In a nearby Pokémon center, a young doctor was busily treating the injured civilians and Pokémon. He wore an orange and grey vest, and underneath, he wore a green short sleeved shirt. His hair was messy and unkempt, and his eyes were barely noticeable. A Nurse Joy came running up to him just as he finished treating a wounded Audino. "Doctor Brock, we need you at room 246. There is a severely burned Liligant that requires your immediate attention. I will finish up with the Audino." Brock stood up. "All right Nurse Joy. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Pancham, use Stone Edge! Sylveon, Fairy Wind! Braixen, Fire Blast!" Serena commanded as each of her Pokémon nodded and executed their attacks. The three Pokémon were significantly weaker than Team Flare's, and they quickly got exhausted. Even so, they managed to knock out a grunt's Electrike before it could get close to Ash's unconscious form. Serena was worried. She knew her Pokémon wouldn't be able to hold their own in a fight against Team Flare. She then turned to face Ash's six older Pokémon. "I need you guys to act without Ash this time, ok? I don't really know how to battle, but you six know what to do right?" she asked hopefully. Charizard smirked. It then took off into the sky. Serena squinted to see where it had gone, but Charizard dived down as soon as it flew up and KO'd four of the grunt's Pokémon with his Overheat attack. Infernape leaped in front of Charizard, who was catching a breath from pulling off such a stunt, and swiftly punched a Liepard that tried to attack the recovering flying type with a Fire Punch. Infernape then lunged at it, its fist glowing white. Liepard turned and took a lightning fast Mach Punch in the face. It growled at its attacker and bit Infernape's arm with it Crunch. Infernape howled in pain, but quickly executed a Flame Wheel attack, setting Liepard on fire. Meanwhile Sceptile ran towards a horde consisting of Zubat, Skorupi, and Houndour and easily defeated them with Leaf Blade. It then proceeded to cut through more of the grunt's Pokémon, but was stopped by the Admin's Magnemite. Magnemite blinded Sceptile with Flash, but as it went in for the kill, it was tackled to the ground by Heracross, who finished it off with a single Megahorn. Bulbasaur supported its allies with Aromatherapy, and it added offensive status effects onto the desperate Team Flare grunts. It was suddenly got off guard by an unusually fast Sharpedo, who attacked with Ice Fang. Bulbasaur braced for impact, but surprisingly its attacker fell to the ground, KO'd from what looked like a Body Slam. Bulbasaur looked up, and there was Snorlax. Together the duo continued to hold off wave after wave of attackers.
Serena looked on in worry. Ash's Pokémon were doing fine, but if Team Flare continued to send in reinforcements, they would tire out. Quickly she ordered Braixen to use Psychic on Ash and to take him to the nearest Pokémon center. Braixen agreed and set off. It wasn't long before she was surrounded by the evil Zygarde roots, and she was already exhausted from using Psychic on Ash. The plants closed in on her, but were destroyed by Greninja. The other five Pokémon of Ash's Kalos team showed up, with Serena behind them. Bringing up the rear were the six older Pokémon, who were starting to tire out from the seemingly endless waves of enemies. Hawlucha, Talonflame and Greninja quickly carved a path through the Zygarde roots, and Noivern flew off to scout ahead for potential threats. The Pokémon Center was in sight, and Serena knew she had made it in time to save Ash. Meanwhile, Brock had just finished helping out the injured Liligant and was heading out to retrieve supplies from other Pokémon Centers when he saw Serena carrying an unconscious Ash through the doors. Brock was startled to see Ash in this state, and quickly rushed to his aid. Serena was confused. Why was this stranger so eager to help Ash? Brock quickly introduced himself as an old friend and told her that he needed to get Ash immediate attention. Once they had Ash given to a skilled human doctor, they proceeded to formally introduce themselves. "I'm Brock, former Gym leader of Pewter City in Kanto and an old friend of Ash. Currently, I'm training to become a Pokémon doctor, so I was sent here to get some firsthand experience." He then stretched out his hand. Serena shook it and introduced herself. "My name is Serena. I met Ash when we were kids in Pallet Town, but I had to move here to Kalos because my mom wanted to Rhyhorn Race here. One day I saw him on the news, so I went on a journey to find him. He's now my boyfriend," she blushed upon saying those words. Brock's eyes widened. How did Ash find a girlfriend so easily? He then shook the thought out of his head.
