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Chapter Text

“We interrupt this program with breaking news. Recent World Coronation Series winner Ash Ketchum has mysteriously disappeared, his Pokemon left behind. He was last seen leaving Saffron City, where he was returning to the Cerise Laboratory. He was reported missing just hours ago, and police have already begun searching in all areas between Saffron and Viridian Cities. His Pokemon team have been sent to Professor Oak's laboratory for the time being. Anyone with information on Ash's whereabouts are encouraged to contact the Kantonian Police Force as soon as possible...”
Blue eyes trembled, with short honey-blonde hair shifting as a lass of twelve dropped to her knees. Her eyes locked on the picture of Ash, and a deep wail left her. Trainers, Coordinators and travellers within the Pokemon Centre, and their Pokemon partners, turned and gazed with pity to the distraught.
“Poor girl...”
“I heard she travelled with Ash through Kalos...”
“Heard the guy made a few enemies on his travels...”
“NO! HE STOPPED TEAM FLARE FROM DESTROYING THE WORLD!”
Tears spilled from her eyes as people and Pokemon watched in dismay, with a yellow, white and red bipedal fox, a grey and white panda, and a white and pink fox-like being rushed to her side in an effort to comfort her. A lass rushed up to her, kneeling and rubbing her shoulder with kindness.
“Serena, Ash will be OK; he's been through so much before, and I'm sure he'll get out of this one safely too.”
“W...Why?”
“I don't know, Serena, I just don't know...”
Serena was helped up by the lass, who gave a sad wave as she wandered away. Serena looked to the Pokemon around her, wiping the tears away from her eyes as they walked with her to her room.
“Thanks, Delphox, Pancham, Sylveon...I need someone here for me right now, so do you mind spending the night out here with me?”
“Phox!”
“Cham!”
“Veon!”
Serena gave a smile to her Pokemon, her despair still evident under the thin mask as they went...

A dark blue bipedal frog froze in the streets of Lumious City in Kalos as he saw the news on one of the screens within the city, his pink eyes wide with horror.
“Ash...”
Lowering his pointed head, he put a webbed hand to the pink scarf-like tongue around his neck in an effort to stop himself crying out. His mind then wandered to Ash's human companions in Kalos, and he realised that they too may be hurting. Using his powerful thighs to leap off the street and onto a roof, he sat down with a hand on the lighter blue star on his thigh as he closed his eyes. One human companion in particular came into mind; he remembered how Serena would gaze fondly at Ash, how she was always there for him. He knew about her feelings for his old friend, and he also knew that the news of his disappearance would wound her the most.
“Poor Serena...”
“Greninja, go to her.”
Greninja poked his head up and opened his eyes, glancing to see two small green blob-shaped beings gazing at him with single eyes. The one with a red hexagon in its body hopped towards him, looking expectantly as the blue one hung back.
“Are you sure about this, Squishy?”
“With your help, we have been able to finally remove Team Flare's influence from the world. While we cannot return you to your trainer as we had promised him, you can go to Serena and guide her through this horrid situation.”
“I agree with my other half; your bond with Ash may be just the thing she needs right now.”
“Thank you, and I think Squishy should go check with Clemont and Bonnie. They were also close friends with my trainer.”
“I was planning on doing so anyway, Greninja. I wish you the best of luck in your journey.”
“I will keep the cells on watch; perhaps he may pass a cell, and we could use that to our advantage.”
“Thank you...”
Greninja watched as the two Zygarde cores scampered away, rising to his feet as he looked to the night sky.
“I know you're out there, Ash...I can feel your bond with me. I will not let you down, and I will guard Serena with my life."
Jumping off the roof, Greninja began walking towards the airport as he contemplated how he, as a Pokemon without a trainer, would travel to find her in the first place...

A blue jackal with yellow fur on his torso, black lines running around his body, and spikes on his chest and paws looked to a yellow rodent with a lightning bolt-shaped tail as he sobbed loudly. Electricity crackled from the red pouches on his cheeks, with the jackal backing away carefully.
“Pikachu, I don't know what else to say...”
“Then just leave me alone, Lucario! I...I...”
Lucario's red eyes widened, his aura-sensing extensions lifting in shock before he stepped away. Pikachu continued sobbing, with Lucario moving away from a busy Professor Oak to step out into the night. A strong, pain flash hit him the moment he stepped out the door, with the Pokemon turning his head towards the sky.
“That must be one pained girl if I felt that hurt come all the way here from Hoenn...”
Lucario glanced to the Mega Stone on his wrist, opening a clenched paw to stare at the Keystone he found at the scene of his trainer's disappearance. A small sigh left him before he turned to return to the lab, his mind on the aura he sensed.
“Ash has spoken about many previous companions...I wonder if that was one of them...”
Pikachu had slowed his sobbing, holding a red cap in his paws as he looked to Lucario.
“What were you talking about?”
“I sensed a pained aura in Hoenn...I was wondering if it was one of Ash's old companions.”
“Well...Serena was still...Oh no...”
“What?”
“She was in love with him! She'll be distraught!”
“Pikachu, we have to do something.”
“We need her help to find Ash!”
Lucario stared at Pikachu in astonishment, with the Electric-type putting his trainer's hat on and looking determined.
“She's our best shot, Lucario!”
Lucario sighed, with the Professor watching as Pikachu scampered out the door. The Aura Pokemon walked behind, shaking his head as he looked to his trainer's home.
“As enthusiastic as I am, I think I should try packing a kit so we can actually find her...”

Chapter Text

Two years had passed since Ash disappeared, and Serena had spent that time travelling to all the regions Ash had been to. She hoped some of his old travelling companions would have seen him, or even know of places he could have gone. Each friend of Ash's only left her with their contact details, and information on Legendary Pokemon that she found unlikely to help. Having travelled across every region she visited for the hopes of answers, even convincing Ash's newest friend Goh to tell her where to find Mewtwo, Serena found herself solemnly walking towards Pallet Town. Delphox walked beside her, keeping a paw on her arm as her trainer's legs shook.
“Thanks, Delphox; I don't know what I'd do without you, Pancham and Sylveon by my side.”
Pancham and Sylveon cheered beside Serena, who stumbled as her legs gave out. Delphox just managed to catch her, with the girl looking up with worried eyes.
“I...I don't think trying to go after Mewtwo was such a smart idea, after all...”
Delphox carried her towards the side of the path, setting her down as Pancham handed her a first aid kit. Carefully, Serena rolled down her grey sock to reveal a large gash that had started bleeding again.
“Dang rock...”
“Ninja?”
Serena froze, looking up to see Greninja looking at her with worried eyes. He squatted down, gently using Water Shuriken to wash away the blood.
“Greninja? What are you doing here?”
“Ninja...”
Serena glanced to her own Pokemon, smiling softly at them.
“How about you guys have a nice rest? Greninja can help me find somewhere to stay tonight. You guys deserve it after everything you've done for me...”
Returning her Pokemon to their Pokeballs, Serena was helped to her feet by Greninja and carefully hobbled her way down the road before a strange warm ripple of air hit them.
“What was that?”
“Pika!”
“Car!”
Blinking, Serena saw a Lucario and Ash's Pikachu racing towards her. She glanced to Greninja, who gave a shrug and spoke in Pokemon language. Lucario blinked as they got closer, with Pikachu leaping into Serena's arms as she embraced him.
“Hey, Pikachu; good to see you too!”
She looked to the Lucario, something in her heart telling her it belonged to Ash, and gave a warm smile.
“Hi there. I'm Serena; you must be Ash's Lucario, right?”
Lucario nodded, a smile on his face as he waved a paw.
“You going to lead us to a safe place to rest?”
“Lucar!”
“Thank you...”

Yawning, Serena moved to get out of what she thought was a bed.
THUMP!
“Ow...”
The throbbing of her leg woke her up fully, and she found herself staring at Greninja and Lucario as they loomed over her.
“Good morning?”
The Pokemon chuckled at her, with Greninja passing her a roll of bandages as she looked to her red bandaged leg.
“Thanks...But, where are we?”
“You crashed here last night; kinda glad I came here to talk to Professor Oak about talking at Narnaja Academy, otherwise you would've fallen asleep at the door.”
Serena struggled to calm Pikachu, Greninja and Lucario as they all adopted battle-ready positions, but she froze as she leaned on Lucario and gazed at the lass in front of her. Orange eyes gazed from her freckled, tanned face, her black pony-tailed hair shifting as she tilted her head and allowed the green-dyed part to droop over her face. She wore a grey and orange school uniform for summer, and fiddled with a black and purple brace-like glove on her arm before waving.
“I'm Nemona! And I'd love to battle those Pokemon there!”
Serena sat back on the couch, beginning to change bandages as Lucario handed her a dressing.
“Um...They're kinda not mine...”
“WHAT?!”
Pikachu leaped onto Serena's head, making her sigh and shake her head in dismay.
“They're Ash's...”
Nemona blinked, sitting down beside her and rubbing her shoulder.
“The guy that disappeared?”
Serena could only nod, slowly wrapping her leg up tightly to attempt to stop the throbbing as her eyes threatened to spill tears.
“I'm sorry I brought it up...Hey, why don't you come to Paldea with me and enrol at my school? You haven't searched there, otherwise I would've seen you. Besides, it's not long before the Treasure Hunt begins...”
Nemona began walking out of Professor Oak's living room, with Serena scrambling behind her with Pikachu on her shoulder, Lucario supporting her to move while Greninja merely blinked and walked behind them.
“Wait up, will you?! What do you mean 'Treasure Hunt'?!”

It took close to an hour before Serena and Ash's Pokemon caught up to Nemona,  who had suddenly stopped at the Pallet Town sign.

"Firstly, why didn't you hold up? I can't really move fast right now! Secondly,  why have you stopped?"

Nemona turned to Serena as she sat down on a nearby rock, gasping as she rushed over. "I'm so sorry! I got a little overexcited... Speaking of, I totally forgot to talk to Professor Oak!"

"But wasn't that-"

Nemona had already sprinted back towards the lab, leaving Serena talking to a cloud of dust as Lucario put a paw to his face in exasperation.  Greninja blinked as he stood with his arms crossed, soon deciding to sit beside Serena as she pulled out her Rotom Phone.

"Might as well book a flight while we're waiting...Anyone know how to spell Paldea?"

"Pika, pika pi chu."

"Didn't understand any of that, so I might as well give you my phone..."

Pikachu took the phone in his paws as he moved to sit in Serena's lap. The lass sighed as she glanced back to where Nemona had run off to, seeing a cloud of dust moving towards them. Lucario stood in a battle-ready position,  with Greninja rising to his feet in preparation to move Serena out of danger.

"Guys, I think that's..."

Nemona flopped to the ground the moment she arrived, panting as she stayed on her knees. The Pokemon shared confused looks, with Serena putting Pikachu on the rock as she hobbled over to her.

"So, how did it go?"

"He's...too...busy...to...go..."

"Do you need anything? Water? An inhaler?"

Nemona waved Serena's worries off, soon rising to her feet and smiling. "Heh... I'm all good now!"

Lucario gave a confused glance, which Serena responded to with a shrug before refocusing her attention on Nemona. 

"So..."

"Pika!"

"I guess the flight's booked..."

Nemona grinned, soon hopping from one foot to another. "I'll call the Director and enrol you! Come on! Let's go to Paldea!"

Nemona sprinted down the path past the Pallet Town sign, leaving Serena in the dust once again.

"I'll ask for the explanation on the plane... Pikachu, could I see the flight you booked?"

