~Hall of Origins~

Per usual, Arceus stood in front of her looking vat, watching the events unfold from a distance. Some might think she'd get tired of being cooped up in the Hall of Origins all the time, unable to interfere but she actually much preferred it to the alternatives. Not many understood or really agreed with her rule of no interference, but she knew it was for the best. If the humans created a problem, then it was the humans who must set it right, at least in her eyes.

Also per usual, the lineup of legendary pokemon accompanying her had changed. Mespirit, Azelf, and Uxie had to return to their respective lakes for a bit, seeing as they are the guardians of the pokemon living there. Darkrai also had left to go see Alice. Cresselia floated adjacent from Arceus, to her left hovered Shaymin, to her right was Deoxys, and recently joining them was Articuno. Suddenly, in a flash of light Arceus and Articuno found Mewtwo standing between them.

There was a long silent pause as Mewtwo looked around the room expectantly. 'Don't all welcome me back at once.' He quipped. 'I know some of you don't care for me all that much but you could at least act like you're happy to see me.'

'Mewtwo, you know that's-' Articuno started turning to Mewtwo.

'I can read minds, remember?' Mewtwo said cutting her off. 'I know just what you all think of me.'

'Gee, I wonder why?' Shaymin retorted. 'Maybe it's because you never listen?' She glared. She snapped her head to the side with a 'hmph'. 'I don't know why Arceus keeps you around. She clearly told you to help Dawn and Paul only. But you just had to go talk to Ash. But I guess I should've expected it.'

'Do you want to be one with the wall again, princess?' Mewtwo growled as his eyes began to glow a whitish purple. 'I won't hesitate.' He threatened.

'That's enough, both of you.' Arceus said calmly. 'Perhaps we should just give Mewtwo a chance to explain his actions rather than immediately condemning him.'

Mewtwo's eyes calmed and the Genetic pokemon crossed his arms defiantly. 'It's not a big deal. Those two humans wanted to find Ash, so I brought them to him. He noticed me, and I have too much respect for the boy to ignore him. So, I said as little as possible. You don't want us fighting his battles for him, and I didn't. I should've healed Pikachu myself, but I didn't because Arceus wants it to be this way for some stupid reason.'

'You're missing the point.' Cresselia pointed out. 'Arceus said not to interact with the Chosen One. She put her trust in you to carry out a simple but important task, and you betrayed that trust. You defied a direct order.'

'In case you've forgotten, I'm not like you, Cresselia.' Mewtwo snapped. 'I wasn't created by Arceus, I'm not an official legendary pokemon, I'm not a part of your little 'Praise Arceus Club' where we all dance around and sing kumbaya and talk about how great our creator is. Because of all that, I don't feel I'm obliged to do exactly what Arceus says one hundred percent of the time. I could've stayed and fought with him, you know? But I didn't because Arceus wished me not to.'

'He brings up an interesting point.' Deoxys interjected. 'What makes Mewtwo unique is the fact that he's not tied to Arceus as the rest of us are. And it's no secret that there are legends who treat him like the outcast of the group. Besides, many of us have gone against Arceus's wishes in the past. I got a lecture of my own after my fight with Rayquaza as did my brother. Perhaps we should look the other way.'

'Are you nuts?' Shaymin asked the extra-terrestrial. 'He should have to follow the rules more than anyone.'

'Enough.' Arceus commanded. All heads turned towards the creator as she looked at Mewtwo. 'There's something quite special about you, Mewtwo. No one has talked about me in such a way in many centuries, and certainly never had the gall to challenge me the way you have been lately...it's a nice change. Your ability to stick to your guns as they say, is very respectable and a rare trait to find.' Mewtwo gave her a smirk. 'To be honest, I knew you would contact Ash in some way. I let you go because I knew it was for the best that you get to see him at least once. After all, we don't know how this will end.'

'You're not angry?' Deoxys asked.

'Anger is an emotion I have done my best to purge myself of over the years, it gets us nowhere.' Arceus replied. 'I do, however, have a slight problem with you leaving such an important task in the hands of that Meowth. His greed could prove to be quite a problem. I hope you know what you've done there.'

