Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava), Rainn (Surskit)

Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)

Perhaps Lumiose City was more iconic. Perhaps Laverre City and Anistar City were more scenic. But if you asked Marinette, the Tower of Mastery was easily the most beautiful place in all of Kalos. The tower stood at the edge of Shalour City, fortified by thick brick walls and iron gates. Rarely did the Tower ever open itself up to patrons, and only the best trainers in Kalos were permitted to the top. Even before she knew she wanted to be a Performer, Marinette knew she wanted to one day reach the top.

But…this was the first time Professor Sycamore had ever taken his class up there since Marinette had first started taking lessons from him three years ago. Why? Why now?

"Maybe there's a powerful pokémon up at the top that they want us to fight." Alix said as she reclined onto the back of her Ride Talonflame.

"Just leave that to Xuppo and me." Kim said. Alix responded by veering her Talonflame into Kim's Ride Staraptor. Marinette casually flew in between them to prevent any more fighting and knocking them all out of the sky.

"Maybe they need Professor Sycamore's help with research." Juleka offered, her faint voice nearly lost in the winds.

"Right right!" Rose said.

"But Professor Sycamore studies evolution, not legends." Alya said.

"But what about Mega Evolution? Isn't that a kind of evolution?"

"Yeah, a kind no one's ever seen before."

"I agree with Alya." Max said. "Outside of unreliable oral legend, there are no records of Mega Evolution occurring."

"What about you, Nino?" Marinette asked. "You know anything?"

"Nah, Sycamore didn't tell me anything." Nino said. "We're almost there, everyone. Get ready to land."

Marinette looked away from the rest of the class and looked at their destination. It was almost even more beautiful from far away, a shining jewel in the ocean. If she really wanted to, she could probably land Charizard right at the top…no, she wouldn't dare. She was going to make it to the top on her own strength. Somehow.

Charizard swooped down to the sands below, just outside of the Tower gate. There were already a few students waiting for them; Nathaniel had already set up shop and was halfway through a sketch of the exterior of the Tower, Ivan and Mylene were curled up together on his Tauros, Chloé was there for some reason…

"Wait, Lucario!"

Too late. Marinette found herself being shoved to the ground.

Marinette pushed herself out of the sand, trying hard to ignore Chloé's laughter. She came face to face with bright red eyes under a black band; a Lucario. She had never seen a Lucario so close before, and found herself freezing up under its sudden glare. But the Lucario itself seemed to be just as surprised as she was. Those deep red eyes glanced over her cautiously, as if studying her. Oh. If that Furfrou knew what she was, then there was no way this Lucario wouldn't.

"Sorry about that, are you okay?"

Wait, was that…? Sure enough it was the Shalour City gym leader, Korrina, who offered Marinette a hand up. That made sense; Korrina was one of the few trainers that Marinette knew that had a Lucario, let alone two. The other Lucario hovered at its trainer's side, but its eyes were just as curious as his counterpart.

"Hey, Lucario! What's going on with you? Did you get drawn in by this girl's aura or something?" Korrina asked.

The Lucario said nothing, simply staring at Marinette.

"Huh. Well, it seems Lucario likes you!" Korrina smiled at Marinette, but Marinette could only feel more Vivillons in her stomach.

"I do hope you're not beating up my students, M. Korrina."

Marinette turned around. Professor Sycamore was walking up to the group. Though he had his usual cheery smile and well-styled hair, Marinette couldn't help but notice the uncharacteristic heavy shadows under his eyes. Adrien trailed behind him, looking decidedly less worse-for-wear (although Marinette doubted there was a a way he could look bad…he was too cute for that).

"Only once they challenge me, Professor." Korrina said. "Is this your entire class? Shall we head inside?"

"Lead the way!" Professor Sycamore said.

