The patonai nearly collided with a thoroughly stressed-out Lance as they exited the locker room.

"Commander," Ash saluted. "What happens now?"

Lance groaned, massaging his temples. "The squadron captains, the Council, and your friends are about to start a strategy meeting in Conference Room Five. Come join us, we'll need your advice on how best to take on Andan."

"On a scale of one to ten, how badly has crap hit the fan?" Aurian asked, lengthening her stride to keep up with her best friend and her commanding officer.

"Eleven," Lance said. "News is breaking across the regions of what happened at that gala tonight. Answer me honestly- did you use plain-sight aura at any point during the gala brawl?"

"No sir," Ash said, "the only aura that we used was camouflaged except for when I blocked Faith's bomb. The smoke covered any trace of aura so we should be fine. If not, we can pin it as long-range by one of the uniformed Armada members that was present."

"Understood," Lance replied. "Come on, we need to sort this out."

Aurian opened the door to the Conference room and found the entire Armada, Cynthia, Alder, the Council, the squadron commanders, and their friends gathered around a medium-sized circular table and leaning on walls.

"Commander," Riley said. "Shall we begin?"

"The sooner, the better. What have we discovered since Goodshow was kidnapped?" Lance asked.

"Ash here was brilliant and slipped a tracking device into Tobias' pocket while they were fighting. We've tracked him to Mt. Silver, where Rocket's first base was. Apparently it's still in use," Drake said, pressing a few buttons on his tablet and projecting a diagram of the old base on a nearby screen. "We don't know if they've moved MissingNO or not, that's something we'll ask Saturn after we finish up here."

Lance clapped a beaming Ash on the shoulder.

"It's been years since we've been in the old base, I'm surprised they've made it functional after what we did to it. Steven, I want Research to work on getting a sonar and radar scan of where Andan is now. Can you get a team on that?"

Steven, still in his tuxedo, nodded. "Yes, sir. Brendan, Lucas, you're with me. Gather your teams and meet me in our headquarters."

Two men in pitch-black uniforms exited the room. Brock and Misty took their chairs, hands busy with anticipation.

"Aurian, how many Andan were present at the gala?"

The younger half of the patonai pair closed her eyes. "There were about twenty-five at the gala but I could feel reinforcements waiting in the room below us. There were two sixty three when they attacked the Girl's Forum. My best guess is that we're looking at a core group of about four-hundred combat ready members."

"Don't forget about the Teams," Hiori said. "They may be weaker but they still pose a threat. Tack their numbers on."

"Three-to-one ratio in their favor," Wallace said, crumpling a piece of paper. "We're outnumbered-"

"But not outclassed," Koga replied, crossing his arms. "We have the three finest special-ops teams in the world ready to go at a moment's notice. Armada, Dragonite, and Garchomp can handle this without question."

The room fell quiet as someone knocked on the door. Lance opened it to find Steven, hands shaking and paler than usual.

"Lance? Andan is on one of the video call lines. They want a word."

Lance muttered a string of words not meant for polite company. "Just me?"

If Steven was fazed by Lance's outburst, he didn't show it. "No sir. They want the three aura wielders as well."

Riley stood. "Damn it all! Do we show our faces?"

"No way in hell," Lance snarled, "we need to protect Ash and Aurian in case the League decides to continue on with the tournament. Hoods up and name tags off. Flint, Drayden, you're now in charge of strategizing. Write down what you come up with and present it when we come back."

The two officers responded with salutes.

The patonai and Riley pulled their hoods up over their heads. Misty suppressed a shiver when her friends' eyes shone out through the shadows of their hoods.

She didn't like to wonder how their gazes turned to stone or about the events that jaded their eyes. It pained Misty to admit that Ash was no longer the same Ash that she grew up with. This Ash was no longer a curious boy with a heart of gold, pure intentions, and an innocent mindset. The man standing in front of her with unfamiliar blue eyes was an enigma wrapped in the skin of someone she thought she knew.

But his soul was the same.

The spark in his eyes hadn't faded or dulled in the slightest. Ash still felt like home, no matter how much he changed, and Misty felt the blood rush to her cheeks and ears when he tossed her his nametag and a thumbs-up.

Aurian put a hand on her patonai's arm and he nodded, leading the four out the door and into the video call with Andan.

"You okay, Mist?" Brock asked.

She shook her head. "No. Has he really changed that much?"

Brock smiled. "He's still Ash. He'd still drop everything- no, sacrifice anything- for the sake of a friend."

