Chapter 43
All Eyes on the Future
Today was a day full of resolved mysteries. While on our way to meet Olympia, the Anistar City Gym Leader, I was attacked by our friend, Alain. Olympia herself came to my rescue and revealed many truths. Firstly, Frogadier was going to evolve into a Legendary form of Greninja. Secondly, she revealed that I was in fact the literal daughter of Arceus, which would explain a lot about my powers.
We were ready to challenge her to a Gym match when suddenly, she uncovered the persona of my Uncle Lydos…
"Lysandre LaFleur?" Ash exclaimed. "The guy who helped us find the Megalith? Brianna's all-time hero? That Lysandre?!"
"I'm afraid it's true…" Another voice called out from behind. Cocoa had just walked in after briefly being separated. She carried another Pokemon in her arms.
"Hey, isn't that Chespie?" Bonnie commented. She recognized it from the time we met Alain's traveling companion, Mairin.
Cocoa nodded her head. "Chespie saw and knows everything…"
*Chespie's POV*
It was shortly after the battle against Groudon and Kyogre. Alain was called directly to his office to discuss his current progress on Mega Evolution research. Sadly, Lysandre told Maitin and I that he needed to speak to him privately. We had to wait outside, but we could hear parts of the conversation through the door.
"I was given further detail about the battle of Hoenn," Lysandre told Alain. "Your lack of strength caused the Megalith to fall into Team Flare's clutches. This incident shows how truly incompetent you are. I want you to return the Keystone and Mega Stone to me this instant. I will not tolerate weaklings."
This demand shocked us. I could understand his disappointment, but that was not Alain's fault. I knew that, and so did my Trainer.
And Alain knew that especially. "You can't! No! What happened back in Hoenn was unexpected. Even you couldn't have prepared for that." We heard him kneel before him. "Let me prove myself… please…"
There was a moment of silence before he responded. "Very well. I shall find you… ten Trainers skilled in Mega Evolution. Defeat them all, and I shall reconsider."
"Thank you…"
"However," he interjected. "If you lose, even to one of them, your career shall be terminated."
Shortly afterwards, the door swung open. Alain passed us without even batting an eye. Mairin tried to reach out to him. "Alain, if it makes you feel any better-!"
"Not now, Mairin. I'm in no mood to talk." Then he went out for some special training. They hardly spoke to one another after that.
A few days later, Alain was called back to Lysandre Labs. True to his word, Lysandre himself summoned ten Trainers for Alain to pursue. He entered a battlefield within the research facility, where the first of his opponents was waiting.
Lysandre was watching from a balcony. He spoke into a microphone. "Remember, Alain, one defeat, and it's game over."
"Wait!" Mairin and I charged in from behind Alain.
He turned around, looking rather annoyed. "What're you doing here?!"
"I came to reason with you!" Mairin replied. "You don't have to prove anything. You're the strongest Pokemon Trainer I know!"
"But I'm still not strong enough."
"You don't need to be! Chespie and I got stronger because of you! Groudon and Kyogre were defeated because you were there to help Brianna and the others! If you're with us, I'm sure we'll make it through!"
Alain turned his back as his opponent summoned a Venusaur. "You can't get stronger with me around! Nor can I with you! Stop relying on me!"
"But Alain-!"
"JUST GO AWAY!"
I swear I could hear Mairin's heart shatter. She set me down and ran out the same way she came in, and I followed after her.
"This is for the best… I suppose…" I heard Alain mutter.
Mairin hid herself in a corner in the lobby. and cried so hard and for so long, I thought she would lose all the moisture in her body through her eyes. No matter what I did, I could not bring any comfort to her.
After a while, we saw Lysandre passing through, and we heard someone calling out to him. He turned around to the one calling. "What is it?"
"I am simply to tell you that it is ready," he told him.
Lysandre smiled. "Finally…" He followed the man into a separate part of the facility.
Mairin and I saw everything. "What is ready…?" Mairin and I wondered. Without being noticed, we followed Lysandre down the hallway. After going down corridor after corridor, we finally came to an area I didn't even know existed. We were probably thirty to forty feet underground.
