Ash and Brandon were running down the hall, being chased by at least 15 of the frenzied rental Pokémon, and behind those Pokémon was a giant boulder that was about to crush them. Vee was inside Ash’s bag, holding Pikachu’s hand as he dangled behind them.

You might be wondering how they got here. Well, we don’t have time for that, so suck it up and just accept it was an Ash and Brandon subplot.

Ash and Brandon rounded a corner, followed by the Pokémon, as the boulder collided against the wall. So they were safe from that, but not the swarm of Pokémon behind them.

"Any bright ideas?!" Ash yelled.

"A little more, we’re almost at the exit!" Brandon yelled back as he grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt.

As they ran, they finally saw the exit. Ash called over, "Is it locked?"

"Probably, so just break it down," Brandon said, getting a nod from Ash.

Ash sped up, jumped, and drop-kicked the door, breaking the lock and leaving it wide open. Brandon slid out and immediately pressed the button on the Poké Ball he had and cried out, "[Ice Beam]!"

As the Poké Ball opened, Regice came out, heard Brandon’s command, and immediately shot a beam of ice at the ground, causing thick ice to block the doorway.

Ash and Brandon let out a breath, finally getting a chance to catch their breaths, and Brandon returned Regice to its Poké Ball, "Good work."

Ash stretched, putting his hands on his waist as he took off his jacket and wrapped it around his waist, "Okay, now that we’re out, any ideas on what to do now?"

"First," Brandon said between breaths, "we never speak of whatever just happened back there."

Ash blinked, "You mean the giant boulder trap? Or the hallway of exploding floor tiles? Or maybe the chandelier made of axes? Or the fact that a Banette somehow drove a minecart?"

Brandon pinched the bridge of his nose, "Especially the minecart."

Ash took one more breath and stood up straight, "Yeah, okay, fair."

Now that they weren’t in danger, Vee let go of Pikachu, causing him to fall to the ground, while Pikachu went to a nearby bush to puke.

"Okay, now we need to find everyone and regroup so we can stop Guile before he makes a wish," Brandon said as he pulled out his phone and noticed he had a missed call from Noland. Ash did the same and saw he had missed calls from Gary and Green.

Just when they were about to make some calls, they suddenly heard the sound of fighting, very loud fighting, and it was coming from the sky. When they looked up, they saw Guile fighting against someone Ash recognized as Malde, and the place they were fighting above was the Battle Tower.

"Oh, you’ve got to be fffffu—" Ash cut himself off as he took a breath.

"So Guile is on the Battle Tower," Brandon frowned, "We have to go after him now."

"Yeah, yeah, I got that," Ash said, already getting into the group chat and texting everyone that he was heading up to the Battle Tower, "Let’s go and hope they catch up."

Brandon nodded as he and Ash started running while Brandon tried to call the others.

—

{Meanwhile in the Battle Factory}

"Battle twenty-seven complete," the mechanical voice announced overhead.

Gary looked like he was about three bad minutes away from throwing himself into the conveyor belt just to feel something.

"This place is evil," he muttered while rubbing his forehead.

Around them were the remains of another battlefield. Scorch marks covered the floor, broken holographic terrain flickered in and out, and several disabled Virtual Trainers were sparking on the ground.

Blastoise was breathing heavily. Since Gary didn’t have a bunch of Pokémon, they could only heal with the few Sitrus Berries they could steal from the virtual trainers.

And nearby, Brendan’s Swampert was sitting on the floor eating said Sitrus Berries because apparently it had infinite emotional stability.

"How are we only at twenty-seven?" Brendan groaned dramatically while lying flat on the floor, "We’ve been battling for like six years."

"One hour," Noland corrected while adjusting his glasses tiredly.

"Same thing."

But then they felt their phones ring. Gary blinked and looked down at his phone and saw that Ash had just texted. Brendan got it too.

Then Noland’s phone started ringing with a phone call. Noland quickly grabbed it and answered, "Hello?"

Static blasted through the speaker for a second before Brandon’s voice finally came through, "Noland? Can you hear me?"

Noland exhaled, "Yeah, we can hear you. Where are you?"

