I wanted to deliver this chapter while the iron was hot, and here we are! I hope you all enjoy!

Sky Pillar

Rain devoured the skies of Hoenn as a helicopter flew towards Sky Pillar, carefully landing on an outcropping of rocks. The doors slid open as Ash and Serena stepped out, nodding to the pilot within as he took flight once more and left the two of them in front of the temple. The skies above glowed orange and blue, like fire and water clashing.

"Zinnia must be up there," Ash stated, clenching his fists. "There's no telling what she's planning to do up there."

"We'll have to climb to the top," Serena added. Taking Ash's hand, she smiled at him. He returned the smile, clenching one of his fists as Pikachu cheered.

"Pika!" he pumped his fists, just as determined as his trainer.

"Let's go then," Ash declared.

The two of them stepped inside Sky Pillar, wearily looking around. It appeared to be in ruin as several smashed pillars and rocks dominated the floor. What caught their attention the most however was a gigantic mural, depicting a large serpentine Pokémon flying high above two other creatures that resembled…Kyogre and Groudon?!

"What do you think this is Ash?" Serena questioned. Ash stepped closer to the mural, placing a hand on it as he looked up. The serpentine Pokémon seemed familiar.

Almost too familiar.

"...Rayquaza," Ash muttered. "How did we never see it? Zinnia's going to call upon Rayquaza!"

Route 127

Goh, Chloe, Brendan, May, Sawyer, and Steven were aboard a helicopter as they flew towards the site of the super-ancient Pokémon's battle, deep within the ocean. Clinging onto the railings, the group looked out to see what was going on.

Groudon roared as it faced down Kyogre, clenching a fist and slamming it into the sea. The result was hundreds of giant blades cutting through the water and striking Kyogre from below. The legendary Pokémon howled in pain, before delving under the sea. Groudon looked around to see where Kyogre went, before being slammed by a torrent of water from below. Sliding across the ocean, the legendary Pokémon let out a defiant roar before rearing back its head and unleashing a wave of fire forward. The flame skimmed past the helicopter the group was in as they clung on for dear life, with May even clutching onto Brendan's arm in the process.

"Hehe…" May stammered. The helicopter landed on a small outcropping of rock shortly after, where the group got out.

"I'll state the obvious right now: defeating those two is next to impossible," Steven stated. "What we CAN do however is delay and contain them. Goh, Chloe, and Sawyer will handle Kyogre. Brendan, May, you two are helping me with Groudon."

Everyone nodded as they got into position, staring down the Legendary Pokémon before them.

A battle of the ages was about to begin.

Ash and Serena continued to climb up Sky Pillar, reaching the last set of stairs to the roof. A faint green light could be seen, but other than that they had no clue what awaited them at the top.

"Ash…we'll be okay, right?" Serena questioned. Ash smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. This was the girl he loved, and he wanted to ensure she was fine.

"We've been through worse, Serena," Ash responded. "I won't let Zinnia lay a finger on you. I-"

Serena immediately tackled Ash with a hug, crying softly into his chest. Ash returned the hug as he held onto her, knowing that what awaited them could change everything. Breaking away the hug, the two of them walked up onto the top of Sky Pillar, where a wondrous sight awaited them.

Zinnia had placed a large rainbow shard onto an altar of sorts as she sat in front of it, talking to herself. The altar glowed a light green as it shot a beam into the air.

"...Emerald One, the time has arrived…I call thee forth to save our world…"

Ash and Serena were lucky enough to not be noticed by Zinnia as they stood a few feet away. Ash carefully grabbed a Poké Ball as he rolled it forward along the ground, sending Gengar out. The Ghost-type looked at Ash with a wicked grin.

"Gengar, go give Zinnia a taste of our presence."

Gengar devilishly nodded as he delved into the ground in the form of a shadow, creeping towards Zinnia. Arriving in front of her, he leapt forward from the shadows with a maniacal laugh as Zinnia jumped up in fear, crawling backwards until she collided with Ash and Serena's legs.

"Did you really think you'd be able to get here without being followed?" Ash stated. He and Serena were firmly standing before her, folding their arms as they stared at her. Zinnia smirked in response, getting up as she cleaned off her clothes.

"You two are persistent, I'll give you that," Zinnia snarked. "But you have no right to interfere with what is to come."

"Zinnia, you tried to kill us!" Serena exclaimed. "You annihilated the Space Center!"

