Chapter 40:

The King of the Jungle

Lilycove City

Today Ash had received a really nice surprise.

He was in Lilycove City, doing... something. He didn't remember exactly what, but for some reason he didn't feel like that was important. Anyway, he had seen an advertisement of a contest taking part in the city today, so he decided to go and see it, given he had the time, plus the mention of contests gave him a feeling of nostalgia slowly bubbling inside him that he felt he could indulge. He hadn't seen a contest since the Sinnoh Grand Festival, after all.

The appeal round began, and imagine his surprise when the name of Serena was announced as one of the coordinators!

Of course, Serena was amazing, using Delphox and Sylveon to make a stunning show of light and flames. Once she was done, he went to talk with her to the coordinator's waiting area. Serena seemed to be just as happy to see him as she was to see her, but she didn't want to talk just now, since she wanted to focus on the contest.

"Once the contest is over, meet me at the entrance of the Contest Hall," Serena said, smiling warmly at him. "There's something very important that I need to tell you..."

Even if he wanted to catch up with her right now, Ash decided to honor her wishes, so after wishing her luck, he returned to the audience.

Needless to say, Serena was among those who passed to the second part of the contest, the Contest Battles. Serena used Delphox and Pancham, the two Pokemon fighting with resolve and skill, defeating one opponent after the other, until there were no more, and Serena was declared the winner of the contest, much to Ash's joy.

Once the contest was over, Ash quickly went to the entrance, and patiently waited.

It had been so long since they last saw each other, since the two of them left Kalos to pursue their own dreams. And it seemed that Serena was doing pretty good on her contests, if what Ash had seen here was any indication.

"Sorry if I made you wait too much," Serena's voice said, as she exited the building.

Serena had changed quite a bit since they parted ways. She was now wearing a dark gray sleeveless sweater, a white and black plaid skirt, brown knee-high boots with black stocking, and a dark gray fedora. Her hair had grown a little, and had styled it in a way that her ears, which had bowtie-shaped red earrings on them, were now visible.

Ash couldn't tell if it was the change of look or something else, but Serena looked less like a girl and more like a young woman now.

And she looked prettier than ever.

"Oh, not in the slightest. Given how long it has been since we last saw each other, I wouldn't have minded if you made me wait more," Ash excitedly said. "Come on, let's go somewhere else to talk. Maybe we could have dinner together at the Pokemon Center?"

Serena shook her head. "It won't be necessary to go anywhere Ash. I can say everything I want to tell you here."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Well, if that's what you want..."

"Trust me, this won't take long. First of all," Serena said as she began to fish for something inside her backpack, before handing it to Ash. "I wanted to give you this."

Ash took the object Serena was giving him, a small, square box that for some reason, felt oddly familiar to him. Opening the box, Ash saw the ribbon he had given Serena back in Coumarine City, neatly furled back into a roll.

The boy looked at Serena with a confused expression. "Serena, this is the blue ribbon I gave you. Why are you returning it back to me? Don't you want it anymore?"

"I used to cherish that ribbon a lot in the past, given that it was a gift from you. In a way, I believed that as long as I wore it, I'd be connected to you," Serena began to explain.

Ash didn't like where this was going. "Then why are you-"

"-giving it back?" Serena finished, smiling in a very unnerving way. "Because I'm over you, Ash. We had a fun time together, I'm not going to deny it, but I've moved on. You're now my past, Ash. Consider this a definite goodbye."

Ash felt as if somebody had poured a bucket of cold water over his head. Blinking in confusion, he asked: "Definite goodbye? W-Why are you saying this, Serena? You don't want to see me again? Did our friendship mean so little to you?"

"Like I said, I will always have the memories of our journey through Kalos together. But memories shouldn't get in the way of the future. In fact," Serena said as she snapped her fingers. "There's somebody I want you to meet."

That moment, somebody joined them: a pale skinned, black haired boy that appeared to be a couple years older than them and, for some reason, was wearing near-identical clothes to the ones Ash wore during his journey through Kalos.

"You told him what you wanted to say, babe?" the boy asked.

"Indeed," Serena nodded, before turning to Ash. "Ash, this is Calem. My boyfriend."

If those words felt like cold daggers stabbing inside his heart, Serena pulling Calem into a deep, passionate kiss made Ash feel as if his heart had been swallowed by a black hole.

"S-Serena...?" Ash stammered, his voice as weak and soft as a whisper.

"Oh, by the way," Serena said, after breaking the kiss with Calem. She then walked towards Ash, and violently thrust her hand into his chest, before, with a wet squelching noise, pulling his still beating heart out of his body. "I don't think you'll be needing this anymore."

Serena then casually tossed Ash's heart into a nearby trash can, as she and Calem continued to passionately kiss.

"No... no... no... NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ash caught himself shouting.

Blinking, Ash realized he was no longer in Lilycove City, but inside the tent he shared with Clemont. Looking to the side, he saw the inventor still sleeping. Thankfully his shout hadn't woken him up.

"Pika...?"

However, it seemed that his shout had woken Pikachu up, who drowsily looked at Ash, his eyes reflecting worry.

Ash smiled, picked up his starter Pokemon, and began to gently pet his back. "Don't worry buddy, it was just a nightmare. I'm okay."

He continued petting Pikachu, until a realization dawned upon him.

A nightmare?

Did the idea of Serena having a boyfriend other than him fill him with so much dread as to consider it a scenario worthy of being called a nightmare?

Ash sighed and looked at the time in his pokegear. It was a little before six in the morning. While they didn't get up so early, Ash didn't feel like he would be able to fall asleep again. Gently placing Pikachu next to his cushion– since the rodent could indeed sleep some more– Ash quietly got dressed and got out of the tent.

Once he stepped out, he was greeted by a sight of green as far as the eye could see, warm temperature and very humid air, the latter two quickly making him feel sweaty.

Such was Route 10, also named Baykal Forest: a dense rainforest that had its own microclimate outside of the rest of Tandor, and something they had to cross if they wanted to reach their next destination, Amatree Town.

The terrain, dense vegetation, and territorial Pokemon turned the place into possibly the hardest route to traverse in all of West Tandor. Still, there were many people who dared to cross it in order to reach Amatree, given that Tiko, the Amatree Gym Leader, was famed for being West Tandor's strongest Gym Leader. And the flux of trainers traveling to the town also increased since they built a Contest Hall.

Ash and his friends had been trekking through the dense jungle for a whole day. The lush vegetation and lack of clear paths made their progress quite difficult. Still, at their current pace, they believed they would arrive at Amatree with at least one day to spare.

"Oh hey, I wasn't expecting somebody to be up so early," a voice said.

Ash saw Serena returning to the camp, carrying a basket full of berries that Ash had never seen before. Next to her was Pancham, also carrying a smaller basket of berries, and hovering above both was Quetzoral.

