Chapter 26: Shadow of the Day

[A/N] Okay, so there's a lot I want to talk about here. The good stuff will be at the top, and my rant will be at the bottom. You have been warned. I originally intended for this to be the battle as well, but these two scenes went way too long.

Pokemon Generations looks AMAZING. This is the anime that I wish Pokemon had always been. My only problem with it is that Red is the protag, but oh well. I guess it was inevitable. Similarly, Sun and Moon (the games) look SOOO good. The Aether Foundation in future fanfics? We'll see. Finally, the end of XYZ is really good. Like, significantly better than I expected. Good enough that it may play into this plot way down the line.

Notes of this chapter beforehand: All events from Mega Evolution Special One ONLY are cannon in this story. The only difference is that Alain synchro-evolves, not Mega Evolves. Now, for the positive review:

Amourshipping guest – Thanks!

Alain's Perspective – Lysandre Labs

"Hey, Alain, where are we going?"

Alain closed his eyes and shook his head. Will she ever stop asking questions? "Mairin, I promise that you'll see in a moment." Despite himself, a slight smile crossed his lips.

The nineteen-year old sighed as he looked up at the imposing facility rising up above him. He wore a brown fleece with gray lining that was unzipped, revealing a blue shirt. Black slacks were highlighted by hiking boots. His bare hands were visible, and the flash of a mega stone was visible on a strange bracelet around his wrist. He had to come on short notice, on an emergency call from the fiery-haired man who was his boss.

Mairin, who was walking next to him, frowned. "Hey, but I want to know now!" The green-clad sixteen year old tried to get ahead of Alain, but ended up tripping over her own feet, landing in a pile on the ground. "Oof!" A Chespin, who had been sitting on her shoulder, gave a worried cry and pulled her back to her feet. Mairin smiled and scratched the back over her neck abashedly. "Thanks, Chespie."

Alain sighed as they walked up to the building. "You're not seeing Lysandre." The duo walked through a sliding set of glass doors. Mairin gawked as they entered a several floor lobby dominated by glass and a massive globe of the world. He walked over to a receptionist and showed a badge, then they went down a lit corridor to the side of the lobby.

Mairin shook off her amazement and pouted. "Wait, why not? Who even is Lysandre, anyways?"

"That would be me."

Alain and Mairin both spun around to see a massive red haired man standing behind them. Mairin gasped and took a step backwards, while Alain nodded in a gesture of respect. "Sir."

Lysandre briefly smiled, then looked behind Alain at Mairin, who was staring up at him apprehensively. "And who is your friend you brought here?"

I didn't bring her, she came herself. Before Alain could respond, however, he was cut off by Mairin. "I'm Mairin, Alain's travel buddy! We stick together, right Alain?"

Alain rolled his eyes and grumbled, "More like you keep following me around."

Lysandre chuckled, a deep rolling sound. "In that case, you can come as well. Follow me. We have urgent business to attend to."

The duo followed Lysandre down another hallway and two flights of stairs until they came to a massive room. It was back lit by red light, and was filled with strange glass containers with what appeared to artifacts. Several leather couches sat on the cool artificial floor, and a massive wooden desk stood at the end of the room. One wall was entirely taken up by windows, and the entire room curved as it went deeper.

Lysandre stood by the door as he ushered Alain and Mairin into the room. Alain walked over to a couch, glaring at Mairin as she pressed her face against one of the glass canisters. If only she were the slightest bit more mature… He sat up straighter as Lysandre walked over to him. "So, what is the issue that was so urgent?"

Lysandre frowned. "What do you know about an organization called the Syndicate?" Alain shook his head as Mairin wandered over and sat down next to him, and Lysandre pressed on. "Allow me to educate you."

A screen descended from the ceiling, and several logos appeared on it. Lysandre pointed at the screen with a grim expression. "Team Magma. Team Aqua. Team Galactic. Team Plasma. Team Flare. The Pokemon Hunters. Do you recognize any of these names?"

Alain nodded slowly. "Yes, yes I do. All of them besides Team Flare and the Pokemon Hunters, in fact."

