Ch 63: Two Rivals
It was midday in Shalour city and the sunlight glistened off the water in the bay that separated the tower of master and the city itself.
Inside the tower dozens of young men and woman were standing before a pair of aura guardians as they demonstrated Aura guardian martial arts.
"Remember when facing a larger opponent, use their own strength against them" One of the guardians said as the other guardian lunged at him. The smaller of the two grabbed his arm and pulled him forward before kneeing him in the gut and throwing him to the ground.
The smaller guardian helped his partner back up.
"But also remember if you can overpower your opponent use that to your advantage" The larger Guardian said as he lunged at the smaller guardian again. The smaller guardian tried to lock his foot against the larger guardian , but he held his stance and slammed his elbow and arm into the smaller guardian hurling him tot he ground.
He helped the smaller guardian up and both turned to their students.
"Different opponents may require different tactics, remember that when in combat".
Elsewhere in a room on a higher level another aura guardian was with another 8 students and their pokemon.
"Aura is the key to a guardian, mastering it will allow you to become connected not only to your pokemon, but to yourself and everything around you. It is how we are able to understand and help other creatures. Honing your aura will hone your senses. That is why in combat we can fight so many people at once, even when surrounded we can feel and sense their movements . Know when and how they will strike" The aura guardian said before she walked over to her Sceptile.
"Opening up an aura connection with your pokemon is the best way to start this. It isn't easy but it is something an aura guardian must do. It will allow you to understand your pokemon more than you ever could without doing so. It will also allow them to understand you. It will allow you both to grow closer with each other and unlock your true potentials to grow physically stronger as well".
At the top of the tower overlooking the city, Vaeron and his Charizard stared out at Shalour city.
"Just think, 2 years ago you and I were the last aura guardians in Kalos. Now there are dozens of us".
His Charizard gave a happy growl as he stared out at the water and mainland.
"We can stop the bloodshed and suffering. We will stop it". Vaeron felt a familiar aura approach him from behind. He turned and saw Andre with several aura guardians he had never seen before.
"Andre who are these guardians?".
"Vaeron this is master Soal , he is from the Kanto brotherhood. Master Thrain from the Hoenn brotherhood. Master Yal from the Jhoto brotherhood. Master Raik from the Sinnoh brotherhood, and Master Simmons from the Unova brotherhood. Masters, this is Vaeron Rathol the mentor of the reborn Kalos brotherhood" Andre said.
"Well I wasn't expecting you all, welcome to Kalos" Vaeron said.
"Pleasure to be here, I must say your accent seems Kanto not Kalos" Master Soal said.
"It is true I was born in Kanto and spent my first ten years of life there. I only moved to Kalos when I my father transferred to the old brotherhood here. So I assume your brotherhoods finally got my messages" Vaeron said.
"Yes, we can't believe what has been happening in Kalos. Your king has gone mad" Master Yal said.
"We know" Andre said.
"Hundreds of thousands of innocent pokemon and people slaughtered by him and his weapon of mass destruction. The old brotherhood here wiped out by the same weapon" Master Simmons said.
"I was the only one to survive, I have spent the last two years trying to chip away at Aorazok's power and rebuild the brotherhood. We have had some success, you have already met master Andre, he was my first student" Vaeron said.
"Yes well we are impressed that you alone have been able to do as much as you have, but after we finally learned of this our mentors sent us here to help you rebuild the Kalos brotherhood and topple the tyrant" Master Yal said.
"Well I'm glad to see we aren't alone. Thank you all for coming here, we have far too many students for our guardians to teach alone" Vaeron said.
"Not to mention none of us have quite the experience you masters have" Andre said.
"Don't discredit yourself, from what we've seen you have all been very well trained by Vaeron here" Master Yal said.
"Mentor ! Mentor!" Another voice cried. Vaeron turned to see a young aura guardian rush up onto the top of the tower.
"What is it?" Vaeron said.
"Mentor several knights have arrived at the island. They are from the free Kalos army, they wish to speak with you at once".
"The free Kalos army?" Master Raik said.
"A few months ago after we liberated several more large towns. The people began to believe that the king could be dethroned. We also managed to save the only lord who ever tried to stop Aorazok, Lord Deniau. With him free he rallied the people and formed an army to face Aorazok's army of darkness. They are known as the free Kalos army" Andre said.
