister to Joey, said with a defeated look on her face.
On Marcus' side of the field, a mighty Noivern spread its wings and hollered in victory.
"Sorry about that," Marcus said honestly. "Noivern may play rough but it doesn't mean it." He returned Noivern to its Poké Ball. "You did well though."
Jodie returned her Mareep as well. "Uh… thanks," She said not so sure if she should be thanking him of all people.
Marcus left with a nod and went to sit by himself at a bench of his own on the other side of the courtyard…
"He seems sooooo different now." Shauna said, munching into another rice cake. "Do you think Serena beat him so hard that he actually rethought his whole life?" Shauna said sarcastically with a mouthful of food.
"Possibly," Calem commented. "He's stopped making challenges towards me entirely and he even battles differently now." He shrugged. "So what you say might not be far from the truth."
Tierno chuckled. "That's Serena for ya. Speaking of whom." He pointed towards where Marcus was sitting. The group saw Serena walk over and sit down next to Marcus. From her bag Serena took out two lunches, one for her and the other for Marcus.
Shauna grinned mischievous. "Hey guys, you ever think something's going on between those two?"
"Going on?" Trevor asked. "I feel like I'm missing the context here."
Shauna gave the younger a playful elbow. "You know, they've been seeing each other a lot lately."
Calem rolled his eyes. "It's not really our business,"
Shauna shot him a grin. "Jealous?"
Calem shook his head. "I'm not bothered by it. If Serena doesn't mind being around Marcus all the time then it a telltale sign that he really has changed."
"Not to mention they've been training together a lot." Tierno added. "I bet ya that's why Marcus' Noibat evolved into a Noivern."
"Yeah, but Serena has been training all of us." Shauna said. "I bet they have a thing for each other."
"A thing?" Trevor asked.
Shauna giggled at the younger's obliviousness. "I'll explain it later."…
"Thank you for the lunch today." Marcus said as he and Serena traveled the forest road back to Viniville Town.
Serena smiled. "It was last night's leftovers. I thought you might like something different from all the five-star cooking your chef forces you to eat."
"Five-star food isn't that bad." He said with hands in his pockets and head leaning back to watch a spring sun break through the forest canopy. "You should come try it sometime."
A hint of a blush came to Serena. "Are you asking me… to have dinner with you?"
The realization of what his comment sounded like hit Marcus like a freight train. "Uhh…" He looked away, trying to find distraction in the bushes to the side. "I think it would be nice to have some company for dinner…" Oh how he wished a wild Pokémon would appear and break the awkward tension.
Serena's thoughts were just the same. "We… we could do that. Maybe after the Lumiose Cup, while we're in the city, we could go somewhere nice and… fancy…" She said as she pressed her books tightly against her chest.
"A fine restaurant sounds good." Marcus said and then found relief when he saw Serena's house coming up. "I mean… I'd be more than happy to take you to one. If you' want."
A few seconds of silence made the scene all the more suspenseful for the two of them
When they came to a stop just outside of her house, Serena finally got the nerve to kick her shyness to the curb and say, "I'd like that…" The words were like a breath of fresh air to her. "I'd like that a lot."
"Alright," He said, obviously relieved. "After the tournament then,"
They bid each other silent goodbyes with nervous smiles. Serena brushed passed a snoozing Rhyhorn and went inside.
She let out the loudest breath of air and wished that she could talk to people as good she could battle them.
"Serena? Are you home darling? Come into the living room, someone's here to see you." Serena's mother called out from the adjacent room.
Who could that be? She wondered as she kicked off her shoes and entered the living room.
Her mother was there sitting on the coach with Fletchling on her shoulder and another woman was looking at some of the pictures on the fireplace.
Serena's heart nearly exploded out of her chest when she realized who it was. "Master Cynthia!"
In two bounds she had crossed the room and delivered a tackle of a hug into the Sinnoh League Champion.
The elder woman returned the hug with a warm embrace. "My, my, how you've grown my student,"
They separated and they down on the coach and chair set in the room.
"I can't believe you're here in Kalos," Serena began. "I thought you'd be too busy running the Sinnoh League to visit."
Cynthia gave her a dismissive wave. "Even a Pokémon League Champion has some vacation time. Between seeing my favorite student and touring the wonders of Kalos region, how could I resist?"
"Does that mean you'll be staying in Kalos for a while?" The younger asked eagerly.
Serena's mother, Grace, piped up. "She'd better be after the news I just got from her."
