Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning

by The Great Butler

A girl and her friends set out on a search for truth in a land torn apart by political and religious strife. However, they are unaware of what they are stepping into: the grasp of a terrifying, inescapable enemy that aims to bring down mankind's greatest achievement, the Pokemon League. Soon, the truth becomes clouded, and a desperate struggle for survival begins.

22. The Iron Maiden

Well, let's continue going. There is nothing of note that warrants any warnings in this chapter.

-:-

CHAPTER 22: The Iron Maiden

-:-

A bright but cool morning greeted the people of Johto the day after the hijacking of the Flare Network's inaugural broadcast. With few clouds in the sun's way, its rays flooded into Anabel's penthouse, giving her plenty of natural light as she got herself dressed for her trip.

She slipped her suit jacket on and tightened her necktie as she walked from her bed to a nearby mirror. In front of her reflection, she used a long ribbon to tie her hair into a ponytail that went nearly all the way down her back, inspecting the image standing before her all the while.

"Black," she said out loud to herself. "I haven't worn this much in a long time."

Indeed, it was true that much of her outfit was black, the ribbon being the least of it. Her suit jacket and matching pants were also black, as were her shoes and her tie. The only article of a different color was the white undershirt she had on beneath the jacket.

Anxious for the day's plans to begin playing out, she stepped over to the heavy, ornate dresser set up next to the mirror to finish getting prepared. She first donned a pair of black gloves, then attached a bracelet - also black - to her left wrist. Before she finished putting everything on, she stopped for a moment to examine the crystal set into the bracelet. It was pink, diamond-shaped, and had a pattern resembling an eye within it.

"Never did really get too much of a chance to use this yet. I guess that's going to change… next time I talk to you I'll have to properly thank you for this gift, Steven."

With that, Anabel put on the last two articles remaining on the dresser - a pair of dark sunglasses and a long, dark blue scarf - then picked up her phone and made her way to her private elevator. The doors opened to allow her access to the marbled interior of the lift, and she wasted no time in pressing the button denoting the lowest floor of the Battle Tower.

As the elevator took her down the tower, she was alone with her thoughts. The only source of sound in the car was the radio piping music into its confines. Anabel found herself unable to resist tapping her foot along with what she could hear, an old song whose words spoke of freedom, second chances and other worlds. It was silly and she'd heard it countless times before, but something about it struck her as appropriate as she was on her way to reconnect with her daughter and possibly her old life.

She was snapped out of her reverie when her phone started to ring. She reached into her jacket to retrieve it, then tapped its screen and brought it to her ear.

"Hello? Oh, it's great to hear from you!" Whoever was on the other end, speaking to them brought Anabel considerable cheer. "Yeah, I think I might be doing a lot better. I'm feeling like myself today. How's Lissi? Great, that's good to know… can you let her know I said hi? Thanks, I appreciate that. What did you call for, though? ...Saffron City, I already know it's there. Wait… what are you saying? You're really short? Are you offering me… Oh, no! No! Don't get me wrong, I'm not refusing. I'm on my way to meet my daughter and her friends in Olivine right now, but I don't see any reason why I wouldn't be able to be in Saffron. Actually, scratch that. I'll be there. It'll be great to see everyone again and have fun. No, thank you, I appreciate you calling me. I've been wishing I could reconnect with everyone for a while."

While Anabel conversed with her friend, the elevator stopped at the ground floor of the Battle Tower. She didn't notice until the doors opened to reveal the facility's lobby.

"Oh, I have to go. Sorry for cutting you short! I can't wait to see everyone again! See you later!" Anabel put her phone back in her jacket and set out across the lobby, heading for the giant glass wall that the exit was built into. The civilians coming and going took no notice of her, and the staff who saw her knew to give her her space, a courtesy she appreciated.

A black limousine was waiting for Anabel in front of the Battle Tower as she made her way outside. She descended the stairs from the facility's forecourt and approached the chauffeur standing near the vehicle.

He opened the back door and gestured for Anabel to enter. "Commissioner Mistbloom, right this way, please. Miss Chiaki has already arrived."

"Yes, thank you," Anabel replied.

The chauffeur closed the door behind Anabel as she settled into the limousine's plush interior. Once she was comfortable, she took a deep breath and raised her sunglasses.

"Anabel, good morning!" Amanda greeted her. Sitting with her cane laid on the seat next to her, Amanda was smiling broadly as she looked in Anabel's direction. "How are you?"

"Doing better than I've been doing recently," Anabel replied, her voice honest but bland in its tone.

"You mean it? I've been wanting to hear you be more cheery for a long time now." The two women felt the limousine begin to move, prompting Amanda to lean back in her seat as well. "Think about it, once we get to the heliport we'll be very close to hooking up with Olivia and Matt. It's not going to be long now."

"You're right." Even though she knew Amanda couldn't see it, Anabel smiled slightly at the reassurance. She quickly turned dour again, though, and looked up at the roof of the car as she said, "I just worry that I'm losing my connection to Olivia. I was only a peripheral figure in her life for several years, and she's been growing up… I should have been there with her but I pushed her away. I was responsible for being there for her after what happened five years ago, but I was too caught up in myself. I failed her."

"Anabel… please listen to me. What's in the past is in the past. Let me tell you what I think… can you get me a drink really quick before I begin?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, hold on…"

Just across from where Anabel was sitting, there was a cube-shaped cooler. She opened it and retrieved a bottle of champagne from its icy confines, then took a pair of tall glasses off a rack on the cooler's side. She passed one glass to Amanda, then carefully filled both with the bottle's bubbly contents.

Amanda gently swirled her champagne in her glass, took a sip, and finally said, "Ah, that's nice. Anyway, what's in the past can't be changed. I learned that after losing my sight so long ago… even if Matt manages to figure out a way to help me see again, I'll never be able to see what's happened over all the years I've been blind. It was tough to deal with at first, but eventually I came to realize it makes everything in the future I might be able to see that much more beautiful."

"That makes a lot of sense, Amanda…" Anabel said. Staring at her reflection in her own glass, she caught herself showing a smile whose sincerity surprised her. "Thank you. How did you and Matt stay so close during that time?"

Quite unexpectedly for Anabel, Amanda actually laughed in response to her question, though Amanda quickly realized the potential wrong impression her doing so could create. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It just made me remember something really funny that we did once. The real answer to that is that while Matt did take care of me, obsessively so even, he also tried to arrange stuff for us to do together so we could have the closest thing to a normal life the circumstances we were in would allow. It helped us stick together by giving us things to share other than the bad things going on. What you should do going forward is find things you can do with Olivia that you guys can share together."

"I think I can do that." Anabel raised her glass to her lips and took a sip of her champagne. "What's something you and Matt did? Was one of those activities why you laughed?"

"Yes, actually!" Amanda replied. "This one time, he actually made plans for us at a karaoke club! Can you imagine, a little blind girl in a wheelchair who can't see the lyrics and him?" Anabel nearly spit out her champagne at this, prompting Amanda to laugh again as well. "We listened to a lot of music in our apartment in Rustboro so he arranged for it to only be songs we already had committed to memory, to make up for me not being able to see the lyrics. Makes sense, right?"

"Right," Anabel agreed, regaining her composure.

"Well, that little blind girl in a wheelchair who couldn't see the lyrics absolutely kicked his ass at it. It was legendarily bad, but in the sense that it was such a fun disaster that we couldn't help walking out of there ten times closer than we were going in."

"Mental note," Anabel said, deliberately saying it out loud so Amanda could hear it, "take Olivia to karaoke clubs. Don't take Amanda."

At that, Amanda threw back her head and laughed so hard her eyes watered up. For her part, Anabel just smiled once more and again sipped from her champagne glass.

-:-

In Olivine City, Mitsumi stood cross-armed at the windows of her hotel room, gazing out over the metropolis sprawling before her. She didn't have anything she wanted to say, but was still lost in thought, so there an uncomfortable silence hung in the air between her and Silva. For his part, he was sitting on his bed reviewing files.

The silence was broken when Mitsumi's phone started to ring. Silva looked to her, only to see her remaining rigidly in place in front of the window. He opened his mouth to ask if she heard the phone, but his words faded in his throat when he saw her tightening her grip so tightly on her own arms that he imagined she had to be cutting off her own circulation.

"Answer it," she abruptly said.

"Yes, alright…"

Immediately, Silva was on his feet, rushing over to pick up the phone. He nearly fell on his face more than once, but managed to collect the device and compose himself enough to speak to the person on the other end. They conversed for a short time while Mitsumi stayed cemented where she was, her attention remaining fixed on the buildings outside.

"Thank you, I understand. I'll let her know." Silva tapped the screen of the phone to end the call, then set it down on the table where Mitsumi had left it. He took several steps towards her, but did not draw very close. "Mitsumi, we got something on one of our perps. Some citizens of Olivine called in to local police and they tipped us off."

"Who is it?" Mitsumi demanded, not moving an inch.

"Ghetsis' partner, Zinzolin. He was seen in Olivine City, so we should be able to pick him up no problem."

"No problem?!" Silva had no way of knowing it, but Mitsumi's internal rage had been building up the entire time she stared out the window. Her silence had largely masked her escalating emotions, but when Silva described their mission in the way he did, it exploded. She lashed around to face him and yelled, "Looker wants us to put our mission aside and accept help from Team Rocket to bring down Polaris and whatever this Dark Matter is! Doesn't that bother you?"

"Well… yeah, but…" Caught off guard by Mitsumi's outburst, Silva struggled to find his words. "You trust Looker, right? He wouldn't steer us wrong…"

"You've been my partner for long enough to know how I feel about things like this," Mitsumi retorted. "Looker's pragmatic. He's able to think in terms of the ends. That's why it was so easy for him to work with Team Rocket on taking out Team Plasma and Team...Team…" Mitsumi suddenly found herself unable to continue speaking, temporarily checked by another geyser of emotions welling up within her. She managed to find the strength to force herself to continue, saying, "...Team Galactic. Me on the other hand… I hate all these teams! I want to rip them apart with my own hands! And we don't just have to deal with Team Rocket for this case, we have to go through that Matt Chiaki for information, too… " She stomped her foot in anger. "I hate him! I could kill him when I see him again!"

"Mitsumi, please, calm down!" Silva pleaded, his voice reflecting his desperation. "You have authority, you're way more powerful than any of them! You hold all the cards!"

Mitsumi drew in a single sharp breath and froze, wide-eyed, as her thoughts finally caught up with her emotions. She remained perfectly still, not even breathing, for a few moments before stumbling over to Silva's bed, where she sat down.

"Silva, I'm… I'm sorry," she apologized, holding her head and breathing deeply to try and regain her stability. She reached blindly toward the nightstand, where she eventually found a pen she subconsciously began clicking. "I shouldn't have taken that out on you… it's not your fault."

"Don't worry about it," Silva said to her. "I read your file when they assigned us to be partners, you know that. I wouldn't blame you if you were even more angry than this."

"Silva… thank you."

-:-

There were a number of things Olivine City could boast of about itself. Its Glitter Lighthouse was a famous landmark, and its ports hosted vessels that traveled worldwide. Its previous Gym Leader, Jasmine, was one of the first trainers to specialize in the Steel-type. In more recent years, Olivine was one of the cities in Johto that saw significant investment, leading to the development of an increasingly well-known resort area and the expansion of its cuisine.

One of these more recent improvements was a new, high-tech Pokémon Center near the entrance to the city. A massive, cube-shaped structure made nearly entirely of glass, it stood out in the city's north where the development had not yet fully reached. As they entered through the building's sliding doors, Matt, Nekou, Olivia, Bunny, Avril and Monroe marveled at its equally spectacular interior. Where most other Pokémon Centers had ordinary televisions, this one had a hologram of significant size for viewers to gather around. Other smaller holograms dotted throughout the lobby offered virtually any kind of information a traveler visiting the Pokémon Center could need. The tables and chairs around the spacious room reflected a look of modern art, an image furthered by the huge lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling.

