Sycamore High ~ Road To The World League!

Calm Before The Storm! CH-82

Narrator: After a thrilling battle between the team of Ash and Serena, against the team of Paul and Dawn, our heroes managed to grab the win thanks to Infernape who, in his bonded form, managed to take down Paul's Electivire. Let's join our heroes now they are conversing with Dawn about how Ash managed to trigger the bond phenomenon.

"You."

That answer startled Serena. What did he mean by that? How was she the reason that they were able to trigger the bond phenomenon? She was close to being hit by that Thunder, how could she do anything to make them do that?

"What do you mean?" Serena slowly asked, feeling a bit unsure and surprised.

Ash smiled. "Let's go back to the locker room, Gary and Shauna are about to battle. I'll explain things there." He said before he looked over at Dawn. "Are you coming with us?"

"S-sure!" Dawn said, feeling a bit startled by Ash asking her to join as she was their opponent.

Without thinking, Ash quickly grabbed the hands of both girls and took them towards the tunnel. As they walked inside the tunnel, their eyes were met by Gary and Shauna's.

"Goodluck Shauna!" Serena smiled as Dawn added a nod for goodluck aswell.

"Thanks you two!" Shauna smiled while Ash and Gary grinned at eachother. "We're waiting for you in the final Gary."

"Don't worry Ashy-boy, we'll be there." Gary replied with his usual smirk. Ash put up a smirk of his own as he released his hand from Dawn's which he still has holding and extended his fist towards Gary. Gary understood the message and gave him a fist bump. "Goodluck out there." Ash added before he and the girls continued their walk while Gary and Shauna walked towards the battlefield.

Later on, the trio arrived in the locker room. It was simple, with lockers at both sides of the room and a bench in the middle that took around three quarters of the space of the room. In the corner of the room was a small TV which displayed the battle on screen.

The two girls sat down on the bench in the middle while Ash grabbed a chair that stood in the corner of the room and placed it infront of them before sitting on it and facing them.

"So Ash, what do you mean by that Ash-Infernape triggered because of me?" Serena asked, feeling quite confused about everything. Both she and Dawn had an expecting look on their faces.

Ash closed his eyes as he took a deep breath before releasing the air through his nostrils and opening them again, facing the girls with a serious look on his face. "You know, it's really hard to explain. When you were in danger, everything slowed down and black except for you, the incoming attack and a small flame that hovered in the middle."

"Wait--- a small flame? What do you mean?" Dawn asked, becoming even more confused.

"Is it like that droplet of water you told me about when you activated the bond phenomenon with Greninja? When you two finally mastered it?" Serena asked, getting the slightest of an idea where this could lead to.

"Yeah, that's it!" Ash widely smiled at his girlfriend. So when I saw thar flame, I tried to reach for it but then it dissapeared." He continued.

"What happened then?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Let's see.." Ash thought before he got a light bulb moment. "I got it! So when that flame dissapeared, I heard Infernape cry out behind me so I turned around. He stood there with the flame hovering between his hands. Then, when I took notice of it, the flame moved to the middle, right inbetween us where it stopped. We both laid our eyes on eachother with the same idea in mind. We both moved our hands to it and as soon as we touched it, the small flame erupted into a huge vortex, bringing me back to reality. That's how Infernape managed to get right in between you and that Thunder attack." Ash explained, looking over at Serena with the last part.