Author's Note: Third-Person Point-of-View

Cynthia had always been able to control her dreams.

It wasn't that she was a lucid dreamer – she couldn't control the dream in the moment, per se. But by setting goals and pursuing them with an animalistic drive in her everyday life, she had always been able to center her being around those goals, and it carried over in her sleep.

When she wanted to qualify for the Conference, she dreamt of taking down the Gyms. When she wanted to win the Conference, she dreamt of blitzing through the bracket. When she wanted to beat the Elite Four, she dreamt of the best ways to leverage type advantages. When she wanted to be the greatest Champion the regions had ever seen, she dreamt of defending her title in Sinnoh's largest stadium in front of throngs of supporters.

Her will was so strong and her focus was so sharp that they pierced through even her sleeping mind to shape her dreams.

So it was a surprise to Cynthia when suddenly the content of her dreams was a mystery to her. It threw her off and made her pause. Because she was so used to dreaming about what she wanted that now she instinctively felt that she wanted what she'd dreamt about.

But was that all there was to it? Just crossed wires, a blip in her system? Or was it possible that the reason she was having these particular dreams and the reason she couldn't seem to shake herself of them was deeper than she was giving credit?

She was about to find out.

"One-on-one battle until one of our Pokémon is unable to battle. You ready?"

"You bet. Glaceon, battle dance!"

Ash didn't hesitate. "Infernape, I choose you!"

Cynthia felt the blood in her brain pound as the two Pokémon took the field. The scene felt familiar, but she'd never battled against Ash before.

Right?

"First move is yours, Ash."

He grinned. "Don't mind if I do. Infernape, Fire Spin!"

Rings of searing flames rushed out of Infernape's mouth toward Glaceon. Cynthia remained calm.

"Glaceon, Ice Shard."

The ice projectiles collided with Fire Spin about halfway between the two Pokémon, as she'd planned. Although Infernape had launched its attack first, Ice Shard's quickness evened things out.

The two attacks mixed to create an explosion of water and mist. Cynthia followed through with her plan quickly.

"Fire off a quick Hail, Glaceon!"

Glaceon's body briefly glowed blue and fog began rolling in. As she'd calculated, the clouds formed much faster than normal thanks to the moisture already present on the field. The storm gained momentum quickly and before long balls of hail began raining down over the field. Glaceon's teal dangles whipped back and forth in the wind as, across the field, Infernape put an arm up to shield itself from the storm.

"Parry the hail with Scratch, Infernape, and then charge through with Flame Wheel!"

After quickly batting aside a few hailstones, Infernape's body blazed a path of steam through the storm, barreling toward Glaceon. Cynthia waited until the last moment.

"Dodge, Glaceon."

Glaceon flashed out of the way in the nick of time as Infernape stumbled over thin air where it'd expected to make contact. Cynthia hadn't been sure about chancing the last-minute dodge, but she figured that, thanks to Hail, Glaceon's Snow Cloak ability would make evasion highly likely – and she'd been right.

"Make use of the opening with Ice Beam!"

"Get out of there, Infernape! Dig!"

Infernape had been stumbling, which made Dig a good choice: the Flame Pokémon simply threw itself at the ground, quickly digging a hole and scampering in. But Cynthia noted that Ice Beam managed to clip Infernape's right heel as it went under.

There was a pause as both sides caught their breath. Ash's eyes were darting around as he tried to come up with a plan. Cynthia felt pretty good about the battle so far. She was taking the initiative and her strategies were playing out exactly as she imagined.

"Alright, Infernape, stay underground and use Flare Blitz!"

Cynthia's eyes narrowed. Underground Flare Blitz… It was a move Ash had created himself during his match with Paul at the Lily of the Valley Conference. It had been a brilliant move in that context, and she'd acknowledged that at the time – which was why she'd immediately thought about ways she would counter it herself.

"Glaceon, use Ice Beam to freeze the field!"

Glaceon jumped and twirled, shooting the aqua-colored beams around the field so a thick, solid layer of ice materialized over the earth.

"Don't let them stop you, Infernape, turn up the heat!" Ash said hurriedly.

Cynthia smiled inwardly upon hearing Ash's words. He thought she froze the field to stop Infernape from resurfacing. But her intention was exactly the opposite.

"Ready yourself, Glaceon," Cynthia told her Pokémon calmly.

The overwhelming nature of Underground Flare Blitz resulted from a combination of Infernape's raw power and the application of that power upon the entire battlefield. The sudden conversion of the field from a trusted place on which the opponent's Pokémon found its footing to an organic minefield threw the opponent's Pokémon, as well as the opponent, into a panicked, defensive state of mind. It was a wild, unpredictable move that Cynthia thought was a good reflection of the type of Trainer Ash was.

The key to stopping it, Cynthia had realized, was to nip it in the bud. Instead of panicking and going on the defensive – a situation which Ash was very good at taking advantage of – she had to prevent the attack from fully executing and use the opportunity to mount her own offensive. As Ash himself might say: the best defense is a good offense.

Glaceon achieved half of that in freezing the field over; the attack wouldn't be able to immediately penetrate both ground and ice, which would stifle it for at least a little while.

Another point of brilliance in Ash's move was that Infernape remained underground at least until the attack reached its climax. Unable to access Infernape, the average Trainer would never even consider going on the offensive as a countermeasure.

