Previously, Ash and Anabel were able to have a safe landing in the Kalos region in a place called Lumiose City. During their exploration of the large city, they encountered a Pokémon native to the Kalos region called Frogadier. This Pokémon seemed to be familiar with Ash, but with amnesia still taking its toll on the latter, Ash had no recollection of it whatsoever.
But before they could acquaint themselves, two strangers in red suits intruded on them and demanded that they handed over Frogadier. It was then another man named Alain intervened on their behalf with his Charizard and ordered Ash and Anabel to find Professor Sycamore, the Kalos region's resident expert of Pokémon.
Leaving Alain to fend off the strangers that were from Neo Team Flare, Anabel used her map to guide them to where Professor Sycamore's lab was located. Frogadier had escaped alongside with them.
At this point, they were running down a long road, but according to the map, they were less than a mile away from the laboratory.
"It didn't feel right leaving that guy behind," Ash stated. "It was two to one."
"His Charizard was strong enough to handle both Mightyena and Liepard," Anabel reassured. "Besides, we have to protect Frogadier from them."
"Froug," Frogadier croaked, accepting their hospitality.
"Hey, Anabel, that building on the right is large and different from the rest," Ash indicated ahead. "Do you think that's the lab?"
"Yeah, that should be the one," Anabel confirmed, double-checking the map on her PokéNav Plus. "And no sign of those people from Neo Team Flare either, which is good."
Their small group was able to relax now that they were close to the Professor's laboratory. Frogadier went ahead to guide the two humans in. Realizing that Ash must've lost his memory, the Bubble Frog Pokémon wasn't about to hold the fact that nothing sparked in the boy upon first sight against him. He knew better than to hold such grudges, especially towards someone he greatly respected and cared about before. Ash soon caught up and opened the front door to let the others in first.
"Hello, is Professor Sycamore here?" Ash called out.
His voice echoed through the wide room and halls of the building. Things appeared to be orderly as books and papers were neatly arranged in stacks on the tables. Ash was soon responded by a rather careless yawn and oncoming footsteps coming from the stairs on the side.
"I'm on the way," the approaching voice spoke. "What seems to be the trob…?"
Professor Sycamore couldn't seem to finish his last sentence upon seeing his guests. He quickly recognized the Frogadier that was with the visitors, though the lilac-haired young woman was a mystery. The appearance of the young boy in the red hat with the Pikachu, however, just changed things drastically.
"Is something wrong?" Anabel asked, worried that he stood in place for almost a minute now.
"This can't be," Professor Sycamore muttered in amazement, quickly closing the distance between himself and his guests. "But I'm seeing this before my eyes."
Ash, in particular, was taken aback as the tall professor practically loomed over him. He was deductive enough to realize that his sudden appearance after being missing the past five years must have affected him as well.
"Uh, I guess I can try to explain," Ash offered to get him off.
"It is you!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed. "Marvelous! Seeing you again, alive and well at that, brings peace to my soul. You have no idea, Ash."
"Then it looks like we all have some things to explain," Anabel proposed.
"I'll get Sophie to clear up my schedule for the next couple of hours and to bring us some tea," Professor Sycamore added, knowing what urgent business needed to be done.
Ash, Anabel, Pikachu, Frogadier, and Professor Sycamore settled into a couple of fine couches nearby. While Sophie came in to serve tea and to shake off the initial shock of seeing Ash again, the latter was the first to explain his side of the story regarding as much as he remembered, from waking up in Sinjoh… excuse me, Tohjo Falls in the Kanto region and being discovered by Anabel. He also added that he and Pikachu were somehow displaced in time as it was five years since they were last seen, to which the Kalos Professor confirmed.
Anabel took the courtesy of adding the fact that Ash and Pikachu lost their memories prior to her finding them. Only by finding out that they were last seen in the Kalos region was reason enough to travel back.
"I see," Professor Sycamore mused. "I guess I should have expected as much what would've happened to you when that ultimate weapon beam hit."
"What ultimate weapon?" Ash questioned.
"I remember seeing something on the news years ago regarding the disbandment of Team Flare in Kalos," Anabel shared. "The ultimate weapon is an ancient artifact that is capable of either granting eternal life or taking lives away in exchange for the lives of other living beings… Now I remember! They said that you lost your life to it!"
