35,36

Bright and early the next morning, the friends left Cianwood Pokémon Centre.

"Right," Ash said, yawning. "Where now?"

"Well, there's a few things to do in the Whirl Islands," Misty pointed out. "Like the Whirl Cup. But I guess we don't have to get there straight away..."

"We could look around the Safari Zone," Brock suggested.

"Nah," Ash shrugged. "Don't really think that sounds all that exciting-"

Pikachu interrupted. "Look!"

They followed his gaze, towards a hill a little way outside Cianwood proper.

Ash blinked. "The heck? That's... is that Entei and Raikou?"

He glanced down at his belt. "Suicune? You have any idea-?"

The Fast Ball flashed and opened. "No, but I'll go ask."

With that, the Water-type went loping off towards the hill.

"I... guess we should follow?" Ash asked, to general agreement.

Some minutes later, Suicune came back with the explanation.

"They're here for different reasons," she clarified. "Entei's here because he's aware that you have a battle pending, Misty, and he's fine with being your Fire-type match. As for Raikou-" She shrugged. "It seems he wants a race. He informs me that, since I'm here, you've got no excuse at all."

Ash chuckled. "Wow, guess he's really eager for this... okay, give me a sec."

He got out Dexter. "Is Pidgeot available?"

She is indeed. Who else do you want?

"Well, I've got Pikachu and Lucario... lets go with Houndour and Quilava."

Confirmed. Please wait.

As he was sorting that out, Misty was rummaging through her Pokéballs. "Entei... okay, Fire-type, so that's easier, but he's also... right. Psyduck?"

Psyduck promptly emerged from his Pokéball. "Yes?"

"Your job is to make sure he doesn't use Sunny Day."

"Got it."

"Right!" Raikou said, as the humans arrived. "We all ready for this, then?"

Ash double-checked his team. "I think so!"

He then took Dexter out. "You're probably going to need to record the battle Misty's going to have with Entei, so I can't take you along."

Understood.

"Enough faffing around!" Raikou pronounced, prancing from paw to paw in his eagerness. "Let's dashed well GO already!"

"Okay, I get the idea!" Ash chuckled. He returned Suicune, to have her along just in case, and then sent out Pidgeot and swung aboard.

"Ready for this, Pikachu?" he asked.

"Yep!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked, and then lightning crackled out across Pidgeot's wings. "There we go. Thunder Armour up and running."

Raikou blinked, thrown. "What the hells is that?"

"It's me giving Pidgeot my Lightningrod ability, by using electrical charges to cancel out any attacks which hit her," Pikachu explained glibly.

"...oh," Raikou said. He then turned, facing back for a moment. "Right. Anyway. Let's go!"

He crouched, paws digging into the ground, and then shot off west and south towards the interior of Shikoku.

Pidgeot took off in a storm of wingbeats, and followed – accelerating rapidly.

"Well, now that they're out of the way," Entei said, nodding to Misty. "Shall we begin? I suggest the same rules as applied with my brother."

"Two Pokémon at a time for me, six total, and no capture," Misty reiterated. "Fine by me."

"Very well. Let us begin." Entei planted his paws in the ground. "Sunny Day!"

Psyduck raised his fore flippers. "Nope!" he said, eyes glowing for a moment.

Entei blinked, and looked upwards. The sun was, indeed, not glowing brighter – nor was it lending force to his attacks.

"How exactly are you doing that?" he asked, then leapt out of the way as Gyarados launched a Hydro Pump at him.

Snarling, he landed a little way down the hill and hit the next watery attack with a colossal blaze of flame in the form of a Fire Blast.

As the two attacks produced an instant cloud of steam, Misty lost sight of Entei for a moment. She closed one eye, focusing on Aura Sight, and managed to get a vague sense of where Entei was.

"Gyarados – left!" she instructed. "Water Pulse!"

Gyarados roared, firing off a Water Pulse into the steam, and was rewarded with the sight of Entei leaping over it – out of the steam cloud, back into clear air.

Eyes glowing, Psyduck picked up a globe of water from the attacks which had already spilled it all over the ground and used it to hit Entei with. The impact seemed more stinging than harmful, and Entei retaliated by running close in and launching off a Flamethrower.

Psyduck deflected it – though not without some difficulty – using a psychic shield, and added a Water Gun which Entei barely noticed.

He certainly noticed when Gyarados launched off a Hydro Pump, though. Entei was sent bouncing down the hill, rolled a couple of times, and only then came back upright.

Growling, he opened his mouth, and a globe of green energy formed as he charged a Solarbeam.

"How are you holding up, Pidgeot?" Ash asked, feeling her wings working away underneath him.

"This isn't too bad," Pidgeot admitted, rising slightly to clear a ridge. "I mean, it'd probably be easier if we were going along a valley rather than across several of them, but..."

She dove, gathering speed as they crossed a wider valley than usual, then pulled up again and cleared the ridge.

Ash pointed. "There – he's gone a bit to the left."

"Got him."

Jayden didn't know quite what to make of the situation.

As an Area Ranger, he was supposed to keep the area safe for Pokémon and prevent poachers... but it was hard to know whether this situation qualified. In fact, it was hard to know if his superiors had ever imagined it was possible.

First, there was the Raikou. It was running as fast as it could across the valley floor below his position... and clearly laughing. He could hear the booming laughter from here, sounding a lot like a roll of distant thunder.

Then there was the Pidgeot following it... which was, for whatever reason, sheathed in lightning as though it was cosplaying as a Zapdos or something.

As he watched, the Raikou leaped over the line of a ridge and pelted down the far side – still pursued by that Pidgeot.

It would probably be a good idea to check what was going on... especially as he spotted the human on the Pidgeot's back.

Still charging, Entei jumped over a tail sweep from Gyarados and used the backstroke to kick off from – gaining height and speed, and aiming directly for Psyduck.

Psyduck held up his flippers in a defensive position as Entei's Solarbeam fired.

The condensed solar energy splashed off his psionic shield, carving small furrows in the ground, and then Entei slammed his paws into the ground barely feet from Psyduck before batting him aside and following up with a nasty kick in the stomach.

As he coiled to spring after Psyduck, Gyarados hit him with another Hydro Pump. Entei's counter was swift and powerful – Eruption, turning the incoming water to steam and making the water-saturated soil hiss as it dried.

The fire attack lasted for several seconds, then slowly began to die down – with Entei nowhere to be seen in the circle of scorched ground.

Psyduck made a thwap sound as he hit the ground.

"Done," Entei said triumphantly, landing next to the Water-type just before Misty recalled him. "Now – Sunny Day!"

The sun blazed more brightly in the sky as the clouds around it shifted away, producing an area of supernaturally intense sunlight.

"Right," he said, somewhat mollified, and turned to Gyarados. "Solar-"

Politoed landed on his back with a Bounce, driving the air out of him with a whoof. "Rain Dance!" he said, clapping, before jumping free just ahead of a claw-swipe from Entei.

Entei got back to his feet, already feeling the drops of water landing on his fur from the Rain Dance.

Then a Bubblebeam pummelled his flank.

"You have got to be KIDDING!" Entei roared. "Right, that's it. Extremespeed!"

Kicking off with his back paws, he shot out of the way of a rain-boosted Hydro Pump which blew a sizeable crater in the ground.

Pidgeot rolled over on her left side, making a painfully tight turn to follow Raikou without having to go the long way around a mountain peak, and Ash and Pikachu clung on grimly.

As she righted herself and bore in, Raikou's tail crackled. He snapped off a Thunderbolt at them, which flowed into the Thunder Armour and dissipated.

"That is very useful," Pidgeot observed, then frowned. "Wait – I think he's slowing down!"

She slammed her wings to vertical, maximizing their area to brake, and her huge white wings-of-air copied the manoeuvre – resulting in a rippling crack as they shoved huge areas of air aside.

That slowed them down in a startlingly short amount of time, resulting in Ash jumping clear of his Flying-type in the same clearing Raikou stopped in.

"Well!" Raikou said, chortling. "That got the blood pounding, didn't it! Right, let's be at all this – come on!"

Ash returned Pidgeot, and sent out the rest of his prepared team – Heracross, Lucario, Quilava and Houndour.

Raikou looked back and forth between them, then jumped forwards.

Lucario stepped out in front to meet him, forming a Bone Rush staff in his paws. He swept it in front of Raikou's face with a swift motion, making the Electric-type check his advance slightly, then brought it in towards Raikou's cheek for a fast blow.