There were a fair number of other visitors scattered around the lobby, but only one person ahead in the line as the group approached the front desk. From behind, the figure's shoulder-length hair and purple, knitted cat-ear hat gave them the impression that it was a girl of similar stature to Olivia, dressed similarly as well. Yet, as soon as the nurse returned with a Mawile and five other Poké Balls, prompting the trainer to speak, his soft and gentle voice was still unmistakably male.

"Mawlly, how're you feeling?" he said to the Mawile. Ignoring his question, she jumped into his arms and used the iron jaws on her head to pull his hat off. He sighed and said, "Mawlly, I want to get our vacation going as much as you do, but you know we have to find Olivia first."

"Isn't that funny?" Olivia said over her shoulder to Nekou. "He's looking for someone named…"

As soon as she turned her head back around, Olivia found herself face-to-face with the feminine-looking young man, who looked shocked. "Olivia?!"

Olivia stepped back, nearly colliding with Bunny as she did so. "Seriously? Is there like, no other person with the name Olivia out there?"

"What are the odds, I know, right?" The trainer started to extend his hand toward Olivia, but his manner suddenly turned nervous, and he hesitated. "My name's… Morgan, that's it. Professor Juniper sent me out here to find you."

"What's going on with her?" Olivia tilted her head inquisitively as she spoke. "Did something happen?"

"No, no, I don't think you'd call it that…" Though she said nothing, Olivia noticed just how different Morgan's attitude was when he was interacting with someone he was meeting for the first time. He was much more timid than when talking to someone she assumed he knew for a long time like Mawlly. "Maybe you would. There've been Pokémon from regions like Kalos and Alola showing up here, regions that aren't supposed to be part of the migration project…"

"We came across some already," Matt interjected. He saw Morgan shoot a nervous glance in his direction, but felt it would be even more rude to stop talking without clarifying what he meant. "I caught a Crabrawler the other day, and she-" he gestured to Avril, "-caught a Stufful."

"That's right, I did," Avril piped up from the back of the group.

Morgan kept his head down and didn't look at any of them. "You did? That's… interesting… Anyway, Professor Juniper wanted me to find you. Wait, I said that already. She wanted me to tell you to keep checking out any of the foreign Pokémon you see with your Pokédex, and she also wanted me to give you an upgrade for the unexpected ones."

"That makes sense, I guess," Olivia replied with a shrug. "You want me to give you my Pokédex for the update, or…?"

"Nah, it's easier than that. These things are all high tech now." Morgan produced his own Pokédex from his jacket pocket and pressed a button on it several times, making a white-and-black square appear on its screen. Holding it out toward Olivia, he said, "Just scan this with your Pokédex, and you'll get all the data."

"Alright, that's easy enough."

Olivia followed Morgan's instructions and held her Pokédex over his, allowing it to begin scanning the square. While the download progressed, Olivia glanced over to the device in Morgan's hand and took notice of a sticker on it depicting a Koffing drawn in a neon purple spray paint style.

"Koffing and the Toxics?" she inquired.

"You know them?" Morgan said in surprise.

"Yeah, their music is pretty good."

"You've got good taste." Morgan visibly relaxed as he realized he and Olivia had something in common. Meanwhile, a beeping sound came from Olivia's Pokédex, signifying the download was finished. "All done," he said, returning his Pokédex to his pocket.

"So Juniper wants me to keep doing what I've been doing with this?" Olivia asked him as she stepped past and towards the desk.

"That's right. The data on these foreign Pokémon is all in there, she wants to get documentation of them in this region."

"I got it." She then turned to the nurse, who was waiting patiently on the other side of the desk, and said, "Could you take care of my Pokémon? I'd like you to have a special look at my Mr. Mime… he got really sick last night."

"Last night?" the nurse repeated."Was it during that strange phenomenon that took place during the Polaris speech?"

Olivia put her hand on her face and thought for a moment, then exclaimed, "It was!"

"In that case, I'll check him to make sure, but it may be that he has undergone a type change."

"A type change?" Olivia said, blinking back at the nurse as a puzzled expression settled over her face. The nurse nodded back in affirmation, moving a hand over Mr. Mime's Poké Ball as she moved it back to the machine behind the counter.

"Ever since that event happened, we've gotten in several Pokémon who, upon examination, reflected a type that never came in before. Just since last night, it's been a Snubbull, then a Clefairy, then a Togepi. Oh, and especially that Mawile… the Fairy-type, I think they called it."

"Will he be okay?"

It wasn't the nurse who answered. It was Morgan, who stepped up alongside her with Mawlly still holding on to his hat in her steel jaws. "Mawlly got sick just like you said your Mr. Mime did, but you can see she's perfectly fine now."

"That's reassuring, thanks."

Standing alongside Nekou and Bunny, Matt couldn't help but smile as he watched Olivia's casual, easygoing interactions with Morgan.

"It's good to see her making new friends," he thought, "especially now… if it helps take her mind off-"

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of someone wrapping their arms around him from behind. Before he could question who it was, they said, "I couldn't wait to see you again, Matt. Well, see you… you get what I mean."

"Same to you, Amanda. And if you're here, that means…"

Having turned around from the Pokémon Center's desk, Olivia charged through the group of her friends toward the suited figure behind them. "Mom!" she cried out, throwing herself into Anabel's arms.

Anabel stumbled from the surprisingly strong force of Olivia running into her, but quickly recovered and embraced her daughter. Nothing immediate had to be said between them. Olivia's soft sobs and Anabel's gentle stroking of her hair communicated everything.

"Is it really him?" Olivia whimpered into the lapel of Anabel's suit. "Was that Dad on TV last night?"

"I don't know, but we're going to find out," Anabel said, continuing to stroke Olivia's hair in an attempt to reassure her. "You and me. I'm going to be there for you now. Together we'll find out if that's him, and if it is, we'll bring him back to his senses."

"Thanks, Mom…" Her sobs subsided, and Olivia instead nestled herself more deeply into the arms of her mother. Anabel held her more tightly and looked up at the others, briefly locking eyes with Nekou, who frowned, bit her lip and turned away.

Nekou's actions struck Anabel as odd, but before she could question them, another familiar voice intervened. "You two are so close, it brings a tear to my eye."

The group turned in the direction of the Pokémon Center's entrance to see Dominic walking up to them, a suitcase in his right hand. Monroe immediately reached out and hugged his father, while Avril approached him, but left it to Dominic to reach out and touch her.

"Dominic, you brought the papers, right?" Matt asked of the businessman.

"I sure did."

"Good." Turning to the others, Matt said, "I've got to go over these documents for licensing ALEA to the Angel Corporation. That's going to take a little bit of time."

"Wait," Amanda interrupted, stepping toward Matt and taking out a Quick Ball. "Before you get started with all of that, I brought you that new Pokémon I mentioned, Dragalge."

"It's in here?" he asked as he accepted the sphere. He put his arm around his sister's shoulder and said, "Thank you, Amanda. How is everyone else doing?"

"They're all doing great! Manticore still doesn't get along all that well with Charlotte, but I think it's starting to turn into more of a rivalry than a hatred, you know? Especially now that I evolved Charlotte into an Eelektross with a Thunder Stone."

"You what?" Matt said in surprise. "What led to that?"

"Like I said, it's more of a rivalry between her and Manticore now. If I trade Manticore back to you, she'll reach the final stage of her evolution, and Charlotte knows that. Anabel and I could tell she wanted to keep up."

"That's… interesting, to say the least. I'll have to try both of them out at my next Battle Frontier challenge…"

"Speaking of which, I've got an idea!" Olivia piped up, separating herself from Anabel for the time being. "We're going to all go together to the Gym, right? Well, if they're going to be doing paperwork for a little while…" she gestured to Matt and Dominic as she spoke, "...what about if Morgan and I have a battle to pass the time?"

"I'm not so great at battling, you know…" Morgan sighed. "But I guess I can give it a try. I hope you're not thinking you'll practice against Mawlly though…" As if trying to accentuate her trainer's point, Mawlly stopped playing with his hat in her jaws and growled, but then absentmindedly went right back to what she was doing. "You see how she is. I promised her that our trip to Johto would be a vacation so she's annoyed we're working."

"Don't worry about it," Olivia assured him, "it'll work out."

"Yeah, it will," Anabel said to the others. "We'll finish up our business here, go to the Gym and once that's all done, we'll have a nice celebration since we're all here together. Morgan, you can come too."

"Thank you!" Morgan happily replied. "What sort of celebration? I love pizza…"

"Matt makes one hell of a pizza," Nekou commented, recalling with great contentment the dinner of the night before. "You should get some."

"No, no. While that does sound quite delicious…" Anabel put a gloved hand on Nekou's shoulder and continued, "...I was thinking something different for us tonight." Looking squarely at Matt, Anabel put forth a question to the entire group. "How about karaoke?"

"Amanda, you didn't…" Matt's perpetually pale skin started to turn red when he realized what Anabel's question meant.

Immediately perceiving the presence of something greater from Matt's reaction, Nekou smirked. Matt found himself staring at her, Anabel and Amanda, all wearing three nearly identical faces that made obvious the mischief they intended to cause for him.

"This sounds like one fucking good story," Nekou sarcastically said, her eyes remaining fixed on Matt even while she spoke to Anabel and Amanda.

"Oh, trust me," Anabel answered, "it is."

-:-

Elsewhere in Olivine City, a figure hid in the shadows of an alley, watching the people and cars go by. They didn't seem to take notice of him, and that was exactly how he wanted it.

"Too many prying eyes around," Zinzolin bitterly noted to himself. "How troublesome. Even now, if I'm seen before I can get out of this country, I won't be safe from Polaris…"

Ghetsis' underling shivered in the cold air, a byproduct of having discarded his easily recognizable hat at the same time he removed the Team Plasma symbol from his coat. With a sigh, he resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be able to reach the port right away. He took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from where he had them stashed in his coat, but when he tried to light one, he was unable to get a flame going.

"What a useless flame, one that cannot piece even this marginal cold…" he grumbled.

"Want a light?"

Zinzolin hadn't seen Mitsumi slip up next to him in the alley, so when she suddenly spoke he nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise. He was certain that Polaris had found him, so when he twisted around only to see a young woman casually leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette of her own, he sighed in relief.

"Oh, good, you're not one of them…" Zinzolin didn't speak loudly enough for Mitsumi to hear him, even though his words were seemingly directed at her. "Maybe I'll be safe after all."

"Sounds like you're in a real situation." Mitsumi was merely pretending to be unaware of who Zinzolin was or what he was talking about, but acting in such a way was an internal struggle for her. Just under the surface she was burning with anger at him, the disappearance of his Team Plasma insignia meaning nothing for how she saw him. Barely keeping herself from lashing out, she continued forcing her neutral expression as she said, "I tend to need a smoke when I get stressed out, too, so believe me when I tell you I know what you're feeling. Here."

Mitsumi held her lighter out to Zinzolin, a gesture the elderly man took with a sense of pleasant surprise.

"You're a rare generous child, I must say," he complimented her as he put his own lighter away, completely unaware of the trap he was walking into. "I thank you for your kindness."

Without another word, Mitsumi flicked her lighter to life, enticing Zinzolin to light his cigarette with it. He did so, then took a long drag on it, closing his eyes in an attempt to relieve some of his stress.

Closing his eyes was Zinzolin's final, critical mistake.

While he attempted to relax, Mitsumi closed her lighter, only to open a hidden hatch on its bottom. Inside was a small electrical coil, and just as Zinzolin exhaled a cloud of smoke, Mitsumi jammed the coil into his neck. Stunned by the electric shock, Zinzolin dropped his cigarette and stumbled for several steps before falling to his knees.

"That was the Sparking Lighter," Mitsumi bitterly told him, even though he was too stunned to process what she said. As she returned the lighter to its place on her tactical suit, she stomped out the smoldering cigarette, then took out a set of handcuffs attached to a rope. Tilting her head back so she could look down on him with a harsh gaze, she declared, "These are the Adjustable Handcuffs."

With a flick of her wrist, Mitsumi threw the handcuffs toward Zinzolin. One half fixed itself around his right arm, giving Mitsumi the opportunity to pull it up and bind his left arm as well.