"But I'm still alive," Ash pointed out. "So why didn't I die?"
"That is a good question indeed, Ash," Professor Sycamore applauded. "I only know some details about it after being told the story by one of your former friends, but I've been so preoccupied with my responsibilities that I cannot remember everything. All I know is that it had to do with something that was routing the power to the ultimate weapon."
"Professor, are you in right now?" a new, familiar voice called in.
"Ah, Alain, please enter," Professor Sycamore replied.
Coming through the doorway was the same man that helped Ash and Anabel escape from the Neo Flare Grunts with his Charizard. He appeared to be virtually unscathed from the encounter and thus bore a reserved, triumphant smirk.
"I see our guests made it here in one piece," Alain remarked. "I had no problem with our Neo Flare problem, especially when this guy behind me came out of his Gym. For some reason, they quickly backed off when they saw him."
"I-I'm not that much of a piece of work," a bashful voice answered from behind Alain, slowly walking around him to get in front. "I just wanted to see all the commotion outside Prism Tower because it was disrupting my inventing. And you mentioned that Professor Sycamore needed…."
The blond-haired stranger seemed to have frozen in place, as though he had seen a ghost, in which he would deny such incredulous claims. The direction he was facing was that of Professor Sycamore's earlier guests, more specifically the boy with the Pikachu.
"Hi there," Ash greeted casually. "My name is Ash. What's yours?"
The next few moments were filled with a surprisingly loud and long scream from the blond stranger. Alain attempted to calm and restrain him, but that still didn't affect his rather amazing lung capacity.
"You seem to have that kind of effect on others everywhere you go, huh Ash?" Anabel teased, to which the amnesiac boy rolled his eyes.
"Im-Im-Impossible!" the blond cried out. "But… I want to believe it."
"You can," Ash responded. "I'm here now, living and breathing."
Just to prove his point and make things easier for the blond, Ash stood from his seat and walked over to him, extending out a hand upon reaching him. The blond Gym Leader cautiously reached out and felt his living hand before dropping on his knees.
"You alright?" Anabel intervened before Professor Sycamore gestured her to sit back down.
"These are two friends finally coming back together," he explained. "The bond they share is stronger than that of regular brothers. I've seen this every time they visit the lab. It's a marvelous thing to behold."
"I… I'm so happy," the blond whispered, lifting up his glasses and wiping a few tears. Ash helped him back to his feet. "You're back… I don't know what else to say."
"Mind telling me your name?" Ash suggested with a sheepish grin. "Thing is that my memory is not working the way it should right now, so I don't remember anything about this place at all."
"Oh, I understand," the blond replied, feeling dejected upon hearing such news. It did seem too good to be true to begin with. "Well, my name is Clemont, inventor and Gym Leader of the Lumiose Gym. I also traveled with you around Kalos and learned so many incredible things in our journey together."
"Even though I can't remember that journey, I can tell that you must've grown a lot from it," Ash complimented. "It's what your eyes say."
"My eyes?" Clemont repeated.
"I probably sound like an idiot that doesn't know what he's talking about right now, but I can tell that you're a strong person or grew to become a strong person," Ash elaborated, much to the Lumiose Gym Leader's growing embarrassment.
"… I really don't know what to say to that," Clemont chuckled nervously.
"We need your help, Clemont," Anabel interrupted. "Whatever happened to Ash back when he was still with you might've made him end up at this time. Can you recall the events that happened when you lost Ash?"
The mood in the room seemed to have calmed down. Ash became somber upon observing Clemont's reaction to the mentioned request. All eyes were upon him.
"It's not something I enjoy looking back, so please bear with me," Clemont announced, walking back with Ash to join Anabel and Professor Sycamore.
"Thank you for doing this, Clemont," Professor Sycamore commended.
Clemont then took a deep breath and did his best to recount the moments that followed Ash and Pikachu's impending demise by the ultimate weapon. He had a bit of a shaky start, but managed to pull through in the end.
Five years ago...
