After that night, I decide to wander on Route 20, also known as the Winding Woods. I'm depressed because of the recent loss with Greninja, I mean, a loss is not a problem, but the fact that the nightmares of Greninja leaving me, and the transformation unable to use it... those are the true reasons why I take it so hard.

"Ash! There you are!" I notice Serena in front of me. I say, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just left you like that."

"Ash, if something's bothering you, you can talk to me. I'll listen. Anytime you want!" Serena says. "Seriously. Anytime, anywhere!"

I just don't feel like talking, and she continues, "I know how you feel. I've been there! Remember when I really goofed at the Showcase-"

"You don't have a clue how I feel!" I suddenly yell at her, which is a mistake that I just made.

I can see Serena is really sad, and she yells, "Then tell me about it!"

"It's none of your business! Leave me alone!" I yell back, obviously, my mind is not thinking straight, and that's when Serena throws a snowball at my head.

"The Ash I know is full of energy. He's a leader. Always tries his best. He's always positive. And he never gives up! He hangs in there until the very end! You're not acting like the Ash I know!" She keeps throwing snowballs at me. "Stop! Give me back the real Ash!"

After I fall to the floor, she yells, "Because you sure aren't him!" Then she runs away crying, and now I'm thinking about what she says and frowns. "Real Ash..." I mutter.

I yell at the sky after what has transpired, but then I get back to my feet and sigh, "I've had enough of this! I'm overthinking it. It's making my head hurt. I've gotta get myself in gear! If there's something I don't understand, all I've gotta do is get moving! I'll figure it out!"

As I continue moving, I start to get lost in the area, when I think it's the exit, I actually find the Pokemon Village instead.

"Let's try this again! Mewtwo! Mega Evolve!" I recognize that voice, and it is Alice, she's Mega Evolving Mewtwo into Mega Mewtwo X, and she's training with Wulfric with a lot of Pokemon watching.

"Nice work, Alice. It seems that Mewtwo is hanging at this Mega Evolution." Wulfric says as Mewtwo gets back to normal.

"It's not easy, but we somehow manage to do it." Alice says, but then they notice me watching and Alice gasps, "Ash!"

However, the sudden appearance of me scared some of the Pokemon as they were hiding. I say, "Hey, Alice...and it's nice to see you again, Wulfric."

"How are you been, Ash? I assume you're here for my gym? Sorry that I'm not at the gym." He says.

"It's fine... But what is this place?" I ask.

"This is the Pokémon Village. This place is a secret, y'know? Most of the Pokémon here are runaways-escaped from bad people who did awful things to them. It's a shame how many heartless Trainers who can't bother to care for their Pokémon are out there. Some of these Pokémon, though... Some of 'em are just too strong and found they didn't really have a place in the outside world, so they came here." Wulfric says.

As the Pokemon start to come towards me, I smile as I pet a Bidoof. Alice says, "But why is it only you? Where are the others?"

I frown and say, "Let's say that I just had a fight with Serena... it was my fault."

Alice notices my sadness and frown, while Wulfric just looks up in the sky and mutters, "The blizzard is coming soon."

That's when we decide to find a cave to hide, and we also bring some wild Pokemon inside the cave with us. I decide to explain what's going on, and Alice says, "So you're afraid that Greninja might leave you, and that's when this special transformation isn't working and you lose a battle against Sawyer..."

"And then I kinda snap at Serena because I thought it was annoying, but all she wants is to help me..." I frown. "I am such an idiot."

"You shouldn't say that to yourself, Ash..." Alice frowns. But that's when we notice some Spewpa hanging on the branches, and I say, "I'm going to save those Spewpa."

"Wait, Ash!" Wulfric tries to stop me, but I still go anyway, climbing on the tree, I try to bring the six Spewpa down from the tree, Alice and Wulfric decide to help me as they catch the Spewpa from the bottom. When there is only one left, the remaining one is scared. "You can do it! Just be strong!"

I hold out my hand, but then the branch starts to break. I know I have to be quick, "Come with me, please. Get back with your friends!"

When Spewpa jumps into my hand, the branch starts to break, and Alice yells, "Ash!"

Just then, I feel something catch me, and it is Greninja. "Greninja!" I can't believe it. But the wind blows and Spewpa slips out from my hands. "Spewpa!"

Then I close my eyes and then Greninja starts to transform. He goes to save the Spewpa with its transformation, and I yell, "Let's do it!"

Greninja uses its quick speed and saves the Spewpa, and I also command it to dodge the branches, and then we finally grab the Spewpa as we get back to the surface.

"Ash... what was that?" Alice and Wulfric seem to be surprised.

