At the stands:
Ash just watched with wide eyes as he watched a large explosion surround the field in front of him. The raven haired trainer's eyes then shifted to his right to see the the cloaked man's Aegislash, who used night daze as the last attack land in front of him with the smoke beginning to clear in the rocky field. Ash narrowed his eyes as he looked through the smoke, and instantly, he knew that the battle was over when the trainer opposing the man, who was using an Alakazam who Ash noted was in his mega evolved form. "It's over," Ash mouthed as he looked beyond the field to see the referee raise his hand as the Alakazam shifted back into his regular form.
"Alakazam is unable to battle," The voice of the referee rang through the microphone system throughout the stadium and instinctively the entire stadium burst into cheers. "This means that Satoshi is the winner!"
"And it is over! Satoshi has also advanced into the semifinals along with Calem, Seth, and Ash, who will be having their battles tomorrow!"
"Wow, this battle ended quickly, it has not even been half an hour since Ash's battle ended," Tierno remarked while Ash looked at the scoreboard with a shocked expression to see the man called Satoshi's face be displayed as the winner for a couple of seconds to then have his face be put with Calem's, Seth's, and his. Ash watched as "Satoshi" recalled his pokemon, which Ash knew was a Zoroark, back into his pokeball to then begin to walk out of the battlefield, which had been a rock field as well.
Ash looked to his right to then see that Serena looked at the field with a very worried expression, he noticed the fear that was being reflected in the shining blue eyes that the honey blonde had. Ash leaned towards the girl a little, but not too much and whispered, "Everything alright?"
"Huh?" Serena asked as she looked back at Ash. She had to admit that the sun beaming down on the Kanto native's skin made him look vibrant and intimidating, but not in a bad way, just made him look a little stronger than he really was. "Oh," The young performer replied with a bright smile and then looked back at the battlefield, "I was just thinking about something, it's nothing."
"Ok," Ash said as he sighed and looked back at the scoreboard to then see that the crowd was cheering about something else as well.
"Guys! The semifinal matchups are about to displayed!" Trevor happily chanted as he looked at the faces of the four trainers. Ash looked at the scoreboard, where it said "Top 4" on it and then looked around to see Brock smirking.
"This looks like a very tough semi final bracket, a tough trainer that has not had a single pokemon be defeated, a trainer with a mega Swampert, another trainer with a Mega Gallade, and lastly, a trainer that has been working with pure teamwork and passion," Brock implied as he looked around. "I definitely see this as being intense as hell!"
"I am so excited to see who Calem and Ash are going to be going up against!" Shauna remarked as she looked at the field and looked at Calem. "Calem, you make sure that you give it your all, right!"
"Yea!" Calem said as he then turned to Ash and saw the raven haired trainer, "And we are getting closer to a potential rematch Ash, so if it does happen, no holding back!"
"I would not have it any other way Calem," Ash said as he smirked at the jet black haired trainer. "You bet that this time, things will be a lot different!" This caused Calem to smile and look back at the scoreboard with a "yea right" look on his face.
"The final matchups for these two battles has been decided, and the order has been too!"
"Alright! Here we go!" Bonnie exclaimed as she edged closer to the edge of her seat to look at the scoreboard that began to shuffle the faces around. It was clear that the matches would be back to back, but the fact was that the pairings of who would go against each other was what many were worried about, mostly because many were intimidated by the Satoshi man, but that did not matter as this was all a fun tournament for the title of champion.
"Pikapi!" Ash heard from his shoulder which then brought his attention back to the scoreboard to see what the electric mouse had been referring to.
The names had finally stopped and Ash could not have been happier with who he was going up against right after the first battle of the semifinals. Looking back at the jet black haired trainer, the two shared a friendly staredown before they then nodded at each other with a promise that neither of them would hold back during their battle.
"And it has been decided! Satoshi against Seth will be the first battle, which will then be followed by another interesting matchup: Ash against Calem!"
The crowd erupted into cheers as the Kanto native had a million thoughts in his head about what the battle was going to be like and what should be his strategy. He could hardly wait until the next day as he then had his attention going around the stadium to see the many rows of stands that had people occupying every single seat. "This… This has to be probably the battle I was desiring since the entire conference started," Ash muttered to himself. "And it is finally going to happen."
A/N: Here we go! The rematch that was promised since all the way back in chapter 15 is going to start next chapter! I can't wait for it to happen and I wonder if Seth will even be able to shock Ashura during their battle!
