30,31

"Right, so you're over here for... how long?" Ivysaur checked, looking at his notes.

"Three days," Furfrou replied, tail held at a jaunty angle. "My trainer, he has managed to borrow an Alakazite and is running tests – I volunteered to be the one who went back to the ranch."

"And you'd like to participate?"

"Certainly, why not?" Furfrou nodded, very slightly. "It seems an amusing pastime..."

"Okay." Ivysaur flipped through. "I see Primeape's not got a battle for a while... we could put you in against him, at least until Damos can re-jigger the combat roster."

The Normal-type tossed her long ears, and considered. "Yes, that sounds very good."

Ivysaur wrote that down, then waved. "Hey, Primeape?"

Whack.

"Hey, what's that noise?" Molly asked, looking up from her homework. "Do you know what it is?"

Her Eevee shrugged, and shimmered into an Espeon. "Should I go look?"

Floomph.

"No, I'll come – I just need to finish this sum..." Molly said, sticking her tongue out. "Uh... so there's twelve trainers, and they've each got three Pokémon... but then four of them catch two more Pokémon... so..."

Another flicker of change, and Leafeon leapt lithely to the windowsill to watch over Molly's shoulder.

Thwack.

"So... uh, twelve times three..." Molly held up her fingers, and counted. "That's three tens, and three twos. So... thirty... six..."

She wrote that down.

"And then there's four times two more Pokémon... so another... eight..."

Wham.

Molly looked at the numbers again, then kept going. "So – six plus eight is fourteen, so that's a four, and the ten goes to be one in the next column over... forty-four!"

Quickly writing '44' in the answers, Molly stood up and held out her arms. Leafeon jumped, landing in her arms as Eevee, and she hurried out the door.

"Take this!" Primaeape shouted, winding up. "Mega Punch!"

Floomph.

"So, you see," Furfrou explained, padding along at a walk, "in Kalos we do not have such a salubrious climate as here. We need to rely more on, well, the architechture to keep us warm."

"I see you've not been here in winter yet," Houndoom replied with a shrug. "It's a lot colder than you might think."

Furfrou shrugged.

"Outrage!"

Fwump.

"Is he annoying you?" Houndoom asked, looking back at Primeape.

"Actually it's quite amusing," Furfrou said, tossing her ears back over her shoulder.

"Hello!"

The two canines looked up to see a girl running towards them, Flareon bounding at her side.

"Hello, Molly!" Houndoom called back, tail wagging. "Did you finish your homework?"

"All the maths!" Molly said, slowing down. "Who's this?"

"This is Gary's Furfrou," Houndoom introduced. "Furfrou, this is Molly Hale – she moved in a little before my family did."

The Normal-type tilted her head. "Interesting. You can speak to Pokémon?"

"Yeah!" Molly said, nodding. She crouched down. "It's nice to meet you, miss Furfrou!"

Furfrou covered her mouth with a paw for a moment, then held the paw out to shake. "Enchanted."

Molly took it and shook it. "I'll show you around!"

"Force Palm!"

Thump.

"But I guess maybe I should wait until your battle's over?" she added.

"Non, this is a good time," Furfrou said. "Well, an okay time, certainly..."

Primeape rammed his fist into her fur again, to little effect.

"I wish I could do that!" Sylveon said.

Furfrou did a double take. "Wait... was there not a Flareon? And where did the Sylveon come from?"

"That's my Sylveon!" Molly said, scratching the Fairy-type. There was a flash, and Sylveon became Umbreon. "Umbreon's special!"

"So I see," Furfrou agreed, considering.

A slow smile spread across her face.

"So... she can become any of the evolutions of Eevee, correct?"

"Yeah!" Molly agreed. "She's great!"

Furfrou thought about that.

"I think that is wonderful – but at the same time, I think there is a great waste of potential going on."

She shrugged off another hit from Primeape.

"Young lady, I feel I should teach you how to properly groom the fur of your Pokémon. To style it, to make it flow, to give her the countenance that fits with the latest Lumiose fashion!"

"You mean..." Umbreon blinked, and reverted to Eevee. "I could look pretty like you?"

"No, you are already pretty," Furfrou said.

She smirked. "What I will explain is how to make you – and your trainer – fantastic."

"What do you think?" Todd asked.

Sneasel looked at what her trainer was pointing at, then back to him.

"I'm willing to pay, if you really want it," Todd added. "Think about it carefully – don't feel pressured, but don't just dismiss it out of hand – uh, paw – either."

Sneasel nodded once, to show she understood, then jumped down from Todd's shoulder.

Landing with barely a sound on the floor, she looked down and tapped her foot.

After a long moment, she tapped his leg to get his attention, and then shook her head slowly.

"No?" Todd asked to confirm, and got a confirmatory nod. "Okay, then."

He moved on from the Razor Claw box, leaving them sitting there ready for any trainer who wanted to buy one.

"Anything else you want, then?" he asked, reaching down a hand.

Sneasel took it, used it as leverage to clamber onto his palm, then swarmed up his sleeve back to her spot on his shoulder.

Using the perch, she looked around the big store for an aisle with just the right contents.

"Sneas!" she said, spotting it, and pointed.

"Okay, let's see..." Todd laughed, moving along three rows to the aisle she'd indicated.

Halfway down, she tapped his shoulder twice and jumped back down again – then scaled the shelves, and pointed out what she was after.

"Huh, I didn't know they had these here..." Todd said, picking up and examining the light. "This is one of those ones that only a few Pokémon can see, right?"

Sneasel nodded, touching her eyelashes and then nodding to the light.

"Well, I'm..." Todd smiled. "Touched, I really am, that you'd want our one-year-together present to be some camera gear. But I still think we should get you something for you."

Sneasel shrugged.

"I know," the photographer decided suddenly. "I'll surprise you!"

The Ice-type looked a little surprised, then smiled – accepting she was getting a present whether she wanted one or not.

"Atta girl," Todd said, and put the mid-IR light in their basket. "Now, let's get this checked out, and then we can head to Dark Cave to test it. I've heard there's Shuckle in there."

"Nearly there," Ash said.

The others stopped and stared at him.

"I assume," Ash added. "Mainly because we said we'd have lunch at Birch's lab, and I'm kinda hungry..."

"Well..." May looked up at the foliage. "Yeah, actually, we pretty much are. But I'm still surprised to hear you saying something correct about location."

"I'm not that bad," Ash protested.

"Ash, we once managed to find a desert to get lost in," Brock pointed out. "In Kanto."

Ash winced. "Okay, maybe I am that bad..."

"I only hope your sense of direction didn't wear off on Keldeo, or he's going to end up somewhere near the south pole," Pikachu snarked.

"So!" Ash said, changing the subject. "How much further is it?"

"Well, if I were riding my bike I'd say another two minutes," May frowned. "But we're walking, so... ten?"

Ash sighed, looking up into the dappled light of the woods, then took a Fast Ball from his waist and released Entei with a flash. "Hey, Entei?"

Entei looked around. "This seems familiar..."

"I was wondering – well, you know how your job involves going to visit all kinds of Legendaries?"

The regal Fire-type nodded, pacing alongside.

"Well... I guess that means you've met Pokémon I've not re-met yet, and actually never really got to know. So... what's Rayquaza like?"

Entei blinked. "Any... particular reason?"

Ash shrugged. "Not really... just wondering."

"Ah. Well..." Entei paused, thinking.

"Rayquaza is... dutiful," he began. "He has an important job, and he is truly devoted to it – and with good reason, for he has saved the world many hundreds of times and parts of it uncountable thousands."

"Yeah, I guess when we saw him last time around he was pretty... well, he kind of overdid it," Ash said, trying to sum it up. "He tried to shoot down a meteorite that turned out to be a Deoxys, see..."

"That would be quite a mistake, yes," Entei agreed. "But he considers the exosphere and ionosphere his territory, and it is rare another Pokémon can reach high enough to make him reconsider."

"Do you have any idea what he thinks of space travel?" Max asked, looking over. "I mean, at Mossdeep they keep sending up space shuttles – and there's a space station in orbit right now, too."

"I believe he can tell the difference between a few tonnes of man-made metal and several hundred thousand tonnes of solid nickel-iron," Entei stated.

"I guess that's a good point..."

"May!" Birch called, waving. "It's good to see you!"

May smiled. "Hello, Professor! It's been a while!"

"Yes, I've missed the help," Birch admitted ruefully. "Especially when it's the rush season – I sometimes have dozens of starter Pokémon to handle, and it's no fun being bitten by a Torchic."

Max sniggered.

"They do bite," Birch defended himself. "And some of them Peck. Anyway, what brings you to my humble lab?"

"Well, we were passing pretty close anyway," May said. "And we thought it'd be a good idea if some of our Pokémon got a check-up."

"But you could get that at any Pokémon centre," Birch said, a little confused.

"Plus it lets all our new Pokémon meet you!" Max added. "And lets Arc meet you again, too."

"Arc again, is it?" Birch asked. "How long has he had that name?"

Max began to speak, and stopped.

"...months, actually," he said, frowning. "Huh, I hardly noticed. I guess he's settled down on one."

