Alain - 18
Mairin - 14

This story will take place about four years after the events of XYZ.

This story will be focusing on Alain and Mairin's friendship.

This story can also be read on my Wattpad account, under the same title and username.

Enjoy!

Chapter One - A Warning

Alain sat quietly in the shade of a forest, atop of a large boulder. His loyal Charizard sat next to him, watching her trainer with a pair of silver eyes. A small stream wound its way through the forest, the small current rushing in front of the duo. Alain let out a long sigh, looking out across at the small group of boulders that lined the river. It had been a long time since he had been here- nearly four years in fact. He had been sitting on top this same boulder that day, the day he had met Mairin.

So much had changed since that day. He had been working for Lysandre back then, he had believed that Team Flare had been working towards a greater future. He had even thought Mairin was annoying then. He rolled his eyes a bit, Mairin was annoying, but still one of the few people he truly cared for.

"Well, it's been awhile, hasn't it?" A dry voice asked from behind Alain. Charizard's eyes narrowed, and growl rumbling up from the back of her throat, turning into a low snarl. Alain jumped, turning around, finding himself face-to-face with a pink haired women.

"Malva?!" Alain cried, quickly rising to his feet. He had not seen the former Elite Four member in years, she had turned herself into the police after turning against Team Flare, helping defeat the corrupt organization. But unlike Alain, she had full knowledge at the time of what Lysandre was trying to attempt. She now was standing behind him, twirling a Pokeball between two fingers, "What are you-!?"

"I got released early," Malva said, interrupting him, "Turning against Team Flare helped lower my jail time. Besides... I met some people..." She sighed, "Let's just say I met a few people in the crime business that helped me get out."

"Team Flare?" Alain growled, and his Charizard let out another snarl.

She rolled her eyes, "Relax, will you? You know that I'm against Team Flare now. Xerosic was the one that tried to bring it back, not me. I'm actually here to help you, believe it or not."

Alain clenched his fists, "Yet you claim that you're with some other organization or something? After what happened with Team Flare I'm no so eager to trust groups like that."

"Really? I helped you take down Team Flare, I am no more associated with them than you are," She chuckled at the glare he gave her, "I'm now working with a Kanto-native group... I believe you've probably heard of them. Team Rocket?"

"...I have. I see you're going for an organization that doesn't fall so easily," Alain quivered, "Are they the ones that got you out of jail? Why are even telling me this?" He didn't have any hard feelings against Malva, but the fact that she was telling him that she was working for another corrupt organization made his stomach twist, Team Flare had been enough for one lifetime.

She smirked, "Yes, they are the ones got me out. And why am I telling you this? Because I have some information regarding you and that little girlfriend of yours that likes to follow you around. I simply want to explain how I got this information. Of course I'm just not about to hand it to you..."

"...You know something about Mairin...?" Alain whispered.

"I see that really caught your attention!" Malva laughed, "Yes, I do. Information that I know you'll want to hear. I see your little girlfriend is still your top priority."

"...She's not my girlfriend. She's fourteen," Alain turned away, "Besides, I haven't seen her in a while..."

"And you won't be seeing her again unless you listen to me," Malva replied.

"Is that a threat?!" Alain cried, wheeling around.

"No, it's a challenge," She held out the Pokeball in her hand, "Prove to me once more that you're still a strong trainer. My Houndoom against your... Let's say Weavile. If you win I'll tell you everything I know, if you lose... Then I get to sit back and watch your whole life fall apart."

"...Why should I believe you?" Alain asked quietly.

"Hmm... Good question, I guess I didn't think of that. I just thought you should have an opportunity to learn of this, to be fair. I mean, you did defeat me once, and I have to hold you in respect because of that," She watched him, "Besides, what do you have to lose? You win, and I tell you the information. If I'm lying about it, then I'm lying and you move on. If I'm not lying then you have very valuable information."

