Ch 48: Welcome to Tarvel City
The group was moving down the grassy route towards Tarvel city. It had been about 2 days since they left Saffron city.
"So what's Tarvel city like?" Serena asked.
"It's a great city. I remember my mother taking our family there for summers, there was always so much to do. Plus the city has several large parks for pokemon and the city runs completely on clean energy. The streets are clean, and there are several battle clubs." Lucy said.
"Sounds like a great place, we'll be there for a while if you guys are getting married there." Brock said.
"Well we have a lot of the things planned out. We just need to get everything set up, but that could still take some time." Serena said.
"We'll we have the time. Serena, your showcase doesn't start for a few days." Ash said.
"Right, plus I have to show you guys all around the city." Lucy said.
"I can't wait to challenge the gym leader. The last stop before the pokemon league." Ash said.
"Just be careful Ash, like I said earlier. This gym leader is the best in all of Kanto." Brock said.
"Don't worry, I'm taking this very seriously. I know he'll be a tough trainer to beat, but if we don't challenge ourselves we can't improve." Ash said.
"That's the right attitude." Lucy said.
"Besides , If I can challenge someone who was suppose to be in the elite four. I'll know if I'm good enough to make it there myself." Ash said.
"Well I can't wait to see you two in a battle." Brock said.
An hour or so later the group reached the top of a hill on the path and saw a large city below them. The city was almost as big as Saffron city with many well designed buildings and visible parks throughout the city.
"Finally we're here Tarvel city" Lucy said.
It took the group a few minutes before the reached the city interior and saw everything up close.
The city was certainly the liveliest city they had seen. There were more people with pokemon moving around than anywhere they had ever seen in Kanto. Despite this, the streets flowed easily without much backup.
Also like Lucy said, they passed plenty of recreation areas, shopping areas, battle clubs, and parks.
"Wow you were right Lucy, this place is amazing." Serena said.
"We should get to the pokemon center, I have a feeling we're going to need some rooms there." Ash said.
"We don't need to do that, my mom's old house is in the less urban area. We can stay there." Lucy said.
"Thanks Lucy." Ash said.
"No problem." Lucy said. The group reached the pokemon center and dropped off their pokemon. After doing so they sat down at the tables.
"So today we should try to find out there the grand showcase is being held." Serena said.
"It would be a good idea to get registered." Ash said.
"Oh I almost forgot we need to tell everyone that the wedding is happening." Serena said before she went over to the phone.
Meanwhile miles away in the Kanto aura guardian enclave Korrina and Red helped Delia set her stuff down in a large living quarters.
"These are our living quarters, but you can stay here while we're out." Red said.
"You'll be very safe here." Korrina said.
"Thank you both, I." Delia started before there was a ringing sound on the message machine in the room.
"Huh?" Red said before he went over and looked at what it said.
"What's going on?" Delia asked.
Red walked back over and picked up Delia's bags again.
"Well we're going to Tarvel city. Serena just moved up her and Ash's wedding." Red said.
Elsewhere in Kalos , Grace was at her house feeding her Ryhorn.
As she did so she heard her message machine ring. She went inside and saw what it said.
"What?!" She said in disbelief.
"Oh I have to get ready! Oh I have to tell Alex too!" She shouted.
Elsewhere in Kalso , Alex was in his office in a Kalos army base signing some papers.
There was a knock on his door.
"Enter." He said.
The door opened as a Second Lieutenant walked in and stood at attention in front of Alex before saluting.
"General, Lieutenant Cheiver reports to make a statement."
Alex returned the salute.
"Be at ease." Alex said as he young officer stood at ease.
" What do you need to tell me?"
"Sir, a message arrived from your wife. Apparently she needed to tell you that your daughter's wedding is being moved up."
"What?" Alex said.
"Sir your'e" He started before Alex got up.
"That will be all lieutenant." He said before the young officer left the room.
Alex sat back down and got on the phone.
