Chapter 35
In the Hoenn Region, we arrive at Rustboro City and arrive at the Devon Corporation, and Mairin says, "This is the Devon Corp..."
I say, "I'm going on."
"Hey, wait!" Mairin yells. "Alain, don't you have any sense of wonder at all?"
"I've been here before, and there's no time to waste." I say. "I don't mind you here, but don't get in the way."
Mairin pouts, "I told you this guy needs to chill out..."
Inside, Lysandre streams footage of Groudon, telling us that it is 100 miles off the coast of Rustboro and fast approaching. Kyogre is traveling south of Sootopolis City. Steven says, "Could it be... Primal Version of Groudon? It happens again?"
"What do you mean by that?" Mairin asks.
"Three years ago, Team Magma and Team Aqua have been trying to summon Groudon and Kyogre for their own beliefs putting the whole Hoenn Region in danger." Steven says. "I've witnessed how powerful Groudon and Kyogre are during their primal reversion. It was horrifying..."
I say, "Let me guess, three years ago, this incident was stopped by Ash Ketchum as well, am I right? Steven?"
"Wait, really? You mean Ash Ketchum also stopped the two from fighting three years ago?" Mairin asks.
"Yes, and after that, Team Aqua and Team Magma are disbanded and they have been exploring to learn more about the environment." Steven says.
Steven explains that Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre clashed in ancient times, expanding the land and seas as they tried to take possession of an incredible source of power – the Giant Rock.
"The situation is grave." Lysandre says. "If the energy source were detected off the Rustboro City truly is the Legendary Giant Rock..."
"Groudon is on land, and Kyogre is deep in the ocean. If I analyze where they're currently heading, then..." Steven says.
"Those two are going to meet!" Mairin gasps.
"It exactly as the legend says." I say.
"And we know what that means." Steven says.
"Lysandre, I'll head to that location." I say as we finish the call with Lysandre, and Steven offers to assist as well.
Mairin says, "But Steven, wait a minute! Won't it be dangerous?"
"We're just going to observe it from up in the air." Steven says.
"I'll go ahead." As I am about to leave, Mairin says, "Alain? Your shoulder, does it hurt anymore?"
"No, it feels fine." I say. "There is no time for small talk now, see you there."
"I'm not going! You shouldn't go either!" Mairin says. "I'm scared, really scared! Aren't you, Alain? Remember how Rayquaza was angry the last time? Rayquaza was bad enough on its own, you got hurt! If they both show up trying to destroy the world, you might not get out of that in one peace!"
"I made my promise." I say. "A promise to Lysandre, to acquire power, to become stronger. To become the strongest ever."
"The strongest ever? How far are you going to go?" Mairin asks. "Fight something that can end the world?"
"You simply don't understand!" I yell.
"But I don't want you to go. What if... something...happens?" Mairin asks.
I say nothing but muttering, "Go home."
Then I decide to leave, and Steven asks, "Shouldn't she come along with us?"
"She's simply a nuisance." I say.
"But that's not how you really feel. It's just your way of caring." Steven says. "So Alain, or should I say... Ash..."
"So you knew it all along?" I ask.
"I recognize your voice anywhere, let me guess: Your mother is having you on another undercover mission?" Steven asks.
"Yes, my mother has suspicions about Lysandre being the boss of Team Flare." I say. "Which is why I do undercover. My other self, I mean, the real Ash's self, will be in Kalos trying to stop Team Flare."
"I see... you really are busy." Steven says. "So you think that they shouldn't have the giant rock?"
"On the other hand, they should." I say. "Other than researching the rock, I heard that Team Flare is also trying to use the Ultimate Weapon that your father told us three years ago."
"I see..." Steven sighs.
After we approach our destination, Steven and I feel the sudden wave of heat coming from Groudon's magma. Steven says, "So that's not your Groudon or Kyogre?"
"No. Groudon should be in Alola while Kyogre is in Johto. I don't think they are mine." I say.
"We're getting high energy readings of shore in Rustboro City." The pilot says. "It matches the energy of the giant rock."
"It is the giant rock." Steven says.
"Can you hear me?" Now Lysandre is trying to call us. "We're picking up energy readings as well. But we haven't located the actual Giant Rock, we don't know what will happen so be careful while you investigate."