"I had a nightmare, and I don't feel like I could go back to sleep," Ash told her.

"A nightmare? What kind of nightmare?" Serena asked, slightly worried.

"Eh... I kinda forgot about it," Ash lied, scratching his cheek. "It wasn't important. By the way Serena, once we're in Amatree and the contest is over, would you like to go on another date?"

Serena raised both eyebrows, seemingly surprised by how suddenly and brazenly Ash had asked for it. But Ash had the irrational gut feeling that, if he didn't ask her now, somebody else would come and take her away.

"Eh, of course, I'd love to!" Serena said, smiling happily.

"Great," Ash said, now feeling a little better, the memory of the nightmare no longer bothering him. He then noticed the baskets Serena and Pancham were carrying. "What about you? Did you get up to go pick some berries?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Mostly because the berries that grow here can't be found in any other part of the world," Serena explained, as she and Pancham left the baskets next to her tent.

"Really?"

Serena nodded. "According to this website I read, Baykal Forest has many berry trees that not only do produce unique berries, but they grow ten times faster than most other berries!"

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Ash said. "Maybe we could take some of these berries back home and plant them there. It would make feeding Pokemon so much easier!"

"Sadly, these berry trees can't grow outside Baykal. Something about the place's unique climatological condition," Serena explained, as Ash deflated upon seeing his idea shot down. "That's why people in Amatree chose this place to settle. Food is extremely abundant, and they make a lot of money exporting it to the rest of the region."

"I see. Oh well, I'm sure the Pokemon will love the pokepuffs you'll make with these berries," Ash said.

"I know, that's why Quetzoral volunteered to guide me to those trees, given that this is where she was born," Serena said, motioning to the Canopy Pokemon, still hovering above them. "And Pancham here was awake and wanted to tag along and help us."

"Pan, pancham!" Pancham nodded.

"Your Pokemon know no one makes better pokepuffs!" Ash said.

"Hehe, I'm sure they do," Serena said, as her eyes went to the spot where Delphox, Sylveon and Syrentide slept. Ash could notice how her shoulders slumped and her body sagged when her eyes moved a little further away, to the spot where Oblivicorn slept alone.

Thankfully, after being recaptured, Oblivicorn hadn't tried to escape a second time. Still, she not only refused to listen to Serena, but even avoided the rest of her Pokemon as well. Serena even attempted to use the PST to understand what was bothering her, but Oblivicorn remained silent when she tried that.

"If only it was as easy as to make her a treat tasty enough..." Ash heard Serena whisper to herself.

"Don't worry Serena. Sooner or later, she'll open up to you," Ash reassured her, as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I hope so. Still, I'm not going to stop reminding her that I will always be there for her, no matter what," Serena said.

"Chico!" a new but familiar voice cried.

Everybody turned to the source of the voice, and saw not one, but three Chicoatl emerging from the nearby shrubbery, cautiously walking towards the group.

"Que, tzo, que!" Quetzoral happily cawed, as she dived towards the trio of Chicoatl.

"Chi, chico!" The three Chicoatl cawed just as happily returned, and the four of them began to excitedly talk among each other.

"Whoa, look at that. It looks like Quetzoral knew some friends from here," Ash said, noticing how happy she was to meet with her own kind.

"I remember Vaeryn telling me that Chicoatl hail from this part of the region, so it's only natural that we'd run into some of them," Serena told him.

"Yet we found her on the Baa Grasslands," Ash said. "Singing to that crowd of forest Pokemon."

Serena's brow scrunched a little, as placed a finger under her chin. "You're right... what made her leave her home?"

"Well, we can always ask her. We have the Pokemon Speech Translator," Ash suggested.

"Good idea. If Quetzoral left this place, it must have been for a reason, and maybe she doesn't feel comfortable returning," Serena deduced, before her shoulders sagged a little. "Oh boy, I can't believe I didn't think of that before coming here!"

"Hey, don't worry that much. If anything, Quetzoral hasn't shown any signs that she doesn't want to stay here," Ash said, looking at Quetzoral, who was now introducing Pancham to the trio of Chicoatl. Pancham, extroverted as ever, took no time to quickly endear to them. "If anything, she seems rather happy to be back."

Serena looked at Quetzoral, who didn't seem distraught in the slightest, behaving no different than before they arrived.

Still, better safe than sorry.

"Ash, can you fetch me the PST, please?" Serena asked.

"Sure thing!" Ash replied, as the boy returned to the tent he shared with Clemont. Less than a minute later, the teen boy returned with the translating device, who handed it to Serena. Once it was in her possession, the honey blonde walked to where her Pokemon were conversing with the local Chicoatl.

"Hey there, you guys," Serena tried to get in their conversation as gently as possible. "Say, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Que, tzoral, que, quetzoral!" Quetzoral whistled. [Of course! Guys, this is Serena, my trainer! These three Chicoatl are members of my former flock!]

"Chi!" [Nice to meet you!]

"Co, coatl!" [Ohhhh, a human!]

"Chico!" [I'm hungry!]

"Nice to meet you too," Serena said. She then turned towards Quetzoral. "So, they're like your friends and family?"

"Que!" Quetzoral replied. [Pretty much!]

"I see. Though, this may not be my place to ask, but given where we found you, why did you leave your home and family and go to the Baa Grasslands?"

Despite knowing it would be a delicate issue, she immediately regretted making that question upon noticing the Quetzoral's mood grew somber.

"Sorry. If you don't want to answer that question, please pretend I didn't say anything," Serena quickly added.

But Quetzoral shook her head. "Quet, que, tzo, tzoral, quet," she began. [Primeape and Mankey here are very territorial. A few days before you found me, I ate without realizing a berry from a bush that was in their territory . A bunch of Primeape saw me and beat me up, and threatened to do even worse things to me if they saw me again. I was so scared that I left the jungle altogether.]

There was a moment of heavy silence as everybody processed what Quetzoral had said. Soon, anger and indignation fell upon everybody else, both human and Pokemon alike.

"What a bunch of bullies!" Ash said. "If we ever meet them, I'll have a few words with them!"

"Pan, cham, pancham!" Pancham proudly said, as he punched into his open paw. [If we ever met them, I'll beat them up senseless for what they did to you!]

"And... you were okay returning here?" Serena tentatively asked.

"Que, tzoral, quetz!" she happily cawed. [Don't worry! With how strong I got under your training, I'm no longer afraid of running into them again! And if that's not enough, I have the rest of my friends to help me!]

"Chan, pancham!" Pancham agreed. [Damn right you do!]

Serena let out a sigh of relief. "Well, I'm glad that coming here wasn't a problem for you after all. Still, I'll keep this in mind to make sure I don't make such a potential mistake."

