Gain Of Trust

CHAPTER 15

"Focus Blast!"

"Protect, Z!" the small pink and blue figure almost barely raised the protective blue sphere around itself before the ball of energy crashed into it, exploding on impact. "Now Signal Beam!"

"Stone Edge!"

"Dodge it!" the glowing-green beam of energy shot towards the land crocodile, bursting a few stones into dust before colliding with the target, the floating figure hovering around in the air to dodge the rest of the barrage attack.

"No time to play around, Krookodile. Dragon Claw," the ground-type's claw extended slightly in a blue glow as it began charging towards its opponent. Lexi watched her opponent slowly get closer, giving her an idea.

"Zap Cannon!" Leader's expression turned to confusion as he looked at the girl across from him. Did she really just say that? Leader's eyes narrowed on the girl, staring at her curiously, knowing there was something more to it. She knew Zap Cannon was an electric-type move, and that it would be useless on a ground-type like krookodile. But his eyes drifting towards her porygon-z as it formed the charged sphere of electricity in front of it, he watched curiously as he pondered what she could be planning.

"Slash through it!" the crocodile suddenly jumped at the airborne figure, one might say an unecessary move since it was not hovering very high off the ground, but Leader wanted to finish it quickly to move on to the champion.

"You know what to do, Z!" Leader watched the small figure turn downwards, facing the ground. Then it clicked. He watched the sphere burst towards the ground, exploding on contact and raising a cloud of dust which enveloped the small figure. The crocodile soon after disappeared into the cloud as well.

"Krookodile, on guard!" Leader called out, the pokemon in the dust holding its glowing claws up in defense as it expected an attack. But nothing. It spun its body, swishing its tail across the air to disperse the dustcloud, revealing something it somehow didn't anticipate. The smaller figure was gone. "Move, now!"

"Hyper Beam!" the crocodile sensed the great power nearby, cursing itself as it looked towards the source. But it was too late. As its eyes drifted up towards the small normal-type hovering in the air directly above it, it also noticed the beam of pure energy grow in size as it drew nearer, exploding on contact with the crocodile.

"Lucario, guard Beartic!"

"Oh, they're not your opponent!" the blue canine moved towards the tall polar bear to obey its trainer, but was stopped by a large humanoid figure with two wire-like extensions from its back crashing onto the ground in front of it, grinning. "You think we're not gonna take this chance to get our revenge? Think again!" the young researcher called out, his eyes set heavily on the orange-haired man across from him, Gary moving behind his electivire as if to visually set the illusion of a battlefield between them. Mason sighed, following the younger man's lead.

"I didn't think you would want to lose so badly again like last time, but I suppose I'll indulge," Mason smirked, his pokemon taking a battle stance. "Aura Sphere!"

"Thunder!" a powerful blast of electricity burst from the electric-type's antennae, exploding the sphere and continuing towards the canine. Ready for this outcome, however, the fighting-type ducked down and let the electicity shoot past its head, breaking into a sprint towards its opponent. "Brick Break!"

"Blaze Kick!" the canine's foot was suddenly lit ablaze, swinging into the air to collide with its opponent's chop coming down on it. The two attacks bounced off each other, electivire slightly wincing as it glanced to its hand, which was left slightly singed. "Aura Sphere!"

"ThunderPunch and get close!" electricity crackled as it enveloped the humanoid's fist, the figure starting a sprint towards its opponent and punching through the energy sphere in its path.

"Slow it down," Gary gave a quizzical look as the canine maintained its composure despite its opponent's charge, calmly bringing back a leg and holding its arms to its side, palms a short distance apart. Mason smirked. "Consecutive Aura Spheres," between the fighting-type's palms formed another sphere of blue energy, before firing towards electivire. Then another. And another.

"Punch through!" the electric-type gave a shout as it began breaking down each sphere that came towards it, its eyes still set on its opponent.

"Faster," Mason said calmly, his pokemon giving a smirk as it picked up its pace. A great deal. Electivire began swinging its fists faster, knocking down each sphere before after a few swings, it noticed a sphere collide with its shoulder. It dodged to the side, but another one collided on the ground in front of its feet, then another hit its abdomen. The electric-type called out in pain as it noticed the barrage of attacks grow more intensely rapid by the second, before it was overcome by a wave of the blue spheres, colliding repeatedly against its body.

"Electivire!" Gary shouted, watching his pokemon be knocked back a few feet by the barrage, barely managing to catch itself on its feet, holding the ground for balance. Gary grunted to himself quietly, his eyes moving to the trainer opposing him, who still wore that confident smirk.

"I thought you were here for revenge!" Mason called to him, his smirk growing wider. Gary bit his lip, looking at his injured Sinnoh partner, who gave him a nod. Gary looked back to Mason, the latter surprised to see the young researcher and his partner grin back.

"We're just getting warmed up!"

"Toxicroak, Sludge Bomb!" the purple frog's red sac on its throat expanded, a barrage of purple blobs being released from its mouth and exploding on contact with the ground in front of the walking tree. "Don't even think about walking away from me!"

"Why are you after me? You don't need revenge, you won the last time," Webb commented, giving a confused look to the squinty-eyed man. He grinned back.

"Because despite that, I have to admit, it was still a fun challenge against you. And I would never let you ignore me and help one of yours to make an unfair fight against one of us."

"I assure you, I would never resort to a measure so low. And I suppose you were quite the challenge yourself..." Webb remarked, his lip curling into a smirk. "Trevenant, Seed Bomb!"

"Get in close!" the purple frog ducked under the barrage of seeds, ignoring their small explosions behind him as he ran towards his opponent.

"Wait," the frog raised its guard in caution as the tree took to a neutral stance, not doing anything as it progressed closer. The frog extended its arms to either side.

"Poison Jab!" its claws glowed an ominous purple, crossing them over each other as it jumped into the air slightly higher than the tree, swinging its body around in the air to gain momentum.

"Shadow Claw," the tree crossed its own claws as the frog had, a more sinister-looking energy enveloping its own claws and extending into the illusion of much larger claws, the frog clashing its attack against the tree's in a stalemate. The frog tried to push through, but the tree held its own. "Grab it," the frog gasped as the tree's actual claw reached through the energy and wrapped around its body, cutting off both attacks as it held its opponent in the air.

"Toxicroak, Sludge Bomb out of there!"

"Horn Leech," the frog's eyes widened as a green glow overcame the grass-type's horns on either side of its head, a strange branch of energy extending from them and attaching to either side of the poison-type's head. Then the frog got a headache as it began to feel weaker.

"Come on, Toxicroak!"

"Wood Hammer," the tree suddenly released the frog, the poison-type's feet hitting the ground as it shook its head to rid itself of the fatigue. Surprised, however, it felt the ground lift from beneath it as the sawn-off end of a tree emerged from the ground, lifting the frog into the air before flipping itself over, leaving the frog underneath it as it crashed back onto the ground. "Hm, I suppose this will be my lucky round, then..." Webb told himself, smirking as he watched his opponent struggle to its feet.

"Come on, Toxicroak, you can handle this!" the poison-type shook its head, looking back to his trainer with a nod before facing against his opponent. He now had a new, more personal desire to defeat this opponent. Brock grinned. "Alright, go in with Brick Break!"

"Leaf Blade!"

"And how is it I got stuck with this damn kid again...?" Trevor sighed, watching his serpent dodge the grass-type's lunges before hopping back to its trainer's side. "You must be the most annoying child I have ever met..."

"Maybe so, but I'm not accepting a loss this time! X-Scissor!" Max called out, his partner crossing its arms as a glow of energy extended along both forearms past its claws.

"Aqua Tail," Trevor said calmly, his water-type's tail releasing a vortex of water from its tail and swinging it to collide against the side of the Hoenn starter. The grass-type was sent back a few feet, catching itself and surprising Max. "It doesn't matter how you approach me, even if I have a type disadvatage, that means nothing if you are simply smarter than your opponent."

"Then good thing I'm only starting! Leaf Blade!"

"This brat's like a broken record..." Trevor gave a sigh, his serpent watching its opponent sprint towards it with a calm demeanor. The lizard swung its arms back. "Grab it," the serpent moved at the last second, surprising the lizard as it watched the water-type coil its body around it, holding it in place. "And now you can't move, surrendering would be much more honorable at this po-"

"Leaf Storm!" Trevor's eyebrow raised slightly in surprise as the lizard suddenly released a storm of leaves from below it, striking milotic all over its body.

"Hidden Power," several small orbs of energy formed around the pair, then the serpent released the lizard and slid away back to its trainer's side, the orbs exploding around the lizard. "Honestly, I think I'm more surprised about the fact that you managed to surprise me, rather than the surprise itself..."

