'THIS WAY TO THE CINNABAR GYM!'

'CINNABAR GYM - 1 MILE!'

'DON'T MISS THE CINNABAR GYM!'

"Why are there so many signs pointing us towards the Cinnabar Gym?" Ash asked. "It feels gratuitous."

"I have heard rumors," said Cyrus, "that the Gym was initially decried by Trainers as being rather hard to find. I presume the signs are an attempt to rectify that."

"Hold up." Clay stopped in his tracks. "What's that crowd over there?"

Indeed, there was a large group of nearby Trainers gathered around something neither of the trio could see. Quickly, Ash, Clay, and Cyrus made their way over to the crowd, shifting and craning their necks so they could see what it was they were so interested in.

It turned out to be a television screen mounted on the wall of a building, which was currently playing an advertisement for the Cinnabar Lab, offering guided tours and lab-centric memorabilia. Ash was reasonably confident he wouldn't be going - the lab didn't really interest him, and anyway he did not want to be caught dead wearing a shirt that said things like 'I Survived The Cinnabar Lab!' or 'Cinnabar Lab - No Experiments Going Wrong Here!'

"Why would so many people want to watch this?" Clay asked.

"Hush," Cyrus murmured as the screen changed to something else.

That something else was a young brown-haired girl, around the same age as Ash and Miette from the looks of it, dressed in a bright pink shirt with three black bowtie-looking shapes running down the front. She raised her hand. "Hi! I'm Shauna, the Cinnabar Gym Leader! As you can see, I'm in my Gym!" She indicated the room around her, which Ash now noticed took the form of a stone platform suspended over what looked like a lake of actual lava. "If you want to come here, just follow the signs. I'll warn you - I'm no easy opponent! But enough about that…"

She tapped one of her Pokeballs, releasing a young-looking Ivysaur, and grinned even more widely. "Welcome to Episode 58 of my weekly Pokevision blog, where Ivysaur and I talk to you about how to take care of your Pokemon! Today's episode is on proper grooming techniques - I'm sure you're excited, Ivysaur!"

"Saur! Saur!" Ivysaur jumped up and down gleefully.

"Huh…" Ash frowned. "Grass or Poison-type…wait, Spenser was Grass…"

"First off, to groom your Pokemon, you have to know when they need it!" Shauna announced. "The signs are different for every Pokemon, but there are five common signs to look for in almost every Pokemon to see if they need to be groomed. Of course, it's not like you need to wait for one of those signs - you can groom your Pokemon whenever you want, and as long as you don't overdo it, they'll be happy to receive that kind of attention!"

Ash watched the video for several more minutes as Shauna began to demonstrate the five signs. He was only half paying attention, though - his mind was already on what Pokemon he'd bring to this battle.

"Ash?"

Ash looked up; Clay and Cyrus were standing behind him, and the former looked as if he'd been calling Ash's name several times. "Sorry," said Ash. "So…Shauna, huh? That Ivysaur tells me she's a Poison-type Trainer, but she doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would train Poison-types…"

Cyrus and Clay shot glances at each other. Clay shrugged. "You tell me."

Ash sighed. "Guess I'll prepare for Poison and keep a few options open," he muttered. "Scizor's good against Poison…and Genesect since they share the same typing…oh."

"Oh?" Cyrus asked.

Ash sighed. "I can't use Genesect," he murmured. "I want to - and he'd be perfect for the Gym - but I know he doesn't like fire. And fighting over a lake of lava like that…I don't know if that's a good idea."

"You did promise to use him in this battle," Clay pointed out.

"I know!" Ash cried, looking frustrated. "But…I can't just throw him into a room full of his worst fear. It'd be like throwing me into a room full of Maidens."

Clay and Cyrus looked at him strangely.

"Okay, that came out weird," Ash admitted. "Look…I'll just use him in the next Gym! There's no way that one's anywhere near any fire."

Clay frowned, looking doubtful, but said nothing as Ash continued to parse through his team members for the upcoming Gym.

Half an hour later, Ash, Clay, and Cyrus stepped into a room that had clearly once been a set of hot springs, but now was basically one giant sign announcing that it was the entrance to the Cinnabar Gym.

Ash had chosen Hisui, Scizor, Aegislash, Pyroar, Kricketune, and one of his Zygarde to accompany him into the Gym, covering Poison-types fairly well and bringing along his Fire-types to work with the lava lake. At present, Ash was riding on Hisui, but as they entered the room, Ash instantly realized the ceiling was far too low for that.

