A/N: Hello my lovely readers! We're going to see what Serena went through as Ash went to get Lucario and Tyranitar. I hope you enjoy!

"Truth falls from the heavens like rain, gently carving many channels in the earth. Your truth may be different from my own, yet both are still true." -Alaric Hutchinson

Chapter 7: Friend of My Enemy

Mew gestured Serena, Gordo and Alison to come to the living room. She then gestured them to sit down beside each other. Though hesitant, Serena sat down first. However, neither Ketchum sat down. Mew floated beside Serena and gave the two a dirty look. Alice sighed and sat as far away as she could, but Gordo crossed his arms and stayed standing. Mew sighed, but felt that it was a start.

Gordo had a blue shirt short sleeved shirt with a 'z' on it with black pants. However, it looked like the shirt could barely fit him and was on the verge of ripping because of how muscular he was. His spiky graying mahogany hair, stern yellow eyes and sharp look made him intimidating. He looked like someone Serena would see in military.

In contrast, Alice was wearing a long blue dress that went up to slightly above her ankles. Her graying black hair also went up to her ankles. She was wearing a pearl necklace and matching pearl earrings. Alice seemed much sweeter in comparison and her outfit gave Serena the impression of someone from an older age in history… from about two hundred years ago. Her brown eyes seemed very wise, but untrusting. Serena felt like she was dealing with a stern muscular drilling captain and a cold and distant old relic.

Mew said, "I'm not sure how to do this… it's a little unprecedented that a partially psychic girl wants to be with a male Ketchum. It's even more crazy that this girl is the last hybrid, too. I can't force you two to like her, but I can try to open your eyes to how she is."

"Mew… I may worship you as my deity, but I don't think anything you do would make me like this girl." Gordon said matter of factly. "The only reason why I'm not trying to strangle her is because my daughter has taken a shine to her."

Serena felt a shiver as she felt the power behind his words. Gordo looked like an intimidating grandfather, especially with his muscles pulsing for every word. She was glad he loved Aurora enough to not to do anything to her, but wondered how long that tolerance would last.

"Can you call me 'Serena' please? It would be nice not to be called 'this girl'." Serena requested.

"I can call you whatever I please, runt. Earn my respect first." Gordo growled.

"…" Serena bit her lip and merely glared at the elderly man. Gordo glared back, but noticed something in her eyes that alarmed him. Her blue eyes looked just as cold as one of his most hated enemies. The resemblance was almost uncanny. Gordo got a shiver thinking about it, but kept a tough exterior.

"Good. Know your place." Gordo snorted.

"Gordon Armstrong Ketchum, cease that at once!" Mew thundered. Gordon gasped at her. Serena widened her eyes at Mew's intensity.

"Mew?" Gordo was just as surprised as Serena.

"Do not dare talk down on someone, especially if they are your equal. She's just as much as a human as you are. Got that?" Mew hissed.

"… Yes, my lady." Gordo reluctantly relented. His yellow eyes were glowing slightly in annoyance.

"Good. It's demeaning for you to tell someone to know your place... especially if that someone hasn't done anything to provoke you other than ask a decent question. I think it's fair for Serena to ask to be properly regarded." Mew said. Serena was surprised, but grateful to see Mew defending her.

"… She has to earn my respect first." Gordo growled.

"That is also fair." Mew noted.

"What can I do to earn you respect, sir? You haven't exactly been giving me a chance… you've only been staring me down and threatening me." Serena said, while looking away from the elderly Ketchum nervously. She didn't know how to regard him without him seeming angry at her.

"Hmm…" Gordon looked at Serena pensively. Gordo wasn't sure himself.

"Please… I… I… want to be Ash's special one someday." Serena surprised herself when she said that, but she kept going. Gordon had an eyebrow raised. Serena continued, "I don't want us to have bad blood. I'm not sure what caused you to hate psychics so much, but… I want to see what I can do to change that. I don't want to be here to avoid you and Mrs. Alice. I want to get to know the rest of Ash's family like I've gotten to know Mrs. Ketchum."

"Special one, huh? Those words… are something Aurora would say. I wonder…" Alice closed her eyes and crossed her arms. She seemed to be heavily in thought. Alice said suddenly, "Gordo… battle her."

"What?" Serena and Gordo said in surprise.

