Chapter Twenty-Five: A Different Kind of Rock

To Serena's great relief, no more mysterious Golbat showed up in the following few days of their journey, and she and Ash reached Vermilion City without further incident.

It was immediately clear that it was a city big on tourism, because there seemed to be far more restaurants and lunchrooms than they'd come across in the other cities. There were also many, many posters advertising the Exposition all around the city. Clearly Dawn hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said this one was going to be big.

Constantly seeing the reminders of the approaching Exposition really fired Serena up, and they'd hardly entered the city proper when she nearly began to drag Ash over to the stadium.

"Come on, I want to get registered," she said. "And then I want to explore the city with you. This is going to be my biggest test yet, and I want to make it count!"

"You'll do great, I know it," Ash assured her. "But I'll help you as much as I can."

Serena smiled at him. "Thanks, Ash. I really appreciate it, you know."

They reached the stadium, and when they entered, they nearly ran into a girl who was just leaving.

"Oh, sorry!" Serena said. "I didn't look where I was going…"

"It's okay," the girl, who looked very familiar somehow, said. "I wasn't really looking either– Ash?! Hey!"

"May! So you're in the Exposition as well?" Ash said, and Serena realized where she'd seen May before: in pictures of Ash's earlier travels.

"Yep! Wouldn't want to miss this one, and it fits right in with my Contest schedule, too. I really want to beat Drew this time; he got me in Goldenrod but I beat him in Ecruteak, and…Oh, sorry, I completely forgot to introduce myself! I'm May," May said, turning to Serena with a sheepish smile.

"I'm Serena, nice to meet you," Serena said.

"Are you a Coordinator too?"

Before Serena could answer, someone else said, "Nope, she's a Performer."

"Dawn, nice to see you again," May said with a smile as Dawn also stepped through the doors of the stadium.

"You too! Hey Ash, Serena," Dawn said, and Piplup greeted them as well.

("What are the odds we'd run into both of you here?") Pikachu wondered idly.

"Weeellll, it's not really a coincidence that I'm here," Dawn said with a grin. "I was already in town and I knew roughly when you'd get here, so I've been visiting the stadium over the past few days hoping I'd run into you."

"I think I've seen you before somewhere, actually," May said, looking at Serena more closely.

Serena nodded. "You might have. I was the first to qualify for the Grand Expo," she said.

"Right, of course! I saw that on TV. Your Pokémon look amazing. Hey, you have a Sylveon, right?" May asked.

"Yeah, why?"

May pulled out a Poké Ball and called out a Glaceon. "I have Glaceon, here," she said.

"Ooh, she's beautiful!" Serena said, kneeling down to get a closer look. "Hello there," she said with a smile.

("Hi!") Glaceon said, and Serena was surprised that she could understand her. Maybe because she was used to her own Eeveelution?

Serena called out Sylveon as well.

("Ooh, I've never met a Sylveon before,") Glaceon said, looking at Sylveon with interest.

("I've never met a Glaceon, either,") Sylveon replied, looking equally intrigued.

"Are you going to use her in the Exposition?" Serena asked.

"I'm not sure yet, but probably," May said. "Anyway, Ash, how have you been?" she asked.

"Great, but let's get Serena registered first, and then we can all go out for some lunch," Ash said with a smile at Serena, who nodded and returned the smile.

"Right, I'll be back in a moment," Serena said, and not much later she, Ash, Dawn, and May were outside again.

"There's this great little café near here," Dawn said. "We could head there for lunch."

"It's pretty useful you've been here for a bit already," May said. "Saves us time we could spend eating."

"In fairness, finding something to eat in this city is ridiculously easy," Dawn said. "Most of it is pretty good, but this particular café has a really nice view over the harbor."

"So May, what have you been up to?" Ash asked while they walked.

May shrugged. "Mostly just Contests. I'm kind of following the same circuits Drew and Solidad are doing, but it's really hard to beat them. Dawn and Zoey are never easy, either," she added with a smile at Dawn.

"What about Harley?" Ash asked.

May shuddered. "He still shows up every now and then, but I try to stay well away from him."

"Why? Who is Harley?" Serena asked.

"He has a bit of an obsession with me," May said with a dark look. "He doesn't like me because I look like a girl who once stole his cookies, or something."

