Author's Note: I know I said I will post the next chapter to this story later but that one I am not really motivated to finish right now so I decided to continue this one. The battle with Ash and Serena will be posted soon along with a new story. Until then, enjoy this

Chapter 2: Saving a loved one

Previously: Cynthia had contacted Ash to get his help to apprehend a returning Hunter J. However, to Ash's horror, Hunter J had kidnapped Serena. Now it was a race against time to find Hunter J and save Serena

With Serena

Serena is slowly regaining consciousness. She starts to remember how she got captured by Hunter J

Flashback

Serena had come to Sinnoh to visit the region and learn some more about Pokemon Contests. Her goal was to end her trip in Hearthome City and then head back to Hoenn. While going through the region, she reached Celestic Town and ends up meeting a coordinator who had won the Grand Festival before; Zoey. Zoey and her quickly become friends. At some point while talking, Serena mentions Ash's name which surprises Zoey

"You know Ash?" She asks

"Yeah. Wait do you know him too?" Serena responds

"Yeah. He traveled with a close friend of mine . Her name was Dawn. He is a great guy. Also a great trainer" Zoey says

"Yeah. He is. We met when we were kids when I took a trip to Kanto. He came to Kalos to participate in the Kalos League. I traveled with him while also participating in Pokemon Showcases. He was a great friend" Serena says. She then gets a sad look on her face. Zoey notices this

"You miss him, don't you?" She asks. Serena nods

"Call him up. Ash always loved Sinnoh. I doubt he'd mind coming to visit you before you leave" Zoey says. Serena smiles

"You know what? I am going to do that. I will call him when I get to Veilstone City" She repiles. Zoey smiles

"Well it was nice meeting you Serena, but I have to go. I actually need to go to Snowpoint City and meet someone. Hope to see you again in the future" Zoey says. Serena nods and the two go their separate ways. However, unknown to them, Hunter J, in disguise was not far from them and heard everything Zoey and Serena were talking about. She gets a sinister look on her face

Serena slowly makes her way to Veilstone City. She decides to let her Pokemon out. However, while traveling, she is suddenly surrounded by smoke

"What in the world?" She says. The smoke clears and Hunter J appears in front of her with her Salamence

"Who are you and what do you want?" Serena says

"My name is Hunter J and what I want is revenge" J replies. Serena gets confused but shrugs it off. She is about to order her Pokemon to attack but before she could, J uses the device on her arm and freezes all 3 of them. Serena is shocked

"What did you do to my Pokemon?" She says in anger

"They are fine. They are just frozen. Now time to take care of you. Salamence. Hyper Beam" J commands. Salamence launches a strong hyper beam at Serena. This throws her back and knocks her out. J smiles and takes her custody

Serena wakes up and finds herself in a prison cell with all her stuff and Pokemon missing. J comes out with a few of her troops. She knows this stranger would not kidnap her without a reason. She must want something

"What do you want from me?" Serena says in anger

"Something very simple. You are friends with someone who causes me nothing but headaches and is the reason I nearly died at Lake Valor. Tell me where Ash Ketchum is" J replies. Serena is shocked and

"How do you know Ash?" Serena asks

"I am a Pokemon Hunter or at least I use to be. I would capture Trainer's Pokemon and seel them for money. Your friend Ash did not like this, so he always interfered which cost me a lot of money. Then, after completing a job at Lake Valor, my ship had a horrible accident. For some miracle I survived. Now I want revenge. I want Ash Ketchum and you are going to tell me right now where he is or else" J responds. Serena then gets worried. She knows Ash is back in Kanto due to a letter she got from him a while back, but she lies to protect him

"I don't know where he is" J gets annoyed

"Well time to do this the hard way. You know what to do" J tells her troops. They nod and go into Serena's cell and start to torture her with shockers and other devices. Serena screams for hours in pain but still refuses to tell J where Ash is.

