Z

A knuckle knocked against a thick, wooden door, sending sharp echoes ringing down a stone hall. Against the canvas of the quiet night, the sound was almost deafening. Soon enough though, it faded, and silence returned.

At least, for a while.

"Keep me waiting, huh?" It was Korrina standing in the dim light of the hall. Though her tone spelled out her annoyance, in truth, her mind was on something else entirely. Her furrowed brows dropped. "…Why are you keeping me waiting?"

Soon, however, the door cracked open, and the face she was looking for showed itself. Korrina breathed a sigh of relief and grinned.

"Korrina?" Ash blinked, even the low light of the hallway seeming bright to him. "Korrina, it's— 3 AM."

"Course it is! That's when I do my best work." Pressing her hand against the door, Korrina wrenched the opening wider, revealing Ash in his full glory— Loose pajamas and a nasty case of bedhead. "Come on, I've got something I wanna show you."

"At 3 AM," Ash reiterated, shaking the sleep from his eyes and fully coming to. Reaching back into the dark, he pulled out his hat to help tame his hair.

"Of course, it's—"

"—when you do your best work." Ash finished her sentence with an eye roll and a sigh. "Alright, I'm coming."

Z

The statue of Mega Lucario spiraled ever onwards as Korrina picked up speed, ascending the Tower of Mastery floor-by-floor. She was going to need that speed, if she was ever going to pull off this trick.

As soon as she was level with the statue's head, Korrina took a sharp turn, leaping over the railing in a single bound. After a few seconds of air time, she skidded onto the statue's shoulder. Definitely a close call. Catching her balance, Korrina slowly inched her way along.

"Nice jump!" As soon as Korrina reached the statue's head, Ash's voice rang up from down below, grabbing her attention. He was doing warm-up stretches of all things. "I'd try it myself if I had those skates, hah!"

"There's a ladder in the storage room behind you," Korrina called down, turning back to the statue. Her hand brushed against the old metal, in a spot where the oxidation had been worn away by her touch. "Don't take too—"

"Hyuh!" That grunt from Ash grabbed Korrina's attention once more, her gaze whipping down to the ground below. He wasn't going for the ladder— He was scaling the statue by hand!

"What're you—!"

"Nearly— There—" With a cheeky smile, Ash pulled himself up to the statue's chest spike, taking just a moment to balance himself before continuing. After a little while longer, he joined her, sitting up on the statue's other shoulder. "Okay, so, what's up?"

Shaking her head clear, Korrina grinned.

"I've got something for you." Now it was Korrina's turn to pull out the surprises. Without a hint of hesitation, she stuck her entire arm into the mouth of the statue, digging around for a few moments before she pulled back, holding onto something new.

"Is that—" Ash blinked, nearly falling off the statue before catching himself. "That's the Jackal Scroll! That thing Gurkinn was talking about!"

"Yep! Old man thought he was clever, hiding it up here," Korrina said, a hand traveling up and down the length of the scroll. The sigil of Mega Evolution greeted her eyes, with a crude drawing of a Mega Lucario underneath it. After a moment, she looked back to Ash. "Let's open it. We've both earned the right to look at this thing."

Yet, where Korrina expected to find excitement, expected the hot-blooded passion she knew from Ash, she instead got something else: Unease.

"No… I haven't," Ash simply said, his gaze falling to the floor, a dozen meters below. "I still haven't beaten you yet. I still haven't— Ow!"

With a swift bonk to his head, Korrina silenced Ash before he could even complete the thought.

"You haven't beaten me yet," she replied, not bothering to say anything beyond that. All Ash could do was stare at her, rubbing his head as he thought her words over.

After a moment, he snorted and nodded.

"…Yet." With one final laugh, he was convinced. "Okay, yeah. Let's look at that scroll."

