Chapter 123: Bonding Time!

Once Ash had rejoined the group they headed back to the hotel, talking about his match.

"Ash, that was awesome! Your Greninja beat Wallace like it was nothing."

"Thanks Goh, but I wouldn't call it nothing," Ash replied sheepishly. "After all, he had to beat his last two Pokemon all on his own."

"Still though," Chloe continued. "You two were on fire!"

"I didn't know Greninja had returned to you," Serena piped up.

"Well, I wanted to keep it a surprise!"

Before this conversation could continue, his phone beeped, indicating he had a notification on his phone. Taking it out, he found it was from The World Coronation Series with his updated ranking.

"Sweet! I'm now ranked 9th."

"That means you only have one more win before you're in the Masters Eight, right?" Chloe asked.

"Yep! I don't know who it'll be, but my Pokemon are ready for any challenge!"

"Pi!"

Chloe smiled, before turning to Serena.

"Hey Serena, I thought your Sylveon was awesome yesterday."

"Thanks, Chloe! We'd been working on that for months."

"I could tell. Do you think my Eevee could meet her? She's trying to decide what she wants to evolve into, so we've been meeting different evolutions to help her decide."

Serena smiled.

"I'll tell you what, why don't you act as my assistant for the rest of the contest?"

"Assistant?"

"Every coordinator is allowed one. Basically it's just to help take care of their Pokemon between rounds. You know, grooming and what not. That way we can answer all of your questions in a more private space."

Chloe thought for a minute, before nodding.

"Okay, but you should know that I've never done it before."

"That's okay, I can help you!"

"You sure you don't mind? I don't want to distract you."

"You won't, trust me."

So the next morning, Chloe followed Serena to the dressing rooms to get Sylveon ready for the first round of battles. Serena wasn't up for an hour, which gave her plenty of time to work and ask questions.

Right now, Chloe was trying to style Sylveon's fur. Trying being the key word, because the Fairy Type was too busy trying to play with Eevee to stay still.

"Eevee, I know you're excited, but I'm trying to work here!"

"Oh, let them have fun!" Serena giggled. "There's no point in dressing her up too much, she's just going to get dirty again once the battle starts."

Chloe sighed, but relented, and allowed Sylveon to play with Eevee.

"Still, I worked really hard on it!"

"And she looks lovely, really!"

"You think so?"

"Of course! I think you have a great future as a Pokemon stylist."

Chloe sighed.

"Something wrong?"

"It's just…I don't know what I want to be or do as a Pokemon trainer. Do I want to challenge gyms? Contests? Try and catch a bunch of Pokemon like Goh? I can't decide, and everywhere I go it seems like everyone else already has it figured out."

Serena smiled fondly.

"Well, not everyone."

"What do you mean?"

"You see Chloe, I was a lot like you when I first started out. I didn't really have any goal in mind, except to find Ash again. Well, that, and not Rhyhorn Racing."

"That sounds painful."

"It was. I mostly only tried it because my mom wanted me to."

Chloe nodded. She knew all too well the pressure put on her by people expecting her to follow in her father's footsteps.

"So what made you want to be a Coordinator?"

Serena giggled.

"Oh, that didn't come until I left Kalos! But I did find a similar competition called Pokemon Showcases through my friend Shauna. They're a little like Contests, except there isn't any battle round. And in the final showcase, the Master Class, the winner is crowned Kalos Queen!"

"Wow!"

"I managed to make it to the final round, but I lost to the current Kalos Queen Aria. But the head of the Showcase Committee was so impressed by my performance that she offered to take me under her wing!"

"Really? Then why didn't you take her up on the offer?"

"I wanted to at first, but in the end I wanted to grow stronger on my own. She suggested I try Pokemon Contests, and here we are!"

Serena sat back in her chair with a sigh.

"To be honest, I don't think I want to be a Performer anymore. It was fun, and helped me get out of my mother's shadow, but I've had a great time doing Pokemon Contests. And Showcases are only a Kalos thing, so if I want to keep doing them I'd be limited to traveling in my home region."

"So you're not sure what you want to do either."

Serena smiled kindly.

"Don't feel like you have to figure everything out so soon. You have plenty of time to decide, so don't bother trying to do so now."

Chloe smiled.

"Thank you. By the way, how did your Eevee decide to become a Sylveon?"

Serena sighed, reminiscently.

"Well, I'm not sure if she decided per say, but it happened during a dance party for Performers. You see, Sylveon was very nervous when it came to performing as an Eevee. She's a great dancer, but she had terrible stage fright. But during a double battle with Ash she found her courage and evolved right then and there! And ever since, she's been amazing."

"Wow…" Chloe said, amazed.

Serena Yvonne to the stage, please. Serena Yvonne to the stage, please.

"That's my cue! Thanks for the help, Chloe."

"Of course, Serena! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us."

"You'll stay for the rest of the competition, right? You really are amazing with styling."

"'Of course!"

Serena and Sylveon were splendid, winning battle after battle. And after every battle, Chloe would tend to Sylveon or Delphox, depending on who was used that round. It was a lot of work, but Chloe didn't mind. She loved talking to Serena, and it helped her through her own anxiety.

Finally, it was down to just the final two: Serena and Lisia.

"Good luck, Serena!" Lisia said cheerfully when it was announced. "There's no one I'd rather face in the final than you."

"Thanks, Lisia!" Serena said. "Same here."

"Of course, don't think you're going to win," Lisia said playfully. "After all, this contest is named after my Uncle. I have to win for that reason alone!"

Serena laughed.

"We'll see!"