Capítulo 58: 7,8
"Excuse me, sir?" May asked.
"Aye, what it be?" the burly old man replied.
"Well, I be-" May blushed. "I mean, I was wondering if I could ask... could we charter your boat for a trip to Dewford?"
Briney stroked his chin. "Well, now, lass, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. The barometer be sinking, the weather be getting poor, and I'm not so sure it's a good time to go out to sea."
Ash raised his hand. "I have Pokémon with Sunny Day."
Briney nodded. "That'll do, cast off be in twenty minutes."
"If you don't mind my asking," Brock said, frowning. "Why do you talk like a pirate?"
"What's that?" Briney asked, confused. "What be wrong about how I be speaking?"
"...never mind."
There was a caw from overhead, and his Wingull swooped low over the group.
"Peeko!" Briney called, a little sharply. "They be customers!"
"Sorry!" Peeko said, chastened, and did a little flip before coming down to rest on his arm. "I was worried."
"Peeko's a little shy, you see," Briney told them. "She be a caring companion, though, and a friend of mine these last three decades. Arr."
"Three decades?" Max blinked. "Wow. She doesn't look old..."
"Well, Pokémon aging be strange," Briney observed. "Not like humans be, where they be following the same course. But aye, she be a faithful old friend."
"You always were a flatterer," Peeko observed.
"This is nice," May sighed, leaning back on one of the old deckchairs Briney had got out. "It's great to be able to spend some time in sun, sea and salt without worrying about Tentacool."
"Tentacool aren't that bad, May," Brock pointed out, from another of the chairs. "I know you had a bad experience, and they're Poison-type Water Pokémon who get everywhere, but they're really kind of okay."
"They're ew and gross," May said with finality. "End of argument."
"If you say so..." Brock chuckled.
He glanced over his shoulder. "What do you think, Stantler?"
"It's pretty amazing!" Stantler smiled, looking out over the blue-green water. "It's cooler here than it was on land – do you think it's all because of the water?"
"I think that's most of it," Brock agreed. "But there might be something to do with the weather as well, remember it would be quite bad if Meganium wasn't helping out."
They looked towards the bow, where Meganium was steadily pulsing out Sunny Day attacks – nothing too tiring, just enough to keep them in clear skies as they moved.
"Is it that much worse out here?" Stantler asked. "It was quite calm back when we went across to Shikoku or to Altomare."
"You're right, it was calm," Brock agreed. "It's because the water there was quite sheltered – there was land in the way, which broke up the power of storms or waves. But here we're exposed to the ocean waves."
Stantler nodded firmly. "Right! That makes sense."
"Glad you think so," Brock smiled.
There was a splash sound, drawing the attention of everyone on the boat.
May blinked slowly. "What?"
"Oh, Lucario likes surfing," Brock explained. "He doesn't get a chance very often, so I guess this is a nice relaxing moment for him."
"Why's Keldeo pulling him along?"
As they watched, Keldeo's water-spraying hooves drove him at a broad swell. The Water-type went up one side and down the other, and Lucario – dragged along behind at the end of a tether – went several feet into the air before splashing hard back down again.
"Fancy a go, lass?" Briney asked.
"What? No, no thanks!" May said hurriedly. "I was more... astonished, than anything."
"Well, the seas be strange, you see a lot when you're out here," Briney said, gazing out. "Not much that be surprising me any more."
"Ash, I was wondering..." Max began.
"What were you wondering, Max?" Ash replied, turning from watching the islands and headlands pass on their left.
"Well, why did you do the gyms in the order you do? I don't just mean in Hoenn, I mean anywhere."
"It's just... the ones I run into, really," Ash shrugged. "A couple of times a gym's been closed, or I lost the first time, and then I came back later and handled it then. But usually it's just convenient... Rustboro's pretty close to where you live, and then Dewford's on the way to Slateport by sea... but it doesn't really matter."
Waving a hand, Ash went on. "Most gym leaders have a team that can fight on at least a late-badge level, so you can really do it any order you like. Some people prefer to pick gyms their starter's strong against early on, to give themselves an easy start... others save those for later so they don't have to face a really, really tough opponent at the end."
"And Ash picks whichever one he ended up at after getting lost again," Pikachu chuckled.
"Hey!" Ash said, grinning.
"Here comes a big one!" Keldeo said, legs held rigid to keep the jets of water going in roughly the right directions.
"I see it," Lucario confirmed, sending a bit more Aura to his paws to keep his water-walk effect going.
Keldeo went up and over, and then the wave began to crest and Lucario went up-
He let go of the rope to avoid being pulled back down too painfully, did a graceful flip, and landed with a splash before going deep.
Lucario were a heavy Pokémon, but it was quite possible for them to swim nevertheless. Ash's Lucario promptly did so, kicking his legs hard in a scissor kick and breaking the surface before hauling himself up onto the water as though it was a solid floor.
"You okay?" Keldeo asked, trotting over. "That looked-"
"It was deliberate," Lucario informed him. "Don't worry, I was fine."
"Great!"
Something shot past.
"What was that?" Keldeo asked, looking worried for a moment.
Another woosh of water, closer this time, and then a Sharpedo fin came out of the water and began circling them.
"Excuse me?" Keldeo asked. "Sorry if we disturbed you!"
There were a series of splashes, and four or five Sharpedo heads came out of the water.
"That's okay, then, sorry about this," one said. "We were asleep, and-"
"It's not okay!" another snapped, fins thrashing. "This is our territory!"
"...it's the sea," Lucario blinked. "I know that some areas are territory nevertheless, but you can't fault people who go overhead, surely?"
"Forgive my son, he's a bit of a hothead-"
"Shut up!" The boistrous Sharpedo launched himself forwards, and Lucario dodged nimbly out of the way.
"Stop!" the older Sharpedo ordered, and was ignored. "Sorry about this..."
"It's okay," Keldeo said readily, as Lucario dodged the next Aqua Jet. "I guess he just needs to cool off a bit."
"Probably," the elder said. "Oh, might I ask – are those humans on the boat yours?"
"My trainer's on board, yeah," Keldeo agreed, watching as Briney's ship approached.
He turned his focus back to Lucario, and blinked. There was a little spark of chilly blue in Lucario's right hand...
Oh, right.
Lucario punched upwards as Sharpedo came in, and the spiral activated.
"...well, that be a new one on me," Briney said faintly, as a miniature windstorm carried the rather startled Sharpedo into the air.
"Cool move, isn't it," Ash said.
He frowned, then looked down at Dexter and scrolled through the files until he found one he was after. "Now, was Sharpedo on Gary's list..."
"Now do you see why you don't do this kind of thing?" the elder asked. "It's just asking for trouble!"
The much-chastened Sharpedo muttered something that was too quiet to hear and probably wasn't meant to be heard anyway.
"Uh – hi?" Ash called, from Briney's boat. "I was wondering – I've got a friend who's doing research into Mega-Evolution, and I wanted to see if any of you guys might want to be caught to be traded to him to help with that."
"What's Mega Evolution?" one of the Sharpedo asked.
"It's that thing I saw on the news!" another said. "You know, that thing I told you about where that Lucario got extra spikes and became a lot more powerful!"
"You watch the news?" the first Sharpedo said, blinking. "How?"
"There's a fisher on one of the small islands near Dewford who watches the TV outside, I go to watch sometimes..."
"Do you mean that Mega Evolution is something Sharpedo can do?" the older Sharpedo said. "You know this?"
"Well, Sharpedo's one of the Pokémon on Gary's list," Ash said. "He said he'd catch something for me in Kalos and we'd trade."
"I'm not sure it's such a good idea," one of the sharks said. "I mean, it sounds interesting, but it'd be a long way from home..."
There was a general series of nods.
"Okay, then," Ash said, a bit disappointed but not wanting to make an issue of it. "Thanks for considering it!"
"What a nice young trainer," the shoal leader said as the boat moved off.
