Gold's POV

There's a small buzzing sound as we fall downward. Not actually falling since we're in an elevator but same effect. Lights flash by as we drop a few storeys.

"Not sure if you know this Gold but when a military recruit defeats a Leader, you get to face their associated legendary beast," Wayne explains as the door opens to a wide open and bare room.

I gulp.

This was the plan but legendary beast is a frightening way to put it.

"Of course, no one expects you to defeat it," He continues. "It's supposed to be a test of courage."

Fluorescent lights line the pretty big basement we're in. There's a few desks and fancy looking equipment around but the main attraction is in the centre.

A metal cage, probably about the size of the battlefield, holds a Pokemon I've never seen before. Luckily, Wayne gives me a rundown.

"Silvally," Wayne walks us up to the door of the age. "A synthetic Pokemon made in a lab. Right now we're studying to see if more can be created."

Silvally is almost indescribable. A combination of a feathered axe head, huge claws, a fin tail, and strong purple legs that make up it's quadruped form.

I notice its head feathers glowing bright white.

"Silvally is designed to hold memory discs that change its DNA to a certain type," Wayne smirks and opens up the change. "Right now its normal type moves will it harder."

"Great," I sigh and step in.

The Pokemon faces me intimidatingly, glaring as I walk forward.

"Okay Eevee we do this together," She runs forward.

I don't know what the plan here is. How am I going to convince this artificial Pokemon to give up its spirit with everyone watching? Does it even have a spirit if it's artificial?

"Hey Silvally," I greet as it stands its ground. Clearly waiting to be instigated so it can defeat us quick and go back to sitting in its cage. "Quick Attack multiple times! Try to dodge and attack."

Eevee darts around the ceramic tiles, hitting Silvally a few times who does not move.

Until it does.

It's battle axe head glows and swings towards the incoming Pokemon.

And then Eevee changes direction and dodges.

"Great job Eevee now Bite!"

Eevee clamps her jaws on Silvally's back, dealing a little more damage than with the quick attacks.

Silvally shakes the brown fox off, and takes advantage while she stands back up. Its head shines like steel as it delivers a hard Iron Head.

Eevee is knocked backwards but not as strong as I'd expect from a legendary Pokemon. Maybe it knows why we're here.

It's buying us time.

Time I need to use and figure out how to distract everyone.

I got it.

"Eevee fill the cage with as many stars as possible with Swift!"

Silvally lets Eevee do its thing. Stars quickly fill the air, swirling around everywhere. colliding occasionally.

The sparkles from the stars breaking are almost blinding as the Swift attack starts to hit the metal bars of the cage and create more of the effect. I have to squint to avoid going blind.

"Here we go," I mutter.

I run forward, sharp spinning stars flying by me. Soon enough I find myself face to face with my second legendary Pokemon of the week.

"You know why we're here?" I ask and it nods.

It glows similarly to Volcanion before producing a multi-coloured orb. The colours swirl, representing its own genetics.

I hold out my bracelet and brace for the wave of knowledge like when I took Volcanion's spirit.

It never comes.

Instead a wave of emotion causes my eyes to close and my thoughts to drift.

All I can think of are sad things. Dying Pokemon, lost children, my Mom. I can feel the tears.

My vision comes back, but it's definitely not reality. I'm in a similar room with the bright lights and cold floor, another laboratory.

But the perspective is off, I'm lower to the floor.

The vision darts sharply, showing blurry images of people in lab coats. I'm seeing a Pokemon's perspective. Probably Silvally's.

"Ahh!" I scream in pain.

Electricity engulfs Silvally/Vision me. For a memory it hurts a lot.

The vision fades and I'm back in the cage filled with star daggers. I give a sympathetic nod and back away.

Silvally hits Eevee with another attack and the battle ends.

I collect Eevee in my arms and leave the cage, making sure to pull my sleeve over the gold bracelet. Wayne leads us back to the main concourse of the city.

"Silvally is a tough one," Wayne laughs. "You two put up a long fight with those stars though."

"Yea," I reply subconsciously.

