The Way We Will Be Chapter 38: A Showdown for the Generations, a pokémon fanfic

A/N: Ugh, I'm so, so, SO sorry for the wait, everyone. Life has been nothing but monkey-wrenches for me. New responsibilities have come up in my job at the eleventh hour, and I've been more preoccupied with my job than my writing over the past few months. It's nothing like all the available time I had in high school and college. I guess this is what it means to be a working adult. Ain't it fuuuuun, liviiiiing in theeeee real wooooorld?! Oh, and also, my Wi-Fi decided that it wanted to taste like poop for a few days. Just frigging fantastic.

Anyway, I finally found the time to wrap up this chapter and get it posted for you all to enjoy. This chapter officially gets the final battle into full swing, so keep your fingers crossed for action, romance, drama, character development, and everything in-between! And thank you for your patience while I got this chapter ready to go!

Also, before I begin, I wanted to advise you all of the same information that I mentioned in the previous chapter: this chapter, like the one before it and the two after it, are going to absolutely long whoppers of chapters at about 20,000 words each, excluding the Author's Notes. As I'm sure you've seen in the previous chapter, there's going to be a lot packed into this final battle sequence, and I do mean A LOT, so be warned. However, I'll bisect each chapter with a little pronounced break halfway through (you'll know what it is once you see it), so then you can use that break as a bookmark of sorts. This will be our test-run of such a bookmark, so do let me know if more are necessary! :D

In other news, a few days ago, Ash's saga of the anime officially came to a close with the release of the final batch of English-dubbed episodes for "Aim to be a Pokémon Master". In the wake of that, I've been seeing a bunch of commemorative videos for Ash on YouTube, including one called "The Ultimate Pokémon Rap Up". Without spoiling much of its content, I will say that it features a surprise appearance by THE goat himself, the singer of the original "Pokémon Theme", Jason Paige. If you've been a fan of Ash's 25-year tenure after all this time, then I recommend giving the video a look-see if you haven't already.

And also, Paige released a single on his official YouTube page, which is another commemorative piece for Ash. It's called "Last Goodbye". I recommend checking out that one too.

Alright, I think that's about enough rambling from me! On with the chapter. ENJOY!

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P.S. #3: The coronavirus advisory that had been attached to my opening Author's Notes since 2020 is no longer posted there beginning May 11, 2023. The advisory's removal coincides with the lifting of federal emergency declarations in the U.S. on the aforementioned date. However, it will remain on my profile for as long as it needs to be there, and it can be reposted on my Author's Notes should the pandemic worsen again, which is still a possibility. In the meantime, please continue to stay healthy and stay safe!

– o – BEGINNING OF SCENE 1 – o –

Ten years ago...

Mossdeep City, Hoenn

"Alright, Lunatone! Use Psychic!"

"Um, u-use Sandstorm, Solrock!"

"HA! Is that all ya got?! Use Night Slash, Absol!"

"And you use Flamethrower, Combusken!"

In one of many public battlefields in the middle of a Mossdeep City park, four children were engaged in a Double Battle while several adults watched and other children frolicked nearby. After Solrock whipped up a sandstorm, Lunatone reacted quickly, using its Psychic to commandeer the blast of dust and earth and direct it towards its opponents. However, Combusken and Absol deftly dodged the Psychic-driven Ground-type attack and launched their own attacks at the two Psychic-types.

"Dodge it!" cried Lunatone's and Solrock's Trainers, a pair of twins wearing kimonos.

Both Psychic-type Pokémon obeyed and narrowly avoided the Flamethrower and Night Slash, which triggered a small explosion that resonated across the battlefield. In the rows of seats nearby, the adults applauded at the children's enjoyment and ease in commanding the Pokémon. Even some of the nearby children even stopped to gawk at the competitive but friendly exchanges.

But a few yards away, at a secluded portion of the park, a seven-year-old girl sat alone underneath a tree, hugging her legs close to her chest. She stared absentmindedly and despondently towards the battlefield, where she could hear the sounds of commands and Pokémon roaring from a short distance. With a sigh, she adjusted the straw hat she was wearing so its brim could cover more of her face.

"Hey, Serena! Where are ya?! Sereeeeenaaaaa!"

The girl didn't respond to the young, childish, slightly unfamiliar voice calling her name. Instead, she buried her face in her knees with a morose sigh. She prayed to the heavens that whoever was calling out to her would give up soon and simply return to the gathering. A gathering of dozens, maybe hundreds of people whose names she didn't care to know.

"Oh! There you are, Serena!"

Serena moaned as she lifted her face from her knees. She saw someone approaching: a boy around her age with chin-length black hair, an athletic frame, and a smile brimming with more youthful energy than usual. The red cap he wore triggered a memory from the depths of oblivion that were Serena's mind. Her mother introduced this boy as one of her second cousins, but she couldn't recall the exact name.

"What're ya doing over here?!" the boy exclaimed. "Your mom's looking for ya!"

Serena mumbled something incoherent and noncommittal. The boy blinked in confusion, just as the distant sounds of Solrock's chanting and Combusken's yelling filled the air. The boy looked over his shoulder at the battlefield, then back at Serena.

"Um, you're not gonna watch the battle?" he asked. "You really should see Liza and Tate going at it! My folks think they'll be great Gym Leaders someday!"

Serena didn't say anything. Instead, she hugged her legs closer to her chest and averted her gaze from the boy. Despite her instinct, it was such an obvious reaction that the boy quirked an eyebrow in concern right away.

"Are you alright, Serena?"

She silently shrugged.

"Whaddaya mean by that? Don't you wanna watch the battle?"

The honey-blonde just shook her head, surprising the boy.

"O-Okay. Well, uh, d-do you wanna play something? I like treasure hunts! ...Except I don't really have any treasures for us to hunt-"

She shook her head again, stunning him this time.

"You...don't wanna play?"

Serena nodded, the motion small and shy.

"Why not?"

This time, she didn't say anything. Instead, she took a deep breath and buried her face into her knees again. She hoped that the boy would leave, but for a minute, she couldn't feel his presence departing.

"Okay. You just don't wanna play. That's fine, I understand. This whole re, uh, re-reubion's totally Boresville, anyway."

Serena didn't respond, instead still hoping that the boy would leave. However, to her surprise, she heard him sit down beside her underneath the tree. This action earned the boy a terrified squeak.

"Hm?" The boy looked at her. "Oh, don't worry about me, Serena! I'm not trying to scare you."

"Then go away," Serena finally replied, before she could stop herself. "There's too many people here. I...I just wanna be left alone."

He blinked incredulously. "You shouldn't have to be alone, Serena. Not when you have family around. I'm family."

"I've got too big of a family, though. I don't remember anyone's names. I don't even know your name." Then, guided by her childish curiosity, Serena looked at the boy with her sapphire-blue eyes. "I don't get how you could even remember my name."

He smiled at her. "Well, I barely remember anyone's names here myself. But how could I forget your name? I can see that you're always by yourself, away from all these people, so I asked your mommy what your name was. And Serena Gabena's a really nice name, Serena!"

Serena's sapphire-blue eyes grew wide with amazement. "Really?"

The boy nodded vigorously. "Mm-hm! Oh, but I didn't tell you my name! I'm Calem. Calem Xavier."

He then shot her a toothy smile that stretched from cheek to cheek. She stared incredulously at him, stunned that he went through the trouble of memorizing her name despite the presence of their innumerable other relatives. And then, that stunned reaction gave way to a bubbly feeling of happiness, happiness over being acknowledged in a positive way by one of her relatives for the first time in this reunion.

"Calem..." Serena returned his smile with one of her own. "I-It's nice to meet you, Calem! That's a name I don't think I'm ever gonna forget in one of these re, uh, re-reubions!"

The two children began giggling together, the sounds of their joy and delight melding with the sounds of the friendly Pokémon battle and the festive family reunion.

The present day...

Kiloude Forest, Kalos

"I-It's nice to meet you, Calem! That's a name I don't think I'm ever gonna forget..."

Calem opened his eyes and took a deep breath. He found himself staring out of the basket of a hot-air balloon, straight into a shadowy sea of green. Gazing into it drew out memories of the tree under which he officially introduced himself to Serena. It had been such a long time ago, but his more recent journeys through Hoenn told him that the same tree was still there, untouched by the Mossdeep City government.

"Maybe when all of this is over," he thought, "I should bring her, Serena, and everybody else there. For old time's sake..."

"Calem?" a familiar voice asked, coming from next to him and yet from such a long distance away. "Calem, are you okay?"

"Hm?"

The boy looked to his right and saw the speaker. Until tonight, he never imagined that the color of sea-green would be so breathtakingly beautiful. Then again, tonight was a night unlike any other for everybody involved.

"Yes, Shauna?" he asked.

"You were spacing out just a sec ago," the Performer replied. "Are...Are you alright...?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, I was just...remembering the time Serena and I became buds."

"Oh..." Out of concern, Shauna took his hand with both of hers and held onto it firmly. "We'll save her, Calem. We'll save her and the others."

Calem pursed his lips in discomfort before forcing a smile onto his face. "I know we will. B-But I'm not worried about Serena. Not worried about her at all. I've seen how different of a person she is in the last few days. If she was still seven, she wouldn't know what to do, and she'd be freaking out endlessly. So...no, I'm not worried about her, Shauna. Not at all-"

Shauna silenced him by putting a finger on his lips. Her eyes were slightly narrowed, and her cheeks were softly puffed out in a pout of disappointment. Calem felt his heart flutter at the sight of her visage; she looked cuter than ever before in his eyes.

"I know you believe in her, Calem," the tan-skinned girl said, "but you're still worried. I can tell."

Calem cracked a cocky smile, even though it faltered considerably. "Oh, so you think you know me well even though we've officially been boyfriend and girlfriend for over an hour?"

Shauna quirked an eyebrow at him, silencing him almost immediately. "And you think I shouldn't?"

The quietude coming from his entire form was all the response that she needed.

"Serena didn't just change when it comes to being onstage, Calem," the tan-skinned Performer continued. "She's been through more than a few pickles before. If anyone could pull it through, it'll be her."

"Y-Yeah, w-well..." Calem clenched his fists in frustration. "She's still family, alright?! I've got every right to be worried out of my mind!"

Shauna flinched at the boy's sudden outburst, which caused the hot-air balloon to gently sway back and forth. In that moment, the newly-minted couple remembered, for the first time since they stepped onboard the balloon, that they were not alone.

"Hey, hey, HEY!" a voice barked fearfully. "Cool it with da drama 'appenin' over dere!"

"Yeah!" another voice exclaimed. "Any more sudden moves like that, and we're all gonna be Dodrio in the air!"

"And there's no way we're going down with the balloon!" snapped a third voice, which belonged to a woman this time.

Once the balloon stopped swinging gently and became steady once again in its flight, Calem and Shauna both heaved out sighs of relief. Then, they apologetically glanced toward the balloon's owners.

"Sorry about that, you guys..." Calem said.

"Yeah," Shauna added with some reluctance. "S-Sorry...Team Rocket..." Then, she shuddered in discomfort. "Ugh! I can't believe I just apologized to Team Rocket! A bunch of crooks!"

"Hey!" James snapped. "We resemble that remark!"

"Yeah!" an affronted Jessie spat. "You should be counting your lucky blessings that we gave you and your pals an exclusive ride on our balloon, recurring secondary twerpette!"

"Exclusive?" Shauna rolled her eyes. "You make it sound like we're riding in some first-class private jet or something-"

"What was dat?!" Meowth snarled, his claws bared.

Immediately, Clemont jumped between the couple and the not-so-villainous trio with his arms held out. "Guys, guys, GUYS! Can we please?! Let's not do this right now, okay?! In case you've forgotten, we've got bigger things to worry about at the moment!"

"Yeah!" Bonnie chirped; she was determinedly peeking her short head out from the edge of the balloon's basket and staring ahead at the vastness of Kiloude Forest. "Like getting Selene, Ash, Serena, Yancy, and Celebi back!"

"Nene!" Dedenne squeaked in agreement.

"Pichu-pichu!" Pichu squealed.

Squishy garbled as well.

"Yeah, speaking of which..." Miette commented while turning to the others, "what's the gameplan once we get there? We need to have a strategy in place as soon as we reach Serena and the others."

Silence quickly reigned over the hot-air balloon. Clemont was blinking rapidly in surprise, while Bonnie was simply bobbing her body back and forth on her heels in anticipation of the impending confrontation. Calem and Shauna, Tierno and Nini, and Meyer and Grace were looking at one another, as if they were expecting their respective partners to have something satisfactory that they could give to Miette. Even Jessie, James, and Meowth looked embarrassed over how stumped they clearly were in delivering a response.

Eventually, Miette frowned in realization. "No one has a plan in mind, do they?"

"W-We-Well..." stammered an overcompensating Jessie, "y-y-you don't seem like you've got a plan in mind either, bluenette twerpette!"

The blue-haired girl's face turned red in response. "W-Well, a-at least I was woman enough to admit as much, unlike some of you guys, apparently! And who're you calling 'bluenette', uhhh...uh, R-hair!"

Jessie gasped before her visage transformed into a mask of fury. "How DARE you?! I'll have you know that I spend hours on end, every day, to perfect this hairstyle! All in the glorious name of Team Rocket!"

"Wait," James interjected flatly, "you're telling me that you shape your hair like that on purpose."

"For Team Rocket," continued an equally derisive Meowth. "And I tought dat you were just intah wacky styles. But no, yer just being wacky for Team Rocket-"

"WANNA RUN THAT BY ME AGAIN, YOU TWO?!" Jessie roared monstrously.

"Guys, guys, GUYS!" Clemont interjected again. "We do have a strategy! Don't forget, we've got something that'll turn the tide in our favor. Or, in this case, someone."

The inventor turned his head towards Nate, who was the only one who hadn't been listening or participating in the conversation. Like Bonnie was earlier, he was still staring ahead, his eyes narrowed and his brown pupils burning brightly with intense resolve. It didn't matter if his head was still throbbing from the bump that he suffered, a bump that had since been concealed by the bandage that had been carefully wrapped around his forehead. One look into his eyes told the whole story for the rest of the group.

