Compared to animation, where you can play with images, music (I'm sure that's where 90% of your emotions come from!) and colours, you are much more limited when it comes to writing. A lot of people say it, and I'm the first: you have an image in your head, but you can't get it down on paper.
I suppose that's because our main challenge, more than describing images, is to give our story a 'flow'. If I'm not mistaken, it's a question of rhythm, figures of speech, narrative tone, surprising the reader with words they weren't necessarily expecting when they read the beginning of the paragraph x). I think TakaiTotem's 'Baby's Breath' is very good at this: its basic premise could be described quite simply, but he knows exactly how to turn it into something exciting, strange and mysterious.
Passiflore awaits you
The stifling heat, the boring landscape of greyish rocks, the nauseating smoke, Shelly wasn't looking at the volcano's summit for personal pleasure. She tugged at the collar of her tight top, hoping to cool her dark skin. In vain, it only reminded her that she now reeked of sulphur and sweat, a far cry from the delicate scent of salt that usually accompanied her.
Right now, she could be diving with colourful pokemons, writing reports while admiring the glow of the ocean and enjoying the soothing sound of the rolling waves. And then there was the matter of looking after the ship and its famous paintwork, which was now nothing but rust. But that wasn't really on the agenda any more, as the captain had decided that he'd had enough of marine biology and intended to wake Kyogre up. An excellent idea, especially considering how it had ended the last time.
"What an idiot," she grimaced.
She naively believed that Archie's smile when they sailed together had been sincere, that he really had moved on. After all, hadn't he promised after their last failure that he wasn't interested in all that fuss anymore and wanted to start afresh? Shelly began to fiddle with her blue lock, one of the few strands of her black hair.
Marine biology... in the end it was just a joke, a cover that Archie had put in place while he worked out his new plan. And she'd been fooled right up until the moment he confessed his ambitions and asked for her help. Stupid, delusional, megalomaniac, those were the answers she had given him... So why had she followed him in the end?
"I'm such an idiot!" she shouted.
"Only now do you realise it," Matt joked behind her back.
Shelly stared for a few seconds at the letter 'A', the symbol of their team, emblazoned on the naked torso of the man whose imposing musculature seemed to have torn through the uniform. He was just a sailor who had crossed their path and felt indebted to the man who had saved his life. He had no ambitions, no particular desire to conquer the seas. He was just a sailor, devoted to his captain. A docile man who asked no questions when Archie appointed him Admin of the new Team Aqua.
"Are you done?" asked Shelly, hoping her ordeal would soon be over.
Matt nodded in the negative before explaining:
"Archie told me that he was in charge and that he'd prefer me to come and help you keep an eye on things."
"It's true he doesn't need someone next to him to push a tablet," she replied tartly.
"There's not much you can do on this side either," the Admin grumbled.
"Well, if it bothers you, you can go, I won't keep you!"
The man took a step back. He may have been tall, powerful and muscular, with leather hardened by years at sea, but he always lost his temper when the crew argued. Shelly let go of her turquoise curls and let her eyes wander over a couple of henchmen sitting in a circle playing cards. It wasn't the most effective method of keeping watch, but deep down Shelly didn't care. These men were not part of their old team, or even the crew they had formed shortly after their failure with Kyogre. All they cared about was the profit they could make by taking control of the legend of Hoenn. The worst part was that Archie knew this, and yet he accepted them. What happened to the days when all the members of Team Aqua shared the same ideology, the same dream?
"You've been really nervous lately," Matt finally said.
"You don't have to tell me," she sighed. "You know we still haven't repainted our ship."
"What colour would you like?"
"White. White it is, with probably a blue border around it. Simple but smart."
"And we'd also have to rewrite the name, there are already three letters that are no longer visible."
Shelly crossed her arms with a small smile. If Archie were to join the discussion, he wouldn't hesitate to claim that everything had to be painted blue, with the only justification being that: 'Blue is the only real colour.' The woman looked behind her, trying to make out her boss's shadow through the white smoke.
"Do you think it'll work?" Matt asked suddenly, looking nervously behind him.