"All for a greater cause," Zinnia retorted. "As we speak, a shard of the Megalith is being used to call forth Rayquaza, Hoenn's savior in ages past. From there, I will ride alongside it to shatter the meteor and save our world."

"And why can't we do it?" Ash replied. "Why does it have to be you?"

Zinnia clenched her teeth as she gripped her left fist, tears in her eyes, before throwing it forward at Ash. He took the hit as he fell to the ground, a hand on his cheek, as Serena immediately rushed to his side. Pikachu meanwhile stood on the ground, flaring electricity from his cheeks as he stood before Zinnia to protect his Trainer.

"I…I have nothing if I can't do this," Zinnia cried, tears flowing down her face. "I dreamed of competing in the Pokémon League since I was a little girl, but then this destiny was thrust upon me by…by Aster. I sacrificed my dreams to fulfill her dying wish. I…I can't fail her!"

Ash and Serena looked towards Zinnia, almost feeling sorry for her. Serena was about to walk over to comfort her when a crackle of lightning slammed down on Sky Pillar, a ferocious roar dominating the air. As the group looked up, a ferocious Pokémon descended, resting on the ground.

Rayquaza, Master of the Skies.

Zinnia stepped forward as Ash and Serena looked on in awe, watching the Draconid woman near Rayquaza.

"Rayquaza, Lord of the Skies…Master of Winds…I come today to request your aid in stopping the meteor due to hit our world."

Rayquaza stared down Zinnia, swirling its body around her a few times. Then, out of seemingly nowhere…

Rayquaza lunged at her.

Zinnia was knocked aside by the sudden blow, falling to the ground unconscious. Ash and Serena looked on in horror, before noticing Rayquaza staring the two of them down. Surprisingly, Gengar was terrified of Rayquaza, slipping back into the shadows and diving behind Ash, tapping on his Poké Ball. Ash pulled out the ball and returned Gengar, before looking at Serena and clenching a fist.

"I think there's only one thing left to do," Ash calmly stated. "We have to finish what Zinnia set out to do."

"I…I guess so," Serena nervously added, gulping to herself. Readying a Poké Ball, Serena stared forward at Rayquaza. She and Ash threw their balls forward, uttering the same words as one-another.

"Sceptile! Go!"

Ash and Serena's Sceptiles emerged from their Poké Balls, landing on the ground. Nodding at each other, they turned to face Rayquaza, who had its eyes on the Megalith shard on the altar. It grabbed it and threw it down its throat, before being engulfed by rainbow energy. Ash, Serena, and their Sceptiles attempted to shield their eyes, before the energy cleared to show Rayquaza in a new form.

It had Mega Evolved.

"Leaf Blade!" Ash exclaimed. Sceptile got into a running start, brandishing a glowing green blade, and flipped forward as he struck Rayquaza. The Sky-High Pokémon roared in response, before rearing back its head and firing off a beam of energy at Sceptile.

"Block it with Dragon Pulse!" Serena ordered. Her Sceptile threw forward a blast of energy that hit Rayquaza's own beam, sending it veering away from the Sceptiles. Rayquaza then dived forward at Serena's Sceptile, slamming into her with ferocious force. Ash's Sceptile quickly went to check if she was okay, before turning to face Rayquaza.

"Dual Chop, now!" Ash exclaimed. His Sceptile's arms began to glow purple as he dashed for Rayquaza, jumped onto his back, and threw down a series of slashes. While successful, Rayquaza slammed its tail onto the ground as Ash's Sceptile fell off of its back. Ash then looked to Serena with a smirk, spinning his cap backwards as the two of them shouted their next command in sync, holding hands as they did so:

"Agility Seed!"

Serena's Sceptile ensnared Rayquaza with Leech Seed, grounding it as Ash's Sceptile got into a dash with Agility before slashing forward with Leaf Blade. Rayquaza howled in pain as it took the hit, soaring up into the air, before coming crashing down. It tore a hole inside the middle of Sky Pillar, forcing the Sceptiles to lunge after their Trainers and Zinnia. The ground beneath them shook, before Rayquaza came soaring out of the hole it had created, staring down the Trainers.

"Focus Blast!" Serena exclaimed. Her Sceptile readied a ball of energy in her hands, before tossing it forward at Rayquaza. Unfortunately, Rayquaza darted out of the way before throwing forward a beam of energy at the two Sceptiles. They were caught in the blast and slid across the ground, blocking their eyes.

