Hello everyone! I am now back with the next chapter! This was a little delayed cause I was experiencing some writer's block, but I finally managed to start writing again. This chapter, like I said, won't have too much going on and might even be shorter than the others (although half of the chapters in this arc are around 10k words so that's saying something), however important stuff will be happening. But hey, I am known to just keep writing and writing until I'm forced to stop, so this opening A/N might not age well. Go enjoy now!
It's been a little over a week since Ash defeated Leon and became the World Monarch. And if Ash thought becoming the Alola Champion was super tiring, he was in for a major shock when he became World Monarch.
Paperwork, meetings, guest appearances, live events, swarms of fans asking for pictures and autographs, everything that made becoming Alola Champion seem like being reminded to eat something, which he barely even had time to do that.
While extremely tiring, he could manage this, but what really tired him out, was multiple girls asking him out or giving him their phone numbers, some even loudly saying they loved him and calling him hot. He tried to politely refuse their advances and tell them he was dating Serena, but this unfortunately didn't stop them.
He tried not getting Serena involved, as she has also been stressed from her duties as a new champion, and didn't want to burden her with ever more stress.
Most of their friends headed back home, the only ones remaining being Kukui, Burnet, Grace and Jake, all of whom were relaxing at the hotel.
After finishing some paperwork Ash laid down on the couch that was in his new office. He let out an exhausted sigh.
"So tired...." He moaned.
"That's an understatement..." Pikachu moaned as he rested on Ash's stomach.
"When you're the strongest trainer in the world, you're bound to do more than just battles" Greninja said as he leaned against the wall next to the couch.
"Not helping buddy..." Ash said.
"Please tell me we're done for the day..." Pikachu asked tiredly.
"We have to go to another meeting" Greninja said.
"Dammit...!" "Dammit...!" Ash and Pikachu both said.
"It's with Professor Magnolia" Greninja said.
Ash and Pikachu looked up.
"Professor Magnolia? About what?" Ash asked.
"I don't know. Delphox told me that she needed to speak with all of us about something" Greninja explained.
"All of us? Like, the three of us?" Ash asked.
"And Serena and the others" Greninja added.
Now Ash was intrigued by this. They all left the office and headed downstairs, surprised to see Serena and the girls waiting for them.
"Hey Serena" Ash said with a smile.
"Hey Ash" she said happily. That changed after seeing the very visible bags under Ash's eyes. 'He looks even more exhausted than I was...'
"You okay Serena?" Ash asked.
"Huh?? Oh yeah, just uh, happy to see you today" she said.
"I'm happy to see you too. Greninja said Professor Magnolia wanted to see us" Ash said.
"Yeah, although I don't know what it's about" Serena said.
They all decided to go to her lab to find out. They made their way up to a private open area of the building. Ash let out Latias.
"Hey Latias, can you fly us to Professor Magnolia's lab?" Ash asked.
Latias was about to say yes but remembered she had plans to have a date with Dracovish later. Ash picked up on her changing expression.
"Hey how about while we're talking I can let out Dracovish and you two can explore Wedgehurst together?" Ash suggested.
Latias beamed at the idea. She happily nodded. Ash and the others got on and flew towards Professor Magnolia's lab.
Once they arrived, they were met by Leon, Gloria and Hop.
"Hey Leon, Gloria and Hop" Adh said with a smile.
"Hello Ash, or rather, World Monarch Ash" Leon joked. Ash chuckled at that.
"What are you guys doing here?" Serena asked.
"We were summoned by Professor Magnolia" Gloria answered.
"Didn't say what for though, just that it was important" Hop said with his hands behind his back.
Ash and Serena looked at each other with concern.
"I take it you two were summoned as well" Leon said.
"Yeah, didn't say why either" Serena said.
"Only one way to find out then" Leon said.
Everyone started to walk in, until Latias tugged on Ash's shirt. Ash understood. He took out a ball and released Dracovish.
"We've got things to talk about, so you guys go have fun okay" Ash said.
Latias nodded. She blushed as she looked at Dracovish. Said Pokemon waved his fins with excitement.
"Yay! Ooting with Latias!" Dracovish said happily.
Latias giggled. "It's pronounced 'outing' babe" she said with a smile.
"Really? But I thought when you spend time with the one you love the most its called an ooting" he said innocently.
Latias blushed hard and nearly fainted from his cuteness. Dracovish didn't notice and continued.
"And then after the ooting you go somewhere more private and show your true feelings for each other and then ma—"
"LET'S GO!!" Latias yelled as she pushed Dracovish from behind, making him not see her intense blushing. 'I'm gonna pulverize whoever told him that!'
She gulped as her fingertips tightened. 'Now he knows what I had planned...'
Ash, Pikachu and Greninja looked at each other with confusion. They shrugged it off and joined the others inside the house.
Once inside, they entered the living room. They were surprised to see more people.
"Goh? Chloe?" Ash said.
"President Lusamine too?" Serena said.
"Hey Ash, hey Serena" Chloe said.
"What are you guys doing here?" Ash asked.
"We were asked to be here on behalf of Chloe's dad" Goh said.
"So what are we doing here exactly" Gloria asked.
"I shall explain" Professor Magnolia said as she entered the room with Sonia and Victor.
"Victor!" Gloria said as she came up and hugged her brother.
