Author's Notes
WE. ARE. ONE. CHAPTER. AWAY. FROM. 69!
Nice.
Welcome back to the whacky fanfic with a sleep-deprived author where shit gets crazier and crazier each time.
This time, we have Serena showing off as the other half of our power couple: Amour!
I was really planning to go all out this chapter, but then, it'd ruin a lot of surprises down the line so I decided to take my time and controlled myself.
But at least, you guys get something GOOD this chapter and next chapter (hehe, 69) is where we'll scratch the surface of the underlying story of Fated.
Lore, people! We need LORE!
By the way, lemme confirm some things from last chapter:
Yep, Ash is getting Larvitar early. You guys already guess it so there's no point keeping it a secret.
Review corner time!
Rajiv A. Rajaram:
Great chapter with a capture and some villain work on Serena's end. Like the moment with team rocket as well. Based on what you said about Charizard I guess you're making him stay in the valley too? Kinda sad but I suppose a needed way to remove him from the story for a while for others to shine.
…
Thanks for the review, man. And unfortunately, yes. I've said in a previous chapter that Johto's his time to shine.
However, to make him shine, we gotta make sure he enters his own training arc before returning to Ash.
Charizard is gonna get stronger for sure but...
I did say Ash is going to catch Ls A LOT from now on, didn't I?
.
Guest:
This book is definitely my favorite Pokémon Ash Fanfic. I just love how masterfully you have handle every character. Blue's inferiority complex, Gary's thrust for power, Ash's distorted mind. Just beautiful. And Serena was a handle much better than any other Serena in other fanfics that I have read. Addition of Brendon was a treat and watching my favorite character Alain in action even it was for a little time was still good for me. I am very excited when he joins Flare to save Marini Chespin and how much if will effect everybody given most of the Kalos group is much more closer to him then original. Heracross was expected and making will Pokémon more realistic was a good move. But I did not see Larvitar this early in the story. It's a nice because Ash has to raise a Pokémon very distrustful of other humans and Larvitar lost It's mother just like Ash lost his own mother. The Team Flare admis being Valkyrie's does make them more interesting because I never cared about Team Flare except Malva and Lysander. Wish there were more interactions with Casey but I am sure you have something in plane. Also loved the contast reference. However please make sure Misty gets a goal of her own and a driving force to reach her dream.
Now for the real topic. Normally I don't leave reviews by the previous chapter was something else. I could have never imagined M[02] and this chapter would related like this. Ash reacting to CANON ASH, at first I don't thought it was just for fun and not nesscery so I bruished off but after rereading the entire M[02] , I finally connected the dots and figured it out from which timeline he belongs. The reaction was the foreshadowing for Archers eventual path of misery and UBW. Truly the "Orginal" Ones Slave. Absolutely fantastic work
.
Thanks for the review, Mr Guest! Seeing readers enjoy this (arguably) crackfic I wrote on a whim really makes me happy. I hope to keep y'all entertained for long!
Larvitar: Him distrusting humans is a given. However, Ash is not the only one who's gonna help regarding that.
Omake: Glad you find it interesting. Currently, Fated!Ash isn't really 'emotionally stable' at this point in time so him reacting towards Canon!Ash is more of a parallel to his internal outburst when he was about to lose against Lorelei (Nine Strikes chapter).
Man, don't you just cringe at your younger self that you just wanna kill him?
...Moving on.
Misty's goal:
And that's it. Hope to see y'all next time on 69 (heh)!
Chapter 68: A Thousand Arrows
Meanwhile…
"Hmm… Y'know, Misty. You could use some prettier clothes," Brendan commented bluntly.
"I'll punch you, brat," the redhead countered.
"Wait, wait, I'm not calling you ugly! I'm saying its such a waste with a pretty face like yours!"
Almost immediately, the redhead's anger vanished with a haughty expression replacing it.
"Of course! This mermaid is nothing but beauty!" Misty declared proudly with a smug smile.
'Someone should get her eyes checked out,' Ash kept it to himself.
It was not as if the raven-haired boy thought the Gym Leader was unattractive; on the contrary, he would admit to himself that Misty was one of the prettier girls he had ever met.
The only issue was…
'It's just that Yellow fits my preferences.'
The boy had VERY specific tastes.
All of a sudden…
DOOM!
The raven-haired boy stood from his seat, a horrid feeling overcoming his person.
"Ash? What's wrong?" Misty's voice was layered with white noise, unable to pierce through the boy's hearing.
"Dude, you good?" Brendan was the same.
All Ash could think of was…
"…Yellow?"
The sinking sensation of something had terribly went wrong.
.
.
.
BOOM!
The trees were frozen instantly as spikes of ice bloomed from the chilled earth, destroying the greenery mercilessly. And from the ensuing chaos of ice…
"Hup!"
A honey blonde emerged, running with the little Pokémon tucked under her arms with one of them seated on her head.
"Khh! How is she running for so long?!" Ölrún shouted in annoyance.
The Flare admin went into offense, ordering the unstable Eevee, now Glaceon, to freeze the honey blonde and take away the Cores. Or at least, that was her initial plan.
What the Valkyrie failed to account for was Serena's high endurance, cultivated from her training with Grace.
'I never thought I'd say this, but thanks for the Rhyhorn training, Mom!' she grinned to herself as she skidded to the foliage, narrowly avoiding a cluster of icy thorns.
