As Ash and his friends stepped through the front door of Byron's manor in Anistar City, they immediately came to a stop as they took in the sight of the enormous, lavishly decorated sitting room, which seemed as if it was the size of a Pokémon Center all by itself. The room was filled with adults in fancy suits and dresses, chatting and laughing with each other, eating classy hors d'oeuvres and sipping from wine glasses. Ash could feel himself shrinking a bit, feeling as if he had walked into someplace he didn't belong.
"I feel underdressed," Madison spoke quietly, thinking along similar lines.
"Yeah… I didn't think the party would be this… classy." Ash looked around at the fancy outfits and haircuts and snacks, searching for caviar, hoping he wouldn't have to eat any while he was here. On his shoulder, his Pikachu was sniffing the air, trying to parse the various smells of food that were mixing together.
"Eh, who cares?" Iris responded, taking a couple of steps forward. "How often are you going to get an opportunity like this? You should enjoy it while you're here."
"Exactly!" Serena chimed in, looking around in wonder, feeling the same rush of energy that she felt on a performance stage. "Think of how many people would love to be here right now, surrounded by all these people!"
Brock chuckled. "Sounds like you're one of them, Serena."
She nodded vigorously, grinning from ear to ear. "I've always wanted to be at a fancy party like this, at least once. Talking with performers and celebrities and…" She abruptly stopped and gasped, her eyes lighting up, and she started running further into the room, waving her hand above her head. "Ah! Monsieur Pierre! You're here!"
The blond-haired, blue-eyed announcer turned at the sound of his name, smiling wide when he saw where it was coming from. "Well, if it isn't the rising star of the performance world! I shouldn't be surprised that you were invited here."
"Ah, thank you… but I'm here with Ash, actually," she clarified, as her friends walked up behind her. "Byron owes him a favor, so here we are."
Pierre's eyebrows raised, as his eyes flicked in Ash's direction. "Oh, really? Well, if you should have anybody indebted to you, it's hard to do better than a billionaire philanthropist." He chuckled and turned his gaze back toward Serena. "So how have you been spending your time, now that you've already collected your Princess Keys?" His words were a bit difficult for Ash to parse, coated in a heavy accent that swallowed many of his consonants. Serena seemed to have no trouble following along, however; for that matter, neither did Madison.
"Oh, this and that," Serena answered. "I've been raising a new Pokémon that I caught recently, I've been spending time with Shauna and Aria… but I've also been spending a lot of time planning my performances for the Master Class." She had to crane her neck up to meet his gaze, as the man was well over six feet tall, towering over most of the guests.
"I'm glad to hear it," Pierre replied. "After your incredible Performance Battle, the people of Kalos are going to have some high expectations of you. Do you think you can live up to them?"
She put on a confident smile to hide her nerves. "I certainly hope so."
"Have there been any other Performance Battle showcases?" Iris asked a question that had been burning in her mind since they left Lumiose City. "Has anyone else been doing performances like ours?"
"Ehm… yes, they have, but…" Pierre began, his smile fading away. "I should probably tell you that your style of Performance Battle is likely to be banned in the near future."
"Banned?!" Iris's eyes shot open wide. "How come?"
"It is simply too dangerous for most performers," he explained. "Last week, one poor girl in Dendemille Town was hit in the chest with a Dark Pulse."
"Oh my gosh!" Serena's hand rose up to cover her mouth. "Is she okay?"
Pierre nodded. "She will be alright, but her performance season is likely over. Most performers do not have the talent and the skill that you have." He rested his hands on his cane. "I believe the performance rules will be changed so that a Pokémon attack cannot be fired at a performer."
"That's too bad," Ash chimed in. "Serena's performance was so good! It's a shame that nobody else will be able to have one like that."
"It is a shame, but the health and safety of the performers must come first. That Performance Battle will go down in Kalos showcase history as a rare jewel." Pierre turned his gaze back toward Serena. "But we have other things to discuss, I think. I wanted to let you know that I will be hosting another ball for the performers, not long before the Master Class."
"Oh!" Serena's eyes sparkled. "That's great news! Thank you for telling me!"
Pierre smiled, glad to see that she was already looking forward to it. "As before, you each will be expected to bring a date with you, if possible. And Battle Partners will each get their own invitations, with their plus-ones." His eyes darted toward Iris for a moment.
