The Fires of a New Journey

Author's Note:

Okay...I know...you are probably looking at the pairing for this story and saying, "NO WAY WTF NO!" And to that I say, "Yeah, I totally agree." Remember when I did that pearlshipping oneshot a few months back...yeah...I made other bets too. This one is from a hockey pool I set up on Twitter, the prize being a oneshot. So, the winner, Ashton, requested a Serena x Alain story (not sure what the shipping name is). I keep my word...even if it takes a while, so I did it. Don't worry, though, it's subtle. Nothing too crazy.

This is set during the first Mega Evolution special, and the idea is Serena takes Mairin's place, so she witnesses Alain's battle and...off we go. So...I hope you can enjoy it for what it is. If you have no interest, no need to read.

The Fires of a New Journey:

It was a beautiful day in the Kalos region, just a little south of Lumiose City, off the path of Route Four. Pokemon flew around the trees, burrowed under ground, ran through the bushes, and soared in the blue skies. In a shallow pond, brightly lit by the sun, water Pokemon were splashing around, enjoying the weather and the company of their companions. The only sounds that could be heard, were the happy cries of Pokemon, or the soft rustle of leaves as a light, warm breeze blew by

For one young trainer, the beauty of that day was only magnified by the new journey and the new opportunity in front of her. Serena, a young girl with long, honey-blonde hair, lifted off her red fedora as she stood still, taking in the warm breeze as it blew over her, causing her red skirt to ripple as she spun around, embracing her freedom. She rushed forward towards the nearby pond, where a few Pokemon paused to look at her, her own eyes staring at the water as it showed her smiling face looking back.

After a moment, she took a step back, her smile widening as she watched the Pokemon that had been studying her quickly join their friends in the middle of the pond again, splashing away happily. Watching the happy Pokemon, Serena decided to call out her own, the only one she had, to join in on her happy break. "Come on out, Fennekin!" she sang out, the pokeball flashing a bright light in front of her, before a red and yellow fox-like Pokemon emerged.

"Fen fennekin!" the Fox Pokemon cried out happily, jumping forward as Serena knelt down to embrace her new partner that she'd only just received from Professor Sycamore in Lumiose City.

"Fennekin, I'm so glad that we get to go on this journey together!" Serena exclaimed happily. "I'm sure you and I will become really great friends, and maybe you can even help me find Ash! Professor Sycamore did say he probably went this way."

"Fennekin!" Fennekin answered, nodding and smiling, before nuzzling close to Serena, clearly happy to have been chosen by the girl as a partner.

Serena smiled, sitting back as she watched Fennekin turn around, the fire type deciding to explore a little around their rest stop, curiously sniffing around a hole where a small rabbit-like Pokemon had burrowed into. As she watched her new Pokemon, Serena carefully positioned herself upright against a tree, taking off her backpack and pulling out her PokeDex. She had scanned Fennekin earlier, but now that she was out in the open, she realized there would be many more Pokemon to see and learn about, so she decided to learn as much as possible.

She scanned a few Pokemon, learning about the small rabbit-like Pokemon that Fennekin had actually managed to find, now seemingly playing with it. It was a Bunnelby, and apparently it had very powerful ears, which were used for digging. It almost made Serena nervous as she noticed Fennekin curiously sniffing at the Digging Pokemon's ears, but she quickly realized it appeared to be a very sociable Pokemon.

As she scanned some of the other Pokemon, fascinated by all there was to learn about them, Serena couldn't help but realize what she'd been missing out on all these years. As much as she loved her mother, Serena knew that Rhyhorn racing had been an unrealistic expectation for a career, and her mother had pushed it on her since before she could even remember. But now, barely into her journey as a Pokemon Trainer, Serena was free to just experience all there was to know about the Pokemon world. She could learn about all the different types of Pokemon, what their activities were, what kinds of habitats they lived in and above all, how they interacted with people just like her. Already, she felt close to Fennekin, and from what she could see, some of the Pokemon in this meadow seemed fairly comfortable in her presence.