Since he came to this realization through cranial blunt force trauma, this happening set Clay to snickering, brought out a wry grin from Cyrus, and caused the still-tagging-along Jigglypuff to erupt into peals of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah," Ash muttered, sliding off Hisui and clutching his head. Hisui whined and nuzzled Ash's hair. "I'm okay, Hisui," he told the Fire/Rock-type. "Just…guess I shouldn't be riding you indoors, huh?"

"I feel like that would be a wise decision," said Cyrus.

"Oh, gosh, are you all right?"

A new voice broke into the conversation, one which Ash instantly recognized from the video outside. "Shauna," Clay greeted.

"Hi, Clay, Cyrus!" Shauna replied excitedly as she scurried out of a tunnel on the opposite side of the room. "And you must be a Gym Challenger! Right this way - follow the signs." She indicated the tunnel she'd come out of.

"Why do you have so many signs, anyway?" Ash asked as the group began to follow Shauna down the tunnel. "Cyrus mentioned something about the Gym being hard to find, but-"

"Yeah," said Shauna. "He's right - when I first became Gym Leader, everybody complained that they couldn't find my Gym. So I put up a few signs, but some people still couldn't find it, so I just decided there was no such thing as too many signs!"

"Then why not just…put your Gym somewhere else?" Ash asked. "Somewhere easier to find?"

"Are you kidding?" Shauna asked as the four entered a room - the same room that had been in the background of the grooming video. "Look at this! This is the coolest arena ever! Who wouldn't want to have a Gym Battle over a lake of lava!"

"I still feel like this violates several regulations," Cyrus noted. "This place does not even have handrails."

"Handrails are boring." Shauna stepped to the opposite side of the arena and turned towards Ash. "So, challenger. Are you ready for a four-on-four battle with my beautiful Fairy-types?"

"Fairy?" Ash's eyes widened. "I thought you were Poison!"

Shauna giggled. "You've watched my videos, huh? Yeah, Ivysaur's my partner, but she's a showPokemon rather than a battler. And besides, it's fun to fake out Gym Challengers every once in a while. Every year I get at least one person who comes at me with a full team of Ground and Psychic-types. That's always fun."

Thank goodness I brought so many Steel and Fire-types, Ash thought. Out loud he said, "I don't care if I prepared for Poison instead of Fairy - I'll take you on all the same and win!"

"That's the spirit," said Shauna. "Go, Klefki!"

As Clay and Cyrus released their Pokemon to watch (and directed Murkrow and Zubat to be ready to catch anyone who fell off the handrail-less cliff overlooking the arena), Ash pondered his first Pokemon. Klefki looked like a Steel-type, which according to the Gym's set typing meant it was Steel/Fairy. That meant a Fire-type would be a good answer, and Ash wanted to save Hisui for later. Which made the choice easy. "Pyroar, you're up first!"

Pyroar was excited! He hadn't been part of a Gym Battle since all the way back in Vermillion - he was itching to prove how strong he'd gotten since his evolution. As soon as he was released into the arena, he glared at Klefki and let out a challenging growl.

Klefki stared back at him, jingling slightly. Its face was static, two black pits for eyes and a keyhole for a mouth, but when it spoke, it was in a tinny and rather gleeful-sounding voice. "This is gonna be fun!"

"First move's yours, Ash!" Shauna invited.

"Gotcha!" Ash cried. "Pyroar, Flamethrower!"

"Klefki, Light Screen and Reflect!" Shauna retorted instantly. "You know what to do from there!"

Klefki shot forwards, straight towards the plume of fire that Pyroar breathed outwards. Shimmering barriers of light formed in front of the Steel/Fairy-type's body; Pyroar caught a hint of brownish energy as well before Klefki's body was consumed by the Flamethrower.

"Dodge to the side!" Evidently Ash had seen the brownish energy as well. Pyroar quickly stepped to his right, keeping his eyes locked on his own flames and waiting for Klefki to emerge.

And then three layers of brown spikes abruptly jutted upwards from the floor beneath him.

Pyroar hissed in surprise; in that moment, Klefki burst out of the flames, streaking straight towards him and trailing embers, leaving the Reflect and Light Screen she'd set up behind completely. "Oh, boy, pain!" she cried. "More, please!"

"What in the…" Pyroar wasn't entirely sure if he'd heard Klefki correctly, but the remainder of his thoughts were dissipated by Ash's next command. "Flamethrower again!"