"Let them in" Vaeron said.
"Yes mentor". Several minutes later 3 knights made their way to the top of the tower where they saw Vaeron and Andre with a Charizard and Absol. The knights armor was different than that of the king's army. Their armor design seemed more fierce than king's knights armor, and was black with blue symbols on the chest plate where the King's army wore more gray armor with red symbols.
Vaeron also noticed that one of the three knights was wearing captains armor. He was a tall muscular looking man with honey blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Are you the one called Vaeron, leader of the aura guardians?" The captain said.
"I am Vaeron Rathol, Mentor of the Kalos brotherhood. This is my second in command, master Andre" Vaeron said.
"Pleasure to meet you both, I'm captain James Chaput of the free Kalos army. We are here to deliver a message from Lord Deniau. He wishes to express his gratitude for the support your guardians have given our cause. We would not have survived nor had seen as much success as we have without you" Captain Chaput said.
"Your cause is nobel and it is our cause as well. Of course we will support you" Vaeron said.
"I'm afraid that's not all. Lord Deniau wishes me to inform you that he has successfully recruited another 10,000 men into the free Kalos army. That gives us a total of 46,000 strong. We believe that we are ready to begin the march on Lumoise city. However, we are well aware that while the king possesses his dark weapon, we would be annihilated if we confronted them directly".
"Yes you would" Andre said.
"So that's why we would like you and your brotherhood to infiltrate the city and try to disable the weapon. Once it is disabled we will move in and take the city, end the tyrant's reign, and restore peace and unity to Kalos".
"As much as I would love to do so. If we failed we would all be wiped out" Vaeron said.
"But if you succeeded then this would all be over, we'd win" James said.
"He may be right Andre, we have the numbers now to do such a mission. Especially now that we have those masters. They could remain here and look after the students while we destroyed the weapon" Andre said.
"Destroying the weapon is easier said than done. The king will have an army his finest soldiers guarding it, and that's not even what worries me. It's the weapon itself, even inside it it poses a threat to us, and even if we disable it there is the power he can still use on us" Vaeron said.
" Vaeron the king and his army are in disarray from our victories, we may never get another opportunity like this" James said.
It was then Vaeron felt another voice speak in favor of the plan. He turned to his charizard.
"So you believe we can do this too". His Charizard nodded.
"Well then, the time has come. We will go to Lumoise city and I will personally toss the tyrant off his throne!" Vaeron shouted.
"Grauu!" Charizard roared in excitement.
"Yes we're going to free Kalos!" Andre said.
"Outstanding I will inform Lord Deniau at once" James said as he and his knights left.
"Andre inform the others and prepare them for the mission".
"I will" Andre said as he and his Absol left. Vaeron and Charizard made their way to their private quarters in the tower. Vaeron approached a painting of his father and stared at it for a minute.
"I will not fail you father, not again" Vaeron said as he took the painting down revealing a vault behind it. He used his hidden blade as a key to the lock and opened it revealing a large blue gemstone and a large red gemstone inside. He reached in and took them both.
"Reduka with these you will give me the strength to stop this tyrant. I will not fail you" Vaeron said. Vaeron then walked over to a large closet and opened it revealing a set of black Aura guardian robes with armor on them. The robes that once belonged to his father.
Andre had gathered 3 dozen aura guardians at the bottom level of the tower.
"Guardians, the mentor has a very important announcement to make" Andre said as he saw Vaeron and his Charizard walk out of his chambers. Andre was wearing black armored robes.
"Guardians the time has come to topple the tyrant king!" Vaeron shouted.
"Yeahh!" The guardians shouted back.
"We ride to Lumoise to end this!" Vaeron shouted as his Charizard roared.
Ash opened his eyes and saw he was back in his room.
"Oh another one" He said holding his head. Every night since the first night at the castle he kept having more and more visions of Vaeron. He kept trying to remember where he had heart the name before, and with each vision he believed that he came closer to figuring out how he knew the name.
One thing Ash wondered was why he was having the vision and not Red or Felix. If Vaeron was his ancestor then he had to be Red and Felix's as well.
Not a moment later Ash heard a knock on his door. This woke Pikachu up who slowly opened his eyes and turned to the door. Ash got up and walked over to the door. When he opened it he saw Red standing on the other side.
