章節 79: 45,46
"Okay, here goes!" Ash said. "Ready?"
The giant fire-bird gave a caw, once more resting on Ash's arm.
It was all very visually impressive.
"Hm," Harley riposted. "It looks like you're trying to win with nothing but sheer brute force. That's not how you win a Contest at all!"
He shook his head. "Anyway. You'd better not make Cacturne look bad."
"...isn't that kind of the point?" Ash asked, a little confused. He glanced at Ho-Oh, who shrugged.
"It's your species," he said bluntly.
"Yeah, but..." Ash shook his head. "I don't get it..."
"Are both contestants ready?" the local Joy asked.
"Well, I'm certainly ready to show everyone how it's really done," Harley told her. "Right, buddy?"
Cacturne nodded, arms out to the side.
"We sure are!" Ash reiterated.
"Begin!" the Joy said.
Ash crouched a little, then pushed himself upright – raising his arm as he did so, giving Ho-Oh a boost so that the Flying-type Legendary could take off with a great sweep of his wings.
"Cacturne, use a beautiful Poison Sting!" Harley ordered, making a grand gesture.
Cacturne's legs tensed, and he jumped into the air – the holes in his face glowing purple, then volleying out a stream of needles.
"Incinerate them!" Ash called.
Ho-Oh's wings rippled with fire, and he spread them with a bang. The roiling, spiralling wave of heat and flame pulsed across the Poison Stings, destroying them, and then washed over Cacturne.
The Grass-type hit the arena floor, smouldering.
There was a pause, the only sound that of Ho-Oh's wings beating.
"Um..." he began, frowning, and glanced back at Ash. "Was that it?"
"I… guess so?" Ash asked, uncertainly. "Is Cacturne okay?"
"Cacturne!" Harley said, shocked. "No!"
The scoreboard showed Cacturne's points all vanishing at once.
"Is that even allowed?" Ho-Oh said. "It can't be that easy. Can it? I mean… that was just one move, and it was an accident!"
Harley lifted his smouldering Grass-type, then returned him. "That was horrible!" he said, denouncing Ash directly. "You shouldn't be so cruel!"
"Uh… didn't you just try to… poison… Ho-Oh?" Ash asked, lost. "It's a battle, right?"
"What I did was battle. What you did was unfeeling slaughter!" Harley said, turning his back and marching off stage.
Ho-Oh landed gently on the battlefield. "I'm still not sure if we won."
"Did we win?" Ash asked, looking back at the panel of judges.
"Yes," Mr. Contesta agreed. "It's not what we prefer to see, since artistry is important, but you certainly did defeat your opponent well inside the time limit. So you have to advance to the next round."
"Uh… sorry," Ash winced. "I guess we've not done much training on underdoing it."
"There's a problem I never thought I'd see," May said thoughtfully. "I wonder how well they'll do in later rounds..."
"Actually, can they stop him from just flattening the other two opponents?" Brock asked. "I'm not sure how the rules treat things like that."
"There's large point penalties for being repetitive, but they do assume that you get to apply them..." May frowned. "It almost seems like a weakness of the system. All someone with a really strong Pokémon needs to do is to make it through the Appeal rounds and then they've got a straight shot at winning the entire Contest meet."
"I guess that's why they have so many meets," Max suggested. "So one person can't really mess it up that much."
"Maybe we should try some weather stuff?" Ash suggested, sitting in the waiting room.
Ho-Oh shrugged, and plucked a berry from the fruit basket. He gulped it down, pondering, then nodded. "It can't hurt – and I'd feel better about it, really."
"So this is where you are!"
Ash looked around. "Harley?"
"I knew you were after me!" Harley said, pointing his finger at Ash. "How else do you know my name?"
"...the announcer said it," Ash told him.
"Twice," Ho-Oh added.
"I'm sorry, by the way," Ash added. "I didn't realize that Ho-Oh would knock your Cacturne out that easily."
"Oh, I bet you're sorry," Harley said, agreeing in a way that made it very clear he disagreed. "Legendaries aren't allowed!"
"I'm sure they'd have told me if that was an actual rule," Ho-Oh frowned.
"He's got a point," Ash agreed.
Harley looked blank. "You… agree with me?"
"No, with Ho-Oh," Ash informed him.
After looking even more lost for a few seconds, Harley shook his head. "Well! I'll be watching you, Ash Ketchum – don't think I'll forget this."
He stalked off, the effect only slightly ruined by his Cacturne costume.
"What's his problem?" Ho-Oh asked.
"Don't know," Ash shrugged. "Well… I guess he was kind of like this last time, but it was May he went for then. Maybe he's just really unpleasant to everyone."
"If you get the same friends as your first turn of the hourglass, perhaps you're fated to get the same enemies as well," Ho-Oh pondered.
He shrugged his wings. "Speaking of which, are there any more major events to come?"
"Yeah," Ash said with a nod. "One in just a couple of weeks – if things are going on schedule for that, anyway, and they might not be. Team Aqua and Team Magma going after Groudon and Kyogre."
Ho-Oh blinked. "Did… did you tell any of my Beasts? They could have tried to carry warning to-"
"I did," Ash interrupted. "And Lugia – he volunteered to go and find Kyogre to warn her. I think Entei was the one who went to tell Groudon."
"I see," Ho-Oh said, somewhat mollified. "Well… if things do develop despite that warning, please do not hesitate to call upon my power. Thanks to your aid, I can fight quite effectively rain or shine."
"Got it," Ash agreed. "Oh – I guess we're up next."
Ho-Oh snapped up another Berry as a last-minute snack, then hopped onto Ash's arm.
"I'll remember to make it a bit more of a display," he promised. "Fire hidden by a sandstorm?"
"Could be good," Ash agreed.
"Okay, Lampent!" called Ash's finals opponent, Irvin. "Phase!"
Lampent pulsed, flame dimming for a moment, and Ho-Oh's Wing Attack passed right through him.
"Roll and wingover!" Ash told Ho-Oh, concentrating on image, and Ho-Oh ran a coil of flames out along his iridescent plumage before rolling upside down and performing a quick wingover to get himself pointed the right way.
"Hex!" Irvin added.
Lampent's flame burned up again, beads of flickering purple light running along his metallic arms, and a dozen eyes blazed into life on the floor in a four-eight pattern.
They stared up, ghostly purple energy reaching for Ho-Oh, and the phoenix winced before flapping his wings to gain height.
"And Irvin manages to keep on top of things!" Contesta said, nodding. "He's been building up that eye pattern all match!"
The score bar for Ho-Oh dropped a little further, leaving him at about half, and Irvin's Lampent stayed resolutely at full score since Ash hadn't managed to touch him.
"Eyes..." Ash said, frowning. "Wait – I know! Ho-Oh, use Inferno! And store the heat!"
"But he has Flash Fire!" Ho-Oh complained.
Deciding to go ahead with Ash's plan anyway, he entered a glide for a moment before beating his wings faster. There was an audible crack of flames starting inside his plumage, and heat began to haze off Ho-Oh's wings.
He swept both wings back, then directed them forwards and exhaled into the air – which burst into flame, producing a wide cone of flame which pinched back into a spike and reached for Lampent.
"Smokescreen!" Ash amended, just before the attack hit.
Ho-Oh, to his credit, managed to adjust more or less on time. He stopped exhaling, flapped a second time, and the spike destabilized and detonated in a red-cored whoom of thick black smoke.
"Keep it up!" Ash said.
"I don't know the point of this..." Ho-Oh grumbled, wings coming up and then down again. Coils of flame rolled off his wings as he soared just above the thick cloud of smoke, passing into the bank before detonating and half-illuminating the cloud from within.
"Lampent, he's above the smoke!" Irvin called. "Go up! Try and find him!"
"And Ash has neutralized the eye pattern!" Joy said, realizing. "That's an excellent move on his part!"
"Great!" Ash said, waving his arms. "Now – Sandstorm!"
Lampent emerged from the top of the smokescreen, just in time to spot Ho-Oh accelerating. He tried to hit the Fire-type with a Shadow Ball, but Ho-Oh accelerated and it detonated just behind his golden tail.
Flying faster and faster, Ho-Oh turned continually inwards just inside the boundary of the stadium. Rainbow light trailed behind him, and the smoke began to thin – then, as it clumped together, it took on the consistency of fine sand.
Phasing through the storm of projectiles, Lampent was undamaged – but also unable to attack.
"New plan!" Irvin said. "Lampent – get underground! You can use that to pop out and attack!"
Lampent dove towards the ground, ignoring the strong winds Ho-Oh was stirring up, and passed into the ground as though it was water.
For several seconds, nothing happened. Ho-Oh kept up his sandstorm, which slowly began to build up small electrical charges and spark from within – nothing damaging, but producing the occasional flash and snap.
