After spending what felt like three to four days out on in the sun getting roasted like a rotisserie Fearow, Ryan, Logan, and Alexander the Acrobat returned to their hotel rooms. They found no sign of Jessica, nor her parents, when they returned. However, there was indeed a sign of Rahul, as he was sitting on the couch, texting on his phone, sharing innumerable posts with them on Pokébook.

"Oh, hey Ryan."

Just like a I thought. "Sup big man."

"Nothin' much."

"Where've you been, Rahul?" Logan asked, holding a giant stuffed Alolomola. "I haven't seen you since the last time I saw you, man."

"Yeah, uh, I went off with Mr. Ugo'gir for a while, but then he went missing, so I came back. Oh, and I caught a Lugia. That was pretty fun."

Alex's ears perked up at that. "You did what?"

"Oh yeah, don't worry Alex, it was no big deal."

"You're not getting away with that, Ricky boy," Ryan quipped. "A Legendary's no joke!"

"Ryan caught a Mew!" Logan sang. "Beat that, Rahul!"

"Eh, I always thought Mewtwo looked cooler," the big man shrugged.

"We need to talk about this, man. Yo, Rahul, come on. Tell me all about it."

"Yeah, yeah, alright, fine."

He struggled to get up from his comfy position, a very favorable position (though he lacked the high ground), eventually following Alex into their room so they could talk this through. This was serious business after all. It would be an excellent and very interesting conversation, no doubt, but Ryan had already almost half-forgotten that Rahul was back.

"I'm making some miso soup. Want any?"

The teal-haired boy shook his head. "Nah brah, I'm having some of that teriyaki lo mein with pineapple."

"What are you, a fruit?"

"Could an apricot beat every scrub in Kanto, yo?"

"Yes, I think so."

"At least I wasn't raised by Clefable. That explains why you're the way you are."

"Whoa, Ryan, not cool. I may be a fairy, but you're a fruit!"

"Great convo, dude."

He finished heating his lo mein in the microwave and returned to their room where he was going to watch replays of Tyranitar's Tubular Tribulations on channel 465. Setting his food on the table, he went back to the bathroom to wash his hands when the boy noticed something was wrong. Not only had Logan flipped the toilet paper around to go under instead of over (people like this are the scourge of humanity), but the window, small as a food tray, was popped open too. Moonlight was falling in, and that was when he noticed the screen that was there to keep rabid Ninjask out of their hotel room was missing.

He noticed the screen lying crooked in the bathtub and found that to be rather curious until a second later, a purple boot came shooting through the open window, and then came a second, and then a torso, and then a head, and then the hair of a human being. This human had gestated in her mother's womb for at least nine months and proceeded to mature into her fully evolved form after at least sixteen years, but that was neither here nor there.

Her fuchsia hair, her light pink eyes, that same forlorn look, still as the dawn, was entirely foreign and entirely nostalgic at the same time. Like a punch to the gut, all the memories flooded back.

"Kelly!"

"Hey, kid."

Some things will never change. "Wh-wha… what are you doing here?!"

"Resort Gorgeous was closed for the night. They wouldn't let me in, so…"

"Sebastian's gonna be so mad about that screen."

She shrugged, not caring. She wouldn't look at him either. "So how have things been, Ryan?"

"Eh. I thought I was gonna get to go on a vacation, but for the past three days, I've just been fighting baddies and having all these emotional moments, and getting lotsa character development, like old times."

"Cool."

"Today was the first day I really got a chance to relax, though."

She pulled the twisted screen up from the bathtub, trying to fit it back in place. Alas, its shape had morphed ever so much to disallow that. "How much longer are you staying here?"

"Ten more days."

"Mmm," she murmured, letting the screen drop again into the bathtub with a loud clunk. "I suppose that's not so long. You wouldn't happen to have a spare room for me to stay in, would you?"

He went red. She wants to stay with me again? Why's she gotten so friendly all of a sudden? "Y-yeah… but what are you doing here, Kelly?"