But Cynthia wasn't the average Trainer.

She knew the key was in remaining calm and realizing that just because Infernape wasn't visible didn't mean it couldn't be found.

Cynthia's experience taught her that special moves diminished in power with distance; that is to say, they were more powerful closer to the user. This meant that the force of Infernape's Flare Blitz would push against the ground from underneath the hardest directly above where Infernape was underground. Normally this wouldn't be very helpful, seeing as the sudden, explosive power of the move would make the entire battlefield crack instantaneously. But thanks to Glaceon, there was a thick layer of ice above the ground that was stifling the attack, which gave Cynthia time to look for where the place where the attack was most powerful.

How could she tell? Well, because when ice and fire mix, they leave a little something behind.

Water.

Cynthia's eyes narrowed as she found the spot on the field where water was pooling most rapidly. The area was about three-quarters of the way down the field from her and slightly to her left. It followed that the ice there was being heated the most directly underneath that spot, and by extension that Infernape must be launching the attack from there as well.

"Glaceon!" Her Pokémon turned at her call and caught her eyes, nodding to show that it understood. "Use Ice Fang on the field!"

"What?" Ash was clearly taken aback.

Glaceon's top teeth glowed blue and elongated as they contacted the ice, denting it deeply. With the heat from below and Ice Fang from above, the ice began to crack quickly.

"I don't know what you're thinking by undoing your own move, Cynthia, but I'm not going to hold back! Infernape, the ice is about to break, get ready to jump out!"

Cynthia smiled slightly to herself. All she had to do was time her command, and everything would fall in place.

Harsh crunching resounded as lines of cracks began to cross the field. Glaceon braced itself to jump, but Cynthia watched the pattern of cracking carefully, waiting until a fissure passed near enough to her target area to suggest the entire thing was about to blow. It would be any second –

There!

"Glaceon, Quick Attack!"

Just as Glaceon sped off in a blur of blue, the field exploded from underneath; chunks of earth, liquid water, and shards of ice blew into the air propelled by searing columns of flames.

But Glaceon's small frame, elevated speed, and most importantly its readied mind allowed it to navigate the perilous scene gracefully. It was a battle dance that made Cynthia proud.

And just as the flames began to die out and the debris seemed to pause in midair before falling, Glaceon materialized directly in front of the target area Cynthia had specified, ready to mount an offensive. Infernape was caught mid-jump, still suffering recoil from Flare Blitz and utterly bewildered.

"How?!" Ash let out in surprise.

Cynthia gestured powerfully. "Blizzard!"

The hailstorm she'd initiated near the beginning of the battle was beginning to decline, but it was still in effect, which meant that Blizzard's accuracy was guaranteed. Sure enough, the stream of freezing air and snow from Glaceon's mouth hit Infernape squarely, enveloping the Flame Pokémon and roughly pushing it into a deep puddle of water on the ground. A light frost now covered the Pokémon's fur as it breathed rapidly, trying to recover from the hit. Cynthia noted that its head flame had diminished considerably.

Glaceon back flipped gracefully over the debris-ridden field to resume its position in front of Cynthia, still raring to go. Cynthia assessed the situation and nodded. Ice attacks were only half as effective as normal against the Fire and Fighting-type Infernape, so it made sense it was not yet knocked out. That said, Cynthia was fairly sure the battle was decided.

Cynthia watched Ash's clenched expression as Infernape struggled to stand and right itself. She sighed slightly.

She hated to say it, but she was disappointed.

There was no doubt Ash was good. It was not as if he'd regressed; he was at least as good as he'd been in his quarterfinal and semifinal matches against Paul and Tobias at the Lily of the Valley Conference.

But he wasn't good enough to get her going.

That said, she was well aware of the level he was at from watching him in those battles. What had she expected? That just because she was the one battling him, he would suddenly become a Trainer good enough to make her fight for a win? That just because she'd come here searching for something, he'd be able to magically produce it for her?

If she was disappointed, it was her own fault, Cynthia chided herself.

"What's wrong, Cynthia?" Ash's voice broke her out of her reverie.

Cynthia met Ash's eyes squarely as she wondered what to say. After the time they spent today, Cynthia just felt like being honest; but to say she was disappointed to a budding Trainer was just too cruel.

She decided to sidestep the question and ask one of her own that she felt was an easy one for Ash.

"Are you having fun, Ash?" That's what was most important, after all. Even if the battle wasn't enough for her, if Ash was enjoying himself then it wouldn't be a waste. And Ash always enjoyed –

"Well, I'm just trying to stay in this as long as I can and not disappoint you."

Cynthia blinked, surprised. "What?"

"You're not just any Trainer, you're a Champion." Ash set his jaw. "I remember when Paul challenged you, and you wiped the floor with him without breaking a sweat. I don't want this to be like that. I just want to be able to put up a fight you'll remember me for."

Cynthia narrowed her eyes. "I'm a Champion? That's what you're thinking about as you're battling me?"

Cynthia felt a twinge of irritation as she remembered Ash calling her a friend before. So she was a friend sometimes, but he treated her as a Champion when they battled? In a League match she would understand, but now? After the time they'd just spent together?

Ash looked slightly taken aback. "Well, I… I mean…"

Cynthia tried to fight down the twinges of anger as she rationalized with herself. Why was she so upset? It's not like he was doing it on purpose. He meant well, so she should be fine with it, right?

