54

"Well, here we are," Misty said, looking out towards the peaceful city. "This is a nice place – all the canals..."

"You Water Pokémon trainer, you," Brock laughed.

Misty chuckled, nodding. "I guess so... oh, you've got the presents, right?"

"Of course I do," Brock replied. "After organizing holiday presents for all my siblings, Ash is easy to remember."

Their boat heeled over slightly, as it headed in towards the docks.

"We should get ready," Misty suggested.

"Good idea," Brock agreed. "Can you send out Togekiss to look for Ash?"

"Right." Misty released her Fairy-type, who took up station alongside for a moment before soaring skywards and orbiting overhead.

Misty peered out towards Altomare a moment longer, smelling the sweet sea-breeze, then followed Brock to go and get their stuff.

"Hey!" Ash waved from the quayside. "What took you guys?"

"We don't have a supersonic Flying-type, Ash!" Misty called back. "We discussed this, remember!"

Ash chuckled, hoisted Pikachu a little higher on his shoulder, and came over to the gangplank. "How was the trip?"

"Fine," Brock shrugged. "Nothing particularly unusual happened – Misty did give this Water specialist a few tips, I think she's got a fan-"

"Hey!" Misty said.

"If you do make it, you're going to have to deal with fans, Misty," Ash said. He glanced a little nervously around at the docks, noticing that several people were looking at him. "I know I'm starting to have to..."

"Yeah, good point." The Water-trainer sighed, then perked up. "Okay, that's enough of that. Where's the Pokémon centre?"

"Uh..." Ash frowned. "This way. I'm pretty sure."

"Dexter?"

He's right.

Once they were walking, Brock raised the next question. "So... have you managed to find-"

"No," Ash sighed. "I've been looking, too. But even with Aura sight, no sign of either Latias or Latios."

"How is that possible?" Misty wondered. "Unless they were never coming out... couldn't you just go to that secret grotto?"

Ash shrugged. "I don't know where it is. We were only there a couple of times, and it was years ago."

"That could be a problem," Brock winced. "Pikachu, do you remember?"

"I'm afraid not, sorry." Pikachu shrugged. "I was kind of preoccupied."

"Great..."

"I guess the best thing we can do is wait for trouble to find me," Ash suggested. "It usually does."

"I suppose you're right."

Brock and Misty exchanged a glance, and Brock spoke up. "Hey, Ash..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget – you're thirteen now! It's not every day that you become a teenager!"

"Most people only do it once..." Ash chuckled. "But yeah, good point. Suicune pointed that out too, I just..."

He shrugged. "I worry, I guess."

Misty punched him in the shoulder. "Come on! Hey, tell you what – bet you can't win the Tour de Altomare!"

"...who with?" Ash asked. "I mean, Suicune's just plain cheating... she's faster than most Flying-types..."

"What about Keldeo?" Brock suggested. "I'm sure he'd enjoy it."

Ash frowned, then nodded. "That does sound like a good idea – thanks, Misty!"

Ash's birthday meal wasn't something the friends made much of a production out of. They'd been on the road together for years, and each of them had had their turn – and it was often just a particular favourite of the person, made by Brock. (Or, if it was Brock's birthday, something put together by Ash and Misty from a cookbook, with great care and the odd scorched thumb.)

They still had a nice lunch, though. Altomare had such good restaurants it would be rude not to.

"So," Misty said, over the dessert. "How did you do?"

"How what?" Ash asked, looking up from passing Mawile his spare strawberry.

"Raikou," Misty specified. "How'd you do? Did you catch him?"

Ash nodded, fighting a grin. "You bet!"

"Wow," Brock said, shaking his head. "All three, huh?"

"Yeah." Ash shrugged. "But Raikou's mostly been back at Professor Oak's the last couple of days, it's a bit crowded in Altomare."

The others nodded, understanding. They both had Pokémon who were best kept out of crowded city streets.

"Oh – that reminds me," Misty said. "Brock, the presents?"

"You got me presents?" Ash asked, a little surprised. "I mean, to have now, instead of-"

"I know, I know, we usually sort it all out just before the League," Brock agreed. "But we saw a couple of things we thought you'd like!"

He took a small wrapped box from a bag. "Here's mine – well, we all discussed it."

Picking it up, Ash undid the ribbon and tore the wrapping off.

Inside was... nothing.

"Huh?" he said, looking up in confusion.

Brock chuckled. "Told you he'd fall for it, Misty..."

Misty rolled her eyes. "It's the ribbon the box was wrapped in. It's a brand new Expert Belt."

"Oh, right!" Ash said, pulling the ribbon out from under the paper. "So this is what they look like when they're new... all the ones I've seen have been old..."

Brock nodded, pleased at the reaction. "We thought it would be good to get you something any of your Pokémon could use, rather than just one."

Mawile looked up from her strawberries. "Ooh, that does look nice..."

"It's a good reason to train, then," Ash suggested. "This helps Pokémon battle."

That was a revelation to the young Mawile. "Nice looking things help Pokémon battle?"

Pikachu removed his Light Ball, showing it to her. "This has been helping me battle for nearly two years now."

"Cool!"

Misty pushed her box across the table next, and Ash opened it more carefully – checking to make sure there was nothing on the box that might be the actual present.

This time, however, there was something in the box. It was a small amulet, which on investigation turned out to be a locket.

Opening it, Ash saw a picture of himself on one side and Charizard on the other.

"That's kind of nice," he said, frowning. "But why-"

The picture on the right changed to show Meganium.

"-wha?"

"It's got a memory card in," Misty told him. "It cycles through several different pictures. We put a few on there, but you could have your entire team."

She shrugged. "It seemed nice, especially since your team's far too large to have them all on hand at once any more."

"Yeah, I like it!" Ash grinned, putting the chain around his neck. "Thanks, Misty!"

He frowned. "Now I need to work out what to get you guys for your next birthdays..."

"Attention!" a PA system announced. "The Tour de Altomare will be starting in fifteen minutes. Will all contestants please proceed to registration if they have not already done so!"

Ash blinked. "Uh oh... come on, Misty, let's go!"

"So, how does this work?" Keldeo asked, standing on blue-glowing hooves on the water's surface. He looked a bit dubiously at the rope tied around his midsection. "I hope this works better than it did back in Eggseter..."

"It's a Water Pokémon race," Ash told him. "Each person's pulled by one Water-type, and they have to follow the circuit through the canals back to here."

"Right!" Keldeo glanced both left and right, noticing the other Pokémon floating in the water. "I'll do my best!"

One of the race officials came over to Ash, sculling a small coracle. "Excuse me, young man?"

"Yes?" Ash replied.

"...is that a Water-type?"

"Water and Fighting type!" Keldeo said helpfully. "Hi, I'm Keldeo!"

"Right, thanks for the confirmation." The official glanced through his paperwork. "Ah, I see, originally from Unova. Thank you."

"I'm on there?" Keldeo asked. "That's quite impressive."

"We do – wait a minute..."

The official looked at Keldeo. "...I just realized you were the one speaking."

"It's Aura," Ash explained.

"Right..." The hapless man glanced over at Ash. "You seem to have an Electric-type with you."

"Ballast?" Ash asked.

"You'll pay for that..." Pikachu muttered.

"Seriously, no, he's just here to be another passenger," Ash told the man. "And an excuse if we only just lose."

That prompted a smile. "I see. Well, it's not long before the race starts, and that all seems in order..."

"Hey, Keldeo?" Pikachu asked, as the marshal sculled back to shore. "Are you just going to run across the water?"

"Nope!" Keldeo replied. "By the way, do you mind getting wet?"

"...uh oh." Pikachu clambered around to Ash's back. "I'll just stay here for a bit..."

Brock leaned over the edge of the bridge, quickly finding his two friends – Ash was easiest, with Keldeo standing on the water in front of him, but he was only a little slower to find Misty.

She was using Kingdra, who seemed just about small enough to fit easily. Gyarados was probably too big, and as for Kabutops...

Given the town's history, not a good plan.

A ripple ran through the stands as the countdown started. Three Natu statues unfurled, one by one, and then the wings of the big Xatu at the bottom of the pole opened.

Almost immediately, there was a huge cloud of spray from Ash's end of the line. Keldeo rocketed forwards, passing under the bridge in seconds, and two other indistinct shapes sped past not far behind.

"Whooaaaaa!" Ash yelled, one arm up in front of his face to block the spray. "Keldeo, what the-"

"I'm using my water jets for propulsion!" Keldeo replied, voice almost lost in the roar of spray. "They can lift both me and you at once, so they're easily able to tow us!"

Ash had his eyes closed, since that let him see better. "How fast are we going?"

Unseen by him, Keldeo frowned. "Uh... I think we're going at about sixty knots!"

"Is that fast?" Ash asked. He shook his head. "No, wait, I know it's fast!"

He leaned over as Keldeo took the first turn, a great crescent-shaped wave of water blasting out during the turn.

"I feel sorry for all the spectators..." Pikachu said. He blinked. "Hey, Ash... we're not right out in front!"

"Really?" Ash asked, startled. He glanced behind, and saw two other racers keeping pace.

One of them was easily recognizable – Misty. The other one he didn't know, but they had a Sharpedo.

He turned back to the front, wobbling a little as Keldeo took another turn, and concentrated on not falling off.

"Wow, Ash, overdo it much?" Misty asked, staying just out of the spray zone.

"You know this kid?" the racer next to her asked.

