With their confidence in themselves and their journey restored by Tommy's motivational speech, Ryan and his friends set off from Trickton and back onto the road bound for Magic Junction. From there, it was a simple matter of charting out the best possible course to take them from the small train village and go all the way to the Iron Village and Iron Mountain's Gym. Well back into the beginning of their journey, Matthew had gone to Iron Mountain and crushed Billy as his first Gym Victory, before going to Craft Terrace and Terra Town to win his next few badges. Naturally, they knew Billy would want to up his game to make sure Ryan didn't beat him as soundly as Matthew did, so Ryan knew he would have to toughen his Pokémon up before they made it to the Iron Colosseum.

As he and his friends set up camp for the evening, in the same spot they had a few days earlier, Ryan decided he needed to talk to his mother about what was going on with Matthew. While Addison prepared the curry pot for dinner and the Queensbury siblings played with their Pokémon, he made the call he knew could not be avoided any longer. When his mother answered, Ryan explained to her what had befallen her sons during their latest clash in Trickton. Alison was aghast.

"That's horrible" she cried out when her son told her about the blow he'd received. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, Mom" Ryan assured his mother. "I just know I have to keep my guard up around him for a while."

"What is that boy turning into?" she remarked sadly. "I'll straighten him out."

"If you think you have to" Ryan said sadly. "But I think Addy standing up to him caught him off guard."

"But congratulations on beating Aunt Shannon, sweetheart" Alison cheered. "That's five Gym Badges. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks Mom" Ryan crowed. "It was easy. Just wait until I get the rest of my Gym Badges."

"I should probably give you a heads up, Ry" Alison said after a moment. "Your father is out there looking for you."

"Dad?" Ryan was taken aback by this news. "Why?"

"Your father is still unsure if you truly have what it takes to go on this journey" she explained. "I told him that he should be more concerned with Matthew, clearly, but he still wants to be sure you are taking this journey as seriously as you should be. I don't know where he'll turn up, but just know that he's looking for you."

Ryan nodded. "I'll be on the lookout."

Alison sighed. "And please keep being careful, Ryan."

"I will Mom" Ryan promised. "I'm not afraid to keep going."

"I know you aren't" Alison answered sadly. "And that's what worries me. Take care, Ryan. I love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mom" Ryan said as he ended the conversation. With the conversation ended, Ryan made his way back to his friends and saw them debating over something, chiefly Holly and Addison. Knowing he was probably about to walk into a hurricane, he walked over to the two and did his best to keep the debate civil between them. "Okay, okay. What's going on?"

"We've got a problem" Addison told Ryan.

"There is no problem" Holly snapped. "She just doesn't want to-"

"Because it could be dangerous!"

"What are you two talking about?" Ryan asked them.

"There are two paths to take to Iron Mountain" Addison explained, showing him the map of the paths they needed to take to get to Ryan's next Gym Battle. "If we take the longer path, it will only put us a few days off course and will be a lot easier on all of us."

"But it will also put us a day late to get to the Faire in Cauldro City" Holly countered. "And we can't afford to miss our Contest Performances."

"Holly" Addison said sharply, "there are things more important than the title of Queen of Arcana."

"You don't understand, Addy" Holly argued. "Piper can't compete this year because of her leg. There's going to be a new Queen of Arcana this year. This is a big opportunity for us. It's an open competition."

"Taking advantage of someone unable to compete because they almost died is not my idea of 'open competition'" Addison reiterated.

"What's your suggestion, Holly?" Ryan asked her

"If we take this path called 'The Lonely Road'" she persuaded, "we might be able to get your Gym Badge at Iron Mountain and get to the Faire with more than enough time to prepare ourselves for the competition. I see it as a win-win."

"That's because you don't know The Lonely Road" Addison cautioned her optimism. "The Lonely Road is fraught with incredibly powerful Pokémon. Taking that up to Iron Mountain is a really bad idea, especially when Ryan's the only one who would be battling the Steel Pokémon on that path."