The inside of the Tower of Mastery was even more magnificent than the outside. The first floor was as big as the whole bakery, big enough to hold a League-regulation match. But Marinette wouldn't dare hold a battle on the intricate stained-glass that she stood on. There was more stained glass portraits against the walls, allowing the sunlight to pass through and bathing the tower in a cool blue. Some were abstract geometric designs, but others Marinette recognized: Xerneas the pokémon of creation, Yvetyl the pokémon of destruction, Mew the mother of all pokémon, Groudon and Kyogre in the heat of battle. Hidden in alcoves in the wall were statues of strange-looking pokémon: a Lucario with a heavier-looking coat, a Gardevoir in a ballgown rather than an empire dress, a Scizor with teeth-like claws and samurai armor…

"At the Tower of Mastery, we work hard to push our bonds with our pokémon to their limits." Korrina explained. "We study everything, from the myths and legends that shaped Kalos and the heroes who stepped up to stop them, to the current Champions and Queens that shape Kalos today!"

"Today, you'll be receiving a crash course in that training." Professor Sycamore said. "Try and find an artifact or display that represents what you want to accomplish with your pokémon. Feel free to take notes, but be careful to turn the flash off of your Holocaster before you take any photos. Keep in mind that you'll only be allowed on the first floor. Try and climb the stairs and…well, if you think you have what it takes to challenge the trainers above, I won't stop you, but I'm not responsible for what happens. We'll be talking about them when were return to the lab. Bonne chance!"

Marinette had a similar assignment once when she was in école élémentaire. They had visited an art gallery and had to pick a piece to write a paper on. Professor Sycamore would never assign them actual homework; if not for their sake, then for his as the one who would be grading it. But it still felt too normal.

The others seemed to have the same thought as her, as they all shared confused glances with each other. Before they could ask any followup questions, Professor Sycamore and Korrina headed into an office hidden under the Lucario statue. The students slowly dispersed to complete the assignment, wandering aimlessly to look at the other art pieces. Only Adrien remained, no doubt not realizing what was so weird about this.

"Everything okay?" He asked Marinette.

"Professor Sycamore's acting weird. He's never assigned actual homework like this before." Marinette explained.

"You consider this homework?" Adrien asked. "It's nowhere near close to what my Father usually assigns me."

"But it's not what Professor Sycamore assigns."

They wandered together, Marinette too lost in thought to properly panic at the prospect of wandering alongside Adrien. She could do the assignment…and she probably should. Professor Sycamore must have a reason for this, right? She turned, examining the stained glass portraits that lined the walls. She recognized a few of them; legendary pokémon, events in Kalos history…

She froze at one in particular. At the top of the frame was a boy and a Greninja holding hands. Below them was a creature that was neither human nor pokémon. It looked enough like a Greninja, but it had the same mess of dark hair as the boy and a a few of its facial fins were dyed a deep red too similar to the boy's cap to be a coincidence. It was as if they had become one and the same.

Her father had told her stories about Bonded Pairs when she was younger, and Professor Sycamore had mentioned something similar when she first became Coxyclaque. Was that what this Tower was dedicated to studying? Was that what Professor Sycamore wanted them to find out?

"This one's pretty cool." Adrien said, but he sounded just as confused as Marinette felt. Maybe he just realized she was staring at it with more scrutiny than necessary and wanted to make her happy.

"I…I should go talk to Professor Sycamore." Marinette said, and turned before she could stop herself.

One of Korrina's Lucarios (the same one that knocked her over) was guarding the office door, keeping a close eye on the students to make sure they didn't break anything, but it did not seem too surprised or concerned when Marinette rushed up. It stopped her before she could swing the door open and burst in, which was probably a good thing because she had no idea what she would say if she did. But he did step aside and allow her to press her ear against the door, allowing her to pick up the conversation.

"—we thought it had something to do with the Keystone." That was Korrina speaking. "But you said that these two don't have one?"

"If they do, I haven't seen it yet." And that was Professor Sycamore.

