Serena woke up early the next morning. She blinked her eyes to get the sleep out of them and then looked around the cave. Pikachu had been sleeping next to her, but he was now up as well, just as keen as her to get moving. She saw that Greninja and Delphox were sleeping pretty close to each other and that brought a smile to her face. She looked at the entrance to the cave where Ash's other Pokemon were. Pidgeot had one of his large wings out to cover Hawlucha and Talonflame. Noivern was close to them, but apparently didn't need the warmth.

"Hi Serena." Serena turned around to see Bonnie stretching. She looked funny stretching in her Tyrantrum pajamas.

Serena smiled. "Hi Bonnie. Sleep well?" She asked.

Bonnie shrugged. "I guess, but I definitely want to go and help Ash." She looked at Clemont with a distasteful look. "Wake up Clemont!" She yelled all of a sudden. She looked around guiltily as the Pokemon all groaned at being woken up like this.

Clemont jumped up. "The future! Science!" He yelled. He looked around, realization coming onto his face. "Oh...sorry." He opened his bag. "I guess I'll make us some quick breakfast." He suggested.

Serena nodded. "Thanks, Clemont." She looked at Pikachu. "Then we'll go and show Team Flare they can't mess with us."

Pikachu gave a little fist pump. "Pika!" He said confidently.

Clemont prepared a quick breakfast for everyone. Fruit for him and the girls and Pokemon food for the Pokemon. Serena wolfed down her food so fast, she felt like she must still be channelling some of Ash's thoughts. However, Bonnie and Clemont were both fast as well, so she knew it was just that they all wanted to get going.

Once they'd packed their bags and recalled all their Pokemon, with the exception of Ash's Pidgeot and Noivern, and obviously Pikachu, Serena said, "So I was thinking we use Pidgeot and Noivern to fly to Geosenge Town. That way we should be there by tomorrow." She looked at Pidgeot and Noivern. "Is that ok with you two?"

Pidgeot spread his wings. "Pidgaw!" He said proudly.

Noivern nodded his agreement as well and said, "Noivern."

Serena smiled gratefully at the two of them. Then, she looked back at Bonnie and Clemont. "Two of us will take Pidgeot and one of us will take Noivern. Bonnie, you should go with Pidgeot and Clemont you can go with her. I'll take Noivern."

Bonnie ran over to Pidgeot excitedly, happy to get a chance to ride him again. Clemont stayed and looked at Serena. "You're not gonna fly off on your own with Noivern once we're there, are you?"

Serena narrowed her eyes. "I'll do what I think is right. You take care of your sister and I'll take care of my..." She blushed, still uncomfortable saying the word boyfriend.

Clemont sighed. "Alright." He walked over to Bonnie and Pidgeot and helped his sister get onto the big bird's back. Then she helped him up and they were ready to go.

Serena took a deep breath. Pikachu hopped on her shoulder and then she walked over to Noivern. She was a little nervous about riding Noivern. He was definitely strong enough to handle her, but he definitely wasn't as graceful as Pidgeot. Noivern looked at her and blinked, then he looked at Pikachu with what looked like a sad look. Serena instantly felt guilty. She was making Noivern feel like she was scared of him. She immediately stepped forward and pet his soft neck fur. "Noivern, is it alright if I fly with you?"

Noivern looked at her and this time with a happy expression. He nodded and said, "Noivern."

Serena climbed onto Noivern's back and then looked at Bonnie and Clemont on Pidgeot. "Ready to go, you two?" She asked.

Clemont nodded. He gave Pidgeot a gentle pat on the back and then the big bird spread its wings, kicked off and flapped once to speed into the air. "Don't get too far behind, Noivern." Clemont called back jokingly.

Serena pet Noivern once again and leaned forward. "Show them how great you are Noivern." She said encouragingly. Noivern nodded and mimicked Pidgeot's moves to rocket out of the cave. He sped up so that he was level with Pidgeot. Serena smiled. "Wow, Noivern, you can really fly." She said.

Bonnie squeaked in excitement from where she was, behind Clemont on Pidgeot's back. "This is gonna be awesome. We'll be in Geosenge Town in no time." She said.

