Ash, Anabel, and Clemont were able to arrive in Santalune City with little to no trouble along the way. The mentioned trouble was that in the form of the haughty Aliana of Neo Team Flare. She and her Pignite stood no chance against the teamwork of Ash and Frogadier. It was certainly amazing to note that even with most of his memories still locked away, Ash was still the remarkable Trainer he was from the past.

That was fortunately enough to help the group reach their destination and rest for the night at the Pokémon Center. The next day has shone over them, prompting them to finish what they came to Santalune City for.

And that was to find the Gym Leader, Viola, and convince her to part with the Life Branch she was protecting under the authorization of the Pokémon League Committee. Viola was a part-time photographer in addition of being a Bug-type specialist. She was often the recommended Gym Leader to challenge for beginners. In any case, she proved to be capable of upholding the high standards that the Pokémon League required of their Gym Leaders.

"Everybody up and ready?" Clemont asked.

Ash had just put on his red cap while Anabel dusted herself. Clemont took those as signs that they were indeed ready to move on to the Santalune City Gym.

"Let's get going," Ash urged, taking the lead as they left the Pokémon Center behind.

"Wait, do you know where you're going?" Anabel called out.

"Not a clue," Ash replied without turning around.

Clemont and Anabel couldn't help but smile awkwardly at each other. Ash was still true to his character when they first met him; that much, they were thankful for as it was. His amnesia was still a problem in regards to progressing in the right direction, but they were able to put up with it due to the bonds they shared. In any case, though, Ash was quick to adapt and move on.

"Hey, Ash, how about I just lead us to the Santalune Gym?" Clemont suggested. "It'll save us some time from wandering around and hopefully get an immediate advantage on Neo Team Flare."

"Sounds good to me," Ash responded, holding his hands up in a shrug. "Could we at least look around this place? Maybe it'll jog bit of my memory if I see some landmarks."

"I don't know," Clemont pondered cautiously.

"I'll admit that I'm also guilty in wanting to explore Santalune City for a bit before heading to the Gym," Anabel announced. "We should be fine. After all, Ash was able to deal with Aliana with little difficulty."

"Oh, all right," Clemont relented. "But we'll only cover a few significant landmarks. Then we'll head straight for the Santalune Gym."

"Yes!" Ash cheered along with Pikachu.

"Pii-Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Lead the way, tour guide," Anabel giggled.

"The things I do for you guys," Clemont mumbled, smiling inwardly as he took charge.

And so at the behest of his two foreign companions, Clemont steered Ash and Anabel through the scenic route through Santalune City. Truth be told, there was not anything interesting to show that would make this simple settlement any different or spectacular in comparison to Lumiose City.

Then again, it is more quaint and in tune to nature than that major city.

Clemont did lead the group to the water fountain where Ash made his declaration of conquering the Santalune City Gym, as well as where they first met Viola. The visit did not resonate with the Pallet Town Trainer, nor did it stir up any more locked memories.

However, the fountain did look pretty cool.

Part of him hoped that visiting this old spot would have roused a stronger reaction from Ash and Pikachu, but Clemont felt that it would have also been too good to be true if that plan had worked. That would pretty much defeat part of the purpose of collecting Xerneas's Life Branches, in which their life-giving power would counter the influence Yveltal left as a result of the ultimate weapon exposure.

But now, Professor Sycamore requested that they collect them to stop the rise of Neo Team Flare as they had made an open move. It would be sound to stop their threat for good if they hoped to restore Ash and Pikachu's memories and send them back to their proper place in time safely and without any sort of interference.

The Lumiose City Gym Leader had also been pondering to himself while leading Ash and Anabel towards the Santalune Gym. Truth be told, he had these thoughts since he rejoined Ash in this new journey.

He wondered with the hypothetical scenario that they did shut down Neo Team Flare for good and were successful in sending Ash and Pikachu back in time if their current timeline would cease to exist. Time travel theory has always been a complicated subject to study and dabble into. Change one little thing in the past and the future would be drastically altered.

If so, by how much would this future change?

Would Team Flare still attempt to wipe out all people and Pokémon?

