As Bonnie and I made our way through the city to find my partner, I checked in on Ash to see how he was doing. Ash and Alain battled hard and ultimately defeated Lysandre's Gyarados and Lysandre himself. I was amazed, proud, and thrilled to see that they had come out victorious. Ash was simply amazing, but something urged me to listen in on what Lysandre would say next. I was still surprised that Ash was still standing despite having been hit with the energy that Lysandre had created to control me and my partner. While that same energy should've controlled Ash and Greninja as well, Ash and Greninja resisted and broke free from Lysandre. Ash was, indeed, the strongest person I had ever met and witnessed with my own eyes. Soon, Lysandre started backing up and said,

'"All your petty talk…"'

Ash and Alain would watch in horror as Lysandre would walk towards the edge of Prism Tower and would gasp with shock as Lysandre continued,

'"It will never extinguish my dream. I'm still committed to recreating this world!"'

Lysandre would start to fall back, but Ash would ask his Greninja to act quickly to stop him. With Lysandre seeming putting an end to his own life, Ash and Alain would stare off into the distance seemingly processing what had just happened. In between them, there was a woman who seemed to be in disbelief on what had just happened. It was definitely a shocking experience, even I couldn't believe he did that. But something was bothering me about what he had said, I had a bad feeling that Lysandre had some kind of fail safe plan to continue to recreate the world. It made me worried, but it was just a feeling and I could focus on it now. I had to get to my partner. I continued to stay in touch with Ash when suddenly, there was a very irritating noise. Ash had grabbed a device from his pocket. He would press a button and Serena's voice sounded,

'"Ash?"'

Ash immediately questioned,

'"Serena, where are you guys, now?"'

Serena answered,

'"We're at Lysandre Labs. And we just rescued Chespie. Professor Sycamore and Steven are here with

us at the lab as well!"'

Alain chimed in,

'"Mairin! Are you there?!"'

Mairin replied,

'"I'm here. With Chespie! Are you okay, Alain?"'

Alain responded,

'"I'm fine. How are you?!"'

Mairin contended,

'"I'm fine. Chespie's safe, too!"'

Alain would sigh in relief and Ash would say,

'"That's great news, Alain."'

Serena would then ask,

'"Ash, what's your location?"

Ash answered,

'"We're at the top of Prism Tower."'

Serena continued,

'"Could I ask you to go to the Gym? It's Clemont…"'

Ash would gasp in shock immediately recognizing that something was wrong through Serena's tone of voice. If I had to guess, Serena had been trying to contact Clemont to give him an update, but she wasn't getting a response from him. So, she contacted Ash to find out his location. After learning his location, Ash happened to be the closest person to Clemont. Thus, Serena asked Ash to go check on him to see if he was okay. Ash and Alain immediately made their way to the Lumiose City Gym to check up on Clemont. Upon arriving at the Gym, Ash called out,

'"Clemont!"'

When Ash and Alain saw Clemont leaning over a broken Clembot, Ash was in shock. From what I was told, Clemont built Clembot to be a substitute Gym Leader so that he could have more time for himself. Being the Lumiose Gym Leader was quite a seat to fill and battling challengers must've been quite a busy task. Clemont probably barely had time for himself. Thus, Clembot was born. I did hear that there was a problem with Clembot in the beginning of his creation, but eventually Clemont was able to resolve it. Then someone stole Clembot's design and tried to frame it. Luckily, they were able to catch the culprit who was truly responsible. Now, Ash and Clemont were in front of a severely damaged Clembot. It was no doubt a devastating sight, but nowhere near as devastating as the damage to Lumiose City. Ash would then ask,

'"What happened, Clemont?"'

Clemont replied,

'"Clembot did it all."'

Ash continued,

'"Can Clembot be fixed?"'