Pidgeot gave Noivern a look out of the corner of his eye and nodded. Serena noticed Noivern nod too. She quickly looked over at Bonnie and Clemont. "Hold on tight!" She said. They all managed to get a good grip before Pidgeot and Noivern accelerated and shot forward into the sky, determined to get to their trainer as fast as possible.

XXXXX

Ash woke up that morning to Team Flare members dragging him out of the room he'd been in on the boat. He realized they must have arrived at Geosenge Town and he was now being taken to the base. He didn't struggle. He knew that at this point there was little point in resisting as Team Flare had numbers on him, along with some powerful Pokemon.

Team Flare escorted Ash off the boat and he was placed in a helicopter with Lysandre. The big, red haired man looked at Ash with an emotionless expression. "Sleep well?"

Ash glared at him. "Like a baby." He said.

Lysandre returned the glare. "I thought I heard crying." The pilot and a couple of other Flare members in the helicopter laughed at that.

Ash ignored him and just waited for the helicopter to take him and his enemies to the Team Flare hideout. It took a few minutes, but eventually Ash saw the building, well hidden from Geosenge Town residents. It was deep in the forest and around the entire property was a tall fence. The area basically screamed, "If you enter, you'll regret it!" Ash started to worry for his friends.

"Yes, you're not likely going to be rescued with the security we have." Lysandre said smugly, noticing Ash looking at the fencing.

Ash looked at Lysandre and tried to keep a confident expression on his face. "What's that?" He said innocently. "Sorry, I was just trying to think of which part I'm going to escape from."

Lysandre smirked. "You're not going anywhere until we get that Greninja and the other Zygarde."

Ash looked confused. "You have another Squishy?"

Lysandre laughed. "Yes, and we're very close to figuring out how to control him. You've seen the ten percent form I believe?"

Ash was forgetting to be angry. Curiosity got the better of him. "What's that?"

Lysandre said in a soft voice. "It's like a dog form."

Ash nodded. "Squishy did that in Terminus Cave."

Lysandre smiled. "Yes, well we're executing great control over the one in our possession. Perhaps I can show you."

Ash didn't answer. He was curious, of course, but he hated the thought of these people controlling an innocent Pokemon and using its extraordinary powers for evil. He was quiet as they left the helicopter and entered the building.

Ash's eyes widened when he entered. The building was huge. He could see many people dressed in lab coats running around. He saw a few people at computers. On one screen he saw an image of what he now knew to be Zygarde ten percent form. He also noticed a room that was through a glass door that looked like a battlefield.

As Lysandre led Ash along a hallway, they passed what looked like a hospital room. Ash saw a Chespin in the bed and young girl that must have been its trainer beside it. She had maroon coloured hair and puffy, green hat. Her head was down on the bed and Ash realized she was sleeping. He looked at the Chespin and his mouth opened in surprise, seeing it glowing in a strange green light. "What's up with that Chespin?" Ash asked Lysandre.

Lysandre shook his head and continued walking. "That doesn't matter."

Ash squinted his eyes in confusion. "Wait, why are you taking care of a little girl and her Chespin? That doesn't seem like it would be useful for your research."

Lysandre sighed. They had rounded a corner and were approaching a door. They stopped in front of it and as Lysandre scanned a card through a security scanner, he said, "I'm doing it as a favour for a friend of mine. He cares for the girl, Mairin, and it's an inconvenience for me to have him lose loyalty. And figuring out what the Zygarde did to it will be interesting."

The door opened and Lysandre led Ash through it. Ash was even more disgusted with Lysandre after that answer, but he was now more determined than ever to defeat Team Flare. He'd make sure to help that girl, Mairin and her Chespin as well.

"Well, what do you think?" Lysandre asked. Ash realized he hadn't been paying attention and he quickly looked around. "This is where we study what Zygarde can do. We're currently experimenting on how to trigger its evolutions."

Ash felt nervous being in the room. There was a bright green glow coming from the middle, where there was an odd little copy of wilderness. A couple of pathetic trees, a little pond and some grass. A small, green Pokemon that looked like Squishy was in the middle. Ash noticed a collar on it. He looked around again and realized that up top, there were scientists in front of computers, likely controlling the habitat and the collar.

Lysandre looked at Ash. "I'll take it that your silence is a mix of fear and amazement." He looked up at a platform where there was a scientist with a notebook. "Let's show our guest the progress we've made." Lysandre commanded.