Raikou replied by opening his jaws, and then slammed them shut on the Bone Rush staff – smashing it to pieces.

"That's a new one on me," Lucario admitted, forming two more staffs, and then Raikou pounced on him with a Wild Charge.

Lucario dropped the staffs and set his feet in the ground, digging long furrows as Raikou pushed him bodily backwards. He took handfuls of Raikou's shaggy mane and gripped as hard as he could – and managed to hold him in place. The electricity was nasty, but Lucario could – with difficulty – handle it.

On Ash's side of the field, there was a flash as Suicune emerged to watch.

"Flame Wheel!" Quilava announced, balling up and flashing into fire. She plunged into Raikou's flank, stinging him and making him snap off a Thunderbolt at her – a Thunderbolt which went nowhere except at Pikachu, whose Lightningrod absorbed it with a crackle.

Heracross got in on the act next, charging and ramming home a Focus Punch into Raikou's other side – the force of the blow making both him and Lucario skid a few more inches to the side.

Then Houndour contributed.

"Hey," he barked, drawing Raikou's attention.

The Electric-type blinked, still trying to push Lucario backwards. "Yeah?"

Houndour's teeth gleamed in the morning light. "Beat Up."

Raikou had just enough time to work out what was about to happen before shadowy doubles of Keldeo, Lucario, Suicune, Heracross, Pidgeot, Quilava, Pikachu and Houndour himself all appeared and started hitting him from every direction at once.

Entei slammed his paws into Politoed's side, knocking him off-balance, and followed up with a nasty Bite attack. He had to stop at that point to dodge out of the way of a potent Aqua Tail, but finished off by using a Lava Plume to blow Politoed skywards and out of the battle.

By now the battle area was starting to resemble a miniature recreation of the legendary battles between Groudon and Kyogre, with water everywhere, perpetual rain and the odd residual cone from a small volcanic eruption.

Panting a little, Entei jumped at Gyarados as he used another powerful Water-type attack, running just ahead of the Hydro Pump and stamping home with both forepaws on Gyarados' neck to send the Atrocious Pokémon collapsing backwards – down but not out.

Entei prepared to use another Bite, but got hit by a Psychic attack before he could – one which pushed him off Gyarados' neck and allowed the Water-type to get up again.

"What now?" he asked, whirling, and saw the Starmie. "Right!"

He roared again, using Eruption as a place to hide from any immediate Water-type moves that might be aimed at him, and used Sunny Day again.

It didn't work.

Leaping out of the firestorm, he noticed that Starmie's gem was pulsing in time with the crackles of thunder in the clouds overhead.

"Do all of your Pokémon know Rain Dance?" he asked, exasperated, and pounced at Starmie ready to Bite.

Starmie's five fore arms all sprayed water at him at once, forcing him to dodge with care around the streams.

"You're sure?"

Jayden nodded. "Yes, sir. A human on a Pidgeot chasing a Raikou, right in the middle of Shikoku."

"Damn poachers." The gruff Top Ranger sighed. "Well done for getting here so fast. Is that a capture?"

Jayden shook his head. "No, this is my partner," he explained, patting the head of the Staraptor he hed been riding. "She evolved only a few days ago."

"Right, that explains it." The Top Ranger sighed again. "Well, it can't be helped. I'll call in everyone on local patrol – you go ahead and identify the location. Oh – what's your score with that Styler?"

"A rank, sir."

"Right. You might have to be the one to calm down the Raikou, then... okay, off you go."

Jayden nodded, sprinting to Staraptor and leaping to her back. Wings already spread, the burly Flying-type was airborne within seconds.

Entei burst through a Water Pulse, squinting as the Water-type attack hit him, and managed to clip Starmie's arms with his swiping paw. The impact sent Starmie spinning backwards and down, and Entei capitalized on that by leaping forward and getting a grip with both paws.

Starmie gave him another soaking, following it up with a Thunderbolt for good measure as Entei hurled it to the ground. This earned an irritated snarl and a Bite attack, knocking it out.

Then Gyarados slammed home an Aqua Tail.

Entei flew through the air, bounced, rolled over three times and skidded to a halt. He managed to dodge the next blast of water, and started on his new plan.

Firstly, he punched up another Sunny Day. This time, it stuck, and Gyarados' attacks became much less dangerous as a result.

That wasn't enough, though – Solarbeam wouldn't be that much better against Gyarados than a Fire attack would be. So he selected a spot where he'd already blasted off the topsoil and sprinted towards it – ducking one Water pulse and leaping over another Aqua Tail before delivering a both-paws blow into the exposed bedrock – cracking it with the force of the blow.

Then he roared, and used Eruption. Less powerful now than at the start of the fight, it still blew the weakened rocks into the air in a miniature volcanic blast.

Quick as a flash, Entei jumped into the air after the largest of the rocks. He batted it with a paw as he reached it, adjusting its tumble, and then kicked it as hard as possible directly at Gyarados.

That did it. The half-ton rock was more than enough to finish Gyarados off, and he collapsed.

As Entei landed, he looked around in puzzlement.

"That was only four..."

A drop of water landed on his muzzle.

"Oh, what now!?" he asked, spinning on two feet, and saw Kingdra in one of the deeper puddles formed by the earlier battle – even now growing in the gathering rain.

A pair of yellow eyes flashed at him from next to the puddle, and then a large glob of water narrowly missed his face.

Ignoring Kabuto, Entei lunged forwards to attack Kingdra – paws sending up splats of mud as he boosted forwards with Extremespeed.

Lucario grunted as he pushed hard – pushing Raikou slowly backwards, now the Beat Up had weakened him.

Raikou delivered another electrical attack into Lucario, struggling, but it wasn't enough to break the grip of the tough Fighting-type. And as he tried, Heracross and Quilava were ramming home some nasty blows of their own on his sides.

"Just a bit more..." Houndour said, watching as Lucario slowly bent Raikou's posture upwards – until his front paws left the ground entirely. "And – now!"

Slipping in underfoot, he avoided being stomped on and kicked Raikou's left knee. "Foul Play!"

The blow finally overbalanced Raikou, sending him crashing to the ground with Lucario on top of him.

Using one paw to keep Raikou on the defensive, Lucario raised his other and formed a Bone Rush staff in it.

"Stop!"

Startled, Lucario froze. So did Raikou, as did the other Pokémon in the clearing.

Suicune strode forwards. "Brother! This is unacceptable!"

Raikou blinked. "I don't know what you could possibly-"

"Don't try that on me, brother!" Suicune shook her head, mane whipping in the wind. "I know you can fight better than this! A lot better! You wouldn't have let yourself be caught and held like that if you were fighting normally!"

Lucario looked hurt. "I thought I had something to do with it..."

"No, you misunderstand," Suicune told him in an aside. "Raikou is too smart to be caught like that in the first place, and certainly to just keep trying to bull through. He didn't use hit-and-run nearly as much as he should have, and he should have aimed to eliminate Pikachu first."

She turned a suspicious eye back to Raikou."And you didn't run nearly as far as I know you can... you were throwing the fight, weren't you?"

Raikou blushed. Actually blushed. "Er... hrm, now you speak of it..."

"Raikou!"

"So what if I was?" he asked, defensively. "Dash it all, I-"

"She's got a point, Raikou," Ash contributed. "I mean – I don't really mind catching Legendary Pokémon if they offer to let me, and catching Suicune the way I did was a really great moment, but... to say it'll be a fight and then throw it? That doesn't feel right to me..."

"...blast," Raikou muttered. "Can I get a do-over?"

"I suspect you'll have to come back later," Suicune suggested. "And make sure you mean it next time."

Grumbling, Raikou nodded. "Fine. Now, can you get this beastly weight off my chest?"

Lucario duly stepped off.

Snorting, Raikou rolled to his front and stood. "Well, that's me told... and I would have gotten away with it were it not for my meddling sister..."

"And don't you forget it," Suicune said, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, then," Raikou went on. "I'll find some way to show I mean it, and then we'll bally well do it properly!"

"I look forward to it," Ash said. "Wonder how Misty's doing, though-"

There was a crashing sound, as two humans – one male and one female – with Capture Stylers ready on their arms came through the foliage at the edge of the clearing. "Stop, thief!"

"Pokémon rangers!"

Ash blinked, completely thrown. "Pardon?"

