Alola who comes, Alola who goes

Brock had to read the text again and again. He wasn't sure if what he had read was real or not: Goh, Dawn, and this Serena wanted to track down Dialga and challenge him to go back in time and rescue Ash.

It made sense, of course. After all, he had been tracking down Celebi for the exact same thing until the hooded man appeared and chaos ensued.

But the thought of approaching Dialga like that and battling it was completely another thing. Two coordinators and Goh weren't a challenge at all. They were doomed to defeat before even starting.

And this wasn't your "If you believe it enough, you can do whatever you want" moment. This was serious, they couldn't be so dumb to think they stood a chance.

His brain was processing all the information on hand, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt the urge to fly away from that place.

The same feeling was pervading Clemont. He was tired of being there. Of course, part of him wanted to stay there, in particular, a certain green-haired girl, but the thought of Serena in danger like that was impossible to shrug off. What would Ash say if she got in danger, and no one helped her?

His thoughts were broken by a hand on his shoulder: "You should go" a feminine voice said from behind.

He turned and faced that girl: it was Mallow. Her eyes were dull, tiredness and fatigue transpiring through a simple gaze, but her caring warmth was still there.

He lost himself in staring at her, his mouth a little open, a gaze of uncertainty on his features. She went on: "I talked to the Professor and to Kiawe: there is a way now that the storm is calming down.

She smiled. He liked that smile. Then, he refocused on the matter. Brock had already gone to speak with Kukui.

Mallow took hold of Clemont's hand and dragged him with her. He followed. He was starting to like to be dragged by her.

....

"Do we have everything we need?" assured Dawn to the group while they were packing their stuff to leave.

"No need to worry, dawn" answered playfully Serena, putting her fedora on.

Dawn puffed her cheeks jokingly.

Goh, meanwhile, was checking his phone: "Now that everyone has a flyer, we can reach Mt Coronet in a day, but sadly, the weather is shit, so we might need to take the route through the caverns inside to reach the top."

"There shouldn't be any problem" commented proudly Dawn. "I asked Cynthia's grandma for this!" she said, taking from her pocket an old piece of paper.

"Wow!" exclaimed a surprised Serena, watching the paper: "it is a map of the cavern!" she proclaimed.

Goh was impressed and Dawn smirked, her hands on her hips: "Nothing can stop Dawn!" she boasted.

"Sure, except for your hair in the morning" snickered savagely Serena; "What did you say, Miss?!" shouted a now aggressive Dawn.

Goh only sweat dropped, Grookey mimicking his trainer's facial expression.

....

"This capsule was made by Aether Foundation a while ago." Proclaimed Professor Kukui, showing the group from the window of the Pokémon Centre a kind of nacelle.

It was round shaped, with a porthole that let them see two seats and a cloche.

It had wings that were now folded.

"Wow!" gasped Clemont, looking at that wonderful masterpiece of technology.

"Who brought it here?" asked Brock, curious at the fact that this solution came out of the blue.

"We managed to establish a connection with the foundation through an ancient system called the telegraph. It's not efficient but in the end, it worked" explained the Professor, watching the ship from the window, while gusts of winds and rain were whipping against its metal surface.

Clemont looked defeated: "Of course!" he mumbled: " I was so focused to overcome the problem with modern technology that I closed my mind to the broader image…" he said, disappointed in himself.

"Come on Clemont! You were awesome. If it wasn't for you and Sophocles, the Centre would be with no electricity and I don't want to think about all these ill Pokémon' fate in that case" said Mallow, coming close to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Clemont looked relieved.

Kukui went on: "Now, my boys, you should go and help your friends. If it is true that they want to summon Dialga, it is already a dangerous situation, but it could be even worse if the person that we fought shows up. And don't worry about Celebi. It's going to be safe with us. After all, in two days top, the storm will end and we will finally be able to see the blue sky of Alola again".

Clemont and Brock's eyes went wide. How did they not think about it? There was also that cloaked figure.

If what Kukui said came true, it was going to be greatly dangerous for Serena, Dawn, and Goh.

They exchanged a brief glance at each other, and they nodded, ready for the flight.

Clemont went with Sophocles to get to know more about the vehicle while Brock was taught to drive it by kukui.

Mallow stayed back, watching as the blonde inventor went away with Sophocles, a bittersweet smile plastered on her lips.

