20,21,22

There was, as it turned out, a lot of their journey that was south of the Safari Zone on the way to the coast.

Ash wasn't sure if it was just something about the shape of Kanto, or maybe it was that it was getting more eventful after a comparatively relaxed first few months of his second-try, but it felt like they'd spent a long time already on the way south.

Or they could be lost. That was also possible.

Regardless, they still seemed to be on the right track, as they met a man with a Pokéflute who played them a nice little tune.

"What do you think, man?" the man asked. "You look like someone who'd know… is this music of mine in harmony with nature, or is it a discordant element that jars rather than jibes?"

"I think it works great?" Ash said. "Though, uh… how important is it to have music that fits together with everything else?"

"It's like sauce, man," the man replied. "You don't need it, but it makes things so much better. Though, speaking of sauce, don't suppose you've got anything going spare you'd be able to donate?"

"We've got some food," Brock said. "Actually, you can probably have just about all our trail rations, if that's the kind of thing you like. Ash has a Pidgeot so he just takes her shopping in the nearest city instead of us having to carry long term food supplies."

"Trail rations sounds like just the thing," the man agreed. "I'm a travelling man out to spread some joy, but it's nice to have the extra food."

"Actually…" Ash said, suddenly making a connection. "If you don't mind where you go so long as it brings music to people… there's a Jigglypuff we've met in the past who's into singing, but everyone she sings to falls asleep so they can't enjoy it. If you played with her, that might stop that happening, so it'd make her happy too."

"A song that wakes you up and puts you to sleep at the same time," the flautist said, considering. "Far out, man. I'll be around here for a while, so look for me sleeping under the stars if you see her some time soon."

With that set up, they went to the nearby town, where a Snorlax was asleep upriver of the town itself and a whole mess of thorns had grown to block the river.

"So that's why we got that guy's help, last time," Misty grumbled. "I forgot about this."

"I've got a solution!" Ash said, sending out Charizard. "Can you cut the thorns off at the roots? That way the Snorlax has something to eat when it wakes up."

"Or you could use a different one of your not-a-starter Pokémon," Riolu pointed out.

"...what, Squirtle?" Ash blinked. "Wouldn't that just result in a massive flood?"

"Ivysaur," Riolu said. "Worry Seeds, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, that would work," Brock frowned. "There's more ways to wake a Pokémon up than I would have expected… several kinds of medicine, a couple of kinds of berry, and a good few Pokémon moves too."

Charizard looked a bit awkward. "So… should I still try clearing those thorns?"

"Let's try a Worry Seed first, okay?" Ash suggested. "If not, we can try something else… though, uh, what I want to know is how those thorns grew there in the first place…"

Some questions didn't seem to have answers.

One question that did have an answer, though, was where they were going next, and that was Dark City.

"Dark City?" Riolu repeated, looking at the sign. "Is this like Hop Hop Hop town?"

"I don't think so," Ash replied. "Uh, let's see… this was a town full of people who were trying to form a gym, except there were two factions of them, and they were trying to beat up people from the other gym and the people heading to the other gym. And, we came in and sorted it out."

"Wow," Misty said. "I'm impressed, Ash."

"It wasn't that hard to remember!" Ash grinned.

"No, I mean, you used the word faction," Misty replied, smirking.

Ash stopped grinning. "That's cold…"

"So, what do we do?" Riolu asked. "If they're trying to beat people up, we need to stop it, right?"

He took a stance, and his paws seethed with blue fire. "Protecting the weak is exactly what an Aura wielder should do!"

"Thunder Wave is exactly what a Pikachu should do," Pikachu retorted, lightning crackling around his cheeks.

About half an hour of fighting later, culminating in a big battle in the middle of town in which Pikachu used Thunder Wave a lot, the leaders of the Yas and Kaz 'Gyms' looked downcast.

"What were we doing wrong?" the Yaz leader asked.

Ash glanced at Brock and Misty. "Can I try?"

"Go ahead," Brock invited.

Ash took a deep breath. "Because, uh, firstly, Gym Leaders are supposed to protect their area, it doesn't come up much these days but it's still important. They're meant to be capable trainers who reflect their type philosophy. They're meant to test people in competence and skill, and how they follow that philosophy, and it means people are supposed to make it a core part of who they are. Gym Leaders mean a lot to everyone they interact with, and that can be thousands of people a year, so the reason they get paid is so they don't have to do anything else with their lives – even with how many Pokémon they need to take care of."

He counted under his breath. "I was missing one… oh, yeah! And you don't attack people in the street!"

"That's a good summary," said a woman in the crowd, revealing herself to be a Joy. "But this really hasn't worked out for either gym."

"Nurse Joy!" Brock said, then Misty used Horsea to hose him down.

"Huh," Riolu observed. "That's variety for you."

"I like to feel included," Horsea said, burblingly.

"I did have this idea, though," Ash said. "There isn't a Dark gym in Johto, right? So what about if you both make a Dark gym together? And there's a single badge, but you both give out half of it, so the person challenging the gym has to see past the fake arguments!"

The two leaders glanced at one another, then shuffled closer.

"How likely do you think this is to work?" the Yas one asked.

"More likely than we are to get away without serious punishment if we don't accept," the Kaz one replied.

The friends looked at the carnival.

"Skip it?" Misty asked.

"Skip it," Ash agreed. "Sure, Sir Aaron's hat would protect me, but it's not foolproof, and I don't feel like being recruited by a magician today…"

From there, they reached Mossgreen Village.

"This place is so small it doesn't even have a Pokémon Gym," Brock said.

"...huh?" Misty asked, baffled. "Brock, I don't know if you've ever noticed, but lots of places don't have Pokémon Gyms. We went through Cherrygrove City together, didn't we? That place has no gym either, and that's just for starters."

Brock held up the guidebook. "I'm reading the description in here!"

"What is that, anyway, the Overstimulated Pokémon Trainer's Guide to Kanto?" Misty asked.

Then looked at Ash.

"Uh… no comment?" Ash tried.

"We should stop here anyway, though," Brock advised. "We've got some things to pick up."

As it turned out, Brock's memory was a bit better than his friends, and he remembered exactly what they'd been doing when they visited Mossgreen Village the previous time.

They'd helped out a trainer called Cassandra evolve her Paras into Parasect, mostly through having the timid little Pokémon experience victory in the occasional battle.

As for why Brock hadn't just explained that…

"Brock, when you said that we had some things to pick up," Misty said, firmly. "That does not mean girls."

Brock wheezed something incoherent.

"Who wants to help?" Ash asked, looking down at his belt.

Charizard came out. "I heard something about a battle?"

"Yeah," Ash agreed, beckoning Charizard a bit closer. "Though you do have to lose, if you think you're up to that?"

Charizard folded his arms. "I know how strong I am, and that's all that matters with strength."

"Really?" Ash asked.

"...no," Charizard admitted. "But I can pretend, right?"

Ash chuckled, then Brock – who seemed mostly recovered from having Misty use Fish Throw on him – walked to the side of the makeshift battlefield. "Paras against Charizard. Go!"

Charizard roared, spreading his wings and flapping them, and blasted a jet of flame into the sky.

Paras said something like "ras!" and trembled in place, hiding behind its claws and glancing out with terror.

Charizard kept roaring, and blowing flame into the sky.

And kept going.

And going.

"I think you're supposed to attack," Misty advised.

"Oh… oh!" Cassandra said. "Of course, sorry. Paras, Bullet Seed!"

Paras screwed up its courage, and spat out a single Bullet Seed. It hit Charizard in the chest, and he promptly and dramatically collapsed.

It was quite a good collapse. He actually jumped a little way into the air when he was hit, then his tail sprawled out on the ground first followed by his hind limbs, then his back and forelimbs. One of his wings flapped up stiffly into the air before relaxing as he finished crashing to the ground, and his tail sprang up to flop back on his other side.

"Don't overdo it," Ash muttered.

Paras glowed, and evolved into Parasect.