Nemona and Serena stepped off the plane, Greninja and Lucario following behind, and found themselves gazing at a beautiful landscape kissed by the sunlight. Serena froze as the mountains, clouds, greenery and gleams of buildings met her eyes, with Nemona waving a hand in front of her.
“Serena! Wake up!”
Serena blinked as Pikachu startled, sending a Thunderbolt through her body as Greninja and Lucario awkwardly stepped to the side. Nemona flinched as she got disapproving gazes from the Pokemon. Serena shook off the attack, patting down slightly frizzed shoulder-length hair before taking Ash's hat from Pikachu.
“It's time for the start of a new adventure...Please be here, Ash...”
Nemona gazed sadly as Greninja, Lucario and Pikachu comforted Serena, soon shaking it off when her eyes fell onto the lighthouse.
“Hey! Why don't we have a look at Paldea from the Cabo Poco Lighthouse!”
Serena gave a small smile, following Nemona away from the airport before seeing something red fly above their heads.
“Whoa!”
Greninja and Lucario kept their eyes on it, and Pikachu gave a concerned look as Nemona jumped giddily.
“That roar sounded strong!”
“And hurt! Come on; we have to help it!”
Greninja and Lucario led the group, with Serena managing to keep up thanks to Nemona getting her a pair of compression socks for her wound. They soon came across a broken fence, moving to the edge of the cliff to see the red being laying on the beach and being approached by threatening Houndour.
“On no...”
“Looks like that strong guy lost a lot of energy in that crash-landing...”
The being roared aggressively, sending shock-waves through the air that sent Serena off the edge.
“SERENA!”
Greninja jumped after her, with Lucario and Pikachu hanging off the frog Pokemon as she used her Rotom phone to slow her fall.
“So glad Clemont made mine stronger and more durable for my journey...”
Her leg buckled under her, forcing her to the ground as Greninja landed nearby.
“Greninja, use Water Shuriken to scare the Houndour off. Lucario, could you help me up?”
As the Pokemon acted, Serena saw a familiar expression on the mysterious Pokemon's face. She knew it was troubled by something, much like she had been for two years, and that it was hurt deeply. With Lucario's assistance, she made her way over to the Pokemon with an understanding smile.
“Hey there...You alright?”
The Pokemon looked at her weakly, trembling as she carefully lowered herself to its level. It gave a weak roar, with Serena remembering packing herself a snack for the plane.
“It's not much, but you can have my sandwich...”
Pulling out the sandwich, Serena passed it to the Pokemon with a smile. It gave a curious sniff, soon scarfing it down quickly. With some effort, the being rose to its feet and gave a roar.
“Yes!”
Lucario, Greninja and Pikachu cheered happily, with the being looking over to a cave with serious eyes.
“You find a way back up?”
The creature began moving towards the cave, soon glowing with a bright red energy that made Serena cover her eyes briefly. When she removed her hand, she saw that the red creature stood on two legs with a large wheel-like sac on its throat. Its blue and white feathers fluttered in the wind, with the blue accents shifting as it turned to look back at her. Serena could tell from the yellow and orange reptilian eye looking intently at her that it wanted her to follow, and that it was thankful for her help. Nodding, she followed behind the creature, Greninja and Lucario supporting her as Pikachu sat on her shoulder.

Managing to reach the final point of the cave, the group looked up to see Nemona waving to them.
“Serena! Hey! I'll get one of my Pokemon to lift you up! Just get a bit closer!”
“Right!”
Lucario froze, looking around with his aura feelers twitching.
“Lucario?”
Pikachu's ears began twitching, and he leapt from Serena's shoulders to take a battle-ready stance. Greninja kept a hold on Serena, with the creature turning to see a large amount of Houndour approaching them.
“Lucario, Aura Sphere! Pikachu, Thunderbolt! We need to scare them off!”
The Pokemon nodded, following her commands as their guide roared at those not deterred by the attacks. As it was about to swipe at more, a group of Houndoom came out of hiding and rushed at Lucario and Pikachu.
“Look out!”
Serena watched as a stray Flamethrower made its way towards her, flinching when Greninja intercepted it with a Water Shuriken and sighing in relief.
“Thanks, Greninja, but there's too many of them!”
Lucario and Pikachu retreated, with Greninja passing Serena to the mysterious Pokemon as he took them up to Nemona. The creature picked Serena up and heaved her over its shoulder, leaping up and rushing out the cave before another Flamethrower could be fired.
“Wow...”
Nemona was frozen as the creature put Serena down, transforming back into its four-legged form before collapsing from exhaustion. Serena hobbled towards it, kneeling by its side and rubbing its head.
“Thank you...”
The creature purred happily as Serena smiled back, soon raising to its feet and looking over to the lighthouse.
“That...Was...AWESOME! That thing's insanely strong! But it looks kinda floppy now...”
With a wave of nostalgia hitting her, Serena looked to Ash's Pokemon with a small smile as they too shared the feeling. With a renewed determination, they began moving again only to see someone standing in front of the lighthouse backing away nervously from a hooded figure. The fearful had a mess of silvery blonde hair and wore a hiking pack on his back as he grabbed a Pokeball.
“Back off!”
“Come on! We need to help!”
“I think I know that guy...Come on!”

“Give me Koraidon's Pokeball...”
“No! You just leave me alone!”
A purple dragon-like being with a glowing violet and yellow throat sac and piercing yellow and black eyes growled from beside the figure, who kept a hand raised to command the creature.
“I guess my Miraidon will just have to take it from you by force...”
“HEY!”
Nemona rushed to the boy's side, while Serena, the creature and Ash's Pokemon moved in between them.
“Look, I don't know who you are, but you can't just threaten someone like that! It's wrong!”
“Wrong, you say? Tell me, then; that Koraidon next to you, do you know what it's capable of?”
Serena glanced to the creature, repeating the name as it snarled at the figure and his Miraidon. It hung back near Nemona and the boy, who had moved away from Serena. She clutched her Pokeball, releasing Delphox to help in protecting her new friends.
“Look, you need to leave him alone. Got it?”
Pikachu jumped in front of Serena, sparking angrily as Greninja and Lucario took battle-ready positions. Miraidon roared at them, with the figure moving back silently.
“Even if this isn't fair, my Miraidon will wipe the floor with those three...”
“No...”
Adjusting the cap on her head, Serena felt a surge of energy rushing through her body as Ash's Pokemon grew angrier. She took a moment to ponder the energy, but Ash's voice rung in her head as she matched Greninja's pose. 
“Just give up now and give me Koraidon...”
“Never give up 'til it's over!”
The energy in Serena grew stronger, with Lucario being bathed in light as Greninja became surrounded by a water torrent. Pikachu glanced back with confusion, seeing Lucario with added spikes, black lines and differing colours to what he had before.
“H... How did Serena Mega Evolve Lucario?! And is that Ash-Greninja?!”
The water torrent dissipated as Greninja and Serena mirrored one another's movements, revealing that Greninja had black sideburns with 'z' shaped lines that were the same blue as Serena's ribbon and a red cap-like structure on his head. A large Water Shuriken sat on his back, with the Pokemon looking back to Serena with a brown eye with a blue pupil. Serena herself had seemingly changed too; rather than just sitting over the orange and grey summer uniform, her blue ribbon flowed over her shoulders. Her hair also gained black 'z' shaped streaks, and she seemed to move better on her injured leg.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Look; I have no idea who you are, but you can't just go around bullying people like that!”
“She's right!”
“Your dark aura is no match for her light!”
Serena watched as Miraidon lunged forward, its steel grey tail flicking towards Lucario while gaining a blue aura. Wordlessly, Serena gave a small nod as Lucario leapt clear of the tail, preparing a blue Aura Sphere.
“Greninja, I want you to sneak around behind that Miraidon and start using Water Shuriken as much as possible.”
“Got it, but I'll need a distraction; that trainer might spot me...”
“Lucario, Pikachu, I want you guys to put on a little show for this guy; use as many different attacks as possible to keep Miraidon focused on you two. If you land some, excellent. Don't worry if none hit. Just deflect and attract attention.”
“Of course, Serena.”
“No idea how you're doing this, but it seems like a mix of a performer's strategy and Ash's. Perfect!”
Serena gave a nod, keeping herself on her toes as the Pokemon enacted her plan...

Nemona watched the battle with amazed eyes, turning to the boy with excitement.
“Did you see that, Arven?! It's like she commanded them with her mind!”
“Um...Who even is...”
“WITH! HER! MIND! Hahaha!”
Arven sighed and shook his head, seeing the hooded figure looking around in confusion as Miraidon continued taking multiple attacks.
“It's like that guy can only see one type of strategy...He sees only what's in front of him...”
“Arven?”
Nemona had finished gushing, looking to Arven as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“It's like his mind is in a turn-based strategy mindset...”
“What do you mean?”
Arven gazed at the battle, seeing the cloaked frozen in shock as Greninja landed attack after attack alongside Lucario and Pikachu's attacks.
“He can't fathom multiple attacks in a row, and from various angles...”
Nemona took a closer look, nodding before turning to Arven in shock.
“It's just like the battle simulators! He's acting like the opponent on those!”
Nemona rushed over to Serena, who pushed her out the way of a rogue Hyper Beam.
“Serena! This is awesome!”
Miraidon's trainer huffed, tossing a ball into the air that released a prehistoric-looking Donphan.
“Great Tusk, attack.”
Serena and Nemona gasped in amazement at the strange Pokemon, the former soon shaking it off as she was hit with sudden pain in her shoulder and back; Lucario and Pikachu landed in front of Nemona, the former clutching his shoulder as Pikachu struggled to get up. Nemona gulped nervously but saw that Greninja had managed to sneak around and attacked with Water Shuriken.
“Serena, are you alright?”
Panting, Serena shakily rose to her feet and nodded to Greninja. The Pokemon nodded back, the pair mirroring each other's moves as the Water Shuriken grew larger and larger. Nemona's jaw drooped in amazement, but the trainer merely watched as the Shurkien struck down Great Tusk in a matter of seconds.
“Return...Miraidon, use Power Gem on that frog thing.”
The attack hit Greninja, but the Pokemon stood with its arms crossed. Serena copied the pose, adding a raised eyebrow as Miraidon shifted to a motorcycle-like form and the figure mounted up.
“This is not the end. I will reclaim that Koraidon.”
As Miraidon's thighs emitted a jet propulsion, the group reformed and turned to Serena.
“Wow...”
“Thank you...”
Serena shook as Lucario and Greninja returned to normal, dropping to her knees as she returned to normal.
“He's alive...”
THUD!
Nemona gulped, looking to Arven as he glared at Koraidon.
“OK, enough of that! Let's get her to a Pokemon Centre! I'm NOT losing my new friend!”
“As soon as she wakes up, I'm asking her what just happened...”
“Agreed!”

Serena found herself in a strange blue void, a must swirling around her as she looked around.

"What is this place?"

"Serena, how are you feeling?"

Serena glanced over to see Greninja looking at her, still in the new version of his Ash-Greninja form.

"Confused, but mostly tired... How did I do that?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you... But, this is kinda like those times Ash and I were deep within that bond."

Serena looked at her hand, seeing blue mixing with deep pink as she glanced back to Greninja. 

"What's happening?"

"No idea, but it looks like your heart's glowing here... Maybe we could meditate at some stage and investigate this..."

"Yeah... Wait, how am I understanding you?! This shouldn't be possible!"

Greninja had disappeared,  leaving Serena alone as she felt a presence in her heart. The void soon filled with Ash's voice speaking lines from their time in Kalos, with Serena turning frantically to try and work out what was going on.

"Hello? Ash?"

"Stronger! TOGETHER!"

Groaning, Serena found herself being licked by some sort of creature. Moving her hand, she found a bed under her and slowly opened her eyes. A sharp headache hit her as the light blurred her vision, but she found herself staring at Koraidon. A few blinks set her vision right, and she slowly sat up as Koraidon moved back.
“Hi there...You feeling any better?”
“Well, yeah, but...”
Serena widened her eyes, staring at Koraidon as he tilted his head.
“What?”
“Did you just?! Am I?! WHAT?!”
Arven rushed in, with Nemona speaking Paldean outside the room as he closed the door behind him.
“Hey, you alright? I heard you screaming.”
Serena lifted her bedding to hide from Koraidon, gesturing madly with her free hand. “K...Koraidon spoke! He SPOKE to me!”
“Familiar reaction, different reason...”
Koraidon rolled his eyes, with Arven giving her a confused look.
“Not possible; Pokemon with the capacity for telepathy are the only ones capable of speech, and they're usually Legendary Pokemon...”
Serena again gestured, frustration evident on her face.
“Fine then! Tell him to say something!”
Arven blinked, shaking his head before turning to Koraidon.
“I think she's lost it...”
“You think she's lost it?”
“YOU THINK I'VE LOST IT!?”
Serena jumped out of bed, attempting to loom over the taller Arven with a serious look in her eyes. The lad blinked, knowing he had whispered it to the Pokemon before it made a series of growls.
“OK...Now I believe you because I didn't say that loud enough...”
Serena backed away, moving to her Pokeball belt and holding one up.
“This is not normal...I'd better see how far this goes...”
Releasing Pancham and Sylveon, she gave a small smile before her nerves got to her.
“What in the name of Arceus am I thinking?”
“OK, I have no idea who you are, and Nemona's not telling me, but something's up here...That thing you did with those three Pokemon wasn't normal to start with...”
“What thing? What did you do?”
“Come on, Serena; calm down a bit and we can talk about this.”
Serena felt Sylveon wrap one of her feelers around her arm, gulping when she realised she understood every word.
“Oh boy...” Sylveon's calming influence soon hit, allowing her to focus on Arven better. “Sorry; we never got a chance to meet earlier. I'm Serena.”
Arven blinked, looking to Sylveon before waving.
“I'm Arven, and I take it your Pokemon calmed you down.”
“Yeah; Sylveon's always there to calm me down when I start spiralling...Which has been happening more lately with my search for Ash finding nothing...”
Delphox burst into the room, rushing to Serena with a sigh of relief.
“You're OK! I was so worried! And that Nemona girl's not making any sense..."
“Yeah, she told me that she tends to slip into Paldean...I'd better get out there and show her I'm alright...Arven, you want to go to school with us?”
Arven gave a shrug, with Koraidon looking to him as Serena's Pokemon stared at her in amazement.
“You're understanding us...”
“Does it have something to do with the thing they're talking about?”
“I think I've got my work cut out for me...There's going to be a lot of stress in the next few minutes, isn't there?”
“Sylveon, you don't even know the start of it...”

