One more arc…one more arc…now we are almost there. Enjoy the ride.

"Anyway, now that I'm back, tell me, how did the party go?' Leon asked.

"Not well," Victor sighed, glaring back at the house.

Leon's nostrils flared. "I see. Only expected, I guess. What should we do about them? They can't get involved in the fight tonight," he said.

"I say we see what happens," Ash replied.

The others looked at him in surprise. "Are you saying that we should do nothing about them?" Victor asked.

"Precisely."

"Are you insane? They rejected your friendship!" Damian protested.

"For good reason. I haven't exactly been friendly with them since I came back. And whatever happened to me even in the past four years is not a viable excuse. The bottom line is, I treated them like crap," Ash said.

"One would think they would be more understanding," Priscilla commented.

"But above it all, they are humans. Pokémon Trainers and very strong ones at that, but they are still humans. Plus, none of them has the discipline that you all have. Wouldn't you find it at least very suspicious if someone you cared about disappeared, came back, and then treated you like someone unimportant?" Anabel asked.

Sarah glanced at Leon. "I know exactly how that feels." Leon looked stricken before turning his face away, unable to meet Sarah's gaze. Sarah took his hand and kissed him on the cheek, letting him know that all was forgiven.

"As I was saying, how they're feeling right now is perfectly understandable," Anabel said.

"So what do you suggest Ash does? What do you suggest we do?" Victor asked.

"Nothing, as Ash said. Just give it time. Arceus knows, we have a lot of time," Marisa pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, let's disappear for another eight months and see what happens," Leon said, a biting tone of sarcasm in his voice.

"Which reminds, you never answered my question earlier. What happened with that wild Pokémon, Leon?" Sarah asked. "And don't say nothing, because if that were true, then you would have said it the first time I asked. But you looked away. Something bad happened, didn't it?"

Leon grunted and nodded.

"Was it Aura Psychicorum?" Damian asked.

"No…it was more emotional than physical, wasn't it?" Priscilla asked.

Leon nodded again, took out a Poke Ball, looked at it for a little bit, and threw it. The ball burst open to reveal a powerful looking Swampert, who let out a powerful roar at its release. "Allow to introduce you to my new Pokémon, Swampert."

"Swampert, huh?" Anabel touched its mind with hers, sensing that it was male, powerful, and very, very aggressive. Indeed, Swampert was not facing them like a happy new Pokémon under a trainer, but like a wary wild Pokémon. She relayed this information to her friends.

"He looks tough. Really tough. His muscles are built for battle, and that look in his eyes…he looks ready to fight anyone at any provocation," Damian observed.

"He is tough, and he was willing to fight anyone at any provocation. That's what made him such a problem in the first place," Leon said.

"What do you mean?" Victor asked.

"As you all know, I was called to the Pastoria Great Marsh to deal with a wild Pokémon. That Pokémon was Swampert. He was causing chaos everywhere, terrorizing trainers and Pokémon alike in the Pastoria Great Marsh. Moreover, he was strong enough to deal with Crasher Wake's Pokémon single-handedly," Leon explained.

"Then he isn't an ordinary wild Pokémon," Marisa realized.

"Sharp as ever. Swampert is a released Pokémon. He is obviously very well trained, but not by anyone from Aura Psychicorum. Still, whoever trained him…"

"Was strong," Anabel finished. She had been focusing on Swampert's mind this whole time. She began to tell the story. "Swampert was this Trainer's Starter Pokémon. However, no matter how powerful Swampert got, as a Mudkip, and then a Marshtomp, his Trainer was never satisfied. When his Trainer captured…a Walrein, a wild one that somehow was more powerful than the Swampert who had worked so hard, that was the last straw. Swampert was released then."

Damian growled. "How dare he? Swampert was his Starter Pokémon, and yet…"

"Let me finish, please," Leon snapped. "As I was saying, when I heard about this, I volunteered to help out. Cynthia gave me the commission, and I offered to do it pro bono, because I really had no time to negotiate price. But she felt guilty because Pokémon in the Sinnoh Region was her responsibility as the Champion, so she offered me five thousand Pokedollars to do it. Again, I had no time, so I took the money and went on my way. Crasher Wake led me to Swampert's "territory", where he mostly attacked. I sent out Shiftry and Poliwrath to deal with Swampert."

"And?" Sarah asked.

"He was totally beyond my expectations. I expected his sheer power, so I sent out Pokémon with high defenses, but Swampert is also amazingly agile for someone his size. He wasn't as fast as the likes of Shiftry or Infernape, but he was fast enough to outmaneuver Poliwrath. Before long, Poliwrath was defeated."

The others looked at Swampert, this time in surprise. He was powerful enough to take down Poliwrath? Poliwrath wasn't the best of Leon's Pokémon, but he was still beyond most normal Pokémon. Swampert was still wary around them, but there was a look of pride in his eyes. "Shiftry was able to weaken Swampert to the brink thanks to Leaf Storm and Razor Leaf. Notice I said "to the brink". Even with the double disadvantage, Swampert was able to hang on, and even use Torrent. I knew that with that, Swampert could crush any of my remaining Pokémon, so I had to catch or defeat it before things could get any worse. Surprisingly, Swampert yielded to my Poke Ball. I thought things were over then."

