"Khaled!" Riley screams. He grips one of the huge rocks, tugging it uselessly. "You backstabbing cabrón! ¡Pinche pendejo! ¡Hijo de puta!"

"Hey..." Aden tries to put a stop to his string of curses. "Hey! Less yelling and more clearing a path, okay? Unless you know of another way in?" He releases his Torkoal to start digging through the blockade.

Panting, Riley steps back. "It's probably faster to follow him this way." Seeing that Torkoal will not make much headway against boulders bigger than her body, he sends out his Metagross to start moving them with its psychic powers. This, too, is a slow process. "Damn you, Khaled," he mumbles. "We'll never make it."

There's a roar behind them. Snaking up the mountain, onto the ledge, is an Onix. And riding on its back is Roark and Pikki. "Holy shit!" Aden exclaims.

"What do you two think you're doing here?" Riley demands.

Once Onix lowers his upper body flat to the ground, Roark jumps off and helps Pikki climb down. "We came to help," he says simply.

"She insisted." Pikki points to the Absol who's just joined them, having run up the mountain on her own. She pauses to lick a paw and rub her face.

"Fadia!" Aden rushes to her, kneeling to stroke and smooth her white fur.

"What are you doing here?" Pikki counters to Riley. "Did you find my dad?"

"He went through there." He points at the blocked cave entrance. "And trapped us out here. We'll never get this cleared in time to stop him."

"Looks like what you need is a mining foreman who knows a thing or two about big rocks." Roark gently pushes Riley aside to study the blockade. "Hmm... oh yeah, I see this kind of thing all the time in my line of work. Nothing that my favorite Pokemon move of all time can't fix. Even better if there are two Pokemon to do it." He grins at Pikki. "Shall we, my dear?"

She grins back, holding up one of her Great Balls. The two of them send out Rampardos and Aggron. "One, two..." Roark starts to count.

"Rock Smash!" they both order. Simultaneously, the two sturdy Pokemon headbutt the pile of boulders with tremendous power. The first layer crumbles away. After another two attacks, the entrance is clear. "There you go," Roark says proudly.

"Ay, what a showoff," Riley mumbles, rolling his eyes. "Just like his father."

Roark dons his hard hat and turns on its head lamp, leading the way into the cave. Riley is closest behind him, and Pikki trailing him. Aden stares at her back, thinking how, with every step, he has less time to talk to her. He screws up his courage and reaches for her arm. "Pikki, wait."

She halts, and Riley looks over his shoulder at the two of them. "We can't stop, Aden," she says. She pulls her arm to her chest, holding it — and the Kalosian bracelet she's wearing — protectively.

"I know. Just... walk back here with me, okay?"

She concedes and joins him at his side, and so they follow Riley and Roark at a short distance. "I'm sorry," Aden speaks after another uncomfortable silence. "I'm so sorry. I warned you what I'm really like."

Pikki presses her lips together for another moment. "I understand why you did it," she finally says. "Your mom must have been so hurt and angry, and for all this time. He did an awful thing to her."

Aden nods.

"And I know you have a lot of pain inside you." She takes hold of his hand. "Which you don't deserve. I know it makes you lash out, and I hope you'll learn to stop... but I get it."

He squeezes her hand, blinking back tears. The fairly understanding sort, his father said of her. It's true. She's always understood him to his core.

"I've been wondering for a long time who my older half-brother is," she goes on. "And I hoped he would be like you. You're a good person, Aden. I'm glad it's you."

"Thanks." His reply comes out in a dry whisper. "I'm glad it's you too."

She squeezes his hand back, and doesn't let go.

}{}{}{}{}{

The summit of Mt. Coronet hosts an ancient, decrepit temple known as Spear Pillar. Now a monument to crumbling columns, cracked, uneven stone tiles, and piles of rocks, one can see all of Sinnoh stretched out below from its height. All Khaled can see of the land is clusters of light from different cities breaking up the darkness. A chill wind whips at his hair and the brim of his hat. He draws in a heavy breath.

Then he brings the Azure Flute to his lips and plays an old Shin'ai tune. The wind picks up, and thunder rumbles from the heavens. The temple begins to shake. Dust and debris rain from what columns still stand. And ahead, at the top of a broken staircase, is a sudden, blinding flash of light. In its place, surrounded by smoke, stands an enormous white Pokemon on four graceful legs: Arceus. The god of all creation — according to Sinnoh myths — whom humans can only summon by playing a song of old tribesmen on the one instrument made entirely of sacred stone.

Arceus fixes its glowing red eyes upon Khaled, silently asking why he called it to this plane.

"Forgive me, o Lord," he says, and sends forth Regigigas to occupy it with a fight.

Spear Pillar shakes more violently as the two ancient gods do battle. Khaled holds his hat in place — what little protection it can provide from the dust and debris flying everywhere — and waits for the exact moment to make his next move.

Then he hears his name being called. Suddenly, Riley is there. The children, along with the familiar Absol, are directly behind him. "Get out of here!" Khaled barks at them.

"What have you done?!" Riley demands, tugging on Khaled's non-bandaged arm. "What have you done?"

