Ash ran back towards the dorm to get his backpack, passing various rooms as he zoomed through the halls.

Then skidded to a stop.

He backtracked.

In the main room he saw three familiar faces:

Alain,

Charizard,

and...

"GRENINJA!"

Ash ran up to Greninja and rammed himself into him. The wind was knocked right out of Greninja.

"-gre!"

Ash ignored this and hugged his friend tight. Something shimmered in Greninja's eye and he hugged his friend back.

It was a very wholesome moment.

At last Ash and Greninja separated and Alain had to break up the happy moment.

"Ash, Lysandre's alive."

"Huh?!"

A part of Ash was relieved, but another part of him was very worried.

"I think he's planning something. I found Greninja with him and the revived Team Flare."

Ash grimaced as Alain continued:

"I had to leave Lysandre to bring Greninja to the Pokémon Center or I would've done something right then and there. When I got back he was gone. The only thing we can do right now is wait for Team Flare to make the next move."

Forcing a smile, Ash tugged at the bill of his cap, hiding his eyes for a brief moment. Then light shone across his face again and he smiled for real.

"Well, nothing we can do about it for now. So while we wait, let's have that battle we promised!"

This left Alain speechless for a moment. Then he caught Ash's infectious smile.

"You're on."

•.•.••.•.•

"Okay, I've been appointed to be the referee. This will be a one-on-one battle with Alain versus Ash. The battle ends when either side is unable to continue."

Goh stood with his left arm straight in the air, off to the side of a clear area in Cerise Park where Alain and Ash faced each other. Both Charizard and Greninja stood beside their trainers, already out of their pokéballs and ready to go. Pikachu and Raboot stood with Goh.

Goh was wondering why Alain's Charizard was wearing a bandana... No matter. He started the countdown:

"3...

"2...

"1...

Goh sliced the air

"Begin!"

Alain and Ash sent out Charizard and Greninja, respectively.

Alain made the first move:

"Charizard, use Thunder Punch!"

"Greninja, use Double Team!"

As Charizard powered up, an army of greninja appeared, making it impossible to tell which was the original. Charizard went to punch one of the clones, disintegrating it. Alain/Charizard needed a wider-ranged move.

"Greninja, use water shuriken!"

Real and cloned water shurikens pelted Charizard like rain. Alain smiled from the nostalgia.

"Nice job, Ash, but you'll have to do better than that! Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

A beam of flames disintegrated the remaining clones and hit the real Greninja.

"Now, use Thunder Punch again!"

"Greninja, dodg- Ugh!"

Greninja, recovering from Flamethrower, was caught off guard. Thunder Punch made it's mark.

Goh watched from the sidelines with stars in his eyes, while the minutes flew by to the tune of old friends shouting out moves.

With sweat shining on his forehead, Alain reached into his pocket.

"Charizard, now!"

Charizard ripped the bandanna from his neck and let it blow away to reveal an ornate chest plate. Alain pulled out a bracelet and slipped it onto his wrist. Touching two fingers to it, he shouted,

"Respond to my heart, Keystone! Beyond evolution! Mega Evolve!"(1)

The mega stone and Charizardite X glowed from the bracelet and chest plate respectively as Charizard transformed within a flash of light into the fire-y blue Mega Charizard X. A rainbow DNA symbol stamped the metamorphosis with a seal of completion.

"It's a mega-evolved Charizard!!!" Goh's voice cracked.

"You found another pair of keystones! Awesome! Guess that means it's time to bring this battle to the next level."

Ash, heated with exertion and smiling, stood with his arms relaxed on each side.

"Greninja, you ready?"

Ash raised his right fist to his heart. Greninja raised his left.

Drip...

They were in a void with water all around.

Ash felt an out-of-body experience.

Greninja felt a connection with another spirit.

They let out a rising yell as a torrent of water enveloped them.

The whirlpool was twisted into a sparkling wet shuriken on the back of what emerged from the storm as

Ash-Greninja.

"Water shuriken, let's go!"

Goh died.

Ash was no longer in his own head. He reached for a water shuriken and flung it at Charizard. It hit.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain shouted.

"Aerial Ace!" shouted the voice in Greninja's mind.

Ash-Greninja flew kicks at Charizard with striking precision. Charizard clawed at Ash-Greninja and threw them to the ground.

Ash-Greninja landed on their feet.

"Charizard, use Blast Burn!"

"Aerial Ace, again!"

With flying feet, Ash-Greninja dealt another blow and was able to avoid Blast Burn perching on Charizard's head. Alain needed to find a way to keep them from getting close again.

"Dragon Claw, fling him in the air!"

Greninja was hit into the sky.

"Use Cut!"

Cut widely missed.

"Now, Blast Burn!"

The moment Ash-Greninja hit the ground, they went blasted with fire from cracks in the earth.

When Greninja made contact, Ash recoiled in the aftershock.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu called.

Ash, focused as ever, straightened and yelled out,

"Double Team!"

More Greninja clones charged at Charizard. Alain/Charizard needed to keep them from getting close.

"Flamethrower!"

"Cut!"

The clones dissolved but Cut let the real Greninja slice through the flames unharmed and make a hit on Charizard.

"Thunderpunch, again and again!"

The first one hit, but then,

"Block it with Water Shuriken!"

The opponents battled close-range with fists and blade. When both of them had enough they carefully distanced themselves from each other.

"Well, this can't go on forever." Alain sighed.

"You've got that right." Ash panted.

"For old time's sake, finish it off with Blast Burn!"

"Flood the ground with Water Shuriken!"

The two attacks rushed through the ground and met about halfway, exploding into bursts of white and black smoke.

But not exactly halfway.

When the smoke cleared, Ash-Greninja had separated back into boy and frog. Nobody called it though, because the referee was still dead.

Ash slowly got up from the grass where he'd fallen and walked to Greninja.

"Heh, guess I'm a little out of practice."

Alain shook his head in disagreement.

"You two gave us a fun battle as always. But what happened to that orange Water Shuriken?"

"What?"

"You used it in the Kalos League Finals."

Ash offered Greninja his hand and helped him up.

"Oh, yeah."

"It makes me wonder if you still haven't reached your full strength."

With an arm around each other, Ash and Greninja walked over to a tree to sit and rest.

"You know, Ash, I can't win forever. I think there's more to discover with your Bond Phenomenon. And I hope that when you find it, we can battle again."

Ash looked up from the grass to see Alain still smiling from the battle. Alain was different now than back when Ash traveled Kalos; he was happier. And Ash was glad to be a part of that.

"Sure thing."

Alain walked over to Charizard, who had by now transformed back into his normal form. Ash and Greninja sat with their backs to the tree and just relaxed.

Well, they should enjoy that while it lasts, because the ghost of late Goh was about to haunt them. Deceased Goh rushed over to where they were sitting.

"Jejjowhiskvdiskshakavjddonsb..."

"What'ja say, Goh?"

"Aukabjavishwkanwwvshsosj..."

"I still have no idea what you're saying."

"..."

Goh just stood gawking at them. Ash scratched the back of his neck in discomfort.

"Goh, you're kinda weird."

Goh's eyes just about popped out of his head.

"!!!"

•.•.••.•.•

Later that night...

"Are they functioning?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

Silence.

Footnotes: (1) Alain's dialogue is a direct quote from XYZ of what he says when mega-evolving Charizard.