Author's Note: Something that I forgot to mention last chapter, but surely you noticed that my depiction of Ancient Power is very different from the anime. That's because I'm not that fond of the anime version, it hardly looks like a Rock-type move. So yeah, Ancient Power here is like pre-XY Stone Edge, except the rocks have a golden aura around them.
Chapter 10:
Some Rest, at last!
Kevlar Town
The group arrived at Kevlar Town at nightfall. Exhausted as they were, they only had a light dinner, and went straight to bed. All four of them fell asleep as soon as their bodies touched the matress, and slept like logs for many, many hours. The very next day, they woke up completely refreshed and recharged.
Given that there were still a few days left until the contest in Moki Town would take place, and they needed less than a day to cross the distance between the two towns, the group decided to take at least one day of leisure in order to recover from the trepidation from the previous day.
After they finished their breakfast, one of the first things that was suggested was to introduce the newcomers to the group. Once they were on the empty lobby, they released all their previous Pokemon first, before sending the new three Pokemon last.
"Guys, these are Minicorn, Eevee and Colarva," Ash began, motioning his arms at the aforementioned Pokemon. "Minicorn is with Serena, Eevee with Clemont, and Colarva with me. Make sure you give them a warm welcome!"
All the Pokemon present greeted the trio of newcomers. Well, except Dunsparce, who remained silent and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"We decided to give everybody, ourselves included, a free day, so no training. Why don't you guys take this as a chance get acquainted with your new friends?" Serena suggested.
Pikachu quickly walked towards Colarva, and convinced the bug to meet Greninja, Birbie and Dunsparce. The former two gave Colarva a warm welcome, which the insect returned with an effusive multi-armed hug. Birbie accepted the hug happily, Greninja mostly out of politeness. Then it was Dunsparce's turn, and the Land Snake Pokemon muttered a welcome under his breath,
This didn't save him from Colarva's efusive hugs.
"DUNSPARCE! PARCE!" Dunsparce yelled, trashing wildly as he tried to get the Ice and Bug type Pokemon away from his body. But Colarva happily and obliviously held onto him.
Selkid was the one who eased Minicorn into meeting Braixen, Pancham and Sylveon. Fortunately for the foal Pokemon, all of Serena's Pokemon were rather approachable and easygoing, and Minicorn was slowly becoming more and more comfortable around them.
Lastly, there was Eevee, who was warmly welcomed by all of Clemont's Pokemon, Dedenne included. He was a little intimidated by Luxray at first, but quickly relaxed when the Gleam Eeyes Pokemon told the newcomer something –probably reassuring Eevee not to be afraid of him–. Then Eevee heard something, and looked in the direction of Serena's Pokemon.
And there she was. Sylveon, happily chatting with Minicorn. Eevee's eyes grew wide as his mouth was open agape... before he narrowed his eyes, his mouth turned into a sly smile, and strutted towards Sylveon.
"Ev! Eevee!" Eevee introduced himself to the Interwinning Pokemon with what sounded like a pick-up line, shooting Sylveon a seductive stare –or what he believed was seductive–, wiggling his nonexstient eyebrows at her.
"S-Syl..." Sylveon chuckled sheepishly as a bead of sweat ran down her neck.
Back with Clemont's Pokemon, Luxray titled his head quizzically, Chespin glared daggers at the newcomer, while Bunnelby sighed and shook his head.
…
While the Pokemon were on their own, the group gathered on the lobby, and wondered what to do. Though, Clemont already seemed to have an idea. Sitting on one of the many empty tables, Clemont began to dig inside his backpack, pulling first a laptop, and then the helmet he had stolen from that Team Omega grunt, and linked then both with a cable.
"Hey, that's the helmet you got from the hideout," Serena said upon seeing the object. "What do you plan to do with it?"
"Unfortunately, that Zebos guy wiped the base's servers clean before the Rangers seized it," Clemont began, as his fingers began to hit the keys with practiced ease. "However, while the helmets' built-in computer was linked to those servers, the internal memory isn't. I managed to download some information into the helmet before the wipeout, but I'm also going to see what additional information I can get out of this."
"I thought the Rangers had taken all those helmets away," Ash pointed out. "How is that they let you keep that one?"
"Well, not to brag, but some of the Rangers know who I am and what I can do, despite being from another region, and believed I could help with this," Clemont said, proudly smiling puffing out his chest a little. He then looked back at the helment resting on the table. "First, I want to make sure I extract every last bit of information before I begin tinkering with it. The technology on this helmet is something I have never seen before."