"Yeah, we travel together!" Misty explained. She jinked to the side, and took the turn on the inside. Her skiff swung wide as Kingdra hauled around the corner, but didn't quite hit the outer edge of the track.

Her fellow competitor slowed down a bit for the turn, then accelerated again.

"Is that a Sharpedo with Speed Boost?" Misty asked, noticing something about the way it was managing its speed.

"Yeah!" the other racer said, pleased someone had noticed. "You've got quite an eye for Water Pokémon!"

Misty shrugged, then yelped and leaned far over as a tight corner came up.

Managing to take it without falling over, she saw that the next section was a long straight.

That would be a problem – the Sharpedo would be best on the straights. At the same time, this one was wide, so the spray was less of a problem...

"Kingdra, left a bit!" she called, aiming to try and get alongside Ash.

I'm still not comfortable about this, Latios said through their bond.

Oh, come on, brother! Latias whined. You said it was okay for us to come out here during the festival!

I did, yes, Latios agreed with a mental sigh. Just remember not to do anything suspicious.

Okay, Latias said, a little reluctantly. I'll be a good girl and stay out of the way. Seriously, we're the same age, why are you so boring sometimes?

Someone has to be an adult, Latios explained. Again.

He bobbed back and forth, invisible with his light-bending feathers in stealth mode, and hovered a little higher. Come on, you wanted to watch the race and I think it's coming past-

Then there was a great wave of water which washed into their side canal, soaking both Latias and Latios.

"Gah!" Latios squeaked, shaking the water off his feathers to try and make sure they could stealth him properly. "What just-"

He focused, and switched to telepathy. What just happened?

I think that was a Keldeo! Latias said excitedly. That's one of the ones that boy who has Legendaries is supposed to have! Come on!

Wait! Latios snapped – too late.

He rolled his eyes, then sped after his sister.

"Wait, I think-" Ash cut himself off, turning to look back and see if he was right.

No sign. They must have been going too fast, or maybe he'd been wrong in the first place. But he could swear he'd seen a shimmering light in his Aura sight – a completely unfamiliar colour, as well, pinkish-purple-blue which didn't look like any type he'd ever seen before.

Maybe that meant it was one of Latias or Latios, then. Thinking about it, he'd never seen what a remindable Dragon-type looked like, and the pinkish part of the hue could have been due to the Psychic-typing.

"Ash, look out!" Pikachu said quickly.

Turning back, Ash ducked as Keldeo nearly pulled him into a flock of startled-looking Pidgey. There was a comparatively wide turn next, and the Legendary leaned hard into it along with his trainer.

"I'm starting to think we should charge for washing all their walls..." Pikachu quipped.

Latias! Latios called, skimming invisibly through the sky. Latias! Where did you go?

A mental giggle was his main reply.

Latias, this isn't funny! Latios said. He closed his eyes, and borrowed her sight for a moment.

He got a view of a red-headed girl and a twentysomething man with bronzed skin, either side of Latias' head – and, out ahead, a huge plume of spray.

That's not very fair, brother! Latias twitted him, as he opened his eyes again and dove towards the front of the Tour de Altomare.

As he levelled out about ten feet above the water, Latios caught a glimpse of the boy in first place making a wide turn.

Huh. He does have a Keldeo.

Shaking his head and refocusing, Latios looked for his sister.

No sign of her.

LATIAS! Latios snapped. Get back here! This isn't funny!

I beg to differ!

Another flash of sight-sharing, and Latios located where Latias had gone this time – she was going through a back canal which would join up with the race again.

She'd made a mistake, though... by following the race directly, Latios could come out in front of her.

Folding his invisible wings back, he accelerated, shooting around the corner just ahead of the second- and third-place racers.

Ash's eyes flicked back and forth as he tried to keep track of everything. "I saw one of the Latis earlier, Pikachu – keep an eye out! Either Latios or Latias, but I don't know which one!"

"What's that?" Keldeo asked, glancing back. "Ash, did you say-"

"Look out!" Ash warned, and Keldeo turned his attention back to the race just in time to avoid hitting a house.

Ash leaned to help him turn, then glanced up at a flicker of movement.

Nothing- but-

Switching to Aura Sight, his suspicion was confirmed. There was one of the Eon Pokémon – and it was shining just like everyone he'd reminded had.

He still wasn't sure which one this was, though.

Then another blue-purple-pink blur shot out of an alley just ahead, and Ash flinched reflexively. He knew that both Dragons wouldn't try to crash into him – or anyone – but-

Keldeo started his next turn at just the wrong moment. Ash's foot slipped, and he came crashing off the skiff in a plume of water.

"Ash!" Keldeo called, braking as Pikachu landed on his back. Two other skiffs went shooting past as he slowed, and he hurried over to where his trainer had hit the water. "Are you okay?"

Latias slowed, looking down. Had she managed to startle-? But – how? She was invisible!

Latios grabbed her around the waist. Latias!

But – I wasn't-

This is too risky! Latios said sternly. I said we could watch the race – from a distance! Not take part!

I wasn't going to! Latias protested. Much! But – that boy, Ash, he fell off because of me!

How? Her brother asked, and she didn't have an answer. Come on, we're going. Now.

Latias huffed. Fine.

What were you going to do, anyway? Latios asked, as they zoomed off to somewhere less crowded.

...pull him, Latias admitted. Pull the rope, I mean. Just enough to make sure he gets back to first place!

And that's your idea of being not obvious? Latios sighed. Latias, I don't enjoy these rules. They're there for a reason.

"I know, I know," Latias sighed, vocalizing this time. "But they're no fun."

Ash hauled himself out of the water. "Ow..."

Glancing around, he saw no sign of the Latis. "Oh, come on!"

"What is it?" Keldeo asked, a little anxious. Pikachu hopped from his back to Ash, and the trainer grabbed the wayward skiff.

"I saw Latias and Latios," Ash explained. "Both of them. But – they're gone. That's..."

He shook his head. "Never mind, we've got a race to win!"

Keldeo nodded firmly, as Ash remounted the skiff and took the tow rope's handle. He tilted his hooves back slightly and restarted his Hydro Pump, and they sped off towards the finish line.

"Ash has the worst luck with this race..." Misty muttered to herself. "Okay, Kingdra! We can still win this!"

Kingdra tilted forwards, pulling her harder through the water, and she crouched over slightly.

The announcer started talking about how it was the last turn, and she winced – glancing over at her opponent, she could see that he was only slightly behind.

That Sharpedo of his would do better than her on the final straight-

"Kingdra!" she said, suddenly remembering. "Don't take the turn at full speed, I'm going to give you something!"

"Okay!" Kingdra replied, slowing slightly for the turn.

Misty reached up, and pulled the Mystic Water pendant off her neck. Reaching forwards, wobbling slightly as they banked, she tossed it to loop around Kingdra's neck.

The mystical object flashed once, then began to glow.

Kingdra steadied down onto the final stretch, and his fins whirred – faster, now, as the Mystic Water amplified his strength.

There were several confusing moments of jockeying for position as they sped out of the turn, Sharpedo waving back and forth to try to prevent Kingdra coming alongside, but then they were coming up on the bridge-

There was a camera flash, and Kingdra slowed down.

The Sharpedo trainer wobbled and jumped clear of his own skiff, sending out a Swellow as he did so, and the Flying-type caught him and let him down into the water gently.

"And it looks like that one's going to go to the judges, folks! Misty and Jakob are in first and second, but we don't know which one's which! Looking at the replay..."

The announced paused, and when he resumed he sounded a bit offended.

"And the replay shows they were absolutely neck and neck. I guess they've both won?"

Misty shrugged, retrieving her Mystic Water. "I'll take it!"

Ash and Keldeo came speeding through in a giant plume of spray, which subsided as Keldeo switched from Hydro Pump to running and then to walking. "Sorry, Ash..."

"Don't be!" Ash replied, as they came to a stop. "I'm the one who fell off, not you..."

He sighed. "I just wish I'd managed to warn Latias and Latios. I guess we'd better go looking as soon as possible."

"So you saw them?" Misty asked.

"Yeah," Ash confirmed, with a nod. "Both of them – Latias and Latios, though I couldn't tell quite which was which. And – I think I can give both of them their memories back."

"Is that such a good idea, with Latios?" Brock asked, as they walked – keeping a surreptitious eye out for anyone else who might be trying to listen in on them. "I mean, when you think about it, what he experienced last time was basically horrible pain and then dying."

Ash winced. "Yeah, I know... not sure if there's a good answer."

"What's the plan, Ash?" Pikachu asked.

"Good question," Ash sighed. He shook his head. "Okay, let's see... they might be invisible, or disguised as humans. You two know what Latias' disguise was, right?"

"I think..." Misty frowned. "Yeah, it was a girl, right?"

Ash nodded. "I think I can spot her with Aura Sight – well, I saw them when they were invisible, but..."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Crobat could spot her," Brock suggested. "And Misty, do you think Togekiss could?"

"Maybe if they were invisible..." Misty hedged. "I'm not sure about disguised. She can pick up emotions..."

"I guess we'd better split up," Ash suggested, getting nods from both of the others.

"Latios..." Latias wheedled.

"I know you want to go to the festival," Latios sighed. "You've told me enough times. But I still think it's not safe!"

"But I've been waiting for weeks!" Latias complained. "You said yourself that the festival would be the best time to go out, because we wouldn't be as likely to be noticed!"

Latios sighed, but didn't answer.

"Come on!" Latias insisted. "I'll be careful – I'll stay disguised as a human, and I'll not talk to anyone, and I'll stay in crowds – or near a canal so I can escape if I need to!"