Would a larger threat loom over in their place?

Would Serena still be around and in contact?

Clemont could not help but consider her in conjunction with Ash. They were almost always doing everything together throughout their first run through Kalos. He knew how much Serena looked up to Ash and vice versa. They served as each other's source of inspiration in their prospective dreams of becoming Kalos Queen and Pokémon Master.

He cringed upon the memory regarding the aftermath of Team Flare using the ultimate weapon. Ash and Pikachu were presumably killed by it and the time to mourn seemed nearly endless. Serena had given into vengeance and went on a rampage, effectively shutting down the remaining active factions of Team Flare before allowing overwhelming grief to calm her down. Clemont had to be the first to get over it in order to help his sister and his friend get over their despair.

Bonnie had fortunately been quick to recover after much sibling support. Serena, however, was a different story. Even though Xerosic of Team Flare had theorized of Ash and Pikachu being sent to a different timeline, which ultimately turned out to be true in this case, Serena still had difficulty coping to this drastic change.

It was only then that he learned that she had a deeper attachment to Ash than he had originally perceived. Even Bonnie figured it out quite a while back, but then again, that didn't come up as much of a surprise. Her innocently curious nature was bound to reward her efforts one way or another.

It took the combined efforts of the Lumiose City siblings to prevent Serena from throwing away her dream of becoming Kalos Queen in pursuit of the missing Ash by reassuring that he would want her to grasp onto her dream to the bitter end. Reminding her of the number one lesson he taught her was enough to placate her apprehension.

Achieving that dream, however, ended up a hollow victory for Serena as Clemont recalled. He and Bonnie saw past the false smile masking an individual who kept tormenting herself over the lack of closure regarding her feelings for the disappeared Pallet Town Trainer. As far as he was concerned, he only scratched the surface that concealed the depths of Serena's inner emotions.

Though she proved that she wasn't about to lose everything she learned from her journey with Ash, Clemont and Bonnie still couldn't help but worry about the choices she made after becoming Kalos Queen. She stepped down from the position for a number of reasons, one of them claiming that she was going to dedicate herself in finding Ash again and that upholding the title of Kalos Queen was empty without him by her side.

Of course, Bonnie had then offered the suggestion for her to give other guys a chance to be her king.

Big mistake.

Serena nearly refused to talk to any of them as a result for almost a week. Bonnie didn't realize how much sensitive of a topic Ash was to her now and thought she was still grieving. Clemont had to carefully settle things down in their group so that by the time they did leave on their separate ways, it would not have been on a very sour note.

In any case, she was still somewhere in the world looking for Ash, that much he was sure she was up to. She developed into a determined woman longing to reunite with the man that gave her purpose and excitement in her previously dull and average life. Clemont understood where she was coming from with all this while Bonnie was thrilled of being part of some 'romantic soap opera' as it gave her ideas for searching potential spouses for her brother, much to his aggravation.

Though the odds of running into her here in Kalos was virtually slim to none, Clemont entertained the thought that they would meet Serena again and gain her help in sending Ash−.

"Hey, Clemont, is that the Gym?"

Anabel's inquiry stirred him out of his thoughts and looked ahead towards the large building that was uniquely designed out of the rest. Ash and Pikachu looked at it in silent wonder.

"Yeah, this is it," Clemont confirmed.

He was expecting to run into Viola real soon. By extension, it was possible that her older sister and top Lumiose Press journalist, Alexa, would be visiting. This would certainly prove to be an interesting experience if those sisters were here.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Ash called out, peeking his head through the doorway entrance.

"Pika?" Pikachu mimicked.

"You can go in, Ash," Anabel reassured. "Pokémon Gyms welcome anyone who wants to challenge the Gym Leader."

"But what if some bad guy comes in and attempts to rob the place?" Ash asked.

"Gym Leaders are no pushovers, that much I can say," Anabel answered firmly. "In addition, they are also covered under the protection of the Pokémon League. If anyone was foolish enough to threaten a Gym, well, they're going to have a hard time."