"I have to protect Ash no matter what" She think the entire time she is getting tortured. Eventually, she loses consciousness and passes out

"Weak" J says. She then gets a report from a troop that Champion Cynthia is looking for her. She smiles. J then goes into the cell and takes Serena's ribbon off

"He will come to us" J says

End of Flashback

"Ash. I am sorry. I promised you I'd be stronger. I failed you" She thinks

Meanwhile, Ash and his friends continue to search for Hunter J. It had been a total of 3 hours since J had disappeared.

"Where could J have gone? We have covered the places she could have gone within the last 3 hours and have found nothing" Goh says

"I am starting to get worried. What if she got off the region?" Dawn asks

"Doesn't seem likely. She hasn't had enough time to. She has to still be in the region. She must have her ship in invisible mode. We need to keep looking" Cynthia says

Ash has a worried look on his face. He continues to look at two items that are in his hand; the handkerchief he gave Serena as a kid and her ribbon.

"Where can she be?" Ash mutters to himself. He thinks for a few moments, trying to think where Hunter J could have gone after disappearing.

"Because of you, I almost died" J's words ring in his head. Ash continues to think. He thinks of what J said. To him, it had to have a meaning. Suddenly, Ash realizes something. He thinks he knows where J is, but he needed to confirm his suspicions

"Cynthia. Can you pull up the map of Sinnoh again?" He asks. Cynthia looks confused but pulls up the map of Sinnoh on the computer. Ash starts looking very closely at it

"Ash what's up?" You figure out something?" Dawn says. Ash remains quiet as he searches the map for a location. He finds the place and realizes it is exactly how far he thought it was.

"That's it. I know where she is" Ash exclaims. The others get confused

"What you mean Ash? Where is she?" Cilan asks. Ash smiles

"The one place the no one would think she is. J has been missing for 3 hours. That is the exact amount of time it would take her to get to that place. The place where her career originally ended and the same place that she wants to have the final battle if we end up finding her. She is at Lake Valor. The same place her ship crashed" Ash says. The others get excited

"He's right. We haven't checked in that location fully. That is the last place we would think she would be. The place she nearly died" Brock agrees.

Cynthia quickly takes out her phone and calls a contact. She tells them to check out Lake Valor. After 15 minutes, the contact returns with an answer. Cynthia smiles

"You were right Ash. We found her. Her ship is in invisible mode so we can't see it, but my source saw one of her troops by the Lake. She is there" Cynthia states. Ash smiles

"Ash how'd you know? We have been searching for 3 hours and had no idea where she could be" Goh asks

"Simple. She said because of me, she almost died. This shows that she has a grudge on us for when she nearly died at Lake Valor. If we ended up finding her, what better place for her to try to fight us then the very place she almost died. Plus who would think to look in the location where the explosion happened. It is the last place she would want to go back to which makes it the perfect place to hide" Ash explains

"Great work Ash. Now let's head on over. We need to save Serena" Cynthia states. Everyone agrees and run to Cynthia's car to head over

"Don't worry Serena. I'm coming" Ash thinks

Meanwhile with Hunter J, she once again visits Serena's prison cell

"About time you woke up" J says. Serena just stares at her with anger

"I'm guessing you saw Ash" She says. J smirks

"Of course. The boy was so powerless. He couldn't do anything when I showed him your ribbon" She says laughing. Serena gets mad

"You know he is going to find you no matter what right" Serena states

"Even if he does, with you in my custody, he won't be able to do anything. Either way I win" J states. Serena shakes her head

"You are wrong. If you think for a second that Ash will let you get away with this then you don't know him. I know him way better than you do. Ash never gives up until it is over. It is not over. Not by a long shot. So you can sit there and smile and think you have won, but know that no matter what, Ash won't let you win. So go ahead. Hurt and torture me all you want. That just gives Ash a bigger reason to defeat you" Serena says. Cynthia gets mad and shocks Serena with a shocker.

