A Dragon Sized Trial

"Fly... Flygon..." A Flygon snored out as it slept in it's nest, peacefully unaware of the approaching danger as a robed figure silently made her way towards him. The woman reached into her robe and retrieved a sharp jagged stone which she lodged into Flygon's feet. "Fly!" Rage filled Flygon's eyes as they shot open, the dragon uttered out a furious screech as it began looking around for the source of the unending pain but he didn't see anything else around him. Flygon bent over to try and get the stone out but unfortunately his arms were far too short for that.

"Fly!" Flygon angrily screeched out as he took to the skies, the pain quickly evolved into rage which he was determined to release.

Marnie was on her way back to Ash when a Dark Pulse suddenly shot towards her and Braviary. "Whoa!" Braviary swiftly pulled up to avoid the incoming projectile while Marnie began glancing around for the source of the attack and soon found it, an Absol could be seen looking up at them while standing atop a large rock.

"An Absol? I wonder what it wants..." Marnie frowned. Wild Absol never attacked unless they had reason to.

"Sol..." Absol growled while gesturing towards the distance. Marnie followed his gaze and noticed a thick sandstorm had formed up and began dwelling closer by the second, blocking the way back to Sidney's house. Flying through it would be dangerous as Braviary wouldn't be able to see where he was going, she had no choice but to take cover and wait out the storm.

"Well then I guess we'll have ta take cover, thanks Absol-Where did he go...?" Marnie shot a quick look around as Absol appeared to have disappeared. She then shrugged, figuring Absol would be fine. "Alright Braviary, let's find some cover and wait out the storm."

"Brav!" Braviary screeched out before changing trajectory as his keen eyesight picked out a cave in the distance.

"And there you go, your own private hot springs!" Flannery exclaimed while gesturing towards an enclosure behind the Lavaridge Gym. "Well close enough, it's mine but I won't be using it today." She laughed out.

"Thanks Flannery," May smiled.

"Yeah, thanks!" Zach exclaimed.

Flannery offered the three a smile before raising her hand as she turned to head back towards the Gym's entrance. "Don't mention it, good luck with... whatever it is you three need to talk about."

Zach, May and Dawn gave each other a look before making their way towards the hot springs. Upon reaching the hot springs, the three were quick to change into their swim attire before settling down in the water. Cinderace kept her distance from the others, an uncomfortable expression formed as she stared at the water. Lucario sat down beside Piplup but upon noticing Cinderace standing all by herself, the jackal was quick to hop back out in order to keep her company.

"Carr..."

"Ace!" Cinderace blushed as Lucario took his place beside her and slowly began edging closer to him.

"So let me get this straight, those dreams I've been having... they're not dreams? They actually happened?" May questioned while tilting her head to the side.

"Yep, you haven't met him yet but the white Zorua that sat on Zach's shoulder is here in the present." Dawn explained.

"And the Garchomp I ride around on is the same Garchomp. Luxray, Typhlosion, Decidueye, Growlithe, Moltres... they're all here too!" Zach exclaimed.

"Wait so you actually did save an entire village from getting wiped out?!" May gasped out.

"Y-Yeah, I did." Zach sweated. "It was pretty nerving actually but I managed to pull it off and Pearl Clan accepted me as one of their own after that. T-That's also where I er-won Irida's heart, she may have kissed me afterwards..." He nervously chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck.

"I-I know, I've had that dream..." May's cheeks grew darker as her thoughts shifted towards another scene. "A-And after you beat this giant wooden Electrode... we-we... did stuff...?"

"Er-Right, we did." Zach cast a nervous glance towards Dawn.

Dawn rolled her eyes before planting a kiss on his cheek. "You don't have to act nervous, I already told you I forgive you. You didn't have your memories, I'm not going to blame you for that. Besides it sounds like you had a lot going on, having a distraction from it probably did you some good."

"I-I suppose so, it was nice getting to be the hero for a change but I'm honestly glad that it's behind me. Saving the world was a bit stressful and I'm not sure that I could pull it off a second time."

