When a life fades away

An intense light engulfed the summit of the Mountain as the egg was finally crackling. Revealing the features of the majestic Pokémon Dialga.

Dialga was exactly how the books in Cynthia's grandma's house showed. It was a dark-blue, sauropod-like Pokémon with some gray metallic portions and light blue stripes. A chest plate was on its torso, which had a deep blue diamond-like crystal embedded in the center. Dialga had a fin-like structure on its back, three spines on the back of its neck, and a crest on its head. It also showed two structures on the sides of its head that extended outward and resembled horns and fangs.

As the light dimmed, the Time Pokémon stared at the three humans who were bracing themselves. In its mind, it connected with the Lake Guardians.

Mesprit showed it Dawn's emotions and how they made her a better person.

Uxie showed how Goh displayed knowledge and how he could push through a challenge with it.

Azelf, finally, showed Serena's willpower and pure passion, her desire to help Ash being the thing to make her even better.

Dialga nodded and finally faced the three of them. It was going to test them. If they managed to defeat it, it would listen to them, otherwise, people capable of passing the tests from the Lake Guardians and waking Dialga itself would be a threat, so it would kill them.

Dialga roared, alerting Dawn, Serena, and Goh who grabbed their Poké balls.

Serena released Delphox and Sylveon; Dawn released Togekiss and Piplup; Goh let out Cinderace and Flygon.

And of course, the three Ash's Pokémon that wanted to help: Dawn would command Staraptor, Serena would control Dragonite and Goh would use Gengar.

"STARRRRAPTOR!" roared the flying Pokémon as soon as she emerged from the Pokéball.

Dragonite wanted so badly to hug Serena but knew better.

Gengar stuck out his tongue before putting a determined look on his face. He would help his trainer no matter what.

"Let's go!" proclaimed Serena after a deep breath. She was ready to bring Ash back.

….

"My doom?" asked Ash, his eyes showing confusion, surprise, and anger all at once.

The cloaked figure smirked under the mask. He had waited for so long to reveal himself to the boy.

"Hand over your plates, hero from the future. Or else, you'll have to face the consequence for your actions" he stated firmly.

A lot of thoughts overwhelmed Ash at that moment: who was he? Was he responsible for the rift and the dead researcher? So, it wasn't Volo after all. Maybe, he was wrong. Then, why that cloak? What was that dark aura? Why appearing now? Maybe because he was gathering the final plates. So, they had a role after all… wait, he also knew that Ash came from the future… Too many doubts were obscuring his judgment until…

"PIKAPI! PIKAPIKAKA!" Pikachu snapped him back to reality.

Ash looked around. Akari was laying on the floor, and her Pokémon as well as Growlithe and Braviary had fainted.

Greninja got up, his breathing was hard and he was clearly damaged. Pikachu wasn't good either. But they had no chance and fight.

"Umpf, you think you stand a chance in those conditions?" remarked superbly the masked foe, his gaze on the boy, his clothes bruised, the look on his face transpiring a long-repressed tiredness.

"We can't give up! Until the very end!" proclaimed Ash, raising his fist, saying out loud that catchphrase, the one he once shared with a girl with a straw hat.

"Pikapika kapika!!" shouted his best friend, copying the phrase and the pose made by his trainer. "Jaja!" agreed Greninja, summoning his last bits of strength.

The figure was used to fighting using his best Pokémon, but suddenly he recalled them. Ash was surprised.

"I want to share with you why you will die today!" exclaimed laughing maniacally.

He showed the Kantonian trainer a Master Ball: "That's for the NEW WORLD I'LL BE THE GOD OF!" he stated, increasing the tone of his voice even more.

That made Akari's eyes slowly open and in her fuzzy vision, she could see Ash panting alongside Pikachu and Greninja with a strange man.

The Cloaked figure released the Pokémon contained in that Master Ball. Ash gasped, and so did Pikachu and Greninja. Never in his entire life had he seen a creature like that.

It was a draconic Pokémon with a long, tapering tail. Jagged, light blue spikes protrude from either side of its head. Its mouth featured sharp teeth. Each of its legs had long claws, with its front legs being longer and bulkier, and sporting three protruding scales close to the knees. On its back rested very large red wings that began with a three-pronged yellow pattern on both sides, that then curled upward into a crescent moon-like shape. It looked like a Salamence, or even a Mega Salamance, Ash thought.

Its features reminded Ash of a prehistorical beast. Never in his life had he seen something like this.

