A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! Despite the fact that it's Christmas Eve in actuality...

O_O'

ENJOY!

"Why so curious, Serena?"

"Huh?"

"The only thing that's on your mind is Floyd. A bit of a nice change from Ash, if I say so myself."

"Wait, how'd you- Oh, wait..."

"Did you seriously forget that this your brain you're talking to?"

"Oh, shut up. Like I need you."

"Of course you need me. I control every single action, every single decision you make. I'm the only one you can truly rely on as a friend. I am you."

"What're you talking about? I've got other people I can rely on as friends."

"People you don't fully understand. ...If I can recall, you just told every detail of your personal life to a complete stranger yesterday."

"I think he can be trusted."

"You keep saying that. But remember, you're talking to your own brain, which is suggesting that there is a chance that Floyd cannot be trusted. And besides, when you were thinking about Floyd today, you feel quite suspicious, Serena. Hypocrisy, much?"

"I just feel that there's something about his friend Jake that he's not telling me about."

"And you still feel entitled to travel with him and his creepy friend? If you can't think for yourself, think for Bonnie. If Floyd and Adam do something that will endanger you both, and they succeed, do you think you'll be able to live with yourself if Bonnie gets it really hard? Huh? Tell me, Serena."

"If Floyd and Adam were planning on doing something to us, they could've just done it last night, when we were asleep and fully vulnerable. And did we see anything out of place, out of the ordinary this morning? No. No, we didn't. I agree that Adam's a bit strange and hostile, but other than that, there's nothing wrong with them."

"What about Floyd's little secret about Jake? Does that count as something that's wrong with them?"

"I can't just pry into their personal lives-"

"You've already done that, and you've also allowed them to pry inside your personal life. I swear to Arceus, Serena, you're so complicated. ...I am so complicated. ...We're so complicated. We trust other people to make all of the decisions for us, people that we don't understand very well, no matter how much we say we understand them. Floyd, Adam, even your mother, 'cause Arceus knows why she's been pressuring you to become a Rhyhorn Racer like her... Even Ash, Serena. You once thought about if everyone has a secret, and if that included Ash. Could it be a deep, dark secret?..."

"Don't you say that! Ash has nothing to hide from me! What does he have to hide?!"

"Exactly. That's the point of a secret. It makes you ask, 'What does he or she have to hide?' And guess what? You may or may not know the answer to that, and if you do manage to find the answer, then trust me, chances are you may regret ever finding out."

"Shut up."

"I can't, Serena. I'm your brain, which will always be there for you to rely on for your own deep, dark secret. As long as you're alive, I'll be too."

"SHUT UP!"

"Something wrong, Serena?"

Serena's eyes widened, and a blush of deep scarlet flooded her face as she faced Bonnie, Floyd, and Adam, all of whom were looking at her curiously.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing!" she exclaimed, waving her hands around dismissively as she smiled innocently. "Come on, let's keep moving!"

As Serena and Bonnie continued onward, while Adam was focused on keeping track of the smoke Nick and Lloyd were making, Floyd let out a heavy sigh as he sadly looked up at the sky, its total beauty hindered by the large puffs of smoke. He began to reminisce about something that occurred twenty years ago...

Twenty years ago

"Are you sure about this, Jake?" asked Floyd, apprehensively walking alongside Jake as they strode into a small but bustling festival. "Considering what Adam did to nearly blind her Rhyhorn last month, that jockey's not gonna take you kindly as much as she does to him. We are her rival's friends, after all..."

"Well, she doesn't consider me as much of a threat as she does to the rest of you guys," Jake replied. "Besides, this could be beneficial for Adam. If I get close to the racer that upstaged him last season, convince her that I'm a friend who's just in the middle ground here, then maybe I could probably learn some of the strategies she uses during the races. Then, I can come up with some good counter-strategies for Adam to use, and boom! He's on his way to victory again!"

"Sounds like a great idea, but that Grace chick's tough-as-nails, Jake. Did you see how she handled the race last week in Blackthorn City?! Totally annihilated all of the other jockeys and left them in her dust! And don't forget that little incident where Lloyd tried to have his way with her?" Floyd cringed at the memory. "I-I just don't think we really should be interfering with the likes of a tough racer like Grace Yates, Jake."

Jake smiled confidently. "You trust me, right Floyd?" he asked.

"Well...yeah, but-"

"Then relax, and let me do my work."