Ash glanced up at the board, and frowned.
Ho-Oh's move was stopping him from losing points, but it wasn't actually reaching Lampent. And while the Ghost-type was taking penalties from being underground and doing nothing, it would be close who was ahead when the timer finally ran out.
"Ho-Oh, heat up the sandstorm!" he decided. "Make it hotter – and use Ominous Wind!"
"That move is far too slow when I use it to do what you want it to," Ho-Oh grumbled.
"Stay down for now!" Irvin called. "Come out when I say!"
Obeying his trainer – and suspecting there might be a plan in the works – Ho-Oh mixed in the Ominous Wind into his sandstorm. The wave of Ghostly energy took several seconds to build up, then produced a thin, smoky film like the edge of a bubble.
It only lasted a moment before being drawn into the sandstorm – becoming hotter by the second.
Ash looked up at the board again. If he was right…
At eight seconds to go, Lampent's points passed Ho-Oh's points.
"Night Shade!" Irvin ordered.
Lampent came phasing out of the floor of the arena, and his flame lit up brightly enough to throw purple shadows across the faces of the watchers.
"Weather Ball!" Ash countered.
Ho-Oh broke his circling movement, wings sweeping across and corralling the whole cyclone into a ball.
"Cancel Night Shade!" Irvin said quickly. "Phase!"
Lampent went translucent again, letting his attack dissipate before it did much damage to Ho-Oh.
Then the Weather Ball fired downwards, a sphere made of just-fused vitreous glass from the entire Sandstorm.
Much to the surprise of most of the audience, it hit Lampent squarely on the apex and shattered with a crash. Shadowy grey smoke wreathed out of the interior, smacking into Lampent, and the Ghost-type wobbled backwards in mid-air.
"Time's up!" Joy said, as the fragments fell to the floor of the arena. "And for that remarkable use of Weather Ball to carry an unexpected Ominous Wind, Ash Ketchum and Ho-Oh have scraped a victory!"
Ho-Oh exhaled, gliding down to land by Ash's side. "That was unexpected."
"If I'd said what the plan was, it wouldn't have worked," Ash replied.
"Nice," Irvin nodded – recalling Lampent as the noise of the crowd swelled. "I guess now I can tell everyone it took a Legendary to beat me at a Contest!"
"You're not staying?" Ash asked.
"No – I have enjoyed myself, Ash, but in truth I do have some duties. I remember what you said about Groudon and Kyogre, and will attempt to ensure that I am available to help them," Ho-Oh told him.
He gave a deep bow, which was returned by both Ash and Lucario.
"Clear skies," Lucario said formally. "Though I suppose you can make them if you need them..."
"Correct," Ho-Oh confirmed. "And fair winds – or waves – to you all."
He spread his wings, took two steps, and launched himself into the air. Climbing until he was above the tallest buildings, he circled Lilycove once and set out to the north.
"I guess I'd better go get Latios," Ash said, as they waved. "I hope he and Latias enjoyed the break together in Altomare."
"I'm sure they did," Pikachu agreed. "Thanks to you, Altomare is safer for them – and they can enjoy their time together all the more."
"Especially since they know how precious it is," Lucario volunteered.
There was silence for a moment.
"I guess we'd better get back to Brock, May and Max," Ash decided. "We should work out how we're going to get across the sea towards Mossdeep."
"That's just like Ash," Max sighed. "Where did he go?"
"Perhaps he is giving Ho-Oh a send off," Blaziken suggested. "In that case, he should be somewhere nearer the edge of town to give them privacy."
"That means… this way," Brock said, looking up from his map and pointing.
As May was the closest, she took the lead – and nearly ran into Harley as the Cacturne trainer came around the corner.
"Oh!" she said, stepping a little awkwardly to the side to avoid actually crashing into him. "Uh… hi?"
"Greetings," Harley replied, looking her up and down before giving the same survey to Max, Brock and Blaziken. "Who might you be?"
"May – May Maple," May introduced herself. "This is my little brother, Max, and this is Brock."
"Interesting," Harley said. "So… what do you do?"
"I'm a gym leader," Brock told him. "Though I've only been back to my gym once or twice in the last couple of years..."
"Of course – you have to allow your creative freedom full expression, you can't be stifled by simply being in the same place," Harley agreed. "I say that's the truest way to be a great gym leader."
"I'm taking the Gym challenge," Max said proudly.
Harley gave him a second look, then shrugged. "Hm. My commiserations on your hormone problem."
"What's that-"
"Max!" May interrupted.
Max subsided, giving Harley a mutinous look which the Coordinator ignored completely.
"And I know you're a Coordinator," May said. "Your performance was pretty good, I thought. The last-shot trick was a good one."
"Yes, I thought so," Harley agreed. "It was a great way for my wonderful Cacturne to show his skills… not that I got one in the battle rounds."
"Yeah..." May winced. "I really hope I don't end up with a battle match like that in my Contest career."
"Oh, you're a Coordinator as well?" Harley asked, sounding interested. "I could give you a few tips!"
May weighed her possible responses, and decided on diplomacy. "I'd be glad to hear them," she said.
Harley nodded. "Indeed – I have to say, I'm a particular fan of making your outfit match your contest performance. I don't think the judges give quite the marks they should for it, but the crowd likes it."
"May, can we-" Max began.
May shook her head slightly. "Okay, that's a good point."
Apparently satisfied, Harley rummaged in an outside pocket of his outfit and brought out a small bag. "Would you like some flapjacks?"
"Sure," May agreed.
Behind Harley, Max rolled his eyes.
Taking one of the proffered oat treats, May nibbled on a corner.
She swallowed, and took another bite before offering it to Blaziken. "This is pretty good, actually – I'm not normally a fan of flapjacks, but these are some of the best I've had in a long time."
Harley's lips turned down in a slight moue of disapproval, but then came to the decision that that was sufficient - especially as Blaziken ate the rest of the flapjack in one go. "Well, I'm glad you like it – I'll keep an eye out for your Contest performances in future."
"Hey, guys!" Ash called.
Harley's expression froze.
"Sorry I took so long," Ash went on. "Oh, hey, is this Harley?"
"You know this person?" Harley asked. "This… this… hack?"
"Hey!" Ash said, stung. "We worked hard on that performance!"
Harley turned his back ostentatiously and strode off.
"...oh, great," May sighed. "And I was doing so well..."
"Apparently knowing Ash is bad enough for him, I guess," Max said, blinking.
May shook her head. "I give up. He clearly doesn't want to like us, so I guess we'll have to live with it."
"How was the flapjack really?" Max asked. "Better than Dad's?"
"Of course not," May replied. "But I have not had them for a long time. That bit was true."
"So… I guess you sent Ho-Oh off, Ash?" Brock asked.
Ash nodded. "Yeah, and I told him about the Aqua and Magma thing."
"So..." Brock glanced at the map. "I guess we need to work out how we're getting across the sea towards Mossdeep."
"Well..." Ash glanced upwards, counting. "We need to either have enough Pokémon to carry all four of us across the sea, or we need to take a boat. I guess Pidgeot might be available, and I need to pick up Latios anyway…"
Max brightened. "Oh, yeah, I had an idea about that – how far is Bomba Island?"
"A few miles by sea," Brock told him. "Not far."
"Then I kind of want to have Delta take me," Max said. "It's a pretty warm day, so..."
"That sounds like fun," May said, before shaking her head. "But I'm not getting within a hundred feet of the water. I know there's Tentacool out there."
"Don't you trust me to keep you safe?" Blaziken asked.
"Normally, yes," May assured him. "Normally I'd feel very safe with you around. But… Tentacool are Water types, and Poison types, and they're just plain ick."
Brock frowned. "Ash? I just realized… did the Porta Vista thing actually get resolved?"
Fortunately for you all, the power of anonymous tips is extensive, Dexter said. Especially when supported by so much actual evidence.
"What's Porta Vista?" Max asked.
"Oh, it was this place in Kanto..." Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck. "The first time around, it got destroyed by Tentacool angry the shore was being built on. And we… kinda forgot to make sure it was sorted out."
"We need to make sure that doesn't happen again," Brock said, with a sigh. "It's annoying, I know – but if it is your job to save just about everyone in the world individually and in groups, then we need to make sure something doesn't slip through the cracks just because we feel iffy about it."
Ash sighed. "Yeah… I know, I know. I just-"
He bit the sentence off. "It'd be kind of nice, sometimes, to go somewhere and not have to save it from whatever."
"What about Cameran?" Max asked. "Whatever happens this time, you shouldn't have the problem with Lucario, and you said that the Tree's Mew already has Sabrina as a friend."