"Your Gardevoir could battle circles around them, though" Tommy tried to intervene.

"My Gardevoir won't do much against Steel Pokémon" Addison corrected. "Her Psychic Typing isn't strong against Steel, and the Steel attacks would cut her to shreds since she's a Fairy Type as well. I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous a task to put on Ryan's shoulders."

"But it's not fair to you guys if I make this journey all about me" Ryan told Addison. "You guys wanted to leave Parlor Town to become the next Queen of Arcana. If Piper really is too hurt to compete this year, it could be a real opportunity for you two. How much time would The Lonely Road shave off of our traveling plans?"

"Not enough to warrant us taking that path" Addison said, the worry in her voice palpable. "Ryan, it's way too dangerous."

"And taking the lower path isn't?" Holly asked. "That's the path the Syndicate is more likely to take if they're out and about harassing people. It's also going to be a very high traffic route if everyone's taking that road to get to Cauldro City."

Addison bit her lip. "I didn't think of that."

"It may take even longer to take that route" Holly warned her friends. "I'm not saying this because I want to go up against some super dangerous Pokémon, but I think it's the best chance we have of being able to get to Iron Mountain and down to Cauldro City with some time to spare. I think we have to take The Lonely Road."

"The Lonely Road sounds like fun to me" Tommy added. "Sign me up for that."

The three then looked to Ryan to be the deciding vote. Ryan thought for a moment, before he realized he could use some extra training before his confrontation with Billy. "I think The Lonely Road is the only real choice we have."

Addison frowned. "Then I guess we're taking it."

For the rest of the evening, Addison was silent, as if possibly reflecting on the dangers that loomed ahead for them on The Lonely Road. Throughout dinner, cleanup and getting ready for bed, she didn't say a word to anyone. Finally, as Holly and Tommy finally fell asleep and Ryan prepared to make his Sleeping Bag ready, Addison approached him.

"I hope you're not doing this because of your brother" Addison stressed.

"Why would we be doing this because of him?" Ryan asked her.

"Because you two cannot stop trying to one up each other" she said. "It's aggravating to see two brothers at each other's throats like you guys were."

"I want you guys to get something out of this" Ryan told her. "Not just me."

Addison lowered her head and made her way towards her tent, but looked back at her best friend with the utmost sincerity. "Just because you're not as tough as Matt, doesn't mean you're not strong in your own ways, Ryan." Before Ryan could respond, she vanished into her tent for the night.

{Meanwhile}

The Corviknight Cab carrying Julia, Piper and Amanda to Kingston Castle lands just outside of the gates. As the Pines cousins had been expecting, the security around the castle was on high alert for any suspicious activity. Lady Bonnie had doubled the security around the castle since the Syndicate reemerged, prompting a guard to hurry over to check on the situation. Julia climbed out of the Cab first and sent Amanda to gather their sparse belongings they had brought with them, chiefly their laptops and charging equipment if they didn't have access to the Kingston Computer network while they were there. As she helped her cousin out of the cab, the guard finally spoke up.

"Your Highness" the guard called, falling to his knees in front of Piper. "It's an honor to be in your presence again, my Queen."

"We seek an audience with Lady Kingston" Piper demanded.

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but Lady Bonnie is not taking any visitors at this time." The guard was clearly nervous to refuse an order of the Queen of Arcana, but even more nervous of provoking a notoriously grudge wielding woman like Bonnie Kingston was.

Julia stepped in to intervene. "We have information that might be able to turn the tides against the Syndicate" she told the guard. "But we need Lady Kingston's assistance in accessing it."

The guard shuffled in place. "I'm not supposed to-"

Piper cleared her throat. "I though I gave you the reason why we are here already, guard. We seek an audience with Lady Kingston. IF you refuse to show us to her, you will be incurring the wrath of the Queen of Arcana. Do you really want to take that chance?"

