Goldenrod City, four days after Arceus’s worldwide announcement.

  Ever since Arceus, the creator of the world, had made his announcement to the world, just about every trainer from around the world had flocked to Goldenrod City as per his command. The vast majority of wild Pokemon had come running as well, though they mostly stuck to the outskirts of the city. Some trainers, however, only ended up coming because of the sheer number of Pokemon, which ended up in some less-than desirable trainers going out to catch as many as possible with no intention of staying for the battle against Necrozma.

  This is where Ash came in. Ever since the worldwide announcement, he became somewhat of a figurehead for the entire world. Simply his appearance alone could deter these trainers from their misdeeds. That being said, the catching of wild Pokemon was far from a crime to him. After all, it was the basis of their world. He simply stepped in to deter the cruel ones. This fame, however, came with downsides. Left and right, there were press at every turn, crowding around to get an interview. A single picture of the chosen one of Arceus was a money-maker now, so simply getting to speak with him on camera got the media hundreds of thousands.

  This was where Ash’s friends came in. Hearing Ash’s name, the vast number of people Ash had befriended upon his journeys quickly abandoned whatever they had been doing and raced to Goldenrod City to meet him. Misty and Brock were the first to arrive, of course. They were the two original friends of Ash, after all. Though their first meeting was comprised of lots of yelling on Misty’s part. Ash’s Hoenn journeying partners, May and her little brother Max, came next, with Dawn from Sinnoh following suit. The Dragon Master of Unova Iris, and the Grass-Type Gym Leader of Unova came as well. Even still, after being heralded by Arceus himself as The Chosen One, Iris still ended up calling Ash a kid. Finally, the Electric-Type Gym Leader of Kalos, Clemont, and his little sister Bonnie came as well, happily reuniting with Ash and Serena. They even brought along a new and improved Clembot.

  Of course, their reunion was hectic. How could it not be, with Ash at the center? He didn’t want to hear “You’re Arceus’s Chosen One?!” for the rest of his life after this. Of course, there was also the matter of explaining his and Serena’s “relationship” to everyone else as well, which, of course, ended up ensuing in a lot of screaming. Mostly from the girls. Of course, Misty had already known, due to her Gym Battle against the two of them. As for the others, they constantly demanded how she had gotten through his thick layer of density, and only became even more furious when she told them.

  After that fiasco, more and more familiar faces began appearing. At first, it was the Gym Leaders and Elite Four, who ended up coming during Day 3, saying that they had some last-minute business they had to attend to before coming here. Even the Champions ended up showing up. The shared champion of Kanto and Johto, the Dragon Master Lance. The history-obsessed master of Steel, Steven Stone of Hoenn. The secondary Champion of Hoenn, the Water Master Wallace. The elegant Master of all Types and potentially-strongest of the Champions, Cynthia of Sinnoh. The Flame-haired Elder of Unova, Alder. And finally, the Grand Duchess of Kalos, Diantha. These incredibly powerful trainers had all come to help stave off Necrozma’s invasion and, to Ash’s relief, ended up taking most of the responsibilities of governing the world’s trainers in his stead.

  With their guidance, Ash was able to organize the trainers, allowing many to occupy the vast array of abandoned buildings for living spaces. To those who chose not to, or to those who couldn’t get a building in one of the rooms in time, Ash and the others had large tents strewn about either on the roads of the cities or in the outskirts. There were literal millions of people, and organizing them, orchestrating them, and meeting their basic needs was an impossible task. Without the help of the Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and Champions of every region, he couldn’t have done it.

  That being said, the people themselves were relatively capable of handling their affairs, and they had no problem cooperating with one another. He guessed the fear of Necrozma winning was what did it. Still, there were, of course, troublemakers even during times like this, who would either steal from others or go out and harass the wild Pokemon. Their actions usually elicited an enraged response from both the people and Pokemon, so their efforts rarely lasted long.

  To Ash’s surprise, he eventually found out that his various rivals had ended up coming as well. It was Gary who came up to him first, and there was little to no issue with them. Drew was, well, Drew, and Trip was...Trip...as for Alain, their meeting was as one would expect. To Ash’s chagrin, there was another “So you’re The Chosen One, huh?” and he asked Ash for another battle. To his surprise, Ash declined. Ash had ended up calling up Professor Oak and asking him to send all of his Pokemon from the ranch over to Goldenrod, so he sent them all out to meet them. Not to mention, he was extremely busy overseeing the trainers, so he didn’t really have much time to battle. Alain understood his meaning, and Ash ended up pointing him over towards where his other friends had gathered up if he wanted to battle.

  Then there was Paul. Ash knew Paul would end up being the most troublesome one. The first thing he’d heard about his rival from Sinnoh was that his former rival had been picking fights with the wild Pokemon. When Ash found him and questioned him about it, Paul simply told him he was looking for new candidates for his team and that fighting wild Pokemon would end up being better training than fighting other trainers. Ash, by himself, was unable to convince Paul to stop and didn’t have the means of battling him at the moment. So, he revealed his Aura to Paul and asked him once more. His intimidation tactic, to even his own surprise, seemed to work, even though the always-stoic Paul didn’t reveal it, and he ended up walking back to camp. Like with Alain, Ash told him that if he wanted to battle strong trainers, his friends and other rivals were all in one place.

  Barring the people Ash personally knew, there were, of course, many others. The International Police had quickly arrived to the scene to help keep people in line and provide general support. Ash tried to locate Looker, but was unable to do so and assumed he was simply working undercover. The other agents told him it was confidential, even to him. All of these people worked together, in some sense or another, to survive. For the most part, humanity was banded together as one singular fighting force. Now, with only one day left for Necrozma’s arrival…

  Ash awoke as the rising sun’s rays penetrated through the slim walls of his tent, which he’d chosen over any of the buildings because he wished to stay amongst the other trainers so he could quickly and easily respond to any problems. He yawned deeply and stretched out his groggy limbs. He turned to his side and found Pikachu, which must have meant that he had successfully met with the others at the ranch and gotten them all here. Smiling down at his partner, he rubbed Pikachu’s head affectionately, making sure not to wake him up.

  “You can rest up for the day,” He whispered to Pikachu, “You’ve earned it.”

  With that, he dressed himself and exited his tent. The frigid air stung his skin, but he liked it. It felt, to him, like nothing more than a cool breeze. However, as he stepped out of his tent, he noticed that someone was standing outside, with their gaze turned away from him. As they heard the noise of Ash’s tent zipper, they turned back towards him, and Ash nearly had a heart attack.

  It was Sabrina, the Psychic Gym Leader of Saffron City and the woman who had imprisoned the entire city’s population, turning them into dolls due to her mind breaking down. Though now, she hardly looked like the psychotic demon lady. Her skin had become less pale, her hair was straightened and no longer wild, and her demeanor had completely changed. Whereas the Sabrina Ash and his friends had battled for the fate of Saffron City’s citizens was a raving, twitching mess of a person, the Sabrina here stared down towards the ground, twiddling her thumbs and doing whatever she could to avoid eye contact with him.

  “H-hello,” She said, “I’m sorry to have bothered you, but I...just wanted to apologize...for before…”

  Ash blinked at her, dumbfounded. He cleared his throat and said, “Sabrina?! What are you doing here?!”

  She hummed uncomfortably. “...I came here like the other Gym Leaders,” She told him, “But that’s not...the only reason. I have many others.” When Ash didn’t respond, she continued. “...I wanted to help here of my own accord. To right some of my wrongs...and to apologize…”

  Ash, after composing himself, cleared his throat and responded, “I...see...so does that mean...you’re in control again?”

  Sabrina shuffled in place, unsure if what she was about to say was true, “I believe so. For now, at least.” She looked away towards the rising sun in the distance. “My father...has really been trying these last couple days. I can tell he’s been trying his hardest to reconnect with my mother and I.”

  “Well, that’s good,” Ash replied, “So are you cleared up with the people? I know the news ended up...exposing you, after all.”

