Chapter Thirty-Six: Heartfelt

Serena was happy to see the end of the forest. Even though there hadn't been any more problems for the remaining couple of days she and Ash had spent traveling through it, and Misdreavus hadn't even sensed anything strange, the encounter with the absurdly powerful Houndoom and Honchkrow hadn't left her mind and she really, really never wanted to run into another situation like that one.

Worse, for the first time since she began her journey to compete in all the Expositions, she wasn't only looking forward to the next one. Hadrian's attempt at brainwashing her into losing still bothered her, especially because not all Gym Leaders would be able to pick up on such things quite as easily as Sabrina had, and there was no way of knowing if someone else would have the same kind of bright idea. And being, for the moment, the highest-ranked Artisan, Serena would probably be the prime target for any foul play.

It wasn't like she was going to pull out of the Expositions, of course. She'd worked too hard to get where she was, and she wanted to get even better before the Grand Expo, but now that she was aware of the possibility of cheating that was this creepy, she couldn't simply put it aside anymore. It was just so easy, too. So many Pokémon learned moves that could alter people's perceptions or mental state. Serena could even respond in kind by using Misdreavus's Confuse Ray.

She knew it was pointless to worry like this. Until Hadrian, no one had tried to cheat, and the odds of someone trying the same thing after Hadrian had literally been arrested for his trouble were slim. But the brightness that the Expositions had represented for her ever since she began to compete in them in Pewter City had dimmed a bit, all the same.

Dimmed or not, though, Serena was still determined to keep working hard to win the Celadon City Exposition, and after dinner that evening she and her Pokémon had the best training session they'd had in days, because all of them were glad to be out of the forest as well.

She was just discussing some last things about the practice with her Pokémon when she heard a lot of noise coming from some distance down the field they were camping in that night, where Ash was doing his evening practice with his team. Ash and his Pokémon being noisy was obviously nothing new, as the concept of 'holding back' was foreign to each and every one of them, but this time, it sounded more like a heated argument than the normal sounds of training.

Serena looked over to see Bayleef and Charizard facing off, with Ash and Pikachu trying to calm them down. It didn't surprise her to see that Bayleef was the one doing the wild gesturing with her vines, but it did surprise her when Bayleef suddenly stormed off down the field, over the top of a nearby hill. Ash sighed, said something to his Pokémon, and then followed Bayleef.

"I'm going to find out what's going on," Serena said to her Pokémon.

("I'm coming with you,") Pancham said immediately.

("I want to know too,") Misdreavus added.

"You can all come. Our practice was done anyway," Serena said.

She walked over to Ash's Pokémon. "What was that about?" she asked Pikachu.

("Bayleef is being dramatic, what else?") he replied. He sighed. ("She told Ash she wanted to be in his team for the Erika fight, but Ash said he already had a team in mind for it.")

"So why was she mad at you, then?" Serena asked, looking at Charizard now.

Charizard shrugged. ("I told her she'd just have to wait her turn and that Ash would let her fight again eventually.")

"That…doesn't sound like something to get angry about," Serena said dubiously.

("It wasn't,") Pikachu said. ("That only happened when Bayleef told Charizard that only losers talk like that.")

("That's a bit mean of her,") Sylveon said.

("Also brave, though,") Pancham said, looking at Charizard.

("I think you mean 'suicidal',") Charizard said with a growl, but then he shook his head. ("I told her she wouldn't have a chance in a real fight, but I wasn't going to fight her for real no matter how annoying she was, and Ash knew it, so he just let it slide and wanted to get back to training.")

("But Bayleef saw that as Ash taking Charizard's side, so she got even angrier, and, well, here we are,") Pikachu finished. ("It's been a while since she was this fired up, so there's probably something else bothering her, but Ash will probably be able to talk it out with her,") he said thoughtfully.

Serena nodded slowly. "I see. I hope they'll make up soon," she said, looking at the sky, which was already turning orange.

("She'll be fine,") Charizard said dismissively. ("She might be a pain sometimes, but she's strong.")

"You're probably right…" Serena said, but she wasn't at ease. The image of the super-Houndoom flashed in her mind again, and she tried to push it away and focus on the present again.