"Kellyn, handle the Raikou!" the girl added. "I'll stop this poacher from attacking with any of his stolen Pokémon!"

Kellyn nodded, activating his Styler.

Raikou frowned at the spinning disc as it circled him, occasionally emitting flashes of light. "This seems rather peculiar."

"I'm not a poacher!" Ash said hotly. "I'm a Pokémon trainer, and Raikou challenged me!"

"That's the stupidest excuse I've heard in a long time," the girl said, unfazed.

Lucario sighed. "This could take some time to sort out."

A loud explosion rippled the pool water.

Entei landed by the side of the miniature lake, and batted at the mud running down near one eye.

His opponent faced him, fins flapping steadily to keep him in position in the water.

Entei frowned, looking closer. That wasn't just to keep him in place...

With a roar, he pounced forwards again – and used a Lava Plume from below, to boot, to blast Kingdra into the air and interrupt his Dragon Dance.

When he reached the now-airborne Kingdra, Entei had no illusions about it now being an easy fight – which was fortunate, since Kingdra had no intention of giving him one.

The Water-type opened this round of hostilities with a Waterfall, which quickly extinguished the remains of the Lava Plume and knocked Entei about from the force of the water.

Entei reacted to that by grabbing on to Kingdra's nearest fin with his paws, dragging him along for the ride as Entei came in to land on the other side of the pool and finally getting him clear of the water.

Though that meant Kingdra was now at a disadvantage – being on land – it wasn't the end of him by a long shot. As he started using more Water attacks to get some breathing room to use to return to the water, Entei was forced to step back somewhat before pouncing again to deliver another Stomp.

The two of them were actually at something of a stalemate. None of Entei's attacks were really potent enough to damage Kingdra – his fire speciality in particular was at a huge disadvantage – and the only thing he had which stood much of a chance, Solarbeam, ideally required it not to be raining.

But of course it was raining.

That line of thought led Entei somewhere. Was it Kingdra who was maintaining the weather?

To test that, he fired off another Sunny Day, watching Kingdra closely.

The Dragon-type didn't use any moves beyond the ones he'd already been doing – Water Gun, Bubblebeam, and the occasional nasty Flail if Entei got too close – but the rain clouds rolled straight back in after the few seconds of clearer skies.

Right.

Entei spun, loping around the lake for his new objective – Kabuto.

Kabuto saw him coming, gave a worried click, and fired a barrage of Mud Shots.

Closing his eyes, Entei bulled through them and slammed his paws down on the Rock/Water type.

The impact drove Kabuto several inches into the mud.

As Entei lifted his paw to check on his handiwork, he got an Ancientpower to the face.

"Ow! Right, that-" Entei bit off the rest of the sentence, and Stomped Kabuto again before turning back to Kingdra.

As he loped back over, he fired off a Sunny Day. This time, for a wonder, it wasn't cancelled out or overridden.

"Now, as I was saying," Entei said, green light gathering in his mouth. "Solarbeam!"

The blaze of green energy splashed across Kingdra's skin, doing less damage than it would have done to another Water-type due to the Dragon typing – but still clearly hurting.

Kingdra's reply to this was to spit off a stream of Dragonbreath at Entei, who dodged handily and retaliated with another Solarbeam.

That finally knocked Kingdra out.

Panting heavily, Entei turned to look at Misty. "I take it this means I-"

He stopped, as a drop of water landed on his nose.

Incredulously, he looked up into the sky, and saw that the clouds were gathering again.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding."

He turned back to the lake shore, where the crater he'd left Kabuto was. "Right. Time to-"

The mud erupted upwards.

"Right," said the girl, Kate. "So, let's go over this again."

"Sure," Ash nodded.

"You're a Pokémon trainer."

Ash indicated his Pokémon and Pokéballs. "I'm pretty sure I am."

"Despite how Pokémon trainers are only allowed six Pokémon," Kellyn went on.

"Actually..." Ash shrugged. "It's more like six per battle. I only use six in any one battle, but I keep more than six on me."

The two Rangers exchanged glances, then nodded dubiously.

"Okay," Kate said, pursing her lips. "We'll take that bit on trust for now. So, you're a Pokémon trainer. And you've got... among others, a Pidgeot, a Heracross, a Lucario, and a Suicune."

The relevant Pokémon nodded amicably.

"How did you get a Lucario?" Kellyn asked. "Riolu are a protected species-"

"The nobles of the Lucario Kingdom determined that Ash was worthy to receive a Riolu egg," Lucario stated evenly. "Rest assured, I was most certainly not poached, and were Ash to do that I'd hit him until he stopped."

Ash chuckled nervously. "I can't tell if you're joking..."

The next thing Lucario said was not translated for the benefit of the Rangers. "Given how often you get possessed... no, I am not joking."

"Wise precaution," Pikachu agreed.

"Fair enough," Ash admitted.

"Well – I guess," Kate admitted. "I mean, I heard Riolu and Lucario were really noble and brave – but couldn't you just be brainwashed?"

That made Kellyn chuckle.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"Oh – sorry, just – the image of trying to brainwash a Lucario," Kellyn explained, sniggering. "I got this image of one of those Dim Sun guys running a brainwashing machine, and then suddenly a Lucario fist punches through the side of the machine and rips it apart."

That made Kate chuckle too.

"Okay, so maybe not the brainwashing thing isn't so..." she shrugged. "But still – what about Suicune? I mean, the heck? You've got a Legendary?"

One of the balls at Ash's waist flashed and opened.

"He's got two right here!" Keldeo said brightly.

Ash winced. "That's not actually helping..."

"...oops." Keldeo winced. "Sorry..."

The two Rangers were too busy staring back and forth between Keldeo and Suicune to comment.

"...you've got two Legendaries right there..." Kate said weakly. "How?"

Keldeo answered that one, speaking firmly. "Ash did me a great service, so I'm following him and battling for him for a year or so. I've learned a lot myself, actually!"

He glanced over at Suicune. "As for her – she and her brothers are challenging Ash. If he beats them, he catches them – with their blessing."

Kellyn blinked. "Uh... brothers?"

Raikou cleared his throat. "Am I still allowed in this conversation!? It's about me, after all!"

"They can't understand you," Ash pointed out to him.

That statement didn't seem to help the Rangers get back on an even footing.

"Okay, so you can understand Pokémon too..." Kate said, shaking her head. "I'm starting to wonder if we missed a briefing."

"No, probably just the radio," Ash shrugged. "I got interviewed earlier this year, it came out then."

"That explains it," Kellyn said gratefully. "We recently transferred here from Almia. Guess we must have just missed a lot of the news..."

After a moment's pause, Kate clapped her hands together. "Right. So – Raikou," she said, addressing him directly. "He says you challenged him. Is that correct?"

Raikou nodded firmly. "I should say so! I'll get that bally Volt Crash move if it's the last thing I do..."

Pikachu blinked. "Wait, is that why you were going to-"

"It's the best Electric move I've ever seen!" Raikou rhapsodised. "I really, really want it!"

"I'm flattered. I think."

"And the chase started outside the Ranger area?" Kate asked.

"Well, it started about a mile outside Cianwood Pokémon Centre," Ash said. "Does that count?"

"It's probably fine," Kellyn shrugged. "Okay, Kate, looks like this was a false alarm."

He fixed Ash with a look. "But don't pull some stunt like this again!"

"Never fear!" Ash said, chuckling. "Not after-"

There was a sudden windstorm of air as two Staraptor and a Braviary swept down to land in the clearing.

"Pokémon Rangers!"

Kate squinted up. "The heck? Jayden? What are you three – we were on top of this!"

Pikachu sighed. "Here we go again."

Entei regarded his final opponent for several more seconds, a growl rumbling in the back of his throat.

"...Misty," that opponent said, after a moment more of silence. "I am glad for how you treated a poor, time-displaced fossil like me."

With that, Kabutops darted in, wicked scythes flashing.

Entei jumped back, blasting fire at Kabutops – to little effect – and then got hit by rocks in both sides of his chest.

Surprised, he backed away further, and watched more closely this time as Kabutops came in.

The scythes glowed faintly-

Entei jumped to his right, looking left, and saw what was going on. Kabutops was using Stone Edge to throw chunks of rock from his earlier impromptu Rock attack at Entei himself, using the Slash attacks as cover.

Now understanding, he jumped up when Kabutops swiped this time, and the rocks passed underneath him.