"Red what are you doing it's 4:12" Ash said.
"Sorry but we need to talk" Red said as he came in.
"What's wrong?" Ash said.
"Ash something's been happening to me ever since the first day we went the castle. When we passed by the painting I saw something like a vision of the painting being knocked down. Every night since then I've been having vision like dreams of an aura guardian named Vaeron. I don't know what it means, should I go to dad for this or" Red said.
"Woah Red calm down, I'm actually glad to hear this is happening to you" Ash said.
"What? Why?"Red said.
"Because it's been happening to me too. I keep having dreams of Vaeron too" Ash said.
"Really?".
"Yes and I already talked to dad about it. He said it's something that can happen when we come in contact with a place our ancestor had a major event. Apparently Vaeron must have done something in the castle" Ash said.
"So Vaeron is our ancestor?" Red said.
"Apparently. What have you been seeing him do?" Ash said.
"Well first I saw him he saved his Charizard from being executed, then he and a few of his other guardians brought a murdering Lord to justice and saved the pokemon he had stolen. Tonight I saw him announce that they're going to Lumoise to destroy some sort of weapon" Red said.
"Those are the exact visions I had" Ash said.
"I know I've hear the name Vaeron before but where?" Red said.
"I've been wondering that myself. But the story seems familiar, an aura guardian who rebuilds the brotherhood to fight a tyrant king who has build a weapon of mass destruction" Ash said.
A few hours later Serena and Diancie woke up
"Morning Diancie".
"Morning Serena". Several days had passed since the Grand Festival had started and Serena had been performing well. She continued to win her 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th rounds and had made it into the semifinals in round 9.
However, she had not faced Sara yet and was anxious do to so.
"Morning Serena" Grace said as she got up.
"Morning mom and dad" Serena said. Alex got up and started to put on his military service uniform.
"Serena I just want to say how proud of you I am. You've worked hard and made it to the semifinals" Alex said.
"Thanks dad, I'm really excited. I'm so close to the finals and making to to the rank of Grand Duchess" Serena said.
"Just remember to keep focused. You will be going against the really tough ones now" Grace said.
"Right, I can't let my guard down when I'm so close" Serena said. Forty minutes later after having breakfast Serena and her family were waiting in line to see who she was facing.
The line was noticeably shorter than it had been before.
"Not nearly as long as it was a few days ago" Grace said.
"There are only a few people left in the Grand festival" Alex said. When they got to the front Serena saw her name in theater 5c, which was one of the bigger theaters. Serena's eyes widened as she saw who her opponent was none other than Sara.
"Finally" Serena said. Serena, Diancie, and her parents went back to the lounge and met the rest of the group a few minutes later.
"Serena there you are" Shauna said. Despite being knocked out of the Grand festival Shauna stuck around to watch Serena, and to spend a little time with Clemont.
"Guys It's finally happening. I'm facing Sara today" Serena said.
"Really great! Beat her!" Shauna said.
"Just do your best and remember to believe in yourself" Ash said.
"We still have a few minutes before your match starts" Grace said. The group relaxed in the lounge as they waited for the match to start. Felix stayed close to Ash,Serena, and Diancie when he noticed Lysandre and Malva by them.
"Just last night I made my biggest heart Diamond yet!" Diancie said sounding excited.
"It was huge,I was very proud of her" Serena said.
"If I keep working I'll be able to make a full sized one in no time" Diancie said.
"How magnificent" Lysandre said. Felix noticed a bit of anticipation and delight in Lysandre's tone, it made him even more suspicious.
"Now we just have to wait until it's safe for you to go home" Ash said.
"Well that shouldn't be too long. I here that the aura guardians have already cleared out your city of team Flare" Malva said.
"It is!" Diancie said.
"That is true but team Flare is still out there and, wait how did you know the city was cleared Malva?" Ash said.
"Yes , we didn't tell you" Felix said.
"Well" Malva said.
"I told her, I wanted to know so I asked some of my friends in the guardians a few days ago" Lysandre said.
Felix was now very suspicious and Ash was starting to get suspicious of Lysandre. He knew that even if Lysandre was a friend of the guardians that they wouldn't just tell him about that.
"Speaking of friends another friend of mine told me he wanted to meet us today. I'm afraid we can't stay for the match" Lysandre said.