Lysandre nodded. "Around six months ago, there was a systematic break-in at every major prison in all of the main regions, excepting Alola. Authorities think that escapees number in the thousands, and all were once members of at least one of these organizations. The Leagues have kept it quiet, but we believe that all of these organizations have come together under the banner of the shadow organization called The Syndicate."

Alain's mouth dropped, but it was Mairin who spoke first. "But Lysandre, who would do that? What do they want?" She sounded naive and innocent saying it, and Alain had to hold back a sigh.

Lysandre nodded. "That is why I have called you here today. The Syndicate has nefarious motives that are currently unknown to us. However, we have identified their main target, one that will threaten the world if our organization and my boss do not beat them to it."

Lysandre has a boss? "What is it?"

Lysandre bowed his head. "Legendary Pokemon."

Alain frowned. "All of them?"

Lysandre nodded. "We have determined that the only way to stop this from threatening our entire world is not only to stop the Syndicate, but to capture the legendary Pokemon involved as well. If not, then we endanger our world far more that if the Syndicate gains control of them."

Alain and Mairin gasped. "But how could Legendary Pokemon a danger?" Alain asked, head spinning wildly. "Most are venerated as protectors of balance and humanity, and the rest are generally peaceful."

Lysandre shook his head. "Over the past several years, the capabilities of criminal organizations to function in a destructive manner has skyrocketed. More Legendary and Mythical Pokemon have been disturbed in the past six years than in the last millennium, a shocking uptick. Legendaries are angry with humans, and many of them are in varying states of wakefulness. If we don't capture a legendary after disturbing it, then it causes destruction and death. Just look at some of the recent encounters." He waved his hand, and statistics began flashing across the screen.

40 dead in Eindoak Town after an incident with Zekrom, Reshiram, and Victini.

70 dead in the Plasma crisis in Unova.

150 dead on Shamouti due to destructive weather from the Legendary Bird Trio.

200 dead in a freak storm of the Kanto coast tied to a Mewtwo in the area.

500 dead after Deoxys took over a city and nearly destroyed it.

1,000 dead due to flood waters of fifty feet caused by Kyogre's appearance in Hoenn.

3,000 dead in Alto Mare after an attack provoked Latios and Latias, leading to extreme floods, the awakening of ancient Pokemon, and a citywide shutdown that trapped millions.

200,000 dead in New Tork City after a group of Genesect clashed with a Mewtwo in the city.

And worst of all, more than 300,000 dead after Palkia and Dialga tore Alamos Town apart from it's foundations, killing more that three fourths of the inhabitants.

Mairin was whimpering by the end, and Alain frowned as he covered her ears for the last statistic. Lysandre's eyes were glistening by the end. "500,000 people have died in the last six years as a result of Legendary Pokemon, and this is no natural occurrence. Legendary Pokemon have become a threat to humanity, one that the Syndicate plans to use for their evil ambitions. By doing so, they endanger our world far more than one could ever imagine. We have to stop this at its source to prevent any future incidents."

Alain shook his head. "And this Syndicate is at least 10,000 strong, probably more, with the power of six major criminal organizations backing it"

Lysandre shook his head. "No one single organization still has all of its members. Some defected, either to the police to try and stop the Syndicate or otherwise just didn't want to take part. This brings me to the urgent part of why I called you here."

Alain's head was spinning. Legendary Pokemon… a threat? If what Lysandre says is true, I need to protect Mairin. "What do they plan to do?"

Lysandre waved his hand, and the image of a stadium flashed onto the screen. "The Tournament Extraordinaire. The biggest tournament event this year in Kalos, excepting the Pokemon League. Pierre, the head of Showcases in Kalos, as well as the champion Diantha, will be in attendance, as well as more than 70,000 people."

Alain's eyes widened. "And you think an attack will happen there soon."

"Not soon. Either during or after the finals, which will take place in just under an hour." Lysandre massaged his temples as he stared at the picture. "Our sources inside of the organization reported Syndicate activity starting about a week ago. Apparently, they plan to unleash a Legendary Pokemon on the stadium, though we are still unsure of which one. Then this morning, every single league computer read the message 'This is the last good day.' Whatever their plans may be, it is clear that this is only the beginning."