"What news?" Serena asked.
Cynthia smiled and folded her arms. "When word spread that I would be visiting Kalos, the mayor of Lumiose City offered me the Seat of Honor at the upcoming Lumiose Cup. What that means is that I'll be challenging whoever places first in the tournament to an exhibition battle."
"Really…" Serena expression was gleeful and yet hollow underneath.
Cynthia sensed her student's troubles. "I can tell you're not entirely pleased by this."
Serena blushed in embarrassment. "No, no it's not that I'm upset or anything. I'm just a little conflicted."
Grace gave Serena the million year old 'mother's look.' "What's on your mind darling?"
Serena sighed. "I wasn't planning on entering the tournament, instead I wanted to watch my friends compete, whom I've helped train over the past month."
Cynthia nodded. "And you didn't want to compete against them in the tournament because they'll undoubtedly loose against you."
She nodded too. "I just wanted to give them a chance. But now that you've come all this way to Kalos, I feel obligated to enter."
"Don't think like that dear." Grace said. "There nothing wrong with entering a little tournament like the Lumiose Cup."
"Your mother is right." Cynthia said. "And if you've been training them like I've trained you, then they'll be more than ready for the rest of the competition."
"Trust me," Serena said with a smirk. "I dare not train them as hard as you had trained me. They'd be begging to stop before it ever began."
They shared a small laugh.
"How about it dear," Grace asked. "Is the Iron Maiden up for another tournament?"
Serena thought long and hard on it. By now she was used to the attention that comes with winning battles. She didn't need another trophy to gather dust in a trophy case, what she wanted was for her friends to be prepared for their journeys when they embark on them. Maybe battling with them one last time at the Lumiose Cup will assure her that she's helped all that she can.
"I'll do it," She said with deadest determination. "I'll enter the Lumiose Cup. And when I win," She shot her teacher a confident grin. "You and I are going to battle with everything we've got."
Cynthia returned the grin in-kind. "Everything we've got, hmm?" She dug into her black coat pocket's and retrieved a shiny black band. "In that case, you should have this."
Serena took the black band and studied it. It was the right size for her to wear on her wrist and had a stone embedded into it that had a strange energy coming from it that made her aura sense peek.
"What is this?" She asked with immense curiosity.
"It's called the Mega Ring." Cynthia began. "An old guru gave it to me and said I should give it to a trainer of, as he put, 'great purity and strength' so naturally I thought of you. He claimed that the energy generated by the Mega Stone set in it could unlock certain Pokémon's full potential. Consider it a graduation gift."
"Fascinating, thank you," She snapped the Mega Ring onto her left wrist. A perfect fit. "How is it supposed to unlock a Pokémon's full potential exactly?"
Cynthia shrugged with upturned palms. "Beats me,"
Serena jaw would've hit the floor if it wasn't attached to her skull. "Are you serious?" She said in surprise.
Cynthia gave a small laugh and scratched the back of her head. "The guru wasn't exactly forth coming with any additional information. All he said was that certain Pokémon can experience an evolution beyond what they naturally evolve into. He called it Mega Evolution and said that only trainers like you and I could ever achieve it." She unzipped her coat a little to show Serena a chained necklace with a Mega Stone attached to it that was similar to Serena's.
"This is the Mega Chain." She said, showing it to a bedazzled Serena. "That old guru gave me a Mega Stone of my own too and he expects the both of us to figure out Mega Evolution on our own."
"Sounds like an interesting man, this guru. I'd like to meet him sometime." Serena said.
"On your journey perhaps," Grace said.
A pop came from Serena's Poké Ball and Lucario suddenly appeared. "Hey you," She protested. "How many times have I told you not to come bursting out like that.
Lucario ignored her and went over to Cynthia's side. "She can't help it." Cynthia said. "We haven't seen each other in a while, that's all. You two are spitting images of each other you know." She said as she scratched Lucario's sweet spot just underneath her chin. The Pokémon enjoyed every second of it.
"Mom tells us that all the time." Serena commented with a role of the eye…
Really short filler chapter this week. I'm gearing things up for the next two chapters which will be pretty jam-packed with all the awesomeness you can expect from this story. Obviously Mega Evolution is around the corner and I'm also hinting at a little fluff between Marcus and Serena. Nothing serious for now but just some lightheartedness to add to the story. Tell me if you approve or not.
Till next time fellow trainers,
Xander867