Disclaimer: Once again I do not own Pokémon. All rights go to The Pokémon Company Inc.

Chapter 8: Team Flare Strikes Again!

New Age(s): Alain: 22

Man once again these nuisances have to come back. I was about to have my first kiss with Serena. I was ready to activate the form with Greninja if I need to.

"Listen up. By the orders of Lysandre, the Z-1 cell needs to be in our possession and if no one is not going to come forward then force will be needed." Said the blue-haired girl. Celosia looked at me and then whispered something that I was surprised that I could hear despite our distance from each other. It might be my aura at play.

"That boy right there has it. Watch his Greninja though Mable it is strong." She whispered to the blue-haired girl known as Mable. Mable looked at me and descended down the stairs and everyone made way as if she was a movie star or something.

"I hear that you have a strong Greninja. And I hear you have a Z-1 cell that is needed in our research. Now how about you be a dear as to hand it over." She said her hand at her Poké belt just in case she needed it.

"You will not be taking it. Squishy doesn't want anything to do with you." I said with a little growl. She laughs at the name.

"So Bryony wasn't lying when she said you guys made a nickname for it. How cute. But if you will not want to hand it over we'll simply have to take it by force." She said as she unclipped her Pokéball from her belt. I just smirked.

"And that'll be a very costly mistake." I said in a cocky tone. Celosia and Bryony were looking on and they were worried.

"Mable I don't think you should do it alone. Let's fight him together. He is very strong." Celosia said in concern.

"It's ok I can handle this punk. Here we go Breloom!" She yelled while tossing it out and the Grass and Fighting type popped out. If I used Greninja I was at a huge disadvantage since he is a Water and Dark type. But Talonflame can counter both of those types since he is a Flying and Fire type. Yeah I'll use Talonflame.

"Alright Talonflame here we go." I say tossing it's Pokéball. Talonflame emerged ready for battle.

"Not using your Greninja huh? Wow. And I was waiting to see how strong it is." Mable said.

"The type match between your Breloom and my Talonflame has a disadvantage since my Talonflame is a Fire and a Flying and your Breloom is a Grass and Fighting." I say a matter-of-factly.

"What's going on Ash?" It asked.

"These guys here are trying to kidnap Squishy and we need to stop them." I said. Everyone gasped in shock including Team Flare as they saw what happened. More like heard. I perfectly understood Talonflame. Clemont, Bonnie and Serena weren't as surprised.

"How did you understand that Talonflame so well? You know what, that's not important. Breloom use Drain Punch!" Mable said.

"Talonflame use Steel Wing." I say calmly. The two attacks clash head on and they both came out even.

"Hmm. Celosia and Bryony didn't say anything about his other Pokémon being strong." I hear Mable whisper. I think my aura may have also increased my hearing range by a lot.

"Ha. I put my hard work and effort into training these guys so they can become as strong as they want to be." I said smirking. I saw Serena smiling out of the corner of my eye. Again she looked on in shock.

"H-how d-d-did you hear w-what I said? Who are you?" She asked stuttering in fear.

"I have my reasons. And to answer your second question I'm just your more than the average 19 year old Pokémon trainer that wants to be the best of the best. Fire Blast." I say. That last sentence caught her off guard and she couldn't command her Breloom to dodge in time because she was in such shock. Breloom got sent back flying as Celosia and Bryony went by Mable's side and brought out their Pokémon.

"Houndoom!" Celosia said.

"Liepard!" Bryony said. Both Pokémon popped out and were ready for combat.

"We'll help too Ash. Luxray I need your help." He said while tossing out Luxray's Pokéball and Luxray popped out with a growl as it got into fighting stance.

"Huh. More of this again I see? Well too bad we have you outnumbered." Celosia said with a smirk as more Team Flare members pop out with their Pokémon at their side.

"Grrr." I said while clenching my fists.

"Greninja. You wanna battle?" I ask him.

"You betcha." He said.

"Ok Clemont and Serena you deal with the other Team Flare members. I've got these three." I say narrowing my eyes at them. They nodded as they command their Pokémon to attack the other Team Flare grunts.

"Ha. 3-v-1. Not a very wise decision young man." Mable said with cockiness.

"Let's see if you can eat your own words." I say.

"Houndoom use Flamethrower!" Celosia says.

"Liepard use Dark Pulse!" Said Bryony.

"And Breloom use Razor Leaf!" Mable says as the three attacks clash merge to create a more powerful attack.

"Alright Talonflame Fire Blast and Greninja use Water Shuriken!" I demand with force as they both create powerful attacks and they combine for more power and all 5 attacks clash and make a massive explosion. A big smoke cloud erupted.

"Greninja use Aerial Ace on Houndoom and Talonflame Brave Bird on Liepard." I say softly and they understand as they went into the smoke cloud and initiated their attacks. They both came out of the smoke swiftly and hit the target Pokémon and they both came back to my side.

"It's the handy "use the smoke to your advantage" trick. Always works." I say with a smirk.