Victor returned her hug with his own. "Hey sis, good to see you."
Once they separated, he noticed Hop.
"Hey man, how's it going?" He asked as he held his arm up.
The two boys initiated a special handshake.
"Pretty good man, all things considered" Hop said.
"Now then, let's get to the matter at hand" Professor Magnolia said.
Everyone refocused.
"I've summoned you all here to discuss your battle with Faba" she said.
Everyone was shocked by this.
"Why...do you want to talk about that?" Serena asked with nervousness.
"When you faced him on Hammerlocke Tower, did he have anything on his person that seemed odd?" She asked.
Everyone thought about it, but didn't think of anything. It didn't take one person that long.
"Now that you mention it, he had these strange books that he flashed us. But that's all I saw" Leon said.
Professor Magnolia looked at Sonia, who nodded. She left the room to another part of the house.
"Does the books have some significance or something?" Hop asked.
"If someone like Faba had them, they must've been" Ash said.
Sonia came back. "Did they look like these?"
In her arms were two books, one colored Scarlet the other colored Violet.
"Yeah, exactly like that! But how did you get them?" Leon said.
"It wasn't easy, but thanks to the efforts of Sonia and Victor, we managed to recover them" Professor Magnolia said.
"So what are these books exactly?" Serena asked.
"I can explain that" Lusamine said. "These books are called the Scarlet Book and the Violet Book respectfully. They contain detailed notes about special kinds of Pokemon that don't exist in the present time."
"Certain Pokemon?" Ash said.
"Present time?" Serena added.
"The Scarlet and Violet Books contain information about what it refers to as Paradox Pokemon" Lusamine explained.
"Paradox Pokemon?" Goh said.
"The Scarlet Book details Paradox Pokemon from the distant past, while the Violet Book details Paradox Pokemon from the distant future" Lusamine said.
"Back up a second. What exactly makes a Pokemon a Paradox Pokemon?" Leon asked.
Lusamine flipped through the Scarlet Book, showing illustrations of Pokemon that looked different yet familiar.
"These are Paradox Pokemon, although they're a variant that is unknown to the world, and very few know of their existence" Lusamine said. She opened they Violet Book next. "Notice the difference?"
"The Pokemon in the Scarlet Book looked more primitive, while these ones look more robotic like" Gloria said.
"Yes. The Paradox Pokemon from the Violet Book are from the distant future" Lusamine answered.
One illustration caught Greninja's eyes.
'Ash, look at that sketch' he said internally.
Ash looked and saw what Greninja was referring to.
"Wait...that Pokémon..."
"What is it Ash?" Serena said.
"Lusamine, can I see the Violet Book really quick?" Ash asked. Lusamine handed the book to Ash. He scanned it again. He motioned to Serena to look. Once she saw it, she gasped.
"No way..." she said.
"What's wrong Serena?" Gloria asked.
Pikachu, Delphox and Sylveon looked and gasped as well.
"That Pokemon...we battled it when we followed Faba through the portal" Ash said.
Ash revealed the Pokemon.
"You battled that? It kinda looks like a Gardevoir and Gallade combined" Goh said.
"Faba called it Iron Valiant" Serena said.
"Iron Valient? That's a weird name" Chloe said.
"No doubt about it, that Pokemon was a Paradox Pokemon" Lusamine said.
"But how did someone like Faba even get ahold of those books, let alone know of their existence?" Sonia asked.
"...because we've kept them at Aether Paradise" Lusamine said.
Everybody gasped at this revelation.
"The books have been in my family's possession for many years. They believed the books originated from Ultra Space, which eventually became the goal of Aether Foundation. However, no evidence was ever found to its true origin. We kept them in a safe in my family's mansion for a long time. However, once Aether Paradise finished construction and I became President, I moved the books to a secure vault deep within the structure. The only ones who knew of its existence were myself and my late husband Mohn" Lusamine explained.
"If only you two knew about it, how did Faba find out?" Ash asked.
Lusamine tightened her fist and bit her lip.
"He tortured my husband into giving it up, and threw him into a ultra wormhole."
Everyone was horrified by this revelation.
"I only found out until after Team Rainbow Rocket's attack on Alola the truth of what happened. Faba apparently recorded it before the attack happened, possibly to mock me. I haven't told Lillie or Gladion about what happened...I just can't do that..." Lusamine said as she looked down.
Everyone felt sad for Lusamine. Chloe suddenly spoke up.
"What exactly happened in Alola? Not much has been said about it since it was reported."
Ash and Serena looked at each other. They nodded.
"Do you want to hear the whole story or just a summery?" Ash asked.
Chloe could tell they were hesitant, but she still answered.
"Just a summery is fine" she said.
"What? No way, I want to hear the whole thing. But could you tell it in 5 parts?" Goh asked.
Ash and the others looked at him with confusion. They told their story of the events. At the end, those who didn't know were shocked and horrified.
"My god...that's just unbelievable" Leon said.
"I never thought humans could be that cruel" Hop said.
Gloria said nothing, silently crying after hearing it.
Chloe was greatly saddened. She looked at Goh who was saddened as well.
"Satisfied?" Chloe asked with slight coldness.
Goh felt really bad, he knew it must've been hard for Ash and Serena to tell what they went through.
"It's possible Faba used the attack as a diversion to escape and gather the books to enact his plan, but you two put a stop to that too" Lusamine said as she looked at Ash and Serena.