Now she turned to face him, her shoulders thrust forward, her neck glistening with sweat in the moonlight. "Looking for you."

"Why?"

"Why don't we discuss that tomorrow? It's late, and I've been traveling all day. I'm tired. It's nearly midnight. How are you still awake?"

"I'm a party animal, or something."

"Right." She adjusted the backpack she was carrying, turning her gaze from him to the floor. "It's nice to see you again, Ryan. It's been a while."

"Y-yeah… I've, I've…" … missed you, "I don't think we ended on the greatest of terms, maybe. It wasn't that much, I mean, well…" he stuttered awkwardly.

"Forget it, Ryan. I've gotten over it." She looked him dead in the eyes again, and he felt his chest warming beyond his control. "You won fair and square. I didn't think you had it in you–I didn't believe you could be better than me. But wishing something to be true and accepting reality are entirely different things. You're the Indigo League Champion, Rye. There's nothing anyone can say or do to make that not true. And that's why I'm here, really."

"Why are you here?"

"I need your help to defeat a powerful warlord," she said in a quiet voice. "A man by the name of Pagan Kim. Perhaps you've heard of him before?"

"Heard of him?! I fought that dude ages ago! Sent him packing!"

She betrayed a hint of shock. "You did?! When?"

"You weren't there. We met him in the middle of the forests of Kanto… I think we were near Viridian Forest, but I'm not sure exactly where it was. We found his compound and confronted him for poaching a baby Kangaskhan. I helped Mama Kanga get her baby back, and she sent him flying to the moon…"

Ryan recalled that day. Pagan Kim, in his bright pink suit, the man holding a Master Ball (Ryan only realizing that now as he recollected) threatening to unleash his Zapdos upon them as if they were mere mortals. Mama Kanga had only punched him once and he had gone flying like when Ryan used to throw his stuffed Aipoms across the room like they were pieces of popcorn.

"I bet he's pissed."

"Yeah… he sent his dudes after me a few days ago. They tried to mug me!"

"He never forgets," she said.

"But why do you care what he's up to? And where's he hiding out now, anyways?"

"Let's talk about this tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure…"

She pulled open the door slowly and sneakily like she had a hundred skill points invested in stealth. And yet Logan was standing right there, a steaming bowl of miso soup clutched in his pale hands.

"Whoa… hiya Kelly. Long time no see." He grinned knowingly. "I didn't think I'd find you in there, ha."

"Hey, it's not what it looks like!" Ryan shot back.

Kelly, unperturbed, marched out, looking around. "So, uh, where can I stay?"

"Why don't you stay in Ryan's room tonight?" Logan asked slyly.

He felt his ears getting warm. Gosh, he's so stupid sometimes! "Logan, shut it! It's that room just to your right, Kelly…"

She waved at him, signaling that she was going to bed, and he bit his lip, a forlorn feeling descending upon his shoulders.

"Yo, what was that?" Logan asked quickly as soon as Kelly had closed the door. "Deets dude, deets."

"She came in through the bathroom window," Ryan sighed. "Security's pretty lax around these parts evidently."

I don't want him getting the wrong idea, Ryan thought, turning, and walking back to the kitchen. But… why not? What am I so afraid of anyways?

"Cool. So is she back?"

"Lugia if I know, man. We'll learn more tomorrow, hopefully."

"Yeah… I guess…" the other boy said, and Ryan could detect just the faintest hint of disappointment in Logan's voice.

He's got nothing to worry about. She's nothing like Jessica… nothing like Rahul, either. "So tomorrow, I was thinking we'd explore Six and Seven Islands. Those are the only two I haven't 'splored that much. You down, Logan?"

"Nah, man, I'm the top!"

With that, Logan raced off down the hallway. Ryan shook his head. How could a guy like that prefer miso soup over pineapples and mangos?

