"I'm not ready for a gym battle," Serena said as soon as Norris left.

"Nonsense, we have plenty of time to train," Ash replied.

"But I only brought Braixen with me."

"That's not true, what about Cubchoo? Come on, let's see what he can do."

Still hesitant, Serena called her cubchoo out and held it in her arms. She held him dearly, and was unwilling to let him on the ground; he was basically a new-born after all. After a few seconds of doubt she let him down, Cubchoo had trouble standing in two legs. From Ash's side Pikachu stepped forward, however as soon as he got close to the tender Cubchoo, to begin some friendly training, the baby fell chin-first on the ground. It looked like it really hurt. Serena rushed to pick him up and nurse him back in her arms. It was evident he wasn't ready to fight, Serena was partially alleviated by this.

"That's not ideal." Ash then became like a statue again, it took him a couple of seconds to recover this time. "It's fine, don't worry, I'll think of something else. Norris can't just refuse to have an official match with me, even if I have to wait for it. Yes, there must be a way, someone who takes care of stuff like that. Seriously don't worry guys, I'll look into it."

Ash then ran away with Pikachu, leaving Serena worried and nervous with her baby Cubchoo softly pressed to her chest. But she knew deep down that there was no alternative, Norris specifically said he wouldn't ever challenge Ash. And he wouldn't ever be able to obtain his badge if Serena lost. That night was her only chance, and she knew she was going to lose.

As Ash ran mindlessly around the city, he failed to notice Elyan coming out of the store very sad and disappointed. Elyan shouted and raised his hand to get Ash's attention but it didn't work, and so he chose to chase after Ash. Elyan actually ran for a while, but ended up giving up just a few streets later thoroughly exhausted; Ash simply had too much energy. Without noticing Elyan ended up in a bad part of town, just a bit too far away from the hectic zone on which he was before. Everything around him seemed darker and shadier for some reason, the streets and the building seemed much more grittier, and there was a pervasive sense of sudden danger that made him afraid.

From an alleyway came a rattling noise, but there were only shadows, and Elyan didn't dare to get closer and investigate. Instead he wanted to run away, and he kind of did, slowly. However, more noises came from the alleyway, and just as he turned to make sure nothing had come out of it, a giant shadow condensed itself and went for him. Elyan screamed and ran but the thing quickly caught up to him and landed right at the top of his head. He felt a light pressure, however as he was still wearing the blue cap that Agnes had gifted him he couldn't really discern what it was. But as he looked at the ground, he noticed a big shadow poised right above his own shadow. It filled him with fright.

Slowly, and tending not to make any sudden movement, Elyan somehow managed to make his way back to the store, and felt instant relief when he found Ritchie sitting on the bench right outside on the sidewalk.

"Hey Elyan, nice mandibuzz," Ritchie said nonchalantly.

"What? What are you talking about? Help me!"

"With what?"

"There's something on top of me, help!"

"Yeah, it's a mandibuzz, it's pretty cool."

"Do something Ritchie!"

"Why? It seems fine, just chilling on top of your head."

Elyan managed to catch his reflection on the front window of the store, his insides revolted with pure horror. An alive pile of dark feathers, tall and wide, with a pink blur at the top that was disturbing and hard to look at. Also on the window he noticed a police officer walking right behind him.

"Officer! Help! There's a mandibuzz on my head!" Elyan turned as he spoke.

"What?" asked the officer

"What do I do?"

"Has it hurt you?"

"…I guess not, but that's not the point."

"The protocol says we shouldn't disturb it."

"What? So I'm supposed to keep it on my head?"

"Yes, just chill out and relax for a bit. It seems like the mandibuzz doesn't want to hurt you, so it's best if you just wait until it wants to leave. It shouldn't be long."

"You have to be kidding me. Getting rid of it is my current goal. How am I going to accomplish it if I start by chilling and relaxing?"

The officer was confused by Elyan's question so he ignored him. "Just don't bother the pokemon, it will fly away at some point," he said. Then he just walked away.

