So what do you do when you have nothing to do in the middle of Journalism class? Write a chapter to you next fanfiction, of course!
Amy47101 does not own pokemon.
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The Adventure Saga
The Reality of Serenity
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Serena grinned as she maneuvered her way through the Coumarine City gym. Instead of complicated roller skating with people laughing at her or insane rock climbing or a dangerous web that falls into a pit of darkness, this gym was a puzzle of getting through a maze of vine climbing and swinging. If she fell, there was a net there to catch her. Heck, she didn't even have to swing across the vines; she could just crawl across the nets.
But where was the fun in that?
She swooped over the nets, laughing joyfully as she landed on each platform. By the time she reached Ramos, she was giggling, out of breath, and positively giddy, though she tried to straiten her clothes a bit. Serena turned her attention to the gym leader, a relatively small old man with a euphoric smile on his face, using a pair of rather large scissors as a makeshift cane of sorts. Serena grinned.
"Yes!" she responded, still grinning. "It was amazing!"
"So yeh've made it clear up here!" he laughed. "I'm the Gym Leader. Ramos's the name. So what'd yeh think, whippersnapper? Did yeh have fun on the garden playground I made with all these sturdy plants o' mine?"
"Yes!" Serena grinned. Finally, a gym that didn't mean certain death if she fell down! Ramos laughed at her excitement.
"Their strength is a sign o' my strength as a gardener and a Gym Leader, yeh know!" he grinned, holding up a pokéball. "Three on three, whippersnapper. Yeh sure yer up to facing all that?"
"Any day of the week!" Serena grinned, holding up her own pokéball. Ramos laughed, and sent out his first pokémon, a Jumpluff. Serena grinned, sending out Braixen. This should be an easy sweep! "Sunny day!" Ramos smiled, tapping his scissors on the ground a few times.
Serena tilted her head as several seeds popped up from Jumpluff and landed around Braixen. She blinked as nothing happened. An attack without an order?
...
What was it?
"Flame Charge!" Serena ordered, deciding she needed to make the battle quick before her pokémon took into affect whatever attack was thrown at them. Braixen then bolted towards Jumpluff, surrounded in flames. Jumpluff began floating up to avoid it, but Braixen jumped up after it, grabbing it by one of it's fluffs, did a front flip, and slammed it into the ground, instantly knocking it out.
Ramos hardly seemed phased as he sent out his Weepinbell. He tapped his scissors into the ground again, and this time, Weepinbell spat out puffs of purple powder. Serena recognized this move, it was Poison Powder. Braixen whined under her breath, shaking herself so that the purple clumps wouldn't stick to her fur, though she coughed as she breathed in the toxins
But why the total lack of orders?
"Flamethrower!" she ordered. Braxien grabbed the stick coming from her tail, and flames flew from it, scorching Weepinbell, another on hit KO. Serena grinned. "You're doing great, Braixen! Only a little-" she gasped as Braixen suddenly fell over, unconscious. Serena stepped back in surprise, trying to figure out what happened. It was only Poison Powder! If it was Toxic, she'd expect the fainting, but the powder was nowhere near as lethal as Toxic!
"Yeh look surprised, whippersnapper." Ramos commented as he withdrew Weepinbell. Serena mimicked the action, retuning Braixen. "Look closely." Serena blinked, staring at the spot where Braixen had fallen. In the spot was the seeds, with tiny little sprouts coming out of them.
"Leech Seed." she stated, facepalming. How could she be so foolish? Regardless, she was at the upper hand. She grabbed her next pokémon. "Amaura!" Ramos smiled, sending out his final pokémon. A Gogoat. "Avalanche!"
"Bulldoze." Serena realized that the Ramos wasn't going to hide his orders from her any longer, now that Leech Seed was planted. She cried out as Gogoat dodged around Amuara's attack, and rammed into Amaura. Amaura skidded back, no doubt loosing quite a bit of her HP from that ground type attack alone.