In the morning, Rahul and Alex set off on a secret mission (most likely to go to the Ember Spa again), while Logan, Kelly, and Ryan all set off for Six Island. Ryan was surprised that Kelly had decided to come with them without much fuss, and she didn't seem all that impatient to tell him why she had appeared, or what exactly she needed him to help her do. That was fine with Ryan. This was merely day five of his vacation, and he wasn't nearly as relaxed as he ought to be yet.

They trekked and trekked and trekked for about twenty to twenty-two minutes through the southern mountainous region of Six Island, a pretty cool island to be sure. There wasn't a lot going on down there, nor were there many people around. It was just how Ryan liked it. The burned wreckage of what looked like some kind of house dominated the landscape, but there weren't even very many wild Pokémon around. The whole island had an eerie feel to it. The few wild 'mons they did manage to run into were too weak and too slow and barely leveled up their Pokémon at all in the process.

They heard about the pattern bush, and Logan complained that a bush with a pattern was too obnoxious, so they skipped that islet altogether. Riding Thurnax together, Ryan stuck between Kelly and Logan on her back (the most appropriate position for Ryan compared to those two), they came to the Altering Cave, at the northernmost point of the Six Island chain.

It was here they disembarked, looking around for anything exciting or daring or cool to explore. All they saw was a lot of rocks, a sandy beach, and the waves, ever crashing in, endlessly cycling. It was pretty bleak and salty and they were all tired of looking at it, so they decided to go into the cave when suddenly a screeching purple bat thing came shooting down from the rocks above the entrance to the cave, flying down at them, angling itself at Ryan's poor Katagiri.

"Oh, you little baby moron! Get away from my Froakie!" Ryan shouted, shooing the thing away. At first, it seemed to heed his dangerous gestures, but then it dive-bombed them again from high up in the sky, going for Katagiri a second time. This 'mon's got an attitude.

"I think it wants to fight your frog," Kelly pointed out. "Speaking of which, where did you get that thing? Isn't that a Kalos Starter?"

"I found its egg in the woods."

"That's convenient."

"Your hair color's convenient, yo!" Ryan pulled out his Pokédex angrily, pointing it up at the flapping little devil.

"Gligar, the Fly Scorpion Pokémon. Gligar glides through the air without a sound as if it were sliding. This Pokémon hangs on to the face of its foe using its clawed hind legs and the large pincers on its forelegs, then injects the prey with its poison barb."

"Ooh, that's wicked cool!" Ryan pointed at the flying thing and said, "Go get 'em, Giri! Show that flapper what you've got!"

"Froah!" the Froakie responded without missing a beat. He's not afraid of anything. Maybe that's a problem, but I kinda like his stupid bravery sometimes.

Hopping off Ryan's shoulder, the Froakie approached the circling Gligar cautiously. Noticing its foe had finally challenged it, the flying scorpion thing flapped its wings, spun in midair, and dove at Katagiri again. This time, the Froakie was too slow. Gligar thrust its claw forward, black sparks surrounding it, and as it came down, it whacked Katagiri hard in the neck, sending him flying back.

"Well, would you look at that? That was a devastating hit," Kelly remarked. "I'd guess that Gligar's at least level 25. Your Froakie stands no chance, Rye."

"That's what you think! Katagiri, Ice Beam!"

His loyal froggy jumped into the air, charging up a white glowing beam, hopping back to the crater he had been thrown out of to get a better angle on the flying Gligar. The wild Pokémon watched with mild interest, poking its tongue out and laughing hysterically as it flew about.

Then it was hit in the wing with a hard blow, and it fell, almost not catching itself before it hit the ground. It only just did, and as it did, it let out a cry of pain, flapping its wings harder, gathering speed, and flying in circles at a greater pace now.

Agility, Ryan knew. That's strange. It thinks it still has a chance. Oh well.

"Now it's my turn! Gligar, I choose you!" Ryan shouted dumbly, sticking his own tongue out, hopping forward, and throwing an Ultra Ball at the flying purple creature.

It was hit in the belly, and so shocked was it that the Gligar barely got out a squeak of surprise before it was sucked inside. And then, the ball fell, wriggled, and settled. It was too easy. A flash of light covered the Ultra Ball, and it disappeared.