"How do I know?" she sighed.
"Don't make a bigger fool of yourself than you are. You're an old hand at Devon Corporation, you should know."
Another deep sigh from Shelly. She had indeed looked at the programmes for the machine Archie had made in Kalos. She wondered how he had managed to contact a lab there and convince them to build such a thing. Several tonnes of scrap metal, piles of electronic components, skilfully assembled to produce a beam of energy that, when mixed with the energy of Mount Chimney, would theoretically be able to recreate the Red Orb. The object that was supposed to control Kyogre, and which had been destroyed in their previous attempt. The orb that took control of Archie's mind back then...
"Frankly, I'd prefer it didn't work."
"I think you might get your wish. He's already tried five times and the lava barely trembled. Besides, his thing takes forever to charge."
"Taking a long time to work is different from not working," Shelly reminded herself, rubbing her eyes, which were stinging from the sulphur.
"Maybe this time he'll really be able to take control."
"No, Matt, I'll tell you what's going to happen: he's going to merge with the orb, go completely berserk and have a good laugh when he sees us running away from Kyogre."
"Then why are you helping him if you don't believe it?" he asked without the slightest hint of reproach in his voice.
Shelly froze. Why? Archie had never forced her to follow him, but... She touched her fingertips to the yellow goggles she always wore on her forehead. It was a gift from the captain, he said, to apologise for all the trouble he had caused her and to thank her for staying with him.
"To abandon a comrade at sea is to abandon yourself," she murmured. "So I won't run away, I'll stay with him until he comes to his senses."
"And what if he doesn't?"
The woman smiled slightly as she put her hands behind her back and looked up at the sky, perhaps the only thing that reminded her of the environment she loved.
"We're all in the same boat, so if the captain refuses to change the direction of his ship, we'll have to go down with him."
"As usual, in a nutshell," Matt replied with a loud laugh.
A sudden ringing sound drowned out the low rumble of the volcano. The man quickly picked up his Xtransceiver to hear the panicked voice of a henchman.
"She's back! The leader of Lavaridge Town is back and she's completely mad!"
"But did you stop her?"
"Well... she was pretty damn scary and..."
"OK, I get it, we'll just have to deal with it," Matt sighed.
"Yeah! Show her the power of Team Aqua Admins!"
"And you, what are you going to do?" asked Shelly.
"Well, what we originally planned. Actually, we're late taking over from the guys stationed at Lavaridge."
"There won't be a relay for the time being," the woman cut in.
"But they've been up all night watching the locals. We have to go and..."
"Enjoy the hot springs," Shelly added.
"Enjoy... No! We didn't mean to..."
"I'd prefer you to step up road patrols for the time being. It would be a nuisance if other trainers approached or, on the contrary, if the locals decided to flee."
"What about the guys at Lavaridge?"
"They'll be fine," she said, ending the discussion.
Matt had hung up and was warming up, turning his massive shoulders.
"I was convinced that the guys on the phone would get there before the leader, but it looks like I lost my bet," he said, puzzled.
"Did you really expect them to send a repairman in less than twenty-four hours? Poor thing, if they take less than a week to deal with the problem it'll be a real miracle."
"Well..." the admin replied, unconvinced.
Shelly winced, he was right to be sceptical. They had shut down the local telephone network, and had been doing so since yesterday. It was obvious that the operators weren't going to stand by and do nothing. Yet no one had come to check what was going on. It was as if they didn't care what happened to the town and the surrounding villages.
"Come on, Shelly, we've got to go now," Matt reminded her.
Indeed, the cries she could hear in the distance suggested that the leader would soon be joining them.
"Or let her do it and put an end to all this madness," the woman sighed.
"That's for sure, but..."
"I know. Somehow I don't have the courage to disappoint him either. Maybe that's why, instead of doing everything in my power to stop him, I prefer to help him in the mad hope that he'll change his mind when..."
"Like you said, we'll go down, but at least we'll never have given up on him."
Shelly took a deep breath, letting the stale air fill her lungs.
"Assuming that following and not giving up mean the same thing," she exhaled.
