Chapter 9: Beginning the Journey
(DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE MARIO FRANCHISE/SERIES OR POKÉMON. MARIO (FRANCHISE/SERIES) BELONGS TO NINTENDO/GAMEFREAK. POKÉMON BELONGS TO GAMEFREAK/NINTENDO).
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(Meanwhile, back at Princess Serena's castle in the Berry Kingdom. Horns play a fanfare as the castle doors open and Ash, Princess Serena, and Sylveon exit the castle to a MASSIVE crowd of cheering Floette. Ash having heard the trumpet fanfare a moment ago, felt like it sounded like something when complete a level in a Video Game. Ash could already tell that Princess Serena was an example of Royals Who Actually Do Something, since she was willing to take the fight to this Koraidon guy herself. Then Ash gasped in shock when he saw the number of Floette that were here).
Ash: (Gasps at the all the Cheering Floette who were here).
Floette: (Cheering).
Princess Serena: They are all counting on us. No pressure.
Sylveon: We are not going to let them down okay. (Then Princess Serena begins walking away with Sylveon as Ash follows them. Ash, Princess Serena, and Sylveon pass through the crowd of Floette who get a little shocked as Ash passes by them).
Floette (Eternal Flower): (Cheering). Huh? (They give Ash curious looks, making him feel a little nervous at being the center of attention here as he nervously chuckles to himself. Then Ash, Princess Serena, and Sylveon go and stand next to the Origin Ball that will take them in the direction they need to go. Then the three of them turn and face the Cheering Floette with Princess Serena having them stop cheering as she says to the Floette).
Princess Serena: Listen my Floette! Our days of terror are about over. With the help of the Forest of Okoya Pokémon army, we will stop- (But then a Blue Floette raises his hand, causing Princess Serena to stop mid-movement as the Floette asks).
Blue Floette: Uh... Who is he? (Ash, knowing the question was about him, he laughs nervously to himself. After a couple of moments of thinking it over, Princess Serena announces to her Floette while looking a bit Nervous).
Princess Serena: (Beat). He is not important! (Sylveon was a bit shocked about this declaration of Ash, and so was Ash himself. But then the Floette starts cheering again as Princess Serena turns around and enters the Origin Ball. Sylveon waits a couple of seconds before jumping in and entering the Origin Ball, following her Princess. Once Princess Serena and Sylveon were gone, Ash heads for the Origin Ball, jumping onto the ledge of the Origin Ball, barely balancing himself on it. Then he weakly waves goodbye to the Floette before the Origin Ball begins pulling on his hand and in mere moments, the Origin Ball sucks him inside).
(Later as Ash, Princess Serena, and Sylveon are walking through the Berry Kingdom Forest where Ash first found himself after going through Ultra Space. Princess Serena was thinking that saying to the Floette that Ash was "not important!" did Sound a little harsh, but given that she and Sylveon only just met Ash, they would not have had a ton of information about him to properly answer the question, and surely just said what she did to keep the Floette from asking further questions about him. Since things were mostly quiet between them as neither of them have spoken since leaving the Berry Kingdom, Princess Serena decided to try and break the silence between her and Ash with a question as she looked at him).
Princess Serena: Nervous? (Ash tries to play off his nervousness telling them).
Ash: Who, me? (Scoffs before honestly telling them). Yes. A little. (This response from Ash elicited a giggle from the Princess and Sylveon as they both send a Friendly Smile to Ash).
Princess Serena: (Giggles).
Sylveon: Relax, it is going to be okay. You are with us remember. (Then the group ends up caught off guard when they hear a voice coming up behind them, it sounded like loud singing).
Voice: We're goin' on an adventure! (When they look to see who was making that noise, they saw that it was coming Floette (Eternal Flower), and he was dancing up to them before passing by them, Ash had not seen Floette since he helped him sneak into Princess Serena's castle. Floette (Eternal Flower) was Sounding all excited). Come on, guys! (Then Floette began Scat Singing before stopping and seeing Ash). Hey, Ash. (Princess Serena and Sylveon could see that this Floette had already met Ash as they turned to Ash, asking him).
Princess Serena: Do you know this guy?