Alain glanced at his Charizard, whose lips were pulled back, baring her fangs at Malva. She clearly didn't trust the former Elite Four member, but Alain realized that she was in the same boat as him. They had both once helped Team Flare, and had turned against it. The only difference was that Alain was no longer associated with them in anyway, but people still placed that label on her. Perhaps that's why she had drifted into another crime ring, because that was the only place that seemed to accept her.

...Malva was right. He had nothing to lose. Alain sighed, reaching into his pocket for his Weavile's Pokeball. Malva smirked, and Charizard stared at him disapprovingly. Alain expanded the Pokeball, "Very well, I accept your terms, but let me make one thing clear," He glared at her, "If you are lying I'm going to make sure you go straight back to your rotting jail cell if it's the last thing I do."

She laughed, "You're cute," She opened up a Pokeball, releasing her powerful Houndoom, "I'm afraid that I'm out of the mega business after the 'Team Flare incident', they may have given me back my Pokemon, but not my megastone and keystone. Don't underestimate my Houndoom though, he's still no pushover."

"That's why you didn't want me to use Charizard," Alain muttered, releasing his Weavile. He too had lost the ability to mega evolve after what happened with Team Flare, but that had been through his own choice. He had wanted to achieve mega evolution without Lysandre's or Team Flare's help, and had found a new mega and key stone on his own. His Weavile took up a battling position as she came out of the Pokeball, claws gleaming, "But it doesn't matter who I use, I will not lose to anyone that had anything to do with Team Flare."

"Still bitter about the 'being used' thing?" She asked, almost mockingly, but she didn't seem sullen, "Houndoom, Flamethrower!"

Her Houndoom lowered himself into a charging position, flames pouring from its mouth. It sprang into the air, releasing a Flamethrower down at Weavile. Even without its mega evolution, the Houndoom was still very powerful.

"Protect," Alain ordered, and a gleaming blue barrier appeared in front of the ice type, blocking the rushing flames, "Now Night Slash," He said as the fire died down, and the Weavile darted forward, her claws draped in a dark energy. Charizard stamped her feet unhappily, clearly wanting to be in the battle herself. Weavile's claws raked across the Houndoom's face, making the fire hound yelp. It may have been a strong Pokemon, but it had clearly been a long time since it had seen a battle.

"Crunch," Malva said, ignoring her Pokemon's pain. His jaws opened, teeth draped in a dark aura, and snapped at Weavile, who darted back. The Houndoom kept pursuing her, trying to land a hit on the speedy Pokemon, who was gracefully dodging every hit.

"Keep falling back," Alain muttered, and Weavile continued towards the river, using the surrounding boulders to her advantage. The Houndoom chased her until she was stepping back into the river, "Night Slash!" Alain cried, and his Pokemon slashed with her glowing claws, not at the Houndoom, but rather at the water. The spray of water was sent flying up, soaking the Houndoom, who yelped, halting mid attack as he was suddenly drenched, "Now Ice Beam it while it's wet!"

Weavile jumped up, forming a blast of freezing energy in front of her mouth, "Flamethrower," Malva said, and the Houndoom snapped his head up, flames pouring from his mouth right at Weavile. The Flamethrower hit its mark, striking the Weavile before it had realized that the Houndoom had recovered, "Now Iron Tail!" Malva cried, smirking. The Houndoom swung its whole form around, tail turning to gleaming metal, hitting Alain's Weavile in the chest. The dark type let out a cry, falling roughly to the ground on the other side of the river.

Malva smirked as Alain cried, "Weavile!" The Weavile stumbled to it's feet, groaning in pain.

"I'm impressed that it's still standing after two super effective hits. If this was your Charizard, I would be expecting a longer battle..." She shook her head, "I'm almost disappointed that it's over, but oh well. Houndoom, finish it with Flamethrower!"

The Houndoom opened his jaws, bathing the weakened Weavile with a burst of powerful flames. Alain only smirked though, "Weavile, use Revenge," He ordered quietly as the flames died down. Malva's eyes widened in surprise as she realized that Weavile wasn't down, and as she saw the orange glow around the dark type.