Lance, Riley, Ash, and Aurian filed into a darkened conference room, squinting as their eyes adjusted. A large screen displayed a call pending logo.

"Ready?" Riley asked.

Aurian shook her head. "Will we ever be, Riley? Do you need me to speak during this?"

"They'll probably run our voices through an identity matcher," Riley pondered, tapping his foot. "You know what? I say yes. You're our secret weapon, Aurian. They certainly won't be expecting a female wielder, so that will throw them off guard enough to buy us time. What do you think, Lance?"

The head of the G-Men frowned. "They're eventually going to figure out that the wielders are your cover identities. I doubt that your voices will come up in the outdated vocal recognition software they've been using. You have my permission. Steven, patch us in."

"Yes sir," Steven said, fingers flying across the keyboard to disguise their IP address.

Mars, Charon, and two masked trainers appeared on the screen, wearing Andan's crest on their chests.

"Champion Lance," the first masked trainer said.

"Cut the crap, Tobias," Lance said, smirking at the dumbfounded expressions on the Andan executives' faces. "And you as well, Faith. Take off the masks. You've made it extremely clear where your allegiances lie. We don't have time for formalities; tell us why you called."

Tobias removed his mask and Aurian felt a surge of pride when she saw the purple-blue bruise that bloomed across the right side of his face. "Before we begin our negotiations, we need to see that you are indeed the three wielders working for the G-Men."

Ash, Aurian, and Riley raised their right hands in tandem and released a flurry of blue sparks.

"Excellent," Faith said, barely disguising the tremor in her voice. "We have someone that you probably would like back."

"Really?" Riley said, crossing his arms. "We don't have time for this. What's your offer?"

Charon frowned. "Two of your aura users snuck a glitch into our project's coding. We'll return Goodshow if you give us an antidote to your little bug bite."

"Do you realize what you've created?" Ash asked, doing his best to disguise his voice. "MissingNO will not follow your orders, Charon, and you know it. It will destroy everyone and everything on that island without a second thought. Do you want that much blood on your hands?"

"If it purges the world of what is impure, yes," Mars said, oblivious to the horrified looks on the G-Men's faces. "Will you counter?"

Lance bit his lip. "We need to see that Goodshow is unharmed."

"We suspected you'd ask that," Faith sighed. "Charon, switch over to the prison feed."

A few key clacks later, footage of Goodshow, sitting alone in a stone cell, appeared on the screen. He looked oddly unharmed- no bruises, no cuts or injuries from Faith's stealth bomb, no scabs, no slings, no bandages. His suit was almost completely clean, save for a few dirty handprints on his shoulders and torso.

Aurian squinted at the screen and noticed a faint jump every thirty seconds.

Ash, Riley, that's looped footage. They're lying. Goodshow should be pretty beat-up from the way they handled him back at the gala, but he's intact and not protesting his imprisonment.

Riley bit his lip. He could've been threatened with bodily harm if he retaliated, but I'm with you on this one, Aurian. This doesn't look right.

My gut's saying that Goodshow's in on this, Ash said. He didn't fight back. If I were an Andan prison ward, I'd've stripped Goodshow of all formalities and dumped him in with the rest of the prisoners. This looks like an inside job.

Do you realize what you're implying? Riley groaned. If what you say is true, the entire League has been corrupt since its inception. How certain are you?

Aurian frowned. We're almost dead certain. I vote we call them out on the footage and see what happens.

Riley nodded. I trust you, Aurian. Stand strong.

Aurian cleared her throat. "You almost had us fooled with your doctored footage, Tobias. There's the slightest jump every thirty seconds."

Tobias' eyes widened at Aurian's voice and her accusation. "How did you..."

"We're an observant group, Midnight's Heir. Try again. Where is Goodshow?" Aurian growled, menacing sparks flying off her fingertips.

The four Andan members on screen exchanged nervous glances.

"We can answer that for you," Riley smirked, "he's not there. Goodshow is probably on a beach in the Orange Islands about now, sipping a strawberry daiquiri and waiting for your mayhem to destroy what this country was founded on. What's the real reason you called?"

"We wanted to figure out who you were," Charon blurted. "The younger boy and the girl have single-handedly terrorized this organization and caused eight members of our scientific research department to have nervous breakdowns trying to deconstruct the bug. How are you so effective?"