"Heh, still counts in my book!" Max called back with a confident grin, his partner doing the same. Milotic looked back at its trainer with a slightly confused look, Trevor giving a slight sigh with a brief shake of his head. "Alright, Sceptile, we got this! X-Scissor again!"

"Hydro Pump," the water-type released a powerful stream of water from its mouth, colliding right into the grass-type. Surprising to Trevor, however, it held its own, slowly pushing through the water and picking up speed. "More," the stream of water suddenly grew more intense, the lizard digging its claws into the ground with each step to prevent itself from being sent flying backwards. As the lizard began to get closer to its opponent, Trevor smirked. "Now Ice Beam."

"Oh, crap!" Max exclaimed, mentally cursing himself for not recalling the water-type's moveset from their previous encounter. The water suddenly switched to ice, encasing the grass-type in a block of it, effectively stopping it in its tracks.

"Aqua Tail," Trevor said with a slight yawn, the serpent knocking its opponent back, shattering the ice on impact and sending the grass-type crashing into the ground back by its trainers side.

"Come on, Sceptile! You can do this, we can't lose now!" the grass-type immediately pushed itself to its feet, giving a glare to its opponent as it stood defensively.

"Honestly, why do you struggle so much despite knowing you will lose again...?" Trevor asked with a slight sigh, Max exchanging a look with his partner. The pair broke into grins, confusing Trevor and milotic.

"Because our bond is a lot stronger than yours and milotic's, and we have proof of that!" Max called back, Trevor unaware that a particular accessory worn on Sceptile's tail had begun to emit a glow, matching that of the jewel embedded in the bracelet around Max's wrist.

"Drill Run."

"Dodge, Golduck!" the blue duck jumped to the side, avoiding the spiral charge of the mole. "Now Hydro Pump!"

"Block," the mole brought its claws together in front of it so they fit together once more to form a drill, tilting forward so that it pointed downwards, the stream of water crashing into the steel plates. "That's it, Golduck!"

"Metal Claw," Misty gasped as the water stream was suddenly broken, the mole extending its claws to each side as they began to shine reflectively, charging towards the duck and slashing at it.

"Aqua Tail!" the duck released a vortex of water from its tail, swinging it against the mole's metal claws, the mole easily overpowering it and sending the duck back a few feet. "You okay, Golduck?" the duck shook its head slightly, giving a nod and flashing a thumbs-up to the redhead. Her eyes drifted back to the emotionless girl with silver hair across from her, eyeing her curiously.

"Can I help you?" she asked plainly, the redhead tilting her head slightly.

"I can't quite get a read on you..."

"Thank you, you flatter me."

"Flatter? ...That's not- Okay, look, I mean...why are you doing this? What's your reason for helping Ash? You don't exactly seem like the friendly-bonding kind of person like the rest."

"That's true, but that's what makes me my own person. And that's what I do best," Gina replied calmly, confusing the redhead further. "Then let me ask you something, what are you planning to do with Leader if you do stop him?"

"He's coming home, of course!" Misty retorted, the silver-haired girl pushing some strands of hair further behind her ear.

"And you think the world will just accept a criminal like him with open arms?"

"That's why we're stopping him before he becomes a criminal! Even if no one accepts him, we will and we'll defend him!"

"But you know that's not how the world works. Are you saying you will be able to just forget all this happened and live as if he never left?" Misty bit her lip at the girl's words. "Perhaps it's better if he were to not come back to your side."

"What?! How could you say that?!" the redhead snapped, Gina closing her eyes with a calm exhale.

"Because like I said, how could you ever just forget this happened?" Gina asked again, noticing the redhead's expression sink slightly. Gina narrowed her eyes as she looked at the redhead's, which finally showed hints of doubt. "Drill Run."

"Wha- Dodge!" the duck snapped out of its concerned look for its trainer, looking back towards the mole who was extremely close in a dangerous attack. The duck narrowly stepped out of its way, but not without getting a graze along its side from the spinning mole, its momentum causing more damage than the duck had anticipated. Misty's temper rose, glaring over at Gina, who still wore her calm demeanor. "So that was it! You were just talking to get me distracted!"

"It's not my fault you were able to get so easily distracted in a battle. That tells me that you're not truly serious about winning this," Gina said calmly, the mole jumping over the duck and landing safely by her side once more. "Besides, I don't have time to be playing around. So the sooner this ends, the better."

"Fine by me! Hydro Pump!"

"Flamethrower!"

"Ice Beam!" the two attacks collided between the tall figures, releasing a small mist that shrouded the ground between them. "It really annoys me to know that you are not gonna stop this no matter what I say to you!"

"Damn right! Sky Uppercut!" the Hoenn starter dashed in, the polar bear standing ready.

"Slash!" the bear's claws shone reflectively as they came down against the fire-type's glowing fist, both attempting to push the other back with all they had. "It annoys me just as much that you still obey him, even blindly!"

"That's none of your business!" Krystal snapped back, her polar bear breaking off its attack and stepping aside, letting the Hoenn pokemon burst past it. "Icicle Crash!"

"Blaze Kick!" the fire-type's foot lit ablaze, easily striking the chunks of ice descending on it, shattering/melting them on contact. "You don't even know what he's planning! How can you still agree to help him without-"

"You don't know anything about me!"

"That's my point! There must be something inside you that makes you want to help stop him!"

"There is nothing that would make me turn my back on Leader! Nothing!"

"But look at Lexi! She was saying the same thing earlier today and now she's fighting against him! You think she really wants to fight him?!" May asked frustratingly, the icy-blunette biting her lip as her eyes narrowed on the brunette. "Please, you can't do this! We have to stop Ash, and it would be a lot easier if you helped!"

"Even if you did get my help...It still wouldn't be enough! Brine!" the polar bear released a stream of water at its opponent, who quickly dodged. "Nobody can stop Leader! Not you, not all your friends together, not even all of you with my help! Nothing can stop Leader from getting what he wants!"

"And how can you not question what that is?!"

"You think I don't?!" Krystal snapped, surprising the brunette. Leader's companion bit her lip, her fists trembling at her sides. "Of course I want to know...I want to know what he's planning, so that I can fully support him! You think I want to fight blind like this?!"

"Then change your viewpoint," May replied, the icy-blunette's expression softening slightly to confusion. The brunette gestured to the side, Krystal's eyes wandering in the direction to find her blonde friend, fighting against Ash. "You know that Lexi doesn't want to fight Leader. But she chose instead of fighting blindly for him, to fighting against him with a purpose. I'm not saying you have to join us, because Lexi specifically said she hasn't, but you just have to follow her example. Please, help us stop Ash. Do you honestly think he wouldn't lie to all of you if it wasn't something bad?"

"..." Krystal remained silent, her ice-type glancing back at her in question. Blaziken glanced back to its trainer as well, trying to maintain its focus on its opponent as well. May watched the icy-blunette carefully, almost praying that she had gotten through to her. Krystal lowered her head, her fists beginning to loosen. "...You don't know anything about me..."

"Then you can tell us. We- I, would gladly listen, just like I did with Lexi," May smiled, taking a step forward towards her.

"That's exactly why," May paused. "You don't know anything...You have no idea what Leader has done for me...The suffering I've had to endure that he put an end to...!" May began to worry as she saw the girl's fists clench tightly again at her sides. Then her face snapped up at her, revealing an angry glare. The brunette's hand hovered over the bracelet on her wrist, beginning to emit a dim glow from the gem embedded in it that matched the glow from a similar stone in the choker around Blaziken's neck, hidden slightly by its fur. "Because of what Leader's done for me, I owe him my life! And I will gladly repay that to the end no matter what he wants from me!"

"Man, what am I supposed to do...?" the blunette asked herself quietly, giving worried looks around at the multiple battles going on around her and her water-type starter. "Not to mention Misty just shoves this on me, saying to watch it carefully...What exactly is this thing, anyway...?" the blunette's eyes looked down at Misty's bag, which was now in her possession from the redhead leaving it with her. The blunette gave a quiet sigh, her eyes eventually drifting towards the battle between Lexi and Leader, noticing the Sinnoh champion behind the younger blonde. Then a thought occured. "Ooh! Cynthia!" the girl hurried towards the champion, earning the woman's attention. "Come on, I'll get you out of here!"

"Out of here?" the woman asked, the girl giving a nod.

"Yeah, I mean, Ash is here to battle you for your title, right? So just to be safe, we should get you out of here in case things really go sideways. That's the only thing I can really do here," Dawn told her, the champion giving her a curious look.