"With all that said, I'd like to make proposition" Professor Magnolia said.
"Which is?" Ash said.
"I'd like to take the Scarlet and Violet books from you Ms. Lusamine" she said.
Everyone was shocked.
"Gran?! Are you serious?!" Sonia said.
Professor Magnolia looked at her granddaughter and nodded. "Yes. I have a feeling they belong here."
Before Sonia could object, a voice spoke.
"Very well, you may have them" Lusamine said.
"Are you sure President Lusamine? They were your family's keepsake" Serena said.
"I'm sure. Truth be told I wanted to get rid of them, as they hold too many bad memories. Plus if they were ever found out by an enemy I have no doubt they would target Lillie or Gladion to get it from me, which terrifies me to no end. So please take them, with my thanks" Lusamine said.
"Thank you Ms. Lusamine" Professor Magnolia said.
"Are we going to hide them somewhere then?" Sonia asked.
"No. As a matter of fact, two students from an academy an old friend of mine runs just recently graduated and have knowledge in the subject" Professor Magnolia said. She turned to Victor. "Victor, can you make the call?"
"Yes ma'am" he said. He walked away to call Professor Magnolia's friend.
"Thank you all for coming by. And I hope you'll keep what we discussed a secret" Professor Magnolia said.
"We will Professor" Leon said. Everyone else agreeing.
With that, everyone left the house. Gloria and Hop decided to return to Postwick to visit their respective parents. Leon headed out with Charizard to train. Ash, Serena, Goh and Chloe walked along Route 2 towards Wedgehurst. There was an awkward silence at first.
"So um..." Goh said but couldn't find words.
"We're sorry we never told you guys about the attack" Serena said.
"You don't have to apologize, it was probably a really sensitive subject for you guys" Chloe said.
"I guess so. But, you guys are our friends..." Ash said.
Goh and Chloe let out a breath. They didn't expect to hear that.
"We're honored to be your friends" Goh said with a smile.
"Yeah, what he said" Chloe said.
Ash and Serena smiled. A Pokemon suddenly flew over them.
"No way! It's a Sigilyph! I haven't caught that yet!" Goh said as he ran after it.
"I want to see it up close too!" Ash said as he ran after Goh, Pikachu and Greninja following close behind.
"And there they go" Serena and Chloe said in unison.
After a little while they all met up again in Wedgehurst. Serena spotted Latias and Dracovish in a nearby field leaning on each other. She nudged Ash and pointed towards the couple. Ash smiled as well. Latias sensed people were nearby but calmed down when she saw it was Ash and the others. She waved and said they could come over. They all hung out, releasing all the Pokemon and getting acquainted with Goh's new Sigilyph.
Goh's Cinderace spotted Ash's with Inteleon. This upset him and made him walk up to them.
"Guess I was right, he was the one you liked after all" he said.
"Yeah, and now we're together, so could you not bother us please?" Ash's Cinderace said as she clung to Inteleon.
Goh's Cinderace glared at Inteleon. Said Pokemon glared back.
"Problem?" Inteleon said.
"With her no, but I do with you" he said.
"Really? Then how about we sort out that problem" Inteleon said.
"That sounds like a threat" Goh's Cinderace said with narrowed eyes.
"Could be. Want to find out?" Inteleon said with narrowed eyes.
"Lead the way" Goh's Cinderace said.
The two boys walked away from the group, Inteleon pecking his girlfriend's cheek as he left. Ash's Cinderace blushed and watched as they left.
One other couple went off on their own as well. They were currently by a row of colorful flowers. Lucario was sitting down with his legs out. Gardevoir was leaning against him.
"It's nice to finally have some alone time" Gardevoir said.
"Yeah, I can't remember when we last had time" Lucario said with a smile.
Gardevoir sighed with bliss. She saw a few pretty flowers in the corner of her eyes.
"Wow...! Look at those, aren't they pretty?" She said as she crawled across Lucario's lap to see them more closely.
"Yes, very pretty" he said with the same smile, although his eyes were focused on Gardevoir's. He let out a breath.
Gardevoir heard it and looked up at him. "What's with that look?" She asked him.
"I'm just happy that's all" he said as the two stared at each other. "Happy that I'm with you right now, and happy that I get to enjoy moments like this with you."
Gardevoir blushed as she stared into his eyes.
"But even so, the fact that Ash and everyone else are alright makes me really happy too. Ash may be an invaluable partner to me, but I'm glad he's safe again. It pained me to see him in that state after the battle with Faba..." Lucario said with sadness at the end.
"I understand too. I hurt me greatly to see him like that, and how much it made Serena sad..." Gardevoir said with sadness.
"But despite that, I wasn't only happy that Ash survived. I was happy because you did" Lucario said.
Gardevoir's eyes widened as her blush grew bigger.
"It's not the same with Ash. You're my happiness Gardevoir" he said as he started blushing.
Tears slowly formed in Gardevoir's eyes.
"Lucario..." she whispered.
"Gardevoir..." he whispered.
Their eyes grew heavy as they leaned in. They closed their eyes right as their lips met. They held their passionate position for as long as possible.
As the afternoon transitioned into the evening, everyone started to pack up.
"Hey, where's Cinderace?" Goh asked.