There was a grumble.
"Oh, you're just grumpy because of that sore tooth."
"There we be, shipmates!" Briney said, as they cruised into Dewford roadstead under the setting sun. "That be a fine cruise, it be."
"Yeah, it was!" Ash agreed. "Thanks for putting up with us."
"It be no problem at all," Briney smiled.
"Yeah, it was nice!" Peeko put in, gliding down to rest on his arm. "Especially with the weather help in the morning, it'd have taken an overnight trip without it."
Ash smiled. "Hear that, Meganium?"
"I did," Meganium nodded, and stretched her neck out from where she'd been napping – alongside her fellow Grass-type. "It was quite a workout, but that's a good thing – it helps me get stronger."
"Oh, we've not thought that way for decades at least," Peeko said, waving a wing. "We're old and slow now... Not that I could provide clear weather if I tried, of course – I can make it rain, but that's hardly helpful!"
"Peeko be glad for the company too, she be," Briney said, and stroked his Flying-type under the beak.
"Yeah, I can hear," Ash said.
Briney reached into the wheelhouse and spun the wheel, cutting both throttles. His boat's engine died down from a burble to a sigh, then went quiet entirely, and went coasting in towards the jetty before just bumping up against it.
"Showoff," Peeko chuckled.
"Oh, shipmates?" Briney called, as they walked down the jetty towards land.
Ash and his friends turned, wondering what he was going to say.
"I'm glad you liked my performance," he said with a wink. "I think it adds a little authentic touch."
"...oh, right," May said. "It was all an act?"
"More or less." Briney shrugged. "Wouldn't you talk like that if you had a boat?"
"...I have to admit, I probably would sometimes," Max admitted, and his sister laughed.
Ash passed Pikachu one of his chips, nicely covered in ketchup, and the Electric-type bolted it down.
"It's not really ideal for him to have too many of those," Brock said. "May and I do prepare meals so they give the proper balance of nutrition for Pokémon, you know."
"Yeah, but it's just extra starch," Ash replied. "So he'll burn it off next time we train – and he likes it."
"I do!" Pikachu agreed enthusiastically.
"Ash?" Max asked, looking up from his starter happily chewing his way through the meal Brock had laid out. "I was wondering – you came back to challenge this next gym a second time, right?"
"Yeah," Ash agreed.
"Well – should we do that this time? I know there's a couple of Pokémon we should pick up, I'm just..."
He shrugged. "Well, I'm asking for advice, really."
Ash gave it some thought.
"I think it might be good to wait," he agreed. "If you're happy with the Pokémon you have, even then it's still good to train them up. You might need to rely on Cinder's Play Rough, but even just getting Jolt to pick up Aerial Ace would give you a couple more options, and so would Guy learning more stalling moves – that's a valid way to win..."
Ash followed that up with a shrug. "Or you could catch a Pokémon which has a move or type advantage against the whole gym, too. About the best thing I can say, I guess, is that if you feel uncomfortable challenging a gym you can always spend the time training before you come back – and since we've got that extra time, you should use it."
Max smiled. "Thanks, Ash. That does help."
The wave mounded up towards breaking, and then began to curl over.
"Now!" Ash said, and Swellow launched herself forwards.
Tail flagging right-left-right, she flitted across the twenty yards or so separating her from the wave, then turned and flew along the length of it as it went from peak to breaker to tunnel and then crashed down as it collapsed.
Bursting out from the far end, Swellow did a loop and banked sharply around – the tip of one wing just brushing the water surface – before coming back to land on Ash's arm again.
"Oh, yeah!" she said, as she backwinged to a stop. "Who's only the most awesome Flying-type on the beach?"
Ash smiled. "Still got it, huh?"
"Never lost it!"
"Didn't we get absolutely soaked last time we tried training with waves here?" Pikachu asked.
Swellow shrugged. "Hey, speaking of which, want to come along this time?"
"No chance..."
"Oh, hey! Ash Ketchum, right?"
Ash looked over. "Are you Brawly?"
"That I am, my man," Brawly replied. "I recognized the Pikachu. So, you're challenging my gym?"
He pointed at Ash with a nod. "Man, I can tell you that I'm not going to give you a one-badge challenge, not after what happened with Roxanne!"
"You heard about that, huh?" Ash winced.
"Sure did!" Brawly shook his head, and his Makuhita planted a surfboard in the sand before walking over. "That was wack. So, you planning to use that Swellow?"
"Probably," Ash said. "I'm still not sure, I might use her against Wattson instead."
"Why not both?" Swellow asked.
"It wouldn't be all that fair to everyone else," Ash explained, and she subsided with a mutter. "Actually, I wasn't going to challenge you just yet. I'm going to help my friend Max train first – he plans to challenge you too."
"Cool," Brawly nodded. "Makes sense to me, man – just gives me more time to prepare!"
"Hey, guys?" May asked, pointing. "Is it me or is this that fishing spot the Rockets tricked us into using?"
"Looks like it," Brock agreed.
The nascent Coordinator shrugged. "Maybe we should give it a go this time too?" Nodding towards her brother, she elaborated. "I was thinking – I don't think any of the Pokémon Max befriended last time were Water-type, so he could pick one up."
"Yeah, that does sound like a pretty good idea," Ash agreed. "Max, you're certainly going to need someone able to fight Fire-types by the fourth gym at the very least... so do think about it."
"Sure!" Max agreed. "I guess I should have Jolt ready to fight them, then?"
"Well, yeah," Ash agreed. "Him, Guy or both – remember some Water-types have other types too, like Ground."
Brock smiled.
"Okay!" Max said, then frowned. "...uh, do we have a fishing rod?"
Brock produced one from his bag.
"Where'd you get that from?" Ash asked, blinking.
"Philena got me to do the fishing to examine colour change in imported Magikarp when fed with Pinkan island fruits," Brock explained. "It's collapsible, so I just had it in the bottom of my bag all this time."
"Convenient," May smiled. "Okay, ready?"
"Sure!" Max nodded firmly.
"...I forgot how boring fishing was," Max said, about half an hour later.
"Yeah, it's not exactly exciting," Brock nodded. "It's kind of... relaxing."
May snorted. "Must be why Ash is training instead of watching."
They glanced over at Ash and his Pokémon.
"Good, you're getting there!" Keldeo called. "Now, separate it entirely! Houndoom, more doubles!"
Houndoom barked, using Beat Up, and more half-real copies of his teammates rushed at Sceptile.
The Grass-type set his stance, then spun and brought his elbow around in a scything blow – or what would be one, had it got within ten feet of the shadowy doubles.
His arm-blade flashed a brilliant green, then a weak green shimmer detached and snapped out at the oncoming opponents.
One of them exploded from the impact, but the Leaf Blade faltered with it.
"Great work!" Ash said, as the other doubles stopped and vanished. "You can do it, you just need it to be a bit quicker!"
Sceptile nodded, and returned to his base stance. "More, please."
"...yeah, I can see why he's doing that instead of watching," Max agreed. "That's kind of the boring side of practicing, but it's more exciting than-"
Brock leaned forwards and grabbed the rod as it jerked slightly. "Here goes!"
He flipped the rod up and into the air, pulling the Pokémon on the end up and out of the water.
A Magikarp landed with a wet splat on the grass.
Max contemplated it for a few seconds, as it Splashed futilely. "Do I have to catch it?"
"No, not really," Brock said. "If it's not what you're after, just throw it back."
"Right," Max said, picking up the flopping Magikarp with difficulty by the tail. It thrashed a bit, trying to get out of his hands, and he tossed it back in before he lost his grip.
It landed with a plop in the water and vanished.
"Another go?" May suggested.
"Maybe," Max agreed. "How long is that going to take?"
"Not as long as you'd think!"
May rummaged in her pack, and triumphantly revealed a Pokéblock. "Put this on the hook, we'll see what we get."
"What's wrong with my food?" Brock asked plaintively.