  Sabrina hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Apparently, no one on the outside but you and your friends knew the exact cause, so I’ve managed to evade the blame for now.”

  Ash raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you intend to tell them?”

  She stared down, and her eyes went from place to place. It was obvious to Ash that she was having conflicting thoughts. “...Yes,” She answered at last, “I will...but not now.” She turned towards the myriad of tents awaiting the coming battle. “Right now, we have larger worries. With the fate of the world at hand, the crimes I’ve committed seem to pale in comparison.” She turned back towards him. “I don’t think I need to tell you, but the governments of the world are doing all they can to keep the citizens calm and in check. If I were to expose my actions right now, they might not care, or it could lead to worse reactions among the people and break the fragile peace they’ve managed to create.”

  Ash nodded. “I see. That makes sense, then.” A blank expression of knowingness appeared on his face, making Sabrina shrink slightly under his gaze. “But,” He continued, “I assume you didn’t come just to tell me that, right?”

  “...You’re right,” Replied Sabrina, “I’m sure you’re busy with work here, seeing as we don’t exactly have much time before Necrozma’s arrival, so I wouldn’t have taken up your time if I didn’t believe what I had to say was worth it.”

  Ash motioned for her to continue. “Well, go on then.”

  The Psychic Gym Leader nodded. “As I’m sure you know, once Necrozma had declared war on our world, the people were left in a panic. Including my mother and I, yet still, my father did all he could to care for us as the city dissolved into panic. He managed to get us food, water, and anything else we needed even as the stores were raided.” She looked down, and Ash noticed a pang of guilt from her with his Aura.

  “...But I still hadn’t recovered from...you know...and I ended up lashing out at him a lot.” She gripped the furls of her dress with her nails. “I blamed him...for everything...even as he risked his life trying to get food and water for my mother and I. I couldn’t forgive him. I blamed him for a problem that was deeply-rooted within myself since the moment I was born.”

  She shuddered angrily, and Ash looked at her empathetically. He felt intense loathing from her, but it was not directed at him, her father, or anyone else. It was directed at herself. “Ever since I was born, these powers of mine...corrupted my mind...they made me grow more apathetic towards the world around me, and have continued to do so.” She looked back up towards Ash, and he could see tears dotting the edges of her eyes, hanging on by a thread. “It was my powers that drove me to insanity. Not my father, nor anyone else. He was right to be afraid of me, and because he feared me, I became angry at everything.”

  Ash tried to console her. “You shouldn’t-”

  She interrupted him. “Blame myself? How can I not? You of all people should know why.”

  “Me?” Ash questioned, “How would I…?” He blinked as he realized what she meant. “...Oh. Haunter.”

  Sabrina nodded. “When I had become completely uncaring towards the world, I began to alleviate my boredom by pretending to treat it as my plaything. That doll I had back then...it was a scapegoat. A figure of my sadistic desires I could pin the blame on to rid me of any guilt...but you, Ash. You helped me.”

  She stared over away from the rising sun, where it was still dark. “That Haunter of yours gave me the first shred of real joy I’d felt ever since I first discovered my Psychic powers. It...freed me from myself, but even still, I…” Her face contorted with frustration. “I chased it away, like I always did! Yet…! Yet still…!” A tear spilled over from her eye, and she turned back towards Ash. “My father...even after how horribly I treated him…! Still, he…!” She wiped the tear from her eye. “My father...went out to search for Haunter...to try and bring back the joy I felt...and…”

  A smile, even in her distress, managed to break through, and she held her hand out to her side. “He found it…” Appearing from thin air, a violet purple mass of gas appeared, followed by two clawed hands that floated beneath it. It grinned happily at Ash and honked out, “Haunt, Haunt!”

  An elated smile crept its way up Ash’s mouth at seeing the old Ghost Type Pokemon. “Haunter! It’s good to see you again!”

  Apparently agreeing, Haunter disappeared from sight, reappeared directly in front of Ash, and licked his face affectionately. Unfortunately for Ash, that meant his face getting coated in a potent slime that nearly ended up paralyzing him. Still, Ash managed to laugh in spite of that. “I’m happy to see you too, Haunter!”

  Sabrina cleared her throat to get Ash and Haunter’s attention. “After my father had returned Haunter to me, I immediately felt a joy that had been deprived from me...no...a joy I had deprived from myself rush back to me...but alongside it came a crushing guilt as I realized what I put him through…and for the first time in my life, I couldn’t help myself. Like a child, I cried helplessly into my father’s arms. I apologized for everything I’d done, over and over again, but still, he insisted this was all his fault.”

  “So that’s why…” Ash trailed off.

  “...Yes,” Answered Sabrina, “That is why I have come here. I am done blaming others for my wrongdoings and harming others for my own personal, selfish games. It’s time I used these powers I was blessed with for good. In this case, I’m fighting alongside the other Gym Leaders.”

  Ash smiled gratefully at her. “That’s good. In all honesty, we can use all the help we can get.”

  Sabrina shook her head. “That’s not all.” A sorrowful look appeared on her face, and she looked up towards Haunter. Ash followed in turn, and Haunter looked down, back and forth between Ash and Sabrina in confusion.

  “I also wish to impart, Haunter back to you.”

  “What?!”

  “Haunt?!”

  Sabrina nodded solemnly. “If I would strike out at the one who gave me more joy in a few years than I’ve felt in my entire lifetime combined, I am not worthy to have them. Not to mention, you said you could use all the help you can get, right?”

  Ash vigorously shook his head. “No way! I don’t mean any offense to you, Haunter, but Sabrina, Haunter’s definitely better off staying with you.”

  Haunter nodded in agreement. “Haunt, Haunt!”

  “Please don’t make this any harder than it needs to be,” Pleaded Sabrina, “I don’t want to do this either, but I must! It’s for the benefit of humanity!”

  “I’ll manage,” Retorted Ash, “I have no shortage of Pokemon, trust me. With the time left over, there’s really not much I can do to train Haunter, and they’re not the battling type anyways. Haunter’s better off with you.”

  Haunter frantically nodded. “Haunt!”

  Sabrina shook her head and turned to step away. “Please, Ash! Even if you cannot train him today, I know there will be a tomorrow! As time goes on, my Psychic powers will inevitably take control over me again! I won’t harm Haunter a second time!”

  Without waiting for a response, Sabrina turned away from them and ran. Haunter reached an arm out to her, then lowered it as the Ghost Type Pokemon realized she was out of reach. Tears welled up in Haunter’s eyes, and it began crying into its floating hand. “Haaaaaaauuunt!” Wailed Haunter.

  Haunter’s crying ceased as Ash placed a hand onto it. It looked up questioningly at Ash with tears still in its’ eyes, and Ash smiled down at it. “Go follow her,” Ash told it, “Even if she’ll be mad, she’ll be thankful one day. She’s just going through a rough patch right now.”

  The Haunter looked up at him with a shocked look planted on its face. As it contemplated Ash’s words, it suddenly lurched up at Ash’s face, gave him another slobbery lick, and bolted off to follow Sabrina, chanting, “Haunt, Haunt, Haunt,” ecstatically as it did so.

  Ash let out a sigh, content with his work, and turned back towards the tent. He peeped his head through the zipper at Pikachu to see if his age-old partner had woken up during that whole exchange with Sabrina. Yet still, the Electric Mouse Pokemon slept like a baby.

  Ash chuckled and whispered, “Geez, that trip must have taken a lot out of him.”

  Stepping back out of the tent, Ash turned back towards the sun and immediately was forced to shield his eyes. By now, the sun had come up completely, and the new denizens of Goldenrod City were beginning to stir. Ash could feel a wave of unease among them. This was their last day before the mad warmonger Necrozma would unleash his forces upon them, and the fate of their world would be decided, so their trepidation was more than understandable. Ash felt it himself more than any other. He, as Arceus’s chosen one, held the safety of everyone here upon his head.

