Chapter Two: Getting Ready
Serena looked at the grassy fields surrounding the empty dirt path she and Ash were walking along. There weren't many clouds in the sky and the crescent moon and stars shone brightly. Despite the darkness, the breeze was still pleasant.
"It's even quieter than in Vaniville Town here," she said. "After all that time in Lumiose City I'd almost forgotten what that's like."
Ash smiled at her. "I always loved the summer nights here," he said. "Before I left on my journey I spent a lot of time just looking at the stars from the grass. I still like to do that when we're on the road. Maybe that's why I like being outside so much."
He gestured at a cottage up ahead, which had a single lantern on the road in front of it. "We're almost there."
His stomach growled and he smiled sheepishly. "Good thing, too. Traveling makes me hungry."
("Is there anything that doesn't?") Pikachu asked innocently from atop Ash's shoulder.
Ash pretended to think deeply for a moment and then said, "Nope, don't think so."
Serena laughed, but then her own stomach growled as well. "Guess I'm not the only one who's hungry, then," Ash said with a wink.
"No, guess not…" Serena said quietly, feeling vaguely embarrassed.
"My mom's a great cook, you'll see," Ash said. "Though you might be nearly as good, actually," he added.
Pikachu nodded and said, ("He's not wrong. Your Poké Puffs are the best.")
Serena was taken aback by the unexpected compliment. It wasn't like Ash had ever been stingy with compliments and encouragement, of course, but it still made her feel warm and fuzzy inside every time he did.
"T-thanks," she said.
They reached the cottage and Ash opened the door. Serena furiously hoped she wasn't still blushing, in case Ash's mother would start thinking things.
"Mom, I'm home!" Ash said as Serena closed the door behind her.
"Welcome back!" his mother replied from the living room, entering the hallway just moments later.
She hugged Ash and said, "Oh, it's been far too long. And it's wonderful to see you again as well, Pikachu!"
She gently petted Pikachu and Pikachu cooed happily in response. Then, she turned to face Serena.
"Hello, Serena. It's nice to finally meet you in person," she said.
"Good evening, Mrs. Ketchum," Serena replied. "Thank you for letting me stay here."
"Oh, it's nothing," Mrs. Ketchum said with a wave of her hand. "And please, call me Delia. Mrs. Ketchum makes me feel old," she added with a smile. "Now come on, I'm sure you're hungry…"
She led Serena and Ash to the dinner table, which had already been set and gestured at them to sit down while she retrieved a large pan and several platters filled with food that both looked and smelled delicious.
"Wow, Mom, this is great! Thanks!" Ash said happily as he began to load up his plate.
"You're finally home after so long, and with everything you've been through over the past few days…you need your food," Delia said. "And while we're eating, you can tell me all about your other adventures as well."
Ash and Pikachu happily obliged, and launched into the entire story of their trip through Kalos. Even though Serena had been there for most of it, she didn't feel the need to interrupt Ash's story, instead just listening to him and Pikachu and smiling whenever he got particularly enthusiastic — usually when he was talking about his Gym battles.
"Oh, and of course Serena had her Showcases, as well," Ash said at one point. "You should've seen them, they were really awesome! Her Pokémon are so cool in them, too!"
He looked at Serena and grinned. "Why don't you introduce them?" he said.
Serena hadn't expected the request, but she obligingly pulled out her Poké Balls and called her friends out.
"Okay, everyone, this is Ash's mother, Delia," Serena said.
("Pleased to meet you,") Braixen said with a bow.
("'Sup?") Pancham said with his usual cocky smirk.
("Good evening,") Sylveon said, smiling brightly.
"Oh, all of you are adorable!" Delia said. "It's very nice to meet you all."
("Hey, I'm not adorable! I'm cool,") Pancham said, adjusting his sunglasses to prove his point.
"You're adorably cool," Serena said with a smile.
("Well, alright, then,") Pancham conceded.
"Oh, you can understand your Pokémon, too?" Delia asked. "That's wonderful. I can understand Mimey and Pikachu just fine, but that's about it…"
"Where is Mimey, anyway?" Ash asked.
"He's helping Professor Oak at the moment," Delia said. "If you drop by there tomorrow he'll be happy to see you again, I'm sure." She turned to Serena. "So, tell me about your Showcases, Serena. I heard you were going to do something similar here in Kanto?"