Kabutops had an answer for that too, though. He simply launched himself into the air like a very literal heat-seeking missile – slamming home a powerful Aqua Jet.

Air came whooshing out of Entei's lungs, and he snarled before kicking off, landing well clear, and starting the laborious process of charging a Solarbeam.

Kabutops landed thigh-deep in the water. He spun, spotted the charging Solarbeam, and ran forwards.

Fortunately for Entei, the inconveniently deep water slowed Kabutops' progress. The Grass-type move finished charging just as Kabutops made it out of the water, and Entei immediately fired it.

Pivoting on one foot, Kabutops whipped his left scythe towards the beam of energy. It hit, flashing energy off in all directions, but was clearly still making a major impact on the Rock/Water type.

Kabutops stumbled, sped up again, and then kicked off hard – going up into the air, away from the direction of the Solarbeam. Entei tried to retarget it, then gave up and let it dissipate.

Just as he did, Kabutops reoriented himself in mid-air and cloaked himself in water. "Dive!" he announced, and came crashing down on Entei in a sixty-degree angle dive powered by jets of water from the rear of his exoskeleton.

Mud and dirt fountained up.

"Kabutops?" Misty called, squinting through the drumming rain.

Then, out of the mist, a silhouette appeared.

"I win," Entei said, walking closer. "And... I think I would like to lie down now."

His left foreleg missed a step, and he slumped over on one side before starting to snore.

Ash, his Pokémon, and Raikou – now aided by Kate and Kellyn – had to explain the situation to the three newly-arrived Rangers all over again.

They skipped some of the more inconsequential details (the radio programme), explored others anew (surprisingly few of the Rangers had heard that the Beasts of Johto were siblings) and were almost done when the Top Ranger for Shikoku turned up with four more Area Rangers.

By the time that was over, everyone was quite thoroughly sick of talking about it. Raikou went off in a huff, muttering about 'busybodies' taking the fun out of the whole business, and Ash climbed back aboard Pidgeot for an escorted flight back to Cianwood.

"And don't do it again!" Kellyn called, waving, as his befriended Fearow pulled up and away from them at the border of the reserve.

"I won't!" Ash called back.

"You will," Pikachu pointed out. "Maybe not on purpose, but you will..."

Pidgeot banked smoothly, lowering her altitude back towards their start location earlier in the day.

"Oh, look!" she said, as she shed speed. "There's the others! And quite a lot of dirty water flowing down that small valley... and several scorch marks."

"Guess Misty's done with her battle, then," Ash said, then jumped off as Pidgeot alighted.

"Hey, Ash!" Brock hailed, looking up from where he was cooking some brunch. "How did it go?"

Ash shrugged. "Not great. Raikou was trying to throw the fight, which kind of isn't-"

"Yeah," Brock agreed, filling in the conversation space as Ash looked for the words. "It's not what you were after."

"Right," Ash confirmed. "And then the Pokémon Rangers for the area showed up, calling me a Poacher."

He sighed. "We had to explain the whole thing. Three times."

Brock winced.

"How did Misty do?" Ash asked, more cheerfully.

"Well, I think it's actually a draw," Brock told him. "Entei knocked out her team, but then fainted."

"Whoa..." Ash grinned. "Nice work, Misty!" he called.

A faint "Thanks!" came from over a small rise.

"Oh, yeah, her Kabuto evolved, too," Brock added.

"I'll have to congratulate him too," Ash decided with a smile. "Those sausages smell great!"

Lucario emerged from his Pokéball as Ash contemplated the meal. "Ash? Do you have a moment?"

"Oh – sure," Ash agreed.

He followed Lucario a dozen or so metres away.

"What is it, Lucario?" he asked, once they were somewhere a little more private.

"It's just – did you recognize that first male Ranger? Kellyn?"

Ash frowned. "Now you mention it... yeah, I did run into him before! Up in Sinnoh, back when-"

He blinked. "Oh, right. Back when we first met."

"That is correct," Lucario nodded. "I remember he helped rescue me, as well as you."

"Yeah, you're right." Ash nodded. "I wonder if it's just that-"

"Ash, you misunderstand my concern. Why is he down here in Johto – or, rather, a Ranger in Shikoku? In the other timeline, he was much further north even two years later than this." Lucario shook his head. "I'm worried that we might have changed something for the worse – somehow stirred things around."

Ash frowned. "I don't know, I'm afraid. I guess... maybe it's just that Hunter J was sighted further south, and now she's in prison – they just don't need to keep so much of an eye on the Almia reserve especially, without her around."

"It is possible, I suppose," Lucario admitted, frowning. "But it seems... well, it seems we should keep a look out for other such changes."

"I agree with you there," Ash nodded fervently. "Pidgeot's been making flights up to Sinnoh when she has the time to spare, but no sign of Galactic yet."

Lucario nodded. "That sets my mind at rest, a little."

"A truly marvellous battle," Entei pronounced, once revived and dosed with brunch. "Misty, if it was mine to decide, I'd say yes. I remember Malcom, and this battle was every bit as entertaining as that one!"

He bowed once, low, and then turned to Ash.

"We will, of course, meet again."

With that he spun, to face the mainland, and set off at a ground-eating lope.

"Hey," Brock said, frowning. "Something just occurred to me. How did Entei and Raikou get from Honshu to Shikoku?"

"I can answer that," Suicune said. "They ran over the water, of course – just like I do."

Brock blinked. "But... you're Water-type. Entei is Fire-type."

Suicune shrugged. "So?"

"Arceus?" Sir Aaron asked.

Yes?

"I can't help but think that you've having trouble deciding on a stable difficulty curve for this game."

Guilty, Arceus admitted. I've been trying a few things, but for some reason I just can't seem to get something coherent together.

"Yeah, and the dragon gang is getting a bit uppity," Aaron reported. "After how much fun the big battle in Illusio was, Cragspur was a letdown."

Fair point, Arceus admitted. A Gigalith wasn't much of a challenge.

"Viperia was worse," he went on. "A Croagunk is not an appropriate finisher challenge, not really."

There was subdued muttering from the heavens.

"And as for the Dark-type kingdom..."

All right, all right, I get the point. I could have done something a bit more impressive with Dark-type than a Zorua and a Zoroark.

"Exactly my point," Sir Aaron nodded. He jumped, caught the lip of the next ledge, and hauled himself up onto the battle zone of Avia itself. "So, anyway, my hope is that you put a bit more effort into this one."

Uh... Arceus sounded a bit embarrassed. Tell me. How do a Rufflet and a Braviary sound?

Sir Aaron sighed.

Okay, okay! I'll rewrite it – just give me a second.

"Thanks." The Aura Guardian turned, to watch the three Dragons as they ascended the cliff.

By floating.

"How are you doing that?" he asked, blinking.

Palkia grinned. "I'm creating a zone of negative gravity around myself!"

"I'm a Ghost," Giratina pointed out. "And I'm using my Orb to remain in Origin Form."

"And Dialga?"

The Steel-type shrugged. "It takes time to fall."

"That doesn't-" Sir Aaron stopped, blinked, and shook his head. "Okay, I don't care enough."

With the softness of a thistledown, two very large dragons landed on either side of him. (Giratina floated overhead.)

"Okay, Arceus," he went on. "Let's see this challenge."

...and done!

A man with a very impressive helmet came strutting up to them.

"Hi!" he said, smiling. "Welcome to Avia! I'm Masamune, and I will be defeating you today!"

Palkia sniggered. "He's not as good at the voice as I am."

Sir Aaron gave the Water-type dragon a quelling look.

"Let's see this, then," Giratina suggested. "What have you got?"

"Pidgeot?" Dialga asked. "Staraptor?"

Masamune spread his arms. "Attack!"

Sir Aaron blinked, peering off into the distance. "Uh... guys? Is it me, or is that... Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Dragonite, Ho-Oh, Salamence, Rayquaza, Tornadus, Thundurus, Landorus and Yvetal?"

Palkia squinted. "You missed Lugia. Behind Zapdos."

"Oh, there we are," Sir Aaron agreed, a little airily. "Glad that's cleared up. Arceus? The heck?"

You said they were stir crazy, Arceus pointed out. Enjoy!

36

"Not long to go until I get Corsola back," Misty sighed. "That'll be nice – I never could speak to her before."

Ash nodded. "It's always nice to meet an old Pokémon again – I'm looking forwards to when we find Donphan, he's next."

