Ash sat in a chair next to Mairin's Chespin's hospital bed. He looked across at Mairin who looked back with interest apparent on her face. He had just explained his entire ordeal. How he'd fought the two Team Flare members with Serena and then tracked down their boat, before being chased down after hiding Pikachu and his other Pokemon. He left out the part of his mental communication through Greninja. That was a little harder to explain.

"Wow, so you sacrificed yourself so your friends could escape?" Mairin asked in shock.

Ash shrugged. "I guess you could say it like that."

Mairin thought for a moment. "But, how do you know they're coming here to save you? How would they even know where you are?" She asked.

Ash scratched his neck nervously. "Um...well..." He said. "My Pokemon, can sometimes sense where I am."

Mairin's eyes widened. "No way...you're lying." Ash shook his head. Mairin looked at Chespin. "Do you think Chespie and I will be able to do that one day?" She asked.

Ash smiled. "Of course. He's your partner, right?"

Mairin nodded. "I got him from Professor Sycamore."

Ash looked at Chespin. He was still sleeping and had the odd, green glow around him. "He'll get better soon and then you two will have lots of journeys together. You'll even catch more Pokemon."

Mairin smiled. She opened her pokeball containing her Flabebe. Ash realized that Team Flare had decided that the Flabebe wasn't worth worrying about, which he realized must have meant the lockdown on the room was pretty secure. He looked at Flabebe, who was now on Mairin's shoulder. "You're going to be on our journey, too, right Bebe?" She asked her Pokemon.

"Fla-be!" Bebe, the Flabebe said happily.

Ash laughed. "See, you've already become good friends with your Flabebe. You'll make a lot more. And then, you'll grow so close that you can sense each other's feelings."

Mairin looked at Ash and this time she had a bit of a smirk on her face. "But, it's not just your Pokemon you're close with, right?"

Ash squinted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Mairin giggled. "The way you talked about that Serena girl. Is she your girlfriend?"

Ash blushed. "Well...yeah."

Mairin laughed. When Ash looked at her confused, she managed to stop for a moment. "Isn't it supposed to be the guy who rescues the trapped girl?" She laughed again.

Ash scowled. "Funny." He said.

Mairin sighed. "Oh, alright, I guess the only reason you're trapped is because you saved her. You deserve some credit for that."

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Wow, thanks." He said sarcastically.

Mairin looked again at Chespin, who Ash realized he should now be referring to as Chespie. "Didn't Lysandre say you were travelling with a Pokemon like the one he had in that lab?"

Ash nodded. "My friend, Bonnie is taking care of it. We call it Squishy. He stays in the small, green form, though. At least most of the time."

Mairin looked at Ash. "So those Pokemon have something to do with how Chespie got sick. Lysandre said Chespie got involved when they were doing experiments." Ash nodded and Mairin continued. "So, maybe the Zygarde or Squishy or whatever you have can help Chespie?" She asked hopefully.

Ash thought for a moment. He didn't want to get Mairin's hopes up, but the idea actually did make some sense. "Maybe." He said. "It seems like the best shot right now."

Mairin looked down at Chespie. "A friend of mine works for Lysandre, but I know him and he's not evil. He probably doesn't know what's going on here right?" She asked.

Ash thought for a moment and then his eyes widened. "Are you talking about Alain?"

Mairin looked at him surprised. "You know Alain?"

Ash paused, thinking. "Well, I met someone named Alain. Does the Alain you know have a Charizard that can mega evolve? It turns black and blue." He said.

Mairin's eyes widened. "Yeah, that's my friend. When did you meet him?"

Ash remembered back to the battle. "He helped me out when my Pikachu was in trouble. Then he said he saw me battling with my Greninja and he wanted to have a battle, using his Charizard."

Mairin's jaw dropped. "That means your Greninja can mega evolve."

Ash looked shocked. "How do you know that?"

Mairin smiled. "Alain only battles against people that can mega evolve their Pokemon. The only way he would have fought you is if your Greninja could mega evolve."

Ash laughed at that. "Wow, so you know him pretty well, huh?"

Mairin sighed. "I hope so. If he turns out to be like Lysandre, I don't know what I'll do." She looked at Ash. "I was travelling with Alain for a while. We even went to the Hoenn region and met Steven Stone." Her eyes widened. "You don't think he's part of Team Flare, do you?"