"For instance, I have Clembot set up to attend to and protect the Lumiose Gym in my absence," Clemont added, grinning proudly. "In addition to him, I've built the Prism Tower's internal system myself, meaning that its every nook and cranny are secured well against threats."

"So you shouldn't worry about these things, Ash," Anabel concluded. "The Pokémon League, among other official organizations, is well aware of these details so that Trainers are free to participate without external consequences getting in the way of their progression."

"That makes sense then," Ash agreed.

The three of them wandered into a large hall decorated with photographic frames of various Bug-type Pokémon in their natural habitat. Clemont had then elaborated on the Santalune City Gym Leader's hobbies of taking what would be considered picture perfect moments of wild Pokémon. It was clear that she specialized in Bug-types alone as they appeared to be Viola's preferred photo-op.

New footsteps were heard approaching their location as Clemont finished his concise exposition of the Gym Leader. As if the timing couldn't get any better, the older young woman with sandy-blond hair that posed as the aforementioned authority figure with signature camera on hand had entered the scene.

"Clemont?" Viola greeted, surprised by his sudden visit. "What are you…?"

She didn't finish her standard inquiry as her eyes soon fell upon a familiar face that was said to have passed away in tragedy. Exhibiting the predicted responses of shock and speechlessness, she quickly took a few steps back before stumbling on her feet and landing on her bottom out of panic.

"Viola, let us explain," Clemont relieved, gingerly approaching his colleague to calm her down.

"No way!" Viola exclaimed in fright. "Th-This isn't right. Y-You're dead. You're supposed to be dead! N-Not that I wanted you dead, but still…! This isn't natural!"

"It's kind of a long story," Ash began, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't really die. I was just… misplaced in time."

"Huh?" Viola grunted, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"It is as he says, Viola," a new voice intervened, walking up to them from around the corner. "I shouldn't be surprised with all the stunts he's pulled, but this would definitely make one hot-off-the-press scoop."

The Santalune City Gym Leader dropped her visage of fear and glanced back at her sister with a wry grin. Of course she would be more familiar with such strange phenomenon, given her profession and how thorough she was with it.

"You meet some of the most interesting people, sister," Viola remarked.

"It's certainly been a while, Clemont," Alexa resumed with an inquisitive look in her eyes. "And you, Ash. While it's certainly a time to rejoice seeing you alive and well, there's still the fact that you were gone from the world for five years."

"I'm guessing I helped you guys out?" Ash proposed, eliciting confused expressions from the Santalune sisters.

"He lost his memory," Anabel clarified. "You both might want to sit down and have a cup of tea because this is going to take a while."

The whole group found a couple of quaint benches to station at as the retelling of how the Pallet Town Trainer ended up here was about to begin. Viola held onto her sister, still uneasy over how someone that she perceived to be deceased was back among the living. Of course, Alexa had her own thoughts about the scenario, but didn't dwell on them as much so that she could focus on hearing about the truth.

The sharing of his present predicament was certainly becoming easier to accomplish after many opportunities to confront those that knew Ash and were demanding an explanation of his supposed death and long-term disappearance. Both Alexa and Viola were enraptured by the events in Anabel's tale, from how she found Ash to discovering the possible resurrection of Team Flare.

Viola bared a knowing look as the account went down that particular route. Clemont could tell that she was immediately reminded of the additional responsibility given to her from the Pokémon League Committee as a result of Team Flare's hazard five years ago. She certainly didn't expect the time would be now, but she had been preparing for this day.

"Well, if you want to regain your memories and return to your own time, then we'll help you out the best way we can," Alexa declared once story time was over. "Though it goes against my profession, I'll keep this under wraps so that you can move about in Kalos freely without others hounding you on how you just came out of nowhere."

"It'll also prevent Neo Team Flare from easily tracking your movements," Viola added, getting to her feet. "I probably should lead you to the guarded Life Branch, but there's one more thing I want to do."

"And that is?" Clemont inquired, to which the Santalune City Gym Leader gave a competitive smirk.

"Just like the Bug Badge, I'll only surrender the Life Branch to you if you prove yourselves worthy of it," Viola announced. "Even though you're in good graces with me and Alexa doesn't mean I'll just hand over something as powerful as the Life Branch to anyone."