"I suppose that is true, but should we really just leave?"

"Of course, I'm sure the others would understand. They would probably agree too to get you out of here, since Ash found you so quickly. We can't let him beat you, after all."

"You speak as if I would lose."

"...Ah, uh...I mean, well, Ash has gotten really intense since he left and-"

"I'm joking, Dawn, it's fine. Although I don't think we should necessarily leave just yet."

"But...Why not?"

"Because there's still the matter regarding those three," Dawn followed the woman's pointing finger towards the three small pokemon towards the far side of the ruins. "If we leave now, there will be no one for them to tell the results to, since everyone else is battling."

"I guess you're right..." the blunette narrowed her eyes on the lake guardians. Cynthia noticed this.

"...Do you want to go watch over them?"

"...Sure!"

"Blaze Kick!" the blue canine sprinted forward, jumping into the air as flames erupted around its foot.

"Charge up, Electivire!" Mason gave an odd look as the electric-type did not counter with a move, but rather seemed to release an electric current in its body, sparks visibly jumping all over its body. The canine swung its leg down, its opponent bringing its arm up to block it. The canine bounced off, landing safely a short distance from it.

"Force Palm!"

"Again!" Mason gave another odd look as the electric-type repeated its actions, letting the attack hit directly on its chest, managing to hold its feet on the ground to prevent being sent flying back. The canine arched an eyebrow. "ThunderPunch!"

"Aura Sphere."

"Come on..." Gary thought as he bit his lip, watching his partner charge with crackling fists as they punched through the sphere.

"Force Palm from behind," the canine flipped forward overtop of its opponent, their eyes meeting as the fighting-type passed over its opponent's head.

"Thunder on yourself!" the humanoid figure's antennae sparked, releasing a powerful surge of electricity not in an outward direction like usual, but instead spreading like a blanket over its own body. The canine's feet hit the ground, facing towards its opponent and charging the kinetic energy inside its palm, raising it. As the palm got closer to its target, Lucario felt the electricity seep off the target's body and into its palm, the fighting-type wincing slightly as it released the burst of energy. Both figures hopped away from each other, facing off again. "Come on, just one chance..."

"I'm in no mood to be playing around, kid, so this is gonna have to end quickly," Mason commented, crossing his arms. "Lucario, Bone Rush."

"Crap, Electivire can't handle a direct hit from that..." "Electivire, spin with ThunderPunch!" the electric-type's fists crackled with electricity once more, spinning its body with its arms out. As the canine charged forward with a glowing bone formed in its hands, it watched its opponent create the illusion of a ring of electricity as it spun faster, sparks crackling into the air.

"From above," the fighting-type jumped into the air, descending on the electric-type with a grin as it swung its club back. Then it disappeared, the fighting-type's muscles seizing up. "Lucario? What's wrong?"

"Now, Electivire!" the humanoid stopped spinning, its fists returning to normal as the two black wires on its back whipped into the air, wrapping around its opponent's torso, holding it in the air.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" Mason shouted, seeing his partner in a bad spot. Gary grinned.

"Thunder!" the researcher's partner grinned as well, releasing a powerful surge of power up its tails and directly into the aura pokemon. It bared its teeth with a grunt, the electricity striking every nerve in its body as it was unable to escape the attack.

"...So all that playing around, he was waiting for paralysis to take effect..." Mason muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing on the researcher.

"ThunderPunch!" the canine felt itself pulled towards the ground, directly onto a sparking fist planted into its stomach. "Now Brick Break!" the electric-type gave a single spin, planting a well-placed chop into the canine's chest, releasing its tails' grips and sending the canine soaring back towards Mason, colliding along the ground and rolling towards his feet.

"Lucario, you can take it! Please!" the man pleaded, his eyes watching his pokemon concerningly. The fighting-type pushed its palm on the ground, slowly getting to its feet with a slight stumble. "From just three attacks...Maybe they're not to be underestimated, after all..."

"Alright, Electivire, like he said. We're ending this quickly," Gary grinned, matching his partner as Electivire charged forward.

"Bone Rush!" the canine bared its teeth as the club of energy formed in its palms once more, charging forward as well. The electric-type's fists crackled with electricity, Lucario noticing this. As the pair got close enough for the humanoid to swing its fists, Lucario planted its feet firmly as it slightly spread them, lowering its body and ducking underneath the fists at the last second. Electivire's eyes widened as it felt the club directly against its chest, feeling itself lifted up and forced straight up into the air. "Consecutive Aura Sphere!"

"Thunder!" the beam of electricity came down through the barrage of spheres, breaking down most of them as some still managed to get past, the airborne fighter struggling to dodge them, receiving some damage.

"Finish this with Bone Club!" Mason shouted, the aura pokemon jumping into the air.

"It's all on you, Electivire!" the humanoid grinned with a nod, straightening its body to fall faster towards its opponent. Their eyes met with burning passion.

"End this, Lucario!"

"Giga Impact!" Gary shouted, the electric-type becoming enveloped in a glowing pink aura streamed with white energy. Lucario didn't back down, however, both fighters giving one final battle cry as their attacks collided in the air, the pair quickly bursting towards the ground, crashing into it and releasing a cloud of dust.

"What the-?!" Brock nearly stumbled, his eyes being drawn towards the sudden explosion on the imaginary battlefield a short distance from his own.

"Eyes on your own opponent! Wood Hammer!" the frog expertly dodged the tree of energy being brought down where it once stood, its eyes focusing on its target. "Seed Bomb!"

"Poison Jab!" Brock shouted, the frog bursting under the barrage with a glowing claw.

"Didn't you learn the first time...?" Webb gave a quiet sigh, watching the repeat of events. The man's tree stood still, once again waiting for the frog to jump into the air to attack, crossing its own arms like before. "Shadow Claw."

"Sucker Punch!" the sinister claws of shadows enveloped the tree's own claws once more, but instead of the frog attacking it, it disappeared from the air. The tree's eyes widened as it felt a sudden intense pressure landing a good hit on its stomach, the frog appearing again on the ground behind it with a grin. "Now Sludge Bomb!" the tree turned around to face its opponent in anger, but was instead met with a close encounter against a barrage of poisonous blobs.

"Shadow Claw!" the tree attempted to slash the attacks out of the air, but some got through and struck its body. "Clever, but not enough. Wood Hammer!"

"Sludge Bomb between you!" the tree trunk of energy rose from the ground in the same moment that the frog released another barrage of purple blobs, exploding on contact with the ground between the two combatants. A thin layer of dust rose from the group of impacts, clouding visibility of the poison-type. "You know what to do, Toxicroak!"

"Clear that smoke with Shadow Claw and get eyes on it!" Webb called out, the living tree's claws glowing once more as it brought its arms back to swipe at the cloud. Not a moment after, however, the purple frog appeared behind the tree with another grin on its face, the tree suddenly feeling another great pain on its chest. "Shadow Claw!"

"Poison Jab!" the frog swung its claw upward while the tree swung downward, clashing together and neither side willing to back down. "I thought I would be at a disadvantage losing the effectiveness of Brick Break, but I guess being poison-type is making up for it..."

"Seed Bomb!" the poison-type broke off the connection and hopped a few feet away, narrowly avoiding the sudden new attack. "Again, straight up!"

"Poison Jab!" the frog charged at the grass-type as it released a wave of explosive seeds straight up into the air.

"Get ready," Webb said calmly, the tree standing its ground and crossing its arms over each other.

"So they're planning to block with Shadow Claw again..." "It's all you, Toxicroak!" the frog brought its arm back, seeing the energy begin to form on the claws of the tree. In the next moment, three things occured. The frog disappeared from where it was. The grass-type took a rapid step to the side. The wave of explosive seeds from earlier had descended back to ground level, some exploding in the air before touching the ground. Then in the next moment, the poison-type's body crashed into the ground, dragging along away from the scene. "Toxicroak!"

"Horn Leech," the poison-type tried to hurry to its feet, but was not fast enough as it felt two green glowing vines of energy wrap around its body, holding it down on the ground as it felt its energy be drained from it once again. "For every strategy you come up with, I can come up with a counter, courtesy of Leader's training. I think it's time you give up."

"Never!" Brock shouted back, biting his lip as he watched his pokemon become weaker.

"So that's what you were referring to..." Trevor muttered to himself, eyeing his opponent's new form curiously. Max grinned, his grass-type partner in its new form doing the same.

"When me and Sceptile mega evolve, we never lose!" Max called out, the mega-formed Hoenn starter giving a shout of agreement.

