ch 56: Chateau scramble
It was early in the morning in Snowbelle city and Red was up with Clemont in Belloc's kitchen with Bonnie and Korrina.
Red and Clemont had their elbows in the table with their hands locked as Clemont tried to force Red's hand to the table.
"Come on brother you can do this!" Bonnie said.
"Wait we already started?" Red said. Not a moment later Clemont's hand was slammed into the table. As a result Clemont was dragged out of his chair and landed on the floor.
"Ouch" Clemont said.
"Clemont are you alright?" Red said.
""Sigh", I'm alright" Clemont said as he got up.
" Why did you want to arm wrestle Red anyway?" Korrina said.
"It's just, I wanted to boost my confidence a little before the tournament today. I'm going to try and meet a girl today" Clemont said.
"Really" Korrina said.
" Yes" Clemont said.
"I'm so proud of him, I even agreed to let him do it on his own" Bonnie said.
"Well good luck buddy, with all the trainers competing today you should be able to find someone" Red said.
"I sure hope so" Clemont said. Elsewhere Ash and Serena were outside in the snow with their pokemon out.
"Alright just a little more on top" Serena said as Ash placed another bit of snow onto of a snow Nidoking they were making. Earlier that morning after sparring practice with Korrina, Serena had breakfast with Ash and he noticed that she seemed pretty stressed out about the tournament.
To try and calm her down Ash brought her outside for some fresh air and simple fun with their pokemon. Ash and Serena were patting the snow into place with Pikachu, Lucario, Zorua, and Furfrou.
"Ok Aurorus take it away" Serena said they backed away from the snow sculpture.
Aurorus opened her mouth and let out a small burst of icy wind that froze the sculpture solid.
"Ok you're up Lucario" Ash said. His Lucario came forward and turned his claws metal and slashed away the lumpy and uneven parts of the sculpture until it looked almost like a real Nidoking.
"And we're done" Ash said.
"It looks so real, great work guys" Serena said as she put her arms around Ash's shoulders and leaned on him a little.
"Hey Ash did the house seem a little warm this morning?" Serena said.
"Maybe a little" Ash said.
"Let me cool you down then" Serena said as she pulled up a ball of snow and shoved it into Ash's hood and onto the back of his neck.
"Yahh!" Ash said as he reached towards the back of his head and tried to get the snow out.
"Ha gotcha!" Serena said.
"Just you wait" Ash said as he quickly scooped up a snowball and hurled it into Serena's face. As Serena wiped the snow out of her face she had an almost evil expression on.
"Oh it's on now". The two quickly began hurling more snow at each other as their pokemon watched.
"Pika" Pikachu said relieved to see them both so happy. Not a moment later Pikachu was smashed in the face by a burst of snow. Pikachu wiped the snow off his face and saw Serena's Spritzee laughing.
"Pika Chu! Pikachu shouted as he turned his tail metal and smashed the ground in front of him unleashing a massive burst of snow that smashed into Spritzee and knocked him into the snow.
Lucario felt a pair of snowballs hit his back and turned around to see Hawlucha in a battle stance.
Lucario smiled as he rolled forward in a summersault picking up two snowballs in the process, then hurling them at Hawlucha.
Hawlucha leapt up and spun around as the snowballs flew past him. Once Hawlucha was safe he hurled another snowball at Lucario , who then leapt up and over the snowball before hurled a snowball right into Hawlucha's face.
The other pokemon quickly joined into the fray as Furfrou and Mightyena smashed snow into each other. Aurorus unleashed a powerful wind of ice and snow at Tyrantrum , only to have it get melted away by Charizard's flamethrower.
Aurorus saw Charizard come up behind Tyrantrum as the two dragons smiled. Tyrantrum smashed his massive tail into the ground and unleash a wave of snow into Aurorus.
Charizard and Tyrantrum laughed until Charizard heard Delphox laughing. He turned over and saw Delphox covering Zorua with snow using her psychic abilities.
Zorua burst out of the snow with snow and a smile on his face before changing his form into a Garchomp and smashed his mighty claws into the ground and covered Delphox in snow.
" Grauu" Charizard growled as he watched the two. Tyrantrum heard this and lowered his head to his friend.
"Grouu" He said warning that if he hurt Zorua it wouldn't help him with Delphox. Charizard sighed, as much as he wanted to burn the small black fox to a crisp he know it wouldn't end well with Delphox.
Meanwhile Serena hurled another snowball at Ash, only to have the the aura guardian use his agility to easily avoid the snowball and hurled another two right at her. The two snowballs plowed into Serena's face as Ash laughed a little.
"Bullseye" Ash said still laughing. Serena wiped the snow out of her face and gave another evil look.
"I won't miss this time" Serena said as she picked up another two snowballs and hurled them at Ash. Once again Ash used his agility to avoid both snowballs and thought he was clear. Until he saw Serena inches in front of him.
Before Ash could even respond Serena tackled him to the ground and the two landed in the snow. Ash looked up and saw Serena's face inches from his as she raised her hand over his face and shoved a ball of snow into it.
"I told you I would't miss" Serena said before she wiped the snow off his face and kissed him. Ash was glad to see Serena's stress gone from all the fun they were having. Ash also felt some of his own anxiety about the grunt go away, temporarily.
"Ash thanks for making me come out here, I feel so much better" Serena said as she rested her head against his chest.
"I'm just glad you're feeling better baby" Ash said as he rubbed the back of her head. A few minutes later they were in the house with the others getting ready to head out to the chateau.
"Alright all my pokemon are in great condition and I'm ready to reach the rank of duchess!" Serena said.
