Ash's POV:
I felt an unseen rage pass through me, but at the same time I stayed calm and collected - something I've never been able to do. The minute I saw mom in that situation my world had changed. I didn't know if it had really changed or it was just from my perspective. I remembered each and every way they assaulted my mom before Lysandre decided to finish her off.
Out of the blue, Infernape and Lucario appeared behind me along with Sceptile and Greninja. Sceptile brought the two of them on track. Being the hothead he is, Infernape immediately charged at the 7 of them and began to throw fireballs at them.
How was he able to bring fire from his hands?
"What?! Idiotic APE!! Get lost!!", Cyrus yelled and grabbed the pistol from Lysandre while all the others grabbed a pistol from their waists.
My other Pokemon rolled their eyes and stood behind Infernape protecting one another. With no other choice, I went and faced them. I was unable to think, adrenaline rushing through my veins.
Serena's POV:
I wanted to yell at Ash, to stop him from going outside but my voice failed me. I had barely known the woman, but she had already become a second mother to me. If I was going through such an emotion, I couldn't fathom Ash's pain.
"You, boy!! Honestly, I thought you'd give me a better challenge in finding you, but thank you. You saved me lots of time and human labour. Just fire!! He's been a massive thorn in our side!!", Lysandre ordered smirking.
Then, they fired their respective bullets. I was about to shriek, but Ash's eyes turned red and Lucario let out a pulse which stopped their bullets a few feet from Ash and his Pokemon.
"Impossible!! An Aura Pulse?", Lysandre questioned in disbelief.
"You know what to do", Ash told Sceptile and Infernape in an emotionless tone. They simply smirked at each other, and Infernape punched the bullets back one by one with massive force such that they hit them back not hard enough to be fatal, but hard enough to draw blood.
"Your turn, Sceptile", Ash told him still emotionless. Sceptile smirked and sharpened his Leaf Blades. He then charged at the wounded leaders who tried to escape. One guy with a blatant expression recovered fast enough to fire at Sceptile who knocked the bullet with his Leaf Blade and this time as enough for the rest of them to follow suit and they began to fire at Sceptile. He began to knock them away at am unimaginable speed and suddenly he began to glow white.
"What's going on?", a guy dressed in a white Team Rocket uniform asked the rest who shrugged ftheir shoulders or were busy watching Sceptile in awe.
Sceptile's tail was now like a small Christmas tree while his jaw and eyes reddened, and his shoulders were protected by leaves which seemed rather hard. His back was lined with yellow and red balls which seemed like a protective measure. His head was no longer in the usual shape and had 2 semicircular slits on each side.
"H..ho..how? Mega Sceptile??", the same guy stuttered.
"Finish them off", Ash told Sceptile and he simply walked towards them smirking and Lysandre threw a grenade at Sceptile who knocked it back with Leaf Blades which appeared protruding from both of his his outer wrists. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a smoke bomb and it was strong enough to hide their movements so that they could escape out into the open forest.
Sceptile was about to chase them but Ash asked him not to do so and he began to walk towards Delia's mangled body. He then sunk to his knees tears flowing openly now.
Delia however, just grinned at him painfully and wiped his tears away.
"Hey, honey!! Don't cry. Both of us knew that this would be a probable end for me", she told him caressing his face. He simply gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Give my Pokemon to Surge, alright? Tell him about what happened. He must know about it. This vital information could bring them down. His suspicions have been confirmed. And...and tell Mimey and the others that I love them too. I'm not one of those mothers who would ask her son to stay away from this. Get them, darling. Finish them off once and for all", she told him wincing every now and then.
"But..but...we can save you, mum", Ash told her desperately but she just gave him the I-think-we-both-know-it's-not-possible look and he sighed in defeat.
"A part of the plane lodged into my lung, Ash. Plus, my radial artery has been severed. I have no chance of survival. I have a minute or so, that's all", she told him and he sighed in despair and buried his face in her neck.
"Just like your grandfather", she told him chuckling weakly while cupping his cheeks.
"Take care of my darling, Serena", she told me with a small smile and I promised her that I would do so.
"Ashy, it's time for me to go. I love you, sweetheart. You are an amazing battler honey, don't let ANYONE change you. I love you", she told him and closed her eyes for the final time. He sighed again and shook his head and I brought him into a hug. Words of comfort would do nothing, so I just maintained silence and simply rubbed his back. His Pokemon were trying not to cry, but even they couldn't avoid shedding a few tears.
"Help me bury her?", he kinda asked and I nodded my head.
The burial took around 30 minutes and Ash decided to go back to our hotel.
"I'm gonna go to sleep, alright? Can you tell my Pokemon about what happened?", he asked me I and I nodded my head. He smiled at me weakly and went into his room.
After I told his Pokemon about what happened, most of them began to go crazy in anger while a few of them began to cry silently.