"Quick Attack!" Ash ordered as his Sceptile got a running start, leaping at Rayquaza. In response, the Sky-High Pokémon lashed out and slammed Sceptile with its tail, sending him flying towards Ash and Pikachu. The three of them collided as Ash and Pikachu slammed into a nearby wall.

"ASH!"

Serena immediately bolted for the duo, Ash in particular groaning as he attempted to get up. Helping him up and hauling his arm over her shoulder, Serena looked forward to see the two Sceptiles looking at their Trainers worriedly. Rayquaza looked on curiously, before slowly descending and moving towards Serena. She outstretched an arm in front of Ash, staring at Rayquaza. She kept thinking to herself how stupid what she was about to do was, but she knew there was no other choice.

"Rayquaza, listen!" Serena exclaimed. "There is a meteorite due to hit the planet, and without your help we'll all die! We can't just keep fighting against you!"

"S-Serena…" Ash stuttered, smiling to himself. She was showing immense courage by making a stand.

"So you can keep attacking us," Serena stated. "You can knock us off this tower and kill us. But it won't matter when the world is about to end!"

"Ray…"

Rayquaza looked at Serena briefly, tilting its head. It then descended fully, un-Mega Evolved, and sat at the altar at the end of the roof.

"We…we did it…" Ash muttered. He looked at Serena, smiling and blushing, before he and Pikachu got into a cheer.

"WE DID IT!"

Serena couldn't help but cheer as well, taking ahold of Ash's hand as they ran towards Rayquaza and hugged it. As they did so however, Zinnia was waking up. Noticing the duo happily interacting with Rayquaza, her eye twitched briefly. One thing was going through her mind at the moment.

And that was that her destiny had been seized from her.

"What..HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Ash and Serena looked behind themselves to see Zinnia staring at them viciously, clenching her teeth.

"You were unconscious Zinnia!" Serena exclaimed. "We had to do something!"

"This was MY destiny!" Zinnia spat. "I was supposed to be Rayquaza's chosen, not two…spoiled brats from Kanto and Kalos!"

"Not entirely true," a voice uttered. The trio looked behind themselves to see a ghost of a young woman standing before them.

"A-Aster…" Zinnia stuttered. "Y-you're dead…"

"As a Draconid, you should know that the spirits of our fallen congregate here, Zinnia," Aster stated. "But stop shaming yourself. You have achieved my last wish, and I couldn't be more proud."

"No…I didn't," Zinnia shamefully noted, tears falling down her face. "These two earned Rayquaza's respect. They robbed me of my destiny."

"Child, I think you misunderstood my words," Aster noted. "Your destiny was never to be Rayquaza's chosen."

"What?"

"Your destiny was to merely awaken it. The Lorekeeper of old was never chosen by Rayquaza after all. They merely guided its chosen to Sky Pillar, whether they knew who they were or not."

"I…oh," Zinnia lowered her head in shame. "I…I had assumed it was my destiny."

Zinnia, shamefully sitting on the ground, began to recall everything she did as the pain and regret entered her mind. Now she realized what had happened.

"I…I nearly killed these two! I blew up the Mossdeep Space Center! No wonder I wasn't Rayquaza's chosen!"

"Zinnia, the acts you committed aren't for me to judge," Aster stated, before pointing at Ash and Serena. "It is for them to judge. I hope you understand."

Aster's ghost faded away as Zinnia outstretched her hand to her. Once she was gone, she looked towards Ash and Serena in shame, frowning to herself.

"I…I'm sorry," Zinnia stated. "I lied to myself, and people were hurt. You were hurt. But it doesn't matter now. You're going to save the world, and I'm…I'm going to be remembered as the terrorist who nearly destroyed it."

Zinnia started to walk away, tears in her eyes, leaving Ash and Serena to stare at her in pity. Despite all of Zinnia's actions, her intentions were pure, if not deceived. Ash was the first to step forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Zinnia, you may have tried to kill us," Ash stated. "You may have destroyed the Space Center. I can't forgive you for those actions. But I can at least thank you for giving us hope again."

"Huh?" Zinnia muttered. At that point, Serena stepped forward, joining hands with Ash and smiling at Zinnia.

"If it wasn't for you, we may never have had a chance," Serena added. "You brought us to Rayquaza, and did what Aster wanted you to do. I…we…thank you."

Zinnia smiled under her tears, before running forward and hugging the duo. They returned the hug, and Pikachu let out a happy cheer.

"Thank you," Zinnia happily said. "Thank you so much. I would love to help, but…I'm kind of a wanted criminal now. Once you two destroy the meteor, there'll be a bounty on my head."