"Aurora Beam!" she ordered, watching as a colorful blast of aura shot from Amaura's mouth. It hit Gogoat head on, though it hardly seemed to phase it. Gogoat shook off the attack and jumped back, kneeling down and eyeing it's target as Ramos ordered another Bulldoze attack. Amaura skidded back, the Leech Seed draining the last of her HP. Serena ground her teeth together as she sent out Roserade. With one quick Poison Jab attack, it was over, but the fact that she nearly lost to one of the considerably weakest typings bothered her.
Shaking it off, she smiled, looking up at Ramos he simply gave a euphoric smile. He turned his head to the side and sighed. He looked back, and walked towards her, holding out her badge.
"Yeh believe in yer Pokémon... And they believe in yeh, too... Mighty oaks from acorns grow. Go on, then. Yeh've earned it. Here's yer own Plant Badge, sprout."
"Thank you." Serena said, nodding her head respectfully as she pinned the badge to her Halo Castor strap. She returned Roserade, looking for a way to get down from the high point over the gym.
"Don't yeh worry, sprout, there's a way down." Ramos walked over to a small wooden door that Serena failed to notice before. He pushed it open, revealing a long slide. "Think of it as a second reward, sprout. The kiddies love it."
"I can see why!" Serena exclaimed, bouncing on her feet with anticipation.
"But a word of advice before yeh leave." Ramos stated. "From acorns does mighty oaks grow, but the acorn grows to big, it falls from the tree. Without proper nutrients, it withers and dies."
"Uh... okay?" Serena said, smiling out of respect as she tried to make sense of the analogy. "Well, thank you!" she hastily sat down on the slide, making sure her olive skirt was tucked firmly under her, and pushed off.
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"From acorns does mighty oaks grow..." Serena muttered on the bench as the day shifted to evening. "But the acorn grows to big, it falls from the tree..." she scratched at the side of her head. "Then it withers and dies...?"
She was silent for a moment, then groaned loudly
"It makes no sense! And why is it even bothering me so much?!" she slammed the back of her head on the back of the bench, then winced, sitting up and rubbing the spot. She got up to get her hat, which had fallen from her earlier action. "Not a good idea..." she groaned as she adjusted her hat.
"So did you see those outfits those weirdos were wearing? Who in their right mind would wear a flaming orange suit? It's ludicrous to be wearing something like that in the fashion country of Earth!"
Serena turned her attention the a couple walking along the path, both obviously just coming from the deserts that laid beyond. She narrowed her eyes at the familiar looking outfits both donned.
"Honestly, Sina, you've been ranting about this for the last half-hour."
"And Calem! So rude! He blew by a lady! Pour essayer de pousser une dame bas...! Le nerf...!"
Yep, that sealed it.
"Sina! Dexio!" she called out. The two assistants turned to look at her, before both grinned, Sina because she was happy to see her again and Dexio simply because he didn't have to listen to the former rant any longer.
"Serena! We figured you'd be around here by now." Dexio greeted. "We've come to update your pokédex! Trevor said he, Shauna, and Tierno was close by here. I'm glad we ran into you, because now we don't have to hunt you down!"
"We ran into Calem on our way here." Sina said as Serena dug out her pokédex, passing it to Dexio as he plugged it into his Halo Caster. "Or rather, he ran into me. So rude, I tell you! We were having but a simple conversation, and he was being charming and humorous, per usual, then he suddenly spotted something and nearly plowed me down to go after it! I looked over my shoulder and saw him chasing down some strange man with a hairstyle that looked like a soft-serve ice cream cone on the side of his head and this audaciously bright orange suit!"
"I didn't even return his pokédex." Dexio sighed, passing back her own dex then tucking his Halo caster away. "Would you mind returning it to him? We have to wait here for the others..." he pulled out the dex, holding it out to her. Serena swallowed for a moment, then glanced at Sina.
"Tell me, did the man in the audaciously bright orange suit and the soft-serve hairstyle say anything? Do anything strange?"
"We couldn't hear him..." Sina sighed. "But he stuck an obscure pose on the way to the Power Plant..."
"Oh, Arceus...!" she muttered, snatching the dex and bolting towards the exit, the two assistants crying out after her.
"Which direction to the Power Plant?!" Serena shouted to the desk attendant in the gateway. The blond attendant looked slightly taken aback, then pointed to a digital map on a tablet.