"Where will that be?" Serena asked. "In Fleurrh City again?"
He nodded. "I'll be making an announcement in the next few days, through the official channels. But you may consider yourself the first guest to be invited."
"I'm honored," she replied, beaming. "Thank you so much!" She couldn't stop her chest from swelling with pride.
He bowed his head. "I have some other guests waiting on me, but it was a pleasure talking to you, Miss Serena. I'll be waiting to see you in Fleurrh City." He smiled at her as he turned away and took his leave, walking further into the room.
"Another ball…" she spoke dreamily to nobody in particular. "I was hoping there would be something like that this year."
"I remember the ball from the last time we traveled together," Ash spoke up. "I hope this one is as fun as the last. Eating, battling, even the dancing was fun, really."
Serena shot him a playful smirk. "Oh, so you just assume that you'll be going with me?"
He blinked in surprise for a moment, but he quickly caught onto the joke, putting on his own smirk as he looked away. "Fine, then. Go and invite someone else. See if I care."
She grinned and turned to face him, unwilling to keep up the charade for very long. "Ash, would you be my date to the ball?"
He smiled back at her, their eyes meeting. "Of course I will! I'm looking forward to it!"
"Oh my gosh, you two are such dorks." Iris shook her head, trying to appear exasperated, though she couldn't stop a smile from gracing her lips.
"What about you, Iris?" Serena looked toward her old Battle Partner. "You get to invite somebody, too."
"Huh… that's true." Iris thought for a moment, before turning to look toward Brock. "You want to go to a party?"
"Are you kidding?" Brock gestured toward himself with both thumbs. "I am the party!" Iris let out a small giggle at his bravado.
Serena grinned at them before shifting her gaze toward the youngest performer among them. "Madison, how about you?"
"Hm…" Madison looked down and held her chin in one hand. "I'm not sure… maybe Barrett will be free then…" She started thinking hard on it, trying to identify her potential dates. Ash watched her for a moment before looking back toward Monsieur Pierre, who was easy to spot in the crowd due to his height.
"You know, I've been wondering," he began. "Where is Pierre from? His accent is really strong. I haven't heard many like it before. He's not from Kalos, is he?"
Madison looked up, following Ash's gaze. "He's got to be. That's a traditional Kalosian accent, through and through."
"Really?" Ash sounded surprised. "I haven't heard almost anyone else in Kalos talk like that. You two don't talk like that."
"It's more common with older adults, who grew up speaking Kalosian in their homes," Serena explained. "Most people these days, especially children, speak the common tongue when they're at home. Or they speak both."
"Do you speak any Kalosian, Serena?" Iris asked.
"Oui, c'est vrai," Serena replied as she turned back toward her friends, slipping into a flawless Kalosian accent exactly like Monsieur Pierre's. "Je parle le kaloçais depuis tout petit."
"Ah, moi aussi!" Madison chimed in excitedly. Serena grinned and rubbed her shoulder briefly.
The other three stared at her for a moment, a bit dumbstruck. Brock eventually spoke up, rubbing his head. "I guess that's a yes…?"
"Bien sûr." Serena nodded. "Ever since I was young. I don't often get a chance to use it, though."
"That's so cool!" Ash exclaimed. "I love the way that sounds!" The words "in your voice" were left unspoken. "Man, I wish I could speak another language."
"Do you?" Brock glanced down at him. "What language would you speak if you could?"
Ash looked upward, thinking about it for a moment. "I guess I'd want to be able to talk to Pokémon."
Serena giggled. "Why am I not surprised?"
The others chuckled along with her, as they started walking further into the manor, wanting to explore everything that the party had to offer.
Far away from Byron's manor in Anistar City, there was a remote, heavily-hidden facility that was bustling with activity. Scientists wearing white lab coats were conducting experiments with studious rigor, while people wearing Team Ace uniforms were wandering the halls, performing security patrols, delivering needed materials and more. All of them were doing their jobs as usual, some of them bitter that they wouldn't be able to party like their boss. None of them were aware that there was an intruder in their midst.