'The skirt's a little limiting though.'
"Ko!" / "Ma!" / "Ito!"
"Don't worry. You guys aren't enough to slow me down," Serena smiled assuredly to the three Pokémon.
"I won't let anything happen to you."
All of them were touched by girl's assurance, increased tenfold when accounting her charismatic smile.
Shrrrnk!
'Serena, left!' Puni-chan directed.
'Make sure you duck down slightly!' Squishy added.
'You got it!' the girl nodded.
The two Cores on her shoulder were acting as her eyes as they watched her back, warning her of the threatening ice crawling after her.
"That little fox!" Ölrún snapped.
'She's not particularly fast, but that monstrous endurance is a pain!'
However, the Valkyrie swallowed her anger as she followed the rampaging Glaceon, opting to see reason instead of being blinded by rage.
"Even if it vexes me, this is still a loss for you, little custodian."
'That's right. If I can't catch you easily…'
Serena darted her eyes around, slowly widening them in alarm.
'These trees… I don't recognize them,' she realized.
"Run and run, small fox. Run till you're all alone."
'Then I'll make sure you never reach your precious teacher.'
…
Back at the forest's entrance…
"Charizard, [Flamethrower]!" Alain called out.
On cue, the orange dragon breathed flames of raging heat, swarming the grunts and their Pokémon. Gary and Blue were busily ordering their respective aces but took the time to be amazed by Alain's Charizard.
The most important part being [Flamethrower]'s seemingly conditional targets as only grunts and their Pokémon were attacked, but not the oak trees around them.
'His Charizard's control… Reminds me of Ash's battle against Lorelei,' Blue remarked, recalling the time Ash had the Flame Pokémon cauterize his wounds without burning his clothes.
"That's some impressive control," Gary praised.
"Thanks, but it was a pain for Charizard to control. Besides, the grass was still burnt so we must train more," the older teen replied.
"That's cool and all but you mind clearing the flank, boys?" Blue interrupted.
The three worked in tandem, trying their hardest not to get in each other's way. Fortunately, even with the addition of Charizard, Gary managed to direct improvised roles with the two:
Espeon, the defender. Out of the three, she was the best in terms of protection.
Arcanine, the skirmisher. With his speed, he could take out any additional forces and disrupt their plans.
Charizard, the damage dealer. The current highest in terms of firepower and the only one in the team with reliable AOE* attacks.
(Area-of-effect*)
"You guys ready to do this?" the orange-haired boy licked his lips due to the heat.
"I'd rather not but seems like we've got no choice," the chestnut-haired girl wiped a drop of sweat from her brow.
"Same, but we need to buy time for the rest to retreat," the black-haired teen cracked his neck.
The red suits surrounded them again, smirking as they relished their presumed victory. The students glared at them, readying themselves for one last spurt.
"Don't leave any witnesses!" one of them commanded.
"Get outta our way!" the three shouted in indignation.
Towers of flames exploded.
BOOOOOOM!
…
The distant explosions echoed around the forests, surrounding the Sinnoh Champion and her opponent, the Valkyrie named Gunnr.
The two stood, unmoving as they stared at each other.
They were calm like stilled water, not bothered by their surroundings.
"Are you not worried about your students' safety?" Gunnr asked robotically.
"If you're asking that, clearly you don't have information about them," Cynthia replied.
'How sharp. To think a Champion's intuition is this great,' Gunnr mused to herself.
'That's right. They're focused on the Zygardes and Serena. I'm the only obstacle in their path,' Cynthia did the same.
'However, my role is merely to stall you, Champion. My sister will complete hers soon.'
'However, there's that sister she mentioned, meaning there's a second party. She's probably after Serena right now.'
'But she is now aware of Ölrún, meaning there's a chance she might slip towards the custodian instead. I must prevent that from happening.'
'She must be thinking I'd slip away to find Serena. That's good, that just means she has her attention diverted slightly as I overwhelm her.'
'But I believe the Champion isn't that simple, therefore, I will use everything in my power to stop her here.'
'Even after all that, there's still the probability she'd face me going all out. That works.'
'All that's left is…' / 'Now the question is…'
'Who'll move first?' / 'Who goes first?'
The two women gazed at each other, continuing their mind games while chaos ensued around them.
…
"Come out, come out, girly!" a sadistic yell echoed around the forest.
Ölrún had managed to corner the edges of the forest with the assistance of Glaceon, who was now panting and short of breath.
"Oi."
Wham!
A strong kick cracked the Eeveelution's ribs as she was forced to plant her face into the dirt.
"Did I tell you to rest? Tch! Useless mutt."
Among the overhead branches, a balled fist tightened in anger as Serena glared with murderous rage towards the Flare admin.
'This bitch…!'
'Calm down, Serena. We will give her dues soon,' Squishy held her back but was visibly vexed as well.
Seeing no way to escape, the honey blonde had to get creative with what she had. Thankfully, she had the lab Pokémon she saved with her plus the Cores as well as…
"Fennekin, can you hear me in there?" she whispered.
The capsule nodded, letting her Trainer know she was listening.
"Okay, now listen closely…"
While she gave out her plan, the honey blonde scanned the branches, locating some sturdy wood among them.
"You're not coming out? Then I'll just set this place ablaze!" Ölrún grinned.
"Mutt! Burn this forest to the ground!"