"Go down the steps and if you turn to your left, you honestly can't miss it..."
"Thank you!" Serena shouted over her shoulder as she bolted outside. The attendant blinked at her retreating form, tapping her finger to her chin thoughtfully.
"I probably should have told her that Murkrow migrate over the route at night and will go after anything shiny..." the girls four badges popped into her mind, then she shook her head. "She's got four badges. I'm sure she can handle herself."
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"OH MY ARCEUS, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Serena shrieked as she began to viciously wave her bag around as another four Murkrow dive-bombed for her bag. Tears were streaming down her face as these new attackers flew off. She tripped over her own two feet, and in front of her was a Murkrow, pecking at the dirt.
Her eyes widened and dilated in fear. The Murkrow stared at her. It squawked, flapping it's wings. Serena shrieked, a loud, piercing sound, scaring the bird off. She swallowed, visibly shaking, and took deep breaths as a way to calm her shaking heart. A strong gust of wind blew by, nearly blowing her hat off her head. She snatched it back, holding it close.
A gift from Calem. Calem was probably nose deep in Arceus knows what trouble, and she was here, quivering over a bird? The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous her actions sounded. But no matter how many times she told herself this, no matter what the situation, every time she one of those Arceus-damned feathered beasts...!
She shuddered. Opening her eyes, she saw something glinting amongst the red dirt and dust. Was it something she dropped? Or maybe the Murkrow snatched it...
She scooped it up, then brushed off the dirt. She nearly laughed at her luck. It was a key card. One to get into the power plant. Shaking her head and standing, she took a cautionary glance around for the murderous Murkrow. She saw a huge flock of them above her. She opened her mouth for a moment in surprise and fear at the looming black cloud, then bolted in the direction she thought the powerpoint was.
"Hey, you-!" Serena didn't even bother to address the Team Flare grunt that stood in her way. She whipped out a pokéball, sending out the creature inside.
"Sylveon, Dazzling Gleam!" Serena ordered. The grunt cried out in surprise as the sudden blinding light flashed in front of him. Serena ran past him, much to afraid of the black cloud of destruction flying closer and closer to her as she ran past him.
She practically slammed into the door, struggling with the keycard as some Murkrow swooped towards her. Finally getting the card into the slot, it paused for five seconds before the light went from red to green, a click, though silent, rang out like a beam of hope. She yanked open the door and slammed it shut behind her.
Still shaking, she dropped her bag, spilling the contents, and sank to the ground, taking quick, rapid breaths as she attempted to calm herself down. Shaking slightly, she reached out to gather her items, though one thing sticking out of her bag caught her sight in particular.
A blue sleeve.
"What...?" Serena mumbled to herself as she pulled it out of her bag. She paused, staring at it for a moment. It was Calem's jacket. Swallowing, she recalled him giving it to her a few days ago, a form of comfort when Team Flare attacked the Tower of Mastery, when she practically checked out mentally from the insane amount of birds surrounding her. She must have shoved it in her bag when she was hurrying to meet up with him and the others the next morning. There it sat, she supposed, until now.
Calem wouldn't have forgotten. She swore if it wasn't for the fact that he gave this to her, he would still be wearing it today. She clenched her fists into the jacket, hugging it close as she reminded herself to calm down.
She had to return his jacket, after all.
Her head snapped up when she heard a shout of exclamation followed by several banging noises.
Not even thinking, she slipped the sweatshirt on, not even bothering to zip it up as she began shoving other items back into her bag. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she hurried down a set of stairs and down the hallway, swearing to Arceus that the shouts were Calem's.
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"You...! Are...! A bunch...! Of...! Stupid...! Morons...!" Calem yelled, furiously kicking at the closet door that locked him inside. "Do you think tying me up and shoving me in a janitors closet was smart? Arceus, you can't even call this a cliche because you didn't even knock me out first! Stupid!"
"Stop calling us stupid!" a Team Flare grunt on the other side shouted, slamming his fist on the door. "You were separated from the other captives for a reason, because you were so damn loud! Be quiet!" Calem smirked. He knew that if he could get a rise out of them, they would open the door to direct their rage to him face-to-face, mano-to-mano. And even with his hands tied behind his back, literally, he could still deliver one good kick to the jewels and run until he found someone who could help him.