"You're, you're…" Zinzolin stuttered, only gradually recovering from the combination of his shock from her actions and the literal shock he received from her weapon.

"You're Zinzolin from Team Plasma and Polaris, and you're under arrest." Lowering herself so she'd be closer to Zinzolin's head, she continued, "I'm Agent Mitsumi of the International Police."

"I-International Police…?" By then, Zinzolin had regained some of his composure, but he was still absorbing how his fortunes had turned so quickly. "What do you want with me?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?" Mitsumi wasn't joking, either - she genuinely couldn't believe what he'd asked. Looking back down the alley, she called out, "Come and help me out here."

Silva emerged from where he had concealed himself, and as he joined his partner, he said to her, "You really do get the job done."

"The job's not done yet," she countered. "Come on, let's bring him in and then find the others…"

Mitsumi and Silva pulled Zinzolin to his feet, but before they could get very far at all with him, he dug his feet into the ground and did the best he could to resist being forced to move.

"Find the others? What do you mean by find the others?"

"That's not any of your business," Mitsumi warned, "so don't ask again."

"You're looking for the others who were loyal to Ghetsis, aren't you?" he deduced from Mitsumi's reaction. "I'll tell you anything you want to know!"

Though Mitsumi tried to ignore Zinzolin's offer, Silva stopped walking, bringing the entire group to a halt.

"Wait, Mitsumi, let's hear him out. What if he's really got something to offer?"

Mitsumi didn't answer. She didn't try to keep forcing Zinzolin along, either, but she showed her displeasure with a sharp huff as she turned away.

"I get what you mean, Mitsumi. Thanks for listening to me." Silva tapped Zinzolin on the shoulder, then asked him, "What exactly are you willing to tell us?"

"Anything," Zinzolin repeated. "You want Team Plasma? Polaris? I'll give you the details I know on anything you want! I want protection from Polaris, and if you give me that, I'll tell you everything I know!"

Without releasing his grip on the rope attached to the Adjustable Handcuffs, Silva took several steps away from Zinzolin and gestured for Mitsumi to join him.

"It sounds like a deal we should think about," he whispered to Mitsumi once she joined him. "He might be able to give us enough to understand the way Team Rocket, Team Plasma and Polaris are all connected together."

"You seriously aren't even entertaining the possibility he's lying to get protection?"

"But he didn't ask for protection from justice," Silva argued, "he asked for protection from Polaris. If he just wanted to get off the hook for his crimes wouldn't he have asked for that?"

Mitsumi paused to consider Silva's opinion, then bitterly replied, "Offer him protection depending upon him giving us real information first. That's as far as I'm willing to go."

-:-

Out behind the Olivine City Pokémon Center, Nekou, Bunny, Anabel, Avril and Monroe all sat alongside each other and watched as Olivia's Mareep and Morgan's Misdreavus clashed. Mareep's Thunderbolt cut down one of Misdreavus' Shadow Ball attacks, showering the earthy battlefield in bright, glowing sparks. As the light of the collision faded, both Olivia and Mareep regarded the scene with similarly wild, aggressive grins.

"You don't hold back, do you?" Morgan said to her, his own heavy breathing matching that of his Misdreavus.

"Hey, that's true, but you're still standing, aren't you?" Olivia countered, punctuating her sharp words by putting her fists on her hips and leaning forward. "You and Misdreavus are keeping up! The way you're doing, you should challenge the Gym too!"

"You think so?" Morgan seemed momentarily taken aback by Olivia's compliment. He then looked at Mawlly, who was sitting next to him eating honey-covered cookies and barely paying attention to the battle, and sighed. "I have to keep my promise. No more work after this. Only vacation."

Olivia pouted. "I don't get it. Why not make it part of your vacation?"

"You should ask Mawlly that," Morgan replied, gesturing to his Pokémon, still sitting at his side ignoring what was going on. "She never stops giving it to me if she isn't happy, but I'd do anything for her. What about that Mareep of yours? The professor never told me you had one."

"I got her not too long ago, she's the most recent Pokémon I caught."

"Well she really is something else, then! Wednesday and I have been together for a while and Mareep's still pushing us pretty far!"

While Morgan's praise brought out genuine smiles in both Olivia and Mareep, there was another whose reaction could not have been more different. Standing among Olivia's other Pokémon on the sidelines near the human spectators, Dewott heard Morgan's recognition of Mareep and became so angry he nearly threw one of his shells straight at the electric sheep. He restrained himself at the last possible moment, and instead threw it straight into the ground.

"She might be pushing you far, but when this is done, she'll push you right over the edge!" Olivia remained unaware of Dewott's anger and jealousy, which her words only stoked further. "Mareep, Thunderbolt!"

"Wednesday, show Olivia you can push back! Do it with your own Thunderbolt!"

Both Pokémon released bright bolts of lightning from their bodies, creating a great flash where they collided. Most of the onlookers had to shield their eyes from the light, but Anabel remained still, her eyes already well protected behind her sunglasses.

"She's compensating, I can tell," Anabel said out loud to the others, though she didn't direct it at anyone in particular. "Even now I can still tell exactly what my daughter is feeling."

"In what way?" Bunny asked, her gaze unmoving from the battle playing out before her.

"She's trying to make it look like she's carrying herself with confidence, but in reality she's faking it. But she isn't faking it for us, not alone. What she's trying to do is fool herself. What happened last night really has shaken her to the core… I can tell."

"Maman…" The word slipped out of Nekou's mouth before she could stop it, and it took several long, awkward moments before she decided to keep talking. "Maman's the same way with me. She's always known me better than I know myself…" Suddenly, Nekou grabbed Anabel's hand, visibly surprising Olivia's mother, and said to her, "Don't ever lose that with Olivia! Do anything you have to do to keep it alive! She needs it more than you even know!"

The abrupt nature of Nekou's outburst caught Anabel off guard, leading to another awkward pause in the conversation. When she composed herself, though, she put her own hand on top of Nekou's, effectively reversing who was holding whose hand. "Thank you for looking after Olivia for so long. I know she really likes you, and I have to admit that you were there for her when I wasn't. Thank you."

A sharp tightness swiftly welled up in Nekou's chest, and she pulled her hand away from Anabel before she even realized she was doing it. When her mind caught up with her, she brought her hand to her heart as she felt her body suddenly become cold.

"I can't do this, I can't…" she thought to herself, clenching her fist tightly in the hopes that the pain would keep her from acknowledging Anabel's visible confusion.

Back on the battlefield, Mareep was rushing toward Wednesday, her tail shining like well-polished metal. Wednesday remained unyielding in the face of the oncoming attack, showing not one trace of fear or concern.

"Wednesday, use Shadow Ball!" Morgan directed his Misdreavus.

By opening her mouth and growling, Wednesday formed a Shadow Ball in front of herself. Instead of launching it as she would usually do, though, she tilted her entire body backwards, raising it up so it would intercept Mareep's descent. Mareep swung her tail right into the dark sphere, causing it to explode; the force threw Mareep up into the air while pushing Wednesday into the ground.

Just as Mareep landed, Wednesday was pulling herself out of the dirt and preparing for more. The sparks coursing through Mareep's wool made clear she intended to deliver. Though both Pokémon were breathing heavily, they were both too fired up to want to stop.

Before either Olivia or Morgan could give another command, Matt's voice interrupted. "Looks like this was really competitive."

He was arriving flanked by Amanda on his left and Dominic on his right. While Avril and Monroe's father greeted his children and the others with a silent smile and a wave of his hand, Amanda was cheerfully talking to her brother.

"It was competitive, you said?" she asked him. "Tell me what happened! I want to know how they did!"

"Why don't you hear it directly from them?" Matt replied. Beckoning them with his hand, he called out to them, "Olivia, come on over and tell my sister about your battle, would you?"

"You guys got done quicker than I expected," Olivia said. She took a single step in Matt and Amanda's direction, and that single step was one too many for her Pokémon.

Realizing that her trainer was stepping away from the battle and thus ending it, Mareep cried out angrily and turned her rage onto Wednesday, who was simply floating next to Morgan and didn't immediately realize she was being targeted. Mareep growled and began to charge electricity in her wool. Olivia pulled out Mareep's Poké Ball with such haste that the sphere nearly flew out of her hand.

While Olivia finished recalling Mareep and made her way over to Matt and Amanda, Morgan approached Anabel and the others on the sidelines. "Man, really, what is with that Mareep of hers?" he asked them. "Mawlly tends to be the ornery type, but that Mareep is something else."

"Another trainer released it in the National Park," Monroe answered. "It was too much for him to handle, from what I saw… Olivia caught it a while later. I think it was following us because it saw all the fighting it would get to do with her and thought it could satisfy itself."

"It's gonna be a real beast at the Gym, I…" Morgan was interrupted by Mawlly tugging on his leg. She started chattering at him, and he waited until he understood what she was saying. "I think that's a good idea," he said to her. "I want to see what happens at the Gym, too. We'll go with them.

Morgan didn't notice, and neither did Monroe, but while they conversed about Mareep's strength and the Gym, Avril clenched her teeth and pushed her foot harder and harder into the ground.

-:-

The old, rusted metal of the cell door grated loudly as Sheena opened it, allowing Jacob and Looker out for what would be the final time. Pierce stood against the back wall of the room, watching wordlessly as the detective and the aged archeologist exited their confines, beckoned by the woman who had come to be a champion for his own dreams.

"I'll be ready soon to send you two back to where you came from," Sheena explained to the pair, "so until then, I'll let you be here freely. I've come to know I can trust the two of you."

"Making haste to Olivine City, where my apprentices are, that is what I must be doing," Looker said to her. "Your help in that, it would be most appreciated."

"Then that's where I'll have Hoopa send you."

Jacob had been standing behind Looker in silence ever since Sheena entered the room to free them, but his biting his lip didn't help him stay quiet for long. "Please, Sheena, let me stay here!" he suddenly burst out, making both her and Looker jump.

"Back to prison is where you are headed!" the detective snapped back at his charge. "Allowing you to take advantage of these people to escape justice, I won't let you!"

"I'm not taking advantage of them, I swear!" Jacob countered, his desperation causing his voice to sound strained until he calmed slightly. "I've spent most of my life beating myself for what happened to this place and to Saeko, but I also never believed I'd ever return here." Looking to Sheena, Jacob firmly locked his gaze into her big, blue eyes. "I think I survived that train crash for a reason. Sheena, since you brought me here, I've seen that there's still hope for this land and your people, the kind I long since had given up on as impossible. If there's any chance I can ever find penance for what I've done, it's by helping you in your mission. Please, let me stay and help you."

"I do appreciate what you have done and want to do for both me and my people…" Sheena said, "...but I must also concur with Looker. It's not up to me what justice you face for your crimes."

"I admire your will," Jacob complimented. "I don't want to stay permanently. I want only to help you restore this place into the sanctuary you said you wanted it to be. That, and I must make sure you don't destroy yourself with the Jewel of Life… I failed Saeko decades ago. I can't fail you too. Once everything is done I will gladly go back to prison where I belong, you two have my word."

"Jacob, I…" Sheena was taken aback by Jacob's sudden and earnest plea. She couldn't help but bring her hand up to the furred collar of her coat. Seeing how stunned she was, Looker started to step in, but she recovered enough to speak again before he could. "I believe you are sincere, so I will allow you to stay. However, there are conditions."

"What are they?"

"You'll be sleeping in the cell like you already have been. When you come out, you're going to be staying with me instead of going off on your own. If you're truthful about wanting to help us, you shouldn't have a problem with either of those. Follow these rules and you can stay, but if you betray us, I will send you directly back to the custody of people who are a lot less willing to make deals with you. Do you understand?"

"Crystal clear," Jacob replied.

"I cannot be saying I'm entirely happy with events how they have turned out this way," Looker thought to himself, "but Sheena is a person who is someone that proved herself to be trustworthy. I can place my faith that she will keep a watchful eye over him…"

Having patiently waited until Sheena seemed done with Jacob and Looker, Pierce approached her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Sheena."

"What is it?"

