Beautiful Flower, Trampled Over

"I can't believe it's gotten so late," Ash observes the starry night sky.

"Indeed," Lucian agrees. "Time really flies when you have a lot of friends around."

"A good night's sleep is important to keep your energy up," Brock mentions.

"We're going to need it to keep our battles heated up tomorrow," Flint tells them all.

"I am kind of sleepy now," Bugsy says.

"Let's do this again, after the whole tournament is over." Volkner suggests. "I'm sure one of our teams will make it to challenge Lance and Cynthia."

"That's going to be us!" Lyra cries.

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Red tells her.

"Hahaha," Jasmine laughs. "I think it's better to save your energies for when you actually battle tomorrow."

"She's right," May agrees. "I could use a nap right now. See you all in the morning!"

Everyone says their goodnights and enters their rooms, turning off the lights and pulling the covers over themselves. Anabel and Ash shared a room, with Pikachu and Espeon sleeping right next to them.


"What's going on in there?" a small communicator speaks in the darkened halls.

"It's finally gotten quiet," replies a shadow. "They all just went to sleep. I'm proceeding as planned."

"It's about time."

The shadow sneaks carefully through the building, with some dark intent in mind.


"Okay Lucario, I need your help." Riley calls out his friend.

Lucario lets out a quiet growl.

"Alright Lucario," Riley kneels to his partner. "I need you to help me with something, can you use your sensors to tell me if anything is weird?"

Lucario places a palm on the ground and sends out a small Aura pulse throughout the building. Lucario senses something is wrong.

"What is it Lucario?" Riley sees a disturbance on his Pokemon's face. "Lead the way."

Lucario runs off with Riley right behind him.


"Huh?" Ash suddenly wakes up. Was that... Aura?

"Pika?" Pikachu woke up too.

"I'm sorry Pikachu," Ash apologizes. "I thought I sensed something, elusive." Ash gets up from his bed and Pikachu climbs onto his shoulder.

"Piii?" Espeon's ears twitched. She nudged her trainer awake.

"Hmm...? What is it Espeon?" Anabel's eyes quickly adjusted. "Ash?"

"I'm just going for a walk," Ash tells her.

"Is something wrong?" Anabel herself gets up.

"I think I just need some air," Ash opens the door.

"Let me come with you," Anabel hurries over with her Espeon right beside her. "I don't think I can sleep knowing you're somewhere else."

Ash and Anabel walk out of the Pokemon Center for a short night stroll.


"Here it is," the shadow finds a door and hacks into it. The door opens to reveal a room full of Poke Balls. He grabs his communicator, "I'm in, getting the Poke Balls now."

"Good, everything's going..." the man on the communicator puts on a pair of sunglasses. "Just as planned."


"The sky is so beautiful tonight," Anabel stares upwards as they stroll. The stars were shining down on them.

"It really is," Ash agrees. Espeon and Pikachu were playing with each other ahead of them. "But it's strange."

Anabel looks at him, "What's strange?"

"Tonight," Ash replies. "For some reason it looks... different."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know myself," Ash looks back at her. "I can't find the right words to describe it."

"Well," Anabel stopped. "Why don't I try to find them for you?"

"Huh?"

"Let me search your feelings," the girl lets out a hand. "I'll find the words for you."

Ash silently lifts up his hand and hesitates a little bit, he gently places his hand on top of hers.

Pikachu and Espeon feel a slight breeze blow by, they stare at their trainers, mystified.

Ash and Anabel just look into each other's eyes.

"You were right Ash," Anabel starts, smiling. "It is hard to describe your feelings. But 'vibrant', 'stunning' and..." Anabel suddenly pulls her hand back, placing it on her heart and shyly turns around.

"Anabel?" Ash takes a step closer.

"'Lovely'," the girl suddenly says aloud.

"Huh?"

"Those are the words... that I feel," Anabel blushed deeply, trying to hide her face from him.

"I don't really get it."

Pikachu face palms, Espeon giggles.

"W-we should get back to the Pokemon Center now, I-I don't want to worry the others."

"If you say so."


