"Like this," Glacia said imperiously.

Her pale fingers, the nails cut short and practical for the battles she faced for the League, deftly twisted the black tie into a perfect knot. Ash couldn't recall the name of it, nor did he want to.

She refused to do it for him: Glacia was as unwavering as ever in her assertiveness, declaring that being able to properly and fully accoutrement oneself was an important skill for every young man to learn, but she'd been kind enough to offer a demonstration.

Ash hated it. His own attempt at the knot was sloppy, misshapen, and somehow far too tight and constricting around the neck. His eyebrows drew together with frustration. He would have sworn that he'd done the exact same steps Glacia had demonstrated!

Glacia was not moved to pity. Just as deftly, she loosed his pitiful knot and handed the cloth back to him. "Again."

Ash kept his features schooled and took it. He couldn't wait to let Infernus burn the stupid thing to cinders at the end of the night.

If only Drake was the one ushering him to the gala instead! Surely he would laugh if Glacia tried to foist a similar noose on him.

After another two failed attempts, Ash breathed hard out of his nose and looked pleadingly at Dazed, who was busy staring into the stark white lights that illuminated Steven's apartment. They always reminded Ash of the harsh, sterile lighting of a hospital or clinic.

While she outwardly made no motion, Ash felt a surge of victory as the black tie illuminated a fiery blue and began to twist in perfect mimicry of the proper motions, guided by the inhuman dexterity and precision of Dazed's psychic abilities—

"I think not." Glacia crushed his hopes with a snap of her fingers.

Ash wilted as Kenosa, Glacia's icy-eyed Froslass, waved her cold hand to dispel the psychic power in a rush of dark winter wind. A few of his friends looked up in mild irritation as the ambient temperature of the apartment dropped.

Dazed's eyes twisted downwards into a frown, but she didn't contest the working.

Glacia tutted disapprovingly. "Mr. Stone is gracious in allowing us the luxury of preparing for the gala in his apartment, but that doesn't mean you must adopt all of his habits, Ash."

Ash was surprised to hear Glacia of all people referring to Steven without his title attached, but he supposed it fit her standards. It was probably too implicitly judgemental to append the 'former' to Steven's champion status, and Glacia was ever so careful to avoid an unintentional faux pas. .

Nevertheless, the glare she turned on him was without heat, and also lacked judgment, and that made it easier to accent the scrap of cloth from her once more to try anew.

He would do a lot to please the woman, just to see her thaw a little. She seemed weary, worn down by the endless action, the quelling of separatists, and the necessity of standing guard over Hoenn's famous Shoal Cave. Snow ground down into the thinnest powder, showing packed cracks in the deeper ice below.

The Ice Master had complimented him earlier for his media stunt the other day. The thought of it played through Ash's mind as he awkwardly twisted the tie back through a loop, feeling like he was all elbows. Glacia might have always held herself aloof, guarded from the world by an armor of formality, but she'd never been harsh to Ash. Only strict. She'd never asked for anything she wasn't willing to give herself.

"I've never needed to wear a tie before," Ash grumbled in the present. He kept his tone light to avoid a disapproving glance from Glacia or Kenosa, who was just as much a stickler for the rules as her trainer, at least when Glacia was paying attention. "Not to say that I would wear my hat—"

"Of course not!" Glacia interjected, as though such a prospect was utterly unthinkable. "Perhaps that hat fits the image of Ash Ketchum, the wilds-scuffed trainer, but Ash Ketchum of the Indigo Elite Four has higher expectations of him. A not-insignificant portion of the chatter about your challenge revolved around whether your hat would last another month of battle."

Ash instinctively reached for his hat, only to find a mop of combed, freshly-washed black hair instead. He grimaced and eyed where his favored accessory was placed reverently upon the finely polished granite countertops in Steven's kitchen, right next to a few assorted fruits, vegetables, and other foodstuffs.

"Is Steven—Mr. Stone—expecting company?"

Steven's apartment was normally rather bareboned. Staff visited each week to keep it presentable, but Steven was such a busy man that he rarely had opportunities to kick his feet up and relax. Steven and Metagross both abhorred waste, so it normally took some time for anything but nonperishable food to show up.

There were plenty of metal ingots and gratinged minerals and alloys left in carefully organized plastic containers, however. Steven ensured that none of his team would ever want for their supplements, and Lairon was happy to take advantage of the snacks.

He'd even tempted a hesitant Sneasel into nibbling on a hunk of gleaming steel. Sneasel hadn't taken to it quitelike Lairon had.

Glacia hummed. "It's none of our concern."

If Glacia intended to smother Ash's curiosity, her words had quite the opposite effect. His eyes drifted over to the sleek black piano that had been stationed in Steven's apartment since Ash had returned from Indigo Plateau.

Steven had mentioned offhand that a friend would be arriving in the next few months; Ash couldn't think of a worse time for company.

Steven was going to be a mess if he did show up. There'd been a surge of trainer activity since Ash's broadcast, more and more taking up the missions posted by the Gyms and tackling the jobs to free things up for the League, but there was still a long way to go in restoring order, and his hands—his many hands, given his team's abilities augmenting his own—were hopelessly tied up.

The quake had passed, so to speak, but the aftershocks still wracked the region.

With the Elite Four more free to tackle the greatest of threats, the criminals who had swept in from other regions (including some from Orre and the Unovan frontier territories) had taken their plunder and fled. Their opportunity was spent, and the wise among them were content with what they'd taken.

Tensions remained high and all sorts of relationships needed to be repaired between the League and the displeased Pack, the various cities wracked with local protests, and the archipelago, whose ears were filled with Aqua's whispers.

Plenty of opportunists remained, but the real trouble came in the form of the more experienced, low-key operations, the kind that could evade most League teams and generally waste their resources. Such skilled operators made up only a small number of the overall pool of criminals, but were responsible for a disproportionate number of successful jobs.

They were the kind most content to take their little share while the greedy ones were stomped into the dirt; the kings of fools, among those who remained, for the League wouldn't tolerate them forever, and their window was fast closing.

He eyed Glacia, well-aware of her role in the League. Steven sang her praises in the world of organization often enough. Coming from someone with the equivalent of a supercomputer living in their head, that was quite the compliment.

While Wallace was the visionary and Drake was the charismatic force of nature gluing Hoenn together, Glacia was the ruthlessly competent administrative lynchpin at the center of it all. She sat in the center of her web of influence, and little happened without her knowledge.

And given just how taxing the last few months had been…

"How are you?" Ash's voice was softer than usual, though the rasp was never far.

"I have seen better days." Glacia's voice was weaker than he'd expected; sharp, but as brittle as the ice she'd mastered. From Glacia, that was the equivalent of screaming into her pillow and smashing her head into a wall. "There's been much to do, and much more to come."

Her Froslass levitated up to twist around her in an affectionate swirl of cold mist.

"We'll make it through," Ash said confidently. "What you've accomplished already in the last few weeks is incredible. And," he added, "you're an Ice Master in Hoenn of all places. If that hasn't melted you into a puddle yet, nothing will."

Glacia's lips twitched, and Ash thought he sensed a bit of appreciation in the gesture. "It's kind of you to say. There are times I miss my homeland."

"No Rockets, no organizations plotting in the shadows, and no monsters slumbering beneath their feet. Sinnoh has it easy."

"They have their own troubles, though I must confess that they seem distant at the moment." A flicker of disapproval crossed her porcelain features. "But we should not dismiss their challenges. Our struggles do not invalidate theirs, Ash."

"I know," Ash sighed. "But I bet they're not dealing with their Ranger bases getting burned to the ground."

Glacia's face hardened. In that moment she appeared a queen of ice and winter, beautiful and furious as an incoming blizzard. Ash was reminded of Haukea's ageless white face. "We shan't suffer such intrusions for long."

He thought there was something personal in her reproach. "You've been assigned to the case?"

She nodded stiffly as she made some microadjustment to the sleeve of her pale blue gown. Glacia looked disapprovingly at Ash, well-aware that he'd grown distracted. He hurriedly made a new attempt at his tie, only to barely hold one of Rawiri's curses from his tongue as he made a mess of it again.

But it might have been worth it to see Glacia's expression.

Dazed's voice flickered into his mind with blatant amusement.

It might have been the last mistake you ever made, Friend-Trainer. Perhaps you should request aid from the Four-Fisted-Sage. He wore the mastery-loop well. And with far less difficulty.

He smiled at Dazed's newest name for Bruiser. The Machamp had always been the Caretaker to Dazed, but now she'd begun to use it and his new name (his new identity, really) interchangeably. Bruiser had found peace in himself, and Ash adored Dazed for recognizing that.

As for her actual words…Bruiser did make the black belt look good, Ash had to admit, although he couldn't imagine that he'd be able to help Ash now. While their control exercises had shot forward in leaps and bounds, Bruiser's dexterity was still lacking.

They had plenty of knit clothing to choose from though. Ash had taken to donating some of the surplus. Bruiser had been thrilled by the thought.

It was well into winter at this point, but Ash scarcely felt more than the slightest chill in the depths of night. Seeker adored the piles of fabric though. Her tiny body meant she lost heat swiftly. It wasn't uncommon to see her bundled up in a throne of Bruiser's knit goods. Lairon enjoyed the little booties that Bruiser continually made him as well; those rarely lasted more than a day or two.

"Observe," Glacia said as she took the loop of fabric and deftly twisted it into a picture perfect knot. She even slowed the practiced motions so that Ash could follow more closely. "You see?"

A bit of competitive spirit rose in him alongside his frustration. Ash hated losing, although that wouldn't be a surprise to anyone. He'd fought Champion Wallace to a standstill…for a while, anyways. A stupid tie wouldn't best him.

"Yes." He eagerly took it back and made another attempt.

Glacia eyed the result critically. "Better. Again."

She continued speaking as Ash continued to improve, his fingers moving more swiftly and efficiently every time.

Dazed seemed bored by the observations, but she and Kenosa struck up a conversation to burn the minutes away; her telepathy wouldn't work on the Froslass thanks to the latter's distorted nature, but the two made a game of manipulating powdered snow conjured up by Kenosa into words that hung suspended in the air.

It was difficult to keep track of the conversation, but right now it seemed they'd begun discussing the habits of their 'silly humans'. Ash didn't miss that they were careful to keep that conversation quite literally behind Glacia's back, though she was astute enough that Ash was half-certain she'd caught on.

"Four bases lost in critical areas. Thank the Three that most of the Rangers were on patrol at the time," Glacia said. "Our mysterious attacker doesn't fear confrontation with the Rangers, but they do not linger long. They only leave dragonfire and slag behind."

"Probably not Durand then," Ash muttered as he fiddled with the tie and earned a half-passable knot for his efforts. It still wasn't good enough for Glacia, and so it wasn't good enough for him. "Her Noivern seemed to specialize in stealth and sonic attacks. I doubt it has the kind of firepower to tear an entire base apart like that, even with Slaking's support."

For all the danger Durand presented, she was a razor knife to the ribs or back. A blade in the shadows who preferred not to be brought to light. Raiding League bases was hardly her style.

Frankly, he wouldn't have thought raiding Devon and indirectly killing Anorith was her style either.

Fury filled him and his fingers went white pulling the knot in the tie tight, but he quelled it at Glacia's pointed gaze and began carefully loosening it once again.

"The rogue, Durand, is not a current suspect," Glacia agreed. "Though she has been highly active this month."

Durand had made several other attacks on large-scale corporations, mining sites, and factories in addition to the major strike on Devon. Wherever humanity stamped its mark upon the land, Durand appeared. Her crusade only gnawed at the edges of civilization, never fully stopping the vast forces who marched on despite the Lillipup at their heel, but she pursued her fruitless efforts endlessly.

Any little scrap of victory seemed enough to embolden her, to reignite the fires of revolution that drove her onward.

She was suspected to skulk about in the archipelago when she wasn't busy marauding, no doubt receiving shelter from Team Aqua. To her credit, she was also reported to be among those to protect the islands from those who would do them harm. She attacked poachers with the same passion she lashed out at industrial efforts.

Grey and the Hunter Squad from Kalos had engaged her several times, but so far, Durand always managed to escape before they could bring their full forces to bear. They only ever seemed to fight for a minute or two before Durand would Shadow Sneak away, or she'd cripple their fliers and long-ranged attackers and escape on Noivern.

Glancing blows were often struck, but the synchronicity of her team made it difficult to pierce their defenses. Shedinja certainly didn't help on that front. She'd spent a long, long time training her team in anti-League tactics, and that specialization made her an absolute nightmare to pin down.

Glacia tsked and took his tie from him once more, pointing out a small flaw in the knot. He took it back and tried anew.

"Has the League identified any suspects, then?"

Glacia shook her head. "It is certainly a dragon specialist based upon the evidence we've gathered, but unfortunately, no trainer of such caliber fits the data we have yet accumulated. Believe me," she added, "even the Metagross are exhausted from poring over reports."

"How strong do we think they are?" he asked. "As strong as Clair?"

He doubted it. For all his opinion of the Blackthorn Gym Leader's maturity, she was a formidable trainer. Particularly now that she had set the full force of her pettiness upon thwarting Gary. The number of dragon specialists outside the League who could rival her could probably be numbered on two hands, if that.

And most of those would be under the purview of the Wataru or Draconids, and thus be known elements. There was a reason that the League and the Wataru had grown so intertwined.

Dragons were amongst the most difficult pokémon to command, although there were exceptions to the rule, and conventional wisdom among the average trainer had long since concluded that any who took that challenge on was either stupid, arrogant, or—for those rare who succeeded—a freak of nature.

Ash thought they were fun to fight. If most gave up that dream disappointingly quickly, the few who persisted tended to be stubborn and powerful; always fun qualities to be had in an opponent. It turned out that becoming a Dragon Master wasn't as easy as Lance made it look.

The Indigo Champion was simply the strongest.

Glacia shook her head. "It is difficult to estimate. They are certainly Gym Leader-level to manage our Ranger squads so deftly, but there are particular dragons who specialize in such wide scale destruction. Our cameras only record flashes before they are destroyed."

He hummed and carefully tightened the tie. He looked up at Glacia, who shook her head. Too loose, this time.

This pest was likely the same that had been attacking Pack nurseries and sanctuaries back when he'd been in Fortree. Whoever they were, they'd struck several Ranger bases that had performed exceptionally in their law enforcement capacities, scrambling League efforts in vital areas.

He also took the unspoken statement to heart. The cameras had been destroyed, but so had any living witnesses, else more would be known. A willingness to kill wasn't unknown among such scum; it was what made Team Rocket so feared, beyond the simple scope of their influence, but it was intimidating all the same.

Dealing with them would just make the League's recovery that much easier, and put those who'd sacrificed in its name to rest.

He wondered if Hoenn's Victory Road had as many bricks as Indigo's. "You'll bring them in one way or another. Warm or cold?"

"Whichever comes first." Glacia's expression fit her name. "I care not for how the dragon trainer's reign of terror ends, only that it does. They have much to answer for."

Behind her, Kenosa went into vivid descriptions of Glacia absolutely massacring a few bowls of ramen at the Mauville food court. Ash would have to ask Wattson about that the next time he saw the Leader.

That was the kind of efficiency that Ash could get behind. Forget the trappings so long as the job was finished.

"Acceptable," Glacia decided at last as Ash finally tied a worthy knot. Most would've described it as perfect.

He slipped it over his head and carefully adjusted it in place under the collar of his shirt, slipping the last button into place. Constricting, but as he looked in the hand mirror Glacia primly held before him, sharp. It would do.

She nodded at him. "Do the honors, please."

"Happily," Ash said. A wide smile split his face. "BOB! I have a job for you!"

XX

Few areas in Rustboro attracted more attention than the Rustboro Concert Hall.

Ordinarily a site for special performances like the Musimantic Orchestra, an exclusive group consisting of the finest psychics who specialized in sonic manipulation, and other celebrations of the arts and cultures, today it had been co-opted for a far less noble cause: that of high society.

It glittered like a cut diamond as Ash and Glacia appeared before it, and Kenosa (who Glacia had recalled before Bob whisked them away) rematerialized at their side. Ash was soon similarly flanked by Dazed and Torrent, who peered down at the scrambling humans in their fancy suits and fine gowns with something torn between confusion and disdain.

Chatter picked up the moment that the two League personnel appeared, though most of it seemed to be reserved for Glacia. She was the Ever Grande Elite Four member, after all.

His own contributions to Hoenn earned him quite a few looks as well, but while he was proud of that, he was also content with less attention, and kept a few feet from her side for the moment while he gained his bearings.

Ash felt distinctly like some sort of alien creature in the midst of all these people.

These humans are dressed strangely. I suspect their minds have been tampered with.

"Nothing psychic, though who knows what they're putting in their bodies," Ash murmured, careful to keep his voice low to avoid Glacia's ire.

She exchanged polite greetings with a whole horde of fancily garbed humans. They fawned over her in a way that Ash found faintly nauseating; only a few held themselves with the dignity he'd have expected of Hoenn's elite.

The Torrent wonders if the stories of humans ranking themselves by garb are as true as reputed. Are the silly hats and frivolous hair-knots truly necessary?

Ash smiled faintly. "Am I really the person to ask about hats?"

If headwear accorded rank, I suspect you would be hunted for sport as a waste of food, Friend-Trainer.

He laughed.

The companions the various people here had brought were far more interesting to him. Though most shivered at Ash's gaze and inched away from his own companions, all sorts of pokémon stood beside their partners: a snarling Exploud with a little bow tie around its neck, a pair of Illumise and Volbeat who trailed vibrant light behind them as they danced above their trainer in the dark sky, even a battle-scarred Electrode with a deep crater torn from its red-and-white carapace.

A thorough rejuvenation treatment would likely regenerate that old wound entirely, but some pokémon took pride in their scars. It was a lesson carved into their flesh. And the Electrode certainly seemed to have learned to recognize danger. Its remaining eye locked on Ash warily, and it spun a little closer to its trainer, a towering, but reed-thin old man with scars of his own visible beneath the austere formality.

The old man blinked mid-conversation with Glacia and stole a glance at Ash and his team, starting, but didn't dare ignore Glacia for long. Even that little indiscretion left the tiniest frown upon her lips. He stammered an apology as Ash smiled at Electrode, channeling a spark of Lightning through himself, and hid a laugh as the creature sparked lightly in turn, grinning savagely at him with a mouth meant for grinning.

"Come, Elite Four Ash." Glacia distracted him from the sights and sounds of the murmuring crowd. Flashes of light irritated both him and Dazed as the media snapped a quick picture, and Ash could only hope that he didn't look too disgruntled. "Follow me."

What he'd give to be soaring through the night sky with Plume right now!

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do here," Ash admitted. The slightest hesitance colored his voice. "I've been to events before, but only with the Indigo League. There weren't…people."

Torrent levitated forward to tap his long snout against Ash's black hair. Ugh, he hated having it exposed like this! And Glacia had even made him use hair gel. Steven had way, way too large an assortment to select from. It made him long for a breeze and the play of strands across his neck, blowing away the smell of sweet artificiality.

It was pretty gratifying to see a woman with an elaborate blonde bun scurry out of Torrent's way, teetering on her high heels as she spent most of her focus on keeping her wine glass (filled to the absolute brim) from spilling.

Torrent's eyes glimmered patronizingly as she shot him a disgruntled look and disappeared into the crowd. Ash could tell he was amused at heart. Maybe he'd find his own entertainment here tonight.

They parted the crowd as though they had Infernus walking beside them. Glacia was obviously an old hand at this, likely the Ever Grande League's primary face in formal affairs beside Wallace himself, and any who lingered for too long in their way attracted flat stares from Dazed and Kenosia.

That seemed to bother them for some reason. Ash barely hid his own amusement.

"Be yourself," Glacia said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "This is not your native habitat, and I have my doubts that it ever will be. Retain your composure, but do not feel overly pressured. They think you are a half-feral battle maniac, liable to burn the venue down at the drop of a…" Her lips quirked. "...Shall I say, with little warning. It would be a shame to disappoint them."

Ash blinked at Glacia of all people telling him to avoid restraining himself; at her almost making a joke. Then a slow smile crept across his face.

"Yes, that's the look they've all seen. Do try to enjoy yourself. I have no doubt that you'll be intercepted by all manner of trainers shortly," Glacia said drily.

Her voice softened as she looked upon all the eager people and pokémon waiting to meet with her. "If you do find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, please find myself or Leader Roxanne. We will assist you. Elite Four Sidney is here as well. Do not seek him for assistance, I have no desire to clean up his indiscretions this evening."

Glacia frowned at Ash as he made a face, though he noticed it lacked the usual sternness. She was the only one who could truly bring Sidney to heel, but that didn't mean she was ignorant to Sidney's general quirks. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"Farewell, and good luck." Glacia dipped her head briefly before drifting off to mingle with the crowd, who immediately swarmed her. They always maintained a respectable distance, but it was clear that while Wallace was the Contest star, Glacia ruled the roost here.

Plenty of curious eyes landed upon Ash, but Torrent and Dazed kept their owners at bay for now. Ash doubted that would last long.

A few of his fellow trainers nudged their companions, but none had gathered their courage quite yet. Ash welcomed them.

They wouldn't be a challenge, but at least it would give him something to do.

Ash stood in the brightly lit ballroom with notable discomfort, and moved with the flow of the crowd until he'd rotated to the edge of the room with Torrent and Dazed in tow so that he could gather a bit of intelligence. The grand room was all glitz and glamor, brightly lit and covered with granite and crystalline tables that spoke of the Rustboran influence here.

He scanned the crowd, wishing he could get some height on the many bodies pressed together. Where was Flannery? This was a League gala, so there was no way that Ash, Glacia, and Sidney were all who would make an appearance.

Glacia might have been enough to pick up their slack, but Ash suspected that his and Sidney's inclusion would just tank the whole affair without anyone else to balance out the diplomatic negatives. While he wasn't so self-effacing to believe he'd mess things up in the same ways Sydney would—far from it—but he wasn't under any delusions of unjustified competence here, either.

Ash already knew that Steven and Wallace were much too busy, as were several of the other Gym Leaders, but Flannery had already informed him (with too many exclamation points) that she and Fino would arrive later in the night.

Glacia had demanded that they arrive as early as possible, naturally.

While there were still plenty of people flocking to the gala, he suspected that this enormous space would be absolutely jam-packed in just an hour or two. No doubt the real socialites wanted to show up fashionably late.

Ugh. Maybe he could release Infernus to spice things up a bit.

Thus far, the gala really did fit all the stereotypical images of classic high-society in Ash's mind, though he couldn't miss the influence of the Stones and their Metagross. Little Beldum with bow ties tied beneath their red eyes floated around taking orders and relaying them to a handful of Metang who levitated through the crowd, eerily smooth as they balanced glasses of sweet and sharp smelling drinks.

It was just as wide open as a battlefield, and in a way it was just that. While the League took on a dominant presence—despite Steven, Wallace, and Phoebe being unavailable for the night—members from every corner of society were represented.

While most of those present belonged to the upper crust (it was a fundraiser, after all), Ash picked out a fair number of those he might have an easier time mingling with: rough-faced breeders and pokémon all chattering away in a circle, a few queasy young trainers who had been invited for heroism services to the League, and whom Ash was especially interested in meeting, and all manner of scientists eager to share their research with business interests and League personnel.

The whole goal of this gala was to raise money to supplement Hoenn's relief efforts and drive reconstruction, andas such it had cast a wide net to anyone with the support or resources to aid the League. In that, it seemed to be going well.

With his initial scan complete, Ash tried to focus in on any faces he recognized.

Ash caught sight of a few old men chuckling with Mr. Stone, who turned, winked at Ash, and raised a glass his way. He waved back awkwardly for lack of any other response, while Torrent's fins fluttered in a way that somehow managed to be positively regal. There were a handful of Stone cousins that Ash recognized as well from various pictures Steven had shown him, although Ash had never gotten to meet them.

He wondered if Pierce had any brothers or sisters. Briefly.

Business magnates he'd seen in the papers primped and preened as they shook hands and made deals in a sea of hors d'oeuvres and fancy drinks. Some listened carefully to the researchers who came to pitch their projects, and quite a few circled around Professor Birch, who looked hopelessly out-of-place, as he'd shown up in his white lab coat and sandals.

He might have teleported in from the field.

Ash respected that, and he dearly wished he could shuck this restrictive suit off. It might have looked impressive on Steven or Lance, but it felt silly on him.

I'm afraid that we must concur. I prefer your ordinary garments.

"Me too, Dazed, me too," Ash grumbled. His eyes narrowed. "Wait, we?"

Torrent nodded.

"I'd call you a traitor, but I absolutely agree with you."

They had enough empty space that Ash could release Nidoking, who didn't seem too enthused by the pressing tide of humanity all about. But he chuffed at Ash and rubbed his cheek against Ash's outstretched hand, so Ash didn't think he minded too much.

It was odd to see Hoenn's most powerful people assembled together in one money bled from them than Ash could even imagine, even with his exorbitant League paycheck. They were the movers and shakers, the ones who greased the wheels of industry, and the men, women, and pokémon who pushed Hoenn's status as a technological center forward with every day.

They were also the kind of people whose kids had been a not-insignificant part of why Ash's early training career had been so lucrative. Their kind of power and his kind of power were not the same, but he was well aware of how money could shape a trainer's career and of how a trainer's career could lead into money.

Power cleaves to power, after all.

Glacia reigned over them all like a queen.

It was no surprise to Ash that she was the picture of etiquette and excellence, all dignity and crisp words chosen with the care of a poet, but she held herself above the common rabble of the wealthy and connected.

Glacia was a Master, and she behaved as such. She might have been of average height, but her sheer presence left men far taller seeming like children next to her. Every word commanded respect, every little motion demonstrated authority, and the weight of her regal personality pressed down upon the crowd with the mass of a glacier.

She held court in the center of the room, sharing tales of battles and challenges that had all the lesser humans leaning in as she painted a window to a world they would never know.

Many of the people here were accompanied by pokémon, and were probably formidable trainers in their own right, but there was a far cry between someone who had spent a few years on the Conference or tournament circuit, and a force of nature like a true Master.

Many trainers relied on their pokémon to project power, but Glacia did it with the simple confidence that she bore with more grace than most could imagine. Ash admired her for that, and was also glad that she did all of the heavy lifting.

That was another kind of power he did not possess, and he wasn't really sure he wanted it, either.

Sidney played his own part well. He hovered next to Glacia, smirking but surprisingly quiet (and well-behaved as a result). Ash figured it would be a coin flip on whether or not that was just Zoroark playing dress up. No doubt Glacia had him on the tightest leash imaginable.

"Well, I guess this is it," Ash sighed. He folded his arms and shared weary looks with his team. "Let's see if we can find a way to keep ourselves busy until Flannery gets here."

XX

"Ash Ketchum! Ash Ketchum!" A trainer a year or two older than Ash waved him down. "Wow, it really is you! Want to battle?"

His hair was bright blonde, dyed with red streaks, his aristocratic, but otherwise unremarkable face was wide-eyed as Ash turned to glance at him with Nidoking at his side. Two partygoers yelped as Nidoking's massive tail swished and just missed them.

"Maybe," Ash said. "One versus one, I'm guessing?"

Ash was beginning to suspect that this was what he'd been invited for. He'd faced over a dozen young challengers so far. A few had been a decent challenge for Lairon or Seeker, but only one had managed to put up enough of a struggle to demand one of his primary fighters.

That had been impressive, though Sneasel quickly tore the girl's Dodrio to shreds. It had been fast, too fast for Lairon to handle, but Sneasel was skilled enough to dance between the three pecking heads to lay his ice-encrusted claws at two of their throats in the blink of an eye.

He'd shaken her hand and spared a smile afterward, but she'd been a little stunned at how quickly things had disintegrated.

The girl—Ash thought her name was Elena—had plenty of potential given that she was still only a third year trainer, but he hadn't been too impressed with the rest. Ash would never judge rookies who were still figuring things out, but many of the older trainers (generally around fifteen to sixteen) who came to face him were hopeless.

Oh, it wasn't that they were bad. Many had private tutors or had obtained specially bred fighters with great innate talent. Some would no doubt advance to the Conference, or would obtain six to seven badges, but they were predictable. Overconfident. Slow.

Average in ability, and pushed just barely above the curve by the embarrassment of resources dedicated to their craft.

Quite a few had developed good relationships with their partners, but Ash watched a few suspiciously. It wasn't that he suspected abuse—few pokémon would put up with it, not without taking their pound of flesh from their trainer in turn—but it felt similar to that transactional sense he picked up on from Grey and his team.

They would never be great. They might become respectably strong as trainers, but he would never know their names.

He didn't particularly care to, either.

Such observations offered a ready insight into how many in the archipelago (and throughout Hoenn) might perceive Steven, but if that were the case, then they were dead wrong.

A vaguely familiar voice called out from behind Ash. "Shove off, Grigor. Nice dye job, by the way."

The blond trainer ran his fingers through his hair, obviously pleased at the supposed compliment. "Huh, you really think so? My girlfriend told me it was the worst thing she'd ever seen. But Infernape likes it, so I'm keeping it!"

He puffed out his chest proudly.

"Oh, I'm one thousand percent with your girlfriend on this one," Brendan said so pleasantly that it took Ash a moment to detach tone from their meaning. He didn't think Grigor realized at all. "But look, the man here," he slapped Ash on the shoulder despite Nidoking's growl to prove his point, "has been battling all night. Why don't we let him enjoy the shindig for a bit? If you're so eager for a fight, I'm game."

Grigor squinted at Brendan. "But I really wanted to fight Ash. You're kinda weak, aren't you?"

"Let me tell you something, buddy," Brendan wrapped his arm around Grigori's shoulders and subtly steered him away. "Marshtomp and I have been working our fingers to the bone lately. We've been training day in and day out. We can't take a comment like that standing down, you know?"

The other boy sighed forlornly. "Yeah, yeah, you challenge me to a duel. I know. Let's get this over with, Brendan. See you later, Ash Ketchum!"

He waved them both off, shooting Brendan a grateful look. Ash was all for battling, but some of the appeal was lost when it would be over almost as soon as it began. Marshtomp swaggered behind Brendan with such an adoring look that Ash knew the two must have been getting on beautifully.

While Ash wasn't interested in partaking, he'd keep one eye on that battle. Brendan declined Ash's offer to battle earlier when they spoke briefly— "What, and get embarrassed in front of everyone? No thanks." — but he still had that bond with Marshtomp, which warranted Ash's interest.

Admittedly, he'd been terribly disappointed by Brendan's response.

No doubt he was skilled (especially since he'd only worked with Marshtomp in the confines of Littleroot), but if the boy ever wanted to become a Master he couldn't balk at a challenge. Loss, painful though it was, offered as many opportunities for learning as victory. More, even. If Brendan didn't internalize that, then Ash's curiosity was wasted on him.

The boy seemed skilled, knowledgeable, and competent, but thus far lacked the killer instinct and competitive drive that would make him truly great.

