Driftveil City's Pokémon Center felt quieter than it should have after everything that happened at Rood's house. I still felt Zoroark walking beside me like an old promise that had finally found the road again.
Zoroark did not hide as me or as N now. He stayed in his own shape, close enough that his dark mane brushed my sleeve whenever he checked the doors.
Alice noticed before anyone else. She did not say anything, but her hand rested near mine, steady and ready if the past tried to pull too hard again.
We had barely reached the front counter when the Center doors burst open. A red-haired boy stormed inside with a Pansear at his heels, both of them wearing the same furious expression.
"Cilan!" the boy shouted, pointing across the room. "I challenge you to a battle right now!"
Cilan turned with one hand pressed elegantly over his chest. "Chili, my fiery brother, what an unexpected entrance. Your timing has the spice of a pepper thrown into soup."
Iris blinked beside Axew. "That's your brother?"
"One of them," Cilan replied with a warm smile. "Chili, the Fire-type specialist of the Striaton trio."
Chili stomped closer, and Pansear copied him almost perfectly. "Enough introductions. I came here to prove I can beat you."
Cilan studied him carefully, and the theatrical light in his eyes softened into concern. "Then I accept. If a battle is what you need, I will taste what your heart is trying to say."
We moved to the small battlefield behind the Pokémon Center. Chili sent Pansear forward like he wanted the battle finished before doubt could catch up with him.
Cilan sent out Pansage, who stretched calmly and glanced back at his trainer with easy confidence.
"Pansear, Flamethrower!" Chili shouted, his voice too sharp.
"Pansage, dodge with Dig!" Cilan called, letting the command fall smoothly.
Pansage slipped underground before the flames could catch him. Pansear spun around, angry and confused, and Chili shouted another order before Pansear had time to breathe.
"Use Flame Burst when it comes out!" Chili yelled.
The ground cracked beneath Pansear. Pansage popped up behind him, struck cleanly, and followed with a quick Seed Bomb that sent Pansear tumbling back.
"Pansear is unable to battle," Golly declared from the side, because she had volunteered to judge and had taken the duty seriously.
Chili stared as if the loss had insulted him personally. "Pansear, what was that? You are supposed to be stronger than this!"
Pansear sat up slowly, smoke curling from his fur. His eyes widened, then hardened.
Pansear's meaning came hot and wounded. "I fought with your fire, and you threw the burn at me."
"Pansear, wait!" Chili shouted as Pansear turned and bolted toward the street.
Chili ran after him, but Pansear vanished between two buildings. The red-haired trainer stopped there, fists clenched and shoulders shaking.
Cilan watched the alley with a sadness he tried to hide behind manners. "That was not the flavor of a single loss."
Back inside the Center, Cilan called Striaton Restaurant. Cress appeared on the screen with his usual composed expression, but concern sharpened his eyes when he saw Chili was not smiling.
"Cress," Cilan said, "Chili came to challenge me and lost. Pansear ran away afterward. What happened before he arrived here?"
Cress closed his eyes briefly. "Chili has been losing often. He asked for advice, and I told him that his commands had become predictable and emotional. He took offense and left before I could continue."
Chili crossed his arms, staring at the floor. "You made it sound like I was the whole problem."
"You asked for honesty," Cress answered. "I gave it too quickly and without enough warmth. That was my mistake."
Cilan nodded thoughtfully. "Then the dish was over-seasoned with bluntness and under-seasoned with care."
Chili looked away, but his anger was not as loud now. "Pansear still lost."
"No," Cilan said gently. "You and Pansear lost together."
Those words landed harder than a command. Chili swallowed, then looked toward the door.
I followed him outside with Alice, Iris, and Cilan. We found Pansear near a storage shed, sitting beside a vending machine with three empty snack wrappers around him.
Chili stopped a few steps away. "So you were eating because you were mad too."
Pansear huffed, but he did not run again.
