The blue sky was clear and dotted with small white, fluffy clouds and the sun shone with a warm, bright light that reached down to a forest below. The thick canopy of trees, however, blocked most of the sun's light save for small rays of it. The trees provided an ample amount of shade to the forest making it dark, but the few rays of the sun were able to provide enough light to the forest floor. These small amounts of light lit up a dirt path that showed the way through the forest. The forest was mostly silent, but every now and then a breeze would blow through and shake the leaves and branches of the trees. Soon, the forest began to echo with the sounds of approaching footsteps along the dirt path.

A young boy pokemon trainer with black messy vulcan hair with two red highlights, tan skin, and blue eyes was walking along the dirt path. He wore a short-sleeved hoodie and sweatpants that were gray and black, red sock with gray and black shoes, and a backpack on his back. The design on his hoodie, however, was different compared to the one he wore a few years back when he started his journey. That hoodie had a pokeball like symbol on it, but the one he was currently wearing had a red silhouette of a Cinderace. One of the very first pokemon he caught on his journey and his partner for life. Beside him, was a young girl trainer that was somewhat short in fair-skinned. She had dark pink hair that would reflect light in the shape of a flower and had green eyes. Her hair was braided into a side pony tail held by a cherry blossom scrunchie while she had square bangs hanging on the right side. She was wearing a pink blouse with cherry blossom flower prints on it with a yellow jacket tied around her waist and sky blue jeans with pink boots. Her pink blouse from previous years ago only had just flower prints on it and her yellow jacket was blank. The yellow jacket she wore now had an Eevee silhouette on it, which was her first pokemon and partner for life.

The young girl trainer took in a deep breath as she smelled the fresh air and felt the occasional gentle breeze blow through her hair. She would sigh as she admired the beauty of the forest as she and the young boy trainer would continue walking along the dirt path in front of them and were guided by the small rays of light penetrating the forest canopy.

With a smile on her face, she would turn to the boy trainer and she would ask,

"Goh, isn't this forest beautiful?"

The young boy trainer would turn to her and would smile softly and reply,

"Yeah, it is beautiful, Chloe. It's very tranquil here."

He would look down at his Rotom Phone and would continue,

"We should be arriving at Terminus Cave shortly. Just little bit further and we'll be there!"

Chloe would give a nod and smile as she responded,

"I can't thank you enough for agreeing to help explore Terminus Cave, Goh. I'll be honest with you, I

don't think I could do it myself. Plus, it would no doubt take longer to gather the data my father needs

if I was doing it myself."

Goh would answer,

"It's no problem at all, Chloe. That's what friends are for after all. Although, I did call Ash and asked

him if he wanted to join us."

Chloe would look at the vulcan haired trainer with surprise and question,

"Really? What did he say?!"

Goh would turn to look back at the dark pink-haired trainer he was traveling with and he contended,

"Ash told me that he had just met up with Serena and promised her that he'd watch her perform. After

that, he said that he wanted to spend some time with her and catch up on what the other has been doing

before she leaves for the next town. After that, he's meeting up with the Hoenn Champion, Steven

Stone. Ash said that Steven asked him for a favor and Ash agreed to help him out. So, to put it simply,

Ash's hands are tied and he can't come with us to Terminus Cave. But, Ash did say that you and I

would both love it there. There's all kinds of Pokemon to see there."

Chloe would sigh,

"I understand. He wants to catch up with a friend that he hasn't seen in a long time and it's hard to

refuse a personal request from a fellow champion, but that last part has me intrigued. Has Ash been to

Terminus Cave before?"

Goh nodded,

"Yeah, he has… But when I had asked that very question, the tone of his voice changed. I did ask him

if he was okay, but our conversation was cut short and Ash had to go. I wonder if I shouldn't have

asked at all.."

Chloe would place her hand on Goh and would say,

"I'm sure that, whatever the problem was, it had nothing to do with you, Goh. Perhaps, Ash

remembered something that had to do with a past experience at Terminus Cave. Either way, I'm certain

that it's nothing we need to worry about right now."

Goh would smile,

"Thanks, Chloe."

