The next morning, Winona woke up slowly in her house. She had barely gotten any sleep. The night before, the Pokémon Association had sent her more work, so she went to bed late and maybe got two hours. She looked out and could already hear the sounds of people laughing at the carnival that was still going on.
She exhaled, "Right."
No point lying around. Winona sat up, brushing a hand through her hair before swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Her movements were slower than usual, like she was still catching up to herself.
A soft coo came from near the window. She glanced over. Altaria was already awake, perched gracefully on its stand, watching her. Its cloud-like wings fluffed slightly as it tilted its head.
Winona paused, then gave a small, tired smile, "Morning."
Altaria let out a gentle trill in response.
For a second, the tension in her shoulders eased, "…I'm fine," she murmured, more out of habit than truth.
Altaria didn't move and narrowed its eyes, like it didn't believe her either.
Winona looked away first, "I'll get ready," she said, heading off to the bathroom, leaving Altaria to shake its head.
—
Not long after, Winona stepped out onto one of Fortree's elevated walkways, fully dressed in her usual attire. The festival decorations were still up, lanterns swaying gently, streamers tangled in branches.
She walked without much direction at first, her mind drifting despite herself. As she noticed people around her, some happy with their families, it made her think back to Wallace.
She quickly shook her head and clicked her tongue, not wanting to think about it.
Winona picked up her pace, like she could outwalk her own thoughts.
It didn't work.
Voices blurred together as she passed through the walkways, laughter, music, vendors calling out deals. None of it really stuck. Her mind kept drifting back, replaying conversations she didn't want to hear again.
She remembered how much work the Pokémon Association was putting on her, the constant calls spiraling in her head.
Ever since the Gym Leader meeting, the Association seemed to put more work on her. What's more, when she told them the results, it seemed like they were more upset that Norman didn't give an answer than that there wasn't a final decision at all, like they cared more about what Norman was doing than all the other Gym Leaders combined.
A pair of kids rushed past her, nearly bumping into her leg, "Sorry!" they laughed before darting off again.
Winona forced a small smile that faded the second they were gone.
Her pace slowed. Another thought crept in, remembering Wallace and the way he looked at her, worried. She shook her head again, "Stop," she muttered to herself, like that would stop her thoughts.
But her thoughts didn't stop. They kept spiraling, memories of the Association's messages, the endless paperwork, requests, expectations, being watched, being relied on.
And on top of that, that hollow, quiet pain in her chest was something she used to be able to ignore.
Winona's breathing grew just a little uneven. She stopped walking, but people still passed by her, the festival still alive and bright, completely unaware of the pressure building behind her calm expression.
Her hand came up to her temple, pressing lightly, like she could physically hold everything together.
"Just focus. Just breathe. You're fine. You can't mess this up. They're all counting on you."
But as she muttered that, there was a nagging voice in the back of her head telling her she had already let them down.
For a second, everything felt like it was about to snap.
But then two warm hands suddenly covered her eyes from behind.
"Guess who!" a familiar girl's voice said.
Winona froze. For half a heartbeat, her brain didn't catch up. Then, "…Flannery?" she said, her voice caught somewhere between disbelief and exhaustion.
The hands pulled away immediately, and Flannery jumped in front of her with a grin, "Ding ding, we have a winner!"
Winona blinked, "You're here."
"Wow, incredible observation skills," Flannery said, deadpan, "Must be all that representative training."
"I thought you said you couldn't be here," Winona said, like she was worried Flannery might be a hallucination.
She shrugged, "Well, I know a guy, and I got teleported over real quick."
Winona stared at her for a second longer than normal, like she was still confirming this was real, "You left Lavaridge?"
"Relax, the volcano's not gonna explode because I took a field trip," Flannery waved it off, "I only need to be there in the mornings, and that's it. After that, I'm free for the rest of the day. Closed the Gym and everything."
Winona let out a quiet breath, some of the tension slipping just from having someone familiar in front of her, "…You didn't have to come."
"Yeah, I did," Flannery said, putting her hands behind her head, "I got told you were not doing so hot, and look at how I found you, you look like you'd throw your head out of a plane."
Flannery tilted her head, eyeing her up and down, "Seriously, when was the last time you slept? Like, actual sleep. Not that 'I closed my eyes for ten minutes and called it a night' nonsense."
Winona opened her mouth, hesitating, "That's…not important."
"Yeah, that means it is important," Flannery shot back immediately. Then she clapped her hands once, "Alright, change of plans. We're going to have fun."
Winona blinked, "…What?"