"How many times have I tried to tell you that you shouldn't be here!"

"Yes, Riley." Darius Herrera steps out from behind a broken pillar. "You shouldn't be here."

Riley freezes, clinging to Khaled. He hasn't seen nor spoken to his father in ten long years — and this is the last place on earth he expected a reunion.

Regigigas holds back its creator with one arm, while the other delivers punches of fire, lightning, and ice. Arceus lets out a temple-shaking roar as it's burned by one of the fire punches. "I'd say this is about over," Herrera says calmly, ignoring his son. "Not sure why you insisted they fight when I've got a Master Ball, but you are the expert in legendary Pokemon."

"Khaled, what in the world—" Riley starts to say before he's shushed. He grips Khaled's arm even as he recalls Regigigas back to its Ultra Ball.

"Have at it, Chief," Khaled says over Arceus's uproar.

Herrera approaches the stairwell to the Hall of Origin, holding a PokeBall of his own. It's bright blue, covered in jewels. He lobs it at the weakened Arceus, who is distracted, for the moment, by its painful burn. The azure-coated orb bounces harmlessly off the great Pokemon's chest, clattering to the ground. It never once opened, nor even glowed in capture mode.

"What the…" Herrera starts to say. He slowly turns to Khaled. "You had them follow the Master Ball blueprints, didn't you? It should have worked!" His eyes bulge. He marches up to his cohort. "Didn't you, Jones? When I sent you to Saffron?"

"Oh, you thought I went to Silph?" Khaled grins. "Nah, I went to the world-famous House of Flabébé in Lumiose City. Got me a PokeBall replica that's worth a fortune." He breezes past Herrera and picks up the bejeweled sphere, examining it for damage. "Just doesn't have a capture function. Did you honestly think I'd stand by and let you catch a bloody creator deity?" He shakes the ball at him. "I'm not that desperate for money."

Arceus bellows, rearing up on its hind legs. A green light surrounds its body, turning white before bursting away like fireworks — and its burns are healed. As its front feet slam to the ground once more, the temple shakes once more. A pillar to the side topples over, but its crash is deafened by the wrathful cry of the Original One.

"I'll deal with you later, you backstabbing degenerate," Darius Herrera vows before fleeing. Without a word, Riley chases after him.

"Well, shit," Khaled says as he's left face-to-face with the enraged god he summoned. He quickly turns to make sure the kids have fled as well — they haven't. His son, daughter, and the Oreburgh Gym Leader are all transfixed in the presence of Arceus. Without a second thought, he herds them all to hide behind a previously-felled pillar and a pile of boulders.

"You all okay?" he asks. "Good. I want you to head down and get as far away as you can while I distract it."

"Are you crazy?!" Aden snaps. "It's going to kill us no matter where we are!" To drive home the point, Arceus continues to roar and stamp its feet, quaking the entire Spear Pillar ground.

"Yeah," Khaled agrees. "Although, it would've done it by now if it wanted to. Maybe if we keep hiding back here, it'll tire itself out eventually and go away."

"Was this your big plan all along?" Pikki asks. "To give Mr. Herrera a fake PokeBall and let him believe he was going to capture Arceus? What did you think would happen after that?"

"Uhh… to be honest, I didn't plan that far ahead."

Aden smacks his forehead. "Oh, holy fuck. He's a dumbass."

Roark peers over the column, then hurriedly ducks back down. "He's right, though. Arceus could have come after us any time, but it hasn't left that platform up there. Is it confined to that one spot?"

"That's called the Hall of Origin," Khaled says. "It shouldn't be trapped there, but I don't really know. It's basically God to you Sinnohans, right? Can't it do anything it wants?"

"We don't do Arceus worship in Almia, so all I'm seeing is just a Pokemon," remarks Aden. "An insanely powerful one, but still just a Pokemon."

"And Mr. Herrera did intend to catch it in a PokeBall," Roark says.

"What are you guys saying? We should fight it?" asks Pikki.

"Yes," Khaled answers grimly. "I think so. And I think it should be all four of us, not just me."

Pikki gulps. "You really think we can?"

"Got two strong Trainers and a Gym Leader, yeah? Plus, you're my kids. We can handle it."

At Pikki's terrified look, Roark touches her shoulder. "I just watched you and Aden defeat one of our toughest Leaders. And my team is a lot stronger than it used to be… plus, I've got Riley's secret weapon. We'll be fine as long as we work together."

"If Riley gets his ass back here to help us, even better." Khaled glances over his shoulder at the edge of Spear Pillar, where Riley and his father seem to be squaring off. "Everybody got a Pokemon ready? On three, we're gonna go." He exchanges a look with Aden. His son nods, and that's all the encouragement Khaled needs. "One, two… three!"

They send out Flygon, Gyarados, Ursaring, and Rampardos as they charge towards the Hall of Origin. Arceus roars, tossing back its head. A ball of golden light starts to form, then launches into the night sky, growing larger as it does. The giant orb explodes, raining down countless gold-red energy beams. Each one demolishes the ground where it strikes, from the surrounding temple to every corner of the mountain range. The Pokemon fall instantly, save for Aden's red Gyarados; he survives by way of weaving deftly between meteor strikes.

