Hannah had a fantastic time with Yippy, Daichi and the other less-cute members of her Pokémon collection. They played games, explored the ranch's extensive grounds, devoured vast quantities of food, then slept under the stars. During her third day in isolation from human society, Hanny got bored and decided to visit the Battle Frontier to catch a Vibrava along Route 228.

There was one small problem.

"No Elite Four Star, no passage."

Hannah quarreled with the ferryman.

"I already have a Blue Star Card!"

"That's your Platinum Flag Star. You have yet to make an entry in the Pokémon Hall of Fame."

"Look, I don't care. I'll just have Shitashi fly me there!"

The ferryman waved both hands in protest as she boarded her Noctowl.

"You can't! The Frontier has anti-air and anti-sea defenses! Unless you have an Elite Four Star, you'll be destroyed!"

"That's a bunch of baloney!"

Hannah took off.

"Come back, kid!"

"Oh I will, as soon as I get a Vibrava."

Three minutes into her flight, Hannah's Pokédex beeped. When she flipped it open, a corpulent face filled the LCD screen.

"This is Agent Bob. Trainer Hannah, you are approaching Frontier airspace. According to your Trainer Card, you have not defeated the Elite Four. As such, you will be shot down within two minutes unless you reverse your flight path."

"Long time no see, Bob. I don't believe you."

Two minutes later there was another beep from her Pokédex. It was a prerecorded message from Palmer.

"We at the Frontier appreciate your continued interest in our island. As a token of our appreciation, we hope you will enjoy the two heatseeking missiles we've just sent to converge with you and your Pokémon. Have a safe trip!"

"That's some prank they're pulling."

Her amusement died when she spotted two dots on the horizon that were eager to meet her.

"Glitch!"

"QUERY: YES, MASTER?"

Her Porygon-Z appeared beside her in midflight. Hannah saw that the dots had smoke trails. Meanwhile, Glitch focused his telescopic vision.

"STATEMENT: HOW DROLL. I WOULD NOT GIVE WARNING."

He bent his head and sped forward, firing one well-timed and well-aimed Hyper Beam. At this distance, the explosions were muted, but Hannah did see debris fall into the ocean.

"PROUD STATEMENT: TARGETS NEUTRALISED."

"Well done, Glitch, we showed those Frontier nerds what-for!"

Glitch dematerialised in a flash of red light. However, Hannah had not returned him to his Pokéball.

"Glitch?"

Shitashi then disappeared beneath her. Hannah would have made fast friends with the sea, but she was frozen in midair. She could not even scream, but could still breathe. A soft blue light played around the edges of her eyes as she was brought to sealevel. She recognised Agent Bob and his debonair Alakazam standing on the dock of a coastguard ship. Members of the crew were laughing at her. Agent Bob held a curious white cube in both hands. There were pink hearts on the faces of the cube.

"Good morning, Trainer. I do believe you ignored my warning. As such, you and your Pokémon have been detained."

Alakazam landed her on the deck. Hannah could now talk, but the rest of her body was paralysed.

"What did you do with -"

"Your Pokémon are inside this Detention Cube. It captures Pokémon regardless of whether or not they have an owner."

"That's extremely illegal."

"My organisation, 'Constellation', has taken precautions should nations go to war."

"Pokémon aren't stupid enough to be used as weapons!"

"Have you forgotten the first MewTwo incident, or what Cyrus almost accomplished? They can be controlled by Psychic-type Pokémon, or modern science. Moreover, Ransei's feudal system does not apply here. Everyone plays nicely or they get a timeout. You, Trainer, will be returned to the mainland. Alakazam, use Hypnosis."

When Hannah awoke, she was resting on a cot within Snowpoint's Pokémon Centre. Glitch and Shitashi were safe within their Pokéballs. One short phonecall and flight later, she was at the door of the Pokémon League castle. Aaron waved to her.

"I asked the League, but they denied your request. You still have to fight all five of us in a row, including Cynthia."

Hannah scrunched up her face.

"Hey, I defeated you in battle! You think those losers stand a chance?"

"Losers?"

Flint came huffing across the lobby like a tank engine. He had been minding their business from the PokéMart counter.

"I'll have you know, missy, I ain't no loser, but you gotta respect our authority!"

"Very well: I forfeit."

Hannah and Flint stared at Aaron, who returned their perplexed gazes with a cool nod.

"Congratulations on your victory, Hannah. Get ready for your battle with Flint."

"You can't forfeit before a battle starts!" Flint yelled.

"Says who?" Aaron glared at him with burning jade eyes. "You?" he continued in a frosty tone.

Flint shriveled and shrank away. Aaron shook Hannah's hand before walking outside.

"Ball's in your court, Flint," Hannah announced.

"He threw so many balls into my court, I had to stop the game," Flint conceded. "I'll meet you in my arena."

Flint and Bertha were no challenge. Orric's Earthquake and Razor Leaf along with Minnie's Surf and Ice Beam dealt with the flames and earth alike. Lucian, however, was not there.

"Who are you?" Hannah raised both eyebrows at the newcomer: a Pokémon Ranger complete with rugged outdoor clothing and cap.

"Lucian went on vacation, so Agent Bob grabbed me off the streets as a substitute! He said any Trainer with a Bronze Star Card can act as a stand-in for any member of the Elite Four!"

"Is there an unwashed street urchin acting in Cynthia's place?"

"No, you need a three stars and a Silver Card for that, but even with two stars, I'm not qualified! All I won were a Platinum Flag and one Master Rank Tough contest with my Kingler!"

Hannah gritted her teeth and roared, "I WILL DESTROY YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS KINGLER!"

"Aaaaaaaah!" the Ranger cringed.

Her Kingler was out with a single Discharge courtesy of Kipp.

Cynthia was next. Hannah was still fuming.

"Has the League gone mad? I wanted to take that stupid smug Psychic Trainer down a notch or three!"

"Calm down, Hannah. Are you ready?"

"Bring it on!"

Spiritomb went down to Kipp's indignant Discharge attacks, but Cynthia's Togekiss knocked out Kipp with a single Aura Sphere. Hannah responded with Shitashi's Hypnosis and Psychic. Togekiss fell, outmanoeuvred, so Cynthia replied with another Aura Sphere from her Lucario. Shitashi weathered the attack, but his Hypnosis missed, spelling his doom. Orric proceeded to demolish Lucario with a single Earthquake, prompting Cynthia to flatten Orric with Milotic's Ice Beam.

It was Glitch's turn to shine, devastating Milotic with his overpowered Hyper Beam, breaking the arena walls where she crashed. The crowd went wild. Garchomp, however, ended Glitch's reign with one massive Giga Attack. Minnie then made good use of Garchomp's cooldown time to defeat her with two swift Ice Beams.

The match was Hanny's! The crowd showered her with adulation, but Hannah would have none of it. She gave Cynthia's hand a perfunctory shake before hustling to the inner sanctum where the Hall of Fame database lay, hidden in darkness and dim neon lights. Cramming her blue Trainer Card into the machine, she tapped her foot until it rewarded her with a bronze card, emblazoned with two shimmering golden stars.

"Going for that Vibrava, now?"

"Did Agent Bob tell you?"

"Yes. He is forceful, but fair."

"He's a jerk, like Manny's Dad. I'm gonna give him and Manny's Dad a beating once I get my Flygon!"

Cynthia smiled. "Better hurry back and secure your home from the media."

"I will! Thank you!"