She shook her head. "It's really stupid, but I'm sure he'll be here too. This Exposition is too big for him to ignore it. I know Drew and Solidad are going to be here, anyway."

"Zoey is, too," Dawn said. "I don't know about Nando. I haven't really spoken to him in a while."

"Sounds like you'll have your work cut out for you, Serena," Ash said. "That's a lot of powerful Coordinators you'll need to deal with."

"I'm ready for anything," Serena said confidently, though she wasn't quite as sure of herself as she let on. Still, surrounded by her opponents she really didn't want to show any kind of weakness.

They reached the café and sat down at a table outside. Like Dawn had said, there was a great view of the harbor, and Serena loved the way the sun reflected off the waves, and the ships lazily drifting by in the distance and up close. Many Wingull flew around the piers, looking for scraps of food the tourists dropped.

Serena and Ash told May about the adventures they'd had in Kalos, and the trip they were currently on, while May gave some more details about the Contests she'd been in since traveling with Ash.

"I'm always high in the rankings, but I haven't won any Grand Festivals yet," she said with a sigh. "Every time I get a bit closer, but in the end it's just never quite enough." Then she smiled confidently and said, "But I'm not giving up. I will win a Grand Festival one day."

"So will I," Dawn said. "Next season, though. Right now, I'm having too much fun just traveling and competing in the odd Exposition. Maybe I'll even take a shot at the Grand Expo, if I do well here…I've already got a gold medal, after all…" she said with a grin at Serena.

"I'm not losing to you again," Serena said, knowing that Dawn was just egging her on a bit.

"This is going to be my first one," May said. "I bet my Pokémon will enjoy it, too. I have no idea what I'm going to do for the Location Round, though. I've been to Kanto before, but I never really bothered to learn much about the cities, so…"

"Just don't do what Ash did in Lavender Town and you'll be fine," Dawn said dismissively.

Ash groaned. "Really? You have to bring that up?" he asked.

"That bad, huh?" May asked.

("Worse,") Pikachu said sheepishly.

"You should look up the video. It's a perfect trainwreck of bad decisions. Absolute art," Dawn said, clearly taking immense pleasure in messing with Ash.

"Ash did do very well in his first Showoff Round, though," Serena said, deciding to support him a bit, and Ash gave her a grateful smile.

"That's true," Dawn conceded. "But then, Ash has always been great at showing off."

"But you're not entering this time?" May asked.

Ash shook his head. "Nope. I've got my Gym battle to focus on. This one's pretty important for us," he said. "But I'll definitely be there to cheer you on."

"Especially Serena, right?" Dawn asked slyly.

"Well, yeah, obviously," Ash said. Then he realized what Dawn had been implying and nearly choked on his drink.

Serena, too, felt her face burning and looked away. Ash had been so casual about saying he'd be supporting her, and he hadn't even mentioned that he'd be helping her. Maybe Pikachu had been right when he'd said that Ash was different around her. Maybe he did show more of his feelings because Serena herself was so open about them.

Fortunately, Dawn didn't press the issue and May didn't comment on it, and for a while they simply shared some more stories while they ate.

"Alright," Dawn said once they were all done. "Anyone want to go and explore the city for a bit? I've been to a few places, but I haven't really gotten started on anything useful for my appeal yet. I know we're competing against each other, but we might as well explore together, right?"

"Yeah, sounds like fun," May agreed.

"Ash and I wanted to go exploring anyway, so it sounds good to me," Serena said.

"Well then, let's get going. It's a big city, but the interesting areas are all pretty close together," Dawn said.

They paid for their food and then took off, and for much of the rest of the afternoon they walked through the city. Vermilion City really doubled down on being attractive for tourists. There was a maritime museum near the docks, and a large shopping area with many stores which would probably turn out to be useful for finding clothes for the Location Round.

While there was a quite a lot to do, however, very little of what Serena saw actually looked like it was unique to Vermilion City. It wasn't like Lavender Town, which really had something that stood out. Sure, it was probably the biggest city she'd been to thus far — in Kanto, at least — but she'd already read in her guidebook that Saffron City and Celadon City were both bigger, so going with something metropolitan might not be unique enough, especially given the large number of skilled competitors she'd have this time around.

