Love in the Time of Teamwork

Chapter 2: A Rival

You've all made me feel very welcome to this Amourshipping fanfiction community. I hope you will all continue to enjoy this journey with me, continuing in Chapter 2, starting now.

Chapter 2

A Rival

It had been an effort to catch up with Ash and Clemont. It was more difficult to catch up with Ash, considering the speed that he had, but she had pushed herself and managed to deliver the message of where to meet. She just hoped neither of them would forget. With her task accomplished, Serena made her way to the southern part of the city, close to where they had entered from. It was already noontime, which meant that plenty of people were out and about, either doing their daily errands or otherwise preparing for the major tournament that was about to take place.

Serena smiled as she took in all of the sights and sounds of the festival. She was no stranger to festivals in any way. Coming from Vaniville Town, which was small but comfortable, there was always the occasional festival. However, the size of the town meant that most people didn't go all out. There would maybe be a few fireworks and her mom would often show off her Ryhorn racing skills, but other than that, the Vaniville Festival was usually low-key. That made this quite the new experience for her.

"Are you lost, little miss?" called an elderly man with his feet hanging over the edge of a river bank. He looked at complete ease, with his fishing pole in the water, and for a moment, Serena wasn't even sure that he was talking to her considering how peaceful he was. When he turned his head to smile at her, she finally realized that he was, indeed, speaking with her.

"Just taking in the sights," Serena told him jubilantly.

"Ah, yes...it's a lovely town, isn't it? First time here, I presume?" the old man said. Not wanting to make the old man strain his head any more than he had to, Serena moved closer and took a tentative seat next to him. He smiled at the kindness.

"Yes, it is."

"I guess you're here for the tournament, huh?" Serena nodded, not really feeling the need to expound on such a simple fact. "Most kids your age are. It's about the most excitement the city sees in these parts, other than the Draco Festival."

"Draco Festival?" Serena asked, interested in learning about the lore of the town. She usually wasn't one that was in to history or anything like that, but since starting her journey and being in control of the group's map, she'd had many a late night researching a town and its customs. It also helped in her showcases, of course.

"It's around now, actually, when you can clearly see the Draco constellation in the sky...looks a bit like Rayquaza...Hmm..." The elderly man seemed to slip off into some pleasant oblivion of reverie as he thought about whatever it was he was thinking about. Serena waited patiently for him to come back. "Anyway, we hold the Draco Festival on all those other years that we don't hold the Kalos Team Tournament."

"That sounds like a lot of fun," Serena said kindly. "Is the town always this excited for the tournament then?"

"Of course! I wonder what kind of teams we'll see this year." The old man gave a rather throaty chortle at the end of this statement. "Most of these kids have only seen one or two in their entire lifetime and the young kiddies haven't seen any. Myself, I've probably seen about nine or so and every time it's an experience." The old man seemed to relax on his fishing rod as he looked up into the sky with a sweet, but stern, expression. When he finished, he turned to Serena with an unmistakable fire in his eyes.

"You never know who you'll get at the Kalos Team Tournament," he said with a passion that reminded her of Ash. "Everyone brings their own motivations into the stadium and everyone walks away with something different. Are they there for experience? Are they there for fun? For passion? Or is it just a small stepping stone on a larger journey? Only something like the Kalos Team Tournament can answer those questions and force trainers to consider what, and who, is most important to them. What about you, young lady?"