Ash shook his head. He barely had time to be impressed that this girl had met the Hoenn Champion. "No, Steven Stone would never work for Team Flare." He thought for a moment. "Although, Malva does...but she definitely seems different from other Pokemon masters."

Mairin looked scared. "Malva's part of Team Flare? How are we supposed to beat that?"

Ash shrugged. "I don't know, but we have to try. We can't..." He smiled. "Never give up."

Mairin waved her hand. "Hello?" She said as if Ash was off in some distant world. "What are you smiling about?"

Ash shook his head, still smiling. "Nothing." He pulled out the handkerchief and stared at it. "Just thinking of something." He said.

Mairin squinted her eyes and leaned forward, looking at the handkerchief in Ash's hands. "Why are you looking at that handkerchief like it's made of gold?" She asked.

Ash put the handkerchief back in his pocket and then looked at Mairin. "Not important right now." He yawned. "I think I'm gonna get some sleep." He looked at a little clock that was next to Mairin. "Whoa, I didn't realize it was so late. You should get some sleep too." He suggested.

Mairin shook her head. "I'm gonna watch Chespie for a little bit longer."

Ash looked at her with concern. "Chespie will be fine, soon. Don't worry. We're all getting out of here safe."

Mairin smiled at him. "I know." She looked back at Chespie. "I just want to watch Chespie a bit longer, though."

Ash nodded. "Ok." He lay down on the floor and folded up his jacket in a makeshift pillow. He rested his head on it, cursing Lysandre silently for the uncomfortable position he was in. "Goodnight, Mairin." He said.

"Goodnight, Ash." She answered and then Ash drifted off.

XXXX

Serena ate dinner slowly, worrying about the next day. She, Bonnie and Clemont were eating at the Cyllage City Pokemon centre. Pidgeot and Noivern had flown full force to get them there by night time.

Clemont looked at her, puzzled. "What's wrong, Serena?" He asked. "I thought you'd be happy. Things seem to be going pretty much how we need them to. Officer Jenny has police in Geosenge Town on high alert. And you said, Ash's Charizard and Infernape might be able to help."

Serena looked outside, where Pidgeot and Noivern were passed out, tired from their journey. The other Pokemon were all playing happily, minus Pikachu, who once again was with Serena, and Dedenne and Squishy with Bonnie. "I just don't think we'll be able to depend on Charizard and Infernape getting here. Even if they do, they'll be tired."

Bonnie got up from her seat and walked over to Serena and hugged her. "Remember what Ash would say." The little blonde girl said.

Serena had to smile. "Never give up." She answered.

Bonnie grinned. "Exactly." She looked up to where Dedenne was sitting on her head. "Right Dedenne?"

"De-ne-ne!" The little hamster-like Pokemon squeaked.

Bonnie looked into her bag. "And what about you Squishy?"

Serena also looked down at Squishy. She hadn't really thought about it, but Squishy was in pretty serious danger, coming along with them. However, she was surprised as Squishy gave a confident nod to Bonnie. "Wow, Squishy." Serena said. "You'll help us? Even though you'll be in danger?"

Squishy looked up at Serena and gave her the same confident nod. Bonnie giggled. "Squishy's super strong, remember? He can change into that other form."

Serena nodded. "Well, thank you Squishy. It means a lot that you'll help us."

Clemont looked thoughtful for a moment. "I expect Squishy is going to want to get revenge on Team Flare for some of the things they've done to him. I'm definitely glad he's on our side." Serena noticed Squishy's pleased smile.

Serena looked at Clemont. "So tomorrow we should get there, right?" She asked. She knew they had made good timing, but she still wanted to check. Clemont had been keeping track of where they were and how far they had to go.

To her relief, Clemont nodded. "Hopefully tomorrow afternoon." He stopped and gave her a warning look. "That doesn't mean we'll find Ash tomorrow. We'll need to meet up with Officer Jenny and then hopefully we can get Greninja to help."

Serena nodded. "I know, but at least we'll be close. Once we're close, Ash will know. He'll know we're there to help him."

Bonnie pumped her fist excitedly. "And we're gonna beat Team Flare easy."

