"Hey! I think I see a light!" Ally squealed.

Kellyn nodded. "We're almost out."

"Finally!"

Ally burst from the cave out into the midday sun. She smiled brightly. Laughing, she spun on the spot. "That cave went on forever!"

Kellyn raised an eyebrow. "That's the shortest forever I've ever known."

Ally pouted. "But it felt long. It was so dark in there I could barely see anything!"

"You really hate caves, huh?"

"Yes! They're cold, dark and cramped. I can't wait to get to Floaroma town!" Ally's excitement was contagious.

Kellyn laughed as they continued on the road to Floaroma Town. Traveling along route 204 they'd almost reached the next destination on their Sinnoh travels. Already they could see bountiful crops of flowers springing up along the roadside.

Ally 'Oohed' and 'Aahed' at the beautiful flowers. The surrounding countryside was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Kellyn chuckled and Ally made a face at him.

"Sorry for appreciating the little things!" She said, poking her tongue out.

Kellyn smirked and waved his hand dismissively. "It's like you've never seen a flower before."

"I've seen flowers before! Just not like this," she said, looking again at the flora.

"They are beautiful," he conceded, nodding.

Admiring the flowers, neither Kellyn nor Ally noticed the terrifying threat hurtling towards them. Kellyn stepped back onto the road.

"Come on, Floaroma town is just up ahead. The flowers there are even nicer than these ones," he said, pointing vaguely.

Ally's eyes practically lit up. "Really?"

Kellyn grinned and nodded. He opened his mouth to reassure her, but never got the chance.

The roadside around them exploded in fire. Kellyn and Ally were blasted from their feet. Meteors rained down, leaving massive, smoking craters across the once beautiful field.

His ears ringing, Kellyn slowly looked up. He saw Ally and crawled towards her. Shielding her with his body, he desperately waited for the meteors to stop. Eventually the onslaught halted, but the earth still felt like it was rocking.

Blood streaked down Ally's face. Already, angry bruises were appearing across her body. Ally's unconscious form stared at him with blank eyes. He ran a gentle hand over her eyelids, shutting them against the debris.

Slowly, he struggled to his feet. This wasn't natural. He recognized that move, Draco Meteor. Kellyn searched and spotted a Dragonite flying above the field. Compared to a normal Dragonite this one was huge, and it was powerful. This was no wild Pokémon. It had been well trained.

Kellyn looked at Ally's unconscious form. Anger stirred within him and he glared at the Dragonite. He was glad Ally wasn't awake to see this.

"Buia! Tru! Don! Gab!" At his call Kellyn's Pokémon immediately ran to his side. The blast had scattered them momentarily but just as this Dragonite was well trained, so where they.

"Metal Sound! Leech Seed! Dragon Pulse!" Kellyn cried.

Don, Tru and Gab launched into action. Shieldon's Metal Sound caught Dragonite full on and the Pokémon screeched in pain as its special defense dropped. Turtwig's Leech Seed hit its target and sapped Dragonite of its strength. Gible's Dragon Pulse struck the Pokémon, dealing major damage.

Dragonite dropped from the sky, plummeting to the ground. It struggled to its feet and roared in defiance. Kellyn frowned. This Dragonite was tough, but so was his team.

"Buia, Ice Punch!"

Buia shot across the field. Closing the distance to Dragonite in less than a second. Buizel aimed a brutal Ice Punch but Dragonite was already flying off.

Kellyn watched in frustration as it grew further and further away but looking upon Ally made him forget his irritation. Checking over her, he found nothing more than cuts and bruises.

He gently picked her up and slowly carried her towards Floaroma Town. As he walked, he noticed the extent of their injuries: Nothing too serious. That Dragonite could've killed them both with that first Draco Meteor. It hadn't been trying to kill, but it obviously wasn't acting alone. Who did that Dragonite belong to? Why did they attack them?

Kellyn frowned; there was too many unanswered questions for his liking. This didn't sit well with him. His Pokémon chasing after him, Kellyn pushed the thoughts from his mind and he hobbled on towards Floaroma Town, and the nearest hospital.

******

Two days later, Kellyn and Ally were walking silently on the road past the valley wind-works. Kellyn tilted his head curiously as he watched the turbines spin round and round. Ally watched him watching the windmills. She frowned. She'd woken up in a hospital only last night. Kellyn had said they'd been attacked by a Dragonite.

She looked down and saw the brace wrapped around his ankle. Other people might've limped, but Kellyn walked as if nothing was wrong. She could tell it hurt though, and she couldn't help but feel guilty. After all, the second he'd mentioned a Dragonite she'd known that-

"Alllllllllllllly?"

"Huh? What?" Being dragged from her thoughts, Ally jumped and looked at Kellyn with wide eyes. He laughed in that happy way of his.

"You okay?" He asked gently.

Forcing a smile, she replied, "Yeah, just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself."

"Haha," she drawled. She rolled her eyes and kept walking in silence.

Kellyn shook his head. "Try to relax. Everything's gonna be fine."

Ally gave him a small smile. He was so certain that everything was gonna work out. He didn't know what she knew. He didn't deserve to be carried into this. This wasn't his problem. She didn't want to do this, but she couldn't let him get hurt because of her.