"So, Nate," Clemont continued, "you've fought those guys before. And clearly, you've come out victorious each time since you're still here."

"Tell us," Meyer added urgently, "how do we get an advantage over them? Do they have some sort of weakness that we can exploit?"

"Heh..." With a slight wince from the bruise adorning his forehead, Nate looked over his shoulder to face the others. "That's the funny thing. You don't."

"You don't?" repeated a stunned Nini.

"Whaddaya mean 'you don't'?!" Trevor exclaimed in concern.

"Kay and her goons are always crazy-prepared," Nate explained. "Capturing all sorts of Pokémon is their specialty, after all. They have contingency plans for their contingency plans. Sometimes, everything that you've got for them just isn't good enough."

"You're not saying these guys are unbeatable, are you?" Tierno asked.

"No, I'm not. But you gotta brace yourselves for anything, guys. They're cold and ruthless, and they will not play fair. What you experienced earlier today was just a fraction of what they're capable of. Which is why..." Nate reached into his hand and pulled out a Poké Ball, which boasted a flame-shaped insignia. "You gotta count on the bonds that you've forged with your Pokémon thus far. You gotta count on 'em...and hope that they're strong enough for this encounter. Because if they're not, the Eight-Headed Seviper will show you and your Pokémon no mercy."

"Don't worry, Nate!" Clemont proclaimed. He produced his own Poké Balls, a reaction that was swiftly mirrored by the others. "We're stronger than them, all of us!"

"And we'll beat their sorry lil' butts together!" Bonnie squeaked while Dedenne and Pichu perched themselves on either of her shoulders and Squishy slithered up to the top of her head.

"Dedenne!"

"Pichu-pi!"

Squishy garbled in a particularly confident note.

And so, the group stared out of the hot-air balloon and ahead at the approaching Mt. Kiloude, anticipating the daunting challenge that awaited them. Unbeknownst to them, Nate secretly reached his hands towards his pockets and gently groped the fabric. Immediately, he could feel the objects that were stuffed inside, objects that he had been holding back from combat all this time.

Until now.

The lone man made sure to reach some distance from Kay's group before he surreptitiously reached into his pocket and produce his Holo Caster. He took a sweeping glance around his surroundings; the only things that he could see were devastated vegetation, uprooted trees, and some snow particles that were in the air for some inexplicable reason. Darkness had fallen upon him, forcing him to wear night-vision goggles that he brought himself so he could avoid tripping and falling to the grainy, lifeless ground. Not wishing to waste his only opportunity, he activated his Holo Caster and dialed a number, knowing that the recipient would want to hear all about the newest development that he inadvertently stumbled across.

Eventually, light started to seep into his field of vision, prompting the man to remove the night-vision goggles. The light was coming from his Holo Caster, which was flickering as it attempted to create a holographic projection of something. However, the projection was distorted and taking an unusually long time to fully materialize, which the man confidently attributed to the poor reception and the distance that separated him from his true associate.

Finally, after a considerable struggle, the Holo Caster managed to fully create a projection of the call's recipient, a bald man with eyes drooping in exhaustion.

"For you to call me at this inopportune time...this had better be important, Sid."

The periwinkle-haired man stood at attention at the sound of the man's voice.

"Amber," Sid greeted. "You're not gonna believe what I came across yesterday."

"Yesterday...?" the bald man snarled in tired exasperation. "And what exactly about it was so important that you neglected to call me until a full twenty-four hours later?"

Sid's face turned red in embarrassment, but he confidently replied, "I do apologize, Amber sir." He bowed his head in a formal sign of respect. "But my, ahem, associates were constantly taking up my time. I could never find enough time for solitude that I could use to reach out to you."

Amber sighed and rubbed his wrinkled forehead. "Well...given your position, I suppose it would've been...unwise for you to out yourself and your true intentions at this time. Anyway..." He lowered his hand away from his face and furrowed his brow at Sid. "What is this matter that you were speaking of, Sid?" Then, he perked up slightly. "Wait, don't tell me. Does it concern the monolith?"

"No, Amber sir, but it's-"

"Aaaaannnnnd you officially lost me." Amber heaved out a heavy sigh of disappointment and shook his head. "Sid, Sid, Sid. What did I tell you about wasting my time, and that of Team-?"

"You didn't let me finish, sir," Sid interrupted with a hint of irritation laced in his tone. "What I discovered yesterday is guaranteed to bring our organization nothing but success! It is certainly a whole lot more efficient than some rock-"

"Some rock?" Amber repeated ominously. "Some rock?!"

Sid flinched in despair. "Now I've done it..."

"Don't you forget why you're here, Sid. I sent you here to gather information on the whereabouts of the monolith. And after a few months of this...loitering, you've given me nothing but empty excuses and unfulfilled promises. My patience is wearing thin, Sid, and that of Team-"

"Well, this time, Amber," Sid interrupted again, this time with more force and urgency, "This isn't an empty excuse, nor is this gonna be some unfulfilled promise! I promise you, the goals of our organization WILL be fulfilled, and do you wanna know why?!"

"Do enlighten me..." Amber replied sarcastically.

"My associates and I have recently come into possession of none other than a Celebi."

...

"A Celebi."

"Yes. The Time Travel Po-"

"I know what Celebi is, you dolt," Amber interrupted brutally. "What use does Celebi have for our mission?"

"We can use it to travel back to the beginnings of this world! And I'm sure you know where I'm getting at next..."

To Sid's relief, this finally piqued Amber's undivided attention and full interest. The bald man seemed to sit up further, his brows slowly rising.

"Yes... Yes, I see... The dream of our leader will be fulfilled at long last, and we wouldn't even need the super-ancient Pokémon to do it! It'll save us a whole lot of hassle, and the efficiency expediency of our operation will double!"

"And we don't want a whole lot of hassle, now would we, Amber?"

"No. No, we wouldn't..." Amber straightened up further. "Hold your position, Sid. I shall send reinforcements over to you, posthaste. In fact..." He seemed to stand up. "I shall travel over to Kalos to see this development myself-"

"Um...about that..." Sid interrupted sheepishly.

The bald man grunted in disbelief. "Oh, what is it now?!"

The periwinkle-haired man pursed his lips nastily at the attitude. Even so, he prepared to answer his superior...

"My radar says we're getting close now..."

"Alright. Let's keep moving forward, men!"

Summer trudged through the thick greenery of Kiloude Forest as stealthily as she could. However, she ignored the twigs that tugged at her uniform and snapped underneath her boot-clad feet. Instead, she kept her gaze trained on the direction ahead, where she could see a flickering but growing source of light in the distance. All the while, she could hear the soft noises that her companions made while they trailed behind her by just a few feet.

The Ranger's entourage predominantly consisted of Officer Jenny and a vast number of her police officers and their Pokémon. The officers were equipped with a wide variety of combat equipment like stun-guns and net launchers. However, there were also a few other Rangers in the group, all of whom were summoned by Summer for tactical assistance. They too had their own equipment, including their Capture Stylers, which they had already used to capture several species of forest Pokémon for their help. Everyone, human and Pokémon alike, was physically and psychologically ready for a fight already.

"So, Summer," Officer Jenny said upon catching up with the redheaded woman, "what's the attack plan?"

"We ambush 'em," replied a confident Summer. "Hard and fast. And we gotta keep 'em pinned to the area they camped out at. Don't let any of them leave. And remember, the extraction of Ash, Serena, Yancy, and Selene is a top priority."

"Alright, duly noted. And what about Celebi?"

"Obviously, Celebi is what they want, above all else. Therefore, we gotta make sure it's isolated from those goons, before they even begin to use its powers. Once we get them away from it, I'll grab it at first chance. And if push comes to shove, well..."

Summer showed Officer Jenny her Capture Styler. Unlike the Stylers belonging to the other Rangers, hers had a silver, minuscule cube attached to it, attracting the lead policewoman's eye.

"I'll have to capture it with this." The Ranger then looked at the modified Styler with a furrowed brow. "Hopefully this new tech of Nema's makes things easier for us all..."

"I just heard back from Sceptile, Kay. They're on their way back to the rendezvous point."

"Excellent."

Kay glanced towards the cage holding Ash, Serena, Yancy, and Selene. The latter two were huddled behind the younger versions of their parents, while Ash and Serena themselves were glowering at her and Parker. However, she couldn't suppress the smirk that was growing on her face, nor the feeling of absolute elation that came with the idea of revenge that she hatched earlier today. It wouldn't be long until the plan came to fruition, and for once during the entirety of her profession, she couldn't wait any longer.

"It's time, Parker," she said.

"Hm?" The muscular poacher looked at his superior. "But I thought we were gonna wait for Sceptile and Salamence to return with-"

"No. We move now, Parker. Plus..." Kay glanced at him. "It won't be long till that accursed Ranger gets here with backup. Not to mention Lem and the others-"

"Well, then!"

The sudden holler of the familiar voice changed the atmosphere of the scenery. Kay's and Parker's blood ran cold, while the nearby Adam gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly, and Adam's associates tensed up. Meanwhile, Ash and Serena beamed in pride, and Yancy and Selene gasped with relief.

"I'm glad that we didn't keep you guys waiting!"

Everyone glanced towards the manmade edge of Kiloude Forest, where they saw a familiar Meowth-shaped hot-air balloon approaching them. They couldn't see who was riding inside, but there was no need to identify the passengers.

"Prepare for trouble!" called another familiar voice, that of a woman.

"And make it double!" a third familiar voice recited.

"Oh, yeah!" Selene squeaked happily. Then, she smirked at Parker and pointed at him with a taunting finger. "You're gonna get your butts kicked now!"

"To protect the world from devastation!" proclaimed Jessie.

"To unite all people within our nation!" declared James.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

This time, however, it wasn't Jessie who recited the line, but rather Shauna. Then, inexplicably, the others started to join in, one by one, as if some mighty but invisible force was guiding their instincts. Jessie and James noticed this new recital and glowered at the youth in disapproval.

"To extend our reach to the stars above!" shouted Calem.

"Is this seriously happening again?" Jessie asked in frustration.

"I guess the author just wants to have some fun," James replied. Then, he hung his head in shame. "At our expense."

"Clemont!"

"Shauna!"

"Calem!"

"Tierno!"

"Niniiiii!"

"Trevor!"

"Miette!"

"Meyer!"

...

"Oh, I'm supposed to do it too? O-Okay. Uhhh, Grace."

"And Bonnie's the name!"

"Us friends blast off at the speed of light!" Bonnie, Shauna, Miette, and Nini recited at the same time.

"Wh-Whatever they said..." Grace added, having been late to the beat.

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight all of us!" Clemont, Calem, Tierno, Trevor, and Meyer proclaimed simultaneously.

"Meowth! Dat's right!" Meowth completed impulsively.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet added with an equally impulsive salute.

"Dedenne!" Dedenne squeaked happily.

"Pichu-pichu!" Pichu squeaked with an electric sparkle of its cheeks.

Squishy just made a garbling noise of agreement.

With that, everyone could've sworn they saw an imaginary F-shaped logo materialize behind the hot-air balloon.

...

"Wha?" Parker asked dumbly.

"That was great to do the whole thing!" exclaimed Bonnie.

"Now I know why they like saying all that dumb stuff so much!" Tierno cried. "It's fun!"

"Seriously!" Miette said. "Those guys should rethink their careers! With that kind of act, they're better off in some roadshow or something!"

That was the last straw for the trio. In a flash of a second, their bodies became enveloped in fire powerful enough to make a Moltres wince.

"TEAM ROCKET ISN'T SOME ROADSHOW!" Jessie roared. "BUT IF YOU'RE GONNA IMITATE US, AT LEAST DO IT RIGHT!"

"LIKE, WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE ALL THOSE NAMES?!" shrieked James. "IF THE WRITER PUT THE TIME TO MAKE SOME MUSIC FOR THIS STORY, THEN YOU WOULD'VE BEEN OFF-TUNE BY A MILE!"

"NOT TAH MENTION YER VIOLATIN' COPYRIGHT!" Meowth spat.

"Guys, guys, guys!" Nate yelled, finally catching the attention of the others. "If we can forget about mottos and copyright for a sec, we gotta focus up! The balloon's getting closer to them, and we gotta be ready!"

"Be ready, indeed," Parker growled with a twitching eyelid. He lifted his right hand high in the air, catching the eye of Ash, Serena, Yancy, and Selene on the ground, and Nate's group from the air. "We're gonna enjoy pulverizing you and your friends, Gray. BULLET SEED!"

Without warning, a gigantic horde of Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff emerged from the greenery of Kiloude Forest. Together, they floated menacingly towards Team Rocket's balloon from all directions and began firing barrage after barrage after barrage of Bullet Seed attacks.

"Oh, no!" Bonnie cried in concern.

"HANG OOOOONNNNN!" Jessie yelled as she and James each grabbed a rope hanging from the balloon's burner.

"DIS IS GONNA GET MESSY!" Meowth warned.

Jessie and James then pulled their ropes at the same time, prompting the balloon to violently jerk towards another direction. The others screamed and held onto the basket or each other while the balloon tried to move rightward, away from the incoming Bullet Seeds. But a modestly powerful wind began to blow, and the balloon was immediately met with resistance.

"What's going on?!" Miette cried when she noticed the balloon not moving fast enough. "Why aren't we moving?!"

"Do something, Team Rocket!" Clemont yelled.

"What does it look like we're doing, twerp?!" James snapped as he continued to stubbornly pull at his rope.

But despite Team Rocket's best efforts, it was already too late. The Bullet Seed barrage relentlessly tore through the hot-air balloon, and the popping noise resonated through the air, startling all forest Pokémon in the vicinity and sending them fleeing. Everyone inside screamed as the basket started to plummet through the air at a dangerous speed, dragging the shredded balloon with it.

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Jessie, James, and Meowth shrieked at the same time.

"CLEMONT!" Bonnie wailed.

"HOLD ON TO ME, BONNIE!" the inventor screamed as he grabbed onto the little girl and held her tightly.

"CALEM!" Shauna hollered.

