Pidgeot landed softly at the entrance to Anistar City and Ash climbed off. "Thanks, Pidgeot. Awesome job as usual." He recalled Pidgeot to his pokeball and he and Pidgeot made their way into the city.

It had been three days since leaving Snowbelle City. Ash had flown on Noivern on Pidgeot the whole way, alternating between the two so as not to tire them out. He had wanted to get to Anistar City as soon as possible, so he had decided against his usual walking that he'd done with the others. Since he was just travelling with his Pokemon, it was much easier to just fly.

"Ready to go, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

They'd gone to a Pokemon centre earlier in the day, so Ash decided to head straight for the Anistar Gym. As they headed towards the gym, Ash slowed down when he saw the Sundial in the distance. He squinted as he looked at it. It looked slightly different than before. He looked up at Pikachu on his shoulder and noticed the electric mouse also looking at the Sundial in curiosity. He decided to wait on the gym and go and look at the Sundial.

As they rounded a corner and got a full view of the Sundial, Ash was surprised to see Professor Sycamore with a couple of his assistants peering at the Sundial with magnifying glasses and other scientific instruments. "Hey! Professor Sycamore!" Ash called, walking faster as he approached them.

Sycamore turned around, looking surprised, but then he smiled. "Ash? What are you doing here? I thought that you'd be in Snowbelle City by now."

Ash sighed, not enjoying that he'd have to explain, but he did so anyways. "Snowbelle City didn't exactly go as planned." He explained how Serena had received her training offer and how things had kind of unravelled after that.

Sycamore nodded, looking sympathetically at Ash. Then, he narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I understand why Serena, Bonnie and Clemont are in Lumiose City, but why did you comehere?"

Again, Ash felt dread at having to explain a painful story, but he managed to do so once again. He had a hard time keeping eye contact with Sycamore as he explained Greninja's departure. He felt guilty since he'd received Greninja as a Froakie from Sycamore himself. "I'm sorry, Professor. I just didn't understand Greninja as well as I thought I did."

Sycamore looked at Ash for a moment and Ash was relieved to see the professor didn't look mad. "I wouldn't worry too much, Ash. Greninja loves you and from what you told me, that is the main reason he left." He paused for a moment. "I think Olympia will be able to help you out. As you know, she can see things we can't."

"Yeah...I hope so." Ash stopped and then looked at the Sundial. Sycamore's assistants were still examining it. Now that he was close, Ash was now able to see what was different about it. It seemed to have a light pulsating within it. The last time Ash had seen it, it had been pink and although it was an interesting sight, nothing about its colouring seemed strange. Today, though, it was alternating between different colours inside of it. It remained pink on the outside, but through it, there seemed to be green, blue, red, white and basically every other colour flashing inside of it. "What's happening with the Sundial?" He finally asked.

Sycamore looked at the Sundial, his eyes lighting up excitedly. "I'm really not sure. Olympia called me a couple of days ago, letting me know that I might find it interesting so I came here immediately. As you know, there seems to be some kind of link between the Sundial and mega evolution. I'm wondering if there is a connection here." He stopped, appearing to realize something. "I'm going to need to see Bonnie in Lumiose City. I have a feeling Squishy could be connected to this somehow."

"What?" Ash asked. "Why?"

Sycamore held his chin and tapped it thoughtfully. "Well...I'm not too sure. But...Olympia mentioned that there seemed to be a spike in energy from the Sundial when all that stuff in Geosenge Town happened. Perhaps...the energy from Squishy and the other one that Lysandre has...have caused the Sundial to act up. It would be very interesting to research."

Ash sighed, feeling a little sad that Bonnie and Clemont hadn't come with him. Sycamore would have been able to look at Squishy right away if they had. "Well...when you go back to Lumiose City, say hi to them for me."

Sycamore nodded. He had a slightly guilty expression, presumably for bringing up the subject of Ash's friends who were no longer with him. "Right. Of course I will." His eyes widened suddenly and he leaned forward a bit with a serious expression. "Have you heard about Malva?"

Ash shook his head. "No...what happened?"

"She escaped from prison. Ash...you need to be careful. I know you beat her once, but she'll be angry. There's nothing more dangerous than an angry and powerful criminal. From what I know, she managed to escape with her Pokemon. It might be better if you transfer Houndoom to Professor Oak's lab. I know she gave up on him, but I'm sure she's heard that you're training him now. I doubt she's happy about that." The seriousness in Sycamore's voice made Ash feel nervous, but he wasn't one to back down from a tough opponent, no matter how dangerous.