Chloe smiled back and both trainers continued on their way to Terminus cave. Unannounced to them, a mysterious pokemon was following them and had heard the entire conversation. The pokemon continued to follow behind them at a distance. Soon, Goh and Chloe reach Terminus Cave and they gasped with awe and amazement. As they entered the cave, right off the bat they saw many kinds of pokemon in the cave. Goh even caught a Durant, a pokemon that he hadn't had the chance to catch yet. He asked the little pokemon if it would show them around its home. Durant happily agreed and with Durant's help Chloe and Goh were able to gather more data at a faster pace. Chloe took as many videos and pictures as she could and Goh did the same. They traveled deep into the cave and saw many kinds of pokemon, however, they were too distracted by the all the pokemon that they didn't see that they were heading towards a dangerous area of Terminus Cave. One of the wild pokemon tried to warn Goh and Chloe, but the warning was too little, too late. Goh and Chloe fell into a part of the cave floor that was unsupported and unstable. The wild pokemon gathered to try and save them, but Goh and Chloe were falling rapidly so the pokemon couldn't do anything to save them. Goh had grabbed hold of his Grookey, that had been on his shoulder since they were journeying to Terminus Cave, and held him tight whilst also quickly grabbing onto Chloe and pulling her close to him. Chloe was holding tight to her Eevee, who she had been holding in her arms since they were journeying to Terminus Cave, and would soon turn to Goh as soon as she felt him grab her. She would told on tight to Goh after he had pulled her close to him and neither of them let go of each other. Both trainers braced themselves for what would happen next when suddenly, a long pink tongue wrapped around them and both trainers would look up in surprise. Before they could even process what had just happened, they were suddenly reeled in by the pokemon the tongue belonged to and they found themselves in the arms of a Greninja.

"A Greninja?!"

Exclaimed the vulcan haired trainer as he immediately recognized the ninja frog continued to fall at a rapid pace, but were soon reaching the end of that fall. Greninja, utilizing its fast reflexes, grabbed hold of a stalactite with its tongue and was able to stop the fall. Once all was said done, the ninja frog pokemon would let go of the hanging rock and land gracefully on the ground. Goh and Chloe would breathe heavily trying to bring down their heart rates because they were still in shock of what had just occurred. Goh would look around see that he, Chloe, Grookey, and Eevee had seemingly come out unscathed. But, he still wanted to make sure of that as he began to process what had just happen to them.

Placing his hand on Chloe, Goh asked her,

"Chloe, are you alright?"

The dark, pink-haired trainer would look up at him and reply,

"Yes, I'm fine."

Goh would sigh in relief then turn to his Grookey and would continue asking,

"Grookey, are you okay?"

The little monkey-like pokemon would jump up and down excitedly shouting,

"Grrroookeykeeeey!"

It was very clear that Grookey was just fine. Chloe would then question,

"Eevee, are you hurt anywhere?"

Eevee would respond,

"Eevee Vee",

clearly stating that she was just fine and Chloe would also sigh in relief and she would then turn towards their rescuer, Greninja, and would express,

"Thank you so much for saving us, Greninja"

Goh would also chime in,

"Yeah, thanks a lot."

The ninja frog pokemon would smile and nod saying,

"Greninja."

He seemed to be very relieved that he was able to get to them in time. Goh would then realize that he might've seen this particular Greninja before. Not to mention, it was strange to see a Greninja in this kind of terrain and were very elusive pokemon. Any wild Greninja preferred areas where water is plentiful, so a Greninja suddenly appearing in an old mine cave was very unusual. Plus, a wild Greninja wouldn't have saved them. It was at that moment everything had clicked. This wasn't just any Greninja, this was Ash's Greninja. Still wanting to make sure, Goh would turn to the ninja frog pokemon and ask,

"Hey, are you-…"

Goh's question was immediately cut off when mysterious vines sprouted up from underground and began attacking everything in sight. The vines acted like tentacles, but seemed to have a mind of their own. The tendrils would soon launch themselves towards the small party, while still destroying everything else around it. Goh, acting immediately, would throw a pokeball shouting,

"Go! Cinderace!"

