Kanto hotels are a lot like Johto ones, in that they have rooms with one or two beds and generally accept Pokemon. In any other measurement imaginable, Kanto rooms share more in common with Indigo Plateau's hotels than Johto's. Ours is massive: we splurged a little on it, using some of our ample prize money from our challenge. It's not a suite, but I'm still shocked to come in and find a flat screen, a jacuzzi, an entire side room with a view, and a mini fridge.

"Hey, would anyone mind if we stayed here for the rest of the challenge?" I ask. "You know, we can watch Red blow up the world in style."

"Ashley." Fang gasps. "Ashley, there's already food in the mini fridge."

Ten has swung the door open and the two of them gleefully look down at our spoils. I've never seen so much sugar in one location. On top of the mini fridge lies a list of services available in the area, as well as menus for room service. I pick it up and read 'complimentary Wi-fi and desserts on the house your first night'.

"I'm honestly not hungry. You guys?" I gesture to the array of candy bars and ice cream tubs found within. Several of my team members manage to pull something out, and I help them get the wrappers and lids off, well aware this is less than healthy for Pokemon.

"We should do a movie night!" Fang cheers.

I fall back onto the bed, revelling in the heavenly texture, and click on the television.

"It's a hotel TV. I don't think they even have movies." I scoff. Still, I click on the television, open the menu, and begin leafing through the channels; only to find that the menu's not ending. We're up into the hundreds and it's still going when I eventually give up and just flip the channels manually. "I don't have this many channels at my actual house." I say, clicking past several reality TV shows and a cooking show where Pokemon have to help in the meal preparation before landing on a My Little Ponyta episode I don't recognize. "Wait, the new season's started?"

"Oh no. We are not watching the horse show." Minerva retaliates.

"My Little Ponyta is a classic." I inform them. "It's not my fault that none of you appreciate art."

Reginae shakes his head solemnly. "I'm so embarrassed I have no words. See you in the morning. Minerva, are you coming? We'll be taking on the gym alone, so we'd better get some rest."

"Thought you'd never ask." Minerva pads out with him, and the two go off to who knows where to discuss strategy.

The three of us with good taste remain to savor the miracle that is My Little Ponyta. I'm sure I've missed something, because I don't recognize half the names or places they're filling out, but best I can tell the Mane Cast (yes the show and fanbase are full of bad puns) are now intermediating in a war between two rivaling factions of forest Pokemon as they search for the legendary bringer of life, Xerneas.

"Are those two in cahoots or what? It might just be me, but they've been squabbling forever and now they're talking like they've been best friends the whole time."

"Who?" Ten asks.

"Minerva and Reginae." I say, realizing how petty I sound.

"They could be."

I frown at the TV as Xerneas proceeds to settle the feud between both groups with little more than a few words. "You know? It might just be me, but I think I might be too old for this."

Ten and Fang, the latter of whom have been paying rapt attention, both look shocked at the revelation.

"No, no, don't get me wrong, it's still a good show. It's just that after the real deal, it's hard to enjoy it as much. Things don't work out like this." I gesture at the screen. "Even if it's nice to imagine a world where it could."

"Being on this team's always kind of felt like some epic fantasy to me." Fang replies, "We're pretty low on the horse content, though."

I hug him and Ten hugs me and I smile before turning off the television. We'll miss nothing but credits and Reginae has a point- we'll need our rest for tomorrow.

***

I discuss our game plan after breakfast in bed for the whole team, a popular decision. "Look, whatever we did in Johto, we're going to need to go way faster here if we want to make it in time. We're going to do the Vermillion Gym today- that's a start. If we can knock this whole thing out before winter, that gives us enough time to train and rally the troops. I think we can do it. Any thoughts?"

Reginae tilts his head. "I just wanted to get it out of the way, but... we don't know how much time we have left, do we?"

"Eight months?" I estimate off the top of my head. The days all blur together in my mind, if we're to be honest. "Two years total, so we'd be done on my fifteenth birthday, which is really more like my sixteenth given the time regression."

"You'd think someone would be keeping track of this, considering we're counting down to the end of the world here."