The scientist nodded and set down his notebook. He picked up a remote control and pointed it towards the Zygarde that was staring up from the top of a rock in front of the pond. Ash looked at it and heard it make a noise of fear when the scientist clicked a button on the remote. It all of a sudden started to glow white and it grew. Ash blinked his eyes and realized that the Zygarde had morphed into a dog-like Pokemon, like he had seen Squishy do in Terminus Cave. However, this one's eyes were glowing red.

"You're controlling it?" Ash asked, voice full of fear.

Lysandre smiled and nodded. "And once we've done some more tests, we'll be able control it in fifty percent form and finally its complete form." He looked at Ash. "And the Zygarde your friends have will be no different."

Ash glared at him. "And you're willing to hurt Pokemon like that girl's Chespin to do this?"

Lysandre shrugged. "Our research has costs. That Chespin must have been poisoned from some of the substances used in controlling the Zygarde."

"What? You hurt Chespie?" Ash and Lysandre whipped around. The girl from the hospital room, Mairin, was standing at the entrance to the lab. Ash realized neither he nor Lysandre had closed the door.

Lysandre stepped forward. "I think you misheard, Mairin." Ash saw he looked a little worried.

Mairin's eyes flashed. "I heard what you said!" She yelled. "You said Chespie was just a cost of your research. Does Alain know what your up to?"

Ash's eyes widened. Alain...the guy with the Charizard? He thought. He looked at Lysandre who was now glaring at Mairin. "I've shown you generous hospitality, and now you're making accusations like this. Maybe I should lock you up with this one." He gestured at Ash.

Mairin gave Ash a quick look, apparently only just realizing he was there now. "Why are you locking him up?" She asked, losing some of her anger.

Lysandre kept his glare. "For meddling in our affairs. Just as you are doing." He looked up at the scientist with the remote that was controlling the Zygarde, who Ash realized was growling and now had glowing, red eyes. "Give me that remote!" He shouted. The scientist tossed it down and Lysandre pointed the remote at the Zygarde. "Come." He shouted.

Ash backed away as the dog-like Pokemon approached. It was definitely under Lysandre's control and Ash remembered the power that Squishy had back in the cave. He looked quickly at Lysandre. "What are you doing?" He asked.

Lysandre glared at Ash. "Making sure you and her cooperate."

Mairin walked forward a few steps. "I can take you." She said defiantly. Ash doubted it. He was guessing she was a new trainer. She pulled out a pokeball and threw it. "Go Bebe!" She shouted. Out of her pokeball came a Flabebe with a yellow flower. "Use razor leaf!" Mairin shouted.

"F;a-Be!" The Flabebe shouted and it fired razor sharp leaves towards the Zygarde. The attack hit full on, but didn't appear to do any damage.

Lysandre laughed. "A novice like you can't do anything against me with a regular Pokemon. What makes you think you can handle a powerful Pokemon like this." He pointed his remote at her. "Do you want to attack again?"

Ash stepped between Lysandre and Mairin. "Hold it right there!" He shouted. He looked back at Mairin. "It's no use fighting him right now."

Mairin looked at him with an angry expression. "But, don't you have any Pokemon to fight with. Why can't you help me?"

Ash ignored her and looked at Lysandre. "Relax. We won't fight you."

Lysandre glared at Ash for a moment and then nodded. He clicked his remote and Zygarde returned to its rock and morphed back into its little, green, blob form. Lysandre snapped his fingers and two guards grabbed Ash and Mairin, who Ash was relieved to see had recalled her Flabebe. "Leave them in the hospital room with the Chespin. Lock it down though. Windows closed and no entering or leaving without my permission."

The guards nodded and pulled Ash and Mairin out of the room and through the hallways to the hospital room. The two of them were thrown in unceremoniously and then they heard the door click as it was locked. Then, the windows that Ash had originally seen the room through, had dark plates cover them up, putting the room in complete darkness. Ash was relieved when a light clicked on immediately after that and he was able to see again.

He looked at Mairin who was at the side of her Chespin, who still slept and had that odd, green glow. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you." Ash said.