A fiery rabbit-like pokemon emerged from the pokeball and it landed on the cave floor with a shout,

"Cinder!"

After his partner pokemon was on the field, Goh would then call out,

"Use, Pryo Ball!"

Cinderace would bounce a rock on its foot like a soccer-ball and a soccer-ball sized ball would grow from the sparks ignited by the bouncing rock and the rabbit-like pokemon would kick the fire ball towards the mysterious vines. Then, Goh would turn towards his Grookey and say,

"Grookey, can you help out by using Wood Hammer?"

The little monkey-like pokemon would give an affirmative nod before jumping off Goh's shoulder charging up a Wood Hammer attack ready to strike the vines with everything he had. Goh soon felt a sudden rush of air, which made him look away for a moment. While he couldn't see anything, he looked back towards the vine to see that Greninja was joining the fray. But, like his previous encounter with these mysterious vines, Cinderace's Pyro Ball did nothing as the vines effortlessly flicked the fire ball away. Even Grookey's Wood Hammer attack didn't do any damage. However, Greninja used Cut and was able to cut the vine down to size, quite literally. When the vines seemed to not be willing to give up, Greninja made a Water Shurikin and began giving it a super charge. While the ninja frog pokemon couldn't access the form he had earned through his training with Ash because he wasn't there, he could still access the power of that form in subtle ways and when it was necessary to. Not to mention, when Ash visited with him that one time, there was no need for the form because Ash wished to train his Lucario and accessing that form probably would've been overkill for a pokemon that was still learning to grow in its strength. When the Shurikin was all charged up, Greninja released it and it inserted itself into the heart of the vines. The vines, on the other hand, refused to die and the Shurikin just remained stuck in the heart. Goh, Chloe, Eevee, Cinderace, Grookey, and Greninja were all shocked that the Shurikin was finishing off the vines. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Dragon Pulse attack was fired and gave the Shurikin enough power to finish off the vines and they disappeared like they never existed in the first place.

Goh and Chloe would approach Greninja, Grookey, and Cinderace and Goh would turn to Greninja saying,

"So, you are Ash's Greninja."

Greninja would nod affirmatively to Goh before the vulcan haired trainer would turn to his pokemon and exclaim,

"You both did amazing, Cinderace and Grookey. Thank you so much for your help and efforts."

Both of the pokemon would exclaim happily whilst jumping up and down. Goh would affectionately pet them and smiled. Chloe, however, was still confused on where the Dragon Pulse attack came from and was looking all around the cave and saw nothing. But what she did see, was a mysterious pool of glowing green water. She wondered if it was a spring of some sort. She would walk towards it and would stand at the edge of it. The pink-haired trainer would then look to her left only to see a mysterious green and black dog-like pokemon standing off to the side a little and she would gasp. Goh and the others would come towards her and ask,

"Chloe? What's wrong?"

Chloe would then point and respond,

"Whar kind of pokemon is that?!"

Goh would look at the direction Chloe was pointing to and would see the strange pokemon and he would also gasp in shock. The vulcan haired trainer would pull out his Rotom Phone and use the pokedex feature on it. After scanning the strange pokemon, the pokedex AI voice would explain,

"Zygarde, the order pokemon, ten percent form. A Dragon and Ground type. The Legendary pokemon,

Zygarde, is known to defend the order of the Kalos region and even the world from forces of evil.

Zygarde has multiple forms that serve different purposes. The ten percent form gives Zygarde extra

mobility, the fifty percent form is much stronger than the ten percent form and can still move quickly

enough to launch powerful attacks, and the complete form is Zygarde's strongest form allowing the

pokemon to have the ability to fly and launch its most powerful attacks. The forms are only possible if

a Zygarde core merges with its cells and sometimes another Zygarde core. There are two known

Zygarde cores in existence and it is unknown if there are other cores, but the possibility is very high.

Zygarde is known to reside in Terminus Cave, but is some times always on the move."

