Step by step, the top of the staircase was out of site for longer than Serena's already exhausted body cared for. Part of her wanted to crawl into bed for the evening; wasn't shattering the dreams of one of your few friends enough for a day?
Korrina led Serena and Shauna through the Tower of Mastery. The blonde leader pointed to different doors and paintings along the way, explaining the tower's lore with bright eyes and a passionate smile. Stories that transcend generations resonate through each crack in the walls and each creak in the stairs. She really seemed to take pride in her connection to the place.
Shauna listened intently, probably more than Serena was able to at the time, taking a fascination with the architecture. It would make for a great picture for her album. She noticed her arm was occupied - Serena was still latching onto her. Shauna shrugged; she could get the pictures later.
Korrina took a breath upon reaching the top step. "Well, this is it. Sorry for the wait. It's kinda tradition for new apprentices of gramps to be 'knighted' up here, as it's told." She winked, beckoning for the girls to follow her to the rooftop outside.
Serena looked to Shauna before proceeding. The smaller girl gave her a warm smile and a nod as if it nudge her forward.
Serena knew they had done quite the load of stair climbing just now, but she didn't realize exactly how much until she could see the outside ground from the top of the tower. People below looked hardly larger than ants. She gulped, the fear almost surpassing the exhilaration. Almost.
"Okay Serena," Korrina began. "It is time." The blonde put on her best comically serious voice as she approached the girls. "Hold out your hand."
"S-sure," Serena stumbled, finally retrieving her arm from Shauna's and extending herself to Korrina as the latter slid a shiny bracelet around her wrist. "What's this?"
"This is your keystone. You need to be wearing this any time you want to mega evolve. The concept of a emotional connection, or a bond is a very abstract concept. This bracelet is what channels your bond to your Pokémon in a tangible form of concrete energy. "
"It's beautiful," Shauna exclaimed, eyes wide with admiration.
"Now for the fun part," Korrina smirked, releasing two Pokémon from her belt. Two Lucario emerged. "I'm guessing you don't have any Pokémon who can mega evolve yet, so we're going to battle once more, Lucario against Lucario."
The idea of battling with someone else's Pokémon didn't thrill Serena, but damn it, after all she went through to get here, she was going to mega evolve one way or another.
Before she had a chance to ask who would be her partner, the younger of the two blue Pokémon had already jumped to her side.
Korrina nodded. "Looks like Morgan will be your partner. He already has his mega stone, so he should be ready to go if you are. Put your hand over the keystone and just tell him to 'mega evolve' as you would any other battle command; the mega stone will take care of the rest."
Even after all the waiting she's done for this moment, it still felt rushed. She felt the need to get to know Morgan, at least learn his battling preferences. It wasn't ideal, but she wasn't about to complain. "Let's do it."
Korrina balanced her feet as she thrust a curled fist into the air. "Ivan, let's go! Mega evolve!"
Sparks and flashes, light enveloped the larger Lucario as he let out a battle cry. It was different from a regular evolution. It was brighter, radiating even more power. Ivan the Lucario now stood taller and even more robust than before, with shades of red accentuating his aged features.
The powerful aura radiated throughout the sacred arena, the bond forged between Korrina and Ivan practically visible as it resonated between the duo.
Shauna's jaw dropped, having never yet witnessed an evolution herself. "So cool!"
"My turn …" Serena mumbled to herself. "Okay, Morgan, mega evolve!" Morgan closed his eyes, preparing for the transformation. He grounded his feet as his teeth snarled, a ritual he was used to as a means of intimidating his foe. Serena held her breath as she waited.
And waited.
… And waited.
Korrina blinked a few times expectantly. "Try it again," she suggested.
"Mega evolve!" Serena ordered again, in what sounded more like a plea than an order.
And still, all that was to be seen was Serena collapsing to her knees. The only sound to be heard was her heart shattering into a million fragments of self-loathing. "What…" was the only word that fell from Serena's lips.
"Ugh, seriously?" Korrina's hand slapped against her own head. "Of course it wouldn't work. You have no bond with Morgan. Why did I think I could just force him on you and you'd be good to go?" Her lips pursed, feeling increasing guilt each second Serena didn't respond. "Ivan, return."