The guard gulped. "Right this way, Your Highness. You ladies are always welcome at Kingston Castle." He led the women to the gate and motioned to the gatekeeper. Within seconds, the gates opened and allowed the three women to enter the Castle Courtyard. Julia wheeled her cousin's wheelchair into the courtyard while Amanda carried the suitcase full of a few days supply of clothes as well as a duffle bag containing their laptops and hard drives.

Gerard was at the door, waiting for them. "Her Majesty blesses Kingston Castle with her presence once more." The butler bowed respectfully to Piper. "And we are honored to host Professor Julia Pines and her assistant as well. I am sorry to say that Lady Kingston has taken ill and will see you at her behest. But you are free to access the Kingston Network in our computer room, if you wish."

"Give her my thanks and my prayers that she recovers from whatever illness bedevils her" Piper said in a proper and regal manner. When Gerard bowed and let the girls pass into the castle, Piper rolled her eyes.

"That was entirely unnecessary" Julia told her cousin.

"So long as I'm still Queen of Arcana" Piper shrugged in her wheelchair, "I'm going to flaunt it." She pointed towards the elevator in the corner of the castle. "The Computer Room here is in the cellar."

"Why in the cellar?" Amanda asked.

"Because Lady Kingston likes to live life as if we're still in the first few centuries of known life" she guessed. "Besides, it means that we'll be free from her meddling down here."

Julia nodded, wheeling her sister into the elevator. As Amanda followed them in, the gates closed and the elevator brought the three down into the Computer Room. When the gates opened, the room they would be working in was far more different than anyone could have possibly imagined. While the rest of the castle was as pristine and medieval as it had been for hundreds of years, more than 600 years of technological advancements were herded into this massive sprawled out database that the Kingston Family would use for their own network of information.

Just being in this room made Julia feel uncomfortable. "Something in this room feels wrong."

"What would that be, Professor?" Amanda asked.

"This feels like a part of what Elezar said against the Kingstons might be true" Julia confided. "What if they have been using this to run their own super network and monitor what happens in Arcana?"

"Julia. you worry too much" Piper told her cousin as she wheeled herself into the computer room. There were electric panel lights, several computer processors and drives, three monitors the size of the entire wall, and so many other modern marvels that it made Amanda salivate at the idea of being able to play around with them. While Piper got herself situated at one of the computers, Amanda looked around and studied all that she could find in the room.

"This processor" Amanda gasped. "This kind of power isn't supposed to be had by computers for another five years."

"Being a Kingston does have it's privileges" Julia said.

"And is this a Radio Transmitter?" Amanda said. "Why would they need one of these?"

"I think that's for the Kingston Emergency Radio Network" Julia told her protégé.

"The KERN" Piper chimed in, while the computer booted up in front of her.

"The KERN?" Amanda asked.

"Basically" Julia explained, "the KERN is a special Radio System that only those who know the frequency can tap into. It's for emergency use and to essentially call in the banners in case of a coming conflict. Lady Bonnie used it when we came back to take out Giselle ten years ago to gather forces to fight off Giselle and Elezar."

"Then we can use it again to rally help against Elezar?" Amanda asked.

"Not quite" Julia explained. "The Kingstons don't really have a penchant for battles and operations, at least besides Byron Kingston. They were very helpful when they were put under our command during the battle, though. They swept aside Giselle's forces."

"They say if you put it to a high enough frequency" Piper added, as the screen finally flashed open, requesting login information from her, "it can even read heat signatures and heart beats."

"That's just conspiratorial nonsense" Julia dismissed. Piper rolled her eyes and began to log into the server. "Don't we need a password to enter the database?"

"Every Kingston has one" Piper revealed. "I'm just using one of theirs. That's all." She typed in a name into the login bar: Cameron Kingston. And then entered a password into the second bar: Elitist Kingston 1002. When she hit enter, the database flashed open for the three and a computer voice called to them.

