The next morning, Ash was brimming with energy once again – only this time, it was brought on by nervousness rather than elation. He had tried meditating, he had tried sparring against himself, he had even run up and down the side of the Pokémon Center several dozen times while sparring with himself; however, none of the activities he attempted were able to distract him. The meditation helped, sure, but two and a half years of mental focus training were still far outmatched by ten-plus years of anticipation being so close to fulfillment. And, not wanting to bother Serena, he had left their connection firmly closed to let her sleep.

Unfortunately, his footsteps on the side of the building ended up bothering somebody else. "Do you mind?!" a half-asleep voice yelled grouchily through a just-opened window. "Some of us are trying to sleep here, you know!"

Oh, and did I mention it was only about 6:00 in the morning?

"Sorry about that." Ash apologized, dropping back down onto the ground. "Didn't realize there was anybody in those rooms."

"Whatever." the Trainer grumbled, starting to slide the window shut. "Why don't you, I don't know, run around the city a few times if you have that much energy?"

You know, that's not a bad idea! Ash thought. Clemont usually tests his SKATES out around this time, so maybe I could go running with him today. Vaulting up to the balcony at the end of their room's hallway, he changed out of his pajamas and into the exercise gear that had been sitting untouched in his backpack since his mom's last visit. "Hey Clemont, mind if I tag along?" he said softly, careful not to wake up either of the girls.

Clemont chuckled, pushing his glasses up onto his nose so that the lenses whited out. "I figured we'd encounter a situation precisely like this one. Which is why I timed my repairs such that the newest model would be ready for testing this very morning!"

"Man, science is so – wait a minute. Why do you say that every single time?"

The inventor's grin turned sheepish. "Cause it sounds cooler than 'this random gadget I built because I was bored just happens to solve our problem today.' But this time, I actually did predict it because I knew how I would have reacted in this situation. Except I'd be doing a lot more inventing and a lot less running on the sides of buildings, since I don't have superpowers like you or Serena."

"They're not… huh, now that I think about it, they kinda are." Ash responded, his protest morphing into a concession. "Anyway, I'll meet you down in the lobby.

"Got it. I'll be down as soon as I put my Clemontic Gear on."


As the two of them exited the Pokémon Center's front door, Ash half-sensed a very predatory feeling of excitement before someone jumped out of a bush and tried to tackle them. He froze in place, overactive brain unable to choose a course of action, and that half second of indecision left him directly in the assailant's path.

"Haha, I gotcha, Clemont!" the attacker yelled, momentum carrying Ash into an off-balance roll with his arms pinned to his sides. "Bet'cha didn't expect to run into me today, did ya?"

"Um, Korrina? That's Ash you just tackled." Clemont pointed out. "But you're right – I didn't expect to run into you. Why are you in Lumiose right now, and how did you know where I was going to be?"

"Oh, that's easy." Korrina replied, extricating herself from the tangle of limbs and grinning energetically. "I saw Clembot waiting in line at that galette restaurant and asked him when the best time to sneak up on you would be, and he told me you were usually out testing your inventions about now."

Clemont blinked. "Wait, he told you where I was going to be after you ADMITTED you were going to try and sneak up on me? Sometimes I regret letting him develop his own personality… Besides, that only answers the second question. I know you're not getting any challengers during the League Conference, but I thought you told me you always watched it on TV every year."

"And I did, duh. But I figured cheering on Ash in person would be a good enough excuse to visit you." As Clemont's brow furrowed while he tried to parse out her response, she distracted him with an exaggerated pout. "But really, should I need an excuse to visit my boyfr-"

Korrina froze mid-sentence and clapped her hands over her mouth, Tamato-red. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yep, you sure did." Ash snarked from the ground where he was still sitting. "I mean, look at his face – it's the same color as yours. And I'm guessing this is just as much a surprise to him as it is to me."

Sure enough, Clemont's hands were flailing about rapidly as if trying to manipulate an invisible equation, and he was incoherently gibbering random scientific-sounding words.

"Oh my gosh Clemont, I'm so sorry!" Korrina said in a panic, attempting to stop his flailing by grabbing his hands. "I was trying to tease you, and it just slipped out, and now things are gonna be super-awkward, and I understand if you don't wanna be friends anymore because of that, and…"

Clemont finally managed to think semi-coherently and tightened his grip to interrupt her. "Um, uh, no, it's… it's fine, I just… um… well, I never thought you were thinking about that too – I always thought Bonnie was just being Bonnie, and I didn't want to make things awkward for you, and… and now I'm the one saying things without thinking them through first." he realized dejectedly.