Alain was standing by the end of Lysandre's speech. "What are we waiting for? We have to stop them!"

Lysandre put a hand on his shoulder. "Alain."

Looking into Lysandre's eyes, devoid of hope, his shoulders sagged. "What?"

"It's too late. This attack will happen whether we intervene or not. We already have allocated as much of our resources as we can to stop it. It's too late."

Alain looked defiant for a moment. Mairin poked him and shook her head vigorously, and he sighed in defeat. "What do you need me to do?"

Lysandre clenched his fist. "We have to stop Legendaries before the Syndicate can get to them. In the Hoenn region, the weather trio are dangerously close to being awakened by Steven Stone, the champion of Hoenn. Your job is to join his excavation, and ensure that you are there when he does so. After that, defend the awakened Pokemon from the Syndicate until our men arrive there. If not, we believe the entire Hoenn region may be destroyed in a battle even greater that the time they appeared three years ago."

Alain nodded. "Understood, sir."

Lysandre nodded. "Good. There is a helicopter waiting. Accept any Mega battles you may find along the way, as your former orders still stand." The tall man turned away, and Alain and Mairin walked out of the room.

After they were a fair distance away from the room, Mairin frowned. "That's scary! Why would anyone want to use Pokemon like that?" Chespie nodded from her shoulder.

"There are bad people in this world. There is no logic in cruelty." Alain stared in fear at Mairin. I can't take her with me! She's clueless and naive, and she'll only get hurt. I can't! "You have to stay here."

Mairin's eyes widened. "What? No way! You're my travel buddy, and it's my job to protect you!" She tried to puff out her chest, but doing so caused her to loose her balance, and she tripped over her own feet again.

Alain rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. I think Charizard and I will be fine."

Mairin pouted. "You think just because you can Synchro Evolve with your Charizard, you're so special. I already told you, Chespie and I will do that someday!"

Alain face palmed. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's more complicated than that! First off, Chesnaught can't Mega Evolve. Second, you need a Chesnaught in the first place!"

Mairin's face fell. "Oh." Then she perked up and shrugged. "You still need protection, silly! Me and Chespie can do it without that silly transformation!"

Alain frowned as they ascended several flights of stairs to the roof. "No. You need to stay here." They emerged onto the roof and started walking towards a helicopter parked on the helipad. Alain, expecting a retort, started to walk faster only to stop near the helicopter as no response came. When he turned around, what he saw shocked him.

Mairin stood absolutely still. She was mid-fall, one foot crossed over the other as she stuck her arms out to stop her fall. Chepsie had an expression that clearly read "not again" plastered all over his face as he watched his trainer fall. Why is nothing moving? What the fuck is happening? There was no sound, nothing but his own breathing.

"Alain." He spun around to see a woman leaning against the helicopter that they were supposed to take to Hoenn. She had bright blue hair, and she wore a long cloak that seemed to hug her body and shroud her. "I would have expected you to look a little deeper into your conversation with Lysandre. Such a shame that you didn't really. I suppose it was inevitable."

Alain's eyes flashed at the insult. What on earth is this woman talking about? "Who are you, and what do you want?"

The woman smirked. "Straight and to the point, aren't we? Well in that case, you're going to battle me."

Alain's hand flew to Charizard's pokeball. "Why should I? I have to go to Hoenn." There was a flash of light, and the woman vanished from where she was sitting. Alain looked around wildly, then froze when he realized she was standing next to Mairin. "Get away from her," he hissed.

The woman gently reached out, and brushed a few stray hairs out of Mairin's face. "Such a sweet girl. It would be… a shame if anything were to happen to her."

Alain's face filled with rage and he tried to take a step forwards, only to be stopped by some invisible force. Slamming his fist against what felt like an invisible wall, he shouted, "I said, get away from her!"