Both Korrina and Shauna approached the sunken Serena, the former taking more caution than the latter. Shauna immediately dropped to her knees beside her friend.
"I knew it. I can't mega evolve." Serena muttered through barely parted lips. Her eyes spaced out straight in front of her, hardly aware of the girl on the ground beside her.
"Serena, hey!" Shauna started, wanting to grab the girl and hug her, but unsure if she was comfortable with contact right now. "It's not your fault! You just need to keep practicing! Right Korrina?"
The blonde nodded. "Absolutely. I should have known better. But if anyone is able to do it, it's you. I've seen you battle, and Gramps wouldn't trust just anyone with a keystone."
Serena answered with a single groan. "Of course I'd need extra work. Just like always. Nothing ever comes easy for me, does it?"
Korrina extended a hand to the fallen trainer, a sympathetic smile gracing her features. "If it were easy, anyone could do it."
Serena took Korrina's hand and pulled herself to standing. She brushed her skirt off and took a deep breath. "Sure, I'm used to that by now. But if you really think there's hope…"
"There is!" Shauna interjected.
"Right." Korrina affirmed. "We'll all work together to find a mega stone that suits one of your Pokémon so you can practice mega evolution right away!"
She managed to pull one corner of her lips into a forced half-smile. At least there's still a chance…
Morgan pulled attention away from the suffering trainer, communicating in barks to the young gym leader.
"Mm," Korrina hummed in response. She followed the Lucario's gestures from himself to Serena. A sigh escaped her lips before nodding.
Shauna tilted her head, completely perplexed. "Can you really understand him?"
"I think so. I believe he wants to join Serena on her journey… That way she can start practicing mega evolution immediately. Is that right, Morgan?"
Lucario nodded in a stern, dutiful agreement.
A wistful grin crept its way to Korrina's lips that fell within a matter of seconds. "Then so be it. Serena? What do you think?"
What on Earth just happened? Serena's eyes darted between Korrina and Morgan, her lips parted and vocal cords seemed to be tied in knots. Did I just get another Pokémon? Without realizing, her eyes trailed to Shauna, who offered one of her warm, reassuring smiles. Her green eyes radiated all the warmth of spring and the gentle curve of her lips somehow always made Serena feel like things would be ok. And with this, she remembered how to talk again.
"I mean… If you're both all right with this." She finally managed. With a silent exchange between Korrina and her trusted Lucario, Morgan was suddenly at Serena's side. He looked up to her with years of wisdom far beyond his own age. Serena swallowed hard; she hardly felt worthy of teaming up with such an experienced partner - especially one whom she hadn't had the privilege of raising herself. But if it meant a giant leap towards actually being able to use mega evolution …
"Absolutely," Korrina affirmed, kneeling down to be eye -level with Morgan. "You watch out for her okay? Don't give the poor girl too much trouble, got it?" With a strained smile that carried a visible weight, Korrina placed a quick kiss on Lucario's head. "Keep working together and you'll be mega evolving in no time. In the meantime, Serena, come challenge my gym. We'll have a real battle, mega Lucario against mega Lucario." With a playful wink and flip of her hair, her back was to the girls and she was heading toward the staircase that led to the rooftop.
A few moments after her departure, Serena let a sigh slip that had been boiling inside her for a while.
"Serena?" Shauna asked, her eyebrows furrowing together in concern.
"Sorry, I'm fine." She spattered with a wave of her hands. "Just disappointing, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. But if anyone can do it, it's you."
Serena huffed. "Everyone keeps saying that, but I don't know."
"Serena, Amour," Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Shauna pursed her lips in a pout. "We keep saying it because we all believe in you, and we have since day one. You just don't believe in yourself, and that's going to hold you back more than anything."
For someone so small, Shauna sure seemed big sometimes,
"How do I believe in myself? I can't just snap my fingers and magically have confidence."
"Afraid I can't help you there," she strutted to Serena, gently taking both hands in hers. "But you let me know if there's anything I can do. You need a sparring partner? I'm there. You need to take a break and go shopping? I'll have a shopping bag in hand with your name on it. I'll do whatever I can to help you, as long as you don't give up. Okay?"