Mairin looked back. She didn't look angry anymore, just scared. "It's ok. I know you were just being smart about the position we were in." Her eyes widened and she looked at Ash more closely. "Are you Ash?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, how did you know that?"

Mairin smiled. "I heard about how you saved Professor Sycamore's Garchomp. I watched it on the news. That was so cool how you climbed so high up. And you were really brave jumping down to save your Pikachu."

Ash laughed nervously. "Uh...yeah. Thanks."

Mairin looked around, eyes wide. "Where is your Pikachu? Did they take it?" She sounded angry and scared.

Ash shook his head. "Don't worry. My Pikachu and all my other Pokemon are safe right now. They're with my friends."

Mairin looked confused. "How did...?" She didn't finish, but continued to stare at Ash confused.

Ash sighed. "I guess I should explain."

XXXXX

Serena, Bonnie and Clemont landed in Ambrette Town for lunch after flying full speed with Pidgeot and Noivern. Serena was really pleased with the timing they were making, but still wanted to eat lunch quickly, so she ate with a purpose. She thought Ash would have been proud.

While they ate, Clemont suggested getting Officer Jenny to get the police force in Geosenge on the move. "Ash was right. We're going to need her help. We'll need all the help we can get."

Serena nodded. "I think I've got another idea that might help us out a little." The idea had just come to her when Clemont had mentioned they'd need all the help they could get.

Bonnie looked confused. "What's your idea?" She asked.

Serena smiled. "Well...I was thinking about what Clemont just said. He's right, we'll need all the help we can get. Team Flare is going to have lots of strong Pokemon. I know getting Officer Jenny's help is necessary, but that won't be enough. And to be honest, Clemont and I aren't going to make much of a difference against all those Team Flare members."

Clemont squinted at her. "So what are you saying? Remember, we don't have Ash."

Serena held up her finger as if urging Clemont to wait. "But, we do have his Pokemon."

Bonnie sighed. "Yeah, but there's only six of them. No matter how strong they are, it's still gonna be tough to beat all of those Team Flare members."

Serena smiled again. "Don't you guys remember what Ash and Professor Oak were talking about?" She asked. She didn't wait for an answer though. "Ash has about thirty different Pokemon at the lab in Kanto. If he can transfer them-"

Clemont's eyes widened. "That's a great idea!"

Bonnie squeaked in excitement. "Wow, Serena, that's good thinking. And what better way to motivate Ash's Pokemon than a rescue mission?"

Serena nodded. "So how about it? Clemont, you and Bonnie go and contact Officer Jenny. I'm gonna call Professor Oak."

Clemont and Bonnie nodded and ran off to go and locate Officer Jenny. Meanwhile Serena rushed over to one of the Pokemon centre's phones and dialled the number for Professor Oak. She had luckily noted it down when Ash had called before. As the phone rang, she became a little nervous. She hoped Ash's mother wasn't there. Serena didn't want her to worry.

Serena's thoughts were interrupted as Professor Oak answered the phone. He looked surprised when he saw Serena on the video monitor. "Oh, hello Serena." He greeted. He looked to see Pikachu on her shoulder. "Hello, Pikachu."

Serena smiled. "Hi Professor Oak." She said. Pikachu also greeted him.

Oak leaned forward. "So, where is everyone else? I didn't expect to get a call from you, alone." He hit his head suddenly with his hand. "Sorry, how rude of me. I'm not saying I'm not happy to hear from you."

Serena held up her hand to signal it was ok. "It's ok, Professor Oak. Clemont and Bonnie are looking for Officer Jenny. See...we..."

Oak got a worried look on his face. "Officer Jenny? Why do you need her?" His eyes widened and he leaned forward again. "Is something wrong?"

Serena looked down and a tear dropped down in front of her. "It's Ash...some bad guys from a group called Team Flare took him prisoner. They have him somewhere in Geosenge Town."

Oak's mouth opened. He was clearly shocked. He took a deep breath. "Alright...I understand." He paused to let Serena wipe her tears away. "Serena, listen to me. Ash can handle whatever situation like this he gets into. I guess you know by now that he seems to get into things like this quite often."

Serena gave a weak smile, but then she quickly frowned again. "I'm still worried about him. These Team Flare people are really dangerous." She looked up quickly. "Please don't tell Ash's mom. I don't want her to worry."