"But?" Ash asked.

"Swampert's old trainer showed up, and told me his story. He claimed that he released Swampert in order to make him stronger, and now that he was, his Trainer wanted him back. He appealed to me that Swampert was his Starter Pokémon, and therefore, they would want each other to be their battling partners. I let Swampert out of his Poke Ball, and when Swampert saw his old Trainer, he flat out blasted him with a Hydro Pump."

Victor laughed. "Well, it's good to see that Swampert gave his old Trainer his comeuppance!"

"True enough." Victor's good mood left when he saw the solemn look in Leon's eyes. "When his Trainer got up again, and began to yell at me for brainwashing Swampert, I lost all patience. I told him flat out that Swampert was my Pokémon now, and if he didn't like that, then he could go ahead and try to take Swampert back. He sent out his Pokémon, and I sent out Infernape, Luxray, Aerodactyl, and Drapion. I defeated him, but then he wouldn't take it and went at me with his fists. No, I did not kill him, but I did break a few bones. He limped off."

"So then what happened, Leon? You've looked depressed this whole time. I know Swampert's story is sad, but I don't think that's enough to get you like this." Priscilla pointed out.

Leon's mood got even worse. "No, it isn't. As you may have guessed by now, something else did happen, right after that Trainer limped off. Poliwrath released himself from its Poke Ball. Then, before I could react, he took it…" Leon closed his eyes. "…and hurled it at a tree, shattering it completely."

The others gasped. "Yeah, I know. I was shocked at Poliwrath, but I understood immediately. Poliwrath was releasing himself. He was quitting me."

"Is…can a Pokémon do that?" Marisa asked.

"It can if it really wants to, and then if the Trainer agrees," Leon said.

"But why? Why would Poliwrath do that?" Sarah asked.

Leon shook his head. "Because I failed him. Poliwrath has gone through several losses under my ownership. He believed that he had become worthless. First it was against that army, then Cardinal Chang's Scizor, then Envy, and finally Swampert. Too many, I think."

"But a Pokémon always has to lose eventually! And I know Poliwrath has fainted in battle many times before this! Nothing like this has ever happened before! What made recent events so different?" Victor asked.

"Trust. While I think that I failed Poliwrath, Poliwrath thought it was the other way around. His leaving me was most likely caused by a mixture of anger towards me and anger at himself for falling short of my expectations."

"You didn't agree to this, didn't you? I know how close you and Poliwrath were. After all, you kept on bragging about how you raised each of your Pokémon since they were in their most pre-evolved states! Poliwrath was just a baby Poliwag when you first met him!" Marisa exclaimed.

"Exactly. And I didn't agree at first. In fact, I practically begged him to stay, but then he went to Swampert and talked with him a little," Leon said, looking at Swampert.

"Poliwrath asked Swampert to take his place in Leon's team," Anabel explained, looking into Swampert's memories. "He said that he knew that Swampert was more powerful than he was, and a great Trainer like Leon could release Swampert's full potential. Poliwrath also thought that he was no longer worthy enough to be part of Leon's team, because he had let him down too many times. Poliwrath was fixated on this opinion, Leon." Anabel looked at him sadly. "Even though you forgave him for these losses, even though you thought he was worthy…Poliwrath wouldn't have listened. So he left you."

Leon shook his head. "And then he left…and I asked Crasher Wake to look after him for me…" His voice broke. "Damn it! I should have realized how he felt! Instead, I just kept pushing him into harder battles…"

"Leon…it's not like you knew for a fact that Poliwrath would lose those battles, right? There's no way you could have known that. It's not your fault," Priscilla said.

"Are you implying that it is Poliwrath's fault?" Leon snapped, whirling on Priscilla. She was more powerful than he was, but the way he glared at her made even her a little nervous.

"I'm saying that you shouldn't blame yourself for anything. It's just like the situation with Ash and his friends. Sure, he can blame himself, or he can blame the other party, but that's just displacement. Putting it off. Blaming others is like that, when in reality, it's just how life is, and it's really no one's fault," Priscilla explained.

Leon scoffed. "That's surprisingly idealistic coming from you."

"I think being idealistic is what keeps us going sometimes," Sarah said.

Leon sighed. "Perhaps so. But the fact is, we're about to go into a battle with someone far more powerful than any of us, and I'm stuck with a Pokémon who barely listens to me, who is not used to me." He looked at Swampert, who glared back defiantly. "Swampert is powerful, yes, and I'm truly grateful that he's accepted me as his Trainer, but there's always kinks to work out." Following this, Leon returned Swampert to his Poke Ball.