Clemont would respond,

'"I'll do my best. I haven't been of any use so far…"'

Alain would approach, but it saddened me that Clemont believed that he hadn't been useful. Clemont was able to take back the Lumiose Gym and free my partner from Lysandre's control. But, there was no doubt that Clembot had to be sacrificed in order to perform the action. It was clear that Clemont and his friends had quite a lot of attachment to the robot and even I could see that the robot was more sentient when I first encountered Clembot. Still, Clemont did the right thing and helped free my partner, but I still wanted to give my condolences to Clemont the next time I saw him. Soon, the irritating sound of the device in Ash's pocket sounded again. Ash pressed the button and said,

'"What's up?"'

Serena alerted,

'"Ash! It's an emergency!"'

Professor Sycamore would continue the statement,

'"The Giant Rock at Lysandre Labs absorbed Chespie!"'

In the shock of the news, Ash would gasp and Alain repeated,

'"Absorbed Chespie?!"'

The Professor continued to explain,

'"That Giant Rock's on the move somewhere… I don't know where. I'm sending you our coordinates.

Get here fast and bring Blaziken Mask! We're going to keep track of its movements and analyze as we

can."'

Serena pleaded,

'"Ash, please be careful."'

Ash responded,

'"I will."'

Ash turned off the device and turned to Clemont and said,

'"Hey, Clemont…"'

Clemont would rise up onto his feet whilst replying,

'"I'm all right. The battle isn't over just yet."'

Knowing that Ash and the others were heading to find us, I turned off the connection I was making with Ash and continued moving through the city to find my partner with Bonnie close behind. We made our way to my partner's location. I was determined to reason with my partner and explain all of the things I had learned about humans by traveling with Bonnie and her friends. I was hoping that if I could get my partner to believe and trust in humans, then we could stop this crisis together. But, I knew it wouldn't be easy. My partner was very adamant on its belief that humans were evil, but I wasn't going to give up. Soon, we arrived at my partner's location and Bonnie exclaimed,

'"Yay! Hello there. I'm good friends with Squishy."'

At first, my partner was frightened of Bonnie's presence, but I approached determined to reason with my partner and to show it had nothing to fear. My partner said,

'"Look at this devastation! The humans did this. This is why they're so… evil!"'

I countered,

'"I believe in humans."'

My partner replied in anger,

'"How can you say such a thing?!"'

I responded,

'"Because these humans haven't given up yet!"'

My partner was very dismissive of my response, still holding onto the belief that humans were only evil beings. But Bonnie approached, it was clear that she wanted to help me reason with my partner. She chimed in,

'"Oh please, come here. Don't be scared. Why don't you come with us?"'

Bonnie's arms were outstretched to my partner and she gave a sweet smile to my partner, but it looked like my partner would still refuse. My partner's distrust in humans ran deep and I assumed Team Flare was the reason for it, but I was determined to show my partner that Bonnie and her friends were nothing like Team Flare and were still continuing to oppose them. I explained,

'"Being on a journey with this girl and her friends has allowed me to witness many things. They help

each other. They work hard. They share their happiness together. They trust each other… they move

forward together… And they never give up! That's how the humans I travel with are."'

Bonnie would reach out her hand again towards my partner, who still turned slightly away in response. But Bonnie would say,

'"If Squishy's a friend of yours… then I'm your friend, too! I won't hurt you. I wanna be your friend!"'

Bonnie's protector, Blaziken Mask and his Blaziken, would watch Bonnie fondly and I would do the same. Bonnie was such a sweet girl and I loved her for it. Bonnie would continue as she managed to grab my partner,

'"Okay? When I tickle Squishy under the chin like this, then it laughs."'

I would nod in agreement as Bonnie would tickle my partner until it passed out from laughing so hard. Again, Bonnie was just the sweetest human I had ever met. Her friends were just as sweet. Once that happened I heard a helicopter approaching. Ash and the others had arrived at our location. Once the helicopter landed, Blaziken Mask, Bonnie, my partner, and I climbed aboard. I saw Ash, Alain, and Clemont. To see Ash in person and that he was alright, made me feel relieved. Bonnie would hug her big brother and I would express my concern for him. Bonnie would sit down next to Ash and this gave me the chance to chat with Pikachu once more. I asked,

'"Pikachu, is your trainer alright?"'