"Welcome, Lady Cameron" the voice said, before beginning to access all of the important databases the three would need.

"How the heck did you know Cameron's Password?" Julia asked.

"At one of the Press Conferences for the League Championship last year" Piper explained, "she got me into the Kingston Database that way so I could watch a Contest Event during the opening introductions. I remembered it for any future issues we might have."

"Convenient" Amanda said pleasantly. "At least we can finally get to work."

{Meanwhile}

The Research Facility was completely empty by the time Jocelyn made her way there, almost completely abandoned, save for the Pokémon who eyed her cautiously from beyond the gated part of the Ranch where Professor Pines actually lived. But there was no sign that either Julia or anyone else was present in the building at this time.

"Well, this just got a whole lot more complicated" Jocelyn told herself. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her Poké Gear to inform her father. She dialed him up and waited for him to pick up.

"Yes?" he answered solemnly.

"There's no one here, Father" she informed him. "And it looks like wherever they went from The Ranch, they've been gone for quite some time. If they've left for Kingston Castle, they're likely already there."

"Hmph" Elezar grunted. "Very well. We'll have to move with strength against Kingston Castle at once."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Father" she said confidently.

"We need to seize that chest before it's contents reach the Kingstons" Elezar growled.

"But if you march in force against Kingston Castle" she cautioned him, "that will provoke the Arcanan Police Force to take action against us. The Kingston Family still has many allies at their disposal."

"Then what would you suggest?" Elezar asked.

"I will storm the castle myself" Jocelyn told him,

"That's a suicide mission, daughter" he hissed. "It's a risk I cannot take with your life."

"My life will be in even greater risk if we don't get that chest, father" Jocelyn replied. "Besides, there shouldn't be any Pokémon Trainers at the castle strong enough to take me on. I'll sweep into the castle and take that chest in your name before they can even marshal a defense against me. A quick and slick operation is far more reasonable to go through than a dangerous military one, especially when the number of Syndicate Soldiers and Officers isn't high enough yet."

Elezar pondered her input. "Very well. The onus is on you to bring us that chest. Report back when you have it." With that, he ended the call.

Jocelyn put the Poké Gear back into her pocket and sighed. I guess there's really no hope to avoid this. But my word is my bond. And I will bring my father that chest. She called out her Dragapult and climbed atop his back again. "Let's go, Droopy. We need to toughen ourselves up. We've got a very dangerous mission ahead of us." With that, she and her Dragon flew off into the night skies. And she had the perfect place to train herself in mind.

{Meanwhile}

After another day of passing along through Magic Junction and making their way towards the Western Gates of the town to get to Iron Mountain, Ryan was beginning to have his doubts about The Lonely Road. As they walked down the winding dirt roads, they four came to a stop when they saw a fork in the road. To the right was the lower path Addison had wanted to take, which walked through dense forests and safe roads before coming up on a high hill that would lead them to the Iron Village. But the route was significantly longer and likely to be crowded with people making their way to the Faire and would take them longer.

To the left, was the infamous Lonely Road, which while being much quicker to hike than the lower path would be, was filled with many powerful and dangerous Pokémon and other pitfalls including steep ledges and exhilarating heights. Even seeing the path sprawled out in front of him, didn't do much to boost his confidence that this was in fact the right path to take. As he and his friends took their first steps onto The Lonely Road, they looked down on the lower path once more and saw, as Holly had predicted, it was already jammed up in traffic with hundreds of people making their way through it's paths to make it to Cauldro City in time for the Faire in a few days.

Ryan leaned towards Addison as they made their way up the path. "I'm starting to think you might have been right about the lower path."

"We don't have a choice, now" Addison told him, with a surprising amount of frustration behind her voice. "This path was the one we chose. So, we have to take it."

"Um, okay?" Ryan said as Addison brushed past him. What's she mad about?

