Disclaimer: No Ownership of Pokémon

Royal Prince's Rescue

A special event was occurring at the Hau'oli Mall on Melemele Island. Inside, Ash, Burnet, Pikachu and Rotom shopped while Kukui's wife gazed at the Corsola-horned crafted hearts hanging from the ceiling. "I do wish Professor Kukui was by my side at this time," she smiled. Ash and Pikachu exited a Pokémon clothing store with Pikachu riding on Ash's shoulder and Rotom flying by his side. Pikachu was wearing a Pikachu Libre outfit.

"Brings back that time we did that Pikachu movie in Kalos, huh, buddy?" he asked.

("For sure,") Pikachu squeaked. Rotom seemed curious to the memory.

"That outfit was in a movie you did?" he asked.

"Of course, and a lot of Pikachu were involved as well," Ash confirmed. "Maybe with a stop to the video store, I'll show you, the professors and the Pokémon." Burnet saw the three leave the store.

"Pikachu, you look like a miniature wrestler," she cooed. Pikachu blushed to Burnet's praise.

"Pikachu Libre," Ash replied. "He saw it and I thought I'd get it for him."

"I see. Anyway, let's get to see Royal Mask."

"Okay." Before they could move on…

"Burnet!" called out Lusamine. Turning, Ash, Burnet and Rotom found Lusamine, Lillie and Snowy visiting.

"Boss!" gawked Burnet. "Alola!" Lillie dashed to Ash and reached Pikachu to pet.

"Lillie, alola!" welcomed Ash.

"Alola, Ash!" returned Lillie. "Is that Pikachu Libre?"

("It is,") Pikachu confirmed. Turning to Ash, she had a question.

"Here to see Royal Mask?" she asked. Ash itched his head in guilt.

"Well, Professor Burnet insisted since she's become one of Royal Mask's loyal fans. I mean, so am I but-"

"I still remember you and Torracat teaming up with Royal Mask against the Revengers. It's a shock that he didn't invite you as a guest."

"I've only appeared once so people wouldn't recognize me if I did appear again." Lillie giggled before noting Lusamine and Burnet's laughter.

"I like Royal Mask, but I'm not gonna divorce Kukui for him!" an excited Burnet denied.

"Calm down, Burnet!" laughed Lusamine. "After all my daughter and her friends did to hitch you two, I don't wanna see you two split either." Burnet sighed in relief before everyone headed into a small arena where they saw Royal Mask shaking hands with people while his Incineroar tossed giant plush dolls over his head.

"That's some strength!" awed Ash. Seeing Burnet and Ash, Royal Mask shuttered. Still, he regained form for the most part.

"Well, if it isn't my tag team partner from a few weeks ago!" he sneered as he shook hands with Ash. "How's it going?"

"Great," he replied.

"Great, indeed… I may need your services again if the need arises. Can you do that for me?" Offered, Ash pumped his fist.

"Count on it!" Not willing to be left out, Burnet grabbed Royal Mask's hands.

"Royal Mask!" she cheered. "How much I want to be held in your arms!" she cooed. Royal Mask smiled to the loving words.

"That is… much appreciated," he stuttered. Incineroar came over and growled something.

("Boss, I'm hungry,") he mewed. Royal Mask heard his Incineroar and acknowledged his needs.

"We've been out here for a couple of hours, and Incineroar needs a break," he explained. "We'll be back after half an hour." The fans groaned as Royal Mask and Incineroar exited.

"I'm sure Royal Mask and Incineroar will be back out shortly," Lusamine believed.

"You're probably right, Mother," Lillie agreed. In a few minutes, Professor Kukui arrived, a little winded from his faint labored breathing.

"Ash!" he called out. "Burnet!" The crowd turned to see Kukui arriving.

"Professor Kukui!" noted Lillie. Kukui now noted the Chairwoman of the Aether Paradise and her daughter.

"Alola, Lusamine, Lillie…" he huffed, still a little out of breath. "What brings you out here to the mall?"

"See, Royal Mask is the subject of my research for my-" Suddenly, the lights turned off. All wondered the ordeal.

"Wh- What's going on!?" shrieked Rotom. Suddenly, a cackle. All suddenly turned to the entrance where Mad Magma and Magmortar stood by one exit.

"This mall now belongs to the Revengers!" stammered Mad Magma. "And we're here for Royal Mask!" Everyone felt a little cornered. The other side was covered as well by Mister Electric and Electivire.

"There's nowhere for you to run now!" the second Revenger denied. To Kukui, this wasn't the ideal situation.

'Great, who would've thought Viren and his Revengers would crash this party?' he thought. 'And on top of that, I can't get back to change and get Incineroar! Hopefully, Molayne doesn't mess it up.' Viren entered to see that Mad Magma and Mister Electric had the crowd in control.

"Where are you, Royal Mask!?" cried out Burnet.

"Don't worry about your missing idol," Viren scoffed. "The Revengers and the Rainbow Happy Resorts will sponsor this rematch where you can see Royal Mask get the beating he deserves." Ash and Pikachu seethed at the callous nature.

"You're cowards!" he snapped.