Goh and Chloe, once again, gasped in shock when they realized they were standing before the

legendary pokemon, Zygarde. Chloe started to become anxious on the question if Zygarde was angry at them for intruding on its home. She quickly dismissed the thought when she further realized that Zygarde wasn't showing any signs of aggression towards them, but she still wanted to be cautious because any sudden movements might allow for Zygarde to perceive them as a threat. Goh was amazed to be before the legendary pokemon, Zygarde, but he also knew that the pokemon could perceive them as threats to its home so he too became cautious. Greninja, on the other hand, would look closely at the Zygarde standing in front of them and he saw a red gem-like symbol in the center of the green band around the Zygarde's neck. Greninja's widened in surprise and the ninja frog pokemon would wave towards the Zygarde.

"Ninja! Greninja!"

The ninja frog pokemon greeted.

Zygarde would be surprised to see Ash's Greninja as it hadn't seen him in a long time since Ash released it to stop the negative energy beneath the surface of Kalos. Zygarde would walk over to the group and the ninja frog pokemon. Once the order pokemon was up close, Goh and Chloe were even more nervous because they could feel the legendary pokemon's power just from its presence alone. Zygarde using Telepathy would then greet,

"Greninja, it's wonderful to see you again. It's been quite a long time!"

Greninja would smile and nod while continuing,

"Grenin Gre Ninja Greninja Nin Greninja."

Zygarde, surprised, would ask,

"Really?! These are some friends of Ash, you say?"

The ninja frog pokemon would once again nod and say,

"Ninja. Gre nin Greninja Ninja Gre Greninja."

Zygarde would reply,

"Well, how nice! They're here to learn about pokemon? Well, I'd actually like to have a chat with

them. Allow me to merge with more of my cells, so that I can increase the strength of my Telepathy."

Zygarde would step back a little ways so it would have room to summon more of its cells and merge with them. Soon, Zygarde would release a shock wave of energy summoning more cells to its location. The order pokemon would begin merging with the cells and would start to grow bigger. It grew a large flat tail that was black on top and green underneath and on the tip of the tail. Near its head and chest the green split with black with green protrusions on Zygarde's left side of its chest and black protrusions on its right side. Zygarde's back was soon lined with five frill-like, flat pillars. The order pokemon was covered in green, black, and a few white hexagon-shaped scales and five tendrils lined the tip of its tail. Once the transformation was complete, Zygarde would let out a roar making it obvious that it was indeed a Dragon type. Goh, Chloe, and their pokemon would be shocked to see Zygarde transform into its fifty percent form right in front of them. The only one who wasn't surprised was Greninja because the ninja frog pokemon had seen it numerous times before. Goh and Chloe would feel even more power from Zygarde as it leaned over them just a little. Both were anxious about what was going to happen next. Soon Zygarde would greet,

"Welcome to Terminus Cave, young trainers."

Gasping in shock, Goh would recognize the move Telepathy and remembered that it allowed for pokemon to communicate their thoughts to humans or other pokemon without needing to move their mouths. He also remembered that Psychic type pokemon were the ones that commonly used it, but figured that legendary pokemon would know how to use it as well. Goh would regain his composure and reply,

"T-Thank you very much, Zygarde. My name is Goh and this is my partner, Cinderace. And this is my

other pokemon, Grooky."

Zygarde would continue,

"I'm pleased to meet you, Goh, and your pokemon partners. You have quite a strong bond with them."

Goh's eyes widened and he exclaimed,

"Thank you, Zygarde. That means a lot coming from a legendary pokemon like you!"

Chloe would then chime in,

"H-Hi there, Zygarde. My name is Chloe and this is my Eevee."

Zygarde would turn to Chloe and respond,

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Chloe. You also have a wonderful bond with your Eevee."

Chloe would smile and say,

"Thank you, Zygarde. I hope we're not intruding on your turf."

Zygarde would return the response,

"Not at all. I don't get many visitors here, much less human visitors. So, I'm glad of the company. I've

also been around humans before, so I usually don't mind if they come and have a look around."