"He was fun," Pikachu admitted. "Quite childish at first, but he grew up a lot."

"I guess he would," Brock said. "You hatched him, right, Ash?"

"Yep," Ash confirmed. He blinked. "Hey, wait... look up there!"

The others followed his gaze.

"Isn't that..." Brock tailed off, and got his binoculars out of his backpack. Twiddling the focus wheel, he zoomed in. "Yep – there it is. That's a Pidgey... but he's a lot higher than I'd have expected."

"That must be that high-flying Pidgey!" Ash said, snapping his fingers.

The others blinked.

"...well, sure, it sounds obvious now," Misty chuckled. "You're right."

"Guys," Brock said urgently, still looking through the binoculars. "I think there's a Fearow going after him."

Ash's hand immediately went to his waist, and he sent out Pidgeot. "Make sure that Pidgey's safe, Pidgeot!"

"Got it!" she called back, already accelerating with powerful wing-sweeps.

Orville pumped his wings steadily, with eyes only for the sky. Every flap brought him further into the sky, and closer to the sun.

He'd trained for this for years. He would be the highest-flying Pidgey ever!

A sudden caw from below broke into his single-minded concentration.

His rate of ascent slowed as he recognized the noise – that was the cry of a Fearow.

Was one of the locals-

Then the Fearow shot past him, tumbling backwards and quite confused.

Orville blinked, not sure what to make of it.

"Hi," a female voice chirped. "How are you doing, little guy?"

Orville's beak gaped. "You're a Pidgeot!"

"I know," she said. "Don't worry, that Fearow won't get you. What are you doing, by the way?"

"I'm trying to fly higher than any Pidgey ever has!" Orville said, resuming his upwards climb. "I'm trying to fly to the sun!"

"The sun might be a bit too hard," the Pidgeot said, with a warm lilt to her voice. "But aiming high is good. Tell you what – I'll follow you up, to make sure you're safe."

"As long as you don't help me directly," Orville asked firmly. "I want to do this for myself."

"Wow, that's a long way up," Ash said, as they watched through Dexter's air-lenses. "How high are they?"

Lasing.

Dexter's eyes flashed, and then flashed a second time.

"What was that second one for?" Misty asked. "The Pidgey? Can you still see him? We're only able to see Pidgeot, even with the-"

No, it was not. It was checking my result. Dexter paused. Pidgeot is currently in the stratosphere.

"She's what?" Ash asked.

"That's... really ridiculously high," Brock said, blinking.

"Wait!" Ash pointed. "Look!"

As they watched, Pidgeot's wings beat once more, and then she dropped back down.

"I guess that's it, then," Ash said. "Whoa... look at how long she's diving for. That Pidgey must have got really high!"

Pidgeot descended for some time, going from a near-dot to a recognizably Pidgeot shape through the air telescope.

At that point, though, she stopped diving, and began to circle.

"Huh," Ash frowned. "Not sure what that means."

Some minutes later, Pidgeot accelerated out of her holding pattern and dove a little, then began to head rapidly back to the group.

As she alighted, Ash jogged over. "Welcome back, Pidgeot – what kept you?"

Pidgeot waved a wing at Ash, still a little tired. "I was waiting for Orville to come back down."

Misty blinked. "But – wait, if you were waiting for him, that means... you didn't follow him all the way up?"

"No, I did not," Pidgeot confirmed. "My wings iced up too much for me to feel confident following him all the way up. He seemed to cope better with it."

"And was he okay?" Ash asked her. "I mean, I guess he must be..."

"He was fine," Pidgeot assured him. "He passed out on the way down, but I caught him down in the denser air and he recovered nicely."

"Wow," Ash said, contemplating that. "That is one tough Pidgey."

"No argument here," Pidgeot agreed firmly.

"Well, I guess it's off to Yellow Rock Isle now," Brock said, looking at the map. "That right, Dexter?"

Yes, it is. That's most of the way to the Whirl Cup, and it is also where Misty will find Corsola.

"Not so fast," Misty said.

Ash, Pikachu, Brock and Lucario turned to her in surprise.

"Pardon?" Ash asked for all of them. "I thought you were looking forward to-"

"I am!" Misty interrupted. "Of corsola I am!"

There was a stunned silence, then the faint clang of Lucario facepalming.

"Anyway," she went on, blushing slightly at how horrible her own pun had been, "What I was saying was that I wanted to see if I could catch a Chinchou, since I remember there's some on this island."

Brock blinked. "Don't you have a Chinchou?"

"I remember her alright," Pikachu muttered. "That was a very, very annoying fight."

Misty thought about bringing up the destruction of her gym again, but – remembering how casually Chuck had taken it – let it go, though not without some effort. "She was the gym's Chinchou," she said instead. "She belongs to the Cerulean Gym, part of the high-level challenge team – and one of the ones who keeps herself fit, which is what made her so useful. Anyway, I kind of want one for myself."

"Huh," Ash said, and shrugged. "Go ahead, then, we've got time."

Misty cleared her throat, and several dozen of the migrating Chinchou turned to look at her.

"Hi!" she said, brightly. "Would any of you like to become one of my Pokémon?"

"...I have to admit," one of them said, turning to the others. "This is refreshing. Humans normally aren't polite enough to ask."

"Thanks," Misty replied.

The Chinchou blinked.

"Did... did I just imagine that?"

"No," Misty said.

"Oh." The Chinchou seemed a little nonplussed. "Okay then."

A younger one spoke up. "What other Pokémon do you have?"

Misty smiled. "Staryu and Starmie, Seaking and Kingdra, Psyduck, Politoed, Gyarados, Togekiss and Kabutops."

"What's a Kabutops?"

Misty demonstrated by sending him out.

"Hello," Kabutops said, bowing. "I am a reanimated fossil."

"That's something you don't hear every day..."one Chinchou said.

"Talk about understatement," another quipped.

The younger one flashed his lights twice. "I'll go with you!"

Misty smiled, pleased. "Thanks! I have to admit, that was easier than I was expecting..."

The Chinchou shrugged. "You seem nice!"

"Well?" Brock asked.

She flashed him a grin. "Piece of cake! Didn't even have to battle for him!"

"Hey, Misty?" Ash asked. "Remember when you said all my captures were pity-captures?"

Misty shot him a look. "Quiet, you!"

"Right, here we are," Misty said. "Megi City."

Ash looked around. "How is this a city? It barely looks like a town."

The others shrugged.

"Hey – wait." Pikachu's ears twitched. "Did you hear that?"

Ash frowned. "Hear what?"

"I heard someone crying out – there it was again!"

Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder. "This way!"

A few minutes took them to a beach, where they saw a house slowly floating out to sea – with a girl on the roof, calling for help.

"Right!" Misty said, snapping her fingers. "I remember this!"

Frowning, she considered how to help. "Okay – Gyarados!"

She sent out her largest Pokémon, and turned to Ash as he formed. "Can you have Meganium and Ivysaur help to tow the house back to shore?"

"Sure!" Ash replied promptly, climbing on Gyarados' back and releasing the Grass-types.

With the powerful Gyarados providing power, they were able to pull the house away from danger in minutes, and from there Ivysaur and Meganium could switch to reeling it in from the shore and pull it the rest of the way to the beach.

Barely had they started that second phase, though, when Misty went diving off Gyarados' back into the water.

"Uh..." Ash said, looking at where she'd just vanished from. "Misty?"

There were a couple of flashes visible through the water.

Then Misty came splashing back to shore – with her hair frizzed out, despite the seawater.

"I caught Corsola," she said, holding up one of her Lure balls. "Might have been a mistake for Chinchou to use Thundershock underwater, though..."

"That was quick," Ash blinked.

Sorting out the placement of the house – and reuniting the girl with her family – occupied some considerable time, and it was nearly lunch by the time they had everything sorted out and could afford to bring Corsola up to speed.

When she emerged from her Pokéball, the Coral seemed a bit miffed at being caught so easily. Ash gave her the usual treatment, and she blinked – then blinked again. "Misty?"

"That's right," Misty smiled. "Sorry about that..."

Corsola shrugged, which was quite a feat for an animate scleractinian. "I suppose it's fine. I suppose."

"Glad to have met your high expectations," Misty said, a little tartly.

The Pokémon blinked. "Okay, I knew you knew what I called you, but that's new. You speak Pokémon?"

"I taught her!" Ash said proudly.