"If he feels comfortable in it, that's a good sign," Birch opined sagely. "Maybe it means he should just use that name from now on."

"That's about what I thought," Max said. "Anyway – you remember Professor Birch, Arc?"

"Yep!" Arc woofed, tail wagging.

Birch took a step back. "I was... expecting him to be shorter."

"Yeah, he evolved!" Max said, with a smile. He reached up to Arc's stiff blue ruff, and worked his fingers into it – earning a little foot-twitching croon of pleasure from the big canine. "Plus he's got a neat new trick!"

Birch looked closer again, stroking his beard. "I – wait, yes, that's a Mega Stone! Wonderful!"

"I kind of want a Mega Stone," May said a little wistfully. "When I see Ash, and Brock, and now Max – it seems to, I don't know, prove they're doing things just right as a trainer."

She smiled. "Anyway – Max, are you going to show Professor Birch your other Pokémon?"

"Oh, right!" Max said. "Okay... there's Guy, first, and Cinder."

The Fighting-type and Dark-type emerged in twin flashes of light, and Birch crouched down to give Cinder a stroke. "She's a sleek one!"

"Yeah," Max agreed. "She's kind of getting used to being the little one at the moment..."

Cinder stuck her tongue out. "I'm perfectly happy being the small one."

Arc batted at her with a paw. "Sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, now stop trying to tip me over!"

"They get on well," Birch remarked.

"You wouldn't say that if you could understand them," Max sighed, and Birch chuckled.

"If I could understand Pokémon my research would be much easier... and this is Guy, right?"

The Breloom gave him a careful nod.

"Watch out, he's got a Toxic Orb," Max said.

"I see – I'll make sure to keep my hands to myself," Birch chuckled. "Still... yes, a wonderful example of a Breloom, all right. Does he have your father's signature move?"

"Not yet, but mainly because we haven't had time to use the TM," Max told him. "And this is Delta – I caught him down near Dewford."

Resting on his rear fins, Delta waved.

"Hold on a moment," Birch directed. "I'll go get the water tank. No reason he should be dry, and he shouldn't have to stay in his Pokéball either."

Once Delta was safely ensconced in a small fishtank, they resumed.

"And is that the last Pokémon you caught?" Birch asked.

Max grinned. "Nope."

"Can I do this one?" May asked.

"But May!" Max sighed. "I've been-"

"You've got more Pokémon to talk about than me," May said. "Come on, please?"

Another sigh. "Fine."

"Right!" May said. "So – Max also caught a Pokémon a little before Mauville. He's a Steel-type."

"Ah, an Aron like mine?" Birch asked. "Excellent choice."

There was a faint giggle.

"No, not an Aron," Max said.

"He's also a Psychic-type," May went on.

"A Beldum or Metang?" Birch asked, deeply impressed. "Those are extremely hard catches. A real feather in your cap, especially as such a young trainer."

A stronger giggle.

"But..." Birch frowned. "Wait a moment. Beldum and Metang don't have a recognized male/female gender... a Bronzor? But no, they wouldn't..."

Max and May exchanged a glance, smiling.

"Okay, what did you-"

Birch stopped. Looked at Entei, sitting calmly on his haunches watching the conversation. Then at Ash, then Max.

"...you didn't."

Surprise! Jirachi giggled, bursting out of the open top of Max's bag. Hello, Mr. Professor! It's nice to meet you!

May tried valiantly to keep a straight face. Her brother didn't even bother.

After Professor Birch had calmed down (and said hello, and received a demonstration of Jirachi's wish-granting powers by way of a cup of coffee), May sent out Blaziken.

"You know Blaziken, of course, Professor," she said, indicating the Fire-type.

"Ah, yes, of course," Birch agreed. "I'm fairly sure that your hypothesis was right about the cause of his evolution, by the way – I found some footage of a Charmander evolving twice in five minutes during a league battle where Mr. Ketchum was present."

"Yeah, it does kinda happen a lot," Ash admitted easily.

Blaziken inclined his head to the Professor.

"And so you can speak to him as well?" Birch asked, glancing at May. "Like your brother can now speak to his Pokémon, I mean."

"Yes," May confirmed. "I'll always treasure that first time it worked perfectly – it was right at the end of an Appeal, and..."

Blaziken smiled as well. "It was the best moment for it," he said, quietly. "I'm glad it worked out like that."

"Well, you're in good hands – ah, claws..." Birch looked at Blaziken's arms for a moment, including the feathers. "Wings?"

The Fire-type raised his arm and inspected the feathers.

"I think hands will do," May said, smiling.

"Well, I'm not one for Contests myself," Birch said, with a shrug. "But is it going well?"

"Pretty well," May agreed. "I've done well so far – though I really should get on and win some more ribbons."

Reaching for her belt, she sent out Beautifly. "She's my first catch after leaving home – isn't she lovely?"

Beautifly did a slow roll, then came down to land on her outstretched forearm – wings beating gently, to minimize the weight May felt.

"Those are very interesting Pokémon," Birch agreed. "Beautifly and Dustox are from the same Pokémon – Wurmple – but they evolve in two very different ways. It's fascinating."

"It is, I guess," May agreed, with a little smile. "But I'd have Beautifly whether she was Beautifly or Dustox."

"I prefer how I am," Beautifly said, adjusting her position a little. She took off again, then, and landed over on the counter.

"I take it you've used her in Contests?" Birch asked.

"Once she evolved, yes," May said. "She did pretty well in a doubles contest, but we lost the final..."

"She picked Paper," Max supplied.

"...pardon?" Birch asked, confused.

"It's not important," May waved off. "She worked with Skitty."

Another flash.

"Like... yawn," Skitty mrowled, tail in front of her mouth to catch her yawn. "I was, like, asleep..."

"You're a Skitty," May pointed out, scooping her pure Normal-type up and giving her a stroke – eliciting a reluctant purr. "You'll be able to do without your beauty sleep."

"Like, no fair..." Skitty purred, stretching sinuously and leaning into May's fingers. "That's soooo not fair."

Birch chuckled. "I'm guessing she's a right minx."

"She is a bit," May agreed, and giggled as Skitty let out a huff. "But she's quite the darling on stage – she's got Assist, which means she really has to know how to improvise."

"I imagine you'd have to..." Birch agreed, with a firm nod. "Assist is one of those funny moves."

May nodded. "Yeah, and that's sometimes caused problems," she agreed. "Especially since sometimes it gives me a move from one of Ash's Pokémon, and he's got a completely crazy team."

"...yeah, I can't really argue with that," Ash admitted.

Birch joined in stroking Skitty, who mumbled something about liking him, and chuckled.

"Anyone else?" Birch added. "Uh... you didn't catch Rayquaza or anything, right?"

"No," May replied with a smile, putting Skitty down. "But I did catch him."

A flash, and Swablu appeared.

He settled on May's arm like Beautifly had, puffed out his chest, and gave a self-important peep!

"A Swablu," Birch said, stating the obvious. "Fascinating Pokémon – they change their type to Dragon when they evolve, and then when they Mega-Evolve-"

"I know," May said, with a small sigh. "I keep being told that..."

"So, how long ago did you catch him?" Birch asked, as the Flying-type took off and did a circle of their heads.

"About a week or so," May approximated. "Maybe another day or so..."

"Right. Well..." Birch glanced at the clock, and smiled. "Ah, good – lunch time!"

He glanced at Max. "Sorry, Max – May – but I think it'd be better to do the checkups after lunch."

"Fine by me!" Max agreed.

Professor Birch headed into the kitchen, and took some dishes out of the oven.

"That smells great!" Brock said, with professional interest. "Do you cook?"

"Well, this is all just stuff I get delivered," Birch said with a shrug. "I get the big boxes, because there's usually enough Pokémon hanging around to have whatever I don't have, and it's all pretty healthy stuff."

Still, I'm kind of interested," Brock told him. "I like cooking, and this looks like good cooking to me."

Birch smiled. "Thanks. Oh, here – May, this one's yours."

May took it, and headed quickly to her place. Putting it down, she sucked on her fingers. "Ow..."

"Problem?" Birch asked, handing another plate to Ash.

"The plates are kind of hot..." May said.

"Really?" Ash asked, looking down at his. "I don't... oh, yeah, gloves..."

Ash's friends laughed at that.

"Allow me," Blaziken said, taking the plate for Max in his heat-proof claws.

"Thanks, Blaziken," Max said with a smile.

Then a thought occurred to him, and he frowned. "Wait... uh, May? Have you considered having Blaziken juggle plates?"

"Don't give him ideas!" May said quickly.

Brock put his plate down with a sliding clunk, and took his frilly oven mitts off.

Seeing the others staring, he shrugged. "Well, I had them in my bag..."

Some rather good lunch later, Birch stood up from the table. "Well, I'd better get started."

He began to step over to the lab's machinery, then paused. "Actually... May, do you mind giving me a bit of help?"

"What do you need done?" May asked.

"Well, there's a few of the starters Oak normally gives out in the back," Birch shrugged. "They're part of an exchange program. I'd just like you to give them a look-over – you know, like you did earlier this year."