"It's depressing, but I also don't think Red's petty enough to cut us off just because we got up to Mount Silver one day late. He also knows I have something he wants in this timeline, and as long as I hold that out on him, we have leverage." I hate calling Ethan 'leverage', of all the demeaning things to refer to my friend as, but it's also true that we need him as a bargaining chip. "You know what? Screw it. Let's just get this done."

The Vermillion gym is no more than a ten minute walk from our hotel. We can see it from the glass elevator on the way down. Fang paces around the exterior the whole time as we fall, and I just shut my eyes and clench the handrail. My recent experiences with flying have killed my appetite for heights in any shape or form.

Ten's watching me as we exit, and I ruffle his feathers as we walk. "I don't blame you, buddy. If something's wrong with you, we'll work it out together, okay?"

He cooes weakly.

The gym itself is plated with solar panels on the top and paint so shiny it glitters on all the sides, stopping just short of being obnoxiously gaudy. We enter to find a room not unlike a real gym (the workout kind), with trainers working out alongside their electric Pokemon and garbage cans everywhere- well, I guess that's not quite like a real gym. The electric barrier fences are also a nice touch, but I have no idea how we're going to pull them down.

A kid jumps in front of me, not much older than the ones I fought just the other day. "Hey! I bet you want to know how to deactivate Surge's shields. Well, I know the answer, but I'm not gonna tell you until after Razzle and I beat you into the dust."

"Minerva, you want to take him out?" The Ninetales nods and pounces onto the battlefield. Her fire, usually right on target, cleanly misses her opponent. The Pikachu, crackling with electricity, careens across the gym like a small meteor. Minerva yelps, sliding out of the way, but her fur frizzes at the static energy ripples through her fur.

I slide open the Pokedex to find results only marginally more surprising than those of my last encounter with "Kanto" trainers. "Level forty-four? Seriously, is every Pokemon in this region on steroids?" I ask.

"You're from Johto, aren't you? Wow, that would explain a lot." laughs the kid.

"Yeah? Well I fought the Elite Four and even their Pokemon were similar levels to mine. Are you telling me everyone in this whole region is more powerful than the government?"

He waves me off. "They were probably using the lame Johto teams for you. Johto and Kanto champion are different titles, geez. Indigo League membership is an entirely different issue altogether."

(Yeah, like I'd ever want to join the Indigo League.)

Minerva, who gives no shits about exposition, finally throws the Pikachu across the ground, and finishes it with a furious burst of flame. "Next?"

"Geez," the youngster withdraws his Pikachu. "There are switches hidden in the garbage cans. You just have to figure out which ones."

"Seriously." I say.

"Would I lie to you?" His round, wide eyes look like those of someone who would indeed lie to me, but I bite my tongue.

"C'mon, team. Minerva, Reginae, you're on attack. Fang, Ten, start checking garbage cans."

The other people in the gym are at least four times my age, military veterans all. Though their Pokemon are harder, knowing that I'm not fighting a ten year old kid with Pokemon stronger than my original team spares my remaining dignity.

"Found one." Fang announces from the other side of the room, his front paws in the middle of a trash can. One electric fence switches off. "You know, I was beginning to think you were pranking me."

"Found the other." Ten taps the trash can next to Fang's, and it falls over, revealing a large electrical wire that bridges the can and ground. Trash day must be a nightmare here.

The team, with Minerva at the helm, walks past the deactivated shields up to Surge, who's pumping iron. He hoists up the fifty pound dumbells as if picking up a glass of water, his biceps rippling as he curls them.

When I pass the barricades, he sets down his dumbbells and grins as if he wasn't lifting a thing. "Ashley Hart." he laughs, as if the two of us are old friends.

"Excuse you?" I ask.

"I was told you'd be coming. Elm hadn't checked up on me in forever, so I was a bit surprised." Surge dips his glasses, revealing dazzling eyes. "Johto, eh? Takes a saucy Johtonian to show up in a place like this, kid."

"I'm a Johtonian with eight badges. If that won't command your respect, I don't know what will."