Mew seemed slightly intrigued by the turn of events. She rested herself on Serena's head while looking at Alice now. Serena didn't know how to feel about Mew being this comfortable near her and didn't feel the same way. Still, Mew being on top of her head was the least of her worries.

"You know I have a keen eye for technique and mannerisms. I will observe the girl throughout the day and pass judgement on her. You trust my word, right?" Alice said. The way she said it made it impossible to argue with her. Gordo laughed at his wife's tone.

"Of course. You're the more level headed one of the two of us." Gordo admitted.

"Good." Alice opened her eyes sharply. She turned to Serena and narrowed her eyes as she said, "You."

"Y-yes?" Serena blinked her eyes slightly in confusion.

"Depending on what I observe, I may give you something. We'll see." Alice said. Serena didn't know what was in Alice's head, but she grew determined to prove her worth to the elderly woman. Alice never really interacted with her much before today, preferring to be away from Serena instead. This was the most Alice had spoken to Serena at once.

"Thank you for giving me a chance, Mrs. Alice!" Serena thanked. Alice's eyes grew colder.

"Don't misunderstand me. I don't trust you one bit. I'm just being more civil than my husband. There's some merit to Aurora's views, but I'm challenging them by testing your character and strength. Delilah, my other daughter, seemed so nice at first. Then, we found out the hard way just how evil she is. We'll see if you're really the sweet girl Aurora claims you to be." Alice frowned.

"…" Serena had a cold feeling in her heart hearing Alice regard her this way.

"Go to the front yard past the berry trees to the battlefield when you are ready. We'll be waiting. Come along, Gordo." Alice suddenly got up and left the house. Gordo looked back at Serena before following Alice out. Mew got off of Serena's hat and floated in front of her. The pixie looked a bit concerned.

"Serena… I have a warning about old school Ketchums. They don't exactly play fair." Mew said.

"How so?" Serena asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Gordon decided to use aura augmentation against you despite knowing you are but a novice. He will try to crush your spirit to see how you deal with it. Aurora's parents were often too harsh training her, so I'm sure they will up the ante with you." Mew continued.

"What should I do?" Serena seemed horrified hearing this.

"You can't do anything to stop it. However, I will help you… up to a point. For now, this is the one invitation Gordon and Alison are giving you, so I suggest you go along with it." Mew advised.

"Ugh… I never thought I would be trusting you like this." Serena shook her head in disbelief. Considering Mew was the reason why Ash and Aurora went through a lot reuniting, she was less than thrilled to trust the legendary. The girl wondered if Mew had an ulterior motive.

"It's not like you have many options. I've seen how you've been treated while here and I feel some sympathy for you. You've got a lot of patience for a teenager." Mew noted. She floated to the front door and turned to Serena. Mew said, "This is your last chance to bow out of everything relating to Ash and aura guardians. Give me the word and I will teleport you back to your home."

"I'm not going anywhere. If I have to go through some challenges Ash's grandparents thought of, then so be it. I love Ash and I wouldn't leave him because of me getting intimated by his family." Serena said with a determined expression. Mew could see the passion in her eyes. The tough treatment Ash's grandparents gave her seemed to have strengthened her resolve to get through to them.

Mew smiled and said, "Very well. Step outside and let's begin."

Serena nodded and followed Mew outside. The duo went past Aurora's garden of berry trees. Mew took the liberty of picking a few of the Sitrus berries and had them levitating beside her. As Serena walked forward, she took note of how vibrant Aurora's house was to have all these berry trees in front of it. The path to the door was straight until the battlefield, but she could tell Aurora loved interacting with the Pokémon that came here for food occasionally. The thought eased her nerves a bit.

Alice and Gordo were speaking with each other, seemingly strategizing. They stopped talking when they saw Mew approach with a pile of Sitrus Berries levitating beside her. Both of their eyes turned cold when they noticed Serena coming as well. However, Gordo's eyes went from cold to eager. He had a grin on his face. It seemed almost sadistic. Alice was merely observing the honey blond's approach. Serena gulped inwardly.

Serena also saw a large blue muscular human like Pokémon right beside Gordo. Serena identified the Pokémon as a Machamp. The Machamp seemed to be looking at Serena with the same predatory and eager eyes as his partner. Alice stood there patiently until Serena was parallel from her and Gordo.

