Chapter 38 – The Legendary Postulate

Diantha's Perspective – Kalos Pokemon League

"Diantha."

The Champion of the Kalos League sighed as she turned to face the striking figure illuminated by the doorway. "Come in. I have been expecting you."

Lysandre frowned as he ducked under the threshold and turned on the lights. "My, this is very unlike you. I have always known you as a lover of beauty, living in this simply luminous fortress of yours."

She turned away from him and frowned as Gardevoir teleported by her side. "I see that you've been admiring our stained glass, haven't you."

The fiery man laughed, a deep booming sound that seemed to echo through the room. "And why wouldn't I? Certainly you too must appreciate one of Kalos' crowning jewels, even if fewer people come here these days than some."

Finally, she let a wry smile grace her lips. "Those days had champions who were less successful than I am."

"Indeed. And now your rule comes under attack for just the fourth time in the last five years."

The silence stretched on before Diantha heaved a sigh, leaning back on the wings of her dress. "What do you want, Lysandre?"

"Diantha, tell me. Do you fear getting older?"

Gardevoir stirred slightly at Diantha's side, and the champion glowed inwardly as she felt her Pokemon comfort her across their mental bond. "I don't believe that you've properly answered my question."

Lysandre's Holocaster buzzed slightly, and he glanced down at it before responding. "And you haven't answered mine.

She gave him a long hard stare. "I have no reason why I should fear aging. Why do you ask?"

"You are an actress," he said as he closed his eyes. "Kalos' idol, their superstar. The best battler in the region to boot. Do you ever want that to change?"

For a moment, Diantha's eyes flashed, but she composed herself and assumed her calm veneer. "I wouldn't want to play all of the same roles forever, would I? I look forwards to both ones that I play now, and the ones that I'll get to play later in life."

"What makes you think that you'll get that chance?"

Diantha's hand crept down to her pokeballs as she pursed her lips. "Lysandre, I don't believe that we're friends anymore, are we?"

Lysandre hummed in acknowledgment. "You aren't the idealistic young girl that I used to know, either."

"I know you have no love for the Syndicate." Diantha rose to her feet and walked to the window. Drawing the drapes, she gazed out across the great forest and plains that spread between the league and Lumiose City. "What is your involvement with Malva and her challenge? What is your intention for Kalos?"

"Zekrom," Lysandre hissed. "You saw what happened there. We now have the ability to capture legendaries that interfere with the beauty of our world!"

Diantha sighed, catching her own reflection in the golden reflection of the man behind her. "There are forces in this world, forces that are beyond our control or knowing. Gods walk our world as they will. We have constructed a delicate balance between the artificial and the natural, and the lives we lead have people and Pokemon coexisting with one another. Would you seek to upset that natural balance?"

Lysandre walked over to her desk. Carefully, he unstrapped his Holocaster from his wrist and set it down on the table before pushing a button on its side. Diantha turned to see a Cartesian map of the Pokemon world set out in front of her. She frowned as she saw the date in the bottom corner. "What are you showing me? That date is more than six years old."

Without answering her question, he pressed another button, and the screen began to change. A single black dot blinked to life in the center of Kanto and started to wind its way around the map. As it did so, smaller colored dots began to pop up behind it. Diantha watched neutrally as a rainbow trail was painted across six of the global regions. A small counter in the corner didn't escape her notice either as it slowly counted up until the present was reached.

"Diantha, are you aware of the recent merger between Lysandre Labs and Sylph Co.?"

She nodded. "Of course. As champion, it's my duty to monitor Kalos' economy, no?"

"This is data that I compiled with assistance from Giovanni. That black dot represents a young man named Ash Ketchum. Giovanni has had a team of three agents tracking him since the second day of his Pokemon journey, more than six years ago. He has an… interesting effect on events around him. Each of those dots represents an instance of crime or violence. The blue ones were stopped by him. The red ones were not. The filled dots involved members of an organized crime syndicate, not in reference to the Syndicate we are dealing with in Kalos."

Diantha stared at the map, unsure of what to think. "There are many more blue than red, but why are there so many more red ones in Kalos?" she murmured thoughtfully. "What are the black ones, and why are most of them bigger?"

"The black represents legendary Pokemon. The bigger circles indicate a loss of human life."

Diantha's breath caught as she looked at Kalos. There were nearly twice as many red circles as there were blue, and the entire map was blotted out by three massive black circles. Lysandre pointed to each one in turn. "Geosenge Town. One thousand dead in a massive landslide that destroyed the most prominent mountain next to the town. My team detected the presence of a legendary Pokemon. Lysandre Labs. Fifty seven dead in an explosion and fire that destroyed the west wing. We detected the same legendary traces. TE disaster. 55,000 dead. Zekrom and J's Latios were both present. That's not all. We have as many as six other recorded instances of Legendary activity in Kalos in less than three months, following a drastic overall uptick in the past two years. All of that ties to Ash Ketchum."