"General Augustin, this is Brigadier general Achille. I'm afraid I need to take some more leave time. Yes sir I know I've only been back for a few weeks now. Well my daughter is getting married and, non priority. With all due respect sir I was turned to stone in service to this nation, I don't think my devotion to service should be in question. How long am I going to hold that, well sir I was turned to stone. Thank you sir, I'll inform you when I return." Alex said before he put his phone down before holding his temples.
"OH, I have to watch my little girl be married so soon. I think I'd rather go to war with team rocket again." He said.
Elsewhere in the guardian guild in Viridian city, Felix was with his Lucario, Keso and his Pidgeot, Lex and his Gengar, and Martin with his Arcanine were resting at a table from a long night of combing the area around Viridian city.
The guild master was speaking with them.
"No sign of the traitor?" He asked.
"No sign, Kal was always good at being stealthy." Felix said.
"Maybe if Paul were here to help us." Keso said as he sharpened his hatchet with his left hidden blade.
"Paul has other obligations." Martin said.
"He did agree to help us. Hunting an aura guardian is no simple task, even for other aura guardians." Lex said.
"I don't blame Paul for leaving to fulfill his obligations. He said he'd continue helping us once he fulfilled them." Felix said.
Another guardian walked in.
"Master Felix, a message was just sent for you." she said.
"What's going on?" Felix asked.
"Your son says he's getting married sooner than he planned. In Tarvel city"
Felix and his Lucario looked at the others.
"Just go, the 3 of us can handle him if we find him before you return." Martin said.
"Thank you." Felix said before he got up with Lucario.
Back in Tarvel city Ash and the others picked up their pokeballs.
"Alright let's head over to the gym. Do you know where it is Lucy?" Ash asked.
"Wait, you're heading to the gym?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Yes, why?" Ash asked.
"I'm afraid the gym leader has been away for some time." Nurse Joy said.
"What?" Ash said with a slightly crestfallen expression.
"Pika?" Pikachu said sweat dropping.
"However, I have heard he will be returning soon. Possibly tomorrow." She said.
"Alright , that's not so bad." Brock said.
"Well I guess we should get you registered for your showcase then Serena." Ash said.
The group left the pokemon center and made their way across the city before reaching a massive theater building , bigger than any they had seen in Kanto.
"Here we are, the Tarvel battle theater, before showcases happened here , trainers would battle using elegance." Lucy said.
They walked inside and saw dozens of performers, some who Serena recognized from previous showcases.
They saw a long line of performers at the check in desk and the group sweat dropped.
"We could be here for a while." Brock said.
The group had to wait for almost an hour before they reached the front.
"Welcome to the Tarvel battle theater, if you're here to register I'll need to see your ID and key." The woman behind the counter said.
Serena took out both and showed them to her.
"Excellent Ms. Achille. We look forward to seeing you." She said.
As they walked out of line , someone else in the theater noticed them, Lucy in particular.
"Well, this explains why the battle pike lacks a queen these days." The voice said.
The group turned to see a tall man with light skin, red violet eyes and hair. His hair seemed very long with curved ends in the front by his chin and a pair on the top of his head with a golden grown like item in his hair. He wore some king of performer costume with curved shoulders and no sleeves. His vest was violet and had 6 white leaf like attachments sewn onto the back.
"Tucker?" Lucy asked.
"So Good to see you again." Tucker said.
"Who is this?" Serena asked.
"Guys , this is Tucker, the frontier brain of the battle dome."
"Nice to meet you." Brock said as he shook his hand.
"So you're the ones who dragged Lucy away from her duties." Tucker said.
"You're one to talk, we're pretty far from the battle dome." Lucy said.
"I'm here on official business as one of the judges for the final showcase later this week." Tucker said.
"Really, Serena is in it." Lucy said. Tucker turned to Serena and kissed her hand.