"I'm sure Ash will be OK, Serena. He's pulled through all kinds of predicaments. Of course, they could have been avoided if he wasn't so reckless," Brock said carefully. He didn't want Serena to worry too much about him.
"Thanks, Brock. I sure hope he wakes up soon though. Olympia's prophecy said he was crucial to this battle," Serena spoke quietly.
"What prophecy?"
"Oh—it's nothing."
Brock then excused himself, stating that he was needed in another part of the Pokémon Center. Serena was told to stay with Ash, as her presence could calm him down should he wake up all of a sudden. She grabbed a chair and sat by his bedside. She then began to cry softly. "Ash will pull through. I just know it," she thought to herself.
Bonnie and Clemont had almost reached Prism Tower when they also were surrounded by the Zygarde roots. Clemont reached for the three Pokeballs on his belt and released Chespin, Bunnelby and Luxray. Bonnie hid behind her brother, using Dedenne to guard her back.
"Chespin, Pin Missile! Luxray Thunder Fang! Bunnelby, Mud Shot!" The trio attacked the roots viciously, but as soon as one root was destroyed, three more took their place. Clemont grit his teeth, and sweat formed on his brow. Bonnie tried to support her brother the best they could, having Dedenne use Thundershock on it. Gradually the Lumiose twins were overwhelmed, and Bonnie held on to Clemont tightly. Clemont tried to shield his sister from the incoming roots, and consequently took a blow in the chest, sending him flying back. "CLEMONT!" Bonnie cried before running to him as fast as she could. The roots blocked her path though and prepared to strike.
"Blaziken, Flamethrower!" A masked man in a cape and mask called out.
"BlazeKIN!" the fire type released a burning flame from its mouth, destroying the surrounding roots. Bonnie looked up to see Blaziken-Mask land in front of her, his Mega Blaziken preparing to fire off another Flamethrower. "Go help your brother!" he shouted. Bonnie quickly obeyed and ran to the injured Clemont. Clemont sat up, breathing heavily before slouching back down and coughing.
"Bonnie, take Clemont to Nurse Joy. She can help treat his wounds," Blaziken-Mask ordered. Bonnie nodded and started off for the Pokémon Center. Meanwhile, the roots had reappeared in front of Blaziken-Mask and hoisted Mega Blaziken into the air. The roots then slammed it into the ground, severely injuring the Hoenn starter. Blaziken-Mask rushed to help his friend, but was slammed into a nearby wall as he approached. As Blaziken-Mask struggled to stand, he saw a young teenage boy with a Blastoise trying to free Blaziken from the Zygarde roots.
"Kid get back! It's too dangerous!"
"Don't worry old man. I got this. Blastoise, use Hydro Pump on the roots!" the boy called out. His partner instantly began to charge up its attack. Water was collected in Blastoise's twin cannons, and was then discharged in a powerful blast. The attack hit the roots which held Blaziken captive, freeing it, and together the two of them finished off the roots. Blaziken-Mask finally managed to stand up, and proceeded to thank the boy, but the boy instead raised his hand up, silencing him.
"Save your thanks for later. I'm Gary Oak, a Pokémon researcher. I came here because a friend of mine was competing in the Kalos League, as well as to study the Fairy types that live around here. We should get going though. Team Flare isn't gonna give up, so we've gotta stop them dead in their tracks instead. That'll teach 'em a lesson not to mess with me."
Blaziken-Mask simply nodded. And with that, the two trainers set off for Prism Tower.