It took a couple days, but Jaydin and Zoroark finally reached one of the gates to Lumiose City. After stepping foot inside they saw tons of people going about their day.
"This place feels more lively than the last time we were here" Zoroark commented.
"Well it has been a couple months since then, so that could be true" Jaydin said.
"So are we gonna head to the gym now?" Zoroark asked.
"I was thinking just spending today looking around and then challenging the gym tomorrow" Jaydin said.
Zoroark shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's fine with me."
As they walked, they saw buildings that looked almost brand new.
"Team Flare's attack on Lumiose City 10 years ago still seems fresh to people here doesn't it" Jaydin said.
"Seems that way. I remember hearing stories about it. It was stopped by Ash and his friends and the leader was never found" Zoroark said.
As they continued to walk, a couple teenage girls came up to Jaydin.
"Excuse me, are you new here?" One of them asked.
"Oh, u-um, I guess you could s-say that" Jaydin said anxiously.
"Are you free? If you are do you want to hang out with us?" The other girl asked.
Zoroark's eyes turned more demonic as a dark aura enveloped her. Jaydin could sense her growing rage and jealousy.
'Not good! If this keeps up, Zoroark will probably blindly attack anyone who comes near me. I have to turn them down gently and not make a scene' Jaydin thought to himself.
The girls were anticipating his answer while Zoroark's claws were twitching.
"I'm really sorry...but I actually need to be somewhere right now, so some other time ok?" Jaydin said softly as he gripped the back of his head with a genuine apologetic expression.
The two girls remained frozen, only letting out inaudible noises. Jaydin pulled Zoroark away as they took their leave. The girls still hadn't moved after what Jaydin did.
'I hope I wasn't too rude to those girls...' he thought.
The girls let out a few more noises before they both gasped with deep blushes.
"Did I just meet a guy I love?!" One of them squealed.
"Just hearing his voice added years to my life!" The other squealed.
Eventually Jaydin reached a building that looked familiar. He and Zoroark went inside and saw a man standing with a couple aides. The man turned around.
"Oh sorry! I didn't see you there" he said apologetically. He suddenly had a look of realization. "Jaydin? Could that be you?"
"Hey Professor Sycamore, it's been a while" Jaydin said.
"It sure has! It's good to see you again! How are you?" Sycamore asked.
"I'm doing good. I got 7 badges and also this" Jaydin said as he showed his Mega fingerless glove.
"Oh wow! So you can access Mega Evolution now? And I assume with Audino correct?" Sycamore said.
"Yup, we got it in Shalour City after we defeated Korrina" Jaydin explained.
"Well congratulations then!" Sycamore said. He suddenly got an idea. "Um, Jaydin, could I possibly ask a favor of you?"
"What's up professor?" Jaydin asked.
"Well, we actually don't have a lot of data on Mega Audino, so is it possible if we could gather some data on your Audino while Mega Evolved?" Sycamore asked.
"If Audino is okay with it, then I don't see why not" Jaydin said.
Jaydin took out Audino. He asked if she was okay with them collecting data on her Mega Evolved form, to which she said it was fine.
"She says she's fine with it" Jaydin said.
"Splendid! Thank you so much! Let's head to the garden area then" Sycamore said.
The group made their way to the lab's garden area. Jaydin and Audino stood in the middle. Jaydin tapped on his Key Stone.
"Let our bond become our power! Audino, Mega Evolve!" He said as he raised his arm in the air.
Audino transformed into Mega Audino. Sycamore was excited and started collecting data. After gathering enough data Audino reverted back to normal.
"Thank you very much Jaydin, I now have more important data to work with" Sycamore said.
"No problem Professor, I'm glad we could help" Jaydin said. Audino nodded as well.
"Well then how about I treat you all to lunch as thanks" Sycamore offered.
"That sounds nice Professor, we'll take you up on that" Jaydin said.
Sycamore left with his aides to make lunch for his guests. Jaydin let out all his other Pokemon, including Marshadow.
Eventually someone returned with food, however it wasn't Sycamore. Instead, it was a girl who looked around 19 or 20 that had long maroon-ish hair that was partially tied up in a ponytail. She grew excited upon seeing Jaydin's Pokemon.
"Woah~! Are these all your Pokemon?" She asked with glistening eyes.
"Yeah. This is Zoroark, Audino, Togekiss, Duraludon, and Greninja" Jaydin said.
"Wow, they all look so strong!" She said. She suddenly blushed in embarrassment when she realized it. "Oh sorry! I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Mairin, one of Professor Sycamore's top aides" she said.