"Great, what am I supposed to do now?"

"What the officer said, just relax for a bit and the mandibuzz will fly away soon enough."

"Easy for you to say."

"Just try to ignore it, is there something else bothering you?" Ritchie asked affably. "Perhaps something that doesn't have anything to do with the mandibuzz on your head?"

"Well, there is actually. What do you think was up with the Elite 4? They were kind of mean, I just wanted an autograph."

"Maybe it's your general demeanor Elyan. You're just not an objectively fun guy, but that's okay, you have to be yourself, even if your true self is a boringly bland vanilla dude."

"That's not true, what? What do you mean?"

"Why did you ask them about that cartoon starring a guy no one cares about? That was stupid."

"Excuse me, Steel Master Ricky was himself a renowned member of the Elite 4. They should have more respect for the past. Anyway, how do I go about changing my demeanor and all?"

"I told you, you don't have to change your demeanor or your personality. You ought simply to be yourself and people will love you for who you are."

"But didn't you say that some people are inherently boring? If there's something wrong why wouldn't you try and change it? Your advice sucks Ritchie, it contradicts itself."

A random dude walked by the two of them. "Hey, nice mandibuzz," he said.

"Thanks," Elyan replied. Then he rubbed his chin with his index finger in a very thoughtful way, as if an idea had just appeared in his mind.

Close by was Serena, still carrying Cubchoo in her arms. She sat on a bench that had a big neon sign advertising a coffee shop right above it. She loved coffee but she wasn't in the mood for it, her face showed how sad she was. There seemed to be no alternative in her future other than severe defeat and humiliation. She kept thinking about how to solve her situation, the last thing she wanted was to defraud Ash. She had to face an opponent that seemed much more powerful than her, and she couldn't run away. What was she supposed to do? Serena thought deeply for a long time. It got to the point where she got tired of thinking and her head almost hurt. After all of that pondering Serena realized she only had two options, either accept defeat, or ask for help.

But Ash was nowhere to be seen, and Elyan didn't know much about training pokemon. It was clear that her best choice was to get herself another pokemon, one that was eager and ready to battle. Serena thought about what kind of pokemon she could get with the time she had. She knew Ice types were common in Gudrut and Braixen had an advantage over them, she just had to find one that was easy to battle. Serena made up her mind, if she had to fight, at least she'd give it her all. She ran back to the park, which had a big open field right in the middle of the city. On her way she passed by Elyan and Ritchie, who were still hanging out outside of the store, now with a very striking group of people surrounding them: two men and a woman. She had no time to stop and say hi, or to investigate about the mandibuzz standing on top of Elyan's head, but she did manage to overhear part of their conversation.

"…And then Steel Master Ricky said: hang on, Sammy!" Elyan said. The group around him erupted in laughter.

"Man, that was funny, you're one funny dude …and that's a cool mandibuzz," Errol said. "I have to watch that show. Hey, didn't you ask us for an autograph earlier? Here, what's your name?"

"Uh, Agnes," Elyan replied.

"Okay, sure. Here you go Agnes…"

The sun looked brighter than usual for Elyan. Serena had a plan. And Ash was not going to give up on his match with Norris.

The day went by quickly, and very soon it was dark out, and it was time for Serena to face Norris.

She was standing outside the glass cube. Ritchie, Elyan, as well as Elyan's cousin, Carlton, were there with her. Elyan still had the mandibuzz on top of his head, though he seemed rather pleased with it now. For the time being Ash had failed to convince Norris to grant him a match, and they had thrown him out of the gym, and yet, he remained undeterred. In fact his refusal to give up filled Serena with confidence, as well as a healthy dose of anger directed at the gym leader with the bob haircut. The doors of the giant glass cube opened just for her. The guards at the entrance made that clear. But she didn't falter or had any doubts about going in, she was going to get the blank badge for Ash no matter what. Once she was inside the doors closed behind her with a resounding echo, and then she was left in complete darkness. It was almost asphyxiating, and she could only hear the sound of her own breathing to boot.