But then, he was still young. Perhaps that determination would come in time.

Once Brendan had been soundly defeated after a grueling effort on Marshtomp's part, Ash caught sight of a familiar figure, though not quite the one he was anticipating most.

"Roxanne!"

The Rustboro Gym Leader had a reputation for smiles and sunshine, but right now she was in a heated conversation with two tall men with slicked back black hair in equally dark suits. A few of her Gym Trainers flanked her with Graveler and Nosepass at their sides, but they didn't dare interject.

Honestly, she looked like she would rather have been anywhere else. The two men were smiling, but they weren't kind smiles, and a lazy Numel and a high-strung Medicham stood silently at their sides.

Ash had only met Roxanne a few fleeting times, but he'd always enjoyed their brief conversations. There was little time to chat, but he'd offered up a few reports to her when he ran an operation for a Ranger outpost in Rustboro's territory. She was smart, efficient, and viciously practical when it came to the management of her territory.

It was no wonder that Steven had taken her under his wing for the last few years. Roxanne wasn't quite his apprentice, but he was certainly happy to assist her when it came to League matters, and no doubt she'd found much to learn of her own specialization from the Steel-Master who was almost as much a Master of Rock.

Their smug faces displease me.

"Should we swing in?" Ash smiled at Nidoking, who grumbled his agreement. He plowed forward at a sedate pace, just slowly enough for the crowd to part before him while Ash and the rest trailed leisurely behind. "That's what I thought."

"—the League can't protect our interests, so we will have to take matters into our own hands," one of the men was saying. His thick mustache quivered like a melanistic Wurmple rearing up to strike, but his eyes went wide as Nidoking, over seven feet tall after his growth spurt the past few months, came plodding behind Roxanne. "I—uh. Oh my."

Ash could hear the confusion in Roxanne's voice. "Excuse me?"

Then she felt the vibrations beneath her feet and turned with a smile to face Ash. Both men sweated as Nidoking snorted at him, and their pokémon quailed before him.

"Oh, hello Ash! We've seen you wandering about, but you were always in the middle of a battle. Have you met my friends," Roxanne's face didn't so much as twitch with the distaste she bit back, "the Slates?"

Her Probopass, second only to Steven's in all of Hoenn, made a strange noise like pouring sand as the iron filings that made up its mustache rattled against its steel carapace.

"Afraid not," Ash said, leaning against Nidoking as the huge poison-type fixed the two men with a blank stare. He jabbed a thumb towards a group of young trainers back near the makeshift battlegrounds that were pointing his way and whispering. "My friends have been keeping me busy."

The whispersceased when Roxanne sent a disapproving look their way. No doubt some of them had attended Rustboro's Trainer Academy, which Roxanne held a leading position in as the Gym Leader.

While she didn't often run classes, Ash knew that Roxanne ensured that she held a regular presence and often took several promising students under her wing each year to personally tutor. Many often had tenures at the Rustboro Gym in their future, and many of Hoenn's rock-type specialists owed much of their early growth to her tutelage.

He'd met one of them earlier, and was suitably impressed by the accolade, and more so by their skill.

He'd met a few others as well, who'd claimed to have the Gym Leader's personal interest. By the quality of their performance, and the composition of their teams, he expected her interest was limited strictly to the basis of academic interest in the rare pokémon they'd come by.

"The nerve! They should know better than to stare," Roxanne tutted. "Now, are you enjoying the party? It'd be my pleasure to introduce you to—"

"Rugiero Slate. This my brother, Giorgio Slate," the taller of the two men said, hiding any discomfort left over from Torrent, Dazed, and Nidoking's matching stares. His back straightened under their scrutiny, but he didn't meet any of their eyes. "Of the Slateport Slates, naturally."

"Really. I'm not familiar," Ash lied through his teeth, trying not to sound too rude. He took pleasure in the way both their eyes bulged. Both men reminded him a little too much of Giovanni for him to feel warmth for them. "Are you Slateport's mascots, or something?"

"Mascots?!" Giorgio gasped, eyes wide as Medicham's lips twitched. "Why, I never! We are of the Slate family, the most storied in all of Slateport, and we have served the city for countless generations!"

Ash knew the Slates all too well.

Cynthia had spared a small footnote for them in her Slateport chapter. They were an old family, merchants who once held positions of great honor and prestige, mainly due to their vast ties to other city-states in Hoenn. Legend and family tradition claimed that they had lent their name directly to the city, but Cynthia had judged it more likely that they'd just taken the city's name for themselves given the abundant periodically exploited slate deposits nearby.

They were still powerful, but much of their ancient empire had faded with the advent of widespread teleportation and matter-energy conversion technology. Connections didn't just vanish, and so they'd carved a niche in Slateport's rising tourism market for themselves.

Ash remembered all of this well enough, but he was already having much more fun pretending to be a dumb kid, so that's what he went with. Rugiero was already turning such fascinating shades of red at the temples, at such a contrast to his controlled expression.

"Lovely to meet you, Ash Ketchum." Rugiero offered his hand, ignoring Ash's comment entirely, which Ash shook after a moment. "Your call to action was quite inspirational, you know! It's been the talk of all the highest circles."

Nidoking snorted.

His brother nodded sagely. "Quite the revolutionary declaration. And those trophies! You've been quite the busy boy, Mr. Ketchum." Giorgio chortled, his hand coming down to rest upon his Numel's fuzzy head. The fire-type's sleepy eyes shut fully. "My boy just couldn't stop talking about it. Why, I daresay he's taken a dozen jobs these past few days, a real working man in the making!"

"Then he's doing good work," Ash said, his voice as rough and hoarse as ever. It had softened a bit as the tissues of his throat slowly recovered, but progress proceeded at a Slugma's pace. Such chronic damage was far more complicated to heal than acute injuries such as torn muscles or ripped skin.

"Indeed, indeed. He's come home with a few bumps and bruises, but that's a small price to pay for the League, isn't it?" Giorgio replied sweetly, almost saccharine. "It's a shame that these times call for children to step up and do what our officials can't."

Ash snorted and met Giorgio's eyes. "He's brave. It takes strength to step up and fight for what's right. I can think of plenty of people without a scrap of that courage."

Giorgio's nostrils flared, but his calmer brother lightly coughed to divert the hotheaded Slate's temper. "It's so wonderful to see such civic-minded youth! It's a hard world out there. We should rest easier knowing that we have a defender like you out there."

His words and tone were perfectly pretty, but Ash would have to be Jon to think the Slate was genuine. Torrent's red eyes bored holes into the brothers, but only Giorgio shifted uncomfortably.

Rugiero was certainly the leader of the two, Ash thought. More composed, more dignified, just more. Giovanni might have liked him. Might have known him.

And yet he was still nothing.

This conversation was a waste of effort. Dealing with their bad faith insinuations and sniping would just piss him off and earn no-one anything. They thought he was just a feral trainer? Well, he might as well use it to his advantage to get Roxanne out of here.

"Glacia's looking for you," Ash grunted to Roxanne. Nidoking nodded firmly beside him. "Wants to talk."

Roxanne smiled graciously at the two of them. Her Gym Trainers barely held back sighs of relief, no doubt equally stressed by whatever demands the two magnates had been making of their Leader. "I see! Well, it's been lovely speaking with you, gentlemen, but I'm afraid that duty calls."

"Of course, of course," Rugiero said with a kind smile. "It's a shame that our conversation will have to be postponed, but Giorgio and I will be happy to meet you at your facility tomorrow. We'll see you at first light, Leader Roxanne."

"Lovely!" Roxanne said with the smile of a serial killer. "I'm so incredibly excited to continue our negotiations! I hope that you enjoy the gala. All of Rustboro's hospitality is at your disposal."

They made a few more fanciful exchanges before Roxanne was finally able to disengage. She practically dragged Ash away from the Slates, who quickly fell into conversation with a few other businessmen who'd watched the exchange from a distance.

Nidoking leered at them, and Ash took pleasure in the flashes of concern that crossed their faces.

A Solrock levitated up from the side of a Gym Trainer and hovered between Roxanne and Ash as they wandered through the throngs of people, exchanging pleasant greetings and waves with all who approached.

"It's a shame that my conversation with Giorgio and Rugiero had to be interrupted," Roxanne said pleasantly, Probopass shuddering at her side. "But I do appreciate you informing me of Elite Glacia's request."

A wispy, faded echo of Roxanne's voice fed into Ash's mind as Solrock's eyes flashed.

Oh, thank the Earth and Sea both that you came when you did, Ash. I was about to murder them! The Slates are the most pompous, arrogant, heads-up-their-asses rich jerks you've ever seen. I was imagining Probopass spitting some iron into their faces.

The happy groan from Probopass sounded as if it would've taken pleasure.

"I'm just doing my service to the League," Ash said. "It's what they pay me for."

"And I'm very grateful for that."

Seriously! They're just a bunch of loser cousins who all think they're a glorious gift to the world and don't even realize that nobody cares who their great-great-grandmother had an affair with or whose titles they married into. UGH! And those two haven't even done anything, just been born to a fancy name with bags of money that lets them shove their hands into all sorts of different pies to feel important—and stop snickering, Probopass, that's totally inappropriate! You shouldn't make jokes like that in front of Ash, he's just a kid and oh no, is Solrock still transmitting?

"Solrock, you're doing a wonderful job," Ash said easily. "Keep it up."

The psychic spun happily, nearly clocking a waiter Beldum as it carried a plate to one of the tables.

Oh joy. Joy! I get to watch my thoughts for civility now too for— you know what? Whatever. I don't care. But seriously, thanks for pulling me out of there. We can wander for a bit. There are way better people to meet than the Slates. They drive me crazy! They come to me with their problems, when they're the ones poking the Beedrill hive and having their pawns push for an independent Slateport. Douchebags. As though that has anything but a whisper of a dream of happening without bloodshed and headaches and so MUCH PAPERWORK. Absolutely ridiculous, but they're subtle and I haven't gotten the proof I need. Yet. Bastards.

It was odd hearing Roxanne's unfiltered thoughts when she was normally so polite and kind, but it left a smile on Ash's face. Little wisps and fragments flickered through, and each lent a minor piece to a greater puzzle.

He saw brief interview snippets of individuals affiliated with the Slates, various headlines pushing for Slateport to grow as the capital of the archipelago (Ash could just imagine Rawiri's reaction to that proposition), and all sorts of useless Slateport town council meetings that Roxanne or her Gym Trainers had popped into where various patsies threw out mad propositions to occupy the League.

Their conversation continued on like that as they meandered past and checked out various segments of the gala; Professor Birch had attracted quite a crowd, and Brendan cringed dramatically nearby as he listened to whatever story his father was telling, and Sidney was still silent as he hung next to Glacia with an easy smile upon his face.

"That has to be Zoroark, right?" Ash whispered, leaning in close to Roxanne so no one would overhear. "There's just no way he's been this well-behaved."

Roxanne looked at the Dark Master suspiciously.

"Has to be," she said with the utmost confidence, then hesitated. "Then again, Glacia has him pretty well-trained. This might actually be Sidney."

The Elite Four member caught their gaze and winked, raking his fingers through his little patch of red hair.

"Well, if it is Zoroark, I'm terrified to think of what the real Sidney is up to," Ash murmured. "He's probably outside setting fires or scaring toddlers or something."

To be fair, that did sound like much more fun than being around all these stuffy old people, but Roxanne's presence at least made it bearable. She was probably around Daisy's age, and managed to maintain an air of professionalism without being a miniature Glacia.

They traded various suppositions as they strolled through the gala, always circling where Glacia held court. Roxanne was kind enough to point out some of the bigwigs to Ash as they set about, which both Ash and his teammates were quick to file away. Nidoking's suspicious nature was on full display here, and Ash doubted that a single one of the names would ever fade from the poison-type's memory.

"Mr. Stone, of course, with one of his head researchers, Tabitha." Roxanne pointed to the familiar face of Mr. Stone (who Ash had already picked out earlier) alongside a rotund, jovial man with gelled black hair.

Tabitha seemed the life of the party, as he had a whole horde of Stone cousins roaring with laughter as he told some story with grand gestures and wild gesticulations.

The Gym Leader smiled at the sight. "Good men. We've even attracted a bit of international attention for the relief efforts, see?"

Roxanne pointed to a whole bevy of foreigners. Ash recognized the familiar face of the Silph Co. president who frequently appeared in their advertisements, but the rest were strangers to him.

"Some surprising faces turned up, but their aid has been generous so far," Roxanne said. "The Galactic Corporation from up in Sinnoh sent a few representatives, and we've seen a rush from Indigo as well. Even Altru Incorporated from Almia sent a delegation, a rare occasion indeed."

She inclined her head toward others. Probopass' metallic mustache bristled.

"Aether President Mohn," she whispered, nudging Ash toward a smiling man with brown-and-yellow hair. "They're a powerful force down in Alola, but were kind enough to send a few of their members to support reconstruction. And Grings Kodai, the head of the Kodai Networking Group. He's another interested party from Sinnoh."

Grings Kodai's yellow eyes briefly flitted to meet Ash's, but the tall man in the bright white suit went pale and dropped his wine glass with a loud tink as it shattered upon the floor. A bowtied Beldum waiter flitted over to telekinetically clean up the mess, and the businessman made murmured apologies before he practically fled the room, pleading a personal emergency that had a few onlookers chuckling.

Their eyes met once again, Kodai's wide with panic, and Ash's brow furrowed as he felt a hint of something more buried deep within Kodai.

Roxanne frowned at the display, glancing quickly at Ash, but made no mention of it when there were all sorts of open ears waiting eagerly for any scrap of gossip.

"Well, that's odd," Ash murmured to Nidoking. "Remember his face."

Dazed nodded in agreement, her pendulum held tight in her grip. He mentally nudged Dazed to remind him to send a report to Lance later—while Lance had little authority in Sinnoh, he'd be the most interested to know of anyone with their own Legendary experience.

It had been a fleeting thing, nebulous and weak like a string frayed from long use, but there was something which had stained Grings Kodai's being. That bore investigation.

"There are so many interested parties who have graciously made overtures to aid Ever Grande in our hour of need!" Roxanne chirped as she briefly introduced Ash to a handful of smiling Altru Incorporated representatives. "We're ever so grateful."

Seviper in the grass. I wish I was a Zangoose.

Solrock scoffed with Roxanne's voice.

Rustboro's always been a hotbed for the ambitious, the greedy, and anyone with minds made more of metal than nerve. I can barely get through a single stupid conversation without veiled demands, political innuendo, or stupid questions. I miss beating up overconfident young trainers! And now I don't just have to deal with Rustboro's supply of amoral morons, but the rest of the world's too.

Ash thought of the Stones and the Silph Co. president. Both companies had a fierce rivalry, but you'd never guess it by how Mr. Stone and the Silph Co. president met each other with smiles and laughter.

Another man, slim and red-haired with a dour expression and flanked by an equally taciturn Camerupt, joined them, though he wasn't quite so warmly welcomed.

Roxanne followed his gaze.

I wish I just had to deal with Devon and Silph's friendly competitions. They're both extensions of the League in all but name.

"Hello hello! Roxanne! It's so delightful to see you here. Are you enjoying your party?" The large man who'd previously entertained Mr. Stone and the others came practically skipping over with a wide smile upon his face. Ash was more interested in the enormous Camerupt which followed him and blew smoke rings from its mouth to amuse itself.

Roxanne laughed easily, far less tense now than she had been a moment before. Even Probopass' Mini-Noses waved to the Devon researcher and Camerupt, clearly well-acquainted.

Ash let his attention drift around the crowd for a moment, scanning for Flannery so he could see what new techniques she'd been working on, only to be jerked back by a large hand extended his way.

"Ash Ketchum, right? Oh, why am I even asking? Everyone in Hoenn knows your face by now! It's so nice to meet you!" The man enthusiastically shook Ash's hand, and offered a respectful glance to Nidoking before doing so. He only actually made contact when Nidoking begrudgingly nodded. "My name's Tabitha—don't ask, my parents are the only ones who could explain that story—and this is—"

Camerupt grumbled loudly and spewed thick smoke from its volcanic humps before Tabitha could continue. It was a fine specimen with well-developed musculature, and Ash could tell at a glance that it was a battler.

"—Lava Lad," Tabitha finished without breaking a sweat. Ash blinked and began to open his mouth, only to be cut off. "No, don't ask about that either. It's just what he chose, for some reason. And believe me!" Tabitha slapped the Camerupt's orange shoulder with a chuckle. "I threw a lot of alternatives his way. But Lava wouldn't hear of them—"

The Camerupt grumbled.

"Lava Lad wouldn't hear of them," Tabitha corrected. He motioned at Ash's own partners. "But I'm so sorry, I just never can seem to keep my tongue from wagging. I haven't even let you speak a word, have I? I apologize for my dreadful manners!"

Ash blinked. "Uh, it's fine," he said. "I'm Ash. Nice to meet you too. This is Nidoking, Dazed, and Torrent."

Tabitha beamed and made to respond, only for Roxanne to cut in. "As I mentioned earlier, Tabitha's one of Devon's best researchers. He's a superb geologist…and a fine trainer as well! Lava Lad packs a punch. Tabitha's kind enough to regularly volunteer his time at the Rustboro Trainer School."

Lava Lad forlornly watched a Beldum carry a plate of pastries by, licking his chops. "Remember your diet!" Tabitha cried, wagging his finger in Lava Lad's face. "We agreed that we were in this together, remember? You came up with the whole arrangement!"

Ash surreptitiously snagged one of the little cakes and shared a glance with the Camerupt.

'Later,' he mouthed.

Lava Lad's eyes squinted with happiness.

He half-heartedly kept up his side of the conversation for a while, but once Roxanne and Tabitha started diving into a seemingly never ending spiral of school topics, Ash knelt before Lava Lad and scratched beneath his shaggy chin. The Camerupt's eyes remained fastened on the slice of cake in Ash's hand and lit up when Ash managed to sneak it to him as Roxanne and Tabitha's conversation suddenly grew more intense.

The words grew urgent enough that Ash soon straightened and returned his focus to Roxanne.

"—last month, someone needs to do something!" Tabitha said fiercely, the beginnings of tears welling up in his eyes. "With all due respect, Roxanne, it's frustrating to see the League only holding its ground. You saw what they did to us—to Devon. We need action!"

"I know it's hard," Roxanne said soothingly as she reached out to pat Tabitha's arm in sympathy. Probopass shuffled awkwardly at her side, which Ash felt quite a bit of sympathy with. "We're doing everything we can, I promise. Things are calming down. It won't be long before everything's back to normal, Tabitha."

The man wilted. "Things will never be normal again. Chase, Iranda…"

Roxanne flinched. Ash suspected those were names of those who'd been injured (or worse, most likely) in the raid on Devon. Victims just like Anorith had been.

His fingers curled into fists. Dazed's yellow fingers rested upon his shoulder.

Breathe.

"I know," Roxanne said, leaning close to Tabitha. She clasped his hand between hers. "Justice will be done. I promise. But this isn't the place for it. Who knows who's listening?"

Tabitha's eyes squeezed shut.

"You're right," he said with a voice thick with feeling.

Lava Lad came up to lick at his trainer's hand with a broad, flat tongue. Tabitha's eyes cracked open and he frowned as he realized just how many eyes their conversation had attracted. "Yes, you're right. But the rebuilding efforts are going wonderfully! Have I updated you on my most recent projects? We've been able to hire a few extra hands that have come highly recommended from others in the industry…"

Ash was bored out of his skull and still waiting eagerly for Flannery as the conversation progressed and more and more participants gathered around them—aside from introductions and the odd question sent his way by starry-eyed trainers or curious adults, Ash spent most of the time engulfed in mental conversations with Dazed or allowing the faintest tendrils from Nidoking to brush against his mind.

Nidoking's telepathy was…well, crude was an extremely generous way to describe it. Telepathy was difficult and required enormous focus even from experienced psychics, but Nidoking had proved an eager student of Dazed. Just about all he could do was make contact or send the vaguest impressions over, but even that was more than most.

He felt almost as if in a dream. The gala was still a chore, albeit one that would be much better once Flannery and Fino arrived, and right now he just had to make the most of it and try to make a decent first impression. Be polite, be (relatively) friendly, and take up a few challenges.

Ash could do this, even if he couldn't wait to crash face first into a pillow so that he could wake up tomorrow and get some real training done.

The Sky Pillar awaited him.

And then breaths hitched. Roxanne went still beside him. The air grew charged.

Ash's eyes lit up.

"Is that really…?" One of the Devon researchers, one of Tabitha's teammates, whispered to Tabitha, who nodded stiffly. Tabitha had roped all sorts of folk into the circle, until it was ultimately just Ash, Roxanne, a few curious randoms, and all of Tabitha's associates.

"Over here!" Roxanne cried, waving madly to the incoming figure. The approaching woman strode through the crowd as if they were nothing, and they made way for her and the hulking Flygon that followed behind the newcomer like a Growlithe. "Master Morma!"

Morma? The gears of Ash's mind whirred.

He knew that name.

The Flygon sang into its trainer's ear and pointed a claw their way. She adjusted course without a moment's hesitation, and Ash finally had the chance to take her in. While her Flygon waved and clicked and smiled at everyone the duo passed, the trainer seemed laser focused upon Roxanne.

Dragon-types in their way bowed. Humans kept a cautious distance. Glacia's pale eyes locked upon the newcomers.

Fierce black eyes matched equally dark hair. A trio of ragged, ropy scars carved across her right cheek and lower lip, lending the woman the suggestion of a permanent snarl adorning her olive-toned face. The wounds were old and had been softened by time, but only amplified the sense that this trainer was a barely tamed beast.

To be honest, he was outright envious of her attire. She cut quite the figure in her tan tunic, covered with a double-breasted brick red overcoat tied together with a dark sash and marked with large black circles dotted to appear like great twin eyes.

Ash knew who traditionally wore this attire: the Draconids. This was the mark of their elite, and the garb looked infinitely more comfortable (and far cooler) than the boring black tuxedo that Ash had been forced into.

What struck Ash the most about the trainer's appearance was her sheer height. She would tower over Cynthia or Steven, standing perhaps even of a height with Lance (or even an inch or two taller, Ash suspected), and had the powerful build of a warrior.

While she wouldn't be matching Bruiser's physique any time soon, Ash had no doubt that she would have been right at home swinging a sword or an axe in the ancient days.

Their little circle went silent as she plowed into the center of their ring. Tabitha's earlier good cheer was entirely forgotten, replaced by stark silence instead. Even Lava Lad tried to look as small and inconspicuous as was possible for a two thousand pound Camerupt.

"Master Morma!" Roxanne hid whatever reservations she had behind a professional smile, although Ash could see the excitement in her eyes clear as day. That name itched at him again. Ash had read it before, he was certain. "I didn't realize you would be here."

"Heard there was a party," the Draconid woman made the same face as her Flygon. Ash supposed it could've resembled a smile (even if it reminded him more of a Rillaboom's bared teeth), but he was too busy eying the monstrous Flygon.

It clearly had a good temper, probably the reason it had accompanied its trainer to the gala, but even an idiot could see that the dragon had been trained to the highest of standards.

Here was a worthy challenge, there was no doubt.

"All the old man had to do was mention free food and Dewdrop here—" Morma slapped Flygon's chest hard enough that a human would've been sent into a hacking fit. It barely tickled the dragon. "—wouldn't let me skip."

Roxanne nodded along and opened her mouth to say something nice and diplomatic, but Morma was having none of it. She looked around the circle, noting faces, looking for familiarity.

She looked—down—at him.

Ash could see that her olive face was lined with slight burns and signs of age. Morma must have been in her forties or early fifties, though it was difficult to tell exactly.

He watched Morma with open curiosity, lured in by the aura of command she exuded.

She was strong. Perhaps Roxanne's mention of 'Master' Morma hadn't been a simple exaggeration or term of respect. Ashs' spirit blazed bright.

Maybe tonight could be fun after all!

"Kid."

"Old lady," Ash replied in kind, matching her tone.

Nidoking, Torrent, and Dazed measured up Dewdrop beside him. The Flygon was curious about them as well, but didn't seem in any rush to fight. Roxanne groaned, while Tabitha and the rest in the circle looked as though they were about to take a few steps back.

Luckily for Ash, he'd judged his opponent well. Morma barked out a harsh laugh that reminded Ash of the rumbling before an earthquake. At least she was amused instead of offended—Ash never would have heard the end of it if he was the one to make a diplomatic incident happen.

"Old lady! Hear that, Dewdrop?" Morma asked the Flygon, who made a lyrical sound that might have been a chuckle. She towered over Ash in a way that only Surge and Lance ever had before. "You're lucky we've mellowed out in our old age. A few years back and we'd have taken your head for that sass!"

Ash grinned as Nidoking snarled. "You could've tried."

"Ash!" Roxanne half-whined half-hissed. Her voice went lower. "Stop it! Glacia's going to kill you."

Morma's scars twisted as she smiled. "I'm not that mellow, kid. Keep it up and you'll have to prove your words aren't just empty boasting. But I know your kind. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She shook her head, snorted, and extended a hand. "Morma Odonike."

"Ash Ketchum." He shook her olive-toned hand firmly. Her skin was rough with calluses and puckered scars left by fang and claw. A great swathe of her forearm was red and wrinkled and twisted with a long-healed wound Ash was all too familiar with: a burn. It must have been third-degree.

Still, hearing it from the woman's own tongue finally jogged Ash's memory. His hand tightened around hers. "The Morma?"

"It would be pretty fucking arrogant of me to claim the name for myself if I wasn't. I'd kill anyone else who did after all," Morma said easily, ignoring the nervous titters from the onlookers. Then she brightened. "You're exactly right. I'm the Morma. The only one worth knowing. Remember my name!"

Well, Ash could safely say that wouldn't be an issue. He regarded both Morma and Dewdrop with newfound respect even as their hands came apart.

A living legend stood before them.

Drake Teach had been a wild man living freely in precipitous Meteor Falls once upon a time, but even then he'd been a Dragon Master. He was a man sought out by all sorts. Some were eager to test his skills, others hungry for his title. Some had even been lucky enough to become his students.

And when Drake sounded the war horn, his students answered.

"You fought at Lilycove," Ash said. It wasn't a question.

"And Mistralton, and Castelia, and a dozen other scraps." Morma chuckled. "But everyone only seems to remember that one. Little Morma was just happy to carve her name in the annals, but it was a good fight. You could see the smoke for miles!"

Morma finished with a raspy chuckle, earning a few uneasy laughs from their circle, but the others wilted as Dewdrop's long tail swayed dangerously. The Flygon's claws curled in and out as if fighting the urge to rend flesh and scrape bone.

The Dragon Master—and that's what Ash knew her for in truth now, even if he'd suspected it based upon the sheer presence she radiated—fearlessly rested a hand against Dewdrop's chest. "Peace. Those days are long gone," she said to Ash. "But yes, I fought at my teacher's side. One of six."

And Morma Odonike was the only one left.

Two died over Lilycove in defense of their master. Another fell above Castelia, though he struck down a Unovan Master with his dying breath to pave the way for the National League advance. As for the others, one simply vanished after the war, drifting into obscurity. Whether they were alive or dead was anyone's guess.

And the fifth student of the legendary Drake Teach had fled the civilized world nearly sixteen years ago. Most said she'd chased her demons to the Southern Continent, but that may well have just been a baseless rumor. She certainly hadn't returned to correct mistaken assumptions.

Morma remained.

Ash nodded to her. "Well, it's good to meet you. The history books don't do you justice."

They really didn't. It was one thing to read her daring exploits in a footnote or biographical blurb, but quite another to see the wild-eyed Dragon Master in the flesh.

"Hear that?" Morma elbowed Dewdrop, who snorted at her as his great wings came unfurled. She flexed a massive bicep. "We have an admirer! We've still got it."

Ash rolled his eyes as Dewdrop winked at them all. The universe just might implode if Mathéo the Wailord ever had the chance to meet Dewdrop. Then again, for all Ash knew they might be the best of friends.

Wasn't that a terrifying thought?

His eyes drifted to the nine Pokéballs on her belt and felt that familiar craving fill him. War drums beat in his ears. Flannery would be so jealous!

Ash's attention didn't go unnoticed. Morma bellowed out a laugh that made Dewdrop jump, his great wings fluttering out as if catching a gust. The dragon shrugged sheepishly at the looks sent its way.

"Don't you know it's rude to stare at someone's balls in public?" Morma waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Roxanne, who just sighed. "You battle-starved little maniacs make me feel a little objectified sometimes. I'm more than the dragons on my belt, you know. Can't anyone just see me for me?"

He thought back to all the stories and articles he'd seen written about Morma's illustrious past—bar fights galore, truly legendary acts of destruction during the war, and a certain recklessness and flair that somehow saw her through vicious battle after vicious battle.

Morma was a dragon.

"What else is there?"

"My good looks!" Morma's ravaged face twisted into a dangerous smile as she curled her bicep again. Hints of tattoos peeked out from behind her traditional Draconid attire. "My epic poetry. My charitable nature. I'm spending my evening here with all of you, aren't I?"

She wrote poetry? Ash regarded Morma doubtfully, but supposed everyone could have hidden depths. "It seems a little tame for you. What about if we found an arena and had a—"

"Ha! Nice try, kid. Warriors like us only want one thing, don't we?" Morma watched him for a moment. "And I'd love to beat some of that attitude out of you, but I don't think even the Stones could pay for that kind of property damage. I've seen your fights, kid. There's not a battlefield in Rustboro that could handle us."

Roxanne raised a weak hand. "I beg to differ."

Morma's eyes lit up as she turned to Roxanne, who already looked like she regretted speaking up. "So you'll lend us the Rustboro Gym, then?"

"Unfortunately, it's needed in one piece," Roxanne said. "But it would survive."

"Not bad," Morma said with another fearsome smile. A number of their circle—but not Tabitha—flinched every time her scars flexed and twisted with the motion of her muscles, although she didn't seem to notice. Perhaps she was used to the fear. "Maybe I'll swing by sometime. Or I could guest speak at your school. What do ya think of that?"

Roxanne sighed. "It would be an absolute honor and privilege to welcome a trainer of your caliber to speak to our students."

Hell no!

Ash hid a snort as Roxanne's affronted mental voice was fed to him by Solrock, who hovered innocently behind them.

"It'd be a shame to ruin all their hard work," Ash agreed, eying a few of the little Beldum waiters as it hovered around at the direction of a Metang.

Its bright red eye met his and Ash felt a little prodding at his mind, only for the near-mindless psychic to frenzy and collapse to the floor with a heavy thunk. He quickly looked away before anyone in the know could blame him.

He continued. "So what brings a Dragon Master to a place like this? It seems a little…tame for someone like you."

Most of the onlookers were content to watch the legendary Morma, famous recluse, and Ash Ketchum, a similarly famous recluse, exchange words. No doubt it would end up in some stupid tabloid later. Roxanne shifted restlessly at his side.