Everyone looked around. Ash's Cinderace then saw Inteleon walk towards her. He blew the tip of his finger as he made it to her.
"Did you sort everything out with him?" She asked.
"You could say that" he said.
In the nearby forested area, Goh's Cinderace was laying on the ground with a comedic beat up face, moaning in pain.
Ash and Serena headed back to Wyndon, meeting up with the Professors, Serena's Parents and Rotom who went with the professors.
"There you guys are" Kukui said.
"Where did you guys run off to?" Grace asked.
"Hung out in Wedgehurst" Ash answered, leaving the true purpose a secret.
"How bout we all grab dinner" Burnet suggested.
Everyone agreed. They sat down at a restaurant, everyone in there immediately recognizing their new Champion and World Monarch.
People started to gather around them, asking for pictures and autographs. While a little annoyed, Ash and Serena took pictures and signed autographs. Pikachu, Greninja, Delphox and Sylveon were not exempt from the barrage of pictures and autographs. After all was said and done, they finally got to sit down and eat.
After dinner, they decided to take a walk.
"It feels weird having so many new fans" Serena said.
"Yeah, and some of them can get a little too close" Ash said.
"All the fan girls keep getting closer and closer" Greninja said.
"Who's getting closer?" Delphox asked.
Greninja's body stiffened up as he let out a grunt.
"N-N-No one in p-particular babe! J-Just some annoying people!" He said in a panic.
Delphox looked him perplexed. She turned to see Serena looking at her.
'Interrogation when we get home?' She said mentally.
'With the girlfriend stare' Delphox thought back.
'Got it' she said.
Ash, Serena and their Pokemon went to spend the night at Serena's Champion Quarters. The girls filled in Sylveon and the three proceeded to interrogate their boyfriends about the 'annoying people' Greninja mentioned. In the end the girls were happy they refused all the girls' advances but were upset that they didn't tell them. Safe to say the boys spent the night on the couch.
Morning came, the guys slowly rising up.
"Ugh, I should tell Serena to invest in a new couch" Ash said as he rubbed his back.
"Yeah, and Greninja can pay for it since he got us into this situation" Pikachu said with an annoyed glare.
"Would you like me to pay for a hospital bed for you as well?" Greninja said with an irritated glared.
Ash sighed. "It's too early for this guys..."
"Then let's change that" Pikachu said with a grin as his cheeks sparked electricity.
Ash and Greninja slowly backed up.
"W-Wait! Hang on Pikachu! Don't—" Ash said with his hand out.
Pikachu released a Thunderbolt that lit up the room and enveloped Ash and Greninja in it. He eventually stopped and saw Ash and Greninja covered in soot and moaning. Pikachu folded his arms as he let out a triumphant "hmph."
Soon after the girls started to walk in. The boys noticed they all had bags under their eyes and looked like they hadn't slept at all.
"Morning..." "Morning..." they all said together.
"Um, are you guys okay?" Ash asked.
"We didn't get any sleep last night..." Sylveon moaned.
"Why?" Pikachu asked.
"B-Because..." Serena started.
"Because we couldn't cuddle with our boyfriends!!" "Because we couldn't cuddle with our boyfriends!!" They all said with comedic tears.
Ash and the guys sweatdropped.
"We're sorry for what we did!" Serena said.
"Yeah, we'll never do it again!" Delphox said.
"We're so sorry! Please forgive us!" Sylveon said.
They all felt their boyfriends' embrace them.
"Don't be sorry, it's our fault too" Ash said.
"Yeah, we should've told you" Greninja said.
"We just didn't want to worry you" Pikachu said.
They all exchanged apology kisses. After that they all got ready for the day. Most of the Pokemon went off to relax in the hotel where the others were staying at, some decided to accompany Ash. Speaking of which, Ash decided to do some training with the Pokemon who stayed with him. Serena decided to go clothes shopping, Sylveon and Lilligant electing to go with her, Pancham asking to go as well which secretly made Lilligant happy, and confusing her as well.
While training with Lucario and Decidueye, Cinderace and Delphox were chatting.
"Check this out, it's a tool I've been working on in my spare time" Cinderace said with excitement.
Delphox looked at it. It had a large silver curved box shaped compartment with a hole in the front, being attached to a strap that appeared to be meant for the wrist area.
"What is this?" Delphox asked.
"It's a Grappling Hook! But I decided to call it: the Cinder Shot!" Cinderace said with the same excitement.
"Ok...? So why are you showing me?" Delphox asked with confusion, ignoring the questionable name choice.
"Cause you're gonna test it out!" Cinderace said with excited eyes.
"I'm gonna what now?" Delphox asked, unsure if she heard that right.
"Yeah! I wanna see how it works" Cinderace said.
"Why don't you just test it with yourself?" Delphox said.
"That is an excellent question. So are you gonna put it on already?" Cinderace said with growing impatience.
Delphox grumbled in defeat. She reluctantly fastened the Cinder Shot on her right wrist area.
"Excellent! Now let's go test this bad boy!" Cinderace said.
The two girls made their way towards a big tree.
Greninja was meditating when he suddenly sensed something. He shot open his eyes a threw a Water Shuriken at a giant net that almost caught the other Pokemon.
Ash, Decidueye and Lucario looked behind them.
"What's going on?" He said.
Two human figures and a Raticate then appeared in a small stealth helicopter. The undid the windshield, revealing a blonde haired woman and a green haired man.
