Aaand I'm back and better than ever! I've been itching to air this out to you guys, and now I shall! I'm sorry for the lack of one shots that I promised, but I've been eaten up by textbooks for the evil that is exams. Now, shall we begin?

Chapter 1: Rushing Water

In the Sinnoh Region, a few years ago:

Water filled the ship in a torrential blast. All she could think of was survival. Primal instincts activated, she kicked desperately at the glass panes of her ship. The panes cracked. She punched hard at the them, and they shattered into pieces, blood staining the water red despite her gloves. Almost numb with exhaustion, she kicked up, her gaze trained on the fiery setting sun. Her chest tightening with every breath, she finally felt light hit her face, and a few kicks later, lungfuls of cold, life-giving air. She treaded water to the banks and heaved herself up before collapsing.

A few hours later, Pokemon Hunter J's eyes opened to the moonlight.

Present time:It had been about a month since the Kalos League and the Flare disaster, and Ash was taking a break. A very slimy, Muk-covered break.

After Charizard had given him a very loving Flamethrower followed by being trampled by his 30 Tauros, he had just been taking a breather when he heard a delighted "Muuuuk!" and he was flattened under the dark, heavy, overfriendly mass that was his Muk. Talonflame and Noivern were now betting their skills against the rest of Ash's flying types, and Hawlucha was showing off its machoness to Charizard.

"Man, this feels good," he said, lying flat on his back, letting the wind dry him of Muks' wetness. Pikachu was lying on his chest, a very self-satisfied grin on its face. The only thing that surpassed the size of its grin was the size of its stomach, which currently looked like a beach ball thanks to Clemont and Delia combining culinary forces.

His smile evaporated as soon as he thought of Greninja. He missed his friend more than he cared to admit. He knew that Greninja was out there, doing its duty, but some part of him ached for the time they would battle together again.

Ash looked pensively up at the sky, the sky blue. But any blue looked plain once you looked into Serena's eyes.

Serena was doing Performance practice, and all she could think of was how the Kalos disaster had shaken them all. Sure, they had seemed okay from the outside, but Ash still called for Greninja in his sleep, and Bonnie would cup her hands into the position that once held Squishy. Zygarde. She had been affected by it, too. Running through those labs... she had seen horrors performed that no on should ever have to suffer. The nights she awoke, screaming as she saw herself as one of the test subjects.

She remembered Ash coming into her room and holding her tight. She thought of those kisses in the moonlight that filtered the guest room's window, her fitful sleep even then.

So much had changed. They were all reeling from what the last few months had brought them, carrying them along like rushing water. Olympia's prophecy. Frogadier evolving. Alain. Ash-Greninja. Losing to Wulfric and Sawyer. Watching Ash break apart before her. He bounced back, though. The LC, and all their amazing new friends. Kissing Ash. The League, followed by Lysandre's insane and murderous plot. And now, peace. Actual peace, not the tense kind that warned of a storm.

"Braixen, Pancham, Sylveon, let's go!" she called, getting up from her water break.

Little did she know how soon that peace would be broken.

Cynthia's phone rang. The Sinnoh Champion picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Cynthia?" came an anxious voice. A voice that almost never sounded anxious.

"Flint?"

"Listen, we have a problem. We need to call a meeting, and we need to do it now. I don't know how, but J's alive. And if you thought she'd been bad before... well, she's a nightmare now," Flint said.

At that split second, a Hyperbeam shattered the glass of Cynthia's windows, the glass tinkling like fallen rain.

Author's Note: Aaand I'm back! Forgive me if this chapter was short, but it's the first, and I didn't want to make it too long. Hopefully this will satisfy you until next week, where this here shall be my lone relief from my exams. I will do my best to update, though. The second reason why this chapter is short is because I'm down with a cold, and I must rest at my parent's insistance.

Now, for the breakdown. All our heroes are still reeling from the Flare attack, and Pokemon Hunter J is alive. Yes, she is. I am deviating from the anime slightly, so that should fix any discrepancies. Things heated up fast in this chapter, and they will be throughout. This one won't cross 25 chappies. Now, before I go, a big thank you to all my old readers, and a warm welcome to the new. See you on Monday!

Review and keep smiling,

Leaflame.