"Don't say that, Arceus offered you a reward for helping him and didn't give you a limitation on what you could ask for. You could have had anything but you chose to send Ingo home. That was incredibly selfless of you, very few would have done that!" Dawn flashed him a warm smile before planting another kiss on his lips. "You'll always be my hero..."

May stared at the pair with a longing expression as they shared a kiss, she was about to open her mouth when a fierce sandstorm suddenly swept across the town causing the three to cough as sand flew into their mouths.

"D-Disgusting..." Zach growled out after spitting out some sand. "What's going on...?"

"I'm not sure but it looks like a sandstorm, you don't think we're under attack do you?" May questioned.

"Nah, Lucario would sense it." Dawn dismissed. "Maybe some kids are using a Trapinch to play a prank on us."

"Regardless I think we should check it out, I don't think sandstorms are a natural occurrence." 'Surely Flannery would have warned us if they were.' He thought to himself. The three hopped out of the hot springs before rushing outside to see Lavaridge Town was covered in a large and thick sandstorm. A loud hum could be heard as various unseen creatures flew above them, Lucario's eyes glowed blue as he tried to identify them but Zach was quicker on the take.

"Vibrava!" Zach exclaimed. "I'd know that sound anywhere."

"Vibrava? But what are they doing here? The desert's miles off from us." May frowned.

"Maybe something scared them off?" Dawn suggested.

"It's possible but an entire horde of them?" Zach tilted his head as Lucario informed him that there were roughly forty Vibrava flying above them. "Something or someone has to be controlling them... but why?"

"Fly!" An explosion went off not far from where they were standing.

"Carr..."

"A Flygon's nearby? Well I guess that answers our question, younger Pokemon typically look up to older Pokemon." Though why Flygon decided to attack the town was still up in the air. "If we can stop Flygon then the Vibrava will likely calm down and go."

"Well it's a good thing you have Lucario cause I can't see a thing in this sandstorm." Dawn squinted as she tried identifying shapes in the distance.

"And I left my goggles at home." May sweated. There wasn't much of a reason to travel through deserts so she stopped carrying it to save space in her bag.

"Well then stick close to me," From the sound of things, Flygon was causing most of the ruckus as all the explosions and cries were coming from the same direction as the Dragon Pokemon but he didn't want to take a chance and leave the two standing out in the open. Besides it'd be nice to have some backup.

May and Dawn gave off a quick nod before grabbing hold of his arms, Cinderace decided to take advantage of the situation by clinging around Lucario's dominate arm. "Ace..." She cooed out while nuzzling her head against his.

Lucario sweated and gave Cinderace a look before shrugging as he began dragging her along with him as he made his way towards Flygon. Zach could sense Lucario's presence so he didn't need to make direct contact with the jackal as he led them through the town, the explosions grew louder as they got closer along with some shouts as it appeared Flygon had hit somebody.

"Owow! Sombody help me, I-I sprained my ankle trying to get away from this Flygon that's after me!" A woman cried while rubbing her left leg as she laid against the ground.

Lucario paused in place and made a face. "...She's faking it."

"No need to worry, we're here to help!" Dawn quickly dropped to her knees to help the girl up. May gave Zach a quick look before moving to assist Dawn as she figured Zach could handle Flygon on his own.

"Alright Lucario, let's do this!" Zach blindly pointed towards the sky above as he shouted out. "Steel Beam!"

Lucario sweated as his trainer's aim was nowhere close to where Flygon was. The jackal charged up a bright silver colored beam between his paws before launching the attack towards Flygon, the Dragon uttered out a gasp of surprise before uttering out a pained cry as the attack struck against his chest.

"Vibra!" A few Vibrava swooped down to assist Flygon.

"Ace!" Cinderace sent a Pyro Ball flying towards one while Garchomp burst on out to assist her.

"GARRRR!" The alpha roared out before rushing towards the other Vibrava as a red hue surrounded his body. "Garrrr!" Garchomp cried out as he slammed against the Vibrava, knocking them off course. Garchomp was going a bit easy on them as he knew they were only listening to Flygon's commands.

