There were few people awake to see the early morning sun over Anistar City, as most of the citizens remained stubbornly in their beds. The nocturnal Pokémon were retreating into the forests surrounding the city, and the sound of bird Pokémon could be heard from anywhere within the city limits. Among the human population, the few early risers included the shopkeepers downtown, the Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center, and a pair of teenagers going for an early-morning run right outside of town.
Ash and Serena were jogging side-by-side along the last two miles of Route 17, both of them dressed in white shirts and running shorts, getting in some exercise before the rest of the city awoke. Their hearts were pounding and their legs were burning as they crested a large hill, but for each of them, the sound of the other's heavy footsteps pushed them to go just a little further, for just a little longer. Both teenagers wanted their time together to be as long as possible, and furthermore, neither of them wanted to look weak and out of shape in front of the other.
As the two of them reached the top of the hill, their footsteps slowed to a lighter jog, and then to a slow walk. They slumped forward in unison, gasping for air, needing some respite after pushing their stamina to their limit. Ash was the first to step off of the path, wiping sweat out of his eyes.
"I gotta… I need a break…" he wheezed out as he collapsed into a sitting position on the grass, which quickly became a lying position. He stared up at the red-and-gold sky for a moment, feeling his heaving chest rise and fall.
"Yeah… haven't run like… that in… a while…" Serena added, sitting for a moment before falling back and lying on the grass next to him.
Ash glanced over at her, grinning a bit at her closed eyes and flushed cheeks. His eyes flicked downward to locate her hand, and he immediately reached out to clasp it in his own, squeezing it gently. He felt her squeeze back, her lips curving up into a smile as she caught her breath. The two of them lay on the grass, hand-in-hand, for a one-minute break that turned into several minutes. It wasn't long before their legs and lungs had recovered from their jog, but neither of them were in a hurry to end their peaceful moment together.
Serena was the one to eventually break the silence. "Ash… what do you think you'll do once the Kalos League is over?"
Ash shrugged. "I'll just wait for my next adventure to find me. That's the way I've always lived my life."
"Yes, I know you have," she responded. "But it's harder to live that way when you have to think about… someone else."
"Ah… yeah." He nodded, the context of her question becoming more clear. This wasn't a "him" conversation. This was a "them" conversation.
"So…?" she prompted again, and he furrowed his brow. He knew that he wanted to continue traveling with Serena if possible, but the details eluded him, as they often did.
"Honestly, I haven't thought about it at all," he answered a bit sheepishly. "All I've been thinking about is being here in Kalos, and taking on the Kalos League, and then… that's it."
"Well, it's not like your dreams end in Kalos, do they? There has to be another step to becoming a Pokémon Master."
"There's a million other steps to becoming a Pokémon Master," Ash replied. "I don't even know what most of them are. It's not a step-by-step thing. I'll probably be chasing that dream most of my life."
"I didn't know it was that complicated." She continued looking up at the sky, watching as it slowly changed color with the arrival of the sun. "So you could end up going anywhere once the Kalos League is over."
"Yeah, pretty much."
Serena frowned, feeling the conversation starting to get away from her. She felt selfish coming right out and asking him where she fit into his plans, but the two of them needed to figure it out sometime before their journey came to an end. "Well, you should start thinking about it now. You're not the only one who needs to know."
He turned his head to face her. "Well, what about you?"
"Hm?" She glanced back at him. "What about me?"
"What happens after you win the Master Class and become Kalos Queen?" he clarified. "You're going to be the most famous person in Kalos for a while, aren't you? Are you even going to be able to go anywhere?"
"I…" She blinked, staring into space for a moment as she considered his question. She had been so preoccupied with the Master Class that she had to admit she didn't really know what came after. "I guess I haven't really thought about what comes next, either." She could feel all the wind being taken out of her sails, as her request to Ash was turned around on her.
"You see?" he responded. "It's not as easy as it seems."
"Mm." She gazed out at the sky once again, unsatisfied. The two of them were at an impasse, and she wasn't any closer to the answers she was looking for. She could feel him give her hand a reassuring squeeze after a moment, but she didn't return it. Instead she let go of his hand and rolled over in his direction, resting her forearms on the ground on either side of him, her upper body hovering over his. Her face stared down at him from above, blocking out the sun, her sweat-drenched hair hanging down and framing her features.
"I wish I could take a look inside your head, Ash Ketchum," she commented cryptically, her voice hitting a lower pitch than before.
He looked back up at her with wide eyes that roamed over her face, his heart beating a bit faster. "Why do you say that?"
"Maybe I could sort things out in that brain of yours," she answered, trying to make herself alluring and intimidating at the same time, in the hopes of breaking him. "I could get the answers that you don't want to give me."
"It's not that I don't want to…" he protested, in his defense.
"Well, you'll have to come up with something eventually," she responded. "Where do you see yourself going forward, Ash? What do you think about when you imagine yourself as Kalos League Champion? What is it that you really want?"
