Well folks, here's the next Battle Chateau chapter! And in case you're wondering, no, Gary will not be joining the main group. He will be a recurring character more often than others, alongside someone else who will be joining him on his adventures. I am also going to be starting hints of a ship with him, as I can't let the poor guy get outdone by Ash in that department. Also, I apologize for not having any Rider Action since the Viridian Forest chapter, but I don't just want to have a fight in every chapter and I'm trying to go in a bit of a different direction with certain things. However, once the first of the Starters comes into play, I will include more rider fights. Please let me know if I am doing a good or bad job with these fight scenes, both Poke and Rider. Also, I started this before I knew anything about Scarlet and Violet. I have an Idea on their Legandaries that I can implement this early if you want. Just say so in a review and if I did it correctly a Poll. Please vote there, it will be over once Bulbasaur enters the scene. That's enough yapping! Time for Serena to take on her first Chateau challenge! (BRAVE DRAGON!) HENSHIN! (REKKA BATOU!) I MISSED THIS!
POKERIDERS OOO AND BUILD: THE RANK OF COURAGE!
Serena woke up early given the times that were posted on the Battle Chateau and was going over what Pokemon to use during it. In the end, she decided to go with Ralts, as there weren't any native Dark type Pokemon and there weren't many Pokemon that could take the Fairy attacks. They all headed over to the building.
"You made sure to get registered to compete in the Chateau, right, Serena?" Ritchie asked as he didn't recall seeing Serena register in Pewter City.
"I did, but they didn't take my Pokedex. They gave me this." Serena held out a gold foil piece of paper that read, "Official registration notice for Serena Gabena."
They arrived right when the doors opened to allow Trainers to come in. Serena immediately went to the counter with her slip when she was surprised at who was in front of her.
"Lafleur? Why did you come all the way from Viridian City?"
The man looked at her funny, then laughed. "No. Lafleur is my brother. There are 6 of us in the Pierre family. You're not the first to make that mistake. I am Pierre Jean, Magistrate of the Cerulean City Battle Chateau. My brother did let me know about you and I see you have the slip. You will be starting out at the Baroness level. Is anyone else participating in the tournament?"
"No but we would like to watch and support Serena if we could." Jean nodded and motioned his head to follow him. A handmaiden appeared and took the girls to their dressing room. Ash found the outfit he wore last time while Brock found a boulder grey tux outfit and Gary put on a formal tuxedo that was colored grey, brown and green with a dash of blue lace. He finished first and let the others know he was heading over to the battlefield viewing platform to get a good spot for everyone.
A battle was currently underway between a boy with a Krabby and a girl with a Pidgey. He saw a good place to sit and watch the festivities while saving everyone a seat and headed over there. Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking and bumped right into someone causing them both to end up on the floor.
"Dah! Sorry! Was making sure no one took the seats I … saw?" He began until he looked at the face of who he bumped into. It was a blue-haired girl in a blue and white dress that made her look like a princess but what caught Gary's attention the most was her brown eyes. To Gary, they looked like the most beautiful eyes in the world and time seemed to stop.
Miette had seen Serena in the dressing room and after saying hello and catching up headed out to see who her competition was. She was watching a match from the elevated watch area when someone bumped right into her.
"HEY! WATCH WHERE … you're going?" She cut herself off when she saw a boy with brown hair and a Shiny Chespin on his shoulder with an Eevee on his other on the floor across from her. One whom she thought was quite adorable.
Neither of them moved just staring at each other, frozen in time. They began to move closer together, until someone brought them back to reality.
"Are Gary and Miette ok, big brother?"
They immediately jumped away from each other when Molly asked that question. Ash just chuckled at this while Serena, while smiling, had a bit of a jealous twinge in her since it seemed Gary was also attracted to Miette and yet Ash didn't seem to notice her feelings.
"Would Serena Gabena please report to the Red Battlefield?"
Serena was brought out of her thoughts as she heard her name.
"Well, I need to head over there. See you!" She called as she turned heel and took off for the battlefield entrance. Miette just shook her head, then turned to Gary.
"So, what's your name?" She asked while blushing a bit, which Gary had a rare moment of being embarrassed as he bashfully scratched his head, Chespin and Eevee smirking at each other.