As soon as it emerged from the ball, its skin started to glow black, the dark aura possessing it. It roared, making the whole cavern shake. Mesprit was hidden behind Ash.

"Give your welcome to Roaring Moon!" the hooded man proclaimed, his hysterical laughter echoing through the walls of the cave.

Ash gritted his teeth, and Pikachu and Greninja joined their trainer in his distressed expression.

….

"Look Brock isn't that the Sinnoh Region?" asked Clemont, his face close to the porthole, pointing toward a yet not-so-well-distinguishable mass of land that surfaced from the vast sea only for the enormous mountain dominating it.

Brock squeezed his already not-so-open eyes and nodded: "Yes, that's Sinnoh!" he pointed out to his blonde travel companion.

"Sure, that was faster than we thought," said Clemont, adjusting the glasses on his nose.

"Yes, luckily. Still, twelve hours are many…" stated the tanned doctor.

"Hey Brock, look at there!" exclaimed suddenly Clemont, pointing toward a light appearing on top of the mountain they previously saw.

"Oh no, they've already started! We gotta move!" Brock finished as the craft sped up toward Mount Coronet.

…

"Come on, Delphox, let's go with Will- O- Wisp!" shouted Serena. She had taught her Pokémon some moves specifically for this battle, and she was proud to show.

The first step was to inflict a status condition in order to chip some strength away from the Deity.

Dialga blew the attack away with ease, but Serena was persistent: "That's like a performance! Dragonite, use Hurricane to keep it occupied! Sylveon! Fairy Wind! Delphox! Will-O-Wisp again!"

Goh stepped in: "Flygon! Use sandstorm! Cinderace, hid in the sand and Pyro Ball! Gengar! Support Delphox with your own Will-O-Wisp!"

The sand obscured Dialga's eyes while Delphox' Will-O-Wisp made contact with Fairy Wind and it dissolved into the Fairy Attack which now was glimmering with red shades.

Dialga countered Dragonite's Hurricane with a Dragon Pulse but was it by Cinderace's Pyro Ball.

It felt its body hotter and hotter once the Fairy Wind made contact with its skin. The attack in itself was ridiculously weak but was bringing with it Will-O-Wisp.

The beast turned around only for being hit by another, much more concentrated Will-O-Wisp which left it burned.

The plan had succeeded, so Goh called for Dawn: "Dawn! Clear the sandstorm away or else Dialga's special defense would have a boost!"

Dawn was ready: "Piplup, Spin, and Bubblebeam in the air! Togekiss, Break the bubbles with Air Slash! Staraptor, take advantage of the Air Slash to perform your Brave Bird! You know the drill! Spin and dodge the attacks mid-air!" she shouted.

Staraptor was eager to start, she wanted to help Ash and was happy to battle alongside Dawn. After all, she knew her very well and had learned very much thanks to the special training she and her trainer had had alongside the blue-haired coordinator during the Sinnoh journey.

Serena watched as Togekiss slashed the bubbles and with that, the sand started to deposit to the ground. Staraptor was charging through this, spinning and gaining momentum with every dodge and then she collided with Dialga's body, making the giant God back a few steps.

That power was huge, Serena thought. Staraptor was incredible but the bond she shared with Dawn was even more. For a moment she thought that she wasn't good as Dawn and that certainly she couldn't perform like that with Ash's Pokémon during their Kalos journey. Back in the days, having a battle was a utopia but now she wasn't like that anymore.

Dialga had had enough for the first round. Now it was time to launch a counterattack.

…

Clemont had called his sister who was relieved to hear from her brother although Clemont couldn't tell if this was the case since Bonnie had shouted at him throughout the whole conversation and chastised him about not calling. He had learned about the strange event occurring in Mirror Cave but wasn't sure if it was related.

He warned her about the challenge with Dialga and to keep herself ready if problems would ensue. She had told him that she would call Professor Sycamore and through him, she would try to contact even Professor Oak.

Clemont closed the conversation and sighed. Deep down, he was so proud of her sister.

….

"Look!" shouted Gary, startling James, Jessie, Meowth and Wobbuffet who were playing a card game.

"What is it to interrupt me right when I had a good hand for once, twerp!?" asked a pissed-off Jessie.

Gary turned around and glared at them: "There's a storm right in front of us! We must land in that atoll".

The Trio noticed the black clouds and panicked. Gary huffed: "How in the world these three are still alive?!"

…

"What the hell is that?!" asked a taken-aback Ash.

That creature looked like a Salamence but in its Mega-evolved form.