"We just escaped the lower ruins underneath the Pyramid, but that doesn’t matter," Brandon immediately said, sounding exhausted beyond belief, "Listen carefully. Guile is at the Battle Tower."

That instantly made all three of them straighten up.

"What?" Noland frowned sharply.

"We just saw him fighting someone in the air above it," Brandon explained quickly, "Ash and I are heading there now."

From the background, they could hear Ash yelling at something, then the sound of an explosion.

"...What are you two DOING?" Brendan asked slowly.

"Long story," Ash said as he suddenly grabbed the phone, sounding way too casual for someone apparently running for his life again, "Anyway, Guile’s probably trying to get Jirachi set up for the wish thing, so we need everyone there ASAP."

Noland immediately nodded, already thinking ahead, "Understood. We’re trapped in the Factory right now."

"Really? Still?" Ash asked.

"YES, STILL!" Gary snapped.

"Ah." Ash sounded genuinely surprised, "I thought you guys would’ve been done by now."

Gary looked like he took emotional damage from that sentence.

Noland pinched the bridge of his nose, "We still have thirteen battles remaining."

"Wow, Gary, are you getting slow already? You know, if you’re weak, you can just say it, Number 2~" Ash said, and even though Gary couldn’t see it, he knew Ash was smirking.

"Oh yeah?! I’ll show you weak! I’ll tear this factory apart with my bare hands if I have to!" Gary yelled as he gave the phone back and marched off to take on more battles. Now, did he know that Ash had just manipulated him into trying harder? Yes. Was that going to stop him? No.

So while Gary was rage battling, Noland spoke back into the phone, "Got it, we’ll head over there as soon as we can. Any word on Anabel or Scott?" he asked, since, remember, Scott wasn’t at the Dome either.

"I don’t know. I’ll try to call them once I get the chance. We’ll meet you at the tower," Brandon said. Then he hung up, presumably to start calling the others.

Noland put his phone down, but then he heard Gary and his Kangaskhan fighting five trainers by themselves in rage.

Brendan looked over at Noland, "Should...should we help? ’Cause he looks like he’s got it."

Noland sighed, "Yeah, we probably should," he muttered as he and Brendan ran after Gary.

—

{Meanwhile, with Tucker and Wally}

Salamence blasted another frenzied Rental Pokémon through three trees with a [Dragon Claw].

Tucker dramatically pointed forward, "ONWARD!"

"Mr. Tucker, we’re literally standing still!" Wally yelled while his Gallade pinned a raging Nidoking to the ground.

Tucker opened his mouth to reply, but then his phone rang, causing him to reach into his pocket and look at it.

Wally stared, "You had your phone this whole time and you didn’t try to call anyone?"

"Uhh...not important," Tucker quickly said as he answered, seeing that it was Brandon calling, "Hello?"

Wally stared at him in disbelief, "You absolutely could’ve called people."

Meanwhile, on the other end of the call, Ash and Brandon could hear Pokémon thrashing around.

"...Why does it sound like a warzone over there?" Ash asked while sprinting beside Brandon through the Battle Frontier pathways.

"BECAUSE IT IS!" Tucker shouted proudly as Salamence body-slammed a charging Donphan into the dirt behind him.

Wally got up on the tips of his toes and spoke into the phone, "Ash, you’re there too? Are you okay?!"

"I’m fine, bud, but listen, Guile’s at the Battle Tower," Ash revealed.

That immediately got Tucker’s attention, and the smile he was putting on to keep up the act for Wally faded, "The Battle Tower..." Tucker muttered.

Brandon spoke again, "Yeah, and we think we see him—"

But Tucker didn’t let him finish, "Then we’ll head there immediately!" Tucker said, hanging up before whistling over to Salamence.

As Salamence lifted its head and looked over to Tucker, it flapped its wings and flew toward him. Meanwhile, Tucker picked Wally up, putting him under his arm, and jumped up as Salamence caught them both and started flying.

"Waiiitt!" Wally yelled as he got dizzy. With his left hand, he grabbed his inhaler and took a puff, and with his right, he grabbed Gallade’s Poké Ball and held it out to recall Gallade as they flew off.

—

{Meanwhile, in the Battle Palace}

May ducked under a lunging Persian while Combusken blasted it backward with a [Sky Uppercut].

