It was one of the first thoughts to occur to me after I'd succumbed.

Champion Diantha.

I'd first been introduced to her by her overwhelming strength.

She was slated to have an exhibition match against a trainer named Magnus, a tough-looking guy, all muscle and greying hair, with probably decades of experience in battle. His Absol looked to be in peak physical condition, and it had a wildness in its eyes I'd come to associate with exceptionally powerful pokemon.

The first half of the battle was decided with nothing more in the way of commands from Diantha than winks and micromovements of her eyes in order to convey the manner and direction of Gardevoir's evasion.

I was convinced that they were using Teleport in order to flit across the battlefield with such speed, faster than the eye could see.

But as the battle continued, and my eyes adjusted to their movements, I realized that it was just pure speed— I'd confused raw physical movement with a technique that spat on the fabric of spacetime because of the practical parity, and that was frightening.

Her silent command style had its limitations: eventually she was forced to call for Shadow Ball and Moonblast. A small ball of Ghost Type energy brought Absol to the breaking point, then a spiraling sphere of Fairy Type energy ripped from an artificial full moon cut through the Absol's desperate last attack like a hot knife through butter.

She'd mopped the floor with him in under a minute.

It was breathtaking.

I fell a little bit in love then— Gardevoir was an ace unlike any I'd seen before, and it hadn't even had to use the Mega Stone hanging from its neck.

In my own battle with Diantha, Pikachu and I had sought to dazzle her with our power, show her the measure of a partnership that'd grown through endless challenge.

She handled us with even more ease than she had Magnus.

But in the rematch, fighting alongside Greninja—

—Thump.

I clutched at my chest.

I pounded it a few times.

It was beyond phantom pain.

My heart had actually stopped for a moment, my vision overtaken by splatters of ink, manic background noise that ate the world. A fire alarm blared in my ear, reaching a crescendo as I called for the final Cut to decide the match.

I gasped for air.

Close. So close.

Victory over a Champion would have soothed the pain of every loss, minor and major, but I'd sabotaged myself again.

A dull pain as my temple impacted the metal floor of the cargo bay.

Ah. How embarrassing.

In place of a panicked yell, I began to laugh like an idiot.

I couldn't stop laughing, even as the cargo bay filled with the concerned mutterings of the flare grunts.

My brain was in agony: every component of my body felt as though it were on fire.

Misfiring nerves.

Flaring imagistic impressions of draconic and canine figures dissolving into nothingness.

If I strained my ears, I could hear beyond the hysterical klaxon, the sound of the bones within me clattering against the steel floor to produce rhythmic vibrations.

The ink disappeared.

The noise resolved into gunmetal grey and red suits.

Essentia slid a needle out of my arm and I felt calmness blanket the crazed abnormalities.

My whole body was numb.

I was swimming in a pool of detached sensation.

"...Do you understand the plan, Ash Ketchum?" Essentia's synthesized voice droned in my ear.

I worked my way back up to the bench, and gasped. "Beat Diantha."

"Yes. I will act as a distraction— you will ambush her from behind and take her Key Stone. From there, with my Poke Ball Jack function, we will usurp control over Mega—"

"No." Something frightening tore through the numbness and my vision colored red. "I'll beat her. One on one, a fair fight. Greninja and I will take her down."

"That is utterly illogical," Essentia said. She tilted her head in that peculiar way. "With you alone, the chances of defeating her entire team are astronomically low. With both of us, and subversion of the typical ritual of a pokemon battle, the chance of victory approaches certainty."

"I don't want something certain," I snarled. "I want something real."

"Foolishness," Essentia said. "Master Xerosic and Director Lysandre ordered me to defer to your judgment in most matters, Administrator, but this is beyond the pale. You cannot convince me not to intervene against an opponent as overwhelming as the Champion of Kalos."

I clutched Greninja's pokeball. "I don't need to convince you."

"Certainly, your battle potential is greater than mine by far," Essentia said. "But you will find that it is futile to purposefully direct hostile intent at my person."

It was already decided.

If my own partner is going to get in the way of my dreams like this—

—My arm refused to move.

Drawing Greninja's pokeball was impossible. It was as though my hand were anchored by a hundred thousand pound lead weight.

Essentia nodded. "The countermeasures against Zygarde extend to you as well. So please, relax and save your energy."

"I hate you."

"That is a shame. I rather like you."

What?

"Master Xerosic claimed you would be my very first friend, so I hope to change your opinion in time."

Maybe in another time and place. Maybe in a Mirror World, a circumstance where we met on the street as wandering trainers unshackled to genocidal madmen.

"After this, when everyone is safe," I said. "When everything's blown over, maybe—"

—A branch erupted from the bulkhead, just to the left of me. It was joined by others piercing the floor and roof. The flare grunts screamed, and the pilot barked out orders that went completely ignored.

There was a deafening crunch. It was likely more had slipped between the blades of the rotor, bringing them to a catastrophic full stop.

My stomach lurched as we hurtled towards the streets.

Zygarde?

No. The branches aren't red.

A Frenzy Plant like this could only belong to one person.

I grinned.

I reached for Greninja's pokeball, and this time it slipped into my hand without any resistance.

The helicopter was torn apart by the Frenzy Plant's roots. Before the occupants could begin plummeting to their deaths, smaller tendrils branched off from the main roots and wound themselves around their waists.