Ash nodded. "Good point, Max. Thanks."
He shook his head. "Okay, time to head over to Bomba island, then! Dexter, is Pidgeot ready?"
She should be ready soon, his Pokédex told him. I've already asked Damos to get hold of her. I'm not so sure on Latios, but he should be almost as quick.
"Okay, here we are," May said, shading her eyes and looking across at Bomba island. "It's a lovely day for a flight."
"Just remember that it's cold up there," Brock pointed out. "We'll be staying pretty low."
"Who would you rather have carry you across, May?" Ash asked, reaching for Latios' Cherish Ball and Pidgeot's regular Pokéball.
May frowned. "Uh… actually, would it be okay if Latios took me across?"
"Ask him," Ash told her, sending the Psychic-type out.
That would be fine, Latios assured her.
May took a step back. "...how did you do that? That didn't sound..."
Bianca and I have been practicing telepathy, Latios explained. It took a lot of work, though.
"That's cool!" Brock smiled. "I guess you've been keeping up with your training while back in Altomare."
"What?" Ash asked, looking puzzled.
Lucario sighed and took the hat off his head. "Latios was using Psychic to talk," he explained.
"Oh, right," Ash realized. "Okay – sorry, I guess..."
Nothing to be sorry for, Latios told him with a smile. "I'll have to remember to speak out loud as well when talking to Dark-types. Or you."
"Thanks," his trainer said. "Oh – I forgot to ask. How are Bianca, Lorenzo and Latias?"
"Latias is full of stories about travelling with you," Latios told him, levitating down and tilting a little. "She told us about how she does crosswords, which was funny, and Bianca said she'd get Latias to try psychic painting."
"You mean… painting psychic things?" May asked. "Or painting with Psychic powers?"
"Painting with psychic powers," Latios clarified. "But the first time she smashed the palette into the canvas, which made quite a mess… oh, and Lorenzo has finished rebuilding the museum."
"Maybe we'll have to go and visit," Brock suggested. "What's there now?"
"Lots more fossils and a model of the DMA," Latios said, looking upwards as he remembered. "And I think there's a diorama with a scene from when you saved my sister."
Ash's cheeks heated. "...what bit did they do?"
"Something about you riding to the rescue on the back of a Legendary, flourishing a sword."
"But..." Ash glanced at his back. "Uh… I don't even have a sword."
"Yes you do," Lucario interjected. "It's in your bag. Remember, Sir Ketchum?"
"...she didn't mention that bit," Latios said, blinking.
"It was during the thing in the Togepi Kingdom," Brock explained. "I'm Sir Brock Slate of That Nice Looking Rock."
Latios nodded. "I guess… yeah, okay."
He clasped his hands together. "Okay, are we going to head over to the island?"
Brock sent out Flygon. "Probably. Are you ready, Flygon?"
"Of course," Flygon agreed, wings flaring half-open for a moment. "I'm looking forward to the time at the seaside too, of course..."
"Not as much as Max is," May said, nodding over to her brother.
They looked, and spotted Max – wearing swimming trunks, and halfway into the surf.
"What's he doing?" Latios asked. "Is he okay?"
There was a flash, and Max sent out Delta.
"He's getting a lift from Delta," Ash explained, as Max grabbed onto the back of the Flying-type. "We don't know if Delta can carry him all the way, so they're going right down next to the sea so it's not far to fall."
He sent out Pidgeot, smiling as she stretched and shook her wings out. "And I guess we're taking the long way, right?"
"Let's see how many times I can lap the island before Delta gets there," Pidgeot suggested.
She picked up Max's discarded bag in her beak, then crouched to let Ash get on. The two Dragon-types picked up their riders as well, and Lucario settled into an easy run towards the sea – and towards the island on the far side.
"Okay," Max said, taking a deep breath as he and Delta rose into the air. "Ready?"
Delta nodded. "Sure am! Here goes!"
He gathered himself, waiting for a swell to come in, then powered forwards with strong flaps of his wing-like fins in the trough between one wave and the next.
Max laughed in excitement as they sped up, rising up the crest of the next wave – then, with an explosion of spray, Delta took off and they were airborne.
At first it was just a jump, but then Delta continued flapping his fin-like wings and their trajectory became flat and then pointed slightly upwards.
As he held on with both hands, Max counted the flaps under his breath. Nineteen-Twenty-Twentyone-Twentytwo…
"This is amazing!" he said, looking down at the water whipping past below. "I didn't realize how fast you were before!"
Delta chuckled, flapping harder, then stopped and began to glide down again. "Should we try a landing?"
"Uh..." Max blinked. "Wait, wait, let me think!"
Delta pulled up again, flapping away. "Okay, okay..."
Max thought about it for a bit, looking up to see where they were. "Uh… okay, I guess it'd be fine to land if you're careful."
"Of course I'm careful!" Delta told him cheerfully. He slowed his flapping fins, dropping a bit lower, and aimed for a likely-looking wave going in the same direction as them. "Ready… steady..."
They hit with a splash, skimmed across the water as Delta shed momentum, then he tilted up and stopped so abruptly that Max went flying over his head.
"Oh no!" the Mantine said, concerned. "Max!"
He plunged beneath the water, and helped Max back to the surface with a quick push.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned, and offered his back for Max to rest on.
"I'm okay," Max said, coughing and wiping water from his eyes. "I guess I wasn't expecting to have to hold on like that… I'll have to use my feet, I guess..."
"Sorry, Max..." Delta said, fins sculling slightly. "I guess I just never notice how much I slow down when I land..."
"Are you okay?" May asked, as Latios descended.
We saw you hit the water, Latios added. Do you need a lift?
"Uh..." Max thought about that. "It's okay, we just wanted to try landing, but… uh, yeah, maybe it is for the best. Sorry, Delta."
"I'm the one who should be sorry, Max," Delta said. "I should have used Surf to brake so we could hit the water more gently. I got too carried away, and you were in danger."
Arc burst out of his Pokéball. "Max! Are you-"
He hit the water with a splash.
"...oops," he muttered, treading water with a splashy doggy-paddle. "I don't think I'm very much help..."
Max returned him, and sniggered. "Now he's going to smell of wet fur for ages..."
A wave came sweeping in towards a broad, sandy beach.
As it mounded up, a blue-black figure became visible on the crest of the wave. It hung there for a moment as the breaker began to curl, then rode down the forwards edge with water splashing out underneath its feet.
The breaker became a tunnel, hiding its passenger from view for a second, and then Lucario shot out of the far end of the tunnel as the whole thing collapsed into a crashing spume of spray.
He turned, using his momentum to catch up to the swash, and rode it all the way to shore before stepping coolly onto the beach.
"The best way to travel," he pronounced.
Pikachu glanced up from his towel. "It's not a great way to travel long distances, though," he pointed out.
Lucario shrugged. "Where'd you get the ice lolly?"
"Glaceon made some," Pikachu told him. "I think there's a few left."
"It really is a nice day," May sighed, lying back on the soft sand of the beach. "Sometimes it's good to just… you know. Unwind."
She licked on her frozen snack. "Especially when you've got something as nice as this to go with it. Thanks, Glaceon."
"You're welcome," Glaceon said, sitting quite firmly in Venusaur's sizeable shadow. "I'm glad that I could help everyone stay cool."
"Well, everyone who wants to," May amended – nodding at Blaziken, who was taking advantage of the long strand of sand to sprint repeatedly back and forth. "I think he's decided to see if he can set himself on fire."
She smiled. "Well, you know. More on fire."
Finishing the last of the frozen juice lolly, she stretched. "Okay, I guess we should get going..."
"I think so too," Brock agreed. "I just need to make sure Crobat knows… he's flying out in the surf."
"Don't forget to return me," Glaceon requested, as the humans got up. "Normally I'm okay with being out in the sun, but this is just uncomfortable."
Smiling, May returned the Ice-type. "There you go."
"Can I have the sticks?" Brock asked. "I'll wash them tonight and we can use them again next time we want to do this."
"I like the sound of that," May agreed. "This could be a regular thing."
A shrug. "That is, if Glaceon doesn't mind being an ice cream maker."
"Actually, we could try doing ice cream," Brock agreed. "I'll look up how to do it..."
"So..." Ash looked around. "This is where people train to be Pokémon Referees?"
"We prefer to call them Battle Judges," replied the professor, a woman by the name of Serena. "But yes."
"It's a tough course," Brock said. "You have to study it if you want to become a Gym Leader, but they don't actually do a practical test – and that's the hard bit."
"Correct," Serena agreed with a nod. "What seems very simple in the textbooks is quite a bit more complicated when Pokémon are moving fast, both trainers are calling orders, and of course the attacks themselves are both loud and visually impressive in a lot of cases."