"Nothing, really," May shrugged. "It's just that you forgot to put any on."
"...why didn't you say anything?" Max asked. "That was half an hour of waiting!"
"I thought it was some kind of special fishing that Brock knew how to do," May defended. "He's the expert."
Brock sighed. "Okay, give me the Pokéblock."
May handed it over, and he duly impaled it on the hook.
"What kind of Pokémon do you think we could catch?" Max asked. "I know there's Octillery in here, one nearly Constricted me last time."
"True... I hope there's no Tentacool," May said with a shiver.
Brock pulled the rod back out of the water. "Aha!"
"That's no Magikarp!" Max said excitedly. "Okay, Jolt, Thunder Wave!"
Jolt barked, and fired a crackling burst of electricity at the moving shape – which flipped and dodged away from the attack.
"Wait, is that a Mantyke?" May asked, recognizing it. "Neat!"
"Uh, Thundershock!" Max ordered. "Try and make sure it doesn't get back into the water!"
Jolt fired another blast of electricity, which missed again.
"Aim poolwards of it!" Max amended, and this time Jolt's attack sort of worked. It didn't hit the Mantyke, but it did make it dodge awkwardly and it landed on the grass instead of in the water.
"Okay, use Spark!" Max said quickly, as the Mantyke shook itself and rolled upright. "Boost now!"
There was a zrrrp as Jolt discharged his excess electricity, and managed to close in before the Mantyke could get out of the way. He delivered a close-in electrical attack, then got a faceful of water for his troubles which left him sputtering.
Mantyke flopped a bit, then jumped – getting quite high into the air, and arcing back towards the water.
Taking a gamble, Max grabbed one of his Pokéballs blindly off his belt and threw it.
The 'ball impacted with a thwack, and didn't trigger – but it knock Mantyke off course, and then a rather startled Cinder appeared in midair.
"Fetch the Mantyke!" Max called, trying to make the best of a bad situation, and then there was an almighty splash as Cinder hit the water.
"...that went terribly," May said. "Mind you, that Octillery-"
Cinder burst out of the water again, paddled for a moment, then launched herself half out of the pool and batted the incoming Mantyke back to shore.
"Jolt, get it!" Max called, glancing down and dumping Guy's Pokéball so he was down to just the empty ones, then took one of those empty Pokéballs and readied to throw.
Jolt jumped into the air, snapped home a Thunder Fang, and then Max threw the Pokéball.
This time, it worked. Mantyke was grabbed by the capture beam, pulled in, and the ball closed before bouncing to a halt on the ground.
Water went everywhere as Cinder shook herself dry, making both Brock and May back away hurriedly from the watery sheets.
There was a tiny little 'click'.
"All right, Max!" May called. "Nice one!"
"Weren't you saying it was going terribly?" Brock asked.
"It worked," she shrugged.
"Oh, right!" Mantyke said, once the situation had been explained. "So you're a Pokémon trainer?"
"That's right," Max agreed. "Is that okay with you?"
"It sounds fun!" Mantyke said, looking up. "I've never been outside the pool before, so it's kind of scary – but I'm sure I'll cope!"
He rubbed his side. "Just keep me away from electricity, okay? That really stung!"
"I'm afraid you're weak to Electric attacks," Max said apologetically, checking Kris both for translation and to confirm what he was saying. "Really, really weak."
"It feels it..."
"Oh, yeah, that reminds me – I thought of a possible name for you," Max added. "How does Delta sound?"
"Where's that from, Max?" May asked.
"Well, a delta is kind of a triangular shape, and some really big flying aircraft are delta wing," Max explained. "And the shape sounds about right."
"I like it!" Delta agreed chirpily.
"It's where the river meets the sea, too," Brock added. "Good name choice!"
"So, how does Delta affect what's a good idea to battle Brawly?" Max asked. "I mean, I guess as a Flying-type he's a good choice, but..."
"You're right there," Ash agreed. "One thing you should practice is to make sure he can move quickly, because-"
Dexter rang, interrupting them.
Ash glanced at the screen as he retrieved Dexter. "Oh, it's Gary. Afternoon, Gary – well, I guess it's morning, there. Morning?"
"Hi, Ash," Gary replied. "Hey, you caught a good Pokémon to trade yet?"
"No, I've not," Ash replied. "There was a Sharpedo but it didn't want to come along."
"Ah, come on, Ash!" Gary said, sighing. "I've already got the Pokémon you're getting. You're gonna love him."
"Really?" Ash asked, interested. "What is he?"
"Now, now, that'd be telling," Gary teased. "Think of it as an incentive. But I can tell you he's not something boring!"
A pause. "Might be something you've seen before, though. Depends how closely you looked."
"...you got me a Spearow, didn't you?" Ash asked.
"Nope!" Gary replied promptly. "I'll leave you guessing, Furfrou's got a spa appointment. Smell ya later!"
The line went dead.
"...okay," Ash said, blinking. "Well, let's keep going, I guess..."
"Where next, actually?" Brock asked, looking around. "I see a cave, over there, but..."
That's where you need to go, Dexter said. Granite cave – it's the quickest route to the Mudkip breeding grounds, which is where you want to go.
"Thanks," Ash smiled. "Okay, let's go."
He frowned, then sent out Lucario. "I think this place is a bit unstable, Lucario. So... be ready to catch one of the others if the floor goes, okay?"
Lucario nodded calmly.
"Same with you, Steelix," Brock added – though didn't send the Steel-type out, mainly for reasons of size.
Granite cave was dark.
Actually, it was dark. Unlike many other caves, the entrances were small and heavily overhung, and so hardly any light filtered in to make the cave navigable.
More important, though, was the lack of convenient glowing fungus or shafts of light from the surface or other such convenience.
"Crobat?" Brock asked softly. "Can you map out the cave?"
"Sure." Crobat launched himself from Brock's shoulder, and a series of high-pitched clicking noises came echoing through the granite structure.
"Hmmm..." Pikachu mused, and then a faint crackle-sizzle of electricity sounded.
Holding his paws about half an inch apart, Pikachu repeatedly pulsed electricity back and forth between them – producing a faint but serviceable light.
"Thanks, Pikachu," Ash smiled. "That'll make it much easier for the others to avoid tripping."
"Oh, yeah, you have that crazy Aura thing," May nodded. "You can see in the dark too?"
"Still can't see where we're going, though," Max said. "Good thing we've got Crobat too."
The Poison-type came fluttering back. "I've not found a way through yet, but... I found someone in here."
"You did?" Brock asked. "Who?"
"You're going to want to see this."
"What do you think, Aron?" Steven asked, probing with the metal rod in some of the less consolidated mudstone. "Something around here?"
Aron nodded. "Ron!" he said, watching Steven's Key Stone pulse gently.
"Right-"
There was a clink.
"Aha!"
Steven put the rod aside, and retrieved a trowel before getting to work.
Spadeful after spadeful of dirt came up as he dug away, and after a few minutes there was a sizeable hole – and, sparkling at the bottom, a little dot of light.
Wiping his brow under the helmet, Steven dug around the spherical stone and prised it out of the ground. "Here we are!"
Aron nodded excitably.
Undoing his Mega Stickpin, Steven rubbed it for a few seconds, until the pulsing intensified to an audible thrummmm sound.
That done, he touched it against the Mega Stone.
His face fell. "Oh, come on!"
"Ron?"
"Another Steelixite. That's the third one!"
Aron sighed.
"We'll find an Aggronite sooner or later, don't worry," Steven said, going from kneeling to standing. "At least there's another one for Dad's collection."
"Hey!" a voice called.
"Sssh!" Steven replied. "This place can be a bit unstable – hey, wait..."
He pointed. "Brock Slate, right? The one who was Pewter gym leader?"
"That's me," Brock agreed, walking forward a little onto the flatter floor of the cave. The others followed, crowding into the circle lit by Steven's torch.