Serena nodded and told Delia about how she had gotten into performing in the first place, and though Delia didn't say much, it was surprisingly easy to keep talking. In a way, it was almost easier to tell the entire story to Delia than it had been to talk to her own mother. Delia seemed to have the same kind of warm and supporting vibe Serena always got from Ash, and before she knew it, it was well past midnight.
When Pikachu fell asleep on the table, Delia interrupted the story and said, "We should probably continue the conversation tomorrow. Serena, I've readied the guest room for you. Ash, you show Serena around, and I'll clean up here. Off to bed with you, go on."
Ash gently lifted Pikachu off the table and said, "Right. Thanks, Mom. C'mon, Serena, I'll show you to the guest room…"
Serena recalled her Pokémon — knowing that Pancham, much like Pikachu, was already knocked out behind his sunglasses anyway — and followed Ash upstairs. Not much later, she lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling. Reliving her entire adventure for Delia had left her charged up and excited for the Expositions she would take part in here in Kanto, but she could also feel the fatigue of an entire day of traveling, and she quickly fell asleep, still smiling.
"So, what are you two going to do today?" Delia asked the next morning at breakfast.
"I want to visit Professor Oak," Ash said. "I'd also like to see my other Pokémon again, and I need to talk to them a bit to see who's up for coming with me on my next journey." He looked at Serena and grinned. "You'll like them too, I'm sure," he said.
"I'd love to meet them," Serena said. "Though I need to keep an eye on the time a bit. There's an 'Exposition Exposition' on TV this afternoon detailing the dates and locations of the Expositions, as well as explaining the format of the competitions. I don't want to miss it."
Ash nodded seriously. "Right. We'll keep an eye on it, then. I want to see it too; who knows, maybe one of my Pokémon at the lab will want to try it."
("Totodile, maybe?") Pikachu suggested.
Ash nodded. "Yeah, who knows? Anyway, let's get going. I haven't seen all of them since I left for Kalos and I can't wait to reunite with them."
It wasn't very far from Ash's house to Professor Oak's lab, and soon Serena and Ash had been led into the large enclosure behind the lab by the professor.
"Feel free to let your Pokémon out of their Poké Balls," Professor Oak said. "I'm sure they'll enjoy the fresh air here."
Serena nodded. "Right. Come out, everyone!"
She watched with a smile as her Pokémon ran off into the fields, and then turned her gaze back on Ash, who had already been surrounded by a large group of Pokémon who seemed to be eagerly greeting him, Pikachu, and the rest of Ash's Kalos team.
Rather than approaching the group immediately as well, Serena instead chose to look around for a bit. There were far more Pokémon in the large enclosure than she could count, and she realized that the Pokémon of many different Trainers probably resided here. With all the open grassland, many copses of trees, and ponds and streams it really did look like it would be a paradise for the Pokémon, and from what she could tell most of them looked happy and well cared-for.
A loud noise drew her attention back to Ash's group of Pokémon, and she saw that Pancham seemed to be in a heated discussion with a large Krookodile.
"Oh, come on, really?" she muttered to no one in particular, before making her way over to find out what the problem was.
("All I'm saying is that mine are cooler, and you know I'm right,") Serena heard Pancham say as she came within earshot.
Of course, since she'd never met a Krookodile before, she couldn't understand the response, but Krookodile's body language made it clear enough that he didn't agree with Pancham's opinion one bit.
"Pancham, what are you doing?" Serena asked suspiciously.
("Telling this guy that my sunglasses are much cooler than his, of course,") Pancham said.
It was only now that Serena realized that the Krookodile was also wearing sunglasses, and that he seemed to be exactly as proud of them as Pancham was of his. She sighed deeply.
"We're here for five minutes and you already pick a fight? Chespin's not even here," she said.
("I'm not picking a fight, I'm just–")
Whatever Pancham was going to say was cut off by an angry snarl from Krookodile, who raised himself onto his back legs to tower over Pancham.
("No, see, it's the color contrast, dude,") Pancham said, unperturbed by Krookodile's attempted intimidation. ("You're red, your glasses are red. They don't stand out enough, you know? How is anyone even going to see you're wearing them?")
Serena couldn't help but giggle when she heard that. Of course Pancham would be trying to improve the coolness factor.
Krookodile, however, still didn't seem amused and angrily said something back.