"That's the spirit! Let's see what this thing has to say." Plopping down into crossed legs, Korrina began to wrench at the scroll's casing, as Ash climbed over to join her on the statue's left shoulder. With a bit of elbow grease, she got it open. "Right, so. Those who calleth— Jeeze, it even sounds like Grandpa."

"Maybe the fancy talk runs in the family." Ash's comment came with a snide grin, earning him a jab from Korrina's elbow.

"Anyways— Those who calleth thouselves the inheritor and successor, heed our family's wisdom." Stumbling over her words for a moment, Korrina paused before continuing. "First, thou shalt be early to bed and early to rise. Second, thou shalt eat in moder—"

All at once, Korrina came to a stop.

"What the heck am I reading?"

"Is— Is that actually what it says?" Ash stared at Korrina in confusion, before leaning in to read the scroll himself. True to what Korrina said, those were the words on the paper.

"Keep your workspace organized. Wash your hands often— This is generic advice, just like Grandpa gives me!" Korrina paused, looking over the one and only picture the scroll had to offer: a crude doodle of Gurkinn himself, making a peace sign. "Oh for— It's exactly like the advice Grandpa gives me. My Grandpa wrote this!"

"Hah! You're kidding me!" Ash doubled over in laughter, almost slipping off the statue in the process. "Haha, well you did say one of your ancestors wrote it."

"This isn't funny, Ketchum." Huffing, Korrina began to read over the document again. "Five, make sure you set goals for yourself. Six, when things get difficult, don't just push through, try something new. Seven, don't make assumptions— And that's it!"

Pulling the scroll out further, Korrina revealed the blank pages lying beyond the first seven lines. The whole thing was mostly empty.

"I can't believe this. My Grandpa's been talking about this dumb thing for years, and in the end, it's just—" Korrina looked up then, pausing as she found Ash gone silent. He was craning his gaze upwards, looking towards the ceiling now. Korrina couldn't believe it— Had one of these fortune cookie sayings actually managed to click with him?

She was tempted to make a snide remark, before she stopped herself. It looked like he was deep in thought.

"Try something new, huh…"

X

A few days after their late-night meetup, it was back to the battlefield for Ash and Korrina. This time, words wouldn't need to be said. They both knew how the other wanted this to play out.

The moment Pikachu and Lucario hit the field, the light show had begun. It was a full powered battle from the very start!

"Alright Ketchum, you know what they say! Third time's the charm!" Even with the thundering electricity and streaming Aura, Korrina's voice came through loud and clear. "Or are you gonna prove the old saying wrong?"

Ash grinned, as he spotted her past the gold and cobalt.

"Oh just you wait, Korrina. Me and Pikachu are here to win this!" he declared, gripping the rim of his cap. "That gym badge is ours!"

"Then bring it on!" Throwing her whole chest forward, Korrina beckoned Ash on with a wild, excited grin— The same expression he was wearing. Between the pair of them, there were no more words to share, except for two.

"Let's go!"

In an instant, Pikachu and Lucario disappeared from view, thundering shockwaves in their wake. Gold streaks and cobalt streams flew across the battlefield —Slamming, striking— Blocking blow-after-blow as they shot past one another. With one big windup, the flashes of blue and yellow crashed into one another, revealing Pikachu and Lucario clashing underneath.

"Pika!" Kicking against Lucario's arm, Pikachu launched himself back.

"Thunderbolt, from the air!" At Ash's call, Pikachu complied, flipping and firing a bolt of electricity in one motion. The quick-draw blast only just missed its mark, as Lucario sidestepped the lightning.

"Trying to bait a Bone Rush? Not a chance!" Korrina declared, crossing her forearms. "Follow with Power-Up Punch!"

"Thunderbolt again, Pikachu !"

Another pillar of electricity flew forth from Pikachu, Lucario ducking and dodging it while in hot pursuit. Then, with a flicker of movement, he lunged forward.

"Lucario!"

