Author's Note: First of all, I want to wish you all a happy 2023. Hope you enjoy the first chapter of the new year!

Chapter 33:

Doubts and Resolve

Route 8 - The Wheatfields

It has been a day since their night adventure fighting what they believed were aliens. After spending another night at Ripley's, the group was ready to continue their journey to Vinoville Town. The middle aged woman was kind enough to fill their backpacks with all sorts of food typical of the area free of charge, as thanks for their help. After that, the foursome continued their trip through the vast farmland that was Route 8.

However, after spending the whole morning –and a good part of noon– walking, the group decided it was a good time for them to take a break, set up camp, have lunch, and let their Pokemon stretch their legs, and maybe do some training. Serena's next contest would be soon, and Ash had gotten a taste of what awaited him once he faced Sheldon.

"Flame Impact one more time, Raptorch! And Greninja, block with Water Shuriken!" Ash ordered.

"Rap, rap!" Raptorch happily yipped, as he dashed towards the Ninja Pokemon, his small body cloaked in flames.

Once it had built enough speed, Raptorch launched himself at Greninja, while the latter placed a large watery star between him and the living fireball that the Fire Dino Pokemon had turned into. The clash of attacks produced a booming noise, while Raptorch was bounced backwards, but the Water Shuriken held.

"Very well, Raptorch!" Ash said. "Between that and Dig, I think your close combat options are pretty good!" Ash praised, much to the Fire Dino Pokemon's delight.

Given he was his most recent capture, Ash had been training with Raptorch for the better part of the morning, having him spar against his other Pokemon in order to gauge his level of strength and skill, which gave Ash a pretty good idea of where Raptorch was regarding his other Pokemon, what were his strengths, and what he should improve upon.

While still far less experienced than his other Pokemon for obvious reasons, Ash had faith that the Fire and Ground-type would catch up to the others in no time. He was full of energy, and was eager to learn from Ash.

"Now, I think we should work on your ranged options. Your Ember is okay, but I think you could do something better, like Flamethrower. Braixen here was kind enough to make a demonstration for you," Ash said, motioning to Serena's starter Pokemon next to him. "Braixen, show him your Flamethrower!"

"Brai!" Braixen nodded, before taking a deep breath and exhaling a stream of flames from her mouth into the air. Ash appreciated that the Fox Pokemon had used her mouth instead of her wand to channel the Flamethrower, given that the latter was something Raptorch could not hope to emulate.

"Raaaaap..." Raptorch yipped, as he looked at the attack in awe with wide eyes.

"Thanks a lot, Braixen!" Ash said. Braixen nodded, and made her way to the spot where Serena and her other Pokemon were training. Ash then turned towards the Tandorian starter. "So, do you think you can do it?"

"Rap, torch, tor!" Raptorch vigorously nodded.

He then moved a few meters away from the others, and began to practice Flamethrower. Even if his first try only produced a shower of minuscule flames, Ash had faith that his newest Pokemon would be able to do it.

"Now that Raptorch has something to do, Greninja, I want you to train with Frosulo. Is that okay?" Ash asked.

Needless to say, Greninja obediently nodded, while Frosulo looked fired up at the Ninja Pokemon, as if eager to impress him.

With that done, Ash then moved to another spot in the clearing where Clemont and his Pokemon were. Chespin and Eletux were battling against Aveden and Dunsparce.

"Chespin, use Iron Head! Eletux, cover him with Charge Beam!" Ash could hear Clemont order.

Eletux fired a single yellow bolt at the Bliss Bird Pokemon, who countered it with Mirror Shot. As this happened, Chespin's green helmet-like part of his head shone with a silvery light, this time the glow keeping stable, as the Spiny Nut Pokemon launched himself headfirst at Aveden. Ash would have expected for Dunsparce to protect his partner, but instead, Dunsparce let Aveden take the Steel-type attack, while the Land Snake Pokemon rolled into a ball, and slammed into Eletux with Rollout.

"Ave!" Aveden angrily whistled. Obviously, the bird didn't appreciate being used as a distraction for the Land Snake Pokemon to attack freely. "Den, ave, aveden!"

