"Please," I reached out my hand desperately. "Please! I can save you!"

Mira smiled at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. Then blood filled my vision and I sunk into darkness. Images flashed around me. The pouring rain as the Cult of Chaos advanced on the Tower of Majesty, their attack in the middle of Lumiose, and the murders they commited, including the girl I failed to save.

Waves of dark pink and violet splashed around me, rising above my neck, choking me. I felt myself sinking into the chaos around me, my mind buzzing. A dark shape swam around me in a zigzagging pattern, giant claws curling around my middle.

"Oh sweet, sweet hero," the voice cooed, like venom coursing through my entire being. "You were so important. A necessary sacrifice for me to rise."

"However," her claws sunk into my side and I gasped in pain, liquid surging into my body. "My cult decided she would be the best course of action. A new sacrifice."

"Do not worry," a single claw was dragged down the length of my body. "I won't let them kill you. While you may no longer be a part of the plan, I do wish for you to witness my return. They think you can stop me from rising, but I want you to watch in despair as chaos engulfs the Earth once more. You will see the end of days and you will be broken, unable to do a thing to stop me."

I saw Mira floating above me, lifeless eyes haunting me. "She will not be the last, I promise you, Hero Born of Darkness."

...

My eyes snapped open, awakening into a dark room. Hard floorboard pressed against my back, the sound of the wind outside producing eerie noises in this old house. Sitting up, I groaned, my back aching. Then I stopped, my gaze fixed on the little girl in front of me. With her white dress, she seemed to glow in the darkness. Her dark hair flowed behind her, her face hidden behind shadows. A Drifloon seemed to float down from thin air, grabbing the girl's hands. She seemed to smile as she was pulled back and up into the air, vanishing into nothing.

...

"I told you the house was a bad idea," Robert said, shivering as the light rain managed to drip through the large leaves that looked as if Fall had already arrived. "Things never go right when ghosts are involved."

"Tell me about it," I glanced back at the run-down house we had for some reason thought it was a good place to spend the night in. "Never doing something like that again."

"You ever look at the branches and see gnarled hands reaching towards you," Alex pointed at said branches, reaching over the path.

"Stop," Robert pressed his hands over both ears. "Stop I say!"

Alex grinned. "What? Is the big baby scared of ghosts?"

Robert shot a glare at her. "They're not natural."

"What about Ghost types?" I asked.

"Not natural," Robert repeated. "There are so many twisted myths and stories surrounding Ghost types and their origins."

"So you really don't like ghosts?" Alex looked surprised. "You've mentioned it, but you've never really acted like it. I mean, Zeno had Mimikyu as one of his travelling Pokemon before."

Robert shrugged as our feet splashed through the murky swamp. "Well, Mimikyu is an oddity in their own right. Some Ghost types are different than the rest, but the majority have some twisted backstory to them."

The wind shifted, blowing towards us, carrying with it fall-colored leaves.

"It's the height of summer," I plucked one out of the air. "And yet it's fall over there."

Just ahead of us now, further down the path, was Laverre City. The swamp gave way to a clear and dry path as the grass became green. We were coming down a hill, some houses closer together than others, paths connecting the city. There were fields of grass with children and Pokemon playing, and trees scattered around in groups. A huge autumn-colored tree stood tall over the rest by a good amount, growing behind a mansion with what looked like a catwalk for models. A river snaked through the valley, leading to a more modern city with a riverwalk and bridge connecting the city on both sides of the river.

Alex breathed in. "Feels like summer is ending early. It's nice."

"The city of otherworldly dreams," I read off a sign we were coming up on.

"Certainly feels like it," Robert nodded. "Home to the Fairy-type Gym Leader of the Kalos Region."

"Hey, would you look at that," Alex pointed at the huge tree growing behind the mansion, big reddish-orange and white mushrooms growing on it. "There's a clock engraved into it... odd."

"What?" Robert and I both asked, looking at the clock.

"There's 13," Alex looked puzzled.

"13 what?" I blinked, then said, "Oh."

"A clock with 13 hours," Robert mused. "It was mentioned in a travel guide I had read, though it didn't really talk about it much. Maybe we can find out more about it now that we're here."

"So," Alex looked at a second path that branched off to the left. "Should we head towards the main city?"

"If you want to do your gym battle right away," Robert pointed down the path we were already on. "The mansion is the gym, which also doubles as a place for fashion shows."

"Hmm," I looked down at my pants, seeing how they were still soggy and both wet and dried mud stuck to them. "How about we head to the city first. I could do with a change of clothes."