"You want a coward, where's the hero?" taunted Mad Magma. "The star? Did he burn out his welcome?" Without warning, someone did arrive.

"You'll be the one burned out, Mad Magma!" a new voice echoed. All turned to see Royal Mask. Everyone cheered at the arrival of their savior, though Incineroar wasn't present.

"It's Royal Mask!" cheered Lillie. Seeing the different beard on Royal Mask, Lusamine felt skeptical.

"Royal Mask looks a lot different than I remember," she informed. Rotom also noticed the new Royal Mask.

"I was gonna imply as well!" he studied. He brought up the new looking Royal Mask to the one who was there when Ash and the group first got to the arena. He overlapped the two. "The chances these two are the same is… 5.5%." Kukui also noticed the different Royal Mask, but growled to the lack of identity.

'That's not even Molayne!' he groaned in thought. 'In fact, I'd say that's Faba! He's ruined my plans!' Reaching the turnbuckle to hoist himself up, Faba faced Viren and Mad Magma.

"You will release these people and Pokémon at once!" he acted.

"Oh, of course, your scrawny-ness!" mocked Mister Electric. "Only if you can beat us!" Magmortar jumped into the ring. Faba had to act.

"If that's the case, let's go, Incineroar!" he summoned by throwing the Pokéball. The Wrestling Pokémon emerged from the ball and now the battle would commence. "Alright, Incineroar. Use Darkest Lariat!" Incineroar looked back to confirm the command, but saw Faba through the mask, becoming befuddled.

("Who are you, now?") he growled. Looking to the crowd, he saw Kukui

"Come on, use Darkest Lariat!" demanded Faba. Everyone began to suspect a problem, even Mad Magma.

"This is hilarious!" he laughed. "Something tells me, you're not the real Royal Mask!" Faba cringed at being discovered.

"I'll show you it's not who wears the mask, it's how they wear it! Incineroar, use Darkest Lariat!" Incineroar didn't want to but felt little choice in doing so. He began to spin around like a twister but Mad Magma had other ideas.

"Use Fling, Magmortar." Command given, Magmortar evaded the Darkest Lariat and snagged Incineroar. It threw the Wrestling Pokémon to Faba and out of the ring, onto the hard floor below. In celebration, Magmortar shot fire from his cannon arms. Everyone took cover from the heated streams, buying Ash time to escape. He dashed over to Faba and dragged him backstage.

"The mighty Royal Mask has fallen!" taunted Viren. "The Revengers have their revenge!" The crowd booed the resort owner's mockery. Incineroar joined Ash as he removed the mask from Faba, exposing the fraud.

"Faba?" he gasped. Recalling Rotom's diagnosis, Ash believed Faba had substituted for the real Royal Mask. "He just wanted to do a show and the Revengers wanted a battle."

("So that's why,") Incineroar mulled. Just then, a scream.

"Let me go!" cried Lillie. Peeking out, Ash saw Electivire holding Snowy and Viren holding Lillie by her arms in on hand. An Alolan Muk, Alolan Golem and a Poliwrath kept everyone away, including Lusamine.

"Lillie!" cried Lusamine. Viren sneered to Lillie who was in huge fear.

"Soon, we can claim the Royal Mask, and get our Revengers goal complete," he sneered. Hiding back, Ash had to do something.

"We don't have much choice in the matter," he growled while holding the Royal Mask. "I need your help, Incineroar. Can you?" Incineroar remembered seeing Ash's spirit before with Torracat and nodded.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" mocked Mad Magma. "If you don't, these people will be a little hotter than usual!" Ash felt ready to make his showing.

"You want the Royal Mask?" he called out. "Release the girl or be overwhelmed by the one who will overrun evil and cowards like yourselves!" Incineroar leaped into he ring before Ash, now wearing the Royal Mask, hopped over the ropes. "If you want the Royal Mask, here I am!" The crowd cheered as Kukui gawked to Ash's arrival.

'Boy, he came in like a Thunderbolt,' he muttered. 'Can he get Lillie out of there?' Ash received plenty of cheer when Ash and Incineroar did the pose.

"Enjoy!" he posed.

("Enjoy!") copied Incineroar. Mad Magma didn't appreciate being shown up by a young trainer.

"Alright, Prince…" he growled. "I know your game. Bring me the real Royal Mask or this girl's getting reformed as a Revenger."

"Ain't that right, cutie?" teased Viren as he pinched Lillie's cheek. The pain made her yelp. Ash growled, willing to save Lillie.

"Maybe you should know what the young prince has in store!" he warned. "Battle me and let her go, now!" Mad Magma didn't want to listen to the kid.

"Someone's in need of a timeout!" he snarled. "Magmortar, use Karate Chop!" Magmortar charged in and a ring bell rang. He cocked his arms in front.

"Incineroar, counter with Cross Chop!" Incineroar had his arms in front while charging at Magmortar. Both chopping attacks canceled each other.

"You just fell for our Feint Attack!" Magmortar staggered before launching a sneaky punch. Ash saw it and reacted.

"Now, Bulk Up!" Incineroar puffed his chest, the punch deflecting away.