The woman shook her head and walked forwards towards Alain. "Alain, you are a fool. Your passion is your best driver and your fatal flaw. You are so blinded by others that you fail to see the consequence in your own actions. I really ought to kill you. It would probably help this world in the end."

The anger left Alain's face to be replaced by fear. "What do you want?" he said in a tone that was almost pleading.

The woman nodded. "It's quite simple, really. Lysandre has misled you, but you're far too valuable to be wasted like this. You're not going to Hoenn anytime soon. Now, you're going to battle me. If you win, you stay with the girl and follow my orders on your terms. If you lose, we do things on my terms. Personally, I think my terms are more fun."

I can't let her touch Mairin. Alain narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist. "Fine. Have it your way. Just don't hurt Mairin." He picked up the pokeball and threw it. "Charizard, go!"

The woman laughed as the Kanto starter appeared, a cold and empty sound that reverberated through the silent air. "Oh, believe me, that was never my intention. In her entire life, YOU were the only one who could ever hurt her." She picked up a pokeball and threw it. "Malamar, you're on."

Alain's eyes widened as the squid-like Pokemon appeared. How does she have a Malamar? That thing could beat us in seconds. Malamar's eyes glowed, and Mairin and the woman were both lifted to a higher part of the roof. Mairin. I have to save Mairin. "Charizard, keep your eyes closed! Don't let it hypnotize you!"

The woman frowned. "My name is Cerys, and you would do well not to underestimate me. Show me your real power, or your Charizard won't stand a chance."

Alain growled as he grabbed his keystone. Fine. If she wants it that way, then let's show her what a real battle looks like. "Beyond evolution, Mega Evolve!" he roared as blinding rainbow light crossed the roof.

As the beams of light from Alain's keystone and Charizard's mega stone connected, both started to glow a brilliant white. Charizard's wings grew and elongated, and massive talons grew at the ends. His entire body changed color, becoming a shade of black that was a stark contrast against his now blue flames. Alain's clothes changed as well, turning black and blue. The fur lining of his coat grew to mimic the flames coming from Charizard's mouth, and his hair stuck up like a horn. The transformation faded with the Mega symbol, and the Synchro evolved duo stood in front of Cerys' watching eyes.

A cold smiled filled her lips as she stood ready for battle. "Malamar, dark pulse."

Alain growled. Charizard still had his eyes closed, so he had to shout out maneuvers as well as moves. "Dodge up, then blast burn."

A void beam of energy blasted towards Charizard, who flew up to avoid it. The dragon came crashing back down to earth as his fist glowed red. He slammed into the roof and it fractured beneath him as a plume of lava and fire erupted from beneath it. Concrete chunks flew into the air, and steel beams ripped and contorted as the blaze flew towards Malamar, only for the Overturning Pokemon to throw up a massive protect that shielded both it and Cerys. When the flare faded, the entire roof was wrecked, the floor below visible. Fires were frozen in flame throughout the building, stopped in time the second Charizard finished the move.

Cerys shook her head. "Stupid. I expected more of you. Psychic."

Unable to stop the attack, Charizard was lifted into the air by a blast of psychic energy. HE roared in pain as it coursed through his body, and Alain cried out "Charizard!"

"Force its eyes open, then hypnosis," Cerys snarled. Against his will, Charizard's eyes snapped open as Malamar's belly glowed yellow. He roared, then his claws glowed green in a dragon claw. Viciously, he began to rip into his own chest, and he and Alain simultaneously screamed out in pain as gashes began to appear.

"Stop it!" Alain shouted in pain. "This is cruel! Why are you doing this?"

Cerys gestured to her Pokemon, and its eyes glowed again. Charizard flew from his levitated position into the wreckage of the roof, landing amid the flames he had created. He and Alain both flashed, and Alain fell to one knee. She… She destroyed me. How could I have possibly hoped to face up against her?

Cerys smirked. "Wonderful. So we'll do things on my terms."

Alain cried out in shock as psychic lifted him up into the air. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you, considering you won't remember any of this shortly." Cerys said.

Alain's eyes widened. "You're going to wipe my memory? You can't take Mairin away!"

