Disclaimer: Pokémon is owned by The Pokémon Company, which in turn is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, and probably others I forgot. The following fanfiction is me playing around in their sandbox, using characters they envisioned and created, except for the odd character that wasn't. I own nothing of this.

Author's Note: Wee bit angsty at first. Probably isn't going to be a continuous theme, but Max has reason to mope here. Bear with him for the first quarter of the chapter.

Chapter 14: Offer

Max woke, limbs uncomfortably warm under the thin duvet, mouth dry as a desert, the inside of his forehead plastered with coarse wool pressing against his skull. Throwing the duvet off did little to help, except introduce fresh air to his limbs, which very slowly started cooling them down, providing some relief; enough for him to stomach moving them around. He fumbled for his glasses, eyes half shut, and felt paper on the nightstand, next to what he was looking for. His glasses made it onto his face with years of practice, and he cracked his eyes open wide enough to read the note. It was Danny's, telling Max that he was gone, and would be back for dinner.

The twelve-year-old didn't really feel anything when reading the note. If anything, he just wanted to crawl right back under the covers, sleep the day away, skip it entirely if possible, but he'd already tried that once, around dawn. He'd fallen asleep, deeply enough to apparently let Danny leave without Max noticing, but he felt like shit, for more than one reason.

He walked to the window, but it didn't show much except a sunny day, and a trainer working with her nuzleaf in the courtyard behind the Pokémon Center. Max ducked away when she looked in his direction, remembering he just got out of bed, though he did open the window wide.

The sound of bells ringing ten came in through the window as Max returned from a shower, a breakfast bar in one hand. At least he was fully awake now, and his limbs actually felt like they were useful, though he really didn't feel like doing anything useful, or anything at all.

His eyes fell on Danny's note, and his own Pokénav beside it. He could call Danny if he wanted to. Do something with the day. Something to keep his mind occupied, like last year, when they'd travelled from dawn to dusk to reach Pallet Town, and Max had only realised it was that day over dinner, at which point Ash, Brock, and May decided to team up on him to tease him about forgetting his starter; something that had only stopped when Max had gone to sleep way too late. The teasing had been weirdly fun, too, which was part of the reason why he went to bed so late.

Now, Max wasn't sure he could ever forget the glorious, dangerous, scary day that started out with him hearing a Pokémon cry in pain.

Ralts.

He sat back on the bed, reaching deep into his pack to grab the wooden box that he'd been given, not even six months earlier. Inside, the nearly oval green-blue stone lay on a simple cloth bed. For five days, that stone had been his most important possession. Now, it was useless for him. Perhaps he should...

A rustling sound made Max look up, just in time to see a figure appear in the room, facing him. "Moon's blessings upon you, Max Maple, on this fateful day," came a melodious voice, one he very much recognised. It had delivered words Max had not wanted to hear. The gardevoir had a gentle smile on her face as she levitated herself over, gracefully weaving around the chair in her way. "Is that what I believe it is?"

"A Dawn Stone, yeah." Max closed the box, carefully latching it shut. "Works only on male kirlia and female snorunt."

"Was it your intention to use it on my son?" the gardevoir said as she sat down beside Max, though no weight was actually added to the bed.

The box was placed on the nightstand. "If he wanted it."

"And what if he had acquiesced with or forwent it because he felt an overwhelming preference from his partner? Expectations weigh heavy on everyone, yet more so on empathic Pokémon."

It took a moment to understand all the words, but Max nodded. "I know." Sometimes, it felt everyone had expectations for him. "I… I hope we could've talked about it."

"You would have refrained from forcing the issue."

"Yes," Max said heatedly, anger rising momentarily before he quashed it. "It's more their choice than mine. They evolve, I don't. Any Pokémon that evolves with an item gets the choice to evolve or not evolve. It's only fair." He sighed deeply. "I just wish..."

"That you could have consulted my son as you would your other Pokémon?" Max gave a nod, looking into the gardevoir's kind eyes, though there was something he didn't recognise in them. "Max… There is something you should know."