Quetzoral merely nodded.

A few hours later, once Clemont and Bonnie got up –and once Ash and Serena had to endure some teasing from Bonnie about why the two of them decided to get up so early– they packed up their camp and continued their trend through the jungle.

Guiding them was Quetzoral. Given what they had learned from the local Primeape, they didn't want to anger them by getting inside their territory, so Serena had the Canopy Pokemon out in order to guide them so they wouldn't cross into the irascible Pokemon's territory.

"Quet, quetzo!" Quetzoral said. [Alright, we're going well. As long as we keep our distance from that cluster of tall trees, we're good!]

"Heh, it's so nice that Serena got a Pokemon from this place! This beats following a GPS!" Bonnie stated, looking at the Canopy Pokemon with admiration.

"And she isn't the only one," Clemont pointed out. "Maybe if we travel through the northern part of East Tandor, Ash's Frosulo might act as a guide as well, given that he hails from there."

"Hey, you're right!" Ash said in realization. "Man, I can believe I didn't realize that..."

"Pika..." Pikachu said, as he patted Ash on the head. Then, his expression grew concerned while his ears perked up. "Pi, pikachu!"

"Huh? Something wrong, buddy?" Ash asked.

Before Pikachu could have a chance to repeat what he said within the PST's range, there were several noises of vegetation rustling, before a bunch of angry looking Mankey and Primeape appeared. They didn't look very friendly.

"What the...?" Clemont asked, before looking at the . "Didn't Quetzoral say that we aren't crossing their territory?"

"Prim, prime, primeape!" one of the Primeape angrily screeched, loud enough for the PST to catch what it said. [You're crossing our lands now, intruders! You better turn back, or suffer the wrath of our fists!]

"Que? Quet, quezt, ral!" Quetzoral protested. [What? That's nonsense! I know these lands and they don't belong to your kind!]

"Prim, pri, ape!" Primeape growled. [They do now! So leave this place!]

"Listen, we don't want any trouble. We only want to reach Amatree Town. If you just let us pass-" Ash tried to reason.

"Pri! Ape, pri!" [NO! Turn around! Last warning!"]

"Maybe we should listen to them and find another path..." Clemont suggested, as he began looking around. More Mankey and Primeape were arriving at the scene, and none of them looked friendly or welcoming in the slightest.

"If we do that, we might not arrive in time for Serena's contest," Ash rebuked. "Plus, if they keep claiming new land as theirs, then the whole jungle will become their territory. Should we avoid it entirely? Because this is the only way to reach Amatree."

Before anyone could say another word, one of Serena's pokeballs opened on its own, and much to the honey blonde's surprise, Pancham emerged from it.

"Pancham...?" Serena asked in confusion. The Vaniville Town girl never remembered Pancham getting out of his pokeball without her asking him to do so.

"Pan, pancham, chan pan!" Pancham snarled, shaking his clenched paw. [Oh, Quetzoral told me about you jerks! I was secretly wishing we ran into you!]

Pancham's sudden appearance had the same effect as lighting a match on a room full of gunpowder, as all the Mankey and Primeape's faces contorted in fury at the Playful Pokemon's show of disrespect towards them. "PRIM? PRIMEAPE!" [YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH AN INSULTING WAY?! TEACH THEM A LESSON!]

The moment the Primeape ringleader screeched, a multitude of its kind and its pre-evolved form emerged from around both under the shrubbery and above the jungle canopy, quickly surrounding the group.

Ash sighed. "I wish it didn't have to come up to this. Aveden, Raptorch, I choose you!"

Clemont sighed in resignation, as he also picked two pokeballs. "Battle is it, then. Eletux, Nucleon, go! Bonnie, stay next to me!"

Thankfully for the inventor, his little sister didn't protest and did as she was told.

Aveden and Raptorch materialized next to Ash, quickly followed by Nucleon and Eletux.

That moment, the horde of Pig Monkey Pokemon attacked. As they launched towards the humans' Pokemon, either their arms or legs glowed with a white light, signaling an incoming fighting type attack.

"Aveden, Gust! As big as you can make it!" Ash ordered.

"Av, ave, ave!" Aveden whistled, as he began to furiously beat his wings, raising a powerful wind that if it didn't stop the Mankey and the Primeape on their tracks, it slowed them down considerably.

"And now Raptorch, Flamethrower! Make a wide arc!" Ash commanded.

"Rap, raptorch!" Raptroch happily yipped, before taking a deep breath and releasing a powerful stream of flames from his jaws.

Raptorch's fire attack was amplified by Aveden's Gust, which turned what it was intended as a stream of flames into a blazing torrent, burning the Pig Monkey Pokemon and setting some nearby plants on fire, making several Mankey and Primeape screech in pain.

Seeing that a charge wasn't going anywhere, a pair of Primeape decided to try a ranged attack. Slamming their paws into the ground, they summoned twin rows of rising stone pillars towards the alleged intruders.

"Our turn! Nucleon, destroy those rocks with Gamma Ray!" Clemont ordered.

"Nu, nucleon!" Nucleon cried as the green gemstone on his chest began to glow with an eerie emerald light, before firing a beam of the same color.

The beam tore through one of the rows of pillars as if they were made of fragile sandstone, before directing the Nuclear-type attack to the other one, which met the same result. This gave the pair of Primeape enough surprise to overpower their near constant rage, as they gave an eye take as they took an involuntary step backwards.

"Time to show them your new attack, Eletux! Thunderbolt!" Clemont shouted.

"Elee...!" Eletux began, as the bulbs on his rear began to glow with an electric yellow glow. "TUUUUUUX!"

The electricity stored inside his bulbs was released in the form of a powerful electrical blast that zapped the pair of Primeape.

"Clemont, above you! Watch out!" Serena shouted.

"Huh?" Clemont looked upwards, and saw a Mankey and a Primeape descending upon him, dropping from the forest canopy above them. The latter had both fists on fire, the former with one of its paws coated in a sickly purple aura, attacks that could be easily identified as Fire Punch and Poison Jab. "AAAAH!"

The inventor screamed as he jumped forward, while Bonnie tried to jump in the different direction, the two siblings narrowly avoided the attacks, which smashed against the ground instead.

"Quetzoral, Drill Peck at that Primeape! And Pancham, Thunder Punch!" Serena ordered.

Pancham leaped towards the attacking duo –while making a pair of somersaults mid air– before smashing his electrified fist against the Mankey's face, while Quetzoral's glowing, spinning beak slammed against the Primeape.

"Well done!ª" Serena praised her Pokemon.