"I know it's not going to matter much to you since you don't remember me or your friends, Ash, but please pretend you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, we didn't know what to expect when you were hit by the ultimate weapon's attack. We immediately assumed the worst within the first moments."
Everyone was left staring blankly at the now vacant spot where Ash and Pikachu once stood. It only took a few seconds to finally register in their minds that they were gone, possibly for good. That horrible realization alone was able to bring Ash's remaining Pokémon to their knees as they struggled against the tears coming to their eyes. Their beloved Trainer was gone and they were completely helpless in fulfilling their responsibilities in protecting him. They failed him.
His traveling companions were in no better shape, possibly taking it worse than his Pokémon were. Bonnie and Dedenne had already taken the role for everyone by filling the empty air with heartbreaking lamentations. Clemont instinctively held her tight in order to calm her down and to not lose her as well.
"My sister and I took a few days to recover and to mourn for you. As for your other friend, Serena, let's just say I was really worried how she took it at first."
Serena was paralyzed by shock, fear, and desperation. This was certainly not how she wanted things to end, to have Ash promptly ripped out of her reach and harbor the possibility of never seeing him again. He never even knew how she truly felt about him. She lost the strength to hold up her head and allowed her already streaming tears to drop upon the cold floor near her boots.
"A valiant life like his doesn't deserve to be in an imperfect world like this," Lysandre commented solemnly as an attempt at consolation. "I assure you now he's in a better place."
"Sir, about that," Xerosic intervened. "There's something…"
Before the Team Flare Scientist could continue, a huge Flamethrower rushed in, narrowly missing both him and Lysandre. The source of the attack turned out to be Braixen, who appeared just as mournful as her Trainer. The pair then noticed that Serena had been in a command position, having issued the Fox Pokémon to attack them.
"I don't think I've ever seen her so angry. And I didn't think I would be so scared for my life."
"Give him back," Serena whispered in a dangerous tone that matched the ferocity in her eyes.
She didn't need to say anything more for Braixen to know when to attack again, to which she promptly did after her first threat. This time, her Flamethrower caused Lysandre to stumble in an attempt to evade it, dropping the remote control for the ultimate weapon in the process.
Pyroar attempted to come to the rescue, but a Stone Edge had struck him at his blindside. Having worn himself out from battling Ash's other Pokémon earlier, he was unable to get up and fight. Pancham pulled its hands from the ground, allowing the Stone Edge to recede now that its job was done.
"Serena, what are you…?" Clemont attempted to ask, but glancing into her glaring eyes dissuaded him from asking further.
"Do you hear me?" Serena continued, commanding her Pokémon to continue their vengeful assault. "Give him back!"
"In her rage, Serena took down Team Flare's leader while their guard was down. The proper authorities soon caught up to make their arrests. And Serena was restrained before she could do any more damage."
The Kalos officers were pulling out the various Grunts they managed to capture and arrest out of the Team Flare Secret HQ. Back within the hidden chamber of the ultimate weapon's controls, a couple of officers had placed handcuffs on Lysandre and Xerosic with their hands behind their back.
Serena was in Clemont's hold and had calmed down to accept the terrible tragedy that happened.
"Are you better now?" Clemont asked.
"No," Serena replied instantly, tears involuntarily falling from the corners of her eyes. "I couldn't do a thing. I was just as helpless and useless the day Ash met me. And this is how I repay him…"
"We are just as much to blame, so stop beating yourself over it," Clemont reprimanded.
"I couldn't save him," Serena continued in her dreary, brokenhearted trance. "I never even told him about it… Even now I still can't."
"Serena, please!" Bonnie pleaded. "Do you think Ash would want this for you?"
The little girl's words stirred something in the Vaniville Town Performer, pulling her out of her self-pity depression. His words echoed in her mind once more to the point that she imagined that he was talking to her.
"Don't give up until it's over!"
Serena huffed a bitter laugh before wiping her tears, realizing how foolish and childish she was behaving. Ash wouldn't have wanted this for her or for anyone else. She saw his remaining Pokémon had finished mourning their mutual loss and appeared to be back to normal.
"If I may," Xerosic spoke up after clearing his throat. "There's something you all need to know before you rudely interrupted me with that Flamethrower of yours."
