Chapter Thirteen: Making a Splash
The next morning, when Serena and Ash prepared to head to the Gym for Ash's battle with Misty, they said goodbye to Dawn, who would be heading south to Saffron City.
"You're not coming to watch the battle?" Serena asked.
Dawn shook her head. "Nah, I have faith in Ash and I want to do some sightseeing before the Vermilion Exposition. Good luck to you in your Lavender Town Exposition, by the way! I'll keep an eye on the results," she said.
"Thanks! I'll definitely win the gold medal there," Serena said with a smile.
"You'd better, because Vermilion is going to be tough for everyone. Like I said, almost all Coordinators I know are going there because both the location and timing are excellent for the Contest seasons. It'll be the biggest test of everyone's skills so far, I'm sure," Dawn said.
She turned to Ash. "Have fun with your Gym battle, Ash! Let me know how it went when we see each other in Vermilion City, okay?"
Ash nodded. "Of course," he said. "Enjoy the vacation, Dawn. See you soon!"
They gave each other a high five, and then Dawn set off for the outskirts of town, while Serena and Ash began to head over to the Gym.
"So how did you like battling Dawn?" Ash asked while they liked.
"It was a lot of fun!" Serena said. "It's clear that she has experience and knows her Pokémon's abilities really well. And her attitude reminded me a bit of you, Ash."
Ash chuckled. "Yeah, it's not the first time I've heard that. I guess that's part of why she and I get along so well most of the time," he said.
"Well…we get along well too, don't we?" Serena asked, perhaps with a bit more of an edge to her voice than she intended. Even so, it surprised her that she didn't actually feel that much jealousy towards Dawn, possibly because Ash had been on her side during the Exposition.
"Of course we get along well," Ash said. "I don't think I've ever had so few arguments with any of the girls I've traveled with."
"Only the girls?" Serena asked.
Ash shrugged. "I don't know why, either. Usually the guys I've traveled with and I didn't really argue about anything. Y'know, I think I might just be someone who avoids arguments with the people who cook dinner, come to think of it."
("Now that doesn't surprise me one bit,") Pikachu said with a shake of his head.
Serena smiled, but she still felt a bit troubled. Even though Ash had clearly been joking, what if there was a grain of truth in it? No, that was stupid, wasn't it? Ash was pretty open about sharing his thoughts and opinions on things and he wasn't one to back down from a challenge; Serena had simply never really challenged him, or seen any real reason to do so.
In fact, while Clemont had been extremely knowledgeable about Pokémon and a lot of random trivia, Ash had clearly been the most experienced Trainer out of their entire group in Kanto, to the point where Clemont had even left their group for a while just to give Ash a proper fight. If there was a problem, he was the one Serena had always automatically turned to, without really giving it much thought. Perhaps that had also been the reason she'd been so shaken about it when he snapped at her after his loss to Wulfric. But obviously, Ash hadn't always been the experienced Trainer she knew now, which had never been clearer than when he told her about his first day as a Trainer.
Even knowing that, though, it was hard not to look up to him in some way. When Serena and Ash arrived at the Gym, she was still thinking about her interactions with Ash in the time she'd known him, only being shaken out of it when Misty came in to greet them.
"Good morning, you two," she said. "Serena, congratulations on the silver medal. I really thought it should've been the gold, but well done regardless!"
Serena smiled a bit uncertainly. "Thanks!" she said. "Um, about the Location Round…I, um…"
Misty seemed to know what she wanted to say, because she waved it away and said, "Don't worry about that. It was a great performance, and you went into the water yourself so your Pokémon wouldn't have to. That sort of thing goes a long way with me, you know."
"Right…well…thank you for supporting me during the Exposition, anyway," Serena said uncomfortably.
"You earned it," Misty said simply.
Then she turned to Ash. "Ash! Are you ready for the battle?" she asked.
Ash nodded with a grin. "You bet. I've got this all worked out. This time, I'm winning that badge fair and square!"
"Great! Well, then…how about a little extra challenge?" Misty asked, with a manic gleam in her eyes. "How about we play with rules where you don't get to switch out either?"
"I'm already not using Pikachu, and now this as well. Gee, Misty, you're really trying to get yourself off easy, aren't you?" Ash asked with a shake of his head.
Misty sighed theatrically. "Ah, well, it was worth a shot. But I guess you don't want to risk it, after all," she said.
"I never said I was declining the challenge," Ash said with a dangerous smile. "You're on. Just like you, I can only switch when my Pokémon aren't able to fight anymore."
Misty returned Ash's smile. "Great! Then let's go to the battlefield and get this show going."