"SHAUNA!" Calem cried as he too grabbed his girlfriend.

"TIERNO/NINI!" Tierno and Nini shouted simultaneously as they grabbed each other.

"IT'S ALRIGHT, GUYS!" Trevor roared over the howling of the wind. With one hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out two Poké Balls. "WE NEED YOUR HELP, YOU TWO!"

He threw the Poké Balls outside the basket, and they popped open to summon his Charizard and Aerodactyl in bright flashes of light. With brief roars of affirmation, the two Flying-types flew underneath the basket; Charizard caught it on its back, with Aerodactyl positioning itself underneath its partner to help soften the blow. Once Charizard was able to fully support the basket, Aerodactyl flew out from underneath the Flame Pokémon and led it towards Kay, Parker, and Adam's position.

"YEAH!" Ash and Serena cheered in relief.

"HOORAY!" Selene hollered while shooting up to her feet. "Uncle Clemont and Auntie Bonnie are coming to the rescue!"

"Not for long," growled Parker.

With that, he and Kay procured two Poké Balls each; his were regular Poké Balls, hers Great Balls. In unison, they threw the devices into the air, summoning Kay's Druddigon and Haxorus, and Parker's Chesnaught and Trevenant. Druddigon and Chesnaught both let out a bellow of a roar, with the former swiping its clawed arms in the air in a show of intimidation. As for Haxorus and Trevenant, they reared their heads and narrowed their eyes at the approaching hot-air balloon.

"Hoppip, Skiploom, Jumpluff, don't cease your firing!" Parker barked. "Trevenant, use Will-O-Wisp! Chesnaught, use Seed Bomb!"

"Druddigon, Haxorus, use Dragon Pulse," Kay commanded icily.

The four Pokémon fired their respective attacks, while Parker's Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff launched another barrage of Bullet Seeds.

"Oh no, you don't!" Jessie snarled. "Wobbuffet, showtime!"

"Wobbuffet!"

With one last salute, the Patient Pokémon hopped onto Charizard's shoulders and activated its Mirror Coat. The Will-O-Wisp, Seed Bomb, and dual Dragon Pulses hit Wobbuffet simultaneously, but the Psychic-type move kept it rooted in place.

"Wobbu-wobbu-wobbu-wobbuuuuuhhhhh..." Then, Wobbuffet exerted all of the strength it had into its defenses. "WOBBUFFEEEEET!"

With that, its Mirror Coat deflected the four attacks, sending them back to their points of origin. Kay, Parker, Adam, and the former two's Pokémon had to leap out of the way to avoid being struck. As the earth rocked from the impacts and smoke and debris started to fill the area, Kay slammed a clenched fist onto the ground out of frustration.

"Curses!" the female poacher spat.

Meanwhile, Trevor's Charizard roared while it started flying above the tree-line, dodging and outmaneuvering the Bullet Seeds being fired in its direction. Parker's horde of Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff were giving chase by this point, firing Bullet Seed after Bullet Seed. All the while, its riders and their Pokémon held on tight while the Flame Pokémon picked up speed.

"We gotta get rid of those Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff!" Clemont cried after Charizard performed yet another dodge.

"You leave it to me!" Trevor replied. "Aerodactyl, use Hyper Beam!"

The Fossil Pokémon roared and proceeded to fire a Hyper Beam at the Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff. Most of the pursuers flew out of the way to dodge it, but some were too late and got caught in the fire. Clemont's group watched sympathetically as they started falling to the forest floor like charred pieces of greenery in the air.

But their sympathy was cut short when the remaining Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff continued their assault.

"Hold them off however you can, Aerodactyl!" Trevor ordered. "We'll get to Ash and the others!"

Aerodactyl nodded and started repeatedly firing Hyper Beams at the Grass-types, diverting their attention away from Charizard and the basket. This allowed Charizard to fly Clemont's group closer to the clearing where Kay, Parker, Adam, and Adam's associates were. However, neither the poachers nor the green-haired man did anything to impede their approach. Eventually, the Flame Pokémon finally landed several yards away from them and set the basket down to the ground, allowing its occupants to dismount.

Once everyone's feet were on the ground, Clemont pulled out his Poké Balls and threw them.

"GO!" the inventor shouted.

The Poké Balls opened up and summoned Bunnelby, Chespin, and Luxray, all of whom joined Trevor's Charizard in the fray. The others saw this and mirrored his actions, producing their own Poké Balls and summoning their full teams.

Calem summoned his Empoleon, Gallade, Scizor, Ferrothorn, Swellow, and Alolan Golem.

Shauna sent out her Ivysaur, Orange Flower Flabébé, Swirlix, and Gothita.

Tierno called out his Blastoise, Ludicolo, Hitmontop, Politoed, and Raichu.

Nini unleashed her Smoochum, Farfetch'd, and Gothita.

Trevor summoned his White Flower Florges in addition to Charizard.

Miette took out her Slurpuff and male Meowstic.

Meyer sent out his Blaziken and Ampharos.

Grace called out her trusty Fletchling.

Jessie and James summoned their Gourgeist and Inkay to join Meowth and Wobbuffet.

And finally, Nate sent out his Emboar, Jolteon, Barbaracle, Gogoat, Aegislash, and Braviary.

Together with Dedenne, Pichu, and Squishy, all of the Pokémon banded together as one, staring down Kay, Parker, Adam, and their forces.

"You're gonna pay for what you did, Kay, Parker," growled Nate. "You've crossed many lines here tonight. Now, I'll see to it that you answer for all your crimes, once and for all!"

Parker shot him a cruel smirk. "Oh, really? I'd like to see you try, Gray."

With that, Nate and his Pokémon began walking towards Kay, Parker, and Adam. At first, the walk was slow and purposeful walk, but soon, the brown-haired Trainer was picking up the pace, becoming faster and more intent, until it turned into a full-on sprint. At the same time, he could hear his Pokémon picking up the pace beside him as well, along with Clemont and the others, including their own Pokémon.

However, Adam lifted his left hand high in the air and snapped his fingers. Nate's chocolate-brown eyes widened in horror as the construction workers aligned with Adam produced their own Poké Balls and threw them to summon their own Pokémon. Though they varied between species and types, they numbered in the dozens, perhaps hundreds, and they were joined in the united stare of intimidation that they directed towards him and the others, prompting the group to stop cold in its tracks.

"Oh, no," Nate thought. "We're outnumbered ten to one! We can't just take them all by ourselves!"

Just then, he heard two loud growls that distinguished themselves from the cacophony of grunts and growls coming from the Pokémon belonging to Adam's associates. Druddigon and Haxorus emerged from the mob of corrupted Pokémon, followed by Chesnaught and Trevenant. Kay's and Parker's Pokémon stared daggers at Nate and his own Pokémon, causing the boy to grit his teeth and his partners to take on defensive postures.

"What was it that you said about us answering for our crimes, Gray?" Kay asked tauntingly, as she too emerged beside her Pokémon and held out her arms, beckoning to her reinforcements. "Because, from the looks of it, it appears that I'm not the one who has to do any answering here."

"In fact," Parker added, while he and Adam joined Kay's sides, "I'd say that it is you who has to answer for all the times you've meddled in the EHS' operations over the years."

Nate felt the fires emitting from Emboar's body grow hotter in response. He didn't blame his first partner, for he too could feel a fire burning brighter inside of him.

"Fortunately for us," Parker continued triumphantly, "we have all the time in the world to get what we want from you, Gray. And I am most certainly going to savor the time that we'll have."

"As will I," added Kay. Then, she gestured towards Nate's group. "Seize them, men."

"H-Hold up!" Adam snapped, drawing silent ire from the two poachers in the process. "I give the orders around here, not you!" Then, he glanced at his forces and mirrored Kay's movements. "Seize them, men!"

Without further ado, Adam's men and their Pokémon started advancing upon Nate's group. However, before any of them could reach their position, a barrage of different attacks, each of them from a different Pokémon type, struck the ground between them, drawing a line that stopped Adam's forces. Adam gagged in disbelief, while Kay and Parker growled and started looking around for the attackers.

"Whoa!" Tierno exclaimed.

"Who did that?!" asked Nini.

"It doesn't matter!" Clemont cried. "We gotta get-"

"HEY!" a familiar voice barked. "YOU JERKS!"

The hearts of Ash, Serena, Nate, Clemont, and the others swelled with immense relief as another team barreled emerged from the edge of Kiloude Forest: Summer, Officer Jenny, their fellow Rangers and police officers, and their many Pokémon. Before Kay and Parker could react, a roar pierced the atmosphere, and Trevor's Aerodactyl deftly landed beside its Trainer, having quickly dispatched Parker's horde of Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff.

"Alright!" Selene squeaked excitedly.

"Looks like everyone's all here," Ash commented with a proud smile.

"Thank goodness!" Serena and Yancy replied at the same time while their hands were joined with each other.

As for Summer, she hollered out again, considering her distance from the others. "I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY BEHIND AND LET US TAKE CARE OF THINGS FROM HERE!"

Clemont sighed and shrugged at Bonnie and Meyer before replying, "WELL, THERE'S NO WALKING BACK FROM THIS NOW, SUMMER! YOU MIGHT AS WELL GET THE EXTRA SUPPORT!"

"WE'LL TALK ABOUT THIS LATER! FOR NOW..." Summer activated her Capture Styler and aimed its antenna straight at Kay, Parker, and Adam's group. "CHAAAAARRRRRGE!"

The Rangers, officers, and Pokémon roared in unison before barreling straight towards their targets as fast as they could. Beaming at the reinforcements, Nate then glanced at Kay and Parker, shot them one last smirk as a taunt, and then pointed at them with his finger.

"LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO!"

Nate's Pokémon roared together first and followed their Trainer as he dashed towards his enemies. Clemont and his team were the next to take the initiative, and then the others in their larger group followed suit. At the sight of the newly-formed resistance, several of Adam's underlings started to cower in fear and back down, but the green-haired man saw this and reacted adversely.

"NO, YOU IDIOTS!" he screamed, flecks of spit jettisoning out of his mouth in the midst of his mental spiral. "NOW'S NOT THE TIME TO BE COWARDS! NOW'S THE TIME TO BE MEN AND SHOW THESE WEAKLINGS WHO'S BOSS! WE'VE GOT UNLIMITED POWER AT OUR FINGERTIPS, AND WE'RE NOT GONNA FUMBLE THIS NOW! NOT WHEN WE'RE SO CLOSE!" He pointed a quivering fingertip at the approaching Nate and Clemont. "PUMMEL THEM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

Left with no other choice, Adam's men let out halfhearted hollers and hoots, and they willed their Pokémon to charge forward at the aggressors. As for Parker, the latter silently pointed at the approaching enemy forces, propelling the loyal Chesnaught and Trevenant towards them. Meanwhile, Kay didn't budge an inch, but this didn't stop Druddigon and Haxorus from joining the fray as well.

In a matter of seconds, Summer and Officer Jenny's forces melded with Nate and Clemont's, and together, they charged towards Adam's. At this point, it wasn't like a simple Pokémon battle. Rather, it was like two opposing armies preparing to engage in an all-out war.

Just then, the two forces collided in a mighty shock-wave that reverberated across Kiloude Forest. With that, war had begun.

Mt. Kiloude

Deep within the cold, snowy cave at the peak of Mt. Kiloude, the red-eyed being that dwelled within heard the shock-wave. It chittered in irritation, unhappy over how unceremoniously its slumber had been interrupted...

Kiloude Forest

Trainer against Trainer.

Pokémon against Pokémon.

Destruction all around, as far as the eye could see.

A cacophony of yelling and roaring.

And, most of all, rage and resolve, indistinguishable from one another.

In the midst of the war burning all around him, Clemont and his Pokémon ran through the chaos, followed closely by Bonnie, who had Dedenne and Pichu perched on her shoulders and Squishy tucked safely in her satchel. They quickly reunited with Summer, who was commanding a wild Skiddo that she captured earlier to battle a construction worker's Pangoro.

"Dodge it, then use Horn Leech!" Summer commanded. "Let's drain this bad boy!"

"Summer!" Clemont cried, abruptly catching the Ranger's attention. "Good to see you! So now, what's the plan?!"

"You're the one who got here first!" The redhead started looking back and forth between the inventor and the battle, trying her best to multitask. "You tell me!"

"W-Well, we were hoping to divide and conquer! Most of us would keep those guys distracted long enough for someone in our group to get to Ash and the others and free them! As well as Celebi!"

"A.K.A. me!" Bonnie chirped.

"Nenene!" Dedenne squeaked in agreement.

"But if you've got a better idea-" Clemont began.

"No, no," Summer interrupted, "your idea sounds viable! I mean, I've got no other choice, considering you kids had to ruin our little ambush plan for us."

She scowled down at Clemont, whose eyes widened in stunned realization.

"O-Oh!" the inventor blubbered. "I-I'm s-sorry! I-I-I d-didn't mean t-to-"

"Save it for after we're done cleaning the forest floor with these losers' faces." Summer then refocused her attention on the goon she was fighting. "Go free Ash, Serena, Yancy, and Selene. I'll worry about Celebi."

"You're gonna try to go for Celebi?"

"Why, of course, Clemont! I'm a Pokémon Ranger, remember?"

Clemont's eyes softened with concern. "But what if-?"

"If I can't push through to Celebi in time, you guys take over. But remember, Clemont! We NEED to get Celebi back, at all costs! The moment those poachers feel the heat, they're gonna exploit Celebi's time-travel powers, and then it'll be all over for us!" A wrinkle of concern appeared on Summer's forehead. "I'm frankly surprised that they haven't even tried to abuse that power yet. No matter how good things are going for us, they've had the advantage on us since the beginning..."

Summer's warning soaked into Clemont's brain like water in a sponge. With that, the inventor nodded firmly at her.

"Understood. Celebi is a top priority! Good luck, Summer."

"And you as well, Clemont. Please don't get yourself hurt out there, or worse. I'm never gonna live with myself otherwise."

"You got it." With one last nod, the boy grabbed Bonnie's hand and held on tightly. "Come on, Bonnie!"