"You heard me," Flannery said, already turning and gesturing down the walkway toward the heart of the festival, "Food, games, maybe I embarrass you at something competitive, it'll be great."
"I can't," Winona said quickly, the words coming out almost automatically, "I have things to-"
"No, you don't."
Winona paused.
Flannery didn't even let her finish. She crossed her arms, giving her a look, "I know your schedule, remember? You complain about it every time we talk, even if you pretend you don't," Flannery said flatly, tapping her foot.
Winona tried again, quieter this time, "Even so, I should—"
Flannery stepped closer and lightly flicked her forehead, in a way that almost seemed like she was copying a certain red-eyed freak of nature.
"Hey—" Winona rubbed her forehead.
"No 'should,' no 'but,' no 'just one thing first,'" Flannery said, pointing at her like she was laying down the law, "You've been running yourself into the ground, and it shows. So today? You're off."
Winona looked like she was about to argue again, but the words didn't come out this time.
Flannery's tone softened just a little, "Look, you don't have to carry everything by yourself all the time, you know."
Winona's gaze dropped for a second.
"…Just for a bit," Flannery added, nudging her shoulder, "Come on. Worst case? You hate it, and I drag you back here personally."
There was a small pause.
Then, finally, Winona exhaled, "Fine," she said quietly.
Flannery grinned instantly, "There it is."
She grabbed Winona's wrist and started pulling her along before she could rethink it, "C'mon, before you change your mind."
Winona let herself be dragged a few steps before she steadied her pace and walked beside her instead.
Then Flannery looked over at her and grinned, "Oh, and by the way, after you're feeling better, remember that certain someone I told you about?"
Winona's brows furrowed faintly, "The 'interesting' one?"
"Yeah," Flannery nodded, "He wants that battle."
Winona blinked once.
"And he expects you to be at your best."
Something in Winona's posture straightened, just a little, "Does he now?" she said quietly.
"Yep," Flannery said, popping the 'p' "So don't go collapsing on me before that. I'd look real bad bringing you in like this. Besides, he's the one who brought me over here to cheer you up."
Flannery jerked her thumb over her shoulder, "So yeah, priority one? Fix this." She gestured vaguely at Winona's entire being.
Winona exhaled through her nose, but there was the faintest hint of a smile, "You're unusually persistent."
"I learned from the worst," Flannery said, winking, "Trust me, when you meet him, you'll understand. But I gotta give it to him, he makes it hard not to like him."
As they walked, Flannery spotted that certain someone, Ash, passing by with Molly on his shoulders, Pikachu and Vee walking beside him casually as they headed off to meet up with their group.
Flannery smirked and gave a small thumbs-up behind her back so Winona wouldn't see. Ash responded with an "OK" sign before walking off to buy Molly some sweets.
Ash smiled, seeing his gamble had worked out, though it hadn't been much of a gamble. All he really needed to do was get Flannery to come pick Winona up and bring her here after she finished her daily heating of the volcano. Still, he kept that part a secret, and he'd told Flannery to do the same. After all, if Brock, May, or Max found out, it'd be kind of weird to explain.
But whatever, that wasn't his problem. Besides, he already had a plan for taking on Winona. And it was about time things got a little more fun.
That didn't mean he wasn't preparing.
—
{Ashtwo}
D had been busy since the last time we saw him. The last time, he had just recruited his buddy Aki, and he managed to get him onboard, so now he had the first few scientists he wanted on the research team.
Now, if they could do what he needed them to do was up to them. D's entire point of bringing these guys specifically was so that they could find the Grand Meteor Delta.
But he didn't know if they would be able to. He couldn't guarantee that it even existed, but if it did, then he needed to prepare a contingency plan just in case. But without proof, he couldn't start it.
So this just led to a loop where he really couldn't do anything about it, so he wouldn't think about it. Instead, he focused on other matters. For one, there was tracking Team Magma and Aqua's movements.
One good thing was that his goal worked. Team Magma and Aqua were at each other's throats, constantly fighting, and that let Team Rocket step in as trainers for hire to help in fighting, and it worked out great. After all, since they didn't use the Team name and went in disguises, they could do whatever they wanted.
Plus, since Team Aqua and Magma were too busy with each other, Team Rocket managed to start getting a foothold in the black market, which was chaotic to say the least. It wasn't like the operations over in Kanto or Johto that were organized and had some rules, since they were controlled tightly by Team Rocket.
D would have liked to take care of that problem himself, but there was something that took priority: Sird. He had to get rid of her sooner rather than later. Every day she stayed was another risk that he didn't want to take.