Max's stomach turned to lead. He didn't know what the gardevoir was alluding to, but the last time he'd heard her so grave, she'd told them ralts had been taken. "What is it?"

The gardevoir laid one arm on Max's left hand. Emotion bled over, and Max felt a general feeling of sadness spread in his body. He suddenly understood which emotion he'd seen in the empathic Pokémon's eyes. "Gardevoir create a bond with their offspring. Through it, I was able to tell you my son yet lived, around five and a half moons ago." A short pause fell, not long enough for Max to start speaking. "That bond vanished suddenly, two moons past."

"I know," Max spoke quickly, and surprise flared into his hand before he felt the limb touching it being removed. He couldn't meet the gardevoir's eyes. "I was there."

He felt a gentle pressure on his body. It felt like he could have resisted it with a little bit of effort, but he let it guide his movements, trusting the gardevoir. His eyes met the gardevoir's once again, and for a moment, he felt like he was ten and a half again, standing on a cliff with an injured Pokémon behind his back, facing that injured Pokémon's relatives, knowing nothing except the need to get ralts to a Pokémon Center, whatever the cost. He'd hoped the gardevoir and kirlia would listen: even Max knew ralts was in a very bad spot, and could even die. Then, the feeling faded, and the blue light vanished from the gardevoir's eyes, leaving her almost shrunk a tiny bit. "How?" she asked, sounding tired and… perplexed?

Max's throat suddenly filled, and it became hard to swallow. "We…. We found him in a laboratory. He died in-in my arms," Max choked out."He-he was just too injured." He averted his eyes, feeling them burning slightly.

A soft, warm, comforting, safe feeling washed over Max, and he felt the same pressure as before almost asking for permission to guide his movements. It opened his eyes, and he saw that the gardevoir was once again glowing a bright, but muted, blue of psychic powers, which faded even as Max's eyes stopped burning. The feeling, however, remained. "My… I…" the gardevoir started, unsuccessfully. She looked torn, insecure: a weird look on a Pokémon so graceful. "I can scarcely fathom how that must have been. Yet, I must ask… Would you share your memory with me?" The gardevoir silenced Max with a gesture. "Understand that this will result in you reliving the moment as it happened, as detailed as your mind remembers it and more."

"And if I don't want to share?" Max asked. A noise came from outside, and Max turned to look at the window to see what it was, though nothing was immediately visible.

"Then you do not. I, nor any other ralts, kirlia, or gardevoir, will not judge you a lesser human for it. All of us understand that some wounds are too grievous to want to aggravate."

Max shook his head carefully before meeting the gardevoir's red eyes. His mind had been made up the moment she had asked. "Do it."

"Then take my arm, and concentrate." Max did just that, remembering the fury and fear for baltoy, the thrill and confidence of the battle, and the indescribable mix of emotions that had followed it. "In three, two, one."

He knew from the last time, rationally, that only a few seconds had passed, but reliving the twenty or so minutes of memory had been a drawn out thing, tiring as if he'd just run for all that time, and his emotions had gone all over the place. He leant forward, head in his hands, elbows on his knees, trying to recover.

It had been worse this time. Much worse. The memory was so much more detailed than what Max remembered on his own, as if his brain only allowed him to remember the memories from behind a dirty window. This was raw, reliving instead of remembering, and he had noticed so many more details, but only what he had focused on. He'd barely paid any attention to Ash and Danny to his side, and that part of the chamber was a bit of a blur, almost literally so, even in the reliving. At the same time, he'd perfectly understood, and not understood because he'd seen his two month younger self be kind of stupid in attacking, his own thought process during the ursaring fight. He barely remembered that in the dark of night at camp.

The moments after had been closer to his recollection. He'd heard the kirlia speak in his mind, voice so infinitely weak. He recalled the exact words easily, but reliving them made him hear more than just what he thought he'd heard. He thought that kirlia had been almost delirious with pain, and maybe he had been. But now, Max was almost certain he'd heard two other emotions in the telepathic speech: relief and remorse.

Movement nearby caused him to look up. "Thank you." The gardevoir took both of Max's hands in her own, though no emotions came through them. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Your efforts, though unfortunately without result, were as courageous and selfless as they were when we originally met."