"That's right. I actually understand how you feel, Leon," Ash said. "I might be able to help you with your problem, although I don't know how much I can accomplish in a few hours."

"Try it anyway. We need to prepare as best we can," Leon said, all business once more. It was very interesting how quickly he could change from emotional boy to logical pragmatist. And then back again.

"Exactly. So to that end, Victor and I have been hiding something from you all for a while," Marisa said.

Normally, the others would tease the two about finally getting together, but now wasn't the time, especially with Leon in the mood he was in. "Yes?" was all Ash asked.

"The truth of the matter is that this entire fight, Marisa and I haven't exactly been using our best Pokémon for battle," Victor confessed.

"Another secret from you, Victor? How many will you keep from us?" Sarah asked, a little joking, but mostly serious.

"No more. I promise. But back to the point, we both realized that we would have to change up our teams a little bit to prepare for the fight. All of our Pokémon are strong in their own way, but some of them are overall highly specialized as supports. So we changed things up," Victor said.

"Originally in Aura Psychicorum, I was content to let you all keep up the main frontline once I got used to you all, so I changed my team to better support you. But now things have changed. In terms of Pokémon, Victor and I can't hold back anymore. To make room for our new Pokémon, we switched out Miltank, Chimecho, and Kecleon," Marisa added.

"Leon, you gave us Mega Stones. So in return, we'll give you Pokémon who can at least compete with that power." Victor revealed another Poke Ball from his pocket and gave a Cheshire grin. "Allow to introduce the Pokémon that I use completely unrestrained!" He threw the Poke Ball, revealing a dark purple Pokémon with red eyes and a Cheshire grin even wider than Victor's.

Damian's eyes were wide. "That is…your Gastly, isn't he?"

"You know it?" Sarah asked.

"Gastly and Smeargle were Victor's first Pokémon. They trained side by side. I wondered why Victor no longer had Gastly or Gastly as a Haunter when he revealed his Pokémon in that cave," Damian said.

"Because Gengar was becoming very troublesome. I traded him to evolve him, but when that happened, Gengar gave a reckless disregard to everything. He was too difficult to train, so I kept him reserved for the worst situations. But this past week, I realized that we needed as much power as we could get, so I took Gengar and began to train him in secret," Victor explained.

"Why in secret?" Sarah asked.

"I had to prepare him mentally and physically for the battle that was to come. If Gengar wasn't mature enough to work with the team, he would not be of much help. Marisa, however, found me out, same as always." Victor gave her a smile, and she smiled back. At least they were getting along again. "However, when I explained the situation, she agreed, and even went along with it."

"And in response to the darker side of his beauty, I prepared my Pokémon," Marisa joked, throwing two Poke Balls into the air to reveal a Medicham and an Ampharos. "These two ladies have been longer with me than Miltank or Chimecho. I thought it was time to call them in."

"They all look so powerful," Anabel breathed. This was true. Gengar, Medicham, and Ampharos all had a breezy confidence about them—except that Gengar's confidence was tinted with arrogance.

"They have been under our wing for quite some time, Anabel. It's only natural. But what do you all think?" Marisa asked.

"Anabel approves of them, and she literally knows how to understand Pokémon," Priscilla said. "What more approval do we need?" The others nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad you all think so highly of me," Anabel wryly said.

"Why wouldn't we?" Ash asked, pressing his forehead to hers.

Anabel smiled and blushed a little. "Not here," she sighed, gently pushing his head away from hers with a finger.

Ash chuckled and smiled at Victor and Marisa. "While I can't approve of your secrecy, I'm glad for having both of you. These three will be a great help tonight, I'm sure of it."

Victor and Marisa smiled at each other, and then at the others. "Good to know!" Marisa chirped.

Ash's old friends were bunking down in Ash's house and Professor Oak's house. There were a lot of them, so things were still crowded. However, they were confortable enough, and so they fell asleep.

Ash and Raichu were finishing their preparations and about to leave. Ash's boots made no sound as he tiptoed through the hallways past the guest rooms and the living room. Still, there was one person he could never sneak past.

Delia was waiting for him in the kitchen. Mother and son locked eyes, and then Delia smiled. "Good luck, Ash."

"Mom…"

"Come back to me. I won't ask you to win. I just want you to survive."

"Mom…you're taking this really well."

"I know that I won't be able to stop you anymore. You're growing up, Ash. I'm proud of you. Liam would be prouder."

Ash smiled. "You think so?"

"I was married to him. I knew him better than anyone. And just like how I couldn't stop him from leaving, I can't stop you, either. Just come back home safely. I'll always be here."

Ash walked up to his mother and hugged her. "I love you, Mom. Thanks for being there for me," he murmured.

Delia pecked Ash on the cheek as he pulled away, and then she stroked Raichu's chin. "Raichu, take care of Ash for me, please?" Raichu nodded and gave Delia a reassuring smile.

"Well, I'm off," Ash said, opening the door and waving goodbye.

"Goodbye, Ash," Delia said.