"Good luck Serena. I look forward to seeing you perform. But alias, I must go. The master of ceremonies is always dragging us to meetings. It's good to see you again Lucy, I hope we can meet again before this is over." Tucker said.
The group made their way out of the pokemon center and toward's Lucy's house.
"So he was a frontier brain like you?" Brock asked.
"Yeah, he was just starting out when my father began my training as a frontier brain. He's always been the flashy type, every time he battles a challenger he has to do it in front of a massive crowd." Lucy said.
"Huh? Does he have a lot of fans?" Serena asked.
"Yeah, a lot of girls like him."
"How about you?" Brock said in an almost mocking tone.
"I was never interested in him. I had my eyes set on Brandon." Lucy said with a mischievous smile that quickly made Brock stop.
A few minutes later they reached Lucy's house in a more suburban area of the city. It had a front of back yard and was relatively large.
The interior was just as nice, with plenty of pictures of Lucy's family.
"This is a nice place." Serena said.
"Thanks, it's where my mom grew up. Her father had a small practice battlefield made in the back. If you guys want to use it, go ahead." Lucy said.
"That's a good idea, I should get some training in with my pokemon before the gym battle." Ash said.
"I need to work on my performance as well." Serena said.
Several hours later, Ash was in the guest room with his shirt off very sweaty from almost 4 hours of training with his pokemon.
Pikachu was very tired and had already fallen asleep.
Serena came out of the bathroom in her black bra and panties.
"I'm done if you want to shower."
"I showered this morning, unless you mind." Ash said.
"I don't mind you being all sweaty." Serena said as she moved her hight hand across his stomach and kissed him.
"I didn't get to see your practice routine. What does it entail?" Ash said as he got into bed with her.
"It's hard to explain, better to simply watch." She said.
"Well tomorrow could be my last gym battle ever. If I win the pokemon league and make it into the elite 4, I won't have to battle for badges ever again." Ash said.
"That's funny, from what I can feel from your aura you seem almost disappointed." Serena said as she wrapped her arms around Ash and rested her head on his chest.
"Well , to be honest I'm actually going to miss it. Being able to challenge myself and my pokemon against a variety of skilled trainers and winning a token that proves I was able to earn their respect. Each badge was a mark of what I was able to do in a different part of the world." Ash said.
"Well at least your last battle will be against the greatest gym leader in Kanto." Serena said.
"That's true, I can't wait to see who it is." Ash said.
The next morning Ash got up very early to do some last minute training. He then dropped them off at the pokemon center to ensure they were in prime condition to fight.
At 9:30 Serena woke up to see Ash and Pikachu were already gone.
"Huh?" She said as she looked around.
She sighed with a slight smile.
"He must already be up training. I hope this doesn't happen as much after we're married." Serena said before she got up.
After showing she went out to the kitchen with the others to find Ash there already covered in sweat.
"Geez what time did you get up?" Serena asked.
"5:10" Ash said.
"Ash sometimes I wonder how you are able to do that so often, don't you need to sleep?" Brock asked.
"Sometimes a guardian can just get restless, their aura can be very active. I occasionally get up in the middle of the night to do some training, I just come back before you wake up." Lucy said.
"So Lucy do you know anything about the gym leader?" Ash asked.
"Not really, aside from what we already know , I've heard that he spends a lot of time away from the gym and only battles challengers who have at least 7 badges." Lucy said.
"Well I hope he's here today. I'm ready to get my eighth badge." Ash said.
"PIka!".
After finishing breakfast the group made their way across the city and to the pokemon center. Unlike the other gyms the group had come across, this one seemed more conspicuous. Not as flashy on the outside, but a bit bigger.
When they walked inside the lights were off and it was pitch black.
"Another dark gym?" Brock said sweat dropping.
That is when Ash and Lucy felt something strange. They looked ahead of them as a pair of lights shined, revealing two 16 year olds wearing black and white aura guardian hooded robes.
"HUH?!" The group said.
"Welcome tot he Tarvel city gym." The boy said.
