Hello everyone!
I'm kind of disappointed that the last chapter had literally no review, but the fact that we are over de 70 favorites and 80 follows makes me happy, so everything is fine.
Last chapter was… bad… sorry, I'm ashamed really and will be taking it down at a later time to make some fixes. But the good news is we are approaching chapter 10 and I think a lot of you already know what it will be about.
Next chapter is going to be my longest chapter ever, and I really hope to do it right. Anyway, let's get down to the story.
I want to thank my sister for helping me answer all your pm while I was hospitalized the last two weeks, worst days of my life… but anyway I hope you like this chapter.
Enjoy!
A week without her – A little Adventure!
It had been three days since our friends had parted ways and while Ash, Brock and Lucy were battling in the Battle Chateau, Serena and Dawn were enjoying a good rest in Ambrette Town.
The last two days they had gone from visiting the Aquarium to checking the training grounds for sky riders in the mountains, it was the first time Serena had used a sky trainer suit and she loved it.
But today they were wondering what to do.
"Hey Dawn, I was thinking… why don't we go take a look at the bathing suits? That way we can enjoy the beach once Ash and Brock are done in the Chateau"
The coordinator looked at her friend and gave her an animated nod "Let's go swimming with them later then, swimsuits first!"
Agreeing with her friend, Serena followed Dawn to the shops to check out what kind of swimsuits they had.
Ampere played with Pachirisu and Piplup while Lopunny just enjoyed looking at all kind of accessories. The two female Pokémon had fixed their friendship, although the female Pikachu insisted that she wasn't in love with Ash's Pikachu, Lopunny and the others had begun to tease her about it.
The first time it was weird for Lopunny because she was teasing her friend with her shared crush, but after a few times her reactions were just too funny to pass. Pachirisu had apologized to the girls for the problems he caused too.
All in all, Dawn's Pokémon where slowly building their friendship back, and while the girls and their Pokémon enjoyed the trip to the shops…
Battle Chateau
Brock had finished another battle against an older man whom seemed upset for losing a big sum of money.
"Hey Ash, how are you doing?"
"Not good… I want to die… it's been three days!"
Brock just sweat dropped "I'm talking about your battles"
"I was hoping for a challenge, but most of the people in the event are just old timers or rich idiots who think that money can buy the strongest Pokémon" Answered the black haired teen, looking around once again he just let out another sigh "I really miss her"
Lucy approached the boys with a big smile, she wasn't expecting for this to be so easy "Hey guys, can you believe that I've earned almost eight millions?"
Brock hugged his girlfriend returning her smile "I've made four millions, those guys are definitely noblemen, there was this old lady whom didn't seem to care losing nine thousand Pokédolars against me"
"I've made ten millions, there was this rich boy that wanted to 'put me in my place' and we bet the same amount of money I had earned at the moment… I think he wanted to take me out of the competition…"
Brock and Lucy were impressed at their friend; while Ash had been moping around since the second day and complaining about Serena not being there, that certainly didn't stop the boy from winning against the wide variety of challengers that wanted a piece of 'Sinnoh's League Champion' and show him that Kalos was stronger… but none of them had managed to defeat him.
At that moment an old lady approached Ash "Hello young man, my name is Clara"
Ash stood from his seat and gave a slight bow "Nice to meet you ma'am, my name is Ash Ketchum and this is my partner Pikachu"
At that moment his partner climbed to his shoulder and greeted the lady, he had been quite bored in the past days, Gastly and Nidoran had apologized to him and he had forgave them, but there was nothing to do in the Battle Chateau to entertain themselves.
"I would like to request a battle with you"
"It will be my honor"
Taking positions both trainers, Ash took out his PokéDex while Clara took out her bracelet, and the P.B.S activated.
"Gastly I choose you!"
"Go my dear Turtwig!"
Battle Begin
"Gastly lest start with Will-o-Wisp into Shadow Ball!"
"Turtwig evade and use Crunch!"
The ghost Pokémon sent two small balls of fire at Turtwig who tried to get out of the way, but Gastly moved the Will-o-Wisp so that it followed the grass type, burning him successfully, Turtwig felt a lot of pain but tried to tolerate it, he was about to turn and use Crunch but Gastly had been faster and the Shadow Ball hit him fully.
"Turtwig use Synthesis!"
"Gastly don't let him, use Curse and then Hex!"
The turtle-like Pokémon started healing himself but instead of the refreshing feeling of the grass type move, he started feeling heavy and it was hard to breathe, Gastly had successfully used Curse on him and proceeded to attack with Hex.
The battle didn't last long as Turtwig got exhausted quickly and the P.B.S showed that the grass type had fainted.
"That was a good battle young man, is been ages since these old bones had a taste of excitement"
"Thank you ma'am, it was great battling against you"
Brock took care of Turtwig and gave him back to Clara "This little one has been raised properly and has a lot of strength, you've done a wonderful job ma'am"
The old woman thanked him and petted her friend softly, congratulating him for the efforts.
Gastly and Ash saw this and smiled "You did well Gastly, thank you" the ghost Pokémon accepted the praise and returned happily into his PokéBall.
The trio of friends then parted ways with Clara, the woman waved a hand at them and was about to walk away when she noticed the Turtwig looking intently at Ash.
Ambrette Town
By now the girls had finished buying and were now preparing to get back to the PokéCenter "That was so good"
Serena smiled at Dawn and agreed with her "Yeah, it's been so long since I had the chance to buy so many cute things, even a new swimsuit"
"I bet Ash is missing you already, moping around and whining because he doesn't have his girlfriend" Dawn's commentary made Serena blush slightly.
"Is not like we spend every minute of every day together…"
As they were entering the PokéCenter something caught their attention, two men dressed in a very… weird clothes.