Ash nodded and left, closing the door behind him. The others were waiting for him, smiling as he appeared. "Have you said your goodbyes?" Leon asked.

"Only to those who thought it was worth it," Ash replied.

"Fair enough. Let's move. He isn't far away. Far enough from the town to avoid any real disturbances," Priscilla informed.

"Is that right? Then lead the way, Pride," Ash invited.

Priscilla gave him a rueful smile and did so, Damian at her side as always. The others followed. Once again, as they walked, there was silence. They were all preparing themselves for the fight that lay ahead. Any sort of spoken word would ruin their concentration.

There were subtle betrayals of their nervousness. Victor was shuffling his feet a little bit. Leon was tightening his gloves. Anabel's hand was in her pocket to grip a hair band. Ash seemed to gravitate towards Anabel. Raichu was tightly gripping Ash's shoulder. Despite the nervousness shown by these signs, all of them looked all too ready to fight.

Their readiness was observed by their opponent when they arrived. "Interesting…despite your young age, all of you look ready for battle. Even you, Miss Anabel Crystallium."

Anabel smiled. "For what it's worth, I really don't want to fight you. But because of who sent you…" The man flinched ever so slightly as Anabel's mind furiously collided with his. "I think this is at least worth trying."

The man held out his hand to the side, and the circles of light appeared once more. In response, Ash and his friends threw their Poke Balls up into the air. Some of them bounced against each other, but all of them opened to release the Pokémon. "All of you split into groups of eight, preferably one of each team per group. You all know what to do," Leon ordered.

The Pokémon had been preparing themselves in their Poke Balls, especially after hearing whom their opponents were. When the Legendary Pokémon appeared from the portals, Sceptile let out a battle cry. Luxray followed suit, and this way, the more courageous Pokémon rallied the more nervous ones.

"They are all as ready to battle as you are, despite being faced with such daunting opponents," the man observed.

"If you don't mind, we'll start out strong and keep going. You're very powerful, so forgive us if we skip the warm up," Leon said.

Ash pulled back his sleeve and pressed the Mega Keystone on his Mega Ring. The others followed suit. Charizard, Aerodactyl, Gardevoir, Mawile, Salamence, Gyarados, Absol, and Kangaskhan all began to glow for a few moments before they all Mega Evolved.

"Mega Charizard Y."

"Mega Aerodactyl."

"Mega Gardevoir."

"Mega Mawile."

"Mega Salamence!"

"Mega Gyarados."

"Mega Absol."

"Mega Kangaskhan."

Mega Charizard Y looked much like the original Charizard, but he now had small wings on his wrists, a longer flame, and thorns on his tail. Mega Gardevoir's gown had turned black and had expanded to the size of a ballroom gown. Mega Gyarados had gained a black underside, longer yellow fins on his face, two enormous wing-like fins on his back, and four spiked, smaller fins on his tail. Mega Absol had longer fur overall, an extra horn adding to her newly widened one, and wings. Finally, Mega Kangaskhan's baby had left his mother's pouch. He had developed raised purple patches on his knees and chest, and had grown bigger, too.

"Wow, that's a very interesting Mega Evolution," Victor commented.

"Yeah, look at the little baby Kangaskhan, it's so cute! Look at him!" Leon agreed. The others looked at him strangely. "What?"

"Very impressive display. Mega Evolutions, huh?" the man asked.

"Do you have a response to this challenge?" Ash asked.

"In fact, I do. Did you honestly believe that the Legendary Pokémon were restrained away from this power?" the man asked.

Ash and his friends instantly became wary. "Rayquaza, Dragon Ascent!" the man commanded, pressing something on his wrist at the same time as Rayquaza roared and soared high into the sky. There was a sudden flash of light erupted, before a serpentine green shape coated with green energy began to hurtle down towards them.

"Charizard, Flare Blitz!"

"Aerodactyl, Iron Head!"

"Togekiss, Extremespeed!"

"Salamence, Double-Edge!"

"Metagross, Zen Headbutt!"

"Altaria, Sky Attack!"

"Pidgeot, help them out with Tailwind!"

Blue flames appeared around Charizard, and he shot up, preparing to collide with Rayquaza's assault. White energy appeared around Aerodactyl, and he followed. Togekiss flew into a spiral before soaring upwards with speeds that easily allowed to catch up with Charizard, the winds around her being completely displaced. Salamence glowed with white energy, and he shot upwards. Metagross's head glowed with blue energy, and it followed its comrades. Orange flames appeared around Altaria as she joined her comrades. Finally, Pidgeot gave several huge flaps of her wings to generate a tailwind for her comrades, speeding them up even more while slowing Rayquaza down.

The collision was absolutely colossal. Not one, but several huge shockwaves were thrown out from the impact. Damian and Ash shielded everyone from the impact, but it still shook the ground beneath them. As Damian and Ash let the shield drop, they saw something unbelievable.