"Prepare for trouble!" The woman said.
"And make it double!" The man said.
"Here's our mission, so you better listen!" They both said.
"To infect the world with devastation!" The woman said.
"To blight all people in every nation!" The man said.
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!" The woman said.
"To extend our wrath to the stars above!" The man said.
"Cassidy!"
"And Butch of course!"
"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!" Cassidy said.
"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!" Butch said.
"Raticate!" It said.
"You guys?! Where did you guys come from?!" Ash said with shock.
"Who are these guys Ash?" Decidueye.
"They're members of Team Rocket that me and my friends faced back in Kanto and the Orange Islands and Sinnoh!" Ash said.
After hearing the name Team Rocket, all the Pokemon got into an attack position.
"What're you doing here Cassidy and Bill!" Ash said.
"The name is Butch!!" He yelled.
"We're here for your Pokemon. They'll make great additions to a future army we plan to build to avenge Giovanni" Cassidy said.
"So hand em over" Ben said.
"Not gonna happen!" Ash said.
"We'll do it by force then" Cassidy said. She produced a Poke Ball. "Let's go Honchcrow!"
"You too Weavile!" Buster said.
In a flash, a Honchcrow and a Weavile appeared. Rotom heard all the noise and flew out of Ash's backpack.
"Bee! What's with all the ruckus-roto!" He looked up and saw the reason why. "Who are these guys Ash-roto?"
"They're past Team Rocket members I've faced. Cassidy and Bif" Ash answered.
"I told you already my name is Butch!" Bob yelled.
Rotom took pictures of the Pokemon.
"Honchcrow. The Big Boss Pokemon. A Dark/Flying type. Becoming active at night, it is known to form flocks with numerous Murkrow in tow."
"Weavile. The Sharp Claw Pokemon. A Dark/Ice type. With its claws, it leaves behind signs for its friends to find. The number of distinct signs is said to be over 500."
"Get ready guys!" Ash said.
"Enough talk. Honchcrow use Dark Pulse!" Cassidy said.
"Weavile use Ice Beam!" Batch said.
"Decidueye use Energy Ball! Lucario use Aura Sphere!" Ash said.
Decidueye and Lucario fired their attacks, canceling out their enemies'.
"Use Psychic on Lucario!" Cassidy said.
"Use Night Slash on Decidueye!" Blake said.
Weavile charged towards Decidueye with a sword. Honchcrow started to glow it's eyes. Before it could advance any further, Weavile was struck by a surprise Electro Ball, gifted by Pikachu. Honchcrow was suddenly struck by a Water Shuriken from Greninja. The two boys jumped up and landed next to Decidueye and Lucario.
"Let's go Lucario!" Ash said, revealing his Key Stone. He tapped on it, making it glow. "The Aura is with us! Lucario, Mega Evolve!"
Lucario glowed and once finished revealed his Mega Evolved self.
"Double Team!" Ash said.
Multiple Mega Lucario copies spawned.
Cassidy and Butch sent out more Pokemon. In a flash, a Scolipede and a Poliwrath appeared. Rotom took pictures.
"Scolipede. The Megapede Pokemon. A Bug/Poison type. Scolipede latches on to its prey with the claws on its neck before slamming them into the ground and jabbing them with its claws' toxic spikes."
"Poliwrath. The Tadpole Pokemon. A Water/Fighting type. Poliwrath is skilled at both swimming and martial arts. It uses its well-trained arms to dish out powerful punches."
"Scolipede use Poison Tail!" Cassidy said.
"Poliwrath use Hydro Pump!" Batch said.
The Pokemon attacked. Honchcrow and Weavile backed them up.
"Lucario use Bone Rush! Decidueye use Leaf Blade! Pikachu use Thunderbolt! Greninja use Aerial Ace!" Ash said with his hand out.
The Lucario clones readied their Bone staffs as they charged forward. Decidueye jumped into the air. He opened his left eye, glowing Indigo with a white sclera. Pikachu charged electricity and fired. Greninja jumped up and readied his glowing leg.
The attacks collided once again, causing an explosion. Off in the distance, Delphox and Cinderace were looking up at the tree they stopped at.
"Alright, try aiming for that large tree branch up there" Cinderace said as she pointed at the branch.
Delphox lifted her arm towards the branch. Right before she activated the Cinder Shot, they heard an explosion nearby.
"What was that?" Cinderace said.
"Let's go find out" Delphox said.
Cinderace nodded and the two girls ran towards the source of the explosion.
After the smoke cloud disappeared it showed Cassidy and Ban's Pokemon knocked out. Lucario reverted back to normal.
"Give up now! You can't win against us!" Ash said.
Cassidy and Huch recalled their Pokemon. They pressed a button on their control panel. A capture device shot out at high speeds, catching Pikachu and trapping him inside. It flew back towards the Rocket Trio.
"Pikachu!" Ash called out.
"This will have to do for now, fly us out of here Bif" Cassidy said.
"The name is Butch!" He yelled as he moved the lever.
Pikachu gave Ash a nod, which Ash returned. A second later Delphox and Cinderace appeared.
"What's going on Ash?" Cinderace said.
"We got ambushed by some people and they stole Pikachu" Ash answered.
"They did what?!" Delphox said in disbelief.
"We gotta stop them!" Cinderace said.