"Fly!" Flygon swiftly flew towards the ground below before slamming his tail against it causing a large vibration that shook the ground along with a few buildings as they could hear one collapsing but thankfully it appeared to have been evacuated, the occupants likely having fled as Flygon blasted the building with various attacks earlier on.

Piplup fell onto his rear before angrily shaking his fist. "Pip Piplup!" He blindly cried out as the trainers all fell down.

"Ace..." Cinderace grunted out as she tried to maintain her balance.

"Garr..." Garchomp took off the ground before hurling himself at Flygon. "Garrr!" He cried out shortly before firing a Hyper Beam attack at Flygon, sending the Dragon crashing down to the ground below!

"Fly..." Flygon grunted out and gritted his teeth as he glared up at his opponent. "Fly..."

Zach slowly stood to his feet and was about to order out an attack when he sensed a strange sensation flowing through his head. 'I-I feel pain... confusion... and anger... i-is this how Flygon feels?' He questioned. A pained growl could be heard ahead of him as Flygon flinched, the shard had sank in deeper and was causing him immense pain.

"FLY!"

"Garrrr!" Garchomp cried out as he prepared to strike Flygon once more.

"Garchomp, wait!"

"Garrr?!" Garchomp turned towards his trainer with a questionable expression.

"Hold on a second..." Zach held up a hand while Lucario tilted his head.

"Carrr?"

"Trust me Lucario, I-I know what I'm doing..." Zach said while slowly approaching Flygon as the sandstorm began wearing off.

"Zach..." May spoke with a worrisome tone, fear and admiration shined within her eyes as she watched him approach the rage filled Dragon.

"Please be careful!" Dawn cried out, her body lightly trembled as she watched.

"Fly!" Flygon shouted out while leering at Zach in a threatening fashion.

"Easy, easy... I'm here to help." Zach raised his hands to show that he meant no harm while speaking in a calm tone as he approached Flygon. "You're in pain and it's not because of our battle, am I right?"

"Fly..." Flygon's eyes slightly calmed as he spoke.

"W-Well what's causing the pain... i-is it somewhere you can't reach?"

"Fly." Flygon slowly nodded his head before lifting up his foot. Lucario stepped forward with a light growl while May and Dawn couldn't help but flinch before calming down as Flygon was merely showing a large shard that was stuck at the bottom of his foot. "Flygon, fly..."

"Oh wow, no wonder you're ticked..." Zach's eyes widened at the sight of the shard. "J-Just hang in there for a bit longer, I'll get it out... t-this might hurt but I promise it'll be over quick!"

Flygon silently watched as Zach retrieved a large pair of tweezers from his bag before flinching as the tweezers grabbed hold of the shard. "Fly..." Flygon grunted out.

"Hang on... and got it!" Zach exclaimed with a light laugh as he held up the sharp object. "You don't have to worry about the pain any longer!"

"Flygon, fly!" Flygon excitedly cried out before nuzzling against the trainer in an appreciative manner.

"Don't mention it, I was glad to help." Zach laughed.

"Hold up, d-did Zach understand Flygon...?" May questioned while tilting her head in a questionable fashion. "He appeared to understand him."

"I'm not sure how but it looked as if he understood his emotions." Dawn softly spoke.

Flygon gazed towards the sky while uttering out a cry. "Fly, Flygon fly!"

"Vibra..." The Vibrava all turned and began heading back towards the Desert Resort but Flygon remained behind.

"Fly, Flygon!" Flygon cried out while looking into Zach's eyes.

"Y-You want to join me...?" Zach questioned.

"Fly!" Flygon gave an eager nod in response.

"W-Well alright then," Zach grabbed hold of an empty Ultra Ball and held it out towards Flygon. "If that's what you want then you're welcome to join!" He wasn't actively searching for Pokemon anymore but he wasn't going to refuse Flygon's request, if Flygon wanted to join the team then he was more than welcome to be a part of it. Besides he heard that the Hoenn Dragon's had Mega Evolutions, perhaps Flygon was the key to him finally obtaining a Mega Ring!