"Then I wondered what could have triggered it…"

"While the Keystone can affect the bonds between people and pokémon, it is not the sole factor." That was an older man speaking, one that Marinette did not recognize. "Although, I have never heard of facilitating a Bond Phenomenon without a Keystone to power it."

"Ah, is that why you have one with your Mega Evolution?" Professor Sycamore asked.

"Yup yup!" Korrina said. "We have to imagine that pokémon like Groudon and Kyogre don't need a Keystone because of events like Primal Reversion, but they're legendary pokémon. I doubt that kind of power can be harnessed by the average Bidoof."

"Bond Phenomenons must have a different source of power than Mega Evolution." The older man said.

"Which means we're back to square one with our research." Professor Sycamore sighed.

"That's a shame." Korrina said. "I would have loved to make a Bond with my Lucarios!"

"That brings us to the other item of discussion." The older man said. "Have you decided on whether any of your students should receive a Keystone, Professor?"

"Ah, all of my students are worthy in theory, but few of them have a pokémon we know is capable of Mega Evolving." Professor Sycamore said. "There is always M. Chloé, but—"

All of a sudden, Marinette felt like her back was on fire. She shot up, head colliding into Adrien's chin, but she didn't care about that. All she cared about was getting the Egg Incubator off of her back as quickly as possible. She thought it must be malfunctioning with all of that heat, but no. It was doing exactly what it was supposed to be. The egg was hatching!

The egg shell did not so much chip away as it melted off, slowly revealing the pokémon inside. She saw the small red horns first, emitting tiny flames that helped melt away the shell. Then the fuzzy white head, then blue eyes, and finally small back legs. This was it. This was her pokémon.

"Wow, congrats Marinette!" Adrien said.

The Larvesta crawled out of the Egg Incubator and up Marinette's arm, chirping happily as it went. Marinette felt pride swell in her chest.

"Hello there…Nooroo." She said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Nooroo?" Chloé scoffed, suddenly very close. "What a dumb nickname for a dumb pokémon of a dumb trainer!"

It seemed she had caught the attention of the rest of the class, and in a moment those in the office were rushing out too.

"Congratulations, Marinette!" Professor Sycamore said.

"Wow, a Larvesta! I've never seen one so close before!" Korrina chimed in.

"You should probably head to the Pokémon Center for a check-up." Max said.

"But if I do that, then I might miss Adrien's gym battle!" Marinette said.

"Relax. It'll only be down the street!" Adrien said. "Plus, I'll have the whole class rooting for me!"

"That's right!" Professor Sycamore said. "Once everyone finishes their research, we'll head down to the gym. We'll get to see the true power of a Successor to the Tower of Mastery!"

It wasn't as if Korrina was a pushover or anything. Even among gym leaders, already the best in the region, Korrina had a reputation for her strength in battle. No, this would be a challenge for anyone. But Adrien was not too worried. For one, he had Plagg, so the type-advantage was already well-covered. More than that, it was Plagg, his partner pokémon and his partner in (stopping) crime. Adrien not only knew first-hand the extent of Plagg's psychic abilities, but he also knew that being Mistigrix allowed Plagg to get even stronger. Sure, he did think of a few strategies in case Plagg lost for whatever reason, but he was sure this battle was going to be his.

One thing he didn't think of in advance was the gym itself. The stadium had been turned into a giant roller-rink, and Adrien had never so much as put on a pair of roller-skates before. He had though of having Plagg push him around psychically, but he didn't want to risk tiring out his pokémon before the match even started. So he settled for being dragged around on a leash by Neufchatel, occasionally hugging the wall for dear life. He wished he had thought to ask Chloé for a few lessons.

Speaking of Chloé…as the battlefield proper came into view, Adrien glanced around at the stadium bleachers. The bleachers were practically packed with tough-looking trainers; Battle Girls and Black Belts. Professor's Sycamore's class was clustered as close to the battlefield as possible…but no Chloé among them. He shouldn't be surprised, Chloé never liked gym battles. Still…he thought she would have stuck around for him.