Ryan clapped wildly. "Woo yeah! I caught it, I caught, look at me, I'm great!"

Logan clapped politely, but Kelly just folded her arms. "Hmph. I see you haven't matured at all since the Indigo League."

"You bet!" Logan replied. "You should see him sometimes, Kelly. He's like a child! A baby! A tiny little Pichu who hasn't gotten his lunch just on time! Oh, the things he's said and done… I can't even begin to repeat them here. This is a family friendly story!"

"Man, whatchu on about?"

"Settle down, you two." Kelly yawned. "Let's see what's inside, alright? I've never heard of this cave before. I bet there's all sorts of treasure and rare Pokémon and stuff in there. Let's go."

She commanded both of them more easily than Ryan liked. And yet, as they went to go inside, Ryan noticed that Katagiri had not returned to his shoulder.

"Yo buddy, what's up?"

His Froakie was standing in the crater, croaking softly, his chest puffed out, his eyes closed. "Froah… froah… froah…"

As Ryan went to pick him up, a brilliant flash of light surrounded his body, far eclipsing what had just happened with the Ultra Ball. Ryan sucked in a gasp of air. No way… He's… he can't be…

But indeed he was. It wasn't even hacks or anything unnatural. Froakie's form shifted, elongated, contorted, and grew, and it was like Mew all over again, except this time it was permanent (and therefore meaningful). Bluish sparks danced in the air around his body, and the when the glow faded, it was not his tiny baby buddy who remained, but a far larger froggy boy.

"Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokémon," Dex said.

"Heya, wait a minute! I thought you said Froakie was the Bubble Frog Pokémon?"

"They are both the Bubble Frog Pokémon, oh wisest of masters."

"Right, right, continue," the boy said quickly.

"Ahem ahem. Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokémon. Its swiftness is unparalleled. It can scale a tower of more than 2,000 feet in a minute's time."

There were goosebumps on Ryan's arms. "Whoa… Logan, did you hear that?"

"I have ears Ryan!"

"Katagiri!" Ryan fell to his knees, hugging his newly-evolved Frogadier. "I'm so proud of you! You could scale Korin Tower no problem, I just know it! You'd get the Sacred Water in no time!"

His Frogadier was almost half as tall as him now. Katagiri looked mildly amused by everything that had just happened. "Dieer…"

"Well, I take that back," Kelly said, smiling. "That Gligar was obviously a much higher level than Katagiri. But he won anyways. I'm not surprised it induced an evolution…"

She knelt to scratch the boy behind his ear.

"Frog frog!"

"Ooh, ooh, do me next, do me next!" Logan pled.

"Maybe when you evolve into being a fool," Kelly replied lightly. She turned, stood, and walked off into the opening of the tunnel just like that.

"A-a… fool?" Logan cocked his head, not understanding. "But if I'd evolve into a fool, what does that make me now?"

"Oh Logan, you shouldn't ask questions like that," Ryan said, patting him on the shoulder. "If you don't already know, there's no hope for you!" he said cheerfully.

Then, whistling (rather poorly, one might say), Ryan ran off after Kelly, Katagiri hot on his heels.

The only thing they found in the Altering Cave was a weird looking old guy with huge glasses holding a magnifying glass and chasing tiny bugs in the corner of the cave, and a small herd of Mareep. Each of them caught one, which was a great moment of course, but then they left because that cave had nothing else to offer them. Ryan was a little sad that Ana the Slowpoke wasn't there, but it was okay since she was also terrible and no good.

By midafternoon, they had arrived on Seven Island to do a bit of exploring, and indeed, they explored some stuff. It was really exciting going through the Sevault Canyon. There were like five or six Wild Pokémon that just flung themselves at the three of them hoping to perhaps eat them or who knows what (Ryan speculated that all wild Gravelers just wanted an excuse to use Explosion and never be seen again by anyone ever).