"Someone like me?" Morma threw back her head and laughed. "Hear that, Dewdrop! As if you know me from some dusty old book. Should I know everything about you from the headlines, little monster?" From most it would be an insult, but from Morma it sounded like a compliment. "Or are you telling me you feed your team Rare Candies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"

"Only on weekends," Ash deadpanned. Nidoking patted his muscled stomach in agreement. "You don't think I got this far on talent and hard work, do you?"

Morma bared her teeth in a smile as Dewdrop's eyes drifted over to a massive plate of cakes and pastries. The Flygon licked its chops. A few of the more gullible onlookers muttered between themselves, though Roxanne and Tabitha were quick to stamp that out.

"You have to be more careful," Roxanne hissed. She lowered her voice even further. "Some people aren't the brightest, you know. They'll latch onto anything juicy. Don't give them the bait."

Ash just grunted in response, but he was having too much fun to care. Let that be future Ash's problem…not that he expected future Ash to pay much heed to stupid gossip either. Something must have gone terribly wrong if he did.

"Maybe we'll find time for a spar someday," Morma said, plainly warming to the idea. "Assuming my dragons don't rip your head off."

"Dragons are nothing new to me," Ash dismissed. Torrent puffed up proudly besides him. "Don't worry, our heads will be safe. We'll be ready."

Morma's eyes narrowed as her scarred visage twisted again. "Oh, that's right. What else should I have expected from the protege of Champion Lance the Dragon Master." She said it with an undercurrent of something. "Or were the parasites having a fever dream about that as well?"

Ash just shrugged. There were too many suddenly interested faces to speak much on that, and he had no doubt that someone like Morma knew exactly what relation he had to Lance. Perhaps in a more private setting.

"Forget it," Morma said, waving it off. Dewdrop had finally managed to acquire a monstrously huge heap of chocolate cake, which the dragon easily snapped up in one enormous bite. The Dragon Master just rolled her eyes. "And forget Dewdrop as well. Thirty-seven years old and he still hasn't learned table manners!"

Dewdrop stuck his wide tongue out at Morma and spread his wings wide, nearly toppling a few terrified onlookers. He waved at them apologetically, though his swaying tail nearly tripped up a squealing woman in a long black ballroom gown.

Thirty-seven years old! Ash couldn't help but marvel at that number. It seemed ancient to him, even if he logically knew that Dewdrop was still just entering adulthood for a Flygon. How old was the Guide who had led him to Regirock's tomb?

More to the point, how old was Morma? She appeared fairly young, no doubt aided by diligent exercise that helped preserve her compared to someone more sedentary like Professor Oak, but she'd fought in the Last War three decades ago. This Dragon Master had carved out her path of glory just as her ancestors once did in their myriad quests and conflicts.

Had she really been only a teenager when she took to the battlefield?

"Believe me, I've seen worse," Ash said, shaking those thoughts off as he recalled Jon attacking their dinners by the Lake of Rage with ferocity resembling Infernus'. Those rice balls hadn't stood a chance.

"Surprising." Morma snorted as she jabbed an elbow into Dewdrop's leathery gut. He grunted. "But I suppose Hoenn's a big place. There's all sorts of space for brutes who never learned the right fork to use at dinners like this." She flicked her hand, as thought to dismiss all the extravagance. "Poor Queen Glacia came all the way from Sinnoh to bring us barbarians some culture and we just never figured it out."

"That's a shame," Ash agreed. "Hoenn is big. Lots to see. Lots to explore."

"Wow, such wise words." Morma rolled her eyes. "I've lived here most of my life and still find surprises. A tourist like you can't have done more than scratched the surface."

"I've been doing a bit of sightseeing," Ash defended. He rested a hand against Nidoking's heavy shoulder. "But you're right, there's so much I haven't gotten to explore yet. Forina was incredible, but I'd love to see more of Meteor Falls. More of the archipelago—and the Sky Pillar soon."

Morma's eyes widened, but she said nothing of the Pillar. Ash was a little disappointed, especially given the gasps from others in the circle. Even Roxanne looked a little stunned. "Meteor Falls, huh? My people know those mountains well. There's beauty there, and plenty of fights. They'd get a kick out of you."

Ash's eyes lit up at the mention of the Draconids. "I was hoping I'd find some ruins to check out! I've discovered a few in Forina, and there are plenty of sites in the archipelago I've visited. Helo's Tower!" Ash recalled the crumbling ruin above Sudmauna. "And plenty others too, mostly from the reign of Diarch Lyconia. She sure liked building fortresses. Most of the other Draconids I've read about just burn them down."

Morma eyed Ash speculatively, as did her dusty-winged Flygon. It clicked into the Master's ear. "No shit! You know us old has-beens better than most."

"History's a passion of mine," Ash said. "And I've had a hard time discovering any history in Hoenn that doesn't have a Draconid or two forcing their way in."

The Dragon Master smirked. "It's a talent of ours. Can't have any of our competition stealing the glory! Let our names live forever in our deeds. No ripple in history is complete without a Draconid there to take credit for it."

Quite literally. Without the Draconids who carved out the hearts of Groudon and Kyogre and sequestered them away on Mt. Pyre to be besieged by the mountain's spirit, there might have been no Hoenn left at all. And it was impossible to forget their final treasure which lay buried beneath the spires of Forina…

"But forget all that shit!" Morma waved her hand wildly, nearly slapping a waiter Beldum askew. "We aren't what we were, even if a bunch of idiots don't realize that. We were a horde of dragon riders slaughtering ourselves in a thousand quests for glory—you didn't see too many in Hoenn complaining when we killed each other, and no one turned the rest of us away when we turned up to their cities begging for shelter."

Ash shrugged. "Well, at the very least Hoenn's future is still forged by dragonfire. Even if the Draconids aren't the ones spewing it everywhere."

"True enough," Morma said. Her eyes lit up at the mention of her old master. The circle leaned in close as she lost herself in memories. "Drake the Dragon Master, the Dragon-Made-Man. Hell, my ancestors would've loved him! I could feel my blood boiling above Lilycove as they all roared his name."

"I thought Drake was a Draconid for the longest time," Ash admitted. "He has the legend of one."

The Master laughed loudly, drawing more attention. Roxanne watched her nervously, much like the average sane individual would eye Infernus. "Oh, he'd be spitting mad if he heard that! No, Drake the Dragon Master needed no name, no clan, no legacy. Not like his greatest student," Morma said, her face twisting in distaste. "He was more than enough. All a bloodline would have done is diluted him."

"I want to meet him. Battle him, " Ash said longingly. Nidoking grumbled in agreement, eager for the challenge. "He's a legend—Ever Grande's First Champion, the Dragon Master, and a hundred other titles. It's like he has the whole world in his hand. And I want to take it from him."

"Let that be a lesson to you then, little Master," Morma said lowly. "It's the nature of a dragon to take. And Drake? He took it all."

Morma glanced about, then leaned in close. Flygon shrouded them in its great wings, though Nidoking detected no hint of a threat.

"You're an inquisitive one, aren't you?" she said. "The Sky Pillar…most wouldn't dare. And to announce it to the whole world! Some would consider that sacrilege, you know. Or stupid."

"I just want to know," Ash said. Something ravenous filled him. "I want to take its secrets for myself. I need to understand."

"You do, don't you?" Morma muttered, looking at Ash with open fascination. "I've never set foot on the wind-blasted grounds, you know. Even I have never dared to. But you… before you go dragging your titanium balls out to the archipelago, go here." She wrote a few notes onto a napkin she snagged from a Beldum. "You'll appreciate the Pillar more."

He took the scrap curiously, then skimmed over the etchings. Coordinates. Ash was an old hand at navigating Hoen nowadays. It was simple enough to pick out the approximate location that Morma was sending him to: Meteor Falls.

"Ash!" A familiar voice cried.

Ash stowed the paper away in his pockets, nodding thankfully to Morma, and turned with a grin to face Flannery. She rocketed towards him and socked him in the shoulder JUST hard enough to hurt a little, though he doubted that was her intention.

It was a testament to Nidoking's trust in her that the hulking poison-type only growled a light warning.

"Sorry, big guy," Flannery apologized. She made a grand gesture at the fancy ballroom. "We're a little late! Had to stop by and convince a herd of Numel to turn away from a power plant. You know how it goes. Oh, I like the suit! I like you better in your normal gear, but this isn't a bad look for you. Did Glacia stuff you into it?"

She remained in her casual training outfit. Fino had dressed up in a nice traditional Hoennic suit, but Flannery was a little dusty and covered in pale ash, as though she'd just come straight from battle.

"You got it," Ash said lowly enough that the circle couldn't hear. Most were a little starstruck by Flannery's sudden appearance. She might not have been the strongest Gym Leader in Hoenn (yet) but she was wildly popular. No surprise there. "You won't believe how long it took to get this stupid tie right."

"Oh! Grandpa just has Starlight-Radiance-of-Chosen-Path do his. He hates them!" Flannery chirped.

Ash's eye twitched.

Her eyes lit up as she caught sight of Roxanne. "Roxie! I didn't know you'd been sucked into this crazy guy's schemes. Have you gotten to battle him yet? You should see Bruiser, Ash's Machamp…he's wild! Oh, but you definitely saw him send Océane skipping like a rock. Wasn't it awesome?"

Crazy? Ash almost made to protest, but even Nidoking hadn't taken offense to the term.

Maybe she was onto something. Most people didn't have as many voices in their head as Ash did.

"We haven't had the pleasure," Roxanne said. "Perhaps one day. Although it seems I'll have to wait in line."

Flannery slapped Ash on the back hard enough to hurt, then her eyes set upon Morma (who had been waiting surprisingly patiently) and went wide. A strange sound somewhere between a squeal, a groan, and a shuddering sigh burst from Flannery's lips. It probably wasn't too different from Ash's reaction.

Piper the Torkoal edged away from her, looking rather disturbed at her trainer's excitement. Nidoking just shared a commiserating glance with the fire-type, although he spared much more suspicion for battle-scarred Plinia at Fino's side as the Fire Master approached with all his normal grace..

Speaking of Fino…

"Morma! It's been too long," Fino said with his usual cheer. Rather than a handshake or wave, he and the Dragon Master embraced like old friends. Both had been close friends of Drake, so it was no surprise to Ash that their paths had crossed before. "Still terrorizing any hopefuls that track you down? And how was your trip to the Southern Continent? I still haven't managed to scratch that one off my list."

"Of course!" Morma seemed more relaxed with a peer around. Ash wondered how long it had been since she'd encountered another Master. "And it's as fantastically awful as ever. Great exploration, but it's hard as shit to make headway. Wild Pokémon harass you every five seconds the moment you leave Orre. They leave you alone once they realize you can kick their ass seven different ways, but it's annoying as all hell. Caught a new friend while I was there, though."

"Orre?" Ash's eyebrows raised. He wasn't too interested in cutting off discussion between old friends, but he couldn't resist here.

Morma's wild eyes set upon him.

He elaborated. "I have a friend there, Michael. If you're looking for a fight, I'm sure he could use a few extra hands…or claws, as it were."

"The Champion of Orre? You little monsters really do all know each other!" Morma sounded delighted by the prospect, then snorted alongside Dewdrop. "But forget it! Gangs are so boring! Predictable and weak. I'm sure Michael Braeden could find some fun for me, but if I wanted to bully a bunch of useless louts I'd just sweep the archipelago."

Morma's eyes burned as she glanced Fino up and down. "Speaking of fun…" She grinned at Fino, who rolled his eyes. "Up for a spar, old timer? Maybe we can steal some of the attention from the little upstart. What do you say?"

Their crowd shifted uncomfortably, the tension ratcheting up a notch.

Dewdrop reached out to pat Ash's head apologetically, but Torrent's warning snort dissuaded the Flygon. Instead it just waved and chirped lyrically at him.

Flannery pouted, no doubt wishing Morma was referring to her with that title, but Fino smiled.

"If you insist!" Fino chuckled. "It's been a few months since we had a good workout." His eyes crinkled as they strayed to Ash.

Oh, what he'd give to challenge Fino again! But he didn't want to steal away Morma's fun.

"We've been working on a few tricks," Fino continued. "It would be a pleasure to test them on you, if you would be so kind. I'm afraid we've grown a little complacent in our old age. It's been hard work to hone our edge anew."

Morma's grin grew more dangerous. Dewdrop stuck its tongue out at the old Fire Master. "I'm just a test now, am I? Your memory must've faded in your old age, you codger. Let's revisit the glory days for a bit!"

They traded japes and jabs as they vanished towards one of the great arenas, heedless of the fascinated onlookers. Plenty trailed after them, so eager to see a battle between proper Masters that the gala actually seemed a little empty with their absence, but Morma sent Ash a pointed look before she left, her tan Draconid cloak fluttering behind her.

"Morma Odonike! Isn't she magnificent?" Flannery sighed. "I can't wait to beat her face in someday! Do you think she'll cry? I hope she cries!"

"Nah, but I bet Claire would if you beat her. But same here," Ash said. He flicked Flannery on her forearm. No doubt Glacia would have sent him a disapproving glare if she'd spotted it, but he couldn't care right now. "You'll have to beat me first, though."

Flannery had never looked happier, though Piper puffed smoke at the proclamation. "Oh, you're old news. Just a stepping stone. Once you kick your Rare Candy habit, Piper and I are going to stomp you into the ground!"

Roxanne groaned loudly as the whispers redoubled. Tabitha chuckled, amused.

Ash just smiled.

"And then we'll beat Grandpa—er, Master Fino, and then it's Master Morma, then the Elite Four!" Flannery roared, voice vibrant with strength. Ash really needed to ensure Flannery spent more time with Lance. He would be a perfect mentor for her, and it was all too easy to see Flannery as a Champion of Moltres with a fiery Feather upon her wrist, even if Ash wouldn't wish such a burden upon anyone.

Still, he could ensure that Flannery was never devoured by the golden fire. And she burned with such passion already. A little more would ensure that the world itself shaped before her, its rough edges seared away by her will.

Then again, with her nature what need did she have of Fire? Flannery was more than enough already.

"And then Champion Wallace, right?"

Flannery pointed at him. "You got it! No way I'll settle. It's all or nothing, baby!"

Ash and Nidoking nodded as one, satisfied. "Good."

"But enough of that!" Flannery peered at all the different members of their circle, no doubt committing their faces to memory. She had a much better head for people than Ash had. "Introduce me to our new friends, Ash! And Roxie, you'd better let me know when he messes up!"

Ugh, she knew him too well. Ash could remember details, but he wasn't the best with names. He took a glance at all the smiling strangers and spent a moment appreciating that Dazed was here to help him.

Of course. It's our pleasure to compensate for your deficiencies, just as you balance ours.

Nidoking sent him a dizzying rush of images, half-recollected noises, and the equivalent of psychic static that left his head aching. But it was for a good cause.

Ash set his sight upon a more familiar face. "Uh, well, this is Tabitha…"

XX

Mt. Chimney might have been the center of western Hoenn, but the foothills which sprawled out from it like rays from the sun had claimed their own glory. Jagged mountains rose like craggy vertebrae all around it, separating out into a whole field of spine-like ruptures in the earth that were home to dozens of tiny, isolated villages and countless pokémon.

There were no great settlements here, but those which had survived recorded their deeds in blood and dragonfire.

Much of the northwestern portion of these wild mountains were known as Meteor Falls. The primary feature that held the name was the massive subterranean complex southwest of Fallarbor (which had originated as a trading town reliant on the goods and trophies of the mountain-dwelling Draconids) but a vast area was recognized as its territory.

A few centuries ago, this had been one of the seats of power in Hoenn. The Draconids had ruled with power much like the Wataru once possessed. But where the Wataru were well-integrated into the existing League structure—they often kept the seat warm, rarely skipping more than a few generations despite the best efforts of several unrelated Champions—the Draconids had played a major part in maintaining the disorder of Hoenn.

The Draconids had already been an established faction before the Volumo Empire fell, but in the chaos and uncertainty of the following years, they thrived. While the Draconids had never quite been tamed, they managed to maintain their independence despite the whole of Hoenn standing ready to quash them should they slip their fraying leash.

With that organization shattered, and with no force capable of uniting the region against them, the Draconids dominated Hoenn's political and military scene for much of the following millennium. It was rare that they outright ruled any of the various city-states, but tribute flowed steadily into their coffers, and their warriors were feared beyond measure.

As Morma had declared, they were an austere people who placed enormous emphasis on the achievements of the individual. Whereas the Wataru were content to glorify the clan above all else and ensure that its legacy grew like an ancient sequoia, the Draconids cared little for family. All that mattered was what an individual might achieve, what magnificent heights the lone branch could reach.

And it had destroyed them.

The Draconids had been a strong, insular people while the Volumo Empire reigned, but once they'd assumed supremacy, they became their only rivals. One by one, glorious duels and wars of supremacy whittled their numbers down into insignificance, until even the paltry forces of the earthbound neighbors they had oppressed for so long were sufficient to humble those who remained.

Those victorious Draconid ancestors bequeathed a legacy of glorious deeds and lives of harsh consequences to their descendents. Ash wondered how many were like Morma, to thrive under such circumstances.

He doubted it was many.

Their skies were empty now, save for Ash and Plume.

A few Skarmory flew about in search of prey or competition, but all shied away from the brilliant blur that was the Pidgeot. She sang as she flew, filling the air with notes of the North Wind and Ice and whatever other Concept she meditated upon, and all pokémon knew those primordial sounds in their bones.

None wanted to test them. It was almost disappointing.

Ash reflected on boredom he'd felt tested by for a while now. The stronger they grew, the fewer opponents they faced. Halfway through their Kanto journey, every Skarmory in these skies would have charged them for infringing upon their territory, sharpening their skills and forcing them to grow.

Nowadays, they had to actively hunt for worthy opponents. Ash loved working with newer trainers and pointing them in the right direction, but there was a roiling discontent within him, reflecting the disappointment he'd felt lingering ever since the gala, since meeting the eyes of a new Master, and having to turn away from the clash that called to them both.

He wanted to battle, damnit!

More importantly, he wanted to do so without diverging off to Ever Grande City. It was no wonder the League maintained a relative monopoly on Masters, Ash thought. How many who reached that fabled rank would be willing to live a life without struggle? He'd been without a proper opponent for a few weeks at best, and he was already spoiling for a fight.

Ash gritted his teeth and tapped Plume's flank. "There!"

He urged Plume towards one of the lone cities remaining in the desolate mountain range. Most of the Draconids had fled long ago, integrated into the city-states, which had been all too grateful to receive their old foes in search of an edge against their competitors, but tiny settlements persisted.

Morma had directed them to the greatest still remaining. Ash's eyes widened with delight as two Salamence circled the skies above, snarling at Plume from thousands of feet away, but Ash had faced Michael's Salamence long ago. A few months would mark an entire year since the Indigo Conference.

He had grown enormously in that time, barely recognizable from the awkward boy with too much strength who had rattled the world.

Plume would tear those Salamence from the sky. They were mighty, but she was so much more than they could ever imagine. While no Salamence was an opponent to regard lightly, Ash could say with confidence that Michael's far outshone them. It was one thing to be gifted with great natural power. It was quite another to sharpen it to the deadliest of blades.

The Champion of Orre really was a superb trainer, and Ash dreamt for a moment of flying down to his homeland to challenge him amongst the dunes.

Not yet.

The Salamence didn't dare challenge her. Instead, those two Salamence—both with riders bearing the tan cloaks of the Draconids—guided them down to the central plaza of the city. A dozen people bustled, each accompanied by a Swablu, Shelgon, Altaria, or Vibrava.

Each eyed Plume (and Ash by association) with awe.

"That's no normal Pidgeot," one of them said as they approached. He was accompanied by his own great Salamence, which regarded Plume with the eyes of prey. Ash felt a flush of pride for his friend. "The old legends speak of a form beyond an ordinary Pidgeot. Could it be…?"

"Magnificent, isn't she?" Ash asked as Plume butted her great beak against his hand, preening all the while. She eyed both nervous-looking Salamence hungrily, as if wondering how they would taste. Both riders were in their late teens or early twenties and each shifted nervously.

"Uh, totally. You…you're Ash Ketchum, aren't you?"

"With Plume," Ash added. Part of Ash wanted to dance around the issue, but he reminded exactly how direct Morma was. If that quality was a product of her culture, then it only made sense to get to the point. "I was sent this way by one of your people, Morma Odonike. I'm going to the Sky Pillar."

Their eyes bugged out.

"Are you crazy?" One of the men cried. "You must be absolutely drunk or stupid—"

Plume's beak snapped. Both Salamence rushed forward, though they didn't attack without the commands of their trainers. The other Draconid, a young man with black hair, stepped closer to Ash and raised his hands diplomatically.

"There's no law against visiting, but no one can enter without the proper seals. Only the Ever Grande Champion holds them," the black-haired man said with utmost certainty. "We can't offer you admission, but the Honored Matriarch may offer you words of wisdom on your quest."

"I'll hear them," Ash said, wondering just how the Ever Grande League ended up with the keys to the Sky Pillar. It wasn't a surprise, but he'd still love to know the story behind it. The Ever Grande League seemed to have hoarded everything they could find that was a little more than natural.

Plume nipped at his hat, which was dangerously close to shattering beneath the strain. She'd more than left her mark on the accessory. "Where can I find her?"

"Drageras Eleni rests inside the town hall."

One of the Draconids pointed him towards a squat, square structure which laid buried within the rest of the stone-carved city. It was humble, but its flat surfaces and ramparts would enable defenses against dragonfire. The Draconids' greatest foes had been their own blood.

"You're lucky it's winter," the man said. "Else you'd have another trip ahead of you. She departs for the caverns in the spring."

"I'll take it," Ash said as he unsaddled Plume. She waved a wing at him as he returned her and released Dazed (who would no doubt enjoy the historical experience) and Lairon (who was just happy to see people) in her place. "Thanks for the help."

They both nodded at him, each clearly uneasy with the powerful trainer in their midst. He wondered what sort of reaction they would have had to Fino or Morma, let alone a Rogue Master like Durand.

Ash's mind drifted to the words written in the journal of the Drakes gifted to him by Elder Yari.

Our convergent cousins are the Draconids, and we have embraced one another. Yet we are not blind to their flaws, just as they are no doubt well-aware of ours. The Draconids are a fearsome folk, yet entirely short-sighted.

Their Salamence carry them far, yet they lack the speed and stamina of our beloved Dragonite. We host them as honored guests, fellow dragon-tamers, yet they are reckless in our halls and challenge all they meet without fear or regard. The Draconids hunger for conflict, and there is little to be found in Blackthorn after centuries of our clan's rule. Our ancestors quelled all semblances of disorder ages ago, and the Draconids are starved in our midst.

I hesitate to imagine what a disastrous state their unfortunate homeland must find itself lost in, with such battle-hungry warriors roaming wild and free, carried by the crimson wings of their Salamence as far as their lusts will urge them…

The Drakes offered Ash all sorts of wisdom in those dusty old pages, and they rang true yet again as he stepped into the town hall.

It had been more than a century since the Draconids contested one another, yet scorch marks, claw-gouges, and various relics of battle were plain as day on their old structures and retained as a badge of honor. Most cities had sought to wait them out as technology offered more and more protection, but it was clear that the Draconids had turned against each other when outside foes were unavailable.

Wounds left by claw, fang, and teal fire scarred the hall. Most civilizations would have repaired them, but the Draconids retained all they could. Ash spotted some areas where the old damage had been sculpted away, but only in places where it might have lessened the integrity of the building.

It was no wonder they'd gone practically extinct. A civilization could withstand any number of external threats, but internal division would send that house of cards tumbling to the earth.

Sunlight lit the interior through the slotted windows, but the hour was late and winter's darkness had fallen upon Hoenn.

"Do I hear a visitor?" An ancient voice wheezed from deep within the darkened depths. "You're so rare nowadays, and I don't detect the scent of a dragon. Most unusual! Welcome to Meteor Village! I am Zenia Kleoptera, the elder of our people."

"I have a Kingdra if that would make you more comfortable," Ash offered as he stepped into the plain building. "If not, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Morma Odonike sent me."

It was little more than a simple atrium designed to introduce visitors to the land they'd entered, and that was something Ash could respect. Why did people constantly overcomplicate things?

Dazed's eyes were luminous in the shadowed interiors of the hall, but she didn't seem impressed. She simply polished her crystal pendulum as Lairon shot forward to greet the wizened master of the town hall with hugs, headbutts, and other dangerous greetings.

"Aren't you the sweet one?" Zenia mused, protected from the worst of Lairon's happiness by a truly enormous Salamence and a fluffy Altaria that each watched over her. "My friends scare away most of my visitors. They've only grown stronger in their old age"

The Salamence amusedly batted Lairon away with lazy swipes.

Ash snorted. Both the Altaria and Salamence were formidable, but neither approached Master-level.

He thought of Lance and Steven's entire teams. Bruiser would twist Zenia's dragons up like a pretzel, although they were undoubtedly formidable fighters. While they didn't carry the air of one who had scraped the limits of their potential, both Salamence and Altaria were worn. Battle-scarred. Alert.

"Believe me, he's seen worse," Ash said. "We've spent more than our fair share of time with dragons. They aren't new to us."

He could thank Lance for that!

Zenia was hunched with age, but had clearly been quite tall in her youth. The years might have worn her down, but a shadow of her earlier strength still remained.

"And neither are lozenges…" the old woman muttered upon hearing Ash's hoarse voice. "Who are you? It's been a long time since that miscreant Morma sent anyone our way. One would think she'd forgotten her old people!"

"Ash Ketchum, Dazed, and Lairon. It's nice to meet you."

The old woman's ancient eyes lit up. "Ash Ketchum…You're the National League's newest freak!"

"Well, I don't know if I'd—"

"They like to spawn your kind every decade or so," Zenia said, uncaring of his interruption. "The last generation was a little overstuffed, you know. Little Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, and Steven Stone." She paused ever so slightly, sighing wistfully at the last name. "All of them in one generation? What a bunch of overachievers! It'll be hard to beat that precedent."

"You knew them?" Ash leaned forward with blatant interest.

Dazed shuffled behind him, tethered to him by their mental connection. Still, despite the old Draconid's formidable nature, Ash was certain that Agatha would've eaten her alive. Or become best friends with her. One of the two.

The Draconid couldn't muster as much disdain in her whole body as Agatha could in her little finger.

"I knew the Dragon-Made-Man before he claimed his first mountain! What a little brat he was! It's no wonder that he introduced his silver-tongued apprentice to me."

"Silver-tongued?" Ash wrinkled his nose. ""Wait…Lance? Do I even want to know?"

"It's just not right for a young man to flirt with a woman forty years his elder, even jokingly! Just because I beat him…" The old Draconid shook her head ruefully. "He was always one to grow too familiar too fast. At least little Glacia put him in his place shortly after. Perhaps he just had something to prove."

Ash groaned. He'd heard enough stories of young Lance to piece together a fairly accurate picture. "He would've just taken it as a challenge."

"And he did, although I made sure those jokes never went too far," the old woman said, patting her snapping Salamence lovingly. The royal blue dragon puffed out a cloud of smoke as Lairon sniffed its forearm, but it was kind enough to avoid lashing out. "Too bad for him his teacher was less than amused."

Zenia chuckled at some half-forgotten memory, then shook her head ruefully. "My lovely granddaughter was quite taken with him, even if she was just a little girl back then. Little Lance was full of conviction. Ambition. Fire. A good example for her to follow."

"Too bad she wasn't an ice specialist," Ash said, thinking back to the stories he'd heard from Steven of Lance's early crush on Glacia. Not to mention the teasing hints that Karen threw out about him and Lorelei that always left Lance a little deflated. "That might've balanced the scales a little."

"Alas, she only ever pursued dragons," the old woman sighed. "What a shame, eh? And there was me hoping that I'd be a great-grandmother one day, but the odds aren't looking too good. But she's a good girl. Driven, too! Her forefathers would be proud."

Ash nodded along as Zenia prattled on for a bit longer, but eventually she seemed to realize just how far she'd gone off course. "Forgive me. I could wax about my little granddaughter for hours—perhaps you'll understand one day. But what can I interest you in? I doubt you came to swap stories about your teacher."

Zenia was remarkably well-informed, but Ash supposed that Drake might still sweep by his old stomping grounds now and then. It was hardly a secret, after all.

"Lance has enough stories for a century," Ash said. He privately hoped that Lance never needed to add any legends to his arsenal. The Indigo Champion had done enough, even if Ash knew that Lance wouldn't hesitate to fling himself into the next impossible fight. "But I guess I actually am here to swap stories."

The Draconid smiled indulgently. "Oh, and what stories are you looking for? I doubt you came here to hear about my sweet granddaughter."

"Unfortunately not," Ash said. "But I am interested in your people. The Sky Pillar, specifically."

Zenia blinked. "The Sky Pillar…?"

"We want to visit," Ash jerked his head toward Dazed and Lairon (who was currently belly up letting Zenia's Salamence scratch the underside of his carapace). "I mentioned it to Morma last night, then she pointed us to your village."

"And so she did. How inconsiderate of her." Zenia sighed. Altaria peered at Ash and Dazed with renewed interest, while Salamence seemed content to play with Lairon. "You know what the Sky Pillar is, yes?"

"The seat of Draconid power and home of the Diarchy," Ash said instantly. "There are few records of its creation, but it's estimated to have been constructed by an ancient group of Draconids architects roughly one thousand years ago in the wake of the Volumo Empire's collapse, after—"

"Goodness, first Cynthia and now you! I didn't know the League was in the habit of spawning little bookworms. I don't even know if young Drake knew how to read!" Zenia chuckled. "But I'm hardly one to talk. I was the Draconid Lorekeeper once, you know. My husband used to call me his bookwyrm."

Ash fought back a groan. "Have you ever met Blaine?"

"The Blaze?" Zenia's thin white eyebrows rose. "I've never had the misfortune. Why?"

"No reason."

The woman let it pass. "I was expecting you to say something along the lines of 'It's a big tower' or 'I've seen it in the archipelago', not vomit up a textbook."

"Well, it is a big tower, and I have seen it in the archipelago. There, I said it. Does that help?"

It is very tall.

Dazed added helpfully.

Zenia rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes it is. The Sky Pillar is everything you say: a sacred site buried in history where the Diarchy centralized for centuries, always the seat of the prime and the envy of the lesser. Our history is wrapped up in that tower, even if the heart of our people will always rest in Meteor Falls. We were born in these mountains. It seems that we will die here as well."

She took a deep, rattling breath.

"But the Pillar is more than that. More than you can know. It's sealed. Only the Ever Grande Champion can enter it nowadays. We've lost that privilege."

"That's fine," Ash said, even if he was privately disappointed. He hadn't truly expected to enter the ancient structure, but he'd held a grain of hope. "I just want to visit and pay my respects. I've seen the Origin Festival—I've seen the Sudmaunans pay their tribute to the Earth and Sea. But I haven't experienced the one who held them in their tracks."