Ash was careful not to slip on the sloping floor of the crater. His tail swayed as he searched for the right balance, his claws digging into the small black stones and his tail flame swelled under the effect of the surrounding heat. He opened his mouth, letting the intoxicating fumes of the volcano caress his senses once more. Full-bodied, pungent, exhilarating, the sulphurous smell pleased him almost as much as... he turned to his trainer. Unlike the salamander, Serena covered her nose, unable to stand the foul breath of the volcanic mouth. As soon as she felt her friend's eyes on her, her foot slipped on the slag. She found herself with her leg outstretched, one hand and her knee on the ground. An uncomfortable position, but better than rolling around on the sharp stones.
"Char!" Ash worried.
The shapeshifter felt his heart calm as he saw her standing up. What's wrong with her? the former human gasped, noticing that the young girl was biting her lip with a nervous expression.
"I'm coming," she said hastily, quickening her pace to join him.
Was she worried about Flannery? It was true that at the rate they were going, they probably wouldn't find the leader before she'd finished cleaning up. But Ash didn't want his friend to break anything either. Serena slipped again, her body lurching forward, sending her plummeting into the slag.
"Serena!"
The shapeshifter had run back to her, afraid that this time she wouldn't be able to get up on her own. But Serena was already struggling to get back to her knees, a large abrasion on her elbow.
"It's nothing, I can keep going," she assured.
"It's not nothing!" the former human snapped.
The bloody wound must have hurt like hell. They had to get back to Flannery as soon as possible, but she had the right to stop for a few seconds to at least put a bandage on it. Ash noticed that his friend had that worried, almost frightened face again. She was clenching her fingers on the melanocratic rocks, a drop of blood dripping down her arm.
"Just give me a second, I'll..."
"Serena, calm down!" he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Flannery may very well... "
Ash stopped as he noticed a shadow emerging from behind a rock. He scratched his scales, wondering what kind of pokemon would attack them. But he was quickly reassured when he noticed the chubby body of a numel. The pokemon didn't seem concerned by the recent invasion, and approached them at a leisurely pace.
"You should take cover," Ash advised him when he was close enough to hear him.
Numel was used to it. His slow pace, his fixed gaze, his half-open mouth and his benign air. It was enough to draw scorn from humans and pokemon alike. And this reptile was no better, believing that it was an act of kindness to warn a poor, slow-witted numel. After all, it was a well-known fact that all members of his species were idiots with brains as runny as a marshmallow, and that his only chance of salvation was to evolve into an obese camel. Well, this lizard could believe whatever he wanted, Numel wouldn't waste his time answering him. After all, he didn't want to lose his train of thought, especially when it was coming to an end.
"I know it's not easy to understand, but there are a lot of bad people around at the moment and if they ever see you, they risk..."
He went on and on? What was wrong with everyone at the moment? Even that noisy girl who had arrived a little earlier, shouting that everything would be fine now that she was here. No, it wouldn't be, especially if this so-called saviour made a mess of the isolated temple that was Mount Chimney, with the sole purpose of measuring herself against other people who knew how to behave.
Numel continued his slow walk, completely ignoring the red-scaled monster's remarks. He had something much more interesting to think about, especially since those blue-clad humans had arrived with that strange machine. Given the way the magma had reacted, and based on the knowledge that the old numels, those who hadn't succumbed to the idiocy of evolution, had been passing on to the younger ones for many generations, he could naturally deduce that a new Red Orb would see the light of day. It was certainly strange that it was humans who were responsible for its creation, but... If he was right, then it was good news, very good news indeed, to know that there were still a few thinking beings left on Earth. And if the others who came to interrupt them, including this decerebrate Charmeleon, took the time to think, then they would understand. They would understand the importance of stopping everything before it became too serious. Because if things got worse, if they got out of hand, then...
"That would really be the end," Chamallot sighed.
Ash hadn't expected to be ignored like that. He knew that this pokemon was probably obsessed with his next meal, but still... Now he just hoped that the poor monster didn't have any bad encounters along the way.
