Chapter 85: 57,58
"Okay, my turn!" Ash said, getting up. Pikachu rode his shoulder, balancing with his tail as a counterweight, and then jumped off to hurry ahead of Ash to the poolside.
"Hold on a moment, Mr. Ketchum," Wallace requested. "I'm afraid we still need to clean the pool – it'll take a few minutes."
"I can handle that!" Ash replied, taking a Fast Ball.
Brock did a double-take. "Really. Ash? Really?"
Ash glanced back, puzzled, then looked down at the Fast Ball. "What? I mean, I hope she doesn't mind..."
"I would be honoured for Suicune to grace my gym," Juan said, working out what they were talking about.
The Water-type promptly emerged, landing on the water itself with delicately placed paws. "It's an honour all its own to be here," she said, giving him a bow as the whole pool turned sparkling blue-clear. "I've seen many gyms, but this is one of the first Water-type ones I've been in."
Turning, each footfall producing a series of concentric ripples, she smiled at Max. "And my congratulations, Max. I only heard what was going on, but you've clearly done well."
"Thanks," Max said, reaching down to the still-muddy Arc and giving him a stroke. "And thanks on behalf of all of us, too."
Suicune smiled.
"I hope you're not planning on using her in battle," Wallace said, smiling. "It might make the challenge a little easy."
Ash blinked. "Challenge?"
Wallace reached into his outfit, and drew out three Pokéballs. "This challenge – here are Pokéballs containing three of my Pokémon. I will tell you what three Pokémon they are, and then you will take three Pokéballs and do the same – and then we each pick a Pokéball from the other person."
"I think I get it," Max said. "It's so you don't know what you're going to use."
"Correct!" Wallace agreed. "And, obviously, a Fast Ball would cause problems."
"Yeah, but..." Ash frowned. "I was going to use Pikachu, and he never uses his Pokéball – and it's got a lightning-bolt mark on it, too."
"Ah, I see..." Wallace put a hand to his chin. "Well, we'll think of something. Who else are you using?"
Ash took two Pokéballs off his belt. "Glalie and Corphish."
Lucario came padding up behind Ash, and took a third 'ball off Ash's belt. "Here," he said. "Use mine to represent Pikachu's."
"Phew!" Pikachu said, exhaling. "Thanks, Lucario – I was afraid I'd be stuck not having this gym battle after all this time psyching myself up!"
"It sounds like the problem's been sorted out?" Wallace asked, as Max and Juan retired to the stands. "Well, then – let's start. My three Pokémon are Milotic, Greninja, and Magikarp."
"What's a Greninja?" Ash asked. "No, wait… I think Gary mentioned them once..."
"They're Water-types," Wallace said, stating the obvious. "Most often found in Kalos."
"Magikarp!?" Pikachu asked, having finished gaping. "A Magikarp? But – but – you're a former Grand Champion! How – a Magikarp?"
"What's he saying?" Wallace asked, looking down in confusion.
"Pikachu's kind of surprised about the Magikarp," Ash summarized. "Remember, Pikachu – some Magikarp can be stronger than you think. Remember that time we met the B-Button League?"
Pikachu stopped mid-rant, and whirled on Ash. "Didn't you say we'd never mention that?"
"Ah, the B-Button League," Wallace smiled. "I remember them. I like them!"
"Great work, Max," May said, giving her brother a hug. "That was a pretty cool battle – if, uh, a bit wet..."
"Thanks," Max smiled. "And yeah, I think Juan doesn't mind getting the whole gym wet if it would make the point."
May nodded – then released Max and took a step back. "Ew, Arc! Don't get mud all over my clothes!"
Arc dropped back to all fours, looking vaguely sorry. "Uh… whoops, I guess I forgot about all the mud..."
Max sat down next to May's seat, patted his lap, and oofed slightly as Arc jumped up to sit on his lap. "I wonder how Ash's match is going to go."
"Well, he is fighting Wallace," May pointed out. "That means it's probably going to look good as well as be a good battle."
"Good point," Max agreed.
"Pick the first Pokémon," Wallace directed.
Ash pointed to one of Wallace's Pokéballs, and Wallace did the same for Ash.
"This should be an interesting battle," Wallace went on. "So – now!"
"Go!" Ash called.
His Pokéball went flying into the arena, and flashed – revealing Corphish.
The Pokémon for Wallace turned out to be his Milotic, who plunged gracefully into the water before emerging with two-thirds of her length out of the water.
"Okay, Corphish!" Ash said. "Let's go with defensive for now!"
The only sign Corphish gave that he'd heard was a twin snap-hiss as he activated both his Razor Shells.
"Milotic, use Twister!" Wallace ordered.
Milotic vanished back into the water with nary a ripple, and began swimming around below the surface. The water stirred to follow her, then sped up and developed into a whirlpool that turned the surface into a spiral pattern.
"Uh… that's Whirlpool," Ash said, then blinked. "Wait, no, that is Twister!"
The outer edge of the spiral glowed green, rising up into the air all around Corphish, then focused inwards with startling speed.
A glowing green, translucent wall engulfed Corphish, obscuring him from sight for several worrying seconds.
"I'm surprised you're not more worried," Wallace said, looking over at Ash.
"Corphish is fine," Ash replied.
A moment later, there was a vwuuum and the entire Twister fell apart – sliced to pieces at the base, unravelling upwards until there was just a rain of green Dragon-type sparkles all over the arena.
Corphish returned his blades to guard position. "Sorry, not much of a fan of tornadoes."
Milotic emerged from the pool again, this time just her head and tail. "Interesting. I can see I'll have to try something special with you."
She looked over at her trainer, who nodded. "Okay, Milotic, Haze!"
The sleek Water-type vanished underwater again, then burst out some distance from Corphish and did a full-body roll in midair, holding herself absolutely vertical as she did so. The water droplets that went flying in all directions from her high-speed spin scattered in all directions, hanging in the air and taking on a misty quality as they did so.
A final pulse of cool air as Milotic went back underwater gave a white, opaque quality to it, and the space over and around the pool became almost impossible to see through.
"Okay, that could be a problem..." Ash said, and closed his eyes. "Corphish – be ready to react fast!"
Corphish held his shellsabers at the ready, shifting slightly and continuously to make sure he was ready to move as soon as he needed to.
There was a movement in the mist, and one eye tracked it.
"Left!" Ash called, and Corphish moved both red-glowing blades to his side. One was high, blocking the incoming Dragon Tail swipe, the other swept out lower and caught Milotic's tail for a glancing blow before she slipped back underwater.
"Good!" Ash congratulated. "Now – behind!"
The crustacean Water-type rotated his shoulders, crossing both blades just behind his back and running nearly parallel to his tail, and the impact nearly drove them into his shell.
Corphish scuttled to one side, shoulders turning through a complex motion, and freed up one claw to take action as the other kept pressing on Milotic's tail. He slammed a Crabhammer into the gleaming surface, and Milotic thrashed her tail to make him let go.
Switching tack smoothly, Corphish fired a barrage of Bubblebeam. The result propelled his float forwards several inches, but Milotic only took one hit from the wildly inaccurate storm before flashing down into the water.
Turning back to his original facing, Corphish stared fixedly into the white mist.
"She's in front of you!" Ash said. "But she's not attacking..."
"You know, you shouldn't be attacking poor old me," Milotic said, in a cooing tone.
Corphish tilted his head. "Why not?"
"Well..." Milotic went on, voice sweet and charming. "I'm just the kind of Pokémon you should be nice to! Don't you think?"
"No?" Corphish replied.
"Wait… that's Attract," Ash realized. "Or Captivate? Something like that!"
"Oh, I see," Corphish nodded. "Meh."
Both his pincers faced directly back, and he used Bubblebeam to launch his whole float forwards.
As he approached Milotic, he twisted – using one Bubblebeam jet to spin his float, the other to keep moving. Once his ride was going in the right direction, he switched both back to Razor Shell and brought them across in a double-bladed swipe at Milotic.
She flinched back as he appeared out of the mist, then leaned back just far enough to avoid being caught by the blades. Not willing to let it go at that, she also brought her tail up to flip the float entirely.
Corphish went tumbling into the water, and for a moment there was just water everywhere. Then the foam and bubbles cleared, and he saw Milotic coming at him through the water with her maw glowing for an underwater Dragon Pulse.
The Ruffian Pokémon crossed his blades again, deflecting the Dragon Pulse off towards the surface, and swiped unsuccessfully at her as she gracefully evaded the attack.
Landing on the base of the pool, Corphish kicked off – jumping at least a few inches into the water, and then using all six legs to start swimming after Milotic.
At least he could see her now.
"Ah, welcome," Giovanni said, looking up from his desk.
Jessie, James and Meowth filed in.
"You wanted to see us, boss?" James asked.