I say, "I don't know myself... it feels like I was in one with Greninja." I turn to Greninja and say, "Thanks so much. Sorry, I worried you."

Then after we get back to the cave, I explain about the transformation. Wulfric says, "So not even your mother knows about what's going on?"

"Yes, she is trying to ask my Dad if he knows anything. But what I know is that it is not Mega Evolution, considering that our Key Stones aren't reacting to it. And we believe that Team Flare might be the one who did this since it is from some sort of experiment. Whenever Greninja is in that form, I can also feel it, the pain and the vision. Alice, I wonder if you can sense the pain and the vision as well?"

"It wasn't occurring to me, but back then when you're trying to save the Spewpa, I feel it..." Alice says.

"I see..." I smile. Then after talking for a while, I say, "I'm sorry, Greninja. I know that I promised we'd become stronger together. I realized it when I was alone. After I told Sawyer I'd win my eighth badge, I wanted it so bad that I had to beat Wulfric, no matter what! I got impatient. I thought I'd have to do it all because I'm the Trainer. That's not teamwork. Teamwork is when a team becomes strong together. My friends are here right next to me. Friends I really care about."

I turn to the Spewpa, "I was trying to do my best to help you out. But I was able to do it because Greninja was with me." I say. "Please, Greninja. Lend me your strength. Let's start from zero, again as a team!"

Greninja nods, and now Wulfric says, "Looks like the blizzard has stopped."

Alice says, "Thank goodness. We can finally go home."

Then we notice all the Spewpa evolving into Vivillon as they fly away in the night sky, and that's when we find Serena and the others.

"Hey guys!" Pikachu, Absol, Zoroark, and Sylveon rush to me, and I say, "I'm sorry, you guys."

"Hey! We've been looking for you!" Bonnie says.

"We're glad you're okay." David says.

"Dad, Alice. So I assume Ash was with you all this time?" Flora asks.

"Yeah. You've never believed what we witnessed." Alice says.

"Uh, Ash." Serena mutters, and I say, "Thanks, Serena. What you said made me snap out of it."

Serena smiles and says, "I'm glad. Welcome back."

Then we see Greninja nodding at Squishy, I realize that Squishy must have helped Greninja find me.

The next day, we find that the Kalos League is going to be in a part of Lumiose City that's over Victory Road. I say, "We're almost there. What do you say, Greninja? Let's really show them!"

Greninja says, "Wait." I turn to ask, "What's wrong?"

He shows the Pokeball and it makes me remember the first day when we met. "I get it, Greninja. I won't lose my way again. We will get to the League. But first? The Snowbelle Gym!"

Greninja nods as we head to the gym. As we get inside, we find the gym guide, "What's the dice, chunk of ice? How's my favorite future Champ? As you can see, this Snowbelle City Gym is the place to be if you love Ice types! But you've already seized seven Badges from Gym Leaders all across Kalos, right? I'm sure you don't need any hints from a guy like me anymore! Am I right? Right! One more to go, eh? Go show 'em what you're made of, future Champ!"

All the gym trainers inside are Ace Trainers, and I know for sure that Wulfric likes to do some crazy puzzles that rotate the ground. The first trainer is Imelda, "They call me the queen of the ice rink!"

She uses a Sneasel and a Cloyster, so I go with Hawlucha, using the Fighting moves, we defeat the two Pokemon with ease. "Colder than cold! Faster than fast!"

With the red button, we can rotate the first part of the ground. The second trainer is Viktor. "Freeze right there!"

He goes for Delibird and Mamoswine, so I go for Barbaracle, using the Rock and Water moves to defeat them. "You've frozen my heart solid."

He guards the blue bottom, so I use it to rotate the blue path. It is a good thing that I've been here before, so the puzzle is actually good to do.

The third trainer is Shannon, "I like to cool down and clear my head with a refreshing chilled dessert! Here, let me give you a taste!"

She uses three Pokemon, a Cryogonal, a Piloswine, and a Jynx, so I go with Charla, using Fire moves to defeat all three of them. "I could really go for an ice-cold sherbet right about now!"

After the green one can be used, the final trainer is Theo. "Being able to keep your cool no matter the situation is a trademark of the truly powerful."

He uses Beartic and Vanilluxe, so I use Klefki to defeat them using Mirror Shot. "You've got my blood boiling now! I think this ice is gonna melt!"

And we finally reach Wulfric, the final hurdle to my last badge. He says, "I have been waiting for you, Ash. You have finally come."

Bonnie asks, "Don't you get really cold if you sit on the ice like that?"

Alice says, "That our Dad for you."