"Parce," Dunsparce unapologetically said, rolling his eyes.

"Aveeeeee!?" Aveden whistled loudly, as he looked almost ready to attack Dunsparce.

"Dunsparce, that wasn't very nice of you," Ash said, as he walked towards his two Pokemon. "The point of fighting alongside Aveden is for you to learn about teamwork. Rather than attacking Eletux, you should have defended Aveden from Chespin's attack, then the two of them could have attacked together."

"Duns," Dunsparce scoffed, looking aside.

Ash let out a sigh. "Listen Dunsparce, I know it was your home for your whole life but... we're no longer in Passage Cave. You don't have to fight purely for yourself anymore. That's the best part about having friends, you can rely on them to help you when you need them!"

Dunsparce made eye contact with Ash again, but he didn't say anything.

"So, will you make an effort to fight alongside Aveden without me having to direct you?" Ash gently asked. "Come on, do it and I'll ask Serena to make you some of her Razz berries Pokepuffs," the trainer smirked knowingly. "You might have tried to hide it from me, but I know they're your favorites~"

"Dun!?" Dunsparce asked in shock, as if surprised that Ash knew such a thing, though he quickly pushed his shock away. "Paaaaaaarce..." Dunsparce despondently agreed, as if he was being asked to do a really big and bothersome favor.

"Great! I'm counting on you, Dunsparce!" Ash said, petting the Land Snake Pokemon on the head.

Now, all of his Pokemon were accounted for. Well, all of them except one. Ash could see Metalynx lazily resting under the shade of a nearby tree. Not that he wasn't planning to do nothing with her. In fact, she would undergo the most intense training of all his Pokemon today. Though, if everything went well, she would come out much stronger.

Though, before he crossed that bridge, the Pallet Town native felt that a long walk through the peaceful countryside could help clear his head a little. Though the boy also felt he could use some company. Walking towards the spot where Serena and her Pokemon were training –Bonnie was also there, looking at the spectacle–, seeing the Kalosian girl hard at work brought a smile to his face.

"Alright Braixen, keep the circles of flames stable!" Serena ordered. "Your turn, Pancham and Minicorn!"

"Cham pancham!" Pancham cried, while Minicorn neighed in agreement, as the duo raced towards the flames, jumping through the hoops with such skill, Ash couldn't help but feel marveled at such a display of skill.

"Really good there!" Ash said, clapping his hands.

Serena turned around, and beamed upon seeing her friend "Ash!" she shouted. "So, do you like it?"

"Yeah! It was amazing! I don't think even Ambrose could say anything bad about such a performance!" Ash praised.

"Heh, if only that were true..." Serena said, grabbing the hem of her skirt.

"So, three Pokemon?" Ash asked.

"I decided to practice some routines in case contests decide to throw a curveball at me," Serena explained. "And even if no such thing happens, well, it's a good way to practice teamwork and synchronicity."

"Indeed," Ash agreed.

"So, how about you and your Pokemon? Is your training going well?" Serena asked.

"Couldn't be better! Sheldon won't know what hit him!" Ash boasted, puffing his chest a little. He then deflated, and smiled sheepishly at Serena. "Though... I miiiight have promised Dunsparce that you'd make him some of your Razz berries pokepuffs he likes so much..."

Serena crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Ash Ketchum, did you make a promise on my behalf? Really?"

"Maaaaaaybe...?" Ash replied, chuckling awkwardly. "Would you do it?"

The honey blonde smiled good naturedly at him. "Of course, Ash, You know you can ask me anything, especially if it's for your Pokemon," she then smirked, and added. "Though, why I'm not surprised that you need to bribe Dunsparce with food of all things so he can behave. He might be a scoundrel, but other than that, that Pokemon fits you so well!"

"Haha, true!" Ash laughed with her. "Anyway, I was going to go for a walk, and I wonder if you'd like to join me? I'd like to make it a date but... well, there isn't much to do here, is it?"

"A simple walk is okay, Ash. Just spending time with you is more than enough for me," Serena said, her cheeks tinged pink. She then turned at her Pokemon, and said: "Alright guys, good job! Take a break!"