"Yeah, let's go!" Ash said. He looked at Pikachu and said, "You go with Serena to watch, okay, buddy?"
("You got it. Good luck to both of you,") Pikachu said, before hopping off Ash's shoulder and jumping onto Serena's.
They made their way over to the battlefield, which was a pool filled with several islands, and Ash and Misty took up their positions on either side while Serena and Pikachu went up into the stands. Just like she'd done for the battle against Brock, Serena called out her Pokémon so they could watch as well.
"So…who're you going to be supporting?" Serena asked Pikachu.
("Ash, of course,") Pikachu answered immediately.
He gave Serena a sideways look. ("You know how I said that me not fighting Misty is just something between us? Well, that's not the only reason. See, Ash and Misty…the one thing both of them really want is for the other to acknowledge them,") he said.
"Acknowledge them?"
Pikachu nodded. ("Yeah. No one has ever been as critical of Ash as Misty was in their early journeys, but at the same time Ash was her first real friend and she's never actually beaten him in a battle. So she's trying to give herself the best possible chance, and Ash is going along with it to prove his strength to her. They're always pushing each other to be stronger, to be better.")
Serena nodded slowly. It was such a different dynamic than she had with Ash, and she wondered if that was why Ash and Misty had ended up being so close despite always butting heads. Did that mean that there really was something more between them than just friendship, or…?
Pikachu seemed to guess what Serena was thinking, because he said, ("You know, you should really just talk to Ash about this. I can promise you that whatever you're thinking…you don't have the full picture. Just…don't worry about it for now, and let's cheer him on, okay?")
"Right…right!" Serena said, suddenly determined. Pikachu was right. This wasn't the time to be worrying about any of these things, and she could just ask Ash about it all later. Now, it was time to just watch the fight and support Ash, like he had done for her in the Exposition.
"This fight will be a three-on-three battle between the challenger, Ash from Pallet Town, and the Cerulean City Gym Leader Misty, where neither Trainer will be allowed to switch their Pokémon," the Gym referee said. "Are both Trainers ready?"
"Ready!" Ash and Misty said at the same time.
"Then begin!" the referee said.
"Hawlucha, I choose you!" Ash said, while Misty yelled, "Politoed, go!"
Hawlucha landed on one of the islands and flexed, and Politoed clapped happily for him.
"Alright, Hawlucha, Karate Chop!"
"Politoed, Bounce!"
Hawlucha leapt from his island across the one Politoed was on, his arms glowing white, but Politoed dodged the attack by leaping almost impossibly high into the air.
"That's right, Politoed, now get him!"
"Counter it with High Jump Kick, Hawlucha!"
Politoed began to drop down while Hawlucha jumped up to meet her, and the two attacks collided in mid-air. Hawlucha was knocked back much further, but managed to use his wings to land on his island rather than in the water.
"You've got him, Politoed, Focus Blast!"
"Hawlucha, dodge it with Flying Press!"
Politoed fired off a massive blast of energy, but Hawlucha gracefully glided across it, slamming into Politoed and knocking her into the water.
"Yes! Great job, Hawlucha!" Ash said. "How'd you like that?" he asked.
"We're not done yet!" Misty said. "Politoed, Hydro Pump!"
Politoed leapt up out of the water and fired a point-blank Hydro Pump into Hawlucha's face, blasting him across the arena and into the pool, where he floated up to the surface clearly knocked out.
"Hawlucha is unable to battle! Politoed wins!" the referee said.
("Wow, Misty is strong,") Pancham said with an impressed look.
"Yeah. I wonder what Ash's next plan is," Serena said.
("Oh, he's only just getting started,") Pikachu said.
"Politoed's Ability is Water Absorb, so when she got knocked into the water she recovered from some of the damage she took," Misty said with a smirk.
"Nice! That was really cool, Misty," Ash said. "Hawlucha, return! You did great, now rest for a while."
He looked at Misty and smiled. "Now it's getting fun. Noivern, I choose you!"
Noivern appeared from his Poké Ball and stared down Politoed, who looked fairly damaged. "Acrobatics, Noivern, go!"
"Politoed, Bounce again!"
Politoed prepared to jump up again, but Noivern was faster and slammed into Politoed with impressive force. Even though Politoed ended up being slammed into the water again, this time the damage was simply too much.
"Politoed is unable to battle! Noivern wins! Both Trainers have two Pokémon remaining," the referee said.
("Alright, nice, Noivern!") Pikachu yelled.
"Return, Politoed. Good job," Misty said. "Alright then, next up…Starmie, go!"
Starmie appeared on the island Politoed had been standing on before, and Ash smiled in recognition.