"Yeah but, that Helicopter looked pretty fast, how are we gonna catch up to it?" Decidueye said.
"We'll figure something out" Ash said.
"I'll go find Kukui and Burnet-roto" Rotom said.
Everyone began to move, however something caught his eye. Ash looked back and saw Greninja heading towards something.
'What're you doing?' He asked telepathically.
'Improvising' he responded.
As the others kept running, Greninja stared at the thing he saw.
People were walking around Wyndon like normal. Noises started to grow louder.
"Do you hear something?" Someone said.
"Yeah I do, what is that?" Another person said.
The noise kept getting louder. Then out of nowhere Greninja raced in, driving on a motorcycle. He raced past all the surprised people as he picked up speed.
Ash and the others heard the same noises and looked behind them. Greninja raced past them as well.
"What the?!" Ash said with shook.
"Since when can Greninja drive?!" Decidueye said.
Delphox watched in awe and a blush. She suddenly remembered the Cinder Shot on her wrist. She saw a building nearby. She aimed the Cinder Shot at it. She activated it, causing a hard cable to shoot out and attach itself to the building wall. It then pulled her towards it.
"What did Delphox just do?!" Lucario said.
"Yes! It works!!" Cinderace cheered.
Once near the building, she retracted the cable. Delphox then pointed to another nearby wall. She shot the cable again and got pulled towards it.
"Why do they always get the badass stuff?" Decidueye asked.
Serena and her Pokemon left a clothing store.
"We made a good haul huh" she said.
"Yeah, you have such great taste in fashion Lilligant" Pancham said.
"Th-Thanks" she stuttered with a light blush.
"How about we go see how Ash and the others are doing?" Serena said.
Everyone nodded. Suddenly a giant screen on a nearby build changed into a news report.
"We have breaking news of a Pokemon racing through downtown Wyndon on a possible motorcycle. It's unknown why at this time, but citizens are advised to avoid the area at this current time" the news woman said.
"A Pokemon riding a motorcycle?" Serena said with a perplexed look.
"Who could even do something like that?" Lilligant said.
Serena took a sip of her drink and started to walk away. A live feed of Greninja on the motorcycle appeared on the screen. This caused Serena to spit out her drink.
Greninja kept driving in the direction he was headed. Delphox kept swinging from building to building, only slightly behind him. Greninja suddenly rev on the motorcycle's handle, Delphox retracting the Cinder Shot. They were both approaching a narrow space between two buildings. They focused their aura.
Greninja maneuvered through all the obstacles while Delphox performed parkour movements with some help by the Cinder Shot.
The two eventually made it through and entered an open field outside the city limits. Delphox shot out the cable at the last remaining large tree. It launched her forward. Delphox landed in the motorcycle seat behind Greninja. Greninja started to slow down before finally stopping at the edge of a hillside.
"That went well" Greninja said as he got off the motorcycle.
Delphox got off too. "Greninja..."
Greninja looked behind him and saw Delphox looking at him with her eyes hidden.
She suddenly grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIVE A FREAKING MOTORCYCLE?!?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HOT YOU WERE?!?! THAT WAS THE MOST AMAZING AND SEXIEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!! IF WE WEREN'T TRYING TO RESCUE PIKACHU I'D JUMP YOU RIGHT FREAKING NOW!! YOU ARE IN FOR A WILD NIGHT TONIGHT MISTER!! WHY ARE YOU SO GODDAMN COOL ALL THE TIME?!?! YOU KNOW WHAT?! TO HELL WITH IT!! TAKE ME NOW!!!" She yelled very fast as her face blushed.
Greninja eyes turned into swirls as Delphox kept shaking him.
"Del..phox...stop...please...!" He managed to say.
After a few minutes Delphox let go, causing Greninja to fall onto the ground, his eyes still swirling. Ash and the others finally caught up, all out of breath.
"Ugh...ah...FINAAAALLLYYY!" Ash said.
"I feel like I just ran two marathons..." Decidueye said as he fell to the ground.
"Speak for yourself" Lucario said, not heavily breathing.
"Where...are we even?" Decidueye asked with his face still laying on the ground.
The others looked up and saw a large warehouse up ahead.
"It's there" Ash said as he pointed at the building.
"That's where they took Pikachu?" Delphox said.
"I can sense his aura inside, those people are in there as well" Lucario said as his eyes glowed blue and his ears raised up. He noticed something else. "Wait, what's that?"
"You see something?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, something big. But I can't tell from this distance" Lucario said.
Greninja slowly started to get back up.
"Naw I swear ossimaffer it's not my Shuriken..." Greninja moaned as he regained his footing.
Everyone sweatdropped. They all heard voices calling out behind them. They turned and saw Serena and her Pokemon running up to them.
"What in Arceus' name is going on Ash?! Why was Greninja on a motorcycle?! Why are you guys here?! What the hell is happening?!?!" Serena said.
Ash explained what was going on to her and the others.
"So there were other Team Rocket members out there? How were they not rounded up after we beat them in Alola?" She asked.
"I don't know, maybe they escaped or something, they weren't in Alola from what I can remember" Ash said.
"We should go now, from what I can tell they're facing away from the front window" Lucario said.
Everyone nodded. Lucario dragging a still tired Decidueye, Delphox pulling Greninja as well.