"Are you worried about him?" the young girl asked.
At the moment, he was more concerned about the nasty wound on his friend's elbow than the air-headed pokemon.
"Don't worry, we'll beat them in no time."
"That's not the point... Besides, I have a feeling Flannery's doing just fine without us," he admitted, a little disappointed.
Serena lowered her head, convinced that the reptile was angry with her for slowing him down. Perhaps now that he'd seen the leader in action, he was beginning to think that his current trainer really wasn't up to the job. Especially when he saw that she couldn't even take two steps without falling... Flames shot past Serena's head, narrowly missing burning her hat.
"Don't get upset! I'm going to..." Serena panicked as she tried to stand up.
"Charme!" Ash shouted, grabbing her arm and pointing his claw at a golbat just behind her.
The trainer's eyes widened. She hadn't noticed anything, and if Charmeleon hadn't intervened... Why can't I help him properly? she muttered in despair, biting her lip.
The bat with the gaping mouth flapped its wings frantically, its crescent-shaped eyes fixed on the salamander. It was commanded by a slender woman, one of the few on this part of the volcano who had escaped Flannery's vendetta.
"I don't think I'll be much use to Matt and Shelly against the leader. On the other hand, I shouldn't have too much trouble getting rid of a kid," she strutted.
Ash snarled and bared his fangs. If she wanted to hurt Serena, then...
"Charmeleon, calm down!" the young girl urged him.
Too late, he had already leapt into the air, his mouth full of flames.
"Bite!" the woman ordered.
The shapeshifter hadn't expected such speed. He panicked and his attack dissipated, leaving him defenceless in the face of golbat's huge mouth, which threatened to swallow him whole. Fortunately, a bolt of lightning stopped the winged monster in its tracks and forced it backwards.
"How many times do we have to tell you not to rush headlong?" Minun taunted him from Serena's feet, his cheeks still flushed with sparks.
Ash landed awkwardly on his feet, relieved not to have to test golbat's protruding fangs. Still, in the next few seconds, he was likely to be subjected to something far more terrifying than a pokemon attack. That's why he was careful not to meet her eyes, hoping that she would forget about being angry with him.
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
Ash turned sharply, thinking he'd heard wrong. But Serena was looking down, her hand over her heart, the kind of expression she made when she felt guilty.
"Min?" the electric rabbit worried as he pulled on his trainer's coat, surprised that she didn't try to reprimand the reptile for his stupidity.
Ash looked his friend up and down, realising that in the end he would have preferred her to scold him. Was she ill? Had she eaten something bad? Or was she bleeding again, as she had told him?
"Do you know what's wrong with her?" asked Minun, his ears drooping.
If only he did... But how could he know what was wrong when she wouldn't explain anything to him? At the shapeshifter's silence, the electric pokemon growled:
"You're the one who's supposed to be human, you should understand her."
It was really as simple as 'He was human, so he must understand another human'. But her friend's behaviour was so... strange. All that talk about taking part in gym fights, and now she was apologising for... nothing.
"Don't ignore me!" their opponent shouted, stamping her foot.
Golbat was back on its feet, ready to resume the fight. That is, until a flamethrower came out of nowhere and knocked him back into the background.
"What was that?" the woman panicked.
"Flannery..." the trainer realised.
If you looked carefully through the thick smoke, you could make out small red and blue lights on the other side of the crater. The leader must have been so unleashed against the henchmen that one of her stray attacks had landed here. Serena shivered, so glad she was not her enemy. Glad? How could she be glad when she was afraid to face Flannery! If Charmeleon ever wanted to do gym battles, she would have to face the leader... And what if she lost? If Charmeleon lost because of her, how would he react?
Suddenly without her pokemon, the woman didn't feel like fighting any more. She slipped away discreetly, although a certain salamander couldn't take his eyes off her. But he had better things to do than chase after a demoralised bandit.
"Charme, charmeleon?" asked Ash.
The young girl put her hand to her chest, looking frightened at her friend. I won't bite you! the former human despaired.
"Very effective," Minun said, crossing his arms.