"That's the right attitude Serena, you've got this" Ash said.
"Did you guys here, Clemont is finally casting out a line for a girl today" Korrina said.
"You are?" Serena said as she and Ash turned to him. Clemont gave a nervous expression.
"Yes" he said sweat dropping.
"Awwe Clemont that's so sweet" Serena said.
"Well I'm just hoping that I can find someone" Clemont said.
" I'm sure you will" Ash said. A few moments later they saw Belloc come in wearing black and dark blue aura guardian robes with black spades on his shoulders.
"Are you all ready to head out" Belloc said.
"Yeah, are you going to the battle chateau too?" Serena said.
"Of course, when I interrogated the agent I found out he has friends coming to try and take the treasure at the battle chateau. I'll need to guard it" Belloc said.
"Wait team flare is coming to the chateau" Serena said sounding scared.
"I believe so, which is why I'll need your help Ash, Red, and Korrina. There are going to be a lot of people there and I can't watch them and the treasure" Belloc said.
"Well I" Ash said nervously before Serena grabbed his arm.
"No! If Team Flare if going to be there Ash has to protect me!" Serena said. It was then Bellox remembered about what Red told him about what happened to Serena.
"Well what about you two?" Belloc said turning to Red and Korrina.
"We can handle it" Red said.
"No problem" Korrina said.
"Alright let's head over there then" Ash said. Twenty minutes later Ash, Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont were waiting in line to enter the chateau. Meanwhile Belloc, Red, and Korrina were parkouring up the side of one of the towers and through a window.
"It's nice to get to wear my robes again, and to not have to wear some stupid dress" Korrina said as they got inside.
"Alright I'm going to the hall of treasures to watch over the artifact, you two stay over the main crowd and keep an eye on them" Belloc said.
"Alright good luck" Red said.
Meanwhile at the entrance Ash, Serena, and the others had finally reached the front of the line.
"Welcome to the battle chateau, I am sir John" The man at the front door said as he gave a respectful bow.
"I'm here to enter the tournament " Serena said.
"Very well, you may enter" John said. To save time Serena and the others had already changed into their formal attire and headed straight for the now clouded lounge area.
"Wow I knew there were a lot of trainers competing, but this is crazy" Serena said a bit nervous.
"Don't let that intimidate you Serena" Ash said.
"I just hope we don't run into Sara" Serena said.
"Yeah me too" Ash said.
"Alright this is it big brother, time for you to find a girlfriend" Bonnie said sounding excited.
"I know" Clemont said with his legs shaking. As the group walked into the crowd , Red and Korrina watched the crowd from above using their aura vision to try and locate any hostile aura.
As Ash and Serena made their way through the crowd Ash noticed that Serena seemed a bit restless. He could tell from her aura that she was a bit scared about team Flare.
"Serena relax, even if team Flare comes I'm not leaving your sight this entire day" Ash said.
Serena sighed.
"Alright that does make me feel a little better, but what if they attack. You refuse to put on your wrist blades" Serena said.
"Well , I don't need my wrist blades to fight them i hand to hand combat" Ash said.
"Ash please just do it for me. It will make me feel better knowing your more prepared" Serena said.
Ash took a deep breath and reached into his backpack. He stared at the hidden blades for almost a minute, still haunted by the memory of the team flare grunt. With heavy reluctance , Ash reached in and put the hidden blades on his wrists and forearms.
"Thank you Ash" Serena said as she hugged him.
"For you , anything" Ash said before giving her a short kiss.
"Well look who's here" the two turned to see Shauna standing before them.
"Shauna you made it!" Serena said.
"Yup I'm here to earn my final rank of duchess so I can compete in the grand festival!" Shauna said.
"Really me too!" Serena said. That is when it hit Serena, if she and Shauna both had to win to make duchess then that would mean she would have to beat Shauna. But if she beat Shauna then it meant Shauna wouldn't be able to compete in the grand festival.
Knowing this made Serena very uneasy about the possibility of facing Shauna.
"Hey where are Red and Korrina?" Shauna said.
"They actually couldn't make it" Ash said.
"That's too bad, I'm really pumped for this!" Shauna said.
"Me too, I've never seen this many trainers at a battle chateau" Serena said. In truth Serena still wanted to win , but she didn't want to be responsible for Shauna not making it into the grand festival.
Meanwhile Clemont was shaking as he stared at a black hair girl in a blue dress with a Braixen beside her.
"Come on Clemont just do it" Bonnie said.
"Uh, Ok" Clemont said as he slowly walked over to her. The girl noticed Clemont walking over to her and turned to him.
"Uhhh, hello" Clemont said shaking.
"Hello" The girl said a little weirded out.
"Mmmmy name's Clemont and I" Clemont said before the girl saw his legs wobbling.
"Uh are you ok?" She said.
"What? I'm fine" Clemont said sweating.
"Uh, I gotta go" The girl said as she backed up. Bonnie face palmed as Clemont walked over to her.
"Brother you went up in flames!" Bonnie shouted.
"I know" Clemont said.
"Brother you must be more confident, keep your legs straight. A firm tone , and no sweating!" Bonnie said before she noticed another girl.
"Look brother another one! Go and get her" Bonnie said as she turned him around and pushed him towards the girl.
"Uh Hello" Clemont said shaking. The girl turned to him and saw how nervous Clemont looked.
"Hello" She said.
"Sssoo, my name's gym leader and I'm the Clemont of. Wait no I" Clemont said sweating.
"Uh, I need to uh go somewhere" the girl said as she walked off. Bonnie face palmed again.
Above them Korrina and Red noticed Clemont's attempts to pick up a girl.