Nearby, Spenser’s Claydol floated calmly while unleashing a [Psychic] that pinned multiple frenzied Pokémon against the walls.

"Behind you," Spenser warned calmly without looking.

May reacted instantly, "Combusken, [Flamethrower]!"

The stream of fire forced back a charging Scizor before it could reach them. May breathed hard as the last few Pokémon finally retreated deeper into the Palace halls.

"...Okay," she panted, "that’s getting exhausting."

Spenser adjusted his beard calmly despite the battlefield around them looking wrecked. Then his phone rang.

May blinked, "Wait, you had signal this whole time?"

"The Palace has excellent reception," Spenser answered wisely while pulling out the phone.

May stared at him, "That feels unfair."

Spenser looked at the caller ID, then answered the call, "Hello?"

"Spenser!" Brandon’s voice came through quickly, "Can you hear me?"

"Quite clearly."

"We found Guile," Brandon said immediately.

That got both of their attention.

"He’s at the Battle Tower," Ash added loudly from nearby.

May immediately stepped closer, "Ash?!"

"Yo," Ash answered casually.

May felt herself relax a little immediately just hearing his voice, "You’re okay..."

"Yeah, I’m good...mostly," Ash said.

Spenser gave a thoughtful hum, "You wish for us to regroup at the Tower, then?"

"Exactly," Brandon confirmed, "Guile is fighting someone, so he hasn’t used Jirachi yet. We still have time."

"I see. Then we will make way as soon as we escape the Palace," Spenser said, as Brandon hung up, presumably to call the next person.

For a moment, the Palace halls became quiet again.

Then May took a breath and looked toward the hallway, "Okay," she said, tightening her gloves slightly, "Let’s go stop a psycho villain."

Spenser smiled faintly as he began walking beside her, "You sound more certain now."

May blinked before smiling just a little, "Maybe I am."

—

{Meanwhile at the Battle Arena}

"BRELOOM, SUPLEX IT!"

Breloom somehow grabbed the charging Rhydon around the waist and violently flipped the several-ton Pokémon directly into the dirt hard enough to shake the ground.

Green stared for half a second, "There is absolutely no way that should physically work."

Greta pumped a fist proudly, "EHEHEHEH!"

Nearby civilians actually started cheering a little.

Meanwhile, Eevee bounced between pieces of debris while firing off rapid [Swift] attacks that kept several flying Pokémon away from the evacuation route.

Green pointed upward, "Left side!"

Eevee reacted instantly, slamming into a diving Crobat with [Quick Attack] before rebounding off the wall gracefully.

Greta grinned, "Nice!"

"Thanks," Green answered before immediately ducking under a wild [Hydro Pump]. The blast exploded against the wall behind her, "Okay, seriously, can these things calm down already?!"

Another roar echoed nearby. Green and Greta turned just in time to see a massive Tyranitar stomping through the ruined entrance of the Arena. The nearby civilians collectively panicked.

"Oh, COME ON!" Green yelled.

Greta cracked her knuckles excitedly, "That one looks strong!"

"That’s the part you focus on?!"

Tyranitar roared and started charging a glowing [Hyper Beam].

Green’s eyes widened instantly, "That’s bad."

"Way ahead of ya!" Greta shouted.

Breloom launched itself forward while Eevee leapt from Green’s shoulder at the same time.

"Eevee, [Shadow Ball]!"

"Breloom, [Mach Punch]!"

The combination attack slammed into Tyranitar just before it fired, sending it flying back and crashing against a wall. The resulting explosion blasted smoke and debris across the Arena.

Green skidded backward slightly before coughing into her arm, "Please tell me that worked."

Then Tyranitar burst out of the smoke completely unharmed.

"Why do I talk?"

But before Tyranitar could attack again, Green’s phone rang.

Green blinked, "Is that my phone?"

Greta tilted her head, "You brought your phone into battle?"

"Who DOESN’T?"

Green quickly pulled it out while dodging another attack because multitasking was a skill at this point.

Her eyes widened slightly, "Ash?"

She answered immediately, "Where are you?!"

"A little busy right now," Ash answered while very clearly running somewhere.

"I could use a little help over here!" Greta yelled as she jumped back from Tyranitar throwing a piece of the wall.