Ash blew out a breath before going behind his friend's back to rummage through her bag. Why couldn't she just behave and tell him what was bothering her? It wasn't like he didn't understand her language and... He finally found a large bandage and some disinfectant. Serena looked surprised but didn't move as he took her arm to apply the spray. He could feel her muscles tense in his hand. Yes, having experienced it many times, he knew it wasn't pleasant. Ash tried to work out how to position his claws to apply the bandage without damaging his friend's fragile skin.
"Charmeleon... do you..."
"That's better!" the shapeshifter rejoiced after finally succeeding.
Serena looked at him, completely confused. Why did he always act so... The reptile's pupils narrowed. There, amidst the opaque smoke rising from the crater, he had thought he had seen something. He wanted to know for sure.
"Wait here, I'll be back."
Minun rolled his eyes as he saw the reptile move away. Once again he had forgotten that the human couldn't understand him. Serena returned the rabbit to his pokeball before heading off in the direction her pokemon had taken.
So far, they had carefully avoided getting too close to the huge magma-filled hole at the center of the volcano. It was fleeting, hidden in the white smoke that was constantly rising, but there was a shadow that seemed to be flying at the center of this excavation.
"Be careful," the girl behind him swallowed.
Ash turned to see his trainer hesitating to get so close to the steep slopes that plunged into the red liquid. Maybe he should have taken more time to explain before he left, but... Sometimes he got the impression that Serena didn't understand him on purpose.
Now that she was with him, he could start walking straight along the thin line that separated him from the bowels of the earth. He walked at a slow pace, not in too much of a hurry, so as not to miss, like a certain leader, the great wire-mesh bridge that spanned the molten rock.
"We should wait for Fla..."
She had stopped speaking when Ash turned to her. She looked left and right, reluctant to meet her pokemon's gaze. I can... I can manage without her, the young girl told herself as she took the first step onto the steel gate. Serena tried not to look down as she made her way across the endless bridge. It was wide, really wide, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that she was really walking on a tightrope and that the slightest false step...
"Char," Ash growled.
They had reached the end of the truncated bridge where a silvery gleaming machine was suspended. Its enormous size seemed to bend the grid, threatening to shatter the metal. But one man didn't seem to mind. He sat motionless on the edge of the walkway, one leg dangling in the air. His tablet clutched to his chest, he seemed to be admiring the red-hot mass below, not the least bothered by the sickening smoke.
"It takes so long," the man breathed.
He stood up to face the two newcomers. It was clear from his clothing that he was high up in the hierarchy, and a huge anchor-shaped pendant hung around his neck. But even though he was dressed differently, there was no doubt in Ash's mind who he was. The bandit stood motionless for a moment, content to watch the trainer.
"What's wrong with him?" Serena asked in response to his silence.
Ash just shrugged. The last time he had met Archie, he had been much more talkative. The man walked towards the two intruders, his footsteps echoing on the gate and growing louder in the rocky gorge.
"You are from Kalos, am I right?" he shouted suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed.
Serena took a step back. She had never met this man, she was sure of it. And he didn't look like the type to be looking at Kalos' Pokemon Showcases. The man sighed in exasperation, his features drawn with deep annoyance.
"I'd say I was right. You've changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you, which is why the other guy didn't recognise you. Anyway, I must congratulate you on getting here, I suppose," he finishes, miming a round of applause.
"Stop laughing at me! We've never met!" snapped the trainer.
The man suddenly turned away from the girl and concentrated on the screen of the tablet. He let his finger hover over the screen for a few seconds, slight tremors of excitement running through him, before pressing down on the inert surface. The machine beneath their feet began to vibrate, pulling the wire mesh that supported it along with it. The horrible tinkling, the heat intensifying and the light condensing beneath the machine. Serena could only watch, unable to stop the beam as it shot towards the burning magma below. There was a strange gurgling sound as the lava rose like a wave. The burning tongue licked the rim of the crater, a small portion escaping while the larger mass returned to the glowing lake.
"Who says it's a good idea to do it this way?" the man growled. "And that little girl won't help!"