He turned his attention back to the battlefield, where Korrina, the Evolution fighter, waited for him.

"I already know you're a strong trainer, so let's get this show on the road!" Korrina said. "Go, Mienfoo!"

"Plagg, I choose you!"

"Fake Out, Mienfoo!"

Hey, that was his move! Mienfoo darted across the gym floor, stopping short of Plagg just to slap him across the face.

"Good, now Power-Up Punch!"

"Don't give them the chance, Plagg! Psyshock!"

Plagg's ears unfurled, unleashing a bolt of psychic energy that looked more like lightning. The poor Mienfoo had no time to prepare itself before the attack knocked it to the ground. One down already.

Korrina recalled her pokémon.

"Don't get too cocky just because you have the type advantage. Go, Machoke!"

The burly superpower pokémon appeared next.

"Trap them in with a Rock Tomb!"

Like a character from one of Adrien's animes, the Machoke stomped on the ground and smashed the battlefield into bits. The Machoke picked out the biggest of those bits, boulders barely smaller than Adrien was, and hurled them overhead towards them.

"Plagg!"

But Plagg knew what he was doing. Once they came close enough, Plagg caught the boulders psychically. They wobbled in his grasp, but Plagg managed to toss them back over to the Machoke's side, hitting the fighting type pokémon.

"Shake it off, Machoke, and use Power-Up Punch!"

"Another Psyshock should do it, Plagg!"

Another Psyshock did send the Machoke stumbling out of the attack, but it looked like it was still willing to fight. Fine by him.

"Extrasensory, Plagg!"

There, an attack that Machoke wouldn't just be able to fight through. An attack that would feel as if Machoke were put into a hydraulic press, squeezing the superpower pokémon with sheer psychic power. Sure enough, that was the attack that did it.

Korrina recalled her pokémon and prepared for the next. "Go, Hawlucha!"

A Hawlucha, huh? The wrestling pokémon was barely bigger than Plagg, but Adrien had to remind himself that it could be as strong as a Alakazam. Maybe it was time to give Plagg a bit of a mental break.

"Hawlucha, Flying Press!"

"Charge Beam, Plagg!"

Hawlucha jumped into the air. Plagg's ears unfurled, but this time it released electricity. Bolts of lighting unleashed from Plagg and zapped the Hawlucha out of the sky.

"Good, now another Psyshock!"

One of the best things about Charge Beam was that the remaining electrical energy could be used to help power up special attacks, and both he and Plagg knew this. Plagg unleashed an attack that was charged with both psychic type energy and electric type energy. Hawlucha stood no chance.

Three down, and barely a scratch on them. Still, Adrien wasn't about to let himself get confident. After all, Korrina's strongest pokémon was still next.

"I'm not giving up just yet!" Korrina said. "Go, Lucario!"

There were certain things that needed to be done for newborn pokémon. Registering under a Trainer ID, ensuring it was healthy and happy, ensuring the trainer knew how to take care of a baby pokémon…most of these things were usually handled by a Breeder, but a Pokémon Center worked in a pinch.

Marinette was practically pacing in the Pokémon Center as she waited for Nooroo. She was nervous about him, of course. Who wouldn't be? But she was also nervous about Adrien. She wanted to be there for him. She had missed his battle with Ramos entirely, and missed most of his battle with Grant, and now Korrina. What kind of friend was she if she kept missing all the important things in his life? Not to mention, Korrina was no pushover. Even if Adrien had the type advantage, Korrina wasn't going to let him win easily.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she did not realize when the barrier was placed over the Pokémon Center. She did notice the low murmur around her among the other patrons, that turned into a cacophony as the doors to the Pokémon Center burst open.

"Hi there!" Kid Mime exclaimed. "We're here for your pokémon!"

Now the cacophony was a full-blown panic. People began to run, scream, try and do anything from the attacking Team Prismillion. But Marinette found herself frozen in place. She should become Coxyclaque. But there were too many people around, and she did not dare transform right in front of the enemies she was trying to hide from.