Pikachu turned to me and replied,

'"Yeah, he's okay. But… he wasn't a little while ago."'

I said,

'"Tell me everything that happened, Pikachu. How did Team Flare capture you and your trainer so

easily? I firmly believe he wouldn't have made it easy for them."'

My partner was very surprised to hear that Team Flare had captured a human and Pikachu seemed surprised that I knew about them being held captive, but Pikachu explained,

'"We had gone with Alain to find Mairin. We had found her and were trying to cut through the vines to

get to her when Team Flare attacked us. The woman with purple hair seemed to take full advantage of

the fact that we were with Alain because she revealed that he had been working with them all along.

Alain, who should've helped us, refused to intervene and I believe it was because our capture was a

direct order by Lysandre. Thus, he couldn't interfere. She had us distracted with finding out that Alain

was working with Team Flare and it was only a matter of time before we were surrounded. The woman

had her Drapion use Confuse Ray and my trainer was knocked out almost instantly. I, on the other

hand, didn't pass out right away and still tried to make an effort to protect my trainer. But, I eventually

succumbed to the effects of the Confuse Ray and most likely we had both been captured at that

moment. The ambush was almost perfectly well coordinated and it makes me wonder if Lysandre

anticipated that we would be with Alain at the time the attack on Lumiose City started. Either way, by

the time we woke up, we were at the top of Prism Tower watching the entire city be destroyed and

suspended in the air by the restraints that were holding us. Our entire team was with us. I don't have

any doubt that this was probably the scariest experience both me and my trainer ever had. Although,

my trainer didn't really show it."'

My partner was shocked at Pikachu's explanation. He couldn't believe a human would out-right capture and imprison his own kind. My partner exclaimed,

'"Just how much more evil can humans get?! That wicked Lysandre captured and imprisoned a member

of his own kind?! And for what?!"'

Pikachu responded,

'"I don't blame you for believing that humans are evil. My trainer and I have encountered many evil

humans in the past. Evil organizations, pokemon hunters, and even a smuggler are just a few that we've

come across. But even still, evil humans are just make up a minority of all the humans that exist. Not

all humans are like that. My trainer and his friends are examples of that."'

My partner's eyes widened at Pikachu's statement and repeated,

'"A minority?!"'

I gave Pikachu a nod to proceed with his explanation and Pikachu continued,

'"Lysandre would go on to explain how he was going to remake the world and that you, Squishy, would

soon join up with him. Both me and my trainer refuted Lysandre's words because we both knew you

would never do something like that. My trainer was trying to get through to Alain and find out was

going on, but Alain remained silent. Later, Lysandre said that everything was only possible because of

Alain's work on gathering Mega Evolution energy. He further explained that it gave them to power to

control the both of you. Alain was so shocked by the revelation that he became so upset that he

collapsed to the ground and beating himself up. It was heartbreaking to watch because the reason he

was gathering the Mega Evolution energy was because Lysandre had told him that they were going to

use it to save Mairin's ill Chespin. I won't lie, I almost cried at the sight. It was heartbreaking to learn

that he thought he was helping his friend, but he was actually helping Lysandre with his goal in

destroying the world. Soon after that happened, Lysandre revealed why he had ordered our capture. He

planned to control my trainer for the power he shared with my teammate, Greninja. I watched him use

the red light on my trainer. I could tell that he and Greninja were in a lot of pain, but was still trying

hard to resist. I had cried out to him as loud as I could and suddenly, my trainer snapped out of it before

Lysandre had fully controlled him and Greninja. The power they shared had been triggered and they

would soon break free from the restraints. My trainer did collapse from exhaustion, but Alain caught

him and helped him up. He soon joined up with us and free me and the rest of us and we were ready to

fight Lysandre and stop him from destroying the world. I'm still surprised that my trainer is still even

able to stand after going through that. I'm hoping this helicopter ride will help him to rest a little more,

just in case there are still some lingering effects from the Mega Evolution energy beam."'