"Hold on, are you two?" Lucy started before the two revealed their hidden blades.
"This place serves as the gym and the guild. The leader has been expecting you for a long time Ash Ketchum, he said he's been looking forward to battling you." The girl said.
"He knows me?" Ash said.
He knew many guardians knew each others names, but Ash had never met one who was a gym leader. Or had he?
"Follow us." The girl said.
She lead them to a another large room with a massive battlefield , bigger than any gym they had seen.
Standing in the center was a familiar looking guardian with a familiar aura.
"Wait, no , it can't be." Ash said before the guardian raised his head and lowered his hood.
"I've been waiting for you Ash. I've been waiting for a long time." Paul said.
Ash walked up to the guardian master with a confused expression.
"I don't understand, you're the gym leader?".
"That I am boy, that I am."
"But you spent so much time with my dad."
"I don't spend as much time here as I should. But it's the life I chose. When I heard you got your seventh badge from the psychic I knew I had to come here for yer final badge."
"But what about Seir?"
"Yer father and the others can handle him. I want the chance to battle Felix's boy in a real battle." Paul said.
Ash smiled and held his fist up.
"Alright, I won't hold anything back!".
"Now will I boy, nor will I." Paul said returning the smile.
As Ash got on one end and Paul took the other, Brock and Serena noticed Lucy seemed dumbstruck.
"All this time and I never knew he was a gym leader." Lucy said.
"I guess not all guardians reveal their personal lives." Brock said.
Ash and Paul stared each other down with confident expressions.
"The battle between master O Brien and guardian Ketchum is about to begin. Each will be allowed a single pokemon. The first to knock their opponent's pokemon out will be the winner." The young male guardian said.
Ash took out a pokeball and held it to his face.
"This is it, our last gym battle ever. Everything we've got. I choose you Charizard!" Ash shouted.
Charizard came out of his pokeball and roared as loud as he could before slamming in front of Ash.
"Charizard for a gym battle, Ash really isn't taking any chances here." Brock said.
"He can't against Master O Brien." Lucy said.
"You go this Ash! You got this Charizard!" Serena shouted before Charla came out and saw Charizard.
"Grauuu!" She roared cheering him on.
"Ah yer Charizard, I was hopping you'd choose him. Here he's the ace of her team. Just like yer brother's. I've seen him battle on TV, in the NPC, seen him beat Onixs, Rhydons, Swamperts, and all other pokemon fire and flyin is weak against. But lets see how well he handles me partner. Go Salamence!" Paul shouted as the massive blue dragon came out and roared.
Ash and Charizard's eyes widened as they saw the sheer size of the mighty dragon.
"That's one big dragon." Brock said.
"Charizard will have his work cut out for him." Lucy said.
"We'll have to take this up a notch." Ash said as he touched his mega evolution stone. A colorful sphere formed around Charizard as he transformed into Charizard Y and roared.
"Very well, we can do that too." Paul said as he touched his own mega evolution stone and a colorful sphere formed around Salamence.
When the evolution ended, Salamence's wings melded together into a single, huge crescent-shaped wing. His face, neck, body and tail were narrower, and his tail were noticeably shorter in length. The ridges above his eyes were now far less prominent, and he no longer possessed the thick, gray scaling over his lower jaw. Instead, the smooth red flesh underneath had been left exposed, increasing his streamline appearance. The upper pair of fins resting on the sides of his head were now elongated and tapered. The lower pair has not changed much. However, the middle were now taken in the form of quarter-arches, spanning towards the bridge of the nose. The remnants of his shelled underbelly were drastically transformed into a segmented, more aerodynamic, vest-like armored frame. This frame encases his chest and shoulders with the pieces interlocking whenever Mega Salamence tucked in his front forelegs.
"Charizard Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.
Charizard Y opened his mouth and unleashed an ocean of fire at Salamence.
"Salamence use Dragon breath." Paul said.
