Love in the Time of Tenacity

Chapter 17: A League

A large part of my job as a writer is deciding how much to show and what's important, along with how to present it. This also leads to me cutting things or condensing things. In the end, though, I hope it's still beneficial to read for all of you. Time for Chapter 17!

Chapter 17

A League

Ash's heart was fit to burst, swelling with emotion. He was on his feet, staring out across the stadium and down to his girlfriend in the center of it all. She looked overwhelmed, as though she could hardly believe it, herself. The crowd around him cheered and screamed at the end result of the Hope Leilani, but Ash found himself filtering them out. Right next to him, Bonnie was jumping up and down wildly.

"Yeah! She did it! She did it!" Bonnie cried out. She grabbed ahold of Dedenne, Squishy and Bluey, twirling around with every jump. "Serena...is AMAZING!"

"Yes, Rotom thinks she is, too!" Rotom said, though Ash wasn't sure how much the Pokédex understood.

"She was...so..." Ash turned his head, seeing Lillie's face wrought with emotion. She had her hands to her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes in joy. Ash was brought back, just for a second, to the time they had first met. How Lillie's eyes had lit up so amorously at the thought of seeing a single Ceremony, of Serena bringing a smile to that face. Now, they were here, and Serena had done what once seemed impossible to all of them, even herself. Maka was also saying something, but since it was a mutter, it was lost in the crowd while she sketched Serena's face furiously.

"I'm...I can't believe it..." Clemont breathed out, practically collapsing in his chair, like he was being deflated from the event. Ash couldn't blame him. So long they had been traveling together, working towards their dreams, and now Serena had taken a giant leap forward. It wasn't the position of Kalos Queen that she had long strived for, but she knew that; instead, it was one step closer to taking the crown away from Aria. The cheering crowd proved that. Behind him, the rest of his friends were all applauding and cheering as well. They might not have comprehended how huge this was for Serena, but that didn't matter.

"It's decided! We'll drag her with us for all of us to compete!" Dawn was crying out, slapping her hands against May's. Ash turned his head a little, noticing Brock nodding, while Gary wore a lazy smirk, as though he'd been confident she would do it all along. Ash chuckled a little, remembering the days they'd stood together as a team during the Kalos Team Tournament. Perhaps they weren't as exuberant as the others, but it was a sure sign of how far they'd all come together.

Ash's gaze once more turned forward, looking across the stadium. He realized with that budding anticipation that he'd be battling there all too soon. However, his gaze stopped, looking straight across at the man on the other side of the bleachers. Ash wondered if Serena had even had the chance to think of him, but now that Ash saw him for himself, he could see the affection and pride. Y was standing there, smiling down at his daughter. His head turned up, locking gazes with Ash, and he nodded. Ash breathed out.

"Everyone, we did it!" Serena's voice finally called out, breaking the connection there. Ash turned his gaze downward yet again, as he saw all of Serena's Pokémon diving for her upon the stage. She gathered them all up in a giant hug, tears streaming down each of their faces. Flowers continued to pop out across the stage in a beautiful sign of celebration. Ash reached up, hardly realizing he'd had tears of his own before wiping them away.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu called out to him, and he nodded.

"Guys, let's go!" he called to his friends. Bonnie twirled around, grabbing hold of both Rotom and her brother, pulling them off the chairs. Lillie was already ahead of Ash, almost leaping over Hau's legs as he pumped his fists in the air. Ash skirted around them, making sure that Bonnie wasn't far behind. The others weren't following, but that seemed just fine.