The four continued on their journey towards the imposing Iron Mountain that loomed in the distance. Whenever some Steel type Pokémon would appear to attack the group, Ryan would call upon his Pokémon to drive them off. Simba and Terra proved the most useful against them, as their typing was very strong against Steel Types. Simba the Litleo in particular took great joy in spitting fire left and right whenever he saw fit to protect his trainer and his friends. Terra the Sandshrew was a little more cautious with his attacks, knowing how dangerous an Earthquake would be on a slanted and narrow path like this was, but he still fought as hard as he possibly could. Ryan's doubts only continued to amplify as their road wound round the cliffs and hills that were leading them to Iron Mountain itself.

I'm happy Simba is having the time of his life, Ryan thought to himself, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are. He made a glance back towards Holly and Tommy behind him. The boy was eager to keep going, seeing the idea of being a mountain climber as an adventure. Holly looked like she was trying to figure out advanced math equations in her head, debating multiple different outcomes as she did. Addison was far to the front of the group, the only one who was taking serious the journey they were undertaking to get to Iron Mountain. She wasn't saying a word to anyone, which worried Ryan. She was clearly unhappy taking this route, but she never hesitated to speak her mind before. Now? Her silence was not welcoming. She would speak only if asked a direct question, and usually it would be a vague answer.

The group stopped for a moment to rest after coming across a straight path without uphill hiking. Tommy and Holly stretched themselves up close to the rock face. Ryan fed Simba a Sitrus Berry to replenish some of his health and Addison looked ahead at their upcoming path.

"We're going to have to cross at the bridge down in that direction" she said gesturing towards a bridge the hung over a canyon below. "It's going to become a really narrow path, so we're going to only be able to walk single file for a little bit." She looked towards the others. "Are you ready to go?"

"We just stopped, Addy" Ryan told her. "We could all use a bit of a break."

"You guys want to get to the Gym early?" she snapped, anger in her voice. "Then we have to keep going, or else we'll lose more time on this." Before they could say anything, Addison made to move on without them.

Tommy leaped to his feet and hurried along after Addison. Ryan was about to follow him, when he noticed Holly staring at the ground below their trail, shaking in fear. Worried for her, he made his way over to her side. "You gonna be okay?"

"Remember when I said I had a crippling fear of the dark?" Holly uttered, her eyes never wavering from the gorge below. "Well, I kind of have a fear of heights, too."

Ryan pulled her away from the edge. "Why didn't you say anything beforehand?"

"I didn't think The Lonely Road would be going through cliffs and canyons" she told her friend.

"Well, for starters" Ryan cautioned her, "don't go anywhere near the ledge. That's only going to make things worse."

"Okay" Holly said nervously. "Then what?"

"Stay as close to the cliff as possible" Ryan pointed out.

She looked up at the height of the cliff above her and ran towards Ryan, hiding beside him. "But that's so high..."

Ryan put his hands on her shoulders. "Holly, nothing's gonna happen to you. Trust me on this." He turned to make his way back over to catch up to Tommy and Addison, but Holly cried out to him. He looked and saw her nearly falling over the ledge. He rushed to her side and caught her, pulling her back towards the cliff and himself. "Are you okay?"

Holly was breathing heavily. "Ye-Yes. I think so."

Ryan looked at her. "Didn't know you had such a big fear."

Holly turned away, blushing as she was in Ryan's arms. "Girl's got to have some secrets, right?"

Ryan sighed. "We can't have you panicking yourself off the edge" he told her. "Come on, I'll get you there." He took her hand and the two made their way after her brother and Addison. Holly clung to him the entire time, doing her best not to look down. As Ryan and his friend made it around the bend, Tommy and Addison were waiting for them. Tommy was caught off guard at the sight of his sister and Ryan holding hands, but he shrugged it off and continued. Addison's face was much harder to read. Because of how far away she was from them, Ryan couldn't tell if she was frustrated with them for their slow pace, angry at them for picking this path in the first place, or perhaps even a hint of jealousy of the two walking together as they were.

