After Professor Oak finally departed, leaving Serena with Steven to keep her safe, the duo headed out of the airport back to the headquarters of the Devon Corporation.
Back in the Headquarters:-
They sat in their respective couches while sipping in some tea as an eerie silence bloomed throughout the room.
"So Serena?"
This caught the attention of the honey-blonde girl as she raised her eyes to meet his with a questioning look.
"What's up to Steven?"
"Well, since Professor had left, do you have plans while you're still here? I mean, pretty ladies like you can't just sit around doing nothing right?", said Steven as he gave his signature smile that flattered many teens in Hoenn.
"Now that you reminded me, I wanted to ask you a favor and devote some time for me if that isn't too much to ask of you, " said Serena as she looked at him straight in the eye.
"Go right ahead. You've heard the phone call a while back right? I'm completely free for this entire month from work, " said Steven confidently.
"Well, I need you to train me, Steven. I know that Ash is a really powerful trainer and can hold off on his own.
But, I don't want to be a burden for him that weighs him down. It's time I wanna do something on my own. I need to get strong and I ask you to help me. So will you accept it?"
Serena had a worried look on her face as she scanned his face for any signs of discomfort about her request.
However, after a moment, a beaming smile was clearly visible on his face which eased her nerves a bit.
"Sure thing Serena. In fact, I was wondering when you'd ask that. I'll definitely help you to get stronger. But for now, let's have a little chat, " replied Steven while seeing the obvious smile on her face.
"So, What do you wanna talk about anyway, Mr. Champion?" said Serena with a little wink.
"Finally showing your sides are you? We will see how long will that wink last. So, how did you meet Ash anyway?"
Steven could clearly see the sudden change in her facial expressions just at the mention of the name of her crush. God, he really loved teasing her.
"It was when I was 7 years old. My mom enrolled me into a summer camp conducted by Professor Oak in the Kanto region. I was scared of Pokemon and being alone back then so badly that I couldn't mix well with any other kid in the camp.
That was the third day of camp and Professor took us to the nearby forest to watch wild Pokemon in their own habitat. I got lost quite easily due to my pace and before I knew it, I was sitting in the middle of dense trees and crying uncontrollably.
A Poliwag then just jumped out of the bushes and scared the hell out of me. After that, he came and saw me crying due to my scrapped knee. He took out his handkerchief and wrapped it around my knee and muttered some magic words, " said Serena fondly remembering her first experience.
"Magic words you say? What are those?"
Steven was clearly curious about her little incident and meeting with Ash.
"I clearly remember them even now. He said, Feel better, Feel better right away and gave me his hand. I took it and we walked towards the camp together.
I wanted to return his handkerchief ever since. To be honest, he was the main reason why I took off on a Pokémon journey in the first place.
And, that's how I first met Ash, " said Serena after taking a breath.
"That's quite a story, Serena. I knew that you liked Ash but honestly I didn't think it was a childhood crush either. Anyway, I met Ash after the fight for Kalos unexpectedly. I wanted to talk about that, " said Steven and just like that, the mood of the room changed.
Serena had a worried look on her face which reflected in her voice.
"What happened then?"
"I think it was the week after the finals of the Kalos League and the day after Kalos Crisis finally ended.
Ash boarded his flight in Kalos scheduled from Kalos to Kanto but due to some technical problems, it landed in Johto in between. I was on my way from Johto to Hoenn from a business trip and I ran into him in the airport.
He was very happy when I met him and that's when I got to know about his exploits in the Kalos League.
But now, after what you said happened to him, I really wanna be there for him at these times.
He's a hero Serena. He really needs all the support he can get at these times. It is ok to lean on others sometimes for support. I hope he's alright wherever he is, " said Steven with a low tone evident from disappointment.
"I'm really glad he met you, Steven. Thanks for being here when it's needed the most. I know for a fact that he's alright. He's Ash Ketchum after all, " said Serena while clenching her ribbon tightly with her hands.
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Unknown Location in Kanto:-
A tall man with a rather keen look and a round face, was seen walking briskly carrying some files wearing a white coat.
He entered a hallway which was dimly lit and stopped at a rather large room which seems locked by a keypad clinging on to the metal door.
As he entered the secret password, the door finally unlocked with a huge creek and it was automatically filled with light by the numerous bulb.
In the middle of the room, lay a huge machine nearly the size of a truck.
It was a large metallic machine with various pipes spread around it's periphery. A large computer was seen connected to a end of the machine with various commands surrounding it.
One particular pipe of the machine seemed to be led into a chamber filled with many huge capsules with a liquid surrounding them.
The man or the so-called scientist examined various parts of the machine and was recording the observations in a book.
"What's the status, Adam?"
A voice boomed over the entire room as the man in question was taken by surprise and turned around to face the door instinctively.
A man taller than Adam, stood at the door with a wicked grin plastered on his face and a feline cat Pokemon stood beside him.
"Giovanni Sir, this prototype is 90% complete right now Sir.
Lord Cyrus sent me to check it's daily status report and update it to him Sir."
The man, Adam was visibly shaking by the mere presence of this man, Giovanni. He had heard tales about him and saw his photo many times but it was the first time seeing him live.
"Very well then. Leave right away. I need some privacy at this moment, " said Giovanni as Adam hurriedly left the room after shutting down the computer.
Wait just a little longer Ketchum. It's almost complete. Project Black, my ultimate objective for mankind is finally on the move.
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And that's a wrap for this chapter.
For all my readers who made it here till this point, this is a very important announcement regarding my story.
Initially, I started my whole story on the point of Ash taking his revenge for betrayal by his friends by thrashing them in the league.
But as the story progressed, my perspective changed and I've made several changes in the story like Ash training under Sir Aaron and the introduction of all the evil organisations.
Now, the important point is, I'm not gonna include any grand tournament of sort in this story, instead it will be Ash training and gathering his friends, evil organization trying to wreak havoc in this world and protagonist finally trying to stop it. They are many interesting points as well.
Since the plot is gonna turn out huge, I've decided to remove the tournament part form my story and focus more on Ash's training.
Well, this is what I had to convey with all of you guys. I hope you agree with my decision and continue to support my story as always.
That aside, I'd like all my readers to give a shot at another amour story called "The Fairy's Cure" written by ScribbleKingdom. The story is quite enjoyable and almost finished.
That's all for today. I'll meet you with a new chapter next week.
~RahulKalosChamp