"Yeah. I never saw something that could measure a Pokemon's power like that," Serena commented, taking a closer look at the helmet's one-eyed visor. "Not even a Pokedex can do that."
Ash crossed his arms. "I don't think a Pokemon's worth can be reduced to mere numbers like that. Pokemon are much more than simple power."
"Pika," Pikachu nodded.
"Still, knowing the power of an opposing Pokemon is advantageous in battle. Every bit of information you can get out of your opponent helps," Clemont pointed out.
"If you ask me, those Team Omega guys are too obsessed with power," Ash continued. "Did I tell you about that Muscular Enhancer gadget? Two times it was used against me, two times they failed to beat my Pokemon. Why? Because there's more to Pokemon, and Pokemon battles, that brute strength."
"But that's because the Muscular Enhancer puts the Pokemon's body under a huge strain. Imagine if they perfect it so it has no drawbacks," Serena said, and shivered at the thought of having to fight a Pokemon like that.
"Clemont, do you think it's possible for them to do that?" Bonnie asked, sharing Serena's worry.
"I don't know, but I'm inclined to say no," Clemont replied. "To increase a Pokemon's attributes in such a big way in a short span of time, without any negative side effects... I can't see how they could do it."
Ash nodded. "The path to true strength has no shortcuts."
Serena couldn't help but chuckle. "That sounded so sagacious, Ash. Did you come up with that yourself?"
"Eh, no, I think I heard that from an Elite Four member. I think it was Bruno?" Ash asked, scratching his cheek. "Anyway, that doesn't make it any less false."
"It seems that the Muscular Enhancer is only the tip of the iceberg. These people seem to be working on a lot of gadgets to increase Pokemon's attributes," Clemont continued typing as more blueprints popped in the screen. "There's a Psionic Enhancer for Pokemon that use special attacks, as well as a Motion Enhancer that increases speed. And many more."
"What do they plan to do with all those things?" Ash asked.
"From the data I'm mining, it seems they sell their tech to their highest bidder," Clemont said, eyes fixed on the screen.
"So they don't just sell Pokemon," Bonnie concluded.
"Indeed. They had deals with criminal organizations from other regions as well. Team Rocket, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, Cipher, Team Zenith, the Abyssal Cult, the New Elders..." Clemont said, reading the names of their buyers.
Ash knew some of those names, as he had encountered those organizations on his journeys to other regions, though others didn't ring any bell.
"Now that you mention Team Rocket..." Ash began, as a realization dawned upon him. "We've been on this region for almost two weeks, and they haven't show up yet."
"Wait, did you expect Team Rocket to follow you all the way to Tandor?" Serena asked, raising an eyebrow.
"They've been following me pretty much since I began my Pokemon journey, no matter what region I've been to," Ash said, shrugging a little. "They've been rather insistent in capturing Pikachu."
"...seriously? Wow. I knew those guys were stubborn, but that's some dedication," Serena said, shaking her head. "Though, that does indeed raises the question of why aren't they following you now."
"Maybe they saw the error of their ways, quit Team Rocket and turned a new leaf?" Bonnie innocently suggested.
"I don't think they'd do that, but it'd be great if they did turn around their lives," Ash said, smiling a little.
"Though, speaking of criminal gangs, I have the feeling that we may encounter those guys again," Serena began. "And if we do, we won't have a way to alert the Rangers of their presence. So we should buy Pokegears for all of us."
"Good idea! On top of that, we can also keep in contact in case we split up," Clemont suggested.
"Yeah, like when you start working on that power plant. We might not be able to be together anymore, but that way we can talk to each other whenever we want," Bonnie said.
"Good idea! Given that Clemont's busy, let's go the three of us," Ash proposed.
"Actually..." Bonnie began, feinging thoughtfulness. "I think somebody should stay here and make sure all the Pokemon behave and play nice, especially with the newcomers. So why don't you and Serena go to buy the Pokegears?"
Bonnie then winked at Serena in the most unsubtle way ever known to a human. Ash just looked at Bonnie a bit confused, while Serena grew stiff, before letting out a sigh.
"Um, okay. Let's go, Serena," Ash said, as he began to walk towards the Pokemon Center's exit.
Serena trailed after him, before giving one last look at Bonnie, who waved at her while smiling mischeviously. Serena mouthed a silent "thank you" before leaving the building as well.