Diantha's stomach twisted. "What are you trying to imply?"

"Legendary Pokemon are no longer the protectors of humanity, Diantha. Something has been changing, and the only way to protect humanity is to stop them." He turned the screen off, and put the Holocaster back onto his arm. "We still have the boy under constant surveillance, but that's not enough. Your policies on legendaries are no longer sufficient to protect our country."

"Lysandre, you are beginning to sound dangerous," Diantha said with a deep frown. "99% of the people who live here believe in the Archaic Pantheon. The Kalos League has long venerated Xerneas, Yveltal, and Zygarde as the protectors of Kalos. Do you seek to go against their good will, and anger legendaries further? I am not blind to the patterns that you have presented. Are you aware that we are working with the International Police to monitor legendaries and to defeat the Syndicate?"

Lysandre's tone was smooth as he walked around the desk to stand behind Diantha. "Surely even you can recognize the value of eliminating threats. Capturing legendaries has been quite effective in the past. I'm sure that you will recall a trainer named Tobias, who competed-"

"Tobias is dead. His body was found in Mt. Coronet a month ago," she interrupted grimly. "Our sources inform me that his Pokemon are now under Syndicate possession."

His face twisted from disbelief to rage in an instant. "What? I was not informed of this," he growled, violently typing into his caster. "Such a trainer is not meant to carry such power. This is what we must prevent! The league must eliminate these threats!"

"And if I refuse?" Diantha said coolly.

Lysandre turned away from her. "The events have already been set in motion, Diantha. That was your last chance. You are a threat to the well being of Kalos, and you will lose your position before this week is out. Good day."

The door slammed shut behind him, and she settled back down into darkness, even more deeply troubled than before. What is happening to Kalos? Why am I unable to stop it?

Elle's Perspective – Summer Camp

Elle's stomach sank as she turned around and saw Tierno and Trevor standing behind her. Oh god, I was hoping that we could have avoided this today. "Hey, guys."

Tierno nodded vigorously. "Yup, you have totally got to come and have lunch with us right now! There's no question about it!"

Before she could protest, Tierno and Trevor had each taken one of her arms and were dragging her off to a nearby clearing where a picnic blanket had been set out on the ground. Elle shot a look back over her shoulder to see Mairin trailing them, clearly trying to hold back a laugh. She sighed as she was dumped unceremoniously on the blanket, and grumbled, "You could at least have let me walk. I do have legs for a reason, you know."

Shauna looked up from where she was sitting and did a double take as Elle stared back at her. "What the hell is she doing here?"

Tierno grinned as strapped an apron over his Vanilite T-shirt and spun around a large soup pot. "Hey, lighten up! Isn't it just such a great day to cook and dance?"

Trevor sweatdropped and laughed before getting more serious. "Elle, Shauna, Tierno and I decided-"

"More like Trevor talked and I listened."

The redhead sighed. "Whatever. Well, I think that even though you two are still angry at each other for what happened back in Lumiose, you still should to be nice to each other."

Shauna sniffed and turned away, and Elle's heart sank slightly. Suppressing a sigh, she turned to Mairin instead. "Hey, do you want to let your Kricketot out of his pokeball?"

Mairin's eyes widened, and she nodded. "Come out, Bebe, Chespie, and Tater!"

Elle raised an eyebrow as the tiny bug type appeared on Mairin's leg. "Tater?"

The younger girl grinned and nodded. "Yeah, because he's brown and a little tubby and that Murkrow thought he would be a good snack."

Kricketot chirped lightly, and Elle put her face in her hands. "I don't think that's a very good nickname for a Pokemon..."

"I do!" Mairin said as Chespie decided to start running around her in circles, with Bebe floating after him.

Elle laughed, and she released her own Pokemon happily to join in. Skitty came out happily, but flinched when she saw Shauna and scampered into Elle's arms. She looked down at her Pokemon sadly as she gently cradled her. I guess she really hasn't gotten over what happened back at the lab that day.

"IT'S HOTDOG TIME!" Tierno exclaimed at the top of his lungs as he set a plate of steaming hotdogs down on the picnic blanket. "Come and get some!"

Elle and Shauna took one look at each other and burst out laughing as Shauna walked over to sit across from her. Shauna rolled her eyes and mouthed "Doofus," and Elle smirked back.

Trevor shook his head sadly as he made himself a plate of food. "You know, I've always felt like I miss something in these conversations..."

