When Ash and Hilda returned to the Pokémon Center, they sat down at a table, Hilda still looking slightly down.
"I'm sorry, I got in over my head there' Hilda said, to which Ash replied "That you did. But, if I'm going, to be honest? I didn't expect them to have net guns. Also, these two seem more prepared for me as well, so we're both going to have to adjust our tactics to face them"
"That we should" Hilda replied nodding. Ash then continued with "Remember the implications of what your brother said when he got 6-0'ed by Alder?"
"That Alder was that much stronger than him?" Hilda asked, to which Ash replied "Yeah, as strong as you've become, there's always someone stronger. Cynthia's the world #1 at the moment, yet there are rumours of trainers even she can't beat", to which Hilda nodded.
"I also shouldn't get so arrogant, there are a lot of trainers who are still stronger than me. Including you Ash. I thought that Team Rocket was a little bit of a joke, somewhat threatening, but nothing we couldn't handle. But this has woken me up to the fact that there are ruthless members. And attacking trainers, instead of their Pokémon. That is despicable" Hilda continued, sighing. Ash put a hand on her shoulder and replied "I know Hilda. But it's OK, so long as you learn from this, and remain of guard around any members of Team Rocket, you'll be OK. OK?"
"OK" Hilda replied, putting her hand on Ash's.
"Now, let's get some lunch, alright? Then how about we go make another movie at Pokéstar Studios?" Ash asked, to which Hilda nodded, and replied "Sure". Ash nodded, and they do so.
After Lunch, Ash and Hilda head for Pokvstar Studios. And here, they're in for a surprise. For when they arrive, they not only see Nate, Rosa and Hugh, but the rest of the class, and a young man with glasses and a white-and-blue suit. As he's finished explaining the final stages to his class, he turned back, and saw Ash and Hilda, and waved. It was Cheren.
"Hey Hilda, good to see you again. I see you're on a journey now. How is it?" Cheren asked, approaching, and hugging, Hilda. Returning the hug, Hilda replied, "Thanks Cheren, it's been a while. But it's been great. Ash here has been tutoring me through this journey, so I've got him to thank for getting as far as I did". Once they broke apart, Cheren offered a handshake to Ash, who took him up on it, and Cheren said "Nice to meet you Ash. Say, I haven't seen you around. Where are you from originally?"
"Pallet Town in the Kanto region" Ash replied, to which Cheren nodded, and added "Kanto, I've heard about that region. I've wanted to visit the place for a while, and I'm saving from this teaching role to go there sometime"
"Cool," Ash replied. Nate, Rosa and Hugh all waved to Ash and Hilda, and they returned the waves.
'So, what brings you two out here?" Cheren asked, to which Ash replied "We wanted to film a movie or two, but it looks like we're not going to be able to do that today, with all the students here"
"They've just finished, so the movies are being processed as we speak. The students have the extra benefit of using their own Pokémon if they want to, executive privilege from me. But the spaces are available now if you two want to film" Cheren replied, to which both Ash and Hilda nodded, though Ash said "I'd actually like to see the movies that these students have made"
"Sure, we could give a few of them a watch" Hilda replied, to which Cheren responded "Lovely. It'll be great for the students to have people watching their works"
"Alright, then let's find out which ones sound good," Ash said, to which Hilda nodded, and excitedly dashed to the ticketing aisle to get a list. Chuckling to himself, Ash follows.
Hilda spots one of the movies has been done as a three-way collaboration between Nate, Rosa and Hugh.
"Wow, this is an interesting one. I haven't heard of it, it's called, Redemption? OK, I'm curious what it's about" Ash said, to which Rosa replied "It's a personal story. How N's faction of Team Plasma are not the bad guys and are actually decent people who got fooled. The others, the cultists of Neo Team Plasma, on the other hand, are the bad guys. And this story is mostly about people and acceptance. I want you guys to check it out"
"Alright Rosa, we will" Hilda replied, smiling, and they got tickets to that movie. The group then went inside.
When they enter the theatre, they find a respectable number of people waiting to see the movie. Ash and Hilda take seats and wait for it to start.
The timer counts down, and the symbol of Pokéstar Studios showed up. Then the movie began.
The line "Redemption: The Path begins" comes up before the introductory explanation starts.
"In the aftermath of Neo Team Plasma's attack, former members of Team Plasma are viewed with suspicion. Trying to redeem herself, a former Team Plasma member seeks redemption", before it transitions to a battle between Faitsu in an old-style Team Plasma outfit, Nate, who is wearing a Neo Team Plasma outfit, and Hugh, playing a civilian who had his Pokémon stolen by the Neo Plasma Member.