At her command, the unstable Eevee switched forms from the icy Glaceon. But…
"Vui!"
The Eevee-turned-Glaceon hacked as she neared her limit. Blood sprayed onto the ground as she was too tired to transform. Even her sounds had reverted to Eevee despite still taking Glaceon's form.
Suddenly, a tremendous shock electrocuted the Eeveelution, causing her great pain as foams began to collect on the ends of her mouth.
BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!
"Ṿ̵͂-̴͕͝V̴̰̈́-̵͔́Ṽ̴̟-̵͔̈́Ṿ̴̍U̶̙͂Ủ̵͉U̵̧͌U̴̢͊U̵͔̓I̸̥͌-̶͎̅I̴̼̅-̴̰̃I̴̼̓-̷̣̄I̵̻͠!"
BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!
"Be glad you're getting off this easily. Tch, fine! Then freeze this place until I find her," the Valkyrie clicked her tongue.
As the falling tears froze on her chin, the tortured Glaceon resumed her slaving as she burst out a thorny flower of frigid ice.
SSHHHHRRRNNNKKK!
Great frost engulfed the area as Serena watched in pity towards the exhausted Glaceon. The surrounding wildlife began to flee as well since their homes were about to freeze.
'That skank's really done it this time!' the honey blonde gritted her teeth.
Just then, a flock of Pidgeys flew overhead in a hurry, dropping feathers that littered around the treetops. Seeing that, she had an idea.
'For now…' she took out her red device and scanned the Pokémon with her.
[=]
Spinarak, the String Spit Pokémon
It waits intently until its preferred prey, Cutiefly, gets caught in its web. In fact, it's quite a patient Pokémon. It spins a web using fine—but durable—thread. It then waits patiently for prey to be trapped. With threads from its mouth, it fashions sturdy webs that won't break even if you set a rock on them. Although the poison from its fangs isn't that strong, it's potent enough to weaken prey that gets caught in its web.
[=]
'What's a Cutiefl— Wait, now's not the time,' she shook her head.
[=]
Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokémon
Its body is covered with water-repellent fur. Because of the fur, it can swim through water at high speed without being slowed by the water's resistance. The oil-filled tail functions as a buoy, so it's fine even in rivers with strong currents. Using its tail as a float, it dives underwater. It likes eating plants that grow in riverbeds.
[=]
Then, she scanned the final one.
[=]
Psyduck, the Duck Pokémon
This Pokémon is troubled by constant headaches. The more pain it's in, the more powerful its psychokinesis becomes. As a result of headaches so fierce they cause it to cry, it sometimes uses psychokinesis without meaning to. If the agony grows too great, Psyduck's latent power erupts.
[=]
'Excuse me, Psyduck?!' she did a double take.
"Koduck!" the duck quacked.
Nevertheless, Serena was running out of time to think since the encroaching ice was beginning to overwhelm the forest. With that in mind, the honey blonde began to formulate the solution to her predicament.
'Think, think! With all the pieces here…' she exhaled.
'Think of a way to win!'
She scrambled, she failed.
She simulated, she failed.
Every option she tried, they failed.
But even with failure at every corner…
'Don't give up until it's over!'
Those words pushed her to greater lengths.
'That's the wrong line of thinking.'
'What I should be thinking isn't what I'd do…'
'But what Red would do.
Serena knew she was not bull-headed nor suicidal like the borderline insane Ash. But right now…
'Okay then…'
His insanity was her key to win.
'Let's do this, Red.'
…
Thud!
"Who… Who are these brats…?" a grunt uttered before fainting in defeat.
As the suit fell, the three students emerged victorious. Tired but victorious, nonetheless.
"You guys… Are you used to this?" Alain took a moment to catch his breath.
"As if. But if it's Red, then he'll probably tell you its an average day for him," Gary panted.
The older student was too exhausted to be surprised anymore. The tales of the raven-haired boy seemed far-fetched to him when he first heard of it, but as time passed on and seeing his battles during the Orange League, he became extremely impressed.
"Ah. Damnit, I forgot," Alain grunted as he remembered why he rushed back.
"What's wrong?" Blue asked.
"Serena. She's missing from the others. That's why I came back."
The two Kanto natives immediately got up, urging the black-haired teen to follow them without saying a word. Sensing their sudden urgency as well as his aligned task, Alain followed suit as well as the three ran into the deeper parts of the forest.
"I know it's a little redundant for me to ask but why're you two so worried?" Alain asked, confused.
"Listen, Alain. You know how Sere-chan gets mad when Red does something stupid?" Blue ran with all her might, seemingly forgetting her fatigue.
"…I've noticed. Why?" the black-haired teen quirked a brow.
"Well, let's just say if Serena gets hurt…" Gary gulped as his throat screamed for water.
The two childhood friends shared a mixed look of horror and panic.
"There's literally no telling what Red might do."
.
.
.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
…
The Sinnoh Champion was getting impatient with the winged woman before her. She knew Serena was getting targeted but with what she knew of her, the blonde woman understood that the honey blonde was tougher than she looked.
"If we're just going to stand around and have a staring contest, at least make it fair by taking off those goggles," Cynthia quipped.
"The time of convening has elapsed. It appears my sister is still occupied in her capture," Gunnr answered.
Finally, the two took a step closer to each other. The silence broken, the two engaged.