"No matter. Everyone attack!" The three say collectively.

"Talonflame Brave Bird, Greninja Aerial Ace." I say. They both clash with the oncoming attacks from the three Pokémon. But then a massive stream of flames erupted and my Pokémon got pushed back. When the smoke cleared a person with a Charizard stood on the stage and was looking a little triumphant. A look of relief appeared on all of the Team Flare admins' faces. He must be their back up plan.

"So glad you came Alain these guys have been stopping our operation." Said Celosia. He just nodded and jumped off the stage and faced me. His Charizard did the same.

"So you're the one with the Z-1 cell. I request you give it to me." He said calmly.

"No way it doesn't want anything to do with you guys." I said with a growl. The guy known as Alain just shrugged. Mable, Celosia, and Bryony withdrew their Pokémon. They're expecting him to win this. I returned Talonflame.

"Thank you for your help Talonflame you're the best." I say. I sensed Alain hesitate as he witnessed me treating my Pokémon well.

"Alright well you leave me with no choice. Charizard use Flamethrower." He snapped back to reality and commanded his Charizard. The Fire Lizard made a powerful stream of flames come out of its mouth.

"Alright then Greninja dodge and use Water Shuriken!" I say as Greninja swiftly dodges and sends out a barrage of watery shurikens. Alain looked amused.

"Alright dodge it and use Dragon Claw." He said calmly. Charizard nodded and flew into the air and its claws outstretching turning green. It then dove at Greninja.

"Greninja use Aerial Ace on my command!" I say as he then dodges the claws. I was trying to find an opening. And I found it.

"Now!" I say as Charizard brings its claws across for another swipe and Greninja ducks and punches Charizard hard straight in the stomach. Charizard slid back to Alain stirring up a little dust. Alain looked a little surprised.

"They are strong and strategic. " He mutters softly, but thanks to my aura I could hear it perfectly.

"I have been training with Greninja since it was a Froakie." I say. Alain looked at me surprised.

"You heard me?" He asked shocked.

"Don't worry same thing happened to me." said Mable.

"Well I see you are stronger than others that have faced me. In that case Charizard time to show them who we are." He said as his Charizard looked back at him and nodded. They were going to use Mega Evolution. As if on queue Alain pressed his fingers on his Mega Ring and then the collar around Charizard's lit up as it's Mega Stone lit up and engulfed Charizard.

"Alright! Key Stone respond to my heart! Surpass evolution! Charizard Mega Evolve!" He yells and his Charizard roars as the Mega Evolution light consumes it. After a few moments Charizard was a whole new Pokémon. Its body was mostly black with its belly a blue color. It had blue flames coming out of its mouth and its eyes were red thanks to the Mega Evolution. It was also a bit bigger than its normal size. What is with Mega Evolution these past few days? And why so quick? Am I that strong or something? It doesn't matter. I don't want to use the form for two reasons. One is because I don't want to tire me or Greninja out especially in this dire situation and two I don't want to show these guys the form. But I might have to resort to it.

"Greninja let's try not to use the form if we can." I say. He looks confused as to why, but he nods.

"What are you talking about?" Alain asked as he seems intrigued. It made me almost want to answer him.

"Nothing. Greninja go in with Cut!" I yell as Greninja creates a long blade of white and races toward Charizard with blazing speed.

"Charizard use Thunder Punch!" He says quickly and that made me hesitate a bit. Greninja must've sensed my hesitation because he looked back. I had to redirect him so he could see what he is running into.

"Don't focus on me! Clash with it!" I say loudly. He nods and faces forward and brings up his blade to clash with the Thunder Punch.

"Here we go!" He yells as the two attacks clashed. They are even now, but Alain had a smirk on his face.

"Dragon Claw with the other arm." He said. That was the least thing I expected to happen. And I couldn't stop it. The attack hit him and Greninja flew back cringing from the pain. He then gained his composure and did a double spin and landed on his legs. Alain looked elementally surprised.

"You alright Greninja?" I ask.

"Yeah." He said.

"You guys really are strong. Let's see how you fair against this. Blast Burn!" Alain yells as Charizard brings one of its fists up and slams it into the ground causing the earth to buckle and send a wave of fire and ground toward Greninja. I had to do it.

"Screw it. Greninja ready?" I ask.

"Let's try." He said. And like last time my mind cleared as we enter the transition stage.

"Alright here we go Greninja we're going get much, much stronger!" I yell as we both bring our hands up in front of our faces.

"Let's go!" He yells with the same volume. Then just like before my body temperature rises and my heart beat gets faster as we both put our arms by our side our fists facing the air. I feel the raw power. We both then yell out as the torrent of water once again surrounds Greninja. After a couple of moments the torrent dies down as the veil of water surrounds him signifying that the transformation was complete. And just like earlier today I could see his features clearly. His head looking like my face and hat and torso like my shirt. Everyone looked at us to see what happened and everyone looked surprised even Serena, Clemont and Bonnie. Everything fell silent except for the raging wave of heat and rock racing towards Greninja.