He finally picked his gaze up from the ground to see Korrina's eyes fixed on his own. "Do you… do you really mean that?" she asked, voice tinged with hope.

When faced with its subject, Clemont could no longer hold onto the lie he had been telling himself to try and avoid Bonnie's teasing, and he gulped nervously. "Y-Yeah. If you w-wanted to call me your b-b-boyfriend, I d-don't think I would mind."

"Geez, I know it's not science, but do you have to stutter so much?" Ash ribbed, reminding them that they were still out in public. "Oh yeah, and congratulations, you two."

"Uh… thanks, I guess?" Clemont replied, not protesting when Korrina interlaced her fingers with his. "Man, Bonnie's gonna flip when she hears about this."

A squeeze of his hand encouraged him. "But it'll be worth it, right? Besides, now we'll be facing it together."

Clemont chuckled nervously, still trying to convince himself that this was actually happening. "Hehehe… yeah, together…"

And you said you couldn't write romance! What do you call that, then?

What I said was, I don't feel confident in my ability to write realistic romance – and that scene felt like was full of clichés. It was all I could do to try and make the diction feel realistic, at least from my perspective.

Meh, whatever. You've done your character development, and now there's another Trainer to help with the upcoming Flare fiasco. Can we please get back to the action now?

Sorry, but this is a world-building chapter based on a breather episode. Besides, do you really think Chespin and Pancham could run off unnoticed like in canon if Ash and Serena were there?

*sigh* I suppose. Here, you can have the narration back.

Thank you. Time skip!


An hour or so later, as the group was relaxing in the lobby (or trying to relax, in Ash's case), Meyer burst through the door streaming tears of happiness. "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, SON!" he yelled dramatically, gathering Clemont up into a vise-like hug.

"Urk… can't… breathe… Dad…" the inventor wheezed out, gasping for breath once he was released. "Wait a minute, how did you even…?"

"Aw, c'mon Clemont. Parents just know that kind of thing." Korrina chided him. "Come to think of it, that's probably why Grandpa was getting out the meat grinder and earplugs when I left…"

"Wait a minute, he was getting out WHAT?"

Clemont's reaction was drowned out by the door opening again. "How many times do I have to tell you, Sir? Leaving your vehicle running unoccupied in the middle of the street simply extends an invitation to any criminals who may be passing by."

"But it wasn't unoccupied!" Meyer protested. "That was why I left you out there with it!"

"And you also forgot about the case of galettes you were planning to bring inside." Clembot responded, setting a cloth-wrapped box down on the table and dropping the electrician's keys into his hand. "If not for the chassis modifications your son performed back when the issue first arose, both they and I might have remained stuck out on the vehicle indefinitely. Honestly, some days it feels like you need a good kick in the side."

Kazuto's brow quirked at that statement. Now why would he say 'in the side' and not 'in the pants?' It wouldn't be like a robot to say something like that for no reason. Kick in the side… kick in the side… kick in the side… kick… sidekick… Of course. Their dad's a superhero – probably that Blaziken Mask guy Ash mentioned yesterday – and they have no idea. How cliché can you get?

He was interrupted by Bonnie tugging at his sleeve. "Right, Kazuto?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"They should totally go on a double date while we watch their Pokémon in the park! C'mon, say yes, say yes, please!"

"Uh…"

Bonnie clambered up to whisper in his ear. "If you do, then we'll get to eat their galettes for them since they'll be somewhere else."

Kazuto chuckled, playfully knocking her down into a sitting position. "Well, when you put it like that…" He pretended to come in for a tickle, only to boop her nose when she moved her hands to guard her stomach, causing her to collapse backward onto the couch. "What other choice do I have?"

"Hey, stop it!" Bonnie protested, scooting backwards out of Kazuto's reach. Coincidentally, that also put her right next to her brother – who she immediately shoved off the couch into a standing position. "Well? What are you waiting for? Hurry up!"

"Alright, alright, we're going…" Clemont said, helping Korrina to her feet. "Take good care of Bunnelby, Chespin, and Luxray, okay?"

Bonnie saluted, almost dropping the Pokéballs he had handed her in the process. "You can count on me, big brother!"