Sylveon: Because it sounds like you two have met already. (Floette (Eternal Flower) nods to answer Princess Serena's question while Ash nervously tries to answer her question).
Ash: Uh- (Before he could properly answer Princess Serena's question Floette (Eternal Flower) beat him to it, answering her question).
Floette (Eternal Flower): We are best friends. (Ash was not sure if he felt like he was best friends with Floette (Eternal Flower) in the same way that Floette saw him as a Best Friend. All Ash could figure out about Floette (Eternal Flower) was that compared to his brother Ritchie who was a cautious Only Sane Man that was taller than him, Floette was a fearless Keet that was smaller than him, but both of them acted as a sidekick to him, making Floette a foil to his brother).
Ash: But are we? (Ash was not feeling too sure about this given the Mutually Unequal Relation between him and Floette. Since they only knew each other for a short amount of time. Hence why Ash does not feel like he can exactly reciprocate the feelings that Floette is pointing out here. But on the other hand, though, Ash could see that Floette was a Nice Guy (Or Pokémon in this case) who genuinely wants to help his friends, especially him, since despite knowing him only for a couple of minutes at best, he still was going above and beyond for him, and was referring to Ash as his best friend, whether he agrees or not. And Ash could see that Floette's actions so far were never out of personal gain. Then Floette hold up his finger to Ash and turns to Princess Serena and Sylveon).
Floette (Eternal Flower): Do not worry. (Emphatically). I... will...protect you. (Ash, Princess Serena, and Sylveon were looking quite impressed with Floette's clear Declaration of Protection. As the Princess and her Sylveon approach Floette (Eternal Flower) looking amazed with his Declaration).
Princess Serena: A Floette brave enough to join me. (Sylveon then said to Floette (Eternal Flower) to see just how fearless he was, but not wanting to truly scare him, just make sure he knew what he could be getting himself into).
Sylveon: There could be creatures as Fearsome as the Nightmarish Freddy Krueger, the Boogeyman Michael Myers, or the Hockey Masked Jason Voorhees. (But none of this scared Floette (Eternal Flower) as he said to them, sounding completely unafraid and with a gruff sounding voice).
Floette (Eternal Flower): Oh, I fear nothing. (That was enough for Princess Serena and Sylveon to convince them to let Floette (Eternal Flower) come with them).
Princess Serena: Well, that settles it. You are coming with us. Let us move. (Then Princess Serena goes back to walking through the Berry Kingdom Forest, while Sylveon stayed with Floette (Eternal Flower) for a moment to send him a happy smile).
Sylveon: Welcome aboard Floette. (Then Sylveon went on to catch up with Princess Serena. While Ash was also quite impressed with Floette (Eternal Flower)'s bravery and determination, and how he made it clear to them that he was going to be tagging along whether she likes it or not. This Floette was quite the Napoleon with how despite being even shorter than he was, he still had a very high-energy disposition that compelled him to leap into any scenario regardless of the odds, and he had Undying Loyalty as well. And plus, it could not hurt to have him with them, in any case, the more the merrier, for their Token Trio. Princess Serena, Sylveon, and Ash run off. While Floette in his excitement grabs a Flabébé resting on a rock and spins it around laughing happily, while the Floette begins going wide eyed in a state of panic).
Floette (Eternal Flower): Ha-ha-ha! I said we're goin' on an adventure! Woo! (Floette tosses the Flabébé making it Squeal in distress behind him and goes after Princess Serena, Sylveon, and Ash).
Flabébé: (Squeals).
(The Group of Ash, Princess Serena, Sylveon, and Floette (Eternal Flower) began traversing various kinds of lands, including one area with a cannon, ramp, and floating island in the sky. And Ash was wondering what the Cannons in this area was for, and who oversaw the area here).
(Then the group began passing through an area with a wooden bridge that the group was crossing. Ash also noticed that that there were Seakings jumping from an unseen body of water over their heads, like a sort of Flying Seafood Special. As they kept crossing the bridge, one of the Seakings became a Personal Space Invader when it flies itself onto Ash's face and began sucking on it before he struggles to remove it from his face).