  Letting out a deep sigh, Ash decided to make his early morning rounds. Every morning, he went out into the woods nearby to check out the status of the wild Pokemon, using his Aura to feel for any disturbance among them. In the short days they had, Riley made sure to spend any of Ash’s potential free time drilling more Aura training into him. He walked past the tents of his friends, waving to them as he passed, and made his way towards the gate of the city.

  “Alright,” Ash said to himself, “Let’s see what’s going on out here today.”

  Just as Ash was about to step outside the city walls, a voice spoke out to him.

  “Wait, Ash!”

  Ash turned back around at the voice’s call and found Zero rushing to meet him. She skidded to a halt before him, stared up at him, and said, “I want to come too!”

  Ash chuckled down at her and ruffled her hair affectionately. “Sure! It’ll be nice having someone to talk to.”

  “Yay!” Zero cheered, pumping her fist into the air.

  Ash laughed at the young girl’s antics and held his hand out to Zero. Upon taking it, she was hoisted off the ground. She giggled at the brief feeling of flight, earning a smile from Ash as he placed her down upon his shoulders.

  “So,” Ash said, “Should we get a move on?”

  Zero nodded enthusiastically, and with that, the duo marched into the forest. As the city skyline disappeared with the dense foliage of the surrounding trees, beams of sunlight began to peer through, shining down through the gaps between the leaves. Zero was awed by the sight and ‘oooohed’ at it, earning a chuckle from Ash. As they traversed deeper still, Pokemon began to show themselves, dipping back and forth between the trees. With each one that passed, Zero snapped her gaze towards it to marvel at the brief sight.

  “Now I get it,” Ash said, smiling up to her, “You came here just to look at the Pokemon, right?”

  Zero’s face flushed. “N-no! ...Well, yes, but not entirely…”

  Ash laughed and reached up to pat her head affectionately. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad. Far from it actually,” He lowered his arm and pointed out to his side. Zero attempted to trace where he was pointing at but couldn’t see anything. “Looks like there’s nothing there, right?”

  Zero nodded.

  “Well, maybe you’re not looking hard enough.” The swirling cyan flames of Ash’s Aura encased the two of them, eliciting a gasp from Zero. Surely enough, a Pokemon slowly peeked its head out of a particularly small bush as it felt the gentle pull of the Aura. It was a small, dark-blue, round Pokemon with a tuft of grass poking out from its head.

  “An Oddish!” Exclaimed a giddy Zero.

  Ash nodded. “That’s right. It might not look like it, but all around us are thousands upon thousands of Pokemon. That’s my favorite part of coming out here every day. They’re all hiding right now because of the humans nearby, so you can’t normally see them.” His Aura intensified around the duo, swirling around them slowly. “But with this, I can see them all. All around me, countless glowing blue lights, the lights of the Pokemon’s Aura, shine like Christmas lights. It’s incredible.”

  Zero’s expression lit up, and she jumped off to greet the Oddish, but as she made her way towards it, it suddenly bolted back and disappeared into the grass. Zero’s smile disappeared, and she slowly came to a halt. She hung her head and looked down at her hands. She thought of summoning her Aura, if that was even something she could do, but quickly perished the thought as she remembered the last time it had happened. Her Aura reacted to Ash’s and lashed out at him violently, making him experience a portion of the agony she felt in the lab. If she could summon her Aura again, it would only serve in driving away the Pokemon, or even worse: harming them.

  It was always this way. From the furthest corners of her memories, she could only dig up the same thing: slaughtering the innocent Pokemon trapped in the lab alongside her. A small sliver of a memory told her these Pokemon were once her friends, but that only served to make her feel worse. Knowing that she had mercilessly ended the lives of her friends, once she was freed of her insanity, it made her feel unimaginably sickened every time the memories of what she had done inevitably flooded her mind, just as they did every single day.

  The Oddish running away from her hurt her far more than it should. It was ridiculous. She knew this, for it was the nature of all living things to run from what they fear. But still, it hurt her. She couldn’t help it. What was logical to think clashed with her emotions, leaving the young Zero in a stupor. It made her think. Thoughts she’d managed to push back for the most part ever since Ash had freed her from herself by taking on her pain and replacing it with his joy. She began to think…

  ‘Do I belong?’

  She didn’t know. She was not born into this world. She was created. Created to be used as a weapon by her creators. Created for the sole purpose of ending the lives of others for no apparent reason other than to satisfy whatever desires Charon, or rather that man Ryder’s “master”, had told her to carry out. She was created to destroy. Even her very life essence, Aura, reflected that with how it lashes out at everything.

  Turning back towards Ash, she asked him, “Hey...Ash? Tell me...do I truly belong here? In this world?”

  Ash raised a brow. “That was sudden,” He said, “Of course you do! You belong here as much as anyone else.”

  Zero looked down at the ground. “I’m not so sure…”

  “Why’s that?” Asked Ash, “You have a heart that beats. You have a mind that thinks. And most importantly, you have a soul that feels.” He knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, raising her chin back up with his finger. “I don’t know why you’re thinking this way, but you shouldn’t. You belong here just as much as I do.”

  She tore away from him suddenly, with a loud buzzing noise and a flash of light following suit. “How...how would you know?!”

  Ash hissed in pain and clenched at his hand. There was a burn mark where he’d been touching her. He simply frowned and stood back up to his full height. “Zero…”

  Zero took a moment to calm herself, placing a hand to her chest to slow her erratic breathing. “...I’m sorry,” She said, “I shouldn’t be...lashing out at you like that.”

  Ash waved her off. “It’s fine...here, let’s just-”

  “No, it’s not fine,” Zero insisted, “You saved me, Ash! You freed me from the hell of my own creation and gave me another chance at life, but…” Ash’s agonized wails from when he took on her memories echoed throughout her mind, and she clenched her fists in rage. “I’ve hurt you...twice now, I hurt the one I care about more than anything!”

  She let out a furious wail and struck down at the ground with her fist. The ground beneath her cracked and crumbled, leaving a miniature crater where she hit. “I can’t take it! I constantly hurt what I care about, even after I was freed from that lab…no...no, I’m still not free of it…” She clutched at her head suddenly, as visions of the Pokemon from her birthplace laying on the ground coated in their own blood—ended by her hands—flashed before her eyes. All the while, the mad cackling of Dr. Charon pierced her mind, sending up panging waves of agony from her head.

  She began to scream bloody murder, and Ash quickly went to her and held her in a tight embrace. “Zero, stop!” Pleaded Ash, “That’s enough!” His brilliant cyan Aura burst outward to coat the two of them, but in turn, Zero’s own crackling crimson Aura sparked outward and clashed. The agony Ash felt was immense. It came close to what he felt on that fateful morning he took on Zero’s memories. This time, however, he was prepared and would not let it take hold of him like it did then. For Zero’s sake.

  From between clenched teeth, Ash told her, “Hang...in there, Zero…”

  Zero’s tormented wailing only furthered, and her Aura spiked outward into a cascade of crimson plasma that wreaked havoc across the ground, and Ash as well. He hissed, but refused to cry out and responded with a pulse of his own Aura to fight against hers. Still, it continued, tearing through the trees and uprooting the ground around them.

  “Zero!” Ash called out, “You have to stop!”

  Zero’s void-like eyes shot open, and her Aura began to recede, if only slightly. Her agonized cries, however, did not. For they did not come from her Aura. Within Zero’s mind, her creator, Dr. Charon, raved at her. He told her to kill. To destroy. All the while, the lives she had taken rained down around her. Every word Charon spoke sent a piercing agony through her head like a nail being hammered into it over and over again. On the other side, the voice of Ash pleaded to her to stop. He tried to alleviate her pain, but Charon’s voice was omnipresent. He would not allow Ash to save her.

  “Zero!”

  “ZERO!”