"I wish to go to Olivine City as well. I must rejoin my team for our next operation against Polaris."

"I hope you don't need our help this time," Sheena flatly said. "We need time to regroup."

"It's fine, I didn't expect you to help with this. There's no rescuing going on this time, just an operation we hope will cripple Polaris' advances. You don't have any stake in this… generally or personally." Pierce's voice became softer and more compassionate. "Take your time and recover. You've been through a lot… this time is not your fight."

"Thank you," Sheena delicately said back, before leaving the room without another word.

-:-

It was a bright, sunny day over Viridian City, but with the environment Gabriella had placed herself in, she wouldn't know. She had the windows of her Angel Tower office completely darkened, leaving the only light in the room to come from the lamp on her desk and the huge video screen mounted on the wall opposite it.

"I simply cannot wait until you see my new projects bear fruit, Lady Finansielle." On the monitor, Colress was grinning in smug self-satisfaction as he mindlessly tapped his fingers against one of the screens on his sleeves. "Making investments in me always will pay off."

"Oh, do clue me in," Gabriella requested, reclining in her chair with her arms behind her head and her legs up on her desk. "I like seeing where my money goes."

"Then you're going to love this." Colress stepped to the side, allowing Gabriella to see a glowing, cylindrical tank behind him. An insectoid figure, floating in some unknown fluid, was contained within. "I'm back on the best thing to come from working for Mister Ghetsis in Unova. With the new resources you've provided to me, I will be able to perfect Genesect and put it into mass production!" Giddy over the thought, Colress shut his eyes and balled his hands into fists. "Imagine, an army of autonomous weapons that function on their own but solely for our benefit!"

"Don't let me be the one to rain on your parade," the financier replied, her nonchalant demeanor remaining completely unchanged, "but it'll be tough to justify this to the other Chromosomes. You know what Polaris teaches about mixing biological matter with cybernetics."

"This one is merely a prototype, Lady Finansielle, let me assure you of that. By the time I'm done with upgrading the bio-frame according to the new specs I've developed, there will be no question. My new weapon will comply with all their teachings." After pushing his visor up, Colress smirked wickedly. "But of course, what matters isn't what they think. It's what you think that counts, isn't it?"

Gabriella took her feet off her desk, leaned forward and returned Colress' expression. "You're a swift learner."

"It comes with having a mind like mine, Lady Finansielle," Colress said.

"It does, it does," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Listen, Colress. I want you to start preparing to move over to the Guanosine Base near Mahogany Town to continue your work."

Colress' smug expression faded, his mouth narrowing as he puckered his lips. "I'll do it, but what's the reasoning behind the move?" he asked.

Gabriella lowered her head ever so slightly, allowing the glittering from the water in her pool to reflect in her eyes. "The Angel Corporation will need to shut down the oil platform soon. If you're asking yourself why, I'll tell you... that you'll know soon enough. Sorry, I just had to have a little fun with you!"

"Lady Finansielle…" Colress shut his eyes, smiled and shook his head. "I would expect no less from you, as wise as your words always end up being."

-:-

"So this is it… Olivine Gym."

Olivia, having arrived first at the metallic, pyramid-like structure emblazoned with the stylized Poké Ball symbol all Pokémon Gyms bore, boldly faced it down as if it was a sentient being. Fortunately, nobody else was trying to get inside the Gym at the time, as Olivia placed herself squarely in the pathway to its entrance, standing there with her hands on her hips as the others finally caught up with her.

"Olivia, slow down!" Matt called after her. "You know we're not going to start until everyone's together!"

"I'm telling you, it's compensation," Anabel murmured to Nekou and Bunny. "She's so enthusiastic about this because she thinks it's going to help salve the pain of what she saw the other night."

"Can you blame her?" Nekou replied, though she turned her eyes away from Anabel as she spoke. Her voice was hollow, as if her mind was detached from the words her mouth was producing. "In that regard, we're pretty alike, her and I… shit we like is what makes our bad thoughts go away…"

Anabel considered trying to find out exactly what Nekou meant, but decided against pursuing the subject.

"It sounds like you and Olivia do have quite a bit in common," Anabel instead offered. "If she gives you support the same way you do for her… that's something I'd really like to see. Just having you here supporting her against this Gym Leader means a lot to her, I'm sure."

The group, having caught up with Olivia, passed through the automatic doors at the entrance to the Gym. Immediately beyond the threshold lay a lobby whose walls were covered with silvery iron plates. Strangely, despite being the access to a Pokémon Gym in a large city, the lobby was completely empty.

Sensing the confusion of his childrens' friends, Dominic volunteered, "Don't worry, the Gym Leader's here. I promise."

Meanwhile, Morgan and Mawlly walked side-by-side near the back of the group, with only Avril behind them.

"You know, Mawlly, I've heard online that this Gym Leader has a Mawile, too." Morgan said to his diminutive companion. "Not only that, but they say this Gym Leader is able to use Mega Evolution with that Mawile, too! Doesn't that sound amazing?"

Mawlly huffed and turned away, acting like she didn't care. Morgan knew her too well, though, and he saw through her facade to the interest she was trying to mask.

"That's right, she's a Steel-type Gym Leader, just like the old Gym Leader here was," he continued. "The old one who got promoted to the Elite Four, they used to call her the "Steel-Clad Defense Girl," but this one, her title is "The Iron Maiden." Doesn't that make you wonder what else might be different between them?"

"Maw," Mawlly said dismissively. She did, however, turn around and jump to grab Morgan's arm.

"I get you, don't worry." Understanding what Mawlly wanted, Morgan gave her another bag of the honey cookies, which she eagerly tore into and began eating as they walked.

Both Morgan and Mawlly remained unaware of how Avril, following behind them and listening to their conversation, was reacting. She stared down at the floor in silence, her head starting to shake from her distress.

It wasn't long before they found themselves at another doorway. Unlike the previous set, this gateway resembled the metallic look of much of the rest of the Gym. Dominic pushed through to the front of the group and opened the doors before any of them could question him.

Past that set of doors awaited what Olivia eagerly anticipated - the battlefield. This one was a simple, earthy space with the requisite lines drawn into the dirt. Olivia made a beeline straight for the challenger's box, while most of the others made their way past the metal walls surrounding the field and entered the spectators' area. Matt, Bunny and Anabel all glanced over at Avril in surprise when she stomped over, threw herself down next to them and stared sullenly at the floor.

Olivia didn't notice Avril. She was more puzzled by what was going on right in front of her: instead of joining the others on the sidelines, Dominic went to the middle of the field, while Monroe headed all the way down to an archway opposite where she stood. She cocked her head as she looked back and forth between father and son, trying to reason out what they were doing.

"Well, here goes nothing," Dominic said to himself, slipping his fingers into the knot of his tie to loosen it. Once he did this, his expression shifted - where there had been humble humor before, there was now the hardened look of someone who would take no nonsense. "And now, the beginning of this battle in the Olivine Gym!" He extended his right arm to Olivia and announced, "The challenger, Olivia of Sootopolis City!"

In response to her name being called, Olivia took a single firm step forward. She steeled herself, still unsure of what exactly she was going to end up facing.

"Now, the new Gym Leader of Olivine Gym…" When Dominic raised his left arm towards the archway, Olivia realized that Monroe had, at some point, disappeared down it.

Immediately, her mind flashed back to the war with Ghetsis' forces in Ecruteak, when she had been confronted by the Shadow Triad. "Back then, Monroe helped hold them back… with a Steelix," she silently recalled. "Wait, it can't be. The Gym Leader is a girl, I heard them say that. Then why is he…?"

"...introducing Helena, the Iron Maiden!"

Everything made sense once Dominic finished his declaration and Monroe emerged again, his tall, redheaded sister walking gracefully behind him. Whereas Matt and many of the other spectators watched Helena's arrival with great surprise, Olivia just laughed.

"For a minute I almost thought it was you, Monroe!" she called out. "Then I remembered that the Gym Leader's title meant it was a girl, so I was wondering…"

While Olivia trailed off, Monroe signed everything she said. Helena took note of this, then said, "It's nice to see you again, Olivia. You and all your friends."

Matt turned to Amanda, who was facing the battlefield and smiling warmly. Adding up what he was seeing, he asked her, "Amanda, you knew all about this already, didn't you?"

"I have to admit that I did," she replied. "Of course I would know that one of my students was taking the Gym Leader test."

"And this would also explain what's up with you," Nekou said to Avril, who was still pouting at the far end of the seating. "Wouldn't it."

"Imagine how it feels to know that both your brother and your sister are way stronger than you can ever hope to be," she muttered into the floor. "I didn't get to train enough. I'll never beat her."

"If it makes you feel any better," Morgan ventured, "I didn't even really want to go on a journey or anything like that. My parents pushed me to do it. Even now I just like hanging out and living my life."

"What's your point?" Avril snapped.

"Don't feel too pressured to live up to whatever your dad or your brother and sister are. Be yourself."

Though surprised by Morgan's advice, Avril said nothing. She did turn her eyes up to watch Olivia and Helena, but continued to sulk at the same time.

"It's been quite a long time since we last met, Olivia," Helena serenely noted. "How many Badges have you collected to this point?"

"I've got three," Olivia answered promptly. "The Hive Badge, the Plain Badge, and the Fog Badge."

Monroe signed this for Helena, allowing her to say, "Since you have three Badges, this battle will be a four-on-four Single Battle. Are you ready?"

"Of course I am!" Olivia enthusiastically replied. "Let's do it!"

"Very well. Let's see how this all ends up, shall we?"

With that, Helena casually tossed a Poké Ball. The sphere burst open to release a small, silver-bodied insect Pokémon with vicious looking mandibles and narrow red eyes. She hissed menacingly while Olivia took out her Pokédex to scan her.

"Durant, the Iron Ant Pokémon. Type is Bug/Steel. Durant dig nests in mountains. They build their complicated, interconnected tunnels in mazes. They attack in groups and cover themselves in steel armor to protect themselves from Heatmor, their natural predator."

"Alright, a Steel-and-Bug-type, huh? In that case, I'll go with… Krabby, let's play!"

Olivia's Krabby emerged from his Poké Ball and took shape opposite Durant. With both Pokémon present, Dominic stepped back and raised both of his arms into the air.

"The first match will be Olivia's Krabby versus Helena's Durant!" he announced. "Begin!"

Helena didn't need Monroe to sign anything to her to know the battle had begun - watching her father was enough. "Durant, Bug Bite!" she called out, wasting no time in getting started.

If anything, Olivia was anticipating that Durant would rush straight for Krabby. She was already forming a plan for that, so when Durant leapt into the air with incredible speed and strength, all Olivia could do was was gasp.

"It's fast!" she exclaimed, looking up at Durant. "Krabby, look out!"

Krabby knew he had to move, but Durant's speed was too great for him, just as it was for his trainer. He had no time to move before Durant was upon him, descending with her mandibles open. Krabby braced himself to get bit, only to have another of his and Olivia's expectations defied - at the last possible second, Durant's aim faltered, causing her to hit the ground next to Krabby instead.

Well aware of how dangerous a swift Pokémon like Durant would be in close quarters, Olivia wasted no time in giving Krabby a direction. "Quick, Krabby, use Mud Shot!"

After stumbling back, Krabby pointed his pincers at Durant and opened them, shooting twin balls of mud at the Bug-and-Steel-type. The mud hit Durant at point-blank range and stuck to her body, bogging down her movements.

"You've got enough speed to spare, Durant." Even Helena's mid-battle encouragement of her Pokémon was calm and dignified. She brought her hand to her mouth, then extended her arm and said, "Give Krabby a quick taste of your Metal Claw."

"Krabby, Bubble Beam!" Olivia countered.

Durant shook off the mud as best she could and, though still slowed by it, lunged at Krabby with her mandibles glowing like polished steel. What agility she still had was more than enough to preempt Krabby's Bubble Beam, pushing him back but not significantly hurting him. He responded quickly and decisively, barraging Durant with a flood of powerful bubbles.

"You're doing well, Olivia. I'm happy you were my first challenger." Off in the stands, Avril huffed loudly at this, but Monroe didn't alert Helena to it. "I cannot go easy on you, though."