"Is that Greta?" Brandon’s voice came in, "Good, I was just about to call her. That makes things easier."

Green ducked under another stone that Tyranitar threw toward her while holding the phone between her shoulder and ear, "A LITTLE WARNING WOULD’VE BEEN NICE!"

"Sorry for being a little busy on our side!" Ash responded.

Greta planted her feet as Breloom blocked another attack head-on, skidding backward through the dirt, "The giant dinosaur is getting angry!"

"It’s a Tyranitar!" Green corrected automatically.

"It’s a BIG angry Tyranitar!"

Meanwhile, Brandon spoke quickly, "Listen carefully. Guile is at the Battle Tower. Everyone is regrouping there now."

Green frowned, "So that’s where he went..."

"Yeah," Ash answered, sounding annoyingly calm considering the circumstances, "So wrap things up and head there."

Green looked over the battlefield quickly. More civilians were escaping now thanks to them holding the line, "Got it," she answered.

Then Tyranitar roared again and charged another [Hyper Beam].

Green pointed forward, "Eevee, full-power [Shadow Ball]!"

Greta slammed a fist into her palm, "Breloom, [Dynamic Punch]!"

Eevee’s massive [Shadow Ball] slammed into the beam midair while Breloom launched itself directly through the explosion, appearing in front of Tyranitar. Then it drove one glowing fist directly into Tyranitar’s jaw with enough force to create an actual shockwave.

The ground cracked.

Tyranitar’s eyes crossed instantly before the massive Pokémon toppled sideways into the ruined wall of the Arena, getting konked out from the hit.

Then the nearby civilians erupted into cheers.

Greta threw both fists into the air, "YEAHHHH!"

Green took a breath and spoke into the phone again, "We’re heading to the Tower now."

"Aight," Ash said, "Be careful. We’ll meet you there."

"You too," Green said as she hung up and took a breath. Then she looked over at Greta, "Can you keep going?"

Greta looked at Breloom, seeing that he was exhausted, "I think Breloom’s done enough, but I’ve got plenty more Pokémon. You?"

Green picked up Eevee and rubbed her head, "She’s done enough too. We gotta go."

The girls nodded at each other and started running, with Greta leading the way so they could get to the Tower.

—

{Meanwhile, in the Battle Pike}

Steelix smashed through three walls.

Brock stood there dramatically, pointing forward, "Forretress, [Gyro Ball]!"

Forretress spun forward like a cannonball and slammed directly into Steelix’s jaw hard enough to send the giant Pokémon crashing sideways into another corridor.

Lucy stared for half a second too long as she saw Brock wiping his head, and she had to stop herself from squealing like a fangirl.

Meanwhile, Brock casually brushed dust off his shoulder while internally wondering if Lucy saw him do that pose, but he didn’t immediately say anything.

Yeah, Brock had been holding himself back from acting like his usual self since Ash told him to go down from an 11 to about a 5. Usually, he would’ve gotten on his knees and confessed his undying love, but ironically enough, this was one of the few times when it would be better for him to be his usual self.

"Nice work," Lucy said calmly, but internally, OH MY GOD THAT WAS AMAZING.

Lucy quickly saw a Machamp running toward Brock, so she pointed at it, "Seviper!"

Lucy’s Seviper launched forward and wrapped around the frenzied Machamp before slamming it into the floor hard enough to crack the metal tiles.

Brock blinked, "Oh, thanks, partner," he said with a thumbs up.

Lucy calmly brushed some hair behind her ear, "It was nothing," while internally she was blushing that he had just called her partner.

Then another explosion echoed deeper down the hallway as more Virtual Trainers came charging around the corner alongside several frenzied Pokémon.

Brock adjusted his stance and smirked slightly, trying to look cool, "Looks like they really don’t want us leaving."

Lucy crossed her arms calmly beside him, "We’re almost out."

Brock blinked, "Really?"

Lucy nodded while her Seviper knocked aside a charging Hitmonlee with its tail, "The Battle Pike’s layout loops downward. We’ve already passed most of the major sectors." She pointed farther down the corridor, "There should be an emergency exit beyond the next few sections."

Brock grinned, "Nice! Then let’s make this one big finishing push!"