"Oh, thank you!" Cassandra said, smiling. "Though… I'm afraid I don't have a medicine that can help your Charizard. There's no cure for overacting."

"I'm not appreciated, that's what it is," Charizard snorted.

"Are you sure this is the way we came last time?" Ash asked, looking between Dexter and the surrounding terrain.

Yes, Dexter stated bluntly. Blame yourselves, not me. I'm just providing you with accurate information.

"This is a desert," Ash replied. "In Kanto."

Your ability to get lost would be proverbial, if anyone ever noticed.

"Right," Ash said, shading his eyes. "Hmm…"

He closed them, then, turned to his right, and blinked. "Oh, huh. Either we're closer to Grampa Canyon than I thought, or I have no idea how this reminding thing works."

"You spotted someone?" Brock checked.

"That's right," Ash agreed. "Come on, guys, let's go!"

About a quarter of an hour later, in a patch of forest near Neon City, Ash crouched down.

"Hey, this is going to be weird to hear," he said, to the Pokémon hiding behind a bush. "I don't want to hurt you, but I've got some things to say that will help you."

Jigglypuff peered out from behind the bush, but didn't say anything.

"Firstly, I know you like singing," he said. "And your singing is really good. The problem is, it's the move Sing, which puts people to sleep, and that means they don't stay awake to hear your whole performance."

Jigglypuff contemplated that for several seconds, then nodded.

"And, secondly… we knew one another, in the future," Ash went on. "For a while, anyway. And I've got this weird thing I can do, where I… sort of remind you what that was like. And I'd like to do that for you… then, there's this guy we met with a Pokéflute, and Pokéflute music actually wakes people up. So it'd be a great way for people to hear your whole song."

The Normal-type thought about that, puffing up and deflating a couple of times, then nodded.

Ash patted her on the forehead. "There you go."

She blinked a few times, scowled, screwed up her mouth, then coughed. "I've still got a sore throat!"

"Wow, I can understand you!" Ash said. "That's great, maybe I'm almost where I can understand all Pokémon – uh, right, fruit juice… Brock, do we have any fruits or fruit juice?"

"He's off shopping," Misty replied. "Pidgeot took him."

"Huh," Ash replied. "That makes sense. Anyway, uh… we'll get you to that Pokéflute guy as soon as you want – then, maybe we can test it in Neon City? Those guys need some rest, I think..."

"And… here we are!" Misty said, folding her arms behind her head. "Grampa Canyon. I've been waiting for this for a while."

"I… haven't, not so much," Ash winced. "Don't get me wrong, Misty, I know why you're looking forward to it, but I mostly remember being dropped in a hole and then hoisted through the air by an Aerodactyl."

He glanced down. "Uh… yeah, I hoped that was the case. Togepi's egg is down there, but the fossils are far enough away. I hope."

"So, what happens if they aren't?" Brock said.

"Pikachu," Ash replied. "And Riolu, since they're all Rock type, right? I might need Riolu's help with the Kabutops, anyway."

Brock looked puzzled at that, but then someone got their attention with a wave. "Ash-y! Hey, good to see you!"

"Gary?" Ash replied, looking up, and waved back as his rival came over. "I like the look. Very, uh… there's a word for it… pail something?"

"Palaeontology?" Gary asked. "Yeah, that's about right, Gramps sent me over to check on how this stuff is going. Plus, you know… if someone asks you when you did your fieldwork, you can't say 'yeah, in the future', so it's all helpful."

He waved his hand. "And just because there's modern Aerodactyl now doesn't mean we know everything about how they lived."

"Huh," Ash said. "Oh, look out for the underground cavern I fell into last time, there's some living fossils down there and last time they caused a lot of trouble. Just, uh, make sure nobody uses dynamite?"

"Who even did that, anyway?" Gary asked, distracted. "Fossil hunting with dynamite was something they used to do, sometimes, but nowadays we know all it does is either bring down the cliffside on top of you or let you find a single fossil scattered in tiny bits over a wide area."

Team Rocket, Dee explained.

"...figures," Gary decided. "Are those guys crazy, or what?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Brock said.

"Oh!" Ash realized. "Gary, there's a professor somewhere to the north who's got these projectors that work for Porygon?"

"Already got one sorted out," Gary replied, holding it up. It was simpler than Dexter's, a sort of purple-red sphere about two centimetres across.

After a moment's pause, Ash nodded. "Okay, I'm going to go and find Togepi. Come on, guys."

"When he says guys," Misty began. "Do you think he means us?"

They watched as Ash left.

"Probably not, then," Brock decided. "So, those Shieldon I saw you with in Sinnoh? How did they get on?"

"Oh, not bad," Gary shrugged. "We found out loads of neat stuff about their family dynamics, which I can't cite now…"

Gary was halfway through talking about how they could work out the ages of fossil Pokémon, and how it was actually really complicated, when Ash came back to join them.

He was carrying his backpack in his hands, instead of on his back, and Misty's gaze went straight to it. "Is that-"

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Riolu put the egg in there. I think I can control it now, but… I didn't want to bring her back while you weren't there to greet her."

"Thanks, Ash," Misty smiled. "You do think of the right thing sometimes."

"Now that's praise, Ash," Gary said.

"Yeah, she's harsh, but… fair, sometimes?" Ash said.

Brock nodded. "Most girls I'd fall for straight off, but Misty…"

He stopped, and they all looked at her. She was starting to produce a visible blue flare of Aura, which given her level of skill relative to Ash was a bad sign.

"Hmm," Gary said, stroking his chin. "I suggest… restore her Pokémon and then run."

"I agree," Brock said.

Ash knelt down, unzipping his bag as he went, and touched the eggshell with a palm.

Then all three of them (along with both Pokémon) made tracks.

For Misty's part, she wasn't even really angry.

Oh, she had been… they'd gone a bit too far… but, well. Misty had had many Pokémon, and they'd been allies and friends. But little Togepi, who'd grown into Togetic before their parting and then Togekiss while Ash had been in Unova… she felt like a daughter.

"Hello, Misty. It's been a while, but I don't mind. I'm just glad to see you again… mom."

Misty blinked tears out of her eyes, and spread her arms. "Just… come here, you."

The Flying-type floated forwards, and Misty gathered her into her arms, and everything was all right.

A few days later, in a really rather nice district of southern Kanto, Ash looked up.

"Huh," he said, frowning. "Why are there helicopters going overhead? There's loads of them."

Togekiss angled herself up slightly. "Should I go and find out?"

"Well, uh…" Misty began. "You can sense emotions, right? I think I remember that came up."

"A bit," Togekiss replied.

"Then… well, stay safe, okay, sweetie?" Misty asked. "I'm not going to keep you from doing anything, but don't forget to be careful."

At about the same time, James hid in a gazebo.

"You have to be kidding," he said.

"Wish I was, James," Meowth said, hiding in the ceiling of the gazebo.

"I wonder what she wants you for," Jessie muttered, hiding under cover on the other side of the gazebo.

"That's cold, Jessie!" James protested.

"Well, think about it!" Jessie replied. "Look at that! That's a dozen helicopters at least, it's a private army! We've never been able to afford anything like that."

"Yeah!" Meowth agreed. "Best we can do is one massive impractical giant robot at a time, that's way less money than a bunch of helicopters. So how much could she really get from takin' all of yours, even if your folks are rich?"

"Oh, who cares!" James wailed. "Now there's nothing I'll be able to do to get her off my back!"

Jessie considered, then brightened. "Oh! You could show her you're not interested in women? That might work!"

James looked at her oddly. "But I am. What gave you that idea?"

Meowth fell off the gazebo ceiling, and brought out a list of events, mannerisms and speech tics. "Ya want to go through all the evidence, or shall we go with da highlights? Let's start with dat Moltres costume of yours-"

"That's not evidence!" James protested. "You can be camp without being gay, strange without being queer, and sometimes you just do have a friend called Dorothy! You can't discern someone's orientation from completely irrelevant details like that!"