He stopped suddenly, watching the young trainer and the burning magma in turn. A smile formed on his lips, a twisted rictus that made Serena take another step back.
"And if for once you'd make yourself useful instead of getting in my way!"
Archie seemed to be gloating inwardly, as if he'd just caught a magikarp that had eluded his grasp.
"We've never met," she repeated in a weak voice.
She couldn't stand the look in his eyes, she hated the smell of sulphur in the air, she loathed the infernal heat.
"A long time ago, the locals used to say that you could speed things up by feeding the volcano. So, what do you think? If I throw you and your pokemon into the lava, what chance do I have of getting my orb back before tonight?"
Serena's heartbeat quickened. She took a few steps back, feeling the sweat dripping down her back. Was he serious? Was he really ready to... A smile. A smile from Archie was enough to send the trainer into a panic. She called out all of her pokemon and rushed to give them her orders. Ignoring the fact that she was asking them to attack a human directly, and forgetting that there was a gaping hole with a slimy bottom all around them.
"Please! You have to start your attacks!"
Even Ash didn't dare attack, too afraid that the bandit would fall into the magma gurgling below. For now, Serena had to calm down and then they would deal with Archie. But the man was not about to give them that time. He called to a shark with a prominent jaw before grabbing his huge pendant, which glowed like a stone at the level of his pokemon's tooth. Ash froze as he heard Serena's scream as the mega evolution opened its mouth, its long, yellow-marked nose pointing almost skywards.
"Hydro Pump," Archie shouted.
Serena found herself thrown backwards, off the gangway. She rolled on the slag, tiny sharp knives slicing through her skin. She didn't think about the pain as she struggled to her feet. She staggered and put her hand to her temple to stop the world spinning around her. She could feel the water soaking her hair and dripping onto her fingers, hoping it was just water. Her pokemons? Where were her... Her hand fell back. She could see Braixen curled up on the ground, while Pancham next to her closed his eyes, holding his bruised knee and stifled a scream. Serena opened and closed her mouth several times. It was heavy and her tongue felt terribly dry and heavy.
"Guys..."
Her voice was a thin gurgle. She turned her head when she heard a slight crackling sound. Plusle was in tears, trying to wake his unconscious brother with his weak shocks. A white ribbon was still wrapped around Minun's waist, and the young girl's eyes followed it until she saw Sylveon lying on her side, her wet cloak stained with grey dust.
How long had she stood there staring at them? Too long, far too long. Sylveon opened a tired eye and squeaked as she noticed Archie's face leaning over her. She pulled her ribbons back to her body, trembling right down to the tips of her long ears. Serena watched. The jaws trying to close on the fragile pokemon, the thin blue barrier that had protected Sylveon at the last second. Protect... How long had it been since the fairy type had used that attack?
"Sharpedo, this time done."
Sylveon's form suddenly disappeared in a flash of red light, as did the two rabbits with her. Serena was now holding the small spheres against her, as if protecting them with her arms would ensure that nothing happened to her friends.
"You want me to take care of you first?" he said with a toothy grin.
I have to call them back! I have to call them all back! the young girl panicked as she led Braixen and Pancham to safety. She thought she could feel the rocks vibrating, as if the man's footsteps were spreading through the volcano. Charmeleon? Where's Charmeleon?
"Meeee," she heard a groan behind her.
She turned, the last pokeball in her hand. But Archie's laugh, that horrible laugh that exploded in her ears, made her drop the capsule. And it rolled and rolled and rolled in front of the trainer's eyes.
"What are you playing at?" sneered Archie, running his hand through his black beard.
On her knees, she felt for the smooth, cold basalt floor, skinning her hands on the sharp rocks. She wiped her watery eyes with her arm; the small capsule was close, glinting among the dull stones. At last she touched it, at last her fingers wrapped around the cold metal, at last she could...
"Cha!" called Ash.
Serena lifted her head, realising the shark was only a few feet from her. Flannery? Where's Flannery! she panicked as she saw the sharp spines lining the monster's mouth, desperately hoping that the leader would come and save them.
