And now for the fight you've all been waiting for, the long-anticipated match with Wes! In this no-holds barred brawl, who will take the coveted title of champion and the prized champion's belt, becoming undisputed master of Mt. Battle? (Save for Mr. Ford, of course) Find out in this chapter! I hope the (probably) long wait will have been worth it!

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters that don't belong to me.

"So, Gonzales, how do you feel? Everything in shipshape and working order?" Ford asked Ash, who was sitting on the other side of the desk with the rest of the Fighting Four (and Tiny) in the Blaziken's office. Ms. Maple stood next to him, as always.

"Yeah, I feel fine," Ash marveled as he flexed his freshly regrown right arm. "This thing feels just like my old one. I can't even tell the difference, really!"

Ford chuckled. "That Nurse Joy sure is a miracle worker, isn't she?"

"The reason that arm feels like your old one is probably because Joy grew it using your cells and what was left of the one Paul tore off and froze—and you later shattered—right from the stump rather than grafting a new limb to it," May explained.

"Well, whatever she did, it feels great, just like the rest of me," Ash said.

"She was nice enough to give you a new eye and fix your face, too," Pikachu said.

"Which is good, dawg, 'cuz now Tiny don't have to go through life with a pops as ugly as Three-Face, yo!" Leo said. Tiny frowned at Leo and sucked his pacifier. He wouldn't have cared what Ash looked, either way he was still his caretaker. Though he probably wouldn't have been able to work as effectively missing an arm and most of his face, along with everything else Paul had done to him.

"Speaking of Nurse Joy, was she able to figure out exactly how Paul was able to utilize that astonishing healing power he demonstrated in the arena?" Sasha asked.

Ford frowned at the mention of the Weavile. "That dirty cheat…can't believe he pulled something like that in my ring! His rather unorthodox fighting style's always been tolerated because it gets the crowd fired up, but to learn that he's been illegally healing himself during matches to keep from being defeated as well as to prolong how much pain he can inflict on his opponent…he'll never fight in any professional or official tournament ever again! The unofficial and shady ones, on the other hand, he'll always find a place in, but that can't be helped."

"Wait, you mean he's not dead?" asked the surprised Pikachu.

Ford shook his head. "Nope! He was in critical condition when he got to the infirmary, but Joy's already at work healing him up…apparently, the dagger that ninja girl drove in his back was only millimeters away from his heart! A little closer, and our boy would be dead…but I'm glad she missed, for whatever reason, because now I can deal with Paul's punishment for breaking the hallowed rules of this facility personally…"

"She missed? Dang! The world probably would'a been better off without a mofo like that," Leo complained. Ash frowned, finding it hard to disagree.

"How was he able to heal like that?" Sasha asked again.

"As far as Nurse Joy can determine, Paul had a unique physiology that caused his body's natural healing ability to accelerate at a phenomenal rate, to the point that any injury inflicted on him repaired itself in seconds, so fast an untrained observer would think he had never been hurt at all. He's clearly been using this ability to win countless matches and build up a reputation as a nearly undefeatable opponent," May reported. "Considering that this ability also kept him from being killed by conventional methods—i.e., he was all right even after his head was cut off—it's not much of a long shot to surmise that he was effectively immortal."

"That jerk…" Ash growled, his innate—and understandable--dislike for Paul surging up again. "He was already a bastard, but a cheater, too? How many times would he have lost by now if it weren't for that ability? I probably would've been able to beat him, too, without losing so many body parts…I'm glad he's not dead, because maybe that means I can pay him back for my arm and my eye someday."

"You got those back," Sasha pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but they still hurt!" Ash said.

"You don't think he'd still trash you?" Leo asked. "From what you said about his fight with that ninja chick, they may both be on a level way above the likes of us, dawg."

"I can beat him," Ash grumbled, trying to convince himself of this unlikely possibility.

"How did he get this weird power anyway?" Pikachu asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours," Ford said. "I intend to find out when Paul wakes up from the coma he's in at the moment…"

"Wait, if he has a healing power, then shouldn't he already be up by now?" Ash asked.

"Interestingly, it does not appear as if Paul possesses that ability anymore," May said.

This was news to everyone except Ford. "Whoa, really?" Leo asked.

"How did that happen?" Pikachu asked.

"The dagger that ninja used is made of an unknown substance that caused a strange chemical reaction in Paul's body when it was thrust into him. This reaction caused Paul's abnormal cellular structure to revert back to something more regular, nullifying his healing power and basically making him as mortal as the rest of us," May replied.

"Fascinating…" Sasha murmured. Secretly, all of them were recalling how the ninja had found a scroll that was supposed to tell how kill immortals, then stole some life crystals from the Tree of Beginning before its destruction…crystals that that dagger bore a strong resemblance to. Was the dagger made from life crystals? Was that how it had stripped away Paul's immortality?

"Too bad that ninja missed and just made him mortal rather than dead, yo," Leo complained. "Funny…you'd have thought someone like her would have better aim."

"Maybe she missed on purpose?" Sasha suggested.

"From the way she was waling on him? No, she hated him more than anything," Ash said, not mentioning that they already knew the ninja had planned to kill Paul from their previous encounters with her. That wasn't something Ford needed to hear. "But you're right, it does seem odd that she would make a mistake like that."

"Perhaps Mister Yami can enlighten us on that as well when he recovers," Ford said. "I look forward to learning the full truth about this strange incident."

"Have you had any luck finding that ninja, by the way?" Pikachu asked, oddly hoping the answer would be no. He wasn't sure why. Yes, the ninja had helped them before, but she was very dangerous, and it was difficult to say if they were friends or not. And the reason she had intervened in the battle earlier was to kill Paul, not save Ash, wasn't it?

May shook her head. "She vanished into thin air."

"Or maybe into a shadow…" Ash murmured.

"What was that?" Ford asked.

"Uh, nothing," Ash said.

"It's hardly surprising that we can't find her, given that she's a ninja and therefore a master of stealth," May continued.

"Unsurprising, but unfortunate," Ford grumbled. "Since it leaves us with more questions than answers." He sighed. "Oh well…I didn't call you all up here straight from the Pokemon Center just to tell you how that no-good cheater's doing."

The Fighting Four (and Tiny) blinked. "Then…why did you call us up here?" Ash asked.

"Well, since Paul's been eliminated from the tournament due to cheating...and because Ash was technically never defeated during the match, even when that ninja interfered, and because it's pretty clear the two were not collaborators, since if they were, would that bunny have let the poor boy freeze while she attacked Paul?...you've cleared the finals and can advance to the championships to challenge Wes for the title!" Ford announced.

They all perked up at this. "That's great!" said Pikachu.

"Yeah, I knew we could do it, yo!" said Leo.

"This is most welcome information," said Sasha, who had been slightly worried that they might not make it due to all the chaos that had happened during the match with Paul.

"You have no idea how happy this makes us," Ash said gratefully. Tiny sucked his pacifier in agreement.

Ford coughed, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable. "Oh…ah…you were really looking forward to the match, huh? Well…there's something else I wanted to talk to you about regarding that…"

The five hesitated, their elation swiftly descending to worry and dread. "Crap…" Leo muttered. "This can't be good, homes…"

"What is it?" Sasha asked warily.

"Wellll…it's like this," Ford said, steepling his fingers together. "This is the ultimate, end-all beat-all final match of the tournament, the culmination of the whole shebang. Everything that's come before was just a prelude to this one event, this last battle. And I don't just mean fighting-wise…I mean where it really counts, with money. The wagers people have made on all the other rounds of the tournament are absolutely nothing compared to the sheer volume of Poke' that gets thrown around during the championships. Fortunes can be made or lost based on the outcome of the match. This tournament is no exception, there're some people who've bet MILLIONS on who'll win the championship bout. I myself have placed a large sum on you."

"Well, thanks," Ash said, rather flattered. "I'm glad you have that much faith in us."

Ford shook his head. "You misunderstand. I've bet that you'll LOSE."

There was a long silence. The Fighting Four (and Tiny) stared at Ford blankly. "Ah…well…we're disappointed to hear that you don't think we'll win," Pikachu said slowly. "But we'll certainly try our hardest to-"

"No, you still don't understand," Ford said. "Let me put it to you this way. A rather sizable number of Pokemon have become impressed by your exploits and with how you've managed to survive against some of our strongest veteran fighters. These Pokemon have decided to throw their support behind you and bet quite a large sum on your victory against Wes, since they seem to have decided that you have a chance against him. I, on the other hand, bet an even larger amount on Wes winning. If you manage to beat him, I stand to lose a ridiculous amount of money…however, if you lose, I'll rake in more profits than I've ever dreamed, and probably more than you've ever dreamed either. Do you get my drift?"

They thought they did—yes, even Ash!—but really, really hoped he wasn't saying what they thought he was. "Gambling seems to be a rather dangerous pastime. Are you sure you want to put so much money behind such a risky assumption?" Ash said carefully.

"Because, if we win—which there's a chance of us doing, despite your doubts—you stand to lose quite a lot," Pikachu said slowly.

Ford sighed, looking frustrated. "No, I won't lose. Because you are going to lose."

They stared at him. "…Are we now," said Sasha.

"Yes," said Ford. "Because I'm paying you too. If you take a dive during the match, I'll give you twenty percent of the profits, to split among yourselves four ways and maybe set up a trust fund for the little tyke there. That doesn't mean I want you to forfeit, it needs to look convincing, but at a key moment if you were to, oh, slip up a little-"

"No," Ash said.

Ford blinked. "What?"

"No," Ash repeated. "Absolutely not."

"No deal," Pikachu agreed.

"No chance," Sasha said. Tiny sucked his pacifier in agreement.

"Not enough, yo," Leo said, causing the others to glance at him in alarm.

Ford regarded them slowly. "If it's a question of money," he said after a moment. "I suppose I could give you a larger-"

"No, you don't understand, dawg," Leo said. "I don't mean you're not offering us enough to throw the match. I mean that no matter how much you gave us, it still wouldn't be enough to make us throw the fight. We got our integrity, brah!"

Ford stared at them incredulously and burst into laughter. "Integrity, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pikachu asked, bristling.

"Where was your integrity when I paid you to keep quiet about certain goings-on around the place?" Ford sneered. "You seemed perfectly happy taking my money then."

"There's a difference between accepting a bribe to keep quiet and accepting a bribe to throw a fight," Ash said.

"Is there now?" Ford asked.

"There certainly is!" Ash said angrily.

Ford scowled. "Since when did you four grow some morals? I thought you were only in this for the prize money! And now you're telling me you're turning your noses up at the opportunity to gain more riches than you ever could in some dinky rural tournament?"

"Even sellswords have their limits," Pikachu said.

"Even those who claim to have no morals still know that there are things they would do and things they cannot do," Sasha said firmly, knowing the truth of this from her harsh life in the wild. Times could be tough and food could be hard to come by, but there were still limits to what a Pokemon would do to other Pokemon in order to survive, even if it meant going hungry for a little while. Pokemon who ignored those limits rarely lived long enough to regret it, or at the very least were shunned by their neighbors and relations. It was because the barbarians rarely kept to such limits that they were despised by both civilized and wild Pokemon alike. "And this is something we most certainly cannot and will not do."

"You hypocrite," Leo sneered. "You were talking about how awful it was for Paul to cheat his way to victory so many times by using some immortality trick, yet you have no problem asking fighters to throw a match to earn some more bling for your already overlarge purse? That ain't cool, dawg!"

Ford growled, narrowing his eyes. "Huh, so you decide to get some sense of honor when it's convenient for you, is that it? Okay, if you won't accept money, then maybe a certain other goad will convince you to see the light. You lot are guilty of trespassing in unauthorized areas twice during this tournament, and while I overlooked both incidents, I'm well within my rights to boot you out for breaking the rules set forth in the release forms you signed to enter this thing. You don't throw the match, and I kick you out of here and ban you from ever competing in the professional circuit ever again, just like I'll do to Paul when he wakes up. Do I make myself clear?"

The group exchanged uncertain looks, not sure how to respond to this. Ford had them over a barrel, even more than he probably realized. If they were kicked out of the tournament, they would never be able to find the Star Badge in Mt. Battle. But if they went along with Ford's sick plan, not only would they still be unlikely to get the Star Badge—if it even was on Wes's belt—but they'd be compromising their values. What were they supposed to do?

It was then that Ash realized something. "You're bluffing."

Ford started. "What?!"

"What are you talking about, Gonzales?" Pikachu asked.

"Remember what he said when he considered kicking us out the other day for finding his secret trophy room? He said that if he did that, people might think he was doing it out of favoritism towards the Pokerockers and punishing us for defeating them. If he got rid of us now, before we could fight the champion, some people could make the same argument…especially since he's just placed a very large bet on the outcome of the match! Everyone will think that you're either trying to protect Wes because you're afraid that we can beat him, or that you're finding an excuse to get us out of the way so you won't lose any money gambling!" Ash cried out. "He can't throw us out without possibly smearing his own reputation and that of Mt. Battle! Nobody will come to his tournaments anymore if they think he's playing favorites or trying to rig matches! He has no power over us!"

Ford stiffened, beak clenched in rage, his fists shaking as flames ignited around his wrists. "You…graaaahhh!" Furious, he surged to his feet, knocking everything off his desk as the air shimmered around his form, his temper causing his body temperature to rise and burn holes in his carpet. They all reflexively flinched back, and May took a few steps to the side. "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Ford roared, looking as if he would burst into flame any minute. "Fine! You can have your precious match! But know this…you've made a very dangerous enemy this day, Fighting Four!"

They were not particularly bothered by this threat. "We already have a lot of those, dawg," Leo said casually.

Sasha nodded. "So what's one more, really?"

Ford gnashed his beak in rage. "OUT!" he shouted, pointing at the exit.

"Sure thing," Pikachu said as they rose from their seats.

"And you might want to try to rescind your bet," Sasha said.

"Either that, or look into a new line of work," Ash said.

"There should be plenty of openings at the hotdog stands," Pikachu said. "You'd go far there, with that firepower of yours." Tiny sucked his pacifier in agreement.

Smoldering with fury, Ford sat back in his chair as they left, not seeming to notice that he was burning the leather. "Miss Maple?"

"Yes, sir?" May asked.

"Please leave this office. I have a personal call to make…" the Blaziken said ominously.

A little later…

Team Aurabolt were sitting in a locker room, waiting to be picked up for their final match. Sasha was lying on the ground, Leo was surfing the Web for any last-minute details and possible strategies to use against Wes, Pikachu was pacing, and Ash was playing with Tiny. "I think our connection and his latent Aura powers are growing stronger," Ash commented as he tickled the Larvitar, who, unlike most children his age, neither giggled nor demonstrated any visible emotions whatsoever in reaction to the agitation. "Just before I blacked out earlier, I heard a voice in my head…or maybe my heart…begging me not to die."

"And you think it was Tiny?" Sasha asked.

"I don't know who else it could have been," Ash replied. He glanced down at the Rock Skin Pokemon, who stared up at him expectantly. "Was that you, Tiny? Were you the voice I heard?" After a long moment, Tiny hesitantly and reluctantly made a slight inclination of his head that could possibly be interpreted as a nod. Ash shouted in delight and hugged the Larvitar. "I am so proud of you! You're making so much progress…at this rate, we'll have you talking and behaving normally and not screaming whenever anyone gets within a few feet of you in no time!"

"If by 'no time' you mean a few months…" Leo muttered as he paged from website to website, eyes focused on his computer screen.

"Any luck?" Sasha asked him.

Leo shook his head. "Lots of fans have come up with possible strategies to use against him, but very few of them have been tested in the field. It doesn't help that he's the reigning champ and has been pretty much undefeated since he took the title a few years ago, never losing a match since then."

"Not even to Dark-types?" Ash asked, glancing up from Tiny.

Leo shook his head. "No. He's agile enough to avoid most attacks, and also knows Signal Beam, which does quite a number against Dark Pokemon."

Sasha frowned. "Hmm…I'll have to try hard to dodge that, then."

"Are you sure you still want to fight him?" Ash asked.

Sasha nodded. "I have the best chance of any of us. And besides…" She smirked. "You promised me a solo match, didn't you?"

Ash chuckled. "I guess I did, at that."