Clemont looked at Bonnie. "Bonnie, I don't think you should get involved in this. It could get pretty dangerous."

Bonnie glared at her brother. "If you leave me somewhere, I'll just end up following on my own. Would you rather me be alone, or with you guys?"

Serena had to hold back a smile. She was impressed with how Bonnie had clearly planned this out to get her way. She looked at Clemont. "I think Bonnie should stay with us. I'll help keep her safe."

Clemont sighed. "Fine." Bonnie did a quick cheer. "But, Bonnie, you'll have to listen to me." He gave her a long stare. "I'm serious. Everything I tell you, you need to listen to carefully and do as I say."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll listen to you. As long as I can go."

Serena patted Bonnie on the shoulder. "And listen to me as well. I'm not letting you off easy."

Bonnie frowned. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." She looked at Dedenne. "Ok, Dedenne, we'll listen to them, ok?"

"Ne-ne!" Dedenne said happily.

Bonnie looked back down at Squishy. "And Squishy, you have to be careful too. Don't run away like before. We'll beat Team Flare together."

Serena was surprised as Squishy crawled out of Bonnie's bag and up onto her shoulder. The two of them looked at each other and then Squishy nodded. Serena smiled. "Good, the two most stubborn members of the group are agreeable then."

Clemont laughed. "Yeah, good to know Squishy's on board too."

Bonnie did a sarcastic laugh. "Ha ha, very funny."

Serena looked up at Pikachu. "And, Pikachu, I know you're going to do everything you can to help Ash. We're going to save him together."

Pikachu nodded and said, "Pika!"

Clemont smiled. "Ok, well we have a long day tomorrow, so I think we should be getting to bed. No arguing, Bonnie." He gave her a look.

Bonnie seemed to realize it was a test of her promised obedience. "Ok, big brother." She looked at Dedenne and then Squishy. "Let's go to bed, you two."

XXXXX

Ash woke up the next morning and looked around the room. He looked at the clock and realized it was still early enough in the morning that he could get some more sleep, but he decided to just get up. He knew he wasn't going to be doing much, but sleeping didn't seem to be an appealing option at the moment.

Ash looked over at where Mairin was. She had fallen asleep with her head next to the comatose Chespie. Ash felt a pang of guilt for her. He knew what he'd be like if he'd ever seen Pikachu in that position. Well, actually he kind of had been in that position before. On his very first day with Pikachu, his friend had been injured, saving them from a flock of Spearow. Ash remembered how he had felt like the world's worst Pokemon trainer at the time.

Mairin stirred and opened her eyes. She saw Ash looking at her and whipped her head up and glared at him. "What are you looking at?" She said accusingly.

Ash held up his hands in mock surrender. "Nothing. Calm down. Just making sure you were ok."

Mairin rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She looked at the clock. "Gross, it's still early. Why am I awake?" She glared at Ash again. "It's your fault."

It was Ash's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I woke you up, because I needed to be accused of things I didn't do." He said sarcastically.

Mairin sighed. "Ok, ok." She said. Then she looked at him excitedly. "Do you think your friends are gonna be here today?"

Ash shrugged. "It's not going to be easy for them. Team Flare's pretty well hidden here. I told them to get Officer Jenny involved though. Hopefully that makes the search easier."

Mairin groaned. "But, you think it'll still be awhile?" She asked in a monotone voice.

Ash gave a sympathetic smile. "At least we aren't alone. I had to spend the other night on a boat."

Mairin's eyes widened. "Really?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, when they caught me, they knocked me out and put me in a storage room on the boat. They stuck me there all night. Then, when we got to Geosenge Town, they dragged me to the helicopter and flew me here."

Mairin thought for a moment. "So what is it they exactly want from you? I guess that other Pokemon, like the one in the lab?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, but Lysandre also wants my Greninja."

Mairin squinted her eyes in confusion. "But, couldn't he just take your mega evolution stones? Why does he want your Greninja?" She asked.

Ash scratched his neck a little nervously. "Well...it's because my Greninja doesn't mega evolve with Greninjanite. Well he doesn't need to anyways."

Mairin's eyes widened. "What? You don't need a keystone or mega stone?"

Ash nodded. "Professor Sycamore says it's our bond. It's strong enough that, in a way, webecome the keystone and mega stone."