Oh the challenges of being a writer, you have to think hard about how you will have things playing out so that the end result is the one that you want. Anyways, I am going to be having fun with the next few chapters, and definitely this one as it is a lot of Amourshipping that may be involved this chapter. It has been a while since I wrote a proper chapter that involved Amourshipping because it has been mostly battles since then!
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as it will be very interesting, I will tell you that!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon
Chapter 46- A new friend! A strong bond will solve conflicts!
With Professor Sycamore:
Professor Sycamore has been walking all throughout the trainer's village looking for a person that was walking around on her own, unsupervised, "Where did Mairin go?" Professor Sycamore asked himself as he walked out of the Pokemon center with a confused expression. "I had to make an important call, and poof, just like that she has vanished."
Professor Sycamore then felt a tap on his shoulder, turning around, he found nothing less than the Champion herself, Diantha, "Hello there Professor, mind if we have a little chat?"
"Not at all," Professor Sycamore replied as he noticed some people beginning to look their ways at the sight of the champion. This caused the Kalos moviestar to walk with the Professor to a place that lacked people just outside the main walkway. When the two found a bench to sit down in, Professor Sycamore cocked and eyebrow, "What is it that you needed to talk to me about?"
"Well the fact is that tonight the Elite Four, Night, and I will meet to have a conversation about the recent events that have been going on with Team Flare," Diantha then took a deep breath as she looked around and made sure that no one was around to hear anything. "Look, the fact is that we need you to tell us about your research in Mega Evolution energy so that we can prepare for the worst."
"I would love to go, but I have Mairin to look after, and the last thing I need is for her to be involved in all of this," Professor Sycamore said with a very serious tone. Diantah sighed as the man in a lab coat then put a hand to his chin, "Although, maybe if I can find someone to look after her and Chespie for the night, then I can attend."
"Thank you Professor," Diantha said as she stood up from the bench. "And don't worry about the person to take care of Mairin, I am pretty sure you will find the right person to do that without a problem."
"Alright, thanks Diantha," Professor Sycamore said as he he also stood up from the bench and the two split ways in order to go for their respective tasks, the regional professor obviously hoping that he can find the girl he is under guardianship of.
With Ash and the others:
After saying goodbye to Calem, Shauna, Tierno and Trevor, Ash and the others ended up being in front of the hotel. "It is almost time to go back into our rooms," Clemont said as he looked at the clock and noticed that it was almost seven o'clock. Noticing this, Ash looked towards the sky and then towards the horizon to then see that the sun was beginning to set and the different bright colors of the horizon from orange to bright red.
Everyone's attention then shifted to the lemon haired girl that was in front of the door who then looked at Clemont and said, "Big brother, mind if I sleep with you and Brock for tonight? There is an idea for a pokepuff maker that I want Dedenne and Squishy to try!"
"I don't see why not," Clemont said as he then began to walk into the hotel lobby with Brock and Bonnie following behind him. "We are going to go ahead and go get some shut eye as tomorrow is a big day."
"Good night guys!" Brock and Bonnie exclaimed as they went into the hotel leaving the honey blonde and the raven haired trainer outside of the hotel by themselves. Looking around, the number of people walking around had diminished, but there was still some movement.
"Ash, are you also going to go take some rest right now?" Ash turned to see the honey blonde haired girl talking to him. The sparkle in her eyes and the way that her honey blonde hair moved seemed to captivate the Kanto native for a second, but he then looked back towards the stadium and sighed.
"You know, I kind of want to have some time to myself right now, I will go on ahead and join you guys later," Ash replied as he put his hands behind his back.
"Alright," The young performer replied as she walked into the hotel. "But remember to go to sleep soon." Serena then gave a shy chuckle, "Of course, you are just the most energetic person ever." Ash laughed at that last part as Pikachu also giggled at the expression. "Good night Ash, have a good one Pikachu," The honey blonde said as she walked slowly into the lobby.
"Have nice dreams tonight Serena," Ash whispered as he then turned to Pikachu, "Alright buddy, let's get a little bit of training going with Greninja, we need to make sure that we are out our prime tomorrow, specially with Calem being one of our most anticipated rivals of the tournament."
"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu replied as he pumped his fist.
"Alright Pikachu, first let's find a place to train and then we can..." Ash trailed off as something caught his eye. It was the familiar rival that he used to have bad blood with, in fact, he was walking back downhill from the top with his hands in his pockets and slowly walking. Seeing this, Ash called out to him, "Damian!"
"Huh?" Damian looked around until he saw Ash looking down on his. "Oh, hey," Damian replied with a seemingly genuine voice.
"Are you already leaving?" Ash asked curiously as he looked at the blue haired trainer.
