1. Ash's Story (Part 0: Prologue)

Chapter 10: Dragon Slayer

Elmososha Town rose from the sea north of Oceablu City. Its floating base formed a white-and-silver tower anchored over the water, with docks spreading from the lowest floor and glass elevators running through the center.

Ash pressed both hands against the elevator window as they climbed. Ships crossed the water far below, leaving narrow wakes behind them. Serena stood beside him and tried to act calm, but her eyes widened every time another floor passed.

"This whole town floats?" Serena asked.

Diantha smiled from behind them. "It floats, stabilizes itself, and adjusts to the tides. Elmososha started as an engineering project. People liked it so much that they decided to stay."

Paris, standing beside her in a stylish purple jacket, gestured toward the city outside. "And once people live somewhere, they need stories, games, food, factories, gardens, and, of course, a Gym with an interesting entrance."

Ash turned around. "The Gym is really inside the Game Corner?"

Paris put one hand over his heart. "Not hidden. Dramatically placed."

Diantha gave him an amused look. "Challengers have to find the correct machine to open the entrance, but nobody is required to gamble. Paris prefers making an entrance memorable."

Paris bowed. "A Gym battle should start before you reach the battlefield."

Ash glanced at Serena. She was clearly trying not to laugh. Elmososha already seemed like the kind of place where Paris had insisted that even finding the Gym should be part of the fun.

The elevator passed the residential floors first, followed by the movie studios on the fifth and sixth floors. Through the glass, Ash saw painted sets, camera rigs, costume racks, and actors crossing a hallway in armor beside a woman dressed as a queen. Higher up was the Poké Ball Factory, where technicians inspected finished Poké Balls behind protective windows.

On the seventh floor, beside the factory, a large observation room held Electric-type Pokémon in a protected habitat. Magnemite floated near magnetic rails. Voltorb rolled along marked tracks while staff watched them. Several children waved at a cheerful Helioptile resting beneath artificial lights.

"The food court is above that," Paris said. "Then the Game Corner. The Sky Garden is at the top, where Diantha claims she is resting while secretly reading scripts."

Diantha smiled. "I rest artistically."

Serena looked at her with open admiration. Diantha was not only the Kalos Champion but a world-famous actress. Even while standing in an elevator, she carried herself with the easy confidence of someone used to cameras following her.

Ash could feel the red Scarlett mask inside his bag, carefully wrapped beneath his travel jacket. Greeny City had left him with more to think about than he expected, especially after learning he could choose when to become Scarlett instead of treating the transformation as something that simply happened to him. Now he was heading toward another Gym, with Paris waiting to see what he would do next.

The movie studio floor smelled of sawdust, paint, warm lights, and fabric. Sets stood side by side in strange combinations: a castle corridor beside a forest path, a village square beside a painted night sky, and a stone bridge that stopped suddenly at a green-screen wall.

Diantha led Ash and Serena toward a rehearsal room where Paris waited with two children. Elline stood with her arms folded, her eyes bright with excitement. David sat nearby, examining a prop sword as carefully as if it were real.

"These are Elline and David," Diantha said. "My children, and your cousins."

Elline stepped forward first. "I'm playing the witch."