The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the halls that led up to Xerosic's lab. The automatic doors opened swiftly to reveal two disgruntled agents. Xerosic looked up from his work and straightened up, placing his hands behind his back as the agents began to tread farther inside. Lysandre, who had come to check up on the progress Xerosic was making with his assignment also turned to greet his two admins.

"Tyson, Aliana..." Lysandre addressed the two as they entered, "you've returned, meaning the mission was a success I presume?"

"Affirmative, Lysandre, however," Aliana began, clearing her throat as she proceeded, "we had a slight mishap upon finishing the job."

"So you were discovered then?" Lysandre asked, receiving a confirming nod from the two agents.

"It was by the same man who stopped us in Ambrette's cave," Tyson muttered irritably.

"Seth," Lysandre answered.

"Yes, it was him. I can see now why Tyson reacted the way he did when Seth intruded. He's as dangerous as you made him out to be," Aliana added, recalling how vicious Seth's Pupitar and Pawniard were. "But we got what we needed, so his actions stopped nothing."

Xerosic sighed in relief.

"I for one, am pleased to hear that. All of that precious energy is needed for the future of Team Flare," Xerosic inputted happily.

The sound of the lab doors opening again caught their attention. Enzo made his way in their direction, keeping his eyes on Lysandre. The leader of Team Flare held the young man's gaze with intrigue, noticing the determined look in his eyes.

"Lysandre, I have a request," said Enzo as he stopped in front of Lysandre.

"What is it that you seek?" Lysandre asked knowingly as he placed his hands behind his back and looked down at his cohort.

"Permission to go after Seth."

Lysandre examined Enzo after hearing his request. Sure, the boy was driven and undoubtedly a gifted individual. One of his best operatives saw fit to bring him into the fold which was saying something considering how picky Charles was. However, Enzo was far too driven by emotional instability and rage. He was hotheaded, ignorant and cocky, qualities that Lysandre didn't particularly like.

"I hope you realize that you won't receive any backup should you choose to take on this endeavor," Lysandre said in a firm tone.

"Tsk! like I'd need it to stomp that pest," Enzo muttered. "So I take that as a yes?"

Lysandre nodded and said nothing further as Enzo turned to exit the laboratory. As the doors closed, Aliana spoke up.

"Are you sure that's wise, Lysandre? don't get me wrong, the boy is good, but he'll most likely get eaten alive," Aliana said with a nervous laugh.

Lysandre shifted his gaze towards her and gave her a smug grin.

"That's precisely the point, Aliana. While he is arrogant and brash, he does serve a purpose here. By allowing him to have his chance at redemption, we will be able to see how capable Seth truly is..." 

The towering metropolis that was Lumiose City was now in sight. The squad of friends could finally breathe easy, knowing that rest and relaxation wasn't much farther now. As they approached their destination, their attention was drawn to a giant of a man. Standing well over nine feet tall, the man had long white hair and carried a backpack over his disheveled clothes. His eyes were cast heavenward, and sorrow was written on his face. What grabbed Seth's attention, was the massive key that was hung about his neck. 

"How long?" he said to no one in particular. "What more must I do to see you again?"

The tall man's eyes began to water, and tears streamed down his face as he began to walk away, mumbling to himself as he neared the group. As he passed, his eyes wandered down to Seth and Cerise, who took note of his lingering gaze and stoic expression. Seth was feeling uncomfortably short next to the towering figure beside him. 

The group turned and watched as the man departed from the group, leaving them all to wonder who he was and why he was acting so strange.

"Who exactly was that giant?" Serena asked, swallowing the nervous lump in her throat as she looked to Seth for answers.

"I'm not exactly sure," Seth replied, looking over his shoulder as the man continued on toward Lumiose City. 

"Whoever he is, I don't think I've ever seen anyone that massive before," Shauna added. 

"He's gotta be at least nine feet tall," Trevor inputted, looking down at the photo he had taken as the man walked on. 

