Hey guys, sorry it took so long for me to update, school is harder than ever and my soccer team is in the playoffs, so we've still been practicing everyday. Sorry this chapter is short, but I find myself wanting to end the story quickly seeing as how the new XY&Z episodes and previews have proven much of my story to be diverted from the canon storyline, which I just don't like at all. Anyways, enjoy the chapter; only two more to go for this story.

Chapter 11: The Race to Lumiose

~ Route 18, Kalos ~

The ground seemed to explode in front of Drew as he stumbled backwards, losing his footing and landing on his ass. Huge blades of earth began protruding from the ground and surrounded him, Paul, and Calem. They were trapped.

Paul could hear Max and Bonnie outside the walls, and it didn't sound good. Not to mention that Clemont was probably a little behind, and was likely in a heap of trouble all on his own. Team Magma had caught up to them with frightening pace, and Groudon's roars shook the earth beneath them.

It was at that moment when Drew realized that they weren't going to make it to Couriway.

– –

~ Sea Spirit's Den ~

Korrina opened her eyes to the sound of battle outside. She wished that her room had a window, but apparently prisoners were not treated well with Team Aqua.

In the room beside her, she could sense that Lucario was also awake, probably wondering what could be going on outside the facility.

She wished she could communicate with Lucario, but aura only took their bond so far. She could probably give it battle commands without speaking if they really worked on it, but just to have a conversation with it would be like telepathy, something only Psychic-type masters could achieve with their Pokemon.

Lucario lay its head against the wall, it's arms and legs exhausted from punching and kicking the hard metal encasing him and his human companion. Korrina and Lucario had been imprisoned there for almost 24 hours, and Lucario had spent about 20 of them trying to get out.

Korrina blamed herself for getting too cocky. She should have just run after being confronted, but her pride and loyalty to Shalour City was enough to overcome her fear. She and Lucario had fought courageously, but they could only do so much. If only grandpa was still around; we would've been able to defeat them together, Korrina thought bitterly.

She put her head down and tried to go back to sleep. I feel so useless...

– –

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

"Gardevoir, finish it off with Shadow Ball, please!" Diantha confidently commanded. She didn't like having to defeat a Gym Leader in cold blood, but Morty was a threat. She supposed that what made him so dangerous was the fact that he did indeed have the ability to see into the future; though just how accurate his fortune-tellings were she did not know. She knew his motives, and judging from how he had the nerve to disrespect a Champion, she could tell he had the drive and determination. What she didn't know was what exactly he had planned.

Zinnia had her arms crossed with disapproval, wearing a triumphant smile on her face as Diantha's Mega Gardevoir released a powerful sphere of spectral energy towards its opponent. Morty's Gengar had been quick to react earlier in the battle, but it had taken too much damage from Zinnia's Salamence and was now rather lethargic as a result.

"No! Gengar!" Morty cried out as Gengar reverted back to its regular form.

It was strange...Diantha knew that she had to stop anyone with malicious intentions, but at the same time she reserved a faint sense of sympathy for Morty. He expressed genuine concern for his Pokemon, so he clearly had a powerful bond with it, which was something Diantha could not help but respect.

"It's over, Morty of Ecruteak City," Diantha said calmly, slowly walking over to the Gym Leader.

Morty got down on his knees and held his hands out, clasped together. "Please, please, have mercy on me..." he said, bending his head over. "I'm a good guy, I swear...I just can't control my powers..."

"How pathetic," Zinnia said. She turned to Diantha and said, "If you ask me, I say I have Salamence knock him all the way to Kanto," she said, smiling mischievously.

Diantha ignored her. She simply looked down upon the now begging Morty, and occasionally glanced over at his unconscious Gengar.

"Champion Diantha...I've learned my lesson. I will go back home, and act as if nothing happened. Just, please...don't hurt my Gengar anymore!" Morty pleaded.

"He's lying!" Zinnia shouted. "You can't seriously be considering believing him? It's just a load of bull-"

Diantha held her hand up. "Please...I must do what is right," she said.

Morty looked up hopefully, his eyes seeming as if they would burst into tears.

Diantha took a deep breath. "You can return home to Johto, Morty. I would assume your humiliating defeat here will be enough for you to reconsider yourself as a trainer, and as a person. But, there is one condition..."

Morty's eyes lit up with glee as he looked up. "Yes! Oh, thank you, thank you!"

Diantha frowned. "As I was saying, there is one condition: I'm confiscating your Keystone."