"Fly!" Flygon beamed before nudging the Ultra Ball with his head causing a bright red light to engulf his body as he was sucked into the capture device, the Ultra Ball shook within Zach's hand before promptly chiming out to announce the capture. A flash of white light soon surrounded the Ultra Ball as it transported itself to Sonia's lab.

"Flygon the Mystic Pokemon, by flapping their wings, Flygon cause sandstorms that conceal Krookodile. The team then splits the prey they catch."

"Well that was a rather dark entry..."

"Car..." The pair sweated as Zach's Arc Phone registered Flygon's data.

"Alright Zach!" Dawn cheered.

"You saved the day!" May exclaimed before tilting her head as curiosity took over once more. "But how did you know that Flygon was in pain? Lucario didn't tell you..."

"I-I'm not sure..." Zach stared towards the ground with an uncertain expression. "I-I just felt Flygon's pain... confusion and anger... a-and it just came to me. B-But I don't know how or why I was able to feel that, I-I don't know what's going on..."

"But I do!" The injured girl rose to her feet before pulling back her cloak, revealing a tanned figure along with short trimmed black hair. She appeared to be around the same age as them but her fashion was something else as she dressed in attire that that unfamiliar to them. "Your boyfriend is a Draconid!"

Zach, May, Dawn, Lucario, Cinderace, Garchomp and Piplup looked at each other before looking back towards Zinnia as confusion swept throughout the group. "Huh?"

Zinnia facepalmed before uttering out a long sigh. "Let me fill you in..."

"Hold up so Draconid's are able to sense a Dragon type's emotions?" Zach questioned while sinking back into the hot springs. Zinnia had requested that the group head somewhere private as to avoid somebody overhearing their conversation, she still felt as if they were being watched but she didn't see or sense anything nearby.

"And they often have an easier time raising and bonding with Dragon types than most trainers." Zinnia added on.

"Well I guess that explains Dragonite and Garchomp." Dawn giggled.

"Yeah, I always felt like Dragonite evolved a lot faster than she should have." Zach sweated.

May's eyes narrowed as she couldn't help but feel suspicious of Zinnia and a bit possessive as she clung to Zach's arm while shooting Zinnia a light glare. Dawn raised an eyebrow at May's action but remained silent as she spoke. "Something's not right here, we discovered something new about Zach and you just happen to be around? Why is that exactly? You're not stalking him are you? Or trying to pull a 'Oh we're destined to be!' act on him?!" Although Galar didn't have a king anymore, the allure of hooking up with royalty was still there. Both of them loved him long before that revelation came out but that didn't mean there weren't others, Dawn even chased a few off the other day by releasing her Mamoswine.

Dawn raised an eyebrow. May was being awfully defensive about this, between that and the kiss Dawn was starting to suspect that May still loved him.

"Huh?" Zinnia raised an eyebrow shortly before her eyes widened as a green tint formed across her face. "Arceus no, I have absolutely zero interest in him and that's the honest truth. Just ask Lucario there!"

Lucario swiftly nodded, showing that Zinnia was being truthful.

"Besides I already have a girlfriend, it's a long distance thing we set up until I finished the task I was destined to do. 'Help the Emerald Hero bond with Rayquaza!' And that hero is you!"

"What?!" May, Dawn and Zach gasped out.

"You may not know this yet but there is a massive meteorite headed towards earth, remember what happened to all the fossil Pokemon? Well it'll happen again but to everything if that thing hits us! And he is the key to stopping it, after the Megalith was destroyed Rayquaza lost the ability to Mega Evolve on his lonesome and now he can only do so with a partner like your average Pokemon. Rayquaza could break the meteorite in his current form... but it'll split in half and careen towards earth, only the enhanced Mega form will be powerful enough to destroy the meteor in it's entirety and save the planet!"

'It feels like we keep jumping from crisis to crisis.' Zach thought with a light sigh.