  The voices of Ash and Charon clashed, and Zero could feel herself being torn in two between them. She wanted desperately to go to Ash, but Charon’s grip on her—her mind, body, and soul...her everything—was limitless. Every aspect of her being was torn in two between them, stretched out beyond the limit. She heard herself scream in agony, and then all went black.

  Zero’s crimson Aura disappeared, and she went limp in his arms. “Zero!” Cried Ash. He quickly placed his head to her chest and sighed in relief when he found that she was still breathing. “Thank Arceus…”

  Zero’s eyelids lifted open slowly. She blinked and tried to open them, but found her eyelids too heavy to lift completely. “Ash…?”

  Ash nodded and smiled down at her. “Yeah...I’m here…”

  Zero returned his smile for a brief moment, but then recalled what had just previously taken place, and her smile was dashed. She curled her lips into a deep frown and hit the ground with the side of her fist. This time, no destruction occurred. “Ash...I’m…”

  Ash shook his head. “Don’t even say it. There’s no need to be sorry.”

  Zero clutched the edges of his shirt collar and pulled herself up, burying her face in his shoulder. “I can’t understand you, Ash,” She said, “Even after experiencing your memories...I can’t understand you…”

  Ash chuckled. “I’ve been told that a lot.”

  Zero allowed herself to laugh as well, though it was short-lived and stifled by the ever-increasing feeling of intense sorrow. “I...suppose you’re right…” Her smile faded in between each laugh until it disappeared completely. Inky black tears fell from her void-like eyes freely, and she whimpered into Ash’s shoulder as he comforted her, rubbing her white hair affectionately.”

  “I’m...sorry...I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

  Ash hushed her gently. “It’s all right...I could never blame you, Zero. You’ve been hurt more than anyone...it’s impossible for one person alone to hold something like that in…”

  They held one another for nearly an hour, with Ash consoling the broken young girl the entire time. With his Aura, Ash calmed the raging emotions clouding her mind and silenced the demanding voice of Dr. Charon, the man who created Zero for the sole purpose of destruction. Then, finally…

  “Thank you,” Zero said with a sniffle, standing back to her feet, “For everything…”

  Ash smiled down at her. “Anytime. Now, how about we see those Pokemon like you wanted?”

  Zero rubbed her eyes to rid her face of the black, inky mess that had spread over it and asked, “How? They’ve likely all gone by now thanks to me. Not to mention, my Aura isn’t exactly...stable...I can’t use it to see them as you do…”

  “You may not be able to see them with Aura,” Ash told her, “But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to see them at all.” Ash stepped back from Zero, inhaled deeply, and flared his Aura. But it did not spike out like it did when he battled, no, it gently flew from his body and branched outward, touching the ground and the trees. Despite the flame-like nature of Aura, no harm came to the forest. The leaves of the trees were lifted slightly, as if they were caught in a calm breeze. Zero was left in a dumbstruck state of awe as she beheld the beautiful sight. Her gaze was caught by the sudden snapping of a twig.

  As she turned towards the noise, she was greeted by the sight of a Pokemon that looked like a small, green dragon that waddled on two feet. It had small white tusks protruding from the edges of its mouth. It gaped up in awe at the sight of Ash’s Aura display, and soon, many more Pokemon began wandering from the tall bushes, grasses, and trees to surround them. From the massive, horned, armored Steel-Type Pokemon Aggron down to the tiny Joltik, myriads of different Pokemon from all across the world had gathered here in this forest to await the battle against Necrozma as Arceus had instructed them to do so, and now they appeared, bewitched by the sight of Ash’s Aura. Zero was completely overwhelmed by the scene, and she looked around at the surrounding Pokemon in a daze.

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  “You see,” Ash spoke, making Zero snap her gaze back toward him, “The reason they came to me is simple.” He slowly allowed his Aura to fade, ceasing the spell he’d put the Pokemon under. “As Riley told us before, Aura is the makeup of all living and nonliving things around us. It makes up us, our homes, and our world. It is a connecting factor between us all.” He motioned towards the Pokemon surrounding them with his arm, who had stayed despite Ash’s Aura display disappearing. “Life is drawn to other life. We were always meant to walk hand in hand and to live alongside one another. And look, now you can see them, right? That means you belong.”

  Whatever reply Zero tried to make was silenced—cut short and held back in her throat. She was left in a complete and utter daze. Then, she smiled and opened her eyes. A singular inky, black tear slid down her cheek. “Thank you...Ash…”

  Ash, Zero, and the Pokemon heard the sound of a footstep from behind them, suddenly stopping their touching little moment. Out from the bushes came a young man about Ash’s age, with wavy blue hair and sunglasses pushed up to his forehead. It was none other than the self-centered trainer Damian.

  Zero narrowed her eyes and growled at him, but Damian didn’t seem to notice her. “Well, well, well,” He spoke, flaunting his arms outward, “Look what we have here!”

  Ash blinked as he recalled the trainer before him. “Hey, wait! You’re-”

  Damian cut him off before he could finish, opting to announce himself on his own. “That’s right! You’re starin’ straight at the greatest trainer in the world, Damian himself!” He chuckled maliciously as his gaze turned away from Ash and towards the countless Pokemon surrounding them. “And it seems I’ve happened to stumble upon quite the prize.”

  Ash quickly stepped forward in Damian’s way. “I don’t think so. Knowing you, you’d just end up catching the strong ones and using them to attack the weaker ones for your amusement.” His eyes began glowing cyan faintly. “With Necrozma so close, I can’t just let you do something like that.”

  Damian chuckled. “Oh, are you going to stop me? The so-called chosen one? What a load of crap!” The bluenette pulled an array of Pokeballs from his pockets. Definitely more than the legal six, though now, Ash wasn’t exactly in a state to fault him for that, considering the entirety of the Pokemon he took with him on his journeys were awaiting him back in Goldenrod. “Come on,” Taunted Damian, “I’ll take you on, defeat you, and become the real chosen one!”

  Ash sighed and rolled his head. “Well, unfortunately, I don’t exactly have any Pokemon on me at the moment so-”

  “Even better,” Interjected Damian, “Then this will just be all the more easier!” He threw the Pokeballs out towards Ash, and a veritable army of Pokemon appeared. There was a Rhyperior, a Tyranitar, a Skarmory, a Glalie, a Luxray, a Trevenant, a Magnezone, and lastly, a large, menacing looking Hydreigon that glared death into Ash’s eyes and roared. The Pokemon behind Ash were forced to cover their ears and hunch over due to the booming roar of the Dark Dragon, but Ash was unaffected.

  “Ooh, tough guy, are ya?” Mocked Damian, “Well, we’ll see who’s tough after this! I won’t even have to use more than one of em! Magnezone, use Thunder!”

  “Magnezo-o-o-one!”

  One of Damian’s Pokemon, a disc-shaped one with magnets attached by their backs to the front of its’ body, what appeared to be a yellow satellite antenna, and one singular eye at the center of its’ body flew forward and discharged a hulking mass of yellow plasma towards Ash. In response, Ash stepped forward and, with the swipe of his hand, sent the attack flying harmlessly into the sky.

  Damian stumbled back in surprise. “W-what?! What just happened?!”

  Ash blinked in surprise and looked down towards his hand, which was glowing a brilliant shade of cyan and white, though the white faded soon after. Not even Ash knew what had just transpired. He hadn’t willed himself to block the attack or even move. It had simply happened on its own. “That’s weird,” Ash mused, “Maybe I’m just getting better at this whole Aura thing?” He flexed his fingers, marvelling at the sight of his own hand as if it were alien. “Now that I think about it, I have been feeling lighter today…”

  His thought process trailed off, and he looked up back towards Damian, who was still utterly flabbergasted. “Tell me!” He ordered, “What just happened?! What did you just do, you freak?!”