"Well, first time for everything. Ice Beam," the water serpent released the beam of ice towards its opponent, who surprisingly waited until the last second possible before ducking under the attack, sprinting towards its opponent. "Aqua Tail."

"Leaf Blade!" the grass-type got a sudden burst of speed, the serpent swinging its vortex towards its opponent, who burst through thanks to its speed and struck the serpent, dragging it against the ground a few feet before jumping straight up into the air.

"You can't defend in the air, kid. Ice Beam again," the serpent released another attack into the air after the serpent, who turned its body to face downwards against its opponent.

"Solarbeam!" the lizard opened its mouth, the cluster of yellow orbs on its back beginning to glow brighter at a rapid pace, its mouth releasing a powerful beam of what appeared to be sunlight downwards. The two attacks collided, fighting for a few moments, before the attack from above began to crush through the ice.

"Get out of there," the serpent slithered away at its trainers words, and not a moment too soon as the super-effective attack crashed into the ground just as it did. "And here I thought you couldn't get any more annoying..."

"Like I said, we're just getting warmed up! X-Scissor!" the grass-type landed safely by its trainer's side, bursting forward again with its arms crossed over each other.

"Hidden Power," the serpent became surrounded by small green glowing orbs, firing towards the oncoming lizard, who expertly managed to evade them, to Trevor's surprise. "I suppose it got faster with mega evolution...Hydro Pump-"

"Bust through it!"

"-on the ground," Max's expression changed to confusion as the serpent fired its attack at the ground below it, not damaging the lizard, but propelling itself into the air.

"And you said you can't defend in the air!" "After it with Leaf Storm!" the grass-type followed after its opponent, releasing a vortex of sharp leaves around it.

"Always stupid enough to fall for it..." "Spin with Ice Beam!" the serpent straightened its body in the air pointing its head downward, firing a beam of ice from its mouth. From the momentum of its body spinning, the attack began to curve outward as opposed to going in a straight line, forming what appeared to be a vortex of its own made of ice.

"Leaf Blade through it!" Max shouted, the grass-type's elbow grass blades glowing and extending as it slashed through the ice that blocked its path. But the more it slashed, the more ice that seemed to appear, until it eventually got the better of the Hoenn starter and struck its body, forming a chunk of ice on Sceptile's leg. "You can handle it, buddy! Solarbeam!"

"Grab it!" the serpent reached its tail towards the grass-type, grabbing it and dragging its own body towards it, coiling around the lizard. "Throw it down!"

"Fire!" the lizard felt itself be forced down towards the ground with great force, firing its attack on the way down and seeing the serpent form a ring with its body so the attack passed narrowly through the loop. Sceptile crashed down into the ground, cracking the stone as the serpent came back down with less impact. "Sceptile! You okay?!"

"Milotic, how was that Solarbeam?" the serpent looked back to its trainer with a brief shake of its head before facing towards the lizard who was slowly managing to its feet again, but Trevor noticed several marks towards the one side of the serpent's body. "Even dodging it, she still took good damage...We can't risk that attack coming close to making contact again or it's over..."

"Come on, we must be close! Just one more good hit with Solarbeam and we'll be done!" Max thought, gritting his teeth as he glared at the blue-haired trainer across from him. Trevor looked back at him, feeling his frustration growing.

"Hydro Pump, Milotic!"

"Sceptile, Solarbeam!"

"Metal Claw."

"Hydro Pump!" the duck released a powerful blast of water, the mole preparing to slash through it as it charged forward. However, the attack blew right past it.

"Maybe this'll be easier than I thought..." "Keep going, Excadrill," Gina said calmly, the mole not giving any questions as it continued its assault.

"Now Psychic!" the duck's eyes glowed blue, the mole readying itself for what it expected to be a slight tickle.

"I thought I heard you were a gym leader, you must know psychic barely does anything to steel-types..." Gina said in her usual monotonous tone, arching an eyebrow slightly at the redhead. Misty only grinned back.

"As an attack, yes!" she replied, confusing Gina more. The mole drew its shining claw back as it neared the duck, preparing to strike, before something strange happened. Its motion began to slow down, in fact, the world around it began to feel as it everything slowed down. Almost as if it was...swimming.

"...Huh..." Gina muttered to herself, feeling surprised as she saw her pokemon become enveloped in a large orb of water, controlled by the water-type opposing them. "So Psychic wasn't to attack, it was to slow us down..."

"Good job, Golduck! Now Aqua Tail!" the duck jumped up, maintaining control on the water containing the steel-type as it swung its tail through the water, the mole spinning in place as it took the damage directly with no means of dodging. "Hydro Pump!"

"Drill Run," Gina said calmly, the mole smirking to itself as it brought its claws up together to surround its head, pointing its feet downward and beginning to spin its body. The duck released a powerful torrent of more water into the orb, making it grow in size, the mole spinning faster and faster within it. Suddenly, the orb exploded, the mole bursting from its place in the air towards the duck, who narrowly dodged by inches. The mole crashed into the stone behind it on a slight angle, the drilling motion digging it into the ground a few feet before it was able to stop its momentum. It jumped out of the hole, facing against the duck once more.

"Damn, it was good while it lasted..." Misty muttered as she bit her lip, thinking of another plan she could use.

"I'm afraid circus tricks like that will not win you a battle against me, in fact, it will only worsen my impression of you as a trainer," Gina told her calmly, the redhead shooting a glare back. "Metal Claw."

"Just by your attitude, I feel like that was happening regardless! Hydro Pump!" the duck attempted to push back the mole with the torrent of water, but it was able to slash through the water easily. "Jump and use Aqua Tail!"

"Focus Blast," the duck jumped, surprised to see a blue orb of energy quickly heading towards it.

"Psychic!" the duck stopped the attack mid-air, sending it back towards the steel-type.

"So you're not strong enough without our help..." Gina muttered in a disappointed tone, slightly shaking her head. Excadrill, not hearing any word from its trainer, took this as a hint and slashed its claw through the attack with no trouble. "But, I'm afraid you've wasted enough of our time already. Focus Blast."

"Aqua Tail!" the duck attempted to break down the attack, but failed as it moved too quickly to hit, exploding on contact. "Golduck!"

"Metal Claw," the mole sprinted forward, claws shining as it drew them back.

"Golduck, stop it with Psychic!" the duck winced, its eyes glowing as the mole suddenly stopped. Or rather, slowed down. "Hydro Pump!" the blast of water hit the mole directly, but it only lowered its head so the water ran along the upper side of the metal plate behind its head. "More, Golduck!"

"Drill Run," the mole formed a drill, disappearing into the stream of water. Spinning its body in the water to gain momentum, it burst towards the water-type like a bullet underwater.

"Dodge it!" but the duck wasn't fast enough to react as the mole burst from the water, striking the duck right in the chest and pushing it back, crashing onto the ground with a cry of pain. The mole quickly hopped back to its trainers side with a smirk, Gina's face still showing no emotion.

"It would be better for Golduck if you just gave up. And for the rest of your team, as well, including your friends," Gina said calmly, crossing her arms. "Battling us is doing nothing but causing your pokemon pain, with no hope of winning. Why put yourself through that?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Gina gave a curious look to the redhead. "You say we should give up what we're doing because it's hopeless? Why can't you see that you're worse off than we are? At least we have a purpose! A reason to fight! You don't even know why you're helping Ash because you don't know what he wants!"

"You should consider your words more carefully," Gina retorted quickly, her tone suddenly growing serious. Her steel-type's claws began to glow as well, glaring at the water-type across from it.

"But you know I'm right! You say we're fighting a hopeless battle, but at least we can do that successfully! And do you know why? It's because we can see the result we want because we know what we want to do! You're helping Ash without knowing what it could do to him, or you, or the world! You have no idea-"

"No, it's you who has no idea," Gina snapped back, surprising the redhead. It even surprised Gina. "You speak as if you know us...Each of us owe Leader, more than we could possibly repay. Some of us even our lives. I may be curious about what he's planning, but I don't care, and do you know why? It's because I owe him more than that. Leader gave me a life when the rest of the world kicked me down and I was dragged into the gutter," Gina explained in a terse tone, the redhead's expression beginning to change to concern. Gina closed her eyes. "So yes, I don't know what Leader is planning. I'm following blindly. But the debt to Leader I have to repay is much greater, so I will offer him everything I have."

"...You guys are loyal, I'll give you that..." Misty said to herself, her eyes briefly drifting to her water-type in the battlefield, who gave back a single nod. Misty then smiled to herself, breaking into a grin as she looked back towards her silver-haired opponent. "Fine. But don't think for a second that we'll let you succeed with this!"