The worn Weavile sped forward with startling speed, the water not slowing her down. She slammed into the startled Houndoom with the super effective Revenge attack, which was now at double power since she had just taken a hit. The glow around Weavile brightened as she struck the Houndoom, releasing all the energy from the attack at once. The Houndoom was sent flying across the rocky field, slamming into a boulder.

"Get up Houndoom!" Malva cried, but the Houndoom was fainted from the final blow. She gritted her teeth, recalling the Pokemon back to a Pokeball. She turned back to face Alain, who was next to his Pokemon, stroking his stumbling Weavile. He recalled his Weavile back to her Pokeball, slipping it away into his pocket. Alain pushed himself up from a kneeling position, glaring at Malva. His Charizard wore the same expression as him, snarling.

"You may have been an Elite Four member," He said quietly, "But I have been battling along side with my Pokemon for the last few years, while you've been in jail. You've lost your connection with your Pokemon, I doubt you could mega evolve your Houndoom even if you did have the proper stones. As someone who was once considered a powerful trainer, it was foolish of you to think you could win, even with a type advantage," He glared down at her, "Now, you're going to tell me this 'important' information, and how you knew where I was. I've been training and on the move for the last few months, so how did you know where to find me?"

"No wonder why you haven't seen your little girlfriend lately," Malva muttered, "If you've been jumping from place to place, almost like you're trying to avoid someone," Alain flinched as she laughed, "I saw that you entered a tournament a few cities over not that long ago, and I just been jumping around to different Pokemon Centers seeing if the nurses there had seen anyone fitting your description. As soon as I got a match I simply scanned the local areas looking for you, and eventually I ended up here."

"Fair enough," Alain said after a moment, crossing his arms, "Now what's this 'big secret' that you want to tell me?"

"Well..." Malva began, "If you've been avoiding everyone lately, I'm guessing you don't know what's been happening to Ash?"

Alain's heart skipped a beat nervously, "What about Ash?" Why would Malva be mentioning him?

She pulled out a Holo Caster, "Well, it wasn't front page news here in Kalos, but a multi-regional murder spree does make the news everywhere," She pulled up an article, holding up the Holo Caster for Alain to see. There was Ash's picture, in the top right corner, but what he saw wasn't the cheerful boy he had met here in Kalos. The boy's eyes were dull, his face sunken. He stared at the camera, gaze empty. Seeing someone he admired in such a state made his heart ache, but it was the title of the article that sent chills down Alain's back.

Ash was being tried for three murders.

Alain's eyes were wide, mouth quivering as he struggled to find words. His eyes slowly met with Malva's, who looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh at his expression, "I-impossible..." Alain whispered, "Ash wouldn't- Ash couldn't-"

"You're right," Malva said simply, "He didn't do it, he was framed," These words sent horror and relief through Alain- relieved that his friend wasn't what this article claimed- but horror that someone had dared to frame his friend.

"Who-"

"Who framed him? That would be Team Rocket, of course. They're going on a little... 'purifying spree', cleaning up anyone that could possibly be a threat. Like with Team Flare, Ash has had his hand in stopping Team Rocket many times," She paused, "Unfortunately for him he has only stopped them, not taken them out like he did with our old Team Flare. If you don't clean up messes you make with your enemies they'll came back for vengeance."

"'Purifying'..." Alain whispered, shivering as he remembered Lysandre, a top of the Lumiose Tower, 'purifying' the world. It had been so long ago, but it was still fresh in his mind.

"But that's not what I wanted to tell you," Malva said, hand on her hip, "I came to give you a warning: You're next."

Alain stared at her, "W-wha..."

She sighed, "Do I have to spell it out for you? You're next. Team Rocket considers you a threat, they're going to be targeting you soon. I saw your name- well, technically I wasn't suppose to see that information- but I couldn't help but read it when I saw your name. When I saw what this new team was planning... Well, I felt you deserved a chance, so I came to warn you. I respect you kid."

He didn't speak for a moment, "...Why would Team Rocket be after me?" He asked quietly, he had never had any association with the Kanto group.