"I can take her." Ash said confidently. "And Houndoom can as well."

Sycamore smiled, admiring Ash's confidence. "I guess I can't say I'm surprised." He sighed. "Well alright then...I won't try to force you to do anything you don't feel you need to do."

Ash smiled gratefully. "Alright...well I should probably go. If I wait too long, Olympia might get a challenger. I'll come by later and see what you've figured out with the Sundial."

Sycamore nodded. "Sounds good, Ash." He glanced at the Sundial and then back at Ash, looking thoughtful. "I wonder..." He shook his head. "Never mind. See you later."

XXXXX

Serena woke up and stared around at her new surroundings. She'd arrived the day before and was shocked to find out Palermo lived in a penthouse apartment in one of Lumiose City's biggest apartment buildings. She supposed it shouldn't have surprised her that Palermo was rich, but having such an extravagant place didn't really seem her style.

When Serena had arrived, Palermo had instantly insisted that the aspiring Kalos Queen stay in one of her free rooms. Serena wasn't too comfortable with it right away, but in the end accepted the offer. She didn't exactly know where else to stay. She probably could have stayed with Clemont and Bonnie, but for some reason she felt that Palermo wouldn't see that as a good idea. And besides, her mother had gone through a thorough enough investigation of Palermo's credibility that it seemed like kind of a waste to not accept the offer.

The room Palermo had given her was massive and when Serena had moved in the day before, the only things in it had been an oversized bed, a bedside table with a lamp and a large, empty closet. She appreciated that Palermo had given her this huge amount of personal space, but somehow she would have felt more comfortable if she'd been given a smaller room.

The best part of the room was the view. She had a sliding glass door that lead out onto a balcony where she could see all of Lumiose City. The most amazing part of the view was, of course, Prism Tower. Serena had stared at Prism Tower for an entire hour last night, imagining Ash's heroics the day he'd saved Garchomp and Pikachu.

Serena lay in bed for a few moments, just taking in her new surroundings and then finally, she decided to get up. She made her bed, went to the bathroom, got dressed and within a few minutes was ready to start the day. Palermo had decided to give her a couple of days to herself, so she was free to explore Lumiose City on her own.

When she went out to the kitchen, Serena wasn't surprised to see that Palermo was nowhere to be found. She made herself a quick breakfast and got some food out for her Pokemon. Palermo had actually given them a room as well, which had happily surprised Serena. She walked to their room and opened the door. Sylveon and Pancham were still sleeping, but Delphox was up and ready to get the day going. It was easy to wake Sylveon, but Pancham wasn't as interested in waking up, so they spent a few minutes dealing with him. Finally, they were all up and had finished eating and they were all set to go.

"We've got the whole day to ourselves." Serena told her Pokemon with a smile. "We can do whatever you want."

Her Pokemon did a little cheer and they all got in the elevator. It was a private one that needed a key, as it was the only way in and out of the apartment. When they got down, they left the building and immediately began exploring the streets of Lumiose City.

Serena had obviously been to Lumiose City before, but each time she hadn't really had a chance to properly explore it. She'd come here to get Fennekin and find out where Ash was, but had quickly left in order to find him. Then, she'd returned here with Ash and the others, but only for a brief time while Clemont took his gym back and they had one of their run ins with Team Rocket. And the third time was for Ash's gym battle against Clemont followed by a brief visit with Sycamore.

It wasn't long before Serena grew bored. She loved spending time with her Pokemon and she knew there was a lot to do in Lumiose City, but not having her friends...not having Ash...was making this bright day in a city like this completely dull. Her Pokemon seemed to be feeling the same way. Sylveon in particular.

Serena thought of some of Sylveon's last few encounters with Pikachu and realized that those two had become quite close. Even closer than the fairy type had been with Bunnelby. Ever since Pikachu had shielded Sylveon from Houndoom on the rooftop, Sylveon had eyed Pikachu differently. Unfortunately, Pikachu had been as dense as Ash about this. Although, Serena realized that she hadn't really noticed anything either until after Pikachu saved Sylveon from Sawyer's Sceptile. The two of them had fought side by side just as Ash and Serena had.