Floyd could do nothing but stutter incoherently and watch helplessly as Jake made his way to a nearby cafeteria. There, he headed specifically towards a table that was already occupied by a woman with sleek brown hair and light-blue eyes, who was wearing a dark-blue shirt and gray shorts. He watched quietly and reluctantly behind a nearby food stand as Jake approached the woman and began to chat her up. To Floyd's relief, the woman was smiling widely.

"Oh, thank Arceus, Jake!" Floyd whispered to himself in relief. "The Arceus-damn bastard, he did it..."

Then, he watched as Jake and the woman glanced at his direction, the latter giggling. To his horror, Jake was gesturing him to come over.

Frantically, Floyd waved his hands around in disapproval. Jake sighed, stood up, and approached him.

"No WAY I'm gonna be a part of your damn plan, Jake!" whispered Floyd. "Not even if Arceus was dooming the world a billion times over!"

"Dude, this could be beneficial for you too," Jake replied as he walked behind Floyd and pushed him over towards the table.

"B-B-Beneficial for me too? What the hell do you mean by that, Jake?!"

"I mean that you should probably take this advantage to loosen up!"

"I don't NEED loosening up, damn it, Jake!" Floyd flustered, his face turning red with embarrassment. "What I need right NOW is for you to let me go on my own way, and you just do whatever you need to do, and-" He suddenly noticed that he was drawing nearer towards the table; he could hear Jake quietly snickering in amusement. "A-An-And besides, Jake, you know very well I do NOT do so well with-with...with...with..."

"You don't do so well with what?" a voice asked.

Floyd had just noticed that he had now reached the table occupied by the same brown-haired woman. She was now looking up at him with her light-blue eyes.

"Uh..."

The single sound escaped Floyd's mouth, but otherwise, he was silent for several seconds.

Then, he let out a terrified scream, his voice cracking at that moment so he sounded like a little girl, and he blacked out within a split-second's notice.

Present day

And that was how Floyd met Grace Yates.

Ever since he first met her in person at the Rhyhorn stables, he initially decided to follow the lead of Adam, Lloyd, and Nick, treating her as a rival, no, as a big threat to their goal. As a result, he was extremely puzzled as to why Jake was treating her with the least contempt, even giving her some pieces of advice and assisting her in training. But Jake reassured him that it was just a ploy to manipulate her, to gain her trust, something that Floyd found odd, since Adam should have known about that technique, and yet, Jake didn't seem all that willing to indulge the idea to his superior. However, Jake was his friend, so he trusted him.

In fact, he trusted him enough to join in on his idea, befriending Grace and giving her advice as well.

But, as the racing season progressed, Grace continued to win all of the trophies, and Adam continued to suffer losses. Floyd had been more puzzled than ever.

And yet...he didn't ask Jake about it. He could've, but he couldn't, since he never had the time. Jake was always busy spending more time with Grace for some reason, but Floyd had himself to blame as well: he, too, spent time with the two. The trio seemed to form a close-knit relationship. Floyd found himself standing directly on top of a blurred line that separated Grace from Adam, with one person to choose from. And he was torn.

Then, once the racing season ended with Grace claiming the victory, it immediately became crystal clear to Floyd: Jake had fallen in love with Grace, and, rather unfortunately, vice-versa. As soon as the next racing season began, the two of them were dating, with him as a third wheel in that little bicycle of theirs. And to make matters even worse, Jake, as a result of his relationship with Grace, relied on him to cover for him as he went out with her on their more private dates, to give Adam excuses behind his odd absences, despite the fact that Floyd had always been a terrible liar. But...Jake was his good friend, so he did it for him.

It worked for the entire racing season. But, when the season was drawing steadily to a close, he...he...

Floyd shook his head to clear it of his thoughts. He couldn't bear to think about what happened next in this downwards-spiraling tale. Sometimes, he wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut, for the sake of not only Jake, but Grace. Who knows? Maybe...

"YAY! We're almost there!"

Floyd glanced at Bonnie, who was hopping up and down excitedly as her Dedenne chirped in agreement. Serena herself looked extremely relieved. At this point of time, the group had finally ventured into the undamaged part of the forest, the sunlight being broken by the leaves and branches hanging overhead. It was now obvious that Lloyd and Nick were nearby, judging from the placement of the thick puffs of smoke...

He glanced worriedly at Adam, who resembled a predator ready to strike for the kill. Then, he glanced at Serena...who was looking back at him.

He saw Jake's face for a split-second... The look of horror at the betrayal etched on it...

"Are you okay, Floyd?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay..." replied Floyd reluctantly.