"…A lot of the fossils are ready to be turned into Pokémon, but the boss is convinced that there should be a DNA sample to revive an Aerodactyl…"
Serena had overhead the last part of the conversation but didn't say anything, once the two girls were in their room Dawn started unpacking.
"Hey Dawn… do you know what is an Aerodactyl?"
"I heard that is a fossil Pokémon, there should be info in the PokéDex" after taking her device she started searching for the ancient Pokémon "Aerodactyl: This vicious Pokémon is said to have flown in ancient skies while shrieking high-pitched cries."
Serena took a good look at the Pokémon "It looks powerful… and dangerous"
"Yeah… but it says here that resurrected Pokémon has been slightly modified to inhibit their most dangerous and wild instincts, however is still advisable to not make them angry"
A strange sense of challenge invaded Serena at that very moment and her eyes showed a determined shine… one that Dawn wasn't liking at all "You are not thinking about getting one… are you?"
Serena just smiled at her and hugged her "Tomorrow you and I will be going to look for information about how to get and Aerodactyl"
The coordinator just sweat dropped "I don't like this…"
Next Day
It was early in the morning and Serena had woken up Dawn, they were now fully dressed and prepared to search for a way to get an Aerodactyl for Serena.
"Come on Dawn! The faster we start investigating the faster we come back!"
"Just a moment!" Dawn was retrieving her Pokémon from Nurse Joy "Why are you so interested in getting an Aerodactyl anyway?"
"Because it looks dangerous and fast… I like it!" answered the girl with a big smile.
The coordinator just shook her head slowly "I think being exposed to Ash for so long is really dangerous" mumbled to herself.
"Did you say something?"
"That I think it's really cool that you want an Aerodactyl that looks fast and dangerous!"
And with that both girls started walking to their first destination, the Fossil Lab.
Meanwhile in the Battle Chateau.
"Another day without her… I'm going crazy!" whined Ash while getting ready for another day of battles.
Pikachu and Froakie had started feeling weird too, and it was showing.
"Hey Pikachu, do you want to take a quick snack from the bag?"
"Yeah! We can also invite the girls, Ampere will…" the poor male Pikachu then realized that his friend wasn't there. "Right… the girls are not here…"
Froakie just patted his friend and gave him a berry from the Ash's bag "I'm missing Fennekin too… is refreshing having someone to talk that shares your likes and can understand you"
Pikachu took a bite to the berry and tought about it… he liked spending time with Ampere too, and they both liked a lot of similar things although they had their differences… "Do I actually like her?"
Ash saw his friends taking a snack and decided to take one too "You know guys, once we are out of here I'll take Serena on a date… I miss her so much!"
Ambrette Town: One hour later
Serena and Dawn had talked with the people from the Fossil Lab and they had told Serena that if she found a DNA sample from an Aerodactyl then they would be more than glad to revive it for her. One of the scientist had recommended to go to Glistening Cave because a lot of fossils could be found in the area.
So now our friends were riding on a Rhyhorn on route to said place when…
"I'm telling you, the boss said that we had to come back with that stupid Aerodactyl…"
Serena recognized the people as the ones that had been standing outside the PokéCenter the night before, but something about them gave her the creeps "Hey Dawn… let's try to not catch their attention"
The coordinator nodded and they both continued their travel, reaching the entrance of the cave a few minutes later.
The girls left their Ryhorn with a member of the rental staff in the other side and started making their way into the cave, which was covered with shining stones that illuminated the whole place.
"This looks beautiful… Ash would like this" said Serena.
Dawn smirked and teased her friend "You really miss him don't you?"
"Just a bit…" answered the Sky-rider with a light blush "Let's get going"
As the two girls entered the cave they started looking for something that could resemble a Fossil, they kept exploring the caves for two hours without much success until Serena noticed an entrance to another level of the cave and some people walking out of it, dressed exactly like the guys from before.
"Hey Dawn look… they are dressed like the other guys"
The coordinator gave her a slight nod "We should hide for a moment just in case… I don't like them"
Both of them found a small group of rocks near the entrance big enough to hide them, once there they could hear the commotion happening inside.
"I'm telling you that I'm not giving you more samples!"
"So you wanna play, huh Doc!? I can play too, tell me where the Aerodactyl fossil is before I play with your face!"
"Not gonna happen!" after a few moments the man with the fancy clothes started punching the scientist. The girls wanted to stop him but they were stopped when one of the guys took out his clothes, showing it was only a disguise, and entered the cave.
"I won't let you hurt him anymore!"
The guards at the entrance rushed into the cave to assist against the spy "
Dawn looked into the cave and took a good look at the man "No way!"
"What is it?" asked Serena looking at her
"I know that guy, he is James from team rocket!"
"Who?"
Dawn looked at her friend "I'll tell you later, let's help him out!"
Both girls got out of hiding and stood at with James "The twerpette... I mean Dawn!?"
The leader of the enemy group just snared at them "I don't have time for this shit, I'm out…" he looked at his grunts "… Lexi, Rex, you two take care of these pests and you better bring me that damned Aerodactyl" and with that he left through another exit.
"Of course boss!" the two of them said and stood between the group and their leader.
"Let's do this Rex, just like we practiced!"
"Sure!"
"To burn to ashes the filth of this world!"
"To defeat the ugliness, that is our goal!"
"To protect the people from their devious selfishness!"
"And reach the peak of our greatness"
"Lexi!"
"Rex!"
"Team Flare is preparing to ignite the night!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
At this, James was totally furious "How dare you… HOW DARE YOU!"
Serena looked at him concerned and confused, but she noticed that Dawn seemed angry too.
"Yeah how could you!?" yelled the coordinator at the duo, she looked at James and gave him a slight nod, then turned to Serena and whispered something that left her even more confused.
Dawn looked at Lexi and Rex for a moment and smirked, making a pose.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"And extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Dawn!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off at speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Se-Serena that's right!"