At that moment, Ash returned, alone. "I can't find her," he said with a worried look. "There's another small forest on the other side of the hill, so I checked there, but for all I know she went in a different direction entirely."

"Won't she come back by herself when it gets dark?" Serena asked, though she knew how stubborn Bayleef was, and that there would be little chance of that, if she wanted to be difficult.

"She might, but I'm going to keep looking, anyway. This isn't the first time she ran off angrily, and she managed to get herself attacked by a swarm of Beedrill last time," Ash said.

"I'll help looking for her," Serena said immediately.

Ash gave her a grateful look and then turned to his Pokémon. "Alright, guys, I'll need your help as well. Noivern, Charizard, Noctowl, you look for her from the air, but stay in each other's sight. Krookodile, you and Pikachu come with me."

Serena turned to her Pokémon as well and said, "Let's go and look for Bayleef. Stay close, okay?"

"Serena," Ash said before Serena could set off.

She turned and look at him questioningly.

"If it gets too dark, we'll go back to the camp. I don't want you or your Pokémon getting hurt," Ash said.

Serena gave him a small smile and nodded. "Got it. Be careful, Ash," she said.

"You too."

Their eyes lingered on each other for a moment, and then Ash turned around and set off across the hill.

Serena and her Pokémon followed him, but rather than heading for the trees, like Ash, they went west, in the direction of the setting sun, following the small stream that snaked its way through the field. The landscape was mostly open in that direction, but further down Serena could see that across the stream, the field sloped down sharply into a grassy ditch, which extended northward. Maybe Bayleef had gone that way. She'd certainly be out of sight if she did, even if she hadn't gone far.

("I hope Bayleef is alright,") Sylveon said as they walked.

"Yeah, me too," Serena said. "But she is strong, Charizard wasn't wrong about that, so she can take care of herself."

She said it as much to convince herself as to reassure Sylveon, and she increased her pace a bit. The sooner they found Bayleef, the better.

She reached the ditch, and after carefully crossing the shallow stream, she and her Pokémon made their way down the steep slope. The grass here was taller than it was on the hill, coming to above Serena's knees, and making it nearly impossible for Pancham and Sylveon to see anything.

("I could use Aerial Ace to cut it down, just saying,") Pancham said.

"Let's not do that," Serena said. "I don't know if any Pokémon live in it, and I would rather not accidentally make a swarm of Beedrill angry. And you know that's what would happen. But I guess it's a bit hard for you to look if you can't see anything… I'll just recall you and Sylveon for now, and if we run into trouble I'll call you back out."

She took out the Poké Balls and recalled Pancham and Sylveon. Since Misdreavus could float above the grass and Delphox was tall enough to not be hindered by it, they could stay out.

("It does look like someone came through before,") Delphox said. ("The grass is bent aside.")

Serena nodded. "Well spotted," she said. "Hopefully it was Bayleef…"

They followed the 'path' that had been made through the grass. The ground here was a bit soggy, and Serena mentally wept for how ruined her boots would be after this. Still, finding Bayleef was more important. Boots could be replaced, after all.

There was a grove up ahead, and as Serena and her Pokémon neared it the grass became lower again. The trail they'd been following led into the grove, so feeling a bit nervous, Serena entered it, carefully moving forward in as straight a line as she could. Now that there was no longer a convenient trail in the grass, it was much harder to determine where to go, so moving straight ahead seemed to be the best choice.

The trees weren't very dense, but there were plenty of shrubs. There were many branching trails between the shrubs, probably created by the forest Pokémon over the years, but it was impossible to tell which one, if any, Bayleef had gone down.

"Okay, you two," Serena said after a few moments. "I'm going to recall you as well, because I don't want to lose sight of you and it's quicker to move around by myself. I'll call you if something happens."

("Right. Be careful, Serena,") Delphox said.

"I will," Serena replied.

She recalled Delphox and Misdreavus and kept moving. She felt more nervous than before without her Pokémon out, but at least she could make a bit more progress.

Something cracked between some trees up ahead and Serena turned to look at it.

"Bayleef?"