"What use is it now that you're arrested, meanie?" Bonnie retorted while Clemont attempted to curb her temper.
"It's regarding your supposedly 'dead' friend, that's what," Xerosic answered.
"So you're going to taunt us more about Ash?" Bonnie egged on. "You're a sick man!"
"Bonnie, that's enough," Clemont scolded, much to her displeasure.
Serena maintained a neutral look as a spark of hope had lit up in her recently shattered heart. If it was going to be as she imagined, then there might still be a chance left for her to make things right.
"You don't have to believe me if you don't want to, but I have to share this with you for the glory of science," Xerosic continued. "There is a possibility that boy and his Pikachu weren't killed when they were hit by the ultimate weapon's attack."
"But how can that be?" Clemont asked. "It's using Yveltal's death energy, isn't it?"
"And I imagine that you kids are familiar with those that have been exposed to its death energy, correct?" Xerosic shot back.
Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie recalled the past memories of their journey together that involved encounters with the Destruction Pokémon. The living beings that were exposed to its energy or struck down by its Oblivion Wing were petrified and rendered into inanimate stone. Only the healing powers of life granted by Xerneas could restore the victims to their normal selves.
"So then, Ash and Pikachu weren't turned to stone," Serena surmised. "But then, why are they gone?"
"And this is that main clincher," Xerosic resumed. "When your friend's Pikachu damaged one of our machines and destroyed a routing crystal, we needed to substitute that crystal or else the leaking death energy would've blown us all to kingdom come."
"What did you use as the replacement?" Clemont urged.
"We extracted a shard out of an orb recently discovered from one of our expeditions," Xerosic explained. "I researched the properties of this mysterious orb, but I didn't want to believe my findings. We somehow wound up lucky finding a rare orb like this."
"Spill it!" Bonnie demanded. "What orb is it?!"
"It was none other than the Adamant Orb," Xerosic concluded gravely. "How an orb like this ended up in the Kalos region, I will never know."
"Wait a minute," Clemont intervened. "The Adamant Orb is a special orb that is related to the legendary Pokémon that controls time, Dialga."
"Clemont, you don't think that Team Flare got it from Désert City, do you?" Bonnie asked. "That was where we saw Dialga and a whole bunch of other cool Pokémon!"
"That doesn't matter now," Clemont responded. "I understand what's going on now. So you're saying that because you used a shard from the Adamant Orb to replace the one Ash and Pikachu destroyed, then there's a possibility that when the ultimate weapon's attack struck them, it didn't kill them, but sent them into a different time period?"
"You're a brilliant boy to quickly piece the possibility like that in a short amount of time," Xerosic commended.
"But how does that even work?" Serena prompted.
"Because the Adamant Orb is tied into Dialga, chances are that it also has the same time-controlling properties it has, although not by much," Clemont explained. "Yveltal's energy must've magnified its time-warping properties and must've opened a temporal wormhole that pulled Ash and Pikachu in. That's why there was no trace of them when the beam hit, no scorch marks on the floor. Nothing!"
"I have nothing else to say now, but with this information, you're free to do as you please," Xerosic parted as he finally allowed himself to be taken away by the authorities.
Serena, Clemont, Bonnie, and their Pokémon all exchanged looks with each other. They all shared the same thought and desire. Even if it was small, it was better than nothing.
"He's out there somewhere," Serena voiced. "I'm going to find him. I'll rescue him this time."
"We still don't know where he was sent from the attack," Clemont reminded.
"He could've been sent maybe a few hours into the future," Serena suggested earnestly.
"Or maybe a few years into the future," Clemont added. "He could even be stuck in the past."
"Will you stop being such a pessimist?" Serena admonished. "He's not dead! And I'm not going to give up on him this time!"
"I'm not trying to persuade you from not saving Ash, but we still need to be smart about this," Clemont replied gingerly. "We don't have a lead so far. And plus, you still have your last Showcase to do in order to qualify for the Master Class."
"Saving Ash is top priority now," Serena declared. "I want him to see me become Kalos Queen before anything else."
"But holding off your dream now for his sake wouldn't be something he'd approve of," Clemont reasoned, much to the honey-blond-haired girl's growing frustration.