"Wait, I know you too..." Steven frowned. "You're Norman's kids, I saw you once when he was new to the job..."
"I'm flattered you remembered us," May said.
"And is that Ash Ketchum?"
"That's me!"
"Four out of four," Brock said with a chuckle.
"I heard you were in Hoenn – it's nice to meet you," Steven said, brushing his hand off and offering it for a shake.
"Nice to meet you too," Ash agreed. "What brings you here?"
Steven grimaced. "Well, I was trying to find an Aggronite, but no luck – I'm trying to complete the set, and I'm one short."
"What set's that?" May asked.
"I've got a few Pokémon that can Mega Evolve, and a couple who will be able to," Steven filled in. "Aron here's the last of those, and I was trying to get him an Aggronite for when he's old enough."
"Yeah!" Aron agreed with a steely grin.
Booting up.
Max reached into his pocket and got out Kris. "What is it?"
It's worth a shot. Setting up... loading program... ready.
The holographic screen expanded out from Kris' main body, about a foot in radius.
"Wait, isn't that Dad's program?" Steven asked. "I didn't realize he'd gotten it working..."
"Kris has enough memory and processing power to run it," Max explained. "How close in are you scanning? I see a lot of dots..."
Those are all Mega Stones in your possession. Expanding.
"So you met my father?" Steven asked, as Kris slowly increased the strength and range of her scan.
"Yeah, back in Rustboro," May said. "He's really nice – he and Max had a great chat, and then we helped him with a bit of trouble."
"Oh, so it was you who helped with the break in," Steven realized. "Yeah, he told me about that, but I didn't realize who it was. Thanks!"
Signal located, Kris interrupted. It is approximately thirty metres from here.
Max blinked dubiously at the snowy screen. "You can tell that?"
The signal is faint, but present.
"Lead the way!" Steven requested. "This is great – so much quicker than searching the way I tend to have to!"
"How much further?" Ash asked, glancing back.
"Uh..." Max frowned. "Is there a scale, Kris?"
There is now.
"Oh, thanks... yeah, up there, I think. Just a few more metres..."
Ash's hands glowed a faint blue as he hoisted himself up onto the ledge.
"Aura?" Steven asked, nodding to himself. "Right, I heard about that."
"Yeah," Ash admitted. "It kind of came out a while ago..."
"We're trying to learn," May said. "It's kind of tricky, though – I can occasionally get a vague sense of what Blaziken's saying, but nothing more than that."
There was a flash up on the ledge. "Okay, Houndoom, see if you can dig the mega stone up!"
Houndoom nodded, barking an affirmative, and got to work. Dirt went flying.
"Hey, careful!" Ash called.
"Sorry!"
Dirt stopped flying, and began being shifted aside gently instead.
"That's better."
"I wonder what Mega Stone this'll be," Steven mused. "They tend to be vaguely appropriate to the location – but that means a lot of the ones I find in caves are Steelixite."
"They are?" Brock asked, interested. "You've found a lot of them?"
Steven gave him a speculative look, then nodded. "That's right – I've got one, and I gave the second to Jasmine. I did find a third here just before you turned up... do you have a-"
"Found something!" Ash called down from the ledge. "Pikachu, mind coming up here?"
He reached down and helped his Electric-type up, and there was the sizzle of Pikachu's unorthodox Flash again for a moment.
"Yeah, this is a Mega Stone alright," Ash reported. Houndoom was Returned with a flash, and Ash swung his legs over the drop before jumping down and landing with a thump. "Not sure what it is, though..."
Steven's Aron gave it a sniff, cocking his head. "It's all silver and grey..."
"Well, it's not one I've seen before," Steven allowed, rubbing his pin to charge it up. "Let's see now..."
"What Mega Stones do you have?" May asked.
"Well, I've got a Steelixite like I mentioned," Steven told her. "There's also Scizorite, Metagrossite and Mawilite."
"Mawilite?" Ash repeated. "I've got a Mawile, she's cute. Wonder what she'd look like Mega Evolved..."
"All Steel-types, I see," Brock commented.
"They're my speciality," the Champion confirmed. "Okay, let's see what this is."
He pressed the thrumming pin to the Mega Stone, and broke into a grin. "Great!"
"Is it what you were after?" Max asked, as Kris cancelled her scan mode.
"It is," Steven said. "An Aggronite, just like I came looking for."
"Great!" Aron beamed. "Now I just need to evolve to where I can use it..."
"Glad we could help," Ash smiled.
"And I'm glad you did," Steven agreed. "Actually... wait, Dad and I found homes for most of them. You don't have a Pinsir, do you?"
Ash shook his head.
"Oh well... tell you what. I'll try to think of you first when I find a Mega Stone, to check if one of you can use it."
"That sounds great!" May said. "Really generous of you!"
Steven shrugged. "They're better used, and I know Ash can do it... oh, I was going to ask. Brock – do you have a Key Stone?"
Brock nodded.
"Great!" Rummaging in his pocket, Steven retrieved the uncut pale-blue stone he'd dug up earlier. "Here, have a Steelixite."
"...wow," Brock said, blinking. "That's... thank you so much!"
Steven chuckled. "You're the only other person I know who has a Steelix. Apart from Byron, but he refused when I offered..."
"He did?" Ash asked, honestly startled. "Why?"
Steven shrugged. "He wasn't forthcoming with an explanation."
After a moment, Brock took the stone. "Thank you, sir."
"I'm no sir," Steven waved off. "At least not off duty. Oh, Ash – can we have a word? Nothing important, just..."
"Sure," Ash agreed readily, following Steven into one of the side sections of the cave.
There was a silence for a few seconds.
"So," Max said. "Who knows the way out?"
Don't ask us, it's too far underground for GPS.
"What was it?" Ash asked, once they were around the corner.
"Ash," Steven began, then sighed. "I... I've thought about how to put this, but it doesn't really... okay. You know the whole thing with being one of the Chosen?"
"I do," Ash agreed. "Or, I know I am one, and your Dad said you and your mom were Chosen as well."
"That's right," Steven confirmed. "I just wanted to ask – do you think you'll need help? I mean, I understand the whole thing with how your team is improbably powerful, but you're... what, thirteen?"
Ash shrugged. "I've handled it so far, but... I guess it'd be nice to have some help if something happens with Team Aqua or Team Magma."
Steven nodded. "Right. And... well, I guess that's the main thing."
He shook his head. "I know it's not much – I just wanted to let you know I'd help if you needed it."
"No, that's good to know," Ash smiled. "Thanks for the offer."
A section of hillside shivered, then crumbled away into a pile of loosely consolidated pink-and-white granite gravel.
"That was much harder than it needed to be," Brock sighed, as they emerged into the evening sun. "Thanks, Geodude."
"No problem, man," Geodude said, turning back to the hole and gesturing.
There was a grinding noise, and the wall sealed up again.
"Good to see that tip helped," Steven noted. "It seems to be a very versatile Pokémon you have there."
"Yeah, Geodude's been working on that one for over a year," Brock agreed. "We hadn't worked out the whole dislocation creep lock problem that whole time, though..."
"It's hardly an obvious topic," Steven demurred. "It came up in my degree course in the materials science classes."
"Well, wherever he learned it, it's a real breakthrough!" Geodude steepled his fingers. "This is going to be great!"
"Speaking of which..." Brock glanced around the shallow valley. "This looks pretty empty... let's give it a go."
"I'll be interested to watch," Steven said, checking the time.
"Okay, Steelix," Brock said, taking a deep breath.
He squeezed the Key Stone, and checked for the fifth time that the uncut Mega Stone was perched on Steelix' head.
"Let's do this."
He glanced at Ash, who smiled encouragingly. "Just think about Steelix," he advised. "Great moments you've had together."
Brock nodded, and closed his eyes.
Steelix.
His starter, and a very special Pokémon. He'd got the big Rock-type on his tenth birthday, and they'd worked together alongside rented Pokémon to earn gym leader certification only a couple of years later.