"It's like watching a bridge collapse. First the wire supporters go , then the whole thing comes down" Korrina said to Red through an aura message.
"Poor Clemont" Red said.
Ash, Serena, and Shauna also saw Clemont's failed attempts.
"Is Clemont trying to pick up a girl?" Shauna said.
"Yeah" Serena said as she, Ash, and Pikachu all sweat dropped.
"He doesn't look like he's doing very good. Maybe I should go help him" Shauna said. Clemont walked over to Bonnie with his head hung down.
"Brother that was even worse than the first time!".
Clemont sighed.
"Hey guys" Clemont and Bonnie turned to see Shauna standing before them.
"Shauna!" Bonnie said.
"So you're competing in the tournament too" Clemont said.
"Yeah I still need to make it to duchess, but hopefully after today I'll be one" Shauna said.
"Well good luck, there are certainly a lot of trainers here" Clemont said.
"Yeah Clemont I saw what just happened to you" Shauna said.
" You did?" Clemont said as his face turned pale and sweat came down.
"My brother is hopeless" Shauna said.
"Well Clemont the problem is you keep getting overwhelmed by those girls. You just need to realize that they're human like you" Shauna said.
"I keep trying to but all I can think about is how pathetic I am" Clemont said.
"Clemont you're not pathetic, you're skilled gym leader, a brilliant young man and an amazing person" Shauna said as she took his hands.
Bonnie's eyes widened as she saw this.
"Just stay confident and don't be afraid of what might go wrong. Only focus on what can go right" Shauna said. She didn't notice Clemont's face had turned slightly red.
At the same time Ash and Serena were watching.
"Hey, look" Serena said.
"You don't think?" Ash started.
"I don't know I thought she was going to end up with Red when we first met her" Ash said.
Moments later John walked onto the stage and took out a microphone.
"Attention, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Snowbelle city battle chateau. I am proud to announce it will be the final tournament before this years Grand festival. I wish you all luck today. The first round match ups will begin in a few minutes , so please check the listings to see your first opponent" John said.
"Come on we better get over there" Serena said.
Above them, Red and Korrina were still reading the aura of the crowd. All seemed well until they saw a few less than friendly auras.
" Did you see that?" Red said.
"Yeah and I don't like it" Korrina said.
"I'll stay with the bulk of the crowd. You follow those auras, keep an eye on them" Red said.
"Good idea" Korrina said as she slowly followed those with the different auras. A few minutes later Serena and Shauna were waiting in line to see the listings.
"Oh great I'm taking on a duke my first match" the young man in front of Serena and Shauna said before he walked off.
Hearing about dukes in the first round didn't exactly inspire confidence in the young young ladies.
"Alright our turn" Serena said. They saw the listings and saw who they were facing in round one.
Serena's first match was against a Marquis in room 4A.
"It look's like your match is before mine" Shauna said.
"It's coming up soon, we should get over there" Ash said. A few minutes later the group was in a battle hall with marble floors and walls and some tapestries.
Serena stood across from a man in his 30's with brown hair and green eyes in a Service dress uniform with a gold anchor and 2 thick wide arrows on his shoulder ranks.
"The mach been Maquis Luke and Marquises Serena is about to begin. Trainers choose your pokemon" The referee said.
"Time to battle, go Golduck!" Luke said as he hurled a blue pokeball foreword and let out a large bipedal blue duck.
"What is that?" Serena said opening her pokedex.
"Golduck, the Duck Pokémon. The evolved form of Psyduck. Golduck is very adept at using its webbed hands and feet, making it the fastest swimming Pokémon of all."
"A Golduck, that's quite a powerful pokemon. Serena will have her work cut out for her" Shauna said.
"She can do it" Ash said.
"Alright I choose you, Aurorus!" Serena said as se let out her massive dinosaur pokemon.
"What? This civilian got a dinosaur before me. Dam the army , selfish sons of" Luke said under his breath.
"Begin" The ref said.
"Golduck use Hydropump!" Luke shouted.
"Icebeam on the ground around you!" Serena said. As the muscular looking Golduck opened his mouth and unleashed a massive jet of water, Aurorus blasted the ground in front of her and around her with Icebeam.
As a result she created a thick layer of ice that managed to hold out long enough to absorb the Hydropump before shattering into pieces.
"Golduck get use Water pulse with some evasives to confuse her" The Golduck quickly rushed forward and made sharp turns making it hard for Aurorus to lock onto him.
"Use Ancient power in his path!" Serena said. Aurorus's eyes turned violet as she blasted the ground in front of Golduck with rocks. Unfortunately the Golduck was very well trained. He avoided each rock and used the last one to leap up and over Aurorus.
"Icy wind!" Aurorus turned her head up and unleashed a very cold and powerful wind that lifted Golduck up and away from her. As a result Golduck's Water pulse was also knocked off course and missed Aurorus narrowly.
"So that's how she battles, alright then. Keep her from attacking with Confusion!" . When the Golduck landed his eyes began glowing blue as he gripped the massive dinosaur with Psychic energy.
While it wasn't enough to lift up the massive dinosaur, it was enough to keep her in place.
"That's not good" Clemont said.
"Come on Aurorus break free!" Ash shouted.
"Perfect now use Hydro pump!".
"Aurorus use Ice beam!" Serena said. Aurorus tried to open her mouth and use her move , but the Confusion attack made it very difficult to make any kind of movement. Just before Aurorus could attack she was blasted with the Hydro pump and hurled back.
"Aurorus!" Serena said knowing how effective water was against Aurorus.
"That's gotta hurt" Clemont said.
"Come you two don't give up!".
"PIka".