Ash lay back and watched her eyes as she spoke, trying his best to listen to what she had to say, but captivated by the sight in front of him at the same time. As she finished speaking and waited for his reply, a devious grin crossed his face. He slid his elbows upward to give himself leverage, pushing himself up off the ground and firmly pressing his lips against hers.
"Mmph!" Serena's eyes shot open wide, her heart leaping as she felt him starting to kiss her, shocked by his brazen and unexpected action. She tried not to respond, tried to pull herself away, as she felt blood rushing to her cheeks. She didn't want him to get out of this difficult conversation so easily.
Her resistance lasted all of one second before melting away. Letting out a sound somewhere between a grunt and a sigh, she closed her eyes and slowly kissed him back, feeling her skin tingling from head to toe. It was all she could do to keep herself propped up and stop herself from melting into him completely. The two of them lay there for several seconds, sharing a slow and tender kiss, before he finally broke away from her and slumped back to the ground. His eyes met hers as they opened.
"Geez, Ash…" she muttered breathlessly, feeling stunned. She had been in complete control of the situation for a few moments, but with that one kiss he had wrested that control away from her. She had known ever since Lagoon Town that she had some degree of power over him, thanks to her feminine wiles, but she was now starting to realize that he had power over her as well. This realization was somewhat irritating, but at the same time it was terribly exciting.
"Is that a good enough answer?" he asked with a smug smirk on his lips. She had more protests, but as she beheld him those protests evaporated into thin air, and she suddenly found herself tongue-tied. Her face felt as if it could catch fire at any moment, and her heart was pounding against her ribs and battering her lungs, snuffing out any chance of a retort. He could be infuriatingly charming when he wanted to be.
"It's good enough for now," she eventually responded, pushing herself up onto her knees. "We should get going. You've still got a gym battle to fight today."
He nodded and reached for her outstretched hand, letting her pull him up, and soon the two of them were jogging back down the hill toward Anistar City. Serena's heart continued to pound, her face flushed as she glanced over at him. She couldn't keep an excited grin off her face, enjoying the sensation of being completely overwhelmed by her attraction to him, feeling as if she was a ten-year-old girl with a crush once again.
Hours later, the rest of the city had awoken, along with Brock, Iris and Shannon. The full group of five were walking through the city, with the Anistar City Gym just starting to come into view. The main structure of the gym was a circular building with a domed roof, with several large, golden arches surrounding the structure. The construction and decorations made the building look like some sort of mystical, psychic observatory.
Stepping inside, most of the trainers stopped to look around and take in the interior of the reception area, which was designed to look like a night sky filled with stars. Ash, impatient as always to have a Pokémon battle, immediately moved to the reception desk, which was being attended by a black-haired girl roughly his age. "Hi! I'm here for a battle against Olympia?"
The receptionist smiled and nodded. "Ash Ketchum, right?" Ash nodded in confirmation, and the girl looked toward the large doors that led to the battle arena. "Miss Olympia will be ready for you in just a minute. She's just finished conducting a vision session, and is preparing for your battle now. Once the doors open, you can go on in."
He smiled back. "Thanks! We'll just wait here, then." He turned back toward the doors, waiting impatiently for them to open, every second feeling like a minute. Pikachu, perched on Ash's shoulder, was able to wait with a bit more patience, already knowing that he likely wouldn't be taking part in this battle.
"A vision session?" Brock spoke up curiously. "What's that?"
"It's where Olympia and a bunch of other psychics gather around to get visions of the future," Madison explained, a hint of reverence in her voice. "She does them often, to try and see dangers before they happen. She's the most powerful psychic in all of Kalos."
"The future?" The skepticism was clear in Iris's voice. "Are those visions, you know… real?" The receptionist looked scandalized at Iris's comment, but Serena stepped in first.
"We've seen her visions come true ourselves," she explained, a bit snippy. "They've saved all of Kalos before."
Iris nodded wordlessly, easily catching the coldness in Serena's voice and not surprised by it. The previous night, after watching a video of their tournament match, Serena had rounded angrily on Iris, demanding to know how she could have brought herself to attack Absol when he was in such clear distress and anguish. Despite Ash leaping to Iris's defense, Serena had gone to bed upset that night. She had apologized earlier that morning, after her jog with Ash, but Iris could tell that she was not back in Serena's good graces just yet. She made a mental note to never underestimate Serena's love for the gentle Dark-type.
Moments later, the conversation came to a halt as the large doors leading to the battlefield slowly opened, seemingly of their own accord. Ash grinned wide, barely having the presence of mind to turn to his friends before charging in.
"Alright! Come on, guys, let's go!" All five of them started walking into the main arena, with Ash moving faster than the rest of them, when a gentle and familiar voice caused them all to stop in their tracks.
