.

"You know, I feel kind of sorry for that orange-haired kid." Kazuto commented as he and the others sat up in the stands. "After all, if Alain has been traveling around battling nothing but Mega-Evolved Pokémon – barring present company and Gym Leaders, of course – he's probably got the skill to back up his brute strength."

The tubby Trainer sitting opposite Ash and Serena chuckled. "I wouldn't be too sure about that. Trevor's been training hard ever since summer camp, and he has that secret weapon he mentioned yesterday too."

Kazuto let out an amused snort. "This 'secret weapon' wouldn't be one of those Mega Evolutions, would it? Alain told me yesterday that this was the first year they were allowed, so I'm guessing a lot of people are probably going to have one as their own 'secret weapon'."

Tierno deflated slightly. "Now that you mention it, it does seem kind of obvious." He quickly perked up again, though. "Look guys, the match is starting!"

Sure enough, both Trainers had called out Charizard onto the field. Alain's had a necklace with a large stone fixed into it, whereas Trevor's accessory appeared to be more of a tail bracelet. Both Charizard roared intimidatingly, unwilling to let the other cow them.

Trevor quickly broke the stalemate, though. "If you won't take the first move, then I will! Charizard, Fire Spin!"

"Aileron counter, on my command." Alain's Charizard nodded, jumping up into the sky as a stream of fire hit the ground where he had been standing and began to spiral upwards. Alain took note of its orientation as the spiral formed, waiting until it had gathered enough energy to establish itself. "Counterclockwise, now!"

The Charizard in the air immediately gave his wings a mighty flap, spinning himself clockwise in order to create a counter-current of air around him. Said airflow, when it encountered the flame tornado rotating in the opposite direction, created a pocket of stagnant air that interfered with the thermals sustaining his opponent's Fire Spin, dissipating it harmlessly. And if that's not quite how vortices and thermals work, I blame alternate-dimension physics.

"Now, throw him off balance with a Flamethrower! Zero point three!" Alain's Charizard growled in acknowledgement, firing off a gout of flame that, while it looked massive, was little more than an empty shell, attempting to bluff the opponent into wasting energy with a dodge.

Trevor was definitely impressed by his strategy, but he still defiantly stood his ground. "Block it with Dragon Claw, Charizard!"

The resistance granted to him by the attack's Dragon-type energy enabled Trevor's Charizard to easily withstand Alain's assault, and Trevor grinned, unaware of the fact that it had been a bluff. "That was a nice move – it looks like I'll have to go all out from the very start! Let's do this, Charizard!" He lifted his camera up to his face, brushing his finger against the Key Stone embedded inside it, and his Charizard transformed in a flash of multicolored light.

Alain glanced down at his bracelet as it glowed in response, nodding resolutely. That's one step closer to helping Lysandre find a cure for Chespie. He tuned out Trevor's bragging about Charizard-Y's Drought ability, having already been familiar with it from his previous battles. At his opponent's command for a Heat Wave, though, he returned his attention to the battle. "Terrain defense: Magikarp."

His Charizard whuffed in agreement, jumping into the shallow river and creating a mighty Splash of water. Now saturated with humidity, the air surrounding him had a much higher heat capacity than its previous state – and so the heat that managed to get past the leading edge of the wave only raised the temperature by half the intended amount; an easily withstood change. He then clambered out on his Trainer's side of the river, keeping an eye on his opponent the entire time.

Trevor refused to let his failed attempt get him down, though. "Keep up the pressure, Charizard! Dragon Tail!"

"Jump across, anchor at 3:00." Alain ordered as Charizard-Y launched itself high into the air, tail glowing green. His own Charizard complied, positioning himself on Trevor's side of the bank and wrapping his tail around a large rock to his right.

Trevor smirked. "You think moving like that is gonna get you out of the way? You're forgetting that my Mega Charizard is still a Flying-type, so he can control his descent and still hit you. And that rock's too big for your Charizard to pick up with just his tail, so he can't block it that way."

Alain answered him in kind. "Who said I was trying to block? Charizard, hoist anchor!"