…
Despite Kevlar being a small town, its Pokemart was rather well stocked. Not just with the most common products bought by trainers such as potions or pokeballs, but it also had a small electronics section that sold pokegears. After choosing the ones that offered the best balance between price and functionality, Ash and Serena bought four of them. They were color coded: blue for Ash, pink for Serena, green for Clemont and yellow for Bonnie.
Since they were on the Pokemart, they took the chance to restock on some of their other supplies as well.
Once they were done with their shopping, they walked through the town until they found a small park with a few benches on it. The duo sat on one of the benches, and immediately after, they opened their new gear and strapped them on their wrists and switched them on. The display quickly flashed to life, displaying the time of the day, current weather, and current location.
"Heh, they look good on us, don't they?" Ash asked, holding his wrist to his eye level.
"Indeed," Serena said, as she scrolled through the menu. "Oh, we need to exchange our numbers! Give me yours and I'll call you so can have mine."
"Alright," Ash said, as he handed Serena the slip of paper where his number was written. As Serena introduced the number, Ash continued to admire his Pokegear. "Heh, I can't believe I didn't think of buying one of these sooner."
"Yeah, with all the times we got split in Kalos, they would have been useful," Serena said. Once she was done typing Ash's number, Ash's Pokegear beeped a couple times, as Serena's number flashed on the screen.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Ash said, as a realzation dawned upon him. "Let me call mom! That way she'll have my number too. I'm sure she'll be happy to know that she can call me now herself instead of having to wait for me to call her."
Ash introduced his home's phone number. After a couple rings, Delia's face appeared on the Pokegear's small screen.
"Hey there, mom!" Ash greeted her.
"Ash! It's so nice to see you," Delia said, greeting her son. Then she looked at Serena and smiled at her. "Hello to you too, Serena."
"Hello, Mrs. Ketchum," Serena replied.
Delia's expression then turned quizzical. "Ash, where are you calling me from? You don't look to be inside a Pokemon Center."
"Oh, that's because I'm calling you from my new Pokegear!" Ash told her. "We decided to buy one for each of us, so in case we're separated, we can still stay in contact. Oh, and you can call me if you want too! Isn't that great?"
"Indeed it is!" Delia said with a nod. "Though, tell me, what have you guys been doing? How is Tandor?"
"Tandor's great mom. Oh, look!" Ash said, as he began to dig through his backpack, before pulling out his badge case. He opened it, revealing his only badge. "Look mom! I already have one badge!"
"That's great, son. But that's just one of your steps to get into the League, isn't it?" Delia said, before adding: "Not that I want to undermine your achivements or anything!"
"I know. But I wanted to show you because the gym leader made me sweat ink to earn it. Gym Leaders in Tandor are so tough!" Ash said.
"You should have been there, Mrs. Ketchum. It was a battle worthy of a League," Serena added, her eyes twinkling in excitement as her mind replayed the battle.
"I'm sure it was. And what about you, dear? Ash told me you were doing Contests?" Delia asked.
"Yes. I have taken part in a contest but..." Serena blushed a little, averting Delia's gaze. "...I didn't win it."
"Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll start winning sooner or later," Delia reassured her. "After all, you just begun your journey. Just keep working hard."
"I will, Mrs. Ketchum," Serena said.
"Sorry to cut you here, but there are some chores that need to be done," Delia apoligized. "Though, thanks a lot for calling, Ash! I love to talk with you from time to time, and see how you are doing."
"I will call you again soon, mom. Bye!" Ash said, before his Pokegear's screen turned black once Delia ended the call.
Once the call ended, the two of them sat there, not saying anything for a few moments. Until Serena spoke.
"Your mom's a sweetheart," Serena said, giggling a little.
"I know. She's the best," Ash nodded, smiling back at her. "Though, yours is pretty great too."
"Still, I'm sure your mom didn't force you to practice for a profession you had no interest in taking," Serena said.
"Oh come on, she only worried about you," Ash defended Grace. "Besides, she was pretty supportive when you started doing showcases. And I'm sure she'll continue supporting you now as well when you tell her what are you doing."
"Do you want me to call her?" Serena asked.
"Yeah, why not?" Ash asked, his smile unwavering. "I'm sure she'll be super happy to hear from you."
"Pi-pika!" Pikachu encouraged her as well.
"Alright then," Serena said, as she typed her home's number on the Pokegear. After a couple ringtones, Grace's face appeared on the small screen.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Hey there, mom," Serena greeted her.
"Serena! It's so good to hear from you!" Grace beamed at her daughter. "So, are you in Hoenn already?"