The battle kept going on for several minutes, but the Mankey and the Primeape were barely able to land a hit on the alleged trespassers. Despite their superior numbers, the Mankey and Primeape's attack was disorganized and chaotic, the constant anger that fueled their species failing to translate into an advantage in battle, given that it didn't allow them to come up with attack strategies more complex than 'rush forward and pound everything in my way into submission', and were unable to make a dent on the solid defense the three trainers and their Pokemon had mounted. Soon, several Mankey began to run away, which was quickly followed by the Primeape.

"They're running away!" Serena said.

"Pi, pika!" Pikachu cheered as well.

"Hope they learned a lesson about what happens when you try to bully and attack everyone that crosses your path," Ash said with a nod, before turning towards the Lumiose siblings. "Clemont, Bonnie, are you alright? That Mankey and Primeape almost got you guys there."

"A few scraps, but nothing to worry about," Clemont said, wiping some dust and blades of grass from his overalls. "Bonnie?"

"I'm fine too," she stated. "How about you, Dedenne?" However, when she looked at her bag, it was empty. "Dedenne?" She began to look around, but there was no trace of the small rodent. "Dedenne!? Where are you? Dedenne!"

But Dedenne didn't reply.

Soon panic began to settle as the three teenagers began to frantically look around, but the Antennae Pokemon was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go...?" Clemont asked, before looking at Bonnie. "He was with you the whole time, right?"

"Yes! I kept him close to me as long as the battle lasted! I only lost sight of- oh..." Bonnie said in realization.

"Oh?" Ash repeated.

"When that Mankey-Primeape pair attacked my big brother and I, I had to jump and fell to the ground..." Bonnie said, her worry growing with each passing moment. "...I was so focused on getting away from that pair of bullies, I didn't notice if Dedenne was still with me or not..."

Clemont sighed dejectedly. "It's possible that Dedenne fell from the bag when you jumped," Clemont surmised. "And seeing the battle going on, he was scared and ran away."

"R-Ran away? B-But..." Bonnie stammered, as he began to look around. "Then Dedenne is in danger! We must find him! What if he runs into more of those Mankey? Or something even worse!?"

"But this jungle is so big, and Dedenne could be anywhere. We don't even know in what direction he went..." Serena said, looking around her, as if trying to guess the most probable route the runaway Pokemon might have taken.

"Pi, pikapi!" Pikachu cried, drawing everybody's attention, as he began to gather electricity, sparks flying from his cheeks.

"Pikachu, what are you doing!? Nurse Joy said you can't use electric attacks!" A worried Ash said, trying to make him stop.

"No, wait! Pikachu and Dedenne can communicate through electricity and use it to find each other if they're separated!" Clemont said in realization, smacking a fist against his open palm in a vertical motion. "They have done it in the past, remember?"

"Pikapi!" Pikachu nodded, happy that somebody caught his intention.

Ash didn't protest, but looked at his starter with apprehension. "I see. Though, you better not hurt yourself, okay?"

"Pi, pika!" Pikachu nodded, and continued gathering tiny amounts of electricity, before sending them outwards in the form of electrical pulses. After a few seconds of doing so, it seemed Pikachu finally got a response. "Pika!"

"You found Dedenne?" Bonnie asked, while Serena moved the PST close to him.

"Pi, pikachu pi!" Pikachu nodded, before pointing a paw to the north. [Yes! I sensed his presence in that direction! I told him to find a shelter and wait for us to pick him up!]

"Great! In that case, let's not waste more time! Lead the way, Pikachu!" Ash told him.

As they retrieved their Pokemon, the group followed Pikachu's lead to the north. Thankfully, no more overly territorial Pokemon got in their way. Every minute or so Pikachu would stop in order to send an electric pulse and keep track of Dedenne's position. Dedenne had been moving as well, probably running away from potential threats, until, according to Pikachu, he found shelter in a nearby cave.

"Let's hope that that cave isn't the home of another Pokemon," Clemont said. "Because after seeing those Primeape..."

"Then let's get Dedenne back before the owner of that cave is back," Ash replied.

As they continued their trek through the jungle at a quick pace –with Clemont struggling to keep up, but given the situation he wasn't complaining– they ran into something none of them were expecting to find in the middle of a place like that.

A sign on a post. Written in crimson red letters.

WARNING: ANTHELL

IF YOU CAN READ THIS, TURN AROUND IMMEDIATELY. THE INSECTS ARE RAVENOUS.

Needless to say, the ominous warning sign on the sign post didn't leave anyone indifferent. Ash looked at Pikachu.

"Pikachu...?" Ash asked.

"Pi, chu..." Pikachu said, pointing in the same direction. [Dedenne is still in that direction...]

No more words needed to be said. Even if the group was now noticeably on edge, they weren't going to abandon Dedenne. And indeed, after a few more minutes of walking, they reached the entrance of a cave on the face of a steep cliff. The cave entrance was perfectly round, with many mushrooms growing around it, and cobwebs on its roof.

"So, that's where Dedenne is," Serena grimly said. "The Anthell."

"It's so dark inside..." Bonnie said, trying to peer through the dense darkness.

"Clemont?" Ash asked.

The inventor nodded, and after pressing a hidden button, the Heliolisk Lantern came out of his backpack, projecting a powerful beam of light inside the cave, allowing them to see what was inside.

"Alright, let's go in," Ash said, taking the lead. "Stay close to each other, try to move quickly, but don't make any sound. We don't know what Pokemon might be there."

Nodding the group of four, plus Pikachu, entered the Anthell.

Thankfully, Pikachu assured them that Dedenne was nearby, which hopefully would make this rescue trip a short one. The Heliolisk Lantern illuminated the cave, revealing many fungi growing on the ground, cobwebs everywhere, and silk cocoons of varying sizes stuck on the walls and the ceilings.

Soon they arrived at a fork in the path which split into three directions. Without hesitating, Pikachu led the group towards the one to the left.

"I don't like this place... why didn't Dedenne choose a less creepy place to hide?" Bonnie asked, hugging herself. "And it smells so bad in here!"

They couldn't help but silently agree with Bonnie. As soon as they entered the lair, the air became much stale and stagnant. There were many particles floating in the air, probably spores from the fungi that grew on the ground. Hopefully they wouldn't cause them breathing problems.

"This cave... it doesn't look like it's natural," Clemont began, as he looked at the walls and ceiling as if he was studying them. "I'd say that someone or something dug it."

"Something like what? A Pokemon?" Ash asked.

"It has to be a very big Pokemon then..." Serena said, shivering as the thought of what kind of Pokemon could have dug this place.

"Either a big one, or many little ones. Given the cobwebs and silky cocoons, this looks like the home of a Bug-type Pokemon," Ash said, as he pushed a cobweb out of his way. "Plus, remember that warning sign? 'The insects are ravenous'."

"Pi, pika!" Pikachu said.

"Nene?" a familiar voice squeaked in return.