Finished the honey-blond girl very embarrassed of having to make a pose to say that silly line, it was James who turned to Dawn and smiled in gratitude "That was almost perfectly beautiful, but is not the same without Jess and Meowth"
"At least we showed them who the real deal is!" said Dawn extending a hand to give a high five to James.
Serena then interrupted the moment "Was that really necessary?"
"It was!" answered James and Dawn.
Lexi and Rex were annoyed now "How dare you, it took us a lot of time to come up with something as cool as that motto!"
"Yeah it was perfect!"
James just smirked at them and flicked his hair "I understand you… but is still an imperfect copy! Carnivine go!"
"Go Piplup!"
"Fennekin I choose you!" the small vixen had been training hard for this moment, she would make Froakie proud.
Lexi and Rex took out their Pokémon too.
"Go Mightyena use Dark Pulse!"
"Go Pyroar use Flamethrower!"
"Fennekin use Protect into Sunny Day!"
The fire Pokémon took both attacks head on negating all damage and the cave started to illuminate while she did a backflip behind his friend.
"Piplup use Whirlpool!"
"Carnivine use Solar Beam!"
The whirlpool hit both Pokémon and send them flying towards their owners as Carnivine released the powerful grass type move. The impact was strong enough to send Team Flare blasting through the roof of the cave and into the air.
"Team Flare has been set ablaze!"
Inside the cave a lot of the debris started settling down, Dawn and James walked to the scientist while Serena finished congratulating her partner, Fennekin had started becoming stronger, and Dawn's training was definitely helping a lot.
Just as she was about to return her, something caught her attention, while a lot of the stones were just common rocks, there were some that had peculiar patterns, she picked them up and examined them.
"Oh! I see you found an Old Amber, and that one is a Jaw Fossil to revive Aerodactyl and Tyrunt" said the excited scientist.
Dawn picked up another pair while James did the same.
The scientist examined them and exclaimed happily "That one, little lady, is a Sail Fossil to revive an Amaura, and the one in your left hand is a Dome Fossil to revive the ancient Kabuto"
The old man then turned to James and pointed to his set of stones "That, young man, is a Root Fossil to revive a Lileep and a Claw Fossil to revive an Anorith"
The man went to the entrance of the cave and turned to the youngsters "I got a lot of fossils for myself, so you guys can have those, if you come to the Fossil Lab I can revive them for you as a thank you for saving me from those runts"
With that the man turned around and walked out of the cave quite excited for the discoveries he had made.
Dawn turned to James and asked the big question that was in her mind for a while "Why are you alone?"
James turned to her and then looked around "Do you mind if I explain in a more… comfortable space?"
Both girls looked at each other and nodded slightly, the three of them walked out of the caves and just as Dawn and Serena were about to ask for their Rhyhorn James stopped them "I have something faster"
He took out a small cube from his pocket and threw it far from them, after it hit the ground a light similar to that of a Pokéball came out of it and an air balloon with the resemblance of a Meowth appeared.
"Come on, we will reach Ambrette Town in minutes" Serena was excited about riding the Air Balloon while Dawn looked at it with apprehension.
"Sorry if I'm not that… lively about traveling in that thing" said the coordinator.
James looked at her and smiled "Don't worry, I give you my word that I won't steal any of your Pokémon"
Dawn still wasn't convinced, but their previous cooperative battle induced her to accept "Let's go then"
Serena was a bit wary now of the purple haired man, why would he steal someone's Pokémon?
After a few minutes in the air, Ambrette Town was now right under them, looking for a good place to land, James started their descend.
"So why are you here?" asked Dawn
The balloon landed and the three of them got down, allowing him to pack the balloon again "The people you saw is part of an organization called Team Flare, after our disband we looked for some things that were left behind in our HQ, but we were attacked by them"
"Why would they attack you? And what is it about you guys disbanding?" Dawn was now totally confused, she didn't know Team Rocket had disbanded, sure they were gone from Kanto almost at the end of her journey but she didn't thought they had separated.
"Didn't the twerp-I mean Ash, tell you? He stopped our boss's final plan to conquer the world, and not only that… Giovanni died that day trying to control Zekrom's power"
Now something was filling Serena with dread… Had Ash killed someone?
"James?" The man turned to look at the honey-blond girl "You said that your boss died… did Ash…"
"No… Ash had stopped him already but Giovanni was so determined to control that power… he died when Zekrom used a Bolt Strike"
The assurance that Ash had not killed a man filled her now with relief "Thanks Arceus…"
The three of them started walking to the Fossil Lab "So you guys aren't bad anymore?"
"Yeah, but we are still operating to stop Team Flare's plans… whatever those might be" he answered leaving out the fact that Team Flare had stolen an important object from the HQ.
"I see… well if you need our help just call and we will help, Ash would be more than willing to stop Team Flare's plans if they are bad"
James just smirked and shook his head "So the twerp is also here?"
"Yeah but He and Brock are in the Battle Chateau"
Once in the Fossil Lab Dawn looked at Serena "You wanted that Aerodactyl… but what are you gonna do with the Jaw Fossil?"
"I'll give it to Ash, I'm sure he will love it"
The three of them then asked for their fossils to be revived, the scientist in charge made a quick explanation about how to take care of a fossil and about their inhibited instincts, what to do and what not to do.
While Serena was preparing to receive Aerodactyl and Tyrunt, James had revived his fossils and Dawn was now waiting for hers.
"Sorry for the delay"
"No problem Serena, did you sent your Pokémon back to Professor Sycamore?"
"Actually… my Pokémon stays at Ash's place with his father, He has been allowed to receive our Pokémon, and I didn't I just wanted to ask Red about Aerodactyl"
Dawn smirked at this "You two are almost like a married couple"
Serena blushed a very dark red "Stop it Dawn!"