(Next the group traverses through a Kingdom that was boiling hot, sweltering, and filled to the brim with Sand everywhere. But the most surprising thing there from Ash's point of view were the number of floating pyramids. But what was even stranger about the floating pyramids was how they were UPSIDE DOWN! Making them upside-down floating pyramids, Pyramids that were floating Upside Down in the Air! Ash was wondering if the hot temperatures in this Sand Filled Kingdom that making him Hallucinate the floating pyramids, or the sign that said "Tostarena").
(Soon after that, things were much better as the group was now traversing through a Warm but Humid Jungle like environment. With Ash following Floette (Eternal Flower), Princess Serena, and Sylveon as he bit into a Fresh and delicious apple he happened to find. On the other side of a nearby stream was a group of wild Deerling that were all running together in a Stampede Like Fashion, from three of the four seasons, including Spring, Autumn, and Fall. One of the Deerling, a Spring form had stopped near the stream to watch Ash, Floette (Eternal Flower), Princess Serena, and Sylveon walk nearby seeing the Apple that Ash was eating and started enviously licking its lips since the Apple that Ash was eating was its Trademark Favorite Food. While the rest of its Herd kept running past it, Ash got a brief of the Deerling and thought they were quite cute, but was hoping to see a Summer Form Deerling, but was clearly out of luck, as he saw no Deerling like that present here).
(Ash, Princess Serena, and Floette travel through various lands, including a Rocky Mountain range area covered in mist. There they had to traverse medium sized gaps, luckily, they managed to make it across safely).
(A Short time later, the group is helping each other climb a High Cliff by jumping from one Ledge to another, making sure to take their time, so they would not end up plummeting to their doom. With Ash doing his best to help keep Princess Serena's Sylveon safe a couple of times. Eventually the group makes it to the top of the High Cliff successfully and safely, when Ash made it to the top he goes wide eyed and is in amazement at the view he sees before him as he goes to stand beside Floette (Eternal Flower), Princess Serena, and Sylveon, as Princess Serena asks him).
Princess Serena: Pretty incredible, huh? (To say that Ash found the view spectacular would be an understatement).
Ash: Mama Mia! (The View the group had before them was of the mist-covered Mountain Range they had before them).
Princess Serena: No, I will never let anyone ruin this. (Then Sylveon chimes in smiling as she agrees with Serena).
Sylveon: Neither will I.
(Meanwhile, Stars were appearing in the sky as Koraidon was playing a "Ludwig Von Koopa" style piano on a floating rock platform, in his Castle. And then he began singing a song aloud).
Serena
You're so cool
And with my Tera Orb, we're gonna rule
Serena, understand
I'm gonna love you 'til the very end
Serena, Serena, Serena, Serena, Serena
Serena, Serena, Serena, Serena, Serena
I love you
Oh-oh
Serena
Serena-
(But then suddenly Delphox suddenly teleported into the room interrupting one of his King's Silly Love Songs that was in no way proof of how much of a Narcissist he was about the Head-Turning Beauty that he uses the Affectionate Nickname of "Serena" for. Or that his Villain Love Song for Princess Serena was a Stylistic Suck since it was full of clichés and lines that are just her name repeated repeatedly. Once Delphox sees that he has his boss's attention, he asks him).
Delphox: Sire? (Delphox's sudden appearance has Koraidon slamming his fists on the piano keys while sighing as he Breathes in and tries to Calm himself down after looking enraged from ending up interrupted before addressing Delphox).
Koraidon: What?
Delphox: A report from our intelligence. A Capped human has arrived in the Berry Kingdom. (This Makes Koraidon growl before he huffs in anger. Delphox witnesses this and jumps back in fear of Koraidon's reaction and how he could end up attacking him in anger and rage at hearing this piece of news. Before Delphox continues with the report he has gotten for Koraidon). The princess has been training him. They are up to something, sire! (Koraidon sits in silence for a couple of moments before asking Delphox in a Faux Affably Evil and Tranquil Fury way).