"Ups! Sorry, my bad," somebody around her said; it startled her a bit. And then all the lights were turned on. She was on an empty room, with a sleepy guard who was scratching the back of his head when she identified him. Something seemed off, but not in an unsettling way. The place seemed like it was literally off. There was a door in front of her and it was open, she went into the next room and it was completely empty. Her steps made abundant echo as she walked, of the kind that only happens when a big place is completely deserted. It seemed like there was sort of a labyrinth element to the gym, it was probably hard to complete during the day, but as everyone who worked there seemed to be gone for the night, all of the doors that would've been closed were open. As she kept walking forward, going through room after room, the mirrors embedded on the walls encompassed more and more of the surface. By the last room, the entirety of the walls and the ceiling were made of very clear mirrors, reflecting each other. It was as if there were hundreds of glass rooms, all of them containing hundreds of Serenas within them. The resulting effect was off-putting and made Serena a bit dizzy. At the very end of the room there was a guy wearing a white leotard with his face uncovered. He was completely focused on his cell phone. After some shy hesitation, Serena called to him and her soft voice startled him.

"Oh, yeah, the girl! It's after hours for us, sorry for not giving you the full experience that we usually give challengers, but Norris said there was no point to it since he wasn't sure if you were going to actually show up. So it's going to be just you and him, plain and simple… pretty normal if you ask me."

The guy then knocked on the glass, it felt like a ritualistic summoning, but it reality it was the most austere thing possible, and rather shameless at that. Seconds later a different set of steps echoed all over the place. Then, from the same door where Serena came in, a figure shrouded in reflective light appeared, revealing itself to be Norris, wearing the same stained red plaid shirt and ripped jeans from before.

"I see you've decided to show up after all," he said with a hateful smirk on his face. "To be honest with you I was pretty sure you wouldn't come. I've faced many trainers in my life, I've had many battles, to the point that now, just by looking at a trainer's face, I can tell if they're going to put up a good fight. And, no offense, you just don't seem like the type who could ever defeat me."

"You can't possibly know that I'm going to lose just by looking at me," Serena said. She was upset. Suddenly and just for a moment she channeled Ash's inhumane level of determination.

"That's exactly what I said I could. But you know what," Norris said. "I will let you leave thinking that you have a chance against me. At this point you haven't lost yet. Go through with the match and I guarantee you'll be disappointed. That guy seems stubborn and neurotic, he probably won't be able to let this go and will keep trying to challenge me, and it will eat him inside. But don't worry, he'll probably get through it one day. He only needs eight badges to qualify for the League Tournament, there are many more gyms to challenge."

"That guy has a name, it's Ash Ketchum."

"Yeah, thanks, but there's no way I'm going to remember that."

"Don't worry," Serena said. "You don't need to remember his name, you only need to remember mine."

"Which is?" Norris asked with sass.

"…Serena," she said, nullifying the awesomeness from her last remark.

"Just remember I gave you a chance to leave, so that when you lose you leave quickly and quietly. It's now or never for that guy's badge, I already forgot the name you just told me. A low-key clandestine affair, as every one of these farces should be. Are you ready to stare at your clearest reflection?"

"Yes," Serena replied, adamantly. "I'm ready to get the badge."

The guy at the back reminded them he was still there by clearing his throat, then said: "Alright, you know the rules. The challenger can change, the leader can't… just go for it guys."

Serena was dead serious, her anger was noticeable but stoically contained. She took out a pokeball and threw it at the front of her like a true trainer, and revealed her newest companion, Delibird, red and white, with big round eyes, plump and jolly, obtained out of necessity just a few hours ago, nevertheless he was eager to fight.

Norris's perpetual smirk became wider, he looked like a total creep. He called out his pokemon, ditto, pink small blob. And the ensuing transformation happened immediately, very suddenly Ditto twisted and squeezed its body, turning into an exact copy of Delibird.