"That's been a while," he said.
"I know. They're stronger than ever, though, so don't go thinking you've got this in the bag," Misty said warningly. "Use Psybeam, Starmie!"
"Noivern, Acrobatics again, go!"
Starmie fired their Psybeam, but Noivern was already gone. Before he could land his own attack, though Misty yelled, "Into the water, Starmie!"
Starmie immediately jumped off the platform evading Noivern's attack.
"Now use Surf!"
The water in the pool rose up in a giant wave, and Serena could only barely see Starmie's glowing core in the middle of it.
"Dragon Claw, Noivern!"
Noivern apparently saw the glow as well, because he instantly focused on it and cut through the wave with glowing green claws on the edge of his wings, smashing Starmie down into the pool.
"Counter with Psychic!"
The glow in Starmie's core increased, and a similar glow appeared around Noivern, who was then powerfully yanked down to be slammed into a platform below.
"Quick, Noivern, shatter that platform with Boomburst!"
Serena covered her ears to protect them from the noise, and the battlefield was obscured by a massive spray of water. When it settled back down, the pool was a lot emptier than it had been, and everyone in the arena, even Serena and the Pokémon in the stands, were soaked.
("My fur! Ash, you idiot!") Braixen yelled.
Pikachu just gave a resigned sigh, while Pancham and Sylveon both didn't seem to mind the unexpected shower.
Serena giggled at Braixen's indignation and then looked at the battlefield to see the result of the clash. Starmie and Noivern were at their respective ends of the arena, both out cold.
"Both Pokémon are unable to battle! This round is a draw!" the referee said.
Serena was impressed the referee seemed to be entirely unfazed by being drenched, but given that this was a Water-type Gym, it was probably a fairly regular occurrence.
"Both Trainers have only one Pokémon left!" the referee went on.
"I guess it all comes down to this, huh?" Ash said excitedly after recalling Noivern, unconcerned that he was soaked through and through.
"Yep, and I've been saving the best for last," Misty said. "Let's finish this! Come out, Gyarados!"
"Sceptile, I choose you!"
Sceptile appeared on a different platform than Noivern had been on initially, since that one had been blasted into powder by the Boomburst. Gyarados just positioned himself in the water to begin with.
("Smart move by Misty to save Gyarados for last,") Pikachu said. ("And he's the reason she didn't want me to fight, as well, because he's not actually weak to Sceptile's Grass-type moves.")
"Wouldn't Ash have known that, though?" Serena asked.
Pikachu nodded. ("He did, and Sceptile's still his best choice, but it's not going to be easy. Type-wise, Gyarados might have the edge here.")
"Let's go, Sceptile, Leaf Blade!"
"Gyarados, Crunch!"
Sceptile launched himself forward, the leaves on his arms glowing like scythes, while Gyarados's fangs glowed white, lunging down to intercept Sceptile. The attacks clashed, and Sceptile flipped in the air to land on one of the platforms on Misty's side of the arena.
"Speed it up, Sceptile! Agility!"
"Gyarados, Rain Dance!"
Sceptile began to blur around the arena. It wasn't quite to the level of a Double Team, but it was still incredibly fast, and Gyarados would certainly have trouble landing any hits. Gyarados, meanwhile, roared and a dark cloud appeared above the battlefield, from which a downpour began to rain down. Misty grinned at Ash.
"And now…to end this battle! Gyarados, Hurricane!"
Ash's eyes widened in shock. "Leaf Storm, Sceptile, give it everything you have! Don't let him whip up that Hurricane!"
("Wow, Misty really wants to win this,") Pikachu said with a frown. ("It'll come down to who lands first.")
Serena kept her eyes focused on the field, where Gyarados roared once more, and the rain clouds and the water in the pool began to swirl, faster and faster, spinning into a massive vortex. The seeds on Sceptile's back glowed as he jumped from platform to platform, and a swirling mass of leaves appeared in the gathering wind.
"Now!" Misty yelled.
"Go!" Ash shouted.
Gyarados fired its massive cyclone at Sceptile, who slammed his Leaf Storm into Gyarados from all sides. Once again, there was a huge splash of water which drenched everything and everyone in the vicinity.
("You complete barbarian, Ash! You clown! You buffoon! You absolute candlestick!") Braixen shouted, but Serena didn't pay attention to her ranting. Instead, she kept her eyes intently focused on the battlefield.
Sceptile was kneeling on one knee, clearly badly hurt — but Gyarados lay limp in the now mostly-empty pool.
"Gyarados is unable to battle! The round goes to Sceptile, and with that, the challenger Ash is the winner!" the referee announced, still unfazed by being soaked once again.