Charizard, Aerodactyl, Togekiss, Salamence, Metagross, and Altaria were falling away from the dust cloud. It looked like they were unconscious. Anabel screamed, and all of their eyes suddenly opened. All of them were able to regain themselves before they hit the ground, but it was very obvious that they were all injured in some way.

"Don't tell me…Rayquaza was able to overpower them all?!" Leon breathed in disbelief.

"Impossible! That was an impact caused by Mega Salamence, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Aerodactyl, plus there were Metagross, Altaria, Togekiss, and Pidgeot helping them! There's no way that Rayquaza, no matter how powerful it is, could stop all of that power!" Damian claimed.

"What about Mega Rayquaza?" the man asked, looking up at the dust cloud. It swirled around for a second before it was all abruptly blown away in the face of a thunderous roar. Rayquaza emerged, but not as it was before. It was now even longer than it was before, and its designs had changed. Long golden glowing tendrils flowed out behind it from the horns and the tail. The top horns now looked even sharper than they had before, and the bottom horns curved into a v shape. Its fins looked even more aerodynamic, and parts of the body had changed from green to black. Finally, Rayquaza's entire body now sparkled with air particles.

"Do you still think you can win?" the man asked at their dumbfounded faces.

Ash glared at him. "Do you think you can?!" The others stood with him, even more prepared for battle. "This will be our toughest battle yet for sure, but we will win!" The Aura Twin Swords appeared in his hands.

"Is that so? Then come at me." The Legendary Pokémon all rushed forward at them, roaring and racing towards them, even the slow Volcanion and Regigigas.

"Counterattack, now!" Ash ordered. Raichu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and issued the battle cry. The Pokémon all met their opponents, quickly organizing themselves into diverse teams of eight and separating, ready to take on the Legendary Pokémon. The Legendary Pokémon followed suit, separating themselves accordingly.

"Come!" the man called. Sarah was the first to attack, using her telekinesis at full speed to rush at the man. Victor's chains and Leon with his lance followed her, ready to provide backup. Anabel and Priscilla quickly assaulted the man with their best mental attacks, doing their best to stop him completely.

Despite the telepaths' best efforts, however, it was useless. Sarah was shocked as her blade-like strike, faster than any of the others', was caught in the man's hands. He had outmaneuvered her completely, catching her arm with speeds even greater than her own. It took only another instant for him to hurl Sarah over his shoulder and slam her into the ground with enough force to completely knock her out. The man callously kicked her away, and her strangled cry of pain, even in her unconsciousness, was evident.

"Sarah!" Anabel cried.

Leon and Victor couldn't see any of it. One moment, Sarah had been moving fast enough that even their eyes only detected a blur where she was, and the next, she was being tossed away with the man seemingly having not moved at all. Leon, however, saw that Sarah had been injured, and that was already enough to infuriate him.

"Bastard!" he snapped, his lance ready to impale the man no matter what the consequences. The man easily batted it aside with a black Aura Sword that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere before he disappeared entirely from Leon's sight. Victor saw this and retracted his chains, keeping them from hitting Leon. Victor's stopping his chains like this was Leon's downfall, as Victor couldn't react in time to keep the man from kicking the back of Leon's knee with almost enough force to break it as he reappeared. Leon spun around, randomly flailing his weak leg in a reverse spin kick, but he barely grazed the man. He struck Leon off with a shattering double punch to the head and ribs. Leon countered with a punch to the gut, but because he was already wavering, it had little force behind it. The man completely took Leon out of action with a knee to the gut and sent him toppling into the ground, unconscious and groaning.

"Damn it!" Victor's chains arced towards the man, but he disappeared, and Victor retracted his chains again. "Where…?"

"Behind you!" Marisa screeched. Victor whirled around only to take a powerful fist to the face, followed by a kick to the gut. Stars danced across his vision, but he kept his consciousness, sending twenty chains flying at the man. At the same time Marisa followed up with an Aura Voice blast. The screech was directed at the man, and, combined with Anabel and Priscilla's mental assault, he did seem to wince away, but as the chains and sound waves were about to hit him, he completely blew them both away with an upsurge of black Aura.

"No way…" Marisa breathed.

"Anabel! Priscilla!" Victor roared.

"We're trying our best!" Anabel shot back.

"I don't know why it isn't working!" Priscilla added.

"Because my mind is that much more powerful," the man answered.

"Then how about your physical abilities?!" Damian roared as he and Ash surged at the man. One blade from each struck at him, but he gracefully dodged away and back flipped a far distance. However, a green Aura Sphere and a rock coated with pink energy struck him, making him wince. Leon and Sarah had already regained consciousness with amazing tenacity, although they were still wavering, even on their knees.

The man sucked his teeth as Ash and Damian came at him again. He was finally forced to block rather than dodge. He parried Ash's blade with his own black sword and knocked aside Damian's blade with, to everyone's surprise, a black spike shield.

"Two Aura Weapons?!" Priscilla breathed.

