Serena got back to Palermo's apartment in the late afternoon. It had been kind of a strange walk back from Prism Tower. When they had passed the river, Serena had felt a strange sensation like she was being watched. Delphox had also seemed somewhat excited. They had looked around, but it must have only been a fish or something, because there was just a splash and a ripple of water.

She was now sitting at the dinner table and Palermo had just put out some dinner for the two of them. Serena had been kind of surprised that Palermo didn't have a personal chef or something, but she was also kind of pleased. She felt a little more comfortable that she and Palermo had something more than interest in performances in common. Even though Serena's cooking skills were more geared towards desserts, knowing that Palermo did some kind of cooking was kind of interesting.

After a few moments of silent eating, Palermo decided to get the conversation going. "Well, Serena, what did you do during your free time, today?" The tone of her voice made Serena think that something was up.

"Well...I was kind of bored. I know there's a lot to do in Lumiose City, but I guess I've gotten so used to always being on the move or training with my Pokemon. I just ended up going to Prism Tower and watching Clemont have a gym battle." She felt a little nervous telling Palermo this. She couldn't explain why, but she felt like admitting what she did today was something Palermo wouldn't approve of.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Palermo sighed with what sounded like disappointment. "I can't say I'm surprised, Serena. However, I do wish that you would have done something else with your time. Unfortunately you've failed the first test."

"What?" Serena asked, feeling a little bit of irritation creep into her voice. "You said I had the day off to do whatever I want. I chose to go to Clemont's gym so I could see him, Bonnie and Mairin. What's wrong with that?"

Palermo raised her eyebrows, looking both shocked and impressed with Serena's irritation. "I won't hold it against you. No need to worry about that. I would like to warn you though, Serena, that if you are not committed to this training, it does not make much sense for either of us to continue with this arrangement."

Serena thought about this for a moment. Her instinct was to beg for forgiveness, but she managed to stop this. Ash would stay stubborn and she would too. She hadn't done anything wrong, so why was Palermo scolding her. "I amcommitted. I left Ash for this, didn't I? How much more do I need to show you?"

The older woman smirked a little at the frustration Serena was showing. "He's had an impact on you, I can see that. As much as you relied on him, I can see that you've also learned from him."

Serena narrowed her eyes. "You didn't answer my question."

Palermo smiled. "I don't think that you have actually shown commitment to this. Obviously you are passionate about performing as you have shown with your showcases and dedication to your own training, but this training is different. It wasn't you who took the offer, really. It was Ash. He convinced you to come."

Serena opened her mouth for an angry retort, but no words were available to her. She realized that Palermo was right. Serena hadn't done anything so far to show commitment to this new training. The only reason she was here, was because Ash had broken up with her. She realized that if she had stayed with Ash like she had been trying to do, she might never have come. No, she never would have come. She wouldn't have been able to bring herself to do it. Palermo was right. "So what do I need to do to convince you? Do you not want me to see my friends?"

"Don't be silly." Palermo said. "Of course you can go and see your friends. I just don't think it's wise to visit them on every possible occasion. You need to be able to spend time on your own with your Pokemon. That is something that Ash will be learning now and I'm sure that he will have great success in the Kalos League because of it."

"Why do you keep bringing up Ash?" Serena asked.

Palermo shrugged. "He's not only someone you love, but someone you admire and strive to be like. It's important to compare yourself to those you admire."

Serena knew it was true, but Palermo talking about Ash kind of irritated her. Not to mention, every time his name was mentioned, she missed him even more. Even talking about him with Bonnie and the others earlier, had filled her with longing to see him. "I miss him...so I just don't want to talk about him."

"That's not wise." Palermo said. "Don't ignore what you feel now. It only makes it harder when those feelings come back later. You will see Ash again. If you need to say goodbye again, understanding your feelings now, will make it easier in the future."

Serena didn't say it out loud, but she felt like if she did, Palermo would end the training immediately. If I see Ash again, I don't think I can leave him again.