Wulfric laughs, "When you get to the point where I'm at, you can feel a heated heart even sitting on ice. So being here is absolutely comfortable for me."

I take off my jacket and give it to Serena. "I'm getting really heated up!"

After the referee announces that it's a four-on-four, Wulfric laughs, "Y'know what? Ice is both extremely hard and terribly fragile at the same time. You know what that means? Depending on which Pokémon you choose and what moves they use, I could be your most challenging opponent yet or I could be a total pushover. But that's all right. That's how it should be! Anyway, enough of my rambling! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Right! Klefki! I choose you!" I say.

Wulfric's first Pokemon is a Weavile, and I know that I've faced this one back in Unova before. I say, "Klefki! Let's win this together! Use Mirror Shot!"

Klefki manages to land the hit, and Wulfric says, "Oh! Most impressive power!"

"Now Draining Kiss!" I say, though Weavile goes for Ice Shard first and hits Klefki. Then Weavile goes for Metal Claw, but Klefki evades the attack and knocks it down with a Play Rough attack.

"We're just getting started! Use Flash Cannon!" Then Klefki attacks Weavile with the Steel Type attack, defeating it.

"They won!" Alice says.

"Klefki's so awesome! YAY!" Bonnie says.

"That was very classic Ash strategy." David says.

"No doubt you're a fiery one, Ash. Let's see if you can melt down the ice! Cryogonal! Let's go!"

The Cryogonal is the second Pokemon, and I decide to stay in Klefki. But it is defeated when it goes for Sheer Cold, and I know that I have to switch Pokemon.

"Sylveon! I choose you!" Sylveon jumps onto the stage, ready to battle. "Here goes! Moonblast!"

Sylveon tries to attack Cryogonal, but it is dodged by the attack. Cryogonal responds with Icy Wind, which Sylveon manages to dodge, but the cold air created by the wind numbs her lower body.

"Keep it up with Quick Attack!" I say. But Sylveon's speed gets reduced because of the effect of Icy Wind and is easily dodged.

"Icy Wind is chilling Sylveon's body and slowing it down..." Eve says.

Sylveon instead retaliates with Fairy Wind, which scores a direct hit. Wulfric says, "So Sylveon is still moving it quickly. You know? Cryogonal!, your specialty! Use Sharpen!"

Then Cryogonal is now encased in a crystal of ice and raises its attack stat before using Rapid Spin. Though Sylveon tries to dodge, Cryogonal scores a direct hit.

"Sylveon, no!" I mutter, but then I have an idea. "Run around and around, and around!" I say as Sylveon starts to run around in circles. And that warms her back up and melts the ice on her lower body.

"Of course! The increased body temperature melt the ice on Sylveon's body." Alice gasps.

"Looks like it's also melting - Wulfric's icy resolve!" Serena says.

"Fascinating. Now, Cryogonal, again! Use Rapid Spin!" Cryogonal tries to use the move again, but it is countered by Sylveon's Quick Attack, followed by an Iron Tail which knocks out Cryogonal.

"Impressive." Wulfric says.

"So different from before." Clemont says.

"Yeah. Ash is back. The Ash I know." Serena says.

Wulfric says, "You know what? I was waiting for that kind of fire... Avalugg, you're up next!"

Here it is... the Avalugg. Wulfric says, "It's time to turn up the heat, Ash!"

"Right! I'm gonna turn it way up and then win!" I reply back. I have Sylveon use Dazzling Gleam, which scores a direct hit, only to be stopped by Avalugg's Avalanche counterattack.

Then Sylveon starts to skate on ice to dodge any further attacks but is followed by Avalugg's Gyro Ball. "Use Iron Tail on the battlefield!" I yell, and Sylveon uses Iron Tail to create a hole on the battlefield to trap Avalugg's Gyro Ball. The trap works, but Wulfric and Avalugg counter with Stone Edge. Even though Sylveon tries to destroy the rock spires, she is finally hit and knocked out of the battle.

"Sylveon, great job." I say while holding Sylveon. Wulfric says, "Please. I need more heat than that! So who's your third Pokemon?"

I say, "It's right in here! Talonflame!"

Wulfric notices my Talonflame and says, "Interesting. All your Pokemon have such fire in their eyes..."

"Watch this! Use Flame Charge!" The attack lands a direct hit. Avalugg retaliates with Stone Edge, which chases down Talonflame and causes it to crash into the super-effective move. Talonflame responds with a direct hit from Steel Wing, digging into Avalugg's flat top as it strikes. Avalugg attacks with Avalanche, which sends Talonflame into a free fall, but Talonflame recovers and counters with Flame Charge. The intense fire and smoke from Flame Charge briefly engulf Avalugg, and as it disperses, Avalugg is shown to be knocked out.