"Oh that's too bad" Serena said.
"Good luck Serena, We hope you win" Malva said as she and Lysandre walked off. Felix was tempted to pursue them, but thought it best to stay with Diancie and Ash.
Red and Korrina watched as Malva and Lysandre walked out of the castle.
"Hey Korrina I've been thinking about Lysandre." Red said.
"What about him?" Korrina asked.
" It's just he has always been so close to the aura guardians and knows so much about us because he's our friend. But how did he ever come to know the guardians, who met him and introduced him tot he order?" Red said.
"I actually don't know, he told my grandfather he was a friend of the guardians, bit my grandfather didn't know him before." Korrina said.
"He keeps telling us he's a friend, but what if he isn't." Red said.
"Then how did he know about the brotherhood and why would he help take down team rocket?" Korrina said.
"I don't know, but whatever the reasons I don't think he's the man we thought he was." Red said.
Once Malva and Lysandre reached the outside of the Castle Lysandre grabbed Malva's arm before pushing her into the wall.
"What the hell! What were you thinking in there?".
"I'm sorry it just slipped out" Malva said.
"Malva your skills are invaluable to me and team Flare. However, you aren't doing me much good here. You're impatience is putting everything at risk".
"What? But Lysandre".
"No buts Malva, I will do this alone. Now there is another pokemon we require but the other officers cannot seem to find him. You know who I seek, find him" Lysandre said.
"Yes sir" Malva said before walking off.
"She's a powerful asset" Lysandre said to himself. Back in the Castle Ash and the others had gone to one of the larger battle theaters. They sat as close as they could to the front.
"This is it the semifinals, Serena's so close!"Grace said.
"I just can't wait to see her knock Sara out of the grand festival" Shauna said.
"This should be a very interesting match" Red said. Serena stood on one end of the battle stage with Sara on the other.
"Oh how I've been waiting for this. The chance to knock you out of the Grand Festival and get you for stealing my man." Sara said.
"It will be a privilege to get you out of the Grand Festival" Serena said. She knew how much she wanted to knock Sara out, but she couldn't let her frustration and rivalry with Sara cloud her judgement in the battle.
"The semifinals match between duchess Serena and duchess Sara is about to begin. Trainers choose your pokemon" The ref said.
Serena took a deep breath before taking out a pokeball.
"I choose you Absol!" Serena said. Absol came out and took an aggressive stance in front of Serena.
"Her Absol, this should be good." Ash said.
"Absol this should be easy. Time to battle Pinsir!" Sara shouted. Her large Pinsir came out and hissed at Absol. Serena noticed that Pinsir was wearing some kind of held around his waist with a stone embedded inside it.
"Wait a minute is that?" Serena wondered.
"A Pinsir, that put's Serena at a disadvantage" Clemont said.
"She can do this, she's been at disadvantages before" Ash said.
"Begin" The ref said.
"I've been saving a little something special just for you Serena. The ultimate weapon for my pokemon. The thing that will assure me the title Grand Duchess". Sara said as she took out a stone from her dress and touched it.
"Red is that?" Korrina started. Sara's Pinsir started glowing before a colorful sphere of light formed around him as he started to grow bigger.
"He can't be." Serena said as her eyes widened. When the glowing stopped Pinsir had gained a large pair of clear wings with an area of orange venation. Additionally, a set of wing coverings appeared. On each wing cover was a pair of large, thin, orange blades. His arms became longer and more segmented, with triangular extensions on his lower arms. The pincers on hiss head were now longer with larger spikes, and hiss eyes are now yellow.
"Say hello to ultra Pinsir." Sara said with a confident smile.
"What the hell just happened to that Pinsir?" Alex asked. Alexa quickly snapped a few pictures of the Mega Pinsir.
"How did she get a Mega stone and Pinsirite?" Korrina said.
"Confused Serena, you should be. My father's mining company in northern Kalos found these stones deep in the sediment. After he found out what they could do he gave them to me as a birthday present. Now I'm going to use them to crush you. Just admit defeat there's no way your pathetic Absol can beat my Pinsir when he's like this." Sara said.
Not a moment later Serena took out her mega evolution stone and touched it. Her Absol started glowing and growing bigger until he was in mega form.