"That will happen, regardless of your intentions," Gina replied calmly, her steel-type readying itself once more. "But I'm afraid I can't waste much more time on you, so I'll have to make this quick."

"Brine!"

"Now, Blaziken!" May shouted, the fire-type shouting its name as the flames on its wrists expanded. The polar bear fired the stream of water towards its opponent, but across the field, the Hoenn starter was suddenly engulfed in a sphere of flames around it. As the water got closer, it began to quickly evaporate into the air, the polar bear standing on the ready for an attack. "Blaze Kick!" the flames suddenly burst across the field, glowing brightly as they began to intensify on one particular spot.

"Block it!" Krystal shouted, the polar crossing its arms in front of it to receive the attack. Unfortunately, the polar bear wasn't expecting a greater power than before, and was quickly forced backwards. Their opponent quickly returned to May's side, the pair getting a sight on their opponent's new form. Blaziken now had patches of black fur along its knees, and the flames on its wrists now extending in two single streams per arm, a burning passion now visible in its eyes. Krystal narrowed her eyes on the brunette. "So you had to resort to mega evolution...You think that will be enough to help you...?"

"Sorry, Blaziken, but I thought I could get through to her...But now, we're holding nothing back," May said, the fire-type giving a nod. "Okay, then Flamethrower!"

"Ice Beam!" the two attacks collided in the center, the flames quickly gaining the edge and beginning to push through. "Dodge and use Icicle Crash!"

"Sky Uppercut!" the fire-type burst forward, avoiding the wave of icicles easily and closing in on the polar bear.

"Stop it with Slash!" the bear's claws glowed, drawing its arm back as the fire-type got closer. Just as Blaziken came within arm's reach, May noticed the bear swing.

"Jump!" the fire-type narrowly jumped over the bear's claws, its body upside-down in the air. "Now Blaze Kick!" Beartic felt its opponent grab its shoulders, looking up to see the Hoenn starter swing its body downwards, its foot ablaze as it struck the bear on its upper back, forcing it down onto its chest on the ground. Blaziken jumped off, the bear pounding a fist into the ground as it slowly got its feet. Krystal's eyes narrowed on her ice-type, surprised to recognize that it was getting very tired.

"Impossible...They've only landed two hits...!" Krystal muttered in disbelief, her eyes snapping back to the fire-type opposing them.

"Please, Krystal, this doesn't have to go any further! Just agree to stay out of our way and I'll leave you out of it, if not for Leader's sake, then for Beartic's!" May called out to the icy-blunette, whose fists clenched at her sides in response.

"You really are getting on more nerves the more I'm around you...!" she muttered angrily, glaring at the brunette across from her. "I told you before, it's pointless! You won't be able to stop him even if you somehow get past all of us!"

"We still have to take that chance! Because right now is our best hope for stopping him, right here and now!" May called back, the icy-blunette narrowing her eyes on the girl.

"Right now...?" Krystal muttered, pondering on the brunette's words. "They brought Cynthia here to try and keep her away from Leader...But now that I think about it, why here? What's the-" then it dawned on her. Her eyes quickly moved back towards the three lake guardians across the ruins, now accompanied by the Sinnoh champion and May's blunette friend. "...So that's it...You're relying on the lake guardians for something..."

"I must thank you for helping in trying to stop him, Dawn, it's very admirable of you," Cynthia told the blunette, the younger girl rubbing the back of her head in embarrassement.

"Well, I can't just let something like this go by if I have a chance to help, can I? Plus when I found out it was Ash, that settled the fact that I needed to help," Dawn replied with a smile, the blonde giving a smile as well.

"I suppose so. And if there are ambitions capable of changing such a free-spirited and loving trainer, then it must be something quite serious," Cynthia commented, crossing her arms as she looked back at the lake guardians at work.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it."

"I sure don't," Dawn chuckled, her eyes resting on the guardians as well. Then both women blinked, looking at each other oddly as they clued in. That was a man's voice.

"And you could never hope to..." the two females' eyes shot to the other side of the legendaries, where they noticed Jack with a smirk, leaning against a fallen pillar. "Believe me, you have no idea what is coming."

"Y-You!" Dawn shook her head to break out of her surprised daze, the two women quickly moving past the legendaries to stand between them and the man. Jack held his hand out, shaking his head slightly.

"Relax, not here for a fight," the man said in an honest tone, confusing the women. "Yeah, we might be here for Leader to defeat you, Cynthia, but Leader wants to do that himself."

"So what about that fight from earlier...?" Jack's eyes narrowed on the blunette. "Was that a real fight? Or were you just acting to throw us off and lower our guard, so you can get close like this?"

"...As real as day and night."

"So you're here to interfere with the lake guardians, then."

"Nah, got no reason to at the moment. Though I admit I'm curious as to why they're here, and with all of you."

"That's not important right now. You'll know soon enough. So why should we believe that you won't fight us? From the sounds of the fight, you fully intended to help out."

"...As much as I hate to admit it..." Jack chuckled to himself, carefully lifting off of the pillar and stepping forward. The girls noticed the corner of his eyebrow twitch as he stepped, the man's hand moving to the side of his head. "...I'm actually in no shape for it right now..."

"No...shape? What's that supposed to mean?" Dawn asked, tilting her head in confusion. The man smirked to himself, his eyes resting on the legendaries behind the pair.

"So, what exactly are they up to?" Jack asked, Cynthia's eyes glancing back at the legendaries. "I doubt they would be here without good reason, and there's no way that just anyone could summon them on such short notice. So there must be a reason that either they came here themselves, or they came here on your request."

"...What do I do...? He's working with Ash, so I can't just tell him what we're planning...He could tell him and ruin it...We have to make sure this plan works...!" Dawn continued to stare at the man, unaware that her hand subconsciously moved over Misty's bag on her back as if to protect it. Jack noticed this.

"...If I may, my guess is that you went to the lake guardians for help. And for whatever reason they trusted you and agreed to lend their power, they had an idea of their own. Hence why they are currently attempting a telepathic breach between dimensions, right there and now," Jack noticed both women's expressions turn to shock, specifically Cynthia's.

"...How...?"

"Seeing as how you're over here, assumedly protecting them from any interruptions, that basically tells me for sure that they're up to something important. And why else would you have come here to Spear Pillar, if not for attempting communication between dimensions?" Jack asked, holding his arms out to his sides as he stepped past them, the female pair turning to face him again.

"Even if you have deduced that much, there's no chance that we'll let you stop them," Cynthia said sternly, Jack giving a chuckle as he turned back towards them, holding his hands out again defensively.

"Like I said, I'm not here to fight. I won't interrupt," the two girls looked shocked. "But, if you don't believe me, then there is one way I could suggest to convince you, in exchange for something, of course."

"...What is you want?" Cynthia asked carefully, the man holding his wrists out together.

"Just a little information. And in return, you can have me, no resistance at all," he told them, surprising the pair. They glanced at each other questioningly.

"...You would give yourself up? Just like that?" Jack nodded. "...But what about Ash? I thought you were loyal to him, there's no way he would want this-"

"Unless it was planned," Cynthia added quickly, the blunette looking at her curiously. "If Ash needs something, then perhaps he needed someone to take a fall in order to get information for him. Each of them are completely obedient, after all."

"Alright, you got me there, can't blame you for considering that..." Jack muttered with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. He rested his eyes on the legendary trio near him, crossing his arms behind his head. "Look, I wouldn't even say the info's that important. I'll stay close by your side from this point on, so can I at least ask my question?"

"...Should we trust him? Dawn whispered, glancing at the blonde beside her.

"...What is it?" Cynthia asked slowly, the man taking a step towards them.

"Before that, you got pretty surprised when I made my guess on the lake guardian's involvement earlier. Safe to assume I was right on that much?" he asked, noticing the blonde's expression take a few moments to soften, giving a slight nod. "...Okay, so then, are you relying entirely on their help? Or do you have a backup plan?"

"Just get straight to the point," Dawn told him, the man giving a slight chuckle.

"That is my point. Since it's true that you brought the lake guardians here to make contact, then I wanted to know if you had a backup plan if that failed," Jack said in an honest tone, the two women glancing at each other curiously. Jack gave a quiet sigh, running his hand through his short hair, resting his hand on his head. "I know that sounds like something I would tell Leader, but I swear, I'm staying with you right here. I think regardless of how this goes..."

"Why would you want to know that if not to tell Ash?" Dawn asked, the man giving a smirk as he moved closer to the blunette, stopping beside her and looking at the legendaries.