"Stupid Murkrow, stupid Pancham, stupid gravity." Chespin grumbled as he wandered the streets of Lumiose, trying to find his way back to the park. "That galette was mine, but did anybody listen? No – and now thanks to you jerks, I've gotten lost. I bet you don't even care enough to come looking for me! I'm gonna have to live life as a wild Chespin, rummaging through the garbage for food and sleeping under boxes at night, and I just wanna go home…"

Fortunately for him, his tirade-turned-tears attracted the attention of a nearby Trainer. "You lost, little guy?" she asked, kneeling down in front of him.

Chespin looked up at her words, taking in her appearance. The spikes of red hair that stuck out under her hat, combined with her green-and-yellow outfit, reminded him vaguely of his own species, and he immediately latched onto her leg. "My family hates me!" he wailed melodramatically. "I know you probably have a house full of Chespin already, but do you have room for one more?"

While she may not have been able to understand his words, she was still able to understand what was really bothering him. "You miss your Trainer, don't you?"

She picked him up gently and stood up again. "Don't worry, I'll help you find them. Come on, let's go."

About thirty seconds later, Chespin had forgotten about the search entirely. "Yummy, yummy food…" he drooled, eyes glazed over as he reached longingly for a nearby taiyaki stand.

"Hold on a minute." a voice interrupted from a few feet away. "What are you doing with Clemont's Chespin?"

Chespin's companion blinked, turning to face the person who had spoken. "Wait, do you know this little guy's Trainer?"

"Yeah, we've been pals for a while!" he responded, doing a quick spin and striking a pose. "Tierno's the name, and dancing's my game. These are my other pals Trevor and Shauna."

"Hi, guys!" Chespin said, waving happily. "Hey, if you're not gonna eat those, can I?"

His question was summarily ignored. "Nice to meet you. My name's Mairin. So, do you know where Chespin's Trainer is right now?"

The shorter boy answered her question this time. "Not at the moment, but I think I know someone who would." Dialing a number on his Pokégear, he held it up to his ear and waited.

"Hey, Sawyer. Where are you guys right now? We just ran into somebody trying to help Clemont's Chespin find his way back. Oh, you guys have been looking for him too? Right, I know where that park is. We'll meet you there!"

He hung up and put away the Pokégear. "Good news, everyone! We'll be making a delivery to the park halfway across town today!"

"…And how, exactly, is that good news?" Shauna said, confused. "I mean, it's not like we had anything else planned until the match this afternoon – but still…"

Trevor shrugged. "It sounded better in my head that way. But anyway, now that we know where to go, why waste time standing around?"

"My thoughts exactly." Tierno responded, popping the last of his taiyaki into his mouth. "Lead the way, bro!"


"There they are – right up ahead!" Tierno announced, pointing toward the grassy field in front of them. "Hey Sawyer, since we got some time to kill, how about a friendly rematch?"

Sawyer's reply went unheard by Mairin, whose attention had been caught by a spike of black hair poking up above a long-sleeved black jacket, whose owner was standing next to a Charizard. "Um, thanks for your help and all, but… I kinda gotta go."

"Hmm?" Shauna asked from beside her. "Why so sudden?"

"Well, because…" Because I don't want to distract Alain by making him worry about me, so I'm staying out of his way until the League is over she thought – but the words were halted when he patted his hair down flat.

"Sorry, Bonnie." he said, chuckling. "But I don't think Dedenne's cut out to be a hair stylist. By the way, it sounds like Tierno and the others are here with Chespin."

"Never mind." Mairin told Shauna. "I thought I saw someone I recognized, but I guess I was mistaken."

The black-haired teen turned around, having caught the statement thanks to his practice with situational awareness in Aincrad. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about Alain, would you? The lady at the League reception desk mistook me and him for siblings, so I can see why you might have been confused. Kazuto Kirigaya, by the way."

"Wait, you know Alain?" Mairin wondered out loud.

Kazuto nodded. "I kinda got lost when I first came here to meet up with Ash – his opponent in the finals this afternoon – and he was kind enough to escort me to the stadium. I'm guessing you're Chespie's Trainer?"

Mairin blinked. "How do you know about Chespie?"

"Well, Alain mentioned him, you said you know Alain, and you were staring at Clemont's Chespin sadly for a few seconds. It wasn't that hard to connect the dots." Kazuto explained. "He did clam up almost immediately afterwards, but after I told him I'd been through something similar myself, I feel like he'd be more willing to let you in again."

Mairin's mouth curved upwards, her eyes shining with a mixture of happy tears and sad tears. "Thanks, but I still think I'll wait 'til after the League. Lysandre says Chespie should be awake by then, so I won't have to worry about distracting Alain from his battle." she said in a small voice.