It was real sad how dozens of Gravelers just threw themselves out from behind bushes and trees, grunted a bit, grinned maniacally, and blew up in their faces. Luckily, the three trainers who were all very intelligent and very clever never took out any of their Pokémon (Frogadier, being a Ninja Frog™, hid behind Ryan's leg every time and didn't take even one HP of damage as a result), so these Explosions had no effect other than to decimate the local Graveler population. Since the Gravelers did that to themselves, however, Ryan didn't feel tiny a bit guilty, not even a bit.

At the southernmost point of the canyon, they came across a house where a woman lived, and she was a fine looking woman, or rather, she was an intelligent woman, or rather, she was a woman who had a lot of feelings. She asked them all to do the dance of Sableye for her so she could get the rocks off her roof, but when the three of them suddenly engaged in a dance (after agreeing) against their will, as if some invisible puppet strings were making them move, Logan began to scream, and the woman, not liking the shrill sound of the boy's screams (which reminded Ryan somewhat of Master Koga's screams), disappeared back into her house in a mad, breathless sprint, akin to when Ryan used to try to scale the five flights of stairs at school to reach his morning class without appearing to be out of shape (oh but he was, and indeed was he).

There was a lot of shuffling inside, and then the roof collapsed, and there wasn't anymore movement. The three of them thought it best to return to town at that point, as they hadn't quick-saved in a while, and it was nearly lunchtime.

On their way back to town, however, Kelly was toying with a bracelet on her left arm, so Ryan, knowing that any inquiry would lead to an excellent moment in the story, inquired, "What's that, Kelly? You weren't wearing that in Kanto!"

"It's my Mega Bracelet. Do you know what that is, Rye?"

"Heheheh, and whose Mega Stone does it hold?"

She seemed a bit surprised that he knew what he was talking about, but quickly composed herself. "'Aichu's… who else?"

"In that case, I challenge you, madam, to a duel!" He pulled out his pocket watch and opened its face, showing her his own Key Stone. "See, I've got one too! Let's go! Mega versus mega! The ultimate battle!"

"Okay then. Let's see what you've got." There was a fire in Kelly's eyes. She seemed very curious about where this was headed. Is that a good sign or a bad sign?

Out came Thurnax and 'Aichu. The dragon imposed its presence over that electric mouse. Thurnax's gonna win easy. No sweat. "Alright, girl! Extreme Speed!"

"Hidden Power, 'Aichu!" Kelly commanded coolly.

As their two Pokémon leapt back, they were each covered in their auras, their forms twisting into something new. 'Aichu's ears grew into lightning bolts, and her tail became more jagged as well. A white, lightning-shaped scruff of fur just below her neck also appeared.

It was, of course, Thurnax who hit first. Coming down from the sky with great speed, she slammed into the little mouse without so much as giving a warning. Raichu was flung back, wincing. As Thurnax caught her breath, Raichu gathered blue-white energy in her paws and released it upon the magnificent dragon. Crying, Thurnax stumbled back, taken aback by that attack.

"A crit?! No way! That's not fair, Kelly! I demand a recount!"

"Stop your whining. It's only luck, after all."

"Thurnax, Extreme Speed that little rodent into oblivion now!"

"I think you should do the same, 'Aichu… Extreme Speed!"

Suddenly, the Raichu sprinted forward, running with unbelievable speed. It was pretty extreme, one could say. Before Thurnax could even take to the air, Raichu did an acrobatic flip and slammed her tail into Thurnax's belly, sending her flying into a tree.

The mighty Dragonite moaned and slumped over, her eyes shut tight. Are you kidding me?

"Return, Thurnax!" Ryan sighed.

"That was too easy," Kelly said, returning her own Pokémon.

"Hey now, watch it! That was unbelievably lucky… in fact, it was so lucky, if Alex were here, he'd be sick! He'd be throwing up on the beach!"

"Well then someone should get him a bucket," Kelly replied carelessly.

"You got off easy!"

"Yeah, yeah… whatever. Let's go get something to eat."