Pyroar exhaled. "More pain!" Klefki yelped happily as she dove into the fire. The Steel/Fairy-type was honestly creeping Pyroar out - this was the first time he wasn't really sure whether he wanted to set something on fire or not. He took a step back, then hissed as his paw hit one of the numerous spikes adorning the floor of the arena.

And then Klefki shot out of the flames, looking half-melted. Shauna raised her voice. "Misty Explosion!"

Wait, what-

"Yay!" Klefki squealed before promptly exploding in Pyroar's face.

"Pyroar, you all right?" Ash asked as the pink cloud of energy faded.

A low growl came in answer as Pyroar stumbled out of the cloud, looking disheveled and very confused.

Shauna recalled the now-unconscious Klefki. "Don't worry," she said. "I wouldn't do that kind of thing to a Pokemon if they preferred otherwise. And believe me, I've asked Klefki several times if she really wants to be used like that. I don't entirely understand it, but it's her choice! Now for my second - go, Slurpuff!"

Ash considered recalling Pyroar. The Fire/Normal-type seemed a little off-balance, and Ash would rather call him back now and send him out later when he was recovered from the blast. But at the same time, he knew from fighting Miette's Slurpuff that the Pokemon didn't like fighting Fire-types - and yes, Miette's Slurpuff had used Surf, but Ash didn't think it was likely this one would. After all, it might disrupt the Spikes, and the water wouldn't work at all with the pool of lava surrounding the arena.

And besides, Ash knew that if he did recall Pyroar, whoever he sent out in his place would be at a real disadvantage. Not only were Klefki's Reflect and Light Screen still up, shielding Slurpuff from harm, but Klefki had managed to set up three layers of Spikes before blowing up in Pyroar's face, turning the floor of the arena into a veritable minefield. He knew the screens wouldn't stay up forever - as much as Ash hated to admit it, it made sense to keep Pyroar out and let the screens go down, giving his next Pokemon more of a chance.

"You good to keep going, Pyroar?" Ash asked.

Pyroar nodded, then shook his head to clear it and growled again.

"Slurpuff, use Sticky Web!" Shauna commanded.

This Gym Battle is not going according to plan, Pyroar admitted to himself as Slurpuff unleashed several spiderwebs that rippled across the arena floor to join the layers of spikes. The arena's a deathtrap, those screens are still up, and I still don't know what was up with that Klefki…

"I don't care for a repeat of that Misty Explosion thing!" Ash cried. "Fire Spin, Pyroar! Trap that Slurpuff!"

"Counter with Flamethrower!" Shauna cried.

Slurpuff raised one hand and unleashed a spray of flames that, to Pyroar's irritation, was only a tiny bit smaller than his own Flamethrowers. As it mingled with and dispersed Pyroar's Fire Spin, Shauna called out her next order. "Calm Mind!"

Uh-oh. Pyroar had been hoping to wait out the screens, but now that wasn't an option. By the time the screens went down, Slurpuff would have stacked up multiple Calm Minds, and with the Fairy-type so heavily boosted and the floor of the arena a mess of Spikes and Sticky Webs, Slurpuff would have a not insignificant chance of tearing through the rest of Ash's team by herself, or at the very least weakening it so that Shauna's remaining two teammates could clean up what remained.

I'll admit, Shauna didn't look like much when I first saw her. But there's clearly a reason she's the seventh Gym Leader.

"Charge her, Pyroar!" Ash's voice was filled with urgency. "Avoid the hazards - don't let her set up!"

Way to state the obvious, Pyroar thought as he broke into a sprint. He wove through spikes and leaped over webs, keeping his paws clear of the hazards and his eyes locked on Slurpuff. Energy was flowing around the Fairy-type's form as Calm Mind took effect; Slurpuff crouched and raised a hand towards the onrushing Pyroar, eyes glowing purple.

"Dazzling Gleam!" Shauna cried.

"Block it with Flamethrower!" Ash yelled.

Pyroar exhaled just as a rippling blast of pink energy burst out of Slurpuff's palm. The space between the two exploded as the two attacks came together, only Fire's resistance to Fairy allowing the Flamethrower to stand against the boosted attack. Pyroar stumbled backwards; his heart leaped into his throat as he felt his hind paw snag on a Sticky Web.

"Another Calm Mind!" Shauna ordered.

"Headbutt!" Ash called. "Stop her!"

But Pyroar's paw was stuck fast, and he was forced to expend precious time to rip it free of the webbing, time he did not have. Twisting, he lunged as fast as he could, bringing down his head as energy played across it. The glow surrounding Slurpuff was brightening - another Calm Mind and it would be almost blinding.