"Simple," Ash said, crossing his arms. "We've been training for something like this for a long time. I believe that is all. Do not underestimate us, Charon- we will find you- and when we find you, do not expect us to extend mercy your way."

"Any last words?" Lance asked.

Tobias shook his head. "We've reached an impasse, so that is all."

The line went dead. Riley slumped back in his chair as Steven raised the lights.

"The hell happened to Tobias?" Lance asked.

"I did," Aurian said, a wicked grin crossing her face. "His face got in the way of my hand."

"You should've seen the knockback Aurian put out," Ash beamed. "She would've made Koga proud with that punch."

Riley nodded. "Our patonai were right about Tobias and Faith. What do we do now, Lance?"

"Hopefully someone's come up with a plan of attack," Lance said, holding the door for the three Armada members. "Normally, we'd plan this around a rescue, but the only person we need to retrieve is Charon. I say we make it our goal to catch him and bring him back for interrogation."

"Can we arrest Mars, as well? She seems to know a lot about what's going on. Bet she's in Giovanni's inside loop," Ash said.

Riley frowned. "Ash, we need to focus on the definite. We know Charon is one of the lead scientists in MissingNO's creation. If we can get the right information out of him, we can stop this demented plan from taking place."

"Don't let your personal vendettas get in the way of taking care of business," Lance said, ushering everyone back into the main conference room. "I understand why you want to get back at her, but we have bigger Magikarp to fry."

Riley cleared his throat, silencing the room in a hurry.

"We've got good news and bad news," Lance said. "Good news is that we know that Tobias and Faith are the Andan moles and that the ethics patch on MissingNO went through."

"Bad news: Goodshow's been in on it the entire time," Riley said. "They tried to show us doctored footage of an unharmed Goodshow sitting in a cell."

The room erupted in protest.

Brock slammed a fist on the table. "Dammit!"

"That tanks our plan," Drayden said, placing his head in his hands.

Aurian shook her head. "No, we may be able to revise it. What'd you come up with, Drayden?"

The Unovian Gym Leader checked a sheet of notebook paper. "Steven's radar reports came back while you were on that video call. The probes picked up heat signatures in the entire base, plus a few added rooms. Security looks airtight, but nothing the Teams call airtight is ever airtight. We'll send Garchomp in as a decoy to draw the first line of defenses' fire."

"While that happens," Flint continued, "the Armada will take out the front line and advance together with Garchomp. Dragonite will bring up the rear and storm the back entrance. Clear the rooms, seize evidence, kick butt and take names and prisoners. Do standard G-Men things. Then we can figure out what to do about that Shadow Darkrai and the League traitors."

"Solid," Lance said, nodding his approval. "The only thing I'd like to add is an additional objective- capture Charon. He's the lead on the MissingNO project and created the enhancers that Faith and Tobias used in battle today. Squadron Commanders, ready your corps. We head out at 11:30 tomorrow night. Use these next twenty-seven hours to sleep, relax, check your gear, etc. We'll meet in the commons at eleven for roll-call and final assignments. Clear?"

"Sir!" all present cried, salutes popping up across the room.

"Dismissed!" Lance ordered. The patonai waited on their friends and then settled around the table.

"What are we supposed to do, Ash?" Max asked. "We're too young to fight."

Ash frowned. "We're not letting you back on that island unless you're with us."

"The way I see it, you have two options. The first is to go home to your families, where we know you'll be safe from any danger that will come our way," Aurian started, ignoring the trainees' protests. "The second is to stay here at Headquarters and run errands for the Council and for the other squadron leaders who are serving as backup and remain under their protection."

"We're not leaving," Maddy said, interlocking her hand with Max's.

"Lance?" Ash asked.

"I have a few jobs they could do," the Champion shrugged. "They'll have to bunk with you two, though, we don't have a lot of spare rooms since we called the regional squads back."

"302's been open since Wes and Rui got engaged," Aurian said. "Can't they stay there for a while?"

Riley bit his lip. "I don't see why not. Misty and Brock can stay in 310. That one's been vacant since Harrison retired last month."

"Excellent. I'll get Hiori to show our friends to their rooms," Ash said, paging the Armada member. "If you guys need anything, Aurian and I are right down the hall in 301."

Hiori poked his head in the door and the four civilians followed him out, leaving Lance, Riley, and the patonai in the abandoned room.

"We've really gotten ourselves mired in this one," Lance said. "Can we get out?"