An unusual creature was moving carefully through the hallways, hiding within shadows or behind crates. It spent most of its time staying still, plotting its movements carefully, blinking in and out of existence as it teleported from one location to the next. It had difficulty keeping itself completely hidden, due to its unusual white body and its distinctive purple tail, but its powerful psychic abilities were able to "persuade" anyone who got too close that they had not actually seen anything.
Soon, Mewtwo had entered a large, darkened laboratory, one that most of the workers and scientists did not even dare to approach. He took a careful look around, spotting a number of complicated devices and mysterious stones, certain that he had found what he was looking for. As he slowly glided further into the room, hovering in the air, a piercing alarm started blaring through the facility, and the room was instantly lit up in bright lights. Mewtwo's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't noticed any sort of security system present in this room; whatever they were using, it was a new technology he was unfamiliar with.
He turned as he heard the door open behind him, and a number of security guards started pouring in, immediately tossing out Poké Balls and summoning their own Pokémon into the fray. As they started issuing commands to attack, Mewtwo's eyes began to glow purple, and each of the Pokémon were soon surrounded by an aura of the same color. They struggled to move as they rose into the air, before being flung all around the room, crashing into walls and slumping to the ground, defeated in an instant. Mewtwo could see the guards staring in fear and astonishment at their helpless Pokémon, before turning their attention back to the intruder.
"If you don't want the same thing happening to all of you, I suggest you leave," he spoke, projecting his voice into each of their minds. "Don't make the mistake of thinking I would spare any of you." The guards hesitated, weighing their options. Some of them had their hands on other Poké Balls already, but none of them had the courage to throw them and continue the battle.
"Hold it, all of you." Everyone turned toward the entrance to the laboratory, stepping aside to give the speaker the space to step inside. Mewtwo watched as a brunette woman in a suit jacket and a pencil skirt walked into the room, her eyes locked on his from behind a pair of rimless glasses. "There's no need to fight before we've even had a chance to talk."
Mewtwo was intrigued by the woman's apparent lack of fear, as well as the intimidating effect her presence seemed to have on the guards. "And you are…?"
"My name is Rosanna. I act as Head of Operations for Team Ace." She folded her arms. "Tell me, Mewtwo, what brings you to our laboratory today?"
Walking up an enormous staircase to the second floor of Byron's manor, the five Pokémon trainers were taken aback once again by the scene before them. The gigantic room in front of them was filled with numerous green-felt tables, with party guests crowded around each. Each of them was handling playing cards, rolling dice, or spinning roulette wheels.
"Whoa!" Brock looked around in amazement. "He's got an entire casino here!"
"Holy cow." Iris did the same, stepping forward. "When this guy throws a party, he really goes all out." Taking a more careful look around, she noticed the outer edge of the room was lined with white busts of Byron, each of them wearing a pair of tacky plastic sunglasses. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Can't say he's a great decorator, though…"
Ash followed her lead, walking further into the room, and the others trailed behind him. He only made it a few feet before he noticed someone calling out to him; turning to his left, he spotted a party attendant waving him over, standing behind a reception desk.
"If any of you are interested in playing, you'll need a stack of chips." The attendant reached behind the desk, clasping a stack of red poker chips in her fist and handing them over to Ash. "Each of you gets ten thousand Pokédollars worth of chips. Use them wisely!"
Ash's eyes bugged out of his head. "Ten thousand?! You're just giving us these?!" He looked down at the chips in his hand with reverence, as if he was holding a pile of solid gold.
The attendant laughed lightly. "That's just their chip value. You can't exchange these for real money. However, if you're able to earn enough chips, you can exchange them for prizes at the opposite end of the hall."
"Oh…" He sounded a little disappointed as he looked at the chips, seeing only a pile of plastic once again, as his friends stepped up and each received their own chip stacks. Once they all had their money to play with, they started wandering through the casino, looking for a game that any of them knew how to play. The group eventually converged around a roulette table, eyes wandering over the grid of numbers printed on the green felt.
"How does this game work?" Serena asked aloud, watching as other guests placed chips onto various squares. "We just pick numbers?"
"That's right," the croupier answered, standing near the wheel. "Pick the number that you think the wheel will choose. If you're right, you win!"
Ash looked down at the chips in his hand, shrugging as he took one and placed it on the table. "Let's go with, uh… 15. Since I'm fifteen years old."