Thankfully, he already had a pretty big folder of evidence against her. However, the biggest problem was never proving her crimes, it was catching her. Like he mentioned before, as long as she had Galactic to lean back on, all of this was useless, because if she was captured, then knowing Cyrus, he was going to send people to come and get her.
And second was the fact that she may have had a Darkrai. That alone caused many problems. Maybe D could beat it, but this one specifically could turn him or his Pokémon to stone. Now, while he didn't care about this body since it was a clone, his Pokémon weren't, and that would also mean he wouldn't be able to keep being D, and he still had things to do in Team Rocket.
But of course, he had a plan, and it was about time to set it into motion. So, with one final look at his plans, he grabbed his phone, dialed Taka's number, put the phone to his ear, and spoke into it.
"It's time."
—
{In Devon Corporation}
Joseph Stone was looking over paperwork from the soon-to-be rebuilt Mauville Holdings. Now, if this were any other circumstance, he would start doing things to crush it immediately before it even started.
But this was something that Ash personally told him he might want to join, and it was something he personally was investing in. So even though Mr. Stone, as a businessman, should have destroyed it, as just himself, he decided to let it move forward and invested some of his own money.
After all, Ash did save him twice, so he owed him. Mr. Stone also liked Ash, and after learning what he was doing with Mauville Holdings, he regretted not trying to recruit him earlier, but it was too late for that now.
Besides, Ash was making it clear Mauville Holdings would not compete against Devon Corporation. It had its own path forward, and he said that they could even work together, and that did make Mr. Stone interested. As a businessman, how could he not be?
So that's why he was looking over this paperwork Ash sent him. It basically outlined the next steps and where Mr. Stone could step in in exchange for shares of Mauville Holdings.
And honestly, there was nothing in the documents that he didn't like. He was expecting to see something that might be a problem, but Mr. Stone was ready to overlook one or two things for Ash's sake. But no, there was nothing he found wrong with it.
So he made a note to accept the terms and negotiate for even more later, but before he could write an email, his buzzer rang and the secretary's voice came through.
"Mr. Stone, your son is here to speak with you," she said.
Mr. Stone closed his eyes and frowned. If Steven wanted to come to his office, he would have called ahead of time, and most of the time he came it was because Joseph himself had called him to talk about things, which meant that the reason Steven was here must be important.
He pushed the button and spoke back, "Let him in," but he knew full well Steven had already walked past the front desk. After all, who would stop him?
A few minutes later, Steven walked through the doors, and Joseph gave his son a helpless smile.
"Steven, it's good to see you. Did you get my letter I gave to Ash?" he asked, but he already knew the answer.
Steven nodded, "I did. It was...interesting," he said.
In case you wondered what the letter was, it was the secrets on controlling the legendary giants. Now, how Mr. Stone knew this, Steven didn't know.
Joseph nodded. He knew that paper would be safest with Steven, and he may need to use it in the near future.
"By the way, have you met anyone special lately?" he said, trying to change the conversation, but he was also genuinely curious.
"Father," Steven replied, a bit exasperated.
"You're not getting any younger, and neither am I. If you won't take over the company, are you planning to let it fall into someone else's hands? Just find a nice girl, get married, give me some grandkids already. I've arranged so many dates for you, and you keep turning them down. You're worrying me," Joseph said, genuinely worried for his son, since it seemed he valued rocks more than settling down.
"Yes, yes," Steven sighed, his head aching. This was why he didn't like coming home, every time, Joseph would lecture him for ages.
After Joseph finally finished his lecture, he noticed hesitation in Steven.
"What's wrong? Is something on your mind?" Joseph finally asked. It was time to see what was causing this.
Steven took a breath and finally looked at his father, "Father, did you visit the Embedded Tower in Johto a few years ago?"
Joseph felt his heart fall, and he got that same pain in his chest from that day, the day he wanted to forget, the day he wanted to leave behind even though he couldn't.
"Where did you hear that?"
"So something did happen," Steven confirmed immediately, but he didn't answer where he heard this from.
The place he got it from, well, when he was studying the note, he met someone: a strange girl with red eyes. She didn't tell him her name, but she did tell him he might want to ask President Joseph what he did at the Embedded Tower in Johto back then, if he wanted to know the truth.
Now that was sketchy, obviously, and when he asked her to explain, she just told him it would be better if he heard it from him, since it wasn't something to be proud of.
But before she left, she asked him to deliver a message: that eventually, there would be a price to pay for what he did, and he had better be prepared. And with that, she left. Steven obviously tried to follow her to get more answers, but she seemingly vanished, leaving him with more questions.