Giovanni nodded, indicating the seats they usually took. Persian raised his head, regarding all three coolly, and then settled back to rest his head on his delicately-trimmed paws.
His eyes seemed to glitter below half-closed eyelids.
Several seconds went by, only the tick of the clock making any noise.
"Uh… boss?" Jessie tried. "What was it you wanted?"
Giovanni leaned back slightly, and smiled. "Well, it's just a matter of missing records – nothing to worry about."
He examined their relaxation, then went on. "You see, it seems that one of our Mega Stones has gone missing from the armoury."
"You mean da Sceptilite?" Meowth asked, then his eyes widened slightly. "Oh, yeah, that… hehe..."
"I can see you're aware of the problem," Giovanni said, still pleasant. "I was just wondering if you had any insights into what happened."
"We dropped it," James said.
"You dropped it," Giovanni repeated. "I see. I suppose that kind of mistake can happen, with one of the rarest and most valuable objects in the world."
"Yeah," Jessie agreed. "Just one of those things."
"Of course, if I wanted to know more," Giovanni went on, "I admit that I'm a little confused as to why you needed a Sceptilite in the first place."
He let the question hang in the air, then clasped his hands. "Well, that's all I wanted to know, so thank you for your time."
The cell stood so quickly their chairs nearly fell over.
"Oh, and there was something else I wanted to mention," Giovanni added. "According to one of our other operatives, Ash Ketchum's Sceptile was recently practising going Mega."
The crime boss fancied he could hear the simultaneous nervous gulp.
"I just thought you should know, since you interact with him on occasion," Giovanni said. "Well, that's all."
A burst of green flame came spearing out of the water, exploding outwards as soon as it reached the air and scouring the Mist from the air – leaving a shower of tiny sparkles which fell to the water and vanished.
As the sparkles dimmed and faded, Corphish emerged from the middle of the cloud – exoskeleton scorched and blackened, but still looking ready for a fight. He used a blast of Bubblebeam for propulsion, landing neatly back on one of the floats, and crossed his claws into a ready stance.
Milotic emerged from the water some distance away, and brought her tail up to her chin. "Interesting..."
"Pokémon keep saying that to me," Corphish said blandly.
The other Water-type shrugged, a sinuous full-body motion, and her tail flicked back and forth. "I can imagine they do, you're the sort of Pokémon who just doesn't give up."
Ash looked back and forth between them – the underwater battle had changed their relative positions, so Corphish was on his right and almost all the way at the far corner, while Milotic was close on his left side. "Okay, I think we can win this – just be ready!"
"Doesn't want to surrender, despite how he might sometimes want to," Milotic went on, tail flicking rhythmically. "Despite how he might feel his limbs grow leaden with the effort of fighting, and slowly think that maybe he'd do better to give in..."
"Watch out, Corphish," Ash went on. "She's going to try something, don't let her surprise you!"
Corphish nodded, a little slowly.
"It'd be so much easier to just rest," Milotic finished, and Corphish blinked – then faceplanted onto the float, eyes shut.
"Wait!" Ash said suddenly. "Corphish, wake up!"
Milotic lunged, form blurring across the pool, and curled around Corphish in a taut Bind before he could wake up – let alone defend himself.
Claws pinned to his side, pincers carefully arranged so no part of Milotic was in direct line with the potential movement of a Razor Shell, Corphish found himself helpless when he woke up again.
Then Milotic hit him with a Dragon Pulse, her form of the attack firing out from every inch of her scales – meaning that Corphish was right at the centre of an overlapping series of wavefronts.
The graceful Water-type released her Bind in a single supple motion, flinging Corphish high into the air, and launched a final jet of Dragon Pulse at him.
There was an explosion, and when Corphish landed he was clearly out for the count.
"...wow," May said, softly. "Now that's how someone can be a Coordinator and a Grand Champion!"
"I think we may need to add something to the training schedule," Blaziken noted. "I'll just pencil in 'everything'."
Ash recalled Corphish, wincing. "Well, I guess at least that looked like a good battle..."
"Oh, it was," Wallace assured him. "Spectacular – that red beam-sword trick he had was an impressive one, enough that you could build a Contest around it."
"I'm not sure where I'd go from there," Ash admitted, then returned his attention to the Pokéballs. "So I guess this also chooses what the third battle's going to be?"
"That's correct," Wallace confirmed. "Since there'll be only one Pokémon left for each of us. So – make your fateful choice!"
Ash frowned, then pointed to one. "That one next."
Wallace took it, placing the final one in a pocket for now, and then indicated one of Ash's Pokéballs. "And you should send that one out."
"Right," Ash agreed. He drew back his arm, then threw. "Go!"
Pikachu watched intently, ready to jump forwards if the 'ball clicked open empty.
There was a bright white flash, and a Magikarp formed.
"I am here," he said, then hit the water with a splash.
Glalie materialized overhead, his white-and-black shape hovering several feet above the pool, and he tilted down to look. "...so, I get the Magikarp then."
"Okay, Glalie!" Ash called. "Don't forget, this Magikarp's going to be tougher than you think!"
"Sure, sure," Glalie agreed. "I know, there's something fishy about him."
Wallace glanced sideways at Ash's groan. "Something wrong?"
"I don't want to explain," Ash replied. "It's just a really bad pun…"
"Ice Beam!" Glalie said, starting off simple, as a burst of icy-blue light flashed downwards and struck the pool.
It instantly produced a thin layer of clear ice around the point of contact, though it didn't take long for the movement of the water in the pool to start forcing the ice to break up.
A moment later, all the fragments of ice went flying as the Magikarp launched himself into the air.
Glalie was startled despite Ash's warning, and by the time he'd recovered his composure the Water-type was right up to him and delivering a powerful tail slap.
"Get off!" Glalie snapped, Blizzard forming around him. He used precise bursts of cold to form a crystalline shield, blocking the follow-up attack Magikarp made as he came down again, and then shattered it into hundreds of icy darts to rain them down at his foe.
Magikarp splashed back into the water before the darts reached him, and almost all their force was spent by the impact – meaning only one actually struck, and that did almost no damage.
Scarcely had Glalie seen that when Magikarp came flashing back up out of the water again – moving faster, now.
"Shield!" Glalie called out, both horns flashing, and he formed a thicker, spherical shield out of ice.
Magikarp hit it, bounced off, then hit it again – hard enough to make it crack.
"What?" Glalie asked, slightly dumbfounded, as Magikarp bounced off the crack three more times in quick succession before breaking a small hole and entering.
The next few seconds were quite painful for the Ice-type.
"Glalie!" Ash called, wincing at the cling-cling-cling sound of Magikarp pinging around inside Glalie's ice shield – and hitting Glalie about once or twice a second. "Cancel your shield!"
"Leave the field?" Glalie replied, sounding woozy. "What would that – oh, right!"
The ice dissolved into an instant puff of snow, and Magikarp went flying out towards the side of the gym as his ricochet point vanished.
Turning with a pair of quick tail flips, Magikarp hit the wall at the right orientation to bounce himself back towards the water. Glalie formed a pair of ice Flying-types – both Noctowl – but neither managed to intercept before the hyperactive Water-type splashed back into the water and was safe.
"Are you okay?" Ash asked, somewhat concerned with how Glalie's second Noctowl had gone skidding across the floor of the gym before he dismissed it.
"I'm fine, thank you, Ashley," Glalie replied, eyes unfocused, then shook his everything and blinked rapidly. "That fish hits hard..."
"I know!" Ash said, pointing. "Just freeze the whole pool!"
He didn't notice Wallace smirk slightly.
"Got it!" Glalie replied, horns building up a much larger charge.
"Ash, no!" Brock called from the side. "If you freeze the whole pool it'll crack the foundations!"
Wallace lost his smirk.
"Why?" Ash replied. "What would make that happen?"
"It's because ice is bigger than water!" Brock told him. "It's how ice cubes and icebergs float!"
"So… no freezing the whole pool?" Ash asked.
Brock shook his head.
"Okay, uh..." Ash frowned. "Glalie, freeze a lid over the top of the pool – that'll be better than nothing..."
"Still no!" Brock shouted. "Unless you leave a route for water to escape from underneath!"
"Okay, I'm just going to cover it with ice cubes," Glalie decided, firing down a series of short bursts of Ice Beam.
"That's fine!" Brock informed them. "Keep going!"
"Thank you for not destroying my gym," Juan called. "It is much appreciated!"
"I've been trying..." Ash replied.
Magikarp's tail flipped back and forth as he watched the ice slowly cover the pool.
That was interesting.
A lot of things were interesting to Magikarp. He was endlessly fascinated by the variety of the world, and the variety of the Pokémon in it.
This one, for example, was in mid-air, and so he had to Bounce up to a height he could hit it with a tail slap. That was unusual.
Still, it was about time for another attack. Magikarp swam down to the bottom of the pool, turned so he faced directly upwards, and then accelerated.