"Gary Oak." He said as he then hurried over to his seat. Miette couldn't help but giggle at this. He was nervous around her, already a good sign.
3 rounds later, and Serena was in the finals. Miette, being of a higher rank, couldn't challenge those below her. As such, she mostly stayed to see how well Serena had improved.
"So, her Fennekin has gotten better, and Ralts definitely has gotten stronger." She inquired to Gary, seemingly not budging from her seat next to him, which really didn't sit well. He was blushing like crazy and trying not to look at her legs since her outfit here wasn't her main battle dress, but a shorter skirt variety. Which, given how she looked like a princess, was making it very hard for him not to focus on her.
"All Serena must do now is take down the next trainer and she rises to the rank of Viscountess." Ash said, trying not to be obvious with his blush, which, unfortunately, did not go unnoticed by Molly and Ritchie, giving each other a knowing smirk.
"Yeah, but will she use Fearow? I ask as there is a rule in the Chateau that says that the level of your Pokemon must match the level of your rank. Baroness' can only use up to Level 20 Pokemon, otherwise they are disqualified. And I'm worried Fearow is just barely on the edge of it." Brock said nervously, but Misty shook her head.
"Fearow's not yet used to his new body, so Pidgeotto is helping him out with it. She's giving someone else a try." Everyone was now curious about which one Serena had chosen.
Serena was now on her final opponent. Some boy named Razil, but he kept insisting that he be called "Razer" which really didn't make sense to her, and she REALLY didn't like the looks he was giving her after he saw her first battle.
"So Sweet cheeks, after I trounce you, what do you say to a date?" Razer asked arrogantly before getting quite the glare from Jean, who would not tolerate this crap.
"May the Mademoiselle and Gentleman please curtsy and bow to one another to show respect?" Jean asked though he sounded very sarcastic when he said gentleman. Serena did so, though very reluctantly. Razer did the most over the top bow and Serena swore she saw him with a camera before Jean swiped it and crushed it.
"Sneasel! To the field!" A black weasel like Pokemon with a feather on its head appeared, with quite a smirk on its face. Serena just smiled, knowing how good her choice was for this matchup.
"LUCA! LET'S SHOW THEM WHAT WE'RE MADE OF!" Serena cried out, revealing her pink Riolu, who stood forth ready for a fight. Razer then smirked a Gengar smirk.
"Use Icy wind!" Sneasel obliged and then, a plume of snow began to fall before rushing at Luca, who grimaced at the cold, but held firm. She could still see Sneasel since he was black with 3 pink feathers. He kinda stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Use Quick Attack!" Serena shouted as Luca then began to rush at great speeds towards Sneasel. Razer then smirked.
"Use Agility!" With that, Luca got ready to ram into Sneasel, but found herself hitting air. Looking around, she suddenly realized she had no idea where Sneasel was. No sign of black, no sign of the pink feathers.
"Use Beat Up!" Luca suddenly felt something hit the back of her head, she turned in the direction, then felt something hit her side. She was turning around like crazy, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from.
Razer knew that Sneasel was bouncing around the battlefield, using the higher rocks, the shadows, everything to hide from the very Super Effective Fighting type.
Luca was getting bashed left and right, unable to tell where the attacks were coming from! Serena hoped her next attempt would do it.
"Use Rock Smash on the ground!" Luca charged up her right fist, and pounded the ground as hard as she could! The arena began to buckle around her, not putting out the wind, but ruining the areas Sneasel could hide. And she finally saw the black bulb with pink feathers.
"Now Quick Attack and Rock Smash when you get close!" Luca took off for the shape and readied the Rock Smash when she got close, ready to end it!
"Use Endure!" Sneasel heard his Trainer's command and crossed his arms in front of him, taking the blow. Luca and Serena thought it was over, until Sneasel smirked and slashed Luca across the face with its claws, knocking her away from it. Serena then saw Luca was on her last leg.
"Luca! I know it hurts, but we're close! We just need to do one more attack and then Sneasel is done!" Luca knew Serena was right, but it wasn't going to be easy. Sneasel had already gone back to Agility, meaning she lost track of him.
