Chapter Fifty-Five: Relieving Tension

The sun was setting when the ferry reached Cinnabar Island. Serena and Ash were treated to the beautiful sight of the sun slowly sinking behind the volcano that dominated most of the western part of the island as the ferry readied itself for docking, and despite the already somewhat late hour, the docks were still bustling with activity. Along the main path, rows of stands, lit by paper lanterns, were leading into the city.

"Is there some kind of festival going on?" Serena asked.

Ash shook his head. "No, Cinnabar Island is just a bit of a tourist trap. It's still a lot of fun, though. Lots of great food, too," he added hungrily.

Serena giggled. "So I guess dinner first, then?" she asked with an amused expression.

Ash nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! And maybe after we can relax a bit in the hot springs."

("Together?") Pikachu asked suggestively.

Ash's face instantly turned so red he might as well have been soaking in a hot spring for hours already. "No! That's not what I– Not that I wouldn't– No, wait, I mean–"

("Keep digging yourself deeper,") Pikachu said with a grin.

"Hot springs sound nice," Serena said, not meeting either Ash or Pikachu's eyes and feeling her face burning fiercely. "There aren't that many in Kalos, so…"

"Well, Cinnabar has loads," Ash said. "Even the entrance to the Gym was located in a hot spring."

"Why would the entrance of the Gym be there?" Serena asked.

"Apparently the Gym lost a lot of popularity when the island became tourist destination, so Blaine purposely made it hard to find. That way, only dedicated Trainers would challenge him and give him a good fight," Ash said.

("The Gym itself was located in the volcano,") Pikachu said. ("I guess it still is, although I'm not sure.")

"Wouldn't that be really dangerous, though?" Serena asked.

Pikachu shrugged. ("I only almost died, and I've been doing that since day one of our journey,") he said.

"I actually gave up the battle because of that," Ash said. "But I was losing even before that. Squirtle had lost to Ninetales and Charizard refused to fight. Pikachu had beaten Rhydon, but even he wouldn't have been able to beat both Ninetales and Magmar."

"So was this one of the Gyms where you won the badge without fighting for real, then?" Serena asked.

("No,") Pikachu said before Ash could reply. ("Charizard fought Magmar one-on-one and won. That annoying guy did actually end up swimming in the lava, too, but of course it didn't bother him.")

Ash chuckled at how annoyed Pikachu seemed at having to admit Charizard could do something he couldn't, even years later. "Hey, don't sell yourself short, buddy. You took Rhydon out with a Thunderbolt, and there weren't even any sprinklers involved this time," he said.

Pikachu grinned. ("I guess I did,") he said, but then he became serious again and added, ("But you'd better give me a chance to fight this time, too. I want to avenge the loss.")

"Fine with me," Ash said. "Between you, Charizard, and Suicune, this should be a fun match…"

Serena smiled. They hadn't even left the ferry yet and Ash was already planning his Gym battle. But before that, she had her own Exposition to worry about. The events from the Fuchsia City semifinals were still fresh in her mind, and she was determined not to let the same thing happen again…

With a contented sigh, Serena leaned back in the steaming hot water. Apparently hot springs were so common on Cinnabar Island that even the Pokémon Center had them. That might present a nice opportunity for the Location round of the Exposition, although Serena wasn't entirely sure how exactly she'd be able to incorporate it. Well, it wasn't important for now. She hadn't even registered for the Exposition yet, after all, and there was still time before the event itself. B

esides, the Location round wasn't really what she was worried about. By now, she was quite confident in her ability to impress an audience with her team's moves. The Showoff round, on the other hand… She knew her Pokémon were skilled with their moves. She knew they could handle anything anyone threw at them. It was herself she was worried about. She needed to guide her Pokémon in how to use their abilities to their maximum potential, and the Fuchsia City Exposition had made it clear that even an opponent with lower technical abilities could still throw her off her game enough to make the entire performance fall apart.

It didn't always matter who was the best at using their moves, as long as the other person looked worse doing it. But that didn't really sit well with her, somehow. It wasn't like she'd never disrupted her opponent's performances, or anything. She'd done that every single time, even, and it was an integral part of the competition. But every time, she'd also been trying to put on a display of her own.

Erin, however, had doubled down on disrupting Pangoro's efforts, while her own performance had only been serviceable at best. It had been highly effective, but it somehow felt like it wasn't in the spirit of the Expositions. Or had the other Artisans been right in whispering that Serena was just a sore loser, and was this just how things worked?

"You look far too pensive for someone relaxing in a hot spring," a familiar voice said, shaking Serena from her thoughts.

She blinked and looked up into Dawn's grinning face, just as Dawn stepped into the hot spring and slowly sat down next to Serena.

"Ahhh, that feels good," she said with a blissful smile and her eyes closed.

"Dawn! It's great to see you again," Serena said. "Are you here for the Exposition?"

Dawn didn't reply immediately, evidently enjoying the heat of the hot spring, but then she opened her eyes again and smiled at Serena.