He was good at accelerating.
Blocks of ice went everywhere as the supercharged Magikarp blasted up into the air.
"Ha!" Glalie called, a wave of icy energy pulsing out from his body. "Take that!"
The Blizzard flashed outwards, turning Magikarp's water plume into drifting snow and slush, and freezing the fish himself at the apex of a thin spike of ice that was all that was left of his watery accompaniment.
"Right," Glalie went on, slightly calmer. His horns flashed, and a Machamp arm formed out of ice – then wound up for a punch.
"Look out!" Ash called. "That Magikarp's shaking!"
Glalie blinked. "What?"
The ice containing Magikarp shattered, and he rocketed out towards Glalie. This time the Ice-type was a little more ready, and Magikarp's charge was blocked by the repurposed Machamp arm.
Glalie edged backwards in the air as his construct turned from clear ice to shattered fragments from the force of the blow, and then sighed as Magikarp dropped back to safety.
"Right, that's it!" he announced, more Ice energy building up. "I'm going to monger you!"
He quickly looked up to see if anyone got it.
"You're going to what?" Pikachu asked. "Monger? Do you mean mangle?"
"No, monger!" Glalie replied. "You know, like… a fish… monger?"
Magikarp slapped him in the chin.
"Cannonball!" Glalie announced, dropping straight down after Magikarp. He hit the pool with a boom, and great sheets of water went everywhere.
"Huh," May said, looking at her now nearly dry clothes, and then at the water running off the level below. "I guess they really do get the splash zone worked out right."
"That's good," Max agreed, wincing as Ninetales shook herself out on the bottom row. "I'd hate to get that wet… again, anyway."
Ninetales sneezed, and said something testy.
"I've got a fur dryer," Brock told her. "And then I think we might need to use the comb… it'll be really poofy..."
"I do not think my gym has been this well washed in months," Juan said, wringing out his neckpiece. "At least it is an expression of the Water type."
Glalie gazed through the water, looking around for the missing Magikarp.
There was a whack on the back of his head, and he spun. "Ow!"
Another thwack, this time on one cheek.
"Okay, Freeze-Dry!" Glalie snapped, producing a spherical pulse of cold which turned a large chunk of the pool around him into very solid ice.
He floated there for a moment, then an idea came to him. Exerting as much effort as he could, he lifted himself out of the water – complete with his icy cargo.
Once he reached the side of the pool, he floated a little distance away – then smashed himself into the ground, breaking the ice around him and leaving it out of the pool.
That done, Glalie headed back over to the pool.
"Glalie, wait!" Ash said. "Look!"
Confused, Glalie turned.
There was Magikarp, caught in the ice – unable to move, with the ice so solid and cold it was completely without the small fractures that would normally have given him play to move.
"I concede on Magikarp's behalf," Wallace said, returning him. "Not bad, Ash Ketchum – could have been better, but then very few are ready for Magikarp."
"Yeah, that was a lot harder than I was expecting," Ash agreed.
Glalie had to concur.
"Ah, Magikarp, his job is to exploit those who do not think a Magikarp can fight well," Juan said sagely. "More of a battle Pokémon than a contest Pokémon."
"I guess if you're a Champion and a Coordinator, you do need both," Ash said. "Uh… do we bother doing the pick-a-Pokéball thing here?"
"No, no point," Juan confirmed.
"Right, at last!" Pikachu said, jumping off Ash's shoulder. "Let's do this!"
Ash returned Glalie, then clipped Lucario's Pokéball back on his belt with the others. "Should I go over there, or..."
"Why not," Juan invited.
"Do you think he knows?" Jessie asked.
"I hope not," James replied, shivering. "He's scary enough when he thinks we haven't done anything wrong!"
"Actually, I'm pretty sure he does," Cubone opined, throwing a bone from one paw to the other. "Don't you think so, Meowth?"
"...ya know, I tink I might have worked it out," Meowth said, putting a claw to his chin and tapping it. "What if he does know, but he wanted ta show dat he knew without havin' to actually point it out?"
"That does make sense," James said slowly. "But that would mean that he actually values having us around."
"...Moltres," Cubone pointed out.
"Oh, yeah..." Meowth mused.
He turned the corner, looking into the hangar, and blinked. "Hey, guys? Trouble!"
"Trouble?" Jessie repeated, then followed Meowth's gaze. "Okay, that's trouble."
"Someone stole the plane!" James said, blinking.
Jessie's expression hardened. "Then we're getting it back! James, get on their trail with Moltres! Meowth, grab one of the robots!"
"Got it!" Meowth agreed, as Moltres materialized in a burst of light. "You want the Aerodactyl?"
"Whatever's fast enough!" Jessie told him.
Behind her, Moltres took off with a storm of wind and a shower of embers. She blew past the half-open hangar doors, turning sideways to negotiate them without having to slow down, and vanished from view.
Cubone judged the distance, then threw a bonemerang. It skipped once off the floor, then hit the door-opening switch before dissolving.
Jessie jumped onto the Aerodactyl-bot as Meowth taxied it past, slipped into the cockpit, and returned Cubone before gunning the throttle and following Moltres and James out into the sky.
"You were right!" Henry said, looking back over his shoulder. "They didn't even question it!"
"I told you, this plane belongs to some of the Boss's favourites," Mason replied. "Those grunts in the hangar were never going to stop it once it was taxiing."
He chuckled, rubbing a device on his wrist. "Besides, it's not like they'd have been able to stop us even if they tried..."
Henry turned them north, on a line to Almia. "You did make that deal we wanted, right?"
"Yeah, we get a free ride, stop worrying," Mason advised. "And make sure we head out to sea, I don't want us to show up on any radars."
In the hold, a female Pikachu finished towelling off her hair. "Okay, so that didn't work so well..." she muttered, checking with a mirror to make sure all the pink had gone. "I've never been so bubbly."
Dropping the towel to be washed, she scooted over to her supplies. "Now, where did I put that bald cap?"
Pikachu rolled his neck, and watched with interest as Wallace sent out his final Pokémon.
"So, Greninja, huh?" he asked, one ear twitching.
"That is correct," Greninja confirmed, bowing.
"Ready?" Wallace asked, then waved his hand. "Begin!"
Greninja burst forwards, hands flashing into a gesture, and Pikachu started by launching out a powerful blast of electricity. "Thunderbolt!"
"Shadow sneak!" Greninja countered, with palms pressed against one another and two fingers in each raised.
Pikachu's Thunderbolt hit Greninja – who promptly vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What?" the Electric-type asked, looking around and feeling outwards with his electrical senses. "I didn't just see that, right? He just vanished?"
Greninja condensed out of smoke behind Pikachu, foot scything in for a blow.
"Behind you!" Ash called urgently, and Pikachu reacted by blasting several thousand volts right through his tail. The attack spread like a cone, arcing out in multiple directions, and hit Greninja in at least three places.
Wallace's Pokémon simply vanished again, even quicker than last time.
"Okay, something's not right here..." Pikachu mused. "Ash, any idea where he is?"
Ash scanned the area, then closed his eyes to look again – and did a double take. "Pikachu, he's under the pool!"
"You mean in the pool, right?" Pikachu checked, blasting it with large quantities of electricity as he spoke.
"No, under it!" Ash stressed. "Under the tiles!"
As he spoke, Greninja moved – so fast Ash lost track of him – then appeared over Pikachu's head, and his long-fingered hands blurred again. "Rock Tomb!"
He inhaled briefly, and spat out a boulder bigger than he was. The rock came just in time that Pikachu's Thunder was mostly spent on smacking it aside, and large rock fragments rained down all around the Electric-type.
Sliding his left rear paw back for leverage, Pikachu flipped his tail underneath one of the rocks. With a burst of blue Aura for extra strength, he flipped the rock right back at Greninja – who made another lightning-fast gesture with both hands and smashed it to pieces with a punch.
"Right!" Pikachu snapped, and his cheeks chirped as he powered up. There was a moment when everything felt greasy, and then a spherical wave of electricity blasted outwards. "Shock Wave!"
Greninja gestured, forming a ball of crackling electricity in his hands for a moment, and then dove directly at the wave – slamming the ball into the ball-like Shock Wave.
The impact dished it in, then Greninja forced himself through into the relatively safe zone.
"Oh, come on!" Pikachu implored. "That usually works!"
Greninja spread his hands in apology, then crouched and blurred forwards. His tongue hooked around, flicking out and lobbing a blob of purple gunk at Pikachu, and he threw a pair of blurring blue shurikens at the same moment to give Pikachu several targets to deal with.
The Electric-type jumped into the air, pushing off hard enough to dodge all three attacks, and fired a thunderbolt out towards Greninja. This one moved much slower, but when Greninja dodged it he found that the attack followed him – yet another one of Pikachu's library of Shock Wave techniques.
"Spikes!" Wallace ordered, speaking up for the first time in the high-speed battle.