XXXXX

Olympia smiled at Ash when he figured it out. "Yes, as you can see, Greninja is watching over your loved ones in Lumiose City. He went there as soon as he separated from you near Vaniville Town. I believe he senses the threat coming in Lumiose City."

Ash narrowed his eyes in confusion. "How can he sense that? He's never really been able to do that kind of thing before?"

"I believe that there is energy coming from Lumiose City that quite resembles mega evolution energy. It is very likely the reason that the Sundial is acting up." She paused and eyed Ash seriously. "I believe we both know who and what is likely the reason for this."

Ash nodded. "Lysandre." He stopped and thought for a moment. "But does that mean he has control of the Zygarde."

Olympia nodded. "Allow me to show you another vision. This is from the past." She waved her hand and the green smoke appeared beside her once more and an image appeared on screen.

It was Lysandre. He and some Team Flare members. Ash recognized Celosia and Bryony. There was also a woman with orange hair, a woman with blue hair and a man that was bald except for three stripes of orange hair, including some kind of ponytail. They were standing in front of the massive, dragon-like Zygarde. The complete form Zygarde. They all had odd laser guns pointed at it and they had beams of orange light shooting at it. The Zygarde was completely immobilized.

Lysandre looked towards the man with the three stripes of orange hair on his head. "Xerosic, input the data collected from the Sundial."

"Yes sir." Xerosic said. He knelt down to a laptop that was on the ground and clicked away at the keyboard. Once he was done, he stood up and smiled at Lysandre. "I believe it is done, sir."

The woman with the blue hair stepped forward, still holding up her laser gun that was still trained on Zygarde. "Are you sure, this time? The software you developed for that brat's Greninja didn't allow us to control this thing."

"Quiet, Mable." Lysandre ordered. "It's impossible to predict this kind of power." He looked at the woman with orange hair. "Aliana, hand me the controls." She immediately scrambled over to him and handed him the remote that Ash recognized from the night in Geosenge Town.

Lysandre stepped towards Zygarde and held up the remote. He turned the dial and clicked a button. Immediately, his Flare subordinates stopped restraining Zygarde and put down their laser guns. Ash was expecting the massive dragon-like Pokemon to attack, but he could see a new collar around its neck glowing in a pulsating light similar to the Sundial. He noticed it was no longer restrained in the strange robotic suit from before. It was just the collar.

Lysandre clicked a couple more buttons on the remote and then Zygarde turned around. It was only now that Ash could see that the Team Flare members were in some kind of open field. There were large trees with red leaves around. It seemed kind of unnatural. Lysandre pointed to one of the trees. "Dragon pulse." He ordered.

Zygarde opened his jaws and unleashed a massive, dragon shaped blast of energy that rocketed towards one of the trees. It slammed into the tree with a massive explosion. There was a huge cloud of dust and smoke and once it settled, Ash's jaw dropped. The tree was completely gone. Completely evaporated.

Olympia ended the image there. "As you can see, Lysandre has been busy. I believe he must have come to Anistar City after the events in Geosenge Town and somehow collected some energy from the Sundial. He must be planning something in Lumiose City. Perhaps he is running further experiments there and that is why Greninja senses something is happening."

Ash clenched his fists. "Well...then we should do something. We should go there right away. Serena's in danger." He turned, as if he was about to go immediately.

"Not a wise decision." Olympia said. When Ash looked at her like she was crazy, she continued. "If we interfere with what destiny has in store for us, we only risk making things worse. I understand your concern, but we need to let events occur naturally. You will know the time when you must go to Lumiose City."

Ash felt a huge wave of frustration. "But...Serena..." He glared at the ground. "I can't let her be in danger like this. Clemont, Bonnie and Mairin too."

Olympia shook her head. "Warning them or going to them now only puts them in greater danger. Fate cannot be meddled with. That is one of the most dangerous thins you can do." She paused. The best thing you can do is focus on your training."