Cynthia spoke as levelly as she could while masking her unhappiness. "Listen, Ash, just be yourself, ok? I want to battle you, and you have nothing to prove. Just battle naturally."

Now that she thought about it, there were signs all over the place that she'd missed because she was too focused on her strategy. Reacting instead of taking the initiative, reusing old moves without any sort of twist – both were clear signs Ash was overthinking things and not battling like his signature self. He needed to battle naturally.

As if you were battling a friend. Cynthia bit her lip to stop the words before they spilled out. She needed to control herself. Getting worked up over something so small was foolish. She took a deep breath and decided to just get the battle over with.

"Thanks, Cynthia." Cynthia's head snapped up at Ash's sudden words. "And sorry about that."

She stared at him and saw that his body had loosened up slightly. He seemed more relaxed in general, less nervous and in his own head.

He seemed more like himself.

Cynthia felt her irritation subside slightly and she nodded. The battle was over, but at least he wouldn't be battling so abnormally until the end.

Cynthia looked up and saw that the hailstorm was about to clear the field. She decided to make use of it to end things. Thanks to the last few hail clouds, her attack wouldn't miss.

"Glaceon, Blizzard!"

"Infernape, Flamethrower!"

Cynthia watched Infernape shoot its flames against Blizzard solemnly. She was glad Ash was giving it his last effort and at least not running from the attack, which would be totally in vain. But even going on the offensive, Flamethrower's base power was a clear notch under Blizzard's. Add that to the fact that Infernape was on its last legs, and it was clear that Blizzard would overwhelm Infernape in a few seconds.

Cynthia watched, waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Cynthia's brow furrowed. She looked down at Glaceon; her Pokémon was in good condition, as expected, launching the attack at normal power. So what –

Cynthia was taken aback as Glaceon seemed to slip back slightly. She looked up and saw that, rather than Blizzard overpowering Flamethrower as she'd expected, Infernape's flames were brighter and hotter than they'd been the entire battle. So bright and so hot, in fact, that Cynthia realized her Pokémon wasn't slipping back.

Glaceon was being pushed back.

Before Cynthia could think to analyze the situation, her reflexes kicked in as she realized Glaceon was about to be overpowered. "Glaceon, stop Blizzard and roll to the side, quickly!"

Glaceon did as she said, just barely dodging Flamethrower as it surged forward, unchallenged. The beam of pure fire shot past the battle field, several meters to Cynthia's right. Even so, she could feel the heat warm her right cheek like she was sitting next to a furnace.

What was going on?

Glaceon recouped and returned to the center of the field as Flamethrower died out. As this happened, Cynthia got a good look at Infernape and suddenly understood.

Infernape's eyes were a harsh, neon red. A fiery aura seemed to be surrounding the Pokémon as its head flame – which should have been smaller than ever after Glaceon's last attack – blazed larger than it had the entire battle and only continued to grow.

Blaze.

Infernape's special ability that could only kick in when its user had a third of its health or less – and then, too, only under circumstances where the Pokémon felt particularly compelled to win for its Trainer. With this Infernape's track record and having witnessed its performance at the Lily of the Valley Conference, Cynthia had of course considered the possibility of the ability activating early in the match. But having been pushed so close to the edge and with its Trainer so out of it, Cynthia hadn't believed Blaze could activate at this point. It meant that Infernape really wanted to win this battle.

But more importantly…

Cynthia looked past Infernape to Ash.

It meant that Ash really wanted to win this battle.

This far along in the battle and especially after the searing Flamethrower, the hailstorm from the battle's beginning had finally cleared completely. The setting sun's deep orange light filled the clear sky and illuminated Ash's face.

He was smiling.

"I hope you're ready for a fight, Cynthia," Ash said, pointing at her confidently. "The real battle starts now."

Cynthia stared, incredulous. Ash's body language and demeanor were completely different from before. He was bursting with energy and excitement, he was focused, and he was serious about winning the battle.

Ash smirked. "Let's have fun, Cynthia."

Cynthia felt her heart skip a beat. This was what she wanted.

"Yeah." Cynthia couldn't stop her smile. "Let's."

Ash took the initiative. "Infernape, Flame Wheel!"

She wasn't about to back down. "Cool Infernape down with Icy Wind, and then use Bite!"

Icy Wind couldn't stop Infernape's Flame Wheel, especially with Blaze active, but it would take enough of the edge off so Glaceon could mount a counterattack.

Water and steam spun off the circumference of Infernape as it rushed in toward Glaceon. As it closed in, Glaceon sidestepped and swung its jaw, managing to pull Infernape out of the move by biting down on its arm forcefully. Not a very effective move and Infernape didn't flinch, but Flame Wheel was neutralized.

"Right where we want to be. Use your other hand for Mach Punch, Infernape!"

Flame Wheel had just been a decoy all along. And Mach Punch was too fast of a move to dodge.

"Barrier, Glaceon!" As she expected, Glaceon couldn't finish the move fully in time to defend; at best, it got one stage in defense. Glaceon was forcibly thrown away from Infernape from the power of the punch, taking moderate damage due to the effectiveness of the Fighting-type move.

Cynthia shifted from foot to foot excitedly, unable to contain her battle lust. She clenched and unclenched her fists, fully immersed in the fight.