I'm going to be thinking about Silvally for awhile.

The old man grabs my arm and we lock eyes.

He studies me, something obviously on his mind.

Instead of speaking... he just walks away.

"Let's get out of here," I say to Eevee and happen to glance at a clock. "Let's go to sleep."

"Oh a note," I pick up a piece of paper off the bed. "The home of the enemy."

Green's POV

"Thanks for letting us stay here," Serena walks into the kitchen, still wearing her purple pyjamas.

"Of course," I smile as I finish making breakfast. "This apartment sits empty most the time anyway. My Dad doesn't go to the Capital a lot anymore."

"Good morning," Ash yawns as he comes out of his room. "Ouu breakfast!"

He immediately digs into the food I have set out across the island. The marble countertop is full of pancakes, bacon, and a billion other things I made. I couldn't sleep obviously.

"Ash manners," Serena scorns and the boy freezes with his mouth full.

"Oh sorry," He mumbles through the food. "Thanks Green."

"You're welcome," I laugh. "I had trouble sleeping."

"Worried about Gold?" Serena asks as she pulls up a stool.

"I don't know," I trail off, poking at my food. "I thought he'd be here by now."

"He probably just stayed the night," The honey blonde assures me. "I'm sure he'll show up sometime today."

"That's if he won his battle," Ash notes and we glare at him.

"You're not wrong," I joke. "But I'm sure he will pull through. Or at least win a rematch."

"Right," Serena laughs. "I guess we can just sit around here for the day and wait for him to show up."

"You guys don't have to do that," I insist. "I'm sure you guys want to keep moving."

"We want to make sure Gold is alright too," Ash says.

"Thanks guys," I smile.

"How about we go meet President Triton and then we'll come back?" Serena proposes.

"Great idea Serena!" Ash says before running off to change.

"Hey Serena," I move closer to her. "Y'know it might be awhile so you and Ash should take some time and explore the Capital. Like a date."

I give her a sly smile.

We may have dragged them into our mess but I'm not letting that stop Serena.

She starts to protest but then stops. Maybe she'll actually do something.

Serena's POV

"The Bug District sounds so cool!" Ash yells as we exit the Triton building. "And you get to perform!"

"Yes I can't wait," I laugh at his excitement. Something I'll never get tired of. "I'll have to train some bug type Pokémon though."

President Triton suggested we go to the Bug District next. Apparently it's a little more isolated from the Capital but still friendly. And they love Pokémon contests.

"Are you excited?" Ash asks before grabbing my side and pulling me out of the way of a cyclist.

"Ah!" I let a squeal out. Partly because I almost got hit and partly because Ash's arm is holding me tightly.

Crowds of people pass by but I can't take my eyes off his auburn ones. "That was close," He smiles and slowly lets go.

"Hey Ash," I hold our gaze. "Green said Gold still isn't back yet so I thought we could maybe spend a day exploring the city... I mean only if you want to."

"Explore?" Ash looks at me confused. 

"Like a da- we did in Coumarine City that one time," I play with my skirt subconsciously.

"Of course!" He exclaims and I smile wide. "That was so much fun, I was actually thinking about that the other day."

"You were?" I question but then shake my head. Not important. "Maybe this time you won't abandon me."

He gives me an innocent look before remembering and scratching his neck. "Yea oops. Pikachu are you okay if we take a day off training?"

Pikachu, from Ash's shoulder, looks between us and nods. He jumps to the sidewalk and gestures towards Green apartment. "You want to go check on Green?" I ask.

He nods and Ash crouches down. "You remember the way?"

Pikachu bats his chest as if to say "Of course". He does have a better track record than Ash when it comes to directions.

I release Delphox and hand her my bag. "Can you take everybody back and let them stretch their legs?"

My fire-type nods and takes Ash's bag too. We wave them off into the busy street.

So our Pokemon are gone.

We're in a city with no Pokemon activities.

This is as distractionless as I'll get with Ash.