"We don't have time for this," Clemont rebutted. "We need to get the Life Branch and head over to our next stop at Cyllage City before Neo Team Flare gets a leg up on us."

"Time really is of the essence here," Anabel added.

"And how can I be sure you guys are the real deal?" Viola retorted. "I know that the Kalos Gym Leaders have been preparing for this day and that the real Ash is here and all, but this is to ensure that the Life Branch does not fall into the wrong hands. Plus, you're dealing with someone who was in disbelief over Ash suddenly returning and not changing after all these years."

"My sister is a stubborn one," Alexa sighed. "It can't be helped, but you'll have to battle her to get her Life Branch."

"Then I'll battle her," Ash said, stepping in to defuse the tension between Gym Leaders.

"Ash, we're running out of time," Clemont pointed out.

"We'll make it quick, I promise," Ash assured, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you'll be great," Anabel followed. "The bonds you have with your Pokémon are as strong as ever, even with your missing memories. Just don't give up."

"I won't do anything less," Ash added, flashing a dazzling smile at her.

"That frame-by-frame passion you have for your friends and your dreams is as brilliant as I remembered," Viola commented, smiling contentedly. "Shall we?"

The Santalune Gym Leader then gestured everyone to follow her into the battlefield. Seeing that there was no point in arguing further, Clemont remained silent. Anabel appeared slightly worried about the sudden turn of events. The Salon Maiden knew that a quest like this was certainly not going to be easy, and like Clemont, she would've preferred to get this issue taken cared of as soon as possible in order to remedy the past.

Of course, she was also confident that Ash was going to finish his battle with Viola as quick as he can.

"You know, Ash is very interesting," Alexa spoke up, attempting to garner Anabel's attention while they were walking to the battlefield. "I've seen him fired up many times for a good battle in the past."

"I've noticed," Anabel concurred with a slight giggle.

"I recall in his rematch with Viola that he was really fired up to take her down and win the Bug Badge," Alexa continued. "And I also recall someone that used to travel with him having given him that confidence boost."

Anabel had a feeling where this conversation was leading towards. If that was truly the case, why this woman was bringing up this particular topic at a particularly inopportune time was dubious at best. But the least she could do now was to humor her and potentially learn more about Ash's previous Kalos journey.

"Did this 'someone' happen to be a girl?" Anabel probed.

"You're pretty spot-on," Alexa complimented. "I guess it would be safe for me to assume that Clemont shared a bit of his and Ash's history together in the group?"

"Only the more general fields," Anabel elucidated. "I didn't want to press any matters further than they needed to be out of respect. I have my own ideas that there's something more Clemont is not willing to make known yet. But yes, I do know about Serena and that she had special feelings for Ash."

"Getting right down to business, aren't we?" Alexa quipped lightheartedly. "Well, this is just a bit of my opinion I'm throwing out, but one of the few times I've seen Ash respond so positively was due to the influence of someone he considers close to him. At the time that he beat my sister, I deduced that it was because of Serena that he earned that victory. This time around, though I was going to say that from his history with Clemont that he's pressing forward against Viola's challenge, he sounded most enthusiastic when he talked with you."

"That's… pretty observant of you," Anabel commented, impressed by her clever deductions.

"Well, like I said, it's more on my opinion than anything else," Alexa concluded. "But if anything, I would also say that it must be Ash's way of saying that he really likes you."

Anabel became pensive in spite of the glowing blush her face started to sport as a result of the Lumiose Press journalist's words. As flattering as that sounded, some truth was held in her self-proclaimed opinion. Taking into account the ever-present oblivious and battle-loving nature that Ash has, the behaviors Alexa noted could very well be valid.

It sounded plausible to Anabel after considering what Serena originally felt for him, though for the Salon Maiden to be on the receiving end this time around did seem too good to be true. She still harbored feelings for him in spite of the great passage of time and the fact that his present state was reduced to being five years younger than her. She was entering young adulthood while he was still progressing through the adolescent stages.