Making its presence known, Kyogre leaps from the ocean and strikes Primal Groudon with a direct blast of Origin Pulse. Groudon retaliates with Precipice Blades, sending Kyogre crashing into the water below. It follows up with an Eruption, though Kyogre defends itself with Sheer Cold. The Ice attack transforms the battle zone into a frozen wasteland and temporarily freezes Groudon in place.
The two legendary rivals stand by as the energy increase eventually crystallizes and the Giant Rock begins to appear.
"So it is the Giant Rock." Steven says.
"Right." I say.
"Do you read me, Alain? This is for your ears only. I believe the lost rock has been crystalizing. We're heading there right away. But now, you must protect the giant rock from those two. It has meaning only if it's used in the service of humanity."
"All right. Understood." I say as I open the door, Steven asks, "Alain! What are you doing?"
"I've gotta stop them. Charizard! I choose you!" I send out the Charizard and Mega Evolve.
Charizard flies towards the Legendary pair, dodging a Solar Beam from Groudon and Kyogre's Ice Beam. Steven says, "You thought you could protect the giant rock from them with Charizard alone."
"Well, we have to do something." I say.
"You're a real piece of work. We'll take on Kyogre over here." Steven then Mega Evolves his Metagross.
We call for a Flamethrower and Flash Cannon respectively, which score direct hits but fail to halt the Primal pair. Groudon tries a Precipice Blades attack, though Charizard soars through the obstacles and uses Dragon Claw to escape any damage. Metagross narrowly dodges Kyogre's Origin Pulse and retaliates with a Meteor Mash. Kyogre swats Mega Metagross away with its fin, though Mega Metagross stops its cartwheeling by grabbing onto the ice with its claws. Mega Charizard stops Primal Groudon from reaching the Giant Rock with a Steel Wing, only to be struck down by Precipice Blades.
"Mega Charizard!" I yell in horror. I decide to rope slides down to reach him, though Steven is protesting. I try to get several ice blocks off Charizard, and I recall him to recover.
It is then the impact of the battle causes me to be thrown aside, I fall unconscious and I'm not sure what happens next. When I wake up again, I notice Mairin by my side.
"Mairin?" I am confused, and then I also see Mega Rayquaza swarming around the Giant Rock. Just then, a submarine arrives, launches several blasts, and takes the Giant Rock. The submarine simply dives back underwater and Rayquaza returns to the atmosphere in its normal form.
"What was that all about?" When the sun is setting, Mairin asks.
"Mairin." I say. "Were you scared?"
"Yeah. I was, but still... I was really worried too, so..." Mairin mutters.
I put my hand on her head and says, "Thank you."
Then Mairin just hugs me, and in an odd moment, I decide to do the same. Mairin reminds me of my sisters and I know that I shouldn't let her continue to follow me.
When Mairin is asleep, I turn to Steven, "Steven... I think it is time for me to go back to Kalos."
Steven nods and says, "What are you going to do with Mairin?"
"If she comes with me again, she'll be in danger. However, if she wants to go back to Kalos, that's her choice." I say.
"And about that giant rock that Lysandre took..." Steven says.
"Well, it is up to my other self or Team Alpha to assist." Then I leave and then say, "If you can, say hi for Luke to me."
Once I get back to Lysandre Labs, Lysandre says, "Thanks to the giant rock we were able to collect more Mega Evolution energy than we expected. Now my plans for peace can move forward to the next stage."
I just stare at the rock when Lysandre says, "It's all because of you, Alain."
"Oh, thank you, sir." I say.
"You've done great work. Now why don't you take a rest?" Lysandre asks.
"Not now. Charizard and I have a long way to become strong as we can be. I've got to get there." I say to Lysandre.
With a glint in his eye, Lysandre agrees to help me on my quest, helping stage Mega Evolution battles for me to compete in.
Back to my other self, we are outside the Prism Tower, we get a Holo Caster call from Professor Sycamore. "Hello there! I wanted to talk to you for a little bit. Could you come to Lysandre Cafe? Do you know where it is? You can see it from outside the Pokemon Center right by Prism Tower. It's a red cafe! Just hop in a taxi if you can't find it. Be seeing you soon!"
Lysandre Cafe? I have a bad feeling about this... Elline says, "Are you sure we're going there?"
"We have to do it." I say as we also notice the news on the screen that's showing the battle with Primal Kyogre and Groudon. Serena says, "Hey, that's Alain and Steven..."