Koraidon: Sit. (Delphox sees Koraidon gently patting the bench seat next to him). Jam with me. (Hearing the coldly jealous tone in his Kings voice, Delphox tucks his Stick Wand into his fur and takes a seat on the Piano Bench next to his King. Then Koraidon and Delphox begin playing music together on the Piano. With Koraidon playing music that you would hear while Underground, while Delphox joins in playing music you would hear while collecting coins Underground. Then Koraidon broke the silence to ask Delphox). This, uh, human. Where did he come from? (Then Delphox answered his King's Question in a way that would hopefully not further anger him).
Delphox: We...are not sure? (Koraidon stays calm as then asks Delphox).
Koraidon: Does the princess...like him? (Koraidon asked seething with transparent insecurity. While Delphox gasps at the mere nature of the question that Koraidon just asked).
Delphox: (Gasps). Sire! Look in the mirror! You have nothing to worry about. (Delphox hoped that telling Koraidon would help to reassure him that this Ash guy is no threat to his plans to marry his King since he knows just how "perfect" he is for the Princess of his Dreams, just like what a Romantic Wingman would do. As that was his job as Koraidon's Sycophantic Servant and Yes-Man as he only gives the answers that Koraidon wants to hear. Then Koraidon calmly tells his Second-in Command).
Koraidon: Oh, I know that. And I am not feeling threatened. (Before he vents his jealousy towards Ash by Promptly slamming the piano lid on Delphox's fingers, causing Delphox to scream in pain, realizing that his King just said that as Blatant Lies with his passive-aggressive tone as he realized that even when Delphox told him what he did in the form of flattery, it meant nothing due to realizing that Flattery will get him nowhere).
Delphox: Ooooowww-ho-ho-ho-ho! (While Delphox continued wailing in pain over the Fingore Pain that Koraidon just gave him, Koraidon screamed at him in a Commanding voice as he got in Delphox's face, yelling at him in an unruly way showing that he is being Wicked Pretentious).
Koraidon: FIND OUT WHO HE IS AND WHAT THEY'RE PLANNING! (Clearly, Koraidon did not realize that he was proving one of his Fatal Flaws, Paranoia. Then Delphox said in a whimpering voice due to the pain he was still feeling, which worsened when Koraidon pounded on the piano cover before walking away from the Piano and Delphox).
Delphox: (Whimpering) I am on it, sire! (Delphox then asked in a weak voice). May I lift the cover? (Koraidon was already at the bottom of a long set of steps from his Island with the Piano to the ground as he answers Delphox's question).
Koraidon: Not yet pain is the best teacher! (Hearing this causes Delphox to Groan in pain and whine from the pain he was feeling currently after Koraidon smashed his piano cover onto his fingers in a fit of irritation to vent his jealousy over Ash just to spite him. All the while Koraidon continued walking off, hating this "Ash" Guy simply because he is a human accompanying Princess Serena. And did not care about how he knows nothing else about him aside from having a Cap. But felt threatened because Princess Serena was also a human and thus would more likely fall in love with a fellow human than him, the King of the Paradox Pokémon. Koraidon was not a Green-Eyed Monster with a Hair-Trigger Temper, no he saw this "Ash" Guy as a rival suitor intentionally trying to steal "his girl" and make him unhappy. And he was going to make him pay when he found him, cause now this was Personal!).
[A/N #1: Hey Everyone I have a Fun Fact for you: According to Jack Black, the idea of Bowser crooning a love song was not thought up "until halfway through the recording process". When Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic first pitched the idea to Black, he was initially hesitant, but after they impressed him with a short demo of "Peaches", he agreed to turn it into a full song (with the help of his fellow collaborator, John Spiker).].
