"So what are you doing in the Hoenn region?" Iris asked as she dug into her meal. After their battle was interrupted, she and Serena had taken their injured Pokémon to the airport's Pokémon Center and were now at one of the airport's restaurants waiting for Nurse Joy to finish healing them.

"I'm hoping to compete in contests," Serena explained. "It was recommended by Palermo so I can work on performing in front of crowds. I want to be Kalos Queen someday, just like she was."

"That's a great dream!" Iris exclaimed, muffled slightly by all of the rice balls she had just shoved in her mouth. "I want to be a master of Dragon-type Pokémon! I came to Hoenn to battle Rayquaza, the Sky High Legendary Pokémon. I saw it once in Johto. If it lets me battle it and I can beat it, I'll know I'm a Dragon Master."

"With your Pokémon, I think you'll be able to beat Rayquaza no problem," Serena said.

"Thanks, but we still have a long way to go!" Iris responded. "Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we travel together?"

"Huh?" Serena asked, surprised.

"We should travel together! It'll help us get stronger. I can help you work on your contest performances, and you can help me learn how to counter the Dragon-type's weaknesses! Plus, it's always fun to go on a journey with friends."

"We're friends?" Serena questioned, blushing.

Iris shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been great at making friends, but I am good at following my instincts, and my instincts tell me that you're someone I should stick around with. So what do you say? Do you want to travel with me?" She offered Serena her hand.

Serena thought this over. Finally, she nodded and took Iris's hand to shake. "It's a deal!"

"Great!" Iris cheered, jumping out of her chair. Serena was taken off-guard and dodged away from her, accidentally falling off of her own chair in the process. "Look out Hoenn region, you're about to meet Iris and…" She paused. A bit embarrassed, she turned to Serena, who was still on the floor. "Um, what's your name?"

"Serena," she replied, finally getting up to her feet. "I'm Serena."

"I'm Iris. Nice to officially meet you, Serena. I think we're going to get along great! Come on, let's get going!" Iris charged towards the door, ready to face the world.

"Iris, wait!" Serena called. Iris skidded to a halt and turned her head slightly towards Serena. "Shouldn't we pick up our Pokémon first?"

"Oh," Iris said, embarrassed. "Right."

As she exited the airport into the streets of Rustboro City, Serena reflected on her adventures through Kalos with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie. She was interrupted as Iris stepped up next to her. "You ready?" she asked.

"Absolutely!" Serena replied.

Iris smiled. "Then let's-" Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a cry from across the street. "Get back here!" Iris and Serena both turned to see where the voice came from and spotted a girl with short red hair and her Glameow chasing after a woman dressed in a strange red outfit.

"Glameow, use Iron Tail!" the girl called as she stopped. Glameow leaped towards the other woman, extending its now glowing tail.

"Go, Exploud. Use Protect," the woman ordered calmly, releasing her Pokémon who quickly blocked the attack. The two teams were now facing toward each other, ready to battle.

"What do you think is happening over there?" Serena asked, turning towards Iris only to realize that she was gone. "Iris!" she gasped, turning back to the scene across the street to see Iris charging toward it. "Oh, what have I gotten myself into?" she whined before following her.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Iris asked the redhead as she arrived on the scene.

"That lady stole my Mega Ring," the girl responded. "And we're going to get it back. Glameow, use Thunderbolt!"

"Dodge it, Exploud," her opponent ordered. Exploud easily leaped out of the way of the attack. "Use Synchronoise." The Exploud let out a screech, causing the Glameow to crumple to the ground, obviously in pain.

"Glameow!" the girl gasped, worried for her Pokémon. Before she could do anything, the woman added, "Now, Hidden Power." Dark red orbs surrounded Exploud, then launched towards Glameow, nailing it with several powerful hits.

"A Fighting-type Hidden Power against a Normal-type Glameow," Serena mused. "That's super effective."

Sure enough, the hit was powerful enough to knock Glameow unconscious. "Return, Glameow," the girl sighed, disappointed. "What do you even want with my Mega Ring, you creep?!" she shouted at the woman.

"You couldn't understand," the woman respond me. "Now, allow me to take my leave."

"Not so fast!" Iris interrupted. "You'd better give her back her ring thingy or else!"

"…My curiosity is piqued," the woman remarked. "I desire to see your threat play out."

Iris smirked. "I was hoping you'd pick that option. Go, Dragonite!" The towering dragon emerged from his Poké Ball, immediately sizing up his opponent as he floated in midair.