"We won't tell anyone what transpired here," Ash stated. "As far as we're concerned, you died trying to tame Rayquaza, right Serena?"

"R-right," Serena responded, having not realized the implications of Ash's words. "Good luck Zinnia."

Zinnia smiled at the duo as she let Aster and Salamence out of their Poké Balls. Heading onto Salamence's back, Aster in her arms, she waved goodbye before taking flight, heading off into the great unknown.

Currently, Route 127 was a warzone.

Kyogre and Groudon's clash had been intensifying by the minute, with floods and earthquakes reported all across Hoenn. Despite the efforts of the Trainers to contain their fighting, they couldn't seem to stop it. Steven stood along an outcropping of rock as he observed Brendan and May handling Groudon. His Metagross, while powerful, was quickly annihilated by Groudon's Fire-type attacks, forcing him to fall back. As he watched the battle, a pillar of green energy to the west caught his attention.

Were the legends true?

"Ash, you are NOT riding Rayquaza up to the meteor alone!"

After Zinnia's departure, Ash and Serena naturally had to prepare to take on the meteor high above the planet. However, they were in a bit of a pickle as to WHO would do it. Despite Serena's admiration for Ash, he was really beginning to annoy her with how stubborn he was being here.

"Serena, it's incredibly dangerous," Ash responded. "For your sake, I'm doing it alone."

"But we're a team Ash! I'm going whether you like it or not! We are-"

"I…I CAN'T LOSE YOU AGAIN!"

Ash's exclamation of fear shocked Serena as she quickly quieted down. He then sat down on a nearby rock, Serena following shortly after. Ash proceeded to sigh to himself, before looking at Serena. The orange and blue sky created by Kyogre and Groudon, while dangerous, really brought out a glow in her eyes. Ash had never noticed how cute she was in this kind of lighting before.

"Ash, is everything okay?" Serena questioned. He simply took hold of her hand as he stared at her. Breathing in to himself, he knew it was now or never.

He was about to make one of the greatest choices of his life.

"Serena, ever since Mt. Chimney...I've felt this odd feeling of protectiveness around you," Ash stated. "Having you come back into my life was shocking, and it made me think about a lot of things. It reminded me of how much fun we had together, and made me think about how much the two of us have grown."

"Ash, I-"

"It always made me happy whenever you smiled because of something I did. That you always stood up for me. I…I've never been good with interpersonal stuff. I could go on a whole speech about feelings and choices to make, about how I reached this conclusion, but that isn't my style. You said when we'd meet again, I'd like the kind of person you've grown into, and you were right. But I think it's more than that. I think that…"

"I love you Serena."

Serena's heart melted upon hearing those words. She had dreamed of them and fantasized about them for who knows how long. She had always debated on whether or not to tell Ash her feelings.

Only for him to tell her how he felt.

Serena couldn't even speak as she teared up in pure joy. Immediately, she tackled Ash with a hug, burying her face inside his chest as she cried tears of joy. Ash couldn't help but smile to himself as well, returning the embrace as he wrapped his arms around Serena, Pikachu cheering on the two of them as they hugged. Though she hadn't said a word, Ash had a feeling that his feelings were mutual.

"Ash…I've been waiting so long to tell you those words myself," Serena cried out, lifting up her head to see Ash's. "I…I've always admired you for the longest time, and you've always motivated me to push forward. But…there was always this deeper feeling I had for you, and I…I LOVE YOU TOO!"

Serena rested her head on Ash's shoulder as she tightened the hug, continuing to cry happily to herself. Ash's heart had twinged after hearing Serena's admission of her feelings, and he held onto her tight, smiling to himself.

"Serena…I think we should head up to stop the meteor together," Ash stated, still smiling and wiping away a tear. "As…as a couple."

"Y-yeah," Serena responded. "There's no use in us confessing our undying love for each other if the world is about to end after all, right?"

"That's a way of putting it," Ash chuckled. "Let's save the world, then we can discuss where to go from here."

Serena nodded as the two of them broke their hug, walking over to Rayquaza with their hands intertwined.

Together they would be the world's hope.

Bet you didn't expect it to happen here, didn't I?

I wanted to keep the location of the confession a surprise, and didn't tell anyone aside from my beta reader (they also didn't get to beta read it to keep the surprise). This moment is probably what everyone here has been waiting for, but don't dip out just yet: there's plenty of Amour content to come as well as, y'know, the climax. This was an incredibly fun chapter to write, and I hope you enjoyed!