Greninja, Lucario and Pikachu gazed at Nemona as she frantically drew, gushing over her work as Arven and Koraidon entered the room.
“Oh brother...”
Nemona continued speaking Paldean, with Arven looking to the Pokemon in confusion.
“Has she been like this the whole time?”
They gave a nod, with Koraidon pulling a Pokeball off of Arven's backpack as Serena and her Pokemon emerged.
“Good to see you guys are alright.”
“We are...but Nemona sure isn't...”
Pikachu rushed over to Serena, jumping onto her shoulder as Lucario moved to Nemona and began nudging her. Serena's Pokemon moved to see what she was doing, with Greninja blinking at her and tilting his head.
“Are you alright? You seem to be limping still, but you were fine earlier...”
“The sore leg came back...And don't ask me what happened, because all I know is that I can now understand you, my Pokemon and Koraidon.”
“Look after me.”
Serena looked to Koraidon in confusion, with the other Pokemon blinking at him as Arven and Nemona moved to her side.
“What's up with that brute?”
“He wants me to look after him...If that's alright with you...”
Arven shrugged, moving to grab the Pokeball before gasping.
“HEY! WHERE'S - ”
Koraidon blinked as he passed Serena the Pokeball, with the lass looking to Arven and holding up the ball.
“I think he took it off you earlier...”
“No kidding...”
Nemona jumped up and down giddily, with Serena looking to Arven in confusion.
“Yes...She is often like this...”
“You get the strong-looking Pokemon! I REALLY wanna battle you now!”
“Of course you do...”
“What about school?”
Nemona's excitement died down, and she gasped in horror.
“SCHOOL! Come on! Vamous!”

The trio stood at the base of a large staircase, with Nemona jogging on the spot as Arven shook his head at Serena and Ash's Pokemon's slack jaws.
“We...We have to climb THAT?!”
“That's nearly as tall as Arceus itself!”
“How do humans climb those? They're not all as athletic as Ash, surely!”
“Really, Greninja? You do realise they literally walk the Earth from age ten!”
Pikachu jumped between the two Pokemon, slapping them with his tail before poking Serena's face.
“I've gotta go make some arrangements for Serena! Arven, guide her up will ya?!”
Before Arven could protest, Nemona had already started running up the stairs and left them behind. Serena looked to the lad, sighing and shaking her head.
“Moments like these make me wonder if Nemona's a relative of Ash's...”
“You really liked him, huh?”
The group began making their way up the stairs, with Serena looking to the ground.
“In the interest of honesty, I had...I had a huge crush on him...I even kissed him when I left Kalos for Hoenn...I worked hard before he disappeared to be confident enough to tell him. I sure missed the boat there...”
“I'm sorry...It must hurt a lot, huh?”
“It does...”
A tear escaped Serena's eye, and Arven found himself thinking of his own fractured family. How, after his beloved Pokemon was injured, he never saw his parents again. Shaking his head, he realised that Serena was looking to him as the Pokemon turned to him.
“You alright? You sorta stopped...”
“Yeah, yeah. I'm fine...Just got something on my mind, that's all.”
The pair froze when they saw a girl with red and blue hair being harassed by two students wearing bike helmets, with Serena whispering something to Greninja as they made their way up.
“Wha...”
“Greninja's a ninja Pokemon; he'll make it way before we do.”

“Join Team Star!”
“Come on! We gotta meet our quota!”
“N...N...”
“Ninja!”
The grey hoodie-clad girl gasped as Greninja jumped in front of her, Cut swords at the ready. The students troubling her backed away in worry, but raised their Pokeballs.
“Don't know whose Greninja that is, but we'll beat it!”
“Hey! Stop!”
Panting, Serena stood in front of the girl as Lucario supported half her body. Pikachu blinked in confusion at the trainers, hopping off her shoulder and moving to the girl's side.
“You...You know tormenting...people is...wrong!”
Arven pulled himself up the steps, flopping to the ground in exhaustion as the girl looked in awe at Serena.
“She needs to join Team Star!”
The male sent out a small bug/mouse hybrid with large green eyes, with Greninja turning to Serena with bewildered eyes.
“The hell is that?”
“Shroodle! Use Tackle!”
Shroodle lunged at Greninja, who merely used the Cut swords to deflect and send it careening into a wall.
“This region has some strange Pokemon...”
“Agreed...”
“Those weirdos sure seem like Team Rocket...Only more stupid...”
Serena raised an eyebrow to Lucario, who only shrugged as the female student raised a Pokeball just as Nemona skidded to a stop next to Serena.
“Hey! What're you doing picking fights with randos?”
Greninja and Lucario blinked as Pikachu nuzzled the girl, with Arven shaking his head as he recovered from the staircase.
“Seriously...”
“Nemona...Why would I...”
“Oh! It's Team Star! Here, try out this Tera Orb I got for you!”
The female student opened her mouth to protest, but flinched away from the battle-hungry eyes of Nemona.
Serena held the orb out after receiving a nod from Greninja, feeling a large amount of energy force her down. Lucario picked her up, and she tossed the orb up for Greninja. He became surrounded in crystal, soon forming a large fountain on his head.
“Try a Water type attack!”
“You heard her.”
“This certainly tops fighting a large rock Zygarde as one of the weirdest things I've ever done...”
The Yungoose stood no chance; Greninja's Water Shuriken knocked the Pokemon away, and the students fled in terror as the gem broke. Nemona flew at Serena, forcing her down in an embrace that Lucario swore was more like a Tackle attack as Paldean words flooded out of her. Arven rolled his eyes, watching as Greninja returned to normal. Lucario helped Serena out of Nemona's grip, with the girl holding Pikachu and looking around nervously.
“Th...Thank you...”
Serena gave a nod, looking thoughtfully towards the school before Nemona began dragging her inside.
“Come on! You gotta get signed up!”

Chapter Text

Several weeks had passed since Serena started at Narnaja Academy, and she had settled in well with her new friends Nemona, Arven and Penny, the girl she saved at the stairs. Flopping out of bed, Serena groaned as the chimes of the PA system echoed in her fuzzy head.
“Can all students please be ready out in the training field for an important announcement.”
Groaning again, Serena struggled to her feet and shuffled to the bathroom. Greninja blinked at the scene from his spot near the kitchen, deciding to boil the kettle as Pikachu fought out of the bedding with an annoyed expression. Lucario stretched from the desk, closing the book he was reading earlier that morning as Pikachu slowly wandered to the kitchen.
“Why? We were sleeping!”
“Pikachu, I swear you've slipped into some bad habits...” Lucario shook his head, standing from the desk as Greninja started pouring milk into the four cups in front of him.
“Either way, it must be important...Wonder if it's the 'Treasure Hunt' that Nemona girl's constantly talking about.”
“Greninja, I swear that girl's related to Ash in some manner; her aura is literally high-energy and so close to a blood knight she could be mistaken as a Gallade...”
Pikachu hummed through his coffee, cheeks sparking at the slight hint of Tamato Berry as Serena wandered out of the bathroom in the school uniform.
“Greninja, did you....”
“White, one sugar and a touch of cinnamon. We've travelled in Kalos for too long for me to forget. Besides, we need to wake up somehow, and coffee's the best way.”
Sitting at the island with a pink towel on her head, Serena chuckled at the Ninja Pokemon and took a sip. “Can't believe you started drinking coffee while destroying those vines.”
“It was Squishy's suggestion!”
Serena laughed, with rapid knocks making the joyous mood freeze.
“That's not good...Someone must be in trouble!”
Lucario darted over to open the door but was soon met with a door in the muzzle as Nemona barged into Serena's dorm. The Aura Pokemon fell to the floor with a grunt, paws on his face as his aura feelers twitched in irritation. Pikachu and Greninja shared a look as Serena stood, towel still on her head, and moved to Nemona with her coffee in her hand.
“Hi, Nemona. Come in....”
“TODAY'S THE DAY! VAMOS! VAMOS!”
Nemona's braced arm reached out for Serena, dragging her out of her dorm as the Pokemon blinked in amazement. Lucario let out another nasal grunt as he followed, leaving Pikachu and Greninja to quickly tidy up the disrupted breakfast before giving chase.

Arven and Penny made their way through the crowd as the Treasure Hunt announcement concluded, seeing Nemona shaking Serena as Ash's Pokemon shook their heads. Pikachu sat on Greninja's shoulder as Serena struggled her way out of the overly excited girl's grip. Arven immediately took to laughing, almost falling over from the combined effects of his oversized backpack and his mirth.
“Arven, what's so...” Penny spotted the source of humour, blinking slowly as she rubbed the strap of her Eevee backpack. “Um...Serena, I don't think the uniform includes a towel hat...”
Serena put a hand to her head, glancing to Nemona with a slight pout.
“Wasn't my idea...”
Nemona chuckled sheepishly, with the group beginning to make their way to the front of the school. Serena insisted on a slight detour, managing to lose the towel and retrieve Ash's cap before they stood outside the school doors. Arven's face remained red from his laughter, leaving her to groan and glare at him in annoyance.
“You didn't have to laugh so much, you know...”
“Sorry...Not sorry...”
Penny rolled her eyes behind her glasses, shaking her head as she gripped the sleeves of her oversize hoodie. Her eyes were locked on her sneakers, her sheer black skirt shifting with each nervous step.
“Penny?”
Serena glanced back at her friend, offering a small smile as Penny gave a nod.
“I'm...I'm fine.”
The group began to make their way slowly down the stairs, with Nemona bouncing on her feet excitedly as they went. Serena noticed that there was some form of tension in the air and glanced to Pikachu.
“Something's up here...Don't know what, but there we go...”
Lifting her sore leg after reaching the bottom of the staircase, she soon found the others looking at her expectantly. Greninja held her up as Lucario stood with a paw on his hip, shaking his head at the sudden pensive aura.
“Guys?”
“Serena, do you think you can help me chase down those Herba Mystica that we talked about in home ec? I mean, it'll be great to cook with such splendid ingredients!”
“Um...”
“No way, Arven! That's just a dumb fairy tale! She's going to be doing the Gyms! She'll be able to get strong enough to find Ash that way!”
“There's Titans guarding the Herba Mystica! She'll get strong that way!”
“Didn't Cassiopea say about the Team Star bases?”
Serena glanced at Penny, who shied away in the fluff of her bag straps, then looked back to see Arven and Nemona still feverishly arguing.
“They ever going to stop?”
“No idea, Greninja...”
“This reminds me of Ash and Misty...and Ash and May...and a little bit of Ash and Dawn...and a lot of Ash and Iris...Actually, you're the first he didn't fight with nearly all the time. Then again, he didn't fight so much with the girls at the Pokemon School in Alola...”
Serena glanced at Pikachu incredulously, soon refocusing on the arguing pair.
“Guys! Calm down!”
“She can make the best sandwiches with those Herba Mystica!”
A sudden pop distracted the group, with Koraidon looking at the group intently with a lick of the lips.
“Did someone say 'sandwiches'?”
Nemona began laughing, with Arven flinching at the sudden appearance as Penny blinked in confusion.
“Did Koraidon just come out because you said 'sandwiches'?!”
“So...Yes or no on the sandwiches?”
Serena shook her head, hobbling over to the strange creature with a shake of her head.
“No sandwiches, big guy...”
“Aw...”
“Besides, Mr Jacq wants me to go on this trip to Kitakami before I head out on the Treasure Hunt. Might help me to clear my head a bit before I travel Paldea, he said.”
“Why don't you use me as a mount? You clearly can't walk very far without pain. I saw you limp. Get on!”
Serena found herself hoisted onto Koraidon's back, watching as he moved about and revelled in the response from her friends. Serena eventually managed to stop the creature, with her eyes falling on the staircase as her friends decided to watch her go.
“Thank Arceus for that one plus; with Koraidon, I don't have to try and climb those stairs with my leg sore.”