Cilan smiled softly. "A perfect compatibility. You both burn hot, you both eat when frustrated, and you both hate being told you are not enough."
Chili frowned. "That sounds like an insult."
"It is an evaluation," Cilan said brightly. "And a hopeful one. You and Pansear understand each other deeply, but a perfect match still needs balance. Fire alone can become a meal with no texture."
Pansage stepped beside his trainer and gestured toward Pansear with a leafy paw.
Pansage's meaning came friendly and firm. "Your flame is not wrong. It needs room to breathe."
Chili looked at Pansear, then lowered his voice. "I blamed you because I was scared I was the weak one."
Pansear's ears twitched, and his anger loosened.
Cilan lifted one finger with sudden inspiration. "Chili, teach Pansear a move that is not Fire type. Something that lets him face Water, Rock, and Ground without panic."
Chili's eyes widened with sudden understanding. "SolarBeam."
"Exactly," Cilan said, beaming. "A Fire-type partner learning to gather sunlight. What a splendid contrast."
Training took longer than Chili wanted, which was probably the point. Pansear kept trying to rush the energy, and every failed attempt made his temper flare.
"Again!" Chili shouted after another weak flash broke apart.
Pansear shouted back in his own voice, and the two of them looked close to starting an argument without words.
"Stop," Alice said, quiet enough that everyone listened. "If you both get angry at the same time, no one is guiding the move."
Chili opened his mouth, then closed it.
Samurott stepped forward beside me, his shell blades resting at his sides. He watched Pansear with a warrior's calm.
Samurott's meaning came steady and proud. "Power gathers better when pride kneels before purpose."
I looked at Chili. "Samurott is saying strength is not only about pushing harder."
Chili rubbed the back of his head. "Great. Even your Pokémon gives better advice than me."
Iris grinned. "At least you noticed. That is progress."
Cilan had Pansage demonstrate how to breathe with the sunlight instead of grabbing for it. Whimsicott helped by shifting cottony cover away from the training space so the sun struck Pansear cleanly.
Golly kept time and made Chili wait between attempts. "Recovery time matters. If he is still shaking, the next attempt is not training. It is just stress."
Eve watched Pansear's face. "Ask him when he is ready. Do not decide it for him."
Chili looked embarrassed, but he crouched in front of Pansear. "Are you ready to try again?"
Pansear stared at him for a long moment. Then he nodded.
This time, Chili did not scream the command. "Pansear, gather the sunlight. Then release SolarBeam."
Light gathered around Pansear slowly. His paws trembled, but he did not rush. Chili stayed quiet until Pansear lifted his head and fired a bright beam across the field, striking a practice boulder and cracking it down the middle.
Chili jumped into the air. "You did it!"
Pansear spun around, grinning, and Chili caught him in a hug before either of them remembered to be stubborn.
Cilan clapped with sparkling pride. "A rich flavor at last. Fire with sunlight, heat with patience, passion with structure."
Pansage watched them together, then looked up at Cilan. There was a question in his eyes that had nothing to do with Chili.
Cilan knelt beside him. "You feel it too, don't you? Growth is not only for those who are struggling. Sometimes helping another team shows a Pokémon its own next step."
At the Driftveil Market later, Cilan found a Leaf Stone glowing softly in a merchant's display. Pansage touched it without hesitation, and green light rose around him.
When the light faded, Simisage stood before Cilan, taller, sharper, and still smiling with the same loyal warmth.
Simisage's meaning came bright and confident. "The recipe changed, but I am still yours."
Cilan pressed a hand dramatically to his heart. "My dear Simisage, our partnership has evolved into a more refined course."
Chili could not wait to test Pansear's new balance, so I offered him a battle before he returned home. I chose Samurott because Chili needed to prove his new strategy against a Water type.
"Pansear, start with Flamethrower!" Chili called, steadier this time.
"Samurott, block with Razor Shell!" I answered.
Samurott crossed his shell blade through the flames, steam bursting around him. Pansear did not panic at the sight of a Water type pressing forward.