"This will be a one vs. one match and it will be decided on who faints first. After the battle, there are a few things I want to test you in your aptitude and adaptiveness first hand. I know Aurora, Raven and Mirabelle has been helping you in your technique recently and I would bring a much different perspective on the table." Alice explained.

Serena nodded. The honey blond girl could tell that Gordo would battle with the Machamp and knew the perfect Pokémon for this. She hoped a little that Gordo wasn't as powerful as his daughter when it came to battling, but she doubted it. After all, Gordo taught Aurora much of what she knew. Serena couldn't bring herself to feel excited. The girl felt a sense of desperation to perform at her best.

Gordo stood at one corner of the field and the Machamp stood in front of him. Alice stood in the middle, acting as a referee. Serena quickly scurried over to her side with a Poke Ball in her hand. Mew gently floated right behind Serena, watching Gordo's every move. The legendary seemed prepared to act at a moment's notice. Mew also placed the Sitrus Berries beside her.

Serena closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she opened her eyes and said, "Come on out, Delphox!"

When Serena threw the ball up high, the ball opened and released a red fox-like creature with a stick in hand. The fire was burning brightly and Delphox looked at Machamp with sharp eyes. Machamp looked at his challenger, somewhat curious, but eager.

Gordo's body became surrounded in red aura. His muscles seemed to be pulsing. Then, he did something that surprised Serena. He roared, ripped off his shirt and revealed that despite his advanced age, his body was ripped. It was comparable to Machamp's body. His graying mahogany hair seemed to be even spikier. Serena immediately became more intimidated and knew he wasn't messing around. Machamp started to glow in the same red aura as his partner. Machamp's skin turned from blue to orange and seemed to be steaming.

"I won't hold back, girl, and neither should you. I may not be as powerful as Aurora in battle, but I'm certainly stronger than Ash. How will you deal with a master guardian's aura augmentation? I can't wait to see your Pokémon beaten to a pulp." Gordo growled in a rough tone. His muscles seemed to move for every word.

"Stay calm, Serena. He wants you to be afraid. Do not give that to him…" Serena thought to keep herself composed. Considering Ash was able to beat her while they were in Lumiose City, she was afraid at her chances. Still, Serena wasn't deterred. She knew she had to try not only for her sake, but for his. Serena replied, "I wouldn't want you to hold back on my account. Delphox and I can take anything you do and more!"

Gordo raised an eyebrow at the response and chuckled coarsely. Gordo said with a grin, "Bold words from a runt. This is going to be fun. Champ, let's start with Thunder Punch!"

"Delphox, dodge it!" Serena commanded.

Champ punched his bottom two fists together and charged them up in electrical energy. Delphox immediately used her speed to dodge the attack. Gordo's eyes turned a little impish as he brought out his glowing red hand. Champ seemed to get quicker for every new step he took. Delphox gasped to see the hulking Pokémon right behind her suddenly. She yelped as she was struck in the torso by Champ's electrified fist.

Serena became slightly deterred after seeing that. She knew that Delphox's main advantage she had over Champ was her speed. If Gordo could raise Champ's speed at will, what chance did she have? Serena noticed Mew was observing the entire thing passively. The girl wondered what was going through the psychic type's head.

"Dynamic Punch!" Gordo said.

Champ now made his fists turn white as he began to punch the air in quick succession. Then, he approached Delphox with his fists. Serena refused to allow Champ to come any closer. Serena brought out her hand as she said, "Delphox, cut off Machamp's path with Psychic!"

Delphox's eyes began to glow blue as she surrounded the fighting type in the same color outline. Champ gasped as he lost all feeling in his body. The fox-like Pokémon took out her stick from in her arm and began to motion Champ the same way as her stick. She kept moving him up and down on the ground. Champ grunted slightly in pain each time he hit the ground.

Gordo watched the entire scene passively. Serena was a little unnerved at how calm the old man was. She was sure he was going to intervene with his aura again. Once Delphox was done with her assault, Champ stood back up like it was nothing. He quickly dusted himself off like he had been dirtied by something minor. Delphox sweatdropped at the sight. To see her efforts shrugged off so easily was alarming.

"You finally done?" Gordo said with a slight yawn. When he heard no response from Serena, he grinned while saying, "My turn. Champ, use Dynamic Punch again."