"I wouldn't want you to!" Olivia shouted in reply. "Bring on more! Come on!"

"She sure is intense," Morgan said to Mawlly, who was sitting next to him and eating her cookies. "It's almost scary."

"This isn't right," Anabel muttered from behind her scarf. "She's faking it, I can tell…"

"If more is what you want, more is what you shall get," Helena promised. "Durant, see what you can do with Rock Slide."

Once again, Durant started hissing loudly. This time her antennae glowed, and ribbons of similar white light surrounded her body. These ribbons soon turned into a number of rugged stones that Durant propelled toward Krabby by pushing herself in the Water-type's direction.

The assault was swift, with the rocks unencumbered by the mud. Yet, Durant's aim faltered, much like it had when she used Bug Bite. The stones ended up missing Krabby and falling around him in a roughly circular pattern.

Olivia, realizing the opportunity that was presenting itself, swung herself forward and shouted, "Krabby, hit Durant with another Bubble Beam!"

Shaking off the daze the stones landing around him left him in, Krabby blasted Durant with bubbles again. She snapped her jaws at them, managing to burst a few before they hit her. The rest didn't seem to faze her much, in fact, she only started hissing even more.

"Is Durant having trouble?" Bunny asked aloud. "Some of its moves are missing at the last minute…"

"Helena's Durant has Hustle as its ability," Amanda explained, "so its physical strength is enhanced, but at the same time, Durant has a little bit of trouble landing them."

"Oh, that makes sense…" Matt said into his hands, which he had clasped in front of his mouth.

On her side of the battlefield, Helena held her chin as she considered what she was seeing. "As much as I like having you as my first challenger, Olivia, I think it's about time I stopped toying with you." After she issued her warning, Helena's demeanor changed. She raised her arm into the air and called out, "Durant, I ask that you use Hone Claws!"

At this command, Durant snapped her mandibles shut for a moment before spreading them widely open again. As she let out an ear-splitting screech, light enveloped her mouth and grew out from it, making her mandibles appear longer and even sharper.

"Now Durant will be even stronger," Nekou noted, "but the downside of Hustle is pretty much negated, too…"

"If she was in a healthy frame of mind, Olivia would be able to get around this." Anabel tucked her head even deeper into the constraining warmth of her scarf. "But like this…"

"Krabby, just watch out and be careful!" Olivia shouted to her Pokémon, unknowingly confirming Anabel's fears. "See if you can get another Bubble Beam!"

"Durant, Bug Bite!"

Krabby readied himself and aimed his pincers at Durant, but he had no time to launch his Bubble Beam before she rushed and caught his body squarely in her newly-strengthened grip. All he could do was flail his claws and legs around, fruitlessly trying to hit something with enough force to make Durant let go. With Olivia and all the onlookers watching in horror, Durant spent some time chewing on Krabby before lashing around and flinging him into one of the walls surrounding the arena.

"I think all we need now is a nice Rock Slide," Helena declared, her posh manner returning.

Durant complied, sending a cluster of rocks - larger than the ones that had missed earlier - flooding over Krabby. The stones completely covered him until both he and the rocks fell off the wall together. When he collapsed to the ground, he didn't get up.

"Krabby is unable to battle!" Dominic announced, raising his arm in his daughter's direction. "The winner is Durant!"

"Well, that sure ended quickly…" Bunny said.

Olivia lowered her head, allowing her bangs to cover her eyes while she recalled Krabby to his Poké Ball. She hesitated briefly, then looked up and forced a smile onto her face. "Krabby, you did a great job, even if you didn't win! Thanks to you, we'll definitely beat that Durant!"

Off on the sidelines, Anabel pushed her sunglasses closer to her eyes, crossed her arms, and frowned behind her scarf. Although she couldn't see Anabel's face from where she was sitting, Nekou could tell exactly how she was feeling just by glancing at her.

"So what will you show me next?" Helena asked Olivia. "We're only just getting started, after all."

"What you've shown me is that Durant knows Bug Bite, Metal Claw, Rock Slide and Hone Claws," Olivia replied, her bold nature seemingly resurfacing. "So I need something to fight that. In that case, Mareep, let's play!"

When Mareep materialized from the new Poké Ball Olivia threw, Morgan immediately turned to Avril. "Does your sister know about that thing yet?"

Avril wordlessly shook her head.

"Then she better watch out. You saw how vicious that Mareep is…"

"Let's not waste any more time, Olivia." Helena pointed squarely at Mareep and said, "Durant, use Bug Bite again."

"Get it with Thunder Wave before it hits you, Mareep!"

Durant sprang into the air again, like she had done when she first started fighting Krabby. But unlike Krabby, Mareep wasn't rattled by Durant's speed. She met the oncoming attack directly with a ring of blue electricity, which paralyzed Durant upon contact. With her opponent's movements impaired, Mareep ran beneath Durant and got behind her long before the Steel-and-Bug-type landed.

"We did some damage with Krabby, so let's go for a knockout here!" Olivia shouted in encouragement, earning a bleat of agreement from Mareep. "Thunderbolt!"

Realizing what was about to happen from the sparks coming to life in Mareep's wool, Helena hurriedly directed Durant, "Try to use Rock Slide as a shield!"

Helena's efforts were for naught, though, as the paralysis brought on by Thunder Wave rendered Durant unable to act quickly enough. Mareep struck her with a wide, powerful blast of electricity, easily enveloping her small body. The assault only ceased when Mareep could no longer force it to keep going, leaving Durant lying prone on the ground, her steel body covered in burn marks.

"Durant is unable to continue battling!" Dominic judged, bringing the battle back to even terms. "The winner is Mareep!"

Mareep let out a victorious bleat as Helena recalled her fallen opponent. Olivia, meanwhile, became so excited that she jumped into the air.

"Amazing, Mareep! You really helped me turn that around!"

The electric sheep let sparks dance on her fleece and looked back, giving a triumphant bleat that seemed to ooze cocky self-satisfaction to all present. As quickly as her celebratory spell had come upon her, Mareep trained her attention back towards Helena's side of the field, pawing her feet impatiently in anticipation of her next challenger.

"Well done, Olivia, well done." Helena softly clapped her hands together to accompany her words of praise. "Durant's pretty tough, but you managed to get through her armor. Let's see what you do with this next one."

Helena gently tossed a new Poké Ball, which burst open to release a Wormadam wearing a pink cloak. A Bug-and-Steel-type like her predecessor in the battle, she stretched her pink, ribbon-like arms and yawned, aware of Mareep's presence but not terribly concerned.

For Mareep's part, the electric sheep knew Wormadam wasn't afraid of her. Seeing Wormadam sit so casually in front of her made her boil with rage, enough so that her wool was already giving off sparks.

"What do you think, Mareep? Want to get this going?" Olivia asked her, standing with her hands on her hips. When Mareep responded with an angry bleat, Olivia told her, "Fine, then. Let's get started with Thunder Wave!"

"A status for a status, then. Wormadam, Toxic."

While Mareep sent another ring of blue electricity towards Wormadam, Wormadam responded by extending her arms in Mareep's direction and shooting out two jets of thick, purple poison. Mareep was quick enough to lower herself against the floor and just barely dodge the poison, but Wormadam did not have the same agility. The Thunder Wave washed over her, sending a numbing sensation through her body. Yet, she remained as calm as she had been from the moment she appeared.

"Close, but I don't think Mareep can keep that up forever," Morgan observed. "Poison has a way of catching up with you if you get pressed with it. That's what I've seen, anyway."

Contrary to Morgan's expectations, however, Helena didn't continue pressing Toxic. Instead, she said, "Fine, if that didn't work, we'll just move forward. Wormadam, use Hidden Power."

Several glowing orbs of brown light surrounded Wormadam's body and began revolving around her.

Seeing this opening, Olivia quickly countered, calling out, "Hit Wormadam with Thunderbolt, hurry!"

Mareep was more than happy to listen, loosing a bolt of electricity that arced through the air and struck Wormadam with great force. Despite that, Wormadam maintained enough focus to continue feeding energy into her Hidden Power, soon afterward releasing the orbs so they could hone in on Mareep. Mareep jumped out of the way of the first two, but the third clipped her leg as she tried to evade it, slowing her enough for the rest to strike her. Unlike everything else she'd been hit with, it was Wormadam's Hidden Power that finally drew a cry of pain from the otherwise vicious Mareep.

"Mareep!" Olivia cried out. Her mind started racing, sending a bead of sweat rolling down her face. In an attempt to calm herself, she took several deep breaths. "For that to happen, that Hidden Power… it has to be Ground-type. Mareep," she called to her Pokémon, "we can't let this take too long! Use Thunderbolt and give it everything you've got!"

Mareep didn't need to hear it twice. With an ear splitting cry that echoed off the Gym's metal walls, she tore through the air with a Thunderbolt many times more intense than any of the previous ones. There was no way Wormadam would have enough agility to escape, so she steeled herself, tightening the muscles in her sturdy body to endure the strike. Her cloak was left scorched, but her firm gaze clearly showed that her spirit was not broken.

"Even that wasn't enough?" Olivia said through gritted teeth, rattled by Wormadam's determination.

"I think you'll find that I have some more tricks up my sleeve." Though unaware of what Olivia had just said, Helena's taunt was still an appropriate one for the situation. "Wormadam, now, head up into the rafters!"

On her trainer's urging, Wormadam jumped into the air, uncoiled her antenna and used it to grab hold of a metal pylon at the corner of the battlefield. Olivia and all the others watched as she swung her body to build up momentum and begin spinning on the pole.

"Mareep, use Thunderbolt on there!" Olivia cried. "It's like a lightning rod!"

Mareep discharged electricity from her wool and aimed it straight for the pylon, but with all the momentum she'd built up, Wormadam was too fast this time. Right before the electricity struck the pole, she released her grip on it and flung herself high into the air, where she used her antenna to hang from an overhead girder.

While Mareep glared up at Wormadam and growled, Helena urged her Pokémon, "Bring Mareep in, now. Flash Cannon!"

From her new vantage point, Wormadam swung back and bombarded the battlefield with small, explosive bursts of light. Each one wasn't aimed quite squarely at Mareep, so she was able to evade them fairly easily, but at the same time they kept her running until she was nearly directly beneath Wormadam's position.

"Alright, Wormadam, surround Mareep with Toxic!"

"Oh no!" Olivia gasped, realizing what Helena was planning to do. "Mareep, get out of there!"

There was no hope that Mareep could escape from Wormadam's trap, no matter how much Olivia pleaded for her to. Wormadam spewed poison directly in front of where Mareep was running, then surrounded her with it by spinning in a circle around the girder she was holding on to. Mareep forced herself to a stop, only to turn around and discover that she was encircled by the toxin.

"So what does she do now?" Morgan wondered aloud. "Stay there and be a sitting duck, or step in that poison to get away?"

For her part, Olivia didn't have an answer to Morgan's question. Her eyes rocketed back and forth between Mareep and Wormadam, her breathing rapid and shallow as she searched for a solution.

"I've got Mareep right where I want her," Helena said. She snapped her fingers and called out, "Hidden Power!"

Another set of the glowing brown orbs flicked to life around Wormadam's body. Unlike before, they grew to their full size rather quickly, allowing Wormadam to keep up her offense with little delay. Mareep, unable to escape thanks to all the poison surrounding her, couldn't do anything before the orbs barraged her and exploded.

Gasps and tense grimaces settled among the spectators in Matt's party. With a blow like that, Mareep would be on her last legs, if not already out cold from Wormadam's assault. If Mareep were knocked out this early in the fight, would she really have an opportunity to still turn things around?

Suddenly, light erupted from amidst the smoke left by the explosion of Wormadam's Hidden Power, accompanied by a deafening scream. Olivia and all her friends, save for Amanda, watched in awe as the bursting light forced the smoke away, revealing the silhouette of a bipedal figure.

"Mareep…?" Olivia uttered breathlessly.

