When a life fades away

17. A dancing Queen

And here we are with chapter 18. I hope you'll like the battles here.

That morning Ash was ready for a long journey. The Diamond settlement was very far from his basecamp.

He handed the letter he had written last night to a member of the Supply Corp who was ready to come back to Jubilife for supplies.

After that, he had a nice breakfast with Laventon, during which he managed to make Laventon caress Pikachu.

The Galarian man was so excited. Ash and Pikachu felt happy.

Laventon had also decided to provide Ash a book he called the Pokédex to fill in whenever Ash would find a new Pokémon.

It was certainly something new for the Kantonian boy, but he accepted it.

When Ash opened it, he saw that most of the pages were empty or incomplete. Maybe, when this whole situation eventually had calmed down, he could help them gathering information.

When Pikachu began to stir and do some warmup, Ash decided it was time to start his day. He called for Wyrdeer, this time no caravan attached, mostly because it would be difficult traverse a swamp with that, he packed his things, some supplies, and a tent to sleep.

They were on the "road" again. Wyrdeer was clearly enjoying the run, Pikachu and Ash enjoying the sights and looking forward to seeing more Pokémon.

Even if he could have followed the same path he had travelled the day before, Ash had opted for a different path through the marsh in order to get closer to the emissary river from Lake Valor and by this, gaining more confidence on the environment for eventual future missions.

At the end of the day, they had reached the river and now Ash and Pikachu were settling the camp for the night.

For the first time in years, they were camping outside just the two of them. Well, except from Wyrdeer which, however, wasn't one of Ash's Pokémon.

For the first time since they had come here, Ash and Pikachu felt alone.

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The little cave inside Lake Valor was a little anguish grotto; water poured down from stalactites and had formed some curious motives on the floor.

Serena had Braixen and Sylveon out. The fox Pokémon was her only source of illumination in that place.

Suddenly, Serena felt vibrations in the air.

"Don't give up until it's over"

"Nothing we do is a waste of time"

"It should feel good to have a dream to follow"

"Your most precious treasure is your smile"

"Your smile can make people happy"

"You are still missing something. Without it, you won't dethrone Aria!"

"I have so much to learn before coming back and realize my dream. For being a Kalos Queen, I can't only make people happy. I should lead other, inspire them, help other people to choose and follow their road"

"Next time we'll meet, you'll like the kind of person I've grown into!"

"If I really want to be a model, I should try everything!"

"Why don't you challenge my father's gym?"

"Hi, little one. You know? A friend of mine is such an amazing trainer. He took a baby Pokémon like you and made him a great battler. Wanna help me in my quest?"