"Well how do you know that it's Zach and not some other Draconid?" Dawn questioned. "I'm sure there are more of them."

Zinnia rolled her eyes. "Well obviously!" She gestured towards her chest before shaking her head as she lightly groaned. "But the destined Emerald Hero has a trait that no other Draconid has!" Zinnia pointed towards Lucario before pointing back to Zach. "Aura... Lance and Clair don't have it, I don't have it, Ir-my girlfriend doesn't have it, not even Cynthia herself has it but he does!"

Zach, May and Dawn looked at each other before looking back towards Zinnia.

"Say we believe you," Zach spoke up. "Just how do you expect me to find Rayquaza? It's not like I can simply go to space and say hi!"

"Oh you won't, he'll find you and it'll happen soon!" Zinnia smirked. "The red and blue orbs have returned to this universe, more powerful than ever and several different factions are gunning for them and will succeed in capturing them. That attention will surely catch Rayquaza's attention and bring him back to earth!" Zinnia grinned.

"The blue and red orb?!" May gasped out.

Zach's eyes widened. May had told him about the orbs in the past so he was informed of what they were capable of. "You're asking me to stand by and let the bad guys win?! No way, I'm not doing that! People will get hurt or worse!"

Zinnia lightly scoffed while rolling her eyes. "Well if you manage to find a way to get to space before the meteorite hits then by all means feel free to do so but if that meteorite hits a lot more people will die!" Zinnia stood up and began to take her leave. "Or if you insist on acting all noble.. you could try and take one of the orbs for yourself and try to minimize the damage. The Red Orb is actually right up there!" Zinnia thumbed towards Mt. Chimney before raising her hand as she walked towards the exit.

"Hold up, you can't just drop that exposition on us and run off! We've got questions!" Dawn shouted out.

"Dawn's right, you've got to tell us more!" May shouted.

Zinnia's eyes twitched as she turned around. "Well how about this bombshell, a Draconid is legally allowed to have multiple wives!"

"Oh goodness, this isn't going to turn into a harem is it?" Pink Celebi asked with an annoyed tone.

"Don't worry, the future I've seen..." Mew coughed. "Sorry, still have that crazed accent. I've seen the future and this is it, he marries both of them while Ash marries Marnie."

"Oh thank goodness, there aren't many universes out there where Ash gets with Marnie. I'd hate to see this one get tainted."

"I know right?" Mew giggled out.

"Huh?!" The three gasped out at the revelation that she'd given them and slowly turned towards each other while Zinnia took the chance to run off before they could pester her with any further questions, leaving the three in stunned silence as Zinnia's words flowed through their thoughts.

Where did Absol go? I don't know but that's not the last you've seen of him, he's one of my favorite Dark types so of course Marnie's going to get one before it's too late to fit him into battle scenes. Nanu and Sidney will have been knocked out of the way but Karen and Grimsley are still there for him! I also didn't want to make it casual like "Marnie sees Absol, Marnie battles and captures Absol. Yay!"

This chapter was a bit short but 75's length will make up for it.

And if you didn't catch her slip up, Zinnia's the mystery lover that Iris has been referring to this whole time!

And what Mew said is true, don't worry. That's it! I understand it can be controversial but rest assured Ash is only getting with Marnie, if that's what you're here for then don't fret. Ash being a Draconid makes as much sense as him being a 'Psychic', I ain't doing that. He may or may not be bonding with a certain Dragon later but that's a different circumstance, N's not a Draconid either. I also hinted at how Volo was able to understand Giratina while all Ash and friends hear is "GIRAAAAAAA!".

'But Shadow, there is no such thing as Mega Flygon!' Yes, I know but Zach doesn't! Flygon really got screwed over...

"What will happen to Alcremie?" It'll take awhile but I implied that Alcremie wouldn't like being with Dawn or May as it's battles in general that she dislikes. Contest Battles are the same thing, Alcremie is a pacifist so she'll end up with somebody whose a perfect match for her.

Gloria will be entering the picture soon but next time, Marnie has her showdown with Sidney! :D