"Well, you've never shown the least bit of interest in such a beauty as me!" Jessie replied. "Honestly, I don't mind, it keeps us friendly."

"That's self-preservation," James said, but he was frowning in thought. "So could we pretend I'm not interested?"

"She'd probably just take it as a reason ta cure you," Meowth opined.

"Oh, it's no use," James sighed, reached for his Pokéballs, and sent out Abra. "Let's just shove off to Cinnabar until this quiets down."

bink

All Togekiss could tell was that there were a lot of men up there in those helicopters, and that none of them felt happy at all about the situation.

Still, it didn't seem to be anything to do with them, so they continued on their way… at least, until they were walking down the road, and as they turned a corner a Farfetch'd stepped out in front of them.

Riolu immediately sprang down from Ash's shoulder, and stepped forwards. "I challenge you to a duel! I want to see how I've improved since the last time I battled someone who uses weapons!"

Farfetch'd thought it over, then nodded, and raised his leek.

Riolu formed a bone with his Bone Rush technique, taking the time to reinforce it in the way he was sure Cubone had done, and Pikachu loped over to the side of the path.

"First to three touches," he said. "And I want a clean match!"

Both Pokémon barely reacted to Pikachu's voice. They simply stared at one another, stances ready and feet slowly shifting, until-

A twig fell.

They charged at one another, leek meeting bone with a snapping impact.

Farfetch'd stepped back first, using the force of Riolu's push to spin out of the way and fire an Air Cutter from his leek as Riolu went past. The Fighting-type barely managed to dodge in time, then countered the next Air Cutter with a Vacuum Wave that negated the increased air pressure from the Flying-type attack.

"What about this is a clean match?" Pikachu demanded.

The closest thing to a reply he got was that Riolu's and Farfetch'd's weapons collided close enough to him to knock him backwards into the nearest bush.

"Wow, they're really going at it," Brock said.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "I trust Riolu, though. It's just a spar until they start using elemental attacks."

A green flash lit his face for a moment as Farfetch'd used Leaf Blade, then Riolu countered with a combination that left his bone glowing blue as it slammed into the ground just next to Farfetch'd.

"Well?" Brock asked.

"Maybe when they start hitting with them?" Ash tried.

Then his Fighting-type went flying as Farfetch'd landed a Night Slash, only to shake it off and try charging his bone with electrical Aura.

Brock nudged Ash. "Everything you've mentioned so far has happened."

"Yeah, but I don't actually want to interrupt Riolu, and if I come up with another reason that might happen too..."

Pikachu walked unsteadily back into the clearing. "That's right, folks, in this finals match between Pikachu and Floor, the winner is…"

Ivysaur came out of his Pokéball, snapped out a vine, and caught Pikachu before he collapsed. "Okay, who used Dizzy Punch?"

Squirtle came out of his Pokéball as well, glasses at the ready. "Not me, but I'm here for a piece of that action!"

Ash took Dexter's projector from his pocket. "Mind keeping track for them?"

Stand by, ready. Set up.

The digital Pokémon materialized. Not at all. I'm impressed, they're not ganging up on one another.

"Yeah, I don't think that's what Squirtle or Riolu would do, and you can't gang up by yourself," Ash shrugged.

Good point, well made.

Squirtle snapped his shades around behind his back to block a blow aimed for his tail, then duplicated them with a flash of Aura to do a high cross-guard and catch Riolu's bone. "Hey, hey, HEY! Listen up, you two! I'm the mighty Squirtle, of the badass Squirtle Squad whose reputation echoes across Kanto! When they talk about its badass leader, they're talking about me! And there's no way you'll get me with a simple attack!"

Riolu used his bone for a Rock Smash, splintering Squirtle's duplicate set of pointy shades. "What about a Fighting attack?"

"Irrelevant!"

Farfetch'd ducked, appropriately, then swiped across Squirtle's shell with an attack that did nothing.

"Ha!" Squirtle cheered. "My manly spirit has protected me!"

"That's Fury Cutter, isn't it?" Riolu asked. "So it'll just get more powerful each time."

Angry at Riolu for revealing his trick, Farfetch'd switched his attention to the Emanation Pokémon and began a mixture of Fury Cutter, Fury Attack and Frustration.

He was very angry.

Squirtle sighed, then threw his arms out to each side.

Water bubbled up, surrounding both arms. "Looks like I'll have to calm you two down! And even though I can't think of a good speech right now, I'll still do it! Double drill break!"

Squirtle went rocketing up into the air, and Farfetch'd watched him as he reached the apex before coming back down.

"Does he do this all the time?"

"Yep," Riolu sighed. "Nice meeting you, by the way. Good spar."

The nearby trainers retreated to higher ground away from the subsequent wave of water.

That included Farfetch'd's trainer, who until then had been mostly thinking about how his Farfetch'd was apparently good enough that using him to try and rob people was probably a waste or something.

He'd also been thinking about apostrophes.

"Well, that went well," Misty said, sitting on a tree trunk, and wrung out her socks.

"It's sort of funny watching you do that," Togekiss said. "I know in the Togepi Kingdom they didn't like getting wet, but you're a Water trainer."

"That's true, but my clothes can't take being damp all the time," Misty replied.

"Ohhh," Togekiss said. "Yeah, I wasn't really paying attention when I was with you before…"

"That's all right," Misty replied, putting her socks and shoes back on, then reached up to pat Togekiss. "We get a second chance at it now, don't we?"

She frowned. "Actually… speaking of that, didn't you hatch around this time?"

"Maybe?" Togekiss said. "Yeah, actually, I think you're right!"

"Well, let's make your birthday something to remember," Misty decided.

21

"I'm still wondering what you're doing for my birthday," Togekiss hinted.

Misty winked. "Not telling, dear."

"Aww… come on, please?"

"Don't think you'll win me over that easily," Misty said. "What kind of trainer would I be if that was all it took?"

"A nice one?" Togekiss tried.

"Sorry, not happening. You'll have to wait, like all of us."

Tokekiss drooped. "Aww…"

"Besides," Misty went on. "I don't know which of Ash's ideas is going to happen. He's the one organizing it."

"But he left ten minutes ago! He's going to be out of the region by now!"

"Which means you don't have anyone to pester," Misty pointed out.

Meanwhile, Brock looked back and forth between his recipe book and the big pot on the stove. (The stove was Charizard.)

"Do you think this will be enough?" he asked Pikachu and Geodude.

"Given how many guests are coming?" Pikachu asked. "As in, Ash is inviting all his Pokémon, including five Tauros?"

He peered inside the big pot.

"...yeah, probably, since that's just the sauce," he decided. "Just do an absolutely massive amount of rice."

"Should be fine as long as you do lots and lots of rice," Geodude passed on. "Good enough?"

"Good enough for me," Pikachu confirmed.

I can give you the numbers, Psyduck said, waddling over with a big pack of rice balanced on his head. I double checked them myself.

"Are you sure?" Brock said. "Meaning no offence, but… you're Psyduck."

Are you sure you meant the first part of that sentence?

"All of your Pokémon? Really?" Professor Oak asked.

"That's right!" Ash replied, from the other end of the phone call. Dexter was placing it, and Ash was looking into the camera, though he was rocking up and down a bit. "Though, uh, not just yet? I'm sort of in mid-air here."

"Why, though?" Professor Oak said. "It's your choice, of course, I'm just… surprised."

"It's because of Misty's Togepi," Ash told him. "I'm not sure if you checked that one, but… she evolved to Togetic before Misty released her, then Togekiss before we came back in time, and it's just about the time she originally hatched. So we're celebrating her evolving, and her birthday, and it's…"

Ash shrugged. "Maybe sort of a thing about how we're safely here? It's a bit of a lot of things."

"Togekiss… let's see," Professor Oak said, then brought up the pictures. "Togepi, Togetic… and this photo's not one of the data dump, that's from a few days ago. Is that her, then?"