("Wait, really? All that time? Wow, gotta respect that,") Pancham said, looking impressed now.
"What did he say?" Serena asked curiously.
("That he's had those shades ever since he was a Sandile and that they helped him become strong,") Pancham said, and Krookodile nodded fervently.
Pancham considered for a moment and then thoughtfully said, ("Well, on a Sandile you'd have the right color contrast with the red, and you're sticking with your brand…That's admirable, dude, really.")
Again, Serena giggled, and to her great relief Krookodile seemed to be happy with Pancham's compliment.
At that moment, Ash joined them and introduced Serena to some of his other Pokémon, particularly Charizard and Sceptile.
"I've asked both of them to join me, at least for the first part of the journey. They're two of my strongest Pokémon, and I'll probably be able to make good use of them wherever we're heading first. I'll probably swap around when we're traveling; I want to give everyone a fair shot while we're trying to make our way to the Indigo League again," he said.
"So you'll need to challenge all the Gyms again, then?" Serena asked.
Ash shook his head. "No, I just want to. Even the ones I did beat for real. I want to become stronger and stronger and there's a lot of time before the League. I'm not leaving anything to chance this time. I'm going to win it, I'm sure of it."
"Well, then I am going to win on the Exposition circuit," Serena said. "And then we'll both be the best in Kanto."
Ash grinned widely. "Awesome!" He held out his fist. "No one's going to stop us this time."
Serena smiled back and returned the fist bump. "No one," she repeated.
"Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Exposition Exposition! My name is Nikolaos, and I will be the host of this magnificent series of competitions, culminating in the Grand Expo at the Indigo Plateau, directly preceding the Indigo League itself!"
Serena, Ash, and their Pokémon sat in Ash's living room watching the broadcast, and even though nothing big had really been said yet, Serena could already feel the palms of her hands tingling with excitement. The host, Nikolaos, was a tall, tanned man with brown hair and dark brown eyes, wearing a stylish, yet sporty-looking outfit and he stood on what appeared to be a stage.
"In this broadcast, I will tell you all about Pokémon Expositions and what they aim to do, and hopefully excite you for the fierce competition they are sure to bring! Whether you're a Trainer, Coordinator, or Performer, our Expositions will have something to love for everyone! What, then, is an Exposition?"
The stage on the screen was now replaced by an animated version, upon which appeared a Trainer with a Bulbasaur.
"An Exposition consists of two parts. In the first part the Artisan can use up to three Pokémon."
A Squirtle and a Charmander appeared next to the animated Trainer on the stage.
"Together, Artisan and Pokémon must appeal to the crowd, creating a display of true skill and cooperation, which must be themed according to the location of the Exposition. For instance, an Exposition in Vermilion City could have something to do with its port, while an Exposition in Viridian City might be more forest-themed. How the location returns in the appeal is up to the Artisan's discretion, but it must be clearly recognizable. Furthermore, the Artisan is expected to be equally prominent in the appeal as their Pokémon are, as they are presenting themselves to the world as well."
The Trainer on-screen and his Pokémon performed a number of moves, and the Trainer was clearly shown moving and jumping around just as much as the Pokémon were.
Serena nodded slowly to herself. She liked the added challenge of having to come up with a new performance for every Exposition, especially since the audience would likely be mostly comprised of people from the local area, who would enjoy seeing their home represented artfully. And the fact she'd have to be even more active than during her Freestyles in Kalos was a real challenge as well, but it would surely make her even better as a Performer when she went back to Kalos at some point.
"After the appeal, called the Location Round, a vote will be held to determine if the Artisan will go on to the next round. This vote will be a combination of audience votes and the votes of a panel of judges, consisting of the local Nurse Joy, the local Gym Leader, and myself. Yes, the local Gym Leader, because every Exposition bar one will be held in a city with an officially recognized Gym! As for the judge for our one location without a Gym Leader, Lavender Town…well, that will remain a mystery for now!"
"That's great!" Ash said. "That means that I'll be able to have my Gym battles at more or less the same time you'll have your Expositions!"
"Yeah!" Serena replied with a nod, before focusing on the broadcast again.