"Sure," the young Coordinator agreed. "Want to help out, Max?"

"Sure!" Max agreed. "Why not?"

"Okay, Charmander," May said, softly. "I'm going to pick you up now, so I can make sure your scales are healthy. Is that okay?"

The little Charmander frowned, considering it, then nodded.

"That's a brave girl," May smiled, and reached in to lift her up.

Squirming only slightly, the Fire-type looked up at May as she was lifted up, and asked a question.

"I kind of wish Birch wasn't checking up on Ethan and Kris, too," Max said.

"I think I can guess..." May said, smiling. "No, it won't hurt – I'll let you know when I'm going to do something, okay?"

Another nod.

May inspected Charmander's scales, looking closely, and frowned. "Hm, I think some of these are a bit chapped... Max, can you grab the wax?"

Max went to get it, and passed it to his sister.

"Thanks," May said, noticing he'd opened the lid. "Now, I'm going to give your scales a rub with this wax, okay?"

Charmander nodded again, and May took a finger-ful of the wax before touching it gently to the trouble spots.

"So... normally, this would be done by a Pokémon Centre, right?" Max asked.

"That's right," May agreed. "Or by the parent, in the wild. But because these guys and girls aren't with trainers yet, it's up to Birch – and us – to make sure they're in top condition."

Charmander leaned into the rub a little, tail waving happily, and both Maples smiled.

"There we go," May said, after a minute. "That should feel a bit better."

She put Charmander back down, and took some food from the counter. "And here's your lunch."

"You're pretty good with them," Max said.

"Well, after handling Eevee..." May shrugged. "With her it was brushing, but it's the same thing. And – well, any Coordinator needs to know how to keep her Pokémon looking beautiful."

"So, who next?" Max asked, as Charmander finished her lunch and had a quick drink.

"Hm..." May frowned. "Do you want to try doing one yourself?"

"Sure," Max nodded. "So long as you can tell me what to do."

"Okay, then, we'll do the Mudkip next," May said. "Come on, Charmander, let's get you back to your box."

"Ready?"

"Yeah," the tough replied. "You know what to do, Musharna."

"Shaaaarn," Musharna agreed, and drifted up to the window.

"Right, so the important bit is keeping him damp," Max nodded. "I get it – so normally he'd live somewhere damp enough."

"Yeah," May agreed. "And when they treat a Water-type, they always make sure to give it a good wash down, just to make sure it's nicely hydrated."

Seeing her brother looking a bit guilty, she smiled. "But don't worry – Delta's a Flying-type, too, so he's got a bit less trouble with it. And he's been keeping himself wet enough."

"Right," Max said, and yawned. "I guess that makes sense..."

"Not enough sleep last night?" May asked.

The Bulbasaur waiting his turn yawned, and then so did the Treecko.

"No, I got to bed early enough, I just..."

Max yawned again.

Blinking, he shook his head. "Sorry, I should be concentrating..."

May yawned too. "No, I think... uh..."

She sat down a bit heavily on the floor, then her eyes closed and she drifted off.

Max blinked, owlishly, then slumped asleep as well.

"Great!" the ringleader said. "Now – quick, get those Pokémon and get them back to the truck!"

May yawned, stretched, and her fists met hard metal.

"Wha?" she asked, yawning again, and then blinked her eyes open.

The sight made her jolt awake.

She was in a dark room – a moving room, swaying and occasionally jolting – with the sound of an engine throbbing in the background and a pile of cages across from her.

The first thing May noticed was that the cages held all six of the Starters which she'd been helping care for. She recognized them – especially the Torchic, because she'd had so much experience with her own.

Then she looked quickly around. "Max?" she asked, in a hoarse whisper. "Are you okay?"

Squirtle knocked on the bars of his cage, and pointed urgently. May followed his pointing claw, and saw her brother still asleep on the floor.

"Max!"

Stumbling in her haste, May moved over and checked Max was okay. Feeling for his pulse, she confirmed he was alive, and then checked his breathing. Normal, but even after that and a vigorous shake he didn't wake.

"What..." she began, then fought off another yawn. "What happened?"

The Bulbasaur gestured with his vines, sending out a tiny puff of pollen and gesturing to it.

"Sleep powder?" May guessed, and got a nod. "Or... well, or something, I suppose."

She glanced down at her brother again, hoping he was okay, and then her expression firmed.

"I guess someone stole you all," she said, and the Starters looked worried. "Well... so what? We're going to get out of here – all of us."

May nodded to them. "But I'm going to need your help. Okay?"

A pause, and then all six Pokémon nodded.

"Right," she said. "First – Charmander, Torchic, do either of you know Ember? Raise your arm or wing."

Charmander held up her forearm.

"Right..." May looked at the cages for a moment longer.

They were made of close-spaced metal bars, and looked like they were six sides simply bolted together.

After considering for a moment, she picked her spot. "Okay, Charmander – Ember right there. Make it as hot as you can."

Charmander nodded, and breathed a stream of flame onto the bar.

They waited, May bracing herself against the wall as their truck did a turn and bounced over an obstacle, until the bar was glowing cherry-red.

"Right!" May said. "Okay – now, Bulbasaur, can you wrap your vines around through there... and there... and around there again... good."

Bulbasaur winced as his vines got uncomfortably warm, from contact with the bar not far from where it had been heated.

"Now – pull as hard as you can!"

Bulbasaur did so, and Squirtle pulled on the vines running through his cage to help.

The improvised pulley system took up the slack, then groaned, and the bar slowly bent outwards an inch or so.

After a few more seconds, it was stopped completely, and May nodded. "Now – Squirtle, spray Bulbasaur's vines!"

Squirtle did so, and the Grass-type sighed in relief as his planty appendages cooled down again.

"You're doing great," May said, looking at the bent bar. "Nearly there – Charmander, can you do the one next to it?"

Charmander nodded, taking a deep breath, and then began to use Ember again.

"Shut up!" shouted a voice, banging on the partition between them and the driver's cab. "Don't make me come back there!"

"...more quietly," May amended, speaking in a hoarse whisper this time.

"Okay, a bit wider," Birch said, and Cinder dutifully opened her mouth a bit wider.

Birch put the plastic-covered sensor into the back of her mouth, between the back teeth, and drew his hand back. "Okay, Crunch."

Cinder's jaw strained as she bit down as hard as she could.

The laptop beeped, registering her peak force, and Birch read it off. "Good, that's perfectly healthy."

Cinder's tail gave a few wags, and she barked something.

"She's asking if there's anything else," Ash supplied.

"No, that's all," Birch confirmed, taking the sensor out again. "Let's see... just two more tests to get data on."

Arc whined.

Arc would like to know if you're going to take the multimeter off him any time soon, Kris stated.

"Oh – sorry, forgot about it," Birch said, wincing. "Sorry, the peak-voltage measurement was the last one. You've got a clean bill of health too."

As he said it, he took the sensor pads off, and the Manectric shook his fur out before licking at the gummed-up section where one of the pads had been secured.

"Should he be doing that?"

"It's actually edible," Birch smiled. "Learned that lesson in university..."

"Pardon?"

"Oh, a friend was measuring his Luxio. Poor thing had terrible hairballs for a week..." Birch shrugged. "Anyway, Blaziken, I already have your height, now can I just get you to step onto these scales... good..."

Blaziken shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Yes, you're fine too," Birch said, writing down the result. "BMI is a bit high, but I'm fairly sure that's muscle."

The Fire-type looked a little smug. Just a bit.

A clock went bing.

"Ah, good, time's up," Birch said. He checked the climate monitor in Delta's tank, and nodded. "Good, respiration of oxygen is within normal bounds. You're all as healthy as you should be."

With a splash, Delta came up to the side of the tank and leaned over the top. "Maan."

"Yeah, I bet they'll be glad to hear it!" Ash agreed.

"Actually..." Brock frowned. "Where are they? It shouldn't take forty minutes to check on six Pokémon, right?"

"Well, a full check might, but... you're right, they should be done by now," Birch agreed.

Kris beeped. Interfacing... Professor!

"What?" Birch asked, hearing the urgency in Kris' emulated tone. "What's wrong?"

Cameras show a forced entry to the building. They must have disabled the alarm somehow.

Agreed, Ethan said, his own lights flashing. The self-test on the alarm does not function.

"But – oh, no," Birch said, paling. "What happened?"

According to the camera records, an unknown Pokémon knocked out all eight of them – six Pokémon, Max and May – and then two men and a Metang carried them all off.

"Why'd they kidnap Max and May?" Ash asked, baffled. "I mean-"

"Hostages?" Brock asked.

"Who cares?" Cinder yelped, already heading for the door. "We need to save our trainers!"

"Right!" Arc agreed, following her and hitting the emergency-door release with both paws.

Ash and Brock followed, as did their Pokémon, and Blaziken brought up the rear with his feathers starting to smoulder ominously.

"Over here!" Cinder barked, sniffing. "I think – yes, there's three men now!"

Arc came bounding up, and sniffed as well. "Yeah, I can smell it too!"

Another sniff. "And... what's that?"

"Vehicle fuel," Cinder said, frowning. "A truck. About half an hour ago."