"Excuse me, but I was hoping that I could have a gym battle today?"
Ash and the others turned around, freezing in shock as they saw the raven-haired Darius standing at the reception desk. He glanced toward the door, eyebrows raising as he saw the other trainers properly for the first time, realizing who they were. All of them stared in silence, none of them certain how to react after the unusual circumstances of their last meeting. The brief moment of silence was broken by the receptionist's voice.
"I'm sorry, but this trainer already has an appointment for a battle this morning," she explained apologetically, not having the same reaction to Darius's appearance. "Perhaps you can battle once they are done."
Darius offered her a weak smile. "I would like that, thank you." He paused briefly as the girl made a note in her calendar before speaking up again. "Are gym battles open to the public to watch?"
"Yes, they are," the receptionist confirmed. "There are some exceptions, but for the most part, anyone is able to watch any battle."
"Maybe I'll watch this one, then." He turned back toward Ash, his expression neutral once again, in stark contrast to the shock written on Ash's face. "You don't mind, do you?"
"I… uh…" Ash was completely taken aback by the request, as were all of his friends. He could feel anger swelling up within him, his mind immediately flashing back to the battle at the Cyllage City Gym, but Darius's politeness was as disarming as it was baffling. Ash could not reasonably reject the older boy's request without making himself look like a stubborn jerk, which would not endear him to the gym attendants. "I guess not…"
Darius smiled at him politely. "Thanks." Ash nodded back weakly, his mind still reeling, as the other trainer began walking toward the door. He regained his composure after a moment, turning and walking into the giant room that housed the gym's battlefield, his friends following behind him. His befuddlement was soon replaced with determination. He was growing even more fired up than before, wanting to show Darius exactly what he was capable of as a trainer.
The inside of the arena felt like an infinite void full of stars, as if Ash and his friends had stepped into outer space, with a Pokémon battle arena somehow suspended within it. Ash stepped into the challenger's box on the battlefield, Pikachu at his feet, with his friends standing off to the side, along with Darius. On the other end of the arena was the tall, regal, imposing figure of Olympia, the purple-haired Gym Leader.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Ash Ketchum," she spoke in a gentle but strong voice that carried throughout the room. "I have been looking forward to our rematch for some time now."
"For some time?" Ash's eyebrows raised, as a cheeky grin crossed his face. "Did you foresee my arrival?"
"Of course I foresaw it." Olympia's pleasant demeanor grew more stern. "You called our gym to ensure we were still taking challengers. Anyone could have foreseen it."
"Oh… right…" Ash did his best to ignore the snorting laugh from Darius. "Well, I've been looking forward to our rematch, too. I've got a new group of Pokémon to battle with. I hope you're ready!"
"I've made sure to prepare especially for this match," the Gym Leader responded. "As before, this will be a double battle. You will not be battling against my Meowstic, however." She reached down and grasped a pair of Poké Balls from her hip with one hand, tossing them both out onto the battlefield.
Ash watched carefully as the two Pokémon appeared in the arena, recognizing both of them immediately. The first was a pink, bipedal Pokémon with a large, grey crustacean forcibly attached to the top of its head, the crown of a Slowking. The other was a large, floating, squid-like creature that caused Ash's breath to briefly catch in his throat. Off to the side, Serena gasped as she saw the combatant appear, recalling the near-catastrophe that she and Ash had experienced together with this species of Pokémon in the past. Beside her, Iris took out his Pokédex and aimed it at the Pokémon curiously.
"Malamar, the Overturning Pokémon, and the evolved form of Inkay," the machine reported. "Possessing the strongest hypnotic powers of any Pokémon, Malamar can compel others to do anything it wants them to do." Iris put the machine away again, nervous about what this might mean for the upcoming battle.
Olympia could see the surprise in Ash's eyes, understanding exactly where it came from. "It seems that you recognize this particular Malamar… I can't say I'm surprised. This one would be rather hard to forget."
Ash looked back at Olympia with shock written all over his face. "You mean… that's the same…?" He was aghast at the idea of once again meeting the wicked Malamar that had hypnotized Officer Jenny and attempted to conquer the planet, many years ago. He had hoped to never see it again.
"The very same," she responded. "Years ago, this creature came to Anistar City, in an attempt to harness the power of our gym's psychics for its own nefarious ends. That was its greatest and last mistake." Ash swallowed involuntarily, not sure he wanted to know what Olympia had done in order to bring this Malamar to heel. He looked up at the creature's eyes, as it stared back at him, clearly recognizing Ash as much as Ash had recognized him.
"Does Ash know this Pokémon somehow?" Iris half-whispered to Serena. The performer turned her head and began to recount their run-ins with this Malamar in the past, and everyone listened in curiously, including Darius.
Olympia returned her Poké Balls to her hip. "You have now seen my Pokémon. Who will you choose as your combatants?"