Not wanting to start a conflict, Ryan called to her. "Keep going, we'll catch up."

Addison pointed towards a ledge above them and made her way up to climb it. As she did, Tommy hurried after her and made his way up the ledge. Ryan and Holly followed behind them, coming to a stop at the ledge Addison had hopped to. Ryan let go of Holly and pulled himself over the edge. When Holly didn't immediately come up the ledge alongside him, Ryan made his way to the edge and pulled her up behind him. When she was finally up on the ledge, Holly smiled contently. "Thank you, Ryan. You're the best." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Ryan was caught off guard. "It was-it was nothing?" He pulled Holly to her feet and the two continued their way down the pathway to catch up to the others. At the end of the path was a wide and flat land which went all the way towards the bridge Addison had pointed out before. With the ground much fairer and safer, Ryan let go of Holly and the two hurried over to Tommy and Addison, who were waiting for the two by the rope bridge. It did not look too sturdy, so they would have to go across one at a time, elsewise the ropes might break apart.

Holly turned to Ryan. "Considering you helped me, you should cross first."

Addison looked disgusted and turned away. Tommy didn't know whether his sister had actually succeeded or not in wooing Ryan, so he kept his mouth shut.

Ryan shook his head. "You go on ahead. Just make sure you don't look down."

Holly squeezed her eyes shut and raced across the bridge. The bridge weaved and bucked as she was on it, but it held it's ground and Holly made it to the other side. When she had finished her crossing, Holly gave a thumbs up to her friends. "Peace of cake."

Tommy went next, running even faster than his sister had and skidded to a stop beside her. "That was easy."

Ryan looked to Addison. "You should go next."

"Really?" she asked nastily. "Because I would have thought you'd want to go across the bridge with Holly!"

"What are you talking about?"

"By all means" she snapped, pointing towards the other side of the bridge. "Go on. She's waiting right there for you!"

"Look, just go, Addy!" Ryan retorted.

Addison rolled her eyes and headed down the rope bridge. Like with Holly and Tommy before her, the bridge creaked slightly, but it held its form as Addison made it to the other side. She refused to look at Ryan as he shook his head at her.

What is her issue? I do the right thing by helping Holly and she gets all nasty with me. It's almost as if she...no. She likes Matt, remember? He made his way across the bridge to reach the other side. SNAP! One of the ropes holding the bridge in place ripped and Ryan was flung over the edge of the rope bridge. The trainer was barely able to grab ahold of one of the wooden planks with his hands.

"RYAN?!" Addison screamed, upon seeing the broken bridge. She tries to make her way to him, but as she went to take a step onto the bridge, another rope holding the bridge snapped. Holly grabbed Addison and pulled her away as Ryan had to leap from the bridge and grab onto the cliff itself. He could barely keep a grip on the rock face as he clung to it with all his strength.

A screeching noise caught Ryan's attention. He peered out from his panicked grip on the cliff to see a flock of Steel/Flying creatures coming straight for him from Iron Mountain. "Skarmory! A lot of them!"

"We'll get you back up" Holly called down to Ryan below, worry dripping from her every word.

Ryan tried to plant his foot into the cliff. "You guys have to chase away the Skarmory first!"

"Leave it to me!" Tommy called out. "Go, Heely!" His Helioptile appeared and looked confused as to why it was finally allowed to run around. When it saw the Skarmoy coming towards them, it sharpened itself and prepared for battle. "Use Thundershock!" The Pokémon shot a small jolt of Electricity at the Skarmory, forcing them to divert their course away from Ryan and towards them.

"Go, Buzz!" Addison called, sending out her Electabuzz. The Electric Pokémon echoed Tommy's Helioptile and shot bolts of lightning in the direction of the attacking flock of Skarmory.

Ryan tried to reach for Sparks's Poké Ball, but nearly lost his grip on the rock and plummeted. His heartbeat accelerating at a rapid pace, Ryan tried another time to reach the capsule containing his Jolteon.