"Lance," Ash said, "you know Ri and I will do everything we can to save the island and everyone on it. We've pulled stunts like this before, this is just another location, another group trying to play God."

"We're no strangers to impending apocalypses," Aurian continued, "and you've seen how well we work under pressure. We'll get Charon back here in no time."

Lance sighed. "I know you will, but I'm more concerned about what will happen to the League once word gets out that Goodshow's corrupt. If he's been in on this the entire time, I can't imagine the drain that the combined Teams have put on our resources over the past forty or so years. Every time we find an answer, we drag up fifteen more questions."

"We're fighting a hydra," Riley nodded. "But there isn't a monster out there that the G-Men can't slay. Once we find Andan's weak spot, we'll have our work cut out for us."

"MissingNO, however," Lance added, "will be a problem. Will regular Pokemon attacks work on it?"

Aurian's eyes lit up. "Riley, do you remember what happened when I tried working Research during my hendo?"

"The computers went haywire..." Riley said, eyes widening. "And now that Ash is nearly through with his, we can use the excess power he's generating along with Aurian's reserves to take the artificial Pokemon down."

Lance shook his head. "I'm not pitting our strongest covert specialists against MissingNO unless we run out of other options. We've already had way too many close calls in the three years we've had you. Ash, Aurian- you're family, just like the other squadron commanders. I don't know what I'd do if worst came to worse and you fell in combat."

"I understand your reluctance," Aurian sighed, "but that doesn't change the fact that Ash, Riley, and I are most likely the only three who can handle this problem."

"If that means we have to go into combat against MissingNO," Ash said, fingertips sparking, "we'll do it in a heartbeat. If it means sacrificing ourselves to prevent greater casualties-"

"then our actions will pay off when every single spectator and trainee walks off Lily of the Valley Island alive and unharmed," Aurian finished.

Lance rubbed his eyes. "God, I hope it doesn't come to that. For now, we need you two on the front lines when we take Charon. That's a relatively risk-free mission since you can shield yourselves and the squadrons from harm with aura. Also- I can't believe I forgot to mention this- Ash, your mother wants to speak with you and Aurian. She's in the first empty conference room on the left when you're ready."

Kanto's Crimson Menace nodded. "Yes, sir. Ri, let's go."

Lance watched the patonai walk out the door, short capes trailing off their shoulders and heads held high.

"Riley, they're just kids. How can we justify sending them into combat with something that might kill them?"

The patonai walked down the hallway, slowly coming to dread what Delia might tell them.

"What do you think this is about?" Aurian asked. "We haven't seen your mom since our promotion ceremony, has something major happened in Pallet since then?"

Ash shrugged. "I honestly don't know, but we're about to find out. Are you ready?"

"Now or never," Aurian said, wearily opening the door.

Delia sat in a chair closest to the other end of the room, a small paisley overnight bag by her feet. Dark circles hovered under her eyes and her hair stuck out in odd places, pulled up into a half-undone ponytail.

"Mom, are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Do you want an honest answer?" Delia sighed. "No, I haven't. I've been sick with worry for the two of you since you called home and told me about this mission of yours. How many close calls have you had?"

Aurian did the math on her fingers. "Just two so far. That hasn't even come close to breaking our record..."

"There shouldn't be a record!" Delia cried. "I've been so worried about you two. The Tournament's been all over the news as of late..."

Ash recoiled. "Mom, that's part of what we do. It's high-risk, high-reward!"

"We kept each other safe," Aurian said, hugging her best friend's mom, "and we're safe right now. That's what counts, right?"

"Right, Aurian." Delia cleared her throat.

"Ash, I've been wrestling with something as of late and I think it's about time you learned the entire truth about your father. Aurian, I asked you here on support for Ash. Would you mind staying with him?"

"We swore that the blood of the covenant was thicker than the water of the womb during our patonai vows," Aurian said, holding back a stream of tears at the dumbfounded look on her patonai's face. "I may not be Ash's sister by blood but I promise to support him like one."

Delia sighed and reached into her bag. "Ash, your father gave me this he last time I saw him and asked me to give it to you whenever the time was right. Something's been telling me that I should pass this down."

Ash waited, curious, for his mother to pull the object from her bag.

"A Time Flower?" Aurian asked, utterly floored. "But how... Ash, I think this one is double-chambered. It'll take two of us to open it."

Ash drifted into aura sight and confirmed Aurian's guess. "On three?"

Aurian shook her head. "No. Three!"