Ash's hand moved to his Poké Balls as well, having chosen his Pokémon earlier in the day. Part of him was still upset that Absol wouldn't be taking part in this battle, especially considering he would be immune to Psychic-type attacks as a Dark-type, but he knew that leaving Absol out was the right decision. Physically, he was fighting fit after a night at the Pokémon Center. Psychologically, the Pokémon had still not recovered from what had been a traumatic battle against Iris and Brock, and against his Mega Evolution most of all. Ash had resolved to give Absol a few days of rest before returning him to battle. Plus, if he was being honest with himself, he didn't want this battle to be too easy. On the other hand, facing down this particular Malamar, he wouldn't mind having every advantage he could get.
"Sigilyph, Drapion, let's go!" He tossed the two Poké Balls out onto the field in front of him, and the bird Pokémon and scorpion Pokémon appeared in a flash of red light. Sigilyph assumed a regal stance, sizing up her opponents, while Drapion snapped its claws threateningly, bearing its fangs.
Olympia nodded after a moment, appearing satisfied with her challenger's choice of combatants. Ash couldn't stop his eyes from flicking over to Darius, wanting to see his own reaction. The older boy was stone-faced, his expression not betraying his thoughts.
"Both the challenger and the Gym Leader are ready!" From the side of the battlefield, a young women wearing a psychic's robes held a pair of referee flags aloft. "The battle will begin… now!"
Olympia responded immediately, reacting with a speed Ash couldn't hope to match. "Future Sight!" Both Slowking and Malamar surrounded themselves with a light blue aura, manifesting a handful of blue energy spheres above their heads. Moments later, several rifts opened up in the air around them, and the energy balls shot into those rifts before closing up again, the energy vanished from the world.
Ash was unsurprised. Future Sight had been a cornerstone of Olympia's strategy in their last battle, and finding a way around it had been key to their victory. He glanced down at Pikachu and gave his partner a nod; Pikachu nodded back and looked toward the battlefield, his tail swinging back and forth in a constant rhythm, like a metronome. With each swish of his tail, the Pokémon made a light noise under his breath.
"Huh?" Iris cocked her head. "What is Pikachu doing?"
"He's timing the Future Sight attack, so he knows when it will emerge again," Serena answered, keeping her voice low. "They did this in their last battle, too. It worked really well."
"What are the chances that will work again?"
"Probably pretty small," Brock replied. "But it couldn't hurt to try." Iris shrugged, not arguing with that point. She turned her focus back to Ash, who was issuing his first commands.
"Sigilyph, use Cosmic Power!" Ash called out. "Drapion, go after Malamar with Fell Stinger!"
Both Pokémon reacted instantly to his commands. Sigilyph let out a low caw as her body was surrounded with a sparkling aura, raising her defenses. Drapion aimed his tail at Malamar and fired off a large, pointed stinger that looked particularly sharp and menacing. Malamar was able to dodge easily, hovering out of the way of one stinger, then another, and another.
"Slowking, attack Drapion with Surf!" the Gym Leader commanded. Drapion was forced to turn his attention away from Malamar, watching as a powerful wave of water swept across the field toward him.
"Use X-Scissor!" Ash retorted. His Pokémon raised his claws above his head, bringing them down in an X-shape just as the wave of water approached. The twin slashes managed to disrupt the approaching wave, displacing the water that would have slammed into him. Instead of knocking him off his feet, the remnants of the wave in front of him passed harmlessly over his feet, soaking the arena.
Ash looked up into the air, watching as Malamar started to pursue Sigilyph with Dark Pulse. With half the battlers in the air, and the other half on the ground, it seemed that the matchups had been decided, at least for the time being. He was confident that Drapion could hold his own, and he hoped that Sigilyph could do the same despite her type disadvantage.
"Sigilyph, hit Malamar with Air Cutter! Drapion, get closer and use Crunch!" Both of his Pokémon went on the offensive, charging in with their own attacks while dodging those of their opponents. Everyone in the room watched as the four battling Pokémon went on the assault, trying to land an attack with minimal success. Ash kept a careful eye on the situation, giving occasional words of warning, but mostly letting his Pokémon battle the way he knew they could. He knew it was only a matter of time until-
A half-dozen rifts suddenly opened up in the air, all of them surrounding Sigilyph, as the Future Sight attack came to pass. Sigilyph cried out in pain as she was assaulted by the energy orbs from both attacks, battering her from all sides. As she flapped her wings in a bid to stay aloft, a powerful Night Slash from Malamar sent her plummeting to the ground, where she crashed next to a rather surprised Drapion.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief as Sigilyph pushed herself up and returned to the air, sore but determined. He looked down to the Pokémon at his feet. "Did you get that?" Pikachu looked up at him and chirped affirmatively, the time of the Future Sight attack committed to memory. They both looked back as Slowking and Malamar each fired off another Future Sight attack, and Pikachu immediately started counting again. They would be ready for the next assault.