"Do you think we made the right choice?" Pikachu asked abruptly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Leo said.

"Regarding Ford. Honor dictates that we did the right thing by rejecting him, but…from a practical standpoint, I'm wondering if we weren't a little too hasty," Pikachu said.

Ash frowned. "What, are you saying we should've taken him up on his offer and thrown the match? No way!"

Leo nodded in agreement. "Not for all the money in the world!"

Pikachu shook his head. "I'm not saying we should have made a deal, I'm…just wondering if perhaps we should have been a bit more tactful about it. He seemed rather angry about our refusal, and he holds a great deal of power in this volcano. As Leo pointed out earlier, we already have a lot of enemies…and the truth of the matter is, it really isn't a good thing to have too many." He sighed. "Then again, I don't think there's any way we could have parted ways on more amicable terms. There really wasn't anything else we could have done, was there?"

"I don't think so, no," said Sasha.

"Yeah, we definitely did the right thing, turning that scumbag down!" Leo agreed. "And to think, I actually once looked up to the guy…"

"Even if it pissed him off, there really isn't anything else we could have or should have done," Ash said firmly. "What he asked us to do was out of line. Even without going into how dishonorable it was, from a realistic standpoint agreeing to go along with his scheme might have cost us any chance of finding the Star Badge."

Pikachu nodded. "I know that. I guess I just worry too much sometimes."

"Well, you're the most level-headed member of the team, if you don't worry for us, who will?" Leo said reasonably.

Sasha frowned. "What about me? I'm level-headed."

"You're also from a place that considers clawing out someone's jugular and feeding their corpse to your children to be the best way to settle certain arguments," Leo pointed out.

"Or chewing off their genitals if they cheat on you," Ash added. "Though I suppose that's not actually something limited to the wilds, come to think of it."

"Yeah, I bet Misty would do the same thing to you if you so much as looked at another womon," Pikachu joked.

"No she wouldn't, because WE'RE NOT A COUPLE," Ash shouted. "I think you're the one who should be worried, considering that ninja would not only tear off your genitals but probably slit your throat if you cheated on her."

"We're not a couple either," Pikachu said with a scowl. "I'm not even interested in her."

"Oh yeah? The way you looked at her earlier says otherwise. I saw the expression on your face. The way she cleanly decapitated Paul turned you on, didn't it?" Leo crooned.

"It did not," Pikachu lied. "And you're one to talk, Leo. Remember what happened with you and Rosa?"

"Yeah, that was fun," Leo said wistfully, not the least bit embarrassed, defeating Pikachu's purpose. "Mon, I wouldn't mind doing something like that again…not necessarily her, mind, but she was good at it, you know?"

Everyone stared at him. Tiny sucked his pacifier once. "I think we should change the subject," Ash said hurriedly.

"Ah, yes, that would probably be a good idea," Pikachu agreed. "Uh…let's see…Tiny! You're filling out that cheerleading outfit very well today. It suits you." Tiny glared at him, and would have told Pikachu he actually hated the outfit if he weren't mute due to overwhelming emotional trauma. Ash was aware of how Tiny felt, but, like most parents, thought his son looked so goshdarn cute in the uniform the thought of allowing him not to wear it never occurred to him.

The door opened and a security guard peeked into the room. "It's showtime. Are all of you ready for the match?"

They all stood up, Leo quickly stowing his computer away in his shell. "Yeah, we're ready," Ash said.

The guard nodded. "Excellent. If you'll just follow me, please…" He opened the door wider, stepping out of the way.

"This is it, yo…" Leo muttered as they filed out of the room, following the guard as he led them down the hallway. "The main event!"

Ash frowned as two more security guards appeared from side corridors and flanked them, and another one appeared from behind to cover their rear. "What's with the escort?"

"This is the big time, sir," the lead guard said. "The championship match. There are a lot of people who want a piece of you four—er, five. Crazy fans, gamblers, the media, prospective corporate sponsors, the works. We're here for your own protection."

"And to make you look good coming into the arena," another guard said. "With all of us surrounding you, it'll look like you mean business."

"Well, I suppose that is the sort of image we're going for," Ash admitted. "Thanks."

"No problem," the guard said.

"Hmm…" Pikachu murmured as more guards joined their entourage.

"Do we really need so many?" Sasha wondered.

"Something about this don't feel quite right, G…" Leo muttered to himself. Tiny sucked his pacifier, but whether in agreement or denial, it was hard to say.

Meanwhile, in the main arena…

The room was packed full of screaming fans, just as it had been earlier that day, except that, if anything, there were even more Pokemon filling the stands. So many, in fact, that they were pouring out of their seats and lying in the stairs between rows for want of anywhere else to go. Technically that was a fire hazard, but they had paid through the noses to make it to the fight, so the Mt. Battle personnel were willing to look the other way. The air was filled with expectation and so tense you could cut it with a knife. This was going to be one of the most anticipated events of the year and possibly one of the greatest matches of all time, something that would go down in the history books and that the Pokemon seated all over the room would be telling their descendants about for ages to come. Nobody wanted to miss this battle!

Naturally, Ford had made quite a tidy profit making sure that anyone who wanted to make it could get there. The fight was such a big deal, that nobody complained if ticket prices were a little higher than usual, or if they did, they were rather quickly silenced.

Triumphal music blared from speakers all over the arena as the lights dimmed and spotlights in multiple colors switched on, their beams swinging down from the ceiling and panning all over the excited audience and the freshly repaired stage below. Big screens set in the walls and hanging from the ceiling showed images of the Fighting Four and Wes Psyche separated by a crown set over the champion's belt, with the words 'Mt. Battle 10th anniversary championships' flashing underneath it.

As the colored lights kept swiveling around the room, a floating platform descended from the ceiling, a single white spotlight shining down on it and illuminating Ford, wearing his best cane, hat, and shades. He waved, and the screams from the crowd grew even louder. He grinned and bowed, gleefully absorbing their applause. "Ladies and gentlemon!" he shouted once they had quieted down somewhat, his voice ringing throughout the chamber. "Welcome to the last match of Mt. Battle's tenth anniversary tournament!" The crowd cheered again, and he had to wait several seconds until their howls had died down enough for him to continue. "It's been a long week, and we've seen some of the finest displays of pugilism this facility has ever been witness to in years as fighters from all over the world duked it out for the title of grand champion of Mt. Battle! After countless duels, however, only two groups remain, and whichever one of them walks away from tonight's match will be the undisputed ruler of Mt. Battle! (Next to myself, of course.)" The crowd roared again. Ford grinned and gestured, a spotlight focusing on a doorway set in the far side of the arena. "First up is our current champion…your hero and mine, the one and only WES PSYCHE, here to defend his title!"

If the crowd had been loud before, their cries were earsplitting now as an Espeon wearing a belt with a golden crystalline star set into the buckle entered the room, flanked by a pretty Umbreon and a Skarmory with a magnificent mustache, a couple of guards surrounding them. The spotlight followed the Espeon, Wes's, movements as the Umbreon, his girlfriend Rui, removed his belt, allowing him to calmly walk up onto the stage, where he sat in the center of the light, a bemused smile on his face as he looked out at the arena and the screaming fans.

"And here to challenge him for the title of champion, we have the upstart newcomers you and I know as THE FIGHTING FOUR!" Ford shouted, causing the crowd to cheer again, though noticeably less enthusiastically than they had for Wes. Another spotlight focused on a second entryway on the opposite side of the arena, which…nobody was coming out of. They waited for a few minutes, but the doors remained empty. Slowly, the cheers died down and shifted to murmurs of puzzlement and discontent. Wes frowned, and Rui and Gonzap (The Skarmory with the incredible mustache, Wes's foster father) exchanged worried looks. "Hmm," Ford said, feigning surprise. "That's funny, they should have been here by now. Where are they?"

Meanwhile…

"This is a trap, yo," Leo whispered to the others.

Pikachu nodded in agreement. "Yes, we should have reached the arena by now. And I don't think we really need this large an escort, do we?"

At least a dozen extra guards had joined their party along the way, so that they were surrounded on all sides and unable to see where they were going, any distinguishing features of the hallways around them blocked off by the black suits of the guards. "If they are not taking us to the arena, then where to?" Sasha wondered.

"Ford said he put a lot of money on us not winning…since we refused to help him, maybe he's trying to win by other means by keeping us from showing up in time so it looks like we chickened out and forfeit by default!" Ash growled.

"Which would mean Ford would still win his bet…" Pikachu said, growing angry.

"That douchebag!" Leo snarled.

"We need to escape our escort and make it to the arena before it's too late," Sasha said.

"Only problem is…there's an awful lot of them…" Ash said uncertainly. "Can we take them all?"

"Sure we can!" Leo said. "We're a bunch of badass mofos! Plus, we got conservation of ninjutsu on our side."

"That didn't work when we were attacked by the Wigglytuff Guild," Pikachu pointed out.

Leo flushed in embarrassment as he remembered that rather unfortunate incident. "Well…uh…maybe it'll work now!"

"Before we do that, let's try something else," Ash said, getting an idea. He nudged Tiny, shoving him into Sasha. As if on cue, Tiny immediately pulled out his pacifier and started screaming at the top of his lungs. The guards (and everyone else) flinched and stopped walking. "Oh no! Tiny, what's wrong?" Ash asked as he knelt down to look at the Larvitar, half-feigning concern.

"What's the matter with him?" one of the guards shouted, barely making himself audible over Tiny's screaming.

"I think Tiny needs to use the bathroom! His stomach doesn't sound right!" Ash cried back, pressing an ear to the Larvitar's belly.

The guards exchanged uncertain looks. "Er, coming from the front and the back?"

"Both!" Pikachu yelled, getting the gist of Ash's idea. "And trust me, it won't look good coming out either end!"

"Yeah, dawgs, you might want to step back a bit, the stains will never come out! You have no idea how much shell wax I had to use to buff myself back up to my usual golden sheen, yo!" Leo said.

Some of the guards nervously backed away. They didn't want to get anything on their suits. The drycleaning bill would be murder! "We need to get him to a bathroom before he blows," Ash said, thickening his voice with anxiety. "Can you tell us where one is?"

"But…the match, you'll be late if we stop to-" the lead guard protested.

"If we don't stop to let him go, we'll be a lot worse than late!" Sasha said.

"Well…uh…" the guard hesitated. Mr. Ford's orders had been very explicit. They were to lead the Fighting Four to a certain location far away from the main arena so that they wouldn't be able to make the match in time, with absolutely no deviations or detours along the way that might cause the Foursome to suspect they were being tricked. He hadn't said anything about dealing with a baby's finicky digestive system, though!

His mind raced. If they made a pit stop, there was a chance he could lose his job for disobeying orders. But if they didn't stop…

Fortunately, one of the other guards came to his rescue. "We don't have time to take him to a bathroom, but you can use this," an Abomasnow said, handing a diaper to Ash.

Ash blinked. Everyone stared at the guard. "Uh, why did you just happen to be carrying one of those around?" asked a disturbed Pikachu.

"The new egg hatched just last month, and the wife and I're having trouble toilet training the little guy," the Abomasnow explained. "So I've taken to carrying a bunch of diapers around with me wherever I go in case of emergencies."

"Even when you're at work, with your kid nowhere near?" asked an incredulous Stantler.

The Abomasnow shrugged. "Once you get into a habit, it's hard to break. Besides, it's surprising how many babies a guy runs into working here, you wouldn't believe how often I've been able to save parents from having a little potty emergency that would have embarrassed them tremendously and possibly caused them to miss a match because they needed to go out and clean up!"

Leo snapped his fingers. "Dang, I knew I forgot to pack something in my shell before I left home! You can never have too many diapers in case of emergencies!"

"Exactly!" said the Abomasnow, pleased to find someone who understood his obsession with always carrying diapers around just in case.

Everyone else sweatdropped. "This is a very weird conversation…" a guard muttered.

"You haven't hung out with us long enough, there's weirder, trust me," Pikachu said.

"Well, uh, this is very nice," Ash said, trying to find a way out of this. "But he could still throw up, and we don't have anything for that! Er, do you?"

"Actually…" the Abomasnow pulled out a barf bag.

"Now those I did remember to pack," Leo said.

"What else did you pack?" asked an incredulous Pikachu.

"Dude, you would not believe me if I told you," Leo said.

Ash's eye twitched. "Okay, you know what? Screw this, let's just attack them."

"That would probably be best," Sasha agreed.

"About time," Pikachu said, drawing his sword.

"And this time, there's no way we'll lose! Conservation of ninjutsu will be on our side!" Leo said assuredly.

Five minutes later, they were all locked in a dark, very cramped closet. "Then again, maybe not," Leo said.

"Why did you say 'Then again, maybe not' out of the blue just now?" Ash asked him.

"It would take too long to explain," Leo said.

"This is ridiculous. How does this sort of thing keep happening to us?!" an exasperated Pikachu asked. "Even if we were outnumbered, I'm a samurai—albeit one with a substandard sword—Ash is an Aura Guardian in training, Sasha has over seventy years of life in the harsh wilderness under her belt, Leo may not be the best fighter but he's very intelligent and supposed to be prepared for almost any emergency, and Tiny…well, Tiny can scream really loudly, like he's doing right now, right in my ear. Could you please make him stop that, Ash?"

"Sorry, he's feeling claustrophobic due to all of us being squished together. Plus, I can't reach him from here, not with Sasha's rather sharp tail in my face," Ash apologized.

"That's not my tail," Sasha said.

Ash's eyes bulged. "Ah."

"I ask again: how does this stuff keep happening to us?!" Pikachu shouted.

"Occupational hazard for adventurers," Leo said. "And speaking of hazards, Pikachu, could you please get your tail out of my face? I don't want you to shock me by accident."

"That's not my tail," Pikachu said.

Leo's eyes bulged. "…Oh."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tiny screamed at the top of his lungs. Incessantly.

The crowd was starting to get restless and agitated. They'd waited several minutes, but it didn't seem like the Fighting Four were going to show. "Well, it doesn't seem like the Fighting Four are going to show," Ford said, feigning disappointment. "Huh, I guess they decided the prospect of fighting the unmatched Wes Psyche was too much and booked it. Oh well. I guess I have no choice but to declare them losers by default, and crown Wes as champion once again-"

"Five more minutes," Wes said abruptly.

Ford started. "Wh-what was that?"

"Give them five more minutes. I don't think they're out of the running yet," Wes said.

The crowd murmured in astonishment. Ford gave Wes an incredulous look. "…Wes, they're not coming. They ran and hid like sissies, with their tails between their legs and a big yellow streak down their backs. Five more minutes won't make a difference."

"And I think it will," Wes argued. "From what I've seen of their fighting in all their previous matches, I don't think they're the kind of Pokemon who'll run out on a battle just because they're scared of losing. And I definitely believe that Lucario will try his hardest to make it here if he possibly can. None of them are the sort of folk who ever give up, no matter how hopeless things look for them. Five more minutes, and if they don't show up by then, you can declare me the winner. After all, it's not like you've got anything to lose by waiting a little longer, right?"

Ford turned red with anger. "What…you…what do you think you're doing?! I'm the owner and manager of this facility, I'm the one who determines how the matches go and what the rules are, and if I say that they aren't coming, then that means they're not-"

"Five more minutes!" someone cried.

"Give 'em a chance!" another shouted.

"Yeah, there's no way they Torchickened off and ran out!" one of the audience yelled.

"They probably just got held up or something!" somebody agreed.

"Gonzales is too brave to run away!" a Pokemon said loyally.

"Plus is too devoted to swordsmonship to dishonor his blade by fleeing like a coward!" another fan concurred.

"Night Slash is a hardcore badass! She never quits!" several girls cheered.

"And King K…well, okay, maybe he'd run, but the others wouldn't let him get very far!" someone admitted reluctantly.

"That's right, they're the Fighting Four! They're not gonna give up on a good fight!" somebody yelled.

"FIGHTING FOUR! FIGHTING FOUR! FIGHTING FOUR!" the crowd started chanting loudly, much to Ford's horror.