"Luca! Close your eyes and use your aura sense to figure out where he is and then hit him with Rock Smash!" Luca heard that, and began to focus, tuning out the sounds of the wind. And admitted something to herself. While she was attracted to Ash's Riolu, she also held jealousy at the fact that he somehow knew Aura Sphere, a move she would not learn until her evolution. The reason why? She knew this Sneasel would have been knocked out in 10 seconds flat.
She would not have been backed up like this, and she wouldn't have Serena so worried for her. That Sneasel might know Agility, but Aura Sphere would home in until it hit. It never missed! She then began to concentrate energy into her fist, having sensed Sneasel's location, but she noted how fast he was moving around her. She then clenched her fist, reading Rock Smash, but then something happened. The energy for Rock Smash was dissipating, but not away from her. It was coalescing right in front of her palm. It didn't feel like Aura, but it was the best shot she had. She wound back and let it rip!
Sneasel had just gotten on top of a spire when this huge rush of energy came at him! Taken by surprise, he was knocked off the spire and crashed hard into the ground! Serena stared at Luca as she pulled out her Pokédex.
"Vacuum Wave. By concentrating the energy into the center of the palm, this signature move of Riolu is used as Practice for the beginning stages of Aura Sphere."
Serena smiled. She knew that Vacuum Wave would always go first, but Luca didn't need to move for that.
"Luca! Use Vacuum Wave one more time!" Razer then got extremely worried.
"Use Endure, Sneasel!" Sneasel tried to get its guard up, but Luca was faster thanks to having learned Vacuum Wave. It connected and it was clear, he wasn't getting back up.
"Sneasel is unable to battle! Having won her final battle, Serena is now the rank of Viscountess!" Jean declared as Serena stood still for a moment, then grew a wide smile as she rushed towards Luca, who also had a beaming smile.
"We did it! Our first climb in the Battle Chateau ranks!" Everyone cheered for Serena, as they began to exit.
Everyone had changed out of the fancy clothes, and headed for a hotel.
"So, you already took on Daisy, right Gary?" He nodded and was annoyed.
"Even though I had *ahem* 'FOLLOWED' the directions to book at least 2 hours in advance, the pink haired dum dum and the blue haired moron tried to interrupt the fight for a ballet show that was not scheduled for the day!" Ash face palmed at the information, making it clear those two would try to interfere with the fight even if he was facing Misty. He was trying to figure out a way around it, when he saw someone off in the distance.
"Uh, everyone else sees him right?" He asked as he pointed his finger in the direction of the person he saw. Everyone looked, and then nodded their heads as they saw who he was talking about.
"OK, then. I think I know a way to get word to your dad and mom, Misty." With that, Misty smirked at the very idea of them trying to stop this fight. She promised Ash a good fight, and gosh darn it, she was going to deliver.
FOLKS, I APOLOGIZE FOR HOW LONG THIS CHAPTER TOOK MAKING, WORK HAS BEEN AN ABSOLUTE HEADACHE AND THE RISING TEMPERATURES WHILE I WORK OUTSIDE HAVE TAKEN THEIR TOLL. ADD ON THE FACT MY OLD COMPUTER CHAIR BROKE TO WHERE I COULDN'T SIT UP STRAIGHT AND I HAVEN'T BEEN EAGER TO WRITE THIS PARTICULAR STORY FOR SOME TIME. ENOUGH TO MAKE A COMPLETELY SEPARATE FANFIC ON THE SIDE! BUT AFTER THE GYM CHAPTER, I SHOULD BE BACK UP AND RUNNING FAST! LIKE I SAID BEFORE, IN A REVIEW OR ON THE POLL, LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT ME TO ADD KORAIDON AND MIRAIDON TO ASH AND SERENA'S PARITES. I THINK THEIR BIKE MODES WOULD COME IN HANDY FOR WRITERS! UNTIL THEN, AND IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I COULD SAY IT IN THIS FANFIC …
THE SABER IN YOUR HAAAAANNND, IS A PEN TO WRITE IT DOOOOOWWWN! WORDS TO SAVE THIS WOOOOOORRRRLLLLD!