"Druddigon, [Dragon Claw]."
From behind the blonde woman, a blitzing red-headed dragon leapt as it descended its purple-clad claws onto the human below.
'Confirmed. Highest level threat unable to react.'
Druddigon brought down its claws and pierce the woman. But before it could…
DOOM!
A pair of glowing platinum eyes glared back at the red-headed dragon.
"I was wondering when you'll come out."
The Champion's keen senses had expected it since the beginning. Now that Druddigon had shown itself, Cynthia summoned her partner.
Dance in the heavens—
She did not spare the red-headed dragon a glance.
—Garchomp.
"ROOOOAAARRRR!"
"[Crunch]."
The ferocious shark dragon roared her entrance as she chomped down on the momentarily stunned Druddigon's neck.
"Crim—?!" Druddigon was taken aback.
With a mighty twist, she sent the opposing dragon flying into the woods.
CRACK! BOOM! CRACK! BOOM!
The flying Druddigon crashed into the large tree trunks, destroying them as they tried to halt its flung state. But even after more than half the distance from its initial pounce, the red-headed dragon was not slowing down.
BOOOOOM!
Then, as if to spare it mercy, Druddigon finally tumbled onto the earth, completely whited out from the destructive damage it received as well as the vertigo it suffered from Garchomp's throw.
A pseudo-crevice was made from Druddigon's crash, adorned with disturbed dirt and littered with broken trees when seen from above.
The Valkyrie stood still; her goggles may hide her eyes, but Cynthia could tell from her body that the winged woman was shocked.
"This is the power of a Champion…" she muttered to herself, finally showing some semblance of life in her voice.
'I was… going to stop… that? What a fool I was…' alarms blared in her head.
"And… those glowing eyes."
The blonde woman continued her gaze, now equipped with a dominating presence as the Valkyrie now could not meet them.
"I'll ask you: Where's my student?" she finally asked.
"…" Gunnr held her tongue.
Heavy stumps approached as the land shark bared her fangs in front of the orange-haired woman with her Trainer squatting to her fallen level. The platinum eyes were beginning to shift as the colours were turning redder.
"I don't have time for your hesitance, Valkyrie."
"Where is my student?"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion of verdant burst around the forest as Cynthia spun to the source.
"…Sere-chan?"
.
.
.
A wasteland of ice. That was what was left of the once green land.
And the treetops were next in line to be frozen.
"Come on, girly! We don't got all day!" Ölrún yelled.
"I agree," a voice said from above.
Ölrún's head turned sharply towards the tree above, but she saw no one, only hearing the rustling of leaves as a gust of wind broke the shuffling leaves.
Now, the winged woman widened her eyes at what she saw:
Serena had jumped from the branch of one tree and was about to land on a nearby branch. Ölrún thought of the honey blonde as an idiot for this.
"Hah! You've just exposed yourself, girly! Glaceon, us—"
But that command soon died as Serena turned her gaze towards the unstable Eevee with the Valkyrie in the crossfire.
'Sorry about this, Eevee!' she apologized internally.
The tyrannical glare of unforgiving frost pierced their eyes as they tightened their mouths shut. A wave of hostility washed over them as Serena unleashed her Origin's talent:
Intimidation.
'What… What is this?!' Ölrún choked.
But she had no time to think as Serena landed on the opposite branch before throwing something towards her and Eevee.
'That's… a Psyduck?'
The yellow duck fell towards the Valkyrie, spinning to her as the winged woman realized a horrid revelation:
Psyduck's eyes were glowing blue. And what that entailed was something everyone knew:
"Think fast, chucklenuts!"
The duck was a ticking time bomb.
BBBBBBOOOOOOOMMMMM!
An explosion of Psychic energy bloomed, destroying the frozen land as well as damaging the two below.
"Vui…" Glaceon returned to her original form.
Surrounding her was heavy smoke. Smoke that was birthed from Psyduck's Psychic aftermath.
Clink, click.
Eevee glanced downwards, gasping at the clicking remnants below.
Remnants of the shock collar around her neck.
She never knew this day would come. No, she did not dare to hope.
Thock!
A foreign object was shot next to her wounded body. The brown fox's eyes were bleary, exhausted from her icy orders but by focusing them, she realized what had embedded itself beside her:
It was a wooden arrow with Pidgey feathers for fletching as well as a strong white web connected at the end.
"Vui…"
"Eevee!" Serena shouted.
"Vui…"
"Come with me!"
…
A few minutes ago…
"You guys, can you help me?" Serena asked the Pokémon she saved, answered with resounding cries of agreement.
The Pokémon would not have been here without the girl, and so, her wishes were their command.
"Okay… here's the plan."
Psyduck was the main contributor of this plan, wielding its psychokinesis to pull stray branches of wood as well as the littered Pidgey feathers around them. The reason why Serena could not move and had to rely on the yellow duck was due to the Valkyrie below, not wanting to expose her position.
"Psyduck, I know you'll get a really bad headache once we're done," Serena assured.
"Koduck…"
"You're worried you'll hurt everyone, right? Don't worry about that."
"Ko?"
"Instead of harming us, I'll make sure you use that power to save someone."
That was all it took to convince Psyduck to act as a Psychic grenade.
"Spinarak, I need your strings for this," Serena turned to the green spider.
"Ito!" Spinarak saluted confidently.