The Neo Plasma Grunt sent in a Klinklang, while the Ex-Plasma Grunt sent in an Escavalier.
"Help, this Plasma guy stole my Pokémon" the civilian called, and the Ex-Plasma Member approached the Neo Plasma Grunt and stated "So, you've decided to trash the name of Team Plasma. Why?"
"Huh? Two Team Plasma members? And they've got different uniforms? What's going on?" The civilian asked, to which the Ex-Plasma Grunt replied "I'm not associated with them. And I'm here to show you why"
"Hah! You N worshippers are weak. Now I'm going to show you" the Neo Plasma Grunt returned.
After a set-up, Klinklang and Escavalier started wearing each other down. Escavalier used X-Scissor, while Klinklang used Gear Grind.
After the second turn, the Neo Plasma Grunt called "C'Mon. Let's have fun stealing Pokémon together as we did before!", to which the Ex-Plasma Grunt replied "Wait, you guys stole Pokémon? That's despicable. This is why I no longer support you guys and wear this uniform as a sign of rejection of your hate"
"It's too late to start being a goody-two-shoes now. Everyone hates you" the Neo Plasma Grunt retorted, to which the Ex-Plasma Grunt snapped back "My lord N would never approve of what you're doing! And that's why I'm fighting you, to redeem myself in the eyes of the public. I cannot allow you to cause any more problems"
"Whoa. It sounds like a group loyal to N oppose this New Team Plasma. Maybe they legitimately thought they were doing the right thing" the civilian commented to himself.
At the end of the third turn, Escavalier was on the ropes, while Klinklang is close.
"Give up, N was a traitor! He abandoned us when we needed him most!" the Neo Plasma Grunt snapped, to which the Ex-Plasma Grunt snapped back "Considering that he realised he was being manipulated by his dad and was merely a puppet, I'm glad he abandoned your cult I'm just working to rescue my life now and make sure it gets a little easier by opposing scum like you. You trash the name of Team Plasma, you dishonour N's memory, and are just a puppet of a tyrant"
At this, Escavalier's Custap Berry activated.
"Now, use Reversal" the Ex-Team Plasma called, and Escavalier glowed in a reversed aura of orange energy, and charged into Klinklang, KO'ing it.
"Argh! Fine, I'll give back the Pokémon" the Neo Plasma Grunt said, and he returned the Civilian his Pokémon, before leaving.
"Thanks for rescuing my Pokémon sir," the civilian said, to which the Ex-Plasma Grunt replied "No problem, I'm glad you're OK, and your Pokémon are OK"
"Thanks. I'll see you around" the civilian said, and he departed.
The epilogue said "The Ex-Team Plasma Grunt's quest for redemption continues, after rescuing the Civilian's Pokémon from the Neo Team Plasma Grunt. The question continues, good luck, Ex-Plasma", before the credits rolled.
The crowd gave loud applause at the end of the movie, evidently, they really enjoyed it.
"See guys? I told you it would be a hit" Cheren said to Nate, Rosa and Hugh, who all nodded, and Hugh replied "Thanks, it wasn't easy, but it was something Rosa and I wanted to do for a while", as they all departed. Not long afterwards, the crowds started exiting, and they were very complimentary of the movie.
"You three did a fantastic job," Ash said, to which Nate, Rosa and Hugh replied "Thanks, it hasn't been easily drafting the script, but we're glad it worked"
"I'm also glad that it worked out well too" Cheren replied, smiling at them.
"Well, we'd better get onto filming our movies too Hilda" Ash stated, turning to Hilda, who nodded, and replied "Then let's go" and they headed for the filming areas.
Once again, Hilda selected Brycen-Man Strikes Back, while Ash, in his first film, picked the first episode of the Big Monster series.
Once Ash and Hilda had finished filming, they met up.
"So how did it go?" Ash asked, to which Hilda replied "It went well. I was surprised by what the next stage was, but I managed to get it to work"
Ash smiled, and replied "Lovely to hear. It wasn't too bad with the filming, I hope it's a hit for both of us", to which Hilda nodded,
"Well, we'd better get going and find out what everyone thinks" Ash replied, and they headed for the films.
When Ash and Hilda returned to the cinema, they saw their movies ready to go. Ash's first, then Hilda's.
"Well, let's see how they turned out," Ash said, before taking Hilda's hand in his, and leading her to the ticket booth, got their tickets, and headed inside.
The movie started, the countdown happened, and the symbol showed up.