Zenia made a quick triangle with her fingers and held it aloft to the sky. "Lord Rayquaza hasn't blessed the Sky Pillar with its presence in a long, long time. You won't find the Apterous Dragon there, and I pray you never will."

"I won't," Ash admitted. After the stray thought of Groudon had nearly destroyed him, he was grateful for that fact. "But I've flown past the tower. The Sky's wrapped around it like a blanket. And that will be enough for us."

The old woman stared at Ash as if he was from another planet. Something in her dark eyes flashed, and Ash felt paper-thin hands brush against his thoughts…no, deeper than that. He felt an intent behind it to open his spirit like a book and skim the pages, but the moment those nonexistent fingers brushed him, Zenia recoiled.

Salamence shot up, instantly alert, and laid its eyes upon Ash and Dazed as if jolted by one of Oz's attacks. Lairon poised to attack, but Ash shook his head.

"Storm-Tamer," Zenia wheezed as Altaria hopped into her lap and rested its blue head against her cheek. One of the Draconid's thin hands came up to cling to Altaria's fluffy wings. "Emerald Serpent above, what are you? The League doesn't have more like you running around, does it?"

"I hope not."

"You know the nature of the place, then? It's where the Sky last smote the Earth and Sea, and where they still flee the Lord Rayquaza to this day. Where a covenant was founded and forged. My ancestors dared to dwell within it, but it's truly not a place for mere mortals to visit."

"We'll make do," Ash said. "But thank you for the warning. What should we expect? It can't be too bad if humans lived there, right?"

Zenia inclined her head and stroked Salamence's throat to calm it. Altaria just hummed along.

"Fierce gales at first," she said. "But an indomitable stillness as you set foot upon its shores. The weight of the world. You can't even imagine it! The Sky Pillar is not hostile in the way you might imagine, but it reigns over the skies, the sea, and the earth below—the Diarchs might have fancied themselves rulers in the seat of their power, but they were only ever transitory vagrants."

Dazed's eyes flashed.

We have ascended Mt. Pyre. We have seen the Font of Creation. We are ready.

Altaria whipped its head around to stare at them again even as Zenia sighed. "You've just been plumbing this land for all my people's secrets, haven't you? What's one more, then. You don't need my permission to visit the Sky Pillar, you know. You could've just flown right there and no one would have stopped you."

"You're right," Ash said with a nod. "But I'm not just going as a tourist. I want to learn. I want to understand."

And that resonance was there once more, that flash of something that touched a part of Ash buried deep.

Zenia looked at him unblinkingly.

"And you will!" she decided after a long moment, then gestured to a nearby bench that was half-melted by some old battle. Ash plopped down and smiled as Lairon skated over with his levitation to rest by his feet. Apparently his friendship with Salamence had come to a close after the moment of tension earlier.

"Come and rest for a little while. There's much I can tell you and even more that I can't. Even a retired Lorekeeper has her responsibilities. You'll have to discover much on your own. The walls of the Sky Pillar carry the legacy of our people, and I'm certain they'll educate you better than I could ever hope to."

"I'll look over them all."

Zenia smiled crookedly. "Oh, you might regret that decision in a few days. But I'll give you a little bit of time to stew in your regret. What do you know of the aftermath of Volumo's fall…?"

Ash made to answer, then laughed as Dazed beat him to it.

Never let it be said that Ash Ketchum backed down from competition!

XX

The Sky Pillar rose like the spear of a titan embedded within the flesh of earth and sea.

It had been constructed centuries ago, yet the Sky Pillar still commanded respect as the tallest man-made structure in the world. Modern skyscrapers in the great cities like Saffron, Goldenrod, and Lilycove tended to be at least one hundred meters in height, with the largest standing less than a kilometer.

The Sky Pillar dwarfed them, surpassing three kilometers from the base. It was so impossibly vast that it truly lived up to its name, often stretching high above many of the clouds gracing the archipelago's blue sky. It had left engineers and architects from all over the world scratching their heads for ages.

While no one had lived here in over a century, it remained one of Hoenn's greatest symbols.

Such a structure wasn't just big, it was impossibly big, especially given the level of technology during the time of its construction. The Sky Pillar should have crumbled beneath its own weight long before its final stone had been set, yet it had weathered years upon years of sea salt, harsh winds, and Hoenn's frequent seismic activity.

It had survived wars of conquest and succession, violent rebellion, and various bloody coups in its sandstone halls. Even the Unovan invasion hadn't left a mark upon the Pillar's ancient walls.

Most wondered why the harsh commanders of the Unovan fleet hadn't sent it toppling to the ground. Such a vicious attack might have galvanized the rebellious city-states of Hoenn, but it would have shattered their spirits all the same.

Ash suspected they simply couldn't.

The Sky Pillar wasn't just big. It was stupidly big.

Countless scientists had sought permission to study it more closely to determine what sort of advanced techniques the Draconids had used in its construction, but the Ever Grande League always refused, regularly hiding behind excuses of the Sky Pillar remaining both a sacred and historical site; it had been stewarded by the Draconids for almost a thousand years, after all, and remained the focal point of their civilization the entire time.

It could be seen across vast stretches of the archipelago, a constant reminder of its architects' mighty presence and proud history. The earth would shake, the waves would crash, and the Sky Pillar stood indomitable no matter how many seasons turned.

Even the lesser elements fled before its grandeur. Ash's breath hitched as they grew nearer and nearer and the hair-thin tower grew a little more defined. But that wasn't what truly caught his attention—no, not even a little.

Ash and Plume's eyes fixed upon the great whirlpool encircling the Sky Pillar, and the wind-blasted rock it stood upon.

An enormous, crashing vortex of seawater and foam and saltspray swirled about the tower's base for thousands of feet all around, revealing the Sky Pillar's foundations to rest, buried, deep in the center, upon a bone dry island much too small to support the bulk and mass of the structure.

The ocean writhed all around the churning maelstrom. Tracing the patterns of motion revealed that no matter what direction Ash looked, the currents flowed outward from the Sky Pillar. Even the waves seemed frantic and hurried to escape this place, almost alive in their flight.

What the waves should have done was come crashing in to fill the vacuum left by the whirlpool.

Yet they didn't.

The Sky Pillar's base must have rested fifty feet beneath sea level, open and accessible to the air thanks to the great cyclone, which seemed to fall not forward, into the tower as gravity demanded, but circled the Draconid palace as if fleeing.

Everything soft had been scraped away from the island centuries ago; every scrap of organic detritus, every scrap of vegetation, every wick of moisture, every speck of dust; everything.

The Sky Pillar was one of the great wonders of the world, and few dared to approach it.

Most pokémon gave it a wide berth, though vast colonies of Swablu, Taillow, and enormous flocks of Wingull had collected around its fringes to bask in its glory. Ash even spotted the odd Salamence, Pidgeot, and Staraptor dotted among them.

Great blocks of sandstone, seemingly just as fresh as the day they'd been cut, had been carted from who-knows-where to be piled up in the enormous three-faced tower. It stood like a great blade piercing the heavens as they flew closer, though Plume slowed as they approached. They were still at least fifteen miles away.

"Keep going," Ash urged Plume, who shrieked her agreement as she propelled them forward on mighty wings. Even she was hesitant to approach the Sky Pillar, cognizant enough of the great authority that burst from its every grain. The sky was still here, almost silent, though fierce winds swept out from the little island the enormous structure was situated upon.

The remains of fortresses and homes and old shops littered the small island, though all had been built a respectful distance from the holy site. All sorts of people might have come here in the days of the Draconid Diarchy to pay tribute to the greatest of the dragon lords and to worship their Emerald Serpent.

"It's unnatural, isn't it?" Ash whispered to Plume as they came closer. The sandstone spire was enormous, but from this distance it was like a needle. Such a great structure felt as though it should have been supported by a vast base, but it remained as straight and even as an arrow from bottom to top. "How the hell did they make this?"

Modern steel and construction would sway and break beneath the vast forces such a building would be subjected to, but somehow the Draconids a millennium past had managed an architectural miracle despite all the cumbersome limitations of their era.

Mortal hands could conceivably pile the stone (though Ash couldn't imagine what a pain that would be logistically), but the pressure against his spirit told Ash something greater was at work here. This tower was far more than the physical materials it had been built of. The secret of its construction had been lost to time.

They had put their hearts and souls into this wonder. Perhaps literally, knowing what Ash did about the old ways.

His hand strayed to Spiritomb's Ultra Ball.

"There!" Ash spotted the relic of an old landing platform far below as they flitted across the sky and came to approach the Sky Pillar in truth.

Plume turned hesitant yet challenging eyes to the top of the Sky Pillar, that unassailable needlepoint, but she shied away from the three-faced tower for now.

Soon.

The landing zone was practically pristine despite the decades since it had seen active use. No League personnel were stationed upon the Sky Pillar itself, although a few aerial scouts had waved them through a few minutes back. There was a Ranger Station on one of the outlying islands, but the League didn't leave much more than a skeleton force at the best of times.

Few dared approach the Sky Pillar on their own. Most had more common sense, and many pokémon would outright refuse to carry their trainers here. Ash had seen time and time again how pokémon maintained a healthy respect for the Legends, and even their relics in this case.

Ash couldn't imagine their reactions if some idiot decided to try to break in or damage the Sky Pillar.

Not that they would have stood a chance. He was fairly certain the entire Unovan fleet could've lobbed pyrobombs at the Pillar day and night and not scratched its surface.

No wonder the Diarchs had been so eager to claim this place as their throne! Ash couldn't imagine the reaction foreign dignitaries would've had to this unnatural creation. It was a more tangible representation of the Draconids' power and legacy than any number of scrawled deeds or heavy history books, for all of Ash's fondness for the latter.

Plume landed in the heart of the maelstrom with ease, her earlier trepidation suppressed for the moment. Vacant buildings untouched by time lay preserved around him, though all his attention was focused upon soaking in the glory of the Sky Pillar up close. His friend watched with him, her gaze ravenous at the sight of the one thing that might challenge her glory.

While the Pillar stood impossibly tall and straight, unbent by the fierce gales that no doubt assailed its high reaches, it was worn with vast semicircular emerald stains from top to bottom as if some great pressure had twisted about the structure and squeezed tight.

Each section of sandstone was decorated with intricate sigils—linked emerald circles connected by perfectly straight lines were the most common—and countless tiny runes in the Draconid style that no doubt told of great histories.

Great murals were painted onto the surface, just as fresh as the representations of Groudon and Kyogre in Granite Cave. Zenia had loaned him a few dictionaries that might help him translate some of the stories, although Ash expected it to be a tedious process.

It was difficult to tell from so far down, but Ash thought the works of art and vast collections of sigils ran all the way to the cloud-crusted tip of the Sky Pillar.

Plume was hesitant to follow him, but she at last fluttered forward as he stepped reverently toward the base of the tower. A quick message to Steven left Ash assured that he was fine to set up camp wherever he liked so long as he tried to avoid disturbing the site. He wasn't quite brave enough to stroll right into one of the ancient buildings, so he'd probably construct a tent and bedroll to camp beneath the stars.

What stars would shine through the great tempest surrounding the Sky Pillar, anyways. The walls of the maelstrom were steep and fierce, spitting mad as the thrashing water fled the Pillar. It would be strange to sleep beneath the rushing water and sky-piercing tower, but not unsettling.

Ash could easily imagine the beauty of it.

There was truly nowhere else like this in the whole world, and he would get to share this sacred place with his team. He rested a hand upon Plume, who nuzzled into it, bolstered by his presence as she raised her beak to the Pillar and shrieked out her arrival.

And for the fact that the sea's rising Roar had been quelled to little more than the spitting of a grumpy Skitty…well, Ash took a little pleasure in that.

"Hoenn's truly a magical place," Ash murmured, stepping forward to rest a gloved hand upon the grand sandstone blocks which made up the Sky Pillar's base. "Their myths are alive and well. Even the Tin Tower is nothing to this. It's like stepping into another world."

He shifted even as he said those words. It felt a little sacreligious to admit, but even Plume nodded with him. Would Wes have as well? The Sacred Ash weighed heavily in its pouch.

"There's truly nothing like this in Kanto," Ash said. There was a gravitas to the Sky Pillar, but he didn't reach out to investigate the connection which pulled him in like the steady command of a black hole. The more-than-physical weight of its history and construction pressed upon him like a mountain, but it had remained unchanged for a thousand years.

It could wait a little longer, even if Ash's burning curiosity blazed brighter than ever at the prospect of the stories it might tell.

"We've seen some beautiful places, haven't we? The First's Tomb, towering Indigo Plateau, and the grandeur of the Indigo Stadium. Lavender. They all have weight to them…but I guess our people were insulated. Protected by chance, and perhaps a little more. Our Legends never made themselves so obvious. We never had to become more than what we were born as."

Ash could only hope they stayed that way. They'd dealt with enough the last few years. He'd hate for Lance to start getting grey hairs. Karen would find it absolutely hilarious, but Ash thought Lance deserved to avoid that crisis for a little longer.

It was easy to miss in the sheer scale of the Sky Pillar, but a pair of heavy doors marked its entrance. They were twice as tall as the average man (which was hilariously puny compared to the rest of the structure), marked with the same looping symbols that Ash suspected to be linked to Rayquaza itself.

His fingers trailed against them and Ash finally reached out, curious despite the little gut feeling that he was courting disaster…

Why, why, why?

Because he wanted to understand. Because he wanted to peel back the secrets of Sky Pillar and peer into its unadulterated Truth.

And, speaking of the truth…because he just couldn't help himself. Something slotted into place at that, a clarity that hadn't been present before. Ash smiled.

Plume's great head poked beside him. She nipped at him worriedly, watching him with suspicious eyes.

"Relax," Ash cooed back at her, scratching beneath her beak. "I won't go in, I promise. And hey, at least Steven didn't leave a sign warning us away this time. That's better, right?"

She wasn't amused.

"I'm not even going to try to open it!" Ash promised, unsure if he could even if he wanted to. "If I do, you have my full permission to toss me into the ocean. Sound fair?"

He might be able to interact with whatever protections the ancient Draconids had set into the sandstone, but that didn't mean he had a damn clue what he was doing. No doubt they didn't intend for anyone without the proper authority to enter, and Ash doubted he would pass the test.

Plume squawked at that. She looked hungrily at his hat.

Ash wilted. "You mean…?"

She nodded viciously.

"Fine," Ash said with the air of a man a hair away from the headsman's axe. "You can keep my hat too. Fair?"

Plume finally relented, appearing a little too enthusiastic at the prospect of being a proud hat owner for Ash's liking. No doubt she would be beset by a dozen offers if that ever became public.

Flannery and Karen would love nothing more than to burn it. Some of his fans would probably want to enshrine it. Claydol probably wanted to sell it to those fans for a fortune.

Or wear it everywhere to mock him.

"Here, take it as insurance." Ash pulled his hat off and raked a few fingers through his hair even as he plopped the accessory right onto Plume's great head. She preened, obviously pleased, and took a gracious step back. "I expect that back."

With that, Ash peeled his glove off and pressed his bare palm to the doors of the Sky Pillar. He doubted the gesture actually affected anything, but it felt right, and given what Cynthia had told him that alone might be enough to make a difference.

Show me everything you are.

He'd barely begun to reach out before the connection unfolded, slamming into him like an eager Houndour who had been waiting too long for company.

MORTAL HANDS AND WINGS, FILLED WITH DIVINE INSPIRATION PILE MUNDANE BLOCKS HIGH IN THE WAKE OF WORLD'S END—

THE MASTERS OF THE SKY PILLAR ARE MANY, REPLACING THEIR RIVALS IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. BLOOD IS SPILLED A THOUSAND TIMES UPON ITS STONES IN HONOR OF THE APTEROUS DRAGON—

SIMPLE LIFE IN THE SHADOW OF THE PILLAR. SMILING FACES. INFANTS DELIVERED. EGGS HATCHED. CHILDREN REARED. AMBITION FORGED. LOVES FOUND. THOSE SAME LIVES INTERRED WITHIN.

A WONDER-TERROR CAME ON SUNLIT WINGS SINGING THE SEA'S SONG. A SOUL FORGED ANEW IN A DOZEN CRUCIBLES.

UNFINISHED PURPOSE, NOT READY NOT READY NOT READY NOT READY—

For a moment he was the Sky Pillar. He was tall and vast. Ancient. Sky-touched and Sky-filled. Bloodstained. Mighty!

And then he was—

Ash fell away with a gasp, stars filling his eyes. Plume cried out and supported him with one of her mighty wings, and he patted her gratefully for it.

"I'm okay," he assured her, and he really was. The Sky might circle this place, but it wasn't like the Red and Blue Orbs.

The Sky Pillar was powerful, but it only held a shadow of what the Red and Blue Orbs had possessed. But that left him all the more curious.

He peered up at the endless reaches of the Sky Pillar with renewed fascination.

"It's alive," Ash said. Plume cocked her head at him, then pecked at the Sky Pillar after a moment. It didn't react. "Uh, kind of. Not really? It's old. Unnatural, yet exactly what it was meant to be. A monument. A home. A beacon. There's no awareness, but there's memory and purpose. It's incredible!"

But more than that, there was something beneath the surface. Ash would've been content to marvel at the mysteries of the power invested in the Sky Pillar for ages, except he sensed…something.

It was indescribable, like the cosmic flame of a star spread blazing and thin across all the sky, and that barest brush captured Ash's interest just as fiercely as the history here.

A flame lit in the pit of his stomach. His fingers pulled Torrent's Pokéball from his belt and released his friend to behold the tower buried at the center of the sea. The Kingdra appeared in a bright flash, held his head high, and surveyed the Sky Pillar with naked awe—Ash didn't miss the fact that Torrent levitated nearly a foot higher than normal, seemingly without any effort. His suspicions only sharpened.

Torrent was a creature of the abyss who was now witnessing the heavens firsthand.

But that wasn't what Ash called him for.

"Close your eyes!" Ash said. He laid his palm against Torrent's scaled chest. "Listen."

Plume watched on curiously, still quite content with the hat on her head. It was a testament to Ash's frenzied state that he hadn't requested it back.

The three of them listened together and opened themselves to the world. It was a common sight to find Ash, Plume, and Torrent huddled together exploring the nature of things or immersing themselves within something greater than themselves, but this was something entirely new.

Their ears filled with the crashing of the sapphire maelstrom as it sought to escape the Sky Pillar. It rushed away like blood oozing from a wound. They heard the Roar reduced to a whimper in the face of greater power.

Distant cries of hundreds of reverent flying-types serenaded them. Plume paused her meditation to shriek back her own challenge, to demand the same awe with which the lessers regarded the Sky Pillar. They went silent.

Stone crunched beneath their feet, insignificant and quailing as its ruby blood squirmed thousands of feet beneath the surface.

And above all else, they heard the rush of wind from high above. The air around the Sky Pillar hung suspended in an uneasy stillness, but gales roared from all around the edges of its influence, swirling in the beginning of a nascent tempest yearning to break free.

"There's more," Ash said. "Now feel."

He leaned into the connection he felt with Torrent, which was only amplified by their touch. Ash opened his mind to that hint of strangely familiar cosmic flame, grimaced as a cold presence flickered curiously in the back of his mind, and reached out for Plume's soft feathers so that he could share those same perceptions with her.

Ash's lips twisted up as she pressed her cap-covered head into his hand instead. That would do.

Torrent rumbled as his mind expanded. Ash felt the burgeoning awareness that Torrent had already perceived suddenly unfold and grow more distinct as their thoughts intertwined.

It was the vastness of the sky itself that was centered in the Sky Pillar, but Ash knew that was only a fraction of the mystery. That was the most blatant, but it was only the surface—just as the deepest core of the planet was buried beneath the crust and mantle, so too was the nature of the Sky Pillar shrouded beneath a veil of clouds and wind.

"There's power here," Ash said, satisfied. He allowed the connection between himself and his friends to fade away, but kept his hands upon them…although he did pause to affectionately tug the cap from Plume's head. She sighed as he returned it to its rightful place. "You feel it, don't you?"

Torrent nodded stiffly even as his scarlet eyes opened. Plume's own gaze was locked reverently upon the peak of the Sky Pillar, but Torrent's strayed to the fleeing waves and the sigils of Rayquaza carved into the tower's walls.

"Channel a Dragon Pulse."

Motes of power flickered around Torrent as he swelled with draconic energy, which quivered with its turquoise hue, edged with white as the embers dissipated into the air. Ash was reminded of a flame brought to life in a chamber rich with oxygen. Just the slightest spark blazed.

And Torrent had summoned far more than a simple spark.

Ash had to step away as Torrent's body flickered with pale blue-green flame, resonating with the power filling the air, and the same energies flowed seamlessly to coalesce into a tightly-bound sphere. It bulged and swirled and fought against Torrent's control, and even the powerful dragon struggled to contain the technique's unexpected power.

He let Torrent wrestle with it for a time, but Ash interrupted the second he feared that Torrent's iron will would fail. "Fire it!"

Torrent sagged with obvious relief as he shot the Dragon Pulse into the sea—or would have, if the unstable technique hadn't detonated halfway to the maelstrom. Ash and Plume reflexively blinked as it unleashed an enormous flash of light, heat, and devouring power that should've scarred several of the Draconid towers it passed by.

The buildings weren't so much as scratched, likely built with the same sturdiness as the Sky Pillar itself. An approximation of it, at any rate.

They all stared at the site with a mix of emotions: fear stained with curiosity from Torrent, glee from Ash, and envy from Plume.

"No wonder the Draconids prized this place so much!" Ash said to Torrent. It was obviously a site of religious significance, but the Draconids were practical above all else. "Whichever Diarch ruled here was unassailable. How do you feel?"

Turquoise embers still flickered in the creases of Torrent's scales, and every passing moment spent in the Sky Pillar's presence seemed to leave him energized. The Kingdra rumbled at Ash, clearly pleased, but still seemed a little unsettled by the lack of mastery he held over his power in this place.

"We won't be able to take this strength with us when we leave, but that just means we have to make the most of the time we do have here," Ash said, his thoughts flowing like a river. Torrent and Plume both listened attentively, although he could tell that both were eager to get to work. No doubt Dazed would be just as fascinated by the Pillar as Ash himself.

"Torrent, it'll be good for your control if nothing else. It might be the edge we need to advance your draconic techniques. We can work up a plan in a bit, okay? For now just try to get accustomed to the boost. We don't want any explosions. Uh, unintentional explosions."

Torrent nodded and drifted off, still levitating nearly a foot higher than he ordinarily did. Ash's mind spun.

Plume squawked at him.

"Oh, don't think I've forgotten about you!" Ash beamed at her. "But same thing, really. The Sky Pillar is different. See how it affects your abilities first, okay? We'll squeeze this opportunity for everything we can, and you know what?"

She peered at Ash with a hint of uncertainty.

He grinned just a little madly back.

"By the time we leave here, we're flying to the top. We're ascending the Sky Pillar."

Plume shrieked her challenge to the sky, emboldened by Ash's declaration, and swept off in a blur to push her limits. Based on previous experience near Legendaries, Ash expected that she'd find her own powers amplified just as Torrent's were.

He watched her go for a moment, then turned his eyes back to earth.

His first priority was to make camp. After that?

Well, the sky was the limit.

XX

…life is slowly returning to normal, thank the heavens. We haven't caught several of the main agitators, but they seem to sense the winds turning. It will take time to pick up the pieces, but whatever organization was initially behind their attacks is being disregarded in favor of self-preservation.

I'm glad you've escaped for a bit. You know I wasn't a fan of your 'contributions,' but I can't deny the difference you've made. So thank you for that. I daresay Glacia might have snapped and murdered us all without the help you, the Indigo League, and the Lily of the Valley League sent. You're all good friends to Hoenn, and I hope that one day we'll be able to return the favor.

Claydol sends its regards, by the way. I've endured numerous complaints that I am 'boring' and 'drama free' these past few weeks. Would you be interested in adding a Champion-level psychic to your team? We don't know how much more we can take.

It's kind of you to ask. My father is doing well—he was disappointed that he wasn't able to speak with you at the gala, but I understand you had quite a few demands for your attention—as is the rest of my family who were involved in the attack.

How are you enjoying the Sky Pillar? It was never to my taste, personally. I visited once at Drake's behest when I was named Champion, but I was quite disappointed when I was unable to take rock samples. My tools failed to even scratch the surface, unfortunately. Please don't tell Drake I attempted that, by the way.

Enjoy your brief vacation! I hope that you're able to relax now that things are coming together. Now, while I hate to disrupt your respite, I do request that you clear a spot in your busy schedule. It's important that you come to my apartment on the 17th. Any time will be fine, although you might prefer to come earlier.

Now, I'd best be off. I've neglected my sessions with our monolithic friend, although neither Metagross nor myself are eager for our ensuing headache.

Best regards,

Steven Stone

Ash smiled as he lowered the PokéNav and tossed it aside for the moment. He'd been in regular contact with Steven for the last few weeks, but he still missed his teacher. Those days traveling along Route 119 were some of the best of his life.

He'd needed that peace.

But now it was time to get back to business. Ash rose with a grunt and peered up at the Sky Pillar for a moment. It was majestic as ever, and he longed to whistle for Plume so she could carry him up to the tower's peak.

Some incredible sights grew mundane after a few hours in their shadow, but the Sky Pillar never failed to hammer in that same sense of awe. It was a constant reminder of just how small Ash was.

Most of his team were fairly close, although all were busy with their own training. He'd been occupied with developing more training plans until Steven's message had come in.

To be honest, most were struggling. The Sky Pillar chased the ocean away and scraped the stone bare like a territorial dragon, but Ash and his team were soon given a rude awakening when they realized that applied to almost everything.

Torrent's draconic abilities were amplified to the point that even Lance would be forced to take him seriously, true, but they'd discovered that his command of the sea was nonexistent. He could hardly manipulate the contents of a water bottle, let alone enough to be useful in training. But even that proved a fair test—Ash and Torrent had spent much of the previous night wrenching control of a tiny wave, even if their brief victory had shattered seconds later once the current remembered it was supposed to be splashing away as fast as it could.

But the challenge only emboldened them! Torrent had attacked it with uncharacteristic savagery that more suited the scrappy Horsea who'd spat ink in Ash's face than the regal Kingdra he'd become, but Ash was all for it. There was a fire in Torrent that was normally concealed by authority, tempered by evolution. Right now Torrent sought to dominate every obstacle that dared to stand in their way, as if the Sky Pillar's air filled him with the spirit of the Draconids.

Right now his friend was attempting to wrestle with the waves, but Nidoking and Tangrowth had found their ability to manipulate earth and stone heavily dampened as well. Ash would've been cautious with those abilities here at the best of time, but Nidoking could barely even use his honed Earth Sense here.

It was difficult to interpret the jumble of frustrated images and emotions that Nidoking passed through their bond, but from what Ash comprehended it was that Nidoking's connection to the earth was simply…gone. Dust in the wind. Well, it was still present, but vastly weakened.

Even Plume faced her own struggles. While she and Ash could feel the power permeating the sky, it was loath to submit to her command. There was untapped potential for her own efforts, but so far the Sky Pillar proved to be a jealous master.

She could fly, but that was about it. Even the gust of her beating wings was soon smothered and stilled beneath the authority radiating from the tower, the air itself seemingly locked in place.

Ash wished that they could've mercilessly exploited whatever power they could from the Sky Pillar. It would have been so, so satisfying to finally experiment with abilities their current levels of power just couldn't manage.

But every cloud had its silver lining.

They might be limited here, but that was a blessing in itself. Training was hard in the shadow of the Sky Pillar—every tangible result from his teammates was well-earned with sweat. It demanded greater focus and control than they'd normally have to muster, and that had its own value.

Besides, it was an absolute goldmine for training dragon-type techniques. Once Ash realized the situation, he'd quickly altered some of their training objectives for the three days he planned to spend at the Sky Pillar.

Bruiser had learned the basics of Dual Chop ages ago, yet he'd rarely had a need to hone the technique further. This was the perfect opportunity for him to learn to channel the draconic power more effectively, and Seeker had joined him to train Twister.

Even Infernus had tagged along to learn Dual Chop from Bruiser, even if he looked as if he'd much prefer attempting to throw himself at the Machamp with his glowing Plasma Blade held high. Oz joined them as well, and she managed to keep Infernus in line for the most part by slapping him with an open palm blazing turquoise whenever he got too rowdy.

It was much better for her to do it than Bruiser. Ash doubted that would end too well for Infernus. Setting up a lava bath for those broken ribs would've been a bit difficult.

Lairon had begun work on Dragon Rush, although he didn't expect to see too much success in the scant time they had here. But even a foundation would be a fantastic win. They'd spent months upon months building Lairon a sturdier foundation than any of his other teammates could boast.

His magnetism rendered him a deadly force on any battlefield, enabling him to move with greater speed and agility than any Lairon had a right to. They'd experimented with projectiles as well in these recent raids—a storm of scrap metal, iron rods, and Lairon's discarded snacks couldn't do much more than slow most pokémon down, but they scared the absolute crap out of humans.

They'd only scratched the potential there, and Ash was excited to see Lairon continue to hone his skills. But while Lairon's magnetism was phenomenal and his command of Rock Tomb was worthy of any rock specialist, Ash thought the time had come to expand his repertoire.

Ash planned on continuing Lairon's core specialties—that's what made a Master, after all—but he had to lean into his own versatility as well. Lairon's potential once he evolved was as versatile as Nidoking and he wanted Lairon to be ready.

Dragon Rush would be a valuable weapon in Lairon's arsenal. And honestly, it wasn't just Dragon Rush. It wasn't like Dual Chop or Twister would be vital pieces of his team's kits, but it provided a starting point. An easy way to learn to harness draconic energy for his own ends.

It was the same reason he wanted Nidoking to begin work on Dragon Pulse and advance both Outrage and Dragon Tail while they were basking in the radiance of the Sky Pillar. All were side goals that had fallen to the wayside as Ash leaned in favor of building Nidoking's most valuable skills, but at this point it would be stupid to let an opportunity like this slip away.

Most of those techniques would ordinarily require a TM for Nidoking to learn, but Ash had full confidence in his friend's skills. That just meant they were harder to learn, not impossible. Between Nidoking's knowledge and talents, Torrent's guidance, and the ease with which they could channel the energy here, Ash knew that Nidoking could make great strides.

Thunk.

"Hey, Sneasel!" Ash laughed as a furry weight looped around his neck. Sneasel's fuzzy black arms held him tight as his red feather poked the back of Ash's head. He reached a hand back to scratch beneath his chin, which elicited a happy purr from his friend. "Need a break from training?"

Sneasel emphatically nodded. There were only so many places that Ash could hide a Dusk Stone for him to track on this tiny island, and Ash knew the repetitive training was starting to grate on Sneasel. His quick, clever mind needed more stimulation.