"Shut up. You don't know anything girl. I won. Not Ash" J screams. Serena slowly gets up

"Keep telling yourself that J because Ash will not fail. Your obsession with getting back at him will cause your downfall. I have not lost faith in him. I never have and never will. He will find us, and you will pay for everything you have done" Serena taunts J. J gets more mad and shocks her again repeatedly until she is unconscious

"I have won Serena. Whether you like it or not" J says and walks away

Meanwhile, Ash and his friends arrive at Lake Valor and find J's ship. Ash suddenly tries to rush over to the ship, but Brock grabs him

"No Ash. We can't just go and attack without an actual plan. If we do, J might hurt Serena" He remarks. Ash is reluctant but he agrees

"Alright. We need a plan" Cynthia says. Everyone starts trying to come up with a plan but struggle to come up with one that would not risk Serena's life. Ash once again thinks.

"I need to be more focused and confident. I need to use my head and figure something out. I need to save Serena" Ash thinks. He then thinks of something that could give him an advantage against J. He then figures out something he has that J doesn't know about and smiles. Goh notices

"Ash why are you smiling? What's up" He asks. Ash looks at his friends

"I have a plan. It's risking but it should work" He says. The others look surprised

"Since when do you come up with plans Ash?" Dawn says.

"Since J kidnapped Serena. It is time for me to start thinking with my head like a real champion" Ash replies. Everyone looks impressed

"Man Ash really has grown up" Iris teases. Ash is annoyed by that comment but brushes it off

"Alright what is your plan?" Brock asks. Ash then explains his plan

Meanwhile with Hunter J, she goes to the main room of the ship and is planning on leaving soon

"Get the engines ready. It is time to leave" She says

"Yes sir" The troops say and then are about to turn the ship off. Suddenly, the ship is hit with several attacks

"What. Check the cameras" J says. They turn on the cameras and see Cynthia, Dawn, Brock, Iris, Cilan, and Goh attacking the ship

"So they found me. Troops go stop them" J commands. A large number of troops run out to confront the group. The group then send out their own Pokemon and a battle begins between Ash's friends and Hunter J's Troops. While J is watching this, with her troops losing since they are facing some strong trainers including the Sinnoh Champion, she decides to finally step into the battle. However, before she can, she notices something

"Ash isn't with them. He must be trying to get in the ship" J says. She checks the cameras more and sees Ash along with Riolu, Pikachu, and Dragonite sneaking into the ship

"Gotcha" J says and she then runs to Serena's cell

Meanwhile with Ash, he runs around the ship and encounters a few of J's troops who send attacks at Ash and his Pokemon. Ash's Pokemon block them. However, despite not getting hit, Ash feels a sharp pain in his right leg, but he ignores it

"Thunderbolt" Ash commands. Pikachu zaps the troops with thunderbolt and knocks them out. Ash then continues going through the ship and taking out any of J's men that he finds. He eventually finds a room that looks familiar to him; it was the room J keep captured Pokemon. He goes in the room and finds Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon frozen in stasis.

"Those are Serena's Pokemon" Ash exclaims. He runs up to the Pokemon and unfreezes all of them. The three of them see Ash and then jump and hug him

"Good to see you guys too" Ash says. He then notices Serena's bag sitting on the counter. He quickly grabs it

"Let's go everyone. Time to find Serena" Ash says, and he runs out of the room with his and Serena's Pokemon.

He continues to run through the ship in search of Serena. He then takes a sharp left turn and stops as he is confronted by someone. Hunter J who has Serena with her making Ash extremely mad

"Let her go J" Ash says. J just laughs which makes Ash even more mad

"Or what? What will you do? I have Serena right here. Try and battle me and I will hurt her even more. Do nothing and I will hurt her even more. You can't beat me" J taunts. Ash loses it

"I… have….had….ENOUGH OF YOU" Ash screams. Ash's aura starts to flare. Riolu is the only one who can see this and is surprised

"GENGAR. ITS TIME. DO IT" Ash screams. J looks confused. Suddenly, Serena is picked up telepathically and is brought away from J and to safety. J is then suddenly is hit by a powerful Shadow Ball and is knocked down. She looks up and see Gengar appear out of nowhere. J is shocked

"DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD JUST COME IN HERE WITHOUT A PLAN" Ash screams