Serena shook her head to get away from her memories which were only making her feel more depressed. She looked around and her eyes rested on Prism Tower. "Why don't we just go and see Clemont, Bonnie and Mairin. Maybe Clemont's got a challenger."

Her Pokemon nodded and Serena lead them through the streets of Lumiose City until they were outside the massive tower. She smiled, looking at it. At least she knew she had friends here that would help her through any rough times. She just wished Ash was going to have that support. As happy as she was to have her friends here, she felt that it wasn't fair that Ash was now alone.

As they walked towards Prism Tower, the front door opened and a little blonde girl came barrelling towards her. "Serena! I didn't think you'd come so early." Bonnie reached Serena in a couple of seconds and then tackled her in a hug. "Is everything ok at Palermo's place?" She asked.

Serena nodded, smiling. "Yeah, it is. She gave me my own room and these three as well." She pointed at her Pokemon. "It's really nice there. I hope you guys can visit soon."

Bonnie's eyes widened excitedly. "Really? That would be awesome." She grabbed Serena's hand and pulled her towards the tower. "Come on! I was just letting in a challenger when I saw you through the door. Clemont's gonna have a battle."

Serena felt a little excited hearing that and quickly followed Bonnie. They went through the dark hallway that lead towards the battlefield and then entered through the door. Clemont was just in the middle of introducing himself to the challenger. The challenger turned to them when they entered.

The challenger was a woman, clearly an adult. She was wearing baggy clothes. Puffy, black track pants, a much too large black jacket and a black shirt underneath it. She had purple hair tied in a pony tail and the hood of her jacket was over her head. Serena couldn't really see her face, because a red scarf was around it, along with big, black sunglasses. There wasn't any logical reason for all these clothes, but Serena supposed this person probably just felt more comfortable hiding her appearance.

"Sorry." Serena said. "I was just wondering if I could watch." She looked at Clemont. "That ok, Clemont?"

Clemont nodded, smiling. "Sure." He looked at the challenger. "Is that ok, Mauve?" The woman, Mauve, nodded. Clemont then quickly stepped forward and gestured to Bonnie and Serena. "This is my friend, Serena and my little sister, Bonnie." He then gestured to Mauve. "And this is Mauve. As you know, she's challenging the gym. She's starting a bit late, but she says she's managed to get badges pretty quickly. She's already got three." He looked at Mauve. "I'll accept your challenge if you still want to try, but I recommend challengers have four before challenging this gym."

Mauve's nose twitched and Serena got the feeling it was from irritation, but she couldn't really tell. "I'll be fine." She said quickly. Her voice was muffled through the scarf, but something seemed kind of familiar about it to Serena.

Clemont just nodded and the two trainers took their spots. Serena and Bonnie went to the stands and sat next to Mairin, who smiled happily at Serena and then turned her attention excitedly towards the battle.

Clembot took his position in the centre of the field on the sidelines and explained the rules in his robotic voice. "This will be a battle between Mauve, the challenger, and Clemont, the gym leader. Each trainer is allowed three Pokemon, but only the challenger may substitute. Once all three Pokemon for one side are unable to battle, the other will be declared the winner. Do both trainer's agree?" Clemont and Mauve nodded. "Then let the battle begin!" Clembot yelled.

Clemont threw out his pokeball. "Heliolisk, come on out!" The two-legged lizard-like Pokemon emerged and stretched out its sun-shaped collar.

Mauve tossed out her pokeball. "Pyroar, you're up." She said, calmly. A female Pyroar emerged from the pokeball. Again, Serena got a strange sense of familiarity, but just decided to ignore it. She supposed Pyroars couldn't really differ that much from each other.

Clemont yelled out a command first. "Heliolisk, use thunderbolt!"

Mauve ordered her attack as well. "Flamethrower."

The battle was over in an instant and Serena's eyes widened. Heliolisk was barely able to even charge up his electricity before the flames blasted into him and he was thrown back. He was out before he even hit the ground. "Heliolisk is unable to battle. Pyroar is the winner." Clembot announced.

Mairin looked at Bonnie in surprise. "Aren't gym leaders supposed to be really strong?" She asked.

Bonnie looked stunned and furious. "Clemont isstrong. I...how did that even happen?"