"Outstanding Golduck use another Confusion". Golduck's eyes glowed blue as he held Aurorus in place again.
"No come on Aurorus you have to break free" Serena said. Aurorus struggled to try and break out of the Confusion's hold but it was difficult. Golduck had a strong hold on her.
"Finnish this with another Hydropump" Luke said.
"Come on Aurorus you can do this!" Ash shouted.
"Break free!" Shauna shouted.
"Pika!".
"I know you can break free Aurorus, come on!" Serena said. Aurorus gave everything she had and finally felt Golduck's hold on her break.
"Aurora beam!" Just before the Hydro pump could reach her, Aurorus opened her mouth and unleashed a powerful beam that tore through the water and hurled Golduck back as it hit him.
"Aurorus use Ancient power!" Serena shouted. Aurorus's eyes glowed violet as she hurled several massive boulders at the blue duck.
"Golduck quick use confusion to stop them!". Golduck raised his head just in time to see the first boulder smash into him. Before he knew it, a second one did, then a third, then fourth.
"Golduck!?" Luke said.
Golduck was on the ground unconscious with swirly eyes.
"Duck".
"Golduck is unable to battle, the winner is Marquises Serena" The ref said.
"Aright we did it!" Serena said.
"Auro!" Aurorus roared in victory.
"Whew, that was close" Clemont said.
Luke returned his Golduck before giving a respectful bow to Serena.
Serena returned the bow before returning Aurorus and walking over to the others.
"Great job Serena" Ash said.
"Thanks guys, that was a bit close" Serena said.
"I knew you had it" Ash said.
"Well my match will be beginning soon , I should get over there" Shauna said.
"We'll come with you" Serena said as they followed her to another room. Meanwhile Korrina was keeping an eye on the hostile auras. Apparently they were staying wherever the largest crowd was, which made her a bit concerned.
The group watched Shauna win her first match against a Marquises named Sandra. As the tournament went on Serena and Shauna continued to win their matches against ever more skilled trainers.
Eventually they both made it to the semi finals.
"Corsola use Spike cannon!" Serena shouted. Her Corsola blasted her opponents Fearow at point blank range with Spike cannon. The massive bird was barraged with hard coral spikes for 5 seconds before falling to the ground and being knocked unconscious.
"Fearow is unable to battle, the winner is Marquises Serena" The ref said.
"Phew" Serena said as he Corsola tried to catch her breath.
"Alright you made it Serena!" Ash said.
"Corsola return, rest up" Serena said as she walked over to Ash and Pikachu.
"Man this is the toughest tournament I've ever been in" Serena said.
"But just one more battle and you'll be in the grand festival" Ash said.
"Yeah, the only problem is that trainer is going to be tougher than anyone else here" Ash said.
"Don't forget you've made it just as far as they have" Ash said.
"I suppose that's true, I wonder how Shauna's doing it?" Serena said. Moments later Shauna walked in with Clemont and Bonnie.
"Serena how did your match go?" Shauna said.
"I won, what about you?" Serena said.
"I won too!" Shauna said.
"Congratulations" Ash said.
"Wait , if you won and I won doesn't that mean" Serena said before both realized it. If they wanted to make it to the grand festival they would have to beat each other and keep the other out of the grand festival.
"Well, we should probably get to the main battle hall" Serena said.
"Yeah" Shauna said. Ash knew how hard this would be for Serena, but he knew she had to do it or everything she worked for would have been for nothing.
Ash put his hand around Serena's shoulder.
"Serena, Everything's going to be ok" Ash said. Serena sighed.
"I hope so". Most of the trainers had gathered in the main battle hall for the final match. Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie had front row seats while Red and Korrina stayed hidden in the rafters above them.
Serena stood on one end while Shauna stood on the other.
"The final match between Marquises Serena and Marquises Shauna is about to begin. Trainers choose your pokemon" The ref said.
"Alright guys, here we go. Greninja and Leafeon!" . A mighty blue frog came out and stood in a swift stance as the green and yellow Eevee evolution stood in a more appealing pose.
"Woah her Frogadier must have evolved" Clemont said.
"This won't be easy for Serena" Ash said. Serena held her two Pokeballs to her face.
"This is it guys, everything we've worked towards. I know we can do it" Serena raised her head and hurled both pokeballs forward. Serena's Zorua and Delphox came out and took aggressive stances.
"Delphox and Zorua, I thought she might" Ash started when one of his pokeballs started shaking. Moments later Charizard came out and looked closer at Delphox about to battle alongside Zorua.
"Grauu" he said concerned.
"Charizard you came out to see Delphox" Ash said before feeling something wrong with his Charizard through his aura connection.
"Charizard is everything ok?" Ash said.
"Pika" Pikachu said with a concerned expression, knowing what was wrong.
"Trainers ready, begin" John said. Zorua quickly transformed himself into Leafeon as Delphox raised her wand.
"Delphox use Fire spin on Leafeon, Zorua use Night slash on Greninja". Zorua-Leafeon disappeared in darkness and quickly reappeared behind Greninja.
"Greninja jump up and use Water pulse, Leafeon use Razor leaf where he's standing". Just before Zorua could slash Greninja from behind, the mighty frog leapt up high into the air and unleashed a powerful water pulse. At the same time Delphox raised her wand and unleashed a spinning burst of fire at Leafeon , only to have it get extinguished by the water pulse.
At the same time Leafeon unleashed 3 sharp leaves right at Zorua who was now standing where Greninja had been.
"Zorua!".
"Phox!". Zorua was knocked back and turned back into his normal form.
"Great work guys" Shauna said as her Greninja landed next to Leafeon.