"Yes, in fact I am," Damian replied as he looked back towards the exit of the trainer's village which lead down to the skyline of the heart of Kalos that was shining through the shaded sky, the lights of the city were turned on and it was clear that Prism Tower was also having his lights turned on. Damina though, he looked at the ground and shadowed his eyes, "Through our battle, I was able to learn the power of what a strong bond with your pokemon does when you battle." Damian then chuckled, "I have been treating my pokemon in a way that I don't actually have a relationship with them, they are just there to battle and that is it." Ash's mouth opened a little as he heard this concession, he had not expected such a vocabulary out of a trainer, especially one like Damian. "Look Ash, you have the biggest relationship I have ever seen with your pokemon," The blue haired trainer said with a frown, which he then turned into a smirk, "You better not lose this tournament, it is something that you deserve to win."
"Huh?" Ash asked extremely dumbfounded of what Damian was trying to say.
"Look, it is simple," Damian replied as he turned back towards Ash. "If you could deal with me, then you can go through anything, so win the last two battles and get this title."
"Alright! I will!" Ash exclaimed as he pumped his fist. Damian did not even turn around, all he did was raise his right hand in a way that saluted the raven haired trainer as he began to walk away. The smile that Ash had on his face reflected light of the sun setting over the horizon. This was when Ash knew that he had gained Damian's ultimate respect, that he had developed something that even the most stubborn could find impressive. It was all like a flash as the sky got darker, and Damian was gone from view, clearly having left the trainer's village.
"Pikachu, let's go train," Ash said breaking the silence as he pumped his fist. The electric rodent nodded as the two began to walk away from the walkway filled with people walking and into the same practice field where Ash had trained before. Reaching into his belt, the raven haired trainer threw a pokeball into the air that opened to a bright flashing light that then materialized into Greninja, who was with his hands crossed in a powerful standing position.
"Ninja!" The sinister water type called out as he pumped his fist in front of Ash. The raven haired trainer smirked as he then looked at the two pokemon that were now in front of him.
"Alright guys, tomorrow is a big day, we will have one of the most intense battles yet, and I am definitely going to be needing you two to give it your all!" Ash declared as he pumped his fist as well. Looking at the practice field, he then came up with an idea, "Pikachu, how about you take one side and Greninja, you take the other, this little bit of training will help us tomorrow!" The two pokemon nodded before then going their separate ways on the battlefield, engaging in a staredown. Ash made his command as he raised his hand into the air: "Greninja, water shuriken! Pikachu use iron tail and send yourself into the air!"
"NINJA!" Greninja shouted as he reached for the markings on his legs and then clapped his hands together to form a shuriken that he then launched towards the electric mouse.
"Pika…" Pikachu cried as he jumped into the air and made his tail stiffen and glow white. The electric mouse then front flipped as he made his tail interact with the blue water type ninja star. "PIKA!" Pikachu cried as he then launched himself into the air with an explosion of energy under him caused by the shuriken touching the ground. "Pikachu!" Pikachu smirked as he looked down on the sinister water type, who was also smirking under his scarf.
"Let's get this really fired up!" Ash exclaimed as he smiled brightly. "Pikachu use thunderbolt and Greninja, dodge the attack by jumping into the air!"
"Pika… CHUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu cried as he charged up electricity and then fired it off towards the water type that was watching carefully as the attack came closer. The electricity arced along the ground and then a closeup of Greninja's eye shows the attack getting closer and then the frog ninja visibly jumping into the air to be in pair with the electric mouse who was on the air looking slightly surprised by the speed of the dodge.
Ash saw this and swung his arm around in front of his face: "Iron tail and aqua blade!" Pikachu made his tail stiffen and glow white again while Greninja made a dark blue kunai knife. The two attacks collided in mid air and caused a shockwave to echo through the practice field to then make both pokemon stumble and fall back to their sides of the field. "Not bad guys, I can see you two are ready for the battle tomorrow!"
"Pika!"
"Ninja!"
"Greninja," Ash said as he began to walk over to the frog ninja pokemon. Greninja cocked his head and looked at the raven haired trainer who was now in front of him. The two were the same height, one with a blue scarf while the other with a bright pink tongue glistening in the moonlight. "Tomorrow, we will have our rematch, but for that, we are going to need to use the very same power that we used to defeat Wulfric." Ash then extended his hand as Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. "Let's do this together!" Ash exclaimed as Greninja and he linked hands to form a firm shake. Ash knew at that moment that it was not just like a contract that he was signing with Greninja, it was a promise that they would work together, a sign that their friendship was eternal and as many people would call it: an unbreakable bond. "Pikachu, you will also have a very important role tomorow," Ash said as he turned to the electric mouse on his shoulder.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked with a smile on his face as he looked at the Kanto native with a very curious face.