They climbed up some boxes to reach the window. They peered inside. Most of the warehouse looked empty. However that changed when they saw a large net filled with captured Butterfree. Pikachu was next to them still inside his prison. He looked calm, not trying to escape.
"Even though we couldn't capture all of that twerp's Pokemon, capturing these bugs were incredibly easy" Cassidy said with triumph.
"This makes us one step closer to our massive army" Hutch said.
The two laughed in victory. Glass from the window behind them suddenly crashed onto the ground.
"Who's there?" Cassidy said.
"Prepare for trouble!" Ash said with a smirk and his arms crossed and eyes hidden.
"And while you're at it, make it double!" Serena said, mirroring Ash.
"To protect the world from devastation!" Ash said.
"To unite all people's within our nation!" Serena said.
"Skip it!" All their Pokemon said in unison.
"Oh great, it's that twerp..." Bobby said.
"And he's got company" Cassidy said as she looked at Serena.
"Ash told me about you guys! You're Cassidy, and you're Buzz" Serena said.
"It's Butch!" He yelled.
"Give Pikachu back! And free all the Pokemon too!" Ash said.
"In your dreams! Go Houndoom!" Cassidy said.
"Go Manectric!" Bubble said.
In a flash, the two Pokemon appeared.
"Let's really give 'em a show" Cassidy said.
The two revealed Key Stones. They activated them, a Mega Houndoom and Mega Manectric appeared after the glowing ended.
Ash and Serena got ready. A fight broke out, attacks being fired everywhere. Everyone started to grow tired.
"They're starting to weaken! Let's finish them now Butch!" Cassidy said.
"It's Butch you got it??" He yelled. He suddenly relaxed when it hit. "Oh, wait that's what you said."
The Mega Pokemon got ready again. Sparkles suddenly started to fall from above. A sound started to echo, one that Ash vaguely recognized.
Manectric suddenly started glowing. It started to float into the air, before crashing into the ground hard. Houndoom was suddenly struck by an attack from behind.
"Who's there??" Cassidy said.
A silhouette suddenly flew around, hitting the two Pokemon again. It flew back into the air, coming into the light and revealing itself.
It was a Butterfree, although it was wearing a scarf around its neck area.
Ash stared at it. His eyes slowly widened. "It...can't be..."
"What's a Butterfree doing here?? Did one get out??" Cassidy said.
"How should I know?" Buffy said.
Cassidy grunted in frustration. "Whatever! Houndoom use Flamethrower!"
"Manectric use Thunder!" Byron said.
The Pokemon fired their attacks towards Butterfree. However said Butterfree quickly dodged both. It flew around before firing off a Bug Buzz, adding an Acrobatics after it.
The Mega Pokemon seemed to be on their last leg. Before they could recover, Butterfree's eyes glowed bright green. Butterfree's Giga Drain sucked the last bit of energy left. The Pokemon fell to the floor and reverted back to normal.
"N-No way! How could our strongest Pokemon be beaten by a damn bug?!" Cassidy said. She turned to Raticate.
"Raticate, use Super Fang!" She said.
Raticate ran forward towards Butterfree. It readied its jaws to bite. Before it could hit, Butterfree's eyes glowed brightly, stopping Raticate. It was then thrown back towards the Rocket duo, hitting Butcher in the head and knocking him back.
"Dammit! Guess we have to retreat for now!" Cassidy said.
Before they could move, a green colored powder fell on them. They started to feel woozy. They looked up and saw a Pink Butterfree spraying Sleeping Powder down on them.
The Rocket members fell asleep and wouldn't wake up for a while.
Pikachu effortlessly broke out of his prison.
"What kept you?" Pikachu said.
"Distance" Ash joked.
Ash and Pikachu both laughed. Butterfree slowly flew down towards them.
Ash and Pikachu stared at it for a brief moment, until it finally became clear.
"Butterfree...it's really you...!" Ash said with watery eyes as he slowly held his hands out.
"Ash..." Butterfree said as his eyes started to water.
The two hugged, Pikachu being added a second later.
Serena and the others looked on with confusion.
"What's going on Ash? Do you know that Butterfree or something?" She asked.
The three separated. They faced the group.
"This is Butterfree, he was the very first Pokemon I caught when I started my journey, as a Caterpie of course" Ash said.
Serena was shocked by this revelation. She walked up to Butterfree.
"Wow! It's an honor to meet you Butterfree, I'm Ash's girlfriend, Serena" she said.
Butterfree smiled and greeted her as well.
"What're you doing here Butterfree? Weren't you going to start a family with the Pink Butterfree?" Ash asked.
"We did. But they're all old enough to venture out into the world. We decided to find you again, and after a while we saw you on a TV when you were in Galar and went there, and after some time, here we are" Butterfree explained.
"Why did you try to find me?" Ash asked curiously.
"I want to travel with you again, if I could" Butterfree said.
Ash and Pikachu gasped. "Are you sure buddy? What about her?" Ash said as he pointed at the Pink Butterfree.
The Pink Butterfree flew towards Serena. "My husband really wanted to return to his trainer, but he didn't want to leave me either. We agreed to find his trainer first and decide what to do. But now the answer is clear" she said. The two Butterfree nodded at each other. The pink Butterfree faced Serena again. "Since my husband wishes to be recaptured by his trainer, I'd like to request you capturing me."