….

Akari had just woken up when she took the exit of her tent only to find Ash already up, doing stretching and watching a sparring session between his Pokémon.

He had his trousers on and only the shirt. His jacket was folded loosely on a tree trunk they had used for seating the night before.

Her cheeks tinted a shade of pink and she approached the boy who was clearly too focused to pay attention to her coming toward him. She gently touched one of his shoulders and he jumped in reflex, his trance broken.

"WAH! Akari, you scared me!" he shouted, holding his hand on his heart.

The girl only giggled: "I didn't mean to!" she excuses herself, scratching the back of her head.

"Come on guys! Time for breakfast!" called Ash. His friends ended their training and tackled Ash into a group hug which, of course, took the boy by surprise and made him fall to the ground.

However, Akari was right behind him, so in the fall, the girl was dragged to the ground as well.

This was the opportunity for Akari's Pokémon to join the hug which culminated in waves of laughter from everyone, with Akari loving every single moment of this event.

"It's like a Sunday morning family" she fondly thought before eying a hand in front of her.

"Come on, get up! We would need a great breakfast today!" proclaimed a now on his feet Ash who was waiting for her to grab his hand. The girl lost a moment to watch the gentle face of the boy in front of her.

She was overwhelmed by him, by a fondness and care she had never ever felt during her life. She took the end and with that Ash and Pikachu made their way to the tent to collect what they needed to make breakfast, the girl watching the boy with a hand on her chest.

"I want my life to be like that forever," she thought with a deep smile.

...…

The travel to Mt Coronet was tense. It started well, it was nice for Seena to actually travel with someone else. It felt like the good old days: camping and traveling toward the next city and the next objective, spending time with Pokémon in the wild.

But once the Mountain grew bigger and bigger and the group had passed through Hearthome, tension started to creep up in Serena's mind. She could tell that her traveling companions were feeling the same, but they didn't speak about it. They tried to stay calm and pretended it was all good, but it was easy to say that the three of them had their own thoughts, worries, and fears.

Finally, they were there, ready for the climb.

Over the years the natural tunnel was expanded and more entrances and exits were made to better connect the Sinnoh region. However, past 2000 meters height, the tunnels got narrower and it was a difficult job of traversing long tunnels and then finding outside, having to climb a bit and then another tunnel. It got them three more days, added to the three days they spent from Celestic to the entrance, to arrive at the next tunnel. Goh had underestimated the weather and the fatigue for the Pokémon. Now, however, it was a pretty straightforward corridor to the summit.

Goh told the girls that in the past, the vast majority of the mountain wasn't made of tunnels but, since humankind knew how to map the geography of places, that last corridor had always existed.

It wasn't the most exciting detail, but Serena and Dawn saw the intent behind this. If Ash was supposed to reach Spear Pillar as well, he would pass through this corridor. Or he had already done since they were in the future. The group was confused by that paradox.

They finally decided to set camp inside the cave and rest for the night there even though they knew well that sleep would not have come so easy for them.

The battle ahead of them was going to be a tough one.

…..

After he had signed up to be discharged, Gary left the hospital with Team Rocket.

The Trio was a strange company. First of all, that speaking Meowth of them was sure a special specimen, one that made his research-addicted brain want to study.

Then Jessie. She was a harsh woman, she had a temper, Gary had to admit.

James was another interesting case. He looked like a good person with a gentle mind that was stuck in an organization. It made him think about the fact that sometimes, even the purest of minds could be so frail that the idea of not being alone and being part of something was enough to join some evil team.

By the way, the young researcher talked a bit with Blastoise who also had the feeling that those three were anything bad. They were only buffoons goofing around, pretending to be evil. No real harm was involved.

In any case, it should have been a pain in the ass for Ash to have to deal with them on so many occasions back-to-back for over ten years of traveling.

"So, twoip, you can help us?!" asked suddenly the talking Meowth.

Gary sighed: "I can, and I will, but first of all, we need to reach Alola!"

Jessie intruded: "That's our job. Come on! The balloon is waiting for us!"

"What? You want to bring me to Alola with a balloon?!"

"Hey, twerp! Don't disrespect our balloon! It's the best way to travel! And now it is also equipped with a new engine and all the options needed for safe and comforting travel!" exclaimed James, excited.