"That's right," Ash confirmed. "Dawn will have a Togekiss as well, but that one's… really complicated."

"Well, she does look like a lovely Pokémon," Oak said. "All right, I'll let them know. All five Tauros?"

"Up to them, I guess," Ash replied. "The two who didn't get reminded might not want to turn up… how are they getting on?"

"They're destroying a lot of the fences and causing the occasional earthquake… why did you teach them Fissure?"

"I didn't, they worked that one out on their own," Ash replied.

"Hmm," Oak responded, wondering if it was the herd leader who seemed to have better aim than the others.

"Oh, looks like we're nearly there, got to go!" Ash warned. "I think it's that one, Pidgeot!"

Pidgeot said something.

"Well, I don't know, maybe it's the other one then..."

"Glad you could make it!" Misty said, nodding to Jessie, James, Meowth and their Pokémon. (You couldn't really include Meowth in 'their Pokémon'.) "You're well tanned!"

"We were in hiding, is what we were!" James replied. "Hopefully that dreadful woman's moved on by now. We couldn't do anything because when we do we end up on the news!"

Calm down, James, Abra advised. We managed it, didn't we?

"I certainly hope so," James sighed.

Jessie put a finger to her lips. "Hmm. Isn't the Princess Tournament in a few days?"

"Of course!" Misty agreed. "I'm well aware you'll have more powerful options, now, but don't expect me to not defend my honour!"

"You know, it ain't normal for someone ta do the exact same contest twice in a row ta try and defend their honour of winnin' it the first time," Meowth said.

"I think somehow we're going to end up doing that a lot," James replied.

Togekiss floated down from overhead. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Wow, you've grown!" Meowth said, closing his eyes. "I remember back when you hatched, uh… later today? You were so tiny."

"And unpredictable," Jessie said.

"Yeah, did ya only know Metronome?" Meowth said.

"I think so," Togekiss replied. "I eventually learned Charm, though. And then Safeguard, and after becoming the Kingdom's protector I learned several more moves."

"It ain't like I can complain," Meowth shrugged. "Took me years ta learn anything that ain't just talkin'."

At that point, Ash arrived on Pidgeot, and then so did several more Pokémon including five rowdy Tauros.

After everyone had had a chance to talk a bit, Ash cleared his throat, then flicked an Aura Sphere into the air to get everyone's attention.

"So!" he said. "I know we were keeping Togekiss in the dark about her main gift, and… we're about to eat, right?"

"That's right," Brock confirmed. "Main course is ready!"

"There we go, then!" Ash said. "Now, I invited all my Pokémon, and some of you know who's missing."

He held up a Pokéball, and Ho-Oh came out.

Brock nearly dropped the empty rice pot. Team Rocket looked like they were contemplating gibbering.

"You never mentioned that, mama!" Togekiss gasped.

"Thank you for letting me out, Ash," Ho-Oh said. "It was my first time in one of those long-term, and it's an interesting experience."

"You could have come out any time, but thanks for waiting," Ash replied. "And thanks especially for making this a birthday to remember for Togekiss!"

"That is my pleasure," Ho-Oh replied, then spread his wings.

He took off, but only slightly, and floated through the air before alighting next to Togekiss.

"Hmm," he said. "Yes. Ash was right."

"About what?" Togekiss asked, still shocked.

"Faithful guardian of the innocent," Ho-Oh began. "Protector of those who could not protect themselves, and child of faith and fortune alike."

He stretched out his wing, and gently touched Togekiss all along the leading edge of her wing. There was a rainbow light display from the contact, and Togekiss blinked several times.

Then she inhaled, and blew out a thin stream of rose fire.

"Sacred Fire," Ho-Oh explained, with a solemn bow. "It is mine to give, and there is a symbolic weight in bestowing it to one of you time travellers, and you are a protector true who can make good use of it."

Then he turned. "And now, I was promised food."

Brock pointed. "But-guh-wha-how?"

"What?" Misty asked, sweetly. "Did we forget to mention that bit?"

"I did say Ho-Oh had recognized me as being of the Line of Cameran," Ash provided. "I meant it."

"So Ash did see Ho-Oh on his first day as a trainer?" Brock asked. "You mean I'm catering for a legendary Pokémon? An adult Legendary Pokémon?"

"At least you prepared enough," Psyduck said.

Professor Oak didn't actually wear glasses, so he couldn't do the scientist standard of taking them off, cleaning them, and putting them back on to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

It was certainly very tempting to, though.

Ho-Oh! Ho-Oh hadn't shown up on the registry systems, either, so it had been a complete surprise – especially as Ash explained how he'd caught the Fire-type as literally his first Pokémon capture, before he'd even reached Viridian.

Dexter was probably involved in that, really.

Speaking of which…

Professor Oak muted the phone call microphone.

"Is there someone there who can understand this question?" he asked.

...I believe so, a voice replied. Good morning, Professor Oak. Do you have a name assigned for me?

Oak thought about that, for a long moment.

Dexter and Dee were both D-names, in keeping with their status as Pokédexes. And it felt right to keep up the theme.

Hadn't Ash mentioned one that would do?

"...Damos," he said. "The name originally belonged to a brave and wise man from the distant past."

Searching… I have located the appropriate file. Thank you.

"Then allow me to say, Damos – this is now your home, just as much as it has been mine."

He smiled, at the camera.

...yes, the right camera, this time. He'd checked.

I'm home, Damos said.

"Welcome home," Professor Oak replied, completing the ad-hoc little ritual.

"Thank you for the invitation," Ho-Oh said, as the sun set. "I can't decide if it was the food or the company that was better."

"Thank you," Togekiss replied. "For… I'm still coming to terms with it."

"It was a moment as good as any to affirm my commitment to our common goal," Ho-Oh responded. "And you most assuredly deserved it… but I will now take my leave. Live well, all of you."

Ho-Oh, the Storm's End, took off with a pair of powerful wingbeats and flew into the air with a sparkling wind behind him.

"Now, ain't dat just touching?" Meowth said, scratching irritably at something in his eye.

Yes, that was all it was. Really. Honest. Stop looking at him like that. Nothing to do with emotions at all.

You're not convincing anyone, you know.

Meowth scowled. "Shouldn't ya be asleep?"

Not while I'm eating. This food's amazing.

"Ah, welcome to the Queen of the Princess Festival contest!" the administrator said, at the Princess Festival. "I assume you're here to watch?"

"Actually, I was wondering," Ash admitted. "Is this a Contest contest, or just a tournament?"

"A tournament," the administrator replied. "...you're not planning on entering, are you?"

Ash shook his head. "No way, I'm here to watch! Misty's the one who's entering."

"That's right!" Misty said.

She paused, and looked at Ash. "And where's my shopping? I definitely kept giving it to you."

Ash held open his pouch. "It's in here, this gets larger every day. I'm glad there's this neat little Aura effect that makes it easier to find what you're after, or I'd never find my pyjamas…"

"Right," Misty said. "So… I'm wondering who to use…"

Ash reached into the pouch up to about his shoulder, then pulled out a large blackboard.

Misty blinked. "Um. How did that work?"

"It was my idea!" Riolu contributed.

"Well-" Ash began, then saw they were getting in the way of sign-ups and shifted them all over to the side. "Sorry. Anyway, the hard part was getting the blackboard in… but, uh, Jessie has Arbok, Cubone, Meowth, Abra, Growlie and Weezing available, and she might have Lickitung but I haven't seen them yet. Which is weird, really… anyway, I guess think about who you have to deal with those."

"Right," Misty said. "Starmie's got good coverage… Togekiss? Do you mind battling?"

"Not at all," Togekiss replied, landing on Misty's head until she got swept up in a cuddle. "But I'm not going to use Sacred Fire here for all sorts of reasons."

Misty smiled. "I understand, sweetie. I'm grateful for the help anyway… hmm, Ninetales, do you want to get involved?"

Ninetales leaped out of her Pokéball. "I would," she said.