Charizard immediately pulled in his tail – which, since its free end was anchored on the rock, yanked him out of the way of the descending Charizard-Y with no prior warning. As a result of his former position, the ensuing Dragon Tail attack ended with Charizard-Y's tail flame underneath the water. Now, for a Charizard-X this wouldn't have been a problem; Trevor's Mega Charizard, on the other hand, still possessed a weakness to Water, and so experienced a noticeable energy drain as some of his strength was shunted to keeping his tail flame alight.

Alain's stance shifted slightly. "All right, I think it's time we went on the offensive." He placed his fingers on his Mega Ring, focusing on the memories of his time with Charizard. "Key stone, respond to my heart…" he intoned in a low voice, gradually getting louder as he spoke. "Surpassing the strength of evolution, on the road to our shared destiny – Mega Evolve!"

As he finished his mantra, he waited to feel the burst of energy that normally accompanied his Charizard's Mega Evolution. Nothing happened.

Blinking, he looked at the field, wondering what might have gone wrong.

Charizard-X gazed back at him expectantly, waiting for orders.

Hold on, WHAT? he thought, before deciding not to worry about the discrepancy until afterwards. "All right, Charizard – Flamethrower, zero point seven!"

"Counter with Fire Spin!"

Alain looked back at the battlefield for another round of analysis. He hadn't noticed before, but there was a thin layer of soot across the top of the rocks where vegetation had been trying to take hold before the field was brought out for use. "Charizard, flap your wings and stir up that soot!"

When combined with the inexplicable smoke cloud that almost always appeared when non-physical attacks collided, the newly developed air currents created a massive Smokescreen around the two combatants.

Trevor growled in annoyance. "Charizard, fly up and see if you can spot him!"

Alain smirked as a new strategy came to mind. "Blast Burn: Downdraft Variant on my mark. Heading 10:30, range 19.5. Then follow up with a Flamethrower at 53 degrees elevation."

Trevor panicked, unable to make sense of the cryptic instructions. "Evasive maneuvers – make yourself hard to hit!"

As Trevor's Charizard was flying near the rocky crag, Alain's voice rang out. "NOW!"

A circle of blue flames erupted out of the ground around Charizard-Y, creating strong updrafts wherever they appeared. But the air to replace those updrafts had to come from somewhere – and in this case, that "somewhere" was the center of the ring beneath its occupant. The sudden drop in air pressure led to a loss of lift, and Charizard-Y fell several feet before he could stabilize himself.

Fortunately for him, it appeared, as the Flamethrower attack that Alain had ordered cut through the space he had occupied not a second before. Trevor's eyes traced the Flamethrower back into the smoke cloud, and a grin grew on his face. "You missed, and now we know where your own Charizard is!"

Alain quirked an eyebrow, though the action was hidden from Trevor's sight. "Or did I?"

"Huh?" Trevor looked back at his Charizard, only to see a massive rock tumbling from the top of the cliff right onto the base of his wings. Its momentum, combined with Charizard's now-limited range of motion preventing him from recovering quickly enough, caused him to crash down on the battlefield with his tail in the water once again. A flash of light heralded his reversion back from his Y-stage, and Trevor immediately recalled him to prevent the rock's weight from doing further damage.

"So that's what I have to look forward to, huh? Ash mused from up in the stands. "He's sure gotten stronger since the last time we met."

"But you'll have nothing to look forward to if you don't get to your battle on time…" Serena reminded him, unlacing her fingers from his and making a shooing motion. "Remember, you can always see the rest of his battle later."

Ash chuckled. "Right. See you guys in a bit!" Helped along by a weak Notice-Me-Not from Serena, he discreetly made his way to the end of the aisle and into the hallway, before jogging off to try and not find his way to the battlefield.

A few moments later, the aspiring Pokémon Master had firmly invoked a paradox of intent. Stretched out ahead of him laid the hallway leading out onto the battlefield, which meant his quest not to find said path had met with failure. However, said failure was actually what he had wanted to happen – which meant that by failing to accomplish what he had tried to, he actually succeeded.