"I just keep thinking. What if we were a day earlier?" They could have been. They'd taken it slow in the mountains due to the heat. It had been something on Max's mind since the evening after, though he hadn't told Ash or Danny. "Could w—"

His mouth just stopped working, and for a moment, he felt like he could not breathe, but the feeling went away as soon as it appeared. "My apologies," the gardevoir said, and she did sound genuinely sorry. "Hypotheticals are a path best left unexplored, for that way lies nought but regret and ruin." She smiled, a soft 'voir' coming from her lips. "Or so I was told, seven and a half moons ago. In truth, I find myself revisiting that plain often, in memory or flesh."

Understanding passed between them as they sank into silence again, Max's mind remembering the memory he had seen the previous time they had met, and the alien and completely normal feelings that it had called up in him. He remembered the power building as the gardevoir attempted to use Hypnosis, and suddenly, something clicked. "The poachers!"

The gardevoir, who'd risen a moment before, looked at him kindly. "What of them? As far as we know, they have not returned."

"They might return." Max quickly explained the thought process Ash had laid out: that the events in Petal Grove were related, and that another machine like the one they found probably existed. "They know where you are. They could even try to get a kirlia or a gardevoir."

"They can certainly try," the gardevoir stated, and Max was reminded of the Pokédex entry on gardevoir, limited as it was. It wasn't just trainers they'd protect. It was family. "Yet we cannot be everywhere at once. Though we do exercise increased caution, this is a larger threat than we had envisioned." The gardevoir levitated up to him, taking his hand once again. "Would you come with me, to explain this?"

"Now?" Max asked, and the Embrace Pokémon confirmed that through a nod. "Will it take long?"

"You should return before the sun reaches its highest point in the sky."

"Let me leave a note for Danny." Not that Max really expected Danny to return, but better safe than sorry. He dove into the front pocket of his pack, finding a pen and a small notepad.

"Where is he? Given his emotions when we last met, I expected to find him today."

Max finished writing the note, placing it in the same place he had found Danny's note earlier. "He left me here today. That's fine," he added. "It'd be weirder if he was here." He thought for a moment, ultimately clipping his Pokénav on his belt and slipping some wrapped food into his pockets before taking his copy of the key to the room and locking it from the inside. "I'm ready."

They teleported into light rain, but the droplets soon vanished as the gardevoir created an umbrella-like barrier. Max only half noticed that, though, as he was looking at the clearing they'd teleported into. Or rather, the amount of Pokémon. At least thirty, maybe even forty, gardevoir, kirlia, and ralts had to be there, most of them ralts, and nearly every one of them was looking at the two that had just Teleported in. Two of the three other gardevoir in sight joined them, while a third cried a shrill cry that made most of the gazing Pokémon – the ralts in particular – stop doing that.

Ralts's mother, now flanked by a kirlia, was speaking to the two gardevoir that had joined them in rapid, but clear and melodious speech, very much like her telepathy. Though Max couldn't understand anything, just listening to it was a pleasant experience.

Then, suddenly, one of the gardevoir pointed a limb at him. "We know of this danger. Why did you bring the human?" said a male no-nonsense voice in Max's head. "Does he possess more information?"

"I do." Max took a step forward, and, on instinct, inclined his head, averting his eyes for just a second before explaining everything to a silent audience.

It almost felt like doing a presentation in school.

"You say this is a theory," the third gardevoir, also male, asked after Max was done with his explanation. "How likely a theory is it?"

"I'm not completely sure, but if it's true, better safe than sorry, right?" Why wouldn't they believe him?

"Peace, Max," ralts's mother said as she put a calming limb on his shoulder. "All of us are in agreement that your reasoning has merit. He was merely inquiring for the likelihood of history repeating itself."

"Oh." That took the harsh feeling in his stomach away, replaced by a slight blush that Max refused to acknowledge. "Well, they kinda know where you are, right? They could just wait for one of the ralts to do the same again."