"She would," Brock relayed, but Misty was looking at Ninetales in great surprise.

"I actually got that," she said.

"There you go!" Ash smiled. "You and Brock should be able to understand anyone from the group soon enough."

"I'm interested in taking part again, if that counts," Pikachu said.

"Oh," Ninetales added. "And I should mention… I think I've finally figured out Dark Pulse."

Riolu practically fell off his perch. "Teach me!"

"Maybe later," she laughed.

We won't bother with the early rounds.

It would be a bit mean.

"Fancy meeting you here," Misty said, facing Jessie across the field for the finals.

What do you expect? Psyduck asked, from the sidelines. That's just how the world works, isn't it? Name me any situation where you wouldn't have imagined this would happen.

"Pardon?" Ash asked.

Oh, just that in any competently seeded tournament the main characters always end up in the finals. Nothing important.

Jessie moved first, sending out her starter Pokémon. "Arbok!"

Misty replied by pointing forwards as a signal. "Togekiss!"

Togekiss had been staying out of her Pokéball for the last few hours, admiring the scenery and appearing in plenty of photos, but at Misty's command the Jubilee Pokémon banked around and shot forwards onto the stage.

"Remember, guys, don't break the stage," Brock warned, as Togekiss dodged away from a Poison Sting attack. "And don't aim too high, either."

I'm handling catching stray attacks, Psyduck passed on. But yes, don't overwork me.

Energy flowed over Togekiss' form, and a rock formed in front of her. "Ancientpower!"

The rock flew straight at Arbok, who didn't dodge, and bounced off his nose.

Mostly because it was about the size of a single bean.

Jessie blinked. "...that's it?" she asked, as Togekiss kept beaning Arbok in the nose with tiny Ancientpower pebbles. "That looked like Ancientpower, not something that weak."

"It is Ancientpower!" Misty replied, smirking. "What you should be asking yourself is, what can Serene Grace do with that kind of move?"

Arbok got it first.

"Oh, why me?" he asked, glancing down at the stage.

The stage which he wasn't allowed to Dig into.

"Togekiss, Stored Power!" Misty called.

The actual rocks had been a sideshow. Togekiss had been using Ancientpower for the side effects, which made her stronger, and which was greatly amplified by Stored Power.

The blast knocked Arbok flying, and he cleared the stage at about a foot above Jessie's head height. He did a twist, then landed on a convenient tent, and the organizer waved his hand.

"Arbok is defeated by Ring Out! Misty is ahead by one, and one step closer to meeting me!"

"Why is that a prize, again?" Ash asked.

"That's Fiorella Cappucino," Brock replied. "He's supposed to be a real pick-me-up for girls."

"I don't get it myself," Misty muttered. "Okay, who's next?"

Jessie snapped her fingers.

Then she snapped them again.

Meowth sighed, and flicked a Luxury Ball with his claws.

Alright, already, Abra muttered, appearing on-stage in a flash of light.

"Ooh, nice," Riolu observed. "Anyone got some cards I can hold up?"

The Psychic-type raised his hands, and opened his eyes. They swirled for a moment, then a red glow built up around him that matched the one around Togekiss.

Uh oh, Dexter said.

Brock and Riolu sidled out of the way a bit.

"What's up?" Ash asked.

I think that was Psych Up, which copies whatever powerups the target has, Dexter explained.

Ash made sure his hat was firmly on his head.

Misty hadn't heard, and pointed. "Start with an Air Slash!"

Abra formed a Reflect wall, then teleported away from Togekiss's point of aim.

"Huh," Misty frowned, as the Air Slash went straight through the Reflect – just as she'd expected, but making her wonder why Abra had done it. "Another Air Slash, then? And, uh, Stored Power!"

Togekiss used both attacks in quick succession, but each time Abra just teleported out of the way after making another Reflect wall, and Misty clenched her fist.

"Swift!" she said.

Togekiss fired out a barrage of Swift stars, but Abra teleported out of the way – and appeared directly behind Togekiss. A whole collection of his Reflect walls came with him, forming a kind of multi-layered wall, and he gestured.

The whole group of them expanded outwards, and catapulted Togekiss out of the arena.

"Okay, what was that?" Misty demanded.

Fling, probably, Abra replied, shrugging.

Misty looked around to make sure Togekiss was okay – then, seeing that the Flying-type had recovered, held up a borrowed Pokéball. "Ninetales!"

Ninetales landed with a delicate thump of paws on the stage, rolled her neck, then smiled pleasantly.

"Dark Pulse," she said.

Abra teleported away, but Ninetales had released it as a pulse – a wave of energy that spread out in all directions, much weaker than the more typical focused version of the attack but one which actually had a good chance of hitting Abra. It did so, locking down his powers for a moment and messing with his teleportation, and Ninetales directed a Flamethrower at her target.

This time Abra most certainly did use the right kind of shield, projecting himself a Light Screen that he used to break up the force of the Flamethrower, then once his teleport was working he blinked away again.

Another Dark Pulse hit him, interfering with his shield and messing with his teleportation, and once more Abra had to fort up behind a Light Screen to avoid being blasted.

"Look out!" Jessie called.

Abra looked around at her. Look out for what? Most of what I can see is fire!

One of Ninetales' tails wrapped around his own.

"Light Screen doesn't stop my very much physical tails," she pointed out, sweetly, then hit Abra with another Dark Pulse and whip-cracked her tail to throw Abra out of the arena.

"Are we going to get a defeat that isn't a ring out?" Jessie asked, reaching for another Pokéball.

"That's up to you as much as me!" Misty retorted.

Cubone appeared in a flash, and plucked a sort of sharp, curved blade out of thin air.

"Watch out, I'm not sure what sort of bone that is," Misty warned Ninetales.

"Hmm," Ninetales mused, tilting her muzzle, then her eyes glowed as she used Extrasensory. Cubone spun the blade in a blur, absorbing and deflecting the Psychic attack at the same time, and the Fire-type nodded.

"Liepard?" she asked.

"Correct," Cubone replied. "Do not think to best me with fire, or with psychic tricks, kitsune. I am one of those who has been touched by death's messenger, and I am still here."

"Oh, I don't think I can fight you with psychic tricks," Ninetales replied, glancing up at the sky, and sniffed. "Or fire… not directly, anyway."

She inhaled, then spread all her tails out at the same moment as she used Flamethrower. Her eyes glowed yellow, and the flames spread out and lost their intensity – but they covered the whole arena.

And she didn't let up.

"Uh," Ash said, stepping back from the sudden wash of heat. "She does know we're not supposed to damage the arena, right?"

"I'm more concerned about how I can't see," Pikachu said, squinting. "That's not just flames, that's Smokescreen. How are we supposed to see to fight Cubone under these conditions?"

Dexter manifested his projected body, and sent out lidar beams for a moment. Hmm. Large thermal currents detected… Psyduck, you've got your ability suppressed, correct?

What kind of quack do you take me for? Psyduck asked. ...wait, don't answer that.

Flashes of light and rumbling booms came from the battlefield, followed by a meaty THWACK and Ninetales went flying out of the arena.

Brock caught her, which was quite difficult.

"Thank you, and sorry," Ninetales said, getting off her flattened trainer. "Ow. She's got a strong right arm, hasn't she?"

She rubbed her flank with several of her tails, then turned her attention to Misty. "Starmie should go next. She's got a good set up now."

The flame and smoke were clearing, drawn upwards by the currents of rising hot air that Ninetales had set up, and Misty frowned. "Well, I guess if you say so… really? Didn't Cubone have something that was blocking your psychic attacks?"

"Yes, but, well… you'll see," Ninetales said. "Isn't it such a humid afternoon?"

Cubone spun her Liepard-tail scimitar, aiming to shield herself.

What was that Ninetales playing at? The flames had been impressive, and a reasonable distraction, but the Fire-type hadn't been able to slip behind her for an Extrasensory.

Then something hit her on the nose, with a plink.