'Despite appearances, Meowth isn't a terrible pokemon.' Mewtwo replied calmly. 'He is greedy, yes, but he and his friends have shown multiple counts of empathy before. Besides, he and his friends are more of the jester villain types rather than the evil ones.'

'I should hope so.' Articuno said. 'If you're wrong, someone may be losing their pokemon. The panic of the civilians would give them the perfect smokescreen.'

'Even if they try anything, it's not like they're competent enough to pull it off.' Deoxys added. 'I'd be much more worried about those still trapped inside the factory. Between my brother and I, it's taken all our restraint not to rescue Tory ourselves.'

'Young Tory is no longer in as much danger as he once was.' Articuno pointed out. 'As long as they continue to go at this pace, they'll have plenty of time to spare to get out of the factory.'

'But will he want to leave Ash behind?' Deoxys countered. 'He admires that boy more than any other mortal he's come across. Many of them do.'

'Yes. The orange-haired one has admitted her true feelings on several occasions.' Cresselia added. 'The way he touches others hearts throughout his adventures is unmatched. To insinuate that any of them would leave the Chosen behind is unfounded in logic. No one is out of danger, yet.'

'I suppose you make good points.' Arceus said. 'But to lose them all in the case of my Chosen's defeat...'

'Then Ash won't lose.' Mewtwo said confidently. 'You chose him because he's the best of the best, so he should be able to beat a frail old man.'

'Old he may be," Cresselia argued. 'but frail? Far from it.'

~Pokeball Factory~

~Infirmary~

Inside the small infirmary, three familiar scientists were hastily gathering a bunch of small test tubes and loading them into a small carrying case. Khan had just returned from delivering the Guardian Staff to Aaron and returned to the medical bay to aid his fellow genius scientists Orvis and Harvard load up their very important research. All loyal employees had been called to the south lab for their protection from what this final battle would bring. Off to their right, on a small bed, lay the esteemed Professor Oak, still unmoving after his clash with Ash.

"Remind me again why we're doing this again." Orvis said placing two test tubes into the little place holders inside the case. "Shouldn't we have left for the lab already?"

Annoyed, Khan smacked the pudgy scientist upside the head. "There's no telling what in Arceus's name that staff'll do if it's activated." Khan snapped. "It could cause major damage to the entire factory! I don't want my precious research to be left behind and destroyed if worse comes to worst."

"But if we aren't in that room in time-" Orvis started.

"Shut up and stop panicking and we'll get there a lot faster, Orvis." Harvard retorted calmly. "What do we do about Oak? It'll slow us down considerably to have to carry him."

"Leave him." Khan replied. "A dead man is no use to us anyway."

"What about the revival serum we gave him? Won't he wake up?" Orvis asked. "If he wakes, he could be of major use to us. He is a world-renowned researcher as well, you know."

"What are you, mental?" Khan snapped again. "I don't know what the boss was thinking letting us give him that serum without finalizing it. There were so many unchecked chemicals in that concoction that it probably did more harm than good. He's a goner and not worth our time."

"So we gave the man a death sentence?" Harvard asked in an indifferent tone.

"Who knows? We could have saved his life, or maybe we made his kidneys implode. All I know is if he doesn't regain consciousness in the next sixty seconds, I couldn't care less."

"That's pretty brutal, Khan." Orvis pointed out.

"Compassion is for the weak-willed. To make it in this world, you have to be able to let go of those who are of no use." Khan slammed the lid to the carrying case shut and locked it with a small key. He slung the case behind his shoulder with and underhand grip and looked to his two colleagues. "Let's go. Leave the old man behind."

"What about his pokemon?" Harvard asked. "They could still be of use to us."

"They most likely wouldn't fancy leaving him behind. They'd just slow us down. Sorry, but that's survival of the fittest for you."

