*A/N: This is from Serena's POV and takes place before the match. Enjoy Part 3!*
*Earlier that Day*
*Serena POV*
I woke up early today, excited for the upcoming match. I'm usually not that excited for Pokemon Battles, but today it seemed like something more was waiting for me. I took out my phone and started texting my new friend, Gou.
~In text~
Hey Gou, what time are we supposed to be there?
In around 45 minutes, so I reccomend you head out now.
Okay, I'll meet you at the entrance of the stadium.
~end of text~
I then put my phone away and grabbed my backpack. I tied my blue ribbon to my hair and put on my sneakers.
"Let's see what this Gigantamax thing is." I said.
I closed the door and left towards the stadium.
*Time Skip to Serena Arriving*
"There is only 15 minutes left till the match begins." I muttered to myself.
"Hey Serena, over here!" yelled out a black haired boy.
"Hey Gou, sorry about the wait." I said.
"Don't worry about it, I just got here too." he said.
"Let's go!" I said excitingly.
*Skip to them at the VIP Lounge*
"Wow, this place is amazing." I said speechless at the amazing room.
"You can thank my friend, he did win the Gigantamax Tournament after all." Gou said.
"You always talk about your friend, tell me more about him." I said.
"Well he is a Champion so he's pretty strong." he told me.
"You're friend is a Champion?!" I said surprised.
He laughed at the fact I was surprised, but he also mentioned he barely figured it out three days ago.
"What's his name?" I asked.
"His name is A-" he was saying until he got cut off by the announcer.
"Now please welcome our challengers for today's battle. This will be our 100th year doing this event, the Galar Final Challenge Match. The winner of our Gigantamax Tournament versus our Regional Champion. This year it will be the battle of Champions." said the announcer.
Wow, one hundred years is a long time.
"Please welcome, our Galar and World Champion... LEEEEOOOONNNN!!!" said the announcer.
"Who's ready for a Champion Time!" was all I heard from the man with purple hair. I assumed that was the Galarian Champion.
"Now welcoming our challenger, a trainer from Kanto and the Alolan Champion-"
Kanto? Alolan Champion? No way. It can't be...
"ASH KETCHUM!!!!" said the announcer as he announced the boy with a Pikachu. The crowd roared loudly as they mentioned him.
I was left there shell shocked. How could he be here and Gou knows him?! Oh god, what do I do?! What do I do!? I felt my face heat up just thinking about Ash.
"Serena are you okay?" Gou asked me.
"IM FINE!!" I yelled out. From the heat I'm feeling, I know my face is fully red.
He stared at me weirdly, but turned his attention towards the battle.
"You know, I could get you a chance to meet him if you want." he told me.
Meet him? I would love to but... how would he react to seeing me... after what I did in the airport. I messed up... What if I made him mad? What if he has found another girl... No. You can do this. Never give up until it's over. Just how Ash told me so long ago.
"S-S-Ssure" I said trembling in nervousness.
I had a million thoughts running through my mind, I must have been thinking about this for the longest time. Because, next I heard was that Ash was down to his last Pokemon.
The Leon man said, "Charizard, I choose you!"
Then Ash said, "Pikachu, I choose you!"
They both called out moves. The sun soon intensified which made the entire stadium heat up. You can feel the heat increase the temperature. Then I saw Pikachu hit Charizard.
"Let's go Pikachu!" I yelled out.
"I see you like battles too!" said Gou smiling.
"I don't normally, but for some reason, I feel energized!" I said nervously. I knew I was lying. I knew the reason why I felt energized. It was because of Ash.
Then next I heard Leon say, "Charizard use Weather Ball!"
Weather Ball? What kind of move is that?
Soon the ball of fire flew and caused a massive explosion. I saw Pikachu fly off taking damage a bit. I gasped in worry for Pikachu.
Suddenly I heard...
"I'm not done yet, time to show Charizard's true power!" said the purple haired man.
"Me and Pikachu aren't going down without a fight!!" said Ash.
Leon returned his Charizard back into its Pokeball.
"Aren't there no substitutions?" I asked Gou.
"Oh, just wait for it." said Gou smirking. If I'm guessing, he knew what was going to happen.
Soon something on Leon's wrist began transferring energy into his Pokeball. It grew bigger and bigger...
"It's Gigantamax Time!!!" said Leon throwing the giant Pokeball behind him in style.
