A Study in Mega Evolution

Chapter Twenty-One

They all moved into the elevator and headed for the bottom floor, where the Giant Rock was being stored. Serena pulled out the communicator Clemont had given her and called Ash. "Ash?" She sounded worried.

"Serena? Where are you guys now?" Ash replied. His voice was static-y. After being attacked by Team Flare, Corina was relieved to hear he was okay.

"We're at Lysandre Labs, and we just rescued Chespie. Professor Sycamore, Leon, Corina, and Steven Stone are here with us at the lab as well."

"Mairin! Corina! Are you there?" Alain's voice startled her, and Corina stiffened. If he was working with Team Flare, why was he with Ash?

"I'm here! With Chespie!" Mairin smiled. Corina didn't respond. "Are you okay, Alain?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm fine—we're fine. Chespie is safe, too." Mairin glanced at Corina, seeing she wasn't going to say anything.

"Ash, what's your location?"

"We're at the top of Prism Tower."

"Could I ask you to go to the gym? It's Clemont..." The doors opened, and they turned to see the Giant Rock sitting in its clear case in an empty room. They all rushed out, and Corina and Steven immediately got to work at the control panel. "What are you two doing?"

"We're finding out what kind of research was being conducted here," Steven replied as they finally found a particular file and opened it.

"Oh, my..."

"What is it?" Leon asked as the Giant Rock began acting up. The rock and Chespie both started to turn an ominous shade of red.

"What happened?"

The casing suddenly broke, launching glass across the room. Corina rushed over to try and shield Mairin from the blast and ended up taking most of the damage. The smoke finally cleared, and Chespie started being pulled towards the rock, despite Mairin's best efforts to hang on to her partner. "Chespie!" Chespie was then somehow absorbed into the Giant Rock, and the room began to shake and crumble around them. They started to flee for the elevator, but Mairin stepped towards the rock. "Chespie!!"

"Mairin, no!" Corina held her back.

"But Chespie disappeared!"

"Mairin, this whole place is coming down. We have to go!" Corina pleaded, taking hold of her hand. The Giant Rock began to morph and take shape into what looked like a Zygarde and kept growing, making the room fall apart even faster.

"Chespie! No!"

"We have to leave, now!" Corina was finally able to pull her out in the nick of time.

They all watched from far away as the entire building collapsed, shooting rubble and smoke up into the air. Large vines, like those in Lumiose City, sprouted from the ground, and the Zygarde-Rock creature emerged from the earth. Corina hugged Mairin close, sadness aching in her heart. "Chespie..." Corina hugged her tighter.

"Dad, what's happening?"

"I have no idea. Is the Giant Rock involved?"

"Involved? I'm certain the Giant Rock is the source." Steven replied. "Anything can happen now."

They fled to Steven's ship. One Corina hadn't been in since their incident with Kyogre and Groudon, a situation that was feeling strangely familiar. They flew alongside the Zygarde-Rock that was barreling, unaffected through the dense forest. Serena took this time to call up Ash again.

"What's up?" They heard his voice through the device.

"Ash! It's an emergency!"

"The Giant Rock at Lysandre Labs has absorbed Chespie." Professor Sycamore explained.