"I wanna take the ultimate step, find the courage to be bold. To risk it all and not forget, the lessons that I hold. I wanna go where no ones been. Far beyond the crowd!"
***
Alya's PoV
"So, you're telling me that you're friends with this supposed legendary pokemon and you fought Team Flare? And their the reason it ran away from you?" I asked, summing up Ash's story. He nodded and I bit my lip in thought. It was just the two of us in the Pokemon Center. Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont were outside searching for said legendary pokemon they call Squishy.
I was about to ask Ash if he knew anything about Alain, but was interrupted. Bonnie busted through the Center's doors. She seemed out of breath, but she was too consumed with excitement.
"Squishy came back!" she exclaimed, holding up a green creature cupped in both of her hands. It was small, green, and had a red gem-like patch covering it's stomach. It had one large eye and a white spot where the other eye should be. It didn't even have arms or legs. It looked...well, squishy. Ash grinned, happy to have his lost companion back. I stepped closer to Bonnie to scrutinize the tiny pokemon in her hands better. Nothing about it seemed particularly legendary about it at all.
***
I had only been travelling with Ash and the gang for a day, and I had seen more action in that day, than in a week on my own. He allowed me to travel with them on their journey to Snowbelle City in order to learn more about Squishy and Team Flare.
In a day, Ash's Noibat befriended a Floette, pissed off a Breloom, and then rescued it from another evil organization called Team Rocket. All-in-all, I was exhausted. I didn't even get to rest the next day. Serena got invited to a large dance party for performers, since she was a pokemon performer herself. She was particularly excited about Aria, the Kalos Queen, being there.
Serena's only problem was that she had to attend with a date. It didn't take a genius to know that she wanted to ask Ash. But, she was too shy. Her shyness with Ash competed with the shyness of her Eevee. The only way to get Eevee to go, was to pair it up with Clemont's Bunnelby. That brought Bonnie to suggest that Clemont and Serena go together. Since she couldn't really refuse, she accepted, followed by Clemont's acceptance. I kinda stood off to the sides awkwardly. Bonnie and Ash were giving Clemont a pep talk and Serena was talking to her Eevee.
***
We had left the Pokemon Center shortly after receiving the invitation. It took us quite awhile to reach our destination, but it was all worth it when we saw the giant castle where the party was being held.
"Awesome! Looks like it's going to be a lot of fun," Ash exclaimed as we approached. A large mass of people had gathered, all eagerly waiting to get inside.
"I know. Look at that crowd! Are you going to be all right?" Bonnie asked a trembling Clemont. Something told me he didn't like to be around a lot of people. I had to put a hand over my mouth to keep me from laughing.
"Who knows? I'm wondering about that myself," he said through chattering teeth.
"You'll be fine, Clemont," Serena reassured him. I let a little giggle slip out, and it grew louder when Serena yelped in surprise and jumped away from the spot she was standing in.
"Miette!" I looked past Serena to see a girl with short blue hair and red eyes standing there with a smile and her hands behind her back. She also had a Slurpuff standing beside her.
"It's been awhile," Ash commented. They must all know each other. At sight of Ash, she quickly walked past Serena and took up his hand. This caused both Serena and I's eyes to widen.
"You could be my date. Talk about perfect timing. Please, Ash? It would be so nice if you would be my date," she pleaded. I heard Serena scream softly in terror at the idea of them two going together.
"I would love to...but, Alya is actually going to be my date," Ash told her, taking his hand out of hers. Serena was about to freak out more, but when she heard the rest of his sentence, she sighed in relief. His words, though, made my eyes widen even further in shock. This was definitely news to me. I planned to sit out the party to either rest or get some training done.
Miette looked over at me for the first time. She looked me over, before quickly dismissing me and turning to Serena. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. I tuned out Miette and Serena's conversation. Now that I was going to this party, I had to figure out how I was gonna get ready and what pokemon to choose to be Pikachu's date.
After a few moments, Miette walked away and headed into the castle with her Slurpuff.
"Oh! That Miette! Let's get going, too!" Serena exclaimed in a frustrated tone. She stomped ahead with Eevee at her heels and Bonnie and Clemont close behind. I glanced at Ash and he nodded, signalling us to follow after them. I held up a finger and pulled a pokeball off my belt. I held it out and waited for it to open and my pokemon to come out. A second later and my shiny Umbreon stood before us.
"Pikachu needed a date as well. So, I thought Umbreon would be perfect for him," I explained. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and greeted Umbreon with a friendly smile. They both turned around and shook tails. I grinned, knowing they would make fast friends.