Ash glanced up at Latias. "Can you find a truck?"

"They could be anywhere within about fifteen miles!" Latias protested. "And I don't know where's easy for them to go!"

"Can't you do something?" Blaziken asked, turning to the Porygon floating along behind.

We're trying all we can, Ethan said. There's a weather satellite passing overhead – the cameras are not built for ground surveillance, but I am fairly sure we can get something.

"Not good enough!" Blaziken snapped, then slammed a fist into a tree trunk.

There was an ominous crack.

"...sorry," he said, after a moment – looking down. "But I feel so-"

"I found where the truck was!" Arc reported. "And there's wheel ruts!"

"Great!" Ash said. "Latias – follow those tracks!"

Entei emerged in a flash. "Right! Let's go!"

Both Legendaries sped down the path, following the marks of the truck's passage, and Arc and Cinder rocked into a run behind them.

Brock sent out Flygon and Crobat, and then Blaziken ran past them at speed.

"That's... pretty fast," Ash blinked.

"Aren't you going to follow?" Pikachu asked him.

"I don't think I can run as fast as Entei – and..." Ash winced. "I kind of forgot to ask him for a ride..."

As Flygon took off in a whirr of wings, Ash headed back to the lab. "I think I might get Pidgeot, if she's available..."

"I wish we knew Agility," Cinder said, loping along at a dead run.

"Yeah!" Arc agreed, a continuous zip-buzz and faint smell of ozone trailing in his wake as he constantly used his electricity for boost. "I can't go any faster than this- wait, right turn!"

He skidded as he threw his weight around the turn, going a few feet wide, and then accelerated back to full speed with a burst of electrical energy.

Cinder lacked his quick electrical acceleration, and instead leapt at a tree. Her forepaws hit it, then her hindpaws, and she pushed off again at a fifty degree angle to her base course.

Loping along a little behind Arc, now, she focused on breathing deeply and evenly so she could run for as far as they might have to.

Then there was a whoosh as Blaziken sprinted past.

"...I didn't know he was that fast," Arc panted.

"Do you have Entei in sight?" Brock asked.

"No, but I can see Crobat, and he can see Latias every so often," Flygon replied. "I can't keep up, but we can take the straight course and save some time."

"Right," Brock agreed. "It's going to take several Pokémon to get them all back to the lab – and I think we're going to call the police."

"Why haven't we already done that?" Flygon asked, glancing back at his trainer.

"We don't know where we need to call them, and it looks like we don't need their help to find where Max and May are," Brock explained. "Besides, if these criminals can beat at least two Legendaries, then I'd like to know that before calling the police so they can bring everything they've got..."

Flygon nodded, and went back to flying at full speed.

"What's that down there?" he asked, after a moment.

Brock looked.

"It almost seems like..."

Entei bounded along, eyes flicking left and right as he identified each wheel rut in turn.

"Why – aren't you – going ahead?" he asked, speaking between the jolts as he hit the ground.

"I can barely keep track of the wheel ruts now!" Latias replied. "If I went faster, I'd either be running into trees, lose the trail, or have to fly up above the trees and lose the trail that way – I'm mostly following you, actually."

"Right!" Entei said, paws slamming into the ground as he ran. "Well, the faster we-"

A brown-red-cream blur shot past.

Latias blinked, then swerved to avoid a tree. "What was that?"

"Okay, ready?" May checked.

The Pokémon nodded.

"Right. Now!" she said, as quietly as she could.

Charmander blew a stream of flame onto the bar, and it began to glow a dull red as it heated.

"Torchic, push!" she added, and the young Fire-type jumped up and grabbed on to the hottest part of the bar.

He winced – he was resistant to heat, but not immune – and pushed with all his might, aided by Bulbasaur's pulley system.

The metal squeaked, then gave a few inches, and Bulbasaur detached his vines as they started to hurt.

Squirtle sprayed water over the bent metal, cooling it down, and Mudkip hopped up and added some mud to the floor of the cage.

The young Treecko picked some up, frowned a bit, and smeared it over his body – then got to the now-cool bars, and squeezed himself through with a gasp.

"Great!" May said. "Now, we just need to open the-"

The sound of the engine died away, and they all skidded forwards a few inches.

"...uh oh," she said, softly.

Voices came from outside. "...yeah, took the kids, too, the hunt for them should keep the Jennys distracted..."

"...they better be good..."

"...top quality, told you..."

May stepped towards the rear of the truck, standing between it and her still-unconscious brother. "Okay," she said, still quietly. "Let's see if we can surprise them."

Nods, from the Pokémon she'd helped escape.

Then one of the tough guys threw open the door of the cargo container. "Look!" he said, then blinked. "Eh?"

Squirtle used Water Gun.

The thug went staggering backwards, spluttering and holding his hands up in front of his face.

"They escaped!" said another voice. "Baltoy, stop them!"

"Vine Whip!" May ordered, as the Baltoy came into view. "Snag it and keep it from moving – then Treecko, use Absorb!"

"Rapid spin!" the trainer called, and Bulbasaur yelped as the Ground-type spun rapidly and twirled his vines up.

"It's okay!" May said, grabbing the vines and bracing herself – taking some of the jolt, so it didn't pull her out of the vehicle entirely.

A glance to her left, and she spotted a Magnemite lining up on Squirtle.

"Mudkip, Mud-slap!" she called. "And Charmander, use Ember!"

The jolt came, and she staggered forwards – then took the vines in both hands and hauled as hard as she could.

Her pull was strong enough to unwind the wound-up vines, spinning Baltoy like a top, and Treecko hit it with an Absorb as it wobbled dizzily.

"Hit that guy again, Squirtle!" she ordered, trying to keep track of everyone at once. The Magnemite hit the ground with a thud, then rose into the air again, and Mudkip hit the Steel-type with another Mud-slap.

The Baltoy stopped moving, fainted, and she sighed in relief – then a Voltorb turned up, and she looked quickly at Bulbasaur. "Throw that Voltorb away!"

"Bulba!" Bulbasaur agreed, wrapping the Voltorb in his vines. He wound up and threw it, and managed to get it about twenty feet or so away before it Selfdestructed with a bright yellow flash and a cloud of smoke.

Then vines reached out and grabbed her in turn.

"All of you stop or Tangela's going to bash her into the wall!" one of the thugs said.

Squirtle stopped firing his Water Gun, looking shocked, and the others paused.

Then the Torchic jumped up and bit through two of the vines with a single Peck.

Charmander joined in, firing an Ember, and May managed to pull her way free of the vines before the threat could be carried out.

For a few seconds, there was a tense standoff.

"Screw this!" said the man who'd been asking about quality. "Aggron, go!"

"Yeah, you too, Metang!" another said.

May paled – the six little starters were tough and working well together, despite their inexperience – but an Aggron and a Metang?

"Okay, guys," she said slowly. "This is going to be-"

There was a rooster-tail of flame, and then a foot slammed very hard indeed into the Metang.

It went flying off into the distance, and the flaming blur which had Blaze Kicked it went forwards in a handspring and launched two kicks in a row into Aggron's chin – resulting in hollow boom sounds and launching Aggron at least six feet into the air.

"Blaziken?" May asked, recognizing him as he paused for a moment.

Then there was another blur, and Tangela went flying before Blaziken dove into a forwards roll back towards Aggron and kicked upwards, with his whole body upside down at full extension.

His unconventional Sky Uppercut hit Aggron hard enough to knock the Rock/Steel type out in that devastating blow, and a moment later the Steel-type crashed to the ground in a long furrow.

Metang returned to the fight at speed, fist extended for a Meteor Mash, and Blaziken launched himself forwards to deliver a keening, blazing axe kick which smashed Metang to the ground in a sound like a collapsing ironmongery store.

The Musharna looked at him as he landed and slowly stood erect, then decided to return herself to her Pokéball without being set on fire first.

"I want to be a kickboxer when I grow up," Squirtle decided. "I will be The Strongest Squirtle!"

"I always wondered how you guys got started," Charmander commented. "You see something cool, and – you're away."

Entei and Latias charged into the rendezvous point. "Halt!" the Fire-type shouted, his voice echoing. "Place your hands on your heads and do not send out any Pokémon!"

"I think Blaziken's already got that bit covered," Latias said, looking at the unconscious Pokémon lying around the clearing and comparing them to the number of Pokéballs she could see. "Well, there's one missing..."

"May?"

May had half-scrambled down from the bed of the truck to greet Blaziken. Now she turned and hauled herself back up, assisted by Charmander and Treecko, and helped Max get up. "Are you okay?"

"I... uh, I feel sleepy," Max muttered. "What happened?"

One of the thugs made a break for a pickup parked nearby, and Blaziken kicked it so hard the engine block fell out.

He put his hands back on his head.

"I guess we got kidnapped," May said. "They were saying they'd leave us here so any Jennies would be too busy looking for us..."

A buzzing heralded the arrival of Flygon, Crobat and Brock.

"May! Max!" Brock called, jumping off the back of his Dragon-type. "Are you okay?"

"I think we are now," May said, looking again at Blaziken – who, she realized, had just beaten Entei to reach her. "We're all right now."