"Why did both of those attacks hit Sigilyph?" Madison asked quietly, as Drapion began firing Fell Stingers at Malamar once again.
"Drapion's part Dark-type," Brock explained, as Slowking fired a Water Gun at Drapion, who retaliated with a Dark Pulse. "They're completely immune to Psychic-type attacks. Hitting Drapion would just be a waste of energy."
"Malamar is part Dark-type too, though," Serena added. "So Sigilyph is probably going to have trouble." Madison nodded thoughtfully, as Malamar blocked the Dark Pulse with a Reflect.
As Malamar briefly diverted his focus away from Sigilyph, Ash saw an opening, and was quick to capitalize on it. "Sigilyph, use Air Slash!" She cawed and raised her wings, which began to glow with a light-blue energy. Before she could swing her wings at her opponent, however, a number of rifts appeared around her once again, battering her with another double dose of Future Sight.
"No!" Ash watched Sigilyph plummet to the ground once again, his eyes darting down toward Pikachu, who looked as shocked as he was. Pikachu had still been counting down, waiting to give Ash the signal that the attack was coming up. Future Sight had reappeared much faster than it had the first time.
"I should thank you for showing me one of my weaknesses in our last battle, Ash Ketchum." Olympia's voice carried across the battlefield easily, her respectful but vaguely taunting tone hitting the ears of everyone in the room. "I would not dare to disrespect you by showing the same weakness again."
Ash nodded, his disappointed frown giving way to an ecstatic grin. "And I wouldn't want you to make this easy for me!" With his initial plan scuttled, he was going to have to strategize on the fly, which was exactly where he operated at his best. As both of Olympia's Pokémon prepared for another round of Future Sight, he decided to intervene.
"Drapion, hit Slowking with Toxic!" he called out. His Pokémon obeyed immediately, opening his mouth and spitting out a stream of toxic purple liquid in Slowking's direction.
"Catch that attack with Psychic!" Olympia responded. Her Slowking abandoned the Future Sight attack, his eyes glowing blue as he stared down the approaching venom. The poisonous liquid suddenly stopped dead in midair, inches in front of Slowking's face, accumulating into a large ball. The Toxic attack was now Slowking's to use as he pleased.
Ash seemed unfazed as he issued his next command. "Sigilyph, Air Cutter and steal that Toxic!" Before Slowking could react, he was knocked forward onto his stomach as numerous blades of air collided painfully with his back. His psychic control of the toxic venom wavered, and as the ball of liquid started to fall, it was quickly recaptured by a recovered Sigilyph.
Ash grinned wide. "Now, throw it at Malamar! Chase him down!" The toxic ball zoomed across the battlefield, toward the flying squid Pokémon, who was forced to dodge. Sigilyph didn't let up the pressure, pursuing Malamar with the poisonous attack, forcing it to stay on the move. Malamar eventually flew down closer to the ground in his efforts to stay away, focusing on summoning his own psychic powers to form a counterattack. As he prepared to retaliate against Sigilyph, he could see Drapion leaping toward him out of the corner of his eye, slamming both claws into Malamar's body in a super-effective X-Scissor attack.
"Perfect!" Ash's eyes were shining as he saw Malamar stagger. "Now Sigilyph, hit-"
His command was interrupted as the newest Future Sight attack made itself known, battering Sigilyph and breaking her focus. The ball of venom fell and splattered against the ground, no longer posing a threat. Malamar straightened himself and turned back toward Sigilyph, firing a powerful Dark Pulse that knocked her to the ground, where she struggled to rise.
"That Future Sight is causing Ash a lot of problems," Brock commented, as Drapion once again started firing Fell Stingers at Malamar to keep it away from Sigilyph. "Every time he gets a bit of momentum, Future Sight steals it away from him." Malamar formed yet another Future Sight as he dodged Drapion's assault.
"In his last match, Ash was able to use it against Olympia," Serena followed up, as Sigilyph righted herself as well, starting to look tired and beat down. "But I don't know if he'll be able to do that this time." Darius continued to watch silently, saying nothing, taking in as many details from the battle as he could.
As Drapion prepared more Fell Stingers, he was surprised to feel a few drops of water on his head and his back. Looking upward, he was able to see a rain cloud floating in the air above the battlefield, the result of a Rain Dance technique from Slowking. He could only appreciate it for a moment before a powerful Water Pulse knocked him off his feet, sending him sliding across the water-slick battlefield.
Ash looked up at the rain cloud with a frown, as Drapion got back to his feet. Rain Dance would have the frustrating effect of powering up all of Slowking's Water-type moves, which were his only real means of attack against Drapion. Malamar already had an edge over Sigilyph, even before Future Sight was factored in. If Slowking was able to overpower Drapion as well, Olympia was going to run away with this battle.