"Only my superiors command my respect, madam, and though I mean you no offense, you're not my superior. Now, I will say eight badges does commands my interest." Surge holds up a row of Poke Balls, wedged perfectly between his fingers. "You already know the spiel. Let's ramp things up! Beretta, you're up!"

A Raichu springs from its Poke Ball and lands with poise, swinging its tail in a vicious whip.

Minerva steps forth, delicate and still, and then they both jolt into action. Beretta, who seems to be taking a melee approach, moves so fast it looks like she's in multiple places at once, all the while yelling "Boss! What's the plan?" to her trainer. "Boss? Are you paying any attention?"

Minerva slams her away with her tails while she's distracted, and the Raichu grits her teeth. "Minerva,

"Beretta, formation Alpha."

"Ey, there we go." Beretta halts not far from Minerva before charging again, cloaked in lightning, and keeps going, landing just out of range of a potential counterattack. Minerva shudders as paralysis works its way up her body, and I feel the dull agony in my bones. We're going to need to work fast.

"Minerva, stand still." I tell her.

Beretta, sure of her speed, jumps off another wall and speeds back towards Minerva, who despite her condition can still blast any target at close range. As Beretta comes in close, Minerva hits her with a critical Fire Blast. The Raichu, drenched in flames, stops just past Minerva, paws still crackling.

I watch as her eyes roll into her head and she collapses against the ground, smoke rising from her body.

Minerva, though victorious, looks no better off. She manages to stumble back to me, and I pull out my Full Heals and begin spritzing. "You okay?"

She nods. "Think that was his ace. How else could she have taken me on?"

Just as cocky as ever. I snort and look to Reginae. "Okay, looks like you're going in."

"Oh? Uh, sure." Reginae enters the battlefield and an Electrode greets him, its furious eyebrows more comical than intimidating. I'll never get how something like Electrode managed to evolve to begin with. What evolutionary advantages come from being a ball with no mouth?

A lot of Pokemon raise a lot more questions than they answer.

Reginae turns his head and readies his petals, but it turns out being an orb does have some advantages- namingly, speed. The Electrode turns like a wheel and speeds across the battlefield, dodging a whole array of petals and hitting Reginae right in the stomach. He makes an undignified noise from the impact, and the Electrode bounces off and turns again, making a full 'u' around the battlefield.

"Rollout." I mutter. My prior experiences with Rollout have not been pleasant and I have no desire to repeat Whitney's gym here. "Reginae, you have a counter?"

The Electrode moves forth again and Reginae manifests a massive psychic barrier in front of him. It's not Protect, but rather Reflect, and it seems to do the job well. The Electrode bounces right off, and due to the velocity, hurtles straight towards the ceiling. From the ground, rocks emerge, and with a twitch of his neck Reginae slams them upwards. The stones and the Electrode fall to the ground in a pile, and the Electrode makes a hissing noise before giving out.

"AncientPower. Been practicing a little." Reginae smiles.

"Told you the Raichu was his ace." grumbles Minerva.

"You want to play with fire, eh? Alright. Plan Omega, Maru." Surge smirks, sending out one Electrode for the other. The new Electrode rolls out of the rock pile and begins to spin, electric energy crackling around it.

"What's it doing?" Reginae asks, backing up.

"Shoot, it's going to blow up!" yells Fang. Reginae is staring ahead, petrified with fear, and a huge explosion ripples through the battlefield. The shockwave vaporizes half the earth on the field and for a while, a silver cloud of smoke fills the room, making it impossible to see anything.

"Reginae!" I yell, grabbing out for him in my mind. I catch his presence, defiant, and gasp with relief.

I'm okay.

When the smoke clears, Reginae stands strong through the rubble, face smeared with black singe marks from the attack. His furious amber eyes burn with resolve, but he's wobbling from the fatigue and impact both. Even the Reflect has dissipated from the blast.

"Not bad." Surge says. "Well, Emp, it's on you." Surge tosses out a Magneton, whose three eyes fix on Reginae with malicious intent. I withdraw Reginae and scan my team, regretting not for the first time that the nature of my job has lead to a disproportionate amount of Flying types again, somehow.

