Love in the Time of Teamwork

Chapter 21: A Flower

We're coming very close here. Also, for those of you who haven't: watch XYZ 22 raw. Seriously. Just...do it. But first read Chapter 21!

Chapter 21

A Flower

"We're all moving towards the future!" Ash yelled, and though he meant for his words to be heard all across Ancien City, they were directed at Zinnia. The Draconid scowled, clearly not liking where this was all going. Serena's body tensed, along with her Pokémon. These two were gearing up for some kind of final battle now. No one made a noise, however, even if Pikachu scampered back from the PA console, his tail flicking the switch off again, to rejoin Ash at his side.

"The future? Dreams?" Zinnia scoffed out finally, after a few tense seconds. Serena pushed up on the floor, trying to stand once more. Her knee hurt a little, but once Braixen had helped her into position, she found the wound didn't smart as much as when she put pressure on it. "You're naïve about how those things work..."

"So what if I am? !" Ash spouted back. "At least I haven't given up!"

"I haven't given up," Zinnia corrected him, wagging her finger in chastisement. "I just know how every world works. Truthfully, I admire your brand of boundless optimism. It's so like hers...but optimistic people are the ones who usually end up dead!" Zinnia waved her arm out and Salamence reared its head in a roar, jetting forward to her side, as if to prepare for their final battle. Serena walked forward, wincing slightly as her scraped knee burned. "The future only leads to despair! There's nothing on the other side of it unless you take it for yourself! Who cares about anyone else's future? If we constantly consider everyone else's dreams, you'll never obtain happiness for yourself! So, is it really so wrong to want to scratch out some happiness?"

"You don't get it at all, Zinnia," Ash roared, his voice echoing around the open space. "You think happiness is destroying other people's lives? Happiness comes from being with others and Pokémon! If you focus on the things you have in your life instead of what could have been-"

"Shut UP!" Zinnia roared. Serena reached out and put a hand on Ash's shoulder. He looked at her and she had to shake her head.

"Zinnia won't listen. She's too hurt. Too controlled by pain," Serena told him. Ash's whole body appeared to sag at this information. "She really does believe this is the only way...because she is alone."

"But she's not!" Ash screamed, as though he couldn't understand why someone would think that way. It reminded Serena of a small child who couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed a new toy. But this wasn't the same; none of them could truly understand Zinnia's pain of losing someone so close. Ash reached up and took Serena's hand. "She's not alone...she has Salamence, and all of her Draconid friends, right? Weren't they moving forward together? Shouldn't that be enough to push past the pain?"

"Not everyone is you, Ash..." Serena pointed out, squeezing his hand. "Not everyone is as strong."

"I'm not always strong, though..." Ash told her, and his eyes flashed with some pain. "I've seen a lot of Pokémon die or be tortured before, and all I could do was watch helplessly as it happened. I know what it's like to feel so weak...but my Pokémon and my friends would always be there. We'd share that pain and push past it, and then we'd move toward the future together. We'd take that next step together."

Little steps...It had been Serena's motto almost this entire week. All of the steps she was taking with Ash, or within herself. He was right. Every journey started with a simple step. Ash took a step towards her that day at summer camp. She'd taken a step out of Vaniville Town to start her journey. Clemont had taken the step of facing Clembot to retake his gym. Team Rocket took a lot of steps, some of them backwards, but they kept going even after disappointment. Everyone had taken steps; even Team Brutal had taken that step towards becoming better trainers.