Since then Onix, and Steelix, had been the big guy of his team. Whenever he needed someone strong enough to bull through anything in the way, or someone to keep him safe... there was always Steelix there for him.
Brock realized the key stone felt warm. A good, humming warmth.
He opened his eyes, and looked at Mega Steelix.
"All right, Brock!" May called. "That looked great!"
Mega Steelix shifted slightly, moving and testing his body. "I feel... a bit slower, but a lot tougher."
"See the crystals?" Steven asked, pointing. "They're extremely hard – still not sure quite what, but my current theory is that the pore space has been filled with Mega-Evolution energy. Another side effect of that is that a sandstorm will continually bombard those crystals, which seems to result in making more of that energy directly available for moves that can use it."
"So, like Rock or Steel moves?" Max asked.
"That's right," Steven confirmed. "Basically it's Sand Force."
Brock nodded. "Right. Thanks, that probably saved us a few days of experimentation."
"No problem," Steven replied. He checked the time again, and winced. "Sorry – I'd love to talk longer, but I really need to get going."
"Nice meeting you!" the friends called.
8
"What are we doing today, Ash?" Max asked.
"Well, the first thing's going to be to train Delta," Ash said. "If he can get a couple of good Flying-type moves, that's going to really set you up well for Brawly's gym-"
There was a bright blue flash overhead, and a startled crustacean landed on Ash's head.
"What just-" Ash asked, reaching back and catching the Corphish before it hit the ground.
"Ash?" Brock said, blinking. "Celebi just materialized out of nowhere, dropped a Corphish on you and vanished."
"What's going on?" the Corphish asked.
"Ash?" Pikachu began. "I think this is your Corphish."
Ash lifted the Water-type and inspected him. "Oh, yeah, you're right!"
"Why am I not in a Pokéball?" Corphish asked. "Last I remember I was in a Pokéball! And... also somewhere east of Sootopolis."
"...this could take a while to explain," Ash said. "Okay, Max, first thing today's explaining things to Corphish..."
"I kind of guessed," Max agreed. "Then it's training Delta and Guy?"
Ash nodded.
"Okay, so one of the things that you'll need fighting a Fighting-type gym is practice fighting Fighting fighting styles," Ash said, then looked confused.
"...I think I got that right..."
"So, what's the plan?" Max asked, looking at Lucario. "Am I likely to have to fight a Lucario?"
"No, but Lucario's got a few different styles," Ash explained. "So it's a good bit of practice. He's also got moves that are usually not very effective against each Pokémon – Electric moves for Guy and Sparker, Fire moves for Delta, and a Ghost move for Cinder."
"I see!" Max nodded. "Okay, let's start with Delta!"
The Mantyke emerged, and struck a determined pose.
"Okay, Delta, remember – keep moving," Max said. "Don't be afraid to get your distance before coming back in."
"Right," Delta agreed. "Okay – yah! Bubble!"
Lucario raised a hand to block the stream of bubbles, then swept his foot out in a scything roundhouse kick.
"Whoa!" Delta said, bouncing backwards and avoiding the attack. "What do I-"
"Supersonic!" Max said quickly.
Delta adjusted his fall with a flip of a fin, managing to avoid Lucario's next (deliberately somewhat sluggish) attack, and replied with a barrage of resonant sound.
Lucario's ears glowed blue for a moment, and then he began staggering around very deliberately and obviously.
Max and Delta stared for a moment.
"Mango chutney!" Lucario added distinctly.
"Okay, we get the point," Ash said. "You're confused."
"Delta, try a Wing Attack!" Max said. "Now!"
"All right!" Delta agreed, pouncing forwards.
His wing-fin hit Lucario's shoulder with a clang, and the Fighting-type dramatically keeled over.
"Lucario, stop being silly," Ash said, and was answered by a faint chuckle. "Okay, I'll leave you guys to it – don't forget to give Kris some practice, too, she's going to be useful at the Mauville gym."
"Right," Max agreed.
As they continued practising, Ash moved a little way over and sent out Tyranitar. "How's the practice going?"
Tyranitar sighed. "All right... I've not fallen over in a couple of days, but it's still something I have to think about. It's going to be a while before I can fight."
"That's just fine," Ash told him. "Take as long as you want... actually, though, I did have one training idea."
"What's that?"
Ash sent out Corphish. "Okay, Corphish, here's the plan – your job is to use Bubble and not get tagged by Tyranitar. Tyranitar's job is to try to tag you with an attack. My job is to return Tyranitar if he falls over."
"I have mixed feelings about this plan," Tyranitar muttered.
"But what happens if I hit him?" Corphish asked. "Do I win then?"
"Eventually."
"I still feel sorry for those Carvanha," May winced, looking back over her shoulder.
Pikachu's cheeks sparked. "Hey, they attacked first."
"They were being quite aggressive," Brock agreed. "We could have tried to find a bridge, but I think Pikachu's approach was better."
"Couldn't Steelix have carried us across?" Max asked. "I mean, I know it's a big river, but he could have just moved along the bottom and carried the boat..."
"Actually, that might have been a good idea," Brock said. "I guess that's just how it is sometimes, the idea comes along too late."
"Sorry," Max winced. "I should have thought of it sooner."
"It's fine-" Brock began, then blinked. "Wait, did you just see that Mudkip?"
Ash shaded his eyes. "Sure did – you think it's him?"
"I'm pretty sure none of the others are that big," Brock replied, then his eyes widened. "Wait-!"
The Rock-type specialist turned and began to run downslope, sending out Pokémon. "Geodude, block the stream for just a moment! Crobat, Ludicolo, be ready to help me get out!"
"What's he doing?" May asked, as Geodude made a sharp hand gesture.
A rocky wall rose up out of the streambed, forming a wide dam, and the water built up behind it for a moment before spilling over in a shallow cascade.
With a splash, Brock jumped into the deepening pool of water, and took a deep breath before vanishing underneath for a moment.
Geodude kept gesturing, keeping up his earth-manipulation effect and making sure the rocks were ready to distort again, and then Brock burst out of the water holding a very young Mudkip.
Crobat swooped down to lend a claw to his trainer, but then Geodude rendered it unnecessary by gesturing and raising the level of the section of earth underneath Brock – resulting in his suddenly standing on a very shallow pool shore as the rest of the dam crumbled back into the earth.
"I didn't even see that Mudkip," Ash admitted. "Good spot, Brock!"
The much larger Mudkip came slithering down the watercourse a moment later, landing in the muddy area with a splat. "Is she okay?"
"She looks fine," Brock said, giving the Water-type a quick visual examination. "I imagine she's a bit startled, but she should be fine in a few minutes."
Mudkip blinked. "...wait, I was asking the Crobat. You understood me?"
"I did," Brock agreed. "My friend Ash taught me."
Mudkip did a double take. "Ash? Ash Ketchum?"
"...why have all the Pokémon heard of you, Ash?" Brock asked with a sigh.
"It's only some of them!" Ash protested.
"When we were visited by the pale-and-blue Suicune, she explained how come she looked different from the other one," Mudkip explained, reaching out and taking the young one from Brock. "I was really impressed!"
"Hey!" a man called. "Are you trying to steal the-"
He didn't actually understand what Mudkip said in reply, but it was pretty clear that the situation wasn't as simple as he'd assumed.
"...okay, I know," the man said, after being talked at by the big Mudkip for a few minutes. "Why don't you come up to my place, and we'll talk about this somewhere calmer..."
"Thank you again for helping," Mudkip said, looking up at Brock. "I was worried about her."
"He seems to have taken quite a shine to you," Old Man Swamp observed, poking a fire that seemed to be burning peat. "I'm one of the people they come to for Mudkip to send to labs, but that 'un didn't feel like leaving, and..."
He shrugged.
"I see," Max said, looking out over the swampy water. "So this is the natural habitat of Mudkip?"