"Ash Ketchum taught you how to speak to Pokémon," Corsola repeated. She shook her head. "Now I've heard everything. Uh... why are we in the past?"

She did a double take. "And where's Togepi? If this is the past-"

Togekiss emerged from her Pokéball, and waved. "Hi!"

"...I must admit, I had expected you to at most be a Togetic," Corsola admitted. "Okay, so what else is new?"

Misty frowned. "Okay. You know Staryu, Starmie and Politoed?"

"Yes?" Corsola said warily. "Why?"

"They're the same," Misty clarified. "Just about everything else is different."

"Define everything." Corsola took a deep breath, preparing herself for this.

Misty cleared her throat. "Right. Horsea is now Kingdra, Goldeen evolved, I have a Kabutops, you've already met Chinchou, Psyduck is now coherent, Gyarados has been around for a while already, I'm on the Elite Four shortlist, and that's not even getting into what Ash has done."

Ash waved.

"...okay, I wasn't ready for that," Corsola admitted. "It was a lot crazier than I was expecting. How long have you been back?"

"Closer to two years than one," Misty said. "They've been busy."

"She's fought Raikou, and then had a draw with Entei!" Ash contributed. "That last one was just late last week!"

Misty held in a giggle. "Poor Entei... I used Rain Dance every chance I got. The poor Beast..."

"I can see I have a lot to catch up to," Corsola admitted.

"Oh, don't worry," Misty replied. "You'll pick it up in no time!"

She winked. "At least you don't have to get up to speed with what Ash's team is like now."

"I'm afraid to ask..."

That night, as they cruised towards Redrock Isle, Ash gazed out over the stern of the ship.

"Man, but it's kind of nice to be going among islands again," he mused to Pikachu. "The smell of the sea... kind of reminds me of home."

Pikachu nodded. "I can see why it would."

"Plus it means less time walking," Ash added, grinning. "I mean, walking is fine, but it's sometimes a welcome break to get around by boat."

Pikachu smiled. "I can agree with that."

"You mostly ride on my shoulder anyway," Ash chuckled.

"Guilty as charged."

They enjoyed the sound of the ship's wake for a few minutes.

"Ash?" Pikachu asked. "What's the plan for the Whirl Cup? Who are you going to use?"

"Whoever wants to," Ash decided. "I'll try to use everyone who does – but I'll try to be careful with the Legendaries, if they do."

The boy sighed. "I – yeah, I had this discussion already, but I don't want to be like Tobias was."

Pikachu's cheeks sparked a little. "Tobias... yeah, I know what you mean. Fighting his Latios was great fun, but it all felt a bit hollow."

Ash reached up to the railing where Pikachu was standing, and gave him a gentle scratch. "Just let me know if I'm being a jerk, okay?"

"Sure thing," Pikachu agreed. "But I can be bribed with ketchup to overlook the odd mildly jerkish moment..."

They shared a chuckle.

Then Pikachu frowned, looking out to sea. "Eh?"

"What?" Ash asked, becoming alert. "Do you see something?"

"Not see, no... hear."

Ash listened, hard. Ignoring the faint splashing of the waves against the ship, and the disturbed water from the screw propeller...

There.

He looked up. "Wait – that's... Lugia? Pikachu, didn't we see that-"

"Ash, this isn't the local one. Voice is too deep – I can tell the difference. In fact..."

With surprisingly little fanfare, a white-and-blue head emerged from the water. Hello, Ash.

Ash's hand came up and he waved, largely on reflex. Then he did a double take. "Wait – you're the Lugia from-"

From Shamouti, yes. In one sense, yours. Lugia nodded, and beneath the surface they saw his wide wings beating to keep him moving at the right distance from the ferry. I came to ask a favour.

"Sure!" Ash said immediately. "What is it?"

Thank you, Ash. I would like for you to carry me – in my Pokéball – for the next week or two, and for Pidgeot to handle my duties in Shamouti.

Ash frowned. "Uh – sorry, but – why?"

Do you recall how, around this time last timeline, my mate and child were abducted? I believe you were there.

"We were, yeah," Ash confirmed.

I was not there at the time, of course, Lugia elaborated. I don't know much about what happened – it seemed unimportant to find out. And now, when it does matter... I can't ask anyone, and I don't want to risk them killing Silver – whereas if I stay with them to keep them safe, whoever did it will be ready for me. So, all I can do is try to help rescue them.

He fixed Ash with his gaze. Last time, you saved them. And this time, I want to help you do it again.

Ash nodded. "Right. Of course I will, that's fine – hold on a sec."

He released Pidgeot. "You heard?"

"Only the bit you said," Pidgeot replied. "What do you need me to do?"

Pidgeot, would you be willing to handle my duties at Shamouti for now? Lugia asked. I understand if you are reluctant.

"No, I'm – well, flattered, but if you think I'm ready then I'll try to live up to your recommendation." Pidgeot flapped her wings. "I'll keep an eye on them."

Good. Thank you. Now, Ash, if you don't mind-"

"Sure," Ash said. He gave Pidgeot her Pokéball, and she set off south towards the open sea on silent wings.

When she was well clear, he rummaged for the 'ball keyed to Lugia, and returned him.

"I'm glad of your trust," he said, smiling. "And that Doctor Namco won't know what hit him..."

"Welcome to the preliminary rounds of the Whirl Cup!" the announcer said. "Now, remember, these rounds are held under sudden death conditions – both competitors send out one Water-type, last one standing is the winner! There will be two sudden death rounds today."

Ash grinned. "All right!"

He glanced down at his set of Pokéballs for the week – aside from Lugia's Pokéball, which was safely in his bag, everyone was a Water-type.

They'd discussed it last night, who he would send out and in what order.

Predictably, Squirtle wanted to go first.

"Okay, listen up!" Squirtle announced, as Ash duly sent him out onto the first battlefield. "You may be a Seel, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you!"

Raising his arm, he pointed to the sky. "If you want to be a great Water Pokémon, you have to understand what it means to be a Water-type! Water is strong, and powerful, and it moves around the whole world! That means it has the force of a tidal wave, the power of a storm! Waterspout!"

The Seel facing him had just enough time to do a double-take before Squirtle finished charging his attack. The high-throughput stream of water smashed into him, sending him skidding backwards across the floor of the arena and into the retaining wall at speed.

When the Waterspout faded, he was out for the count.

"...huh," Squirtle said, blinking. "I kind of expected that to take longer."

"I'll be honest, so did I," Ash admitted.

His erstwhile opponent was muttering something unprintable about the matching-up system, which had put him – a hobbyist with one badge – up against the most recent Indigo league winner.

Misty was having it just about as easy. She stuck to using Corsola for the first match, to help re-familizarize herself with the Coral Pokémon, and her opponent had never heard of Mirror Coat – worse luck for him.

The second was even quicker, as she sent out Chinchou against what turned out to be a Magikarp.

"Is it me," Ash said, that night, "or is the challenge a bit lower than we're used to?"

Misty shrugged. "I'm sure there's some other good Water-type trainers taking part."

The second day of the tournament, they moved to the Whirl Cup Colosseum itself.

As Ash prepared for his next match, one of the orderlies approached him. "Mister Ketchum?"

Ash nodded. "That's me – why?"

"Oh – well. You have a reputation," the orderly began. He cleared his throat. "So don't break the colosseum, we're going to need it for the whole tournament and we've only got so many replacement arena floors – and no replacement arena walls."

Surprised, Ash blinked. "Am I really that bad?"

"Yes," the orderly said, bluntly. "We've all seen what you did to Cianwood gym."

"That was partly Chuck..." Ash muttered, hurt.

"Doesn't matter," the man told him. "Be careful!"

Fortunately for the Whirl Cup Colosseum, Ash stuck to using Totodile and Kingler for the next few matches. While both were powerful Pokémon, they – unlike Squirtle – could resist the urge to overdo it.

The quarter final, however, was another matter.

"I can't believe we've been drawn against one another!" Ash sighed.

"Yeah," Misty agreed. "This is really inconvenient."

Brock cleared his throat. "Well, it was going to happen. Unless one of you was planning on losing to someone else-"

"Yeah, but it could at least have been the semi-finals or something." Ash shrugged. "Well, I guess you're right... hey, Misty? How do you want to do this?"

Misty looked at him suspiciously. "Explain?"

"Well... I mean, I could use Suicune and Keldeo, but that would be..." Ah rubbed the back of his head. "Silly..."

