I ... I lost...
My poor Chase is hurt.
Disbelief and regret filled Serena's mind and heart. She certainly knew this was a possibility, but she had yet to lose a battle. Her heart twisted and turned as her bottom lip trembled ever so slightly.
"Wait a minute," Viola interrupted the battle referee, "she hasn't battled with Eevee yet."
"N-no," Serena glanced down at the Eevee in her arms. "He's injured. He can't battle. Besides, he isn't really mine." She pulled out Chase's Pokéball from her bag, promptly returning him. Her eyes were downcast, finding it harder to look Viola in the eyes with every passing second.
"That's too bad... " Viola said sincerely. "You battled very well! I do hope you come back for a rematch."
"Rematch?" And risk having this feeling all over again while our Pokémon friends get hurt? Absolutely not. "Thank you for the battle," was all she bluntly said before promptly turning around and walking quickly for the gym's exit. The wild Eevee cooed sadly in her arms.
The doors opened in front of her, leading back into the bright, outside world she came from. However, the rays of sun peering through the clouds no longer looked as hopeful and beautiful as she thought just minutes before. She took a deep breath as she made her way to the Pokémon Center.
"Thank you for healing Chase," Serena half smiled at the Santalune nurse as she took his Pokeball from her.
"You're welcome. We hope to see you again!"
Why would you hope that? Serena thought. If it were up to her, she wouldn't have to be here in the first place. If only her precious Pokémon didn't have to get hurt…
She sat on a bench outside the Pokémon Center, sitting Eevee down next to her and releasing Chase from his Pokéball.
"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" She asked her starter as he stretched his back.
'Serena, I don't know what happened back there! No matter what attack I used, that damn Vivillon seemed immune or something! I swear we can do better next time!'
"Seems like you feel better." For that, she was able to smile. "I'm just not sure I do."
'Huh? What do you mean?' Chase tilted his head.
"I thought I was naturally a good trainer, you know? I thought maybe I finally found something I was good at - something I could be proud of myself for." Why do I feel like I'm choking? "Something that .. that Dad would be proud of me for." Well damn, there it is.
'Serena…' Chase grumbled, taking a step toward his trainer. Eevee watched the two intently.
"Perhaps… perhaps this was a bad idea after all. Who was I trying to kid? This life - this adventurous, traveling life - isn't me. I should just go home."
'No way!' Chase cried in protest. 'I promise, we can do this! Maybe I'm not the best battler yet, but we can get there! We can work together Serena.' He frowned deeply. He knew she couldn't understand him, but he certainly hoped she'd get the message. 'Please?'
Serena got the message, all right. But she couldn't say anything. How could she risk hurting her Pokémon again? What if it was even worse next time?
She completely zoned out. Not really thinking about anything, yet somehow thinking about everything at the same time. The sound of a different voice gave her a slight shock.
"Hey neighbor! Let's see that gym badge!"
She looked up to see none other than Calem - her neighbor who had just beaten Viola minutes before her own battle with the gym leader. She didn't know what to say.
"Hey.. everything okay?" Her lack of response began to concern him. He took a seat next to her on the bench with Eevee between them.
"I don't have a badge." She finally said. Her stomach twisted at the words all over again.
"Oh. I'm sorry, neighbor." It didn't take a genius to see the guilt he felt in bringing it up. "But hey, I'm sure you'll beat her next time, right?"
"I .. I don't think there will be a next time. I think I'm just going to go home."
"What? Come on, now don't say that!" Concern filled his expression all over again. "It's just one battle - you're first gym battle. I'm sure plenty of trainers lose once in a while."
"I'm just not very good at this. Any of this." She said with a sad chuckle, motioning to town around them.Don't cry, Serena. Damn it, don't you dare cry in front of him.
"You're doing fine. It's been.. what, a day? You've been a trainer for a single day and you already made it through plenty of battles with wild Pokémon and other trainers." He looked down at Chase's sorrowful expression, then at the injured Eevee sitting between him and the young woman. "Your Chespin seems to like being with you a lot. You've even managed to catch a new Pokémon. That's a hell of a lot more than I'm sure plenty of trainers can say for themselves after a day of journeying." Calem smiled slightly, trying to brighten her mood.