On the hospital bed, Oak began to stir slightly. Slowly his eyes opened and he began regaining his sight and hearing. He tried to tilt his head but felt something pull it back into place. He lifted his hand to his forehead and felt three wires attached to his skin. He clumped the wires in his hand and tore the probes off of his skin. He looked to see Khan open the door to the infirmary. He braced himself with his arms and hoisted himself up. Gradually his memories of his fatal fight with Ash and Greninja came flooding back. He turned to the fleeing scientists. "You aren't going anywhere without me, are you?" He asked weakly, but with a tone of cockiness. "That'd be very rude."

Orvis leaned towards Khan. "I thought you said the serum wouldn't work." He said.

"It shouldn't have. He's been pumped full with more chemicals than a gassing chamber. Most of them experimental, too." Khan snapped back quietly. "Professor Oak!" He said smiling back at the elderly man who was now getting up off his back and onto his feet. "How great it is to see you up and running once more! We were just going to quickly go check to see if any intruders were waiting for us outside. Leave you behind? We would never!"

"Good." He said stumbling slightly. He knew full well that they were going to leave him, but decided not to point it out. "Why such a rush?"

"The Boss is fighting with the Chosen as we speak." Orvis let out. "If we don't get to the safe room, we'll be in big trouble." Khan let a subtle glare at Orvis slip as the pudgy man let their secret out.

"Well then, let's get going." Oak said calmly. "I don't want to be knocked out again."

"Yeah about that..." Orvis said trailing off.

Khan elbowed him one last time before taking the initiative for the naïve scientist. "You can come with if you'd like, but you can't bring the Chosen's pokemon. We know you have some of them on you. Only the most loyal of subjects will be allowed entrance." Khan said sternly. "Boss's orders."

"Well Noctowl's loyal to me now, but I suppose the other..." He said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pokeball. He opened it in his hand and in a flash of light, an elephant like ground pokemon stood before him. Upon release the pokemon reared up on its back feet and roared, showing off her tusks. "Phaan!"

"Sorry Donphan." Oak shrugged. "But this is where we part ways. Your ties to Ash are too strong for my colleague's tastes. I wish you nothing but the best." He said monotonal, turning toward the door.

"Donphan! Don! Donnphann."

"I did?" Oak replied scratching his chin. "I don't recall that conversation." Orvis and Harvard looked to each other in amazement, wondering how Oak could understand the armored pokemon. "Well," Oak continued. "promise or no promise, I have no intentions of seeing Ash again. I played my part and now, it's time to move on and live out the rest of my life. Word from the wise though. If I were you, I'd leave while I still had the breath in my lungs."

"How can you understand it?" Orvis asked.

"And you call yourselves men of science? Study pokemon long enough and you too, would pick up on their languages." Oak replied simply. "I had many Donphan back at my old lab so I took to learning some of their language."

"This is all very interesting, but we need to go." Harvard cut in. "If we're not there for the final roll call, we'll be locked out."

"Don. Phan. Donn." Donphan replied sadly.

"Redemption?" Oak asked. He gave a short chuckle. "Good luck with that. Ash isn't the same as he once was. If you really want to see him that bad, only for him to reject you, I'll have you know he's somewhere in this factory. Don't know where, though. Like I said, you helped me, albeit reluctantly, so I don't want to see you hurt. You should leave. Even if Ash does forgive you, those friends of his will never let you get close enough to make amends." He threw Donphan's pokeball on the ground and stomped on it violently causing it to break into several pieces and discharges surrounded the broken symbol of friendship. "Nothing personal. No hard feelings, right? Good." He turned back to Khan. "We can go now. She was the only one."

Khan nodded and as the three scientists left the room, leaving Donphan alone, she gathered up the pieces of the broken pokeball and gripped them with her trunk. With Oak and the strangers gone, she wandered out into the corridor in front of her slowly. She turned to see a Crobat zipping down towards her at a fast speed. Her eyes widened as she immediately recognized it as Brock's Crobat. It zoomed past her seeming not to even take notice that she was there.