"You wouldn't guess, little brat, how many things a man can discover in the world" he only stated.

The mighty Roaring Moon was ready for battle. In its eyes, Ash couldn't see anything but pure fierce and hatred. It was a ravenous beast. Even the frenzied Nobles Ash had fought, showed some sort of turmoil, pain from the power exuding their bodies. This one looked and behaved like a prehistorical monster.

Pikachu saw the doubts in Ash's mind. A creature like that subverted all Ash had he had learned during their travels. How every Pokémon could be befriended. This one, no. Pikachu felt it. It wasn't a bully, or a Pokémon raised like that. It was its nature. The mouse Pokémon could have sworn that it glanced a look at Akari and even at its trainer with the eyes of someone looking at an appetizing meal.

The girl closed her eyes again, she felt the pressure, she felt tears swell up in her eyes as fear was taking control of her brain. She stayed still, hoping to look dead.

Ash saw her like that. He thought she was passing away. He couldn't let this happen.

"GRENINJA! LET'Z GO AGAIN! EVEN STRONGER!!!" shouted the raven-haired trainer, trying to fight his own body which was pushing against it.

Greninja got engulfed by a vortex of water and reemerged like Ash-Greninja once more.

"So this is the form…" muttered the mysterious man under the cloak.

"Roaring Moon, they can't even stand properly, take this and let's kill them quickly! Dragon Rush!"

The mighty creature received a strange capsule-like object which exploded in contact with the beast. Suddenly its muscled got pumped, veins emerging from the scales on its skin.

It roared again and leaped forward, so fast that Ash couldn't follow it with its gaze since he was already on the verge of fainting.

Pikachu saw it and disappeared as well, appearing in front of Greninja, clashing the Dragon Rush with Iron Tail but he too was too tired to keep a hold and was sent backward against a pile of rocks. Mesprit had disappeared upon seeing that.

"PIKACHUU!" shouted Ash before stopping, his eyes losing focus as an incredible pain started to appear in his guts. He weakly turned to see another Dragon Rush hitting Greninja right in the stomach and making him crumble against the wall of the now-destroyed cave.

The Frog reverted back to his original form; Ash was fainting.

"Pikapi!" shouted Ash as he electrocuted him lightly to keep his best friend's heart beating.

The boy collapsed on the ground, sitting against a boulder, trying to catch his breath, Pikachu standing all bruised in front of him to protect him.

He too was panting hard. It looked like there was no hope. "Sorry Pikachu…" muttered Ash, "I made a mistake… Anf… I should've used the Z-Move…" he groaned.

Ash looked defeated, ready to accept his fate… "Please, go away Pikachu before it's too late…" he mustered to say.

"Pikapi…" replied Piakchu, tears forming in his black eyes. He made an angered grunt as if saying "You'd like it".

"I knew it…" slightly chuckled Ash. He knew his best friend wouldn't leave. If it was destiny that one of them would die, the other would die as well, fighting alongside the latter.

Akari heard the commotion and slowly opened her eyes again. She hoped to see Ash, her knight in shining armor standing triumphally against the foe, defeated, crushed.

What she saw made her heart shatter. Greninja was against a wall, blood dripping from his mouth, and a large wound on his belly. Pikachu, wounded as well, standing in front of Ash who had collapsed against a rock, a blow from fainting as well.

The man, the enemy, standing and laughing maniacally at the sight in front of him, with the feral beast at his command, somehow looking even stronger than before.

Akari had never felt so lost in her entire life. All the pain from being separated from her family, the loneliness in Hisui, the days spent crying for a friend, everyone watching her as a lost child. It all vanished there.

Ash tried to stand up again, his feet failing to stabilize his body, his legs trembling as he tried once again to raise from the dust. Pikachu helped him a bit, but it looked like the two of them were about to collapse again anytime soon.

Akari, slowly but surely, tried to get a hold of her body, trying to shake off the numbness her whole physique was feeling. She looked around, casting a glance and noticing all her Pokémon, Braviary and Growlithe, passed out on the muddy terrain that was the once spectacular floor of that mysterious cave.

No one seemed to notice that she was trying to stand again.

Suddenly, the masked man commanded one last attack. Akari wanted to shout, to call for Ash but her throat and body were cursing her with pain.

When Roaring Moon was about to hit with a Hyper Beam, Mesprit appeared in front of the boy protecting him, but his protection was in vain. His power hadn't come back yet and the Protect shattered under the massive Hyper Beam. The Emotion Pokémon was engulfed by the attack and was left on the ground, his body burning from the wounds.