"One of 'em," the old man said. "Marshy wetlands, that's what they like. They can live in fresh or salty water, it don't matter much to them."
Brock nodded. "Right."
"Sadly, this 'un's getting a bit old," Old Man Swamp went on.
Mudkip gave him a look.
"You are," Old Man Swamp said defensively. "Look at the size of you!"
He shook his head. "You'll evolve, soon. I've been telling you and telling you, you need to pick between havin' a trainer or goin' off into the wild."
"I don't want to work with a beginning trainer!" Mudkip said, shaking his head. "I know how it works, spending months before the trainer's good enough to battle properly..."
"Hey, we're not all like that," Ash said defensively. "Max is pretty good already."
"Thanks!" Max grinned.
May waited.
"Ash?" she asked.
"...being honest, May," Ash said, wincing. "Not so much. I wasn't great either."
May frowned. "Well, if you think that about yourself too, fair enough – I guess."
Mudkip frowned, considering, then shook his head. "No way to tell if the trainer I pick is one of the quick ones."
"There might be," Ash said. "If you went with someone who'd already been a trainer for a while."
"That's a great idea!" Old Man Swamp said, slapping the table with a bang and making everyone jump. "I'm tellin' you, big man, this boy has his head screwed on right!"
"You mean you?" Mudkip asked. "You're clearly tough, I admit... but how do I compete with Suicune?"
"I was thinking of Brock," Ash explained. "He's been a Gym Leader, so you know he's qualified."
The Water-type looked over at Brock.
"What's your speciality?" he asked.
Brock let out a long, drawn out sigh. "Here we go again..."
He raised a finger. "I'm a Rock-type specialist." A second. "With one Rock-type." A third. "He's a good one, but I have more Ground-types than Rock-types."
And a fourth one. "Actually, I have more Pokémon who use illusions than Rock-types... but I'm supposed to be a Rock-type trainer."
"Basically, Brock's speciality is in not being a Rock-type specialist," Ash said, and got a glare for his pains.
"Okay, sure," Mudkip decided.
Ash blinked. "...that was quick."
"The old man's right," Mudkip said. "And I'd like to see what it's like with a gym leader... even if his speciality isn't my Type."
"Sounds good," Brock smiled.
"...I never really noticed that before," Marshtomp said, squinting up at his trainer. "You're a terrible Rock-type specialist."
"That's the first thing you say?" Brock asked, a little hurt.
Marshtomp shrugged, and then gave Brock a firm handshake. "Nice to be back, Brock. What's that you said about illusions?"
"Oh, yeah, that's right," Brock nodded. "You never met Vulpix, and Stantler's new."
He sent out the two Pokémon in question.
"Hello," Stantler said, bowing his head slightly. "Geodude's said a lot about you. He really respects you."
"Glad to hear it," Marshtomp replied, raising a flipper and nodding when Stantler bumped it.
He turned to Ninetales. "So, what's your story? How come you're still with Brock?"
"Suzy offered me the choice, and I wanted to stay with Brock a little longer," Ninetales filled in.
There were a series of flashes as the other Pokémon emerged.
"Good to see you, Forretress," Marshtomp said, nodding to her. "Geodude, how's things? The earth-raising trick's new."
"Just got it working yesterday," Geodude explained.
"Neat."
Steelix got a long look.
"I always forget how big you are," Marshtomp commented. "Hey, Crobat, Ludicolo. Everything okay?"
"Pretty much," Crobat said. "Oh, quick warning, Brock's got a girlfriend, don't be too surprised."
"Knew you'd make it eventually," the Water-Ground type told his trainer.
"...you're the first one who hasn't been surprised," Brock admitted.
Marshtomp shrugged. Then he blinked. "What's that on Steelix' neck?"
Steelix moved to show it off.
"It's my first Mega Stone," Brock explained. "We're still practising with it, but it's a pretty useful upgrade."
"And they're not easy to find," Max put in.
Old Man Swamp poked his fire, and frowned.
"Wonder if I should have told 'em about the Swampertite..."
Transfer complete.
"Thanks, Dexter," Ash said with a smile. "Okay, Noctowl, ready?"
"Shipshape and Bristol fashion, what what?" Noctowl agreed.
"What's Bristol fashion?" Pikachu asked, distracted.
"...not sure. Something about tides?" Noctowl shook his head. "Anyway, onwards and downwards!"
His wings made a near-silent whoooosh as he set off into the mine, and Ash and his friends followed.
"Are you sure this is the best way to convince that Sableye?" Max asked.
"We kind of need to find him first," Ash pointed out. "And Noctowl's best in conditions like this."
"Yah! Power Gem!"
Noctowl dove out of the way, wings whispering in the dark, and red beams emanated from his eyes. "There you are! Bally-"
The next rock didn't miss.
"Ow," he said indistinctly, wobbled in the air, and nearly hit a pillar. "I seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage, what what?"
"What?" Ash asked.
"That's what I said, what?"
"I think Noctowl's confused," Max volunteered.
"Probably," Ash agreed, returning him.
"So, what's next?" Sableye asked. "I hope you don't think I'll just let myself be caught!"
"Foresight," said a voice from just behind him.
Sableye turned, and met Lucario coming the other way.
"Okay, you win," Sableye admitted, as Ash sent him out. "I did agree..."
"If you do want to go free, that'd be fine," Ash said. "Just let me know."
"Right..." Sableye rubbed his forehead. "Being punched is new. I don't like it."
"I didn't hit that hard," Lucario said quietly.
"So, why me?" Sableye added.
"That's one reason I'm saying it's okay if you want to go," Ash clarified. "The reason I caught you is that a friend of mine – Gary – wanted to do a trade, and Sableye was on the list."
"Why was there a list?" Sableye asked.
"He's researching Mega Evolution, and I guess he can get his hands on a Sablenite," Brock contributed.
"Wait, I have a Mega-" Sableye gaped. "If you'd said that I wouldn't have bothered fighting!"
"That's a good sign," Ash grinned.
Gary yawned, blinking away sleep. "Okay, Dee, let's do this."
Initializing.
Dee's transfer device lit up, and then the Pokéball vanished in a flash of light. The screen showed a Pokémon rising up it, then switched to the other one and followed it back down.
Registering trade. Transmitting. Recieving. Trade complete.
"What happens if there's a connection problem halfway through?" Gary asked, suddenly curious.
It works out very well, thank you, Dee replied tartly, and then the Pokéball materialized. Done.
A moment later, it flashed and opened.
"...it's pretty dark here," Sableye said, noting the drawn curtains and the lamp. "What time is it?"
"About four in the morning," Gary said, once Dee had provided the subtitles. "So... I guess you're what Ash caught?"
Sableye nodded, giving Gary an appraising look. (With gemstones for eyes, it was quite easy.) "That's me."
A slightly awkward silence developed.
"So," Sableye said, considering. "Mega evolution?"
"Yeah," Gary agreed. "I know someone with a Sablenite, I can borrow it for a fairly long period of time in order to do experiments."
"Sounds neat."
The silence continued.
"What do Mega Sableye look like anyway?"
"From what Ash has told me, they've got a great big super-hard crystal as a shield," Gary replied. "I heard he fought one when he battled Agatha."
"Agatha?" the Sableye asked.
"The Ghost-type Elite Four for Kanto – she retired recently," Gary explained. "Ash did better against her than I did against Siebold, but then again..." he shrugged. "He did have an unfair advantage."
"Siebold?" the Sableye asked. "Sorry, there's all these names..."
"He's one of the Kalos Elite Four. He's got a Mega Blastoise," Gary clarified. "Fun battle."
Another pause, interrupted by a jaw-cracking yawn.
"I think maybe you should get some more sleep," Umbreon suggested, stepping out of a corner of the room. "I'll introduce him to the others."
Sableye jumped. "Where did you-"
"Sounds good," Gary admitted. "Thanks, Umbreon."
