Chapter 29

I wonder why it has come to this, but my Alain self is now traveling with Mairin and now we're in the Hoenn Region to learn more about the Mega Evolution.

"It should be around here..." I mutter before hearing Mairin falling off the hill.

"Mairin!" I yell.

"Alain! Help! I stuck! I can't even move at all!" Before I can rush to help, there is someone who I know very well coming to aid. And that is the son of the Devon Corp President Steven Stone.

"There you go, looks like you're all right." Steven says.

"Thank you so very much. My name is Mairin and I'm from the Kalos Region. It's so very nice to meet you." Mairin says.

"From the Kalos Region, then you traveled the long way, Mairin." Steven says as he also introduces himself. "So what are you doing in a place like this?"

I decide to approach and I ask, "Mairin, are you okay?"

"I'm fine because Steven helped me out. This is my travel buddy Alain, and this is my partner Chespie." Mairin says.

"Thanks for your help." I bow as Steven says, "Your voice is kinda similar... have we met before?"

"We might have met before. However, do you want a battle?" I ask while showing the Mega Ring.

"I may not look like it, but I'm a busy man." Steven says.

"Oh, this won't take long." I say. "I'm going to beat every Mega Evolved Pokemon and stand at the summit. If you're a trainer, making eye contact is the signal to start the battle, right?"

Steven nods as we have a battle, and I decide to send out Charizard. Steven says, "I see, Charizard, eh? Here's my partner! Metagross!" Steven sends out his shiny Metagross.

Both of us decide to Mega Evolve our Pokemon, and I still remember how I beat Steven in a battle three years ago with Pikachu, but now he's with my real self and Charizad is the only one with me now.

Mega Charizard unleashes a powerful Flamethrower attack, though Steven has Metagross use Psychic to send the attack towards the sky. Steven calls for a Flash Cannon, which scores a direct hit and lowers Charizard's endurance stat. Charizard returns the favor with a Dragon Claw, only to be struck by a Meteor Mash in return. Charizard, however, emerged unscathed and launched a Blast Burn at its opponent.

Mega Metagross remains standing in spite of the direct hit, and Steven says, "I wouldn't underestimate my Mega Metagross.

I decide to call for another Dragon Claw while Metagross prepares another Meteor Mash. As the two are about to finish each other off, a Pyroar unleashes a Flamethrower and interrupts the two.

Just great... he's here, and now I really can't show myself to Steven. Lysandre... the boss of Team Flare and the businessman who owns the Lysandre Labs is here.

"Do you two mind if I interrupt your battle?" He asks.

"It's my boss." I mutter.

After both Pokemon are back to normal, Lysandre says, "I asked you to please excuse my subordinate's rudeness, former Champion Steven."

"Champion?" Mairin asks.

"This man used to be the Hoenn Region's Champion, his name is Steven. However, three years ago, his Champion title was taken by Wallace, the former Sootopolis City Gym Leader, who was also defeated by the famous trainer Ash Ketchum a few months later."

"So I assume you have met Ash before. Not to be rude, but who are you?" Steven asks.

"Forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lysandre, I'm the owner of Lysandre Labs, located in the Kalos Region. It was I who directed him to learn more about Mega Evolution." Lysandre says.

"Hey, excuse me, but are you the guy who calls Alain some time?" Mairin butts in, and I decide to stop her. "Mairin!"

"Fascinating. And who is she, Alain?" Lysandre asks.

"Mairin is my name, and this is my awesome partner Chespie! See, I'm Alain's trustworthy and hardworking traveling buddy." Great, she does it again.

"Well, I didn't realize you have a little sidekick, Alain." Lysandre says.

"No, no! You got it all wrong! I'm not Alain's sidekick! I want to learn how to Mega Evolve!" Mairin says.

"I already told you, you don't Mega Evolve, your Pokemon does." I say.

"I knew that!" She yells back.

"Anyway. I've got something to discuss. Wait for me over there." Mairin is not happy and she mutters, "Whatever... treating me like a kid..." And that's when she falls from the hill again.