She strolled off down the path, back towards the port of Seven Island.

Logan and Ryan were just gaping at her, shocked. "I mean, I like that stubbornness. It's kinda hot," Logan admitted. "She's definitely the alpha. Can't you tell?"

"What do you think the odds are that she would've won that match?"

"Probably greater than the odds of you winning the Indigo League, dude."

Dude, I haven't made a single joke about Granddaddy Clefable in like two days. You should count yourself lucky. Ryan sighed, shaking his head, and slunked off after that girl with the purple hair back into town.

Seven Island had proven to be pretty boring too, so by three or four o'clock, they had returned to Resort Gorgeous to waste the rest of the day on the beach. Walking along the shore, the three of them decided to have a conversation amongst themselves, as to not have a conversation would be the weirder and less convenient of the two options they could have engaged in.

"So where's Pagan Kim hiding out anyways?"

"He's holed up in the town of Kyrai, just east of Kalos. It's deep in the mountains, far away from any other towns or routes. We'll have to take a gondola over the mountains just to get there… it's very remote. Kind of like here, only a lot colder."

"Well that sounds terrible. I hate the cold, Kelly. I don't do well in the cold…! I have like no body fat!"

She gave him a curious look that he didn't understand. They passed a man asleep on the beach, his stomach red and sunburnt as he snored loudly. Oh boy, he's gonna feel that in the morning.

Logan asked, "What I don't get is why do you care? What does it matter if that guy's living in the middle of nowhere?"

"Don't worry about that. He stole something from my mother. That's all you need to know, okay?" she replied in a defiant whisper.

"Come on, come on, what is iiiiiiiiiiiit? Tell us!"

"No. You in or out? I can't give you any more information. We're going to find him, we're going to beat him, and I'm going to take back what belongs to my mother. It's that simple. It's not a complicated set of conditions, alright? If you don't want to go, I'll find someone else. Maybe Alex and Rahul will want to come too."

"I'll go," Ryan said quickly. "Don't worry, I got your back Kelly."

"Good," she smiled, and he felt all tingly all over again.

Walking down the beach to the far end of the island, away from where most of the tourists were, the three teenagers came across what looked like a large chunk of bubblegum, or maybe Majin Buu's lost baby cousin, washed up on the beach. Before any of them could investigate, however, a shirtless boy came racing across the beach, shooting sand into the sky with every galloping stride.

"Well, like, look at that," Davey said, scratching his scraggly beard as he arrived. "Oh man…" he rubbed his hands together, looking upon the little pink thing with unbridled lust. "Oh man, oh man. She looks just like my governor… so thicc, so juicy sweet!"

He licked his lips. He has a really high voice for someone as thick-chested and bearded as him, Ryan thought vaguely.

"Sup Davey, remember me?" Ryan asked him.

The other boy looked up, annoyed at someone breaking him out of his concentration. "Yeah, yeah, I thought I was hidden," he complained. "Can't you see I'm not online?"

"Oh okay."

"Besides, this one's mine, I already called it."

"Do you even know what that is?" Kelly asked, stepping forward.

"Look at those curves. Like, I shouldn't have to spell this out to you… it's extra thicc!"

The blob stirred. Davey purred. Everyone took a step closer.

"You've met this guy before?" Kelly asked.

"Yeah, on the first day I got here…" Ryan sighed. "I'm surprised he's still around. He's super narcissistic and neurotic and fidgety and weird, but if I say I love him, doesn't that mean that all those criticisms go away and don't mean anything?"

"Shhh… quiet, she's stirring!" Davey growled. "Everyone get back, she's mine! Look at that booty! Oh my gosh, I've been on a quest for booty for so long!"

The pink blob was indeed moving a bit, probably having woken up from their incessant yapping. It slowly turned over, revealing the half-baked face of the once-regal and very elderly Granddaddy Clefable. Ryan gasped; Logan screamed like an Ekans. Kelly didn't do anything because this Pokémon has no relevance to her life. Davey purred even louder.