"I guess. But Eevee isn't even mine. And if this is what it feels like to lose - I don't think it's worth it."
"Think about what it feels like to win. Isn't it the greatest? Just knowing your hard work is paying off for you and your Pokémon is one of the most rewarding feelings, right?"
Serena remained quiet for a few moments. taking his words in. It's true. Winning her way to Santalune was pretty amazing. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel completely powerless. But…
"There's still so much left to see. We've barely just begun this journey." Calem continued, taking his eyes off her to help give her a bit more space. "If you quit now, who knows what you'll be missing?"
"I know, but what if I lose again?"
"Then you try again. And if you lose after that, then try again, and again. As long as your Pokémon are willing to battle alongside you, then you can't give up on them."
She looked to Chase, who was watching the young man speak surprisingly eloquently. The sadness in Chase' eyes truly broke her heart. Except he wasn't sad that he lost - he was sad that she wouldn't give him another chance.
"I don't want to give up on Chase…"
"Well then," Calem swiftly stood up, a sudden determination palpable on his smile. "I'll help you get that badge."
"What?" Arching an eyebrow, she eyed Calem with anticipation.
"You heard me." He extended his hand to her, offering to help her up. "You're not giving up and going home. It's time to train."
Despite the hesitance and apprehension she still felt, she couldn't doubt she felt amused at his persistence. She reluctantly gave him her hand as he politely helped her stand, which made her realize how different Kalos manners were from her hometown in Unova.
"Okay.. let's do this." Just the thought of battling again sent chills down her spine, both in fear, but also overwhelming excitement.
'Hell yes!' Chase cheered in utmost delight. Even Eevee chimed in with its own sounds of approval.
"Neighbor, you and Chespin need to work on dodging more."
Chase huffed a bitter sigh as he pushed himself off the ground. Calem's Fennekin stood proudly towering over the fallen Chespin.
'Tell your trainer my name is Chase.' He muttered to Maddy.
'Don't get mad just cuz you're too slow to dodge.' She winked playfully as she awaited further command from Calem.
'Why you...' Chase began to growl as he prepared to tackle.
"Chase, calm down!" Serena called from behind. "We need to be patient. But he's right. Since Viola's Pokémon are bug types, we're already at a disadvantage. So it's good that we can practice against a fire type like Maddy."
"Right," Calem chimed in. "Your best bet is just to dodge any attacks and go for a strong offense from the start."
"So you think we can work on that, Chase?"
Chase took a couple breaths, more than ready to knock the smirk off Maddy's face.
'Fine. Let's do it.'
Daylight had come and gone. It couldn't have been after 7, but the sun had already completely set, leaving the job of illuminating the forest to the moon and stars.
"Wow." Serena huffed as she laid back onto the grass beneath her. For the moment, she couldn't care less if she was laying on the dirty ground - she couldn't stand anymore. "I'm exhausted, and I wasn't even the one doing the training." Eevee lay next to her, and Chase soon after joined the two, thoroughly burnt out himself.
"I wouldn't say that," Calem said, sitting next to her on the ground. "When you train with your Pokémon, you are working just as hard alongside them. Being connected with your partner is even more important than just brute strength, you know."
"That's an interesting way of looking at it. I guess we do have to be pretty in sync to battle well, huh?" She mostly spoke aloud to herself, giving Chase some loving and well-deserved pets as he caught his breath. "You know a lot about battling, don't you?"
"I guess." Calem shrugged. "My parents are pretty skilled trainers themselves, so it's basically expected that I know what I'm doing." He spoke smoothly and confidently, but Serena could see some unidentifiable negative energy behind his words.
"Why are you collecting gym badges?" She asked him suddenly.
"I have to get the gym badges if I want to be champion."
"Champion?" Her eyes widened as she sat up. "You're going to challenge the champion?"
"One day, I plan to. Otherwise, I'll just feel like another person in a sea of hopeful trainers. What would make me different as a trainer from Bug-catcher Joey if there's nothing phenomenal about me?"
"I see what you're saying," Serena began. "But does everything has to be a competition? Everyone is different for one reason or another. I don't think you necessarily have to be the best at everything to distinguish yourself. It's just important to do your best and keep trying, like you said, right?" Calem watched Serena speak attentively, but then seemed to zone out for a few short moments before speaking again.