"Hey, if you are leaving, can I brush your Pokemon?" Bonnie asked, a brush already in hand.

"You know you don't need to ask me that. Plus, all our Pokemon love it when you brush them," Serena reassured her.

"Yay! Come on everybody!" Bonnie cheered, as she skipped towards Serena's Pokemon.

Serena then turned towards Ash. "So, shall we go?"

"Sure!" the boy replied.

…

Boredom.

Lying on his back against the grass, his eyes fixed on the clouds above, this was all what Pikachu could feel at the moment. Utter, absolute, boredom.

Like his own trainer, Pikachu was somebody brimming with energy, and loved to train, the more the better. Sure, after his accident at the power plant he didn't feel as energetic as before, but he felt that Nurse Joy was exaggerating when she convinced Ash to bar him from anything that could be physically extenuating.

Even if he wasn't at one hundred percent –gathering and releasing electricity took much more effort, and in some cases it even hurt– Pikachu believed he could still do some light training. At the very least, to stay in shape. It would do him no good if he was finally given a clear bill of health only for his abilities to dull during the time he had been resting.

But Ash refused to listen to him. Of course, even if Pikachu knew that the human did it because he worried and cared about him, it didn't make the situation any better.

Then that was that awful medicine that Ash had to feed him a couple hours before lunchtime. He heard it was some kind of tonic that would accelerate his healing, but it tasted beyond terrible!

"Come on Pikachu, don't make this so difficult!" Ash had groaned, as he pushed the spoon with the disgusting liquid against his closed mouth.

"Pi, pikapi!" he had protested.

"Yes, I know it tastes bad! It's medicine, it's supposed to taste bad! In fact, the worse it tastes, the better it is!" Ash had insisted.

"Chu, pikachu!" Pikachu had countered.

"I know it doesn't make sense, but that's how it rolls! Now come on, open your mouth! Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh!" Ash had said, in a vain attempt to make Pikachu drink the liquid.

"You know Pikachu, if you don't want to take your medicine that way, Ash will have to inject it into your body instead, right?" Serena had asked, having heard Ash's struggle.

Pikachu looked at his trainer's mate, and paled. An injection!? No one said anything about that!

"What injection...?" Ash had asked, and luckily for him, Pikachu didn't see Serena winking at the boy. "Ohhhhh, right, the injection! Yes, I think I'll have to do that, given that Pikachu refuses to cooperate. I think I left it in my backpack. Could you please go and fetch it for me?"

Before Serena could reply, Pikachu had grabbed the spoon, shoved it inside his mouth, and forced himself to swallow the disgusting brew.

"See? Was it so bad?" Ash asked, gently patting his head. "Now stay here and try to relax."

And here he was, relaxing. Or trying to. He was too restless to do that.

"Raaaaap! Raaaaaap!"

Looking to his right, Pikachu could see Raptorch, still trying to learn Flamethrower. Of course, doing it all wrong. The Fire Dino Pokemon was trying to force his Ember to be as big as possible, while the key to a Flamethrower was breathing. More specifically, deep breathing in order to gather as much air inside your lungs in order to produce heat, which was then released in the form of a stream of fire.

Pikachu would know, he had seen many of Ash's Pokemon learn to use that attack.

Given that it was obvious that Raptorch wasn't any close to figuring that out, the Mouse Pokemon decided he could make himself useful and tell Raptorch the trick. Getting on his feet, he walked towards the newest member of Ash's team.

"Pi, pika, chupi, pika!" Pikachu told Raptorch.

"Rap?" Raptorch asked, tilting his head quizzically.

A prouder Pokemon would have taken offense at Pikachu's suggestion, because what would an Electric-type know about Fire-type moves? Thankfully, Raptorch was willing to listen, either because of his curiosity, or because he realized he wasn't making any progress.

So Pikachu explained it to him, and told him to try again following his instructions.

Raptorch took a breath so deep it was borderline comical, before opening his mouth, releasing a stream of flame. It wasn't still a true Flamethrower, but it was much better than his previous attempt.

"Rap!?" Raptorch asked if he even did that, before thanking Pikachu. "Tor, torch, rap!"

Pikachu nodded, and told the newest member of Ash team to continue training, before he returned to his resting spot.