It was like nothing we had ever seen. It looked dark and menacing. There were scientists everywhere, operating machinery that looked alien. In the center of the room, there was a super large, blue and purple creature with six, count 'em, six arms! Each arm was constrained by a large piece of machinery.
"Hoopa!" It cried out in anger. "Let Hoopa go!"
"Hoopa?" Mairin muttered quietly. "Is that its name?"
We saw Lysandre approach the giant, alongside a rather shapely being. "Initiate extraction." the former ordered.
"With pleasure," the other cackled as he typed on a digital keyboard. The machine surrounding Hoopa began to glow a menacing red. Hoopa itself howled in pain. Then a form of energy emerged from it. Hoopa collapsed from exhaustion as the energy formed into a crystal I remember seeing back in Hoenn.
"A Pure Heart?" Mairin looked surprised.
Lysandre smiled. "It's finally about to begin…" A mechanical arm grabbed the Pure Heart and placed it into one of two small glass containers nearby. Near it we saw an even bigger one containing… the Megalith! "This world will vanish, along with all who dwell within."
By this point, we knew the truth… "Lysandre Labs is Team Flare! I gotta warn Brianna!" Mairin picked me up and ran for the elevator…
…which was blocked by someone else. She was dressed in a type of black bodysuit, covering every inch of her. Her head was contained in a helmet with the letter 'E' displayed across her face. Before either of us could react, she grabbed us both. "INTRUDERS DETAINED." She announced, capturing everyone's attention.
The round one grinned with pride. "Excellent work, Essentia! Bring 'em down!" She did just that by jumping down from the catwalk. "I always knew this kid would be a problem to our plan. I just didn't think she'd find her way down here."
"That hardly matters now," Lysandre added. "She won't be telling anyone once I'm finished with her. But first, bring Core Z-139." Hoopa was then retracted through the floor, and then another creature was brought in in his place. Unlike Hoopa, this creature was smaller than me, was mostly lime green, and had just one eye. "Begin the extraction!"
The round one typed into the keyboard, and the machine did its thing once again. The little one looked in agony, but nothing was happening. "This one's more resilient than Hoopa was… let's crank it up a little." He began to increase its power, and soon, another Pure Heart was extracted from it.
But it seemed the little one was smarter than the rest of us. Instead of letting the Pure Heart fall into their hands, the green one forced it forward, and it entered into Mairin's body. In the process, the Essentia, Mairin and I were knocked twenty feet away into a wall.
'The Pure Heart is safe,' said the green one. 'Now, only one of us can extract it from her.'
As I got up, I noticed my Trainer was still lying on the ground. I tried to help her up, but there was little I could do. (Mairin, you gotta get up! Mairin!) I tried, even though she could not understand me.
"Chespie… R-run, Chespie… Save yourself…" she begged me. As much as I hated to, I had no choice. The others were closing in on me, and I was heavily outmatched. Quickly thinking, I tore open a nearby vent with Vine Whip and scrambled inside.
Honoring what Mairin wanted to do earlier, I ran back to where we last saw Alain and Charizard. In the time that I've been running, he had defeated several Mega Evolution Trainer, and he had just finished fighting the final Trainer and his Mega Houndoom. "You're quite an irritating Trainer, kid," she stated with a smile, "but you did show you had a bond that goes beyond normal limits - we've seen that today…"
"Thank you, Malva," he replied. "Because of this, I can protect the people I love."
"Excuse me, sir," another person walked in and caught Alain's attention. He whispered something into his ear.
"WHAT?!" he asked in shock.
He then ran out the door toward what was called the Emergency Room. There, he saw an unconscious, glowing Mairin hooked up to a series of medical equipment and several scientists operating over her.
Lysandre came out, and Alain asked what happened. "Her condition is stable," he replied, "but she was attacked by Team Flare. After a thorough investigation we were surprised to discover that the energy surging through her is identical to that of the Pure Hearts."
"The Pure Hearts? Brianna?!"Alain asked.
He nodded. "We interrogated the Grunts who did this to her. They confessed that they found the Pure Heart, and they were delivering it to the Princess personally. That's all we know…"
Alain fell against the wall. "N-No… it can't be…" I on the other hand knew better. It sickened me to see Alain being lied to.