"Serena, I think Clemont's right," Bonnie spoke up sincerely.
"What… What are you saying then?" Serena questioned, astonished that Bonnie, of all people, would disagree with her on an important matter like this.
"Look, I've been looking forward this whole journey to see you become Kalos Queen after Aria as much as I wanted to see Ash win the Kalos League, as well as get my brother a wife," Bonnie admitted. "But Ash wants us to go after our dreams no matter what. You and your Pokémon made it this far, Serena. You should at least finish what you started before going out into the unknown and chase after Ash."
The way Bonnie had worded her last sentence made Serena blush involuntarily.
"I guess you're right," Serena mumbled softly.
"It's like Ash always says, 'Never give up until the end,'" Bonnie quoted cheerfully. "You're almost there, Serena. At least become Kalos Queen while Clemont and I are with you."
The Vaniville Town Performer carefully pondered Bonnie's words. Reflecting on their recent conversation, she saw how selfish and impatient she was in quickly discarding her current dream for the sake of one person that helped her find that dream in the first place. She was apparently very distraught from Ash's sudden departure to the point that she hadn't been thinking straight.
Then again, it had been a rather short interval since the awful incident. Who could blame her?
"I'm not fond of the idea, but this is for Ash," Serena concluded, looking up to her friends and Pokémon with a new resolve burning in her blue eyes. "I'll practice hard for the coming Showcase and earn my last Princess Key. Then once I win the Master Class and become Kalos Queen, I'll move on to my next goal of finding Ash, wherever and whenever he is."
"I have to say, you're really determined to be together with him," Clemont commented offhandedly.
"As usual, you don't get it, big brother," Bonnie sighed.
"Get what?" Clemont responded.
"Never mind that now," Serena interrupted, pointing towards Ash's remaining Pokémon. "What about them? They just lost their Trainer and have nowhere to go. I'm really sorry I forgot about you guys."
The Pokémon dismissed it, showing how much of Ash's influence was still in them as they were still quick to forgive and forget. Serena managed a smile on how gracious they all were. Her Braixen approached Frogadier and offered a hand to him.
"Brai-Braixen?" Braixen offered.
"Dier," Frogadier replied, which made the Fox Pokémon look like she was about to leap with joy.
Braixen then ran up to Serena, communicating something that she didn't really understand at first, but deduced the proposal from their previous actions and reactions. She gazed upon Frogadier, thinking that aside from Pikachu, he resembled Ash the closest out of all of his current Pokémon despite all sharing his inherited personality traits.
"You want Frogadier to join us and Frogadier is cool with it?" Serena guessed, to which Braixen nodded affirmatively. She then directed herself towards the Bubble Frog Pokémon. "Well, I can't be your official Trainer, but I'm more than happy to look after you if that's what you want."
"Dier-Dier," Frogadier croaked, walking over to them to confirm the decision.
"That takes care of Frogadier's status, but what about you guys?" Clemont inquired.
"Haw-Hawlu-cha," Hawlucha grunted, pantomiming the action of searching along with Fletchinder and Noibat.
"I get it," Clemont surmised. "You want to go find Ash on your own. That means you'll be back in the wild for now until you find him again."
"Are you sure?" Bonnie asked reluctantly. "You guys can be with us and even stay at our house at the end of our journey. We can have lots of fun together!"
"Dene-Dene!" Dedenne agreed eagerly.
To their disappointment, the three Flying-type Pokémon shook their heads no. With no Trainer around, they really have no obligations to no one. But these three were fiercely loyal towards Ash to the very end and were determined to find him.
"That sounds like a plan," Serena remarked. "But we've still got to stay in touch with you just in case you do find Ash."
"Leave it to me," Clemont mediated confidently, adjusting his glasses. "I'll invent the perfect invention to keep the bonds of communication open between us and them. The future is now, thanks to science!"
"So then, Frogadier was supposed to be with Serena," Anabel mused. "What happened to her?"
"Serena did succeed and achieved her dream of becoming Kalos Queen," Clemont explained. "However, she left it soon after to fulfill her promise of finding Ash. Bonnie and I wanted to help her, but she wanted us to go our separate ways. She also said it would cover more ground if we looked about elsewhere. And as for why Frogadier is here now, I'm not sure."