"They're amazing creatures, pokemon..." Dawn looked at man with confused eyes, her eyes slowly following his gaze at the trio of small figures. "I told you that fight was real, and I did mean that. I had no idea or previous plan for Leader to keep me on the sidelines, and that really did piss me off when he did that."

"So why are you still helping him...?" Dawn trailed off, noticing the man flash a weak smile to her.

"Though I guess I can't blame him...That guy really does care too much about others..." he drifted off, rubbing his forehead as he closed his eyes.

"...Hey, are you okay...?" Dawn asked slowly, noticing the man's slightly pained expression. He chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

"Yeah, just minor headaches lately. Though you can still trust me on what I've been saying, I'm not delusional or anything, it's all honest," Jack flashed a genuine smile to the blunette. "I hate being dishonest with women, especially cute ones. And if I get to stay by a cute girl's side when I give up, then that's not so bad either."

"W-What?" Dawn's cheeks flushed pink, surprised at the man's sudden straightforward honesty. Jack chuckled.

"Sorry, I guess old habits die hard," Jack told her, rubbing his forehead again. Cynthia stared at the man's expression curiously, taking notice in the bottom of her eyes that his legs began to waver slightly.

"Are you sure you're okay? You did mention that you were in no shape-"

"I'm fine, really-" Jack cut short, surprising the blunette as she suddenly felt his bodyweight fall against her. The girl instinctively shifted her weight to hold up the addition of the man's weight on her own, moving her arms to his to hold him up.

"Hey, hold on a sec...!" Dawn wasn't quite sure how to react to this sudden event, the man giving a weak chuckle to himself as he moved his one hand to the blunette's shoulder.

"Damn, guess I should've seen that coming...Sorry..." he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassement as he regained his balance on his own feet, the blunette watching in slight worry for the man to fall over again, ready to help him if need be. "I'm fine, really. Like I said, it's just minor headaches..."

"I wouldn't say 'minor' if they cause you to lose your balance," Cynthia told him, the man giving a nervous chuckle as he quickly stuffed both hands into his pockets. "Perhaps you should be resting, if you're-"

"There's no need for that. Besides, I said I'd stay right by your side, didn't I? I'm a man of my word," the man flashed a weak smile, resting his eyes on the legendary trio beside them. Dawn and Cynthia exchanged worried glances. Jack turned his head back towards the multiple battles across the ruins, his eyes resting on Leader in particular, the corner of his lips curling into a grin going unnoticed by the girls.

"Focus Blast!"

"Zap Cannon!" the two spheres collided on contact, the small pink figure hovering quickly through the smokescreen. "Signal Beam!"

"Stone Edge!" Leader called out, the crocodile summoning the wave of airborne stones. Its small opponent fired a shining beam towards it, the crocodile turning away and blocking it with its tail, the stones sent flying towards Porygon-Z.

"Zap Cannon again, Z!" the small figure fired another sphere of electricity at its opponent, who calmly slashed through the attack, unfazed thanks to its natural defense against electric-type attacks.

"Dragon Claw!"

"Hyper Beam!" the crocodile charged forward with glowing claws, bravely facing the powerful beam of energy as it slashed its claws against it, exploding on contact. The smokescreen covered the crocodile, hiding it, but Lexi and Porygon-Z were still able to make out its growing figure. "Protect, quick!" the small pokemon was barely able to raise its protective barrier before the ground-type charged out of the smoke, swinging its claws at the airborne figure. The claws were stopped by the barrier for a few moments, before they penetrated it, the claws striking the normal-type and sending it back to Lexi's feet, slowly able to get itself back into the air. "Come on, Z, I know you can do this! This is all for Leader's sake!"

"I commend you, Lexi, as well as Porygon-Z. You've both done well to hold your own until this point," Leader told them, the girl looking at him curiously. "However, as fun as this has been, I'm afraid I can't waste any more time here. Krook-" Leader stopped short, his eyes taking notice of something in the distance behind his opponent. His eyes narrowed, fists clenching at his sides, confusing Lexi. The girl turned around, immediately noticing Dawn and Cynthia were now standing in the company of the legendary trio. As well as Jack. She turned back around, noticing that Leader had gotten much closer and was walking towards her.

"Hey, Leader, we're not done-"

"Krookodile, I leave this to you," Leader held his hand out to the side, the ground-type giving a nod as it faced against its opponent, its claws beginning to glow.

"Z, same to you! Leader!" the two pokemon resumed fighting as Leader stepped past the blonde, the girl attempting to grab Leader's arm but her grasp being avoided. "Leader, don't ignore me! We're not done here!"

"I'm afraid my available time here has just limited even more," Leader responded, the girl giving him an odd look as she hurried after the man who had made surprising distance between them in a few moments while remaining at a speedwalking pace.

"I don't understand, because of Jack? What's so bad about him being with-" Lexi nearly flinched as Leader suddenly stopped, turning on his heels to face her.

"Because I told him to rest for his own good!" Lexi looked shocked at the man's sudden outburst, unsure of how to respond besides staring in disbelief. The man gave a quiet sigh, looking towards the man standing between the Sinnoh champion and his former traveling companion. "...I can't explain, Lexi, but please believe me when I said that for his own good. And choosing to ignore me and go over there with them is not something I can just ignore."

"But why did you want him to rest, anyway? I don't get any of this," the blonde replied, the man giving another quiet sigh as he moved away from her, quickly followed.

"Jack!"

"A-Ash?! Lexi, what happened?!" Dawn asked, surprised to see the pair moving towards them. Jack closed his eyes with a quiet sigh.

"Crap, here we go..." he muttered to himself, looking back at the angry man walking towards him. "Yeah, yeah, I disobeyed orders, I get it. But it's obviously for a good-"

"You think that's what I care about?!" Leader snapped, his hand firmly grasping the man's shoulder. Jack winced, keeping his hands hidden in his pockets.

"Hey, come on, man, you know-"

"This is why I'm mad, Jack! You know that!" Ash said angrily, the three women watching in shock as Leader not only openly expressed his emotions, but it was towards Jack. Lexi knew deep down, despite how much she wanted it to be her, that Leader trusted Jack the most out of anyone, so seeing him get angry with him like this was out of the ordinary. "I told you to rest, so why are you over here?"

"Like I was saying, for good reason. I needed to confirm something for myself, from them," Jack said, referencing the champion and blunette.

"And you think ignoring me and doing that without saying anything was the best time to do so?" Leader asked, confusing Dawn even more.

"Wait, so you didn't set him up to this? It really was just him?" she asked, Jack giving a quiet sigh.

"That's what I was telling you the whole time, yes..." he said, Leader glancing over at Dawn before looking back at Jack.

"What did you need to know so badly?"

"Not important right now."

"Oh, so you ignore me to learn something, and now you're keeping it from me? What happened to partnership, Jack?"

"You know damn well we're still partners-"

"We agreed you tell me the truth, Jack, especially about this!"

"You made an agreement, too! And you could very well be betraying that right now!"

"Don't you dare say that, I told you I will not let-"

"You can't stop it, Leader! No one can!" Jack snapped back, silencing everyone. The women watched in stunned disbelief as Leader released his grip on Jack's shoulder, pointing to the fallen pillar to their side. Jack shook his head.

"...What agreements...?" the two men snapped out of their anger, slowly looking towards Lexi, head low and fists trembling at her sides. "...In all the time I've known you, I have never...never seen you fight like this, over anything...So what were these agreements...?"

"...I'm sorry, Lex-"

"Stop making excuses!"

"...Lexi...?" Dawn's surprise was turned to her new blonde companion, who had now raised her head and stomped towards Leader, stopping in front of him, staring him in the eye from inches away.

"You keep telling me that you can't tell me anything, but you can! You know you can! So just trust me and say it already! I'm tired of all this secrecy with you two, just trust me and tell me what's really going on! Tell all of us!"

"...Pinky..." her eyes glanced over at Jack, who scratched the back of his head with one free hand, his other hand remaining in his pocket. He glanced at the ground beside him. "...If you knew what was really going on, you would hate the both of us. I guarantee it. You have no idea how dark the truth is between us, Lex', and I can't let anyone become affected by that darkness. I'm sorry."

"...The dark truth...?" Lexi trailed off, her mind wandering through several thoughts. Jack turned away from Lexi slightly, his words echoing in her mind, then a distinct memory flashed across her mind. "...Between you...Is this about your father?" both men froze instantly. Jack slowly looked back towards his friend, eyes wide in shock.

"...What...?"

"You said the truth between you and Leader is dark. You mean that literally, don't you? That's why I've never understood any of this, because I've just been wondering what truth you two have created yourselves. But this is about a natural truth, isn't it? Your father, Leader's twin-"

"Where the hell did you hear that?" Jack snapped quickly, surprising Lexi.