His mood was a little better now. Maybe he couldn't be able to help Ash directly as he had done since they began their journey together, but he could still help him in other ways.

…

"Ah, this is such a nice place to relax, isn't it?" Serena asked, as she walked besides us. "There's so much green around us, the Pokemon are peaceful, the air is so clean..."

"I know! It reminds me of my own hometown!" Ash agreed. "Though, while Pallet is rural, we don't have that many farms around us. Also, when you hear people talk about this region, all you hear are the power plants and the big cities, but nobody talks about places like this."

"Eh, it tends to happen. People don't find the countryside all that interesting, you know? And prefer to move to the big cities, where the excitement is," Serena explained. "Even though I mostly started my journey to get away from the Rhyhorn racing training... Well, I felt Vaniville Town was becoming a bit too small for me..."

"I'm glad you like places like this, then. Given that there isn't much here to do that could be considered date-like..." Ash scratched his temple, as he began to look around, but only saw endless crops and Pokemon grazing.

"It's okay, Ash. I already told you that being with you is more than enough for me," Serena reassured him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Though, now that you mention it... when you left your home and came to seek me... it was because you liked me, right?" Ash asked.

Serena nodded, as she rubbed her arm sheepishly. "Y-Yeah... even if it wasn't the sole reason... I wanted to see you again, and... and return that handkerchief to you..."

"Heh, and I didn't even remember you..." Ash remembered, a little embarrassed.

"It's okay, Ash. It's been a long time, and I'm sure that I didn't make that big of an impression on you back then," Serena said. "I even bet I wasn't the only kid there you helped. Then again... you have no idea how happy you made me when you invited me to join you, and Clemont and Bonnie. My journey through Kalos wouldn't have been even half as amazing as it was if I did it alone as I originally planned."

"I feel the same. Clemont and Bonnie are great, but without you... we would have missed so much..." Ash said.

Serena giggled. "And here we are now. Traveling through another region, the four of us. And you and me... on a date..."

"If we can call this a date..." Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ash, I already told you not to stress about it. You don't need to take me to fancy restaurants or other typical date spots," Serena insisted. "I'm happy being with you."

"Still... I feel like I could do more. Try something to top our first date," Ash said.

Serena couldn't help but giggle loudly. "Ash, our first date was a romantic dinner on a luxury cruise. If you're able to top that..." she averted his gaze and blushed a little while gently grasping her blue ribbon. "...I'll have to ask you to marry me."

"Oh, okay then, I'll try not to go overboard, hehe," he chuckled awkwardly.

"You're doing fine, Ash. You don't need to worry about everything. Just keep being yourself. That's why I like you," she told him.

"Sorry if I'm a little nervous. This is pretty new to me and I don't want to screw things up," Ash replied, his eyes drifting away from her.

Serena raised an eyebrow and looked at her crush, a little worried over his demeanor.

"Ash," she began. "I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable with all this dating stuff."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Ash said, waving both hands for added emphasis. "It's great, really! Why would you think such a thing?"

"Well... I feel like you might be worrying too much about this and... I wonder how much you're doing this just because it's what I want," Serena said, before sighing a little. "You're nice like that, Ash."

"Oh, no, no!" He said again. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want to! You're a great friend, Serena, and I'd like to see as well if we could be more than just friends..."

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming," Serena guessed.

"There's no 'but'. It's... well, I've never been afraid of the unknown. New regions, new Pokemon, new people, new adventures... that was part of the appeal of the journey, you know?" Ash began. "Then back in the cruise you told me about your feelings for me, and opened a completely new world to me that I wasn't even aware was there. But this new world... it's nothing like I did before, and I can't help but feel afraid if I'm doing anything wrong..."

Serena shook her head. She stopped walking, and Ash stopped beside her. The honey blonde then gently grabbed Ash by the shoulders, and fixed her blue eyes on his auburn ones.

"Ash, listen to me," Serena began. "Do you like spending time with me? Don't think as of now. Think before I confessed to you. Like in Kalos, for example."

"O-Of course! Didn't I make that clear?" Ash asked.