Donphan quickly assumed Crobat was heading in the direction of Brock. And where Brock was, Ash might follow. She clutched the broken ball tightly and contorted her body into a wheel. She rolled in place for a moment before taking off after the purple bat.

~The Heart~

Aaron looked to Ash and chuckled slightly. "I don't need to remind you of what's at stake here do I, Ash?" Aaron asked. "If you don't step up your game, those distractions you call friends just might not make it through the day." He mocked. "Are you trying to tell me something? Maybe you want to lose and join me."

"Never!" Ash shot back. "And I won't let you hurt my friends. They're all I have in this world and if you think I gonna let you-"

"You couldn't seem to help Bulbasaur all that much." Aaron said cutting him off. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ball holding his second pokemon. "The only true way to protect them is to submit! Submit to me and I will spare your friends."

"If you do kill us, then what hold would you have over Ash?" Clemont asked. "He'd have nothing holding him back anymore."

"If only you knew." Aaron replied simply.

"You're right, Aaron. Bulbasaur put his faith in me, and in return I got careless and let him down." Ash said. "But I won't let it happen again." He said. He looked down to his chest at the necklace Lucario had given him hanging around his neck. "You're losing this time. No more mistakes. Sceptile!" He called. "I need you!" He yelled throwing the gecko's pokeball in the air. In a matter of seconds Ash's old friend stood in front of Aaron arms crossed and eyes closed. His head was pointed towards the floor but he slowly brought it up and opened his eyes to glare at Aaron.

"Is that Grovyle?" Kidd asked. "Man, did he grow up since I saw him. So prideful."

"And he has every right to be." Anabel added. "Sceptile is Ash's strongest grass-type pokemon. They've been through a lot together. Ash has got this one."

"I'd like to believe that, too." Clemont said. "But you saw the way he utterly dominated Bulbasaur." He said scratching his chin. "And we don't even know if Scizor was Aaron's strongest. I think we'd better watch before celebrating." From his side Serena punch him in the arm. He let out a quick yelp and looked to Serena. "What?!"

"Ash will win. He's better than Aaron." Serena said. "He's the best trainer there is."

"Well," Aaron interrupted. "He certainly looks more promising than your last pokemon." Aaron said in half compliment. "Let's hope he doesn't let me down like Bulbasaur did."

"I told you to stop that! Bulbasaur did his best!" Ash yelled.

"And look where it got him." Aaron smirked. "Scolipede! To my side." Out of the pokeball came a large purple bug-type. Its body was long and he had more legs than most pokemon, though most were vestigial. Ash could see the coldness of his heart flaring through his eyes. "Scolipede, this is Sceptile." Aaron said. "Impressed?"

"Pede." The bug answered.

"Yeah, me neither." Aaron agreed. "When are you going to bring out Greninja?"

"Pika..." Pikachu growled from Ash's shoulder. He, even more than Ash, didn't like them picking on his buddies. Ash scatched Pikachu's ear gently to calm him down.

"Greninja will be there when I need him most." Ash answered. "I don't know what it is with you and insulting my pokemon, but Sceptile doesn't take that kind of crap, do you?" In return Sceptile just glared at Scolipede. "Mega evolve, Sceptile!" Ash called. He clutched the charm hanging around his neck as it shot a beam of light into Sceptile's back.

A white light covered Sceptile from head to toe as he began his final metamorphosis. He grew slightly in size and the seed bombs on his back got significantly bigger. His tail grew in size as well and a large spike formed at the end. The final major change was that new blades began forming on his shoulders. The light blasted off of him in an explosion revealing his newly formed self. "Tile." He growled.

"Better, but not good enough." Aaron said shaking his head. "I, personally, prefer not to use mega evolution as a crutch."

"Sceptile, shut him up with a Leaf Blade!" Ash ordered. The supped-up Sceptile launched forward, using his evolution's improved speed stats to his advantage and rocketed towards Scolipede. He flexed his left arm outward and the blade ingrown into it began to grow in size. Sceptile narrowed his eyes as he drew closer.