Cerys looked over at the young girl frozen besides her. "Oh, I would never do that. Simply put, you have a mission. You're going to destroy the Syndicate for me."

Before he could respond, Malamar froze his mouth into place, preventing him from speaking. Cerys took another pokeball off of her belt. Alain looked again, and realized it wasn't just any pokeball.

It was a Master ball.

Cerys pressed the button, and a shadow emerged from the ball, piercing Alain's heart with terror. It was like a cloud of dark energy, and he couldn't make out the Pokemon inside of it. The thing threw out two shadowy arms, and the world lit up with a bright green. Hidden power. Malamar's eyes glowed, and Alain's coat and glove ripped off of his arm that didn't have the mega bracelet. The thing's eyes glowed, and Alain was blinded by pain as what felt like a blade cut across his hand. Once he regained his vision, he could see some sort of symbol.

Three lines were drawn across his hand, parallel. Two were shorter, and the other was slightly long. All three were struck through with a single line. It looked like he had gotten a tattoo.

Cerys nodded as Malamar's belly glowed yellow. Alain felt as if he was falling into himself as all semblances of identity began to drain away from him. "Welcome to your new life, Alain. Mairin is your key. And..."

As Alain drifted away, his last thought was of Mairin.

"Remember the Dialga Institute."

Mairin's Perspective – Lysandre Labs

Mairin fell flat on her face.

She growled, and yelled "Alain, I'm not leaving you!" Getting to her feet, he jaw dropped as she looked up at the burning wreckage of Lysandre Labs.

The facility consisted of five cylindrical buildings, one of which was half destroyed and blazing. Half a dozen alarms rang through the air, and a flood of people started to run out of the building as Mairin stared up in shock. How did I get here? Where's Alain?

What happened to him?

As that thought resonated in her head, she screamed "Alain!" Chespie jumped onto her shoulder, and she started to sprint into the building. She burst into the lobby through the chaos of the evacuation. She decided to retrace her steps, and she sprinted down the halls and corridors towards the collapsed building. At one point, she tripped over something small and green, but she kept on running regardless.

When she got into the collapsing building, she couldn't see anything but collapse rubble and dust. The hallway ahead was blocked by chunks of plaster and rock. Chespie frowned as his vines tunneled into the boulders, managed to collapse the pile, revealing a corridor merrily blazing. Mairin looked ahead with dismay. I'll never get to Alain at this rate! Tears started to cloud her vision, but then her resolve steeled. He's my travel buddy. If he's still there, I need to help him.

Making a split second decision, she threw Bebe's pokeball. The small fairy appeared in front of her, and Mairin said "Help me get through this fire, please. We have to find Alain!"

Flabebe nodded. Mairin ran into the burning building as a cloud of fairy wind and razor leaves surrounded her. She made her way through the burning corridor until she came to a pile of rubble. From the top, the sky was visible. Chespie broke down the pile, and she stepped out into a scene of destruction.

The entire roof had collapsed, and the top floor was open to the sky. Most of it was on fire, and the rest looked charred. The one thing that was immediately clear was that no human could have created that fire. "Charizard," Mairin whispered. "Alain, where are you?"

Mairin, speechless, stared in horror at the destruction in front of her. Bebe worriedly looked at her trainer, then glared at the scene of destruction in front of her. Crying out in a reedy high-pitched voice, a massive cloud formed overhead. Mairin gasped as a heavy rain began to fall. She looked at her tiny Pokemon in awe. "You used rain dance! Awesome, Bebe!" Out of the corner of her eye, Mairin spotted something orange. Spinning around on her heel, she gasped as Charizard came into view.

The fiery dragon was lying in a crater at the foot of the wall of the lab. His stomach looked like it had been savaged, with gashes covering it and bleeding. His tail light was dangerously low, and the rain seemed like it was going to put it out. The shattered remains of a pokeball were scattered around him, and his mega stone was gone, seeming ripped off of his neck.