His Charizard grew in size and changed it's form. It roared loudly and let out a burst of air. I had hold my hat on my head because of how powerful the blast of air was.
"Now it's our time Pikachu, let's Gigantamax!" Ash yelled from his position.
Pikachu soon ran up to Ash. His tail smacked something on his wrist and energy transferred into Pikachu's body. He grew and grew and changed. It was a massive Pikachu.
"Why did Pikachu grow massive?!" I asked, still very confused.
"That's called Gigantamax; in this case Gigantamax Pikachu." he explained
"Gigantamax makes certain Pokemon change form and grow big." he continued.
Next I heard was...
"Pikachu, use Max Lightning!" Ash said to his giant partner.
"Let's counter with Max Airstream!" said Leon.
The attacks collided in the middle and formed a ball of lightning which then dispersed.
Wow. That would be an amazing move for a performance.
"Now Charizard use Max Overgrow!" said Leon.
Then suddenly massive mushrooms formed around Pikachu.
I wonder what Ash is going to do to counter that?
"Pikachu, use Max Strike and spin around in order to destroy the mushrooms!" he said.
Out of the box ideas from Ash. Expected, but still surprising. I miss traveling with him.
Both Ash and Leon were saying something but it wasn't audible.
"Now Charizard let's make this last move count..." said Leon.
"G-MAX WILDFIRE!!!" yelled Leon while throwing off his cape.
"LET'S DO THIS, PIKACHU..." Ash said to his Pikachu.
"G-MAX VOLT CRASH!!!" he yelled out.
I just stared there, ready to see what would happen.
Suddenly, a massive flame reminiscent of a dragon flew out of Charizard's back. It flew towards Pikachu and Pikachu sent it's move.
The clouds above Charizard let loose a bunch of thunderbolts below. It managed to hit Charizard because I heard a loud roar. Meanwhile, the dragon flame still went ahead.
"Now get ready for a Champion Time!" said Leon.
The fire-type move hit Pikachu dealing massive damage. The move didn't disappear just yet and flew up in the sky.
"Now, get ready for the climax!" said Leon bowing down.
The flame came down once more and hit Pikachu, engulfing it in flames.
"PIKACHU!" yelled out Ash.
Oh no. Is Ash going to lose?
Then, I saw a bright red light and slowly Pikachu returned back into it's original form. It was laying there on the ground.
"Pikachu is unable to battle, Charizard is the winner!" said the referee.
"That Leon is strong, but holy shit Ash did one hell of battle." Gou said.
"Poor Ash, I hope this doesn't affect him." I said touching the ribbon he gave me.
"I hope so too." said the boy.
I wanted to know if he would be okay, I don't want another Snowbelle incident. I know he can take losses, but I'm still worried for him.
I stared at where Ash was, he shook hands and exchanged some words with Leon. He smiled, but soon turned his smile into a frown. He kept his cap down, probably to cover his face.
"I'll be back, just stay here, I'm going to talk to him." said Gou looking nervous.
"Oh okay." I said.
He soon left but I had something on my mind. He looked sad, but why. He didn't look sad when he lost against Alain in the finals. Why now? Was it because he wanted it so badly?
I'm going after him no matter what!
I gathered my courage and stormed outside trying to follow Gou. I saw him heading down the hall. I followed, but didn't stay too close. He turned left and then walked downstairs. I followed him and went down, what I would say was around 10 flights of stairs. Then, he took a right turn heading to what seemed to be a locker room. I soon saw Ash, sitting down on a bench. I then heard Gou talk to him.
"Ash, what are you doing here?" said Gou.
He looked up but didn't see me yet.
"I lost." Ash said. He was then looking down covering his head with his cap.
"Hey bro, there's no need to be all down. What happened to the 'never give up' Ash?" Gou told him, trying to cheer him up.
He stood up and turned his back on Gou. He stood there for a bit and I walked up. Gou noticed me, but didn't want to say anything.
"I've been doing this for so long and if I can't beat Leon..." Ash said. He was sad about his loss, I can hear it in his voice.
"Then how will I ever become a Pokemon Master... I'll just be a fail-" Ash said until I cut him off.
"Ash..." I said calmly.
He must have heard me because he quickly turned around and looked at me. He stared at me and said...
"Serena?"
*A/N: A really long chapter but I think the last Serena POV we'll have in a while. I'm going to focus mostly on Ash's POV but don't worry we'll get some Serena POV later on. Enjoy the next chapter Fates Align: Part 4!!*