So if failure meant success and success meant failure, the question was bound to arise: did he fail, or did he succeed? And honestly, the jury's still out on that one.

Reaching the field on time was a different matter entirely. Via his Aura Perception, Ash was able to sense a vaguely familiar (and semi-hostile) presence lurking just around the corner of the hallway, right where he would need to pass by in order to reach the battlefield. And while he was not nearly as proficient at sensing specific emotions as Serena, he could still make out a combination of focus and resolve that indicated whoever-it-was had no intention of letting anyone past.

"All right, who's there?" he called out challengingly. "And are you even supposed to be here right now?"

"Of course I am!" the other person retorted as he stepped around the corner. "After all, this is the only time and place where I knew I could find you. You promised me a battle next time we met, and I'm going to make sure you keep that promise!"

Now that he had seen his opponent's face, Ash's subconscious was able to narrow down the search in his 'library' of Aura signatures and identify the person in front of him. "Wait, Everett?"

Unfortunately, his confusion only seemed to enrage the red-haired Trainer further. "Oh, look at me!" he mocked. "Just because I have 8 badges and inexplicably know his name, I don't have to take him seriously! Well, who cares about badges? I'm still gonna beat you!" He sent out his Furfrou again, who barked in agreement.

Now, in the former timeline Ash would have been so focused on making it to his battle that he would have missed some of the details of Everett's tirade. In this timeline, however, he had had practice remaining calm(er) in stressful situations and actually observing things, and he quickly realized what was going on and attempted to defuse the situation.

"Sorry – I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were unimportant. I was just distracted, 'cause I'll be disqualified if I don't make it to the field on time. And the whole 'name' thing? Well, it's kinda because my girlfriend's psychic."

Everett was a bit too worked up by this point to listen, though. "C'mon, send out your Pokémon! I'm gonna show you that people can be strong even if they don't have 8 badges! And until you beat me, you're not getting past. Not unless you can be in two places at once!"

For most other Trainers, this bit of trash-talk would have pushed them over the edge. But for someone who had *actually* been in two places at once just that morning and regularly came up with off-the-wall strategies, it gave him inspiration instead. Placing his hands together, he began channeling Aura to the space beside him in an attempt to replicate the phenomenon he had witnessed.

'Priming the technique,' so to speak, by positioning his fingers in the shape of two pistols (not that he knew what those were; it just seemed a fitting representation of that step).

Fingers interlocked, his clasped hands now representing the mass of formless energy hovering next to him. Oddly enough, though, it did not appear to have the standard blue glow that normally arises when Aura takes on a corporeal form.

Channeling the Aura into the correct shape, signified by steepling his index fingers as he changed the shape of the projection in a controlled fashion.

As he did so, disjointed images of a Gogoat, Zygarde's 50% Forme, and Entei respectively appeared briefly in his mind's eye, but he ignored them in favor of maintaining control.

While these actions appeared (to him) to require time on the order of ten seconds apiece, from Everett's perspective Ash was able to flash through all three steps in less than two. Almost immediately afterwards, an exact duplicate of Ash appeared next to him and saluted cheekily.

"Hey there, Boss. I'm guessing you want me to stay here and battle this guy while you make sure you're not late to the party?"

Ash's brow furrowed. "Actually, I was going to send you on up ahead while I battled Everett."

His clone snickered and slapped him on the back. "I knew that already – I'm you, remember? I just wanted to mess with ya."

Everett's jaw slackened. "Wha… How did… I didn't mean that 'two places at once' thing literally – what did you just do?"

Ash #2 grinned at him. "He just created himself an Aura Avatar (or nami no bunshin, if you think that sounds cooler), and so now he can battle you and still get to his match on time!" He then frowned in thought. "Or is it my match? This whole 'shared identity' thing is kinda confusing…"

Shrugging his shoulders, he moved a foot back slightly and dropped into an aggressive stance. "Either way, we're not gonna lose our shot at victory by not having enough time to reach the arena. Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Pikachu, who had ignored what was going on behind him in favor of watching the Furfrou for possible dirty tricks, heard his Trainer's voice ordering an attack and responded instinctually. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the distance between himself and the Poodle Pokémon, and only a last-second Cotton Guard kept him from critically damaging his opponent.