"You are my carry," Ash said firmly. "After I saw you take down that Gigalith today, I just have to make sure that your power does not go to waste!" Pikachu squealed with excitement at that last statement as he then cooed to feeling Ash pet behind his ears. Ash then looked at the sinister water type in front of him and smiled as he pulled out Greninja's pokeball. "Alright Greninja, take a good rest, when Nurse Joy sees you again before the battle with Calem, I want her to be impressed with how strong you look."
"Ninja!" Greninja shouted happily as he felt his body turn into energy that then got sucked into his pokeball. Ash took one moment to look at the pokeball in his hand and smiled as he put it back in his belt in the last slot. The pokemon he had been defeated to Calem before is the pokemon that he was planning on winning the battle with. This would be a way for Calem to finally see that he had grown since the last battle as well, and definitely Ash was expecting a fun battle in which he will be facing off against his friend to attempt and get to the finals.
"Hey Pikachu, let's go back to the hotel, it is getting late and I am getting a little sleepy," Ash said as he yawned to the thought of going to sleep. Pikachu agreed with him as he also yawned, and with that the duo set off towards the hotel…
Only for something to catch their eyes:
A girl with short spiky red hair was walking through the walkway. Ash noticed she had pale skin and bright orange eyes. Her clothes consisted of a green and yellow top with a mustard yellow scarf and green pants. Her cap, which had a little white fuzzy ball on top, was also green, but it had a pattern of orange triangles on it. On her hands, the raven haired trainer saw a Chespin, something that he found adorable, but she looked 7 to Ash, and the fact that she was alone only made things a little more confusing for Ash.
Looking ahead, Ash noticed that the girl was headed right for a bench, which she was not seeing because she was attentively talking with her Chespin, something that made the raven haired trainer's heart skip a beat, "Look out!"
"Huh?" The girl asked as she looked around only to walk onto the bench and have her foot clip the underside of the wooden board to then cause the girl to stumble and fall on her face. "Oof…"
"Chespin!" The grass type starter exclaimed as he got up from in front of her and made vines come out of his sides to then pick up the girl into a sitting position. "Ches chespin?" Chespin asked as he saw the Kanto native come closer to the duo.
"Hey, are you alright?" Ash asked as he put a hand on the back of the girl, who was brushing herself off. The girl looked up, and as soon as she saw the raven haired trainer, her jaw dropped. "You took quite the fall there!" Ash said as he put a hand behind his head to then grab the girl's hand and get her on her feet. The girl smiled at the gesture as Ash then pointed at himself and said: "Hi, I'm A-"
"Ash!" The girl shouted with shining eyes as she looked at the raven haired trainer. She could recognize from the day prior the black unusual hair style, the scarf, and obviously the trademark Z marks on the cheeks of the teenager she was in front of. "You are that guy with those awesome pokemon! And the guy that stood up to the big bully, and you are also the guy that is battling tomorrow in the semifinals! I am a big fan!"
"Chespin…" The Chespin replied with a similar look on his face as he jumped on the girl's hands.
Ash smiled at the girl's action, but then the young female gave a giggle and spoke up again, "Sorry for not introducing myself, I am Mairin, and this is my partner Chespie!"
"Chespin!"
"We have come to see the Kalos League!"
"Wow," Ash said kind of taken back by how Mairin was acting. "I never knew that I had a fan, the only fan I thought I ever had were my friends, so, if you are a fan of mine then I guess you are also a fan! Nice to meet you!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
"It is so nice to meet you too Ash!" Mairin said with shining orange eyes.
"Mairin! Thank goodness I found you!" A new voice pierced the air which then turned heads towards the person that was talking. Ash noticed the familiar person that was Professor Sycamore walking towards them with a very concerned look, but also a relieved one. "I see you have met my student Ash."
"Professor!" Mairin exclaimed as she looked at Professor Sycamore who was now with the group. "I just so happen to be stumbling across the concrete, and then I tripped and fell, but then Ash came to check on me!"
"Thank you so much for watching after Mairin, Ash," Professor Sycamore said as he then put on a regretful look, "And I am sorry for asking Ash, but I have to go to a meeting with some important executives of the pokemon league, and for that I am going to need to have to leave Mairin with someone." Professor Sycamore then sighed as he said, "I was wondering if you could do that for me, please."
Looking at Mairin, Ash knew that the little girl had to be taken care of, so out of pure instinct he looked at the pokemon researcher and smiled, "Of course professor, you have done so many things for my friends and I, it is the least I could do for you!"