James approached them with a smile "Well girls, I have to get going but I'll see you tomorrow at the PokéCenter"
The girls accepted and said goodbye to him, after a few minutes the scientist came back with Dawn's Pokémon "Here you go lady, Amaura and Kabuto" ash she received them the two balls shone and teleported themselves to Rowan's lab.
"I think I have to make a call tomorrow morning"
Serena smiled at her and asked for her fossils to be revived, the scientist took them and walked back into the reanimation room.
"That's why I counted my team first, you could sent one of your Pokémon back until you give Brock his Pokémon"
"I think I'll do the that, at least until I give Brock his Kabuto"
After a few minutes the scientist came back and gave Serena her new Pokémon "Here you go, an Aerodactyl and Tyrunt… by the way, along the stone were the Old Ampere was incrusted we found this strange rock, but we can't figure out what it is or what it does, so if you come to across information during your travels we would love to hear it"
Serena took the marble-like stone, it was pretty and had a strange purple pattern inside "I'll see what I can find and let you know" agreed the girl.
"Thank you very much, have a good day!"
Both girls waved at the scientist whose name will remain unknown and started walking back to the PokéCenter while admiring the stone.
"What could it be?" asked Dawn
"I don't know… but I feel like it is important" answered Serena putting the stone into her bag "Anyway, let's hurry up, I'm tired and a good shower would be good"
"Your Ash must be dying right now for not having you there"
"We had this conversation earlier, he is fine and totally not dependent of me"
While both girls continued traveling to the PokéCenter, our friends at the Battle Chateau…
"I can't take it anymore!"
"Come on Ash, tomorrow is the last day…"
"I don't care Brock, I want to see her now!"
Due to the losses suffered by the noblemen at the hands of Ash and his friends, just a few remained with enough money to keep fighting, this had prompted Hennessy to end the event at the fifth day.
Lucy approached him and tried to calm her friend "Hey now, Serena would feel horrible if you just quit because of her, besides she is fine…"
This managed to calm Ash a bit, Lucy was right, Serena wouldn't like it if he left the event just for her.
"…although there are probably a lot of guys trying to ask her out now that you've been away for four days"
Brock tried to stop his now berserker friend, who was punching and kicking to get out of the Chateau "You are not helping Lucy!"
"Hehehe sorry I couldn't resist… come on Ash you know she wouldn't date anyone else just because you are away, have some fate in your girlfriend"
Ash calmed down once again and chose to sit down in a near chair, he was about to say something when he noticed Clara approaching "Hello young man"
"Hello ma'am how can I help you?"
"You see, after our battle my little Turtwig has been motivated, I've never seen him so determined to get stronger… would you give this old lady another battle before I continue?"
Ash agreed and walked along with Clara and his friends to one of the free battle grounds.
P.B.S
Battle Start
"Gastly I choose you!"
"Turtwig time for your rematch!"
Turtwig saw his opponent and got fired up, it was the same boy that had beaten him.
"Turtwig, begin with a Vine Whip and get him close to you then use crunch!"
"Let it bind you and wait to be close…"
The Vine Whips wrapped Gastly and pulled him towards Turtwig and just as it was about to bite the ghost type
"…now use Protect into Infestation and Will o Wisp!"
The protection move was fast enough to negate the bite damage, Turtwig was struck with both the Bug type move and the Fire type move, feeling his energy being drained again.
"Turtwig no! Use Leech Seed into Mega Drain!"
Ash didn't have time to react as he got too confident and though the grass type was done, the two attacks hit their target and begun to absorb Gastly's energy.
"Good job my dear Turtwig now use Synthesis into Razor Leaf!"
"Gastly you have to get out of there!"
But it was too late for the ghost type, the effect of the Leech Seed was making him slower and he couldn't react on time.
Ash could see Gastly's life point approaching dangerously the red zone, he was about to try another attack when suddenly Gastly started to glow.
"Is evolving!" Brock had seen this happen before but he found himself marveled just like it was his first time.
Now instead of Gastly, Haunter was once more ready to fight, although his life points had increased a bit, he was still too exhausted. Turtwig was in the same predicament, although he was draining Haunter, the Infestation and Will o Wisp were still draining him a lot.
"Turtwig try once more with Razor Leaf!"
"Haunter use Shadow Punch from above!"
Haunter did as his trainer commanded and used Shadow Punch, Turtwig stopped to try and evade but it was impossible, the punch struck him from above just like planned.
Turtwig can't continue
"That was great Haunter!" the black haired trainer congratulated his Pokémon while it played around him and licked him.
Brock approached both trainers and started tending their wounds.
Clara then looked at Ash "I knew I was making the right choice"
"What do you mean?"
Clara approached her Turtwig and nodded lightly at him "I want you to take Turtwig with you"
"But he is your Pokémon, I can't take him like that!"
"This little one is starving for much more than just take care of an old farm with an old lady, I know he loves me enough to not ask impossible from me, but I don't want to make him ditch his dreams… I'm asking you to take him and make him into a champion"
Ash saw that Turtwig was looking at him with respect too, expecting him to say yes.
"Is not going to be easy, I love all my Pokémon but training is hell"
("Bring it on!")
"Then welcome to the team"
Before Ash could accept he remembered that he already had his team full "But before that, let me arrange my team to receive him"
The two of them walked to a near phone stationed in one of the resting rooms, he called his father and sent him Arrow and Charizard, once at the other side the two of them looked at their trainer to wait for instructions "Charizard, you are in charge of the regular training, do your magic"
The fire type acknowledged his instructions and Arrow waited for his "Arrow, I want you to look for Pidgeot and tell him that I want him to train you, Charizard will help if there is time"
The little Fletchling accepted and chirped happily "Now I'll call you both very soon, I'll keep rotating everyone so you better keep your training up!"