"As you can see, Serena, my ditto has the special ability of transforming into the opponent as soon as the battle starts. Come on! Show me what you have."

Serena's eyes opened wide, then glistened of a very bright white for just a second. She saw an opportunity which even in the instant rush of the moment seemed cheeky and opportunistic. However there was no time to think about morality, it was not murky, barely pragmatic, and Ash's first badge was on the line. It seemed so easy to be true. In silence, she called Delibird back and exchanged him for Braixen, who came out standing decisively in two legs while holding a stick on fire in her hand.

"Braixen! Use flamethrower!" Serena suddenly shouted. Norris couldn't believe it.

Braixen decisively raised her arm, her fire left an orange trail on the air as the stick was swung upwards, then she began charging it with the power necessary to release it at her opponent. With a commanding howl Braixen threw her arm forward and aimed the stick right at Ditto-Delibird: a projectile made entirely out of flames was released at the impostor, bathing it in fire, consuming it in its entirety. Ditto-delibird was left scorched as it fell to the ground, at which point it turned back into Ditto and then went to sleep. It was over.

"What the hell!" Norris cried in disbelief. "That's not fair! Do-over!"

"No way!" Serena angrily replied. "Let's finish this match, now call out your second pokemon."

"…I only have one," Norris said with a softer tone, though he was still angry.

"What? No," Serena said in disbelief.

"Yes."

"So the match is over, just like that?"

Norris sighed deeply. "I guess so."

"So I didn't have to get so worried about it? Is it really over?

"Yes, you won."

"Yay!" Serena jumped from happiness. Her wide smile showed a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She called Delibird out of his pokeball, and Serena and Braixen started cheering and jumping around him. It took Delibird a few seconds but when he realized what was happening he started cheering and jumping too.

"Can I have the badge?" she asked.

Norris was upset, all energy had been completely sucked out of him. His lips were turned into a pout and he had his arms crossed. He heard Serena and closed his eyes, and remained unresponsive for a bit.

"Sure," he said after she repeated her question. He was very much done with everything. "Here you go, take them." He pulled out a bunch of badges from his pocket. They all looked like round mirrors the size of a bottle cap. He gave them all to Serena. "Here, so you can not only have one for yourself too but also share some with your friends. I couldn't care less if you threw them away!" Norris didn't wait for anything else and stormed out of the room.

As he walked away, Ash came into the room along with Ritchie. Serena had her sight set on Ash, although he was first distracted by Norris angrily bumping into him. But when he looked at her, all of the badges but one fell from her hand to the ground, and she kept her palm open, with the sole tiny mirror on it facing upwards, as Ash walked towards her, surprised, thoroughly content, and visibly proud. He didn't say anything once he arrived to her. So she just reached her hand over to him and nodded at the badge.

"Is it okay for me to have this?" Ash said. He was pretty confused as to what he was supposed to do. Things hadn't gone like he'd thought they would have at all.

"Of course you should have it," Serena said. "That was the deal, I got it for you."

"I should've trusted you more Serena, I was so obsessed with getting my match with Norris that I forgot about pretty much everything else. It seems it's so easy for me to forget."

"Maybe this will help you remember." She waved her hand, prompting Ash to take the badge. When Ash looked at it on her hand it reflected just a tiny little bit of Serena's face on it.

"I'm only glad I could help you on your league challenge, somehow I managed to beat Norris, so now you get the prize," she said. Ash looked at her once more, then nodded decisively. Then he took the blank badge and raised it triumphantly.

Ritchie had surreptitiously gotten right next to them. He shamelessly lifted one of the badges and showed it to Ash.

"Look Ash," Ritchie said, "I guess today we both got our first badges on this crazy place. First of many huh?"

"You bet," Ash said.

Serena felt weird about it, and subtly enraged. Ritchie hadn't been part of the challenge. But she didn't say anything. Instead she lifted one of the badges for herself, and felt proud and deserving enough to keep it, as a worthy reminder of what she had accomplished that day.