"If only my best was enough for my parents." His face deadpanned as he pulled himself to standing. "I'll see you tomorrow, neighbor."
"Huh, tomorrow?"
"Yes. You're not ready to face Viola, and I'll be back to make sure you don't try to run home again." His serious face changed to flash a slight smirk at the young woman.
"Oh, I'm not going anywhere." She smiled in return. "We're in too deep now, right Chase?"
'Hell yeah. We're getting that badge.'
"That's my neighbor." Calem said. With a final smile, he nodded and turned his back to Serena. "Have a good night."
"You too! Oh, and thank you!" She called after him. Directing her attention to Chase, she dug in her bag to find her poffin case. "How are you doing, Chase? I think Calem and Maddy helped us improve a ton today."
'Yes but I still don't like that fire bitch.' Chase pouted as he took the poffin from Serena's hand. She tried to suppress a giggle at Chase's obvious attitude as she gave Eevee a poffin as well.
"That was really nice of him to take a day off of his own journey to help us. I thought he was kinda standoffish at first, but now I think he's all right." She smiled to herself as both Pokémon eyed her quizzically. "Oh, and Eevee, how is that paw of yours? Are you feeling any better?"
'Yeah!' Eevee managed to move its paw little by little, but was still unable to put too much pressure on it. 'Ow.. well, it's not perfect, but I should be good to go pretty soon!'
"Don't push it, sweetie." Serena pet the tiny Eevee's head; it willingly leaned into her hand. "Maybe in a day or two, you'll be able to get back out into the wild." The Eevee's smile slowly faded and its head sunk to the ground at these words. "Hey, what's wrong? Why do you look so sad?"
'I… was hoping… that maybe, I mean, if you don't mind, maybe I could… well if it's not too much trouble..'
'Wow, spit it out Eevs.' Chase interrupted. Eevee's eyes were wide with nervousness.
"I wish I could understand you guys.." Serena sadly commented. "Eevee, are you afraid of someone hurting you again in the wild?"
'Maybe a bit." Eevee nodded slightly, 'but I was more hoping.. that.. um..'
"Could it be that.. you want to come along with me and Chase?"
Eevee's ears suddenly perked up and his tail began to swish back and forth.
'Yes! I mean, if you don't mind! I know I'm not so strong now, but it would really mean a lot to me.'
Serena could tell by the Eevee's body language that is exactly what he wanted.
"Awesome!" Serena giggled. "I have to admit, I was really sad that I was going to have to let you go. But now, we're partners!" Eevee did its best to limp over to his new trainer and crawl into her lap for more thorough cuddling. "I will name you Sylvester, if that's all right with you."
'Oh,' the Eevee's mouth gaped slightly. 'I get a nickname too? This is .. this is the best day ever!' He squeaked happily as he soaked in his new name. 'I am Sylvester! Nice to join you!'
'Sylvester.' Chase slightly scoffed. 'You better not slow us down, cuz Serena and I are already a great team without you.'
'I won't! I'll work really hard to become whatever Serena wants of me.' Sylvester chimed in reply, undaunted by Chase's slight hostility.
'So, Sylv,' Chase began as their trainer was setting up camp for their second night under the stars, 'how'd you get all beat up anyway?'
'Oh, right...' looking down upon remembering the recent event, Sylvester frowned deeply. 'It was a trainer. He looked older than Serena, and meaner too. I think I heard him say he was trying to catch Pokémon but,' his teeth grinded at the memory, 'he said I was too weak looking for him. Too girly. So he fought me instead with his ugly two-headed dragon type Pokémon. Zwei-Zweilous? I think he called it. But.. well, I didn't stand much of a chance on my own.'
'Sucks, man.' Chase shrugged, seeming to not care very much. 'Well you're on a team now. So, get better soon so you can train with us, yeah?'
'Heh,' these words reminding him of his new trainer and teammate helped him smile off the memory of the mean dragon type. 'You don't have to tell me! I'll do my best!'
"Guys!" The two Pokémon's heads turned at the sound of their trainer's voice. "I'm done setting up. Let's get some sleep, okay? We have more training to do tomorrow." Serena spoke with a slight smile, thinking of the progress she was to make in her training, and of the joy of having two lovely Pokémon on her team.