"Latias, this isn't a game of-"

"You promised, Latios!" Latias whined. "You did!"

The blue Eon Pokémon sighed again.

"...fine," he said, reluctantly. "But come straight back here as soon as you're done, and don't stay out too long."

Latias beamed. "Thanks, brother!"

She headed over to the grotto's exit, and then shimmered as she folded light around herself to appear like a slightly altered version of her friend Bianca.

"I'll bring you something!" she called.

"Remember you're supposed to walk! And don't forget yourself and speak-" her brother replied, but she was gone before he could finish the warning.

Latios rolled his eyes. Sisters...

Ash soon found himself with little idea where was the best place to look.

Altomare was full of plazas, little back streets – both at and above the water level – and areas dissected by canals and only joined together by the occasional bridge.

For lack of a better idea, Ash decided to focus on the plazas he could find. He glanced around every so often, using both regular sight and Aura sight, and moved around regularly to try and cover more ground.

"See anything, Pikachu?" he asked.

"Nothing much," Pikachu replied. "Wait – at the top of those stairs!"

Ash glanced at Pikachu to see where he was pointing, then looked up.

There was a momentary sign of movement.

Closing his eyes, Ash spotted a fading shimmer of purple-pink-blue.

"I think you're right!" he said, starting forwards – walking quickly, but not running. "What did you see?"

"A girl – the same disguise Latias used," Pikachu reported.

"Okay, thanks. Good work, Pikachu!"

Ash reached the stairs, and pelted up them. He could still just about see the shimmer of Latias' aura, but it was fading quickly.

Togekiss floated back down to Misty, shaking her head.

"No luck?" Misty asked.

"No luck, sorry," Togekiss sighed. "I couldn't feel anything that might be Latias or Latios. No invisible emotion sources in the sky."

"Well, thanks for looking," she said, shrugging. "I guess we should just keep our eyes peeled."

"Got it." Togekiss gained height a bit, and floated along just behind Misty. "What should I be looking for?"

"That's it, I'm not sure..." Misty sighed. "I have some idea, but... wait!"

A girl had just come out of one of the nearby doorways. She looked just right – her hair had a pair of tufts which Misty remembered the human disguise of Latias having.

Hoping they could get this all sorted out quickly, Misty hurried over. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Yes?" the girl replied, turning. "Oh, you're the girl who drew first place in the Tour, aren't you?"

"That's right," Misty confirmed, hiding her disappointment. She remembered Latias couldn't speak – so this couldn't be Latias.

"Why did you call me, anyway?" the girl asked, now a bit curious.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were-" Misty stopped. "Well... Latias..."

"You know about Latias? You know she sometimes looks like me?" the girl – Bianca, Misty remembered – asked, startled. "How?"

"...it's a long story," Misty said, before shaking her head. "Never mind that – if you know Latias, and Latios, then we need to warn them. They could be in danger!"

Bianca frowned. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't," Misty admitted. "But this is really important – someone's going to try to take the Soul Dew."

The young girl swallowed. "Well, if you know that much you're either a master criminal or you're trying to help... okay, follow me!"

Misty nodded. "Right. Togekiss, can you find Brock?"

"I'll certainly try," Togekiss said, dipping her wings and spiralling into the sky.

Latias hurried along the raised walkway, trying to avoid feeling too stupid.

She'd noticed the boy – Ash – and wanted to get a good look. But Ash had noticed her, somehow, and now he was coming after her.

The question Latias wanted answered, though, was why. Not only had he spotted her – and she was sure she'd kept her disguise up, so she'd just appeared to be a girl – but why had he come running after her?

She turned a corner, finding some steps, and took them at speed – taking care, even so, to make sure her cloaking illusion used the steps properly.

"Hey, wait!" the boy called after her. "I just want to talk! It's important!"

Latias wondered why she hadn't just gone invisible. Or abandoned her disguise, vanished into the canal, and come back out in the secret garden.

Maybe it was that... she did want to see what he wanted. A boy who had several Legendary Pokémon, who used them openly... there had to be something special about him.

And his Keldeo had seemed to care for him. He couldn't be one of those horrible trainers Latios told her about.

Perhaps that meant there was a way she could leave the garden. Safely, and for good – or, for long enough it wasn't just a taste of something she craved.

Latias realized she'd already come to a decision. She stopped, abruptly, and spun around to face Ash.

As soon as she did, Ash slowed down – going from a run to a walk, and panting slightly.

"Uh... thanks for slowing down," Ash said, sounding uncertain. "Why did you-"

He shook his head. "Never mind. Latias, you're-"

"You know who I am?" she asked, startled into forgetting one of the rules Latios had drummed into her. Then she gasped, realizing she'd just confirmed it for him.

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "You're Latias, disguised as a human. And you're in danger."

"Oh?" a smirking female voice said. "How touching."

Latias looked past Ash, and realized she'd missed the approach of a motor boat with two young women in it. They were looking straight at her, with predatory grins.

"Uh oh..." Ash's Pikachu said, cheeks sparking. "Thunder!"

There was a flash, and an Excadrill materialized on the prow of the boat. It blocked the Electrical attack with sharp, metal claws, and grinned.

Ash grabbed her hand. "Come on, we've got to-"

And then there was a confusing swirl of sensations and memories.

Her brother... dead? Had- did- was going to have died?

Ash and Pikachu helping – another version of the Tour De Altomare, where Ash was using Totodile -

Latias felt her illusion dissolve as she lost focus, trying to work out what had happened and what hadn't.

"Get them, girls!" one of the women in the boat ordered, and Latias felt the sudden smashing pain of a Dark Pulse.

Ash blinked, realizing he'd accidentally passed on memories to Latias – then blanched, as no fewer than five Eeveelutions came swarming out of the boat and began to attack.

Oakley sent out her team as well, and Ash caught sight of a Beedrill and a Bisharp before Annie came towards him in a forward roll and kicked him in the chest – sending him skidding backwards, and losing his grip on the stunned Latias.

A bolt of electricity crashed into the Espeon attacking Latias, who yowled and turned her attention to Pikachu, and Ash ducked a sweeping kick before releasing most of his own on-hand Pokémon.

Pidgeot was just too big for the cramped canal, but the rest of them-

"Should have stayed away, hero," Annie taunted him.

Ash's arm came up in a block, knocking her punch aside, and he shoved into her with his shoulder before she could follow-up with a snap kick.

Lucario ran forwards across the water, all four paws glowing, and volleyed in a Mach Punch at the Excadrill.

Claws coming up, Excadrill blocked with a musical crash of steel on steel, and stabbed forwards with his head spike before launching himself forwards in a Drill Run.

Lucario flinched as the drill-shaped attack scraped up his side, and retaliated with a quick Aura Sphere. It shot off towards Excadrill, who hit the wall and drilled into it to escape.

Emerging a second later, he threw two bricks at Lucario, who blocked with lightning-fast paw strikes and lashed out with a kick. Excadrill swiped at his calf as it came in, and then there was a sudden eruption of water from one of the other fights which slapped into both of them.

Lucario recovered first, and stepped up to land a palm strike. It crashed into the wall just next to the evading Excadrill, and the mole promptly slapped his clawed paw on the wall to fire off an Earth Power.

Wincing as he slid backwards, Lucario braked with a foot. He pivoted, launching a sweep kick at Excadrill, and the mole vanished into the wall again.

Emerging a little higher up the wall, the Excadrill threw more hunks of brick at Lucario. He frowned slightly as the Fighting-type smashed them to pieces, then blocked a follow-up Force Palm and swiped out again with his metallic claws.

The clashing of steel continued for a few more seconds, and then Excadrill burst out in a Drill Run. He hit Lucario twice – once on the elbow and once on the shoulder, and turned to come in again.

He met a Fire Punch coming the other way.

Lucario ran after the mole as he tumbled, and added a Force Palm to finally knock him out.

A red beam lashed out to return the Excadrill as soon as he was done, and he turned to see what was going on in the rest of the fight.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked once, and he opened up on the Espeon with a blast of Thunderbolt.

He remembered this cat from last time. She'd hit Ash with a Psybeam, and had Ash not already been so freakishly tough that probably would have seriously injured him.

Espeon shielded herself with a Light Screen, tail snapping across to establish it, and then added in a Psywave from her forehead-gem.

Pikachu gritted his teeth, then pushed out a shield of electricity when the Psywave let up for a moment. The electricity interfered with her Psywave, and he broadened it out into a full Counter Shield to make sure she couldn't hit him easily again.

"What on earth-" Espeon began, then intensified her shield as Pikachu slapped an Electroball out at her. The electrical explosion reached around her Light Screen, and she broadened it frantically to ensure she wasn't hit.

Tail lashing, she pounced forwards at Pikachu – electing to attack him directly, rather than handle his electrical attacks at range. She fired out a Confusion as she leaped, and Pikachu's Counter Shield rippled for a moment before she hit it.

The electricity of the shield grounded in her fur – then a sudden wave of water from the canal hit her, conducting the electrical attack into her more harshly than she'd been expecting.

Her eyes glowed as she regenerated the damage, and her claws swiped at Pikachu.

Much to her surprise, the Electric-type blocked her first swipe and caught her second.

"Thunder!"

There was a sudden BANG as Pikachu discharged thousands of volts into her.

Espeon was thrown backwards by the blast, bounced and rolled to a stop, and came to her feet just in time to leap clear of a Volt Tackle.

Her eyes glowed again, and she battered at him with a wall of psychic force.