*****
"Alright. We got Alya and Ash. Serena and Clemont, as well. Everything's in order. And, you'll also need these cards," a female desk clerk told us, signing us in. She put out four cards for each of us to pick one.
"Excuse me? What are they?" Serena asked her.
"You'll need that card for a special event later," she smiled, keeping it a mystery. "We also have outfits that are available to rent over there," she finished, pointing us in the direction of room where the outfits were at. Serena grinned over at me and pulled me along with her, the boys and pokemon slowly trailing behind us.
When we entered, we were all taken aback by the sheer size and beauty of it. There were so many shoes, dresses, and accessories to choose from.
"Look at all these dresses," Serena breathed in awe.
"So many..." Clemont muttered quietly. I laughed and split away from those two, heading towards another section of dresses. Ash surprisingly came along with me. I shot him a smile as I began to browse.
It didn't take me long to find the perfect dress to wear. I pulled it off the rack and held it in front of me, spinning around to show it to Ash. He gave me a thumbs up and headed off to find something for him to wear, while I changed.
***
"You look...stunning," Ash breathed as I met up with outside the dressing room. I blushed and looked down at me halter-top, light pink dress. A slit ran up my left leg and underneath were two separate layers of purple and blue. They were all tied together with ruffles and where the slit began, a black flower stood out. I wore my hair down, letting it cascade in waves down my back. Instead of having my two yellow bows in, I wore a black flower clip with blue tipped petals. At my side, Umbreon wore a pink ribbon tied around her left ear and purple jewels around her tail. My partner and I matched beautifully.
Ash wore a blue long coat with red cuff and a red and black vest underneath. He had on gray pants and a baby blue ascot around his neck. To my delight, he didn't have his hat on. Pikachu wasn't on his shoulder, instead he stood beside him with a little blue bow tie on that I simply adored.
"You clean up nice, Ketchum," I teased, latching my fingers onto the inside of his elbow of his offered arm. We walked out into the main room and spotted Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, Eevee, Bunnelby, and Braixen. We walked over to them and the two of us splitting apart. He went over to Clemont, while I stood in front of Serena.
"You look fantastic, as expected," I complimented her in her red dress.
"You look great, too," she responded back politely.
"This thing is pinching my neck," Ash complained, grabbing our attention.
"We're not used to dressing up like this," Clemont pointed out. I laughed at the two of them, but I couldn't blame them, I wasn't exactly the kind of girl to get dressed up like this. My laughter died down when all the lights went out, but two spotlights. They both landed on two people and two pokemon at the top of a flight of stairs; Pierre, Aria, Delphox, and Klefki. All four of them were holding hands.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you all for graciously attending my dance party today! And now for our special guest. I'm honored to introduce our Kalos Queen, Aria!" Pierre introduced loudly.
"Nice too see you, everyone," Aria greeted and looked into the crowd. She spotted Serena, and her smile widened. They must have history that I wasn't aware of. The four of them descended the steps and began to dance.
When the song finished, the lights all came back on. We all clapped, completely captivated by their beautiful movements.
"And now, the dance floor is open for all of you. Please have a wonderful time," Pierre announced after bowing with Aria. I rolled my eyes slightly, a little annoyed that they had to show off, before letting us all enjoy out evening. I glanced over at Ash and bit my lip.
"Do you wanna dance?" I asked softly. I was a little hesitant, unsure if he was like me and wasn't quite up for these kind of events.
"Yeah!" he said quickly and happily, taking me by surprise. He grabbed my hand and led me out onto the dance floor.
The song that was playing was slow and elegant, something that definitely fit a fancy ball like this one. Ash held my right hand in his left and placed his other hand on my waist. My left hand rested firmly on his forearm. I could tell Ash wasn't the best dancer, but he kept giving it his all. The two of us twirled and moved to the pace of the music. Pikachu and Umbreon seemed to be having a great time together as well.
"I've never seen a shiny Umbreon before," Ash spoke up, making conversation as we danced. I looked into his brown eyes and nodded, a grin on my face.
"They're pretty rare. My Umbreon is one of kind," I said proudly. He chuckled softly and nodded.
"I've seen your Flygon, Mega Absol, and Shiny Umbreon. I know you have three more pokemon on your team. What other amazing pokemon do you have?" he asked. I gave him a sly smile.
"It's a surprise," I winked. He groaned and I laughed at his expense. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Pierre and Aria appear at the bottom of the stairs.