"I'm Jaydin Silver, it's nice to meet you" Jaydin said as he held out his hand.
Mairin shook Jaydin's hand. She presented Jaydin and his Pokemon with food.
Most of Pokémon began to eat. But before he sat down, Jaydin felt a tug from the back of his leg. He looked behind him and saw Marshadow looking nervous.
"Hey buddy, you wanna say hi? It's your choice though" Jaydin said with a smile.
Mairin tried to see who Jaydin was talking too. "Do you have another Pokemon too?" She asked.
"Yeah, but he's really apprehensive about being around anyone except me and my Pokemon. It also doesn't help that he's kinda...unique" Jaydin explained.
"Well if he's too apprehensive then I won't pry" Mairin said.
"I'll...I'll do it" he said nervously.
"Okay, but if it's too much for you I'll put you back in your ball okay?" Jaydin said softly.
With all the courage he could muster, Marshadow revealed himself from behind Jaydin's leg.
Mairin froze from seeing him.
"This is Marshadow" Jaydin said.
"H-Hi..." Marshadow said shyly with a matching facial expression.
Mairin's body started to shake. "It's...it's..."
Marshadow slightly hid behind Jaydin again, fearing that Mairin would be scared of him.
"IT'S SO CUUUUTTTEEE!!!" Mairin squealed with hearts in her eyes.
"Eh?" "Eh?" Jaydin and Marshadow said at the same time.
Mairin got a little closer to Marshadow. "You are so adorable! And the way you hide behind Jaydin's leg is so cute! My heart is melting the more I look at you!"
Marshadow sweatdropped at her words. Mairin pulled out her Poke Dex from her lab coat. It scanned Marshadow.
"Marshadow. The Gloomdweller Pokemon. A Fighting/Ghost type. Able to conceal itself in shadows, it never appears before humans, so its very existence was the stuff of myth."
"Wow, that's so cool! How did you find this cutie?" Mairin asked.
"It's...kinda a long story" Jaydin said with slight sadness.
Mairin could tell she may have entered sensitive territory.
"If it's too personal you don't have to tell me. I'm sorry if I hurt it's feelings" Mairin said apologetically.
"You didn't. It's just, well, complicated" Jaydin said as he scratched the back of his head.
"You can tell her" Marshadow said.
"Are you sure buddy? She said she won't pry" Jaydin said.
"If it is then that's fine, I'm just glad I got to meet you" Mairin said with a reassuring smile.
Marshadow fully came out from behind Jaydin's leg. He looked up at him. He raised his arms up, indicating he wanted to be picked up. Jaydin smiled and picked him up. He held him in his arms like he was holding a toddler.
The others watched with proud faces as they saw Marshadow finally starting to open up to others.
"Y'see, Marshadow is what's known as a mythical Pokemon. In fact, only a small handful know about his existence, most of those being me and my other Pokemon. The reason Marshadow is so hesitant about opening up to others is because he's afraid people will either be afraid of him or will try to use him for bad purposes. In addition, no one other than us know what he's truly capable off. If I had to say just how strong he is right now, well let's just say a Pokemon like Yveltal should probably not mess with him" Jaydin explained.
Mairin was in awe and a little scared upon hearing all of that.
"As for how we came to meet each other...it was actually by accident" Jaydin said.
"What do you mean?" Mairin asked.
"A few years ago, me and Zoroark were traveling through a forest when we got caught in a very bad storm. There were very strong winds, heavy rain, Thunder and lightning, all of it. We managed to find a cave big enough to hide in. We tried to ride it out but it just wouldn't stop. Then the Thunder and lightning got worse and at one point a lightning bolt struck the ground right next to us and making a nearby tree fall. This also caused a blinding light that accidentally exposed Marshadow who had been hiding under that tree. I saw him and rushed out to save him. He of course was too scared and didn't initially trust me, but I managed to rescue him before another big tree branch landed on him. I brought him back to the cave and gave him some food. He was still scared so I comforted him the best I could. After the storm finally started to end I was going to say goodbye but he didn't want me to leave. So I asked if he wanted to come with me and he said yes. And we've been best friends ever since" Jaydin explained while still holding Marshadow in his arms. Marshadow smiled happily and rubbed his head against Jaydin's cheek.
"That's such an incredible story" Mairin said with her hands over her heart.
"Is it possible that you don't tell anyone I have him? I'm still trying to help him get used to other people but it'll be impossible if everybody knows about him" Jaydin asked.
"You have my word" Mairin said. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Although I am curious. If barely anyone knows about him, why is he okay with me knowing?"