Shaking her head at Pikachu, who seemed fixated on Briar's unusual black and red eyes, Serena listened intently as she went off on a tangent about Area Zero. The strange hexagonal earrings kept Serena somewhat alert as she continued, with Lucario attempting to keep his head up as Greninja kept a stoic stance. The slight snores that left the ninja Pokemon, however, gave away the fact that he had fallen asleep. The woman's arms waved excitedly in the purple blazer as Serena's mind wandered again. The orange pants and purple blazer reminded her of her new friend Koraidon, as well as the strange purple creature that the hooded man had with him. He had called it Miraidon, but she had never seen anything like it.
“Are you all ready to go?”
Serena snapped out of her thoughts as Lucario startled at Briar's sudden deviation from her rant, bumping into Greninja and making him jump slightly.
“Whuzzat?!”
“Sorry; I thought she'd never stop going on about her ancestor 'the great Heath'...” At this, Lucario made an approximation of air quotes with his paws. “...and how he explored the crater and this and that and made an omelet...”
“She said nothing about food, you know. Her eyes, though, they freak me out.”
Serena was about to mumble something to Pikachu when Briar hustled the group of students together. The trainer had no idea what was going on, but quickly took the offer of support from Lucario and allowed Greninja to stick close.
“Why is it you specifically that was asked to go along? I mean, it's weird when the other students that were selected have been here for a while now...”
“Lucario, I wouldn't recommend looking into this too deeply. It could just be a coincidence. Besides, we have other things we need to be thinking about more.”
The group managed to step outside, with Serena thankful for the Flying Taxi so they wouldn't have to use the staircase yet again.
“She's right; how come the Bond Phenomenon worked with us? I became Ash-Serena-Greninja, and I'm pretty sure that's not how it works...Plus the Mega Evolution, and the telepathic connection to all three of us. I can safely rule out the radiation from the Zyrock.”
“Zyrock?”
“Z-2's idea...”
Deflecting the strange looks she was receiving from the other students, Serena decided to focus on the upcoming field trip...

As the group got off the bus, Serena took in the lush greenery around her. Kitakami seemed to remind her of the Kanto region, which made her mentally curse why Jacq though it would be a good idea to send her here. Her thoughts were broken when she saw that one of the students got travel sick.
“Hey, you alright?”
“No...”
Briar saw what was going on, taking the group to the nearby bench so the ill student can sit down and rest.
“Serena, could you go to the town and let them know we're here? We'll keep him company while you're gone.”
“Um...”
“Please? These students seem to know him well, so I figured you might be the best one to go.”
“Sure. I can do that.”
Serena put a finger on Pikachu's mouth before the electric rodent could say a word, calling out Koraidon to counter the cramping ache of her injured leg. She stretched it out as they went, with Greninja and Lucario looking around the area.
“Something about this place does seem calm...”
“Yeah, it does. Guess that's why Jacq sent me here. Might have to go to a doctor about my leg, though.”
“Why?” Lucario stepped closer to have a look at her leg, which seemed to shake slightly despite no weight pressing on it.
“Can't walk for long unsupported on it, I have a limp, and it doesn't like being seated in a cramped place for too long.”
“Fair...Is that the town?”
Serena glanced up, turning to Lucario with a nod as Greninja assumed a bodyguard pose. Before Serena could ask, she saw two people standing at the top of the stairs and carefully hopped off Koraidon. He returned to the Pokeball, with the group slowly approaching as they took in the pair. One wore a dark blue jumpsuit, with her black hair flowing down her face in wisps and forming a cross-like mask around her eyes. The other had the same hair colour and similar style, but wore a white jumpsuit. Piercing yellow eyes locked on them as Serena had Greninja carry her up the stairs, with Pikachu attempting to fight out of Lucario's grip.
“Let me at those Nihilego! Let me at them!”
“Pikachu, no idea what you're on about, but they're people...”
“Hello?”
Greninja put Serena down, with the lass hobbling over and extending her hand to the female.
“Hi, my name's Serena. I'm here from Narnaja Academy -”
“Whatever. I'm Carmine, and I'm not too thrilled that you're here.”
Serena very slowly lowered her hand in shock, with Greninja preparing a Cut sword as the lass failed to calm him. The boy shuffled behind Carmine, peering at Serena and Greninja with interest.
“Umm...”
“That's Kieran. He's my brother. Now hurry up with whatever it is you're here for.”
Serena took a breath, explaining the situation before a finger near her nose silenced her.
“Look, if you want us to help out, you're going to have to battle us. You got any Pokemon?”
Serena sighed, with Pikachu still fighting out of Lucario's grip, and pulled out one of her own Pokeballs. Carmine smirked, holding up one of her own with a fiery gaze.
“Good to see; now, let's battle!”

Carmine smirked as she held one of her Pokeballs up, with Serena holding hers as she leaned on Greninja. Kieran, Lucario and Pikachu stood to the side, blinking as Pokemon were let out. A black and grey wolf-like Pokemon burst out, howling as Serena let out Pancham.
“A Mightyena? Pancham, stay alert.
“On it!”
“Mightyena, start off with a Fire Fang! Knock that thing out!”
“Did she seriously just call me a thing?”
Fire burned around the Mightyena's teeth as it charged forward, with Serena whistling a small tune that Pancham immediately picked up on. He made a jump flip over the top of his opponent, his sunglasses lowered over his eyes as he smirked.
“WHAT?!”
“Pancham, use Arm Thrust!”
“Gladly!”
Pancham's arms glowed as he shoved them at the Mightyena, swiftly knocking it out and landing with a spin. Kieran cheered as Pikachu and Lucario pumped their arms into the air. Carmine glared at him, screaming incoherently at her brother as Pancham wandered to Serena's side.
“Is she alright? She's acting kinda weird...”
“No idea...Guess we're weirdness magnets.” Serena gave a shrug, with Pancham watching as Carmine returned Mightyena and pulling on her hair.
“Fine then! Ninetails, use Incinerate!”
She threw out a second Pokeball, with a cream fox with nine tails glaring with fire in its mouth. The red piercing eyes made Pancham shiver slightly, but he stood his ground as fire flew forward.
“Pancham, Stone Edge to defend!”
The fire began hitting the stones as they burst from the ground, with Carmine becoming more enraged as Kieran simply sighed at the battle.
“Ninetails, use Will-o-Wisp then lead into Incinerate!”
Flames licked around the battlefield, with Greninja putting out fires that spouted near Serena. Once the smoke cleared, they saw that Pancham was laying on the ground with swirls in his eyes.
“Yikes...Talk about aggressive...”
“Greninja, not a word.” Serena returned Pancham to his ball, gripping it with a soft sigh before her eyes raised to meet Carmine. “Sylveon, on stage!”
Sylveon popped out with a yip, her feelers waving as she stood defensively. The Ninetails shook as it faced down its opponent, growling as Serena gave a small nod.
“Right, let's start with a Swift!”
“Let's go!”
Sylveon conjured a series of glowing stars, firing them towards Ninetails as it struggled to move out of the way. The stars collided, leaving the Ninetails to drop to the ground. Sylveon simply blinked, turning to Serena with a confused gaze as the Ninetails was returned to its Pokeball. Carmine growled in anger, with the Pokemon flinching as she tossed out another Pokemon. It resembled a strange black and white cup Serena had never seen before, and was green in colour.
“Wh...What is that?”
“Sinistcha, Foul Play!”
“NOW HOLD IT!”
Sylveon instinctively threw up a green shield and watched as the strange Pokemon bounced off harmlessly. A man dressed in a purple kimono rushed up to them, with Kieran deciding Lucario was the perfect Pokemon to hide behind.
“Carmine! Don't bother the new arrivals!”
“Firstly, someone please tell this kid to stop hiding behind me. Secondly, who is this guy?”
“And here's the caretaker...”

With the introductions done, Serena decided to take a seat after the long day on her sore leg. She had her Pokemon out, alongside Ash's Pokemon and Koraidon, and was enjoying the peaceful scene. Pikachu sat on her lap, glancing up as Serena's team practised performance moves that could double as battle strategies.
“Hey, Serena, you sure you'll be alright? You were struggling before.”
“Hope so; it's more annoying than anything. I think I might try and find some painkillers for it...”
“Fair enough; we could also go the route of a Pokemon healing move...see if that works.”
Greninja and Lucario glanced over to the nearby path, with Serena following their gaze and seeing Keiran walking towards them. She knew they were going to work together for the signboard activity, and was glad he had felt more comfortable to meet up with her.
“Hi, Kieran. Why not join me?”
“S...sure...”
He sat down next to her, blinking as Koraidon wandered up to him and sniffed him curiously.
“Wh...what is this?”
“Koraidon. He's a sandwich gremlin slash motorcycle...”
“Where's my sandwich? You said sandwich.”
“We literally just ate dinner...You're a bottomless pit...”
Rolling her eyes, Serena looked back to Kieran as he fidgeted with his gloves.
“I'm sorry about my sister...She's not a fan of 'outsiders'. She's proud of Kitakami...”
“Eh, no big deal. I've dealt with worse, trust me.”
“Yeah, because Lysandre, Yveltal, evil Hoopa and a pack of Pokemon hunters were SO friendly...”
Pikachu hopped onto Serena's shoulder as Kieran blinked, his hands gripping one another with nerves.
“I'm kinda looking forward to the activity, you know. It'll be nice to show someone around...”
“I'm looking forward to it.”
“OH! I totally forgot about that Miraidon guy! He's not very friendly either!”
Kieran glanced down to Pikachu, with Serena simply batting his ear as he protested. Kieran stood up as the sun set, nodding to the lass with a shy smile.
“See you tomorrow?”
“You know it.”

Kieran blinked as he saw Serena calmly riding on the back of Koraidon as they headed past the orchids, with Greninja and Lucario bringing up the rear with battle-ready poses. Pikachu happily sat on Serena's shoulder as they went, with Kieran glancing away before taking a breath.
“Can I ask why you're riding on Koraidon alongside me? You could've gone on ahead so I wouldn't hold you up...”
“Nonsense! I'd rather go with someone who knows their way around than alone. Besides, you'll know if there are any rough parts up ahead that I won't be able to walk.”
“But...”
“Oh...Right; I haven't told you...I fell down a cliff.”
“And I thought Ash was reckless...Seriously; Mewtwo told me last time we caught up that he tried to punch him. A human! Punching a Pokemon!”
“Shush, Pokemona...”
Pikachu huffed and clambered off her shoulder as they arrived at the first sign, with Kieran reading out the story as Serena felt a chill race up her spine. Glancing over to the other Pokemon, she noticed that they were staring at a monument further up from the sign.
'Guys, what's wrong?'
'Again with the telepathy? How are you doing this?'
'Pikachu, I still don't know...'
'Serena, Pikachu, this isn't the time for that...I can see some sort of strange energy in that monument, and I don't like it...'
'I agree; there's dark auras over there, and that's never good...'
“...Serena?”
Shaking themselves out of their stupor, Serena and Ash's Pokemon turned to Kieran and sheepishly chuckled.
“Sorry about that; just got lost in our thoughts. Shall we get that photo?”
Kieran nodded, tilting his head in confusion. The pair got the photo, with Serena mounting Koraidon as she turned to the lad.
“The Pokemon seem a bit worried about that monument over there.” Serena pointed to the structure before looking back at Kieran. “I don't really understand why, though; it seems like Lucario's picking up some bad vibes from it.”
“I don't understand; that's the monument for the Loyal Three. They fell protecting the village from the ogre...Not that I agree with it...Anyway, we'd better get to the next signpost. We'll do the last one tomorrow, since it's far away.”
As they pair left, Serena, Pikachu, Greninja and Lucario kept stealing glances back to the monument with uneasy expressions...

Chapter Text

Serena felt a bit flustered after being dressed by Kieran and Carmine's grandparents, looking down at the dark green jinbei she was wearing with great confusion. The intricate embroidered faces of the Loyal Three littered the garment as she ran her fingers along the silk. It was as if the heritage and traditions of Kitakami had spun itself into the soft silk, eager to tell its tales to all onlookers. Serena's mind drifted away from the insistence of her hosts and onto how the silk could form other garments, bit soon snapped back into reality when she saw Ash's Pokemon standing before her.

“Not your greatest look...” Lucario gave his best attempt at a cheeky grin, which was not helped by his muzzle, with mischief in his red eyes.

“Lucario! Come on!” Serena pushed the Aura Pokemon away, face flushed red as she self-consciously tried to adjust the two-sizes too-large traditional garment.

Lucario began laughing as Greninja and Pikachu rolled their eyes, shaking their heads at him as they looked over to the squabbling siblings. Lucario blinked when Greninja's rounded webbed finger pointed to the duo, continuing his laughter when he saw the juvenile back and forth. They had been fighting over the Loyal Three and Ogre masks for the past ten minutes, with the sun having gone down between their arrival and the beginning of the argument. Serena, deciding against getting involved after three failed attempts, simply leaned against Koraidon as she fitted him with a small black bow tie. Him and the other Pokemon were given small coloured bow ties to mark the mask festival, and Koraidon was busy lapping up what he called his 'dapper' appearance. Taking a deep breath to enjoy the jasmine in the air, Serena scratched Koraidon's head as the evening air filled with distant chatter and laughter.

“Come on, sis!” Kieran gave a pleading gaze as Carmine took one of the only masks in the shed, with the lass simply shoving the Ogre mask into his hands.

“Kiki!” Carmine's tone was clipped as she spun on her heel, eyes giving a warning as Kieran sighed in defeat.

Carmine and Kieran walked up to the group, with Greninja blinking as Carmine shook her head at Kieran. “Kiki, you love that mask. Just wear it.”

“But...Serena...”