"Shauna has certainly improved her skills since we last saw her" Clemont said.
"Serena's still got this, I know she does" Ash said.
"Let's keep moving guys, Delphox use Flamethrower close to the ground. Zorua change into something that came move without being seen" . Zorua got up and changed into a Duskonior. Once his transformation was complete he moved behind Delphox , who got low and swept her wand along the ground spraying fire everywhere.
"Greninja into the air and use Hydropump".
"Leafeon try and stop her with Leech seed!". As Greninja hurled himself up into the air Leafeon tried to use Leech seed, but soon had to back up just to avoid the incoming fire.
"Now use Psychic!" Serena shouted. Delphox quickly locked onto Greninja and caught the water with Psychic energy as her eyes glowed pink. Once the water was dispersed she locked onto Greninja.
"Nice try" Shauna said. Moments later Serena saw Greninja still moving.
"Psychic moves won't affect him Serena, now blast her with Water pulse and get in close" Shauna said. Greninja came down with a ball of water in his palm ready to strike Delphox.
"Delphox move!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!".
"Grauu!" Serena and Delphox smiled.
"Now Zorua use Leer!". Just before Greninja could arrive Zorua as Duskonior appeared in front of him and blasted him with Leer.
Greninja now very surprised stopped and backed up as his defenses were lowered.
"Foul play!" Zorua as Duskonior smacked both his mighty hands into Greninja and hurled him back. Greninja smashed into Leafeon as he flew back and knocked them both through some flames.
"Alright great job!" Serena said.
"Woah she had it all planned out" Clemont said.
"That's it Serena keep it up!".
"Pika!".
"Well that was good Serena, now let me respond. Greninja double team. Leafeon use petal dance". Greninja quickly made a dozen copies of himself around the battlefield as Leafeon unleashed a furry of pink petals that flew through and around the Greninja copies.
"Delphox burn them all with Fireblast. Zorua get behind it and use Night Slash". Delphox raised her want and unleashed a Symbol shaped burst of fire that flew forward with Zorua as Duskonior close behind. The fire quickly tore through the petals and copies as it flew forward.
"Now up and over. Use Water Pulse and Vine whip" Shauna said. The real Greninja leapt up and over both the fire and Zorua before hurling a sphere of water at Delphox.
"Delphox quick use Psychic! Zorua use Agility" Delphox managed to catch and disperse the water pulse in time. But Zorua could not see Leafeon and was unable to avoid being wrapped up by her vines and hurled into the ground.
"Zorua!".
"Phox!". Zorua transformed back into his normal form before slowly getting up.
"Well Delphox's Psychic moves are keeping the water at bay, but Zorua is still taking a beating. Delphox use Fire blast in the air then disperse it with Psybeam. Zorua use the cover to use Feint attack" Serena said.
Delphox raised her want into the air then blasted a symbol shaped burst of fire into the air before using Psychic energy to burst it into a series of smaller flames falling towards Greninja and Leafeon.
" Greninja use Hydro pump to put out the fire. Leafeon use petal dance to keep Zorua away". Greninja raised his head up and unleashed a powerful jet of water into the air that put out the fires one by one. Meanwhile Leafeon unleashed a furry of pink petals around herself and Greninja.
"Delphox use Psychic to clear the way!" Delphox's eyes glowed pink as she used Psychic energy to clear a path to Greninja.
"Now use Feint attack!" Serena said. While Greninja was still putting out the flames, Zorua appeared behind him as a Pikachu and slashed Greninja across the back.
"Great work!" Serena said.
"That was thinking ahead, she's still in this" Ash said.
"Pika!".
"Greininja use Water Shruiken. Leafeon use Sweet scent". Greninja quickly leapt into the air and unleashed a furry of bursts of water towards the ground. At the same time Leafeon let out a thick aroma of sweet smell.
Zorua as Pikachu was quickly captivated by the smell and slowly moved towards Leafeon.
"Zorua stop! Delphox use fire spin around them, get that scent to burn". Delphox tried to use Fire spin, but the falling water kept her from staying in place for too long.
"Now Hydro pump and Energy ball!".
"Delphox use Psychic to stop it!" Delphox tried to get into a stance to use Psychic, but the falling water kept her from doing so. Greninja opened his mouth and blasted Delphox with a powerful jet of water as Leafeon blasted Zorua back with a burst of grass energy.
"Delphox ! Zorua!". Both pokemon were hurled back and lie on the ground.
"Come on you have to get up!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!".
"Grauu!" Charizard roared.
"Come on guys, it's now or never" Serena said. Zorua saw Greninja approaching.
"Finnish them both with Hydro pump". Greninja opened his mouth and raised his head.
"Zorua!" Zorua said as he got up and ran between Delphox and Greninja. Not a moment later Zorua started glowing white and growing bigger.
"What!?" Shauna said.
"It can't be, Zorua's " Serena started. Delphox's eyes widened as she saw Zorua complete his evolution.
"Zoroark!" Zoroark said.
"Zorua evolved!" Ash said.
"Alright Zoroark transform into Garchomp and use Night slash!". Zoroark quickly transformed into the mighty shark dragon and slashed forward through the water before slashing across Greninja, hurling him back.
"Leafeon use Leech seed on Zoroark".
"Delphox Fire blast!" Delphox raised her wand and blasted Leafeon with a massive burst of fire , just before she could unleash Leech seed.
"Leafeon!" Shauna said. Leafeon landed on the ground covered in soot unconscious.
"Leaf".
"Zoroark use Foul play from behind" Zoroark appeared behind Greninja and smacked claws into Greninja's back, hurling him forward.