"Thank you so much Ash!" Professor Sycamore said as he smiled at the group. "Now I must get going, Mairin, you behave yourself with Ash, alright?"
"Will do Professor!" Mairin shouted as she waved with Ash the pokemon researcher goodbye. Professor Sycamore then walked away leaving the two alone, so Mairin decided to be the one that talked first, "So Ash, where are we going to stay tonight?"
"My room of course," Ash said as the duo walked into the hotel. "I have an extra bed for you, Pikachu likes to sleep with me instead, so I guess that you would love that bed all to yourself and Chespie!"
"Pika!"
"Wow, really? Thanks!"
"Chespie!" Chespie exclaimed in a gratitude manner that resembled his trainer. The humans and the pokemon walked into the elevator, and as soon as they reached the third floor, they got off and Ash showed them to his room, which was the one to the left of the three.
"Wow!" Mairnin shouted as she looked around the room and noticed that it was very modern looking and the beds looked very comfortable with their bright red sheets. "This is amazing! How could you afford this?"
"It is free for trainers that participate," Ash explained as he reached into the mini fridge and grabbed a chocolate bar. "Here Mairin," The Kanto native said as he handed the piece of cocoa to the red haired girl. "Have some of this so that you do not get too hungry, tomorrow is a big day, my friends could take you to sit with them when they watch me and my friends battle!"
"That would be so cool!" Mairin said as she began to eat the chocolate bar. "You know," the young Kalosian girl said between bites, "Professor Sycamore never actually let me have candy."
"Huh?" Ash asked completely perplexed as he watched Pikachu cuddle up with Mairin and Chespie in a way to show affection. "Why would he not let you eat chocolate! It is so good!"
"Well, I had chocolate the first day I was with him, but he then didn't let me," Mairin then shrugged her shoulders. "He said something about not being good for my sleep."
"Hehe, well Professor sure is just being too strict," Ash said with a prideful tone as he pointed at himself. "I eat chocolate before I go to sleep sometimes, and I always have a good snooze anyways." Noticing that Mairin was done with her chocolate, the raven haired trainer sat next to her with the television remote with in front of the television. "Let's see what is on TV, I heard that some Kalos League highlights are on there, and some battles too!"
"That is so cool," Mairin said as she watched the television turn on for it to start playing some highlights of the Kalos League, starting with Trevor against Ash. "Whoa! That is the Noivern that took down the Hydreigon!" Mairin exclaimed as she saw Noivern battling against Florges.
"Yup," Ash said as he sighed as he watched Noivern navigate through the misty terrain with his sound waves. "This battle caused Noivern to end up defeated because of the major type disadvantage, but that does not matter because Pikachu was able to defeat Florges and then later go on to defeat Aggron." The battle then showed Pikachu's electric overdrive defeat Aggron and then skip to showing Mega Charizard X against Mega Charizard Y. The Kanto native noticed the young Kalosian watching the battle high lights with sparkling eyes which caused him to chuckle as he then watched the scene change to the Satoshi man.
"Wait, that guy is the undefeated guy, right?" Mairin asked as she looked at the screen. Ash nodded slowly as he watched Aegislash go into the ground and then force another pokemon to stagger before in one hit causing the pokemon to fall over completely unable to battle. "Man, he is a tough guy."
"You tell me, watch his Zoroark use sludge bomb and flamethrower to get close to then strike with either night slash, or, if far away be able to land a night daze," Ash said with a chuckle as he rubbed under his nose. "The person is powerful, but his strategies just need to be thought out thoroughly if one were to counter them."
"You think you could beat him?" Mairin asked.
Ash flinched at that question, now that he thought about it, he had never considered if he could even stand a chance against Satoshi, he seemed on a league of his own in every single battle he participated in. Ash just sighed, "I will try to beat him if I have to battle him, but sometimes one would have to hope they have what it takes."
"Well, your pokemon are awesome, Ash, maybe you do have a chance," Mairin said with a smile.
"Hehe, maybe," Ash chuckled as he then saw the television show his mega Charizard launch Blastoise towards the ground in a powerful manner. 'Wow, now that I think about it, it is very impressive that I could come up with that strategy on the spot, I didn't even think it would work,' Ash thought.
"Wow Ash, how did you know that hurling a Blastoise from the air would get you the win?" Mairin asked with a curious voice. "The way that Blastoise fell made it seem like if you were throwing a baseball at full speed towards the ground, you should call your Charizard a baseball pitcher!"
"Chespin!" Chespie agreed with a cheerful voice.
"A baseball pitcher?" Ash asked with a chuckle. "Pikachu what do you think? Should we call Charizard, Charuth?"