Flying-types, far as I'm concerned, are just survivalists by nature. I still don't like my odds.

Minerva gets to her paws, half healed, and casts me a disappointed look. "Going to have to bail you all out again, am I now?" She yawns, exhaling embers, and lumbers onto the battlefield.

The Magneton's steel surface shines and it turns all its magnets inwards, focusing silver energy into a single spherical pulse. Minerva opens her mouth and exhales a brilliant crimson fire, and the two energies meet midair. The fire overtakes and envelops the Magneton's blast before encasing the Magneton in fire as well. The Magneton uses Screech as a last resort, trying to at least weaken Minerva for the next foe, but it only serves to make its gradual fall to the ground more horrific, screaming and burning alive.

Surge withdraws it without another word, and pulls out his last Poke Ball. "Right kid, you've earned this." An Electabuzz comes out, arms crossed, and mouth curved into a wicked grin.

The Pokedex pings again. Level 53.

"Oooooh, so that's his ace. See, that makes a lot more sense." Fang says, undeterred by situation we're in. I just have to pray this is his last Pokemon because looking over my team, I can't see us hold out much longer than this.

The Electabuzz punches Minerva straight in the face, and she turns with tails flailing to brush him over with blue flame. Burning him should lower his attack and serve to buy us time, but I don't know if Minerva still has the firepower to take him out.

I fold my arms, trying to think of some strategic way to get around my three flying-types and my two aces both being almost out of energy.

"I'm right here," Fang says, looking me in the eyes. "Can I?"

Bingo.

Minerva turns again, the Electabuzz readies an electric punch, and all there's left to do is run. Minerva slides back out of the battlefield, just past where it can reach her, and Fang springs off her back and descends on the Electabuzz in a veil of shadow. The Electabuzz crosses its hands over its head and Fang jumps down. As his foe tries to take him out with a super effective Low Kick, Fang jumps again and cloaks himself in stars. At first I think it's Swift, but the damage it does is nothing like Swift at all. The storm of tiny stars goes on for a full minute before the Electabuzz raises its hand in surrender, staggers backwards with the projectiles still lodged in its fur, and passes out.

The stars all burst into a shower of stardust. I get the feeling Fang would make a great Contest Pokemon. He looks at me with glee and says, "It's Last Resort. Geddit?"

"Oh my Arceus, Fang."

Surge steps across the field and hands me the gym badge. "Good luck, kid. I've never seen anyone battle like that before."

"You know us Johtonians. We're unpredictable." I smile.

I have to wedge the badge in between two of my others. It's weird to have more than eight.

I never thought I'd get this far, not even in my wildest fantasies, but now it's just necessity.

"We make a great team." Fang wags his tail, talking to Minerva off field.

Minerva taps the Umbreon on his nose with her own. "Sure we do." It's unexpectedly tender for her, but she turns about in typical fashion with an indignant "What?!" when she realizes the whole team is staring at her.

I walk back to them and lead them out of the gym, collapsing against the side when we exit. "We did it. Oh, thank Arceus, that was a mess." I release Reginae and lean in to hug both my exhausted Pokemon.

"I'm fine," Reginae assures me. The ash has cleared and the damage, save for same scarred patches here and there, seems to be minimal. "Seriously."

"Good," I say. "Minerva?"

"Fine."

While we're out here, I throw out Pisces, who glowers at me and stretches herself out, fins flaring. "Took you long enough."

"You can fight the next one." I promise.

"So, who's down for ice cream? I hear they import Casteliacones here." Fang peeps up from the back. "There's a place down the street. I looked it up. Multiple times."

You just had ice cream, I think, but there's no use fighting with those puppy-dog eyes. I rummage through my bag to get out my supplies. While my wallet is stuffed, everything else is nigh empty from the recent string of battles. "Looks like we're low on medicine. I need to stock up or we're not going to last another gym."

"We'll go without you." growls Pisces, who isn't even going to thank me for letting her out of her Pokeball. Ten nods, wad of P bills in his beak.

"Is that a threat?" I tease.