"Right," Ash nodded. "But can't you just decide based on which Pokémon is knocked out first? Or when someone says their Pokémon can't battle?"
Brock, May and Max all stared at Ash.
"...Ash, do you even remember how many times one of your Pokémon has been so determined it got itself hurt?" Max asked.
"...oh, yeah," Ash agreed, deflating. "Sorry, you're right. I guess… the referee's main job is to make sure Pokémon – and people – don't get hurt?"
"Right," Serena agreed.
"I like that," Ash nodded. "And I guess they also have to spot cheating?"
"Yes, though often that's harder," Serena agreed.
"Remember that guy with the Pelipper?" Max asked.
"Yeah, that wasn't very nice," Ash agreed. He glanced over at Serena, and tried to explain. "There was someone with a Pelipper who kept several other Pokémon in there – in his beak – and used them to make it so it seemed like Pelipper had lots of attacks."
"And this was a Single Battle?" Serena checked. "Yes, that would be disallowed. In free-for-all or Triple, that would be actually quite a good tactic."
"Right," Ash agreed. "I did something in one of my gym battles with a Lapras on top of an ice-skating Snorlax."
Serena nodded. "Indeed. Now – would you like to meet some of the students? I think it'd be nice for us to have some demonstration battles, and the students can practice their calling."
She smiled. "I think we'll leave Mr. Ketchum's battle for after the warm up..."
"Why?" Ash asked. "Is there something about my battles which makes them hard to referee?"
"On the contrary," Serena told him. "They're very easy to referee, except where the Battle Judge actually has to intervene in any way. Things tend to move quite fast."
"Left, Crobat!" Brock ordered. "Come around from behind him!"
Crobat swerved, all four wings thrashing, and-
"Stop!" Serena called, raising her hand.
Crobat tried to stop, failed, and had to flap frantically to avoid crashing into Arc.
"What was the problem there?" Serena added, turning to her students.
"Uh..."
Several blank looks were her main answer.
"Uh – I think I know," said one student. "Is it that he ended up out of bounds?"
"That's right," Serena confirmed. "Well spotted, Jimmy. Yes, this match has an out of bounds condition, and Crobat passed outside the perimeter of the lines."
She turned to another student. "What should a Battle Judge do here?"
The student looked down for a moment, then looked up. "Is this one of the places you give a warning?"
"The first time around, yes," Serena confirmed. "Since he didn't try to exploit it. But more than once is a red card."
She turned to Brock and Max. "Can you continue, please?"
"...where from?" Crobat asked. "Do I go back where I was, or..."
"That's enough!" Ash called. "Latios, come back!"
Mega Latios skidded back in mid-air, transitioning back down to his base state, and caught his Mega Stone. "Right!"
Jimmy watched carefully, making sure that Brock's Geodude didn't interfere with the switch-out.
"Is that a legal move?" Serena asked.
Jimmy looked uncertain for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah – he didn't use the Pokéball to pull Latios out of a place he was about to be defeated."
"Good."
Ash switched Pokéballs. "Your turn, Heracross!"
Heracross landed on the battlefield with a soft thump, and took a stance with his legs apart and his fists down.
Geodude gestured, making a rocky spike emerge from the ground and launching it at Heracross, and the Fighting-type smashed it to pieces with a fast punch before counterattacking with a thrown piece of rock.
As the Rock-type shielded himself with a gesture and a rocky wall, the Heracronite on Heracross' brow began to flare with orange light.
When the rocky shield faded, Geodude was faced with Mega Heracross – who promptly drew his fist back, chambering an almighty punch.
Geodude brought both clenched fists up, rising several inches into the air, and the ground mounded up before producing a single massive fist.
"Remember, don't over-stress a joint," Brock warned.
Geodude waved sharply, and the fist punched forwards – meeting Mega Heracross' Focus Punch coming the other way, and sending fragments of rock spilling out all over the ground as the rocky forearm shattered.
"Halt!" Serena called.
Both Pokémon stopped fighting.
"Why did I do that?" she asked, glancing around at the class.
After several seconds of uncertainty, someone raised a hand. "Uh..."
"Yes?" she asked, nodding to the pupil.
"I think it's because Mr. Ketchum just used two Mega Evolutions in one battle," the girl said.
Jimmy's face fell.
"That's correct," Serena agreed. "I know it's quite a new rule, but it is a valid one and when you're not quite sure you should stop the match just to double check."
She smiled. "But pick a moment when it's not going to give one side or the other an advantage, of course."
"Did Ash decide to do that deliberately?" someone asked.
"Yeah," Ash nodded. "Well – your teacher told me to do something which wouldn't be legal in the rules, but to not make a big fuss about it. So I thought I'd do that."
"And an excellent job you did," Serena told him. "Sometimes when a Pokémon does something they know isn't right you can see it in their expression, but that's not always enough – as it wasn't in this case. Now… I think perhaps we should try someone else. Grace?"
Ash let Mega Heracross relax back to just Heracross, and returned him. "Brock, do you think we should do an airborne battle?"
"Sure," Brock agreed. "I guess Flygon's the best choice, then."
As Flygon and Pidgeot flashed out of their Pokéballs into mid-air, only Max noticed Jimmy walking away in a bit of a daze.
Finding a rock, Jimmy sat down on it and sighed. "I can't believe I missed that..."
All three of his Pokémon came bursting out of their Pokéballs, and gave one another concerned glances. A silent conversation ended with Charmeleon taking his arm and nosing up underneath it, while Wartortle sat with his back to the rock and Ivysaur placed himself next to Jimmy's feet.
"Hi, guys," he said, smiling wanly. "What brings you all out here?"
"Waaar," Wartortle said, in a deep voice. "Tortle-tort."
"I guess I am sad," Jimmy agreed. "But… I mean, look at this!"
He kicked the ground with a sigh. "I'm no good at Pokémon training – my only badge was for cleaning a swimming pool! And now I'm no good at being a Battle Judge either."
Charmeleon nosed his side, and he reached up to scratch the Fire-type under the chin. "And it's not like I'm any good at Coordinating, either..."
A quiet bark caught his attention, and he looked up.
Looking back at him was a Mightyena with its tail wagging, and Max walking up behind it.
"Good work, Cinder," he said, reaching down to give her a quick stroke.
"So," he added, looking up at Jimmy. "What's up?"
"Oh, just… I kind of feel like I'm stupid," Jimmy tried to explain. "I never seem to do anything at all well."
Max frowned. "Really? What do you mean?"
"It's… I bet it's easy for you," Jimmy added. "I mean – you're a prodigy! You're a Pokémon trainer who I can tell is way younger than normal, and Ash Ketchum is helping you! I mean – Ash Ketchum!"
"Believe me, it's not as easy as it sounds," Max muttered. "But… how come you think you're not good at anything?"
He indicated the trio of starters. "Your Pokémon seem to really like you."
"Yeah, I guess, but-" Jimmy shook his head. "I got them in really stupid ways."
Wartortle made eye contact with Max and shook his head, and Charmeleon just snuggled in closer.
"Do they think that?" Max asked.
"I – I got Ivysaur by giving him a rice ball! That's just-" Jimmy began, then cut himself off.
"That's actually fine," Max said. "I mean – sure, capturing Pokémon by battling them is how we're all told we're supposed to do it, but I think befriending a Pokémon is better. It means they like you."
Jimmy sighed.
Max sat down, Cinder clambering into his lap, and looked up. "You know how I got my latest badge?"
Confused, Jimmy shook his head.
"I lost."
The trainee Battle Judge blinked. "...what?"
"I lost, but Winona said that I'd shown I was adaptable," Max clarified. "You don't have to win a gym battle to earn a badge, you don't have to fight a Pokémon to catch them – and… you don't have to win badges at all. You can do whatever you want to, really."
"But if I'm not really good at them..." Jimmy said, looking uncomfortable.
Max frowned, thinking about what to do.
"Cinder?" he said, softly. "Can you ask which of Jimmy's Pokémon is the strongest?"
Cinder barked the question, and listened to the replies. Then she looked up at Max.
"Uh..." she said, looking confused. "It's kind of complicated. See, Ivysaur says Wartortle's stronger than he is. Charmeleon says Ivysaur's stronger than she is. And Wartortle thinks they're both a lot tougher than him."
"Okay," Max said, trying to remember what exactly happened last time. "I think I've got an idea."
"There we go," Serena said, as Pikachu's cheeks sparked off residual electricity and Lucario came out of guard position. "And yes, before you ask, there are rules against humans interfering with battles by fighting themselves, but they're usually for… people with new Pokémon."
"I didn't actually know that for sure," Ash admitted. "I guessed there would be, though."