“They do know you could easily just make one on the spot, right?” Pikachu leaned on Serena's shoulder, a paw near his mouth as if whispering into her ear.

“Pretty sure she HAS a mask of one of us three, anyway...or even one of her Pokemon.” Greninja shook his head as he moved to Serena's side, preparing to help her out.

“Guys, please...” Serena groaned from her hands.

Carmine rushed out with a cheer of glee, with Kieran sighing as Serena was helped onto Koraidon by Greninja.

“I'm so sorry...”

“Here we go again...Don't worry about it; it's just a mask. I can get one...”

“But, what about that weird-looking thing in your bag?” Serena resisted the urge to correct Lucario, deciding to help Kieran board Koraidon with a small smile.

Greninja picked up Lucario as he attempted to go into Serena's bag, ignoring the Aura Pokemon's protests as he hopped off to the festival. Serena got Koraidon moving, turning to look at Kieran.

“It's alright, Kieran. Look...” Serena pulled out a Greninja mask, which had been styled to look like Ash-Greninja. “I made one myself the other day. I got bored and figured some arts and crafts would occupy me while I was waiting for the meet-up.”

“Wowzers...”

“I'm sure it'll be great fun tonight!”

Kieran smiled, with Koraidon roaring in delight as they raced up the road...

The Festival of the Masks was a bright and colourful affair.

Stalls adorned with bright bunting and masks for sale filled the temple, with Serena and the Pokemon staring in awe, Kieran smiled at her response, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Welcome to the Festival of Masks...”

“I've seen all sorts of festivals throughout the many regions, but this tops it...” Pikachu scanned the stalls with sparkling eyes, squealing when he saw Pikachu themed masks for sale.

“Wow...” Even Greninja was blown away by the bright lights in the cool night air, his stoicism dropping for the first time in months.

“The joyous auras in the area make me feel so good. You having fun, Serena?”

She smiled and nodded at Lucario, with Kieran blinking at her.

“Um...”

“Oh yeah...I forgot to tell you...”

Carmine rushed up to the pair, hugging them happily as Greninja face-palmed and Pikachu laughed. “This is so great! Oh, wow! Serena, that's a great mask!”

“Um...Thanks?” Serena gave a small sweat drop, chuckling in an airy awkward way.

Carmine immediately held out her Rotom phone on a selfie stick, smiling as she stood between Serena and Kieran. “How about a selfie to commemorate this?”

“That's...a really good idea, sis.” Kieran gave a big smile, and happily joined the selfie.

Greninja leaned over and gave a peace sign, with Pikachu smiling from Serena's shoulder. Lucario beamed as he slotted himself below Carmine, with Koraidon almost pushing the group onto the ground as the photo was taken. Kieran was the first one to move away, watching as Koraidon brought down the rest of the group with a loud thud. Small chuckles left him as other attendees turned and stared at the group.

“Nothing to see here...” Kieran attempted to move people on, only succeeding in drawing more attention.

Serena wormed her way out from underneath first, struggling to force Koraidon up from her position as Lucario and Greninja shifted into sitting positions. Pikachu had somehow managed to fall further away from the group, standing and shaking as Serena gestured madly to the bipedal Pokemon.

“Son of a...”

“Pikachu, I dare you to finish that sentence.”

Kieran blinked again as Carmine wheezed, laying stationary for a moment with heavy breathing.

“Is she...”

“She'll be fine; she's just winded. I've had that happen when I fell off Rhyhorn a few times. It's not fun...” Serena shrugged, taking a moment to check her leg.

It took a moment before Carmine got up, glaring at Koraidon before looking back to Kieran as he moved to a food stand. “When are you going to tell him you understand Pokemon?”

Serena, who had only just gotten partway to her feet, fell over in shock as Koraidon nudged her to help her up. “I was about to before you decided on a selfie...”

Kieran gave the pair toffee apples, blushing slightly from their gratitute as Carmine looked over to a stall up a flight of stairs.

“Oh! Ogre Oustin'! Come on, Kiki!”

“Oh boy...”

“Just...How?!”

Carmine sat next to Serena as she removed the sandal and held a piece of fabric over the injury, revealing the large red scars that covered her leg as red fluid oozed to the concrete below.

“I don't know...Ask the Greedant...” Serena stared past Carmine's head, still feeling faint after the accident during her turn at Ogre Oustin’.

“Are you sure you're alright? Koraidon freaked out with all your screaming.” Greninja moved to be in Serena's sight, concern heavy in his eyes.

“I'll be fine...Just need those medical supplies...”

Greninja tilted his head in the best approximation of a raised eyebrow of disbelief he could muster, shaking his head as Lucario and Pikachu stood to the side with a panicking Dragon-type. Carmine knelt down and began adding additional pressure to the wound, with Serena woozily looking around. Her eyes soon met what she thought was a child in a green cloak with a ornate green and orange mask on.

“Hey there...That's a cool mask.”

The child stepped closer, glancing to her leg before meeting her eyes again. It was clear this child was fearful, with their legs shuffling as they moved. “Th...Thank you...”

Carmine looked up, glancing over to the child before her jaw drooped. Squeaks left her as the child looked over to her and tilted their head.

“Your friend is weird...” The child spoke with a soft voice, but was loud enough for the injured lass to hear and offer a dizzy laugh.

“Once you get to know her, she's pretty okay... You having fun at the festival?”

“Yes! It's great to come down here and not get chased out!” The child hopped about happily, doing a small dance.

“Um, Serena...”

Carmine moved to stand as Greninja took over from her, allowing her to rest her arms as she stepped closer to the child. The child stepped back, making a small yelp of shock before running up the stairs nearby.

“Hey! Wait!”

Serena stumbled as she attempted to get up, with the Pokemon rushing to her side as she moved weakly to Carmine's side. The mask the child was wearing fell down the stairs, a gem chipping as it fell at her feet. Carmine picked it up with a gaping mouth, soon hiding it when she heard Kieran running up to them.

“Hey, guys! I've got the first aid kit! What's going on?” Kieran slowed as the group turned to him, with Serena being slowly returned to the bench.

“You know, there was this really cute kid with a mask just like yours...”

Carmine gave a small glare, but shook it off as she watched Greninja take over the patch-up.

“Really?” Kieran chuckled as Serena nodded before groaning.

“Yeah...Just a kid...”

Serena had just hobbled out of the community centre after a much-needed night of rest, and was halfway through a sip of water, when Carmine stepped directly in front of her. Spitting it all over the local and coughing, Serena almost fell over as she took a moment to regain her breath. People going about their daily business briefly glanced at the scene at Carmine's shout, soon deciding it was too early in the morning to get involved. Carmine pulled a disgusted face as she wiped herself down with her sleeve, shaking it off as Greninja and Lucario glared at her. Pikachu patted Serena on the back of her head, soon managing to get the morning back on track.

“Did you have to sneak up on me?”

“Didn't exactly mean to...Anyway, I got Grandpa to have a look at that mask.” Carmine held her hands together in front of her, clearly wanting to moved the conversation along.

“The one that kid dropped? Weird I don't remember much else...All I remember is that Greedant accidentally biting me and seeing the blood...”

“And yet, you managed to stand looking at me turned to stone by Yveltal...”

“Blood's different, Pikachu.” Greninja lifted Pikachu off of Serena, glaring at the yellow rodent with irritation.

Carmine watched as Serena shook her head at Pikachu and Greninja, who were bickering in their own language. “Guys, seriously...”

“Anyway, he said it's real!” Carmine jumped with her hands together, beaming brightly as Serena blinked.

“Um, what does that mean?”

“That child you spoke to wasn't a child! It was the OGRE! Oh Arceus! We can't tell Kiki about this...”

Carmine began pacing, with Serena blinking slowly as she turned to Lucario.

“Did she just say...”

“Oh yeah. You were chatting away with whatever Pokemon that was, and understanding it. Maybe it might be worth getting some help with seeing if it's all Pokemon, or if it's only specific ones you can understand.”

“Good thinking, Lucario.”

Carmine grabbed Serena's arm, pulling her close with a sharp glare. “Serena, do NOT tell Kiki! He'll freak! Or he'd do something ridiculous!”

Fear rendered Serena mute, with Kieran wandering up as Carmine stormed off. He stopped and watched the scene as Koraidon came out of his Pokeball.

“What's up with Carmine?” Kieran looked back to Serena, who was getting assistance to mount Koraidon.

“Don't know...Hey, do you think you could help me with a small experiment when we go check out that last sign?”

“Sure...”

Koraidon took the walk down to Paradise Barrens slowly, with Serena sitting so she could face Kieran as the pair rode the strange Pokemon.

“So, this experiment...” Kieran leaned forward slightly, a hand on his chin.

“Yeah; I had a strange experience last night that I have no real recollection about...”

“Well, you were woozy from looking at your own blood...Is that normal, by the way?"

“More normal than you think…” Serena rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, with Kieran beginning to show worry lines.

Greninja and Lucario wandered beside Koraidon as Pikachu sat on Serena's head, blinking in amazement as the electric mouse confirmed her statement to them.

“Anyway, I wanted to see whether I can understand all Pokemon or if it's just a select few...for some reason related to my heart, apparently.”

“Your heart?” Greninja moved closer to the duo, half dodging a large rock and half egging Serena on for an explanation.

“You don't remember telling me?”

Greninja shook his head, with Kieran looking between the two in amazement.

Serena pulled out her phone, opening up her notes and sighing. “I guess that really was just a dream... Anyway, my friends in Paldea came up with a list of theories, and your help could narrow it down.”

“O...okay?” Kieran leaned over slightly, looking at the screen as they drew closer to the sign.

“So, there's quite a few weird ones on here...Like me being part Pokemon, but I'm pretty sure I'd know about that. There's also things like psychic and aura...”

“Debunked; if it was aura, I'd know about it.” Lucario chuckled slightly as Serena gave a glare, sliding off Koraidon as they wandered over to the sign.

“Photo first?”

“S...sure...” Kieran held the stick as they got into position, taking the photo before pulling a Pokeball from his fanny pack.

He tossed it up to reveal a red apple that appeared to be covered in red syrup, which revealed itself to be a Pokemon when it moved. “Here...Try talking to my Dipplin...”

“What's a Dipplin?”

“Dip! Dip!” The Dipplin hopped closer, wriggling around in protest.

Serena blinked, turning to Pikachu as he stood in front of Kieran.

“Let me guess; you didn't understand?”

Shaking her head, Serena sighed and looked to the phone.

Crossing off another theory off the list, she turned to Kieran as he returned his Pokemon. “I guess we head back now…”

Kieran nodded, with the pair mounting Koraidon in silence…

Carmine stood in front of the community centre as Serena and Kieran returned, her eyes locked on the pair.

“Kiki, go be somewhere else for a bit…”

“Sis?” Kieran blinked, tilting his head slightly.

“GO!”

Kieran dismounted Koraidon swiftly, darting off with watery eyes as Ash's Pokemon glared at the lass.

“You know, that was harsh…” Serena gave a glare, hands on her hips as Koraidon leaned forward.

“Not important; look, we need to go to the Crystal Pool to get a new crystal for the Ogre's mask.”

Serena kept a steely gaze, unimpressed at Carmine as she merely scoffed and hid behind her hair. “Look, I know you're not happy with how I'm acting, but it's for his own good. Not everyone here thinks his love of the Ogre is great…”

Serena stayed silent, glancing over to Lucario as the Aura Pokemon nodded. Greninja and Pikachu sighed at the scene, with the Kitakami local shaking her head.

“Come on; we need to get going. The Ogre must be upset without its…”

Serena leaned forward, joined by Koraidon's glaring and the battle-ready stances of Ash's Pokemon. “HER.”

“...her mask.”

Serena gave a curt nod, with Carmine leading the way as Greninja slunk to walk beside Serena and Koraidon.

“You see it too, don't you?”

“I do, but I don't really want her to know what we're thinking about her, either. This is almost a full Reversal of Clemont and Bonnie… if Bonnie was a jerk…” Serena silently huffed, some of her hair shifting in her puff.

“Agreed…Carmine is being bit too protective, and it's making it hard for Kieran to be himself. I'll keep an eye on her and compare notes with Lucario.”

“Good idea.”

Carmine's screaming could be heard from the entrance to the Crystal Pool, leaving Serena and Pikachu blinking as they approached. “...YOU KNOW FOR A FACT THAT THIS PLACE IS SACRED! HOW DARE YOU TAKE A SAMPLE FROM THE WATER HERE?!”

Miss Briar kept an excited expression, looking to Carmine without even flinching. A small grunt left Lucario as Greninja pretended to look at a watch he was not wearing. Koraidon sat down the moment Serena dismounted, with the lass deciding to play on her phone while the screaming continued.

“She's passionate… Serena, shut the left door!” “Nice spotting, Pikachu.” Serena waited a few moments before reopening the door in her game, thankful for the assistance in her sixtieth attempt to pass Night 2 on Five Nights at Freddy's.