He guided his little sister away from the battle, while Summer narrowed her eyes and made a swiping motion with her hand.

"Now, Skiddo!" she shouted. "Use Razor Leaf!"

Soon enough, Clemont, Bonnie, and their Pokémon found themselves reuniting with Calem, Shauna, Tierno, Nini, Miette, Trevor, Grace, Meyer, and Team Rocket. All of them were huddled together in a circle, with their own Pokémon engaging Adam's men as they tried to surround them.

"Hey, where's Nate?!" Clemont exclaimed.

"I think he went on ahead," Meyer replied.

"He did?!" Clemont hitched his breath in concern. "Ohhh, hopefully he knows what he's doing..."

"Yeah. So, kiddo, you think you could say the same thing for us? Like, what's the gameplan here?"

"We all head for Ash and the others," Clemont replied, adjusting his glasses as he focused on a pair of approaching henchmen and their Rampardos and Gigalith. "But we gotta split up if we want to make this work."

"And how's that gonna make this work?" Miette asked dryly.

"It's just like what I told Summer. Divide and conquer." The inventor pointed his index and middle fingers at Adam's forces, keeping both fingers spread apart. "We scatter in different directions, and each of us tries to keep as many of 'em distracted for as long as possible so that someone among us, or Summer and Officer Jenny, can get to Ash and the others and free them. Meanwhile, someone else can go after Celebi!"

"Ahhhhh, I see where you're going with this!" Calem exclaimed. His lips curled into a battle-hungry grin, and a competitive fire lit in his eyes. "Well, for my cousin, I'm down for that strategy!"

"So am I!" Shauna cried resolutely.

"Ditto!" Tierno, Trevor, Nini, and Miette shouted simultaneously.

"As am I!" Grace growled. She narrowed her eyes at Adam's advancing forces, and her body seemed to be exuding a deathly, fiery presence. "When I see that woman who dared to lay a hand on my daughter and granddaughters, I'm gonna tear her a new one!"

As for Jessie, James, and Meowth, they looked at one another in apprehension. However, upon remembering Adam's forces, the trio overcame their fears quickly; Jessie cracked a smile of her own while James casually shrugged.

"Alright!" Meowth exclaimed amicably. "But if any of ya twoips get captured by dose copyright-violatin' goons, don't expect us tah come to da rescue! We got a Pikachu tah capture, after all!"

"Team Rocket..." Clemont deadpanned in bitter disapproval.

"Oh, sorry!" Jessie replied with a wave of her hand.

"A, uh, force of habit..." added James.

Then, the trio clenched their fists, a motion that was copied by Wobbuffet, and cried at the same time, "Alright! Let's do this! We're ready to blast off!"

"Okay, on the count of three!" instructed Clemont. "Remember, we run, and we give 'em everything we've got!"

"Roger!" everyone else responded at the same time.

"Three!"

"Two!" the others yelled.

"ONE!"

"LET'S GO!"

With that, all of them charged in different directions as pairs, taking on Adam's forces with their Pokémon.

Kay, Parker, Adam, and one of Adam's construction workers, a particularly large and muscular man, watched as the Trainers, Rangers, and police officers slowly but surely closed in on their position. Kay nastily pursed her lips for a moment before glancing at her companions.

"Looks like we're gonna have to get in on this," she said unhappily. "Remember, we stick close to Celebi and the other captives. And most importantly..." She raised her right hand and balled it into a fist with an extreme, vice-like grip. "WE CRUSH THEM."

"Understood," Parker replied.

"Charizard, use Fire Spin! Aerodactyl, use Hyper Beam! Florges, use Energy Ball!"

"Slurpuff, Meowstic, both of you use Psychic!"

Several of Adam's men and their Pokémon were struck and knocked down by the dual beams of energy and swirling fire, as well as the green sphere of energy. Others were lifted from the ground and violently thrown aside by unseen forces. This gave Miette and Trevor the opportunity to run past their enemies, with their respective Pokémon trailing behind them.

"You think Clemont's plan is gonna work?!" Trevor asked.

"Well, I can't really think of anything else!" Miette replied, her voice hollering over the roar of a nearby Onix battling a police officer's Growlithe. "Why?! You don't think it will?!"

"I mean, we've also got Celebi to worry about! What if all of us head for Ash and the others first?! Or what if we all decide to go for Celebi first?! Or-?!"

Miette sighed, stopped, and grabbed Trevor by the back of his collar as he passed by her. "You worry too much, photographer," she said. "Whatever happens, happens, alright? We do what we gotta do, and we don't take it back, no matter what! Okay?!"

Trevor weakly nodded in response. "Okay..."

Miette nodded back, just as she saw something in the corner of her eye. On impulse, she grabbed Trevor's head, forcing him to duck with her.

"LOOK OUT!"

They both looked up, just in time to see the same police officer and his Growlithe flying through the air. Their bodies collided with Trevor's Aerodactyl and Florges, knocking them all down to the ground. Miette and Trevor shot back up on their feet in alarm, but before they could check on the fallen Pokémon, they heard a dangerous growl coming from behind them. With their cold skins crawling, the two Trainers slowly looked behind them and saw a middle-aged, overweight construction worker approaching them.

And following this construction worker was a Shiny Tyranitar, which by that point had Mega Evolved. Trevor found himself actively fighting the urge to whip out his camera and take a picture of the sight.

"Going somewhere, you two?" the man asked, in a strikingly jovial voice that would've reminded the pair of Santa Claus in different circumstances. "Tyranitar?"

Tyranitar opened its toothy jaws and released an earsplitting roar that forced everyone within its vicinity to scream and cover their ears, Trevor and Miette included.

"Why don't you be a good sport and give 'em a little taste of your Stone Edge?!"

"Blastoise, use Hydro Cannon! Ludicolo and Politoed, use Hydro Pump! Hitmontop, use Close Combat! Raichu, use Thunder!"

"Smoochum baby, use Heart Stamp! Farfetch'd honey, use Fury Cutter! And Gothita sweetie, use Psychic!"

The variety of attacks knocked the Pokémon of Tierno's and Nini's enemies down and aside. This gave the two Trainers enough time to run through the chaotic crowd of battling Rangers, police officers, and construction workers. All around them, they heard nothing but the sounds of yelling, roaring, explosions, and other violent impacts. Even so, Tierno ignored the horrible orchestra and kept on running, leaving his sight trained on the path ahead in resolve.

However, Nini wasn't as steely. Eventually, she stopped dead in her tracks and became rooted to the spot. Smoochum was the first to notice this, and the Kiss Pokémon tugged Tierno's leg to get his attention.

"Smoochum, smooch!" she cried.

"Huh?!" The aspiring dancer looked down at the Ice/Psychic-type. "What is it, Smoochum?"

But Tierno didn't need any answers. On instinct, he looked up and saw Nini in the midst of her dilemma. Hitching his breath, he ran back to her, followed by Blastoise, Smoochum, and the rest of his and Nini's Pokémon.

"Nini!" he cried while grabbing her shoulders. "Nini, what's wrong?! Are you alright, babe?!"

At first, Nini did not respond, much to the boy's dismay. Her mind was spinning, her resolve was crumbling like a block of sand in water, and she was at a literal loss for words. Then, her mind steadied as soon as he felt a new presence approaching her.

"Tierno..." she whispered.

But Tierno felt it too. Together, they watched as a particularly large, muscular construction worker approached them. It was the same construction worker who stood by Adam's side earlier, and he had his hands mysteriously tucked behind his back. Walking beside him was a Gallade whose red eyes were narrowed threateningly at Tierno and Nini's team, Blastoise in particular.

The muscular man released a rumbling chuckle. "You kids are a persistent bunch, I'll give you that," he said. "I mean, you should be if you've got my boss at wit's end. I admire that quality about you, I really do. But unfortunately, your persistence couldn't have been more ill-timed."

The construction worker then revealed his hands and showed his left one to Tierno and Nini. Both Trainers gawked at the glove that he was wearing.

And the Key Stone attached to it.

"After all, you kids are in no position to defeat me."

"Are you sure you don't need any help with that?! Blaziken, use Flamethrower again!"

"I've never been surer in my life, Meyer! FLETCHLING, USE PECK AGAIN!"

A blur of reddish-orange, gray, and black flew over Meyer's head and began attacking a Scyther's head with a relentless series of pecks. This was coupled with Blaziken firing a Flamethrower at a trio of Ninjask and a Shedinja, downing them before they could intercept Grace's Fletchling. Blinded, the Scyther took a couple of steps backward, allowing Grace, Meyer, and their Pokémon to run past it. Stunned, the Trainer of the Scyther, Shedinja, and Ninjask lunged at them personally, but Meyer's reaction was quicker.

"Ampharos, use Electro Ball!" he ordered.

The Light Pokémon nodded and launched the attack, sending the construction worker hurtling backward and into a few of his colleagues, knocking them all out for the Rangers' taking.

"Huh," Grace commented in observance. "Nice move, Meyer."

"You're welcome!" Then, Meyer winked flirtatiously at her. "Babe!"

The former jockey rolled her eyes. "Ugh!"

A second later, a somersaulting figure wearing a familiar red-and-blue uniform landed beside Grace and Meyer. Another second later, Officer Jenny ran up to join them, just as a herd of Rhyhorn and Rhydon surrounded them. The construction workers that owned the Rhyhorn and Rhydon stepped forward, with one of them, a lanky man with dirty-blond hair, repeatedly tossing a Poké Ball from one palm to the other.

"Give it up, you four!" the dirty-blond man called tauntingly. "We have you surrounded! There's no way outta here now!"

"What're you waiting for, Summer?!" Officer Jenny whispered harshly. "Capture these Rhyhorn and Rhydon!"

"I can't," Summer whispered back. "There's just too many of 'em! Even with the new add-on modifications, my Capture Styler still has a limit to what it can do!" She looked at the aforementioned device in frustration. "We're just gonna have to fight our way out, the old-fashioned way!"

"Don't you worry, ladies," Meyer said coolly. A confident grin twisted his facial features as he reached into his pocket. "I know just the thing that'll solve our little dilemma..."

At the sound of its Trainer's voice, Blaziken straightened its posture and flared flames from its wrists in preparation.

"Stop 'em, Feraligatr!"

"Oh no, you don't! Empoleon, use Hydro Pump!"

Calem's Empoleon let out a defiant squawk before launching the Water-type attack. Shauna sighed in relief when the Hydro Pump slammed into Feraligatr and knocked it away from her Ivysaur before it could use Crunch on it. However, her relief was short-lived when three additional Feraligatr appeared and advanced upon her. In response, Calem's Alolan Golem used Stealth Rock, summoning multiple glowing rocks and slamming them all around the Big Jaw Pokémon, trapping them.

Even so, the three Feraligatr roared and began clawing at the rocks to carve their way out. Shauna opened her mouth, hoping to make an order to her Pokémon, but Calem's voice cried out to her.

"I got it, I got it! Go, Shauna! Get to Serena and the others!"

Shauna nodded and prepared to make a run for it. However, as soon as she turned, she stopped cold and gasped in horror. The gasp was loud enough for Calem to hear, and he tore his attention away from his Pokémon to see what had become of his girlfriend. In that moment, he saw what she saw.

Parker was standing before them with his Chesnaught and Trevenant.

"Hmmmmm... How interesting..." The poacher sneered down at the couple. "I was hoping I'd encounter Gray in the battlefield. This is to his liking, after all. But instead of him, I come across...you two."

He snapped his fingers, prompting his Chesnaught and Trevenant to step forward. Shauna took a few steps back into the safety of her own Pokémon, while Calem and his team protectively joined her side.

"You gave me a hard time back at the Maison," Parker continued. "I did not appreciate that. So, allow me to return the favor-"

"GALLADE, USE CLOSE COMBAT ON CHESNAUGHT!" Calem roared. "SWELLOW, USE BRAVE BIRD ON TREVENANT!"

Gallade and Swellow complied and aimed their attacks directly for their respective targets, but the two Grass-types seemed to have anticipated their strategy. Before Gallade could hit Chesnaught with his barrage of punches, the Spiny Armor Pokémon raised one of its forearms and used it to fully absorb the blow. Stunned, the Blade Pokémon hurled its other fist from another angle, but Chesnaught intercepted it with its other firearm, taking the hit without suffering any critical damage. Calem gasped once he saw how utterly ineffective the move was on the large Grass-type.

At the same time, Trevenant effortlessly sidestepped Swellow before it could strike its target in its descent. Then, as the Flying-type passed it, the Elder Tree Pokémon grabbed one of Swellow's legs, interrupting its damaging attack. As time slowed down to a painful crawl, Calem and Shauna could see the amused smirk curling onto Parker's face. Shauna grabbed Calem's hand and squeezed it for comfort, with the boy squeezing back.

"Hoping to pull a fast one on me?" Parker asked mockingly. "How meager of you...Calem Xavier..."

"Gray."

The cold, terrible voice stopped Nate in his tracks. With gritted teeth and clenched fists, he and his Pokémon turned to see Kay standing in the middle of the smoldering battlefield. Her Druddigon and Haxorus flanked her sides, and her body was poised for all-out war. All around them, battles between police officers or Pokémon Rangers and Adam's posse of construction workers raged on. By that point, the battles had sparked red-hot fires, which emitted columns of thick smoke that dominated the landscape. Embers softly rained down upon them both, setting the stage for a climactic battle.

All the memories that Nate had of his encounters with Kay and the Eight-Headed Seviper flashed through his mind with the couple of steps that he took towards the cold-faced Pokémon poacher.

"Kay," the boy growled.

Emboar snorted out some embers in silent fury that complemented its Trainer's.

"After all these years," Kay hissed, almost in reminiscence. "After all these battles. I can sense it in the air. This will be our final clash, the one to determine whose worldview is superior. A world of emotion? Or a world of logic? Arceus has set the conditions of our last encounter, and only He knows the outcome." She raised a fist clenched so tightly that it was trembling. "But you've changed so little since we first met. Always the Ash Ketchum wannabe."

Nate blinked slowly. "Ash Ketchum wannabe, huh?"