"Frogadier, what happened to Serena?" Anabel asked.
The Bubble Frog Pokémon turned his head away. The Salon Maiden took a good look at him to discover that he was blanching. Anabel held a hand to her mouth, sensing the dark and uncomfortable emotions Frogadier seemed to be projecting at the moment.
"Well?" Ash prompted.
"For some reason, Frogadier doesn't want to share," Anabel relayed. "I imagine something not good happened. But we really need to know."
"Froug-Froug-adier," Frogadier responded with heavy refusal.
"'I'm not ready to say at the moment, I'm sorry,' was what Frogadier said," Anabel translated.
"How do you know what it's saying?" Clemont inquired.
"It's a special ability some people are born with, like those with psychic powers," Professor Sycamore answered in her stead. "Salon Maiden Anabel of the Kanto Battle Tower is one of the few individuals known with this power of empathy, being able to sense a Pokémon's feelings and effectively communicate with them. It's as close to being psychic as you can get as she's capable of relaying mental orders to her Pokémon. It's so marvelous."
"Hey, Clemont," Ash spoke up.
"Yeah, Ash?" Clemont replied.
"So this Serena girl, the way you described her and what she did, was she like my girlfriend or something?"
The next few moments in the room fell into a very awkward silence. Clemont gaped goofily, having realized Serena's feelings for Ash when they parted ways after the Master Class Showcase. Anabel gave the Pallet Town Trainer an incredulous look, all the while blushing at the same time. Pikachu and Frogadier exchanged deadpan looks. Professor Sycamore coughed on his tea. Sophie robotically cleaned up the mess he made. Alain blinked several times before finding new fascination upon the bookcase next to him.
As if it wasn't painfully obvious at this point…
"… Uh… She considered you to be a special friend," Clemont managed to say. "You just didn't pick up on how special you were to her."
"Special, huh?" Ash repeated. "How so?"
"That does not surprise me," Anabel sighed with a shrug.
"So… you lost contact with her?" Ash continued.
"Unfortunately we did after a year or so since splitting up, though I should still be in contact with your other Pokémon," Clemont confessed. "That year, Bonnie was about to leave for her own Pokémon journey so she wanted to see Serena before she left. We managed to get in touch with her via holo-phone, but when we saw her through the screen, she just seemed so different. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was both amazing and worrying at the same time. All I can say is that she changed, Ash."
"What did you do after you parted ways?"
"Bonnie still wanted to see the Kalos League, so I took her there. We found a couple of the rivals you made from your journey, mainly Tierno and Sawyer. Tierno made it to the Top Eight, but Sawyer fell to the Top Sixteen because he had trouble controlling Sceptile after it Mega Evolved."
"Wait, Sceptile, you say?"
Ash then took out a Poké Ball and released his Sceptile into the room for all to see. The Forest Pokémon coolly adjusted the twig in his mouth and crossed his arms.
"Ash, I didn't know you owned a Sceptile," Professor Sycamore commented, appearing in awe of the powerful Grass-type Pokémon standing before him. "Sceptile is one of the known Pokémon that is capable of Mega Evolution."
"With the right Mega Stone, the Sceptilite, Sceptile can become Mega Sceptile," Alain added. "A mighty dragon guardian of the forest, indeed."
"Hey, having a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve could be very useful in our journey in recovering your memories, Ash," Anabel suggested. "I've read a bit on Mega Evolution that it'll require two stones: a Mega Stone like Alain said and a Key Stone. We just need to find those Stones and Sceptile can achieve Mega Evolution."
"Then take my Key Stone for starters," Alain offered, removing a black ring bracelet which contained a rainbow-colored round stone with a peculiar DNA strand mark on it from his wrist.
"Alain, are you sure about this?" Professor Sycamore asked.
"It's the least I can do for him after the trouble I caused him those years ago with Team Flare and all," Alain confessed. "Besides, I'll just borrow the Key Stone you have. I'm sure Garchomp will be fine not having to Mega Evolve for a while."
Ash stood up and accepted the offered Mega Ring, staring into the unique Key Stone embedded upon it. A strange sensation filled him, only to cease when he felt Anabel lean against him to see the Key Stone for herself.