"...I...I talked with Leader's...mother..." she replied hesitantly, Leader's eyes widening.

"...You what...?" he asked, his fist beginning to tighten at his side. Lexi noticed this, taking a small step away carefully, but was stopped by Jack's hand suddenly reaching out and grabbing her wrist. She winced as he tightened his grip, noticing that his other hand still remained in his pocket. "Lexi...What did you do...?"

"I...I said, May helped me get in contact with your mother...I was trying to figure out what was going on between you two, but Jack has never talked about his past, so I thought she was my best bet at learning about him-" she stopped, noticing Jack's grip get tighter.

"Whoa, hold up! Ash's twin? Ash has a twin?" Dawn asked incredulously, unsure of what exactly was going on.

"Lexi...What did she say?" Leader asked, his tone now just as serious as his yelling at Jack earlier, slightly worrying Lexi.

"...She...she said that after you were born, your father...he took your brother, and left...that he never came back. And she had no idea what ever happened to them after that day..." the girl trailed off, noticing Leader's fists clenching tighter. Then he reached out for her. "W-Wait, Leader, I was only trying to get the truth! I just wanted to know about Jack! Neither of you would say anything, so I thought finding your brother was my best bet!" Lexi said defensively, closing her eyes and flinching, waiting for Leader's hand to reach her. But it never did. She slowly opened her eyes, noticing that Leader had stopped it inches from her.

"...What did you say...?"

"...I...I wanted to know the truth, so I talked to your mother to find out about your brother...Jack's father...But she didn't know anything, so I didn't really get anything..." Lexi said slowly, feeling nervous as the man's hand didn't move from the air in front of her. Moments passed in silence.

"...You shouldn't be digging around for his past," the blonde watched Leader lower his hand back to his side, his words confusing the girl. "Jack has never spoken of his past because he has not only suffered just as much as you have, but he has gone through worse. He's chosen not to bring up his past so none of you would view him any differently, so I suggest you respect his wishes."

"...Worse...?" Lexi was at a loss for words as she looked back at Jack, who looked away. Stuffing his other hand back in his pocket, he turned away took a few steps closer towards the lake guardians. "Jack...Why didn't you ever say that...?"

"Like Leader said, so you wouldn't think of me differently," Jack replied, glancing over his shoulder at Leader. "As per our agreement, you'll respect what I choose to do right now, isn't that right?"

"...That agreement was done the moment you lied to me," Jack narrowed his eyes on Leader, Lexi looking in shock at the man. "To hell with the agreement. I agreed to all of this to help you, Jack, only asking for honesty in repayment! What happened to that?! So no, I will not respect what you choose anymore, because I told you from the very beginning that I would do everything I could to stop it!"

"...Then I suppose that means this partnership is also done..."

"...That's right," Lexi couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this an act? Had they planned to do this prior to coming here to throw everyone off their trail? The girl looked back and forth between the men, but she could tell by the intensity of their words, the burning frustration in their eyes...This was no act. "So, what are your plans now, then? Did you ever have any plans for being on your own?"

"Of course I did. I've already started the moment we got here," Jack replied, Leader giving him an odd look. Since they got here? How much had he planned for, and for how far into the future? "But I know you won't stop me. In fact, you can't, can you, Leader?"

"What?" Lexi asked, looking at Jack oddly.

"Because even if our partnership is done, our ambitions are still the same. And so stopping me would ultimately hinder his own plans. Isn't that right, Leader?" Jack asked, smirking at the man. Leader stared silently for a few moments, before unclipping a specific sphere from his belt.

"No, stopping you wouldn't do a thing," Jack gave a confused look. "Don't forget, Jack, our shared ambition is only my second priority. I can't believe you've forgotten what I made so clear when we first started all of this, that my main priority is helping you."

"...You know that ship has sailed, Leader..."

"Maybe, but you also know I refuse to believe it. Ever. So long as I'm still talking to you, I have a chance, and you should know damn well that that is my main priority," Leader said in a serious tone, Jack's eyes drifting down towards his hand clipping the sphere. He smirked, chuckling to himself.

"...I won't be so stupid as to challenge Zekrom. I know I wouldn't stand a chance there, so I guess I'll have to resort to my plan, after all..." Jack gave a quiet sigh, Leader noticing that Jack's hands shifted within his pockets.

"And done!"

"Huh?" everyone's attention was drawn away from the current feud between uncle and nephew to the lake guardians, who had now broken out of their trance of focus. The three figures floated towards Dawn and Cynthia, all three smiling happily.

"We're all done! We got through to them!" Azelf said happily, the blunette giving them a happy smile.

"Really? So what did they say? Will they help us?" she asked excitedly, Mesprit landing on her head as the other two took her shoulders, all pointing into the sky.

"Ask them yourself!"

"...Eh?" the blunette blinked, everyone looking into the sky in question, their eyes widening in shock. A fair distance into the sky above them, what was perfectly clear and open a few moments ago, were now occupied by two anomalies. Both were circular in shape, glowing in a strange discolouration - one pink, one blue - as their energy seemed to ripple as if it were alive. But their surprise was not with the anomalies themselves. It was with the figures emerging from them.

"Oh, come on..." Jack muttered with a sigh, his eyes and Leader's narrowing carefully on the creatures while the other three stared with wide eyes in disbelief. One figure was mostly white in color, with pink lines running along its tail and neck, sharp-edged wings protruding from its back, and two large pink pearls on each of its shoulders. The other figure was built more like a canine, deep blue in color with streaks of a lighter blue running along its whole body and silver metal claws on each foot, as well as metal plating covering its chest, the sides of its head, and forming a mane on its lower back. Leader, Jack, Lexi, Dawn and Cynthia may have recognized them instantly the moment they emerged from the portals of energy, unnoticed by the others who were currently doing battle, but their presence was made known in the next moment alone. With a single devastating roar from both dragons, everyone on Spear Pillar, human or pokemon, their attention was now on the two legendary dragons of Sinnoh.

"See? They heard us!" Mesprit said happily, Dawn unable to take her eyes off the dragons in shock.

"...I...I can see that..." she was at a loss for words. Even despite her involvement in stopping Team Galactic in the past, confronting these dragons at the time, as well as the several other times she had seen either of them, seeing them here and now in person was still a shock to her. "You...You did say they would help us, right...?"

"Ask them!"

"Wait, please tell me you did ask them already..."

"Of course! They wanted to talk to you!"

"...I-Is that so...?" Dawn chuckled nervously, her eyes still not moving from the dragons, who had begun to descend to the ground. Their feet touching down on the ground with a slight tremble of the area, the two dragons gave another roar as their eyes focused on the lake guardians, who floated off of Dawn and towards them. "...Hey, Cynthia...This, uh...this is a good idea, right?"

"If we explain the situation properly, I would think they would listen," Cynthia replied, the blunette giving an absent nod followed by a few moments of silence. Then she looked at her quizzically.

"You think?"

"Now there's these two to deal with...or five, rather..." Leader muttered, his eyes intently looking over the two dragons as well as the three lake guardians. "So, Jack, I don't suppose your plan accounts for encountering these two..."

"...Not these two, specifically, but I am prepared for something..." Jack replied, his eyes not leaving the dragons. "...How do you wanna play this?"

"So now you want to co-operate."

"When we're facing against the deity of time and space, things are a little different than they were a few moments ago..."

"Even so, I think we could manage," Jack glanced over at Leader quizzically with an eyebrow arched. "If you take Dialga, I can handle Palkia. Then afterwards I can help you, if you need it, but Dialga being part steel-type should be enough on its own for you."

"Well thanks, I can really tell that was meant to be a compliment. So long as you use Zekrom to make your battle quick."

"So you're embracing my help."

"Just going with the greatest odds for success, so let's stop talking and get this started already," Jack told him, Leader smirking to himself as his grip tightened slightly on the purple sphere in his hand.

"Dawn!"

"Leader!"

"Oh, please don't cause more problems..." Jack muttered with a sigh, closing his eyes as he heard the familiar voices from behind them. Everyone turned around slightly to notice each of the others coming closer, seperated in the groups of May & co. coming up on one side, and Leader's companions coming up on the other side, all of the pokemon having been recalled by their trainers for rest.

"Dawn, Cynthia! Did the lake guardians say anything?" Gary asked, the rest of their group joining the champion, blunette and Leader's former companion.

"So this was their plan, then?" Trevor asked, Leader's minions also intervening together.