"And unfair," Pikachu contributed.

Misty frowned, tapping her fingers. "How are you doing teaching Suicune more moves?"

"Huh?" Ash thought. "Pretty well – she's got several more Water moves, but Freeze-Dry is still giving her problems."

"Right." Misty nodded. "Okay. Can you use just her, please?"

Ash smiled. "Sure thing, Misty."

Suicune burst out of her 'ball, and gave Misty a curious look. "You're planning something, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," Misty replied with a shrug.

"And welcome!" announced Maya, the Sea Priestess. "Now, this match, the second match of the quarter-finals, is unusual – because one of our contestants, Ash Ketchum, has announced his intent to use just one Pokémon!"

Ash stepped up to the stand, and waved. Then he took the Fast Ball from his belt, and threw it.

Gasps ran around the stadium. "Is that-"

"That's Suicune!"

"I heard about-"

A smirk playing about her features, Suicune paced around in a circle before coming back to stand just before Ash.

"...right," the normally unflappable Maya said, recovering. "And his opponent, Misty Waterflower of Cerulean."

Misty sent out Politoed. "Okay, Politoed! Ready?"

Politoed clapped his hands. "Yep!"

Maya cleared her throat. "Begin!"

Suicune pounced forwards, aiming directly for Politoed.

The froglike Pokémon hopped from right leg to left, and then Bounced high into the air, evading Suicune's first rush.

Suicune skidded to a halt and looked up, aiming for the flying Politoed. She inhaled, and fired a Bubblebeam – gauging it carefully to compensate for Politoed's movement.

For his part, Politoed endured the bubbles bursting around him with little trouble. He landed on one side of the pool, legs coiling to take the impact, then kicked off again as Suicune approached.

"This could get annoying," Suicune muttered.

"Can you cover the surfaces in ice?" Ash asked. "Make it so he can't get the leverage?"

"Good plan," Suicune said. She switched tacks and began to use Rime – supercooled water – to plaster the side of the pool, remaining on the move all the time by walking in circles on the central pool.

Politoed was able to keep bouncing around for a while by aiming for the places where the ice hadn't reached yet, but sooner or later that ran out.

At this point, Politoed landed instead in the water.

"...hm," Suicune said, looking down into the water. "Any ideas?"

Ash frowned. "Not really... guess you could try to freeze the whole pool?"

Suicune began to nod, then jumped backwards and opened fire with a Bubblebeam. The reason became immediately clear, as Politoed burst out of the water where Suicune had been standing.

Politoed was hit head-on by the stream of bubbles, but shook it off and disappeared into the water again.

Suicune let off the attack, and switched to Ice Beam again. Hopping up onto the icy poolside, she began moving with deliberate care on the layers of ice while freezing over the surface of the pool.

Ash watched carefully, trying to figure out what Misty was planning. As seconds passed into minutes, the icy crust joined up and thickened.

"...come on," he said, frowning. "What's going on?"

He closed his eyes, to see Politoed under the water. He sat there, seemingly content with his situation, for several seconds – then burst upwards.

"Whoa!" Ash snapped, eyes opening. "Look-"

The icy coating shattered into thousands of pieces as Politoed punched through it, engulfed in a red glow. He followed up by picking one of the largest pieces of ice and punching it directly at Suicune with a Mega Punch.

Suicune blurred into motion to dodge, skidding back to a halt on the other side of the battlefield – extending the claws normally hidden in her paws to brake on the icy surface.

"How's he so-" Ash began, then overrode himself. "That must be Belly Drum! Look out!"

"Got it!" Suicune replied. The North Wind coiled around her, and she used it to dart out of the way as Politoed came down for a devastating Body Slam which shook the stadium. Skating around in a curve, she volleyed in more Bubblebeam at Politoed, before adding an Air Cutter to it with her summoned wind.

Unlike all the previous attacks, that had a visible effect. Politoed winced, and stumbled a bit.

"How come none of the-" Ash blinked. He pointed accusingly at Misty. "I didn't know Politoed had Water Absorb!"

Misty shrugged. "You never asked."

"That explains a lot..." Suicune muttered. She coiled her body, claws finding purchase on the ice, and sprang forwards for a physical attack.

Politoed's reply was to Bounce into the air again – using the shattered section of ice he'd landed on before for purchase – and Suicune growled as she skidded to a halt again.

"This could become annoying." Streamers flapping in the wind, Suicune pulled together another Air Cutter and sent it knifing out at Politoed.

Politoed went backwards slightly from the attack, and recovered with a grimace. Folding his arms, he gave Suicune a glare.

"...is that supposed to... I mean... what?" Suicune asked, blinking.

As she frowned in confusion, Politoed jumped back up – and vanished into his Pokéball.

"What was that in aid of?" Suicune turned to Ash, seeking some kind of explanation.

Ash had one. "Look out!"

Well, it wasn't really an explanation, per se.

Suicune turned in the direction he was pointing, yelped, and got a green-glowing blade to the face.

Misty smirked.

It hadn't been easy to set this up – teaching Kabutops Leaf Blade had been almost as much effort as teaching Politoed Baton Pass – but it had certainly paid off, as her Fossil Pokémon was waving around supercharged Grass-cloaked scythes running off a huge amount of extra energy from Politoed.

Suicune finally got Kabutops out of her face with a high-pressure blast of water, and in reply the eurypterid-of-doom plunged into the pool.

The water churned from strokes of his powerful swimming muscles, and he burst out of the water again moments later and half the pool away. Scythes held ready, he darted forwards with his clawed feet finding easy purchase on the ice.

Suicune went skidding backwards from the next impact, one she wasn't able to fully block, and she grunted from the impact of the blow after that. She tried to pounce forwards in a counterattack, and Kabutops backed away from it with ease.

"I think we outsmarted ourselves," she muttered, paws scrabbling and barely able to gain traction on the icy surface of the poolside – especially with all the larger chunks everywhere.

Ash nodded, wincing. All the ice made it harder for Suicune to use her greatest advantage – her blurring speed – and the water pool meant that Kabutops could actually come close to matching her on that front at the moment.

Kabutops slammed in another dual-scythe blow, staggering Suicune and sending her skidding backwards – onto the section of ice Politoed had previously broken up.

As soon as she reached it, she felt the change in the character of the surface and broke into a grin. "There we go!"

Raising her forepaws, she rammed them into the splintered ice – shattering it completely and finding her way through to the stone underneath.

Looking up, she locked onto Kabutops' position. "Bulldoze!"

"Jump!" Misty shouted.

The stadium shook as Suicune pulsed out the powerful Earth shockwave, shattering the ice coating every surface – and doing minor, mostly cosmetic damage to the stone beneath.

Kabutops had managed to jump in time, however, and was mostly unaffected by the Bulldoze. He came down on Suicune like an avalanche, just as she recovered her footing again.

Twin Leaf-Blade cloaked scythes slashed down on a sudden spherical eruption of water as Suicune used Hydro Pump.

That blunted the initial impact of the scythes, but Kabutops promptly crossed his arms and then uncrossed them again – delivering two pairs of scissoring blows through the curtain of water as it collapsed.

Suicune managed to endure those blows, too, but was left panting and exhausted. Growling, she inhaled, and surged forwards into a horizontal Waterfall just as Kabutops raised his scythes for one more blow.

Water fountained everywhere, raining down on the spectators.

When it faded, neither Pokémon was conscious.

Misty stared for a moment, before glancing up at Ash.

He looked just as surprised as she was. Then, with a sigh and a grin, he nodded to her. "Nice work, Misty!"

Ash stepped back from the stand, returning Suicune, and walked back down the steps.

"...whoa," Bruno said, finally.

Lorelei rubbed her eyes. "That was-"

"Yeah," Lance confirmed.

"And he was using-"

"Exactly."

"And she still-"

Lance grinned.

"I think I hate battling people who know what I've been working on," Ash said to Brock, as they sat in the crowd the next day.

Brock made a sympathetic noise.

"Especially when they've been working on things behind my back," Ash added. "I didn't even know Kabutops could learn Leaf Blade..."

"Well, you know now," Brock pointed out. "And I bet you're not going to forget about Water Absorb again for a while..."

"Too right," Ash agreed.

"But what strikes me most is how she used your tendency to plan on the fly," Brock added.

Ash blinked. "She did?"