"Now use SolarBeam!" Chili shouted.
Sunlight gathered faster than before. Samurott braced as the beam struck, sliding him backward across the dirt. It was strong enough that even I felt the air shake.
"Samurott, use Aqua Jet from the side!" I called.
Samurott burst through the steam in a rush of water. Pansear tried to dodge, but Aqua Jet caught him before SolarBeam could recharge. He fell, struggled upright, and then dropped to one knee.
"Pansear is unable to battle," Golly announced.
Chili ran to Pansear this time instead of blaming him. "You were amazing. We almost had him."
Pansear smiled weakly and bumped his forehead against Chili's hand.
Cilan nodded with real pride. "Now that is a flavor worth serving."
Chili looked at Cilan, then at us. "I'm going back to Striaton. I need to apologize to Cress, and then I need to train properly."
"Tell Cress I said hello," Cilan said.
Chili grinned. "Tell him yourself next time. I am not your messenger."
He left with Pansear beside him, both of them walking lighter than when they arrived.
The Driftveil Contest Hall stood near the market district, and its banners spun with a three-point symbol showing the Rotation format. I had almost forgotten the date until Hilda's earlier warning echoed in my head.
"Registration closes soon," Alice said, already reading the poster. "Rotation Battle Contest. Driftveil Ribbon."
I looked toward the Gym district, then toward the hall. "If I put this off, the Grand Festival path gets tighter."
Golly adjusted her glasses. "Then do not put it off. We are already here, and this is the correct format."
Cilan smiled. "After Chili's lesson, a Rotation Contest about balance feels perfectly plated."
I registered with Samurott, Zoroark, and Whimsicott. The appeal round used rotation platforms, so every performer had to show how three Pokémon could trade the spotlight without stealing it.
Whimsicott opened with a soft spiral of cotton that caught the stage lights. Samurott cut through the cotton with Razor Shell, turning it into glittering arcs. Zoroark finished by shaping illusions of river wind around the blades without hiding the truth of the performance.
The judges leaned forward. The crowd cheered when Zoroark let the illusion fade and bowed in his own form.
Zoroark's meaning came quietly beside my heart. "I can be seen and still protect."
The first battle round placed us against a trainer using Vanillite, Deerling, and Karrablast. Their opening strategy tried to freeze Whimsicott's cotton and turn the stage slippery, but the rotation wheel gave us room to answer without forcing one Pokémon to carry everything.
"Samurott, rotate in and cut a safe path!" I called.
Samurott slid into the front slot and carved the ice with Razor Shell. Whimsicott rotated behind him and sent cotton through the broken frost, making it sparkle instead of trip us. Zoroark finished by creating a brief illusion of falling snow that cleared into our real formation.
The judges rewarded the recovery because it showed control after pressure. I felt my shoulders loosen when we advanced, but I did not let myself celebrate too soon.
In the semifinal, a dancer with three graceful Pokémon tried to bait Zoroark into hiding the whole stage. After yesterday, that would have been easy to do for the wrong reason.
"Zoroark, stay visible," I called. "Let the illusion frame you, not replace you."
Zoroark swept one claw through the air, creating dark ribbons that curved around his own body. The audience saw the illusion, but they also saw him inside it. That difference mattered more than the points.
Alice watched from the front row, and her smile told me she understood exactly why.
In the final battle round, I faced a coordinator with Klinklang, Maractus, and Ducklett. Their rotation was sharp, using rhythm and metal sound to disrupt timing.
"Whimsicott, rotate in and soften the field!" I called.
Whimsicott swept cotton across the stage, slowing Maractus's dance just enough for Samurott to rotate forward. Samurott's Razor Shell broke the rhythm, and Zoroark followed with Night Daze that dimmed the stage without covering our own movements.
Klinklang tried to seize the final minute with a harsh metallic beat. Ducklett spun through the noise, scattering water drops that caught the spotlights and threatened to steal the judges' eyes.
