Soon after they left the Crimson Mirelands, Ash and Akari walked into Commander Kamado's office, bearing the disturbing news they had discovered. The Commander turned towards them and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Glad to see you both back. What do you two have to report?" he asked.

"We have good news and bad news sir." Ash began. "The good news is, Noble Ursaluna is alright. But that's part of the bad news too…he was never frenzied. Arezu must've lied to us because Akari and I saw that Noble Ursaluna wasn't covered in the same glowing energy Lord Kleavor was covered in."

"Arezu did lie." Adaman announced as he suddenly walked in and joined the conversation. "I've just received word from some other members of the Diamond Clan that our Lady of the Ridge is in a frenzy herself."

"Oh no!" Akari gasps.

"Apparently Arezu was going to try and solve it on her own without telling anyone. That's why she sent you on that wild-Swanna chase." He added.

"Unbelievable...she'll get herself hurt." Ash growled slightly.

"Agreed. We must find her and stop her at once." Kamado confirmed.

"But how can we help now? She must be halfway back to Brava Arena already." Akari pointed out.

"We can intercept her at the Arena if we hurry." Adaman informed them.

"Alright. Then let's hurry." Ash nodded. With that decided, he and Akari ran out of the room and back out towards the gates as fast as they could.

Once the team was back in the Crimson Mirelands, they both made their way up the cliffsides as fast as they could, just hoping that the quiet air meant they weren't too late to help. After a bit of climbing, they finally arrived at the entrance to Brava Arena, where all seemed to be just as quiet as could be.

"Doesn't look like she's here yet..." Akari commented as she took a moment to catch her breath.

"Odd...she had such a head start on us..." Ash remarked. "Maybe something happened to her on her way here?"

"It's certainly possible..." she agreed.

"Well either way we need to find her." He declared.

"Hey, hold on. Look down there." She noticed, pointing down the cliff to a path where they saw Ursaluna running across the bottom of the hill.

"Huh? Where Ursaluna is going?" he wondered.

"Let's follow him and find out." She suggested.

"Good idea." With that decided, the two headed back down the hill and ran after Ursaluna. The large Pokemon continued running until he suddenly stopped near the base of the hill and roared in triumph. In front of him was Arezu, sitting on the ground with a swollen ankle.

"Oh great..." she groaned as Ash and Akari approached.

"Arezu?" Akari cautiously asked.

"Oh, it's you two...I see things went well with Ursaluna..." the woman joked, glancing at the hulking Pokemon next to her.

"Yeah, but you have some explaining to do. You lied to us about Ursaluna going into a frenzy. The only thing wrong with him was just a blockage up his nose." Ash glared.

"And all while Lady Lilligant is in trouble..." Akari added. Arezu was quiet for a moment before looking down with a small smile on her face.

"...Nice detective work I must say." She chuckled. Ursaluna suddenly went up to Ash and nudged Ash's arm with his nose.

"Huh? Ursaluna?" he wondered. Ursaluna softly roared before he dug through some of the muddy fur on his back and then pulled out a plate in his teeth. He then handed Ash the plate, and Ash was quick to recognize it as the Earth Plate.

"Another one of those plates?" Akari wondered.

"Yeah, it is." Ash nodded as he looked at Ursaluna. "Did you give me this as thanks for the help before?"

"Luna." He nodded.

"I see. Well, then your welcome Ursaluna." Ash smiled.

"Ursa!" Ursaluna smiled back. Ash put the plate away in his pack as Akari turned back to the injured Warden.

"Arezu why did you lie about Ursaluna?" she wondered.

"...I technically didn't do a good job explaining it..." Arezu sighed. "Ursaluna started acting weird when he got too close to Lilligant and smelled her perfume, who was frenzied at that point already."

"That must have been the blockage Miss Cabala found." Ash nodded.

"That doesn't explain why you didn't tell me about Lady Lilligant." A new voice suddenly joined in. Everyone turned and saw Adaman walking into the group. This made Arezu gasp with great surprise.

"Adaman?!" The Diamond Clan leader didn't respond, instead standing with his hands on his hips and waiting for her response to his quarry. Arezu could see the disappointment on his face and she looked down sadly. "I...I just couldn't tell you..."

"Arezu you could've gotten yourself killed. You're a valued member of our Clan and a good friend of mine. I don't want you to get hurt." Adaman said. He then kneeled down to her level and placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll all work to help Lady Lilligant." Arezu looked back up at him and smiled a little.

"Alright…" she relented. Then, another person joined the group, walking up to Arezu specifically.

"Arezu." Miss Calaba pulled her attention.

"M-Miss Cabala…?" she gulped.

"Relax. I owe you an apology. Just because we're members of different clans does not mean I can treat you rudely. Perhaps moving forward we can each work to better our relationship." The older woman offered.

"I...I'd really like that." Arezu replied with a smile. Calaba nodded and knelt down by Arezu's ankle.

"For now, we can start with getting you fixed up." She said as she began helping to brace Arezu's ankle. Nodding in approval, Adaman turned back to Ash and Akari.

"Ash, Akari, would you be able to take the balms Arezu made and help Lady Lilligant out of her frenzy?" he asked.

"Of course, we will." Ash nodded.

"We'll help however we can." Akari agreed.

"Thank you. I trust you know the way to the Arena?" Adaman tried to confirm.

"Yeah, we were just there." Akari nodded.

"Thank you both again. And good luck." Adaman said. Ash and Akari smiled and nodded before they accepted the balms from Arezu, then took off back up the hill, heading back to Brava Arena.

"There it is..." Akari said as she and Ash looked up at the fenced entrance to Brava Arena.

"Yup…" Ash agreed with a nervous breath of his own. Sharing a quick look of determination, both of them walked into the Brava Arena and looked around for their target, though the foggy arena was keeping their visibility at a minimum. "Kinda hard to see with this fog..."

"It sure i-" Akari was cut off as a yellow creature suddenly ran by them. "Uh oh…I think she's here..."

"Stay close…" Ash warned as he kept trying to look around. Again the creature rushed past them as the fog finally began to clear. Both trainers looked up at one of the ridges above them and finally, they were able to see Lady Lilligant dancing gracefully before jumping down into the arena and taking a battle stance across from them. It was obvious she was quite different from the Lilligant Ash knew from back home, but there wasn't time to worry about it now.

"Gant! Lilli!" Lilligant chanted before she leaped into the air and slammed her body into the ground, which suddenly sent out a shockwave of energy in all directions across the arena.

"Look out!" Ash gasped as he barely managed to jump over the shockwave just as Akari did the same. They barely had a chance to regain their footing before Lilligant jumped again and sent out another shockwave, which both Ash and Akari were again narrowly able to avoid as she danced away.

"She's so fast! I can't get a shot in!" Akari called to her partner.

"Akari look out!" Ash yelled, causing Akari to notice Lilligant's incoming shockwave and dive out of the way at the last moment. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ash quickly threw a balm at Lilligant which hit her, but before he could grab another she jumped up again for another attack.

"Incoming!" Akari screamed as Lilligant landed again, forcing Ash and herself to dive out of the way again. Akari got up quickly and tried to throw balms at Lilligant, but she easily avoided Akari's throws with her graceful moves. "I can't get a hit!"

"Hang in there!" Ash called. Seeing them both throwing balms from either side of her, Lilligant stopped her movement and began charging her power instead. "That doesn't look good..."

"She's not moving! Throw now!" Akari yelled as she started throwing balms once again. Ash started throwing balms as well and both of them threw as many as they could at Lilligant, landing one after another. However, Lilligant continued charging power as she was hit and then suddenly opened her eyes again once the charge was complete. She let out an explosion of energy from her body, completely covering the field in the expulsion and hitting both trainers. They were each sent backward and landed on the stone ground, but Akari rolled further because of her smaller frame and crashed into the side of the ridge as well. "Ack!"

"Akari!" Ash yelled as he quickly sat back up. A shooting pain ran up and down Akari's spine from the hit, keeping her down and unable to quickly move. Ash got back onto his feet and ran towards her as quickly as he could. Lilligant meanwhile began dancing gracefully once again before she jumped up into the air, this time looking like she was going to land right on the motionless Akari.

"No!" Akari gasped as she tried to no avail to move away. But just before Lilligant could land her attack, Ash scooped Akari up into his arms and quickly rolled out of the way of the attack. Lilligant's foot crashed into the rock face and injured her, causing her to cry out in pain all while Akari blushed heavily as Ash held her in his arms. With her foot now injured, Lilligant was unable to make another jump, so she instead began charging up power once again.

"Now!" Ash yelled as he threw more balms at her as quickly as he could with only one arm. He landed several more hits before one of the balms hit Lilligant in the face, causing her to lose focus and stop her attack. Seeing the opportunity for a change in battle style, Ash grabbed Rowlet's pokeball and threw it.

"Row!" Rowlet chirped.

"Rowlet, use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered him.

"Row!" he acknowledged as he flew in quickly and struck Lilligant with Aerial Ace, causing massive damage. Lilligant cried out in pain and stumbled back, reeling from the hit. Ash quickly threw more balms at her, landing several more hits before Lilligant regained her focus and batted several away.

"Oh boy..." Ash bit his power lip, but he noticed that Lilligant was getting tired. He knew he just needed to land another hit. Ignoring the pain in her foot, Lilligant again leaped up into the air and landed hard, sending a shockwave toward Ash and Akari. Gripping onto Akari tightly, Ash jumped and dodged the blast, all while Akari's face was only growing a deeper shade of red. Lilligant meanwhile seemed to be in too much pain to attempt another jump, so she began charging her power in her body.

"Ash! Now's your chance!" Akari yelled. Ash heeded her advice and threw a balm as quickly as he could. The balm soared through the air and hit Lilligant. Lilligant cried out in pain as the yellow energy began leaving her body, shining a bright light that blinded both trainers, forcing them to shield her eyes. After a moment or two of quiet, Akari opened her eyes and looked over at Lilligant, who looked normal once again as she stood back up. "The glow is gone...she looks calmer." Ash opened his eyes as well and followed her gaze.

"Sure looks that way…are you ok Lilligant?" he asked the Lady Pokemon.

"Lilli!" Lilligant smiled as she danced around them happily. Ash smiled a little before looking at Akari.

"And you? Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah…but um...Ash?" she blushed.

"Yeah?"

"Is there...a reason you're still holding me...?" Ash's face went bright red as he finally remembered he was literally holding her bridal style even now that the battle was over.

"Oh uh..." he stammered as he quickly put her down on the ground, blushing slightly. Akari was blushing heavily herself, but before either of them could make another comment about it, Lilligant happily skipped up to Ash, drawing his attention. "L-Lilligant?"

"Gant, li lilli." Lilligant said as she happily handed Ash another plate, this time the Meadow Plate.

"Again?" Akari asked.

"I guess..." he replied as he sheepishly put the plate back in his pack. And recalled Rowlet to his pokeball.

"There must be a reason…" Pikachu commented. Ash nodded in agreement as suddenly Adaman walked into the arena with Arezu and Calaba following him.

"Looks like you got Lady Lilligant to calm down." He smiled.

"It's wonderful to see you happy again my Lady!" Arezu happily exclaimed as she ran to Lilligant.

"Lilli!" Lilligant smiled at her.

"Thank you both for your help in bringing her back to her graceful self. We owe you a great deal." Adaman thanked them with a polite bow.

"You're welcome...but Ash is the one who did all the work." Akari pointed out, hiding her blush as best she could.

"I wouldn't go that far..." Ash tried to wave her off.

"We appreciate all the work you both did for our Lady. Thank you." Adaman assured them.

"You're welcome." Ash replied.

"Ash we should report all this to the Commander." Akari reminded him.

"Right but...I wanted to check the Diamond Clan's village before we go." He reminded her right back, catching Adaman's attention.

"Oh you wanted to see our settlement?" he wondered.

"Yeah." Ash nodded.

"I'd be happy to show you two around. It's the least I can do for your help." He offered.

"That'd be great. Thanks." Ash smiled. Adaman nodded and lead Ash and Akari away from the arena and back to the Diamond Settlement nearby.

"Welcome to the Diamond Settlement." He announced as they entered within the settlement's boundaries. The village was not as fortified as Jubilife Village. Actually instead, it was quite lax. There were no fences or walls around, and each home was a simple blue tent around the centerpiece of the village, a large bonfire near a flagpole.

"Whoa..." Ash gasped in surprise.

"My grandfather founded this settlement when he and his tribe immigrated here." Adaman explained.

"Oh wow. I didn't know the Diamond Clan migrated here to Hisui too." Akari commented as Ash was clearly only half paying attention. He was scanning the crowd looking for any sign of his beloved.

"We did." Adaman nodded. "Hisui is obviously a far cry different from Hoenn, but we've really found a home here that we adore."

"That's really great." Akari smiled before she turned to Ash. He was still looking around, intently and she knew exactly why. So she quickly covered for him. "Mind if we look around a little on our own?"

"Of course. Please both of you stay as long as you'd like." Adaman smiled before he headed to his hut near the back of the village. Ash seemed to briefly take notice of Akari's cover and gave her a small nod of thanks.

"No problem…" she whispered as she forced a smile on her face. With the permission given, Ash started walking through the village and looking around for any sign of the woman he was looking for as Akari followed him.

"Please be here you two..."

The duo spent nearly two hours walking around the settlement and talking to its people, but it soon became clear that no one had seen May or Glaceon in the village, dashing Ash's hope for a reunion. Ash sadly sighed and looked up at the setting sun.

"They're not here either...dang it May where are you...?" he wondered to himself.

"Glaceon…" Pikachu whispered with a similar sense of disappointment.

"Ash...?" Akari piped up, drawing his attention. "It's getting late..."

"Yeah...let's head back…" he sighed as he began walking with very little enthusiasm. Akari frowned to herself as she followed him back to camp. She wished she could mean as much to him as this girlfriend of his seemed to.

After a return trip to Jubilife Village, the two of them entered the Commander's office and drew his attention once again.

"Glad to see you two back safely. What can you report?" he asked.

"Lady Lilligant is back to her usual self. She'll be just fine." Ash reported.

"Thankfully Ash was able to quell her frenzy." Akari added.

"Good. Sounds like your mission was a success." Kamado nodded.

"Yes sir." Akari nodded.

"You've both earned a night off. Enjoy yourselves." He dismissed them.

"Thank you, Commander." Ash said genuinely. After the disappointment of not finding his girlfriend in the Diamond settlement, he really couldn't do much more tonight. He headed back out of the building and Akari followed him, hoping she could do something to improve his mood.

"Ash, would you like to get dinner with me?" she offered. Ash stopped and thought it over for a minute. He really wanted to just go back to his barracks and not think anymore today, but one growl from his stomach and he knew that it was no longer an option.

"Sure…" Ash agreed, changing his course and heading to the Wallflower where Beni was waiting for them.

"Good evening Beni." Akari smiled.

"Evening Akari." The older man nodded politely.

"Could we get two orders of potato mochi?" she ordered.

"Will do." He answered as he headed inside to begin cooking. Ash absentmindedly sat down at their usual table and Akari sat across from him, a bit disappointed to still see the sad look on his face.

"Ash…I'm sorry we didn't find your girlfriend..." she apologized, drawing Ash's attention.

"Huh? How did you...?"

"I've seen how much you care about her...it wasn't hard to assume you were looking for her back there..." she admitted, even as it hurt her.

"Oh...yeah I was hoping she and her Glaceon were there..." he sighed.

"Just don't give up ok…? If they're out there I'm sure we can find them..." she assured him. Ash considered her words for a moment before finally, a small smile crossed his face.

"You're right. Thanks, Akari." He replied, his sincerity making her smile as well.

"You're welcome." She nodded, even as she could feel inside her how fake her promise really was. She did hope that Ash's girlfriend was ok wherever she was…but as much didn't want to admit it, a growing part of her was hoping that maybe this girl would just stay missing…

To be Continued...