Hello again, TheEnigmatic97 here. Well, this starts the (hopefully) weekly updates for this story. My schedule is quite interesting since I only have two day's worth of classes per week. More specifically, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I'll be online often, not because I'll hop by here, but I usually do my projects in front of the PC.
Regarding the story, I have received a wonderful input from some people about the previous chapter. The replies will come at the end of this chapter.
Now about this chapter: It's the big day for Serena. How does the group prepare for this important event?
So without further ado
'The Big Day'
After weeks of practices, the day has finally arrived. This was what she was preparing for. It was the time when she would be able to achieve her dream, or every would come crashing down. It is the point of no return. Only those who come through this are the ones who have done a lot. Her opponent was one of those distinguished people. A lot of people may say that she is the underdog for this showcase, but she doesn't mind. She's the type who won't give up. Probably, an influence from someone dear to her.
When the day started, the group did their usual routine, as if nothing were to happen on this day. Ash suggested this to ease up the tension Serena might feel. Bonnie would fire a barrage of questions to Serena regarding the performances coming in a few hours, but then Clemont would tell his younger sister to stop so that Serena won't feel the pressure.
Serena's mother. Grace, arrived at Lumiose City the previous day to support her daughter on the biggest day of her life. Back then, Serena would think that she would disapprove of the road that she took, but she was wrong. A mother, which we would refer as some who knows best, found the better route. Before, she would place her on a Rhyhorn causing some wounds, probably since she was a Rhyhorn Racer herself. Then came that day, when Serena learned where her first performance would be, the knowledge came from the person she would least expect it from, her mother. Nowadays, Grace would give all the support she could give to her daughter, since, a mother needs to support her children. (A/N: I admit, I am a "mama's boy," and I'm proud of the lessons she told me. One of the things that she placed on my mind that a mother will always be there beside their children, no matter how far they are.)
A few minutes after lunchtime, the limousine arrived in front of Professor Sycamore's Laboratory to fetch the group to proceed to the city's auditorium. The professor would come to the auditorium after some errands.
-Lumiose City Auditorium, Lobby, 13:52-
"Oh, look who came." A young woman said when the group entered the lobby "How are you guys?"
"Hello, Aria!" Ash greeted to performer, while assisting Clemont with the camera invention of his, only a smaller version at that.
'We're fine, Aria." Serena replied to her co-performer and opponent "I thought you are already preparing right now?"
"It's still kinda early." Aria responded "We could roam around for a few minutes, if you like."
"Of course." Serena said "We would love to."
The group then went to the corridor where large framed pictures of performers were on display. These were the pictures of the Kalos Queens inducted ever since Pokémon Showcases started. There were familiar faces, and the group would have a small history lesson from the current Kalos Queen herself, Aria.
"And this one was taken when I won the title." Aria said while pointing to the last picture in the corridor.
"You look so cute!" Bonnie exclaimed "-nene!" along with the Dedenne in her satchel
"Thanks, Bonnie." Aria replied
"Pikapi, pika-pikachu?" (Ash, do you think?) Pikachu asked its trainer
"I have to say, she does look good." Ash replied before Serena made her grip on his hand be so tight that he would cringe in pain. "But not as good as Serena."
"Nice comeback." Aria said
"Pikapika." (I agree) The yellow rodent agreed with the performer
"By the way, how long have you been a Kalos Queen?" Clemont asked before noticing a panel placed below the frame "Never mind, I have the answer. You've been a Kalos Queen for the past two years."
"That long already?" Aria was shocked by the statistic "Time sure flies fast."
"You said it." Serena agreed "It's been one week for us too, Ash." (A/N: I did a rundown of events. This chappy is set on a Saturday. The press con was on a Tuesday. The group arrived at Lumiose on a Monday, and Santalune on a Sunday. The confession happened on a Saturday.)
"And more years to come." Ash said while smiling
"Well, we should proceed with the preparations." Aria said "The show starts at seven. Kinda funny since people will come here to see two performers do a five-minute routine."
"So like, the show would actually last two hours maximum, and only ten minutes are dedicated to the both of you?" Clemont wondered
"Exactly." Aria said "I thought Serena told you that the first round is omitted for this one."
"I kinda forgot to tell everyone." Serena told nervously
"Hmm... let me guess, you told Ash and you didn't tell us." Bonnie said
"My bad." Serena replied immediately before the group said goodbye to Aria and went to the backstage.
"I thought all of you have a backstage pass." Serena said while walking at the corridor
"The thing is," Clemont explained "The organizers told us that the VIP backstage passes are only limited to two for you and Aria. One pass is with your mother, then I and Bonnie decided that the other one goes to Ash."
"Yeah, he need to be there with you at least." Bonnie said
"Okay, here it is." Ash said after grabbing an identification card from his bag "I'll check on you guys out in a few minutes. I can't stay at Serena's room forever, you know."
"Why Ash?" Serena frowned at what Ash said "I thought you would support me."
"How could I support you if I won't see you perform?" Ash tried to add some logic to his question "And besides, I have to give these tickets on the others who would come."
"Who are they?" Serena asked
"Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno said that they would come this afternoon." Clemont said "I wonder what's taking them so long."
"Well, we should go inside." Serena said "The clock's ticking."
-Lumiose City Auditorium, Backstage, Serena's Dressing Room, 16:42-
Serena is sitting down in front of the mirror. She would often try to practice her smile. She would judge whether it has the same glow that she expects, and it's still there, actually she would notice that it became more vibrant by the moment. She would then ask someone beside her if she looks good, or if she would do good. He would reply the same answer at every question she throws "Yes."
While her hair was getting fixed, Serena still kept on asking Ash. He wouldn't mind whatsoever, he knows that he should be the one who would understand what his girlfriend experiences, being a competitor himself, only on a different field.