"And this makes all of them," The shadow puts the final Poke Ball into his bag.

The floor near him started to crack and crumble, out from the hole came Jessie, James and Meowth.

"See? What'd I tell ya! Easy as- huh?"

"Hey!" Jessie yells. "Who're you?"

"And where do you think you're going with those Poke Balls?" James follows. "We're the ones stealing them!"

The thief takes out a Poke Ball from his side, "Tyranitar! Dynamic Punch!"

Tyranitar pops out and punches Team Rocket through the wall and into the sky.

"We didn't even get to say our motto!"

"Well there's always our most classic line."

"We're blasting off again!"

"What was that?" the thief's communicator spoke.

"A minor distraction, I took care of it."

All of a sudden, the lights turned on and the door opened. Riley, his Lucario and Nurse Joy stood in the doorway.

"Hey you! Stop where you are!" Riley yells.

"What do you think you're doing?" Joy pleas.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" the thief answers menacingly. "Tyranitar! Rock Slide!"

Tyranitar roars as it dug its claws into the floor and rips out several big rocks and throws them at the two.

"Lucario! Bone Rush!"

Lucario creates a staff and fights off the rocks.

"Now Aura Sphere!"

"Knock it back with Dynamic Punch!"

Lucario fires an Aura Sphere at the Rock type. Tyranitar punches the blue orb right back at it! Lucario tries to shield itself by crossing its arms, but the force was too great and the Steel Pokemon flies back. Riley pushes Joy out of the way as Lucario is knocked into the wall, unconscious.

"Stop them now with Rock Slide!"

"Lucario!" Riley grabs his partner quickly before the rocks can hit, but the rocks don't stop and they just keep piling up until the doorway is completely blocked.

"Good job, but now we need a door."


Riley and Joy hear a loud crash through the rubble.

"No! They're getting away!"

"What's going on here?"

Riley and Joy hear Lucian's voice, he came followed by everyone else.

"Riley?" both Dawn and Brock said aloud.

Not good... "I've been following a trail of Pokemon thieves here, but now they're getting away."

"Your Lucario's hurt!" Brock observes.

"Let me heal it," Yellow barges through and places a hand on top of Lucario.

Lati notices something strange, she hurries back and finds that she was right. Ash isn't there.


Pikachu's and Espeon's ears twitched, they alerted their trainers.

"What?" Anabel reacts in shock.

"What is it?"

"Something's happening at the Pokemon Center!"

"We gotta hurry back!" Ash runs ahead with Anabel right behind.


"Good work Tyranitar, return!" the thief recalls his Pokemon and starts running. "Hahaha! With a catch like this, I'm sure to get promoted." The thief dreams of all the possibilities he could get from pulling of such a heist. Promotions, vacations, his own lackeys, even-

"Pikachu! Quick Attack!"

"PIKA!" Pikachu tackles the thief's bag and the Poke Balls he stole started to drop out.

"What the-?"

"Espeon! Use Psychic!"

"Espi!" Espeon's Psychic allows it to gather all the fallen Poke Balls together and they fly to behind the two young trainers.

"I don't know who you are but we're not going to let you get away with this!" Ash yells.

"Why you little runt!"

"Salamence! Dragon Pulse!"

A Salamence flies in and fires an energy orb at Espeon. The small Psychic is hit hard and knocked back.

"Espeon!" Anabel rushes over to her partner.

"You'll pay for that!" Ash snarls.

"Having a little problem?" a second shadow appears beside the first.

"I could've handled it," the first one brags.

"Not in the time I would've liked," the other one sternly tells him. "I'll take it from here. Salamence, Dragon Rush!"

Salamence roars as its tail charges up.

"Pikachu! Use Iron Tail!"

"Pi-ka!"

Pikachu's tail charged up as well. Both tails clashed into each other, but Salamence's overpowered Pikachu's. The small yellow Pokemon was sent flying into the air.

"Pikachu!"

"Now Salamence!" the mastermind swings his arm. "Finish this with Hyper Beam!"

"Oh no," Anabel watches as the Dragon charges the powerful attack. "Espeon! Can you move?"