The patonai channeled their auras into the crystalline structure. The flower bloomed in slow motion, petals folding outward to summon a holographic image.

"To my beautiful future children," a voice said.

Aurian stiffened, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. The same voice from her dream...

"If you are listening to this, it means that your mother and I's last plan failed and I've either been forced into hiding or killed before gaining the chance to explain everything to you."

The voice stepped forward, revealing aura blue eyes, messy blue-black hair, olden-style Guardian gear, a staff, and arms covered to the elbow in intricate gloves with Rota crystal embedded over the backs of the hands.

"Ashton Azaiah and Aurian Lillian- I am so, so sorry that I was never present to watch you grow up into the fine and courageous young adults that I know you are. I am Sir Aaron Malachi Borealis, Head of the Aura Guardians and Royal Knight of Rota- and I am incredibly proud to be your father."

Aurian turned to Ash and stared. "What?!"

"Shh, he's not done..."

"This is probably most unexpected on your end, but please hear me out before you pester Delia- your mother- with questions. Rota is currently treading water in a war that I fear will end with this kingdom burning to ashes. There is a group called the Andan Alliance that has made its goal the extermination of all Guardians and it is slowly but surely taking my best men and comrades. Our numbers decrease by the hour. We've lost all of our comrades in the Four Great Regions. Only Rota remains strong- and I fear that we will not be able to stop the Alliance, only halt it."

Aaron started a nervous pace, worry evident in the way he carried himself. He walked like a warrior but slouched like the twenty-something he was when no one looked his way. Pain entered his eyes.

"There are three battalions remaining- one on the front lines, one between Cameran and the current theater of war, and my personal battalion here at the palace. The remaining Guardians all are far too young to settle down with a family so you two are our last hope if Cameran falls. I can't bear the thought of you two not living to see your own potential and dreams realized."

Ash's eyes began to water and he put an arm around Aurian, who sunk to the floor, tears running down her face.

"No matter what happens, I hope you know that Delia and I will always love you no matter where we are or where you are. I'm honored that I had the chance to know you for the short time I did. My time is running out, but I have one last favor to ask... come to my time in your greatest time of need. I know not what the state of the Guardians is in the future. You may not have experienced wielders to guide you through your struggle and I want to pass on what I know. The Celebi that brought you here should know to come find you when this flower is opened..."

Aaron turned over his shoulder, something else catching his attention for a split second.

Ash gripped Aurian's hand within his own and stared up at the apparition of his father.

"This flower is almost full, so I will make this quick. Delia- you know that I will always love you through the end of time and through what lies beyond. Ashton- you're such a strong and curious little boy, don't let anyone take that spark from you. Aurian, you have more spunk than your mother and I put together. Keep that smile on your face and don't let it go. Support each other through thick and thin. I love you all and I hope to see you soon. If not- I am sure we will meet again someday. May Aura watch over you all."

The flower closed, taking Sir Aaron with it.

Ash and Aurian sat in shock for a while after that, desperately trying to process what they'd learned.

Ash looked at his patonai... no, his sister, and wrapped her in the best Ursaring hug he could manage. Her tears wet the shoulder of his uniform and the sobs racking her body fell into time with his own. Ash let the barrier around his heart down and was swept away by a wave of sadness, anger at the Andan Alliance for shattering his family, and a strange sense of relief that the biggest mystery of his life finally had finally revealed itself.

"Hey, we're- we're gonna be okay, r-right?" he said, trying his best to comfort Aurian. "We solved the mystery."

Aurian nodded into Ash's jacket, her small frame racked with heaving breaths. "I finally have a family to call my own. I can't believe I was stupid enough to overlook the fact that you were right here the entire time..."

"So," Ash paused, looking up to meet his mother's gaze. "Aurian and I are blood brother and sister and Aaron is our father? We're the literal children of legends?

Delia nodded and wiped tears from her eyes. "I hope you understand why I was reluctant to tell you any of the details. I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?"

Aurian hiccuped and raised an eyebrow.

Delia laughed. "Just like your father used to do. As you already knew, Aaron and the rest of the Guardians were involved in a dreadful war to defend Rota from the Andan Alliance. Their leader, John Cabot, wanted to kill all Guardians because of the horrors they inflicted on his homeland. Granted, some of the Order went overboard but this did not validate Cabot's actions."

"I still don't see how our family was placed in jeopardy," Ash said. "Couldn't Sir Aaron- pardon me, Father- have protected us?"

