Gotta Catch That One

Chapter 74: Inspiration

Ash stared blankly at himself in the mirror. What on earth was he about to do? This wasn't him at all. It was one thing to carefully pick out a suit for going to a dance with Serena, but to wear whatever this monkey suit was for some weird TV interview was another whole can of Wurmple. Pikachu didn't seem too happy with the grooming he'd had, either. They were both dressed up or styled weird, in Ash's opinion. He didn't like it, no matter what the reason was. He was only doing it because Serena had convinced him.

"Excuse me Ash?" a voice said from the other side of his changing room door.

"Yeah...yeah I'm ready," Ash muttered. He looked at Pikachu. "Let's go, buddy," he said, and the electric mouse hopped on his shoulder.

Not long after his semi finals victory over Calem, Ash had set off for the Pokemon centre with Serena to get Pikachu and the others healed up. While waiting, he'd been ambushed by President Goodshow, who begged him to do an interview as a way for fans to get to know him better before the final match. Unbelievably, he'd managed to convince Alain as well. It actually kind of freaked Ash out. It should have been him that was easy to get for this purpose, but it turned out to be Alain.

Eventually, Serena told Ash he should do it. She seemed to think it was a good way to show everyone that he was more than a skilled battler. It made him kind of realize that his popularity had mainly been for that reason. Sure, people knew he'd played a part in saving Lumiose City, but their excitement over him had mainly been due to the mysterious Greninja evolution and his unconventional but very effective battling. He did see the value in showing he was a human being.

Ash took a deep breath and then made his way to the door. He paused once again before leaving and exhaled slowly, then opened it. The studio assistant, or whatever she was supposed to be, waved for him to follow her and she led him down the hallway. It grew brighter as they approached the filming area. Ash saw the spotlights shining brightly at a couch and two chairs, which surrounded a large coffee table. Currently, Goodshow, Diantha and Professor Sycamore, were having their interview with Alain. Ash hovered at the edge to hear.

"So Alain," President Goodshow started, sounding serious as he lowered his voice, "one of the most intriguing aspects of your story is, of course, the Team Flare...connections. Could you shed some light on that?"

Ash looked at Alain, feeling bad that the older trainer was being put in a situation where he had to discuss a difficult part of his life. However, Alain just nodded and smiled, before beginning to talk. "I knew that one was coming," he joked, getting a laugh from the studio audience that Ash had only just noticed. "It's a long story, but I'll just share some of the more important and also less private details.

"The first thing I think I should mention, is that a great deal of my time working with and for Lysandre, was actually very enjoyable. It helped me learn about my passion, in both mega evolution and Pokemon. You have to understand, I had no idea what Lysandre did behind the scenes. I just thought he was a magnificent scientific mind.

"Through Lysandre, I was able to achieve a lifelong goal of mine, and acquire a mega stone and key stone so I could mega evolve my Charizard, who I consider my best friend to this very day. Well, him and someone else, who I don't want bothered, so I won't mention her name. For the record, I met her thanks to my work with Lysandre as well. I wouldn't have travelled as much without that job and a large part of my life would be empty without her." Ash chuckled to himself, knowing Alain was referring to Mairin, who actually probably would've loved a TV shoutout.

Sycamore leaned forward after Alain paused. He seemed particularly interested in the story. "So when did you learn you weren't in a good situation?"