"That's one Key Stone down," Anabel said as though she was marking a mental checklist. "Now we just need to find Sceptile's Mega Stone."
"Sad to say, I have no Sceptilite in the premises," Professor Sycamore admitted. "You'll have to look for it on your journey. Speaking of which, I also have a huge favor to ask you guys."
"What is it?" Ash inquired as he wore the Mega Ring on his left wrist.
"Alain and I have been keeping tabs of suspicious movement taking place throughout the Kalos region," Professor Sycamore began.
"After the encounters with them today, there's no doubt that Team Flare is up to no good again," Alain continued. "Though I should say that they're now called 'Neo Team Flare.' And they'll most likely attempt to carry forth their original plans for 'world purification' or something of the sort and resurrect the ultimate weapon."
"Wait, are you guys about to ask what I think you're asking?" Clemont intervened suspiciously.
"With them making themselves public once more, there's no doubt about it, Clemont," Professor Sycamore confirmed. "They've likely managed to capture Yveltal again or are planning to. In this case, we need to fight back with the right power. We have to prepare to take them down once and for all."
"What's going on?" Ash asked warily. "This sounds like a repeat of Clemont's story."
"Yes, but there is something else that Clemont didn't mention from that story that I told him not to, but in this case, I'll allow it," Professor Sycamore elucidated. "Somehow, I feel that this will tie in to your journey in regaining your memories and present the possibility sending you back into your proper time period."
"Clemont, what else happened from that time you and the others took down Team Flare?" Anabel brought up.
"With Professor Sycamore giving me permission to share, I guess I have no other choice," Clemont remarked. "Long story short, before we left Team Flare's headquarters, we needed to free Yveltal from the ultimate weapon. Xerneas had reawakened for that purpose alone, freeing it and allowing it to go its own way without trouble. It then foretold another incident like this happening in the future and passed on these eight strange objects to us in order to call upon it if that time came around."
"I barely came into the scene when I finally caught up with them," Professor Sycamore continued. "These eight objects are called the Life Branches of Xerneas, plucked from its own magnificent antlers. As Clemont said, when they come together, they'll call upon the power of Xerneas to counter Yveltal's force of destruction."
"Where are these eight Life Branches then?" Ash inquired.
"We decided to safeguard them by keeping them separate in order to prevent all eight from falling into the wrong hands," Professor Sycamore clarified. "By order of the Pokémon League Committee, each Branch is under the protection of a Gym Leader here in Kalos. Only the case for Lumiose City, the Life Branch here is co-protected by me and Clemont. We both have the keys to unlock it from its case."
"Why are you sending us on a quest to collect the Life Branches?" Anabel asked. "You do know Ash doesn't have any memories of Kalos to go on and he doesn't belong in this time."
"I have a theory that the reason why Ash's memories are currently blocked is because of Yveltal's energy during the ultimate weapon attack," Professor Sycamore explained. "It didn't end his life probably due to the Adamant Orb shard's influence, but there might've been enough power to at least affect his memory. Maybe with some exposure to Xerneas's power in the Life Branches, he might regain them."
"It's worth a shot," Ash concurred. "Besides, I don't want to have anyone else go through that ordeal that I apparently went through."
"Well, if you really strongly about it, then I'll support you one-hundred percent along the way, Ash," Anabel professed. "I already made it this far with you to Kalos. I told you I'd be sticking by your side until you get your memories back and this mess is over."
"Thanks, Anabel," Ash praised. "You're a true friend."
The Salon Maiden couldn't help but blush from his sincere words. Clemont took careful note of it before glancing back at Ash.
"Hey, there's something I want to ask you, but first, we need to go to Prism Tower," Clemont said. "The Life Branch that Professor Sycamore and I are guarding is kept within a protected and well-insulated underground chamber. Only he and I have the keys to access it."
"Marvelous!" Professor Sycamore exclaimed. "Let's head over now."
On that note, Ash, Anabel, Pikachu, Frogadier, Clemont, Professor Sycamore, and Alain went over together to Prism Tower, which functioned as the Lumiose City Gym. Clemont guided them into a secret passageway once inside the Gym. He and Professor Sycamore then performed the necessary credentials in order to allow access to the protected Life Branch that waited on the other side.