Greninja dodged away from the trailing electrical surge, flipping over an Aura Sphere Pikachu added to the mix, and gestured. Dozens of sharp-looking caltraps scattered out from his gesture, landing all over the gym floor, and Greninja dove past them into the battlefield like it was water instead of hard tiling.
"He must know Dig!" Ash realized, as Pikachu's Shock Wave grounded out on the Spikes. "That's how he's hiding underground!"
"Then I'll just Earthquake him out!" Pikachu said, now very annoyed. "Seriously, this is-"
"Wait, Pikachu!" Ash interrupted. "We've kept seven gyms in one piece, don't break this one – instead, uh, there's got to be pipes, so try electrifying those!"
"I guess he has to be a Water type, so that's going to work," Pikachu agreed. "Okay, let's see..."
"Greninja, back out!" Wallace ordered.
Pikachu let out a shout, sending stabbing bolts of electricity to touch every tile he could see and curving some so they hit the inner areas of the half-drained pool. "He's got to come up somewhere!"
Greninja materialized right over his head, and hit Pikachu with a Strength attack that punted him halfway across the room.
"I guess he doesn't," Ash said, frowning. "Wait, something doesn't seem right..."
Crouching as Pikachu got up, Greninja gestured – clasping his hands together, then forming a cross shape with two fingers of each hand extended.
With a flash of smoke, one Greninja became three, and they jumped away to different sides of the gym before lunging in.
One came at Pikachu from the left, and took an Iron Tail to the face – turning out to be a Substitute, which burst under the impact. Another made a frontal attack, and Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt at him before switching to the third – an attack from behind him.
"Pikachu, not-" Ash began.
The Force Palm smashed the third one into smoke.
Eyes widening, Pikachu turned back to the second one – who, body crackling with electricity, volleyed a kick into Pikachu before flickering away in a Quick Attack.
"I think we know who Wallace only uses for really important challenges," Brock said.
Ninetales nodded. "He seems very agile."
"Yes, Greninja is a powerful-" Juan began, and Brock interrupted him.
"Look!"
Greninja, now perched on the ceiling, examined a small yellow object before lobbing it into the stands.
"WHAT!?" Pikachu demanded, cheeks sparking – red cheeks blazing with electrical energy. "That's MINE!"
Greninja shrugged, then did another of those funny gestures and blurred back to the attack with a surging blast of Ice Beam.
"Okay, we're over da clouds," Meowth reported. "Now what?"
"Now you let me drive!" Jessie replied, hitting a switch and changing control of the Aerodactyl-bot to her seat. "And tell me where we need to go!"
"Uh… well, I was mostly followin' Moltres," Meowth admitted. "An' I don't know if she's got any idea."
The silence was broken by a ringing sound.
"Should I get dat?" Meowth asked.
"Of course you should!" Jessie replied.
The Scratch Cat picked up the phone. "Yeah, Meowth here… oh, hi James! You do see da plane? Great!"
"Well, that's a relief," Jessie admitted. "Now, uh… how do we actually do this?"
"Well, if we can do it without breakin' da plane, that'd be good," Meowth said. "Pity is, most of da others are kinda in training – ya know, helpin' with da Mega Evolutions. An' I think Audino said somethin' about a banquet."
Jessie sighed. "Then we'll… improvise," she declared.
"Good ting we're insured," Meowth quipped.
Pikachu spun away from a blurring blue-clear shuriken, cheeks humming as he charged, and flung a Thunderbolt back at Greninja – then hissed with annoyance as the Water-type turned out to be a Substitute.
"Pikachu, stay calm!" Ash called. "Don't let him get to you."
The Electric-type took a deep breath, and nodded. "Right. Sorry, Ash..."
"That's- behind you!" Ash said suddenly.
Pikachu whirled, and fired out a branching-tree version of Shockwave. It split into two attacks, then four, then eight, until hundreds of fine strands of electricity reached out for Greninja as he ran in to deliver a Night Slash.
Reacting with blazing speed, Greninja gestured and fired a Water Shuriken from his right hand. It hit the ground with a splash as Greninja jumped into the air, and just at that moment one of the reaching electrical strands touched the splash.
The whole Shock Wave discharged down that strand instead of into Greninja, making the central area of the gym hum with charge for a moment – then Pikachu managed to bean Greninja with a hastily thrown Aura Sphere.
Greninja was knocked backwards by the first really solid hit he'd taken all battle, flipped backwards, and used his tongue as a counterweight to roll out of the way of a follow-up Thunderbolt.
Wallace spoke up. "Greninja, play a single part!"
As Greninja skidded to a stop, his eyes narrowed.
He examined Pikachu closely, then gestured again and his palm began to spark with electricity.
"...really?" Pikachu asked, puzzled. "Okay, whatever."
"Thunder!" Ash called.
Greninja flashed forwards, directly towards Pikachu as he charged his electrical attack.
"Switch to Shield!" Ash added, quickly enough that Pikachu had time to react. The burst of Thunder went around, not out, and Pikachu whirled it into a solid shield of sparkling electricity just as Greninja threw his Electric attack.
The blast hit Pikachu's intensifying Counter Shield and was absorbed without effort, vanishing into Pikachu's Lightningrod.
What came as a terrific shock to Pikachu, though, was when Greninja promptly charged right through the counter shield. The electricity came flashing into his body, not harming him in the slightest, and he hit Pikachu with a one-two-three combo of Night Slash and Ice Punch which knocked the Electric-type tumbling across the room.
"Wait – Pikachu, don't use any more electric attacks!" Ash said, watching closely. "Use Aura!"
"Why?" Pikachu demanded, spinning on one heel and using his Iron Tail to split a Gunk Shot in half. "He's a Water-type, right?"
"Yeah, but he's absorbing your electricity!" Ash explained. "Force Palm!"
Pikachu did a double-take, then crouched and launched himself at the oncoming Greninja. He winced as a tongue slap got him in the side, then grabbed the appendage and used it as a lever point to get close enough for his Force Palm.
Greninja winced at the body blow, then punched Pikachu in one cheek. Sparks flashed out, flowing into Greninja's body and turning to useful energy, and the Ninja Pokémon used it right away to unleash a wave of water that knocked Pikachu away again.
Spinning on his own axis, Pikachu formed a seething globe of bright blue Aura and flung it back before he even hit the ground. "Aura Sphere!"
Greninja detonated the Sphere with a Water Shuriken, producing a flash which concealed his position for a moment – augmented by a Smokescreen which pulsed out to make observation harder.
"Left!" Ash supplied.
Pikachu spun, ramming two spheres together to form a seeker cloud, and backflipped away from a blast of psychic energy as Greninja fired an Extrasensory at him.
He shot a Thundershock at the floor, experimentally, and it curved to ground into Greninja – who was busily dodging and diving away from the shower of seeker Spheres Pikachu had set on him.
"Great," Pikachu sighed, wincing. "He copied my Lightningrod."
A second Greninja volleyed in a Quick Attack, managing to hit Pikachu just as Pikachu burst him with an Iron Tail, and the original blurred in to capitalize on the moment of disorientation.
"Hey!" Henry called, alerting his partner. "Looks like we've got company."
"Company?" Mason repeated, coming into the cockpit. "Where?"
"That Moltres, that's what," Henry said, indicating the rear camera. "Go get rid of them before they catch up!"
"Right, right," Mason replied, checking the stolen device on his arm. "You'd think you were in charge or something..."
Muttering to himself, he left the cockpit and headed backwards through the plane. His Liepard jumped off a couch to join him, yowling a question, and he shrugged to her. "No, just the big shot pilot guy up there giving orders..."
As they reached the loading bay, Mason clipped himself to a stanchion and reached for the door controls.
"Don't get sucked out now," he said, and Liepard wrapped her tail around a piece of the aircraft frame.
Hitting the controls with his elbow, he turned on the device on his arm and aimed the pointer – grinning as a small disc flashed out.
"Remember, we just need to get on board!" James called into the slipstream. "Don't damage it too badly!"
Moltres let out a cry in return, and James couldn't help but chuckle at how put-upon she sounded.
"Okay, just a bit further," he said, and Moltres flapped harder. The tailplane slid closer, and then the cargo door opened.
"Huh?" James asked, intelligently, and a small disc flew out and began to orbit them. "Isn't that a Capture Styler?"
Moltres chirped, as confused as her trainer, and then her wingbeats began to slow. Her eyes dulled a little, and she dropped quickly backwards and away from the aircraft.
"Moltres!" James called, surprised. "What's wrong?"
Moltres gave him a disinterested look, and shrugged her wings – not at all bothered.
"Just a bit more..." Mason said, keeping the Styler on target.
A bit more apathy and that Moltres would give up her job completely. He'd heard that the Apathy Styler could even get the Pokémon to drop their riders out of the sky – but just making her go away would be enough.