"Yeah," Max said, shaking his head. "I guess so... wish it hadn't happened, though."

They both froze, looking around for either Jirachi or Celebi, then started to laugh at their instinctive reaction.

Jirachi floated his giant sandwich back into the main clinic. Hi, guys! Sorry I'm...

He looked at the deserted room.

Where'd everyone go?

"Sure, Larry," one of the thugs muttered. "Take the kids, it's not like they'll do anything..."

"How was I supposed to know?" Larry replied, stung. "What about them-"

"-when Ash goddamn Ketchum's in the same building-"

"-and they're Norman's kids too-"

"Shut up!" Larry snapped.

"All right, that's enough!" the local Jenny said, and her Arcanine growled menacingly. "Into the van, all of you."

Grumbling and sniping amongst themselves, the gangsters filed into the Black Maria and Officer Jenny slammed the doors shut.

As she dusted her gloves off, May looked down at Ethan's screen.

"Another Ability? Really?"

The number of abilities a Pokémon has varies, Ethan noted. It is a combination of personality, inclination, training and even mindset as to which manifest. It seems that Blaziken simply unlocked the other one that his species is known to possess.

May looked up at her stoic Fire-type, and smiled. "Well... I'm glad, Blaziken. Thanks so much for coming to rescue us."

"I wanted to be in time," Blaziken explained. "More than anything else – the thought of you being hurt because I was not there... horrified me. And I just kept running."

"How do you guys want to get back to the lab?" Brock asked. "I think Entei and Arc can each take one, Latias one, and Flygon can handle two..."

"I can take two," Entei replied. "But what about the young Pokémon?"

"That's easy," Arc said, looking up from where he and Cinder were licking Max silly. "I'll take Max, Latias can take May, and Entei can take all the starters!"

You would have had to have looked very closely to see Entei wince.

31

"You know," May said, looking around. "I can't help but feel a bit apprehensive today..."

Swablu took off from her hat, flying a circle around her. "I can't see anything that could be dangerous."

Alighting back on her arm, he tilted his head. "Is it one of those things you remember from last time around?"

"I think it is..." she agreed, giving him a scratch. "But I'm not quite sure, so I could be just getting nervous about something from a different day."

She turned to Ash. "How do you keep all this straight?"

"It's funny because you think he does," Pikachu said.

Skitty jumped from the ground to a log, from the log to a branch, ran along it, and launched herself into a flying leap which ended with her landing firmly on May's shoulder.

Then she purred, loudly and insistently.

May rolled her eyes, and reached up to pet the feline with her free hand. "I don't have nearly enough arms for this."

"I know the feeling," Ash admitted. "I've got enough Pokémon that I have to work from a schedule."

"You've got enough of us that we have to work out our own entertainment schedules," Ivysaur agreed. "Hopefully the fact I left Donphan in charge back at the ranch will keep Professor Oak's workload down a bit."

"Yeah, we saw on the news," Ash agreed. "They were kind of worried, until they worked out it was probably training."

Max chuckled. "Yeah, for other people it's a possible sign of the end of the world. For Ash it's training... and not even training he's there for."

"It's not that bad," Ash protested.

"Ash?" Brock asked, waiting for Ash to look at him. "You've just turned up in a new town, and two powerful Legendaries are fighting one another in the middle of a thunderstorm. What's your first reaction?"

"Um..." Ash frowned. "I guess... yeah, I pretty much start working out what I need to do to save the town, the world, and possibly the universe..."

"See, Ash?" May asked. "It is that bad."

"Hey, look!" Swablu said, pointing. "There's a Skarmory!"

"...oh, yeah, now I remember," May said, wincing. "Blaziken, can you-"

Pikachu jumped off Ash's hat, and fired a crackling Thundershock at the Skarmory.

It wobbled in mid-air, then came down to a barely-controlled crash landing next to the path with electricity still flaring off its steel feathers.

"What was that for?" she protested, shaking her feathers to make a menacing rattle. "I didn't even do anything!"

"Yet," Brock said. "But I know Pokémon behaviour – especially Rock, Ground and Steel types. You were coming in to attack."

"...you can't prove that," the Steel-type muttered, now significantly less bellicose.

"Please do not," Blaziken asked, looking down at the Skarmory as she got to her feet. "It would make me sad if you attacked us – especially my trainer."

Skarmory said something rude, and flew off – glancing over her shoulder every so often.

"Well, that went well," Max said.

"Yeah," May agreed. "Thanks, Pikachu."

"No problem," Pikachu said, looking smug.

He glanced back. "Hey, you two!"

Meganium looked up, and realized how far back she and Sceptile had fallen. "Oh – sorry!"

"Come on!" May said, waving. "I don't want to be late to get Bulbasaur!"

She looked over at Ash as the two Grass-types hurried to catch up. "Can you see her yet?"

"Not yet, no," Ash replied, shaking his head. "If she was right at the near edge of the reserve I might, but it's a big place."

"Well, I guess we'll have to find out if we can get in," Brock said. "We might need to get Professor Oak to ask them to let us in, but it's best to just try..."

"Yeah," May agreed. "That sounds good."

"That's Venusaur, right?" Swablu asked. "She sounds like a nice Pokémon."

"She is," May nodded. "She's my biggest Pokémon – though I guess Munchlax might be bigger, when he evolves... and so might you, actually."

Swablu fluffed himself up, preening, then giggled.

"Huh," Ash said, looking closer.

"What is it?" May asked, turning her attention to her friend. "Can you see Bulbasaur?"

"Well... I'm not sure," Ash admitted. "I can see something – actually, I can see two somethings, but one of them is..."

He squinted, still walking.

"I think that's Drew," he said, eventually. "Hey, Noctowl?"

There was a flash, and Noctowl shed his illusion – appearing just over Ash's head. "Pip pip?"

"Can you go see if Drew's got anyone with him?" he asked. "Anyone who isn't Roselia or Leafeon, I guess..."

"Or Masquerain," May volunteered. "He found his Surskit again, and evolved him."

"How do you know that?" Max asked, blinking. "We've not met him since then."

"He sent me a text," May replied, a little defensively. "We're rivals, not enemies. Anyway, doesn't Team Rocket send Ash text messages?"

"Occasionally," Ash admitted.

"There you go," May said firmly.

"I'll be back in two shakes of a Mareep's tail," Noctowl said.

He frowned. "Actually, that doesn't exactly bally well roll off the tongue, does it? Two shakes of a Lilligant's... no... hm, this is harder than I-"

"Noctowl?" Ash prompted.

"Right you are, right you are," Noctowl agreed, beating his wings and sweeping off towards the mid-morning sun.

"Oh, hey May!" Drew called, waving. "Ash, Brock... other guy."

"Come on!" Max said, shaking his head. "We met more often than you met Ash! Remember, in Johto?"

"Yeah, but you'll always be other guy to me," Drew said.

May stifled laughter. "So, how's things?" she asked.

"Not bad," Drew replied. "I wanted to have a look around the Grass-type reserve, and between Roselia and Leafeon they were pretty convinced I wasn't out for trouble – well, I guess that's what happened..."

"Why?" Ash asked "Who was convinced?"

"There's some Nuzleaf who looked at me back when I arrived," Drew said, gesturing over his shoulder.

"We didn't have that," Ash said, confused.

"We did," Sceptile corrected. "They asked Meganium and I about the purpose of our visit. You must have been too far off to notice."

"Oh, okay." Ash shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess..."

He gave Drew another look, then closed his eyes and looked again.

Not noticing Ash's scrutiny, Drew shook hands with Brock. "I noticed your Flygon," he said. "Good taste – I got one myself, you remember?"

Flygon waved.

"And as for Absol..." With a chuckle, the young Coordinator shook his head. "It's kind of like you're trying to get all the good Pokémon before I can!"

"Drew?" Ash asked. "Did you get a new Pokémon recently?"

"You mean Masquerain?" Drew replied. "Well, he was fairly recent..."

"No, I mean a Normal-type," Ash said, still frowning. "Or I think I'm seeing a Normal-type..."

Now Drew looked confused too. "I've got two Grass-types and a Bug-Flying," he said, then thought again. "Unless you mean... well, there's an egg, could it be that?"

"That would work," Ash confirmed.

"Then yeah, I do," Drew nodded. "Leafeon's first egg, from just a couple of days ago. I'm keeping it for now while I see if anyone's a good trainer for it... why, are you volunteering?"

"May?" Ash said, instead of answering the question directly. "Where did you get Glaceon?"

May looked up from a side conversation with Brock, a little confused. "Uh – you remember, right? That farm in Kanto which took in eggs from people who couldn't find homes for them..."

"Can I see that egg, Drew?" Ash asked.

May gave a tiny gasp, hand going to her mouth. "You don't..."

"I don't know," Ash stressed. "But I think it'd be a good idea to check."

"What did you want to show me?" asked the shiny Suicune.

The non-shiny one smiled. "Oh, it's something that I came up with just recently – after discussing things with Ash and Pidgeot."

"Then it must be good," the shiny said. "I assume it either involves water or is very destructive?"