"Don't give time for them to recuperate, Infernape! Flamethrower!"

"Mirror Coat, Glaceon!" Glaceon would take quite a bit of damage, but how would Ash handle having his enhanced power doubled and turned back on him?

Glaceon received the red-hot flames head-on, sliding back as it absorbed the damage. Cynthia met her Pokémon's eyes, encouraging it silently. Nodding, Glaceon glowed brightly before returning the attack at double the power.

Ash looked hard-pressed to counter, but as the attack approached he suddenly snapped his fingers. "Flame Wheel to defend, Infernape!"

Flame Wheel… to defend?

Infernape spun forward, surrounded in flames, and jumped while twisting directly into the line of fire. The resulting scene resembled shooting water at the side of a rapidly rotating Frisbee. Glaceon's large returned Flamethrower hit the edge of Infernape's form and was deflected to the side in smaller streams. Infernape surely took damage, but it was highly reduced.

Cynthia noted that it was a spin on Ash's Counter Shield strategy; but instead of launching Flamethrower during Flame Wheel and taking advantage of the spinning to attack broadly, he received Flamethrower during Flame Wheel and took advantage of the spinning to defend efficiently.

Cynthia was impressed.

Infernape came out of Flame Wheel and landed, panting. Across from it, Glaceon was also quite battered from taking a Blaze-enhanced Flamethrower straight on.

The battle was nearing its end.

On either end of the field, Ash and Cynthia smirked at each other silently. Cynthia felt like she was in an intense trance as she spoke.

"You've got me fired up, Ash. You sure you're ready for what you got yourself into?"

Ash punched his open palm with his fist. "Right back at you!"

It wasn't what he said that caught Cynthia off-guard; it would've at any other time, but at that moment, it just felt right.

What surprised her was that, for a split second, she could have sworn that Ash's irises flashed a bright blue. She looked again, and they were their usual chocolate brown. Ash raised an eyebrow at her, and she shook her head slightly, indicating everything was fine.

No, it was more than fine.

"This is what I've been looking for," Cynthia muttered to herself under her breath.

Ash punched the air with a fist. "Let's bring this home, Infernape! Flame Wheel, one more time!

Leading up to the climax, huh? Cynthia clenched her fist. "Sand Attack then roll away, Glaceon!"

Glaceon quickly kicked dirt onto the spinning Infernape to lower its accuracy and douse its flames slightly before dodging Flame Wheel.

Cynthia tapped her foot excitedly. The conditions for her trump card were met.

"Come around once more, Infernape!"

The Flame Pokémon did a U-turn while spinning and came at Glaceon once more in Flame Wheel.

"Use Ice Beam on the ground in front of Infernape!"

Glaceon understood, creating an ice ramp in Infernape's path that caused it to spin into the air wildly.

Knowing Ash, at this point in the match he wouldn't try to be patient and wait for Infernape to land. Knowing him, he would try to roll with the punches and continue to try to attack. And now that Infernape was in midair, lacked body control, but had the height advantage, Ash's preferred move would be...

"Flare Blitz! Finish this, Infernape!"

"Last Resort!" Cynthia called readily.

Cynthia understood that, although Last Resort would be about even with the Blaze-enhanced, gravity-advantaged Flare Blitz power-wise, Glaceon would likely take more damage being an Ice-type on the receiving end of a Fire-type attack.

But she needed Flare Blitz to connect.

The two Pokémon collided in midair in a clash that produced a mighty shockwave. As she'd expected, Glaceon took more damage, bouncing away from the collision to the ground quite bruised. Infernape got off easier, falling through the air still surrounded by the quickly-diminishing remnants of Flare Blitz.

"Roll towards me as you fall, Infernape!" Infernape spun in midair, allowing its body to roll close to Ash as it hit the ground. It stood shakily, obviously not having escaped the collision completely unscathed.

But the reason for the entire exchange and her having Flare Blitz connect wasn't the direct damage she had inflicted.

"Glaceon, Last Resort again!" Glaceon made it to its feet and began trotting toward Infernape, building up energy until it reached a full run.

It wasn't even the recoil damage Infernape would sustain from Flare Blitz.

Red sparks crackled across Infernape's body, and it clutched its shoulder, wincing in pain as it paid for using Flare Blitz. The Pokémon had one eye half-open, watching powerlessly as Glaceon approached with Last Resort.

Cynthia merely needed the one moment of immobilization that came with the recoil.

She suspected that Ash had an inkling of what she would try to do, which was why he tried to have Infernape roll towards him as it fell, thus creating space between it and Glaceon. But at the speed and power with which Glaceon was approaching, and Infernape momentarily unable to move, there was no way out.

"Fall backward, Infernape!"

Cynthia narrowed her eyes. It was smart to ask Infernape to fall; it was likely something the Pokémon could do even while sustaining recoil. But did he think that Infernape could fall flat enough that Glaceon would just jump over and miss him?

"Just stay low and keep your eye on Infernape as it falls, Glaceon!" Cynthia called.

Glaceon's knees bent more, bringing itself closer to the ground as it ran. Judging by the trajectory of Infernape's fall and Glaceon's speed, Infernape would hit the ground before Glaceon made it, but since Glaceon was prepared, it wouldn't be a problem; it could just ram Infernape's flat body and deliver the damage that way.