With a surging feeling of strength and resolve, the Aspertia City native shot his own clenched fist high into the air, a movement that his Emboar replicated in exact terms. Their postures matched to the last centimeter. Then, Emboar snorted out a stream of flames, which were colored in a shade of blue so strikingly different from the usual red; these flames then enveloped the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon in a small vortex.

In a matter of seconds, the vortex dissipated, revealing an entirely new Emboar. It had a black-and-blue color scheme, much like Mega Charizard X. It also had an untidy mat of hair that matched its large, bushy, black eyebrows; and the usual patterns on its torso were now altered to resemble some sort of jacket.

Nate and Emboar had employed their Bond Phenomenon.

"Well then," the boy said, "would you like a taste of this wannabe's power?"

"GLADLY!" Kay bellowed. "DRUDDIGON, HAXORUS, USE DRAGON PULSE!"

The two Dragon-types opened their mouths and fired dual Dragon Pulse attacks at Nate, Emboar, and the rest of Nate's team. Braviary took to the sky; Barbaracle and Gogoat stampeded away, carrying Jolteon and Aegislash, respectively; and Nate and Emboar simply rolled away to dodge the dual attacks. As Nate and Emboar stood back up, he could feel his other Pokémon running back to him. However, he knew what they wanted, and he knew deep in his heart what was to happen.

"NO!" Nate barked, raising a palm in front of Jolteon, Barbaracle, Gogoat, Aegislash, and Braviary. "No, you guys! This is Emboar's fight...and mine as well! I am not gonna leave this place till Kay is taken down, once and for all!" When his team looked like they wouldn't budge, an idea came to his mind, an unfortunate but necessary idea. "Emboar, use Flamethrower! Create a fire around us and Kay!"

Emboar nodded and spewed out the Fire-type attack, creating a ring of fire that encircled it, its Trainer, Kay, and her Druddigon and Haxorus. Jolteon, Barbaracle, Gogoat, Aegislash, and Braviary fled just in time to avoid the many red-hot flames that burned just a few feet away, barring them from joining their Trainer. With cries, squawks, and wails of concern, they tried to look through the crackling fire, only to see Nate's familiar visor, as well as a distinct outline of his face.

"THAT'S GOOD!" Kay roared. "A WISE DECISION, GRAY, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE! YOU WILL NOT BE LEAVING THIS PLACE AT ALL, NOT EVEN AFTER I'VE DESTROYED YOU! I'LL SEE TO IT THAT YOU'RE SENTENCED TO AN ETERNITY HERE!"

At her cue, Druddigon charged at Nate and Emboar, employing its Dragon Claw attack. Meanwhile, Haxorus stayed behind, choosing to fire yet another Dragon Pulse. With a great exertion of strength, Nate willed Emboar to push its teammates away from the fray, before the two somersaulted away from the Dragon-type attacks. Nate and Emboar then landed beside one another in perfect synchronization, and they both took on the same offensive posture while staring down Kay and her Pokémon.

"THIS IS THE END FOR YOU, KAY!" called a defiant Nate. "PREPARE!"

– o – END OF SCENE 1 – o –

– o – BEGINNING OF SCENE 2 – o –

Laurier Maison
Northern Kiloude City

"This is all your fault, Amelia!"

"Yeah! If you hadn't brought your crazy uncle to the dance floor, then we wouldn't be IN this mess in the first place!"

"And we'd be finishing up the dance!"

"It's no wonder you're super-hated across the board!"

"Your snobbish, stuck-up, holier-than-thou attitude..."

"You got it from your family!"

"I'm only employing the family way, Amelia. Always keep your eye on the goal and always treat everyone as an obstacle to be utterly destroyed. And in this case...that would be you."

"I'm...I'm not snobbish..."

Amelia frantically paced around in circles in the Laurier Maison lobby, her mind racing with a million thoughts per second. Her skin was deathly pale, her fingers were constantly twitching, and her disposition no longer exuded pride and overflowing confidence. Her Espeon and Shiny Dragonair watched in concern as she started to mutter to herself, almost incoherently so, like a crazed lunatic.

"I'm not snobbish! I'm not stuck-up! I don't have a holier-than-thou attitude! I'm me! I'm...I'm Amelia! Everyone loves me..."

All of a sudden, an idea hit the girl's head. She flicked her head towards her Espeon and Dragonair, both of whom flinched underneath her gaze. However, she ignored their reactions and advanced upon them, her eyes wide and her dilated pupils trembling with desperation.

"You love me, don't you?! Espeon?! Dragonair?!"

To her dismay, the two Psychic-types looked at each other, as if beckoning the other to respond first so they could follow their partner's lead. Amelia's eyelid twitched powerfully.

"UNACCEPTABLE!" she shrieked, startling her Pokémon. "IT'S A SIMPLE YES-OR-NO QUESTION! YOU LOVE ME! RIGHT?!"

The seconds ticked by and turned to minutes, but Amelia didn't get a proper response from her Pokémon. They both hesitated, and the longer they did, without any cues to prompt them, the more Amelia could feel her heart drop to the bottom of her stomach.

But she refused to give up. With all of the strength she had, the girl roughly grabbed Dragonair by its serpentine body and shook it, violently. Dragonair squealed in terror, while Espeon's body arched upward in extreme caution.

"TELL ME YOU LOVE ME, DRAGONAIR!" Amelia shrieked. "TELL ME YOU LOVE ME! I'M YOUR TRAINER! I COMMAND YOU TO ANSWER ME!"

But all Dragonair could wrangle out were more squeals and cries of fear, fear that Amelia never heard from the Dragon Pokémon before in her entire life. Unsatisfied, she finally released it and glared at Espeon with a smile that tried to radiate warmth and compassion. But to the Sun Pokémon, it saw nothing but madness-riddled desperation.

"Espeon, sweetie?" Amelia asked, as calmly as she possibly could. "You love me, right?"

She took a single step forward, and that was all it took for Espeon to sense immediate danger. The Sun Pokémon ran off as fast as it could, eventually hiding behind the Performer with the Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour; the Lickitung Performer; and the Performer with the Teddiursa and Ducklett. Gasping in shock, Amelia glanced at Dragonair, just in time to see it slithering away just as quickly, towards Alouette, the Sylveon Performer, and the Nidoqueen Performer.

"Espeon..." she whispered. "Dragonair..."

At that moment, her vision became blurry. Briefly, she thought that it was the work of one of the other Pokémon. But then, she could feel the corners of her eyes becoming wet, and then the liquid started to drip down her cheeks.

"No!" she thought. "No, no, no, I'm not crying! I'm not crying! It is unacceptable to cry like a-a petulant little child! No, someone's using Mist! It must be one of those peasants! The one with the Sneasel, perhaps! No, it has to be the one with the Vanillish! No, the one with the Heliolisk! ...Do Heliolisk know how to use Mist...?"

On instinct, Amelia lifted her hand to wipe her face. When she did, she found that her vision had cleared again...and no one had been using Mist this entire time.

"Wh...Wha...?"

The invalidation and the denial of her self-deluded logic caught up to her mind. Amelia's eyes became teary again, and she wiped them again with a sniffle. But her effort to save face was futile to begin with. The tears started to flow faster and harder, and in minutes, the girl collapsed to her knees. Even if none of the other Performers' Pokémon had been using Mist, everything felt cold and blurry all around her.

And she didn't have any source of warmth.

"No!" she wailed to herself. "No, I can't be crying! I CAN'T!"

The sniffle and then the broken sob invalidated this immediately.

"NO! This can't be happening to me! This can't be! This...This is... This is... U...Un...Un..."

Amelia couldn't bear to finish the sentence. Instead, she buried her face in her hands and began sobbing as loudly and pathetically as the very peasants she once looked down upon. The comparison was not lost on her, and that made the whole thing even more painful for her.

Drip...

"Run, Aria! RUN!"

Aria continued to isolate herself in her own corner of the Laurier Maison lobby. She hadn't budged from her wide-eyed, upwards-facing fetal position for what seemed to be over an hour now. The horror and the final memories she had of her mother had her overwhelmed, sweeping her away like a rushing tidal wave. For once in her life, it didn't matter that all eyes were on her during this moment of vulnerability. Nothing mattered at all, and nothing could ever matter to her anymore. Not Pokémon Showcases, not the stage, not the audience, not her own Pokémon...

Not even the very idea of beauty.

"Nothing matters anymore..."

Aria hugged her legs closer to her body, tightly enough to crush her thighs against her beating chest. She could barely perceive the beads of sweat dripping down her paling temples. Memories of Elle plummeting through the air flashed across her vision, overwhelmingly and powerfully, over and over again. Her grip on the world and all of reality was slipping. It was as if she too was plummeting through the air, across a vast and empty sky, with nowhere to go but down...

Down to her own-

"So...this is how it's gonna be, huh?"

Aria's red eyes grew wide. She looked up and saw the last person she expected to see in all of this.

"...I said I didn't have an answer for you yet."

"Re-Really...? So...is that girl talk for yes, or for no...?"

"It means I don't know yet."

"So... When will you know...?"

"Hopefully after the Exhibition Showcase."

"Oh. I see..."

"Look, if it's any comfort to you, Foster, it doesn't matter what I will say to you, or what happens leading up to that moment. Know this: you'll always be my friend. No matter what."

"This is what's gonna end the long and illustrious career of Aria the Kalos Queen," Foster snarled. "Some woman with a Salamence."

Aria should've stood up to defend herself. A part of her, buried deep in her mind, knew that. But the layers of trauma stacked atop that part of her kept her from doing anything.

"It's not just some woman with a Salamence, Foster..." the redhead replied glumly. "If you remember that day as well as I do...then you should've known who she was when you saw her..."

"Do you think I forgot?!"

Aria flinched at the sound of her childhood friend's voice, but once again, she did nothing to defend herself.

"Aria," Foster continued, his voice in a low but defiant growl, "the moment I laid my eyes on that woman, everything came back to me, like it all happened yesterday. But do you see me sulking in a corner?! NO!"

"Well...you're not the one who lost a mom that day..." Aria's lip quivered, and her vision started to become blurry. "S-S-So...i-if you think...th-that you could-"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Foster crouched down and grabbed her shoulders tightly. "DON'T YOU DARE, ARIA! DON'T! YOU'RE..." He briefly paused. "You're right. I didn't lose a mom that day. And...I know. I know that I'll never, ever understand the pain that you'll always feel from such a tremendous loss. And hopefully, I'll never have to. But...even so...even then, Aria...I did lose someone."

His grip tightened around her shoulders, slightly but noticeably. Even so, Foster's persistence was barely breaking through Aria's barrier.

"I lost my friend. I lost the girl that I loved for so long. So long. And...just when I was about to...find her again..." Tears also started to drip from Foster's eyes. "This happens. Which is why...I'm not gonna let this opportunity pass by me again!"

For a moment, Aria thought he was going to kiss her, right then and there. Indeed, the farmhand pulled her in with all of the passion and determination that he could possibly muster. She braced herself for the selfish route.

Instead, her entire body was wrapped in Foster's warmth.

"What...makes you think...that you'd find her again...?" the redhead asked morosely.

"The Freestyle Performance," Foster replied while tightening his embrace. "While you were onstage, I...I never saw that side of you before. That radiance of yours...it was different from all the other times I saw you performing. When I saw you leading all those other girls, with such a wonderful smile on your face, I thought- no, I knew that you were on your way to moving on. That the girl I loved my entire life would finally be finding her way out of that forest. Back to Kiloude City...to everyone who ever cared about her, for her...and to me..."

Aria's eyes slowly widened, and she softly gasped. The memories of her performing onstage, during the Freestyle Performance with Serena, Yancy, and the other girls, came flooding back to her, so fresh and so potent that her feet could still feel the stage floor. They ruthlessly, efficiently chipped away her memories of Elle's death until there was no trace of them anywhere in her neurons.

No Kay. No Salamence. No snow.

Not even her mother falling through the sky.

Just the wonderful radiance of sharing the spotlight with others as she strove to bring smiles to an entire region.

"Which is why...I'm going to do it on my own terms. My terms and no one else's. I don't want to just do what my mother and Elle had done for others in the past. I want to surpass them. I want to take what they've done and make it my own, take it past the limits and create new ones. I want to bring wonderfully radiant smiles to people's faces by being me with my Pokémon! I want to define myself with my Pokémon! ...That's what I've always wanted to do, and I realize it now!"

"I cannot just stop now! Not when I've come this far! I need to see this through to the very end! I need to see and show that all of my efforts and all of my soul-searching were for something and not nothing! As someone who I love very dearly once told me, never give up till the end! And that's what I'm gonna do! I'm never giving up till the end! We're never giving up till the end! And we will work to bring wonderfully radiant smiles to everyone's faces! No matter what!"

Once again, Aria could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. But this time, they flowed with a different kind of emotion, one that didn't drag her through the brine. Suddenly, she found herself returning Foster's hug with her own passion, and her face was buried in his shoulder.

And then, flashes of light erupted from her pockets, startling both her and Foster and forcing them to break apart. Once the light faded, Aria gasped upon seeing her Delphox, Aromatisse, and Vivillon.

"You three..." she whispered fondly.

Delphox barked softly at her, while Aromatisse and Vivillon both crooned gently. Aria held out her hands and took Delphox's paw in one and Aromatisse's in the other; Vivillon settled atop Aria's head with a soft flap of its wings. Then, another hand came in from her right and gently joined hers and Delphox's; gasping, the redhead looked to see that it belonged to Foster.

"Aria," he whispered tenderly.

The redhead didn't say anything back. Instead, her lip quivered, and she cast her gaze down to the floor.

"For most of my life..." she thought. "For most of my life, I could see nothing but her face...as she fell through the sky. Even then, I performed in Showcases to bring wonderfully radiant smiles to everyone's faces... Not because I strove to make everyone happy, but because...because I hoped that by making everyone happy, I would be happy again... I see now."

"That it's not just the Performer who must have the wonderfully radiant smile on her face..."