Ahead of him Scolipede stood in a confidence, unmoving. "Wait for it..." Aaron ordered. "Wait for it..." He repeated. Finally, with one final push, Sceptile collided the blade on his arm into Scolipede's forehead, pushing down with all the force he could. From far back it might not have looked like the attack did much, but up close Sceptile could see the giant bug flinch in pain quite violently.

"Toxic." Aaron said looking at Sceptile. "Now." Scolipede reared his head up knocking Sceptile's attack off and Sceptile back a few inches. He looked back up at Mega Sceptile and glared. From his mouth, Scolipede fired a shot of purple liquids straight into Sceptile's eyes. In response, Sceptile staggered backwards and cupped his face in pain. "Now, send him back to Ash! Megahorn!" Aaron ordered.

Before Aaron's Scolipede had a chance to land to blow, Sceptile pounced backwards, flying across the field and landing in front of his trainer, his back-facing Ash. "Scep-Ile." He groaned.

"I know it hurts, Sceptile." Ash responded. "But you gotta fight it. You've taken down tougher than this! Just power through the pain!"

"Tile! Sceptile!" The gecko snapped back.

"What do you mean you can't see?!" Ash asked. "Did it hit your eyes?!"

"Scept."

Ash stood and pondered for a moment. Aaron took that moment of weakness as a chance. "Megahorn!" He ordered. Scolipede's head glowed with light that proceeded to form a horn on his forehead. He charged forward heading straight for the blind gecko.

"New strategy!" Ash called. "Fire off Leaf Tornadoes! Lots of them, in all directions! Buy some time!" Sceptile nodded. He faced forward and reared his arm back before thrusting it forward and creating a large gust of wind. It shot forward towards Scolipede, who dodged to the left and continued on his course. Sceptile turned slightly and repeated the motion creating another tornado. Once again Scolipede sidestepped avoiding the attack. It pounced into the air and positioned his body to come down head-first.

"Up this time!" Ash ordered. Sceptile snapped his head upwards to Scolipede descending towards him, though he couldn't see him. He pushed forward with both arms, this time, and just before Scolipede could land the blow a single Leaf Tornado pushed him back into the air and away from Sceptile.

Scolipede fell back to the ground, landing on his side, and skid back over to Aaron. "Get up, Scolipede!" Aaron ordered. "Don't let that fickle grass-dweller beat you!"

As Sceptile panted heavily, tired from firing off that many high-energy moves, Ash turned back to his friends. "You guys wouldn't happen to have any antidotes?" He asked hopefully.

Clemont shrugged at the boy. "Used 'em all just getting in the building." He reported. "We weren't just allowed in, you know?"

"Sorry, kid." Kidd added. "Probably should've stocked up a bit more before coming. Sceptile's going to have to just deal." She said sadly.

"Great." Ash deadpanned. "We'll do this the hard way then. Sceptile!" Ash called causing Sceptile to turn towards him. "You've lost your sight, but you know what they say about losing one sense?"

"Tile?"

"Your other senses strengthen." Ash said simply. "Try using your hearing. Feel the ground for quakes. Changes in the smell of the air. Anything."

"I'm getting quite bored of your Sceptile." Aaron said as Scolipede got back to his feet. Ash could see a huge change in the bug's eyes. He was pissed. "Scolipede, use Venoshock!" Sceptile closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He scanned the floor with his feet for any unusual pulsations. Suddenly under his feet he could feel a rumble. He hopped to the left just as a geyser of purple liquids erupted from where he was previously standing.

"He's lucky that Venoshock never hit." Paul observed. "With Sceptile already being poisoned, that's almost an immediate faint sentence."

"Is it really that bad?" Serena asked.

"The damage is almost doubled." Anabel joined in. "And that poison's not doing them any favors either. Lucky Sceptile is so strong, or he might need a doctor right now."

"There you go, Sceptile!" Ash cheered with Pikachu joining in. "You don't need to see! Now hit him! Follow that signal back to him!" Sceptile nodded opening his eyes to reveal they still had a dark-purple tint to them. He turned around and pointed his palm tree-like tail towards the source. The tip quickly dispatched from the rest of Sceptile and shot off towards Scolipede.