"What did Gary get you?" May asked, interested, as Ash took the Pokéball that had replaced Sableye's.
"I'm not sure," Ash admitted. "He kept it kind of secret."
He sent the Pokémon out with a flash.
"...that's kind of unusual," Brock admitted, looking at the blob-like Pokémon.
"Hi?" the Goomy asked, somewhat uncertainly.
Ash crouched down to be closer in height. "Hi," he said, with a smile. "I-"
Mawile interrupted him. "You're so cute!"
"Am I?" Goomy said, thrown. "Wait... are you a Fairy-type?"
"Yep!" Mawile agreed with a nod. "I'm a Mawile! Nice to meet you!"
She hurried over and extended a hand, bending down slightly.
Goomy looked at it.
"What do I do with that?"
"You shake it!" Mawile explained.
"...what with?"
Mawile blinked, looked closer, and pulled her hand back. "Oh, sorry... I didn't see you didn't have any paws..."
Ash chuckled slightly. "I see you've met Mawile."
"She's a lot nicer than some Fairy-types," Goomy said. "Most Fairy-types I've seen are kind of unpleasant..."
"Then they're not nice Pokémon," Mawile said firmly. "Naughty them!"
"Brawly?" Ash called, waving into the surf. "Excuse me?"
Brawly waved back, small with distance, then hopped up on his board as a particularly dramatic breaker came in.
Adjusting his stance, he rode the fore-curl of the wave, and used it to propel him towards the beach at great speed.
"Whoa!" Max gasped. "Now that's an entrance!"
"I just opened the door," Brock muttered. "I don't see why-"
The wave finally collapsed with an almighty crash, and Brawly's hands went out to either side. He used them to adjust his angle as the surfboard leaped forwards, then guided it to ground out gently as the remaining force of the swash dissipated.
"Cowabunga, dude," he grinned. "Both of you ready for this?"
"We sure are!" Max agreed with a nod.
"Right you are, man." Brawly considered. "Let's have the show right here!"
"You mean battle out on the beach?" Ash asked.
"Sure!" Brawly confirmed. "Okay, let's see... one badge team... right, Meditite, you first!"
Meditite duly emerged, landing with a twik on the sand and readying her stance.
"Okay..." Max nodded. "Sparky, you first!"
The Electrike barked, wagging his tail. "My first gym battle!"
"Watch out, Meditite are tough in close combat!" Max said. "Their ability makes them really strong... Thundershock!"
Sparky launched a beam of electricity forwards, and Meditite dodged to one side with a swish before retaliating with a blast of psychic energy.
"Whoa!" Sparky winced, jumping back to get out of the way. "Uh-"
Meditite charged forwards.
"Thunder wave!" Max said quickly.
Electricity crackled out and blasted over Meditite, despite an attempt to block it with power channelled through her palms, and she slowed noticeably.
She was still quite capable of battle, though, and thrust one palm forwards to hit Sparky hard in the flank.
The Force Palm knocked Max's starter several feet through the air before he hit the ground.
"Ow-ow-owwww..." the canine muttered, shaking his head and coming back to his feet.
Max considered the situation, noticing how Meditite was trying to push through the crackling paralysis. "Okay, uh... right! Close in with Dig!"
Sparky nodded, and dug a hole in the sand of the beach before vanishing into it.
Brawly frowned. "That's seriously wack... be ready to react, Meditite."
Meditite nodded, wincing occasionally as the electricity played over her.
For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the ground erupted, and Sparky lunged up out of the sand. "Spark!"
His electricity-infused tackle hit home hard, making Meditite stagger back a bit, and then she countered with a sweeping kick that knocked him away again.
Waiting until he landed, Max recalled him. "Okay, time for a rest... Delta!"
"A Mantyke?" Brawly asked, interested, as Delta materialized – in the surf. "Don't see many of those around here, man."
"Use the waves for a launch!" Max said, and Delta nodded before going underwater with a splish.
"Watch out, Meditite.." Brawly said. "Don't be caught off guard, you dig?"
There was a crash as a wave broke, and Delta shot out of the foamy crest.
"Thunderpunch!" Brawly said quickly.
Meditite drew back her arm-
"Bubblebeam!" Max ordered.
The Mantyke inhaled, fins coming up to slow his flight, and spat a stream of bubbles at Meditite instead of closing in for a Wing Attack. The jet hammered into his target, making her stagger, and by the time she'd recovered Delta was back in the surf and safe.
Meditite glanced at her trainer for advice, and he shrugged. "Tricky one, man."
"Wing Attack this time!" Max called.
Delta shot out of the waves again, steering high by trading momentum for altitude. He curved in, gliding carefully, and Meditite readied a crackling Thunderpunch.
As she was about to throw it, Max put something he'd noticed to the test. "Bubblebeam to steer!"
The Water-type fired another stream of bubbles, and once more the recoil had a considerable effect on his trajectory. This time they slowed him, pushing him a little higher, and Meditite's punch went very nearly wide.
A tiny spark of electricity jumped across from her crackling fist, and he let out a little ow before diving for good and slamming home a Wing Attack.
That was enough to knock the Meditate Pokémon out, and she flopped backwards into the sand with a soft thwap.
"How was that?" Delta asked, waving from the beach – sand clinging to his wet skin. "It worked!"
"It did!" Max agreed. "That boost you got from the waves was great!"
"Man, I should have done this indoors..." Brawly sighed, returning Meditite. "Okay, kid – you're doing pretty well rolling with the blows so far... let's see how you handle Makuhita! Go!"
Max returned Delta as Makuhita came out, not wanting to risk him on the ground just yet.
"Okay, Sparky," he said, switching Pokémon for the second time that battle. "Your go!"
The Electrike seemed a little better off than he'd been when punted halfway across the beach, and shook himself for a moment before nodding. "Right!"
His fur bristled and crackled, and he crouched down a little – ready to spring.
"Wait..." Max said, cautiously. "Until-"
Makuhita blurred forwards, faster than it looked like it should be able to move. Sparky jumped backwards, trying to get a bit out of the way, but only a moment later Makuhita slammed his hands together with a loud clap in a Fake Out.
Knocked backwards by the burst of air, Sparky twisted to try and land on his feet.
He might have managed to, except he'd been knocked seawards and as such landed in the surf zone – and then a wave rolled over him.
"Does that count as Brine?" May asked.
"Good question..."
Sparky burst back out of the waves, spluttering, and ran through the shallowing water back to the beach. Shaking himself drier, he stuck his tongue out. "Pleh... I think I swallowed some..."
"Thunder wave!" Max said, keeping an eye on Makuhita as the Fighting-type lumbered towards his Pokémon.
"Right!" Sparky agreed, and lightning didn't shoot at Makuhita.
"Eh?"
"It's the salt water!" Ash explained. "It messes with Electric-types!"
"Right!" Max said, realizing. "Uh... okay, keep distant for now!"
Sparky dodged aside from an attempt at a Vital Throw, and scampered up the beach to drier sand. "Right..."
He looked at Max. "What do I do now?"
"I'm thinking..." Max said, frowning – then came to a decision. "Okay, Spark – but don't charge it yet!"
Muscles bunching, Sparky ran in. There was a shower of sparks as he tried to boost and failed, and Makuhita stepped back a pace to get a good swing.
"Thunder Wave!" Max said quickly, just as Sparky jumped.
Electricity snapped over the Electrike's green fur, and then discharged into Makuhita's fist as the Fighting-type hit him with a powerful blow.
Something went sailing into the air as Sparky skidded to a halt on the sand, and Brawly and Max both followed its flight.
"What's that, man?" Brawly asked.
"That's Sparky's Magnet!" Max realized. "Was that Knock Off?"
"Must have been," Brawly agreed. "He does know it."
"Right... okay, that makes it trickier," Max said, eyeing Makuhita. He was occasionally crackling with electricity as the paralyzing Thunder Wave played over him, but still seemed quite able to fight.
