Solstice was pleased with the progress her scientists were making. As she patrolled the hall, she looked into the large window of each room. The subjects inside were Pokémon of various ages and species. Some would thrash and screech at the sight of her. Some were already restrained to their tables, unable to do more than cry in protest. Still others would simply stare with flat expressions and a dull gaze, already perfect subordinates. Each one had an important role in her research, especially those whose will was defeated. Ascension was easiest on the Pokémon who wouldn't struggle after all.

"So, this is your lab," A dark-haired man walking beside her commented, "Its magnificent."

"Your abilities fascinate me." She responded, "I welcome you to Silicon. People of your caliber are rare enough, to say nothing of your talent."

His green eyes lit up and he nodded. "What should I call you? Boss? Captain? Leader? Majesty?"

"Stop it. Boss works."

"Sorry. I meant no disrespect, Boss." The man saluted, "Its an honor to serve an organization like Silicon."

"Just remember our deal," Solstice said, "I will only provide you with resources based on your performance, is that clear?"

"As long as I still get to kill that Arceus-blasted Sarah in the end, I agree."

"You can do with Team Night as you please." As Solstice finished her sentence, the man's form shifted. He first became a pink blob of a Pokémon, then a Zweilous. This wasn't the first time she saw his gift, but it still intrigued her every time. "In fact, I need you to track them down. Find the one called Sarah and report back, is that clear?"

A smile spread across the Zweilous' faces. "Don't worry, Boss. Max never fails." As the Zweilous galloped down the hall, Solstice's confidence rose. With someone like Max on her side, she now had a new weapon against that annoying Team Night and Amber. She smiled in anticipation.

This was going to be fun.

Amber stared in speechless surprise. Victini was right here all along! It must have been one of the Pokémon she saw frozen earlier. Victini didn't seem all that fazed by being frozen, thankfully. It had to be pretty tough to survive that so well!

"Thank you for saving me! It was so cold inside that ice..."

Amber's mouth dropped open and she took a step back in amazement. Victini talked! Maybe it was kind of like Shadow that way?

"Are you afraid of me...? I'm sorry!" Victini seemed a bit upset, but it continued on, "I realize this is sudden, but I need help."

Amber realized Victini's voice seemed to be coming from inside her mind. Maybe it was telepathic? She decided to answer its plea. "You need help?" Amber asked the Pokémon, "What's wrong?" Amber could tell Victini was uneasy, but what could be enough to upset a legendary Pokémon like Victini?

Victini's expression grew even more nervous, and it started wringing its hands in worry. "It's Arceus. It wants war."

"Huh? Arceus?!" Shawn blurted, "You mean the Arceus, god of all Pokémon?!"

"The same." Victini glanced somberly between the party, its huge, blue eyes downcast, "Its Judgment has found humans to be unfit for this world. It has summoned me to begin preparations."

"Wait a minute!" Leo cut Victini off, waving a hand at it, "What the hell do you mean by all that? Are you here to fight against us?!"

Victini looked quietly between everyone, its expression one of intense regret. "Not specifically. Arceus sent me to destroy a human town not far away from here."

Amber couldn't believe what she was hearing. If what Victini was saying was right, then it was going to kill people for sure! She had to stop it. Even though she knew she wouldn't stand a chance against a Pokémon like Victini, her hand drifted to Fang's Pokéball.

"Victini," She asked the legend, "are you really going to destroy Aspertia Town? That's not true, right?!"

Victini shook its head, "No. I won't do that. Arceus may be our god, but I just can't do this. Destroying the entire town would kill innocent people and Pokémon. I know Arceus sees the human species as unforgivable, but I believe that humans are capable of more than just evil. I have to prove it!"

"Then why does it think we're evil?" Gloria asked, "Is it because of Silicon, or what?!"

"Silicon?" Victini seemed puzzled, "What's that? Is that what's been corrupting Pokémon?"

"Corrupting Pokémon..." Sarah pulled something out of her pocket. Amber could see it was the microchip Leo found earlier. "Does this have anything to do with it?"

Victini winced and flew away from them with a back-flip, now seeming terrified and shocked. Amber cringed, herself taken aback by Victini's reaction. "That's...?! That's the source! Don't come near me with that! Don't corrupt me!"

"Yikes! Sorry," Sarah pocketed it again, slowly raising her hands innocently, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you..."

"So...why'd you lead us here?" Leo shot the Victory Pokémon a wary glare, "This has nothing to do with us! Go get your legendary pals to help! We have enough on our plate already."

"That's the problem..." Victini shook its head,"I'm just one Pokémon...I need to find strong-willed Pokémon who still believe in humans, and humans who will heed my call. You are the only ones who answered my message." It folded its hands in a imploring gesture and looked between them pleadingly again. "I'm desperate. Help me."

Amber quietly took in Victini's words for several moments. This was all pretty sudden. Amber wasn't sure what Victini wanted out of them. She guessed it would eventually want to fight Arceus, and she knew how that would end. "Victini, I'm not that good. I only have one Badge. I'm too weak to help-"

"Silly human!" Victini's expression brightened, "Don't you know who I am?!" Victini drifted ever closer to Amber, its grin widening, "I am Victini! I am the god of victory! Anyone with my blessing will never lose so long as they have the will to carry on!" Amber suddenly realized that Victini was within an arm's length of her. She stared in open-mouthed surprise asVictini tapped her on the nose, whistling once."You're strong already. What you lack is confidence, not ability."