"Stop him with Psychic!" Serena said in retaliation.

"The same strategy won't work on me a second time, especially since there's such a difference in strength between us." Gordo said. Gordo once again surrounded himself and Champ in dark red aura. The old man had his arms crossed in slight amusement.

Champ once again began to build up energy in his fists. His fists turned white as he charged himself at Delphox. Delphox's eyes turned blue as she stopped his momentum. However, after a few moments, the red aura around Champ began to get stronger and his skin seem to turn even more orange. Champ began to walk through Psychic. Serena and Delphox looked at the fighting type in shock.

The muscular Pokémon was still being affected by the psychic type attack, but he was moving against Delphox's will. Each step he took was slow, but forceful. Delphox decided to exert even more of her will on the Machamp. Her ear hair began to move on its own and she bared her fangs out slightly. Her eyes glowed a deeper blue. For a moment, the extra effort worked. Champ stopped in his tracks. However, Champ's body started to steam up and he broke free from Delphox's control.

Delphox gasped in surprise and backed up slightly. Champ smirked as he approached the fire fox and punched her in her gut with his attack. Delphox screamed in pain and soon developed a befuddled expression. Dynamic Punch's secondary effect kicked in. She looked around herself, dazed and confused.

"No matter what you do to us, we will tank and brave through it. Then, we will always hit you no matter what. Champ's ability is No Guard and in combination with defensive aura augmentation, we will always be able to counterattack. Augmentation doesn't always have to be offensive and I hope I'll keep bringing it to life for you." Gordo explained with a cheeky smile.

Serena sucked her teeth and tried to think about her options. Serena observed Gordo's more tanky battle style and was impressed with it. She knew Ash and Aurora liked to focus on being quick and aggressive, so to see another approach was slightly refreshing. Still, with this news, Serena had no idea how she was going to break though Gordo and his Machamp's defenses. Mew noticed the indecision in Serena's eyes. She deliberated with herself for a brief moment. Then, she nodded to herself.

Mew's blue eyes began to glow faintly. Delphox suddenly felt a lot stronger. She no longer had stars in her eyes, but instead looked at Champ with a sharp daze. Delphox became surrounded in a powerful blue aura as she got into a battle stance. Serena gasped at the sight in surprise. At first, she thought she was the one doing that to Delphox, but one look at Mew showed her this wasn't the case. Mew gestured Serena to give out a command. Serena nodded.

"Delphox, use Psychic! Break through Champ's defense!" Serena brought out her hand.

Delphox's eyes began to glow blue again. Champ gasped as he lost control of his body again. Gordo tried to aid him by pouring more of his aura into Champ, but Mew's influence proved too much. Champ was helpless to Delphox's Psychic attack. Delphox slammed Champ's body on the ground multiple times before flinging him. Champ grunted in slight pain. He promptly got back up, not too phased, but visibly hurt.

Gordo scowled at the interaction. He knew Mew was the main reason why that attack did that much to Champ. Gordo knew he could beat Serena, but there was no way he could beat Mew. He began to wonder what the legendary psychic type's motive was.

"Mew… what are you doing?" Gordo asked, slightly surprised.

"Making things a bit more interesting…" Mew said with a bit of a devious smirk. Serena was grateful for Mew's help, but was confused by the smile. Mew said to Gordo, "Serena doesn't nearly have the same potential as Ketchums do. I felt my intrusion is necessary here. I will only aid in augmenting Delphox's power to the same extent you've augmented Champ's. To the same token, I will not augment Delphox if you don't augment Champ."

"Understood. Will you intervene more past this point should I not use aura augmentation?" Gordo inquired. Mew seemed to think about this for a little bit. She shrugged after coming to an answer.

"Depends on what I see. I'll leave you to be the judge of how far you can push her." Mew decided.

"Hahaha… noted." Gordo made a mischievous grin. He had permission to do what he wanted past this point. He couldn't wait to see what Serena could do in response. Serena noticed the look in his eyes and grew concerned.

Despite growing feelings of anxiety, Serena said, "Use Psyshock."

"Champ, block that with your arms and retaliate with Stone Edge!" Gordo said in response.