The no-nonsense gardevoir edged forward slightly. "Logical argumentation. Would you mind waiting while we discuss this? In the event of questions." Max shook his head to indicate that he didn't mind. "Our thanks."

And then, Max was alone; a human inside a Pokémon's habitat. Most of the ralts and kirlia were doing other things, and those ralts that were watching him stayed far away as he walked to a large tree to sit under. The rain hadn't stopped, but it was a warm rain, and really, he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed about waiting in the rain, or even the occasional drop that fell from the leaves above him right onto the back of his neck. The entire clearing felt soothing and calm. He didn't know why, nor did he care. It was like a warm bath for his mind and feelings, and he wasn't going to stop and figure it out.

Then, suddenly, a small ralts, barely half the height a normal ralts should be, Teleported onto his knee, unbalancing itself, and falling forward.

Embarrassment, confusion, wonder, happy, joy, amazement, love, sadness, sympathy.

Max jolted, and the ralts rolled onto the forest floor. It – she - landed on her face, but soon rolled over again, and Max saw a brief flare of blue as she pushed herself to her feet. She didn't stay still, instead latching onto the human's arm by his side, hugging it for all she was worth. Scattered emotions bled through, weak and easily ignored.

Carefully, Max placed the ralts on his legs again, and she looked up at him with a confused look on her face. It faded as Max started rubbing her back gently, replaced with almost cooing sounds.

The ralts was still very young. Max didn't know how he knew, but he did. When he stopped rubbing her back, he made a face at her, and he got a clear laugh as a response. It was a sound he really wanted to hear more of. It was just so… He didn't even know a word to describe it.

Time passed as Max and the ralts played, and played, and played some more. At some point other ralts started joining them in their games, and they were accepted instantly. Max lost count of the amount of leaves he'd been pelted with, let alone the amount he had dodged, in one of their games, and the laughter that rang in the clearing every time he did get hit almost made him want to get hit again, if it weren't for him knowing, somehow, that the ralts liked the challenge just as much as he did.

He was faking not being able to move as another ralts tried to stop him from doing so – the attack was weak for some reason, and Max knew he could break it without even trying– when a voice intruded on his mind. "I see you are having fun."

The light pressure vanished, and Max got to his feet, feeling his shirt stick to him in the small of his back. He turned to look at ralts's mother. "Yeah. It's..." Again, he couldn't find the word, but somehow, he had the idea that the gardevoir understood, from the smile she gave him.

"Unfortunately it, like all good things, must end. Come." She floated away, and Max followed her without hesitation, though he did give a wave to the ralts he left behind.

She led him to the other gardevoir, who told Max that they'd be wary of any poachers and that they would be taking a few other precautions to make sure that the remainder of the… congregation would remain safe. Max expressed his hope that they'd remain safe, and turned to ralts's mother, ready to leave.

"There is one more thing, young human," said the third gardevoir, and when Max turned around, he saw the gardevoir's eyes glow, letting something emerge from a nearby hollow tree trunk: a green and white Pokémon Egg. "You have proven, time and again, that you are principled and courageous; caring and intelligent: values we hold in high esteem. You protected one of our own with nothing but your wits and body, and if you had to, you'd do it again in a heartbeat. We name you friend of the congregation, and offer you this Egg. Will you accept it?"

~~§~~§~~

In a wooden-walled cabin, two people sat at a round table with a third and empty chair. One of them had black hair, which looked even darker against the deep brown wood behind him, an easy smile, and some almost scar-like marks under his eyes. A pikachu sat on his shoulder. The other man had blonde hair, down halfway to his shoulders. a clean-shaven face with blue-grey eyes, and a formal, almost regal, bearing. He wore a dragon fang pin on his shirt, identifying him as Hoenn's Dragon-type Gym Leader. "It seems your friend and his were enlisted once again," Reginald said as he pushed a newspaper across the table to Ash, who took it. "Front page, albeit a small blurb, and a larger article on page six. Impressive, for ones so young."

Ash scanned the front page while heaping a Berry salad made by one of Drake's crew onto his plate. The blurb's contents nearly made him spill the food, and he saw and felt pikachu catch the one berry that did roll off the table. "Archie? What's he doing free?"