We start to move away from the direction our Pokemon ran in, weaving through passerby's. Somehow, above the roar of vehicles and the hordes of people, I hear Ash's stomach growl.

"Come on," I pull him towards a nearby cafe. "Let's start with food."

"You know me well," He chuckles and holds on.

We enter a nice rouge-themed cafe, similar to what you'd find in Lumiose City. I take a deep breath of the coffee-scented air and smile. 

It doesn't take long for Ash to pick out three people's worth of food. We sit down and I can't help but admire his appetite.

I dive into a croissant, daydreaming just a little.

"Serena?" Ash actually pauses eating to say.

I glance up at him.

"Why do you like that blue ribbon so much?"

My face heats up and I pull the ribbon out of my hair, smoothing it out in my hands. "Well as mentioned, even though you abandoned me shopping that day... it's still one of my favourite memories of our journey."

"I'm going to have to go with you everywhere now so you'll stop saying I abandoned you," He jokes.

I give a small giggle and focus on the fabric. "It is also a reminder of you Ash." We lock eyes. "A reminder that you're always with me, cheering me on."

I see his eyes widen before I look away embarrassed.

"Hmm we have a problem then."

Worry fills my face as I look towards him quickly, only to be met with his usual warm smile. "Now I need something... because I know you always have my back too Serena."

"Then let's go," I wink. "I'm thinking an earring would fit you nicely."

The smile leaves his face.

"I'm joking," I roll my eyes and we head out to find a shopping district.

"Phew," He sighs.

I grab his free hand and hold it tightly while we take in the city.

I can tell he's a bit surprised but he doesn't let go. Maybe this is working.

"In here," I guide us into a cute little shop. 

It's full of all sorts of things. Dresses, hats, knick-knacks, you name it. "Okay I'm going to surprise you," I tell Ash. 

"Okay I'm going to go look over there," He points far away from the clothing section.

"Just don't leave," I giggle and walk away.

There's all sorts of accessories but none of them really scream Ash. His only accessory is his hat and he has a hard time not losing that. It also needs to be something he can wear when training or battling or getting into trouble as he does.

I push my hand through a row of scarves. "Very soft. Maybe I can get Ash a pink one so he can match Greninja."

Then he could be Greninja-Ash.

I laugh at that picture in my head.

Maybe I'm onto something though.

A brightly lit table shows off a variety of charms that could be attached to a necklace or bracelet. There's Pokemon, landmarks, words, all sorts.

Some of them are a bit tacky but there's gotta be at least one good one.

My mind starts to run through all of the moments I had with Ash in Kalos. The good ones like watching him win his first gym battle and even the bad ones like Snowbelle City. I don't think there's one charm that can sum up all my feelings from that journey.

My eyes start to move on to the next thing, so much for that idea.

A hat stand with a variety of options sits in the corner. A straw hat sits on top, with a pretty pink ribbon wrapped around it.

Just like the one I was wearing when Ash helped me all those years ago. A lot of reminiscing today.

I don't know if this is the easy way out but it's perfect. I pull it off the hat and take it to the cashier and pay.

Ash finds me and I hide the present behind my back. "I found something."

"Okay just a second," The raven haired trainer says mysteriously. "I'll meet you outside."

"Okay," I watch him pay for something as well.

The sound of the outside world takes a second to get used to again. While waiting, I pick out some green space. As soon as Ash comes out, we find a park bench to sit at. 

It's not private but a bit quieter. Nothing will match that bridge in Coumarine.

"Are you ready?" I smile and he nods quickly like a kid on Christmas morning.

I hold out the pink ribbon, sitting in a small white box. I try to keep my cheeks from reddening too much while I wait for his reaction.

"You got me a ribbon too!" Hey says excitedly. A lot more enthusiasm than I expected.

I was expecting some confusion but he wastes no time finding a place for it.

He holds out his wrist with a sheepish smile. It's hard to tell on his tan skin but I swear his cheeks are red.

I take the fabric and tie a loosely fitting bracelet, the pink standing out against his blue jacket. Maybe not the most fashionable accessory but it's Ash and he has the biggest smile on his face.