"What!?" Sara said.
"Serena too!" Alex said in disbelief.
"Two Mega evolutions, this is going to be an awesome battle." Ash said.
"Absolutely" Korrina said.
" This is it Absol, everything we've been training for. Time to show Sara what we can do. Absol use Night Slash.". Mega Absol began sprinting at Mega Pinsir moving in a jagged pattern.
"Stop him X-Scissors." Sara said. Mega Absol flew forward right at Absol with his claws raised high.
"Over him!" Serena shouted. Just before Mega Pinsir could slash his opponent, Mega Absol leapt clean over Mega Pinsir and quickly turned before slashing him in the back with Night Slash.
"She got him!" Ash said excited.
"Pinsir behind you use Revenge!" Sara shouted.
"Absol use Detect." Serena said. Mega Pinsir whipped around ready to strike at Mega Absol only to have Absol's eye shine for a moment. Absol lurched back avoiding Mega Pinsir's strike.
"Brick Break!" Sara shouted. The Mega Pinsir hurled his right arm down at Absol.
"Double team!". Mega Absol quickly made a dozen copies of himself and surrounded Pinsir.
"No you don't, Rock Slide" Sara shouted. Mega Pinsir hissed as he smashed the ground with his massive claws before hurling a barrage of massive rocks into the air. As the rocks came down they started smashing into the copies of Mega Absol.
"Quick attack off the rocks!" Serena real Mega Absol leapt up and onto each of the rocks as they fell down.
"What?" Sara said as she saw Mega Absol leaping off each of the falling rocks.
"Leer!" Serena said. As mega Absol reached the last rock he blasted Mega Pinsir with leer.
"Quick attack!". Mega Absol propelled himself right off the last rock moving at Mega Pinsir with incredible speed.
"X-Scissor!" Sara shouted. Mega Pinsir used his wings to fly up at Absol and slashed him with both his claws.
"Absol!". Mega Absol was hurled back through the air and hit the ground hard.
"Ha ha!" Sara said as she saw Absol hit the ground.
"That's not good, X-Scissors is super effective on Absol".
"Come on Absol get up!" Ash shouted.
"Finnish him with Brick beak." Sara said.
"Absol get up! Use Detect!" Serena shouted. Absol raised his head and saw Mega Absol flying at him with his arms raised. Abso's eye sparkled before he realized where and how his opponent would strike.
Just before Mega Pinsir could reach Mega Absol, Absol leapt up and back away from Pinsir. Pinsir's arms hit the ground and cracked the stage floor. The ref and one of the other Castle guards saw this.
"Oh not again." The guard said.
"Don't let him get away! Use SuperPower!" Sara shouted. Mega Pinsir soared forward and tried to smash Absol with his arms raised high. Serena saw Mega Pinsir was using his wings to move above Absol.
"Absol Quick attack aim low!" Serena shouted. Mega Absol leapt forward and up hit Mega Pinsir in the lower abdomen with quick attack knocking him off course. However, Mega Pinsir was able to regain control of himself and land on his feet before turning to face Absol.
"Enough of this, Pinsir use Focus Energy." Mega Pinsir started glowing red as he tightened his focus.
"Superpower".
"Detect!" Serena shouted. Mega Pinsir flew forward low at Absol with his arms glowing red as he lifted them up over his head. Mega Absol's eye sparkled once as he detected where Mega Pinsir would be.
Absol move out of the way just in time as Pinsir smashed his arms into the ground causing the floor to crack only inches away from Absol.
"Wow that was close" Clemont said.
"That Mega Pinsir sure is powerful" Delia said.
"Mega Absol can beat him, I know he can" Ash said.
"Pinsir X-Scissor!".
"Absol dodge and use Night Slash!". The Mega Pinsir raised his claws and made and X shaped slash at Mega Absol only to have Absol dodge it.
"Brick Break!" Sara shouted. Before Absol could even use his Night Slash Pinsir smashed his arm at Absol. Mega Absol was able to avoid it, but barely. Pinsir's claws continued forward and smashed the ground causing the floor to crack again.
"Oh come on" The same guard said.
"Absol use".
"X-Scissor!".
"Detect!" Serena shouted. Absol's eye glistened once as he detected where his opponent would be. Mega Absol moved back just in time to avoid the X-Scissor.