"I thought that Aura Guardians could only wield one!" Anabel protested. But then she noticed that Ash had become visibly agitated as he took in the man's weapons. She wondered what was wrong.

"You…it can't be. How…?" Ash breathed as he blasted the man with a point-black Aura blast. But it wasn't to injure his opponent, it was to allow himself to move away, and blow off the man's hood.

His face was revealed to all of them, and they all knew that he was fast enough to whip his hood back on before any of them could notice. He wanted them to see his face, and one person in particular.

"You…you…it can't be! You're dead! I buried you!" Ash roared.

"You know him?" Damian asked.

"I knew him! But you are different! You can't be him!"

"I am. And you are right. I am dead. It's why you can't sense my Aura; because Aura is life energy," the man said.

"But you are using the same type of energy…the same weapons!" Ash snapped.

"Because Lord Arceus sent me. He sent me and everyone else. While I may have the powers that I had in life, the body that I am using is only a container. My soul does not truly exist in this world. I am using this container as a catalyst for my powers, my memories, and my thoughts. Rest assured, aside from the death, it is me fighting you. I am Liam Ketchum," Liam introduced. "And to beat you all, I don't think I'll need this." He dissipated his Aura Sword, leaving only his Aura Spike Shield.

"I buried you!" Ash repeated, attacking him with no regard to his own safety. Liam sighed, ducked under his swing, and spin kicked Ash away. The impact cracked Ash's ribs, but he tried to attack again, and was promptly held back by Leon, whom Marisa had healed along with Sarah while Ash and Damian were keeping Liam busy.

"That's enough, Ashvier," Leon growled as Sarah and Damian attacked Liam again.

"What are you…!"

"We can all see how you feel, but you can't let your confusion blind you. He might be your father, but he is the one sent by Arceus. If Arceus sent him and all those Legendary Pokémon, it must be a test of our worthiness. I don't know for what, but for now, we have to focus on beating him," Leon said.

"But…!"

"Ash! Don't lose focus."

Ash growled, ready to lash out at his friend, but then Leon's words sunk in, and he calmed himself down. "Sorry, Leon. You're right. If I want answers, I'll have to take him down. And I can't do that if I'm so confused."

A cry from Sarah caught their attention, and Ash and Leon looked to see Liam punching her to the side before side kicking her. Damian was on his knees. "Sarah!" Leon called.

"I'm fine! Just get ready to take over!" she replied as she held off repeated blows from Liam. Damian tried to get in a sneak attack, but Liam caught both blades with his Aura Spike Shield. Sarah saw the opening, but Liam threw Damian into her, taking them both down.

Priscilla and Anabel finally let go of exclusive telepathic attack, and went on the offensive. The two girls worked hand in hand, finally driven to action by the downing of their bodyguard and best friend respectively. Anabel ducked under Liam's fist and struck him in the chin, and Priscilla followed up with a kick to the chest.

Liam reeled backwards, but before Anabel and Priscilla could take advantage of his opening, he blew them backwards with an upsurge of Aura. The next thing they knew, he had rammed his forearms into their bodies, clotheslining them both.

Ash and Leon attacked him then, as well as Victor and Marisa. But even with all six fighters attacking him at once, Liam effortlessly fended them off. He backhanded Ash in the face with enough force to send him spiraling backwards, ducked under Leon's lance to punch him in the gut, parried both Priscilla and Anabel's strokes before arresting several of their pressure points, and clonked Victor and Marisa's heads together before kicking them away. When Ash and Leon came at him again, he sidestepped Leon's lance, caught Ash's arm as he slashed at him, tossed Ash into Leon, and kicked them both almost simultaneously.

Damian and Sarah got up again even though their chances of winning were nearly zero, and attacked Liam once more. Liam avoided Damian's slashes before using his spike shield to catch Damian's blades again. While Damian was caught, Liam easily swung him around to deal with Sarah, who had maneuvered behind him. He dodged Sarah's punch and kicked her away before knocking Damian to the ground and dropping the heel of his boot onto his head, knocking him out. He finished Sarah off by contemptuously backhanding her face, pulling her dazed self in, and kneeing her in the gut.

"Hmmm…" Liam sighed as Sarah fell, groaning. "All of you have some level of proficiency in combat, but none of you can best me. Even when you work with each other, the way you attack me makes it easy for me to deal with you individually. I will admit that it is a little more difficult than it would be with totally inexperienced people in teamwork, but even so, it is quite the flaw."

"Perhaps so…" Ash growled. Liam looked at him, rather surprised that he was still talking. "But the fact that you acknowledge this means that you are, in your own way, teaching us a lesson. You haven't changed at all, Father." He spat the last word.

"So, have you finally accepted that?" Liam asked.

"Does it really matter?" Ash growled.

"Hmph, ever so stubborn. But still, there is something else you should be concerned about," Liam said.

"What's that?"