"Also, when Psyduck explodes, I need you and Marill to reel him back with your strings."
"Ito!" another confident salute.
Spinarak was the retriever. It would be the one to collect the downed Psyduck once he had finished his headache explosion alongside Marill, the physically strongest one of them all.
"Marill. How much can your tail carry?" the honey blonde asked the round mouse.
"Ma," the Aqua Mouse pokemon stretched its arms far and wide.
"Pft. Okay then, I'm counting on you," the girl patted the mouse gently.
"Marill!"
'Serena,' the two Cores called for her.
'Yeah?' she replied through their telepathic link.
'…Listen closely, alright?'
…
Spinarak launched its strong string towards its duck friend, attached and ready to be pulled. Marill was next to act, comfortably snug alongside the spider into a makeshift baby sling on the girl's back. The makeshift baby sling being used from Serena's blazer, exposing the honey blonde's pale skin, her undershirt's sleeves rolled up as well.
"Ito!" / "Marill!"
The two pulled with all their strength, resulting in Psyduck being rocketed towards them before planting its unconscious face onto the tree trunk behind them.
Whap!
"Koduck…" Psyduck quacked with an unamused face.
The two Pokémon rubbed their heads sheepishly, apologizing to the duck.
"Good work, you three!" Serena praised before turning back to the weakened Eevee.
Sensing the green-haired woman was about to regain her footing, the honey blonde cried out for the brown fox.
"Eevee! Hold onto the arrow!"
But the brown fox was too scared to move.
She had been treated too harshly by humans, so much so it had been instilled within her that they were not to be trusted.
"Ito!" / "Ma!" / "Ko!"
The 3 Pokémon with the human girl sided with the latter.
Eevee could tell they trusted her, but she truly believed they were being manipulated.
'Vui…'
She was tired.
Tired of being mistreated.
Tired of being tortured.
Tired of the experiments done to her.
'Vui…' Eevee closed her eyes slowly.
At least with the winged human, she could at least choose where she dies.
…
…
However,…
"Don't give up, Eevee!"
A loud voice called for her. She lifted upwards, finding the honey blonde reaching her hand towards her.
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
Static overran her eyes, but Eevee still kept them trained on the hand.
The hand that reached out towards her.
A hand she never had the luxury of taking nor offered.
It was…
The hand of a saviour. Her saviour.
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
"Don't give up until it's over, Eevee!
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
A blurred face overlapped with the honey blonde.
Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!
"I'm here for you!"
"̷ₜ̷ᴴ̶ₐ̸ᴺ̸ₖ̸ ̵ʸ̷ᴼ̸ᵤ̴ ̸ᶠ̵ᴼ̴ᵣ̴ ̷ₑ̶ⱽ̴ₑ̵ᴿ̴ʸ̵ᵀ̵ₕ̴ᴵ̷ₙ̶ᴳ̴.̷"̸
The determined expression that adorned the human girl above her, firmly believing in her as well as the outstretched hand she held for her…
It culminated into tears of happiness.
"Vui…"
She tried to stifle the tears, but they refused to stop.
"Don't you dare, mutt! You belong to Team Flare!"
The ireful woman glared menacingly at the tearful Eevee, trying to subjugate the glimmer of hope in her eyes.
'Vui…!' she tried to shut off everything.
The terrible woman trapping her. The static headache in her mind.
But she could not close off the human girl that reached out to her.
Pat.
Eevee felt a sudden stroke on her furry brown head, prompting her to tilt upwards. Serena smiled warmly towards the teary-eyed fox as the girl gave Eevee her hand once more.
"Eevee."
"You don't belong to anyone."
Her gentle words wavered her shaky mouth.
She had jumped off her high ground, meeting the brown fox on her level.
'V… Vu… Vui…?'
Eevee could not understand.
Because of her, the human girl had lost her advantage.
At this rate, she would be captured by the detestable woman.
The Pokémon with her would suffer the same terrible fate as her.
And despite all that…
Even knowing all of it…
Eevee felt her heart flutter at the next words the smiling girl said:
"Let's go, Eevee."
A paw extended, touching the calloused hand of the human girl. With one act, Eevee felt all her energy sapped away, finally allowing herself to rest.
"Don't worry, Eevee. I'll protect you."
The honey blonde carried the sleeping fox in one arm, fixating her chilling glare towards the angered woman before her.
"You…! You annoying bitch!" Ölrún barked vehemently.
"Be civilized, hag. You don't hear me calling you a hag; right, hag?" Serena shot back.
The Zygarde Cores made themselves present, glaring similarly towards the so-called Valkyrie.
"Z1, Z2. Right, I'm here for you two. All will be well if I just capture you!"
Wordlessly, Serena stabbed her makeshift bow of Spinarak strings and wood into the earth as she took out her only capsule. The honey blonde turned to the brown fox in her arm, silently curled inside.
Ölrún felt a chill run down her spine as the woman took a step back unconsciously. The honey blonde bangs covered the girl's eyes, but the silent fury was unmistakeable.
"I should've started with this in the first place," Serena remarked to herself as she pointed her capsule towards the Valkyrie.
Royal blue eyes stabbed the green-haired woman, wailing chills crawling on her skin as the tyrannical aura surrounding the honey blonde exploded into an atmosphere of cruelty.
Ölrún could no longer see the little girl before her. No, she was petrified cold at what she was embodying as she held Eevee to her chest:
"Let's battle."