"Oh, about that...in the end, I didn't went to Hoenn," upon seeing her mother's questioning look, Serena quickly added. "I'm on Tandor."
"Tandor? Isn't that the place where that nuclear meltdown happened all those years ago?" Grace questioned, sounding a little worried.
"Yeah, but you yourself said it. It was many years ago. It's totally safe now," Serena insisted. "Anyway, Tandor has contests too, so I decided to come here instead."
"I see. And..." Grace said, as her eyes moved towards Serena's companion. "Is that Ash Ketchum I see?"
"Hey there, Mrs. Gabena!" Ash cheerfully greeted her.
"Hello, Ash," Grace replied. "You know, I have the feeling that you have something to do behind Serena's change of plans."
"Hehe, yeah," he admitted, laughing sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Serena was going to go to Hoenn, but since Clemont, Bonnie and I were coming to Tandor, she decided to change her plans and come with us. That way, the group continues together."
"Of course, of course. The group. I'm sure that's the only reason she tagged along," Grace nodded, while shooting Serena a knowing look. The honey blond began to turn pink as her mother continued talking.
"M-mom! You're making it sound like, like..." Serena began to stutter, as her eyes nervously moved back and forth between Ash and the Pokegear's screen, much to Ash's confusion.
Grace, however, appeared to be amused at her daughter's reaction. "Like what, sweetheart?" she asked, feigning confusion, before deciding to be merciful and change the topic. "Anyway, how is Tandor? Are you enjoying the journey? Did you take part in any contest already?"
"Tandor's been nothing but great so far, and yes, we're having a good time exploring this region. I only took part in a contest and I didn't win, but there are many more to come," Serena replied.
"It's okay, sweetie. Falling down doesn't matter, what matter is-"
"...geting up and keep going forward, no matter what," Serena finished.
Grace nodded in approval. "If you stay on any path you choose, you will eventually reach your goal, no matter how many obstacles you find in your way."
"Thanks, mom," Serena smiled. "Oh, and I also caught two new Pokemon! I don't have them with me right now, but I'll show them to you later."
"By the way, where are you calling me from? You appear to be outside. You always call me from a Pokemon Center," Grace asked.
"Heh, my mom asked that too," Ash pointed out.
"We bought some Pokegears so we can call each other in case we're split," Serena explained. "And... to call home without having to go to a Pokemon Center."
Grace nodded in approval. "That's great to hear. In that case, I expect to hear more of you, honey."
"Y-Yeah. I'll call you again when I win my first Ribbon," Serena said.
"Understood. Have fun on your journey," Grace said, before her eyes turned towards Ash. "Oh, and Ash?"
"Yes, Mrs. Gabena?" Ash asked.
"I know you already did in Kalos, but I'm trusting Serena's well being to you. Make sure she's okay," Grace requested.
"Sure! You don't even need to ask!" Ash porudly declared. He then placed a hand on Serena's shoulder and pulled her towards him. Serena let a high pitched squeak, her face becoming redder, at Ash sudden and probably unintentional display of physical affection. "She'll be safe with me!"
Grace smiled at them. "That's what I wanted to hear. See you soon."
As Grace hanged the phone, the Pokegear's screen turned black. Ash let Serena go, and the girl let out a weary sigh.
"By the way, what was your mom talking about that got you so worked up?" Ash asked. "I wasn't quite following that part."
"Girl stuff, Ash. Don't sweat it," the honey blonde replied.
Thankfully, it appeared that such response was enough to curb Ash's curiosity, since the teen boy didn't press the issue. The two teens slipped into a comfortable silence as they enjoyed the view around them, with nothing but the chirps of the flying Birbies making any noise.
"Hey Ash," Serena began.
"Hm?"
"Do you think we should have told our moms about Team Omega?" Serena asked.
"What? No way!" Ash replied. "All it would have done is getting them worried about us. I mean, you heard your mom. Even she's worried about an accident that happened many years ago."
"I know, but still..." Serena begam fidgeting with her fingers.
"Besides, we deal with Team Rocket on a regular basis during our journey through Kalos," Ash continued.
Serena shot him a flat look. "Ash, don't compare Team Rocket with these guys. Team Rocket might have given us a scare from time to time, but most of the time they were mostly nuisances. These guys have more in common with Team Flare, and you yourself saw how much harm those guys managed to do to Lumiose."
Of course he remembered. That incident was still rather fresh in his mind. While his mom had been worried about the incident, Ash had hidden from her how involved he had been.
"And we encountered and fought those guys many times before that, when they were trying to get their hands on Squishy," Serena continued.