"Yeah," Brock nodded. "She baited you into doing something to ruin the poolside as a viable fighting platform... and then used the water to her advantage."

Ash turned thoughtful after that.

A moment later, there was a loud bang from the arena. They looked up just in time to see a thoroughly zapped Gyarados collapsing to the side of the pool.

"Good one, Chinchou!" Misty called. "Now, use Brine!"

Misty's opponent sent out her Golduck, who was splashed by the Brine attack and then hit by a blast of electricity. Undeterred, the Golduck advanced behind a psionic shield, and managed to knock Chinchou out of the fight.

"This is going to be close," Ash said, leaning forwards, as Misty sent out her own Psyduck.

Maya tapped the staff on the floor. "And congratulations to our winner, Misty Waterflower!"

Applause ran around the stand.

Maya smiled, and handed Misty the pendant. "Here is your prize – a Mystic Water. Congratulations, Sea Heroine."

At Misty's surprise, she chuckled. "It's the official term for the winner – well, when they're a girl. Well done!"

Raikou's tail lashed.

"You seem annoyed," his double pointed out.

"I AM!" Raikou rumbled. "I was an idiot, tried to throw the match with Ash-"

Suicune's shiny copy blinked. "You actually did that?"

The Beast of Thunder rolled his eyes. "Yes, I did. More fool me... now I have to make amends. And I think I might just know how..."

He stood. "Who do you know who understands Pokémon and speaks human?"

Blank looks.

"Right!" Raikou's voice was full of conviction. "Sign language it is, then!"

With that, he pelted off.

The remaining beasts exchanged confused looks.

Falkner was enjoying a quiet evening, so far.

There'd only been one challenger, a new kid who'd had the forethought to bring a Geodude. Those weren't the most enjoyable matches, since Falkner's first-timer lineup was almost comically unprepared for Rock Throw, but – well, using type advantage well was quite enough to earn the first badge.

Then there was a knock at the door.

Rising, Falkner called Hoothoot to his shoulder and walked over to the gym door. "Come in!" he called.

There was a pause, then the knocking again.

"I told you, it's unlocked!"

More knocking.

Confused, Falkner pulled the handle down and opened the door. "I told you, it's – what?"

A large yellow-purple quadruped stood there – one of the Beasts of Ecruteak!? - looking levelly at him with red eyes.

Then it reached down to the floor, picked something up delicately between saber-like fangs, and held it up.

Falkner was surprised to discover it was a sign. A wooden sign, painted white, with words in slightly shaky black lettering.

I WOULD LIKE TO CHALLENGE

After several seconds of staring, Raikou adjusted his grip on the shaft of the sign and twirled it around to show the other side.

YOU FOR A BADGE

Falkner gaped.

His Hoothoot tapped his head with a beak.

"Oh! Sorry – uh... I guess... why?"

Raikou rolled his eyes. He put the sign down, took a paintbrush from his mane, and started to write on a sign blank that had been behind him.

Falkner watched as a succinct explanation took shape.

Briefly put, Raikou felt like it.

"...okay," Falkner said, absorbing that. He massaged his temples, and sighed. "Right. Right. Uh... do you have any badges already?"

Head shake.

"Right. Please don't hurt my no-badge team..."

"I told you!" Zapdos cawed. "Neither of you is ready to-"

"Say what?" Moltres snapped, wings flaring. "If you're going to make that kind of claim-"

"You're both morons," Articuno sighed. "Clearly I'm the only one sensible enough to be in charge!"

"Ahem," a quiet voice coughed.

"Sensible? Sensible?" Moltres laughed. "Don't, please, you've got worse impulse control than-"

"And which of us was it who-"

"Ahem," the quiet voice said, more loudly this time.

"At least I didn't start it!" Moltres said hotly. "In fact, if I recall correctly-"

A red beam of light speared out from overhead, wove delicately between the three birds and blew a zigzag-shaped series of waterspouts out of the sea below.

"Right," Pidgeot said, now that the Birds were listening. "None of you is in charge. I am. And that's for two reasons. First, Lugia specifically recruited me to keep you three in line."

The Birds reacted to that with dubious looks.

"Secondly, and more importantly, I know Aeroblast and I have a sustained speed in level flight three times greater than what any of you can achieve. I can reach out and touch you from miles off, and you can't stop me."

Zapdos charged a bolt of electricity and snapped it off at her, quick as a flash.

When the rumbling had faded, all that was there was a cloud of featherdown drifting towards Shamouti Sound miles below.

Then the beam came again. It was blue, not red, a purposefully underpowered Aeroblast, but it traced right up Zapdos' spine before terminating at the base of his neck – the whole knocking him tumbling through the sky, until he righted himself substantially lower down.

Pidgeot drifted closer to them again, shedding altitude. "Any questions?"

None were forthcoming.

Professor Oak looked up as the doorbell rang.

"Oh! Ah – Tracey, can you get that, please?"

Tracey Sketchit duly stood. "Sure thing, Professor."

He walked over to the lab door, and opened it. "Oh, hello Molly!"

"Hi!" Molly said, waving. "Want to buy some cookies?"

Tracey's eyes widened. "Don't say that word! Not when-"

There was a glutinous noise.

"Cookies?" Muk asked, oozing into view.

Tracey sighed. "Oh, well..."

Eevee chuckled.

"Don't worry, mister Sketchit!" Molly said earnestly. "We made a special one for Muk!"

Muk's smile widened.

It congealed slightly when Molly waved a finger at him. "And you're not allowed to have any of the others, okay? Only your special one."

Disappointed, Muk nodded.

Molly rummaged in her bag, and took out a wide, thick cookie with Muk drawn on it in icing. "Here you go!"

Muk beamed, and she unwrapped it from the cellophane before throwing it to him.

His jaws closed on it with a slam, and he oozed off chewing happily.

"Good plan," Tracey said with a smile.

"Thanks!" Molly replied. "It's Curse!"

There was a sound of shattering plastic.

Tracey blinked. "You mean... you gave him a TM in a cookie?"

"Yep!" Molly nodded. "He likes them!"

"You've got that right," the boy admitted.

"You're kidding," James said, with a sigh. "She found us again."

"Ta be honest, I'm surprised dat it took dis long," Meowth said with a shrug. "Remember, we were kinda on da news for a bit."

"True," Jessie agreed, as they watched the helicopters sweep in. "Seriously, if she has this much money, why does she even want to marry you?"

"Beats me," James said, with a shake of his head. "Okay, guys, how do you want to play this?"

"We could just run away again," Jessie suggested. "Go take another holiday."

"True," James nodded.

"Or we could send Meowth in to leave a Ponyta on her pillow," she went on.

Both the others blinked, giving her a confused look.

"What?" she asked, defensively. "It would burn her bed down and then escape out the window, damaging that too. It would be a way of making her back off."

"Yeah, but where we gonna get the Ponyta?" Meowth asked. "I mean, it ain't like da Laramie Ranch is gonna give 'em out without expectin 'em back, even ta James."

Jessie shrugged. "Well, it was an idea..."

She took the Pokéballs belonging to Cubone and Wobbuffet. "Right, let's just do this the old fashioned way. Think you're going to get more of them, or am I?"

Meowth raised his paws, coins glittering between them. "Ya know, a helicopter engine's kinda vulnerable to being hit very hard by a lump a' metal..."

All three looked up at a sudden roar of flame, followed by an explosion.

"There they are!" Jessiebelle said, a grin spreading across her face. "Remember, I want James alive and preferably unharmed... but, in a pinch, having one ring finger left will do."

"Roger that, ma'am – gah!"

"Gah?" Jessiebelle repeated, grin of triumph replaced by a frown. "What could-"

Her command helicopter rocked in the wash from an explosion.

She glanced out the side, looking for the source, and saw four helicopters were already plunging towards the plain below. Parachutes blossomed as the crews bailed out, and then the cause of their loss swept past.

Jessiebelle gaped. "...what the heck is a Moltres doing here?"

"Ya know," Meowth said, as the Legendary swept through Jessiebelle's private army and turned it into a public rabble, "Any time about two years ago or so, it'd be us on dem helicopters."

James nodded. "Times have changed."

The final rotary aircraft went down in a ball of flame, parachute canopies indicating that the crew there had survived too, and the Moltres turned – cutting a spectacular figure against the billowing smoke – before vanishing into the distance once more.

"...that probably means nothing," Jessie said, eventually.

"Yeah, probably not."