"Dam she won't let him make a move." Red said.
"Absol keep it going you can do this!" Ash shouted.
"Pika Pikachu!".
"Absol use Quick attack go under him!" Absol quickly burst under Mega Pinsir and made a sharp turn back at him.
"Night Slash!".
"Superpower!" Sara shouted. Mega Pinsir smashed his arms into the ground causing the floor to once again crack.
"Awe come on!" The guard almost shouted. The resulting force from the Superpower knocked Absol off balance. Mega Pinsir flew up higher and avoided Absol's strike before locking onto him.
"Superpower!" Sara shouted.
Mega Pinsir came down with his arms raised and smashed Mega Absol into the ground so hard that the floor cracked again.
"Absol!" Serena shouted as she saw her Absol forced into the ground.
"Oh no." Alex said.
"Come on Absol, You can get up! Don't give up !" Ash shouted.
"Absol you have to get up!" Shauna shouted. Absol tried to get up but he fell back to the ground and reverted back to his normal form.
"No!" Serena said.
"Yes! I won!" Sara shouted.
"Absol is unable to battle the winner is" The ref started before Absol opened his eyes.
"Absol." Serena said. Absol got back onto his feet as Mega Pinsir turned back to face him.
"What?" Sara said. Absol looked at Pinsir with determination.
"Ab Sol!" He roared.
"Absol's still in this!" Ash shouted.
"Yeah that's it Absol!" Serena said as she touched her mega evolution stone again and Absol transformed back into Mega absol.
"Sol!" He roared.
"He's back in this!" Shauna shouted.
"Fine we'll just knock him out again. Pinsir use Brick break!" Sara shouted.
"Absol use detect!" Serena said. Absol's eye glistened before he moved back and away from Pinsir as he smashed his arm into the floor causing it to crack.
"Why?" The guard said.
"Pinsir use X-Scissor!".
"Absol dodge and use Leer!" Serena shouted. Mega Absol went under Mega Pinsir as the massive insect came over him with his claws raised. As soon as Absol was past Pinsir he turned around as Pinsir did and blasted him with Leer, lowering his defenses.
"Pinsir use Superpower!".
"Absol use Detect!". Pinsir raised his arms and brought them down just as Absol moved out of the way causing Pinsir to crack the floor as his arms hit the ground.
"Quick attack!" Serena shouted. Before Pinsir could even raise his arms Absol sprinted at his side and smashed into him, knocking Pinsir back few feet.
"No , Pinsir use X-Scissor!" Sara shouted. Pinsir flew right at Absol with his claws raised.
"Dodge and use Swords Dance!" Serena said. Absol waited until Pinsir was close then quickly leapt over Pinsir as the Insect pokemon flew down at him. Once Absol was on the other side he focused as 4 glowing swords formed around him as his attack power tightened.
"Pinsir use Superpower!" Sara shouted. The Mega Pinsir raised his arms and prepared to smash Absol with everything he had.
"Night Slash!" Serena shouted. Absol leapt forward as Pinsir brought his arms down. Just before the arms could reach Absol , his head fin slashed across Pinsir's face and chest with night slash.
"Pinsir!?" Sara said. Mega Pinsir fell backwards and hit the ground before reverting back to his normal form.
"Pinsir is unable to battle , the winner is Duchess Serena who will now advance to the final round" The ref said.
"We did it, we won. We beat Sara!" Serena shouted.
"She won! She really beat her!" Shauna almost screamed as she got up and threw her arms into the air.
"She's going to the finals!" Ash shouted.
"I'm so proud of her" Grace said.
"She beat Sara! She knocked Sara out of the Grand festival!" Shauna said still sounding very excited. Red , Korrina, and Clemont could see how excited she looked.
"Uh Shauna" Clemont started before Shauna grabbed him and kissed him for a solid 20 seconds.
"Yay!" Bonnie said upon seeing this. Red and Korrina seemed a little freaked out by this.
"Wait are they dating ?" Korrina said.
"I don't know, that really hasn't been made clear" Red said. Absol reverted to his normal form as he ran back and into Serena's eyes.
"Absol I'm so proud of you. You gave everything you had and more. You battled like nothing I've ever seen" Serena said.