Shauna and Elle looked at him at the same time and said, "You do."

He frowned again, then brightened up. "Hey, you two are acting normal again! That's great! Are you finally over that dumb fight you had?"

Instantly, the friendliness vanished from Shauna's face, and she turned away with a pout. "It's not my problem," she said as she stuffed her face full with food.

"Alright, that's it!" Trevor got to his feet and clenched his fists. "I hate this! Elle, Shauna, you two are best friends! There's no way this can keep happening. Go over there and make up, right now!"

Elle stared at her friend in shock. Since when has Trevor been so forceful? I have no memories of him being like this, ever. "Alright, fine."

As soon as they were alone, Elle slouched and glared at Shauna. "Alright, Trevor's right. This is totally ridiculous. I don't know where you think you get off being a jerk to me like this, but-"

Shauna's face fell for a second, and she could have sworn that she caught a glimpse of her old friend for just a second. Just as quickly, it disappeared. "This is all your fault. If it hadn't been for that night-"

"We agreed that we weren't going to talk about that," she hissed back. No! I'm past that, there's no way that I'm going to get worked up about that now.

"So what do you want me to do?"

Elle gave her best fake smile and nodded back at the picnic. "We're performers, aren't we? Pretend like everything's all better, even though it isn't. That's what you want, isn't it?" He voice cracked on the last word, and she turned around to rejoin her other, real friends and Pokemon.

Flashback – Lumiose City

Sycamore turned to Elle and smiled sadly. "Elle, I'm so sorry, but we seem to be completely out of traditional starter Pokemon. Either you can take one of the extras that we have here in the lab, or you can wait for us to get a new group together..."

She smiled at him. "No, don't worry about. I did volunteer to go last, didn't I?"

Nodding graciously, the professor led her to the enclosed greenhouse where Pokemon were running around wildly. Elle immediately zeroed in on a tiny pink cat that was curled up in a little ball in a beam of sunlight. "Professor, can I have that Skitty?"

Sycamore nodded. "A simply marvelous choice! I'm sure that you and Skitty will do just fine together!"

Five minutes later, she walked out of the lab cradling Skitty into her arms. Before she could make it very far, however, she was interrupted mid stride. "So, the professor actually decided to give you a Pokemon. How cute."

She span around, all of her emotions from last night coming swirling back as she saw Shauna. "Shauna, I-"

The other girl's face had contempt written all over it. "You're what, sorry for last night? Sorry for ruining our friendship?"

"Shauna, please just listen to me, I didn't-"

"No, I'm not going to!" she cut her off. "The performing stuff, all of that? We're done. There's one Kalos queen, and that's going to be me. You and your fluff ball can go and die for all that I care."

Elle squeezed her eyes shut and turned away. "You know what? Fine! I thought that we were friends, but clearly not." She started walking away before breaking into a run.

"Elle, wait! I- I didn't mean-"

"Screw you!" she screamed.

Sprinting away, she didn't have time to look back at her former best friend, left standing alone in her wake.

Erin's Perspective – Summer Camp

"And the winning Pokevision video is… Team Froaky's! Congratulations to everyone for participating, and we can't wait for the orienteering competition tomorrow." Sycamore smiled as he turned the big screen off, and people began to file out of the dining hall to go to bed.

Erin sighed as she pushed away from the table. Walking up to Paul, she nudged his shoulder gently. The mauve haired boy flinched back and whirled around. When he saw her, his face softened and he bit back whatever he had been about to say. "Oh, it's you."

She rolled her eyes playfully as Kirlia teleported onto her shoulder. "What's that supposed to mean? Is that any way to treat your-"

"Wait, no!" He flushed a deep red, and shook his head. "Wait, I- uh, I mean, um, hi?"

With a laugh, she punched his shoulder lightly. "Can you believe that we lost? I totally thought our video was better than theirs. Don't you think so?"

Paul shrugged as dry air conditioning melded into the cool evening air around them. "No big deal. We're still ahead of Ketchum, so no big deal, right?"

"I guess so..." she trailed off, and their walk lapsed into silence. Kicking a stone down the gravel path, she sought out her bond with Kirlia. "Hey, did you notice anything weird with Serena today? She seemed really pissed at me about the whole Pokevision thing."

"She totally thinks that you're stealing her spotlight. I wasn't there the last time you made videos, but… Did you actually listen to what she yelled at you about yesterday?" the emotion Pokemon asked.

Erin frowned. "Something about her hand? She was pissed because I was trying to help her, which is stupid because she clearly couldn't carry that much food."