Gary sweatdropped at James' enthusiastic proclamation, then he thought: "If I make it to Alola without dying in the process, I must call Grampa".

….

Delia was worried. She had not heard news from anyone in a while by now. Serena had called telling her that she had seen Ash and that he was in the past but not much more. Although she trusted the honey-blonde performer, what she said seemed absurd. Anyway, she wanted to keep the fire of hope alive.

Professor Oak had told her that Chloe and Tracey were coming back. They didn't find Gary by the Ruins nor Brock by Azalea Town. Something odd was happening and the old man was trying his best to play it cool and to keep Delia safe and protected even by his own worries.

But deep inside, he had a feeling that things were going extremely wrong.

He shook off his thoughts for a bit when Delia arrived at the Lab to help the man with the Pokémon.

Ash's Pokémon were eager to spend time with their trainer's mother. It was a cathartic activity for everyone. Three Pokémon were missing that morning. When Serena called the old professor to speak about their discoveries, Sirfetch'd, Dragonite and Staraptor were behind him and decided to join the fun. The old man kept the news from Ash's other Pokémon in order to avoid a riot among everyone who should have wanted to help.

Delia greeted Bulbasaur who soon called for the others.

That day the mood was higher, and everyone was ready to train even more. They knew Ash would eventually come back and they had to keep themselves in shape for the next year's World Coronation Series.

Delia giggled watching Krookodile, Sceptile, Charizard, and Infernape flexing their appearances while doing warm-up.

Suddenly someone stepped outside of the lab. Delia turned to see a boy with purple hair, a purple and black jacket, and grey jeans.

The boy was holding a cute bouquet of snowdrops. He came closer to Delia and bowed in front of her.

While still facing the grass, he said: "I'm really sorry for your loss, Mrs. Ketchum. I was your son's rival a long time ago. I know I'm late for everything, but I really needed to come and visit you nonetheless".

He was speaking fast, as for pouring down all the emotions he clearly was uneasy to hold back".

"I know you are a guy to not show your emotions, Paul. For, I'm really glad to see you here" answered Delia with a tender smile.

The boy's eyes widened, and he got upright again: "So, you know me?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Of course, dear. Ash used to speak highly of you after he came back from Sinnoh"

Infernape saw him and came closer to his former abuser, his eyes hard and cautious. Paul saw this: "Infernape," he said, his eyes not showing anything, "you look much stronger" he concluded, a soft and rare smile decorating his face.

Infernape looked at him and nodded.

"Delia! Please! Come inside. You have other visitors!" shouted Professor Oak from the window.

Delia turned to face the back door and then said with a motherly smile: "Come on, Paul, come with us! You must be starving."

Paul kept the soft smile on his lips and followed the considerate woman.

….

Alain was shocked. He, Mairin, and Bonnie were out exploring Mirror cave. They were out for this task while Sycamore was trying his best to call Clemont.

Every single crystal in the cave was shattered into pieces. Not only that but the size of each of them was duplicated since the last map of the cave.

Something was odd.

"What do you think about it, Alain?" asked Bonnie, her Trevenant keeping her Will-O-Wisp up to illuminate the grotto.

The mega- Evolution expert snapped back into reality and answered: " I really don't know, Bonnie. There is something off about these crystals. Maybe we should collect some samples and send them to Steven Stone" he proposed.

"Great!" cheered Bonnie, hoping for any kind of hint that could help them unfold the mystery of Ash's disappearance.

….

"So, this is a goodbye for now" proclaimed Brock from the Pokémon Centre's door.

The Alolan group was sad to see him and Clemont go but they knew they had to split off. Celebi still needed help and if their friends were going to challenge Dialga, their help was necessary. Clemont stepped forward: "Thank you for all your help. Right now, we are coming close to saving Ash. Let's hope we can all pull through. And call us as soon as this storm is over," he said with a gentle smile.

His eyes were scanning his new friends, but they halted on Mallow. They stared into each other's eyes for a bit until the girl came closer and hugged him.

The boy wanted to blush like a tomato but kept his reaction quiet.

Brock smiled, although a bit envious.

Then she broke the hug and leaned in for a kiss on the inventor's cheek.

The tickling sensation he felt was odd and he put his hand on the spot where Mallow's lips were a moment ago.

