The activation of a bright light above her was what woke Addison up from her bout of unconsciousness. She was completely disorientated. The only things she realized was that she couldn't move any of her limbs. She was strapped to a table of some kind, with only a very bright lamp hanging over her that she could see. She struggled against the straps that tied her down, but she lacked the strength to do so. Her next plan should be to try and knock the table over so that she could hopefully break free before whoever was keeping her here returned. She tried to move the table, but it was bolted to the floor.

Ugh! This is ridiculous! I need to get out of here! She bucked and weaved as much as she could, but she was not moving anywhere.

A door opened behind her, giving her a small bit of light to tell where she was, but only temporarily as it was shut soon afterwards. Someone was behind her, slipping their hands into operating gloves. When they realized she was awake, they laughed cruelly. "Oh, how wonderful. The patient is awake."

"Who are you?" she demanded, doing her best not to show her fears.

"Welcome to the Syndicate Compound, Miss Tenton" the voice said in a mocking tone. "You are just one of a lucky few we've discovered has a remarkable bond between her and her Pokémon. Lucky for you, My Dear." He cackled as he made his way towards her. "Forgive me, Addison. I haven't properly introduced myself." He made his way over to her. He wore a scientist's robes and possessed long grayish hair. He gave her a mocking salute. "I am Cassius Sinclair. Perhaps you've heard of me."

Addison recoiled in anger. "You! You're that Syndicate Scientist! You're the one that experimented on Michael!"

"I'm flattered that you know of my work" Cassius spoke wistfully. "Yes, Michael Kingston was the first true experiment I was able to work on. Unfortunately, he had a few, shall we say, drawbacks?"

"Michael was too strong for you!" she insisted.

"Not at all" Cassius explained. "We had not yet mastered the art of what we were trying to accomplish. Michael was a failed experiment that could have proved costly. But fortunately, he possessed the same weaknesses of his Grandfather and and chose to try and save others before himself. A pity. I prefer to show all of my work when I am presented with a mathematical calculation to solve. Or in this case, a theory that needed to be proven." As Cassius spoke, several machines began to turn on around her. Some sounded like computer processors, while others made whirring noises that she had never heard before.

"Michael was too strong for you and you know it" Addison proclaimed. "That's why you had to get rid of him!"

"Believe whatever you will" Cassius told her. "I admit, having Michael out of the picture has made my work flow brilliantly. But in the end, he wouldn't have factored into my equation all that much. Because like all of my subjects, his mind, heart and muscle would have all been bound to the Crimson Moon."

"The Crimson Moon?" Addison asked, confused. "Is that the Crimson Madness?"

"Ah, so you have read some of the work written by Balthazar Aced?" Cassius remarked, intrigued. "You may prove to be a valuable asset to have after all, Miss Tenton."

"It doesn't matter" she snapped. Balthazar Aced was a madman."

Cassius smirked. "I don't believe in such notions as madness. I believe that our minds are clear and refined. They show us exactly how the world works and functions. It isn't warped by false judgments or belief. It is clear, undeniable fact. And what Balthazar saw in his studies was clearly written in his research. It doesn't have the weaknesses of emotions or the heart. It's just how the world should be, ruled by fact and not opinion."

Addison shook her head. "It's not opinion that Balthazar went insane and it's not opinion that Elezar is a monster!"

"Those are by definition what opinions are, my dear" Cassius told her. The noises the machines were making became louder and louder. Cassius came over to Addison and ripped the sleeve off of her shirt to reveal her bare upper arm. Addison tried her best to break free from her restraints to slap him, but she was secured. "Now, I can tell you something that's not opinion, Miss Tenton. Do you know what exactly happened to Michael when I experimented on him?"

Addison spat at him. "Perhaps you can enlighten me." She heard a faint whistling sound coming behind her, as if a teapot was about to boil over.

"Surely your parents have told you of the tales of the Crimson Moon that appears once every fifteen years?" Cassius asked her.

"It's a ghost story" Addison insisted. "And I'm a little too old for those, you freak!"

"It's no mere ghost story" Cassius told her. "And you are too old for naivete." He walked over to inspect something that was out of her sight. "The Crimson Fury impacts any and all who merely are in the presence of the moon's light when it shines with the color of blood. It makes trainers and their Pokémon inexplicably powerful and aggressive. James Kingston once ruled during a Crimson Fury that saw nearly an entire village of people destroy itself. Over 500 people were killed because of their war-like tendencies and it only happened some 30 years ago."