Plink. Plink.

Cubone looked around for the source, then looked up.

"And… cue the rain."

The heavens opened.

"This is really impressive," Pikachu said. "I didn't see the Rain Dance at all."

"That's because there wasn't one," Ninetales replied. "Riolu told me about her unusual ability. Even when she's not fully using them, it was reflected in the world around us, and I noticed that when I sniffed the air… after all, the sky Riolu saw was overcast. The metaphor for that is holding back tears, so there's clouds nearly ready to rain."

She flicked her tails. "That meant all I had to do was to provide an upcurrent of air, and it all came right out."

"Nice," Togekiss declared, her own eyes glowing as she did her best to use Extrasensory and shield most of the participants and spectators. "I'm impressed!"

"Ninetales have to plan ahead," Ninetales replied, with a shrug. "I've got centuries to learn, but I may as well get started."

"Starmie, Surf!"

Cubone just about heard the order over the rain, and lined up for just a moment before flinging her Thick Club directly at Starmie. It hit with a whack, then came back, and Cubone didn't bother catching it as it splashed into the surging water.

She still wanted to have her scimitar ready in case Starmie tried something Psychic-typed, but if she was going to deal with a Water-type then she wanted a different weapon.

The problem was, she wasn't quite sure what a Starmie could do. They didn't really have bones at all, and so they could have a varied toolkit of moves…

"Bonemerang!" she decided, falling back on a more normal tactic, and twisted through the torrent of water to get a good throwing position. It wasn't forcing her back, at least, so she didn't have to throw any further, and she let out a huff of effort as she manifested first one bone and then another before throwing them at Starmie.

Starmie opened fire with a barrage of Ice Beam and Psybeam attacks, hitting the construct bones and destroying them, but not actually doing anything to Cubone… not beyond the rain-boosted Surf, anyway. So-

"Jessie is out her third Pokémon and down to one left!" the announcer said.

Cubone blinked.

What?

Was the man blind?

Then her foot slipped off the stage.

She dropped her scimitar, and Abra caught her before she hit the ground.

"What happened?" she demanded, without preamble.

The wave swept you out of the arena, Abra replied. Starmie was moving forwards so you wouldn't notice you were going backwards. I have to say I'm impressed with the drainage here.

Cubone slumped. "Another ring out?"

Well, we're all friends here, for… some reason.

The Ground-type snorted.

"How do I stop that happening again?" she asked. "The rain, I mean."

Not sure, Abra admitted. I overheard how Ninetales did it though. My best guess is that you have to mourn your dead?

"I have," Cubone insisted. "That's why I want to stay strong so it never happens again."

Abra spread his hands. Think about what I said.

Then he sat down and fell asleep.

Jessie held out her final Pokéball, and Ash blinked, then closed his eyes. "...huh."

"What?" Brock asked, then Jessie sent out Lickitung.

"I can't see them in Aura sight, or, just normally," Ash explained. "I don't think I can remind them. I officially have no idea how this works."

"Use the same move Lickitung always use!" Jessie commanded.

Lickitung got the point, lashing his tongue out in a Lick, and wrapped Starmie up to paralyze them.

"What?" Misty asked. "But I had Starmie use… camouflage… oh when she did the arena was soaked, not a town square, so she didn't get Normal. I feel like an idiot now!"

"You should!" Jessie replied. "Lickitung, throw Starmie out of the arena!"

Lickitung did just as instructed.

Ash sent out Pidgeot to handle catching duties, since it looked like Lickitung had flung Starmie at a window.

"Well, it's down to a one on one," Misty said. "After six ring outs in a row. Pikachu, you're up!"

Pikachu sprang forwards, paws splashing on the still-damp stage, then rolled his neck. "Okay, let's see what you've got.

What Lickitung had was a licky tongue, as it turned out.

Bzzzrp.

"Oh, huh," Misty said. "Turns out tongues are conductive! I guess it makes sense. Thanks, Pikachu!"

Pikachu went bounding over to Lickitung. "You know, it doesn't feel right without a ring out."

He lifted.

"...ow," he decided. "Lickitung is heavier than I was expecting…"

"Lift with your legs!" Ash advised.

Pikachu wobbled a bit, then managed to get Lickitung close enough to the edge to actually drop the Pokémon and have them flop over the edge.

"I do not know Strength," he decided.

"Well, that didn't go too bad," Meowth said.

"We lost," Jessie replied.

"Yeah, but I didn't personally get nearly drowned or thrown a long way or set on fire or electrocuted or any of those things, so it went pretty well I think!" Meowth replied.

Jessie grumbled something. "I should have used Growlie…"

"Nah, that ain't for him," Meowth shrugged. "Besides, he's off havin' a date now, though I guess he could'a taken part in the battle. Just dat they'd both do ring-out if he went against Ninetales."

"Hey, Jessie!" Misty called. "Wait up!"

Jessie turned, surprised, and saw that Ash and Charizard were following the Gym Leader. And carrying Misty's prizes from the tournament.

"Sorry, I can't remind Lickitung," Ash informed them. "No idea why."

"I was thinking," Misty explained. "Last time, the only thing I did with these was rub them in my sisters' faces… metaphorically, not literally. And that was a much better battle than the whole rest of the tournament… so I'd like you to have them!"

Jessie gasped. "Thank you! This is even better than if we'd ambushed you in the night and taken them!"

Misty wasn't quite sure how to react to that.

"Oh, we should tell you," James added, as Jessie stacked all the boxes in his arms one at a time until his voice was muffled. "The Boss is still running the Mewtwo program. We'll keep you updated – and give you a good challenge at Viridian Gym!"

"So, you've arrived," said the young man – Ieyasu, Aaron thought. "Let me test your bonds of friendship."

"Friendship, is it?" Sir Aaron replied. "I think I can test that."

He focused his Aura, and held out both hands.

"Sacred Sword," he murmured, and crafted two weapons. One was white, one was black, but they were otherwise perfect copies of one another.

Then he threw them at Ieyasu.

The young man took that as the beginning of their battle, and the gauntlets on his fists glowed with yellow light. He flung himself forwards, aiming for the gap between Aaron's blades and already ready to punch, but the blades changed course and landed glancing blows on both his flanks.

Then they were past him, but curling around like boomerangs, and Aaron formed another pair of curved falchions. A moment, and they flew as well, and now Ieyasu was having to deal with four Aura-crafted weapons at the same time – moving in trajectories that were impossible to predict with so little experience, as each white weapon exerted a magnetic pull on both the black weapons and each black weapon tugged on both white ones in turn.

Ieyasu's charge had stopped entirely, and he'd switched to calling up the golden light he wielded to defend himself.

That was perfectly all right with Sir Aaron. This technique had made him famous, but it was also hard to do properly.

"Sacred Sword," he said, again, and another pair of weapons appeared. This time he tossed them both into the air, for a Swords Dance, and they glowed with dangerously unstable light as he brought them ready.

The last time he'd done this, it had won a battle against an entire high command. It had ended a war.

It had given its name to the whole battle.

He directed the movement of the other four with little movements of his third and last pair of Sacred Swords. "Truth that sees through all disguise. Ideals that make friends and brothers. We fight as one, no matter how far we are apart."

He took a single sharp breath, then lunged. "Crane Wing!"

All six weapons crashed down on Ieyasu in the same instant, and there was a flare of white and black light that was answered by a brilliant flash of gold.

Splinters of shattered Aura rained down around them, and when the light cleared enough to see Sir Aaron found that his opponent was still standing.

Technically.

The young Tokugawa clan leader had his hands on his knees, unable to properly support himself after the exhaustion of deflecting the attack.

"I'm… most impressed, Sir Aaron," Ieyasu declared. "I find myself unable to fight. But I must insist that you battle my champion as well. Once that formality is over, we can unite this land together with the power of our bond, and rid it of the violence that has plagued it!"

"Of course," Sir Aaron agreed. "Where is he?"

There was a massive BOOM next to them, and the ground shook.