Once more, my partner was in shock at Pikachu's explanation. I, on the other hand, agreed,

'"Yes, I'm also quite surprised that Ash seems to be perfectly fine. I would think humans would react

differently, but perhaps this ride will indeed help him to recover more strength. I'm deeply thrilled that

he didn't end being controlled like me and my partner did. I think the Bond Phenomenon was a key

factor in helping your trainer save himself from Lysandre's control. And I do believe the you were the

one that triggered it."'

Pikachu nodded with a smile, but then questioned,

'"By the way, Squishy, how did you know that my trainer and I were captured in the first place?"'

I answered,

'"The night that you first met Lysandre, I established a bond with your trainer. I was very worried that

Lysandre would come after him, so I established them bond to keep an eye on him and make sure he

was alright. But I was so focused on getting to my partner during the beginning of the attack, that I

forgot to use it when you both were ambushed by Team Flare. The bond isn't as strong as the one I

share with Bonnie, but it's enough that I was able to know what was happening with you and your

trainer."'

Surprised, Pikachu would say,

'"Wow, you did that?! Thank you, Squishy. I really appreciate you going out of your way to do that."'

I smiled, but continued,

'"But, I must apologize for not warning you about Lysandre earlier. Perhaps you could've better

protected your trainer if I had told you about him and what kind of person Lysandre was. Please forgive

me, Pikachu."'

Pikachu responded,

'"It's okay, Squishy. Me and my trainer are fine and I don't think an early warning would've made

much of a difference. Still, me and my trainer both are in one piece, so don't worry too much about it."'

I nodded,

'"You might be right. Thank you, Pikachu."'

My partner chimed in,

'"It still baffles me that a human would do such a thing to his own kind! But, I'm also amazed that your

trainer was able to maintain control over himself. You'd have to be very strong-willed to do something

like that. It's most definitely very intriguing to say the least."'

Pikachu and I both smiled and the flight to Professor Sycamore, Steven Stone, Serena and Mairin continued. We had been in the air for quite a while and we had yet to hear from them. We had only just exited the city limits of Lumiose City, so we still had a long way to go. We were all mostly silent during the flight. I could definitely tell that fatigue was beginning to set in, but everyone was still going strong. This battle was very long and I wondered if Ash and the others had enough strength to continue to keep battling against this dire threat. But I trusted in them, I knew that somehow we'd put an end to all of this destruction. Suddenly, we got a call from the Professor. He said,

'"Listen, everyone. I want to tell you what I know about the Giant Rock. When we scanned it, we

discovered that it's a giant mass of energy. A mass of energy that strongly resembles Zygarde's. In

addition, we picked up Chespie's vital signs within its core."'

I was told by Pikachu that Steven Stone was the Champion of the Hoenn region, Steven would continue the statement,

'"And, we found and retrieved Chespie's records located in the labs' database. According to those

records, an accident caused Chespie to absorb some of Zygarde's energy. We think that the giant rock

absorbed Chespie in order to obtain that energy."'

After hearing Steven's words, I was even more convinced that Mairin's Chespin was the same one that saved me and helped me escape the labs that day. I knew that Chespie had absorbed some of my energy and I knew that it would be harmful for the young pokemon. I felt so guilty that Chespie became comatose just after it had rescued me. But soon, the Professor would explain,

'"But now, the Giant Rock is in search of its next energy source."'

Alain questioned,

'"Isn't that…"'

The Professor would answer,

'"It's Anistar City!"'

Ash would gasp,

'"Anistar City?!"'

Steven informed,

'"It's headed toward the sundial."'

The Professor explained,

'"The sundial is a giant crystal said to have come from space. We know the energy it contains is the

very same energy that pokemon emit when they're experiencing Mega Evolution."'

Blaziken Mask, the very person who acted as Bonnie's protector, chimed in,

'"Let's say the Giant Rock is drawn toward that energy. Why that energy, though?"

The Professor replied,

'"I know why. If the Giant Rock and the sundial come in direct contact and merge as a result…"'

Serena's voice came through the call and she said,

'"Then that means…"'

Professor Sycamore would respond,

'"It means it's the end of the world."'

