With relative ease, Serena had defeated Korrina and had earned the Rumble Badge, to the delight of the Friend Group and Alex and the dismay of Korrina. Gurkinn remained stone-faced, giving his granddaughter a pat on the head for a battle well fought.

"Well done for a splendid battle, both of you. Serena, you've earned the right to climb the Tower of Mastery and receive your Mega Ring. After you battle our Successor, of course." He said, a glance at Korrina causing her forlorn expression to turn into one of excitement.

"Yeah! We have a second chance to battle each other, but it'll only be a one-on-one battle. I'll meet you at the top, your friend can come along and witness the battle if he wants."

Korrina skated away and up the long winding ramp that led to the roof of the Tower, the Friend Group coming to congratulate Serena on her victory before heading out of the Tower. Alex stayed by Serena's side, relieved to see Calem gone for whatever reason that he couldn't pinpoint. The night had long since fallen, the Tower only being illuminated by large lamps, so it was incredibly dim.

"Once you've received the Mega Ring, Korrina can show you where you can rest for the night. The darkness of the night makes way for horrible people to appear, and we wouldn't want you getting caught up in that." Gurkinn said, another pointed look towards Alex before disappearing through a door just under the Lucario statue that dominated the Tower of Mastery.

"Are you coming? You might find out some more if you watch a Mega Evolution master in battle." Serena said, Alex rolling his eyes.

"It's not like a complete novice." He muttered, though made no arguments when following Serena up the spiral ramp to the top of the tower.

They passed by some Trainers on their way up who waved at the two, though no one stopped them to battle. The most challenging thing they encountered was actually climbing the tower.

"I see why Korrina wears skates everywhere, this is exhausting." Serena panted, Alex nodding solemnly in agreement as they continued upwards, though he couldn't help but notice the pair of skates strapped to the outside of her bag. Maybe she couldn't skate well?

They finally reached the top of the tower, where Korrina stood facing away from them towards the sky, the moonlight reflecting off the stone. It was beautiful, though Serena could feel how tense the atmosphere was.

"You know, every time we've battled, you've always somehow managed to win."

Korrina had turned slightly, a smile on her face as she looked back at Serena, her two Lucario both looking curiously between the two of them.

"But I thought, maybe I was just holding back, but you weren't because it wasn't in your nature to. You give every battle everything you've got. Maybe that's why I'm so eager to battle you now, because I don't want to hold back anymore."

Korrina then skated over to Serena, holding a large ring in her hands, a Key Stone inlaid in the center. Finally, the Mega Ring was within her grasp. She took it and slid it on her wrist. The fit was perfect, and Alex smiled at the excited look on Serena's face. He remembered first receiving his own ring, the one that sat on his finger right now.

"Now we can battle as equals, with no holds barred using Mega Evolution! What Pokémon will you be using?" Korrina asked, though one of her Lucario ran to Serena to stand by her side, shocking everyone.

"Lucario? Do you want to battle with Serena against...me?"

Lucario nodded, patting the Mega Stone on his wrist as he readied for a battle, his ally now opponent across from him.

Serena looked down at the Mega Ring on her left wrist, glancing over at Alex for a moment.

"What do I do? Could you...help me?" She asked, Alex smirking as he leaned in to take hold of her right hand, bending her fingers down to just her index and middle pointing.

"Are you ready?" He asked, Serena nodding. The feeling of his hand over her own felt nice, nicer than it should've been considering the circumstances. He brought her hand to the stone and she pressed against the smooth surface, Alex backing away from her. Ribbons of multi-colored light flowed from the stone and spiraled towards Lucario, surrounding it in a cocoon of energy. The cocoon cracked and out burst Lucario, though it looked...different. It was the spitting image of the statue within the Tower of Mastery.

Korrina could hardly contain her excitement, Mega Evolving her own Lucario, and while it was an impressive sight to behold, Alex couldn't help but think that Serena had seemed almost glowing with energy during her partner's Mega Evolution.

"Would you knock it off, she's in the middle of a battle." He scolded himself, though he couldn't help but be in awe at the way she carried herself in the battle. She was so strong, so confident, it was inspiring. Suddenly, he felt the urge to train with Charizard once again, though he couldn't leave, not now.

"Lucario, use Bone Rush!"

Serena's Lucario materialized two bones in its hands, dashing towards Korrina's Lucario at a fast speed. The Lucario barely had time to react before being hit repeatedly with the bones until they broke in its hands.

"Aura Sphere!"