Oak pursed his lips. "Well...I don't know. I suppose I could keep quiet for a couple of days, but if you don't get back to me by then, I'll need to tell her."

Serena thought for a moment and then nodded. "Ok, I guess that's fair."

Oak looked at her. "Anyways, I'm guessing you didn't just call to tell me to not tell Ash's mother he was in trouble. Is there something you think I can do to help?" He asked.

Serena smiled, amazed at how perceptive Professor Oak was. "I was thinking-"

All of a sudden Oak looked sideways with his eyes wide. "Charizard?" He yelled in surprise. Then Serena heard a roar and a big, orange Pokemon that looked like a dragon appeared next to Oak. Oak looked back at Serena. "Um, well this is Ash's Charizard. He just arrived back from Charicific Valley, where he spends a lot of time training. I asked the caretaker, Liza, to send him here to train with Ash's other Pokemon."

Serena was amazed. It was a truly remarkable looking Pokemon. It looked extremely powerful and was just the kind of thing she was hoping for. "Hi Charizard!" She said happily. "It's nice to meet you." Charizard roared happily.

Oak looked a little nervous. Serena realized he was probably worried about Charizard damaging some of his lab. He managed a weak smile. "Anyways, you were talking about how I could help Ash."

"Yeah-" Serena was interrupted again as Charizard's eyes widened and he roared at Oak.

Oak looked guilty. "Oh, Charizard I'm sorry." He looked at Serena. "Charizard and Ash are very close, so we'd better explain what happened."

Charizard looked at Serena. She was really nervous facing his powerful stare. She realized it would be extremely intimidating to be face to face with this Pokemon if she was shaking just from seeing it from a video monitor. She took a deep breath. "Charizard, I'm really sorry, but Ash is in trouble. He got taken by these really bad guys called Team Flare. They have him prisoner."

Serena felt really bad as she saw Charizard's eyes get wide in fear. The pity she felt was quickly erased by fear as Charizard's eyes became angry and determined. She saw Oak sigh knowingly, before Charizard turned, flapped his wings and rocketed out of view of the video monitor. Serena heard glass shattering and knew the powerful fire-type had just destroyed a window.

Oak sighed again, looking at what Serena assumed was the devastation caused by Charizard. "I just cleaned up from the race Staraptor, Swellow and Unfezant had." His eyes widened and he looked up. "Charizard!" He yelled. "Infernape, not you too!" He looked back at Serena, with exasperation and a bit of panic. "Charizard just flew off with Infernape."

Serena blinked, surprised. "You think they're coming here?"

Oak quickly glanced outside, to make sure nobody else had left, then he looked back at Serena. "I think you're going to be getting some reinforcements."

Serena smiled. "Well, that was actually what I was calling about. Do you think you could send some of Ash's other Pokemon?"

Oak sighed. "I wish I could, but we'd need Ash's Pokedex. Unfortunately the only way for them to get there is..." He looked outside again and then back at Serena. "Charizard's way. And unfortunately, Staraptor, Swellow, Unfezant, Noctowl and Gliscor would probably not be able to make the journey." He nodded to himself. "However, Charizard might make it. With Infernape, he'll be slower, but Charizard is a very powerful Pokemon. I do think there's a chance he might make it."

Serena looked down, a worried expression on her face. She didn't want Ash's Pokemon to get hurt by coming all that way. "I guess there's no way to stop Charizard and Infernape now?"

Oak shook his head. "No, but Serena, don't underestimate those two. They have been two of Ash's strongest Pokemon throughout the years. Infernape's weight will slow Charizard, but I still think they can make it to Kalos. Perhaps if they can land on a plane or something..." He started muttering to himself about how Charizard could fly a specific way to increase his speed.

Serena took a deep breath. "Well, hopefully they stay safe. If they can make it though, when might they get here?"

Oak thought for a moment. "Well flying on their own would take far too long. A week maybe. If they managed to land on a plane, they might make it in a couple of days."

Serena held her hand close to her heart and right next to the ribbon Ash had given her. "I hope they make it. They'd be a real help."

Oak nodded and then smiled. "You know, Serena? The determination of Charizard will get him there and Infernape will find a way to help him get there, too. And once they make it, you'll have Ash back in no time."