Liam pointed in the direction that the Pokémon were fighting in. Ash followed his gaze to see Mega Rayquaza defeating Mega Kangaskhan, mother and baby. The other Mega Evolved Pokémon, who had all decided to take on Rayquaza together to counteract its sheer power, were down as well. Ash gasped as he realized that the same result could be seen with the other fights. Volcanion blasted Gengar with Steam Eruption, sending him flying into Celebi. Regigigas had grabbed Togekiss and slammed her into Luxray with incredible force, causing both Pokémon to cry out. Deoxys had pile-driven Weavile and Medicham into the ground before using Psychic to hurl the attacking Milotic into them. Lugia had given Tyranitar and Hippopowdon a Hydro Pump, taking them both out simultaneously. And Ho-oh was just finishing off Alakazam and Meganium with Sacred Fire.

Ash gave a short exclamation as he took all this in. All forty-eight of their Pokémon were down, and many of them looked out or on the verge of being out. "Those fights were all eight-on-one…there has to have been a weak spot somewhere!"

"There was…in your team. Your team was foolish enough to attack the Legendary Pokémon one or two at a time. Three, at most. As a result, they could not get past any of the Legendary Pokémon's defenses. At most, they only left behind scrapes and scratches, while opening themselves up to too much danger. Come to think of it, just like all of you." Liam looked down at Ash. "Give up. It's obvious that you are not worthy of Lord Arceus's attentions."

"That's good, then…" Leon rasped as he struggled to his knees. "The fact that our Pokémon are just like us…is good. It means that they trust us enough to imitate our methods."

"Methods that fail, and get you killed," Liam pointed out.

"Oh, no…we still have one more method," Leon said.

"Oh?"

"Perseverance. Tenacity. To keep fighting until our bodies cannot support us anymore," Leon said.

"That is no method. Don't be so naïve. And besides, neither you nor your Pokémon have workable bodies anymore," Liam dismissed.

"I wouldn't be too sure, Dad," Ash said, pointing at the Pokémon.

Liam looked just in time to see several pillars of energy and one bolt of lightning erupt from the seemingly fallen Pokémon. The bolt of lightning crashed down into the same spot from whence it came, and then there was a yellow glow. Then, one by one, more glows appeared. One red-orange, two blue, and two green.

Liam focused on each one, and what he saw surprised even him. Infernape was standing up with his head fire billowing to enormous heights. His eyes were red, and despite the fact that he was obviously weakened, his screech sounded with great vigor, as if the fight had just begun. The same thing happened to Sceptile, Meganium, Swampert, and Feraligatr, only Sceptile and Meganium were surrounded with green energy fields, while Feraligatr and Swampert had blue energy fields and glowing blue eyes. But it was Raichu that was the most surprising. He was covered a sheen of yellow solidified matter. Liam quickly realized that it was solidified electricity when sparks began to dance across Raichu's body.

"Blaze, Torrent, Overgrow, and Thunder Armor." Liam looked at Anabel, who, to his surprise, was struggling to her feet. "Those abilities have been activated. Although you seem the most surprised by Thunder Armor. That's to be expected. After all, it is not an official technique like the others."

"It's mine. I made it up to help Raichu when things got tough. It might cause enormous difficulty for him, but Raichu is willing to stand up to it. Do you know why?" Ash asked, struggling to his feet as well.

"Because just like us, Raichu won't give up," Sarah answered for Liam as she got up, holding her shoulder, but eyes unwaveringly strong. "Blaze, Torrent, Overgrow, and Thunder Armor are signs."

"They represent that we won't give up until we are completely out," Damian added. He and the others began to struggle to their feet as well.

"So, then, Mr. Liam Ketchum, let us say that you won the first round," Priscilla offered, as she caught herself before she fell down again.

"But are you ready for the second?" Victor asked, standing up.

"There was something extraordinarily lame about that whole dialogue," Liam commented.

Marisa painfully dusted herself off. "You're right. So if you don't mind, we'll just start again."

"Prepare yourself," Leon challenged.

The Pokémon who had just powered themselves up roared a challenge to the Legendary Pokémon. The Legendary Pokémon responded and rushed at them. Ash and his friends all attacked Liam simultaneously. Liam stood ready to meet them.

And then everything turned gray and froze. Liam's eyes widened as he realized this. He saw the Legendary Pokémon looked confused before six circles of light sucked them away. His opponents and their Pokémon were literally frozen in position.

I have seen enough, a familiar voice announced in Liam's mind.

An grandly enormous white horse-like Pokémon with golden body features appeared in front of Liam. "Master Arceus…"

It is true that they are reckless enough to attack only a few at a time. However, they are young, and all too used to one-on-one fights. Such qualities are only natural with their upbringing. However, you saw how stubborn they are. They are tenacious, and refuse to surrender to the opponent. Their spirit is beyond admirable, Arceus judged.

"Are you saying that you think they're ready for the training?" Liam asked.

I believe that despite their young age, they are ready for the responsibility they must bear. These eight are the most powerful humans in the world, and their Pokémon are among the most powerful as well. But they are young, and they must be taught what they must do. They must become stronger, and you and I both know that there is no one in the human world who can teach them now.