Just as Infernape hit the ground, Glaceon leapt at it with Last Resort.

And hit thin air.

"Infernape… disappeared?" Cynthia said aloud in disbelief. Even as she said it, she understood what happened. As Glaceon hit thin air and stumbled across the ground, she saw a hole slightly behind her Pokémon.

It was the hole out of which Infernape had jumped after using Underground Flare Blitz, earlier in the match.

Ash hadn't simply asked Infernape to roll toward him after falling to create distance; he'd anticipated the moment of immobilization that would come with the recoil, and made sure Infernape was positioned just in front of the hole so it could fall back and hide in it.

Because Infernape had rolled right in front of the hole and then stood up in front of it, Cynthia lacked the angle to observe it, and had completely forgotten about it otherwise as a byproduct of the less impressive first half of the battle.

"Yeah, it was a mistake to use Underground Flare Blitz before," Ash said, rubbing a finger under his nose sheepishly, "but I'm at least going to make that mistake amount to something."

Cynthia was speechless.

"Infernape, Dig!"

Before Cynthia could react, Infernape came blitzing out of the ground underneath Glaceon, throwing her Pokémon into the air roughly.

"Glaceon!" Cynthia watched Glaceon tumble through the air, trying to right itself. The hit was direct and caused Glaceon considerable damage, but she could tell her Pokémon was still in it.

Time seemed to slow as Glaceon fell to the ground and Cynthia's mind raced to analyze the situation. Glaceon's midair body control was minimal at best; Ash would likely fire off an attack before Glaceon could hit the ground. If she could defend against that and get Glaceon back on the ground, she'd be on about an even playing field again. Glaceon was in slightly better shape than Infernape, but considering Infernape's type advantage, both were about one strong attack from passing out. Cynthia had the slight advantage because Infernape could probably only get one more Flare Blitz off without passing out from the recoil.

Which meant the match would be decided by which move would connect first: Last Resort on Infernape or Flare Blitz on Glaceon.

"Surprise it in the air with Mach Punch, Infernape!"

Cynthia couldn't risk taking a Fighting-type move head-on at this point in the match. "Glaceon, Icy Wind, straight up!"

As Infernape shot in with Mach Punch, Glaceon blew Icy Wind upward, propelling it down rapidly and out of the line of fire. This caused Glaceon to hit the ground hard, though, and it righted itself just as Infernape landed and turned to attack.

"Infernape, Flamethrower!" In an instant, red-hot flames were surging toward Glaceon.

Cynthia set her jaw. Infernape's attacks, especially the Blaze-enhanced ones, were too powerful, fast, and effective on Glaceon for her to take them head-on anymore. She needed to create an opening without risking serious damage to her Pokémon.

"Quick Attack to get close, then Bite, Glaceon!"

Glaceon shot to the side of the flames and approached Infernape quickly. Before Infernape could finish Flamethrower and defend, Glaceon bit into Infernape's right ankle deeply.

"Bear it, Infernape! Use Mach Punch now!" The Flame Pokémon grunted in pain, but scored a direct hit on Glaceon's body with a quick Mach Punch. The Fresh Snow Pokémon cried out as it was thrown back several feet.

Cynthia gritted her teeth. Mach Punch was a high priority move that made good use of Glaceon's closeness in that situation; she couldn't have gotten Glaceon out of there in time even if she'd had time to react.

Furthermore, it was evidence that Bite hadn't gotten Infernape to flinch, which had been her goal. She'd gambled on that opening in order to finish the match, but instead Glaceon was the one struggling to recover from Mach Punch, which was a huge opening for Ash. If he –

"Quickly, Infernape, finish this with Flare Blitz!"

Cynthia clenched her fists nervously. "Glaceon, Quick Attack! Get out of there now!"

Red-orange fire surrounded Infernape's body, charging for an attack. The Flame Pokémon pumped its fists as it gathered energy, the red-orange color giving way to a searing blue hue. Meanwhile, Glaceon was still struggling to get up after the last attack.

Infernape stepped forward with its right leg, about to blitz in toward its target.

"Glaceon!" Cynthia yelled worriedly.

"Now, Infernape!" Ash yelled from across the field.

With a mighty cry, Infernape pushed off its right heel with Flare Blitz fully charged.

And stumbled to the ground.

"Infernape?!" Ash called out worriedly.

Infernape clearly wasn't knocked out, but the charged-up Flare Blitz fizzled out as Infernape clutched its right heel with its hands, unable to move.

Cynthia had no idea what was happening. But the battling instincts in her knew an opening when they saw one. Glaceon had made it to its feet by now, and Cynthia called her command almost in a trance.

"Glaceon, Last Resort!

"Get up, Infernape!"

Glaceon trotted in quickly toward Infernape as the Flame Pokémon struggled to get to its feet.

"Infernape!" Ash yelled.

Infernape made it to its feet and began to move, but it was too late. Glaceon had reached its full speed, a slipstream of pure white energy directly behind it.

It was a direct hit on Infernape, with Glaceon ramming the larger Pokémon in its torso and throwing it back violently.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Infernape flew through the air, unmoving. Cynthia and Ash watched with bated breath as the Pokémon hit the ground on its back, sliding a little before coming to a complete stop. Infernape didn't move, and one look at the characteristic knocked-out eyes told the Trainers everything they needed to know.