Reginald shrugged as he helped himself to some of the salad as well. "Your guess is as good as any of mine. I imagine Lance is currently finding out whoever was responsible for that security lapse." A creaking door told Ash someone entered the room behind him. "Ah, Terry. Glad you could make it."

"Reginald, Mr. Ketchum," the Coral Cape Gym Leader, wearing a suit, said as he shook hands with each of them in turn before taking the third chair on the table. "Apologies for my delay. Nurse Joy wanted input on treating a marowak with a fractured skull."

"And our apologies for starting lunch, old friend," Reginald said as Terry ladled some soup into a bowl. "You still bless your food, I assume?"

"Yes," Terry said simply. He, too, added some of the Berry salad to his plate, as well as a slice of bread, slathering it with combee honey. Once he'd done that, the Gym Leader recited a short blessing under his breath, while Ash and Reginald patiently waited for him to finish. "I suspect the subject of this luncheon is related to an article in that newspaper."

"Tangentially, but let's eat first. We would be remiss to not enjoy this meal."

While Ash had met Reginald several times before, he couldn't remember seeing Reginald act so warm towards someone. Within minutes, the Dragon-type Gym Leader had asked about Terry's family, his Pokémon, and his upcoming appointment to the Elite Four, sounding as close to genuinely excited as Ash had ever heard the formal man be. Terry, for his part, was quick to smile, and engaged Ash in a chat about Kanto and its Battle Frontier.

Lunch ended, and Ash felt full to bursting. Very different from Brock's cooking, way better than his own cooking, and even better than the few other lunches he'd had on Drake's ship. "An excellent luncheon," Terry agreed with Ash's thoughts. "Ulterior motives, Reginald?"

"I'll confirm nor deny." Reginald's face didn't give anything away either, but Ash suspected Terry was right. "You've read the news, of course."

"About the Centrists' new policy? Of course," Terry confirmed, and Ash frowned. Politics? Bleh. "An accurate summation, Mr. Ketchum, though I suspect your reasons are different."

"I'm sorry, but politics..."

"Not something that interests you, I take it," Terry asked, to a confirming nod. "Ah, to be a teenager again; young and living for battles." He winked. "Have you heard about the protests around Hoenn?"

That Ash had. "Yeah. Some people want to teach kids more about Ghost, Dark, and Psychic-types." Honestly, he didn't think that was a bad thing.

Terry chuckled. "Ah, if only, Mr. Ketchum. If only. You see, one of our larger political parties just adopted a position similar to those protests, citing Petal Grove and Crossgate Town as examples of why." Ash's eyes widened. "You recognise those places, do you not? Something G-men related?"

"Your mind is as sharp as ever, Terry," Reginald interjected before Ash could answer., shooting the Kanto teen a look that didn't blame him for revealing he was a member of the G-men. "Yes, the events there relate to the G-men. Crossgate, and presumably Petal Grove as well, was engineered, instead of natural."

"Of course. Trained Pokémon do not undergo some kind of mass psychosis, prompting them to attack." The Coral Cape Gym Leader sounded almost offended at the possibility. "Were it that only fools and idiots were blind to that fact, but even experienced trainers with a good head on their shoulders have been taken in by this fallacious reasoning. I've had to correct two of my trainers already, and I expect that to continue." Terry leant forward to grab the pitcher of water. "Then again, the Centrists ostensibly have some sharp minds in their midst, and they are usually far above these kinds of populist proposals. They tend towards moderation, deliberation, and intellectualism, arguably to a fault."

Reginald nodded towards Terry. "Aye, therein lies the issue I have with this as well. It is too fast, too radical, too populist, as you mentioned." The fair-haired man leant forward, eyes fixed on his fellow Gym Leader. "Something is afoot here, Terry."

"In politics, something is always afoot. However, I doubt you'd call me here just to discuss politics. Kindly stop beating around the bush, Reginald."

"The G-men need your expertise, Terry. Your knowledge, your observations, your position; all of it, to be frank. Drake is the member inclined most favourably to the G-men, and we require eyes and ears everywhere. So please, old friend, will you not rejoin the G-men?"