Zinnia wanted to scream at this lady, but after hearing that, she decided that maybe this was the right thing to do. The owner of a Keystone cherished it like nothing else, regardless of how good or bad that person may be.

Morty's face was a look of complete horror and devastation. "But...no...wait...there must be something else I can-"

Diantha shook her head. "Give me the Keystone, Morty."

"I will give you anything, anything as long as its not-"

"Give me the Keystone, Morty," Diantha demanded, raising her voice slightly.

"Please! I'll do anything, here, you can have my-"

Before Diantha could stop her, Zinnia stepped up and pointed directly at Morty. "Salamence! Now!"

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

Wulfric sat calmly inside of his cell, trying to come up with an escape plan. He had fought bravely alongside his Abomasnow against Team Magma, but unfortunately was overwhelmed by the masive numbers of the opposing organization.

He stood up and looked out the small window of his cell, which really wasn't even a window considering that it simply looked out into the corridor of Team Magma's underground base. He could see his Keystone was resting on top of a table about four or five yards away. If only I could get ahold of it, maybe Abomasnow would be powerful enough to break us both out... he thought to himself.

Beside the Keystone lay an Abomasite, and although Wulfric could not communicate with his Pokemon, he could sense that it was eyeing the stone with dreadful desire. He was about to sit back down when his old but attentive ears picked up a strange noise.

He glanced out the window again, but there was nothing there. It seemed that the noise was coming from around the corner. It was a...slimy, squishy sort of noise, if such words could be used to describe a sound.

– –

~ Azure Bay ~

"Everyone! We have to get out of here!" Alain shouted. He was the only one who knew what was about to happen. He wanted it to stay that way.

Everyone mounted their exhausted Water-type Pokemon, who began using every last bit of strength to haul the trainers through the water. It was a herculean task, but it was their only option at that point.

For some reason, Team Aqua didn't seem to be giving chase. Gary noticed this and frowned, wondering why they weren't being toppled over by Kyogre's gigantic waves. "Hey guys...they're not trying to catch up. It's like they're riding the lazy river or something...look how slow they're going."

Everyone turned and saw that Gary was right; Team Aqua and Kyogre were moving at quite a slow pace.

"Whatever," Alain said. "We need to get out of here. I don't care if they're not chasing us right now, we still need to get to somewhere safe." I sure hope Ash is in a better position than we are... he thought.

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

"Man, I sure hope Alain and the others are in a better position than we are," Ash mumbled as he and Serena continued to walk alongside the horde of blobs. They had been walking at a snail's pace for almost half an hour, and Ash would've completely lost it due to his lack of patience had he not been holding Serena's hand.

He was still having a hard time believing that she had asked him to hold it. Isn't she, like, supposed to not be into me anymore? He thought to himself. I'm pretty sure I hurt her...a lot...but now it's like I never even messed up...

"Ash?"

Ash blinked and looked up. Serena was giving him an inquisitive look.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I asked you what you think the deal is with all of these blobs," Serena said, tilting her head slightly with concern. What's he thinking about? He seems awfully out of it right now, she thought.

"Oh, yeah, that. Uh...you know, I'm not really sure...maybe they're just a baby evolution of some Pokemon. You know, like Azurill, who was discovered after its evolved form," Ash answered. "Just at first glance, I'm guessing maybe they're baby forms of Larvitar? Actually never mind, that wouldn't make sense since that evolution line already has three Pokemon, four if you count Mega Tyranitar..."

"Oh. Well that's an interesting idea," Serena replied, once again amazed and baffled by Ash's extensive knowledge of Pokemon. It was one of the things she liked about him; his passion for Pokemon hadn't waned one bit since the last time she saw him.

The two trainers turned a corner and entered a somewhat large hallway. There were three metal doors embedded into the earthen wall, each one about two meters apart. Ash quickly walked up and noticed a small, barred window in the middle of a door. He gripped his hands around the bars and tried to see what was inside.

"Hello? Anyone in there?" Ash called out into the small chamber.

To his surprise, a hearty laugh answered him. "That can't be you, Ash, now can it? Now, why am I not surprised?"

Instantly, Ash and Serena both recognized the voice from within the cell. "Wulfric!" they both exclaimed simultaneously.

– –

~ Route 13, Kalos ~

Team Piplup had been walking for hours. Although Team Aqua was now nowhere in sight, Alain insisted that they reach Lumiose City, which he considered to be the safest place at the moment. The group had just stopped alongside the large river running with the road and was now continuing on their way to Lumiose.