"Rotate together!" I called, feeling the platform shift beneath our feet. "Whimsicott, lift the mist. Samurott, split the center. Zoroark, finish clean!"
Whimsicott's cotton lifted the water into a bright curtain. Samurott cut a clean line through the middle, and Zoroark sent one last dark pulse along that line, turning the curtain into a fading silhouette of all three partners standing together.
The points dropped on both sides, but our rotation stayed cleaner. When time ran out, my score was ahead.
The announcer lifted the ribbon case high. "The winner of the Driftveil Rotation Contest is Ash Ketchum!"
I accepted the ribbon with both hands. It shone with earthy gold and deep green, like the city itself had been pressed into silk.
Alice smiled at me. "That makes four."
"One more before the Grand Festival," I said, feeling the pressure and hope together.
Hugh was waiting near Driftveil Gym when we arrived. He looked like he had spent the whole day battling every trainer who would agree.
"Challenging the Gym?" Hugh asked. "Good. Keep getting stronger. Clay is tough, though. Even if you use Water types against Ground types, you can still get crushed."
"I will be careful," I said.
Hugh snorted. "Careful does not win by itself."
"No," Alice said calmly. "But reckless loses faster."
Hugh did not argue with that. He only turned away, still carrying his anger like a blade he had not learned to sheathe.
Inside the Gym, Clay stood with his hat tipped low and his arms crossed. He looked at us like he was measuring ore before deciding whether it was worth mining.
"Now who might you be?" Clay asked.
"My name is Ash," I said. "I am here for a Gym battle."
Clay shook his head. "Sorry, kid. I have business right now."
Golly frowned. "Is the Gym officially closed?"
"We're out of Revival Herbs," Clay said. "No time for a battle until that is fixed."
Iris straightened. "Revival Herbs are the strongest healing herbs. They can help even badly injured Pokémon."
Clay pointed toward the door. "Then here is the deal. Bring me some Revival Herbs, and I will battle you. Take it or leave it."
Cilan sighed as we stepped back outside. "A Gym Leader with the flavor of business before battle."
Eve looked toward the market district. "If Driftveil sells everything, maybe the market has some."
The Driftveil Market smelled like spices, oil, soil, and medicine. Merchants called from every direction, but Revival Herbs were the one thing nobody had.
Then Charles appeared near a stall, posing with one hand on his hip. "The Heartbreaker hears people in need."
I stared at him for a moment. "Charles, do you know where Revival Herbs are?"
He grinned. "Information is also a kind of heroic service."
With Charles asking around, people answered faster. A medicine seller finally told us about Milos Island, where Revival Herbs had once grown in great numbers because the land was blessed by Legendary Pokémon.
"Legendary Pokémon?" Iris asked, immediately alert.
"Landorus is said to make the fields fertile," the seller said. "But if the island is dry, something is wrong."
We crossed to Milos Island by boat. The wind felt strange before we even reached shore, too dry over land that should have smelled green.
An older woman met us near the dock. When we asked about Revival Herbs, she pointed inland. "Find Lewis. He and Gothorita have been trying to save what remains."
The walk across the island showed us fields cracked by drought. Plants curled against the dirt, and Pokémon hid in the shade with tired eyes.
Lewis was standing near a shrine with Gothorita beside him. His face fell when he saw our hope.
"I am sorry," he said. "There are almost no Revival Herbs left. Without rain, they have dried away."
He showed us a storage shed where empty baskets were stacked against the wall. A few dried leaves lay at the bottom of one basket, curled and gray instead of bright with healing strength.
Cilan lifted one carefully and frowned. "The aroma has collapsed. This is not medicine anymore. It is only a memory of medicine."
Golly checked the shelves without touching anything carelessly. "If Clay depends on these for emergency treatment, Driftveil has a real supply problem."
Lewis nodded, shame heavy in his face. "We sent warnings. By the time anyone believed us, the fields were already failing."