"Then it's fine, Ash. That's the only thing that matters. I enjoy your company, you enjoy mine, we have a nice time together. End of the story," she firmly stated. "That's all there's about it."

"You make it sound so simple..." Ash said.

"Because it is. And when the moment comes, whatever has to happen, it will happen. And if it doesn't happen..." Serena finally released Ash, as she turned her back at him, and grabbed the hem of her skirt. "At least we'll still have our memories and our friendship."

The two of them stood there, in complete silence, motionless. A gentle breeze blew past them, rustling the grass at their feet.

After a few seconds, Ash smiled, and broke the silence. "You're right, Serena. I can't believe I was worrying so much. In fact... by worrying so much I was worrying you, right?"

"A little," she admitted.

"In that case, let's consider this topic settled," Ash said. "Should we talk about something else?"

"Yeah, I think that's for the best," Serena agreed. "Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

"Yeah. Something that's been on my mind recently, now that Orchynx has evolved into Metalynx," Ash said. His expression grew serious as he held the shuriken-shaped necklace that was holding the Keystone Vaeryn had given him. "I want to see how well Metalynx does with Mega Evolution."

Serena unconsciously looked at the keystone on the golden ring around her index finger, which reminded her that she'd have to tackle the issue if Selkid evolved.

"And are you worried it might not work?" Serena asked.

"Maybe not on the first try. But I have to do this sooner or later if I'm to challenge Vaeryn, given his condition to battle him again, so the sooner I do this, the better," Ash explained, before adding, "Plus, now that I have this I'd like to see if it's something I can rely on for my Gym battle with Sheldon. All Tandor leaders have a Pokemon capable of Mega Evolving, so having something to match that other than Greninja would be nice."

"You already defeated Mega Evolved Pokemon before without him. Cali, for example," Serena pointed out.

Ash shook his head. "That's because it was a two versus one, given that I was able to knock out her second to last Pokemon, leaving her Gyarados alone. Plus one of the two Pokemon was Pikachu, and I can't have him fight for the time being."

"Korrina?" Serena asked.

"I guess you're right on that one. Though, I was lucky I was able to get to knock out two of her Pokemon while losing none, yet I still needed Fletchinder and Hawlucha to wear down her Mega Lucario for Pikachu to finish it off. Had I lost either of them, maybe I wouldn't have won," Ash said. "When I tried to fight her Mega Lucario with Pikachu, it never went well for us, and that's even before Lucario went berserk."

Indeed, the image of the deranged Aura Pokemon brutally beating Pikachu down was something the honey blonde would take a lot of time to forget.

"And you're worried that Metalynx might lose control?" Serena asked, before adding: "Remember the reason Korrina's Lucario lost control was due its aura overloading. I doubt Metalynx would have such a problem."

"True. Though, I still can't help but remember how much it took me to master Greninja's Battle Bond, even if in the end it was simpler than I first thought," Ash said, before resolve filled his very being. "This time, though, I'm not going to make the same mistakes, and only use Mega Evolution once I'm sure I have it completely under control."

"For all that's worth, I don't think you'd have any troubles with this. I'm sure your experiences with Greninja will also help you a lot with this," Serena stated.

…

While Ash and Serena had their romantic walk and Clemont trained with his Pokemon –Chespin and Eletux had been given a rest, it was now Luxray and Bunnelby's turn– Bonnie was doing one of her favorite activities: brushing the group's Pokemon. Right now, she was grooming Serena's Pokemon, since their trainer didn't leave them anything to do in her absence, so they were resting.

The young girl had already done Braixen and Sylveon. It was now Pancham's turn, the Playful Pokemon sitting with his back turned at her, sunglasses removed so Bonnie could brush his head better.

"You're going to look so handsome for your next contest, Pancham, even that jerk of a judge will be amazed," Bonnie began.

"Chaaaaam..." Pancham cooed, enjoying the feeling of the brush against his fur.

"You're almost done..." Bonnie said, giving the last few brush strokes as she eyed her next 'customer'.

Selkid had no fur or hair she could brush, which only left Minicorn and Quetzoral. And once she was done with them, she'll work on her brother's Pokemon. Just because Clemont wasn't taking part in Gym battles or contests didn't mean that they didn't have to look their best, no sir!