"In order to save Mairin, we need to bring the Princess here as soon as possible. Unfortunately, from what I've been told, she's all the way over in Anistar City. I know you two have a history together, especially during your journey to Hoenn, but…"
His despair turned to rage rather swiftly. "I'll do it. For Mairin."
"If you're sure," he told him, "but time is of the essence. The longer we wait, the worse her condition will become."
Alain left without another word. I was still hiding in the vents as all this took place, but I followed Alain after he was alone. He summoned his Charizard, clambered onto his back and prepared for take off for Anistar. Before they departed, I grabbed onto Charizard's tail and held on for dear life. We all flew far and fast until we arrived at the city of the Sundial…
*Brianna's POV*
"...and when they arrived, Chespie told me everything," Cocoa concluded.
I struggled to keep standing. "So it's true… Lysandre was Uncle Lydos this whole time…"
"That would explain why Alain was attacking you earlier," said Clemont.
Ash clenched his fists. "I've seen a lot of evil over my journey, but this takes the cake."
"We've gotta get Mairin out of there!" James stated. "Where's Lysandre Labs?"
"Geosenge Town," Serena answered, "but that's clear across Kalos!"
'I can take you there!' came a different voice. From another room in the back came something I was not expecting. It was a Pokémon I had not seen in years… so to speak…
"Who's that Pokémon?" Bonnie asked Dexter. The latter replied with the Pokédex entry.
Gallade
The Blade Pokémon
A Psychic and Fighting-type
When Gallade feels it's necessary to protect someone, it extends its elbows like sword blades and attacks fiercely and swiftly.
He approached us and kneeled before me. 'Your Majesty,' he spoke via Telepathy.
"Gallade…" I murmured. "It's been so long…"
Serena interrupted. "You know each other?"
"Sort of…" It was hard to explain.
The Gallade stood up and addressed us. 'I was the trusted partner to his Majesty, King Damos, prior to his sacrifice. I have remained in the Hoenn region's wilderness since then, until I saw the battle of the Titans. I came back to Kalos searching for the Princess, but instead, Olympia found me and brought me here. I am sorry I wasn't there for you then, but I'm here now.'
I then wrapped my arms around him. "I'm just happy to see you again."
Olympia hovered down to us. "Gallade knows the move Teleport," she explained. "He'll be able to get you over to Lysandre Labs in an instant, but first, you must face me and prove you're ready."
I promised not to let them down…
Similar to our Gym Battle with Clemont, Ash and I would face Olympia together. Her assistant Charlene would serve as Olympia's battle partner. After we took our places, the other Gym assistant, Carrie, stood at the sidelines as the referee.
"The Gym battle between Lady Olympia and Team Bellerose will not commence!" she began. "This will be a two-on-two Tag Battle. Each Trainer shall have the use of one Pokemon. The battle will be decided when both Pokemon from either side are unable to continue. Trainers, your Pokemon, if you please!"
As she said that, we sent out our battle partners. Olympia enlisted Dad's Gallade for this particular battle, while Charlene sent out her own Meowstic. Cocoa stepped out onto the battlefield for my sake. As for Ash, Pikachu was fired up, but Ash stopped him. "Sorry, buddy… not this time." Ash chose Frogadier for his partner.
"Everyone ready?" Carrie asked, and we all confirmed. "Good! Let the battle begin!"
Brianna & Ash VS Olympia & Charlene
Cocoa & Frogadier VS Gallade & Meowstic
Battle BEGIN!
Our opponents made the first move. "Meowstic, use Helping Hand!" Charlene called out.
"Gallade! Use Future Sight!"
A golden aura appeared around Meowstic, who transferred it to Gallade. The latter then raised his hands into the air, and a light blue ball of energy appeared above him. Light blue bolts of electricity then fired from the ball into the sky and disappeared.
"What just happened?" Magearna asked.
Clemont explained. "Future Sight is a move that takes time from when the Pokemon uses it to when the attack takes effect."