"I should've seen this all along. Happiness can't simply be achieved through instilling it in others. Nor can you achieve it by finding it in yourself, deep in your heart. You can only truly achieve happiness again...by doing both. Because if the heart isn't happy, then can you truly be happy, even if you're surrounded by the people that you make happy? And if the people around you aren't happy, then can your heart truly be happy? No. Happiness is something to be shared with everyone. No individual's happiness is mutually exclusive with another's. That's what brings out the best of us. If we don't have people to share our happiness with, then our happiness is incomplete. The audience's happiness drives the Performer as much as the Performer's happiness drives the audience. It's like..."

She suddenly felt another hand come in from her left and warmly join hers and Aromatisse's. Brought back to reality, she followed the arm back to its owner, only to be surprised to see who it was.

"M-Master...?"

Palermo nodded with a gentle smile. "I can see it in your eyes, Aria. The final, complete realization of what Pokémon Showcases are."

"What Showcases...are...?" Aria repeated, confused.

The producer nodded. "Do you remember what I told you about the origin of Showcases?"

"Y-Yes. They started right here, in Kiloude City. It was originally a ritual to celebrate the arrival of the Titan of Ice..."

Aria's voice trailed off, once her memory began to vividly recall the Pokémon that she, Foster, and Kay encountered ten years ago. A large avian being with plumage as blue as the sky, a majestic crest of three silky feathers, and a streamer-like tail much longer than its own body...

Palermo nodded again. "Yes. If you don't remember, Aria, the Titan of Ice has only ever been seen by the people of Kiloude from a great distance. Even then, its fleeting arrival brought them great happiness, because that meant it was preparing to nest on Mt. Kiloude, and with it, spring would follow. Bitter, white cold would give way to wet, colorful warmth. The townsfolk would have about nine months' worth of living off the fertile lands of Kiloude Forest once again. But most of all, they would have nine months to be with one another again, without the isolation of winter getting in the way.

"But the people of Kiloude were selfless. They wanted to tell the Titan of Ice that its arrival meant so much to them, that to see it was a sign of happiness. But, of course, to visit the Titan would be a swift guarantee of their demise. So, around the estimated time of the Titan's arrival, they would arrange ritualistic performances to commemorate the event, and the Titan itself. These performances evolved across time and generations, until finally, they attracted the attention of outsiders who would normally pay no heed to the people of Southern Kalos. And that was how Showcases were born.

"Now, I hope you were listening to that." The producer then averted her gaze from Aria. "All of you."

Eyes widening, Aria and Foster looked behind them. To their stunned surprise, all of the other Performers and their Pokémon had gathered around them, their shared attention piqued by Palermo's tale.

Amelia and her Espeon and Dragonair.

Blanche and her pair of Meowstic.

Kazalie and her Lilligant.

Shulin and her Escavalier and Accelgor.

Sara Lee and her Glaceon and Leafeon.

Concetta and her Scraggy.

Clarice and her Fletchling.

Elma and her Roserade.

Kayleigh and her Furfrou.

Lily and her Solrock.

Alouette and her Furfrou.

Odette and her Swanna.

The Sylveon Trainer.

The Furret Trainer.

The Litleo Trainer.

The Mightyena Trainer.

The Smeargle Trainer.

The Trainer with the Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour.

The Heliolisk Trainer.

The Scizor Trainer.

The Sneasel Trainer.

The Psyduck Trainer.

The Dragonite Trainer.

The Lickitung Trainer.

The Swirlix Trainer.

The Trainer with the Plusle and Minun.

The Marill Trainer.

The Vileplume Trainer.

The Nidoqueen Trainer.

The Honedge Trainer.

The Kirlia Trainer.

The Honchkrow Trainer.

The Vanillish Trainer.

The Trainer with the Teddiursa and the Ducklett.

They were all standing there, with them.

"All of you wonder why Aria has held the position of Kalos Queen for so long," Palermo continued, her voice slightly sharper this time. Even then, all of the girls were rapt with attention. "Now you know. She hoped that following in her mother's footsteps would be the perfect therapy tool for her. To help her move on from the loss of her mother. And so, she did. But even then, Aria's methods weren't perfect. She needed to learn her final, most valuable lesson: that Pokémon Showcases were established on the theme of togetherness. Founded on the promise that no one was alone, even in times of hardship.

"Because that is what makes Pokémon Showcases truly beautiful: the idea that we are all one, despite our differences. You, your Pokémon, your fellow Performers, and of course, your audience."

The girls listened to Palermo's lecture in silence. Once the producer was done speaking, each Performer looked towards their Pokémon, one by one. A couple of minutes passed when Palermo started speaking again.

"The title of Kalos Queen isn't associated with respect or privilege or high class." The producer's eyes settled upon Amelia for a brief but meaningful moment before moving on. "No. It's associated with beauty and happiness. They go hand in hand with one another, girls. Happiness is beautiful, and beauty leads to happiness. And as Aria has already figured out, beauty and happiness can only thrive when they are shared with others.

"Seeking to radiate beauty and instill happiness for your own inwards-facing reasons is not enough. Doing so will not earn you the title of Kalos Queen. Truly, genuinely radiating beauty and instilling happiness for the sake of others is what will allow each and every one of you to rise above. Do you understand that?"

The girls looked at one another, stunned and awestruck by the revelations. None of them knew what to think at first. None of them could respond to Palermo's question. But their Pokémon all looked to their Trainers in a united look of hope and beseeching, as if they collectively understood Palermo's lecture all along and were praying to the high heavens that their friends did as well.

Then, one of the girls took the initiative to step forward, attracting the attention of the others. They all stared in incredulous disbelief as this girl planted her feet in front of Aria, Foster, Palermo, and Aria's Pokémon in order to take her stand.

"Palermo's right, girls!" Clarice declared.

"Fletchling!" her Fletchling squawked resonantly.

"What...?" Sara Lee asked dumbly.

"You...You think so...?" queried Alouette.

"Yes!" Clarice shouted, her voice ringing across the lobby and reaching the ears of every Performer present. "Moreover, that's exactly why Shauna, Miette, Nini, and the others went after those guys that took Serena and Yancy! Because they weren't just rivals! They were friends!"

"Friends?" the Smeargle Trainer repeated, dumbfounded.

"How could they be friends and rivals at the same time?!" demanded the confused Honchkrow Trainer.

"Yeah!" chirped the Litleo Trainer. "You can't be friends if you compete against each other in a high-stakes competition!"

Blanche and Sara Lee subconsciously winced at those words. As for Clarice, she sighed in disappointment.

"Did you not let Palermo's words sink in, girls?" the Fletchling Performer asked. "Showcases aren't about competing against one another! They're not just about the title of Kalos Queen!" She glared at Amelia, who slightly recoiled at her gaze. "They're not about climbing over each other just to win!" She shot her stare at Alouette, Lily, Kayleigh, Elma, and Odette next. "And they're most certainly not about destroying friendships!"

She finally turned her gaze towards Blanche and Sara Lee. Sara Lee took a step backward, overwhelmed by the thinly-veiled accusation, while Blanche slowly gave her former friend a knowing side-glance.

"No!" Clarice cried resolutely. "They're about showing- no, sharing two of the most important qualities that anyone, people or Pokémon, could have: happiness and beauty!"

"Sharing?" the Lickitung Trainer repeated.

"Sharing with who?" asked the Trainer with the Plusle and Minun.

"Sharing with the audience!" replied Clarice. "And with each other! The things that matter in Showcases aren't our egos and our ambitions! No, it's the people and the Pokémon! It's each other! I...I was too blind to realize it then..." She held a hand over her heart. "I was so concerned about honoring my mother's memory, preserving it. That selfishness of mine was what held me back all this time.

"But it won't anymore, because I understand! And Serena, Shauna, Miette, and Nini did too! Showcases are about the best of us and bringing together the best in all of us! That's why Shauna, Miette, and Nini left to save Serena! That's why Serena chose to become my friend, despite everything that I did to try and woo the boy she loved! Because they bring out the best in each other through Pokémon Showcases! Because that's who they're meant to be as better Performers! And they're not gonna let that go!

"So...how about you, girls?" With the same hand over her heart, Clarice held it out towards her fellow Performers. "Will you bring out the best in each other and help Shauna, Miette, and Nini out?"

Each girl looked at the hand, some with discomfort and others with ambivalence. Many of them didn't know what to do or say in this situation. Neither Aria, Foster, nor Palermo chose to interject; instead, they watched Clarice as she poured her heart out to everyone else. Aria was happily beaming at Clarice, Foster gave her a nod of agreement, and Palermo's visage was shaded with unreadable ambiguity.

Then, finally, one hand reached out from the masses. After some brief hesitation, it gently placed itself upon Clarice's in a show of solidarity, earning the girl's bright smile of understanding. The other Performers shot their gazes towards the owner in abject shock.

"S-Sara Lee...?" Blanche asked in incredulity.

"What?" Sara Lee looked towards her former friend. "Clarice is right, Blanche." Then, she glanced at the other Performers. "She's right, everyone. Ever since Aria became Kalos Queen, we've all been knocking each other down and stepping on one another to try and take the crown from her. We've been doing that little dance for years, and look at where it's gotten us." She took a deep, somber breath. "We took all the wrong lessons from her success, girls, and it's ruining Pokémon Showcases. Don't give me those looks; you know as well as I do that the ratings have sucked lately."

"B-But..." Alouette said, looking amongst her fellow Performers, "striving to become Kalos Queen is all we've ever known..."

"Y-Yeah!" Kazalie exclaimed in a squeak. "Y-You can't just wave such an appealing title around like that a-and not expect us to compete for it!"

"How're we gonna become Kalos Queen now if we don't aim for the top?!" cried Shulin.

"Because there is no Kalos Queen."

Everyone's heads turned towards the new voice. Aria's red eyes grew wide at the new speaker, for she never expected to hear her speak in such an authoritative tone. And clearly, neither did she.

Even so, Evelyn said, "Kalos Queen isn't just a title to be won and held by the best Performer. It's an ideal."

"An ideal?" repeated the Sylveon Trainer.

"Yeah! An ideal that every Performer should aim for. And that is..." Evelyn tightly clenched her fists with understanding and resolve. "To spread the message of Pokémon Showcases far and wide! That there can only be true happiness and beauty when we're all together! Laughing together, crying together, living together, working together...and now, saving the world together!"

With that, the blue-haired girl stepped forward and planted her hand atop Clarice's and Sara Lee's. She then swept her gaze through the small crowd of other Performers, all of whom watched the union in fading confusion and growing amazement.

"Tonight! Tonight's our chance to be Kalos Queens together! All of us! So, who's with us?!"

Aria and Palermo reacted almost instantaneously. They reached out their hands and placed them atop the others. Evelyn followed their arms and saw who their owners were, upon which she beamed warmly.

"Well said, young one," Palermo said. "Well said."

Aria didn't say anything. But once their eyes met, she and Evelyn knew they were thinking the same thing.

Then, another hand joined the union. It was Blanche's.

"Wherever you go," the fair-skinned Meowstic Trainer said, "I go." Then, she glanced at Sara Lee and smiled. "I'm so glad that we understand each other again, Sara Lee."

The green-haired girl's face turned red from growing embarrassment, and she turned away with pursed lips. "S...Same here...Blanche..."

Just then, Concetta energetically sprinted forward and almost slapped her hand atop the others with an unrestrained squeal.

"Alright, alright!" the Scraggy Trainer cried. "Count me in too! I wanna be counted in!"

Kazalie and Shulin followed soon after.

"I-If that means being Kalos Queen for a night," Kazalie squeaked, "then I wanna join in! Let's do this together!"

"D-Don't think I'm doing this b-because I a-agree or anything," stammered an embarrassed Shulin. "I-It's just, w-well, th-there's no way I'm gonna let you waltz in there alone, Blanche!"

"Awww, you girls..." Blanche replied with shimmering eyes.

Then, the other Performers followed suit, one by one with their Pokémon. Elma and her Roserade. Kayleigh and her Furfrou. Lily and her Solrock. Alouette and her Furfrou. Odette and her Swanna. The Sylveon Trainer. The Furret Trainer. The Litleo Trainer. The Mightyena Trainer. The Smeargle Trainer. The Trainer with the Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour. The Heliolisk Trainer. The Scizor Trainer. The Sneasel Trainer. The Psyduck Trainer. The Dragonite Trainer. The Lickitung Trainer. The Swirlix Trainer. The Trainer with the Plusle and Minun. The Marill Trainer. The Vileplume Trainer. The Nidoqueen Trainer. The Honedge Trainer. The Kirlia Trainer. The Honchkrow Trainer. The Vanillish Trainer. The Trainer with the Teddiursa and the Ducklett.

Until only one Performer was left. Everyone turned their gazes towards Amelia and her Espeon and Shiny Dragonair. Amelia's Pokémon also looked up to their Trainer, hoping that she would do the right thing for a change.

"Amelia?" Aria asked with a soft smile.

"What do you say, Amelia?" Clarice asked, smiling as well. "Will you join us?"

But Amelia didn't say anything. Instead, she cast her gaze to the floor, her reaction unreadable.

"Always keep your eye on the goal and always treat everyone as an obstacle to be utterly destroyed..."

She clenched her fists tightly...

Kiloude Forest

"Bunnelby, use Mud Shot! Chespin, use Pin Missile! Luxray, use Wild Charge!"

"Dedenne, Pichu, use Thunder Shock!"

Mustering all of their inner strength, the five Pokémon used their respective attacks on any enemy Pokémon that tried to get in their way, allowing Clemont and Bonnie to continue their mad dash through the chaos that was raging all around them. No matter what Adam's subordinates tried to do to impede their progress, the two siblings made their way across the growing, burning battlefield. All the while, they kept their eye on their destination: the cage that they knew was holding Ash, Serena, Yancy, and Selene.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity to them, Clemont and Bonnie broke through another line of defense by Adam's associates, sending them and their Pokémon flying. This gave them the opportunity to run up to the cage as fast as they could.

"Ash, Serena!" Clemont called as he approached.

"Seleeeeene!" wailed a relieved Bonnie.

"Wait, Uncle Clemont, Auntie Bonnie!" Yancy shouted. "Don't touch the bars! They're likely electrified!"

Clemont stopped and held out an arm to stop the emotional Bonnie from advancing further. With a glint of his glasses, the inventor smirked and reached deep into his pocket.