Jaydin looked down at Marshadow. He looked embarrassed and tapped his fingers together. Jaydin knew what that meant.
"Because you called him cute" Jaydin said.
Marshadow covered his face with his hands as his blushing intensified.
Mairin smiled as her blushing intensified as well. "You really are a cutie Marshadow!"
Marshadow shyly thanked her.
A Chesnaught started walking towards the group. Marshadow grew a little nervous so Jaydin quickly recalled him.
"There you are Chespie, I'd like you to meet our special guests" Mairin said.
Chespie walked up next to Mairin.
"This is my partner Chespie, he's the first Pokemon I started my journey with" Mairin said.
"A Chesnaught huh? He looks happy being with you" Jaydin said.
Chespie nodded while smiling happily.
"Who was your first Pokémon Jaydin? Was it Greninja since it's also a starter?" Mairin asked.
"Nope. My first Pokémon was actually Zoroark, as a Zorua. I met Greninja a little bit later. She was also still a Froakie too" Jaydin explained.
Mairin had a million more questions to ask but decided to stop for now and let Jaydin finally eat. After that they decided to take their leave. Jaydin wanted to say goodbye to the professor before leaving so he went to where he normally did his work. He entered into the room and saw him struggling with something.
"Everything okay professor?" Jaydin asked.
"Oh! Jaydin! Sorry I didn't see you there. I'm actually in a bind right now. There's something I need to get in the forest area of Lumiose Outskirts but I can't leave my lab right now to do so, and everyone else is currently unavailable as well" Sycamore explained.
"I can help you out if you need anything" Jaydin said without hesitation.
"Are you sure? I've already asked too much of you today already" Sycamore said with slight guilt in his voice.
"I don't mind. You don't either right Zoroark?" Jaydin asked his partner.
Zoroark shrugged her shoulders, saying she also didn't mind.
"Thank you both, truly!" Sycamore said.
"So what do you need us to get?" Jaydin asked.
"There's some soil that contains remnants from the vines that Team Flare used to attack Lumiose City. I wanted to study them to see how they interacted with the surrounding forest, as it's been 10 years since they first sprouted" Sycamore explained.
"Are there still active vines out there?" Jaydin asked.
"There haven't been any sightings or reports of any popping up in 4 years, so it might be safe to assume they have all been destroyed" Sycamore answered.
Jaydin and Zoroark looked at each other. They looked back at the Professor.
"So how will we be able to know what soil to collect?" Jaydin asked.
"You can use this" he said as he handed Jaydin a scanning device. "It's a device that can detect any trace of the vine material based on the data we've already gathered on it. However that data is slightly dated, so getting a fresh sample would be ideal."
He also gave him a box with multiple storage compartments to put the items in.
"Alright, we got it. We'll make our way there now" Jaydin said.
"Thank you so much Jaydin. I promise I'll repay you for your assistance" Sycamore said.
Jaydin and Zoroark left the lab soon after. Jaydin let out Togekiss and flew to the spot where Sycamore marked on the device. Once there, Jaydin recalled Togekiss and scanned the surrounding area. The device eventually went off. The two walked up to the spot and saw soil that looked slightly different than the soil around it.
"Found the soil" Jaydin said.
"Here's the containment box" Zoroark said as she held out a box.
"Thanks buddy" Jaydin said as he took the box from her.
As he was collecting soil, Greninja suddenly popped out on her own.
"Greninja? What's wrong?" Jaydin asked her.
Greninja didn't say anything. A vine suddenly shot out from behind a bush and right towards the group.
"Move!" Jaydin said.
They all jumped out of the way before the vine hit them.
"So much for the 4 years since the last sighting" Zoroark said sarcastically as the three of them rejoined each other.
Greninja suddenly called out to Jaydin. Jaydin looked at her and understood.
"Let's go Greninja! Double Team!" Jaydin said with his hand stretched out.
Multiple copies of Greninja ran past Jaydin. They all ran towards the vine. A glowing light started to glow at the center of the vine.
"That's gotta be the weak spot!" Jaydin said. "Water Shuriken!"
The Greninja copies produced Water Shurikens and threw them at the marked spot. The vine was immediately destroyed upon impact.
The three walked up to the spot where the vine was destroyed.
"Well, I guess that happened" Zoroark said to no one in particular.
"It's weird though, why are vines still showing up even after 10 years? I thought they were all destroyed by another Pokemon" Jaydin said.
"A lot can happen within 10 years" Greninja said bluntly.