Gothorita looked at Alice with worried eyes, hands folded near its chest.
Gothorita's meaning came soft and pleading. "The land is thirsty, and the sky is angry."
Lewis explained the ceremony to call Landorus, whose presence could restore the fields. Before he finished, thunder cracked across the sky.
Tornadus and Thundurus descended in a storm of wind and lightning, not as guardians, but as furious rivals tearing at each other above the island.
Axew cried out as the wind knocked dust across the path. Iris hugged him close, eyes wide. "Why are they this angry?"
Lewis turned pale. "The obelisks. Something must have happened to the shrines that balance them."
We ran to the shrines and found the obelisks broken apart. The stone had not cracked from weather. It had been smashed.
My anger went cold. "Team Rocket."
Alice looked at the broken stone, then at me. "Breathe first. Fight second."
"I am breathing," I said, though my hands were already tight.
Golly crouched beside the pieces. "Tool marks. This was deliberate. Someone wanted the Legendary Pokémon unstable."
Lewis swallowed hard. "Then we must summon Landorus. Only a shrine maiden can complete the appeal."
Alice stepped forward before anyone could suggest her. "Tell me what to do."
"Alice," Eve said, warning and worry tangled in one word.
Alice looked back at her sister. "I am choosing this."
Eve held her gaze, then nodded. "Then I stand close enough to pull you away if the ritual turns unsafe."
Gothorita guided Alice to the center of the shrine. The wind screamed around us as Alice closed her eyes, calm in a way that made the air itself seem to listen.
The appeal rose without words. Gothorita's psychic light circled Alice's hands, and the cracked ground trembled beneath us.
Landorus emerged from the clouds with a roar that rolled across the island. He drove himself between Tornadus and Thundurus, forcing their attacks apart with sheer power.
For one shining moment, it looked like the island might be saved.
Then a stray blast struck the rocks near Axew and Gothorita. Both were thrown back hard, and Iris screamed Axew's name.
Lewis ran to them with shaking hands. "I have two Revival Herbs left."
He used them without hesitation. Axew stirred first, coughing weakly in Iris's arms. Gothorita opened its eyes a moment later.
Axew's meaning came small but brave. "I am scared, but I am still here."
Iris pressed her forehead to his. "You are here. That is enough."
Then metal boxes dropped from above.
They slammed around Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus, trapping each Legendary Pokémon inside transparent walls that even their attacks could not break.
A helicopter rose from behind the cliffs. Team Rocket's voices rang through the speakers like poison.
For a moment, all I could see was another machine, another plan, another group deciding living beings were tools. My mother's empty place at home flashed through me, and the anger behind my ribs turned sharp enough to scare even me.
Alice stepped close without grabbing me. "Ash, aim your anger at the rescue."
Her words reached the part of me that still listened when the rest wanted to burn forward.
"Team Rocket," I said, the words leaving my mouth like a warning. "You destroyed the obelisks."
Jessie's laugh crackled through the air. "A little weather problem makes a perfect capture opportunity."
James sounded far too proud. "Three Legendary Pokémon in three secure containers."
Meowth added, "And no twerps are gonna ruin the delivery."
Something in me wanted to bring the helicopter down with everything I had. Zoroark stepped beside me, and Pikachu's electricity sparked against my shoulder.
Pikachu's meaning came sharp and grounding. "Stop them. Do not become them."
"Samurott, Zoroark, Pikachu!" I shouted. "Break their escape route!"
Alice moved with me. "Absol, cover the boxes!"
We attacked the helicopter first, not the trapped Pokémon. Pikachu's Electro Ball struck the rotor guard. Zoroark's Night Daze blinded the pilots' view, and Samurott's water pressure forced the machine sideways.
Alice's Absol cut through a cable with Night Slash. The helicopter lurched, dropping one of its control units onto the rocks.
Team Rocket screamed together as the machine spun away trailing smoke.