"What, did I say something?" She could hear Kid Mime said, sounding almost sincere.

"Leave it to me. You stay out and reinforce the barrier. Make sure our little bug and cat can't interrupt." Mercury said. He gestured, and a wave of dark pokéballs followed his wave.

No more time to think.

"Rainn, I choose you! Stick Web!"

Thank Mew that Rainn knew exactly what she needed. A thick web formed in front of her, stretching wall-to-wall. The dark pokéballs flew in like Cutieflys, getting stuck in the web.

Mercury arched an eyebrow at her, silently challenging her. Marinette swallowed hard, but she wasn't about to back down now. If she didn't do something, then these thieves were going to take Nooroo.

"It seems I was worried about the wrong kind of bug." Mercury said. "No matter. Dragalge, melt this web."

"Rainn, Haze!"

Marinette just managed to get a glimpse of Dragalge firing an Acid attack before the Haze took effect. That would at least give them a little cover for others to escape. Still, it was too late for her to transform…

She would have to do this on her own.

"Rainn, Aqua Jet!"

Lucario was Korrina's strongest pokémon for a reason. It practically flew across the battlefield, moving too fast for Adrien to plan or for Plagg to hit. The torn-up battlefield did not even deter it, instead giving it the dirt it needed for the occasional Bone Rush. All Plagg could do was throw up Quick Guard after Quick Guard in an attempt to block its attacks.

It wasn't going to last, and they both knew it.

"Let's give it everything we have, Plagg! Psychic!"

"Power Up Punch, Lucario!"

There was nothing either of them could do. Lucario got there first, and knocked Plagg out with a quick punch.

Adrien felt his heart sink, but he forced himself to stay focused.

"You did great, Plagg." He said as he recalled his pokémon.

Well, now what? He did have a backup plan in Neufchatel, but that would make the type advantage in Korrina's favor. It could go either way. Maybe after this battle, he should look into catching more pokémon…

"Korrina!"

Both participants froze as a Rollerskater Girl rushed up to the gym leader.

"There's a huge problem at the Pokémon Center! Team Prismillion is attacking!" The girl cried.

A loud murmur filled the gym as the audience processed what the Rollerskater had said. But Korrina remained calm, giving a tight nod to the trainer and recalling her pokémon.

"This match is forfeit." Korrina announced. "Sorry, Adrien, there's something I gotta take care of."

"I'm going with you." The words were out of Adrien's mouth before he had time to process them. But it wasn't like he had a choice. Marinette was at that Pokémon Center.

"It's dangerous, you know." Korrina said.

"I know." He wouldn't tell her that he had already faced down Team Prismillion numerous times since his lady was so concerned about her secret identity.

"Hmmm…well, maybe you can earn your gym badge another way, then!"

Marinette was running out of options. Rainn only had so many offensive moves, and Mercury and his Dragalge had chased them all around the Pokémon Center now. At the very least, they had managed to help the others to safety, hiding them in locked operating rooms. But that still left all the Pokémon either in storage PCs or in treatment right now. That still left Nooroo.

"Rainn, Bubble Beam!"

"Twister."

The Dragon-type attack popped the bubbles before they could even get close, and knocked Rainn to the side in the process.

"Poison Tail."

Rainn was already feeling the effects of the last few poison attacks. She couldn't handle another one. Marinette found herself recalling her pokémon.

What now? She could use Longg, but she worried about what other Dragon type moves Dragalge was hiding. She didn't dare use Tikki and let Mercury put two-and-two together. That left Wayzz, which…

"Merc! Merc, wait!"

Both froze as Kid Mime rushed up to them.

"Someone broke my Barrier!" Kid Mime cried. "I think it's a new hero?"

What?

Marinette did not have a lot of time to process. A wave of Psychic energy sent them all to the ground. Marinette glanced back up only to see someone tower over her.