"He could have, but Aaron was ever wary and wanted a safety mechanism in case things fell apart. We formulated a master plan to be used if everything went wrong- he had befriended a Celebi years back who promised him one favor in return. If the battle turned against our favor, Celebi would send my brother- Aurian's adoptive father, my children, and I forward in time to an era where there were no more wars."

Aurian wiped her eyes. "That really was a brilliant plan. What happened after that?"

"Aaron was in battle alongside his aura brothers," Delia began, her voice choking up, "and after a long siege, he was the last one of his kind left alive. He knew what he had to do to halt the fighting and went to the Tree, where... where he..."

The siblings welcomed their mother into their group hug on the floor. Tears flowed anew.

"The c-crystals glowed green and I knew what he'd done. Celebi appeared moments later and Atticus pushed me into the portal. We journeyed into the future, where we met with Professor Oak and explained the situation. He agreed to forge birth certificates for you two and all necessary identifications for me to live a quiet life in Pallet. I took Ash and Atticus took Aurian to avoid any suspicion caused by raising two children of aura in the same place. Now we're here, fifteen years later. Ash, you're the spitting image of Aaron on the day we met. Aurian, you act more like him than you can imagine. Oh, I wish you'd gotten the chance to know him..."

Aurian sighed, wiping her eyes on the edge of her sleeve. "Mom? Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, dearest."

"How old were we when we left Rota?"

Delia frowned. "I'd just turned twenty-two the month before. Aaron was twenty-four, Ash was three, and you couldn't've been more than two."

"What was Dad like?" Ash asked.

"Ever the gentleman," Delia smiled. "He had a wicked sharp sense of humor and a sense of duty beyond anything I'd ever witnessed before. He nearly fell down a flight of stairs on our first date because he was so nervous. His proposal was nearly ruined by a herd of stampeding Tauros, he hated brussels sprouts- I have so many more stories for a later time. Just know that he'd be so incredibly proud of what you've accomplished."

The three fell silent, frantically piecing together an image of Aaron other than that of the stoic hero painted in history.

"I think Lance and Riley deserve the right to know about this," Ash said with a sigh. "As do our friends."

"That Celebi should be showing up pretty soon. I think we've got time to take care of that before we leave," Aurian added, drying her eyes and taking a calming breath.

Ash nodded, closing his eyes. "I can feel him coming. We've got ten minutes, that's more than enough."

Aurian knew not to doubt Ash when it came to Legendaries. "Well, let's get this over with. Shall we, brother?"

"Come on, little sis. We've got a truth to tell."

"Let me get this straight," Lance said, hardly hiding his shock. "You two are the son and daughter of the Sir Aaron Borealis, the greatest Guardian that ever lived?"

"And you and Delia were brought here by a Celebi to escape the Great War between Andan and the Guardians," Riley continued, paler than paper.

Ash nodded. "That's right. Any other questions?"

Max put his hand up. "Wait... so, you guys are, like, legendary?"

The entire room groaned at the pun.

"Yes, Max, you could think of it like that. I know this is is the worst possible time to leave but Dad asked us to come visit him in our original time whenever things got rough here. We're low on troops, running out of options, and tasked with taking down the world's first code-based Pokemon with nothing to go on except our gut instincts and our aura reserves, which might not be enough in the end. I think this qualifies," Aurian said.

Lance nodded. "This most definitely counts as an emergency leave of absence. Captains Borealis and Borealis, I grant you emergency leave to go gain new information."

The sound of chiming handbells entered the room. Celebi emerged from a soft mint-green light between the patonai and stretched, adjusting to the new time period.

"Hello, Celebi," Delia said, wiping a tear from her eye. "It's good to see you again."

The little legendary flew over to Delia and nuzzled her cheek before turning to face the patonai.

Ash gulped and Pikachu leapt onto his shoulder. "Celebi? Take us home."

Celebi nodded and summoned a portal for the patonai to use to return to their original time.

"We'll be back soon," Aurian said. "Until then, keep planning for the Andan Invasion."

The G-Men present saluted as the patonai jumped into the portal, apprehensive as to what might lay on the other side...

(A/N): Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for reading Chapter 21 of Primary! It's review response time:

Dragonridr21: Happy belated birthday! Glad I got to help make it special.

MidnightHunter563: Thank you! Hope this chapter proved your guess right.

The big reveal is here! Hope everything lived up to your expectations. Hope you'll come back soon for a field trip to Rota! This is PL- signing off.