“Thanks. Battling can help, but I guess this is to get you into a similar shape?”

Miss Briar strolled past, bumping Serena and causing her to fumble her phone as screeching left it.

“Man! Just when Foxy the Pirate Thievil was running!” Sighing, Serena pocketed her phone with a small huff.

Carmine blinked, shaking herself out of her moment with a sigh. “Sorry; I've been trying to stop her obsession with Area Zero for months now… I didn't realise she'd try and desecrate the Crystal Pool, though…”

Serena spotted Lucario nodding, with Greninja motioning for her to continue with what they were doing. They took a few steps towards the pool, with something moving in the water as they reached the edge.

“What's with those two?” Carmine jabbed a thumb in the direction of the Pokemon, with Serena shrugging it off.

“I think they're confirming something…Anyway, should we get this shard?”

Before either of them could take a step forward, a long cream, red and blue serpent leapt out of the water and glared with glowing black eyes.

“MILOO!”

“A Milotic?!”

“Look out!” Serena shoved Carmine to the ground as a beam of ice shot forward, catching her injured leg.

Serena screamed in pain, sending Ash's Pokemon into action as Carmine watched the ice freeze her friend's leg.

Carmine grabbed one of her Pokeballs, taking a breath to steady herself. “Ninetails, come out and melt the ice!”

The Milotic dodged Water Shuriken, with Greninja swearing in his own language before shouting to Pikachu. Carmine blinked at the display, swiftly turning her attention back to Serena as she grunted and tried to get away from Ninetails’ fire.

“I… I think the scream you had at Briar woke…woke it up…” Serena dryly chuckled, a groan leaving her as she shivered from the attack.

“Stay calm, Serena. Ninetails will melt the ice off soon.”

Lucario wandered over with a crystal in paw, with Pikachu and Greninja chasing the Milotic off behind him. He handed it to Carmine as he helped her keep Serena from moving.

“Thank you, Lucario.” Carmine looked over to Serena as the last of the ice melted, seeing the lass close to passing out from pain. “And thank you for saving me, Serena…Come on; we need to get her back to town to get her some help!”

Clicks filled the afternoon air as Serena followed Carmine to the monument, having roused only an hour ago after the attack at the pool. “How, exactly, did Kieran steal the mask? Surely we weren't gone that long!”

Carmine paused at the monument garden gate, waiting patiently for Serena to catch up on her crutches. “You realise you were unconscious for at least one of those two hours we were gone, right?”

“I'm honestly amazed you didn't wake up when I leapt down most of those cliffs…” Koraidon padded beside Serena as she hobbled along, with calls from Ash's Pokemon summoning them into the gardens.

“Kiki!”

Kieran stood with the mask in his hands, glaring at his sister in annoyance. “Why didn't you tell me?!”

Carmine stood her ground, locking eyes with Kieran as she hovered a hand over her Pokeball belt. Serena gestured to Lucario and Greninja, who grabbed the boy as Pikachu darted off the Ninja Pokemon's shoulder and grabbed the mask.

“Smart move; don't want this any more broken.”

Serena merely put a finger to her lips, with Pikachu nodding. “Kieran, calm down please!”

Kieran glared angrily for a moment, shrugging off the Pokemon and moving to the monument with balled fists.

“Kiki, please let me explain!”

“Argh!” Kieran punched the monument, causing a slight cloud of purple light to push off as Greninja grabbed him and hauled him behind Carmine.

“Kiki, I'm so sorry… I just didn't want you to do something that would get you hurt…” Carmine reached out to her brother, but was soon interrupted by Serena's frantic gestures.

“Guys, touching and all, but…”

The monument exploded in a blast of purple light, with Ash's Pokemon hiding everyone behind Koraidon as the energy from the blast created gale force winds.

“So, what? Everyone thinks I'm a Steel type or something? I'm clearly Dragon and Fighting…”

“Just no, Koraidon…” Lucario reached up and gave a small hit upside Koraidon's head, receiving a growl in response.

The group peered over the mysterious Pokemon, seeing three Pokemon with purple and black colouration. The first was a bulky canine with a partially green face, lolling its tongue around as it laughed darkly. The second was a sausage-shaped blue monkey with piercing yellow eyes. The third flapped black wings as orange feathers shifted in the breeze, screeching with a sense of haughtiness as Serena glanced over to the Kitakami locals.

“Those the…”

“Loyal Three? Yep.” Carmine nodded matter-of-factly, glancing over to her brother.

“That's Okidogi, Munkidori and Fezandipiti.”

The trio roared at Koraidon, fleeing towards the town as Lucario jumped from behind the shaken Dragon. “I knew it!”

Carmine glanced to Kieran and Serena, her eyes showing a glint of determination. “Kiki, you take the crystal and the mask to Grandpa. Serena and I will ride Koraidon and try to stop them.”

“S…sure…”

Serena looked to the lad, who had paused and glanced back uncertainly, and gave an encouraging nod. “You've got this, Kieran.”

Chapter Text

Serena could only think about one thing as Koraidon charged up the mountain, flanked by Greninja and Lucario, and that was how she owed Dawn twenty Pokedollars on the bet she had made two years ago. She had said, foolishly in hindsight, that Ash's legendary Pokemon encounters were mostly due to his presence; after parting ways with him, she had not seen a single legendary or mythical Pokemon. Dawn, however, correctly claimed his cap was some sort of cursed artefact.

“Damn, girl…”

Carmine glanced up from her phone, raising her eyebrow as Serena dismissed her confusion. Reaching the small alcove on Oni Mountain, they were met with deep gouges in the mountain face, scorch marks on what little greenery cling to the stone, and a quivering Pokemon hidden by the Loyal Three.

“Hey!” Serena slid off Koraidon as she hobbled forward, her crutches long forgotten somewhere at the bottom of a cliff. “Leave her alone!”

Carmine leapt off behind her, seeing the trio turn around slowly with hatred in their eyes. Serena had let out her Delphox, standing beside her partner as they edged closer to the group.

Delphox had her flaming wand out in preparation for an attack, a low growl in her throat as Serena reached the cowering creature. “You're going to be okay… Delphox, give them a Mystical Fire!”

Delphox gave a nod, waving her wand in a large circle. “You losers have made quite a mistake…”

The flames remained in the circle, with Delphox firing a burst from the centre and knocking the trio away.

She then put her stick back into her red fur sleeve, dusting off grey paws with a smug expression. “And that is how you deal with idiots…”

Serena chuckled as Delphox moved to Ash's Pokemon, who stuck near Koraidon in case the Loyal Three came back. “Thanks heaps, Delphox. Hey, you alright?”

“That…that was scary…” The Ogre shivered as she gripped Serena, with Carmine smiling in relief.

“Good to see the Ogre's alright.”

“Why does everyone call me that? I'm Ogerpon!” Ogerpon jumped in front of Serena, trying to put barely there hands on her hips with a huff.

Serena giggled at the scene, soon shaking it off when Delphox stared at her in horror. “Delphox?”

“You know how I sent them flying? Well… they've gone to the town…”

Serena let out an undignified squeak, with Carmine backing up as she switched her gaze between her Pokemon and the town at the foot of the mountain. Ogerpon poked her as Ash's Pokemon took a hint and darted off, leaving Delphox to approach her trainer and shake her out of her stupor.

“KIERAN'S DOWN THERE!”

Kieran pauses at the hall after delivering the mask, sitting down on the steps with a huff of annoyance. “I wish Serena was my sister, not Carmine…”

He let out his Dipplin, who nuzzled his leg and left sticky syrup on it. He patted his Pokemon with a chuckle, soon pausing when he felt a breeze shift his hair. A single blink brought Greninja into his view, causing him to gasp and fall off the step.

“What the?! What was that for?!” “

Nin gren ninja gren ja.” Greninja waved his arms towards the sky, with Kieran simply laying on the ground and staring at the Pokemon in confusion.

“Huh?” Before Kieran could say anything, he saw a black shadow forming on the ground nearby.

Glancing up, he saw a muddle of three bodies falling from the sky.

THUD!

Residents paused in their morning stall browsing, turning to see a large impact crater and the Loyal Three standing with pained expressions. It was at this moment, with the air filled with mumbles of awe and surprise, that Kieran realised that Greninja had picked him up and moved him.

Shifting his legs, he found Dipplin somehow stuck to his ankle and sighed again. “Since you've got me, could you help get my Pokemon free?”

The moment Greninja put Kieran down, Okidogi shoved past them and wandered up to the hall. Munkidori and Fezandipiti followed behind, drinking in the attention as townsfolk handed them three masks and three large plates of coloured mochi. Kieran simply stared from behind Greninja, watching as the trio gulped down the food and cackled eagerly.

“This isn't good…” Kieran's eyes widened as they darted away, knocking a red thing out of the sky. “...really not good…”

Serena and Kieran watched as Carmine ranted at the townsfolk, which she had been doing for the past hour. Lucario and Greninja were busy looking around and trying to figure out where the Loyal Three had gone. Pikachu was making notes on Serena's phone, while the phone owner wiped Koraidon down with a damp cloth.

“Why didn't you tell me you can't fly now?” Serena shook her as Kieran moved to his sister, ignoring Koraidon's mumbling.

Poking Carmine, Kieran sighed and looked over to see Pikachu hopping about in a happy dance.

Deciding against asking, he turned back to Serena as she stood. “Yeah, I heard him…”

A grunt left her as Ogerpon hopped into view, leaving the lass to grab the red creature to keep her balance. “We have to do something! Those are my masks! They'll kill someone, just like they did my friend!” Ogerpon turned to see the townsfolk staring incredulously at her, immediately hiding behind Serena as Carmine continued her ranting.

“Is that…” Kieran moved closer in amazement, only met with the hiding Pokemon flinching further behind Serena.

Serena moved to speak, but was interrupted by Carmine unleashing a long, loud scream. Everyone stopped and stared at her, with Kieran deciding to grab his sister's arm and pull her away.

Serena received her phone from Pikachu, nodding before turning to the caretaker. “I don't understand why you persisted with the false story, or even what the truth is, but those three are clearly not heroes…”

Glancing at her phone, Serena turned on her heel before mounting Koraidon and riding after the siblings. “Time to hunt down those crooks…”

Munkidori was visible in the distance as the group rode Koraidon towards Wistful Pond, with Ogerpon hiding her face in Serena's body as they slowed. Kieran huffed slightly at this, but shook it off as he looked to his sister. Carmine was shivering as they stopped, falling off Koraidon with a squeak as the others dismounted. Greninja turned to Lucario with a bemused expression peeping over his tongue scarf, with the Aura Pokemon helping the girl to her feet.

The group approached slowly, with Serena gesturing to Greninja as Pikachu sparked on her shoulder. “Just a little bit further…”

Serena paused when a small sneeze echoed in the quiet mid morning air, turning to see Kieran rubbing his nose. “Aw Yveltal wings…”

“Mmkay!” The purple chain on Munkidori swung around and knocked the Ninja Pokemon away, forcing him to land on the ground.

Serena groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. “So much for stealth…Greninja, Water Shuriken!”

“We need another plan, Serena!” The group gasped when the shurikens barely made their opponent flinch.

Greninja turned to Serena with a determined expression, which was received with a nod. “Carmine, Kieran, we'll need your help to create a diversion. Lucario, Pikachu, I need you to keep Ogerpon safe.”

Serena made a fist in front of the blue ribbon she had put on top of the jinbei, her voice steady despite her racing heart.

“You can count on us! Come on, Kiki!”

“Aw man…” Kieran gripped his Pokeball as he saw a water torrent engulf Greninja, freezing in amazement as Carmine let out her Mightyena.

Serena immediately recognised the energy that was building within her, and she saw Greninja standing before her in his unusual Ash-Greninja form. She heard Carmine sputter and gasp in shock, but ignored it as she sent Greninja around the back of Munkidori.

“Sis?” Kieran nudged Carmine before ordering his Probopass to attack.

Shaking her head, Carmine growled to herself and pointed forward aggressively. “Mightyena, use Crunch!”

An hour had passed since their approach, but they were yet to defeat Munkidori. The monkey-like Pokemon had defeated all of Kieran's Pokemon, forcing him to stand back from the fight. Carmine was down to her Sinistcha, who was barely hanging on itself. Serena panted alongside Greninja as they stared at Munkidori, seeing some tiredness, but not fully from their attacks. No matter what Carmine and Kieran did, their opponent was able to predict what they were doing and intercept the Ninja Pokemon.

“Man! How are we meant to beat this thing?!” Greninja shook his head as he looked to Serena, seeing her brow furrowed. “Serena?”

“He's clearly able to predict our movements… What if we do something unpredictable?” Greninja gave a nod as Serena smiled at him, tapping her foot to a rhythm no-one else could hear.

He began hopping from one foot to another in time with the taps, with Kieran gazing in confusion.

“Greninja, it's time to take centre stage!” Serena twirled around as the Pokemon mimicked her, managing to hit a bewildered Munkidori with Water Shurikens created during the spin.