  Ash’s eyes narrowed, staring directly into Damian’s, who couldn’t bring himself to break eye contact, no matter how much he tried. The young trainer closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, and when he opened them once more, the fiery surge of cyan that was Aura blasted outward, spiraling around him. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Damian’s fear quickly turned to rage, and he fumed to himself angrily. “You little…! Everyone, blast him with Hyper Beam all at once! Wipe him off the face of the Earth!”

  Hearing this, Ash’s eyes widened with shock. Even with this newfound power of his, there was no way he’d be able to deflect or block the combined power of eight Hyper Beams at once, but there was still the Pokemon and Zero behind him who would not be able to dodge in time. He had confidence in Zero’s ability to easily survive something like that, but with how unstable she was, it could lead to something disastrous. Of course, the Pokemon would end up getting caught in this either way.

  “Damian, stop!” Pleaded Ash, “We have worse matters to worry about than petty fighting amongst ourselves! Necrozma’s going to arrive tomorrow, and we’ll need everyone we can get if we-”

  “Shut up!” Damian shot back, “You and those other idiots in Goldenrod can stay and die to that thing all you want, but not me! I’m only here to nab as many Pokemon as I can while they’re all gathered here, and then I’m outta here!”

  Ash’s eye twitched. “You can’t be serious! If Necrozma wins, he’ll destroy the world! You’ll die too!”

  “SHUT UP AND DIE!”

  Upon Damian’s order, the Pokemon under his command fired their Hyper Beams toward Ash. The Pokemon behind him ducked down, holding one another and closing their eyes while Ash stepped forward, hurriedly forming a screen-shaped barrier to block the incoming attack. As the Hyper Beams closed in, Zero took the initiative, leaping in front of the orange beams and using Mirror Move to catch it. The lasers united into one singular, colossal Hyper Beam and crashed into Zero’s barrier. It was stopped for the most part, but the sheer force of the attack’s residual energy pushed around the young girl and crashed into Ash’s Auric barrier, making him wince. He dug his heels into the ground and held steadfast.

  “Don’t you dare let up,” Ordered Damian, “Not until they’re dust!”

  His Pokemon, however, were quickly beginning to waver. The heat of the Hyper Beams were burning their throats, and their jaws started to ache. Zero, meanwhile, was absorbing the attack into her Mirror Move without much issue, and Ash was managing to hold his ground against whatever slipped by her. Finally, Damian’s Skarmory faltered, falling onto its knees and hacking up puffs of smoke. His other Pokemon followed suit one by one, dissolving into coughing fits except for Hydreigon, who held steadfast.

  “USELESS!” Damian roared, making his Pokemon flinch, “You’re all useless, worthless, weak Pokemon!” He viciously kicked the Luxray in its’ ribs, making it cry out in pain. “What kind of Pokemon can’t even withstand their own attacks?! Get the hell out of here!”

  His Pokemon, barring Hydreigon, winced at him, but didn’t move, which only furthered to anger the blue-haired trainer even more. “WHAT, ARE YOU DEAF TOO?! I SAID TO GET OUT OF MY SIGHT YOU USELESS WEAKLINGS!” His Pokemon jumped in fright and quickly turned tail to run. It didn’t take long for them to disappear into the dark forest.

  Damian whipped back around towards Hydreigon with a mad grin. His eyes were wild and bloodshot, and he began cackling like a madman. “THAT’S RIGHT! I, DAMIAN, THE STRONGEST TRAINER IN KANTO...NO...THE STRONGEST TRAINER IN THE WORLD, AM ONLY SUITED FOR THE STRONGEST POKEMON!” He cackled madly once more. “AND ONCE I KILL ASH, I’LL BECOME THE REAL CHOSEN ONE AND HAVE ARCEUS HIMSELF UNDER MY CONTROL!”

  “That right?”

  Damian jumped back in fright as a voice behind him asked him that. When the mad trainer whipped around to see what it was, he found none other than Ash himself, glaring directly into his eyes.

  Damian flinched and took a step back. “W-what?! W-what are you doing here, you were just-” He looked back towards the little girl, who was easily holding back Hydreigon’s Hyper Beam without issue. Behind her, where Ash was supposed to be, there was no one. Not him, nor the other Pokemon.

  “It’s good that you sent your Pokemon away,” Ash remarked, making Damian snap his gaze back over to him and glare, “Since they’re gone, I no longer had to hold back that power...and what’s more…” He took a step towards Damian, matching his glare with one of his own that completely overpowered Damian’s will. “...Those Pokemon no longer have to suffer under a trainer...no, you don’t even deserve to be called that.” Ash took another step towards Damian and, before the ruthless trainer could move, he was sent sprawling onto his back by a pulse of Aura.

  “No longer have to suffer under a heartless person like you.”

  Damian screamed and frantically pushed himself back to his feet. “H-Hydreigon, protect me! Forget the Hyper Beam and attack him with Frustration!”

  The savage Hydreigon cut off the Hyper Beam and turned towards Ash, hissing at the Aura user menacingly. Its’ eyes glowed a bright yellow, and the pupils of its’ eyes narrowed into slits as it identified its’ new target. It sent an ear-piercing roar Ash’s way, shaking the very trees and forcing him to put up a barrier to protect his ears. The three-headed dragon Pokemon’s body began to slowly light up, turning a bright shade of red.

  Ash couldn’t help but feel a sense of sorrow for the Dragon-Type Pokemon. Ash could sense a tremendous power welling within the Hydreigon as it charged up its’ attack. For Frustration to be this powerful, the suffering it must have endured…

  Zero watched the Hydreigon with interest. Frustration was a move not yet known to her, and she could practically feel the power radiating off of it. She would have tried to perform the move, but she currently had the stockpiled power of eight Hyper Beams welling within her hands, and would rather it not go to waste...especially not for what she had in store for Damian.

  The Hydreigon suddenly leapt at Ash and swung its arm at him, forcing him to quickly duck just in time for the savage attack to barely miss him. The ensuing wind kicked up from the sheer force of the attack ended up sweeping off a few dozen nearby trees off their hinges, reducing some of them to shreds. Ash gaped at the destruction with horror, which soon turned to fury as he turned back towards Damian.

  “How could you?!” He demanded, “What the hell did you do to this Hydreigon?!”

  Damian got back onto his feet and laughed. “I think you should be more worried for yourself, O’ Chosen One.” With that, he ran away, disappearing into the forest. Little did he know that Zero quickly gave chase.

  Ash whipped back around as he sensed the Hydreigon’s intention to attack once more and jumped backward just in time to avoid a downward strike from the Dark Dragon that ended up putting quite the substantial crater in place of where Ash was once standing.

  It quickly lurched up at Ash once more, firing a Hyper Beam point blank that Ash barely managed to stop with a quickly-formed barrier. However, the powerful attack soon proved too much for Ash to block, at least completely, and it exploded, sending Ash careening out of the ensuing cloud of smoke. He barely managed to right himself just in time to land back on his feet, though he came out with more than his fair share of burns, evidenced by a few patches of charred skin on his arms.

  Turning back up towards the Hydreigon, he shouted, “Stop it! You don’t have to listen to Damian!”

  His words fell on deaf ears. The Hydreigon let out another ear-piercing roar and charged towards Ash with another Frustration. Grimacing, he formed an Aura Sphere at his side. ‘Seems like I’ll have to fight it after all…’ Ash shot the ball of concentrated cyan flame at the incoming dragon, but to his dismay, the Hydreigon burst through the Aura Sphere without much issue, and Ash was forced to leap up to evade.

  The Hydreigon, however, had a different plan. With Ash in the air and helpless to evade, it lurched its neck toward him and blasted out a Fire Blast that crashed straight into him. He was sent careening, bouncing off the ground until he dragged through the dirt. Ash spat out a puff of charred dirt and got back up to his feet, brushing himself off.