"It's perfect!" He exclaims. "Thanks Serena."

"You're welcome," I slide a little closer to him on the bench.

He raises an arm, starting to reach around me... but doesn't quite make it all the way.

"Blue and pink look good together," He holds his wrist beside the blue ribbon holding my ponytail.

"They do."

Green's POV

"You're all set," I say to the horde of Pokemon in front of me.

They all instantly start to devour their lunches. Feeding this many pokemon is a challenge.

I admire my work but then a buzzing noise echoes through the apartment. I run to the door and press on the intercom. "Hello?"

"There's a boy down here," The doorman's deep voice comes through. "Says he knows you."

"Does he look kinda funny?"

"What!?" I hear Gold's voice erupt.

"Miss?" The doorman questions.

"Yea let him up I guess," I smile and wait for the elevator to make it up.

"I can't tell if we're friends or not," Gold immediately starts talking.

"I prefer acquaintances," I stand in front of him with my hands on my hips. "Friends wouldn't take so long to get here."

"Someone delayed my battle," He frowns.

"Excuses," I wave him off. "Anyway... how many tries did it take you?"

"Ha ha," He says sarcastically and grabs some of the berries I cut up. "One try."

"Your Pokemon are pretty amazing," I pick Eevee up and she nuzzles me with her amazingly soft fur. "I guess they make up for your lack of battling skills."

He just shakes his head, unable to keep up with my wittiness. The navy haired trainer lets out his other two Pokemon who I find some food for.

"You should be more impressed," Gold proclaims and pulls up the sleeve of his maroon jacket. 

I grab his arm and pull it up so I can study the gold bracelet on his wrist, and the two accompanying orbs. "You actually managed to get two."

"I was expecting a dramatic gasp of surprise," He jokes.

"Oh trust me I'm surprised," I laugh. "So are you going to tell me the story?"

Gold starts with how he met Volcanion and it hurts to admit that I'm a little impressed. I had my doubts but he's committed to helping Elemente.

"So you have superpowers now?" I ask as he finishes story #1.

"Not exactly," He takes off his hat to run a hand through his hair. "I haven't felt any of Volcanion's powers since then."

"Maybe it's only something that only activates when you really need it."

He shrugs and then his face darkens. "Now for Silvally."

His gym battle sounded a lot closer than mine but unless he's exaggerating, he had some smart strategies. He has a long way to go before redeeming himself from losing to a Starly though.

"We're going to have a problem though," He says seriously. "I came up with a way to hide Silvally and I this time but I don't think it'll work every time. If Silvally wasn't so cooperative it wouldn't have worked."

"Yea maybe getting their spirit when you battle them isn't the answer," I think out loud. "You may have to earn their trust with the battle and sneak in later."

"Because sneaking in will be so easy."

I shrug and let him continue.

"Anyway," Gold's sad expression comes back. "Silvally didn't give me a brief superpower. Instead it just shared it's memories and sadness. I still can't shake it."

"Oh," My face drops as well. "I'm sorry you have to take the burden of all this legendary stuff."

"It's not like I'm the one trapped in a cage," The boy states. "I know we haven't talked about what happens if we manage to stop President Triton--"

"When," I interrupt and get a small smile from him.

"But we can't let Elemente go back to what it is," He stares right at me. "Changes will have to be made."

"Yes I can't imagine change doesn't happen when we stand up to the almighty President of Elemente," I remark but his face stays serious.

"Green," He stops me. "I'm not just talking about Triton, but his people as well, and the District Leaders and-"

"His people," I walk closer to confront him. "You mean my Dad."

Gold pauses but I don't need him to say anything.

"You think my Dad is part of the problem."

"We-"

"Because no one associated with Triton could be a good person, you might as well throw them all in prison when you take over the world."

"Green that's no-"

"No?!" I feel angry tears start to form. "You probably think I'm just as bad of a person!"

I storm away into my bedroom, slamming the door behind me.

The bed hugs me as I curl up and cry into the blanket.

Not everything needs to change.