Ash's Suicune chuckled. "Indeed it is – why do you ask?"

"Well," said Molly's friend, looking at the distant lighthouses. "We are a few miles out to sea."

"Of course," Ash's Suicune agreed. "Now, watch closely."

She began to pace faster, streamers swirling, and Molly's Suicune fell behind a little to get a clear view.

"Tailwind!" called the non-shiny Pokémon, and accelerated further. Her feet picked up, hopping from wave-crest to wave-crest, until she was flying across the water at hundreds of miles per hour.

As she ran, her power over the North Wind divided the air she was rushing through into two streams which curved away from her.

Then, she pushed herself just a little faster – and stopped dividing the wind.

Molly's friend took a step back, shocked, as an enormous wave built up in seconds, then crashed down as it became unstable and Suicune blasted through it.

"Did you see what happened?" she called, loping back over.

"I... think so," said the younger of the two Water-types. "You were going... well, it must have been the speed of sound... and then you used your sonic boom as a, a trowel – to dig into the water."

"That's right," Suicune agreed. "And, for just a moment, I was moving hundreds of tonnes of seawater at great speed."

She smirked. "It may mostly work on open water... but it's quite a surprise to anyone who's not expecting it."

"I see."

The shiny Suicune considered, then bowed. "My thanks once more for the lesson."

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine," Suicune replied. "Do you have any idea how fun it is to be able to discuss Suicune-specific tactics?"

Her doppelganger chuckled. "Yes, I imagine this one wouldn't work with Entei..."

Drew knelt on the soft grass, opened his bag, and carefully retrieved the egg canister.

Leafeon stood beside him, mouth a little open and one paw raised.

"Careful," she said, very softly.

Moving with gentle care, Drew set the canister down and opened it. Reaching in, he lifted the egg out in both arms.

"Is that enough for you to tell?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "It is."

Rather than continue, though, he bent down to address Leafeon directly. "Leafeon?"

"Yes?" the Grass-type asked.

"This is going to feel kind of strange for you," he explained. "Not... well, not tingly Aura stuff. Just... it's going to be bizarre in the same way it's bizarre that your trainer can talk about the Flygon he's going to meet, or the Absol he hasn't caught yet."

Leafeon looked down for a moment, then up again. "Did... did my child know me before, then?"

"I don't think so," Ash replied. "May got her egg in Kanto – at a place where eggs are dropped off to be hatched. I don't know if your daughter ever said anything about her parents – I only got the ability to understand Pokémon after going back, so I never could ask."

"She did," Pikachu spoke up unexpectedly. "She didn't do it much, but she did speak about you."

Leafeon's paw came up to touch her left eye.

Straightening, Ash nodded to Drew. "She's going to weigh a lot more in a moment," he cautioned.

Nodding, Drew shifted his grip – so the egg was resting on his palms, instead of held to his chest by one arm.

Ash waited for a moment, as May came up to stand beside him, then touched a blue-glowing palm to the Eevee egg.

It began to glow, then flashed a brilliant blue-white light.

The spherical form of the egg came apart, gaining definition, and then in a flash a long flat tail and two pointed ears and all the other features came at once.

Glaceon landed lightly on the grassy floor, shook her head, and blinked upwards. "...what just... happened?"

She glanced from left to right. "May? Ash? And... wait, Max isn't that... and where did..."

Spotting Pikachu, she directed a question at him. "Did Drew get a new Pokémon? I'm pretty sure his Roselia evolved..."

"Actually, it's kind of... different," Ash said. "That's his Roselia – before she evolved."

Glaceon did a double-take.

"Glaceon?" May asked, voice soft.

"Of course it's me," Glaceon replied, then her ears pricked up at the tone in May's voice. "...why wouldn't it be? What's wrong?"

She glanced over at Ash. "If he's gotten involved with Legendaries again-"

May crouched down and ran her hand along Glaceon's chill back, scratching all the good spots. "I've missed you, Glaceon!"

"Like, me too," Skitty volunteered, jumping down from her perch on May's shoulder. "It's been – ohmigawd, whole weeks!"

"We had a chat this morning, didn't we?" Glaceon asked, still confused.

"Like... the one about dresses?" Skitty asked. "Yeah, that was, like, this morning for you, but it was ages ago for me. Totally different."

Glaceon tapped Skitty on the nose with a paw, smiling at the pink-yellow feline's purr. "If you say it's been ages, then it probably has been..."

"Daughter?"

The Ice-type froze.

"Who said that?"

"I did," Leafeon said, walking around into Glaceon's field of view.

Glaceon's eyes flicked along her body. "But... you're... but my mother was a Flareon."

The words made Leafeon's face fall.

"Last time," Ash stressed. "Last time she was a Flareon – but there's been time travel, Glaceon. This time, Drew caught your mother, and she evolved into a Leafeon."

"...oh," Glaceon said, and winced at Leafeon's expression. "Uh... um..."

She glanced at her friend. "Skitty? Any help here? I don't know what to..."

After a moment, the Normal-type reached up with her tail and gently pushed Glaceon's muzzle back around to face Leafeon. "She's, like, your mother, Glaceon," Skitty pointed out. "So... like, do what you always thought you'd do when you met her, you know what I mean?"

Glaceon swallowed, then nodded.

She sat back on her haunches, tail curling around her, and looked down for a moment. "Uh... sorry, I had this whole meeting planned out in my head, but it really didn't work out that way," she began. "But... I've always wanted to meet my- to meet you, mom. And..."

Leafeon's eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

"...and I'm really sorry I reacted badly," the Ice-type went on. "But I want to... I need to... make it up to you. And – well, this is what I wanted to say to someone who..."

May put a silent hand on Glaceon's head, stroking her as lightly as a feather.

"It doesn't matter what you did, or didn't do, or... or how you're different from the mother I remember before I hatched," Glaceon went on. "Or, one of the mothers – I remember you as a Leafeon, and as a Flareon. But either way, I love you, and I want to know who you are."

She extended a paw. "So... can we talk?"

Leafeon took a deep breath.

"When I discovered I was going to have an egg, I imagined all kinds of things," she said. "This wasn't one of them. But..."

Her muzzle quirked in a smile.

"If you want to get to know me, then I can only say yes. I hope we get to know one another well, daughter – and I'm happy beyond words that your trainer knows mine, so that we have that chance."

Glaceon took two quick steps forwards and touched her muzzle to that of her parent, and then Leafeon licked the cold nose in front of her.

"I love you," Glaceon said softly. "You look nothing like I imagined, but you're everything I could have wanted."

"So..." Leafeon said, tilting her head slightly. "I guess you're mostly a Contest Pokémon?"

"That's right," Glaceon agreed. "Like you are, I believe – at least, if you're Drew's Pokémon it seems a safe assumption."

"That's right," Leafeon agreed. "I've taken part in about four shows so far-"

"Only four?" Glaceon repeated, then blinked and blushed. "...oh, sorry – I should have realized..."

"This is really strange," Leafeon sighed. "I mean... you're older than me, and that shouldn't be possible."

"Imagine how I feel..." Glaceon muttered. She shook her head, bangs swinging. "But – sorry, I interrupted. How's your contest style?"

"Well, Drew tends to work with using moves like Razor Leaf, for me," Leafeon explained.

They came to a gate, and Glaceon let her mother go first as the group filed though. She exchanged a quick smile with May, assuring her trainer it was fine, then accelerated slightly to get alongside. "So... just nice patterns of leaves?"

"Not just that," Leafeon corrected. "So I might produce Razor Leaves, and then brown them with Solarbeam or dry them with Giga Drain. That means I can make whatever pattern I like with them – within reason, of course."

"Sounds neat," Glaceon agreed. "I'm a bit more for close combat – though of course I can work either there or further away. One of my favourite tricks is... well, Mirror Coat."

"It sounds almost like cheating," her mother said, with a smirk. "Whatever he did, just more of it!"

Both vulpines giggled.

"So..." Glaceon said, after a moment. "I've only ever heard of this bit – this is before I hatched, the first time. Do you know...?"

"I might know more than you, you're right," Leafeon agreed. "But not a lot more. The main thing I can tell you, at the moment, is that we're in a grass-type Pokémon reserve."

"What about May's team?" Glaceon asked. "Do you know anything about them? And-"

"Not much," Leafeon replied, tail flicking. "I want to – especially now, daughter, I want to know all about your team and about you – but as yet I don't know much."

Glaceon smiled, shrugging it off. "That's fine – I'll find out, and let you know."

A pause. "I can probably tell you the most about Skitty, though. She's a good friend."

"I've not fought her yet," Leafeon said, with a sinuous shrug. "But yes, I saw her with you earlier. What's she like?"

Glaceon's expression turned a little awkward. "Well, she's... kind of a ditz, sometimes... but she's always a good friend if you really need it."

"That's the best kind of friend," Leafeon said, then snorted in sudden laugher.

"Mom?" Glaceon asked.

"Sorry, I'm just – I'm trying the whole, motherly advice, thing... and I've got no idea how to do it. I'm just guessing..."