Now Steven didn't believe her completely. I mean, this was his father they were talking about. Steven had always respected his father, but the way she spoke and the way she looked him in the eyes made him uneasy, in a way that made him want answers. So that was why he came here.
And now he was finding out that his father was hiding something, meaning what that girl told him was true.
Steven kept looking at his father, waiting for an answer, while Joseph clenched his fists and they shook with anger, but not at Steven. At himself, and at the Pokémon Association.
"What happened at the Embedded Tower…" he said, his voice shaking with barely contained anger and sadness, "was the biggest mistake of my life."
He looked up at his son and took a breath.
"It was called the Rayquaza Capture Plan. It was supposed to be a simple mission to better Hoenn, that's what the Association wanted. There were a few of us, but mainly there was the president of the Pokémon Association, me, Drake, Briney, and Norman."
His throat tightened as he didn't want to remember what happened.
"We failed. We couldn't capture Rayquaza, and what's worse…" he looked up at his son, "we killed an innocent young girl."
"What did you say…" Steven said in barely contained shock. His entire worldview was shattered, the image he had of his father.
"I didn't know," he tried to defend himself, but it was weak, "I didn't know that Rayquaza already had a trainer, I-"
"What?" Steven cut him off, hearing that last part, "So the girl you killed was Rayquaza's trainer?"
Joseph looked down, "The Pokémon Association was responsible for implementing the plan at that time..." Joseph sighed, thinking he should have done something. He had only learned about the girl with Rayquaza after the plan had already started.
But by then, it was too late to stop it. No matter what, he had committed an unforgivable mistake.
Steven's mind was in turmoil. He never expected his father to have done something like this. Regardless of the original intent, trying to catch someone else's Pokémon was a clear violation of the Pokémon League's laws. And to make matters worse, they had even killed that trainer.
Steven needed time to think. He turned around and held his head, trying to process all of this.
Joseph knew he had no right to stop Steven, so he didn't try. He knew he deserved whatever Steven did to him, and more.
Steven, meanwhile, had a complicated expression. He loved his father, but this wasn't something he could ignore, and the fact that allegedly the Pokémon Association knew and still did it made him question things even more.
But before Steven left, he looked back at his father, "Father, the person who told me this said that there will be a price to pay for what you did. I think someone who is seeking justice for that girl is already coming."
And with that, Steven left, leaving Mr. Stone to sit at his desk and bury his face in his hands. He didn't ever want to think of that. He had hoped he could leave it behind. Looks like life has a funny way of working out. Suddenly, Ash was the last thing on his mind.
—
{Later That Day - Fortree Gym}
The gym was quiet, a stark contrast to the festival outside.
The faint creak of wood echoed through the open arena as the wind brushed past the treetop structure. Winona stood near the center, arms lightly crossed, posture straight, but not rigid like before. There was still tension there, but it wasn't suffocating anymore.
Flannery leaned against the railing off to the side, scrolling through her phone.
A small ding broke the silence.
Flannery's eyes flicked down. Then she smirked.
"Well," she said, pushing herself off the railing, "showtime."
Winona glanced at her, "He's coming?"
"Yep." Flannery held up her phone briefly, "Just texted."
Winona's gaze shifted toward the entrance.
She wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting, maybe someone serious, since apparently they brought Flannery here for her sake, at least that's what Flannery told her. She wasn't really sure if that was true.
But then a voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Woah, this place is high up."
Ash strolled in with Molly sitting on his shoulders, happily munching on something sweet, while he held a half-finished skewer in his hand.
"Careful, don't drop that," he said lightly, glancing up at her.
"I won't!" Molly said confidently, immediately proving that she absolutely might.
Behind him, the rest of his group filtered in, Brock, May, and Max following not far behind, Pikachu perched comfortably, and Vee trotting along without a care in the world.
"This is him?" Winona asked slowly, not even trying to hide the confusion in her voice.
Flannery smirked, seeing her shocked face, "Oh yeah," she said, grinning, "Told you."
Ash looked up and smiled, pretending to be surprised to see Flannery.
"Hey, Flannery, I didn't know you'd be here!" he said, waving a hand, pretending not to know she was here.
Ash stepped forward, still playing it casual, and Flannery met him halfway.
They slapped hands in an easy, practiced high five, just a little too natural for two people who were supposedly "surprised" to see each other.
"Yeah, same," Flannery shot back, matching his energy perfectly, "Guess Fortree's the place to be today."