"There's too many of them!" Tommy cried out.

"Buzz! Use Thunderbolt!" Addison called. The Electabuzz fired more bolts of lightning at the Skarmory, who simply swerved in the air past the bolts and screeched angrily at the trainers.

Ryan finally got his fingers on one of his Poké Balls and yanked it up tp his face. "Darn! Not Sparks!" Nevertheless, he used the Poké Ball to call out his own feathered friend. As Marahute emerged from the Poké Ball, she looked worriedly down at Ryan. "Don't worry about me, Marahute! Go and help the others! Go!" The Pidgeotto seemed concerned, but did as her trainer commanded and flew towards the Skarmory on the defensive. With several tremendous flaps of her wings, Marahute created a current of winds that launched the Skarmory back much higher into the sky than they had been.

"That won't keep them for long" Holly cautioned her friends. "Wait, what's that?"

Ryan tried to look at what Holly was pointing at, but couldn't see past his own weakening grip on the rock. He heard what sounded like a cannon go off, then a loud squawk and looked into the gorge as he saw a Skarmory plummeting into the valley below, scorched by a fire attack of some kind. Ryan couldn't believe it at first. "Matt?"

"Who is that?" Addison asked, trying her best to keep her focus.

"I've never seen her before" Holly said.

Ryan tried to pull himself back onto the cliff, but he lost his footing and was now left hanging only by his hands. "Uh, guys?! HELP!"

"OH MY GOSH!" Holly cried out. She raced over to the ledge and looked panicked as Ryan dangled above certain death out of her reach. "Don't worry. I'll help you out." She reached into her bag for some kind of rope to pull him up with, but cried out when she found nothing.

"RYAN!" Addison screamed, sliding beside her friend. Ryan was slightly relieved when the look on Addison's face was one of genuine terror. She wasn't mad at him, then. "I'll get you up!" Ryan could hear more battling going on above them and tried to see if he could look, but could feel his grip slipping and did his best to stop himself from falling to his grisly end. Addison tried to lower a rope to him, but it wasn't long enough. Ryan tried to reach for it, but only felt himself slipping closer to his final fall. Addison shook her head. "That's it, I'm going down after him!"

"But Addy" Holly cautioned her, "you could be-"

"Then allow me" a voice called. Ryan looked and saw someone flying atop a Pokémon towards him. As the Dragon Pokémon floated near him, a woman's voice sighed. "Didn't think it would be this soon that we'd meet again?"

Ryan gasped. "Jocelyn?"

Jocelyn reached down for him and grabbed his wrist. "It's okay, Ryan. I've got you."

"Boy, am I glad to see you" Ryan remarked happily.

"I'm sure you are" she said, reaching for his other arm. Once she had a firm grip on him, she moved closer to him. "You can let go now, Ryan." Ryan dropped and his savior pulled him up onto the back of her Dragapult alongside her. "Let's get you back onto the ground." As her Dragapult began to fly back into the air, the Skarmory attacked again. Ryan clung into Jocelyn as her Pokémon fired a Fire Blast from it's mouth and flew right through it so she could drop Ryan back on the ground. As she came to the top of the cliff, she dropped Ryan onto the ground and took off to battle the Skarmory in the sky.

Before Ryan could even realize he was safe and sound on the flat earth again, Addison rushed him and flung her arms around him, crying into him. "You're okay! You're okay! Thank goodness. You're safe!"

Ryan, his face reddening, hugged her back as he pulled the both of them to their feet. "We're not out of the woods yet. Jocelyn needs our help."

"You know her?" Addison asked, wiping away her tears.

"She's a friend. But she's going to need us to back her up."

"But how?" Addison cried. "We don't have the strength to help her."

Ryan looked towards Tommy. "We might." He turned towards Addison. "Wait here. I've got an idea." He rushed over to Tommy. "Tommy, do you have any of those Pokemon Candies you got from Trickton left?"