"MESPRIT NOOO!", "PIKAAA!" shouted the duo watching the scene helplessly.

"AHAHAHAHAH! Even the Legendary Pokémon can't stop my ascension to be God!" laughed out maniacally the attacker.

Roaring Moon laughed as well, proud of its power.

"Bastard!" muttered Ash, tears forming even in his eyes. He felt like there was no hope but sure he wouldn't give up. The image of a gentle honey-blonde girl appeared in his mind.

Never give up until it's over!

"Pikachu, we can't give up!" called ash to his best friend.

He was about to give a command when his legs gave out and he collapsed back to the ground. Pikachu joined him.

"Now, now, Ash Ketchum… Don't you think it's time to call this out?!" said the Hooded man pitifully, "Roaring Moon, end this boy with your Dragon Rush!"

It was over. Ash hugged Pikachu and only said: "I love you, Pikachu… I'm sorry" and closed his eyes, expecting the attack to end his life. But the attack never connected.

Akari had seen all of this happening and her body had moved on her own. She ran and ran and stood between the massive dragon and Ash. Her body was crushed by the attack, sending her against the wall.

The noise of bones cracking was heard by Ash. His eyes widened as he looked at what had just occurred.

He saw Akari's body against a wall, her head bleeding, her arm in an unnatural position. Her eyes were shut. She didn't seem alive. Ash was lost. Why did she do that? Why didn't she stay back and wait? Had she sacrificed herself? For him?

He wanted to cry, he wanted to get angry, he wanted to strike back. But all his body could muster was hot streaming tears.

…..

"THAT'S ROAR OF TIME!" shouted Goh as he saw Dialga form a giant energy ball in front of him. Small fragments of energy were being gathered and the blue sphere was getting bigger and bigger by the moment.

"Come on! Let's not give it time to gather even more energy!" Called frantically Dawn. Even if her motto was "No need to worry", this time she was worried as hell, having already witnessed the power Dialga was capable to summon.

Serena clenched her fists. That Pokémon was toying with them but they were not to go away without even attempting: "Dawn is right! Let's give it all, guys!" she shouted to her Pokémon.

Goh analyzed quickly the situation: "We should aim for the legs. If it stumbles, maybe we can make it lose control of the sphere!" he called to his comrades.

Serena and Dawn nodded quickly and refocused on the Time deity. The Roar of Time was charging but it seemed a bit odd that Dialga took that long to fire its greatest attack.

Looking at its eyes it was clear that it was waiting to see what they would do.

"Dragonite, ready with Dragon Dance! Delphox, Fire Blast, aim for the ground, and go all out!"

"Come on Piplup, Go with Whirpool and aim for the ground too! Strapator, be prepared for Close Combat!

"Gengar, Shadow Ball! Cinderace, Pyro ball! Aim for the legs!"

Gengar's Shadow ball collided directly with Roar of Time, the ball of energy shook but the attack was dissipated nonetheless.

Dragon Dance was boosting Dragonite's attack and speed while Delphox was making the pavement hot with Fire Blast. Piplup was waiting to use Whirpool.

"Sylveon, jump on Togekiss and use Tickle!" serena ordered. She used Togekiss in order to not burn Sylveon's paws.

The attack lowered Dialga's defense and Cinderace finally shot a low Pyro ball. The ball collided with Dialga's left leg and left some bruises.

Piplup finally delivered Whirpool to the ground, raising a great cloud of vapor from the heat accumulated by the pavement.

Serena and Dawn saw the opportunity now that Dialga couldn't see: "Staraptor, go with the Close Combat!"

"Dragonite! Go with Dragon Claw!" The two aces leaped forward at full speed, aiming for Dialga's weakened leg and hitting it with mighty power.

The Time deity collapsed on its knee and lost for a split-second control of its move, which exploded right in place, creating a huge hole and sending everyone to the ground.

Unfortunately, Dragonite and Staraptor were too close to the explosion and the damage they took was too much, leaving them fainted and wounded.

All the other Pokémon took a sizable chunk of damage for the explosion and the only one who wasn't breathing too hard was Gengar.

Serena had hit her head against a pillar and a good number of debris had hit her body, leaving bruises and wounds all over her gentle physique. Blood was pouring from the back of her head, her clothes had been torn, her once bright blue ribbon had been ripped off her shirt, and a large number of wounds were soiled by the dust they had taken. Her vision was blurred, probably a symptom of head trauma, and her whole body felt numb. She had thought that Dialga wasn't going all out but now she was desperately hoping that this wasn't the case. Who could beat that creature otherwise?