She stepped forwards, in the direction of the sound — and was forcefully pulled into a shrub behind her by a pair of vines. She wanted to call out her Pokémon to help free her, but then she recognized her assailant.

"Bayleef! Why did you–?"

She was silenced by another vine pressing against her lips.

("Be quiet,") Bayleef whispered. ("I barely managed to lose her.")

"Who?" Serena whispered back.

("Kangaskhan,") Bayleef said. ("I was walking through the grove and she just attacked me out of nowhere.")

"Why would she do that? Were you threatening her young?" Serena asked.

("Of course not!") Bayleef said, clearly offended Serena would even suggest it. ("I wasn't doing anything aside from talking to myself.")

"Well, let's get out of here, then," Serena said. "Ash is really worried about you."

("Yeah, I bet he is,") Bayleef said angrily. ("He doesn't think I'm strong enough anymore and he only has eyes for you. He's just keeping me around out of pity, and I hate pity.")

"So your argument with Charizard–"

("I don't want to talk about him. He's just another Pokémon Ash cares about more than me. At least he's not a pretty girl, though.") She gave Serena an angry stare.

"Is that what you think this is about?" Serena asked. "Because I told you Ash doesn't look at love that way."

("Oh, come on, do you think I don't see how he looks at you? He's got it bad for you, so you were wrong, which means you are my enemy, and he does favor some of his Pokémon over me,") Bayleef said.

"Then why did you save me from Kangaskhan, if I'm your 'enemy'?" Serena asked.

("Because you're nice!") Bayleef shouted. ("You're nice, and kind, and pretty, and I hate you, but I can't hate you, because you're too nice, and I hate that I can't hate you! I've known Ash for a long time and he's never been this energetic and happy in all that time, and I want him to be happy, but it's clearly not with me because he won't even let me fight, and the one time he does it's against everything I can't hurt, Fire and Flying types! And guess who's both those types, with his smug, stupid face?!")

There was a lot going through Serena's head when she heard Bayleef's rant, but she didn't get a chance to say anything about it. An angry roar behind her made her whirl around, only to see an enraged Kangaskhan storming towards her.

Before she could even react, though, Bayleef had already pulled her back with her vines, putting herself between Serena and Kangaskhan.

("I'm the one you want,") she said defiantly — and then a white glow surrounded her and she began to grow. When the glow faded, her body had become a deeper green, and the leaves around her neck had become petals.

Serena quickly dug up her Pokédex. "Meganium, the Herb Pokémon, and the evolved form of Bayleef. Meganium's breath has the power to revive dead grass and plants, making them healthy again."

Kangaskhan had paused warily when Bayleef evolved into Meganium, but she clearly wasn't impressed, because she roared and lunged forward head-first.

Meganium quickly extended her vines and crossed them, blocking the attack, and then she strongly shoved back against Kangaskhan, forcing her back.

("I won't let you hurt Serena,") Meganium said.

Kangaskhan roared again and drew back her front arm as if she was winding up a punch. But before she could throw it —

("Kangaskhan!")

Serena and Meganium looked up to see Pikachu coming running down the trail, with Ash close behind him.

("Calm down, Kangaskhan,") Pikachu said, staring her down.

Kangaskhan began to say something, but Pikachu cut her off, saying, ("A mother's love goes deeper than the pouch.")

Kangaskhan blinked and stood up straighter. Whatever the saying Pikachu had used meant, clearly Kangaskhan knew it.

("Why are you attacking Meganium and Serena?") Pikachu asked.

Kangaskhan said something, and Meganium replied, ("I would never! Yes, I was angry, but not at you, not until you attacked me and Serena.")

("Why did you even think she was after you?") Pikachu asked.

Kangaskhan said something, gesturing wildly with her arms.

During the explanation, her young cautiously peeked out of the pouch. When she looked at Serena, Serena smiled at her.

("Here too?") Pikachu asked in alarm, exchanging a quick look with Ash.

Serena suddenly had a very bad feeling about what Kangaskhan had said.

"Kangaskhan, I'm sorry Bayleef — Meganium now," he amended with a proud smile at Meganium, "worried you. It's my fault she came here. She was upset because of something I said, but she would never hurt anyone."