Kirlia shook her head as she floated down to hover backwards along the path. "You know, you're really clueless when it comes to reading other people's emotions."

"Hey, that's not fair! Your species is literally called the emotion Pokemon!"

"Yeah, whatever," Kirlia said with a slight blush as she brushed her hair out of her face. "Look, she's obviously trying to show people that she can do stuff, even with her arm. It's a good thing that she won today. I bet it'll help her self esteem."

"Oh my Arceus, you sound just like mom," she groaned at her Pokemon.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, Grace? You know, in the hosp..." Erin's eyes widened as she realized the implications of what she had just said. Wait, that's not right? My mom doesn't even exist here! Grace is Serena's mom, not mine! What am I thinking?

"Erin? Are you okay?"

Blinking, she realized that Paul and Kirlia were both staring at her in confusion. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, furious at herself. "It's nothing." I just need to forget I thought that in the first place. "Can we have a practice battle?"

He stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Sure, how about on that beach over there?"

Five minutes later, Deerling burst onto the field happily. Ignoring Paul and his Clauncher, she ran over to Erin and nuzzled up against her leg.

Erin grinned as she stroked the deer's dappled flank. "Hey, are you feeling up for a practice battle right now?" Nodding, the season Pokemon sprinted onto the field. "Great, then let's use quick attack into wild charge!"

"Aqua jet away, now." Just as Deerling was about top collide with the small blue crab, a jet of water shot out of its claw and sent it flying away from her.

"Quick, razor leaf while it's in midair, then wild charge!" The electric aura around Deerling solidified into a swirling cloud of leaves, which shot out towards Clauncher. A quick hydro pump slammed into the grassy assault, covering the battlefield in smoke. Erin had to squint as the wild charge slammed into a brilliant rainbow barrier that sent the deer staggering backwards.

"Now, use hydro pump again!" Paul called.

"Counter with razor leaf again then take him head on with leaf attack!"

Another explosion shook the battlefield as Deerling charged through the colliding attacks in a shroud of leaves. Paul grinned victoriously as he clenched his fists. "Erin, stop making the same stupid mistake over and over again! Smack down, then hydro pump away and swords dance."

Clauncher twisted away from the attack at the last second and slammed its claw down on the season Pokemon's side. Deerling yelped in pain as she went rolling back towards Erin, who gritted her teeth angrily. "Damn it, Paul! What the hell are you talking about? Razor leaf!"

A trail of leaves followed Clauncher as it rocketed across the battlefield, shooting hyperpressured blasts of water both to block and to propel itself forwards. Paul smirked as he unzipped his sweatshirt and leaned back on his heel. "You know, you're cuter when you're angry. Launch yourself at her with aqua jet!"

"Paul, are you flirting with me?" she gasped mockingly. "I didn't know you had it in you! Take it head on with wild charge!"

"Smack down!"

"Razor leaf!"

"Protect!"

The rainbow shield collided with Deerling incredibly hard, sending her flying into the ground hard. Clauncher propelled itself back over to Paul as Deerling pulled herself to her feet and shook herself off. She yipped something to Kirlia, who said to Erin, "She wants to keep going. Also, he kinda has a point."

Erin glared at her companion before turning back to the battlefield. "Alright, Mr. Pathetic, tell me all of my flaws, won't you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "Seriously though, what's up with you right now? You're attacking so aggressively that I'm literally just countering what you're doing. What happened to all of the strategy that Deerling was using against Grant or Diantha?"

"I am using strategy!" she protested, digging her foot into the sand. "I just need to go harder, that's all!"

Paul shook his head. "Erin, please, listen to me. We can talk about what's wrong later, but Deerling just doesn't have the endurance for the way you're fighting right now. You haven't used sand attack once this entire battle. Honestly, the only time I ever see you battle like this is against J or Cerys!"

"What are you talking about? You've seen me battle Cerys once, and that was just Kirlia using Misty Terrain to drive her… her… her thing away," Erin retorted, shuddered involuntarily.

"Erin!"

At least he cares? She heaved an exaggerated sigh and shifted her posture wider. "Fine, whatever. Come at me, asshole."

Kirlia snickered as she lounged in the setting sun. "Oh, Arceus, I'm so glad that the two of you have such a functional relationship."

"Swords dance!"

"Razor leaf!" As Clauncher was forced to break off his attack and dodge, Erin raised an eyebrow at Paul. "If I didn't know better, I would think you were trying to make me go aggressive against you."

He shrugged. "Of course, I was winning! Hydro pump!"

"Use quick attack with sand attack to cover the field in sand!"

Deerling shot to the side as a blast of water soaked into the sand behind her, kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake. As the haze filled the field, Paul called, "Keep yourself in the air!"