As they all discussed how bizarre a sight it was, Seth had other things on his mind. The look the man gave him was unsettling. Sorrow was engraved into the man's face, as if he'd been mourning a loss for decades without ceasing. He could feel every ounce of sadness the man carried with him and it was deeply depressing. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind for now, he continued on with his friends to Lumiose City.

"Clemont, did you get it fixed?" a young blonde girl asked a taller blonde—bespectacled—male as he reached for a switch in front of him. 

"Well, it's all done, thanks to science of course," Clemont said proudly as he turned on the power to the Prism Tower and the rest of the city.

Lights began to turn on inside of cafes and restaurants, and various stores along the avenues. After a lengthy waiting period, all of Lumiose finally had power back. 

"Take a look Bonnie, it took a long time but Lumiose has power again. I still can't figure out why it suddenly blacked out in the first place," Clemont muttered under his breath. 

"Look at it this way big brother, now you can get back to battling challengers. And who knows, maybe you'll find a girl in the mix and finally get married!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"You never stop, do you?" Clemont replied with a heavy sigh.

"Until you have a girlfriend? never," Bonnie said definitively. 

"As long as you let me choose instead of marrying me off to the first pretty girl you see," Clemont mumbled, rubbing his temples as he turned around to look at his handiwork once more.

As he did, he noticed a group of trainers walking up to the gym. They seemed like a lively bunch with how much they were talking among themselves. One of them was rather tall and rotund and had a joyful expression on his face. Another was noticeably shorter with ginger locks and a camera about his neck. Next to him was a young woman with twin brown tails and bright green eyes. She had a bubbly personality from the looks of things. In front of her were two other individuals, one being of average height having dark brown hair and sapphire blue eyes. 

If Clemont was seeing things correctly—and he seldom didn't—there was a Honedge latched onto his back along with a sword at his waist. He was conversing with the honey blonde beside him who Bonnie's eyes had locked onto almost instantly. 

"Don't. You. Dare," Clemont said sternly as he saw the mischievous look in his little sister's eyes. 

"What? I'm not thinking anything," Bonnie said innocently as the group drew closer and came to a halt. 

"Hi there!" Bonnie said cheerfully as she walked up to the group. "I'm assuming you're all here to challenge my big brother?" 

"That's right! but I don't think it'll be all of us today. So it'll just be a few of us," Shauna replied with a bright smile. 

"That's good to hear actually," Clemont said with a relieved sigh. "I just got power back to the gym and the rest of the city so I'm pretty tired. But I'm up for one or two matches before calling it a day. Just let me know which of you will be battling me today."

The group's eyes shifted over to Seth, knowing he was usually the one to step up to the plate first. 

"I would, but I'm not in any hurry at the moment. You guys can go ahead, I'll battle tomorrow," replied Seth, much to everyone's amazement.

"You sure, Seth?" Tierno asked with a raised brow. 

"I'm sure. Besides, I have a few other things I need to take care of before taking this gym on anyway," Seth added, waving them off. 

"Ah, I see. Sweet! hey Trevor, wanna take the challenge with me?" Tierno asked hopefully. 

"I don't see why not. I've been meaning to get some shots of the interior of the tower anyway so I might as well," Trevor said with a grin. 

"That settles it then. Trevor and I will take on the gym," Tierno stated happily. 

"Sounds like a plan, I'll see you both inside," replied Clemont as he turned to head into the gym. 

Looking over his shoulder, he blinked as he saw his sister circling Shauna and Serena as if inspecting them. 

"Um... can we help you?" Serena asked nervously as Bonnie came to a stop in front of her. 

"You two are very pretty!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Would any of you be interested in marrying my bro—hey!"

"Come on, what did I tell you about that?" Clemont grumbled as he yanked his sister by the hand and lead her away from them. 

"I'm only trying to help!" Bonnie shouted. 

"What you're doing is the opposite of helping!" Clemont fired back as he hurried into the gym with his giggling sister. 

The rest of the group followed Clemont inside to begin the gym challenge. Unbeknownst to them, a young man in a crimson suit had been watching. Standing beside him was a Weavile who had also been observing the group. A wicked grin spread across the youth's features as the doors closed. 

"Looks like I've found you, Seth..."