"Oh no..." Ash muttered. Did they really follow him and Pikachu all the way to Kalos? Now that he thought about it, those flight attendants from earlier did look familiar to him. 'At least they had the decency to not ruin my date with Serena...' Ash thought in his head.
"What in the world is going on here?" a random person yelled out from the crowd of people.
"Beats me." someone else replied with a shrug.
"Don't tell me it's them..." Serena mumbled under her breath.
A lavender-haired man, a woman with long magenta-colored hair, and a Meowth that stood upright revealed themselves to the crowd. A Wobbuffet also accompanied this mysterious trio of crooks.
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie announced with a hand to her hip.
"And make it double!" James added in with a purple rose in his hand.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reaches to the stars above!"
"Jessie!" "James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth chimed in.
"Wobbuffet!"
Most of the crowd stood there, confused. Who were these people? However, a few may have recognized them from the time they attempted to steal presents during the Pledging Tree Festival three years prior.
"Team Rocket!" Everyone in Ash's friend group shouted, with the exception of Calem.
"Oh gosh, it's those losers again..." Calem said with an deadpanned expression.
"Losers?!? Who are you callin' losers twerp?" Meowth jumped up and down with annoyance. James had to hold Meowth back before he went overboard.
"Team Rocket! You are still up to no good after all these years!?" May yelled out in irritation.
"Yeah!" Dawn added in angrily.
"Why of course, we will never give in until we get our catch of the day." James responded.
"And in this case, we will be taking all these Lapras loot for the boss!" Meowth declared. He then revealed a remote from his back and pressed the button. Suddenly a large net engulfed all the Lapras into one large net. All, but Ash's former Lapras were captured.
"Mmmh!" Lapras cried.
"Oh no!" Serena cried out in shock.
"Let all of the Lapras go!" Ash shouted at them with an angry glare.
"Nuh uh!" Jessie taunted as she wagged her finger in a tsk tsk tsk manner. "We may have failed to capture the school of Lapras back then in the Orange Islands and Johto Region, but this time we are certain not to fail."
Ash gritted his teeth and clenched his fist in anger. Pikachu sparked his cheeks and was ready to send them off with a Thunderbolt.
"Oh! We almost forgot! Here is a gift for you twerp. We want to congratulate you for actually growing up." Jessie said suddenly as she tossed Ash a small box.
Ash caught the box and looked at the trio, clearly dumbfounded. He could see James and Meowth snickering in the background.
"I wonder what's inside." Serena said as she looked at the mysterious box in Ash's hands.
"Only one way to find out..." Ash said with a sigh, before unwrapping the wrapping from the box. When he opened up the box, there was a little device with a single red button on it.
"Huh, looks like some type of device." Clemont observed.
"What will the button do?" Barry asked.
"Probably something bad, don't press that button Ash." Serena said. However, her Pikachu leaned in too closely from Serena's shoulder and accidentally pressed the button.
"Uh oh..." Bonnie murmured.
"Oh no! Pikachu! What have you done!" Serena yelled out in surprise.
The device quickly changed shape and revealed a countdown timer.
Self Destruct Device: Self destruct sequence will begin in 10 seconds. 10... 9...
"It's a self-destruct device!" Clemont exclaimed. "Quick Ash, get rid of it!"
"Right!" Ash responded. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail to send the device back at Team Rocket!" He then tossed the device high up in the air.
"Pi-Ka!" Pikachu squeaked as his tail metalized. Pikachu then jumped and used his tail to hit the device back at Team Rocket's Balloon.
"No. no nonononono..." Jessie, James, and Meowth hugged each other as the device was heading back towards them.
Self Destruct Device: 3... 2... 1...
"Everyone take cover and brace yourselves!" Ash yelled out as he went to shield Serena from the potential explosion.
Everyone covered their ears and braced themselves, as a mini explosion took place on the balloon. It caused the balloon to pop and fall into the water, with the trio and large net of Lapras with it.
"Is everyone alright?" Professor Sycamore asked out loud.
"Yeah, we are fine Professor." Ash replied as he released Serena from his embrace.
"Are you okay, Serena?" Ash asked her with concern, as he checked her body for any potential scrapes or bruises.
"I'm fine. As long as you are here~" Serena responded in a soft, sweet voice.
"Hey, we are here too you know-" Drew said with a sweatdrop.
"Oh yeah, well everyone looks okay to me." Ash said.
"Pika..." Pikachu squeaked, amused at his trainer.
"Excuse me, but at least he's concerned regarding the safety of his own girlfriend." May snarled. "Unlike a certain green-haired coordinator I know!"