"Fla-aaaaah!" the Pokémon shrieked from the center of the light. A massive Thunderbolt erupted out of her body, easily engulfing Wormadam as the Bug-and-Steel-type hung overhead. Now it was Helena who could do nothing but watch as the lightning flickered and faded, revealing Wormadam lying on the floor with what used to be Mareep standing over her.

"Mareep, you…" Olivia's shock quickly gave way to the realization that the pink-and-white creature before her was no longer Mareep. "You evolved! You did it! Thank you!" she cheered.

Such was Olivia's joy that she completely failed to notice another of her Poké Balls beginning to tremble. Within it, Dewott was aware of Mareep's evolution into a Flaaffy and so angered by it that he almost broke out of the ball under his own volition to confront her.

"That was impressive," Helena admitted after recalling her fainted Wormadam. "I thought I had Mareep… well, Flaaffy now, I guess. I thought I had Flaaffy right where I wanted her. No matter, we're only halfway done… are you ready to step this up to the next level?"

As excited as she was over her fortunes, Olivia felt a chill when Helena said that. "I'm ready for anything you can throw at me!" she said back, masking her nerves.

"She's going to regret saying that," Avril grumbled to herself.

"Then let me show you something," Helena replied once she knew what Olivia said. "Let's try this one!"

When she threw her third Poké Ball, Helena summoned a Pokémon that looked nearly identical to the Klink she showed Olivia at Earl's school, only with a larger third gear stuck to the back of its body. Olivia dutifully retrieved her Pokédex and scanned it.

"Klang, the Gear Pokémon. Type is Steel. Evolved form of Klink. By changing the direction in which it rotates, it communicates its feelings to others. When angry, it rotates faster. Spinning minigears are rotated at high speed and repeatedly fired away, but it is dangerous if the gears don't return."

"That gives me some idea of what to expect," Olivia thought. With the Pokédex's information in mind, she raised up Flaaffy's Poké Ball to recall her. "Take a break, Flaaffy, I'm going to need you later."

"I didn't expect that," Anabel observed, raising her sunglasses onto her forehead. "She's got some strategy going on after all."

"Who do you think is going to be next?" Matt's question wasn't directed at any one particular person around him, and none of them answered.

"I think I have exactly what I need for this one," Olivia said as she got ready to throw a new Poké Ball of her own. "Herdier, let's play!"

Once released from his ball, Herdier recognized that he'd be fighting Klang and turned back to look at Olivia.

"I know you can do it, Herdier," she encouraged him. "I'll help you out."

Acknowledging her with an enthusiastic bark, Herdier brought his attention back to his opponent and lowered himself in preparation for battle. Klang responded by slightly slowing its perpetual rotation, both of its faces eerily unmoving.

Seizing the initiative, Olivia called out, "Herdier, use Work Up!"

"Very well," Helena responded once she saw the red aura that surrounded Herdier's body. "Klang, you use Autotomize."

A horrible, ear splitting screeching noise filled the room as Klang rotated increasingly faster, forcing all the humans and Pokémon aside from Helena herself to protect their ears. The small gear with one of Klang's faces on it suddenly separated from its larger body, and the noise stopped.

"Autotomize makes the user able to move around much faster," Bunny recalled.

"But that's not the only thing," Amanda added, "it gets lighter, too."

Helena waited for a moment before doing anything, taking the time to watch Olivia glancing back and forth between the two now-independent parts of Klang's body. When Olivia took no immediate action, Helena closed her eyes, smiled and said, "It's up to me, then. Klang, use Mirror Shot."

The green core of Klang's larger body flashed with a bright white light, followed by it firing a beam of similar light at Herdier.

"Quick, Herdier, dodge it!"

Herdier jumped up into the air, following Olivia's instruction. Klang's Mirror Shot struck the ground where he had been standing and dissipated harmlessly, but despite this, Helena kept smiling.

"That's what I hoped you'd do." Gently pushing her right hand forward, Helena called to her Pokémon, "Gear Grind!"

The smaller of Klang's gears had worked its way behind Herdier while he was distracted dodging Mirror Shot, giving it an easy opening to ambush and collide with him while spinning even faster. It then returned to the larger body and reconnected for a brief moment before shooting back out the other way, hitting Herdier a second time from the front.

The force of the dual impacts sent Herdier dropping back down to the ground, but he quickly got up. "Doesn't seem like that hurt him too much," Olivia noted to herself, "and my plan from what the Pokédex said looks like it should work." Responding to Helena's gesture by thrusting her own hand forward, Olivia shouted, "Herdier, use Crunch on the big gear!"

Herdier dug his feet into the ground and used the leverage to spring forward, baring his fangs in preparation to bite Klang's larger body. Before he could get close enough to strike, though, the two parts of Klang's body darted past him in different directions, switching places with the greatly enhanced speed afforded to it via Autotomize.

"Charge Beam!"

Now facing Herdier directly, the smaller gear swiftly pulled static electricity from around itself and launched a beam of it straight into Herdier's face, knocking him away and again dropping him to the ground.

"Do you really think she's got a plan for this?" Matt asked Anabel. "It looks like Klang is running circles around Herdier. Literally."

"I'm encouraged," Anabel replied. "Her confidence right now is genuine."

"You doing alright?" Olivia said to Herdier as he picked himself up. He responded with an energetic bark, reassuring her. "I'm not too worried about these individual hits, they don't seem like they're doing much… but Charge Beam could be a problem if it starts getting stronger. I can't wait anymore!" Feeling her confidence swell, Olivia yelled out in a voice just slightly too loud, "Work Up, again!"

Helena watched Herdier strengthen himself further with a puzzled look. "I'm unsure what she intends to accomplish with that…" she thought, though she quickly pushed these concerns aside. "Let's go with what we know, Klang. Mirror Shot!"

The two halves of Klang's body swiftly exchanged places again, with the bigger gear taking its place in front of Herdier again. It wasn't long before it fired another of the bright, white beams at him, but both Herdier and his trainer were ready for it.

"Dodge it again, Herdier!"

When Herdier jumped into the air again, Helena furrowed her brow even further. "She's got to know what I'm going to do here. Is this a trap? Herdier should be vulnerable, but I can't help but think this is a trap…" Unable to conclude exactly what Olivia was planning, Helena decided to push on with her own strategy. "Gear Grind!"

"Exactly what I wanted." Grinning widely, Olivia pumped her clenched fist straight up into the air. "Herdier, Crunch - on that small gear behind you!"

After having control of the battle virtually from the start, Helena finally had to gasp in surprise when she saw Herdier flip over in mid-air and catch Klang's smaller gear in his teeth. It started groaning in a robotic voice, while its larger body started to shake violently.

"Give Klang that gear back, Herdier!"

Taking the momentum from Klang's failed attack, Herdier spun around and flung the small gear toward the larger one. The small gear directly hit the large gear's core, critically injuring them and making them screech loudly. They joined back together again, but could only revolve slowly while floating weakly in the air.

"I'm impressed!" Helena complimented. "I thought you were leading me into a trap but I couldn't figure out just where it was."

"Thanks, but I'm not done yet!" Olivia said back. "Herdier, use your full power Crunch and finish Klang off!"

Olivia's rush of confidence was infectious - the excitement in her words gave Herdier all the energy he needed to leap on his weakened prey and push it to the ground. The strength he drew from using Work Up helped him bite into Klang's metal body. Once he had a firm grip on the gear Pokémon, Herdier thrashed it back and forth before finally jamming it into the dirt.

When Klang robotically groaned but then tilted backward and fell still, Dominic made the announcement, "Klang is unable to battle! The winner is Herdier!"

"We did it!" Olivia exclaimed in excitement. Herdier ran to her and jumped up to lick her face. "You did it, Herdier! Thank you!"

"They're so close now!" Matt couldn't help but stand up. "Only one more Pokémon to go!"

Even Avril was showing some interest in the battle by then. She was still sulking, but instead of staring at the floor, she had started actually watching it.

"Maybe she really is worth having as a rival," Avril mused. "I can't let her get too far ahead of me… even if that road even goes through Helena…"

Back on the battlefield, Helena looked down at the Poké Ball in her hand. "You did well, Klang," she said to her Pokémon within it. "This has been exactly what I wanted my first battle as Gym Leader to be."

After putting Klang's Poké Ball away, Helena shifted her gaze to Olivia. Where she had been formal and gentle before, there was now a look of hardened determination that gave Olivia a chill. "I mean that," she said, her voice as serious as her face. "Olivia, when I said I was glad you were my first challenger, I meant it. You've given me everything I could have wished for… I hope I get to have battles like this all the time. But all good things have to come to an end. I am still the Gym Leader, and you are still the challenger…" Helena took out one last Poké Ball and pulled her arm back to throw it. "...so it's about time I showed you where you fit in that picture!"

The Poké Ball erupted in a burst of light, and from it emerged another Mawile, one that was a bit taller and bulkier than Mawlly was. The presence of Helena's Mawile immediately cemented the attention of both Morgan and Mawlly on her side of the battlefield, especially when they took notice of the band around the Mawile's body.

"The rumors were true!" he exclaimed. "Mawlly, do you see it? Do you?"

Morgan's urging ended up lost on Mawlly, as it so often was. Still, she was more than aware of the other Mawile and what he was wearing. It was enough to make even Mawlly enraptured, the cookies in her hands completely forgotten.

Attached to the band was a pink stone with a yellow-and-black Mega Evolution symbol within it.

Seeing the stone made much of Olivia's confidence drain away in an instant. "A Mega Stone…" she whispered listlessly, putting her hands over her mouth. "So Mawile can…"

Helena lifted her left arm in front of herself, then pulled back her sleeve, revealing a silver bracelet patterned with gray hexagons on her wrist. Set within it, a Key Stone.

"That's right," she said to her awestruck opponent. "My dad's boss got me this Mega Ring and the Mawilite as a gift for me becoming a Gym Leader. This Mega Ring, these two stones that go with it… they're symbols of what I must be as a Gym Leader - a goal that all who enter this building must aspire to surpass! Now, Olivia, take every ounce of your strength and bring it against every ounce of mine, so that we will see who the only one left standing is!" Helena pressed her index and middle fingers on her right hand against the Key Stone, causing bright light to erupt from it. "Mawile, in the name of Olivine Gym, bring forth all your abilities! Mega Evolve!"

Ribbons of light emerged from the Mawilite and arced back to join with those issued by Helena's Key Stone. After combining, the rays formed a spherical cocoon around Mawile, lasting several seconds until he tore out of it with a vicious cry. Mawile's transformation made it noticeably taller, with most of his physical traits similar to those of his previous form, with one notable exception - a second set of jaws had sprouted from the top of his head, and both looked much more ragged and bestial than the single set he had before.

"So that's a Mega Mawile! It's so cool to see in person!" Morgan turned to Mawlly, who was so fascinated by Mega Mawile that she'd dropped the bag of cookies. "You could become like that one day too, Mawlly. We just have to find the stone and how to use it."

In the face of Mawile's overwhelming display of force, Olivia forced back her panic. "Don't be afraid, Herdier, we can still do this. Use Crunch!"

"Use Crunch yourself, Mawile!"

Herdier showed great courage in attempting to directly attack Mawile, but it was all for naught. Mega Mawile's jaws were just too vast, easily engulfing him long before he could accomplish anything. Mawile didn't immediately take any further action, but instead simply held Herdier using the jaws that had captured him.

"Iron Head!"

On Helena's command, Mawile tossed Herdier up in the air, then flipped forward to smack the Normal-type back down using his other set of jaws, which had taken on a metallic shine. Olivia and her friends could do nothing but watch in horror as it quickly became very clear Herdier was completely outmatched by Mawile's overwhelming power.

"Morgan, don't take this the wrong way, but…" Matt trailed off for a moment before he could finish his question. "...how is Mawile that strong? Did Mega Evolution really give it that much strength?"

"No offense taken," Morgan replied. "Mega Mawile's ability, that's why… Huge Power makes it twice as strong as it would normally be."

"I… I…" Olivia's thoughts were becoming a mess. Desperate to figure out some way to even touch Mawile, she blurted out, "Just try Crunch again!"

"Mawile, finish it off with Brick Break!"