The others stood back and watched as the croupier spun the roulette wheel, letting it turn for a moment before dropping a marble onto it. The marble eventually fell into one of the open slots, and when the wheel stopped spinning, the winning number was clear for everyone to see: 15.
"Oh, wow! First try!" Madison exclaimed, amazed. She watched as the croupier gathered a stack of chips and pushed them toward a victorious Ash with a wooden stick.
"Haha! Awesome!" Ash was grinning wide as he inspected his winnings, liking this game already. Looking to his left, he spotted one of the busts of Byron just a foot away from him; he snatched the sunglasses off of the bust and placed them on his face. "Just call me Cash Ketchum!" he declared with a cocky swagger, making finger guns with his hands and pointing them at his friends.
"I am not calling you that," Serena declared flatly. The others, including Pikachu, quickly agreed.
"Hey! Look who it is! The man of the hour!" All of them turned to look at the loud voice that was calling out to them, carrying over the noise of the room. They could see Byron waving and walking over, dressed in the same casual outfit he always wore.
"Oh! Byron! Hey!" Ash smiled as he saw the man approach, pleasantly surprised at how glad Byron was to see him.
"I was wondering when you would show up," Byron continued as he caught up with the group. He reached out and grabbed the sunglasses off of Ash's face. "Take those off, you look ridiculous." He tossed them aside, knocking over Ash's stack of chips on the roulette table, before grabbing his wrist and raising his hand into the air.
"Hey, everyone, listen up!" Byron shouted, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "This here's the guest of honor, Ash Ketchum! He's going to be the next Kalos League Champion! Everyone give him a hand!" Ash could feel his face heating up as everyone in the room applauded for him; this was starting to feel a bit like a strange dream.
Byron quickly let go of Ash's wrist. "Come on, follow me. I've got something for you in my office." He started walking off, and Ash quickly hurried after him. The others trailed behind him, while Brock took a moment to collect Ash's chips before following.
After a minute of navigating hallways, the group found themselves in Byron's office, which looked to be the size of a small apartment. At one end of the room was an immaculately clean desk with a computer on it, though the surrounding cabinets had folders and papers stacked all over them. The rest of the room was covered with memorabilia, expensive-looking souvenirs, and a large collection of Mega Stones. Ash and the others looked around curiously, while Byron started rifling through drawers in his desk.
"Let's see, I know it's in here somewhere…" he muttered to himself. "Where did I-" He paused, his train of thought interrupted by something, before reaching down to his pocket. He pulled out his expensive-looking phone and glanced at the screen, groaning. "Ah, cripes."
"Is something wrong?" Serena asked, turning to him.
"One of my lawyers is calling about something," he answered, walking back to the center of the room. "It's pretty important." He held out his phone so everyone could take a look. The screen showed an incoming call from a contact that had been named "Lawyer (Actually Important)".
Iris blinked. "Did you really save the contact like that?"
"I'm pretty sure Rosanna did, but she won't own up to it," he answered, moving toward the door. "Anyway, I gotta take this. Stay here and don't touch anything important or valuable."
Madison looked around nervously. "Everything in here looks important or valuable…"
"Well then, don't touch anything," Byron replied. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He walked out the office door and quickly entered another one across the hall, entering a small, soundproofed room the size of a closet. He shut the door and securely locked it, sitting down on a chair and answering the call on his phone. He read through several text messages, catching up on the developments that had happened, staying silent and listening carefully.
"I'm here to do some research of my own in this laboratory of yours."
Mewtwo continued to hover above the ground as he stared down Rosanna, who was meeting his gaze without showing even a hint of intimidation. The various guards had taken up positions behind her, ready to step in if anything went wrong, though they weren't sure what they were supposed to do against this Pokémon's incredible psychic might.
"Research?" she reiterated, raising one eyebrow. "And what exactly are you intending to research?"
"Retinite."
Rosanna kept quiet, not sure how to respond. She put on her best poker face, trying to appear innocent and ignorant, hoping that this Pokémon couldn't read her mind. "Retinite…?"
Mewtwo snorted. "Yes, Retinite. A particular kind of mineral that has absorbed trace amounts of Mega Energy. And with the right techniques, this energy can be used to coerce standard evolution stones into becoming functioning Mega Stones. I believe the scientists of Team Ace are well versed in these techniques."