"Just out of curiosity, Leader, but...did you happen to plan for something like this...?" Webb asked carefully, his eyes not leaving the dragon deities. Leader shook his head slightly, turning to Jack.

"Well, Jack? Are you gonna help or are you gonna go with your plan?"

"Like I said, that's more of a last resort...Though now it does-"

"Wait, what? His plan?"

"Jack's made it clear that he no longer wants to be partners, so he's going solo."

"What?!"

"Oh really, so you're gonna make me out to be the bad guy here?"

"Well, if you don't want to be, then how about I tell everyone here what's really going on-"

"Don't you dare," Jack snapped back, Leader giving a quiet sigh to himself as the others watched in confusion.

"Well, if you no longer want to be partners, then I have no obligation to keep that a secret anymore, do I?" Leader asked, crossing his arms. Jack glared at him.

"So, Uxie, what exactly did they say...?" Brock asked cautiously, the small trio having rejoined them.

"They didn't quite believe us...They wished to see the humans themselves...or take the word of another high authority like us..." the psychic-type replied, Brock crossing his arms with a puzzled look.

"Higher authority?" Max asked, wandering into thought over the meaning of those words.

"What's a higher authority than you three? You're legendaries, you can communicate with them telepathically, how do you get higher than that?" Dawn asked.

"Well...We do have one possibility..." Gary said, his eyes drifting towards one person in particular. Everyone else's eyes followed his gaze, the whole group looking at one person in particular. She blinked in confusion.

"...Me?" May asked, more puzzled than before. Gary shook his head, tapping a minimized pokeball on his belt. May stared at him oddly for a few moments, then it clicked in her mind. "Oh!"

"Wait, so what exactly is going on between you two now?" Krystal asked, looking back and forth between the two men.

"Jeez, it's been nothing but broken records since we got here..." Jack muttered, rubbing his forehead with a quiet sigh. "Look, we don't have time for any of this. In case you no longer remember, Dialga and Palkia are right over there!"

"Then let's get back on track," Leader said calmly, stepping away from the group as he pulled out a particular purple sphere from his belt again. Jack's fist tightened in his pocket, his other hand carefully holding a certain object as the man quietly gave a sigh, deciding on what he was going to do.

"That's right! May, call out Kyurem and let him explain to them!" Misty exclaimed, the brunette giving a nod as she unclipped the legendary's sphere from her belt.

"Uh...May? Might wanna be quick about that," Dawn said hesitantly, giving a nerous look as she pointed away from the group. Everyone followed the direction she was looking, surprised to see Leader approaching the two grounded dragons.

"Rulers of space and time! I stand here before you to tell you that you have two options in this matter!" Leader called out, the dragons' eyes looking down at the man.

"Oh, crap!" May hurried away from the group, watching Leader hold his arms out to his sides as he looked up at the legendaries before him.

"You either have the choice of leaving this place and returning to your own dimensions, and ignoring this matter. Or, you can choose to join me!"

"Ash, don't you dare!" Leader's eyebrow twitched, his eyes slowly drifting back towards the brunette who had stopped a few feet from him. He noticed his former partner and best friend was also riding on her shoulder. "You already have Zekrom! I thought you said he was more than enough?!"

"He is. However, letting you recruit two legendaries of your own wouldn't exactly be logical for my own odds of success," Leader explained calmly.

"Well you're not recruiting them yourself! There's no way I'm letting you!" May shouted, her grip on the pokeball in her hand tightening. Leader's eyes narrowed on the sphere.

"...You found it, didn't you?" he asked, the brunette not responding as she stared back with a frustrated look. "I suppose that ancient scripture from the Opelucid gym leaders proved useful, then...I'll admit, that is impressive. But it won't change anything here."

"Maybe not right now..." May muttered to herself quietly, then shaking her head slightly before turning to look up at the dragons. "Dialga, Palkia, please! Believe me when I say you can't help Ash, you have to stop him! He's planning to do something-!"

"And what exactly is it that you think I am planning?" Leader asked, crossing his arms. May cringed, biting her lip as she was unable to respond. "Look, I am doing this for the sake of this world. For the sake of pokemon. That means this will benefit these two, the lake guardians, all pokemon across the globe, and all of nature!"

"But the fact you're hiding it can't mean anything good!" May replied sharply, the man taking a deep breath, trying to keep his frustration in check.

"...Why is it - that time and time again, despite your failed attempts - that you continue to get in my way?" Leader asked slowly.

"Because this isn't the Ash I love! And I hate any version of you except that one!"

"PikaPi!"

...

... ...

... ... ...

"...It's all pointless..." the man muttered quietly, ignoring the brunette's pleas as he looked back at the dragons. "Dialga and Palkia, do you choose to help me? Or do you oppose me?"

"Ash, please!" May pleaded, but the man did not break his attention from the deities. Moments passed in silence. Then Leader noticed each of their eyes narrow on him, hearing a low growl come from either of them.

"...Then I suppose as you've made your choice...I make mine," Leader held his arm straight out, master ball in hand.

"Ash, no!" May nearly screamed, preparing to break into a sprint towards the man to stop him. But in the same moment, something else stopped him. As well as May. And the time/space deities. In that moment, everyone on Spear Pillar had frozen. Not from Leader's actions. It was...a sound.

A single high-pitch note, melodic but also giving the sense of an...ominous overtone, ringing through the ears of everyone on the mountaintop. And the moment the note stopped, silence swept over the area like a tidal wave. No one knew what it was. All except the one who was responsible for it. Leader was about to turn his head to look around in question, but noticed the two dragons before him had their attention elsewhere. He gave an odd look as the two dragons looked upward into the sky.

"...The call..."

"What?" Brock asked, confused at Uxie's words. The lake guardians floated upward slightly above everyone's head height, their eyes also fixated on the sky.

"...He will answer the call..." Mesprit spoke slowly, the blunette looking at her oddly.

"Wait, Mesprit, what are you talking about?" she asked, but got no response from the legendaries. Gary glanced at Cynthia.

"You got that chill too, didn't you?" he asked, the champion looking towards him with a worried expression.

"...That sound..." the woman was unable to express her thoughts into words. Gary swallowed his breath, slowly looking towards the blunette in the group.

"Dawn...Let me see Misty's bag."

"What? Why?" she asked, blinking in confusion.

"Please," Dawn gave a worried look at the sudden urgency in the man's tone. "...Tell me it's still-"

"She doesn't have it."

...

... ...

... ... ...

Everyone's eyes, from either group, human or pokemon, slowly looked over towards the side of the ruins where no one else had been standing before. But now there was. The lone man stood on his own, apart from his own group or May's, arm straight up in the air. But no one was very surprised by that alone. It was what was up in the air, held by his hand. Gary's, Cynthia's and Misty's eyes widened, Misty snapping her attention to Dawn.

"You let him take it?!" she asked incredulously, the blunette waving her hands in defense.

"Wha- No! No, it hasn't moved! Look!" Dawn pulled Misty's bag along her side, opening it and revealing its contents. The blunette's heart sank as she looked inside. Empty. "...What...?"

"Like I said earlier, I hate being dishonest with women. Especially cute ones," everyone's attention was now back on Jack, who was admiring the object in his hand with a sorrowful look. "But you see...Once I heard Cynthia say that you guys had a backup plan...I got a little hope that it was this."

"...You know...about the Azure Flute...?"

"Of course, I've done my research on the past. You see, I've had a lot of spare time for reading..." Jack responded, smirking as his eyes carefully looked over every detail of the azure-colored flute in his hand. "It really is amazing up close..."

"Jack...What are you doing...?" Jack's eyes were brought towards Leader, who had begun to slowly step towards him with concerned eyes. Jack's smirk grew.

"I'm finally ending this."

In the next moment, a mix of emotions washed over the mountaintop. Anxiety. Nervousness. Concern. Fear. But Jack didn't feel any of this. What Jack felt...was excitement. He pocketed the flute, noticing Leader begin to take a step towards him as he raised his hand, opening his mouth with a frustrated look on his face. But something made him stop in his tracks. Like a spotlight, Jack was illumated by a beam of light. Everyone's eyes slowly drifted upwards, following the light which seemed to have parted the thin clouds and come from beyond them. But when everyone squinted and looked more carefully, anxiety was intensified. Nervousness was intensified. Concerns gained a factual reason behind them. Fears were realized. Jack grinned.

"The flute...calls him..." everyone's eyes were narrowed on the clouds, as all life on Spear Pillar stared into the sky. At the source of the beam of light. At the very fabled source of light itself...

A white, four-legged creature, its abdomen wrapped by a golden cross-like wheel.

END