"Yes!" Ash yelled. "Great job, Sceptile! That was fantastic!"
Misty groaned and then recalled Gyarados.
"You did really well, Gyarados. Thank you," she said.
"You got so lucky," she said to Ash with a shake of her head. "If that Leaf Storm had been just a bit slower I would've won."
"But it wasn't," Ash said simply. "It was a great battle, Misty. Let's do it again sometime."
He held out his hand. Misty sighed and then shook it.
"Yeah. Well done, Ash. I guess that means you've finally won the Cascade Badge for real, huh?"
"You sound almost disappointed," Ash said teasingly.
"Of course I'm disappointed!" Misty said angrily. "I was so close! Just wait, Ash, I'm not going to lose to you again! Next time you're here, I'm beating you, you'll see!"
"I'll be ready anytime, Misty. I won't lose," Ash said confidently.
"Wow, they really never quit, do they?" Serena asked, looking down on the scene from the stands.
("You have no idea,") Pikachu said with a sigh. ("But that just means that the rematch will be even more awesome. Come on, let's get down there.")
("Honestly, can't Ash have a little more concern for the spectators when he battles? I'm completely drenched, ugh!") Braixen said.
("It was awesome, though. That Hurricane and that Leaf Storm were so intense,") Pancham said.
("And it looked really pretty, too, the way it all swirled around like that,") Sylveon said.
When Serena and the Pokémon reached Ash and Misty, Misty had just handed over the Cascade Badge to Ash.
"Here, take it. This time you've earned it. And you better come back here for a rematch before you leave the region again, you hear! I'm winning next time!" she said.
("Oh, so you won't mind if I battle too, then?") Pikachu asked.
Misty gave him a fearful look. "You wouldn't," she said.
Pikachu chuckled. ("Of course not. Just pulling your leg. But that battle just now really did look fun, you know…")
Misty shuddered and Ash laughed.
"Congratulations, Ash," Serena said. "That was a really good battle…though Braixen didn't really agree," she added sheepishly, with a glance at the still angry Braixen.
Ash looked as well and masked his chuckle at her expression as a cough. "Sorry, Braixen. I didn't mean to get you guys caught up in it as well. I was just having fun," he said.
("Well, be more careful next time!") Braixen snapped.
"Yeah, I'll try," Ash said. "But anyway…I won the Cascade Badge, yes!" he went on, holding it out for Serena's Pokémon to see as well.
"And it only took you seven years to do it, great job," Misty said sourly.
"Better late than never," Ash said with a shrug. "You're just mad because I'm stronger than you."
"As if! You won through luck and luck alone!" Misty flared up immediately. "Ugh, get out of here, you! Next time I'll show you!"
"Yeah, yeah, broken record," Ash said, unimpressed.
The two of them glared at each other, but they only managed to hold their fierce expressions for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"It was really great to see you again, Misty," Ash said sincerely. "I'll definitely drop by for a rematch before I leave again."
"You'd better," Misty said. She turned to Serena and said, "Keep an eye on him, okay? Who knows what kind of trouble he'll get into otherwise."
Serena laughed and said, "No problem."
Delia had said exactly the same thing to her when they'd left Pallet Town, making it clear that despite all her taunts and boasts, Misty really did care a lot about Ash, and apparently trusted Serena enough to keep him out of trouble. Even though she still didn't feel completely comfortable around Misty, she certainly appreciated the confidence.
"Where are you going next, anyway?" Misty asked Ash.
"Lavender Town," Ash said. "Serena's next Exposition is there, and since there's no Gym in Lavender Town, I think I'll enter as well. It'll be fun."
He grinned at Serena. "You'll help me prepare, right?" he asked.
Serena smiled at him. "Of course I will!"
("But we're winning, as long as you remember that!") Pancham said warningly.
"We'll make it a cool battle if we end up facing each other," Ash promised.
"Well, good luck to both of you," Misty said, sounding a bit disappointed she didn't get to go with them. "I'll keep an eye on the results of the Exposition. Serena, you'd better win, okay? You got so close this time, and I really think you can win this. And if Ash wins his head will get far too big for him."
"I'll do my best," Serena promised.
And so, they said goodbye to Misty and left the Gym, ready to get on the road to Lavender Town, and the next stage of their journey.
Starmie and Noivern both have really bad competitive records, and this chapter didn't make it much better, but oh well. I initially intended to have Gyarados almost sweep Ash's team until Sceptile, but I decided to make Misty more competitive throughout the match instead. Next time, we'll finally get to the conversation between Ash and Serena I've been wanting to get to, so I'm looking forward to writing it. See you then!