"So that means Ash has three wins now." Elline says.

"Well, he is no doubt going to beat Dad." Flora says, "But there is still his strongest ace."

Wulfric says, "Trust in your Pokemon and there's no limit to what you can achieve! All right, Abomasnow, let's go!"

The final Pokemon is of course Abomasnow, and it starts with the Snow Warning ability. Wulfric says, "Show me more of who you really are Ash!"

"Right!" Talonflame tries to open the battle with Steel Wing but is intercepted by Abomasnow's Wood Hammer instead.

"So you want to defeat me? The battle's beginning now!" Wulfric says. Talonflame retaliates with Flame Charge, but Abomasnow's Ice Shard chases down Talonflame and stops it again. Abomasnow finishes Talonflame with another Wood Hammer, knocking Talonflame out.

"Even using Talonflame, Ash couldn't defeat Abomasnow with speed." David says.

"They skillfully closed any escape routes using Ice Shard." Eve says.

My final Pokemon is of course Greninja, and Wulfric says, "Here we go. I've been waiting for you."

Greninja opens with two successive Aerial Aces followed by two Water Shurikens. After that, it successfully stops Abomasnow's Energy Ball with Cut. Coming back to its side of the arena, Greninja flinches from the pain caused by the hail. Abomasnow tries to strike with Wood Hammer but is stopped when Greninja freezes itself in ice.

"Now, Greninja! Together!" Then we start to transform into Ash-Greninja, or that's what Bonnie wants to be called. And this time there is no vortex and everyone can see the blue and red marks on the black Greninja.

"Yippee! A giant Water Shuriken!" Bonnie says.

"So that's Greninja's special power!" Eve says.

"They look so great, so strong!" Serena says.

Wulfric says, "Feel the heat. You know what? Show me your future! I need you to show it to me now!"

Ash-Greninja launches back into battle with a series of Aerial Ace attacks. Abomasnow tries to fight back with Wood Hammer but is stopped by Ash-Greninja's Cut, which has now manifested itself as a pair of knives formed with water, similar to Water Shuriken. Ash-Greninja follows up with a giant Water Shuriken.

"With that power, I can feel it, the two of you are battling as one!" Wulfric says.

"You bet. This is the first time that we're in control of our new power!" I say.

"Yes, it is fully on display. Your real power, your heat, and your future, so! You know what? Now I must respond..."

Here it is, Wulfric is going to Mega Evolve his Abomasnow. Alice says, "There it is... Dad's Mega Abomasnow."

"This is from your heat! Your fire is burning bright! With such an opponent, responding with Mega Evolution is a courtesy!" Wulfric says.

Ash-Greninja attacks with another Water Suriken, but Mega Abomasnow's Ice Punch freezes and shatters it. Mega Abomasnow follows up with Ice Shard, which strikes Ash-Greninja. Ash-Greninja and I combine Double Team and Aerial Ace, attacking Mega Abomasnow in droves, but Mega Abomasnow knocks the clones away with Wood Hammer and strikes Ash-Greninja.

Starting to get the upper hand in battle, Mega Abomasnow launches another series of Ice Shards, but Ash-Greninja strikes them down with its enhanced Cut. As Ash-Greninja approaches, Mega Abomasnow counters with Ice Punch, freezing Ash-Greninja's water knives.

Just as Mega Abomasnow attempts to finish the battle with an extremely powerful Wood Hammer, I made Ash-Greninja use frozen water knives to skate on the icy battlefield, greatly enhancing its mobility, and allowing it to dodge Wood Hammer and Ice Shard. Ash-Greninja distracts Wulfric with a giant Water Shuriken aimed at Mega Abomasnow's feet, allowing Ash-Greninja to finish the fight with another series of Aerial Aces.

"Outstanding! I'm tough as an iceberg, but you smashed me through and through!" Wulfric gasps.

Greninja returns to normal and we cheer for the victory. Bonnie says, "You did it, Ash!"

"It sure is excellent! You did it!" Elline says. "You've won your 8th badge!"

"Yeah, thanks a lot. You, too!" I say. Then I fist bump with all of them.

Wulfric says, "Impressive! Your Pokémon fought with great courage. I can tell that you've trained your Pokémon well. That battle had heat! What was it? Ash-Greninja? It was strong! I got to see something impressive."

Then he gives me the Iceberg Badge, the final badge. "What you have right there is called the Iceberg Badge! As long as you have that, any and all of your Pokémon will surely look up to you and do their absolute best in battle. I hope you've learned a valuable lesson today. Being rigid can make you tough, but it will also render you fragile. You're better off being flexible. You know what I mean? Some people are fluid like water and can adapt to their environment without changing what's important on the inside. Not me, though. I guess I'm too stubborn. Maybe that's why I love Ice types."