The massive dragon opened his mouth and unleashed a green mist like energy that went through the fire, making a hole. Salamence flew through that hole.
"Charizard use Air slash!" Ash shouted.
Charizard quickly flew up and over Salamence as he tried to fly into the fire dragon. Charizard did a quick back flip and tried to slash Salamence across the back.
"Barrel roll!" Paul shouted.
Just before Charizard could slash Salamence , the blue dragon spun himself and his wings around smashing Charizard across the face with his wings. This knocked Charizard back before Salamence turned and faced him.
"Dragon Pulse!"
Salamence opened his mouth and unleashed a massive pulse of dragon energy at Charizard.
"Dragon pulse!" Ash shouted.
Charizard quickly opened his mouth and unleashed a massive pulse of dragon energy. The two pulses clashed as the two pokemon tried to push more power into the attacks.
Despite all of Charizard's effort, Salamence was more powerful and his Dragon pulse tore through Charizard's and continued forward, smashing into Charizard and hurling him back.
"Charizard!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!".
"Grauu!" Charla roared sounding concerned.
It had been a long time since Ash had seen Charizard Y get overpowered like that.
"Don't let him breath Salamence, Dragon claw!" Paul shouted.
Mega Salamence quickly flew at Charizard Y with unbelievable speed.
"Charizard go over him and use Seismic toss!" Ash shouted.
Just before Salamence could reach Charizard Y , the fire dragon flew up and then down at an angle until he was directly over Salamence. He then snatched Salamence by the back and did 3 air spins before hurling him into the ground.
The blue dragon cracked the battlefield floor as he smashed into it. Despite this he got right back up and snarled at Charizard Y.
"Salamence use Fly." The massive blue dragon soared up high into the air almost hitting the ceiling.
The Salamence then turned and began flying down.
"Charizard use Dragon pulse!" Ash shouted as Charizard Y aimed at Salamence and unleashed a massive pulse of dragon energy.
"Dragon claw." Paul said.
Salamence unleashed his claws and smashed through the Dragon pulse before continuing down towards Charizard Y.
"Charizard re-angle your wings and fly below him." Ash said.
Charizard quickly flew low at an angle under Salamence.
"Use Dragon pulse."
"Spin and use Dragon claw." Salamence quickly did a barrel roll smashing his massive wing across Charizard's face , knocking him off balance again before Mega Salamence smashed his glowing foot claws across Charizard's chest and hurled him into the ground.
"Grauu."Charizard grunted as he hit the ground hard.
"Geez that's one good Salamence." Brock said.
"Ash and Charizard are good, but Salamence and Paul spent their whole lives training and mastering their senses. They're both guardian masters and Ash will be lucky if he can beat them." Lucy said.
"Don't say that, Ash and Charizard have proven themselves many times before. Besides Charizard is Ash's ace. I've seen him take on pseudo legendary pokemon that he was weak against and win. They can do this." Serena said.
"Grauu!" Charla growled agreeing with Serena.
Charizard got up and snared at Salamence.
"Charizard use Air slash!" Ash shouted.
Charizard quickly flew up and at Salamence.
"Flamethrower around him." Ash said as Charizard flew around Salamence with several sharp turns as he unleashed fire.
"Use Dragon breath" Paul said as Mega Salamence opened his mouth and unleashed a thick fog of dragon energy that cleared a path for him to escape the sphere of fire around him.
As Salamence flew out Charizard Y came back and slashed Salamence across his back with Air slash, forcing him off balance.
"Dragon pulse!" Ash shouted.
Charizard Y aimed his head as Mega Salamence turned to face him.
"GRauu!" Charizard Y roared as he blasted Salamence with the super effective attack.
"Grooo!" Salamence roared in pain as he was forced into the ground and pushed further in. Dust began to accumulate in a cloud over Mega Salamence until Charizard Y ended the attack.
When he did he and the others looked closely at the cloud of dust.