Then his limbs tingled, and he lowered both arms against his will.
"What?" he asked, looking around as his hands continued to disobey him – taking the Apathy Styler off and throwing it into a corner. "Stop!"
I think you'll find that you started it, a cool mental voice said.
He jerked around to see, and blinked at the absurdity of it – a Pikachu, in a wheelchair, wearing a fine suit and with a shiny bald-patch cap on its head.
"...the heck?" Mason asked. "Liepard!"
Liepard yowled, uncurling her tail from the railing and springing forwards.
Pikachu jumped out of her wheelchair, took the handles, and swung it like a club to knock Liepard out of the air and into a mewling heap in a corner.
Then a Carnivine lunged out of a closet, wrapping Mason in vines and stopping him from moving.
"Let me go!" Mason shouted. "Damnit, let me-"
A chirp interrupted him.
James jumped off the back of a familiar-looking Moltres, filling the whole back half of the bay with her spread wings touching the sides.
Her beak pointed at him, and seemed to glitter in the firelight radiating off her wings.
"...oh," Mason said, much more quietly.
Pikachu's paws and tail blurred, a bright blue light blazing on all of them as he used Aura to blunt Greninja's attacks and launch his own.
A tongue-strike came whipping towards him from one side, and he batted it away with his tail – snatching it back before the tongue could snag him, and jumping over it as a second loop of the long appendage reached for him. That brought him closer to a knife-hand blow from Greninja, and he matched it with a Force Palm strike before letting the recoil knock him backwards.
Greninja gestured, producing a Gunk Shot which Pikachu barely avoided, and then lunged right back into the fight with a Rock Smash.
Pikachu flared his electricity, using it extravagantly to Magnet Rise himself into the air and away from Greninja's close-combat attacks. Throwing a pair of Aura Spheres, he smashed the first Water Shuriken that came up at him and the second only caught him a glancing blow.
"Ash, I'd appreciate some help..." Pikachu requested.
"Agility!" Ash said.
"I've already been doing that!"
"Then use Electroball to boost your Double Edge!" Ash suggested.
Pikachu had just enough time to absorb that before Greninja flickered in front of him – then smacked him back to the ground with a bolt of Rock-typed orange energy.
"Ow..."
Rolling away from an Ice Beam which froze a circle of tiles, Pikachu slipped and ran the few feet necessary to drop into the pool – gaining an important moment of protection to ready his next move.
Summoning a ball of electrical energy, he batted it straight up as Greninja came into view. As the Water-type got ready to absorb it, Pikachu jumped – hitting the Electroball just before it hit Greninja, and using the burst of energy to accelerate.
The impact went thwack! around the battlefield, knocking Greninja off course and up into the air.
Pikachu followed him, paws blazing, and hit him with two more Force Palms before a Hydro Pump knocked him bodily backwards and left him shaking himself dry on the side of the pool.
"Finish this!" Wallace instructed. "Giga Impact!"
Pikachu's eyes widened, and he took a hurried stance – both rear paws on the tiles, one paw forwards and glowing with a spark of energy.
Greninja rushed across the gym, violet and orange energy flowing across his body, and there was a frozen moment as he impacted on Pikachu's outthrust paw before the attack detonated and sent dust and haze everywhere.
"That thing's awful!" Moltres said, kicking the Apathy Styler Mason had used on her. "I was actually wondering if there was any point to all this..."
"Well, it's over now," Carnivine reassured her. "I've got him."
As James took Mason's Pokéball and returned his Liepard, though, the plane lurched.
"So, basically," a voice came over the speaker, "I've decided that this is all a bad idea. See you, Mason!"
"Henry!" Mason shouted, struggling against the vines holding him in place as the transport began to enter a dive. "You crazy-"
"What's going on?" James asked, one hand on the wall for stability.
"That mad – he's going to crash us into the sea!" Mason replied. "I'm still stuck here, idiot, I don't have a Braviary!"
"Sucks to be you, I guess," Henry replied, then the connection closed with a click.
Cosplaychu shook her fur out from where the cap had been, and tugged on James' trouser leg. "We've got to get everyone off the plane!"
"Weezing was on board!" James realized. "And – and I think Cacturne's on as well!"
"What about me?" Mason complained.
"I'm almost inclined to leave you on board," Moltres said, shaking her head.
"Okay, we're pretty sure dat ain't normal," Meowth noted.
"I noticed!" Jessie agreed, nudging the Aerodactyl-bot into a dive. "Just make sure you've got the claws working!"
"Claws?" Meowth repeated, turning them on anyway. "Are you plannin' what I think you're plannin'?"
"Depends if you think it's something ridiculous," Jessie muttered. "Okay, here's the plan – when I say, latch on with all the claws!"
"...yeah, it was what I thought," Meowth said. The sets of claws positioned just in front of the wing leading edge flexed as he shifted a joystick, and opened ready to grab on.
The Aerodactyl-bot dove faster, matching speed with the Rocket Plane, then slid closer.
"Now!" Jessie ordered, pushing the yoke down and then backing off almost immediately.
Meowth hit the controls, and the claws snapped into place. Talons on the feet snagged the tailplane, and the wing claws caught the wings. "Got 'em!"
Jessie pulled the yoke back, and the joined pair of aircraft began to level out.
"Ya got it!" Meowth congratulated.
A Braviary appeared outside the cockpit, and someone jumped onto it.
"Cubone, stop him!" Jessie ordered, and her Ground-type flashed out of her Pokéball on the Aerodactyl-bot wing – already preparing a Smack Down.
"...I'm gonna just go an' tell James to get into the cockpit of our plane," Meowth said, snapping his claws together to produce a Substitute. "I don't tink dis is the safest way ta fly back to base..."
"I can't see any movement," Max said, squinting into the cloud. "Did Pikachu win?"
"I can't see any either," May admitted. "Uh… who would know… Blaziken?"
Blaziken shrugged. "I'm not an Aura adept."
"Oh, yeah, Ash should know," Max realized. "How does he look?"
May craned her neck to look.
As she did, though, the cloud began to thin.
Pikachu sat, completely exhausted, on the tiles. His ears were twitching, showing he was still conscious, but apart from that he seemed to be thoroughly out of it.
In front of him, lying flat on his back, was the unconscious form of Greninja.
"...well, I guess that tells us that," Max admitted.
Then the Greninja vanished in a puff of smoke.
Pikachu's eyes widened visibly, but before he could react more than that the real Greninja knocked him out from behind.
"...oh," May said in a small voice.
Ash hurried forwards, feet gripping with Aura on the water-slicked tiles, and picked up his friend. "Pikachu… you did really well."
"Indeed he did," Wallace said, returning the battered Greninja. "I'm sure it was only his inexperience with the abilities of a Greninja which let me win that battle."
"What was that?" Ash asked, cradling Pikachu. "He seemed to be almost… swapping types around whenever he wanted to!"
"That's exactly what he was doing," Wallace told him. "It's called Protean – an ability that Greninja and Keckleon share. That's how he hid underground – he was a Ghost type."
He shrugged. "As for the rest of it – once he'd taken the Light Ball, he used Role Play to copy Pikachu's own Lightningrod by making sure that was the ability Pikachu was using at the time."
"Huh," Ash said, then clenched his fist. "Well, now we know, Pikachu and I will train to beat it!"
"You should," Wallace agreed readily, and threw something.
Ash caught it out of the air with his free hand, trying not to knock Pikachu out of his grip, and examined it.
A Rain Badge winked back at him.
"You certainly earned it," Wallace said, closing his hand around it. "An excellent display of adaptability – I can most assuredly tell you that that was one of the hardest fights I've had in a long time."
Pikachu stirred, and Ash adjusted him. "Pikachu!"
"That was a dirty trick," he said, pouting. "And I thought that Counter had won me the battle, too..."
White-blue claws tapped on Ash's shoulder. "Ash? Pikachu?"
Latios held out his other hand, revealing a glowing yellow orb. "I got the Light Ball for you."
Pikachu held out his paws, and Latios dropped it in – resulting in a fizzing crackle as it returned to his body.
"Thanks," the Electric-type said, his cheeks lightening to their more familiar orange, then rolled his neck and jumped up onto Ash's shoulder on the second try.
"I guess we should get to the Pokémon Centre," Ash decided. "Sorry if we did any damage to your gym..."
"Actually, this is pretty much all my fault," Wallace said freely. "I'll apologize to Juan personally."
"They were nice," Juan declared, some minutes later. "Much more polite than some."
"Yes, though I'm glad that not all our challengers are that good," Wallace said. "After all, not every strong trainer can make it special."
Juan nodded, then his brow creased in a frown. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Wallace asked.
There was a crash from somewhere inside the gym.
"That?" Juan said, pointing.
Juan's gym manager – an amiable Slowking – came walking through the door. He looked around, spotting his trainer, and ambled over.