"Okay, what exactly makes the city a safer place? Wouldn't that just endanger the innocent people who live there?" Tierno asked.

Alain replied, "Trust me, our chances of winning a fight against Team Aqua are much higher when we have something other than water to work with. I hate to say it, but the city will have to be evacuated as soon as we get there; it's not gonna be pretty once Team Aqua gets there."

Kenny nodded. "While that might be a downside, we'll have plenty of chances to surprise them if we're waiting for them in the city. We could use the buildings for relatively safe long-distance battling, and we could ambush them around the entrances to the city," he suggested. Everyone seemed to like the ideas, and suddenly the odds seemed to be in their favor; hypothetically, that is.

Iris could make out the faint outline of Prism Tower up ahead. "There it is! We're almost there! C'mon everyone, let's run the rest of th-"

Dawn quickly turned her head to the sound of helicopters reverberated through the air above them. Everyone looked up to see about a dozen helicopters headed towards Lumiose City, flying at a fast pace.

"What the hell?"

"Who are they?"

May knit her eyebrows as she watched the helicopters make their way over the entrances to the city. "Those look familiar..." she said.

Alain's eyes widened in shock. "No...that can't be them," he said, clenching his fists as he broke into a sprint toward the city. The rest of the group followed suit, everyone getting a very bad feeling about what was to come.

– –

~ Route 17, Kalos ~

Max began to regain consciousness as he heard crackling flames. He peaked his eyes open, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness. His entire body ached; he could barely move his legs. Figuring that conserving energy was a top priority, he decided to remain lying down. He could sense that he was moving, but what was carrying him he couldn't identify. The air was frigid cold, and Max found himself shuddering with every breeze in the wind. In fact, every part of his body was freezing except for his back, which was pressed up against something warm.

He focused all of his attention on his ears. He had read somewhere that when you close your eyes for a long period of time, your other senses seem naturally sharper. He heard voices, people's voices and Pokemon's cries. They were whispering...no, they were shouting, screaming, roaring. It was difficult to tell. But the sound of searing flames continued to pierce the air.

Max wished he was more familiar with the geography of the Kalos region. Maybe then, he would have known where he was, and he would have been able to come up with an escape plan. Maybe then, he wouldn't have started drifting back into a deep, exhausted sleep.

– –

~ Route 15, Kalos ~

Morty lay on the ground, completely unconscious. Zinnia's Salamence took one swipe at him with its huge, powerful claw, knocking him back a few hundred meters.

Diantha turned angrily to Zinnia, who seemed to be quite pleased with herself. "What have you done? You've just directly harmed a human being with a Pokemon, and a Gym Leader, no less! Your recklessness is appalling! I cannot believe I thought you were someone special...you're just an impetuous young girl who abuses her power...power she does not deserve."

Zinnia sighed. "Look, lady, you weren't getting anywhere in that situation. I got the job done for you. That guy's a shithead; he doesn't deserve the second chance that you were giving him. And the thing is, I would have let that slide, but he kept arguing for a different deal and I was just done with it. Let him go back home now; I'm sure Salamence taught him a better lesson than you did," she haughtily retorted.

Diantha was beside herself with anger and frustration. "You are too immature to know anything about what's right and what's wrong in this world. In fact, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if-"

"I'm sorry, but I have a very clear understanding of right and wrong. Right now, I know that I have to do the right thing. And the right thing is to find the Legendary Pokemon and harness the power of the Draconid. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way," Zinnia replied with a smile, knowing full well that the Champion would immediately start asking questions.

Sure enough, Diantha's curiosity got the better of her anger. "Wait."

– –

~ Lumiose City ~

Team Piplup ran through the entrance as fast as they could, desperate to see if their suspicions were true. The first thing they heard was screaming. People were running all over the place, scrambling to get out of the city. They all seemed to be running away from Prism Tower.

"It's them," Alain said, though everyone else already figured it out. They quickly made their way to the base of Prism Tower, where they looked up to see those same helicopters hovering around the top. Although he was nearly a fourth of a mile high, Matt's laughter could be heard from the ground.

Trevor glanced nervously around. "But...where's Kyogre? The only way they could get it here in time was if they transported it by water..."

"The river!" Dawn exclaimed. "There was a river that leads from the Den to here..."

Alain cursed under his breath. "She's right. I should've guessed...that's why they took their sweet time back there. They knew Kyogre was going to be able to swim its way here, and they knew they were getting aerial transport for themselves. It all makes so much god-damn sense..."