At first glance, she thought she was looking at a Kirlia. White dress with a pink bow, green stockings, a large bow holding up her hair, piercing red eyes…but it took Marinette a second to process the blonde hair in a single ponytail instead of the two green pigtails, the white ballet slippers underneath the green stockings, and the considerably tanned skin. No, this was unmistakably a human. Unmistakably another Bond.

The Pokémon Center had mostly been evacuated by the time Adrien and Korrina arrived. The crowd parted for Korrina, but Adrien had to shove his way through. By the time he got there, the day had already been saved.

He noticed the new hero first, of course. It was hard not to notice her, and not just because she was a new hero. She commanded attention, her aura dominating even doing something as simple as walking out of the Pokémon Center. But then he noticed Marinette, being carried bridal style by this new hero and clearly hating it.

"Marinette!" He called as he shoved past the crowd, ready to help.

Marinette landed to the floor with a thud as the new hero struck a pose, clearly forgetting she had been carrying her at all. Adrien could dimly hear the sounds of cameras and Holocasters going off, but he didn't care.

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked as he crouched at her side.

"Fine." Marinette spat out. "I didn't even hurt my leg. She just picked me up on my own."

"I don't think peasants like you should complain when a hero saves you." The hero said, looking down on them and placing a hand on her hip.

"P—peasants?" Marinette stammered.

"That's right!" The hero said. She turned to the rest of the crowd that had amassed, and spoke in a clear, confident tone. "For today, you have all bore witness to Marchioness' heroic debut!"

There was a flash of pink light, and then there was Chloé, standing exactly where Marchioness had been before, a smug smile still on her face. Adrien could hear the cameras behind him become more frenzied as he realized exactly what he just saw. It was Chloé. Chloé was the new hero. And Chloé had just de-transformed in front of a national audience.

Marinette: Tikki (Ledian), Wayzz (Dottler), Longg (Vibrava), Rainn (Surskit), Nooroo (Larvesta)

Adrien: Plagg (Meowstic), Neufchâtel (Skitty)

Chloé: Kirlia, Floette, Mawile

Author's Notes: A new hero approaches!

The Pokemon World timeline is a little…loose. I'm assuming that the events of X/Y are taking place around the same time as Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, which are subsequently taking place around gen 1/Fire Red and Leaf Green. Hence, Mega Evolution is a rare and barely used phenomenon that not a lot of people know about. In X/Y, only a select few even know about Mega Evolution. By OR/AS, Mega Evolution becomes a little more public knowledge what with Team Magma/Aqua try to use it to take over the world with Primal Reversion and prominent trainers like Steven and Brendan/May using it in Championship battles. Then 20 years later in Sun/Moon, even Schoolteachers can use Mega Evolution and use it to kick my ass in the Battle Royal Dome.

Hot take: I think the Tower of Mastery interior looks kind of boring. Really drab colors, only one statue of a Mega pokemon (and of course it's Lucario it's always Lucario)…so I made changes. The design is supposed to be more akin to the Kalos Elite Four stage in Smash. Which does make a bit of in-universe sense, actually, considering they're both places for only the strongest trainers in Kalos. They were probably made at the same time.

(If we're really keeping track, only the Mega Evolutions announced during X/Y would appear as statues in the Tower of Mastery because the others hadn't been discovered yet but I didn't want to list off every pokemon so just know that was the plan from the start)(Excluding Mewtwo, of course, because he's only like a year old at this point)

I love Mega Evolution. I was really disappointed to see that they only kept it for gen 6. I'm fine with Z-Crystals since they're actually a better version of the concept (a massive power-up that all pokemon can use that also helps shape the lore and gameplay), but I don't see why they couldn't just keep Dynamaxing but use the Gigantamax designs for more Mega Evolutions (probably because then there would be three Mega Evolved Charizards, to which I say "stop giving Charizard power-ups! It stopped being cool the second time!") At the very least, please give my girl Flygon a cool new form.