~~§~~§~~

The seaside mansion lit up with the orange glow of sunset as the Gym Leader walked up the drive, past well-trimmed hedges and a small fountain. A man met him at the entrance, taking his sister's rapidash away to the stables for some rest, and another man opened the door, beckoning him in. He was led to an antechamber, all ebony and ivory-coloured, where he saw the lord of the manor, sitting in a comfortable high-backed chair. "Ah, greetings, Gym Leader."

"Lord Cavendish." He executed a bow. "Thank you for inviting me."

Lord Cavendish waved him to a seat. "Please, sit, and call me Charles. My inheritance is irrelevant, and I would feel forced to call you Gym Leader all night in response."

The Gym Leader sat, and some small talk passed the time for refreshments to arrive: wine for Charles, tonic for him. Once the servant had left, the aristocrat spoke up. "I would wager there is some uncertainty as to why I invited you."

"The thought crossed my mind." He took a sip of his tonic, relishing the bitter taste. "We walk in different social circles, after all." He cast a look around, seeing portraits of ages, men, women, and Pokémon past on the walls. The Cavendish family was old money, and his own rise in society was on merit. "I have one idea, but that's it."

"Talk me through it?"

"The events in Petal Grove and Crossgate, and your party's new policy." He allowed a smile to shine through as the man opposite him raised an eyebrow. "Roxanne told me you have met in the past."

"That could have been for different reasons," Charles countered as he put his glass of wine down. "Rustboro is a mere ten miles away."

"Yet you have gone on record as a firm proponent of your party's new policy, even earlier today."

Charles conceded the point with a gracious nod. "It appears Roxanne's reports on your reasoning were reliable. Yes, it is in relation to that that I wish to extend an offer to you." The aristocrat rose, taking slow and measured steps on the rug in front of him. "In months prior, I privately funded a facility. It sought to seclude the exact nature of why Psychic-type Pokémon are amongst the most dangerous Pokémon for trainers, amateurs or ace. Then, two months ago, this facility was attacked and demolished." Charles sighed. "Luckily, it was during the night, and all my scientists were off-site."

Charles held a hand up to stop the Gym Leader from interrupting, though he had no plans for doing so. "The police found nothing suggesting foul play, but the facility was, for safety's sake, located remote, and it was three days from my scientists reporting the attack to a police perusal of the place."

"That is uncommonly long." He frowned. He hadn't yet heard the police be that incompetent yet, though Archie's escape, fresh in his mind, came close. "Did you contact the Pokémon G-men?"

"Of course, but they told me that a destroyed facility, while a tragedy, was not within their purview per se."

That made sense. He disliked the G-men. They were too aloof and focused on overly powerful Pokémon like kyogre and groudon, in his opinion. They'd already put out a statement about the new policy, condemning it, but he was less certain. The facts spoke for themselves, and policy should follow facts, not nebulous ideology. "And you'd like me to…"

"Use your network – a Gym Leader of your tenure has one – and see if you can find a trail to the culprit, or culprits." The aristocrat raised his hands in the universal gesture for not knowing something. "Perhaps a sleuth more skilled with Pokémon can reveal what my retainers could not."

"What makes you think foul play was present?"

"Facilities do not explode frivolously, and though Psychic-type Pokémon are powerful, this one lacked both strength and skill to even destroy a doghouse at first." Charles sank back into his chair, folding his hands. "Before you ask, it was a ralts, its Egg generously given by a friend."

That reasoning held up. He had little idea of what machinery was used, but he knew enough to know that they tended to not explode. Ralts, especially newborn ones, were also very weak. Foul play was a definite option. "Alright." He rose, and the aristocrat mirrored him. He noticed that he stood slightly taller than the man opposite him, despite their similar ages. "I'll do this."

"Thank you. I'll have the police report sent to you."

The two men talked remuneration for a spell, finally settling on an acceptable fee. Oddly, the aristocrat had to be talked down from offering too much, as the Gym Leader felt he couldn't accept such a large sum of money for something he'd be doing in his spare time. With a renewed promise of the police report coming to him, and a set of coordinates for the remnants of the facility – somewhere between Fallarbor and Forina – written down, he left atop his sister's rapidash.