"I see. Was this your plan all along, Master Arceus? Or were you going to accept them because they are the strongest?" Liam asked.

If they were truly malicious, you would have been able to tell, and killed them outright. But you didn't. You saw something of what I see in them.

"I think that their impulsiveness will get them in serious trouble if they went up against Syntalius," Liam said.

Then it will be your role to guide them out of it. Besides, you know as well as I do that they are all well aware of the responsibility. They are simply neither fully understanding enough or powerful enough to take it just yet. And that is why I intervened, Arceus explained.

"Very well, Master Arceus. I have to rely on your judgment. So shall I take them back?" Liam asked.

No. I will take them back. You have another responsibility to attend to.

Liam knew full well what Arceus meant. "I don't think I can, Master Arceus. It would be too cruel to her. How would she react if I were to simply show up again, take her into my arms, and whisper sweet nothings into her ear, only to fade away in a few hours and this time for good?"

Liam…you know Ash would not care. He would demand that you return to her, even if it was only for a few hours. She has been suffering on her own for too long now. I think that you should give her some measure of comfort. At the very least, she needs closure, Arceus said. But it is your choice in the end. You have until the morning, and then you must return. Make your choice.

With that, Arceus disappeared, and Ash, his friends, and their Pokémon went with it. Only Liam remained, lost in his thoughts.

It didn't take him very long to make his decision.

Liam discarded his cloak and burned it with black Aura. In its place was a black trench coat, black pants, black boots, and white shirt and gloves. He looked rather like a fop, but he didn't care. All that mattered was her opinion.

The body that he was currently using was quite useful. With it, he could solidify into a physical state or turn back into a ghost-like state at will. It was easy for him to sneak through the walls, past Ash's sleeping old friends, up the stairs, and into the master bedroom.

To avoid alarming her, Liam turned on the lights. He jumped as Delia stirred, almost losing his nerve, but then he smiled fondly. She always was a light sleeper, especially in response to Ash always sneaking around as a toddler.

"Delia…Delia…" he quietly called, shaking her slightly.

"Mmmm…what time is it…?" she murmured, rubbing her eyes. Then she saw who had woken her up, and she was immediately alert.

Liam moved as suddenly as an Seviper, his hand clamping Delia's mouth closed. He gently put a finger to his lips, willing her to silence. "It is me, my dear. It's Liam." He slowly removed his hand from her mouth.

"Liam…it can't be. Ash said you were dead," Delia whispered.

"I am. This is only a temporary body that I can use to communicate with the living world. But rest assured, my love, it is me. For whatever it's worth, I'm back."

Delia abruptly slapped him. Liam held his cheek in shame. "I deserved that."

"You…you…I can't believe you…" Delia began to cry.

Liam pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Delia. I'm sorry for leaving you and Ash. I put you both through so much pain."

"What did you do with Ash?" Delia asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ash leaves, and then you return." Delia pulled away, and her eyes were red. "What happened?"

"He and the others are fine, I promise. They will be under my care for the next eight months," Liam said.

"Are you sure?" Delia asked.

"I have neglected the responsibility of taking care of Ash for his entire childhood, save for a scant year or so. This is the least I can do to make up for it. And even if I can't handle it at times, I have some very powerful beings helping me. Don't worry about him," Liam said.

"I will always worry about him," Delia said.

Liam smiled. "As I expected. But…" Liam embraced Delia once more. "I came here because I missed you, and because I want to share this one night with you, after so long. I know that I'm being cruel, because I will be gone in the morning. But please, let me be with you."

"The only reason that you were gone for so long is that you were selfish. Normally…I wouldn't let you even have one more night with me…" Delia sniffed. "But…you're right. It's been a very long time. So, you little bastard…"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No…leave only when you have to. I want you to stay with me, for as long as you can."

Liam looked at his wife. She was still so beautiful, even though he could see signs of age in her. She was crying because of him. "So this way, I can at least try to make amends, no matter how pitiful they are…"

"No…I forgave you a long time ago," Delia said.

"How did I become blessed with a woman like you?" Liam whispered.

"You were you," she replied.

And then she kissed him, and he kissed her, long and passionately. There was nothing more to say.

That morning, a boy and his friends were faced with a host of legendary creatures that they could barely believe existed.

That morning, a large group of friends separated to begin their training, as they were advised to by a friend of their oldest friend.

That morning, a woman woke up alone, still feeling the warmth of her lover. She read, with teary eyes, a simple white card attached to a bouquet of red roses.

That morning, a man returned to his rightful realm, but not without several wistful looks back to where his lover was.

That morning was the last of peaceful ones to those who knew what was coming. It was the last of peaceful mornings for a long time.

This was probably the longest chapter I've ever written in my fanfiction hobby. I've said that before, I know. But seriously, this is ridiculously long for me. Still, it was fun to write.

Leave a comment below if you so wish.