Ash looked at her in confusion. "My training?"

"Yes, it is essential you keep your goal in mind. Greninja is still focused on getting stronger, and you must be as well." Olympia smiled encouragingly. "This time that you have alone...it is vital to your training. I recommend you make your way to Shalore City. Spend some time with Korrina and Gurkinn. After that, I believe Coumarine City would be beneficial."

"Ok...I guess there's a reason for this." Ash said, not deciding to ask why. "Anything else?"

Olympia nodded. "Old friends will be important as you move forward. You should know what I mean by that."

Ash nodded. "Yeah...yeah I know." He smiled. He'd be happy with spending some time with some old friends.

"Pikachu." Pikachu said. Ash looked up at him and saw the electric mouse looking excited. He knew what it meant as well.

"Yeah, Pikachu...we're going to have to give Professor Oak a call."

XXXXX

The next morning, as Serena and Palermo were having breakfast. It was going to be the first day of Serena's training and she didn't have any idea what Palermo had planned for her. She'd never seen Palermo do any kind of performance or anything. Come to think of it, she'd never even seen Palermo with a Pokemon before.

She decided to finally ask. "So...what kind of training are we going to do anyways? Do you know special performances or something?"

Palermo gave her a disappointed look. "I thought it was clear what kind of training I'd be giving you. You must know that overall, you're performances are already at an extremely high level."

Serena pursed her lips and stared at her food, unsure of what she could possibly be here for if it wasn't to improve her performances. Then, it suddenly hit her. Of course, Palermo hadn't said her performances were bad...she'd said it was her lack of independence that held her back. "You want to help me become more independent...so...this isn't really going to be normal performance training."

Palermo nodded. "Exactly. Now we can't ignore your performance practice. You'll need to train with that every once in a while. However, I think it would be important for you to start doing things on your own."

"Like what?" Serena asked.

Palermo again looked disappointed. "If I need to tell you what to do, how are you going to learn independence?"

Serena felt irritation spike up in her again. Just like the night before. "Well how does having me live in your apartment teach me independence?"

Palermo smiled. "True...that is a good point. But tell me...where would you be staying if I had not invited you to stay here?"

Serena looked down, feeling embarrassed. She'd only just been thinking about that the day before. "I'd probably be staying with Bonnie, Clemont and Mairin." She said quietly.

"Exactly." Palermo sighed. "At least staying here, you don't rely too heavily on your friends." She saw Serena about to say something and held up her hand. "I'm not trying to say relying on friends is completely wrong. I'm saying that depending too much on them can cause you to lose yourself."

"Alright, so you want me to spend the day by myself?" Serena asked.

Palermo nodded. "Yes...well partly. You will, of course, need your Pokemon. Spend the day with them. If you find nothing you feel like doing in Lumiose City, don't feel restricted to it."

Serena agreed to do so and they ate the rest of their breakfast in silence. A few minutes later, Palermo left to do her own business and Serena was once again alone with her Pokemon. She looked at them and decided she needed to work harder at making this a more exciting day for them. Palermo was right, they didn't need to do anything in Lumiose City. They could explore outside of it.

"Come on, everyone. Let's explore outside Lumiose City. Maybe we'll find some new Pokemon we can be friends with." She stood up and lead her Pokemon to the elevator. In a few minutes they were on the streets and heading towards the exits to Lumiose City.

As they walked towards the exit to Lumiose City, along the river, Serena felt that sensation she had before. Almost like she was being watched. She looked around, but saw nobody looking at her. Then, she looked towards the river and saw the ripple of water like she had seen yesterday. I guess there are a lot of water Pokemon in that river. She thought.

XXXXX

After his visit with Olympia, Ash had gone to visit Professor Sycamore at the Sundial again. Unfortunately, Sycamore hadn't seemed to uncover anything new, but he had grown quite excited when Ash had walked near it and the lights pulsating from it had accelerated. However, they had concluded that it was likely a coincidence, because they were unable to recreate the effect.