"They're going after threats," Malva replied, "I'm sure they know how you took out Team Flare, and they know you would never join them since you took out a criminal organization that you were once a part of. I'm also sure that your connection with Ash didn't help," She sighed, "So far they've been killing off people they see as threats, and pass it off as accidents or suicide. But if that doesn't work and it shows up as murder, then they shift the blame to someone else, someone else they view as a threat, someone that they'd like to be locked away."

Alain took this in, "...That's what happened to Ash then? They wanted him out of the way... so they blamed their murders on him?"

Malva nodded, "Correct. They are going to be doing the same with you, you're going to be framed, arrested, tried, and convicted. The trials are rigged too, they make sure you don't get any chance of freedom."

Alain bit his lip, trying to think. Horror was rushing through him, but he still wasn't sure if he could trust Malva or not. Even though it had been years ago, the bitterness of Team Flare's betrayal still stung him. Embarrassment for how he had been used, used to nearly destroy the world. Due to him millions of people could have died.

Perhaps he did deserve to be tried for murder.

"...You said Mairin was involved..." Alain muttered, he look up at her, fear in his eyes, "If this is true... If all this is going to happen..." He shivered, "Then where does she fit in?"

"You're going to be framed for two murders," Malva said, "The first is some random person I don't really care about, some guy here is Kalos that Team Rocket wants out of the way, and you're going to take the blame. The second murder you're going to be blamed for is Mairin's."

Even if he didn't fully trust Malva, this piece of information hit him like a train. He stood there, unmoving for a minute as he processed this new detail, hands shaking. His Charizard was silent, fear outlined on her face. Even Malva didn't dare laugh, staying quiet as Alain took this in.

"W-why..." He whispered, then his tone hardened as he regained control of himself, "Why would they target M-mairin," His voice shook again, "She hasn't done a-anying to Team Rocket... or done to be a threat, s-she's only fourteen..." He closed his eyes, "Why should I believe you?"

"They will target her because of you," Malva replied, "They will set up the first murder and somehow connect it to you, I don't know the fine details. They will then use Marin's death to 'prove' that you are truly a killer, so you'll be arrested. I'm sure it's also to get to you somehow. Rocket is cruel in that way," She grinned, "And I love it."

Alain was staring at the ground, trembling, "...I don't want to believe..." He whispered, trailing off.

"Of course you don't," Malva said, "And you don't have to if you don't want to. But like I said earlier, you have nothing to lose. That man will be killed first, and then Mairin will be next. Team Rocket has influence over the law, and the police will come to arrest you," She looked him in the eye, "You are not weak Alain. Unlike everyone else that Team Rocket is after, you have a warning. Get prepared, and be ready for a fight, and you could probably even run for it. Yes, you'd be hunted down, but better than sitting in jail. Trust me, I know from experience. You could even try to save the girl."

"...Why aren't you warning anyone else?" He asked quietly, "If innocent people are dying."

"Alain, do I look like a hero? I willing helped the person that wanted to destroy the whole world. I honestly don't care what happens to most of these people. But I don't think you should die, you honestly haven't done anything to Team Rocket to deserve it," She tossed him her Holo Caster, and he fumbled for it, "Here, hang onto this for now. Give it a week or so, and that man will be dead. You'll become a suspect soon after, they're going to set everything up. That's when you need to run. I'll contact you on that Holo Caster before they go after the girl. After that get rid of the Holo Caster, and don't trust me from there on out. Good luck Alain."

With that Malva opened up another Pokeball, releasing a Talonflame. Alain stared at her as he watched the former Elite Four member fly away, leaving him with alone with this new information, and a choice.

Well, here's the first chapter of A Final Chance, I've had this story idea in my mind for awhile now, and I hope you've guys enjoyed it!

Please note that any reference to Ash is referring to my other fanfiction, The Final Battle, which is about Ash. These stories take place in the same timeline and may reference each other- but each will stand on its own as a story. This story will only be focusing on Alain and Mairin.

I already have a several chapters written out for this story already, so you can expect updates once a week for now.