"Is it over, did he win?" Serena asked as Charla looked just as closely.
Charizard, Ash , and Pikachu also kept a close eye.
"Dragon claw." Paul said grinning.
Salamence flew right out of the cloud of dust and slammed his foot claws across Charizard's body hurling him into the ground.
Charizard Y hit the ground hard and began breathing deeply with bruises all over his body.
Ash could feel how fatigued Charizard was through their connection and could feel how frustrated he was. Charizard Y hadn't been this close to loosing in years. He didn't want to start now.
"You and yer charizard have done well boy, but this ends now. Use Fly." Paul said as his Mega Salamence fly high up in the air.
Charizard watched with grim determination as Mega Salamence reached the top.
"Dragon breath." Mega Salamence unleashed a mist of dragon energy that covered his entire body.
"Groo!" Mega Salamence roared as he flew down at Charizard Y covered in dragon energy.
Ash could feel how tired Charizard was and how fast Mega Salamence was moving. Plus all the dragon power he had behind his attack. He couldn't dodge it, and not even a Dragon pulse would even stop the attack.
Ash new they had one chance. Charizard had taken enough damage. His tail flame grew massive before it exploded , covering him in fire.
"Charizard use Blast burn!" Ash shouted.
Charizard looked up and roared as his opened his mouth and unleashed a massive ocean of fire. When the fire hit Mega Salamence, it exploded around completely. The force of the explosion hurled Salamence back up into the air and smashed him into the ceiling before more fire hit him.
"He did it!" Serena shouted.
"Grauu!" Charla roared.
Charizard Y finally began to pant from exhausted when he heard something with his heightened senses.
He looked up at the ocean of fire above him , when moments later out came mega Salamence, covered in soot and burn marks, but still full of dragon energy.
"Oh no." Ash said.
Charizard gave a terrified expression before Mega Salamence smashed into him and plowed him into the ground.
"Charizard!" Ash shouted.
"Pika!".
"Grauu!" Charla roared sounding scared.
When the dust cleared, Mega Salamence was panting heavily as he stood over normal Charizard with swirly eyes.
"Guardian Charizard is unable to continue the fight. Master O Brien and Master Salamence are the winners." The young guardian male said.
"It's over, he lost." Serena said in disbelief.
"I was afraid of that." Lucy said.
"Well done old friend." Paul said.
Ash could feel everything Charizard had been through and had never felt him this beaten down before.
Ash rushed out to his pokemon as Paul's Salamence returned to his normal form and tried to help Charizard get up.
"Charizard!" Ash said as he helped Salamence get Charizard onto his feet.
Charla rushed over and finished the job before pulling him away from the others and holding him up by herself.
Paul walked over to Ash and his Charizard.
"Ya did well Ash, better than I expected. No one's done that well against Salamence." Paul said.
"What?" Ash asked.
"I'm afraid I have a bit of a confession, you see my Salamence is my most powerful pokemon. So powerful that he's actually never lost a gym battle, even in normal form. In fact he's only lost to 3 pokemon in his life, and these were all guardians. Yer father's Lucario, the mentor of the Hoenn region's Sceptile, and Daniel's Charizard. I heard good things about yer Charizard. After I saw no one could earn a badge here people stopped coming, so I had to stop using Salamence against challengers. That's when I heard about you and yer Charizard.I was hoping he could give Salamence a good challenge, and he certainly did."
"Groo." Salamence growled nodding. He said to Charizard that he was certainly a worthy opponent and he had earned his respect as a guardian.
"Wait, you sent our your Salamence knowing he would win?" Brock said sounding almost mad.
"Brock it's ok, I'm not mad because he used his strongest pokemon." Ash said.
"Grauu." Charizard growled with a slight smile.
He looked at Salamence as he told him he was grateful for getting to fight someone as strong as him.
"I suppose I can give ya a rematch when yer ready. I have other pokemon that will prove to be a good match." Paul started before Ash and Charizard looked at each other and nodded.