Finally, the deathly rain ceases. "Everyone okay?" Roark calls out. He had been holding Pikki protectively out of harm's way.

"We're fine," Khaled answers. "I think we're gonna need a shield, though." He tosses an Ultra Ball to each of the kids. "Send these out first, then a Pokemon to fight. You'd better use that secret weapon you mentioned."

"Yeah," Roark agrees.

Each ball contains a golem. They form a line to protect the quartet as Pikki and Khaled send out Aggron and Nosepass. And Roark tosses the Ultra Ball which contains Riley's gift from that eventful weekend on Iron Island. Upon entering the battlefield, its primal roar rivals Arceus's.

"Wait a minute," Khaled says. "Is that…?"

"A Tyranitar, yes," answers Roark. "They're dangerous, but Riley trained him before giving him to me. And I've been training him since."

Khaled gapes. The wild Pokemon he failed to control in Holon, the one responsible for his downfall — the one Riley had to capture for him, now in the hands of a young Gym Leader. "Huh. I'll be damned."

}{}{}{}{}{

Darius Herrera is nearly at the stone steps that lead back down into the mountain. Almost to safety — but for a Lucario that suddenly leaps down from above. Blocking the only exit from Spear Pillar, he crouches on one knee with a determined glare.

"Not so fast." Riley stands behind his father. "You're not getting away with this."

He pauses. He runs his hands through his salt-and-pepper hair, and laughs ironically. "So this is it? This is our big reunion?"

"Don't act like you want to catch up or anything. I'm not interested."

"Good." Darius finally faces his only child. "I'm not interested in hearing about the depravity you've been up to, either."

Riley's eyes narrow. He's tall, so much taller than Darius ever imagined his scrawny, awkward son would be — and the anger on his chiseled face makes him all the more intimidating. "I hardly think my sleeping with men compares to you closing factories, causing natural disasters for your personal gain, and trying to seal a god in a PokeBall!"

"I had good reasons! Unlike you, you selfish brat, I'm thinking about the future of our family's company!"

"How?! How is destroying Sinnoh's mountains going to benefit the company?"

"Do you know how much wealth is contained in these mountains? Gold, platinum! Tons of platinum made untouchable by a bunch of bleeding hearts who claim it needs to stay put for the sake of some extinct tribe of tent people! Those resources could benefit my company, create twice as many jobs, and help Sinnoh's economy! Why shouldn't we use them?"

"Because they're not yours for the taking!"

"The hell they're not! This region was built on the backs of my ancestors who came to this godforsaken country to toil in the mines! One by one, we worked our way up until my grandfather finally took control of the company. The Herreras own this land now. But you — you turned your back on it all! Abandoned our family's hard-earned legacy to go play with Pokemon beside that ingrate of a former employee — that Gym Leader!"

"I went to Byron to become stronger!" Riley retorts. "It wasn't just about Pokemon training! He helped me find strength when all you ever did was make me feel weak!"

"You were weak! Playing in the kitchen like we didn't have cooks! I should have put you to work as soon as you could walk, instead of letting you be coddled like a girl by your overindulgent mother! Knew I shouldn't have picked her, even if she did come from money…"

"¡Cállate! Leave her out of this!"

Darius is in the middle of rolling his eyes when a shower of red-gold meteors strike the ground all around them. He moves to flee, like he meant to before he got caught up in arguing with his self-centered offspring, but runs smack-dab into some sort of invisible blockade. Riley's Lucario calmly holds out his arms, standing guard.

"Hmph. You know, if you wanted Pokemon training back then, you could have asked me," Darius says, reaching into the inner breast pocket of his suit jacket. "I know a thing or two about fighting myself. And you don't start ransacking mountains without a strong Pokemon working for you." He holds out an Ultra Ball, sending said Pokemon to do away with the pesky Lucario. Though matched with steel typing, even weak to Lucario's fighting moves, it has the advantage with its intense fire powers — the volcano lord, Heatran.

"Stark Mountain," Riley says incredulously. "It erupted because you stole its guardian."

"Small price to pay for this." Darius watches as Heatran's Lava Plume scorches the Lucario, as well as burns up some of the surrounding rocks and demolished bits of temple floor. As Alhabor faints, Riley recalls him back to his own ball.

"You want a fight, old man? You've got one!" he declares, nabbing another PokeBall. "Don't think I'll go easy on you just because—"

Heatran charges directly towards Riley. He rams his searing iron head right into the young man's body, hurling him back. Riley collides with a broken pillar and falls limply into a pile of sharp rocks and rubble.

Darius takes a couple of steps forward, confirming that Riley isn't moving anytime soon. "I don't have time to humor you," he says. "Why did you even come here? If it was to show me what a weakling faggot you still are, then mission accomplished!"

He makes for the stairwell, but is blocked once more — by his former employee, Byron Vandenberg. He's gripping an old shovel while his dark-circled eyes shoot daggers.

"You," Darius shoots right back.

"No one talks that way to my partner," Byron growls. With one swing of his trusty shovel, he knocks Darius Herrera out cold.