Everett's former mindset returned to him when he heard his Furfrou yelp in distress. "This is exactly what I was waiting for – Furfrou, Giga Impact!"

As the Kabuki-trimmed canine charged forward surrounded by purple and yellow energy, Ash sweatdropped. I thought I was the one who was supposed to be battling… Oh well, as long as the doppelgänger thing worked like it was supposed to, that may as well actually be me there. He jogged along the curve of the wall to get past the combat zone, absently noting that his foot landed on the face of Trevor's knocked-out Aerodactyl (or at least its image on the TV).

The orange-haired Trainer quickly sent out his last Pokémon, and Ash quickened his pace. Fairy-type Trevor's Florges might be, but against an enemy used to battling near the level of the Elite Four, its immunity to Dragon-type moves would do little to even the playing field.

And sure enough, within 45 more seconds he received a memory from Serena of Florges falling and Alain being declared the victor. Accompanying it was a very strong sense of you better not have gotten lost, mixed slightly with an inquisitive should I be concerned about what's happening to you right now?

Do you really trust me that little? he sent back, amused. I ran into that guy Everett from yesterday and left myself behind to battle him so that I could make it to the field on time – and a good thing, too. It looks like I would have been late if I had stayed behind…

And do you have any idea how confusing you sound right now? Serena asked in return as Alain and Trevor left the battlefield. If I didn't know better, I would probably say something like "if I didn't know better, I'd think you said you were in two places at once," but after this morning I get the feeling that's more likely than not what actually happened…

Ash walked out of the hallway into the Trainer's Box, grinning dorkishly in the direction of his friends' seats. You know me so well. Half a second later, his mind felt as if information was being forcibly jammed inside, and he blinked reflexively.

"For my sake… and for all the others who were unable to compete… you'd better be the one that wins this thing!"

Reaching out and placing a hand reassuringly on Everett's shoulder as Pikachu scampered off to find him. "Don't think that just because you failed this time it means you're not a strong Trainer. If I didn't already have five other Leagues' worth of experience at failing behind my belt, you probably would have given me a real run for my money."

Grinning as an idea came to him. "Besides, remember what I said yesterday when Malva was interviewing me? You may not be a kid, but that doesn't mean you can't use that advice. Never lose that desire, that drive to surpass your limits – if you fail, just get back up and try again, dattebayo!"

Clapping his hands together excitedly. "Now, you wanna see a magic trick? I'm gonna make myself disappear!"

Channeling his temporary Aura pool into the shape of a Bone Rush staff, bringing himself below critical energy.

Passing the Aura staff down past his body as it vanished from the head down, so that it appeared as if the staff itself was erasing him from existence.

Triumphantly recognizing the look of shock on Everett's face just before his form completely reverted to Aura and reunited with himself elsewhere.

Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder. "You okay, Pikapi?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Ash shook his head to clear it. "I just found out why trying to be in two places at once that way isn't necessarily the best idea – now I have that other me's memories too. You good to go for this fight, or do you wanna sit this one out?"

"I think I'll let the new guys have their turn." Pikachu answered as the announcer finished his spiel and their opponent Titus sent out an Altaria.

"Alright then, buddy. Give me a number from one to four."

"Um, two?"

Ash reached down to his belt and removed the second Pokéball from the front (Pikachu's and Charizard's occupying the back two slots). "Number two it is, then. Greninja, I choose you!"

Titus wasted no time calling for a Dragon Pulse attack, and the aquatic shinobi decided to test its strength by standing his ground. Crossing his arms, he leaned forward into the barrage of draconic energy – then rapidly opened them once again to divert it around him once he had accurately gauged its power. In retaliation, Titus ordered a follow-up Draco Meteor.

That could be a problem if it manages to hit me. Greninja told Ash as the meteor ascended. You think we should show off already, or rely on luck?

I've got a better idea. It may sound stupid, but just trust me.