"Okay, fair point," Ash conceded. "Though, these guys doesn't seem to be looking for a Legendary Pokemon to cause havoc or something like that."
"We don't know that," Serena rebutted. "Maybe they have plans to do that but that Zebos guy deleted them when he wiped out his base's servers."
"Alright, I get that those guys aren't Team Rocket," Ash conceded, holding his hands defensively. "But I still think we shouldn't worry our moms over that. Besides, I don't think we will encounter those criminals again."
Serena let out a mirthless chuckle. "Way to tempt fate there, Ash."
"You know what? Enough talking about criminals. Let's switch to a better topic," Ash stated. "For example, your contests."
"Very well," Serena agreed with the topic change, seeing that the talk about criminals wasn't getting them nowhere.
"So, do you plan to use Selkid and Minicorn anytime soon?" Ash inquired.
"I think Selkid's ready for the Appeal Round, so I'll use her next contest," Serena replied. "Minicorn needs a little more training and experience before I think in choosing her. I still don't even know what attacks can she use."
A knowing smile spread around Ash's face. "Well, there's a good way to know about that."
"Let me guess... a sparring match?" Serena asked, though she was also smiling back at him.
"You know me so well."
"Didn't we agree to give our Pokemon a free day to relax?" Serena reminded.
"I know, I know! I didn't mean right now," Ash explained, barely restraining his enthusiasm at the chance of seeing Serena's new Pokemon fighting for the first time. "We can do it after you're done with your contest, as training for the next one."
"Alrght," Serena said, before she quickly added: "But no Dunsparce! At least not until you get him to behave!"
Ash wanted to defend his Pokemon, claiming he wasn't so bad, but he quickly remembered the cheap shot he delieverd to Selkid when she and Birbie where on their duet/singing duel, and that made him reconsider his position.
"Understood. I guess he still needs a little more discipline," Ash sheepishly stated. "At the very least, he follows my commands in battle, so there's that."
Serena gave him an odd look. "You talk as if you had Pokemon that disobeyed you in the past."
Given the sheer respect all the Pokemon Ash trained professed for their trainer, she found weird that there would be someone who wouldn't want to follow him.
"Only one, but he gave me quite a lot of trouble back then. You met my Charizard, right?" Ash asked.
Serena nodded. That was one of the many Pokemon of Ash she had met when they were in Pallet Town. It was a good thing that Ash never used him against her, because he appeared to be pretty strong. "I do. Though, despite his appearance, he was rather kind."
"Let's say Charizard wasn't always like that. He was always obedient when he was a Charmander, but then he evolved into Charmeleon, and stopped listening to me. He even attacked me sometimes. And it got worse when he evolved again into Charizard."
"Honestly, I just can't picture a Pokemon disobeying you. I see the way your Pokemon act when you send them to battle. The trust you inspire in them is palpable," Serena praised.
"Hehe, thanks," Ash said, blushing a little, and rubbing the back of his head. "Though, keep in mind that when I met you in Kalos, I was a very experienced trainer. Back then, I was still learning the ropes about Pokemon training, and I made lots of mistakes."
"Don't feel bad about that. We all make mistakes, especially when we do something for the first time," Serena reassured him.
"Oh, I know that. No other Pokemon has disobeyed me since then," Ash continued, now more cheerful. "And I'm sure Dunsparce won't disobey me either. He might be a scoundrel, but he respects me. Or at least, that's what I like to think."
"Congratulations for being the only living being that yellow snake respects," Serena said, rolling her eyes a little.
"Don't worry, sooner or later I'll get through him and make him realize the error of his ways," Ash said. "You'll see how, little by little, he'll become a better Pokemon."
"I don't doubt your word. But until that happens, make sure he doesn't cause more trouble and learns to respect our other Pokémon," Serena requested.
"Guess you have a reason to ask that," Ash conceded. "No problem. I mean, Dunsparce isn't the only newbie in my team. Colarva needs to catch up to the others, and Birbie still has much training to do as well. And while it may be too soon to tell about Colarva, you saw that Birbie has a very pleasant disposition."
"Indeed. No wonder Dunsparce can't stand him," Serena laughed.
"I think he also hates that Birbie beat him," Ash added. "Not helped that Birbie doesn't seem to appreciate his attitude either."
"Because Birbie is a decent Pokemon," Serena replied. She then looked at the time, and realized that it would be soon time to have lunch. "Well, now that we bought the Pokegears and tested them, shall we return to the Pokemon Center? I'm sure Clemont and Bonnie want theirs too."