Leafeon jumped to the top of a log, and Glaceon gathered herself before following – then the two Eeveelutions trotted along in single file, paralleling the path the rest of the group were taking.

A blue-white shape flew over, and hovered beside them.

"Uh – hi, Glaceon..." Swablu said, shyly. "Sorry, I didn't really get to say hello earlier... I'm one of May's Pokémon, and I guess you are too."

"...just when I was getting the hang of this time travel thing," Glaceon sighed, so theatrically her mother giggled. "Okay, it's nice to meet you, Swablu."

She glanced sideways at May, who waved. "Can you give me a bit of help with who else May has caught?"

"I think I'm the only really new one," Swablu said, sounding a bit unsure. "There's Ethan, and Blaziken, and-"

"Who?" Glaceon asked, blinking.

"...you don't know Blaziken?"

"I know Blaziken, I don't know Ethan," Glaceon said.

"Now him I did battle," Leafeon interjected. "Swablu, would you mind-"

"It's fine," Swablu assured, flying up a bit. "You can talk, I'll join in if I want to."

"So, who's Ethan?" Glaceon asked, glancing sideways.

"Well-" Leafeon's flow was interrupted for a moment, as they jumped back down from the log and padded over towards the main path. "He's a Porygon – I don't know where your trainer got him, but I think it was a while ago."

Glaceon frowned. "Okay... I suppose I'd just better ask him about it later."

There was a growl in the bushes, and Glaceon leaped to the defence of her mother.

Unfortunately, Leafeon had also jumped to defend her daughter, and both Eeveelutions ended up in a tangle of limbs.

"Ow!"

"Hey!"

Glaceon sneezed as a leafy tail tickled her nose. "Gerroff – ow, that's-"

"Your foot's in my ear!" Leafeon yelped.

"Well, I-"

The Grotle moved menacingly out of the shadows, and then a blur of motion shot past and the Grotle went hurtling backwards.

"I had that handled," Blaziken said, lowering his foot.

"Can't hurt to help," Lucario shrugged, bringing his fist back from full extension.

He reached down and helped disentangle Glaceon and Leafeon. "That better?"

"Thanks," Leafeon said a bit breathlessly. "And – sorry about that, I guess."

"Yeah," Glaceon agreed. She chuckled, then shook her muzzle. "Maybe we should decide who's the one who needs protecting..."

Leafeon licked her on the cheek. "You're my daughter, it's my right to feel protective. Even if you could probably freeze me solid."

Glaceon smiled, touched. "Thanks, mom."

"Any sign of anything?" Brock asked.

Ash shook his head. "No – I'm looking for a Grass-type, but there's a lot of Grass-types around here. I'm having trouble seeing where she might be."

"Just do your best," May asked. "I mean, I guess if it's too much of a problem then Celebi's just going to dump her on your head, but-"

"Yeah, being underneath a Venusaur would be painful," Ash agreed.

"Being under a Venusaur would crush most people," Drew commented offhand.

"Well, you know," May shrugged. "It's Ash – after going back in time to save Arceus, what's being flattened by a Venusaur?"

There was a yelp from behind them, then a human cry of surprise, and a leafy crash.

"Max?" May asked.

Looking around, they saw her brother clambering out of pile of ferns with Arc looking sheepish next to it.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to ride Arc just yet..." Max said, brushing plants off his clothes.

"Sorry..." Arc whined, tail wagging, and Max scratched him.

"Not your fault, Arc, we just need to practice a bit more."

The Electric-type nodded, still looking unhappy.

"Chaps and chapesses?" Noctowl asked, flying down.

"What is it?" Ash asked. "Did you find some Bulbasaur?"

"Well... I found a dashed lot of Grass-types, that's for sure..."

"This feels familiar," James mumbled.

Jessie nodded. "Yeah, it kind of looks it too... but this is the first time in a while the Pokémon have been running towards us."

"What was da last time?" Meowth asked.

"Ow," James wheezed.

"Hey, ain't dat a Tropius?" Meowth said, looking interested. "Now dat's not the most common Pokémon..."

"It's not the lightest Pokémon," the Rocket said. "Uh... little help here?"

"How?" Gyarados asked, glancing over at Jessie. "Is there a good way I can..."

Meowth shrugged. "Ain't like I know a good one," he said. "Unless... hm. Jessie? How many Pokéballs we got?"

"How much further, Noctowl?" Ash asked, glancing up.

"Not far, what?" Noctowl replied. "Just over this next tuffet, I'd say."

"A what?"

"A tuffet," Noctowl repeated. "One of those bally things that Miss Muffet stood on."

Ash and Brock exchanged shrugs.

"I think it's a small hill," Pikachu volunteered.

"Really?" Ash asked, looking at his shoulder-riding starter. "What makes you say that?"

"We're climbing one."

"Oh, yeah..." Ash said. "I guess that makes sense."

As they reached the summit, a voice could be heard.

"Okay, listen up!"

A babble of voices could be heard below it, almost loud enough to drown out the familiar voice.

"Okay, you got three options! Any of you who wants to leave, you can leave – I'm giving ya thirty seconds. Then ya got a choice."

"Is that Meowth?" May asked, listening. "Sounds like him..."

"Either ya get in one o' dese Pokéballs, or Moltres an' Growlie here makes ya get off James!"

"Meowth?" Drew repeated, frowning. "Wait, that talking Meowth you ran into a couple of times?"

Max snorted in laughter.

"I'm pretty sure I've run into that Team Rocket trio more than six hundred times," Ash said.

Drew blinked. "But... what?"

"It's okay, they're not very committed to the whole stealing thing any more," Brock told him. "Which helps, given they're actually quite good at it-"

A blast of flame pyred skywards, and several Skiploom and Jumpluff scattered in all directions – a Tropius labouring into the air after them with sweeps of his wings.

"Did he say Moltres?" Drew asked. "I mean – okay, so I knew Ash had Legendaries. But those guys?"

"Yeah, it's a long story," Ash shrugged. "Or... well, I guess for them it's more short-but-funny."

"What are they doing here, anyway?" May asked.

"I guess we should go and find out..."

"Aren't you worried?" Drew frowned. "I mean... these guys are Team Rocket, and they've got a Legendary too..."

"That's okay, we'll be fine," Ash assured him. "They're friends!"

"Plus they're not the only ones with a Legendary," Brock added. "Right, Latias?"

Latias shimmered back to visible right in front of Drew, and the Coordinator jumped a foot in the air.

When he landed again, panting, he heard giggling – both from Latias and from his Leafeon.

"Traitor," he muttered, shaking his head.

"It's fine, really," Ash shrugged. "Come on, let's go see them!"

"Well, dat went pretty well," Meowth said, brushing his paws against one another. "If I do say so myself..."

"I guess so," Jessie agreed, picking up one of the Pokéballs. "Who knew you could just... recruit?"

"Can we not recruit that way again?" James asked, getting out a comb and starting to remove twigs from his hair. "It was painful."

Wobbuffet said something, saluting.

"Ow," Meowth winced.

"What was that one?" Jessie asked.

"Now I gotta repeat it..." Meowth sighed. "Okay, he was sayin' that it's a straw poll for who wants to join."

"...I don't get it," James said, after several seconds.

"Hey!"

All three looked up at the shout.

"Oh, hey, look – if it ain't Ash," Meowth said, brightly. "Fancy meetin' you here!"

"We're a bit surprised to see you, too," Ash admitted. "What was going on?"

"Well, ya know how James is wid Grass-types," Meowth explained.

"Yeah, coming to a Grass-type reserve wasn't the best of ideas," James agreed. "I think I have pollen down my shirt..."

Ash winced. "Yeah, that can be hard to clean..."

"How do you know about that?" Jessie asked.

"Bayleef," Ash replied.

Meganium promptly materialized with a flash. "I don't do it any more..."

"Yeah, which is why I said Bayleef and not Meganium," Ash countered.

He noticed Jessie picking something up. "What's with the Pokéballs?"

"Well, we did warn 'em," Meowth shrugged. "An' we used Pokéballs, too – all legit an' stuff."

The friends exchanged glances.

"I... actually think we can't complain about you catching Pokémon that way," Max said slowly. "Why did you never do it this way before?"

"Good question," James muttered.

"So, what brings you here?" Jessie asked, picking up the last of the Pokéballs.

"Well, actually, we were looking for Bulbasaur," May said. "She was around here."

"Guess that makes sense," Meowth agreed.

Brock glanced at his watch. "Well, it's actually pretty near lunchtime – shall we just do that, and then keep looking afterwards?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Ash said promptly.

A Pokéball on Jessie's belt lit up, and Audino emerged. "I'll get my tools."

"Hey, who's this?" Ash asked, interested.

Audino turned, and nodded to him. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Audino – I'm the team medic, and I also cook."

"So do I," Brock said.

Audino's eyes narrowed just slightly. "I see," he said. "Then we'll see who's the better cook."

"Are you challenging me?" Brock asked.

His eyes did not narrow, mainly because they couldn't really get much narrower.

"If you want to put it that way... yes, I am!" Audino confirmed.

"Huh..." Meowth said, as the human and the Pokémon began setting up their grills. "Cook-off. Wonder who's gonna win?"