Rosanna continued to listen quietly, not giving anything away, wanting to know exactly how much Mewtwo knew. She could hear a clicking sound in her ear, which told her that Byron was now listening in, having received her phone call.
"The problem is how much of the mineral is required to make a single Mega Stone," he continued on. "The only efficient way to get enough Retinite for a continuous supply of Mega Stones is to mine it." He hovered closer, threateningly. "Over the course of several years, thousands of tons of Retinite were mined, from an enormous vein that stretched for over a hundred miles… until eventually, the whole thing collapsed, causing massive devastation all along western Kalos."
The woman pushed her glasses up, taking a moment to form her reply. "The Vein Collapse was an unfortunate and tragic accident. The supporting structures of the mine deteriorated over several years, and were not bolstered as they should have been." She placed her hands behind her back. "Byron has spent years of his life, and millions upon millions of Pokédollars, working to repair the damage. He created one of the world's largest and most extensive charity operations to help Kalos recover in the wake of the disaster."
"I am well aware of the circumstances behind the creation of Team Ace," he responded, unimpressed.
"Well, then, what exactly is your concern?" she asked patiently.
Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. "My concern is the second vein you're currently digging under eastern Kalos."
Rosanna froze, working as hard as she could to maintain her poker face. "The vein under eastern Kalos…?" she repeated, trying to play dumb. In truth, she was repeating the words for Byron's sake, who was unable to hear Mewtwo's speech over the phone.
"He knows too much," Byron spoke into her ear. "Use the Colress device." She made a signal with her hands behind her back, one that the guards and scientists gathered behind her could see.
"You playing dumb will not make any difference." Mewtwo rose up further into the air. "I have seen all I need to see. The reckless actions of Team Ace will cause even more devastation across this region. It is time to nip this in the-"
His declaration was cut short as a strange energy swept through the room, and a horrific pain instantly wracked his mind. He collapsed to the ground, holding his head, feeling as if it was being assaulted by a thousand knives from the inside and outside. His tail twitched incessantly as he tried to summon the strength to push the pain aside, to send out a psychic blast throughout the room, to do anything at all. The energy coursing through the air was completely disrupting all of his psychic abilities.
After what felt like an eternity, he could feel the pain finally recede. He gasped for breath, still holding himself, as the humans stared at him in disbelief. All of them had been expecting a thoroughly different reaction to the Colress device, and none of them knew how to react to this development.
"What… what did you do to me?!" he demanded furiously. Rosanna took a nervous step back, showing fear for the first time since she arrived.
"Sir? It didn't work," she spoke directly to her boss. "It didn't work and he is very angry. Please advise."
"Seriously?!" Byron exclaimed angrily. "Whatever. Put him in stasis!"
She turned to give the verbal command to the humans gathered behind her, when the sound of crunching metal rang out all around them. She turned back to see Mewtwo hovering in the air once again, eyes radiating light as a purple aura surrounded him. All around, the walls were starting to buckle and bend inward, the glass windows cracking and shattering.
Mewtwo was absolutely enraged, almost beyond the point of rational thought. He had no idea where the device was that had incapacitated him, and he didn't care. He would destroy this whole facility from the inside out, in one fell swoop. Nothing and nobody inside was going to make it out, except for him.
"Hit him again!" Rosanna shouted, making herself heard over the cacophonous sounds of destruction. She yelped as she felt herself rising into the air, turning back to see Mewtwo holding his arm out toward her, a murderous glare on his face. She cried out in pain as she felt an invisible force squeezing her entire body, starting to crush her.
Another blast of the mysterious energy disrupted Mewtwo for a second time, and both he and Rosanna collapsed to the ground. He cried out in his rarely-heard true voice, consumed by pain, unaware of the guards that were surrounding him with strange, gun-shaped weaponry. They started firing as quickly as they could, their weapons spitting out a mysterious orange goo, which landed on Mewtwo's body and immediately crystallized. The strange crystal built itself up more and more, covering the legendary Pokémon's body, until he was completely buried in it, looking like a fossil encased in amber.