The reinforced steel doors unlocked themselves and gave way for the group to see. The light from within the formerly sealed chamber brightened until a pedestal became visible for everyone to see. Upon the pedestal rested an artifact resembling a long fallen tree branch that gave off a multicolored glow and resonated a soothing aura within its radius.
"The Life Branch of Xerneas, just like when we were entrusted with its care the first day," Clemont stated.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Professor Sycamore concurred.
They lead the rest into the chamber. It was interesting to note that in contrast with the rest of the Gym above ground, the interior designing was simple and carved out of rock instead of industrial steel. Professor Sycamore went on ahead to retrieve the Life Branch and observe its beauty up close.
"Ash, I have something that I wanted to ask you now," Clemont voiced before anything else. "Would it be alright if I joined you on your new journey?"
"That was a bit unexpected," Anabel commented.
"What brought up the idea?" Ash asked.
"You've taught me so much during our first journey through Kalos, so much so I was able to apply it in both my Gym battles and in my inventions," Clemont explained. "You have no idea how much I grew from it, but I never had a chance to truly thank you for letting me travel with you. Now that I'm stronger and more competent, let me return the favor and help you recover your memories and send you back to your proper place in time."
"I've got nothing against it," Ash replied. "What about you, Anabel?"
"None from me," Anabel answered cheerily. "I think we're going to need as much help as we can get at this rate."
"Looks like you're in, Clemont," Ash concluded with an eager grin. "I'm glad to work with you again, even if I don't remember the first time."
"I guarantee you'll remember both times," Clemont responded, holding out a hand for Ash to clasp and shake.
Frogadier went closer to Ash and pulled on his pants leg to get his attention. He was saying something that the Pallet Town Trainer was somehow able to get a gist of while Anabel understood his full intentions.
"Frogadier wants to rejoin you as well, Ash," Anabel affirmed. "He wants to make things right and be your Pokémon again. Aww! That's so nice. Frogadier has been truly loyal to you from the start."
"That Frogadier is one picky Pokémon that had multiple Trainers in the past, but didn't like any of them," Alain clarified. "I have no doubt that Frogadier resonated well with Ash and would want to go back to him."
"Cool, it looks like we have two new allies," Ash said to Pikachu. "I guess I should say 'old' allies, but you get the idea."
He was caught off guard when Frogadier leapt into his arms to give him a big hug. Ash fell on his bottom, but nonetheless, the company shared a few friendly laughs over the heartwarming reunion between Trainer and Pokémon.
"I'm pleased to see things working out among all of you," Professor Sycamore announced, presenting the Life Branch before Ash. The others crowded around him to behold its radiant power. "This is going to be the last time I'll ever get to see this marvelous beauty. Take good care of it and collect the remaining seven."
"You can count on me, Professor," Ash replied, taking the Life Branch into his own hands.
A mystical sensation struck Ash's head upon touch. Before his mind's eye, he saw himself in a somewhat younger age wearing different clothing consisting of an open vest and red-and-white cap with a peculiar symbol on front. He proudly held up a Poké Ball in the air.
"I will be the very best like no one ever was!"
That was me… during the earliest days of my Pokémon journey, Ash recounted as the precious associated memories became clear as day once again.
You Got a Life Branch!
Just to stay on track and to stay true to some Super Paper Mario elements, I'll throw in things like "You Got a Life Branch (Pure Heart, haha)" and "End of Chapter!" So as you've just read through my longest chapter yet here, the Life Branches of Xerneas will serve as the Pure Heart counterparts in this tale. Interesting (and somewhat original) concept, I hope.
The mentioned Désert City is the location where the Hoopa movie would take place, which also included all the legendary Pokémon showing up. So hopefully it wasn't too far of a stretch to say that Team Flare originally found the Adamant Orb there as Dialga made an appearance as one of the legendary Pokémon involved.
So where will they be heading now, you might be thinking? If you look back at the games, the order would be Santalune City. Ash, Anabel, and Clemont will be there within the next two chapters.
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L-ater!