"I think it's actually us," Max replied. "If Audino's anything like as good as Brock, this is going to be one tasty lunch!"

"How did we get in this situation, again?" a Nuzleaf asked, munching his way through some canapés.

"Good question," his friend replied, with a shrug. "It all happened a bit fast."

The Bayleef in question reached out with his vines, and grabbed another small tray. Taking the fresh, steaming naan bread off it, he pulled it into two pieces and passed one to Nuzleaf.

"Thanks," the Dark-type said, taking a bite. "Mm, this is great, though. Much better than what we normally have."

They ate in silence for a minute or so, and then a Geodude came over with some plates. "Do you want some of the next course?"

Nuzleaf craned his neck to see into the plate. "What is it?"

"Oh, it's some curry – don't worry, it's not too hot, and we've got some yoghurt to mix in to cool it to taste."

"Neat," Bayleef said, taking one of the plates. "What about you?"

"I'm pretty full," Nuzleaf begged off.

Geodude went on his way, now a little lighter, and Bayleef took a bite.

Nuzleaf watched his eyes widen."...I'll go get that yoghurt..."

"Well, basically, it's not a lot different from being a normal trained Pokémon," Victreebel explained, waving his single big vine. "Sure, Team Rocket does some dubious things – but they're mostly just normal business deals, just a bit less official than normal. Everyone benefits really."

"Sounds nice," replied the Gloom he was talking to. "Well, somewhat... so what kind of thing would I have to do?"

"From talking to other Pokémon at Rocket headquarters, the most likely thing is guard duty," Victreebel said. "Just being there if your trainer gets in trouble. There's also catching Pokémon, some of that..."

"So no daring escapes over rooftops with stolen jewellery?" asked an Ivysaur. "That sounds a bit... boring."

"Actually, you probably could ask for that," Victreebel frowned. "I mean, you know..."

"We've done more dan our share of da tough stuff," Meowth volunteered. "It can get kinda annoying after a while, when ya trip an' fall off a rooftop... for the fifth time in a week..."

"I still think I'd be interested in the exciting stuff," the Ivysaur decided.

"Well, I'll put in a good word for you," Victreebel promised.

"What?" Cacturne asked, looking down.

The Sunkern twitched.

"No, I don't know what you'd be best at."

Twitch.

"Carnivine?" Cacturne asked. "I think I'm out of my depth here."

"I know exactly what you should do, don't worry," Carnivine told the little Grass-type. "You can be an athlete!"

Sunkern's eyes shone.

Cacturne blinked. "How?"

"Oh, Growlie told me how they lost a Pokeathlon run to a team with a Sunkern MVP. It's quite possible."

The long-limbed Grass-type then shook his head. "Just don't ask me how..."

"What's that?" Audino asked, looking up from his barbecue.

"I'm making bok choy," Brock replied, busily cooking away. "It's very nutritious – I'm going to serve it with rice and a glaze flavoured with rosewater, as well as some crispy fried carrots and thin-sliced potatoes."

The Normal-type examined that for a moment, then turned back to his barbecue. "Right! I can see I'll have to get serious! Moltres!"

Moltres looked up from the last of her teriyaki. "What do you need?"

"I need your flames at an even yellow heat!" Audino replied. "And some almonds, butter, and four kilos of sugar. I'm making toffee – straight from the sugar."

Brock blinked, looking up from his sizzling cabbage. "Okay, that's going a bit far..."

"Of course it's not!" Audino replied. "It's a valid dessert choice!"

The Gym Leader bent back to his task. "In that case I'll finish this and get started on my own dessert – a four layer cake with checkerboard pattern baked into the inside!"

"A worthy challenge," Audino admitted. "Very well – let the best cook win!"

"I'm just saying," Stantler shrugged. "I don't think this is really the best way to tell if Brock or Audino is the better cook."

"Why not?" Growlie asked, tilting his head.

"Oh, I'm sure you know," Ninetales smiled, tail tapping Growlie's nose. "It's because this is partly a test of which of them knows the better recipe – which is the more inventive cook."

"I think that's important," Growlie replied, and smiled at Ninetales. "But if you say so..."

"I still think it's a good way," Stantler was at pains to explain. "Just that maybe it'd be better if we didn't know who had cooked what until the end."

Growlie gave an interested nod. "Oh, I see... yeah, maybe that would work better."

He looked over at the battling cooks. "Should we tell them we got it all worked out?"

"Best not, they're having so much fun..." Ninetales chuckled. "Now, while they're busy, why don't you and I see which one of us has gotten faster since last time?"

"I like the sound of that," Growlie nodded. "Once around the perimeter fence?"

"Wait," Stantler said, frowning. "Are you sure that's-"

"Let Brock and James know where we've gone!" Ninetales called, dashing off to the south.

Growlie jumped after her with a laugh, and Stantler stared after them for a moment before sighing.

"Hmmm..." he said, glancing over at the rest of the party.

Illusory versions of the Arcanine and the Ninetales flashed into being for a moment, and then vanished as he shook his head. "No, that could go wrong far too easily..."

"Ohhhh..."

May leaned back, and sighed. "That is lovely."

Drew glanced at her plate. "Aren't you going to finish it?"

May shook her head, still smiling. "Too full."

"I'm pretty sure they're doing dessert now," he added. "Want some?"

"...I might have to get some in a bag, or a lunchbox," May decided after a moment. "This has been great."

She looked up, seeing Glaceon padding over. "Hey, sweetie. How's things?"

"Good," Glaceon replied – and smiled, remembering that May could actually understand her now. "Leafeon's over trying to work out exactly what it is about James which makes him smell so nice. I couldn't tell myself, but..."

She shrugged. "Mom seems to want to work it out."

"You're getting on well," May said, smiling. "I'm glad – and especially glad that you two can keep seeing one another, whenever Drew and I have a Contest together."

"That's one of the nice things about this," Drew agreed.

May was about to go on, but felt a tug on her trousers.

She looked down, and a Bulbasaur smiled uncertainly back up at her.

"Bulba?" the Bulbasaur asked.

"She wants to know if you're going to eat all of that," Glaceon supplied, then paused. "Wait a moment..."

May reached down and hugged the startled Bulbasaur. "It's great to see you!"

"Sauuur?" Bulbasaur asked, baffled.

"It's because of the heart mark on your forehead," Glaceon said. "I'm sure we'll explain in a moment."

"I'm sorry?" Giovanni asked, blinking. "You did... what?"

"Well-" Meowth began, ready to tell the whole story again.

"No, never mind, I heard you," Giovanni said, raising a hand. "So... you were swarmed by Grass-types."

"That's right," James agreed, pulling a leaf out of his shirt.

"And you drove them off with your Moltres."

"Most of them," Jessie confirmed.

"Yes, most of them... except for the ones you..."

"Captured!" Meowth said, holding up a basket of Pokéballs. "They're all kind of eager, too – well, ya know. Interested."

He picked one of the balls up. "Dis one's a Turtwig!"

Giovanni nodded. "I see. Any you want to keep hold of?"

"Not really, no," James said, shaking his head. "I've got three Grass-types, that's enough for me..."

The Boss considered that, then accepted it. "Understood. Deliver them to one of the existing bases within two days, and they'll be assigned for training."

"Got it, boss!" Meowth said, saluting, and the call ended.

Persian put his paws on the edge of the table, and Giovanni reached down to give him a stroke.

"Well, their little trip has been profitable, so far..." the entirely-respectable-businessman mused. "Some more Grass-types will be useful."

He chuckled, making Persian look up. "But knowing how things have been going, I wouldn't have been completely surprised to be given a Pokéball containing a Shaymin..."

"So, this is our new place," Aaron said, inspecting it.

It looked... like nothing more nor less than a building shaped like a giant Riolu head.

"Are you sure this is where we're supposed to go?"

Of course I am, Arceus replied from the heavens. It looks like you, see? It's even got a house name.

Aaron looked. "Ah. Cameran Cottage. Cute..."

The ground trembled slightly, and Palkia squelched his way wearily up the path.

"I. Hate. Tiny Woods."

"Can Palkia and the others fit in here?" Arceus asked, looking up as the Dragon of Space stomped past.

"Of course I can," Palkia replied, walking through a five foot doorway without bending down. "I'm the Dragon of Space, and this building's as big as I say it is."

"That explains why my hands – ah, paws – were tingling," Aaron admitted, rubbing the nubs on the backs of his wrists. "I think... don't forget to make it big enough for the others, too!"

Palkia's reply was a snore.

A few seconds later, Dialga walked up as well. "Please get this Pidgey off my back."

Aaron looked, sighed, and jogged forwards. He ran up to Dialga, then jumped up onto his back, and gave the Pidgey a firm kick.

"Thank you," the Dragon of Time said. "I think I'd like a lie down now..."

"Where's Giratina?"

Dialga shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't particularly care at this point."

Giratina groaned.

"Now, what have we learned?" asked one of the Kecleon.

"Stealing is painful," the Ghost-type dragon managed.

"Good," the other one said. "Now – do you want to buy something?"

"Do you have any painkillers?"