Then, the title of the movie "Big Monster, the Titanic Tyranitar" showed up.
Then, some dialogue appeared in front of a scenic night on the short of a beach.
"The Unova Defence Force (UFD). This organisation strives to keep the Unova region at peace. This is the story of their valiant struggle."
'Along the coastline, a mysterious giant organism suddenly appeared. To find out its true identity, the young recruit Ash hurried to the scene"
The scene then moves to a battle scene, where Ash is challenged by a Weird light that calls in a Tyranitar. Ash counters with a Slowbro. Then, Tyranitar's Sand Stream Ability activates, whipping up a Sandstorm.
"Hm? What is that strange light?" Ash thought to himself. Suddenly his radio lights up.
"hey! Can you hear me? Respond! Ash! Quickly, report the current situation" the radio said, to which Ash replied "Roger! I confirmed the existence of a gigantic Tyranitar ahead! If it keeps approaching the town, it's likely to cause extensive damage"
"Rodger, Ash! From now on, we'll call it Titanic Tyranitar! Listen, Ash! Prevent the Titanic Tyranitar from entering the town at all costs!" the radio called, to which Ash replied "Roger!"
The Tyranitar then unleashed an Earthquake, shaking the ground with light brown energy, dealing damage to Slowbro.
"Slowbro, heal the damage off with Slack Off" Ash called, and Slowbro glowed white while slacking off, restoring half its max health. Slowbro then took Slight damage from the Sandstorm.
A bunch of trapped citizens then called "Run! If that gigantic Tyranitar attacks us, we won't stand a chance!"
Ash, meanwhile, commented "As I suspected, this is no ordinary Tyranitar. I have to stop it, but there's no chance to win if I go head-to-head with it. First, I should prioritise the evacuation of the citizens"
"Yeek" the trapped civilians called, to which Ash replied "Everyone, this way" and helped guide them out, while the trapped citizens called "Yay! The Unova Defence Force came to rescue us"
The Tyranitar then unleashed another Earthquake, shaking the ground with light brown energy to inflict damage to Slowbro.
'Slowbro, use Slack off again" Ash called, and Slowbro slacked off and glowed white to restore half its max health. Slowbro was then buffeted by the Sandstorm.
After a few more turns of stalling, the Titanic Tyranitar just stopped moving and stared at him.
"What's going on? It won't move. It's just staring at me. Perhaps it's waiting for me. Maybe I should speak to it." Ash thought to himself.
The Titanic Tyranitar growled again, and Ash said "I'm Ash! I'm a member of the Unova Defence Force. We protect the peace of Unova!" to which the Titanic Tyranitar growled a couple of times.
"There is a town ahead. People are living there! If a giant Pokémon like you were to enter the town, some kind of trouble will happen! So, please just calm down, and go back to the place where you lived for now" Ash continued, and the Tyranitar growled again.
"Didn't it work? Did I make it upset?" Ahs wondered. He then saw the light, and asked himself "Again, what is this light? Its shape is sort of human"
The Titanic Tyranitar growled again, before returning to the sea.
"The Titanic Tyranitar is going back to the sea. Did it understand what I said?" Ash asked himself, before continuing with "Anyway, now the town will be safe. But, why did the Tyranitar appear by the sea? A Tyranitar is weak against Water. Besides, there's that strange light. What is it?"
And the movie faded out to cheers from the audience,
"Wow, they liked it awesome," Ash said to himself, to which Hilda replied "Agree,d you did very well there" also giving Ash a big hug.
"Well, it's your movie next, so we'd better get that going" Ash replied, and they exited the cinema and got tickets to Hilda's movie, in the next one over.
Once again, the countdown started, then the Pokéstar Studios logo is on, and the lines Brycen-Man Strikes Back, the Lucario Lass faces the return of Brycen-Man.
The scene then changes to a late-night, at a pier with a giant cruise ship docked. The lines of dialogue appear.
"A sea breeze wafts over the pier where a giant cruise ship is docked. Passengers hurry on board in the shining moonlight. A threatening shadow hides in the crowd. The stage is set for trouble. However! It's darkest just before dawn! A hero has appeared! And that hero's name is, the Lucario Kid!"
The scene then changes to a confrontation with Brycen-Man, and he sends in his first Pokémon, a Honchkrow! Lucario kid sends in Lucario.
"Go, my Pokémon! Unleash your power, and destroy everything in the port! Buy time so I can" Brycen-Man called, but it's interrupted by a "Hold it right there!". Brycen-Man, hearing that voice, growled, turned around, and said "Oh No! That familiar voice!"