She smiled. She genuinely smiled which sent a vibe of relief throughout her veins. "Okay." Her entire body was free of tension for the first time that entire day. Nothing had been solved; nothing had been fixed. But having a sincere friend in this mess certainly helped. Serena tightened her grip on Shauna's hands. "Thank you. What would I do without you?"
Shauna chuckled, smiling through warm cheeks. "I'm sure you'd hardly notice I was gone. Now come on, let's go. You have a gym match to train for."
Shauna may not have been the most dedicated to training and mastering the art of Pokémon battles, but she sure as hell put up a good fight when sparring against Serena. Day by day, Shauna held true to her word and helped Serena and Morgan train every day by giving her a partner to battle with. Serena took the opportunity to learn Morgan's strengths and comfort zone in battling. It was always a priority of hers to make sure her Pokémon were not only doing their best, but also enjoying themselves while battling. So she'd work with their individual battle styles and formulate plans accordingly.
Morgan had a strong physical attack, which was good. Serena had plenty of experience with brute physical fighters between Sylvester and Kristie, the newly evolved Wartortle.
"Thank you Peanut, you did great!" Shauna declared, returning her Frogadier to his ball. "Sorry, Serena. I gotta call it today. We're exhausted."
Wiping her forehead with the back of her hand, Serena shook her head. "No worries, we can take it from here." She kneeled beside the Lucario, giving him victory head pats. "Thank you for the help again, Shauna. I really think we're making some progress."
"No kidding," she huffed, chuckling as she stretched her body. "I can't even hope to come close to beating you. Morgan is already tough, but now that you're working together, you're totally in sync! You two will be dangerous. Unstoppable, even!"
"Heh, well. I've got a great partner battling alongside me, and a pretty fierce trainer helping me." She winked playfully.
Shauna averted her gaze, crossing her arms in front of her. "I'll be heading back to the Pokémon center for the evening."
"Sure," Serena said. "I'll call you tomorrow."
Within seconds, Shauna was out of sight. Serena took a deep breath, and for the sake of saying she tried, pressed a hopeful hand to her mega ring. "Mega evolve."
Morgan closed his eyes, anticipating to be enveloped in light in a transformation he had done many times before with his previous trainer. But still, nothing happened.
With a knowing hum slipping through closed lips, Serena's hands dropped back to her side. Sitting down on a nearby bench, Morgan followed close beside her. Serena gave his head small pets as he purred, leaning into her touch.
"I'm sorry, Morgan. I'm sure this is frustrating for you, too." He looked up to meet her gaze for a moment, but relaxed once her pats continued. "You've mega evolved probably countless times with Korrina, yet you're stuck with me, who can't even do it once. Still, I'm really grateful to have you battling at my side. Mega evolution is really important to me. You see, I need to get a grasp on this. My dad …." She paused, taking in a breath, contemplating whether she wanted to finish that thought. She decided to go with it. "He left my mom and me and I've dedicated these two badges to my mission to show him what he gave up. But I can't stop here; I need to go all the way to the champion. I can't do that if I can't mega evolve …" Her voice trailed off, taking the moment to silently clear her throat, along with the doubts surrounding that thought. "That's why I need to do this. To prove to him that he made a mistake." And to prove to herself that she was more than a clumsy eighteen year old with no real talents. "Sorry for rambling," she chuckled, but a smile curved its way onto her lips. "Thank you for listening and for working with me, Morgan. I really do appreciate it."
Morgan let the euphoric rumbling of his throat do the response for him as her curled into her ever gentle ministrations.
He knew. He received the spiel from Chase as the grass starter seemed to have colorful things to say about Serena's father every day. Still, hearing the words come from Serena was different than hearing Chase explain. She spoke differently about her father. While there was certain bitterness and resentment, never would she describe her father as "a selfish shit," or "fuck face of a father" as he heard Chase do so.
The sun had set. The stars hung overhead in a clear indigo sky. Morgan lay sprawled out in what was obviously a blissful nap in the grass they used for training grounds just earlier that day. The evening breeze that was tranquil and warm turned brisk as the sky turned from orange to purple. As much as she basked in the night, she decided to turn in for the evening.