And with that the call ended, Turtwig had seen how loyal that two Pokémon were to Ash, which meant that he was a good person and trainer, this only made him want to go with him more.
"Ok, I'm ready"
"Wait Ash" Said trainer turned to his friend Brock "Hey Haunter, how would you like to evolve to your final stage?"
This idea marveled the Ghost type, he had wanted for a long time to evolve to his final stage and be on pair with his brothers back home, but he hadn't been able to evolve into a Haunter until now to do so.
Ash noticed the glint on Haunter's eyes and seemed to like the idea "Well… if you really want to do it I'm all for it, but how are we going to do that?"
"Allow me…" He walked to the trading machine "… Put Haunter in his Pokéball and put it here, and Clara if you would be so kind to put Turtwig into his Pokéball and put it there" he said signaling the two spaces of the Trading Machine.
Clara and Ash did as told and Brock started the machine, once done Turtwig was in Ash's hands while Haunter was in Clara's, Brock asked her to let him out and as soon as she did it started glowing again.
For the second time in that day Ash had seen his Gastly evolve, he had never evolved a Pokémon that fast.
Clara then gave him back his Gengar "congratulations Ash, it seems like you won more than just money"
"Although I didn't want to participate in this event for the money…"
"Well, think about it like this, once you are out of here you can look for your girlfriend and take her to the best date ever" said the old woman.
This seemed to light Ash's mood, she was right after all "Yeah, Serena might like a good date!"
Clara approached Turtwig and petted him softly, saying her goodbye "Take good care of this little guy for me"
"I will… wait a minute" Ash quickly looked for some paper and a pen and started writing something "… This is my number… well not mine but Serena's, we are always together except for this damned event, so if you want to say hi to Turtwig just call"
"I'll do that, thank you very much my boy, and see you later Turtwig, take care and grow stronger" Turtwig gave her a happy nod.
And with that the old lady started walking to the exit.
"I think we should go to sleep, it was a very eventful day" said Brock.
The other two agreed and walked back into their respective rooms, Ash returned Gengar and Turtwig into their Pokéballs and entered his room to prepare for the night.
Morning of the next day – Ambrette Town.
Dawn was finishing changing into her new clothes, a pair of short jeans with a white shirt and a black sleeveless jacket with brown boots that had pink laces(think of Touko's clothes) she had tied her hair into a high ponytail and passed it through the strap enclosure gap behind of her new cap.
"How do I look guys!?"
Piplup, Pachirisu, Togekiss and Ampere gave her thumbs ups, and complimented their trainer, Lopunny still didn't thought it was that good while Rufflet just looked through the window not really caring about fashion at all.
"Four out of six, considering that one of them doesn't like fashion that much and the other one is a party pooper, I'll take it as a yes!"
Now that offended Lopunny slightly ("I'm not a party pooper at all!") She looked at her friends for support.
("Well… you are certainly special") said Piplup.
("You just have different likes") it was Pachirisu this time.
("…You are a good friend?") That was Ampere… and was that doubt at the end?
("At least I like to play around with the others even if I don't like fashion") that one was Rufflet… ok that hurt.
"I'm sorry Lopunny, I didn't want to offend you, but you shouldn't be so uptight, relax once in a while" Said Dawn petting her Pokémon.
Lopunny accepted her apologize, then turned around to see her friends already playing around… but it was Ampere who really stood out from the group, she was hyperactive, funny, kind, much like a certain male Pikachu ("That must be the reason he likes her more than me")
"Now guys, I need to retrieve Amaura to get to know her better and Kabuto to give it to Brock, Togekiss and Rufflet are out of question, they are training for our routine…" Ruffled was about to volunteer but this killed his hopes "…one of you will come back to me after I finish, but the other one will stay a few more days until I finish deciding the next performance"
Lopunny and Pachirisu offered to go back, the little squirrel had made a lot of friends in Rowan's lab and wanted to play with them.
"Alright then, let's go retrieve our new friend"
Just as she was leaving her room Serena was leaving hers, Dawn greeted her noticing that she was wearing her new clothes "You will certainly make people look at you… at least Ash won't take his eyes away"
Serena spun around smiling "Thank you, but you look pretty cool in that too"
Serena's new outfit consisted of a pair of green tinted short jeans with suspenders, a baggy yellow mid-sleeve shirt, green boots with some yellow patterns, and her hair was tied in a low ponytail with a long bang to her left (this was the best description I could come with… but you can search for it as Serena Hipster, should be the first image)
"Alright let's get going" said Dawn.
Once at the lobby Dawn went to the phone and called Professor Rowan to change Lopunny and Pachirisu.
At that moment James entered the PokéCenter and saw Serena who was looking at her friend "A new look for a new day I guess"
Serena turned around and saw James approaching, she still had a lot of questions regarding the guy and the group he used to belong, but she would ask Ash later "Good morning, yeah we wanted to try something new"
"I'm guessing you are ready to go then? Would you be so kind to give this to Ash for me?" he gave her a letter with an R as a seal.
"Sure, no problem" Serena put the letter away and looked at Dawn who was by now almost done with the second transfer.
"So you are Ash's girlfriend… who would have told he was going to find someone when we weren't looking for him anymore"
"Hehe… but why is it so surprising?"
"Well, he has travelled with other girls, and some of them were interested in him, even girls that he just met once or twice to battle or fight against us developed a crush on the guy, but he wouldn't even turn their way. It was like Pokémon was everything he could think of"
This surprised Serena, Dawn had told him that Ash used to act dense when it came to love, but being that dense?
"Well… I don't know if being his childhood friend has something to do… we knew each other since I had 6 years, but I had to move from Pallet Town when I turned 9"
James smiled at the girl "Childhood love, one of the purest may I say…" It was at this moment that Dawn approached both of them.
"Hey James, was there something you wanted to tell us?"