"The messenger of Truths and Ideals, the Lucario Kid enters!" Lucario Kid called as she entered, before she continued with "Stop right there again, Brycen-Man! I cannot allow your mischief!"
"I knew it was you, Lucario Kid! Mwahaha, long time no see. I'd love to cause you pain slowly here, but I have no time to play with you today! Mwahaha! Let me test you and see if you can defeat my improved Pokémon party" Brycen-Man said, to which Lucario Kid replied "Lucario, use Force Palm" and Lucario charged at Honchkrow, palm cloaked in fighting energy, and struck, inflicting damage. Honchkrow then responded with a Thief attack, a wing covered with anti-positive energy striking Lucario, inflicting a bit of damage to Lucario.
Lucario then restored a Slight amount of health with Leftovers.
The crew then spoke over the loudspeaker, and called "I repeat. Passengers, we are closing the boarding procedures. Please proceed", to which Brycen-Man responded "Argh! I don't have time for this. Lucario Kid, get out of my way!"
"Why should I?" Lucario Kid asked, to which Brycen-Man responded "Argh! Shut your mouth! I have nothing to chat with you about! Get out of my way already!"
The crew then called again over the loudspeaker "Passengers, we are closing the boarding procedures. Please proceed", to which Brycen-Man replied "You, again. Don't be thinking this will turn out the same way as at the amusement park!"
And Lucario Kid merely replied with "Lucario, defend yourself with Protect" and Lucario threw up a barrier before Brycen-Man called "Honchkrow, use Thief" and a wing covered with anti-positive energy bounced off the shield.
Lucario then restored a Slight amount of health with Leftovers.
The crew came over the loudspeaker again, calling "Passengers, we are departing soon. Please proceed on board"
"Argh! I better hurry" Brycen-Man replied. Lucario Kid called "Try another Protect Lucario" but this one failed, so when Brycen-Man called "Honchkrow, use Thief", Honchkrow's wing was covered with anti-positive energy struck, inflicting a little damage.
Lucario then restored a Slight amount of health with Leftovers.
Yet again, the Crew called over the loudspeaker "Passengers, we are departing soon. Please proceed on board", to which Brycen-Man replied "I don't have much time left! How annoying!"
"Protect, a third time" Lucario Kid called, and this time Lucario's barrier went up, so when Brycen-Man called "Honchkrow, use Thief again", Honchkrow's wing covered in anti-positive energy bounced off the shield.
Lucario then restored a Slight amount of health with Leftovers.
The crew came over the loudspeaker again and said "Passengers, we are departing now" as the cruise liner departed. Brycen-Man, angered, called "Argh! No! I missed the ship!"
"Lucario, Protect again" Lucario kid called, and the barrier went up a second time, so once again, when Brycen-Man called "Honchkrow, use Thief", Honchkrow's wing covered in anti-positive energy once again bounced off the Shield.
Lucario then restored a Slight amount of health with Leftovers.
The cruise liner's whistle goes, And Brycen-Man shouts "ARGH! The ship, the ship has departed!"
"Brycen-Man, you are so predictable! The cruise ship is gone! She departed safely with the black diamond you were after!". to which a desperate Brycen-Man retorted "Argh! I cannot give up yet, desperate times call for desperate measures!"
"Brycen-Man" the Lucario Kid called, as Brycen-Man dived into the water and swam after the cruise liner.
"Really? Those were your desperate measures? I don't think you can catch up", to which Brycen-Man retorted "To fulfil my great ambition, the black diamond is absolutely necessary! I must obtain it no matter how many sacrifices I have to make! Don't underestimate masked men! Farewell, Lucario Kid".
Little did Lucario Kid know, Brycen-Man had Sharpedo hiding just under the surface, ready to catch him up with the liner.
Brycen-Man, the Masked Man, disappeared into the ocean to go after the luxury liner. What is the nature of his terrible ambition? What makes him go after the black diamond so persistently? Whatever his plan is, we can count on the Lucario Kid! Go on, Lucario kid!" and with that, the movie rolled credits.
And once again, the crowd cheered.
"They liked it, Hilda, well done," Ash said, smiling happily, to which Hilda replied "Thanks".
As they departed, Hilda said "Ah, I needed this after what happened with Team Rocket earlier, this was a great idea"
"Heh, no worries Hilda, glad it went well. Now, what say we finish up for the night? Then we start heading towards Aspertia City tomorrow?" Ash suggested, to which Hilda replied "Sure" before she took Ash's hand in hers, and they headed back towards the Pokémon Centre.