Even so, it was a lot of fun to go all over the city with Dawn and May, and Ash too seemed to enjoy the reunion. Unlike in Cerulean City, though, this time Serena didn't really feel any jealousy being around two of the girls she knew Ash liked as well. Maybe it was just because he already he'd be on her side in the Exposition, or maybe it was because of what Pikachu had told her, but it just felt…natural, or something, to hang out with them, and she could understand why Ash had enjoyed traveling with them.

They ate dinner together as well, at a small restaurant in a busy side street, and then Dawn said, "Okay, there's one more thing I want to do tonight. I came across this club when I just arrived here, and apparently there's a concert there tonight. There are still some tickets available, so I figured we could go together, since we're all here."

"What kind of music is it?" May asked.

"I think it's pop punk, or something. Should be fun, anyway," Dawn said.

"Do you know the band that's playing?" Serena asked.

Dawn shook her head. "Nope. I listened to a few songs, though, and it sounded pretty good. It's not expensive, either."

Serena considered for a moment. She'd never really been to a concert before, so the idea appealed to her. She glanced at Ash to see what he'd say, but she'd already decided that if he didn't want to go, she would.

"I'll go too," he said. "Not like I had anything else planned for tonight. We'll start training for the Gym tomorrow, right, buddy?"

Pikachu nodded. ("Yeah, sure. I'm up for some relaxation,") he said.

"I'm in," May said.

"Great!" Dawn said happily. "I'll just get us all tickets, then…" she went on, fiddling with her phone a bit.

"How much is it?" Serena asked.

Dawn waved her away. "No need to worry. It's been a while since I've had this much fun with friends, so it's just a gift from me to all of you."

"Thanks, Dawn," Ash said.

"There, done," Dawn said. She checked the time. "And right on time, too. If we leave now we'll even be able to see the opening act."

They followed Dawn through the city, until they eventually reached a large building with a line of people wearing band shirts in front of it. Serena didn't know any of the names of the bands, but even though some of the people in line looked dangerous, covered in tattoos and piercings as they were, the atmosphere seemed very friendly. She felt a bit out of place in her regular clothes, but no one commented on it, and the others didn't seem bothered by it, either, so she just decided not to worry about it and just focus on having fun.

The queue moved fairly quickly, and soon they were inside, where they stashed their bags in some lockers. Serena noticed that many people were putting in earplugs before entering the main concert hall, which struck her as a bit odd. The entire point of a concert was listening to the music, right?

"Should we…get earplugs too?" May, who had apparently also noticed it, asked.

"You'll want to," a boy near them said. He, like most people there, wore a band shirt and torn jeans. His ears were filled with studs and there was a small ring in his nose. "It really makes the music sound much better. And it'll probably be better for your ears, too."

"Does it really make that much of a difference?" Ash asked.

The boy nodded. "Yeah. I didn't think it would, either, at first, but I gave it a try, and it really is night and day. It sounds much less grainy and you hear the vocals way better."

"All right, then I guess we'll do it, too," Ash said. "Thanks!"

So, after purchasing some earplugs from a machine on the wall, they entered the concert hall. Even though the opening act hadn't even started yet, it was already getting pretty full, and it was hard to watch over the crowd.

Then Serena spotted some stairs, and said, "Hey, let's check upstairs. We'll probably have a better view from there."

The others agreed, and fortunately the upstairs balcony was still relatively empty. They positioned themselves at the edge, from where they had a great view of the stage, where people and some Exploud were setting up the equipment. It reminded Serena a bit of the buildup before an Exposition and she smiled thinking about it.

Not much later, the setup was done, and the opening act came onto the stage. Serena didn't know any of the songs they played, but she could guess which ones were somewhat well-known when the audience cheered louder on the opening notes. In one of the more up-tempo songs, she could see a few people near the front of the floor jumping and jostling into each other, but for the most part people didn't do much more than bob their heads a bit to the beat. Still, the audience did at least applaud for the songs, and as the performance continued, the hall became more and more packed. Slowly, the balcony was filling up as well, and by the time the opening act finished playing, Serena was happy they'd arrived so early and managed to find good spots.

The stage was being rebuilt again now, and it was clear that the next act was going to be the main attraction. They had much more room on-stage, as well as a number of props. Then, the lights went out, and the audience cheered. Serena looked at the stage, but for a few moments nothing happened — and then the band began to play.