Replies to my reviewers:
Ashpoke55: Hey, I totally get it. Horror Movies are not for everyone. And My Mom is not a huge Horror Movie either and it is for a quite understandable reason. She told me that she once saw what is undeniably the most Famous Horror Movie ever made, William Friedkin's 1973 Masterpiece, "The Exorcist". And It Scared the He*& out of her. Personally, I have never seen "The Exorcist", but saw clips from various parts of the movie. The Reason for why I never saw the 1973 Movie, is not because I am scared or anything, it is just that I am not interested in it. But I do praise everyone involved in making the movie (Especially Linda Blair), the closest I ever came to watching the movie was when I saw an episode of Favorite detective comedy-drama, "Psych" where they did an episode parodying various elements of the 1973 Movie, the episode was called, "The Devil Is in the Details... And the Upstairs Bedroom", and one of the Other Horror Movies I did see, also contained scenes parodying those From "The Exorcist" (Mostly Regan's Possession Scene by Pazuzu, where the demon speak through her, making her head do the 180° spin, the projectile vomit, floating bed, Possessed Regan slapping her Mom, etcetera.). And once, I did even hear that during (Surely first) Screenings of "The Exorcist" people freaked out so much or just Fainted from what they saw that the Movie Theater Staff had to call Ambulances to get people out. Not only that, but I also heard the previously mentioned Movie set for "The Exorcist" had a curse on it, just like the set for "The Omen". This is all true incidentally, I even looked up this stuff. (But I will spare you the details). Now I have never been scared of the Stuff you would see in a Horror Movie, sure I might jump or flinch in shock from a Scare (whether it is a Jump Scare, or a non-jump/regular scare) for a second or two or get a bit uncomfortable if a Movie gets EXTREMELY (Or Excessively) Bloody or Gory, but no I do not get scared. For example, when I saw the very first "Jaws" film (Made in 1975) by Steven Spielberg for the first time, I jumped in shock (More like gasped from the sudden jump scare) when Hooper found Ben Gardener's body in his abandoned boat underwater and had an eye missing. And even before seeing 1975's "Jaws" I was already remarkably familiar with the movie, knew a whole lot about it. (Mostly the Plot and a couple of the characters). But even then, the Jump Scare with Ben's Body caught me by surprise, and I am not kidding when I say that I was Genuinely caught off guard by it, it was the only Jump Scare from any Movie (Horror or otherwise) that made me flinch, both at the time, and for the hundreds of Horror Movies that I would see after that. And following 1975's "Jaws" I would go on to watch 178 More Horror Movies. (That is Right, 178 MORE Horror Movies). And I would tell you names for each of those Horror Movies, but I am worried that I will scare you if I do. But I will say this much, prior to seeing 1975's "Jaws", I did see Alfred Hitchock's Famous 1960 Horror Movie, "Psycho" with Norman Bates, played by the amazing Anthony Perkins. And then I would go on to watch a Couple of the Most Famous and (those that people might think are) the most infamous Horror Movies Ever Made. But if you are curious as to the names of the Horror Movies I have seen, feel free to ask. As for your question about Ash and Ritchie's Pikachu (though Ritchie calls his Pikachu "Sparky"), the answer is, I am not sure. And I did intend to have their respective Pikachu's join them in the story at first, but then the idea ended up (as they say in Hollywood) "On the Cutting Room Floor". It does not mean that I will exclude their Pikachu from the Story completely. I just figured that since Ash and Ritchie are going to end up in a Mainly Pokémon Dominated World, having Pokémon Partners would be like a Shortcut for their Problems, and by extension making things too easy. For example, if I did the later scene where Luigi (Ritchie) ends up put in the Metal Cage in the dungeon over the Lava Pit, having his Pikachu to break of the cage would make escaping the cage too easy for Ritchie. (Ignoring how Luigi would no way escaping the dungeon after breaking free of the Cage). And plus, with the Story ending up more focused on Mario (Ash) and Luigi's (Ritchie's) brotherly bond and desire to reunite with each other, having their Pokémon Partners seemed like a bit of afterthought/detraction from the story ending up driven by the previously mentioned brotherly bond. Believe me, I want both Pikachu in the story, more than anything else, but not if I am not sure how to do it in a way that does not detract from the main story in anyway. Now, I still could include their Pikachu, but only for a later scene near the end, (like at the very end of the story), but only if I can find a way to do it justice. But then you could also ask, "If you do not think having Ash and Ritchie's Pikachu present, how come you have Serena's Sylveon here?" Well, the answer is that Serena having a Pokémon partner feels more natural when she lives in a World Dominated Primarily by Pokémon. So, I hope that answers your question.
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-To Be Continued-
Next time on ... THE SUPER KETCHUM BROS.:
A Starry Night Campfire