Pikachu skidded to a halt, abandoning his Volt Tackle, and then launched another Electroball forwards. This one hit a wider, stronger Light Screen, and he frowned in concentration.

His feet stuck to the floor, paws glowing blue, and he resisted the battering of the psychic surge for a couple of seconds before lunging forwards again – cheeks blazing up brighter than before.

This time it wasn't an electrical attack. It was at least four, arcing and snapping in wildly different directions before joining up behind Espeon.

She glanced around, and began trying to establish another Light Screen behind her before the combined attack struck home. She was mostly successful, and the Shockwave merely made her knees tremble and her hair stand on end.

At that point, Pikachu pushed his paw into her shield. Pulsing a needle of Aura into it, he broadened the spike out and popped her Light Screen like a balloon.

His Thunder attack finished the job, and he smiled for a moment before looking for the next opponent.

Quilava glanced a little nervously at the water to her right, then set herself – facing her opponent.

She wasn't very familiar with this Pokémon. She'd gathered it was a Bisharp – learning the name of a Pokémon wasn't exactly hard, you just had to listen to the sounds instead of the words – but beyond that she knew very little.

"So, what-"

The Bisharp lunged forwards, sword-like arms flashing for her neck. She yelped, balled up, and flashed into fire.

That seemed to ward him off, but a Night Slash came in a moment later and she had to dodge awkwardly back.

Looking closer, she came to a decision. This Pokémon was all sharp edges, and so she couldn't use her Flame Wheel to any great effect.

That meant she'd have to switch styles.

Rolling back a bit, she uncurled and gestured with one paw. Her quills flickered up, and she eyed Bisharp – looking for an opening.

It wasn't long in coming. Bisharp lunged forwards, arm-blades flashing, and Quilava retaliated with a stream of fire in a Flamethrower.

She rolled sideways out of the way of the first Night Slash, ran forwards underneath a second – briefly ending her Flamethrower as she did so – and then spun in her own length and launched a cinder-strewing Flame Charge at Bisharp's exposed back.

The attack connected, and seemed to do damage – but a moment later a wave of water hit them both. It blasted Quilava sideways, extinguishing her flames and sending her into the wall with an oof of pain.

Bisharp came off much the better of the sudden blast of water, and spun, using Swords Dance to power up before diving to hit Quilava again.

Quilava leaped forwards out of the way of the sword-slash, glancing in all directions to check where everyone was.

Another swipe, and Bisharp forced her to back against the wall again. Fortunately, it was a blank wall – no openings on it.

Ash was just about-

There!

She inhaled, and fired the most tightly focused Lava Plume she could manage. Bisharp was caught in the fringes, staggering backwards briefly with flame licking over his exposed blades, and nearly fell into the canal before rallying.

The blast of fire also left black scarring on the canal-side path and in a long teardrop-shape reaching up the wall Quilava had been backed against. She was just about to jump clear when a scorched Ariados landed on her.

Bisharp stepped forwards, wavering but not yet down, and his arm-blade produced a shimmering white extension – Guillotine.

He wound up to hit her neck as she struggled free-

Then a Sacred Sword hit him from behind.

Keldeo jumped into the water as soon as he emerged, getting some fighting room. He charged up a Sacred Sword to attack the Umbreon going after Latias, but was forced to abandon his plan when a stream of Sticky Web nearly hit him in the head.

Jinking back out of the way of the shower of spider-silk, he saw an Ariados focusing on him. A shower of poisonous needles came next, and Keldeo blocked them with his blade before retaliating with a ranged Sacred Sword.

The attack whistled in on Ariados, who sprayed a continuous stream of more spider silk at it and made the attack weaken itself cutting through all the gunk. Scuttling out of the way, Ariados fired more poisonous shots at Keldeo, forcing him to focus on defence.

A second wave of sticky web came lashing out, and this time Keldeo was still blocking. It covered him with the gunk for a moment, but then Suicune blocked one of the attacks aimed at her with a huge spherical wave of water.

It washed out across the whole fight, knocking both her opponents back, and Keldeo benefitted too – it washed the webs off, letting him canter clear of the follow-up Venoshock attack.

"Thanks!" he gasped to Suicune, skating sideways on the water and aiming for a good target. He fired a Focus Blast to try and knock Ariados into the water, but the arachnid Pokémon scuttled backwards and up onto the wall – using his height advantage to pepper Keldeo with pin missiles and needles.

Keldeo switched to an Ice Blade, which hit Ariados' foremost left leg and seemed to freeze it slightly. The Bug-type side-walked higher-

And got hit by a sudden blast of flame from below.

Keldeo glanced down. Quilava!

She looked like she was in trouble, though – his opponent had landed on her, making it hard for her to get away.

Scowling, Keldeo charged forwards. He powered up his Sacred Sword, and brought it down in a diagonal cut which hammered Bisharp to the floor and unconsciousness.

Both their opponents vanished in red light, and Keldeo turned to face the rest of the battle just as a Moonblast came the other way. It smashed him backwards, making him lose his concentration on water walking, and he sank up to his knees before reflexively activating his Hydro Pump jets.

Suicune emerged, landing with feline grace on the water of the canal, and oriented herself.

Latias was under attack by several Pokémon at once, and she gathered herself to spring to her aid – but then she was hit by an explosive Seed Bomb on the side of the muzzle, and she shook her head briefly before turning her attention to the Pokémon on the footpath.

A Leafeon stood there, already firing another of the explosive seeds, and Suicune batted it out of the way with her paw. It hit the water hard, plunged a little way beneath it, and detonated.

Riding the swell, Suicune produced a ball of swirling cold in her mouth and fired it. Leafeon jumped aside, tail lashing, and Suicune corrected the Ice Beam onto her.

The Grass-type flinched backwards, a frosting of ice forming by the time the attack ended, and Suicune prepared a follow-up. Latias was in trouble, but not yet subdued, and if she worked quickly-

Leafeon's eyes flicked to the side. It was just enough warning for Suicune, who saw the incoming Beedrill out of the corner of her eye.

She pulsed out a huge wave of water with Hydro Pump, which intercepted the Beedrill and made its Poison Jab discharge into the water instead of into her flank. Suicune's water-purification power quickly neutralized the poison, and an additional effect of the spherical water-shield was that it knocked Beedrill violently backwards.

Turning her attention back to the now-bedraggled and soaked Leafeon, Suicune fired another Ice Beam. This time Leafeon seemed to be more ready for the attack, jumping over it and firing a shower of Razor Leaves back at Suicune.

Suicune darted to one side, ducking most of the Razor Leaves and freezing a few with an Icy Wind, then got hit in the side by an Electroweb from the Beedrill.

Wincing, she fired another Icy Wind – this one got through to Leafeon, knocking her out – and turned to focus on the Beedrill.

"Stupid stone!" one of the criminals said, shaking something in her hand. "Annie, you said this was-"

"I'm a little busy right now!" Annie replied, still engaged in close quarters combat with Ash.

Suicune blinked, noticing the band around Beedrill's stinger. Was that a-

Happily, it looked like they couldn't work it. How fortunate.

Ducking another Electroweb, Suicune fired a stream of water and knocked Beedrill backwards. A stream of Bubblebeam followed, and knocked Beedrill out entirely.

Turning, Suicune prepared to help Latias, but saw she was too late – the Eon Pokémon had been neutralized by a Cofagrigus, and a fraction of a second later a Moonblast whistled past her face to hit Keldeo.

A blaze of multicoloured light went past in the other direction, and smashed into the Umbreon standing over Latias – knocking her out with a bang.

Latias hit the floor hard, as the Umbreon hit her with another Dark Pulse which blew her backwards and interrupted her levitation.

Still shaken from the experience of having a whole new set of memories, she scrambled for an attack she could use to help her out. Psychic-type attacks were no good-

She fired a Dragon Pulse, hoping that would help, and a Sylveon darted into the way and took the attack without flinching. The Sylveon then lashed its tail and pounced on her.

Somewhat to Latias' surprise, the Fairy-type Pokémon kissed her on the neck. Much more to her surprise, it hurt – horribly, as though it was pulling her strength out through her feathers.

Panicking, Latias released a pulse of psychic energy. It knocked the Sylveon back, but at the same moment the Umbreon came in and bit down hard on her leg.

Latias tried to throw the Umbreon off, and largely succeeded – though her situation didn't improve even then, as a Glaceon stepped up next. Tail and ears swirling in an artificial wind, the icy vixen hit her with a point-blank Blizzard.

Stunned, battered, drained and now chilled, Latias was reacting more than thinking now – trying to do something, anything, which would make the attacks stop. She formed a Safeguard shield, driving all three Eeveelutions away, and looked for Ash-

And got hit by a draining, deadening Curse.

The Cofagrigus who had hit her with it laughed, shadowy arms reaching out for her, and Latias reached deep. Remembering an attack she'd only managed to use once before, she gathered together a ball of mist as the Cofagrigus snared her wings and arms.

Umbreon fired a Dark Pulse at her, and she sank back towards the ground – but kept that attack going. It reached full power, and she fired.

A blur of motion sped into the way of her attack between her firing and it reaching the target, and she stayed conscious long enough to see a Shedinja absorb the attack without a ripple.

Then darkness closed over her.

Seeing Latias collapse made Ash all the more determined to get past Annie.

The Rocket agent was a quick, slippery opponent, and kept trying to use cheap shots – sharpened stiletto, a quickly thrown rose, even a web gun – to wrest the initiative away from Ash.