"Pika pika pik pika pika," Pikachu began to laugh very uncontrollably as Mairin looked at Ash and face palmed.
"Babe Ruth was not a pitcher," Mairin said with a very disapproving voice. "I think you should call him SuperZard! He can fly and he can hurl you with super strength!"
"I like it, I am going to ask Charizard what he thinks," Ash said as he pulled out Charizard's pokeball. "What do you think?" The pokeball began to shake uncontrollably which caused Ash to flinch. "Maybe not…" The pokeball relaxed and Ash sighed. "Sorry Mairin, he didn't like it."
Mairin chuckled, "It is alright, I think Charizard sounded better anyways."
"You're right Mairin," Ash renounced as he chuckled a little. "Anyways, tomorrow is my big battle against Calem, and you are not going to want to miss that one!" The raven haired trainer exclaimed as he pumped his fist. Ash then put a hand behind his head and said, "Of course, what am I to advertize my battles."
"I can't wait either Ash!" The redhead shouted as she hugged Chespie. "Chespie and I will be there to cheer you guys on!" Ash smiled at that last part as he then walked over to the remote and shut off the television that was now playing a commercial break.
"Alright then, let's go to sleep," The Kanto native said as he then shut off the light and went to his bed as he noticed that Mairin had tucked herself into bed as well. Chespie was right above her and Ash watched as Pikachu went to sleep on Ash's bed. "Good night Mairin," The raven haired trainer said as he removed his fingerless gloves and cap to then take off his scarf and set it down on the bedside table before lying down next to his Pikachu.
At an hour past midnight:
The night was very quiet, and Ash was sleeping soundly, it was just his intuition that woke him up in the middle of the night. When he woke up, he looked at all the cracks and crevices on the roof of the hotel, like the night before his big rematch against Wulfric. The raven haired trainer felt the same thing: Excitement, nerves, adrenaline. It kept him from sleeping which made him a little frustrated as he looked around the room, his body seemingly completely used to the darkness of the room as he looked around.
Pikachu was sleeping soundly at the foot of Ash's bed, this made him smile, but then looking to his left, the contents of the other bed made him go wide eyed. Mairin was tossing and turning, mumbling something in her sleep. Instantly, Ash went to her slowly, not to wake up Pikachu or Chespie, the green spiky mole was sleeping next to the redhead, but not too close that Ash could not get close to her. "What is wrong?" Ash whispered to himself as he then got the idea to put his hand on the young girl's forehead…
Ash flinched feeling the burning sensation that was being transmitted from the body temperature of the girl to the hand of the raven haired trainer, "A fever… oh no," Ash muttered as he did not know what to do. "Maybe I can… Oh man I need help," Looking around and deciding not to disturb the other pokemon, Ash grabbed Mairin, who was still asleep and cradled her in her arms. She found her surprisingly light, which made him relieved that there was no way he could accidentally drop the small girl.
Slowly opening the door and going into the hallway, Ash looked at his options: Serena or Brock… Ash then realized that Brock was sleeping with both Clemont AND Bonnie in his room which easily made the decision for Ash.
Knocking on the door to the honey blonde's room, Ash just had one thought in his mind: "Please open up!" Ash had a distressed look on his face as he could feel the unusual warmth that Mairin was passing onto him, but it was obvious that he needed someone else's view on this. The raven haired trainer listened closely and noticed that the redhead was saying something along the lines of "mom, dad" and something like: "Please wake up…"
"Ash?" Serena asked as she rubbed her eyes. She was in her pajamas, which was a monster like hoodie that the honey blonde liked to wear. Taking to time to adjust to her surroundings, Serena opened her bright blue eyes and her eyes instantly fell on Mairin, who was in the trainer's hands. "Ash… Is that a-"
"Please help," Ash managed to throw out in a very worried way that made Ash signal for the raven haired trainer to walk in. Ash hurryingly settled the small girl down on Bonnie's bed as Serena followed up behind him. One look at the honey blonde told Ash what he was expecting: Serena had questions. "I will explain later, but I think she is coming down with a fever." Serena nodded at this as she then came next to the girl and felt her forehead.
The honey blonde recoiled just by touching the skin of the small girl, "She is burning up, Ash hand me a wash cloth and some water from the sink, please."
"On it," Ash said as he walked away to get the supplies that Serena said as the honey blonde haired girl noticed that the small girl in the bed was beginning to wake up.