In a rush of adrenaline, she got up and ran toward the ribbon once she saw it. Then her body ceased to respond to her and she collapsed, Delphox coming to her and giving her a worried face.

"I'm… fine..." she smiled faintly, remembering how her smile had the power to make people and Pokémon happy and to motivate them.

Sylveon came next to her. She had no bruises whatsoever and she was only dirty from the dust. Serena smiled fondly. Sylveon was a fairy type after all.

Dawn was in a similar state, with bruises and wounds all over her body. She had picked up Piplup who had been sent toward a huge pile of rocks and was severely injured.

Her vision was okay but her whole body was too fatigued to move again.

Goh was, however, screaming in pain. His right leg was under a boulder, probably a part of a pillar that had detached after the explosion.

Cindarace had run quickly to him and lifted the boulder. The leg was covered in blood and Goh couldn't feel anything but atrocious pain. He was sure: his leg was broken.

Finally, the dust settled, revealing a tremendous truth. Dialga was still there, injured but still capable of a fight.

Desperation was the only thing that suddenly overwhelmed Serena's, Dawn's, and Goh's hearts.

….

Akari's body stood there, unmoving. Blood was covering her once sweet and smooth features. Her eyes were shut and her mouth was slightly open.

Ash wanted to scream, to yell, to curse, to save Akari but his body didn't have strength.

He was watching, his eyes flooded with defeat, pain, and sadness.

"Now, even your girlfriend is dead now. How many more lives do you want to destroy before surrendering your own?" the masked figure asked, a rhetorical tone in his voice.

He slowly grabbed a metal item from his pocket. Ash recognized it. Long barrel, black grip, loader with a single small pointed bullet: it was a pistol. Ash wanted to react, but the boy was so shocked he couldn't say anything.

The masked figure inserted the loader in the gun and pointed the cold weapon at Ash: "I decided to kill you the same way the other guy was killed back then!"

At that moment, an Aura Sphere hit the man on the hand holding the gun and destroyed the weapon.

Pikachu turned his gaze and his ears perked up. He quickly shook Ash out of his trance. He saw something he didn't think he would have seen again: Lucario was there.

"Lu…ca…rio…" muttered Ash, not really understanding what was going on. The Aura Pokémon walked to his trainer, the masked man, and Roaring Moon were too stunned to react properly.

"Is that really you?" asked Ash, his voice a bit more than a whisper. Lucario nodded. He wanted to hug his trainer, to share with him how weak he had felt without him but now he couldn't.

He put a hand on his trainer, who was bewildered and the other one on Pikachu, giving them a little of his energy. He wasn't a healer so his aura skills on that side weren't perfect or even good.

Ash felt the energy and stood up, a frown on his face: "Thank you so much Lucario" he said, grateful, "but you should have helped Akari…". He cast a glance at the girl. He was feeling something he wasn't used to feeling: anger. He looked at the man, a determined look on his features.

"Pikachu, are you feeling all right?" he said, although he already had the answer.

The mouse barked, anger filling his tender face. Ash extended his hand to Lucario. The Pokémon nodded. He handed him his gloves, a Mega Stone on one of them.

Ash wore them. The boy looked carefully at the gem on his glove and touched it. In the same moment, Akari opened one of her eyes and saw him, his knight, with another Pokémon. Something should have happened. But now he was standing there, his Pokémon changing aspect. He was there, even in that desperate time, and she loved him. She wanted to stand but her mind was taken one more time by the darkness.

"Mega Evolution? Another trick of yours?" asked in a sarcastic tone the hooded man.

"Pikachu, be ready for the finisher" called Ash to the mouse.

"LET'S GIVE IT ALL! ONE GIANT AURA SPHERE!"

"Let's crush them once and for all, with a power stronger than God itself!" retorted the enemy, charging the mighty Roaring Moon, "Hyper Beam!"

The giant sphere collided with the Hyper Beam, energy creating and releasing heat in the small cave, now on the verge of collapsing. The two attacks canceled each other with a giant explosion which was somehow contained. A pink aura surrounded Pokémon, Ash, Pikachu, Akari, and even Lucario.

The hooded man was sent back and hit a rock with his head, fainting and losing the mask in the process.

Dust scattered all around, a loud rumble that made Ash's ears whistle.

When the dust finally settled the man was nowhere to be seen, his strange creature had disappeared as well.