Flashback

"You guys attack from the outside. This will draw out all her troops. While they are distracted, I will sneak in and rescue Serena. Even if J notices that I am not outside and figures out I am in the ship, she won't be able to do anything. If she sends her troops back inside, what is stopping you guys from attacking even more. If she lets her troops stay outside, then what is stopping me from attacking from the inside" Ash suggests. The others are skeptical

"But can't she use Serena to make sure you won't be able to do anything" Dawn states. Ash shakes his head

"See I have the advantage. She doesn't know what Pokemon I have. And I have one who will be able to sneak around the ship and attack J if she used Serena as bait" Ash says. He then takes out a Pokeball and sends out Gengar. The others are impressed

"Oh I get it. Gengar can turn invisible. You would be able to defend yourself and she won't see it coming" Goh says. Ash nods

"I'm on board if everyone else is" Cynthia states. Everyone else agrees with the plan. Ash smiles and then looks at Gengar

"Gengar it is up to you. You are my only hope. If J tries to use my friend as bait, I need you to stay invisible until that moment and then save her. Can you do that?" Ash asks. Gengar gets pumped and nods

"I'm am counting on you Gengar" Ash adds

"Be careful Ash " Goh states. Ash nods. Before he can go, Cynthia stops him

"Ash. Don't take this the wrong way. I know you are the Alola champion now, but you must know that destiny may not be in your favor today. J is stronger than ever. You can't beat her with strength alone. So be careful" She says. Ash gets serious look on his face

"I write my own destiny. If it is in my destiny to lose to J, then I will rewrite it. With the power of my friends, I cannot lose" Ash replies. The other look impressed and nod. The group then execute their plan

End of Flashback

"YOU LET YOUR OBSESSION GET TO YOU J. YOU WEREN'T THINKING CLEARLY AND THAT WILL COST YOU. SERENA WILL NOT BE YOUR PRISONER ANYMORE" Ash screams. His aura is oozing hatred which Riolu notices

"Impotent fool" J states as she goes to active her device on her arm to freeze Gengar.

"Not this time. Pikachu Iron Tail" Pikachu goes and hits J with an iron tail on her arm. This break her device and hurts her in the process

"HOW DARE YOU" J shouts as she holds her arm in pain. Ash is about to command another attack on J but stops himself

"You are lucky I am not hurting you even more after what you did" Ash says as he runs to Serena who is laying a few feet safely away from J. He goes up to her and tries to awaken her.

"Serena. Wake up. Serena" Ash yells. Serena slowly regains consciousness

"Ash. I knew you'd come" Serena says happily. Ash and Serena's Pokemon become relieved while Ash tears up

"I'm sorry it took so long. I won't abandon you again. I promise" Ash says tearfully. Serena smiles but then loses consciousness again

"She's lost consciousness again. We have to go" Ash says. He picks Serena up and puts her on his back. He gives one final look at J who is slowly getting up and then runs

"You can keep running boy, but you can't escape me" J mutters and goes after Ash

Ash continues to run with Serena on his back but is having trouble as his leg hurts

"Ignore the pain. I have to keep going" Ash thinks. Ash keeps running with Serena on his back, but he then stops as a few of J's troops are blocking him from going anywhere. He looks back and sees more troops behind him. He is cornered

"Surrender boy or there will be consequences" One of them says. Ash looks angry. Riolu then suddenly goes in front of Ash and starts charging a new attack; Focus Blast

"Focus Blast?" Ash says. Riolu then hits the side of the ship and makes a hole

"Good work Riolu. Everyone move" Ash says as he and the rest of his and Serena's Pokemon go through the hole.

