"I want to help," Gardenia declared. "I think it's wrong to accuse a Pokémon trainer of faking or scripting their battles. Of course, I don't have any proof that you and Ace didn't fake it—"

Aaron's light olive-green eyes glowered in rage, but Gardenia raised her hand to ward off his anger.

"—but I like to think the best of people, especially trainers with grass type Pokémon."

I really should get a grass type soon. They have so many benefits: a calming presence, an inspiration to eat healthier, a vote of confidence from the Gym Leader of Eterna City.

"So will you come with us to Hearthome City? You can be Ace's new opponent!"

Gardenia shook her head. "I don't think I'd be a good opponent for a second exhibition battle. Grass types are particularly vulnerable to poison types, so I'm not the best trainer to help Ace show off his Pokémon."

Kenny winced. "That's a fair point."

I looked at Aaron. "Then why did Ace challenge you for his exhibition battle?"

"He didn't," Aaron told me. "I asked to be his opponent. He's my boyfriend, so I wanted the honor of battling him, too."

Kenny, Gardenia, Piplup, and I stared at him in friendly exasperation. "So you're part of the problem."

Sunflora kept dancing, oblivious.

"Anyway," Gardenia continued, "I also have a challenger waiting for me. As soon as I'm free, I'll post a video analyzing the battle and showing how awesome your Leavanny and Ace's Roserade were—and your other Pokémon, too. Good luck!"

The boys and I collected ourselves in the Eterna City Pokémon Center. I had called Ash and told him of our predicament, and he promised to transfer three of his strongest flying types as soon as he could. Aaron called Ace on his Pokégear, while Kenny and I sat at a small circular table. Sunflora drank a lum berry smoothie as a treat for her battle against Gardenia's Lilligant.

Kenny smiled sheepishly. "I feel kinda bad that Gardenia has to battle a challenger right after battling me."

"I'm sure she has plenty of other Pokémon to choose from. I don't think Lilligant was ready for a challenger, anyway."

"She wasn't," Aaron agreed, joining us with a jovial step after chatting with Ace. "That's why Gardenia wanted to train her against Kenny's Sunflora. Ace has been getting a lot of challengers, too."

My eyebrows lifted. "I thought he couldn't give out gym badges until his name is cleared."

"He can't. These are all friendly battles. My sweet man is keeping busy!"

Kenny beamed. "He's a great Pokémon trainer." He turned his smile to me. "You think Ash transferred his Pokémon yet?"

I checked with Nurse Joy, and Chansey held out a tray with three Pokéballs. We brought the Pokémon outside to send them out. Talonflame and Noivern spiraled around each other, high into the sky in an aerial feat. I recognized Staraptor from Ash's travels in Sinnoh.

Kenny grabbed Staraptor in a hug. "I call dibs on this one!"

"Good idea," Aaron said. "Staraptor knows Close Combat, which will make your journey to Oreburgh City safer."

I grinned. "Roark will be so surprised when he sees how much Ash's Pokémon grew!"

Staraptor fluffed up his wings and puffed out his chest with pride.

Aaron glanced down at me. "Do you have a preference, Dawn?"

Talonflame and Noivern stood at attention. I scrutinized them; they were two of Ash's flying aces from Kalos. Sweat formed on their heads as they awaited my judgment.

I pointed at Talonflame. "I choose you, Talonflame! Your bright feathers remind me of my Quilava's flames. I hope we get along!"

Noivern staggered in shock. Aaron patted the dragon type. "Hey, don't feel down. I was hoping to ride you, anyway. For a dragon-and-flying type, you can learn quite a few bug type moves, yeah? That makes you an honorary bug type!"

Piplup, Kenny, and I stared at Aaron with the same friendly exasperation from earlier. "I don't think that's how Pokémon types work."

Kenny struggled to get on Staraptor. Ash's flying ace from Sinnoh crouched so his feathers brushed the road, but Kenny still couldn't get on.

Aaron stifled laughter. "Want me to boost you?"

"I got this." Kenny flopped sideways on Staraptor, who took off at once. My friend wailed as he rose into the air. Staraptor would ride the tailwinds of cyclists going down the Cycling Road, so Kenny's journey to Oreburgh City would be fast.

On the other hand, Aaron and I would have a more arduous journey ahead of us. I settled comfortably on Talonflame's back, keeping my legs together like I was curling up with a good book. Meanwhile, Aaron spread out his limbs like a Staryu. We flew southwest over the treetops of Eterna Forest. To our left, the Windworks windmills rotated at a steady pace, their narrow turbines gathering renewable energy for nearby towns and villages. Talonflame was flying at such a breathtaking speed that some of the windmills looked like they were spinning backward... or going back and forth. The effect was dizzying.

Aaron exclaimed, "Someone needs our help!"

I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary – besides the optical illusion of the windmills – but I trusted the Elite Four member. We urged Ash's Pokémon to a rapid descent.

I still didn't see who needed our help. Aaron looked around in confusion. "That's weird. A man with an awful bowl cut was standing guard around here. And I could see the inside of the house from up in the air. A red-haired lady and her fat Purugly were terrorizing the workers. The bad guys all wore funky spacesuits."

Dread formed a pit in my stomach. "All of that happened," I told Aaron, "years ago. Team Galactic were using the windworks to fuel their nefarious plans. But they've disbanded, their leader Cyrus is banished to the Distortion World, and Buck helped arrest any stragglers. Somehow, you were seeing the past."

Aaron's eyes widened. "It's like when you thought you saw a young version of Cynthia near Wayward Cave."

I planted my fists on my hips with a huff. "I didn't 'think' it; I know what I saw!"

Aaron held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, truce. Truce! Let's keep flying."

A small part of me wondered if we should investigate the odd time-and-space-bending phenomena. What if Sinnoh was in real danger? But that was a big "what if," and Mount Coronet – Dialga and Palkia's home in this realm – was in the opposite direction from Canalave City. Even if I alternated between Talonflame and Togekiss, pivoting back and forth would exhaust the flying Pokémon. It made more sense to stick to our solid plan than go on a wild goose chase up a treacherous mountain.

I nodded. "Let's keep flying."