"Thunderbolt that missile." Aaron ordered. From the sky a bolt of lightning came down and struck the piece of Sceptile's tail mid-way through the field. As a result, and explosion erupted pushing both Sceptile and Scolipede backwards towards their respective trainers. Seconds later from under Sceptile a second geyser of scalding poison splashed all over Sceptile, who dropped to his knees, covering his arms across his stomach, and wincing in pain. After a few moments he fell to his side.

"What in Arceus's name?" Ash questioned. "Sceptile! Are you okay?!"

"Pika!" Pikachu added. "Pikachu!"

No answer. The smoke from the other side of the field began to clear, and the first thing it revealed was Scolipede's angry eyes. "I didn't even hear you call out the attack!" Ash said as Scolipede's entire body came into view.

"I didn't." Aaron. "Scolipede becomes a bit of a loose cannon when he gets angry." Aaron told him. "I can only imagine it's because of that Leaf Tornado you hit him with. No pokemon that wasn't mine has ever landed a hit on him unless he allowed them to." Ash looked to Scolipede to see just what Aaron was talking about. It looked like Scolipede was getting angrier.

Back at the entrance to the heart, a stray purple bat zipped onto the scene. "Cro!" It cried flapping its wings furiously. "Crobat!"

"Hey!" Dawn said pointing to the flying pokemon. "That's Brock's Crobat!"

"Brock!" Ash said turning around almost whipping Pikachu off his shoulder. "Brock?" He asked. "Where is he?" Crobat turned around quickly and bolted out of the room as fast as he could flap, leaving everyone to wonder...what was he doing out?

"PEDE!" Scolipede boomed. He reared up onto his two back legs and began to thrash his head around. Ash forgot Brock for a moment and turned back to the battle to find...it wasn't a battle. Sceptile wasn't getting back up.

"I think Sceptile's unable to battle." Clemont observed. Unbeknownst to them, right behind them Ash's old pokemon stepped into the room, joining the party and she immediately spotted Sceptile on the ground.

Scolipede let out another fierce cry. "I don't think it cares." Mairin said widening her eyes and pointing at Scolipede.

"Pika!"

The poisonous brute roared calling upon his power once again. Above the field clouds formed once more and a single streak of electricity shot down thundering towards Sceptile. Everything that happened next happened too fast for Ash to initially register. He had taken a step forward to run to Sceptile's side but then...he knew he saw a giant ball roll past and he felt a gust of wind but before he could even say a word it all became clear.

Standing over Sceptile, was what Ash thought looked like, his old friend, Donphan. The Armor Pokemon was covered head to toe in electricity but it didn't seem to bother her at all. "Hey, that looks like-" Dawn was cut off before she could finish her thought.

"What do we have here?" Aaron quizzed. "Absorbing the blow meant for Sceptile? Ballsy move. I've never seen you before." Aaron tilted his head. "Ah." Aaron said snapping his fingers. "You're Ash's old pokemon. Oak said he brought a couple with. Which means, more than likely, somebody's back in the land of the living." He smirked. "As for you!" He said returning his attention to his Scolipede. "Knowing when to stop is exactly what separates us from savages." He returned his wayward pokemon to his pokeball. "You obviously haven't learned that yet." Aaron spat pocketing the ball.

"Donphan, what are you doing here?!" Ash scolded. "This is important! You need to leave now!" Ash yelled pointing to the entrance.

"Pika...Chu! Pika!" Pikachu yelled pointing at Donphan. "Pikaa."

Donphan turned around to face her old trainer and shook her head. She whipped her head and released what she had been holding in her trunk. Pieces of Ash's old pokeball came flying at him before landing at his feet. Ash knelt down on one knee and picked up the largest piece of the broken pokeball and examined it. "Hmm. Looks like-"

"So," Aaron interrupted. "I take it this is your next fighter?" He said gesturing his finger towards Donphan. "She's certainly got guts to stand up to me, but I just hope she's not as much of a disappointment and your last two."