May looked at their surroundings. There were roads leading every which way out of the square, one pathway leading to a large fountain. Prism Tower loomed above them, seeming almost menacing now that it was taken over by the enemy. She didn't see the Sea Basin Pokemon anywhere. "Except that Kyogre isn't here. Where could it be?"

– –

~ Terminus Cave ~

Pancham and Braixen were arguing about which direction to go when they both suddenly heard noises from behind a corridor. Pancham was the first to investigate, quickly making its way to the bend as stealthily as possible.

He returned with a confused look on his face. "Pancham, cham, cham!"

Braixen nodded. "Braix!"

– –

"Pika pi?"

Pikachu turned the corner and instantly found Sceptile holding a Leaf Blade up to his throat. He staggered backward, preparing a Thunderbolt attack when he realized that it was Sceptile.

Sceptile retracted its Leaf Blade and scratched his head. "Sceptile, Scep," he said, apologizing to Pikachu for ambushing him.

Pikachu pointed at the blob that was making its way across the floor. "Pika pikachu?" he asked Sceptile.

Sceptile shrugged his shoulders and pointed in the direction the blob was headed. "Scep, sceptile scep.".

– –

"These Pokemon are just intriguing!" Wulfric exclaimed as he examined one of the blobs.

"Well, we're not exactly sure if they're Pokemon yet," Ash said. "The Pokedex couldn't identify it," he explained.

Serena nodded. "We were just following them when we happened upon you, Wulfric," she said.

Wulfric nodded and smiled, then suddenly remembered that his Pokemon was still trapped. He grabbed the key and unlocked Abomasnow's cell door. Abomasnow emerged from within the cell, looking weary.

"So, Wulfric, have you heard anything about Team Magma's plans? They're working with Team Aqua, you know," Ash said.

Wulfric's expression was a solemn one. "We need to get to Lumiose City," he said. "Follow me," he said as he began walking away from the horde of blobs.

"Hang on, Wulfric! Can you at least explain a bit first? And what about these blob things? Don't you think we should check it out?" Ash asked, being someone who always wanted to know what was going on. Serena felt the same way.

"Ash is right, I think we should all be on the same page. And to make things worse, I'm missing two of my Poke-"

"Pancham!"

"Braixen!"

Serena turned to see her first two Pokemon running happily towards her. "Braixen! Pancham! Oh, thank goodness!" she exclaimed, running over to embrace them. "I was so worried..."

Ash smiled. "They must have followed the horde to get here. That's good, now its only a matter of time before Pikachu and Sceptile make it here," he said. He felt confident that wherever his Pokemon were, they would be able to find their way around. Still, he worried for them; this cave was certainly not like any other normal one.

"Ash, there is little time to explain, but I must get to Lumiose right away," Wulfric said. "I'm sorry, I really am...but Kalos is in danger and I must do what I can to protect it."

Ash nodded. "I understand. Serena, you go with Wulfric and help them out, with whatever they need. I'm sure they're worried sick about us, so it'll be good for you to go show them that you're okay," he said.

Serena shook her head. "No. I'll stay here with you, Ash, until your Pokemon get back. Then we can go back to Lumiose together," she said firmly, unwilling to be separated from Ash again.

Wulfric couldn't help but smile, despite the grim circumstances of the situation as a whole. He had sensed that there was something special going on between these two trainers from the moment he had met them. "Fair enough. Though I do insist that you hurry, it takes a long time to get to Lumiose without a healthy flying Pokemon," Wulfric warned. "Good luck," he said as he began walking away.

"Thank you, Wulfric," Ash responded. He turned to Serena, who's radiant smile lit up his world. Wow, he thought. She's just...amazing.

Serena shifted her feet slightly. "So...how about we keep following the horde?" she suggested, looking down slightly to hide her blushing cheeks.

Ash smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Who knows, maybe this could help us with this whole crisis," he said, only half-serious. He started walking alongside the group of blob-like creatures when Serena said, "Ahem."

Ash turned to face her, puzzled. "What is it?" he asked.

Serena laughed lightheartedly, not even trying to hide the fact that her face was crimson red. She slowly held out her hand towards Ash.

– – – –

Sorry this chapter is so unorganized. I'm still working on some of the things that make a good writer, and I hope to improve immensely with each story that I write. Anyways, thanks for reading and leave your thoughts in the reviews. As always, if you enjoy this story, a follow or a favorite (or both) would be greatly appreciated! Stay tuned...