The Blaziken's face went white, and he stammered in disbelief. "Y-you…y-y-you all want to wait for them?! But…"

"FIGHTING FOUR! FIGHTING FOUR! FIGHTING FOUR!" the crowd shouted. Ford flinched, realizing the situation was spiraling out of his control. This was not what he had expected to happen at all. He'd known the Fighting Four had gotten moderately popular among some people, but he hadn't thought that so much of the audience would be in favor of seeing them fight, enough so as to defy his will and demand they wait a little longer for them!

"So come on, Ford! Five more minutes. That should be plenty of time to see what measure of mon they are, don't you think?" Wes called up to Ford.

The audience took up this refrain as well. "FIVE MORE MINUTES! FIVE MORE MINUTES! FIVE MORE MINUTES!"

"All right! All right!" Ford cried, quickly caving into defeat and realizing that to do otherwise could start a riot. "We'll wait five more minutes, and not a second more! But they won't make it in time, I can practically guarantee it!"

Wes raised an eyebrow. "Really? How can you be so sure?"

"I…uh…i-it's just a gut feeling I have!" Ford stammered, realizing he'd almost given himself away. "And I always go with my gut!"

"I'd make a fat joke…but his chest is pretty toned," Gonzap muttered to himself.

"He does seem oddly certain, though..." Rui mused, glaring at the Blaziken as he regained his composure. "I think he's up to something."

Gonzap nodded. "No doubt. You don't need to be an ex-crook like me to know that greedy firebird is hiding something…"

"Maybe the reason as to why the Fighting Four aren't here?" Rui suggested.

Gonzap nodded in agreement. "And I bet Wes is thinking the same thing…can never get a trick past that boy," he said proudly. "I should know, I've tried…oh, how I've tried…"

"Well, I hope those four guys get here soon, before they run out of time…and whatever Ford's planning comes to pass…" Rui said anxiously.

Meanwhile, in the closet…

"Ash, I don't suppose you could use some Aura power or super strength to bust the door down, could you?" Pikachu asked.

"Sorry, but I'm facing the wrong way and have my face smushed into the wall. I could loose an Aura blast, but it would also hit you guys too," Ash said apologetically.

Pikachu sighed. "And I can't draw my sword without possibly cutting somebody's limbs off…this place really is too small."

"And I can't reach the door with my claws or energy blades," Sasha said. She grimaced. "And to make matters worse, Tiny doesn't stop screaming."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tiny screamed.

"I don't suppose he could just shout the door open?" Ash suggested.

"I think we'd all be deaf by then," Pikachu said. "Or insane."

"It's a good thing I brought a lock pick for just such a situation like this!" Leo said.

"Good! Let's see it!" a relieved Ash said.

"Can't, not only am I nowhere near the door, but I can't really take anything out of my shell without possibly breaking someone's arm, possibly mine," Leo said.

"Arceusdammit," Pikachu swore.

Sasha sighed in disappointment. "I guess this is really it, then. Ford is going to win…"

"And there's nothing we can do, stuck in here…" Ash said sullenly.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tiny screamed.

"Wait!" Leo cried. "That gives me an idea. It's a long shot, but it worked before!"

"What?" Ash asked.

Leo cleared his throat. "'Help, help, somebody help us! All hope is lost and there's no way we can get out of this! If somebody doesn't do something quick, we're all doomed!"

They all sweatdropped, soaking each other by accident. "You've got to be kidding me," Pikachu said flatly.

"I do not understand. What is he doing?" asked a puzzled Sasha.

"Trying to invoke a deus ex machine," Pikachu said, which didn't clarify things in the least for Sasha.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Tiny screamed.

Ash sighed. "Well, it worked the last time…'Oh, won't somebody please help us? There's nothing more we can do!'"

Pikachu grunted. "Fine…'There's no way we could possibly get out of this! Not on our own! Won't somebody, anybody, please save us?'"

"I do not understand," Sasha repeated. "How will saying that all hope is lost and there's nothing more we can do on our own possibly help-"

It was at that moment that the closet door opened, spilling all of them out on the floor. Tiny, relieved to be out in the open air again, mercifully stopped screaming. "Us?" Sasha finished, rather amazed.

"I can't believe that worked…again!" said an equally astonished Pikachu.

"Thank goodness for deus ex machinas!" Leo cheered.

"But who let us-" Ash gasped when he saw their savior. "You?!"

"I'm glad to see you are unharmed, Fighting Four," May Maple said, a couple of knocked out guards lying on the floor behind her. "Ford's security force can be very rough on those unlucky to cross them."

"…Okay, I'm totally confused. Why'd you just let us out of there?! Aren't you supposed to be Ford's loyal assistant?!" asked a dumbfounded Ash.

"Unless…you're a double agent!" Leo gasped.

"Are you the one who has been sending us all those letters and mysterious instructions?" Sasha asked, realizing what Leo was saying.

May shook her head. "No, but I work for the one who does. I joined Ford's organization to try and gain his trust and learn what really happened to all the missing fighters…including my father, King Sloth."

They gasped. "Whoa! King Sloth is your dad?!" cried an astounded Leo. "Dude! That's totally awesome! Aside from the fact that he's been missing for the last decade, I mean."

"Which is why I became Ford's assistant, to find out what happened to him," May said.

"That's a clever idea," said an impressed Ash.

"Aside from the fact that Ford's remained so closed-mouthed about the subject that I haven't found out anything really substantial up until you four came along, I suppose it is," May said. "But thanks to your investigative efforts, my partner and I are on the brink of finding the truth and putting a stop to the disappearances once and for all!"

"Who is your partner, anyway?" Pikachu asked.

May shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't have time right now to tell you the whole story. You only have three minutes left before Ford declares Wes the winner by default. If you want a chance at the title, you need to get to the arena now, before it's too late!"

"Right! Let's go!" Ash yelled, running down the hall.

"Gonzales, the arena's that way," Pikachu said, pointing to a large sign on the wall which indicated the arena was in the other direction.

"Right! Let's go!" Ash yelled, running past them the other way.

They sweatdropped. "It's amazing that for someone with as good a nose and as generally infallible a sense as Aura like him that he gets lost so easily…" Sasha commented.

"We should go after him before he gets himself lost again," said Pikachu. "May, thank you for all your help. After our match, we'll be happy to help you and your mysterious partner finish your investigation. We think it may have a connection to something we're looking for too, making it doubly important for us to learn the truth!"

"Thank you very much," May said gratefully. "But that'll have to wait until you actually fight your match first!"

"What do you think our odds are of winning?" Leo asked.

"Pretty good, actually," May admitted. "Wes is very powerful and experienced, but…the four of you seem to have a knack for pulling out victories in seemingly hopeless situations. If anyone can beat him, you can!"

"Cool!" said Leo.

"Yes, but we need to actually get there first!" Sasha pointed out. "Come on, let's go!"

They quickly ran off, leaving May and Tiny behind. Scowling at the fact that he had been forgotten, Tiny stuck his pacifier in his mouth and waddled off after them. "I think you look adorable in that outfit, by the way," May said, complimenting the Larvitar on his cheerleader costume. Tiny glared at her hatefully but made no comment.

Back at the arena…

Ford's anxiety eased away as the clock ticked closer and closer to the deadline, and there was still no sign of the Fighting Four appearing. As the minutes wound down, the formerly confident audience began to look more uneasy and doubtful, and even Wes started to look uncertain, wondering if perhaps he had misplaced his faith in the foursome after all. Either that, or something else had happened to them…

Seeing that there were only seconds left, Ford chuckled inwardly, assumed a somber expression, and prepared to make a speech. "Well, folks, I'm sorry to say 'I told you so', but it looks as if the Fighting Four-"

"Are here to stay!"

Ford's heart stopped, and the audience gasped collectively and began to cheer. The Blaziken slowly turned around to see that the Fighting Four (and Tiny) had rushed into the arena, panting and sweating, making it just in the nick of time. "No…" he whispered in horror. "No…" Those idiot guards! He'd warned them not to let the four escape! Now everything he'd worked for was in jeopardy. "Wh-what…what are you doing here?!"

"Why, we're here for our chance at the title," Ash said. "Why else would we be here?"

"Yeah, it's not like we got held up because a certain someone placed a huge bet on us losing the match and wanted to make sure that we'd be out of the way long enough for him to win it by default or anything," Pikachu said, pointedly glaring at Ford.

"And that certain someone is you, by the way, dawg," Leo said unnecessarily.

"Back where I come from, we have a word for people that do that sort of thing, but it's too impolite to say in present company," Sasha said. "It's not impolite to say, however, that those people generally find themselves dying of dehydration, starvation, and exposure. Yes, all at once. And then we eat them. The meat is stringy and tough, but still makes for a good meal."

Wes looked sharply up at Ford, a furious look on his face. "Is that true?! The bet and the cheating thing, not the part about dying of dehydration, starvation, and exposure, then getting eaten, that is."

Ford gulped and sweated nervously, aware that several hundred very angry eyes were glaring at him. "Of-of course not! I don't know wh-where they'd get such a ridiculous idea! And I'm sure my lawyers will be able to prove that I had absolutely nothing to do with whatever they're talking about whatsoever, just in case someone got the audacious idea to sue me or something. Because it wouldn't work. And I'm completely innocent. Yeah." Nobody believed him.

"Of all the dirty…I'm not sure whether to be impressed or outraged," Gonzap snarled.

"I'm going more for outraged," Rui growled angrily. "I'll claw his eyes out and chew out his throat, and then let Night Slash eat his corpse. Now there's a womon who has the right idea about how to deal with a cheating mon!" Gonzap gave her a worried look and took a few steps away from her.

"Heh, who needs to settle this in a court of law? We'll just win the match, since the money you'll lose thanks to our victory should come pretty close to bankrupting you," Leo said with a smirk.

"Gah! No! My money!" Ford cried. "Er, is what I would be saying if such a bet existed and if I were indeed in danger of losing that much Poke', which I am not. And besides, even if such a bet did exist, you can't possibly win, because Wes will whup your tails! He's the undefeated champion for a reason, you know!"

"Don't drag me into this, you cheap son of a Muk," Wes snarled.

"Hey, I'm a son of a Muk!" a Grimer in the audience shouted.

"Sorry," Wes apologized. "Anyway, if it weren't for my pride as a fighter, I might consider forfeiting…just to see what would happen to you!"

"Gah! NO!" Ford shouted. "Uh, I-I mean, you c-can't do that, Wes! What would all your fans think?!" He cursed himself for a fool. Why was he acting so nervous and panicky? He was usually so much more calm and collected and on top of the situation! But that stupid Fighting Four…they had ruined everything, laying his plans out for all to see! He growled, thinking to himself that no matter who won the match, there were going to be some more disappearances in the near future…

"Yeah, don't quit, Wes! After what we had to get through to make it here, don't we deserve a good fight?" Ash asked.

"Are you sure?" Wes asked. "If you fight me, there's a good chance I'll win, which means Ford might too."

"If we were not aware of the possibility of losing, we would not be here in the first place," said Sasha.

"Yeah, the best fight is the kind where you know you might not win, yo! That gives you all the motivation to keep fighting until you win!" Leo said. "Otherwise it'd be too easy!"

Wes smirked. "Fair enough. You've lasted this long, I guess it's only fair that we have a fight. So, which of you will I be having the honor of battling today? I've been looking forward to challenging you guys in the ring ever since I heard how good you were."

"I will fight you," Sasha volunteered, stepping forward.

Wes frowned. "Absolutely not."

Sasha blinked. "What?"

"I know you're a strong fighter—I've seen your matches—but I can honestly tell you that if you get in here, you won't last five minutes against me," Wes said. "I've trained long and hard to become stronger against Dark-types, since they're my main vulnerability, and my Signal Beam attack has become powerful enough to knock out most in one hit."

"I could dodge it," Sasha said.

"Yes, but for how long?" Wes said. "Especially since I'm smaller and faster than you. I don't mean to disparage your skills, but if you guys really want a fighting chance against me, I'd recommend another opponent, one who would be less weak to my moves. Someone…like you, Gonzales."

Ash started. "Who, me?"

"Your Steel/Fighting type keeps you from being super-weak against my Psychic attacks," Wes said. "And you'd be less affected by my Signal Beam. That doesn't mean I still wouldn't be able to beat you, but I'd have to work harder for it, which means you'd have a better chance of victory against me than any of your companions." He smirked. "Plus…I've always wanted to fight a Lucario. Ever since I heard you were in the tournament, I hoped you might be my opponent. It looks like that might be the case now. What do you say?"

"Hmm…he makes a pretty good argument," Leo commented. "His Signal Beam's been strong enough to beat even Paul, who had the advantage of super healing, a few times, meaning Night Slash would have trouble fighting him. The only moves he has that I know of that'd work really well against Gonzales are his Mud-Slap and Dig attack, and I'm pretty sure Gonzales is tough enough to withstand a little mud!"

"What about the Digging?" Pikachu asked.

"Eh, that's another story," Leo admitted.

"I…I'd love to fight you, Wes," Ash said reluctantly. "But…I promised Night Slash that she could-"

"You can do it," Sasha told him.

Ash blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"You can do it. Fight him. I know you want to," Sasha said. "It's something you've been looking forward to ever since we got here, hasn't it?"

"Well…yeah," Ash admitted. "But-but I promised you that you could fight him! You haven't had a single solo match in all the time we've been here!"

Sasha smiled. "That's all right. I don't mind stepping down from a fight if it means someone with a better chance than I can take a crack at it. You may not be as good against Psychics as I am, but Wes's Signal Beam doesn't sound like something these old bones of mine can handle. Besides, it would make for a better show, wouldn't it? The Aura-using leader of the Fighting Four against the champion of Mt. Battle, Wes Psyche?"

"It certainly would at that," Wes said.

"Yeah, I'd definitely pay to see a fight like that!" Leo agreed. "And I'm pretty sure most of the people already did."

"Yeah, and it cost way too much!" someone in the audience shouted. "But it'll be totally worth it!" Quite a few Pokemon murmured in agreement.

"Well…all right," Ash said, giving in. "If you're really sure it's all right?"

"Most certainly," Sasha said, bowing out and moving out of the way. "You can make it up to me later, I promise."

"Go on, Gonzales," Pikachu urged him. "Considering how badly that fight with Paul went, you deserve a good, clean, and hopefully fair brawl, don't you think?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Ash said, a determined expression forming on his face. "All right…Wes, I accept your challenge!"

Wes smirked. "I hoped you would. Come up here and let's get this show on the road!"

"Right!" Ash hopped onto the stage and got into a combat stance, facing off against Wes.

"Oh lord…well, Wes still has a good chance…I can still win this…" Ford muttered to himself. He cleared his throat and loudly said, "Ladies and gentlemon, I guess we're going through with this thing after all! Gonzales, the Lucario leader of the Fighting Four, versus our very own grand champ, Wes Psyche! Who will win in this battle to end all battles? Only one Pokemon can walk away with the title and the Champion's Belt when the dust has settled and all is said and done!" And with any luck, that Pokemon'll be Wes! Ford thought desperately.

"This should be a good fight," Pikachu said as he and the others took a seat on a nearby bench. "Night Slash, you sure you're okay about this?"

"Perfectly," said Sasha. "Besides, he'll probably enjoy it much more than I would."

"Yeah, Gonzales is your typical hot-blooded young male warrior. This sort of battle is the kind of thing he dreams about, yo!" Leo said. Tiny sucked his pacifier in agreement.

"Hey, mind if we sit here with you guys?" Rui asked, surprising the others as she and Gonzap came over. "The view's better from over here."

"Uh, sure, I don't see why not," Pikachu said, shifting over to make room for the two newcomers. "You wouldn't rather stay away from the opposition?"

"I would, but the girl insisted," Gonzap grumbled, shaking his wings and causing his metal feathers to clatter together. "There's no arguing with this one once she gets an idea into her head."

"Oh, relax, Gonzap. I can tell these guys aren't bad mons, even if Ford's stupid dampening field keeps me from reading their Auras. I see no reason I can't hang out with them. I doubt Wes'll mind, since I'll still be rooting for him as usual," Rui said. "Hey, that baby Larvitar looks really cute in that cheerleader getup!" Tiny sulked at her.

Sasha blinked. "Our Auras?"

"Oh yeah, that's right, we heard that Rui could see Aura just like Gonzales, didn't we?" Leo recalled.