The troops try to stop them but Dragonite hits one side with Hyper Beam while Pikachu hits the other side with Thunderbolt which knocks everyone out. The two of them then join Ash. Hunter J then shows up and sees her troops laid out

"You're all weak" J says. She then goes after Ash

Meanwhile, with Ash's friends, the group continues to beat up the remainder of J's troops. They suddenly hear and explosion and see Ash escape from the side of the ship with Serena and their Pokemon

"Ash has Serena. Let's get out of here" Cynthia says. The others agree but before they leave Cynthia distracts the troops

"Garchomp. Dragon Claw" Garchomp hits several of the troop's pokemon with dragon claw which knocks them out. This gives the group an opening to get out of there

Meanwhile with Ash, he gets far enough from J's ship and then lays Serena down. He checks her pulse and detects a heartbeat. He sighs in relief

"Ash" Ash looks back and sees his friends running to him. He looks at them and then looks at Serena

"Is she okay?" Ash asks concerningly. Brock starts to check Serena to see if she is okay

"She looks fine. Banged up and exhausted but okay. We should still get her to a Pokemon center and some real help. She is switching between being conscious and unconscious because of how weak she is" Brock says. Ash lets out a sigh of relief. Iris then suddenly notices something

"Ash your leg. You're injured" She says. Ash looks at his right leg to see it's badly bruised. Everyone gets concerned

"Must have gotten hit during the attack and not noticed" Ash thinks. He sighs

"It's just a scratch. Don't worry about me. We need to worry about Serena. Let's get her to the Pokemon Center" Ash responds. Everyone agrees and are about to leave but suddenly a flamethrower is launches which hits in front of them and keeps them from progressing

"What the" Ash says. Ash then feels pain in his leg and falls to one knee. He looks back to see two attacks coming towards them

Suddenly, Ash's Dragonite and Gengar block Ash and his friends from a massive hyper beam and flamethrower. Both and knocked down and badly injured

"Dragonite. Gengar!" Ash exclaims. Hunter J suddenly appears riding Salamence

"I will not be embarrassed like this. I will beat you all if it is the last thing I do" J proclaims. Ash gets mad and returns Gengar and Dragonite to their Pokeballs. He then tries to get up, as he is on one knee currently, but his leg is starting to take a toll on him

"I am sick and tired of you all. You keep getting in my way. Now it is time to end this. End it in the same place where my life nearly ended. But for you all the "nearly" part will not stand. This will be your final resting place" J states

"Bring it on J" Cynthia states. Everyone gets ready to battle, but

"No" The group look to see Ash wrapping his bruised leg with a handkerchief, the same one he gave Serena as a kid. He then slowly gets up

"This is my battle. Let me deal with this" He says

"But Ash you are hurt" Goh responds

"I am fine. Please. Just let me do this. This is personal for me. I need to end this once and for all" Ash replies. The others are skeptical but agree

"Look after Serena. If anything happens to me, tell her I love her" Ash states. His friends look surprised while Brock smiles

"Told you" Brock says.

"We won't say it because you will Ash. Nothing is going to happen to you. Beat this criminal and tell Serena how you feel" Goh says. Ash smiles, nods and starts walking over, with a noticeable limp, along with his Pokemon to challenge J. J and her Salamence stare at their opponents; Ash, Pikachu and Riolu

"It is time for me to finally put an end to you Ash. You have caused me nothing but trouble. It is payback time" She states

"Payback? For what? You did this to yourself J. Your actions caused yourself to nearly die and you dare blame it on me. Not only that but you kidnap and hurt my friend. A friend I hold dear to me. Enough is enough. It is time to put an end to our rivalry. Only one of us is walking out of here the victor and I plan for it to be me" Ash replies

"In your dreams. Salamence Flamethrower" Salamence launches a strong Flamethrower

"Pikachu Thunderbolt. Riolu. Focus Blast" Pikachu and Riolu counter with their own attacks. This causes an explosion

"Iron Tail" Pikachu jumps from the smoke and tries to hit Salamence with Iron Tail but it moves out of the way

"Dragon Claw" Salamence hits Pikachu with a strong Dragon Claw which sends it flying back

"Riolu. Force Palm" Riolu runs at Salamence and tries to hit it with Force Palm

"Dragon Pulse" Salamence launches a Dragon Pulse which hits Riolu hard and sends it flying back as well

"Get up you guys. We can't give up" Ash says. Riolu and Pikachu quickly get back up and get ready for battle

"Focus Blast and Thunderbolt" Riolu and Pikachu once again launch their own attacks