"You can do this, Iris!" Serena cheered. Iris turned and smiled at her before returning her focus to the battle. "Dragonite, use Ice Beam!"

"Exploud, dodge."

As the battle continued, mostly with the two Pokémon dodging each other's attacks, the redheaded girl made her way over to Serena. "So you're friends with this Iris girl?" she asked.

"Um, yeah, I guess," Serena responded. "Who's this woman, and why did she steal your Mega Ring?"

"I have no idea," she said. "But I do know that that weird outfit she's wearing is a Team Magma uniform."

"Team Magma?" Serena asked. "I thought they disbanded months ago."

"So did everyone else. But there's been a lot of reports of Team Magma and Team Aqua grunts causing problems. Stealing Pokémon, robbing Pokémon Centers… the usual criminal act. But Officer Jenny can't track them down. I guess now they're stealing Mega Rings, too."

"Exploud, use Hidden Power!" the Team Magma grunt ordered. By this point, it was clear that she was getting into the battle as her previously calm demeanor got more excited. Both Pokémon had landed a few blows and were looking a little tired.

"Take to the skies, Dragonite, and use Flamethrower!" Iris ordered. Dragonite quickly leaped into the air, dodging the Hidden Power, and released a stream of fire at the Exploud. The woman grunted as the fire collided with her Pokémon.

"Yes, that will be enough," she sighed, calling her Exploud back.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Iris asked.

"You've proven yourself strong," the woman responded. "And I don't have time to continue this battle any longer, no matter how much fun it was. Your Mega Ring, child." Confused, the redhead took her precious ring back. "Farewell. Next time we meet, I may not be so merciful." With this, the woman left.

"Get back here!" Iris yelled and started to chase her.

"It's no use, Iris," Serena called. "She returned the Mega Ring. Let's leave it at that for now."

Iris scowled. "She's a criminal. She should be stopped."

"You stopped her for now," the redhead said. "That was impressive. You did what I couldn't. You should be proud of yourself and your Dragonite."

"I am," Iris said, patting Dragonite on the arm. "I just wish I could do more."

The redhead shrugged. "I'm Zoey, by the way."

Serena gasped. "I knew I recognized you! You won the Sinnoh Grand Festival this year! You're a top coordinator!"

Zoey blushed a little. "That's me. It's still kind of weird, though. I feel like I just started out."

"You're a huge star! I love your performances," Serena continued to gush.

"Thanks," Zoey said. "I think I know you, too, right? You're Serena. You were runner-up in the Gloire Master Class. You're a great performer, too."

"Thank you so much! That means so much coming from a top coordinator," she squealed.

"So what are you doing in Hoenn? Don't you want to be Kalos Queen?" Zoey asked.

"Palermo thought it would be good for me to pursue contests so I can perform in front of more people and work on my craft," Serena explained. "What about you? Why aren't you in Sinnoh?"

"Even though I'm a top coordinator, I still want to learn more," Zoey said. "I thought that if I competed in some contests in the Hoenn region, I could learn more from different people."

"Okay, okay, we get it," Iris said, tired of being left out."You both want to work on your performances. Cool. Zoey, what was that ring thingy that that creepy lady stole from you?"

"You mean my Mega Ring?" Zoey asked, showing it off. "Have you never heard of Mega Evolution?"

"Uh…" Iris thought hard. "It's like a powerful form of certain Pokémon, right?"

"Right!" Serena confirmed. "That Mega Ring has a Key Stone in it. In combination with a Pokémon's Mega Stone, it allows her to trigger Mega Evolution!"

"You're an expert, aren't you, Serena?" Zoey asked.

Serena blushed. "I wouldn't say I'm an expert. I learned a lot from Professor Sycamore."

"Can we see you Mega Evolve your Pokémon?" Iris asked, excited.

"It can be hard on the Pokémon, so I can only do it in battle," Zoey explained.

Iris's eyes lit up. "In that case… let's battle!"

"Hold on," Serena interrupted. "You battled the Team Magma grunt. I want to battle with Zoey."

"What? But I want to see her Mega Evolve a Pokémon!" Iris complained.

"You can watch," Zoey offered. "Then you'll get to see the Mega Evolution without having to focus on the battle."

"Fine," Iris sighed.

"There's a battlefield over this way," Zoey said. "Follow me!"

And now Zoey's joined the series! She's not going to travel with Iris and Serena, but she'll still be a major character.

So will that Magma grunt, by the way.

Read and review, please! I'd love to hear what you think.