"Why are you being so worried? We're in the middle of a forest, and there's no fire anywhere in sight! Let's take this advantage to loosen up!"

"I mean that you should probably take this advantage to loosen up!"

"Arceus-damn it..." Floyd muttered inaudibly to himself.

"Fletchling!"

From up above, the four watched as a Fletchling swooped in from the air, chirping in greeting. Once it was overhead of the group, the Tiny Robin Pokémon then circled directly above their heads for a few seconds before settling down on Serena's pink hat, chirping excitedly at Dedenne, which smiled and greeted it.

"That Fletchling..." Bonnie said.

"Is it..." began Serena. Then, her eyes began to glimmer, and she gasped in happiness and shock. "It's Ash's Fletchling!"

"Fletchling!" Fletchling chirped, nodding in response and taking flight, circling over Serena and Bonnie's heads.

"WHAT?!" Adam screamed suddenly. "THAT CAN'T BE POSSIBLE!"

"What's not possible?" asked Bonnie, looking at Adam.

Realizing that he nearly made a mistake, Adam quickly calculated a strategy to correct his near-flub. "Uh...I mean, I can see someone over there!" He pointed in a random direction towards the trees. "I think it could be Nick and Lloyd! Yeah, it's gotta be; the smoke's coming from there!"

"What, really?" Serena asked. "I thought the smoke was coming from over there."

The female Trainer pointed at the direction opposite to where Adam was pointing, where puffs of smoke were indeed continuing to rise over the treetops. Adam sweat-dropped, cleared his throat, and thrust his finger at the direction where Serena was pointing.

"Over there!" he shouted assertively. "The smoke was coming from over there! Let's go!"

"But if Fletchling's here, then that means Ash and Clemont are nearby! I think Bonnie and I should follow Fletchling..."

"What're you talking about?"

"I think it's time we went our separate ways. It's okay, guys; with Fletchling, we're good from here on out. Tell Nick and Lloyd we said hi, alright?"

"But you cannot leave now!" Adam shouted, quickly stepping in front of Serena and Bonnie before the two of them could leave. His arms were outstretched in a rather strange blocking manner. "You two girls don't wanna venture into the woods out on your lonesome, now don't you?"

"Alright, now this is really, really weird," said Bonnie, her arms crossed, a suspicious frown slowly forming on her face. Dedenne and Fletchling were also slowly becoming suspicious of Adam's intentions. "I thought you didn't want us around. And now, you don't want us to leave?"

"You could get lost in the forest!"

"We've got Fletchling to help us!"

"What if Fletchling gets lost?"

"It can't get lost. It can fly high up in the forest and find us a way to Clemont and Ash!"

"What if it breaks its wing?"

"Now how can it break its wing?"

"I don't know! Anything can happen in a massive forest such as this!"

"A lot of it was destroyed by the fire!"

"Which could be still out there!"

"Fletchling can guide us away from the fire!"

"What if Fletchling can't find its way away from the fire?"

"Didn't you ask something similar?"

"OH, WHATEVER!" Floyd produced his Poké Ball and threw it into the air. "DELPHOX, USE MYSTICAL FIRE!"

Delphox emerged from its Poké Ball, barked, and twirled its wand-like twig, unleashing a beam of fire that hit Fletchling, knocking it out.

"FLETCHLING!" Serena and Bonnie screamed simultaneously.

"Enough of this foolish nonsense!" barked Adam. "Delphox, use Psychic!"

Delphox raised its twig, which glowed purple and caused Serena and Bonnie to levitate in the air, immobile, their outlines highlighted by a red aura. Floyd could only watch reluctantly as he watched the two girls scream and attempt to struggle against the telekinetic force binding them.

"WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" shrieked Serena in horror.

"Setting you two incompetent morons up, what else?" Adam replied, snickering maliciously. "We never intended to accompany you while you searched for your miserable friends. No, we were gonna lead you back to our friends so we could hold you two hostage. Now, you will do everything we say, otherwise..." Adam then approached Fletchling's unconscious form and raised his foot, preparing to stomp on it. "...You'll be saying bye-bye to poor little Fletchling!"

"You WOULDN'T!" Serena screeched as Bonnie began to cry.

Adam merely smirked in triumph. "Wanna bet?"

He prepared to stomp his foot down on Fletchling's head when...

"Okay, okay, OKAY!" Serena closed her eyes as she continued to speak. "We'll...We'll come with you..."