"I think you're about ready to challenge Viola for a rematch, don't you think?" Calem spoke as he returned Maddy to her Pokéball.
"Really? Thanks!" Serena used her forearm to wipe away a few pesky beads of sweat working up under her bangs. "Maybe we'll be ready to try again in three or four days."
"For sure. It's already been a few days since your first battle with her. Chespin's speed has improved a lot, and now you have Eevee as well."
'You're not so bad yourself, human. Learn my name.' From Serena's arms, Chase shot Calem another irked glare.
"Thanks!" Serena said gratefully, returning Sylvester to his ball as well. He had made a remarkably quick recovery and practically begged Serena to train alongside Chase. "But don't forget - Chase and Sylvy are my friends. They have names, just like Maddy!"
"Right," he let out a single chuckle, "my bad. Are you going to the Pokémon Center now?"
"Yeah, I think they need to rest. Maddy sure is tough!" Serena replied, following the tall young man as they began to walk towards the Pokémon Center.
"She is, but Chase is great too. And I think Sylvester has great potential."
Serena didn't respond to his words of praise. In fact, she nearly stopped listening entirely upon seeing a note on the Santalune Gym's front doors.
"What's that?" She asked aloud, rushing towards the doors to get a closer look. Calem raised an eyebrow and followed her, watching intently as she took the note off the door.
"'Leaving town tonight for the holidays - I'll be back at the beginning of the year. Viola.'" Serena read the paper in disbelief, frustration quickly taking over. "No! What am I supposed to do? I can't challenge her today; my Pokémon aren't ready and they're exhausted from training!"
"I think you have to try unless you want to wait a month to challenge the gym." Calem frowned at the girl's obvious distress.
"No way. No way! I'm not going in there unless they're completely ready. I can't let them get hurt again."
"How do you know they're not ready?" He looked directly at her to speak, even though her eyes were everywhere but him. "Chase can spar equally with Maddy, even at a type disadvantage." He paused, waiting for any positive reaction from her. "Shauna and the guys wanted to head out to Lumiose within the next week, and we wouldn't want to leave you behind." He said almost guiltily.
"Chase?" Serena looked to the starter in her arms. "How do you feel about it?"
'I've been dying to wreck that Vivillon ever since our first battle. You know I'm ready!' He gave Serena his best, most confident thumbs up he could muster. Never had Serena seen such sincere enthusiasm from anyone - person or Pokémon. It was no doubt, inspiring to say the least.
"I guess…" Serena began, her voice hardly more than a whimper, "we can try today, since it's all right with Chase."
"Hey," Calem smiled reassuringly, "give it your best shot. That's all you can do."
After a quick trip to the Pokémon center, Serena found herself standing in front of the giant, daunting doors once again. Only this time, apprehension and nervousness trumped any excitement she could have felt. She stood there, staring, heart pounding from her wrists and felt in her neck. It suddenly felt harder to breathe as her foot tapped impatiently, waiting for her mental courage to catch up with the epinephrine rushing through her body.
"You ready, neighbor?" The young man's successfully woke her up from her trance.
"Huh? Oh." She gently gnawed the inside of her bottom lip. Calem could easily tell anxiety was eating her alive. "You don't have to go in with me."
"I want to see you win your first badge." How could he be so calm when Serena felt as though her pulse would burst through her veins? How could his eyes be so hopeful and expectant of her victory when she wasn't even sure she'd be able to walk through the doors again? "I want to see how you battle. Besides, I've been training you for the past few days. You're almost like my student at this point." He laughed quietly, not wanting to upset her at all, but trying to ease her tension.
"So you're using me as an experiment to see how good of a teacher you are?" She
arched an eyebrow but her cruelness of the thought ironically managed to make her smile bit.
"I wouldn't say that, but if that's how you want to look at it." He trailed off, seeming to be joking, but she truly couldn't tell. No matter. It was time for her rematch. "So again, are you ready?" This time, Calem pulled one of the heavy doors open, urging Serena to enter.
"No." Her eyebrows furrowed and she felt a sudden chill rush across her skin from inside the gym. "But I guess I'm going in anyway."