Goh and Chloe both sighed in relief to know that Zygarde didn't mind their presence, but what intrigued them was that Zygarde had said it had been around humans before. This was an odd behavior as Zygarde was known to be merciless towards people who disrupt the esosystem, but this Zygarde had been around humans. Chloe would then speak up,

"You've been around humans before? Isn't that a bit unusual for a pokemon known to be merciless

towards people who disrupt the ecosystem?"

Zygarde would chuckle in embarrassment before replying,

"I will admit that there once was a time where my partner and I were like that and you can say that

we're still like that, but only to the humans we know are evil and dare to disrupt the ecosystem. But, if

we know that the humans are good and wish to fight along side us and even go as far as to protect us,

then we will spare those humans. In fact, my partner and I have experienced both sides of humanity.

There once was a time where we both were sought after by evil humans who plotted to destroy the

entire world and they almost succeeded, however, I was also protected by some young trainers and a

young girl. They never left my side and I returned the favor when a problem became to much for them

to handle on their own. I'm still very grateful to that young girl. She took such good care of me, despite

not knowing much about me at the time. She learned how to take care of me by watching my behaviors

and I in turn learned a lot about humans by observing her and her friends. I placed my trust in them and

I know they trusted me."

Goh would gasp,

"That's amazing! So you traveled with some human trainers and were able to learn about them by

watching them?!"

Zygarde would nod, but before it could continue. A second Zygarde in the fifty percent form would appear from the glowing green pool with a splash. It would approach the group curious as to what was going on. Once it arrived it greeted,

"Hello, my partner, Greninja. Who are your new friends?"

Zygarde A would answer,

"This is Goh and Chloe and their pokemon Cinderace, Grookey, and Eevee. You remember, Greninja.

Greninja says that Goh and Chloe are friends of Ash."

Zygarde B would respond,

"Really?! Well, how nice! It's a pleasure to meet the friends of such a courageous trainer!"

Goh replied,

"It's nice to meet you too. But, how do you both know Ash?"

Zygarde A contended,

"It's because Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Clemont's little sister, Bonnie, are the humans I traveled with.

I was closest to Bonnie, but I did share a small connection with Ash. In fact, he was the trainer I

observed the most within the group. I've never seen any human with an iron will like his and such a

strong heart. Despite having these aspects of seriousness, he still had a limitless amount of compassion.

He was also very kind and gentle. He was an inspiration for many trainers. A truly remarkable person. I

wish I could've seen more of what Ash was capable of. No doubt, he wouldn't have stopped amazing

me with the lengths he'd go to for the sake of pokemon and the world for that matter."

Both Goh and Chloe were amazed to hear a legendary pokemon speak so highly of Ash, but they were still surprised that Ash had actually met Zygarde and had never told them. Goh could understand why Ash, Clemont and Bonnie didn't tell him during the day before Ash would face Drasna because he was focused on training that day. Chloe also understood why Serena had never told her about Zygarde and it was because she was there to talk about her Sylveon. But, there where times where Ash could've told them about his meeting with the legendary pokemon Zygarde and yet, he didn't. They soon came to the conclusion that they had never asked him about it, so there was no reason for him to bring it up. Goh would continue,

"Wow.. It's amazing that you think so highly of him, but Ash never told us that he met you. Then again,

we never really asked him about it."

Chloe nodded in agreement,

"Yeah, he really didn't have a reason to bring it up himself either."

Goh informed,

"But, when I was talking with Ash earlier, he seemed to fall silent when I asked if he had been to

Terminus Cave before. I can only assume these two topics are connected."

Zygarde A soon explained,

"You're right, Goh, these two topics are connected. Ash has indeed been to Terminus Cave, but his

experience here wasn't a pleasant one. He, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie were attacked by the evil

humans that were hunting me and my partner at the time. They were forced to watch helplessly as those

humans attempted to capture me and Bonnie nearly got hurt, if Ash hadn't protected her. Ash asked his

Greninja to help me and he safely brought me back to Bonnie, however, the evil humans refused to

give up and I couldn't bare the thought of Bonnie and the others getting hurt any further. So, I merged

with my cells and transformed into my ten percent form, which you saw me in moments ago, and used

one of my moves, "Land's Wrath", to protect Bonnie and the others. Honestly, to this day, I regret

getting Ash, Clemont, Serena, and Bonnie involved in my personal conflict. But, on the other hand, I

couldn't be more grateful that they risked everything to protect me. I wouldn't be here right now if they

hadn't protected me. I am ashamed to admit that I did run away from Bonnie and the others, but only

because I still needed to talk with my partner and I wanted to observe Bonnie and the others from a

distance. I did end up traveling with them again later and it was definitely the best decision I ever

made."