"It's true, then? You can see Pokemon's Auras?" Pikachu asked, rather interested.

Rui nodded. "Yep! I've been able to do it since birth. It's helped me a lot through life, by telling me who's good and bad, or who I should or shouldn't trust. That's part of the reason I got together with Wes, actually, I found out that he used to be a no-good thief—part of Gonzap's gang, actually—but after seeing his Aura, I realized he was really a good guy deep down, and I vowed to stay with him despite his past."

"Cool," said Leo.

"And what about Gonzap? If he was a criminal, how'd he wind up reforming like Wes and joining you?" Sasha asked.

"That's something I'd rather not talk about…" Gonzap muttered embarrassedly.

"Can you use any other Aura powers?" Pikachu asked Rui.

She shook her head sadly. "Not for lack of trying…but maybe I just haven't had the right teacher. Do you think Gonzales could have a look at me after the match?"

"Maybe…but I'm not sure how much he can help," Pikachu said apologetically. "Gonzales himself is still far from a master when it comes to Aura. He had little to no help figuring out how to use it on his own since there weren't any other Lucarios where we come from, and we haven't really run into any since then."

"He's got a really old book written by ancient Aura Guardians with all sorts of cool tricks and powers and stuff he's trying to learn from, though," Leo said.

"Ooh, really?" Rui asked.

"Is that so?" Gonzap asked, looking a little too interested.

"King K, you shouldn't have mentioned that," Pikachu hissed.

"Why not? These guys are on the level, aren't they?" Leo asked. "But anyway, even if Rui could read the book—which she probably can, since it's only visible to those with Aura-sight—she still might not be able to do anything with it. Everyone's born with Aura in them, but Lucarios and Riolus are the only species which can instinctively use it right from the start, while with everyone else you're either lucky enough to have the right genes to get the power or you're not. Seeing with Aura might be the only thing you're capable of, babe."

Rui nodded, somewhat disappointed. "I've heard as much, but I was still hoping I might find a way to do more than that."

"Well, Gonzales thinks Tiny here has the power to use Aura too, except that he's all knotted up at the moment due to some crippling emotional trauma, but once we get that sorted out and Gonzales figures out how to unlock Tiny's abilities we can drop you a line and see if we can't figure something out for you too," Leo said, trying to raise her spirits.

"Emotional trauma? Oh, so that's why he's so quiet and has such a sour look on his face. I was wondering about that," Rui said, glancing at Tiny, who glared back at her. "I figured he just hated having to wear that costume, adorable as it is."

"Did you have to tell her that, too?!" Pikachu asked in exasperation.

Leo shrugged. "I don't see how it could hurt. I don't think she'll do anything bad with the information, I trust her!"

"On what basis?!" Pikachu demanded.

"Well, she can see Aura, so she can't be that bad. Plus, she's Wes's girlfriend, and if she's good enough for him, that means she's good enough for me, too!" Leo said firmly.

Pikachu facepalmed. "Actually, that's part of what won me over too," Gonzap admitted. "That, and they beat me up until I quit crime."

"I approve," Sasha said, giving Rui an admiring look.

"Thanks!" Rui said cheerfully. "By the way, I loved that demonstration you gave the other day about how to get rid of annoying womonizers like Lobo Fuerte, I intend to use some of your techniques should something like that ever happen to me!"

"Would that include tearing off your mate's testicles if he cheats on you?" Sasha asked.

"Yep!" Rui said.

"Then I have nothing more to teach you," said Sasha. Everyone else sweatdropped.

"Hey, am I the only one who's noticed that the fight should have started by now?" Pikachu asked.

"Talking is a free action," said Leo.

Pikachu groaned. "Oh, not that again…"

"So folks, it all comes down to this!" Ford said. "Mono a mono! Gonzales vs. Wes, challenger vs. champion, Winner takes all! Which of these two fighters shall win the title of champion of Mt. Battle? But I've drawn this out long enough. Let's begin the battle to end all battles in 3…2…1…go!" The crowd cheered ecstatically, relieved that Ford's overlong speech was over and they could get to the action already.

"I've been waiting a long time for a match like this, Gonzales," said Wes. "Don't disappoint me!"

"I won't," Ash promised. "Unless you expected to win, that is, in which case I'll have no choice but to disappoint you."

"Heh. Cute," said Wes. Then his eyes glowed, and he lashed out at Ash with Psychic. Ash grimaced as he was surrounded by blue light, lifted into the air, and thrown towards the edge of the arena. The ring was bigger than most of the other ones he had fought at in Mt. Battle, but Wes's Psychic was stronger than most of the others who had used it against him so far, so he was hurled quite some distance. Even so, he managed to keep from being flung off the edge by breaking free from Wes's telekinetic hold with a burst of Aura, summoning a Bone Rush staff and driving it into the ground to anchor himself and stop his flight. As he landed on his feet, wrenched his staff from the ground, and charged at Wes, the Espeon vanished into the dirt, using Dig to burrow beneath the floor. Ash paused, then stood in place, closing his eyes and focusing his senses. He couldn't use Aura-sight to pick up Wes's energy signature thanks to the dampening field, but if he concentrated really hard, he was sure he could detect Wes right before he attacked. A few moments passed, and he heard and felt nothing, but then…

The ground under his feet shifted ever so slightly…

And Ash quickly leaped out of the way as the floor collapsed where he had just been standing, leaving a gaping hole. He swung his staff through the air, expecting it to collide with Wes as he emerged from the pit, but to his surprise the Espeon did not appear. Then the ground he was standing on at that moment began to cave in, and Ash quickly hopped out of the way as that became a hole too. But then another hole began to form underneath him, and he had to jump again, only to almost drop into another trap…

As he jumped back and forth across the field, narrowly dodging hole after hole, he realized that Wes was tracking his movements and anticipating where he could land so he could Dig a pitfall to try and trap him no matter where he went. He certainly was diligent! Leo could probably learn a thing or two about Digging from him. "Wow, I could probably learn a thing or two about Digging from him!" Leo commented.

"Where'd an Espeon learn to Dig like that anyway?" Pikachu asked.

"We once spent a whole year living in a Diglett warren," Gonzap said proudly. "He learned Digging from the best."

"Why were you there to begin with?" Sasha asked.

Gonzap hesitated. "Um…I'd rather not say."

"You were on the run again, weren't you?" Rui asked, rolling her eyes with a sigh.

"Well, the Pokemafia said they'd kill us if they found us anywhere on their land again, so we figured the best place to hide would be underneath it," Gonzap said defensively.

"I can't imagine that was pleasant, considering that you're a bird and all," Leo asked. "You know, the kind of Pokemon that belongs in the open air, rather than deep down underground in tiny cramped tunnels with hundreds of pounds worth of dirt right over your head threatening to cave in on you at any minute and bury you alive."

The Skarmory shivered. "You have no idea. Why do you think I'm claustrophobic to this day?" Gonzap asked, a faraway haunted look in his eyes.

"Why didn't you just hide out on the ocean, then?" Pikachu asked. "In a boat or on an island or something."

"I get seasick," Gonzap explained. "It's not pretty." The others sweatdropped.

The floor of the stage was now covered almost completely in holes, and Ash was rapidly losing places to stand on. But he knew that if he fell down even one of the traps, Wes would swiftly take advantage of his weakness…

So what Ash needed to do was turn the tables so that the advantage was all his. He backflipped as he jumped away from the latest hole, striking the ground behind him with his Bone Rush staff and thrusting himself into the air just as the floor collapsed into yet another pitfall. While he was in the air, Ash gathered his power and fired a full-force Flash Cannon into the hole. Even if Wes evaded the initial beam, due to the tight network of tunnels he had dug there would be no way for him to escape the ensuing explosion.

And that indeed seemed to be what happened. The energy and flames from the blast shot out from all the other holes in the stage, tearing up the floor completely and leaving a rather rough crater in its place as the whole thing imploded, Wes's Digging having left more tunnels than foundation in its base. As the fire and fury died down, Ash landed on the crater floor, using Foresight to peer through the smoke clouds for Wes, whom he was certain wasn't defeated yet.

He was right, he could see a rather beaten and burnt Wes some distance away. The Espeon grinned painfully as the smoke cleared. "Nice move. That actually hurt a bit."

"Thanks," Ash said, still on guard.

"Too bad it won't hurt for much longer," Wes said, glancing up.

"Huh?" Ash followed his gaze and saw to his surprise that a glowing orb was floating above them. "That's…Sunny Day!"

"Yep. They don't call Espeon the Sun Pokemon for nothing! Watch this!" Wes closed his eyes and used Morning Sun, absorbing the artificial sunlight above him and using it to heal his wounds, getting back to peak condition in no time. "Oh, and you might want to look behind you."

Ash shook his head. "Oh no, I'm not falling for that one again!" That's when he got hit from behind by a Future Sight energy ball, which exploded and sent him flying.

"I tried to tell you," Wes said apologetically. He spun around, sweeping his tail into the ground and pulling up a clump of dirt which he flung at Ash. The Mud Slap smacked Ash in the face as he hurtled through the air, breaking his trajectory and sending him crashing to the ground. "And now you have mud all over your face."

"Very funny," Ash said. He formed an Aura Sphere and hurled it at Wes. The Espeon lithely dodged it and returned fire with a Shadow Ball…and to Ash's disbelief, this one was even BIGGER than the ones Paul had used on him. "Oh, come on!"

Rui rolled her eyes. "Mons. Why do they always think the bigger the ball, the better?" Pikachu blanched, Leo and Gonzap tried not to laugh, Sasha nodded in agreement, and Tiny stared at them blankly.

Ash quickly dove out of the way of the Shadow Ball, but Wes grabbed it with Psychic and threw it at Ash from behind, causing it to smash into his back and explode. "Gaaah!"

As the Lucario fell forward, Wes charged towards him, his forehead glowing blue as he charged up a Zen Headbutt. Gritting his teeth, Ash caught himself before he could hit the ground and shifted sideways as Wes lunged at him, causing the Espeon to breeze past. He twirled around and smashed a Metal Claw into Wes's belly before he could go past him completely, knocking him into the air. Ash jumped up to pursue him…

And flew right into a cloud of Swift stars that Wes hurled at him. Ash flinched and shielded himself with his arms, the stars cutting into his skin and fur and knocking him back to the ground. Wes grabbed Ash's body with Psychic and used the power of his mind to push it even further into the ground, causing a crater to form around Ash as he was rather painfully pressed into the floor. Ash broke free from Wes's hold with an Aura burst, but not in time to stop the Espeon from firing a Hyper Beam straight down at him. Ash pulled himself out of the crater and ran to get clear just before the Hyper Beam could hit him, the energy shot smashing into the ground and exploding with a blast that sent Ash flying. He rolled as he hit the ground to minimize the impact, and immediately threw an Aura Sphere at Wes as he straightened back up. His energy momentarily drained by the Hyper Beam, Wes was unable to evade the Aura Sphere and got hit full-on, the blast flinging him into the Sunny Day orb overhead and causing that to explode…unfortunately, Wes quickly used Morning Sun just before he collided with the solar sphere, causing him to absorb the energy from the explosion and use it to heal himself even as the blast threw him back towards the ground.

Ash ran towards him as Wes plummeted to the floor, but the Espeon threw a swarm of Swift stars at him to try and slow him down. Using his Aura-enhanced reflexes, Ash's paws shot back and forth before him, snatching each Swift star out of the air before it could hit him and gathering a collection of them in his paws, which he then infused with a bit of his own Aura to turn them blue—somewhat draining his own energy in the process—and hurled back at Wes. Unfortunately, Wes grabbed the throwing stars with Psychic and forced them to fly at each other, exploding and throwing up a big cloud of smoke between the two fighters. Ash used Foresight to peer through the smog to find Wes, spotting him just as the Espeon charged up and fired another Hyper Beam at him.

Ash dodged to the side, and returned fire with a Flash Cannon. Unable to dodge, Wes quickly threw up a Light Screen, causing a yellow energy box to form around him and protect him from the energy burst. Undeterred, Ash quickly ran over on the trail of his beam and shattered the box with a single blow thanks to Brick Break. Before Ash could follow up with an attack on Wes, however, the Espeon quickly used Dig to burrow out of the way. Ash tried to grab the Espeon's tail before he could escape, but wasn't quick enough. "Is there a point to this, Wes?" Ash yelled in annoyance so that Wes could hear him from beneath the ground. "I've already blown up the floor once; I have no problem with doing it again!"

He didn't get a chance to. He suddenly noted the ground underneath him getting uncomfortably warm, but not in time to get out of the way of the Hyper Beam Wes fired up at him from below. Ash screamed in pain as the ultra-powerful energy blast engulfed him. "AAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Oooh, looks like a bad hit for Gonzales, folks!" Ford observed, trying his hardest not to laugh gleefully. Hohoho, Wes my boy, you may not want to help me, but you're certainly not making it difficult for me to win my bet!

"Whoa, that looked pretty bad!" Leo cried.

"It was…but Gonzales'll shake it off," Pikachu said. "Wes's attacks are hard-hitting, but they don't seem to be quite as bad as Paul's."

"That's because Paul's a dirty cheat," Rui said nastily. "I heard that ninja Buneary failed to kill him. I wish she had, you have no idea how many times Wes has been rushed to the emergency room after a fight with that psychopath!"

"Now, now, Rui, that's not the kind of thing a girl like yourself should be talking about," Gonzap said sternly. "Killing someone is a very serious business and not to be taken lightly. If you really mean it, though…well, Nurse Joy can't be watching his convalescing form all the time, if you know what I mean." Rui considered this, while the others gave her disturbed looks, aside from Sasha, who thought this was a very good idea.

As Ash fell to his knees, his fur blackened and sizzling, Wes burst out of the ground behind him and flung Mud Slaps at the back of his head. Wes was amazed when Ash abruptly spun around, lashing out with a foot and kicking the clumps of dirt away. He had to jump around to keep from being hit by the return volley. "You can still fight?"

Ash grinned, wincing slightly as he got back to his feet, burnt pieces of fur flaking off of him. "Of course! It'll take more than that to put me down for good!"

Wes smirked. "That's a relief. I was worried this was going to be over too soon."

"Ha, no chance of that!" Ash assured him.

"Then you might want to look behind you," Wes said.

"Oh, thanks," Ash said, glancing over his shoulder to watch out for an impending Future Sight. The second his head was turned, Wes surged forward with a Zen Headbutt. Ash only barely managed to suck in his stomach and lunge to the side. "Whoa! Hey! I can't believe I fell for that one again…"

"Neither can I," said Wes, grabbing Ash with Psychic and hurling him away.

Ash burst his way free of the Espeon's telekinetic grip in record time, landing on his feet and skidding to a stop some distance away as he charged up and fired a Flash Cannon. Rather than try to defend against it with Light Screen (since he knew Ash would only break through it), Wes countered with Hyper Beam. The two beams collided with each other, golden and steel-white energy crackling and surging furiously as each tried to overcome the other, both their masters pumping more power into their respective beams in an attempt to beat their rival. Much to Ash's alarm, Wes's Hyper Beam seemed to be gaining more ground against him, no matter how much more energy he poured into his Flash Cannon. He only had seconds before his beam would be overwhelmed and Wes's attack hit him. His mind raced, trying to think of a way out of this.

And then he got an idea. He stopped firing Flash Cannon and immediately used Double Team, the Hyper Beam shooting right through one of his illusory clones. He didn't stop there, however, he continued making copies of himself until Wes found himself surrounded by a rather large ring of Ash clones, all of which started charging up an Aura Sphere. The Espeon smirked. "Cute. But two can play at that game." His figure blurred and split into several dozen Double Team images of his own, creating a second, smaller ring within the one formed by the false Lucarios, each Wes duplicate facing off with an Ash duplicate. The Espeons formed Shadow Balls and fired them at the same time the Lucarios threw their Aura Spheres, the two energy volleys colliding and exploding with enough force to shake the entire arena.

Ford scowled as a huge cloud of smoke engulfed the stage, preventing anyone from seeing what was going on in there. The clashing of energy blasts and the smack of flesh against flesh could be heard from within the cloud, but it was impossible for the audience to see what was happening. The Pokemon in the stands started muttering and complaining, wondering who was winning.