The dark-type plonked the Dusk Stone he'd hunted down into Ash's lap. Sneasel hissed at it, tapped the dark purple rock with his claws, and they both watched eagerly as the thick shadows within stirred, animated by Sneasel's touch.

It was the equivalent of a tiny raindrop disturbing a puddle, but it was something.

"You've come so far so fast," Ash praised, reaching back to tug Sneasel into his lap. He resisted at first, but soon gave in and snuggled in with his head pressed against Ash's chest. Inspiration struck Ash as he examined the Dusk Stone, which quickly settled into its ordinary state.

Time to make Professor Oak proud.

"Want to help me run some experiments?"

Sneasel craned his neck to look up at Ash, then yawned. But he stayed, and that was enough for Ash.

He set one hand to scratching behind Sneasel's feather while the other was quick to hit the storage compartment that contained his stock of elemental stones.

An array of the precious items materialized before him. Water, Sun, Fire, Leaf, Thunder, Moon, Shiny, and even one of the rare Ice Stones imported from distant lands. Ash had spared no expense. This was only a single set. He'd bought nine.

It would have been a costly purchase for most trainers, but what else was he supposed to spend his money on? The League kept throwing more money at him than he knew what to do with.

Normally Ash kept Lotus out so that his team could slowly grow as accustomed to its dread aura as he and Bruiser were, but today he'd left Lotus to rest in its Ultra Ball. With control already being a challenge, he hadn't wanted to test his team even further.

That could come later. But they had to adjust to the Sky Pillar's challenges first before he could throw anything extra at them.

Now Ash was grateful for that—Lotus was a strange variable, far more potent with its Distorted nature than even Sneasel, and he had no doubt that it would have had some strange impact on his experiment.

The Sky Pillar was an odd enough place that Ash just had to test the possibilities. Professor Oak might kill him otherwise. Outside of Lavender or Mt. Pyre, he'd never encountered a locus with such blatant power. Even the Birds' shrines in Shamouti hadn't manifested such dramatic effects on the world.

But if Rayquaza was anything like Groudon, it made sense that even a passing gust of its presence could shape the world. Even Ash was a little terrified at the prospect, but he refocused upon his objective.

"Well look at that," Ash murmured as he assessed the elemental stones. With the influence he held over them—mostly stirring Fire, Ice, and Thunder Stones to disastrous heights—they ordinarily brightened and shone with far greater intensity.

Not today.

The stones were dull. Ash could see a spark of power still remaining, but for the most part they acted like frightened animals in the presence of their better. Fire was just a spark. Water curled up into a dewdrop. Thunder compacted to a single frail loop. Ice thawed. Dawn's glittering light was smothered. Dusk faded into twilight.

It was about what Ash had expected. And yet…

The Sun Stone brightened, its bright red surface cast with rainbow light.

The Shiny Stone's dazzling light stood strong beneath the commanding weight of the Sky Pillar, bright as ever.

And the obsidian Moon Stone, black as night, flickered with silver light. Little motes of furious turquoise power flecked with emerald light materialized to strike at the Moon Stone, yet they faded furiously with a crackling cry as they approached the Moon Stone, which remained undaunted.

The gears of Ash's mind turned and turned.

He glanced down at Sneasel, wondering what further effects his Distortional abilities might have.

"Channel a Shadow Claw. Don't strike the stones, but pass over them."

Sneasel did as Ash asked. He bit back a shudder as ghastly grey energies flooded from Sneasel's body to wreathe his claw in a dark aura that hurt Ash's eyes to look at for too long. Normally such power ached to be used, to be unleashed and freed to ravage the material, but now it was held in check.

Even Distortion struggled to come alive in this place.

He watched closely and made note of the effects, certain that he'd send a copy of his observations to Professor Oak, who would no doubt force his way to the Sky Pillar to run similar experiments one way or another. If Spiritomb was an unknown factor, then what on earth did that make Ash?

Most of the elemental stones flickered and faded somewhat, losing their luster as Sneasel's dark power passed above. They'd already dulled beneath the Sky, but this practically extinguished them. Even the Sun and Shiny Stones which had resisted the Sky Pillar's influence quailed beneath the Distortion.

Not all, though.

Sneasel growled at the Moon Stone as it resisted the first pass, still blazing with that silver light. He slashed towards the stone to punish it for its insolence, then yowled furiously as the Distortion shrouding his claws faded away like night beneath a full moon.

"Well, that's curious…" Ash muttered to himself.

Sneasel hissed at the stone, looked back at Ash, then jabbed a furious claw at the Moon Stone as if demanding Ash punish it.

His lips quirked upwards. "Destroy it if you can. I won't stop you."

His friend took that as a challenge and immediately batted the Moon Stone away, clambering after the skittering inanimate object with upraised claws. Ash just snorted and reached into his pack for one of his true treasures.

An inky shard of the Moon Stone materialized from a flash of bright energy. It seemed to absorb every bit of sunlight that struck it, appearing as little more than a dark void held in Ash's hand.

Ash gasped as he felt the power invested in it. When he'd last reached out to the shard in Pallet, he'd explored a tiny sliver of infinity feeding its nature into the world one drip at a time.

The Moon Stone shard's power wasn't like roaring Fire or surging Lightning, but that of the truest order. True rigidity beyond the scope of stone or metal. A memory of times before the elements coalesced and the stars burned.

He committed every detail to memory as the Moon Stone sat in defiance of the vast Sky Pillar.

After a moment, he formed the other elemental stones into a ring around the Moon Stone shard and laughed as his hypothesis was confirmed—they all came roaring back to life, no longer quelled by the energy here.

Only the Dusk Stone's state worsened. Whereas the rest of the stones surged back to their normal states, the Dusk Stone seemed to go entirely inert. Ash plucked the Dusk Stone from the circle and examined its still form, which was fading from a deep violet-black to a softer lavender.

Ash pressed the Dusk Stone right up against the Moon Stone and watched with open fascination as the lavender softened into pale wisps like that of Spiritomb's gaseous body, then vanished entirely to leave nothing but clear glass.

He reached out with his senses, sought the Truth of the Dusk Stone, and allowed his eyes to widen as he found nothing but a newly scrubbed void.

Well, he'd have to keep the Moon Stone shard far, far away from Lotus. Ash doubted that the Spiritomb would be so easily undone by whatever power was invested in the Moon Stone, but he thought it better to be safe than sorry.

"Nidoking, Dazed. Come here, please."

Both appeared swiftly. There weren't too many places to go on the Sky Pillar's little island, so unless one of the team was busy exploring the nooks and crannies of the houses it was easy to stay in touch. The Draconids must have driven each other mad in such a confined space.

That would explain a lot, actually.

Nidoking's eyes widened at the sight of the Moon Stone shard. He winced for a moment as memories of his painful final evolution struck him, but behind it all there was a sacred reverence that couldn't be hidden.

Dazed's reaction was less extreme, but even she acknowledged the Moon Stone as one would a mighty foe.

"The more we learn, the more I realize how little we know," Ash said. He reached out and snagged the precious Moon Stone shard away from its ring of fellow stones. They retreated into themselves again. "See? The Moon Stone is untouched. The rest run away with their tails tucked between their legs, but not this one. It's unbent and unbroken. Why?"

Why, why, why?

Dazed rubbed her pendulum against her white mane, then stared deeply into the Moon Stone's void.

It can do nothing else.

Nidoking's eyes flashed blue. His novice attempts at telepathy filtered through—psychic powers weren't affected by the Sky Pillar's dominating presence, thankfully—as a jumble of confusing half-images, sounds, and emotions.

Blue-Mother-Feed-Mountain-Star-Great-Quest

Ash winced as he attempted to parse through the dizzying flurry, but Dazed helpfully chimed in.

We discussed this same tale long ago. When we met the Luminous-Spawn. I paid little attention to my mother's tales, but the King was more fanciful than I.

Nidoking smacked Dazed in the back with a light tap of his tail. She blocked it with a psychic barrier, but her eyes curved upwards in one of her smiles. He snorted at her.

"Yes, I remember. Back in Mossdeep, right?" Ash recalled her story with ease. She'd mentioned it a few times during their late night talks as well, but usually only when they were trading myths and legends. "You said the Origin held back the star-fire, then fell to earth."

The King says that many suns appeared in the sky. The wise foretold death and oblivion. They claimed the earth beneath our feet would be swept away and scattered into the cosmos as vapor. We would return from whence we spawned: nothingness.

"Clearly not." Ash remembered half-forgotten words from his mother one distant night, her gentle voice filling his ears as she read a story to lull him to sleep. It seemed even humans had managed to remember these ancient days in some form or another.

Indeed. I put little stock in such legends. They are unreliable. Perhaps if the Ancient shared its recollections, I might hold these stories in higher regard. But there is an element of truth. I simply doubt the accuracy of the details…although recent experiences make me question my own skepticism.

Nidoking grunted at her, affronted, and Dazed continued.

Very well. The King insists that when the Origin manifested with the Pillars of Creation at its side, that its fragment was smote to earth and the Pillars scattered. Most fell to earth with it. Others fell to the White.

"The moon," Ash said. "And then they say it later fell to Mt. Moon?"

According to the King's mother, who is surely a reliable narrator without any flaw, a lone inhabitant of the Sacred Mount peered into the cosmos with its keen mind and centered upon the splinter of the Pillar buried upon the White. And when they connected, the Pillar came. The fae-thing was changed, as were its kin, by their covenant.

Nidoking nodded, clearly pleased. "So that's your story of the Moon Stone," Ash said. "Humans have similar legends, but I don't know of any about Mt. Moon. But I'm hardly an expert."

Ash reached out for an instant to brush against the Moon Stone shard. He reached out for an instant, perceiving deeper than its physical manifestation—

Latticed perfection. Purest order unmarred by entropy. Unbent, for change was anathema. A spark of the Origin. Perfectly rigid, untouchable by bedlam, and a spear against that which inspired chaos.

He pulled away as he began to lose himself in the perceptions and took a deep, rattling breath.

What power was this to bear the weight of the Sky? It was wholly unique compared to every other power that Ash had encountered, which left him all the more fascinated by it.

And more than anything else, a rising glee filled his chest as they all stared down at the tiny sliver of the Moon Stone. A little splinter of something far greater. A chuckle bubbled out of Ash's lips. Steven had given him the Moon Stone after Chronos Island. To think, he'd had this secret at his side all along.

A power that dispelled the ferocious power of dragons and the entropic miasma of Distortion.

"We can use this."

XX

"Have you figured out that translation yet?" Ash called out to Dazed as she used her psychic perception to sweep over a number of runes etched above the Sky Pillar's great doors. Plume confirmed that the carvings and murals did extend all the way to the top of the tower, which was, to be frank, a massive pain in the ass.

A monumental achievement, sure, but how the hell was anyone supposed to read them all? Their best alternative was for Ash to work on decoding whatever stories he could near the base while Dazed used her psychic awareness to perceive those in more inconvenient locations. Occasionally Plume would fly up the Sky Pillar and memorize various scripts (even if she couldn't translate them herself) in exchange for praise, flowery compliments, and the occasional chance to wear Ash's hat.

He was getting a little worried about that last one. Had Plume's ego finally grown to the point she was ready to take over the team?

Oh Friend-Trainer, we have passed that point long ago. You have been her 'glorious lieutenant' for some time. We are only here to support her on her vain quest.

Ash snorted. "Lovely."

The translation is almost complete. It is the story of an 'Aurelia'. She was a reckless, self-indulgent woman who was almost as lucky as you.

Dazed had become their best translator by far. Torrent was all fired up with power and too impatient to spend much time on scholarly pursuits, but Dazed had made good use of her extra hours while the rest of them slept (he so envied her) to familiarize herself with the Draconid dictionaries and lexicon that Zenia had gifted to them.

"Aurelia? She was the founding Draconid!" Ash's eyes lit up. He peered at the collection of runes surrounding a vast mural situated just above the archway. "So yeah, reckless and self-indulgent sounds about right."

Draconids plastered their achievements everywhere they could—Lycon slew these men, Helo built this tower, Artan pissed on this rock (gloriously)! And yet the Sky Pillar was bare of their usual graffiti. Perhaps it was fear. Perhaps it was reverence. Perhaps it was the simple understanding that their deeds would look like less than nothing in the Pillar's long shadow.

But what tales were interred here were precious to the Draconids.

He peered at the murals with all the focus he could muster after long hours of deciphering hundreds of Draconid scratch-runes. While Dazed worked on completing her translations, Ash tried to interpret the ancient paintings. Their brown-red paint still appeared nearly fresh. It was like it had been painted yesterday instead of a thousand years ago.

A few images stood out amongst the vast stretches emblazoned upon the Sky Pillar: the figure of a featureless woman with a spear and cape, countless humans and depictions of various pokémon struck down before her, and then a grand mountain, magnificent Salamence, and a treasured egg.

Also a dozen barrels for some reason? Ash wasn't sure what to make of that.

Ash knew little of the Draconid origins, but Aurelia's name appeared here and there. She was said to be a warrior, then a rogue, and at last a Draconid. The Draconid, the epitome of their people and philosophy.

The Drakes of the Wataru claimed in their journals to have become partners with their Dragonite due to an act of service by the first, Drake Hiro. But the Draconids? They'd taken their Salamence.

Brave fools.

My task is finished. Would you care to know her tale?

Ash beamed. "Do you even have to ask?"

No. But I wished to see the look on your face.

"Fair enough!" Ash laughed, then gestured at the Sky Pillar. "Let's hear it."

Dazed's smooth voice trickled into his thoughts. Claydol's influence made itself known as she psychically highlighted the relevant rows of text and the proper mural—depicting the woman (no doubt Aurelia) with a plow in hand and surrounded by various smaller figures with their backs bent to face the soil.

Aurelia peered up at the sky.

Monarch Aurelia, shout Her name to the blessed Sky, was born to scions of the basest earth. Their names were as worthless as the fruitless rock they toiled away at. Aurelia was filled with fire, and she looked ever upwards.

Her psychic light shimmered over the next portion, which showed Aurelia burying a trowel into a broad-chested man's neck, then taking his sword to behead him and his partner Linoone. Further images portrayed Aurelia in adventure after adventure: evading a pack of Mightyena, standing over a dozen armed men, and ankle deep in a river of blood. She held sacks of coin earned by robbing her enemies, conducted daring heists, and swindled as often as she conquered.

When a fighting man came to Her village and robbed her father, the fire in Her blood stirred. Aurelia suffered no insult. Before the fighting man left, he insulted them further by demanding a warm meal cooked by Aurelia's hands. She mixed herbs from Her garden and hid Her smile as the fighting man and his partner imbibed Her poison in their soup.

As they left, Aurelia followed in the dark. She waited until they were wracked with chills and their bowels ran swiftly as the Ampic River. When Her foes were stripped of their defenses, She struck and claimed the first of Her glories.

Aurelia took what was Hers by right of conquest. With sword in hand, She left Her worthless village and set forth to spread Her legend to every corner of Volumo. Glorious victory and blood trailed Her. Her name echoed throughout the Sky.

Dazed's power flowed to the next set of images as her voice strengthened. They depicted Aurelia standing amongst a horde of broken and burnt men and pokémon, painted emblazoned in the blue-green of dragonfire. She looked enviously upon the tiny semblance of a red-winged Salamence flying upon the horizon with two men in its maw and a Camerupt in its claws.

Aurelia buried her sword in the earth.

She was conquest manifest, yet Aurelia realized the futility of Her quest when one of the blessed Salamence seared the men under Her command to ash. It carried some to its den, as well as the Camerupt they had been dispatched to slay.

Aurelia was the greatest of mankind, but She was only human. In that moment, staring up to the Sky as She always had, Aurelia swore to become more.

"And she almost did," Ash said. "She died like any other human, but at least people still remember her name. Even if she sounds like an awful person."

Kind souls are rarely the ones to change history.

"Maybe not, but they should," Ash said, thinking of Lance. "Maybe their time has come."

Dazed was silent, but smiled at him with her soft eyes. Ash grinned back, then took a moment to assess the continuation of Aurelia's story.

The images showed Aurelia crossing great mountains in search of the Salamence. As she neared the highest peak, a dozen men with bows and pokémon met her. Aurelia spoke to them, and the next picture showed Aurelia standing amongst their bloody, burnt corpses with a pensive expression.

Next, Aurelia carried the burnt corpse of a Whismur upon her back as she climbed the peak. A blue beast with great red wings glowered down at her. Two eggs laid beneath the dragon's enormous body.

Aurelia pursued the one who slew Her warriors, confident that this was Her path to immortality. Her name would forever be upon man's tongue.

She discovered the Salamence's cavernous den, but was too canny to enter recklessly. But as She camped near the den, Aurelia discovered brave hunters and their companions. They did not seek the Salamence, but hoped to capture new companions for their children.

Aurelia met them with warmth. She shared what little food and drink She had, and Her silver tongue wove tales of hoarded gold and great treasures in the Salamence's den. Aurelia bemoaned Her weakness and lack of martial skill—if only She was strong like them, She might have attempted to hunt the beast Herself!

Seduced by tales of treasure and fortune, the hunters promised to slay the dragon and share a small fraction of its hoard with Her. Aurelia showed them the way, then stepped into the forest as they entered the den.

A roar broke the night. The broken corpses of the hunters fell like heavy rain from the mountainside. Aurelia knew that Her sword would not win the day, so she took one of their partners and offered her friendship instead.

The dragon made to swallow her whole, but paused as she knelt and placed her offering before the Salamence.

"I watched them come!" Aurelia cried. "They hunted you with spear and fang, yet you stand victorious. To the victor goes the spoils!"

The Salamence was wary, but accepted the offering. Two eggs were revealed.

Aurelia saw her future.

"I don't even want to know how many people she got killed," Ash said. "And this is their grand matriarch? She'd be locked up in the Trench nowadays."

Dazed polished her pendulum.

I expect that the Draconid would rather die than see her wings clipped.

Ash peered up at the next set as Dazed urged his attention over. The tale was nearing its end.

Aurelia plied the Salamence with gifts of gold and cloth, then offered it a cup of some strange drink, and then the Salamence was shown belly up with empty casks surrounding it.

Aurelia stole one egg. She hid in caverns and forests as the Salamence loomed overhead, but the last mural showed Aurelia making her escape as the Salamence returned to its den. She cradled a Bagon.

Aurelia was wise. She took what She wished, but Mother Salamence would not surrender her most precious treasures so easily.

Many months passed. Aurelia emptied Her coffers to bring grand gifts to the nesting mother. Respect bloomed, and Mother Salamence looked upon Aurelia fondly for easing her first step into motherhood.

When the eggs trembled, the Draconid knew Her opportunity had arrived. She approached with a new offering: a thimbleful of the finest brandy.

"It is our greatest treasure!" Aurelia sang to the Salamence. "The drink inspires joy and celebration. We forget our troubles and embrace the fire in our bellies. It is a gift to be shared between friends."

Curious, Mother Salamence drank. She demanded more. Aurelia smiled, and told the dragon of the dozen casks at the base of the mountain. Mother Salamence was intrigued and hauled them to her den.

"To motherhood!" Aurelia cried, and offered Mother Salamence the first drink. Canny Aurelia feigned drinking with her, and they laughed and reveled into the night.

Mother Salamence collapsed after imbibing four great casks. When Aurelia was certain Her cunning plan succeeded, She laughed and kissed Mother Salamence upon the brow, whispering to her.

"To the victor go the spoils!"

Her time had come. Aurelia took what she desired most.

Gold and treasure was forgotten.

Aurelia departed with one of Mother Salamence's eggs. She fled into the night.

Mother Salamence's wrath was swift. She hunted Aurelia day and night. A week passed. Aurelia survived through strength and guile in equal measure.

Mother Salamence at last returned to her den. Aurelia was wise. She knew the mother could not leave her newborn for long.

Her beloved partner, Agaleion, hatched soon after.

Through Aurelia's daring cunning, the Draconids were born. The bloody wings of Agaleion opened the Sky to those brave enough to flock to Aurelia's scarlet banner, and forged a legacy that shall last unto eternity.

Shout Monarch Aurelia's name to the blessed Sky!

Yeah, that wasn't happening. Ash would always respect the will and strength it took to grow into greatness from nothing. He glanced up at the Sky Pillar's sheer enormity. How many people could have built a civilization capable of building this?

But if even half of this founding myth was accurate, then Aurelia was a murderer both directly and by proxy. A warrior-thief, a liar, and possessed of the ruthlessness inherent to those who saw themselves at the center of existence.

And what pissed Ash off was that it had worked.

Ash hoped that the modern world wouldn't reward such callousness anymore, and for the most part it didn't. A tamer land allowed for those with good hearts like Lance and the other Champions to rise to prominence and usher in a golden era.

Except there were still those who placed themselves before the rest. Just look at Giovanni! That bastard (and yes, Ash was aware of the irony) was willing to burn the whole world down for what…power? Himself?

Giovanni had destroyed families. He'd killed innocent humans and pokémon alike. Anything that got in his way was something to be cut down.

The man had ruined Gary's family. He'd hurt Ash's mother.

Ash's fingers curled up into fists.

Even Silver.

Ash thought the kid was a little prick, but what chance had he had with Giovanni's foul influence molding his every step? Everything that Giovanni touched was infected with a deep, inexorable rot. If Giovanni had his way, no doubt Ash would have worn that accursed red 'R' upon his own chest one day.

A traitorous thought filled Ash's head. Would Mewtwo have been the same if it hadn't been born to the Rockets, or had they corrupted something that might have been noble? What hope did anything have if it had been raised—even indirectly—by Giovanni and Team Rocket?

He wasn't struck down immediately for the thought, and that left him a little unsettled. Not even a spear of psychic agony to wrack his body.

Aurelia was just a Giovanni who had succeeded. Even worse, she'd been loved for it.

You are better.

Ash exhaled, releasing tension he didn't even realize he'd been holding. His shoulders lowered. "I—thanks, Dazed. I guess I owe my mom for that. And Professor Oak. But let's see if there are any Draconids worth remembering."

Dazed acknowledged him with a mental brush, and they turned to the Sky Pillar and its countless stories. Plume had helped them spot several of interest thanks to her keen eyes, and they set to work decoding those that caught their attention.

They worked for several long hours. Ash was pleased that some Draconids built their legends in a way that didn't revolve around rampant amorality—some were true heroes to stand against those Draconids who sought to write their names in blood and ash.

There were Draconids who stood against the tyrants of Volumo and their clan alike. There were Draconids who wielded their great strength to right wrongs as knights-errant. There were those who fostered communication between humans and pokémon, ultimately setting the stage for the League's warmer relations.

Others laid down their lives to strike down evils.

But one tale caught their attention immediately: the story of the last Awakening.

It was one that Ash had seen before, if only in part. They were painted nearly a hundred feet up the Sky Pillar's front face and difficult to see, but Ash placed his palm against the Sky Pillar's rough sandstone—

The colorful cities of Volumo dotted an alien landscape—Hoenn-but-not—as glittering jewels situated throughout a tamed wilderness.

Darkness! A dark shadow beneath the waves swallowed navies in its abyssal maw. The sea was black save the bloody light which pulsated beneath the waves like a crimson submarine sun. Waves drowned the southeast, shearing stone and earth alike.

Light! A mountain chain rose, shaking off its long slumber, casting its cooled carapace aside to reveal pulsating veins of white-hot lava as it stood tall enough to scrape the sky. Armies were crushed beneath its feet.

And at last the Emerald Serpent winding, dwarfing the clouds, golden eyes piercing them all.

Rainbow light shrouded the Emerald Serpent, a comet streaked through the sky, and two noble Draconids held hearts of Red and Blue in their hands.

A bargain struck atop a misty mount, sacrifices made, divine inspiration granted, and a world reshaped to conquer anew…

Ash let his hand fall away and took a step back. His face was pale. "You saw that?"

Dazed's eyes were luminous.

I did.

"Well," Ash said, taking a rattling breath. "We have our work cut out for us. I guess we'd best see what else we can find."

XX

The sun was bright, the waves roared, and there was a certain peace that settled over Ash and his friends.

The Sky Pillar had become familiar to them, absurd as it sounded. Restful.

This was their second full day at the Sky Pillar, and Ash truly hoped a miracle happened in the meantime. With Hoenn calmed, Ash planned to focus his energy on their hunt for Silver.

"Nobody's said anything about him yet," Ash grumbled to his team, flicking through messages sent to his PokéNav from various Ranger outposts and League personnel. "A few reports, but he's gone to ground. He has to know the League is looking for him. He's dumb, but he's not stupid."

Nidoking snorted even as the cold fire flickered within Ash's skull.

"We'll stay here another day or two," Ash decided.

There was still so much to learn, even if it wasn't as conducive for the whole team's training as he'd hoped. What lessons they could glean were invaluable, however. They could accomplish things here that they couldn't anywhere else, even if the Sky Pillar imposed its fair share of restrictions.

His eyes strayed to the wondrous tower, tracing along the vast emerald stain imprinted into its three faces. "And Plume?"

Plume temporarily ceased cooing at Lairon (who was all too happy to soak up the affection) to jerk her head up at Ash. Excitement blazed in her sharp eyes.

A mad smile carved across Ash's features. "We're flying to the top today. Ready?"

Plume shivered with some mix of anticipation and dread, but looked resolutely above.

He'd initially avoided the ascent for fear of his own presence doing something to absolutely ruin everyone's day, but his meditations proved that the Sky Pillar cast a greater shadow on reality than Ash did.

The structure's identity and spirit seemed curious more than anything. Almost helpful.

But Ash no longer feared setting off a catastrophe by interacting with the Sky Pillar. It had been built in the shadow of something greater than Ash could imagine.

The image of emerald Rayquaza winding through the clouds, draped in rainbows and golden sigils, blazed through Ash's mind.

Now that was a monster.

"But let's get some training done first!" Ash clapped his hands together, excited as ever to get the day started. Not to mention distract himself from the visions he'd shared with his team—the Draconids had whispered their warnings into the sandstone blocks, and Ash ensured they would be passed on. "Sneasel, I've hidden Dusk Stones in a few of the houses. See if you can hunt them, then work on Dispel. Without breaking anything!"

Sneasel hissed at that, his ears pressed flat to his skull, but he let his disappointment slide. Ancient Draconid pots no longer had anything to fear…although Sneasel still enjoyed trying smaller ones on as a hat.

"Nidoking, with me." Ash motioned to a little stool they'd dragged up. He already held the Moon Stone in his grip, taking comfort in the steady aura of rigidity that whispered to his senses. The immutable presence was a relief after the scenes of naked chaos that had smashed into his mind with all the grace of a wrecking ball.

"We have a puzzle to crack. Dazed, I'd like you and Plume to spar a bit. See if you can practice high-speed Remote Teleportation. Later you and Sneasel will work on some Distortional abilities together—we need to keep building up your defenses."

Dazed sent a wave of understanding his way while she rubbed at her gleaming pendulum.

"Torrent, can you take a few minutes to guide the rest through their dragon techniques? Especially Lairon. Dragon Rush won't be a walk in the park."

The Kingdra tossed his head with an impatient rumble, but acquiesced. Ash kept an eye on him, well-aware of how the rampant power affected Torrent's normally-even temperament. Infernus had proven to be a massive fan of this new, more aggressive Torrent.

Poor Infernus was going to be heartbroken once they left the Sky Pillar. No doubt he'd make it a mission to draw this passionate side out of Torrent during their duels.

But Torrent's iron discipline wouldn't fail so easily. He was rasher and quick to anger, offense, and insults so long as he sipped upon the Sky Pillar's latent power, but those impulses rarely translated into action.

Except for Infernus, of course. He was happy to be seen as a safe outlet for Torrent's frustrations, and Ash took pleasure in seeing the ferocity of the battles they pitched.

Nidoking's ears twitched. His and Dazed's eyes flashed blue.

Ash's nose wrinkled as something strange upon the horizon tugged at his senses. It was familiar, like a movie watched many times (aka Dragon Tamer) seen through lidded eyes. A bonfire lit behind closed doors, warm and crackling and dangerous. Untamed.

It felt…golden. As odd as that was to say.

"Do you feel that?" Ash grunted to his team.

Nidoking's ears fluttered as the hulking poison-type nodded, utterly still as he sought out the strange sensation with every sense. Dazed, Torrent, Oz, Plume, and Infernus made their own sounds of acknowledgement.

How odd. "I wonder what that—agh!"

Cacophony. Din. Discordance.

Screeching, grating, bellowing, the shriek of dying prey and gurgling bile and gaping wounds and knives driving through his skull so fiercely that he just wanted to tear his ears off and dig out his brain just to make it STOP!

Ash disassociated, vaguely aware of Nidoking howling beside him and the twitching forms of the rest of his team as black-tinged sonic waves thundered down about him, slithering through his ears like a naked blade and hammering into his mind like sable nails—

His thoughts jumbled, scattered to all the corners of the world, but Ash knew this sound.

Perish Song!

Clair. Altaria. Plume wracked with pain.

"Stop it!" Ash wheezed. It was all he could do to utter the words. "Stop it! Dazed, Nidoking! Need you!"

Ash collapsed to his knees as an unexpected hero muffled the agonizing sound with a wispy psychic bubble that just barely contained all the team. Nidoking and Dazed's keen senses crippled them, but Oz had managed to resist.

Electivire's ears were specially adapted to handle sound. Oz still gritted her teeth beneath the awful pain of Perish Song—and it would surely claim her just as it would the rest—but she'd been able to dampen its effects to buy them a fighting chance.

"Thank you!" Ash groaned as Oz's furry fingers gently clasped around his own and hauled him to his feet.

He stumbled, but she caught him in a brief embrace before releasing him. The Perish Song echoed in his ears, scraping them raw, and the beginnings of an awful migraine split his skull.

Perish Song (despite its name) was a debilitation technique that had defensive and offensive value. A conscious listener would experience building pain until they fell entirely unconscious, leaving them easy pickings.

His senses swam and the sun sharpened to a blinding intensity that left stars shining in his vision.

But they'd prepared for this—Clair's victory infuriated—and they'd just gotten a brief taste. The Perish Song wouldn't act quickly. They had time!

He gathered his wits. "Dazed, Nidoking! Oz can't hold that shield. Sonic defenses!"

Oz was practiced with psychic barriers, but it wasn't her specialty. Dazed and Nidoking had both spent quite a bit of time after their encounter with Durand learning to modulate psychic barriers to specialize against sonic-based attacks. It was a pain, but Metagross and Claydol had been good teachers.

Ideally, earthen barriers would supplement the psychic shields, but that wouldn't work near the Sky Pillar. His stomach sank as his mind finally caught up to his body.

Dazed led the efforts, and suddenly the dull howl of the Perish Song was almost entirely muted, its black notes blocked by her shield. They'd bought themselves a few moments reprieve, even if a brutal headache began to prick behind Ash's eyes. His friends were in a similar state.