Kazuto nodded sympathetically. "Well, that's your call. Make sure you do talk to him afterwards though, okay?"

Mairin sniffled, blowing her nose in a handkerchief Shauna handed her. "All right – thanks."

"You're welcome." he answered, patting her on the head. "My daughter Yui hates to see people cry, and I guess she kinda rubbed off on me."

"Hold on." Shauna interjected. "You have a kid? But you barely look any older than Ash and Serena…"

Kazuto scratched the back of his neck. "Well, my fiancée and I are kind of still in the process of officially adopting her, which was why neither of them could make it."

Understanding lit up on the Performer's face. "Oh, I see…"

"OBJECTION!" Greninja yelled, pointing dramatically at Pancham and Chespin and drawing everyone's attention. "You two are both going to apologize to each other – unless you want me to bring out the coffee spoons again."

A shiver of fear seemed to visibly travel up their spines, and the two squabbling pseudo-siblings swiftly squared up. Charizard, on the other hand, simply quirked his brow in curiosity. "What did you even do that has them so scared?" he muttered in Greninja's ear.

"Honestly, nothing. I told them 'whatever you can imagine, it'll be worse,' and then had Braixen use Hypnosis to put them into a semi-lucid dream where their imaginations could run wild. I was planning on having the time spent worrying be the punishment, but apparently they thought their dreams actually happened. But if it gets them to cooperate, I'm not complaining."

Charizard chuckled. "Ohohoho, that's bad. I approve."

Suddenly, Chespin perked up and ran towards the edge of the park. "Yay, Clemont's back!"

"Hey there, Chespin." Clemont said, stooping down to catch his Pokémon. "I hope you behaved for Bonnie."

Chespin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Hehehe… about that…"

"Wait, what's the Shalour Gym Leader doing here?" Trevor said, curious. "I get Clemont, since he runs the Lumiose Gym, but why's she here?"

"I came here to visit my boyfriend, duh!" Korrina answered, slinging an arm around Clemont's shoulders.

Shauna blinked. "Since when have you two been –"

"It's kind of a recent development." Clemont admitted, cheeks going slightly pink. "Ash and Serena should be back soon, too. Korrina just insisted on skating ahead, and I couldn't say no."

A branch cracked above their heads, and Ash fell out of the tree above them before bursting into a swirl of blue light as he hit the ground. A few seconds later, there was another flash of paler blue light, and Ash and Serena appeared in the middle of the clearing. "Oh, hey guys! What are you doing here?"

"They were helping Mairin over here bring Clemont's Chespin back." Sawyer told him. "What was that just now?"

Ash chuckled. "Well, ya see –"

Kazuto interrupted him. "Long story short, it's one of Ash's weird superpowers that lets him clone himself and get the memories of the clone when it breaks. I'm guessing he had it follow these two so Serena could teleport them straight here without getting lost."

This time, it was Ash's turn to blink in confusion. "How do you know all that?"

"One of your duplicates told me right before your match with Sawyer, remember?"

Ash shook his head. "All I remember from then is him standing in front of a bathroom door for several minutes and breath-doodling on a nearby window."

"Hmm. I guess that means his prank worked, then. Did you have a question, Korrina?"

The Gym Leader stopped waving her hand frantically. "Okay, I know you somehow did that with Aura – but HOW? None of Grandpa's scrolls said anything about a technique like that!"

Ash shrugged. "I guess it's sort of like a slightly more solid version of Substitute or Double Team, but you can't do it unless you know what it feels like to be in two places at once so you can replicate that. I only know because Arceus was messing with time travel the morning of registration…"

Mairin, meanwhile, was getting more panicked by the minute. THIS is who Alain's up against? I know Alain is super-duper strong, but if Ash acts like running into a Legendary Pokémon is an everyday occurrence, how strong is he? I'm pretty sure I even heard people saying his Greninja could FLY!

"Hey, is something the matter?" Serena asked, picking up on her panic.

"Um, well…"

"She's friends with Alain." Kazuto answered for her. "Her Chespin is sick, and Alain's boss Lysandre is apparently working on a cure, which somehow involves Alain collecting the energy from Mega Evolution, and so she's worried about him – especially now that she's met his opponent."

Serena nodded in understanding. "I get it. Honestly, Ash is worried too. This is his sixth League Conference, but it's the first time he's ever gotten to the finals. And we don't know for sure how strong Alain's Charizard really is, so we're in the same boat." She then glanced over to Kazuto. "By the way, did you say Alain is working for a guy named Lysandre?"

"Yeah, why? Did you meet him or something?"