"So you have once every fifteen years to take over the world" Addison suggested. "No wonder you guys cower and hide for years at a time."

"Elezar and I began to wonder" Cassius continued as he worked out of the captive girl's sight, "what if there was a way to have the power of The Crimson Fury available and under our thumbs every single day? Through some of Balthazar Aced's notes we've collected and some of the work Elezar did with his father, we discovered that it is indeed possible for one to be exposed to the power of the Crimson Moon for longer periods than the singular night. We needed to find a way to achieve this, though, without drawing any attention to ourselves from the Kingstons."

"You failed on those counts" Addison mocked.

"We did" Cassius confirmed. "All because Giselle Odelia couldn't be bothered to kill a failed experiment. Michael was to be the first in our weaponized Crimson Fury army. But the destruction of my lab and Giselle's defeat a few years later put a hold on all our plans. We needed time to be able to work on more solutions, including one that until recently, has eluded us. We may be able to put a trainer with a strong connection to their Pokémon under the influence of The Crimson Fury, but how would we be able to control them and not have them flailing about and turning into mavericks like The Champion?" Cassius finally came into her line of view, the whistling noises growing louder and louder until they began to turn into a steaming hiss. "I trust you are already aware of the being with sapphire blue eyes?"

Addison shuddered. "That vision I had in the Library..."

"That was The Grand Master placing his mark on you, Addison" Cassius informed her. "He foresaw that you would be a valuable asset to our organization. The bond you share with your Pokémon is perhaps as strong as Michael's was with his own. If we had put you under the same tests he was, you could just as easily become a far greater enemy to us than he ever was. But, thanks to The Grand Master, as well as some of our newest Syndicate Administrators, we have perfected the art of The Crimson Brand." He picked up a long metallic pole. At the end of it was one of those pink-colored moon rocks, heated so brightly that the pink colors soon devolved into the color of blood. "We have perfected the power of The Crimson Stones. And you will be a firsthand witness to it's power!" He then took a needle up from somewhere out of her reach with a green substance inside of it.

"What is that?" she demanded, her eyes widening in fear.

"Something to ensure your body doesn't have the strength to fight off the Crimson Brand's power." He stuck the needled inside of her arm and injected whatever the substance had been into her bloodstream. He quickly removed the needle, cleaned up the wound and bandaged it before any more blood came out. Finally, he picked up the searingly hot object, his motivation crystal clear

Addison tried frantically to free herself, but found herself growing slower and weaker. "My friends are going to stop you!"

"What can they do?" Cassius asked. "How can they stop us when they don't even know where we are?"

Addison spat at him again. "Ryan is going to save me!"

Cassius paused to laugh sinisterly. "Ryan? Ryan Kingston?"

"Yes!" Addison said proudly. "He will stop you guys once and for all!"

"My dear child" the scientist smirked, "your precious Ryan storming in to a half-baked rescue plan is precisely what I am counting on. What better way to get our revenge on Michael Kingston than to give his two most beloved and loyal followers the same treatment he had?" He took an anti-bacterial wipe and wiped away a spot on her arm. "Do not be afraid, my dear. This will only hurt as much as it needs to!"

Addison cried. "RYAN! RYAN! HELP!"

Cassius held her down with one arm and thrust the brand into her arm with the other. Addison's screams went from frantic to bloodcurdling. And then, pure silence.

{Meanwhile}

For several hours in the fields outside of the Faire Grounds, Ryan and Tommy worked together to toughen themselves up and become stronger. There was no more time for fun and games. The darkness was closing in around them, plucking away one by one all that they held dear. And if they didn't find the strength and courage to keep fighting, they would be at the mercy of the madmen who were now in complete domination of the Arcana Region.

For Tommy, the abduction of Addison was an eye opening moment for him. He had spent the last week or so since they all departed from Taghwan City just enjoying the time they had spent together and going on the adventure with his sister, as well as Ryan and Addy. But now, he was beginning to understand how serious this was becoming for Ryan and the others. There was no one who posed a significant enough danger to The Syndicate now for them to be put in check. It may soon become their task to somehow find a way to thwart the powers of evil on their own. And to do that, he needed to train himself as hard as Ryan did. To his surprise, it was paying off. His Pokémon were no longer feral and wild like he had been. They obeyed him and followed him wherever he went. They were becoming capable battlers as well, with all of his Pokémon developing a few new tricks and moves to know:

Eevee: Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Helping Hand, Return

Bulbasaur: Vine Whip, Sleep Powder, Leech Seed, Return

Charmander: Fire Fang, Slash, Smokescreen, Tail Whip

Mudkip: Mud Slap, Water Gun, Return, Growl

Helioptile: Thunderbolt, Bulldoze, Thunder Wave, Return

Phanpy: Rollout, Body Slam, Charm, Return

Thanks to Ryan, all but his Charmander had learned the move Return, which increased in power the more the Pokémon likes their trainer. With Tommy, that didn't seem to be too hard. His Pokémon had always loved him, but they were just unruly. Now, they were prepping themselves for what would no doubt become the toughest stretch of their lives: from getting the final two Gym Badges for Ryan and going right into the inferno of the Syndicate, wherever they were lurking now.

For Ryan, it was now all personal. The Syndicate had been slowly taking everything from him. His Grandfather, his cousins, his friends, his brother, his father, his freedom and now they had even taken Addison, the only person in the world that truly meant something deeply to him that he had left. There was now no margin for error, no slight hiccups or mistakes. He was going to plunge into the very abyss that his brother was already heading for in this seemingly hopeless crusade against the greatest enemies Arcana had ever known, but he was going to go in prepared and ready to finish off whomever stood in his way. His Pokémon also seemed to get this, with all of them ready to put in the extra effort to make themselves stronger and better prepared for whatever challenges lied ahead. Only Achilles needed the motivation to keep going. With Addison and by proxy Galatea now gone and missing, the Gallade was losing his fighting spirit. Ryan encouraged one of his dearest Pokémon to keep fighting no matter what and the two became closer in trust and friendship than perhaps even Ryan and Sparks were. Through all of their hard work, Ryan's Pokémon became terrifyingly powerful, even without the influence of whatever drove Michael:

Sparks (Jolteon): Thunderbolt, Pin Missile, Return, Double Team

Marahute (Pidgeot): Air Slash, Whirlwind, Mirror Move, Hurricane

Terra (Sandslash): Earthquake, Crush Claw, Poison Jab, Dig

Achilles (Gallade): Close Combat, Leaf Blade, Psycho Cut, Swords Dance

Cora (Kingdra): Dragon Dance, Dragon Pulse, Ice Beam, Hydro Pump

Simba (Litleo): Hyper Voice, Noble Roar, Flamethrower, Snarl

Simba was the only one on his team who had yet to evolve to his ultimate form, but Ryan was in no hurry to rush the little cub to adulthood. Besides, it was nice to have some memory of a time when things were a lot calmer before everything went wrong. Simba provided him one last memory of the Pokémon Journey he was supposed to be undertaking and not the one that he had since been enduring.

After a long and taxing session of training, the boys made their ways back down to the Faire Grounds. Most of the Faire had already been packed up and shipped out for the next one, should there ever be another one. The only things left were some of the stands that were there for the joust the day prior. Holly was sitting there and waiting for the two to come back. When she saw them, she hailed them over.

"It's not the Cauldro City Gym" Holly remarked as she gestured towards the makeshift arena they had built, "but it will do. How did you guys do?"

"My Pokémon are listening to me now" Tommy cheered. "I think I'm learning how to work with them really well."

Holly smiled. "Good for you, Tommy. I'm proud of you." She then turned towards Ryan. "Ry?"

"I did what I could" Ryan insisted. "The only real proof I'll have that we've gotten better is when I have a battle."

"Well" Holly pointed out, "that's why we're here." She gestured towards the Royal Box, where Annie was waving to them happily. "We figured this will be the perfect spot for you to challenge Jon for the Medieval Badge."

Ryan looked to Holly. "Is getting the Gym Badges really important right now?" he asked her.

"Of course it is" Holly snapped. "If you get all eight of them, you've proven to the rest of your family that you can be counted on in case this whole thing with the Syndicate really comes to war. This is a huge step towards proving to our parents that we can do the right thing, especially since I just had it out with my parents about them wanting Tommy and I to come home."

Tommy gasped. "Why would they want that?"

"Because of what's happened" Holly explained, "Mom and Dad think we should be in Taghwan City with them or in Parlor Town. But, I told them so long as Ryan and Matthew were allowed to be on this journey, so should we."

Ryan turned to see Jon making his way towards the middle of the makeshift arena. He took a deep breath and walked out to meet his cousin on the field of combat. Holly and Tommy cheered for Ryan as he locked eyes with Jon. The two cousins stared each other down, each with a true sense of the battle that was about to unfold between them.