"So much drama to deal with, hang on." I sigh as I save her.

After returning to higher ground, Mairin asks me, "Hey, Alain, may I ask who's that Lysandre?"

"Someone very dear to me." I say.

"More than Professor Sycamore?" Mairin asks.

I started to remember the day when I met Lysandre. I was trying to find more information about Team Flare, and that led me to a ruin, I put a Mega Stone on top of the pillar and waited for a while until it was taken. And that's when Lysandre shows up and asks if I was looking for it. He taunts me and says that if I want this, I have to beat him in a battle.

I went with Charizard, however, I decided to hold back into a normal trainer's level so that Lysandre beat my Charizard with a Pyroar. He told me that if I wanted to harness my dream, I had to be the strongest. He then took me to Team Flare's secret HQ, and that means my infiltration is a success. He told me that he's been searching for Mega Evolution energy for peaceful means, and when I asked if he should talk to Professor Sycamore about it, he refused because he was scared that certain people used it for evil.

He made me an offer by giving me a Key Stone and a Charizarditie, and that's when I ended my flashback as Mairin is calling to me.

"Alain, what's wrong? I mean, Lysandre's leaving." Mairin says as I come back to my senses.

When we arrive at the mountaintop, I ask, "Sir, is this it?"

"Presumably." Lysandre says as we wait for Steven to get read in his tent. Once he comes out, he says, "Thank you for waiting. I've been traveling and searching for various stones. See, since I learned of Mega Evolution, I've been trying to trace its roots. Have a look, I found this."

"You found what it's written?" Lysandre says. "Good. It is also about the giant rock, what has been written was what brought us to this region."

As he shows the rock, Steven says, "This rock is different than mine. There are several wooden tablets, and each of the contents is different. If we share each other's information, we'll get closer to finding the answer. According to my tablet, the Legendary giant rock the ancient people brought was kept right here. I analyzed the tablet and learned that it led to a gate."

"My tablet said that to open the gate, we need two stones." Lysandre says, "It also said that the path would reveal itself when it came together." Lysandre says.

Since we think it is a Key Stone and a Mega Stone, we decide to climb up and use the Key Stones, and that's when we revealed the stairway that leads to the mountain.

"We weren't expecting that, were we? If you hadn't come, I would've been searching endlessly. I'm grateful." Steven says.

"No, I'm grateful." Lysandre replies back.

"And Alain, the path would never reveal itself without your assistance. Thank you very much." Steven says to me, though I'm still wondering what Lysandre is planning. Steven is still not recognizing me, which is a good thing, but should I reveal myself to him or not?"

At the top, we find some ruins in search of the Giant Rock, we find two daises and activate them with their Key Stones, revealing a crystal. "We found the Legendary Rock!" Steven says.

"The source of Mega Evolution." Lysandre says.

"Our Key stones are reacting to it." I say as I watch the glowing Key Stone.

Lysandre talks in his communicator, and a helicopter flies in. A science team soon arrives and starts researching the power of the Giant Rock, and in the process, the sky turns dark, and Rayquaza appears.

"Rayquaza?" Steven is shocked.

"Lysandre, the rock's internal pressure is rising more than we thought!" The scientist says.

This is not my Rayquaza because mine is Shiny, but there are multiple Rayquaza in the world and this one must have Mega Evolved because of that crystal.

"Rayquaza Mega Evolved... the last time I saw this was when Ash and Alice were trying to stop the meteorite from crashing onto earth..."

"You mean Ash Ketchum?" Mairin asks.

When Rayquaza appears, I start to get worried that Groudon and Kyogre will show up again. Rayquaza is now in a rage as it tries to attack us with Dragon Ascent, and we decide to stop him by using Charizard and Metagross.

Mega Charizard X fails to use Flamethrower against Rayquaza, and Metagross fails to attack as well. Rayquaza counters with Draco Meteor before flying off into the atmosphere.