"Let's try this, then!" he said, walking over to pick up the Magnet. "Dig!"
Wet sand fountained up again as Sparky dug into the beach, then a splash of water.
"I found the sea!" Sparky reported. "Right..."
"Ready..." Brawly said. "Try and feel the vibrations as he digs."
For several seconds, the main sound was the crashing of the waves.
"Now!"
Makuhita punched down as Sparky burst from the ground. The Electric-type got in one good hit, and then the blow arrived.
Sand plumed up in all directions.
"Whoa!" Max gasped, arm up against some of the sand which had come in his direction. "What just-"
As the sand and spray cleared, two things were obvious.
First, Brawly's Makuhita had evolved – though the new Hariyama was still troubled by the Thunder Wave crackling over him.
Second, Sparky was quite thoroughly unconscious.
"It's Guts, Maku – uh, Hariyama's ability," Brawly explained. "It means he's able to power through any kind of status effect – paralysis, poison, even being set on fire just makes him more powerful!"
Max winced. "Ouch..."
He recalled Sparky. "Hey, Ash – can Meganium heal him?"
"She's not in rotation at the moment, sorry," Ash apologized.
"Okay," Max said, with a sigh. "I guess – do you mind if we take him to the Pokémon Centre after the battle? That would delay yours..."
"That's fine," Ash told him.
"Okay – right, Delta, let's finish this!"
"Tyke!" Delta agreed, emerging and making straight for the water.
"Here we go again..." Brawly sighed. "Dude, this isn't supposed to be a game of whack-a-Diglett."
Max shrugged. "Hmm... so, Guts means that paralysis makes Hariyama stronger... right! Delta!"
The manta-ray briefly hopped out of the ocean, and waved before vanishing back in again.
"Supersonic!"
"Wuh-oh..." Brawly winced. "Hands over your ears, Hariyama!"
The big Fighting-type tried to put his hands over his ears to block the sound, but that didn't entirely work. Joints stiff from the paralysis, he only managed to cover one ear before the screeching-clicking Supersonic echoed out of the surf zone.
It was audible over the crashing of the waves, though barely, for the humans – who winced.
Hariyama was at the focal point, though, and got barraged by a stream of discordant sounds.
He frowned, waving his free hand around to try to fend it off, then staggered a bit.
"Great!" Max said. "Now – Wing Attack!"
Delta launched himself out of the waves, flapped his wing-fins as hard as he could to gain a little more speed, and bored in to hit Hariyama in the shoulder.
His attack went in, and then Hariyama tried to slap the annoying Water-type out of the air.
He missed, and punched himself roundly in the cheek. The impact actually spun him around a quarter turn, and he flopped to the floor.
"...wait, did he just knock himself out?" Brawly asked. He slumped. "Dude... I know my thing is rolling with the waves, but..."
"He did?" Max repeated. Then a grin broke out. "I won!"
"You did all right, little dude," Brawly agreed, coming over to shake his hand. "Won fair and square."
He looked down at the unconscious Hariyama. "I hope that's not going to bruise... that'd be a downer."
"How did we do?" Sparky asked, once revived. "I thought we were doing okay, but then everything kind of went dark..."
"You did well!" Ash assured him. "He had Guts, which meant he was stronger because he was paralyzed, but that just helped Delta finish him off."
He grinned. "You and Delta were a good team!"
"Thanks!" Sparky yipped, wagging his tail. "Maybe we can help to beat the next gym too!"
"That might be difficult..." Max said. "Wasn't it Wattson next?"
"That's right," Ash confirmed. "Sparky, Guy and Cinder would be okay, Delta would be in serious trouble with that weakness."
"Awww..." Sparky sighed. "Okay, good point. I guess we can't do teamwork if he gets knocked out by one Shockwave..."
"Actually, that reminds me," Ash admitted. "I was wondering who to use in my battle against Brawly."
He turned a little, and addressed empty air. "Feel up to a gym battle yet?"
"Not sure," Latios squeaked. "I've got a couple of Psychic moves... do you think it's enough?"
"Your invisibility and flying are the big advantages," Ash pointed out. "And the speed, the speed is a huge thing."
Latios nodded uncertainly, though Ash couldn't see him. "I guess..."
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on what's going on and let you know what you should be doing," Ash assured him. "It'll be fine."
"I guess," Latios said. "Okay, I'll do it."
Ash smiled. "Good. Okay, and as for the others..."
He tapped two Pokéballs on his belt to make sure they were there. "These two first. Then Pidgeot, then Meganium, and then Keldeo if it's a six-a-side."
Pikachu pouted. "No me?"
"I can't use you every gym battle, Pikachu!" Ash replied, a little exasperated. "The others deserve turns too."
"Sure, I just..." Pikachu shook his head. "No, you're right. I'm just being difficult, you do have me fight a lot of the wild Pokémon we run into."
Ash hid a smile, remembering Pikachu refining one of his Shockwave variants on a Barboach which had quickly gone from confused to panicked.
"Tell you what," he said, with a chuckle. "We're going to run into the idiots on Team Magma or Team Aqua sooner or later. You can certainly go for them."
"I like it!"Pikachu said, accepting the concession. "I just wonder-"
"Freeze!"
They turned to the doors, blinking.
A half-dozen or so goons in blue pirate costumes barged through the doors.
"We claim this Pokémon centre for Team Aqua!"
"Mr. Ketchum?" the Joy called.
"Yeah?" Ash replied, glancing around.
"Please don't break the building."
"Got it!" Ash called back. "Think you can handle it, Pikachu?"
Pikachu's cheeks sparked as the various goons sent out Poochyena, Krabby, a Surskit and two Clamperl. "You bet I can!"
Launching himself off Ash's shoulder, Pikachu charged. In two senses of the word.
"Stop that shock rat!" one of the Aqua thugs shouted, and then Pikachu attacked.
He started off with a sizzling Thunderbolt which knocked one of the Clamperl for six, then jumped over the grasping claws of two of the three Krabby and landed squarely in front of the four Poocheyna.
His knuckles cracked. "Right. Force Palm!"
"Force what!?" a Poochyena yipped, and then found out. The impact sent him sailing back through the open doors, and Pikachu's tail whipped out to knock the forelegs out from under another one.
As he strafed that one with a quick Thundershock to keep it down, the other two Poochyena darted out to get some distance.
"Bubble!" an Aqua goon ordered.
Pikachu jumped, avoiding the first rush of the attack, and launched out a crackling wave of electrical energy which left the Surskit and two of the Krabby blasted.
"Stop it, you idiots!" said one of the Aqua members, who seemed to be moderately in charge. "It's just a Pikachu!"
Pikachu landed on sprightly feet, and was bowled over by a rush from the two remaining Poochyena.
The one who'd hit him harder growled, teeth bared, and then Pikachu showed his displeasure with a Thunderbolt that knocked the Dark-type flying. A slap with an Iron Tail made the final Poochyena back off with a whimper, and then Pikachu completed the set with an Electroball that engulfed both the Krabby and the Clamperl.
As the two Water-types collapsed, the Aqua Grunts exchanged shocked glances.
"Run!" one of them shouted, and they legged it for the door.
As they reached it, though, a woman on a large black-and-white Pokémon rode up to it.
"What's all this, then?" the local Jenny asked, dismounting from her Zebstrika.
"...unfortunately, they don't know anything about the wider group's operations," the Jenny said, with a shrug. "Classic cell organization – none of them bothered to even ask about what they weren't being told."
"Right," Brock nodded. "I'm impressed by how quickly you responded, by the way."
She gave a small smile, pleased. "I try to put the effort in – our gym leader's a tough one, but he's not always very... dedicated?"
"I never thought of that," May said, interested. "Well, thanks for the help, I guess."
"Thank you," the Jenny said, indicating Pikachu especially. "Someone might have ended up hurt."
She frowned. "Well, aside from them..."
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