Then after going outside, I show all of my Pokemon and I say, "You know, I want to thank all of you so much. Now it starts. There'll be lots of strong trainers at the Kalos League. Sawyer's waiting for me there, too! Let's all head there together and move right into Number one!"

All of our Pokemon cheer, and then we decide to leave for Lumiose City. Alice, Eve, and Flora want to tag along because they also want to see my League challenge.

On Route 21, we are training our Pokemon until a mythical Pokemon Volcanion crashes onto me and now I'm stuck with him, which causes me to be dragged with him. We learn that he's heading to Azoth Kingdom, the land where Magearna was originally born five hundred years prior.

The Cabinet Minister Alva steals the Magearna and tries to use the forced Mega Evolution Pokemon to stop us from getting close. Volcanion doesn't seem to trust humans and we try to bring Magearna and Volcanion back to their home: The Nebel Plateau. We are also helped by the princess of the kingdom named Kimia, and she tells us about her brother Raleigh, who has a great interest in arcane science. Raleigh trusts Alva completely, but Kimia does not and suspects he holds an ulterior motive.

At the Nebel Plateau, Volcanion reveals that all the Pokémon living there were harmed by humans and thus fear them. We begin earning the trust of the plateau's Pokémon by bringing out our own Pokémon and helping to drive off a who appears to try and capture an . I go with Volcanion to a cave where it lives, and we manage to get off the bindings thanks to Gulpin. However, we refuse to leave because we want to protect the Pokemon.

Later, Alva and his forces invade the Nebel Plateau, and they try to attack with the forced Mega Evolve Pokemon. Unable to see her friends being tortured, Magearna surrenders. After we survive the torture, we find Magearna's body without the Soul-Heart. We are going to save the soul-heart and we ride Kimia's flying craft back to Azoth Kingdom. Then we're being attacked by them using Megearna's Soul Heart.

We manage to get to the kingdom and fight, and I also notice that Squishy also transforms into its complete form to help us block the laser with Dragon Pulse, though nobody has seen it except for me. And we also use the chance to destroy Alva's staff, breaking the Mega Wave jewel so that the Mega Pokemon are free from control. Alice and the others also found Kimia's brother Raleigh, who was put to sleep by Alva, and reunite him with his sister.

Alva tries to crash the whole kingdom into Nebel Plateau, but Greninja manages to break his jetpack so that he falls. And we also reinstalled the Soul-Heart back in Magearna, but because of what Alva did to it, it appears to have lost its memory and personality. Raleigh discovers he is unable to override the controls of the fortress and stop the crash. We plan to destroy the castle from within the engine room but refuse to let Volcanion carry the plan out, as we realize it will be a suicide mission. Instead, Volcanion helps us evacuate the castle, but at the last minute, it jumps back inside, intending to sacrifice itself. Apologizing for not being able to save Magearna, Volcanion explodes once Kimia has completed the evacuation, destroying the fortress.

We all thought Volcanion is dead, but turns out that he's barely survived, and the sight causes Magearna to snap back to its true self. In the end, Volcanion wants to come with us by giving us the Customed Pokeball, and Magearna is going to stay with Kimia and Raleigh.

Volcanion: The Steam Pokemon: Fire and Water Type. It lets out billows of steam and disappears into the dense fog. It's said to live in mountains where humans do not tread.

Here is a new chapter, and in this chapter, we finally finish the last gym and also the movie. I hope you like it and the next chapter will be the Kalos League.

Ash and Serena's Pokemon:

Venusaur, Charizard x2, Blastoise, Pikachu x2, Alakazam, Gengar, Kangaskhan, Pinsir, Gyarados (Shiny), Aerodactyl, Ampharos, Scizor, Heracross, Houndoom, Tyranitar, Gardevoir (Shiny), Mawile, Aggron, Medicham, Manectric, Banette, Absol, Garchomp, Lucario, Samurott, Audino, Zoroark, Hydreigon, Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja (Shiny), Diggersby, Talonflame, Vivillon x20, Pyroar, Florges (Rainbow), Gogoat, Pangoro, Furfrou, Meowstic x2, Aegislash, Aromatisse, Slurpuff, Malamar, Barbaracle, Dragalge, Clawitzer, Heliolisk, Tyrantrum, Aurorus (Shiny), Sylveon, Hawlucha, Dedenne, Carbink, Goodra, Klefki, Trevenant, Gourgeist, Avalugg, Noivern, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, Diancie, Hoopa