She timidly took step after step, her eyes not leaving the ground. Calem walked next to her, more serene than she could imagine. Must be nice to already have the badge. She hardly noticed when she was approached by the leader herself.
"Hey, both of you challenged me just the other day, didn't you?" The woman spoke jubilantly. "Back for a rematch?"
"No, I mean..! Ye- Uh," Crap, get it together Serena. She looked to Calem in panic that she seemed to forget how to talk. He did his best to hold in a chuckle and simply nodded at her, as if to say just chill, you can do it. "Yes." Serena finally said firmly, looking the blonde leader straight in her eyes. You don't have to hold your breath, she reminded herself, exhaling for a long second.
"Perfect! You got to me just in time!" Viola gave a warm smile, but Serena knew not to mistake her friendliness for weakness. "You know the rules already, so let's get straight to it!" She detached a Net ball from her belt and pressed the center button, enlarging it and preparing to start the battle.
"Right, um," Serena took another deep breath as she found the two Pokéballs in her bag she would battle with. "Okay.. Sylvester.. you're up first…!"
Serena had been hurt many times in her life. It hurt when that mean boy in kindergarten pushed her and made her scrape her knee on the concrete. It hurt when her "friends" in Unova decided she wasn't cool enough to hang with them anymore. It hurt when her dad walked out on her. And it certainly hurt when Chase fought so hard for her during their first match against Viola, only to be disappointed in defeat.
But she couldn't think of any of that pain at the moment. In fact, at that moment, upon hearing the following words, she swore she'd never felt pain in her life.
"Vivillon is unable to battle. Leader Viola is out of Pokémon. Challenger Serena is the winner!"
"We won." Her lips barely parted. She hardly vocalized any sound upon speaking those words, but she felt the impact hard. "We won.."
'WE WON! I DID IT! We did it Serena!' Chase cheered loudly, more exuberantly than he had in his life. 'We won!'
"We.. actually won." A grin slowly crept upon Serena's face, growing bigger, and bigger, and eventually erupting into a widespread fit of joyous laughter. "Yes! I did it!" She laughed as she high-fived Calem, her number-one supporter on the sidlines. "We won Chase! Way to go Sylvy!" She finally shouted in delight, kneeling to the ground to fully embrace both of her loving, well-deserved Pokémon. "Sylvy, you did so awesome against Surskit. And Chase! You dodged Vivillon's attacks like a total champ!" She didn't care if she spoiled her team with praise - they deserved it. "I'm so proud of you guys!" Calem smiled widely as he watched the girl; she clearly loved her Pokémon more than anything, and that was reason enough to have immense respect for her.
"Serena," Viola approached the victorious young woman, "congratulations! You got pretty darn tough, and fast too. I'll bet you're gonna do some pretty amazing things. And so," she extended her hand to Serena, holding none other than the bug badge. It was the same one that Calem had, although Serena swore this one looked bigger - more dazzling -for some reason.
"Th-thank you so much, Miss Viola!" She stumbled to her feet. "This is an incredible honor. Thank you so much!" She repeated.
"Don't thank me, you've earned it! Now if you don't mind," Viola picked up the camera that hung around her neck, "would it be all right if I took a picture of you two?" Slightly confused, Serena followed Viola's eyes to Calem, who was approaching the two ladies.
"Oh, well, sure." Serena shrugged. Honestly, she thought she would do anything for Viola at the moment. Serena was so grateful.
"What?" Calem didn't realize what he just walked into.
"Nothing. Just smile!" Serena said as she stood next to him - leaving a comfortable amount of space between the two.
"A picture?" He asked stupidly. "Well sure, why not?"
"Great," Viola mumbled as she adjusted her camera's aperture, "I normally photograph Pokémon," she paused to slightly bite her lip. Now for the shutter speed. "But you two have such great fashion. You make a really cute couple."
"What?!"
Snap.
Author's Note:Thank you for the kind reviews and for subscribing to this story! It means a lot to me that you're interested in my first multi-chapter fic. I've been planning this a lot and I do hope you continue to read and enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. I really want to spread the kalosshipping love. Maybe it's just me, but I see a little connection starting to bud here hehehe. But Calem may be getting a biiit too cocky. Careful, buddy. Serena may surprise ya. Best wishes, until the next update!