This was all the more reason to send him back to his own time. While she already came into terms that he might not reciprocate her personal feelings since he left the Battle Frontier, just knowing that he was happy in his life gave her the peace and closure to move on.

Of course, Ash returning the affections would be just as fantastic.

The future is still an open door, after all.

"Hey, gang!" Viola announced. "We're here!"

The whole group glanced around the greenhouse-like area before laying their eyes upon the central battlefield. There were small Bug-type Pokémon like Scatterbug, Caterpie, and Weedle being as natural as they would in the trees that decorated the whole space.

However, there was one Pokémon taking a nap in the middle of the battlefield that did not qualify as a Bug-type. Rather, it was large and took on a somewhat draconic appearance. It also had large round ears for precise hearing.

"Sorry, guys," Alexa apologized sheepishly. "I forgot that I left my Noivern out here to give it some freedom. Poor thing must've needed a nap."

"Well, call it back so we can get our battle started," Viola requested impatiently.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that just yet, dear Gym Leader," an unknown willowy voice jested.

The group became wide alert as an intruder seemed to have gotten a drop on them. Attempting to search where the unknown voice had originated from, they only found out who was there upon catching the intruder teleporting into the center of the battlefield with a Pokémon, appearing right next to Alexa's Noivern. Their entrance caused the Sound Wave Pokémon to stir itself awake.

The intruder was a woman with short purple hair. To Ash, Anabel, and Clemont, the peculiar uniform she wore closely resembled Aliana's. However, it appeared to be a bit more lavish as she wore a poncho sweater that matched the color of her hair on top of the uniform.

The Pokémon that accompanied her was small and mimicked the typical appearance of a harlequin. Most of its body was a shade of pink, save it for the top of its head and its lower half, in which they were dark blue. However, what came off to be unnatural from this peculiar Pokémon was the theatrical mask it wore upon its face, wherein the right half of the mask was white while the other half was black.

"Who are you and how did you get inside?!" Viola demanded.

"Ah, for someone who seems so quick to temper, you sure took your sweet time getting here," the intruder mocked. "I was afraid that I was going to fall asleep like a bored Snorlax after a ten-course meal."

"Hey, I asked you a question, lady, and you better answer me now," Viola warned.

"Careful, she looks like she's from Neo Team Flare," Clemont advised.

"A keen observer like you opposing us, I shouldn't be surprised Aliana lost," the intruder continued, smirking merrily. "Come to think of it, I believe we faced off before, little man."

"Clemont, was she also from Team Flare from the past?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, she stands out from memory alright," Clemont affirmed grimly. "And if memory serves, she's Celosia. Not the best of memories, but still, I know that she's pretty dangerous."

At that moment, Alexa's Noivern stood at full height and roared loudly at the Neo Team Flare intruder into intimidating her to leave. She and her Mime Jr. remained unaffected from the show.

"You're a strong Pokémon," Celosia commented, her smirk curving wickedly on the side. "You will do."

"What are you doing?!" Alexa interrupted.

"Confuse Ray!"

Celosia's Mime Jr. leapt up into Noivern's face and tossed a dazzling gold orb of light at it. Noivern reeled back and screeched from exposure to the bright light. It thrashed about, attempting to shake off the overwhelming influence, but it proved futile as it faced the group with reopened sunken and glaring eyes.

"Sis, recall it!" Viola demanded.

"Right!" Alexa exclaimed, stumbling her hand into her side bag for Noivern's Poké Ball.

"I'm afraid I'm three steps ahead," Celosia observed, snapping her fingers.

At her command, Mime Jr. held its hands up and somehow managed to Teleport a Watchog into the battlefield. One look into the Lookout Pokémon's hollow eyes revealed that it too was under the Confuse Ray's influence. Mime Jr. then directed Watchog towards Noivern to execute Celosia's next phase of her attack.

Watchog's eyes soon gave off an eerie glow. In conjunction, its whole body exuded a sinister purple aura that reached out to Noivern, forming an image of a huge eye with black sclera, a yellow iris, and an equally black pupil upon it. The purple aura then consumed Noivern's body while the eye disappeared.