Ash had only managed to land a solid blow on her once. Despite that, though, he was pushing her back, and he could see it wouldn't be much longer before he could slip past her and get at the downed Dragon-type.

What he'd do then, he wasn't sure. But it would probably involve throwing at least one Eeveelution into the canal, possibly all three.

"Annie!" Oakley called. "Back here!"

"Trying to! This kid is-" Annie began, and then there was a tearing sound as a Signal Beam went past the battling humans.

Unnoticed by any of the other participants in the chaotic waterside fight, Dexter had managed to set up and fire a Signal Beam at the Umbreon. He'd been a moment late to help Latias, but it was still welcome.

Before he could get off a second attack, though, a Kirlia jumped up onto the bow of the Rockets' motorboat and fired a Moonblast at Keldeo.

"Get us out of here!" Oakley snapped, grabbing a Pokéball from the seat beside her and returning the Umbreon.

Nodding, Kirlia spread her arms. Suicune pounced, but a moment too late – both Rockets, all their remaining Pokémon and Latias vanished in a flare of light.

Ash panted, feeling bitterly disappointed. He noticed absently that his clothes were soaked – the blast of water from Suicune had been noticed but not really thought about during the intense hand-to-hand battle he'd been engaged in.

"What do we do now, Ash?" Keldeo asked.

Ash slumped. "I don't... wait. Follow me!"

He set off at a run.

His Pokémon exchanged glances, then headed after him.

Brock glanced up as Crobat came back down. "Nothing?"

"Nothing!" Crobat replied, orbiting his trainer. "Everyone here's the same shape they seem. Sorry, Brock – maybe they're just not in the public places."

"I guess we can hope that Ash or Misty found one of them," Brock said, shaking his head. "Where-"

He paused, glancing around the large open space they were in. "Wait a minute... that's the museum, right?"

"I suppose it must be," Crobat said, looking at it. "Unless this place has an extremely large and ornate bike shop, or something..."

"That might be our best bet!" Brock started forwards, and Crobat dropped a little to hover alongside. "I think the curator knew – knows – Latios and Latias."

"That sounds right..." Crobat agreed, frowning. "I think."

"It's at least somewhere to start," Brock shrugged.

It took him a minute or so to reach the museum across the large, open plaza – it was less crowded than it had been an hour or so ago, as people went in for lunch, so Brock could follow a much straighter path.

The museum itself was, as Brock remembered, a little palatial. Beautiful stained-glass windows encircled the building, which had a high top surmounted by a spire, and ornamental towers guarded the main entrance.

Inside, Brock looked around for the man he remembered meeting here years ago. It was frustratingly hard to remember what he looked like, so Brock was forced to rely on the hope that he would know the man when he saw him.

Despite his preoccupation, though, the D.M.A. was a fascinating sight. It was much bigger than he'd remembered, all dark metal and complicated mechanisms, and lit an eerie green by the light coming through the stained-glass windows.

"This thing's huge," Crobat said.

"Yeah," Brock agreed.

"That's the D.M.A," a voice said. "The Defence Mechanism of Altomare."

Brock turned to the speaker, and blinked as he recognized – Lorenzo, that was his name!

"It was built to-"

"Sorry," Brock interrupted. "Can I have a word?"

"Well, sure!" Lorenzo said, readily enough. "What do you want to know?"

Brock spoke quietly. "Latios and Latias are in danger."

Lorenzo's reaction was quite impressive. His eyes widened, but apart from that he showed no particular surprise or recognition of the news. "You mean the defenders of Altomare?"

"I mean Latias and Latios – the ones you know. My friends and I are here to-"

"Okay, come with me," Lorenzo said, urgently. He guided Brock out through one of the side doors and into an empty backroom.

"What's that about Latias and Latios being in danger?" he asked, once the door was shut.

"There's some agents coming – we think – to try and capture Latios or Latias. We need to warn them," Brock said succinctly.

Lorenzo examined him for a long moment. "Suppose I believe you. What then?"

"We head for wherever Latias or Latios is and warn them – fast," Brock said promptly. "We've been looking, but no luck so far."

A frown. "Hm. Well, Latios can take care of himself, but I'm not so sure Latias can... right, we'd better go. Latios can decide if you're trustworthy. Follow me."

Brock returned Crobat and followed, out through two more back rooms and through a small door letting out onto the canal.

"Quagsire, can you pull us?" Lorenzo asked, releasing his Pokémon. "You know the way."

Quagsire nodded placidly, and took a painter rope attached to the nearest gondola.

"Get in," Lorenzo nodded. "It's safe, don't worry."

Brock duly got in, and the Water-type started to pull them off.

A few seconds later, Brock looked up at a familiar voice. "Togekiss?"

"Brock!"

The Jubilee Pokémon came swooping down on him, pulling around in a turn to come alongside. "Misty found the girl – Bianca! They're headed for the garden!"

"Good!" Brock said. "Can you tell her I'm headed there too?"

"Sure!"

Togekiss orbited once more, then set off again.

"What's that?" Lorenzo asked, blinking. "Headed there too? Did you understand what that Pokémon said?"

Brock nodded. "My friend Ash taught me how to-"

Lorenzo nodded, as if this made sense. "Oh, right, you're friends with that Ash Ketchum. That explains everything."

"Even-"

"Everything," Lorenzo repeated. "That kid's been on the news."

A few minutes after Brock and Lorenzo were out of sight, there was a bright flash in the main room of the museum.

Two women and close to a dozen Pokémon materialized, some of them unconscious.

As the few people in the museum looked around in shock, Oakley pointed. "Get them out of here!"

Sylveon and Glaceon nodded, darting forwards. Glaceon fired a shower of Ice Shards which peppered the ground near one group, startling them and making them run for the exit, and Sylveon went the more direct route of firing a blast of weakened Fairy Wind which physically propelled the victims out the door.

One trainer, however, refused to be intimidated. "You're not going to get rid of me!" he called. "Klang, get them!"

The Steel-type materialized, fired a Flash Cannon at Sylveon, and abruptly found itself confronted by a Shedinja which absorbed the beam of focused light. The ghostly Bug's eyes glowed, and it launched a wave of flame from Will-O-Wisp at Klang.

Startled, the Klang was unable to get out of the way in time before the ghostly flames struck home, flickering on all its exposed surfaces as they washed over it.

Thus weakened, the Steel-type was easily driven out the door by Glaceon and Sylveon between them.

"Okay, Annie," Oakley went on, once the door was closed and she'd locked it. "What the heck was up with that?"

"What was up with what?" Annie asked, defensively. "Ow, my shoulder..."

"That kid!" Oakley snapped. She glanced at Kirlia, noting with approval that the Psychic-type was healing up Espeon with a Wish. "I know we heard he was tough, but thirty seconds! That was half our teams – and he nearly got you too!"

Espeon got back up, shaking her head, and glanced around. She took in the situation, noting the new surroundings and – with relief – the lack of Pikachu.

"Well, excuse me for trying to actually fight him!" Annie said, huffing. "And if you had managed to use that Mega Stone-"

"Don't blame me for your-" Oakley cut off her statement, and sighed. "Right. We've got Latias. Now, all we need is the Soul Dew."

"Where are we going to get it?" Annie asked. She glanced at the doors. "We don't exactly have long before someone comes and tries to get in, and we don't know where it is."

"We don't," Oakley agreed, with a wicked grin. "But she does."

"...oh," Annie said, nodding. "Right. Now?"

"Give it a few minutes," Oakley suggested. "I want to have Umbreon back and healed first, and probably Ariados too so we can take her out of Cofagrigus' wrappings.

Latias blinked, twitching slightly.

She could remember pain-shock-darkness, but beyond that it was... indistinct-

Latios! Latios had been... he'd died...

But... Latias could still feel him at the other end of their bond. She reached for it, and stabbing pain flashed through her as two alien presences drove into her mind.

Her half-dreaming consciousness was a whirl of images and sensations. A horrible nightmare, from when she had realized Latios was gone – sulking, because her brother wouldn't let her out to play – training, in the hope that she would be safe – long hours in the garden, painting – being told about the Soul Dew – Bianca – hearing about Ash, who trained Legendaries – how to use the D.M.A – the Soul Dew – the Soul Dew, resting in its plinth in the garden – the Soul Dew – Latios!

With a half-panicked surge of mental muscle, Latias threw the intruding minds out of her own. She began to hyperventilate, and closed her mind as much as she could. The probes came back, but this time she was awake enough to notice and resist them.

The cold feeling of Ghostly energy which had surrounded her abruptly abated. She shook her head, opening her eyes and rising from the floor, and then a Dark Pulse smashed into her from the same Umbreon as before.

Already weak, that nearly knocked her out again. A spray of web from a familiar-looking Ariados followed, and pinned her to the floor.

Kirlia looked up at her trainer, and waved her hand.

"Did you get the location of the Soul Dew?"

A nod.

"Great!" Annie enthused. "That's the best-"

"And how to use the D.M.A?" Oakley interrupted.

Another nod. Kirlia spoke to the other Pokémon for a moment, and they hauled the immobilized Latias into a circular incision on the ground.

"Right!" Oakley grinned. "Umbreon, Sylveon, Shedinja, keep an eye on that Latias. Come on, Annie, we're going to get that Soul Dew right now!"

Ash slowed to a walk as he went through the iron-arched plant trellis, turned right, and faced a blank wall.

Closing his eyes, he saw the reality. The wall was an illusion – covering the entrance into Altomare's hidden treasure, the secret garden.