"Oh, right," Alex shook her leg, mud getting flung everywhere. "How did I forget about that. Yeah, I agree with Zeno. It's been a while since we got new clothes anyway."

"To the city it is then," Robert nodded, leading us down the path. "This is actually good. There's this cafe I heard was really sublime. A lovely view of the river as well..."

...

"Hey," Alex called, heading over to where Robert and I were waiting. We had found the cafe Robert had talked about and agreed to meet back there once we got the supplies we needed. Frogadier and Lucario were both out, both having some pokefood.

Alex sighed when she saw the both of us. "I'm the only one who changed their look, huh."

She now was wearing cross-laced olive shorts and an autumn-themed t-shirt with that 13-hour clock on it, carved from the wood of a tree by the looks of it.

"I found them and decided to get them for the heck of it," Alex shrugged, sitting down. "Looking at you two, I can see things never change."

"Robert," she pointed a finger at him. "I can understand. Those are normal clothes. You on the other hand," she directed her finger at me now. "All black? Again? Can't you ever just wear something with color for once?"

"I did," I pointed out. "When you forced me to in Alola. Those were not fun times."

"Honestly," I shrugged. "Black makes me feel comfortable. Any other color and I feel out of place, like I stand out."

Alex sighed again. "Fine, do what you wish. Anyway, I figured out what this meant."

She pointed at the 13-hour clock on her shirt. "It's apparently supposed to signal the Witching Hour when it strikes 13. Only, according to everyone I asked, the hands never touch 13. At least not that anyone has been able to notice."

"What?" Robert looked confused. "How has no one seen it? You think someone would have just watched the hands move."

"That's what I asked," Alex nodded. "A passing trainer with a Charizard overheard my question and said that he had tried that himself. According to him, he must've blinked at some point because the hands had pass the 13 without him even realizing it, making its way to the 1. He also noted that time seemed a bit "odd" for a few seconds."

"Each place has its quirks," I finished my coffee. "What is the "Witching Hour"?"

"Apparently it's an hour outside of normal time where the human and supernatural realm intertwine," Alex explained. "It also said to be the time when fairies are at their strongest."

"Interesting," I noted.

Robert grunted. "Sounds like ghosts to be honest. Not my cup of tea."

Alex and I just stared at him as he sipped his tea. Even with topics that he hated, he still managed to find a way to slip a joke in.

"Unbelievable," Alex shook her head, voicing both of our thoughts. "Anyway, how about we-"

"Oh, hello again," a guy said, walking over to us, the greeting directed at Alex. "I thought I recognized you. You were that girl from earlier asking about the clock."

The older teen had messy black hair and blue eyes. He wore grey baggy pants, black boots and leather jacket, and a pale blue scarf that stuck out on both ends behind him. Beside him was a Charizard, the flame on his tail brighter and bigger than seen on most other Charizards. He also looked stronger, a metal neck brace of sorts at the base of his neck, a megs stone gleaming in the sunlight. Lucario locked eyes with Charizard, tensing, seeming ready to prove himself in a battle with the Fire and Flying type.

"What do you need?" I asked, though I had a good idea.

"I want to battle," he said predictably, looking at Lucario and the Mega Stone on his wrist. "With him. A battle between two Megas."

"We were just about to head down to the gym for our battle," I rubbed the back of my head. "But I wasn't planning on using Lucario in that battle anyway, since he would have somewhat of a type disadvantage. Lucario," I looked at him. "What's your say? Wanna battle?"

Lucario smashed both his fists together, growling as he narrowed his eyes at Charizard.

The guy nodded. "I see your Lucario is eager. Does that mean you will accept?"

"Why not," I stood and grinned. "The name's Zeno."

"Alain," the older teen replied. "I desire to defeat every Mega Pokemon there is with my Mega Charizard."

He patted Charizard's stomach and the big Fire type grr'ed in agreement.

"I guess you could say I'm on this journey for Frogadier here," I rubbed his head affectionately. "But don't underestimate me for a simple reason like that."

...

"Alright," Robert clapped his hands. "This will be a one-on-one battle between Zeno and Alain! Once one Pokemon faints, the battle will be decided! You may begin!"

"Charizard," Alain held up his right hand. "Respond to my heart! Surpass evolution! Mega Evolve!"

Golden lines connected trainer and Pokemon, Charizard growing bigger, blue flames coming out of the sides of his mouth. When the light died, Charizard's body was black and blue, the flame on his tail bigger than ever, burning a deep blue.