"Spin, Pikachu!" Literally rolling with the punch, Pikachu twirled in midair, dodging Lucario and letting his opponent fly past him all at once. And he wasn't done there. "Iron Tail!"

"Chuuu—Pi-Ka!" Throwing his weight, Pikachu then slammed his tail into Lucario's back! With one mighty blow, Pikachu launched both him and his opponent in opposite directions.

"Recover, Lucario! And follow!" Now it was Korrina's call that steadied her partner. Lucario skidded against the ground at Ash's side, before rocketing back towards Pikachu again.

Right on time.

"Now Pikachu, with the spin!" Ash called, throwing his hand out to the side. "Use Thunderbolt!"

"Sidestep it, Lucario!" Korrina's command was well-meaning, but no less ineffective— Even as Lucario went into evasive maneuvers, it was to no avail.

The Thunderbolt wasn't aiming for him!

"Pi—! Ka—! Chu—!" Pikachu let out a rapturous laugh, spinning through the air as he fired pillars of lightning straight up. Then, touching down onto the ground, he kept spinning, the streams of electricity curling around him as he did. They were forming a vortex of electricity— No, not a vortex. A barrier! "Pika!"

"Cario?!" Caught off guard, Lucario faltered, unable to stop himself before he barreled straight into the wall of lightning. In an instant, he was battered by the spinning pillars of electricity. "Lu—ca—rio!"

"Lucario!" Korrina hunched over, her muscles visibly tensing and spasming from the attack. Relief only came when Lucario flew back, sliding against the ground and away from Pikachu's shield. "What is this, Ash? Some kinda new move!?"

When she looked at Ash, however, she found him grinning.

"Not a new move— Just an old technique!" he called out, his gaze still locked onto the battlefield. "It's not just an attack, but a shield! We call it Counter Shield!"

Pulling away from the action, Ash locked eyes with Korrina once more.

"And it's how we're gonna win!"

Up in the viewing balcony, the excitement was even more palpable.

"That's— That's amazing!" Clemont was dumbstruck, stammering out his thoughts without even a hint of hesitation. "It's offensive and defensive, all-in-one! Just what Ash needs!"

"That's so cool!" Bonnie added then, hopping in place and raising her pouch into the air. With a light shake, she revealed her trusty partner hiding inside. "If they did that just by spinning, maybe we can learn to do it too, Dedenne!"

"Dede!?" Dedenne was strikingly less confident in the suggestion.

While Bonnie and Clemont were obviously excited, Serena was even more so, despite her stoic appearance saying otherwise. The way her hands shook against the railing made that clear.

"If Korrina can't block Thunderbolt with Bone Rush anymore— And now she can't get close because of Counter Shield, then that means—" A wide, quivering smile grew on Serena's face, as she watched an Aura Sphere bounce uselessly off the surface of Counter Shield. "This could be it— They could win this!"

Ash could feel his heartbeat racing, his chest heaving as he called out each move. Before him, Lucario was flashing across the field, coming at Pikachu from every angle conceivable. Power-Up Punches, Aura Spheres, even good old kicks and blows— Not a single one of them could get past Pikachu's impregnable wall.

"This is it— This has to be it!" he declared, a wide grin across his face as he watched a tendril of lightning shoot out from the Counter Shield. It slammed into Lucario when he tried to retreat, sending him reeling back.

Yet, despite his assured declarations, Ash couldn't shake something— a remaining nerve, sitting at the back of his mind. Looking across to his opponent, he soon realized what it was.

Korrina's confident gaze, it hadn't faltered in the slightest.

"Retreat, Lucario!" At Korrina's command, Lucario flickered from view, instantly appearing at her side a second later. Arcs of electricity were coursing across his body, but that didn't stop him from standing tall, not for a moment. Giving her partner a once over, Korrina smiled. "Alright, Ash, this Counter Shield thing is pretty impressive! Since it seems we can't hit Pikachu through it, we'll just have to get inside it!"