"Never fear, you four!" he exclaimed proudly. "The future is now, thanks to-!"

"If it's that Stupidly Inaccurate Wristwatch again, Clemont..." an impatient Bonnie interrupted.

"NO!"

...

Clemont then hung his head low in shame and whimpered, "Yes..."

"Anything will do at this point!" Serena exclaimed. "Just get us out of here, you guys!"

"Yeah!" Selene cried. "We need to get to Celebi!"

"Heh heh heh. You kids aren't going anywhere near Celebi."

The new voice sent chills down the youth's spines. Clemont, Bonnie, and their Pokémon twirled around to see Adam approaching them, his hands tucked behind his back while he gave them a threatening smirk. Flanking him were his Dragonite and Aggron, both of whom were clearly ready and itching for a brutal battle. Chespin cowered behind Bunnelby while the Digging Pokémon flexed his large ears in preparation. Meanwhile, Luxray, Dedenne, and Pichu's bodies all crackled with electricity in a show of intimidation.

"In fact," Adam said ominously, "you kids aren't going anywhere but to the depths of a cold, dark prison!"

Bonnie puffed her cheeks in defiance and then shouted, "YOU LET MY FRIENDS GO, YOU MEANIE! I'M SO SICK OF ALL YOU BAD GUYS AND YOUR EVILNESS!"

Adam's sneer quickly turned into a hateful frown. "And I'm so sick of all you twiggy, whiny brats who think they know better than anyone else. Fortunately..." He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. "I have a foolproof way of dealing with pests like you, little girl."

At the sound of their Trainer's gesture, Dragonite and Aggron began advancing upon Clemont and Bonnie. Every step that they made caused the ground to tremble beneath their feet. On instinct, Clemont stood in front of Bonnie, using his body as a shield.

But someone acted quicker than him. A small, blob-like blur of green shot out from Bonnie's satchel and propelled itself towards Dragonite and Aggron.

"SQUISHY!" Bonnie cried.

But it ignored her. In a matter of split-seconds, the mysterious Pokémon triggered one of its equally mysterious powers. While its body began to glow a bright, warm green, Squishy released wave after wave of unknown energy that spread across the entirety of Kiloude Forest. Dragonite and Aggron halted their advance, and many of the surrounding battles ceased for a moment to witness this startling phenomenon.

Then, in response to the waves, dozens upon dozens of green beams shot out from the depths of the forest and headed straight for Squishy from all directions. Without flinching, the minuscule green Pokémon accepted each and every one of them, allowing the beams to flow into its body and initiate its transformation. Its green glow grew with every beam that it absorbed, until it became so blinding that Bonnie, Clemont, and Adam had to shield their eyes with their forearms. But Bonnie peered from above her forearm to witness the miracle occurring in front of them.

And so, she could vaguely see Squishy's size growing with every green beam, while its body transformed from an abstract blob to a distinct canine shape. She smiled in realization.

"GO, SQUISHY!" she hollered powerfully at the top of her little lungs.

The light faded in an instant, revealing Squishy in its 10% Forme. Dragonite and Aggron growled at the newcomer, but they both took a step backward in caution at their never-before-seen opponent. As for Adam, his eyes grew wide, and he gritted his teeth in apprehension.

"Wh...What is this?!" he exclaimed.

"The power of Squishy!" Bonnie chirped triumphantly. "Now, use your strongest attack! Kick some meanie butt!"

With a resonant howl, Squishy started to glow again. As it did, beams of green light started to emerge from the ground beneath Dragonite and Aggron, causing it to crack and break all around them. Sensing what was about to happen, Dragonite took off to the air, but Aggron wasn't as lucky. The Steel-type got caught in the ensuing violent explosion and was sent hurtling backward towards Adam. The green-haired man screamed and had to dive out of the way to avoid getting crushed by the bulky Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Clemont looked up at the airborne Dragonite and seized on the opportunity. "Luxray!" he called. "Use Discharge now!"

"Dodge, Dragonite!" commanded Adam. "Then use Twister!"

With a bark, Luxray fired multiple bolts of yellow electricity from its body, aiming them at the Dragon Pokémon. However, it started flying across the air, dodging all of the bolts. Then, it came to a stop and flapped its wings powerfully, discharging a miniature tornado that headed straight for Clemont, Bonnie, and their Pokémon.

"CLEMONT!" Ash and Yancy both cried.

"BONNIE!" Serena and Selene screamed simultaneously.

Gasping, another impulse filled Clemont's veins. With all of the strength he could muster into his unathletic body, he pushed Bonnie out of the tornado's way while she continued to hold onto Dedenne and Pichu.

A split-second later, the boy's world turned into a blur as the tornado lifted him off his feet and violently threw him to the side like a useless rag doll. Upon colliding hard with the ground, Clemont barely heard his name being called out. Groaning, he lifted his face from the dry dirt and watched as Luxray continued firing Discharge after Discharge at Dragonite, which only flew out of the way of the attacks, deftly outmaneuvering them.

Meanwhile, Squishy was facing Aggron as it struggled to recover from the super-effective Land's Wrath. Growling, the Order Pokémon ground its feet against the hard dirt beneath it in preparation. Then, it propelled himself back at the Iron Armor Pokémon with its supercharged body.

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Adam snapped. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Max Potion. "I won't let some black-and-green Arcanine stop me from fulfilling my rightful destiny!"

With that, Adam held the bottle out towards his Aggron and sprayed the Max Potion substance on its metallic body. Bonnie's eyes widened in horror, just as the Steel/Rock-type stood up, fully recuperated.

"USE HEAVY SLAM, AGGRON!" Adam ordered at the top of his lungs.

With an angry roar, Aggron's body became surrounded in silver aura. Before Squishy could react, the Iron Armor Pokémon grabbed the Legendary by the neck and held it high in the air as tightly as it could.

"SQUISHY!" Bonnie shrieked.

Then, Aggron employed the next part of its attack: with all of its body strength, it slammed both itself and Squishy into the ground so hard that it cracked underneath their combined weight.

"NO, SQUISHY!"

"BONNIE!"

Bonnie gasped and turned her head towards Clemont. At first, her brother gave her a wide-eyed stare that she couldn't read. But then, he motioned his head towards the cage containing Ash, Serena, Yancy, and Selene, and that was when she knew what to do.

"Please take care of Squishy, Clemont..." she thought.

She tried to run off, but she suddenly found her path blocked by Adam, who looked down at her with a malevolent sneer.

"I remember you," the green-haired man growled, his eyelid twitching. "The little runt."

Bravely, Bonnie held her ground and narrowed her eyes at the towering figure. "And you're the big man with the little brain!"

"Nenene!" Dedenne squeaked angrily.

"Pichu-PI!" Pichu squeaked with a crackle of its cheeks.

They could've sworn they saw something snap within Adam's glinting eyes. The twitching of his eyelid sped up in a nasty manner, and with total disregard, he grabbed Bonnie by the collar and held her high in the air, knocking Dedenne and Pichu off her shoulders in the process.

"BONNIE!" the others screamed.

"I'll show you who's got the little brain..." Adam growled.

Before he could throw her with all of his might, a loud, angry bark echoed in the air. Before he could react, a blur of black and green collided into Adam, forcing him to let go of his captive as he was sent hurtling. Bonnie landed on her feet, and while she couldn't identify her savior, she knew who it was as soon as she spotted the fading green trail of energy in the nick of time.

"Thank you, Squishy..." she whispered gratefully.

Then, once Dedenne and Pichu scrambled back up to her shoulders, Bonnie ran to the cage. As soon as she approached it, Selene sprung towards the bars and had to be held back by a surprised and concerned Serena.

"Auntie Bonnie!" a teary-eyed Selene wailed. "I'm so, so, SO glad to see you! And you too, Pichu! I missed you so much!"

"Pichu, pichu!" the Tiny Mouse Pokémon chirped with equally shimmering eyes.

"We gotta get you outta here!" Bonnie cried. "But how?!"

"Well," Ash replied, "if the bars are electrified like Yancy believes they'll be, then that means we gotta overload the power source! Just like we always do whenever we deal with Team Rocket! You gotta look for the power source, Bonnie!"

The blonde girl nodded with uncertainty. "O...Okay..."

But Ash quickly picked up on her reaction and consolingly said, "Hey, Bonnie. You can do this. I believe in you! We all do!"

"Pika, pikachu!" Ash's Pikachu squeaked in agreement.

"You're Clemont's sister, after all!" Serena added. "Electronics should be easy lemon squeezy for you!"

"And a lover of all Pokémon too!" completed Selene while she excitedly bobbed up and down on her feet.

Upon hearing her friends' statements of support, the little girl took a deep breath and flashed them a smile brimming with confidence.

"Yeah, you're right! You're right! I'm my brother's little sister! I can do this! I CAN!"

"Nenene!" Dedenne chirped in agreement.

Elsewhere, Nate and Kay continued to stare daggers at each other while surrounded by Emboar's ring of fire. Emboar released a steamy snort of defiance, while Kay's Druddigon and Haxorus growled threateningly at their opponents. The two Trainers and their Pokémon began circling around the battlefield, attempting to size each other down and find an opening that they could exploit. Despite their earlier declarations of war, neither Nate nor Kay wanted to make the first move and started basing their strategies upon the other's decisions.

Then, at long last, both of them made the first move at the same time, bidden by the crackling of the fire and ashes.

"DRUDDIGON, HAXORUS, USE DRAGON PULSE!"

"DODGE, EMBOAR! THEN USE BLAST BURN!"

Kay's Pokémon fired the Dragon-type attacks, both of which Emboar somersaulted out of the way with ease despite its bulky stature. Then, with a mighty roar, the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon allowed its body to become engulfed in flames that were colored in multiple shades of blue. Next, it punched a clenched fist deep into the ground, triggering a wave of blue, fiery energy within the earth. The wave moved underneath Kay and her Pokémon, leaving behind a trail of thick, ashy smoke on the ground level in its wake.

However, once the wave and the smoke reached the poacher's position, Kay narrowed her eyes in preparation.

"Haxorus," she hissed, "take the hit."

The Axe Jaw Pokémon launched itself atop Kay, just as Emboar's greatest attack displayed its true power. The ground underneath them exploded, powerfully and violently, sending both Kay and Haxorus flying while Druddigon took to the air with its wings. With the great force, Kay and Haxorus tumbled across the ground, but Haxorus wrapped its Trainer in its body like a protective layer. This insulated her from injury at the cost of Haxorus's own physicality; it suffered many wounds from the launch and was close to landing on the perimeter of the surrounding fire, only stopping by digging its claws deep into the ground with what little strength it now had left.

Once the tumbling ceased, Kay callously tore herself away from Haxorus's weakening grip and faced Nate again with a stomp of her booted foot. The boy glowered back at her, affronted and repulsed by the abusive display. She then pointed a quivering finger at the visor-wearing boy and spat out her next order.

"Druddigon, use Dragon Pulse! Show no mercy!"

With a shrill roar, the Cave Pokémon opened its toothy mouth and began firing blast after blast of draconic energy at its opponent. Acting on instinct, Emboar outmaneuvered the attacks with ease, over and over again, with Nate trailing close behind. Then, before Druddigon could get a lock on where Nate was going to wind up next, the boy did something rather unexpected.

He began running straight for Kay and Druddigon, unflinchingly, even in the face of incoming Dragon Pulse attacks. Emboar trailed behind its Trainer, barking in concern for a moment before steeling itself.

"FOOLISH BOY!" Kay snapped with a slightly manic grin. "DRUDDIGON, USE DRAGON CLAW ON THE CHILD! DON'T HOLD BACK!"

The Dragon-type hurled itself at the rapidly approaching Nate, and as it neared, its claws began to glow a sickly light-green shade. But Nate was ready for it. He reached into his pockets and produced what he had been holding back in the first place: blue, long-sleeved gloves bearing an ancient striping pattern and adorned with light-blue orbs, not unlike Key Stones, along with a navy-blue stick made from a futuristic composite polymer.

"LET'S GO!" Nate hollered with clear finality as he put on the gloves and held the stick. "AURA STAFF!"

He held out both of his arms towards the approaching Druddigon, with his hands wrapped tightly around the stick. As he did, the orbs began to glow brightly, and the stick automatically extended itself, revealing its true nature as a staff. Tipped to one end was a small, glittering, magnificent jewel as light-blue as the orbs on Nate's gloves. This jewel glowed just as brightly as the orbs, and Nate twirled the staff around so quickly that his movements left a faint trail of blue light coming from the weapon.

"RRRAAARRRGGGHHH!"

Just as Druddigon finally got within a couple of feet of him, Nate swung the staff upward and intercepted the Dragon Claw attack in the nick of time. Despite all the strength that the Dragon-type exerted, the staff did not break, and the boy held his opponent's arm back on his own. The jewel tipping the strange staff glowed brighter and brighter with every ounce of pressure exerted upon it.

Then, with a frustrated snarl, Druddigon cocked its unoccupied arm, ready to strike Nate with another Dragon Claw. But Emboar's reaction was quicker; with its body enveloped in a sphere of whitish-blue flames, it launched itself towards the Cave Pokémon and collided into it, knocking it away from its Trainer.

"Great job, Emboar!" Nate called encouragingly. "Now, use-!"

He was cut off by a beam of green energy that whizzed past him, missing his face by centimeters. With a gasp, the boy turned towards its point of origin, upon which he narrowed his eyes in silent fury. Kay stood a few yards away, her outline blurry from the abundance of smoke and heat, but there was no mistaking the wristwatch that had transformed into a full-on gauntlet encapsulating her hand and forearm. Mounted on top of it were a trio of small but distinct barrels.

"You and your Aura powers, Gray," Kay growled ominously as she aimed her gauntlet at the boy. "So irritating. But, unfortunately for you, I've got some tricks up my sleeve too. YARGH!"