"Yeah, let's go back," Ash said, as he and Serena got up from the bench and began walking.
…
A few minutes later, Ash and Serena returned to the Pokemon Center. Clemont was still working on the Team Omega electronic helment, and they presumed Bonnie was outside, playing with the Pokemon. Upon calling both siblings, Ash and Serena gave the other two Pokegears to Clemont and Bonnie, who quickly took them out of their boxes and put them on their wrists. Bonnie in particular was looking at the device with stars in her eyes.
"Thank you guys!" Bonnie excitedly shouted. "I never had something like this before! It's so cool, right Dedenne?"
"Nene!" the Antennae Pokemon agreed, even if he had no idea what Bonnie was talking about.
"You know, Clemont thought that he could build some communicators based on that helmet," Bonnie pointed out. "But I'm not going to wear something Clemont built next to my ear, you know, if it goes BOOM!"
"Not everything I build explodes, Bonnie," Clemont protested, indignant. He then looked at the helmet, still on the table. "Though, better use Pokegears for the time being. If I use this technology to create communication devices, those Team Omega guys might be able to track us down."
"Can't they track us now?" Serena asked, worried after hearing such bit of information.
"Only when the communicator function is active, and I made sure to disable it," Clemont reassured her.
"Yeah, after the number we did on that base of theirs, I'm sure they'd want to get some revenge on us," Ash said, though he wasn't particularly frightened by such prospect. "Have you found something digging on that helmet?"
"Just bits and pieces here and there," Clemont said, as his eyes returned to the screen. "I was downloading as much information as I could from their servers, but the sudden wipeout caused many files to download corrupted or incomplete. Aside from dealings with other criminals, plans for future inventions.
"However, something I found something called 'Project 092' that gets mentioned quite a lot of times, and it appears to be important," Clemont said. "Unfortunately, this is the only thing I could get:"
Report #01: Prog - is - - - -dename 092. - - - from radiation-s biofiber. It - - to reconstru- - - damage-
Report #02: - power core - from over-. It - - a large - - nuclear fuel to -. - - activated- - - - prod- - limitless energy.
Report #03: Th - MRI - anomalous brainwave -ns. - specim-n - - inca-e - indep-ent thoug-. We - -ing - - suppress-.
Report #04: - - the Interface - final- today. Th- -erator - - - - - full control - -e Sp-cimen. - chief reseacher, Dr. - -s - granted clearance.
Report #05: - has been - breach - confidential-. - - - shall - relocate - undergr- -. Project 092 - have - - -rminated.
Ash, Serena and Bonnie read the pieces of text on the screen, the former two with far more interest than the latter. Given how many words and letters were missing, they couldn't form a picture of what this project was or what was Team Omega attempting to do. Still, the words "radiation", "nuclear fuel" and "limitless energy" stood up.
"That... it looks that those Omega guys have their hands on something bigger than mere trafficking," Serena said, covering her mouth with her hands.
"Indeed," Clemont nodded, and continued to type. "Alright, I just sent this information to the Ranger HQ. Hopefully it will help them shut down Team Omega for good."
"Yeah. Between this and what we did before, those guys' criminal activities have their days numbered," Ash said, placing a reassuring hand on Serena.
Serena smiled, and grabbed his hand. "Of course," the honey blonde began. "I'm sure the Rangers will deal with them in no time."
Author's Note: After two gym battles followed by an action heavy chapter involving a villanous team, I think we all needed a chapter like this one, don't we?
Though, even if the chapter was short and more on the calm side, it wasn't entirely uneventful. Aside from more amour moments (which I'm sure you'll appreciate) we have the grpup introducing the new Pokemon to their teams (and Eevee quickly setting his sights on Sylveon) Ash and Serena calling their respective moms on their brand new Pokegears (sorry, I'm not fond of the Rotom phones) and Clemont cracking some information on Team Omega from the helmet he snatched the last chapter.
If you have played the game you'll find those entries familiar, though you don't find them until much later. Still, I decided to move them here for pacing reasons. For those of you who mentioned that the Pokemon trafficking was just for money, you were right, since as you can see, Team Omega had their noses into bigger stuff. And like I said before, Team Omega aren't filler villains, and these incomplete entries are only the first hint that shows how deep they have their hands into the actual plot.
Next chapter, the group returns to Moki Town and Serena will try to get her hands on her first contest ribbon. Will the second time be the charm? In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter. Your reviews mean a lot to me.