"Dazzling Gleam!" Shauna yelled just as Pyroar leaped for Slurpuff's chest.

But, in all the chaos, he'd forgotten about Klefki's screens. As he hit them it felt like swimming through thick sludge (yes, he knew what that was like, and no, it was not a story he cared to repeat); he heard a loud shattering sound as they splintered into pieces around him, but they'd done their work. His Headbutt hit Slurpuff with too little force to make any sort of impact; the Fairy-type was only shoved backwards a little, not nearly enough to disrupt her second Calm Mind.

Bitter shame was all Pyroar could muster to his mind before Slurpuff's second Dazzling Gleam ripped consciousness from him in an instant.

"He should have switched Pyroar out," Cyrus murmured. "Now Slurpuff is in prime position to obliterate the rest of his team."

"I noticed," Clay remarked drily. "And to be fair, he's gotten used to Miette's Slurpuff. Shauna's fights completely differently. Besides, Ash ain't alone - I know this exact strategy has taken care of many a challenger before."

As Clay and Cyrus's Pokemon (plus Jigglypuff) shouted out encouragement, Ash ran his fingers across his belt, frowning as he pondered his next choice. Several times he touched a specific Pokeball, but each time his fingers shot away from it as if it were electrified, only to return.

And in the end, it was that Pokeball that Ash tapped. "All right, you're up, Zygarde!"

"Zygarde?" Shauna's eyes widened as the massive Ground/Dragon-type appeared in the arena, taking up half the room with its bulk. Zygarde barely seemed to notice the Spikes and Sticky Webs, though that may have been because it was more preoccupied with its head scraping the ceiling of the cavernous chamber.

Shauna peered at Ash. "Wait…you're that guy with the Genesect, right?"

"Yeah."

Shauna sighed. "I guess I should've expected something like this to happen, then. I can't believe I'm saying this, but…could you maybe choose a smaller Pokemon? My arena is not built for a Pokemon of that size." She gestured towards the arena in question, which was groaning under Zygarde's weight.

"Oh, that's no problem!" said Ash. "Zygarde, let's go 10% for this one, okay?"

A loud RUMBLE emanated from Zygarde; a second later, the behemoth exploded in a flash of light, and when the light cleared ten smaller Zygarde, looking akin to slender Arcanine in terms of body shape, were standing in the arena.

One exchange of barks later, nine of them hopped out, leaving one to face Slurpuff.

"Okay," said Shauna. "It's just a Legendary…you can do this, Shauna…" She visibly gathered herself. "All right, Slurpuff, Dazzling Gleam! Blast that thing hard and fast!"

"Thousand Arrows!" Ash retorted.

"Garde!" Zygarde-10% crouched, and from its body flew a barrage of arrows formed from pure Ground-type energy. Slurpuff raised a palm and unleashed a Dazzling Gleam outwards, the Calm Mind-boosted blast rippling across the room towards the oncoming storm of arrows.

Even boosted as it was, the attack only barely managed to stand against the assault of Zygarde. But stand it did; the two attacks exploded against one another in a wild and chaotic display of multicolored energy, and when it cleared the two combatants were standing in the same spots, ready for further combat.

Zygarde's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Zy!" it barked, and then it sprang, hurtling across the arena at an impressively fast rate while perfectly evading the Spikes and Sticky Webs strewn across the floor. Slurpuff wasted no time in unleashing another Dazzling Gleam, but Zygarde simply dove forwards and into the ground as if it were slipping into a pool of water, disappearing beneath the stone as the Dazzling Gleam swept through the space it had occupied.

"To the side, Slurpuff!" Shauna cried. "And use another Calm Mind while he's under!"

A second later Zygarde exploded out of the ground, narrowly missing the dodging Slurpuff. "Thousand Waves!" Ash cried as Zygarde leaped; the Legendary's eyes narrowed and it dove back downwards, landing on the ground with so much force that a many-layered wave of energy burst outwards from the impact point, spreading towards Slurpuff. Clay noted that a large section of the Spikes and Sticky Webs were uprooted by the waves, thrown across the arena to create a large circle clear of entry hazards. Slurpuff was forced to abandon her Calm Mind in favor of unleashing another rapid Dazzling Gleam, blasting the wave to pieces before it could reach her.

"So let me get this straight," Cyrus murmured. "If the name of the form corresponds with its power level…Zygarde is currently fighting at only 10% of its full strength. And it is still keeping a Slurpuff enhanced with two Calm Minds on the back foot."