"Woah there, who said I wasn't worried about your safety?" Drew asked with his hands up.
"That's my future son-in-law!" Grace said as she slapped Ash on the back. "You are already doing a good job, son."
"Wait a minute, when did you two become an item?" Professor Sycamore asked with confusion.
"I'll answer that later, Professor. We got other things to deal with first." Ash responded as he shifted his glance towards the ocean.
Everyone then looked towards where Team Rocket was to see that their balloon was not airborne anymore. The Lapras were still confined within the large fishing net.
The clouds of smoke cleared to reveal Team Rocket, covered in black ash and soot from the explosion. Jessie's long magenta hair was a mess, which got her in a furious frenzy. James and Meowth were cowering in fear, as Jessie might just take out her anger on them.
"Well that was underwhelming..." Dawn muttered.
"What was that? Clemont's inventions make bigger and louder explosions!" Bonnie yelled in irritation. "We aren't even covered in smoke or soot!"
"Bonnie, you are embarrassing me..." Clemont said rather miserably.
"Man, no wonder these guys are losers. They can't even make proper inventions." Calem scoffed out loud.
"Urgh! We'll show you who the losers are! Gourgeist, Yanmega, Jellicent, Mimikyu! Come on out!" Jessie said as she sent out four Poké Balls.
"Malamar, Cofagrigus, Carnivine, Mareanie! We need you too!" James called out and tossed his own Poké Balls.
"If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get! Gre- huh?" Ash said, but was interrupted by Lapras crying out. It gave Ash a determined look, signifying that it wants to battle.
"Okay then, Lapras. Get out there!" Ash said with determination.
"Sylveon, I choose you!" Serena called out.
"I'll help too, go Luxray!" Clemont called out.
"Blaziken, come out!" May said as she tossed out a Poké Ball.
"Lopunny, Spotlight!" Dawn called.
"Come on out Empoleon!" Barry yelled out.
"Roserade, help out!" declared Drew.
"Time for action Chesnaught!" Calem yelled.
"Hey no fair!" shouted Meowth.
"Eight on eight sounds fair to me." Dawn shouted back at the scratch cat Pokémon.
"Gourgeist and Jellicent, both use Shadow Ball. Yanmega, use Air Slash, and Mimikyu use Shadow Claw!" Jessie ordered out.
"Malamar, Psycho Cut! Carnivine, Bullet Seed! Cofagrigus, Dark Pulse! Mareanie, use Spike Cannon!" James ordered after Jessie.
"Lapras! Ice Beam attack!"
"Moon Blast, Sylveon!"
"Luxray, use Discharge!"
"Blaziken attack with your Blaze Kick!"
"Lopunny, High Jump Kick now!"
"Empoleon, Hydro Cannon!"
"Roserade, Petal Blizzard!"
"Use your Pin Missile!"
All the moves collided with one another causing smoke and fumes to appear. Neither side took any damage. However, neither side wanted to give in, so the Pokémon continued to exchange moves and attacks.
"This is a stalemate." Clemont commented, while wiping off sweat.
"Ugh, this is not going to work, we need another strategy guys." Calem yelled out with frustration in his voice.
Ash saw that their Pokémon were beginning to tire out. He scanned around and then laid eyes on Serena, May, and Dawn. He suddenly remembered how in Pokémon Contests, coordinators would fuse Pokémon moves together to gain points and to attract the audience with beauty and style. This caused Ash to have an idea that might just give them the edge in this fight.
"Okay, guys. I've got an idea." Ash declared to his friends. This caught everyone's attention.
"What do you have in mind, Ash?" Barry asked the raven-haired boy.
"Everyone, tell your Pokémon to attack up, so we can merge all our attacks into one large ball." Ash yelled out. "Lapras, Ice Beam on the air!"
"I got you, bro! Empoleon, use Hydro Cannon at where Lapras is shooting at." Barry called out.
"Sylveon, shoot a Moon Blast up in the air!" Serena ordered.
"Roserade, follow Sylveon's Moon Blast up with an Energy Ball!" Drew ordered his Roserade.
One after another, each person had ordered their Pokémon to throw out an attack in one place in the air, until it formed a large sphere of different moves.
"Great!" Ash said. He then turned to Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Electroweb on that sphere!"
"Pi-Ka!" Pikachu squeaked as he launched a large web of electricity from his tail. The Electroweb got a good hold on the sphere and surrounded it. Now it looked like a giant beach ball of Pokémon energy.
"Now, Pikachu. Use Quick Attack to send the ball right back at Team Rocket's Pokémon!" Ash called out with a fist pump.