"Alright. Everyone into circles. It's time to change partners. Then, let's dance!" Pierre called out. I gave Ash a look, before we separated and got into our positions.
The music started back up and I started dancing with a random stranger. Serena was also with a stranger to my right. I kept a smile on face as we danced and switched partners. None of these boys really caught my eye, so I didn't pay much attention to who I was dancing with. What caught my interest was that Serena's next partner was Ash. She hesitated a bit when he reached out his hand for her, a fiery blush creeping up onto her cheeks. I couldn't tell if I was rooting for or against them. My heart pounded against my chest as their hands finally touched. I wouldn't be able to figure it out though as the music was cut off. I could see Serena screaming internally, since she didn't get her chance to dance with him.
"Alright. Let's begin today's main event. Our enchanting tag battle. There are no pokemon battles in the pokemon showcase. So, to consider this a special treat!" Pierre called out, holding up his staff with Klefki sitting comfortably on top. At the news, I clapped in excitement. A pokemon battle is something I could really get behind. "All our participants will be chosen at random. Please raise the cards you received at the reception desk and and hold it up to the light. If a mark appears, then you are one of our lucky participants!" Pierre finished.
I took out the card we had gotten and held it up towards the lights in the grand chandelier. After a few moments, a crown showed up above the pokeball in the center of the blue card. I smiled in satisfaction, happy that I could be apart of a battle. I wondered who my partner would be, since it was a tag battle after all.
"The battle begins next!" Pierre called with a smirk.
I headed over towards the battle field and was delighted to see that my partner was actually Serena. I couldn't believe the chance of us battling together at such large odds. Across the field stood our opponents, who so happened to be Ash and Miette. I took the accessories off of Umbreon, before she headed onto the field to stand with Serena's Eevee.
I was bubbling with excitement. Something about an Eevee and one of it's evolved forms fighting together made me happier than usual. Although, Eevee didn't seem to thrilled about battling. The pokemon they were taking on were Pikachu and Slurpuff.
"I win battles, too. All the time!" Miette boasted. I rolled my eyes, silently counting in my head all the battles I have won and comparing it to her probable small amount as a performer.
"We'll just see!" Serena called back. I kinda figured they had a rivalry, which meant I wanted to win all the more to spite Miette for her actions against me earlier. For Serena's sake and mine. "Ready, Alya? Let's do our best," she said cheerfully. I nodded.
"Right! We're gonna win for sure," I grinned. I looked away from her and focused on Ash. He was winding up his left shoulder, preparing for this battle. My eyes narrowed, knowing he was going to put up a strong fight.
"Alright, then. Battle begin!" Pierre yelled from a stadium seat above the field where he sat with Aria.
"Eevee, ready to go?" Serena asked the little brown pokemon. Eevee looked over her shoulder and nodded. I smirked, knowing I was gonna take the first move.
"Umbreon, use tackle on Pikachu!" I instructed. I wanted to avoid Slurpuff as much as possible, considering it had a big type advantage on Umbreon. At the same time, Ash told his Pikachu to use Quick Attack on Umbreon. I grumbled, not as surprised as I should've been of him trying to take the upper hand so early on. Umbreon took the hit, not moving as fast as Pikachu.
"Slurpuff, use Energy Ball!" Miette commanded. The green ball of energy was directed at my Umbreon. I sighed, not liking being the target.
"Eevee, use Swift. Let's go!" Serena called, covering for Umbreon. The moves collided and cancelled each other.
"Umbreon, use Dark Pulse on Pikachu," I told her. She responded eagerly, wanting to get back at Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Dodge and use Iron Tail, now!" Umbreon's dark pulse hit the ground where Pikachu had been standing just moments before. He jumped into that air, his tail growing silver. I smirked a little as he started to come down on Umbreon.
"Use Confuse Ray. Quick!" I told her. A dark purple aura formed around her and extended out to Pikachu. It took effect and he dropped to the ground, a dazed look on his face. Umbreon smiled at Eevee, and all of her nervousness about the attention during the battle seemed to fade away.
"Alright! Keep it up!" Serena called out, determination written all over her face.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out.
"Dodge it!" Serena and I called out to our pokemon at the same time. Our two pokemon leaped into the air to avoid the electric attack.
"Use Cotton Spore," Miette instructed her Slurpuff, actually catching me off guard. A ton of cottom formed on the battle field and Eevee and Umbreon fell right in it. They weren't able to move at all. Ash told Pikachu to use Thunderbolt one more time. It was a direct hit. Both of our pokemon lied on the ground, all ruffed up and struggling to get up.