Annie rose to make the final announcement of The Arcana Faire. "And now, for the Grand Finale of this year's Arcana Pokémon Faire, we will have the Gym Match between Gym Leader Jon Kingston and his cousin and challenger, Ryan Kingston." With that, Annie sat down to watch and officiate.

Jon nodded. "This is going to be the last Gym Battle I host until all of this is over."

"Why's that?" Ryan asked.

"Because I know there is more I can be doing to fight The Syndicate than just sit around and keep the Cauldro City Gym open" he explained. "I'm going to be heading to Kingston Castle to help with whatever Julia and Piper are doing, or maybe I'll start to martial our family's numbers together. We need to take this fight to The Syndicate before they take it to us."

Ryan nodded. "A good thing to know we won't be alone in facing off against them."

"Did you think I'd let you guys have all the fun?" Jon asked. "I'll be going to get Billy and Daniel too, possibly Greg and Tori as well. We're not going to take this threat lying down like they think we will." Jon pointed towards Ryan. "I'd ask you to join, but I want to see if you really have what it takes to fight alongside us. And today's Gym Match should prove that."

Ryan thought to himself. Okay, I need to think how to take on Dragons. I beat Greg's Flygon with Achilles, but he was a Fairy Type back then. Now, he's a Fighting Type. Dragons are weak to Ice and Fairy, but I think they're also weak to themselves? Well, once I send Cora out there, we'll find out. But I'm not going to let Jon get an easy victory. He's going to have to earn this one, just like I will when I beat him!

"Throughout Arcana's History" Jon taught his cousin, "Dragons have been a staple of our society. They have been fighting alongside us for centuries and this continues even to this day. Many in Arcana either have fought or currently battle with Dragon Pokémon to this very day. Every single member of The Elite Four and the Champion all used Dragons back in the day and now we all tend to have one lurking around somewhere on our teams. Even Matthew."

Ryan nodded. "Even me."

Jon grinned. "Then you know how much power they have. Very little out there is strong enough to tame the mighty beasts of myth and legend. You'd better find a way to, or else I'm going to send you home crying! Now, Ryan! SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT!" With that, Jon reached for the first Poké Ball on his belt. "Go! Flapple!" From out of the first Poké Ball appeared a mysterious lizard creature that seemed to be using an Apple as a form of cocoon or a shield, even flapping itself into the air with it.

Ryan reached for his first Poké Ball. Remember what Addy said about Type Matches! Ryan knew exactly who to turn to for this first clash. "We'll settle this in the skies. Go Marahute!" The Pidgeot he had been raising since the start of his journey flew right out onto the field of battle and loomed over the Flapple.

Jon folded his arms. "So, you know about Type Matchups? Let's see how well you can deal with some of these attacks, then. Use Acid Spray!" The Flapple opened it's mouth and spat out acid like it were a spray bottle, covering Marahute in the toxic chemicals. Marahute puffed herself out and cawed loudly.

Ryan shook his head, and reached for he Key Stone on his wrist and used it to Mega Evolve Marahute into Mega Pidgeot. In a flash of wickedly powerful energy, the Pidgeot transformed into her most supreme form. She cawed loudly as she aimed her attention at the Flapple. "You ready for this? Marahute! Use Air Slash!" With one swipe of her wing, a vicious gust of wind was sent at the Flapple, slicing through his defenses and taking him down in one shot.

Jon nodded. "Just what I would have expected from you. You're out to win this battle pretty quickly."

Ryan's focus was so keen on ending this match decisively, that he did not play into the banter. He simply stood there, staring right at his cousin.

"Fine, looks like I'll have to kick things up a notch. Go! Tyrantrum!" Jon's signature Pokémon, Tyrantrum, burst onto the scene and howled angrily at the Mega Pidgeot. "Now, Tyrantrum! Use Stone Edge!" The Dragon smashed the ground in front of it with his tail, causing huge boulders to come out. But before the Tyrantrum could send the boulders his way, Ryan was waiting.

"Use Whirlwind!" The Pidgeot flapped her wings angrily and rapidly, causing the massive Tyrantrum to begin to be brought into the air by the force of the wind itself. Realizing how high in the air it was, the T-Rex Pokémon flailed about trying to be brought back down to the ground, but Marahute was in sync with Ryan and waited for just the right moment. "Wait for it...wait for it...USE MIRROR MOVE!" Marahute flashed her wings in response to the Tyrantrum and sent boulders from the ground straight into the jaw of the Tyrantrum, before the Whirlwind made him crash hard onto the ground.