As Ash thought over his options, and the tactics he'd used in the battle so far, a devilish idea entered his mind, causing a devious and wild grin to spread across his face. He was probably going to owe Sigilyph a big apology after this, but it would help him take control of the battle.
"Drapion, fire Toxic into the air!" he called out. "Sigilyph, spread it out in the rain cloud!"
Olympia's eyebrows raised, as she failed to hide her surprise at the strange command. Before she could order her Pokémon to intercept, Drapion had already spat out a large spray of poisonous liquid, which Sigilyph retrieved with her psychic abilities, dispersing it in the cloud formed by Rain Dance. Moments later, the crystal-clear raindrops were replaced by slightly larger, threateningly purple ones, as Drapion's poison began to rain down on the battlefield.
"Sigilyph, use Psychic to protect yourself!" Ash commanded. The bird Pokémon did as she was instructed, forming what seemed like an invisible umbrella above her head, the toxic rain splattering against the strange barrier and rolling off. Slowking and Malamar were forced to do the same, while Drapion looked as if he was practically reveling in this new weather.
"What the… is Ash out of his mind?!" Madison whispered, incredulous. "He's making it rain poison?!" By her side, Serena looked equally shocked.
"It's wild, but… it kind of makes sense, actually," Iris responded. "This is going to affect everyone but Drapion. They'll have to use their psychic abilities to deflect the poison, but he's immune to his own venom. Now he's the most powerful Pokémon on the battlefield." She couldn't help but smile weakly. "Only Ash would think of something like that."
Iris wasn't the only one smiling. Off to the side, Darius had adopted an amused smirk, the first emotion he had shown since the battle began.
Ash watched the three Psychic-type Pokémon working to shield themselves from the toxic weather, feeling adrenaline pumping through him. Sigilyph was going to be more vulnerable as a result, but she would be able to keep herself out of danger for the most part, he hoped. It was Drapion's turn to shine now.
"Drapion, charge at Slowking and use Crunch!" The scorpion Pokémon took off running, jaws wide and dripping with venom, a little too eager to sink his teeth into his foe.
"Slowking, stop Drapion with Water Gun!" Olympia countered. "Malamar, close in on Sigilyph and use Dark Pulse!" Both of her Pokémon leapt into action, with Slowking summoning another giant wave of water, and Malamar flew through the poisonous rain toward Sigilyph, having to move more slowly in order to maintain his psychic shield.
"Dodge it, Drapion!" Ash responded. "Sigilyph, dodge! Be careful!" As the bird Pokémon began to carefully weave through the rain, dodging Malamar's assault, Drapion scuttled back and forth to dodge one Water Gun after another. Soon he had closed the gap, and he lunged forward with his jaws, sinking them deep into Slowking's side. The Royal Pokémon cried out in pain, not accustomed to such a vicious physical assault, and tried to use his weak arms to force Drapion away.
"Push him away with Psychic!" Olympia ordered, her voice as calm as it ever was. Slowking obeyed without hesitation, his psychic umbrella dropping as he used all of his power to dislodge Drapion and hurl him across the arena. As the scorpion Pokémon got back to his feet, a sickly expression started to wash over Slowking's face. His psychic powers were deflecting the poison rain again, but the momentary pause had been just enough. Drapion's venom had taken effect.
As Drapion charged Slowking again, Ash turned his attention back toward Olympia, wanting to see her reaction to this reversal of fortune. Much to his annoyance, she was as stone-faced as always, not showing any sort of emotion - at least, that was how it seemed at first. Looking closer, he noticed that she seemed almost pleased with how the battle was going. He wasn't sure if she was happy at how well he was doing, or if she still had an ace up her sleeve. He received his answer as soon as she opened her mouth.
"Malamar, use Hypnosis!"
Ash's blood ran cold as he watched Malamar's body glow yellow, and he fixed his gaze on Sigilyph, who instantly stopped flying about. The trainer had no time to warn her before her body went slack, her three eyes drooping. This was the power that made Malamar the fearsome creature that Ash, Serena and their friends had battled several years ago. He had placed Sigilyph entirely under his control, turning the two-on-two battle into a three-on-one.
"Oh, no…" Serena covered her mouth with her hand, just as fearful now as Ash. "This is what I was afraid of…" The others were all just as concerned, save for Darius, who continued to watch the battle curiously, picking up on as many pointers as he could. They all watched as Malamar forced Sigilyph to hover still in the air, where the final Future Sight attack battered her once again. She struggled to stay aloft after yet another assault, but she managed to fly upward once again after a few moments.
Drapion looked around nervously at the three Pokémon that were all turning on him threateningly, no longer happy with the direction this battle was taking. As all three of them began to glow, preparing their own attacks, Ash spoke up.