With a yell, Kay activated her device and discharged blasts of ice, electricity, and fire from each of the barrels. They barreled towards Nate, who didn't flinch and simply began running towards them. Using his Aura Staff, the visor-wearing boy expertly deflected each blast, sending them towards the surrounding ring of fire and sometimes adding more fuel to it. Then, once he got close enough to Kay, Nate twirled the Staff around, aimed its jeweled tip at the poacher, and fired a blast of light-blue Aura energy at her.

"AGH!"

Kay ducked her head, just as the blast passed centimeters over her. Nate reacted by falling to one knee and firing another blast with extreme precision. However, with her gauntlet still activated, she fired a particularly large blast of ice, which enveloped the incoming Aura blast and took the brunt of the explosion. Then, she fired another blast at Nate, this time one of fire. With a yell, Nate rolled out of the way with astounding agility, just as the outline of his body began to glow light-blue in reaction to the Staff's presence. The bandage wrapped around his forehead started to loosen.

But the change in Nate's appearance didn't deter Kay. Instead, the poacher fired blast after blast at him, making sure to alternate her attacks between ice, electricity, and fire. Grunting, the Aspertia City native began running around the improvised battlefield as fast as he could, outmaneuvering each attack while trying to get close to Kay. All the while, he took occasional shots at her with his Aura Staff, but the poacher managed to dodge those as deftly as he did with her attacks.

Eventually, after minutes of this, Nate managed to get within a few feet of her. When he did, he discharged a blast of Aura at her, letting her dodge it and retaliate with a crackling stream of electricity from her device. Once she did, Nate aimed the jeweled tip of the Staff and allowed the electricity to strike it. However, the jewel immediately began to accept and even absorb all of the electricity, unlike what Kay had intended. As it did, the boy pushed forward, slowly and carefully, towards the poacher's position. He ignored the force and pressure the ongoing electrical current was imposing upon his Staff.

"Come ooooon..." he thought angrily. "Come on!"

Finally, Nate got close enough to Kay, and he knew it was time to strike. With a loud grunt and a powerful thrust of his Staff, Nate discharged the absorbed electricity and directed it back to its point of origin.

"WHAT THE-?!" Kay began, right before the electricity struck her. "A-A-A-A-A-R-R-R-R-R-G-G-G-G-G-H-H-H-H-H!"

With his opponent being electrocuted, Nate saw his opening. He propelled himself at Kay and slammed headfirst into her. This knocked her off-balance, and Nate took advantage of this to kick her right leg out, violently slamming her to the ground. With the poacher stunned, Nate, in a matter of milliseconds, abruptly dropped his Staff and cocked his fist at the green-haired woman's face. He swiftly relished the confused and mostly horrified reaction this elicited from her.

"THIS IS FOR ALL THE PEOPLE AND POKÉMON THAT YOU HURT!" he roared. "NOW, YOU'RE GONNA-"

But before he could finish his sentence and inflict the sudden blow, a blur of forest-green collided into him, knocking him off of Kay and down to the ground. From a short distance, he could hear Emboar grunt loudly in pain, even as it continued to grapple with Druddigon. Then, after recovering from his shock, he looked up and found himself staring into the feral eyes of another Pokémon.

Kay's Salamence.

"Uuuuuggggghhhhh..."

At the corner of his eye, a dismayed Nate saw Kay sitting up and rubbing her right side, with smoke faintly being emitted from her formerly electrified form. At the same time, her Haxorus limped over to her side and sniffed her to check for any injuries. Then, the poacher shot an irritated glare at her Dragon Pokémon.

"You're late," she spat bitterly.

Salamence gave its Trainer a low, apologetic rumble and obediently bowed its head at her. This gave Nate the opportunity to scramble away from it, but the Dragon Pokémon noticed this. With a bark, it stomped one of its front feet down onto his back, pinning the boy to the ground. Nate cried out and tried to struggle, but this only started to dig Salamence's claws into his back, so he stopped resisting.

Then, Nate heard Emboar call out to him in concern. He could hear his Mega Fire Pig Pokémon knocking Druddigon away from him and stampeding towards him and Salamence, but Kay's voice rang in the air.

"Uh, uh, uh! I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

Nate heard Emboar stop, and he craned his neck to take a look at his first Pokémon. The Fire-type stood still, its posture stiff and tense, while Kay stood back up on her feet and dusted her clothes.

"Ohhhhh, how I dreamed of this day, Gray..." she snarled, almost to herself. "The day where you finally get what you deserve."

Salamence's claws started to dig deeper into his back, and Nate could hear individual threads in the fabric of his shirt tearing and popping. Beads of sweat started to break out on his temples as he felt the Dragon Pokémon put more of its weight upon him. Even so, the Aspertia City native put on the bravest face he could muster and glowered hatefully at the green-haired poacher.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" he snarled tauntingly. "Finish me already!"

The corners of Kay's lips tugged into a startling, uncharacteristically wide grin. Her visage, normally as cold as a Kalos-sized sheet of ice, fell away for the first time, revealing a bloodthirsty, monstrous expression. Nate felt his skin crawl at the sight of it.

Something was wrong.

"Ohhh, I will, Gray," she said. "I most certainly will. But..."

She snapped her fingers, and something emerged through the burning flames that surrounded them. Nate had to squint his eyes to see what it was: two people, Trainers around his age, bound together with rope and gagged with cloth while being suspended in the air by mini-rockets attached to their feet. They were both being pulled slowly out of unconsciousness, upon which one of them started to moan and the other wheezed from the thick, ashy smoke.

"We've got some guests to accommodate."

At that cue, the mini-rockets shut themselves off instantly, sending both Trainers tumbling to the ground. This fully woke them up, and they took a moment to absorb their precarious surroundings before trying to struggle against their bindings.

"Who- Ack!" Nate had to adjust himself to prevent Salamence's claws from digging into his skin. "Who...are they...?"

Kay simply smirked at him. Then, she silently waved Druddigon and Haxorus over; together, the two Dragon-types advanced towards the two bound Trainers, catching their attention. Two pairs of eyes widened, and the very space around them began tightening with Druddigon's and Haxorus's presences.

"Ohhhhh, I think you know exactly who they are," Kay replied mysteriously.

She slowly, callously approached the two Trainers, carefully making sure that each footstep was punctuated by the crunching noise of dried soil underneath. As she did, the ring of flames finally started to die out. With the heat receding, Nate started to make out more of the Trainers' features. Once the veil lifted and they became more distinct to him, his body was struck by a sudden spike of dread.

There was no mistaking those two.

"No..." Nate moaned feebly. It was the only thing he could do at this point, with Salamence powerfully keeping him pinned. "No... Please, Kay... Don't...hurt them..."

His plea caught Kay's attention in an instant. She looked down on the boy, her horrifying visage still present. Her smirk widened by just an inch, yet the condescending quality was unmistakable.

"Do you feel it, Gray?" she asked in a voice trembling with overflowing emotion. "The feeling of helplessness? Of true, utter helplessness? If you do..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of elation, as if she had just inhaled some sort of refreshing scent. "And I know you do, then...you know exactly how I felt."

At that moment, Salamence started to press its claws further into Nate's skin, drawing out a groan of discomfort from the boy as he felt a growing prickling sensation on his back, accentuating the weight upon him. Nate hopelessly tried to use his arms to crawl away, but there was no point now. Every part of his body hurt immensely from the Bond Phenomenon and the Aura use. Even with the dying fires, he could smell nothing but thick smoke; it was now filling his lungs, almost suffocating him. His world felt like it was spinning too fast for him.

"How I felt," Kay repeated emphatically, "when you and your friends sent me thirty years in the past."

"Thirty years...in the past?" Nate tried his best to shoot her a taunting smirk, but it faltered and looked more like a weak wince. "Sounds like...you need to...retake your math classes- AGH!"

Salamence's claws had officially penetrated his skin. Nate could feel something warm slowly oozing around his back, accompanying the immense pain.

"Don't mock me, boy," growled Kay. "I know what I said. Yes, I was sent thirty years in the past. And unfortunately, because of that and an unfortunate encounter, I had to spend the decade that followed in cryostasis."

Nate inched his head up further. "Cryo...stasis...?"

With a vague nod, the poacher started walking from Nate. "Ten years, Gray. Ten years of my life spent embedded in the side of a mountain like a pebble. A mountain that was nothing more than a locale of awe and admiration by the lowly rabble. Ten years of my life...GONE. Nothing I could do about it. Nothing I could control. Gone, just like that. I may not look like it, but that is only because the cryostasis significantly slowed the aging process. Even so, it doesn't matter. My body still felt that passage of time.

"TEN. YEARS."

Just then, Nate heard a familiar grunt. Slowly moving his head and ignoring the growing sensation of pain, he saw one of the Trainers, a boy with messy brown hair, trying to secretly pick at his bonds, only for his arm to reach an uncomfortable angle.

Kay overheard the same grunt and glared at him too. Without saying a word, she approached this unknown boy, reached an arm out, and used it to pick him up by the cuff of his shirt. She lifted him with slight ease, dragging with him the other Trainer, a girl whose hair was styled into a bun on the top of her head. She then walked back towards Nate, effortlessly dragging the two youth along the ground like they were rag-dolls. Druddigon and Haxorus trailed her, keeping a close eye on the Trainers. The boy tried to fight back, but his movements were feeble.

"I can't take them back," Kay continued, her voice slightly sentimental now. "I know I can't. But..." Her eyes shone with clear, deep malice. "I can do the next best thing."

By that point, she had come within striking distance of Nate, but the brown-haired boy didn't budge, not that he could. The poacher stood mightily over him, like she was about a dozen feet taller, her form absolutely, almost unnaturally imposing. Her skin started to glow from the fading light of the surrounding fires, seemingly incandescent.

"I can stuff ten years' worth of hate, bitterness, and vengeance into ten minutes. Literally. And I have just the weapon to do it."

Nate gritted his teeth at the sound of Kay's resolute voice and how her intonation changed with the last sentence. He looked further up at the green-haired woman with determination, but she didn't seem too fazed by the boy's smoldering gaze.

"Now," Kay continued again, "I know all of this may seem...unprofessional in your eyes. Unusual, even. But rest assured, Gray, regardless of what you think of me, I do experience feelings. Emotions. And they include enjoyment. Which is why...what I'm gonna do to you, your little girlfriend, all of your friends..."

She looked down at the two anonymous Trainers with a grin that could only be described as one of sadistic madness.

"And your parents, Gray...I'm gonna enjoy it. All of it. Very, very much."

– o – END OF SCENE 2 – o –

A/N: And that marks the end of this chapter, at long, LONG last. Once again, I'm very sorry for the delay, everyone. I hope the wait was worth it! And I hope you're all up for more waits, because my job is just taking up more and more of my time. To go into further detail, the office has hired some new people, we had a reshuffling of roles, and I've actually been assigned to train a couple of these new hires, something that I've never done before. Now do you see what I mean when I say this must be what it's like to be a working adult? XD

So yeah, expect more long waits, unfortunately. I'll keep you all posted on my profile in the meantime.

Anyway, to sum up what happened in this chapter: Clemont, Bonnie, and the others resolve themselves to save Ash, Serena, Yancy, Selene, and Celebi; Sid is revealed to be a duplicitous traitor as well, ironically enough for Adam; the final battle begins; Foster and Palermo help Aria overcome her trauma while the true history of Showcases is revealed and the other Performers are inspired; and finally, Kay has Nate right where she wants him and presents the past versions of his parents as her hostages.

Yes, that's a lot to take in. And it's about to get a lot more chaotic and action-packed in the following chapters! In fact, I'm considering adding another chapter to this story's chapter total in order to accommodate all of my plans on its trajectory. I guess we'll see on that. ;D ;D ;D

Now, I'd like to thank the following for reviewing:

-ValorFennekin:

1) Yep! When you're in captivity, there's nothing better than family bonding time to pass the time! XD XD XD

2) This super-obvious revelation was literally years in the making! I'm so glad that I can have Team Rocket show their true selves to the heroes and have their butt-kicking moment in the spotlight, because they're heroes on the wrong side and there's nothing anyone can do to convince me otherwise!

-Ander Arias:

1) Blanche is nothing but purity incarnate, but obviously, she had her own stuff to work with when it came to Sara Lee.

2) Fortunately for her and everyone else, Aria was able to overcome that trauma. Now, the real question is if she's ready to face the source of that trauma again, and head-on this time...

3) No, they most certainly didn't appear before in the story. I would know that, especially considering who they're revealed to be in this chapter.

4) And epic this battle is! Truly a showdown for the ages! Or generations, in this case! :D

-DarkKitten94: DING DING DING! Your guess was correct, my good user! Here, have a cyber-cookie! *hands over cyber-cookie*

-SunnyEspeon22:

1) Well, considering that their future versions already know what's happening and what's about to happen, I'd say yes, the future versions of the present-day Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie will remember these events. XD XD XD

2) I'm afraid the answer to that is for another story for another time.

3) Serena's team has already been described earlier in the story (I believe), but you'll see soon.

-fangs of death: Is there anything that you'd like to specify in your review? Anything that you loved about the chapter? Anything that you might have disliked? Any questions or other comments? It'd be greatly appreciated!

-Dragon King Ryouga:

1) Uhhhhh...okay? That's a pretty random observation to make, but thanks, I guess?

2) Is there anything else that you'd like to specify in your review? Anything that you loved about the chapter? Anything that you might have disliked? Any questions or other comments? It'd be greatly appreciated!

-F4nficR5der47:

1) That's totally fine. :)

2) And this chapter has officially revealed what was in store for all of you readers all this time! How do you like it so far?

3) I don't know if you're talking about, say, Ash's Greninja interacting with its future self or, say, Yancy's Florges. If the former, keep your fingers crossed. If the latter, well, sorry about that missed opportunity of mine! DX

4) DING DING DING! You're right as well! Here, you get a cyber-cookie too! *tosses cyber-cookie*

5) But will Nate regain his memories here? Only time will tell...

6) Fortunately, she managed to snap out of it faster than we thought, and now she's about to become a part of the final battle! HOORAY!

7) Yes, I do love it when the heroes and Team Rocket team up to achieve a common goal. It feels good to see Team Rocket's better sides being acknowledged.

8) What will it be, indeed...

9) Ohhhhh, we'll see about that... ;D

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