Avenger.
"Don't get cocky! Liepard!"
At once, the green-haired woman summoned her Pokémon, a pink-masked purple leopard with speckled yellow rosettes.
"Guys, if you will," Serena requested the Pokémon on her back as they nodded while scanning the leopard with her Dex.
[=]
Liepard, the Cruel Pokémon
These Pokémon vanish and appear unexpectedly. Many Trainers are drawn to their beautiful form and fur. Their beautiful form comes from the muscles they have developed. Stealthily, it sneaks up on its target, striking from behind before its victim has a chance to react.
[=]
"Fennekin, I choose you," Serena summoned her starter.
"Fou!" the fox growled.
The yellow fox was aware of the situation, growling at her enemies due to Eevee's torment. Right now, she could care less getting her fur dirtied.
"Fennekin, [Scratch]!"
"Dodge it!"
The small fox clawed at the leopard, but due to its nimble body, it evaded every swipe from Fennekin with relative ease.
"This is pathetic, girly! [Dark Pulse]!"
Energy of malevolence coalesced in the leopard's mouth as it shot a beam of darkness towards Fennekin. But both Serena and Fennekin did not panic, sharing a fleeting glance before the yellow fox erupted in flames.
'Thanks, Cynthia,' she credited her teacher for teaching her a new move.
"[Flame Charge]!"
The malefic beam missed as a dashing ball of fire zipped across the frozen wasteland, speeding towards Liepard.
"Tch! Meet it with another [Dark Pulse]!"
And that was Ölrún's mistake as her purple blasted the same beam once more. What she failed to account for was the small size of Fennekin and from such a close distance, all the yellow fox had to do was simply duck underneath the darkness.
"What?!"
"Finish it off, Fennekin!"
The surrounding flames on Fennekin's body was sucked up into her mouth as she aimed at the Liepard, who was still blasting without a clue what was about to happen.
"[Flamethrower (Fake)]!" the honey blonde paid homage to her sweetheart.
"Fooouuuu!"
The yellow fox unleashed the gathered fire in her snout and blasted all of it onto Liepard without remorse.
Thud!
"My Liepard!" Ölrún could not believe her eyes.
"Fun fact: Cat-like Pokémon have myopia. Liepards hunt in the dark, making their vision far-sighted, meaning they can't focus on anything less than a foot in front of them," Serena explained.
To add insult to injury, the honey blonde continued.
"And just so you know, Fennekin isn't a battler," Serena allowed a mocking grin on her face.
Ölrún's blood vessel finally popped as she absorbed the honey blonde's next words:
"You just suck."
"I'll kill you!"
That was Serena's cue to leave as she returned Fennekin into her capsule before breaking into a sprint towards the forest.
'Thanks for pointing me to the right direction,' she remarked sarcastically to the Valkyrie.
Due to the green-haired woman's initial order for Glaceon to cut off the girl from running deeper, Serena was only left with the general direction towards the school.
But Ölrún was not going to let the honey blonde off that easily as she used the robotic wings her back and flew above the sprinting Serena.
"Die!"
The honey blonde widened her eyes in shock as the winged woman pulled out a futuristic long gun aimed towards her.
'Merde!' she cursed as she fled beneath the trees.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
A round of hailing lightning crashed close to where Serena initially was, cluing the honey blonde that those were not ordinary bullets.
"These are shell rounds, filled with nothing but electric, courtesy of my Manectric!" Ölrún oh-so-helpfully provided.
'The heck?! That's not how shotgun shells work!' the honey blonde complained internally.
Clicking her tongue, Serena gave the exhausted Eevee to the Pokémon in the back as they made space for the fox within their makeshift blazer sling.
"Vui…"
"Go back to sleep, Eevee. I'll make sure she never touches you ever again," Serena nocked a crude arrow into her primitive bow.
That small but determined assurance was more than enough to lull the brown fox to sleep again.
…
Swish! Swish! Bang! Bang!
The clash between arrows and shells flooded their sounds across the woodlands as lightning shells hammered the bulky trees, bringing them down without remorse.
Arrows sung their flights while shells tore them apart.
It was a losing battle from the start.
But Serena could not give up.
She was responsible not only for the Cores, but for the Pokémon as well.
Especially Eevee.
"Marill, please," Serena ran with hastened steps as she reached to her back without looking.
"Ma!" Marill nodded.
The Aqua Mouse Pokémon acted as the honey blonde's quiver as its tail wrapped around the dozen crude projectiles left in her arsenal. Serena felt the lanky body of her arrow and proceeded to pull it from Marill's grasp with ease due to the blue mouse's lubricated tail.
Swish!
BANG!
"Tch!" the honey blonde dashed away, avoiding the barrel pointing towards her.
'Dumbass! Aiming for the wings instead of me… How naïve can you be?!' Ölrún grinned sadistically.
If it was any consolation for the girl, the Valkyrie was easy to predict.
However, the worst possible scenario happened.
"Marill!" the blue mouse squeaked sadly.
'Only one left, huh?' Serena stared at the remaining projectile in her hand.
"Thanks, you guys. Leave the rest to me."
Meanwhile, Ölrún was not running out of shots as the woman was still haphazardly blasting not at Serena, but areas near her.
'That sadist. Is she trying to make me scared?'
She recalled a time she was but a scared little girl.