Mairin stared at Alain's Pokemon in shock and horror. Her eyes teared up as she knelt to scoop up a piece of pokeball. "N-no," she whispered. "What happened?" Alain, where are you? Please be okay. Now she truly began to cry in earnest, burying her face in Charizard's warm belly. The Pokemon seemed to stir a little and gave a weak growl, causing Mairin to shoot up in surprise.

He's… alive? Looking over the Pokemon, it didn't take long to realize that he wouldn't last much longer unless he got urgent care. Charizard was attacked, and his pokeball is destroyed. I need to get him to the Pokemon Center now. But how? Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration.

I need to catch him.Remembering what Alain had taught her when she had caught Bebe, she dug a pokeball out of her purse. Looking down at it, she sighed and reached out to press the button against his side. In a flash of red light, the injured fire type was sucked in, and the ball dinged on the first weak roll.

Mairin picked up Alain's Charizard – no, her Charizard, and stared at the ball. Clipping it to her belt, she began to search the top floor frantically for any other signs of life. Almost immediately, she stepped on something soft and black.

Alain's glove. Does this mean that Alain is dead? Is Alain gone? She collapsed to her knees and gingerly slipped in onto her left hand, blankly staring at the space where it had been until a hand rested on her shoulder.

She whipped around to see Lysandre standing behind her. The man had fire in his eyes, and looked murderous as he stared around the destroyed building. "What happened here?" he snarled, looking down at Mairin, who started to cry again.

"A-A-Alain is gone!" she sobbed. Lysandre looked down at her, stoic as black fire raged in his eyes. "I found Charizard, and, and he's really hurt. His Mega stone is gone and his pokeball is destroyed, so I-I caught him. I think somebody tried to kill Charizard, and took Alain."

Lysandre's face took on a grim expression as he stepped forwards. He stepped forwards and surveyed the destroyed wreckage. His voice was dangerously low. "Then the Syndicate has just kidnapped my strongest operative."

Mairin's eyes widened through her tears. "Th- The Syndicate?"

Lysandre nodded, and looked down at her. "You shouldn't be here. This matter no longer concerns you. You need to get Charizard to the center immediately. I will escort you to one personally."

"But-"

Lysandre looked thoughtful. "In fact, Professor Sycamore himself is running a summer camp starting tomorrow. I'm sure that you will be safe there."

"No!" Mairin had wiped away here tears, and she now was angrily looking at Lysandre, flanked by her Pokemon. "Alain's my travel buddy! He looks out for me, so I need to look out for him to. I want to help you find him! I-I need to help!"

Lysandre looked at her with a pitying glance that made her feel even smaller than she was. "Alain has been taken by the most dangerous criminal association in a century, and you, a sixteen year old with a Chespin, a Flabebe, and a mortally wounded Charizard, think you can get him back."

"But-" Mairin's face fell, and she sagged. "Please get him back."

Lysandre nodded. "Come on. I'm taking you away from here." He pulled out an ultra ball and released an Abra. They were gone in a flash, leaving only the desolate building behind in the pouring rain.

[A/N] Don't worry about Alain. He has a role to play. I honestly hated doing what I did to Charizard, but I honestly need Alain in a situation where that just doesn't work. It had to happen. This is a transition chapter, honestly. It needed to happen to get us where we need to go.

Rant Warning

First off, let's discuss the Sun and Moon anime.

Oh my god, does Ash's design look ugly. The animators took his weird squiggles, enlarged them, and moved them down his face, to start. Then comes the overly cartoonified look, and his kid-like expressions. And he's going to SCHOOL?

Ash Ketchum, the human who has met ever existing legendary, the boy who has talked down Arceus and saved the world more times than I can count, is going to school.

Pokemon, what the hell are you doing?

Second, let's discuss flaming.

LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR. CRITICISM IS A GOOD THING. I appreciate your reviews more than anything else about this story. You guys are great. However, reviews like this are unacceptable, even though I agree with some of the things he says.

"Druddigon as a starter is obviously too overpowered, then merely a few chapters later it gets 7 moves, with most being very powerful moves. There are well done OCs, but this is not one of them.