"Whoa" Tommy said. "Now that was impressive."

"Ryan's really getting better and better with every match" Holly professed.

The Tyrantrum recovered from it's heavy fall and the stones striking him in the jaw, but was clearly frazzled. Jon decided he needed to once again alter his strategy. "Okay, you're a lot better than I thought, Ryan. But I think this means I can go all out against you. Tyrantrum! Use Dragon Tail!" The Tyrantrum smashed his tail into the Pidgeot with such force, it knocked Marahute out of the match and back into her Poké Ball. Before Ryan could even realize what had unfolded, Ryan's Simba was dragged out. The little cub looked absolutely petrified at the idea of facing the angry and vengeful Dragon.

"That's not good" Ryan remarked, "but not entirely unpleasant. Simba, use Noble Roar!" The cub let out a growl that began to make the Tyrantrum's attacks weaken in strength.

"You'll have to do better than that" Jon warned him. "Tyrantrum! Use Outrage!" The Dragon flailed about angrily and rampaged his way towards Simba, who simply spat flames in the direction of the Tyrantrum, causing it's foot to burst into flames. The Dragon's rampage was halted as he realized his foot was on fire and desperately tried to put it our.

"Simba" Ryan called. "Use Hyper Voice!" The Litleo let out another roar, that shook the Dragon Pokémon, but it did little more than intimidate him.

"You call that a Roar?" Jon laughed. "That little cub couldn't scare a flea."

Angered, Simba let out another Hyper Voice, but this only caused the Tyrantrum to laugh at him. Angered by the Tyrantrum's mocking laugh at him, Simba planted his feet and let out one final Hyper Voice. The roar shook the entirety of the arena, including the stands. The Tyrantrum's laughing suddenly came to an end. As did Jon's mocking of the cub. A swirling vortex of light took over Simba as he continued his earsplitting roar. The Tyrantrum took a step back in terror as the vortex of bright flames began to engulf most of Ryan's side of the field.

Holly nearly let out another scream, but another earsplitting roar sent all of the flames towards the Tyrantrum, who desperately tried to brave the massive Heat Wave, but staggered backwards and fell to his knees. The wall of flames parted and a massive, fully grown Pyroar stood where the frightened Litleo had once stood. Simba let out one final tremendous roar, causing another massive Heat Wave to engulf the Tyrantrum and cause the Dinosaur to faint.

Ryan, who was usually very celebratory, was laser focused on winning this match outright and didn't cheer. Simba looked back towards his trainer and nodded, before growling at Jon.

Jon was stunned. "Ryan, you aren't anyone's kidder."

Ryan nodded. "I do whatever I can, but I know we can keep going."

Jon grinned. "And I hope to see how far you do go, but don't forget that this battle isn't over yet. I've still got one last Pokémon up my sleeves." He reached for the third Pokémon he could use for the match. "And this one is one of my favorites! Go! Ampharos!" He sent out a bizarre looking Electric Pokémon with a long neck and weird black rings around it's neck, tail and ears, and a red orb atop it's head.

"Ampharos isn't a Dragon" Tommy remarked. "I though it was an Electric Type?"

"It is" Jon told the boy. "But, once I make a small adjustment, we won't have to worry about it." He revealed that he too had a Key Stone secured around his wrist and activated it. The Ampharos grew out a long white mullet as if it were in a rock band with an equally gorgeous white tuft appearing on his tail. He then echoed Simba's roar with one of his own. Feeling challenged, Simba lowered himself into a pouncing stance and growled.

"Ampharos" Jon called to his ace Pokémon. "Use Thunder!"

"Simba" Ryan countered. "Use Snarl!" Simba let out a low and threatening Snarl that caused a momentary hesitation in the Ampharos. But the Dragon Pokémon still spat out a vicious clap of Thunder from the heavens to strike at Simba, but the bolt missed the Pyroar by inches. Simba stood his ground and without Ryan even needing to order an attack, he sent another Heat Wave towards the Ampharos. The Ampharos took the brunt of the Heat Wave without flinching, and then countered with a ferocious Focus Blast, which knocked Simba out of the match.

