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

Chapter 100: Connected Hearts

After the Hall of Fame celebration, the crowd slowly began to thin, and the bright noise of Lumiose City League Stadium softened into scattered voices, footsteps, and distant cheers. Tierno, Shauna, Trevor, Calem, Sawyer, and Mairin all had their own places to return to. President Goodshow and Champion Diantha still had official duties. Mom and Dad took Emma back toward Normal Manor so she could rest after everything with Xerosic, and Emma promised she would visit before we left Kalos completely.

When everyone dispersed, it became the seven of us again.

Serena walked beside me, Alice stayed close on my other side, and Clemont, Bonnie, Elline, and David followed with slower steps than usual. Pikachu rode on my shoulder, but even he seemed quieter, as if the battle with Diantha had taken more out of his heart than his body. Dedenne sat in Bonnie's arms, and Elline's Ampharos lit her tail softly as the city evening settled around us.

Clemont looked down the street and tried to smile. "Our journey is almost over. It is kind of sad, you know?"

Bonnie hugged Dedenne tighter. "I do not want everyone to split up."

Dedenne pressed against Bonnie's cheek, sharing her sadness without needing words. I understood the feeling. We had been through so much in Kalos that the idea of leaving felt strange. The badges, the Showcase stages, the League, Team Flare, the Elite Four, and Diantha were all behind us now, but my heart still felt like it was trying to catch up.

I looked at Serena, and she gave me a small smile that made the sadness even stronger. She was going to Hoenn. Alice was coming with me to Kanto. Clemont, Bonnie, Elline, and David had their lives here. The journey had always been moving toward this kind of goodbye, but knowing that did not make it easier.

For a little while, Lumiose looked peaceful. Workers were repairing streets, families were walking together, and the Prism Tower lights shone steadily over the city again. That peace mattered because we had almost lost it. I thought about the Giant Rock, the vines, and the way negative energy had wrapped around Kalos like it wanted to choke every future before it could grow.

Then the ground trembled beneath our feet.

A thick vine burst from the pavement ahead of us, dark and twisted like the Giant Rock's hatred had grown a hand from underground. People screamed and ran as the vine tore through the road. Pikachu leapt from my shoulder, and Greninja appeared before I even gave the command, staring at the vine with sharp focus.

"Everyone, get back," Clemont shouted.

David sent out Klinklang, and Elline's Ampharos moved to guide the nearest people away with her glowing tail. Serena helped a little girl back toward her mother, while Alice stood ready with her hand near Gardevoir's Poké Ball. I wanted to order Greninja forward, but he had already gone still, as if he was listening to something under the city.

Before we could attack, a green-and-blue beam cut through the air. Z2 appeared above the street and destroyed the vine in one clean blast. The surface growth collapsed into blackened fragments, but the sick feeling in the ground did not disappear.

Squishy pushed out of Serena's bag, tense and silent.

Z2 turned toward us. His voice reached us through calm telepathy. "Greninja and Squishy. I have come to ask a favor of you."

Bonnie gasped, unable to hide her surprise. "Z2 is here too?"

Z2 looked toward the broken pavement. "The vines that reappeared have roots buried deep underground. They sustain themselves by absorbing negative energy. What we destroyed was merely the surface. The scars of the incident that nearly destroyed the world are deep."