"Umbreon!" I yelled worriedly. She gave me a look and got back to her feet. I breathed a sigh of relief. Eevee on the other hand was still having a hard time.
"Pikachu! Quick Attack!" My eyes widened when it was directed towards Eevee. I shot Ash a dirty look. Umbreon boldly stood in front of Eevee and took the hit. She flew back, and I cringed. Eevee stood up finally and Umbreon collapsed back onto the ground when she tried to stand. I growled, glaring at both Ash and Miette.
"Great! Finale time," Miette boasted with a hand on her hip. Eevee jumped in front of Umbreon, a defiant look in her eyes.
"Yeah, you're right. Okay! Now it's our turn. Eevee, use Swift!" Serena spoke, her hand balled into a fist at her chest. Eevee jumped into the air and did a flip as she release her attack.
"Slurpuff, Energy Ball!" The two attacks clashed and once again they cancelled each other out.
"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!" It hit Eevee and she flew back to land at Serena's feet. She bent down, worry written all over her face.
"Umbreon? Can you still battle?" I asked in a pleading tone. She got to her feet and squared her body.
"Yeah. Umbreon, use Dark Pulse!" She jumped into the air and released her attack at both of the opponent pokemon. We needed to put our all in to take the attention off of Serena and Eevee. "Use Bite!" I told her, hoping she was close enough. Slurpuff used Energy Ball again. Umbreon was smart enough to dodge it and sink her jaws into Slurpuff. It wasn't very effective, but it was enough. Umbreon jumped back to stand in front of me, ready to receive more instructions.
They didn't come as a blue light entranced us all. I looked over to find the source of the light coming form Eevee. I smiled, knowing exactly what was happening.
"It's evolving," Serena said breathlessly, completely bewildered by Eevee taking on a new form. Eight different possibilities ran through my head of what Eevee could be evolving into. I watched intently as Eevee's body grew bigger. Her ears grew bigger and her tail smaller. Once long feelers protruded out and a bow formed on it's ear I instantly knew which evolution she was taking on. The blue light shattered and standing proudly was a Slyveon.
"You were right. We're not done. The battle's not over yet!" Serena said, a new fire in her eyes.
"Serena..." I started.
"Thanks for covering me, Alya...You too, Umbreon."
"It might've evolved, but I'm gonna win," Miette chimed in, ruining the moment. I groaned and rolled my eyes, so ready to take her out. "Slurpuff, use Energy Ball." The attack came and Slyveon countered it with Fairy Wind, a new move it learned from evolving into a fairy type. Pikachu and Sylveon began to exchange small attacks back and forth, Slyveon moving gracefully with each attack and dodge.
"Now, use Fairy Wind!" Serena commanded, sounding like she was really enjoying herself. Umbreon hung back so, not to get caught up in fairy type move. I knew if she got hit again, she would be out of the battle. Slurpuff and Pikachu were caught in the attack, being flung way back into a wall.
"Slurpuff and Pikachu are unable to battle. Which means the winner is the team of Alya and Serena," a referee called from the sidelines.
"Please give a big round of applause to Mademoiselle Serena and her partner. An exciting battle, indeed," Pierre shouted. Everyone around us erupted into claps and whistles.
"You guys were amazing!" Ash complimented as he ran up to us.
"Yeah. Thanks a lot," Serena beamed. I nodded, acting like it wasn't a big deal.
"Congratulations," Clemont smile, running up to us with Bonnie, Braixen, Pancham, and Bunnelby.
"You were great, Slyveon!" Bonnie encouraged the newly evolved fairy type. Clemont quickly explained the circumstances of Slyveon's evolution, how surprising it was. It wasn't very common for an Eevee to evolve into a Sylveon within a short amount of time of being with a trainer. It took at least a year for that kind of bond to develop.
"To thank you all for you attendance today, I will let you in on where the next pokemon showcase will be held. And that exciting location is...Fleur City!" Pierre announced. All the performers cheered and I just shrugged, not really caring since I wasn't a perfomer. I won the battle and that's all that mattered.
***
We had all changed back into our normal clothes and were back on the road again. I had a content smile on my face. I felt like I'd grown closer to both Ash and Serena today. I hadn't felt this happy to be around people in a long time. I was so used to just doing anything possible to get to the top and be the strongest I could be. Life was going smoothly and I could put Alain and Team Flare towards the back of my mind.