"Pika pika pika-chu!" Pikachu squeaked and dashed forward with quick speed. It headbutted the large sphere of energy and sent it flying towards Team Rocket's Pokémon.
"Ahhh!" James and Meowth screamed.
"Now hold on! Time out! That isn't fair!" Jessie cried out with fear.
But it was too late. The large sphere of different moves wrapped with an Electroweb collided with all of their Pokémon, causing them to fly back towards the trio. Jessie, James, and Meowth were buried under the fainted Pokémon.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash and Serena ordered their Pikachu in unison.
"Pika-CHU!" the Pikachu squeaked together and launched a single large bolt of electricity. Team Rocket panicked, but were hit and went flying into the air.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" could be vaguely heard as Team Rocket and their Pokémon disappeared into the sky.
"Great job, everyone!" Bonnie cheered happily from the sidelines.
"Mmmph!" Lapras cried out as it swam towards the net full of Lapras that Team Rocket left behind.
"Oh yeah. Let's get Lapras's friends and family out of that fishing net." Ash said. He then tossed a Poké Ball in the air.
"Greninja, use Night Slash to cut open the net!" Ash commanded, as the ninja frog Pokémon was summoned out of the Poké Ball.
Greninja jumped and swam in the ocean towards the net, while forming two water kunai of dark energy. He then swiftly sliced the net open, allowing all the Lapras to be free.
Lapras was ecstatic that its friends and family were free and immediately nuzzled with its mate and offspring.
"Great job, Greninja!" Ash praised, as Greninja came back to his trainer after opening the net.
"Ninja!" Greninja responded with a nod.
After the interruption by Team Rocket, everyone resumed the festivities and continued to celebrate the Lapras Festival as if nothing had happened. People ate, had fun, and gave gifts to the Lapras, who gratefully appreciated it.
After two hours, the Lapras Festival was coming to a close as the Lapras herd had to continue their migration back to their home region.
"So this is goodbye, Lapras. It's been great seeing you again after all these years, buddy." Ash said gently as he stroked Lapras by the neck.
"Pika..." Pikachu squeaked a goodbye.
"Mmph..." Lapras whined sadly. Lapras then looked back at its herd. It went towards its mate and talked to it for a few moments before giving its mate a nuzzle. Lapras then went to its two children and talked to them, one of them seemed confused. A few moments later, Lapras nuzzled them affectionately. After that, all the Lapras cried out.
Lapras then approached Ash yet again.
"What's the matter Lapras?" Ash questioned.
"Mhmph mmhm..." Lapras cried out. Pikachu's eyes shined and his ears perked up in response.
"Pika pi. Pika-chu." Pikachu squeaked at Ash, while gesturing towards one of Ash's Poké Balls.
Ash seemed to get the idea very quickly.
"I'm sorry Lapras, I would love to take you with me, but you have a mate and kids to look after." Ash said. Ash then took a quick glance at Serena, who was with the rest of the group behind him.
"Like how I'm never planning to leave Serena, you shouldn't leave your family and your herd."
Serena blushed at what Ash said. That's why she loved Ash. Always thinking about others.
"Mmph!" Lapras shook its head in response repeatedly. The rest of the Lapras herd seemed to be crying out, trying to convey a message.
"Pika pi." Pikachu squeaked.
"Man, I wish Meowth was here right now. At least we would know what the Lapras are trying to say." Dawn said with a sigh.
"Maybe I can be of some help." A voice said to them.
The group looked in the direction of the voice to see Ramos and a couple of the city officials approaching them.
"What do you mean Ramos? You can't speak Lapras can you?" Ash asked with confusion.
"There's another thing you should know about the festival. Every time the Lapras come here, the herd leader chooses a new Lapras to take its place." Ramos said as he walked up to the group.
"I get it." Clemont said with a hand on his chin. "So Lapras has chosen one of its offspring to become the new herd leader."
"Okay, Lapras. I'll let you come with me. But I will have to return you back to the Orange Islands when I finish competing in the World Coronation Series." Ash said to Lapras.
"Mmph!" Lapras nodded happily.
"Okay then... go Poké Ball!"
The ball absorbed the Transport Pokémon in a red beam of light and went back to Ash's hands. The ball continued to shake in Ash's hands, until a click sound could be heard.
"I just caught... a Lapras!" Ash exclaimed as he brought the ball to the air. Serena and the two Pikachu joined in on his victory pose.
"Pi-pikachu!"
"Congratulations Ashy!" Serena said as she kissed his cheek.
Ash chuckled with a slight blush on his cheeks, before shifting his attention back to the Poké Ball in his hands.