"SYYYYYLL!"

The young girl was startled by Sylveon's sudden screech of terror, as did Pancham. Did something happen to her? Alarmed, the lemon blonde looked at where Sylveon was: she was trembling and hiding behind Braixen. In front of them was Nucleon, who looked like he was trying to approach her, but Sylveon had panicked. And in fact, every time Nucleon tried to take a step towards her, Sylveon would cry again, making the Atomic Pokemon to flinch and take a step back. Meanwhile, Braixen's sight shifted from one Eeveelution to the other, not knowing what to do.

"Pan, pancham, cham!" Pancham yelled at Nucleon. Bonnie didn't understand what the Playful Pokemon was saying, but given the tone she guessed Pancham was telling Nucleon to leave Sylveon alone.

In the end, Nucleon gave up, let out a sad, distorted whine, lowered his head, and walked away from Serena's Pokemon, finally allowing the Fairy-type to relax. Pancham then joined Braixen in comforting the still trembling Fairy-type.

Bonnie frowned. She wasn't the only one who noticed the way Sylveon reacted to her brother's first Tandorian Pokemon. Granted, while the Intertwining Pokemon was as receptive to the then-Eevee's advances as she was towards Chespin, the sheer terror she was feeling now... it made no sense.

If she was to reach the bottom of this mystery, she needed one special tool: the Pokemon Speech Translator. Thankfully, Ash hadn't taken his backpack, so the PST should still be there. Hopefully the boy wouldn't mind Bonnie borrowing it. Especially since it was for a good cause.

Device in hand, Bonnie walked towards Sylveon, who was now resting on the grass.

"Hey there, Sylveon!" Bonnie cheerfully said, careful not to spook the shaken Pokemon.

"Syl?" Sylveon asked, and tilted her head to the coming blonde.

"Say... would you mind if I talked to you?" Bonnie asked, holding the PST in front of her. "I'd like to ask you a couple things."

"Veon," Sylveon nodded.

"Alright," Bonnie said, switching the PST on and moving the microphone close to the Fairy-type's face. "Say, how are you, Sylveon? Do you feel better now?"

"Syl" [I'm feeling a little better now, thanks for caring.]

"I'm happy to hear that," Bonnie smiled. "Though... why do you react that way around Nucleon? You know he's your friend, right?"

That moment, Sylveon's demeanor changed, going back to how she was a minute ago. She rested her head above her front paws, as her body began to tremble.

"S-Syl, veon, sylveon!" [The monster... the monster will hurt me... it will hurt me...]

"But Nucleon isn't a monster! He's our friend! And he will never hurt any of us!" Bonnie protested.

"Veon, sylveon..." [The monster will hurt me... pain... so much pain...]

Bonnie tried a few more times, but she didn't get Sylveon to say anything else. Sighing in defeat, the girl decided to leave the Intertwining Pokemon alone, lest she made her more upset and got the rest of Serena's Pokemon mad at her.

Why was Sylveon so afraid of Nucleon? Was it because he was a Nuclear-type? Serena had told Bonnie that Sylveon got quite the beating from several Nuclear Pokemon, a Gyarados chief among them. That experience must have left Sylveon terrified of Nuclear types. It was like how Ash's Goodra, back when he was a Goomy, was afraid of Dedenne because of his previous traumatic experiences with other Fairy-types.

The memory made Bonnie scowl. It took Goodra a while to get over his fear, and she wasn't looking towards another similar experience with Sylveon.

As she walked away, she saw Nucleon lying under the shade of a tree. He appeared to be pretty depressed. If she couldn't get Sylveon to open up to Nucleon, at the very least she may comfort the latter, even if just a little.

"Heya, Nucleon! Do you mind some company?" Bonnie asked, as she plopped next to the depressed Nuclear-type.

"Nu." [Leave me alone].

Wordlessly, Bonnie began to gently pet the Atomic Pokemon on the head and down his neck. While his skin was very smooth to the touch, his body felt unusually warm.

"Nuc." [Okay, you can stay.]

"Heh, I knew it," Bonnie said, as she continued petting him in silence.