Behind them, May blinked, "Wait Flannery?!"
Max's jaw dropped, "What are you doing here?! Isn't your Gym in Lavaridge?!"
Flannery waved a hand like it was nothing, "Relax, relax. I've got it covered. I'm allowed to take a break, you know."
"Since when?" Max muttered.
"Since now," she fired back instantly.
May stepped forward, smiling brightly, "It's really good to see you again!"
Flannery's grin softened a bit, "Yeah, same here. You've been keeping up with contests?"
"Eh...he...he...well..." May slowly looked away, playing with her fingers slightly, with an embarrassed look on her face, "I'm getting better."
While that conversation picked up, Molly tilted her head from her perch on Ash's shoulders, looking down at Flannery with open curiosity.
Ash noticed and shifted slightly, "Oh right. Molly, this is Flannery."
Molly perked up, "Hi!"
Flannery smiled and looked up at Molly, "Aww, so you're Molly. You are cute. Nice to meet you. Your big brother told me all about you," she said in a way meant to tease Ash, though it didn't really work.
Molly puffed her cheeks slightly at the "cute" comment but still smiled.
Ash just sighed and rolled his eyes, "Don't encourage her."
"Too late," Flannery shot back instantly.
While this was going on, however, Winona was looking slightly past Ash and Flannery, over to May and Max. After all, she knew Norman had kids. Actually, Norman was serious most of the time except when he talked about his kids, he loved showing everyone pictures of them, so it was not hard to recognize May and Max.
For a moment, she remembered the way things went down back at the Gym Leader Meeting, but then she shook her head. They weren't a part of this. She wouldn't do something just to be petty against Norman.
"Alright," Flannery clapped once, snapping the moment before it could stretch too long, "So! Formalities aside, this is the part where you two fight."
"You really don't waste time," Winona said, though her tone wasn't as tight as it had been earlier.
"Hey, I mean he already beat me up, so now it's my turn to watch someone else get beaten," Flannery said, putting a hand on Winona's shoulder, "Thank you for volunteering," she said with a completely straight face.
Winona blinked, but smiled slightly, "Wow, you don't even have a little faith in me?"
Flannery shrugged, "Hey, I say it the way I see it."
Winona let out a quiet huff through her nose, but she smiled, "Maybe I should prove you wrong," she said. Then she looked at Ash, "And what about you? You don't seem worried."
Ash shrugged, "I have a plan. I wouldn't be challenging you if I didn't."
Before Winona could respond, Molly suddenly leaned forward from Ash's shoulders, squinting at her.
"You look like you need a nap," she said very seriously.
There was a beat of silence.
Max snorted, and May immediately covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
Winona blinked, completely taken aback, "Excuse me?"
Molly nodded, completely confident in her assessment, "Your eyes look sleepy. And your shoulders are all scrunched up like this—" she demonstrated by tensing her tiny shoulders dramatically.
Flannery burst out laughing, "Okay, wow, straight to it, huh?"
Ash sighed, reaching up to gently steady Molly so she didn't topple forward, "Molly…"
"What?" she said, pouting slightly, "I'm helping."
"See, I knew I liked you, Molly," Flannery added, still grinning.
Winona stared at Molly for a moment longer...and then a small laugh slipped out, "That obvious?"
"Very," Flannery said immediately.
"Okay, maybe that's true, but don't think I can't still battle. I guess I'll have to prove it to all of you here and now," Winona said, getting a smile back on her face.
"Bet," Ash said as he reached up, pulled Molly off his shoulders, and set her down next to Pikachu, who immediately jumped up into a Molly hug, while Vee just rolled his eyes, preferring to stay on the ground.
"Alright, go over with Brock, alright?" Ash told Molly, pushing a finger against her forehead.
"Okey-dokey, big brother!" Molly said as she ran off to Brock and the others, and Flannery helped guide them over to the bleachers to sit down.
Ash finally stood up, stretched his back, and turned to look at Winona, "Alright then, it's just you and me. Ready for this?"
"I believe I should be asking that, shouldn't I?" Winona said back.
"Maybe, but how about we raise the stakes a little?" Ash said with a grin as he pulled out his Keystone and flashed it.
Winona's eyes widened, but she closed them and smiled slightly, "Hmm, I see…you are interesting. It's been a while since anyone asked for that. Very well, I'll indulge you."
Ash smiled, "We'll see. I've got more tricks up my sleeve," he said, quickly tossing a ball into the air and catching it. Then he threw his hand out with the Poké Ball, "Shall we begin?"