The Ketchum Family

The Blinding Light of Competition

This chapter takes place several month after the previous one ended. Ash and Serena are settling into life on the reserve. They still have a few issues to work through, however. What decision will they make for their relationship? Additionally, Serena is planning to participate in a contest and she has a new move she's planning to debut. Thanks for reading! Enjoy the twist! Please leave a comment if you have thoughts.

Most of the flying Pokémon inside the aviary had settled into their roosts when Serena reached the top rung of the ladder protruding through the floor of the structure. She grunted in effort and lugged a large canister of water up through the opening. She set the canister on the floorboards, stepped off the ladder onto the floor, and took a moment to catch her breath.

A few nearby Pidgey cooed a greeting and Serena smiled at them in response. She then grabbed the canister with both hands, hauled it to the water reservoir inside the structure and lifted it up to the fill neck. It took a minute for the water to gurgle out of the canister, partially filling the large reservoir. Serena's arms were shaking from exertion by the time the canister was empty and she lowered the empty container to the floor with a sigh of relief. She was glad that it only took one of these large water canisters to supply the aviary.

She walked back to the ladder and descended to the ground, with the empty canister in hand. She then walked over to the nearby supply shed, set the water canister underneath a small water spigot and turned on the water; beginning the process of refilling the canister.

While the water splashed into the empty canister she took a moment to admire the beautiful red-orange sunset. The glow of the sun was framed perfectly by a smattering of crimson colored clouds and a slowly darkening deep-blue sky. The day was coming to an end and Serena felt a sense of accomplishment, like she did most evenings.

'Another day taking care of the Pokémon; another day improving the reserve,' she thought. She glanced across the open field to the main building where Ash was carrying a duffle bag full of supplies inside. 'Another day spent with Ash,' she smiled happily. She waited a minute until the canister was filled to the top, then shut off the water and started lugging the container toward the third aviary building.

The aviaries had been built many years ago by Professor Oak. There were three in total, and they housed most of the small and medium sized flying Pokémon. The structures were built on top of stilts so they were more easily accessible to Pokémon in flight. When Ash had taken over, he'd started refurbishing the buildings and putting in improvements. The most recent upgrade was a water supply inside the structures, which the Pokémon could use for drinking and bathing. Ash planned to install a direct water feed into the aviaries, but for now, they had to manually fill the water tank inside each structure. Serena had offered to do the job, not fully realizing just how heavy the canisters of water were.

With some effort, Serena climbed the ladder of the final aviary and hauled the canister inside. She repeated the process of filling the reservoir and lowered the now empty canister to the floor, glad the task was done. She flexed her hands and arms, working out some of the tension in her muscles from exertion. She doubted she could have done this task when she and Ash had started working on the reserve. The physical labor had made every aspect of her body stronger and more fit. Serena appreciated this, not only because it made it easier for her to work, but it also made her Pokémon performances more dynamic.

Several months after she and Ash had taken over the reserve, things had slowed down enough that Serena started to think about performances and competitions again. She'd worked on a few sequences with her Pokémon, and found that, thanks to her new athleticism, her movements were much faster and more agile than in times past.

She'd considered participating in a contest somewhere in Kanto, but it hadn't been at the forefront of her mind. That all changed when Ash saw her practicing one day. He immediately began urging her to start competing again and pursue her dream of contests. Serena appreciated the support, but she was taking it slow. There was still a lot of work on the reserve that needed to be done.