"Welcome back, Lapras. Together, along with the others, we will make our dreams come true." Ash said quietly.
"Hey, why is the center of the Poké Ball glowing red?" Bonnie asked, pointing at the ball in Ash's hand.
"Typically, a Poké Ball glows red and becomes jammed when a trainer already has six Pokémon on them." Clemont explained to Bonnie.
"That's right," Ash said in realization. "My party is full. I need to transfer someone over to Professor Oak's Laboratory later."
After capturing Lapras, Ash released Lapras so it could spend a few more moments with its herd. Before the Lapras began swimming away to migrate back to their home, Ash promised them that he would return Lapras back to them at the Orange Islands Lagoon when he finishes partaking in the World Coronation Series.
"So should we go now?" Calem asked the group. Most of the people already left, including Ramos, Nurse Joy, and Officer Jenny.
"Okay, let's take the monorail back to Lumiose City, we still need to get to the airport so May, Dawn, Drew, and Barry can catch their flights home." Serena said as she noticed the time on her tablet.
The group agreed, so they said goodbye to everyone in Coumarine City and headed towards the Monorail Station. Professor Sycamore and Sophie accompanied them, since they live in Lumiose City.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Timeskip...
Grace and Calem decided to go back to Vaniville Town, so they took another monorail and said goodbye to the group at the station. After that, the group said goodbyes to Professor Sycamore and Sophie as they dropped them off at the Professor's Laboratory. Now, Ash, Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, May, Dawn, Drew, and Barry were standing outside the airport, saying their goodbyes.
"I guess this is where we split ways then," May said. "Drew and I have a flight for Hoenn in one hour, while Dawn and Barry are going to have their flight to Sinnoh in two hours."
"Okay you four. We will see you at the World Coronation Series for sure." Ash said with a fist pump. Ash then proceeded to fist bump Drew and Barry. He then gave a hug to May and gave Dawn their signature high five.
"Well of course we will see you there, Ash. We got to support you when you go against Leon." Dawn said with a laugh.
"Hey, how about me?" Barry complained.
"That shows how little confidence Dawn has in you, Barry." Drew responded. Barry started fuming and threatened to fine Drew, which earned laughs and chuckles among the group.
"Goodbye group hug!" May said, as she got Serena and Dawn into a big hug. The girls shared a goodbye and promised to continue to keep in touch.
"Okay, farewell everyone." the Hoenn natives and Sinnoh natives said before they disappeared inside the Lumiose Airport.
"I am going to miss having a large group." Bonnie said with a sigh. Serena gave Bonnie a smile.
"Don't worry Bonnie. We will see them again soon." Serena reassured the younger girl. Bonnie smiled back and gave Serena a hug.
"Okay you two. Bonnie and I will be heading over to our dad's place. You two are going to be alright going back to your hotel?" Clemont asked.
"Don't worry, Clemont we will be fine." Ash said with a grin. He shared a firm handshake with Clemont, while Bonnie gave him a hug.
"If you guys want, you can come with us to Santalune Forest tomorrow." Ash suggested. Serena simply smiled and agreed with him.
"To search for the Heracronite, right?"
"Yeah." Ash nodded.
"That sounds really fun! Can we big brother?" Bonnie asked with excitement in her eyes.
"I don't see why not. It would be like old times." Clemont said with a smile.
"Then it's decided, we will meet you at Prism Tower tomorrow morning." Ash said.
Ash and Serena then said their goodbyes to Clemont and Bonnie as they went their separate ways.
Back at their Champions Suite at the hotel, Ash and Serena cuddled with one another in their bed after a long eventful day. Their Pikachu were also in the bed with them.
"You know, I am going to call the lobby and request for an extension to our stay here." Ash said to Serena.
"That would be great. This suite is so cozy!"
"Serena, do you want to come back with me to Pallet Town?" Ash asked her.
"Of course. I want to be with you from now on." Serena responded to him and gave him a kiss.
"I wouldn't want it any other way." Ash said as he nuzzled Serena on the cheek.
"I haven't been to Kanto since I went to summer camp." Serena said as she was thinking.
"You'll love it. I can't wait for you to meet my mom, Professor Oak, my Pokémon, and all my friends from Kanto." Ash said with a smile. Ash then pulled Serena closer to him.
"Good night Serena. I love you..."
"I love you too..." Serena yawned.
"Pika pi!" "Pi pika!"
"We love you both too Pikachu." Ash and Serena said with a hint of laughter.
The couple then fell asleep, dreaming about each other and what the world has in store for them tomorrow.
To be continued...