Serena didn't know what to say so she just stayed quiet and watched as a quiet Clemont recalled his Pokemon to its pokeball and then threw out his next one. "Magneton, let's go!" The three headed magnetic electric Pokemon emerged and faced the Pyroar. Clembot signalled for the battle to resume, but immediately another flamethrower took Magneton out in one shot.

"Who is this woman?" Serena said, eyes wide. She couldn't believe that Clemont had lost two Pokemon with just one attack each. Whether Magneton was weak against fire types or not, Serena still didn't see how one attack could take it down. And before that, Heliolisk as well, particularly with no type disadvantage.

Bonnie was in complete shock and was clearly very unhappy with what was happening. "Come on Clemont!" She yelled. "Get going!"

Mairin joined in. "Yeah. Clemont, you can do it!"

Clemont smiled at the two girls and then called out his final Pokemon. Serena wasn't surprised to see Clemont's strongest Pokemon emerge. Luxray wouldn't lose in one shot. Clembot signalled for the battle to continue again and Clemont made the first move once more. "Electric terrain!" Luxray roared loudly and the ground shook and electricity started to rip out of the ground and spark everywhere. Serena looked at Mauve and noticed she looked slightly impressed.

"Hyper voice!" Pyroar shrieked loudly and waves of sound ripped into the ground in front of Luxray, before slamming into him. The electric-lion Pokemon was flipped over and landed a few feet back with a thud, but unlike Heliolisk and Magneton, he managed to get up this time.

"Thunder fang, go!" Clemont yelled.

"Flamethrower!" Mauve called.

Luxray ran hard towards Pyroar and his jaws began crackling with electricity. As he ran, Pyroar waited a moment until her opponent came closer. Then, she opened her jaws and flames blasted forth and slammed into Luxray. Serena was sure that would be it, but somehow, Luxray managed to force his way through the flames and clamped his electric jaws on Pyroar's shoulder. Pyroar shrieked in pain, but managed to continue firing her flames. There was a crackle of electricity, once more, but then Luxray twitched and his jaws let go of Pyroar. The two Pokemon stood, facing each other, both attacks having ended. And then Luxray dropped.

"Luxray is unable to battle. Pyroar wins. The match goes to the challenger, Mauve." Clembot called out.

Clemont sighed and recalled Luxray to his pokeball and then walked out towards Mauve, who had just recalled her Pyroar. "Congratulations." Clemont said. Clembot approached with the badge and handed it to Clemont. Clemont then handed the badge to Mauve. "As proof of your victory at the Lumiose Gym, I present you with the Voltage Badge."

Mauve nodded and took the badge. "You're a little stronger than the other ones I've faced." She noted, turning around.

"Um...thanks...I guess." Clemont said, a little nervously.

"I believe you spent some time with that kid, Ash Ketchum." Mauve suddenly muttered, as she approached the door to exit.

Clemont blinked. "Yeah...I did. He's a good friend. He's helped me a lot."

Mauve nodded. "I can see that. Although...don't expect him to have many more miracle victories. He'll soon learn that one win against an Elite Four member like Malva is not enough to make him a powerful Pokemon trainer."

"I bet Ash would beat you!" Serena suddenly yelled. She suddenly covered her mouth with her hands, surprised she had yelled out like that. She didn't know why, but this woman, Mauve really got on her nerves. The way she had swiftly defeated Clemont and acted like it was nothing. Ash never acted so smug after easy victories.

Mauve looked towards Serena. "Not in a real battle. Not even with his new toy."

Mairin stood up next to Serena. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Mauve turned away and opened the door. Before she left, she answered. "He didn't truly beat Malva. Malva is a true Pokemon master. She knows true power. Ketchum has some strength, but he couldn't keep up in a true battle. He'd be weak. One on one means nothing and he faced a weak Houndoom. I bet those two are a perfect match." With that, she left, leaving the four young trainers staring at her in frustration and awe.

"I don't like her." Bonnie muttered. "I bet Ash could beat her. Houndoom's flamethrower is way more powerful than that Pyroar's."

Serena couldn't help but smile at how Bonnie had now seemed to forget about how she was mad at Ash. Her instinct was to defend his honour, apparently. "Don't worry, Bonnie." She said. "I'm sure Ash will beat her if they face in the Kalos League."

"Yeah." Clemont walked over and joined them in the stands. "Mauve didn't see Ash in action against Malva. Nobody did. How would she know what went on at the top of that building. Mauve sounds like she's just a disappointed Malva fan."