Alexa found the Poké Ball and sent the retracting red beam to recall her Pokémon. However, the beam was blocked by purple energy upon attempting to touch the Sound Wave Pokémon.

"That Watchog she brought in just used Mean Look," Anabel commented. "We got to stop her!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I'm not the one you should be worrying about now, dear," Celosia pointed out. "This little test should do just nicely. Ciao!"

Without saying any more, she snapped her fingers and at once, her Mime Jr. used Teleport on itself and her, leaving no trace behind save it for the wild Watchog that went fleeing into the outskirts of the battlefield to harass the Gym's Bug-type Pokémon. Noivern, at the meantime, gave off several chilling roars before firing Boomburst blasts everywhere and causing minor collateral damage in the Gym.

"How are we going to stop them now?" Viola questioned. "Noivern is confused and Alexa can't call it back because of Watchog's Mean Look!"

"And with Watchog also under her control, it's just going to keep running around to avoid capture while causing as much havoc as it could under its confused state," Clemont assessed.

"I've got a plan," Ash announced, getting everyone to lend him all ears. "One of us needs to stop Noivern from causing any more damage while another one of us stops the Watchog."

"That way with Watchog knocked out, Mean Look would no longer be in effect and Alexa can safely recall it," Anabel continued. "That's a great plan, Ash."

"Except my Noivern is no pushover," Alexa cautioned. "Its Boomburst would really mess you up if you get caught in it."

"We have to stop it now before it destroys my Gym," Viola stated. "It's clear that the confusion isn't going to wear off in time. I can tell that Mime Jr. of hers is powerful despite its size."

"Pikachu and I will stop Noivern in its tracks," Ash declared, to which the Mouse Pokémon left his perch on his Trainer's shoulder and ran into the battlefield with sparking cheeks. "You guys go after the Watchdog."

"It's 'Watchog,' Ash," Anabel corrected before turning to Viola. "And I think you're our best chance at finding Watchog since you know the layout of the Gym."

"I see," Viola muttered, calling out her Vivillon. "I'll take care of it then."

"I'll go with you in stopping it," Clemont volunteered.

"I'll stay here and be ready to recall Noivern once you stop Watchog," Alexa stated.

"And I'll help Ash in stopping Noivern's rampage," Anabel finished, summoning her Espeon to her side. "We'll try not to be rough on Noivern, Alexa."

"Do what you have to, Anabel and Ash," Alexa assured decisively. "We'll accept the consequences when we get to that point."

With the plan set and the roles assigned, the group dispersed to quiet the chaos that Celosia had started within the Santalune City Gym. Viola and Clemont went off to look for Watchog while Ash, Anabel, and Alexa contended with the berserk Noivern.

Pikachu had already entered the field to distract Noivern while Espeon was placed on standby as backup. Seeing an immediate target stand before it, Noivern bellowed and flapped its wings to conjure a hefty Gust to threaten the Mouse Pokémon. Pikachu routed his tail into the ground and stayed firm.

"Pikachu, we've got to stop Noivern before it destroys this place," Ash reminded. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Instantly as the Gust settled down, Pikachu went on the offensive. The massive electrical energy he stored up easily consumed Noivern's large body. Despite the successful hit, it showed no expression of the attack being effective and instead whipped its wings out to dispel the Thunderbolt.

"Noivern is part Dragon-type so Electric-type attacks won't be as strong on it as they would on regular Flying-types," Alexa counseled.

The Sound Wave Pokémon then retaliated with a Boomburst, firing lethally concentrated sound waves all over the battlefield. Pikachu was able to evade the attack in spite of the unpredictability of Noivern's tactics.

It then flew up into the air and dove for Pikachu with open jaws, signifying its use of Bite.

Pikachu narrowly avoided Noivern's mouth by jumping to the side. He watched as it flew to the top of the battlefield, giving off another deafening roar, and conjuring a Dragon Pulse attack from its mouth. The draconic energy attack was fired onto the field and set of a powerful aftershock upon impact, throwing Pikachu off his feet.

The Mouse Pokémon attempted to land back, but soon found his body levitating as he was outlined in light blue. He saw from the corner that Espeon's eyes were illuminating with the same glow.