Rosanna sighed in relief, giving the order to shut off the Colress device. The energy was immediately sucked out of the room, but Mewtwo remained immobile, a look of pained shock frozen on his face. The crystal had completely frozen him in place and time, like a cryogenic capsule.
"We got him, sir," Rosanna reported, touching her finger to her ear. "He nearly took the entire lab with him, but he's in stasis."
"Why didn't the device work?" he demanded. "He should have been under our control like any other Pokémon."
"I don't know," she replied, walking up to Mewtwo preserved in his cocoon. "He's not a normal Pokémon by any definition. His psychic abilities may be too powerful for us to take control of him. Maybe it's his brain composition. I'll have some of our scientists examine him."
"Find out what went wrong as soon as you can," he ordered. "If we can't control legendary Pokémon with this thing, then we need to figure out another plan. Get Dr. Colress on the phone. Tell him to jack up the voltage or something."
"I'm fairly certain it doesn't work that way, sir," she responded. "I'll bring Dr. Colress down here right away. We'll have him double-check every component."
"This is the most important thing. It has to work. Make sure it does." Rosanna could hear Byron standing up. "I need to get back to the party. I've left some guests in my office. I'm counting on you, Rosanna."
"I won't let you down, sir," she reassured him, right before the line went dead. She turned back and called some guards over to transport Mewtwo and his crystal prison, before beginning to assess the damage to the lab.
Back in Byron's office, the five trainers were exploring the room and its various contents. It had quickly become obvious that there was a common theme to the various memorabilia and decorations scattered around.
"This guy really loves Mega Evolution, doesn't he?" Iris observed, staring at the large collection of Mega Stones he had displayed on top of a file cabinet.
"He sure does." Brock looked over a series of sketches on the wall, depicting Pokémon in their normal forms and their Mega-evolved forms. Some of them were Pokémon that Brock didn't even realize could Mega Evolve - in fact, some were Pokémon that he was certain could not. "Some of these don't even seem like real things. This is more like… from someone's imagination."
"Well, Team Ace did create synthetic Mega Stones, and nobody thought that was possible at the time," Serena reminded them. "Maybe imagination is the first step toward making something real." Ash agreed, liking her point of view.
"Hey! Enjoying the collection?" Everyone turned to see Byron returning to the room, closing the door behind him.
"Byron!" Ash turned to face him. "Did your, uh… law stuff go okay?"
"Yeah, that's whatever," the man answered dismissively. "Can't talk about it, but everything's fine."
"Mr. Byron, why do you have so much Mega Evolution stuff in your office?" Madison asked, looking away from the Mega Stone collection.
"You have to ask?" Byron chuckled. "It's because Mega Evolution is the coolest thing in the world."
The room was silent for a moment, before Iris spoke up. "Is… that all? That's the whole reason?"
"Do I need another reason?" He stepped forward, eyes running over his large collection of memorabilia. "Mega Evolution is awesome. I'd Mega Evolve myself if I could. So pretty much all of Team Ace's research is focused on pushing the boundaries of Mega Evolution. We're making things happen that nobody thought could happen. We're even going to be Mega Evolving Pokémon that nobody has seen Mega Evolve before."
"Wait, really?" Brock seemed stunned by this idea. "You can do that?"
"We sure can. Well, we can soon. We're working on it, but we're making good progress." A smirk spread across his face. "Ever seen a Mega Wigglytuff?"
Brock shook his head. "No, I haven't."
"Neither have I," Byron answered. "Nobody has, anywhere. But someday soon, they will, thanks to the power of synthetic Wigglytuffite!" The final word lingered awkwardly in the air for a moment. "We'll, ah, get Marketing to work on the name."
Ash grinned wide. "I know exactly what you mean, Byron. Mega Evolving is one of the coolest things I've ever learned about."
"When I was growing up, I was dirt poor on the streets of Lumiose City," Byron continued. "There were rich people all around me, spending their money on vases and wine and other stupid nonsense, while I was just trying to keep a roof above my head. I told myself that if I ever became rich, I'd never be like that. I would spend my money giving back to the community."
"Wow…" Serena had never heard these details of Byron's youth, and she had to admit they were touching. "How did you become rich if you grew up poor?"