Cynthia let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Glaceon scampered over to her, running around her feet in circles excitedly. It was obviously proud to have won the hard-fought battle, and Cynthia was very proud of it, too. She patted her Pokémon's head, congratulating it and promising treats later. Glaceon nuzzled into her hand happily, and Cynthia laughed before returning the Fresh Snow Pokémon to its Poké Ball for a well-deserved rest.

Cynthia looked over to see Ash propping Infernape up on his knee and praising it for its performance. The Flame Pokémon nodded and knocked fists with Ash, smiling slightly before returning to its Poké Ball to rest.

Ash looked at Infernape's Poké Ball affectionately before putting it back on his belt and standing.

"What do you think happened to Infernape at the end?" Ash asked suddenly, looking at her. "Think it just got too tired, or…?"

Cynthia had been stumped by the same question, but realized the answer suddenly and put the pieces together in her head as she spoke.

"The first Ice Beam Glaceon used," she said, rubbing her forehead in disbelief. "When you sent Infernape underground to use Flare Blitz."

Ash scratched his head. "I remember you ordering that, but it didn't hit, did it?"

"It did," Cynthia said, shaking her head as she thought back. "It clipped Infernape's right heel as it went under. I didn't think it did anything, but the entire attack being concentrated on its heel must've damaged it."

"Why didn't Infernape point it out to me earlier?"

"It probably didn't know," Cynthia surmised. "The extremities are usually under a lot of stress in battle, and being so focused on other things, it probably thought nothing of it."

Ash's brow furrowed in self-reproach. "Why didn't I see it?"

Cynthia moved closer to Ash and put a hand on his shoulder. "You were still kind of distracted at that point in the battle. And by the time Infernape resurfaced, it'd already used Flare Blitz, which thaws its body out. Since you used Flare Blitz and Flame Wheel so much after that, there was no way any ice would have remained on Infernape's body. There was no way for you to know."

Cynthia dropped her hand from Ash's shoulder. "But I'm sorry it had to end that way. I obviously didn't tell Glaceon to use Bite on Infernape's heel on purpose, and it was just luck that its heel gave out right after."

Ash shook his head. "Don't be sorry. I made a lot of mistakes early in the battle, and it cost me. That's how battles work, and I learned a lot from this one. And," Ash finished, smiling, "I had a lot of fun."

Cynthia felt her cheeks redden slightly at Ash's words. "Yeah, so did I. It was… amazing."

They shook hands warmly. But even though Ash had assured her the battle was fair, as he smiled and complimented her generously, Cynthia couldn't help but wonder how it would've gone if Ash had battled the way he had in the second half from the get-go.

If he had, would she have lost?

Cynthia's heart fluttered as she thought about it. Even considering her Conference and Elite Four matches, she'd never been so stimulated by an opponent in this particular way.

"Cynthia?"

Cynthia nearly jumped as Ash broke her from her reverie. "Y-Yeah?"

"It's getting dark." Ash jerked his thumb at the sun, which was almost completely below the horizon. "Want to head back to my place?"

"You want to go back to your place?" Cynthia asked, in a stupor.

Ash raised an eyebrow at her. "You know, to eat dinner, or at least get our coats? I'm fine with staying outside if you want, but we're probably going to get cold soon."

"Oh yeah, yeah, of course. Let's go," Cynthia managed, silently chiding herself for the lapse.

They collected the picnic basket and made their way down the road into Pallet. The combination of light but warm banter and the star-studded sky seemed to remind Cynthia of a dream she had, though, as usual, she couldn't put her finger on it.

Before long they were nearing Ash's house, and Cynthia sighed to herself, realizing her time with the raven-haired Trainer was coming to an end.

That said, her trip to Pallet was well worth her while. Cynthia couldn't help a small smile as she thought about how her dreams had led her here, and she was thankful that they did. She still didn't understand what they actually were, per se, but she had a pretty good idea of why she was having them.

Cynthia fought heat down from her cheeks and cleared her throat as they approached the fence outside Ash's house.

"When are you leaving for the next region, Ash?"

Ash scratched his head. "I'm not sure. But pretty soon, probably. There are so many more Pokémon to see and battles to have. It's a long road to become a Pokémon Master, so I don't want to sit around too long." He pumped his fist excitedly.

Cynthia smiled, glad to see the classic Ash.

"Only problem is," he said, tilting his head, "I don't know what region I should go to next."

"I recommend Unova," Cynthia said, glad he'd brought the topic up himself. "It has a League and a Conference, and I'm sure you'll be happy to hear there a lot of Pokémon there you've never seen before. I pitched it to your mom as a vacation, and I told her to tell Professor Oak about a big conference they're having there he might be interested in. If they both like the idea, they'll take you over there themselves, and once you get there you can decide if you want to actually journey through the region."

Ash blinked in surprise, and then grinned widely. "That sounds awesome! You did all the work for me, huh?"

"You bet," Cynthia said airily. She withheld the information that she had a place in Unova that she stayed at sometimes, and that with any luck, she hoped to meet up with him again on his travels. By then hopefully she could have all her thoughts completely sorted out; even if she wasn't at that point by then, she'd at least be able to see him again and have more adventures with him.