"Sure is." Pisces leers right into my face, but there's less malice than usual. I like to think we've learned something from the Champion encounter, but wouldn't count on it.

I tap her on the nose, and her face puckers up as if she'd just eaten a whole lemon. "Don't go too far."

She slithers off towards the shoppe, and I walk away from the Poke Mart. I do have to stock up, but I don't plan on doing it right now. Instead, I walk towards the dense forest, hoping the cover should be enough for me to try again. The Master Ball, just as much of an enigma as ever, is icy cold in my hand. I'm so focused on its most recent temperature fluctuation that the tap on my back comes as even more of a shock.

"What the-"

I look around, startled, but none of the civilians so much as bat an eye at the grinning red-clad trainer before me. "Walk with me. They just see two kids."

I reach out to my Pokemon, yanking Ten's string as hard as I can. Ashley! Ashley what's wrong?

"Nice place, isn't it?" Red asks. "See, I wouldn't know. My experiences are a little hazy, possibly owing to the thousands of voices flooding my mind the whole time."

He's here. I'm on Ampere Street heading towards Sixth. Meet me there.

"I would kill for some ice cream, but I have the feeling your team's not going to like it if I sit down with you guys and have a chat." Red continues. "Also, I'm kind of broke. I could fight some trainers, make some quick cash, but I've already had the cops called on me twice."

"You. The cops." I say. "Don't tell me you've tipped off the International Police to your existence. It would be so convenient for me if they found some way to lock you up."

Red shrugs. "Oh no, they don't know I have a limited degree of control over the fabric of reality itself. It's just that my Pokemon are level eighty and they don't stop when the opponent faints. I wish I could tell you I raised them better, but again with the voices. Man, being possessed for two years straight really puts a damper on your plans."

"So does having your universe blown up. I can't believe you came all this way just to be an ass and ask me for ice cream." I say, more than a little infuriated. I wonder how hard I could hit him if I could trigger Celebi's power. If I kill him in hand-to-hand, is everything over, then? Does that count?

Red shrugs. "Not quite. See, you were right earlier. You do have something I want." he tells me, stretching out a hand. "It's not just Ethan. It's also your collaboration. As you might have figured out from the Champion battle (congratulations by the way), Ethan's going to get better the more you use him. He even managed to talk that time."

We're almost here, calls Ten in my mind.

Thank Mew.

"What the hell are you trying to accomplish here?" I ask.

"I wasn't the Red who destroyed your world, Ashley. I'm not going to pretend I'm any different, because I'm not, but that guy's dead as your Morty and your mom and everyone else who went down with that universe. This has been playing out across worlds long as we both existed in this cycle. I'm not just here to blow up another mediocre universe. I'm here to blow the system to shreds and get us out of here."

"What makes you think you can do that?" I ask, stalling for time. I can feel my teammate's heartbeats by now, not far off in the distance.

"The whole universe is cracking around us. One of your own team members is living proof. There are hacked-in moves cropping up everywhere. Entire subplots not programmed into the game are occurring and they're occurring fast. I'm starting to get the answers, but even I'm not sure yet. Hate me if you want, but whether you like it or not we have the same motives. I'm the best shot you have."

He holds out his hand.

My breath catches in my throat. "Not happening."

As if to accentuate the point, my whole team shows up, lips smeared with ice cream. Fang bristles and Ten's wings glow with light.

Red cracks a smile. "Did you seriously sic your Pokemon on me? Look, if you want a battle we can have one, but it won't go the way you're hoping, I can tell you that much. Just remember who's home turf you're on, Ashley." He looks over the team. "Not bad. I'm looking forwards to seeing... about three of you, at best... on Mount Silver. Well, it all depends on your choices now. See you around, then." He snaps and disappears, leaving me in the middle of a deserted street with five hostile Pokemon.

I look around, but no one's out here for miles. "He's getting better at this," I remark. "Crowd control."

"He's good at dramatic exits too." Minerva remarks. "So, uh... he didn't threaten you, did he?"

"Not exactly." I place my hand to my head, feeling a migraine coming on. "Forget Hyper Potions. I really need some ice cream."