"Mom! Dad!" Mairin shouted which surprised the honey blonde noticing that the redhead began to burst into tears with her body slouched forward, almost as if she did not want to look up and see what was around her. "Huh?" Mairin asked as she suddenly felt a warm pair of arms wrap around her. The redhead looked up from her position to see a female with short honey blonde hair and deep blue eyes who seemed to be in her pajamas as well. "W-who are you?" The young girl suddenly asked as she looked at Serena.
"My name is Serena, pleased to meet you," The honey blonde said as she slowly lied the girl on her back with a gentle gesture. Mairin seemed surprised as she looked up at Serena and smiled as she felt the hand of the honey blonde slowly wipe away her tears. "You are burning up, I want to help you," Serena said as he touched the place where her ribbon would usually be and then offering Marin a warm smile which the young girl mirrored. Ash then came back with the water on a small bowl that he had found in the kitchen and a washcloth from the restroom. "Thanks Ash," Serena said as she noticed the trainer smile back at her. The honey blonde grabbed the washcloth and then dipped it in the water to then put it on the forehead of the small redhead.
Instantly, Serena saw the results as she could feel less of a burning sensation when she touched the cheek of the young girl. "I think she will be fine, thanks to you Serena," Ash said as he stood next to the honey blonde. The raven haired trainer then made a move to show his appreciation to the young performer by looking at her and smiling, "You know, you will make a great mother one day."
"What?" Serena asked with a shy expression. "I just like making people smile, that is really it Ash."
"But there is more to it," Ash responded. The small girl lying in the bed was overhearing the conversation, obviously beginning to understand the chemistry of the two trainers that were taking care of her. "Look Serena, this might sound crazy, but you are taking care of her almost like a mother."
Mother…
That was what stuck out to Mairin the most as she overheard the conversation. It is as if she was being taken care by two parents.
"Ash," Serena said in awe as she looked down at her hands with a small smile appearing in her face. "... Maybe someday, but right now, I feel like you should go back to your room and rest up for tomorrow, you have a big day and I do not want you to lose any more sleep."
"But-"
"No buts Ash," Serena said with a firm tone, 'except if it's mine' Serena thought with a funny look on her face as she turned back to see the raven haired trainer face to face. "Take a good rest, I will look after Mairin."
"Alright," Ash said with a sigh as he then looked at the small girl and put a hand in her cheek which caused Mairin to slowly wake up. "Mairin, I will look after Chespie for you tonight."
Mairin slowly nodded as Ash took a deep breath and began to leave the room. As soon as he left, he closed the door behind him which left the two girls alone in the room with one looking down at the smaller girl. "You love him, don't you?" Mairin asked out of the blue which made the honey blonde girl recoil with a tomato red coloring on her face.
"W-what are you talking about?" Serena asked with a very distressed look on her face as she looked down at Mairin trying to conceal her blush.
The redhead smiled and looked at the roof with what Serena could tell were very sad eyes, "Once, my mom and dad took care of me in a way like Ash and you did…" Mairin then took a deep breath. "Mom said something similar to my dad when she was told she was amazing at taking care of children… Then mom told dad to go sleep so that he did not lose sleep for his work, where he was going to work all day the next day." Mairin then closed her eyes, "You talk to Ash as if he were your husband in a way," Mairin concluded as she smiled.
"Y-you…" Serena sputtered out as she then sighed and kneeled down in front of the redhead girl and smiled, "Please don't tell Ash." The young girl nodded at this as the honey blonde then checked her forehead to feel for her body temperature, and sure enough, it had decreased a lot since Serena had first felt the skin. "So, what is your name?"
"Mairin," The young girl said with a soft voice.
Serena then gave a chuckle, "It is such a cute name, if you don't mind me wondering, how did you even end up in Ash's room after all?"
Mairin then sighed, "Well, it is a long story, but to keep it simple, Ash found me after I tripped and fell on the concrete, but then Professor Sycamore came and asked him to take care of me because he had an important meeting to go to."
Serena cocked an eyebrow as she heard this and looked down at the girl with a confused expression, "So, you are Professor Sycamore's daughter?"
Mairin frowned as she then closed her eyes, her voice slightly breaking as she talked, "No, I am nobody's daughter… At least not anymore."
Serena gasped as if she had just been hit with a truck, instantly, it clicked on her mind, Mairin had no parents, that is why there was sadness in her eyes when she mentioned her parents before, "Mairin, I am so sorry… I didn't know."
"I-It's alright," Mairin managed to say with with a very soft voice. "I know that they would want me to keep going… But I know that I am so young to be left alone." Mairin then looked up with a smile, looking at the dimly lit ceiling with a sigh, "One day, I want to check out the world… But Professor Sycamore said that I was too young to go out on my own, and worse is that Professor Sycamore is always busy to take me anywhere."