Serena nodded. "Right. Now, I think that's about everything – the only one left is the difference between Triple and Rotation Battles."
She looked up. "Where's Jimmy, he'd be good for this… Jimmy?"
May frowned. "I think Max disappeared, too. What happened?"
"Pidgeot, can you go look?" Ash asked.
Pidgeot nodded, crouching and getting ready to spring, then stopped. "Uh… no need, I think I found them."
She pointed with a wing, and even those who couldn't understand followed her gesture.
With slightly clumsy wingbeats, a large Charizard came flying down to land in the courtyard.
Jimmy got down off her back with considerable haste, looking a bit green, and Max jumped off a moment later.
"Jimmy?" Serena asked. "Your Charmeleon evolved? Congratulations!"
"Uh – hi, Professor," Jimmy said, looking awkward. "Actually, uh… they all did."
Venusaur and Blastoise came out of their Pokéballs, posing as Charizard reared back and let off a blast of flame.
"Told you you were a good trainer," Max said.
46
"So… I guess you gave him a battle?" May asked.
"Yeah," Max agreed, making sure that everyone else was crowded around Jimmy. "I could remember one of his Pokemon evolved, so I suggested a triple battle because I wasn't sure which one. And..."
He shrugged.
"I guess you are learning from Ash," May quipped.
Max sniggered.
"Okay," he went on. "I guess we're moving on now? Where to?"
"Not sure," May admitted. "And I think we need to wait for Ash."
"So," Ash said, looking Blastoise up and down. "What's he obsessed with?"
Blastoise gave him a cool look. "What do you mean, obsessed?"
"Aren't pretty much all Squirtle, Wartortle and Blastoise really into something?" Ash clarified.
"Are they?" Jimmy said, examining Blastoise closely. "I didn't realize that..."
"I'm not obsessed in the slightest," Blastoise huffed. "I can simply quote verbatim half of Mahou Sensei-"
"And there we go," Lucario said, deadpan. "Knew there had to be something."
"So who's the Furret?" Pikachu asked.
Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Ash and Lucario all gave him surprised looks.
"What?" he asked. "I have been known to watch TV sometimes."
"Should we expect you to start using playing cards in battle?" asked Lucario with a smirk – which quickly vanished as he realized what he'd just revealed.
"I wish I could understand Pokemon," Jimmy sighed. "I bet it'd be really useful."
"It is," Ash agreed. "But it's really kind of hard – it takes a lot of Aura training to get good at it."
Jimmy nodded, then brightened. "Well – I guess we'll work out what to do, together! Hey, Ash – can you thank Max for me? I don't think I said it enough."
"Sure thing," Ash agreed. "Good luck!"
"...but I think the important bit is the kiss," Blastoise said.
"This conversation got weird quickly," Charizard murmured to her teammate.
"You what?" asked Serena, blinking. "They disqualified a Pokemon because it was knocked out by Sleep Powder?"
"Yeah," Brock nodded. "It was really kind of strange at the time – especially because another of his Pokemon was clearly exhausted after he'd been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped!" Serena repeated. "That alone is grounds for a postponement of the match so it's under fair conditions. Did you get the name of the referee?"
"I'm afraid not," Brock demurred. "I mainly wanted to double-check that that really wasn't-"
"Brock?" Max called. "Are you coming?"
"Sorry, I'll have to go," Brock apologized. "Nice talking to you."
"Okay, ready?"
"Yeah," Goodra agreed.
He looked back over his shoulder, making sure that Mawile was safely on. "Are you sure about this?"
"Sure I'm sure!" Mawile confirmed. "Now, let's go!"
Goodra nodded, and turned to face the sand of the beach.
Mawile waved from his back. "Hey, watch this!"
Inhaling, Goodra let crackling purple energy build up in his mouth. He held it for a long second as it built and built, then looked down about ten inches in front of his feet – and fired.
The Dragon Pulse blazed into the sand of the beach, kicking up a big plume of it and leaving a hole several inches deep.
"Wheeeeee!" Mawile shouted, as she and Goodra went upwards and backwards at high speed.
Goodra kept up the blast for about two seconds, then swung his tail around and cut out the blast. Spinning to face towards the sea, he gulped for a moment at how high up they were.
"I bet I do a better dive than you!" Mawile said, clambering up to his shoulder and jumping off with her hands together.
"Oh, no you don't!" Goodra laughed, flexing his antennae to make himself more streamlined and angling himself towards the water.
Mawile hit in the trough between two waves with a loud splash, and then Goodra threw up an enormous waterspout which took at least three seconds to finally all crash back to the water.
A moment later, Mawile's head popped back up out of the water. "That was great!" she announced, paddling vigorously. "Let's do it again!"
She glanced down. "Goodra?"
Goodra blew out a gust of air as he came to the surface. "Phew!"
"Fun, wasn't it?" Mawile asked. "Come on, let's go again!"
She began to paddle back to shore, and Goodra smiled before catching up to her with powerful strokes of his tail.
He picked her up and put her on his back, saving her the hard task of staying out of the water, and then kept going. "Think I can make it through the waves?"
"Sure you can!" Mawile agreed. "I'll tell you when it's shallow enough you can walk!"
"They're enjoying themselves," Latios said, watching the two mismatched Pokemon as they splashed through the surf and got ready for another dive.
"Is that the kind of thing you do with Latias?" Ash asked.
"Not really, no," Latios replied. "Well, we do go swimming, but normally it's just playing in the air or underwater. We don't do that kind of extreme-sports stuff… well, except when Latias tries to interfere with boat races."
Ash chuckled.
"Is it strange, doing everything over again?" Latios asked. "Doesn't it get… boring?"
Ash shrugged. "Not really. I mean, all my Pokemon are either new this time or they can remember last time, so I'm not really doing things with them the same way. And the other stuff..." He shook his head. "It's different enough, so it's fine."
He reached out to stroke the drowsing Pikachu next to him. "And – that's the important bit. My friends are with me."
"I… it's hard for me to imagine what it was like for Latias," Latios said. "But… I'm glad she doesn't have to face that now."
"So am I," Ash agreed. "I only thought I'd lost Pikachu for a few minutes, but they were…"
He let out a long sigh.
"I guess that's part of why I'm travelling like I am," he mused. "I could try to devote all my time to getting ready to defeat Cyrus – and no, Professor Oak still hasn't found any sign of him – but if I did that then I wouldn't be ready anyway, because I wouldn't have my friends."
"No matter what happens – Ash, I'll be there if you need me," Latios promised. "You gave me my life back, and saved my sister – so we're your friends."
"Thanks," Ash said, smiling broadly. "I – yeah, thanks."
Venusaur lifted her vine slightly.
Skitty's paws swept through the area that the vine-tip had just been, flailing frantically, and she fell back to the sandy dune below.
Shaking her head, she mrowled and stared up at the waving tip. "Like, come on! Come down here so I can, like, play!"
Venusaur lowered her vine again, letting it swing teasingly, and Skitty pounced up high enough to grab onto the very tip.
"Like, gotcha!" she purred, as Venusaur lifted her up. "I win!"
"You do indeed," Venusaur agreed, lowering her. "Another go?"
Skitty nodded. "Only, like… this time I have to, like, climb along the vine."
"Go ahead," Venusaur said.
As Skitty clambered up and set foot on Venusaur's vine near the base, the Grass-type looked up and spotted her friend coming down. "Oh – hello, Swablu!"
"Hello!" Swablu replied, making to alight on the ground before swerving to take advantage of Venusaur's other vine. "Thanks for the perch."
"No problem," Venusaur replied. "What brings you over here?"
"Just wanted to see how you're doing," Swablu explained. "And have a bit of a rest, too..."
Venusaur nodded sympathetically. "Let me guess. Training?"
"Training," Swablu agreed. "I'm getting really good at the acrobatic stuff – but I'm still not so good at attacks..."
"Your Singing is good enough to be going on with," Venusaur assured him, looping her vine around to give him a rub on the forehead. "It's beautiful."
"Thanks!" the little Flying-type chirped. "But I still think I should learn – I mean, Blaziken's putting all that effort in..."
"Blaziken's decided that he needs to make May safe by making himself faster than anything that could hurt her," Venusaur observed.
They watched for a moment as Blaziken ran through a complex, flowing kata. His limbs flashed and flared as he kicked and spun, and for a moment a tornado of flame hid him from their sight.
"What about you?" Swablu asked.
"Well..." Venusaur shrugged.
Skitty fell off the other vine with a yowl.
"I've got a few new tricks..." Venusaur went on. "There's a petal-dance trick that Meganium showed me once, and I think I've worked out a new spin on it."
"Is that a joke?" Swablu asked, tilting his head.
"...I'm going to say it was intentional," Venusaur replied.