A rustling in the bushes caught Serena's attention. Maybe if it weren't dark - maybe if she weren't exhausted from training - maybe if she hadn't been so lost in thought - maybe she would have reacted sooner when a red figure emerged from the shadow, or the command that shot from his voice. Maybe she would have been able to stop the Pokémon with fangs of fire that charged full throttle toward Morgan.
Red. Red was her vision. Red was the fire spewing from the fangs of the enraged Houndoom. Red was her blood that boiled with rage, protection, and epinephrine. Red was the mocking suit that hugged the curve of the man's torso. So red it was a red-hot slap to her face that she didn't see him sooner.
...
Red was the blood that stained the green blades of grass lying beneath.
Black eyes opened wide with the sound of a pained shriek.
And suddenly, red was replaced with blue.
Serena hissed a curse through clenched teeth, desperately clutching at her now-wounded leg. Pain shot through her entire body as she winced. The enemy Houndoom licked her blood off his snout as it readied another lunge.
Without a second to spare, Morgan was wide awake and at his trainer's side.
"Hi sweetheart, remember me? Fancy running into you here." The Flare grunt flipped his bright red hair with a cocky smile on his twisted face. "Hasn't anyone told you it's dangerous for a pretty little thing to be out alone at night?" The main chuckled, resting his hands on his hips. "Although I was only trying to rile up your Pokémon, I didn't intend on you jumping in the way of my sweet little Houndoom."
Morgan wasted no time in forming an aura sphere and hurling it toward his foe. The blast left an indented trail in the grass beneath them before striking Houndoom, knocking it back several feet and slamming into the ground with an undignified crash.
"Attacking a Pokémon while he's sleeping. What a -" Serena cringed as a wave of pain shot through her once more. "Little bitch." Even with her own blood trailing down her extremities, she wasn't about to let him escape without calling him out. And kicking his ass, of course.
"Houndoom, get up! Flamethrower!"
The fire type whimpered, pulling himself up to standing on shaking limbs. He growled as he prepared to incinerate.
"Don't let him," Serena growled. "Bone rush - stop him!"
Team Flare wanted to use an obvious type advantage, so could she. Luckily for her, Morgan was fast, and far stronger. No wonder they needed to rely on an ambush if they wanted any hope of succeeding in whatever they were trying to accomplish.
So with bone in hand, Morgan side-stepped his way out of the flamethrower projectile range and charged toward the Houndoom in a speed that rivaled teleportation. Before Houndoom could cease his attack, his own bones cracked under the ground-attack's impact.
Morgan struck like a home-run winning swing which didn't fail to keep Houndoom down for good.
The Flare grunt returned the fire type to his Pokéball and retreated into the bushes without another word like cockroach fleeing from the light .
Morgan ceased his growling and turned his attention to Serena's wound. It was bleeding profusely. She cursed through gnashing teeth upon putting weight on the bitten limb; walking was out of the question. Why she took the attack for a Pokémon she hardly knew, he couldn't understand. One hand holding the open wound, her other wound grasped her head, her balance suddenly faltering and her eyes slipping shut. Morgan felt a myriad of different emotions, but he didn't hesitate in picking her up in his arms and rushing her to the Pokémon Center. It was a bumpy ride, Morgan being more than a whole foot shorter than his trainer in height, but the lull of sleep was too appealing for her to ignore.
Author's Note: Only 4 month hiatus this time! Go me. Short ish chapter but the good news is I have the whole next chapter outlined already so it shouldn't be too long. I was supposed to get further in this chapter but I just don't like reading long chapters personally. Where are we now? Kristie is evolved, Morgan is on our side (named after my precious fire emblem son) and oh no Serena gon die fam. Thanks for sticking with me through this crud-show of a fanfic; my organization and timing could be loads better but I was a wee 19 years old when this began; I was 19 and new to writing and didn't know any better. Oh well, stick around and enjoy the ride cuz we're in it for the long haul. B-) (but hopefully not too much longer).
Also there is a guaranteed chance I'll be writing for a certain show about a ladybug and a black cat -u- I am miraculous trash so strap in kids, we're going into the pit. This fic will always get priority tho! Best wishes; until next update!