Everybody looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Dedenne peeking his head from behind a large fungus.

"Dedenne!" Bonnie pretty much squealed.

"Nene!" Dedenne squeaked in joy, as he rushed towards his unofficial trainer.

Bonnie scooped her beloved Electric and Fairy-type and placed it inside his bag. "Never run away like that ever again, you hear me! You gave me such a scare...!"

"Great, we found Dedenne! Now let's turn back and leave this creepy place!" Serena urged. Not that anybody could disagree with her. "Do you guys remember where the entrance was?"

"We only took a turn to the left, so all we have to do is turn back and take the first turn to the right," Clemont said, as he and the others turned around. However, upon turning around, they realized that they were no longer alone. "...oh."

In front of them were a trio of Smore, looking at them with curious eyes.

"So... Do you guys live here?" Bonnie asked. "Sorry for entering inside your home like that, but Dedenne got lost and we had to get him back. Don't worry, we'll be leaving now!"

The Smore, however, didn't move. Then, another pair of Smore joined the first three.

"Uh, guys? You're blocking our only exit. If you move aside a little, we'll be on our way," Ash asked, trying not to sound too worried.

Then, another pair of Pokemon joined the Smore. They looked like Smore, with the same red and black color scheme, only much bigger, with six legs instead of four, and a large abdomen ending on a nozzle with a small flame coming out of it.

"What Pokemon is that...?" Serena asked, quietly pulling out her Pokedex.

"Firoke, the Smoking Ant Pokemon, and Smore's evolution. Bug/Fire. Its belly is filled with super hot lava that it sprays at its opponent through the nozzle on its abdomen. Its aim is precise." The Pokedex explained.

They didn't find that description reassuring in the slightest.

"Listen, we're sorry again for invading your home, but if you guys let us leave, I promise you won't see us ever again," Ash reassured them. Everybody else nodded energetically.

There was a moment of silence as they waited for the insects' reaction.

"FIIIIIIIIR!" the two Firoke screeched in unison as the small flame coming out of their nozzles grew in size.

"RUN!" Ash said.

They didn't have to be told. They quickly turned around and ran, as the Firoke and the Smore gave chase, pelting them with multiple Fire-type moves, such as Ember and Incinerate, flying towards them. Despite the Pokedex's description, thankfully none of the Firoke's attacks managed to hit any of them, though some of them were close.

Still, Ash decided not to take any chances.

"Greninja, I choose you!" Ash said, as he tossed the pokeball of his one Kalosian Pokemon behind him. "Greninja, block that tunnel with Ice Beam!"

"Gre!" Greninja nodded, cupping his webbed hands as an orb of chilling energy formed between them. Thrusting his hands forward, the orb's energy was released in the form of a freezing beam towards the ground, erecting a wall of ice that plugged it completely, separating them from the angry Bug-types.

"Well done, Greninja!" Ash praised. However, his joy was short lived, as the orange flashes seen from the other side of the ice wall told him that the Smore and Firoke were going to melt the improvised barrier. "Come on guys, we need to keep going! That barrier won't last long!"

"Where to? That's where we came from!" Bonnie shouted, as she hugged Dedenne protectively.

"Then we should try to see if there's another exit," Serena suggested. "But we might end up getting lost inside this place full of angry insects."

"Thankfully, there's somebody who can guide us through this!" Clemont said in realization, pokeball in hand. "Luxray, go!"

The capture device opened upon touching the ground, releasing Clemont's strongest Pokemon.

"Luxray, can you use your X-ray vision to see if there's another way to get out of this place?" Clemont almost pleaded.

"Lux, luxray!" the Gleam Eyes Pokemon dutifully nodded, as he began to look around with his glowing eyes.

Worry spiked as the Electric-type was taking more time than they expected –and more time than they really had– to find an alternative route, fearing that they might be trapped there.

"Lux, luxray, lu!" Luxray said, before Serena moved the PST towards him. [I did find another exit not too far from here. Alas, there are many Pokemon in our path. We should better prepare for battle!]

"In that case, there's no time to waste! Lead the way, Luxray!" Ash said.

Luxray nodded, turned around, and began to run across the tunnel, the rest of the group following him. Of course, like Luxray had warned them, there were enemy Pokemon blocking the way. Some Smore with a few Sponee, and another Pokemon that looked like a bigger version of a Sponee, with a body that looked like a blue sponge, with six gray legs ended in blue tips sprouting from it.

"A new Pokemon. Let's see what we're up against," Ash said, Pokedex in hand.

"Sponaree, the Sponge Pokemon, and Sponee's evolved form. Bug/Water. The sponge-like skin of this Pokémon is found in all parts of the ocean. How this Pokémon survives in salt water is a mystery." The Pokedex explained.

The Sponee and Smore all screeched in unison, and leaped at the group like a swarm of hungry locusts.

"Greninja, Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered.

Fast as lightning, Greninja dashed forward, both arms glowing with a white light, and quickly swatted away the Bug-type Pokemon before they could reach the humans.

"Spooo!" Sponaree cried as it fired a sticky web thread from its mouth. The thread quickly spread into a spiderweb that hit Greninja, immobilizing him from the waist up.

"Greninja!" Ash shouted.

"Luxray, Thunder Fang on that Sponaree, quickly!" Clemont ordered.

"Ray, ray!" Luxray cried, as he dashed towards the bug and Water-type Pokemon, a mass of electricity pouring from his mouth. He first snapped the thread binding Greninja, before sinking his electrified teeth into the soft body of the Sponaree.

"REEEEEE!" Sponaree screeched in pain at the super effective attack.

There was a loud noise coming from behind them, followed by a cacophony of high pitched screeches and buzzing noises.

"They broke the ice barrier!" Serena said in realization.

"Let's keep going, before these ones recover or the ones behind catch upon us!" Ash warned.

They continued running through the maze-like lair, sometimes having to stop to smack the occasional Bug-type out of the way. The noise coming from behind was increasingly louder, meaning that the mass of insects giving them chase was about to catch them.

"There! The exit!" Clemont said, pointing towards natural light coming from the end of the tunnel.

"Come on guys, keep going! We're almost there!" Serena encouraged.

While the exit appeared to be far away, they managed to cross it much sooner than they expected. The fresh if humid air of the jungle and the light filtering through the canopy was a welcome change for their noses and eyes in comparison to the stale air and utter darkness of the Anthell.

"Greninja, quick, block the exit with another Ice Beam!" Ash ordered.

Greninja nodded, and fired another freezing beam at the exit they had just crossed, completely plugging it with ice, before they continued running. By the time the insects would have destroyed the second ice barrier the group would be far away from the Anthell even if they wanted to chase the humans beyond their lair.