Korrina's declaration bucked against Ash's confidence, and he couldn't help but relish in that.

"And how do ya figure you're gonna do that!" he thundered, making a fist and throwing it forward. Yet again Korrina and him were here, goading one another on, pushing the other to give their 110%. If they didn't, how could they ever be satisfied?

Ash had given it his all, now it was time for Korrina to do the same.

"Just watch!" Moving in unison, Korrina and Lucario crouched down, arms steady as they went into a battle stance. Whatever they were planning, it was going to need them in perfect sync! "Lucario— Get ready!"

The two sent a shockwave of Aura racing through the gym, flowing, streaming energy crashing into the crackling lightning of Pikachu's electricity. This was it!

When the two looked up, their eyes flashed with a tinge of blue.

"Lucario, use Bone Rush!" Korrina reached for the sky, and in an instant her partner was gone. Lucario flickered into view above the battlefield, a staff in each hand.

"Blow 'em away buddy! 110%!" Lucario's incredible speed had already put Ash on the backfoot. It didn't matter, though. Pikachu's Thunderbolt could still beat him back!

"Pika!" Through the spinning tendrils of Counter Shield, a path opened up, giving Pikachu the line of sight he needed. "Piiii— Kaaaa— Chuuuu!"

"Don't let it touch your staffs, Lucario!"

"Huh!?"

Just as Korrina gave her command, Pikachu's Thunderbolt rocketed out from the Counter Shield, flying towards Lucario in the blink of an eye. And true to Korrina's word, Lucario didn't block the blast. Instead, he dived back, letting the lightning fly overhead!

"Go, Lucario!"

"Light 'em up, Pikachu!"

Landing on his feet, Lucario dashed forward, Aura at his heels as he ran. He was trying to close the distance to the Counter Shield— But Pikachu wasn't going to make that easy!

"Pii! Kaa! Chuuu!" A half dozen Thunderbolts flew through the wall of electricity, raining down on Lucario like the rattle of a machine gun.

"Lu— Cario!" Forced to evade, Lucario ducked and dived across the battlefield, dodging bolt-after-bolt-after-bolt of lightning. Then, just as a barrage of electricity would've struck him down, he leapt into the air!

"Thunderbolt, Pikachu!"

A massive pillar of lightning thundered forth, only just missing Lucario as he threw his weight to the side. This was it, he had his clear shot!

"Bust 'em open, Lucario!" At Korrina's command, Lucario slammed into Pikachu's Counter Shield, digging his fists between the tendrils of electricity. Then, with a mighty heave and a fiery roar, he wrenched those tendrils apart!

"Pika!?"

"What the?! How—!?" Ash took a step back, as the realization hit him all at once. The staffs from Bone Rush— Lucario was still holding them! They were protecting him from the electricity! "Pikachu! Use—!"

"End this!"

"Cario!" Before Pikachu could even react, Lucario flew through the fissure in his Counter Shield, thundering down on him with a staff in each hand. It was too late— With an earth-shattering swing, Lucario smashed Pikachu into the ground.

"Pika!"

"Pikachu!"

Aura and electricity crashed and burned, bursting into an explosion that filled the air and obscured the whole battlefield. In the blink of an eye, Pikachu's Counter Shield dissipated, its tendrils of lightning fading into the expanding dust cloud.

"Pikachu…" Ash felt his shoulders slump, the energy in his arms and voice draining away with the echoes of the battlefield. The gym grew silent while he stood there, holding onto one final bout of hope— Hoping that when the dust cleared, Pikachu would still be standing.

Soon, however, that hope faded as well. Ash could feel it in the air, the static was gone now.

It was a feeling he was getting used to.

They had lost."

Three attempts, three losses. Each time Ash grows stronger, but each time Korrina does as well. If this keeps up, he'll never surpass his rival. He needs to break the cycle. He needs to go beyond.

Something has to change.
Something must change.
Something will change—

Next time!