Not that that was the only reason she'd done it. Unova was genuinely a good region for gaining experience. Sue her if she had a coincidental special interest.

"Come on, it's dinner time," Ash waved her toward the path to his door.

Cynthia shot him a small smile. "I've actually got to go, Ash. I have to make it to Vermilion to get a ticket for the early morning ferry back to Sinnoh."

"Ah, come on!" Ash grabbed her hand eagerly. "Spend some time in Pallet! I can show you all my other Pokémon, and we can battle some more!"

Cynthia could feel her heart melting, but she had to put her foot down. "I would love that, but as much as I like hanging out with you, I have a lot of duties as Champion of Sinnoh."

Ash's shoulders drooped slightly. "I forgot about that."

Cynthia felt her heart swell slightly – she was glad he did.

"Well, aren't you going to come in and say goodbye to my mom and Professor Oak, at least?"

"I already told Professor Oak I would be leaving, and your mom and I have already said everything we need to say to each other."

Ash groaned. "Fine. I guess I'll get your coat."

"Thanks, Ash, I appreciate it."

He looked over his shoulder as he jogged to the door. "Don't push it," he said playfully.

Cynthia giggled as he disappeared into the house briefly. She was sorry to leave him so abruptly, but she really did have duties to attend to; she also wanted some time right now to herself to think things over.

Ash had given her a lot to think about.

The raven-haired Trainer emerged from his house quickly, hefting Cynthia's coat in one hand. She noticed he didn't even close the door behind him in his haste.

He ran up to her, mock breathing heavily. "I brought it as fast as I could so you could leave. Hope I didn't delay you too much."

"Oh, come on." Cynthia hit his arm playfully, and he laughed.

Ash held the coat up and she obliged, feeling heat rise to her cheeks as she turned around and allowed him to slip it onto her.

She turned back to face him, already feeling a little nostalgic.

"Well," he said, rubbing his neck regretfully, "I guess this is it."

"I guess so," Cynthia said, her heart and mind racing.

"You remember what you told me when we first met?" Ash asked, apparently feeling nostalgic himself.

Cynthia stared at him, unused to the contemplative side of the usually carefree Trainer.

"When every life meets another life, something will be born," Ash said. "You seemed so wise and out-of-reach then. Who'd have thought that we'd have so many adventures together and be here now?"

Cynthia tilted her head slightly, feeling herself relax as she decided upon a strategy; it was almost like a battle, and she was pretty good at those.

"What do you think was born between us, Ash?"

Ash wavered a bit, startled by the explicit question.

Cynthia giggled slightly and briefly embraced the raven-haired Trainer. He was warm against the nippy night air, and she felt slightly warmer when he brought his own arms around her gently.

"Cynthia, I –"

Cynthia pulled away from the embrace and put a finger to Ash's lips, shushing him. "You don't have to tell me now. Sleep on it."

She stepped back slowly, coyly brushing the hair in front of her left eye back behind her ear. "That's what I did."

And with a wink and a wave, she turned and strode down the path out of Pallet.

Cynthia looked forward, stepping confidently and resisting the urge to turn around and see Ash's reaction. But she kept her ears perked, and her sharp, battle-honed senses told her anyway. After all, Ash had left the door open when he rushed out with her coat.

But she didn't hear it close.

Cynthia smiled and walked into the night.

"Ash!"

Cynthia had fallen back to assess the situation and make her decision independently. Ahead, the group stopped abruptly upon hearing her voice. Cynthia caught Dawn's eyes as she turned, and her heart nearly broke seeing the dread in the Coordinator's eyes; apparently the younger girl had already figured out what Cynthia was about to do. Cynthia ripped her eyes away, steeling herself and turning her gaze upon Ash while bringing her hands to her hips to look as resolute as possible.

But Ash would not let her off without an argument, it seemed. He approached her quickly, reading her face and responding without hesitation. "No, Cynthia. I won't let –"

"You need time, Ash. And I can buy it for you," Cynthia said, trying to be persuasive. He was being as sweet and protective as she expected, but she'd made her assessment already and she knew for a fact they wouldn't make it unless she stalled for time. "You know I can buy at least as much time as Paul did, if not more. And when their numbers overwhelm me, you know they won't hurt me. Let me do this for the team."

Ash tried to talk but Cynthia cut him off by holding up a hand. She couldn't let him say anything. She knew if he did, he would easily be able to convince the others in the group to side with him. More importantly, she was afraid he might be able to actually talk her out of it.

But her mind was made up. Cynthia channeled as much of her emotion as she could into her voice. "I want to show you how much I care about you and your well-being, Ash. And the best way I can do that is by making use of my greatest skill: battling. So please, let me."

Ash's shoulders slumped, and Cynthia knew she had him. Likely, he understood as well as she did that this was the best option. Cynthia gave him a minute, looking past him to the remainder of the group.

"Good luck, guys," Cynthia said emphatically. Without pause, she pulled Garchomp's Poké Ball from her waist and tossed it to Dawn. The Coordinator sniffled as she caught it.

Cynthia flashed the younger girl her warmest smile. "Garchomp. She'll help you guys in a rough spot."

"Isn't she your strongest, though?" Dawn asked. Cynthia could tell the girl was fighting down her own emotions and trying to be strong.

Cynthia tried to keep the atmosphere light, shrugging and flashing a mischievous grin. "I suppose. But don't think my other Pokémon are pushovers." She winked.