"This took some serious modifications," I whipped out my knife, my Keystone lodged into the bottom of the hilt. "But it works!"

I pressed my thumb against the bottom of the hilt, the orb glowing as beams of light connected Lucario and I. "Let our trust never wane and our fighting spirit never diminish! Show them the power of our bond! Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

Lucario howled as he mega evolved, aura swirling around him.

"Charizard," Alain raised his hand. "Flamethrower!"

Charizard leaned his head back, then let loose a blast of blue fire, stronger than even Arcanine's.

"Bone Rush!" I shouted. "Use your aura and block the attack!"

Lucario formed a long bone, twirled it, and slammed it into the ground in front of him, a wind of aura blasting around him. The flames were repelled, splitting into two once nearing the bone.

"Now!" I raised my hand. "Aura Sphere!"

Lucario shot forwards, forming a sphere of energy between his palms.

"Dragon Claw!" Alain yelled.

Charizard's claws grew longer and glowed with draconic energy as he blasted himself towards Lucario. The Fighting type shot the attack, but Charizard sliced through it, bearing the resulting explosion, and slicing his claws across Lucario's chest. He flew backwards, rolling along the ground, before leaping to his feet.

"Hang in there," I grimaced, clutching my heart, feeling our bond spike. "Stay in control."

Lucario breathed heavily, shaking his head, controlling his aura, if only barely.

Alain sighed. "It seems your bond isn't as strong as I had thought. It has a lot of power behind it, but it's fragile. Look, you're barely able to hold it together."

"You haven't seen our true power," I managed a grin. "Power-Up Punch!"

Lucario howled and leaped towards Charizard, fist glowing.

"Flamethrower!"

"Bone Rush!"

Lucario flung a bone down, slicing through the fire attack, driving home a fist into Charizard's head.

"Inferno!" Alain shouted.

A cyclone of fire erupted around Charizard, blasting a smoking Lucario away. He skidded along the dirt. It looked as if he might stay down, but I could feel and practically see his aura rising, head jerking up with beady eyes.

"Charizard," Alain seemed to have lost interest at this point. "Put him down."

Lucario howled as he ran for Charizard, fist pulled back. The Fire type flew above him and blasted a Flamethrower downwards, engulfing the Steel type. When he settled back on the ground, Lucario was laying on the ground, charred and fainted.

Alain sighed as Charizard reverted back to his base form. "It seems I overestimated the both of you. Your bond with your Pokemon is weak."

With that, he turned and walked away, Charizard lumbering after him.

I fell to my knees, gripping my chest, feeling the aftershock of Lucario's and my bond shattering.

"Zeno," Alex ran over and kneeled beside me. "You okay?"

I didn't answer, just stared at the ground, eyes wide as I took deep breaths.

"Your bond with your Pokemon is weak."

I gritted my teeth and stood, ignoring my friends as I walked over to Lucario, who was still fainted on the ground and knelt beside him.

"He defeated us so easily," I held Lucario's paw as my thoughts began to swirl. "Our bond is... fragile..."

"No," I shook my head, trying to gather my usual confidence. "We just need to train more. Overcome the power of your aura."

I squeezed Lucario's paw. "We can't give up. Our bond is strong, we can prove that."

"We have too..."

...

"So you met Zeno?" Lysandre asked, grateful that Alain was able to keep Zeno in the unknown about his move on the Pokeball Factory earlier.

Alain nodded. "I thought he would have been stronger. His bond is weak though, very fragile. And not just with his Mega Lucario."

He looked at his Mega Ring. "This thing is supposed to monitor Mega Evolution readings from both the Pokemon and the trainer. The readings spiked with the Lucario, but once his bond connected with Zeno, it nearly broke."

Lysandre nodded. "Is he not strong?"

"No, that's not it," Alain shook his head. "But he can't hope to keep winning Pokemon battles if his spirit isn't strong enough. If he tries, his bond will shatter."

This chapter should've come out yesterday, but I got distracted (read: got super pissed at a certain Mouse movie company) and my head was filled with unspoken rants. Anyway, finally got Alain into my story. You know, that one guy who had all the pseudo-legendaries in the Kalos League and made sure Ash lost a league for the... 6th time? Yeah, sounds about right. That guy. I actually didn't plan on introducing him this early, but the story went in that direction somehow, so yeah. Next chapter is Zeno's 6th gym battle... against the fairies... Oh god not the fairies! XD! Toodles!