"Hyper Beam" Salamence launches a strong Hyper Beam which is stronger than Pikachu and Riolu's attack and hits them both hard

"Pathetic. Is this the best you got?" Hunter J taunts. Ash starts to get discouraged

"What is wrong with Ash? He isn't battling like he normally does" Iris says

"He's slipping. He's badly injured and battling with pure anger. This is bad. If this keeps up, he will lose. We have to help" Brock says

"No. We need to trust Ash. I know he can win. Just have faith in him. He isn't the Alola Champion for nothing" Cynthia says. The other are reluctant but agree

Meanwhile in the battle, Riolu and Pikachu are both hurt but can still fight. Ash is also having trouble standing now as the pain of his leg is starting to get to him

"Come on Ash get it together. You can't win if you don't focus. And if you don't win, you won't be able to tell Serena how you feel about her" Ash thinks

"Ash" Ash then hears a voice, it was the voice of Serena. Everyone looks surprised. He looks back at Serena who still laid on the ground semi-conscious and is about to go unconscious again. However, before she does, she mutters one last thing

"Don't give up till it is over" She states before becoming unconscious again

"Serena" Ash says. He then gets a serious look on his face and his aura starts flaring up again. This gains Riolu's attention

"Riolu. Pikachu. Let's do this. For Serena and for all the people J has hurt. We have to win" Ash screams with his Aura flares up even more. Riolu sees this. He connects with his trainer's emotions. Riolu then screams and a blue light then surrounds it

"What?" J states. Ash and his friends look surprised

"Riolu is evolving?" Cynthia proclaims

Riolu then starts to evolve. Once the blue light disappears, a Lucario appears

"Lucario?" Ash states as he is in shock but then smiles

"You see this J? You will never understand the bond between my Pokemon and I. The bond is so strong, my Riolu evolved. Now with his power, we will defeat you. You tried to take everything from me. Now it is time for you to pay" Ash proclaims

"So what? You think your Riolu evolving changes anything? No it doesn't. You are still weak. And when I defeat you, I will kill your little girlfriend nice and slowly" J responds. Ash gets even more angry

"Not again. I will not lose to you. I will not let you hurt Serena again. Not now. NOT EVER" Ash yells. His friends look impressed

"Never seen Ash this serious before" Dawn says

"It's what Serena said. Don't give up till it is over. Ash told me Serena reminded him about that when he started to give up on himself in Kalos. Like now, Ash was starting to doubt himself, but Serena reminded him it is not over. Those words light a fire in him that allowed Riolu to evolve" Brock says

"Wow. These two really do have a strong bond" Dawn says while looking at the unconscious Serena

"It is time for you to die. Salamence. Flamethrower" Salamence uses Flamethrower

"Double Team" Lucario creates a bunch of clones of itself and the fake one is hit by Flamethrower

"Dragon Pulse all of them" Salamence starts hitting all of the clones with Dragon Pulse which destroys them. The real one, however, quickly dodges it. Salamence continues to try to hit Lucario but Lucario is too fast. Ash then looks at Pikachu and Pikachu nods

"Pikachu. Thunderbolt" Pikachu gets back up and uses Thunderbolt and zaps it hard while it is distracted

"You pest. Hyper Beam" Salamence hits Pikachu with a strong Hyper Beam which causes a ton of damage. Ash quickly picks up Pikachu and puts him to the side. Pikachu tries to get up but Ash stops him

"Rest Pikachu. Lucario and I got this" He says. Pikachu then nods

"One down. One more to go. Flamethrower" Salamence launches another Flamethrower

"Aura Sphere" Lucario launches his new attack at Salamence with both attacks being equal

"Bone Rush" Lucario quickly hits at Salamence and hits it with other new attack. Salamence quickly shakes it off though

"Dragon Pulse" Salamence hits Lucario with a strong Dragon Pulse but Lucario also brushes off the attack. J gets annoyed

"Dragon Claw" Salamence hits Lucario again with a strong Dragon Claw but Lucario once again brushes the attack off