Mairin nodded and then her face lit up in excitement. "She was really strong though. I'd really like to see her and Ash battle. I bet that would be really cool. I'd like to see her face off against Houndoom and see just how strong he really is."

Serena smiled, imagining Ash heroically beating the odds and defeating another seemingly unbeatable opponent. "I'd like to see it too." She sighed, wondering if she would ever get the chance to properly cheer Ash on in a battle like that ever again.

XXXXX

When Ash entered the dark, Anistar City gym, he was greeted by Olympia immediately. It didn't really surprise him that much. She probably didknow he was coming...somehow. Although, opening the door, only to come face to face with the woman was a bit alarming.

"Greetings, Ash Ketchum." Olympia said, in her mystic voice. Ash noticed she was actually standing normally, without her Meowstic holding her up.

"Um...hi." Ash answered.

"I know why you are here." She turned. "Follow me. I'd like to show you something." She started walking and Ash followed. She lead him towards the battlefield and when they walked in, there were a few people in there. Some of the people that worked for Olympia. Ash instantly recognized the woman that had attacked him and his friends in front of the Sundial a while back. They weren't doing much, just holding onto their Pokemon. It was a little strange though, because they were all glowing in a blue light.

"What's going on in here?" Ash asked, as Olympia stopped in the middle of the battlefield.

Olympia smiled. "When there are no challengers, we use the battlefield to work with our psychic Pokemon. It helps us understand each other. And sometimes, we even see into the future. Usually, only I get complete visions, but sometimes one of my associates is able to get a glimpse of something."

Ash nodded and then decided to get straight to it. "That's actually why I came here." He paused. "Well I guess you said you know why I'm here anyways."

"Yes." Olympia acknowledged. "I sensed your departure from Greninja as it happened. I won't deny that I was instantly worried, because of how important your two fates are in connection to the safety of Kalos." She smiled. "However, visions show me that you and Greninja will battle together, and by together I mean truly, once more." Ash started to speak, but Olympia held up a finger to stop him. "I understand your impatience and eagerness, but understand that I cannot know exactly when future events will occur. All I can say is that I have seen you and Greninja battling in the future."

Ash thought about this for a moment. It soundedlike good news, but he couldn't help but feel a little worried. What if Olympia was lying? She had said before that he needed to stay focused on his goals. Maybe this was just a way to get him to do that instead of worrying about Greninja.

Olympia seemed to sense Ash's doubt. "I can show you some of what I've seen. Just as I did when I showed you Greninja's past."

Ash nodded immediately. He would feel much more at ease if he could see these visions. "If you don't mind..."

Olympia nodded and immediately a green fog shimmered next to her. After another moment, an image started to show in the fog. The image was kind of blurry, though. It had a blue tinge to it. However, suddenly, it was like the image was cleared up. Ash realized they were looking through someone else's eyesight. The image cleared up and Ash could see that whoever they were seeing through, was in the water. It must have been the river that ran through Lumiose City, because Ash could see Prism Tower in the distance.

The next thing he saw made him tense up in excitement. It was Serena. She was walking away from Prism Tower and behind her were her Pokemon. For some reason, the image seemed to focus on Delphox, but Ash could still see Serena. However, the image faded much too quickly and he could no longer see her.

The image shifted and this time it was night time. Lumiose City seemed much different. Ash's eyes widened as he noticed fires burning all around whoever he was watching this through. Suddenly, the viewer started moving. They jumped out of the water and Ash saw droplets come flying up. Whoever this viewer was, they were extremely fast. Ash wondered if it was a Pokemon.

The viewer ran hard towards Prism Tower and looked up towards the top of it. Ash's jaw dropped, seeing the Sundial glowing above the top of the tower. It was pulsating in strange lights again, but this time it was much more obvious and pronounced.

Olympia started speaking, as the viewer of the images in Lumiose City stopped and stared up at the tower. "The first images were from the present. These images now are from the future. They are clearly related to the threat against Kalos. Can you think of who we are seeing these images from?"

Ash continued watching, hoping for something else to happen, but then the image shimmered and disappeared. He looked back at Olympia and thought of her question for a moment. Then, sudden realization hit him. The focus on Delphox. The river. The speed. He smiled, knowing who it was. "That was Greninja."