"I made my first million through hard work and sheer determination," he explained, not bothering with any more detail than that. "After that, I turned that million into a billion the boring way, with smart investments and all that. Now I'm rich enough that I don't have to work, and I can spend all my time on charity and research. Everyone benefits from it, and I get to spend my money and my life studying the coolest stuff on the planet. I'm living the dream."
"So is that why you have a Mega Stone on your necklace?" Madison observed.
"Hey, you noticed." He looked down at the shark tooth necklace he wore, which bore a tooth-shaped rainbow stone as its charm. "Most people don't realize that's a Mega Stone on there."
"Whoa…" Ash stepped closer for a better look. After examining it more carefully, it did have a similar design to Mega Stones, aside from the shape. "What Pokémon is that for?"
"Sorry, can't tell you," Byron replied quickly. "That's a secret. Legal tells me I have to stop leaking our products before they're ready to be announced." He took a step back before turning toward his desk. "Anyway, there's a reason I brought you in here. You still have an Absol, right?" He started rooting through the desk drawers, the same way he had been before he was called away.
"Yeah…" Ash nodded, watching the man curiously. "Why?" Byron didn't answer right away, looking through several drawers, before his eyes lit up and he grasped something in his hand.
"Here it is!" He walked back over to the group and extended his hand toward Ash, opening it. Everyone crowded around to see a Mega Stone colored in several shades of blue. "This is for you. Synthetic Absolite."
Ash's eyes shot open as wide as they could. "For me?!" He looked back up in shock. "You're giving me a Mega Stone?!"
"Of course," Byron answered plainly, as if nothing strange was happening. "I told you I would pay you back for the Battle Chateau, remember?"
"We all thought that the party invite was your repayment," Serena responded, looking just as shocked as Ash was.
"Nah, the party invite was because I like you," Byron replied. "And that's a crummy gift to get after saving a billionaire's life, anyway. This is a lot better."
"Wow…" Ash eventually reached out and grasped the Mega Stone in his hand, handling it carefully, as if it was a precious diamond. "I don't really know what to say… thank you for this, really."
"Don't mention it." Byron clapped his hand onto Ash's shoulder, causing the boy to look up. "You're going to go on to do amazing things, I can feel it. You've got the same hunger in your eyes that I've got. You're going to take the Kalos League by storm. If I can help out with that somehow, I'm going to. You've got me in your corner, Ash."
Ash looked into the man's eyes, seeing how sincere Byron was in his praise. He felt overcome by emotion for a few moments, bowled over by the strength of Byron's belief in his strength and his abilities. He eventually was able to put a smile on his face. "I promise I won't let you down, Byron," he said, as serious as he'd ever been. He was going to repay Byron's charity by working as hard as he could, to succeed and do good in the world just as Byron had. He wanted this man to be proud of him.
"Good." Byron let his hand fall away from Ash's shoulder. "Now, everyone out. If Rosanna finds out I let a bunch of kids into my office, she's going to flay me alive." He ushered all of them out the door, shutting and locking it behind him, as Ash carefully placed the Absolite into his coat pocket. The stone felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
"Alright, I've got about a million other guests to greet." Byron turned back to them after locking his office up. "You all enjoy the party. All the good food is on the third floor, so eat up before it's all gone." He walked past them, giving a casual two-finger wave as he passed, not waiting for any of them to say goodbye.
"Man… that was…" Ash struggled to find words for how he was feeling right now, his hand once again grasping the Mega Stone in his pocket.
"Yeah…" Iris spoke up behind him. "I can't believe he just gave you a Mega Stone. Those things cost thousands of Pokédollars, don't they?"
"At least," Madison confirmed, also in awe. Ash pulled out the stone again to stare at it, never having had a Mega Stone of his own before. It was utterly beautiful in his eyes, looking like a precious gem with a cat's-eye design. He continued to stare as he felt Serena's hand come to rest on his shoulder.
"You deserve this, Ash," she reassured him, speaking softly into his ear, able to read his thoughts from his expression. "If you want to repay him, you can do so by putting it to good use."
"Yeah…" Ash nodded, his lips curling up into a smile as he placed the stone back in his pocket. "I'll definitely be putting it to good use. You can count on that." His smile spread infectiously to the others as well, before they all started walking down the hallway together, looking for the promised third floor full of delicious food.