"Slowking?" Juan asked, puzzled. "What is it?"
"I'm afraid the Wailmer tank collapsed," Slowking explained. "They all evolved… and then that made one of the walls give way. So there are Wailord all over most of the ground floor."
Wallace and Juan exchanged looks.
"...somehow, I can't help but think this is Ash Ketchum's fault..." Wallace sighed. "But I can't prove it..."
58
Mewtwo stood, poised, atop the very tip of Mount Silver.
His tail coiled lazily, completely unaffected by the wind whipping around him. Both arms were crossed, adding to the pose of supreme indifference to his cold and windy environment.
The world… is, truly, amazing, he thought to himself. From here he could see much of Kanto and Johto, and the contrast was visible – gleaming skyscrapers in several of the cities of Kanto, while Johto was for the most part more… traditional.
But both, of course, were products of humans. Humans, and their complicated and nuanced relationship with nature – and with Pokémon.
He breathed slowly, letting his mind drift, and his senses expand – showing him life, all over Mount Silver. From the family of Swinub burrowing into the snow, to the Ursaring teaching his son how to climb trees further down, and extending into the air to flocks of Pidgeotto swirling around their nests.
Then Mewtwo noticed something a little more unusual.
His arms uncrossed, and he pushed gently off from the peak – rising a few feet into the air, almost literally walking on the sky as he searched for the owner of the mind he had just felt.
It came closer at speed, dodging through the trees and bulling through snowdrifts, and jumped a stream before loping the last half mile or so over rocky, snow-swept ground.
Raikou, Mewtwo announced, descending to stand on the snow. An unexpected pleasure.
"You are far too hard to find," Molly's friend announced, shaking snow from his coat. "Why can't you stay in one place like most other Legendaries?"
I have a post box, Mewtwo informed him blandly. And an inbox. And a drop box, actually.
The shiny Raikou sighed, tail flicking some of the last powdery white from the tip. "I'm sure you do… but Molly wanted me to deliver this personally."
Mewtwo was intrigued. Molly? I wonder what she wanted…
Raikou replied by reaching into his mane. A bag emerged, which Raikou reached into and pulled out an envelope.
"Here," he said, holding it out.
Waving a hand, Mewtwo took it in a psionic grip and floated it up to a comfortable reading distance, then opened it and perused the paper.
"Okay, ready?" Philena asked.
Shinx tilted her head, looking blank.
"Come on," she coaxed. "We talked about this..."
Shinx pouted, then nodded slowly.
"Right," Philena said encouragingly. "Remember, for now you just need to get the target."
The feline Electric-type crouched down, then pounced – but too late, as Philena twitched the toy out of the way.
"Now, now," she chided. "That's not what we said, remember? It was Spark!"
Shinx rolled her eyes, letting out a yowling purr, then rubbed her cheeks. The movement built up some static, and she held it for a moment before pouncing – this time with a crackle of electricity.
"Good work!" the scientist praised, as Shinx rolled on her back and batted her prize around. "That's just right – now, let's do it again!"
Shinx froze, and gave Philena a hurt, betrayed look – amplified by a purr. "Shiiiiin…?"
"You'll get a treat if you do," Philena told the Electric-type.
That changed Shinx's mind, and she let Philena take the toy back.
As Professor Ivy was about to do the second round, though, one of her assistants came in. "Professor?"
"Faith?" Philena asked, looking up. "Is it-"
Bzzt. "Shin-inx!"
The professor had to smile. "All right, you win… here's your treat!"
Shinx ate it in a trice, leaning into Philena's rub and purring happily.
"Aw, she's so cute!" Faith said, then shook her head. "Uh, anyway – Professor Elm said he wanted a word. Something about Articuno – he said he knew you'd researched them before?"
"Well, the Shamouti birds..." Philena said, frowning. "But Brock told me they're not really normal… I'm surprised he's not asking Professor Oak, he or Ash Ketchum would be my first choices."
Faith shrugged. "I don't know, sorry."
"I'll come and look, then," Philena decided. She scooped up Shinx, straightening her legs with an exhalation of effort. "Phew, you're getting heavy!"
Shinx waved her tail lazily.
"Hey, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
Pikachu looked up. "Yeah?"
"Can we have a word?"
"This can't be good..." Pikachu muttered. He got to his feet, pushing the empty ketchup packet he'd just finished towards the bin, and hopped closer to Ash. "What is it?"
"Well..." Ash began, sounding awkward. "I was wondering – in the battle..."
He sighed. "It looked kind of like you were angry. Especially in the middle, I mean."
"I-" Pikachu started, then stopped. "So what if I was?"
"Pikachu, I want to be sure you're okay," Ash said, wincing. "And… you didn't seem okay, so I wanted to check you were."
His starter frowned, then sighed. "I… yeah, I..."
"What?" Ash pressed.
"Never mind," Pikachu said, waving his tail.
"Pikachu-"
"Ash, can't you just take care of yourself before asking questions like this?" Pikachu snapped, then stopped.
"Pikachu..." Ash began. "Is this about the… Groudon and Kyogre, thing?"
Pikachu didn't answer at first, then swung his tail into the table hard enough that it went whock into the edge.
"Ash, you nearly died!" he said, voice raw. "You're always so careless – and – this time… you heard what Ho-Oh said. You'd have died twice at least if you hadn't had that Sacred Ash!"
"But if I hadn't, then it would have killed Rayquaza!" Ash replied.
"You're more important than Rayquaza!" Pikachu shot back. "Not just to me – to everyone! Don't you remember that you were literally told to save the world?"
"I don't want to be that kind of person, Pikachu!" Ash said hotly. "It doesn't matter how important someone is!"
"But if I'd just been-" Pikachu began, then stopped. Tried again. "It wouldn't be a choice if-"
His cheeks sparked, and he shook his head. "I can't… I can't win, Ash… either I'm too strong, and I hurt you, or I'm not and you get hurt by someone else."
Ash couldn't think of anything to say to that.
"Yah!"
Kirlia lunged at her brother, aiming a weak Psychic attack at him, and Roland retaliated by vanishing with a flicker of light.
There was a thump, and Kirlia whirled around – to see her sibling on the floor, sitting up and rubbing his nose.
"Ow," Roland muttered. "I think that didn't go quite as planned..."
"Are you alright?" Gardevoir asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm okay..." Roland replied, shaking his head. "I just tried to surprise her, and…"
"I didn't quite see," Max said, helping Roland up. "What did you try to do?"
"I was going to appear behind her and tackle her," the Ralts explained. "But I caught my foot on a tuft of grass, and..."
"I guess that means more practice, then," Max summed up. "It's kind of a pity that we don't have anyone who fights like that to help you learn… do we?"
I would if I could, Gardevoir sent, touching his mind as well so he could understand. But I haven't yet learned this attack, and Ralts – Roland – doesn't know who taught us.
"That does make it tricky," Max agreed. "I wonder if May could help."
They looked over at May, who was working with Blaziken and Glaceon – trying to work out a way that Glaceon could use her Ice to negate both Blaziken's fire and his high-speed martial arts.
As they watched, Glaceon dove forwards. Her fur pulsed with cold, forming a thin frosting on the grass, and the Ice-type did a roll around her direction of travel. That allowed her to fire an Ice attack upwards as she moved, and the spray of Powder-Snow hardened into a thin wall which absorbed some of the force of Blaziken's kick.
"I think she's busy," Max decided. "Uh… well, we could ask Swellow – she's good at moving fast, at least."
"I might be able to help," Lucario offered.
Roland looked up at him. "You could?"
Kirlia joined him, frowning. "I didn't think Lucario could teleport. How did you learn?"
"I can't," Lucario informed them.
"Then..." Kirlia began.
"It's because I've actually fought a Kirlia who used teleportation as a major part of her fighting style," Lucario clarified. "It was in Altomare – she used her teleportation so she could escape attacks, and then to get in a good position to fire her own attacks."
He sat down, crossing his legs to get on a level with the two young Psychic-types. "I think the important things that I learned in that battle are… firstly, that it's good for a teleporter to have a safe position planned out, so they can escape there if they're in trouble."
"Right – so," Max began, looking around. "If Roland had decided he'd jump over there when he wanted to get out of danger."
"That's right," Lucario agreed. "But you have to keep changing it – after a while I worked out where she was going, and I was able to try and exploit that."
"Does that mean I shouldn't have gone behind Kirlia?" Roland asked.
"Not in one jump," Lucario clarified. "Not until you're much more experienced. It's okay to jump away, plan, jump in."
"And what attacks are good to use with that?" Max asked.
"Almost anything," the Fighting-type told him. "Because teleporting means you can pick where you go, it means that almost any attack can work – even more than normal. You could even do something like teleporting high in the air, launching a long range attack and then teleporting back out of danger before you hit the ground."
"Cool!" Roland decided. "Can we try that, Max?"
