Finding Truth Amongst The Lies

Chapter 28: Serena's POV

After the contest came to a close I was walking slowly out of the contest hall gazing down at the ribbon held in place by a motif of double pickaxes, a symbol of Oreburgh's mining industry. The ribbon itself was mainly a steel gray color with white accents and the more I looked at it the more unbelievable all of this was. We actually won, I thought to myself incredulously.

A ticklish sensation on my neck pulled me out of my thoughts and I laughed, batting away Majestoat's thick tail. She trilled happily at me before reaching down and tapping one of her crystal blue claws against the ribbon gently.

"That's right, Majestoat! It's all because of you that we were able to win this! You and Shinx were an awesome team!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Maj, majestoat!" Majestoat responded happily, rubbing her furry cheek against mine. I would need to get used to her new weight on my shoulders, but she was the perfect size to drape herself across the back of my neck so her weight was evenly distributed across my shoulders instead of just on one shoulder, which helped. It amazed me that she managed to climb up my clothes without puncturing holes in them from her sharp claws, but I was grateful that she seemed to have that inherent skill.

Shinx, after a quick healing session, was walking along beside me with his head held high. I gripped the ribbon briefly in my palm before slipping it into my case and placing it carefully in my backpack. As I stepped out of the contest hall, arms immediately engulfed me and I nearly lost my balance as Bree squeezed me energetically.

"Serena!! That was absolutely amazing! Congrats on winning," Bree squealed, tightening her grip even further and then spinning me around briefly. I yelped in shock at the unexpected flying lesson, but when my feet were on the ground again I laughed and hugged her back.

"It was all thanks to your training, Bree!" I gushed with a smile, and then my eyes slid past her pink hair to meet Aryan's. He was standing back with one eyebrow cocked in amusement as he watched Bree tackle me. When our eyes met though he smiled kindly and nodded.

"Your performance and battles were all great, Serena. Honestly, you did way better than I could have imagined in such a short time," Aryan said with a grin and I couldn't help but return it.

"Well, of course, she was amazing! I've been training her after all!" Bree proclaimed proudly, slipping her arm around my waist and turning to face Aryan as well. Aryan inclined his head with a glimmer in his eyes as he looked at Bree.

"You've become a pretty impressive trainer, I'll give you that," he agreed with a teasing tone. Bree puffed out her bottom lip in a pout, an expression I never thought I would see from her.

"Why is it that your words are compliments but it feels like you're insulting me," she quipped and Aryan laughed loudly.

"You're reading too much into it, Bree. It's just hard for me to reconcile Taylor's kid sister with what I am seeing in front of my eyes," Aryan chuckled. Bree looked off to the side with a hmmph, but as I peeked over at her I thought I saw her cheeks coloring slightly.

"Are you girls hungry? It's a little late, but I'd be happy to buy you lunch," Aryan offered, slipping back into his kind expression that always seemed to help me relax.

"Is that okay with you, Bree?" I asked and she shrugged her shoulder, pulling her arm away from my waist and tickling the back of Majestoat's ear with her fingers briefly.

"That's fine with me. But have you registered Majestoat in your Pokedex yet? I bet Risa would love to see her evolution," Bree pointed out with a grin.

"Oh! I had almost forgotten. Professor Rowan asked me to update her Pokedex entry whenever she evolved," I said while reaching up and taking Majestoat from her relaxed position across my shoulders and depositing her on the ground next to Shinx.