Adam's smirk widened, his teeth becoming bare.

"Good girl..."

"Told you so."

"Shut up."

"You keep saying that, Serena, but remember, I'm always gonna be right. I am your brain, after all."

"..."

"So, what're you gonna do?"

"What can I do? Delphox's Psychic has me immobile, my only Pokémon is inside its Poké Ball, and only Arceus knows what's gonna happen once Adam and Floyd reach their friends. There's absolutely nothing that I can possibly do. ...You were right. ...I was right. I should have let myself make make my own decisions, instead of other people, people that I don't fully understand. Even if Floyd misled me, he was right in saying that I am the only one in charge of my life."

"You're saying Floyd's right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then be the only one in charge of your life. Make your own decisions. Get yourself and Bonnie out of this mess."

"But how? How can I do anything if I can't move at all?"

"You're the one in charge of your life. Put me to good use. Think, Serena. Think."

"Serena?"

Bonnie's voice stirred her from her mental conversation. Though she couldn't turn her head at all due to Delphox's Psychic, she could imagine the expression of terror etched in her face. She could remember the last time the two of them were in such a predicament: the less-than-villainous Team Rocket trio captured the both of them, along with Professor Sycamore, holding them captive in their private headquarters. They had to wait for Ash and Clemont to come to their rescue.

However, who knew were Ash and Clemont were right now? It was a vast forest, and Serena and Bonnie covered a lot of ground with Floyd and Adam...

"Serena?" Bonnie asked again, the fear more evident in her voice.

"Yes, Bonnie?" replied Serena.

"Are we gonna be okay?"

Serena hesitated for a moment. She knew one thing: Adam, Floyd, and their friends were definitely NOT Team Rocket.

"Yeah, we're gonna be okay."

"I wouldn't say that, girls," Adam said, sneering. "You're not gonna be okay. Not for a long time..."

"You're a big meanie!" Bonnie snapped.

Adam sighed, shook his head disapprovingly, and gestured to Delphox. "Delphox? Teach that annoying little girl the grownup version of timeout."

Delphox nodded, a smile of sadism etched on its face, and then flicked its twig fleetingly. Bonnie's immobilized posture suddenly became tighter, and her torso was thrust out as she let out a drawn-out scream of pain and agony. Adam chuckled horribly, while Floyd looked away remorsefully. Serena, on the other hand, screamed as Bonnie continued to feel pain she never felt before, and she tried to struggle against Delphox's Psychic, but wasn't successful.

"STOP, STOP, STOP!" screeched Serena as Bonnie continued to scream and wail. "SHE'S JUST A LITTLE GIRL! SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS!"

"Yeah," Adam replied, a terrifying glint in his eye, "but that's what's fun about this whole thing. She doesn't deserve this."

Serena's eyes widened in horror as she realized who she was dealing with: a psychopath. She closed her eyes, one of the few movements she was capable of.

"Please, just stop..." she pleaded helplessly.

"Adam, just stop it."

Serena opened her eyes and looked at Floyd, who was looking at Adam reluctantly.

"What, Floyd?" Adam asked, a disturbing calmness in his voice.

"We've wasted enough time with this," Floyd replied softly, seemingly regretting his outburst. "Let's just get back to Nick and Lloyd..."

Adam shrugged. "Fine. Yeah, I'll stop." He looked at Delphox and shook his head, prompting the Fox Pokémon to stop its torture on Bonnie. "Let's keep going."

As the group continued along, Serena glanced at Floyd, who was looking down at the ground reluctantly.

It took the group several more minutes to reach the source of the puffs of smoke. There, Serena and Bonnie spotted two men sitting by a fire with a handmade blanket of leaves. One of them was short and stout, with a chubby face sporting curly brown hair and a beard and mustache. The other looked rather identical to Floyd, except that he had red, stringy hair. Serena assumed that the short one was Nick, while the tall one was Floyd's brother Lloyd.

"ABOUT DAMN TIME!" screamed Adam as Nick and Lloyd spotted the approaching group. "Where the HELL were you guys?!"

"Obviously trying to run away from the fire, boss!" Nick replied. "What about you guys, what were YOU doing?!"

"Oh, I know what they were doing..." Lloyd said, approaching Serena and Bonnie; both girls shivered when he licked his lips. "You lucky sons of-"

"They're hostages," interrupted Adam. "They were wandering around in the forest when they fire hit, and we came across them. Then, I decided that maybe if we gained their trust for long enough, then we'd have ourselves a couple of hostages that'll do anything and everything we say."