"Not yet," Max said quickly. "I think if we do that before you've got a lot more practice, your mom might be mad..."
"Perhaps a mattress would be a good idea," Lucario suggested blandly. "Or a trampoline."
Let's see… Mewtwo mused, unfolding Molly's letter to read it.
The handwriting was quite good, which the Psychic-type approved of – clear communication was important – and he read in silence for the first few minutes.
Dear Mr. Mewtwo,
I wanted to write you a letter, because I realized that I hadn't said thank you enough for how you helped save my family. Not just Mom and Dad, but Entei and Suicune and Raikou and Eevee. I love them all, and I thought it would be a good idea to say thank you again for all your help.
I was thinking about it a lot recently, because I'm doing lots of studying and training with Eevee – I still want to be a Pokémon Trainer, but I know it's going to be harder than I thought it was then.
Do you know a way to grow up quickly?
That made Mewtwo pause.
Technically… he did, after all, even if he'd destroyed the equipment. The flash-clone tanks wouldn't make a template grow any faster, but they accelerated the development of a clone so it took mere seconds.
Shaking off that thought, he went on.
I'm trying to become a Pokémon trainer early, but Tracey – Mr. Sketchitt – says that it's fine if I can't do the early exams, because they're much harder.
Last time we tried doing the exam he said it wasn't right to say Eevee was the answer to everything, even though she is. I guess that's because not all Eevee are able to do what Eevee can.
I'm still going to study, though!
Mewtwo left off reading for a moment to look up at Raikou. Do you want some kind of shelter? The wind up here is quite cold.
"That would be nice," Raikou admitted.
Mewtwo focused his enormous psionic power, lifting at least a ton of snow into the air, then compacted it into blocks.
Laying them at a rate of several a second, he quickly and efficiently built them into a round igloo with a single exit tunnel.
Better? Mewtwo asked.
"Warmer," Raikou confirmed, his voice coming out of the ventilation hole. "Very courteous of you."
Mew insisted that I make some, Mewtwo told him. It seemed easier to learn than to wait until her mind changed. It was only a few minutes with a book, anyway, and he had fun for most of the morning.
"That sounds like something Molly would like to hear," Raikou commented. "Maybe you should write back and tell her some of the things you've been up to."
Mewtwo looked contemplative, and went back to reading the letter.
Dad?
Lugia looked down, head dipping so he could look under his wing. Yes, Silver?
Are we nearly there yet? We've been flying a long time, and I'm getting tired…
Not much further, Lugia assured his son. You're much better at flying long distances than last year, by the way.
Thanks, Silver smiled briefly, then looked down. But this is still tiring. How come we're not swimming? We usually do some of that when we go back to Mom's house.
His mother slid in beside them, adjusting her angle so Silver could ride her slipstream. That's because we're not going to my house, dear.
We're not? Silver said, taken aback. But I wanted to spend time with Oliver!
You can go once we're done, Lugia told him, smiling. But this is, I'm afraid, more important.
Silver pouted.
We're going inland, he said, after a few minutes. Why are we going inland?
Because the Pokémon we're going to go and visit don't live by the sea, his father said. Tell you what, Silver.
The young Lugia looked up.
If you're a good boy, then – as long as you want us to – we'll help you learn how to fly with a human on your back. Do you think that's something Oliver would like?
That sounds cool! Silver agreed, nodding – earlier resentment gone. Thanks, dad!
They flew on, through a cloud which slicked their wings with condensation, and then Lugia led them in aiming for a mountain pass.
This is the easiest route, he said. And Silver, remember to use your powers to keep yourself warm.
I'm not a chick, dad, Silver protested. I can remember to stay warm myself.
Just making sure, Lugia smiled. It is quite cold up ahead.
Brock pulled the comb through Ninetales' fur, straightening it out and making it smooth and even so it lay just right.
"Nearly done," he said, inspecting the tail from all angles and giving it another comb. "And… that looks done!"
"Good," Ninetales said, lifting that tail away and putting another one in its place.
Stantler sniggered.
"Are you sure you're not making me do some of them twice?" Brock asked, chuckling. "This better be the last one!"
"It is," Ninetales agreed. "But you might need to clean out the comb."
Brock agreed, scraping Ninetales-fur out of the teeth so the comb was fresh and ready. "There we go… now, let's start on that last tail."
"Hi!" Mawile called, waving. "Oh, can I help?"
"Sure," Brock said, retrieving a spare brush. "Can you do her back? I think there's a few spots I missed."
"Thank you, Mawile," Ninetales smiled. "It's a pleasure."
Mawile got to working on the fur. "That's okay… I thought, hey, I'd like to do some brushing of hair, but… well, Goodra doesn't have any and I don't have much..."
She sighed. "And Pikachu sounds unhappy… I don't know how to help, though."
"I think that it's best to leave that to Ash and Pikachu," Ninetales suggested. "For now, at least."
"I'll check on them tomorrow," Brock decided. "If they sort it out before then, it's not something we need to bother them about."
"I guess..." Mawile agreed, a little sadly. "But I still w- I still think I should be able to help."
She finished a run of the comb, moved it back to the next spot, then gasped suddenly.
"Look!" she said, pointing. "A shooting star!"
Brock and his Pokémon turned to look, and watched in surprise as a bright shooting star – bright enough to be seen clearly even before sunset – blazed across the sky.
"Wow..." the Fairy-type said, as it vanished from view. "How big are they?"
"Usually pretty small," Brock told her, resuming his brushing. "About the size of a grain of sand – but that one might have been quite a bit bigger."
"They're that small?" Mawile said. "Then how come we can see them?"
She held the brush over her head. "Do they come really close?"
"No, they're just bright," Brock said. "They burn up about fifty miles in the air – the air's really thin that high up, but it gets thicker very quickly. So as the meteor falls into the thicker air, the air can't get out of the way in time, which means it's squeezed."
Mawile nodded along, her brush slowing. "And what then?"
"Well, when you squeeze something, it gets hotter," Brock told her. "And there's so much squeezing that the air gets hot enough to melt rock – just from the force of the meteor crashing into it. And that means it melts, and the hot air and the hot meteor glow – that's the shooting star."
"Fifty miles high..." Mawile said, trying to imagine the air so high up.
Then she frowned. "Wait… what about Rayquaza? Wouldn't he stop them?"
"I think they're too small for him to be bothered with," Brock said. "Small ones come down all the time."
"Yeah, look!" Stantler said, nodding. "There's another one!"
Brock frowned. "Hmmm… maybe we should watch the meteors tonight. If there's this many already, it could mean there's a good shower going on."
"And do you make a wish on them?" Mawile asked.
"I think that's Jirachi," Stantler said, uncertainly. "Unless both work?"
"I think if you wanted to test that, you should wait until when Jirachi's not in the camp," Brock said, stripping more fur out of the comb. "Okay, Ninetales, I think that's done."
"Thank you, Brock," Ninetales said, standing and shaking her fur out. "I feel much warmer."
"But you're a Fire-type," Brock pointed out.
"So? I still feel the cold," she shot back, sticking her tongue out.
Stantler waved his antlers in the air. "This is cold?"
"...okay, it's not," Ninetales admitted. "But it's breezy. That counts."
"If you say so," Brock chuckled, standing up. "Thanks for the help, Mawile."
"It was fun!" Mawile replied. "And I learned something, too, about meteors… what's the difference between a meteor and a shooting star?"
"There isn't," Brock explained. "They're just two different words for the same thing – well, almost. A shooting star is the trail a meteor leaves."
Mawile nodded.
"Wild Charge!"
Quilava spun in place, then bounced forwards – electricity sparking about her – and whooshed past Houndoom.
He turned, skipping around in a half-circle, and lashed at her with his tail – which she avoided, then bounced on the ground and reversed direction with a flash of flame.
Electrical energy built up again, and she darted in – this time striking, making Houndoom explode.
"Woo!" Quilava said, uncurling and skidding to a halt. "Got him that time!"
"Yes, you did," Houndoom said, not looking up from his book. His spade-tipped tail bent down, flipping a page over, and he frowned. "An oar? Who fights duels with an oar?"
"Houndoom?" Quilava prompted. "Can I have another few targets, please?"
The Fire-type turned, placing a paw on the spine so his book didn't close. "You need more? Again?"
Quilava nodded. "Yes – I'm getting better at hitting."
"Fine, then," he replied, tail curling, and spawned four more Beat Up shadow-clones. "Just let me know when you want to start trying that shield thing, that might actually be exciting..."
The other fire-type sighed. "Sorry, Houndoom – I know this is boring. But I want to be able to use this, so that I can actually fight Water-types effectively."
"Got it," Houndoom said, softening. "I know, this kind of thing takes a long time. At least I've got a book."
He looked up. "It might be a good idea to go in soon, though, it is getting dark."