"Oh, really?" Sir Aaron asked.

Over six metres of giant metal second in command took a ready stance.

"Dialga, what are you doing here?" Aaron asked.

"Playing a role. Why?"

"Oh, never mind," Sir Aaron shrugged.

22

Not long after the Festival, Ash and the others met Todd Snap – at exactly the same time as last time, which was sort of weird but made Ash think that there was some kind of time-travel thing going on.

Like how when he'd gone back in time thousands of years at Michina, everything had been the same except for the things they'd specifically changed to be different.

It wasn't like he could get answers on that, though, and in the meantime Todd showed them his collection of photos.

"These are impressive!" Brock said. "I don't know much about how to do photography, but they look nice."

"I… huh," Ash frowned, tilting one of them first one way and then another. "I think that one's got me in it."

"Really?" Todd said. "Which one?"

He saw the photo Ash was examining, and frowned. "Um. That's a picture of a Pidgeot going through the sound barrier up near Cerulean."

"Yeah!" Ash agreed. "I took a day-trip to Sinnoh around then."

"And this one looks like Ash's Charizard," Misty pointed out. "In fact, I think that one's got him in as well."

"That one was near Cerulean, too," Todd provided. "I was up there for a while."

"Oh, yeah!" Ash agreed. "Since Pidgeot's nowhere to be seen, that's probably when Charizard was testing out a new move with me. Otherwise it'd be when we took Damien back to the police, but he'd show up then."

"Sorry?" Todd said. "If you don't want me to-"

"It's fine!" Ash replied. "Actually, feel free to keep doing it!"

Todd took plenty of photos at their training session that evening, and the next day he was going through his shots as they walked down the road.

"This one's nice," he said – the camera had caught Togekiss just as she tried copying Ninetales's use of a Flamethrower attack, and the rose flames of Sacred Fire formed a kind of core to the outer edge from Ninetales's attack. "Hey, since we're close… are you guys going to take the League Qualification Exams?"

"We're Gym Leaders," Misty shrugged. "Ash might, though."

Ash had been wondering about that.

He knew you couldn't take your own Pokémon in, not and do anything with them, because the whole point was to show your intelligence or something.

"How do people who take it do?" he asked.

"Well… generally not great on their first League Challenge," Todd admitted. "I think it's meant to be so that trainers who are going to use passed-down Pokémon have an idea how to use them?"

"I don't get that," Misty admitted "If someone did have strong Pokémon they'd got somehow, either they'd be able to do the normal Gym Challenge or they're going to have trouble in the League…"

Ash shrugged. "Well, I guess it'd be nice to see how well I do!"

Fortunately, you could register pretty much straight off, and not long afterwards Ash was in the exam room.

The first section was true or false answers, and he was pretty sure he'd got them all right… or, most of them at least… but then the next part was about recognizing Pokémon.

The first question that came up, he looked at the black circle, then frowned. "Uh. Well, I guess it's…"

He tapped out an answer – Voltorb.

The examiner waited until everyone had put in their answers, then pressed a button to reveal the solution. "The answer is – a Jigglypuff, seen from above."

Ash raised his hand.

"Is something wrong?" the examiner asked.

"How could you tell that apart from all the other circles you can get from other Pokémon in other ways?" he asked. "What about if it's a Seedot seen from below? Or an Azurill hiding behind its ball?"

The examiner adjusted his clothes. "The point of the year long course here is to allow the students to become familiar with what to expect. So-"

"Dexter?" Ash asked, looking over at where his friends were watching.

The Porygon materialized. That is not a sufficient explanation. If this test is supposed to indicate anything, it should be breadth of knowledge. A partial listing of Pokémon with identical silhouettes under the correct conditions: Squirtle, Wartortle, Kakuna, Sandshrew, Jigglypuff, Parasect, Diglett, Poliwag, Grimer, Muk, Gastly, Voltorb, Electrode, Ditto – need I continue?

He shimmered. However… in checking records, it appears that the last year of lessons here have repeatedly and only used the answer of Jigglypuff. Is there a reason for this that isn't simply your course attempting to skew the numbers?

The examiner coughed loudly. "Ahem. As I was saying. The point of this test is to examine whether you are able to recognize Pokémon under unusual conditions."

"If I saw a round silhouette I'd only assume it might be a Jigglypuff if I was directly overhead and the ground was glowing," Ash muttered. "I'm pretty sure their ears don't normally go in that far, either..."

The next question appeared.

Ash raised his hand again. "This is a spiral, but… is this Pokémon seen in a mirror? Is it a silhouette? Is this in colour?"

"Please, answer the question," the examiner said sternly.

Ash actually did have a fairly good memory of what this one was, but he was annoyed now and put in Dratini.

The answer turned out to be Poliwag, but the examiner moved on quickly once he saw Ash's hand going up. "Now, this Pokémon has a fiery tail."

Ash put in Rapidash.

Naturally, the answer they meant turned out to be Ponyta.

Dexter formed on his own this time. I most definitely object! There are about a dozen Pokémon with flaming tails, how is anyone supposed to know which one you mean?

"Stop disrupting the exam!" the examiner insisted.

My entire purpose as a digital construct is to pass on correct information! Dexter said. And you are making a mockery of it!

Todd took a photo of the class rankings.

"Do you have to?" Ash asked.

"I've never seen someone whose letter grade was I before," Todd defended himself. "Especially when there's a footnote that says it means 'Interfering busybody we wish we could flunk, but he scored too high'…"

The practical section was something that Ash was actually experienced in, which was battling. Sure, it was battling with Pokémon he didn't know, but… well, unlike the rest of the day's exams it was something he could actually enjoy.

He took his belt of three Pokéballs, then went up to the first examiner.

"My Pokémon is a Venonat," the examiner explained. "Send out your first."

Ash took a Pokéball at random, and got a Fearow.

He closed his eyes, concentrating.

Was he there yet?

"Why are your eyes closed?" Fearow asked.

He was!

"What moves do you know?" Ash replied.

"Uh," Fearow began, confused. "Fly, Drill Peck, Drill Run, Focus Energy…?"

Apparently that had taken up all the time Ash had for thinking, as the examiner waved his hand. "Signal Beam!"

"Fly!" Ash countered. "Get into the air, keep moving. Make sure you're never flying directly towards or away from Venonat, make his job harder! And Focus Energy!"

"How are you even-" Fearow began, taking off anyway.

"I can understand you!" Ash replied. "Dodge left!"

Fearow whirled away to the left.

"Use Drill Run to amplify your dodge!" Ash added. "But fit in a Focus Energy and then tell me!"

"This is weird," Venonat muttered.

"Charge Beam," the examiner said.

"Dive down!" Ash said, as fast as he could, and the Fearow he was commanding duly did a drop-dodge. The Charge Beam flashed past without hitting him, and Ash pointed. "Climb! That's great, now turn left – and straight – now, turn towards Venonat and do a barrel roll!"

Fearow did an aileron roll.

"No, a barrel roll!" Ash corrected. "The one where you do a spiral! And Drill Peck!"

Venonat fired Charge Beams and Signal Beams up, but it was much harder to hit Fearow than the Bug-type was hoping because Fearow was coming down from the direction of the afternoon sun. Only one attack hit, and then Fearow slammed in a Drill Peck that knocked the examiner's Venonat out in one blow.

"Thanks!" Ash called. "Come on back, I'll see if I need you for the next bit!"

Ash's second choice was a Mankey, and the examiner sent out a Drowzee.

"Hey, Mankey!" Ash said, taking his hat off. "Keep this on, and go nuts!"

Mankey pulled Aaron's hat onto her head firmly with one hand, then charged forwards.

"Hypnosis," the examiner called. "Hypnosis. Hypnosis! Why aren't you doing Hypnosis!"

"I'm trying!" Drowzee protested, as Mankey beat him repeatedly about the head with some punching move or other. "It's like there's nothing to hypnotize!"