"Yeah, it seems that way," said Clay.

Cyrus smiled contemplatively. "I will not lie," he admitted. "I very much desire a Legendary of my own. If all of them wield such power, surely any of them would greatly aid in the creation of my perfect world…"

"Yeah, yeah," Clay muttered. "Now ain't the time for jokes, Cyrus - I'm way too interested in this fight to listen!"

"Dazzling Gleam again!" Shauna's cry stirred the pair from their dialogue; Slurpuff raised her other palm and blasted another boosted Dazzling Gleam at the charging Zygarde. "Dig again!" Ash retorted; again Zygarde evaded the attack by diving smoothly underground.

"Not this time!" Shauna cried. "Slurpuff, jump and use Sticky Web beneath you!"

Ash's eyes widened. "Zygarde-" he began, but in this case Zygarde's impressive speed worked against him. Before he could get the rest of the order out, Slurpuff had jumped, and Zygarde had erupted from beneath the stone just in time to get a faceful of Sticky Webs. The Legendary toppled to the ground, snarling and spitting.

"Dazzling Gleam!" Shauna cried as Slurpuff landed.

"Thousand Arrows!" Ash yelled, trying to reach Zygarde.

Thankfully, Zygarde, despite being blinded and occupied by the webs, managed to maintain enough presence of mind to follow Ash's command to an extent. A barrage of Ground-based arrows flew out in all directions; unfocused, it wasn't enough to stop Slurpuff's attack, but it was enough to blunt it. The remnants of the Dazzling Gleam struck Zygarde and sent him flying, but thanks to his earlier Thousand Waves, there was enough of a safe area that he didn't land in any Spikes or Sticky Webs, and as he rose he managed to tear the webbing off his face. A snarl escaped him as he glared at Slurpuff, clearly irritated that she'd managed to damage him.

"Thousand Waves!" Ash yelled. "Then follow up with Thousand Arrows!"

Zygarde reared and slammed his front paws down, unleashing another layered wave of Ground-type energy. Slurpuff blasted the wave away with yet another Dazzling Gleam, but though she tried to do the same with the follow-up barrage of arrows, she couldn't get off the attack in time. Several arrows struck her and she staggered backwards, the attack abandoned.

"Slurpuff!" Shauna cried.

Before Ash could call out another order, Zygarde lunged forwards, clearly anxious to finish. "Blast him!" Shauna yelled; Slurpuff's eyes focused, she planted her feet, and with a rapid movement she raised a palm and unleashed a Dazzling Gleam point-blank into Zygarde's face.

A loud explosion momentarily blinded the whole room. As it cleared, Clay and Cyrus saw the silhouette of Zygarde, standing over the fallen body of Slurpuff. The Legendary was breathing heavily, but he grinned regardless, letting out a loud triumphant bark. It was promptly echoed by the nine other Zygarde-10% standing on the sidelines.

"Well, I daresay he more than earns his title," Shauna admitted. "Not gonna lie, though, he fought kinda like a Wild Pokemon, not a Trained one. You haven't done too much training with him, have you?"

Ash shook his head, rather sheepishly. "He doesn't usually concentrate when I try…"

"I've found a reward system works best for Pokemon like that," Shauna advised. "Maybe give him a toy when he follows an order?"

"That could work," said Ash. "Anyway…is it alright if I recall him for now? ['d like to give the rest of my team a chance to battle."

Shauna smiled. "You really did learn from Spenser, didn't you?"

Ash's eyes widened. "Wait, he told you about me?"

"More like he warned me about you," Shauna informed him. "Anyway, yes, you may recall Zygarde. Generally, Gym Battles are supposed to allow switches, in order to test the challenger's adaptability and prevent unfair situations as best as possible."

Clay shot a glance at Cyrus, who pointedly was looking away.

"Now, Sylveon!" Shauna called as Ash recalled Zygarde (along with the other nine standing on the sidelines). "It's your turn!"

This time, Ash took only a moment to decide. "Go, Scizor!"

Sadly, the remainder of the battle wasn't nearly as exciting. Between Zygarde's various Thousand Waves, he'd cleared the vast majority of the hazards from the battlefield, which gave Scizor free reign to run rings around Shauna's Sylveon, effortlessly evading Mystical Fire after Mystical Fire while darting in and out with rapid Bullet Punches that had the Fairy-type staggering.

"See, Togepi," Clay murmured as the frustrated-looking Sylveon let fly with another Mystical Fire and only managed to burn away one of the few remaining spots of Sticky Web adorning the arena floor. "This is what real batling is like. You're gonna be doing that too one day, you know?"