Floyd's head flicked towards Adam, and he opened his mouth, preparing to say something. However, he then closed it as quickly after a couple of seconds.

"They're hostages?" Nick asked as he surveyed Serena and Bonnie.

"Hostages that are at our every whim," Adam replied, crossing his arms as a smug expression filled his face.

"Sounds...promising enough."

"Damn right it is. After all, I was the one who suggested the idea!" Adam's smugness seemed to grow with the boast.

"Actually, Adam-" began Floyd, irritated at his superior's refusal to give the credit to him.

Adam flicked his head at Floyd, a nasty expression plastered on his face. "Oh, shut up, Floyd. This is no time for your input on things. Well then, now that we've gotten ourselves back together, we gotta work to find a way back to civilization. Floyd and I didn't find anything that could help us. What about you two?"

"Now that you mention it," Nick said, "we found a road with a sign that said it led to Lumiose City yesterday. We still know where that road is."

"Good. Lead us there. And we're taking these two girls with us." Adam glanced at Serena and Bonnie, a nasty smile on his face. "But first..." He approached the fire that Nick and Lloyd made to signal their comrades, grabbed their handmade blanket of leaves, and dipped it into the flames, setting it ablaze. Then, with all of the strength he could muster, Adam threw it into the lively, bustling trees. "To make sure your friends don't get on our trail, just in case."

Serena and Bonnie's eyes widened as the fire quickly spread across the trees that had been spared from the first wildfire. Pokémon that were nearby cried in terror and began scrambling away from the raging flames. Angrily, Serena glanced at Adam, trying her hardest to break free from the Psychic.

"How COULD you?!" she screamed. "There's innocent Pokémon that call this forest home! Haven't they suffered enough damage to their home?!"

"Apparently, not enough," sneered Adam. "Besides, it's not like I give a Rattata's ass about the wild Pokémon, like I didn't care when we started the first fire."

Both girls gasped, and Bonnie shouted, "YOU started that other fire?!"

"On accident," Nick piped.

"Yeah, it was all Nick's fault," added Lloyd.

"HEY!"

Lloyd merely snickered sadistically in response, while Adam approached Serena, who was closest to him.

"Whether or not it was on accident," he hissed menacingly, "it proved to be of a great benefit for us the first time, and it shall again."

Serena gritted her teeth, for she knew what 'benefit' Adam was talking about: her and Bonnie. She couldn't tolerate this madness any longer!

"LET US GO NOW!" she roared.

"Why should I? This is actually becoming quite fun for me!" Adam then raised an eyebrow as he surveyed both girls. "You know, it's not like I needed two of you as hostages. One of you works just as fine." A rather sadistic, inhuman grin formed on his face before he looked at Delphox. "Drop the little one into the fire."

"WHAT?!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"NO, DON'T!" screamed Serena desperately.

However, Delphox was already moving Bonnie towards the burning flames with its Psychic, albeit in a rather slow movement that Serena knew was intentional.

"SERENA!"

"BONNIE!"

"HELP ME!"

Serena could do nothing, not even turn her head to look at Bonnie so she could tell her it was going to be okay. She could only hear both Bonnie and Dedenne wail and scream fearfully as Adam cackled madly. Roaring out, the Trainer resumed her struggle against Delphox's Psychic. She mustn't give up! She MUSTN'T!

"Never give up till the end!"

"Never give up till the end!"

"What?" Adam asked, looking at Serena mockingly. "Still not giving up? Maybe you should."

"Never give up till the end!" Serena shouted again. "Never give up till the end! Never give up till the end!"

As she continued to struggle against the Psychic, Serena suddenly saw flashes of a younger Ash helping her up in the forest, racing across her mind at speeds that matched cars in a racetrack. He was there whenever she needed help the most: first at the forest near the summer camp, and now, when she wanted to escape from her mother's influence at home. Because of him, she was who she was right now. But...it came at a price...

Bonnie was going to die, and it was going to be her fault she couldn't protect her. She trusted people she didn't fully understand, and now, she was facing the horrible consequences of her stupidity. Then, Serena's mind became occupied with images of a grief-stricken Clemont...a horrified Bonnie, close to death...

"Never give up till the end, never give up till the end, never give up till the end!" the Trainer repeatedly shouted as she felt herself move considerably, despite the Psychic that was holding her back. "Never give up till the end, never give up till the end, never give up till the end!"

"What in Arceus's name?!" Adam shouted as Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick looked on in shock. "Delphox, intensify your Psychic!"