"Yeah, I prepared a little gift for you and a kind of apology for following the twerp back in the old days"
He walked out of the PokéCenter followed by the girls "Are you girls ready to go back to the Battle Chateau?"
"Yeah that was the plan but we will have to check if there is any transportation departing soon to Camphrier Town" answered Serena.
"Well then you don't have to worry because James will solve your problems!" He took out a familiar small cube and gave it to Serena "Throw it as hard and far as you can"
The honey-blond girl did as told and threw the cube, which opened and revealed an Air Balloon but instead of a Meowth this one had the form of a Pikachu.
"Woo! Are you sure we can have this?" Asked Serena excited at the prospect of flying at a slow pace while traveling.
Dawn looked at the balloon and then to James "Why?"
"To be honest with you, we would like to know that you guys have some mean of escape if you find the strongest members of Team Flare, or if we need help to get rid of them… I can tell you that they are very dangerous…" He looked at Serena "Part of the reasons are explained in the letter I gave you, be sure to give it to Ash"
"Understood, then we will accept it" answered Serena.
James smiled at them and started walking away "We will see each other again… hopefully in a better situation"
The girls got into the Balloon and started floating in direction to route 7.
Meanwhile in the Battle Chateau.
"In a few minutes our final event will begin, I'll ask the winner Ash Ketchum with an undefeated record and longest winning strike to please go to the battle grounds" Announced Hennessy.
Ash made his way to the battle ground, a lot of the noblemen present looked at him with resentment, while others where interested on what would the Sinnoh League Champion do against a Grand Duke like Hennessy who had a lot of experience in battle.
Pikachu went to Brock to see the battle, he knew that this was training for the newcomers, so he wouldn't be joining at the moment.
Once in the battle ground Ash faced Hennessy and took out his PokéDex while the old man extended an arm, showing a bracelet with a P.B.S.
"This will be a 3 vs 3 fight, winner gets the maximum expression of honor and glory while the loser pays his respects and walk away… Trainer Ash Ketchum, how much money do you have from your battles?" asked the referee
"Fourteen millions"
The referee looked at Hennessey "How much would you like to bet, Grand Duke Hennessy?"
"Fourteen millions"
Ash's eyes just widened at this, so this guy was planning on making him walk away empty handed if he lost… well, he would get another think coming… after all he had a date to pay.
P.B.S
Battle Begin!
"Froakie I choose you!"
"Go Haxorus! Let's start this with your Dragon Claw!"
Haxorus ran towards Froakie and just as he was about to reach him, Ash issued his command.
"Froakie evade and use Ice beam!"
The frog-like Pokémon got out of the way and glowed a faint light before using the super effective move against the dragon type.
Ash saw the information about his Pokémon and noticed his Ability: Protean.
Haxorus energy got down to the yellow mark, which was about half of his overall energy.
"Haxorus use Dragon Pulse into Rock Tomb!"
"Froakie use Dig and then Icy Wind!"
Just as the Dragon Pulse was about to hit him, Froakie made a hole in the ground and started moving towards Haxorus. The Dragon type didn't know where to release his rock type move and was too busy looking for the frog-like Pokémon to think about it.
Hennessy was about to command his Pokémon to use another move when Froakie got out of the ground and struck Haxorus hard, then proceeded to use Icy wind which damaged it even more and had slowed him down.
"Nice job Froakie, let's finish this"
"Haxorus use Outrage!"
"Froakie use Grass Knot!"
The Dragon Type rushed towards the Water type but he didn't go far before stumbling and hitting the ground hard, losing what little he energy he had.
"First round goes to Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!"
Murmurs could be heard around about the foreign kid needing a lesson and how Hennessy had lost by mere luck.
"Go Staraptor!" Sent Hennessy.
"Go Nidoran!"
The public laughed at Ash's choice, they had learnt nothing of the previous fight, except for Hennessy. He could see how the young man had become Sinnoh's League Champion if all his Pokémon were this strong.
"Let's give them no chance Staraptor, use Brave Bird!"
The Flying type Pokémon approached at a high speed with all his might and was getting closer and closer when…
"Protect into Horn Drill!"
"What!?"
The protective barrier negated all damage, both Pokémon had recoiled by strength of the impact and Nidoran used this to get under Staraptor and use the OHKO move.
The Bird-like Pokémon tried to get up but it was useless, he had no strength and the pain was unbearable, after a few seconds the P.B.S signaled that Staraptor was out of the battle.
"That was awesome Nidoran!" said Ash while going to his Pokémon and petting him.
Hennessy just sighed and returned his Pokémon "You did well old friend…" looking Ash's interactions the old man understood that the boy was no push over "… you've fought well Ash, but let's see how you deal with my last Pokémon. Go Nidoking!"
"Go Gengar! Use Will o Wisp into Infestation!"
"Nidoking evade and use Shadow Ball!"
The Ground type Pokémon managed to evade the two phantom flames but was unable to get away from the infestation, this didn't deter him from using his Ghost type move, only to be dodged quite easily.
"Use Curse into Will o Wisp once again!"
"Nidoking use Ice Punch!"
This time however Nidoking was slower due to the Infestation, and soon enough he started feeling even more heavily due to the Curse and was unable to evade the incoming fire attack this time.
Hennessy saw his Nidoking losing a heavy amount of health and was now on the almost on the red mark.
"Nidoking let's try one more time with Shadow Ball!"
Ash was about to issue his next move, when Gengar looked at him grinning impishly and pointing at himself
"Ok then… you are free to attack at your free will"
Gengar seemed pleased and quickly approached Nidoking, evading the Shadow Ball and getting closer and closer, until he was right in front of his opponent, then started laughed maniacally and started to shine, but this time was for a totally different reason.
A big explosion surrounded the field and created a dense cloud of dirt "What the hell was that?"