"Oh, and what moves do you have?" Ash checked.

The third and last examiner readied his Pokéball, and Ash took a deep breath.

Okay, he had three Pokémon still, but he didn't know what one of them had to bring to the table, and he didn't know the examiner's Pokémon either.

"Go!" he said, throwing the third Pokéball, and got a Parasect. "Okay, what are your moves?"

"Cross Poison, Giga Drain, Fury Cutter, Poison Powder," Parasect related.

Across the field, the examiner had sent out a Hitmonchan.

"Okay," Ash began. "So we need to make sure you don't get hit by a Fire Punch… right! Poison Powder!"

He held up Parasect's Pokéball and Fearow's at the same time, swapping one Pokémon out for the other even as the Poison cloud appeared in the air. "Flap your wings, blow the powder at Hitmonchan! Now, around to the side and Drill Peck!"

Hitmonchan switched from Fire Punch to Thunder Punch at the examiner's order, and slammed it into Fearow as the Flying-type came in. The impact knocked Fearow backwards, spinning through the air but not out, and Ash watched just long enough to make sure Fearow had recovered and wasn't going to crash before switching him out for Mankey.

"Cross Chop!" he said, and Mankey darted in to attack. She got hit by a Mach Punch from Hitmonchan, but landed her Cross Chop anyway, and Ash kept an eye on her.

"Now, Thrash!" he said.

Mankey's next attacks were a blur of punching and kicking and loud annoyance, and Hitmonchan blocked every attack but couldn't make enough time to use one himself. Mankey was disorienting herself with the attacks, quickly ending up dizzy enough that she might be more of a risk to herself, but Ash saw it coming and switched her out with Parasect again.

"Giga Drain!" he ordered.

"Fire Punch!" the examiner replied.

The single Fire Punch hit Parasect hard enough that the Grass-type nearly fainted on the spot, but they'd already been draining energy from Hitmonchan and it was just enough to keep them going.

"Fearow, your turn!" Ash decided, switching Pokémon again. "Fly up nice and high to build up speed for a Drill Run!"

"Not a Drill Peck?" Fearow checked.

"Drill Run protects you against Thunderpunch," Ash explained.

Then Hitmonchan fell over.

"Or just wait for the poison to work," Ash added.

"You know, I'm impressed, Ash!" Misty said, that evening. "I've never seen a diploma awarded so reluctantly before."

"Yeah, but they misspelled my name," Ash sighed. "I'm Ash Ketchum, not Ash, um, I don't know how to pronounce that but it ends with 'off'."

"Oh no," Riolu groaned. "How terrible, we'll have to do the gyms after all… woe is us..."

"Why are these even called breeding centres?" Ash asked. "It's such a weird name."

"It's terminological confusion, is what it is," Brock explained. "Pokémon breeders focus on every aspect of raising a Pokémon, starting with its parents, but most of what they actually do is about medical care, diet, fitness training, working with the Pokémon's ability to understand cues… all kinds of things."

He chuckled. "But, well, it's like calling someone a marathon runner. Ninety-nine percent of the running they do is over shorter distances, but if they do end up running marathons and nobody else does that then that's what they get named for."

"Or how my sisters are called gym leaders!" Misty contributed. "You know, like how almost everything they do is performance art!"

"I shouldn't laugh," Ash said, but did.

Then Dexter beeped.

James is letting you know he's caught his Weepinbell, he said. So he'll want it restored, if possible.

"Got it," Ash replied. "...I guess meeting James at the breeding centre is probably a good call, actually, it's an obvious place and they know where it is. Who was running it…"

He frowned, thinking.

"Wow," Misty said. "You can actually hear the gears squeaking."

"Hey!" Ash protested. "It was… oh, yeah, Birch and Cassidy, right?"

"I'm sure that's not his name," Brock frowned.

"Yeah, but if I bother trying to remember it it's more than he's worth," Ash said. "And if he's annoyed he's not thinking straight, which helps us!"

The others stared at Ash.

"...it's so weird to hear you say that kind of thing," Pikachu said.

"Yeah, yeah," Ash replied. "Anyway, Misty, you've got Psyduck with you, right? And this is the city with that restaurant owner who really likes Psyduck! So let's go and get that free meal!"

Now that is not surprising for Ash to remember.

"Wow," Ash said, when they reached the breeding centre after their free meal. "This place is a dump."

Butch and Cassidy both looked surprised, though they hid what kind of surprised well under their professional masks of being the kind of workers who took good care of the Pokémon entrusted to them.

"Excuse me?" Cassidy asked. "Sir, our centre has excellent sanitation, a top-ten rating from an accredited organization… we're committed to the welfare and development of all the Pokémon we look after here."

"Then how come you've got them all so close together?" Ash asked, pointing through the wall. "Their auras seem really cramped in against one another, and Misty's Togekiss isn't reacting well either."

Togekiss had been putting on a brave face, but she drifted down a bit and Misty gave her a soothing hug.

"We should probably have a look," Ash added.

"Sorry," Cassidy said, shaking her head. "Since… many of the Pokémon are only used to their trainers, they would react poorly in the presence of another trainer. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Butch decided to add his own comment. "Unless you want one of your Pokémon raised? That Riolu of yours could evolve in mere days if you left him with us."

"No thanks, if I give anyone my Pokémon to raise it'll be because I trust them," Ash replied.

He reached into his pocket, and tossed a fleck of gold into the air. "Dexter?"

Stand by, ready. Set up.

The Porygon formed, and two Lock On beams came glaring out of his eyes. Thunder Waves targeted. I suggest not resisting.

At that point, Brock came in the door. "Hey, guys! Good news, bad news thing. Good news, I got Officer Jenny to follow me!"

"Bad news?" Misty asked.

"Oh, right," Brock said, as the officer skidded into the room. "I didn't get around to asking, so-"

"So!" Jenny said. "You're the one who's been trying to chat up all my cousins!"

She blinked.

"Wait. Why is that weird Pokémon shining red dot lights on those two Pokémon Centre workers?"

"They're keeping the Pokémon here in terrible conditions!" Ash explained. "And they're lying on the ads, this place is only a paradise for a Pokémon if that Pokémon's a Trubbish or Aron. And yeah, Brock does do that a lot, but I don't think he's that bad."

He looked at Misty. "Is he that bad?"

Misty shook her head.

She also muttered something about how Brock didn't get the chance because she hit him with her Goldeen if he tried, but that was neither here nor there.

"If these two are criminals, I'll have to arrest them," Jenny said. "And get the Pokémon here back to their owners. But…"

She paused. "Why Aron?"

"Lots of cages to eat," Ash explained.

"Anyway, if your friend has done something wrong then I'll have to take him in as well, but I'll go and check what he's done," Jenny decided.

She didn't find anything to keep them in town, and that afternoon Todd said goodbye as he was heading back north.

Ash invited him to come and watch his Pokémon League victory, which made Misty sigh about unrealistic expectations, then not long afterwards James turned up with a Weepinbell.

"So, are you done with having the guy with the camera around?" the blue-haired trainer asked. "I have not shampooed this properly, it'd be a crime to be photographed in this state!"

"Yeah, Todd's gone," Ash agreed, closing his eyes. "And… great, that one can be reminded!"

He reached out his hand, touching the Grass-type, and there was a flash.

James mumbled something.

"What was that?" Ash said, leaning closer.

James repeated it, with more mumbling.

"Hmm," Pikachu said. "I think it was, roughly, 'that's fine and all, but why did he have to evolve so he's eating my head?'"

"Yeah, why is that?" Ash asked.

"He feels nice," Victreebel answered.

James pulled the Grass-type off his head. "Phew! It's strange why that happens, but my Cacnea and Carnivine are just the same way… where are you headed next, anyway?"

"Cinnabar," Ash replied. "I've got a badge to win!"

"Well, don't use Squirtle in the main arena," James advised. "He gets touchy about that for some reason. Something about massive explosions, I don't know why that would bother anyone…"