"Form up!" Ash roared, coming to life despite the turning of his stomach. "Ten minutes tops before that Perish Song knocks us out. Make it count!"

He nearly staggered, but refused to show such weakness to his team… or a potential attacker. Who could it be?

Ash's unsteady hands shook with adrenaline, but he managed to press the alarm buttons offered to him by the League.

A black shadow swept overhead, Dazed's shield wavering (but thankfully holding true) beneath the muted force of a Noivern's cacophonous Boomburst, and dread filled him. If they hadn't pulled together to form up their shields then that attack would've utterly scrambled them and left them utterly defenseless.

His thoughts ran wild, but were guided by an undercurrent of logic and training.

They'd prepared for this.

"Durand! Possible back up!" Ash snapped. "No earth and water here. Dazed, keep shields ready for Noivern."

Dazed's voice was fragmented as it manifested in his thoughts.

Un-stood.

Damn, the sensory overstimulation was taking its toll. He'd have to take that into account.

The Noivern swept in again, but Dazed's shield held once more. Nidoking and Oz allowed her to coordinate their own psychic power into her efforts.

"Nidoking in front, Lairon behind! Sense them out, pick them apart. Plume, in the air! Torrent and Infernus, standby."

Ash quickly rattled off orders to the rest, though he spared a considering glance for Plume. He worried about her being up in the air with the migraine building, but there was little else to be done. They desperately needed coverage, and with any luck she'd put her experience to good use and tear Durand's Noivern out of the sky.

But where were the rest? Nidoking reported nothing, although his weak telepathy nudged Ash and Plume in the direction of the Sky Pillar itself.

He had to hope that Plume could identify the threat. Ash's mind raced.

How the hell did Durand know where to find them?! The only people Ash had mentioned it were League members or…

The gala. Ash was never going to say a damn word in public again!

Pain built in his skull one drop at a time. Ash tapped the emergency signal on his PokéNav that Steven gave him before they parted ways—bless him for his endless back up planning—which would alert the League.

But no help would be coming soon. The only Ranger bases to observe the Sky Pillar were empty due to the trouble in the archipelago. In most areas, the League would simply teleport there within the span of a minute or two, but the Sky Pillar wouldn't allow such an intrusion upon its domain.

Remote teleportation and short-range worked fine, but anything long distance would be rendered too unstable. It wasn't worth the risk to chance it in or out.

And with half his team being hobbled by the Sky Pillar's impact on their powers…

Ash grit his teeth. He'd led his team right into the jaws of a beast.

"I'm cycling you out. Time in stasis will nullify Perish Song," Ash said more to himself than his team. They all knew this, but it helped to order their thoughts. His vision blurred as the migraine pounded like a hammer swinging inside his skull.

Plume shrieked from high above and he heard the cry of a Noivern as they engaged in combat. The sounds were so muffled that they sounded miles away.

Torrent's fiery eyes softened as he looked upon Ash. He rumbled something, and Ash shook his head.

"I'll bear it," Ash said without hesitation. "Nothing else for it. Bruiser and Seeker, you're first."

They both nodded before vanishing in a flash of light. Ash felt vulnerable without Bruiser's bulk at his side, but he'd have to make do for now.

Less than a minute had passed since the assault began. Ash's eyes strayed for any advantage. The Draconids' nigh-indestructible buildings were tempting to fortify themselves in, but he didn't trust them. Ash could think of a hundred ways to capitalize on a trapped enemy.

Hobbled team, no physical defenses—then that candle-lit presence roared again.

The team winced as one as the air split anew. Another Perish Song!

Dazed nullified it immediately, and Plume soared overhead after its unseen source, firing off a quick Hyper Beam into a spot behind the Sky Pillar itself while Noivern futilely chased behind her. The dragon was utterly unable to keep up with Plume, but did its best to prevent her from simply flying rampant in the skies.

Where the hell was Durand? She had to have been waiting somewhere, but she could be anywhere thanks to that damn Zoroark. Every second that went without another attack was one more that she was preparing to slide a knife between his ribs.

He scanned the skies, blinking involuntary tears away. Where, where, where…?

"There!" Ash roared. He jabbed a finger at the sky, squinting, as the vague impression he felt came nearer and nearer from the direction of the sun.

The sun flickered bright for a moment and Ash felt a sudden surge of relief as Dazed fed an impression of a blue dragon into his thoughts.

"Salamence!"

Ash's heart leapt. Durand had no hope at all if Drake himself had been in the area! No doubt she'd flee the moment she could. He wasn't alone anymore, and Durand wasn't one for direct fights. A flush of rage surged through his veins even as the pain redoubled.

They'd tear Durand limb from limb for what she'd done!

Still, it was quenched by his relief. Ash had to fight down a cheer as the great dragon swept in from the sea at a blistering pace. Tangrowth didn't bother, and gurgled happily, ensnaring them all with a hugging vine around their legs or arms.

He looked up at the Salamence with a smile, only able to see more than its shadow thanks to his cap protecting his eyes.

The Salamence turned its fierce eyes upon Ash.

Whatever triumph he felt fled in an instant. "Shields up! It's coming for—"

They had little time to react, but Lairon and Nidoking hurled up their Protects as one. Shimmering green power manifested all around them in a hemispherical shape, a defense made harder than the iron of Lairon's armor. The little steel-type roared his challenge as he rushed in front of Ash alongside Nidoking, abandoning his position at the back.

It almost wasn't enough.

Ash's eyes bulged as the Salamence—or was it a Salamence at all? The colors and overall shape were a match, but its wings had seemingly merged into one great crescent blade and its legs were different somehow, streamlined and merged into its armored underbelly—unleashed hell upon them.

Heat and light overcame the glaring eye of the sun.

The familiar molten gold of Draco Meteor coalesced in the strange Salamence's mouth, blinding Ash even as he thought he saw other figures approaching, and a dozen furious comets spewed forth.

Most dragons could only unleash Draco Meteor as a wild spray of individual projectiles. The strange Salamence ignored such limitations.

The meteors twisted and aligned midair, lining up to follow one another in a successive line of molten gold that spat and hissed as it shot forward at a speed to overtake most any flier, and Ash saw death in those fiery comets.

"Hold!"

The Protect shielded against the physical force, but golden light pierced the shimmering barrier, half-blinding them all, and Ash felt the first Draco Meteor pound against the layered Protects, somehow clinging on like glue to sear the shield rather than spilling out into fiery mist as it should, and Ash's heart skipped a beat as a single crack threaded through the double-layered Protect.

Tangrowth wailed behind him, clutching Ash tightly as he prepared to yank the trainer into his mass of vines, but Ash shook his head. A single one of these Draco Meteors would have tested the Protect, but one after another…all they could do was— "Hold!"

And then the second golden Draco Meteor struck, and the double-layered Protects shattered beneath the unstoppable assault.

Ash roared out his challenge as death came, baring his teeth and rushing forward with Fire in his breast and a cold presence bright in his mind, and then that Fire flickered.

For a moment it seemed that time froze. Clouds of dust hung perfectly suspended in the air, parted by the Draco Meteors which came forth in an endless deluge that would've torn an airship from the sky. Even the golden comets slowed and stilled before coming to a complete stop mere feet in front of him.

Dread filled him like a rising tide. Hope drained away into a void. The world seemed greyer in comparison to the molten light of the Draco Meteors, tinged lavender.

Strength fled him, though he remained standing. A terrible misery chipped away at his fiery spirit.

His breath caught in his chest as he witnessed the blazing spheres that would've obliterated his frail human flesh. They were bright as liquid gold and just as hot. Splashes of stray power flickered out from the orb like the sun's corona.

At first he thought it was like the stories he heard from veterans of the Last War: one's life flashing before their eyes as the world itself slowed to a crawl, the brain pushing itself to the limits to find a way out.

But the Perish Song still filled the air with its dreadful notes. The ocean still fled the Sky Pillar in a constant roar. His team's breaths filled his ears and so did the pounding of his heart. He twitched his finger, and he saw that the clouds drifted overhead.

And as his heart grew empty and his mind blanked, Ash recognized the spell.

"Lotus!" Ash cried, and watched with wide eyes as the gaseous form of the Spiritomb flowed out from the keystone on his belt more swiftly than he could ever remember. Still sluggish, but inflamed further than ever before. Lotus' jagged green features came to life in emerald flame, and its body projected out in front of Ash like an aegis.

A torrent of stitched-together thoughts from dozens of souls flooded him.

Pleading face—broken door—silver Lucario peering down with cold eyes—harvested—parents who could not protect their children—partners who could not defend their family—siblings torn apart by iron-clad hands—No more!

Neveragainneveragainneveragain—

The strange Salamence shrieked as Lotus' crushing aura hammered into it. Ash was reasonably impressed (but viciously disappointed) that it didn't come crashing down into their midst, but it slowed just enough for him to absorb more details.

Ash's heart stopped even as he ordered his team back to a safe distance. Wings like a crimson crescent moon. Its body streamlined and armored to a far greater degree. Forelimbs folded up at its sides for maximum aerodynamics. Speed beyond even an 'ordinary' Salamence.

He'd seen this in old League files after he'd done a deep dive to satisfy his curiosity about Mega Evolution. Steven had lit the spark, and he'd devoured every scrap of knowledge he could.

Mega Salamence.

Lotus kept the stream of Draco Meteors frozen just as it had once locked his own team's attacks in place, but Ash knew it wouldn't hold forever.

"Thank you," Ash whispered to Lotus as they ducked into an alley. The Spiritomb didn't respond, but a steady stream of memories continued to flood in. He couldn't deal with that right now! Not with the headache and stars in his eyes and the fury filling his heart. "Sneasel, get ready. We see Durand, you take her down. Understood?"

With the line of sight broken, the Draco Meteors unleashed in a golden stream that seemed like a great geyser of molten metal. Hell, that was the sort of attack that would've made Lance proud!

Shit.

Another golden meteor came flying from above, picking up greater velocity and flame and golden power as it sailed through the draconic-infused atmosphere surrounding the Sky Pillar. His team was ready this time, and Nidoking grunted as he caught the brutal attack on another Protect.

It still rattled them. Even one of this beast's casual attacks was enough to test their limits…they couldn't keep this up!

He was dazed, though almost entirely spared thanks to the quick protections of his companions. Layering the psychic barriers and Nidoking's Protect was an almost impregnable defense, although perhaps a bit wasteful.

Right now Ash could only be grateful for his team's quick response. But when the hell did Durand get a Salamence? Was this Durand, or had the Noivern been a ploy of some sort?

Ash snarled as the battle drums filled his ears. His team was more or less unscathed, though rattled. No one could have predicted Lotus, and it was sobering to realize that without the Spiritomb, Ash would have been reduced to smoking bones.

Their unseen foe had made one fatal mistake by failing to kill them in the first ten seconds.

His team wouldn't make the same mistake.

"Come on!" Ash roared, doubts of his attacker's identity tossed away as they rushed back into the central corridor which led to the Sky Pillar. "Show yourself, Durand! You owe us blood!"

Plume shrieked above, twisting to easily evade both Noivern (who she sent spinning away with a single flap of her wings) and Mega Salamence, who she relentlessly pursued to offer them a break.

The Perish Song cut off immediately at his challenge, thank the stars! It still grated within his skull, building towards a painful resolution as the seconds ticked by. They'd burned around a minute and a half so far, even if the opening stages of the battle felt like an eternity.

Ash snarled alongside Nidoking as a cloaked figure in an infuriatingly familiar black bandanna wrapped around her hair and Aqua's blue-and-white striped gear hopped off a fluffy-winged Altaria atop a roof near the Sky Pillar. Her face was obscured by a second bandanna, but he could see tan skin, straight black hair, and wild eyes.

"I can't believe you survived!" The masked trainer cried gaily, although a ferocious edge underlied her easy words. "Ash Ketchum is well on his way to greatness, I see. Just as much of a mad bastard as everyone says! I hate to snuff out a young legend in the making, but you've reached the end of your tale. But at least you'll die an honorable death. I'll offer your bones to the Sky Pillar in a place of—gah, fuck!"

Altaria wailed as Sneasel made his move.

With Mega Salamence occupied by Plume (who was faster and more agile as they wove circles around the Sky Pillar, but Ash could see the negative effects of the Perish Song on her flying), the little dark-type had seen his chance to strike.

"Now!" Ash roared. Sneasel had unleashed a point-blank Mind Breaker as he effortlessly clambered up onto the roof, but Altaria reflexively summoned up some strange shield to meet it.

It was reminiscent of a Protect, but subtly different. Whereas Protect appeared as a shimmering green barrier, this was more like Altaria had torn the power saturating the Sky Pillar from the wind and forged it into a shield.

The shield shoved into Sneasel and toppled him, turquoise flames licking at his fur with corrosive power, but the Mind Breaker was able to erode the defense and rattle both Altaria and the unknown trainer.

"Go!"

Infernus' lips peeled back into a snarl as he vanished into nothingness, reappearing on one of the fortress roofs next to their foe. No doubt he'd intended to teleport right on top of her and roast her alive—Ash felt the fire in his blood rage at the thought of her exposed skin withering and crumbling to dust—but the Sky Pillar wouldn't make things so easy.

A hail of attacks ranging from Torrent's Dragon Pulse to Dazed's precise rainbow-hued Psybeam to Nidoking's Ice Beam (which was aimed precisely at Altaria) all erupted from Ash's disciplined team once the opportunity presented itself.

Altaria flared its fluffy wings and warded them away with that same ferocious shield. The draconic power was flexible and ferocious at the bird's command, wielded with the precision of a Master.

And empowered beyond belief by the Sky Pillar. Damn it!

Infernus hurled himself at the trainer, only to be caught by a Boom Burst from Noivern as it came swooping by. It had apparently given up on keeping track of Plume, trusting the task to Mega Salamence instead as the Pidgeot and ferocious dragon dueled above the Sky Pillar with bursts of draconic fury and the howling of the wind.

It didn't keep Infernus down, however, and the enemy trainer hurriedly released three more fighters into the grand road leading to the Sky Pillar, just twenty feet ahead of Ash. He quickly returned Tangrowth and Oz, wincing as the Perish Song continued to scrape away at his skull with greater and greater intensity, and prepared to release Bruiser and Seeker the moment he could.

At least Oz would only require a few seconds of stasis to recover. She'd been amongst the least affected.

The first materialized swiftly. It was hunched, but stood seven feet tall even with that handicap. Its pale flesh was gooey with slime and seemingly soft and squishy to the touch, but Ash grimaced.

Muscle bulged beneath the creature's skin, hinting at its concealed power, and the damn thing smiled at them, even deigning to wave even as it conjured up a Protect to intercept the four attacks immediately sent its way.

"Hit it now!" Ash hissed, massaging his temples in an attempt to ward off the Perish Song's agony as the headache mounted. He'd have to numb it with Ice if it worsened, although he knew it would be difficult to focus on that with the Sky Pillar interfering.

Nidoking didn't dare leave Ash's side, but fired off an Ice Beam that the Goodra simply ducked.

Infernus roared as he launched himself at Goodra, tackling it and rolling to the ground as he blazed to a white-hot glow, but Ash's eyes could only widen as the other fighters appeared.

"How?!"

A terrifying creature manifested before them.

It towered above any of Ash's team at a whopping eleven feet tall, but its sheer mass and formidable nature was enough to contest a Snorlax or Slaking in raw power. Great jaws snapped. A gold-bronze crest glimmered in the sun. Deep-set black eyes glowered down at them. A great mantle of five white spikes adorned with primitive feathers collared its huge head.

Tyrantrum. How the fuck did she get a Tyrantrum?!

There were less than a hundred registered in the world, and the Leagues kept a close eye on them due to their sheer destructive potential. Everyone knew who had turned the first cloned Tyrantrum into a dread monster, after all, and to see one in the wrong hands…

Heads would roll for this!

Torrent had largely held his power in reserve until now, unwilling to show his hand until they knew the scope of their foe, but Ash didn't even have to give the order before Torrent unleashed hell upon the Tyrantrum.

The creature had barely gained its bearings before Torrent lunged forth, casting aside the agony of the Perish Song to focus all his fury upon this new challenger. Ash felt the Sky Pillar sing as Torrent exploded forward with greater speed than Ash had ever seen from him, writhing flecks of power coalescing into a glorious Dragon Pulse that would send the Tyrantrum reeling while Infernus wrestled with the Goodra—

"Ah!" Ash cried as something hammered into an impromptu shield hurled up by Nidoking.

The Protect barely held as a flash of ghostly teal raked it. He saw only a glimpse of a tiny, scaly reptile fleeing through the air before it vanished, overcome by the Tyrantrum which charged forth with an earth-shattering roar.

Torrent's Dragon Pulse stunned it, but they were far from their best. The amplified power of the Sky Pillar proved to be a detriment here. Torrent's control had been slashed further by the Perish Song aching through their heads. The attack was powerful, but the Tyrantrum was able to disperse it with the same fluid control as Altaria. Green flame splashed uselessly around it, broken upon Tyrantrum's bulk like a river parting around a stone.

Even worse, the great beast snarled at them as it took great strides forward. Nidoking rushed forward to meet it, firing off an Ice Beam which encrusted its rocky chest, and the Tyrantrum's eyes lit up with glee.

Goodra and Infernus still wrestled on the ground behind the Tyrantrum, although it appeared Goodra's flame retardant slime was allowing it to withstand his heat. Infernus was a vicious fighter, however, and he gradually overcame the mighty dragon with blow after blow.

"Infernus, teleport!" Ash snapped as he saw a fluid figure materialize above the Magmortar. Its black head was accented with dark pink marking and its long, phantasmal tail was a brilliant teal that faded away into nothingness at the tip.

The Magmortar flitted away just as the Dragapult—a pokémon that Ash had only seen in the Pokédex archives and heard about in Lance's impassioned rants about capturing one as his next teammate—launched a scaly little Dreepy right at Infernus.

At the same time, Nidoking met Tyrantrum's charge with his own.

He was utterly outclassed physically. Nidoking was sturdy and strong, but Tyrantrum was massive. The beast seemed to laugh at Nidoking's desperate attempt, only to snarl as it plowed straight into a shimmering Protect.

Earth manipulation would've been more economical, but the Sky Pillar rendered that option moot. This was the worst place to be ambushed!

But Tyrantrum had no patience.

"Aurelia's Daggers!" their foe cried as she rode away on Altaria, who shrouded them in a corrosive layer of draconic power that devoured whatever attacks came close.

Ash winced as Nidoking stood his ground, feeding his vast strength into the Protect even as the Tyrantrum's massive fangs (each the length of a long knife) blazed with turquoise power, suddenly infused with enormous strength as projections erupted into glowing sabers that tore right through the Protect.

Nidoking blasted an Ice Beam up into the underside of Tyrantrum's throat as it roared its victory, and the beast scratched at the frozen patches with its tiny arms. It would've been comical if the hulking thing wasn't ten feet away.

Ash called out order after order as the spike in his skull grew more insistent. He managed his team as they fought off stray attacks from Mega Salamence as it swept over them, each of those blows enough to blast right through Lairon's Protects and force Dazed to devote her efforts to safeguarding them.

"Oz, the Altaria!" Ash grunted to his friend, eyes watering as another insistent stab drove right into his brain. "Torrent, levitate up on the roof! Pressure them however you can. You're wasted on the ground!"

They fell back down an alleyway. Although Ash was loath to confine himself without knowing their powerful enemy's full capabilities, he needed cover to avoid a stray attack from Tyrantrum simply smashing him apart.

While Torrent harnessed the Sky Pillar's power to levitate twenty feet up onto a nearby fortress wall—a feat that would've exhausted him anywhere else—and Oz clambered up beside him to both safeguard Torrent and strike at the Altaria and Salamence with her swift lightning bolts, Nidoking barred the way into the alley.

Dust shrouded the air, Nidoking and Tyrantrum visible as great shadows and beacons of light as they traded blow after blow. While Tyrantrum was physically dominant, Nidoking abused every trick he had to ward the powerhouse off. His eyes flashed azure as his telekinesis nudged Tyrantrum's deadly jaws inches off course.

Ash's quick command to utilize the unbreakable nature of the Draconid buildings proved a good one. He took a stab of pleasure in seeing the Tyrantrum's great head thunk off the alley way as Nidoking psychically wrenched it to the side, stunning the monster long enough for the poison-type to spit a Sludge Bomb into its cruel face.

Nidoking's burgeoning telepathy enabled him to catch perceptions and act milliseconds before he might have, avoiding blows that would've left his head pierced by those fiery turquoise sabers that longed to shred and rend and destroy. The lightest touch of those draconic projections would carve through whatever protections he erected, and Ash's heart pounded in fear for his friend.

Lotus was still dormant after its effort, slowly receding back into the keystone. A creature of apathy couldn't muster much, although Ash hoped that Lotus might strike again if it saw an opportunity that wouldn't require too much effort.

Best not to rely on it, though.

Nidoking just had to hold on a little longer…

Ash didn't dare speak his next plan out loud, but he did the equivalent of a mental shout to earn Dazed's attention. She nodded just before he recalled her. Ash felt naked and defenseless without her sturdy shields and enormous skill to protect him, but she was too valuable to let fall to Perish Song. Her abilities would degenerate rapidly if the pain grew too much for her to maintain focus on shields and telepathy. That was the downside of psychic powers.

He doubted their foe—who Ash's aching brain suspected was the rogue Dragon Master who had been terrorizing the League—would let this brief stalemate last for long. Plume had occupied her most powerful fighter up in the air, but he feared for his friend as the Perish Song grew like a cancer in her mind.

Best to take the opportunity while it presented itself.

Tyrantrum roared as a great flash (courtesy of Torrent's Dragon Pulse) sent it reeling backwards, and Nidoking snarled as he lunged forth and stabbed into the great dragon's underbelly with his horn. Its sharp point barely managed to scrape past a scale and jab into the still-hard flesh beneath, but the Tyrantrum stumbled back as venom poured into its veins.

Ash could hardly see what was happening, but Nidoking continued fortifying the alley. Enormous bursts of flame and electricity and thunder rattled the earth as his friends waged war upon the unseen trainer's team. That was enough.

They just needed a little more time…

"Enough messing around! This won't earn us a place in the songs. Kratyke, kill them! Aurelia's Spirit!"

Two things happened at that moment.

First, Tyrantrum (or Kratyke, Ash supposed) roared. The Sky Pillar's power ignited all around it in a terrible turquoise blaze as draconic flames wreathed its hard scales. Kratyke's white spines shone like diamonds as a great light suffused its enormous form.

Fires of Creation, Ash's senses whispered to him.

Torrent unleashed a hail of attacks upon the empowered Tyrantrum—two Dragon Pulse that Kratyke simply absorbed, digested, and incorporated into Aurelia's Spirit—and a Hydro Pump that seemed far weaker than normal, although it still earned a cry of pain from the rock-type.

Goodra lunged forth to protect Kratyke from Torrent's howling Blizzard, the gooey dragon's soft skin hardening to rigid, brittle steel for a brief instant.

"Use ice!" Ash wheezed, resisting the Perish Song as best he could. He felt himself growing slower and stupider as the pain hooked deeper in. Every word was a challenge. "It'll hurt."

Kratyke roared, its draconic cloak erupting like a billowing flame, and its snapping jaws grazed the indestructible stone of the Draconid buildings as Nidoking was forced back.

Ash's heart sank when a single chip of stone fell away from a building's corner where Tyrantrum's fangs struck. Those would stand up to an artillery barrage…how strong was that thing?

Kratyke's gaping jaws seemed to fill the alley, its turquoise aura with tiny flecks of gold consuming the Poison Sting that Nidoking attempted to fill the vulnerable flesh of its palate with, and Ash grit his teeth as the brilliant power flowed from the Tyrantrum's flesh into a swirling sphere that immediately unleashed in a roar of draconic fire, like a dragon-type Hyper Beam!

Nidoking roared as he manifested his Protect. It filled the alley, taking advantage of the (almost) indestructible buildings to maximize efficiency, and by some miracle it held. Champion-level power poured from the empowered Kratyke, holding the beam steady as more and more draconic energy ignited in its maw, matching Nidoking's stubbornness with its own relentless desire to kill.

Torrent blasted Blizzard after Blizzard down at Tyrantrum. Ash was grateful that the Sky Pillar didn't muffle the ice as it did liquid water attacks, although the distinction made little sense to him.

Goodra had made it its full time job to leap in front of what blows it could take, block what blasts it couldn't, and exchange ranged attacks with Torrent so that he couldn't just lob endless artillery barrages at Tyrantrum.

And even as all that happened, Ash shouted a command to Lairon. He warbled out his war cry, although he was hesitant to leave Ash practically unguarded, and charged forth with his armored head lowered. The Lairon shot forward with incredible speed (far more than any Lairon should be able to manage) and skated forward with his magnetism while a faint green Protect materialized around him.

"Drop it!" Ash cried, hurling himself to the ground behind Nidoking as the Protect vanished and Lairon took the full force of Kratyke's draconic Hyper Beam.

Or, rather, his Protect did.

The protection was stripped away in less than a second beneath the Champion-level attack, but that was all Lairon needed.

Ash took great pleasure in hearing Tyrantrum's roar fall into an ear-shaking gurgle as approximately three hundred pounds of muscle, bone, and (especially) metal armor slammed into the rock-type's thick skull hard enough to send three of the bronze spines of its crest scattering off.

He'd have to collect those once he was done ripping this Dragon Master limb from limb. The League could make use of them to track the trainer, and Ash wouldn't mind taking a trophy from this fight…

Then he wretched as the stars in his vision shimmered brighter, the crashes and roars and explosions not doing much to help his migraine. Ash couldn't rise from his knees for a moment, wishing nothing more to curl up into his ball and hide away from all sensory input while his team took care of this, and that's when the second thing happened.

A shining teal tail whipped into existence just above him as Dragapult materialized from nowhere, erupting from nonexistence in a torrent of shadow as it struck with a Phantom Force that would've ended Ash's life and opened him up from belly to navel.

Lightning flickered through Ash as the expected attack came, and it 'only' lacerated his forearm instead.

Oh that hurt like a bitch!

Ash howled as the tip of the tail cleaved through skin and muscle like a hot knife through butter, but in the end it was only a superficial injury compared to what might have been.

That brief instant channeling Lightning amplified his migraine to new heights, though, and that hurt worse than the actual wound.

Red muscle opened raw and bloody, but the adrenaline kept Ash from feeling much more than a flash of pain. Dark power crawled throughout the wound, however, and he knew he'd have to take care of that before he could collapse into slumber. That couldn't be good for him…

He had a split second to see the Dragapult's flat head, its ancient eyes staring at him with something like pity, and the two scaly Dreepy wriggling excitedly in Dragapult's horns as they readied to fire into Ash's defenseless form.

Just as Ash expected. Something like victory surged in his breast even as his heart skipped a beat. A primordial fear filled him as the world slowed, but it was smothered by an all-consuming emptiness that he'd grown far too accustomed to.

All one hundred and eight disparate souls came together in unison for the first time Ash could remember.

Never Again.

His team fought on unbothered as Lotus seeped from its keystone in a smog of lavender gas, but their foes sank to their knees, stunned by the awful hollowness seeping into their souls. Lotus' power swallowed the battlefield for a moment, swallowing the sun like an eclipse, and Ash heard a distant roar as Plume stole a blow against Mega Salamence high above.

A second time?! A warmth broke past the apathy, even if this was hardly the time for it.

Ash's bleary mind reached fruitlessly for Lotus as the keystone flickered to life. A flat emerald stare burned like green cinders in the Distortional miasma, and even Dragapult was locked in place and frozen as Lotus' dread overwhelmed reality.

Locked in cages buried in tombs dehydrated watered starved fed emptiness boredom starved of light starved of hope buried alive until the screams fed unearthed and all again all again all again—

Distortion flickered about the Dragapult as it attempted to slip away through the void, but its Phantom Force wouldn't come to it. Ash was certain it would have given time, but Lotus' presence was like being trapped beside a black hole.

It made Ash sick to his stomach—although part of that was the migraine that worsened by the second—even after months of daily interaction.

The Dragon Master's team didn't stand a chance. It wouldn't keep them down long thanks to the adrenaline coursing through their veins, but it stunned them. No doubt Ash's team was taking full advantage.

Just as Sneasel did, leaping down from where he'd hidden above as Ash's final guardian. He landed on Dragapult's vaguely corporeal form and slashed again and again with Distorted claws, yowling as he returned every ounce of agony he'd suffered with interest.

Dragapult was slashed into a dozen pieces while trapped in Lotus' cold grip. Its eyes betrayed a terrible panic behind the apathetic stupor that Lotus had forced it into, but it would break free soon.

Sneasel made every second count.

There was no time for mercy. Not when Ash had been a hair away from death twice already.

So Sneasel slashed. He tore. He hooked his claws into Dragapult's vaguely corporeal head and shredded it again and again. The Dreepy screamed even as the Dragapult reconstituted itself from the tattered fragments, and it finally broke free.

Lotus flooded back into the keystone, truly exhausted. It had only managed to hold it for a handful of seconds, but that was enough. The Spiritomb wouldn't emerge again for a long time.

The Dragapult flicked its teal tail and vanished.

It wouldn't dare return. Ash expected it to rejoin the main fight and poke from the edges, perhaps acting in the enemy trainer's defense, but Dragapult had just wasted an immense amount of energy on a fruitless attack. Ghosts might be able to reform thanks to their unnatural constitution, but it was an exhausting task.

"Good…" Ash murmured, still pressed against the cool stone floor, throbbing and struggling to stay with the fight.

Pain radiated from his skull throughout his body and stole his strength. Blood seeped from the clean cut on his forearm steadily, standing scarlet against his tan skin. He couldn't help but stare for a long moment, consciously recognizing and assessing the injury, comparing it to those he'd seen before.

Sneasel pressed a paw against him, worried, but Ash shook him off. Focus. "I'll be fine, buddy. Nidoking needs your help."

Sneasel licked Ash's head, peered suspiciously up at the sky, then darted off into the fray once he was satisfied. Ash squeezed his eyes shut for a reprieve, but knew it wasn't over.

Battle still raged beyond the alley. He squinted—every light seemed a thousand times brighter now—and saw little flashes of movement.

Nidoking and Lairon dueled Tyrantrum to a standstill. Kratyke's draconic aura still flickered about it, but the concussion it had suffered beneath Lairon's hard head had clearly broken its focus.

It was a terrifying foe nonetheless.

One of Nidoking's arms hung limp at his side, and blood poured from the tip of his tail where it had been severed by Aurelia's Daggers.

His heart burned. Wild, delirious thoughts trailed through his head.

That was Nidoking's favorite tail…

Torrent flew.

He was awash in turquoise power, a shadow within draconic flame, and hopped from building to building as he dueled Goodra and Altaria with Oz, although she was more intent on flinging Thunderbolts at the enemy trainer to keep her off balance and unable to direct her team.