"Huh?" Amber was flabbergasted. It was acting like it knew her. Maybe Victini was reading her mind? "Confidence...?"

"Of course!" Victini chirped and flew to Leo next."You still don't quite believe me, do you? I can't say I blame you. You have not yet overcome a recent trauma that locked away your memories and broke your willpower."

Amber saw Leo's eyes go wide and his jaw drop. "You know about that?!" He said, staring at the Pokémon.

"Of course I do. Reading human minds is easy." Victini smiled again. "I can tell all kinds of things!"

"Get to the point!" Leo shot back, clearly beginning to get frustrated, "What are you asking of us?!"

"So impatient...!" Victini nodded, casting an annoyed glance at Leo."Fine. I guess we can chat later."

"Leo!" Sarah gave Leo a look. "What's the big idea?!"

Leo folded his arms, giving Sarah a rather irritated glare. "Oh, I dunno. Maybe its that Victini was sent to kill people! Did you already forget that?! Its definitely up to something!"

"I'm sorry..." Victini lowered its head,"I guess that's true. How can I expect you to trust me after I said all that?"

Amber sighed. Poor Victini. She couldn't help but feel sorry for it. She decided to take a risk with Victini. Why would it have led them here if all it wanted was to beat Arceus? "I wanna help. So, how can we stop Arceus? Do we really have to defeat it?"

Victini's smile returned. "Actually, there's one thing I hope will pacify it. Then, I can avoid having to fight its Judgment."

"What?" Said Gloria, "How can we do that?"

"It might help if I find Plates for it. Arceus loves tributes. Ever since it lost its Plates, it has always wanted to find them again."

"Plates?" Amber was puzzled. "What are these plates?"

"They are said to be tablets that resemble all of the various elements." Victini just shrugged. "They are precious and rare though." Victini smiled, pulling a small, red stone tablet out from behind its back. "I have a Flame Plate I found some time ago. I want you humans to have it." Victini flew over to Amber, holding out the stone. Amber reached out and took the Plate in both hands. It was vaguely warm to the touch, and surprisingly light for its size.

"Why does Arceus like these things?" Leo asked, giving the Plate a judging look, "Looks pretty useless to me."

"Let a Pokémon use a Fire-type move while holding it. It makes that move stronger! Apart from that, I don't know..."

Amber looked back up at Victini. "What should we do? I don't even know where to begin..."

"I don't know either..." Victini glanced about worriedly."I shouldn't stay here. If Arceus finds out I did this..." Victini started to fly away.

"Wait, Victini!" Shawn called, "Don't go!"

"I'll find you again later, don't worry." Victini smiled,"I like humans. I don't want to see Arceus carry out its Judgment. Stay safe, and beware of Arceus' agents." Before Amber could even respond to that, Victini shot off down the cave in a trail of flames, leaving her holding the Flame Plate. Nobody said anything for several long moments, instead looking back and forth at one another. Amber looked down at the Plate again. Would Arceus really accept something like this? It seemed like just a slab of reddish stone to her...

"Anyone else confused here?" Amber looked up and saw Sarah staring off after Victini.

"Its hard to believe this. What a mess..." Gloria sighed, "I think we should head back to Aspertia Town and regroup. We'll figure out what to do from there."

"Sounds good to me," Sarah pulled out her Xtransceiver, "I'll let AJ and Eeveen know the plan." As Sarah dialed the phone, Amber stared down at the Flame Plate again. No matter how she thought about it, the idea seemed silly. Still, all she had to go on was Victini's story. She put the Flame Plate in her bag for now. Maybe she'd try letting Fang or Shadow hold it later.

"That's weird..." Sarah tapped the phone, "It says, 'Number not in Service.' That makes no sense. I'm sure I know their numbers..."

"Maybe we aren't getting a proper signal in the cave," Gloria turned to the path where they came from earlier, "Let's try again outside." As Amber followed her, with the others close behind, she couldn't shake an ominous feeling about the situation. If what Victini said was true, this could be the start of an all-out war for sure...

As she glanced behind her, she saw a red glow on the horizon. Already, the sun was starting to set. She guessed they could make it all the way to Aspertia by evening if they flew.

"We should go quickly," Shawn released Chikosu and Serious, almost seeming to read Amber's mind, "Gotta contact everyone before any of Arceus' allies attack."

"Yeah," Sarah released Zentra, already climbing onto the dragon's back, "We don't have time to go by foot. It's too slow." She reached out a hand to Amber, "C'mon, I'll carry you up here."

"What about Silicon?" Leo asked.

"We'll have to take the risk," Sarah replied. With a resigned sigh, Leo scooped up Flare and climbed aboard Chikosu as Shawn took his seat upon Serious, with Gloria climbing up behind him. As the three Pokémon took to the sky, Amber could only hope that they weren't going to end up too late.