I Wanna Be The Very Best

Chapter 55: A Fiery Masterclass opening

Pikachu, stood on the desk right in front of Ash, pumps a fist in the air and shouts in agreement "Pika, Pika!"

Ash smiles apologetically at his first Pokémon and pats the top of his head as he apologies "Sorry buddy, but I can't rely on z moves all the times either. Some leagues don't allow them and you've battled champions the most of out of all my Pokémon. I think it's time someone else gets a chance."

Serena tilts her head a little and exclaims "That makes sense again."

Pikachu replies "Pika pi," and nods his head in understanding of his trainer. While he would love to battle tomorrow, he completely gets and agrees with Ash's decision.

Serena takes a second to think before she smiles and exclaims "So why not use Charizard? I know he loves to battle and he's super strong! Plus it's always great to see him, not to mention he'd make a great entrance for us tomorrow! Imagine us both riding on his back to the stadium. It would make for quite the scene."

Ash laughs a little at Serena's point, imagining the shock on people's faces as he flies into the stadium. He smiles at his girlfriend and replies "Yeah that would be pretty cool, but I actually can't call him here at the moment."

Serena frowns a little at Ash's words as she questions "Really, why's that Ash?"

Ash let's off a small sigh before he explains "Charizard is back in the charizific valley for the next month. He's gone to see his friends there. I promised him he can go see them whenever he feels lonely, or if he ever wants to. He decided he wanted to see them again before I started calling upon him for league match ups."

Serena raises her eyebrow and further questions "What is the charizific valley?"

Ash smiles at his girlfriend and explains "It's a place in the Johto region where strong Charizard's come to train. My Charizard is the strongest there these days, but that doesn't mean it's still not good training for him. The keeper there Lizia is quite the strong teacher and she always trains him hard."

Serena shakes her head a little as she infers from Ash's words "So you left Charizard there to get stronger."

Ash take a sigh before he admits "Yeah, it was tough decision and one I made impulsively at the time. I admit that it was pretty stupid of me. I just left Charizard there without even taking into account his feelings. I still don't know if it was the right decision to be honest. I'll always regret how I acted that day, especially what I said to him when I left."

Serena is a little shocked at what she's hearing right now. She couldn't of imagined Ash having such issues with Charizard, considering they have such a good relationship these days. The fact he once released him all for the sake of being stronger is not something she'd expect from him.

However, she can tell this is a touchy subject for her boyfriend and something that there's clearly more than meets the eye too. She decides not to press for answers at this time and instead replies in a reassuring tone "Well, Charizard seems happy and if he's going back off his own accord then he must have some great memories there. I'm sure he doesn't hold any hatred towards you for what ever happened."

Ash looks up at his girlfriend, feeling a little more reassured by her words as he replies "Yeah, I hope your right Serena."

Serena smiles at her boyfriend and quickly changes the subject as she exclaims "But still, that doesn't solve your little problem."

Ash takes a small sigh as he explains "Yeah, my problem is that I'm not sure about the rest of my Pokémon's strength and how well they'd stack up against champion level opponents. I know Pikachu can do it,  Greninja is my strongest and Charizard can do it too. But the rest I don't know about yet, and I don't want to be embarrassed by Diantha. I know it's only a friendly battle but people are going to jump on any sign of weakness. I never had to beat a champion or even the elite 4 to earn my tittle. People will be sceptical and that will only get worse if I lose badly."