'Now that I think about it, it happened in a forest too…'
The honey blonde allowed a small smile to herself, despite the chaos around her.
'…I'll never cower. That little girl Red found in the woods…'
"Serena," Squishy wobbled on her shoulder.
Hearing the green blob on her shoulder as she sprinted, Serena recalled their previous conversation.
…
'Serena,' the two Cores called for her.
'Yeah?' she replied through their telepathic link.
'…Listen closely, alright?'
The Cores' tone sounded serious, prompting Serena to listen intently at their words.
'Do you remember some of our chats about becoming an Incarnation?'
'Yeah. Something about a verbal contract, right?'
'That's correct.'
'But I'm not going to be one now. I told you; I'll protect you two with my own strength.'
'We respect that. However, if it's our current state, you can borrow our powers without becoming an Incarnation.'
Now, Serena was confused. It was conflicting with her current knowledge of how the whole thing worked.
'Eh? But using your powers automatically results in me being one, no?'
'Our condition is unique. Our powers, or rather status as a God, is dependent on our Cells.'
'Yeah, I remember that.'
'The reason why we are weakened and so easily caught by this Team Flare previously are due to the same problem.'
Serena listened while she made her arrows on the tree branch, carefully not making a sound.
'What problem?'
'A sizeable amount of our Cells has been taken from us.'
'Wait, what? What do you mean by 'taken'? Can't you just take it back since you're considered the Planet's immune system or something like that.'
'You would be right… But there exists a threat beyond us.'
Now Serena was shocked, stopping what she was doing as she turned to the Cores on her shoulder with bewildered eyes. Sensing her flummoxed state, the Zygardes continued.
'The details can wait. For now, all you must know is you have our blessings to use our powers temporarily.'
'…Okay. But you hafta promise me that you guys will explain that whole threat thing to me.'
'We promise, our beloved custodian.'
…
"Are you ready?" Puni-chan asked.
"Yep," the girl nodded.
Within a concentrated second, Serena dashed back into the open as the Valkyrie had a clear shot.
"Thanks for making my job easier, damn brat!" Ölrún cocked her customized shotgun towards the honey blonde with the intent to kill.
But to Ölrún's surprise, the honey blonde twisted her towards the sky, aiming her bow at the flying woman.
'What is she playing at?' she thought before her cracked goggles revealed something terrifying.
Nocked on the bow was a crude arrow…
…With energy readings of absurdly high AURA output.
'This energy…! It matches Z1 and Z2!'
'This should be enough,' Squishy checked.
'To think this is the best we could muster at our current state,' Puni-chan lamented.
'It's more than enough. Thanks, you two,' Serena aimed towards the robotic wings.
Her mind went into stasis as she tried to figure out what was going on:
A girl protecting the Zygardes.
The Zygardes being Kalos' protector and God.
The honey blonde's AURA infused arrow with the same readings as the Zygardes themselves.
'That little girl Red found in the woods…!'
"Don't tell me…!" Ölrún's face paled.
'Has grown up!'
Serena's eyes transformed from her royal blues…
Into draconic eyes of verdant green.
"An Incarnation?!"
"It's showtime, Valkyrie!"
Temporary Blessing:
[Release, Thousand Arrows]
.
.
.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
.
.
.
"What was that?!" Blue yelped as she covered her ears from the deafening explosion.
"That way!" Gary shouted, his ears still ringing.
"Stay close! There's too much smoke!" Alain shouted; his condition was the same.
The three ran into the obscuring tower of dull green, trying to find their missing friend.
'Oi, oi, Serena! Hurry up and come out, or Red's gonna kill me!' Gary panicked as he tried to find any semblance of the honey blonde.
Before they could enter deeper into the thick smog of dull green…
WHOOOOSSSHHHH!
Great gales of wind swept the area clean of the obscurity, granting perfect vision.
The one who summoned such winds came rushing towards the children in a hurry.
"Thank you, Togekiss," Cynthia thanked the flying Pokémon above her before returning it.
"Cynthia!" Blue beamed, happy that she found someone familiar.
"Are you all alright?" the woman asked worryingly.
"Just the grunts. Nothing new," Gary sighed.
"Miss Cynthia," Alain greeted.
"Oh, Auggie's protégé. What is it?"
"Serena. We're trying to fin—"
"I'm here."
The 4 spun back to find a tired honey blonde smiling towards them, her white uniform shirt dirtied and torn while her shoulder was carrying an improvised sling made of her blazer that held the 3 Pokémon she saved. But what caught their eyes was the Eevee in her arms, sleeping soundly.
Cynthia rushed towards the honey blonde before the girl stopped her.
"Did you see a woman with robot wings?" Serena asked.
"Yes. She ran off after that big explosion occurred," the blonde woman answered.
"Hmm… Sigh, I'm too tired to think anyways."
She was about to collapse but not before she sneaked the dormant Cores to Cynthia. Not only them, but she also gestured towards her friends to take Eevee off her.
"Here, take care of he—"
"Vui! Vui, vui!"
"…Never mind."
And the two fell into a deep slumber.
.
.
.
"Argh! That little brat!" Ölrún grimaced as she sat defeated, away from the chaos she previously was.
"It's a miracle how only your wings were torn," Gunnr marvelled robotically.
As the massive explosion caused by a singular arrow shattered, Gunnr managed to give Cynthia the slip and retrieved the downed Ölrún before retreating.