Jaydin noticed a fragment of the vine that was destroyed.
"Let's take this back with us too, I bet the Professor could use this for his research" Jaydin said.
"Good idea" Zoroark said.
Greninja just nodded. Although her thoughts were telling a different story.
'You're so smart Jaydin! And the way you told me to use Double Team was so cool and cute! I mean, you're always cool and cute! But still! So cute!!'
Greninja always tries to act cool and collected, but she secretly dotes on Jaydin and gets extremely jealous when he doesn't give her enough attention or praise.
"Good job Greninja, your accuracy is always dead on" Jaydin praised.
"Comes with training" she said calmly. She turned her head away. 'He praised me!!! So cute!!!'
With everything collected, Jaydin let out Togekiss again and they all flew back to the lab. They failed to notice a small one eyed green Pokemon had been observing them.
They entered the lab and made their way back to the room the professor was in. Luckily he was still there.
"I'm back Professor" Jaydin said.
"That was quick. I take it the device proved helpful?" Sycamore said.
"Yeah. I collected the soil. And something else too" Jaydin said as he handed the box back to Sycamore.
"Oh? What else did you bring back?" He asked as he opening the container.
His question was answered when he saw the vine fragment in a second compartment next to the soil. His breath hitched when he saw it.
"Where did you find this?" He asked with slight fear in his tone.
"A big vine popped out from behind a bush and attacked us while we were gathering soil. Luckily Greninja managed to destroy it, but it left behind a fragment and we figured it could be useful for you guys" Jaydin explained.
"So you're saying a fully grown vine appeared and attacked you?" Sycamore asked.
Jaydin, Zoroark and Greninja nodded in confirmation. Sycamore rubbed his hand against his chin.
"Strange, Ash's Greninja reported no new activity 4 years ago, so why now?" He said to himself.
"What is it Professor?" Jaydin asked.
Sycamore turned to Jaydin and smile. "Oh nothing, just talking to myself, I do that a lot. Anyway, thank you so much for all you've done for me today Jaydin. If there's anything I can do to repay you, I'd be happy to do so."
"That's alright Professor, I don't particularly need anything right now anyway. Your thanks is enough for me" Jaydin said with a smile.
Sycamore lightly chuckled. "Well whenever you want to cash in that favor, I'm just a phone call away."
"I'll be sure to remember that" Jaydin said.
He waved goodbye to the Professor. They entered the front lobby and saw Mairin and Chespie doing some cleaning.
"Oh hi Jaydin! I didn't realize you guys were still here" she said.
"Yeah, the professor asked if I could help out with something so I stuck around" Jaydin explained.
"That was nice of you. The Professor has been swamped with work lately, as are the rest of us" Mairin said.
"I bet that can get overwhelming" Jaydin said.
"It comes and goes. But such is the life of a working adult, so enjoy your youth while you still have it" Mairin joked.
The two chuckled at that. After that Mairin spoke up again.
"So where are you going now?" She asked.
"I was planning on challenging the gym, as it's the last badge I need to get" Jaydin answered.
"So you're taking on Clemont huh? That'll be exciting!" She said.
"Yeah. I've heard he used to travel with Ash when he first came to Kalos" Jaydin said.
"Yup, although back then he wasn't that great with keeping his inventions from blowing up in everyone's faces" Mairin giggled while remembering all the nostalgia.
"Really? I always thought his inventions were revolutionary like people say they are" Jaydin said with surprise.
"Well, maybe they are now, but not so much 10 years ago" Mairin said. 'The same could be said for my cooking too...' she thought in her head.
"Guess I'll be going now, it was really great to meet you" Jaydin said as he held his hand out.
"It was really great to meet you too, I hope we'll get to see each other again soon" she said as she shook his hand. Chespie also shared his trainer's wish.
A flash suddenly appeared from Jaydin's belt. Marshadow revealed himself in front of Mairin and Chespie, the latter greatly surprised to see him.
"Marshadow?" Mairin said with surprise.
Marshadow didn't say anything. He extended his hand out. Jaydin and the others were shocked and proud of what he was doing. Mairin lightly blushed and bent down to shake his hand.
"It was an honor to meet you cutie. And I promise your secret is safe with me and Chespie too" Mairin said. Chespie nodded and promised to not tell anybody.
Marshadow went back to Jaydin. He recalled him and placed his ball back on his belt.
They all waved goodbye and Jaydin and the girls left.
"I never expected Marshadow to do something like that" Zoroark said.
"He's come a long way" Greninja said.
"He sure has" Jaydin said.