Ash left not long after. Sycamore had explained that he was planning on returning to Lumiose City the next morning and that he'd make sure to tell Ash's friends hello for him. He'd even winked and promised he'd let Serena know that Ash was especially thinking of her. Ash had pleaded with him not to though, thinking it would only make things harder for her.

It was now the next morning. Ash had spent the night at the Pokemon centre and he planned on starting his trip to Shalore City right after breakfast and a call to Professor Oak. As Olympia had said, Ash needed to do special training with his old friends.

As Ash usually did, he rushed through getting ready after waking up. Pikachu hadn't been too happy with him. Apparently the electric mouse wanted to sleep in a little more, but when Ash explained that they'd be calling Professor Oak for some of the old Pokemon, that had gotten Pikachu up quickly.

The two of them whipped towards the Pokemon centre lobby and grabbed some quick food and then Ash ran to a phone. He could just sense Pikachu's excitement from the electricity that was jumping off of his cheeks. A couple sparks hit Ash's hair, but it didn't hurt too much. He quickly sat down and dialled the number.

A couple rings later and Professor Oak appeared on the video monitor. Ash smiled, seeing Oshawott and Snivy next to him. "Hello, Ash!" Oak said happily. "How are you?" His face grew a little more serious. "You're mother explained everything that happened."

Ash was able to genuinely smile, though. "I'm actually doing really well, today, Professor Oak. I've got a clear path ahead of me." He quickly explained his meeting with Olympia. He left out the Team Flare details, but explained the Greninja situation which he had lied about before. "Olympia thought I should do some training with some of my old Pokemon. So that's why I'm calling."

Oak nodded. "I think that's a great idea. I'm sure your Pokemon will all love to get some extra training."

"Osha-osha-osha-osha-waaaaat" Oshawott yelled, looking extremely excited.

"Snive." Snivy said, trying to look like she didn't care, but not fully able to hide her own excited eyes.

Ash looked at Oshawott and Snivy. "Good to see you two." He nodded. "Ok, how about Oshawott and Snivy? I guess if they're coming, Pignite as well. Now...a flying type would be good...let's see..."

Oak thought about this for a moment. "Perhaps Gliscor? I think he deserves a reward. He's been one of the hardest working in training sessions."

Ash smiled. "Alright, sounds great. Now who should be the fifth?" The answer was obvious enough when Heracross flew into the room and landed next to Oak, knocking over a chair on the way. "And Heracross, I guess."

"Yes..." Oak said, giving Heracross an exasperated look. "That might be good. It would give Bulbasaur a break, that's for sure."

Ash laughed. He pulled out his five pokeballs and placed them on the tray. He'd talked to them all the night before, explaining that it was important for him to train with all of his Pokemon and that they'd all get equal time. There was no argument. Not even from Houndoom, who Ash had been worried might refuse to go, but the horned dog had a more relaxed personality than Ash had thought in the beginning.

Oak took a couple of minutes getting the pokeballs prepared for Ash's new team, but finally, he was able to collect them all and get all the Pokemon in their pokeballs. "Alright, Ash, let's do the exchange." He placed the pokeballs on a tray next to them and clicked a few buttons. Ash scanned his Pokedex and then Oak clicked one more button.

A light flashed over the pokeballs and then they disappeared. Then, another light flashed and the five new ones appeared. Ash exchanged an excited look with Pikachu and then looked at Oak. "Thanks, Professor, they're all here."

Oak nodded, smiling. "All here on my end as well, Ash. Good luck. I guess I'll be hearing from you fairly regularly?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I'll be doing quite a few exchanges. Is that ok?"

"Of course. I'm happy to do it. Well goodbye, Ash."

"Bye, Professor."