The following traits are common to fan-written works, they are not unique to this story and I'm not particularly singling out Pokefan87's story:

[1]It's a standard self-insert Mary Sue OC, obviously the writer would make them overpowered so their character looks good, and set it up so they are much stronger than the original MCs.

[2]OC plans to eventually beat/overtake the main character from the original work, and usually suceeds.

[3]Well, as with most fanfiction, get ready for in-story character bashing because it's a popular thing to do among fanfic writers. The amount of character bashing done varies from mild to extreme depending on the writer's taste and the premise of the story (those godawful Ash Betrayed stories), and sometimes characters are made to act out-of-character (OOC) just to please the author.

[4]The earlier chapters feel rushed, and should probably be redone to be more consistent with the later chapters. But we all know most authors can't be bothered to do that ;)"

First off, this is a classic example of flaming. A guest logs on, reads part of a story, and leaves a review that is not only negative but incendiary and mean-spirited. Worst off all, the author is unable to respond. I seriously considered not moderating it, but I decided that I would rather prove a point.

Now, I'm going to respond to the legitimate points first.

First, Druddigon. I believe that I have addressed this before, but there are several reasons for this choice.

Most importantly, Erin faces ridiculous opponents like Cerys. She needs to be able to have a fourth of a chance.

Uniqueness was my original reason. When was the last time you read a story with a Druddigon, period?

If you didn't catch it a few chapters ago, that encounter wasn't random. The egg was chosen by SPOILERS REDACTED.

Finally, there's an upcoming plotline that has been hinted since chapter five.

Second, this point: "It's a standard self-insert Mary Sue OC"

Honestly, the self-insert part is easy. I am nothing like Erin. Erin has a plot based and centric reason for being in this story, and everything about her comes from this. IT has nothing to do with my life. That's all I can say

Now, for the Mary Sue part. I have so many reasons for why Erin isn't, so let's go

First, anyone who's ever played the XY games knows how terrible the pacing is. By the time I got to Shalour City, my entire party was ~level 35. Erin's team is underleveled by that criterion. By all rights, Ralts should be a Gardevoir in game logic and in power. Now, Ash, on the other hand, has a ridiculous Pikachu and a weak Fletchinder and Froaky. There's a reason Erin seems better than he is.

Second, Erin looses way more than she wins. The only battles she has legitimately won onscreen in this work have been against Grant and Team Rocket. Not exactly a winning record.

Third, the four move limit is stupid. Every move in Erin's party is on level or can be taught by TM. In my world, actual training is my alternative to TM s.

Now to respond to the rest:

"OC plans to eventually beat/overtake the main character from the original work, and usually suceeds"

This is absolute bs. You read to chapter seven. You have no clue where this story is going, and have to no right to judge the entire plot off of your assumptions. This motivation becomes insignificant by the fifteenth chapter.

"Well, as with most fanfiction, get ready for in-story character bashing because it's a popular thing to do among fanfic writers. The amount of character bashing done varies from mild to extreme depending on the writer's taste and the premise of the story (those godawful Ash Betrayed stories), and sometimes characters are made to act out-of-character (OOC) just to please the author"

I am insulted that you compare this to a Betrayal fic.

There is virtually no character bashing in this story, besides team rocket, who receive their usual treatment.

Characters don't act OOC to PLEASE THE AUTHOR. They act OOC because of CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

"The earlier chapters feel rushed, and should probably be redone to be more consistent with the later chapters. But we all know most authors can't be bothered to do that ;)"

This infuriates me. The whole point of writing fan fiction for me is to improve my writing. Suggesting that any story is invalidated by the first chapters is bad enough, but to suggest that we can't be bothered to change it?

Can't be bothered?

Are you kidding me?

I have spent six months of my life writing this, and I adore this story more than anything I have ever written. To suggest that I don't care is possibly the worst thing you could say to a writer's face.

You know what I say?

Guest, since you obviously have enough time to spare, go write your own fanfic. Once you write 80,000 words, come back and tell me I don't care.

I think you'll find this review waiting for you.

End Rant

I apologize to everyone who read through that. Thank you for your support. Remember to review, and Pokefan87 signing out.