Once they left the Anthell, they spent a good five minutes running without looking back, hoping and praying to whoever entity may hear them to lose the bugs on their trail. After that, they took shelter under a very large tree, and once they stopped, they all began to pant heavily in order to catch their breath.

"Lux, luxray, lu!" Luxray cried, his enhanced vision activated. [I'm not seeing any of the Bug-type Pokemon from that lair chasing us. I believe we're safe for the time being.]

"Th...thank... you...Luxray," Clemont wheezed, a hand on his chest as he tried to regulate his breathing. "R-Return..."

"You too Greninja..." Ash said, not as exhausted as Clemont, but still out of breath. "Take a rest."

Ash then noticed that Serena had her tablet opened up, and she was typing something on it.

"Serena?" Ash asked.

"Here it is, the Anthell," Serena said, without taking her eyes from the screen. "Located in the central part of Baykal Forest, the Anthell was carved out by the jaws and legs of thousands of Bug-type Pokemon. It's the largest bug nest in all of Tandor, and while the species of Pokemon living inside are generally docile when encountered elsewhere, those in the Anthell are fiercely territorial," she read. She then paled a little before she kept reading. "According to rumors, in the deepest chamber of the cave lives the mother of all bugs, a giant, vicious queen that only wakes up once every few years to feed and lay eggs. Many trainers and scientists alike had tried to explore the Anthell to uncover its mysteries, but few of them ever returned. And those who did had nothing to tell but terrifying tales of a neverending swarm that devours everything in its wake..."

Now it was the rest of the group who paled, even Ash.

"Had we known about that, we would have taken the route that takes us furthest from that place," Clemont said.

"At least we know that for the return trip," Ash said, before opening up his Pokegear, and checking the GPS. "Okay, let's see where we are now. With how much we deviated from the route, we'll have to-WHOA!"

"What!?" Bonnie asked, worried. "We aren't lost, are we?"

"How much time is going to take us to return to the original path?" Serena asked, a little worried as well.

"Actually... it's the opposite. Turns out we're much closer to Amatree Town now," Ash said, scratching his head. "It seems that crossing the Anthell worked as a shortcut. According to this, we'll be in Amatree before the end of the day."

"Really? Awesome!" Bonnie cheered, pumping both fists. "In the end, Dedenne saved us a lot of travel time!"

"Nene!" Dedenne cheered as well.

"At least something good came out of this..." Serena sighed, as she slumped on the grassy ground.

"Though, let's avoid any 'shortcuts' for the trip back, okay?" Clemont almost pleaded.

After taking some moment to rest and catch their breath, the group continued their journey towards Amatree. They walked at a good pace, even Clemont, since the fact that their unexpected and terrifying detour had shortened the distance to the town in question had reinvigorated their spirits.

"I don't say this often, but man, traveling through this place these days left me dead beat," Ash said, as he stretched his limbs. "I can't wait until I get to sleep again on a bed."

"Same. This has to be one of the hardest routes we ever traversed," Serena agreed.

"Yeah. Whose bright idea was to put a town in a place like this?" Ash complained.

"Remember that the berry trees that grow here here produce berries way faster than any other berry tree in the world," Serena reminded Ash, her tone sounding a little like that of a teacher explaining a lesson. "Abundance of food is a big factor for people to choose a place to live."

"I don't know if all that food is worth it if it means living next to that lair full of crazy bugs..." Bonnie said, shuddering at the memory. "And then there's those Mankey and Primeape who think the whole jungle is theirs. What a bunch of jerks!"

"Nene!" Dedenne agreed.

"PRIIIII!"

As soon as those words left Bonnie's lips, an angry looking Primeape –well, angrier than what's normal for them– landed in front of the group, followed by another, then another, then a Mankey, then more Mankey and Primeape, until they were completely surrounded.

Ash, Serena and Clemont couldn't help but stare at Bonnie.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Bonnie quickly said. "I didn't know their hearing was so good!"

"I doubt they're here because you insulted them," Clemont said, pushing up his glasses. "In fact, they look like the same troop we encountered earlier."

"Did you come back for more? I don't want to fight you a second time, but don't think we won't ever defend ourselves!" Ash said in a challenging tone, as one of his hands went to his belt.

"Well... they did bring more friends this time around..." Serena noticed, looking around at the more numerous troops.

"One way or another, we aren't going to let them cower us! Raptorch, Aveden, I choose you!" Ash said, sending the same Pokemon he had used during the first battle against the Pig Monkey Pokemon.

"Quetzoral, Pancham, go!" Serena said, following Ash's example.

"Quilladin, Geigeroach, go!" Clemont said, and unlike his companions, he decided to pick two new different Pokemon.

The group's Pokemon met the many Mankey and Primeape's angry glare with one of their own, and prepared for the inevitable onslaught.

But the onslaught didn't come.

"What are they doing?" Serena asked. "Aren't they going to attack us?"

"No, it looks like... like they're waiting for somebody," Clemont guessed, as he studied the wild Pig Monkey Pokemon.

"Great, so they're going to bring even more friends to help give us a beating," Bonnie deadpanned.

"Pi?" Pikachu asked, as his ears perked up. "Pi, pika, pi!" the yellow rodent warned, as he tapped Ash on the head.

"Pikachu said that he heard something coming," Ash translated. "Something big."

Perking up their ears, they could now hear the sound of heavy footsteps, each time coming closer. Whatever made them was bigger and heavier than a Primeape, that was for sure. Though Ash was sure that this new arrival wasn't friendly, given that the Primeape and the Mankey weren't worried in the slightest.

And in fact, they actually moved to the sides, as to leave room for said new arrival.

"RILLA!"

Pushing a few bushes away, the new Pokemon made its entrance. It reminded Ash of a Primeape, given that it had the same fur color and pig-like snout, but it was noticeably different. For starters, it was almost twice as big. Its body was thick and muscular, as opposed to Primeape's round shape, and had a dark brown furry collar around its neck. It had a curly tail, like a Mankey. Though the most striking features were its golden cuffs around its wrists and a golden crown on its head.

"W-What Pokemon is that...?" Serena stammered, as she pulled out her Pokedex.

"Empirilla, the Pig King Pokemon, Primeape's evolution, and one of Mankey's final forms. Fighting. When Primeape beats its rivals, it wins the right to wear the Jungle Crown, evolving it to the noble Empirilla, much stronger and more intelligent." The Pokedex explained.

"Wait, Primeape has an evolution?" Bonnie asked, shocked.

"Apparently so," Ash said, unperturbed by the revelation."More than one, it seems."

"It seems like we just met the leader of this gang..." Clemont fearfully said.

Unlike the Mankey and Primeape, who hollered, smashed the ground with their fists, and bounced in place, Empirilla looked far more capable of staying calm. Or at the very least, to appear calm, since everybody could sense that the Pig King Pokemon emanated as much anger as its subjects.