"Drapion, get away by using Dig!" he ordered, somewhat desperately. His Pokémon immediately tunneled into the earth that made up the battlefield, just before he was attacked by a Water Pulse, Air Slash, and Dark Pulse simultaneously. Ash hoped that the Dig attack would buy him time to come up with a plan, but Olympia had other ideas.
"Use Surf on that tunnel, Slowking! Flush Drapion out!" Ash swallowed hard, watching helplessly as a wall of water was forced into the small tunnel. Moments later, a geyser of dirt and water exploded out of the battlefield, throwing a panicked Drapion into the air. He crashed hard onto the ground, scrambling to get back to his feet, but another Air Slash knocked him away, toward the edge of the arena. He took off as quickly as he could, dodging a Dark Pulse from Malamar, as the assault resumed.
Ash's mind raced as he watched Drapion try to escape his three attackers. He had to get Sigilyph back on his side, at any cost. He thought back to his previous run-ins with Malamar, and how they had managed to defeat his hypnosis, but neither of those instances would help much here; he didn't have access to Team Rocket here, or one of Clemont's exploding inventions. He looked up at Malamar, and his glowing body, before his eyes moved to Sigilyph and her slack, vacant expression. He could think of a couple of different ways of potentially disrupting Hypnosis, and he was going to try both of them at once. After this battle, he was going to owe Sigilyph several apologies.
"Drapion, use Dark Pulse on all three of them!" he called out.
His Pokémon looked a bit confused, but didn't hesitate to open his mouth and fire off a beam of purple and black rings at his foes, sweeping it across all three. Malamar and Slowking moved quickly out of the way, but the mind-controlled Sigilyph did not have the same reaction time as the other two. The Dark Pulse hit her head-on, knocking her out of the air while it knocked the air out of her. As she crashed into the ground, Ash could see that her eyes were wide open and alert once again, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Sigilyph was heavily struggling now, barely able to push herself up, having to resort to her psychic abilities to keep herself aloft, only a few feet off the ground. She didn't have much more time to battle, and Ash would have to make the most of it.
"Malamar, use Dark Pulse and knock Sigilyph out!" Olympia ordered. Before he could act, Ash was issuing his own command.
"Sigilyph, hit Malamar with Sky Attack!"
Despite being weak, sore and exhausted, Sigilyph used the last of her strength to fly higher off the ground, dodging Malamar's Dark Pulse. Her whole body glowed white, and she shot forward with shocking speed for her condition, slamming headfirst into Malamar's chest. Both Pokémon tumbled bodily to the ground, where Sigilyph rolled across the arena to a stop, unconscious and spent. Malamar coughed and tried to return to the air, but it wasn't long before his face started to flush purple, as the poison rain finally began to take effect. He continued to struggle for a few moments before collapsing to the ground, defeated.
With the two fliers out of commission, Drapion turned his gaze toward Slowking, who was looking rather intimidated. After seeing what Olympia and Malamar had done to Sigilyph, Ash was ready to bring this difficult battle to a swift end.
"Drapion, finish Slowking off with one more Dark Pulse!" he ordered.
"Slowking, fight back with Water Gun!" Olympia commanded, though her voice no longer had the strength it had before. It was as if she could see the end of the battle already.
Drapion opened his mouth and shot one last Dark Pulse at Slowking, who fired back with the most powerful Water Gun his poisoned, weakened frame could muster. The two attacks met in midair, but their clash could hardly be called a struggle. The Dark Pulse easily win out, forcing the Water Gun back in moments before striking Slowking directly in the chest. Olympia's Pokémon was knocked off his feet and onto his back, groaning as he rolled onto his side, unable to pick himself back up.
"Both of Olympia's Pokémon are unable to battle!" the referee declared, raising her flag in Ash's direction. "The challenger, Ash Ketchum, has won the match!"
Ash's initial reaction was much more relief than elation, and he let out a long, slow breath as he slumped forward for a moment. The cheers of his friends from the side of the arena, and Pikachu from down by his feet, quickly restored his energy, and he stood up straight before returning his two Pokémon, praising both of them for a battle well fought. He turned his gaze back toward the battlefield, where several of the gym's psychic attendants were clearing away the poisonous raincloud, as Olympia returned her Pokémon as well. Once the arena was safe to traverse, the two battlers both stepped out onto it, meeting in the center.
"Another impressive battle, Ash," Olympia began. "You are one of the most bold and resourceful trainers to set foot in my gym. I don't think anyone could ever predict your battle tactics, even if they could see the future."
Ash grinned up at her. "Thank you for the battle, Olympia. I wasn't expecting to see Malamar ever again, but I'm glad I had the chance to face it in a proper battle."
"I thought you would appreciate that." She reached into her robe, producing a metallic badge that had the appearance of a golden wisp of smoke emerging from a purple pearl. "Once again, you have earned this Psychic Badge. Congratulations." She gently placed the badge into his hand, and his grin only grew wider as he looked down at it, feeling proud and accomplished.
"I'm afraid I have less pleasant words to share with you," Olympia continued, recapturing Ash's attention. "My attempts to discern the future have been difficult, as of late. The visions that come to me have been murky and unclear, revealing little."
"They have?" He cocked his head. "What does that mean? Is that bad?"
"It is rarely good when we cannot see what the future holds," she answered, her voice flat. "I fear that unnatural forces are at work in Kalos, clouding our ability to truly See. I can view glimpses of you and your friends, however. I am certain you will have a role to play in the events that lay ahead of us."
"I see…" Ash frowned, not liking the sound of any of this. As much as he loved adventure, he wasn't interested in anything that might put his friends in danger, or Kalos itself. "So you don't know anything that's coming our way?"
"That is not quite the case," she replied, causing his eyebrows to raise. "There is one thing that manages to cut through the fog that encompasses our visions… one Pokémon, to be specific."
"A Pokémon?" His voice was filled with surprise and curiosity. "Do you know which one?"
Olympia nodded. "I do. It is a powerful and legendary Pokémon… the guardian of Kalos, Xerneas."
"Xerneas?" Ash's eyes shot open wide, recognizing the name immediately. "But… how is that possible?" He had encountered Xerneas once before, but the encounter had left the Pokémon entombed within a giant tree, in order to recover its energy over the next thousand years. How this Pokémon could have a role to play in in the near future, he had no idea.
"Unfortunately, I cannot glean any other details," she responded, shaking her head. "You now know as much as I do about what is to come. I will continue to try and gain better glimpses of the future, in the meantime. I hope that nothing dangerous is coming to pass, but we should all be preparing ourselves for the worst."
"I understand." He dipped his head toward her, in gratitude. "Thank you for telling me about this."
"Of course. Everyone in Kalos owes you a debt, whether they know it or not. This is the least I can do." She extended her arm, and the two shook hands briefly. "Take care, Ash Ketchum. I look forward to hearing of your accomplishments in the Kalos League."
Ash thanked her again, and the two separated and walked off in opposite directions. He could see his friends gathering at the door, and he grinned and picked up the pace as they waved him over.
"Congratulations, Ash!" Serena was the first to speak up. "You did a great job out there, just like I knew you would!"
"You're as unpredictable as always," Brock added, his arms folded. "That poison rain was something else, even for you. Who knows what you're going to come up with next?"
Ash grinned. "Thanks a bunch, guys." He took in the smiling faces of his friends, before his eyes darted over to Darius, who was standing at the edge of the group. He turned toward the older boy, unable to keep his curiosity bottled up.
"So, what did you think of that?" he asked, a bit of smugness in his voice.
Darius's expression was fixed as he spoke. "Do you always win your battles by the skin of your teeth like that?"
"Wh… no, I don't!" Ash shot back, taken aback. He could feel himself flushing with embarrassment, his smugness draining away in an instant.
"Hm. If you say so," the older boy answered. "I've only seen two of your battles, but you nearly lost both of them, so…"
"Don't you ever have anything nice to say?!" Iris fired back at him.
Darius shrugged. "Sure. That poison cloud was pretty inventive. You saw that she was controlling the battle and figured out a way to turn it around. You're a creative battler, and that's your biggest strength as far as I can tell." He slid his hands into his pockets. "But that's only going to get you so far. If you can't handle techniques like that Future Sight, you're never going to make it to being Kalos League Champion."
Ash was starting to grow angry. "You think you could have handled that Future Sight better than I did?"
"Of course," Darius answered, his voice low. "Olympia was telegraphing every single attack. You could see her eyebrows raising and her shoulders rising right before Future Sight came back out. She knew when each attack would hit, and whether she realized it or not, she was letting everyone else know, too. If you had been paying attention, maybe you wouldn't have had such a hard time."
Ash stared at him with wide eyes, trying to form words that wouldn't come forth. He could feel his face heating up more, his anger giving way to even higher levels of embarrassment. For the first time that he could remember, another trainer had rendered him completely speechless.
"Anyway, good job getting your badge, and good luck with the rest." Darius turned back to the door. "I'm going to get some lunch. See you in the Kalos League, maybe." Ash stared at him as he walked out of the arena, his eyes fixed forward even as the door closed and Darius vanished from sight.
"Ash?" Iris's voice brought him back to reality after a few moments. "You alright?"
"Ah… yeah." Ash nodded. "I'm fine." His voice didn't match his words, sounding downcast.
"Don't worry about him, Ash," Serena reassured. "Don't let him get into your head. Remember, you've got a Psychic Badge, and he doesn't."
"He'll get his badge soon enough," he replied, much of the wind taken out of his sails. "He's too good not to." He stepped forward and walked through the doors slowly, lacking the energy he usually had after a good Pokémon battle. The others quickly followed after him, concern on all of their faces, as they walked out of the gym and toward the Pokémon Center.