The closest Pokemon to the fighters, naturally, had their own opinions. "Gonzales is totally whupping Wes's tail!" Leo said enthusiastically.

"No way, Wes is so definitely beating Gonzales into the ground!" Rui retorted.

"Nuh-uh!" Leo said.

"Yuh-huh!" Rui said.

"Nuh-uh!" Leo said.

"Yuh-huh!" Rui said.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nuh-huh!"

"Yuh-"

Tiny pulled out his pacifier. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Leo and Rui winced and shut up.

"Good job, Tiny," Pikachu thanked the Larvitar. "They were giving me a headache." Tiny stuck his pacifier back in his mouth and sucked on it.

"Was that really necessary?" Rui complained.

"Yes," Pikachu, Sasha, and Gonzap said. Rui sulked.

"Realistically, though, who do you suppose is winning?" Pikachu asked.

"Both Gonzales and Wes seemed to be pretty fairly matched…it could go either way," Sasha said.

"Yeah, fair…in that Wes totally outclasses Gonzales in every way!" Gonzap boasted.

"Gonzales is stronger than you think," Sasha warned him.

"Oh yeah?" Gonzap sneered.
"Yes," said Sasha.

"Oh yeah?" Gonzap sneered.

"Yes," said Sasha.

"Oh yeah?" Gonzap sneered.

"Yes-" Sasha started.

"Enough, both of you! We're not starting that again!" Pikachu snapped.

"Yes we are," Leo said, just to be contrary.

"No we're not," Pikachu said.

"Yes we are," Leo said.

"No we're not," Pikachu said.

"Yes we are," Leo said.

Pikachu electrocuted him. "No, we're not," the mouse said angrily.

"Ouch," Leo said.

The smoke finally started clearing from the stage. "The smoke is finally starting to clear from the stage, folks!" said a relieved Ford. "Now maybe we can see the action again! And…WOW! Look at them go!"

Wes lunged at Ash with a Zen Headbutt but Ash, who was holding his Bone Rush staff, held it out horizontally before him and thrust it outwards, smacking Wes in the head and knocking him back. As he tumbled through the air, Wes hurled Swift stars at him, but Ash twirled his staff in his paws, deflecting the stars all over the place. He hurled his staff at Wes like a boomerang. Wes caught it with Psychic and hurled it back at Ash. "Lucarios aren't supposed to learn Bonemerang!" he called.

Ash blinked in surprise. "We're not?" He was so distracted by this revelation that the returning staff bonked him on the head. "Ow!"

"Now that all the smoke's gone, I think it's time for some nicer weather!" Wes said, using Sunny Day to fire another solar energy orb into the air.

"Oh no you don't!" Ash said, throwing an Aura Sphere at the orb, destroying it before it could heal Wes. "I've had enough of opponents who keep healing themselves!"

Wes shrugged. "Tch, if you insist. Oh, and you might want to look behind you." Ash's eye twitched. He backhanded the Future Sight energy ball shooting towards his back before it could hit him without even turning to look at it. The energy ball landed on the ground some distance away and exploded. Wes's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Huh. Guess you're not gonna fall for that one anymore, are you?"

"No," Ash growled.

"Then will you fall for this?" Wes asked, using Psychic on Ash.

Ash immediately tried to counter with an Aura burst…and was surprised when the momentum from Wes's telekinetic grasp sent him tumbling forwards, the Espeon having been pulling Ash towards him rather than throwing him away for a change. Wes used this moment of surprise to dash forward and smash his forehead into Ash's gut with Zen Headbutt, causing the Lucario to cough up some blood as he was flung backwards and hit the ground hard. Rather than firing a beam attack, Wes chose instead to use a Mud Slap while Ash was down, splattering him with more dirt and weakening him further.

Ash flipped back onto his feet and shook his body, sending bits of mud flying all over the place as he dislodged it from his fur. "I'm really gonna need a shower when this is over," he complained.

"That's not all you'll need," Wes said, using Swift.

Ash sprouted Metal Claws and sliced and diced the stars, turning them into glowing motes of light that quickly dissipated. "Ha! You'll need to do better than that!"

"Oh, I intend to!" said Wes, using Double Team to surround Ash with images of himself as they all started charging Hyper Beam.

"Ha, not this trick again!" Ash scoffed, leaping into the air just before the Hyper Beams fired, causing them to converge and explode underneath him. He fired a Flash Cannon downwards at a diagonal slant, sweeping it all around him to wipe out all the Wes doubles. The real Wes, however, did not get hit because he had Dug at the last second to avoid the beam. Ash landed and lobbed an Aura Sphere down Wes's bolt hole, but the Espeon popped out of the ground some distance behind Ash and shoved him forwards with Psychic, causing Ash to trip over and fall into the hole after his Sphere, causing him to get caught in the explosion. He was flung into the air, his smoking form trailing blue fire as it hit the ground hard enough to dent it…but he laughed and got back to his feet, red eyes burning with delight. This was one of the best fights he had ever had in a long time, and he was enjoying every second of it! Wes laughed as he saw the look in Ash's eyes, feeling exactly the same way, and rushed towards the Lucario to keep the fight going so that the fun wouldn't end just yet.

"Wes is really fired up," Gonzap commented. "I haven't seen him put this much of himself into a match in quite a while…aside from his fights with Paul, but that's a completely different thing. When you're fighting Paul, it's less a glorious display of the sweet science of fighting for the mutual enjoyment of all than a desperate struggle for your own survival. Your friend Gonzales—while certainly destined to lose—is bringing out the best in Wes, and Wes is doing the same for him."

Pikachu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can tell Gonzales is really enjoying himself out there. He loves a good scrap, and it's obvious that Wes is forcing him to really work for every hit he manages to land. It's this sort of challenge that makes him feel more alive, and reach his fullest potential!"

"More fights should be like this, yo," Leo said. "I mean, strip away all the crowds and the publicity and contracts and money and glamour and endorsement deals and stuff, and what you have here is a decent fight between Pokemon who honestly respect each other's skills and wouldn't hold a grudge against the other for beating them, save for a renewed desire to become stronger and fight them again in the future!"

Sasha nodded. "Gonzales and Wes could both care less about all the money they're making or losing in this fight, they're not in it for the fame or glory, but for the sheer joy of matching their prowess against somebody just as good as them."

"Actually, I like the money," Gonzap said.

"As do I. It buys lots of stuff," Rui said. "But I understand what you're saying. Wes'd probably compete in tournaments like this even if there weren't really big prizes, just to know he fought against someone really worth fighting. Although the money's nice too."

"Yeah, definitely," Leo agreed. "Money's always nice. So long as you don't get it through bad means, yo."

"Actually-" Gonzap started, but everyone glared at him and he quickly shut up.

As the crowd thrilled with every blow and dodge and clever maneuver the two fighters pulled on each other, only Ford remained the only Pokemon in the room who did not smile. Things just weren't going as planned. Gonzales was lasting much longer against Wes than Ford had expected, and actually seemed to be giving the veteran fighter a run for his Poke'. This was a bad thing for Ford, because if Gonzales won, then he'd have to go running after some Poke', because he had bet almost everything he had on Wes winning, confident that the Fighting Four would throw the fight if offered enough cash. It had certainly seemed to work on them before…

But then they had grown a conscience, and now nothing was as certain as he had once thought it to be. If he were going to protect his investments, he'd have to think of something quickly to turn the fight in Wes's favor. And he had just the idea… "Folks, this sure is one doozy of a match, isn't it?" Ford boomed, gaining everyone's attention. "What do you say we turn things up a notch and make this fight even more interesting?"

As the audience exchanged confused looks, Ash and Wes paused in their fight to glare up at Ford. "What's he up to?" Ash wondered.

"Nothing good…" Wes growled.

"Let's bring on the heat…with a CAAAAAAGE MAAAAAATCH!" Ford declared. The crowd starting cheering excitedly, always loving to witness one of Mt. Battle's greatest feats of engineering for fighting and entertainment purposes.

"A cage match? No way! He can't do that, can he?!" Pikachu cried.

"That's changing the rules and the setting of a match after it's already started, without any prior indication that this fight would be anything more than a simple duel of Pokemon against Pokemon!" said the alarmed Sasha.

"Actually, there's nothing in the rules about it…" Leo said anxiously.

"It doesn't happen often, but as the guy in charge of this place, Ford has the authority to change the setup of a match once it's already in progress if he thinks it'll make for good publicity…and nobody else seems to be complaining about the abrupt shift in plans," Gonzap said apologetically.

"Except that the only reason he's doing this is probably to give Wes an advantage, which I would normally support if it weren't cheating and for totally selfish reasons!" Rui said furiously. "Ohhhh, that Blaziken is going to get a piece of my mind!"

"An advantage? What do you mean? Because Wes has more experience in a closed ring and Ash hasn't?" Pikachu asked.

"No," Leo said, horror slowly dawning on his face. "It's because cage matches involve lava, and Ash is weak against fire and extreme heat!" Pikachu said a very bad word. Tiny sucked his pacifier in worry.

"He can't do that! Can he do that?!" an outraged Ash asked Wes.

"I don't like it, but I'm afraid he can," Wes said, glaring angrily up at Ford. "That dirty…come on, we have to get to higher ground."

"Huh? Why?" Ash asked as Wes started running up the slopes of the giant crater that most of the stage had become.

"Because in a moment, there won't be any ground!" Wes called back. Ash heard the crowd gasp and felt the ground start to heat up beneath his paws. He turned around to see white-hot lava bubbling up from the floor behind him, and it was plain to see that more was on its way. His eyes bulging from their sockets, Ash yelped and high-tailed it after Wes, the molten rock hot on his heels (pardon the pun).

They reached the top of the crater just in time to see metal bars shoot out of the ground at the edge of the stage, forming a ring that encircled the entire pit. The bars rose over their heads and arched towards the middle of the ring, converging in the center. Horizontal bars shot out from the sides of these pillars, slamming into each other and forming a gigantic cage completely enclosing the stage, trapping Ash and Wes inside. "There's no way out!" Ash cried in alarm, looking over his shoulder to see the lava rapidly rising towards them, filling up the crater and creating a great pool of liquid fire. "What do we do? We're about to become crispy critters!"

Wes gave Ash a surprised look. "Don't tell me you've never seen a cage match before!"

"Okay, I won't. Why?" Ash asked him.

Suddenly, the bars began humming and glowing with energy. Ash was yanked off his feet, causing him to flip through the air and slam into the cage wall feet-first…and much to his surprise, he stuck there. There was some kind of energy field in place that formed a solid surface of sorts that he could stand on without slipping through the holes in the bars. That same energy field was somehow keeping his body parallel to the ground below without falling. "Wh-what the heck?!"

"Artificial gravity generator," Wes said, standing next to Ash. Ash felt somewhat disoriented as he stared at the Espeon, who, like himself, was standing on the force field/cage wall like it was solid ground while just below them (and seemingly sideways!), the lava completely consumed the stage. Ash could feel the sheer heat rolling off the molten surface, causing him to break out into a sweat and begin to drain his strength away. He was so close to the lava that if he reached out an arm he could probably touch it, which would not be a good idea.

He cautiously took a few steps back. "Artificial gravity?"

"Yeah, what kind of match would it be if the fighters were burned alive by lava? Other than some Fire and Rock-types, who can handle it, that is," Wes said.

"I would have expected to be fighting on some kind of floating platforms over the lava…not to be sticking to the walls!" Ash said.

"Relax, it's just like fighting on solid land. Except the walls here are curved and made of force fields and gravity is warped so that you can run all the way around without falling into the lava unless something malfunctions. And you can't get a ring out, so you have to fight until someone either passes out or surrenders. And you have to watch out for fireballs. Speaking of which, you might want to take a few steps back," Wes warned Ash.

Ash quickly jumped back as the surface of the lava beneath them swelled and burst, sending a huge fireball shooting towards him. He had gotten out of the way just in time, however, so the ball of flame rocketed past him and exploded harmlessly against the cage ceiling far above them. "Whoa!"

"Yeah, those take some getting used to," Wes acknowledged.

"That's so cool," Leo whispered in awe, referring to how Ash and Wes were effortlessly walking on the cage walls.

"How is such a thing possible?" murmured the astounded Sasha.

"That's amazing," said Pikachu. "But why do they have the lava? Couldn't they just activate that gravity thing so they fight on the walls while leaving the floor alone? I mean, if something happened to the machines keeping them up there, they could die!"

"Don't worry, there's another force field just over the surface of the lava that's designed to catch anyone in case they fall or jumped so high that they broke free of the gravity well. It's one-way, so it keeps people from dropping into the lava while still allowing those fireballs to pop out," Gonzap assured him.

"And what if that force field fails?" Pikachu pressed.

"Then we'd have a problem," Rui admitted. "But don't worry, the generators get checked all the time, so nothing bad will happen. I hope." Pikachu grimaced, not reassured.

"And if that weren't intense enough, folks…why not send in the flying guns?" Ford asked. The near unanimous roar of agreement was all the approval he needed.

"The what now?" Ash asked.

"Those," Wes said as the intersecting bars at the top of the cage retracted briefly, creating an opening through which two large metal spheres levitated down.

The spheres floated down to around the center of the room, unbothered by the fireballs bursting from the lava beneath them, and sprouted rather nasty-looking protrusions from their sides. The spheres pivoted, their protrusions pointing at Ash and Wes, and started humming ominously. Getting bad vibes, Ash jumped out of the way just in time, as the protrusions lit up and launched several dozen rapid-fire energy bullets at him. "Ack!"

"They're invincible, by the way," Wes said, dancing back and forth to avoid the shots from the turret that was shooting at him. "So there's no point in attacking them."

"Oh, come on!" Ash snapped, running along the curve of the walls to get out of the line of fire of the turret that seemed to have picked him to be its personal Tauros'-eye, only to nearly get hit by a fireball that burst from the lava right in front of him. He skidded to a stop to keep from running into the flames, but that allowed the gun to catch up to him and fire quite a few shots into his back, knocking him to the ground. They weren't strong enough to penetrate his skin, but they sure packed a punch, and would probably leave quite a few bruises later. "Ow…this is ridiculous!" Ash cried as he flipped back to his feet and kept running, the turret having continued shooting even after knocking him to the ground. "I thought we were supposed to fight each other, not the arena!"

"We are," Wes said, his eyes glowing.

Ash braced himself, only to realize Wes hadn't attacked him. "Huh? Wait, what are you…" He trailed off when he saw the flying guns glow and float over to Wes, swiveling about to point their barrels at him. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"Nope," Wes said, flanked by his new weapons.

"That's just cruel!" Ash cried.

"You're just saying that because you're the one without heavy artillery on your side," Wes said. "You might want to start running now."

"Fuck!" Ash yelled as both cannons opened fire. He started running for his life. Wes followed at a more leisurely pace, the cannons floating ahead of him while adjusting their aim to track the moving Ash.

"He can't do that! Can he do that?" Pikachu asked incredulously.

"It looks as if he is," Sasha said.

"Oh wow, I haven't seen the Handless Desperado in a long time! Dude, this is so cool!" Leo said.

"King K, Ash could lose the match!" Pikachu said in exasperation.

Leo hesitated for a moment. "Well, yeah, but…he'd be losing in an awesome way!" Pikachu facepalmed.

"Hmm…I'm not sure I like this," Gonzap said, surprising them. "Ford probably sent those guns in because he knew Wes would use them against Gonzales. Just like he started the cage match to give Wes an unfair advantage. He's still angling to win that bet…"

"Well, yeah, but what's Wes supposed to do? Give up? Not grab the guns so that they would shoot at him rather than somebody else?" Rui pointed out. "He's never been one to give himself a handicap if he doesn't need it. It wouldn't be respectful either to him or to his opponent if he didn't battle at full power."

"One could argue that it's not respectful for an opponent if Wes telekinetically grabs a pair of invincible energy cannons and starts shooting at them," Pikachu grumbled.