"Do you think I could do this?" Serena asked the same question for the nth time
"Of course, you can." Ash replied with his signature toothy grin "You reached this point and there's no reason why you won't be able to do this."
"You're right, it's just five minutes on stage." Serena said "I just have to hold on and do my best."
Serena then thought about one fact that worries her if she wins the title. The thought caused her to lower her head causing Ash to wonder
"Anything wrong?" Ash asked
"I was thinking if I were to win this," Serena said "I'll have a lot of things to do, and may cause you to hold back your future plans just to be with me. I know you would do so, knowing how much you support everyone, but I don't want to be the reason why you won't ach-"
"Don't say that." Ash immediately placed a finger on Serena's lips "The fact doesn't worry me at all, Serena. You know, you are one of my inspirations entering into my plans. I don't see why you should worry whatsoever. I don't want you to think that you'll be just a bother to me. As weird as it could sound from me, but people in a relationship should support each other, and not be a bother. I know how you really want to achieve this and you are just one step. Me? I still have five grueling battles to face, and there's no assurance. I'll be happy in any way these things will turn out. Remember that."
There was no need of any reply to that, all that happened was a tight embrace, showing how the couple supports each other. The other people inside the room just remained standing at their positions looking at the couple's moment. It was special for them, and shows how far they have come from just being mere acquaintances, to traveling companions, to having a mutual understanding, and today.
"Well, I have to check on the others." Ash said causing Serena to frown "Where's that smile? I'll be at the best seat in the house, don't worry. The moment you come out on stage, the first person you'll see will be me."
"Okay, be careful." Serena said before pecking on Ash's cheeks
"See you later." Ash said before closing the door.
But before a minute passed, the door opened again, with Ash entering and leaving Serena a kiss on her lips causing her to glow red.
"Good luck out there, and win that title." Ash said before leaving the room again
"You sure do have a loving boyfriend." A woman said to Serena
"Yes, mom." Serena replied "He sure is."
-Lumiose City Auditorium, Lobby, 18:35-
"I thought you guys won't come." Clemont said to the three trainers in front of him. "What took you so long?"
"Well, we had to deal with traffic." The trainer-dancer said
"Tierno's right." The orange-haired trainer said "Lumiose is harsh during rush hour."
"But we have to find ways." the performer said "Of course, we don't want to miss Serena's performance."
"Trevor has our tickets." Tierno said "But when Shauna ordered them, we ran out of the front seat tickets, so we have to deal with the limited view."
"How about getting these?" Ash said while holding three VIP tickets in front to the three "I thought I told you that I'll get your tickets."
"You didn't, Ash." Bonnie said "You forgot to tell them when you called them a few weeks ago."
"Sorry, guys." Ash immediately apologized "I'll just refund those tickets you bought."
"No problem at all." Shauna said "You don't need to refund the tickets."
"Well, the show's about to start." Bonnie said "Let's go in before we're late."
Well, that's for this chapter. Now, I really did not expect that this one will be delayed. Despite my schedule, the pressures from my majors occupy my time, so I'm really having a hard time writing this fanfic. I'll still try to do weekly updates, despite the pressure. In case that there would be a delay, take note of this: it's either I'm studying for my lessons, or I'm collecting data for my Statistics project, or I'm finding a company I would like to work for during my practicum, or I'm looking for titles for my undergraduate thesis. Please bear with me.
To answer some reviews, as promised earlier:
[reviewer] Minios0903: "Dangit,Ash and Serena's interactions were soooo cute X3. Awwww...your classes started already? And when this story is getting to the interesting part :(. Oh well, hope you will keep your words and update weekly :). If something happened,you should inform it to the readers so we can know when to expect the next chapter :)"
[reply] If that's what you see during the previous chapter, well I have nothing to say. I'm kinda sad because my classes have started, but you know, I have my allowance back, so no regrets. I hope I could keep my promises, I kinda have a history of breaking them, kinda sad. I already said the reasons why my chapters may be delayed earlier, so please check.
[reviewer] UCCMaster: "TheEnigmatic97, great story so far. I enjoyed the subtly of the romance. It wasn't over the top and was more believable. If you want to do more background research, go to .com. They have most of the seasons and I use it for background. I love Bonnie's proposals and can't wait to see her propose to other characters maybe someone like Iris or Misty; ha! That would be hilarious!
Critique: hmm...Yeah, do some background research on the rest of the gang. Brock didn't seem very Brock like. Misty did have a crush on Ash, final episode of Master Quest. It's going to be interesting. You can just use bulbapedia to find the important episodes. Oh, where's team rocket?
Otherwise, great story and I can't wait to hear more.
I'm currently writing my own Ash Kalos League fic soon once I finish my Black and white 2 story.
Uccmaster"
[reply] Well, I replied to your review via PM, but I guess it deserves to be posted here.
"I kinda saw what would happen if I push through with my plans. I knew that I would have a hard time, and that's the complication of not watching the previous episodes. Maybe it's my laziness of not looking for the Japanese Dub of the past 700+ episodes. Thanks for the amazing input."
Just to add, what website do you really mean, when I read you review, I was like "Am I really seeing just '.com' or is there anything wrong with me?" And Team Rocket, I really have to find a way to insert the TRio. The assumption I made was that (the sample came from a normal distribut/me gets slapped) by the near end of the main XY series, just like what happened in Best Wishes, TR returned to Kanto for a few months before making a return appearance in Episode N/Decolore Adventures. Thanks again for the review.
Now, for the next chapter: It's time for the show.
A NOTE FOR PRE-READERS/BETA READERS: I'll try to give the manuscript of the next chapter hopefully this week. My schedule for this week is kinda heavy, so it may be delayed. Just check on me from time to time.
So there we go, TheEnigmatic97 here, peace!