When he hung up, Ash collected the pokeballs and clipped them to his belt. He and Pikachu were about to go outside when he heard sirens. He exchanged a quizzical look with the electric mouse and then ran outside. A few police cars raced by on the road in front of the Pokemon centre. The sirens blaring and the lights flashing.

Ash looked around, completely confused. Then, he noticed where the police cars were heading. It was in the direction of the Sundial. His eyes widened and he started running towards it. He was sure it was Team Flare and if they were here, he was ready to fight.

He rounded a corner and looked towards the dock where the Sundial should be. He instantly noticed it was gone. It didn't look like Lysandre was there, but Ash did notice there were a couple of people in red suits, fighting a couple of police officers.

Ash got to the dock just in time to see the women he recognized as Mable and Aliana. They had a Weavile and a Druddigon in front of them. The battle was no contest as the Weavile used a metal claw attack to instantly knock out one police officer's Azumarill and the Druddigon used dragon pulse on the other officer's Growlithe.

Ash ran up and pulled out two pokeballs. It was time to put his new reinforcements to good use. "Oshawott, Snivy, I choose you!" He yelled and tossed out the pokeballs. The police officers turned nervously, but were quickly able to realize Ash wasn't an enemy. Oshawott and Snivy prepared themselves for battle.

One police officer, however, did run up behind him, warning him not to get into police business, but then Officer Jenny arrived and called him off. "That's Ash Ketchum. My cousin in Geosenge Town told me about him. He can help." The police and the various spectators around them backed up, allowing room for the battle to continue.

Mable smirked at Ash. "You're the brat that beat Malva, huh? Interesting. I remember you from Terminus Cave." She looked at Oshawott and Snivy. "I do hope it wasn't with either of these two. They look pathetic."

Aliana laughed. "No...it was with that pathetic Pikachu on his shoulder. Wow...how embarrassing for Malva."

Ash narrowed his eyes. "See for yourself how weak they are." Oshawott and Snivy tensed up, ready to go. "Oshawott, hydro pump! Snivy, leaf storm!"

Mable narrowed her eyes. "Ice beam on the hydro pump, Weavile."

Aliana also ordered an attack. "Druddigon, use dragon pulse."

The attacks all blasted against each other. The leaf storm and dragon pulse attacks smashed together and created a massive explosion. Once the smoke cleared up, nothing had been resolved. The hydro pump had almost forced its way through the ice beam, but had ultimately been frozen. Snivy's leaf storm had also proven an even match for the dragon pulse.

Mable and Aliana exchanged somewhat doubtful looks. "He's actually quite strong, isn't he?" Mable said.

Aliana narrowed her eyes. "How could those little Pokemon hold so much power?"

Ash smirked. "You want power?" Pikachu braced himself on Ash's shoulder. Ash held out his arm and turned so his body was sideways and Pikachu had a clear path. "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled and he ran off Ash's shoulder, across his outstretched arm and jumped into the air. He flipped in midair and then charged up his cheeks. Mable and Aliana called out their orders, but it didn't matter one bit. Pikachu unleashed what Ash thought was one of the best thunderbolts he'd ever used and it blasted into Weavile, Druddigon and also the two Team Flare members.

The Pokemon, Mable and Aliana all shrieked in pain as Pikachu's electricity coursed through them and then the attack ended. Druddigon, Weavile and their trainers were all slumped on the ground. There was a moment of silence and then there was a loud cheer behind Ash. He turned, surprised to see a large crowd had gathered.

Officer Jenny walked up to him with a big smile. "My cousin was telling the truth. Wow, Ash Ketchum...you and your Pokemon are something else."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled happily. as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Osha-wott!" Oshawott added, also jumping onto Ash's shoulder.

"Snive." Snivy said, folding her little arms and standing in front of Ash, looking quite pleased with the praise, despite trying to act cool about it.

Jenny smiled and then ordered two police officers to restrain Mable and Aliana. Once they'd been handcuffed, Jenny walked up to them. "You two are under arrest for cooperation in the theft of the Anistar City Sundial."