Kangaskhan warily asked something, and Pikachu replied, ("We've run into Pokémon like that as well, back in the forest further east. If they're here, you and your young should probably leave the area for now. They're far too dangerous.")

Kangaskhan didn't look very happy at the suggestion, but she did turn to Meganium and inclined her head, saying something Serena guessed was an apology.

Meganium shook her head and said, ("It's okay. I'm sorry I made you think I was a threat in the first place. Besides, look at me now! You helped me get even stronger!") She smiled and looked at Ash.

"You look great, Meganium!" he said. "I bet you're even tougher now than you already were."

("So will you let me fight Erika now?") Meganium asked.

Ash sighed. "Meganium, she might be a Grass-type Trainer, but all her Pokémon use Poison moves. I don't want you to get hurt unnecessarily. That's why I want to use others. If it makes you feel better, though, neither Pikachu nor Charizard is on that particular team, either."

Meganium blinked in confusion. ("They're not?")

Ash shook his head. "Nope. I wanted to explain that earlier, but I never got the chance."

He smiled at her. "So what do you say? Are you going to come back to the campsite with us?"

Meganium nodded slowly. ("Yeah…yeah, I guess I will.")

She briefly met Serena's eyes, who smiled at her, and she returned it a bit reluctantly and resignedly.

Ash, meanwhile, had turned back to Kangaskhan. "I hope you'll stay safe, Kangaskhan. We don't know what's going on, either, but it's dangerous. Even with ten Pokémon we could barely fight off two Pokémon like the ones you mentioned. Pikachu is right; you and your young should leave the area, at least for now. Maybe you can go south?"

Kangaskhan shrugged, but gave Ash a respectful nod regardless, and shortly after Serena and Ash were walking back down the trail the way they came. Ash had recalled Meganium, since she wasn't fully used to her bigger size yet and kept getting caught up in shrubs.

"Hey Pikachu, what did that expression you used earlier mean?" Serena asked. "And how did you know it in the first place?"

("My adoptive mom was a Kangaskhan,") Pikachu said. ("I lived with her when I was still a Pichu but I left when I realized she was struggling to carry both me and my adoptive sister. I evolved when I snuck away, as I was thanking her for everything she did for me.")

He paused for a moment, staring to the side. Then he shook his head and went on, ("Anyway, that expression is something she used to say. At first I thought it was just referring to me, but it's actually something much deeper for Kangaskhan. It means that everyone is a child of their mother, and that their mothers will always worry about them, so you should never hurt someone unless there is no other choice so you don't give their mother any reason to worry. If any of the Kangaskhan in the herd got too aggressive, one of the others would quote that expression to snap them out of it.")

"Wow," Serena said, impressed. Since Ash didn't respond, she figured he'd heard the story before at some point. Hearing the explanation, she wondered how her own mother was doing, and resolved to call her the moment they got to Celadon City.

"Meganium must really have taken a liking to you, Serena," Ash said, shaking her from her thoughts. "She even evolved to defend you!"

Serena laughed, and Ash gave her a quizzical look. "Did I say something funny?" he asked, looking at Pikachu for support.

Pikachu shrugged, looking just as confused as Ash.

"Well…you should probably ask her about that," Serena said. "It's really more for her to tell than me…"

Despite Meganium's harsh way of saying it, Serena really did feel touched by everything she'd said. And that Ash was happier than Meganium had ever seen him… The thought filled her with joy, and not even the mysterious super-Pokémon could take that away from her…

Bit late, but here's the chapter, regardless. Yesterday I just really wanted to write a Legends Arceus oneshot, so I did.

I was debating whether or not I should evolve Meganium here or at a later point, since Meganium's Pokédex entry in the game I didn't take mine from mentions the aroma from their petals calming down aggressive opponents, and I really wanted to allow Pikachu to step in, but given how belligerent Ash's Bayleef in particular is I could imagine her intentionally not using that because she wants to fight.

I should be able to have another chapter up tomorrow, but you know the drill by now: if it doesn't go up tomorrow, it'll be Sunday. See you then!