Herdier valiantly bared his fangs again, but it was useless. Mawile simply drove his fist down into Herdier's midsection, forcing one last howl out of him before he fainted and fell still.

"Herdier is unable to battle!" Dominic announced. "The winner is Mawile!"

For the second time, Olivia lowered her head enough for her bangs to cover her eyes. On the sidelines, Anabel once again covered her own eyes with her sunglasses.

"Herdier, you did really well," Olivia quietly said to her fallen Pokémon after recalling him. The confidence she felt against Klang was gone, replaced by a strong sinking feeling she struggled to manage. By the time she had another Poké Ball in her hand, her entire arm was shaking. "I guess there's only one thing I can do now. Flaaffy, let's play!"

Olivia didn't throw the Poké Ball, she merely popped it open in her hand to let Flaaffy back out. The moment the Electric-type re-entered the battle and saw Mawile, she stretched herself and growled aggressively.

"I guess some things don't change with evolution," Avril thought, stifling a chuckle.

Mawile wasn't intimidated by Flaaffy's posturing, despite her best efforts. He simply waved his hand at Flaaffy, challenging her to fight.

"We have to weaken it first, Flaaffy, or we'll never have a chance," Olivia decided. "Thunder Wave!"

"It won't be that easy," Helena countered once aware of Olivia's words. "Mawile, Sandstorm!"

Mawile produced twin vortexes of sand from his two sets of giant jaws, obscuring himself within a gusty cloud of grit that covered the entire field. The Thunder Wave harmlessly passed by him, leaving Flaaffy to get buffeted by the sand with nothing to show for it.

Olivia rubbed her eyes and squinted to try and see through the sandstorm. "Flaaffy, don't lose your nerve! Try another Thunder Wave!"

Flaaffy hadn't lost any nerve, but she did badly wish to just attack Mawile, so when Olivia prompted her to keep restraining herself she clenched her teeth in frustration. She did decide to listen in the end, but Mawile had long since disappeared into the sandstorm again.

"How can something like that move so fast?" Olivia fumed, struggling to keep her voice down.

"That Flaaffy probably has Static as its ability. I can't say I like the risk, but I've got to work with what I have." Helena spread her arms wide and called into the sandstorm, "Mawile, use Crunch, but avoid its fleece!"

Mawile suddenly emerged from the sandstorm right in front of Flaaffy, startling her long enough for him to clamp down on her with one of his sets of jaws. She bleated in a mixture of pain and anger, making Olivia even more agitated.

"Thunderbolt! Now!" she shouted.

Electricity sparked to life in Flaaffy's wool, but as Mawile had ensnared her on her fleshy midsection, it had no immediate effect. There was enough time for Mawile to take notice of Flaaffy's imminent offense and safely throw her aside.

"Don't take that, Flaaffy! Try for Thunderbolt again!"

Flaaffy landed on her feet and recovered quickly enough to finish charging energy. The blue orb on her tail illuminated her surroundings, and with the additional sight it gave her, she cut through the sand with a powerful electric blast. Mawile's efforts to remain evasive finally failed, and he was struck by the lightning - yet, for all the force Flaaffy put into it, he had little in the way of reaction.

"I'm sure you appreciate what you're up against now, Mawile!" Helena called into the sandstorm. "Don't toy around with it! Use Brick Break and keep avoiding its wool!"

Olivia hadn't been paying attention after seeing Flaaffy's tail light up, so when the Electric-type Pokémon reeled back from Mawile punching her, it snapped her trainer out of the thoughts she was lost in.

"Dive right back in and get another Thunderbolt ready, but don't let it loose yet!"

Flaaffy hesitated, looking back at Olivia and tilting her head. Olivia nodded in response, encouraging Flaaffy enough that she listened and ran back into the center of the sandstorm. Seconds later, the light on Flaaffy's tail illuminated her surroundings again - revealing Mawile trying to sneak up on her from the side.

"On your left!" Olivia cried. "Do it now!"

Just as Mawile got within arm's reach, Flaaffy spun around to directly face him. This turn of events startled him, giving Flaaffy enough of an opening to strike him with a fully-formed Thunderbolt. The sandstorm dissipated as the two combatants separated, revealing their status to Olivia and Helena. Mawile's body had several burn marks on it from the two Thunderbolts he'd been hit with, but despite that, he was still physically composed. Flaaffy, meanwhile, was hunched over and panting.

Olivia tightened her fists. "What is it going to take to stop this thing?!"

"It's time to finish Flaaffy off for good, I think," Helena resolved. "Mawile, Crunch!"

In her exhaustion, Flaaffy lacked the energy to escape from Mawile again. In an instant Mawile was upon her again, clenching her in his iron jaws. She flailed about in an attempt to escape, but accomplished nothing. On Helena's prompting he spun around and flung Flaaffy across the battlefield, smashing her into one of the metal walls. For all her spirit, she could take no more, and crumpled to the floor.

"Flaaffy is unable to battle!" Dominic announced. "The winner is Mawile!"

Off in the stands, all of Olivia's friends watched in shock as the sullen trainer called back the Pokémon that, until that point, had seemed unstoppable.

"That Mareep gave me a hard time, and that was before it even evolved…" Morgan murmured. "I knew Mega Mawile was strong, but this is almost scary…"

Mawlly snapped out of her fascination for a brief moment when she heard what Morgan said, and pulled on his arm to get his attention. "Wile!" she scolded him.

"I'm not saying you would be scary," he said to her, petting her head. "I know you better than that."

"See what I mean now?" Avril sullenly mumbled to the others. "The favored child, the first born… already strong and she gets gifts showered on her from that billionaire our father works for. She never needed it, and now that she has that stone she's terrifying."

Back on the battlefield, Olivia felt her strength rapidly draining. "Thanks, Flaaffy…" she said to the Poké Ball before putting it away. "I've only got one left to stop this Mawile now… if I fail here, I'll never be able to find out why Dad is doing all of this… I'll never be able to, I'll never be able to, I'll never…" Olivia abruptly broke herself out of her own spiraling thoughts and pulled out her last Poké Ball. "I won't lose! I refuse to! I can't… I can't… Dewott, let's-"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Dewott forced himself out of the ball on his own. The instant he landed on the battlefield, he brandished his shell with a look of utter rage on his face.

"You go for it, Dewott!" Olivia called to him, misinterpreting his anger for enthusiasm. "If anyone can do it, it's you!"

All that did was stoke Dewott's anger, while the images of Mareep and Flaaffy that cycled through his mind made him tense up more and more.

Seeing Dewott's emotions and how Olivia appeared genuinely unaware of them, Helena grimaced. "Mawile…" she quietly said, "...I think it's best if we bring this to a quick end. This can't go anywhere good. Use Crunch."

Mawile acknowledged his trainer with a nod and started running toward Dewott. He knew just as well as she did that something was wrong, and intended to follow her directions to the letter.

"Dewott," Olivia said, fighting back the tremors that were starting to work their way down her arms, "Razor Shell!"

A cloak of water enveloped Dewott's body as, instead of listening to Olivia immediately, he propelled himself forward using Aqua Jet instead. The distance between him and Mawile closed in an instant, leaving Mawile startled as Dewott danced around him and closed in from the side. Mawile met his assault with one of his sets of jaws, but Dewott was ready for this exact move. He turned his Razor Shell sideways and stuck it into Mawile's toothy iron jaws, jamming them open and preventing him from attacking with Crunch.

With his opponent halted - however briefly - Dewott looked over his shoulder to see if Olivia was watching him. She was, but there were no words of encouragement, leaving him unsatisfied. A sharp growl slipped from his throat as more water flickered to life around his feet, wrapping around both Pokémon. Using every ounce of his strength to push against Mawile's weight, Dewott slowly forced him up into the air with Aqua Jet.

"That's it, Dewott! Get Mawile up high and then drop it with Water Gun!"

Inside the veil of water, Dewott flashed a smile. It wouldn't be long before he earned the kind of praise he desired and showed Flaaffy his superiority - it was so close, he could taste it.

"Mawile, break free with Iron Head!"

Dewott's hopes came crashing down on him as hard as Mawile's free set of jaws did. The iron mouth smashed into him from the side, making him squeal and breaking his grip on the shell holding the other set open. Mawile spat the shell out at him as he plummeted to the ground.

"Quickly, Mawile, come down on it with Brick Break."

On Helena's word, Mawile spun himself around in midair and aimed himself downward, pulling back a clenched fist as he descended. Despite a desperate plea from Olivia to dodge, Dewott lacked the strength to pull himself up before Mawile punched him squarely in the torso, forcing another pained cry from the Water-type Pokémon.

"Dewott, no!" Olivia cried. "You have to keep-"

Before she could finish, Olivia was frozen by a feeling of dizziness. Tunnel vision took hold of her, narrowing her sight to just what was right in front of her - Dewott, Mawile, Monroe and Helena. After Mawile pulled back from the devastating blow he'd landed, Dewott slowly rose up, his body starting to give off a blue aura.

Taking note of both the aura and the dead-eyed look on Dewott's face, Anabel said, "No wonder Torrent is activating… I can feel it in Dewott's heart, he's desperately trying to get Olivia's attention, but with Flaaffy around now he feels threatened. And with an opponent as powerful as Mega Mawile standing in his way, he's afraid she'll be disappointed in him."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Matt replied after hearing what Anabel had to say.

On the battlefield, all Olivia noticed was the blue aura. "Torrent, just like in Azalea Gym!" she exclaimed. "Dewott, we can get through this using that power!" Thrusting her fist forward in an exaggerated punching motion, she called out, "Go for it! Aqua Jet!"

Dewott snarled loudly and dropped to all fours, and a huge wave of water erupted around his body. He shot like a missile toward Mawile, his speed so great that Mawile could barely react before Dewott hit him right back in the same place Brick Break had just landed.

"Ah, Mawile!" Helena yelled out as she watched him get pushed back. "Be careful, it looks like this won't be as straightforward as I thought. See if you can land another Iron Head!"

"Aqua Jet's working, Dewott!" Olivia said to encourage him. "Go for another one!"

The two Pokémon rushed each other, but even though Dewott was moving much faster than his opponent, Helena was unshaken. She'd expected Olivia to keep pressing something that seemed like it had worked the first time and was ready for it.

"Forget Iron Head, catch it with Crunch instead!"

Mawile planted his feet firmly in the ground, immediately stopping his advance. He had just enough time to turn one of his sets of jaws in Dewott's direction and engulf the Water-type in them. The Torrent-powered Aqua Jet still packed enough of a punch to force Mawile back again, but there was nothing Dewott could do to escape from Mawile's grip afterward. He was stuck headfirst in Mawile's iron mouth, and although he flailed violently, it accomplished nothing.

"Dewott, you've got to do more to get out of there!" Olivia pleaded. "Wait, I know! Use Water Gun to push yourself out!"

As soon as Monroe signed Olivia's words to Helena, she knew what a risky situation she was in. "Mawile, spit it out before it uses Water Gun, then use Iron Head!"

Mawile immediately coughed Dewott up, dropping him onto his back just as he started gushing water from his mouth. His powered-up Water Gun broke up in the air, leaving nothing but a harmless rain to come back down. Before he could even sit up Mawile was upon him again, crushing Dewott back into the ground using his metallic mandibles.

It took several long seconds for Dewott to rise again, but almost immediately he fell forward and seemingly went still.

"No!" Olivia cried. "No, Dewott, you can't lose! We have to get to Dad and stop him! If we lose here…"

While Olivia trailed off, a pall settled over her entourage on the sidelines. Matt and the others looked on in dismay, Anabel biting her lip with a visible grimace. Bunny turned away entirely, resigning herself to a loss by Olivia and Nekou remained stone-faced, staring straight ahead as Olivia's nerves frayed on the field.

"I tried to warn you," Avril muttered, though whether she was directing it at the others sitting with her or at Olivia wasn't clear.

Out on the battlefield, Dewott heard Olivia's words and began forcing himself up, bringing the attention of all the humans around him onto himself. Images of Flaaffy flashed through his mind - her gleefully stuffing food into her mouth, her unleashing a powerful Thunderbolt on Morgan's Misdreavus, her being lovingly petted and congratulated by Olivia.