“Alright!” Greninja couldn't help the small cheer that left him as well, feeling Serena's joy as his own before refocusing on the battle.

They moved gracefully, dancing around their opponent as Carmine ordered her Sinistcha to attack. As they moved behind Munkidori, Serena spotted a blue mask on his back. The mask had gems forming tears, and seemed to be forced onto Munkidori's back.

“Greninja, I found the mask. We're going to need to do a bit of a tap dance on him.” Almost losing the rhythm, the Ninja Pokemon gazed at Serena in shock.

“Tap dance… on him?!”

The performer-turned-trainer simply nodded, managing a quick backflip to dodged a swing of Munkidori's chain. “Duh. Now, get me up on his head and I'll distract him. You use Aerial Ace to tap along his back and grab the mask.”

With little more than a sigh, Greninja grabbed the trainer and leapt up to their opponent's head. His feet glowed bright blue as he landed, jumping off as Serena's feet scooted and hopped on Munkidori's black fur.

Serena smirked. “Let's get down!”

Kieran and Carmine watched as Serena danced on Munkidori's head, eyes wide in disbelief as Sinistcha blasted the oversized Pokemon's feet with scalding water.

“Kiki…” Carmine turned to her brother, her expression barely shifting. “Am I going mad, or is she dancing on that thing's head?”

Kieran took a moment to clear his throat, almost unable to speak from a building dread. “Nope… She's dancing on its head. Don't think it likes it, though…”

Munkidori was frantically thrashing about, struggling to remove the irritation as they spotted a blue blur on its back. Lucario pushed past them as Ogerpon and Pikachu cheered beside them, his normally default stoic face warped into an expression of abject horror and amazement. Despite the clear language barrier between the siblings and him, they knew for certain his loud howls were calling out Serena's plan.

“Sis…Which one of us will be the one to tell her school and parents how she died dancing on a local legend?” Kieran blinked shortly after his question, muttering “aw man” under his breath

“You have got to be kidding me…” Carmine gripped her head and screamed as her Pokemon stared back at her in confusion. Kieran gasped as Greninja appeared in front of them, holding the mask in front of Ogerpon while Carmine stumbled backwards.

“What is wrong with you?!”

Kieran shook his head at Carmine as she ordered another Scald attack, giving a pained smile as Ogerpon danced with her mask.

Greninja gave Kieran a strange gaze before turning back to Munkidori, reaching behind his back as Serena did the same. They began dancing in sync, with the trainer miming as the Ninja Pokemon spun his Water Shuriken and made it grow larger.

Carmine grabbed her brother's shoulders, shaking him excitedly. “Serena is so cool! How is she so strong when she told me she was a performer and coordinator?!”

Watching as the Shurkien flew forward, Kieran felt a small part of him burn in rage. ‘Why is she stronger than us? What do I do?’

A cool breeze blew faint hints of jasmine through the otherwise barren area as the sky began turning purple. Serena and Ash's Pokemon all shared a furrowed brow and tired eyes as Carmine kept quizzing her and prodding at the Pokemon. Pikachu's cheeks sparked briefly, with Kieran sitting quietly behind his sister as Ogerpon hopped beside them.

Tuning out her companion's enthusiasm, Serena turned to the Grass Type with a smile. “How're you handling this so well?”

“You guys are being so nice to me; it's making me feel so good! Also, how come Munkidori couldn't break into you and Greninja's telepathy?”

Serena blinked, soon forgetting the conversation when they reached Okidogi. “Tell me later. Guys, we're here!”

Dismounting Koraidon, the trio watched as the second of the ‘Loyal’ Three punched a Stone pillar and cackled at the destruction. Carmine was the first to act, sending out her Ninetails. Serena attempted to stop her, soon finding it was too late as an Incinerate attack zipped towards Okidogi. It responded by punching the fire with a roar, with Kieran whispering “wowzers” with wide eyes.

“That…that…” Carmine began tugging her hair again, leaving Serena to slightly shuffle towards Ogerpon.

“Hey, Ogerpon, what can you tell me about this guy's weakness?” Serena grabbed one of her Pokeballs, with Ash's Pokemon moving in around the mask wielder.

“Dumb muscle… That's it.” Despite eyes with permanent stars, Ogerpon lowered her eyelids and gave a tiny pout.

Letting out Pancham, she leaned on Koraidon and nodded. “Pancham, start off with rapid fire Dark Pulses!”

“Right, but what in the name of Giratina is that thing?!”

Black and purple rings shot from Pancham's paws, but were wiped away by Okidogi's arms. Serena pulled Carmine's hands away from her hair as she bit her bottom lip in thought. It was clear Okidogi was strong enough to punch away most attacks, barely showing any sign of damage. Pancham decided to go into a charge towards their opponent, his arm coated with a light blue glow. Before Serena could utter a single sound, Okidogi swung its fist and knocked the tiny Pokemon directly into his trainer. Serena let out a choked grunt as she fell backward, with Kieran shaking Carmine out of her stupor and pulling her over to their downed friend.

“Sis, we clearly need a new plan…” Kieran winced under his bangs as Serena moaned in pain, returning Pancham to his ball.

Carmine glared at him. “You think?!”

Poking their heads out of a cave as the moon rose, Serena and Carmine watched as Kieran drew Okidogi closer to them.

“Tell me why you chose your brother as the bait?” Serena looked over to Carmine, who nervously played with her fingers.

“Well… between you not being able to run because of your leg, and me not being able to run because of it being a trigger for my asthma, Kiki was our only option left… I didn't realise how bad this would end up…” Carmine sighed softly, looking out to see Kieran drawing closer to the agreed mark.

Serena looked at the lass with concern, soon shaking it off and lifting her arm so Pikachu could run down. His cheeks sparked in readiness, watching as Okidogi drew closer.

“Hold…” Serena kept her arm up, taking a single deep breath with closed eyes. “Now! Pikachu, use Electroweb to slow Okidogi down!”

“Hope this works!” Pikachu leapt into the air, forming a ball of electricity at his tail before slinging it onto the ground.

Okidogi grunted as its foot got caught in the web, roaring as electricity flowed through him.

“Ninetails, Extrasensory!” Carmine leapt out from her hiding place, watching as her Pokemon's eyes glowed blue.

Greninja leapt off of the top of the stone pillar he had been hiding on, firing off several Water Shurikens as Lucario stepped out beside Serena.

He closed his eyes as Okidogi was lifted up and down into the Electroweb, soon opening them and turning to Serena. “Found the mask!”

“Where?” Serena squinted as the form continued to move, struggling to see where Okidogi hid the mask as it flailed in fury.

“Near the chain around his neck.”

“It's a him?”

“That's what you got out of that?” Lucario waved his paws around in irritation, the default glare more pronounced.

“Sorry, sorry. I'll get Sylveon to use her feelers to get hold of it. Once Carmine finishes having her fun…” Serena sighed as Carmine giggled at Okidogi floating up and down.

Ogerpon stood next to Serena, her eyes barely hiding the unease as she hid behind the trainer. The pair also saw Kieran watching the scene intently, his eyes locked on Carmine's ‘plaything’ with an almost morbid fascination as Serena reached for her Sylveon's Pokeball.

Warming their hands by a small campfire, the trio enjoyed a snack of sandwiches and biscuits as Serena nodded along to Ogerpon's words. Carmine was still eating her sandwich with glee, successfully keeping Koraidon away from her food as Kieran sat in silence and stared at the flickering flames.

“Right…Ogerpon said Fezandipiti is all about his beauty, and has stopped in the middle of a battle before after becoming dirty. The best thing to do would be to mess him up, then attack properly while he's distracted.” Serena pumped a fist in excitement as she carded the fingers of her other hand through Pikachu's fur.

“Great plan, Sere - Get your red scaly face away from my sandwich!” Carmine shoved Koraidon's head away once again, with the Pokemon grumbling under his breath as he returned to his Pokeball to mope.

Serena looked to Kieran, who still hadn't said a word since they decided to set up camp for the night. “Kieran?”

“I… I'm not coming.”

“But -”

“I need to become stronger…” Kieran dropped his plate onto the ground, storming into the blue tent he had set up for himself. “I'll meet you at the Ogre's Den…”

“I did something wrong by trying to hide it, didn't I?” Carmine looked down, hiding her eyes under her bangs.

Serena stayed silent, watching the boy walk away. Her mind immediately went into overdrive, focusing on the strange behaviour Kieran had been exhibiting since the hunt for the Loyal Three and the stolen masks began. “Carmine, has he been picked on in the past?”

“Yeah… it's why I try and protect him… is it too much? Or am I doing something wrong?” Carmine held one of her Pokeballs, sighing sadly as she began running her fingers over it.

“Carmine…” Serena's mind went back to Clemont and Bonnie's interactions during her journey through Kalos by Ash's side. Silence overtook the pair, with Ogerpon whimpering by Serena's side…

The sun shone high in the clear blue sky as Koraidon paused near Fezandipiti, who was happily doing spins and flips in flight. Serena dismounted first, immediately sending out her Sylveon and silently ordering a Fairy Wind attack.

Greninja and Lucario began kicking up dust as the Intertwining Pokemon whipped her feelers around, with Carmine running up beside Serena. “Looks like one of our plans is finally working.”

Serena turned with raised eyebrows. “Please don't Jynx it…”

Giving a shrug, the Kitakami local threw a Pokeball up and revealed a leafy bipedal Bug and Grass Type with a yellow caring face. “Leavanny, use String Shot to slow him down!”

Nodding, the dual type shot out a sticky white substance from her mouth. The silk hit its mark, with Fezandipiti flying around maniacally to try and shake it off. Serena soon got the dust to stop, revealing a tangled Pokemon crowing in irritation. He rolled around on the ground, only succeeding in collecting more dirt.

“Now! Greninja, Water Shuriken! Lucario, use Aura Sphere! Sylveon, you use Swift!” Serena beamed at their success, sending Pikachu to collect the mask.

Ogerpon cheered, hopping around as Carmine clapped her hands. Her joy soon paused when she began coughing harshly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a blue inhaler. The battle soon finished, with Fezandipiti free from the silk and fleeing as Pikachu handed the last mask to Ogerpon.

“Thank you so much! I'm so happy!” Ogerpon appeared to hug the mask as Carmine took one final puff from her inhaler.

Serena walked over, immediately being pounced on by an overenthusiastic Koraidon as Ash's Pokemon stared in disbelief. Sylveon padded over to Carmine, checking up on her as the mood quickly turned.

“Carmine, Kieran said to meet him at the den… Do you think he's alright?” Serena wiped off the drool on her face, carefully mounting Koraidon as she looked to her companion.

“I don't know. But it can't be good; he was eyeing off Okidogi, and he seemed jealous about what you did with Greninja…”

“Let's hope we're imagining things…”

Chapter Text

Ogerpon had decided she was too tired to climb up to the Dreaded Den, so she slipped in between Carmine and Serena as they rode up Oni Mountain in silence.

Eventually, the silence became too much to bear as Carmine cleared her throat. “I'm sorry I started all this…”

Serena turned to face her, a stren but concerned expression settling on her face. “Don't be sorry; unless you're friends with Dialga or Celebi, you can't predict the future.”

“But…”

Serena sighed as Carmine played with her gloves. “When you two can, please talk about this. I know siblings that have had to do that too. Went well for them.”

Carmine nodded silently, saying little as the group arrived at the den. Kieran stood near the cave, tapping his foot impatiently as Koraidon stopped. 

“Took you long enough.” The duo and Pokemon blinked; he sounded cold and harsh, his eyes blank as he stepped forward.

Serena and Carmine dismounted Koraidon, helping Ogerpon off as Greninja and Lucario flanked them. Ogerpon took one glance at Kieran, swiftly hiding behind Serena as he gripped his hair angrily. 

“Kieran? What's gotten into you?”

Kieran huffed. “I'm the one who loves Ogerpon… SO WHY ARE YOU THE ONE SHE BONDS WITH?!”

Ogerpon squeaked as she buried her face into Serena's jinbei. 

“Calm down, would you? I don't even know how this happened!” Serena put a fist to her chest, wrapping her fingers around the ribbon. 

Kieran stepped back, moving to the other side of the alcove before pulling a Pokeball from his fanny pack. “Here's how we'll do it. We fight. Winner gets the Ogre.”

“Ogerpon is not a prize…” Serena shivered uncontrollably; the greens, browns and greys had begun to shift into various shades of red as her heart raced. “No… You can't win…”

Carmine gulped as Serena staggered back slightly, moving Ogerpon out of the way as Kieran sent out his first Pokemon. A brown and white figure revealed itself, its wooden legs tapping as it waved the fans on his hands.

“L…l…” Serena glanced over to Greninja, who was already surrounded by a water torrent. “LYSANDRE!!!”

Carmine blinked as Greninja and Serena transformed, immediately turning on her phone and typing furiously. “Who in Arceus’ name is Lysandre?”