But only Ash could hear her praying, only he could run towards the sea monster and electrify his fist to save her. Serena stayed behind, begging him to come back. He didn't listen, and struck Sharpedo with all his might. The shark hadn't even bothered to dodge the attack, and the former human felt the pain bite into his fist as it came into contact with the relentless scales. Ash didn't have time to regret his mistake, Serena couldn't even give an order, the predator had already caught the wretched reptile between its fangs.
The shapeshifter screamed as the icy cold from the razor blades spread through his body. He was thrown backwards and Serena lunged at him, catching him before he fell. She rolled to the ground, ripping off her clothes, peeling off the last bits of healthy skin and tearing off the bandage the shapeshifter had so carefully applied. Her pokemon hadn't been spared either, with numerous cuts splitting the scales and pieces of black stone embedded deep in the bloody wound that had mutilated his flank.
Ash tried to reassure her about his condition. But she couldn't believe him, not when she saw the gloom in his eyes. He couldn't defeat their opponent and Archie wasn't going to let them go. She still held the orb to her chest. Even though she reminded him of it now, she knew it wouldn't be enough to protect him, to protect them. What could she do? She'd asked him to give her a chance, to prove to him that she could be his trainer, so... Ash, he wouldn't hesitate, he... he wouldn't hesitate to give his pokemon a chance, even if it meant...
"Charmeleon, I have a plan, but you're going to have to trust me. Don't move until I tell you," she murmured.
Ash nodded, he didn't know what she had in mind but it didn't matter, he could trust her.
She walked calmly towards the monster. Ash never took his eyes off her, waiting for her signal to attack. But it wasn't time yet, and the false pokemon could feel his scales bristle as she got closer to danger. Wait and trust her, he told himself. His heart quickened as the claws on his legs dug into the volcanic rock. I don't know what you have in mind, but hurry, the former human pleaded.
"Have you lost your mind? Sharpedo, Crunch."
The shark lunged at the trainer, mouth wide open, as Ash watched in horror. But she still wouldn't give him the damn signal. She's gonna dodge. She's bound to dodge! Motionless, Serena gave her frail shoulder to the powerful jaw. She screamed, blood spurting down her face as her features contorted under the pain that tore through her.
Ash didn't move, his muscles tense, not understanding what was happening. He convinced himself that what he was seeing was an illusion, that it was impossible that she had not asked him to act earlier. The trainer fought not to lose consciousness. Her trembling arms came up to hug the shark's body. She no longer had the strength to speak. She turned her head to her pokemon, hoping he would understand.
Ash thought his heart would explode. The huge muscle contracted to the limit, trying to squeeze out the last of the blood it contained. The scales whitened, abandoning their rations of red humour in favour of muscle. Swollen by the reddish liquid, they instantly relaxed to propel the reptile's body forward. Lightning flashed across the monster's arms as the flame in his tail turned from red to searing blue.
This was your plan?! the shapeshifter exploded.
His scales burst under the pressure of the blood as his roar mingled with the roar of the volcano. There was only one person in the shapeshifter's eyes, someone he could never forgive. Tears streamed down his face and his heart sank into his chest as he realised that he would always hate her. He screamed her name, screamed for her to hear his rage, screamed before his bleeding heart stopped.
Notes : XY&Z have this big problem that they have trouble finishing what they've started and developed in a satisfying way, but... That's probably because they've been able to raise expectations much higher than we're used to.
This series has introduced and developed a large number of ideas that have become bread and butter when it comes to writing fan fiction. I think you'll have noticed that these last few paragraphs also echo the moment when Ash says not to worry, that Serena will be fine after her defeat in the first show. It's something that can be seen as confidence, but it's also something that can easily be played by saying 'if I apply this principle to this situation, this is what will happen'.
It's something that I think Realuse's 'Pokémon Light and Darkness' (yes, it's promo day, from what I've read for this chapter's reviews xp) does a good job of exploiting. The author takes a lot of principles from the anime and explores them, studies them, thinks about what's good about them and what's wrong with them. I think there's almost a scientific edge to the way he works x).