Tommy eyed Ryan curiously. "This doesn't seem like a candy eating time, Ryan."

"DO YOU?" Ryan demanded.

Tommy, stunned by Ryan's outburst, looked into his bag. "I have this Extra Large one. Why?" Ryan took it from his hands and called over to Marahute. "Marahute! Catch!" He hurled the EXP Candy XL. The Pokémon swooped down and caught the candy in her beak and swallowed it whole. As she did, the Pidgeotto was enveloped in light. Tommy looked over at the sight in surprise.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Saved our skins!" Ryan assured him. When the light had cleared, Marahute had reached the next and last stage in her evolution: Pidgeot. He then looked towards Jocelyn, who was doing her best to protect herself and her Dragapult from falling out of the sky themselves. "JOCELYN! GET DOWN!" Jocelyn and her Dragpult dropped from the skies, with the Skarmory eyeing her for another attack. But before they could make their next move, Ryan was calling over to his friends fast. "Alright, Addy! Tommy! Let's do this! Marahute! Use Whirlwind!"

Addison came over to Ryan's side. "Buzz, use Thunderbolt!"

Tommy called to his Helioptile. "Heely! Use Thundershock!"

Marahute flew behind the attacking Skarmory and flapped her wings to send the Skarmory down towards the Electabuzz and the Helioptile waiting for them.

"Don't forget about me" Holly chimed in, sending out the Emolga she had caught in the Safari Zone. "Emmie! Use Discharge!"

The three Electrical Pokémon combined their power and launched a titanic bolt of lightning at the swarm of Skarmory, blasting them all out of the sky and sending them plummeting into the valley below. When she was sure that the danger had subsided, Jocelyn landed nearby and began to tend to her Dragapult.

Ryan came over to Jocelyn. "You really saved my life, Jocelyn. Thank you."

"It was nothing" she told him, tending to her Pokémon. "Just be thankful that you can keep going wherever it is you and your friends are headed."

"Iron Mountain" Ryan told her.

"Ah, to get the Iron Badge" she guessed. As she gave her Pokémon a Hyper Potion to replenish it's health, she looked towards the boy. "That was some impressive thinking you had back there, with your Pidgeot. That might have been the play of the match."

"Thanks" Ryan remarked happily. "I should introduce you."

"You don't have to" she said, somewhat distantly. "I've got a bit of a reputation."

"Are you kidding?" Ryan asked her, bewildered by her change in attitude. "You saved our lives, mine especially. You're a hero."

She frowned. "No, I'm no hero."

"Of course you are" Ryan argued.

"I've done plenty of things in my life that would argue otherwise, Ryan" she said sharply. "Just consider me bailing you out here as me tipping the scales of karma." She climbed onto the back of her Dragapult. Realizing how bitter she had sounded, she took a deep breath. "Thank you for saving me, too."

Ryan nodded. "Of course. We're friends."

Jocelyn looked away, with almost a look of guilt on her face as she did . "Yeah, Friends." With that, she waved to Ryan and his friends and took off into the skies above them.

Caught off guard by her distant attitude, Ryan sighed and locked eyes with Addison again. She flung herself into his arms another time. Ryan could hear her crying into his chest. "Addy?"

"I almost lost you, Ryan!" she cried.

"I'm okay" he told her, laughing nervously. "Come on, it's okay."

Addison shook her head. "No, it's not! I'm not going to let you down ever again, Ryan!" Ryan, realizing there was precious little he could do to alleviate her tears, just put his arms around her and the two embraced. Marahute flew down to her Trainer's side and cooed softly at the two trainers. Addison looked up at her and pet the feathers on her neck. "And you did an excellent job too, Marahute." When Buzz came over to her side and began to bark aggressively, she scratched him on his head in his favorite spot and the Electabuzz fell onto his side, content again. The four friends laughed as they narrowly made it through another dangerous situation.