Another Pokémon burst from a side hallway. A raging Electabuzz ran toward them.

Brock immediately pointed dramatically, "Marshtomp, [Mud Shot]!"

Marshtomp fired a blast of mud directly into Electabuzz’s face, disrupting the electricity before Brock followed up instantly, "Now tackle!"

Marshtomp slammed into Electabuzz hard enough to send it crashing backward into one of the Virtual Trainers.

Then six more Virtual Trainers stepped out ahead of them at once.

"Oh, come on," Brock groaned.

The trainers immediately threw out Pokémon: Arcanine, Scyther, Golem, Ariados, Electabuzz, and Solrock.

Lucy’s eyes narrowed calmly, "I’ll take the left."

Brock smirked, "Race you."

Lucy blinked as her mind blanked, thinking, A race? WITH HIM? THIS IS BASICALLY A DATE.

Meanwhile, Brock internally panicked immediately after saying it. Why did I say that? I’m supposed to not act desperate.

But then both of them simultaneously thought, Too late now.

"Go, Steelix!" Brock shouted, throwing out his Steelix.

"Seviper, [Poison Tail]!"

Steelix erupted from its Poké Ball and bulldozed directly through the corridor while Seviper darted low to the ground like a living spear.

The Pike hallway instantly became chaos.

Steelix smashed through Golem head-on while Seviper wrapped around Scyther mid-flight and slammed it into the ceiling.

As the fight was going on, and they were not as underground as before, Brock’s phone finally got signal and he felt it ring. He pulled it out and saw it was coming from Ash, so while they were still battling, he answered.

"Ash, you’re okay!"

"Good to hear you too, Brocko. Is anyone with you?" Ash asked immediately.

"Uh, yeah, Lucy is here too," Brock said.

On the other side of the call, there was a very brief pause.

Then Ash immediately said, "Ohhhhhhh."

Brock’s eye twitched, "Don’t start."

Lucy blinked beside him while Seviper threw an Ariados into the wall, "What does that mean?"

"Nothing!" Brock answered way too fast.

"Ash," Brandon warned.

"Right, right," Ash said before speaking back into the phone, "Listen, Guile’s at the Battle Tower. Everyone’s regrouping there now."

That immediately got Lucy’s attention, "The Tower..." she muttered.

"Yeah," Ash continued, "He’s fighting some weird guy in the air right now, but I don’t think that’s gonna last forever, so we need everyone there before he gets Jirachi set up."

Brock’s expression sharpened immediately, "Got it."

Behind him, Steelix slammed its tail through two Virtual Trainers and sent a Scyther crashing into the ceiling.

Lucy nodded calmly beside him, though internally she was panicking because Brock suddenly looked incredibly reliable right now.

"We’ll head there immediately," Lucy confirmed.

"Cool. Also, Brock?"

"Yeah?"

Ash grinned slightly as he ran, "Good luck~" and Brock could hear Pikachu and Vee snickering.

Brock hung up the phone quickly before Ash could say anything else.

"What was that about?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing." Brock looked away, hiding the redness on his face.

Lucy cleared her throat slightly, "We should continue toward the exit."

"YEP." Brock pointed dramatically forward while his face was still red, "FORWARD MARCH!"

Lucy covered her mouth slightly to hide a smile before following beside him.

—

Meanwhile, back with Ash and Brandon, they were getting close to the tower. It was in the distance, but as they ran, Ash and Brandon were both trying to make the final calls.

Ash, after getting sent to voicemail again, put his phone down, "Dang, Nora isn’t picking up."

Brandon nodded and put his phone down too, "Anabel isn’t picking up either, and neither is Scott."

"What do you think is happening to them?" Ash asked as they got to the door of the tower and caught their breaths.

"I don’t know, but I hope they’re safe," Brandon said, putting his hands on his waist

"Phew, okay." Ash took one more breath, then looked up at the tower where they could still see the two figures in the air fighting, "I guess we should start climbing."

"Yeah, hopefully there’s nothing that’s gonna stop—" Brandon started, but he stopped when Ash looked at him with a blank expression.

"Yeah...I realized it as I said it...let’s just go," Brandon said dejectedly as he and Ash ran into the tower to start the climb upward.