"What? No!" Ash said tearing his attention away from the shard. "Like I would ever battle with her again! She's not battling! Hawlucha is next!"

"A Hawlucha? Really? You think that's worth my time? No, I want to fight this one!" He said pointing at Donphan. "She looks much more promising." Donphan turned around and looked at Ash with pleading eyes.

"I. Said. No!" Ash yelled. "I am not putting the fate of Kalos in the hands of a traitor!"

"Hey, Anabel," Dawn said. "Do your telepathy thing. You'll be able to tell what she's thinking, right? Ash always used to brag about how strong Donphan was and she stepped in to save Sceptile, so-"

"First of all, I don't have telepathy. I'm an empath. I can't tell what she's thinking, I can only feel the emotions she feels. Secondly-" Anabel snapped back.

"Just do it princess!" Paul urged. "Ash is getting his ass handed to him! He needs his best!"

"Fine. And don't call me princess!" Anabel sighed and outstretched her hand towards Donphan and closed her eyes. She stood in that exact pose, unmoving for a moment as all the feelings the Armor Pokemon was going through washed over her. Her eyes shot open quickly and she shook her head, blinking a few times in order to regain full consciousness. "Ash! Use Donphan!" Anabel called.

"Pika?"

"What?! No! Absolutely not! No way in-" Ash ranted.

"Ash..." Anabel warned. "You told me back at the Battle Tower Donphan was one of your strongest. You need that strength, now!"

"But-"

"Please." Anabel pleaded gently, tilting her head.

Ash looked away quickly. 'Why did she have to give me that face?' He thought to himself. He sighed taking one last look at the broken pokeball. He was sure it was the same as the one he used for Donphan, meaning, unlike Pignite and Boldore, that over all this time, she never had another trainer. And what's more she carried around his pokeball with her even after it broke. He looked back at Donphan who was waiting patiently for his decision. "You're in a world of hurt if this is some kind of game." He warned. "Don't make me regret this decision."

Donphan's eyes lit up and she nodded eagerly turning back to the elder man. "Don! Phan!" She bellowed, pawing at the ground with her front left foot.

"Round 3!" Aaron declared. "Not looking too good for you, but don't worry, you'll be able to support yourself quite well with the salaries I provide." Ash let out a frustrated growl. "I hope you don't mind type disadvantages. Jellicent, to my side!" From the container in his hand came a pokemon whose head alone was bigger than Aaron. A giant, purple, bulbous pokemon floated directly in front of him awaiting his orders in eagerness. She smiled somewhat sweetly at the opposing Donphan.

"Oh!" Mairin explaimed. "She doesn't look so bad. She's adorable. Ash has to win this one." She urged naively.

"Except for one little detail you're missing, kid." Kidd responded. "Jellicent are notoriously sadistic. Their major claim to fame is sinking entire ships and stealing the life force of those aboard." She said shaking her head. "You'd have a better chance of living if you encountered an angry Groudon."

"Steals life energy, huh?" Anabel asked. "No wonder Aaron likes this one."

"That's horrible!" Serena gasped. "Is it even safe to let that thing out?!"

"Probably not." Clemont answered honestly. "Jellicent don't normally have all that much restraint, either. If Ash isn't careful with this one..."

"How true." Aaron remarked petting his Jellicent's giant bloated head. "Such majesty and a cute face to cover up all those nasty truths. Luckily my Jellicent won't steal your life energy unless I tell her to. She much prefers the thrill of battle. So, shall we get started?"

~Collection Room~

Brock stood at the entrance to the prison room in wait for his trusted partner to come back with word of where Ash was. The entire operation had been a success. By now most of the captives were out of the factory and hopefully, with the help of Sycamore, on their way home to their respective families. He couldn't imagine they were more than thirty captives left. Bianca and Alain had done a good job getting everyone out in a timely matter. Now all that was left was to find Ash.