Ash couldn't help feeling the same way as he desperately tried to defend himself from Wes's cannons. The Espeon was playing it smart, sending one turret ahead to houndoom Ash while he kept the other one close to him to use as a shield against Ash's attacks as well as the fireballs from the lava below. Ash discovered, much to his dismay, that the guns truly were as indestructible as advertised; he had tried hitting the gun attacking him with Aura Sphere, Flash Cannon, and even—much to his reluctance—Dark Pulse, but none of the attacks seemed to slow the floating weapon in the least. His attempts to circumvent the cannons and attack Wes in hopes that by hurting him he could break the Espeon's control on the guns ended in failure as well, since Wes just maneuvered the cannon he held close to him so it would deflect any projectile Ash hurled at him, and with both guns firing incessantly at Ash there was no way for him to get close enough for a physical attack. The steady stream of energy bullets from multiple angles was forcing him to retreat closer and closer to the lava, where the heat was so strong that his sweat-dampened fur was actually drying up, the sweat evaporating just as quickly as it formed. The proximity of the liquid flame was wearing Ash down, causing his energy to fade with every inch he was forced to move closer to it…and the occasional fireballs didn't help either. Ash had been forced to summon a Bone Rush staff to use as a shield to deflect the bullets, since he was rapidly running out of places to run.

"Why are you doing this?!" Ash shouted over the roar of the lava and the staccato of the gunshots. "I thought you didn't want Ford to win!"

"I don't!" Wes yelled back.

"Then why are you using the cannons?! You know the only reason he sent them in here is so you could use them against me! By taking control of them, you're helping him win! I'm not sure I can last much longer against this and the heat!" Ash said, his lips already dry and cracked from the ultra-high temperature.

"Helping him win?" Wes laughed. "What, you don't still think he has a chance of winning his bet, do you?"

Ash blinked, so surprised that he almost dropped his guard and got hit by a bullet. Several of them, actually. Fortunately, he raised his staff in time to deflect them. "Huh?"

Wes smirked. "Think about it! You accused Ford of trying to keep you from getting to the match so that he could win a tremendous amount of Poke' in front of millions of people, both here in the arena and watching the match around the world! If Ford had kept his cool he might have convinced people that you were just making an excuse for your lateness, but the fact that he did such a bad job of hiding it, as well as the fact that he abruptly decided to change the format of the match right in the middle of our battle in such a way as to give me an obvious advantage, makes it pretty clear he's doing his damnedest to make sure I win! Whoever he made his wager with are going to insist he forfeit and pay up due to blatant cheating, and even if his lawyers managed to keep him from losing everything…" He grinned fiercely. "I don't intend on seeing Ford get a single Poke' from this fight!"

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"I've put up with a lot of TS from that Blaziken over the years, but this is the last straw! I'm not going to be used as a cash Miltank for that greedy bastard anymore! Win or lose, I'm going to quit Mt. Battle once this fight is over…and with my nondisclosure agreement no longer in effect, I'll be free to give all the dirt I've got on Ford to the Pokemon who'd be most interested in learning about it! I'm pretty influential in certain circles, and have a few friends in high—and low—places. That's an advantage of being an ex-crook!" Wes said. "So even if Ford does win his bet, I'm going to make sure that enough people learn the truth about some of his more dishonest business dealings to bankrupt him and put an end to his tricks once and for all!"

Ford went pale as he heard this, realizing the truth in Wes's statement. No! I've overplayed my hand…now EVERYONE can see how much I've been interfering in this event! I could lose everything!He growled and tightened his grip on his cane. I'll say it again…No matter who wins or loses this match…there's going to be a few more 'disappearances,' if I have anything to say about it…

Ash's eyes widened in astonishment as he comprehended Wes's plan. "Then…if you're not helping Ford, the reason you're using those cannons…"

"Is because this is my last match in this arena, and I want to go out with a bang, using everything I've got against a worthy opponent who's doing his best to keep me on my toes," Wes said. "It's the sort of thing fighters like us live for, isn't it?"

"Yeah…definitely!" Ash said, understanding exactly what Wes meant. "Then if you're giving it your all…so will I! Don't count me out of this yet!"

"I wouldn't dream of it!" Wes said with a laugh. "So then…show me what you've got!"

"I intend to!" Ash said, noticing the lava directly beneath him beginning to show a telltale swelling. While Wes had been talking—and shooting--Ash had been formulating a plan that he thought had a pretty good chance of winning the match for him. And the fireball that suddenly burst out from the lava and rushed up towards him provided just what he needed to start things off. He quickly hopped backwards, causing the fireball to fly up past him and give him a second of cover from the constant cannon fire. That second was all he needed to use Double Team, creating a dozen illusory doubles of himself in a line going from the top to the bottom of the cage.

He rushed forward as soon as the fireball was safely out of the way, betting that neither Wes nor the cannons would be able to pick him out from the fakes. He was right, with a frown Wes had the cannons sweep their fire back and forth, their bullets spraying all over the place and quickly destroying each mirage one by one. In moments only Ash was left, but by that point he had gotten to where he needed to be, only feet away from the cannon Wes had sent out to harry him, and lunged at it while its barrel was pointed away, having just finished off the last of the clones. He threw all his weight against the sphere, pulling it closer to the ground and swiveling it around to point at Wes. The Espeon quickly moved the second cannon into position to shield him from the first's fire, the streams of energy bullets colliding harmlessly in midair. He then tried to rip the metal orb out of Ash's paws, but the Lucario had a firm grip on the thing's sides, and all Wes wound up doing was pulling both the gun and Ash closer to him. Cursing, Wes tried to do the opposite, pushing both the cannon and Ash away. However, Ash dug his heels into the force field, using whatever traction he could get to stand his ground and keep firing his new weapon at Wes. Wes growled and pushed harder with all his psychic power, and Ash pushed back with all the strength in his body, knowing that he only had to hold out for a little longer…

And then the moment he had been waiting for arrived. The lava beneath Wes rippled and suddenly spat a fireball at him. Without thinking, he automatically swiveled his cannon down to shield himself from the fire…

And was immediately struck by the bullets from Ash's gun. He cried out in pain, losing his concentration and with it his grip on the cannons. Ash nearly fell over forwards without Wes's will pushing him back, and the Espeon didn't have time to recuperate his mental abilities now that both guns, Ash's and the one that had shielded Wes from the fireball, were shooting at him. However, Ash knew that Wes would soon regain his composure and with it control of the guns, so he had only moments to implement his plan. Pressing his hands against the smooth surface of the sphere he was holding, Ash fired off a Force Palm attack. The Aura blast sent the gun flying forward, the weird gravity of the cage mingling with its own antigravity generators so that it traveled in a straight—and by straight, I mean curved, due to the layout of the ring—line towards Wes. The Espeon quickly jumped out of the way, but soon discovered that he had never been the target. The cannon flew past him and slammed into the other gun, sending it tumbling towards the lava (only to bounce off the force field covering the fiery floor) while the flung cannon rebounded and slammed into Wes's side, firing dozens of energy bullets into his hide at point-blank range. He cried out in pain as the bullets burned into his side, then angrily knocked the gun away with his tail.

He was so distracted by the cannon that he didn't notice Ash's approach until it was too late, and the Lucario was suddenly standing right next to him, blazing fist drawn back for a final blow. "Well played," Wes said, impressed by Ash's strategy.

"Thanks," Ash replied. He hit Wes so hard that the Espeon actually broke free from the gravity field, causing him to fly all the way across the ring, get snagged by the gravity well on the opposite side, and slam into the cage wall. He stirred, and it looked as if he might be about to get up and make a comeback…

When an Aura Sphere from Ash and a fireball from the lava hit Wes at the same time, creating a double explosion that finished him off. His limp body, fur badly singed by the blast, was flung to the ground—er, wall--nearby and lay still in defeat. Ash took a deep breath and relaxed, knowing it was all over. "Wes…that was a good fight…thanks. I don't think I could've battled a better guy." He grunted and fell to one knee, the heat and the exhaustion of battle finally taking its toll on his body. "And I definitely…hurt less than I did against Paul. That's a plus, too."

The reaction from the crowd was mixed. Some gasped in horror at the defeat of the champion. Others cheered enthusiastically at the triumph of the underdog. Surprisingly, just about everyone watching from the nearby bench was cheering as well. "YES! He did it!" Pikachu yelled triumphantly, nearly jumping out of his seat for joy.

"I knew he had it in him!" said the very pleased Sasha.

"Haha, isn't this great? Your daddy just defeated one of the greatest fighters in the world! Bet you're feeling good, huh Tiny?" Leo asked the Larvitar. Tiny stared at him blankly and sucked on his pacifier. Leo sweatdropped. "Okay, maybe not…"

"Damn!" Gonzap swore. "I can't believe he lost! The boy was at the top of his game!"

"Which means that he lost to someone stronger than he was," Rui said, seeming oddly calm for someone whose boyfriend had just been knocked from his position of champion of Mt. Battle. "There's no shame in that, especially since they were both pretty friendly about it. This just means Wes is gonna have to train really hard and try again some other time. When that happens, Gonzales will lose for sure!"

"You're taking this rather well," Gonzap commented, somewhat puzzled.

Rui shrugged. "Eh, I was getting tired of living in a volcano anyway. It's always hot, and the sulfur agitates my sinuses. I'll miss the money, though…"

"Yeah," Gonzap said wistfully. "The money was really nice. And so were the womon."

Rui snorted. "What womon? You haven't been on a date in years!"

"No, but I've seen a few chicks…from a distance…while on top of a building…" Gonzap muttered. She raised an eyebrow. "Don't judge me!"

Ford's reaction was probably the most dramatic. "No…nooooooooooo!" he wailed. "Th-this can't be happening! In fact…in fact, yeah, it's not happening! I declare this victory invalid! Ash loses! Wes wins and is still the champ! Yeah! So suck on that!"

"What?!" Ash cried incredulously.

"You can't do that!" Pikachu shouted angrily.

"Of course I can! I can do whatever the hell I want! I'm in charge of Mt. Battle, and if you don't like it, then you can go fight in some other second-rate arena!" Ford snapped, losing it. That's when the crowd started booing loudly. "Wh-what?!"

"Cheater!" someone yelled.

"Sore loser!" someone else yelled.

"How many other fights have you tried to rig?"

"You suck!"

"You're right, we should all go to some second-rate arena, because at least there they play by the rules!"

"I can't believe I spent Poke' on this shit, I came here to see a fight, not for some hack of a manager to rig matches and try to steal our money!"

Ford's jaw dropped. He had not expected this, had never thought that the crowd might actually turn against him. "But-but…I-I was just-"

"Get the hell out of here!"

"We don't want to come here anymore, if this is how all the fights are going to end!"

"You can suck on this, Ford!"

The audience started throwing things at the Blaziken. Popcorn, hot dogs, soda, bags of chips, hunks of meat, even feces in a few cases. Startled, Ford quickly had to duck and maneuver his floating platform about to keep from being splattered by the detritus. "Gah! Fine, you stinking turncoats! You can have your new champion, but don't think you'll have old Ford to kick around anymore…or your shiny Lucario, either! This isn't over!" He quickly flew his platform up into the rafters and out of sight, fleeing the scene.

The audience burst into a raucous cheer that shook the arena, overjoyed that they had managed to rout the greedy owner and, in some small way, taken part in the drama that was part of Mt. Battle. "That was awesome!" Leo cried. "Score one for the bystanders!"

"I didn't think they had it in them," said an impressed Gonzap.

"Perhaps they have learned something from watching our fights after all," Sasha suggested. "That a true fight isn't all about money or endorsements, but that there must be a modicum of honor, fairness, and respect as well."

Rui nodded in agreement. "Definitely! Though I wonder why it's taken them this long to figure that out, when Wes has also been doing the same thing in his matches for years…"

"It was probably the impetus of Ford being such a cheating bastard that drove it home for them. That and the realization that he's probably been stealing their money in rigged matches like this for years," Pikachu said.

Leo nodded. "Yeah, losing their money's usually a good way to get people pissed off."

"I'm going to be losing a sweet source of income since Wes is no longer the champ, and I'm certainly pissed about it," Gonzap grumbled.

"Oh relax, we've done with less before," Rui pointed out.

"Yeah, but I was really comfortable with the luxury lifestyle!" Gonzap complained. "I don't know how I'll ever go back to sleeping on mattresses that aren't filled with Swablu down or eating birdseed that doesn't have gold flakes in it again…" They sweatdropped.

"Does this mean I won and I get to wear the big fancy belt now?" Ash asked, having walked over to the cage wall closest to them, carrying Wes over his shoulders even though he looked like he might pass out at any minute.

"I think so," said Pikachu.

"You've earned it!" Rui said, holding up the belt in question.

"Good. Can somebody tell me how to get out of here, then? I wouldn't mind trying it on at least once before I get rushed to the Pokemon Center to recover," said Ash.

There was an awkward pause. The others glanced at each other. "Uh…" said Leo.

"That's actually a good question…" said Sasha.

Ash sighed. "Nobody has any idea how to turn this thing off, do they?" They shook their heads regretfully. "Lovely. Why am I not surprised?" Ash yelped and hopped away as a fireball nearly scorched his tail. "Could somebody tell me whose bright idea it was to put a freaking lava pit in here in the first place?!"

Meanwhile, in Pokemon Square…

"So, you need to go to Twilight's Edge?" Raiki asked Father Yamiri. He, the priest, Sabrina, Aaron, and the three legendary dragons were currently in the town's temple. Yamiri had set some of his lesser priests to setting up everything they needed to perform the summoning ritual and painting the complex spell design on the bottom floor while Aaron and Sabrina supervised, the dragons watched on with curiosity (or in Rayquaza's case, an odd dread), and a number of townsPokemon watched the proceedings in wonder and awe from the upper levels. Yamiri was conversing with Raiki while packing his bags for the long journey ahead of him. "I know that place. It's that town of Ghost Pokemon in Sinnorre, isn't it? My grandfather Susanoo went there to slay the eight-headed serpent that was plaguing the residents, the fearsome Yamatorochi." He frowned. "Has the demon returned? Is that why you are needed? If so, maybe I should come with you. A Thunderblade defeated the beast once, so you might need one to do so again."

Yamiri shook his head. "No, Raiki, you are needed far too much here, I could never ask that of you. In any event, it doesn't seem as if the serpent has been resurrected. The events that are occurring in Twilight's Edge do not fit Yamatorochi's modus operandi. He forced the town to sacrifice one spirit to him once a year on the night of the full moon, lest he swallow them all in one gulp. What's going on now, on the other paw, is that Ghosts are vanishing in broad twilight at random, at all hours of the eternal night, with no visible rhyme or reason to who gets taken, when, or why. The only reason to believe that Yamatorochi might somehow be involved is that each abduction is immediately preceded by a ring of the bell from the abandoned temple where the serpent used to make his lair, the same bell that rang whenever the beast was ready to feed back at the height of its power. They have tried to investigate the temple, but…"

"Let me guess. Nobody who's gone out has ever returned?" Raiki finished.

Yamiri nodded. "The ringing of bells in quick succession lets all know the unfortunate fate of those who were sent out to discover the source of the evil. Rather than waste time or money hiring adventurers to try and get to the bottom of this, the Ghosts decided to appeal to a higher power. They wrote to the Arcean Order and requested assistance, believing that our holy might would be able to dispel the evil. Twilight's Edge has been one of the Order's staunchest supporters for thousands of years, so naturally one of the greatest priest-warriors was dispatched…my old friend and teacher, Master Yon."

Raiki quirked his head. "Master Yon? Your mentor?"

Yamiri nodded. "Yes. After my spiritual awakening-"

"You mean your death?" Raiki asked.

"After my spiritual awakening," Yamiri repeated loudly. "I joined the Arcean Order. I was worried initially that I would not be accepted due to my, ah, sordid past, but as it turns out, many of the Order's members also came from a hard life or did things they were not proud of in the past, so I rather quickly fit in with everyone else. Master Yon took me under his wing and became my first friend and ally in the Order, as well as my favorite teacher. He taught me everything I know today."

"And since he's the one they've sent to take a look at Twilight's Edge…let me guess, the letter is from him, asking you, his best student, to come and help him?" Raiki guessed.

Yamiri nodded. "He believes that the evil infesting Twilight's Edge may be too great for him to defeat on his own…and since he is one of the Order's strongest priests, that's saying something. He requested my aid, because he did not think he could do it on his own and believes there is no one better suited to help him than I."