"Now Fire blast!" Serena said. Delphox got up and raised her wand at Greninja before blasting him with a Symbol shaped burst of fire. When Greninja hit the ground he was unconscious.
"Greninja is unable to battle, the winner is Marquises Serena!" John shouted.
"Alright she did it!" Ash said.
"Pika!". Charizard was excited until he saw Zoroark and Delphox approach each other. Delphox had slowly grown more attached to Zorua as time passed, she started playing more to the crush he had on her. Now she saw him as a mature Zoroark she knew what she wanted.
"Pika!" Pikachu said nudging his head against Ash's shoulder and pointing at Charizard. Ash turned to Charizard and saw a look of pain and loss on his face. Ash could also feel a great amount of internal pain from their aura connection. He looked out at Delphox and Zoroark and realized what was going on.
"Oh no, Charizard" Ash said. Korrina and Red who were watching from above were excited until they saw the dark aura's coming closer.
"Something's about to happen" Red said. Several men and women started making their way closer to the stage as Shauna returned her pokemon.
"Congratulations Serena". Serena turned back to Shauna.
"Shauna I'm sorry you".
"It's alright Serena, I'm not upset because you battled your hardest. You earned this" Shauna said. Before Serena could say anything else there was a loud banging sound a few feet away.
Smoke filled the air around an area of the stage as eyes shot to it. Moments later another series of smoke bombs went off as the crowd cried out in panic.
"Serena!" Ash shouted as he got up. Red and Korrina quickly looked around and saw it was the hostile aura's that unleashed the smoke bombs.
"Red look!" Korrina said as she saw the men rip of their cloths revealing team Flare uniforms.
"Team Flare, we need to get down there!" . Ash used his own aura vision and saw the men approaching the center stage.
"Oh no! Come on!" Ash shouted as he got up with Charizard. Serena and Shauna were now very scared as Delphox and Zoroark got into battle stances.
"What's going on?" Shauna said. Serena's face almost turned white as she saw team Flare grunts walking through the smoke.
"There she is, it's the girl the boss wanted" One of the grunts said as he took out an electric baton and a Pyroar. The other grunts each took out an electric baton and a Pyroar or Manetric.
"Stay back!" Serena shouted as her Delphox and Zoroark stepped forward.
"Too bad those pokemon just got done with a battle" One of the grunts said.
"Pyroar use Flamethrower!". The Pyroars stepped forward and unleashed several jets of fire at Zoroark and the girls.
"Delphox Psychic, Zoroark use Night slash!". Delphox used her psychic energy to keep the fire away from them as Zoroark came at the Pyroars.
"Thunder!". The other grunts said.
"Zoroark use Agility!". Zoroark tried to move but he was exhausted from his recent battle and was engulfed in electricity.
"Zoroark!".
"Phox!".
"Thunderfang!". The Manetrics rushed forward and tackled Delphox to the ground before biting her with electricity.
"Dephox!" Serena shouted. The grunts and their Pokemon started approaching the two girls.
"We got you know" One said. Serena's fear almost consumed her as she stumbled to the ground.
"Ash!" She shouted. As the first grunt came over Serena he reached down with his hand before someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him back.
"What? Bill?" another grunt said as he looked back and tried to see through the smoke. Ash leapt out of the smoke with his eyes glowing blue and his wrist blades out.
"Ash!" Serena said. Ash quickly smashed his palm across another grunts face knocking him out before blocking two grunt's baton's with his blades. He then sliced the batons in half and kicked one of the grunts in the calf before bashing him across the face with his elbow and diving forward to avoid another Grunt's baton.
PIkachu leapt down from Ash's shoulder and smashed a Manetric on top of his head with Iron tail. As soon as the Manetric fell down Pikachu rushed forward avoiding a pair of Flamethrowers before blasting the 2 Pyroars with Thunderbolt.
Charizard rushed through the smoke and blasted a pair of Menetric with Flamethrower before turning to a pair of Pyroar and blasted through their fire with Dragon Pulse.
Meanwhile the other grunts went through the hall as the crowd tried to scramble out of the room.
"Manetric use Thunderbolt!" One of the grunts said as his Manetric tried to blast a group of trainers.
"Charizard Steel wing!" Red's Charizard swooped down and covered the trainers and himself with his metal wings as they absorbed the electricity.
The grunt looked up just in time to see Red leap down on top of him and smash his palm into his throat, knocking him out. Korrina did the same to another grunt as he Lucario leapt down next to her.
Red's Charizard turned around and flew forward before slashing a pair of Pyroar's with Dragon claw and Steel wing. At the same time Red cut down two grunt's electric batons with his wrist blades and continued forward locking one of the grunt's arms in place before using him as a shield as the other grunt threw a punch.
He then pushed the grunt forward before slamming his palm into the back of the man's neck.
As Ash cut through another 2 grunt's electric batons they backed up as Ash came forward. He was about to strike when he had another flashback of killing the Flare grunt. Ash stumbled backwards as he started sweating.
"Huh?" one of the grunts said. A third grunt took advantage of this and stepped forward before smashing Ash across the face with his electric baton, knocking him to the ground.
"Ash!" Serena shouted seeing this.
"Hey wait a minute, forget the girl. This is the kid that the boss has been complaining about, get him!" The grunt said as a few other grunts stepped forward.
"Pika! Pikachu tried to rush to Ash's aid but the grunts sent all their remaining pokemon at him and Charizard.
"Pika!" Pikachu said growling as his cheeks sparked at the Pyroar and Manetric who surrounded him and Charizard.
"Grauu" Charizard said growling.