"Great job, Espeon!" Anabel praised, pleased that her Psychic helped minimize the damage.

"Thanks for the assist, Anabel," Ash said, giving her a thumbs-up before shifting his attention back to Noivern. "We've got this now. Iron Tail!"

Upon being freed from Psychic, Pikachu ran forward and swung his Steel-powered tail against Noivern. It managed to block the Iron Tail with a wing, but it wasn't enough for it to stand its ground against Pikachu's strength.

Stumbling on its hind legs for a moment, Noivern took to the air once more to recover. It went one more level higher before diving down for another Bite attempt.

"Here it comes!" Alexa signaled.

"Pikachu, jump on Noivern's back!" Ash commanded.

Knowing how to handle this tactic better, Pikachu jumped up high right as Noivern struck. He then dove down quickly to grab Noivern's long tail as it attempted to retreat into the air after the missed Bite. In spite of the erratic flight patterns and attempts to fling Pikachu off, Noivern failed to rid itself of the troublesome Mouse Pokémon.

"Do it, Ash!" Alexa demanded.

"Thunderbolt!"

By being in direct contact with Noivern's body, the Electric attack had a bit more of an impact in weakening the Sound Wave Pokémon. Noivern's flaying was slowing down. It was tiring itself out. But in an instinctive attempt to preserve itself, Noivern dove towards the field once more and swung its tail down while Pikachu was still hanging on.

*BAM*

The harsh collision caused him to let go and tumble while Noivern flew away. All of these hard hits have managed to push Pikachu into his limit as he struggled to get back on all fours. Noivern landed to the opposing side of the field and prepared to finish this off with a Dragon Pulse.

"Come on, return!" Alexa pleaded, activating the Poké Ball's beam again.

The Mean Look's eerie energy emerged on the anticipated part that the beam was going to touch, causing it to bounce off of Noivern once again. Alexa huffed in frustration before lowering her arm. Based from this event, it would seem that Viola and Clemont were still unsuccessful in catching the caster.

"Espeon, get ready to jump in," Anabel commanded, but Ash held an arm up in front of her, much to her concern. "Ash?"

"We're not done yet," Ash proclaimed mulishly.

"Pikachu is worn down, so let us start fresh so we can stop Noivern," Anabel advised.

"We'll stop Noivern before it can stop us," Ash continued. "We won't let it destroy the Gym. But we'll also make sure to save it."

Sensing his determination, Pikachu felt an internal boost of stamina despite being on his last legs. He was able to get back on all fours, much to Alexa's and Anabel's surprise. Like Trainer, like Pokémon, Pikachu prepared himself once Noivern was about to attack.

Noivern's eyes widened.

The Dragon Pulse crackling in its opened jaws reached full potential.

It fired posthaste.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

The Mouse Pokémon disappeared on sight, using his speed boost to dart around the battlefield to confound Noivern before tackling the Sound Wave Pokémon up from under its jaw. Pikachu was now overhead while Noivern staggered from the critical hit.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled; the moment was now.

"Iron Tail!"

Their synchronous efforts rewarded them with an instant Iron Tail that struck Noivern hard on the head, effectively toppling it over and ending its confused rampage. The mood in the area was settling down.

Anabel noticed Viola and Clemont returning to them with Vivillon perched on Viola's shoulder and Clemont having his Luxray carrying a worn-out Watchog on his back. Seeing that the culprit was taken care of, Alexa held up her Poké Ball again and this time successfully recalled her exhausted Noivern.

"Sorry it took so long," Viola apologized. "That little bugger was hard to keep in one place."

"Thanks to Luxray's x-ray vision, we were able to isolate Watchog from its hiding spot," Clemont explained.

"Those excellent lenses of his made it a picture perfect victory for us," Viola reaffirmed.

"We also subdued Noivern," Ash mentioned. "I hope the damages in the Gym aren't too bad."

Viola assessed the grounds and ceiling with a neutral look. Parts of the ceiling frame and some of the light fixtures were damaged from Noivern's rage, but other than that, there was nothing too extensive that couldn't be covered by the Pokémon League insurance.