  ‘This thing’s nuts,’ Ash thought to himself as he turned back toward where the Hydreigon was. Even now, the ruthless dragon was barreling through the trees to get its target. ‘There’s no way I can defeat this thing...but maybe I can calm it down…’

  “The Pokemon from before must still be around,” He said aloud, “I hate to place them in danger, but I’ll need them to keep this thing at bay.” He placed the palm of his hand into the ground and flared his Aura. If he was lucky, this would act as a signal and draw some of the stronger Pokemon of the forest to him. His time to do so was dwindling, evidenced by the crashing sound of falling trees ahead.

  “Come on,” Pleaded Ash, “Anything, please!”

  Another tree was blasted onto its’ side, and the enraged Hydreigon burst out from behind it. It let out another deafening roar that threw off Ash’s balance and forced him to cut off his Aura in favor of shielding his ears. With its’ target stunned, the Dark Dragon pumped back its’ arm and prepared to use Frustration once more. Just as the savage blow was about to connect, the Hydreigon was suddenly blasted to the side by a brilliant silver-sheened laser. Out from the trees came an Aggron, who stomped upon the ground challengingly and roared at the Hydreigon, who had fallen beneath a now-collapsed tree.

  The Hydreigon shattered the fallen tree with the swing of its arm and sent back a furious roar of its own at the Aggron, who visibly flinched at the sheer ferocity of it. The savage Dragon-Type Pokemon charged towards the Aggron and blasted out a Focus Blast from its’ mouth, but before the glowing orb of energy could impact the large Steel-Type Pokemon, a shadow slipped out from the trees and popped out of the ground in front of it, revealing itself to be a Gengar. The Focus Blast impacted the newcomer and exploded violently, but as the smoke cleared, the Ghost-Type Pokemon was revealed to be completely unharmed. It laughed at the Hydreigon for its’ useless effort, which only furthered to anger it.

  Bright orange flames crackled from the lips of the three-headed dragon as it fired up a Flame Blast from within, but right before it could unleash the deadly flame attack, its’ attention was caught by the sound of footsteps. Dozens of Pokemon stepped out from the trees and into the clearing, surrounding both Ash and it. The Hydreigon looked around at the newcomers frantically, then let out another ear-piercing roar. The Pokemon flinched and covered their ears, but had no intention of fleeing.

  Ash couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh as he got back to his feet. “Thank you,” He said to the Pokemon, “You showed up right in the nick of time. Now, hold it still!”

  The Pokemon nodded and charged towards the Hydreigon, roaring valiantly. The Hydreigon unleashed its’ Fire Blast toward Ash, but a Claydol quickly stopped it with Psychic and sent it flying into the sky. The Dark Dragon hissed in anger and tried to unleash a Hyper Beam, but its mouth was forced shut by the hand of a Throh. Hissing in fury, the Hydreigon attempted to use Focus Blast with its’ free hand, but that too was stopped by another Pokemon. A Machamp took hold of its left arm and tightly closed the mouth of the head on it, while a Hariyama quickly followed suit with the right arm.

  The maddened dragon flailed furiously, in an attempt to free itself from their grasp, but found itself unable to move as more and more Pokemon piled themselves onto it to weigh it down. Soon, only its head was exposed. Ash, seeing his chance, was quick on the uptake and rushed up to the trapped Dragon-Type. Upon seeing the one its trainer deemed a target, the Hydreigon began flailing more viciously. Even the literal dozens of Pokemon keeping it held in place found it difficult to keep doing so.

  So, quickly, Ash placed his hands onto the undersides of its cheeks and summoned his Aura. The Hydreigon hissed in response to the action, flailing even more violently. “Come on,” Ash spoke gently, “I’m not gonna hurt you.” Still, it continued raving madly underneath the Pokemon’s grasp as Ash’s Aura flowed through it. It took minutes for it to take effect, but soon, the Hydreigon’s savage flailing and hissing slowed, and then came to halt. The Hydreigon had exhausted itself at last, but even so, it continued to glare at Ash, who continued to try and work his magic nonetheless. Finally, the Hydreigon’s glare faltered. Its gaze dulled, and it closed its’ eyes. Ash took his hands from it and stepped back, ushering the other Pokemon to do so as well. Tentatively, they obeyed and apprehensively backed away from it.

  The Hydreigon opened its eyes slowly and it blinked in response to the sunlight as if it hadn’t seen it for a long time. It gazed around, looking at the terrified Pokemon surrounding it. It wasn’t until it laid its’ eyes on Ash that a response was evoked from it. To everyone’s surprise, the Hydreigon yelped at the sight of Ash and fell onto its back. Ash stepped forward and tried to extend a hand to it, but it responded with a high-pitched shriek, covering its’ face with its’ arms.

  Ash felt a pang of sorrow for the poor thing. He whispered, “...Just what happened to you?” Kneeling down to the Hydreigon’s side, he tenderly put a hand onto its chest, but quickly shot his hand back when it let out a series of yelps and shrieks as if it had been struck. The other Pokemon couldn’t help but wince at it. Ash tried once more, this time not taking his hand off of it, even when it wailed with fright in response.

  “Shhhhh,” Ash cooed, “No one’s hurting you...no one will hurt you anymore.” He rubbed his hand along the Hydreigon’s rough skin and allowed his Aura to flow from his hand to soothe it. Eventually, its’ wailing stopped, dissolving into low whimpers as it trembled fearfully. It dared to peak its’ head out at Ash, who smiled kindly down back at it. “Hey,” Ash said softly, “I’m Ash. It’s nice to meet you.”

  The Hydreigon’s whimpers slowly died down as it felt Ash’s genuiness from his Aura, but nothing could stop its’ trembling. “There,” Said Ash, “Isn’t that better? I told you I wouldn’t hurt you.” Ash stood back up onto his feet and offered his hand down to the Hydreigon. It hesitated for a moment, but ultimately took the hand and was lifted back up. “You won’t have to worry about Damian any more. Not now...nor ever again.” The Hydreigon teared up at hearing that wonderful news. It suddenly grabbed hold of Ash, and the Pokemon surrounding them quickly leapt forward to stop it until they realized what it was doing. It had enveloped Ash in a deep hug, weeping into his shoulder. The Pokemon looked at one another and decided to follow suit.

  …

  Damian sprinted throughout the forest; his howling laughter echoing through the trees as he went. That was, until he was knocked over by a kick and sent sprawling into a tree, where he sat beneath it unmoving. Zero, still holding the Hyper Beams within her Mirror Move, dropped to the ground in front of him. She pointed the concentrated attack at him and kicked him.

  The bluenette stirred from his short-lived nap and screamed in horror as he saw the Hyper Beams pointed at him. He made a move to try and run, but Zero stomped down on his foot to prevent his movement. “Don’t even think about it,” She hissed, “You’re not going anywhere.”

  “W-who are you?!” Raved Damian, “A-are you with A-Ash?!”

  Zero nodded. “Yes, but that’s not quite what I expected you to recall about me first.”

  Damian shuddered under her cruel gaze, but could still bring himself to ask, “W-what do you mean?”

  “Tch,” Remarked an annoyed Zero, “You can’t be serious. It hasn’t even been a week, and you’ve forgotten me already?” She pushed down on Damian’s foot with her own, eliciting a cry of pain from him. “How about this, then? Do you remember an Eevee? One that you mercilessly beat into the ground for being weak?”

  Damian frantically shook his head. “N-no! I do that all the time to weak Pokemon, so-” He screamed in agony as his foot was crushed further.

  “Of course you wouldn’t” Hissed Zero, “You really are a piece of scum.” She averted her gaze slightly. “To think you’re only the second, worst person I’ve had the displeasure of knowing.”

  “W-what?”

  She shook her head. “Nevermind, anyways…” The glowing orange screen floating in front of her hand intensified, earning yet another scream from Damian. “...Tell me. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t end your life right now.”

  “P-please,” Sputtered Damian weakly, “Please don’t kill me! I won’t do it again, I won’t hurt any more Pokemon!” He clasped his hands together in a begging motion for emphasis. “I-I won’t even look at a Pokemon for the rest of my life! Just please don’t kill me!”