Ash collapsed to the ground, panting hard. Pikachu came up to him, worried. The boy wore a faint smile and said: "I'm fine Pikachu…" while patting his head.

The boy couldn't rest. He took out his flute and played a little piece of melody. Wyrdeer came and Ursaluna came too. They looked worried. Ash didn't want to lose time: "I need you two to take me and Akari to the village, as soon as possible".

Pikachu had reached for Akari's body and grabbed her Poké Balls to recall Clefable, Pikachu and Piplup. Ash called back Braviary and Growlithe while Lucario put Greninja on his back.

Ash took a last gaze at the now destroyed cave and saw the mask. He kneeled to bring it up.

Mesprit appeared for a moment, the cave flourishing again, the ponds recreating their patterns and the roof repaired.

It was a miracle that Ash would have witnessed with great pleasure but right now he couldn't. He would save Akari at every cost.

…

"So you encountered the culprit?" asked Laventon, sipping his tea.

"I think… he had a gun…a weapon to kill… We nearly died…If it wasn't for Lucario…" answered Ash, his mind away.

The two of them were sitting in Laventon's studio. The lights were dimmed. The night was blessing Hisui with a full moon again.

Ash had spent two days recovering after a whole day of riding. Pikachu was sitting on his lap, bandages around his tail. Greninja had suffered more severe damage and was still asleep.

Every other Pokémon had recovered. Lucario, Braviary and Growlithe were at Akari's house to rest. They had recovered quickly and Lucario had been charged by Ash with the training schedule for the newest members of the team.

Ash, however, wasn't sleeping there. He and Pikachu had spent the last three days after waking up taking care of Akari, alongside the nurses. The girl had suffered major injuries, head trauma, broken bones, hematomas, haemarthys, and extravasations.

She was deep asleep, her condition very critical.

The boy had blamed himself for this.

Now he was speaking with Laventon about the latest discoveries.

"This is one of Mesprit's plumes. He gave me two of them. Take it. I will send you the other objects after the trials and then I will send you a Starly once Cogita takes me to the Ruins. In this way you can make use of them in case something goes wrong" explained Ash.

Well, Ash wasn't the creator of the plan. Pikachu was. The mouse had suggested Ash apply a more cautious approach to everything. They needed to be careful.

"I agree. From what you told me, something is wrong… Be careful when you go to the next lakes. I will do my best to help you, but I should warn you" the galarian professor added, his face contorting in a serious yet enigmatic look, "here at the village something is moving. Not everyone is happy about your impact on it…" he added, not sure himself to what to say next.

"I know, but don't worry" answered the raven-haired trainer, "I'll come back to my time as soon as this is over. I don't want to mess up things and I want my life back" stated the boy, petting his best friend.

"Right!" exclaimed Laventon, standing up from his chair; "Fancy another cuppa?" he offered to the trainer, holding his cup of tea. Ash denied with a move of his hand: "No thanks, I think I'm gonna take a look at Akari" he said, standing up as well, waking Pikachu up and making the cute mouse puff his cheeks in disappointment. He turned and started to walk away.

"Ash…" said the older man, turning his gaze once more to the time traveler.

Ash stopped in his track, without turning.

"It's not your fault…" he said with a caring tone.

Ash walked away, his fists clenched, trying as hard as he could to hold back his tears to be discovered by the scientist.

He reached Akari's room and kneeled on the floor before the bed. He took Akari's hand and lowered his head, letting his tears flow. Pikachu watched from a bit back. He knew that he should have a talk with Ash later.

From all the tears, Ash couldn't speak properly but one thing was heard hard enough to make even unconscious Akari's eyes twitch a bit: "I'm sorry…"

….

"I know Pikachu. I think I needed to take all the tension out of my chest… I'm sorry for making you worried…" Ash told Pikachu. The two of them were sipping liquor and smoking from the balcony on the roof of the Galaxy hall. Pikachu had calmed his friend down. Then they headed to Akari's house to greet the Pokémon and announce to them that they would leave tomorrow for the next lake without Greninja.

Lucario had shared a moment with Ash and gave him his Dynamax band as well as another gadget he wasn't aware of having at hand: Greninja's Poké ball.

The boy appreciated that since now he was able to recall him and save his energy.

Growlithe convinced Ash to sleep with them to which all the others agreed. They needed a night of sleep before heading into the mission once again.

Ash watched his Pokémon join him in the bed. He cast a glance at the empty bed near his one.

He would make up to her. He would solve this chaos. Pikachu joined him in his thoughts before everyone went silent as sleep took possession of them.