Ally stopped walking. "Kellyn," she mumbled, staring at the ground.

He stopped and turned with a curious look on his face. "Hm?"

Ally grit her teeth and lowered her head so he couldn't see her face. "I really appreciate all that you've done but now, this is it."

Kellyn's head tilted. "I don't follow you."

She nodded absently. "Exactly. Thank you for everything, but I'll be alright from here."

"Huh?" The surprise was evident on Kellyn's face; he didn't know what to say.

"I can do the rest alone," she whispered.

"Ally, if this is about the Dragonite don't worry, I'm fine."

"Shut up!" She screamed. "Okay? Just shut up!"

Kellyn stood with a hanging jaw. He could only watch as Ally trembled; tears falling shamelessly down her cheeks.

"Ally," he said gently.

He moved to take her hand, but she pushed him away and ran off; deep into the Eterna forest.

Kellyn didn't know what to do. His fists clenched and he felt a dangerous anger rising inside of him. Had it happened again? Had he really lost another partner?

His anger melted away and was replaced by a terrible sadness. Not knowing what to do, he dropped heavily to the ground. Sitting in the shade of a large tree, his Pokémon huddled around him. Resting his chin on his elbow he sat and watched the day go by.

He didn't know how long he'd sat there. He only knew that his memories were replaying on an endless loop. A face teased him, dancing at the edge of his mind. The face was young, friendly, and always smiling. Its spiky red hair was unforgettable.

Kellyn sighed sadly. He missed those days so long ago, when he was a Pokémon ranger and nothing more. He missed the days before he became something special. Everyone had always said he was destined for greatness; that he was going to do amazing things! Why? Why couldn't he have been average. If he wasn't the great Kellyn then maybe, maybe Keith would still be alive.

"Yo! Kellyn!"

Kellyn turned his head to see who was calling his name. He was surprised to recognise Ally's rival, Connor, waving happily at him.

Connor jogged over but froze when he got close enough to see Kellyn well. "Woah, what happened?"

Kellyn sighed. "Long story."

Connor gestured back towards Floaroma Town. "Come on. I'll buy you a drink."

******

"So, to recap," Connor said slowly, "you were attacked by a Dragonite that you believe was taking orders from someone. Next day Ally blew up at you saying she didn't need your help anymore?"

"Maybe it wasn't such a long story," Kellyn said, sounding surprised.

Connor laughed. "Don't take it personally. I can guarantee Ally didn't enjoy doing that."

"That much I could tell," Kellyn replied sarcastically. He looked at Connor and waited for answers.

Connor stared into the depths of his drink. The dregs of his smoothie smiled at him. He sighed tiredly and looked at Kellyn. "Chances are, she didn't want you to get involved in her mess."

"Her mess?" Kellyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You may have noticed; Ally has a terrible sense of direction. She's disorganised and doesn't think ahead. She doesn't know a whole lot, but her battle skills, they're the real deal. Now, I'm a great trainer, but that's because I worked really hard for it. Ally was born with everything she needs. Her family has a long battling history. Her Aunt, Cynthia, is the current Sinnoh champion; and her mother," trailing off, Connor drummed his fingers on the table.

"The Dragonite belongs to Ally's mother?" Kellyn guessed.

Connor nodded. "Ally's mother is the Frontier Brain of the Battle Tower in the Battle Resort. When Ally was younger her mother would teach her how to fight, but one day," Connor trailed off again, growing quiet.

Kellyn raised an eyebrow and waited impatiently for Connor to continue speaking.

Grunting, Connor continued. "Look, honestly? I don't really know what happened. Ally's mother suddenly decided she didn't want her little girl learning how to fight."

Kellyn groaned. "Would you please put a name to the person?"

"Right, sorry. Ally's mother's name is Carol."

Kellyn nodded and rolled his hand. "Continue."

"Carol said that Ally would never go on a training journey. That was years ago and now; Well, Ally's trying to prove herself by beating all the gyms in Sinnoh. I think she wants to get strong enough to beat her Mum."

Thinking a moment, Kellyn chewed on his lip. "So, the Dragonite was what, a test?"

Connor shrugged. "Could be. Carol was probably trying to scare Ally home. And if it wasn't for you, it probably would've worked."

"Me?" Kellyn asked, his head cocking.

"Ally is impulsive. She just follows the first thought that pops into her head, without thinking about it. If she chose to give up, then she wouldn't even question it. The fact that you two already came this far is probably what stopped her from going home.

Kellyn groaned, musing over what Connor had said. "She's probably lost in Eterna forest right now."

"Probably," Connor agreed.

"I should go help her," mumbled Kellyn.

"Definitely."

Kellyn stood. "Thanks Connor."

"Anytime," the young man replied.

Kellyn turned and started walking towards the forest but Connor called after him. "Hey, Kellyn!"

Kellyn stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

"An Alloy is a combination of elements which make each other stronger. You're both strong alone, but you'd be stronger together. I've been calling her Alloy for years; hoping she'd find another element to bond with. Don't let me down."

Kellyn wasn't sure how to respond so he simply turned. Flicking two fingers over his shoulder, he waved goodbye and sprinted from town.