She smiled broadly and said, keeping her hands under the back: "Stay safe Clemont! And do your best!"

He only managed to mutter: "Okay" before being dragged outside by Brock, still looking at the olive-haired girl.

When the tailgate of the ship opened, Clemont refocused on the matter and got ready for the great escape.

He promised himself to visit Alola again when this whole situation would be over but as for now, he needed to save Serena. Hat would Ash say if he couldn't protect her or Goh, or this Dawn girl?

Brock on the other hand was worried for Celebi, but he knew that the Pokémon was in good hands with Nurse Joy and Professor Kukui. Now that he thought about Nurse joy… Why didn't he confess his love for her?! He started to drift away from reality thinking about how well he could have performed his serenade. It was only a matter to wear a sombrero, dusting off his maracas and singing his love.

He started to mutter with closed eyes and a dreamy face: "Lalala la-la-la, how beautiful! Lalala la-la-la, the line of characters! La-la-la, it is La-la-la, it is...." before being hit by Clemont who had noticed that his companion was a tad bit absent.

At last, the ship took off, and some turbulence threatened its stability, but in the end, the duo firmly took control of the craft, and finally, they soared in the still stormy sky, ready to join their friends in the challenge against the god of time.

.....

Basculegion was happy to be called again by Ash. He didn't trust the girl with him but the boy and Pikachu had assured him that she was okay.

Akari was nervous. She was holding tightly onto Ash while Basculegion was traversing the lake at full speed, loud splashes of water wetting the duo.

Ash seemed calm and collected. But she could feel that something was off. His cheerful persona wasn't there. He was silent. She could also see the hardened gaze on Pikachu's face as well as Greninja's who was swimming next to Basculegion. Her Pikachu was gazing around, excited at the new adventure ando Akari would have wanted to feel.

Instead, Ash was making her worried.

"What are you thinking about, Ash?" she finally asked, wanting clarification.

"Uhm, nothing. Sorry, I'm only focused" he shrugged off as if it was nothing. It was a clear lie but Akari had no reason to doubt him.

"Grenin, Ja, ja!", "Pikapika, pikapi!" "Yes guys, I feel it too. Something is horribly wrong" answered Ash, confusing even more poor Akari.

At last, the island in the center of the Lake was in sight and they hopped off Basculegion, thanking him and petting him for a while, before finally looking at the small cave hidden by some trees and bushes.

"Is this the place?" asked Akari, looking around at the surroundings. Ash nodded, focusing on the entrance.

They finally decided to go inside and take a look. The cave wasn't very large. From the roof, stalactites were hanging, and tiny droplets of water were filtering through them, feeding the strange pattern of puddles on the floor. The noise of steps and feet splashing on them was the only thing heard and it echoed through the walls.

Akari was in awe at the absolute silence in the grotto. The opening was big and she thought it was possible to hear noises from outside but it wasn't.

Ash looked around and a faint pink shadow started to glow all around the cave.

Meanwhile, from the entrance, loud steps were heard.

Ash and Akari looked around. A big Pokémon on two legs appeared, it carried what looked like a steel shell. Its eyes were glowing red and its posture a bit inclined ahead.

"It's a Goodra, Buddy?" asked Ash and Pikachu nodded. Akari was scared. That creature was incredibly tall and exuded a very powerful aura. The boy was about to unclip a Pokéball from his pocket when another noise was heard, like a screech. It materialized the source of light previously seen by the group and Mesprit appeared: "Mesprit, woah!" exclaimed excited Ash, his eyes sparkling and forgetting for a moment his composed and collected mood.

Mesprit looked angered and his eyes were also red. Pikachu shivered and commented about this to Ash who only answered with a gulp.

The situation was getting out of control too fast. The Goodra howled suddenly and started to charge a Hyper Beam in its mouth while Mesprit summoned rocks, lifting from the ground thanks to his psychic power.

"Ninja!"

"Yes, Greninja. That's Ancient Power!"

"Ash, what do we do?" asked Akari who was starting to hyperventilate.

Ash only focused his gaze again, raising his arm to the level of his mouth, and said: "We fight!"

A vortex of water surrounded Greninja, unleashing his true features: "we will grow stronger, stronger, stronger! LET'Z GO!" shouted the raven-haired trainer, the vortex converged on the back of the frog Pokémon, shaping itself as a shuriken.

Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and slapped his cheeks, summoning electricity. Finally, Ash released Braviary and Growlithe. The group of Pokémon was now surrounding both humans.

Goodra unleashed the beam and Greninja countered it with Cut, Growlithe propelling the attack back with Flamethrower while Pikachu with his Iron Tail and Braviary with his Steel Wings made quick work out of Ancient power.

Akari started to collect her breathing. Ash put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her: "Come on, don't be scared. I'm with you!" he said with a gentle tone.

Akari nodded, then released Clefable and Piplup, Pikachu hopping off her shoulder.

"Braviary, help Akari, Growlithe, you with me against Mesprit!" ordered Ash.

Goodra charged again, this time with his whole body, leaping to execute Iron Head.

"Piplup, counter it with Headbutt! Pikachu, go in with Mega kick! Clefable, charge your Moonblast!" called Akari.

Pilup, however, wasn't strong enough. He was sent against a wall, while Pikachu barely managed to stop the Iron Head. Goodra retaliated in that favorable position slamming its Iron Tail into the electric mouse who crashed a rock. With a final jump, the enraged Alpha charged another Iron Head toward Clefable who managed to fire his Moonblast that was however smashed by the massive Pseudo Legendary Pokémon.

At that moment, Braviary intervened, his wings glowing with a purple aura and countering Goodra with a fierce Esper Wings, stopping the mastodontic beast's progression and making him stumble backward.

On the other side of the field, Ash and Greninja were in sync, moving swiftly across the barrage of attacks Mesprit was trying to land, Pikachu and Growlithe were trying to open a spot for Greninja to hit but the Emotion Pokémon was sure a speedy one.

"Greninja, Water Shuriken!" Pikachu, Iron Tail! Create a channel for Growlithe! Growlithe, you all in with Flame Charge, show him some speed!"

Greninja fired a horde of shurikens while Pikachu was redirecting the Ancient Power. Growlithe launched himself in the opening but was ultimately caught by a Psychic attack. He was slammed against the Water shurikens and he cried in pain.

"Greninja! Stop!" shouted the boy; "Pikapi, Pikapichuka!" called Pikachu to his trainer.

"Damn, you are right. It seems that he is capable of using multiple attacks at once. That's incredible" commented Ash, keeping his gaze on the Pokémon whose movements were fast and accurate.

"Woof! Rowl!" called Growlithe, who had recovered. Ash smiled fondly: "Looks like your training to overcome the water quad weakness was effective!" he chuckled; "Anyway, good idea Growlithe!" smirked the Pallet town trainer.

"You heard him guys?! Let's interrupt that perfect flow of moves!" shouted the boy.

"Come on Pikachu, lend me your strength!" said Ash, his gaze hardening as the focus of the boy became his bond with Pikachu. Through aura, he felt his friends, everyone getting stronger through these multiple connections.

….

"Pikachu! Let's go with Volt Tackle!" shouted Akari, her voice getting lower and lower the more she pushed it to give her Pokémon commands. Goodra was a beast that no one should be able to take down, she thought but she had improved greatly and Braviary was sure helpful.

Piplup was struggling, however. His attacks were nowhere near matching Goodra's and even Akari herself had to change her plan.

The Penguin Pokémon was feeling his pride hurt every time his trainer would tell him to avoid an attack instead of landing a blow.

"Piplup, help Pikachu with Bubblebeam!"

The attack was a mere attempt to cover Pikachu's Volt Tackle while Clefable was giving Goodra a hard time due to his use of Double Team.

The already enraged Pseudo legendary was getting even more nervous. Braviary was lashing the clammy skin of the foe with Air Slashes.

Suddenly Goodra released more energy, destroying every copy made by Clefable and sending Pikachu backward one moment before the Volt Tackle could land its strike.

Akari gasped worried but then Goodra charged her partner at full might with an Iron Head.

"Pikachu!" shouted desperately Akari, but even Braviary couldn't stop the sheer force driven by the Snail Pokémon.

That was until Piplup put himself between Pikachu and Goodra, charging Headbutt with all his strength.

"Piplup! NOOOO!"

The two attacks collided, Piplup strangely managing to hold the ground but then Goodra retaliated with Iron Tail, slamming its tail on the poor Pokémon.