"Oh Mairin," Serena said with a smile. "Don't worry, something will work out."
"Yea," Mairin said as she closed her eyes one last time. "I am tired, let's go to sleep."
Serena chuckled at this as she got up and turned off the dimmed light, "Sure, if we want to see Ash win tomorrow, then we need to have all of our energy!" Serena then jumped into her bed and looked in the dark room in the direction in which Mairin was sleeping, "Good night Mairin, sweet dreams."
"Serena," Mairin said as she felt herself drifting off into dreamland. "Thank you…"
And from there on out, no more words were spoken for the rest of the night.
Pokemon League HQ:
All the elite four members with the exception of Malva, to everyone's wonder where there with Night and professor Sycamore in a conference table talking. There seemed to be some disagreement as the trainer with the Jolteon seemed to have been triggered by one of the remarks by the champion.
"You are kidding me right?" Night said as he face palmed. "I nearly defeated him with just my Jolteon and Decidueye, I can take him down if there is a danger that arises!"
"Jolteon!"
"Night Lysandre will have more than just his pokemon, he will be raining havoc all through the region!" Diantha retaliated against the champion of the Soul Stadium. "How do you expect to take his administrators and his possible reinforcements down? The next thing you know, Team Flare has formed an alliance with another organization and is going to attempt to take down the entire Kalos Region."
"Well, what other help can we get? I already talked to Steven Stone and the man did not believe me, he claimed Lysandre had 'good intentions', at the same time Iris has been receiving many challengers in Unova, so she backed out. Cynthia said that despite the danger that arises, she has to protect Sinnoh only to the best of her ability. Lance, like always, responds in a similar matter to Cynthia claiming he has to be more careful because he is taking care of both Kanto and Johto. The only other person willing to help us is Professor Kukui from the Alola region," Night said with a very irritated voice. "Look, I am not saying that Professor Kukui is weak, but he can get annoying when he says 'Alola!' all the time like if it were paradise."
"Professor Kukui, who is that?" Siebold asked with a very concerned voice as he put a hand to his chin. The blonde chef then narrowed his eyes. "Although I know his pokemon and he can be of assistance, I still believe we should know who our allies are."
"He has a point," Dransa agreed as she turned to Diantha. "Are you sure that we can count on this Kukui person?"
"He is stronger than the Kahuna's in Alola, I am not going to get into much detail about the system there as it is complicated," Night replied with a cross of his arms. "The thing is that they still have no Pokemon League, but Kukui is definitely a trainer you want to take lightly if you go against him."
"He is also a researcher in Z moves," Professor Sycamore said as she turned to Diantha. "Combine that with mega evolution and we can have a powerful team."
Winkstorm spoke next with an extremely curious voice as he looked at the Kalos Champion, "Wasn't a Z move the thing that the Hau person used in the Kalos League against Ash?"
"It seemed like it was," Diantha said as she narrowed her eyes. "Ash managed to avoid the attack all together, so it was definitely something that one has to be cautious with because if that hit may have landed, then Ash may have lost the battle," Diantha said as she looked at the steel type trainer. "Z moves do not look like something that anyone would want to mess with, and people like Ash know that first hand."
"I know about…" Night started which turned the attention of everyone to him. "Well, it is some people that are so special, they have the power of the Z crystals embedded into their body, it means that subconsciously, they are able to perform Z moves with pokemon without even having to hold a Z ring at all."
"Night, do you know of anyone with these capabilities?" Professor Sycamore asked with a concerned voice. "If you do you must tell me who it is."
"I only know my father has it, of course, I can't call him because he is uh-... Anyways, if it is hereditary, I did not get it, which means that there is only one more possibility for a person that may have this power," Night replied with a serious face.
"Who is it?" Everyone asked in unison.
"I… Well, how do I put this… The only other person that could have it is not me, so it only leaves my sister on this…" Night then took a deep breath as he said something that he did not want to make public just yet. "Don't tell anyone, but my suspicions are that Serena may have this power."
A/N: OH SNAP! Serena has this power? Well, I kind of have to admit that when I wrote chapter 13, I did not know about Z rings so I made Serena use hydro vortex without a Z ring.
So, if someone can achieve an alternate and more powerful form with their pokemon without a mega stone or a keystone, but with the requirement of a strong bond… Then why not do the same thing with Z moves?
Anyways, next chapter we begin with a very powerful battle between Ashura and Seth and possibly get to see the beginning of Ash vs Calem… One of the well awaited battles of the Kalos League!
I hope you guys enjoyed, remember to R & R and I will see you guys next time!