Alain would grunt loudly and angrily hit his fist on the helicopter saying,

'"Lysandre! Recreating the world at any cost!"'

Ash was the next one to speak,

'"We won't let that happen! Professor! We've gotta rescue Chespie and stop the Giant Rock right

away! We can… and we WILL!"'

Serena replied,

'"Okay! We're with you!"'

Ash exclaimed,

'"Awesome!"'

My partner focused solely on Ash and I could see my partner was very intrigued by Ash's unwillingnest to allow for the world to be destroyed. I admired his courage and bravery. I hoped that by observing him, my partner would begin to see just how amazing humans can truly be. Ash and the people he surrounds himself with were the perfect examples of how wonderful humans are. Alain then said,

'"Mairin? I promise. I'm going to save Chespie!"'

Mairin's voice was quiet, but still loud enough to be heard. She responded,

"Thanks."

We continued our flight to the location of the Professor, Steven, Serena, and Mairin. It was a long flight, but I hoped the flight would allow for Ash and the others to have the chance to gather their strength and prepare for the war that was ahead of them. The needed as much strength as possible if they were going to destroy the monstrosity that was the Giant Rock. On our journey there, I noticed my partner was continuing to focus on Ash. I just knew that my partner seemed to be very curious and intrigued in this young man. We were nearing the location of the Professor and the others. Ash and Alain had gotten Pikachu and Charizard ready for the big fight. Charizard flew alongside the helicopter and Alain Mega Evolved it. Pikachu would hop on Charizard's back and they began flying off to get to the location of the Giant Rock. They got there in time to catch Serena's Braixen and we got there just in time to aid Professor Sycamore, Steven, and Serena. Ash had his Greninja out and they had activated their Bond Phenomenon. Clemont and Balziken Mask were on standby ready to help when they needed to. Bonnie was safely sitting in her seat holding on to me and my partner. Alain would have Charizard use Flamethrower and Ash would have Pikachu use Iron Tail. Clemont communicating with the Professor would ask,

'"Professor, do you know Chespie's exact location?"'

The Professor replied,

'"The scan shows Chespie is somewhere in its core."'

I had noticed that Ash and Greninja appeared to be concentrating on the Giant Rock, but the two gasped in shock and Ash said,

'"Hey, Greninja! Did you see it, too?"'

Greninja responded with a nod and Ash continued,

'"Know what? I just got and idea. You with me?"'

Greninja would nod again and Ash quickly explained his plan to the Professor. The Professor questioned,

'"Are you sure?"'

Ash answered,

'"Of course! Just give us a chance!"'

Just as all of this was happening. The helicopter was put into position. Bonnie was excited, while me and my partner watched Ash. I couldn't wait to see the brilliant plan Ash had in store. Greninja would immediately jump out of the helicopter. Ash told Pikachu to watch Greninja's back and Alain told his Charizard to do the same. The Professor, Steven, and Serena were also prepared to help make sure Ash's plan succeeded. We focused on Ash and Greninja, while we were both concerned, I had faith that Ash could do it. Ash, seeing through Greninja's eyes, seemed to have spotted something and asked Greninja to use Water Shuriken. The Water Shuriken stuck into the Giant Rock's crystal core and pinpointed Chespie's location. It was ingenious! Ash utilized the abilities of his Bond Phenomenon he shared with Greninja to find exactly where Chespie was. I knew Ash was brilliant and he just keeps amazing me so much. It seemed as though my partner was surprised as well. Ash informed,

'"Right down there! Chespie's down under the Shuriken. Everyone, head toward the Water Shuriken!"'