"What will it take for me to defeat you once and for all" J says angrily

"Don't you understand J. You can't beat me when I have my friends and Pokemon supporting me. The bond I share with them is strong. Nothing is going to tear us apart. You will never understand it. The love I have for my friends and Pokemon is stronger than any Pokemon you have" Ash says

"Oh please. That bond you say you have will do you no good. You are weak and you always will be. If your bond is so strong, then show me it" J responds

"OH YEAH? YOU ASKED FOR IT. I WILL SHOW YOU JUST HOW POWERFUL MY BOND WITH MY FRIENDS AND POKEMON REALLY IS" Ash screams. His aura amplifies even more. Lucario sees this and starts to absorb that aura. This causes him to start to get stronger. J is surprised but shakes it off

"Hyper Beam and end this" She commands. Salamence starts to charge up a Hyper Beam. Ash's friends start to get amazed. Suddenly, something more extraordinary happens. Serena, even while unconscious, feels Ash's emotions. This causes her to have a vision

In Serena's mind

She sees a flashback of her younger self who is hurt and cannot get up. A younger Ash comes and helps her. Serena than hears Ash's voice

"Remember what I told you that day. Do not give up till it is over. It isn't over Serena. Not by a long shot. Keep fighting Serena. Keep fighting" She hears Ash say

In present time

Serena's eyes shoot open. Ash's friends notice but Ash doesn't.

"I will never give up Ash. I promise" Serena thinks. She then takes a deep breath and amplifies her own emotions to increase her own aura. Lucario feels Serena's aura along with Ash's and starts to absorb it as well

"Behold our bond J" Serena thinks as her aura is absorbed by Lucario who dodges the massive hyper beam and jumps in the air above Salamence and J. Serena then again loses consciousness

"What just happened" Dawn asks in confusion. The others are also confused. Ash then gets serious look on his face as Lucario starts to power up an Aura Sphere attack

"If I can't save my friend. If I can't save the woman I care about the most, HOW CAN I " Ash starts to shout. Lucario launches several strong Aura Spheres. Salamence is hit hard and J nearly falls off. She then looks up to see Lucario above them powering up a Force Palm. J gets scared

"BE THE POKEMON MASTER" Ash screams as Lucario hits Salamence with a strong Force Palm that knocks it and J to the ground hard. Salamence is knocked out and J is badly hurt

"He did it. Ash won" Dawn cheers. Everyone is happy

"That was incredible. How did Lucario get so powerful all of a sudden" Goh questions

"It was because of Ash and Serena's bond" Cynthia responds

"Their bond. What do you mean?" Cilan says

"Ash and Serena clearly have a strong bond. Their bond and emotions flared up their aura. Lucario then took that aura and became more powerful than ever. It is like Ash said. He wrote his own destiny" Cynthia states. The other are impressed. They look at Serena who was lying there motionless and then look at Ash who stood there, barely on his feet, victorious with his Pokemon. They then remember his words

"I write my own destiny. If it is in my destiny to lose to J, then I will rewrite it. With the power of my friends, I cannot lose" They remember this and smile. Unknown them, Serena is once again semi-conscious and smiles as well

To be continued….

Next chapter preview

"Serena is okay. She should make a full recovery" Nurse Joy says. Everyone sighs

"That's a relief" Goh says

"Ash are you okay?" Dawn says

"It is my fault she got hurt" Ash says

"No it isn't Ash. It's mine" Serena is heard saying

"Huh. Serena. You should be resting" Ash says

"I'm fine. I can't rest when you are feeling so much guilt. Next time on Pokemon" Serena says

"The scars of battle" Ash says

"Everyone go Pokemon" Ash and Serena say simultaneously

Authors note: Oh my god that took a long time to write. How was it? Let me know. Also I know some people are not going to like how Ash figured out where J was so quickly but hear me out. Ash has been proven in the past to be a pretty smart character when he uses his head. Plus he didn't figure it out right away. It took them 3 hours to realize that J went back to the place her ship crashed. So that is my logic. Anyways, see you guys in the next chapter