"Oh my…" he said. "You're a pretty girl." Davey's tone became more soothing and gentle.

"Hey, that's no girl! That's my Granddaddy Clefable!" Logan shot back.

"Oh." Davey stood up awkwardly, looking around. "I, uh, I'm gonna skate. I need to go to the local CVS to pick up some water-based personal lubrication. I hope you all understand. Like, I'm bone dry right now! I'm all out. It's awful."

Davey ran and ran and ran and never looked back. It can be hard to run when you have your cell phone in your swim trunks' pocket just flopping around, or so they say.

"Yo, Granddaddy, my man, my main man, my liege! What happened?"

"Fable."

"Clefairy fairy fairy!" Logan butted in. "Fairy? Cle fairy fairy?"

"Fable," the Clefable replied weakly, spitting up water.

"What'd he say, Logan?"

"I don't know, he's not making any sense. He's just speaking gibberish!"

"How can you tell? He sounds exactly the same as always."

"Nuh uh, this time's different!"

Kelly exhaled impatiently. "What the heck is wrong with you two? Am I the only one with any brains around here? Seriously, what the heck?"

"Hey, I'm not the one pretending to be able to speak Clefable! I'm an honest blue-haired boy, and I won the Indigo League!"

"I can speak Clefairy, thank you very much! And I'm fluent. I was raised by Granddaddy Clefable. He's my real Granddaddy, okay?"

Kelly wrinkled her nose. "You are an unbelievably weird creature, Logan."

"Yeah, whatever. I bet you wish you could speak Clefairy just like me! It's a gift of mine! I'm better than 99% of people who can't ever dream of being able to speak a Pokémon language."

Amidst all the bickering and whining, Granddaddy Clefable struggled to his feet, hopped up, and reached into Ryan's bag. Before the boy had realized what had happened, the God-Emperor had stolen a Poké Ball, cracked it open, and jumped inside.

"What the…?" The ball flashed with light and disappeared.

"Y-y-you just caught Granddaddy Clefable?!" Logan stuttered, tears in his eyes. "I can't believe you, Ryan! What the heck was that? I don't understand! Is this real life?"

"Looks like he wanted to get some peace and quiet from all your nonsense," Kelly shot back. "Heck, I don't blame him. I'm getting a headache just listening to you two right now. What I'm wondering is how can anyone put up with all your jive on a constant basis?"

"That's not very nice, Kelly."

"Look, I can see you two are going to be at this for a while, so I'm going to go find a nice cool spot in the shade to relax. In the meantime, why don't you two train a bit so you'll be able to help me take on Kim's guards? Judging by that last battle we had, Ryan, you're going to need some valuable training time with your 'mons. Especially that Frogadier. You think a weak little frog like that is going to take down a Pokémon Black Market Kingpin like Pagan Kim? Psh. We don't stand a chance as it is."

"Frog!" Katagiri cried out.

That's no fair. He just evolved. What more could she ask for?!

Regardless, Kelly walked off after that, leaving them standing in the dust, all rather humiliated, and all rather ashamed, though only Ryan was flushed pink and feeling all tingly. But hey, they were on a tropical island, a sweltering heated sand trap, and they had ten more days of vacation left to enjoy, so they had time. I got plenty of time, Ryan thought to himself. But before I get back to training, Imma go find the nearest orange juice vending machine… both for Kelly's sake and my own.

The air was humid and hot, and Logan was ready to argue all over again. But then Ryan ran off down the beach, and since he was faster than Logan (something he had learned in his various travels with the boy), he knew Logan had no hope of ever catching him. It was like when that Mega Mewtwo had tried to outspeed Mega Mew. It simply couldn't, no matter how hard it tried.

That's a life lesson for the ages, Ryan thought, and he was glad that his speed stat was far superior to Logan's, for in the blink of an eye, he had already left the boy on the other side of the beach well behind and he could no longer hear Logan's whining. And indeed that was the greatest moment of solace for Ryan in some time.