"You're right. What are they doing in Hoenn? And those two are fighting again?" David asks.
"Those two are not mine." I say. "But I'm sure they can handle this."
And that's when we enter the Lysandre Cafe, we find Professor Sycamore and Lysandre there.
"I was just having a conversation with Lysandre about Mega Evolution." Sycamore says.
Lysandre says, "It's nice to see you again, Ash. Mega Evolution is something I, too, would like to be able to use."
"Actually, Lysandre himself is of royal ancestry... He truly is a chosen one." Professor Sycamore says.
"True. I'm a descendant of the king's younger brother. That being said, that story is 3,000 years old, so it might not be entirely reliable." Lysandre says.
"By the way... Do you know where the Holo Caster is made?" When Professor Sycamore asks me, I say, "They're made in Lysandre's lab, isn't that right?"
"Lysandre is a great man. He supports Trainers and Pokémon research with some of the profit from the Holo Caster." Professor Sycamore says.
"People can be divided into two groups. Those who give... And those who take... It's just like how the Kalos region's two Legendary Pokémon gave life and took life." Lysandre says. "I want to be the kind of person who gives... But in this world, some foolish humans exist who would show their strength by taking what isn't theirs."
He suddenly outbursts, "They're filth!"
We flinch at the loud roar, and he says, "Long, long ago, the king of Kalos sought to take everything for his own, and he created a terrible weapon. Then the fire of destruction was unleashed... That is the legend that has been passed down. Kalos is beautiful right now! There will be no foolish actions if the number of people and Pokémon do not increase. That being said, the future isn't decided. You can't be sure each day will be like the one before. What the king of Kalos did was reprehensible, but... The ultimate weapon did manage to wash the world clean of that era's filth."
Then he gives us the King's Rock, and he says, "Thank you for listening. Take that as an apology for my taking up your time."
"No problem." I say.
"What a passionate person. He's just like a blazing flame. Perhaps his pride in his lineage is what makes him burn so intensely. That being said, what Lysandre says is only one way to look at things... It's not necessarily the truth. What's truly important is the time you spend together with others! Treasure these moments spent traveling the Kalos region with your Pokémon!" Professor Sycamore says and we nod.
After outside the cafe, Serena says, "For some reason, I still think that Lysandre is suspicious..."
"Me too... but we shouldn't be worrying about that right now. Since we haven't got to explore the North Boulevard in Lumiose City, how about we do it?"
"That's great!" Bonnie cheers.
The exploration is actually fun, but when we enter a building on the second floor, the lights are flashing, and a girl suddenly appears behind us and says, "No, you're not the one..."
After that, she's gone. Clemont asks, "Wh-what was that?"
"I don't know... that was really creepy..." David says as we quickly leave the place as possible.
Then we go to the Galette Stand, having some Lumiose Galettes as our snacks and we like the taste. There is also the Hotel Richissime across the street from Hibernal Avenue, we can actually do some part-time jobs there are Room Service, Making beds, and Lost and Found.
For cafes, there is Café Triste, which is nothing special; Café Ultimo, a favorite spot for Super Training fans; Cafe Action!, this café is all about Trainer PR videos; and Café Bataille, which attracts those who are serious about battling. There is also the Battle Institute that we found in Hoenn and Unova, as well as the Lumiose Station.
On Autumnal Avenue, there is the Poké Ball Boutique that sells all kinds of Pokeballs, Café Pokémon-Amie, which is for Amie fans, and Juice Shoppe, which offers juices made of berries.
"Since we're here, how about we have lunch at Restaurant Le Yeah?" Elline asks, and we agree to have it. We decide to go with triple battles which cost 13500, and once we were sitting, we start to have our meal.
The entree is the sprightly Pecha pate has been likened to a Madame masquerading as a maiden, and we have to battle the Waitress Talia within three turns. She uses Mantine, Emolga, and Sigilyph to battle, so we go with Pikachu, Absol, and Zoroark to battle and defeat them within three turns.
The hot soup course next is the pottage of sorrowful Custap Berry that's topped with Mirror Coat and contains 108 different herbs. We have to battle the Garcon Georges within four turns. He uses Shuckle, Pidgeot, and Dugtrio. I can tell why it has to be in four turns because of Shuckle's Sturdy ability.