As Skitty tugged her tail out of the sand, Venusaur lowered a vine to her. "Do you want a lift?"
"Like… no!" Skitty denied. "I'll, like, do it the hard way, yeah?"
"Suit yourself," Venusaur agreed.
"Is the Petal Dance thing all?" Swablu asked. "I mean – you seem like such a powerful Pokemon, and I've not really seen you do anything really… you know. Like Blaziken is with his fire."
Venusaur considered that.
"I think I know why," she decided. "I take a little while to get going – but when I do, I'm pretty tough."
She glanced up at the sky. "Watch."
Closing her eyes, she breathed in and out. "Growth."
As Swablu watched, tingling yellow-green energy flowed down her leaves into her main plant. It quivered, then the petals opened slightly.
Venusaur's entire body expanded a few inches.
"Whoa!" Swablu said. "You got bigger!"
"Yeah, and I can keep doing it," Venusaur agreed. "You don't mess with a Venusaur for long."
She was about to keep demonstrating, but Swablu cut her off. "Uh… Venusaur?"
"Yes?" the Grass-type asked, catching Skitty as the feline slipped off her vine again.
"I think..." Swablu began, taking off and hovering a little higher. "Yeah, I think that's Spoink!"
"Oh, yeah, he did keep showing up..." Venusaur mused. "Well, why don't you go and invite him over?"
"Sure!" Swablu agreed, flapping again, and then dove down towards the Psychic-type. "Hey!"
Spoink jumped. (Higher than usual.) His pearl went flying off, bouncing once on the sand, and then a flaming blur intercepted it before it could hit the water.
"Got it," Blaziken said, holding up the sphere of nacre. "You should be more careful with this."
"...uh, hi, Spoink!" Swablu said, looking sheepish. "Sorry, I guess I surprised you..."
"Oh – hello!" Spoink replied, bouncing steadily. "I didn't think I'd meet you here!"
He took his pearl back from Blaziken with a quick application of Psychic, and placed it on his head. "And thank you, too!"
"Like, I'll go get May," Skitty offered.
"That sounds nice," Spoink agreed. "I'd like to say hello, now I know you're here."
"This is kind of cool," May said, waving her hands and watching as Ethan's form changed. "I didn't know you could do this."
It is a recent discovery on my part as well, Ethan admitted. I am not sure if there are practical applications, but perhaps it would work well for a Contest opening number.
"You mean so you change as I move?" May said, interested. "That could work."
She made a twisting gesture with her hand, and Ethan's form collapsed back down to his normal state.
Disabling gesture control. Ethan's form shivered. Well, that was interesting.
"I guess the next thing to do is to see how well you can battle now," May pondered. "Who would be a good opponent?"
Kris is the closest match in terms of experience and nominal capabilities, Ethan said. But perhaps it would make more sense for me to engage someone stronger, like Lucario.
"If you think it'd help," May said, a little dubiously – glancing over at Ash and Lucario, now having their daily spar. "Wouldn't Guy be a better choice for that?"
With Guy I have no illusions about what would happen. Lucario does not actually hit as hard, he simply uses Aura instead.
"It's you being dug out of a crater," May shrugged.
"Hey, May!" Swablu piped, flying down.
May held out her arm. "What is it?"
"You remember Spoink?" Swablu asked, alighting and giving an affectionate nibble to her proffered finger. "He's turned up here!"
"Great!" May smiled. "I like Spoink. How is he?"
"You can ask him yourself," Swablu said, nodding.
May turned, just as Spoink arrived. He bounced a little off-target, hitting her bag just where it rode on her hip, and his pearl went flying again.
Half the contents of May's bag also went flying, scattering all over the floor, and May winced. "Ah, great…"
"Ow," Spoink said, eyes a little unfocused. "Uh… my pearl!"
He grabbed something about the right shape and colour and levitated it onto his head. "Ah… now I-"
There was a flash of white light, and he vanished.
May stared at the bright pink Love Ball that Spoink had just been sucked into. "Uh… that was unexpected?"
You are going to have to get your mother a new present now, Ethan informed her.
"Not helping!"
Skitty arrived, and pouted. "Like… no fair, Swablu. Flying's, like, cheating."
"I'm so sorry about that," May said, opening the Pokeball and blushing. "I didn't realize-"
"No, it's my fault, I guess," Spoink said, absently taking the Love Ball and bouncing it up and down on his head. "I'm the one who took the ball."
May blinked. "Uh… do you have subtitles all of a sudden?"
That's me, Ethan told her. I'm projecting a 20 percent mask in front of your eyes which includes translations of what he's saying.
"Huh, cool," May decided. "That's new."
It was a reasonable projection that I would be capable of it in my new state.
"Is that that Porygon?" Spoink asked, steadily bouncing. "The one you had back we last met?"
"Yeah, that's right," May agreed. "Wow, this really is a lot easier… yes, it's Ethan. But he's evolved."
Recognizing the cue, Ethan drew himself out of thin air, all mathematical curves and independently floating components.
"That's cool," Spoink said, bouncing a little closer. "So… uh, I guess we're teammates now?"
"What do you mean teammates?" May asked, a little surprised.
"Uh…" Spoink glanced up at the Pokeball bouncing above his head, until May passed him his pearl and he switched to that. "I thought that… you know. Since you caught me..."
"But… I didn't?" May protested. "You kind of caught yourself."
This is more or less how Team Rocket obtained Moltres, Ethan pointed out. And how Misty got her Psyduck, actually.
"I guess you're right – but that's not the point!" May said, shaking her head. "You're not caught, Spoink – you're just, uh..."
"Don't you want a new Pokemon?" Spoink asked. "I mean, if you..."
"It's not about what I want, Spoink," May explained, kneeling down. "It's about how I'd rather have a Pokemon who understands what's going on, and who wants to be my Pokemon."
"But you offered before..." Spoink said, sounding a bit hurt.
Venusaur tapped Spoink on the shoulder.
May jumped. "Whoah! Venusaur, don't sneak up on us like that!"
"I weigh more than a fridge," Venusaur pointed out blandly. "And I didn't sneak."
Spoink rotated in place, and looked at Venusaur. "Hello?"
"I think we'd better give May a few minutes to come to terms with it," Venusaur suggested. "Beautifly and I can explain to you what May means, and you can decide if you still like the idea."
"Okay, I guess," Spoink agreed. "Which way should I go?"
Venusaur pointed with a vine. "Beautifly's over there."
"Yah!"
Pikachu's tail flashed silver-steel, and he swung it in a curving arc.
Corphish's pair of shellsabers moved to catch the attack in a cross parry, and the force of the impact drove him back a step.
Pikachu slid his tail a little, keeping it in Iron Tail, and then used one of the jagged steps in his tail to haul himself towards and over Corphish's back.
As he did so, he disengaged his tail and touched Corphish in the back of his shell. "Got you."
Corphish deactivated his shellsabers with a flicker of red light, then nodded.
"I make that five-three," Pikachu added. "You're having trouble keeping me from making it past your guard."
"Yes," Corphish agreed. "That is what's happening."
There was a sudden snap-hiss and a red blade appeared just in front of Pikachu's nose. "But I'd have been striking for your body if it was a real fight, and you'd have taken at least two more hits."
Pikachu replied by forming a crackling sphere of electricity big enough to comfortably entrap both of them.
"Convincing counterargument," Corphish admitted, and deactivated the attack again.
There was a bang out over the bay, and he turned. "What was that?"
"Either Flygon trying to Dragonbreath Mawile in mid-jump or Mawile managing to Thunderpunch Flygon in mid-flight," Pikachu judged. "Flygon said he'd try to hit her without hitting Goodra..."
Another blast of sound, this time a crashing roar of surf and water, and Goodra rose into the air on a torrent of Dragon Pulse.
"And that's a water takeoff," Pikachu added.
Ash came over, towelling himself off, and flopped down next to Pikachu. "Phew!"
"You seem more tired than usual," his Starter observed.
"Lucario wanted to practice sword kata," Ash explained. "That presentation sword weighs a ton!"
"Going to keep it up?" Lucario asked, walking over but remaining on his feet for the moment.
"I might," Ash said, shrugging. "I guess it couldn't hurt – I mean, several of my Pokemon can use Sacred Sword now, so it'd be good to understand their limitations."
"Of course," Lucario agreed.
His paw shot out, and he caught Marshtomp's punch. "Not good enough!"
"But I was stealthy that time," Marshtomp complained.
"You didn't put enough force into it," Lucario explained. "If you want to specialize on punching and only punching – then make sure you win with the first punch, because otherwise your opponent might come up with a counter tactic."
Marshtomp nodded. "Like getting Stantler and Guy to help?"