Inside the house, Lord Cavendish went to his study, picking up a phone and calling one of his employees. "My lord?"

"He is on board. Place the evidence in the facility."

"Understood, my lord."

~~§~~§~~

"You ask much," said Terry, frowning at Reginald. "Seven years ago, I left the local branch in your quite capable and conniving hands for a reason. I had no intention of returning then. Why would I have any now, given I am about to become a far more busy man?"

"I do not ask for a field agent. Your objections, loathe as you are to explicitly name some of them, are valid," Reginald replied calmly, leaning forward with his head resting on interlaced fingers. Ash kept silent: now was not the time to talk. "Your expertise and time is all I need. Your Pokémon are your own."

The stately Gym Leader sighed, closing his eyes. "Months ago, I would have dismissed your notion with nary a thought. Weeks ago, I would have wondered what brought this request on," Terry stated. "Recent events, however, lead me to believe that you'll need all the help you can get. With the provisos that it is for my expertise only, and that it is until the time this conundrum is solved, I accept." He rose quickly, surprising Ash. "My thanks for the luncheon, Reginald, Mr. Ketchum, but whilst I would love to stay, there is a battle scheduled for an hour from now." Terry smiled, leaning over to rub pikachu behind his ears. "Perhaps we'll talk more later. For now, adieu."

Ash watched Terry leave the room. "That worked, I guess."

"Yes," Reginald agreed simply. "And with far less pain and persuasion than I'd thought I'd need. Unfortunately, that doesn't fill me with joy." Reginald chuckled at Ash's surprised look. "If Terry, who's been out of the G-men game for years and who's generally a very busy Gym Leader, spots that something is wrong with such ease, then it might be worse than I feared."

"Why'd he leave anyway?" Ash wondered. "If he's as good as you say, why didn't he stay?"

The blond man's face darkened. "Seven and a half years ago," Reginald began, "we sought to stop a group of scientists from capturing one of the lati pairs in Hoenn. We succeeded, but Terry's very first Pokémon – a weathered krookodile that was just as wily as Terry himself, perished." Ash shuddered, and pikachu immediately crawled into his arms. He knew that feeling. "He never forgave himself for it, though he puts up a remarkable façade. Four months later, he resigned, leaving his former understudy to head up Hoenn's G-men."

That, Ash could understand, but he still missed one thing. "Why do you want him back now?"

Reginald stood up and gave him a disappointed look. "I mentioned that, Ash. His expertise is invaluable, and his position in the Elite Four is very useful, considering the rest of the Elite Four is more ambivalent towards us. Or worse."

"Oh?" Ash thought for a second, but he didn't know all that much about the Hoenn Elite Four. He'd only met Drake in Hoenn, unlike the Kanto-Johto Elite Four, who he'd all met at some point. Except Karen, but she was the newest member, replacing Lance so he could be the Champion proper again.

"Wallace is okay," Reginald admitted, "if more preoccupied with something else these days. Glacia is outright hostile to us, and her opinion carries weight with Phoebe and Sidney, and several of my fellow Gym Leaders share her opinion as well." The Dragon-type Leader let out a sigh as he walked to the closed door. "If only the world was simple enough to not need us."

~~§~~§~~

An Egg. A ralts Egg. He could have a ralts! Ideas, plans, strategies, all long banished from his mind, rushed back in, filling part of him with the need to accept the offer.

Yet a bigger part of him didn't want it. "What troubles you, Max?" asked ralts's mother kindly.

Max held up a hand, massaging his temples with the thumb and middle finger of the other. This was giving him a headache, rapidly. "I.." he said, trailing off to think for another moment, feeling the gaze of the gardevoir on him. "I can't accept it."

The surprise on all of the gardevoir's faces was kind of funny, though Max didn't feel like laughing at all. His head hurt, his stomach was starting to make itself known as well, and he could feel the temptation to just accept the Egg. "Why."