"Ash!" Pikachu called, panting, as he came hurrying up behind followed by the others. "What just – why are we here?"

"It's the entrance to the garden," Ash explained.

Pikachu blinked, and glanced back at Quilava. "I did hear that, right? Ash just said he found the garden?"

"I heard," Quilava agreed. She shot Ash a look. "How!?"

Ash blinked. "I... I'm not sure, but-"

I have a hypothesis, Dexter interjected. Ash – were you thinking about where you were going?

"Well... no?" Ash admitted.

Ah, there we go. You're overthinking things, that's part of why you get lost. If it's familiar enough you don't have to think, you're fine.

"Okay..." Ash said, turning that explanation over in his mind. "Okay, I guess."

He nodded, then stepped forwards – directly at the blank wall.

Keldeo flinched slightly, then blinked, as Ash's form was outlined by a greenish shimmer. "Oh, that's cool! It's an illusion!"

"Yeah, it is pretty cool," Pikachu agreed. "Wait 'til you see what's inside..."

"We can save recreation for a later date," Lucario suggested. "Our main priority is finding Latios and warning him, and then finding out where Latias is so as to help her."

It wasn't the first time Ash had seen Altomare's secret garden, but it was just as amazing as when he'd first entered.

The garden was set in a circular depression, ringed by an arched walkway, and – whether illusion or something else – there were trees, tall ones, visible over the walkway and blocking out the surrounding buildings.

Inside the tiered depressions, accessed by steps or by steep turfed slopes, was a dense network of trees and lawns and pools, with the occasional fountain scattered around under the cool shade. Stone walkways gave access to much of the garden, and there were statues visible in a few places.

Closing his eyes, Ash took the whole place in again in Aura sight for a moment. It was really soothing – if he didn't know better, he'd assume he was in the wilderness rather than the heart of a city.

Beautiful.

"Amazing place, isn't it?" Pikachu said, coming up behind him, and Ash knelt to let his Starter get on his shoulder.

Then there was a blur of motion.

"What are you doing here?" Latios shouted, speeding in with his feathers tuned to invisibility. Ash ducked aside, and the Eon Pokémon shot past him before turning in a breathtakingly tight turn to come around again.

"Stop!" Pikachu called, jumping off Ash's shoulder once more to interpose himself between Ash and Latios. "We're here to help! Latias is in trouble!"

Latios screeched to a halt in mid-air, inches from hitting Pikachu.

"Latias is – but – how do you know?!" Latios asked, startled. "How are you even here?"

"We ran into Latias," Ash explained. "And some Rocket agents did too, and they ambushed us. We weren't able to get through to help-"

"So you failed-" Latios stopped. "How did you just-"

"Latios, I understand your concerns," Suicune said, startling the Dragon-type by speaking up from about two feet away. "But Ash is a trustworthy trainer, and we should focus on how to save your sister."

"Where did you – Suicune?" Latios asked, thoroughly confused. "Wait. You said Ash?" His head went back to looking at Ash. "Are you the trainer my sister keeps going on about? I didn't know you could understand- but if you are, that means-" Back to Suicune. "Are you one of his Pokémon?"

Suicune nodded. "I offered him the challenge, he took it up, and I was caught. It has been fun so far."

Latios shook his head. "Sorry, I'm a bit – Latias! Where is she?"

"The Rocket agents got her," Ash repeated. "They managed to knock her out and then teleported – we don't know where."

Latios winced. "Okay, I think I can try and find where she is."

His eyes flashed, and he activated sight-sharing – extending it to Ash and his team, now all gathered around.

What Latios saw was not encouraging. The view through his sister's half-lidded eyes was of the museum from ground level, with a watchful Umbreon standing before her – and, a moment later, there was a clunk and three pairs of rings rose up from the floor, carrying Latias with them.

"The D.M.A is already activating!" Ash said. "That's not good-"

Latios blinked. "How do you know about the D.M.A?"

"Time travel," Pikachu informed him. "It is a very long story."

"I... suppose it must be," Latios admitted.

"We know where Latias is," Lucario stated. "We should hurry there, before-"

He paused. "Wait. They have a teleporting Kirlia, and I can't see her. Do they know where the Soul Dew is?"

Ash paled. "Latios, end the sight-sharing! We have to-"

The psychic connection collapsed. Latios sent a brief pulse of reassurance to his sister, who seemed groggy and uncertain, then a thunderclap punished his ears.

"La!" Kirlia stated, dropping her trainers and two of her fellow Pokémon in the secret garden of Altomare – right next to the location she'd extracted from Latias' memories.

"There it is!" Annie said, grinning, on seeing the glittering Soul Dew under a small caged pool. "Let's grab it!"

Oakley nodded, reaching in. The gemstone seemed a little warm to the touch, and it took her considerable effort to pull it out.

"Come on, hurry up!" Annie hissed. "I don't think we're alone in here!"

With a twik sound, the Soul Dew came free of its holder.

"There!" Oakley said, holding the gem up. "Got it!"

Annie took it from her hands. "This is so beautiful!"

"It's not just that which we want!" Oakley reminded her. "That gem of ours is the key to ultimate power!"

Both of them looked up at the sound of a distant shout.

"What was that?" Annie asked.

Excadrill ran forwards, claws ready – then an almighty blast of lightning cannoned into him, actually knocking him backwards and sending him skidding along the floor.

Oakley saw the Pokémon charging down the path towards her, and reacted instantly. "Kirlia, get us-"

The Fairy-type's arms spread, and they vanished about a second before an Ice Blade and a blast of high-pressure water went through the space they'd been occupying.

"No!" Pikachu cursed. "This is... no! I won't let it happen again!"

His cheeks sparked emphatically as he said that, and Suicune gave him a slightly worried look.

"Pikachu?" she asked. "You realize you just hit a Ground-type with a Thunder attack?"

Pikachu's ear twitched. "Yeah, so? That happens."

He turned to Ash. "We've got to get to the museum as soon as possible! If we get there – fast – then we can stop the same thing happening to Latias that happened to Latios!"

"I know-" Ash began.

"What happened to me?" Latios asked, with a horrible sinking feeling.

Ash winced. "It... wasn't good. I can show you, but... it's kind of your choice."

He took a deep breath. "You died."

"I..." Latios took a moment to process that, then his expression hardened. "Show me. If it will do anything to help my sister, I'd gladly pay that price."

Ash reached out, and touched the downy feathers on Latios' side.

There was a blur of sensation and memories.

An almost identical version of the last two or so years, though without Latias becoming interested in recent months in finding out about the trainer who travelled with Legendaries.

A different version of this meeting in the garden, with Ash coming in later and his sister being the one to vouch for the young trainer.

That night, those same women attacking Latias – he got in the way – the DMA – pain and struggle, and then a death-ride into the maw of an oncoming tsunami. Breaking it, saving Altomare.

And a couple of years of vague sensations, what was left of his spirit slumbering in the new Soul Dew.

It all took only a moment to play out.

Latios took a long, deep breath. "Right. Let's-"

"Ash!" called two voices, almost overlapping.

Ash's head flicked from one side of the garden to the other. "Brock? Misty?"

The two gym leaders came running over, followed respectively by Lorenzo and Bianca. "What happened?" Brock asked.

"I found Latias, but those Rockets found her at the same time!" Ash explained. "We couldn't stop them from taking her."

"Didn't they have an Ariados and an Espeon?" Misty asked.

"They had significant reinforcement," Lucario stated. "Four other Eeveelutions, an Excadrill, a Kirlia, a Cofagrigus, a Shedinja, a Bisharp and a Beedrill."

"...ouch," Brock said faintly.

"And they just appeared here – by Teleport – took the Soul Dew, and left before we could stop them," Ash went on. "We've got to get to the DMA as soon as we can!"

"You're all very knowledgeable about this," Lorenzo said, curiously. "How so?"

"Time travel," Ash said. "We'll explain more later – Latios, have they worked out how to operate the machine?"

Latios' eyes glowed, and he sight-shared again.

This time, it was worse. The DMA was clearly active, with the machinery whirling around to bring the control chair down to floor level, and at a request from Latios their view turned to show the Soul Dew in its slot.

The view collapsed, and Ash clenched his fist. "We'd better hurry. What's the quickest way?"

"The quickest way I know is through the canals, but I'm the only one who can take that route," Latios frowned. "And if they could beat me last time, and now – no, I need help."

"I know the quickest way!" Lorenzo said. "Well, it's not quite the fastest, but the city's going to be on lockdown once the DMA activates so it's the best we can do. Follow me!"

"At last," Oakley said, clambering into the control seat. "That was a lot harder than it could have been, but we're all set!"

"What's so great about this thing, anyway?" Annie asked. "I mean, it's the most powerful weapon in the world – what does that mean?"

Oakley chuckled, stretching out her arms to the gesture panel. "Oh, lots of things. Let's start with – this! Lockdown initiated!"

There was a grinding sound, and a dense network of steel bars closed over the doors. All over the city, similar grids of bars formed out of the stonework, startling the tourists and locals alike as they found themselves abruptly locked either inside or outside.

"Now, time to clear the streets!" Oakley went on, accessing submenus. "Hmmm... that's interesting. Did you know Altomare is built on limestone, Annie?"

"No?" Annie volunteered.

"Well, it is! Watch this!"

Oakley made a grand gesture, and Latias screeched as the DMA drew heavily on her energy.

And, all over the city, exposed bedrock trembled.

The group came hurrying back out of Altomare's hidden garden, and Lorenzo pointed. "This way!"

