Gotta Catch That One

Chapter 45: The Calm Before The Storm

Bonnie was helping Clemont to clean the battlefield of the gym, when Mairin and Alain burst through the doors, panic in their eyes. They had clearly been running and they had to gasp for air for a few moments, but finally, they were able to speak.

"Serena's missing." Mairin said. "Her Pokemon are all at the Pokemon centre. Greninja is there too. They've all been hurt really badly. Especially Greninja."

"What?" Bonnie asked. "Serena..."

Clemont took Bonnie by the arm. "Come on. Let's go to the Pokemon centre."

It didn't take them long and within a few minutes, the entire group was in the room that Nurse Joy had put Greninja, Delphox, Pancham and Sylveon in. Bonnie could see that, although Serena's three Pokemon were in rough shape, Greninja was badly hurt. Nurse Joy echoed these thoughts as she explained the injuries.

"It appears as though Sylveon, Delphox and Pancham were simply overpowered. They need rest, but they should be fine. Greninja on the other hand..." Nurse Joy trailed off and looked at Greninja in concern. "It seems as though he continued to fight, despite having already been taken to his limits. He was hit with a hyper beam from what I can tell, and then he crashed into a building. I'm doing my best with him, but...his recovery won't be easy."

Bonnie looked closely at Greninja. Even though he was unconscious, he was wincing, as though he was still feeling pain. She then looked at Nurse Joy. "What about Serena? Where is she?"

"I'm afraid it seems as though the people that attacked her Pokemon, attacked her." Everyone turned around as another person entered the room. It was Palermo. "When Serena didn't arrive back last night, I suspected something might be up. I searched the streets for a bit and came upon Greninja. He just barely managed to point me in the direction of Serena's Pokemon before he passed out."

"Greninja did what Ash asked." Clemont said. "He couldn't have done anymore." He thought for a moment. "Do we know who it was?"

Alain sighed. "It had to be Team Flare."

"Gren...ninja." Everyone gasped and crowded around Greninja, who just barely had his eyes open. He was looking at Alain. "Greninja." He croaked.

"So it was Team Flare?" Alain asked. Greninja nodded and then closed his eyes, now passed out once again.

"They must think they can stop Ash from fighting them if they have Serena with them." Clemont said. "This is really bad."

"No." Bonnie said defiantly. Everyone looked at her. "If they do anything to Serena, Ash is going to make them pay. We all are."

There was the sound of a bell and Nurse Joy left the room. The group just silently watched Greninja and Serena's Pokemon for a few minutes, and then the door opened again and Nurse Joy reappeared. "Excuse me," she said, "but there is someone named Brock here. He's asked to see you."

"Brock?" Bonnie asked, not registering the name fully for a moment. Then her eyes widened. "Ash's friend!" She whipped out of the room, startling Nurse Joy as she slid past her. When Bonnie got into the lobby of the Pokemon centre, she noticed Brock right away. "Brock!" She yelled, running up to him.

Brock turned to her and smiled. "Hey. Bonnie, right?" Bonnie nodded. "I've been looking for you guys." He said, as the others approached and greeted him. "I got a call from Dawn and she explained what was going on with Team Flare. I got here as soon as I could." He pointed to a second Nurse Joy that was greeting the Lumiose Joy. "I've brought extra medical help from Glorio City. Unfortunately I think we'll need it." He smiled. "Dawn also called a couple friends of Ash's that she knows and I called a couple people in Kanto. Hopefully they can get here soon."