"Really? Even if that Pokemon could be defeated before then?"
"Well, considering the battle just started, Gallade should be fine."
Be that as it may, we had to act fast. "Frogadier, use Aerial Ace!" Ash called out.
I also made my move. "Cocoa, use Bounce!" Cocoa lunged at Gallade, who evaded the attack at the last second. Meanwhile, Meowstic was dodging Frogadier's every chance at striking. "They're moving too fast!"
"We need to pay attention to their movements," Ash suggested. He then whispered an idea into my ear, and I nodded. "Frogadier, use Water Pulse on Gallade!"
"Cocoa, use Strength on Meowstic!" The two made their moves.
"Light Screen!" Charlene called.
"Then Sacred Sword!" Olympia added.
The Meowstic raised a barrier in front of itself and Gallade. While the latter did take the hit from Water Pulse, the damage was decreased significantly. Then Gallade lunged at Cocoa. His arm blades glowed light green, and he slashed her in midair.
"Frogadier, catch Cocoa!" The Bubble Frog Pokemon leaped up and caught her, sliding as he landed.
"I should've known," Clemont commented. "Meowstic's Ability must be Prankster!"
"What do you mean?" asked Meowth.
"Meowstic can use a support move, like Light Screen, before its opponent's attack. That's how it was able to defend itself so quickly. It also aids Helping Hand to boost Gallade's attack, before its opponents can even get a move in."
"Now, use Psyshock!" Olympia and Charlene shouted at the same time. Gallade and Meowstic fired off their attacks at the same time, but both Frogadier and Cocoa were able to dodge the oncoming attacks. Matter of fact, they almost hit Ash and I by accident.
Unfortunately, immediately after that, Gallade's Future Sight came into play, barraging them both from above. Just as we were about to make our move, their timing stopped us. This really was going to be a difficult battle.
But then, Ash had an idea. He whispered into my and Pikachu's ears, and we both nodded in agreement. "Let's give it a shot!"
We then turned our attention back to the battlefield. It was time to combine some moves. "Cocoa, use Hidden Power!" I called out to my Lopunny friend, who charged her own attack.
"Frogadier, use Double Team!" The Water-type produced an army of imposters to throw off the Psychic-types.
"That won't work! Use Helping Hand!" Charlene declared.
"Gallade, use Psyshock!" Olympia added.
Meowstic charged Gallade with its energy, and the Fighting-type fired off its attack at the Frogadiers, mowing them down.
"Now, use Cut!" Ash declared. The real Frogadier fired off an attack to cancel out Gallade's, and as he was blinded by the explosion, Cocoa launched her attack, landing a direct hit at Gallade's torso.
It was a decent strategy, but the battle was far from over. "Use Helping Hand!"
"Future Sight!" The two combined their powers and fired their projectiles into the future.
At that instant, our plan kicked in. "Pi… Pi… Pi… Pi…" Pikachu began rhythmically, his tail twitching back and forth.
"What is he doing…?" asked Serena.
"Who knows when it comes to Ash Ketchum," Jessie replied.
"Well, whatever you're up to is a mystery to me…" Olympia commented, "but whatever the plan is, we'll make sure it falls through. Use Psyshock!"
Charlene called the same thing, and they both launched their attacks on us.
"Get in there, Frogadier, and use Cut!" Ash's partner charged directly at the opposing attack, slicing through each of them with precision.
Meanwhile, I had a similar idea. "Cocoa, use Thunderbolt!" my partner fired off the Electric-type attack in all directions, neutralizing the remaining projectiles. WIth that, Frogadier can and did attack Meowstic.
"Are you okay?" Charlene asked her partner. Despite its injury, it was still able to battle.
"Light Screen ain't able to defend against physical attacks!" Meowth commented. "Only special ones!"
"You know what they say - 'The best defense is a good offense,'" Clemont commented.
Ash then called out to his partner. "Don't let up, Frogadier! Use Aerial Ace!"
"You too, Cocoa! Use Strength!" The two of them charged forward, ready to attack, but just then, Gallade's Future Sight emerged, countering our attacks.
"Pika!" At that moment, Pikachu stopped his rhythmic tail-twitching.