Korrina's Lucario began to conjure up a massive ball of energy above its head, illuminating the entire battlefield.

"Power-up Punch!"

Energy began to surround Serena's Lucario's fist as Korrina's Lucario lobbed the Aura Sphere at its opponent. The former used all its might to punch the massive ball of energy back to the one who threw it. It made contact and once the smoke cleared, Korrina's Lucario lay fainted on the ground, defeated by Serena.

"Lucario! Are you okay?" She shouted, skating to her partner Pokémon's side as it attempted standing before falling back against the stone. Korrina breathed a sigh of relief as she returned it to its Poké Ball.

"Take a good rest, you did awesome."

Serena's Lucario reverted back to its original form, the energy fading from its and Serena's Mega and Key Stones. Serena ran forward and hugged the Pokémon, surprising it for a moment before it returned the gesture.

"You fought well."

Serena looked up towards Alex, the smile on his face evident, him not even trying to hide it.

"You think so?" Serena asked, him nodding in agreement.

"Fought well? That was exhilarating! I was on the tips of my toes the entire time! Thank you for battling me, Serena. You've earned that Mega Ring, wear it with pride, and remember this battle always." Korrina said proudly, glancing at the Lucario that stood by Serena and Alex.

"Lucario, would you like to go along with Serena on her journey? You would grow more by traveling with her than being stuck here in the Tower."

Lucario glanced at Serena for approval, her nodding in agreement. It then nodded eagerly in agreement as Korrina tossed the Poké Ball to Serena.

"Then you two are partners now. You two-I mean you three will do amazing things, I'm sure of it!" She exclaimed, Serena returning Lucario to its Poké Ball.

Three Gym Badges acquired, only five left.

————

"You want me to do what?"

51 stood before Xerosic, doing her best to ignore her fast beating heart. He was not happy, not in the slightest, that she could tell by the malicious energy rolling off of him.

"Your new assignment is to tail 42 across Kalos. Wherever he goes, you are to follow. I will have the tracking coordinates in his glasses sent to you immediately." He said, typing something onto a holographic screen, a small ding in 51's pocket indicating a new message. She opened it to see a map pull up, a flashing red dot supposedly indicating where 42 was.

"Why am I doing this? What has he done to need this?" She asked, Xerosic sniffing as he pulled up another holographic screen, though instead of a visual feed, it was audio.

Audio of what had happened in Geosenge Town that she had seen. She had thought 42 would've been caught on video, so she had stayed out of sight for that reason.

"Was there no visual data?" She asked, Xerosic slamming his hands down on the lab table he was working at.

"Some damned hacker got into our database and shut down the cameras as well corrupting all of our files. I was able to retrieve this audio only because I had noticed 42 was in Geosenge Town along with the girl he was sent to capture, and had listened in on the mics we've implanted before everything was shut down." He shouted, Rose flinching. She had gotten used to Xerosic's outbursts but they were still rather awful to endure.

"So you want me to spend precious time that could be spent here training our new recruits in tracking 42 down?" She asked, Xerosic glowering at her.

"If he is aiding the Trainer in her plans against us, Lysandre's entire vision could crumble, and then we will be left with nothing. Whatever he may be doing, it must be stopped before it is too late. That is more important than anything you would be doing here." He seethed, 51 gulping before nodding.

"Fine, I'll accept this mission." She said, Xerosic smiling for the first time in a long time.

"Excellent."

————

The Tower of Mastery was surprisingly well kept considering how large it was. Korrina had led Alex and Serena down the ramp to the small wing of rooms that they could stay in for the night. The rooms were nothing impressive, little more than glorified bedrooms and a bathroom attached, though it was more than enough for one night's stay.

Korrina had given Alex and Serena their own individual rooms to sleep in, though she said that she wouldn't tell anyone if they slept in the same one with a teasing wink before skating off. Both of their faces had turned a bright shade of red as they bid a quick goodnight to one another and ducked into their rooms.

Serena was quite eager to finally change out of the same clothes and fall into bed. Traveling through Resolution Cave and battling Korrina had taken a lot of her, but she had learned more about her mysterious ally. Though now that her and Alex had made it to Shalour City, was there really any reason for him to stick around her, or would they go their separate ways and go back to being enemies again?

Alex had the same thought in the room across from hers, staring at the red glasses that sat in his hands, his reflection staring back at him.

"Why should I stay? I'm putting myself in danger by being here, I should leave while I still can." He muttered to himself, though he couldn't help but feel...sadness at the thought of leaving.

Little did he know that Serena felt the same way.