"No." Ash said.
"What?" Paul and the others said.
"When Charizard is ready, he's going to take on your Salamence again." Ash said.
"Grauu!" Charizard roared.
"Ash that's crazy." Brock said.
"Brock's right, you can't just expect Charizard to be better than Salamence in a few days." Lucy said.
"Now hold on there, no battle is ever predetermined. It was a close fight, and Charizard did well. Who know, maybe next time the outcome could be different." Paul said as Salamence nodded.
"Grauu!" Charla growled encouraging Charizard.
"Ash is right, Charizard can do it. Everyone looses once and a while, there's no shame in it." Serena said.
"Pika!".
"Alright then, when both are pokemon are ready they'll have another battle." Paul said.
"I should get you to Nurse Joy Charizard." Ash said.
"That won't be necessary." Another voice said. The group turned to see another guardian wearing brown and tan robes walking towards them with a Kangaskhan beside him.
"I'm Leonn, this guild's master healer. When I heard a pokemon would be challenging master Salamence in mega form I thought I would be needed." He said as Kangaskhan tried to hold Charizard up.
Charla reluctantly let the other pokemon take him.
"I assure you we can help him recover much faster and better than Nurse Joy." Leonn said.
As much as Ash trusted a guardian healer , he didn't want to just leave him there alone.
"Grauu." Charizard growled telling him it was alright and that he would be fine to head back.
"Are you sure?" Ash asked via aura message.
Charizard nodded.
"Grauu." Charla growled as she went over to him and licked side of his face before looking back at the group.
"Alright Charla you can stay with him." Serena said.
"Grauu." She growled smiling and blushing.
"We'll let you know what Charizard has fully recovered." Paul said.
"Thanks." Ash said.
Later that night Ash and the others were back at Lucy's house. Serena spent the rest of the day preparing her performance while Ash trained with his other pokemon.
At 11:30, Serena was in bed with Ash.
Pikachu was fast asleep on Ash's pillow while Serena rested her head against his chest.
"You took your loss today well." Serena said.
"Charizard and I did our best, we have nothing to be sad about. Besides it was against a master guardian, probably the best gym leader in the world, there's no shame in loosing to him. I suppose it might have been a shock to Charizard seeing as the last time he lost was against a Blastoise in the NPC 2 years ago. Still loosing is a part of a trainer's journey" Ash said.
"We've both learned that." Serena said before kissing his cheek.
"Just a few more days until the final showcase starts. You must be excited." Ash said.
"I really am, I always enjoyed battle chateaus , but performing is something different. Since I started performing I loved it more. I now realize this is what I was always meant to do. Now I have a chance to make my name known across Kanto , the performance queen." Serena said.
"I know the feeling." Ash said.
"But that's not the only thing. After I lost the title Grand Dutchess , the idea of becoming the Kanto queen almost seems like I'm fulfilling a promise to myself." Serena said.
"I feel the same, if I can win the Indigo league. I would have liked to win the Kalos league, but ever since I was a kid, winning the Indigo league was my dream." Ash said.
"Well you're about to complete 2 dreams, being in the elite 4 and winning the Indigo league. I'm also about to complete 2 dreams." Serena said.
"2 dreams, what's the other one?" Ash asked.
Serena smiled and blushed.
"Marrying you." She said before kissing him.
Author's note
Alright some of you might have seen it was a bit soon for another gym battle, but he didn't win did he.
I had to have Ash loose at some point and show even his ace pokemon can be beaten.
As for Serena's showcase, it will happen in the next chapter and unlike the Grand festival it will likely be done in one long chapter.
I plan on spending around 4 chapters including this one in Tarvel city.
I am still accepting character requests if you guys still want to send me some.
Also someone wanted to know the pokemon currently with Ash: Pikachu, Blastoise, Charizard, Venusaur, Haunter, Aerodactyl
So until next time, please review, comment, suggest, or ask