When we got back from training with Riley and his pokemon, I did not expect to find that Serena had entered a baking contest and lost. Then again, her rival and the reason why she had entered the contest, had also lost, so Serena was happy with the results. Since when does she have a rival? We were only gone half a day! Oh, well, I'll just chalk it up as another thing that happens when you travel with Ash Ketchum.
The following day we continued on our journey towards Shalour City, when a tiny and sad-looking pokemon landed in Bonnie's hair. It was her trainer, Grey, who explained to us what was wrong. It seems that little Flabébé has a special bond with his wife, Florence, who had recently became ill, and when Flabébé tried to visit her in the hospital, a passing car blew her flower away. I winced at that, without her flower, Flabébé grows weak and can't really move around. What makes it worse, Flabébé won't accept any flower as replacement. It has to be a Fairy Flower... which are super hard to find!
Luckily, she was a red flower Flabébé, because otherwise we would be in a bigger problem. Red Fairy Flowers are the easiest to find, if that had happened to our Flabébé... Arceus aid us! It would have been a nightmare!
Bonnie, as the one Flabébé clingged to and Max, who had a Flabébé of his own, were especially invested on this week's mission. Luckily, with Ash's aura we were able to find the perfect flower. He simply "read" Flabébé's aura and tried to find a match in the nearby surroundings, which he did. It seems that the reason why Flabébé and Fairy Flowers have such a bond, is because they are connected in an aura level. As Aura is the life energy that connects everythings and keeps things going, it made sense. Which had Gary and Clemont writting up notes and asking questions like crazy. It almost looked like an interrogation!
I did not get to see much, as I had to follow my trainer. Max and Bonnie were delighted that they had found a Fairy Flower for Flabébé that they rushed to meet Grey at the hospital. As the good starter I was, I followed them there. All our hard work was worth it, when Florence perked up immediately upon seeing her dear friend.
After that, we returned to our journey. Each day we got even more excited, especially our team! We trained hard and did our best to get ready, because soon we will be facing our next challenge in the Kalos region!
"It seems that you are both quite excited!" Bonnie commented giggling.
"We love battling," Max answered bashfully. I smirk when I noticed the blush threatening to cover his entire face. My partner was so cute! "And in a couple of days Gallade and Pidgeotto will be facing a Fighting Master!"
"In a week," Ash corrected him with a frown. Earning various startled looks. "On our next stop, I have an exhibition match with Champion Diantha. We will need to stay there for a while... did I foget to mention it?"
"You did, Ashy," Gary sighed, shaking his head with fondness. "That will also explain why Professor Sycamore mentioned we will be meeting soon. He must be quite delighted to witness a Mega Evolution from two champion-rank trainers."
"Not a champion yet," Ash corrected him, but went ignored as Bonnie and Serena borke in excited chatter.
"This is going to be so cool!" Max turned to me, eyes sparkling with joy.
I love when he has that look on his face.
"It will be," I agreed.
And I was right.
The crowd roared as the battle between the Orange Islands future Champion Ash Ketchum and the Kalos Region Champion Diantha began. Ash sent out his trusted partner Lucario, while Diantha called out her Gardevoir. The two pokemon stared at each other intently, and the battle began.
"Are you ready for this, Lucario?" Ash yelled, his voice echoing through the arena.
Lucario responded with a fierce growl, his eyes locked onto his opponent. Diantha smiled, knowing that Gardevoir was more than ready for the challenge.
"Let's show them what we've got, Gardevoir!" she exclaimed, her voice carrying across the stadium.
"Let's Mega Evolve!" Both trainers shouted and a blinding light covered the whole battlefield. From it, two Mega Evolved Pokemon emerged, standing facing each other, the tension between them palpable. Ash and Diantha watched each other carefully, both waiting for the perfect opportunity to make their move.