"Es...pi..."

"You have to use Psychic to help Pikachu!"

"Espiiiiieon!" Espeon's eyes glow and Pikachu is held in midair.

Thank good- wait! This overflowing malice... that Salamence, it's-!

"FIRE NOW!"

"ASH!" Anabel rushes as fast as she could, time seemed to slow down for her as she got closer to Ash while the Dragon's attack flew.

Before Ash knew what happened, he was pushed away by Anabel just before the Hyper Beam could hit him.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"ANABEEEEEEEEEL!!!"


Lucario's eyes suddenly opened and it jumped right back up.

"Lucario!" Riley says happily, but remembered his purpose. "Quick Lucario, Close Combat!"

Lucario quickly breaks through the rocks, it and Riley quickly rush in and through the hole in the wall.

"I only hope we're not too late."


Anabel's clothes were torn, burned and smoking. She stood, silently. Pikachu dropped to the ground as he and Espeon can do nothing but stare.

"Amazing," the mastermind complimented. "Most people would've torn been apart from the sheer power of that attack."

"Anabel? Anabel!" Ash cries out to her, no response.

Anabel's head slowly lifted, as if to find out where the voice was coming from. Through her blurry vision, she can make out a boy, a boy she risked her own life to protect. She seemed... to smile... before her body dropped to its knees.

Ash dived towards her, catching her falling body. "Anabel! Anabel!" he shakes her body, hoping desperately for a response.

"Aww, it looks like your partner's been knocked out, hahahaha!" the first thief mocked.

Both Espeon and Pikachu rushed towards them, worry filled their faces.

"Anabel wake up! You've got to wake up! Please!"

"It's no use boy," the mastermind tells him. "Even if she did survive that first attack, there's no way she'll survive a second." His Salamence hovers above his head, charging another Hyper Beam. "It was a futile effort."

Ash clenches Anabel's body tighter as Pikachu's cheeks spark and Espeon's eyes glow.

"It's no use!" the mysterious attacker tells them. "You're finished!"

Salamence is tackled by an invisible attacker! The Dragon fires Hyper Beam straight into the sky! A loud wailing cry is heard.

"What was that?" the thief tries to look around but finds nothing.

Suddenly, a red and white Pokemon appears from thin air!

"Latias!" Ash cries.

"Who's that Pokemon?" the second shadow ponders.

Latias' eyes glow, she fires a powerful Thunderbolt right at the Salamence. Salamence roars in pain.

"I don't know what it is or what we did," the first thief says in a scared tone. "But I think we made it mad!"

"Tch!" the planner waved his arm. "Salamence, fall back! We're retreating!"

"What?"

"That Hyper Beam was fired right into the sky, the whole city could've seen it."

The two thieves ran as the Salamence flies towards them. They both jump up as Salamence flies under, catching both and they soar away into the sky.

Latias quickly hovers to Ash and puts on her Bianca disguise as everyone else arrives.


"Hold it right there!" Lance orders as he rides his Dragonite from the Salamence's left.

"We're not letting you get away!" Cynthia shouts from her Garchomp's back on the thieves' right.

"We're surrounded by the Champions!" the first thief cries aloud.

"Champions are still human." The planner throws Smoke Balls into the air, creating a thick cloud of smoke.

"Dragonite! Thunder Punch!"

"Garchomp! Brick Break!"

The two champion Dragons collided with each other in the cloud, only seeing each other as the smoke clears.

"They got away," Lance observes.
"More importantly," Cynthia looks down as Riley and co. reach Ash and the unconscious Anabel. Both she and Lance fly down to learn what happened.


"Ash!" Riley calls out. "Oh no!" He sees Anabel in a broken state, he quickly places his hands above her.

"Ash!" Lance and Cynthia arrive. "Tell us what happened!"

"I let her down..." Ash didn't lift his head up at all, Lance sees drops of water fall from his face onto Anabel's. "She protected me... I... I couldn't do anything..."

"We need to get her back fast!" Riley puts his hands away. "Her Aura is fading! If she loses it all, she'll die!"