"To think she was an Incarnation…!"
"An Incarnation? Impossible, the Verdant Guardian has been weakened for centuries now. They cannot possibly make someone one at their present state."
"I know what I saw, Gunnr! Those eyes… They remind me of that man below our base!"
"…The Champion. I fear she might be one as well."
"Oi, oi, seriously?! Is that school just a breeding ground for monsters?!"
The two Valkyries took a moment to calm themselves before asking the big question:
"Who is Z1 and Z2's custodian?" Gunnr asked.
"…Damnit. I didn't find out," Ölrún admitted.
"To think you were beaten by a child…"
"Get off my case! God, I'm pissed!"
"And the Zygarde tracker?"
"The damn Psyduck destroyed it!"
"…A Psyduck?" Gunnr quirked a brow.
Serena's identity remained a mystery for now.
.
.
.
Vaniville Town, Kalos Region (A few days later…)
"Vui, vui!" Eevee growled.
"Fou, fou!" Fennekin growled back.
"Hey, you two. Get along," Serena finished packing her luggage.
…
After the events of Team Flare's failed capture of the Cores, Diantha visited both Grace and Serena, mainly to give plaudits for the honey blonde.
"My little girl helped Cynthia?" Grace exclaimed.
"Yes. She and 3 others contributed heavily to the capture of the organizations' grunts," Diantha smiled.
'All I did was run for my life though…' Serena retorted.
"However, because of Serena's accomplishment, we fear they might seek revenge on her. And so, she will be placed in the care of Cynthia until further notice," Diantha continued.
"Oh… I see. I'm worried for her…" Grace frowned.
'Oh, Mom… She's probably sad I'm going awa—'
"She can't do her laundry properly, that's why."
'Excuse me, Mother dearest?!'
…
"Make sure you call me, okay?" Grace hugged her daughter.
"I promise," Serena hugged back.
"You may complain a lot about Ash, but you sure have his knack for getting into trouble."
"Erk…"
Grace waved goodbye as Serena departed for Hotel Richissime.
It was not a bad deal for her. She still was able to visit Serena, and secretly assigned a bodyguard by the Kalos Champion to protect her.
.
.
.
"I'm fine, Red," Serena giggled at the boy on screen.
"Are you really sure? I can come visit… Gah, no I can't!" Ash scrambled around.
The raven-haired boy had lost sleep for days after not hearing anything from Serena for so long.
"By the way… Here's Eevee," the honey blonde picked up the brown fox to the screen.
After the battle, Eevee never left Serena's side. Her phobia towards humans was extreme to the point where the honey blonde had to accompany her to Nurse Joy and stay by her side through the whole procedure. She was like a pampered baby.
'I was still using the crutch too…' Serena recalled feeling her sore legs.
But thanks to that, Eevee was now officially Serena's Pokémon.
"Eevee. Nice to meet ya, I'm Ash!" the boy greeted the fox with a toothy grin.
"...Vui!" Eevee yipped back.
'…Wait, what?' Serena turned to the brown fox.
"Haha, aren't you friendly?"
The two talked lengthily about their adventures so far and how Ash had come to know Brendan and the fiasco that was Heracross. After a few light-hearted talks, the two ended their call for the night.
"You were really chatty with Red, weren't you, Eevee?" Serena remarked to the brown fox in her arms.
"Vui!" Eevee snuggled in her arms deeper.
"…He feels familiar?"
…
"Goodnight, you two," Serena tucked the two foxes to bed next to her.
"Fou?" / "Vui?"
"I'll join you two later."
The honey blonde waited till the two slept soundly before she spun to the Cores on her desk. The room she currently resided in was familiar to her, despite being Cynthia's housing.
"So, about that threat," Serena began.
"Yes. It has been centuries since our powers had diminished," Squishy replied.
"That's why the power faded after one use…"
"We promised you, Serena. To explain the cause of our weakened state," Puni-chan chimed in.
Nervous but wanting to learn more, Serena gestured the Cores to begin.
"A few centuries after we parted ways with our first Incarnation…"
"We found ourselves in a distant land from Kalos. The reason was because…"
"Two others sought our assistance."
"…Who did?" Serena asked.
"The ones who called for us…"
Villains thwarted.
"…was a King…"
Chapter 68: A Thousand Arrows
"…and the Witch."
Author's Notes
Hahahahaha! That's right fellas! We're getting introduced to the Big Bad of the story!
Hopefully, this explains why Zygarde was even captured in the first place. Those two were nerfed even before the start of the story.
And still, they are leagues stronger than anything currently shown at this point. If it weren't for Serena going only for the wings... Let's just say the Flare admins would be -1.
Side note: Eevee is more important than you might realize since she's just a fountain of hidden gems. Not her powers or anything, but the narrative surrounding her.
M02 is a great example. Dialogue in that chapter was deliberate, especially Archer's words. Most readers know what he's talking about but lack context.
Once we've reached the context, everything blows up in your face.
Eevee is similar. The narrative and clues in the text about her thoughts are deliberate. That's why I'll say this:
There's a reason why this story is named 'Fated'.
It's a past tense. Something that has already happened.
And once you reach the context of THAT part of the story...
...Ɇꝟēɍɏⱦħīꞥꞡ ȼħⱥꞥꞡēꞩ.