"Battling fun!" Togepi cheered from atop Clay's shoulder.

"You spoil that Pokemon, you know that?" Cyrus muttered.

"She's a baby," Clay pointed out. "What am I supposed to do, not spoil her?"

"Instilling discipline is a necessity when it comes to Pokemon of a young age," said Cyrus. "Otherwise they will grow up to be disobedient."

"Yeah, I know…" Clay sighed. "But I just can't bring myself to scold her! Every time I try, she just starts actin' all cute…"

"You do realize," said Cyrus, "that such an attitude will just convince her that she can get her way on any matter by acting cute, correct? Hence, you should take steps to rectify that. Also, it seems that she has left your shoulder."

Clay glanced aside. Sure enough, Togepi was off his shoulder…and a second later, Clay realized his hat was off his head. "Where is…"

"Imma go this way!"

Clay may have only heard 'Toge Toge Pi!' but the noise brought his attention all the same. His eyes widened as he spotted his hat stumbling over towards the ledge overlooking the lava pool far below, its new wearer clearly blinded by the size of the stetson. "What the…Togepi, no! Get back from-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Togepi tripped over a stone and, with a loud squeal of "Piiiiiiii!", toppled over the edge of the cliff.

"Togepi!" Clay yelled. Murkrow and Zubat instantly leaped into action, spreading their wings and hurtling off the cliff after Togepi. But they were too far away, and had been too engrossed in the battle; she hit the surface of the lava before they could reach the little Fairy-type.

Clay collapsed to his knees, watching his stetson as it bobbed up and down on the surface of the lava. "Togepi…no…"

Cyrus peered down. "That is odd."

"I don't have time for your observations, Cyrus!" Clay yelled. "Can't you see I'm mourning?"

"I beg your pardon," said Cyrus, retaining his emotionless tone, "but should your hat not be burning into cinders right now?"

Clay was about to rebuke him again, and then stopped as he realized Cyrus was right. Shauna only now seemed to notice the commotion - mainly because her Sylveon had just fainted. "What?" she asked, looking down. "Oh, yeah…that's not real lava. Sorry if that made you panic for a second."

As if on cue, Togepi broke through the surface, grinning and waving her stubby arms. "Whee! That was fun! I wanna do it again!"

"It isn't real?" Clay sounded almost hoarse with relief.

"Yeah," said Shauna. "Seriously, could you imagine the trouble I'd get in if I had actual lava in my gym? The League would've shut me down ages ago! And also, convection's a thing - if that were real lava, we'd all be roasting alive in here. No, that's just a combination of water, vegetable oil, and a lot of food coloring. I tell people it's lava because it's funny."

"Right…" Clay sagged with relief as Murkrow snatched up Togepi and Zubat grasped his stetson, and the two Flying-types began to haul their burdens back up towards the cliff. "You know what, Cyrus? You're absolutely right…Togepi needs some discipline."

Cyrus nodded mutely.

"Anyway…" Shauna turned back to the battle. "You may have me on the back foot…but let's see if you can handle my Ace! Go, Florges!"

As it turned out, unlike Sylveon, Florges did not know any Fire-type moves.

Understandably, the battle did not go well for Florges.

"Well, that wasn't too bad," said Ash as he, Clay, and Cyrus sat in the Pokemon Center, watching as Nurse Tabitha treated Ash's Pokemon.

"Aside from the beginning, I agree," Cyrus replied.

"Yeah…" Ash scratched his head. "Thank goodness for Zygarde! I don't want to lean on my Legendaries like that too often, but if I've got him…"

Clay nodded. "Guess this means you've only got one Gym left," he said. "Of course, naturally, it's the toughest of the eight. And I'll tell you for free that your Pokemon don't have nearly as good of a type matchup against this one as they did against Shauna."

"Fair," said Ash. "But at least I've got Genesect! Oh, hey, Professor Archie's calling!"

He quickly pulled out his Pokedex and tapped the screen. "Professor Archie?" Ash asked. "What is it?"

The sound of Professor Archie's voice could be faintly heard; Hisui couldn't make out any of the words, but his ears perked up anyway. The Professor sounded alarmed about something, his voice raised, his tone harsh.

Ash blinked. "What do you mean, Genesect ran away?"

A reminder - this may be a stronger and smarter Ash thanks to various Butterfree Effects, but it's also still Ash. And he still makes mistakes. This, I feel, is an especially consequential one.