Erin grinned; Paul wasn't wrong, she had been being reckless. This put her in a much better position. Type advantage and ranged attack with mobility? Easy. "Target practice, Deerling!"

A game of aerial cat and mouse ensued as Clauncher shot across the beach using hydro pump, protecting when he couldn't dodge. Finally, Paul called, "End this. Smack down!"

"Razor leaf!"

Erin winced as Clauncher slammed its fist down through the spinning cloud of leaves and solidly collided with Deerling's head. Her Pokemon slumped to the ground, and Erin quickly recalled her with a wry grin. "Damn it, I shouldn't have lost that. I had a type advantage too."

Paul recalled his Pokemon and looked down at the ball in satisfaction. "Good job, Clauncher. Rest as long as you need."

"So I see that Ash really wasn't lying about your skills, Paul. That Clauncher seems like it hasn't been under your possession for very long, but it's clearly a skilled battler. Ash tells me your Electivire is strongest, though. I'd like to see it battle someday."

Paul growled under his breath, and Erin mentally cursed as she strode over and grabbed his arm tightly. "Chill out," she whispered fiercely. "Please, just keep cool until he's gone." Turning, she yelled "Clemont, what's up?"

The young inventor strode onto the field purposefully, and Erin narrowed his eyes. Something's wrong. He's never this purposeful, not even when he's battling. Does this have to do with Bonnie? Pokevision? Something else? He stopped short of her and looked pointedly at Paul. "I need to talk to Erin. Alone."

She opened her mouth to respond, but Paul beat her to the punch. His voice was smooth, barely concealing the calculating fury underneath. Clemont, why did you have to mention his Electivire? "Anything that you can say to Erin, you can say to me."

"No." Clemont readjusted his glasses and stared at him defiantly. "We can talk later. If-if you don't, then I'll… I'll battle you to get her alone!"

Erin's eyes flashed as Paul reached for Pidgeot's pokeball and Clemont grabbed Chespin's. If I don't stop them, Paul is going to tear him to pieces.

The mauve haired boy smirked as he grabbed the pokeball. "Fine by me!"

"Kirlia, end this now."

Both boys froze as Kirlia rolled her eyes at them. "That's a shame. This was just about to get good."

"Alright, Paul, you need to chill out. Clemont, no matter what you say, I'm going to tell Paul anyways, so you might as well just say it to both of us," Erin said, crossing her arms.

"Fine, but can you put me down?" The blonde boy slumped as the psychic surrounding him and Paul disappeared. "It's about Serena."

"What about her?"

"Erin, she told me everything." Clemont took a deep breath, then glared at Erin murderously. "Would you care to explain why you've been lying to us for so long?"

?'s Perspective - ?

"Zygarde."

"Yes?"

"The time has come. I am prepared to make my move. Are you prepared for the seal?"

"Yes. My presence has been far too much for the young one. Our plan for our meeting remains the same."

"And the chosen?"

"She will be ready. She must be ready for what is to come."

[A/N] Yeah, there's a cliffhanger and some foreshadowing there. Digital cookies to anyone who can guess what happens next chapter from the ? bit.

I actually really like the practice battle between Erin and Paul here. I think it's the first time they've fought, and in-battle dialogue just flows so much better with them. I need to figure out how to work a full battle between them in somehow…

Now, to respond to my lovely reviewers:

SN – Erin and Serena are the two protagonists of this story. However, that doesn't mean that everyone sees Erin as a protagonist. Some characters really, really hate her right now. (*cough *cough Korrina)

Amourshipping Guest – Not a sequel, but this story is internally divided into what will be four parts. Currently, we are in Part Two, which I marked at the end of chapter 20.

KawaiiSilvy – Thank you so much! A lot of the aforementioned flaws are mostly in earlier chapters, so I'm really glad you stuck with it. You have no idea how much it means to me that this story helped you get over your writing block. Stick with it, and I'm sure that your writing will be amazing!

PSA – I'm currently in the process of drafting out the next arc of the story, and I'm stumped as to what Erin's fourth Pokemon should be. As so, I'm turning to you readers to ask this: WHAT TYPE SHOULD ERIN'S NEXT POKEMON BE? You can either REVIEW to let me know, or vote on the POLL I created on my profile. Make sure your opinion is heard! The following types are NOT included: Dragon, Fairy, Electric, Flying, Psychic, Grass, and Normal. (Five are already on Erin's team, Flying is plot related, and I'm bored of writing about electric types.)

Check out QUALITY CONTROLLED AMOUR through my profile page or by going to the communities page!

As always, thank you so much for all of your love and support. This is Pokefan87, signing out.