"Eeeeeeeeem...PI!" Empirilla screamed, pointing at the group.

The Mankey and Primeape screamed back in unison, and charged forward. However, a surprise awaited them.

"Aveden, Flash!" Ash ordered.

Upon hearing the command, the humans and their Pokemon covered their eyes while Aveden spread his wings, as his whole body shone with a light so bright that for a second, it illuminated the dark jungle like an artificial sun.

"PRIIII!"

"MA! MANK!"

The Mankey and the Primeape were caught off guard and were blinded by the burst of light, stopping them on their tracks and leaving them vulnerable to counterattack.

"Now, Raptorch, Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

"Quilladin, Pin Missile, and Geigeroach, Half-Life!" Clemont ordered.

"Quetzoral, Razor Leaf! Pancham, Dark Pulse!"

The horde of Mankey and Primeape found themselves at the wrong end of a stream of flames, a rain of stings, a wave of radiation, a storm of razor-edge leaves and a beam of pure darkness.

"Em! Empi, em!" Empirilla growled, as it stomped its foot on the ground, sounding as if it was chastising its subjects for fighting so poorly.

While it was a devastating combo on paper, those five attacks weren't enough to beat that many enemies at once, but alongside Flash, they did their job: breaking the Mankey and the Primeape's formation. Even if they recovered from the blindness and the damage sustained from the elemental barrage and charged again, this time it was much more disorganized, allowing the trained Pokemon to form a solid defensive front.

Aveden and Quetzoral took to the air, pelted the Pig Monkey Pokemon with Air Cutters and Energy Balls from above, while dodging their –mostly Rock-typed– ranged attacks, though the sheer quantity meant that some of them would find their marks.

Raptorch parried with Brick Break a Karate Chop from a Primeape, and was saved by Pancham's Thunder Punch from another Primeape trying to ambush the Fire Dino Pokemon, who roasted the first Primeape with a powerful Flamethrower.

"Pancham, watch out!" Serena warned.

Three Mankey jumped on Pancham from different directions each, but thanks to Serena, the little panda was prepared. The Mankey tried to overwhelm him with their numbers, but the agile Playful Pokemon danced around them, almost literally, skillfully dodging their attacks while smacking them in the face with Arm Thrust or a Thunder Punch.

Quilladin used Vine Whip to ensnare a Mankey that was harassing Geigeroach, and pulled it towards him, before using it as a living shield against a Primeape who was about to smash him with a Fire Punch. The blazing fist slammed into the unlucky Mankey, though the idea of hurting an ally didn't seem to bother that Primeape in the slightest.

However, Geigeroach decided to return Quilladin's favor by striking the Primeape from behind with a powerful Nuclear Slash, knocking it out cold, while Quilladin tossed the Mankey against a group of its own kind that was attacking Quetzoral from the ground.

Then, fast as lightning, Empirilla, who hadn't moved at all since the battle began, dashed across the grass, standing right behind Geigeroach.

"Emp!" Empirilla cried.

"Geig?" The Radroach Pokemon asked, before turning around, just in time to see a glowing fist coming towards him.

A loud smack resounded around the jungle, and the next second Geigeroach was sent flying backwards, before painfully crashing against a nearby tree.

"Geigeroach!" Clemont cried in horror.

"Qui?" Quilladin asked, turning around to see his partner out of commission like that, and his surprise and shock turned to horror when he realized that Empirilla was right upon him.

"Quilladin, jump back, quickly!" Clemont commanded.

The warning came in time, as Quilladin jumped backwards just before Empirilla's fist was brought down on the spot he was a second ago, opening a small crater.

"Great! Now immobilize it with Vine Whip!" Clemont followed.

"Qui, quilla!" Quilladin cried as he sent a pair of vines towards Empirilla.

However, neither human nor Pokemon was counting on Empirilla having such sharp reflexes, as it was able to grab the vines before they could wrap around its body, and with a mighty pull, Quilladin was sent flying towards Empirilla.

"Q-Qui!?" Quilladin asked in shock as Empirilla grabbed him by one of its head spikes the moment he was within reach, before being slammed against the ground with so much force, there was a small quake.

"Quilladin!" Clemont cried.

But Empirilla wasn't planning to stop there, and set its sight on Raptorch and Pancham, who were dispatching a group of Mankey and Primeape without much difficulty. The Pig King Pokemon blitzed towards the duo, and grabbed Raptorch by the tail.

"R-Rap?" Raptorch asked in shock, just as Empirilla lifted him overhead.

"Aveden, quickly, help Raptorch!" Ash commanded.

"You too, Quetzoral!" Serena echoed.

The two birds nodded and dived towards the Pig King Pokemon before it could hurt Raptorch any further. Empirilla turned around, and seeing the two approaching Flying-types, it hurled Raptorch at them. Quetzoral was able to move aside, but Aveden wasn't fast enough, and the Fire Dino Pokemon slammed against him, before both Pokemon fell to the ground in a tangled mess.

"Raptorch! Aveden!" Ash cried in horror.

Despite dodging Empirilla's attack, Quetzoral wasn't out of danger, as a Primeape dropped from a tree branch above her, making her fall to the ground under its weight, with another Primeape joining the first one to pin her to the ground.

"Que! Quet!" Quetzoral cawed as she trashed in a vain effort to get rid of the pair of Primeape restraining her.

Upon seeing her, Empirilla grinned maliciously and stomped towards the Grass and Flying-type Pokemon.

"You leave her alone, you brute!" Serena shouted, pokeball in her hand. "Syrentide-"

"CHAAAAM!"

However, before Serena had the chance to send her first Tandorian Pokemon, Pancham leaped at Empirilla from behind, latched on its head, and began to smack it repeatedly with Thunder Punch.

"Cham! Cham! Cham!" Pancham yelled each time he punched the Pig King Pokemon's head. Empirilla grabbed Pancham and tried to pull him out of its head, but Pancham had both his feet and his one free paw grab onto Empirilla's furry collar, while Empirilla ran from aimlessly from one side to another, as it tried to pry Pancham from its head.

"Em...eeeeeeem... RILLA!" Empirilla shouted, finally pulling Pancham, even if it came at the cost of Pancham painfully tearing some hair from its collar. Its eyes practically red with anger, Empirilla angrily threw Pancham against a nearby tree with such force, the tree pretty much trembled.

"Pancham, no!" Serena cried, bringing her hands to her mouth-

Pancham slammed against the tree facefirst, before the bounce pushed him back, making him land on the floor on his back, his shades dropping from his head and falling next to him.

"Pan... pan? Pancham, pan!" the Playful Pokemon quickly noticed that his shades were no longer with him, and began to frantically look around, until he found them, lying on the ground a few meters from him, one of the lenses cracked. Still, he didn't mind, as the little Fighting-type quickly crawled towards them.