Zygarde B concurred,

"Agreed. They kept you safe and out of Team Flare's clutches and I'm very grateful that they did."

Goh's eyes would widen in surprise as he processed this information. Chloe would then repeat,

"So, that's what happened.."

Goh turned to Greninja and questioned,

"Ash sent you to help us, right? And was it for a similar reason?"

Greninja nodded saying,

"Greninja"

Goh smiled and said,

"Well, I guess I'll have to call him later and thank him for the kind gesture."

Before Greninja could respond, Chloe commented,

"I'm puzzled, though. While the situation then was serious, it's not really something that should cause

Ash to fall silent after being asked if he had been here before. Unless… He linked it to a memory of

something else. There's a third connection, isn't there?"

Zygarde A would then exclaim,

"Spot on, Chloe! You're absolutely right! The reason Ash fell silent was because he was reminded of

another event that took place far later. Ash isn't one to show his vulnerable side and, most likely, he

never told anyone about this event or what he experienced during the event. His reasons for keeping it

to himself could be anything. He either didn't want to worry anyone, saw no reason to bring it up, or

just wasn't ready to talk about it. Whatever the reason for not mentioning the event was, I think both

my partner and I can agree that the event in question was nothing short of horrific and devastating."

Goh questioned,

"So, what was the event that took place long after Ash's visit to Terminus Cave?"

Zygarde B was the one who answered,

"Did you two ever hear about the attack on Lumiose City?"

Both Chloe and Goh gasped in shock and Chloe was the one to respond,

"Yes! Both us watched it on the news! It was horrible to watch an entire city get destroyed by such evil

people!"

Goh then continued the statement,

"Wait! Are you saying that Ash was there when Lumiose City was being destroyed?!"

Zygarde A, Zygarde B, and Greninja all nodded, but Zygarde A further explained,

"Yes, Ash was there when Team Flare attacked Lumiose City and he was a key player in helping to

save the city from further destruction and he even helped save the world. However, there's still one last

thing I should mention. My first meeting with Ash is a bit complicated because Ash had no idea that I

was Zygarde to begin with. He, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena found me when I was in my "core" form

and I remained in that form most of the time. Since Zygarde cores weren't registered in the pokedex at

the time, they didn't have anyway of knowing who I was. Bonnie's solution was to give me a nickname

until I was identified and that nickname was, 'Squishy'. While it's more of a description, it ended up

sticking with me and I often refer to myself as such. So, another reason Ash probably didn't mention

anything about our meeting is because of how confusing it was. By the way, if you both want to call

me,'Squishy', you may. This way you can differentiate me and my partner."

Goh would then give a nod of understanding and then asked,

"Squishy? Do you think you think you could tell us more about Team Flare's attack on Lumiose City? I

want to know everything that happened."

Squishy nodded and said,

"I would be glad to tell you what happened, but I can only give you my perspective on the event. If it's

the whole story you want, you'll have to seek out Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie."

Chloe, understanding that the legendary pokemon couldn't tell them everything, responded,

"If it's enough to get the gist of what happened back then, then it should be alright. Plus, if we have an

idea of what happened, then it might be easier for Ash to explain his perspective on the event."

Squishy nodded and replied,

"Indeed. So, both of you get comfy and relax because this story is going to be a long one"

Both Goh and Chloe would seat themselves on some nearby rocks, whilst Cinderace and Greninja would sit on the ground next to the rocks. Grookey would sit in Goh's lap and Eevee would do the same thing with Chloe. They would wait patiently for Squishy to begin telling them the story of what happened at Lumiose City. Squishy began to explain,

"It was the day before the Kalos league finals..."