Ash then knelt down to his partner. "You got it, buddy?" his go-to partner nodded confidently. "Great! We're counting on you, buddy!"
"Helping Hand/Future Sight!" Olympia and Charlene declared simultaneously.
As they made their moves, Pikachu started all over again. "Pi… Pi… Pi… Pi…"
'There he goes again…' Squishy commented. 'What're they up to?'
"I intend not to find out," Olympia answered. "Gallade, use Psyshock!"
"Meowstic, Dark Pulse!" The two of them attacked.
But we were ready. "Dodge it!" I shouted. Cocoa leaped out of the way, narrowly missing the Dark Pulse.
Meanwhile, Ash had a different impulse. "Water Pulse!" he shouted. Frogadier formed an orb of water before him and used it as a shield, deflecting Gallade's Psyshock. The oncoming attack continued to push, and it seemed to shove Frogadier into the floor. "Don't give up!" Ash cheered. "We're going to the top together, Frogadier! I know you can do it!" Hearing his words seemed to push him further, as his Water Pulse increased in his hands.
I noticed it caught Olympia's attention, in a good way.
Frogadier's Water Pulse continued to grow until he threw it at last, knocking both Gallade and Meowstic into the air. Before they could land, Cocoa and Crogadier grabbed their opponents from behind, making it difficult for them to fight back.
"Pi… Pi… Pi… Pi…" As they struggled to break free, Pikachu shouted to his Trainer. "Pikapi! Pika Pika!"
He nodded and alerted me and our Pokemon. "Here it comes!"
"Ready, Cocoa/Frogadier… " we shouted at the same time. They turned to face each other. Then we saw Gallade's Future Sight form above them. "NOW!" They threw their opponents into the center and leaped out of the way. Then Meowstic and Gallade were bombarded by their own move.
It was just enough to secure a victory. Carrie raised an arm. "Gallade and Meowstic are unable to battle!" she declared. "Thus, the victory goes to Ash and Brianna!"
The two of us hugged our Pokemon and each other to celebrate our victory. The two of them had worked together incredibly. And Ash stroked his Pikachu's head. "Thanks, Pikachu. You were a lot of help."
"Pika Pika!" he chirped with pride.
As Charlene recalled her partner, Olympia helped Gallade back to his feet. "You fought well, Gallade. Damos would be proud of you."
Gallade smiled. 'Not as proud as he would be of Brianna.'
The four of us met at the center of the battlefield, and the rest of us gathered around the inner ring. Olympia spoke to us both. "During our battle, you proved you were truly one with your Pokemon. That is love… the true power of love. You fought well, Cocoa, Frogadier, and Pikachu, too."
"Pikachu?" Bonnie asked.
"You see, Pikachu was timing exactly when the Future Sight attack would go off," Ash explained.
"Really?" Serena asked in surprise. "Is that allowed?"
"Of course it is," Olympia chimed in with a smile. "Just as you controlled our attack to your advantage, so you have the power to choose your destiny. Now, as proof of your victory over the Anistar City Gym, please accept these - the Psychic Badges." She handed them over to us, and we placed them into our cases.
"It's too bad you don't have the Pure Heart though," I muttered. Though I guess it could not be helped this time.
"I apologize, daughter of Arceus," she replied. "As an alternative, I shall instead return Gallade to the royal family of Kalos. Through him, you can infiltrate Team Flare's base and save Mairin." As she spoke, she handed me his PokeBall.
"Thank you," I happily accepted it. Gallade had officially come home, and in this particular instance, I had the perfect nickname in mind for him. "Welcome home… Damos." I stated with literal open arms.
He came over and embraced me. "I'm home…"
Following a series of events at Anistar City, Ash and I secured a victory and both earned the Psychic Badge. But there was no time to celebrate. Thanks to Gym Leader Olympia, we now knew the secret identity of Team Flare's leader, Lysandre LaFleur. What was worse, he had Mairin, the Megalith, and at least two of the remaining Pure Hearts in his grasp. What did he plan to do with them all? And more importantly, what was our plan to stop him? The answers to come as the journey continues…