Ryan recalled his fainted Pyroar and smiled at him. "You did good, Simba. Now, let's bring this match home!" He reached for his third Poké Ball, knowing that she would help him win the final bout between their two Dragons. "Go! Cora!" He sent out his Kingdra, who sprayed her trainer with water happily to see him. "Good to see you too" Ryan said as he was drenched in water. The Kingdra turned and realized Ryan was finally sending her out for a real battle again and tightened her focus.

"Then I guess this'll really be a clash of dragons" Jon said proudly. "Then let's settle this the old fashioned way!" He looked towards his Ampharos. "Use Dragon Pulse!"

Ryan looked towards Kingdra. "Cora, use Dragon Pulse!" Both Dragon Pokémon spat out pulses of terrific power at one another and the two pulses collided with one another. In a burst of tremendous energy, the Dragons blasts moved back and forth in between them, causing the very ground the burn up in the wake of the energies. Ampharos added some extra Electrical Energy into the blast to make his stronger, causing Kingdra to wane behind.

"Cora" Ryan called to her. "You're the toughest Pokémon I know and I know you won't let me down here! This Ampharos isn't half as tough as Dad's Infernape was. Come on! Put all your power behind that blast and take that thing down!" Cora's eyes flashed and she spat out even more power directly at the Ampharos.

Jon gasped. "This power..."

"BRING IT HOME, CORA!" Ryan shouted.

The Kingdra let out a savage amount of power that completely overwhelmed the Ampharos, engulfing it in the wake of the combined powerful blasts. When the dust settled, Jon's Ampharos was completely knocked out.

Holly cheered. "YOU DID IT!"

"Way to go, Ryan!" Tommy cheered.

Jon recalled his Ampharos and let out a sad smile. "That's it, then. Ryan, I don't know how else to say it, but you're the best Pokémon Trainer left in the family. And there's really no contest.'

Holly and Tommy rushed onto the field and hugged Ryan as the Kingdra showered all three happily with a Hydro Pump. As the four tried to dry themselves off, Jon approached his victorious cousin and handed him the Medieval Badge, his seventh. Ryan slotted it into his wallet happily and shook Jon's hand. "Thanks for believing in me, Jon."

Jon shrugged. "I know you'd do the same for me if I was having any problems. But now is not the time to remark about who's done what. We have work to do, all of us."

Holly and Tommy nodded in approval. "Our work isn't done yet" Holly said.

"Titanio City" Ryan said, thinking of where the final Gym Badge was located.

"Renee isn't a pushover" Jon cautioned his cousin, "but if there's one thing I've learned today, it's that no one should ever underestimate you, Ryan. You truly are a cut above the rest. And to show my gratitude for being able to battle you, I want to give you this." He handed the victorious Trainer a Technical Machine. "It's one of the strongest moves there is. When a Pokémon learns the move Outrage, they become infuriated to the point of attacking relentlessly, but they may get confused at the end of their rampage if you aren't too careful. It works best on a Dragon Type, so I think Cora would be suited best for it."

Ryan took the Technical Machine and placed it into his pocket. "Thanks, Jon."

"There really isn't much else I can do for you here, Ry" Jon told him. "But I'll be heading to Kingston Castle to assemble the forces. If Elezar wants a war, he's going to have to contend with all the power our family has to muster. And it would be my honor if we fought together some time." He put his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Don't lose faith in yourself, Ryan. This journey isn't over yet and neither is our fight."

Ryan nodded and looked past Jon as Annie came over to him. "Ryan, I don't know what to say. You're truly an amazing trainer. I can't imagine the Syndicate has many who can contend with the likes of you. This isn't much, but I want you to have this." She handed him a pinkish orb. "This is the Life Orb. It was supposed to be one of the prizes for the Joust, but we thought about it and know you could better use it than anyone else we know."

Ryan held the Orb close to him. "Thank you, Annie. I'll be sure to use it well."

"You never know when it will come in handy" she said, her smile fading. "And one more thing." She followed Jon's example and put her hand on his shoulder. "Keep your chin up. You'll find Addison. I know you will."

Ryan lowered his head and closed his eyes. "If you guys think I can do it, then I guess I'll have to try."

Jon nodded as Annie wrapped her arms around him. "I know you will, bud. And we'll be at the castle getting ready for whatever comes of this. You just give us a call on the Poké Gear and let us know when it's time to move."

Ryan gave his cousin a thumbs up. "Sure. Just promise me you won't get in my way." The four laughed as the sun began it's slow descent around them.