It was a command that demanded answering, and Max obeyed. "It's not ralts. It's another Pokémon, who looks like ralts, and is a ralts, but not my ralts." He shot a look at the gardevoir who'd brought him here. "Uh, sorry."

He received a sad smile in return, and Max got the feeling she understood what he meant. "Are you certain?"

No! "No," he said, managing to keep his voice level. "But… Just no."

"Very well," said the same gardevoir that had produced the Egg in the first place as it was levitated back into its hidey-hole. "A remarkable choice. Understandable, but remarkable nevertheless."

"Would you like to leave now?"

"Yes please," Max answered ralts's mother. Anywhere was better than here right now. The clearing's happy atmosphere was making him feel uncomfortable. "Thank you," he said to the other gardevoir, bowing deeply. "For..." Everything.

The two male gardevoir returned his bow with an equally deep one of their own. "A good journey to you, young human," one of them – the one on the left? - said. His headache was deepening, and figuring out which gardevoir said what was becoming harder by the second.

He felt the Teleport, leaving the freshly wet clearing behind for the Pokémon Center bedroom and his bed, which Max immediately collapsed on willingly. It was blessedly soft, comfortable, and the pillow made his head not hurt as much. Then, he felt the gardevoir touch both of her arms to Max's head, and a hint of blue light peeked through his eyelids. At the same time, his headache receded, replaced by the slightest hint of fullness, like being wrapped in a large warm wool blanket on a cold night. "Thank you."

"It is merely temporary. You would be wise to seek medicine if you do not wish it to return." Max sat back up as the gardevoir floated over to the window, looking outside at weather very different from Izabe. Without thinking about it, he took the wooden box off the nightstand and opened it, once again revealing the stone inside. "As for that, I believe you've come a lot closer to a decision, even without thinking about it."

"Yeah," Max stated softly. "I have."

The gardevoir floated to the centre of the room, and Max got up, facing her, looking slightly up into her so expressive eyes. Right now, Max didn't know what to make of them, though; he didn't recognise the emotion hidden within. "It's time for me to leave," she stated as Psychic energy started to flare around her. "May you fare well in the future, and may our paths cross again. Should we meet again, you, and anyone you vouch for, will be given the warmest of welcomes."

Max bowed slightly. "I'd like to visit again someday."

"Then we shall await your arrival."

A gentle wind ruffled some paper as the gardevoir left, leaving Max alone once again. The room now felt inexplicably empty, and it wasn't just because there was only one body in the room now. He made to send out some of his Pokémon, but before he could do so, gentle piano notes rang through the room. "Max here."

"Hey Max," Danny greeted him from the other side of the call. Max could hear some outside noise behind his friend. "Just checking in. Nurse Joy just told me your door was locked."

"Well, it was," Max stated. He checked the clock. Just past noon. "Want to grab some lunch together? I'll tell you all about it."

"Sure." Max thought Danny sounded just a little confused. "At the Center?"

"Yeah."

"'kay. Be there in ten."

Danny hung up, and Max put his Pokénav down before taking one last look at the wooden box in his other hand. He knew the Dawn Stone was a valuable gift, one that would've cost Max a lot of money to buy for himself, even if he got one in Sinnoh. It was just… he couldn't use it. Not any more.

Perhaps Danny would.

~~§~~§~~§~~§~~

Following Drake's announcement of retirement following the coming Ever Grande Conference, we sought to fill the gap he will leave in our ranks with another supremely capable trainer. Many trainers were scrutinised by all members and the Champion, and one trainer stood out above all the rest. The Hoenn Elite Four welcomes Terry, Gym Leader of Coral Cape, whose sturdy Ground-types will stand stalwart against challenging trainers.

Applications for the Ground-type Gym Leadership are now open, and should be sent to the Coral Cape Gym.

Signed:

Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, Drake

Hoenn Elite Four

Author's Note (2): And again, no ralts for Max, this time of his own volition. It's probably evil of me to tempt him so, but the Egg-scene just sprung up pretty much wholecloth on the first draft of the chapter.

Also in this chapter: things are happening elsewhere. Nothing important for now, I'm sure.