1. Ash's Story (Part 7: Kalos)

Chapter 89: Towering Takeover

The stadium that had cheered my name only minutes earlier had become a nightmare of red vines, screaming crowds, and broken lights. The trophy platform shook under my feet as another root burst through the League floor, twisting around the concrete like the whole building was being strangled. I held Greninja's Poké Ball close, still feeling the final battle's exhaustion in my body, but there was no time to rest. The League was over. Team Flare had chosen the celebration as the moment to attack.

For one second, the trophy still gleamed beside Diantha as if the League ceremony wanted to keep pretending everything was normal. Then a vine ripped through the platform and sent the trophy rolling across the floor. Diantha caught it before it could fall into the gap, but even she was watching the city instead of the prize. That told me everything. Winning the League mattered, but the dream we had just reached would mean nothing if Lumiose fell around us.

League staff shouted evacuation orders while Trainers sent out Pokémon to hold back the roots. Sawyer's Sceptile cut through a vine near the lower seats. Tierno's Blastoise carried children across a broken aisle. Calem's Absol stood at a stairway, warning people before cracks spread under their feet. Everyone who had battled against me suddenly felt like part of the same team, because the tournament was done choosing winners and losers. Now, Kalos needed anyone willing to protect it.

Alain ran beside me as we left the stadium floor. His face had gone pale in a way that had nothing to do with losing the final. "Where is Mairin?"

"During the final, she did not want to get in your way," I said, forcing myself to keep moving through the shaking corridor. "She told me not to tell you."

Alain clenched his fists. "She is always thinking those things."

"We know how important she is to all of us," I said. "We will find her."

The others met us near the evacuation route, where Serena was helping people away from falling debris while Clemont and David checked the roots with their machines. Bonnie ran toward me with Dedenne clutched in her arms, eyes wide with panic.

"Ash, Squishy disappeared," Bonnie cried. "It ran off somewhere."

I looked toward the tower beyond the broken stadium wall, where a red glow pulsed through the city. "If this is related to Team Flare, then Squishy is trying to save its friend alone."

Malva's voice suddenly filled every public screen around the League grounds. Her image appeared above the chaos, calm but strained. "Citizens of Lumiose City, stay away from Prism Tower. The area is extremely dangerous. Evacuate immediately and follow League staff instructions."

"Malva," Serena whispered, looking at the screen.

The screen flickered as if someone else was trying to take control of the broadcast, and Malva's eyes sharpened before the image cut away. For a moment I wondered whether she was warning people because the League needed it or because guilt had finally caught up to her. Either way, the warning was real, and the danger behind her voice was not acting.

Then the camera shifted, and we saw it. A red Zygarde towered near Prism Tower, its body glowing with rage while vines spread through Lumiose like veins full of fire.

"There it is," Alain said, his voice rough. "That Zygarde. Those plants must be its doing."

A green light flashed near the tower, and my chest tightened as Squishy transformed and rushed toward the red Zygarde. Bonnie saw it too.

"Squishy, wait!" Bonnie shouted. She started running before Clemont could stop her.

Clemont grabbed her shoulder gently. "Bonnie, wait."