t was an eerily quiet Ash that came back to pick up his Pikachu at the care facility. He barely acknowledged anything around him, even as he had to pay the caretakers for watching his Pokemon for the hour. The mouse Pokemon chirped in confusion as he hopped onto his master's shoulders, nuzzling his cheek with a silent inquiry.

"I'm fine, buddy." Ash told him. "I just…" Alessa gave he a chance to drop our fight and I didn't take it. "…We're going to face her when the tournament is over."

Piakchu's eyes widened. That soon?

Ash nodded slowly, trying to walk down the street. It was almost sundown, and he'd promised he'd meet his friends at one of the restaurants for dinner in exchange for his 'alone-day'. There was a shortcut through one of the alleyways, so Ash trudged through the shadowed alley.. "Yeah. So…we can get stronger during the tournament. And if things go wrong…with her, I mean, we'll at least have…won…"

Ash started shaking and nearly collapsed, leaning his hand on a nearby wall to keep himself upright. It had never occurred to him until now just what he'd just agreed to. What would he be fighting? Alessa's creatures. He'd seen what they could do. He knew what Alessa would be willing to do. Was he actually going to put his friends up against that?

Then again, one of the first conversations he'd had with 'Alyx' was that Pokemon were a lot more resilient than humans, able to take attacks that would kill normal people. And his Pokemon had survived nearly being killed on multiple occasions. Charizard nearly had his neck snapped by an invincible Entei construct. Pikachu had faced off against two giant invincible ancient Pokemon once. And who's to say they wouldn't see those things as just…scarier looking Pokemon to fight? As long as he was careful…

But if he wasn't careful…he couldn't imagine what would happen. Would they survive? Would he survive? Would they ever trust him again? Would he ever trust himself again? Would he be allowed to train? Was this his last shot at his dream, ever? His last chance? All over a deal he could've just ended? Would it be worth it?

But he couldn't walk away. He threw that chance away. He HAD to face her. He HAD to beat her. He had to beat Silent Hill. He had to beat the nightmares. He had to beat Alessa Gillespie.

Ash opened his eyes, staring blankly at his shadow on the wall. What was he supposed to do now? It was stressful enough with the tournament and Paul, but now Alessa! He had to think. His friends could wait, the tournament could wait, Paul could wait, he just needed some time to think…

And then his shadow jumped out at him.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Ash stumbled backwards in shock, landing on his back on the ground. His hat dislodged and covered his eyes, and when he moved it he saw a grinning wild Gengar laughing at his pain.

"Oh, you think you're funny, do ya?!" Ash snapped, enraged that his thoughts had been rudely interrupted by this prankster. The Gengar just nodded in response, still chuckling at the boys reaction. "Oh yeah?! Pikachu, thunderbolt! Go!"

Pikachu was all too happy to blast this pest, and let loose with a powerful Thunderbolt at the offending ghost. While the Gengar definitely felt it, it shrugged it off and retaliated with rings of blue energy. Pikachu tried zapping him again, but the sparks fizzled from Pikachu's cheeks as Gengar blasted him with Dark Pulse. He must've used Disable, but Thunderbolt wasn't Pikachu's only attack. "Use Iron Tail, now!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu quickly picked himself up and charged up his tail, running at the frustrating ghost. Pikachu's glowing tail smashed right into Gengar, sending him flying into the alley wall. Gengar was too stunned to make himself incorporeal, and just fell to the ground stunned.

An idea struck Ash. Digging into his backpack, he found a Pokeball and immediately tossed it at the Gengar. Before the ghost could react, the ball had struck him and he was enveloped in red light. The ball clattered to the ground, shaking once…twice…beep.

Ash couldn't resist a fist pump. Yes! This Gengar would come in handy against Paul…

Paul…Ash's smile faded. What did that jerk matter anymore? What was the point? Alessa was going to cost him everything, one way or the other. What did one rival matter anymore? It wasn't Paul he wanted to defeat. It was HER. If he could defeat HER…finally best her, be rid of her…that was all that mattered…

Ash shook his head clear. No. No. He wasn't going to obsess over Alessa. She wouldn't…she wouldn't control him like that. Right now, there was the tournament. And if Alessa really was going to ruin everything for him in the end, then that just made it more important. His last chance for the trophy. He was going to WIN this one.