Hennessy looked at his P.B.S and it showed that his Nidoking had fainted, Ash noticed that a new move appeared on his information window and it showed "Explosion…"
After the dirt settled down everyone could see Gengar lying in the ground with a big smile but swirly eyes while Nidoking was the same but he wasn't smiling.
"What happened?" was the question going through everyone's mind.
"His Gengar used explosion as a last joke… haha… Hahaha!" people started laughing at the ghost Pokémon big finale.
After everyone had calmed down the Referee declared Ash the winner of the event.
"And for your record of perfect victories and defeating every noblemen in the facility, including Grand Duke Hennessey, I grant you the title of Grand Duke Ash!"
Some people were still reluctant to accept this, but said nothing about it and just limited themselves to watch.
After an hour of talking with some people and giving the final touches for the celebration at night Hennessy approached Ash and company "Hello young lads, I was right in letting you come to this event, it has been so long since I tasted defeat but I learned a lot from it… by the way, with the event over you are all free to go back to town, there will be a party at night to celebrate, you can bring Lady Serena and Lady Dawn if you wish, as the celebration itself is not restricted by rank"
"That's great, I think I'll take the offer… although going back too late seems dangerous"
"Hohoho don't worry young lad, each Grand Duke is granted a private Penthouse, one of the reasons that so many of the noblemen were so jealous of your progress… but I wouldn't expect less from a Champion and the son of Red Ketchum"
"You knew?"
"Of course my boy! That battle style… you don't see that everyday"
Brock was the one to ask a question this time "Isn't a Penthouse a little too much?"
"Is not like we ask every Grand Duke to live here, of course their stance is limited but they can stay for five days tops if they so desire, the only other Grand Duke… sorry, Grand Duchess here is the Kalos Champion"
"Wow! Diantha…" Ash was amazed by this, he shared a position with one of the Regional Champions.
"Although she achieved the rank while traveling through Kalos to become the Champion… but I have high expectations for you young man" His gaze went back to the Chateau "The Penthouse has three rooms, each one has its own bathroom; you will notice the rest of the details once you see it"
"Thank you Hennessy, we will be on our way then and be back later" Ash waved a hand while walking to the PokéCenter.
In the PokéCenter.
Serena and Dawn had arrived at Camphrier Town with a good time, the gift James gave them was simply the best.
The girls had finished packing and were about to start walking to the Battle Chateau when Dawn noticed someone running towards them.
"Hey look, is Ash!" this got Serena's attention "I think it will be better to go outside, we don't want him crashing through the door"
Both walked outside but Serena couldn't wait any longer and ran towards him "Ash!"
"Serena!" The boy finally reached his girlfriend and hugged her, lifting her from the ground and kissing her.
"I missed you so much sweetie, have you behaved?"
"Hahaha of course I did honey…"
At that moment Brock and Lucy had arrived, hearing what their friend had said "What a filthy liar! He spent most of the week whining and complaining about you not being there"
"You did?" asked Serena a bit embarrassed by her boyfriend's antics.
Dawn smirked and mumbled an "I told you"
"I missed you! We already spent almost 8 years away from each other…" defended Ash, knowing that he wouldn't be in problems if he played his cards right.
"Owe my poor baby…" Serena kissed him slightly on the lips "…by the way guys, we brought you a surprise"
It was at this moment that the group noticed the changes in the girls.
Brock complimented on their new looks.
But it was Ash who couldn't take his eyes away from her now that he could see her completely "Damn… those shorts are so thigh… and that shirt lets me see her belly…"
Serena noticed the absent look on his face, and spun around not knowing what she was doing to him "You like it?"
"…Her cute round little… wait, she asked a question… what was it? What did my father told me about women asking a question when we are not paying attention… you are right? No that's not it, we are talking about clothes… Oh yeah"
Ash composed himself "You look stunning…" he took her in his arms and carried her bridal style "You know what screw the party, we will be busy" He looked over his shoulders and looked at the others "See you tomorrow guys"
Serena got very flustered and stopped him in his track "Wait no! That's not the surprise!"
"Is not?" He left her get down looked at her expectantly.
Dawn laughed at her friend and gave a Pokéball to Brock "we got you guys these, sorry Lucy but we couldn't find any more of those"
"Don't worry, you guys did enough by letting me borrow these two to compete in the tournament" answered Lucy.
Brock released the Pokémon inside "Wow… is a real Kabuto!"
Serena gave Ash his "I got you one too"
"Let's see…" He released his new Pokémon too "is a Tyrunt!" He took out his PokéDex to learn more about his new Pokémon.
Dawn then took out a Pokéball along with Serena "We got one for ourselves too" they announced releasing Amaura and Aerodactyl respectively.
Amaura looked at her trainer and squealed happily while nuzzling her right cheek. The coordinator noticed Pikachu looking at her and quickly understood what was happening "Sorry Pikachu, Ampere was exhausted from our travel, but you will see her later, I promise" The small rodent accepted and went back to Ash's shoulder.
Aerodactyl studied his trainer, looking at Serena into her eyes he could see that the girl wasn't afraid of him, which was good, it then got closer to sniff her and after recognizing her as his new trainer it did the same as Amaura and nuzzled his head against her cheek.
Serena happily rubbed Aerodactyl under the chin, which he seemed to like a lot.
Tyrunt was not as exuberant as Aerodactyl when it came to check his trainer, the guy seemed confident enough around him, besides he gave off a strange aura that made him feel calm. The truth was that both Ash and Tyrunt were very excited.
Kabuto was a bit shy, but he seemed ok with Brock.
Ash then remembered why they had gone to the PokéCenter "I would like to hear about your little adventure to get these guys, but that will have to wait for later, there is going to be a party at the Chateau and you two are invited"
Dawn was the first to jump "Yay we will have the chance to try our new dresses!"