Twirling her fire stick around, Delphox summoned a blue orb of psychic energy. She progressively made it bigger and bigger while channeling her power. Champ braced himself for impact by holding out his hands. The psychic type launched the orb with all of her might. Champ grunted when it made direct impact. The collision moved him back slightly. Though a bit hurt, he didn't seem too deterred.

Champ then began to channel his energy himself. Several blue rock-like structures started to form around him like an atom. Delphox looked to Serena for some sort of command. Serena wanted Delphox to dodge, but wasn't sure if she would be able to dodge everything. She didn't know what to do. The girl resigned to herself, thinking that she wasn't a worthy battler. With a grunt, Champ hurled the rock like structures at Delphox. Seeing as though Serena was frozen in place, Delphox decided to take things into her own paws.

Using her psychic powers, Delphox took control of the rocks and hurled them back at the Machamp. The rocks barely scratched the Machamp. Champ seemingly expected this and grinned. The Pokémon punched his fists into the ground and pillars of rocks formed a path straight toward Delphox. As she didn't expect that, Delphox got hit by the super effective rock type move. She wailed in agony.

Mew watched the entire scene and shook her head. Her eyes faintly glowed blue. Once again, Delphox seemed to be get better after getting struck. She seemed almost completely healed up again. Serena looked at the pixie Pokémon in appreciation, but wondered what was going through her head.

Gordo was scowling. He knew that Champ would eventually get defeated if Mew kept healing Delphox up. Gordo knew that Mew was never charitable to strangers unless she wanted something from it. She was only ever charitable to Ketchums. Gordo knew from how she was looking at him that she wanted him to do something specific to Serena.

Gordo reached into his pant pocket and revealed a white peculiar bracelet with a brown crystal on top. He put it on his wrist. The crystal seemed to twinkle with a slight mischievousness just like its owner. When Gordo saw Mew hide a devious smirk, he knew that was exactly what she wanted him to do. Gordo looked slightly amused and shook his head. Although he tried to never question his deity's intentions, he had to wonder what would happen if he followed through with what she wanted.

Gordo snorted, "Didn't think I'd use this against someone like you, but I don't want Mew to help you any more than she has."

"What… is that thing?" Serena looked at the white bracelet in slight confusion. It clearly wasn't a Mega Bangle like the one Ash had, but it looked a bit simpler, if not more like a toy. She didn't know what to expect. Gordo smirked at the girl's confusion and decided to surprise her.

"Hahaha… this should be fun. Champ, let's turn your Stone Edge into a more powerful move!" Gordo touched the brown crystal at the middle of the bracelet and began to be immersed in a powerful yellow aura. Champ mirrored his trainer perfectly. They both had wide grins. Serena noticed that this aura was different than normal and wondered why. Alice looked at the battle with a disinterested expression and looked away. Serena looked a bit more discouraged seeing that. Gordo yelled, "Continental Crush!"

Champ slammed all his fists together and began to build up a lot of energy. He jumped high into the air. He channeled the move Stone Edge to be much greater than small rocks and smacked them all together until they were one large bolder. Serena and Delphox marveled at how large the rock was. It looked like it was the size of the battlefield. With a grunt, Champ threw the large bolder on the battlefield.

Serena couldn't see any place Delphox could dodge in the battlefield. Eventually, the bolder fell on the fire fox and exploded into multiple pieces. Serena had to cover her eyes at the collision. After the explosion was over, Serena opened her eyes and noticed Delphox with squiggly marks in her eyes. Serena sighed in disappointment. The battle was done.

"Looks like I won. As if that's a big surprise." Gordo said with a snort. The old man suddenly narrowed his eyes and said, "I'm not done yet, though."

Gordo suddenly surrounded himself in a dark yellow aura. His eyes turned harsh. He made Delphox float in his aura and began to bombard the fainted Pokémon with aura spheres. The old man held no mercy in his eyes. Serena looked terrified while Mew and Alice seemed disinterested. Serena was at a loss at what to do.

A/N: Oof... Ash's grandfather is a jerk and his grandmother is cold... well, at least to people they don't like. Unfortunately, a lot of people can be like this in real life (though obviously not as extreme as in this story). How will Serena deal with Gordo's brutality when the main two people who would stand up for her is gone? Will Mew care to help her at this point? Find out in the next chapter.

Happy reading everyone!

Next Chapter: Are You Weak?

~SPG123~