"Just let me do these four," Quilava requested, then stopped. "Hey, look!"
Houndoom's head came up. "What's that?"
"Shooting star, I think," Quilava said. "Down to the south and west – it's pretty bright!"
She shook her head. "Okay, right, Wild Charge."
There was a flicker of flame as she charged up, then spindashed away to come around for an attack run.
Houndoom returned his gaze to his book. "Oh, I see – it was longer!"
"Sneasel?" Todd asked, rubbing his gloved hands together. "Can you get the camera from my bag?"
Sneasel nodded, took two quick steps through the snow to reach his leg, and climbed up it with sure, easy motions. On reaching the waist, she switched to climbing up his bag using loops put there for the purpose, and she was soon undoing the zips.
Extracting the big, high-definition camera, she unwrapped it from the blanket it was kept in and passed it around to her friend.
"Thanks," Todd said, checking it over before turning it on. "Okay, it'll just take a moment..."
Sneasel tapped his shoulder, and pointed.
Todd followed her gaze, squinting through the snow drifting down in light flurries, and after a moment he saw it – three moving shapes, mostly white but broken up by both light and dark blues.
"Huh," he said, recognizing them. "I guess we've got extra visitors."
Noticing that one was smaller than the others, he focused in the camera and took a picture – then two more, following them around to their landing.
"Should we say hello?" he asked Sneasel.
That would be appreciated, Lugia replied. I remember you, Todd Snap – it is a pleasure to see you.
"Thank you, Lugia," Todd said, bowing slightly. His breath misted in the air, and he watched as the other two Diving Pokémon came to stand just next to the one who had addressed him. "You're here for the same reason we are?"
Notwithstanding our lack of photography equipment, I believe so, Lugia said with a little smile. Lead on.
Sneasel jumped down from Todd's backpack again, and scurried off – waving for her partner to follow.
Todd took a quick snap of the cave mouth, then headed inside. The bulk of the walls cut off some of the cold wind, and he let out a grateful sigh before continuing.
Behind him, the younger Lugia piped a question, and his mother replied in musical tones.
Todd smiled.
Would you be able to provide me with some of the prints of those photos you took as we landed? Lugia requested. I'd like to see what they look like.
"Sure," Todd agreed. "Do you want me to keep them private, or is it okay to use them in an article?"
I think I can't complain about an article, Lugia consented, his mental tone amused. I wonder what they will write about me.
Sneasel signalled from up ahead, and Todd decided not to reply – electing instead to keep quiet.
A few seconds later, and they arrived in the main room of the nest. An Articuno was sat next to a circular snowdrift, with another standing a little way off.
The second Articuno looked up, recognized Todd, and nodded to him before trilling a comment to Lugia.
Todd shifted to the side a little, letting the Lugia family through, and got out his camera.
The air hung still and chill, and then the first Articuno – the female – shifted her wings expectantly.
Readying his camera, Todd exhaled to calm his nerves and began to take photos.
The first few showed both Articuno, anxiously leaning forwards. Then there was a white flicker from inside the snowpile, and a blue head poked up through the drifts.
"Cuuuuuu~no!" the female carolled, reaching down to help, and her hatchling struggled out of the snow.
Another white flash came as it emerged, and the second one was not far behind.
Todd took photograph after photograph, moving around to get a better angle on occasion, and was particularly touched when Silver leaned out to touch one of the infant Ice-types.
Sneasel was sometimes on his shoulder, using her own smaller camera to get pictures from a different angle, and sometimes jumping down to get close-up shots.
Her partner was fairly sure she'd used a depth-of-field trick to show the proud father out-of-focus behind the newly-hatched chick.
Then, as the mother took her children to one side to give them their first meal, the other Articuno glanced at Lugia and spoke. "Arti-~ticuno, no..."
Lugia listened, then turned his attention to Todd. He wishes to thank you, Todd Snap – for making this possible, in helping him meet his mate. And he gives you full permission to do what you wish with all the photos you took today.
"Thank you," Todd replied, blinking quickly. "It's been an honour."
Mewtwo finished reading.
That was… odd, he said.
Raikou poked his head out of the igloo. "You sound puzzled."
I am, Mewtwo told him. Molly suggested a movie idea to me.
The other Legendary did a double-take. "Wait, she actually sent you the movie idea?"
I can see you're familiar with it, Mewtwo observed.
"She was talking about it for hours," Raikou replied. "Well, on and off – she kept coming up with new ideas in the middle of studying, and – actually, come to think of it I'm not sure what she would have put in that version."
Well, there's three powerful and noble and brave Pokémon in it, Mewtwo began.
Raikou cringed. "Oh, dear… I'm flattered, but..."
You may be right to be, Mewtwo said. Apparently these Pokémon are each in charge of their own kingdom, and the kingdoms are all threatened by something nonspecific.
The Electric-type clapped his paws over his eyes, groaning theatrically. "She didn't even finish coming up with the villain..."
I may be being a little harsh, Mewtwo amended, after a moment of thought. There are suggestions as to who could be the villain – I'm rather amused by this one, who seems to be based somewhat off Gary Oak.
Raikou sighed. "Please tell me it's not one of the ones where she included herself as the heroine..."
You'll be glad to know that she didn't, Mewtwo said, smiling faintly. Instead that's a special Eevee who can talk to all three of the rulers as a member of their own Type.
He read that section of the letter again. Actually, with editing this would be quite reasonable. There's scope for political drama, action, and some impressive visuals – Suicune's castle in particular is made out of a waterfall, with rainbows of spray everywhere. If it's possible, it would look very nice...
Mewtwo folded the paper up, and teleported it away with a click of the fingers.
"Not as bad as I feared, then," Raikou summarized, with some relief. "As for the letter as a whole… did you enjoy it?"
It was an interesting read, Mewtwo confirmed. And, now I've had time to think about it, your suggestion has some merit… perhaps I'll put something together and send it to Molly.
Raikou nodded, shaking snow from his fur. "I think she'd enjoy it."
With that, he turned to go – then stopped.
"Where did you teleport the paper?"
My office, Mewtwo told him.
"You have an office? That would have made this a lot simpler..."
"Pikachu?"
There was a crackle as Pikachu fired off a succession of high-speed lightning bolts, then turned. "What is it?"
Ash crouched down. "Pikachu – I want to talk. I think we need to."
Pikachu's brows furrowed for a moment, then he nodded. "Okay – okay, sure. We can talk."
After a pause too short for Ash to speak up, he went on. "I'm not angry, Ash – I just…"
"Pikachu, I know how you feel," Ash said. "I know what it feels like when you can't keep your friend safe… when you see them in horrible pain, and you can't do anything."
Pikachu didn't say anything.
"I just wanted to say..." Ash paused. "I'm not sure what I wanted to say, but… I don't blame you."
"Why not!?" Pikachu exploded. "Ash, it's my job to keep you safe!"
"No it's not!" Ash replied, just as forcefully. "You don't have to make yourself powerful enough to take on the world, Pikachu – not on your own."
His hand went down towards his belt, then he pulled it away. "And you need to realize – we're all part of a team, Pikachu. You, me, Lucario – Charizard – everyone! You don't have to be strong enough – you can't – but we can be!"
Pikachu took a step back, ears lowering. He began to speak, stopped, then started again. "Ash...I – why do you have to make this so hard?"
A tear dropped from his eye, and he swiped it away with a paw. "If I failed you-"
"You didn't," Ash replied instantly. "You can't – not you. You've done some amazing things, Pikachu, and you only just lost against the Pokémon a Champion uses to beat really difficult challengers. And if we did it again, we'd know his tricks."
He gathered the Electric-type up in his arms. "So stop it, Pikachu – stop pretending you need to be perfect or you're no good at all."
Pikachu stiffened, then relaxed.
"You're Pikachu," Ash said, more softly. "My friend, tough and fast and – and my best friend, and the best Pikachu in the world. I don't want someone who focuses only on being the strongest they can possibly be."
He swallowed. "I want you – so don't dare change yourself because you think it's what I need."
Pikachu was silent for a long minute, nuzzling into Ash's chest.
"Ash?" he said, eventually. "Can you at least promise me you won't try to block any more Primal Pokémon attacks with your face?"
Ash snorted.
"No, really," Pikachu replied, though he was smiling too. "Your face needs all the help it can get."
"I don't know, Pikachu..." Ash said, a little teasingly. "I'm pretty sure my head's the only thing hard enough to block some of those attacks."
"I… can't argue with that," Pikachu replied. "At least be careful?"
"Sure," Ash agreed, relaxing his grip. "I'll be careful."
"And if you forget that, then I'll shock you," Pikachu added, cheeks sparking. "It might finally get you to remember..."
"I dunno," Ash frowned. "I've been shocked pretty hard before."
"I've got whole new kinds of shock to try out," Pikachu promised warningly.
"Don't make me go looking for the rubber gloves!"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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