Though, after a couple minutes, Nucleon broke that silence.

"Nu, cleon, nu...?" [Why does she hate me? I tried to protect her... and now she hates me...]

"Just give her some time. I'm sure she'll come around to see what a great guy you are," Bonnie replied.

"Nucle, nucleon." [She thinks I'm a monster. Maybe I am one.]

"Don't say that!" Bonnie chided, as he petted him a little harder than intended. "You're not a monster, you hear me? You're a great, amazing and caring Pokemon! Or else my brother wouldn't have caught you!"

"Cle, nucleon." [That was when I was an Eevee.]

"So? You're still the same Pokemon on the inside," Bonnie said.

"Nucleon." [She doesn't think that. She thinks I'm going to hurt her.]

"Well, she's wrong, and sooner or later, she'll realize her mistake!" Bonnie confidently said. "This isn't the first time I see something like this. Sometime ago, another Pokemon of Ash was afraid of Dedenne, but in the end he realized he had nothing to be afraid of, and the two became really good friends!"

"Nu, cleon, nucleon, nu." [Maybe there is something to be afraid about me. Have you seen other Pokemon like me? They're mindless brutes that destroy everything they see. But they used to be normal, like I used to be. Maybe it's only a matter of time before I become like them.]

"Geige, geigero," the clicking voice of Geigeroach said, as the Radroach Pokemon walked towards the spot Bonnie and Nucleon were on.

"Huh? Geigeroach?" Bonnie asked, as the Bug and Nuclear type reached them. She then aimed the microphone at him. "Can you repeat that?"

"Geige, geigero." [I said that maybe the others used to be normal before the change made them lose their minds, but as somebody who had lived with the others for most of his life, I can tell you aren't like them. Even if you weren't born this way, you're like me.]

"Nu, cleon, nucleon," the Atomic Pokemon scoffed. [Does it matter? In the end, she think I'm like the others.]

Geigeroach sat beside Nucleon, and placed one of his arms on Nucleon's head, joining Bonnie in her petting.

"Roach, geigero." [If that's what she thinks, then perhaps she might not be deserving of you caring about her.]

Nucleon snapped his head towards the Radroach Pokemon, his three blue eyes narrowed at his fellow Nuclear-type in anger. Bonnie could swear that he was about to demand Geigeroach to take that back, but before he could open his mouth, his anger vanished as quickly as it arrived, his floating ears dropping as he lowered his head once again.

"Geige, geigeroach." [Then again, she might just be scared by your change. Perhaps if you give her time to get used to your new self, she may treat you the same way as when you weren't like me.]

"Nu?" [You think so?]

"Roach, roach, geiero." [I'm not certain, but it's a possibility. But in the case she never grows to accept you, my advice would be to forget about her and seek others who do. Master Clemont accepted me, and so did the other members of his swarm, be human or Pokemon.]

And with that, Geigeroach got up and walked away, leaving Bonnie alone with Nucleon again.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Sylveon just needs some time," Bonnie sympathetically said, as she rubbed a comforting hand on Nucleon's neck.

But right now, Nucleon didn't look so sure.

…

Once Ash and Serena returned, Ash announced that he was going to try Mega Evolving Metalynx. Needless to say, this drew the attention of everybody in the group, human and Pokemon alike, as they dropped everything that they were doing in order to witness such an event.

Serena had crafted a yellow collar made of synthetic leather to act as the holder for the Mega Stone. On top of making it as sturdy as possible and to make sure that the Mega Stone would not fall out of it, she also made it so it would match the Armor Pokemon aesthetically as well.

The preparations were done: The group's strongest Pokemon –that's it, Greninja, Braixen and Luxray– were on standby and ready to act if things went south. Also, Bonnie still held the PST so they could understand how the process affected Metalynx.

"Above all else, stay calm. There's nothing to fear. You already saw this with Cali's Gyarados, remember?" Ash reassured the Grass and Steel-type Pokemon. "We're going to do the same with you now."

"Pi, pika!" Pikachu reassured her as well.

"Meta, metalynx," she purred affectionately, before licking Ash's face.