Everyone began focusing on heading towards the Water Shuriken. Pikachu would use Thunderbolt at Ash's command and Charizard would use Flamethrower at Alain's. The Professor told his Garchomp to use Hyperbeam and Steven would tell his Metagross to use Flashcannon. Serena had her Braixen use Flamethrower, but no matter what they did the vines were endless. But they weren't giving up, the pokemon battled hard against the Giant Rock. The Professor was worried that they might not be able to get close to the target. They, however, still continued to try and keep pushing. Ash had Greninja use cut, but Greninja was caught by the vines. Soon, each pokemon fell one by one. They were captured by the vines. I was worried very much about what was happening. Suddenly, a massive attack from farther ahead would strike the Giant Rock causing a blinding light, but freed the captured pokemon. When the smoke cleared, we saw all of the Kalos Gym Leaders and the Kalos Champion Diantha. Their attack, however, didn't even slow the Giant Rock down so Diantha suggested they retreat for the moment. It truly amazed me and no doubt my partner to see so many humans willing to defend Kalos from this dire threat. We gathered with Diantha and the other Gym Leaders and Diantha said,

'"We all know the situation. Rescuing Chespie is our first priority!"'

Steven replied,

'"Right. Let's use the pokemon's moves to get into the Giant Rock. The target is there. That Water

Shuriken!"'

Diantha responded,

'"We'll attack with our combined power!"'

Steven contended,

'"It is truly a sincere honor to battle alongside you."'

Diantha returned,

'"Steven, the honor is all mine."'

The Professor would chime in,

'"We couldn't have asked for a stronger group for help! Thank you."'

One of the Gym Leaders, I later learned was named Korrina, approached Ash and said,

'"Hi, Ash!"'

Ash would exclaim,

'"Korrina!"'

Korrina continued,

'"So this is the famous Greninja."'

Ash replied,

'"Sure is! Its power merges with mine!"'

Korrina returned,

'"Excellent!"'

Another Gym Leader would approach and I later learned that this was Olympia, who had foresaw the destruction of Kalos and the power that Ash and Greninja would obtain later on. She would say,

'"And now you have finally made that power yours."'

Ash responded,

'"That's right!"'

The Giant Rock was approaching from the far distance. Everyone was gathering up to get ready to face the monstrosity. I couldn't wait to see how they would save Mairin's Chespie. And I hoped my partner would finally see the good side to humanity and believe in them like I do. I just knew that together, alongside the humans, we could eliminate this threat to Kalos once and for all. Diantha would then say,

'"Everyone! You're looking at the final line of defense! We cannot let it come in contact with the

sundial! Remember that at all times."'

A lady in with pink hair, I believe her name was Malva, would bring out her Houndoom as everyone got ready to fight. Everyone was taking their positions in the line of the Kalos defense. Bringing out their strongest pokemon to ensure enough damage would be dealt towards the Giant Rock, so that they could save Chespie. Ash and Clemont would turn to Serena and Ash said,

'"Serena! Take care of Mairin and Bonnie!"'

Clemont would continue,

'"And thanks a lot for your help!"'

Serena replied,

'"You've got it. Leave it to me!"'

Bonnie would chime in,

'"Now, all of you be careful."'

Mairin and Alain were exchanging some words before Alain took his position in the line. It wasn't hard to tell that Mairin was concerned about Alain and her Chespie. They were both very close with each other, but it appeared that some strains had been placed on their relationship in the past. Alain seemed to be determined to patch things up with Mairin, however. Mairin would ask,

'"Alain?"'

Alain replied,

'"It's okay. I know I'll come back, and Chespie with me!"'

Mairin nodded,

'"Okay."'

After that, Alain took his position. Hanging back with Serena, Mairin, and Bonnie was actually a very good thing for me and my partner. Me and my partner could continue to watch and observe everyone as they worked together to save Mairin's Chespin and stop the Giant Rock once and for all. I could only hope that my partner would place its belief in and trust in humans. The humans began getting ready to make their first move against the Giant Rock, but I knew that my partner and I would need to get involved and put an end to this threat because the humans couldn't do this alone. They needed the Guardian of Kalos to aid them in this fight, but the first thing was to convince my partner to place its hope in humanity. The team of powerful trainers would stare down the Giant Rock waiting for the moment to move out and rescue Chespie. This battle for the Kalos region and the entire world was only just beginning and hopefully would reach its climax.