The grunts could see their Pyroar and Manetric getting engulfed in fire and electricity.
" Dam let's get this kid and get out of here" The grunt said as he saw Ash still looked like he was blacking out.
"No! Help someone!" Shauna shouted . Serena was now even more frightened than before. In face seeing them stand over to Ash made her more frightened than when the grunt stood over her with a knife.
"I have to stop them!" Serena said with a determined look on her face.
"Nighty night" The lead grunt said as he raised his foot over Ash's throat. Just before he could stomp on Ash, Serena sprinted forward and grabbed the man by his leg before hurling him backwards and onto the ground.
"What the?" The other 2 grunts said as Serena stood between them and Ash.
"If any of you take a step closer to him I'll feed you your teeth!" Serena said. The middle grunt got up laughed a little.
"Take her down" He said as his men stepped forward. Serena got in a defense stance like Korrina had taught her and held her arms up. One of the grunts swung his fist at Serena as she ducked down under it and grabbed his arm as it came over her and used his own force to flip him over her body and onto the ground.
The next grunt came forward and also tried to punch Serena. She quickly lurched to the side and grabbed the outside of his arm and used his force to hurl him forward and into the other grunt on the ground.
The last grunt powered up his electric baton and raised it above his head and ran at Serena. Serena raised her left forearm up and blocked the grunts strike then pushed him back with her other hand.
The grunt came back with his offhand and Baton raised. Serena grabbed the man's wrists and lurched back as his fist and baton missed her body. Once his attack was done Serena forced his baton and fist back up and into the man's face. The force was so great that it knocked several of his teeth out, sending a few down his throat and into his stomach.
The man stumbled backwards as blood came out of his nose and mouth before he fell backwards and didn't get back up.
The other two grunts slowly got up before being hit with a blast of electricity and knocked out. Serena turned to see Pikachu run over to Ash who was still on the ground.
Serena knelt down in front of him as he continued his freaked out expression.
"Ash, Ash snap out of it".
"Pika". Ash's eyes shot to Serena and Pikachu.
"Huh what?" He said still sweating.
"You blacked out again" Serena said sounding concerned.
"Again?" Shauna said as she walked over.
"It's a long story" Serena said. Meanwhile Korrina smashed another grunt's head into her knee, dropping him to the ground as her Lucario knocked out his Pyroar. She turned over and saw Red walking towards her.
"That's the last of the grunts" Red said.
"That's so weird, why would they attack this crowd. I thought Belloc said they were after some kind of treasure here" Korrina said.
"Unless this was all just a distraction!" Red said. Elsewhere in another room filled with expensive artifacts and treasures. Sitting inside a glass case on top of a marble column was a golden key with several jewels encrusted into it.
The door to the room opened and 5 men walked in with 4 Pyroars and 4 Manetric. 4 of the men were Team Flare grunts with electric batons while the 4th was a Flare paladin in full armor with a shield and broadsword.
"Yes, the key. Our master will be happy to hear we are one step closer to" The Paladin started before Belloc leapt down from the rafters and hurled the 5 men back with a burst of Aura.
The Paladin raised his head and saw Belloc in his guardians robes with his hidden blades out.
"You will not take one step closer" Belloc said.
"Aura guardian. I was sure you would have gone to the aid of those people in the main hall" The paladin said as he got up and drew his sword.
"3 other guardians are making mincemeat of your grunts. I'm here to protect the key" Belloc said.
"Alone, how foolish" The paladin said as his men got up.
"Who said I was alone" Belloc said. Belloc touched the mega evolution stone on his left wrist blade holder. Moments later a massive pokemon leapt down from the rafters and roared. The pokemon resembled a more bulky and muscular version of Swampert.
"Destroy him, use Thunderbolt!" The Paladin said as he raised his sword. All 4 Manetric unleashed electricity at Swampert, but when the electricity faded Swampert looked completely unaffected.
"Nice try" Belloc said.
"Dam it, attack!" The Paladin said as he,his men, and the pokemon rushed them. The Mega Swampert used Mudshot and blasted each of the Manetric while his trainer quickly defended himself from the Flare grunts.
Belloc blocked each of their batons before cutting them apart with his wrist blades before knocking them out with his martial arts. The Paladin hurled his shield at Belloc as he lurched back and kicked the Paladin in the calf making him move back a bit.
As the Paladin lurched back two of his grunts rushed at Belloc before he unleashed another burst of aura and knocked the two grunts back. Belloc's Mega Swampert leapt up and blasted two of the Pyroar with Hydro pump.
As the Paladin came back he thrusted his sword towards Belloc only to have the aura guardian block the sword with his left wrist blade and hold it in place while he thrusted his right wrist blade into the Paladin's shoulder armor and tore part of it off before smashing his elbow into the man's exposed face.
As the Paladin stumbled backwards Mega Swampert came down and smashed two of the Manetric with Hammer arm and hurled them into a wall. The Paladin came back and raised his sword arm up.
As he swung it at Belloc, the aura guardian dove forward and avoided the sword before smashing his foot into the Paladin's calf making him stumble forward. Belloc lunged forward and grabbed his shield arm. He then dug his left wrist blade into the man's left shoulder armor and tore part of it off before bashing his right elbow into the man's left elbow joint and then slashed his left wrist blade across the shields straps then grabbed the shield and hurled away from the paladin.
As the Paladin raised his sword arm Belloc came forward and grabbed the Paladin's arm by the outside and locked it in place as he dug his right wrist blade into the man's wrist armor and tore it off. As a result the pain caused the paladin to drop his sword before Belloc smashed his fist into the Paladin's face knocking him back before blasting him with an aura sphere and hurled the man back beside 3 of his grunts.