His route led them along two corners to a small dock, where a gondola was moored. As they filed down the steps, a set of steel bars ground down – separating Ash, Misty and Bianca from Brock and Lorenzo.

"Hold on!" Keldeo said, lighting his Sword. A few quick slashes, and the bars collapsed.

"Good one, Keldeo," Ash grinned.

Suicune stepped onto the water. "Would you mind if I pulled?"

"Pardon?" Lorenzo asked, frowning. "I didn't quite catch that..."

Concentrating, Suicune repeated herself. "Would you mind were I to pull? I suspect I'm the fastest one able to."

"Oh – of course!" Lorenzo agreed.

"I see you got that Aura trick working," Brock complimented, as the rest of the group piled into the boat.

Suicune waited until everyone was in, then leaned forwards and began to accelerate the boat – quickly going up to about as fast as the racers had at the Tour de Altomare.

"Left here!" Lorenzo called. "It's the main canal, it leads right where we want it to!"

Suicune replied by curving into a wide left turn, following Lorenzo's instructions, and then her head snapped aside – focusing on movement overhead.

"What is-" Ash began, then saw – a large, leathery-winged Aerodactyl with glowing white eyes coming in.

"That happened last-"

Pikachu fired a blast of lightning into the sky, hitting the Aerodactyl. It wobbled in the air, steaming, but rallied.

A second blast finished it off, sending it crashing to the water in a plume of spray.

"Was that the Aerodactyl from the museum?" Latios asked, skimming invisibly alongside.

"I think it was!" Lorenzo frowned. "But why would it be here?"

"The DMA can animate them!" Ash said. "There should be a Kabutops as well."

Ash had barely finished when something came bursting out of the water, swiping at Suicune with clawed arms.

Lucario fired a Flash Cannon at it, knocking it back and plunging into the water. "Armaldo," he reported – then saw the look on Ash's face. "What's wrong?"

"There wasn't an Armaldo last time," Ash explained. "This is bad."

Latios shot upwards into the air, producing a wash of wind. He came down a few seconds later, and decloaked – looking worried. "There's several Fossil Pokémon in the streets," he reported. "And I saw ripples heading our way through the water – lots of them."

Ash made a quick decision. "Suicune, we're going to need to carry on on land! It's too easy to ambush us on the water!"

Suicune nodded, slowing to bring their gondola to the nearest docking point. The impromptu team de-boated, and a moment later a white-eyed Omastar came rearing out of the water to pull the gondola apart.

It got about halfway through doing that before Keldeo fired a Sacred Sword, slicing the Gondola neatly in half and knocking the Omastar back into the canal.

"Latios!" Ash said, getting his attention. "Were the fossils just coming after us?"

"I – no!" Latios realized. "They were everywhere, and there were people running from them!"

"Right." Ash glanced at his pocket. "Dexter, we need my entire team – everyone who's available."

Understood.

Grant looked around, keeping close to the walls. "Marill – see anything?"

"Mar!" his Marill replied, shaking his head.

"Great..." the trainer sighed. "The heck happened?"

Marill shrugged. "Rill..."

A roar alerted them both.

Startled, Grant looked up – hoping against hope it was another Anorith, like the one they'd beaten earlier.

It wasn't. A huge Tyrantrum was coming storming down the canalfront towards them, accelerating steadily and roaring as its white-glowing eyes fixed onto him.

Marill jumped out in front of his trainer, inhaling and readying a Bubble attack – unlikely to do anything worthwhile, but better than just waiting-

There was another roar, this one from overhead, and a big orange Charizard swept down the street. It fired a burst of orange light which split into a shower of meteors, backwinged as the Draco Meteor spread blasted the Tyrantrum in the chest, and then sped forwards again and slapped it in the face with an Iron Tail.

Roaring, the Tyrantrum snapped at the irritant, and got a face full of Dragon Breath for his trouble.

"Whoa..." Grant breathed, and then decided to run while the big dinosaur was distracted. "Come on, Marill, we're leaving!"

"Right-o,chaps, tallyho!" Noctowl announced, his form wavering as he formed a Double Team effect. Rising, he caught the attention of an Aerodactyl and an Archeops, both of which came swooping down on him.

The Rock/Flying types passed right through their respective targets, collided with a crash, and dropped several hundred feet before recovering and pulling out of their dives.

"Pity that didn't work better, but oh well," Noctowl muttered to himself, spinning off another illusion – then the Archeops was hit by a wave of air which hammered it into the ground, and Pidgeot swooped past the crash site before climbing fast.

"Lovely weather for the time of year!" Noctowl pointed out, rolling to one side and avoiding an Archen. "Not that you're bothering to notice... manners, I do declare!"

His eyes glowed, ensnaring the Archen in a bubble of psionic force, and he swept it around before releasing it on a downwards trajectory.

A couple of hundred feet below, Butterfree slipped sideways and out of the way of a shower of Rock Slide-created rocks. He spread his wings, powering up, and then launched off a Solarbeam at the Aerodactyl on his tail.

The Grass-type attack made Aerodactyl flinch slightly, but it wasn't as effective as it would be on some Fossils. Eyes flashing with a spark of rage behind the blank white, it lunged forwards and was promptly hit from below by a Fairy Wind.

"I could have handled that," Butterfree commented to Togekiss, performing a banking spiral and getting the Aerodactyl in his sight-line. A psychic bubble enveloped the Rock-type, and it went crashing into the water of a canal.

"I'm helping, that's all..." Togekiss pointed out.

Pidgeot swept past them, focused air swirling under her wings, and bored in on a small flock of Archen. An Ominous Wind boomed out at them, knocking them around and making a couple of them drop towards the ground.

"Nice work, Olympic!" Keiran called. "Now, over there!"

"Baay!" his Bayleef nodded, and vines lashed out towards an oncoming Cranidos. They pulled on one leg, making the saurian Fossil wobble, then abruptly switched to the other and sent it tumbling into the canal.

"Great!" Keiran enthused, glancing around.

The other trainers helping keep this area safe all seemed to be doing okay. He'd never met them before, but their Pokémon – a big, burly Rhydon, a lightning-fast Floatzel and a Pokémon he'd never seen before which seemed to be a Fighting and Flying type – were working pretty well with Olympic, allowing him to concentrate on just one entrance to the square.

Then Olympic frowned, and called for Keiran's attention.

"What is it, boy?" Keiran asked, worried by the tone of voice his starter had used.

Olympic nodded to the waterfront, and Keiran looked closer.

Nothing.

Then, a series of purple tendrils appeared over the canal wall. As they rose, they revealed themselves to be attached to about a dozen Cradily, all with blank white eyes in place of the normal yellow.

"Uh oh..." Keiran muttered. "Olympic, do the best you can! Guys? Anyone here know an Ice move?"

"Floatzel has Ice Shard," one of the others volunteered. "But that's a lot of Cradily-"

There was a sudden blaze of fire and flame, sweeping along one of the roads into the plaza, and then a blue sphere of brilliant light shot forwards and hit the foremost Cradily.

The firey blur slowed, skidding to a halt between the plaza and the canal, and shot a Fire Blast at the crowd of Fossils.

"...that's Entei..." Keiran heard himself say, a little numbly. "That is actually Entei."

A Fire Spin roared out, and then Entei jumped aside from a barrage of Ancientpower – except for one, which he smashed to pieces with a blow of his paw – before lunging in and hammering one of the crinoid Pokémon with a fire-based body blow of an attack.

Over the course of about twenty seconds, Entei hammered the fossils flat. He glanced around briefly once that was done, and pelted off again.

"Thanks!" Keiran heard one of the others call, and Entei shot a smiling glance before continuing.

Now there was a lull, Keiran could hear the battles going on elsewhere – the occasional crash or bang, as attacks hit home, and the roar of water from somewhere else.

Then an Archen swooped down, and it was back to the battle.

"...pardon?" Ash asked, blinking.

"I said it once already!" Squirtle complained, then sighed. "Right. For the second time! Here is my plan. We are about a mile from the museum – we need to get there as soon as possible, and the streets are full of Fossils."

"That bit's not a plan," Misty pointed out.

"I was getting there, as you know!" Squirtle said, a bit huffily. "Anyway. My plan is this! Bull-Dozer!"

"That's just a word," Ash said.

"No, it's two words, one awesome idea! Show him, guys!"

To Ash's surprise, his quintet of Tauros trotted forwards.

"Right!" Squirtle began pointing. "You go there! You there! And you there! And you two on the outside!"

The hyperactive turtle jumped up onto the one in the middle, and posed. "That's five Tauros! One Squirtle! And one thousand pounds of sheer awesome!"

"...I don't get it," Brock admitted.

"Oh, you will," Squirtle promised. "Right! Ivysaur, right side! Totodile, come up here on the left!"

Ivysaur glanced at Ash for confirmation.

"I guess we should see what he means," Ash decided. "Go ahead."

Nodding, Ivysaur hoisted Totodile up with his vines and then pulled himself up.

Bianca had been looking at the spectacle without speaking for some time. "I have no idea what's going on here," she said eventually.

"The bounds of brotherhood are wide! A team, a herd, they're all the same – organized dedication and fighting-"

"Can you get on with it?" Ivysaur interrupted. "Because I think they've seen us."

Squirtle sighed. "Fine, then, we'll just do it the boring way. Three! Two! One! Outrage!"

All five Tauros reared up. "What are we?" the one in the centre called.

"Annoyed!" one said. His fellow Pokémon chimed in with "Angry!", "Just plain mad!" and "A bit ticked off!"