  Zero scowled. “Funny...the last time we met, I told you to do something similar. Yet within a week, you amassed eight Pokemon, likely injured or killed many weak ones, and plotted to do more.” Her eyes narrowed. “And what’s more, you attempted to kill Ash. The Chosen One of Arceus himself.” She knelt down to him and grabbed him by the shirt collar. “I’ll have you know that Ash is very dear to me, and I won’t take a threat to his life kindly.”

  Standing back up, she prepared to launch the attack. “I spared your life before, hoping that you would never dare to harm another Pokemon as long as you lived. It seems that was naive of me.” The bright orange screen began violently crackling with energy. “So tell me...why did you do it again?”

  “W-what are you talking about?!” Screamed Damian, “I-I don’t even know who you are!”

  Zero bared her teeth in rage. “Oh, you don’t?! Well then, let me give you a reminder!” Zero held the screen out to her side to get its light out of the way of her face and opened her eyelids. Damian paled, making a choked scream of fright as he bore witness to the empty voids that were the remnants of Zero’s eyes. “...Do you remember me now?”

  Damian, his face now completely paled over, backed up against the tree behind him. Or at least, as much as he could while Zero was still crushing his foot. “Y-you’re-” He attempted to scramble away, but as he moved, he unintentionally fell to the side, and the weight of his body twisted the foot that was trapped underneath Zero’s. He let out a high-pitched shriek of pain, and Zero lifted her foot off of his. He was trapped now anyways.

  In spite of his new injury, Damian desperately attempted to struggle away with his arms and knee. He didn’t make it very far before Zero kicked him in the ribs and knocked him onto his back. He let out a guttural groan of pain and stared up at her with terror painted in his eyes. “P-please, no,” He begged, “Please don’t kill me! Please!” He sputtered this over and over until Zero stopped him by placing her foot down upon the knee of his other leg.

  “You know,” She said, “I recall very clearly that I told you the next time I saw you, I would kill you…” She hovered the glowing screen close to Damian’s face, eliciting another high-pitched scream of terror from him. She inched it closer and closer, all the while Damian tried to push his head back as far as he could. Zero snapped her fingers, and the screen suddenly dispersed into glittering orange lights that faded soon after. Upon Damian giving her a questioning, albeit still terrified, look, she stepped off of him and turned away.

  “...On second thought,” She said, “Just get out of my sight. I probably ended up hitting you in the head too hard last time,” She knocked on her head with her fist for emphasis, “Which is why you didn’t remember me at first.” She turned back towards him with an icy stare that nearly made his heart stop. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that’s also why you decided to amass even more Pokemon after last time.” With that, Zero turned back around, waved him off, and started walking away.

  As she distanced herself from Damian, the bluenette began to tremble. He gripped the grass at his sides and tore it from the ground. He bared his teeth, and his bloodshot eyes shot open. “This...isn’t...over…” Reaching into his back pocket, he took out a Pokeball and flopped onto his stomach. “You brat…! No one walks away from me!” Forcing himself onto his knees in spite of the spike of pain that shot up his injured foot, pumped back his arm and took aim at the young girl. “YOU’RE NOT HUMAN, SO STOP PRETENDING TO BE ONE! FREAKS LIKE YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN POKEMON! THEIR ONLY PURPOSE IS TO OBEY ME!”

  Damian hurled the Pokeball at her. It whirled through the air towards the young girl, but right before it made contact with the back of her head, it suddenly shattered mid-air. She stopped walking, turning back to face him slowly.

  “I knew it.”

  Gritting his teeth, Damian threw another Pokeball at her. She sliced it in two with a Leaf Blade. He threw another, which exploded due to a bolt of electricity that shot out from Zero’s body. She took another step towards him, and his sudden confidence began to falter. He quickly threw more, one after another, but all of them were destroyed by a backhand from the approaching girl.

  “Stay back,” He warned, “STAY AWAY FROM ME!”

  Her next step came with such force that the very ground shook for a moment, causing Damian to fall backward onto his wound and scream in agony. Zero tilted her head. “Stay back? It was you who decided to throw Pokeballs at me while I was so graciously sparing you.” She took another step, creating large cracks in the ground beneath her feet. The lids of her eyes raised once more, subjecting Damian to the terror induced by the voids of her eyes.

  He let out a terrified shriek that was choked amidst the agony he felt, managing to stand up on one foot and start hobbling away. Zero’s next step forward made him fall flat onto his face, but even still, he continued. Clawing at the dirt with his fingers, Damian attempted to crawl away from Zero with his face dragging against the dirt. He felt something solid at last. Something that could be used to hoist him back onto his feet.

  A feeling of joy and relief washed over him, and an elated grin crept its way up his decrepit face. Grabbing onto it, he attempted to pull himself from the ground. He couldn’t help but to laugh as he did so. “I’m saved,” He rasped, “That freak...will never get to me n-”

  A choked gasp wrenched its way from Damian’s throat. As he raised his head back to the sky, he was met with the face of none other than Zero, and what he had grabbed onto was her leg. He whipped his neck around back at the path behind him, finding nothing but the fractured ground where she once stood. Zero kicked at him, sending him sprawling onto his back and gasping out for choked breaths as the air vacated his body upon impact.

  “I have to wonder,” Said Zero as she approached the fallen retch, “Was that whole memory loss thing a lie as well? You seem to be awfully good at it.”

  She raised an eyebrow at Damian as he began to laugh. “Eheheheh- yes! A lie! A lie! It was all a lie!” He sat back up, staring into her void eyes with his mad, raving ones. “I came here as soon as I heard Arceus’s message! After all, what kind of trainer could resist the temptation of every Pokemon available just waiting to be caught?!” The raving trainer forced himself up so that he was halfway standing and reached for his back pocket. “But,” He continued, “When I arrived, who else did I find in the city but you?!” His face contorted into a snarl. “You, who ruined everything! Who took my Pokemon from me and dared to threaten my life! Me! The almighty Damian!”

  He reached up to her slowly, his hand twitching erratically. She grabbed it by the wrist and squeezed, making an audible cracking noise as she did so. Damian heaved over and screamed in agony, but his screaming soon warped into a mad, cackling laughter. “S-so,” He rasped, “I hatched a plan...there were millions of Pokemon all around us! I simply did what any trainer would do and caught the strongest ones…” He tore another Pokeball from his back pocket and lurched up at her with it. “SO I COULD KILL THAT DAMNED ASH, CAPTURE YOU, AND MAKE THE LEGENDS MY OWN!”

  He was once again sent onto his back by a backhand from Zero. He writhed on the ground from the impact, but before he could react, Zero stomped up to him, raised her leg, and stomped down upon the knee of his uninjured leg. With a sickening crack, the leg bent upward and went limp. Damian screeched to the heavens in agony.

  Zero stepped off of him and knelt down beside him, taunting, “Hurts, doesn’t it? Now you feel what that Eevee you tormented felt.” The only response she got was another agonized scream as he writhed. His leg bent at impossible angles as he flailed helplessly on the ground, which only furthered his pain. Though she knew it was wrong, Zero couldn’t help but feel a disturbed satisfaction at watching him squirm around so. She stood back up and planted her foot on his right elbow. “Maybe I should take this one as well?”

  Amidst the pain, he managed to scream out, “NO, PLEASE!” But that was all he could manage before he devolved back into howling in agony.

  “Hmm,” Zero hummed in thought, tapping a finger at her chin, “I don’t know. How can I be sure you’re actually sincere? If I spared you now, you’d probably just try to capture me again, and when that failed, you’d simply find a way to get healed and torture more Pokemon into being your slaves like that Hydreigon.” She gripped the underside of his wrist. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” She twisted the arm slowly, evoking more agonized cries from Damian. Glowering darkly down at him, she continued speaking. “Fool me three times…”

  SNAP

  “See you in hell.” With her handiwork complete, Zero walked away from the ruined retch of a man, ignoring his screams until she no longer heard them.