Frigid gales swept out to stun Tyrantrum and force Goodra into action, although Torrent was horribly scarred from some flash-fire of Mega Salamence.

Some attack must have made it through. His poor chest was almost scaleless, although they'd done their job and kept him alive.

Torrent fought like a monster and proved himself a deadly threat even without the water he had honed into such a formidable weapon. Draconic power flooded outward, though the enemy's pokémon had him beat on that front, and he tore into them with well-placed Blizzards and Ice Beams at every opportunity.

Mega Salamence shot overhead, bathing Nidoking and Lairon in a sea of pure golden flame, and it was only Lairon's quick Protect—he couldn't have too many of those left, Ash feared—that saved them.

Nidoking roared as Tyrantrum swept forward and hurled him to the side, sending him cracking against one of the Draconids' impenetrable walls with a crunching sound.

Plume swept in before Mega Salamence could do anything else. Her flight was horribly wobbly, but she was still unscathed. She put the dragon's flight to shame.

Mega Salamence went spinning as she unleashed a Hurricane from her beak, and the howling wind hurled it dozens of feet before its crescent wing managed to stabilize the fall.

The dragon snapped at her and spat a sea of golden Dragonbreath at the Pidgeot, but she managed to evade it and urge the monstrously powerful beast into a chase to take it far from the battle.

Ash bared his teeth, though the slightest motion seemed impossible right now. He dragged himself forward against the stone with his good arm. It scraped his skin, but Ash fought on. Closer, closer, closer…

He was useless right now. Ash dared to spare a few seconds to call upon Ice, although it was distant and remote near the Sky Pillar. It was a powerful tool, and this reprieve briefly numbed the pain, but he feared relying on it too much in a battle like this.

Ice shaped his thoughts towards frigid logic. He wouldn't dare reduce his team to pawns on the battlefield. Durand hadn't been seeking to kill them. This trainer wouldn't hesitate.

Kratyke turned upon Lairon, eyes glimmering with hatred. It opened its maw to reach forth and crunch Lairon like a Wurmple.

A comet smashed into Tyrantrum's side, sending it stumbling a step or two. Infernus rolled off the rocky hide of the dragon to land in front of Lairon, standing in defense of the steel-type. He shone like a star as heat poured off of him, and the Magmortar leered at Kratyke as he held one of his cannons high.

Fire burst forth in a controlled stream, carefully corralled into a superheated loop within a psychic shell, and stabilized into a coherent Plasma Blade that Ash couldn't bear to look at.

Kratyke roared, charging forth, and Infernus leapt to meet it.

"No."

Two flashes brought Bruiser and Seeker back into the battlefield. Seeker chittered over Ash, snuggling against him as she snuffled at his skin and cried out at the sight of his bleeding forearm, but the squeaks were like agony to his overstimulated brain.

"Quiet! Quiet, please," Ash said more softly. He pointed a trembling finger at the battle. "Help."

Bruiser stood straight. He was a mountain of muscle. His eyes were cold with contained fury as they settled upon Ash's wound.

Ash's eyes cracked open and met Bruiser, who waited desperately for the permission he needed.

He was all too happy to give it.

"Rampage."

Muscles tightened and bulged. Blood pounded through Bruiser's veins, pulsating such a bright red that they appeared like Infernus' molten blood beneath Bruiser's grey skin. His well-defined legs twitched, then the enormous Machamp shot off like one of Oz's lightning bolts.

He held Seeker close. "With me. Stay. Please."

Seeker nodded, clutching at his shirt with her little hooks as he crawled toward the battle. Ash was half-blind as the stars grew brighter and brighter, his thoughts scrambled as Ice's brief numbing wore off, and he only paused to release Tangrowth. While Seeker had already begun to echolocate all around to check for foes, Ash needed more protection than she could offer.

Tangrowth gurgled madly as he was released, his saucer-like eyes narrowed to angry slits, and he instantly wrapped Ash in a fierce hug, painstakingly gentle with his hurt arm.

Ash grunted as a dozen rubbery vines looped around his limbs and torso to gently pull him into Tangrowth's embrace. They squirmed around him, forming something of a coat, and Tangrowth gently probed the laceration with a soft touch.

"Agh!" Ash's eyes squeezed shut as a shock of pain burst through the adrenaline. Tangrowth wailed behind him, clutching him tighter than he ever had, and seemed to do his best to absorb Ash into the protection of his vines. "Bleeding…don't get red."

Several of Tangrowth's vines were already stained scarlet. It bothered Ash in a way that even he knew was irrational.

He grimaced as several tiny vines, no doubt sprouts to replace damaged appendages, wrapped tightly around his forearm and pressed the flaps of skin and bloody tissue together. It tore right through the haze in a spike of agony, but he trusted Tangrowth.

"Forward," Ash grunted. "Need to see the battle."

Tangrowth seemed loath to do so, but Seeker urged him on with a squeak as she flapped and took to the air. His red feet carried Ash forward in his armor of vines, and several of the powerful appendages hooked onto the ramparts above in order to secure a quick escape if needed. Ancient Power and Perfect Regeneration might not be an option near the Sky Pillar, but Tangrowth had all sorts of tools left in his arsenal.

Ash fought back a wince as Tangrowth gingerly stepped into chaos, though he remained within the confines of the alley for Ash's protection.

Crack.

Nidoking's Protect was wispy and betrayed his fatigue, but it saved his life nonetheless. Kratyke was furious as its great jaws shattered the Protect, the draconic cloak around it blazing bright enough to send Nidoking stumbling back as it seared his leathery hide, and the titanic beast cried out in agony as Infernus launched himself into its side with his Plasma Blade pointed straight into their enemy.

It was a shame that Ash was all out of sympathy. That looked like it hurt.

Infernus cackled with delight, heedless of the Perish Song scraping his brain raw, as he shoved the Plasma Blade forward with all his might. The protection of Aurelia's Spirit disrupted it somewhat, but Ash felt a surge of Infernus' joy fill him as the Plasma Blade pressed against Kratyke's rocky hide.

Plasma Blade held enormous piercing power. It enabled Infernus to contest all manner of opponents that his flames might have washed off of before.

No Tyrantrum was an easy foe. It took sustained pressure to carve through into the vital innards, and there was no way Kratyke was just going to stand there and take it.

Kratyke bucked madly, Aurelia's Spirit splashing out like acid as it thrashed against the agonizing Plasma Blade buried into its side, and Ash relished the fear in the monstrous creature's eyes as it recognized the very real danger..

Infernus roared, pressed himself forward with all his strength, and Kratyke howled as the Plasma Blade buried itself several inches past the armor, roasting vulnerable internal organs and dealing true damage to the unstoppable Tyrantrum. Kratyke thrashed and hurled him away, but there was a fist-sized hole punched through its abdomen, smoking and filling the area with the smell of roasted, burned meat.

If only Infernus could have gotten the heart…

"Kratyke! Enough! He's there!" the Dragon Master cried out from atop a building. Altaria was focused entirely on her protection, although Ash managed the faintest smile at the sight of angry red lines emanating like a lightning bolt up the trainer's leg. "The rest of you, drop it all! Kill him! Kill him and return to me!"

Altaria must have protected their foe from the worst of it, but Ash hoped those Lichtenberg figures hurt. Oz had managed to make her suffer for this attack on his team.

And then her words sank into their brains.

Nidoking roared, but he was half-broken from tanking hits from the Tyrantrum again and again. Blood still trailed from the hole on his tail.

He staggered to his feet nonetheless, but Ash knew he wouldn't make it in time. Sneasel leapt from behind the enemy trainer and carved into Altaria's belly with a Shadow Claw, then turned upon their foe with murderous intent. Noivern appeared from seemingly nowhere, crashing into the roof in a way that Durand's never would have.

This one was muscled and powerfully built for one of its breed, much more of a brawler than Durand's nimble assassin, and it flung itself at Sneasel in defense of its trainer.

The two toppled off the roof, scrambling and clawing and snapping at each other, but Sneasel succeeded in drawing two of the Dragon Master's team away from her order.

Tangrowth hauled Ash back into the alley, Seeker squeaking as she launched forward—she spat a high-pitched Supersonic that was murder on Ash's ears from her little mouth, trying to distract Altaria, but had to flit around to avoid Kratyke's snapping jaws.

When that didn't work, Seeker darted forward with a Quick Attack to dart around the Dragon Master, who was forced to hunker down right next to Altaria to prevent Seeker from latching her tiny jaws around the woman's neck and using Poison Fang to put her down for good.

Seeker wanted this fight finished as soon as possible.

Ash tried to shout out orders, but he was pretty sure they were utterly incoherent, muffled as they were by Tangrowth's shell of vines. He had to trust his team. They'd trained for this exact scenario since their battle with Durand.

Lairon was absent—most likely knocked out, and Ash didn't dare imagine the alternative—but Nidoking stood in front of Kratyke only to be tossed aside. He was flagging, and Ash spared just a moment to recall Nidoking, despite the furious roar as Nidoking realized what was happening.

He was going to get himself killed if he kept that up.

Kratyke's broken crest glimmered like a shattered crown in the sun's light. Deep set eyes fell upon Ash. The earth quaked with its every step. The Fires of Creation bloomed about it like a burning rose as Kratyke ignored Infernus' flashing blade, Torrent's Blizzard, and Oz's full-powered Lightning Bolt.

They staggered it and scarred deep wounds in its rocky hide, but Kratyke pressed on as it sought only to kill Ash.

For a moment he saw open jaws (at least before Tangrowth gurgled back a war cry at Kratyke and tried to flip Ash around), and then he heard a gooey splat skip across the ground behind the domineering Tyrantrum.

Tangrowth's grip slackened for just an instant. Ash craned his neck to see what happened, only to catch sight of Goodra rolling across the stone and leaving a trail of viscous slime oozing behind it. It laid limp, practically undone by a single blow of whatever struck it. He expected Goodra to rise eventually. They were tough enough to bounce back from just about anything.

Kratyke ignored the threat even as Ash finally released Dazed again. She appeared behind Tangrowth and reflexively hurled up a psychic barrier to shield them all from any attacks.

But the Tyrantrum's deadly strike never came.

Ash wasn't sure if anyone had ever heard one of the fearsome Tyrantrum wail before, but that's exactly what he heard. Those predatory eyes widened with surprise—and delicious fear, Ash's vengeful side decided—as Bruiser drop kicked it in the side.

Tyrantrum must have weighed several tons thanks to its sheer size and nigh impenetrable armor. It was from a fierce, bygone era and developed a hide thick enough to withstand almost any attack it might face. Such a beast was nearly invulnerable to anything less than a truly mighty blow. Even a Gym Leader's attacks might have washed off that craggy hide.

Those little details didn't matter to Bruiser.

Kratyke cried out as it went flying.

Such a creature had never been airborne before, but Bruiser launched it six feet away to land on its wounded side with a heavy crash that made Ash's bones ache. When it struggled to right itself, scrambling for purchase with its massive legs, Kratyke howled.

One of Bruiser's grey hands, red with Rampage, came down in a brutal Brick Break right down upon the midpoint of its spine. The whole battlefield went silent for a moment as Kratyke screamed, its legs went utterly limp, and Bruiser snapped the Tyrantrum's spine with a thunderous crack of finality.

Rocky scales shattered, broken beneath the force. Kratyke stayed down.

Its spine was mangled, twisted by Bruiser's Brick Break, and all the Tyrantrum had left to fight with was its tiny arms and ferocious jaws. Fearsome weapons, but they weren't enough.

And then Bruiser was upon it.

Four mighty fists came down in a hammer blow, channeling the rampant draconic energy of the Sky Pillar to drive into Kratyke's broken hide with all the force he could muster. Bruiser's fists were soon stained red with Tyrantrum blood.

Kratyke shrieked, flailing as several ribs broke. Bruiser's eyes were cold.

Slam.

Slam.

Slam.

Even Ash couldn't even track the blows, but each pulverized stone sent rocky scales flying. The Tyrantrum's hide was caved in swiftly, yet Bruiser still had to work through six inches of armor—two fists continued to break it apart with brute force while the other two pressed in with mighty fingers to physically pry the Tyrantrum's hide apart.

Ash spied one of the broken spines of Kratyke's crest. The bronze glimmered beneath the sun.

A shaking finger pointed to it. "Give to Bruiser," Ash hissed after several attempts to gather his thoughts.

Tangrowth leapt, not expecting Ash to say anything, but a questing vine grasped the spike and snuck it over to Bruiser.

Goodra rose, frantically spraying turquoise-infused Life Dew upon Tyrantrum—it was surreal to see those grievous wounds begin to close, although Bruiser's fists soon paid the healing back with interest—but Infernus cackled as he lunged at the defense-oriented dragon with his fiery blade and, despite its best efforts, forced it away from its teammate.

It wouldn't be able to shield Kratyke any longer.

Dragapult manifested a distance away, though it steered clear of where Sneasel had been, and the Dreepy screamed in delight as they shot at Bruiser with supersonic speed, ready to explode with deadly force and reform back with their parent.

They threatened to hammer into Bruiser's back and hurl him away from Kratyke's broken body, but Oz was having none of it.

She manifested a psychic barrier halfway between Dragapult and Bruiser that managed to catch the Dreepy, although their velocity was such that they tore right through, only to disperse themselves immediately as Infernus ceased chasing Goodra and charged towards the little dragons like a madman with his Plasma Blade.

Ash thought they'd made a wise decision, though Dragapult hissed at its spawn as they rematerialized within its horns. But the dragon's eyes caught Ash and narrowed to slits just as it vanished.

Three of Bruiser's fists continued their bloody work as Kratyke thrashed beneath him, still eager to fight and tear and kill, but the dragon's seemingly supernatural constitution wouldn't save it any longer.

The last of Bruiser's hands clumsily gripped the bronze spine from Kratyke's crest just as he would one of his enormous knitting needles, raised it high, and plunged it into the gaping hole torn into the Tyrantrum's rocky hide. Any other fighter would've lacked the strength to pierce the last few layers of Kratyke's armor, but Bruiser was no ordinary warrior.

It punched through those last few barriers, carved straight into the organs Infernus had already roasted—

Kratyke only had a moment to squeal like a frightened Skitty before it vanished in a flash of scarlet light.

With Bruiser occupied, Oz and Torrent turned their full power upon the Dragon Master. They'd played a careful game for a while now, careful to hold the line and avoid providing the Master's empowered team an opening to pry them open, but Ash's full team (minus Nidoking and Lairon) could press their advantage now.

The Dragon Master was no fool. Ash hissed as she hopped onto Altaria after ducking Seeker and rushed up into the sky, trailed by Noivern (who bled steadily from a half-dozen claw wounds, and Sneasel spat off an Ice Beam after the dragon as he limped out from another alleyway).

She paused only to save Goodra from Infernus' vicious attacks before they took off toward the top of the Sky Pillar.

Fleeing.

"No!" Ash fumbled within Tangrowth's vines, although the shell didn't dare let him escape. "Plume, take them down!"

Dazed's comforting touch brushed against his mind. With her own thoughts in order and the pressure off, she began to dull and soothe the Perish Song as it rampaged within his thoughts.

Stars faded ever so slightly. The agony faded to simple pain…and unfortunately left his thoughts open to focusing on his lacerated arm, which throbbed. But Ash could think.

A touch of Ice would have dulled the pain even further, although Ash was loath to rely on it too much. He'd filled himself with Articuno's nature too many times already. He needed to know just how bad of a state he was in; pain was a warning, albeit an inconvenient one.

Dazed made that unnecessary. An entity like the Trench's Warden might have been able to heal the Perish Song in full, but Dazed could only douse the fires for now.

But Ash cared only for the Dragon Master's flight.

He cried out again even as Bruiser hauled Lairon's dented and exhausted body back to them. Once he'd assured himself that Lairon was alive—it looked like Kratyke had gotten its powerful jaws around him at some point—Ash returned his friend, thanked him for his efforts, and prayed desperately that Plume would make an appearance.

And she did.

Plume came shrieking down from the heavens, focused in on the Dragon Master even as her beak opened wide to unleash a Hyper Beam straight into the human's flesh.

But she was slow. Her flight was unstable, dipping and veering off in odd directions, and her Hyper Beam barely formed. Between Perish Song and her relentless efforts to keep Mega Salamence—the fighter that Ash feared most after its destructive entrance—at bay, Ash had no doubt that her energy was utterly sapped.

It was a miracle that she was still flying.

His heart sank as her Hyper Beam went wide and slammed uselessly into the vastness of the Sky Pillar. The Draconid's sacred monolith didn't bear so much as a scorch mark, let alone a scratch.

Plume did her best to recenter it upon Noivern and its precious cargo, but the dragon was an expert flier in its own right. Noivern sacrificed the direct path to weave around the Sky Pillar in rapid darts, although it was so vast that it offered several seconds of respite from Plume as she hunted them.

And then Mega Salamence came rocketing down from the clouds. Minor wounds dotted its wings—no doubt spots where Plume had sought to pierce the thick membranes and cripple it—but its flight was largely still stable. The dragon was just too tough and fast for Plume to pin down when she wasn't at her best, although she'd managed to evade almost all of its counterattacks.

But Plume was half-blind, half-dead, and lost in the Perish Song. She accelerated in an effort to rake Noivern with her talons and tug the Dragon Master off its back, but she had no chance against Mega Salamence as the wickedly fast creature finally saw its opportunity.

It sailed through the air with a crack like thunder. The sonic boom washed over them, antagonizing their headaches even further, and reminded Ash to recall Torrent, Infernus, and Oz while they had the chance.

He suspected that they wouldn't have long to rest.

Ash shouted warnings even as Dazed did her best to reach Plume with her telepathy, but there was no time! Mega Salamence didn't bother with a roar as it finally descended upon its foe as they wheeled around the Sky Pillar. Despite the vast tower's size, they completed revolutions around it in just a matter of seconds.

"Teleport—" Ash roared just as Mega Salamence's fiery jaws blazed with draconic power and crunched around Plume's left wing.

She shrieked, turning to peck futilely at Salamence while it latched down upon her joint with ferocious power. Ash's heart pounded in his chest.

Dazed's eyes blazed an icy azure—borrowing power from the dark ember in the back of Ash's brain—and the entire team vanished alongside them. Even Sneasel was brought along for the ride, which must have been an utterly baffling experience for the dark-type.

They reappeared at the base of the Sky Pillar while the battle raged a thousand feet above. Hate filled him like an inferno as Mega Salamence wrenched its head to the side with a vicious jerk, and he could just imagine the snap of Plume's wing as the dragon broke the bone. If they weren't in such a precarious position, Salamence might have just torn it off entirely.

"Plume!" Ash cried.

She tumbled down from the heavens, finally knocked unconscious by the simple agony. Plume's great wing flapped unnaturally in the wind, jutting at an angle that made Ash's stomach turn.

"Plume! Dazed, catch her as soon as you can!"

Ash hated this helplessness, but there was nothing he could do save wait as Plume toppled through the sky.

Noivern swept down above, shrieking, and Mega Salamence dove to snap Plume's neck, furious at the creature that had outshone it in its own domain, and then a brief mental blast from Dazed stunned it for a moment.

It flailed madly, its forelimbs coming untucked as it fell into a quick stupor, and had to dart away from Plume's unconscious body before Tangrowth's brilliant Solar Beam could hammer into its underbelly.

Plume finally fell in range, and Dazed managed to snag her with a psychic grip. It wasn't the gentlest of landings, but at least Plume wasn't conscious to feel it. Ash didn't hesitate for a second to recall her.

She'd fought like a legend to protect them.

But with her safety assured, there was nothing left but anger.

"No! No!" Ash shouted into the heavens as Noivern fled to the tip of the Sky Pillar. Fire filled his words, projecting them farther than they could ever reach naturally. "COWARD! Come back and face us! You think you can RUN OFF after this? No! We'll hunt you to the ends of the earth! Come back and face us! It's our turn! Coward!"

Noivern grew more distant.

He recalled her words, the names of her techniques, the dark hair…

"Is this your legend?" Ash roared, spitting hatred with every syllable. "This is the legacy you're leaving for your ancestors?"

Noivern hesitated, little more than a dot, and reluctantly turned around. It dove low enough for Ash to hear them, although the woman's voice was half-lost in the wind.

"Saurella, we aren't leaving empty-handed. Burn them all away!"

A great sonic wave crashed into them from above. Dazed blocked it with her sonic-specialized shield, and it only managed to rattle them for a moment.

Ash was still safely entombed within Tangrowth's vines, but he was able to peer up to see Mega Salamence darting down towards them with a fat comet of molten gold spilling from its maw.

It was lesser than the brutal attack that would've vaporized Ash in Salamence's first appearance, but more than enough to kill them all if it landed unhindered—this Draco Meteor would be enough to turn a concrete bunker into slag. Ash watched fearlessly as the golden comet came blazing down with furious intent, leaving streaks of vibrant light trailing behind it like stars.

As it rocketed down, Dazed's eyes flashed. Her pendulum trembled in her grip as her entire body was briefly suffused with bright blue psychic power (untainted by Mewtwo's influence this time) and Ash caught sight of the Draco Meteor wrapped in the same light before it vanished.

In an ideal world, Dazed's Remote Teleportation would've sent the Champion-level Draco Meteor right into Mega Salamence's face and torn the beast from the sky. Bruiser still had plenty of strength left, and Mega Salamence would be a worthy foe to vent it on.

But the Sky Pillar had other plans. Long range teleportation and finer workings were absolutely screwed by its presence, and that proved itself when the Draco Meteor flowed into existence to fire off into the atmosphere rather than at a useful target.

Ash hid his disappointment, pausing only to flush the lingering headache with another application of numbing Ice. His eyes grew cold.

It would be most effective for Dazed to simply hold the Dragon Master in a psychic grip while Noivern flew on. She would be torn from the dragon's back and suspended in the air, where Dazed could then drop her to splat at her leisure.

But their enemy was stubbornly remaining high. While the Dragon Master maintained air superiority—and that was going to suck—she was too canny to risk entering a psychic's sphere of influence. Then again, that begged the question of where Dragapult had gone off to…

Ash winced as Dazed shielded against simultaneous attacks from Noivern and Altaria, who came fluttering around the Sky Pillar now that it had received a brief reprieve. Goodra must have splashed Life Dew on it before being returned, as Ash could see several of its wounds had healed somewhat. They were antagonized by its cloudy flight, but the patchwork healing job had kept the dragon going.

Bruiser couldn't do much more than fling Focus Blasts and Tangrowth's Solar Beams just weren't going to land against aerial opponents. Sneasel could fend them off at close range with Blizzard, but Altaria and Noivern were too distant to be caught in the icy cones.

Dazed could keep two of them at bay, but Ash scowled as he caught sight of Mega Salamence coming for another turn, this time suffused with golden power tinged with turquoise, like the bastard lovechild of a Hyper Beam's light and a Dragon Dance.

Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Ash quickly released Oz, Torrent, and even Nidoking. He whispered calming words to Nidoking, who thrashed for a moment before realizing he was safe, and quickly whispered orders.

His friends nodded and took position, eager to take their frustrations out upon the remaining dragons.

Mega Salamence was little more than a golden blur as it came down, reared its head back, and spat a thin spray of golden flame still tinged with turquoise. Dazed blocked the surprisingly feeble attack, only to wince as the fire washed over her shield…and kept burning. The flame was thick as glue and the draconic power infused into it ignited with the strength of the Sky Pillar, burning and burning and burning.

"Move!" Ash ordered, and they swiftly readjusted, allowing Dazed to drop the exhausting shield and allow the flame to burn futilely on the bare stone of the island. Its heat scorched him even from within Tangrowth's vines.

If that had landed it would have devoured him.

Yet Mega Salamence wasn't done—the beast came down in a blaze of fire, skimming just a few dozen feet, and prepared to unleash a deadly attack as its maw filled with turquoise-gold flame, but it veered off course with speed and skill to match one of Lance's Dragonite as Torrent made his challenge.

Boom. Boom. Boom!

Torrent's body flickered with cosmic fire that singed Ash's skin. His forearm ached horribly, and Ash checked down only to grimace at the sight of red staining Tangrowth's wriggling vines. They still held the injury closed, but Ash's full attention was snared by sight of Torrent matching Mega Salamence's golden power with blazing aurelian comets of his own.

It had been a long time since it was practical for Torrent to unleash Draco Meteor, and Ash was dazzled as the already monstrous technique fed upon the rampant power emanating from the Sky Pillar. Just as he felt a blazing power emanating from Mega Salamence, so did he feel that same bonfire in Torrent.

Torrent's snout raised high to the sky—his scarlet eyes glared upon Mega Salamence, declaring the deadly foe to be no worthy dragon at all, and Ash caught sight of pure outrage in Mega Salamence's eyes just as Torrent's power was unleashed in full.

The sky flashed gold. The hair on his arms raised as a charge settled throughout the air.

Each and every one of his teammates hurled attacks at the dragons who harassed them from every corner with barrages of Dragonbreath and Dragon Pulses and more esoteric arts.

Nidoking and Sneasel coordinated Ice Beams, Oz constantly pressured Noivern and the Dragon Master with Thunderbolts (and Ash relished the sight of Noivern and its rider briefly locking up as the electricity surged through their systems), and Bruiser made do with his Focus Blasts. Infernus bathed any that came near them in great swathes of flame, though he saved his energy to teleport.

Yet it was Torrent whose presence swelled over the battlefield like the rising tide. Mega Salamence flipped upward with impossible agility to circle back around, screaming its challenge against Torrent, and effortlessly dove through a dozen golden comets that came alive with Torrent's will.

Ash watched with wide eyes as the comets acted like lesser versions of Lucille's hail of fiery arrows. Torrent's own eyes were squeezed shut as he focused, depending on Dazed to protect him as he pressed all his will into directing the Draco Meteors.

Golden light flared, twisted, and turned upon their foes. Altaria was forced back, wreathing itself in that corrosive draconic shield once again, and Noivern just barely dodged another and had to spend precious energy to Protect against a second that came at it and the Dragon Master from below.

But Mega Salamence wasn't such an easy target. Even Plume would have been impressed as it skirted the animated comets by a hair's length, pulling aerial maneuvers that would've killed a human on its back. Flips, turns, twists, corkscrews…Mega Salamence was a powerhouse, but its flying was truly beautiful.

Ash couldn't wait to tear it down from the sky and let Bruiser rip its wings off.

Let Salamence know the ultimate humiliation for one of its kind.

Dazed spared him a concerned look at that one, but let it go. She knew he was having a bad day.

Mega Salamence wasn't idle as it evaded. It managed to fire two successive Dragon Pulses right into Ash's team. Neither was fully formed, but each was at least as powerful as one of Torrent's Draco Meteors, and it took Oz, Nidoking, and Bruiser's Protect to hold against the terrible force.

They'd learned their lesson earlier. That attack might have been a shadow of the attack Mega Salamence opened with (and Ash suspected it had put almost everything it had into that killing blow), but even its lightest blows would tear right through a single Protect.

It really was a monster!

Ash kept up a steady stream of orders as his friends adjusted to each new maneuver from the Dragon Master's team. While the dragons were a nightmare (and lacking an aerial counter sucked), they drew on every ounce of experience they'd earned from fighting Lance's team again and again and again on Knot Island and in the hallowed grounds of Indigo Plateau.

This Dragon Master couldn't have picked a worse target if she'd tried!

Altaria was exhausted as Torrent turned his animated Draco Meteors against it, nearly overwhelming its defenses before Altaria spread its wings wide, flashed a brilliant turquoise, and unmade the Draco Meteors with a great effort of will.

Damn it all!

Torrent sagged for a moment, exhausted from the mental strain, but had burned plenty of resources from the enemy. Mega Salamence immediately sensed the weakness and turned to unleash yet another devastating attack (and his team was rapidly running out of defenses to deal with those vicious hammer blows), yet it was Altaria who struck first.

Perhaps sensing that the battle was reaching its conclusion—It had been nearly ten minutes, and the League couldn't be more than a few minutes away by now—Altaria swung low, far from the Dragon Master and her Noivern, and opened its white beak to unleash the piercing black notes of a Perish Song.

Mega Salamence vanished, rocketing off as far as it could from the terrible sound, and Ash prepared himself…only to hear nothing but the crashing of waves and the rush of wind.

He blinked, only to laugh madly at the sight of Dazed's eyes flashing blue with her pendulum held aloft. Altaria was wrapped in psychic power, its exhausted mind easy prey to Dazed's mental attacks.

Altaria struggled, but it was too late. It was catatonic beneath whatever awful power Dazed had forced into its head. Oz and Torrent struck together to exploit the sudden vulnerability. The flying-type shrieked as they coordinated their strikes to hit one after another. Torrent's Ice Beam landed perfectly, stunning the avian and stripping its corrosive draconic cloak away, and Oz's Lightning Bolt lit it up like a bulb less than a second later.

"What did you show it?"

Dazed's eyes twitched upward despite the severity of the situation.

You.

The dragon fell from the sky, only to be caught by the light of a Pokéball as the Dragon Master realized her fighter was finished.

But Noivern had strayed low to pull that off. "Use everything you have!"

Noivern's Protect held strong against a coordinated barrage of blows (each subtly guided by Dazed as she telepathically nudged each fighter's aim one way or another) but Ash knew it had to be on its last legs.

If they could just push it a little further…

"Salamence is coming," Ash said to Infernus as quietly as he could manage. Intelligent, cruel eyes met his own. "It has to. When it does, you know what to do."

Infernus' eyes lit up like Jon's had whenever they passed a candy store.

Mega Salamence was going to kill them all if they let it run rampant. They'd done a fine job of defending against its mighty attacks after Plume had been knocked out, but that wasn't going to last long. The dragon seemed to still be going strong, and Ash's team was swiftly growing exhausted.

They couldn't contest Mega Salamence in open combat. Not with all of its advantages. Lance had taught him just how dangerous a quick, evasive dragon could be.

It was just too fast for their limited ranged abilities. Tangrowth would have been a great defensive asset if he had Ancient Power available, but the rock of the Sky Pillar couldn't be manipulated. The silvery orbs might help (and Ash caught sight of a few them hurled off into the sky) but they were too imprecise, too easy to avoid.

If Mega Salamence was slower, their attacks would strike if from the sky. If Mega Salamence was grounded, Bruiser and the rest would end it in moments.

But it had essentially torn a page right out of Lance's playbook: if you ensure you can't get hit, then you can leverage every bit of power into offense.

Too bad that Ash had read that playbook a thousand times now.

Lived it a thousand times.

You couldn't win against a foe with that level of mobility and firepower. They always won the game if you played by their rules.

Instead, you had to reach across the board and punch them right in the face.

Mega Salamence had to strike. They couldn't sustain the assault for long, and they'd lose their chance to kill Ash if the battle continued any longer. It and Noivern were the only ones active, and there was no way Noivern was going to come close enough for Ash's team to hit it while its trainer stood to eat the reprisal.