"And what are we going to do about it?" the middle one went on.

"Wreak havoc!" came the response, this time in unison, and the bulls drummed their hooves on the floor for a moment.

"And when do we do that?"

"NOW!"

And then the whole assemblage set off at a ground-trembling run.

Ash, Brock, Misty, Lorenzo, Bianca and all the Pokémon watched in shock as all five of Ash's Tauros, with supporting fire from Totodile and a resigned-looking Ivysaur, charged straight down the main thoroughfare of Altomare and sent Fossil constructs flying like poorly-made skittles.

One of them was running on the canal. This did not seem to concern him.

Lucario was the first to recover. "I suggest we hurry after them," he said.

"Right!" Ash shook his head, recovering from his surprise, and set off at a run. "Come on, guys!"

Brock and Misty exchanged a glance, then sent out the remainder of their teams. Misty helped Bianca onto Gyarados, Brock helped Lorenzo onto Steelix, and they began to hurry after Ash and his Pokémon.

"This way," Lorenzo's Quagsire said, gesturing. "It's one of the important canal junctions."

"Good to know," Seaking nodded. She noticed an oncoming Tirtouga, and lowered her head to bore forwards in a Drill Run.

The impact resonated through the water, but the Tirtouga wasn't out for the count just yet. It swiped at Seaking with a scaly arm, knocking her backwards.

"Look out!" Chinchou called, flashers sparking, and launched off a bolt of electricity at the Tirtouga.

It went entirely into Seaking's horn.

"...I really need to work on my aim," Chinchou sighed.

They were interrupted by a half-dozen Omanyte, which jetted over and began firing Spike Cannons at them. Quagsire fired a Water Pulse, ducked a blundering rush by the Tirtouga, and barely avoided being hit by a Relicanth which shot through their formation.

Corsola returned fire with her own Spike Cannons, supplementing it with a Bubblebeam, and then used Mirror Coat to deflect a sudden Ancientpower from one of the Omanyte. As she did, the Tirtouga came in again, and Chinchou charged forwards to deliver a physical Spark attack to the revivified turtle.

There was a crackle-bang through the water as the two Water-types collided.

Kingdra came charging around the corner, glowing a faint green from his Dragon Dances, and bounced from Fossil to Fossil delivering slamming blows with his tail. Most of the Omanyte went down, as well as the Relicanth, and Kingdra then engaged a Carracosta which had reared up out of the mud.

Quagsire hit a Kabuto with an Earth Power, turned, and raised an eyebrow slightly. "That's a new trick, there."

"Thanks! Now – oh, right, Shock Wave!"

Two bolts of electricity snapped off Chinchou's flashers. One of them came too close to Seaking and was drawn into her Lightningrod, but the other steered clear enough and wove unerringly around Kingdra to hit his burly opponent.

Corsola turned frantically back and forth, trying to keep track of everything at once. "Seaking, behind you – a Kabuto! And-"

She swam upwards, ramming her head into a second Relicanth and making it slow down suddenly.

"Zap it, Chinchou!" she called.

Chinchou nodded, and fired another Shock Wave.

"This is not ideal," Ivysaur muttered, vines wrapped firmly around the Tauros he was riding.

"Hup, two, three, SMASH!" the Tauros chanted, in unison with the others. "Five, six, seven, BASH!"

Ivysaur looked around, spotting one of the kind of targets he was after. A big Bastiodon, snorting and lowering its head to get in the way of the quintet of Tauros.

His flower opened slightly, pulling in energy from the sky, and he then shot a Solarbeam forwards – aiming it just a bit off-centre, so the dazzle didn't make anyone in Ash's team lose focus.

It hit the Bastiodon hard, making it take a step back, and then Ivysaur followed that up with a shower of Magical Leaves.

Ivysaur wasn't actually doing all that much damage, not to such a tough Pokémon – apart from anything else, a lot of his coverage moves were melee-only. But he was making it unable to set itself for the charge, making it tilt its head back-

Then two Tauros ran up its face and down the other side.

"That was quite impressive," Ivysaur said, then saw an incoming Aerodactyl and fired an Ancientpower at it – hammering it to the ground in a tangle of limbs and wing membrane. It shook its head, eyes glowing white as it stood, and then it got run over by the herd of Tauros too.

"This is fun!" Totodile announced, shooting a Hydro Pump at the nearest Armaldo. "Whee!"

"Speak for yourself..." Ivysaur said, teeth clicking together as the vibration shook him. "Squirtle, what exactly gave you this idea?"

"I've been working on it for ten months!" Squirtle replied, grinning. "Why else do you think I've been riding all the Tauros at once?"

"You are a scary person to be friends with..." Ivysaur sighed. "At least it's better than the alternative."

"Hey, look!" Totodile said, pointing. "Birds!"

"Those are Archen," Ivysaur corrected him. "...wait. Why are they flying?"

Totodile shrugged. "I just guess it makes sense! I mean, they were skeletons in a rock until twenty minutes ago, why shouldn't they be able to fly?"

He frowned, and fired an Ice Beam at one. It hit the ground with a crash. "Problem solved!"

Ivysaur declined to comment, and began looking instead for a better target.

Was that a Tyrunt coming out of that alleyway? Excellent.

"Totodile, to your left!" he called, and indicated the target with a barrage of Razor Leaves.

"Is it always this chaotic?" Lorenzo asked, clinging to one of Steelix' spines.

Brock shrugged, as his big Steel-type powered up the landward side of the thoroughfare. "Sometimes it's this bad, sometimes it's a lot quieter."

"Never been boring yet, though," Ninetales said, noticing a Lileep approaching. Flames curled off her tail and lanced forwards, knocking the Grass/Rock type Fossil to the flagstones and scorching its protrusions.

Stantler jumped off, galloping alongside for a moment, then pulled a little ahead. "Jump Kick!" he announced, and rammed his hooves into the shield on a Shieldon.

Pushing off again, he landed on Steelix' neck and panted for a moment.

"Big wave coming from here!" Crobat called, circling an alleyway ahead. Geodude peered forwards, then cracked his knuckles.

"Okay, let's see if this works! Stone Edge!"

The paving slabs just by the entrance to that alleyway heaved up, and then crashed aside. A mound of earth formed, making a barrier several feet high, and Geodude gestured once more to send it rumbling back down the alley.

"Looks good!" Crobat reported. "Oh – look out, a Cranidos got past-"

Ninetales' Energy Ball and Forretress' Flash Cannon hit at the same moment, sending the Cranidos flying backwards faster than it had been charging forwards.

"Boys," Ninetales chuckled, and Forretress did what was as close as she could come to a shrug. The Bug-type then swivelled, and fired another Flash Cannon – skywards, this time, and knocking an Archeops low enough that it hit a building and slumped to the ground.

Pinatubo sent up another blast of flame, which knocked the oncoming Anorith backwards and flipped one of them over.

"Now, Chompy!" Rosalind called, and her Aron pounced forwards to hit the immobilized fossil with an Iron Head attack that sent it bouncing away and against a wall.

"Good!" the young trainer said, glancing back and forth. "Now – Pinatubo, there!"

The Typhlosion hunched down, neck-ruff blazing, and launched an Ember forwards to block off the next few fossils.

Then there was a roar, and something big and bipedal and with a hardened, spiked head came around the corner at speed.

"Uh – Chompy, can you-" Rosalind asked, glancing at Pinatubo. Her Fire-type didn't have any good moves to handle a Rampardos, and Chompy was still young...

Chompy gave a determined nod, and jumped forwards. His Iron Head attack collided with a BANG with the Head Smash coming the other way, and the Aron hit the floor in a painful-sounding clatter of metal on stone.

The Rampardos roared again, head coming up for long enough for Rosalind to see its blank white eyes, then charged forwards once more.

There was a sudden flash of blue behind the Rampardos-

And then a wave of water came from Rosalind's right, hitting the Rampardos in the side and carrying it bodily into the nearest wall.

Startled, Rosalind and Pinatubo turned to their saviour.

It was – Suicune. Standing there, calm as could be, before firing a volley of Bubblebeam at the Rampardos to keep it out for the count.

"You should try to find others who can help," Suicune said, and somehow Rosalind understood. "There are many fossils, and your Typhlosion will not be capable of stopping them all."

Rosalind nodded, numbly, and then Suicune ran off – jumping out onto the water, and crossing it as easily as if it were dry land.

As she shook her head, recovering her equilibrium, she heard a loud voice.

"Attention! All those trapped in buildings, stay calm and remain inside for now. Those outside, try to group together under the protection of trainers."

The loudspeakers paused for a moment. "The nearest safe place is the junction between the Verde canal and the Fourth Street."

Deciding to take the advice, Rosalind rummaged for her map. So, she was near the Bridge of Birds...

Skimming along behind the friends, Latios was only half-concentrating on the outside world.

Latias, we're coming! Just hold on!

Brother? I- Latias seemed to shake herself. I'm scared, Latios. I don't want to-

Don't think about it, he told her. Use my eyes. Focus on that – we're coming to save you, sis.

He felt Latias reaching out, so she experienced what he did.

There was a moment of silence in their bond.

What the... what's going on out there, Latios? Who's that riding a Keldeo? What are all the Tauros doing? Where did the Steelix come from?

She sounded confused and startled by the scale of what she was seeing. That was good, in Latios' opinion – better that than scared.

Ash is coming, that's what. Him and his friends. Latios waved his wings left and right slightly, and then ducked under a crashing Aerodactyl. And he's got a lot more firepower than last time.