"Brock!" A feminine voice called. He turned back around to see Misty and Ritchie approaching him. "The last of the hostages are getting out." Misty reported. "Some of the others are contemplating leaving too. Bianca feels helpless without her Umbreon and Espeon. Tory doesn't feel confident in his battling skills enough to go any further. Molly and Trip want to get their pokemon to Joys immediately, too."

"Let em, go." Brock told her. "There's no reason for them to stick around any longer. They'd just be putting themselves in danger for no reason. They can help Sycamore with the rest of the escapees."

"Crobat come back yet?" Misty asked.

"No. He will, though. "I'm sure he's found Ash by now. Once he comes back, I'm leaving. I have to find Ash."

"Well, so do we." Misty said. "We want to see him safe and sound just as much as you do." She argued. "Why can't you let us go with?"

"We've been over this. You'd be too much of a distraction." Brock told her.

"That's Grandbull and you know it!" Misty snapped pointing at him. "You can fool the others with that story but not me. You know as well as I do nothing can distract Ash if he's really battling. You don't believe our story. You think we're lying."

"I don't know what to think." Brock told her sadly shaking his head. "But I do know this. Ash is my best friend. And he comes first."

"Splitting up's a bad idea." Ritchie input. "We split up the last time and half of us got captured."

"There's no one left to capture us." Brock replied calmly. "Anyone with ties to the captives have no reason to follow orders." He looked back to the entrance. "And it looks like everyone else has given up."

"But if you go running all alone-" Misty tried.

"I'm going with him." Bonnie said joining them. "And I'm not taking no for an answer." She said firmly crossing her arms. "This guy knows where my big brother is, so me and him are going to have a little chat. Right Squishy?" From her purse a small green cell creature popped its head out and let out a squeal. "That means 'right'." She informed them.

"Fine." Brock said. "But no running off, stay by my side at all times." He ordered.

"So, Bonnie gets to go, but we're still grounded?" Misty asked. "Come on, Brock. Let us go, too." She pleaded. "I just want to be there for him."

"No. I just...can't do that to Ash." Brock said sadly.

"Something-" Before she could finish her sentence a loud screeching noise cut her off and the long-awaited return of Crobat had finally come. He bolted into the room and circled around Brock's head.

"Hey, buddy. Did you find him?" Brock asked. Crobat nodded and gestured towards the door. "Good job, Crobat. Bonnie, come with me. I'm going to let Lucy know we're leaving to rendezvous with Ash and then we're out of here." He took off back towards the rest of the rescue team with Crobat close behind. Bonnie nodded and went after him leaving Ritchie and Misty behind.

"I'm not entirely clear what's happening between you three," Ritchie said. "I mean, why doesn't he want you to go and help Ash?"

"It's a long story Ritchie, and not one I'm proud to tell. All you need to know is I hurt Ash...bad." Misty told him.

"Huh. Well it seems to me like you're not getting his blessing anytime soon." Ritchie observed turning to her. "But I don't understand why you need it." He chuckled. "If you hurt Ash, and you want to make it right, then it's up to you to do it. If you let Brock stop you, then I figure you don't want to make amends as much as you say you do." He began to walk away.

"What are you saying?" Misty asked.

"Brock's not your master. If you want to go help Ash, then do it." He said simply. "I can't join you, Sparky needs a nurse pronto, but the choice is yours, Misty." He said walking away. "But hey, what do I know, I'm not his soul mate." He came to a stop and turned around to wink at her. "See ya later, Misty."

Several minutes later Misty watched as Brock, Bonnie, and Crobat bolted past her, past all the pods, and out of the room in attempts to find Ash. She pondered Ritchie's words for a moment before looking to see if anyone else was coming or if anyone was watching her. Once she was sure no one was watching she followed the footsteps of Brock out the door. 'Sorry, but I'm not leaving this to you, Brock.' She thought to herself. 'I can't let Ash think of me as a bitch any longer.' She heard faint sounds of footsteps down the left hallway and followed the sound hoping it would lead her to Brock, then Ash.