Instantly, the spotlights went on, and Serena saw the crowd on the floor below jumping up and down wildly. It was a massive difference compared to the opening act, and the very vibe in the hall was electrifying. Rather than just a few people jumping and jostling, there was now a massive circle of people jumping wildly around, shoulder-checking each other as they crossed paths. It looked very rough, but even from where she was standing, Serena could see that everyone was having a lot of fun. The music was fast-paced, yet melodic, and the singer managed to switch between clean, almost soft vocals and raw screams. It was impossible to stand still, and even though she wasn't as wild as the people below, Serena couldn't help but jump in place, and the others clearly felt the same way.

The song ended, and once again the audience cheered.

"Vermilion City, how are you?!" the singer shouted, and a massive roar went up from the crowd.

The singer grinned, and Serena completely understood how he felt. Having such a huge crowd cheering for you was one of the things she loved about performing.

The next song started up. It was a bit slower than the first one, but everyone still went wild, and again Serena couldn't help but join in with the energy around her. She looked at Ash and the others, who also seemed to be having the time of their life. Ash noticed her looking at him, and he smiled brightly, which she gladly returned. For some reason, that smile alone made the evening even better. Was this what Ash had meant when he said that he remembered events differently depending on what he focused on? It suddenly seemed to make sense. The concert would have been great regardless, but seeing that Ash was also enjoying himself gave it an extra dimension, and while she liked that Dawn and May were clearly also having fun, it didn't make her feel the same warmth she felt for Ash.

The song ended, and before the audience had even finished cheering, the next one had already started up. The people on the floor below seemed to be getting more fired up with each new song that played, and the vocalist clearly liked that, because more than once he instructed them to create an even bigger circle pit, and he wasn't shy about lacing the requests with profanity, either.

Still, Serena had to admit it fit the atmosphere, and even though the people in the 'pit' were extremely physical, they kept a close eye on each other. If someone slipped and fell, others would immediately shield them and help them up, and Serena even saw someone who was a bit too enthusiastic apologizing to someone he'd knocked over, before rejoining the fray.

At one point, the singer told everyone to take out their phones and turn on the flashlights, and there was something strangely beautiful about seeing a hall filled with waving white lights, especially when the band then played a soft, acoustic song that half the crowd sang along to. Even without knowing the words, again it was the atmosphere that made Serena feel great. She didn't know anyone in the hall aside from Ash, Dawn, and May, and yet it felt like everyone there was a huge group of friends. They were all there to enjoy themselves and have a good time, and that's what they did.

And then, the show seemed to be over…but the lights didn't come back on yet. The audience began chanting.

"We want more! We want more!"

Dawn joined in, then May as well, and then Serena and Ash decided to go for it too, and of course, the band came back and started up their real final song, and it was clear this was their best-known track, because everyone in the crowd seemed to be shouting along with the words, to such an extent that the vocalist was just silent a few times to let the audience sing for him. Serena had no idea how many people were in the hall, but there was something incredibly impressive about hearing so many people sing the same words at the same time, especially when the final chorus came around and everyone went wild.

Serena felt exhausted when the final chord of the guitar faded away, and this time the lights did come on, and the drummer threw his sticks into the crowd.

"That was awesome!" Dawn said, also looking like she'd been exercising.

"It was," May said. "I didn't think I'd enjoy this so much!"

"I loved it," Serena said. "What did you think, Ash?" she asked.

"It was great!" Ash said with a grin. "I'm all charged up, now."

"Yeah, me too," Dawn said. "I wish the Exposition was right now; I want to do something!"

Serena felt the same way. Despite jumping up and down for nearly two hours, she wanted to do more. Whatever else she'd do in her life, her first concert experience certainly wasn't going to be her last one.

When they were outside again a while later she enjoyed the cool breeze after the sweaty heat of the concert hall, and she was looking forward to taking a shower at the Pokémon Center. It wasn't until she was in her bed afterwards that she truly felt how tired her legs were from all the jumping, and she was glad she'd been exercising more on the way to Vermilion City.

And then, just before she fell asleep, she suddenly knew what she was going to do for her Location Round. She smiled to herself. This was going to be fun.

Okay, sue me, I love concerts and I usually don't get to really include any in my stories, so I figured I'd do it now. Honestly, concerts are the one place in the world where I enjoy large crowds. It's just…the vibe of it all. Love it. And since emo pop punk is my go-to, I used that for the chapter as well. And yes, I always go for the balcony or the back of the hall just to stay out of the mosh pit. See you in the next one!