Sara returned her Pinsir and gave an irritated look as she reluctantly gave Serena a respectful bow. Serena got up and returned the bow. As soon as Serena stepped off the stage she felt someone pick her up.
"There's my little champion" Alex said as he lifted her to the ground and hugged her.
"Serena we're so proud of you" Grace said.
"Thanks guys, I can't believe I'm going to the final round of the Grand festival" Serena said.
"More importantly you beat Sara!" Shauna said.
"Well just one more person to face and you'll have the total Grand duchess" Ash said.
"I know, but that one person will be the toughest person I've ever faced" Serena said.
"Yeah well you'll likely be the toughest person they've ever faced" Red said.
"I should find out who I'm facing. I'd like to meet them before the match" Serena said. Several minutes later they gathered in the main hall as the owner of the Castle in his Marine officer uniform stood on the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've seen some outstanding matches between outstanding duchess and dukes. Now we're about to begin out final match between the two finest trainers here. Presenting out two finalists, Duchess Serena Achille" The owner said as the spotlight shined on Serena as she walked up to the front of the stage.
"Yeah Serena!" Ash shouted as the rest of the group cheered on with him.
"Now for our second finalist, a man after my own heart. Duke and marine corps Second Lieutenant Calem Xaries" The owner said. A young man in his early twenties stepped out into the spotlight. He was relatively tall with grayish blue eyes and black hair. He also wore a black Kalos Marine corps service uniform like the owner of the castle. However, unlike the owner's, his shoulder ranks had a single gold bar on each.
"She's battling another soldier" Shauna said.
"Well technically no. You see soldier refers to a member of the army, where as this young man is in the marines which makes him a marine." Alex said.
"Uhh, I've had this conversation before." Felix said.
Serena and Calem both approached the owner and shook hands.
"Pleasure to meet you Serena" Calem said.
"Pleasure to meet you too" Serena said.
"The final battle will begin in a few hours. Good luck you two and may the finest trainer win" The owner said.
"So you will be the trainer I have the pleasure of battling for the title. You must be very good to have made it this far. It appears I'll have my work cut out for me" Calem said.
"Well you must be really good to have made it this far in the Grand Festival" Serena said.
"But this is your first time no." Calem said.
"Yes." Serena said.
"Well this is my third time competing in the Grand Festival and the furthest I've ever made it in the Grand Festival" Calem said.
"Third time?" Serena said.
"Well when I was 14 I became a trainer and I spent two years training and earning my ranks. Finally just after I turned 16 I became a duke and was eligible for the grand Festival. I managed to make it through the first two rounds but was knocked out in the third round. Two years later when I turned 18 I was accepted into the navy academy. After 2 years during my break I competed again and was able to make it past round 6. I won, but was knocked out in round 7. I recently graduated from the naval academy and had enough time off before my active duty starts to compete." Calem said.
"Wait you've competed in the Grand Festival twice before?" Serena said a bit confused.
"Well of course, most Grand dukes and duchesses are veteran Grand festival more than once. It's quite rare for a first timer to win, or even make it this far. For a first time Grand festival competitor to make it to the final round, you must be quite an exceptional trainer" Calem said.
"Well thank you" Serena said. Serena was very amazed at how charismatic Calem was, he was quite the complete ooosite of Sara.
"So did you come here with your family?" Calem asked.
"Yes, my parents and my friends are here." Serena said.
"Well I'd love to meet them." Calem said.
"Ok." Serena said. Calem followed Serena down to the crowd and met the rest of the group.
"Calem this is my family, my mom Grace and my Dad Alex." Serena said.
"Pleasure to meet you Lieutenant." Alex said as he extend his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you Colonel." Calem said as he shook his hand.
"So you're facing Serena in the final round." Red said.
"That's right, who might you be?" Calem asked.
"Calem this is Red, a friend of mine. His girlfriend and Shalour city gym leader Korrina. My friend Clemont and his sister Bonnie. My other friend Shauna, and my boyfriend Ash." Serena said.
"Nice to meet you Calem." Ash said.
"Nice to meet you too, so are you a trainer as well Ash?" Calem asked.
"Yeah , Red and I are competing in the Kalos league." Ash said.
"Well that's very impressive. It's not easy beating 8 experienced veteran trainers." Calem said.
"So Calem you've only just graduated from the academy and you're already a duke. That's quite impressive yourself" Alex said.