Mega Swampert landed beside his trainer after he blasted the last 2 Pyroar's with Water pulse.
"Leave now!" Belloc said. The Flare members returned their pokemon then ran out of the room.
"Alright that takes care of, wait weren't there five of them?" Belloc said. His Mega Swampert turned around and let out a disappointed groan before grabbing his trainer and turning him around.
Belloc saw the glass case was smashed and the key was gone.
"Awww dam it!" Belloc screamed. Later at the ceremony in the main hall Serena and John stood on the platform. Luke and the other military members of the Battle chateau arrested the remaining grunts.
"Alright I know we had a scary experience but nonetheless we have a winner. Marquises Serena, however, she must now shed that title. For winning this tournament you are hereby elevated to the rank of Duchess and are eligible for the Grand festival" John said as the crowd burst out in applause.
John handed Serena a gold medallion before giving her a respectful bow.
"Let the ball begin" John said. The orchestra began playing as the members began dancing around.
Serena walked down to join the others when she saw them with their pokemon out.
"So where's Belloc?" Serena said.
"He said he'd meet us back at the house. He seemed to be in a bad mood" Korrina said.
"So Shauna, what's your plan now?" Serena said.
"Well I found out that I enough prestige points that when I added them from this tournament I still made it to duchess" Shauna said.
"oh congratulations!" Serena said excited that Shauna was going to compete into the grand festival with her.
"Now we both get to compete in the grand festival!" Shauna said.
"I know I'm so excited!" Serena said.
"Oh brother not again!" Bonnie said as Clemont walked back away from a girl.
"Aww Clemont what happened?" Shauna said.
"I tried telling her about who I am, it didn't go too well" Clemont said.
"He screamed it in her face, it was sort of scary" Bonnie said.
"Clemont you just need to relax, dance with me" Shauna said as she took his hands and started dancing with him, as his face turned Red.
"Come on Korrina" Red said as he took her hands and started dancing with her. Ash was in the corner with his Charizard. Both had very depressed expressions. Serena noticed Delphox dancing with Zoroark and soon realized why Charizard was depressed.
"I can deal with Charizard later" Serena said as she walked over to her boyfriend.
"I guess we're both going to live the rest of our lives without being able to live it to the fullest anymore" Ash said. His Charizard nodded as he groaned.
" Ash" Serena said as he looked up at her.
" Oh hey Serena" Ash said.
"Ash how are you doing?" Serena said.
"I just need some time with Charizard. We're comforting each other" Ash said. His Charizard nodded.
"Maybe a dance would cheer you up" Serena said.
"I don't know" Ash said before Serena grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up.
"Ash you need to" Serena started before Charizard grabbed Ash and pulled him back towards him. Serena glared at Charizard as he returned the glare with them both thinking.
"He's mine".
Pikachu and the other pokemon saw this before sweat dropping. Pikachu ran over and climbed onto Charizard's shoulders.
"Pika Pikachu" Pikachu said. Charizard growled before letting Ash go. Serena started dancing with Ash. After protecting Ash from the Flare grunts, Serena felt like she had finally overcome her fear of being away from Ash and felt more confidence in herself.
But now she was more afraid for him. He blacked out again during a fight and was almost taken by team flare. She had tried helping him but nothing she did could get him over it. She knew it was something bad, but she just wanted Ash to be himself again.
"Ash , what happened today" Serena started.
"I know Serena, I'm pathetic" Ash started.
"No Ash you're not. You're going through something hard and I can feel how much it's brining you down. We have an aura connection. Ash I want you to know that I'm going to stay by you all the way" Serena said before kissing him.
Charizard saw Ash and Serena, Red and Korrina, Clemont and Shauna, and Delphox and Zoroark before his eyes started to tear up.
"Pika Pikachu" Pikachu said trying to comfort him. Two hours passed before the group got ready to leave.
"I'll see you guys at the Grand Festival!" Shauna said.
"We'll see you there!" Serena said.
" Oh Clemont" Shauna said turning to him.
"Yeah".
"Just keep your head up, eventually you'll get the girl" Shauna said.
"I hope so" Clemont said. Shauna reached in and gave Clemont a short kiss before his face shot red.
Shauna laughed a little before waving goodbye and walking off.
"Ha finally!" Bonnie said.
"Eh after she didn't end up with Red it was bound to happen" Serena said.
"Yeah, wait what?" Korrina said turning to Serena. Later at the house Ash was laying on the pull out bed staring at the ceiling with Serena laying next to him.
" They got the key!" Korrina said.
"Yup, I failed" Belloc said.
"It's alright Belloc, if we search the area we may be able to find them" Red said.
"I already did that, they're long gone" Belloc said. Moments later there was a knock on the door.
"Oh that's the other guardian I told you about" Belloc said.
"I'll get it" Ash said as he slowly got up and walked over to the door. Ash sighed as he slowly opened the door. His eyes widened as he saw who was standing on the other side.
"Dad?".
Author's note:
Hey guys Im really proud of the way this chapter turned out. So Serena is finally over her fear of being alone and saw her kick some butt.
Yes Delphox is with Zoroark now, Sorry if that upsets you but you still have the Mightyena and Furfrou relationship. This is something that charizard is going to have to work through, but he'll have Ash to help him get through it. But if you're really worried about him know that I plan on having Charizard get with another pokemon of Serena's , though it's one she hasn't caught yet and they will go all the way. Maybe even have an egg or to, Charizard and that pokemon of course!
So Felix will be in the next chapter and will have a good talk with Ash.
Until next time please review, comment, suggest, or ask.