"Awww, that's sweet!" Raiki said. "But, uh, he is aware of how badly we need you, right? And of the really important thing you have to do here?"

Yamiri nodded. "He does, which is why he said that he would understand if I refused. Even so, I cannot turn my back on my oldest friend. I owe him far too much. I would not be as you see me now were it not for his tutelage. However, I am also aware of my responsibilities here, which is why I shall wait to depart until after we have summoned the great Guardian of Light to this world. Once that task is completed, I should be free to go and help Master Yon in Twilight's Edge."

"All right," Raiki said. He frowned, noticing a rather large and especially nasty mace the Father was about to fasten to one of his bags. "Wow. Where'd you get that thing from?"

Yamiri hesitated. "It is…a keepsake from my wilder days, before I saw the light of Arceus and became His servant. When I joined the Order, I swore to never raise it against another Pokemon again, and only kept it as a reminder of how much I have changed since those long ago days. However…"

"You're bringing it with you because you think you might need it?" Raiki asked.

Yamiri nodded Mareepishly. "Master Yon's warning has put me a little on edge. And besides, faith alone is rarely the best shield against monsters. I do not wish to break my oath, but I will take this memento with me just in case. Perhaps by using it in a righteous cause, I can redeem its bloodstained past."

"And maybe your own?" Raiki asked.

Yamiri shook his head. "No, I already did that for myself centuries ago. Now it is another's turn." He rubbed the handle of his mace wistfully. "Perhaps it is finally time for us to be reunited in battle, old friend…" He put it aside with his other things.

"I would probably find that freaky if I didn't behave the same way with my own weapons," Raiki commented. "Or my beer-drinking hat. I loooove my beer-drinking hat." Yamiri sweatdropped.

Across the room, Sabrina was frowning as she compared the spell diagram the priests were making on the floor to the images on the parchments in her hands. One was ancient, sent by the Arcean Order along with instructions on how to use it to summon the Guardian of Light. The other was much more recent and written in Aaron's hand, also with instructions on how to summon the Guardian. The spell diagram and instructions on either page looked identical at first, but a closer look would reveal that there were small, subtle differences between them. Sabrina did not like those differences. "And you say the Ninetales of Mt. Freeze gave this to you?" she asked Aaron.

Aaron nodded. "She engraved that image in my mind and said it was the one we should use to summon the Guardian."

"But it isn't the same as the one the Order provided us…" Sabrina muttered. "These extra lines here and here, and the lack of them in certain places…I don't like it. Something seems a little off."

Aaron shrugged. "If Krysta said that it's the right spell, then it's the right spell. I trust her with my life."

"Among other things…" Sabrina muttered under her breath.

Aaron frowned. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Sabrina said quickly.

Aaron grunted. There was a pause. "About before…" the Lucario said finally.

Sabrina clutched the parchments tightly in her wings, crumpling them slightly. "I don't want to talk about it."

"It's not something we can avoid," Aaron said. "Not so long as we're going to be working together."

"Aaron…" Sabrina said almost pleadingly.

He ignored her tone. "Sabrina…how long have you been in love with me?"

There was a long moment of silence. Sabrina sighed and looked at the floor. "A very long time, it seems. Sometimes it feels like I've always loved you."

"I thought you were more interested in Allen," Aaron said quietly.

Sabrina shook her head. "I thought so, too. But after you left, we had a few dates, and…it didn't work out. We both realized there was something else between us. That something was you, Aaron."

"Sabrina…I…" Aaron grimaced. "You know by now—you must know—that I'm taken. I'm in a relationship with Krysta."

"I know," Sabrina said softly. "I saw."

"How much did you see?" Aaron asked.

"Too much," Sabrina replied.

"I'm sorry," Aaron whispered.

Sabrina shrugged stiffly. "Don't be. These things happen. And I've seen worse, anyway." She slowly eased her grip on the papers and examined them again. After a moment, she said, "Aaron…do you think that, were it not for her, you and I…"

"I honestly don't know, Sabrina," he admitted. "You're the one who can see the past and future and what might have been, not me."

"I know," she sighed. "I know." She stared at the papers for another few moments. Finally, she said, "I suppose her version of the spell isn't that far off. I think it'll work; the differences are just unexpected. And…you say she gave you hair from her tails?"

"Uh, yes. I was surprised too. We've been lovers for years, but she's never allowed me to touch her tails before now," Aaron said quickly, relieved by the change of subject.

"That is unusual," Sabrina admitted. "Not that she forbade you from touching them, but that she allowed you to do it at all. Ninetales are notoriously finicky about their tails."

"Hence the name, and all the legends about thousand-year curses. Talk about disproportionate retribution…" Aaron muttered.

"If she was willing to allow you to break the forbidden taboo and touch her tails, removing some hair in the process…then she must really be serious about this and believe this is the right thing for us to do," Sabrina said. "It must have been a tremendous act of self-sacrifice for her, to go against her species' custom and do that for us. Or rather, for you. In light of such generosity, how can I overlook her suggestions? If she believes that her spell will work better than the Arceans, then I suppose hers is the one we'll use."

"Thank you, Sabrina," Aaron said in relief.

"Don't thank me," Sabrina said quietly. "I am only doing what needs to be done." No matter how much it pains me to do so. Aaron caught a hint of that thought, naturally, but respectfully made no comment.

They were unaware that Latios was watching them. "Are they going to kiss? I keep getting these weird vibes from them. I think they should kiss. They'd make a cute couple, don't you think?" he babbled.

"I thought Aaron was already in a relationship," Rayquaza commented.

"Aaron's mon enough to have ten girlfriends!" Latios bragged. "And maybe a boyfriend or two…how do you think he feels about mons?" Latias and Rayquaza sweatdropped.

Brother, are you actually sexually attracted to Aaron, or do you just have a…what do they call it…guy-crush on him? Latias asked her brother privately.

To be honest, I'm not sure either, Latios admitted Mareepishly, causing Latias to sweatdrop again.

"Uh, so. Latias. You're going to become the Guardian of Light, or the host for her or something. Do you think you'll look anything like that?" Rayquaza asked, indicating the statue of the Guardian of Light seated near one of the paws of the great stone Arceus at the back of the temple.

"I don't know. But I hope so! She looks really beautiful," Latias sighed. Rayquaza almost thought that Latias looked fine the way she was. Then he remembered that she was psychic and empathic and might pick that thought up, so he quickly suppressed his feelings, both because he honestly wasn't sure he was good enough for Latias and because he was fairly positive that her brother would claw his eyes out if he tried anything. (Now, you might be wondering why Rayquaza, ruler of a borderless empire of dragons—and some ghosts—encompassing the entire world, the physical embodiment of the fricking Dragon God King, would feel he was unworthy of a womon like Latias who, while a legendary, could be conceivably ranked a bit lower than him as the hierarchies of godhood went. With that in mind, why did he feel and behave this way? Well, that would be telling, now wouldn't it?)

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Rayquaza asked, trying to hide his anxiety. "We can probably still back out now if you feel you're not up to it."

Latias gave Rayquaza a puzzled look. "Of course I'm up to it. I have to do this to save the world, don't I? I'm not the least bit afraid."

"You're not? Really?" Rayquaza asked, rather surprised.

Latias smiled at him. "Of course not, Ray. How can I be, with you and my brother here?"

Rayquaza's heart swelled at this honest compliment and sign of genuine affection. He cursed himself for being a coward and a charlatan, undeserving of the attention of such a pure and gentle soul as Latias. In the face of such innocent and heartfelt trust, he actually considered coming clean about everything, about his feelings for Latias, about who he really was, and, more importantly, who he wasn't.

Then he noticed Nuken watching them from one of the upper balconies, and stopped cold, remembering the importance of discretion…and what could happen if certain truths ever came to light. Smiling—and only half-needing to force it, at that—he instead said, "Thank you Latias. That means a lot to me." He hoped he would one day be able to live up to all her expectations of him, but he honestly doubted it.

But now Latias was the one who was frowning, picking up on Rayquaza's unease. "Is something wrong, Ray? You've seemed a bit off ever since we got here. Don't tell me you're afraid of what we're about to do?"

"No!" Rayquaza lied blatantly. She gave him a look, not the least bit fooled. Chastened, he explained, "Well, maybe a little. It's just…I care a lot about you, Latias, and I'm worried that once this ceremony is over you won't be, well, you anymore." He wasn't completely lying, that was actually one of the things he was worried about. It just wasn't the only thing.

She smiled again. "Ray, if anything I'm going to be more me than I ever was before…or something like that. Since I'm like a weaker reflection of the Guardian of Light and all."

"Sometimes reflections are best when they're weak or incomplete," he argued. "Not everyone likes to be able to see themselves fully in the mirror." He certainly didn't. There were many days when he still had trouble recognizing his own reflection.

"But if you don't see yourself as you really are, then how can you ever know yourself fully, or become the best you can be?" Latias countered.

"How do you know you're not good enough as you already are?" he asked.

"Because I'm not, Ray," she said, startling him. "Not for something like this. Our world is in jeopardy, and apparently it's fallen upon me to help save it. Do you really think I can do that as I am now?"

Rayquaza wanted to tell her that yes, she was, but they both knew that wasn't true. "I suppose not…" he said reluctantly.

She laughed. He had always liked her laugh, it couldn't help making even the dreariest of occasions seem warm and full of sunlight. "Don't worry, Ray. I promise that no matter how much I change, we'll always be friends. Not even becoming a god can change that. I'd think it would help, since you're kind of a god already, aren't you?"

"I…" Rayquaza hesitated, again wishing he could tell her the truth, and well aware that he never could. "…Thank you, Latias."

"Hmm? Were you two talking about something? I was too busy staring at Aaron to pay attention," Latios said, wrenching his gaze away from the Lucario with some effort to turn his attention back on his sister and her friend. He glared at Rayquaza suspiciously. "Hey, you weren't making any moves on Latias while I wasn't looking, were you?"

Latias rolled her eyes. "Most certainly not," Rayquaza said solemnly.

"Good. Because once she becomes the Guardian of Light, she'll be totally out of your league! So don't even think about it! Because I'll know. What with being Psychic and all," Latios taunted Rayquaza.

"Wouldn't I be more in his league? Since I'll be turning into the Guardian of Light (or an avatar thereof), and Rayquaza's supposed to be the mortal incarnation of the Dragon God King, her mate?" Latias asked.

Latios paused at that. "Uh…well…er…no! Because you'll be tons more powerful and divine than he is!"

"If that's the case, then I won't need you to defend myself from him and can handle it myself," Latias reasoned.

"That's right! Wait…" Latios frowned, getting the vague feeling he had lost the debate somehow. Rayquaza stifled a laugh, but Latios sensed his amusement and glared at him. "Don't even try it, big guy. I have my eye on you. All of them. Including the one in my head. That you can't see. Because it's not an actual eye, but Psychic power. Yeah."

"I'll keep that in mind," Rayquaza said.

"I think we're ready to begin!" Aaron called, getting their attention.

"Latias, Rayquaza, get into your places in the circle! The sun will be in the right position in a few minutes, and if we don't finish in time we'll need to wait until tomorrow to try again!" Sabrina said.

"Which I won't be able to help with, since I need to leave as soon as possible, so let's try and do this properly the first time, shall we?" Yamiri said.

Raiki nodded. "Yeah, I can't be here tomorrow either. The new season of 'The Workplace' starts then at about this time, and I can't miss it!" They all sweatdropped.

"Couldn't you just record it?" Aaron asked.

"Nah, you know how much our electromagnetic fields keep screwing those things up," Raiki said. "I don't have the slightest idea how they work, anyway. Stupid VCRs. And DVDs. And DVRs. And all the other things they have acronyms for."

"If your natural bioelectricity keeps shorting those things out, then how can you watch regular television without ruining that, too?" Latias asked.

Raiki paused. "That's…a very good question, actually." They all sweatdropped again.

"A better question would be WHY ARE YOU NOT ALL IN YOUR PLACES? Move! Move!" Sabrina snapped, causing everyone to jump and quickly scurry to their places either in the spell diagram or around the periphery. "That includes you too, Aaron, this can't work without your Aura power!"

"Oh, right," Aaron said, quickly jumping into a smaller circle set aside for him within the larger diagram, careful not to smudge or break any of the lines painted on the floor.

"Father, do you have the incantation ready?" Sabrina asked Yamiri.

"Right here," Yamiri said, waving a sheet of paper.

"We have our copies too," said one of the lesser priests, holding another paper.

"Good," Sabrina said, folding her wings. "Then let us begin."

"I'll just stand over here so I won't get in the way," Raiki said, moving away from the diagram. "Oh, by the way, will this take long? The season premiere of CSI: New Yerk starts in an hour, and I can't miss that either!" They all sweatdropped again. Again.

Sabrina facepalmed. Aaron, has he always been this silly? She asked telepathically.

He actually used to be much goofier, Aaron told her. If anything, I think family life has caused him to become more serious about things. Sabrina sweatdropped and decided to leave it at that.

"All right," the Xatu said, glancing about the room. "Is everyone ready?" Everyone nodded, though some (i.e. Rayquaza) were more hesitant than others. "Good. Then let us begin! The time to summon the Guardian of Light is now!" Everyone watching from the higher levels cheered. "Silence! We can't concentrate if you're all making so much noise!" she snapped. They quickly quieted down. Pichu, who was there along with Matthias and Team GX, kept cheering stupidly until Junior whacked him and he shut up.

Wow, she seems pretty temperamental, Latios thought to himself. I wonder if she'd be in a better mood if she and Aaron had kissed or something.

I HEARD THAT! Sabrina shouted in his head.

Eek! Latios yelped.

Oh brother… Latias thought, rolling her eyes.

Yes? What is it? Latios asked. Latias sweatdropped.

Aaron bent over and placed his staff in a break in the circle he was standing in. He closed his eyes under his blindfold and concentrated, causing Aura to ignite around him in a brilliant blue flame. The flames rippled down his arms and into staff, causing the crystal on top to glow a brilliant blue hue and for the Ninetales hairs wrapped around its shaft to burst into golden fire. The energy in the staff surged downward and into the floor, spreading out through the lines of the spell and causing the entire diagram to flash with a blinding azure light as it absorbed his energy. An audible hum filled the room as the glow slowly increased, the spell's power growing as the various sacred relics loaned to them by the Arcean Order placed at key nodes in the enchantment's structure activated, their holy energies intermingling with Aaron's pure Aura to generate an incredible amount of power. Father Yamiri and his priests held their papers before them and began chanting in an ethereal tongue as candles flickered to life all around them and slowly rose into the air.

The beam of sunlight shining through the stained-glass window above the statue of Arceus fell squarely upon Latias, who was floating in a circle in the center of the spell diagram. Rayquaza, who was curled up in a rather larger circle just in front of Latias's, gasped in wonder as the sunlight sparkled on the red and white dragon's down. It looked as if she were glowing…

She was, actually. The incredible forces tied up in the spell diagram surrounding them were all converging on Latias, bathing her with unimaginable magical energy and causing her to feel as if every atom of her being was radiating limitless power. And as everybody knew, powerful things had a tendency to glow when they were doing something important.

The summoning had begun.

"Oooh, neat," Raiki said, totally ruining the mood. "Still, I've seen better special effects on television." Sabrina facefaulted.

Meanwhile, in the Mysterious Woods…

"Wow," James said quietly. "When you said the Tree of Beginning was destroyed, you really meant it, huh?"

"I rarely say something I do not mean," Wabbaku said, which was a lie and he knew it.

"How did this happen?" Gardenia whispered, a horrified look on her face.

Team Rocket had flown in their balloon (they had a spare. Several, actually) to the Mysterious Woods after Wabbaku had diagnosed Mickey so that they could find the life crystal he needed to create the spell that would purge Mickey of his demonic plague for good. Although Wabbaku had warned them that the Tree of Beginning had been destroyed recently, he was still fairly confident that they could find a piece of the crystal they needed in the ruins. But even with his foreknowledge of the Tree's death, he was just as shaken as the others by the sheer desolation they discovered when they got there.