"Lucario, use Close Combat!" Ash shouted, as his pokemon charged towards Gardevoir. Gardevoir quickly dodged and countered with Moonblast, which sent Lucario flying. But Lucario was not deterred. As he got up, his Steadfast ability kicked in, boosting his speed. "Lucario, use Extreme Speed!" Ash commanded, as Lucario dashed towards Gardevoir at incredible speed. Gardevoir tried to dodge, but Lucario was too fast and hit Gardevoir with a powerful punch, knocking her back.
Diantha quickly regained her composure and shouted, "Gardevoir, use Future Sight!" Gardevoir's eyes glowed blue, and a sphere of energy formed around her. Lucario tried to attack, but the Future Sight hit him hard, causing him to flinch and lose some of his speed. However, Lucario's Steadfast ability kicked in again, and his speed increased once more.
"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded, as his pokemon charged up a sphere of aura energy. Gardevoir tried to dodge, but Lucario's increased speed made it impossible for her to avoid the attack. The Aura Sphere hit Gardevoir, knocking her back and causing her to flinch. But Gardevoir was not out yet.
"Gardevoir, use Psychic!" Diantha shouted, as her pokemon focused her energy and lifted Lucario into the air. Lucario struggled, but he couldn't break free from Gardevoir's hold. Suddenly, Gardevoir's eyes turned purple, and she let out a powerful blast of energy, hitting Lucario hard.
Ash gritted his teeth. "Lucario, use Metal Claw!" he commanded, as Lucario's claws glowed silver. He managed to break free from Gardevoir's hold and slashed at her with his claws. Gardevoir tried to dodge, but she was still recovering from the Aura Sphere attack and couldn't move quickly enough. The Metal Claw hit Gardevoir, causing her to flinch once more.
But Diantha was not ready to give up. "Gardevoir, use Moonblast!" she shouted, as her pokemon fired a powerful blast of energy at Lucario. Lucario tried to dodge, but the attack hit him hard, knocking him back once more.
Ash knew he had to act fast. "Lucario, use Sword Dance!" he commanded, as Lucario focused his energy and raised his attack power. "Now, use Close Combat!" Lucario charged towards Gardevoir once more, his attack power boosted by Sword Dance. Gardevoir tried to dodge, but the attack hit her hard, knocking her back and causing her to faint.
"Great job, Lucario!" Ash yelled, grinning from ear to ear.
Diantha recalled her Gardevoir, conceding defeat to Ash's incredible strategy and the strength of his powerful Lucario. The crowd erupted into thunderous applause, cheering as Ash claimed victory in the exhibition match.
"Congratulations, Ash. You truly are a master of Pokemon," Diantha said, extending a hand to Ash.
Ash shook her hand with a smile, grateful for the opportunity to test his skills against such a powerful opponent. You did not need to be a psychic to know that, you simply had to get to know Ash. Ash was someone who knew that he still had much to learn, but he was excited to continue on his journey to become the very best.
However, I was focused on none of that.
"I want that... I want to Mega Evolve like that!" I told my partner.
"Then we will!" Max assured me with determination, as the rest of our group was standing up and cheering.
Well, almost everyone.
"Mega Evolution is not easy," Riley warned us. "Not only do you need a strong emotional connection to anchor your pokemon, a pokemon that has suddenly evolved further than his biology allows and is emotionally unstable. It is also a tiring process, it takes a lot from both pokemon and trainer. The only reason Ash can use so many Mega Evolutions at the same time and for so long, is because he cheats. He uses his aura to compensate what is lacking. Even without his aura, his pokemon's stamina is what makes his Mega Evolutions so dangerous. Sometimes I believe that just by sheer force of will his pokemon can Mega Evolve."
"It does not matter!" Max stated, when he noticed me start to lose confidence. I looked at him surprised, when he held into my hand in support. "We will train and do our best! It does not matter how long it might take us. We will do it!"
"We will!" I agreed, with as much confidence.
I looked around the stadium as the crowd chanted Ash's name, then my gaze lowered the the destroyed battlefield, where Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario were waving at the crowd.
I wanted that... and one day we will get it.