Outside Elyan and mandibuzz were waiting for them. Elyan had his arms crossed and a very smug look on his face. Things had certainly changed for him in just one day. He felt like he could go back to his house and personally beat Pryce's ass, but that would have been too easy. Also he hadn't officially caught the mandibuzz yet so he still didn't have pokemon.

"Good job girl, I knew you'd be able to do it," he said as the group came out with the badges. As soon as they did, and the doors of the gym closed behind them, the mandibuzz flew away, taking Elyan's blue cap with it. He failed to notice at first, but when he did his semblance immediately changed; he wanted to cry. Elyan ran after the flying pokemon who quickly gained altitude and speed, but tripped and fell on the ground as soon as he reached the sidewalk. From there, Elyan could only raise his head and watch as the mandibuzz became a dot on the nightly horizon. He was absolutely crushed, desperately holding on to the pathetic hope that the mandibuzz would somehow return to him. When that didn't happen, Elyan's state didn't ameliorate, and he headed to the police station to figure out a way to solve his hopeless situation.

He ran into the building late at night, stumbling his way towards the counter. "Excuse me officer, a mandibuzz stole my hat, I got it just today!" he said to the officer in turn.

"Pardon?" the police officer asked.

"A mandibuzz appeared out of nowhere and placed itself at the top of my head this afternoon. That was it for a while, at first I was scared but soon realized everything was fine, and the mandibuzz was an unlikely boost to my confidence. It completed a part of me that I didn't know I was missing. But then, out of nowhere, it betrayed me and flew away, taking my new cap with it."

"I see, well, do you want to file a report?"

"Don't you have a way to see who's the mandibuzz's trainer, or where it came from?"

"Yeah, sure, let me check the general database."

"Really?"

"No. There's no such thing as a general database, it's an insane idea. Could you imagine if everyone was under surveillance at all times? That would be criminal."

"I don't think so," Elyan replied. "It seems like a pretty good way to check up on people and pokemon, in case something like this happens, you know, an actual criminal act."

"You're crazy kid. I'll file a report. If your cap turns up I'll notify your parents, now in the meantime you should get some sleep. You know, this reminds me, my neighbor actually had a mandibuzz."

"It's something, can you give me their address?"

"No I cannot, kid, what's wrong with you? I can't just give you someone's address, now that would be criminal."

"I understand, sorry I asked officer."

"It's okay, you're under some stress."

"Thanks, hey, just out of curiosity, where do you live?"

"Oh, just across the street actually… wait! Hold on a minute."

"Thanks officer." Elyan walked out of the station. He then proceeded to canvass the neighborhood, in what had suddenly become a very clandestine personal crusade. He got to the obvious suspect just after a few houses.

"Yes, my husband had a mandibuzz," the woman at the door said. "But he disappeared a few months ago. His mandibuzz used to leave for undetermined periods of time, just like him, roaming around all over the region. However, this time it's been too long, and he has not communicated with me since."

"I'm so sorry," Elyan said.

"Thank you. I guess Mandibuzz returned for a while, saw that my husband was gone and then left again. It could head to anywhere in the region, I can pay you for the hat."

"No, please, that's okay. It was more of a sentimental thing, but not that much, please don't worry. The hat itself was actually pretty cheap."

"I wonder what my husband has been caught up with. I'm sure he's still alive, he's too resilient to go out like this."

"I'm sorry for wasting your time, if I ever find something out I'll notify you."

"Likewise, have a good night."

"You too," Elyan finalized, then the woman closed the door. As Elyan headed back to his cousin's place, to the celebrate Serena's victory with everyone else, he pondered about what he had discovered. The mystery that he started unraveling by chance went a lot deeper than he could've ever imagined. In a day he had gained a hat and self-confidence, and in the same day he had lost both, and his knee hurt bad from the fall he took earlier. But he was not ready to lose his conviction just yet, countless questions had appeared literally out of nowhere, and he still hadn't caught a single pokemon. What he had gained was another objective. He sought to get his cap back from the mandibuzz.