  ...

  After what seemed to Damian like hours of untold suffering, he managed to flip himself back onto his stomach. Even after everything that had just happened to him, his rage managed to cloud out the majority of his pain. With his singular remaining arm, he pulled himself along the dirt trail. “I’ll...kill...her,” He swore, over and over again. Those were the only thoughts he could muster, and those thoughts were what continued to pull him forward.

  “No one...can defeat me…! I...am the strongest…! Greatest…! Trainer...of them all…!”

  His raving was cut short by the sound of rustling bushes. He whipped his gaze up at the sound and found none other than the Pokemon he’d amassed here in this very forest, barring Hydreigon. He couldn’t help but laugh ecstatically as they approached him.

  “Yes!” He cheered, “Fortune truly favors me! My Pokemon have returned to me!” With his only remaining uninjured hand, he reached into his back pocket, letting seven Pokeballs roll out onto the ground. “Quickly,” He urged, “Return to your Pokeballs!”

  His Pokemon, one by one, began to approach him slowly. “That’s right...I always knew you all were worthy of me. I truly couldn’t ask for better Pokemon! Thanks to you, I can escape this wretched forest and-”

  One of the Pokemon, a Rhyperior, stamped down on the Pokeballs and reduced them to dust. The rest of his former Pokemon surrounded him in a circle and glowered down at him. “W-what are you doing?!” He screeched, “How dare you defy your master?! To think I called you worthy of me! You’re all nothing but traitors! Worthless, no-good traitors that-” The Pokemon began to close in on him, glaring furiously and snarling down at him.

  “W-what are you doing?! Get back! I said get back! GET AWAY FROM ME!”

  …

  As Zero walked back through the forest, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt resound through her. “Maybe...I took it too far…?” As utterly disgusting as Damian was, what she did to him was utterly ruthless. She’d completely broken him, leaving him only a singular arm for him to navigate his way out of this immense forest. He’d likely just end up slowly starving to death.

  “No,” She told herself to dissuade the thoughts plaguing her mind, “If I spared him any more than I already did, a guy like that would have just made the lives of more Pokemon hell.” A deep frown had seated itself upon her face as another wave of guilt hit her. “But still...he’ll probably just end up dying slowly in agony for however long he has left...should I go back and…?” She quickly shook her head. “No, I already have too many deaths hanging over my head. I don’t need any more.”

  “I beg to differ.”

  Zero whipped around as something seemed to speak into her ear, but whatever had done it disappeared as soon as it came. A short gust of wind that she heard out of the corner of her hearing was the only thing that gave away that there had been anything there at all. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t hear or sense any other living thing besides the trees anywhere.

  Quickly taking a battle stance, Zero used Protect to surround herself in a barrier. She eyed her surroundings to try and find whatever it was that had followed her, but the only thing she could spot, were nothing more than a few leaves dropping from the trees, followed by more slight gusts of wind. It would have been completely undetectable to the average person, but with Zero’s heightened sensory capabilities, she was able to at least catch sight of the dropping leaves.

  Then, a shadow dropped from the trees and crouched onto the ground a few feet in front of her, hardly making any noise at all. Slowly, it began to stand back onto its feet. As it rose, Zero was able to make out its features, and gasped when she realized what, or rather who, it was. It was humanoid, coated in a slick, blackish-silver armor and helmet with only a deep black visor on its’ face, preventing anything from seeing what was within. It was none other than Ryder. He had his sword sheathed upon his back, but he didn’t reach for it. Instead, he simply stood up to his full height and spoke to Zero.

  “Personally, I think you didn’t go far enough with that boy,” Ryder said, “You should have finished him off. Oh, but where are my manners?” He bowed halfheartedly. “Why hello, my dear Zero. I do believe you, and I, are overdue for another chat?”

  Deep space, ten light-years away from Earth.

  In the deep black void of space, a myriad of black flying ships silently sailed through the emptiness. The smallest of the ships, about the size of a house, were numbered by the thousands. Hundreds of larger ships flew beside them, surrounding a much larger ship. In the middle of these ships was one colossal one. It was the mothership, and it utterly dwarfed the rest, making them look as if they were ants in comparison.

  At the mothership’s front were two cylindrical structures that jutted out on either side of it, almost looking similar to tusks in shape. All over them were towers of various size, and shape, used for housing a select few of the Ultra Beasts. There were also an innumerable number of barrel-shaped weapons dotting nearly every inch of them, and two large cannons at their fronts. On the underside of the ship were pods of various scales. Some were immense in size, while others were barely visible from the full scope of the ship. The larger pods were utilized for storage purposes, mostly for the resources of the planets they conquered, and the smaller ones were to deploy Ultra Beasts when Necrozma was invading worlds.

  Along with the pods, six cannons jutted from the ship’s underside. These ones were far larger than the ones on the ship’s tusks, easily taking up most of its underside. There were also a multitude of jet inlets, pumping out blue flames to propel the ship forward. On the ship’s backside were five of these inlets, only these ones were utterly colossal. They easily took up the entirety of the mothership’s back. All along the ship, translucent wires that glowed with crimson red energy traversed the ship without end to continue powering it.

  On top of the ship, there was a veritable city stretching across its entirety with a castle at the ship’s front. Thousands of large towers rose up from the base of the ship and stretched up to the starry void. The castle, however, dwarfed even that. While the rest of the mothership was mostly a blackish-grey, the castle was completely jet black. It was as if light literally could not touch it. Finally, between the two tusks at the ship’s helm was a mask-like structure that appeared to be made out of crystal. It was semi-translucent with a singular light at its’ front, with a splurge of color radiating from it. It was modeled after the head of none other than Necrozma himself.

  Within the base of the pitch-black castle, its interior was actually quite light. Though this was more for the Ultra Beasts’ sake than Necrozma’s. The Ultra Beasts were noisily rushing around, making whatever final preparations they needed to before the invasion. Necrozma observed them from on high with his ever-cold stare.

  “Xurkitree,” He spoke, “Tell me: How long do we have left until our arrival?”

  “Less than a day,” The wirey, Ultra Beast replied, bowing to his master, “About eighteen or so hours.”

  “Then we’re on time?”

  Xurkitree nodded. “Indeed, milord. We will arrive in exactly five days since you made your announcement to the denizens of planet Earth.”

  The dark conqueror crossed his arms. “I see. Then I assume the Ultra Beasts’ preparations are also on time?”

  Necrozma’s right-hand man nodded once in affirmation once more. “They are. They only appear to be in a panic because time is drawing short for the next invasion.”

  “How long ago was the last one again?”

  “Only a few years, actually.” Xurkitree ceased his bowing and went to Necrozma’s side, motioning at the Beasts below. “There rarely comes a time when a generation of Ultra Beasts is able to invade not only one planet, but two!” He turned his faceless gaze back towards his master. “The last one was the invasion of those ‘Deoxys’ creatures.”

  “Ah, yes,” Necrozma said, remembering the incident, “That’s the one where one of them actually ended up getting away. I’d almost forgotten.”

  Xurkitree paused for a moment, choosing his next words very carefully for fear of insulting his lord by mistake and bringing upon his wrath. “...Is that so, Milord? I’d come to believe we were coming to this planet specifically for the purpose of hunting down the only remaining survivor of the last.”

  Necrozma shook his head. “Maybe initially, but that’s only the side serving of a full-course meal I have in store.”

  Xurkitree tilted his head in confusion, “Milord?”

  Necrozma chuckled darkly, chilling the Ultra Beasts below into moving faster. “That man I manipulated told me something. A few ‘friends’ of mine from days long since passed dwell on this planet. What’s more, their denizens, or at least their leader, interest me. Of course…” He turned his gaze up from the scurrying Ultra Beasts and out toward an utterly colossal window that layed at the front of the ship, showcasing the starry void of space.

  “I also have to pay my former partner a visit.”