Serena gasped. "You-...You want me to capture you?"
The Pink Butterfree nodded. "I love my husband very much, wherever he wants to go, I will follow without hesitation. I don't ever want to be without him, even if I have to be recaptured. So I will gladly let you capture me, and continue to be with my husband" she said with a blushing face.
Serena smiled warmly at her explanation. "Who am I to refuse after hearing your true feelings."
Ash and Serena took out empty Poke Balls. They tapped them against the two Butterfree, sucking them both inside. The two balls dinged instantly. Ash and Serena let out their new captures.
"Welcome back Butterfree" Ash said.
"Let's be great friends Butterfree" Serena said.
They freed all the Butterfree in the net and watched them fly away.
A little bit later the police arrived at the warehouse. Officer Jenny approached the group.
"We were planning on arresting your Greninja for theft, but it was to help in apprehending very wanted criminals. As thanks, I'll let it slide this time. Count yourself lucky this time" she said.
Greninja bowed graciously.
Cassidy and Brad were awake and in handcuffs as they were loaded into a police van.
"Unbelievable! Bested again by that twerp! We were so close Bif!" Cassidy said.
"It's...Butch!" He yelled.
The police van drove off. Ash and the others left as well and back towards Wyndon.
News spread like crazy once it was discovered that the Greninja riding the motorcycle was the World Monarch's. Although the ones who went more crazy were the Professors, Grace and Jake and all the Pokemon who weren't there.
After all the scolding, things settled down. The group gathered in Serena's Champion Quarters to relax after the long day they've had.
"Now that I see it more, it was pretty awesome to see Greninja do that" Kukui said.
"Not to mention seeing a glimpse of Delphox swinging beside him" Burnet said.
"Those two work so incredibly well together" Grace said.
"They could be Pokemon Masters in their own way" Jake joked.
"One can't be one without the other I guess" Burnet said with a chuckle.
Everyone chuckled, everyone except Serena. She had a look that seemed like she realized something.
"Well Ash is one already, so it makes sense" Kukui said.
"Actually...I'm not" Ash said.
The adults looked him with confusion.
"You're not what?" Burnet said.
"I'm not a Pokemon Master, not yet at least. There's one last step I need to take before I can call myself one" Ash said.
"One last step? What is it?" Grace asked.
Ash scratches the back of his head. "I'm still trying to figure that out, but I still can't think of what it could be."
Serena got up and started to walk out of the room.
"Serena? Where are you going?" Ash asked.
"I gotta use the bathroom. Be right back" she said.
She left the room, leaving the others confused. She returned about 30 minutes later. They asked her why she was gone that long but she just said it was a process, making them even more confused.
The adults left for the hotel and the couples headed to bed. Morning eventually came and started to brighten up the room. Ash slowly opened his eyes. Only to open them fully when he saw Serena wasn't there. He looked around the room but she wasn't anywhere. He noticed something in the corner of his eye. He looked and saw a piece of folded paper with his name on it. He grabbed it and opened it up to read it.
"Take a shower, get dressed and eat. Then meet me at Wyndon Stadium at Noon."
Ash was confused but did as instructed. Once he saw it was 11:30 he recalled everyone and left with Pikachu on his shoulder and Greninja walking next to him.
"Wonder why Serena wants to see us at Wyndon Stadium" Ash said as they walked.
"Don't know. Must be important if she left ahead of us" Greninja said.
Once they approached the stadium entrance, a league official came up and led the boys inside to dodge potential fans.
The official guided Ash onto the battlefield, not saying what was going on. He noticed people in the stands, all curious as Ash.
Ash noticed Serena further away. He walked up to her, seeing her in her Champion uniform.
"What's going on Serena? Why are there people here and why are you wearing your Chanpion outfit?" He asked.
"Don't worry Ash, I'll explain in a minute. An official came up and handed Serena a microphone.
"Hello everyone! I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm here today, so let me explain. As you all know, my boyfriend Ash recently defeated Leon and became the new World Monarch" she started.
Ash could sense she put a little more intensity on the 'my boyfriend' part.
"Ash's lifelong dream is to become the world's greatest Pokemon Master. I always believed he was, but seeing him become World Monarch seemed to make it official. However, he has said he isn't one yet, and that he has one last step to take before he considers himself one. Although unable to reach a conclusion, a thought occurred to me. It made me realize what his last step is" Serena said.
Ash looked at her with intrigue. Serena, Delphox and Sylveon faced their mates.
"Ash Ketchum! I challenge you to a battle!"
Well well well! Looks like we know what's happening now! Man, so much more happened in this chapter than I initially thought would happen. I was planning on linking the Scarlet and Violet books to their games at the end of the Darkest Day arc, but ultimately forgot. And even though I wasn't initially gonna do an action based scene, let's be honest, Greninja riding a motorcycle sounds dope as hell! And that music just adds to that scene doesn't it. And I found a way to bring Butterfree back! That was actually planned last minute. I wanted to also have Cassidy and what's his name appear at some point in the story, but couldn't find a good point in the story. I'm curious if anyone figured out what the last step was before the end. I hope it wasn't too obvious. But what better finale to the final story arc than against the protagonists of the story! This is it guys! Next time on Our Promise, Our Future! The final battle between Ash and Serena will finally begin! Power to the Readers!
JohtoAmour64 out!