"After the Location Round has concluded, the Exposition moves on to the Showoff Round. The name speaks for itself: in this round, the Artisans must show off, competing with each other in a bracket system based on the rankings of the Location Round. In the Showoff Round, the Artisan uses a single Pokémon and attempts to dazzle both the audience and their opponent with their moves. Since both Pokémon will be showing off at the same time, it's imperative that the Artisan uses the opponent's move to their own advantage to sway the audience and the judges to their side, but they must take care not to attack one another directly, as that will result in disqualification."
The animation on the screen now showed two Trainers, one using a Bulbasaur and the other a Squirtle, both showing off spectacular moves, and using each other's moves to steal the show, like Bulbasaur firing a Solar Beam through Squirtle's Hydro Pump to create a beautiful rainbow effect and a cloud of steam, which Squirtle then froze into glittering ice crystals.
It looked amazing, but Serena felt a bit apprehensive when she saw it. She was pretty good at coming up with appeals, but even though she knew how to battle, it had never been her strongest point. If anything, this seemed like the kind of thing that Ash, with his tendency to use unconventional strategies, would be good at.
Still, she wasn't about to shy away from the challenge. She had her Pokémon with her, and they'd never let her down, and she wouldn't let them down, either. It was clear, at any rate, that Palermo had been spot-on with her recommendation for Serena to enter the Exposition circuit. The skills she'd pick up here would strengthen the bond between her and her Pokémon many times over.
"While each individual Exposition is amazing enough on its own, they have nothing on the Grand Expo at the end of the season, though the details of that will remain a mystery for the time being. But how does an Artisan reach the Grand Expo? By winning medals, of course! Each Exposition has four medals that can be won: one gold, one silver, and two bronze.
"To gain access to the Grand Expo, all an Artisan needs to do is to win the equivalent of five bronze medals. A silver medal counts as two bronze medals, and a gold medal counts as two silver medals. So if an Artisan wins one gold medal and one bronze one, they're into the Grand Expo at the end of the season.
"Of course, the competition will be fierce, and not every location will suit every Artisan's team. Perhaps some will choose to sit out Expositions they do not feel comfortable in attempting, and perhaps some will continue to attend Expositions even when their spot in the Grand Expo is already secure — after all, each medal won past the limit reduces the potential number of rivals at the end."
"That's interesting," Ash said. "Do you plan on taking part in all of the Expositions?" he asked. "We've got time for it, since the Grand Expo is right before the Indigo League and I want to challenge all the Gyms anyway."
Serena nodded. "Of course I want to do all of them," she said. "I came here to get stronger, after all. I'm not running from the challenge. I can't run from this challenge if I want to be the best Performer, or Artisan, I guess, in this case."
"That's the spirit!" Ash said with an excited smile.
Serena smiled back. Ash's confidence really was infectious. The old her would never have dared to say something so bold.
"So when and where will these Expositions take place? The calendar of all the events looks like this!"
On-screen, a list of dates and locations appeared. By the looks of it, the first Exposition would be in Pewter City, followed by Cerulean City, Lavender Town, Vermilion City, Saffron City, Celadon City, Fuchsia City, Cinnabar Island, Viridian City, and finally the Grand Expo at the Indigo Plateau.
There seemed to be more than enough time between each Exposition to travel there leisurely, but to Serena's pleasant surprise the Pewter City Exposition wasn't all that long from now. Her next great adventure would begin sooner than she'd anticipated.
She looked at Ash, who also seemed pleased that Pewter City was the location of the first Exposition, and she felt so charged with joy that she half-suspected Pikachu had shocked her.
Pewter City, here we come.
Images of a fierce battle played on multiple monitors. Powerful Pokémon fought together against something that looked like a large rock, moving across a blasted, stony landscape. The light of the monitors was the only thing that lit up the dark room, and the man watching the images calmly stroked the Persian lounging next to his legs.
Very interesting, Giovanni thought. It seems the report I received was not quite as complete as I had imagined, but at least those fools had the presence of mind to record all of this. Perhaps they will prove useful to me yet…
It was the nature of the Pokémon that now appeared on-screen, Zygarde, that most interested Giovanni. Its ability to split into multiple cells was fascinating, and perhaps there would be a way to turn that principle to his own interests. A cold smile played on his lips. There was work to be done.
Of course, in the fic where I say the chapters will be short, I end up creating a normal-length one anyway. Don't expect all of them to have this length, is all I'm saying, and don't expect daily updates, either. I've done that once, and it was way too hard to keep up with. Anyway, see you in the next one!