SMASH!

...before Empirilla's foot came down, crushing the shades under its weight.

"Pan...?" Pancham asked dumbly, looking at Empirilla's foot, now grinding the ground, before looking up at the owner of said foot, who looked at Pancham with a cruel smirk.

"Pancham..." Serena softly moaned.

Then, Empirilla removed its foot so Pancham could see what remained of its beloved shades, now shattered into a thousand pieces of glass and plastic.

"Pan... cham...?" Pancham weakly asked, sounding confused, as if his brain was struggling to process what just happened. But when it did, Pancham's confused face morphed into a mask of wrath, his eyes bloodshot and his mouth curved into a furious snarl. "PANCHAM! PAN-PAN-PAN-PAN-PAN...!"

Then, there was a crackling noise, and Pancham began to glow with a blueish-white light. Empirilla's eyes grew wide open in shock, his smirk vanishing as it took an unconscious step back as it watched Pancham grow from a small thing that barely reached its knees to something tall and big enough to look at it from above.

When the light vanished, where Pancham stood there was now a furious Pangoro.

"GORO!" Pangoro loudly roared, making every Mankey and Primeape around the place flinch.

And much to its shame, Empirilla also flinched. However, anger quickly returned to the Pig King Pokemon, as it stomped towards the newly evolved Daunting Pokemon.

"Empi, em!" Empirilla hollered, as it dashed forward, its right fist glowing white.

"Pangoro, watch out!" Serena warned.

Pangoro didn't move, nor appear to even react to Empirilla's attack. That's it, until he raised an arm he used to catch Empirilla's glowing fist, stopping the wild Pokemon on its tracks.

"Em!?" Empirilla growled in indignation, clearly not used to somebody being able to match its strength. "RI!" Empirilla delivered another punch with his free hand, but Pangoro caught the other fist as well. Both Pokemon began to struggle, trying to overpower the other.

"Paaaaaaaan...!" Pangoro growled, as he slowly began to lift Empirilla over his head. "GORO!"

And with a mighty heave, the Daunting Pokemon tossed the Pig King Pokemon back with great force. Empirilla landed on the ground, and bounced a couple times before falling face first on the grass. This, of course, wasn't enough to beat the fight out of the combative Pokemon, who quickly jumped on its feet and charged again.

"Pangoro, use Stone Edge!" Serena called.

Unlike Oblivicorn, it seemed that evolution didn't make Pangoro unwilling to listen to Serena, as the large panda stomped the ground with one of his feet, sending a row of rising stone pillars at the charging Empirilla. The large ape plowed through the stone pillars with ease, but the attack managed to slow down its charge forward.

Once Empirilla reached Pangoro, Serna issued the next order. "And now, Arm Thrust!"

Pangoro rose both his paws with the palms outward, which began to glow with a white light, before delivering a flurry of palm strikes at Empirilla, pushing it backwards with each strike.

"And Thunder Punch!" Serena said.

After delivering the final palm strike, Pangoro clenched a paw into a fist, before coating it in yellow electricity, and delivering such a powerful haymaker, Empirilla was sent tumbling backwards.

"E... emp..." Empirilla wheezed as it got back on its feet, and looked at Pangoro. And upon seeing the threatening snarl the Daunting Pokemon was sporting, panic invaded its body and ran away as fast as it could, while screaming in terror.

And seeing their leader defeated and humiliated, the Mankey and Primeape troop dispersed as well, not wanting to risk the wrath of Pangoro.

"They're gone..." Clemont noticed.

"Yay! Way to go, Pangoro! You showed them who's boss!" Bonnie cheered.

"Nenene!"

However, Pangoro didn't cheer.

Once the battle was over, the trainers went to check on their defeated Pokemon. Geigeroach, Quilladin, Raptorch and Aveden had gotten the worst of it. Ash and Clemont had given them a potion in order to treat some of their injuries and restore some of their strength, but only the medical care provided at a Pokemon Center would restore them completely.

Quetzoral and Pangoro had some minor wounds, but they were otherwise good to go.

However, Pangoro didn't feel like he was ready to go anywhere. He was on the spot where his beloved shades laid, now reduced to tiny shards. He took one of the biggest glass shards with two fingers and looked at it, before dropping it on the ground, and sighed dejectedly.

"It's okay, Pangoro. They were just a pair of shades," Serena said, placing a hand on his now massive back. "The important part is that you're okay, and that you saved our other Pokemon by defeating that Empirilla."

"Pan..." Pangoro nodded, but his mood didn't improve.

"I promise you that we'll buy a better pair of shades when we see a store," Serena said in an attempt to cheer him up. However, even if she wasn't showing it, Serena did feel just as sad over the destroyed sunglasses as Pangoro did, given how they were a gift during a very special day that helped solidify their bond as trainer and Pokemon. "Much better than your old ones. What do you say?"

Once again, Pangoro nodded, though without much energy.

"Now rest up, Pangoro. You had a difficult day today," Serena said, returning her newly evolved Pokemon to his pokeball.

Serena then looked at the shattered shades. Like her Pokemon, she also sighed, before cleaning said shards with a broomstick and a dustpan, and dropping them on a bag.

"We should keep going," Ash suggested. "We're not that far from Amatree, and after the beating they got, our Pokemon need to rest at a Pokemon Center."

"Yeah, let's," Serena said, looking around. "The sooner we leave this jungle, the better."


Author's Note: And thus heroes cross the treacherous Baykal Forest. It's easily one of the hardest routes to traverse due its length, maze-like layout, sheer number of enemy trainers, and density of wild Pokemon encounters.

How did you find Ash's nightmare? It seems like his subconscious is starting to like the idea of him and Serena being an item, huh? And yeah, I decided to use Serena's newest outfit and being set on Lilycove as a reference to the Serena Return episode in JN.

You thought that after two of Serena's Pokemon evolved the last chapter, it'd take some time until another evolution happened, huh? Well, you thought wrong! Say hello to Pangoro. Given that Serena now has a Dark-type in her team, it wouldn't take long for Pancham, who is both strong and experienced, to reach his final form. The destruction of his beloved shades was the push he needed in order to evolve.

And whew, the Anthell is sure creepy, isn't it? Thankfully, it's not like the plot will force Ash and co. to return there and explore the place even further :D

Thanks a lot to Lipeghoul, Fox McCloude, Guest, Sanjixyz and Viroro-kun for reviewing the last chapter, and special thanks to Viroro-kun for betareading this chapter, whose edits and suggestions made it so much better.

Next chapter, our heroes finally arrive at Amatree. Ash and Serena have another date, and Serena will try again to obtain her final ribbon. In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter!