The room was nearly pitch black, though the bridge was hardly a room, and the innumerable white specs decorating the outside of the ship through the massive glass pane a few kilometers ahead of him. ...So, in all reality, the room wasn't a room and was nowhere near pitch black, but a galactic conqueror can dream, right?

"Milord," Meekly called one of his minions.

Necrozma wordlessly motioned for them to continue with a simple hand wave.

"Your greatness," Started the meek jellyfish-looking creature, "We are currently within range to have you deployed early. You should be able to find the planet on your own from here, should you want to gain your bearings before the rest of us arrive, milord."

The galactic conqueror would have broken into a grin, had he a face to do it with. Instead, he opted for a chilling, almost robotic sounding chuckle that made the jellyfish creature shudder. "I see."

With only that, the massive glass pane on the head of his ship suddenly shattered and Necrozma disappeared with a chilling howl of laughter. Were it not for the countless number of times he's done this before, his minions would have been sucked into the void outside. It didn't take too long for another pane to appear in the original's place, courtesy of a dark, stringy creature known as Xurkitree. Though, those of days past didn't end up as lucky.


"Well…," Serena started hesitantly, twiddling her thumbs nervously, "I was kinda thinking about taking on the Kanto League. I wanna become strong, like you."

This took Ash off guard. "Huh. I thought you into performing and stuff. Why the change of heart?"

Serena looked down and twiddled her thumbs, "I just thought...making myself stronger might make me more prepared for stuff like co-ordinating later."

Ash chuckled, "That's some nice foresight there, Serena."

Serena looked back up, her eyes sparkling, "Soooo, is that a yeees?"

Ash laughed heartily, "You betcha! To be perfectly honest, I have a few mistakes that need correcting regarding how well my last run went here."

Serena gripped Ash's arm in an appreciative hug, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"It's no problem really. Besides, with the road to Pallet closed, and no new League to challenge, there wasn't much else to do."

Serena let Ash go and punched him in the arm playfully.

"Don't word it like that!" She pouted.

Ash couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay, sorry. We can head out right now if ya want."

This put a spring in Serena's step. She eagerly tugged Ash by the shirt and began rushing out the door.

"Aagh! Uh, bye Gary!" Ash said in a hurry.

Gary cockily smirked at Ash and chuckled while waving back.

As Serena burst out the doors of the Pokemon Center, Ash finally lost his footing and ended up crashing in a heap of comically twisted limbs.

"C'mon, Ash!" Serena chirped from ahead, "We gotta get to the first Gym battle!"

Ash groaned, "Serena, that way's the Indigo Plateau! Pewter City's that way!"

Serena stopped in her tracks and turned around to see Ash pointing in the opposite direction from where she was running. Her face turned her familiar bright pink and she slowly made her way back over to where Ash was picking himself up. She offered her hand in apology, to which Ash happily took it to heave himself off the ground.

"Umm," Serena started timidly, "...You should lead…"

"No kiddin'?" Ash said with a chuckle.

Ash simply wrapped an arm around Serena before she could embarrass herself further, changing her face from pink to red, and the two went on their way...or they would have, were it not for a high-pitched voice calling out to them.

"Excuse me," The voice cried.

The couple turned their heads to see a lady with a microphone and a man struggling to carry a large camera sprinting at them at full speed. Ash was shortly met with a microphone plunged into his face.

"Pardon me," The woman chirped while Ash was struggling to get some elbow room, "But we've received word that you are in possession of a Talonflame, correct?"

"Erm," Ash started uncomfortably, "Yeah…? What about it?"

Ash saw the cameraman positioning himself in different spaces, like he was intentionally attempting to make Serena as uncomfortable as possible with how close the camera was to her face.

"Well," The lady spoke, interrupting Ash's thought process, "We discovered some pretty disturbing footage of what your Pokemon is capable of."

Ash narrowed his eyes. He didn't like the way she worded that.

"What do you mean by disturbing?"

"Oh, you mean to tell me you didn't know? Your Talonflame is the one who destroyed Route 1!"

Ash frowned. They pretty much confirmed his theory.

The woman grinned like a child on Christmas morning when she saw his face.

"Aha, so you do know something about it."

"Ash, these people are really making me uncomfortable," Serena complained.

"You heard it here, folks," The woman said suddenly, grabbing the camera's focus from Serena, "We've pinned down the trainer who's Pokemon is responsible for the destruction of Route 1!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Ash cried, "My Talonflame wouldn't just destroy an entire forest without a reason!"

The newswoman suddenly shoved her microphone in Ash's face, forcing him to lean backwards at an uncomfortable angle. "Oh really?" Inquired the lady, fidgeting with her glasses as she gave him a judging look. "Would you care to enlighten the folks at home, then, as to why Viridian Forest was halfway burnt to the ground?"

"We had an injured Pokemon!" Cried Ash. "Plus, Talonflame was probably attacked! It wouldn't have done anything like that if it had any other option."

The newswoman narrowed her eyes at him quizzically. "Is that right?" She asked. "Where, then, is this injured Pokemon?"

Ash's blood ran cold. Gary had already left, and there was no way this lady would take an answer like that. "W-well, um...y-you see…" As Ash continued fumbling over his words and making a fool of himself, Serena looked around for a way to escape. She knew how the press was, and there would be no arguing with them.

Turning around, Serena released Sylveon from her Pokeball. "Hey, Sylveon," She whispered, pointing back at the news crew with her thumb. "Think you can distract em with Dazzling Gleam?"

The bright pink Pokemon nodded eagerly and jumped out from behind her. "Veon!" It cried, catching the attention of the newswoman and her cohort. It posed for the two of them, glistening brightly. Serena pulled at Ash's shirt and pointed at the road, and the two of them quickly ran off.

"Awww!" Chirped the woman, immediately forgetting about Ash and Serena for the time being, courtesy of Sylveon's Cute Charm ability. "How adoorabllleee!" Sylveon grinned mischievously. Its body began shimmering brightly before emitting a blinding flash of light.

"Gyah!" Cried the now-blinded newswoman. "What happened?!" She wiped her eyes, clearing away the momentary blindness and furiously looked around for Sylveon and the others. "Where did they go?! Ohhhh, when I find them, they're gonna-"

"They already left," Interjected the cameraman.

"Wait, what? WHAT?!"

She turned around to see that the young couple had indeed left long since left her in the dust. She growled furiously, practically blowing smoke out of her nose in the process.

"THEY DID! THEY LEFT US, THOSE NO-GOOD LITTLE…"

All the newswoman could muster as she pulled away at her hair in frustration was an echoing yell to the heavens above.

""Hmm?" Arceus, high above in the Hall of Origins, perked his head up suddenly. He believed he'd heard something, but quickly shrugged it off and returned to his affairs.


Meanwhile, Ash, Serena, and Pikachu had finally made their way into Viridian Forest. The greenery was clouding almost all light that came through despite it being in the middle of the day. Serena had to constantly brush vines and webs out of her way due to the sheer amount of wildlife in this particular area.

"WAAUGH, PHHAUGH!" Serena coughed as yet another form of wildlife, her greatest weakness, decided to enter her mouth for the fortieth time.

"Havin' fun back there?" Ash teased, earning a playful shove that made Ash fall face first into a pile of leaves where he lay unmoving.

Serena scoffed, "C'mon, Ash, let's get moving."

Serena began to walk off deeper into the forest only to notice Ash wasn't following. She gingerly stepped back a few feet to gaze upon the unmoving body of her boyfriend.

"...Ash?" She hesitantly dared to ask.

Serena got down on her hands and knees, trying to shake her boyfriend awake. When that didn't work, she tried poking and prodding him, to no avail. Dread clouding her judgement at the prospect of accidentally giving her boyfriend head trauma, she dared to get close to his face.

"A-ash...p-please wak-"

"GAAAAH!

"AAAUUUUUGGHH!"

Serena had bolted backwards, now on her behind and in a defensive position while Ash sat on the leaves he fell into, his laughter echoing through the trees. Serena sat there, frozen in a mixture of lingering surprise, seething fury, and yet still the feeling of relief that Ash was okay, even after pulling that stunt.

"Ash, you dummy…I was actually worried about you!"

Ash managed to settle himself, as not to further test his girlfriend's leniency. He expected her to be way madder. ...Maybe he should go out of his way to do something for Serena once in a while. He helped Serena to her feet and slung his arm around her.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Let's get outta this forest, okay?"

"Okay," Serena conceded, unable to remain angry at Ash for long.

"That's the spirit!" Ash cheered, dragging Serena along with him...quite literally.

"Pika, Pi…" Pikachu sighed hopelessly, knowing Ash would pull a stunt like that.

The rest of their walk through Viridian Forest went relatively smoothly. The views were pretty, they saw a few Caterpie and Weedle duking it out, and they eventually stumbled onto a young Caterpie struggling to climb a tree. Of course, Ash immediately went to help the poor creature onto a tree branch.

"You okay Ash?" Serena asked, "You're smiling even more than usual."

"Just nostalgia," Ash replied back. "This place is where I caught my first Pokemon outside of Pikachu. He was a Caterpie. He left before long, but he grew up fast."

It was at that point Ash noticed something familiar. In a very small circle of trees, there lied a tree stump in the middle. This place...Ash remembered it fondly, though he doubt his old companion at the time did. He could remember crawling backwards up to a tree to get away from his Caterpie all those years back...those four years back…

He was snapped out of his reminiscing by an intense buzzing sound. All he heard was someone calling his name before he was abruptly tackled to the ground and the intense buzzing swarmed overhead. Ash didn't dare look up for fear of provoking one of those things into attack. It didn't take him long to figure out that a swarm of Beedrill had passed overhead. He slowly raised his head after the incident and turned back to find that Serena had indeed had the foresight and reflexes to push him down before they were torn to shreds. Luckily, Pikachu was too small to be noticed by them anyways.

"Thanks, Serena," Ash said gratefully, "I would've been attacked by those things if you hadn't saved me right there."

Serena giggled happily, "Oh, it was nothing."

Ash turned to his partner behind him, "You okay, buddy?"

"Pika-Pi!" Was his response, along with the mouse hopping on Ash's shoulder.

"There's an opening in the forest over there, Ash." Serena pointed out, "We can use it to gain our bearings."

Ash pumped a fist, "Good thinkin' Serena! C'mon, guys, let's go!"

The trio made their way out into the open field, where the heat and sunlight immediately berated them upon exiting the forestation. They had to shield their eyes for a few moments before slowly blinking their sight back. They took a look around the opening for any direction that might seem beneficial, but nothing of value was to be found.

"You have returned, Palette Trainer." A voice stated.

Out from the underbrush came a large teenage boy decked in a full black suit of black, gilded samurai armor, katana and all. He took one look at the trio before him before hopping in the air and drawing his sword with a battle cry. Pikachu sprung into action, releasing an Iron Tail to clash with the samurai's sword. Pikachu and the Samurai landed in the opposite spaces from where they jumped, neither moving a muscle. Ash and Serena stared silently and with baited breath to see who would fall. Finally, the samurai's sword split in half and he fell onto his hands and knees.

"Your Pokemon," The samurai gasped out, "Are indeed stronger than when we first met, ...it was Ash, correct?"

"Yeah," Ash said as he ran to help the samurai to his feet, "But how did you know that?"

"What?!" The samurai demanded, pointing what was left of his sword at Ash's face, "You forgot the great Samurai?!"

Serena deadpanned, "You're a samurai who's name is Samurai?"

"Indeed!" Cried Samurai, "And my battle with Ash long ago was a struggle that shook the very heavens above! Our Pokemon fought valiantly for hours on end with neither ever showing even an ounce of fatigue! Our fight might not have ever ended hadn't a swarm of Beedrill forced us to flee!"

Samurai pointed a finger at Ash to substitute the remainder of his blade, "And speaking of a swarm of Beedrill, where does one lead be but to you, Pallet Trainer Ash?! Fate has clearly ordained our rematch!"

"Well," Ash said with a grin, taking out the pokeball of his Noivern, "I'm up for a match if you are!"

Samurai shook his head with a frown, much to Ash's confusion.

"No, Ash. I've heard what power your Pokemon possess. I know how your Talonflame battled an entire flock of Spearow and a Fearow, to boot, and your Pikachu's power is nothing to scoff at, either. I wouldn't stand a chance against you now. Fate is cruel, this day."

A shine could be seen in the shadow of Samurai's eyes, however, and a grin crept up his face.

"However, fate will get a battle this day!"

Samurai directed his half-sword in Serena's direction, "For I challenge you, instead!"

"Wha- what?!" Serena cried, not expecting to be called out into the blue.

"Not a bad idea," Ash agreed to Serena's horror, "It'll be good practice for her Gym Challenge."

Samurai readied a Pokeball, "A Gym challenger, eh? Then this'll be an interesting fight!"

"C'mon, Serena!" Ash called, "You aren't gonna become a better fighter if you don't accept challengers!"

Serena sighed, "I suppose that's true…"

Serena readied a pokeball of her own in response. Ash walked to the side and raised an arm.

"I'll be the referee. This will be a three on three match. Whoever runs out of Pokemon first loses! Go!"

"Pinsir, Go!" Samurai cried, throwing his pokeball into the field, releasing a brown, bipedal stag beetle with bony arms, clawed hands, an odd mouth with thin fangs on the sides of its mouth, and giant pronged horns that looked strong enough to crush just about anything.

Serena cringed at the sight of that Pinsir. It looked incredibly strong, but she wasn't gonna back down!

Serena nodded at her pokeball and tossed into the air. "Go, Braixen!"

The pokeball opened to release an orange, bipedal fox with a stick in her puffy tail. She grabbed the stick, lighting it in the process and twirled it in her hand before pointing it menacingly in Pinsir's direction.

"Fire types don't scare us!" Samurai proclaimed, "Pinsir, Vice Grip!"

The Pinsir sprinted at Braixen with its pincers wide open, looking similar to a pair of open jaws.

"Jump out of the way and use Flamethrower!" Commanded Serena.

In obedience to her partner's wishes, Braixen hopped upward out of reach of the strong pincers and released a stream of fire from her mouth into its face as it looked upward.

"Pinsir, no!" Cried Samurai, "Jump and use Vice Grip!"

To both Serena's and Braixen's surprise, the Pinsir jumped up, toughing out the flames and gripping its enemy tightly, making her scream in pain. She wildly flailed, but she was facing upward now due to trying to escape the pincers, so she couldn't aim a fire attack at her attacker.

"Braixen, no!" Screamed Serena. She looked over to Ash to see him smirking confidently in her direction. She looked at him pleadingly and with confusion, but he just shook his head.

"Serena, you've gotta do these things on your own sometimes," He shouted over, "There might come times where I won't be able to help you. You've gotta do this for yourself! I know you can do it, so trust yourself!"

"Trust myself," Serena muttered to herself. "...I can do this…"

An idea popped in her head, "Braixen, use Flamethrower upward to push yourself down!"

Braixen had no idea what her partner's aim was, but trusted her enough to comply. She inhaled a large sum of air before releasing a jet of flames from her mouth, and to her trainer's credit, she began rocketing downward.

"Release and jump away!" Commanded Samurai.

Serena smirked. Her plan had worked like a charm.

"Flamethrower downwards!"

With nothing to stop her movement, Braixen turned around and released another jet of flames into the Pinsir's face, sending it rocketing towards the ground and slowing her descent so she could land without harm. Braixen and Serena both struck a pose by raising their arms skyward in unison.

"Seismic Toss!" Samurai ordered, snapping his opponents out of their celebration.

Out from the ground underneath Braixen, Pinsir erupted, flinging Braixen upward and pelting her with stones so that she couldn't open her eyes long enough to know where her adversary was so she could dodge its assault. She soon found herself once again clamped down, though she was given no time to repeat her method of escape as she was hurled to the ground before she could even blink. She could barely feel her breath escape her as the pain hadn't even registered yet as she was bounced onto the ground on her back, sending her into the air once more.

"Braixen!" Shouted Serena.

"Pinsir, Mega Punch!"

Serena and even Ash watched in horror as Pinsir's arm began to glow and it rocketed straight into Braixen's gut, burying the both of them and sending out a shockwave that practically blew up the battlefield, making the very ground seemingly stand on edge. Serena wouldn't soon forget the gut-wrenching noise that punch made. Pinsir soon hopped back out, still looking fit to fight as it roared in triumph.

"Braixen, no!" Cried Serena as she ran to the crater that held her unconscious Pokemon.

"A little brutal, don't you think?" Ash calmly asked Samurai.

"The real world is brutal," Countered Samurai, not taking his eyes off the battlefield, "You know that. She needs to learn that. We both know there's no way she'll clear the Gym challenge if she can't bounce back from this."

Ash sighed, but had to agree. There was many a time where his own team took a devastating loss. Speaking of devastating, didn't this guy threaten to snap his Metapod in half back in the day? His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a muffled, high-pitched roar. Ash and Samurai both looked around to attempt to identify the source of the sound until it became loud enough that the two could identify it coming from the crater.

Meanwhile, Serena was standing in awe above the hole her partner was planted into. As she peered into the hole, she could see and feel searing flames threatening to burst out like a volcanic eruption. Her attention snapped over a few feet away where a bright ball of fire seemingly lept out of the uprooted ground. And touched down facing the Pinsir. As the flames around it died down, Braixen was revealed to be standing, but also completely hunched over. She looked completely animalistic, which unnerved everyone currently looking at her. Suddenly, Braixen's back arched upwards and she let out a mixture of a scream and a roar as pillar of flames erupted around her.

"Agh!" Serena cried, "Braixen, what's wrong?!"

Braixen's attention snapped to look at the voice to see her partner staring back. Braixen simply gave a light "hmph" and grinned, showing she was ready for combat. Her hands lit up in brilliant flames and she gained a combat stance that seemed more ferocious than her usual self and nodded to her partner.

"All right!" Serena cheered, doing another synchronized pose with Braixen, "We're back in the game!"

"Nice going, Serena!" Ash cheered from the sidelines. "I think that's Braixen's Blaze ability!"

"No matter," Samurai roared, "We're far from done here too! Pinsir, Mega Punch!"

As Pinsir attempted to repeat history, Braixen grabbed her enemies' arm and heated up her paws, making Pinsir cry out in agony before using one of her said flaming paws to punch it directly in the face. Pinsir's face practically imploded from the force of the punch and it was sent flying backward directly into a tree, snapping the tree in half while Pinsir itself fell to the ground limply.

"Wow, you learned Fire Punch, Braixen!" Cheered stated in awe.

"Braaaai!" Braixen roared in triumph.

"Pinsir is unable to battle!" Ash proudly proclaimed, "Braixen is the winner!"

"Nice job, Braixen!" Serena cheered, "You deserve a good rest,"

Serena attempted to return Braixen to her Pokeball, but Braixen dodged out of the red beam's way and used her psychic powers to return it to Serena's bag. She gave Serena a cocky smirk telling her partner she was still raring to go. Serena giggled eagerly at her Pokemon's display of confidence.

"All right," Serena chirped, "Go get em if you're up for it!"

"You did good, Pinsir," Samurai sighed, returning his Pokemon to its pokeball and turning his attention to Serena, "I'll use my most recent catch. Go, Beedrill!"

Samurai tossed another Pokeball onto the field, releasing a large, bipedal bee with, surely enough, two giant drills in place of hands. The menacing Pokemon didn't even make its opponents flinch, which actually surprised Serena. Normally she'd wince at seeing something so intimidating on the opposite side of the field. She guessed Braixen was simply wearing off on her...or maybe this was what being a trainer felt like? The Beedrill hissed at them, and Braixen curled her fingers tauntingly.

"Beedrill, use Twineedle!" Samurai ordered.

"Dodge it!" Serena countered.

Beedrill began assaulting Braixen with quick, blurring jabs that seemingly pierced the air around her. In turn, Braixen simply sidestepped each jab that came her way, making little "Nyeh" noises to taunt the Beedrill while she was at it.

"Strike back with whatever you want when you're done." Serena offered arrogantly.

Braixen snickered cockily. She liked the way her trainer thought. She, quite literally, danced around Beedrill's attacks while continuously mocking her opponent through it all. She even opted to cross her arms behind her back while still ducking and jumping over her enemy's feeble attacks.

"Nyeheheehe!" Braixen giggled.

"Don't get cocky!" Samurai roared, "Beedrill, go all out! Teach this cocky kid a lesson!"

Braixen suddenly found herself having to dodge barely glancing blows. She barely managed to duck as one of her opponent's drills swiped above her head. She attempted to jump out of the way of the next strike only for Samurai to give her and Serena a bone-chilling smirk.

"We've got them right where we want them! Giga Impact!"

"Oh no!" Serena cried out, "Braixen, dodge!"

Beedrill surrounded itself in a ball of purple and yellow spiraling energy and rocketed towards its opposition, leaving a trail of the energy where it once was. Braixen barely managed to sidestep out of the way of the superpowered attack, though it did scrape the side of her arm and she immediately gripped it in an attempt to ease the pain.

"Braixen," Serena shouted in panic, "We have to take this more seriously!"

Braixen nodded, and trainer and Pokemon began to attempt to clear their thoughts with deep breathing to get everything out of their systems. Inhale...exhale...in- Braixen whirled out of the way as another Giga Impact blazed through where she once was.

"Don't stand around in the middle of a fight!" Samurai chided.

Serena huffed, "I guess this is what I get for not simply teaching you Calm Mind,"

Braixen gave her an unamused look.

"Stop standing around!" Samurai shouted as yet another Giga Impact whizzed over Braixen's ducking head.

"Okay, no more distractions!" Serena finally called out, much to her partner's relief. "Flamethrower!"

Braixen released a jet of orange flame into the passing Beedrill, knocking it clear out of the sky. The Beedrill had no way to dodge the attack due to the aftereffects of using Giga Impact.

"Beedrill, no!" Cried Samurai. Maybe he'd been underestimating them as well. "Try to stand up!"

"Blaze effect still going strong!" Cheered Serena, but her and Braixen's eyes sharpened, "But we're not gonna let this go to our heads again."

"Brai!" Braixen roared in agreement.

"Now, rush over while condensing a Flamethrower in your hand and use Fire Punch!"

"What is this?!" Samurai demanded, "Beedrill, please move out of the way!"

Beedrill attempted to obey his master's wishes, but he found his body was unwilling to comply with his mind and he soon doubled over in pain as a flaming fist was rammed into his abdomen. He dared look down and saw Braixen smirking back up at him. She released her palm and a large stream of intense flames shot Beedrill several yards before he finally collided with a tree and fell onto his face with a thud.

Serena and Braixen both sighed in relief. They would be sure to end the next one quickly. Braixen made her way back over to her trainer while Samurai was busy attending to his Beedrill. She winced and stumbled as the pain from the previous battles seemingly caught up with her all at once. Serena ran over to assist her nearly fallen Pokemon and offered her Pokeball.

"Is now a good time for that break?"

Braixen actually stared intensely at the ball, as if giving the thought a chance, but pushed it away with her paw and unsteadily regained her balance on her own. She took a defensive stance and flared up her fiery aura with a defiant roar. Her wounds could whine all they wanted.

Serena chuckled, "Well okay, but remember. If we're gonna win this, we have to take this seriously."

"Brey, Braixen." Serena's faithful partner replied with a nod.

"You ready, Samurai?" Ash asked from the sidelines, "You've only got one chance left."

"Hah!" Samurai laughed, "One chance is all I need."

He held up one last Pokeball that shined brightly in the sunlight.

"For this Pokeball holds my first Pokemon and my partner. That's right. This is the Pokemon that dueled Ash's for hours on end! It is the Pokemon that didn't budge an inch in a battle that lasted for hours! Go, Butterfree!"

Samurai tossed his Pokeball into the air at an angle that made it look as if it were blocking out the very sun itself. A brilliant light shone, blinding Serena and Braixen momentarily as the Pokemon inside the ball was released into the outside world. It stared Braixen in the eyes directly in the eyes as if it were a mere insect ironically. Even though it was a Butterfree, both Serena and Braixen felt an overwhelming presence at seeing it. As they both stared into the Butterfree's condescending eyes, only one thing came to mind: FEAR.

Ash was standing off to the side looking at that demon of a Butterfree. To think one of his own Pokemon once stood up to such a monstrosity was beyond belief. He stood, mouth agape and paralyzed staring at the back of the beast. He couldn't begin to fathom what Serena was feeling as she stared into the eyes of that unholy abomination.

Speaking of Serena, she was currently using every last fiber of willpower her measly body had in store to just continue to remain on her feet as she stared directly into the eyes of that monstrous Butterfree. It had three claw-like scars on its left eye, though it still had that eye open as if such a scar meant absolutely nothing to it. Everyone on the field could hear its spastic heart beats as if it was demanding its opponents' very souls.

Samurai laughed brutally, "HAH HAHAHAHA! How does it feel to face such overwhelming odds?! How does it feel to face a Pokemon that journied through the very depths of hell itself with me?! This is why you should never act cocky in a battle, for you never truly know what your opposition has in store! Now your Pokemon will face the wrath of the most powerful Butterfree to ever grace this Earth! You shall face the power of a Pokemon that surpasses even the Legends themselves!"

"FFFFFRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The pure vehemence emanating from this beast's roar was enough to send both Braixen and Serena to the ground as it stripped away every last fiber of strength and willpower from their feeble bodies. They huddled together and hugged each other with their widened eyes having seen a horror worse than anything ever imaginable. Its horror seemingly began to warp the very fabric of reality as the ground and sky seemingly darkened and began to shift, as if the very light and land around them wanted to escape this monstrosity's sheer might.

"Serena!" Called Ash desperately, "You have to forfeit! I wouldn't even be able to fight that thing! There's no shame in knowing when you're outclassed! Forfeit!"

Pikachu had since fallen unconscious beside him.

Serena trembled uncontrollably. She couldn't even move, much less speak, and yet if she didn't say anything, she and Braixen would most certainly be completely obliterated. She struggled to force herself to make a sound, though all she managed to do was make choked squeaking noises. Finally, she was able to spit something out.

"I-" She started with great dread, "I-I I...I I I f...I forf… I...I FORFEIT!"

With those words, the monstrosity disappeared back into its container, and the world went back to normal. It was almost like a dream...was she...dead? She felt almost completely numb. The world was no longer tearing itself apart, and the forest had returned to its sunny demeanor. Birds chirped, wind blew, and the ground was in place. She and Braixen slowly wobbled to their feet, looking around.

"Braixen, punch me," Serena ordered numbly.

Braixen struggled to nod, and punched her trainer directly into her gut, making her double over and stumble backwards. She fell onto her rear, coughing in pain as she did.

"Yep," She coughed, "Still alive…"

"Serena!" Ash called, sprinting over to his girlfriend and embracing her in a hug, "Are you okay?!"

"Y-yeah…" Serena replied numbly.

Ash helped her back to her feet, "I had no idea he had become this strong. I would have never pit you against him if I'd known he had something like that on his team, I'd have never made you fight him."

"Indeed," Agreed Samurai, now having walked over to meet the two. "I don't think she'll be overestimating herself any longer, isn't that right?"

Both Serena and her Braixen nodded furiously, clearly still in terror over the traumatising event.

"I suppose that's one way to nail that lesson into her head," Ash relented, "Though that was still far more brutal than how I learned."

"And how long, exactly, did it take you to learn that lesson?" Samurai challenged.

Ash laughed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "True enough, but that was still way over the top."

Samurai laughed back, "Maybe so, but the sooner she learns the better."

Samurai pointed over to his left and into the forestation, "Walk into the forest there and keep going straight. You'll soon find the entrance to Pewter City. See ya, guys!"

"Thanks!" Ash called over to him, "You'll have to teach me more about that Butterfree of yours sometime!"

Samurai stopped him in his tracks, making the two trainers and Braixen flinch.

"That's a secret you don't wanna find out, Ash" Samurai replied menacingly without turning around.

With that, Samurai picked up the remainder of his blade and disappeared into the forest.

Ash, Serena and Braixen stood frozen in place for a few moments before Ash dared to break the silence by tentatively beginning to walk over to his unconscious Pikachu and placed him on his hat.

"C'mon!" Ash finally said, "Let's head to Pewter like he said!"

Serena let out a long sigh and returned Braixen to her Pokeball. Of course Ash would bounce from something like that so easily. She decided to simply accept it and attempt to catch up to her boyfriend on her unsteady legs. The two resumed chatting about what they would do next and disappeared into the underbrush.


Samurai looked out from behind a tree to watch as the two trainers walked back into the forest to continue their journey. Sweat began pouring from his brow as he released his Butterfree which looked completely terrified.

"They fell for it," He celebrated, "It worked!"

His Butterfree looked ecstatic and relieved as it let out a long sigh and plopped itself on the ground. He had nearly passed out during that encounter with that Braixen. He had seen from his Pokeball how easily it took out his master's other Pokemon with such ease once it actually tried, so when he heard its trainer say they were going to take the next fight completely seriously, it nearly passed out. It was lucky that its scar from a fight with an Ursaring made it look so intimidating, otherwise that Braixen would have surely taken it out in one shot and he'd become a laughingstock! A Pokemon that went through hell? That surpasses the Legends themselves?! What a joke. Both he and his trainer let out a loud sigh in unison at their own hopelessness.


Meanwhile, Ash and Serena had finally made their way to the end of the labyrinth-like forest to find they were looking directly over Pewter City where Serena's first Gym Badge was waiting for her. Serena stood on a large rock that helped her gain a good look at the city below.

"Off my merchandise," A voice from below ordered, making Serena jump backwards in surprise.

"Merchandise?" She asked.

She looked down to find there was indeed a small price tag on the rock she had just been standing on. Ash simply hopped over the rock and down in front of the owner of the voice while Serena slowly made her way down a nearby slope and climbed down to meet them. Sitting in front of a large rack of different sized rocks, each with price tags depending on how large the rock was, sat an old man with a red beanie covering his eyes.

"Uh, sir," Started Serena, "Why are you selling rocks of all things? ...By the entrance to a forest…? I don't think you'd find any customers in this field of work."

"Watch it," The old man hissed, making Serena flinch, "Pewter City is the Town of Stone. We relish our rocks here more than anything, which is why the Gym here is based around Rock Types. I bet you young'uns didn't even know that b'fore comin' here. It's a miracle you lot even made it outta that forest."

'Oh, you have no idea,' Serena thought to herself.

"You're Brock's dad, right?" Ash asked, completely ignoring the old man's insults, "Uhh, ...Flint, right? You helped me beat Brock back in the day with my Pikachu."

He pointed to the unconscious yellow mouse on his head. Flint scratched his beard in deep thought before shrugging.

"Doesn't ring a bell."

Ash fell over in disbelief.

"What?! You set up this whole little machine for me so that I could pump electricity into Pikachu's cheeks! I'm the reason why you're the Gym Leader in the first place since Brock came with me after our battle!"

Flint shrugged, "Never had a good memory. Anyways, you two here to challenge me?"

Ash facepalmed, "I just said I already beat the...nevermind. No, just her. I've already got the badge."

"Really," Flint inquired challengingly, "So, where is your badge then?"

Ash smirked and fumbled around through his vest. He grinned at Flint and pulled out Viola's Bug Badge, holding it up in the air for all to see."

"Ash," Serena started, "I don't think the Kalos Badges work over here."

Ash immediately pulled down the badge and, to his horror, it was indeed the badge he had gotten after defeating Kalos's Bug-Type Gym Leader.

"Aw no!" Ash cried out, "I didn't get to switch out my badges because of my fight with Gary!"

The young trainer pouted and put his Bug Badge next to the others, which didn't go unnoticed by Flint. He tucked the badge case away dejectedly and frowned as he turned back to the old Gym Leader.

"Nevermind, I guess I will be challenging you as well."

He shrugged, "Ah well, I guess this'll be good training for the League then."

"I see," Flint said as he continuously scratched his beard, "Well, I suppose I'll direct you to the Pokemon Center then. You look like you'll need the rest before challenging me."

Serena nodded, "That would be appreciated, sir."

The trio began to make their way down the slope towards Pewter City. Ash was thinking to himself. He had expected his visit to Pallet Town to be a couple days, not half an hour. He just realized he hadn't even gotten to see his other Pokemon, the Professor, and...his mother. Oh, Arceus, his mother. Ash winced at the thought of his mother's reaction once he'd finally called her. Oh, the fit that would happen… Ash was snapped out of his thoughts as he bumped into Flint once he had stopped.

"Here we are," Announced Flint, "Now, you two be sure to rest up before challengin' me, okay?"

"Will do!" Serena chirped.

As the couple entered the Pokemon Center, Serena could see Ash noticeably nervous. He was sweating profusely, and was shifting uncomfortably. He kept twiddling his fingers and shifting to look at the videophone hinged on the wall nearby.

"...You okay there?" Serena asked with a hint of tease.

Ash placed Pikachu in her arms and gave her his belt of Pokemon.

"I'm sorry, but uh...can you take care of this for me? I need to"

Ash paused.

"...Remedy something."

"Sure thing, but," Serena raised an eyebrow, "...What is it?"

Ash's eyes darkened, "A disaster far worse than Team Flare…"

With that, Ash headed to the phone, looking as if he were heading into a warzone. Serena gave him an odd look but simply shrugged and turned back to the counter. She rang the bell that was placed there and soon enough, one of the many Nurse Joy's appeared out from behind a curtain with a smile on her face. Serena handed her and Ash's Pokeballs over and the two began to chat happily while the Nurse was handing off the balls to a Chansey on hand, when a roar from the depths of hell suddenly forced everyone in the room to the ground in sheer agony.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHHH!"

"Good to see you too, mom…" Ash said, wincing.

On the opposite side of the phoneline, Delia Ketchum sat fuming at her son. First, he gets home and doesn't even call her. Then, one of his Pokemon fought a giant flock of angry Spearow on it's own and torches a forest, AND THEN HE-

"Ash, what was that?!" Serena demanded, holding her ringing ears.

"Ash, this is Serena, right?" Delia demanded.

Ash paled.

Oh no, he cursed internally.

"Ah, you must be Ash's mother, right?" Serena asked cluelessly, "I'm Ash's girlfriend now. It's nice to see you again."

OH NO…!

Delia blinked, "...You're Ash's WHAT?!"

OOOOH NOOOOOOO!


Hall of Origins

It was unusual for Arceus to call multiple meetings in such a short span of time, to say the least. So, when they were summoned to the Hall so soon, many questions were being raised and the chatter from the smaller Legends was filling the room even more than normally. Giratina was waiting impatiently as always, his growls reverberating throughout the room as Arceus readied himself. Finally, the big mon finally showed himself, with Deoxys at his side oddly enough. Most of the Legends raised, or at least mentally raised, their eyebrows or lack thereof at this but dared not speak of it.

"Might I have thine attention?"

With those familiar words, the Hall returned to its silence. After scanning the Hall to make sure everyone was in their respective seatings, Arceus continued.

"Deoxys has finally revealed to me the truth of his origins."

"And?" Giratina demanded, "Deoxys has been around long enough that I'm sure most of us no longer care of his origins."

"I'm curious about it…" Mew countered, making Giratina scowl at her to which she simply smiled childishly back at him.

Arceus raised his front hoof to restore silence.

"Deoxys has informed me of a creature who calls himself Necrozma. He is responsible for the complete and utter annihilation of Deoxy's entire race. Deoxys had no choice, but to flee in the rubble of his very planet's remains to escape from the monsters wrath."

"And that's when we fought once he arrived," Rayquaza surmised.

"And that is no fault of yours," Arceus said kindly, "For you were only doing your job."

"I wasn't apologizing," Replied Rayquaza

Giratina cruelly chuckled, "So in other words, he fled like a coward?"

Arceus stamped his foot down threateningly and glared in Giratina's direction. "That will be all from you, Giratina!""

Giratina scowled, but obeyed. Mew snickered, earning a glare that could kill.

"No," Deoxys interjected, "Giratina is right. I was a coward for fleeing. A coward and a fool. Because I fled, Necrozma is on his way here at this very moment to correct his mistake of letting me live."

A series of gasps erupted from the smaller Legends. Most of the larger ones simply gave Deoxys a cruel or judging look, making him hang his head in shame. Arceus stamped his hoof once more, bringing the Legend's attention back to himself.

"Back to the matter at hand, Necrozma is on his way here as we speak and we need to be on extra high alert. From what deoxys has told me, Necrozma's body is almost entirely pitch black. The only part of him that would be visible in the dark are two glowing, protruding crystals from his arms."

The Alpha Pokemon turned his attention to Rayquaza, earning the Sky Lord's full attention.

"Rayquaza, you are our first defense against Necrozma. If he is to enter our planet, he will have to go through you. I need you to patrol the ozone at all times. Be incredibly alert always."

"So, do what I've been doing for the past forever," Rayquaza replied snidely, "Got it. It's not as if I've ever failed before, so I imagine this will be fairly easy."

Ignoring Rayquaza's tone, he then turned towards the Pokemon of Life and Death, as well as his two sons, Palkia and Dialga.

"We currently do not know Necrozma's whereabouts," Spoke the Alpha, "Yveltal and Xerneas, I need you to monitor any irregularities of life you find. If there is anything remiss, notify me at once."

Xerneas and Yveltal bowed. "Of course, Lord Arceus," They said as one, "We will do as you say."

Arceus nodded to them, next addressing the rulers of Time and Space. "As for you, your orders are to keep track of any changes in space-time. We do not know the limits of Necrozma's power, and if he can conquer worlds as he has done with Deoxys, then he may have the potential to warp reality to travel faster, which could end up disastrous if-"

"Seriously?" Giratina interrupted, "Some big baddie kills a bunch of Deoxys's and you all start to lose your wits? Please, anybody could do something as trivial as that."

Deoxys clenched his tendrils into fists, using all his willpower not to embarrass himself by retaliating.

"Giratina!" Arceus bellowed, "Do you not have a shrivel of compassion in that horrific excuse of a body of yours?!"

"Being alone in banishment for longer than you can fathom does that to somebody..." Giratina hissed.

"Aww," Mew cooed tauntingly, "Somebody's gwuuumpyyy."

"...THAT'S IT…"

Giratina directed a piercing glare that would have frozen just about anyone else in Mew's direction.

"I will not allow myself to be ridiculed by you any longer Mew! You cannot fathom my torment at being trapped in a world where my very existence twists, warps, and destroys reality! I do not care of your status above me any longer! I will not tolerate these insults further, so it's about time you grow up, you spoiled brat!"

Everyone in the room, including Arceus himself, dared not speak after that display. The only sound left was the panting of Giratina after his little tantrum. Mew gave him a blank, unreadable stare that greatly unsettled him and the others in the hall. A great pressure befell the room, making some of the larger Legends deeply uncomfortable while the smaller Legends were backing away into various corners to escape the choking sensation. Giratina himself found his breath stripped away, and was nearly forced to the ground due to the sheer pressure directed at him.

"DO NOT COME TO ME LOOKING FOR PITY," Mew said cruelly, "FOR YOU WILL FIND NONE IN ME. YOUR BANISHMENT IS THE RESULT OF YOUR OWN LUST FOR POWER. YOUR TORMENT IS YOUR OWN FAULT AND YOU HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELF. EVEN NOW, YOUR ATTITUDE IS ONLY SUCCEEDING DEEPENING YOUR TORMENT AND BANISHMENT."

Mew stared deep into Giratina's eyes darkly. This was the second time he had ever felt fear.

"AND DON'T COMPARE US IN RANK, FOR YOUR RANK MEANS NOTHING NOW. YOUR RANK IS LESS THAN DIRT, WORM."

With that, the unsettling pressure disappeared, along with Mew's brutal exterior. The smaller Legends began inching their way back to their seats, but Giratina dared not move an inch even though The Pokemon Queen was back to smiling like an excited child.

"...Giratina," Arceus started, "You are dismissed. I am sure you agree that it would be better if you left for now."

The Renegade Pokemon needed no further incentive and summoned a dark portal, never happier to face his banishment.

"As for the rest of you, return to your normal business and be sure to keep an eye out for Necrozma. Notify any nearby Legends and have someone report to me if you see him. Do not engage him alone. You are dismissed."

The remaining Legends eagerly obeyed and returned to their respective domains after seeing their Queen's true exterior.


Author's Note

Creator - I feel each one of these is better than the last, don't you agree? Though I don't think that's setting a very high bar.

Hydra- I am having so much fun writing this story, I cant wait to get further. Do not worry about having to wait for long updates we have already started working on the next chapter by the time this is uploaded.

Creator - Anyways, on to the reviews!

TeamPiperM

"Wow, Diantha. You bailed Alain out, but not Malva? They both tried to help! Dick move."

Creator - Malva did way more damage than Alain did. Alain never wanted to be with Flare to begin with, but Malva helped Lysandre until just before the end.

thor94

"look interesting and touching.

poor ash always his fate to lose his powerful pokemon. For ash his pokemon come first, but look for ash pokemon beside pikachu, their trainer come second at best and there is always something more important than him (mate, power, pokemon friends, personal job, etc).

Also ask how serena could be in palet town and especially before ash when she was in a plane for hoenn?"

Creator - 1. Thanks! 2. Ash's curse :C. 3. I left that part to the imagination. Maybe I needed to explain it more :/. Anyways, I wanted you guys to figure out that Serena changed her mind at the last second...probably should've done a better job...

Amourshippingfan

"I liked seeing ash and Gary battle again and how schooked Gary was when he found out ash and seran are dating and I am glad the Pokémon are okay and I am surprised serana wants to try out the kanto league"

Creator - Dunno who Seran is, but I'm glad you like our story! (I know you meant Serena lol)

TheOGPokemonMaster

"1) Serena ex Machina

2) Pidgeot ex Machina

3) "I REFUSE TO PAY THEE RENT"

"THOU HAST LANDETH ON MY PROPERTY"

"I AM GOD"

4)"YOUR CHANCE CARD DECREES THAT THEE GOETH DIRECTLY TO JAIL"

"I WILL ERASETH THEE FROM EXISTENCE"

"...YOUR CHANCE CARD DECREES THAT YOU HAVE WON THE LOTTERY"

5) Keep up the awesome work mate!

Creator - 1) Plot convenience lol

2) Plot convenience lol

3) Ah, Monopoly jokes

4) "THINE CHANCE CARD CAN SHOVEST THEE UP THINES OWN RECTUM!"

5) Only if you do ;)

Hydra- hi little side message to all you wonderful reviewers. I just wanted to tell you the reason I have yet to respond to any reviews is because I am still getting used to figuring out how to respond if that makes any sense, I am new to writing fanfics and I don't really know how to answer certain reviews, but don't worry I will eventually get the hang of it and try to answer each one of your reviews.

Creator - That's all, folks! Be sure to Review, and we'll...I'll be sure to respond to it! I love seeing Reviews, no matter what they say, so please