Mairin was now looking at Ash with what he thought must have been respect. It kind of freaked him out a little. "So...you're a really strong trainer then." She said. It wasn't a question.

Ash blushed. "Uh...well..."

Mairin sighed and rolled her eyes. "Oh come on. Don't be modest."

Ash was about to answer when the lock on the door clicked and the door opened. Nurse Joy, with a Team Flare guard behind her, stepped in. She turned to the guard. "I can handle this myself. Please leave us be." The guard glared, but closed the door behind Nurse Joy and the lock clicked again. Nurse Joy turned to Mairin. "I'm here to check on Chespie."

Mairin looked at Nurse Joy with pleading eyes. "Nurse Joy, do you realize who these people are? They're really bad. They're the reasons Chespie got sick. Lysandre has me and Ash locked up in here."

Nurse Joy glanced at Ash and then looked back at Mairin. "I'm aware of the situation." She lowered her voice. "I've known for a little while that Lysandre was not as honest as a man he makes himself out to be with his corporation. I've stayed here only because of the Pokemon that need my help here. However, I haven't been able to leave, because of his security measures. In a way, I'm a prisoner too."

Ash spoke up. "Well, we can't stay here forever. My friends..." He lowered his voice. "My friends are coming here to help us get out. They're getting Officer Jenny involved."

Nurse Joy glanced nervously at the door. "You don't realize how dangerous these people are. Officer Jenny has had suspicions about Lysandre before, which is why he's put up so much security around this lab. He's essentially made what used to be a public place, a hideout."

Mairin looked terrified. "But Ash is a really good trainer. He's got strong Pokemon that can help us."

Nurse Joy shook her head. "You do know that Malva is here, don't you?" She looked at Ash. "As strong as a trainer you might be, and as strong as your Pokemon might be, I don't expect you've ever beaten a member of the Elite Four."

Ash took a deep breath. "It doesn't matter. Don't give up till it's over." He heard Serena's voice in his head, echoing his words.

Mairin nodded. "Yeah, Ash is right. I don't want to stay here. I'm doing anything I can to get out and the only way to save Chespie is by getting out."

Nurse Joy sighed and then moved forward to look at Chespie. She checked his pulse and his breathing and then stood back and looked at Ash and then Mairin. "All I want you to do is be careful." She gestured to Chespie. "His vitals are good, but I guess like you said, we need treatment from someone who cares." She gestured up, which Ash supposed was meant to mean Lysandre. "And Lysandre won't do much. The only thing I can do is make sure his vital signs are healthy."

Mairin looked at Chespie with worry. "Thank you Nurse Joy." She looked back at the Pokemon nurse. "Please help us when we need it. We're gonna try to get out...and we can't do it alone."

Nurse Joy just gave an encouraging smile and knocked on the door. The lock clicked, the door opened and she entered the hallway where the Flare guard was waiting. The guard closed the door again and locked it, leaving Ash and Mairin alone again.

Ash looked at Mairin. "I think she'll help out."

Mairin looked back skeptically. "She seemed pretty worried."

Ash smiled. "She seemed concerned."

"So?" Mairin asked. "Isn't that the same thing?"

Ash shrugged. "I guess in a way. But, she's concerned for us and also all the Pokemon that will get hurt by Lysandre if he keeps up what he's doing. If we're making a move against him, she's gonna want to be part of it."

Mairin smiled. "You really think so?"

Ash nodded. "Lysandre doesn't know who he's up against. I don't care if he's got Malva or if he's got all kinds of mega evolved Pokemon. I just know that he's doing something that's hurting people and Pokemon. And anyone who does that eventually gets put in their place. We're putting him in his place really soon."

Mairin pumped her fist confidently. "We've got this." Then she looked at Chespie. "You're gonna be better soon, Chespie. She looked at Ash. "What about all these Pokemon that Team Flare has. Aren't they suffering too. They can't know what they're doing is so bad."

Ash sighed. "It's horrible when people use Pokemon for bad like this, because often it's the Pokemon getting hurt. You know, there's no such thing as a bad Pokemon, just a bad Pokemon trainer. And Team Flare, they're among the worst Pokemon trainers. Lysandre is worst of all."