They were standing on the edge of an enormous crater whose steep sides plunged deep into the earth, still smoking slightly from the heat of its formation even though the Tree itself had died several days ago. Scorch marks, piles of rubble, and jagged heaps of broken crystal lay all over the place. And if that weren't bad enough, consider that there was no living thing, not even a piece of rock lichen, to be found anywhere within the crater or at least a hundred yards beyond its perimeter, and one would easily understand why the Rockets were somewhat spooked.

And the lack of life wasn't just restricted to the crater, either. The nearby trees at the base of the mountain ridge the crater was nestled in didn't look too healthy. The trees closest to the crater had become twisted and withered, devoid of life, and those further away, while looking somewhat healthy at first glance, were clearly beginning to decay, dead leaves falling from their branches with every feeble gust of wind that blew through them. "It is as if the land itself is rotting away…I can hear the tormented screams of the earth spirits even now," Wabbaku whispered sadly to himself. "Without the Tree of Beginning, the Mysterious Woods are dying. It will not be long before this place is a barren, dead wasteland, and all that live here will need to find a new home lest they die as well."

"That's awful," James said quietly.

"Chiii," Chimecho whimpered, not its usual exuberant self.

"Unbelievable…" Jessie murmured, so deeply affected that she couldn't find anything sarcastic or biting to say about the environmental degradation surrounding them.

"What caused this?" Gardenia asked again.

"Evil Pokemon," Wabbaku growled. "Invaders who stormed the Tree, wantonly killing and enslaving the Tree's guardians, the Pokemon tribe known as the Caretakers, in search of the boundless treasures which lay deep within the Tree's innards. When they got everything they came for, they destroyed the Tree's heart, signing the death knell of this land. It is a wonder that the Caretakers were able to escape before they, too, were killed in the Tree's inevitable collapse." He decided not to mention that the spirits told him that Team Aurabolt were the ones who had helped the Caretakers escape. Right now they needed to find a cure for James, and being reminded of their self-appointed mission to capture them would only distract the others from the task at hand.

James shook his head in dismay. "How could anyone be evil enough to do this?"

"I might," Mickey whimpered, hugging his jar of dirt close to him. "If I don't get dat antidote in time and turn into a demon…"

"That's right, we came here for a reason, not to sightsee," Jessie said, remembering their goal. "Wabbaku, you said we needed a piece of life crystal?"

Wabbaku nodded. "Yes, it's a magical mineral that formed naturally inside the Tree. Most of them were destroyed when the Tree died, but the spirits tell me there should still be a few fragments left down in the crater."

"Are you sure?" James asked warily, glancing uneasily down into the pit. "I don't like the looks of that place…"

"I'm fairly certain," Wabbaku said. "Admittedly, it's kind of hard to hear what my spirit guides are saying, what with the local earth spirits constantly screaming as the very soil they dwell in is rendered barren and lifeless."

They all shuddered. "Works for me," Jessie said weakly.

"Uh, Wabbaku, are the spirits in my jar…" Mickey asked uneasily.

Wabbaku shook his head. "No, they're fine."

Mickey sighed in relief. "Phew! Thank goodness. If dey were dying too, den I don't know what would happen to me!"

"I do," said Buzz. "You'd turn into a demon!"

Mickey glared at the Yanmega. "Gee, thanks for da insight." He nuzzled the jar. "I love you, cold unfeeling jar of dirt. You're da only ting keeping me from turning into a monster." James scowled, jealous of the jar for his lover's affections.

"Mickey, stop acting weird and let's go already," Jessie snapped. "I want to get that crystal and get out of here as quickly as we can. I don't like this place…"

None of them did. Nevertheless, they cautiously hiked down into the crater, carefully picking their way down the steep slopes and skirting around unstable heaps of rubble or jagged crystal outcroppings. Soon most of them were cursing from all the cuts and bruises they were accumulating on their hands and feet, save for Jessie, Buzz, and Chimecho, who were flying and so didn't have to worry about the uneven ground.

When they were about a third of the way down, Wabbaku called the team to a halt and carefully examined the rock wall. "Hmm…Gardenia, I require your assistance, please."

"Okay!" Gardenia said as she quickly trotted over, nearly shoving Mickey off the side of the rough trail they were on and almost sending him (and his jar of dirt) plummeting to his death in her eagerness to help her crush. "What do you need me to do?"

Wabbaku pointed at a crevice in the living (not actually alive, mind you) rock. "I want you to hit this spot with the strongest Needle Arm you can manage. Er, on second thought, don't make it too strong, I don't want to cause a rockslide."

"Right! No problem!" Gardenia said, drawing back her arm as it started to glow. With a mighty cry, she thrust it forward in a powerful punch that cracked the rock and caused the slope around them to tremble. A few pebbles rolled down around them, and parts of the trail crumbled away.

"Careful!" Jessie hissed. "He said not to cause a rockslide!"

"Sorry," Gardenia said, chastened. "I just wanted to help…"

"And you did. That was just about as strong as I needed it to be," Wabbaku said, examining the spot where Gardenia had punched. Her spiny fist had cracked open the crevice, revealing a tiny green sliver of crystal lying in a deep hollow. He carefully reached into the hollow with a flipper and withdrew the crystal. He held it up to the air, its facet glittering slightly as the sun shone down on it. "Behold! The life crystal!"

"That's it? Wow, I thought it would be a lot bigger," said Mickey.

"Hooray! We're one step closer to curing Mickey!" James squealed, clapping his hands.

"Chiiii!" Chimecho chimed.

"Wonderful. Can we go now?" Jessie asked.

"Ah, we may have a bit of trouble there, Miss Jessie…" Buzz said anxiously. "They might have something to say to the contrary…"

"Huh? What do you-" Jessie froze. Several lean, scarred, hard-eyed and somewhat unkempt Pokemon had appeared from out of nowhere and had them surrounded on all sides. "Ack!"

"Wow. Where'd they come from?!" Gardenia asked.

"Impossible! How could I have failed to sense their approach?!" Wabbaku cried in astonishment. "The wailing earth spirits aren't that loud!"

"Don't let them take my jar of dirt!" Mickey screamed, clutching the jar to his chest.

James growled angrily. What's that jar have that I don't?!

"I think it's more likely that they want this," Wabbaku said, glancing at the life crystal.

"Then give it to them!" Jessie said anxiously.

Wabbaku shook his head. "We can't! We need it for Mickey!"

"Then we may have to fight them for it," Buzz said. "Because here they come!"

Savage looks on their faces, the Pokemon pounced…

Meanwhile, in Almiore…

Finally! I've found Hissssa's lair! Gary thought to himself as he floated down to the entrance of a very large cave, the rut-like trail left by the two-headed serpent's rolling about leading right into its mouth. Now I just need to go in there and save Evan and Jerry!...All by myself. Huh. Well, she can't be that tough, can she?

Just to be safe, Gary made himself invisible and intangible, so Hissssa wouldn't see or smell him coming until it was too late. He stealthily started to creep into the cave…

When he heard an ominous hissing echoing up from deep within the cavern. "And now, it isss time for the feassst!"

"Yesss, the feassst, the feassst!"

Gary gasped. Oh no! She must be about to eat Jerry! And then probably molest Evan after dessert. No time for stealth, the time to act is now! Phasing back into visibility, he frantically flew down the tunnel before him, the passage twisting and turning and every bit as serpentine as its occupant. The tunnel grew darker the further Gary went into it, but he was a Gengar so had perfect night vision and wasn't bothered. Even if he had been a normal Pokemon, however, the darkness wouldn't have hindered him for long, because he could see a dim light coming from up ahead, growing brighter the closer he got to it. It soon became bright enough to illuminate the entire tunnel as he sped through it and out the other end, finding himself in a massive underground chamber lit by luminescent moss, torches, glowing crystals, and fluorescent lamps. Piles of what looked initially like treasure but on closer inspection was just lots of bright sparkly stuff that would barely be worth a dime if sold at a flea market was heaped all over the room. The middle of the chamber was a cleared space, and in that space Gary could see the nightmarish form of Hissssa, both her heads raised high as if to strike…

Until one of them stopped pouring tea from an ornamental pot into the cup delicately held in the other one's tongue, and the cupbearer lowered her head and daintily offered it to Evan, who was curled up at one end of a large table covered in delicious-looking gourmet food placed in the center of the room. "More tea, dearessst?"

"Don't mind if I do, hot ssstuff," Evan said, grabbing the cup from the larger serpent with his tail and guzzling the hot liquid down his throat. "Ahhh, that hitsss the ssspot!"

"And how about you, Jerry? Would you like anything elssse?" Hissssa's free head asked the somewhat uncomfortable-looking Jerry.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm good," Jerry said. "You didn't really need to go to all the trouble of making us all this, ma'am."

"Oh, but I had to!" Hissssa's other head hissed as she set the teapot down in one of the few empty spots on the table. "It'sss only polite to feed my guessstsss properly, after all."

"And besssidesss, you've got a long journey ahead of you, ssso you ssshould eat up while you have the chance!" the second head said.

The heck? Is she fattening them up to eat them? An incredulous Gary wondered. It wasn't until Hissssa reared back and whirled around to face him that he realized he'd said it out loud. "Aw, crap."

"Intruder!" one of Hissssa's heads snarled.

"It'sss that fat Muk from before!" the other head hissed.

"I'm a Gengar, not a Muk!" Gary snapped.

"Oh, hi Gary! Sssee, I told you he'd make it," Evan said smugly to Jerry, who groaned and lowered his head onto the table.

Hissssa hesitated. "Gary?" her first head hissed. "Isssn't he that-"

"Friend you told usss about?" the second finished.

Evan nodded. "Yep, I knew he'd ssshow up sssooner or later to ressscue us. Not that we need ressscuing or anything."

Gary blinked stupidly. "You don't?"

Evan shrugged his entire body. "Doesss it look like we do?"

Gary took stock of the situation. Both Evan and Jerry seemed perfectly healthy and well-cared for, about to tuck into the very large meal Hissssa had apparently prepared for them. This did not lessen his confusion in the slightest. "I don't understand," he said, trying to comprehend what was going on. "Wasn't she going to eat Jerry and rape you or something like that?"

Hissssa looked horrified. "Eat Jerry?!" the first head cried.

"We could never do that!" the second said.

"And we don't rape anyone. At leassst, not on the firssst date," the first head said, winking at Evan, who blushed and giggled.

Gary stared at them. "Uh, why not? The eating thing, not the…the other part."

"Becaussse we're vegetariansss!" the two heads said in unison.

Gary's eye twitched. "Vege…okay, first off, that's not possible. You're a snake. Snakes are meat-eaters. Civilized carnivores avoid having to hunt and kill live prey by eating synthesized meat, but they can't just up and decide to change their diet! It doesn't work like that! It's an anatomical impossibility! And for another thing, Jerry's a Grass-type, so technically he's a plant, and therefore part of a vegetarian diet…I think."

"Have you ever ssseen any sssnakesss our sssize?" asked the first head.

"With two headsss?" the second asked.

"Well, no," Gary admitted.

"Then how do you know we can't be vegetarian?" the first pointed out.

"Besssidesss, look how big we are! It would take enormousss quantitiesss of meat to sssussstain a body our sssize if we were carnivoresss!" the second said.

"We'd have cleared out that dinky little fissshing village agesss ago if that were the cassse, rather than jussst grabbing young monsss one at a time," the first said.

Gary blinked. "That…actually makes a lot of sense."

"And asss to Jerry being a vegetable…well, we don't like eating thingsss that have facesss," the second head said.

"It makesss usss feel all guilty and ssstuff," said the first.

"Ah," said Gary. "Okay. But…wait, that only makes things even more confusing! If you're vegetarians, then why have you been terrorizing Chicole Town over the last few months and abducting young mons? If you didn't eat them, then where are they?!" He glanced around the cave, as if hoping to spot them somewhere among all the rubbish.

"Oh, that'sss actually kind of a funny ssstory…" Hissssa said nervously.

Jerry's head shot up. "Don't tell him!" he hissed. "He knows too much already!"

"I do?" Gary said, still absolutely clueless as to what the heck was going on. Or was he? He was starting to get a vague idea…

"Oh, he'sss come thisss far, and it'sss not like you can ssstop him at thisss point anyway," Evan said. "Besssidesss, I doubt he'll tell anyone, he'll appreciate the ssscheme too much to ssspoil it by ratting you all out."

This piqued Gary's interest. "A scheme, huh? Then does that mean this whole Hissssa thing is just a big hoax? I was beginning to suspect as much…"

Hissssa frowned at Gary. "Do I look like a hoax to you, missster?"

"Er, sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to imply that you were a hoax, just that…well, you know…this whole situation with you pretending to attack Chicole Village and acting like you were gonna eat the Pokemon there, but aren't really. That's the hoax, right?"

"Yep!" Hissssa's heads nodded. Jerry groaned and banged his head into the table again.

"So if that's the hoax, then what's the payoff? And what's really happened to all those kidnapped young mons?" Gary asked he floated down to ground level.

Evan grinned. "Gary, my friend, pull up a chair and grab yourssself a plate. What I'm about to tell you isss gonna blow your mind…"

Some time later, in Battlus…

Ash winced as he shifted in his bed to try and get into a more comfortable position. Most of his body felt sore all over from the beating and the heat he had taken in his fight with Wes. Stupid Ford and his cages and his lava pits and his energy cannons. Ash had admittedly been through worse deathcourses at the dojo back in Pokemon Square, but it had still been a pain in both the physical and metaphorical sense.

He was currently lying in a room at the Pokemon Center, waiting for Nurse Joy to tend to him. Joy had left him there several minutes ago, apologetically explaining that due to the late hour most of her staff had gone home or were asleep, so she would have to tend to Wes, who had gotten injured more than Ash—only natural, since he lost—personally. Ash wasn't quite as badly hurt as Wes (though still in better condition than he had been after Paul had nearly killed him earlier that morning), therefore he could wait a little bit longer to be treated. Ash understood this and was okay with it, he knew that Wes should get healed first, but that didn't make his worn-out body feel any better. After all the fighting he had done that day, he was exhausted, and in need of a good long rest.

Fortunately, as soon as Joy mended his battered form and discharged him, he could join the rest of the team in their new deluxe quarters within Mt. Battle, the champion's personal suite. He had sent them ahead to get the place set up…and also to see whether or not the map to the Star Badges would react at all to the gemstone on the champion's belt. If it did, then they'd have finally located the third Badge…and if not, than it was somewhere else in the stadium, which meant they still had a lot of searching to do. Ash was not looking forward to that.

Out of boredom, he started channel surfing on the nearby television. Naturally, nothing interesting was on, so it was a relief to him when he heard the door slide open. He turned towards the opening. "Oh, Nurse Joy, I was wondering when you'd be finished with Wes. How is he-" He gasped, cutting himself off midsentence.

Nurse Joy was not standing in the doorway. Ford's Feraligatr bodyguard was. His usually immaculate black suit was splattered with blood, and more of it dripped from his jaws as he chewed on a large hunk of pink flesh. As Ash stared in horror, the monstrous lizard entered the room and stepped to the side, his jaws working all the while, revealing the hideously mangled and dismembered body of Nurse Joy lying in the hallway just outside.

Ford stepped over the corpse, careful not to get any of the blood oozing out in huge puddles from the dead Nurse's maimed form on his pants, and entered the room. "Gonzales!" he said cheerfully, a rather terrifying smile on his face. "Do you have a minute? You and I need to have a little…talk…about what you owe me."

And yes, the chapter ends there. Cruel of me, isn't it?

Next chapter will, hopefully, be the end of this arc, and many of the questions you've all been wondering about should be answered by then. And others will remain mysteries for quite a while longer. That's also cruel of me, huh?

Was this fight as exciting as the events in the last chapter? I did my best to try and keep it interesting, what with the cage and the lava and the turrets and all. What did you think?

Oh, and by the way...you'll be interested to hear that I'm considering writing a bonus chapter at the end of Latias' Journey that ties up all the loose ends and explains in detail the cool events mentioned briefly in the prologue to this story that will bring the Journey to a satisfying true end rather than the open-ended cliffhanger I left it on. How does that idea sound to you guys? Bear in mind it'll mean me pretty much retconning the entire final arc of the story (the part on Birth Island) as having been nothing more than one of Mewgle's hallucinations, and I'm aware that some people actually liked that part for some reason.

What do you think? Should I do this chapter or not, and if so, when?