All right – you're the Trainer. The Draco Meteor reached its peak and ruptured, sending fragments falling to the ground all over the field (but concentrated in Greninja's vicinity).

"Alright, Greninja! Give that Altaria your best Baby-Doll Eyes!"

Greninja sighed. "This is so humiliating." Clasping his hands under his chin, he widened his eyes as much as he could and stuck out his lower lip in a pout. To add to the effect, he even channeled a bit of water to his eyes to make them glisten as if with unshed tears.

The Draco Meteors impacted immediately afterwards.

"Good luck surviving that!" Titus called from the other side of the field. "Not even Wulfric's Abomasnow was able to get past it, so your Greninja is probably toast by now!"

The dust cleared, revealing an unscathed Greninja, and the crowd immediately went into an uproar trying to figure out what had happened.

"Hold on, what was that?" Kazuto questioned with his eyebrow raised. "How did he tank an entire meteor shower without even a scratch?"

Clemont adjusted his glasses, the sunlight glinting off them as he did so. "I think it has to do with his Greninja's Protean Ability. Since Baby-Doll Eyes is considered a Fairy-type move, Ash was able to exploit the Fairy-type's immunity to Dragon-type attacks. It does mean he has one fewer legally-allowed move for this battle, though, so it's still a trade-off."

"I still call hax." Genos rumbled, jewel blinking as it pulled itself far enough out of its sheath to see past Kazuto's shoulder. "And yes, I did just use modern gamer terminology. I thought it appropriate, considering Master is a gamer himself."

It was then that Greninja whipped his hands out from behind his back, revealing that he had used his immunity to somehow catch one of the meteors without it discharging its energy. He then threw it back at the stunned Altaria, Protean allowing him to channel even more dragon energy into the stone now that he was temporarily a Dragon-type.

As Altaria was hit for six, Genos piped up again. "See? Hax." Nobody who could understand deigned to disagree.

Omake: Fate/Sword Tuesday, Part III

When they first ran into Ilyasviel von Einzbern, Kirito nearly mistook her for Yui – having forgotten that the two had almost identical voices in this Route. The only reason he didn't was that Yui herself had taken the place of Archer (with the excuse that Shirou had to learn how to Project swords from somewhere).

And he was perfectly willing to overlook the fact that his daughter had somehow hacked the Throne of Heroes in favor of being glad he could spend time with her trying to be a proper dad. Speaking of dads, though…

"I see you've finally summoned your Servant, onii-san." Illya said in an unnervingly chipper voice. "So what if he looks like otou-san – there's no way he can stand against Berserker!"

"…Are you sure you don't need glasses, Illya?" Kirito snarked. "The only thing I have in common with your dad is the black hair and black outfit. I doubt the acclaimed Magus Killer ever used a sword, either."

"Besides, he's my daddy!" Yui interrupted, emerging from her Invisibility Cloak right next to Illya. "And I won't let you hurt my daddy just because yours hurt you emotionally!"

The Einzbern heir backpedaled into Herakles' range of motion. "Wait, you – you sound like… he's your otou-san... how did you know about that?"

Yui looked at her soberly, compassion evident in her features. "Your actions match the behavioral patterns of someone who holds a grudge for a perceived slight, especially one exacerbated by authority figures in said person's life. And based on your reaction to Daddy, I'm guessing you think he abandoned you for my Master, Mr. Shirou. My diagnosis is that you sit down and talk with him about your daddy in order to correct any misconceptions and thus achieve catharsis."

As Rin and Shirou struggled to comprehend why Yui sounded like she had swallowed a psychological education textbook, Illya realized exactly what Yui had said. "Hold on – you're onii-san's Servant? And Saber is your otou-san?"

Yui grinned disarmingly. "Yup! Servant Archer, at your service! I can also turn into a fairy – watch!" She shifted to her Navi Pixie form, only to find out that she was still at her full size. Oddly enough, a medallion shaped like a ringed gold star with wings was now fluttering around her head babbling about 'magical girl powers' and 'class cards.'

At that moment, Rin Tohsaka decided that she really needed a vacation.