"Oh I became a duke years ago sir." Calem said.
"Dad this is Calem's third time here." Serena said.
"Really?" Grace said.
"He looks handsome." Diancie said.
"Huh? Who said that?" Calem asked.
"Said what?" Red said as Korrina grabbed Diancie and hid behind Felix.
"Well anyway, like I told Serena. For her to make it to the final match as a first timer is very impressive. She must be quite a skilled trainer" Calem said.
"Well I owe that to Ash, he's the one that trained me." Serena said as she gave hims short kiss on the cheek.
"Calem there you are." Another voice said. Serena and the others turned to see a trio of people standing behind Calem. One was an older woman who looked slightly older than Grace or Delia. She had long black hair and blue eyes. Standing beside her was a tall barrel chested man with very short brown hair and grey eyes.
He was wearing a white Kalos navy service dress uniform with Master Chief symbols on his collar. The third person was a young woman who looked about Calem's age with long honey blonde hair and blue-gray eyes.
"Oh I'm sorry, Serena these are my parents Thomas and Maggie." Calem said.
"Pleasure to meet you Serena." Thomas said as he shook her hand. He then noticed Alex in his army uniform.
"Are you her father Colonel?".
"I am Chief".
"Former Chief, I've been retired for 2 years now. Gone back to the civilian world. Though I'm proud to see my son an officer in the marines and about to become a Grand Duke." Thomas said.
"Thomas." Maggie said in a stern tone.
"Not that Serena doesn't have just as much chance of winning!" Thomas said sweat dropping.
"No offense given." Serena said.
"Serena I'd also like to introduce you to the love of my life. My beloved wife Yvonne Gabena." Calem said as he took her hand.
Yvonne gave Calem a kiss before turning to the others.
"Hello so nice to meet you all." Yvonne said.
"So Yvonne are you a trainer too?" Serena asked.
"As a matter of fact I am, I am a Sky trainer." Yvonne said.
" A sky trainer?" Serena said having never heard of a Sky trainer before.
"A sky trainer is a class of trainer who battled with their flying types in the air along side them using special flight suits." Yvonne said.
"Wow that sounds exciting." Ash said.
"I actually met Yvonne when I decided to try out flying in one. It didn't turn out so good." Calem said sweat dropping.
"He crashed every time he tried the first day. It was actually quite funny, but after the 20th time a felt a little bad for him and helped him get the hang of it. But he still crashed, and dragged me down with him. Though he made up for by taking me to dinner." Yvonne said.
"So Serena I saw your match against that Sara girl and I need to ask. What happened with your pokemon? It was like they evolved again." Calem asked.
"I've been wondering about that too." Alex said.
"Well." Serena said nervously.
"It's called Mega evolution." Felix said.
"Mega evolution?" Grace asked.
" It's a special form of evolution that occurs when a pokemon holds a mega evolution component and their trainer holds a mega evolution stone.I gave it to her." Felix said.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Alex asked.
"I asked her not to." Felix said.
"Why this is incredible the military applications of this are." Alex started.
"Honey stop there." Grace said.
"Didn't Korrina give her the stones?" Clemont whispered to Red.
"Yes." Red said back.
"That's incredible, your Absol battled like nothing I've ever seen." Calem said.
"It was." Grace said.
"Thanks but the thing is guys, it's really important that you keep it a secret." Serena said.
"Yes it is." Felix said.
"Alright Serena if it's important to you I will." Alex said.
"Well we still have a few hours before the match, why don't we all get dinner." Maggie said.
" Dinner sounds good." Ash said. Before they left Bonnie and Diancie looked at Calem and Yvonne, then looked at Ash and Serena.
"Hey Diancie have you noticed that Calem and Yvonne kind of look like Ash and Serena?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah they kind of do." Diancie said.
Author's note
Yeah Calem and Yvonne are in this, I like to do that with some of my stories.
The next chapter will be the last of the Grand festival chapters where we see Serena take on Calem. There will be no mega evolutions in that battle as that was this chapter.
Once the Grand festival is over then we'll get back to the movie arc.
Once the movie arc is over then we get to the Kalos League
Once the Kalos league is over the story is over,
Once the story is over we move onto the sequel
So until next time, please review, comment,suggest , or ask