Akari thought it was over, but it wasn't the case: Piplup had stopped the Iron Tail with his tiny wing which was glowing silver. Then the Penguin was engulfed in a blue light, the sheer energy involved sending the Hisuian form backward a few steps. He was evolving.

His body grew bigger, and two large, yellow ridges extended from his beak over the back of his head. On his body were four large, white spots that resemble buttons. Instead of arms, it had long, sturdy, flipper-like wings.

"Prinp!" shouted the newly evolved Prinplup, who now charged Goodra with an assault of Metal Claw.

"You evolved" half-whispered Akari, moved by his Pokémon's pride and fighting will.

Pikachu managed to collect herself from the ground and saw Prinplup. The Penguin Pokémon, however, was growing more and more tired. The evolution was a great buff, but his body was worn out at that point.

"CHUUU, PIKA!" Pikachu had intruded in the battle using Iron Tail on the Alpha, with Braviary joining in with Esper Wings and then Clefable joining in with his Moonblast. Goodra wanted to retaliate once more but it was getting outnumbered and overfatigued.

"We must end this!!!" proclaimed finally Akari, her voice trembling and her whole body on the verge of collapsing from the extreme fatigue.

"Pikachu! Volt tackle! Prinplup, Bubblebeam! Clefable, Moonblast! Braviary! Esper Wings!" shouted the girl, her Pokémon plus Braviary charging one final blow, each of them extremely worn out but in their eyes the sheer determination to pull through together.

Goodra watched the scene, its muscles too strained and filled with lactic acid, unable to counter the horde of blows that were about to hit its body.

The blood-red color in its eyes started to fade revealing a shade of blue. And then everything went blank.

It was over: Akari had won. Her body collapsed to the ground as her breathing, held with so much tension under control during the battle, started to become irregular, her nerves freeing her muscles from the stress.

She elapsed a loud sigh, her Pokémon collapsing to the ground as well, completely drained of every energy left.

….

"Come on Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" called Ash as his best friend charged his electricity.

"Aim for the roof!"

Greninja, meanwhile, was running through the Ancient Power barrage and Growlithe was sending Flamethrower on his way.

As stupid as it looked, it was a well-calculated and executed move. The aim of this was to screen Greninja from the Psychic Mesprit would ultimately use once the frog Pokémon came too close to him.

Mesprit wasn't having it, he used his Psychic to change the trajectory of Ancient Power, giving Greninja a hard time in orienting his body and pulling through while also exposing him to the Flamethrower hurled by Growlithe.

"Change in Fire Spin!" commanded Ash. The Puppy Pokémon got lost in the middle of the multiple copies of Greninja.

The Thunderbolt finally hit the roof, letting stalactites from the portion over Mesprit fall, aiming at the Emotion Pokémon who swiftly dodged them but, in the process, let his guard down for a tiny moment, eventually letting Greninja and Growlithe take the momentum needed to advance in the storm of Psychic and rocks.

Mesprit noticed it and powered up his aura, creating a hot shockwave that threw everyone backward, Akari and her Pokémon on the verge of fainting included.

"Shit! How did Serena manage to defeat Azelf if he's as strong as Mesprit!?" muttered Ash, feeling the incredible power of the Legendary Pokémon.

Of course, he couldn't know that the trials his friends went up against were only trials while Mesprit here was fighting at full power.

"Greninja! Let's go! Time for a super-powered Water Shuriken! Let's become even stronger!" he shouted the raven-haired trainer, aura flowing through their bond.

A massive Water Shuriken was charged while Growlithe had become faster and faster by using Flame charge repeatedly and was now using Fire Spin like a crazy splinter, bouncing on the walls and making it difficult for even Mesprit to catch up with his position.

Pikachu charged his electricity, storing it up on his whole body, now glowing yellow.

"LEWT'Z GOOOOO!" shouted Ash, throwing his fist ahead of himself, as if he was the one to throw the shuriken. Greninja tossed it, aiming at the overpowered legendary who had to defend himself. He took it, Psychic energy converging on the attack who was spinning faster and faster. All Mesprit's energy was used to clash it. However, Growlithe had other plans as he hit him with his Fire Spin again and again, bruising teh skin with every attack.

