Hi everyone, hope you've all had a good few weeks!  Sorry this update is late... it's Thanksgiving where I am, so I've been very busy with that.  But, Chapter 15 (at least the first part) is here... FINALLY.  Again, sorry to keep you waiting!

Let's start the chapter.  Remember, don't forget to vote or comment if you like it!  This chapter will be a 3 part special, to celebrate the book receiving 1K reads, and as well as reaching it's 20th part and 15th chapter (even though those aren't real milestones tho lol)

Also, see what I did there?

Love?

Amour?

...

I'll stop.

Enjoy :P

Serena

Today was weird.

First, Ash's old friends showed up.  Serena was okay with this.

Then, she and Ash were found.  Apart from her head pain and all of the eyes staring at her, Serena was okay with this.

Then Ash accepted a battle with his old rival, Gary.

Serena was not okay with this.

I mean, it's not that she didn't like to see Ash battle.  No, it was the opposite.  She loved watching him show off his skills to the many experienced trainers out there, and she loved seeing the strategies he came up with.  It was just this time.  He wasn't at his best, with the stupid curse that had gotten them both, and he only had two Pokemon to battle with.  But those weren't the things she worried about the most.

She didn't want him to lose.  As stupid as it sounded, she knew it was true.  He had already just suffered a major loss at the battle tournament, and look where that got him.  She just... tears came to her eyes when she thought about it.

I don't want to see him get hurt again.

"Hey, Serena, are you alright?" Ash asked her, a look of concern on his face.

"Y-Yeah, Ash, I'm fine," Serena told him, taking a deep breath.  This seemed to calm her down for a bit, so she listened absently to Gary and Ash's conversation.

"How many Pokemon have you got now, Ashy-boy?  I wanna battle 'em all," Gary was saying with a look of determination on his face.  "I've got a full party on me."

"Oh, uh..." Ash began to answer with reluctance.  "Well, right now, I've got... two...?"

Gary looked at Ash dumbly.  "Are you asking or telling me?" he asked sarcastically.

"Telling," Ash stated.  "I had to give up two of my strongest Pokemon, and another two wanted to go back into the wild together.  So, I just have Pikachu and Talonflame with me now."

"Well, I suppose we could do a two on two battle, but that wouldn't be as nice," Gary said, sighing to himself.  "You seriously have to Pokemon on you right now?  I mean, you, the Great Ash Ketchum-"

"Yes, Gary," Ash said with a slight scowl on his face.

"Jeez, Ash, no need to get mad.  All right, w-"

"I can battle," Serena blurted out suddenly.  She felt her cheeks go a little hot as everyone stared at her again.  Why did that come out of my mouth?

"Hey, yeah, Serena!  You're great!  We can battle together," Ash agreed cheerfully.  Serena smiled a timid smile.  If her cheeks weren't red already, they definitely would've gotten more red now.

"So, a double battle, eh?  Okay, I suppose that'll work... hey, Misty, wanna battle with me?" Gary added to Misty, who nodded her head in agreement.

"Sure," she added.  "This will be interesting, after all."

"Hey, Pikachu, Talonflame, over here!" Ash called out to his Pokemon, who responded eagerly, running and flying respectively to where their trainer stood.  Serena's Pokemon followed too, probably wondering what she was up to.  As soon as Pikachu arrived, he started nuzzling Ash, who protested.

"Hey, Pikachu, cut it out!  Ha ha..." Ash laughed with a smile on his face.  He waved his partner away.  "Say, you two wanna have a double battle?" he asked his Pokemon, who both, without hesitation, agreed.  No surprise there, Serena thought to herself fondly.  After, she turned around to face her own Pokemon.

"Hey, Braixen, Sylveon, Pancham, do you want to have a battle with Ash's rival?  It could be good experience to have if we ever go back to doing contests, or when we do performances," Serena insisted, hoping her Pokemon would say yes.  There was no way that she was going to force them into a situation against their will, no matter how much she loved Ash.  To her luck, however, all three of her Pokemon nodded their heads.  She smiled brightly.  "Thank you!" she told them, and they all gave her a happy grunt, presumably being "you're welcome".

"I'm all set," Serena told Ash, who was as fired up as always.  This will be interesting doing a double battle with Ash... it'll almost be like last time, when Sylveon evolved...

"Ya hear that, Gary?  We're ready!" Ash yelled.  With a nod from both Gary and Misty, they walked over to a patch of grass they dubbed the battlefield, with Ash and Serena sitting on Clemont's shoulders to give them a proper view of the battle that was about to take place.

"Oh, oh!  I'll be referee!" Bonnie put in, running towards the small group.  Ash's other companions followed behind eager to see a good show.

Clemont looked unsure.  "Uh, I don't know, Bonnie... wouldn't Brock or-"

"No, no, brother!  I want to learn this stuff!  Besides, I won't listen to you anyways," Bonnie said with a snicker.  Max laughed with her, probably saying that he never listened to his sister either.  May delivered him a playful punch in his arm.

"Okay!  This will be a double battle!  Each side will have four Pokemon, which each trainer owning two.  The battle will be won when one side takes out all of the other side's Pokemon.  Everyone understand?" Bonnie announced, and everyone nodded.

"Okay, bring out your Pokemon!" Bonnie called out.

Ash gestured to the battlefield.  "Pikachu, I choose you!" he said, and Pikachu leaped on the battlefield, electricity sparking from it's cheeks.

"Pika!" it yelled, lauching a battle cry.

"Staryu, let's go!" Misty called, throwing her Pokeball high in the air.  A blue light formed from it, quickly turning into a Staryu.  It spun around, energized.

"Umbreon, come on out!" Gary called next, sending his Pokeball spinning like a football.  A blue light quickly emerged from it, forming his Umbreon.  It let out a howl.  Soon, all eyes were on Serena, as she was last to send out her Pokemon.

A dark type and a water type... Braixen wouldn't be good for this battle, but I know who would!

"Sylveon, take the stage!" she called, and Sylveon raced out to stand beside Pikachu, yipping in delight.

"All Pokemon are out- does everyone know the rules?" Bonnie inquired, and everyone nodded their heads.  Bonnie smiled.  "In that case..."

"BATTLE BEGIN!"

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO everyone!!!!!!

That is the end of Part 1.  Again, I am SUPER sorry for updating late!  Plz forgive me!!! *cries*

Anyways, that all for now!  Hope your'e all excited for Part 2, the first part of the battle!  

(I see how that gets confusing)

See y'all in the next part!  Don't forget to...

Stay tuned ;)