"Nah, I've actually had worse," Viola brushed off. "I've had some pretty intense battles that were definitely photographic worthy, yours having been one of them, Ash."

"Oh, yeah, do you still want to have that battle?" Ash asked upon remembering Viola's previous proposal.

"I think I'll make an exception this time," Viola answered sincerely, much to the group's delight. "You being able to stop my sister's Noivern and saving my Gym definitely proves you worthy of having the Life Branch."

"You really are a softie, aren't you?" Alexa teased.

"Hey, it's important for Ash and his friends to stop Neo Team Flare as soon as possible so stuff like this don't keep happening," Viola retorted playfully. "Besides, I've got to make sure the Bug Pokémon here are okay."

"Spoken like a Gym Leader," Clemont commented proudly.

"Of course, I'll be happy to accept your challenge any time you decide to come back around," Viola offered.

"I'll try to remember that," Ash quipped.

"You did remember her previous condition of beating her in a battle to get the Life Branch," Anabel added brightly. "If anything, once you do remember something, you remember it for life."

"I suppose that's a good thing then," Ash replied.

With spirits bright and the recent obstacle passed, Viola remained true to her word and guided Ash and his friends into a protected room where the second Life Branch of Xerneas waited. Ash was the one who approached the magical artifact.

By holding out a hand and coming into range of its life-giving aura, more memories that were locked by Yveltal's destructive influence were freed. This time, Ash remembered the momentous first day of his Pokémon journey, from waking up late, obtaining a rebellious Pikachu, stealing a bike from a temperamental red-haired girl in order to escape an enraged flock of Spearow, gaining the trust of Pikachu, and witnessing a mystical Pokémon fly away over the rainbow.

A few more memories tied into his early beginnings opened up, such as the identities of his first friends and all of the people he met from his first travel though the Kanto region.

Misty… Brock… I remember you guys now, Ash announced in his mind. The day since I met Pikachu… Was he really that disobedient back then? And was I really that much of a lazy brat that relied on luck back then too?

"What's going on with Ash?" Alexa inquired, noticing the trance he appeared to be in from holding Viola's guarded Life Branch.

"He's getting back more of his early memories," Clemont explained.

"Amazing," Viola remarked.

"We're one more step closer now," Anabel concluded, fondly watching Ash as he relaxed from his trance.

"Guys, we've got to catch'em all!" Ash declared, raising a fist to the air.

"Yeah!" Anabel and Clemont followed.

"Pii Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.

You Got a Life Branch!

End of Chapter!

And that finally ends the first chapter of this tale. I haven't received too many complaints about this style, so I would assume that you've been content with all of this so far. It also amuses me on your guesses on who Neo Team Flare's new Leader is. Well, all I can say is that if you're sure about the identity and you know the storyline from Super Paper Mario, then we'll just have to wait for the final chapters to come.

Sadly, I wish I could be quicker to update, but I have one more semester in college to finish before finally graduating. Also, most of my time spent in the holidays has been dedicated to family and Xenoblade Chronicles X. I never had much of an interest in sci-fi genre video games, but this one is just so addicting.

Anyway, as for future plans here, I do plan of including Ash-Greninja in addition to Mega Sceptile since the latter had been planned prior to the former making its debut in the main anime. But of course, this story started when Ash's Greninja was still a Frogadier, so it'll take some time for him to evolve and possibly later in the story, maybe sometime after Ash finds a Sceptilite Mega Stone and Mega Evolves his Sceptile, for Greninja to discover his hidden powers.

After all, it's been years since they've been together, so of course they'll need to rebuild their bond in order to tap into that power (At least, that's how I understand how it works so far).

And to explain Celosia's Mime Jr. using Teleport when it can't legally learn it here, well, I based it off of the logic from Gen. I when Teleport was an available TM in which Mr. Mime, Mime Jr.'s evolved form, can still learn it. And originally, her signature Pokémon here was going to be Abra, but I ultimately chose Mime Jr. as the Pokemon to represent the character she's been based off of for this story (Is it obvious?).

Please review!

L-ater!

And Merry Christmas 2015!