The two girls ran back into the Center and to their rooms to get changed, Lucy started walking to Ash and Serena's room "I'll let you guys take our room to change, that way we can all get dressed calmly"
The boys agreed and went to Lucy and Brock's room.
After an hour everyone was ready, Ash was waiting outside of the room for Serena when he heard the door open.
The honey-blond was wearing a beautiful dark blue dress with some light blue patterns on the top and a few white stripes at the bottom. Her shoes were a light blue too which matched perfectly with her dress; her hair was done in a high ponytail with two bangs framing her face.
Serena noticed Ash looking at her with an open mouth and giggled a bit before walking to him "Do you like it?"
"You look beautiful Serena, are you going to take my breath away every time I see you in a dress or with new clothes?"
This commentary made the sky-trainer blush intensely, she was glad that Ash really liked her choice. He didn't look bad either, a white long-sleeved t-shirt with a dark black tux and black pants; matching black shoes and a blue handkerchief on his front pocket. But what really made him look good was that he wasn't wearing a tie, instead he had the collar and first button a bit open.
"You look handsome too" she walked close to him, hugging him slowly.
Ash embraced her and looked at the door "Are the others going to take long?"
"Nah they are almost done, should we wait outside?" Asked Serena which prompted Ash to agree.
After the both of them were out of the Center Ash took out a Pokéball "I changed a few of my Pokémon, I brought Bayleef" he threw it a few feet's from him and released the Grass type.
Bayleef recognized her trainer and the girl with the sweet treats and greeted them happily. Serena opened her bag and searched for a small container, it wasn't big, but it was enough to carry small treats, she opened it and took out a small Pokepuff offering it to the grass-type Pokémon.
Ash was glad to see his Pokémon and Serena getting along so well "It was a long week"
"It was… although I didn't expect you to start going nuts after a day without me" her incredulous face made him feel nervous, looking for some kind of excuse he couldn't provide, Ash decided to change the topic.
"Hey look, the others are coming" once the group reunited, they all started walking towards the Battle Chateau, talking about some of the things that happened while Dawn and Serena were away.
Once in the Battle Chateau Serena could see that some people were looking at Ash with rather distasteful glares "Why are they looking at you like that?"
"Sore losers, don't take them seriously" Answered the young trainer loud enough to be heard by them. They didn't seem to appreciate the commentary but decided to leave the guy alone.
Brock had taken Lucy to the dance floor, the younger trainers could see they were enjoying themselves greatly.
"Hey guys, I'll be in the garden"
Serena and Ash decided to go with her "I'm not a fan of crowded places" said the dark haired trainer; Dawn insisted that he should take Serena to the dance floor but her friend said that they would still hear the music from outside.
Once in the garden they released their Pokémon, Pikachu and Froakie had gone to greet their friends.
Fennekin started talking animatedly with the water type and told him about her little adventure. Lopunny was looking at the stars when Pikachu came to her ("Do you want to play with us, Lopunny?")
("I think I will stay here and look at the stars… they look beautiful tonight")
To Pikachu they looked the same as always, but Lopunny had always been a romantic so he decided to concede and went to play with the others.
The bunny-like Pokémon was a bit disappointed that he didn't stay, but that was Pikachu for you; always hyperactive.
While the Pokémon played around Ash was dancing with Serena, which in a sudden movement pulled Dawn and made her dance with the dark haired male.
"Come on, let's take turns"
"But this is your chance to slow dance with your boyfriend"
"I can dance with Ash whenever we want if the opportunity arise, but tonight I want to enjoy the party with my friends"
Ash started dancing and after a few minutes separated from Dawn; Serena took his place and started dancing with her; the girls where giggling while the dark haired trainer just smiled.
Pikachu and Ampere had finished pursuing and tackling each other into the grass, and joined the others near a small fountain in the center of the garden; they had agreed on taking a small break and were now talking about the stuff they liked to do.
It was at this moment that Pikachu turned to look to Ampere, who was busy looking at the stars ("The stars look great right?")
("Yeah… they look great") the problem was that Pikachu wasn't even looking at the sky, he was staring at her.
Only Froakie, who was behind him, had noticed and with a little push brought him back to reality.
("What the hell was that…? I was staring…") Not being argue with himself to deny said fact, he stared once more at the female Pikachu and then at the stars ("They were right… I… I really like her")
The night was peaceful for our friends, with new friends and discovered feelings they could only wonder what the future would hold for them.
Vaniville Town
Delia and Grace were finishing the dishes while Red checked his son's mails; Ash was always on the move so he or Delia were the ones that kept him informed if there was anything important.
"Seems like everything is ok…" just then a new message arrived "…What is this…" opening the new letter he started reading, and after a few moments he called his wife "Delia you have to see this!"
She went to the pc with her husband and saw him pointing at the screen, taking a look she saw it was a letter for their son "Dear Ash Ketchum, we would like to invite you to the grant event happening in a few weeks on our beloved Shamouti Island, it would be an honor to host the Chosen One and his friends in our festivities"
Grace had heard it all and smirked "Well, it seems like you guys are taking vacations"
"And you are coming with us, I'm sure we can figure something out, but first let me send this to Ash… and a few friends…" Red began resending the letter.
Delia and Grace just sweat dropped at Red's antics but let him be.
It would be the first family vacations in ages.
Somewhere in Shamouti Island:
"Preparations are complete for my revenge, and once the Titans and the Beast of the Sea become mine, the Ruler of Fire will try to bring order… and at that moment he and his guardians too, will be part of my collection"
There it is!
It took me more than I was expecting, although I wasn't expecting being hospitalized for so long… most of this chapter was ready before so it was still fast.
Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, is the longest thing I've wrote in any of my fics, I still can't believe it.
Leave your review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, they help me know if the story is going in the right direction. Suggestions too are always taken into consideration.
See you guys in the next chapter!