Then the owner of the restaurant comes, and he gives us the viande portion of the meal, with the Chef's compliments. A braciole of fresh, Azure bay Slowpoke Tail. It is accompanied by Payapa Berry crudites glazed in an extra-virgin Oran oil and has been described as the gastronomical equivalent of a Gastly glaring at a Hex Maniac. The owner named Yannick wants me to battle him within three turns, and he has three Zangoose, much to our surprise.
And for the fourth battle, the chef de cuisine and one of the owners have come to thank us for dining. He gives us the fromage course, hand-selected by himself to conclude our meal. And that's the ultimate in hard cheese, aged up to 180 years. Simply biting into this blue cheese will give off an odor so foul, our nose hairs will burn: A washed-rind cheese made using a female Arbok's Toxic poison. The chef named Albern sure is creative, and he uses the Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour to battle and I win in the end.
After we're done, the owner comes back and he gives us a little dessert to clean our palate: Berry sorbet made from fresh Spelon Berries and Rawst Berries, with tangy herbs in a whipped-mousse dressing. And since we did a total of 13 turns, we received the 20 Big Mushrooms in the end.
"That sure was a special meal... though the cheese part..." Serena says.
"I know." I chuckle.
In Rouge Alley, there is an empty store for sale, and a restaurant known as Sushi High Roller, since we're not hungry so we decide to try it next time.
In Jaune Alley, we manage to find Trevor's house and her mother wants us to show her a move known as Eerie Impulse. Once we show it, she gives us a revive.
In Vert Alley, there is Cafe Cyclones that wants to tip everything, so we decide to tip some for the people before leaving.
On Estival Avenue, there is the Loto-ID Center, which was usually in the Game Corners. Café Rouleau caters to roller skating enthusiasts. There's not much going on in Café Gallant. The only notable thing is that the employees are all male. It is apparently a popular café among the women of Kalos, and there is the place where Alexa is working: The Lumiose Press.
And before we finally leave Lumiose City, we decide to have dinner in Restaurant Le Wow. The meal is 100000 dollars, which is really expensive, but we decide to try it out.
The entree is the ultimate terrine that is prepared using a puree of 64 different types of freshly picked Berries, quickly flambeed with a supereffective Flame Bust to bring out the full and native deliciousness of the Berries with a delicate silky texture. We have to take 4 turns to battle the owner Christopher for it to be in the absolute prime state for eating. The owner Christopher uses a Qwilfish, a Druddigon, and a Ferrothorn to battle.
The soup for today is a sumptuous consomme. It begins with a vintage 3000-year-old Rare Bone, boiled for 100 days in pristine snow melted from Kalos' fine Frost Cavern, which allows to extract every last essence of flavor from its core. The battle takes 3 turns, and he uses Audino, Alomomola, and Amoonguss.
Then we learn that the owner has some emergencies as he leaves, so Garcon Morris is the one who brings the meal: The poisson course: a pristinely prepared item in a light veloute sauce, harvested from the coastal ocean near Cyllage City and boiled in the salt water of its sea environment so gently that it barely bubbles in the pot. This one also takes 3 turns and he uses a Shieldon, a Wobbuffet, and a Milotic.
The fourth meal is the viande course, today is a fantastically finished roast. The Garcon hops that we will not hold back but will devour it as our primal instincts urge us to. It is just moments from being ready, so we have to battle in 3 turns if we want to have it with perfect timing. He uses Togekiss, Floatzel, and Lucario this time. And they have Extreme Speed and Quick Attack to attack us first.
Then the Waitress Paula is the one that serves the next dish, but before that, it is the Skiddo that delivers the dish. The sublime Tomme cheese is made using Skiddo milk. And it takes 3 turns for battle. She uses Chatot, Exploud, and Aurorus to battle.
Now the dessert is their cool and crispy house special: creme brulee. And since we finished it in 16 turns, we got the 20 Balm Mushrooms in the end. Then we're satisfied and we leave the restaurant.
And that's the Lumisoe City exploration and also the Mega Evolution special. I hope you like this chapter and the next chapter will be the Laverre Trail.
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, Meowstic x2, Honedge, Aromatisse, Slurpuff, Inkay, Binacle, Skrelp, Clauncher, Heliolisk, Tyrunt, Amarua (Shiny), Hawlucha, Dedenne, Carbink, Goodra, Yveltal, Diancie