"Yep! I told you I'd do at least one more before the Grand Expo, so where better than here? I am still on vacation, after all." Her smile faded a bit and she went on, "I guess you were thinking about what happened in Fuchsia?"

"You saw that?" Serena asked uneasily.

It made sense, of course. Dawn would be competing in the Grand Expo, so of course she'd keep an eye on the events she didn't choose to attend, but it still wasn't a nice thought.

"No need to worry," Dawn said, clearly picking up on Serena's discomfort. "Stuff like this happens to everyone. I've lost Contests in pretty bad ways before, and I'm sure Ash has told you about plenty of times where he lost badly. It's just a part of competing." She grimaced. "Still sucks, though."

Serena nodded slowly. She wondered if she should tell Dawn she'd been afraid of Pangoro at the time. They'd talked everything out, after all. Would it even make sense to mention it now? And what would Dawn think of her then?

"You can say whatever you're thinking, you know," Dawn said playfully. "I won't bite."

Serena shook her head. "I know, it's just…"

"Embarrassed?" Dawn asked.

Serena nodded uncertainly. "I guess," she said.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Dawn said, lazily waving her hand. "What, did Ash confess his undying love to you or something? Although I'd think you'd be happier if he did that," she added, mostly to herself.

In spite of herself, Serena grinned. "He did, actually," she said.

"Wait, what?!" Dawn shouted, nearly jumping out of the hot spring before recovering. "What happened?! When?! Why am I only hearing this now?! Tell me things!" she said, gesticulating wildly.

Serena laughed and said, "It was just after we left Celadon City…"

When Serena finished her story, Dawn was beaming at her. "That's so romantic! And he actually took you out for dinner and to watch the sunset? Man, that's the first time Ash shows he has, in fact, been traveling with girls for seven years, and I didn't even get to see it," she said. She grinned. "I wonder how Brock will react when he finds out Ash got a girlfriend before him… Or did you tell him already?"

Serena shook her head. "Nope. Our mothers know, and now you, and that's about it, really."

"I'm really happy for you two," Dawn said. "Honestly, I never imagined anyone would ever get Ash to admit to his feelings, let alone so openly. He's got good taste, though."

She winked at Serena, who felt her face heat up a bit more than the water alone could have done. "T-thanks," she said.

She grew a bit more serious again and said, "But anyway, about the Exposition...I...I was afraid of Pangoro, of how angry he was."

Dawn's grin faded and she nodded. "I saw that, too. I can imagine that was a bit nerve-racking."

Serena shook her head. "Not just 'a bit'. I was terrified. I really thought he was going to kill me." She shuddered despite the hot water. "We talked it out later, and my Pokémon and Ash all helped me so much, but…"

She lowered herself further into the water, hiding her slumped posture from view a bit. "It's still in the back of my mind. Mismagius already left me once because I was scared of her, and now I was afraid of Pangoro, and who knows what else might happen? I don't want to be afraid of my own Pokémon and I know they don't want to hurt me, but sometimes...sometimes I feel like I'm just not a very good Trainer. That they all deserve better. If I'd been more skilled, we would have beaten Erin, I'm sure of it. I–"

She didn't get any further, because Dawn splashed hot water in her face.

"Hey!"

"Stop talking down to yourself like that," Dawn said sternly. "Who was the one who trained your Pokémon in the first place? You! And what have all the judges at all the Expositions you've done been telling you from the start? That they all have great control over their moves. Do you really think that just anyone could've helped them become so skilled?"

"Maybe?"

Dawn vehemently shook her head. "Wrong! There's only one person who could draw out their potential like that and that's you," she said, jabbing her finger at Serena's chest to emphasize her words.

"Trainers attract the Pokémon who match their styles," she went on. "Look at Ash's team. All battle-crazy idiots, right?"

Serena smiled faintly. "Yeah," she admitted.

"And my team consists of showoffs who love being the center of attention in one way or another, which fits perfectly with what I want to do. They wouldn't hang around otherwise, either," Dawn said with a small smile. "I had a Buizel at one point, but he was just battle-crazy and didn't care for Contests at all. Fortunately, Ash had an Aipom who preferred Contests, so we traded them. If your Pokémon didn't have faith in you as a Trainer, they wouldn't stay with you. Since they do, and Mismagius even returned after she left, that tells me they're plenty confident in you. All you need to do now is be confident in yourself, too."

She shrugged. "And if you can't believe in yourself just yet, then believe in me, who believes in you. Oh, and in Ash, of course," she added as an afterthought.

Serena laughed. "That, I can do," she said with a smile.

Dawn grinned widely at her. "Now that's what I like to hear!"

Looking very pleased with herself, she leaned back again. "Man, hot springs really are the best at relieving tension, aren't they?"

Serena smiled. "Yeah...yeah, they are…"

It's been a million years, sorry about that. I just had so much on my mind since December, and I just couldn't focus on writing at all. Honestly, it's still kind of difficult for me, but I really want to get back into the swing of things. I hope the next chapter will be up within two weeks, but I can't make any promises right now. My mind's just all over the place. In any case, feel free to let me know what you think, and see you in the next one!