"First time I've seen someone use a status buff as a Counter," Kukui gulped. Mad Magma growled to Ash's quick choice of moves.

"Alright, time to turn up the heat!" he snapped. "Use Flamethrower, Magmortar!" On command, Magmortar launched flames at Incineroar to which Ash smiled.

"Thank you!" he teased. "We'll be taking that with Darkest Lariat!" Incineroar performed another Darkest Lariat, intercepting the Flamethrower attack. With flames in paws, Ash had more. "Let's show these Revengers what to do when they play with fire!" Incineroar roared as he chucked flames at Electivire. The fireball launched Electivire into Mister Electric, both hitting the other Pokémon and knocked out. Another fireball came at Viren who gawked and ducked, covering his head with his hands and freeing Lillie. This was the moment Ash needed. "Lillie, get outta there!"

"Okay!" she agreed. She only made two steps when Mad Magma grabbed her by the arm.

"Not so fast, Sweetie!" he mocked. Ash sneered to Lillie's distraction as Magmortar gawked to his trainer's lack of attention.

"Throat Chop!" he ordered. Incineroar sneered before closing in on Magmortar. The Wrestling Pokémon still remembered the pep talk before hand.

(Flashback)

Ash removed his shirt before putting the mask on. "Remember, I don't have the Incinium Z so we can't use that Z-Move," he told Incineroar. "And besides, even if I did, I can't use it since I'm not your trainer."

("Got it,") Incineroar understood.

"Let's save everyone by the code of the Royal Mask."

Incineroar nailed Magmortar with the Throat Chop, dealing heavy damage and launching the Blast Pokémon into Mad Magma and releasing Lillie who reunited with Lusamine. Mad Magma and Magmortar were out and the ring bell rang again.

"Mother!" she cried as both hugged each other.

"Lillie!" she called out. Kiawe, Lana, Sophocles, Mallow and Officer Jenny burst through the door and wondered about the chaos.

"What's going on!?" shouted Mallow, her Tsareena also concerned. The kids reached Kukui who asked about the ordeal when Viren had more to offer.

"Don't think I'm done yet, Prince!" he growled. "You'll hand over the mask! This is a No Contest since I wasn't beaten by the real Royal Mask!" Ash scoffed to Viren's refusal to surrender.

"I was taught once that those who don't lose, don't learn!" he taunted. "Unfortunately, you're about to get schooled. Torracat, it's time!" Ash threw his Pokéball up and released Torracat. Then, he performed the Z-Move dance while armed with the Normalium Z. "You wanted to ruin the lives here? I'm about to put you in ruin with some extra damage!" Torracat felt the Normalium Z coursing through his body. "Torracat, at full power! Breakneck Blitz!" Torracat rushed Viren at full speed.

"Hey, this isn't legal!" he shouted. Torracat blasted Viren with Breakneck Blitz and he flew from the mall and into the police van's rear doors. He looked disoriented after the impact. Another Jenny slapped cuffs onto Viren.

"You're under arrest for kidnapping and unlawful arrest!" she judged. The other Jenny began to escort the rest of the Revengers out of the mall. Back inside, Ash fived Incineroar and Torracat before they did the pose.

"Thank you, everyone!" he cheered. "Enjoy!" Torracat and Incineroar mewed to copy Ash.

"Enjoy!" the crowd copied. Ash stood on the rope while pumping his fist. However, he slipped and his feet were tangled in the ropes while hanging upside down. Incineroar and Torracat gawked to the flop. Lillie and Lusamine came over to praise Ash for the rescue.

"Prince, I want to see more of you with Royal Mask," she wished with Snowy back in her arms.

"I'd be happy to," Ash promised. That's when Lillie sealed a kiss to the lips while Ash was still tangled. The classmates cooed the loving scene.

"Whoa, Lillie's got a boyfriend!" teased Sophocles.

"That was one heck of a reward," Mallow awed. Some of the staff helped get Ash down from the ropes when Lusamine wanted to reward Ash for his effort.

"You don't know how much it means to thank you for rescuing my daughter!" she happily yelled as she removed the mask to give Ash a barrage of kisses on the face. Everyone but Lusamine gasped at who played Royal Mask just now.

"Wait a sec!" gawked Kiawe. "You- You mean to tell me… Royal Mask… is Ash?"

"Someone should've told Lusamine that masked wrestlers should not have their masks removed," Lana groaned. When Lusamine saw who she was kissing, her face had gone pale as Kukui tilted his cap down and Burnet buried her face in her hand.

"Why, Lusamine?" she groaned. Ash felt defeated to his secret being released.

"Guess I've been unmasked," he admitted. Lillie soon recovered and accepted Ash for his role.

"You know, you've always been a hero, Ash… especially to me," she confessed before locking lips again, her foot popping up. Giddy, Lusamine brought out her camera and shot the scene. Pikachu couldn't help but laugh to the sight. Ash may have defeated the Revengers, but he's been forced to submit to the entanglement of love.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.

(It's been a year since the Valentine's Day shooting in Parkland. I still honor the victims who's lives were cut short. Please, pray that their memories are never forgotten.)