It was actually true that Garchomp was by far her strongest Pokémon. But she didn't think it was cocky to think her other Pokémon would be enough to hold the guards for a while. More importantly, she felt that the confidence she would exhibit in giving them her strongest Pokémon would put their minds slightly at ease going forward. Cynthia's gut was also telling her that her ace would be put to better use in their hands in the current situation.

Cynthia exhaled, making peace with her decision before looking back at Ash to say her goodbye.

She met his eyes. "Good luck, Ash," Cynthia said, tucking the hair in front of her left eye back behind her ear.

Ash pulled himself together, standing tall and meeting her eyes as well. "Thank you, Cynthia. You are as true a champion as there could ever be."

Cynthia felt his words strike a chord in her. She knew Ash didn't mean what he said with regard to her job; he didn't have any experience with her that way. He was saying he saw her as a champion outside of regions, outside of conferences, outside of battles.

Cynthia's emotions came flooding forward, and there were tears in her eyes before she could stop them. She took Ash's right hand in both of hers, and then touched it to her left breast, right above her heart. She spoke softly.

"Get yourself back, Ash. Even if it means we won't ever know each other the way we have the last few days…" Cynthia closed her eyes to try holding her tears back. "It's what you need to do. Don't give up until you do it, you hear?"

"I will. But listen." Ash tenderly pulled their hands from her chest, holding the fingers of her right hand in his. He spoke to her in an equally soft, emotionally-charged voice. "I don't know how things might change between us when I get my memories back, but I don't care. We might have to part ways now, but one way or another, somewhere down the road, we will find our way back to each other."

Ash brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them lightly. It was an earnest but fluttering kiss; one that acknowledged they were parting but refused to say goodbye. Cynthia blushed deeply.

Before she could react further, movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked briefly over Ash's shoulder to see Dawn and the rest of the crew turning their backs to give her and Ash privacy. Cynthia turned her eyes back to Ash, feeling her heart race.

Yeah, she would believe that somewhere down the road they would find each other again. But that felt so far away.

Ash was about to let go of her hand. Cynthia stopped him by tightening her own grip.

"Wait."

She stepped forward, surprising the raven-haired Trainer.

"One more for the road."

And she kissed him.

Cynthia sprung up in her bed, her face hot and heart pounding. She'd just awoken from a dream just as she had been the last few days; unlike those times, however, she fully remembered what she'd just dreamt.

She was in Vermilion's Pokémon Center, spending the night before her early ferry back to Sinnoh.

Cynthia took a deep breath, suddenly feeling calmer and more collected than she had been the last few days. Like she'd been fighting a tough battle and she'd won, and now she was finally back to full health. She flexed her right hand slowly and smiled, finally feeling like she was back in control.

Cynthia suspected this meant she would now be able to muster her focus to control her dreams as she had before the entire incident.

She fell back onto her bed heavily, wondering what she wanted to dream of tonight.

At her will, Cynthia had been able to dream of Gym battles, Conference brackets, Elite Four matchups, and title matches. She had dreamt of breaking records, solving mysteries, meeting Pokémon, growing stronger, surpassing her limits, and many other things, and all of them she'd dreamt many times over.

Cynthia made her decision. With a contented sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted towards sleep.

Tonight, for the first time, Cynthia would dream of love.

Author's Note

The final epilogue comes to a close! What do you think?

Shout-out to ultimateCCC for pointing out a mistake in the last chapter: Garchomp was mistakenly referred to as a male, but she is actually a female. Sorry about that.

I know this is over a month past the update date, but I suppose it's rather classic that the penultimate chapter would be delayed like so many of the others in this story. No, not funny? Haha, I hope nobody had their hopes pinned on this during the holiday season, and really hope you were still able to fully enjoy it now.

Big thank yous to guests xXumbreonXx, StarShaper, and Guest, and users MidnightFenrir, mask211, MYNAMEISINKANJI, Xperior, UltimateCCC, ASD Pokemon Fan, MjrGenMatt, Arxhaelologist, Magyk-Foal1, Blackcharizard62, DAgency, DraconianPhilosopher, and tim29842003 for their feedback after the last chapter. The response was heartwarming and encouraging as I worked on this chapter.

The most eventful parts of this story finish with this. The final chapter, which will be a very short and simple one aiming to just wrap things up, is scheduled for February 20, 11:00 PM UTC.

There will be no chapter-ending Author's Note for the final chapter. I will communicate with users who review and PM as usual, but otherwise, this is pretty much it for my messages to all readers. This story has been a project spanning nearly three years and many, many hours of writing. With the final chapter still to go, I don't want to turn and look back over everything quite yet. But since this is my last chance to correspond with you all, I do want to say thank you. For reading and giving this story a chance. For putting up with a slow start, short chapters, complicated story premises, Pokémon type and gender oversights, quirky epilogues, and the delays from start to finish. For everything. From readers to reviewers to PMers, you have all been friends of this project. Those of you who've been here since day one form the foundation underlying it, and those of you who've joined more recently have steadily provided the building blocks that have fed its growth; either way, the sum total of your support has been and continues to be an overwhelming source of confidence, encouragement, and above all happiness as I write. I hope you've enjoyed the journey thus far and continue to enjoy it until the end.

Thank you.