Essentia's boots ignited, and she performed an air-dash towards the closest rooftop. I rolled my eyes. Honestly, I was expecting something more like Gligar Man's grappling hook, but of course Flare would go above and beyond.

It was then that I realized that I was still in freefall, and myriad tendrils were mere meters from restraining me.

"Greninja, Cut!"

Greninja appeared in a burst of red light, twin light kunai already clutched in his hands. He twisted, and turned into a blazing red top that severed the tendrils closing in.

He slipped an arm around my waist, and I raised a hand into the air.

A torrent of water enclosed us, then became two massive butterfly wings sprouting from Greninja's back.

Closer. I could make out the distinctly rough texture of the pavement below. The wings flapped, but they weren't true wings— flight was beyond us. They only slowed the inevitable.

I made a cross with my fingers.

Dozens of Double Team shadow clones emerged from nothing, starting at ground level and building into a linked pyramid of copies.

One. We impacted the first clone and it became a splash of water.

Two. Five more clones beneath. They fared as well as the first.

Three. Twenty clones. Five broke immediately, but fifteen bore our weight; we glanced at a nearby streetlight, and our tongue lashed out towards it. It wrapped around the steel pole, and we swung safely into the center of the road.

Butterfly wings flapped once, then became two waves washing over the buildings on either side of the street. The remaining base of the clone pyramid fizzled out into mist.

A little ways down the road, Sawyer and Mega Sceptile stood in battle stance in front of a small group of cowering civilians.

Trevor and Tierno stood on either side of him, behind that slender Mega Charizard and Raichu respectively.

Surprisingly enough, I could make out Shauna and her Ivysaur crouched in the rear, reassuring the civilians.

Sawyer's stance relaxed. "Ash…?"

"Hey, Sawyer." I waved at him. "Actually kinda surprised to see you here, you're a ways off from Prism Tower. Thought you and Mega Sceptile would have been making a push for it after seeing the broadcast- you guys are pretty strong, you'd stand a good chance of pushing back Flare, y'know?"

"Champion Diantha told us to do civilian relief work," Sawyer frowned. "I would have liked to play a role in the counterattack, but, um, she's the Champion and...hey, what were you doing in that helicopter? Did Flare capture you?"

"Yeah, they did. Thanks for getting me out of that copter. It was real stuffy in there."

Sawyer blushed. "No problem. This is great! With you and Greninja leading us, we can take Prism Tower, just like you said. Right, Sceptile?"

Sceptile growled, and twin Leaf Blade sprouted from his forearms.

"Hey," Sawyer began, "Sceptile, it's just Ash, you don't have to—"

"Sawyer, look closer," Tierno said. "There's something wrong with him."

Trevor rolled his eyes. "What tipped you off, the part where he's literally on fire, just like those giant snakes destroying the city?"

Tierno nodded. "Mostly the glowing red demon eyes, but now that you mention it, the fire's pretty weird too."

Shauna gasped.

I had to give her credit. She broke away from the civilians and fell into line with Sawyer, Ivysaur crouched and ready. Their stance was surprisingly aggressive. I wouldn't have expected that from someone who did exclusively Tripokalon; she certainly hadn't had that confidence in her during our Double Battle.

I glanced at Greninja.

He croaked. They are worthy of respect.

Is that right? All of them together, you think they can put up a good fight?

Greninja shrugged. More than that. There is a very good chance we would lose. As confident as I am in our strength, cutting down two strong Mega Evolutions and four complete teams simultaneously is perhaps beyond us.

That was troubling. Couldn't lose. Couldn't fall before I confirmed Serena and Bonnie's safety, got them out of this mess. Couldn't trust Alain to skip the region with them, not when he had other priorities.

The moment he secured Mairin and Chespie, he'd be getting right out of dodge. Serena wouldn't leave without Bonnie, and Alain wouldn't care enough to convince her to leave. Couldn't trust him. Couldn't trust anyone.

I was the one and only chance this whole mess could go anything but rotten for the people I cared about.

Light glinted from the rooftops.

Essentia was crouched at the edge of a building, a pokeball clutched in one hand and a telescoping baton in the other.

Maybe I was wrong. It was a dangerous alliance, but one that could tip the scales for me.

I spread out my arms. "Well? We gonna talk all night, or did you want a battle?"

Sawyer bit his lip. "This is ridiculous. Ash, we outnumber you four to one. Just...give up quietly, and after everything blows over, we'll get you help. That's a promise."

"I promise too!" Shauna called. "Ash, think about how Serena would feel if she saw you acting like this! You know, when I first met you, all I could think was," she lowered her gaze, "'wow, this boy is so cool!' Then I saw Serena, the girl from that amazing pokevision, how she looked at you, how you looked at her, and I just—"

Something broke.

The water shroud spiraled up around myself and Greninja as though shot from a geyser, reaching high enough to break the clouds. Cold droplets fell upon the street as false rain, each miniature impact ringing loud and clear in the silence.

The shroud, every falling droplet, every bit of moisture in the street, returned to us as though pulled by a magnet and compressed itself tight against our body, sinking into our skin.

The mutations came faster this time.

The Giant Water Shuriken formed upon our back.

In an instant, I felt our crest burn red.

I spoke with my voice and Greninja's. "You'd use her name to manipulate me?"

"That's," Shauna's voice trembled. "That's not what I was trying to do at all. I just mean, Serena—"

"Don't say her name."

Greninja and I glanced at each other.

"Let's go, partner."