By this time it was around late afternoon, so the three decided to wait until tomorrow to go to the gym. They started to walk towards a nearby Pokemon Center to stay for the night. Suddenly a bunch of people started running in the same direction.
"Where's the fire? Or maybe a blackout?" Zoroark said.
"Only one way to find out" Jaydin said.
The three went in the direction of the crowd of people. They stopped when they saw they were all looking at one of the big screens that was situated around the city.
"We're coming to you with breaking news. We've just received word that the World Monarch Ash Ketchum has proposed to his longtime girlfriend, the Kalos Queen Serena, who has accepted his proposal" a newscaster announced.
The screen switched to a shot of Ash and Serena with their respective Pokemon together. Ash's Pikachu was sitting right next to Serena's Sylveon while Ash's Greninja was being hugged by Serena's Delphox.
The crowd showed different reactions, a lot of girls sounding heartbroken that Ash was officially taken.
"I've heard about Serena. She also used to travel with Ash when they were younger, although I didn't know they were in that kind of a relationship" Jaydin said.
"Love works in mysterious ways" Zoroark said.
"What'd you mean by that?" Jaydin asked her with confusion.
Zoroark just giggled. "You'll know someday."
Jaydin still looked confused. He noticed Greninja staring at Ash's Greninja and Serena's Delphox.
"You okay Greninja?" Jaydin asked.
"It's weird..." she said.
"What is?"
"A Water Type and a Fire Type who like each other like that, I mean what's up with that?" She said with confusion.
"Beats me" Jaydin said.
'Guess his density is contagious' Zoroark thought to herself with a sweatdrop.
"So Ash and Serena are engaged now? Took them long enough" a girl's voice said.
Jaydin turned to see a girl with lemon blonde hair grinning to herself.
"Well they haven't exactly had all the time in the world considering their respective positions" the man next to her said. He also had lemon blonde hair like girl and had glasses.
"It also didn't help that Ash was so dense back then" the girl said.
Jaydin recognized them. He went up to them.
"Excuse me, are you Clemont and Bonnie?" He asked.
The siblings turned to Jaydin.
"The one and only!" Bonnie said.
"Technically two but yeah we are" Clemont said.
"My name's Jaydin, I'm challenging the Kalos Gyms and came here to battle you" he said, mainly to Clemont.
"You've got another challenger Clemont! You've been getting a lot of them lately" Bonnie said.
"Well that comes with being a Gym Leader, Bonnie" Clemont said. He turned back to Jaydin. "Not that it matters but how many badges do you have?"
"I've got 7 right now" Jaydin answered.
"You saved the toughest for last then" Bonnie said. Dedenne agreed.
"Well I guess I need to go all out then" Clemont said as he adjusted his glasses.
"Then let's battle tomorrow morning" Jaydin said.
"That works for me" Clemont said.
"C'mon Clemont, we've got a phone call to make!" Bonnie said with a teasing grin on her face.
"Okay but don't tease Serena too much" Clemont said.
"No promises~!" Bonnie said as she ran off.
Clemont sighed. He turned to Jaydin. "She's always been like that, always teasing Serena about her feelings towards Ash" he said as he scratched the back of his head. "So how about we battle at around 11 tomorrow morning?"
"That works for us" Jaydin said.
"Alright. See you then" Clemont said. He ran to chase after his sister, getting winded after a few feet.
"I heard rumors that he wasn't the best runner, guess they were right" Jaydin said as all three of them sweatdropped.
They all left after that. Jaydin went to the nearest Pokemon Center. He went up to Nurse Joy and handed her 4 Poke Balls, Zoroark walking with her. He also got a room for him and his Pokemon. He remembered seeing a restaurant almost right next to the Pokemon Center. He decided to order takeout for him and his Pokemon while they were getting a checkup. After getting some food he came back just as his Pokemon were done getting treated. He took his Pokemon and thanked Nurse Joy. Once they got to the room Jaydin gave his Pokemon their desired foods and they all started to eat together.
"I wonder how many of us will battle tomorrow" Duraludon said.
"Based on past battles, it'll most likely be three" Greninja said.
"That's a pretty good guess" Jaydin said.
"If that is going to be the case, we should decide who will be battling" Togekiss said.
"Is it fine if I can pass again?" Marshadow asked.
"Of course buddy, you don't have to battle if you don't want to" Jaydin reassured him with a smile.
After a little bit of discussion, the ones battling were finally decided. After getting settled in they all slowly drifted off to sleep. Jaydin and Zoroark held each other close as they lightly snored.