As Marshtomp's form began to break down in blue shimmers, Lucario spun around on his heel and delivered a tail swipe to thin air.
"Yes," he added, as the real Marshtomp hit the ground. "Much better."
"Do you still need my help?" Guy asked politely.
Marshtomp muttered something pained.
"I'll take that as a no."
"...so you have to look good, and show inventiveness?" Spoink asked, not sure how to take that. "I could… um… well, I'm really mostly about bouncing."
"That doesn't have to matter," Beautifly assured him. "May's good at helping Pokemon to become good Contest performers. If you like the sound of it, well – that's the most important thing, really. That's the hardest bit to get right."
Spoink thought that over, barely bouncing at all.
"And… what if I wanted to evolve? I don't know quite what Grumpig do, but… it's got to be easier to do a Contest like that."
"You could do," Beautifly agreed. "But it sounds to me like you've got your heart set on this."
The Psychic-type frowned, pearl precariously pogoing from one position to another. "But I don't know! I thought I'd made my mind up, and then… and I arrived here, and I thought… but May seems worried about it… and… I don't know."
Beautifly thought about that.
"I know," she said, flapping her wings and rising near-soundlessly into the air. "Let's try something else… where's some coconuts or something..."
"So, how's it going?" May asked, looking over as Max came to sit down.
"Pretty good," Max grinned. "We built a huge sandcastle that Kris designed, and then Cinder went digging up through the middle of it and made the whole thing collapse – so we had to get Delta to wash all the sand off, and some of the water got on Arc, and he kind of… frizzed up. Again."
"So what did you do after that?" May said. "I mean, you were complaining about all the wet fur smell just a day or two ago, so..."
"Yeah, but since then I found out that Venusaur knows Sweet Scent," Max confided. "So I got her to help."
"I guess that works," May agreed. "And what about training?"
"Well, it was mainly Casper training," Max replied. "He kept trying to get Cinder – because she's the one who's good at sniffing him out – but she got him every time. I think she's still angry about the aniseed thing..."
May was about to go on, but a familiar voice interrupted her. "Is that – oh, hi Beautifly! And hello, Spoink!"
"Hello," Spoink said, sounding a bit nervous. "Er… Beautifly and I wanted to show you something."
"You do?" May asked, adjusting how she was sitting. "That sounds nice. What is it?"
"It'll be better as a surprise," Beautifly told her. "Ready, Spoink?"
"Um… yeah," Spoink nodded, bouncing in place.
He took a deep breath, then got started – bouncing at least two feet into the air, then three.
As he came down from the bounce, he levitated a pair of coconuts over with his psychic power. His pearl bounced on his head, but stayed stable as he began using the coconuts to 'juggle'.
May watched, realizing she was watching an Appeal, and was about to say something when Spoink pulled his trick.
As one coconut came down to be boosted back up, he bounced just a little sideways – and his spring struck the coconut, propelling him higher.
"Cool!" Max said, watching, and Spoink bounced up again – using the other coconut this time.
Two more coconuts joined in, and for a few seconds Spoink was effectively juggling five different objects – six, counting himself.
Then he made a mistake, bounced forwards, and May caught him before he hit the ground.
Coconuts bounced to the ground all around him.
"How long have you been practicing that?" May asked, looking at Spoink to make sure he was all right.
Max passed over the pearl, and May put it back on Spoink's head – then let him down to continue bouncing.
"Uh… about… half an hour?" Spoink said, uncertainly. "But that was a bit better than I was in practice… I usually fell off when I added the second pair of coconuts..."
"That's pretty good!" May told him. "No – that's really good!"
"Does that mean you'll let me be one of your Pokemon?" Spoink asked, nervously.
"Spoink – it wasn't about that," May explained. "It was making sure you knew what you were getting into – and I guess you know, now, so that's great. If you still want to be one of my Pokemon, then of course you can."
Spoink smiled, blushing shyly. "Thank you."
"Woo!"
"Yeah!"
A large group of kids plunged through the waves, all of them riding on Surfing Pokemon – either Huntail or Gorebyss.
"Gorebyss are better than Huntail!" called one of the boys. "You show them, Mariana!"
"That's a stupid name!" someone else replied, balancing on her Huntail. "My Nazca's much faster than your Gorebyss!"
"This looks like fun!" someone called.
"Whoa," said one of the boys some way back in the race. "That's cool."
Both the frontrunners looked over, and stared.
The blue form of a Suicune loped steadily along beside them, paws throwing up surprisingly small splashes as they hit the water, and her trainer waved.
"Hey, which way's Island A?" the trainer asked.
Wordlessly, both racers pointed.
"Thanks!" Ash said. "See? Told you we'd find someone!"
"I couldn't possibly comment," Suicune replied, in a cool voice which the trainers somehow understood.
"Wait, that's Ash Ketchum!" someone shouted. "I didn't realize – that's cool!"
With some larger splashes, an Entei and a Raikou came over. The Entei's broad, furred back carried an older boy, and two slightly younger trainers were riding Raikou.
"Which way is it?" asked the girl riding Raikou.
"That way!" Ash Ketchum told them.
"Wait!" said the Huntail girl. "How come you're here?"
"We kind of got a bit lost," Ash explained. "We were heading for A island, but I think we must have gone the wrong side of C."
"Raiikou, kourrrrrr," the Raikou added.
Blank looks greeted him.
"You should really learn how to do the Aura trick," the Suicune commented.
As the kids watched with bemusement, the Electric-type reached for something on his back.
"Don't!" his rider said. "You'll knock me off!"
"What my brother said," the Suicune went on, "was that it was a good thing that we didn't end up on the wrong side of the sea. Or we'd be sunk."
Some of the kids laughed, but most of the rest just groaned.
"How come everyone has the same Pokemon, anyway?" Ash asked. "They can't be that common."
"Actually, they kind of are," replied the boy, whose Gorebyss was slowing down in what looked like a mutual agreement with the Huntail. "Clamperl are really common around here, and they evolve a lot – but the best evolutions are the ones we have on Island B!"
"As if!" the girl objected.
"Far be it from me to interrupt," suggested Suicune. "But we seem to be about to reach the docks."
Everyone's Gorebyss and Huntail braked in a spray of water, and the three Beasts – Suicune in front, flanked by Entei and Raikou on either side – bunched up before jumping clear out of the water and landing on the quayside.
"So… you don't know why Pokemon in the cave on Island B evolve into Gorebyss and on island C into Huntail?" Max said, nodding.
"Yeah," agreed Keith, one of the smaller kids. "And it kind of sucks, because I want a Huntail and I'll be stuck with a Gorebyss."
"Gorebyss are cool, though," someone said.
"I think I might have an answer," Lucario suggested. "There's at least four humans and four Pokemon here who you would be able to ask about how it works."
"...oh, yeah," a girl agreed. "Ash Ketchum can speak Pokemon, remember?"
"I know, Nancy," Keith replied, in long-suffering tones. "Don't act like we don't know."
"Hey, I didn't mean it!" Nancy complained. "Stop being so thin-skinned!"
"Do you want me to pick you up before school every-"
"That's just-"
As the kids devolved into an argument, their Clamperl exchanged looks and sighed.
"How does it work?" Ash asked, crouching down to them.
"It takes about five or ten minutes in the water," Nancy's Clamperl told him. "They're just way too enthusiastic..."
"Huh," Brock said, blinking. "That was easy."
"I think our real challenge may just be getting them to listen," Suicune observed.
The glows faded, and everyone took a step forwards.
"I guess it worked!" said Gorebyss, looking back at herself.
"Yeah," Huntail agreed.
"All right!" said Nancy, taking the DeepSeaScale from her newly evolved Gorebyss. "So I guess it's just these and about ten minutes, and they evolve?"
"Looks like," Brock agreed. "Remember which is which, though."
"That sounds like a good idea," Keith agreed, taking the DeepSeaTooth. "Thanks – this'll make it much quicker for us to get to school every day!"
"Speaking of school," Nurse Joy cut in, hands on hips. "You were supposed to be in class an hour ago!"
"...we were doing a project?" Keith suggested weakly.
Joy smiled. "Well, I suppose you were. But remember to ask first next time… and I'm going to give you homework about Gorebyss and Huntail, too."
"Aw, miss..."
"Some people are kind of weird," observed Max. "I mean, I know it's good to exercise, but… these guys kind of take it to extremes."
May nodded, throwing a ball to Spoink. He bounced it twice on his head, then sent it back with a flick.
"But… yeah, I guess this also kind of shows how strong Ash has become," she said, switching to another ball. "I know he's a strong trainer, but looking at him now I can compare and see how much he's literally physically strong."
"Do you think Aura counts as cheating?" Max said, frowning.