Blinking, Serena found herself looking at the glimmer of Prism Tower in the distance and gulped. The sky was a deep red, creating an aura of dread and disaster. In the distance, she could see the gleam from the Zyrock as it approached the Anistar City Sundial.

“No…”

Lysandre’s laughter echoed in the air as the monolith grew closer, with Serena seeing Greninja standing next to her in a battle-ready position. The Gym Leaders of Kalos gathered around, with their Mega Evolved partners beside them, with Bonnie holding Serena close.

“Not again…” She shivered in terror, glancing over to Greninja with a mix of fear and determination. 

“We can't let him get past…Not now, not ever!”

“We'll do this together! He'll pay for trying to force the Bond Phenomenon!”

Serena gave a nod, gently pushing Bonnie behind her and barely noticing the unusually leafy texture of her friend's head. Her eyes narrowed, with Greninja moving forward.

“Greninja, Aerial Ace!” Serena could hear Bonnie calling out to her, but ignored it as Greninja advanced on the Zyrock.

The Ninja Pokemon leapt up with blue glowing feet, spinning in a ball to speed up his descent to strike the suddenly small monolith. “Huh?”

Serena soon felt shaking on her form, watching as Greninja miraculously knocked the monolith out. “What the?”

The shaking soon made the red sky dissolve, leaving the Dreaded Den in its wake.

Serena closes her eyes, panting heavily as she heard Carmine calling her name. Ogerpon was shaking her, with Kieran staring in a mix of confusion and fear. Opening her eyes again, she saw Greninja standing over Kieran's Shiftry looking just as puzzled as she did.

“Arceus…”

It had taken a few hours for Serena and Greninja to recover from the flashback, with Kieran glaring at Ogerpon the entire time. She was busy rubbing Serena's arm with her leafy cloak, with Carmine standing in front of them with a raised eyebrow. 

“Serena, what was that?” Carmine gestured to the previous battlefield, revealing a hole in the stone where Greninja had attacked Shiftry. 

Greninja, who was still in his Ash-Greninja form, stared blankly at it as Lucario and Pikachu comforted him.

“I…I think it was a flashback… I was back in Kalos. Back to the crisis…” Serena kept her eyes to the stone beneath her, her breath shaky as she rubbed the extended ribbon. 

Carmine gulped, turning to Kieran with fiery eyes. Ogerpon tried to talk her down, but quickly remembered the language barrier as she stomped towards her brother and began berating him.

Serena stood up, her legs shaking as she moved to Greninja. “You alright?”

“Why? Why did we go back there? I thought I was getting better after the vines…”

“Greninja…” Serena sat beside him, shaking her head as Pikachu hopped into her lap. “I thought I was too… Ever since I went to Hoenn, I had nightmares almost every night. It took a long time for those to stop, but it…it just all came back…”

Pikachu sighed, looking between the pair. “Ash had nightmares after everything legendary encounter, and it was terrifying. All it takes is one trigger… and the way Kieran was acting, yeah. That's a trigger.”

Serena looked up to see Carmine yelling at Kieran, deciding to use the estimated hour to rest until the lass ran out of steam…

Carmine sat down on a nearby rock, using her inhaler as she glared at her brother. He was still standing with an aura of anger and ignorance, but he had insisted on continuing the battle. Serena gave a worried glance to Carmine as some stray dust sent her into a mild coughing fit. The sun beamed brightly on them, the midday heat building on the already thick atmosphere. Kieran huffed as he tossed up two Pokemon. One was the same Dipplin he let out to test Serena's abilities, while the other was a grey stone entity with a large red nose and black moustache underneath. Serena pulled up her Rotom phone and scanned it, revealing it was a Probopass. 

“Never seen that before…”

Greninja stood beside her, blinking while maintaining his stoic crossed-arm pose. “That is the biggest nose I've ever seen…”

Struggling to hold in her laughter, Serena gestured to Lucario as he made his way over. She felt a strange energy emanating from her, similar to the energy from the first time she transformed, and gasped as Lucario Mega Evolved before her eyes.

Serena immediately gave herself a pat-down. “I… I don't OWN a Keystone…”

Lucario grabbed Serena's phone out of her hand, taking a photo of her with some grunts of irritation, before handing it back to her.

Before she could check the photo, Kieran cleared his throat and glared at her. “Come on already…”

Sighing, Serena moved to the battlefield and locked eyes with Kieran. “If Greninja and Lucario weren't so adamant about proving a point, I'd forfeit.”

“So why don't you?”

Serena's eyes narrowed as she clutched the centre of the ribbon that flowed around her. “Because I'm fighting for Ogerpon’s sake; she's not a prize to be claimed!”

Carmine blinked as she watched Serena command Greninja and Lucario in battle, quickly scanning the latter to learn more about the change in form.

“How did she do that?” She soon found herself staring at Ogerpon, who had taken to hiding from the battle with a small squeak. “Want some company?”

Ogerpon blinked with a confused tilt of her head, smiling slightly as Carmine sat beside her behind a rock. “Pon?”

“Yeah, this all has been one stupid mistake after another… Now Serena has to clean up my mess…” Carmine sighed, soon feeling Ogerpon rubbing her arm with gentle chittering. “Thanks…”

Ogerpon chattered happily as she kept rubbing Carmine's arm, with the lass watching the fight with worried eyes. ‘What has gotten into him? Have I missed something that happened to him at school? Is he learning to stand up for himself the wrong way?’

Carmine shook her head, turning away and furiously wiping her eyes. Ogerpon cooed sadly, with the lass dissolving into loud sobbing…

Serena, Greninja and Lucario glared at Kieran as he gripped his Pokeball in rage, his fist shaking and forcing the red return beam to shake violently.

“Why…Why can't I win?!” Kieran gripped his hair and screamed, the mournful sound bouncing off the stone walls around them.

Serena panted as Greninja and Lucario showed signs of fatigue, the battle having raged for hours. The sun was setting, but still he persisted. Kieran threw up his last two remaining Pokemon. The first to be let out was a dark green Bug-Type with malice-filled red eyes and four buzzing wings, the sound of which made Serena shudder. The second was a shiver light blue frog with a swirl pattern on its stomach, its muscles flexing menacingly. Greninja simply blinked in confusion, looking between his thinner arms and the Pokemon before him.

“Yanmega, use Air Cutter! Poliwrath, you use Belly Drum! Finish this quick!” Kieran punched the air in front of him as glowing air shot forward, the sound of skin-slapping echoing around them.

Serena gulped, leaping to the side as Ash's Pokemon did the same. They glared at the lad in irritation, gulping at the frenzied smile on his face.

Serena's eyes flicked around the area, an idea bubbling. “We're going to need brute strength for Poliwrath, and stealth for Yanmega…”

“You're speaking like you know what they are... I've never seen them before…” Greninja leapt over another wave of Air Cutter blades.

Lucario ducked underneath, leaving holes from his spikes in the dirt below. “Mr Speedy and Punchy the Frogmon? Well, duh…”

“Greninja, you're the king of speed; I'll need you to divert attention with Cut and Aerial Ace.”

“Sounds like a plan!”

“Lucario, I need you to use the strongest Aura Sphere you can muster. Follow it up with Bullet Punch if needed.”

“I have an extra idea that might help. One that will help both of us.”

Serena nodded, her stance locked as the two Pokemon suddenly duplicated.

She gave a thoughtful hum, a smirk on her face. ‘Good idea, guys…’

Greninja swiped at a startled Yanmega with glowing white knives, with Lucario cradling a large blue ball of aura in his paws. The duplicates mimicked the pair, with Serena watching as a large cloud of dust filled the air. Her arms swiped at the circling dust as if wielding knives, with the lazy wind blowing the dust away. The group gasped as Kieran's last two Pokemon toppled to the ground, with the lad screaming in anger. Ogerpon chattered nervously as Greninja and Lucario reverted back to their normal forms, turning to Serena as she dropped to her knees.

“I know what that means…” Greninja leapt forward, catching her as Serena lost consciousness…

Kieran huffed as he sat outside his home, staring at his Pokeballs with burning yellow eyes.

“Serena was totally stronger than me… no wonder the Ogre wants to be with her…” Kieran furrowed his brow, the shine that had once filled his eyes dimming as his mind whirred. He rose to his feet, returning his Pokeballs to his fanny pack as he glared out to the setting sun.

“I will become stronger…Stronger, and stronger… I will beat her, and I will show her I'm not weak!” Kieran made a fist as he walked away, casting one final glance back to his home before continuing on. “But first, I need to start planning my new team. And I have just the place to start…”

As he made his way our of his garden, he paused and saw Ogerpon staring at him in worry. Kieran reached our with a fragment of hope, but sighed when she wandered away with fearful chittering.

“I will prove my worth, and I will do it by taming one of your worst enemies and making them one of my strongest friends…”

“Serena… Serena, can you hear me?” Carmine looked over Serena as she came too, soon grumbling as Ash's Pokemon pushed her aside and huddled around her. “Come on!”

Serena gave a small chuckle, rustling Pikachu's fur. “Now I know how Ash felt with those early days of the Bond Phenomenon…”

Greninja shook his head, helping her up as Lucario fished her phone out of her bag. Carmine blinked as he cheered and held the phone up, waving it around to an annoyed chirping from the Rotom in the phone.

“Lucario?” Serena grabbed her Rotom phone off the Aura Pokemon, shaking her head as she turned to Carmine. “Where's Kieran? And Ogerpon?”

Carmine made fists as she looked away, with Ash's Pokemon gulping as Serena gasped in shock. Ogerpon wandered into the room with her eyes pointed to the floor.

“Ogerpon?” Serena sat up carefully, her arms shaking slightly as her strength returned to her.

“Kieran is scary… He wants to be stronger, and he's going to go catch Okidogi…”

Lucario and Greninja moved to comfort Ogerpon as Serena looked to Carmine. 

The Kitakami local kept her eyes locked to the ground. “This is all my fault…”

“Carmine, please stop this… I feel like thete might be more than meets the eye here, so the overprotectiveness is likely only a small part. Keep an eye on him, though, when you go back to school. Let me know if he does anything that worries you.”

Carmine gave a solemn nod, wandering out the door with a small wave.

“Well… Creepy obsessed guy is gone now, but now we've left our Nihilego lookalike under-reported…” Pikachu shook his head as he leapt onto Serena's shoulder, looking to Ogerpon as she pulled a Pokeball off Serena's belt. She slowly waddled up to her, eyes sparkling in wonder.

Serena blinked. “Ogerpon? What're you doing?”

“I want to go with you! You're very strong, even with Pokemon you don't own, so I know I'm safe with you!” Ogerpon exposed her tiny fangs with a gleeful giggling, passing the ball over to her prospective trainer.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course!”

Serena chuckled, tapping the Mask Pokemon with the empty ball as she grabbed the phone and opened it to the photo Lucario had taken hours ago. “Guys, you might want to look at this…”

Lucario nodded, sitting beside her as Greninja loomed over her from the other side and Pikachu hopped onto her head.

“I knew I saw something funny during that battle with Killer Kieran.”

Greninja pushed Lucario as he let out a huff of annoyance. “Not the time, dude. We need to work out what this means.”

Pikachu's eyes widened, his ears and tail twitching in shock. “This changes everything…”

Carmine squinted against the morning sun, watching the plane to Paldea as it streaked across the sky. She gave a small sigh, know she will be boarding a flight to Unova in two day's time.

“I promise you, Serena. I will figure this out on my own…”

She was carefully making her way up to the Crystal Pool, watching out for her brother as well as the Loyal Three. Wandering up to the water, she stood over it and stared at her reflection.

“I need to change myself; if I wasn't so tough on him, maybe Kiki wouldn't have done what he's done… I need to re-evaluate my approach.”

Closing her eyes, she took a breath to compose herself before she heard a strange roar above her. Fighting the sun's glare, she glanced up and saw a purple streak in the air.

“What on earth…”

The sound echoed again, with a black object falling from the sky. Carmine watched in horror as the figure crashed into the Crystal Pool, creating a wave that soaked her through.

“Just my luck…”

Wringing out the top of her blue jumpsuit, she looked up to see Fezandipiti staring back at her with the same irritation at getting drenched. They both shook themselves off, eyes scanning the sky.

“What was that?”

Fezandipiti stepped towards Carmine, his head hung as she took a step back. “Zandip…”

She gulped, pausing as she looked over to Wistful Pond. A small pillar of smoke billowed, leaving her to slowly turn to the Retainer Pokemon. He cooed slightly, eyes then turning to the Barrens.

“I guess you're worried about your friends, huh?”

“Fez…”

Carmine nodded, holding a Pokeball up to the confused Pokemon. “How about we work together to make sure Kiki doesn't get hurt training Okidogi? Then we can figure out who's got Munkidori.”

Fezandipiti looked between the ball and Carmine, gratitute in his eyes as he let out a long call…