"Greninja now use Double Team!" I yell breaking the silence as Greninja creates dozens of copies of himself. More than without the form. He was going to use this to dodge the Blast Burn.

"Now! Jump onto the heating rocks and use Water Shuriken!" I yell as he did as I commanded and jumped onto the rocks. I could feel the heat on my feet as Greninja jumps on the rocks. He then jumped and did a front flip while creating a big Water Shuriken and threw it at Charizard. The Water Shuriken hit it hard as Charizard slid back and roared in pain. The Blast Burn passes as Greninja jumps back to my side. Alain looked at us amazed at what just happened.

"Hmph. Charizard use Flamethrower." Alain said as he shook it off.

"Greninja use Cut and block it." I said somewhat calmly as Greninja brings out two blades again and puts them in front of his face. The Flamethrower went around Greninja as he successfully blocked it.

"Now use Thunder Punch!" Alain said as Charizard's fists turned yellow crackling with electricity and it flew toward Greninja with speed.

"Use Cut again to counter it!" I say as he then takes the blades and blocks the punches as Charizard kept swinging and swinging. All of the sudden an overwhelming feeling of I know what I needed to do came over as I stood there shocked. Then I snapped back to reality as I then saw an opening.

"Alright use Cut one more time!" I yell as Greninja then brings up the blades and swipes them across Charizard's abdomen. It again slid back, but only cringed in pain this time. It was looking a little tired. I'm surprised that it is not very tired right now after taking those hits. Alain must've really trained Charizard. He seems like a good trainer why would he join Team Flare? Maybe I could find out his true intentions later. I then initiated a disconnect of the form so we wouldn't tire ourselves out. Greninja then reverted back to his normal form. The fact that I didn't feel tired at all made me smile. We were getting better at it. Greninja smiles also as he realizes the same thing.

"So that's what you were talking about. That was a weird Mega Evolution. You don't even have the stones. Your guys' bond must be that strong." Alain says shocked, amused and intrigued at what just happened. Charizard then reverted back to its normal form, not because of being knocked out, but because Alain initiated it. Alain then returns his Charizard and walks towards me. I relax a little, but keep my guard. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie then came at my sides to protect me. Alain realizes this and walks a little slower and cautiously. He just wanted to talk. I then relax more.

"It's ok he just wants to talk." I say as looks of discomfort appear on each of their faces.

"But Ash he works for Team Flare why should we trust him?" Serena asks keeping an eye on Alain who was still walking slowly towards me. He then stops a few feet from me.

"Trust my aura." I say. She then realizes that and relaxes a little, but still has her guard up.

"Alain. What are you doing? You have to collect more Mega Evolution data for Lysandre." Mable cries out. He just ignores them. I then get the relationship between the two. Alain is just a normal guy who got dragged into a bad organization.

"Sometimes I don't know why I help them out. I mostly helped them so I could get my Charzardite X stone." He whispers towards us.

"Why do you help them? They are bad people." I ask.

"Reasons I'd rather not talk about right now." He says. All of the sudden images flash through my head. A girl who I don't even know pops up. The name Mairin pops up and I see a Chespin lying in bed. It was hers. It was emitting a green color. It was sick. And Alain was trying his best to help her out.

"I'm so sorry." I say.

"For what?" He asks confused.

"That Mairin's Chespin is sick. You're just trying to help her because she is your friend." I say. He looked at me astonished and so did Serena, Clemont and Bonnie.

"How did yo-"

"When the time is right I'll tell you. But for now we have to figure out other ways to help her Chespin out." I say. Alain smiled and turned his back on us and winked at Team Flare. They nod and walk away. I stare at them until I can't see them anymore. I know what Alain is doing. He is sticking with us and pretending that he was going to get Squishy, but I can tell by his aura that he meant no harm and he wouldn't take Squishy away. He joins us as we walk slowly back to the Pokémon Center.

"So Ash. What is with you and your Greninja?" He asked curiously.

"I actually don't know. It started a few days back as soon as it evolved into Greninja from Frogadier. Whenever we do it I always feel as if I'm a part of Greninja." I say. He seems to reflect on what I said.

"It seems very interesting. My Mega Stone showed it being a Mega Evolution. You two really must have one of the strongest bonds of the century if you're able to Mega Evolve without the stones." He says. I take time to think about that. I never really thought of the transformation as a Mega Evolution. But the fact that his power and speed are increased a lot does make it seem as though it is. Maybe there's more to it than just speed and power. I guess only training and time will tell. We make it back to the center. We stand on the inside of the center while Alain stands on the out.

"Well Alain. We may have met in a strange way, but we'll cross paths again. I will be sure to think of something to help with Mairin's Chespin." I say reassuringly.

"It is good to meet you too Ash. Next time I would love to battle you again." He said. We then shook hands.

"Until next time Alain." I say with a smile.

"Until next time." He says smiling back. We then turn and walk to Nurse Joy to get some rooms. Tomorrow we were going to head out to Snowbelle City for my 8th gym badge.