Mesprit was pushed back and back, his rage pushing his body to his limit. Even a Deity like him couldn't stop the overflowing emotion, passion, sheer determination, and willpower shown by this boy and his Pokémon. But he couldn't let them win. All his fury exploded in an enormous explosion of aura which disintegrated the Shuriken, broke the Fire Spin but also broke Mesprit's own Psychic power. Greninja and Growlithe were sent against the wall, as well as Ash, the entire cave rumbling and creeping, stalactites falling to the ground, luckily avoiding the completely exhausted Akari, thanks to the little power Braviary had left to summon a Protect to shield her and her Pokémon.

The frog reverted back to his normal form, Ash feeling his pain and holding his chest in an attempt to catch his breath.

With the dust yet up, ash shouted with the little voice left a final command: "Iron Tail Volt Crash!"

Pikachu leaped in an ultrasonic Quick Attack, slamming the deity, he rolled in the air, adjusting his tail, all the electricity he had gathered converging in his tail which was glowing silver, and then, with all the momentum he had, he slammed it on to Mesprit's head.

The electricity flowed through the tail, powering the attack and the impact broke the floor down with only its shockwave. With all the chaos and noise, the clatter of a breaking skull could be heard as Mesprit crashed down to the floor. Pikachu landed near the hole generated by Mesprit's body, panting hard.

Maybe it was over.

…..

Finally, the cave started to open up, light coming from outside. Air was thinner, breath was becoming heavier as oxygen was rarefied, in combination with the growing tension.

Serena was ready. So were Dawn and Goh. But it was her to lead the group this time. She wasn't going to be dragged around by anyone anymore. She wanted to lead. It was her goal to motivate others. And even if she was scared as hell, she wanted to be the first in line. They shielded their eyes as they approached the exit, sunlight irradiating all its power through the small cave and making it difficult for them to see.

What the group saw when they finally could open their eyes again was incredible. The whole region could be seen from up there. More importantly, the whole Spear Pillar was nonother than a ruined temple.

Dawn had already seen that before but was mouth agape to see it again. Serena was amazed. That place was not only beautiful but also intimidating. Goh was also dumbfounded: "That's incredible… this is the ancient Sinnohians temple…" he whispered.

Serena snapped out quickly. She wanted to see Ash again. She was growing excited to finally bring him back. No more time-wasting.

She took out the Red Chain from her pocket and called out Delphox to assist her.

Goh snapped back again and took out a sheet of paper with a drawing on it: "So, we have to draw these symbols down on the shrine and put the chain on the circle on the left" he recalled.

Serena nodded and walked the stairs up to the shrine. They had to draw an equilateral triangle that contained three circles with an arrow pointing toward the only point which was the incenter, circumcenter, and barycenter. Cynthia's grandma had explained that the drawing was a replication of the Mystri Stage, an old and secret location discovered in the Sinjoh Ruins but never found a second time.

Serena made sure that everything was perfect and then they exchanged a gaze. Dawn, Goh, and Serena all put a hand on the chain and put it down on the selected circle.

A rumble was heard and a swarm of Unowns appeared from nowhere, dancing in the sky while the whole atmosphere was falling in darkness, the sun covered by dark clouds.

Serena gulped but held her feet in place while Goh and Dawn made a step backward.

An egg appeared over the circle, the chain glowing red, then purple, then blue. Cracks were heard coming from it. There it was. Serena took a deep breath, her blue eyes shining in the light the egg was radiating. She was ready.

...…

Ash, still panting hard, came closer to Pikachu and Mesprit. He was holding a Sitrus Berry and kneeled down to offer it to Mesprit who watched the scene. He took it ad bit it, regaining some energy. He watched the boy, amused, before offering him a plate and two plumes. The plate said"The Original One is in all things. The Original One is nowhere at all."

The boy smiled and put the rewards in his pocket, petting Pikachu in the process.

A faint sound was heard, but Ash didn't pay attention. Akari who had recovered, however, noticed it: "GET DOWN ASH!" she screamed, pain coursing through her throat as she made an effort to scream as loud as she could.

An attack struck the ground scattering everyone against a wall and raising dust in the air.

Pikachu and Ash, hugged together, reacted quickly, and shouted: "Who's there?!" "Pika, kapika!?" anger and confusion in their voices.

The figure exiting from the smoke revealed itself surrounded by a dark aura. An Honchkrow and a Gyarados were with him, with red eyes and dark features.

"Who are you?"

"I'm your doom."