Serena nodded again. "He found us right after Clemont and Korrina ran ahead and started asking us questions about Greninja. I could tell he was genuinely interested, but it felt like he was hiding something too."

Mairin furrowed her brow in thought. "Do you think maybe he was trying to see if Greninja's special transformation could help cure Chespie faster? It's kind of been a secret, which would explain why he didn't say anything about it." A nearby clock chimed, and her head shot up in alarm. "Oh no – I'm gonna be late! I told Lysandre I'd be back at the hotel by lunchtime, since he's letting me watch Alain's battle with him!"

"All right, then you do that." Kazuto told her. "Genos, do you mind making sure she gets there safely?"

"Of course, Master. If you believe I am ready for a solo escort mission, then I will carry it out to the best of my ability."

Kazuto glared at the Honedge with half-lidded eyes. "Just because I'm not getting a translation right now doesn't mean I don't know what you said. How many times do I have to tell you, stop calling me Master!"

"If my calculations are correct, one more than you are willing to, Master."

Kazuto threw up his hands in frustration. "Grrr… Whatever. You: escort quest. Now."

"As you command." Genos left with Mairin, hovering above and slightly behind her to keep a watchful eye out.

"Yeah, I probably ought to get going too." Ash said, beginning to recall his Pokémon. "Serena got a message while we were out saying that I need to be at the stadium an hour and a half or so before the battle. Some kind of new security measures or something, I guess."

Just before recalling Talonflame, he paused. "Oh yeah, and thanks for agreeing to let Charizard sub for you today."

Talonflame performed the closest equivalent it could to a shrug. "I mean, it made sense. Why cripple yourself against Rock-types by having two Fire/Flying Pokémon on your team?"

"Yeah, but you're still awesome for that. And I mean it."

Ash then turned to Kazuto. "Well, I'll see you after the battle. Make sure you cheer for me, okay?"

"Hey, I can't make any promises." Kazuto ribbed. "After all, Alain did rescue me from a runaway Berry cart…"

Ash put on an affronted look. "Fine then, cheer for him if you want. See if I need your encouragement to win…"

The two's façade soon broke down into chuckles, and Kazuto clapped Ash on the back. "Good luck out there, Ash. Time to put those two extra years you got to good use."


Omake: Fate/Sword Tuesday, Part VII


The next time Gilgamesh encountered Kirito, the swordsman's attitude had changed markedly. As soon as he caught sight of the ancient king, the whelp dropped to a knee and bowed his head, forcing his Master to do the same. Intrigued, Gilgamesh held off on skewering him for the time being.

"Rejoice, dog, for I have deemed you worthy of an opportunity to make reparations." he said magnanimously, gesturing to the kneeling figure in front of him.

"Oh ancient and powerful King of Uruk, I offer you my apologies for the undeserved insults which I bestowed upon you when last we met." Kirito intoned. "Upon further investigation, I discovered that you graced my Master's father with your presence during the preceding War – and so I thought it prudent to honor that former association with a gift, in hopes of stemming your ire. This treasure, which comes from my personal legend, is one of the things dearest to my heart, and yet I realize that it would be of far greater value in the possession of one so mighty as you." Keeping his head bowed, he held out his hand palm-up to reveal a necklace adorned by a single teardrop-shaped crystal.

Gilgamesh examined the object, and he quickly realized that it contained power equal to that of a Servant in and of itself. "I accept your gift, as well as your apology." he conceded, placing the necklace within the treasury of his Gate. "Perhaps I shall keep you around once the War is over, as long as you remain mindful of your place."

"Your forgiveness is unparalleled." Kirito replied. "And pardon the presumption, but may I ask how familiar Tokiomi was with modern technology? His daughter's aptitude in that field is sorely lacking."

Gilgamesh laughed aloud at that as Rin silently fumed. "You're an interesting one, aren't you? I never chose to learn, as such technology was beneath my notice."

"Sooo… that means you don't know how a Trojan virus works?"

"And why should I? My power comes from magic, not machines."

Kirito grinned cheekily at him. "Because that necklace was one. Sorry, but you're no longer a player in this War."

"What? Insolent mongrel!" Gilgamesh opened his Gate to skewer Kirito, only to be met with… nothing. "What? How can this be?"

"Well… Yui just moved all your 'item. phantasm' files to her internal storage, so now she has all your Noble Phantasms and you have none. And on top of that, none of what I said to you earlier was a lie. In gamer lingo, I believe that would translate to: 'get freaking rekt, scrub'."