The ruins are left destroyed, and I also injured myself because I tried to protect Mairin and Chespie from the Draco Meteor, and now the rock is gone.

"Are you okay?" Steven asks.

"We're fine." I say but wincing after the shoulder pain.

"Are you alright?" Lysandre asks.

"Don't worry, it's not a big deal." I mutter. "Is the giant rock and Rayquaza connected?"

Then after a while, Lysandre explains that there is a powerful signal of Mega energy near Rustboro City, and we are going there with Steven. "Alain, one more thing. Stay very close to the Champion. His knowledge will be of great importance to us."

"Got it." I say as I chase after Steven.

Now back to my Ash's self, we're now at Baa de Mer Ranch, which has a lot of Skiddo and other Route 12 Pokemon. Serena says, "This ranch is famous for its delicious cheese and ice cream made from Skiddo milk!"

"I want some!" Bonnie says.

"So why don't we all check it out?" Elline asks as we cheer.

When we go there, we of course purchase some treats for us to eat, and we notice a lot of kids riding Skiddo. "Serena!"

We turn to notice Helen and Serena's mother Grace are also here. Serena gasps, "Mom! Helen!"

"Talk about a strange coincidence." Clemont says.

"It's been a while, Serena. How are you, dear?" Grace asks.

"I'm fine, but what are you doing here?" Serena asks.

"I was invited here to be a special coach for Rhyhorn racer training camp. While Helen's here because she wants to see what she can do with the Skiddo milk."

Helen says, "Yeah, it is still in progress. But we never thought we were going to run into you here. I assume you're heading to Courmarine City?"

I say, "Well, I'm going to get my fourth badge, and besides, there is a showcase going on in Courmarine City that Serena is also going to attend."

"Oh, you mean the Kalos Showcases. So you're finally going to try out that?" Grace asks and Serena says, "Of course."

Helen says, "That sounds like an ambitious plan you got there, Serena. But I'm sure you will be able to do it."

Elline says, "Even the Kalos Queen Aria sees potential in Serena. I'm sure she'll be fine."

David says, "So this is a Rhyhorn training camp?"

"Yep, but this is for beginners, so we start the training with Skiddo." Grace replies. "Rhyhorn are a little too big and strong for the beginners. That's why we start with Skiddo. When you hold their horns while riding them, they can actually sense your feelings. Even kids can ride them."

Then we decide to try out Skiddo riding, and as we all do it together, Clemont is still the one without the motor skills as the Skiddo he's riding is really scared. Then we also decide to try out Helen's new cooking with the cheese pot for lunch, and it obviously tastes good.

After helping the campers for a while, the sun is about to set, and before we leave, Grace says, "Serena, remember, take on every challenge and rise above them all."

"Thanks, Mom and you too, Helen." Then we bid them farewell as we all head to Courmarine City.

Here is a new chapter, the first part is the Mega Evolution special, and then the next one is the Skiddo Ranch. Since Serena has been traveling with Ash since Kanto so there's no need to prove her mother that she wants to do something. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be Courmarine City.

Ash and Serena's Pokemon:

Venusaur, Charizard x2, Blastoise, Pikachu x2, Alakazam, Gengar, Kangaskhan, Pinsir, Gyarados (Shiny), Eevee, Aerodactyl, Ampharos, Scizor, Heracross, Houndoom, Tyranitar, Gardevoir (Shiny), Mawile, Aggron, Medicham, Manectric, Banette, Absol, Garchomp, Lucario, Samurott, Audino, Zoroark, Hydreigon, Quilladin, Braixen, Frogadier, Diggersby, Fletchinder, Vivillon x20, Litleo, Florges (Rainbow), Skiddo, Pancham, Furfrou, Espurr x2, Honedge, Aromatisse, Slurpuff, Inkay, Binacle, Clauncher, Heliolisk, Tyrunt, Amarua (Shiny), Hawlucha, Dedenne, Carbink, Yveltal, Diancie