"NEVER GIVE UP TILL THE END, NEVER GIVE UP TILL THE END, NEVER GIVE UP TILL THE END!"

Using all of the strength she could muster, Serena reached for her pocket. Inside was the only hope for Bonnie's survival...

Suddenly, she felt the force of the Psychic become amplified. However, this didn't daunt her, and she continued to struggle. Memories of her entire life suddenly began to flash across her eyes... It all involved someone making a decision for her, usually her mother. She never knew her life was that influenced.

Then, her mind began to flash back to more recent memories, ones of her travels with Ash. Serena realized that during those times, she was making decisions of her own more often, and then, she remembered how everyone had always been encouraging towards her, confident that she will find herself a goal that will finally bring her out of her mother's shadow and become her own person. They all believed in that. Ash, Clemont, their Pokémon, Bonnie...

Bonnie...

"NEVER GIVE UP TILL THE END!" Serena screeched as she grabbed her Poké Ball from her pocket and threw it in the air. "FENNEKIN, USE EMBER!"

Fennekin emerged from its Poké Ball and instantly shot a blanket of small orange sparks all over Delphox, catching it off-guard. Upon being covered by the huge blanket, Delphox flinched and lost control of its Psychic, causing both Serena and Bonnie to fall to the ground.

"SERENA!" Bonnie screamed.

Serena stood up and saw, to her horror, that Bonnie had been dropped too close to the fire. "BONNIE, RUN!" she shrieked.

The little girl stood up and prepared to run, but it was too late: a wall of new flames emerged and blocked her path, trapping her in an essential cage of fire.

"SERENA, HELP ME!"

"I'M COMING, BONNIE!"

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" Adam roared. "DELPHOX, USE MYSTICAL FIRE!"

Serena twirled around and pointed at Delphox. "Fennekin, use Ember on Delphox again!"

Fennekin fired another Ember attack, but this time, Delphox was prepared for it. Smirking, the Fox Pokémon merely brushed away the shower of sparks with a single stroke of its left arm. Stepping beside his Pokémon, Adam chuckled nastily as Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick joined his sides.

"It appears that your un-evolved Fennekin is coming up against its stronger evolution, foolish girl," he said. "So, what're you gonna do? Try and save your little friend at the risk of interference from my Delphox, or battle my Delphox and get it out of the way already at the potential cost of your friend's life?"

Serena's eyes widened upon realizing that Adam was right. If she tried to rescue Bonnie already without any proper supplies to counter the fire, then Delphox could just easily use a move to prevent her from being able to do so. If she tried to battle Delphox and get rid of that obstacle already, then it could be too late for Bonnie already, especially considering the fact that she has only Fennekin to use. Plus, there was also the fact of Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick participating...

Too late. Adam, Floyd, Lloyd, and Nick produced Poké Balls and threw them into the air, summoning Fearow, Carbink, Tyrantrum, and Hawlucha, respectively.

"To further add to the tension, our other Pokémon!" announced Adam. "So, what're you gonna do, Serena? Either way, your little friend dies..."

"NOT IF WE CAN HELP IT!" a familiar voice shouted loudly and determinedly.

Serena and Bonnie both gasped in relief as they watched Ash and Clemont run into the fray as fast as they could. With them were Pikachu, Fletchling, Froakie, Bunnelby, and Chespin, all of whom were ready and primed for battle. The seven joined Serena's sides as they all faced down the quartet and their Pokémon.

"Sorry we're a bit late, Serena," Ash said, looking at a smiling Serena. "Did you miss us?"

A/N: Damn right we did, Ash! We damn well missed you and Clemont! And...oh, snap! It's gonna be a big boss brawl! Who's gonna win?

I'd like to thank those who reviewed:

Guest reviewer: Sorry, I'm gonna make Floyd the good guy. And there's no Officer Jenny, but you'll find out why soon enough.

Rewile: Are you still alive? :P

BlueLightningXD: Oh no, not really! It was just an imaginary conversation Serena was having with herself. Sorry. :(

K9wolf369: Thanks! :D Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Glaceon1362: Here's the update! Sorry if it's not as early as you hoped it'd be.

colonelstars1911: Here's what happens to Serena and Bonnie! Shocking and awful, isn't it?

Pokemon'smaincharacter (guest reviewer): Uh...these guys have nothing to do with Team Flare. Did you misinterpret something?

EchoNight99: Well, this is what happens. Hope it's good enough for you! :D

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!