"I'll go check on Ash, alright?", I told them and went into his room. He had changed into his casuals and sat on the corner of his bed staring at the floor.
"You must sleep, Ash. Don't stay awake", I told him and I wrapped my right arm around his shoulders. He remained impassive.
"You are gonna sleep. I'll go get changed", I threatened him lightly and went to change. When I came back, he was still in the same position and I dragged him into the centre of the bed. After that, I tucked him in and was about to leave, but he caught me by my wrist.
"Can you just stay till I fall asleep?", he asked me and there was no way I could deny that so he scooted over and gave me enough space to sit. A few minutes later, he fell asleep and I left. I kinda forgot that the next day, the finals of the Lumiose Conference was to be held.
Next Day
I saw Ash writing a letter and giving it to Pidgeot. Suddenly, out of nowhere Talonflame bumped in front of Pidgeot and pointed his right wing to his chest until he was tackled by Staraptor, and the two of them began their usual fight. Ash simple chuckled lightly and gave the letter to Pidgeot who nodded at Ash and flew away.
Ash's POV:
I was busy trying to stop Staraptor and Talonflame from chewing their heads out, while Serena came behind me and giggled seeing the two of them fight for yet another silly reason.
"Some things never change, do they?", she asked me and I nodded my head giving her a wistful smile.
"Hey Ashy, I'm here for you, okay?", she told me and gave me a light kiss. That loosened me up, a bit.
"How are you so calm, Ash?", she asked me.
"Well, mum kinda gave me a pep talk about these kind of situations. So, I've prepared myself for it and it happened. Mum wasn't there every day these past 6 years, but she'd call me every now and then. It will be kind of tough, Serena", I told her clenching my fists. She then placed her hand on my fist and leaned her head on my shoulder.
"What did you give Pidgeot?", she asked me.
"I gave Alain a letter that I won't be participating in the finals. I have to go and train", I told her. She gave me a shocked expression.
"Train for what? Don't tell me that you are going to hunt them down", she told me suddenly standing up and her hands akimbo.
"Yes, I AM!! What? Do you expect me to do nothing about it?", I asked her and she scoffed.
"That's not your responsibility, Ash! That's why we have Officer Jennys, and the entire police department", she retorted and we continued verbally sparring for an hour or so. Pidgeot returned with another letter, and I began to read it.
Dear Ash,
What is the reason behind this sudden decision? If there is something wrong, please let me know. I will try to help you. I really want to fight you in an official league battle, but I want you to be at your full 100 percent. If you want to postpone the match, I am ready to do so. Please don't hide anything from me.
Yours faithfully,
Alain
Serena snatched the letter from me and when she came to know that I hadn't told Alain the main reason, she literally burst and I had to listen to another of her lectures.
I was still adamant to take them down on my own. Not only would it give me a certain amount of satisfaction, but it would completely root out the evil from the society for a few years.
"Are you sure I can't talk you out of this, Ashy?", she asked me grappling me in a bear hug and shedding a few tears.
"I've made up my mind, Serena! For the first time in my life, I'm sure about what to do!! I'm leaving to train tomorrow", I told her.
"What should I tell the others?", she asked me, her face still buried in my neck.
"Tell them about what happened, and I'll always love them. Their support has been invaluable to me, and I'll never forget them. I'll keep in touch by writing letters, alright?", I told her.
Next Day
I got ready to leave. Dawn and May still hadn't come back from the soiree. Apparently, it was a solid 3 day event so they decided to spend the entire time there. Serena was clutching my right arm, not willing to let me go crying like a child. But I'm not blaming her or mocking her. We got to see each other after 6 gruesome years and I had to leave already. But it was for the best. If I was willing to sacrifice a few years to bring them down, I could spend the rest of my life with Serena in peace.
We were standing near the seashore, with Charizard playing pranks on a few nearby Claunchers.
"Can I come with you, Ash?", she asked me and I shook my head sadly.
"My training won't be like last time, Serena. In my mind, I've prepared a list of training for both myself and my Pokemon. Plus, I'm not willing to lose another person I love", I told her cupping her beautiful face, especially her eyes, I could stare at those Cerulean blue eyes for the rest of eternity.
She then closed the gap between our lips which turned out to be a huge make out session. After a solid fifteen minutes, I climbed up on Charizard.
"How can I contact you?", she asked me confused.
"I'll send letters through my Pokemon. You send your letters when they come to give you mine. I've gotta go, Sere. Take care", I told her wistfully.
"I love you, Ash", she told me tearfully.
"I love you too", I replied and gave her a smile before flying away to the depths of the Viridian forest to begin my quota of training. It was then, that I realised that I had so much potential in certain areas that I had never imagined, even in the wildest of my dreams.
To be continued.....
A/N: Hope this chapter was good. Please consider leaving behind a vote if it was good enough. Thanks!!:):):)!!