No, it was going to come in for one last dramatic strike. And when that happened, they'd be ready.

They didn't have to wait long. Mega Salamence came roaring down, mouth filled with the same golden glow that had nearly ended them all at the beginning of the fight, and it regarded them with death in its eyes. Attacks splashed uselessly off of the swirling draconic aura blazing about it, devoured whole by the turquoise flame.

It had won at last.

Ash took far too much pleasure in denying its victory.

Teleportation was a mess right now, and this would be pushing the limits of Infernus' range as is.

"Guide him."

Tangrowth clutched Ash tight as Dazed's eyes flashed again, her pendulum whipping in her hand like a storm had swept in from sea. The fleeing waves roared in the background, and Ash wished nothing more than for Torrent to wrench them into his control and shield them in a great dome of water.

But water wouldn't be their answer in the shadow of the Sky Pillar.

Fire was.

He met Infernus' eyes. "Cut its wing off."

Infernus cackled as he vanished and rematerialized in Mega Salamence's path.

The dragon roared and swerved, shocked by his sudden appearance, but it was time to repeat history. The Magmortar just barely snagged hold of Mega Salamence's tail as the creature ducked beneath Infernus' glowing form, though his arm was nearly wrenched out of his socket from the velocity. His claws, normally retracted into his cannons, hooked as deep into Mega Salamence's flesh as they could reach.

Mega Salamence ignored the scalding pain, eyes locked upon Ash's as it struggled with the sudden weight.

Their eyes met across the distance, cold, hard determination meeting its match in the others' gaze.

It was going to kill him or die trying.

Fair enough.

But Infernus stabilized, leveled one cannon at Salamence's wing, laughed madly as his Plasma Blade roared to life from the cannon, and swiped down.

It met a shimmering green Protect, courtesy of Goodra, who fell like a stone through the air, and Infernus was thrown off balance and forced to cling to the dragon's hide.

Mega Salamence offered it a courteous nod even as it blitzed past its falling form and refocused upon its prey.

The gooey dragon vanished in a flash of light just as it waved at a spitting Infernus. Ash watched with mixed frustration and admiration as he saw Goodra sucked back up into its Pokéball from nearly one hundred feet above.

Ash glanced up to see Noivern flying low, though its wings were clearly struggling with the effort of flying with the Dragon Master on its back at this point, and saw the trainer hooking Goodra's Pokéball back onto her belt.

…Ash was going to have to steal that move sometime. Just like he was going to dissect every aspect of her techniques and incorporate anything useful he could find.

She would rue today.

Infernus lost his Plasma Blade, but managed to spit a Hyper Beam into the back of Salamence's head instead in the moment before the dragon accelerated fast enough to rip him right off.

He teleported away the instant he lost his grip, only to appear twenty feet above the ground instead, wincing as he crashed into the rock hard enough to stun him.

Mega Salamence roared its frustration to the sky as the Hyper Beam knocked its own attack wide. Instead of landing atop Ash's team to meet the hasty Protects erected against it, the lethal attack was sent spraying into the ocean instead, helped by Dazed and Nidoking's psychic powers as they acted as one to wrench its great head further to the side.

The golden stream of merged comets blasted forth as if the sun itself had been caught within Salamence's gullet, streaming forward like a supernova. When they hit the ocean, a great chunk was gouged out, replaced by an enormous cloud of steam a hundred feet tall that swirled upward to spiral around the Sky Pillar.

Mega Salamence was strong enough to have held its aim true against the psychic disruption, but Infernus' distraction had been just what they needed to send it off course.

Ash smiled grimly.

What to do against a superior foe? Deny, deny, deny. Ruin the game for them.

Lance had taught him that, but Phoebe had played her own part in helping the lesson sink in. He hated stall tactics, but they sure were satisfying when they weren't being used against him.

Ash relished the scream of anger from Noivern's back that mirrored Salamence's own hatred.

Thank the stars that Plume had kept Mega Salamence away from the main fight.

But Mega Salamence wasn't done. It whipped around yet again, absolute hate radiating off its form as its victory was robbed from it yet again by Ash's team, and fired another Draco Meteor glistering energy rocketing toward them with enough force to obliterate a house.

"Protect!"

Nidoking, Oz, and Bruiser raised yet another multi-layered Protect, but they were exhausted. Their combined efforts generated a barrier only as firm as one of their individual Protects at the beginning of the fight. It would hold, Ash was certain, but how many more could they manage?

More importantly, how many would Salamence manage? Noivern was more or less removed from the fight. It was exhausted from the battle, and now it seemed stuck as the Dragon Master's escape. Long range teleportation was utterly shot near the Sky Pillar—there was no telling where you might end up. You could end up at your destination, or you might end up a hundred miles away.

Or never make it to your target at all. Yet another reason the Draconids prized this place.

But just as the molten gold crashed upon the Protect, Sneasel hissed out a warning. It was followed swiftly by Nidoking's roar.

Ash felt something wrong and spectral and deadly materialize just behind Tangrowth.

There was a horrible, squelching gurgle as Tangrowth shoved Ash out of his protective vine shell. Ash hissed as he landed heavily upon his forearm, which opened right back up and bled onto the stone without Tangrowth's vines to act as a makeshift bandage.

Ash didn't give a damn about that, because the scene immediately erupted into chaos.

Dragapult's ethereal tail had speared right through Tangrowth's gut. It would have pierced right through Ash's heart without the grass-type's quick reaction, and horror welled up in Ash as Tangrowth staggered forward with wide, fearful eyes.

"Tangrowth!" Ash cried, but Dragapult wasn't done.

The others turned to face it, but Sneasel was already halfway there, having sensed it just before Dragapult had appeared. His tiny face was twisted with murderous rage as he leapt in front of Tangrowth, defending the grass-type from another spearing blow that would've erupted from between Tangrowth's eyes.

Deadly Distortion writhed around the spectral tip.

Tangrowth was perhaps the toughest member of Ash's team, but there were some things even he couldn't regenerate from.

Sneasel fell upon the Dragapult with claws flashing with foul power, trading a dozen blows in the blink of an eye. The Dragapult had no interest in facing the dark-type once more. It flickered away with Phantom Force, evading Sneasel's deadly slash, and Ash flung himself away as Dragapult manifested above them all.

Torrent blasted a Dragon Pulse into it, but the spectral dragon twisted and contorted in a way that no wholly physical being could to avoid the blow. Its twin Dreepy squealed delightedly in its horns before they exploded outward.

One of the cheering Dreepy whistled at Torrent and exploded in a violent flash of draconic energy, tinges of unnatural darkness imbued into it as well. Torrent went spinning away, briefly stunned.

The other went straight for Ash.

Lightning coursed through his nerves. Everything slowed. He saw, felt, heard, even tasted everything. It was all sharp. All clear, like wiping dust and debris from a pair of glasses.

The Dreepy's scaly body would strike him in less than a second. No time to react.

Torrent was acting, but too slow. Sneasel lunged forth at the Dreepy, and would intercept in two seconds. Too late.

Dazed was stunned from the flash. Bruiser and Oz bore the weight of Salamence's brilliant Dragon Pulse alone. Ash worried for them. Worried for them all.

But salvation.

And concern.

Nidoking was half-unconscious and utterly exhausted from his battle with Kratyke and the constant stream of attacks tossed back and forth between themselves and the dragons, yet he'd seen the threat, and abandoning all other concerns threw himself in front of the Dreepy without a thought.

There was no Protect this time.

He roared and went silent as a cataclysmic explosion of Distortion and draconic power ripped into him—Ash was almost entirely shielded by his friend's bulk, but the force almost blasted his friend's heavy body onto him, and Nidoking was violently hurled to the ground. Ash just barely scuttled backwards.

"Agh!" Ash gasped as his forearm was torn open a little wider and several bones issued their complaints.

Hardly life-threatening, but it would need some medical attention. A good hospital would probably have whatever it was healed in a few days.

Seeker, hidden in Ash's shadow until this point, howled a furious screech and launched herself towards the Dreepy on Nidoking's prone body in a whirlwind of fangs and wings. Ectoplasm dripped from her as she literally tore the Dreepy into shreds with Distortion infused fangs, fury bleeding off her tiny form as she avenged her fallen comrade.

Nidoking was limp and his front—already scraped raw and wounded by Kratyke—was bloody, but he was alive. Ash didn't hesitate to return him as Dragapult suddenly abandoned its spectral power in favor of raw draconic might.

The teal in its tail shone bright as the flash of a supernova for a brief instant, then rapidly surged to overtake Dragapult's entire body. It was covered in the power, wreathed in the same draconic aura as Kratyke, Salamence, and Altaria had exhibited, and lunged forth with impossible speed.

Sneasel hissed, tearing at it with Distorted claws, but the seemingly physical Dragapult met the attack blow for blow with errant flicks of its tail, avoiding the hooked weapons and snapping the tip to deflect Sneasel's arms instead.

Great jaws came snapping at Ash, but Lightning enabled him to duck just before it would have taken his head off, and the Dreepy reformed within the teal Dragapult's horns, squealing with excitement as it saw Ash.

Ash noted with grim satisfaction that the one Seeker had torn into was nowhere to be seen.

Bruiser howled as he threw everything he had into holding back another of Salamence's attacks. Oz diverted the second she could to come in and press Dragapult back with shocking fists, but the dragon slithered around her in an effort to tear Ash to ribbons.

Dragapult streamed ectoplasm with every blow. Its essence spilled from it in steady streams thanks to Sneasel's vicious attacks, and it couldn't have more than one or two reformations left in it. They just had to kill it one last time!

If they didn't, Salamence was going to batter down Bruiser's Protect (which Dazed supplemented with her psychic powers to just barely hold against Mega Salamence's golden Dragonbreath) and they'd have a real fight on their hands.

No protections. No Plume.

Just their will to survive.

Dragapult weaved in and out of every attack, desperate to reach Ash.

Oz had to physically grab it once and yank it back to face her and Sneasel, and Ash just tried to put as much distance as he could between them, though he couldn't stray too far from Bruiser and Dazed's defenses.

It wove beneath Oz's fist as she struck it with a lightning-infused punch, darted forward for one last attempt on Ash—

And was torn apart by a hail of perfectly precise Bullet Seeds.

It barely had a moment to shriek before its body was shredded into a dozen tattered pieces. The lone remaining Dreepy wailed alongside it, although it remained intact and sprawled to the ground, scampering to press itself against a nearby wall.

Ash gaped for a moment as he felt the unnatural perversion of Distortion flickering by, then turned his eyes upon Dragapult. The teal power was cast away as it reformed, though it was a sluggish effort by any means, and Ash saw true fear in its eyes as it looked past Ash and felt the last of its strength drained away.

Dragapult vanished into Phantom Force, tearing a hole into that awful, alien dimension to traverse space and time. Ash caught sight of it appearing just by Noivern. It was quickly returned to its Pokéball.

Then Mega Salamence came down with a certain franticness that hadn't been present before. It was frenzied now, desperate to finish its mission, and Ash's team barely managed to prepare themselves before a hurried rush of golden flame befell them in a swirling aurelian storm that sough to strip the flesh from their bones—

It vanished into nothingness, absorbed by a seemingly endless veil of protective shadow that swelled over them all.

Just Mega Salamence and Noivern.

And…

"Durand," Ash gasped, somehow relieved to see the Rogue Master as she trotted up behind Shiftry, seemingly appearing from nowhere as reality peeled away like a veil of paint. "Whuh?"

Her partner grass-type nodded grimly to him and immediately began firing off more of its deadly Distorted Bullet Seeds at Noivern, clearly more concerned with the immediate threat than explaining itself.

Slaking stood behind her on both legs, easily eleven feet high as he peered down at them. The normal-type's bulk surpassed Bruiser's by a far margin, although Bruiser was no doubt considerably stronger. Her Slaking dipped his head in brief acknowledgement.

Shedinja hung over her side, of course, and Ash suspected that Zoroark lurked about—there was no way they could've evaded his team's (let alone the Dragon Master's) perception otherwise.

Farfetch'd was conspicuously absent. Ash doubted it had fallen in battle given the enormous skill it exuded, but perhaps Durand had some other reason for holding the flying-type back.

Her Noivern, lithe and wiry compared to the Dragon Master's bulky fighter, shrieked up at Salamence before taking off to contest its dominance of the air. Ninjask materialized and followed, but not before steering very clear of Bruiser, who barely paid it any mind as he staggered backward, just relieved to let the exhausting technique drop for good.

…Actually, they all kept a respectful distance from Bruiser. For all that he had clearly spent himself, he'd apparently made quite the impression after his evolution.

"Ash," Durand greeted in her lilting Kalosian accent. She tipped her sunhat to him. There was none of her ordinary humor or warmth. This was Durand on a mission.

"You have fought bravely," she said. "I feared you to be prey, but you have become the hunter. I…You surprised me. Let me take it from here."

"No!" Ash hissed, staggering forward. Durand's eyes widened at the sight of his bleeding arm, and she whispered a few foreign words to Shedinja, who hovered a bit closer to Ash at her direction. His remaining teammates—particularly Sneasel—bristled, but Ash shook his head. "She came for my team. We're seeing this through!"

Durand blinked, but she didn't even attempt to change his mind. Understanding lit in her eyes, and she offered her hand.

Ash wanted to rage at her about Anorith, demanding how she of all people could do such a thing, but he stilled his tongue. For now. Durand was a momentary ally, his only chance of pursuing the Dragon Master, and if he played his cards right perhaps she would still be here when the Kalosian Hunters came…

So he took Durand's hand. It was just as callused as his, and she didn't blink at the blood which stained him.

He had no clue why she was here, but he couldn't turn down her aid. Not when the Dragon Master had already begun to flee.

Apparently, upon catching sight of Durand, she'd realized that the tide had turned entirely against her.

Mega Salamence kept its distance, unwilling to test its fortunes against them all, and Ash scowled. Ninjask pursued it, but the great dragon proved itself beyond the bug-type's speed, and a single gust of wind from its scythed wing would be enough to send the bug flying.

"It's waiting," Ash said to Durand, putting out of his mind just how weird this was. She nodded, biting her lip as she thought. Inspiration came to Ash as Salamence circled to hurl a great golden blast of flame down upon them. Even Shiftry's incredible accuracy couldn't pin it down at this range. "It'll tear us out of the sky the moment we pursue."

"Oui. It's weak, yes?"

"For a certain definition of the word. Still Champion-level," Ash growled, allowing his thoughts to spin madly. Even Durand's Noivern would be obliterated by Mega Salamence, and they couldn't risk the Dragon Master escaping if she reached the clouds. No doubt she had a teleporter on her belt that would pull her out the moment she escaped the Sky Pillar's domineering influence. "How far can Zoroark project its illusions?"

Durand wasn't about to give him a firm answer on that—and Ash didn't really expect her to share such valuable intelligence with her enemy—but after a moment she spied Mega Salamence ranging a shade closer after Shedinja devoured its attack and hummed.

"Far enough. I will follow your lead."

"Seeker," Ash said, loath to do this but confident that his friend had the skill to pull it off. She fluttered over to his good arm, perching upon his upraised wrist, and clicked at Durand's team with her blue hackles raised. "Bruiser."

Bruiser strode over with his head held high, barely registering the existence of Durand's team. At least Trevenant wasn't here. That would've been awkward. How did you say hello to something you'd crushed to splinters with a Lairon mace?

"Give Seeker a boost," Ash said. "Seeker, follow behind Salamence. Don't engage if you can help it. We need to ensnare it, then you need to use Confuse Ray. Zoroark can give you cover?"

The last bit was directed at Durand, who nodded in confirmation. She didn't indicate where Zoroark was, but Ash supposed she didn't need to.

"My loves will assist," Durand said. She peered down at Seeker, her shadow falling over both Ash and the Zubat. "You do not fight alone, little one."

It was difficult to trust Durand after what she'd done—and Ash wanted to take her by the shoulders and scream at her for it—but Ash could trust her in this. He stroked Seeker's back once, then handed her to Bruiser. The Machamp grunted something to her, then flung her as gently as he could—which under the circumstances, was sadly a limited venture—a hundred feet in the sky.

Ninjask watched with its beady eyes, no doubt remembering just how far Bruiser had hurled it. That wasn't nearly so soft a touch.

Ash thought Ninjask should just count itself lucky that Bruiser hadn't accidentally squished it into pulp.

Seeker fluttered in the air for just a moment before she vanished. Ash could still feel her presence, connected as they were, but it was muffled. Muted. Shrouded in an ineffable darkness.

Mega Salamence passed down for two more turns as Seeker waited for her prime opportunity. Durand seemed bored as Shedinja managed to absorb its next few attacks—Mega Salamence must have been fuming right now after almost every one of its attacks had been nullified—but both Ash and Durand lit up at the same moment as Mega Salamence slowed upon its climb.

"Now!"

Dazed's eyes flashed even as Malamar materialized from nothing, its use of power enough to disrupt whatever illusions had been placed upon it. How many of Durand's other teammates stood hidden?

Questions for another time.

Malamar's tentacles waved as bright blue light spilled forth, ravaging Mega Salamence's mind alongside Dazed. While Malamar's intrusion immediately caused complete agony—at least in the way that Salamence screeched—Dazed's psychic assault froze it entirely.

The great dragon fell, and the Dragon Master's Noivern dove after it.

Mega Salamence was too great a force to be constrained for long, and it howled its fury as it regained control of its thoughts. Dazed collapsed to her knees, exhausted, and both Seeker and Ninjask made their moves.

Ninjask was faster. Ash's ears ached (and his fading headache reignited) as the awful screech of Bug Buzz echoed throughout the Sky Pillar's little island, leaving them all wincing. Only Durand and her team seemed immune to it, inured by long experience.

The dragon screeched, lashing out with a wild stream of golden flame that exploded into turquoise torrents at the end, but Ninjask was just too damn fast for it to ever strike. It blurred out of reach, taunting the Salamence, and even dashed in just to scratch the terrible dragon on the tail while it was still stunned.

Ash would've preferred that Ninjask had used Fury Cutter to slice open the Salamence's neck, but he doubted that Ninjask would've been capable of slicing through the hide so easily.

Besides, they had a plan.

"Prepare yourself," Durand murmured.

Her Noivern's eyes locked up on the Dragon Master's flying down after Salamence, and it lowered itself so that Durand could leap on. There was no saddle, so Ash quickly returned several members of his team and tucked in behind her, although he feared that he might slip off Noivern's slippery back. He missed Plume terribly right now.

Noivern tensed. "Hold on!"

"Fall back! Fly!" The Dragon Master shrieked from above, and Mega Salamence blindly followed her command. It twisted in midair, flicking its tail to divert Ninjask, and moved to dash up…

Only for Seeker to flutter close, boosted with a Quick Attack to temporarily match Mega Salamence's stunted speed, and unleash a noxious Confuse Ray right into the creature's face.

Mega Salamence wailed, suddenly flying sideways, and Seeker immediately darted back to Ash.

Ash returned her swiftly for fear of Mega Salamence's blind rage, but laughed victoriously as Mega Salamence sped up, haunted by unseen horrors, and slammed into the unyielding walls of the Sky Pillar at breakneck speed.

Not literally, unfortunately. Mega Salamence's neck looked quite intact, but it hung stunned in true freefall for a moment before regaining some semblance of control. It angled to shoot up towards the top of the Sky Pillar—and could probably reach that great height in just a few seconds—but that moment of vulnerability was all they needed!

Oz blazed with light. The hairs on his arms stood and the air pressure shifted. She made the sun look dim for a moment as she surged with wild bursts of electricity that crackled out harmlessly against the stone and Sky Pillar, then jutted her fist up like a smiting god.

BOOM!

Their teeth rattled as a true Lightning Bolt, one that would have been the equivalent of one of Oz's attacks during Storm Surge, shook the world. It arced immediately from Oz's huge fist to the underside of Salamence's armored underbelly, and the Mega Salamence howled as it went limp and collapsed through the air, utterly paralyzed by the torrents of electricity that had overwhelmed its entire system.

Dragons were formidable creatures. Their hide was built to allow them to contest one another, ensuring that each was heavily resistant to almost every type of damage.

But even Mega Salamence had its limits.

It was still conscious—Ash couldn't believe it when he saw Mega Salamence ready another golden Dragon Pulse—but that didn't last for long.

Torrent's own Dragon Pulse crashed into Mega Salamence, detonating in a roar of heat and light so intense that he could feel it from hundreds of feet away and slamming it back into the Pillar, and Shiftry aimed a dozen expertly placed Distorted Bullet Seeds right into its armored carapace, splitting it beneath the focused force and burying the deadly projectiles deep within.

It fell, and did not catch itself.

And then Mega Salamence was finally returned, beaten at last.

Both Durand and Ash immediately returned both of their teams (not quite trusting them to behave around each other) and Ash was forced to grip Durand's midsection tightly as Noivern ascended in a rush of wind, its leathery wings flapping with insane speed.

Both Ash and Durand had to grip their hats tightly to avoid them being swept off, trusting in Noivern to manage the precarious position.

Noivern was no Plume, but it was respectable enough. Its species was built for speed and agility to complement their sonic abilities, and Durand's Noivern was especially wiry and nimble. Ash wouldn't put money on it against the Dragon Master's bulkier Noivern, but it was perfect for catching up to the Draconid woman.

He watched the ground grow distant behind them while the clouds drew nearer. And yet the Sky Pillar stretched on inexorably. Winds grew more intense.

But some questions couldn't wait while they had this moment of silence.

"What are you doing here?" Ash called over the wind, his hands still tight around Durand for fear of losing his grip. It wasn't a position he'd ever expected to be in, but the adrenaline pounding through his veins kept him sharp. He was exhausted from the battle—which must have taken fifteen minutes at the least—but he couldn't rest. Not yet. "How did you even find me?"

Durand was silent for a moment, trained upon the fleeing Noivern that was nearly a thousand feet above them. They'd reach the peak soon.

"I have many eyes and many ears," Durand said slowly, careful not to betray too much. But she clearly wanted to build up some trust. "It has been a hectic few months—"

"You think?" Ash hissed, his grip tightening around her as his fury mounted. He could fill himself with Fire and sear her to a charred husk right now…

Durand ignored his outburst.

"—and I was told of a threat to you. A threat I have faced myself. We would not see you hurt, Ash. You are a child, and an honorable trainer. You love your team. You love your friends. You will be a good man one day—a great man—and the world needs as many of your kind as it can get. These are dark times. It is our duty to preserve the rising stars."

Durand hesitated. "I…you did not need so much help as I expected. You have grown."

That we. Was it her team, or her suspected (practically confirmed) affiliation with Aqua? Ash ignored that last comment, even if Durand's acknowledgement sparked a twisted excitement in him.

"And she's in an Aqua uniform for fun, then?" Ash asked.

He hadn't had much time to think of it, but he'd already fomented his own suspicions. It was downright stupid to attempt a murder on an Elite Four trainee wearing easily recognizable uniforms.

You didn't see Durand jaunting around in one, after all. She was in her usual olive tank top, light cargo shorts that both Gary and Clair would've decried as an abomination against fashion (but which Ash thought were rather practical), and the same sun hat as always.

"Not for fun." Was all that Durand would say, for they neared the peak.

The Draconid's Noivern had ascended the Sky Pillar's triangular head moments before, and now it was their turn. Ash was wary of an ambush, but the Dragon Master seemed utterly exhausted.

She'd had the benefit of surprise—and if not for Lotus her ambush might've killed them all in a single strike—but Ash had the numbers and the benefit of better tactics.

In a way, Ash supposed he could thank Durand. She had honed him, sharpened him upon the whetstone of her team, and urged him to new heights after their battle.

He doubted he would have fared so well in such chaos a few months ago.

But he felt almost invincible with Durand's team at his side. There was still the risk of betrayal, but Ash didn't think she would have bothered helping him take down Mega Salamence if she planned on stabbing him in the back. That was one hell of an investment.

Salamence didn't forgive easily.

Ash still had several viable fighters, although Durand's fresh team would tear his exhausted friends apart in an instant. It was just too bad that she hadn't come earlier. If his team was still fresh, they might have had quite the battle…but if things went poorly up here, he hoped that Dazed would be able to warp them away with Mewtwo's power.

It was a thrill to face an opponent truly trying to end you, but there was a different kind of pleasure to be had in facing a worthy opponent where they could safely test their limits. Despite everything—and the bitter anger he felt towards the Rogue—Ash didn't think she would try to kill him.

Not without good reason, anyways.

Bitter regret filled Ash as they ascended the Sky Pillar and stared down upon its vast, three-pointed peak. It was massive, easily enough to handle a great battle, but the Dragon Master was running on fumes. Her Noivern had collapsed near the center, exhausted, and she was dismounting the dragon.

He was supposed to have seen this with Plume, not Durand and her Noivern.

They would return one day, Ash swore. He would set this right. Plume would gaze down upon the world from the tower that scraped the sky.

Durand didn't have to order Noivern to strike. For a second, Ash saw the sheathe peeled back and a killer sat ahead of him.

The Noivern unleashed a vicious Boom Burst that would have shattered the Dragon Master's eardrums if her own Noivern hadn't released a countering Boom Burst to cancel the sound waves, and the woman re-released Goodra (who was still fairly intact thanks to its defensive abilities) to douse Noivern in Life Dew and restore a portion of its stamina.

She immediately knelt to fiddle at some strange metal pad. Ash had no clue what it was, but instinctively knew that nothing good would come from it. He made immediate plans for his team to destroy it, even if he expected the Dragon Master to throw everything she had into protecting the pad.

Actually, she did. Kratyke materialized, unconscious, bleeding heavily, and acted more as a rock wall and cover than a fighter.

Ruthless, but effective. Ash could see the spine with which Bruiser impaled Kratyke jutting out of its ribs. The placement suggested that it hadn't hit any vital organs, but there was no doubt all sorts of internal damage and bleeding.

They'd have to get Kratyke immediate medical attention after this was over or the formidable dragon very well might not make it.

Both of the Draconid's dragons roared at Durand's Noivern, and it paused briefly to allow Durand and Ash to hop off its back before it took off into the air. Ash immediately released Bruiser, Oz, Torrent, Dazed, and Sneasel, who stood at the ready even while Durand released Zoroark (which immediately vanished from existence), Slaking, Ninjask, and Shedinja.

Who knew what else she released? Zoroark was perfectly capable of concealing it.

All Ash cared for at the moment was the Dragon Master who had attempted to kill him.

"You're finished! Surrender now and you'll only be arrested."

The woman's eyes narrowed to slits, although her expression was hidden beneath her bandanna. She kept fiddling with the pad. Something stirred in Ash's memory, but he couldn't quite track it.

"Try to destroy the pad," Ash whispered to Durand, who nodded and cried something out in Kalosian to her team.

They immediately unleashed their attacks—Shiftry darted forward, though Noivern screeched and unleashed Sonic Boom after Sonic Boom to deter their foes. Such weary defenders wouldn't last more than a minute against the forces arrayed against them.

"You will not take me," the Draconid said easily, overflowing with confidence despite her poor position. "No Salamence is grounded without a fight!"

"You're no Salamence, just an idiot who picked the wrong target."

"Zinnia, it's over!" Durand shouted, a harsh edge to her voice. Ash wondered just when they had battled previously. He felt a little woozy as more and more blood oozed from the laceration on his forearm, but steadied himself. "Do not waste your team's lives! Ash is more merciful than I am."

Noivern and Goodra held their ground against the assault from Ash's team, focusing entirely on defensive techniques as the pad lit up with a green light in the center. This so-called Zinnia just ignored them, her eyes full of frustration.

"Warp tile!" Ash cried, memories surging forth of reports in League documents.

That was cutting edge tech developed within the last two years, highly classified still as various League-affiliated corporations worked out the bugs, and how the hell did she have access to that? They were designed to lessen the reliance on teleportation-capable pokémon in static routes, and they were essentially unknown to the public.

Short-range was largely stable (although still subject to…weird accidents) but the long-range warp tiles were essentially brand new. Functional varieties had only been made in the last year, partially due to the flush of new psychics that had appeared in Indigo.

But how did she have a Tyrantrum either? Questions upon questions, and Ash suspected the League would be all too happy to hunt down the answers. She was far too well-equipped for a simple Rogue Master.

"My tale does not end today!" the Draconid cried.

And with that, she took a chance. Noivern, Tyrantrum, and Goodra vanished, sucked away into their containers, and the warp tile flashed.

"Go screw your—"

In the end, Zinnia would rather brave the unstable teleportation of the Sky Pillar than Ash and Durand. She stepped into the void with her team, leaving her final words truncated, but not really a mystery.

With the latent power pressing down around him, Ash suspected there was less than half a chance that she'd gone where intended. He hoped that Zinnia ended up at the bottom of Mt. Chimney.

Maybe Infernus would find her charred corpse the next time Ash let him play down there.

But with the immediate danger gone, Ash's strength finally left him. He stumbled and crashed against the wall of the Sky Pillar, his team turning in concern, and he just stared up at the brilliant sun for a moment. It felt so close…

He practically forgot the hallowed ground he sat upon, wistfully wishing that Plume was up here with him, as his team crowded around him.

They were victorious.

"We did it!" Ash rasped. He met each of their eyes. "We're alive. We lived."

A shadow hung over him.

"I would not have it any other way," Durand said softly. Shedinja hovered her shoulder, its still carapace a constant reminder of her supposed invulnerability. Sneasel eyed it warily, ready to test that defense should it come to it. "The League will be here soon, Ash, if they have not already arrived. But it will take them time to find us."

Durand's green eyes met his own as she crouched before him. "Stay down, Ash. We have a lot to talk about."

He glared up at her, memories of Anorith's grave filling his mind.

"Good," Ash said, his voice rough and harsh. Sneasel hissed, even if they didn't dare take any action against the Rogue. "Some answers are the least you owe me…"

A/N: Holy hell! I'm a month late, but this chapter ended up being so much more than I originally had planned. Thanks so much for your patience. I DID NOT THINK THE BATTLE WOULD LAST THAT LONG. I'm just hopelessly naive and utterly ignore my own habits.

But I hoped you enjoyed the chapter! I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts. This was a labor of love, and I ADORED getting to show just how far Ash has come since we've seen his last true fight. We really do have a little monster on our hands.

Also, thank you so much for the support! We are so, so close to 10,000 reviews and I genuinely can't believe it. We'll likely cross this milestone this chapter, and I have such a hard time wrapping my head around it. It blows my mind that Traveler has grown so much!

While I don't expect the next chapter to take too long (story of my life, right?) to write, I'm setting my update a little farther ahead. 1/14 this time. Ideally I'll update before it, but there's also a side project I've been working on that I expect to take up a bit more of my time in the latter half of December. Maybe more on that later :)

Like I said, I would LOVE to hear what you think! Who do you think had the best showing? Who showed the most growth from the battle with Durand? Do you think Steven is going to have a heart attack when he hears about this?

This and more next time, on Traveler!

Happy holidays!