"Haha, I'll take that as you being ready," Ash laughed, as he wiped his face with one hand, and walked away from the Tandorian Starter. He then held the Shuriken necklace with one hand, and touched the Keystone with his index and middle finger of his other hand. "Alright Metalynx, let's do this, together! Mega evolve!"

Both the Keystone and Megastone glowed with a bright light, as beams of shining energy fired from each stone towards the other. The beams clashed in the middle, merging together, as Metalynx's own body shone with a bright white aura. As her body began to grow and change. Once the transformation was complete, the glowing aura disappeared as the Mega Evolution helix flashed in front of her.

"That's Metalynx? Whoa, she looks so cool!" Bonnie gushed.

"Nenene!" Dedenne agreed.

Metalynx's Mega Evolved form looked larger and way fiercer. The most noticeable changes were the long and sharp blades growing across her metallic legs, and her tail, previously shaped like a sickle, was now longer and straighter, almost looking like a huge machete. Other changes included the white tufts of hair at the side of her face growing into a lush mane and the two metallic fangs sticking out of her upper jaws.

"Metalynx?" Ash asked, as Bonnie switched the PST on and moved the microphone close to the Mega Evolved Pokemon.. "How are you feeling?"

"Lynx, meta, lynx!" she growled softly. [I'm feeling great! So much power! I feel like I could slice a mountain in two!]

"Heh, Mega Evolution didn't curb her confidence," Serena quipped.

"Alright then, let's see if you can back up that boast. Greninja, are you up for a spar?" Ash asked.

"Gre, ninja!" [Always, Master!]

The group spent the next hour putting Metalynx's new strength and power to test. While Metalynx wouldn't be splitting mountains anytime soon, her Iron Tail packed enough power to easily cut a tree trunk in half, her Energy Ball was noticeably larger than before, and her Metal Claw and X-Scissor had more range and edge.

Thanks to Braixen's attacks, everybody noticed that Metalynx developed an increased resistance to Fire-type moves. A quick check on the Pokedex revealed that her ability had changed from Battle Armor to Heatproof upon Mega Evolving.

While the memory of Korrina's Lucario going mad the first few times she tried to Mega Evolve, plus his own struggle with Greninja's Battle Bond made Ash a little nervous, as the time passed and Metalynx sparred against the other Pokemon, it was obvious that this wasn't going to be the case. Ash's bond with Metalynx, in combination with his experience with Greninja's bond made Mega Evolution something easy to master.

Seeing the results, Ash's slight but present uneasiness disappeared, replaced by both satisfaction, confidence, and eagerness to test this new power in a proper battle.

The match against Sheldon couldn't arrive soon enough.

Author's Note: Even if this was a pretty calm chapter, it was far from uneventful, don't you think?

Do you know something I hate that I see a lot in fanfiction? When two characters hook up mid story, but then the relationship dries up and just act like friends. Well, even if Ash and Serena haven't hooked up just yet (they're more than "just friends" but haven't reached "boyfriend and girlfriend" status yet) I'm going to make sure that every chapter has a moment between Ash and Serena that is unabiguosly romantic even if it's something as simple as a mere walk through the countryside. As long as the chapter's plot allows it, of course, don't expect such moments to appear on chapters with Gym Battles or contests.

I did promise you that even if Pikachu can't fight for the time being, he'd still find ways to help, didn't I? After all, Pikachu has been helping Ash train the Tandor team for quite some time (remember that it was him who taught Birbie how to properly use Gust and taught Orchynx how to use Iron Tail, among other things).

And Nucleon made another failed attempt at getting close to Sylveon. Oh well, at least he had Bonnie to console him and Geigeroach to offer him some needed wisdom. Don't worry buddy, don't let bad times get to you, everybody can see how awesome you are.

Thanks a lot to Ricardo Valencia, 61394, Jake, Nataliesecret, Fox McCloude, MegaSalamence64, hirowriter, Brightnova169 and Viroro-kun for reviewing the last chapter, as well as Viroro-kun for his awesome job as betareader, whose suggestions and edits made this chapter all the better.

Next time, Serena tries to win her fourth ribbon in a contest that will feature more than one surprise. In the meantime, don't forget to drop a review :)