"We are retreating with dignity!" James shouted.
"That is not dignity!" Iris yelled after them.
The helicopter vanished beyond the cliffs, but the boxes failed open one by one when Golly smashed the fallen control unit with a rock.
Unfortunately, freedom did not mean calm. Tornadus and Thundurus attacked again, and Landorus took the hit meant for the shrine. He crashed down hard, injured and struggling.
Lewis looked at the empty herb pouch. "We used the last fresh herbs."
I looked toward the dry fields. "Then we find one more."
Gothorita pointed toward a half-dead patch near the shrine. One small Revival Herb still clung to the soil, wilted but alive. Eve dug carefully around it, and Cilan prepared it with water from our supplies.
We brought it to Landorus. Alice knelt beside him, placing the herb where Lewis guided her.
"Please," Alice whispered. "The island still needs you."
The herb's energy spread through Landorus slowly. He rose again, battered but steady, and faced Tornadus and Thundurus with a roar that sounded more like command than anger.
This time, the two storming legends finally listened.
Rain fell first, soft and sudden. Tornadus guided the clouds, Thundurus sparked heat through the soil, and Landorus scattered seeds with sweeping motions that made the cracked fields breathe again.
Green pushed through the dirt. Revival Herbs sprouted, bloomed, withered, and scattered seeds in a cycle that looked impossible and natural at the same time.
The island changed color around us. Pokémon emerged from hiding, sniffing the wet earth as if they had forgotten the smell.
Lewis bowed deeply to the Legendary Pokémon. "Thank you. All of you."
Landorus looked once toward Alice. Tornadus and Thundurus rose beside him, calmer now. Then the three vanished into the open sky.
We gathered enough Revival Herbs for Clay and left the rest for the island. Lewis insisted on packing the herbs himself, and Gothorita watched Alice with grateful eyes.
Gothorita's meaning came warm and tired. "The rain remembers your voice."
Alice smiled gently. "I only helped call what the island already needed."
On the boat back to Driftveil, I held the bag of Revival Herbs and looked at the city growing closer. We had Chili and Pansear standing together again. We had my fourth ribbon. We had the herbs Clay demanded.
We also had Team Rocket reaching for Legendary Pokémon again.
Zoroark stood beside me without an illusion, and Alice stayed near my shoulder as the wind changed from island rain to city dust.
The next time we entered Clay's Gym, there would be no excuse left between us and the Quake Badge.
Author's Notes: Driftveil tests several kinds of balance as Chili and Pansear rebuild their partnership, Ash earns his fourth Unova Ribbon, and Milos Island forces the group to protect Revival Herbs from a Legendary crisis caused by Team Rocket.
Ash and Alice's Pokémon:
Pikachu, Butterfree, Pink Butterfree, Lapras, Meganium, Espeon, Crystal Steelix, Mantine, Sceptile, Shiny Gardevoir, Milotic, Absol, Infernape, Lucario, Abomasnow, Magnezone, Zekrom, Watchog, Tranquill, Samurott, Emboar, Liepard, Munna, Serperior, Zebstrika, Roggenrola, Swoobat, Tirtouga, Archen, Seismitoad, Throh, Sawk, Swadloon, Stoutland, Scolipede, Victini, Whimsicott, Lilligant, Krokorok, Darmanitan, Garbodor, Minccino, Scraggy, Audino, Red-Striped Basculin, Blue-Striped Basculin, Conkeldurr, Maractus, Crustle, Sigilyph, Yamask, Gothorita, Duosion, Emolga, Simisage, Simisear, Simipour, Charizard, Charla, Ducklett, Zoroark.
Golly's Pokémon:
Zorua, Gastly.
Eve's Pokémon:
Purrloin, Mightyena, Houndoom, Duosion, Foongus.
Iris's Pokémon:
Axew, Excadrill, Emolga.
Cilan's Pokémon:
Simisage, Dwebble, Lilligant, Stunfisk.