May began to speak, stopped, then shrugged. "I think that's a pretty good question," she said. "I mean, it is something that not everyone can do… but it's something that he's trained and which is part of him. So… maybe?"
She shook her head. "Maybe the difference is that he's just got loads more of it than normal."
"What I'm kind of confused by is the shape of the island," Brock said.
"Why, what's strange about it?" Max asked.
"Islands don't look like biceps," Brock summarized. "Maybe there was a really egotistical Machamp or something..."
"You're pretty good, kid," said Rocky, the head trainer. "Are you used to bodybuilding?"
"Kind of," Ash replied, lowering the pair of Geodude. "I train a lot with Lucario."
As he put them down, the Geodudes moved off a bit to make some space.
"Well, if you're good at weight training, then you'd better be good at Pokemon training too!" Rocky told him forcefully. "So, how about it? Want a battle?"
Pikachu blinked. "Uh..."
"Sure, I guess," Ash agreed. "I was hoping to do more about fitness training, I don't get a chance to chat to someone who does it themselves very often..."
"Just one battle, come on," Rocky said. "Okay, double battle! My Pokemon have specially trained to be as strong as they can be!"
"Okay, then," Ash agreed. "I guess… Torkoal, Sceptile, you want a battle?"
Sceptile emerged, and took a feet-splayed stance with his tail brushing the floor. "I certainly do."
Torkoal looked a little more nervous, but nodded. "Right!"
"Okay, here we go, then! Walrein, Quagsire, get ready!" Rocky called, sending out both Water-types. "Hey, someone come over and ref this – yeah, thanks."
Brock cleared his throat. "Ready? Begin!"
"Get the Grass-type!" Rocky ordered. "Knock him flat!"
Sceptile's left leg shifted slightly as he braced himself, and he spun around to bring his tail whip-cracking around and slug the attacking Walrein in the side.
Following up before his opponent could gather himself, Sceptile swept his Leaf Blades around in a one-two sequence of blows.
Walrein ducked under the first and took the second in the chest, and went over backwards with a startled exclamation.
Stepping forwards, Sceptile glanced over to see if Torkoal needed any help.
"Stop him from moving!" Rocky ordered. "It can't be that hard, he's a Fire-type!"
Quagsire got a firmer grip on Torkoal, then was nearly jerked off his feet by a blast of steam. Using the blast, Torkoal wrenched himself free and launched several yards into the air – before coming down much harder, all his limbs retracted and his shell leading the way.
From the sound of the clunk, Sceptile decided Torkoal could probably handle himself.
Walrein surged back to his flippers and hit Sceptile in the stomach, driving the lizardlike Grass-type back a few feet.
"Right!" Rocky said, nodding. "Now, just-"
He stopped, staring, as Sceptile wrenched Walrein into the air and lifted him over his head.
After hefting the Ice-type for a moment to be sure of the weight, Sceptile straightened his legs with an explosive shout and pushed Walrein into the air.
Walrein curled into a ball as he rose, peaked and fell, ready to use Ice Ball, and got blasted by a Flamethrower from Torkoal.
As the Water-type uncurled, slightly dizzy, Sceptile delivered a final blow with a Leaf Blade.
Rocky stared. "But… what happened to my plan?"
"I'm pretty sure it was us," Sceptile said, glancing at Torkoal. "What do you think?"
"Sounds about right," Torkoal agreed.
Brock raised his hand. "Uh… Mr – Rocky, was it?"
Rocky nodded, returning his stunned Quagsire. "That's me, all right."
"Well… I was wondering if you knew Ash has three League wins?"
Rocky blinked. "Say what?"
He looked at Ash again. "But… how come? He's way too young to have had time to do that and train to get that fit!"
"Hey, sensei?" someone asked. "Do you even watch TV?"
"What's that got to do with it?" Rocky asked, confused.
"We've basically all heard of Ash Ketchum," the girl explained. "He's kind of famous – he's got Legendary Pokemon, he's won two Leagues-"
"Didn't he just say three?" Rocky interjected.
"Orange totally doesn't count," she said, waving a hand. "Seriously."
"I thought it did..." Ash muttered. "Lucario blew up the arena, doesn't that count?"
"No Elite Four, four gyms, sports challenges, no knockout round," the girl summarized. "Not a proper League."
"Well, at least you won," Max pointed out.
"Yeah, but..." Ash shrugged. "I just kind of feel down about the whole Orange thing."
"She didn't mean to be rude," Brock told him. "Just… unenthusiastic."
"I know, I know..." Ash sighed.
"Hey, pass me one of the big ones," Sableye asked, kicking back.
Fearow just gave him a stare.
"I'll do it," Alakazam sighed.
Waving a spoon, the Psychic-type lifted up an irregular amethyst cluster and passed it across to Sableye. "There's not many more this big."
"I guess we'll just have to go get more, then," Sableye replied with a shrug. He nibbled on the gemstone, leaving a small cavity in the side. "Mmm, lots of lovely chromium impurities."
"I'll take your word for it on the taste," Alakazam decided.
On a lounger next to them, Nidoqueen snored. Her tail thumped into the ground once, and a smile spread across her face.
"Ah, this is the life," Sableye opined, putting the half-eaten rock on a table and laying back with his arms behind his head. "Don't you guys think so?"
Fearow huffed disdainfully.
Sableye pushed himself half-upright with one arm, leaning to look. "Wait, did you – you did!"
"What's that?" Alakazam asked, one spoon poised about to dig into an ice cream cone.
"There's a thing of dried fruit next to him," Sableye explained, pointing. "But he's eaten, what, half of them? He always does it when we're not looking!"
Alakazam chuckled.
"Oh, give it a rest," he added, waving his left spoon at the annoyed Fearow. "We won't think any less of you if you're… you know… not consumed with psychotic rage all the time."
"We'll tell jokes, though," Sableye said.
"Well, yeah, but I was hoping we'd be able to avoid mentioning that one." Alakazam took a bite of the ice cream, and his moustaches bristled happily. "It's got peach in it, I like peach."
"Conferences," Sableye summarized, "are awesome."
There was a tremendous splash from the pool, as someone's Swampert cannonballed into it and sent water washing out in all directions.
A Camerupt snorted its opinion of the interruption, and someone blew a whistle. "Hey!" the lifeguard called, letting the whistle bounce back down on its cord. "No bombing!"
"Remind me again how come we get to come here?" Sableye asked. "Is this just a thing scientists do so they get a week off?"
"It's supposed to be so they can pool experience and abilities, as well as network," Alakazam told him. "Obviously they need to go somewhere where most of them will be foreigners anyway, so it may as well be neutral ground. In practice, it's absolutely so they can get a week off. Which is why they do lovely tropical places like this more often than they do… well… somewhere three feet deep in snow. Or where it just rains all day."
"Yeah, the sun's definitely an improvement," Sableye said, stretching. "Funny thing, really, I used to live in a cave… but this is way better."
"I understand that mixed drinks are rare in caves, as well." Alakazam levitated a dry Martini up to Fearow, who dipped his beak into it. "Yes, it's a dry one, don't worry..."
Nidoqueen fell off her sun lounger with a whack.
"Ow," she mumbled.
"Any idea when Gary's going to be back?" Sableye asked.
Alakazam shrugged. "Based on how long his presentation rehearsals went, he should be back now – but there's Q&A sessions as well, so he might be a while."
On a quiet island a little way off the main route from Lilycove to Mossdeep, a large helicopter came down to a rotors-whirling landing. Sand danced out from the downwash, and three Magma agents jumped out of the cargo hold.
Maxie waited while their Poochyenas and Mightyenas fanned out, quartering the beach. His hand reached down to caress the handle of the suitcase by his side, and he adjusted his glasses.
"All clear, sir," reported one agent.
"Good," Maxie replied, taking up the handle of the case. "Standard formation. Have the helicopter gain height – not much, just make sure it's off the ground."
He stepped out, and his hair whipped as the aircraft regained height.
"Courtney," he added. "No need for the deception. Archie needs to see that we are serious… there's no better way to fool him."
The grunt next to him nodded, and discarded her issue hoodie. Underneath it, Maxie's able lieutenant was revealed, and she spent a moment adjusting her clothes before nodding to herself.
"Yes, sir," she said. "The agreed meeting location is over here."
"Excellent," Maxie pronounced, looking up at the island's central mountain. "This will do just fine. Aqua forget too easily that islands rise from the sea, and are not so easily rendered dormant."
A few hundred metres out to sea, the reddish-brown form of Land's Wrath – Team Magma's amphibious fortress – settled to the sandy bay floor.
"All stop," reported the man at the helm. "We are down and latched."
Good work," Tabitha told him. "Now… we wait, until the strike team is successful."
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