"Stupid!" Calem yelled out, almost childishly as he stood up, kicking the door with one foot. A difficult feat, he decided, what with his hands tied behind his back and a complete lack of balance. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He smirked as he heard a click, then lowered his foot and crouched slightly. The door opened, revealing a Team Flare grunt standing there with his hands on his hips, mouth open to talk to him. "Suuuuuuuper KICK!" Calem shouted as he kicked the male grunt between the legs, then in the stomach.
Laughing, he stepped over his fallen body and bolted. It was kind of silly, running with his arms behind his back, but he needed to find his bag. His bag had his pokémon, and once he had those guys back, everything would be fine.
He widened his eyes when he saw a Flare grunt ahead, with his bag slung over his shoulder. He had a silly walk to him, almost like a deranged zombie or something. He also had this strange little twitch to it...
Creepy.
"Knock knock, who's there?" Calem wondered if he was talking to him but, quickly realized he was walking away from him. That meant someone else was here.
"You... That's Calem's!"
He knew that voice. Serena! He stayed back a bit. He needed to wait for a opening, then attack. Like a ninja!
"Knock, knock, who you? Knock, knock, you who? Knock, knock, knock... knock... Me who? Calem who? Me too?" he continued on, as if uncaring of what she said. The grunt paused, looking her over. "Seriously, though, who are you?" He twitched again. "Only authorized personal are allowed to be here!"
"Says the guy who broke in and kidnapped people!" Serena stated, pointing a finger at him. A battled ensued, his Scraggy and Croagunk against Serena's Amaura and Kirlia. While the grunt was focused on the battle. Calem made his move.
"Suuuuuuper...!" he shouted as he ran forward. "KICK!" he slammed his foot into the grunts back causing him to stumble down.
"Calem!" Serena cried out in relief before putting her focus back on the battle. "Amaura, Ice Beam! Kirlia, knock out the grunt with Hypnosis!" following the orders, the two pokémon quickly took care of their opponents, the grunt falling to the ground. Calem turned, grinning.
"Impressed by my Super Kick? When I'm famous in Pokéstar Studios, I'm going to make it my signature move!"
"Calem, you're an idiot!" she said, her Kirlia manipulating the rope around his wrists. It fell to the ground. Calem immediately scooped up his bag as Serena returned her two pokémon. Serena had her arms crossed, still ranting about how he was an idiot and how he could have gotten hurt and stuff of the sort. He turned, glancing at her, then grinned.
"Seré~!" he sang out. She paused as he leaned in closer to her, meeting her eye-to-eye. "You have my favorite jacket. You're wearing it." he stood up straight and smiled as her mouth flapped about, trying to think of an excuse. "Could it be... It's a reminder of all the good times we've had together? Or did you selfishly keep it because you're secretly in lo-"
"It keeps me calm."
"Eh?" Calem asked, stopping mid-tease session to look at her. She was looking down, cheeks painted pink, nervously picking at the sleeves of the jacket with her fingers.
"I-I-I-I j-j-just... there were a lot of Murkrow outside b-before I came in here. A-And I w-w-was having a p-panic attack in the hallway, so..." she trailed off, trying to get over the stuttering, and quickly looking away. Calem said nothing for a moment, then smiled.
"I'll protect you from those stupid bird, Seré! I've got my super kick, after all!" he turned to the grunt. "But lets get rid of this guy first." he grabbed the grunt by the ankles, dragging him down the hall a bit. Serena watched him curiously as he opened a closet door. He looked over at her, smiling. "If it worked for me, it'll work for them!"
And then he promptly shoved the Flare grunt into the closet, locking the door behind him.
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AAAAAARGH, AMY YOU BE SO STUPID.
I meant to update this, like, last weekend, but forgot. So I kinda sorta added in some cutesy CalemxSerena at the end there, plus a gym battle, sooo yeah.
Sorry! Now for a Summoning update, as promised!
Amy47101 signing off! ^.^