That last thought was the one that enraged him the most.

A bark turned into a long, screeching howl as Dewott rose to his full height only to immediately drop to all fours. He tried to force even more strength out of his body, but there was nothing more anywhere in him he could draw on. His arms and legs buckled, but he wouldn't let himself collapse. The anger he felt at Flaaffy and his drive to be Olivia's favorite wouldn't allow it.

Suddenly, a familiar light burst from Dewott's body. Having just seen it earlier in the battle, Olivia and all the others knew instantly what it was. Dewott's shape reflected in Olivia's watery eyes as it changed, while off to the sides, Anabel lifted her sunglasses in surprise. Nekou said nothing, but when she jumped up to her feet, she hit Matt's back and nearly knocked him forward.

"What's happening?" Amanda asked the others around her.

"Dewott's evolving, that's what!" Nekou exclaimed.

"Wow, really? How exciting!" Amanda clapped her hands together.

Dewott's short arms and legs grew into strong, sturdy limbs as he became quadrupedal. His height more than doubled, topped off by a spiked seashell that covered the back of his head and formed a sharp horn. White hair sprouted from his snout and under his mouth, quickly lengthening into thick whiskers that resembled a majestic moustache and beard.

Stunned by this turn of events and her Pokémon's new appearance, Olivia could find nothing to say. She merely covered her mouth with her hands and stared.

"Now that Dewott evolved into Samurott, you might have a shot!" Morgan shouted to her over the growling of the freshly evolved Water-type.

"Samurott, that's its name?" Olivia whispered. She lowered her hands, brushing past her pocket where her Pokédex was without a notice. "You evolved for me so we could win, Samurott?"

Samurott completely ignored Olivia and remained fixated on Mawile, who he now towered over. The stress of forcing himself to evolve after all he'd endured at Mawile's hands left his entire body burning, and his mind was still stuck on the images of Flaaffy that continued to torment him. He remained still and continued to growl at his opponent.

Helena could wait no longer after quietly observing Dewott's evolution. "This could be trouble, even for my Mega Mawile…" she said to herself before addressing her Pokémon directly. "Mawile, we need to finish this up! Use Brick Break!"

If anyone in Olivine Gym wasn't surprised or intimidated by Dewott's evolution, it was Mawile. He ran right for Samurott, pulled back his fist and delivered a strong punch to the sea lion's right front leg.

Samurott didn't react at all, however, and that caused Mawile to step back in confusion. Olivia's Pokémon didn't even move. He just stood still and continued to growl until an orange light suddenly burst from his body. When that happened, his growl became a screech and he swept his arm into Mawile, easily knocking the Steel-and-Fairy-type back.

"That looked like the move Revenge to me," Bunny noted.

"Look at that, Samurott!" Olivia exclaimed. "We can do this! We can win if you can do that! Now, u-"

Samurott ignored Olivia, but this time it wasn't to stay still. He drew vapor from the air into his body, allowing him to coat himself in water, then lunged forward and tackled Mawile. The water coating Samurott burst off of him when the two Pokémon collided and sprayed over the battlefield.

Even that wasn't enough to sate Samurott's anger, however. The images of Flaaffy getting Olivia's praise kept on tormenting him. Unwilling to even risk allowing them to become real, he lashed out yet again at Mawile, stabbing the Gym Leader's Pokémon with his horn. Despite the force Samurott put into this Megahorn, however, Mawile stood fast in resistance against it.

"Mawile, use Brick Break once more!"

Seizing on the close proximity he had to Samurott, Mawile swung and punched him squarely in the chest. Samurott wheezed and stumbled back, his strength starting to fail him.

"Samurott…" Olivia listlessly said while breathing heavily, "...you're pushing yourself way too hard… it's okay, just stop…"

The instant he heard Olivia ask him to stop, Samurott's eyes snapped fully open. To him, his worst fears were coming true. After all, if he couldn't even beat Mawile, how would he ever get Olivia to favor him as much as he deserved? No, he wouldn't give up. He couldn't. He would defeat Mawile and prove his strength.

Energized anew by his anger and jealousy, Samurott forced himself to his full height. The orange light of Revenge erupted from his body, and he used one of his sturdy legs to smash Mawile into the ground. He then pulled one of his shells - having grown into a full-length sword upon his evolution - from its sheath on his leg and raised it into the air before striking Mawile with it.

At that point, he couldn't stop. His body was burning, his mind was being tormented by Flaaffy, and he sensed that the solution for both of those problems lay in the increasingly weakened Mawile sprawled in front of him. He swung his Razor Shell down onto Mawile again and again, roaring incoherently all the while. It wasn't long before Mawile reverted into his ordinary form and he completely fainted, but Samurott was unable to even realize he'd won. He just kept beating Mawile's prone body, growing more and more upset the more he did it. Helena couldn't even recall her fainted Pokémon, as Samurott was blocking her from getting a clear view of him.

Olivia watched in helpless horror as Samurott spiraled completely out of control. "This isn't right, this isn't right…" she repeated to herself over and over. "Samurott, this isn't right… I want to win, but not like this…" She abruptly pulled out Samurott's Poké Ball and pointed it toward him. "Samurott, not like this! No! Come ba-"

When Olivia moved to act on her decision to recall Samurott and surrender the battle, however, she was suddenly overcome by an agonizing headache. She dropped the Poké Ball and held her head with both her hands, then doubled over.

The pain in her head soon spiked, forcing her body to lock up. She couldn't see anything around her, nor did she hear Anabel screaming her name as she ran onto the battlefield. In fact, it was like she wasn't even in Olivine Gym anymore. The memory of where she really was barely held on while her mind was filled with something else entirely.

Olivia saw herself on a battlefield, but it wasn't that of Olivine or any other Gym. It was much more vast than that, surrounded by a massive area of spectator seating broken into three tiers. When she looked around, she saw a giant video screen hanging over the field. It was displaying a red screen with a black stripe down the middle, with a gold Poké Ball outline surrounded by eight stars laid over it - the emblem of the Pokémon League. She was in the Pokémon League stadium at the Indigo Plateau, right at the center of its battlefield.

Just as she figured out where she was, she suddenly realized there was a figure in front of her. A single glance at him made her want to start crying, even though she couldn't. He looked exactly the same as he did when she saw him on television the previous day, wearing the same unusual mask and uniform and holding the same elaborate, helix-topped staff.

"Father?" No matter what she did, she couldn't force any words out. "No, Dad! Why are you…"

"It is not time for you to join me yet, Olivia," Father said to her before turning away and starting to walk off.

"No, stop! Come back!" She tried to reach out to him, but he disappeared without acknowledging her again.

In the real world, a single tear rolled down Olivia's face before she fell completely unconscious and collapsed. Anabel, who had just recalled Samurott herself after collecting his Poké Ball, rushed over to her and held her in her arms.

"Olivia!" Anabel shouted, her voice cracking. "Wake up!"

"What's wrong with her?" Morgan asked the others as they came onto the battlefield. "Is she alright? Is she breathing?"

"She's breathing, but barely…" Anabel said without turning around.

"It's getting worse…" Matt muttered, clutching Amanda's hand tightly as he guided her. He shut his eyes and looked away. "The last time was in Ecruteak City, and that was only a week ago…"

"What?" gasped Monroe. "When?"

"While you were battling the Shadow Triad, apparently. That's what Olivia told me anyway…"

An uncomfortable silence settled over the group as they clustered around Olivia and listened to her labored breaths. All of them had things they wanted to say, but none of them knew how. Even Avril, who was hiding behind her father, wanted to tell Olivia to get up.

The only one not in that tight circle was the one who considered herself Olivia's closest friend. Nekou stood away from the others with her arms crossed, watching with both great concern and great distress.

"These people helped me after what I became…" she thought, "...and now it's my turn to pay them back. I can't… I can't think only of myself anymore. If this destroys everything I have, I'll have to endure… there's only one person who can help Olivia now."

Gathering her strength, Nekou took a single step forward, making sure to drive her boot into the ground with enough force to make a sound. Her plan worked, getting Matt and Bunny to turn around and look at her.

"Nekou?" Bunny wondered.

Nekou opened her mouth, only for her words to get caught in her throat. "No! Fuck this! I have to do this, no matter the cost…" To break the ice, she took out her phone and showed it to them. "I… I can help. I know a really good doctor who works in Olivine. She's the one who always takes care of me, so I know she'll have exactly what's needed to treat Olivia right now."

"That's great!" Matt exclaimed before turning back around. "Anabel, did you hear that?" When Anabel shook her head, he said, "Nekou's got a doctor in Olivine she can call to take care of Olivia!"

"Please do!" Anabel begged Nekou once she heard this. "This can't keep happening!"

Nekou turned away from the others and grit her teeth. "Don't worry… Olivia will be well taken care of."

-:-

Far away from Olivine City, Gabriella was lounging in the pool inside her Angel Tower office. A holographic screen in front of her displayed images of both a Mega Mawile and the Meteonite, along with several pieces of data comparing both.

"Exactly what I envisioned," she said to herself. "Making use of Gaia is the answer."

Pleased with what she was seeing, she took a sip from the champagne glass sitting on the edge of the pool.

-:-

Roughly fifteen minutes after Nekou stepped out of the Gym to place her phone call, she came barging back into the chamber. The others hadn't moved much in the intervening time.

"They're here!" she called to them. Her torn emotions had been briefly settled by the urgency of the situation, but still, they quickly caught up to her again. "They're here…" she repeated, her energy draining.

"Come on, then, let's go," Matt urged the others. "I'll carry Olivia. This body of mine can be useful for something… Anabel, would you…?"

Understanding what Matt meant, Anabel nodded and took Amanda's hand. "We're going now, Amanda."

"Alright."

With nothing more that needed to be said, Matt took up Olivia in his arms and started walking towards Nekou and the exit. The rest of the group started to follow, but Nekou held up her hand and stopped them.

"You kids shouldn't have to see this," she uttered. "I know you're worried, but please, Dominic… keep your kids here. Morgan, you too. Please."

"But I want to make sure Olivia is-"

Monroe was cut off when his father put a hand on his shoulder. "We all want to make sure Olivia is okay, but we have to trust that the ones who know her best will be able to take care of her."

"Yeah!" Morgan blurted out. "I, uh… just let us know when she wakes up, okay? I can find something to do…"

"Don't worry about it, we will," Matt promised.

"I sincerely hope she recovers soon," Helena said. "Best wishes."

"Thank you," Anabel replied.

With that, Nekou led Matt, Anabel, Bunny and Amanda back through the lobby of Olivine Gym to the street outside. A fairly large truck was waiting for them outside.

Sensing the confused glances being exchanged between those behind her, Nekou said to them, "House calls aren't a usual order of business, so she doesn't exactly have an ambulance or anything to use."

Matt and Bunny looked at each other, then back to Nekou and the truck. "I guess that makes sense," Matt said.

Nekou ran ahead of the others and threw open the doors on the back of the truck. After climbing in, she stuck her arm out and gestured to them, saying "Come on, get in!"

Losing her composure, Anabel absentmindedly let go of Amanda's hand and rushed ahead to the truck. Bunny noticed this and quickly took up the slack, while Matt got ahead of them and entered the truck right behind Anabel.

What he saw when he got in stopped him cold. Anabel had the same reaction, staring wide-eyed at the occupants of the vehicle.

"What… what is this…" Olivia's mother gasped. "Why are you here…?!"

Matt didn't recognize the wheelchair-bound woman sitting next to a stretcher in the middle of the trailer. He didn't recognize the redhead Nekou was sitting next to either, but Anabel did, from when the Frontier Society's opening tournament was attacked - it was Ariana.

When the truck's driver looked back into the trailer, Matt finally saw a face he recognized. It was the master of disguise who had helped him and Bunny against Yung on the Magnet Train. Petrel.

"We meet again, my friends!" Petrel exclaimed. "I only wish it was under better circumstances than this, but hey, you're in good hands with Rosalie's help!"

END of CHAPTER 22