No matter what.

Ash picked up the Pokeball carrying his new Gengar and walked out of the alley with Pikachu. He'd see his friends again, act casual, do some small talk. Then he'd go to the hotel and get some sleep. Hopefully, his trusted sleeping pills would keep the nightmares away.

And then it was training for the next fight. He was going to win this. And then next one, and the one after that, all the way up to the finals. If Paul was one of those victories, great. But he was going to go for the gold. Make himself stronger for Alessa. One last chance, and he wasn't going to waste it.

Ash managed to smile. He was going to beat this tournament. He was going to beat Paul.

And more importantly, he was going to beat Alessa.


On the other side of town, in one of the old warehouses, three part-time crooks, part-time shopkeepers were busy creating merchandise to sell. Jessie was sewing fabric to make dolls, James was creating imitation badge, and Meowth was counting the money they'd made that day.

"Dis was a good sales day, Jess." Meowth commented. "Maybe tomorrow we can afford a real place t' sleep."

"That'd be wonderful." Jessie sighed. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a hotel room with room service, a Jacuzzi, a minibar…"

"I'd settle for a pillow and Cable." James remarked wistfully.

Jessie scowled at her partner before returning to her sewing. "Whatever. We should save up for another machine, anyway. We gotta steal some Tournament Pokemon for the boss!"

"Uhhh…about dat." Meowth interjected nervously. "I called da boss while you was shilling your fake badges and such. He…uh, wants us to lay low. Forget about stealin' Pokemon fer now."

Jessie and James stared at Meowth like he'd grown a second head. "…What? Why?"

Meowth shrugged. "Boss wasn't too eager to say. Somethin' about a recent lack of personnel…I guess a lot of operatives have been jailed or something. Ain't ya noticed we haven't heard from anybody lately?"

Jessie scratched her chin in thought. "Come to think of it…when was the last time anyone other than us made the news?"

"Team Rocket's the biggest criminal organization in Kanto…so why haven't we heard anything about it?" James asked.

"Like I said, boss won't talk." Meowth admitted. "He just wants us to stay outta trouble and not attract attention. So let's just sell dis junk fer now. We can always steal Pokemon later."

Jessie and James glanced at each other, still somewhat confused. Giovanni was usually the one demanding that they steal Pokemon for him, and now he was telling them to stop? And why hadn't they heard about Team Rocket's activities in so long? Something was definitely up…but they weren't going to question the boss's orders.

"Okay, fine." Jessie accepted, going back to her sewing. "But we better get an explanation soon."

"WOBBUFFET!"

"Dat's not an explanation…"


The Lily of the Valley Island Botanical Gardens. A steel-and-glass dome almost as big as the stadium, filled to the brim with rare and beautiful plants. The inside almost looked like a jungle, with gigantic leaves and palm fronds crowding the air above visitor's heads. Bug, Grass and Fairy Pokemon used for pollination buzzed freely about, making sure each and every flower was taken care of. There were some truly gorgeous flowers, with petals displaying the most awe-inspiring of patterns.

Alessa wasn't interested in any of them.

Instead, she kept walking towards another corner of the gardens. The Botanical Gardens also boasted a collection of rare plants, some of which were almost extinct outside the gardens. They were kept behind glass, preserved very carefully so they could be seen without endangering the flowers themselves.

It was one of these flowers that Alessa wanted to see. It wasn't the rarest plant here, or even the most unique. It looked unspectacular, at least compared to the more exotic plants around it. It wasn't even blooming yet. The picture on the glass case showed a small peony, as red as blood.

Alessa touched the glass as if to caress the flower behind it. She stared at it sadly, thinking about the future.

Ash seemed to think she was liar, but really, the only thing she'd lied to him about was her name. She certainly hadn't been lying at the Black Chrysanthemum. She was truly willing to let Ash walk away from that little agreement.

And she wasn't lying when she said that she'd be out of his hair for good soon…


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